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Saturday, May 26, 2012

"Metropolitan" and "City on Fire" by Walter Jon Williams (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)


OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS Metropolitan: Inspired by the digital recent reissue (as noted on FBC HERE) I read again, probably for the 5th time, the Metropolitan/City on Fire sequence. The one distinction this time was that I read the two books the first time after a heavy dose of fantasy reading from 2008-2011 when to a large extent I exhausted my interest in most of the genre the way I did with mysteries 20+ years ago.
 
Metropolitan was still fresh and interesting and did not read like a fantasy of 2012 or of 1995 for that matter, showing once again how much ground is to explore if people - both writers and readers - would stay away from the usual rut of faux-medieval or vampires/zombies somehow thrown together with modern tech, while still having superb worldbuilding, great characters etc...

And despite the author's insistence on calling Metropolitan a fantasy, its mindset is still sfnal and that imho is the fundamental divide between the two - fantasy - conservative, pre-modern based on the superiority of blood and lineage "you are who you are born" though of course you may just be of noble blood in disguise, sf - progressive, modern, based on the superiority of human intellect expressed in science and technology, "you are what you can achieve".

Back to the book, this is the story of a World City, though still racially diverse and divided into many states, and of Aiah a 25 year old born and living in Jasper, an ordinary bureaucratic and stale state of the World City, but being from the Barkazil, a despised stateless minority usually relegated to the dole and petty thieving. Aiah managed to improve somewhat her Barkazil lot and continue school, work for the government - still better than the dole after all - have a Jasperii lover with whom she bought an upper middle class apartment in a new tower...

Having a talent for plasma work - the magical source of power of the universe -  Aiah could not continue her studies at a more advanced level, but at least after a few years of field work, she now works as the most junior investigator for the Authority, the government department in charge of regulating the plasma use - metered like electricity in our world, but with pockets of "wild plasma" here and there plus with the usual thefts and contraband.

When an outbreak of wild plasma manifests itself spectacularly and deadly, the Authority brass decides it must come from some usually troublesome area, but Rohder, an old hand at dealing with plasma with great seniority though now in a sort of "golden parachute exile" in the Authority, feels differently and with whatever clout he still has, manages to get the brass to appoint someone to investigate - and of course it is the most junior and unimportant investigator, namely Aiah.

One problem is that the place (an abandoned factory and train terminal) is in a slum, but one populated in part by the racist "Jaasperi nation" gangs where Aiah's brown skin is unwelcome; still with two Authority field hands at her back - the sort of blue collar workers of the time as opposed to the white collar Aiah - and despite the usual heckling, snubbing (eg Aiah is refused food from a stall under some silly pretexts), Aiah does her duty and by chance discovers a very powerful source of wild plasma in the area, luckily when her helpers were somewhere away.

Thinking hard about the future and pressed by financial troubles as her fiancee Gil is on an assignment away which keeps his cash flow under stress so his contribution toward the mortgage etc are less than expected, Aiah decides to conceal her discovery and try and sell it.

In the meantime Jaasper is also home to exiled former Metropolitan (President/Supreme Leader etc) of half way around the world Cheloki, one Constantine - black skinned racially as it happens, opposed to the white Jaasperi and the brown Barkazil - plasma wizard, very rich, but whose semi-idealistic New City movement scared Cheloki's conservative neighbors so badly that they ganged up, invaded and deposed Constantine some decades ago.

Living a seemingly idle life of a rich retired magnate, Constantine still has some devoted followers, some from idealism as the New City ideology is still very appealing to many, especially the poor and downtrodden, though as we see later it is mostly a form of our democratic capitalism btw, some from habit, some like his right hand woman, lover and confidant with a pet black panther, Sorya, from believing Constantine still not washed out and a ticket to power.

And while secretly sponsoring shows that keep his name in the "news" and plotting with various disaffected factions in various states, Constantine is still mostly washed out until of course Aiah comes around with her offer (money for the wild plasma).

And as a very corrupt state Caraqui, not quite near Jaasper as even Constantine is wise enough to know that he cannot *** off the Jaasperi who give him asylum how much he despises their fossilized bureaucratic government, is teetering on the brink of revolution, Aiah's plasma may make all the difference between another chance at the New City and final defeat.

And of course Aiah's part idealism, part cynical realism is caught with Constantine's charisma and his offer to teach her "real" plasma use, so Aiah starts becoming involved in the "great game" too; not to speak that despite their ineptness, the Jasperi police cannot ignore the obvious at some point (running a plasma war machine from Jaasper tends to be spectacular) so Aiah may find herself into trouble there too.
 
All in all just a masterpiece and with a great ending to boot; lots of interesting secondary characters (Barkazil mostly as in Aiah's extended family, but also the Caraqui, some quite strange as the city is watery so has sentient dolphins, and genetically deformed humans among its inhabitants), though Aiah, Constantine and Soryah in her occasional appearances just shine.

After all there is a reason I read this book 4-5 times so far and I expect I will read it a few more times..

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OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS City on Fire:

As I do not want to spoil too many things just a few notes.

City on Fire starts where Metropolitan ends with Aiah taking Constantine's offer and arriving in liberated Caraqui - though not a native, Constantine is one of the new leaders though seemingly of less importance than the officer leading the coup and the slimy cleric who turned his cloak and supported the revolution - where somewhat to her surprise she is appointed head of the new "Plasma Recovery" department under minister Constantine.

Using the skills learned in Jaasper and finally having carte-blanche to bust the local mafia and the plasma black market in the name of the revolution, Aiah soon shines in her job and slowly she becomes a magnet for Barkazil from all over, while deftly navigating the treacherous waters of Caraqui where the various groups compete for power

But the revolution is under peril as the survivors of the former kleptocracy and the dons of the busted mafia convince the neighbors that they are better back in power, while internally the conflicts between the various Caraqui interests also threaten its survival and of Aiah, Constantine etc too.

Constantine's New City ideals are still powerful and together with Soryah's skilled intrigue capabilities and Aiah's recovered reserves of plasma and her new found fame as some mercenary Barkazil brigades are renowned all over the World City and they may just follow a Barkazil "world figure" hoping to recover their native state now under foreign protector-ship may make the difference between death or survival; on the other hand Constantine has his dark secrets, not to speak that there is space for only one powerful woman in his life and Soryah does not like competition...

City on Fire is even better in some ways than Metropolitan and I so wish the author will write more as the ending while at a decent point and not on a cliffhanger, with its main threads solved, promises so much about what was supposed to come before the series' untimely cancellation.
 
1:51 PM | Posted by Liviu | | Edit Post
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Friday, May 25, 2012

Blood Of The Underworld by David Dalglish (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)


Order Blood Of The Underworld HERE
Read the First Two Chapters HERE
Read FBC's Review of “A Dance of Cloaks” 
Read FBC's Review of “A Dance of Blades” 
Read FBC’s Review of “A Dance of Death” 
Read FBC’s Interview with David Dalglish
Read David Dalglish's "Sequels and Satisfying Endings"

AUTHOR INFORMATION: David Dalglish was born in Missouri and graduated from Missouri Southern State University with a degree in Mathematics. He is the author of the popular Half Orcs series, The Shadowdance trilogy and The Paladins series. He has previously worked as a manager and as a para-professional for Spec-Ed students. He lives with his wife and children in Missouri. 

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: “You told me I would inspire fear from the shadows, yet you would be the light to banish all shadows. You still can. Be stronger than them. Be stronger than any of us. Prove to Veldaren that you can stand against the darkness, without mask or cloak, and live.” 

Haern is the King’s Watcher, born an assassin only to become the city of Veldaren’s protector against the thief guilds. When Lord Victor Kane attacks the city, determined to stamp out the thief guilds in revenge for past crimes, foreign guilds pour into the city to take advantage of the chaos in an attempt to overthrow the current lords of the underworld. 

And when a mysterious killer known as the Widow begins mutilating thieves, paranoia spreads until it engulfs the city. Haern knows someone is behind the turmoil, pulling strings, and if he doesn’t find out who, and soon, his beloved city will burn. 

CLASSIFICATION: The Watcher’s Blade trilogy is a dark, gritty, character-driven fantasy trilogy in the vein of works by David Gemmell, Brent Weeks and Peter V. Brett.

FORMAT/INFO: Blood Of The Underworld is 304 pages divided over thirty-one numbered chapters with a prologue, epilogue and an Author note. Narration is in the third person via several different point-of-views, both major and supporting characters, including the main protagonist Haern the Watcher, Alyssa Gemcroft, Zusa, Lord Victor Kane, Guild lord Thren Felhorn, Grayson of Mordeina, Antonil Deathmask, Nathaniel Gemcroft etc. Blood Of The Underworld is the first volume of the Watcher’s Blade trilogy.

The trilogy itself is set in the same world as The Shadowdance trilogy, and is the sequel to that series with mild spoilers within. May 9, 2012 marked the independent publication of Blood Of The Underworld in multiple E-book formats. Cover art is provided by Peter Ortiz.

ANALYSIS: David Dalglish’s previous trilogy was a revelation for me as it introduced me to the author as well his dynamic storytelling prowess. The series was supposed to focus on Haern’s origins and explore his need to become the person he is currently. It was a dark and unforgiving series that was tough on all of its characters, ruthless in character deaths and perhaps the author’s homage to  Batman's beginnings. The final book however didn’t complete the arc as set by the first book and the author has spoken a bit about it in this guest post.

The trappings of the trilogy was that a son rebelled against his father’s wishes and that was the underpinning that powered the main character as well as galvanized the readers as they wanted to see how it would end. While the original trilogy didn’t exactly end on that note, the current trilogy plays out to that very end. It also serves as a bridge between the Half-Orc series, the Shadowdance trilogy as well as the Paladin series. The main theater of action would be set in the city of Veldaren primarily and also focusing on other regions as per the story dictates. The book also aims to bring together all the characters and infuse the story to make it an explosive one.

The story begins the king of Veldaren receiving a letter of intent from Victor Kane, lord of a nearby region who wishes to accomplish a task that no one has attempted so far. He wishes to rid the city of all its thieves, murderers and other scum. To do so, he has brought his own private army and is ready to start his mission. Alyssa Gemcroft has recovered from the events of the city of Angelport nearly two years ago and she has learnt to be more cunning while also growing in her economic strength. She however is unprepared for a new surprise that awaits her in mansion of a fellow trifect member. Zusa is resilient and has constantly been the pillar of support for Alyssa in many ways however she will have to face demons and problems from her past as well and this time it might just be enough to break her. Then there’s Thren Felhorn, the greatest and most feared guild lord who is still trying to regain his lost glory and lastly there’s the Widow who is going around on a killing spree motivated by reasons stranger than most men can fathom.

Thus begins the first volume of the Watcher’s Blade trilogy which attempts to fuse the character driven storyline of its preceding trilogy with the epic action and intrigue of the sequel Half-orc series. This powder-keg is all set to explode and explode it does, in a spectacularly brutal onslaught. The prologue opens with a riddle and a murder and then quickly the plot threads and characters are introduced with enough of a background presented for all new readers to get caught up adequately and for returning readers to whet their memories. The highlights of David’s previous books are spectacularly present, beginning with rapid pace of the story, multiple plot lines, intriguing characterization and sharp plot twists. The best part however, is the characterization beginning with Haern and his troubled past, this series is basically about the confrontation that has been ordained between Haern and his father. The seeds for the confrontation were laced in the first two books of the Shadowdance trilogy and it’s in this book can the reader see them coming to fruition. There’s also Alyssa, Zusa, Thren, Victor Kane and a few other characters who each have their own plans and work towards their own ends. The equally awesome part is that while the series is about the Watcher, in this book the focus is shared by many characters each of whom can be confidently considered as a compelling protagonist or antagonist (depending on how you view their story).

This multifaceted character approach makes this story come alive tremendously as the reader is kept guessing on all fronts and something is happening in each POV character thread to keep the plot tension high strung. In this regards, the plot confusion and the thriller aspect of the story really shine through. The pace of the book also seems to make the book more akin to a thriller and this is another plus point in regards to the book. I can’t say that this book has no drawbacks to it but for the type of story I like to read, it had everything; tense mystery, believable characterization, epic action and lastly a strong authorial grasp on the story. All of this along with the book’s humor that is present but in minute amounts and is character specific which makes this story a fantastic read. 

Lastly while this is a sequel trilogy, newer readers will have no problems jumping in and picking up the story, and for the older, returning readers this book is a crossroads of all the three previously written series thereby giving them a big crossover high. The author has commented upon this aspect in the afterword and it shows in the book as we come across a wide array of characters that confabulate and conflict to give the readers a rousing tale. The plot threads come to a reasonable conclusion at the end of this book and the reader is left with a big hint of the story direction of the next book Blood Of The Father.

CONCLUSION: David Dalglish is an anomaly of sorts, his books while seeming generic are turning out to be a unique combination of dark fantasy and exciting thriller modes, thereby giving the readers a potent story and making sure they are left wanting more. I was hooked with the previous trilogy and this one does more of the same in spades. If you truly wish to discover a fantastic new author, give this book a try or if you want, start with book I of the Shadowdance trilogy and experience the origin story as its unfolds epically.
12:01 AM | Posted by The Reader | | Edit Post
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Thursday, May 24, 2012

"More Detail on Three Upcoming Novels of the Highest Interest: Lawrence Norfolk, K.J. Parker and Peter Hamilton" (by Liviu Suciu)

 A little bit to my surprise I have recently been extremely lucky to obtain advance reading copies of three of my most awaited books for 2012 and as they cover the 3 areas of English language fiction that is of most interest to me today - sumptuous historical fiction, secondary world fantasy that is closer to historical fiction than to traditional lots of magic genre and modern space opera - I decided to talk a little about each below with reviews to come later in the year.

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In September, Lawrence Norfolk returns to fiction after many years with John Saturnall's Feast. I read this book a few weeks ago, essentially the day I obtained my e-arc and I talked a little about both the author and the book on Goodreads. For now I will just present my final point from that "raw thoughts" mini-review.

"The novel is also very visual - I was picturing quite a lot of it as a Peter Greenaway movie, more precisely the mixture of the period of The Draughtsman's Contract and the feasting of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover - both movies that I've watched a number of times. Though now the cook is the lover too and he does not end on the dinner table..."

Since my first two readings, the novel kept staying with me and  I plan at least one more end-to-end read later this year. The blurb below is reasonably accurate though it does not convey the richness of the book.

"A beautiful, rich and sensuous historical novel, John Saturnall’s Feast tells the story of a young orphan who becomes a kitchen boy at a manor house, and rises through the ranks to become the greatest Cook of his generation. It is a story of food, star-crossed lovers, ancient myths and one boy’s rise from outcast to hero.

Orphaned when his mother dies of starvation, having been cast out of her village as a witch, John is taken in at the kitchens at Buckland Manor, where he quickly rises from kitchen-boy to Cook, and is known for his uniquely keen palate and natural cooking ability. However, he quickly gets on the wrong side of Lady Lucretia, the aristocratic daughter of the Lord of the Manor. In order to inherit the estate, Lucretia must wed, but her fiancé is an arrogant buffoon. When Lucretia takes on a vow of hunger until her father calls off her engagement to her insipid husband-to-be, it falls to John to try to cook her delicious foods that might tempt her to break her fast.

Reminiscent of Wolf Hall and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, John Saturnall’s Feast is a brilliant work and a delight for all the senses."

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 In July, K.J. Parker's novel Sharps will be out and as two days ago I have just received a bound galley which I plan to enjoy with my usual "read 100 pages, reread them, read another 100, then read the first 200 again" that KJ Parker's novels deserve in order to tease all their subtleties before being hit with the expected hammer of unbelievable twists and turns, I can only say that so far it is just vintage author with the darkly ironic view of human nature and the generic world building and naming conventions familiar from earlier novels.

For a discussion of K.J. Parker's earlier work here on FBC you can look at my review of The Hammer and the links there - to date I have done 7 review posts about the author's work. The blurb below seems accurate from what I see.

"For the first time in nearly forty years, an uneasy truce has been called between two neighbouring kingdoms. The war has been long and brutal, fought over the usual things: resources, land, money...

Now, there is a chance for peace. Diplomatic talks have begun and with them, the games. Two teams of fencers represent their nations at this pivotal moment.

When the future of the world lies balanced on the point of a rapier, one misstep could mean ruin for all. Human nature being what it is, does peace really have a chance?"

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                                               (click to enlarge for full enjoyment)

In  September (UK), Peter Hamilton's new standalone mammoth space opera Great North Road will be published and just yesterday a limited edition trade paperback review copy that stands at 1087 (!!) pages arrived in my mailbox. While the text is nicely large so the published book may stand at somewhat less, it still should clock close to 1000 pages. 

 I have only browsed a few pages so far but the book seems vintage Hamilton with the usual exuberant, sense of wonder style that justly made him one of the premier voices of today's SF. I will present the blurb below, while the image above should be seen at full resolution (click on it) for full enjoyment as it conveys what one expects from a P. F. Hamilton novel!

"In Newcastle-upon-Tyne, AD 2142, Detective Sidney Hurst attends a brutal murder scene. The victim is one of the wealthy North family clones – but none have been reported missing. And the crime’s most disturbing aspect is how the victim was killed. Twenty years ago, a North clone billionaire and his household were horrifically murdered in exactly the same manner, on the tropical planet of St Libra. But if the murderer is still at large, was Angela Tramelo wrongly convicted? Tough and confident, she never waivered under interrogation – claiming she alone survived an alien attack. But there is no animal life on St Libra. Investigating this alien threat becomes the Human Defence Agency’s top priority. The bio-fuel flowing from St Libra is the lifeblood of Earth’s economy and must be secured. So a vast expedition is mounted via the Newcastle gateway, and teams of engineers, support personnel and xenobiologists are dispatched to the planet. Along with their technical advisor, grudgingly released from prison, Angela Tramelo. But the expedition is cut off, deep within St Libra’s rainforests. Then the murders begin. Someone or something is picking off the team one by one. Angela insists it’s the alien, but her new colleagues aren’t so sure. Maybe she did see an alien, or maybe she has other reasons for being on St Libra "



Edit: A reader using Internet Explorer noticed that earlier versions of the covers here and in a few other posts were not displayed in that browser and I looked into it and fixed the problem. I think there are some compatibility problems between the new Blogger interface and IE that led to that, but as I use Mozilla and have not been using IE for many years now, please notify us with a comment or email of any such display problems in any browser you use.


Thank you!

12:01 AM | Posted by Liviu | | Edit Post
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

"No Going Back" by Mark Van Name (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)



OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS Mark Van Name's debut "One Jump Ahead" introduced Jon Moore mercenary ex-soldier and a man of many secrets that are so dangerous that he must live alone and make no attachments, and partner Lobo, personal AI warship (PCAV) mooning as park statue/exhibition on an obscure world, an AI ship of many secrets of its own, secrets that would not do for anyone to know either.

"No Going Back" is the 5th Jon and Lobo adventure and it came two years after the previous installment rather than at the one year schedule of the first 4. The novel returned to the more classic adventure feel of the first three books and while the darker and weightier Children No More was very good, I think the original tone works better especially now that the author has it down pitch perfect.

What makes No Going Back stand out is precisely what the title literally means, namely that from now on it is no going back to the older days as the series finds here focus and a narrative pillar. The super-competent hero with extraordinary powers trope revived so well in this series gets one more dimension, a clear goal and I am really interested to see how the author handles it.

Of course Jon and Lobo are such great characters as the first person narration of which Lobo gets a little share here in this book, has worked so well to have established and any new series installment is still a huge asap, get the e-arc on the spot and read it immediately notwithstanding how many other books I have in the queue.

As style goes, the novel is a gripping read from the first pages when Jon is in the process of trying to crash a party of rich old pedophiles - party where 10 children are auctioned off - on an obscure planet with great natural beauty but harsh physical characteristics. In the link above you can read the first 15 chapters on Baen's site and see how smooth everything goes.

 The structure of No Going Back is a bit different from its predecessors, with chapters numbered "x days from the end" mixed with the 100+ year old backstory that continues Jon's memories from long ago, now from the time in his youth immediately after escaping the hell of his native - now quarantined - planet when he was not understanding his powers and trying to get the time needed to do so, while Lobo's interludes offer more insight into the AI's special human-like personality, the why's of which having been set-up in "Overthrowing Heaven".

 No Going Back functions well as a standalone as all earlier books' story lines are recounted briefly here and there, while the salient facts about Jon and Lobo are also gone through, so you can start delving in the saga here, though from the way things end, I suspect the next volumes will become much more tightly connected in both plot and secondary characters.

As my usual, positional rankings go, this series is in my top tier, get/read asap any installment, while No Going Back is probably the best executed to date, though Children No More was "more serious". The clear series focus established here should only add to the pluses in the future when new Jon and Lobo adventures will appear.

Overall No Going Back still remains a pretty classical space adventure sf novel with modern style and sensibilities and with the the generally expected stuff implied by such, very well done but nothing previously not seen and it is one of my highly recommended novels of 2012.

 
9:01 AM | Posted by Liviu | | Edit Post
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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

WORLDWIDE GIVEAWAY: Win an Omnibus Edition of David Dalglish's Shadowdance Trilogy



Official David Dalglish Website 
Read FBC's Review of “A Dance of Cloaks” 
Read FBC's Review of “A Dance of Blades” 
Read FBC’s Review of “A Dance of Death” 
Read FBC’s Interview with David Dalglish
Read David Dalglish's "Sequels and Satisfying Endings"

In support of the May 9, 2012 publication of David Dalglish’s release “Blood Of The Underworld”— Fantasy Book Critic is giving away one copy of the Omnibus edition of "The ShadowDance Trilogy" courtesy of the author himself!!! The winner will have the choice to get either a trade paperback or an e-book copy of the omnibus.




To enter, please send an email to fbcgiveaway@gmail.com with your Name, Mailing Address, and the subject: SHADOWDANCE. Giveaway will end at 11:59 pm EST June 3, 2012. Thank you for entering and Good Luck!

GIVEAWAY RULES:
1) Open to Anyone WORLDWIDE.
2) Only One Entry Per Household (Multiple entries will be disqualified). (
3) Must Enter Valid Email Address, Mailing Address + Name.
4) No Purchase Necessary.
5) Giveaway to end at 11:59 pm EST June 3, 2012.
6) Winner Will Be Randomly Selected and Notified By Email.
7) Personal Information Will Only Be Used In Mailing Out the book To the Winner.
12:00 AM | Posted by The Reader | | Edit Post
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Monday, May 21, 2012

The King's Blood by Daniel Abraham (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu and Mihir Wanchoo)


OFFICIAL AUTHOR WEBSITE
Order "The King's Blood" HERE
Read an Excerpt HERE
Read FBC's Review of "The Dragon Path"
Click here for The Dagger and The Coin Giveaway


AUTHOR INFORMATION: Daniel Abraham has been nominated for the Hugo,Nebula and World Fantasy Awards, and was awarded the International Horror Guild Award. His bibliography includes The Long Price Quartet, Hunter’s Run (w/Gardner Dozois and George R. R. Martin), the short story collection Leviathan Wept and Other Stories, the Wild Cards: The Hard Call comic book miniseries, and The Black Sun’s Daughter urban fantasy series written as MLN Hanover. His recent ventures include Leviathan Wakes (w/Ty Frank) under the pen name James S. A. Corey, and the comic book adaptation of GRRM’s A Song of Ice & Fire. 

PLOT SUMMARY: WAR AND MADNESS CAST SHADOWS OVER THE LANDS DRAGONS ONCE RULED. 

Geder Palliako's star is rising. He is a hero of Antea, protector to the crown prince, and darling of the court. But storms from his past are gathering, and with them, a war that will change everything. 

Cithrin bel Sarcour founded a powerful bank on stolen wealth, forged papers, and ready blades. Now every move she makes is observed, recorded, and controlled. Unless Cithrin can free herself from her gilded cage, the life she made will be for naught; war may provide just the opportunity she needs. 

An apostate priest sees the hidden hand behind all: a long-buried secret of the dragon empire threatens everything humanity has built. An age of madness and death is on the way, with only a few doomed heroes to stand in its way. 

CLASSIFICATION: Influenced by the likes of Alexandre Dumas, George R. R. Martin, Joss Whedon, J.R.R. Tolkien, and J. Michael Straczynski among others, The Dagger and the Coin is Daniel Abraham’s take on traditional epic fantasy. 

FORMAT/INFO: The King’s Blood is 501 pages long divided over a Introduction, an Entr'acte, and forty-five chapters with each chapter designated by the name of a main character. Also includes a Map, a Dramatis Personae list, an introduction to the taxonomy of races and an excerpt from The Poisoned Sword, the third volume in The Dagger and the Coin. Narration is in the third person via Captain Marcus Wester; Geder Palliako; Cithrin Bel Sarcour; Dawson Kalliam, the Baron of Osterling Fells; Dawson’s wife, Clara Annalie Kalliam; and Master Kit the apostate. 

The King’s Blood is the second volume in The Dagger and the Coin—a projected five-volume series. May 22, 2011 marks the North American/UK Trade Paperback publication of The King’s Blood via Orbit Books. 

LIVIU’S ANALYSIS: The King's Blood is secondary world fantasy at its best and in addition it has a writing style quite above the usual "utility English" of the genre; maybe not quite at (the top of) literary fiction levels (see Hari Kunzru's Gods without Men for recent such), but close, while pretty much all the things that I would mark as negatives come from the nature of the genre rather than from the author. 

I would try to avoid spoilers so I will talk only a little about the storyline, just to mention that it is a direct continuation of The Dragon's Path and a lot of things happen by the end of the novel which happens at a good stopping point with no cliffhangers but not much global resolution beyond tbc either - in this sense the first two volumes of the intended 5 book series are truly volume 1/2 of a huge novel. 

The structure is similar with Dragon's Path and features POV chapters from Cithrin, Dawson, Clara, Geder and Marcus with interludes from Master Kit. As mentioned lots of things happen including intrigues, conspiracies, wars, pirates, deaths of named characters, while the world is expanded to some extent and the roles of the thirteen races are made a little bit clearer here, though again mostly regular humans aka "firstbloods" are of importance (and Cithrin of course who is half-blood Cinnae but much closer to her firstblood half by upbringing). There is an appendix written from the POV of a scholar of one the "superior bloods' (of course he would claim that...) and discussing the thirteen races, while many secondary characters - some new, some old and some who may become important later appear and some have really great moments.  

The King's Blood also has an elegant rather than visceral feel and consequently the more emotional moments are still cerebral to a large extent rather than pure emotion and the action flows naturally rather than twisting and turning - here I tend to prefer the more visceral feel and the twists and turns with "what..?" moments, but as that is a pure personal preference, I would not count it against the book especially that it executes so well in these two categories (elegant style, natural story lines). The pages turn by themselves and I literally could not put the book down and read it in one very long sitting, but i expect to revisit the world and probably reread The Dragon Path too soon. 

As for negatives - as mentioned mostly due to genre - the book like most SFF is about politics and the organization of society and like most fantasy it is a retrograde such where "what is your blood" counts more than anything else outside of specific commercial cities - true that say Geder who is minor nobility raises himself with luck and a strong dose of magic, but he is still noble - nobility and blood with the role of women very traditional in the "high society" - again the lower and commercial classes are different but over 60% of the book is about the nobility, a bit smaller world building than expected and occasionally feeling like a sandbox - but ultimately the novel captivated me again and showed that great writing and characters and a reasonably well thought secondary world (with the caveats above) still can keep me interested in traditional fantasy despite my feeling of "exhausting the genre" in the last 4 years. 

MIHIR’S ANALYSIS: Daniel Abraham’s debut series had a lot of readers and critics praising his original premise and that did get fans excited for his next series which was a move back to the favored pseudo-European setting. This series was also going to be an amalgam of some classic literature as well as genre favorites. The first book in the series really gave the readers a nice look into the world created by the author wherein dragons ruled a long time ago and created the thirteen races. The main characters were introduced and enough intrigue was created. 

With the King’s Blood, we are once again swept in to the world of the Dragons. Cithrin has been successful with her moves and in setting up a front for the Medean bank in costal city of Porte Olivia what she didn’t bargain for, are the chains the bank would set on her in the form of a clerk who cross-checks her each and every move. Geder Palliako never thought his star would ever rise so high but as the royal regent he now holds the most powerful court position and enjoys a good comfort level with his ward prince Aster. He however does not know that his ascent has only begun and further events will propel him into the limelight unsuited for him. Dawson and Clara Killiam are further faced with trials as they weave familial and political situations and try to do the right thing. Lastly there’s Master Kit who remembers his past life and decides that the time has come for him to step back in his earlier life and accomplish what he first set out to do. 

Thus begins the second chronicle of the Dagger and the Coin, the author has raised the stakes in this book by further evolving the characters from the roles that they were assigned or deemed to follow. Characterization has always been Daniel Abraham’s forte and he absolutely shines in this book as well. Geder, Cithrin, Dawson, Clara and Marcus are all rounded individuals however the author completely immerses the reader in their thoughts and actions and fleshes them out to such an extent that it becomes harder to differentiate between their good and bad sides. Particularly Geder and Dawson, these two characters are ones whose actions can particularly viewed in a horrific light however the author manages to make the reader connect with them and particularly create doubt in the reader’s minds. 

This book’s theme is about the folly of certainty and the actions based on it. There are a few lines in the book that highlight it well: 
 “Truth and lies, doubt and certainty. I haven’t found them to be what I thought they were. I dislike certainty because it feels like the truth, but it isn’t. If justice is based on certainty, but certainty is not the truth, atrocities become possible. We’re seeing the first of them now. More will come”. 

The author very conveniently plays with this theme and it is largely prevalent in the lives of Geder and Dawson, both of whom have the most upheavals in this book. Cithrin and Marcus however are not entirely exempt from this but their journey is more of an introspective one that makes them realize what they wish to do with their lives from this point forward. The POV count is also kept the same however the next book might see the introduction of a new character or two. In this regard the author has learnt a thing or two from his mentor and friend George R.R. Martin, namely the pitfalls in introducing more and more POV characters thereby complicating the story threads. The author keeps a tight rein on the storyline and keeps it focused with the help of the limited number of POVs. 

 Lastly the pacing of this book is much smoother than the first one and also with the addition of the taxonomy of the races, the classification seem to help the readers in understanding the differences in the races prevalent. The only negative for me in this book would be that this book lacks the EPIC feel that this series is supposed to be about, as right now it’s more focused on the action of the few that will lead to repercussions for the many. Perhaps the author intends to change this in the last three books but I would like the epic part of the story to begin as well so we can truly get to see this story come alive and discover more about the dragons and other mysteries of this world. The magic as well as the world setting if further explored will add to awesomeness of the series. 

CONCLUSION(LIVIU): Daniel Abraham has crafted a worthy sequel and perhaps a better book in terms of plot, characters and pace. All in all The King's Blood was the first 2012 fantasy that satisfied my expectations and of course it will have a place on my top 25 list of the year. I hope the series will continue to keep these extremely high standards all the way, while I believe that there is scope and depth for five books though I expect considerably more universe expansion.
12:01 AM | Posted by The Reader | | Edit Post
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Saturday, May 19, 2012

Dragon Poems for Smiletrain: An Anthology For Charity by L. M. Stull and M. R. Mathais

SmileTrain is an organization with a mission to provide a child born with a cleft the same opportunities in life as a child born without. They offer the following:
 - Provide free cleft surgery to hundreds of thousands of poor children in developing countries.

- Train doctors and medical professionals in over eighty countries.

- Treat the “whole child” with comprehensive, total rehabilitative care including: speech therapy, general dentistry and orthodontics.




To help this wonderful organization, M.R. Mathias and L.M. Stull hosted a wonderful contest for poems about dragons. They have now collected all the entries into an eclectic collection and all proceeds from the book will go towards Smiletrain and their amazing efforts in helping children. So spare a look if you can at their wonderful website and for buying your copy of this collection for Kindle you can check it out HERE.
12:00 AM | Posted by The Reader | | Edit Post
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Friday, May 18, 2012

GUEST POST: Sequels And Satisfying Endings by David Dalglish





Haern the Watcher is, without a doubt, my most popular character. I’ve had fans name their Skyrim characters after him, received numerous pleadings for more books featuring him, and even one man say if he wasn’t gay already, he’d go gay for Haern. I’ve written eight books now featuring him, yet to be honest, I screwed up terribly when I devoted a trilogy just to him.

It’s not that he can’t carry the story. No, the problem is that the focal point for his entire character arc, that of his rebellion against his father’s desire to mold him into the heir of a criminal underworld, gets settled outside the trilogy. Imagine if Luke and Vader, after the end of Empire Strikes Back, never saw each other again. This is my own fault in writing a prequel, of course, and I love my fans for having as much fun with the third book, A Dance of Death, as they did. The first book involved Haern’s emotional revolt against the underworld, the second detailing him fully grown and physically attempting to overthrow a culture of crime (think Batman and Gotham City). The third book took Haern away from his city, to face a copycat that exposed the dangers and hypocrisy of killing to create peace. My hope was the third, in focusing on just who and what Haern represented, and why he fought, might provide a satisfying conclusion.

But for a lot of readers entering into the trilogy prior to reading the Half-Orcs, I got the same response over and over: when does Haern confront his father? Why this side story? Generally I gave them a lame response and pointed at the Half-Orcs, but even then, there was one major problem: I wrote the climactic confrontation before ever going into detail with Haern’s backstory. Perhaps I’m just far too harsh a critic of my own storytelling, but in hindsight I feel I didn’t do it justice. I didn’t do it big enough!

Not anymore. With the Watcher’s Blade Trilogy, this is my chance to push everything to a head. I’ve got three different series taking place in the same world, and I’m tying them all together. This is my Avengers, if you will, my Justice League. Those who have stuck with me through the various storylines are going to be in heaven. The previous trilogy established these characters, and now with this one, I get to play. Haern and his father will get the confrontation I’ve always felt they, as well as my readers, really deserved. One where the whole damn city nearly burns down from the conflict, and there’s a dozen factions in the background trying to manipulate things their way.

Blood of the Underworld is my way of getting things started, and hopefully catching up any readers who are new to my world. In the Half-Orcs, two brothers nearly destroyed the world. In Shadowdance, a son rebelled against his father. With the Watcher’s Blade, I’m hoping for a nice mix of both in terms of scope and consequence, and I’ll gladly welcome anyone else to come along with me and enjoy the ride.

Assuming they don’t mind a few slashed throats along the way, of course!!!





AUTHOR INFORMATION: David Dalglish was born in Missouri and graduated from Missouri Southern State University with a degree in Mathematics. He is the author of the popular Half Orcs series, The Shadowdance trilogy and The Paladins series. He has previously worked as a manager and as a para-professional for Spec-Ed students. He lives with his wife and children in Missouri.

Official David Dalglish Website 
Read FBC's Review of “A Dance of Cloaks” 
Read FBC's Review of “A Dance of Blades” 
Read FBC’s Review of “A Dance of Death” 
Read FBC’s Interview with David Dalglish
12:00 AM | Posted by The Reader | | Edit Post
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Thursday, May 17, 2012

"Child of all Nations" by Irmgard Keun (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

 


"Kully knows some things you don't learn at school. She knows the right way to roll a cigarette and pack a suitcase. She knows that cars are more dangerous than lions. She knows that you can't enter a country without a passport or visa. And she knows that she and her parents can't go back to Germany again. But there are also things she doesn't understand, like why there might be a war in Europe--just that men named Hitler, Mussolini, and Chamberlain are involved. Little Kully is far more interested in where their next meal will come from and the ladies who seem to buzz around her father. Meanwhile she and her parents roam through Europe from country to country as their visas expire, money runs out, and hotel bills mount"

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: "Child of all Nations" by Irmgard Keun, translated by Michael Hoffman, is a novel I found about at Goodreads after reviewing some recent translations; a check of the sample and the first few paragraphs were just irresistible for me and I bought and read the book in an evening.

"I get funny looks from hotel managers, but that’s not because I’m naughty; it’s the fault of my father. Everyone says: that man ought never to have got married.

At first they treat me as if I was a rich lady’s Pekinese. The chambermaids make kissy mouths at me and little mwah mwah noises. The maître d’ slips me postage stamps, which I save, because I might be able to sell them later. The man in the lift lets me press the button to our floor, and he doesn’t interfere, much. And the waiters brandish table-napkins at me in a friendly sort of way. But all that comes to an end when my father has to leave to raise money, and my mother and me are left behind, and the bill still hasn’t been paid. We are left behind as surety, and my father says we’ve got as much riding on us as if we’d been fur coats or diamonds.

Then the waiters in the hotel restaurant no longer brandish their napkins in that jolly way; instead they flick them at our table. Mama says they do it to clear the crumbs away, but it looks to me more like what you do to keep away pesky cats that have their eyes on the roast."
 
And so it goes, and Kully's narration of her European and later even American wanderings interspersed with quotes and letters from her father continue at a fast clip in the same funny, somewhat ironic style which shows the insecurities of the child that has no home and the despair of the exile grown-up artist and writers who paradoxically have only reputation to sustain them so they need to live expensively to maintain their credit, while scrambling to pay their latest bills and staying just ahead of the creditors on scarcer and shorter temporary visas.

No wonder that for most suicide became the only rational option - a little research about the book and the people hinted at during Kully's narration shows that clearly - and death is always accompanying Kully who for the most part makes a game about it. But not always as the following paragraph shows:

"Grown-ups were trying to tell me how it’s possible to go to heaven. I hate it when people have such a low opinion of children that they think they’ll believe anything they’re told. What person in their right mind would stay in the world with worries and strife if he could be in heaven instead, and it not even cost any money?

Nor do I believe that bad people go to hell. Bad people are much too canny to do bad things if they knew they would go to hell as a result."

Like EM Remarque's better known novels of exile, this novel had a visceral appeal to me and that trumped the occasional niggles - the narrative stalls here and there and Kully's voice seems a bit too "wise" on occasion.

Noting that the book was written in 1938, there clearly could not be any definite ending to it, but still as we turn the last pages we are left with the hope that somehow Kully and her family will find their safe "port", though we rationally know that their travails are only beginning as Hell is just getting unleashed in its full dimension across most Europe.

Highly, highly recommended.

 
12:01 AM | Posted by Liviu | | Edit Post
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Masterpiece of SF: "Brain Child" by George Turner (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)


"David Chance, the unknowing offspring of a long-forgotten experiment that produced genetically engineered child geniuses, learns terrible secrets about his own conception and discovers the horrifying course that human history is taking."

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: I find it hard to say how many times I have read Brain Child - I would guess that the recent April 2012 reread was my 7th or 8th, but possibly more, though it was the first after the 4 year intensive sff reading/reviewing here at FBC, so I was curious how the novel will stand versus more modern sff - and the book still stands tall so to speak deserving its place on my all time favorite list - place that also covers the rest of the retro-near-future Australia sequence of George Turner comprising The Destiny Makers, Drowning Towers, Genetic Soldier and the posthumous Down There in Darkness.
   
Brain Child takes place in a sort of retro-future Australia of the 2040's with climate change, overpopulation and no Internet, but the power of the narrative, the extraordinarily compelling style of the author, the superbly drawn characters and the twists and turns of the story spiced with a few nuggets of eternal wisdom (power corrupts, who do you trust to watch the watchers etc) make this a top-top sfnal novel.

The story seems straightforward - in 2002 the government created super-babies of which 3 (quadruplet and related in-between like sort of cousins) groups of two girls, two boys A, B, C survived; group A turned to be good at science and group B at art but outside a few social dysfunctions they were within normal human parameters and were released at 18, while now in the 2040's they are reclusive and working for the government in group A case and just reclusive in group B case.

David Chance, young upcoming journalist raised into an upscale orphanage - under the population laws extra children born without permits become charge of the state and are raised in orphanages and of course the rich people's "indiscretions" get better orphanages - gets summoned by Arthur Hazard (of group A, not to speak of the pun of the surnames plus the letter D in David) who declares that he is his father though not by intention as he was experimenting with sex when 18, a girl wanted to keep hold of him etc... 

So David did not get aborted as the girl concealed her pregnancy and he is the only known child of the groups, while now he has to undertake the mission he was raised for and subtly influenced from young age when his existence became known to Arthur and the government (so his education was subtly directed to turn him towards journalism etc). After a bit of recriminations and feeling upset, David is hooked on the mission and the adventure starts.

The mission? Well, remember group C; they were true posthumans, super-powerful, unknowable and the humans in charge got scared and kept them isolated, but at age 18 one of them, Conrad escaped to unknown hereabouts; returning a few months later he conferred with his group - nobody knows what about since once Conrad returned his group, which until them accepted the humans surveillance and later harsh interrogation up to torture, now isolated itself and accepted only one nurse as point of contact - and then they committed suicide - they just stopped living. However, Conrad tantalizingly mentioned a "legacy" to the nurse and only a few like Armstrong, the scummy politician that originated the project and who kept that nurse on his private payroll and the Hazards knew about that...

Said legacy may have to do with human immortality or at least control of DNA and genetics, while David is also nudged to find out what happened to Conrad in his months away and why group C committed suicide on return. Just awesome and with so many twists and turns and a "jaw breaking" denouement that is still powerful on the 8th reading or so.

All George Turner's books mentioned above in this sequence are superb, still relevant and highly readable though Brain Child is still the one that stayed with me the most.
 
12:01 AM | Posted by Liviu | | Edit Post
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NOTEWORTHY RELEASES

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Review May

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