Sunday, March 31, 2013
Three Recent SFF Books of Interest, Steven Amsterdam, Aidan Harte and Chris Beckett (with comments by Liviu Suciu)
I thought about presenting three recent apparitions - or to be more precise two first editions (one UK only, one US/UK) and a first US edition of a book published in the UK earlier - as all are books of great interest for me and of course I have just bought all when I found out about them a few days ago, while I have not really seen any mention of either on the sff sites and forums I look at.
Since this year until mid-summer at earliest my presence here at FBC will be quite unpredictable so to speak, I may not get to do a full fledged review of any of them, though of course you always can find my opinions (in a rawer, much less edited form) on Goodreads.
"In this incandescent novel, a family’s superpowers bestow not instant salvation but the miracle of accepting who they are.
“Okay, tell me which you want,” Alek asks his cousin at the outset of What the Family Needed. “To be able to fly or to be invisible.” And soon Giordana, a teenager suffering the bitter fallout of her parents’ divorce, finds that she can, at will, become as invisible as she feels. Later, Alek’s mother, newly adrift in the disturbing awareness that all is not well with her younger son, can suddenly swim with Olympic endurance. Over three decades, in fact, each member of this gorgeously imagined extended family discovers, at a moment of crisis, that he or she possesses a supernatural power.
But instead of crimes to fight and villains to vanquish, they confront inner demons, and their extraordinary abilities prove not to be magic weapons so much as expressions of their fears and longings as they struggle to come to terms with who they are and what fate deals them. As the years pass, their lives intersect and overlap in surprising and poignant ways, and they discover that the real magic lies not in their superpowers but in the very human and miraculous way they are able to accept, protect, and love one another."
Loved the author's debut, Things We Didn't see Coming and What the Family Needed seems to be a similar episodic sfnal novel which was recently published in the US. After trying a few pages, the same style from the first book decided me to get this one and I should read it sooner rather than later.
**************************************************************
Aidan Harte's The Warring States (UK only for now) is the second book in the Wave trilogy after the debut Irenicon which Mihir liked a lot but about which I was mixed as my Goodreads review shows.
However as time passed, I still remembered Irenicon while other series I enjoyed the first book more on first read dropped from my interest, while the blurb - not included as it is very spoilerish for Irenicon, so read it at your own risk if you have not read the series debut yet - of The Warring States decided me to give it a try. I expect I will enjoy this much more and maybe even reconsider my opinion about Irenicon too!
**************************************************************
"In 2009, Chris Beckett’s first short story collection The Turing Test won the prestigious Edge Hill Prize, becoming the first, and to date the only, genre collection ever to manage this. In doing so, the book triumphed over a very strong shortlist, including collections by one Booker Prize winner in Anne Enright and two authors who have been Booker shortlisted in Shena Mackay and Ali Smith (the latter a winner of the Whitbread Prize).
When announcing the winner, one of the judges – James Walton, journalist and chair of BBC Radio 4’s The Write Stuff – said, “I suspect Chris Beckett winning the Edge Hill Prize will be seen as a surprise in the world of books. In fact, though, it was also a bit of surprise to the judges, none of whom knew they were science fiction fans beforehand.”
In 2012 the Sunday Times named Chris’ latest novel Dark Eden the best science fiction novel of the year, and it is currently shortlisted for the BSFA Award in the same category. NewCon Press are delighted to be publishing The Peacock Cloak, the latest collection from one of Britain’s most distinguished and accomplished genre authors. Contains twelve stories (85,000 words) all previously uncollected."
Dark Eden (the novel) by Christopher Beckett is another book that improved a lot for me with time and rereading from it, so it jumped to a place on my top 25 of 2012 despite my "very good but a bit too familiar to be outstanding" original take on it, showing once again that some books have more staying power than others, but only time decides which...
Not only that but the reason for the jump was the prose of Mr. Beckett - as the subject of Dark Eden is still something that an experienced sf reader has seen many times - so any new book of the author became a must try at the least.
On the other hand I am generally slow in reading collections and for example I bought The Turing Test a few years ago and still have read only about half the stories there, so The Peacock Cloak which was a buy on publication more or less as in digital form it is priced very well for a collection, may be another book I will fully read only in time. The first few stories I tried are quite interesting and I definitely urge anyone interested in Mr. Beckett's work to take a look at this collection too.
In a related note, Gela's Ring, the (two centuries later) sequel to Dark Eden, is serialized in the new digital magazine Aethernet and will be published in 2014 in book form, but that is the subject of another post, once I will get the first issue of Aethernet and read it...
“Okay, tell me which you want,” Alek asks his cousin at the outset of What the Family Needed. “To be able to fly or to be invisible.” And soon Giordana, a teenager suffering the bitter fallout of her parents’ divorce, finds that she can, at will, become as invisible as she feels. Later, Alek’s mother, newly adrift in the disturbing awareness that all is not well with her younger son, can suddenly swim with Olympic endurance. Over three decades, in fact, each member of this gorgeously imagined extended family discovers, at a moment of crisis, that he or she possesses a supernatural power.
But instead of crimes to fight and villains to vanquish, they confront inner demons, and their extraordinary abilities prove not to be magic weapons so much as expressions of their fears and longings as they struggle to come to terms with who they are and what fate deals them. As the years pass, their lives intersect and overlap in surprising and poignant ways, and they discover that the real magic lies not in their superpowers but in the very human and miraculous way they are able to accept, protect, and love one another."
Loved the author's debut, Things We Didn't see Coming and What the Family Needed seems to be a similar episodic sfnal novel which was recently published in the US. After trying a few pages, the same style from the first book decided me to get this one and I should read it sooner rather than later.
**************************************************************
Aidan Harte's The Warring States (UK only for now) is the second book in the Wave trilogy after the debut Irenicon which Mihir liked a lot but about which I was mixed as my Goodreads review shows.
However as time passed, I still remembered Irenicon while other series I enjoyed the first book more on first read dropped from my interest, while the blurb - not included as it is very spoilerish for Irenicon, so read it at your own risk if you have not read the series debut yet - of The Warring States decided me to give it a try. I expect I will enjoy this much more and maybe even reconsider my opinion about Irenicon too!
**************************************************************
"In 2009, Chris Beckett’s first short story collection The Turing Test won the prestigious Edge Hill Prize, becoming the first, and to date the only, genre collection ever to manage this. In doing so, the book triumphed over a very strong shortlist, including collections by one Booker Prize winner in Anne Enright and two authors who have been Booker shortlisted in Shena Mackay and Ali Smith (the latter a winner of the Whitbread Prize).
When announcing the winner, one of the judges – James Walton, journalist and chair of BBC Radio 4’s The Write Stuff – said, “I suspect Chris Beckett winning the Edge Hill Prize will be seen as a surprise in the world of books. In fact, though, it was also a bit of surprise to the judges, none of whom knew they were science fiction fans beforehand.”
In 2012 the Sunday Times named Chris’ latest novel Dark Eden the best science fiction novel of the year, and it is currently shortlisted for the BSFA Award in the same category. NewCon Press are delighted to be publishing The Peacock Cloak, the latest collection from one of Britain’s most distinguished and accomplished genre authors. Contains twelve stories (85,000 words) all previously uncollected."
Dark Eden (the novel) by Christopher Beckett is another book that improved a lot for me with time and rereading from it, so it jumped to a place on my top 25 of 2012 despite my "very good but a bit too familiar to be outstanding" original take on it, showing once again that some books have more staying power than others, but only time decides which...
Not only that but the reason for the jump was the prose of Mr. Beckett - as the subject of Dark Eden is still something that an experienced sf reader has seen many times - so any new book of the author became a must try at the least.
On the other hand I am generally slow in reading collections and for example I bought The Turing Test a few years ago and still have read only about half the stories there, so The Peacock Cloak which was a buy on publication more or less as in digital form it is priced very well for a collection, may be another book I will fully read only in time. The first few stories I tried are quite interesting and I definitely urge anyone interested in Mr. Beckett's work to take a look at this collection too.
In a related note, Gela's Ring, the (two centuries later) sequel to Dark Eden, is serialized in the new digital magazine Aethernet and will be published in 2014 in book form, but that is the subject of another post, once I will get the first issue of Aethernet and read it...
2:31 PM | 
Posted by
Liviu |
"Imagine an Age of Exploration full of alchemy, human dissection, sea
monsters, betrayal, torture, religious controversy, and magic. In
Europe, the magic is thin, but at the edge of the world, where the stars
reach down close to the Earth, wonders abound. This drives the bravest
explorers to the alluring Western Ocean. Christopher Sinclair is an
alchemist who cares only about one thing: quintessence, a substance he
believes will grant magical powers and immortality. And he has a ship."
LIVIU’S ANALYSIS:
Quintessence
is an oddly engaging novel which kept me turning the pages despite
being in many ways standard action-sff with cliched villains that have been common in English language genre for a long time, namely inquisition Spaniard who burns heretics at breakfast, lunch and dinner
and English treacherous helper who licks the Spaniard boots and informs
left and right for advancement, compressed-time action where a main character
spends his life seeking stuff, only to find it in a jiff so to
speak, hair-rising dangers which you know the heroes will overcome
etc etc.
But there is narrative energy and there is sense of wonder galore, not to speak of a superbly consistent alt-physics based on the quintessence of the title; strange creatures, strange people - just to start there is a beetle that passes through almost any material but not wax and always moves west - and inventiveness galore and for that I highly recommend the novel despite the lack of subtlety in all its characters, heroes and villains alike.
But there is narrative energy and there is sense of wonder galore, not to speak of a superbly consistent alt-physics based on the quintessence of the title; strange creatures, strange people - just to start there is a beetle that passes through almost any material but not wax and always moves west - and inventiveness galore and for that I highly recommend the novel despite the lack of subtlety in all its characters, heroes and villains alike.
While billed as fantasy - and technically being an
alt-history fantasy at the end of the reign of boy king Edward VI and
the beginning of the reign of Bloody Mary - the novel is very sfnal in its
qualities and work best as such. The ending is good as it closes well the novel's storyline with a promise for more.
Here is a quote with the investigation of Dr Parris and alchemist Sinclair about the beetle, where Parris - personal physician of dying king Edward, and natural scientist who dissects cadavers at night, Sinclair, adventurer and alchemist looking for immortality and Catherine, Parris' 16 year old daughter who wants to "lead a man's life and decide things for herself" are the main characters though there quite a few important others:
"1. The beetle could walk through every material they tested except for wax and earth.
2. The table was not special. Once Parris scraped away the waxy resin that had been used to treat the tabletop, the beetle fell straight through it to be caught in the box he held underneath.
3. The pale wood of the beetle’s box had not been treated, but the inside was covered with a natural waxy oil that imprisoned the beetle just as effectively.
4. The beetle could pass into the box, but not out of it— which didn’t make any sense at all, but made an effective trap. Sinclair could slam the closed box down on top of the beetle, or slide the box along the table into it, forcing it to pass through into a prison from which it could not escape. Sinclair tried it several times, apparently pleased with the theatricality."
Here is a quote with the investigation of Dr Parris and alchemist Sinclair about the beetle, where Parris - personal physician of dying king Edward, and natural scientist who dissects cadavers at night, Sinclair, adventurer and alchemist looking for immortality and Catherine, Parris' 16 year old daughter who wants to "lead a man's life and decide things for herself" are the main characters though there quite a few important others:
"1. The beetle could walk through every material they tested except for wax and earth.
2. The table was not special. Once Parris scraped away the waxy resin that had been used to treat the tabletop, the beetle fell straight through it to be caught in the box he held underneath.
3. The pale wood of the beetle’s box had not been treated, but the inside was covered with a natural waxy oil that imprisoned the beetle just as effectively.
4. The beetle could pass into the box, but not out of it— which didn’t make any sense at all, but made an effective trap. Sinclair could slam the closed box down on top of the beetle, or slide the box along the table into it, forcing it to pass through into a prison from which it could not escape. Sinclair tried it several times, apparently pleased with the theatricality."
CASEY’S ANALYSIS:
Quintessence really came together in
the pages leading up to the climax, but until that point there were some
inconsistencies that bothered me. More than one character who believes
something very strongly then inexplicably acts in a way that goes completely against
that belief; humans do, of course, do this from time to time, but it seemed
accidental when it happened in the book. The POV characters kept behaving in
ways that didn't make sense given what we knew of them, and it drove me a
little batty. There were some straw man arguments that annoyed me, too, for
much the same reason: they served the plot but didn't make sense given the
character. I think the climax worked so well because by then, characters' risky
decisions no longer seemed arbitrary: their individual stakes were driving them
to life and death decisions.
I did appreciate how the author treated both science and
religion: each had proponents with different opinions, and neither was
portrayed as inherently more worthwhile than the other, nor necessarily mutually
exclusive. I was surprised to see a noble lady knitting, but since David Walton nailed so many other
historical realities (scurvy, medicine, alchemy, etc.), I was willing to
believe it. In fact, he really nailed the spirit and mechanics of the
profession for both alchemists and physicians of Renaissance England. Overall,
I think David Walton created a
fascinating world with some incredibly nuanced issues, and I would read Quintessence again for that alone.
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OFFICIAL AUTHOR WEBSITE
Order NO RETURN HERE
Read Zachary's guest post The Debut Novel: A Series of Intentions
Read Civilian Reader's Interview with Zachary Jernigan
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Zachary Jernigan was born and brought up in the United States and has lived for most of his life in the western half of the country. He has a BA in Religious Studies from Northern Arizona University (2005) and an MFA in Creative Writing from University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast program (2011). His short fiction has appeared in a variety of places, including Asimov's Science Fiction, Crossed Genres, and Escape Pod. He has previously worked in a variety of fields and avoids seeking management positions. He currently lives in Northern Arizona and No Return is his Debut novel.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: On Jeroun, there is no question as to whether God exists--only what his intentions are.
Under the looming judgment of Adrash and his ultimate weapon--a string of spinning spheres beside the moon known as The Needle--warring factions of white and black suits prove their opposition to the orbiting god with the great fighting tournament of Danoor, on the far side of Jeroun's only inhabitable continent.
From the Thirteenth Order of Black Suits comes Vedas, a young master of martial arts, laden with guilt over the death of one of his students. Traveling with him are Churls, a warrior woman and mercenary haunted by the ghost of her daughter, and Berun, a constructed man made of modular spheres possessed by the foul spirit of his creator. Together they must brave their own demons, as well as thieves, mages, beasts, dearth, and hardship on the perilous road to Danoor, and the bloody sectarian battle that is sure to follow.
On the other side of the world, unbeknownst to the travelers, Ebn and Pol of the Royal Outbound Mages (astronauts using Alchemical magic to achieve space flight) have formed a plan to appease Adrash and bring peace to the planet. But Ebn and Pol each have their own clandestine agendas--which may call down the wrath of the very god they hope to woo.
Who may know the mind of God? And who in their right mind would seek to defy him?
FORMAT/INFO: No Return is 292 pages long, divided over five parts which is further divided into twenty-three chapters and a prologue and epilogue. Narration is in the third-person primarily via Vedas Tezul, Churli Casta Jones, Berun, Pol Tanz Et Som, Ebn Bon Mari and Adrash. This book can be read as a standalone and has resolves most of its plot threads.
March 5, 2013 marked the publication of the US Hardback and e-book edition of No Return by Night Shade Books. The cover art is provided by Robbie Trevino.
ANALYSIS: Zachary Jernigan’s No Return is a debut that drew my attention to it like a moth to a flame. The blurb detailed a foreign world and races that was simply too enticing for a fantasy fan like me. The author was kind enough to send me a copy and I started reading it with high anticipation but not knowing what to expect.
The story is set on the world of Jeroun wherein a single habitable pan-continent is the focus of the entire tale. It is a world wherein a God named Adrash has existed for eons and now has left humanity and other races bereft of his divine presence. The world since then has developed in interesting ways after Adrash nearly destroyed it by causing two of his artificially created spheres to slam onto Jeroun’s surface and caused an ice age of sorts. The two main religions that have arisen due to these actions are Adrashi and Anadrashi that espouse either rule of Adrash or rule of man. Both these factions have long clashed with each other causing further rifts and doubts to arise. Adrash since then has created several spheres that he aligns in a fashion of sorts, which has been titled “the Needle” and threatens to wipe out Jeroun’s inhabitants. This has lead to an interesting development and now we find ourselves in midst of the story wherein all the characters are trying to achieve what they think they should.
Vedas Tezul is a warrior of the 13th order of Black Suits who is also the most adept fighter amongst them and is chosen to be their representative for the decennial tournament at Danoor. Churli Casta Jones is a warrior who has her own reasons to travel to the Danoor tournament but she’s not alone and will have to learn to trust other warriors again. Berun is a constructed man and therefore not entirely human but he shares within his mind, memories of his creator and will have to decide whether he is his own person or just a creation. Pol Tanz Et Som and Ebn Bon Mari are royal outbound mages who regularly make trips into space to observe Adrash and the Needle. They however have their own plans to accomplish and they will do anything everything to get their way. These are the main POV characters and the reader will have to ascertain what each and everyone wants.
This book is one of the weirdest and simply terrific fantasy-SF hybrids that I have ever come across. Firstly kudos to the author for coming up this plot and ensconcing a complex world, races, and magic system within such a slim volume. The author also retains a certain simplicity to his tale by not making it overtly obtuse a la Erikson or R. Scott Bakker. This was one aspect that I liked a lot, not that the author has made this story an overtly simplistic one as there’s a lot going on and packs quite a wallop within its pages. It focusses on religion, group mindsets and the way of life as evolved due to circumstances (as seen uniquely on this planet) and all of which makes for a very fascinating story.
His world and storyline are definitely unique in the sense that they combine different genres and themes to give us a story about finding the truth (be it about life, religion, one's role, etc). The author has to be lauded for his effort in undertaking such a different story as he also tackles various issues brought forth by religious viewpoints that differ drastically, ethnic and racial tensions and much more. He however has managed to combine all these difficult queries within the folds of his story in spite of the single volume nature of the tale. The author also takes a very vivid view towards the sexuality of his characters and writes some exotic scenes featuring alien anatomy. For a few readers who aren't used to such frank scenes, might not be able to fathom it entirely but again it will be upon the reader's perspective in regards to the judgment of these scenes.
If there is a drawback to this story then it would be the way the story ends, the reader will want to know more about the world and the characters introduced within. In this regard while the story ends on a climatic note, certain threads left open will cause some consternation for readers that are engulfed within the story. I was one among them and therefore I would very much like to know more about the future and past of this strange alien world. Zachary Jernigan has spoken about this aspect in his guest post a bit as well in his email correspondence. Hopefully most of the questions about the world and its history will be answered in a companion volume and so I’ll among the first to grab it whenever its written.
CONCLUSION: Zachary Jernigan writes with a flair for the weird and makes it endearing enough for readers to feel familiar with it. No Return is a magnificent debut that straddles fantasy and SF genres seamlessly and makes itself into a jewel faceting both fields. I completely loved this debut and will have very high hopes from Mr. Jernigan for all his future works based on the raw talent that is showcased within. Make sure you don’t miss this one as this book will be definitely featuring highly in my year end lists.
Order NO RETURN HERE
Read Zachary's guest post The Debut Novel: A Series of Intentions
Read Civilian Reader's Interview with Zachary Jernigan
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Zachary Jernigan was born and brought up in the United States and has lived for most of his life in the western half of the country. He has a BA in Religious Studies from Northern Arizona University (2005) and an MFA in Creative Writing from University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast program (2011). His short fiction has appeared in a variety of places, including Asimov's Science Fiction, Crossed Genres, and Escape Pod. He has previously worked in a variety of fields and avoids seeking management positions. He currently lives in Northern Arizona and No Return is his Debut novel.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: On Jeroun, there is no question as to whether God exists--only what his intentions are.
Under the looming judgment of Adrash and his ultimate weapon--a string of spinning spheres beside the moon known as The Needle--warring factions of white and black suits prove their opposition to the orbiting god with the great fighting tournament of Danoor, on the far side of Jeroun's only inhabitable continent.
From the Thirteenth Order of Black Suits comes Vedas, a young master of martial arts, laden with guilt over the death of one of his students. Traveling with him are Churls, a warrior woman and mercenary haunted by the ghost of her daughter, and Berun, a constructed man made of modular spheres possessed by the foul spirit of his creator. Together they must brave their own demons, as well as thieves, mages, beasts, dearth, and hardship on the perilous road to Danoor, and the bloody sectarian battle that is sure to follow.
On the other side of the world, unbeknownst to the travelers, Ebn and Pol of the Royal Outbound Mages (astronauts using Alchemical magic to achieve space flight) have formed a plan to appease Adrash and bring peace to the planet. But Ebn and Pol each have their own clandestine agendas--which may call down the wrath of the very god they hope to woo.
Who may know the mind of God? And who in their right mind would seek to defy him?
FORMAT/INFO: No Return is 292 pages long, divided over five parts which is further divided into twenty-three chapters and a prologue and epilogue. Narration is in the third-person primarily via Vedas Tezul, Churli Casta Jones, Berun, Pol Tanz Et Som, Ebn Bon Mari and Adrash. This book can be read as a standalone and has resolves most of its plot threads.
March 5, 2013 marked the publication of the US Hardback and e-book edition of No Return by Night Shade Books. The cover art is provided by Robbie Trevino.
ANALYSIS: Zachary Jernigan’s No Return is a debut that drew my attention to it like a moth to a flame. The blurb detailed a foreign world and races that was simply too enticing for a fantasy fan like me. The author was kind enough to send me a copy and I started reading it with high anticipation but not knowing what to expect.
The story is set on the world of Jeroun wherein a single habitable pan-continent is the focus of the entire tale. It is a world wherein a God named Adrash has existed for eons and now has left humanity and other races bereft of his divine presence. The world since then has developed in interesting ways after Adrash nearly destroyed it by causing two of his artificially created spheres to slam onto Jeroun’s surface and caused an ice age of sorts. The two main religions that have arisen due to these actions are Adrashi and Anadrashi that espouse either rule of Adrash or rule of man. Both these factions have long clashed with each other causing further rifts and doubts to arise. Adrash since then has created several spheres that he aligns in a fashion of sorts, which has been titled “the Needle” and threatens to wipe out Jeroun’s inhabitants. This has lead to an interesting development and now we find ourselves in midst of the story wherein all the characters are trying to achieve what they think they should.
Vedas Tezul is a warrior of the 13th order of Black Suits who is also the most adept fighter amongst them and is chosen to be their representative for the decennial tournament at Danoor. Churli Casta Jones is a warrior who has her own reasons to travel to the Danoor tournament but she’s not alone and will have to learn to trust other warriors again. Berun is a constructed man and therefore not entirely human but he shares within his mind, memories of his creator and will have to decide whether he is his own person or just a creation. Pol Tanz Et Som and Ebn Bon Mari are royal outbound mages who regularly make trips into space to observe Adrash and the Needle. They however have their own plans to accomplish and they will do anything everything to get their way. These are the main POV characters and the reader will have to ascertain what each and everyone wants.
This book is one of the weirdest and simply terrific fantasy-SF hybrids that I have ever come across. Firstly kudos to the author for coming up this plot and ensconcing a complex world, races, and magic system within such a slim volume. The author also retains a certain simplicity to his tale by not making it overtly obtuse a la Erikson or R. Scott Bakker. This was one aspect that I liked a lot, not that the author has made this story an overtly simplistic one as there’s a lot going on and packs quite a wallop within its pages. It focusses on religion, group mindsets and the way of life as evolved due to circumstances (as seen uniquely on this planet) and all of which makes for a very fascinating story.
His world and storyline are definitely unique in the sense that they combine different genres and themes to give us a story about finding the truth (be it about life, religion, one's role, etc). The author has to be lauded for his effort in undertaking such a different story as he also tackles various issues brought forth by religious viewpoints that differ drastically, ethnic and racial tensions and much more. He however has managed to combine all these difficult queries within the folds of his story in spite of the single volume nature of the tale. The author also takes a very vivid view towards the sexuality of his characters and writes some exotic scenes featuring alien anatomy. For a few readers who aren't used to such frank scenes, might not be able to fathom it entirely but again it will be upon the reader's perspective in regards to the judgment of these scenes.
If there is a drawback to this story then it would be the way the story ends, the reader will want to know more about the world and the characters introduced within. In this regard while the story ends on a climatic note, certain threads left open will cause some consternation for readers that are engulfed within the story. I was one among them and therefore I would very much like to know more about the future and past of this strange alien world. Zachary Jernigan has spoken about this aspect in his guest post a bit as well in his email correspondence. Hopefully most of the questions about the world and its history will be answered in a companion volume and so I’ll among the first to grab it whenever its written.
CONCLUSION: Zachary Jernigan writes with a flair for the weird and makes it endearing enough for readers to feel familiar with it. No Return is a magnificent debut that straddles fantasy and SF genres seamlessly and makes itself into a jewel faceting both fields. I completely loved this debut and will have very high hopes from Mr. Jernigan for all his future works based on the raw talent that is showcased within. Make sure you don’t miss this one as this book will be definitely featuring highly in my year end lists.
Order
“River of Stars” HERE
Read
An Excerpt HERE
Read
FBC’s
Review of “Under Heaven”
I
came to Guy Gavriel Kay's work
through his historical fantasy novels. He has some novels out in other genres
as well, including a book of poetry (Beyond
this Dark House), and he helped Christopher
Tolkien compile The Silmarillion.
I
don't think it's a stretch to say that Kay
is the greatest fantasist of our generation. You can tell he's a poet from
the incredible sense of pace and lyrical prose; some authors misuse rhetorical
repetition and sound pretentious, but never Kay. A whole book of his can read like a poem, and River of Stars certainly did. He has an
understanding of what isn't said, the spaces between things, the moments where
everything can change, or nothing. There are a number of poems within the story
itself, too, and while normally I don't think it's a wise approach to try to
write the supposed great art that defines moments of a story, he can pull it
off.
I'm
still reveling in the post-read trance, but I think even with time this will
prove to be among my favorites of his works, along with The Lions of Al-Rassan and the Sarantine
Mosaic.
Too
few fantasists—though increasingly more, the last few years—work with the
history and mythology of places besides Europe. Kay worked with China's Tang dynasty in Under Heaven, and he now returns to the same world, about 400 years
later, to approach the Northern Song dynasty before and after the fall of
Kaifeng. As always, the depth of his research helps him evoke the mood vividly,
and the characters, the story, grow out of that.
Those
familiar with the history of the period may recognize characters inspired by General Yue Fei and the famous poets Su Shi and Li Qingzhao. The Li Qingzhao-inspired
character is one of the most fascinating characters I've read, and she's a
fascinating female character to boot.
There were many characters I loved in this book, some whom earlier on I didn't
expect to.
I'm
not an expert on Chinese history, yet even when I could see the shape of how
events were moving, the journey and Kay's
treatment of it made all the difference. You may think that knowing the history
means you will already know the plot, but the plot isn't really the point, and this
is one of those books that really reminds me that plot and story are not the
same.
There
are references to events and characters in Under
Heaven, which I enjoyed, but River of
Stars isn't a sequel, and it stands fully on its own. I enjoyed this book, in
particular its pacing, a lot more than the last. It's hard for me to quantify how
much I enjoyed River of Stars, but I'll
be thinking about this book for a long time.
I
would recommend digesting River of Stars
in multiple sittings, because, while riveting, it's also not a light read. For
a while, though, it was easy to find stopping places, because there are a lot
of POV shifts. It took me a couple hundred pages to get used to the
introduction of so many, especially from characters we were never going to see
again, and new POVs continue to pop up throughout the whole book. In the
broader context of the novel, I appreciate them, but they did frustrate me for
a time. Only the first few paragraphs of each, though; Kay doesn't need longer than that to pull me in.
The
beginning felt more like an introduction to Kitai (analogue-China) than to the
story, setting the stage for a much later time period than Under Heaven for those of us who read that book, and giving us a
sense of how thinking and perspectives of the time have changed and shifted.
From the beginning, though, I was struck by how Kay seems to switch between narrative modes, going between
character POVs and pulling back for a more universally omniscient voice. I
thought it might become jarring later on, but it never did. I loved it,
particularly in light of his exploration in this book about the differences
between story and history.
There
are so many things going on in River of
Stars, and I don't want to spoil anything with specifics. The author raises
so many questions without giving the answers, but considering the possibilities
thoroughly. Teaching how to think, maybe even like Teacher Tuan. He explores the price of peace, and security; what
defines civilization, in communication, records, and accumulated learning, in
the dichotomy of the arts and warfare; how sometimes small occurrences can
shape the future, and sometimes they really are random happenstance; the value
of life, or a life; paths not taken,
futures cut off, what is and what could have been and the impossibility of
knowing anything for certain except when somehow, inexplicably, you do; how
legends are made, how an invented story can sometimes be truer than history,
and sometimes not.
I
love how the ambiguous endings can be interpreted so many ways, that Kay has even outlined the ways, really,
and left it to the readers to think about the story arcs and what they say
about us. Because writers do things like that sometimes.
NOTE: River of Stars will be published in North America on April 2, 2013 via Roc/Penguin
Group. The UK edition will be published July 18, 2013 by HarperCollins
UK.
When Terry Brooks published The Sword of Shannara in 1977, he wanted one thing.
To Be Read!
He didn’t want awards. He didn’t want accolades. He didn’t want to win critical acclaim from book reviewers—even though Dune author Frank Herbert wrote one hell of a New York Times book review for Sword. No, he just wanted speculative fiction fans to pick up the book, read it, enjoy it, and spread the word to other readers.
Remember the time period. 1977. No internet. No social media. No smart phones. There was no simple means to effectively market Sword to the masses of fantasy readers who might be interested. There were reviews in newspapers; there were articles in magazines. That was it.
Instead, editor Lester del Rey relied on booksellers. He knew if booksellers liked the book that they would recommend Sword to their customers—and those customers would tell their friends.
Word spread. Did it ever! For The Sword of Shannara, word of mouth is responsible for making it a bestseller. The debut novel sold 125,000 copies in its first month of publication and remained on the New York Times trade paperback bestselling list where it stayed for five months.
Skip to 2013! Word of mouth is as important as it was in 1977 — maybe more so. More fantasy is published now than ever before and it is hard to choose between the hundreds of new books released every year, all vying for our attention. Most of us have fixed incomes and we must discern what to buy and what not to buy. We rely on fantasy blogs like Fantasy Book Critic to help us. We rely on publishers giving us exclusive excerpts. We rely on authors offering giveaways.
But word of mouth… word of mouth is still the most powerful driving force in the industry.
I have been Terry Brooks’ webmaster for almost fourteen years. It has been a pleasure. Terry is one of the nicest writers in the field and has a fanbase to match. His wife Judine is fond of saying he has the best fans in the genre. Since I’ve been responsible for his website/ social media and been surrounded by those fans for over a decade, I have to agree with her whole heartedly.
To Be Read!
He didn’t want awards. He didn’t want accolades. He didn’t want to win critical acclaim from book reviewers—even though Dune author Frank Herbert wrote one hell of a New York Times book review for Sword. No, he just wanted speculative fiction fans to pick up the book, read it, enjoy it, and spread the word to other readers.
Remember the time period. 1977. No internet. No social media. No smart phones. There was no simple means to effectively market Sword to the masses of fantasy readers who might be interested. There were reviews in newspapers; there were articles in magazines. That was it.
Instead, editor Lester del Rey relied on booksellers. He knew if booksellers liked the book that they would recommend Sword to their customers—and those customers would tell their friends.
Word spread. Did it ever! For The Sword of Shannara, word of mouth is responsible for making it a bestseller. The debut novel sold 125,000 copies in its first month of publication and remained on the New York Times trade paperback bestselling list where it stayed for five months.
Skip to 2013! Word of mouth is as important as it was in 1977 — maybe more so. More fantasy is published now than ever before and it is hard to choose between the hundreds of new books released every year, all vying for our attention. Most of us have fixed incomes and we must discern what to buy and what not to buy. We rely on fantasy blogs like Fantasy Book Critic to help us. We rely on publishers giving us exclusive excerpts. We rely on authors offering giveaways.
But word of mouth… word of mouth is still the most powerful driving force in the industry.
I have been Terry Brooks’ webmaster for almost fourteen years. It has been a pleasure. Terry is one of the nicest writers in the field and has a fanbase to match. His wife Judine is fond of saying he has the best fans in the genre. Since I’ve been responsible for his website/ social media and been surrounded by those fans for over a decade, I have to agree with her whole heartedly.
When I began work on The Dark Thorn, my urban/epic fantasy hybrid novel, Terry fully supported me. He even edited my debut, mentoring me in the craft of writing. Some of it stuck thankfully and I soon had a finished book he said I should be proud of. I am. And during the entirety of the process, many of Terry’s fans followed my progress, their curiosity and need to read the book growing over the last year.
The Dark Thorn is now finished and published. It is available in a beautiful hardcover with Todd Lockwood cover art and a Russ Charpentier map. I am happy with the story and its presentation and I’ve received dozens of compliments from readers and even bestselling authors. The reviews have also been strong. Having access to Terry’s marketing platform, I have had stronger sales that I had hoped. But having a meaningful writing career that lasts longer than a year still comes down to three things:
1) Is The Dark Thorn a good book?
2) Will readers give The Dark Thorn a chance?
3) Will word of mouth sell The Dark Thorn?
I have written what I think is a good book. Early reviewers have agreed so far and said The Dark Thorn is a cross between Terry’s Word/Void series and Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. Even though I hate comparing in such a manner, I mostly agree with that assessment. If you haven’t read it, feel free to try an excerpt HERE.
And, so far, readers have been giving my debut novel a chance. As I said, sales have been strong despite the limited avenues one can get a copy. Now it largely comes down to word of mouth.
Word of mouth is key. Readers trust other readers and it is the best way to find a new favorite writer. So I give you a challenge today. I want each of you to share with your friends—in person and/or online—what new writers you have enjoyed reading recently. Right now. Open Twitter. Start Facebook. Send a text message, write an email, or make a phone call.
The recommendation doesn’t have to be The Dark Thorn, although if you’ve read it and liked it that would be nice. I would rather see people actively sharing. Ultimately, readers decide whether a writer has a long career or not.
So be a part of that! And share!
The Dark Thorn is now finished and published. It is available in a beautiful hardcover with Todd Lockwood cover art and a Russ Charpentier map. I am happy with the story and its presentation and I’ve received dozens of compliments from readers and even bestselling authors. The reviews have also been strong. Having access to Terry’s marketing platform, I have had stronger sales that I had hoped. But having a meaningful writing career that lasts longer than a year still comes down to three things:
1) Is The Dark Thorn a good book?
2) Will readers give The Dark Thorn a chance?
3) Will word of mouth sell The Dark Thorn?
I have written what I think is a good book. Early reviewers have agreed so far and said The Dark Thorn is a cross between Terry’s Word/Void series and Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. Even though I hate comparing in such a manner, I mostly agree with that assessment. If you haven’t read it, feel free to try an excerpt HERE.
And, so far, readers have been giving my debut novel a chance. As I said, sales have been strong despite the limited avenues one can get a copy. Now it largely comes down to word of mouth.
Word of mouth is key. Readers trust other readers and it is the best way to find a new favorite writer. So I give you a challenge today. I want each of you to share with your friends—in person and/or online—what new writers you have enjoyed reading recently. Right now. Open Twitter. Start Facebook. Send a text message, write an email, or make a phone call.
The recommendation doesn’t have to be The Dark Thorn, although if you’ve read it and liked it that would be nice. I would rather see people actively sharing. Ultimately, readers decide whether a writer has a long career or not.
So be a part of that! And share!
Official Author Website
Order The Dark Thorn HERE
Order Unfettered HERE
Read an excerpt of The Dark Thorn HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Shawn Speakman is the author of The Dark Thorn and editor for the forthcoming fantasy anthology Unfettered. When he isn’t writing, he maintains the websites for authors Terry Brooks, Naomi Novik, and David Anthony Durham, as well as runs The Signed Page and writes for the Random House sci-fi/fantasy website Suvudu. Learn more about him and his work at www.shawnspeakman.com!
NOTE: Shawn Speakman picture courtesy of the author himself. Watch out for FBC review of The Dark Thorn next week.
Order The Dark Thorn HERE
Order Unfettered HERE
Read an excerpt of The Dark Thorn HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Shawn Speakman is the author of The Dark Thorn and editor for the forthcoming fantasy anthology Unfettered. When he isn’t writing, he maintains the websites for authors Terry Brooks, Naomi Novik, and David Anthony Durham, as well as runs The Signed Page and writes for the Random House sci-fi/fantasy website Suvudu. Learn more about him and his work at www.shawnspeakman.com!
NOTE: Shawn Speakman picture courtesy of the author himself. Watch out for FBC review of The Dark Thorn next week.
Order “The Raven Boys” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
(PDF)
The Raven Boys, written by New York Times Bestselling
author, Maggie Stiefvater, was
published September 18, 2012 by Scholastic Press. Stiefvater is the author of the previous bestselling YA
series, the Shiver Trilogy. The
Raven Boys has earned top accolades itself, such as being named one of
Amazon.com's Best Teen Books of 2012, one of the 2013 American
Library Association YALSA
Top Ten Fiction Books for Young Adults, and a New York Times and USA Today
bestseller. The Raven Boys is the first in a new four-book series.
The Raven Boys is one of the most interesting
books I have read in a long time, and once I started it, I could not put it
down. Fans of Stiefvater's Shiver
Trilogy will recognize the superb “show-don't-tell” quality of
her writing, and it gives a sense of what I cannot help but describe as a fullness.
Many books— not just those that fall in the YA genre—have adopted the
post-Seinfeld, fragmented way that we often speak to one another. Personally, I
don't want to spend time reading a book that sounds like a text-conversation. Stiefvater takes her time with her
language, and that fits in perfectly with the sleepy Southern setting of the
book. “April days in Henrietta (Virginia) were quite often fair, tender things,
coaxing sleeping trees to bud and love-mad ladybugs to beat against windowpanes”
(p. 7). Various Southern tropes, such as restless spirits, local psychics,
and blue bloods dripping in old money, make appearances, and in Stiefvater's deft hand they offer a
welcome feeling of familiarity instead of banality. Also, the story is fleshed
out gradually, requiring the reader to do a little work to figure out how
things fit together instead of being taken by the hand and led from point A to
point B.
The books starts with
a prologue which introduces Blue Sargent, a 16-year-old who comes across
as very sure of what she does and doesn't like, who she is, and what she
isn't. Blue is the
only daughter of a psychic who has both a solid base of clients and an array of
equally psychic female family members and friends that keep their small house
just a bit hectic. The scenes that show Blue interacting with the
women of the house reveal several colorful characters that are more than flat
personas (Hip Mom, Crazy Aunt Type, Hostile Aunt Type, Creepy Aunt Type, etc.)
at their roots. While Blue herself is not psychic, she acts
almost like a battery for those with the gift; when she is present, magic is
stronger, visions are clearer, etc. Another aspect to Blue's unusual
life is the fact that from the time she was born, every psychic she encounters
makes the same, oddly specific prophecy: When Blue kisses her true
love, he will die. Since she doesn't believe she will fall in love, Blue is
not concerned about the prophecy. But, when she sees the spirit of a young man
named Gansey who is destined to die in the coming year, a spirit that
should be invisible to her non-magic eyes, she knows enough to worry,
either because he is her true love or because she is the one who kills him—and
in her case it just might be that both of those are true.
The not-yet-dead Gansey is
a student at the prestigious private boys' school, Aglionby. Aglionby students
have the school emblem, a raven, printed on their sweaters, thus leading to the
nickname of Raven Boys. Raven Boys are seen by many—including and
especially Blue—as spoiled, aimless rich kids who wreak havoc and
have powerful parents to clean up their messes. While Gansey is
careless regarding issues of money (a trait he is reminded of by his friend, Adam,
who attends Aglionby on scholarship), he does have a goal: he wants to find
evidence of magic, real magic, in the world, and that has him on a quest for
the legendary tomb of Glendower. Gansey has earned the fierce loyalty of
his best friends, Adam, Ronan, and Noah (all of
whom have their own significant plotlines that will be further explored, no
doubt, in later books), and though they do not always agree with one another, Gansey
and the quest are the glue that hold them all together. Two chance
encounters with Blue (at the pizza shop where she works and at her
home when the guys go in for a scheduled reading) do not show Gansey in
his best light, though, and also makes it clear that this isn't simply going to
be a “boy meets girl; boy gets girl” type of story.
The murder mystery
portion of the story played out in a very unexpected way. There were other
story elements that also took me by surprise (one of which had me flipping back
through the book to check for missed clues), but I won't spoil them for you by
writing about them here. The plot of the story is wrapped up, so this book is a
solid stand-alone; at the same time it left me very much in anticipation of the
next book. According to Maggie
Stiefvater’s website, the next installment in the series, The Dream
Thieves, will make its appearance on September 17, 2013.
The Raven Boys: 5 stars
Order “Etiquette
& Espionage” HERE
Read An
Excerpt HERE
Etiquette and Espionage—published February 5, 2013 via Little, Brown Books
for Young Readers—is the first of Gail Carriger's new YA Finishing
School series, set in the same world as The Parasol Protectorate, but 25 years earlier. If you've read The Parasol Protectorate, you'll
recognize a couple of characters; if you haven't, don't worry.
Our protagonist Sophronia is essentially drafted into a finishing school that is
nothing like what a proper finishing school should be—where the girls are being
trained to “finish…everything…and everyone…as needed.” That is to say, they
don't just learn proper curtsies and quadrille technique; they are also taught
poisons and covert operations. Sophronia,
not being the passive sort, adapts to her new circumstances, assembles cohorts,
and sets about unraveling a mystery.
Of course, there are mechanimals, flywaymen, evil
genius societies, werewolves, and vampires, to name but a few complications.
Unlike in The Parasol Protectorate,
the main characters are not endowed with any kind of magical abilities, and so Sophronia's perceptiveness,
quick-thinking, and daring are the most powerful tools in her arsenal, and she
applies them with aplomb.
Etiquette and Espionage has the same
lighthearted whimsy, fascination with etiquette and steampunk technology, and
stroppy lady protagonist that I loved from Soulless.
Although the tone is light, Carriger nevertheless
sneaks in commentary on and subversion of first impressions, racial
generalizations, gender roles, and social hierarchies. It's a fun, fast-paced
read, and it looks like there will be three more books in the series, the next
of which, Curtsies and Conspiracies, we
can expect this November.
Read An Excerpt
HERE
Read Liviu
Suciu’s Review of “Cloud Atlas”
Watch the Movie
Trailer HERE
AUTHOR/DIRECTOR INFORMATION: David Mitchell is an English novelist born in January 1969 and has
lived in Japan—you can really feel the Asian influence in his writing. He has
written five novels including Cloud Atlas,
which was shortlisted for the 2004 Booker
Prize,
Nebula Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award, and other awards. His latest novel, The Thousand
Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, was published in 2010.
Tom Tykwer is a director, writer, producer and composer born in
Germany in 1965. His filmography includes Run
Lola Run, Perfume: The Story of a
Murderer, and The International.
Lana & Andy Wachowski were born in Chicago
in the 1960s and are best known for writing/directing The Matrix Trilogy. Other works include V For Vendetta, Speed Racer and
Ninja Assassin.
FORMAT/INFO: Cloud Atlas
the novel was first published in 2004 by Hodder
& Stoughton in the UK and by Random
House in North America and is currently available in Paperback, Hardcover
and eBook.
The film adaptation of Cloud Atlas was released in North America on October 26, 2012 and in the UK on February 26, 2013. The film is 172
minutes long and stars Tom Hanks,
Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving,
Jim Sturgess, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant,
et cetera.
OFFICIAL PLOT SYNOPSIS: A reluctant voyager
crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious
livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor
Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a
genetically modified dinery server on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of
science and civilization—the narrators of Cloud
Atlas hear each others’ echoes down the corridor of history, and their
destinies are changed in ways great and small…
INTRODUCTION: When I learned that David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas
was going to be adapted into a movie, I was intrigued. Could this subtle,
complicated story really be translated into a film successfully? The book
definitely had potential for a screen adaptation, but would the fragile link
between the different parts survive? Would it be possible to condense so many
time periods, characters and stories in just two to three hours? It was a major
challenge, and just for making the attempt, I really admire Lana & Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, but what did I think of the
movie? Find out below as I review Cloud
Atlas as both a novel and a movie.
ANALYSIS (Cloud Atlas—The Novel):
Cloud Atlas is certainly one of a kind to say the least, and it is definitely “intense”,
which is how my friend who recommended the book to me described it as. The six stories
composing the novel are beautifully and intricately linked together, while Cloud Atlas asks two critical questions
that is a wonderful reflection about humanity: Where might our hunt for more—more
power, more materialistic comfort, etc.—might drive us to, and whether humans
are reborn again and somehow linked to their past and future self? Yet Cloud Atlas is not a piece of Marxism or
an esoteric essay, and only two of the six stories possessed SFF elements, and
it is from these very characteristics that David
Mitchell’s novel takes its strength from.
NOTE: Click HERE
to read Liviu’s more comprehensive
review of Cloud Atlas and its six individual
stories.
ANALYSIS (Cloud Atlas—The Film
Adaptation): In Cloud Atlas
the movie, the directors decided not to keep the (relatively) linear
construction of the book which separates each story into two parts but Zachry’s. Instead, the six stories are
fragmented and run simultaneously to one another. This can be confusing for those
who haven’t read the novel and do not understand who the characters are.
Despite this, I think that overall the movie is really good: good acting and
good pacing, especially once you get used to the alternating stories. In
general, I find that the necessary (but painful for fans of the novel) cuts are
for the most part justified or understandable, including the suppression of
minor characters such as Arys’
daughter in Robert Frobisher’s story
for instance.
Yet I felt the book’s message had been slightly
distorted in the movie. This is partly due of course to the nature of movies
itself—showing instead of telling—but this still disturbed me a bit. For
example, I felt the romantic elements in each story were given too much importance
compared to the part they played in the book. This is classic Hollywood, fair
enough, but it seems to me that this focus on love only confuses the meaning of
the original story: instead of six characters linked together somehow, the
movie became the story of two lovers finding each other again and again (which
was a possible interpretation of the book, but not the main one…again in my
view!). All this while, the link between the individual stories—how each
character heard about their most recent alias—practically disappears, which was
such an important part of the novel’s construction.
Also, there is the fact that the same actors play more
than one character in the film. There is no indication whatsoever of such
resemblance in the book, except for the comet birthmark, and in my opinion this
made the film more confusing than anything for someone who has yet to read the
novel.
CONCLUSION: I
completely agree with Liviu when he
said that “Cloud Atlas is considerably more than the sum of its
parts and a novel that deserves all the acclaim it got.” The film adaptation of
Cloud Atlas has been well received as
well—it has been nominated and won several awards so far—and certainly serves
justice to the novel in many ways (the beautiful sceneries for instance,
especially in Sonmi’s story) and is
a worthy complement to the book, even if it allows less place for imagination, but
the movie doesn’t possess the subtlety of the novel and guides (too much in my
sense) the viewer on how to interpret the whole story. In short, Cloud Atlas is a good film adaptation,
but between the novel and the movie, I prefer the book version of Cloud Atlas...
Congratulations to Brian
Dupuis (North Carolina) who was randomly selected to win an ADVANCE READING COPY of Guy Gavriel Kay’s upcoming novel, River of Stars, courtesy of Wunderkind PR!!! River of Stars will be published in North America on April 2, 2013 (Order HERE).
More information on Guy Gavriel Kay
and River of Stars can be found at
the Official Guy Gavriel Kay Website
and at Bright Weavings: The Worlds of
Guy Gavirel Kay.
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Official David Weber Site/Forums
The Honorverse Wikipedia
Order Shadow of Freedom HERE
Read Chapters 1-9 from Shadow of Freedom HERE
Read FBC's An Invitation to David Weber's Honorverse
Read FBC Review of At All Costs
Read FBC Review of Storm from the Shadow and Mission of Honor
Read FBC Review of A Rising Thunder
Read FBC Interview with David Weber
"Wrong number? There are two sides to any quarrel . . . unless there are more.
Michelle Henke, Queen Elizabeth of Manticore's first cousin, Honor
Harrington's best friend, and the commanding officer of Manticore's
Tenth Fleet, is just a bit surprised when a messenger arrives from the
Mobius System to inform her that the Mobius Liberation Front is prepared
to rise in rebellion against the hated regime President Svein Lombroso.
She can understand why anyone would want to rebel against someone like Lombroso, but why tell her about it? After all, she has problems of her own, like the minor matter of a life-or-death war against the Solarian League.
Michelle has just handed the "invincible" Solarian League Navy the most
humiliating, one-sided defeat in its entire almost thousand-year
history in defense of the people of the Star Empire's Talbott Quadrant.
But the League is the most powerful star nation in the history of
humanity. Its navy is going to be back – and this time with thousands of
superdreadnoughts.
........
She knows that . . . and she doesn't care.
No one is going to send thousands of patriots to their deaths, trusting in Manticoran help that will never come.
Not on Mike Henke's watch."
For a short discussion of the series' structure up to book 16, Mission of Honor, see my Invitation to the Honorverse post linked also above, while I discussed book 17, A Rising Thunder HERE.
Billed as "#18 in the multiply-bestselling Honor Harrington series" and with the blurb above, Shadow of Freedom follows the recent Honorverse tradition of separating multiple action theaters into a few books taking place in roughly the same timeline and containing fragments and even full chapters from previous novels, both for reference and for additional perspective.
So to a large extent the place of this book in the series tapestry will not be seen until future installments put what happens here in perspective and I would argue that one's reaction to it depends partly on how one feels about this way of writing the series - while I had some reservations in the beginning when the books were either too disconnected (see Crown of Slaves and The Shadow of Saganami) or too repeating (see Storm from the Shadows first 200 hundred pages), I think that with Shadow of Freedom, David Weber has started doing the multiple books/same timeline stuff really well, though of course one occasionally would love a mammoth 1000 page novel to cover all events in a single volume.
The other qualifier about Shadow of Freedom - which applies to any series in which the same timeline is split into several books - is how much one likes the action and characters from this particular split. As I tend to really like the Talbot Sector part, while for example not particularly caring for the Zilwicky/Cachat stuff as that tends too much towards superhero pulp, Shadow of Freedom was a true pleasure to read end to end in one sitting and I reread it a few times since I got the earc last fall as noted in this post.
Below are a few specifics without (hopefully) any spoilers:
Length, yes very short; I discount David Weber's books to about 2/3 size due to
repetitions and the info dumps - here there is a Detweiler chapter and
other stuff that is c/p from earlier work - so the book at
about 420 pages felt like an under 300 page one, but those ~300 pages
were really, really good, better than 4-500 pages from almost anyone
else.
Lots of new beginnings and new characters which I actually like; gives one the idea of both how big the Solarian League and its "protectorates" are and why the series will last another 10 novels or more and this is again a positive.
Lots of great moments both funny and sad; the desperate resistance movements and the "now we have stopped trying to get you to see reason and it's five minutes to abandon your ships or die" were highlights, but the most I enjoyed the last part with the two "rats" and their escape attempt(s) and the "Of course, at the moment I haven’t found anything that wasn’t your fault, but I’m sure if we keep looking long enough we’ll find someone else who screwed up almost as egregiously as you guys" which is another Weberian quote for the ages. After reading this last part of the novel, I would suggest re-reading chapter 5 of The Shadow of Saganami and enjoying it even more!
Another great quote was when they were asking Helen (Zilwicky) about the Mesan allegation that her father blew up Green Pines with a nuke - Shadow of Freedom starts after the Crandall hammering, goes through Yawata, the revelations, Filareta and Beowulf and ends at a great tbc point somewhere around the end of A Rising Thunder - and after giving the usual reasons why she does not believe it, she ends with the "if he was in a city-killing mode..., trust me, the hole would’ve been a hell of a lot deeper!”
Regarding the ending, I actually have a belief that it signifies quite dramatic developments soon as such would really amplify its already pretty emotional content.
Lots of new beginnings and new characters which I actually like; gives one the idea of both how big the Solarian League and its "protectorates" are and why the series will last another 10 novels or more and this is again a positive.
Lots of great moments both funny and sad; the desperate resistance movements and the "now we have stopped trying to get you to see reason and it's five minutes to abandon your ships or die" were highlights, but the most I enjoyed the last part with the two "rats" and their escape attempt(s) and the "Of course, at the moment I haven’t found anything that wasn’t your fault, but I’m sure if we keep looking long enough we’ll find someone else who screwed up almost as egregiously as you guys" which is another Weberian quote for the ages. After reading this last part of the novel, I would suggest re-reading chapter 5 of The Shadow of Saganami and enjoying it even more!
Another great quote was when they were asking Helen (Zilwicky) about the Mesan allegation that her father blew up Green Pines with a nuke - Shadow of Freedom starts after the Crandall hammering, goes through Yawata, the revelations, Filareta and Beowulf and ends at a great tbc point somewhere around the end of A Rising Thunder - and after giving the usual reasons why she does not believe it, she ends with the "if he was in a city-killing mode..., trust me, the hole would’ve been a hell of a lot deeper!”
Regarding the ending, I actually have a belief that it signifies quite dramatic developments soon as such would really amplify its already pretty emotional content.
Overall I found Shadow of Freedom an excellent series installment that will become even better when the next few books are released and it will be one of my top 25 novels of 2013.
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