Wednesday, April 21, 2010
"The Dark-Eyes' War: Book Three of Blood of the Southlands" by David B. Coe (Reviewed by Cindy Hannikman)
Visit David B. Coe's Official Site HereRead FBC's review of The Horsemen's Gambit Here
Order The Dark-Eyes' War from Amazon Here
Introduction: I came across David B Coe's writing a little over a year, year and half ago, and I was amazed. He is one of my all time favorite fantasy writers. The Dark Eyes' War has been highly anticipated for myself for over a year. It didn't disappoint at all.
Overview: The new Blood Wars is looming on the horizon.
The Eandi descendants are marching to take back the lands that were taken from them many years ago by the Qirsi. With the curse of the baskets attacking the Qirsi and killing off whole septs the Eandi believe this is a perfect time to march and take back what is theirs. Stelpana's army has been preparing and forming battle plans. Although many in the army believe that the alliance that has been formed with a small village of Metti (those that use blood magic) isn't the best plan of action, they must trust that the Metti will stay true and fight with them until the end.
The Metti in the army are hiding a secret that could potentially be deadly. They have yet to reveal to the Eandi an ancient curse that causes whatever spells they cast to not turn out right. This secret could be a deciding factor in the war. The Metti have been learning ancient spells that 100s of years ago were sworn to never be used again. With the Blood Wars looming it might be time to use these spells again.
Meanwhile, the Qirsi septs are preparing to face the Eandi head on in battle. The two Metti that Grinsa met on his journey have found a cure for the curse that has been attacking Qirsi magic. Grinsa meanwhile is still fighting with the leader of the sept that his holding him and his family captive. Although he swears to ride to battle with them, the fate of the two Metti that traveled with them is unknown. The a'laq (leader of the Qirsi) believes that if they can be trusted they still must be put to death as the belief is that the Metti are against the Qirsi so they should die. Grinsa is trying to save the two Metti's lives, and earn the freedom of his family at the same time.
Format: The Dark Eyes' War is the third and final novel in the Blood of the Southland series. Blood of the Southland is a sequel series to David B. Coe's first series, Winds of The Foreland. The Dark Eyes' War is high fantasy, with detailed characters, battles, and magic. It stands 363 pages.
Analysis: In Horsemen's Gambit there was so much build up to this second Blood Wars that it could only be expected that the battle scenes and all involved would be of epic proportions. David B. Coe finishes off his Blood of the Southland series with a bang.
There were so many different threads that were introduced throughout this series that I had my doubts about how they would all come together. Coe eloquently brought together all threads in this novel. It was amazing to watch how every thread moved closer and closer to the epic battle.
The battle of magic that is present is really breath taking. There is enough description to actually get involved with the fight but it isn't overly detailed that it becomes boring. Coe really masters just how much to tell a reader without over telling a story.
In Horsemen's Gambit I mentioned that there was a bit of a slower period as Coe catches readers up on events that happened in previous novels. In this third installment that is toned back a lot. There are still hints about what happened previously but not so much that the focus is taken away from the rest of the novel. It almost feels as though this was toned down and it really allowed readers to jump into this third and final installment.
After three novels a reader should feel so connected to the characters that are present within the story. In this final novel, there was so much connection with the characters that I really felt for every single character, good and bad. This is just an example of the one of many strengths in writing that Coe present's in his novels.
As this is the final book of this series one can wonder if everything is concluded to a readers satisfaction. There is enough conclusion that everything is wrapped up nicely. I do feel as though if Coe really wanted to continue the Foreland series he could but if he choose not to that I would be satisfied with the way it all ended.
In the end, The Dark-Eyes War was everything that I imagined, and caused me to have plenty of nights reading way past my bed time. David B. Coe is a great example of a modern epic fantasy writer and really deserves more attention then he is given. The world he created and brought to readers is vivid and detailed, the characters are three dimensional, there are multiple story lines all twisted into one, and the magic battles are of epic proportions, it's everything a fantasy reader could want and more. And above all these are the reasons that I love David B Coe's writing.
12:01 AM | 
Posted by
Cindy |
Official Ian Whates Website
Order "The Noise Within" HERE
Read FBC Review of "City of Dreams and Nightmare"
INTRODUCTION: I have to admit I have only vaguely heard of Ian Whates before 2010, so to my regret I did not include his two early 2010 novels in my 2010 Anticipated Books post; and what novels! An excellent steampunk fantasy City of Dreams and Nightmares and now The Noise Within which is the debut of a space opera series that has great potential and has become a big time personal favorite. And to top it all, Mr. Whates is the editor of the anthology Conflicts which I have on pre-order and plan to read and review on publication, while City of Hope and Despair is another anticipated novel to come later in the year.
FORMAT/CLASSIFICATION: The Noise Within stands at about 330 pages divided into nineteen chapters and follows four pov's, two main ones that have most of the pages and two others that may become very important as the series progresses.
Leyton is an eyegee - kind of like Cormac of N. Asher's novels - a special agent with an intelligent gun for the human government ULAW which was put together at the end of a century long war between the de facto winners ULW (United League of Worlds) and the Allied Worlds who got a smaller share of the ULAW (that A).
Philip Kaufman is the young CEO of the leading space engine firm, heir of genius father Malcolm who brought the firm to its current eminence by inventing the Kaufman drive which proved itself to be the best way to generate the wormholes used in FTL and later sort of uploaded himself into a pseudo-AI - here there are echoes of P.F. Hamilton and the Mandel series not to speak of the later ones - though Philip refuses to recognize the AI-Malcolm as more than a pale copy of his late father.
Kyle is a ship engineer, war veteran and now bored mechanic on a luxury ship, a sort of "just in case" since the vessel is super redundant.
Kethi is a human "intuitionist" - echoes of IM Banks - who is from a habitat that made itself scarce in the war, established a while ago by a charismatic leading figure of the Allied Worlds who became a "prophet" preaching the message that aliens will come and threaten humanity soon, so humanity should prepare for that rather than fight a stupid civil war.
The Noise Within is pure space opera of the highest caliber.
ANALYSIS: The Noise Within starts with a bang when we meet Leyton in a superb action sequence where he takes down a drug lord with multiple bodyguards, robot dogs, supposedly impregnable estate...
Then the action switches to Kyle whose boredom on the luxury liner he is supposed to "maintain in flight" is rudely interrupted when the weird ship of the title The Noise Within appears from nowhere and effortlessly hijacks the liner and kidnaps some rich passengers for ransom, though strangely encouraging people to "defect". Kyle finds himself stepping forward and is the first one to defect to the rogue vessel.
Driven to make his mark, Philip is pushing hard at the one failure his father had, the integration of human and AI and the first AI piloted starship, all this despite muted ridicule from some on the board of his firm. That because Sun Seeker the first prototype AI-piloted ship that Malcolm had built a long time ago during the war, vanished on one of its first trials killing its token crew with acceleration that no human could withstand, so the "wise heads" kind of look at this project as Philip's folly but as long as the firm is doing well and the project is not that expensive... And then AI-Malcolm calls Philip with news about The Noise Within and everything changes.
Since maybe The Noise Within is an alien ship, Kethi also makes her way with a crack team to the area the pirate ship roams.
So these are the main threads of the novel and they weave very nicely to an excellent ending which is partly a cliffhanger. In-between there is much more, including lots of ground action, assassination attempts including one freeway scene for the ages, ship combat, a grand tour of the human space, slum world and habitat action, a virtual "hit-bar" where rich people leave names and amounts for the killing of enemies and the acceptable in-currency is called "wishit (!)". And I could continue...
The novel just hit all the sweet spots I have in sf, from sense of wonder to futuristic tech that is familiar enough to be understandable in context, to great action scenes and characters that are quite interesting, while the big picture is coherent enough and the worlds that are showcased during the novel feel perfectly "real", places one could visit and recognize...
The Noise Within is an A+ for me and the series it debuts has a very high potential and I expect it to develop to be among the best space opera series around.
Order "The Noise Within" HERE
Read FBC Review of "City of Dreams and Nightmare"
INTRODUCTION: I have to admit I have only vaguely heard of Ian Whates before 2010, so to my regret I did not include his two early 2010 novels in my 2010 Anticipated Books post; and what novels! An excellent steampunk fantasy City of Dreams and Nightmares and now The Noise Within which is the debut of a space opera series that has great potential and has become a big time personal favorite. And to top it all, Mr. Whates is the editor of the anthology Conflicts which I have on pre-order and plan to read and review on publication, while City of Hope and Despair is another anticipated novel to come later in the year.
FORMAT/CLASSIFICATION: The Noise Within stands at about 330 pages divided into nineteen chapters and follows four pov's, two main ones that have most of the pages and two others that may become very important as the series progresses.
Leyton is an eyegee - kind of like Cormac of N. Asher's novels - a special agent with an intelligent gun for the human government ULAW which was put together at the end of a century long war between the de facto winners ULW (United League of Worlds) and the Allied Worlds who got a smaller share of the ULAW (that A).
Philip Kaufman is the young CEO of the leading space engine firm, heir of genius father Malcolm who brought the firm to its current eminence by inventing the Kaufman drive which proved itself to be the best way to generate the wormholes used in FTL and later sort of uploaded himself into a pseudo-AI - here there are echoes of P.F. Hamilton and the Mandel series not to speak of the later ones - though Philip refuses to recognize the AI-Malcolm as more than a pale copy of his late father.
Kyle is a ship engineer, war veteran and now bored mechanic on a luxury ship, a sort of "just in case" since the vessel is super redundant.
Kethi is a human "intuitionist" - echoes of IM Banks - who is from a habitat that made itself scarce in the war, established a while ago by a charismatic leading figure of the Allied Worlds who became a "prophet" preaching the message that aliens will come and threaten humanity soon, so humanity should prepare for that rather than fight a stupid civil war.
The Noise Within is pure space opera of the highest caliber.
ANALYSIS: The Noise Within starts with a bang when we meet Leyton in a superb action sequence where he takes down a drug lord with multiple bodyguards, robot dogs, supposedly impregnable estate...
Then the action switches to Kyle whose boredom on the luxury liner he is supposed to "maintain in flight" is rudely interrupted when the weird ship of the title The Noise Within appears from nowhere and effortlessly hijacks the liner and kidnaps some rich passengers for ransom, though strangely encouraging people to "defect". Kyle finds himself stepping forward and is the first one to defect to the rogue vessel.
Driven to make his mark, Philip is pushing hard at the one failure his father had, the integration of human and AI and the first AI piloted starship, all this despite muted ridicule from some on the board of his firm. That because Sun Seeker the first prototype AI-piloted ship that Malcolm had built a long time ago during the war, vanished on one of its first trials killing its token crew with acceleration that no human could withstand, so the "wise heads" kind of look at this project as Philip's folly but as long as the firm is doing well and the project is not that expensive... And then AI-Malcolm calls Philip with news about The Noise Within and everything changes.
Since maybe The Noise Within is an alien ship, Kethi also makes her way with a crack team to the area the pirate ship roams.
So these are the main threads of the novel and they weave very nicely to an excellent ending which is partly a cliffhanger. In-between there is much more, including lots of ground action, assassination attempts including one freeway scene for the ages, ship combat, a grand tour of the human space, slum world and habitat action, a virtual "hit-bar" where rich people leave names and amounts for the killing of enemies and the acceptable in-currency is called "wishit (!)". And I could continue...
The novel just hit all the sweet spots I have in sf, from sense of wonder to futuristic tech that is familiar enough to be understandable in context, to great action scenes and characters that are quite interesting, while the big picture is coherent enough and the worlds that are showcased during the novel feel perfectly "real", places one could visit and recognize...
The Noise Within is an A+ for me and the series it debuts has a very high potential and I expect it to develop to be among the best space opera series around.
Official Christopher Farnsworth Website
Order “Blood Oath” HERE (US) + HERE (UK)
AUTHOR INFORMATION: A graduate from the College of Idaho, Christopher Farnsworth worked as an investigative and business reporter for several years before selling his first screenplay. His work has also appeared in the New Republic, Washington Monthly, the New York Post, and on E! Online. “Blood Oath” is his first novel.
PLOT SUMMARY: In 1867 a man accused of vampirism was tried for murder and sentenced to death. He was then pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, and died years later in an asylum for the criminally insane.
At least, that’s the cover story.
Meet Nathanial Cade: the President's vampire.
Cade's pardon came at a price. In return for his freedom Cade swore a blood oath to protect America and the Presidential line from their supernatural enemies. Now, over 140 years later, Cade still works for the President and his administration.
In “Blood Oath”, Cade is paired with a new liasion to the Oval Office, a cocky young political operator named Zach Barrows who has been assigned to be his new handler. While Zach struggles to understand Cade’s very existence and how to navigate a partnership with a blood-drinking immortal, he and Cade uncover a grisly plot to attack the United States with a gruesome new form of biological weapon. What they don’t realize is that they are about to find out that they have an even more serious opponent, a traitor who has access to the highest levels of power—the White House itself...
CLASSIFICATION: “Blood Oath” marries political and techno thrills with the supernatural. It’s like 24 meets Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger novels meets Fringe meets Blade.
FORMAT/INFO: “Blood Oath” is 400 pages long divided over sixty-nine numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Narration is in the third person via several characters, both good and bad, including Nathaniel Cade, Zach Barrows, the President of the United States, Tania, Dr. Johann Konrad Dippel, Helen Holt, etc. “Blood Oath” is self-contained, but is the first book in a new series that has been contracted for at least two more sequels.
May 18, 2010 marks the North American Hardcover publication of “Blood Oath” via Putnam Adult. The UK edition (see below) will be published July 18, 2010 via Hodder & Stoughton.
ANALYSIS: There’s a lot to like about Christopher Farnsworth’s debut novel, “Blood Oath”, but for me it all starts with the concept: a vampire oath-bound to serve and protect America and the presidential line against threats from the Other Side, which in this case includes everything from zombies and werewolves to demons, invisible men and aliens. Or as Agent Griffin so eloquently puts it:
“There are worse things in this world than al-Qaeda and North Korea, Zach. And they are just waiting for their chance at us. Someone has to be there to hold the line. That’s what we do. We fight every incursion they make. They invade; we repel. Forget the War on Terror, Zach. This is the War on Horror. And you’ve just been drafted.”
What’s really cool about this idea is that it’s actually inspired by true events, at least according to Charles Hoy Fort who first wrote about President Andrew Johnson pardoning a vampire in his nonfiction book, “Wild Talents”, published in 1932. Whether based on fact or fiction, the concept is an interesting one and definitely makes for some entertaining reading...
Of course it helps that the book is well-written. In particular, the prose is crisp and accessible; the pacing is thrilling aided by short chapters and multiple point-of-views; the characters are likeable; and the story’s action and plot twists are skillfully executed. Granted, the dialogue and similes/metaphors are sometimes clichéd bordering on cheesy; none of the characters are particularly deep or complex in addition to being mostly stereotypical; and the story is full of recycled ideas; but because the book reads like a movie—and can be just as much fun as watching one—I was able to overlook such shortcomings.
As far as the actual story, Christopher Farnsworth does a nice job of mixing things up. Besides the main subplot involving an extreme Middle East terrorist group, Dr. Johann Konrad Dippel, and Frankenstein-like zombies, the author gives readers a glimpse at Nathaniel Cade’s storied past including how he became a vampire in 1867, the forging of his blood oath to President Andrew Johnson and future presidents, his history with Konrad Dippel, why he wasn’t able to prevent 9/11, and so on. Mr. Farnsworth also lays down a solid foundation for the rest of the series with a supporting cast that includes Zach Barrows, a love interest for Cade in the vampire Tania, Helen Holt, and Dr. Johann Konrad as well as introducing interesting conflicts like the Shadow Company and Cade’s refusal to drink human blood which is preventing him from reaching his full potential as a vampire. Additionally, I enjoyed the excerpts—from Cade’s Briefing Book, a transcript of a conversation with Richard M. Nixon, letters to Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson, news articles, et cetera—found at the beginning of most chapters which added further depth and texture to the novel.
CONCLUSION: Overall, I had a blast with Christopher Farnsworth’s debut novel, “Blood Oath”. Sure, the book is hardly thought-provoking or original, but then again, it’s not supposed to be. Instead, what the author has done is taken several familiar ideas like political thrillers and vampires, and combined them. The end result is an addictively fun and entertaining reading experience that has the potential to be very successful. At least I hope it’s successful because I can’t wait to join Nathaniel Cade for more adventures...
Order “Blood Oath” HERE (US) + HERE (UK)
AUTHOR INFORMATION: A graduate from the College of Idaho, Christopher Farnsworth worked as an investigative and business reporter for several years before selling his first screenplay. His work has also appeared in the New Republic, Washington Monthly, the New York Post, and on E! Online. “Blood Oath” is his first novel.
PLOT SUMMARY: In 1867 a man accused of vampirism was tried for murder and sentenced to death. He was then pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, and died years later in an asylum for the criminally insane.
At least, that’s the cover story.
Meet Nathanial Cade: the President's vampire.
Cade's pardon came at a price. In return for his freedom Cade swore a blood oath to protect America and the Presidential line from their supernatural enemies. Now, over 140 years later, Cade still works for the President and his administration.
In “Blood Oath”, Cade is paired with a new liasion to the Oval Office, a cocky young political operator named Zach Barrows who has been assigned to be his new handler. While Zach struggles to understand Cade’s very existence and how to navigate a partnership with a blood-drinking immortal, he and Cade uncover a grisly plot to attack the United States with a gruesome new form of biological weapon. What they don’t realize is that they are about to find out that they have an even more serious opponent, a traitor who has access to the highest levels of power—the White House itself...
CLASSIFICATION: “Blood Oath” marries political and techno thrills with the supernatural. It’s like 24 meets Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger novels meets Fringe meets Blade.
FORMAT/INFO: “Blood Oath” is 400 pages long divided over sixty-nine numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Narration is in the third person via several characters, both good and bad, including Nathaniel Cade, Zach Barrows, the President of the United States, Tania, Dr. Johann Konrad Dippel, Helen Holt, etc. “Blood Oath” is self-contained, but is the first book in a new series that has been contracted for at least two more sequels.
May 18, 2010 marks the North American Hardcover publication of “Blood Oath” via Putnam Adult. The UK edition (see below) will be published July 18, 2010 via Hodder & Stoughton.
ANALYSIS: There’s a lot to like about Christopher Farnsworth’s debut novel, “Blood Oath”, but for me it all starts with the concept: a vampire oath-bound to serve and protect America and the presidential line against threats from the Other Side, which in this case includes everything from zombies and werewolves to demons, invisible men and aliens. Or as Agent Griffin so eloquently puts it:“There are worse things in this world than al-Qaeda and North Korea, Zach. And they are just waiting for their chance at us. Someone has to be there to hold the line. That’s what we do. We fight every incursion they make. They invade; we repel. Forget the War on Terror, Zach. This is the War on Horror. And you’ve just been drafted.”
What’s really cool about this idea is that it’s actually inspired by true events, at least according to Charles Hoy Fort who first wrote about President Andrew Johnson pardoning a vampire in his nonfiction book, “Wild Talents”, published in 1932. Whether based on fact or fiction, the concept is an interesting one and definitely makes for some entertaining reading...
Of course it helps that the book is well-written. In particular, the prose is crisp and accessible; the pacing is thrilling aided by short chapters and multiple point-of-views; the characters are likeable; and the story’s action and plot twists are skillfully executed. Granted, the dialogue and similes/metaphors are sometimes clichéd bordering on cheesy; none of the characters are particularly deep or complex in addition to being mostly stereotypical; and the story is full of recycled ideas; but because the book reads like a movie—and can be just as much fun as watching one—I was able to overlook such shortcomings.
As far as the actual story, Christopher Farnsworth does a nice job of mixing things up. Besides the main subplot involving an extreme Middle East terrorist group, Dr. Johann Konrad Dippel, and Frankenstein-like zombies, the author gives readers a glimpse at Nathaniel Cade’s storied past including how he became a vampire in 1867, the forging of his blood oath to President Andrew Johnson and future presidents, his history with Konrad Dippel, why he wasn’t able to prevent 9/11, and so on. Mr. Farnsworth also lays down a solid foundation for the rest of the series with a supporting cast that includes Zach Barrows, a love interest for Cade in the vampire Tania, Helen Holt, and Dr. Johann Konrad as well as introducing interesting conflicts like the Shadow Company and Cade’s refusal to drink human blood which is preventing him from reaching his full potential as a vampire. Additionally, I enjoyed the excerpts—from Cade’s Briefing Book, a transcript of a conversation with Richard M. Nixon, letters to Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson, news articles, et cetera—found at the beginning of most chapters which added further depth and texture to the novel.
CONCLUSION: Overall, I had a blast with Christopher Farnsworth’s debut novel, “Blood Oath”. Sure, the book is hardly thought-provoking or original, but then again, it’s not supposed to be. Instead, what the author has done is taken several familiar ideas like political thrillers and vampires, and combined them. The end result is an addictively fun and entertaining reading experience that has the potential to be very successful. At least I hope it’s successful because I can’t wait to join Nathaniel Cade for more adventures...
While we are in mid-April I managed to read so far about 66 2010 releases - some read in 2009 as arcs - and out of them there are 42 from the list of my roughly 100 anticipated books including five from the top ten, while I am currently reading two more from the top 10 and several more from the extended list. Since this year there have been many books that I enjoyed a lot, I thought of doing a quick update with twelve books that stood out for me so far, nine of which are already out and have been reviewed by me - including three dual reviews - and three more to be reviewed in April and May.
**********************************************
So far and not unexpectedly The Folding Knife by KJ Parker is my top read of the year both as sff and mainstream novels go; right now since the new IM Banks Culture novel seems to be 2011, the one novel I see as real competition is the David Mitchell May release which I have on preorder; the Booker long list will probably provide some mainstream books of interest and of course the Void 3 novel by Peter Hamilton is a contender, while the new upcoming books by John Meaney, Felix Gilman, Tim Akers, Gary Gibson and Robert Redick are outside possibilities too.
**********************************************
Somewhat unexpectedly Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis is so far my top debut of the year and one of my top novels overall, though this one is closer to mainstream than pure genre. The writing and the characters are just top of the line and the novel manages to surprise quite a lot too. From the announced debuts I do not have so far, the ones that may be contenders with this one for my top 2010 debut are Passion Play by Beth Bernobich and The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi, with several more outside possibilities mentioned in my original post.
**********************************************
Contending with the Tregillis novel in the mainstream category, Black Hills by Dan Simmons enchanted me with its main character Paha Sapa of the Sioux Nation and his tale that indirectly spans millenniums due to his special powers.
**********************************************
Salute the Dark by Adrian Tchaikovsky closes the first part of his superb Kinden series and elevates it to be my favorite ongoing fantasy series and third overall current series.
**********************************************
City of Ruin by Mark Newton (to be reviewed May) continues the tale of the heroes from Nights of Villjamur and starts going into stranger territory. This is another one that is moving into my top ongoing fantasy series.
**********************************************
The Emerald Storm by Michael Sullivan fulfills the promise started in The Crown Conspiracy and elevates the Ryria Revelations series to the top level of epic fantasy for me.
**********************************************
Secrets of the Fire Sea by Stephen Hunt is a return to form for the author and the top sf novel so far of 2010 with a loose definition of sf.
**********************************************
The Noise Within by Ian Whates (review HERE) is one of the two novels here I did not know about until recently. While technically the debut of the author is the wonderful City of Dreams and Nightmare published a month or so before this one, The Noise Within is the start of a space opera series that has echoes of the modern masters of the genre (IM Banks, PF Hamilton and N.Asher) and which I liked so much that I had to reread it twice before I could leave the wonderful universe and characters created there.
**********************************************
Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk (to be reviewed May) While pretty conventional as subject, this debut is superb as writing quality and it just grabs you from the first page and never lets go.
**********************************************
Secrets of the Sands by Leona Wisoker A small press debut I have found out by chance and which impressed me with great writing quality and characters, while having enough twists and turns to go with the seemingly conventional subject.
**********************************************
The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman Gonzo, controversial, "love or hate" with all the stuff thrown in that may not work for everyone, but for me it worked superbly and with its very high reread value, it will rank in the top on my end of the year lists though I will give it another reread (would be fourth full read) later this year to see how well it wears in time and after reading all the negative reviews around.
**********************************************
A Mighty Fortress by David Weber Another novel which is of the "I really love" category, and has the highest reread value for me as well as being the one major bestseller on the list above and the fourth book in the Safehold series that has just become my co-#1 ongoing series of all kinds (sf, f, historical) with this installment. Also A Mighty Fortress is the grandest scale epic from this list with tons of characters and threads though at its core it lies a relatively straightforward story about human freedom and true faith in God contending with corruption, lies, terror and fanaticism.
**********************************************
So far and not unexpectedly The Folding Knife by KJ Parker is my top read of the year both as sff and mainstream novels go; right now since the new IM Banks Culture novel seems to be 2011, the one novel I see as real competition is the David Mitchell May release which I have on preorder; the Booker long list will probably provide some mainstream books of interest and of course the Void 3 novel by Peter Hamilton is a contender, while the new upcoming books by John Meaney, Felix Gilman, Tim Akers, Gary Gibson and Robert Redick are outside possibilities too.
**********************************************
Somewhat unexpectedly Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis is so far my top debut of the year and one of my top novels overall, though this one is closer to mainstream than pure genre. The writing and the characters are just top of the line and the novel manages to surprise quite a lot too. From the announced debuts I do not have so far, the ones that may be contenders with this one for my top 2010 debut are Passion Play by Beth Bernobich and The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi, with several more outside possibilities mentioned in my original post.
**********************************************
Contending with the Tregillis novel in the mainstream category, Black Hills by Dan Simmons enchanted me with its main character Paha Sapa of the Sioux Nation and his tale that indirectly spans millenniums due to his special powers.**********************************************
Salute the Dark by Adrian Tchaikovsky closes the first part of his superb Kinden series and elevates it to be my favorite ongoing fantasy series and third overall current series.
**********************************************
City of Ruin by Mark Newton (to be reviewed May) continues the tale of the heroes from Nights of Villjamur and starts going into stranger territory. This is another one that is moving into my top ongoing fantasy series.
**********************************************
The Emerald Storm by Michael Sullivan fulfills the promise started in The Crown Conspiracy and elevates the Ryria Revelations series to the top level of epic fantasy for me.
**********************************************
Secrets of the Fire Sea by Stephen Hunt is a return to form for the author and the top sf novel so far of 2010 with a loose definition of sf.**********************************************
The Noise Within by Ian Whates (review HERE) is one of the two novels here I did not know about until recently. While technically the debut of the author is the wonderful City of Dreams and Nightmare published a month or so before this one, The Noise Within is the start of a space opera series that has echoes of the modern masters of the genre (IM Banks, PF Hamilton and N.Asher) and which I liked so much that I had to reread it twice before I could leave the wonderful universe and characters created there.
**********************************************
Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk (to be reviewed May) While pretty conventional as subject, this debut is superb as writing quality and it just grabs you from the first page and never lets go.**********************************************
Secrets of the Sands by Leona Wisoker A small press debut I have found out by chance and which impressed me with great writing quality and characters, while having enough twists and turns to go with the seemingly conventional subject.
**********************************************
The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman Gonzo, controversial, "love or hate" with all the stuff thrown in that may not work for everyone, but for me it worked superbly and with its very high reread value, it will rank in the top on my end of the year lists though I will give it another reread (would be fourth full read) later this year to see how well it wears in time and after reading all the negative reviews around.
**********************************************
A Mighty Fortress by David Weber Another novel which is of the "I really love" category, and has the highest reread value for me as well as being the one major bestseller on the list above and the fourth book in the Safehold series that has just become my co-#1 ongoing series of all kinds (sf, f, historical) with this installment. Also A Mighty Fortress is the grandest scale epic from this list with tons of characters and threads though at its core it lies a relatively straightforward story about human freedom and true faith in God contending with corruption, lies, terror and fanaticism.
Visit E.J. Stevens Official Blog Here
Watch the Book Trailer Here
Order Shadows of Myth And Legend from Amazon Here
Watch the Book Trailer Here
Order Shadows of Myth And Legend from Amazon Here
To continue with the theme of National Poetry month I thought I'd feature Shadows of Myth and Legend by E.J. Stevens. I ran across E.J. by chance on goodreads. While poetry can be beautiful and moving, Stevens writing is describes as dark poetry. It really intrigued me and I wanted to see what this all had in store.
Shadows of Myth and Legend is a 70 page collection of dark poems that involve some of the creatures of myth and legends. These creatures range from vampires, demons, dark fairies and the like.
The first thing that stands out about this collection of poetry is the amount of talent that E.J. Stevens has. This isn't some slapped together version of poems put into a book for people to enjoy. Instead there is an immense collection of very dark poems. Each poem brings about a picture from some of the creatures of legends and although it doesn't describe every movement of these creatures I could vividly imagine the darkness that trailed behind all these creatures.
These poems aren't going to make someone scream or stay up all night. Instead there is a bit of a dark cloud feeling to these poems. There isn't white puffy clouds and skipping involved in these poems. The thing that stood out the most about all these poems really was the talent that Stevens has. These poems actually made sense and didn't try to confuse or impress the reader with complex words and sing songy flow.
Shadows of Myth and Legend is perfect for any fan of dark creatures that are from legends and fairy tales and will make a great collection of poems for the dark poetry lover. Even if one isn't a dark poetry fan it's worth it to see what that style is all about.
Shadows of Myth and Legend is a 70 page collection of dark poems that involve some of the creatures of myth and legends. These creatures range from vampires, demons, dark fairies and the like.
The first thing that stands out about this collection of poetry is the amount of talent that E.J. Stevens has. This isn't some slapped together version of poems put into a book for people to enjoy. Instead there is an immense collection of very dark poems. Each poem brings about a picture from some of the creatures of legends and although it doesn't describe every movement of these creatures I could vividly imagine the darkness that trailed behind all these creatures.
These poems aren't going to make someone scream or stay up all night. Instead there is a bit of a dark cloud feeling to these poems. There isn't white puffy clouds and skipping involved in these poems. The thing that stood out the most about all these poems really was the talent that Stevens has. These poems actually made sense and didn't try to confuse or impress the reader with complex words and sing songy flow.
Shadows of Myth and Legend is perfect for any fan of dark creatures that are from legends and fairy tales and will make a great collection of poems for the dark poetry lover. Even if one isn't a dark poetry fan it's worth it to see what that style is all about.
Friday, April 16, 2010
"The Desert Spear" by Peter Brett (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu and Mihir Wanchoo)
Official Peter Brett Website
Order The Desert Spear HERE
Read FBC Review of The Painted Man(UK) aka The Warded Man(US)
Read FBC Review of The Great Bazaar and Other Stories
INTRODUCTION: In My Anticipated Books of 2010 post, I said the following about "The Desert Spear":
"Demons and glyphs, magic and survival, avoid the night at all cost and darker, grittier writing made The Painted Man (UK) aka The Warded Man (US) the debut of Peter Brett and of the series, a big time favorite last year...", so "The Desert Spear" was a natural book to be included in a high position.
FORMAT/CLASSIFICATION: The Desert Spear stands at almost 600 pages divided into four sections and 33 chapters, all named, while there is a prologue featuring some new kinds of demons.
The Desert Spear has about 6-7 POV characters namely Arlen, Leesha & Rojer from the previous book and Jardir, Renna and Inevera [Jardir’s principal wife] who is one that will trigger reader emotions as to the level of her prescience. The readers will also get a clearer look into the life of Abban, the trader who was friendly with Arlen and features so prominently in the novella The Great Bazaar.
The ending is at a good stopping point for a series currently projected at 5 volumes, while The Desert Spear is epic fantasy that combines traditional qualities (heroic heroes and villainous villains so to speak) with the darker, grittier style of the "new epic".
ANALYSIS: Mihir : The Desert Spear was my top 2010 anticipated novel after last year’s The Painted Man took first place in my 2009 reads. So with such high expectations I started The Desert Spear wondering whether Peter Brett would be able to duplicate his success and give us a worthy sequel.
The Desert Spear prominently features Jardir a minor but very important character in the debut novel and it focuses upon his journey from childhood to adulthood in the same way as it was done with Arlen in the previous book. The author also gives us a very detailed look at the Krasian way of life and warrior culture in the process and makes that world much more alive while precluding Jardir from being just an Arabian warrior stereotype. The story then progresses to catch up with what has occurred previously and then expands as Jardir and his Krasian warriors look to emulate the path of the first Deliverer Kaji. However the Krasian way of getting allies is a brutal one and more than often it antagonizes the subjected population.
The story then turns towards the geopolitical spectrum as Arlen and Jardir go about their individual ways and in turn meet other crucial POV characters. We get a story which becomes much more than just a battle of survival. While the basic premise of the series , namely defeating/understanding the Corelings is always present, The Desert Spear features a lot more the mystical aspects of its universe and the powers they can grant to their bearers . The Krasian magic system is very fascinating and the seemingly powerful magic of their women makes us reconsider the Krasian culture to a large extent.
The Desert Spear is darker than "The Painted Man" and it was more fascinating in the sense that the magic system was explored further, we were given a viewpoint into the enemy both human and non-human and lastly the POV character interaction just sets the pace for the next book nicely. On the downside the action levels in this book are bit more muted than before and by this I mean that while The Desert Spear does have lots of action scenes, they are more on a personal level rather than the "men against demons" in "The Painted Man".
The one niggle I had was that of three different characters who recognized Arlen in his painted avatar, two choices seemed logical but the last one however seemed a bit stretched.
Overall The Desert Spear was a worthy sequel to "The Painted Man"; it wasn’t as addictive as the debut but it had its own dark edge to it. Especially since this can be considered as a transitional volume and sets up a lot of events for the third book “The Daylight War” and as the title clues us in we are in for a bumpy ride. The Desert Spear will be a worthy contender for my year end lists.
Liviu: I quite liked The Desert Spear end to end though the first 200 or so pages that focus on the Krasian culture and on Jardir's rise to power have an intensity that is unmatched later. However I thought that pretty much the whole novel was on the quality of the best of The Painted Man as writing goes; The Desert Spear was much more focused on the cultures of Krasia and The Free Cities than on the Demons per se, with Jardir emerging as a great main character in addition to Arles, Leesha, Rojer. We also saw new kinds of demons too and there were some superb action sequences that complemented nicely the political aspects and the intrigue.
The one downside for me is still the lack of subtlety in most characters which in the first volume was more than compensated by the freshness of the setting as it was here in the Krasian part, but later the one dimensionality of most POV's showed a bit. However I have big hopes that we will see "sentient demons" that may have some rationality for their action beyond pure hunger and the series will take the one step higher as nuance goes. A strong A from me and the sequel will be another highly anticipated novel..
Read FBC Review of The Painted Man(UK) aka The Warded Man(US)
Read FBC Review of The Great Bazaar and Other Stories
INTRODUCTION: In My Anticipated Books of 2010 post, I said the following about "The Desert Spear":
"Demons and glyphs, magic and survival, avoid the night at all cost and darker, grittier writing made The Painted Man (UK) aka The Warded Man (US) the debut of Peter Brett and of the series, a big time favorite last year...", so "The Desert Spear" was a natural book to be included in a high position.
FORMAT/CLASSIFICATION: The Desert Spear stands at almost 600 pages divided into four sections and 33 chapters, all named, while there is a prologue featuring some new kinds of demons.
The Desert Spear has about 6-7 POV characters namely Arlen, Leesha & Rojer from the previous book and Jardir, Renna and Inevera [Jardir’s principal wife] who is one that will trigger reader emotions as to the level of her prescience. The readers will also get a clearer look into the life of Abban, the trader who was friendly with Arlen and features so prominently in the novella The Great Bazaar.
The ending is at a good stopping point for a series currently projected at 5 volumes, while The Desert Spear is epic fantasy that combines traditional qualities (heroic heroes and villainous villains so to speak) with the darker, grittier style of the "new epic".
ANALYSIS: Mihir : The Desert Spear was my top 2010 anticipated novel after last year’s The Painted Man took first place in my 2009 reads. So with such high expectations I started The Desert Spear wondering whether Peter Brett would be able to duplicate his success and give us a worthy sequel.
The Desert Spear prominently features Jardir a minor but very important character in the debut novel and it focuses upon his journey from childhood to adulthood in the same way as it was done with Arlen in the previous book. The author also gives us a very detailed look at the Krasian way of life and warrior culture in the process and makes that world much more alive while precluding Jardir from being just an Arabian warrior stereotype. The story then progresses to catch up with what has occurred previously and then expands as Jardir and his Krasian warriors look to emulate the path of the first Deliverer Kaji. However the Krasian way of getting allies is a brutal one and more than often it antagonizes the subjected population.
The story then turns towards the geopolitical spectrum as Arlen and Jardir go about their individual ways and in turn meet other crucial POV characters. We get a story which becomes much more than just a battle of survival. While the basic premise of the series , namely defeating/understanding the Corelings is always present, The Desert Spear features a lot more the mystical aspects of its universe and the powers they can grant to their bearers . The Krasian magic system is very fascinating and the seemingly powerful magic of their women makes us reconsider the Krasian culture to a large extent.
The Desert Spear is darker than "The Painted Man" and it was more fascinating in the sense that the magic system was explored further, we were given a viewpoint into the enemy both human and non-human and lastly the POV character interaction just sets the pace for the next book nicely. On the downside the action levels in this book are bit more muted than before and by this I mean that while The Desert Spear does have lots of action scenes, they are more on a personal level rather than the "men against demons" in "The Painted Man".
The one niggle I had was that of three different characters who recognized Arlen in his painted avatar, two choices seemed logical but the last one however seemed a bit stretched.
Overall The Desert Spear was a worthy sequel to "The Painted Man"; it wasn’t as addictive as the debut but it had its own dark edge to it. Especially since this can be considered as a transitional volume and sets up a lot of events for the third book “The Daylight War” and as the title clues us in we are in for a bumpy ride. The Desert Spear will be a worthy contender for my year end lists.
Liviu: I quite liked The Desert Spear end to end though the first 200 or so pages that focus on the Krasian culture and on Jardir's rise to power have an intensity that is unmatched later. However I thought that pretty much the whole novel was on the quality of the best of The Painted Man as writing goes; The Desert Spear was much more focused on the cultures of Krasia and The Free Cities than on the Demons per se, with Jardir emerging as a great main character in addition to Arles, Leesha, Rojer. We also saw new kinds of demons too and there were some superb action sequences that complemented nicely the political aspects and the intrigue.
The one downside for me is still the lack of subtlety in most characters which in the first volume was more than compensated by the freshness of the setting as it was here in the Krasian part, but later the one dimensionality of most POV's showed a bit. However I have big hopes that we will see "sentient demons" that may have some rationality for their action beyond pure hunger and the series will take the one step higher as nuance goes. A strong A from me and the sequel will be another highly anticipated novel..
Author Introduction: 13 Treasures won the prestigious Waterstone's Children's Book Award, an award by one of the world's largest book suppliers in the UK. It is Michelle Karrison's debut novel.
Overview: Tanya experiences something that other 13 year olds do not. She sees many little creatures that are virtually unknown to others. She can see evil fairies, goblins, brownies, and other creatures. No matter what Tayna has tried to do these evil creatures won't leave her alone. When she mentions their existence to anyone who doesn't have this second sight, the fairies come in the middle of the night and torment and torture her so she will learn a lesson.
One evening the fairies have come to pay a visit to Tayna. They have caused her to create such a mess and disturbance that her mother has had enough. The family has recently been dealing with the recent divorce and Tayna's mother believes she is acting out in an attempt to get attention. To resolve this issue Tanya is sent away to stay at her grandmother's old estate for a weeks. This estate is filled with hundreds and thousands of fairies and other creatures.
In a small town not far from the estate there has been a major increase in missing children. What the town does not know is that they are actually dealing with the issue of changelings that is causing these children to go missing.
Tayna soon finds herself wrapped up in the mystery of events in the town, and even further involved with a mystery that has been haunting Tayna's grandmother and the game keeper of the estate. Tayna will find herself looking to try and enter the fairy realm and get the answers to some of the town's most talked about mysteries.
Format: 13 Treasures is a YA fantasy mixed with a bit of mystery. It stands at 368 pages. It is being released in the US April 12, 2010 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers. It was released in the UK in 2009 by Simon & Schuster Children's. The sequel 13 Curses is currently released in the UK, with a release date in the US to be announced.
Analysis: Any book that wins a major award instantly grabs the attention of any reader. When it was announced that 13 Treasures won the Waterstone's Children's Book Award I was curious to see what it held. When it was announced that Little Brown Books for Young Readers would be bringing it to the US I was really excited.
13 Treasures is a fantasy and mystery wrapped up into one. There are some areas that make this book stand out from the rest but there are also some areas that suffer from the traditional debut novel/author syndrome.
These fairies in this book are evil. There's no other way to describe it. For children this is probably their first encounter with evil creatures. These fairies punch, kick, bite, burn, and hurt people. This whole concept was handled very nicely and even as a veteran reader of fantasy I was amazed at the amount of creativity and time that was spent to develop these creatures' personalities.
This story is grime and very dark for a children's book. It was a nice change of pace from the happy little tinkerbell fairies that seem to be popping up for children. Adult readers might find it a bit of a new twist but nothing overly different from what they've read before.
The problems with this novel pop up in the pacing of the writing. It sometimes comes across as very choppy. The events felt a little uneven a sometimes a bit forced to make them fit into the time frame of the book. This is fairly classic of a debut novel and wasn't overwhelming but it did seem to drag the novel down a bit. There is also an issue in that it takes a good 150 pages before anything of the mystery is revealed. There is plenty of world building and fairy encounters but it caused me to wonder what the mystery was and what the point of the novel was. After the half way point the book picked up pace and was really captivating. The slow start took a bit to get through but I finally understood why this novel was so well liked.
The main characters in the book, Tayna and Fabian (a boy who lives on Tayna's grandma's estate) are a bit of the typical YA characters that one would expect to encounter in a children's novel. I wasn't overly impressed with Tayna as a character, and really the characters aren't the best part of the book. I had a hard time understanding how she could figure out certain things and at the same time take so long to piece anything of this mystery together.
Although the characters aren't overwhelming, 13 Treasures is definitely a great little read. The use of a world where evil fairies live in existence with humans was brilliantly done. The world building and fairy aspect of this novel are it's strongest points. As a debut novel there are a few issues with writing that needs to be ironed out but overall it was an impressive read. Young readers will enjoy this first look into a darkish fantasy while adult readers will find it a fast enjoyable read. I definitely can't wait to see how this story continues in 13 Curses, and how Michaelle Harrison grows as an author because there is a lot of talent and imagination there.
Overview: Tanya experiences something that other 13 year olds do not. She sees many little creatures that are virtually unknown to others. She can see evil fairies, goblins, brownies, and other creatures. No matter what Tayna has tried to do these evil creatures won't leave her alone. When she mentions their existence to anyone who doesn't have this second sight, the fairies come in the middle of the night and torment and torture her so she will learn a lesson.
One evening the fairies have come to pay a visit to Tayna. They have caused her to create such a mess and disturbance that her mother has had enough. The family has recently been dealing with the recent divorce and Tayna's mother believes she is acting out in an attempt to get attention. To resolve this issue Tanya is sent away to stay at her grandmother's old estate for a weeks. This estate is filled with hundreds and thousands of fairies and other creatures.
In a small town not far from the estate there has been a major increase in missing children. What the town does not know is that they are actually dealing with the issue of changelings that is causing these children to go missing.
Tayna soon finds herself wrapped up in the mystery of events in the town, and even further involved with a mystery that has been haunting Tayna's grandmother and the game keeper of the estate. Tayna will find herself looking to try and enter the fairy realm and get the answers to some of the town's most talked about mysteries.
Format: 13 Treasures is a YA fantasy mixed with a bit of mystery. It stands at 368 pages. It is being released in the US April 12, 2010 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers. It was released in the UK in 2009 by Simon & Schuster Children's. The sequel 13 Curses is currently released in the UK, with a release date in the US to be announced.
Analysis: Any book that wins a major award instantly grabs the attention of any reader. When it was announced that 13 Treasures won the Waterstone's Children's Book Award I was curious to see what it held. When it was announced that Little Brown Books for Young Readers would be bringing it to the US I was really excited.
13 Treasures is a fantasy and mystery wrapped up into one. There are some areas that make this book stand out from the rest but there are also some areas that suffer from the traditional debut novel/author syndrome.
These fairies in this book are evil. There's no other way to describe it. For children this is probably their first encounter with evil creatures. These fairies punch, kick, bite, burn, and hurt people. This whole concept was handled very nicely and even as a veteran reader of fantasy I was amazed at the amount of creativity and time that was spent to develop these creatures' personalities.
This story is grime and very dark for a children's book. It was a nice change of pace from the happy little tinkerbell fairies that seem to be popping up for children. Adult readers might find it a bit of a new twist but nothing overly different from what they've read before.
The problems with this novel pop up in the pacing of the writing. It sometimes comes across as very choppy. The events felt a little uneven a sometimes a bit forced to make them fit into the time frame of the book. This is fairly classic of a debut novel and wasn't overwhelming but it did seem to drag the novel down a bit. There is also an issue in that it takes a good 150 pages before anything of the mystery is revealed. There is plenty of world building and fairy encounters but it caused me to wonder what the mystery was and what the point of the novel was. After the half way point the book picked up pace and was really captivating. The slow start took a bit to get through but I finally understood why this novel was so well liked.
The main characters in the book, Tayna and Fabian (a boy who lives on Tayna's grandma's estate) are a bit of the typical YA characters that one would expect to encounter in a children's novel. I wasn't overly impressed with Tayna as a character, and really the characters aren't the best part of the book. I had a hard time understanding how she could figure out certain things and at the same time take so long to piece anything of this mystery together.
Although the characters aren't overwhelming, 13 Treasures is definitely a great little read. The use of a world where evil fairies live in existence with humans was brilliantly done. The world building and fairy aspect of this novel are it's strongest points. As a debut novel there are a few issues with writing that needs to be ironed out but overall it was an impressive read. Young readers will enjoy this first look into a darkish fantasy while adult readers will find it a fast enjoyable read. I definitely can't wait to see how this story continues in 13 Curses, and how Michaelle Harrison grows as an author because there is a lot of talent and imagination there.
Official Michael Flynn Blog
Order "Up Jim River" HERE
Read an Excerpt from the Novel HERE
Read FBC Review of "The January Dancer"
INTRODUCTION: "Up Jim River" is the direct sequel to "The January Dancer" which I described as a "Celtic space opera" in my review linked above. Since "The January Dancer" was published in 2008 which was a superb year for sf novels, it barely missed my top 5 but it was of that caliber and last year it would have easily been my second sf novel of the year. So these were the very high expectations I came to "Up Jim River" and they were mostly but not fully met, mainly because of a structural issue I will touch upon in the analysis.
FORMAT/CLASSIFICATION: "Up Jim River" stands at about 320 pages divided into 18 very evocatively named chapters. The book starts with a glossary of characters and a map, while the ending is just superb, setting up a third book that should be a cracker. The main POV's are the interlude ones from "The January Dancer" - "the Harper" Mearana and "the Scarred Man" Donovan, but almost everyone of importance from The January Dancer makes at least a cameo appearance.
"Up Jim River" is mostly a Vancian travelogue with the universe of "The January Dancer" taking place of Vance's Gaean Reach, so while it takes place in a space opera context, the novel is closer to a picaresque adventure than anything else.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS "Up Jim River" starts 20 years after the main events in The January Dancer but immediately after the interludes that tell of those events.
We reconnect with the main characters from the novel, but here the story is simpler - Lucia Thompson aka Mearana, the 19 year old daughter of "Hound" Bridget-ban - super agent for the League, one of the two main powers of the universe and the "good guys" - is looking for her disappeared mother; of the three men who were with Bridget on the January Dancer mission and which all incidentally can be Lucia's father though it's pretty obvious soon who is the one, two are also Hounds/Pups and the organization had looked for Bridget for two years until officially giving up, so Lucia has the only choice to find Donovan aka The Fudir aka The Scarred Man aka The Teller of Tales in The January Dancer as we saw then without really knowing the subtext until very late in that novel.
Donovan who seemingly stole away with the treasure from Bridget, Hugh and Greystroke, was in reality broken by his former masters, "Those of Names" who lead the Confederation, the other major power of the series and "the bad guys" and now is a useless drunk with 7 personalities warring in his head, though the Fudir and Donovan are the two dominant ones.
Of course Mearana "convinces" Donovan to help her look for her mother at least for a while and together they embark on a trip that will take them to quite strange places.
So Up Jim River is a "travelogue" novel, with Mearana and Donovan retracing Bridget's path and exploring the odder corners of the League and its boundaries and here lies the main weakness of the novel in that the attempt to create weird cultures falls somewhat flat because it conflicts with the Celtic flavored archaic language of the novel and the result is partly messy, partly silly and only occasionally convincing, while descending into farce at least once with a so called "Emperor" that only wants to escape his planet and stiffing duties. Since the respective planet was devastated in an Earthquake and Bridget led the rescue mission for the League and "annointed" this minor bureaucrat as "Emperor", the personage in cause tries to use the coming of Lucia to run away with quite silly results. Adding to that the mannerisms of Donovan's acquired servant Billy which are way overdone and Billy's dialogue is very annoying in a way The Fudir's was not in The January Dancer.
On the plus side, Donovan makes for a great character with his warring personalities, inner conflict as well as the need to deal with the legacy of mistrust as far as the League and the Hounds goes, while Mearana is quite endearing and you cannot help but root for her to find if not her mother, at least concrete evidence of Bridget's fate.
There is action and intrigue, the big secret that Bridget had been investigating is revealed in appropriate drips and drabs, but some of the major twists of the novel are seen too easily. Up Jim River has enough goodies - superb style, page turner, characters and action - to compensate for the flawed structure so I would still rate it an A but I expected more after the superb A++ of The January Dancer.
The sequel implied by the ending seems to get back to the large scale picture so I am definitely interested; the universe imagined by Mr. Flynn is superb and has lots of possibilities, but the choice of the archaic Celtic-peppered language which worked so well in The January Dancer since it added depth to the space opera feel, backfires here when it makes most of the multiple "weird" cultures that form such a main part of the novel, feel a bit silly and make-believe.
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Jim Butcher is the author of eighteen previous novels which includes the NYT bestselling urban fantasy series, Dresden Files which has also been made into a television series by the SY-FY channel of the same name and the fantasy sextet Codex Alera series which ended a few months ago. Jim Butcher is also a martial arts enthusiast and a live-action gamer.
PLOT SUMMARY: Nearly 10 years ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden's lover-until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it. Now lady Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered Susan’s secret and she plans to use it- to further her own vendetta against Harry. Thus to prevail against the mighty odds set this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry's not fighting to save the world... He's fighting to save his child.
CLASSIFICATION: Changes is the 12th book in the Dresden Files series, an Urban Fantasy series that follows a similar writing pattern of using humor and action for the storyline. Unlike the previous novels this one ends in a cliffhanger which was a new twist to this series.
FORMAT/INFO: The HC edition stands at 448 pages and is divided into 49 chapters and an author’s note. The narration is via first person and features Harry Dresden as the sole POV
April 6, 2010 marked the US Hardcover publication of Changes via ROC books, an Imprint of Penguin books. The UK version was published on 8 April, 2010 via Orbit books.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Changes is the 12th book in the Dresden Files and is possibly the most explosive book in the series. Not only is there a titular pattern change in the offing but the plot twists and the eventual conclusion of this tale will definitely get reader emotions high and most likely have a rather voluble output as well. This review will as bit tricky as we are at such a point in the series that while even discussing the non-spoiler aspects of this book, I could potentially be spoiling the previous books for readers not acquainted with the previous titles. If you haven't read the previous novels and wish not to be spoiled, it is best that you not read further into this review.
For those of you who have and are still here with me, here is Changes in a nutshell “Changes is the best book I have read in the series”. It begins from the premise that Harry’s daughter has been kidnapped by the Red Court Vampires. The tricky part is that Harry did not have a clue about her existence as Susan Rodgriguez [Harry’s ex-flame and the mother of the child] never revealed it to him. Thus with such a tantalizing opening, the book pitches Harry, Susan and Martin(no-last-name) in search for clues in Chicago and at the Red Vampires' most recent hangout.
Beginning the litany of surprises in this book is the fact that Harry’s lease might be fueling an enemy of his. The next thing to happen is an explosion which ruins Harry’s business prospects and further complicates his search for his child as the national authorities get involved due to implications of terrorist-like activity. The search gets further complicated when the White Council is approached by an important Red Court emissary (in this case Lady Ortega) and offered an all important proposal. Needless to say this throws a huge magical spanner in Harry’s way.Thus with his friendly options cut off, Harry has to turn towards other non-friendly ones and this is where things become even more interesting. The remaining part of the plot follows the general pattern of the previous Dresden books, however the events are too spoiler-ish to recant here.
It’s safe to say Jim Butcher is getting into high gear and slowly showing what he truly intends to do with this series. The climax has some really great revelations and twists. I was stunned by at least 2 of them and to cap it up Jim Butcher ends the book on a cliffhanger of EPIC proportions. Be warned when you finish the last page, you will be rushing to know what happens next and will be one of many who eagerly look forward to the next chapter in the Dresden Files next year.
[On a side note Jim Butcher has revealed that in his short story collection Side Jobs, to be released later this year, it will contain a short story/novella called Aftermath which will be set 45 minutes after the end of Changes and will be featuring the POV of Karrin Murphy. So this will be an important follow-up in regards to the cliffhanger at the end of Changes.]
As far as writing goes, I didn’t have any issues with this book, it follows Jim Butcher’s style of lacing humor with action, though the humor is often then previous novels due to the darker plot content. There were a couple of plot points which are not resolved and could be potentially explained in the next book which was a new twist to the Dresden Files. People who have enjoyed his previous books will have similar (if-not-better) feelings with this one. Those readers who have had previous issues with his books will find no new charms to win them over. Jim Butcher is writing a character driven, humor-laced, action packed urban fantasy series and he’s not making any apology for it. Dive in and find out for yourself as to why this series is heralded as to the Gold standard for all UF books.
PLOT SUMMARY: Nearly 10 years ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden's lover-until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it. Now lady Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered Susan’s secret and she plans to use it- to further her own vendetta against Harry. Thus to prevail against the mighty odds set this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry's not fighting to save the world... He's fighting to save his child.
CLASSIFICATION: Changes is the 12th book in the Dresden Files series, an Urban Fantasy series that follows a similar writing pattern of using humor and action for the storyline. Unlike the previous novels this one ends in a cliffhanger which was a new twist to this series.
FORMAT/INFO: The HC edition stands at 448 pages and is divided into 49 chapters and an author’s note. The narration is via first person and features Harry Dresden as the sole POV
April 6, 2010 marked the US Hardcover publication of Changes via ROC books, an Imprint of Penguin books. The UK version was published on 8 April, 2010 via Orbit books.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Changes is the 12th book in the Dresden Files and is possibly the most explosive book in the series. Not only is there a titular pattern change in the offing but the plot twists and the eventual conclusion of this tale will definitely get reader emotions high and most likely have a rather voluble output as well. This review will as bit tricky as we are at such a point in the series that while even discussing the non-spoiler aspects of this book, I could potentially be spoiling the previous books for readers not acquainted with the previous titles. If you haven't read the previous novels and wish not to be spoiled, it is best that you not read further into this review.
For those of you who have and are still here with me, here is Changes in a nutshell “Changes is the best book I have read in the series”. It begins from the premise that Harry’s daughter has been kidnapped by the Red Court Vampires. The tricky part is that Harry did not have a clue about her existence as Susan Rodgriguez [Harry’s ex-flame and the mother of the child] never revealed it to him. Thus with such a tantalizing opening, the book pitches Harry, Susan and Martin(no-last-name) in search for clues in Chicago and at the Red Vampires' most recent hangout.
Beginning the litany of surprises in this book is the fact that Harry’s lease might be fueling an enemy of his. The next thing to happen is an explosion which ruins Harry’s business prospects and further complicates his search for his child as the national authorities get involved due to implications of terrorist-like activity. The search gets further complicated when the White Council is approached by an important Red Court emissary (in this case Lady Ortega) and offered an all important proposal. Needless to say this throws a huge magical spanner in Harry’s way.Thus with his friendly options cut off, Harry has to turn towards other non-friendly ones and this is where things become even more interesting. The remaining part of the plot follows the general pattern of the previous Dresden books, however the events are too spoiler-ish to recant here.
It’s safe to say Jim Butcher is getting into high gear and slowly showing what he truly intends to do with this series. The climax has some really great revelations and twists. I was stunned by at least 2 of them and to cap it up Jim Butcher ends the book on a cliffhanger of EPIC proportions. Be warned when you finish the last page, you will be rushing to know what happens next and will be one of many who eagerly look forward to the next chapter in the Dresden Files next year.
[On a side note Jim Butcher has revealed that in his short story collection Side Jobs, to be released later this year, it will contain a short story/novella called Aftermath which will be set 45 minutes after the end of Changes and will be featuring the POV of Karrin Murphy. So this will be an important follow-up in regards to the cliffhanger at the end of Changes.]
As far as writing goes, I didn’t have any issues with this book, it follows Jim Butcher’s style of lacing humor with action, though the humor is often then previous novels due to the darker plot content. There were a couple of plot points which are not resolved and could be potentially explained in the next book which was a new twist to the Dresden Files. People who have enjoyed his previous books will have similar (if-not-better) feelings with this one. Those readers who have had previous issues with his books will find no new charms to win them over. Jim Butcher is writing a character driven, humor-laced, action packed urban fantasy series and he’s not making any apology for it. Dive in and find out for yourself as to why this series is heralded as to the Gold standard for all UF books.
Official David Weber Website
Order "A Mighty Fortress" HERE
Read FBC Review of By Schism Rent Asunder
Read FBC Review of By Heresies Distressed
Read FBC Interview with David Weber
INTRODUCTION: "A Mighty Fortress" is the fourth installment in the Safehold Saga of David Weber and after finishing it I could say that Safehold has become my co-#1 ongoing sff series alongside Honor Harrington. While technically science fiction and indeed quite sf-nal in ethos, "Safehold" is much closer to epic fantasy in theme and world building. If Off Armageddon Reef had as main focus adventure and naval battles, By Schism Rent Asunder intrigue and revelations, By Heresies Distressed land war and consolidation, A Mighty Fortress is about faith and then later it goes full circle to the second round of all-out naval battles.
Since I talked at length about the setting and characters in my reviews of volumes 2 and 3 linked above, while the author talked at length about the series in my interview with him, here I will assume familiarity with the context and the main characters and discuss how "A Mighty Fortress" takes Safehold towards uncharted territory and possibly a reinterpretation of what we think we know.
FORMAT/CLASSIFICATION: "A Mighty Fortress" stands at about 700 pages including maps, glossary of characters and some discussion about Safehold's characteristics. There are several threads and tens of POV's, including pretty much all the surviving ones from previous volumes, some of whom did not appear in By Heresies Distressed.
Young Paytir Wylsynn, the former Inquisition Intendant of Charis whose interview of Merlin was so memorable in volume one and who now currently occupies a similar position under the leader of the reformed Church, Archbishop Maikel, and former Bishop Executor of Charis Zherald Ahdymsyn whose relatively mild "admonitions" of Maikel for sedition were another fun part of volume one and who is now a "roving troubleshooter" Bishop of the reformed Church are two of my most favorite characters who reappear quite memorably here.
Outside Merlin, Cayleb, Sharleyan and The Group of Four, there are three characters that have lots of pages somewhat unexpectedly: the Earl of Coris - guardian of Dayvin, the young prince of Corisande in exile - who is summoned to the Temple in Zion for loyalty assessment, General Koryn Gahvrai, former CO of the Corisandian Army and now commander of the Regency Council's armed forces under Charisian supervision and Archbishop Zhasyn Cahnyr of Glacierheart and junior member of the reformist Circle who as we may remember was the only one courageous enough to offer succor to Archbishop Erayk in the Temple prison before the latter's execution at the hands of the Inquisition, execution which was one the most emotional scenes in the second volume.
And not to forget the extraordinary Ahnzelyk Phonda, ultra successful businesswoman and secret leader of the reformist movement in Zion and the two leaders of the Circle, the Vicars Samyl - father of Paytir and foremost rival of Grand Inquisitor Clyntahn - and his brother Hauwerd Wylsynn who are also very important POV's of the novel.
As for classification "sff epic on the grandest scale" is the only one that does justice to this superb novel and series.
ANALYSIS: The titles of the Safehold novels are superb and revelatory at least so far, so when "A Mighty Fortress" was announced and before I knew anything else my first speculation was about what it means; the novel offers two answers, one textual and explicit, but also one subtler and implicit and which has actually been my first guess.
The textual answer which comes somewhere in the second half of the novel is that "A Mighty Fortress" is formed by the Charisian fleet and the sailors and marines that man it. Facing the full wrath of the Group of Four, especially of the Grand Inquisitor Clyntahn who in this novel unleashes once and for all the full force of terror and this time being attacked by a "modern " comparable even if less experienced fleet that outnumbers the Imperial one by something like 3 to 1, fleet that is also much better led than in Off Armageddon Reef, it is up to the Navy of Charis to stop the enemy.
But the novel has also another answer for the title since based on the first half, I can argue that "A Mighty Fortress" refers also to the power of faith in God and here we finally get to actually experience it as the powerful force for good embodied in the true men and women of God from Charis, Corisande and even the corrupt Zion where the Inquisition may torture and murder the reformers and cow their highest level sympathizers temporarily into acquiescence if not submission, but the seeds of change have already been sown.
Between the two poles of religion and war, "A Mighty Fortress" offers a lot more. There is action galore in Corisande, Zion and on the seas, daring escapes, nasty conspirators, dastardly assassinations, one sword fight for the ages inside the Temple of all places, very, very emotional moments, tragedy and rejoicing, a tense dinner, lots of memorable lines and a baby...
As usual Merlin steals the show in all his apparitions and he has some of the best lines of the novel like the following description of his conversational start with a high ranking opponent in whose apartments the seijin breaks in at night to add more urgency to the respective character's intention to defect:
“I was simply attempting to establish the proper . . . collegial atmosphere.”
The one major surprise I had in "A Mighty Fortress" was in the hints from the author about a possible reinterpretation of Safehold's past and the Church of God's Awaiting true roots and mission.
The ending is similarly emotional to the one in Off Armageddon Reef and while A Mighty Fortress is somewhat more open-ended than the first volume and several threads are left to be continued, there is a lot of closure too and again I cannot say I have a real inkling where the series will go next beyond a very general sense augmented by the twist hinted above.
For the tremendous enjoyment that "A Mighty Fortress" (A++) brought me so far on three full reads plus rereads of the other three volumes and for its great continual re-reed value, I think that this novel is the best sf and even possibly best sff I've read in 2010 so far. Just epic on the grandest scale with everything you want from such.
Order "A Mighty Fortress" HERE
Read FBC Review of By Schism Rent Asunder
Read FBC Review of By Heresies Distressed
Read FBC Interview with David Weber
INTRODUCTION: "A Mighty Fortress" is the fourth installment in the Safehold Saga of David Weber and after finishing it I could say that Safehold has become my co-#1 ongoing sff series alongside Honor Harrington. While technically science fiction and indeed quite sf-nal in ethos, "Safehold" is much closer to epic fantasy in theme and world building. If Off Armageddon Reef had as main focus adventure and naval battles, By Schism Rent Asunder intrigue and revelations, By Heresies Distressed land war and consolidation, A Mighty Fortress is about faith and then later it goes full circle to the second round of all-out naval battles.
Since I talked at length about the setting and characters in my reviews of volumes 2 and 3 linked above, while the author talked at length about the series in my interview with him, here I will assume familiarity with the context and the main characters and discuss how "A Mighty Fortress" takes Safehold towards uncharted territory and possibly a reinterpretation of what we think we know.
FORMAT/CLASSIFICATION: "A Mighty Fortress" stands at about 700 pages including maps, glossary of characters and some discussion about Safehold's characteristics. There are several threads and tens of POV's, including pretty much all the surviving ones from previous volumes, some of whom did not appear in By Heresies Distressed.
Young Paytir Wylsynn, the former Inquisition Intendant of Charis whose interview of Merlin was so memorable in volume one and who now currently occupies a similar position under the leader of the reformed Church, Archbishop Maikel, and former Bishop Executor of Charis Zherald Ahdymsyn whose relatively mild "admonitions" of Maikel for sedition were another fun part of volume one and who is now a "roving troubleshooter" Bishop of the reformed Church are two of my most favorite characters who reappear quite memorably here.
Outside Merlin, Cayleb, Sharleyan and The Group of Four, there are three characters that have lots of pages somewhat unexpectedly: the Earl of Coris - guardian of Dayvin, the young prince of Corisande in exile - who is summoned to the Temple in Zion for loyalty assessment, General Koryn Gahvrai, former CO of the Corisandian Army and now commander of the Regency Council's armed forces under Charisian supervision and Archbishop Zhasyn Cahnyr of Glacierheart and junior member of the reformist Circle who as we may remember was the only one courageous enough to offer succor to Archbishop Erayk in the Temple prison before the latter's execution at the hands of the Inquisition, execution which was one the most emotional scenes in the second volume.
And not to forget the extraordinary Ahnzelyk Phonda, ultra successful businesswoman and secret leader of the reformist movement in Zion and the two leaders of the Circle, the Vicars Samyl - father of Paytir and foremost rival of Grand Inquisitor Clyntahn - and his brother Hauwerd Wylsynn who are also very important POV's of the novel.
As for classification "sff epic on the grandest scale" is the only one that does justice to this superb novel and series.
ANALYSIS: The titles of the Safehold novels are superb and revelatory at least so far, so when "A Mighty Fortress" was announced and before I knew anything else my first speculation was about what it means; the novel offers two answers, one textual and explicit, but also one subtler and implicit and which has actually been my first guess.
The textual answer which comes somewhere in the second half of the novel is that "A Mighty Fortress" is formed by the Charisian fleet and the sailors and marines that man it. Facing the full wrath of the Group of Four, especially of the Grand Inquisitor Clyntahn who in this novel unleashes once and for all the full force of terror and this time being attacked by a "modern " comparable even if less experienced fleet that outnumbers the Imperial one by something like 3 to 1, fleet that is also much better led than in Off Armageddon Reef, it is up to the Navy of Charis to stop the enemy.
But the novel has also another answer for the title since based on the first half, I can argue that "A Mighty Fortress" refers also to the power of faith in God and here we finally get to actually experience it as the powerful force for good embodied in the true men and women of God from Charis, Corisande and even the corrupt Zion where the Inquisition may torture and murder the reformers and cow their highest level sympathizers temporarily into acquiescence if not submission, but the seeds of change have already been sown.
Between the two poles of religion and war, "A Mighty Fortress" offers a lot more. There is action galore in Corisande, Zion and on the seas, daring escapes, nasty conspirators, dastardly assassinations, one sword fight for the ages inside the Temple of all places, very, very emotional moments, tragedy and rejoicing, a tense dinner, lots of memorable lines and a baby...
As usual Merlin steals the show in all his apparitions and he has some of the best lines of the novel like the following description of his conversational start with a high ranking opponent in whose apartments the seijin breaks in at night to add more urgency to the respective character's intention to defect:
“I was simply attempting to establish the proper . . . collegial atmosphere.”
The one major surprise I had in "A Mighty Fortress" was in the hints from the author about a possible reinterpretation of Safehold's past and the Church of God's Awaiting true roots and mission.
The ending is similarly emotional to the one in Off Armageddon Reef and while A Mighty Fortress is somewhat more open-ended than the first volume and several threads are left to be continued, there is a lot of closure too and again I cannot say I have a real inkling where the series will go next beyond a very general sense augmented by the twist hinted above.
For the tremendous enjoyment that "A Mighty Fortress" (A++) brought me so far on three full reads plus rereads of the other three volumes and for its great continual re-reed value, I think that this novel is the best sf and even possibly best sff I've read in 2010 so far. Just epic on the grandest scale with everything you want from such.
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