Official Saladin Ahmed Website
Order “Throne of the Crescent Moon” HERE
Read FBC’s Review of “Throne of the Crescent Moon”
Read Saladin Ahmed's “HOOVES AND THE HOVEL OF ABDEL JAMEELA”
(Author Photo Credit: Al Bogdan & Saladin Ahmed)
Saladin Ahmed has written a fantastic debut however he didn’t just appear out of thin air. His short stories and poetry had won him many fans and much adoration before his fantasy debut earlier this year. His roots led him to write a debut much different than what fans have been reading for many decades, and was also one of the best books I have read this year. In the forthcoming interview Saladin speaks about his past, his writing background, his plans for the future Crescent Moon Kingdom books and then some more…
Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic. To start with, could you tell us what led you to be a writer in the first place? Also could give us a brief bio?
SA: I was born in Detroit and grew up in the nearby Arab American enclave of Dearborn, MI. My father introduced me to fantasy and SF when I was very, very young, and he used to have me write little stories and comics for him when I was in first grade. He was always deeply supportive of my creativity, and I feel very blessed for that.
Q] You have taught creative writing at Rutgers University and are also a writing mentor. How does that influence your writing? In that role do you look at writing from different angles? Or is it the same but with a different objective?
SA: I wish I could say it helps me avoid certain writing pitfalls, but honestly, it doesn't. Quite often I find myself making the same mistakes (or, to put a more positive spin on it, learning the same lessons) over and over. And, often enough, these are the same mistakes I gently correct when made by my students or private clients!
Q: So for someone who hasn't read any of your novels, how would you describe the type of stories that you write, what would be your pitch for the Crescent Moon Kingdom Series?
SA: One reviewer called THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON 'Sword and sorcery with a lot more under the hood,' and – being from the Motor City - that works for me. Another way to put it might be "Wide-eyed 80s fantasy meets The New Gritty fantasy meets the Arabian Nights."
Q] Speaking of the series, how many volumes have you planned for this series? How far along are you in the next book, and is there anything you can tell us about books two, three and the series beyond(if there are any plans to extend beyond a trilogy)?
SA: Most readers have said that THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON works great as a standalone, but it is also as the first book of a trilogy. I'm currently writing Book II of THE CRESCENT MOON KINGDOMS, which should be out mid-2013. Books II and II will expand in scope quite a bit, both geographically and in the scale of conflict. Analogues to the djinn and to the Crusades will feature prominently, and the political fallout form the first novel will fuel the story threads in the subsequent titles.
If the series proves popular enough to justify a fourth book, it would possibly be a prequel detailing some of the earlier adventures of the series' older protagonists. But that's just a guess.
Q] You have written two stories called “Where Virtue Lives” and “Judgment of Swords and Souls” set in the same milieu of the Crescent Moon Kingdoms. When you wrote them did you imagine them as leading onto your debut series?
SA: Absolutely. “Virtue” will give potential readers a good, if rough, taste of the world of the Crescent Moon Kingdoms – and will show those who've already read THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON how Adoulla and Raseed came to be a team. Meanwhile, “Judgment” introduces readers to Layla bas Layla, a character who will become very important in Book II.
Q] What made you choose fantasy over other genres for your first book?
SA: I spent many years in grad school in English, so I've read a lot in a variety of genres. But adventure fantasy is my bread and butter as a reader, and probably always will be. So it's only natural that I came to that genre as a writer.
Q] I was especially intrigued by the Falcon prince character, how did his creation come about? In the case of your book, it is never really clear as to where he stands on a moral scale? Was this intentional and will we get to know more about him in the future books?
SA: The Falcon Prince is a pretty straight Robin Hood/Thief of Baghdad tribute. But yes he also sort of offers a glimpse at the dark underbelly of the 'dashing thief' archetype. Without giving anything away, I'll say that the final scene (when the Falcon Prince and Adoulla are alone) is inspired by the climax of Alan Moore's Watchmen – our hero has to make a hard decision about what to expose and what to keep quiet.
And yes, there is LOTS more of the Falcon Prince to come!
Q] Your book though a debut, eschews the current trend of breadth-happy fantasy, surprisingly the slimness has not robbed the story of its richness. How did you go about your writing, especially since so many writers love to thicken their plots so as to say!
SA: It took work! The original outline for THRONE included a lot of material that will appear in Book II and III, but ultimately I chose to keep a fairly tight focus, plot and geography-wise. The sequels will expand quite a bit on these fronts, with multi-thread plots and map-spanning journeys.
Q] In your SF signal podcast you briefly touched upon Batman and revealed that you find the character to be incredibly boring or unrealistic. Coincidentally your main character shares some background with Bruce Wayne as well. Could you expound a bit more on your thoughts?
SA: Well, they are both clever men who were both orphaned by criminal violence. But I think the difference is largely class-based. Bruce Wayne is a rich kid, so he can look upon his parents' killer as inhuman "criminal scum," completely sociologically Other from the Waynes. Adoulla grew up a street kid, and has ot face the harder fact that the guy who killed his parents is, in some sense, one of 'his people.'
Q] How much of the world of the Crescent Moon kingdoms will you be exploring in the future books, I ask as I’m particularly curious about the Heavenly Wall as shown and what lead to its creation?
SA: Quite a lot of the map included in the book will be explored in Books II and III. Rughal-ba (the nation that the Heavenly Wall protects) will be central to the action, as will the off-map 'Warlands' – which is basically the Crescent Moon Kingdoms' analogue for medieval Europe.
Q] Earlier you mentioned that your father instilled a love for reading SF & Fantasy, what books did your father encourage you to read when you were growing and as a father yourself, how do you look forward to sharing that same passion with your children?
SA: My Dad shared so many books, I'm not sure where to begin. But The Hobbit, Moorcock, and Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials stick out.
My own kids are only two, so we're mostly doing picture books. It's just wondrous wathcing them get involved in a story, though. I'm going to try The Little Engine That Could on them soon!
Q] Your main character Adoulla Makhslood has a tinge of melancholy to almost all of his thoughts and actions and this perhaps colors his actions in the book’s plot. Will you be exploring more about the doctor’s background in the future to give the readers some clues about his melancholy? Will he be getting the peace, which he so dreams about?
SA: That melancholy is a sort of inheritence of the other genre form which Adoulla is drawn – the noir detective story. Readers will certainly learn more about Adoulla in future books – but you'll have to read t find out how things end up for our fat old ghul hunter.
Q: Lastly as a writer, what are your aspirations? Where do you see yourself in a decade from now?
SA: I'll dodge the second part of that question, since I'm much more focused on where I see myself next week. :) But my writerly aspirations are pretty simple: To provide as many readers as possible with the same sort of wonderful immersion that I myself get from fantasy novels -- and to make enough money to help feed my kids while doing so.
12:01 AM | 
Posted by
The Reader |
"The year is 92 B.C.
Gordianus has just turned eighteen and is about to embark on the
adventure of a lifetime: a far-flung journey to see the Seven Wonders of
the World. Gordianus is not yet called “the Finder”—but at each of the
Seven Wonders, the wide-eyed young Roman encounters a mystery to
challenge the powers of deduction."
INTRODUCTION: Outside speculative fiction, no contemporary writer is more appreciated by me than Steven Saylor for his wonderful Roma sub Rosa series with its main character Gordianus "the Finder" who is my current #1 fiction hero.
I summarized my impressions to the Gordianus novels HERE and I reviewed Empire, the second installment in the author's take on Roman history by following about 11 centuries of the fortunes of a patrician family entrusted with a special religious symbol.
What about the author's highly awaited return to Gordianus' adventures in The Seven Wonders? Read on for my take on it, but in brief I have to say that it fulfilled my expectations and even surprised me a bit towards the ending which opens the possibilities of more from Gordianus' early career before his brilliant entrance in the Rome of the high and mighty, when helping Cicero's subtle attack on Sulla's dictatorship in Roman Blood.
I summarized my impressions to the Gordianus novels HERE and I reviewed Empire, the second installment in the author's take on Roman history by following about 11 centuries of the fortunes of a patrician family entrusted with a special religious symbol.
What about the author's highly awaited return to Gordianus' adventures in The Seven Wonders? Read on for my take on it, but in brief I have to say that it fulfilled my expectations and even surprised me a bit towards the ending which opens the possibilities of more from Gordianus' early career before his brilliant entrance in the Rome of the high and mighty, when helping Cicero's subtle attack on Sulla's dictatorship in Roman Blood.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Seven Wonders consists of short stories - most published last year
in various magazines and anthologies of which I have previously read
some four - glued together with an introduction in Rome where we get to see
Gordianus' father and an epilogue in Alexandria, where Bethesda appears
in the hero's life.
The topic of the stories is self-explanatory and the blurb above covers the needed details more than adequately, so I will talk about the general feel of the book rather than each adventure individually. There is a mystery - sometimes more obvious, sometimes more thriller-like than puzzling - but in each case the setting and the secondary characters are the highlight in addition of course to the still wise-cracking narration of Gordianus.
Structurally The Seven Wonders has the unifying thread of the Mithridatian menace to Rome which leads to the ambiguous motivations of various characters and gives a subtle feeling to the book as a whole which could not be discerned by having read the stories themselves on original publication.
Also as hinted throughout the series, Gordianus is not averse to men either and here he comes out - to us of course as the classical antiquity's mores where different and trickier; I really loved that part and I would just note that more than anything, this shows the difference between the 1990's and 2012 in US social mores and of what is deemed appropriate for publication in mainstream books...
Gordianus' voice at 18 still compelling and while he is appropriately youthful and overall I think I prefer his more mature and wiser voice of the novels, the book gets the balance well in this regard. Also the Rome introduction and the Alexandria finale are outstanding as historical fiction on their own, so there is scope for more young Gordianus, both in Egypt and at Rome, though I still want that promised novel with Gordianus warning Caesar on the Ides of March...
Since most of the stories were published earlier they obviously needed self-containment, so by necessity they tend to be simplistic as mysteries and lack the powerful unity of the novels, while the continual switching of venues tends to break the narrative flow but that was to be expected in what is essentially a "fix-up" novel.
I would have really loved more about the travel itself as Gordianus and Antipater cover quite a distance in visiting the Seven Wonders and occasionally interesting venues in their neighborhoods - the time is done well, no flying so to speak -but the travel details are skimped on and I missed that.
Overall, The Seven Wonders (highly recommended novel of 2012) is a very good introduction to Gordianus. While not at the level of the best novels in the series, the book does an excellent job within its parameters that impose quite a few restrictions, while managing to have an unifying thread and wonderful first and last parts.
The topic of the stories is self-explanatory and the blurb above covers the needed details more than adequately, so I will talk about the general feel of the book rather than each adventure individually. There is a mystery - sometimes more obvious, sometimes more thriller-like than puzzling - but in each case the setting and the secondary characters are the highlight in addition of course to the still wise-cracking narration of Gordianus.
Structurally The Seven Wonders has the unifying thread of the Mithridatian menace to Rome which leads to the ambiguous motivations of various characters and gives a subtle feeling to the book as a whole which could not be discerned by having read the stories themselves on original publication.
Also as hinted throughout the series, Gordianus is not averse to men either and here he comes out - to us of course as the classical antiquity's mores where different and trickier; I really loved that part and I would just note that more than anything, this shows the difference between the 1990's and 2012 in US social mores and of what is deemed appropriate for publication in mainstream books...
Gordianus' voice at 18 still compelling and while he is appropriately youthful and overall I think I prefer his more mature and wiser voice of the novels, the book gets the balance well in this regard. Also the Rome introduction and the Alexandria finale are outstanding as historical fiction on their own, so there is scope for more young Gordianus, both in Egypt and at Rome, though I still want that promised novel with Gordianus warning Caesar on the Ides of March...
Since most of the stories were published earlier they obviously needed self-containment, so by necessity they tend to be simplistic as mysteries and lack the powerful unity of the novels, while the continual switching of venues tends to break the narrative flow but that was to be expected in what is essentially a "fix-up" novel.
I would have really loved more about the travel itself as Gordianus and Antipater cover quite a distance in visiting the Seven Wonders and occasionally interesting venues in their neighborhoods - the time is done well, no flying so to speak -but the travel details are skimped on and I missed that.
Overall, The Seven Wonders (highly recommended novel of 2012) is a very good introduction to Gordianus. While not at the level of the best novels in the series, the book does an excellent job within its parameters that impose quite a few restrictions, while managing to have an unifying thread and wonderful first and last parts.
This coming Friday, the 15th of June the David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy will be held at the Magic Circle Headquarters in London. These fantastic awards play an important role in spreading public awareness of the fantasy genre and rewarding excellence within the field while also remembering David Gemmell and honoring his contributions to the fantasy field.
In order to raise funds and keep these great awards running, an auction is held every year at the ceremony. This year, Anna Gregson, Commissioning Editor of Orbit Books has been helping to organise the auction lots, and They include:
- Have your name featured in an upcoming Terry Brooks novel!
- A Star Wars Moleskine notebook containing the signatures of over 40 SFF authors including Brent Weeks, Robin Hobb, Peter Brett, Joe Abercrombie, China Miéville, Patrick Rothfuss, Peter Hamilton & many more
- Have 10,000 words of your manuscript, plus submission letter and synopsis edited by the exceptional editor Gillian Redfearn at Gollancz
- The original pencil sketch by the artist Didier Graffet of the cover for The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
- And Many more items…
In other contest news, James Rollins's newest book Bloodline is due to be released in the month of June and to coincide with that he's holding a contest in lieu with The Human Society of the United States. The contest details are given in this blog post and therein lies the explanation to become immortalized in the Sigma novel next year. To quote Jim "Visit the Sigma Store (where ALL profits go to help endangered or abused animals) and order a piece of Sigma logo wear. I'm looking for the most creative use for any of that gear: t-shirt, hoodie, tote bag. Stain them with blood-red paint, burn in some bullet holes, write messages on them, use them in ways unimaginable. In other words, go wild!
- Have your name featured in an upcoming Terry Brooks novel!
- A Star Wars Moleskine notebook containing the signatures of over 40 SFF authors including Brent Weeks, Robin Hobb, Peter Brett, Joe Abercrombie, China Miéville, Patrick Rothfuss, Peter Hamilton & many more
- Have 10,000 words of your manuscript, plus submission letter and synopsis edited by the exceptional editor Gillian Redfearn at Gollancz
- The original pencil sketch by the artist Didier Graffet of the cover for The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
- And Many more items…
Please see details of these lots and more here. They can also be found on the Gemmell Award homepage. All of these lots will be auctioned off at the award ceremony on Friday 15th June. However, for those who would like to bid on an item but can’t attend the event, highest bids can now be submitted by email to "christineharrison_007@hotmail.com" in advance of the ceremony on the 15th June.
In other contest news, James Rollins's newest book Bloodline is due to be released in the month of June and to coincide with that he's holding a contest in lieu with The Human Society of the United States. The contest details are given in this blog post and therein lies the explanation to become immortalized in the Sigma novel next year. To quote Jim "Visit the Sigma Store (where ALL profits go to help endangered or abused animals) and order a piece of Sigma logo wear. I'm looking for the most creative use for any of that gear: t-shirt, hoodie, tote bag. Stain them with blood-red paint, burn in some bullet holes, write messages on them, use them in ways unimaginable. In other words, go wild!
As per the rules in the author's own words "Send a photo or appear at one of this summer's book signings wearing any of the altered gear. The photos will be collected and featured on my Pinterest page." At the end of July, James will pick his favorite one--and that person's name will appear in the next Sigma novel coming out in 2013.
NOTE: Banner and author picture courtesy of the DGLA Website and David Sylvian. DGLA Announcement courtesy of Anna Gregson.
Official Kevin James Breaux Website
Official Soul Born Website
Order “Blood Divided” HERE
Read Sample Chapters HERE (PDF)
Read FBC’s Review of Soul Born
Read the e-Story “Soul Born Meantime: Tala” HERE (PDF)
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Kevin James Breaux was born and brought up in Pennsylvania. He’s graduated from Temple University with a degree in fine art and is currently working as an IT Professional and a Graphic Artist. He’s also a black belt in karate with some background in Aikido as well. He also writes short stories and is currently working on the third book in the Soulborn series.
OFFICIAL BLURB: There exists an ancient elven proverb, dating before the time of man. Life and death, like day and night, meet at a point where they blend into one. It is that brief moment when anything is possible.
There was a time when four sparks of life burned brighter than the sun itself. Megan was born with power, Lucien born with station. Autumn was born full of life, while Nathan was entwined with death.
Peace has come and gone... The conflicts of old have returned-rejuvenated and driven. This is the beginning of the end. The children of Karn have come of age, and now they will take part in shaping the fate of Illyia.
Will they join forces, or with blood will they be divided?
CLASSIFICATION: The Soulborn sage is a dark epic fantasy series reminiscent of the works of James Clemens, Paul S. Kemp and R.A. Salvatore.
FORMAT/INFO: Blood Divided is 300 pages long divided over thirty-four titled chapters with a Prologue and an epilogue. Narration is in the third person via Opal, Autumn, Khaos, Megan, Vasche, Queen Tala and King Ethan. Blood Divided is the second volume in The Soulborn Saga with the book ending on a proper note.
December 30, 2011 marked the trade paperback publication of Blood Divided via Dark Quest Books. Cover art provided by Dan Dos Santos.
ANALYSIS: Blood Divided is the sequel to Soul Born and as a book; I was a bit apprehensive as to how it would turn out to be. The preceding book was proclaimed to be a dark epic fantasy tale and promised much however didn’t quite live up to its promise for the reasons described in my review. This book however has another great cover and in this particular regard is a great follow-up to the first cover.
The sequel begins twenty years later than the events of the first book, the lands of Illyia now are under the rule of the king Ethan Essex who was the former duke of Kel Tora. His queen is Tala Silverwolf, former lover of Karn and current wife to Ethan. She has been blessed with a son and daughter who share her elfish traits as well as their father’s human genes. Opal has lived a secret life of sorts as well and she also has two progeny of her own. Autumn, Lucien, Megan and Nathan/Khaos are the four children that are bound by blood and magic and its there story which introduces readers to the world of Illyria once again.
There’s a lot more which I have left vague in regards to the four children as well as their parents as the story demands that the reader discover their motivations, plans and actions in the book itself. The opening chapters have quite a twist to them thereby surprising the reader with the direction of the plot, plus the author reveals a lot more details about the background story. The backstory is very suitably introduced through out the starting chapters. Particularly surprising is the enticing concept of avatars which was a small part of the earlier book but is rather nicely expanded upon quite precisely and fuels a major plot point. The magic system is also explained more this time around and forms a pertinent part of the plot.
There's also the Tala short story which gives us an important look into the events between the first and the second book, readers would be wise to read that excerpt as it will deepen their understanding of the story. The author has done a decent job with the prose and its a definite plus from the previous book. The author seems to have plotted this story out and the pace of this book is definitely a redeeming factor, it never lets the reader rest, the story zooms ahead with all its twists and revelations and that is indeed a good point. Lastly the characterization once again is a positive factor and the character cast is suitably expanded. However the focus is tightly controlled and therefore the readers get a very good insight into the POV character actions and thoughts.
There are still some nagging points about the book namely that plot seemed a bit too convoluted at times. The entire story has some plot twists that seemed a bit coincidental sometimes. Another feature which works against the book is that the plot is a bit stereotypical, beginning with the death-crazed villain to his enamored sidekick to the half-blooded prince, etc. The story is also a bit predictable and therefore most veteran readers will easily be able to guess most of the plot points. In this regard Kevin J. Breaux fails to divert the reader’s attention and therefore the story does get adjudged to be bit weak. As a fantasy fan, I want the book to make me forget about its fallacies by its shining points however this story wasn’t able to do that completely. The tight focus of the POV structure robs the reader of knowing the overall scale of the destruction wrought but this was just something of a personal observation.
CONCLUSION: Blood Divided is a sequel and a book which can be read on its own, Kevin J. Breaux has definitely shown improvement in his second outing and this does raise my hopes for the last book in the trilogy. This book will appeal to fans of Dragonlance and R. A Salvatore books, it's also a strong sequel that manages to take the story in a different direction than expected.
Here I am not including Sharps by KJ Parker (July) and Great North Road by Peter F Hamilton (September/December) as I have read both with Sharps taking the #1 overall spot for the year for now, while Great North Road a highly recommended 2012 novel but not a top 25 as about 700 of its 1100 pages are outstanding Peter Hamilton, but 400 are boring and superfluous and unfortunately the first 250 pages of the book are mostly of that second kind. Sadly no Cold Steel by Kate Elliott in 2012 as that one would have been here otherwise. Also I am not sure what the status of the upcoming Christopher Priest Adjacent is as it would have been a top 5 here for sure.
**********************************************************************
1: “The Hydrogen Sonata” by Iain M. Banks. Release Date: October 9, 2012. Published by Orbit. (SF).
2: “Midst Toil and Tribulation” by David Weber. Release Date: September 18, 2012. Published by Tor. (SF).
3: “Jack Glass” by Adam Roberts. UK Release Date: July 26, 2012. Published by Gollancz. (SF).
4: “The Eternal Flame” by Greg Egan. Release Date: September 4, 2012. Published by Night Shade Books. (SF).
5: “The Blinding Knife” by Brent Weeks. Release Date: September 11, 2012. Published by Orbit. (FAN).
6: “The Air War” by Adrian Tchaikovsky. UK Release Date: August 2, 2012. Published by Tor UK. (FAN).
7: “The Rise of Ransom City” by Felix Gilman. Release Date: November 27, 2012. Published by Tor. (FAN).
8: “Luminous Chaos” by Jean-Christophe Valtat. Release Date: October 2, 2012. Published by Melville House. (Steampunk).
9: “A Red Country” by Joe Abercrombie. UK Release Date: October 18, 2012. Published by Gollancz. (FAN).
10: “Empty Space” by M. John Harrison. UK Release Date: July 19, 2012. Published by Gollancz. (SF).
11: “The Night of the Swarm” by Robert V.S. Redick. UK Release Date: August 16, 2012. Published by Gollancz. (FAN).
12: “The Fractal Prince” by Hannu Rajaniemi. Release Date: September 4, 2012. Published by Tor. (SF).
INTRODUCTION: A few days ago I was quite surprised to notice that a book that seemed to be called either Alt.Human (love this title) or Harmony by Keith Brooke was published at the end of May. As I quite enjoyed The Accord especially for its wonderful style, I immediately looked for more information and then got the book asap.
"The aliens are here, all around us. They always have been. And now, one by one, they’re destroying our cities.
Dodge Mercer deals in identities, which is fine until the day he deals the wrong identity and clan war breaks out. Hope Burren has no identity and no past, but she does have a multitude of voices filling her head.
In a world where nothing is as it seems, where humans are segregated and aliens can sing realities and tear worlds apart, Dodge and Hope lead a ragged band of survivors on a search for sanctuary in what may be the only hope for humankind."
Dodge Mercer deals in identities, which is fine until the day he deals the wrong identity and clan war breaks out. Hope Burren has no identity and no past, but she does have a multitude of voices filling her head.
In a world where nothing is as it seems, where humans are segregated and aliens can sing realities and tear worlds apart, Dodge and Hope lead a ragged band of survivors on a search for sanctuary in what may be the only hope for humankind."
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: On finishing it, I was a little mixed about Harmony
(alt.human in the UK) by Keith Brooke
though I generally liked it and I really enjoyed the
frantic first person narration and the final twist. However, for large parts of it Harmony had an
adolescent feel and as I've seen its themes treated in an adult way much better, it turned out to be a pretty minor sf novel that read like an airport thriller (see
William Barton's When Heaven Fell for one of the best ever treatments of the themes of Harmony).
Harmony is also a Fermi paradox novel, though in this case instead of "where are they", they (ie the aliens) are everywhere and the humans are sort of serfs/pets restricted to IPP (Indigenous People's Preserves) ghettos where they live at the will of the powerful aliens who may - and do - kill them at their whim.
Dodge, a pid runner - every human has personal identification device nanos in his/her blood stream, who define where the human can go, and the local gangs into which the humans are generally divided found how to fake them - is involved with the saving of four human refugees from a destroyed city and later together with the mysterious girl Hope whom he has also saved earlier, tries to find the rumored last refuge of humanity called Harmony...
Harmony had a lot of possibilities - the sadly short descriptions of alien landscapes and cities on Earth was as good as sf goes - but the way the author chose to go precluded them and turned the novel into "fugitive" on steroids. I will quote one long paragraph below which shows the sense of wonder I expect from sf and I wish the book would have tried to develop instead of turning into a generic action-adventure novel:
Harmony is also a Fermi paradox novel, though in this case instead of "where are they", they (ie the aliens) are everywhere and the humans are sort of serfs/pets restricted to IPP (Indigenous People's Preserves) ghettos where they live at the will of the powerful aliens who may - and do - kill them at their whim.
Dodge, a pid runner - every human has personal identification device nanos in his/her blood stream, who define where the human can go, and the local gangs into which the humans are generally divided found how to fake them - is involved with the saving of four human refugees from a destroyed city and later together with the mysterious girl Hope whom he has also saved earlier, tries to find the rumored last refuge of humanity called Harmony...
Harmony had a lot of possibilities - the sadly short descriptions of alien landscapes and cities on Earth was as good as sf goes - but the way the author chose to go precluded them and turned the novel into "fugitive" on steroids. I will quote one long paragraph below which shows the sense of wonder I expect from sf and I wish the book would have tried to develop instead of turning into a generic action-adventure novel:
"Here, in Central, the roads were alive. Place your foot and the surface would arrange itself to your imprint; lift that foot and the surface gave you an extra push – wheeled vehicles got such a push from the road surfaces that they barely needed to propel themselves at all, or so I had been told.
All around, the buildings loomed above me. Buildings with mirrored fronts, moving images blending with what they reflected, so that it looked as if my inverted self was passing through a distorted, surreal landscape. Buildings that were all sharp angles and flat surfaces; buildings that were organically globular, jellied so that beings passed through apparently solid walls, absorbed into the bodies of the buildings. I did not know what was inside them; perhaps you passed through into air, like a normal building, or perhaps you remained in jelly or fluid as you conducted your business. Other buildings were covered in webbed silk nests that were alive with dragonflies and all varieties of flying creatures – the nests could have been the homes of sentient beings or they could have been the nests of parasites and vermin.
Looking up: the undersides of the mushroom towers were lit up with rhythmic traceries of light, all supported by implausibly slender central stalks. Flying vehicles darted and twisted; flying beings cut through the flow.
And all about, a seething, chaotic throng of bodies. Aliens of all varieties mixed with humans and trogs. The humans and nearly-men here were business-like, some of them half-mech, others cauled in alien webbing, controlled, not human at all.
The aliens walked on two legs, three, four or more; they floated on personal transports; they sat in self-contained personal environments, sealed off from the world. They strode, rolled, flitted, hopped, skittered, flew, ran... They travelled in all directions, yet appeared to know when to give way and when to plough on. They chattered, clicked, shrieked and yammered; they rumbled and groaned and whooped and roared. They smelled of urea and dung and decay, of perfumed flowers and sharp spices, of raw meat and chlorine.
There must be a billion cities like this on a million worlds. More. I couldn’t grasp the scale of the universe, couldn’t hold it in my head. Perhaps this was why we humans hid in our Ipps: we really were the hangers-on, unable to take the pace of being full members of such a diverse, galaxy-spanning community."
I read this "humans as serfs and pets of superior alien races" theme for the first time when I was about 10 in a Romanian sf magazine short story (a little bit surprisingly as the communist regime usually asked its writers for uplifting stories and downers were generally not allowed) and it impressed me a lot and stamped my love of sf, but that was 33 years ago and today I expect more sophistication which Keith Brooke amply demonstrated in his wonderful The Accord or in the paragraph above.
So overall, Harmony turned out to be a pretty engaging but ultimately minor sf.
I read this "humans as serfs and pets of superior alien races" theme for the first time when I was about 10 in a Romanian sf magazine short story (a little bit surprisingly as the communist regime usually asked its writers for uplifting stories and downers were generally not allowed) and it impressed me a lot and stamped my love of sf, but that was 33 years ago and today I expect more sophistication which Keith Brooke amply demonstrated in his wonderful The Accord or in the paragraph above.
So overall, Harmony turned out to be a pretty engaging but ultimately minor sf.
"What if being a librarian was the most dangerous job in the world?
Worldsoul, a great city that forms a nexus point between Earth and the many dimensions known as the Liminality, is a place where old stories gather, where forgotten legends come to fade and die—or to flourish and rise again. Until recently, Worldsoul has been governed by the Skein, but they have gone missing and no one knows why. The city is also being attacked with lethal flower-bombs from unknown enemy. Mercy Fane and her fellow Librarians are doing their best to maintain the Library, but... things... keep breaking out of ancient texts and legends and escaping into the city. Mercy must pursue one such dangerous creature. She turns to Shadow, an alchemist, for aid, but Shadow—inadvertently possessed by an ifrit—has a perilous quest of her own to undertake."
Worldsoul, a great city that forms a nexus point between Earth and the many dimensions known as the Liminality, is a place where old stories gather, where forgotten legends come to fade and die—or to flourish and rise again. Until recently, Worldsoul has been governed by the Skein, but they have gone missing and no one knows why. The city is also being attacked with lethal flower-bombs from unknown enemy. Mercy Fane and her fellow Librarians are doing their best to maintain the Library, but... things... keep breaking out of ancient texts and legends and escaping into the city. Mercy must pursue one such dangerous creature. She turns to Shadow, an alchemist, for aid, but Shadow—inadvertently possessed by an ifrit—has a perilous quest of her own to undertake."
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: After quite high expectations, I have to say that Worldsoul turned to be a little mixed for me as the novel aligned closer to the UF subgenre than to the SF that remains by far the most interesting of the author's oeuvre to date. It is true that the novel is not quite the usual UF junk as it takes place in a "higher
dimension" from Earth, but Earth's cultures, myths, supernatural beings of lore, books
and tales are crucial for all that happens.
Worldsoul has great inventiveness and the writing style is the compelling one I have been expecting from Liz Williams with interesting main characters, and action happening in the higher dimensional city Worldsoul of the title, metropolis which is in a bit of disarray as its former rulers vanished a while ago and the various powers to be have started the struggle for domination.
Mercy is a somewhat naive but
dogged librarian - though of course not of a mundane library - from a
Northern tundra clan lineage whose two mothers have left on a quest to
find the disappeared rulers - Worldsoul is a Liz Williams
book so expect men to have minimal roles if they are not dispensed with as in her superb Solar System novels like Banner of Souls or Winterstrike - while Shadow is a devout alchemist from a Middle
Eastern inspired culture who is compelled by the local
power broker, a male Shah, to do some work for him that her ethics code
finds distasteful.
A few demons including a duke of Hell - still female - who is the best and funniest secondary character, Disir i.e. Loki's supernatural minions, and assorted supernatural beings play the humans and one another and are occasionally played in turn while the novel moves at a brisk pace and ends at quite a satisfying point solving its main local stories though of course the big picture is just coming into focus as the ending emphatically punctuates that.
Where my reservations lie is in that the whole UF setup is a bit hard to take seriously and the external world lacks focus with the Worldsoul itself more of an abstraction or a stage for our characters than a "real place" with texture and depth.
On many occasions scenes that are supposed to have tension simply lacked it for me as I had no idea what the parameters were (and no idea if the book follows standard UF ones as I heartily detest the subgenre) so the various fights, chases etc read: "well this happened because it happened" with no way for me to realize if it was normal, an act of valor or something unusual.
A few demons including a duke of Hell - still female - who is the best and funniest secondary character, Disir i.e. Loki's supernatural minions, and assorted supernatural beings play the humans and one another and are occasionally played in turn while the novel moves at a brisk pace and ends at quite a satisfying point solving its main local stories though of course the big picture is just coming into focus as the ending emphatically punctuates that.
Where my reservations lie is in that the whole UF setup is a bit hard to take seriously and the external world lacks focus with the Worldsoul itself more of an abstraction or a stage for our characters than a "real place" with texture and depth.
On many occasions scenes that are supposed to have tension simply lacked it for me as I had no idea what the parameters were (and no idea if the book follows standard UF ones as I heartily detest the subgenre) so the various fights, chases etc read: "well this happened because it happened" with no way for me to realize if it was normal, an act of valor or something unusual.
I would compare my experience in those parts of the novel as with reading about a Wild West gunfight without having any
ideas what guns can or cannot do - pretty much everything described can
happen as the fact that the sheriff is faster on the draw may simply be so
because his gun is a "lawful" one so it comes out faster, the fact that
he shoots straight and the villain shoots badly maybe because his
gun is an AI that targets itself etc and if the author inserts that the
sheriff's gun shot 500 times in succession without recharge, it may
seem a little odd but hey, it may be possible after all...
Overall, I think that if you are a UF buff you may love Worldsoul a lot, while personally I found it entertaining and I would definitely recommend it. Not as grand as the author's excellent sf, but I am still looking forward to see what comes next in the series!
Overall, I think that if you are a UF buff you may love Worldsoul a lot, while personally I found it entertaining and I would definitely recommend it. Not as grand as the author's excellent sf, but I am still looking forward to see what comes next in the series!
Monday, June 4, 2012
THE INDIE DAY GIVEAWAY II: Win a KINDLE FIRE or a KINDLE TOUCH featuring M.R. Mathias and his Favorite Independent Authors!!!
Order “The Wizard
& The Warlord” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
(PDF)
Read FBC’s
Review of “The Sword & the Dragon”
In support of the July
4, 2012 publication of M.R. Mathias’
“The Wizard & The Warlord”, the climactic
conclusion to The Wardstone Trilogy,
M.R. Mathias is giving away ONE KINDLE FIRE and ONE KINDLE TOUCH!!! Each Kindle—the “Indie Kindy”—will be loaded with the following titles from M.R. Mathias:
- The Sword & the Dragon (Wardstone Book I)
- Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools (Wardstone Book II)
- The Wizard & The Warlord (Wardstone Book III)
- The First Dragoneer Prequel Novella
- The Royal Dragoneers (Dragoneers Book I)
- Cold Hearted Son of a Witch (Dragoneers Book II)
- The Confliction (Dragoneers Book III)
- Crimzon & Clover 1
- Crimzon & Clover 2
Not only that, but the winner will also receive FREE Smashwords Coupons from some of M.R. Mathias’s favorite new independent
authors! These titles include the following:
- A Tide of Shadows by Tom Bielawski
- Chronicles of the Nameless Dwarf (The Ant-Man of Malfen, The Axe of the Dwarf Lords, The Scout and the Serpent) by D.P. Prior
- Ghosts of the Asylum by Ty Johnston
- V Trooper: First Mission & V Trooper: The Demon by Thomas Rowe Drinkard
Giveaway HAS ENDED! Thank you for entering and Good Luck!
GIVEAWAY RULES:
1) Open To Anyone
2) Only One Entry Per
Household (Multiple Entries Will Be Disqualified)
3) Must Enter Valid Email Address, Name + Mailing Address
(Street Addresses Only)
4) No Purchase Necessary
5) Giveaway HAS ENDED!
6) Winner Will Be Randomly Selected and Notified By Email
7) Personal Information Will Only Be Used In Mailing Out the
Prizes to the Winner
This
month we are featuring 36 books. There are more than twice as
many new sff and related releases this month in traditional
publishing not to speak of the countless indies from Amazon and
Smashwords but we are limiting ourselves to books that will be
reviewed here or are similar with such. For the full schedule of June 2012 titles known to us, you can consult the Upcoming Releases page.
The release dates are US unless marked otherwise, though for books released in the UK and US in the same month but on different dates we generally use the US date and they are first edition unless noted differently. The dates are on a best known basis so they are not guaranteed; same about the edition information.
Since information sometimes is out of date even in the Amazon links we use for listings, books get delayed or sometimes even released earlier, we would truly appreciate if you would send us an email about any listing with incorrect information.
*********************************************************************
The release dates are US unless marked otherwise, though for books released in the UK and US in the same month but on different dates we generally use the US date and they are first edition unless noted differently. The dates are on a best known basis so they are not guaranteed; same about the edition information.
Since information sometimes is out of date even in the Amazon links we use for listings, books get delayed or sometimes even released earlier, we would truly appreciate if you would send us an email about any listing with incorrect information.
*********************************************************************
“Blue Remembered Earth” by Alistair Reynolds. June 5, 2012. Ace. (SF / US
Debut).
“Sworn In Steel” by Douglas Hulick. Release Date: June 5,
2012. Roc. (FAN).
“The Seven Wonders” by Steven Saylor. June 5, 2012. Minotaur. (MISC)
“The Seven Wonders” by Steven Saylor. June 5, 2012. Minotaur. (MISC)
“KOP Killer” by Warren Hammond. Release Date: June 5, 2012.
Tor. (SF).
“The Broken Universe” by Paul Melko. Release Date: June 5, 2012. Tor. (SF).
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“1636: The Kremlin Games” by E. Flint, G Huff, P. Goodlett. June 5 Baen. (AH).
“The Spirit War” by Rachel Aaron. Release Date: June 5,
2012. Orbit. (FAN)
“Amped” by Daniel H. Wilson. Release Date: June 5, 2012. Doubleday. (SF).
“Amped” by Daniel H. Wilson. Release Date: June 5, 2012. Doubleday. (SF).
“The Thousand Emperors” by Gary Gibson. UK June 7, 2012. Tor UK. (SF).
“Mission to Paris” by Alan Furst. June 12,
2012. Random House. (MISC).
“The Shadowed Sun” by N.K. Jemisin. Release Date: June 12, 2012. Orbit. (FAN).
“The Shadowed Sun” by N.K. Jemisin. Release Date: June 12, 2012. Orbit. (FAN).
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“The Third Gate” by Lincoln Child. June 12, 2012. Doubleday. (MISC).
“The Bellwether Revivals” by Benjamin Wood. June 14,
2012. Viking. (MISC).
“The Orphanmaster” by Jean Zimmerman. June 19, 2012. Viking. (MISC).
“The Orphanmaster” by Jean Zimmerman. June 19, 2012. Viking. (MISC).
“Existence” by David Brin. Release Date: June 19, 2012. Tor. (SF).
“Terminal Point” by K.M. Ruiz. Release Date: June 19, 2012. Thomas Dunne. (SF)
“The Reckoning” by Alma Katsu. Release Date: June 19, 2012. Gallery. (FAN).
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“The Reckoning” by Alma Katsu. Release Date: June 19, 2012. Gallery. (FAN).
*********************************************************************
“Blackmail Earth” by Bill Evans. Release Date: June 19, 2012. Tor. (SF).
“Survivors” by Z.A. Recht. Release Date: June 19, 2012.
Permuted Press. (HF).
“Lord of Slaughter” by M.D. Lachlan. UK June
21, 2012. Gollancz. (FAN).
“Some Kind of Fairy Tale” by Graham Joyce. UK June 21, 2012. Gollancz. (FAN).
“Caliban's War” by James S.A. Corey. Release Date: June 26,
2012. Orbit. (SF).
“Beyond the Wall: Exploring ASOIAF” by J. Lowder ed. June 26 Ben Bella. (MISC).
*********************************************************************
“Beyond the Wall: Exploring ASOIAF” by J. Lowder ed. June 26 Ben Bella. (MISC).
*********************************************************************
“Hunter & Fox” by Philippa Ballantine. Release Date:
June 26, 2012. Pyr. (FAN).
“Besieged: The Outcast Chronicles 1” by R.C.
Daniells. June 26. Solaris. (FAN).
“Suited” by Jo Anderton. Release Date: June 26, 2012. Angry Robot. (SF).
“Hush” by James Maxey. Release Date: June 26, 2012. Solaris. (FAN).
“Obsidian and Blood” by Aliette de Bodard. June 26, 2012. Angry Robot. (Omnibus).
*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************
“The Key” by Simon Toyne. Release Date: June 26, 2012.
William Morrow. (HF).
“Talulla Rising” by Glen Duncan. Release Date: June 26,
2012. Knopf. (HF).
“The Age of Miracles” by Karen T. Walker. June 26, 2012. Random House. (SF).
“False Covenant” by Ari Marmell.
Release Date: June 26, 2012. Pyr. (YA).
“Cannibal Reign” by Thomas Koloniar. June 26, 2012. Harper. (SF).
Friday, June 1, 2012
"Soulless: Book 1 Parasol Protectorate" by Gail Carriger (Reviewed by Cindy Hannikman)
Visit Gail Carriger's Official Website Here
OVERVIEW: Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?
FORMAT: Soulless is the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series. It is a mixture of urban fantasy, mystery, and adventure. It stands at 373 pages and was published by Orbit on October 1, 2009.
ANALYSIS: Like many book enthusiasts I have a massive pile of books that I always vow to read, but never get around to it. I made it a goal to at least try a few of these mysterious books and that is how Soulless came across my path.
Soulless is a mix of urban fantasy, mystery, adventure, and Victorian England. Just the setting of England would have caught my interest, but there was just something about this series that kept calling me and I'm extremely glad I tried it out because I enjoyed every minute of it.
Pretty much from the get-go Soulless is filled with action and adventure. The main character, Alexia Tarabotti is attacked by a vampire at a social gathering. This vampire doesn't seem to understand the complicated code of etiquette that is set forth. Alexia accidently kills the vampire before she can understand why she was attacked, or what/who is leading these rouge vampires.
The whole novel is extremely fast paced. I'm not sure if it was the fairly unique plot (note I said fairly unique, not extremely unique), or the witty dialogue, but whatever it was I was glued to the book and kept wanting to read it.
The general in-a-nutshell plot element is that Alexia is a rare 'supernatural' individual who can actually neutralize the effects of the supernatural. She can turn a vampire human enough to go out during the day, and calm down a werewolf. While this isn't overly unique, it was spun in a way that made it interesting to read while not feeling as if I had read this type of book 100 times before.
The dialogue was fresh and funny. There were certainly comments that had me chuckling a little when I read them. I also believe that Alexia as a main character was thrilling. She was strong and independent, with a humorous streak to her. The characters combined with entertaining dialogue really was what kept me reading page after page.
While Soulless was an entertaining read there were a few quirks that keep nagging at the back of my head. The first is the rather inconsistent character building of the main character. Alexia is a spinster in the English upper society, she will never marry and no one really wants to associate with her. This causes her to have an extremely low opinion of herself, in which she constantly puts herself down. However, if she was so plain and spinster quality she certainly knew how to work her assets to her advantage, which seemed out of character for the way she was developed throughout the book.
An example that comes to mind is when she was talking to another character in the book and she keeps batting eyelashes or positioning herself in a way to make her bust look bigger. For a girl that has low self-esteem batting eyelashes and bosom pushing is usually not the first things they do when talking to guys.
Another quirk of mine during this book was the random sex acts between Alexia and Lord Maccon (a handsome werewolf). These two just randomly seemed to start going at it at the most inappropriate times. They almost did it in the parlor, the middle of a road, and such. The worst was as they are captured and facing near death their sex drive kicks into gear and they are almost about to go all out till they are interrupted. I just don't really see how it furthered the plot, and just seemed sort of random and unnecessary.
While these quirks were a bit quirky, they weren't enough to derail from the entire reading experience. I loved reading Soulless and thought it was just a joy. I might be a bit behind on the times, but Soulless really was worth it – I just wish I hadn't waited so long to read it.
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