Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Three Dissapointing Books: Juli Zeh, Kennedy Hudner and John Gywnne (reviews and comments by Liviu Suciu)
"The gripping
international bestseller that fuses an ingenious detective tale with
stunning, cinematic storytelling—and a provocative riff on quantum
physics—from Germany’s foremost young literary talent.
A child is kidnapped but does not know it. One man dies, two physicists fight, and a senior constable falls in love. In the end, everything is different . . . yet exactly the same.” —Prologue
A child is kidnapped but does not know it. One man dies, two physicists fight, and a senior constable falls in love. In the end, everything is different . . . yet exactly the same.” —Prologue
A rising star who has garnered some of Europe’s most important literary prizes, Juli Zeh has established herself as the new master of the philosophical thriller. With In Free Fall, she now takes us on a fast-paced ride through deadly rivalry and love’s infinite configurations.
Against the backdrop of Germany and Switzerland, two physicists begin a dangerous dance of distrust. Friends since their university days, when they were aspiring Nobel Prize candidates, they now interact in an atmosphere of tension, stoked by Oskar’s belief that Sebastian fell into mediocrity by having a family.
When Sebastian’s son, Liam, is
apparently kidnapped, their fragile friendship is further tested.
Entrusted with uncovering the truth, Detective Superintendent Schilf
discerns a web of blackmail, while at the same time the reality of his
personal life falls into doubt. Unfolding in a series of razor-sharp
scenes, In Free Fall is a riveting novel of ideas from a major new literary voice"
Dark Matter (UK title) / In Free Fall (US title) by Juli Zeh is a book that made waves and I kept an eye on it until I finally bought a copy a while ago.
It took me a while to read it as after the excellent beginning of which I even quoted a few lines in a recent post, the book started bogging down in pseudo-natural philosophy of the kind that was in vogue when the quantum reality started being understood 80 years ago and more recently in the 90's and the renaissance of this kind of pop-physics books.
I finally finished the book a day or so ago and Dark Matter was a little disappointing in the end; very clever and well written as the play of words and narrative power go, but it reads more like a puzzle than a novel; characters are flat and lifeless and the storyline is ultimately sterile.
The physics involved is very 1920-30's rather than modern - eg the many worlds interpretation in its modern Multiverse incarnation is something taken very seriously today not a fringe part of physics, while the physicist as "Einstein the all conqueror" is again a 20-30's image as today the hep groundbreaking papers have hundreds of authors and are obtained by tons of statistical analysis of very short life particle events while theories are a dime a dozen and most are "not even wrong"; now that wouldn't be an issue if the novel would have more external reality than the game it becomes after a while. Also its main conceit of word confusion that powers the action is a bit silly to be honest.
There was another thing I found disturbing but as a major spoiler I included it in spoiler brackets on Goodreads, though I will allude below to it.
Overall, Dark Matter is well written but artificial, so it usually would be a four star novel for me but I take away one extra star for its disturbing arguments about "the justifiable murder" of a stranger.
As an addition, I would mention that so far I found all acclaimed literary novels written by non-scientists and who purport to use today's frontiers of science as main action drivers (eg Charles Yu, Lisa Goldstein...) very unsatisfactory and showing an essential lack of understanding of how science works, what science means and/or what it tells about humanity's place in the Universe or Multiverse...
Better stick with Alastair Reynolds, Neal Stephenson or Greg Egan's awesome novels like Incandescence or The Orthogonal Trilogy which may have literary flaws true, but which present a realistic picture of this "greatest adventure" of the spirit and for which the quote below from The Eternal Flame is incomparably better than all the faux-philosophy of Dark Matter:
"Onesto said, “Imagine the time, a dozen generations from now, when wave mechanics powers every machine and everyone takes it for granted. Do you really want them thinking that it fell from the sky, fully formed, when the truth is that they owe their good fortune to the most powerful engine of change in history: people arguing about science.”
"Intrigue. Betrayal. A devastating surprise attack and a frantic fight to survive.
Gritty warfare in space as four young officers respond to the alarm of war.
Four officer cadets in the Victorian Fleet meet in training camp. Emily, the young woman who dreams of becoming a Fleet historian, but discovers her real talents lay elsewhere. Grant, the arrogant son of Victoria’s most famous admiral. Hiram, the nervous but brilliant strategist, and Cookie, intent on joining the Fleet Marines. Together, they survive the trials and hardships of training to join the Fleet, unaware that that their home is about to be plunged into a maelstrom.
For three hundred years, the Kingdom of Victoria has enforced peace across the galaxy. But it has grown complacent, and its enemies are ready to strike. The Tilleke Empire and the Dominion of Unified Citizenry have been waiting a long time, and now is their chance. As their web draws closed around Victoria, the band of new officers find themselves on the last line of defense. They’ve been well trained – but will it be enough to save the kingdom?"
Gritty warfare in space as four young officers respond to the alarm of war.
Four officer cadets in the Victorian Fleet meet in training camp. Emily, the young woman who dreams of becoming a Fleet historian, but discovers her real talents lay elsewhere. Grant, the arrogant son of Victoria’s most famous admiral. Hiram, the nervous but brilliant strategist, and Cookie, intent on joining the Fleet Marines. Together, they survive the trials and hardships of training to join the Fleet, unaware that that their home is about to be plunged into a maelstrom.
For three hundred years, the Kingdom of Victoria has enforced peace across the galaxy. But it has grown complacent, and its enemies are ready to strike. The Tilleke Empire and the Dominion of Unified Citizenry have been waiting a long time, and now is their chance. As their web draws closed around Victoria, the band of new officers find themselves on the last line of defense. They’ve been well trained – but will it be enough to save the kingdom?"
Alarm of War seemed to be an interesting Weberian series debut of which I read the sample and all the stuff - from wormholes to the interspersed meetings of the bad guys - was there,
so I got the book but as I started reading it carefully, I stalled as the action became very pulpy.
I finally finished it recently and indeed after a very promising beginning, the novel becomes and stays to the partial cliffhanger end, very old style pulpy mil-sf. I turned fast the pages to see what happens but it was more of a duty thing to be able to say that I "read" the book as I did not really care that much about the action or the characters. There were some scenes with power - when Princess Anne appears or the ending sequence, but way, way too much B-grade sf I've read tons of in the 90's and I really have no interest in more.
I finally finished it recently and indeed after a very promising beginning, the novel becomes and stays to the partial cliffhanger end, very old style pulpy mil-sf. I turned fast the pages to see what happens but it was more of a duty thing to be able to say that I "read" the book as I did not really care that much about the action or the characters. There were some scenes with power - when Princess Anne appears or the ending sequence, but way, way too much B-grade sf I've read tons of in the 90's and I really have no interest in more.
"A black sun is rising …
Young Corban watches enviously as boys become warriors under King
Brenin’s rule, learning the art of war. He yearns to wield his sword and
spear to protect his king’s realm. But that day will come all too soon.
Only when he loses those he loves will he learn the true price of
courage.
The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed shields in battle, the earth running dark with their heartsblood. Although the giant-clans were broken in ages past, their ruined fortresses still scar the land.
But now giants stir anew, the very stones weep blood and there are sightings of giant wyrms. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. Sorrow will darken the world, as angels and demons make it their battlefield. Then there will be a war to end all wars.
High King Aquilus summons his fellow kings to council, seeking an alliance in this time of need. Some are skeptical, fighting their own border skirmishes against pirates and giants. But prophesy indicates darkness and light will demand two champions, the Black Sun and the Bright Star. They would be wise to seek out both, for if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind’s hopes and dreams will fall to dust."
The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed shields in battle, the earth running dark with their heartsblood. Although the giant-clans were broken in ages past, their ruined fortresses still scar the land.
But now giants stir anew, the very stones weep blood and there are sightings of giant wyrms. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. Sorrow will darken the world, as angels and demons make it their battlefield. Then there will be a war to end all wars.
High King Aquilus summons his fellow kings to council, seeking an alliance in this time of need. Some are skeptical, fighting their own border skirmishes against pirates and giants. But prophesy indicates darkness and light will demand two champions, the Black Sun and the Bright Star. They would be wise to seek out both, for if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind’s hopes and dreams will fall to dust."
Somewhat unexpectedly I got a review copy of Malice by John Gwynne and I was
quite excited and oh, what a let down as the book reads so juvenile and
without any sophistication, but straight-out from the manual of how to
write an epic fantasy for the pg 13 reader crowd.
The beginning which has a
bargain with the evil, sealed by blood obtained by cutting the throat of
a prisoner and ended by the villain asking timidly "what do you want
for your help?" and the big booboo answering ominously "I want you!" was
ominous indeed but at least I still had some hopes.
Only to be completely dashed in
the next few pages which are pure juvenile writing; I then skimmed the
book just in case and came upon pearls like:
"I am a warrior Hal, not a nursemaid"
"I am a warrior Hal, not a nursemaid"
Yuck... A drop and never to hear of this series again.
Note - these are comments based on a browse through of the book, not an
end to end read, but life is too short for wasting even a fast read on it; Malice may actually be awesome in the pages I skipped but somehow I doubt it...
12:00 AM | 
Posted by
Liviu |
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Short Story Review: City Of Screams, Extraction and Into The Mirror Black
Order the book HERE
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: City Of Screams is the prequel short story to the horror-thriller saga that will begin in 2013, the Blood Gospel series. It is a collaboration between James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell and I had previously blogged about it here in regards to its origins and build-up. The collaboration is a first time effort for both authors involved and so it will be very interesting to see how they align their strengths to bring forth this monster. City of Screams was released in the week of Halloween and the blurb details the type of story it is.
Basically it has to do with sergeant Jordan Stone and his team that get sent to this small town in Afghanistan called Shahr-e-Gholghola, to find out more about a recent massacre. The story title while giving a veritable clue about the story is also the name of the town that the team has to go to. The story is very viscerally setup as the reader is told about the history of the region and why the horrid name as well. The reader is then dropped into the happenings and we get to learn a bit about what Jordan Stone and his team is capable of. The story is a very nice mix of horror and thriller genres and only serves to highlight the potential of the upcoming series.
Things which I liked about this short story are the things that I expect from any James Rollins novel, quick paced story, action-packed events and a new geographical location. This short story bears his classical signature and also shows a seamless story wherein it’s hard to pinpoint who wrote which part. I think this is always a good sign in such efforts and reminds me of other great author duos such Douglas Preston-Lincoln Child and Ilona Andrews. The only shortcoming I felt this story has was that this was written purely to serve as a prequel to the main storyline. I don’t know whether and if the events of this story will impact much of the major storyline in the books to come but that’s something all of us will have to discover ourselves.
This short story comes highly recommended as it showcases the strength of both writers and also gives us a strong indication to check out the forthcoming Blood Gospel series. Check it out if you love horror, James Rollins, Rebecca Cantrell and/or all of the above.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Extraction is possibly the first short story written by this acclaimed duo and which also features their signature character Aloysius X. L. Pendergast. I am very much enjoying the current Helen Pendergast trilogy and waiting to see what kind of end the authors have planned in Two Graves, that releases in December. When this short story was announced, I was very intrigued for two major reasons:
(a) because it was set in the past and focuses on the childhood of the Pendergast brothers in New Orleans
(b) Secondly because it featured the author’s variation on the tooth fairy tale and going by Relic & Reliquary, it’s very apparent that Messrs. Preston-Child are masters at writing horror.
The story is actually set in the events prior to the beginning of the Helen Pendergast trilogy and begins by Pendergast reminiscing about his childhood and the strange variation of the tooth fairy story that had taken root in their neighborhood. In the story, we meet a Aloysius who is ten years old and his brother Diogenes who is a mere six. The tale that goes around in their neighborhood is that for every child that loses their tooth, they have to give it to Maurus Dufour, for if not he will come to get you. With such a ludicrous premise, the tale however gains strong ground and Diogenes upon losing a tooth decides to give into the tradition. His older brother Aloysius however refuses to bow onto this ridiculous fashion and decides to stop Diogenes from doing so. This is the impetus of the story as to what happens after Aloysius chooses to disregard the local legend and from thereon things take a very weird turn.
This story on paper has the makings of a great story however the execution is simply faltering. Here are some of the reasons why this book didn’t really gel. First and foremost, it’s a narration from Pendergast’s POV and we never truly learn if the events he recalls are the truth or just his air-brushed memories. Secondly the events in the tale occur without explanation and the ending is just plain an ending without any real meaning to it. The story deals with a local legend and it showcases some seriously creepy turns but that’s all it does. The readers are simply left hanging to imagine what could have occurred and thus this story doesn’t really do much beside promise a lot and fail to deliver.
(a) because it was set in the past and focuses on the childhood of the Pendergast brothers in New Orleans
(b) Secondly because it featured the author’s variation on the tooth fairy tale and going by Relic & Reliquary, it’s very apparent that Messrs. Preston-Child are masters at writing horror.
The story is actually set in the events prior to the beginning of the Helen Pendergast trilogy and begins by Pendergast reminiscing about his childhood and the strange variation of the tooth fairy story that had taken root in their neighborhood. In the story, we meet a Aloysius who is ten years old and his brother Diogenes who is a mere six. The tale that goes around in their neighborhood is that for every child that loses their tooth, they have to give it to Maurus Dufour, for if not he will come to get you. With such a ludicrous premise, the tale however gains strong ground and Diogenes upon losing a tooth decides to give into the tradition. His older brother Aloysius however refuses to bow onto this ridiculous fashion and decides to stop Diogenes from doing so. This is the impetus of the story as to what happens after Aloysius chooses to disregard the local legend and from thereon things take a very weird turn.
This story on paper has the makings of a great story however the execution is simply faltering. Here are some of the reasons why this book didn’t really gel. First and foremost, it’s a narration from Pendergast’s POV and we never truly learn if the events he recalls are the truth or just his air-brushed memories. Secondly the events in the tale occur without explanation and the ending is just plain an ending without any real meaning to it. The story deals with a local legend and it showcases some seriously creepy turns but that’s all it does. The readers are simply left hanging to imagine what could have occurred and thus this story doesn’t really do much beside promise a lot and fail to deliver.
Official Author Website
Get the free book HERE
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Into The Mirror Black is Tim Marquitz’s Halloween freebie to his fans and readers alike. It is a tale which is dark, twisted and just simply weird. The short was released near Halloween and fits in perfectly within its creepy/horrific premise. The story is set in the modern day in an unnamed city and focuses upon Tyson who is carrying out a specific agenda of sorts.
Tyson believes that he is carrying out the orders of the Gods that no longer hold dominion on the mortal plains. However they have been communicating with certain people chief among them being Tyson himself. He is to carry out certain task that not only involve murder but also contain horrific elements to them. Tyson however has faithfully continued doing them at a very physiological and mental cost to himself. Knowing for certain that upon completion and with the return of the elder Gods, he would be rewarded without measure. What eventually happens is the root of the story and another dark, deeply disturbing tale from the mind of Tim Marquitz.
Firstly here’s why I liked the story, it does not flinch from its gruesome areas and portrays a deeply disturbed individual. Secondly the reader is never sure whether what is happening is truly what it seems or thought to be. Thirdly the prose and twists in the plot make it very hard to put down and also equally hard to figure out where this tale is headed. Tim Marquitz has to be lauded for delivering a story that can be construed on so many levels, the reader will never be sure of the paranormal nature of the events and this adds to the unpredictability of the story. The reader is also kept into the dark in regards to the sanity status of the protagonist and thus in this regards the author paints a very bleak picture for the protagonist.
Give this short a try if you are in the mood for some chilling horror with the benefit of some seriously vicious scenes. Tim Marquitz shows us a disturbing picture of a man sinking into depravity, whether the cause is supernatural or simply mental illness is for the reader to decide.
Get the free book HERE
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Into The Mirror Black is Tim Marquitz’s Halloween freebie to his fans and readers alike. It is a tale which is dark, twisted and just simply weird. The short was released near Halloween and fits in perfectly within its creepy/horrific premise. The story is set in the modern day in an unnamed city and focuses upon Tyson who is carrying out a specific agenda of sorts.
Tyson believes that he is carrying out the orders of the Gods that no longer hold dominion on the mortal plains. However they have been communicating with certain people chief among them being Tyson himself. He is to carry out certain task that not only involve murder but also contain horrific elements to them. Tyson however has faithfully continued doing them at a very physiological and mental cost to himself. Knowing for certain that upon completion and with the return of the elder Gods, he would be rewarded without measure. What eventually happens is the root of the story and another dark, deeply disturbing tale from the mind of Tim Marquitz.
Firstly here’s why I liked the story, it does not flinch from its gruesome areas and portrays a deeply disturbed individual. Secondly the reader is never sure whether what is happening is truly what it seems or thought to be. Thirdly the prose and twists in the plot make it very hard to put down and also equally hard to figure out where this tale is headed. Tim Marquitz has to be lauded for delivering a story that can be construed on so many levels, the reader will never be sure of the paranormal nature of the events and this adds to the unpredictability of the story. The reader is also kept into the dark in regards to the sanity status of the protagonist and thus in this regards the author paints a very bleak picture for the protagonist.
Give this short a try if you are in the mood for some chilling horror with the benefit of some seriously vicious scenes. Tim Marquitz shows us a disturbing picture of a man sinking into depravity, whether the cause is supernatural or simply mental illness is for the reader to decide.
INTRODUCTION: This is a book that came out of nowhere - basically I got interested as
it has the same title with the huge Miles Cameron debut as it was
pointed to me on Goodreads - so I checked the sample and it was
compelling, so much so that I had to read the novel next.
"A thousand years have passed since the Clan Lords and the Fey commanded
dragons and raised mighty citadels. The remnants of their ancient power
lie dormant and a new conflict threatens the kingdom of Antia…
King Daris rules a peaceful and prosperous land, but his conniving brother Jerim covets the throne and civil war looms. But there are worse threats to Antia than mere human greed.
Two
people will stand against mortal and demonic enemies: Alyda Stenna,
Captain of the Hammer of Antia returns from campaign to a hero’s welcome
after prosecuting war abroad with brutal efficiency.Garian
Tain, the spymaster’s apprentice, hunts for an assassin through the
streets of the capital while the knights bask in the adoration of the
crowds.
This is just the beginning.Both will fight
overwhelming odds in a bid to save the kingdom. War and betrayal will
test them to their limits. One will rise; one will fall; both will be
changed forever."
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: In
describing "The Red Knight", I would say that the narrative pull is extremely
high, the main characters impressive in so far they are larger than life
heroic and competent but brought down - though of course not for long -
by schemers, meddlers and authorial intent that made kings and
councilors act extremely stupid, the world building
not yet at the A level of recent debuts like Mage's Blood or Blood Song and the storyline is soap opera with knights, sorcery, treason and
blood. Villains are cartoonish and there are all the flourishes
one expects in soap opera.
It wasn’t often that Alyda was mistaken for a noblewoman and as amusing as flirting with the gentleman was, she really should introduce herself. Of course, she knew from past experience that as soon as she did, his attitude would change. He’d either run a mile, challenge her to an arm wrestling contest, or want to talk about the war in Suvia, which was a pity in this case. He was good looking—tall, sandy haired, a bit soft round the middle, but nothing that a little exercise wouldn’t sort out and she knew precisely the kind of exercise she’d like to put him to.
This being said the power of the narrative and the compelling main characters - Alyda, the title character, Prince Talin, the love interest of above and Garian the do-gooder spy carry the day and I am definitely interested in more. There are battles galore, intrigue, personal combat, magic, desperate sieges, mistaken identities, despair and hope and all the ingredients that make adventure sff compelling even if occasionally over-the-top.
“To the Void with Redbear, Guthani go where they please. Nor do I need to get the measure of any man, woman or beast so long as their blood is red, and I’ll wager my weight in gold the Steelskins bleed as red as anyone.”
..............................
Thorgulsen thought Jerim’s plan was a sack of s**t. It didn’t say much for Telvier’s skill as a strategist if he couldn’t see that.
“This subterfuge is pointless, it will end the way these things always end; in blood, s**t, and death. We have the advantage of numbers and surprise; we should get on with it before the Ants get wind of our plans.”
I still have a feeling that as sf this would have worked somewhat better since there one can get away with much more campiness so to speak, but high class fantasy needs high class world building and a storyline that does not depend on the stupidity of the movers and shakers to make sense, so this series is not yet there but the author's narrative power should get it to the top with time.
"Daris gave him a dead-eyed stare. “What about, Lord Costaine?”
“He’s gone too far, Majesty! How many more times will you allow the Governor of Cathlan to flout your authority, and the authority of this Council? He makes fools of us all —
The King leapt to his feet, fists clenched. “How dare you question me? If I choose to give my brother the benefit of my patience, it is none of your concern!”"
Overall K.T. Davies' The Red Knight is a very compelling fantasy soap opera with knights, blood and sorcery and a highly recommended series debut. I am in the series for the duration with very high hopes considering the narrative power of the author.
It wasn’t often that Alyda was mistaken for a noblewoman and as amusing as flirting with the gentleman was, she really should introduce herself. Of course, she knew from past experience that as soon as she did, his attitude would change. He’d either run a mile, challenge her to an arm wrestling contest, or want to talk about the war in Suvia, which was a pity in this case. He was good looking—tall, sandy haired, a bit soft round the middle, but nothing that a little exercise wouldn’t sort out and she knew precisely the kind of exercise she’d like to put him to.
This being said the power of the narrative and the compelling main characters - Alyda, the title character, Prince Talin, the love interest of above and Garian the do-gooder spy carry the day and I am definitely interested in more. There are battles galore, intrigue, personal combat, magic, desperate sieges, mistaken identities, despair and hope and all the ingredients that make adventure sff compelling even if occasionally over-the-top.
“To the Void with Redbear, Guthani go where they please. Nor do I need to get the measure of any man, woman or beast so long as their blood is red, and I’ll wager my weight in gold the Steelskins bleed as red as anyone.”
..............................
Thorgulsen thought Jerim’s plan was a sack of s**t. It didn’t say much for Telvier’s skill as a strategist if he couldn’t see that.
“This subterfuge is pointless, it will end the way these things always end; in blood, s**t, and death. We have the advantage of numbers and surprise; we should get on with it before the Ants get wind of our plans.”
I still have a feeling that as sf this would have worked somewhat better since there one can get away with much more campiness so to speak, but high class fantasy needs high class world building and a storyline that does not depend on the stupidity of the movers and shakers to make sense, so this series is not yet there but the author's narrative power should get it to the top with time.
"Daris gave him a dead-eyed stare. “What about, Lord Costaine?”
“He’s gone too far, Majesty! How many more times will you allow the Governor of Cathlan to flout your authority, and the authority of this Council? He makes fools of us all —
The King leapt to his feet, fists clenched. “How dare you question me? If I choose to give my brother the benefit of my patience, it is none of your concern!”"
Overall K.T. Davies' The Red Knight is a very compelling fantasy soap opera with knights, blood and sorcery and a highly recommended series debut. I am in the series for the duration with very high hopes considering the narrative power of the author.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Spotlight On Three More 2013 Titles, Jean-Marie Blas de Robles, Karen Lord and Betsy Dornbusch (with comments by Liviu Suciu)
"Winner of the Prix Médicis, this multifaceted literary novel follows the
Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher across 17th century Europe and
Eleazard von Wogau, a retired French correspondent, through modern
Brazil.
When Eleazard begins editing a strange, unpublished biography of Kircher, the rest of his life seems to begin unraveling—his ex-wife goes on a dangerous geological expedition to Mato Grosso; his daughter abandons school to travel with her young professor and her lesbian lover to an indigenous beach town, where the trio use drugs and form interdependent sexual relationships; and Eleazard himself starts losing his sanity, escalated by loneliness, and his work on the biography. Patterns begin to emerge from these interwoven narratives, which develop toward a mesmerizing climax.
Shortlisted for the Goncourt Prize and the European Book Award, and already translated into 14 languages, Where Tigers Are At Home is large-scale epic, at once literary and entertaining, that belongs in the company of Umberto Eco and Haruki Murakami."
When Eleazard begins editing a strange, unpublished biography of Kircher, the rest of his life seems to begin unraveling—his ex-wife goes on a dangerous geological expedition to Mato Grosso; his daughter abandons school to travel with her young professor and her lesbian lover to an indigenous beach town, where the trio use drugs and form interdependent sexual relationships; and Eleazard himself starts losing his sanity, escalated by loneliness, and his work on the biography. Patterns begin to emerge from these interwoven narratives, which develop toward a mesmerizing climax.
Shortlisted for the Goncourt Prize and the European Book Award, and already translated into 14 languages, Where Tigers Are At Home is large-scale epic, at once literary and entertaining, that belongs in the company of Umberto Eco and Haruki Murakami."
While "Where the Tigers are at Home" has been published in the UK in late 2011, the US edition will be out only next year in March. An 800+ page book that just rolls after the first 50-100 pages when one gets used with the setup, five contemporary - actually 1982 per the World Cup references - intertwined threads plus the 1600's life and times of Athanasius Kircher which actually explores a lot about the state of knowledge at the time and a masterpiece. Not really sff but very associational in the way of Eco, Murakami or Neal Stephenson for that matter.
I wrote a little about the novel on Goodreads and I will have a full review at some point, but this is one book that lives up to its blurb, hype etc
****************************************************************
"A proud and reserved
alien society finds its homeland destroyed in an unprovoked act of
aggression, and the survivors have no choice but to reach out to the
indigenous humanoids of their adopted world, to whom they are distantly
related. They wish to preserve their cherished way of life but come to
discover that in order to preserve their culture, they may have to
change it forever.
Now a man and a woman from these two clashing societies must work together to save this vanishing race—and end up uncovering ancient mysteries with far-reaching ramifications. As their mission hangs in the balance, this unlikely team—one cool and cerebral, the other fiery and impulsive—just may find in each other their own destinies . . . and a force that transcends all."
Now a man and a woman from these two clashing societies must work together to save this vanishing race—and end up uncovering ancient mysteries with far-reaching ramifications. As their mission hangs in the balance, this unlikely team—one cool and cerebral, the other fiery and impulsive—just may find in each other their own destinies . . . and a force that transcends all."
The Best of All Possible Worlds is a novel due to be published in February 2013 and which I just obtained a Net Galley review copy. From a quick browse it reminds one of the planet adventure with sociological overtones sf of yore, subgenre made famous by Ursula Le Guin and of which Mary Gentle's Orthe series is a huge favorite of mine as are Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow and William Barton's Acts of Conscience, while China Mieville's Embassytown is a recent example too.
I am very curious how this one will stack against the books mentioned above which are among the most thought-provoking sf I've read and will let you know by publication date at the latest.
"Draken vae Khellian, bastard cousin of the Monoean King, had risen far
from his ignominious origins, becoming both a Bowrank Commander and a
member of the Crown’s Black Guard. But when he is falsely condemned for
the grisly murder of his beloved wife, he is banished from the kingdom
and cast upon the distant shore of Akrasia, at the arse-end of the
world.
Compared to civilized Monoea, Akrasia is a forbidding land of Moonlings, magic, and restless spirits. It is also a realm on the brink of a bloody revolution, as a sinister conspiracy plots against Akrasia’s embattled young queen–and malevolent banes possess the bodies of the living.
Consumed by grief, and branded a murderer, Draken lives only to clear his name and avenge his wife’s murder. But the fates may have bigger plans for him. Alone in a strange land, he soon finds himself sharing the bed of an enigmatic necromancer and a half-breed servant girl, while pressed into the service of a foreign queen whose life and land may well depend on the divided loyalties of an exiled warrior . . .
Exile is the beginning of an ambitious fantasy saga by an acclaimed new author."
Compared to civilized Monoea, Akrasia is a forbidding land of Moonlings, magic, and restless spirits. It is also a realm on the brink of a bloody revolution, as a sinister conspiracy plots against Akrasia’s embattled young queen–and malevolent banes possess the bodies of the living.
Consumed by grief, and branded a murderer, Draken lives only to clear his name and avenge his wife’s murder. But the fates may have bigger plans for him. Alone in a strange land, he soon finds himself sharing the bed of an enigmatic necromancer and a half-breed servant girl, while pressed into the service of a foreign queen whose life and land may well depend on the divided loyalties of an exiled warrior . . .
Exile is the beginning of an ambitious fantasy saga by an acclaimed new author."
Finally, there is Exile by Betsy Dornbusch, a more traditional fantasy adventure as per the blurb and the cover, but one that moves at a quick pace at least in the pages I read and browsed through, so much so that it moved much higher on my reading list than the seeminlgy standard content and the February 2013 publication date would otherwise suggest.
Look for more comments/minireview on Goodreads with a full review closer to the publication date!
Official Stephen Deas Website
Order The King's Assassin HERE
Read FBC Review of The Thief-Taker's Apprentice
Read FBC Review of The Warlock's Shadow
Read FBC Review of The Adamantine Palace
Read FBC Review of The King of the Crags
Read FBC short Review of The Order of the Scales
INTRODUCTION: The Thief-Taker's Apprentice and The Warlock's Shadow are quite entertaining novels from Stephen Deas that take place in the same world as his Dragon series. Marketed as YA and featuring young Berren as
main POV, the books read like an usual adult fantasy, with less explicit
content than the author's other series but with lots of gore and grit
otherwise.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The King's Assassin is the end of the original Thief-Taker's Apprentice series though of course characters from here will continue to appear in the next volume of the main series. The novel starts two years from the dramatic end of the last book when Berren escapes from his indenture as a "skag" on a ship in Skalda, a city on the other side of stormy oceans from his Deephaven home, because he sees his former master Syannis - presumed dead or imprisoned - on another ship in that port.
Later Berren joins a mercenary force, gets involved with the efforts of Syannis and his brother Talon to retake their homeland Tethis, where their mentally challenged younger but legitimate step-brother Aimes "rules" as puppet of usurper Meridian, meets the warlock Kuy again and much more...
Becoming known as "The Bloody Judge" with nine fingers off all things too, Berren is now very far in capabilities from the scared youth of the first two volumes, though inside he is as conflicted as ever. The King's Assassin contains so much stuff that I really do not want to spoil it, but it moves very well and you cannot stop turning the pages.
There are some little logic miscues here and there - as Berren (and others) really should realize some stuff rather than act sullen for a while and later surprised at the bloody finale and the last third of the book covers a lot of time and events in a very condensed "one battle is as another" way, but the book works well and has narrative power with an ending that wraps things up while opening new avenues for the future.
Also there are many tidbits scattered around about the author's world that add to its depth and promise a lot for further volumes and the geography of the author's universe expands considerably.
In some ways, The King's Assassin is so different from the first two to seem as being from another series, a much darker, bloodier and more adult one; and in the author's noted style, the novel has almost no get out of jail cards, characters die and no one is safe...
The King's Assassin is highly recommended and a top 25 of mine as the clear best of the three Thief-Taker's Apprentice novels and also arguably the author's best at least since his still awesome debut The Adamantine Palace (though I have not yet read The Black Mausoleum as of now).
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The King's Assassin is the end of the original Thief-Taker's Apprentice series though of course characters from here will continue to appear in the next volume of the main series. The novel starts two years from the dramatic end of the last book when Berren escapes from his indenture as a "skag" on a ship in Skalda, a city on the other side of stormy oceans from his Deephaven home, because he sees his former master Syannis - presumed dead or imprisoned - on another ship in that port.
Later Berren joins a mercenary force, gets involved with the efforts of Syannis and his brother Talon to retake their homeland Tethis, where their mentally challenged younger but legitimate step-brother Aimes "rules" as puppet of usurper Meridian, meets the warlock Kuy again and much more...
Becoming known as "The Bloody Judge" with nine fingers off all things too, Berren is now very far in capabilities from the scared youth of the first two volumes, though inside he is as conflicted as ever. The King's Assassin contains so much stuff that I really do not want to spoil it, but it moves very well and you cannot stop turning the pages.
There are some little logic miscues here and there - as Berren (and others) really should realize some stuff rather than act sullen for a while and later surprised at the bloody finale and the last third of the book covers a lot of time and events in a very condensed "one battle is as another" way, but the book works well and has narrative power with an ending that wraps things up while opening new avenues for the future.
Also there are many tidbits scattered around about the author's world that add to its depth and promise a lot for further volumes and the geography of the author's universe expands considerably.
In some ways, The King's Assassin is so different from the first two to seem as being from another series, a much darker, bloodier and more adult one; and in the author's noted style, the novel has almost no get out of jail cards, characters die and no one is safe...
The King's Assassin is highly recommended and a top 25 of mine as the clear best of the three Thief-Taker's Apprentice novels and also arguably the author's best at least since his still awesome debut The Adamantine Palace (though I have not yet read The Black Mausoleum as of now).
Official Author Website
Read an Excerpt HERE
Order “Spirit’s End” HERE
Read FBC's Review of "The Spirit Thief"
Read FBC's Review of “The Spirit Rebellion”
Read FBC's Review of “The Spirit Eater” & “Spirit’s Oath”
Read FBC’s Review of “The Spirit War”
Read FBC’s Interview with Rachel Aaron
Read an Excerpt HERE
Order “Spirit’s End” HERE
Read FBC's Review of "The Spirit Thief"
Read FBC's Review of “The Spirit Rebellion”
Read FBC's Review of “The Spirit Eater” & “Spirit’s Oath”
Read FBC’s Review of “The Spirit War”
Read FBC’s Interview with Rachel Aaron
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Rachel Aaron lives in Athens, Georgia with her family. She has graduated from University of Georgia with a B.A. in English Literature. She has been an avid reader since her childhood and now has an ever-growing collection to show for it. She loves gaming, Manga comics & reality TV police shows. She also blogs occasionally on the Magic Districts website along with a host of other authors.
OFFICIAL BLURB: Eli Monpress is clever, he's determined, and he's in way over his head.
First rule of thievery: don't be a hero! When Eli broke the rules and saved the Council Kingdoms, he thought he knew the price, but resuming his place as the Shepherdess's favorite isn't as simple as bowing his head. Now that she has her darling back, Benehime is setting in motion a plan that could destroy everything she was created to protect, and even Eli's charm might not be enough to stop her. But Eli Monpress always has a plan, and with disaster rapidly approaching, he's pulling in every favor he can think of to make it work, including the grudging help of the Spirit Court's new Rector, Miranda Lyonette.
But with the world in panic, the demon stirring, and the Lord of Storms back on the hunt, it's going to take more than luck and charm to pull Eli through this time. He's going to have to break a few more rules and work with some old enemies if he's going to survive.
CLASSIFICATION: The Legend of Eli Monpress is a classical fantasy series set in a medieval world of sorts; the style and settings of the story invoke tales popularized by Terry Brooks and Scott Lynch with a huge slice of Terry Pratchett.
First rule of thievery: don't be a hero! When Eli broke the rules and saved the Council Kingdoms, he thought he knew the price, but resuming his place as the Shepherdess's favorite isn't as simple as bowing his head. Now that she has her darling back, Benehime is setting in motion a plan that could destroy everything she was created to protect, and even Eli's charm might not be enough to stop her. But Eli Monpress always has a plan, and with disaster rapidly approaching, he's pulling in every favor he can think of to make it work, including the grudging help of the Spirit Court's new Rector, Miranda Lyonette.
But with the world in panic, the demon stirring, and the Lord of Storms back on the hunt, it's going to take more than luck and charm to pull Eli through this time. He's going to have to break a few more rules and work with some old enemies if he's going to survive.
CLASSIFICATION: The Legend of Eli Monpress is a classical fantasy series set in a medieval world of sorts; the style and settings of the story invoke tales popularized by Terry Brooks and Scott Lynch with a huge slice of Terry Pratchett.
FORMAT/INFO: Spirit’s End is 560 pages long divided over twenty-five numbered chapters with a prologue and epilogue. Narration is in the third person via many different characters such as Eli Monpress, Miranda Lyonette, Nico, Josef Liechten, Sparrow, Benehime the Shepherdess, the Lord of Storms, Alric, Sara, Etmon Banage and a few other minor characters as well.
November 20, 2012 marked the Trade paperback and e-book publication of Spirit’s End via Orbit Books.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: I’ve been waiting to read this book since Rachel first wowed me with her debut back in 2010. The Spirit Thief was a lighthearted caper that cajoled the readers as much as Eli did the spirits of his world. The story introduced a thief who wanted to reach a specific bounty. Over the course of the next three books, the author revealed her plan and the direction of the storyline while deepening the world and enriching the character cast. Since this is the fifth and last book in the Eli Monpress saga, it goes without saying that the review will contain spoilers for the previous books so beware those who haven’t read up to the 4th book.
Rachel Aaron's very entertaining saga comes to an end with this huge tome, compared to the first three, the last two books were much larger as they had to deal with events that were consequential to the character actions in the previous volumes. That's the theme of this book "ALL ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES"; each and every character is bound to it. Be it with Eli and his thievery, Nico with her demon, Josef with his kingship, Miranda with her spiritualist oaths or the Shepherdess with whatever she has been supposed to do. This volume has every character dealing with the consequences of their previous actions. The character cast is at its widest however once again the author shows her deft grasp of the story by not making the plot run off course. The plot has so many threads however all of them nicely coalesce to give the readers an action-packed, world-shattering climax.
The main story deals with Eli and Benehime, the latter’s fascination with the former has been a strong point for the story however in this book we learn more about what truly does Benehime want. The readers will definitely be surprised as I was as with the stark revelation of her true nature and plans.Miranda has problems of her own with the spiritualist court. Josef and Nico are finding more about the limits of their powers and weapons. There are many more characters about whom the story deals with as well. The gist of this story is about the secrets of this world primarily who/what are the Shepherdess and the other powers? What/where is the world? What lies beyond the veil? All these secrets are the crux of the series and previously in her interview, Rachel has said this about them:
"The Shepherdess and the “what is going on with this world” questions are the big plot of the series, and the closer we get to the end, the bigger these problems get. They play a big roll in book 4 and book 5 pretty much is nothing but dealing with these problems because things are really going to hell."
The story effectively dwells on these very plot points and then proceeds to resolve them in a very big "Michael Bay" way.
"The Shepherdess and the “what is going on with this world” questions are the big plot of the series, and the closer we get to the end, the bigger these problems get. They play a big roll in book 4 and book 5 pretty much is nothing but dealing with these problems because things are really going to hell."
The story effectively dwells on these very plot points and then proceeds to resolve them in a very big "Michael Bay" way.
With the previous volumes, each book dwelled on a single character to fill in their background details, for this book we don’t get a specific character but the world itself. Many mysteries, which have been beguiling the readers, are revealed to the fullest extent. This was what I liked so much about the book, the book has such a tight plot that it does everything and then some. The story, plot pace and characterization is top notch with this one, the story has many things going for it and with this being the last book, the author manages to tie in everything in to the story and so full marks to her for making the ending a thoroughly satisfying one.
Now onto the points that didn't get me all so warm, namely Benehime’s characterization. I wouldn't be remiss if I said that her reasons while showcased are a bit flimsy. Ultimately I realize that there had to be a villain for the story and she was the one, however I'm not entirely convinced for her reasons to do what she has done so far and does in this book. Another point that might not go down smoothly with readers is the issue of character deaths, obviously I can’t talk much without spoiling the plot and so I would wait to see what the readers think about it. I think with the series being the way it is, the ending is somewhat predictable but the way the author makes the story reach its final destination, it just feels right. Dealing with massive revelations about the world and its backstory, Rachel Aaron does manage to give us a fitting end to the saga. Be ready to have your mind blown with the ingenuity of the characters alongwith the author’s plotting skills as things bear fruit, which have been laid to root since the first book
CONCLUSION: Spirit’s End brings an end to a wildly entertaining and action-filled series that has charmed and beguiled its fans to the fullest extent. Rachel Aaron is an author who has shown her flair for writing entertaining stories with good characterization. The Legend of Eli Monpress is a debut series that will be remembered as one that offers wholesome entertainment and also one that mixes comedy, fantasy & SF in a smart mixture to give the readers a really entertaining read.
Monday, November 5, 2012
“Anomaly” by Skip Brittenham & Brian Haberlin (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)
Order “Anomaly” HERE
Watch the Book
Trailer HERE
INTRODUCTION: Anomaly, an epic science fiction
adventure, is releasing on November 15, 2012 simultaneously as a 370-page
hardcover—the longest original full-color graphic novel ever published—and as a
stand-alone tablet app. Stunning artwork and rich storytelling meet
cutting-edge technology to immerse readers in the world of Anomaly in the way they choose to
experience it.
Anomaly’s
co-creators come from diverse worlds themselves—Brian Haberlin is a renowned comic book writer and artist, and Skip Brittenham is one of the country’s
premier entertainment lawyers having worked with the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks Animation. Together
they wrote and designed Anomaly’s
dazzling universe, working with distinguished professors in philosophy,
religion and science to develop the cultural landscape and planetary functions
introduced in the book, which are based on actual historical and scientific
facts.
Written by Skip Brittenham
and Brian Haberlin, with art by Haberlin and Geirrod Van Dyke, Anomaly’s story is set in the year
2717, a time when most humans live in off-world colonies, and a single
corporation, The Conglomerate,
routinely conquers other planets to steal their resources. A group of explorers
embark on a diplomatic mission to a mysterious planet, only to find themselves
embroiled in a global conflict between its exotic inhabitants. The explorers
face lethal terrain, killer mutants and deadly magic in this new world where
nothing is as it seems…
FORMAT/INFO: As
mentioned above, Anomaly is 370
pages long, with 319 of that consisting of the actual story. The rest of the
page count includes a Timeline, information on The Conglomerate (Galactic Expansion, FTL Travel, the Corishtani
Conflict, CID numbers, Social Order), a Glossary, and excerpts from Tonni’s Journal during his time on the
planet Anomaly.
The hardcover book is oversized at 15 x 10 inches and has been
printed using a groundbreaking wide-gamut process that allows for more range of
color and detail than has ever been available in conventional printing. The
illustrations range from intimate, personal scenes to full cinematic
double-page spreads.
The hardcover book also comes with a free app that is
equipped with Ultimate Augmented Reality™ (UAR) technology, which integrates technology
and the printed page like never before. UAR technology is just starting to
catch on and has never been used to this extent for a book. It’s very user
friendly—by pointing your iOS or Android device at the pages of the book, a
reader will be able to bring animated holographic imagery to life and interact
with additional details, illustrations, and an entire backstory that cannot be
accessed by reading alone. In short, it’s a book with “DVD extras” built
right in.
Anomaly will
also be available as a stand-alone app ($4.99) for multiple platforms including
iOS, Android, NOOK and Kindle, with many interactive features included. In
other words, a user will be able to read the book as a regular graphic novel on
a device, or experience it as a kind of semi-movie, animated in parts and
brought to life by over 16 live voice actors—including such acclaimed science
fiction and video game actors as Vincent
Corazza, Nana Visitor, Olivia D’Abo, Dave Fennoy, Keith Szarabajka,
Hudson Leick and Anthony Cistaro. And if all that
weren’t enough, the book is also in development as a live action feature film
by director/producer Joe Roth (Alice
In Wonderland, Snow White & The Huntsman, Oz: The Great & Powerful).
PLOT SYNOPSIS: In
the year 2717, Earth, the planet we call home, slowly dies beneath us. Most humans now live in teeming surface
“Terrarium Cities,” off-world colonies, or orbiting space stations. All of Earth’s
resources have been depleted.
To save humanity, all corporations, nations and technologies
have merged into The Conglomerate. The Conglomerate uses Enforcer
Battalions to conquer whole planets and steal its resources, in the process
becoming the most ruthless profit machine to ever exist.
Dishonorably discharged from The Conglomerate’s elite Enforcer Corps, Jon is now working a job that is considered too lowly for even a robot.
So when he’s offered the chance to embark on a peaceful, first contact mission
to an untainted world, he leaps at the opportunity. After all, playing armed
babysitter to Samantha, the daughter
of a powerful Conglomerate executive, shouldn’t be too hard. What could go
wrong?
Everything…
What begins as an easy assignment protecting a couple of
do-gooders visiting a peaceful new planet quickly turns into a nightmare. Synthetics-eating
viruses, flesh-eating mutants, deadly magic . . . which form of death will come
first? To make matters worse, Jon learns
he’s not the man he once was and his actions have the potential to ripple
across the void of space and touch everything in it . . . including The Conglomerate…
ANALYSIS: When a
copy of Anomaly landed on my
doorstep, I was immediately blown away by the size of the graphic novel. At
fifteen inches wide and ten inches tall, Anomaly is massive, bringing to mind the awesome Absolute
collections from DC Comics. It’s
pretty obvious why the creators of Anomaly
chose this oversized format once I cracked open the book—the digital artwork is
simply stunning! I’ve included several images from the graphic novel in this
post (and dozens more can be found HERE), but these small
samples cannot convey how awesome Anomaly
looks in hardcover format, especially when the book is opened to one of its
majestic double-page spreads.
Compared to the artwork, Anomaly’s story leaves a lot to be
desired. The plotting is conventional and predictable, characters are shallow
and one-dimensional, and dialogue is cheesy at best. In other words, the
writing in Anomaly is a far cry
from the likes of Watchmen, Frank Miller, Grant Morrison or Neil
Gaiman. Then again, Anomaly
is not your typical graphic novel. Instead, Anomaly is more of a visual
experience and I believe what the story may lack in the writing department is made
up for in other areas like the extra content found at the end of the book or
the Ultimate Augmented Reality™ (UAR) technology which I have yet to try out.
Genre-wise, Anomaly
is described as “an epic science fiction adventure”, but a heavy dose of
fantasy is also featured in the mix. So imagine bits and pieces of Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Avatar
and Disney’s John Carter all fused together, and it would be something similar
to what Anomaly has to offer. Based
on the films just mentioned, one could safely assume that Anomaly is not very original, and
they would be right, but the book is still a blast to read . . . much like the
aforementioned movies. And if the Ultimate Augmented Reality™ (UAR) technology
is even half as cool as it sounds, then Anomaly—and hopefully its sequels—is
the kind of story I will want to experience again and again…
ABOUT ANOMALY PRODUCTIONS:
Anomaly
Productions is a cutting-edge media company launched by creators Skip Brittenham
and Brian Haberlin. Anomaly
Productions combines stunning artwork and rich stories to build deeply
immersive worlds than can be experienced across multiple platforms and in a
multitude of ways. Anomaly is
its first release, with three other projects in various stages of production.
ABOUT SKIP BRITTENHAM:
Skip Brittenham
is the author of a series of illustrated fantasy novels including Between Worlds, which is forthcoming
from Anomaly Productions. He
is also a senior partner of Ziffren
Brittenham LLP, one of the country’s premier entertainment law firms, where
he has represented some of the world’s most successful actors, directors, and
producers. For more than twenty years, he has worked closely with leading
animation companies including Pixar, DreamWorks Animation and Illumination Entertainment,
and has served on the boards of both Pixar
and DreamWorks Animation.
ABOUT BRIAN HABERLIN:
Brian
Haberlin is a comic book artist, writer, editor and producer. He began his
career in comics working at Top Cow
Productions, where he co-created the Witchblade
franchise, which has since expanded to include multiple spin-offs, a live
action television series, an anime, and an upcoming film. He founded Haberlin Studios in 1995, producing
commercial illustrations and digital coloring for Marvel
Comics, DC Comics and Image Comics. He then co-founded Avalon Studios, which published many
successful fantasy and sci-fi titles, including Stone, Aria, Area 52, and M-Rex. Haberlin also
served for two years as Editor-in-Chief of Todd
McFarlane Productions and penciled and inked its flagship title, Spawn. He currently runs Digitalarttutorials.com and
teaches comic art at Minneapolis College of Art
& Design. He is also a contributor to 3d World and ImagineFX magazine, and his work is in the
permanent collection at the Smithsonian Museum.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Spotlight on the Three Major Fantasy Series Debuts of 2012, Anthony Ryan, David Hair and Miles Cameron (with comments by Liviu Suciu)
Hoping that next week I will be able to resume the usual postings and finally review three important books of 2012, including two identical titles but with opposite gender title character leads and authors and what is my top sf of the year, I would like to remind everyone of these three fantastic series debuts of 2012. All sophisticated, all with great promise for much more and all very well written and of course top 25 titles of 2012.
"An epic fantasy exploring themes of
conflict, loyalty and religious faith. Vaelin Al Sorna, Brother of the
Sixth Order, has been trained from childhood to fight and kill in
service to the Faith. Ensnared in an unjust war by a king possessed of
either madness or genius, Vaelin seeks to answer the question that will
decide the fate of the Realm: …who is the one who waits?"
The Magi are hell-bent on ruling this new world, and for the last two Moontides they have led armies across the bridge on 'crusades' of conquest.
Now the third Moontide is almost here and, this time, the people of the East are ready for a fight ... but it is three seemingly ordinary people that will decide the fate of the world"
Read FBC Review of The Red Knight (upcoming asap - Goodreads thoughts HERE)
"Twenty eight florins a month is a huge price to pay, for a man to stand between you and the Wild.
Twenty eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern's jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders. But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men - or worse, a company of mercenaries - against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder.
It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.
The Red Knight has all three, he has youth on his side, and he's determined to turn a profit. So when he hires his company out to protect an Abbess and her nunnery, it's just another job. The abby is rich, the nuns are pretty and the monster preying on them is nothing he can't deal with.
Only it's not just a job. It's going to be a war. . ."
Twenty eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern's jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders. But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men - or worse, a company of mercenaries - against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder.
It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.
The Red Knight has all three, he has youth on his side, and he's determined to turn a profit. So when he hires his company out to protect an Abbess and her nunnery, it's just another job. The abby is rich, the nuns are pretty and the monster preying on them is nothing he can't deal with.
Only it's not just a job. It's going to be a war. . ."
Saturday, November 3, 2012
SERIES NEWS: The Jesse James Dawson Series by K.A. Stewart (by Mihir Wanchoo)
Official K.A. Stewart Website
Read FBC’s Review of “A Wolf At The Door”
Read FBC’s Review of “A Devil In The Details”
Read FBC’s Review of “A Shot In The Dark”
Read FBC’s Interview with K.A. Stewart
Read "El Chupacabra" (short story) by K.A. Stewart
A few weeks ago I had posted about how Robert V.S. Redick’s fourth book was shunted at the last moment from hardcover to trade paperback. While this decision was shocking, the fans still get to read the fourth book and that's a good thing. Yesterday author Kari Stewart announced that Roc has declined to extend her Jesse James Dawson series. Here’s what she has posted on her blog:
“Well, the sad news is, Roc has decided that my sales aren’t good enough to continue publishing the series. They’re not even good enough to consider a digital-only option. So, the JJD series with Roc is ended.”
“First, I have NO intention of leaving Jesse in this state. I need three more books to finish up the series the way I want to. I’ve already started writing book 4. My intention is to look into self-publishing the last three, possibly funded with a Kickstarter project early next year. I’m still researching all the details and such. There would be quite a bit involved with publishing this book the way I want to see it published, and the way I think you all deserve to see it published.”
“So, since I have no official deadline, and no one to answer to, you guys are now my conscience. My goal is to have Book 4 written (and titled) by April 1st (barring any unforeseen circumstances which I shall discuss below). After that, I’ll need to really start putting things in motion regarding a Kickstarter project, rewards for contributors, that sort of thing. (cover design, editing, ISBN numbers, the list goes on and on.) I’ve learned a lot in the last few months regarding all that goes into self-publishing things the right way, and it’s way harder than I ever realized. Makes me appreciate all that my actual publisher does even more.”
Read FBC’s Review of “A Wolf At The Door”
Read FBC’s Review of “A Devil In The Details”
Read FBC’s Review of “A Shot In The Dark”
Read FBC’s Interview with K.A. Stewart
Read "El Chupacabra" (short story) by K.A. Stewart
A few weeks ago I had posted about how Robert V.S. Redick’s fourth book was shunted at the last moment from hardcover to trade paperback. While this decision was shocking, the fans still get to read the fourth book and that's a good thing. Yesterday author Kari Stewart announced that Roc has declined to extend her Jesse James Dawson series. Here’s what she has posted on her blog:
“Well, the sad news is, Roc has decided that my sales aren’t good enough to continue publishing the series. They’re not even good enough to consider a digital-only option. So, the JJD series with Roc is ended.”
“First, I have NO intention of leaving Jesse in this state. I need three more books to finish up the series the way I want to. I’ve already started writing book 4. My intention is to look into self-publishing the last three, possibly funded with a Kickstarter project early next year. I’m still researching all the details and such. There would be quite a bit involved with publishing this book the way I want to see it published, and the way I think you all deserve to see it published.”
“So, since I have no official deadline, and no one to answer to, you guys are now my conscience. My goal is to have Book 4 written (and titled) by April 1st (barring any unforeseen circumstances which I shall discuss below). After that, I’ll need to really start putting things in motion regarding a Kickstarter project, rewards for contributors, that sort of thing. (cover design, editing, ISBN numbers, the list goes on and on.) I’ve learned a lot in the last few months regarding all that goes into self-publishing things the right way, and it’s way harder than I ever realized. Makes me appreciate all that my actual publisher does even more.”
Read more about in her blog post about the future path of the series and in that regards, the following information can be considered extremely pertinent. In my previous interview with the author, she had mentioned that she could finish the series in six books (if required) of which three are already published. Here’s what she had said about her overall series plan:
“Theoretically, I could finish the series in six books. The first four books will stand as I have them in my head. The last two books will always be the last two books. However, between four and what is currently five, I think I have some wiggle room to add more stories, if they're willing to let me…”
“Theoretically, I could finish the series in six books. The first four books will stand as I have them in my head. The last two books will always be the last two books. However, between four and what is currently five, I think I have some wiggle room to add more stories, if they're willing to let me…”
Now of course with Roc parting ways with the author, it will be up to us fans to support her even more than we did earlier. I’ll be keeping in touch with the author and making sure that whatever happens in the Jesse James Dawson universe (books four, five & beyond), I’ll be sure to keep readers and fans abreast of it all.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Spotlight on "The Sigil Trilogy" by Henry Gee (with comments by Liviu Suciu)
As I do not have enough books to read, two days ago I have heard about a new sf trilogy that looks cool, The Sigil Trilogy by Henry Gee
who seems to be a Nature editor, writer of popular science book as
well as a Tolkien expert.
The novels are published by small press ReAnimus in primarily in e form with print on demand (available at Amazon,
directly, BN etc) and are blurbed by a ton of genre and science
luminaries (M Moorcock, KSR, E Brown, I Whates, N Kress among the sff people, J Gribbin, Ian Stewart among the pop science) and of course there is the inevitable PFH comparison.
I could not resist buying the omnibus, though it is true that I took advantage of a Halloween only coupon to get it at half-price from the 15.99$ cover and I read some 100+ pages so far. The book moves very well and it has a feel of a mixture of old and new style space opera, with a few characters that seem to reappear through space and time.
The main strands so far take place on Earth some 55 million years ago when the planet is the capital of a human led, multi-species galactic polity with very advanced technology and weaponry - planet scale warships and fleets of million of spaceships - but things seem to go wrong at the space-time level so presumably nothing can be done to prevent destruction and barbarism, and in 2024, when an archaeology graduate student with a mysterious girlfriend that appeared seemingly out of nowhere finds evidence that most of England and France have been terraformed millions of year ago.
A bit wish fulfillment, a bit pulpy but entertaining and keeping one turning the pages to find out what happens next.
" From Nature Editor Henry Gee comes a story of breathtaking scope and beloved characters. Spanning millions of years and the breadth of the universe, The Sigil Trilogy is an epic tale that explores the nature of humanity, belief, and love.
The Universe is dying from within. No one knows how to save it, so the Elders give a young Drover a last ditch chance to stop the rot. If only she knew where to begin.
Unaware of the threat to the universe, Ruxhana Fengen Kraa, Admiral of the 17th Rigel Fleet, is about to be cashiered for a stupendous tactical error. But Special Ops has an important and most bizarre job or him.
Eons away in time, Jack Corstophine is an archaeologist on Earth with an intuition about the land that he can't put into words—until the beautiful and brilliant Jadis Markham comes into his life. Together, they discover that the landscape of Europe is far from natural. The Earth bears the scars of an ancient civilization that goes back millions of years — and has terrible implications for the future of mankind.
The Sigil Trilogy traces the lives of compelling characters — people... entities... and... species... — through time and space. It's magnificent in background, beautifully written, and with the most memorable characters. The Sigil Trilogy is spellbinding, funny, thoughtful, and touching all at the same time. Complete with complex mysteries, massive battles, romance, hot aliens, steampunk cities, good scotch, armageddon, it's all here — you won't be able to put it down."
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