Thursday, February 14, 2013
Introducing Fantasy Book Critic’s Newest Reviewers: Casey Blair & Lydia Roberts
Fantasy Book Critic
is pleased to introduce the two newest members of our team: Casey Blair & Lydia Roberts! We hope you’ll give them a warm welcome :)
After graduating college, Casey Blair spent a couple of years teaching English in Japan and
has since attended Viable Paradise
and moved to Seattle. In addition to reading and writing, she enjoys adventures
in karaoke, various dance styles, and traveling.
Casey grew up
reading David Eddings and Tamora Pierce and watching Star Trek and anime. She reads a lot of
fantasy and YA, and she's always happy to talk about medieval history,
languages and their evolution, mythology, and how they all interact with
contemporary culture.
Some of her current favorite books include The Way of Kings, The Curse of Chalion, Bitterblue,
Chime, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and the Black Jewels trilogy. She will also read absolutely anything by Guy Gavriel Kay, Laini Taylor, Sarah Rees
Brennan, and Jim Butcher.
Casey can be
contacted directly at Goodreads
HERE.
Lydia Roberts is
an educator, comic book enthusiast, reading addict, and poet. She grew up in a
steel mill town about 30 minutes north of Pittsburgh (Go Steelers!) in a home
that was always full of people, noise, and laughter. The other constant
was books. Her mother was an avid reader who encouraged a love of books through
weekly outings to the library. The librarians were skeptical about the number
of books Lydia read at such a quick
pace until they found she could—with very little prompting—discuss them in
detail. Offering a review of the books was another way to experience them all
over again. She is happy to join FBC
to continue this trend!
Lydia’s dad
introduced her to the wonder of comic books, and she has been an avid collector
since high school. Superheroes, magic, and overcoming insurmountable odds
are themes that she cannot resist. She also has a soft spot for damaged
heroes. (Wolverine, anyone? Hamlet?)
Listing her favorite books is almost impossible, but some of
the ones that she has returned to again and again over the years are Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre, The Blue
Sword by Robin McKinley, The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman, and The Westing Game by Ellen
Raskin. New favorites include The
Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, the Kate
Daniels series by Ilona Andrews,
and the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.
For the last ten years, Lydia
has made her home in the Pacific Northwest, and when she is not reading,
she teaches middle and high school English, plays board games with her family,
watches lots of movies, and writes.
12:00 AM | 
Posted by
Robert |
Official Author Website
Order "The Burn Zone" HERE
Read Friend And Foe, a guest post by James K. Decker
AUTHOR INFORMATION: James K. Decker was born in New Hampshire in the seventies, and has lived in the New England area since that time. He developed a love of reading and writing early on, participating in young author competitions as early as grade school, but the later discovery of works by Frank Herbert and Issac Asimov turned that love in to an obsession.
He wrote continuously through high school, college and beyond, eventually getting published under the name James Knapp, with the publication of the Revivors trilogy (State of Decay, The Silent Army, and Element Zero). State of Decay was a Philip K. Dick award nominee, and won the 2010 Compton Crook Award. The Burn Zone is his debut novel under the name James K. Decker. He currently lives in Massachusetts with his wife Kim.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Plagued by overpopulation, disease, and starvation, humanity was headed for extinction—until an alien race called the haan arrived. And then the real trouble began.
It’s been a rough day for Sam Shao. As part of a program that requires humans to act as surrogates to haan infants, Sam has been genetically enhanced to bond with them. So when three soldiers invade her apartment and arrest her guardian for smuggling a dangerous weapon into the country, Sam can sense that something isn’t right. One of his abductors is a haan masquerading as a human, and the supposedly fragile haan seems to be anything but.
Racing through the city slums, trying to stay one step ahead of the mysterious haan soldier, Sam tries to find the man who, in her twenty years, has been the only father she’s ever known. Could he truly have done what he is accused of? Or did he witness something both human and haan would kill to keep hidden? The only thing certain is that the weapon is real—and lost now somewhere in a city of millions.
Fighting the clock, Sam finds an ally in Nix, a haan envoy devoted to coexisting with humans, or so it seems. But what she really needs are answers. Fast. Or else everything she knows—and everyone she loves—will burn.
FORMAT/INFO: The Burn Zone is 374 pages long, divided over thirty-one numbered chapters. There is also an acknowledgements page. Narration is in the first-person with Sam Shao as the sole narrative voice.
February 5, 2013 marked the paperback and e-book publication of The Burn Zone via Ace-Roc books. The cover art is provided by Dave Seeley.
ANALYSIS: The Burn Zone is a book that managed to register itself on my radar due to its intriguing blurb details. I earlier didn’t know that this book was by the same person who had previously written the Revivors trilogy. I had read the first book and while I wasn’t able to review it, I was impressed by the author’s imagination and story settings.
The Burn Zone begins on an alternate Earth, which is remarkably similar to ours and is set in the near future wherein an alien race has crashed into a facsimile of the nation of China. These aliens called the Haan have take refuge among the local population and the government has helped them with it. The addendum being that the Haan help them with their nation’s security and weapons technology. The Earth’s population has grown beyond what can be sustained and so now massive amounts of the population face hunger pangs and have to make do with food being used as currency. The Haan add to this issue by demanding massive amounts of food for themselves and they justify their food needs by providing this alternate Chinese nation with futuristic technology that has propelled them ahead of the other worldly nations. This action has a dual effect of making this nation the most strongest in terms of technology and military might and the most detested by the rest of the world as well.
With this background, we are introduced to the main character of Sam Shao who is a surrogate mother to a Haan infant she has named Tanchi. She is leading a content life (of sorts) waiting for her godfather Dragan to return to Hangfei from his current assignment on the border towards the Pan-Slav Emirates. She is shocked when Dragan returns unexpectedly and with dire news. The state police who have quite a few charges of grave magnitude against him follow him and the end result is a scuffle that causes even more hassles for Sam, Dragan and the future of Hangfei. Thus begins the first volume in the Burn Zone series by James Decker.
Here’s what impressed me about this book, at its heart this book is a thriller through and through. It comes in the wrappings of SF and Alternate history however the storyline follows the tenets of a thriller. The author has carefully developed his premise of Aliens who have crash-landed and are in a situation similar to the one showcased in District 9. Albeit their situation and the world settings are very much different than those of the extra-terrestrial creatures in the film. This world is carefully peeled over the course of the story and for some this might be a make-or-break factor in their enjoyment of the storyline. I thought the author has done some excellent world-building in presenting a world that is beset by hunger issues and then nicely showcased the possible scenarios in which the human society might have adapted to such harsh conditions. I enjoyed reading about the various criminal or seedy activities that were shown in this book in relation to the demands of the society and this evolution felt very realistic.
There are some negative factors to this new series as well, beginning with the pace of the storyline, it is very tepid in the first 80—100 pages as the author introduces the world, the main character and her surroundings. While I understand the author was laying the setup for the book and this series, as a reader I had to really plow through these pages to get to the real meat of the story and so I would like to warn new readers of the same. Secondly with this being a first person narrated story, it is very important that the main protagonist be an intriguing one and in this regards, the story suffers as Sam Shao isn’t that attention grabbing. Of course we do learn about her back-story and are towards the later third of the novel, she does come into her own. However as main characters go, she wasn’t the strongest one I have read about. Thirdly and lastly this is a per peeve of mine, but in SF and Alternate-historical stories, I always like to have a map to see how the story in developed in terms of geography and with the story moving around and with all the places and nations mentioned. I thought the presence of a map and glossary would have helped deepen our understanding of the world presented within.
CONCLUSION: James K. Decker is definitely an author with some cool tricks up to his sleeve, he obviously couldn’t show all of them in this book but the potential is seen and I for one will definitely be reading the sequel to see how he further develops the story and the world. Give The Burn Zone a try if you want to see a hybrid SF-Thriller, with a well-developed world and massive conflicts looming. The Burn Zone is a surprisingly interesting read and will definitely find its fans.
Order "The Burn Zone" HERE
Read Friend And Foe, a guest post by James K. Decker
AUTHOR INFORMATION: James K. Decker was born in New Hampshire in the seventies, and has lived in the New England area since that time. He developed a love of reading and writing early on, participating in young author competitions as early as grade school, but the later discovery of works by Frank Herbert and Issac Asimov turned that love in to an obsession.
He wrote continuously through high school, college and beyond, eventually getting published under the name James Knapp, with the publication of the Revivors trilogy (State of Decay, The Silent Army, and Element Zero). State of Decay was a Philip K. Dick award nominee, and won the 2010 Compton Crook Award. The Burn Zone is his debut novel under the name James K. Decker. He currently lives in Massachusetts with his wife Kim.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Plagued by overpopulation, disease, and starvation, humanity was headed for extinction—until an alien race called the haan arrived. And then the real trouble began.
It’s been a rough day for Sam Shao. As part of a program that requires humans to act as surrogates to haan infants, Sam has been genetically enhanced to bond with them. So when three soldiers invade her apartment and arrest her guardian for smuggling a dangerous weapon into the country, Sam can sense that something isn’t right. One of his abductors is a haan masquerading as a human, and the supposedly fragile haan seems to be anything but.
Racing through the city slums, trying to stay one step ahead of the mysterious haan soldier, Sam tries to find the man who, in her twenty years, has been the only father she’s ever known. Could he truly have done what he is accused of? Or did he witness something both human and haan would kill to keep hidden? The only thing certain is that the weapon is real—and lost now somewhere in a city of millions.
Fighting the clock, Sam finds an ally in Nix, a haan envoy devoted to coexisting with humans, or so it seems. But what she really needs are answers. Fast. Or else everything she knows—and everyone she loves—will burn.
FORMAT/INFO: The Burn Zone is 374 pages long, divided over thirty-one numbered chapters. There is also an acknowledgements page. Narration is in the first-person with Sam Shao as the sole narrative voice.
February 5, 2013 marked the paperback and e-book publication of The Burn Zone via Ace-Roc books. The cover art is provided by Dave Seeley.
ANALYSIS: The Burn Zone is a book that managed to register itself on my radar due to its intriguing blurb details. I earlier didn’t know that this book was by the same person who had previously written the Revivors trilogy. I had read the first book and while I wasn’t able to review it, I was impressed by the author’s imagination and story settings.
The Burn Zone begins on an alternate Earth, which is remarkably similar to ours and is set in the near future wherein an alien race has crashed into a facsimile of the nation of China. These aliens called the Haan have take refuge among the local population and the government has helped them with it. The addendum being that the Haan help them with their nation’s security and weapons technology. The Earth’s population has grown beyond what can be sustained and so now massive amounts of the population face hunger pangs and have to make do with food being used as currency. The Haan add to this issue by demanding massive amounts of food for themselves and they justify their food needs by providing this alternate Chinese nation with futuristic technology that has propelled them ahead of the other worldly nations. This action has a dual effect of making this nation the most strongest in terms of technology and military might and the most detested by the rest of the world as well.
With this background, we are introduced to the main character of Sam Shao who is a surrogate mother to a Haan infant she has named Tanchi. She is leading a content life (of sorts) waiting for her godfather Dragan to return to Hangfei from his current assignment on the border towards the Pan-Slav Emirates. She is shocked when Dragan returns unexpectedly and with dire news. The state police who have quite a few charges of grave magnitude against him follow him and the end result is a scuffle that causes even more hassles for Sam, Dragan and the future of Hangfei. Thus begins the first volume in the Burn Zone series by James Decker.
Here’s what impressed me about this book, at its heart this book is a thriller through and through. It comes in the wrappings of SF and Alternate history however the storyline follows the tenets of a thriller. The author has carefully developed his premise of Aliens who have crash-landed and are in a situation similar to the one showcased in District 9. Albeit their situation and the world settings are very much different than those of the extra-terrestrial creatures in the film. This world is carefully peeled over the course of the story and for some this might be a make-or-break factor in their enjoyment of the storyline. I thought the author has done some excellent world-building in presenting a world that is beset by hunger issues and then nicely showcased the possible scenarios in which the human society might have adapted to such harsh conditions. I enjoyed reading about the various criminal or seedy activities that were shown in this book in relation to the demands of the society and this evolution felt very realistic.
There are some negative factors to this new series as well, beginning with the pace of the storyline, it is very tepid in the first 80—100 pages as the author introduces the world, the main character and her surroundings. While I understand the author was laying the setup for the book and this series, as a reader I had to really plow through these pages to get to the real meat of the story and so I would like to warn new readers of the same. Secondly with this being a first person narrated story, it is very important that the main protagonist be an intriguing one and in this regards, the story suffers as Sam Shao isn’t that attention grabbing. Of course we do learn about her back-story and are towards the later third of the novel, she does come into her own. However as main characters go, she wasn’t the strongest one I have read about. Thirdly and lastly this is a per peeve of mine, but in SF and Alternate-historical stories, I always like to have a map to see how the story in developed in terms of geography and with the story moving around and with all the places and nations mentioned. I thought the presence of a map and glossary would have helped deepen our understanding of the world presented within.
CONCLUSION: James K. Decker is definitely an author with some cool tricks up to his sleeve, he obviously couldn’t show all of them in this book but the potential is seen and I for one will definitely be reading the sequel to see how he further develops the story and the world. Give The Burn Zone a try if you want to see a hybrid SF-Thriller, with a well-developed world and massive conflicts looming. The Burn Zone is a surprisingly interesting read and will definitely find its fans.
THE ELEMENTS OF SORCERY focuses on the tale of how Edar Moncrief, a maker of love potions and wart remover (and competent sorcerer in his own right) gets tangled up with an Arbiter, and how his life gets irrevocably screwed up from that point forward. It's swords-and-sorcery written with an urban fantasy sensibility—like if Jim Butcher (author of The Dresden Files) wrote stories based on Robert E. Howard's Conan and Solomon Kane. There will be five installments when it's finished; each is novelette- to novella-length, ranging between 14,000 and 19,000 words so far, and they've been getting steadily longer.
In September 2011, I had decided to begin work on the second installment of my flagship series The Arbiter Codex. Originally entitled PROPHECY, the novel was going pretty well up until the point when I realized it wasn't. I ended up entirely scrapping that draft (except for some key parts that made it into what became LEGACY), which amounted to throwing away something like 75,000 words. It was one of the most painful things I've ever had to do.
However, something good did come out of it. At the tail end of Chapter 3 of this failed draft, I wrote this exchange:
A figure stepped out of the shadows of the tailor's shop and into the dim candlelight. Dressed immaculately in robes of deep green with violet and gold accents, the figure was tall, broad-shouldered, with olive skin and closely-trimmed midnight hair, sporting a pointed black beard on his chin. Pale yellow eyes stared out from beneath heavy brows, but the dark lips were split in a grin, revealing shining white teeth.
"Edar Moncrief," the Arbiter growled. "Didn't I tell you I'd kill you if I ever saw you again?"
"Indeed you did, Tal," the sorcerer replied. "Indeed you did. I must ask; do you still intend to make good on that threat? Think carefully before you answer, but do not think too long. I have information which may very well save your life before this night is out."
The sorcerer grinned; a wolfish expression.
"I have been waiting for you."
Apparently, I originally modeled the character on Antonio Banderas. (D'oh.)
However, in the very next chapter, on the very next page, Moncrief changed. He was no longer suave and confident like he was in the above passage—he was nervous, skittish, and genuinely afraid for his life. He bargained for his life with the knowledge of a "vision" (which he hadn't actually seen), promising to tell the Arbiter the details for safe passage to a place far away.
I had little use for the confident, dangerous sorcerer… but this manipulative, nervous man—that was something I could work with!
Of course, when I wrote D'Arden's line of dialogue—Didn't I tell you I'd kill you if I ever saw you again?—I had no idea what he meant by that. It came to me in a fit of inspiration, a flash of inspired brilliance (if I do say so myself) which I knew that I would have to follow up on.
Later in the draft (just before I realized that it wasn't going to work and gave up on it) I started writing scenes from Moncrief's first-person perspective. Even though the draft itself had failed, the character had wormed his way into my brain. He was much smarter than he made himself appear, I discovered. He was a master manipulator, even if he was a bit cowardly. This was exactly the kind of character I had always wanted to write about.
So, when I ended up giving up on PROPHECY, I sat down and thought about that line.
Didn't I tell you I'd kill you if I ever saw you again?
At that point, I knew my Arbiter pretty well (having just done revisions on ELEGY and finished writing THE CORPSE KING). The crime would have had to be serious for a threat like that to be made, and for D'Arden to remember it with such vehemence.
With that, I wrote the first words of what became SORCERER'S CODE, and the character shone through exactly as I wanted him to. He was hapless when caught off-guard, with a tendency to say stupid things when nervous, but he was smart, sophisticated and dangerous when he was ready for what was coming.
Once I finished SORCERER'S CODE, I knew that it was only the beginning of Moncrief's story. As I celebrate the upcoming launch of the third entry in his series—knowing that there are two left to tell—I'm excited to watch him change into the character which eventually appeared as a major supporting role in LEGACY, and who will be critical to the turning of events when I complete my flagship series later this year with the publication of DESTINY.
This guy steals the show in every scene he appears in. Some authors would say that it's not their fault—they don't control what their characters do, but frankly, I'm very proud to have created a personality able to upstage my main characters in their own book!
In September 2011, I had decided to begin work on the second installment of my flagship series The Arbiter Codex. Originally entitled PROPHECY, the novel was going pretty well up until the point when I realized it wasn't. I ended up entirely scrapping that draft (except for some key parts that made it into what became LEGACY), which amounted to throwing away something like 75,000 words. It was one of the most painful things I've ever had to do.
However, something good did come out of it. At the tail end of Chapter 3 of this failed draft, I wrote this exchange:
A figure stepped out of the shadows of the tailor's shop and into the dim candlelight. Dressed immaculately in robes of deep green with violet and gold accents, the figure was tall, broad-shouldered, with olive skin and closely-trimmed midnight hair, sporting a pointed black beard on his chin. Pale yellow eyes stared out from beneath heavy brows, but the dark lips were split in a grin, revealing shining white teeth.
"Edar Moncrief," the Arbiter growled. "Didn't I tell you I'd kill you if I ever saw you again?"
"Indeed you did, Tal," the sorcerer replied. "Indeed you did. I must ask; do you still intend to make good on that threat? Think carefully before you answer, but do not think too long. I have information which may very well save your life before this night is out."
The sorcerer grinned; a wolfish expression.
"I have been waiting for you."
Apparently, I originally modeled the character on Antonio Banderas. (D'oh.)
However, in the very next chapter, on the very next page, Moncrief changed. He was no longer suave and confident like he was in the above passage—he was nervous, skittish, and genuinely afraid for his life. He bargained for his life with the knowledge of a "vision" (which he hadn't actually seen), promising to tell the Arbiter the details for safe passage to a place far away.
I had little use for the confident, dangerous sorcerer… but this manipulative, nervous man—that was something I could work with!
Of course, when I wrote D'Arden's line of dialogue—Didn't I tell you I'd kill you if I ever saw you again?—I had no idea what he meant by that. It came to me in a fit of inspiration, a flash of inspired brilliance (if I do say so myself) which I knew that I would have to follow up on.
Later in the draft (just before I realized that it wasn't going to work and gave up on it) I started writing scenes from Moncrief's first-person perspective. Even though the draft itself had failed, the character had wormed his way into my brain. He was much smarter than he made himself appear, I discovered. He was a master manipulator, even if he was a bit cowardly. This was exactly the kind of character I had always wanted to write about.
So, when I ended up giving up on PROPHECY, I sat down and thought about that line.
Didn't I tell you I'd kill you if I ever saw you again?
At that point, I knew my Arbiter pretty well (having just done revisions on ELEGY and finished writing THE CORPSE KING). The crime would have had to be serious for a threat like that to be made, and for D'Arden to remember it with such vehemence.
With that, I wrote the first words of what became SORCERER'S CODE, and the character shone through exactly as I wanted him to. He was hapless when caught off-guard, with a tendency to say stupid things when nervous, but he was smart, sophisticated and dangerous when he was ready for what was coming.
Once I finished SORCERER'S CODE, I knew that it was only the beginning of Moncrief's story. As I celebrate the upcoming launch of the third entry in his series—knowing that there are two left to tell—I'm excited to watch him change into the character which eventually appeared as a major supporting role in LEGACY, and who will be critical to the turning of events when I complete my flagship series later this year with the publication of DESTINY.
This guy steals the show in every scene he appears in. Some authors would say that it's not their fault—they don't control what their characters do, but frankly, I'm very proud to have created a personality able to upstage my main characters in their own book!
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Christopher Kellen was indoctrinated in to the fantasy field by D&D as a child player. He however began writing only as an adult and his actual stint began by participating in NaNoWriMo in 2005. He currently works as an IT professional and is a passionate gamer as well. A proud member of the Genre Underground, his heroes of literature are those who are fearless in telling stories that truly mean something to their readers. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and monstrous black dog.
Monday, February 11, 2013
The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo with thoughts by Liviu S.)
Order The Daylight War HERE
Read the first fifty pages HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of The Painted Man/The Warded Man
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of The Desert Spear
Read Liviu’s Spotlight on The Daylight War
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Great Bazaar & Other Stories
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Great Bazaar & Other Stories
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Peter V. Brett was born and brought up in New York state. He graduated from the University of Buffalo with a focus on English Literature and Art History. He then spent more than a decade working in the pharmaceutical publication field before becoming a full-time writer. He developed an interest in fantasy from an early age and also enjoys comics and role-playing games. The Painted Man was not the first book he had written, however it helped him land a publishing deal and was his debut. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: On the night of the new moon, the demons rise in force, seeking the deaths of two men, both of whom have the potential to become the fabled Deliverer, the man prophesied to reunite the scattered remnants of humanity in a final push to destroy the demon corelings once and for all.
Arlen Bales was once an ordinary man, but now he has become something more—the Warded Man, tattooed with eldritch wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. Arlen denies he is the Deliverer at every turn, but the more he tries to be one with the common folk, the more fervently they believe. Many would follow him, but Arlen’s path threatens to lead to a dark place he alone can travel to, and from which there may be no returning.
The only one with hope of keeping Arlen in the world of men, or joining him in his descent into the world of demons, is Renna Tanner, a fierce young woman in danger of losing herself to the power of demon magic.
Ahmann Jardir has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army and proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer. He carries ancient weapons—a spear and a crown—that give credence to his claim, and already vast swaths of the green lands bow to his control.
But Jardir did not come to power on his own. His rise was engineered by his First Wife, Inevera, a cunning and powerful priestess whose formidable demon bone magic gives her the ability to glimpse the future. Inevera’s motives and past are shrouded in mystery, and even Jardir does not entirely trust her.
Once Arlen and Jardir were as close as brothers. Now they are the bitterest of rivals. As humanity’s enemies rise, the only two men capable of defeating them are divided against each other by the most deadly demons of all—those lurking in the human heart.
CLASSIFICATION: The Demon Cycle series is a dark epic fantasy series that is very reminiscent of the tales espoused by George R. R. Martin, Scott Lynch and Paul Kearney.
FORMAT/INFO: The Daylight War is 379 pages long divided over thirty-two titled and numbered chapters and a prologue. There is also a Krasian dictionary present to help the readers with the terms utilized in the story. Narration is in the third-person via Arlen Bales, Leesha Paper, Inevera, Ahmaan Jardir, Rojer Halfgrip and Abban along with a few minor characters.
February 12, 2013 marks the Hardcover and e-book publication of The Daylight War via Del Rey Books. The US cover art (see below) is by Larry Rostant and the UK cover art is also provided by the same artist. The UK edition is being released on February 11, 2013 by Harper Voyager.
ANALYSIS: Peter V. Brett’s The Daylight War is a book that most fans have been clamoring for since the release of The Desert Spear back in 2010. This book focuses on Inevera’s character as the past books have done for Arlen, Leesha, Rojer and Jardir. This book would also serve to show the conflict brewing between Jardir and Arlen and so easily marked itself as the most anticipated title for 2013 IMO. A warning though, with this book being the third of a series, there might be points discussed below that serve as minor spoilers for the preceding titles. Before I begin my review, readers wanting to read Liviu's thoughts on the book, can click here.
The story begins with Inevera nearly 33 years before the start of current events (as mentioned in the book) and we get to see her as a child and with a family of her own. Her father Kasaad is a veteran warrior with a disability and drinking issues. Her mother Manvah is a basket weaver and supports the family and lastly is her elder brother Soli who has just become a new Sharum warrior. Life however has other plans as Inevera as Hannu Pash beckons and we have read in the earlier book what happens next and in this book, Peter Brett shows her remarkable journey all the way. The focus is also on Arlen and Renna who are a couple now and share more wards than any normal couple would. Renna is aggressively following Arlen in his ways and walk even though he might not want her to continue on the same path. Leesha continues to straddle her various roles and is now trying to figure out the best way to extradite herself from the wiles of Jardir and his Krasian contingents. Rojer finds himself with an altered connubial status of sorts, is learning more about womanly wiles and especially Krasian womanly wiles. He’s striving to become a good partner to Sikwah and Amanwah whilst trying to explore his own skill with warded magic via his music.
Then there’s Abban who is slowly becoming my favorite character with his grey-shaded actions and tenebrous interactions with everyone as he helps Jardir fortify his new found lands. However Jardir and Inevera both struggle to determine his true intentions and are constantly wary of him. Jardir also plays a significant role in the happenings of this book and especially towards the climax. But in this volume his role is smaller among all the main POV characters aforementioned. This is not to say he doesn’t make his presence felt but this story truly belongs to Inevera, as we find out more about her thoughts, her past and her intentions towards the upcoming Sharak Ka.
After finishing this book, all I can is WOW! Peter V. Brett really knows how to change character perceptions and showcase different facets even after two preceding books. Let’s begin with the part that beguiled me so much, namely characterization. The author fleshes out all characters vividly and makes each of them distinct, beginning from the POV characters all the way down to the minor characters, each of them feels distinctly unique and this is the best part of the story. Beginning from Arlen as he aggressively pursues his own route and now is becoming a darker character and a bit unhinged as well. Renna Tanner is brought into the spotlight due to her own actions and Arlen’s gestures however as a character, I couldn’t connect with her as she seemed off with her thoughts and her actions cause further discord between the people around her.
Rojer who had a reduced role in the preceding title gets a bigger draw and we see what he can accomplish. Leesha also learns about the new headaches of leadership and I felt the author manages to portray her situation a bit better in this volume. Inevera, Jardir and Abban further confound the readers with their machinations and so it is this facet that makes this book bloody terrific. Secondly the author further fleshes out the Krasian culture whilst distinctly drawing some characteristic ties to Islam. Previously the Krasian world was explored from a masculine lens and in this book the same is done from a feminine viewpoint. However the Krasian culture is shown to be no less ruthless or bloodthirsty as we learn about the Dama’tings and their objectives. It’s not shocking to find out the Dama’tings and their underlings have their own games to play and they regard the Krasian men with even more of a rigid mindset than they view their fellow females.
The book slightly alters the pattern by having the current events run entirely parallel to Inevera’s background story. So in chapter I we get to see Arlen going about the Thesan world reclaiming his spot not as the Deliverer but as Arlen Bales the Warded Man, this was a good thing as we directly see past and present events occurring in synchronicity. The magic system is further expanded and this time we get a deeper look in to the Demons and what seems to be taking place at the Core. I liked how the author paralleled the Demon’s culture with those of the humans above. People who have been waiting to know more about the prophecies, the Alagai hora and demon culture will definitely love this book as the author finally gives us a wider look in to all the aforementioned things and much more. Then there’s the fantastic cover art with both the US and UK editions, which I must say the author is really lucky to have such gorgeous cover art on both sides of the pond.
The pace and action sequences of this book are exponentially increased as the title suggests and once any reader starts this book, they'll be hard-pressed to stop reading. This is where PVB managed to combine the plus points from the earlier books to make the third the best one so far. Lastly I want to emphasize what a terrific ending this book has, its right up there with that of say Changes by Jim Butcher or A Storm Of Swords by George R.R. Martin. Not a cliffhanger in the literal sense but a thematic one as the action ends on a edge of a cliff and fans will probably hate the author for ending the book the way it is shown. The worrisome part being that now readers will have to wait another 2-3 years (minimally) to find out what happens next. As an author this is what you strive for and perhaps PVB will have fans clamoring for the fourth book (The Skull Throne) in the same vociferous way as those of GRRM and Patrick Rothfuss. For those fans who are jonesing for the next epic fantasy series after the conclusion to Wheel Of Time, they might want to give this one a try as its not bloated (so far) and promises much more in the remaining two volumes.
I couldn't find any drawbacks to this book however this is entirely a subjective opinion. If one didn’t enjoy the author’s earlier books and style of writing then this book won’t change your opinion but you would be missing out on a terrific series. For all the fans, Peter V. Brett hits it out of the park with this third volume and only makes it harder to not bang on his door pleading for the next volume.
CONCLUSION: An out and out thrilling storyline that mixes action, intrigue and amazing characters, Peter V. Brett’s The Daylight War is his best work so far and rather upends the bar steeply for this series. I would simply like to conclude by saying that with this book, Peter confirms his place among epic fantasy’s pantheon of greats amid the likes of George R.R. Martin, Steven Erikson, and Robert Jordan.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Three Mini Reviews: The Woodcutter, Capitol Murder and Listening To Rain (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)
Official Author Website
Order the book HERE
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Woodcutter by Kate Danley is a book that slipped me by when it was originally self-published by the author in 2010. I happened across it recently when it was re-released by 47North. I was very much intrigued by the storyline as it reminded me of The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly which is one of my all time favorites.
The story is set in a realm wherein there are twelve kingdoms and all of them are either ruled by creatures of Faerie and humans. Surrounding all these kingdoms is the woods area, which is overseen by the Woodcutter. The Woodcutter is in a long line of woodcutters who have been adjudged to be the men who oversee the woods. He’s also tasked with keeping the peace between the twelve kingdoms however recently he’s been finding that events are taking a turn beyond gruesome. He finds a dead body of a girl who will be well known to readers of fairy tales. Tasked with finding the murderer and to stop the further division of the twelve kingdoms, the woodcutter will have to dig deep to stop the anarchy that is unfolding.
This book is a clever mix of fairy tales, classical fantasy and mystery. I enjoyed the author’s take on this world wherein fairy tale characters mingle with those from European mythology. The story really begins with a twisted opening and from then on we are constantly shunted from chapter to chapter with a new revelation about the world as well as the characters. I think the pace of the story helps quite a bit as well as the extremely short chapters. The story constantly keeps the readers on their toes with oodles of mystery in regards to what is actually happening as well who or what is the main protagonist’s role in the world.
The characterization is done very cleverly and gives the main character enough of a mysterious edge to be believable. The main plot thread is a very mystery laced one and has a slight noir-ish quality to it. The world building is rather strange and what I mean by strange is that the author combines various different elements into her story to make it a very different world. Lastly with all these dark elements to the story, I must say the story is kept on a YA level consistently and has some rather sweet moments to it as well.
Combining a fascinating story within a hybrid world of mythology, fairy tales and fantasy, Kate Danley showcases her superb skills and its no wonder this book has won so many awards. I enjoyed the quirky storyline and thoroughly enjoyed the story all the way to its poignant end. Very much recommended for those who like Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and John Connolly’s The Book Of Lost Things. The Woodcutter is an odd book but one that cherishes its oddness and makes you fall in love with it.
Order the book HERE
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Woodcutter by Kate Danley is a book that slipped me by when it was originally self-published by the author in 2010. I happened across it recently when it was re-released by 47North. I was very much intrigued by the storyline as it reminded me of The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly which is one of my all time favorites.
The story is set in a realm wherein there are twelve kingdoms and all of them are either ruled by creatures of Faerie and humans. Surrounding all these kingdoms is the woods area, which is overseen by the Woodcutter. The Woodcutter is in a long line of woodcutters who have been adjudged to be the men who oversee the woods. He’s also tasked with keeping the peace between the twelve kingdoms however recently he’s been finding that events are taking a turn beyond gruesome. He finds a dead body of a girl who will be well known to readers of fairy tales. Tasked with finding the murderer and to stop the further division of the twelve kingdoms, the woodcutter will have to dig deep to stop the anarchy that is unfolding.
This book is a clever mix of fairy tales, classical fantasy and mystery. I enjoyed the author’s take on this world wherein fairy tale characters mingle with those from European mythology. The story really begins with a twisted opening and from then on we are constantly shunted from chapter to chapter with a new revelation about the world as well as the characters. I think the pace of the story helps quite a bit as well as the extremely short chapters. The story constantly keeps the readers on their toes with oodles of mystery in regards to what is actually happening as well who or what is the main protagonist’s role in the world.
The characterization is done very cleverly and gives the main character enough of a mysterious edge to be believable. The main plot thread is a very mystery laced one and has a slight noir-ish quality to it. The world building is rather strange and what I mean by strange is that the author combines various different elements into her story to make it a very different world. Lastly with all these dark elements to the story, I must say the story is kept on a YA level consistently and has some rather sweet moments to it as well.
Combining a fascinating story within a hybrid world of mythology, fairy tales and fantasy, Kate Danley showcases her superb skills and its no wonder this book has won so many awards. I enjoyed the quirky storyline and thoroughly enjoyed the story all the way to its poignant end. Very much recommended for those who like Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and John Connolly’s The Book Of Lost Things. The Woodcutter is an odd book but one that cherishes its oddness and makes you fall in love with it.
Official Author Website
Order the book HERE
Read Civilian Reader’s review of Executive Privilege
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Supreme Justice
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s interview with Phillip Margolin
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Phillip Margolin is a favorite of mine, I started reading his books nearly a decade ago and since then I have enjoyed his Amanda Jaffe books as well as his standalone titles. He began a trilogy with a set of characters in 2008 with Executive Privilege; he followed it up two years later with Supreme Justice and last year he capped off the trilogy with Capitol Murder.
Like all of his books, Capitol Murder has quite a few plot threads and a large character cast as well. The story begins after a few months after the events of Supreme Justice and Brad and Ginny are well settled of sorts in their routines. Dana Cutler is facing an ironic turn of events due to the newfound celebrity status that she has achieved. One of the main threads of Executive Privilege is carried forward in the form of Clarence little who is now obsessed with Brad as he owes him for his current situation. There’s also Ali who is a new migrant and planning to shake the USA by trying to be a jihadi martyr. Lastly there’s the plot-thread involving Jack Carson, the Oregon senator for whom Brad works for and is now undergoing quite a situation thanks to some shady dealing on his part. There’s a lot more but this is the basic gist of this complicated plot and once again Margolin proves why he’s one of the best thriller writers who’s is equally under-appreciated.
This book is more tuned to the events of the first book than the second one and I appreciated this aspect as we get to see a continuation of events that were such a major plot point in Executive Privilege. In this book the significant others to Dana and Brad get more page time as well and in Ginny’s case she actually plays a crucial role in the events that play out. With a such large character cast, the author’s characterization skills often come in to play and with a writer like Phillip Margolin, its almost second nature to him. The book’s pace and plot twists are top notch and keep the reader thoroughly engrossed. From the start the reader is introduced to a multitude of characters as well as multiple plot threads. Teach of the plot threads start separately and will have the reader vexed in trying to figure out how they all come together.
The plot is characteristically twisted and comes together in the end in a very cohesive fashion and in this category; it overshadows Supreme Justice by being the better thriller and possibly is the best one of this entire trilogy. Not having any drawback to it is another plus point and so this is another winner from the incredible mind of Phillip Margolin. This book comes very recommended for thriller fans and for those wanting to read a good story with terrific mystery threads.
Order the book HERE
Read Civilian Reader’s review of Executive Privilege
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Supreme Justice
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s interview with Phillip Margolin
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Phillip Margolin is a favorite of mine, I started reading his books nearly a decade ago and since then I have enjoyed his Amanda Jaffe books as well as his standalone titles. He began a trilogy with a set of characters in 2008 with Executive Privilege; he followed it up two years later with Supreme Justice and last year he capped off the trilogy with Capitol Murder.
Like all of his books, Capitol Murder has quite a few plot threads and a large character cast as well. The story begins after a few months after the events of Supreme Justice and Brad and Ginny are well settled of sorts in their routines. Dana Cutler is facing an ironic turn of events due to the newfound celebrity status that she has achieved. One of the main threads of Executive Privilege is carried forward in the form of Clarence little who is now obsessed with Brad as he owes him for his current situation. There’s also Ali who is a new migrant and planning to shake the USA by trying to be a jihadi martyr. Lastly there’s the plot-thread involving Jack Carson, the Oregon senator for whom Brad works for and is now undergoing quite a situation thanks to some shady dealing on his part. There’s a lot more but this is the basic gist of this complicated plot and once again Margolin proves why he’s one of the best thriller writers who’s is equally under-appreciated.
This book is more tuned to the events of the first book than the second one and I appreciated this aspect as we get to see a continuation of events that were such a major plot point in Executive Privilege. In this book the significant others to Dana and Brad get more page time as well and in Ginny’s case she actually plays a crucial role in the events that play out. With a such large character cast, the author’s characterization skills often come in to play and with a writer like Phillip Margolin, its almost second nature to him. The book’s pace and plot twists are top notch and keep the reader thoroughly engrossed. From the start the reader is introduced to a multitude of characters as well as multiple plot threads. Teach of the plot threads start separately and will have the reader vexed in trying to figure out how they all come together.
The plot is characteristically twisted and comes together in the end in a very cohesive fashion and in this category; it overshadows Supreme Justice by being the better thriller and possibly is the best one of this entire trilogy. Not having any drawback to it is another plus point and so this is another winner from the incredible mind of Phillip Margolin. This book comes very recommended for thriller fans and for those wanting to read a good story with terrific mystery threads.
Official Author Website
Order the book HERE
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Listening To Rain is the debut book by Albert A. Dalia and its blurb and excerpt chapters intrigued me enough to ask the author for a review copy.
The book begins in the past 607 AD wherein a young boy is taken from his ancestral home after it has been attacked. Twenty years later we are reintroduced to the child who is now grown up and is called Tanzong the Shaolin Blade. His legendary exploits helped the young emperor of the Tang dynasty previously in a time of need. The emperor then assigns his imperial commissioner Li Wei to accompany Tanzong and find out more about disturbances in the southern part of his empire. Such begins the journey that will see both of them travel far and wide in a mystical China and face many great adventures that will be captured by Li Wei in three great scrolls, the first of which is called “Listening To Rain”.
This new series book by Albert A. Dalia hearkens back to the classical mytho-fantasy tales by Barry Hughart. The story settings are similar and while Barry’s stories featured humor, Albert Dalia eschews the humor but does not skip the inventiveness showcased by Barry Hughart. The story begins in a typical fantasy style with a young child who will grow up to be the epic hero and he does however his journey is only just beginning. As the story progresses we find out that there are many more mysteries to be found in this China as imagined by the author. That’s what I liked about the story that it went all out on the magic and fantasy front without being apologetic about it. The characterization isn’t all that great but since this is the first volume, I’m always ready to give the benefit of doubt to the author.
The main character cast introduced isn’t a large one however they are quite easily placed in the good or bad category and that perhaps might be a drawback for several readers. The story has a good pace to it and follows a traditional fantasy route and in that regards it is predictable however the author does his best with some latter part twists to the story that liven up the tale and make the reader intrigued for the second tale. The fantasy settings of this story explore a bit of China’s history and mythology however I’m not an expert in either subjects and so I can’t vouch for the their accuracy. I did enjoy the author’s slant on these subjects as he seems to be genuinely interested in them and so it will be up to readers to decide how they find his efforts.
Listening To Rain is a story that showcases its flair by indulging the author’s interests and studies. It is a book that has flaws as well as fascinating facets to it. I think this was quite a different debut than I have usually read about. Give it a shot of you are interested in reading mytho-historical fantasy with a different slant than those found currently. I think Listening To Rain will find its fans should readers be willing to give it a shot.
Order the book HERE
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Listening To Rain is the debut book by Albert A. Dalia and its blurb and excerpt chapters intrigued me enough to ask the author for a review copy.
The book begins in the past 607 AD wherein a young boy is taken from his ancestral home after it has been attacked. Twenty years later we are reintroduced to the child who is now grown up and is called Tanzong the Shaolin Blade. His legendary exploits helped the young emperor of the Tang dynasty previously in a time of need. The emperor then assigns his imperial commissioner Li Wei to accompany Tanzong and find out more about disturbances in the southern part of his empire. Such begins the journey that will see both of them travel far and wide in a mystical China and face many great adventures that will be captured by Li Wei in three great scrolls, the first of which is called “Listening To Rain”.
This new series book by Albert A. Dalia hearkens back to the classical mytho-fantasy tales by Barry Hughart. The story settings are similar and while Barry’s stories featured humor, Albert Dalia eschews the humor but does not skip the inventiveness showcased by Barry Hughart. The story begins in a typical fantasy style with a young child who will grow up to be the epic hero and he does however his journey is only just beginning. As the story progresses we find out that there are many more mysteries to be found in this China as imagined by the author. That’s what I liked about the story that it went all out on the magic and fantasy front without being apologetic about it. The characterization isn’t all that great but since this is the first volume, I’m always ready to give the benefit of doubt to the author.
The main character cast introduced isn’t a large one however they are quite easily placed in the good or bad category and that perhaps might be a drawback for several readers. The story has a good pace to it and follows a traditional fantasy route and in that regards it is predictable however the author does his best with some latter part twists to the story that liven up the tale and make the reader intrigued for the second tale. The fantasy settings of this story explore a bit of China’s history and mythology however I’m not an expert in either subjects and so I can’t vouch for the their accuracy. I did enjoy the author’s slant on these subjects as he seems to be genuinely interested in them and so it will be up to readers to decide how they find his efforts.
Listening To Rain is a story that showcases its flair by indulging the author’s interests and studies. It is a book that has flaws as well as fascinating facets to it. I think this was quite a different debut than I have usually read about. Give it a shot of you are interested in reading mytho-historical fantasy with a different slant than those found currently. I think Listening To Rain will find its fans should readers be willing to give it a shot.
The Burn Zone takes place in a sort of alternate-reality future where an alien race called the Haan has crash-landed. While it takes place solely in the fictional city of Hangfei, it is clear (and will become more so as the series progresses) that the presence of the haan has had a significant impact on the world at large.
In the novel, overpopulation has pushed the world to its brink. Food and water shortages are rampant, and as nations begin to fracture those that survive do so through military might. In this regard, the Haan have been a double-edged sword to the country where Hangfei resides (never specifically spelled out, but implied to be a kind of China analogue). On the one hand, the calorie requirements of the haan are huge - many times that of a human - and just keeping them alive has put a huge strain on the local population. On the other hand, the haan are vastly more advanced, and by providing technology like antigravity, teleportation, force-fields, and graviton weapons to name a few, they've allowed their host country to stay afloat while others sink, as well as keep the less fortunate from crossing their borders. This is appreciated more at the top tiers of society (and government) where starvation isn't as much of an issue. For the working class, or poverty stricken, the deals made with the haan are a point of serious contention.
In the novel, overpopulation has pushed the world to its brink. Food and water shortages are rampant, and as nations begin to fracture those that survive do so through military might. In this regard, the Haan have been a double-edged sword to the country where Hangfei resides (never specifically spelled out, but implied to be a kind of China analogue). On the one hand, the calorie requirements of the haan are huge - many times that of a human - and just keeping them alive has put a huge strain on the local population. On the other hand, the haan are vastly more advanced, and by providing technology like antigravity, teleportation, force-fields, and graviton weapons to name a few, they've allowed their host country to stay afloat while others sink, as well as keep the less fortunate from crossing their borders. This is appreciated more at the top tiers of society (and government) where starvation isn't as much of an issue. For the working class, or poverty stricken, the deals made with the haan are a point of serious contention.
It hasn't escaped the rest of the world, either. Foreign forces have watched one country remain rich (relatively speaking) and powerful while the rest fall apart. They see the haan becoming stronger and stronger, and fear that if they allow it to continue then a tipping point might be reached where no one will be able to stand against them. The country’s Pan-Slav neighbors to the north are a particular problem. The Pan-Slav Emirates is described in the story as a desperate, fallen state which has cracked apart, leaving looted arsenals in the hands of disparate militias. The border is patrolled constantly to keep terrorists from crossing in to bomb feedlots and water supplies. Offshore, foreign fleets (primarily made up of the Americans and the European Union) have amassed, keeping their cannons and missiles aimed toward Hangfei, watching as the haan make good on their most recent promise, the construction of a defense shield. No one in Hangfei knows exactly what to think about it, but most people suspect that the only reason the foreigners haven't fired yet is because they know the force-field dome over the haan ship can't be penetrated. At the same time, with the defense shield nearly complete, their window to act at all might be closing. The people of Hangfei live in fear that they'll be attacked any day.
According to Hangfei's leaders, the foreigners only want to loot them. They are going under, and are ready to take whatever they need in order to survive. The haan, they promise, will help all of humanity but the rest of the world doesn't want to wait. If they aren't held back, they'll come in to try and take what they need. Needless to say, there are signs in the story that all might not be exactly as it appears. The entire country has been cut off from the rest of the world by an oppressive government, which controls all media. No one knows exactly what kinds of deals have been made between their leaders and the mysterious haan, except those who made them. Stray signals that bleed through suggest that the foreigners at their gates might have more complex motivations than just taking what they need.
This is the world of The Burn Zone. We see the tip of the iceberg in the first installment, and these dynamics will unfold as the series continues…
According to Hangfei's leaders, the foreigners only want to loot them. They are going under, and are ready to take whatever they need in order to survive. The haan, they promise, will help all of humanity but the rest of the world doesn't want to wait. If they aren't held back, they'll come in to try and take what they need. Needless to say, there are signs in the story that all might not be exactly as it appears. The entire country has been cut off from the rest of the world by an oppressive government, which controls all media. No one knows exactly what kinds of deals have been made between their leaders and the mysterious haan, except those who made them. Stray signals that bleed through suggest that the foreigners at their gates might have more complex motivations than just taking what they need.
This is the world of The Burn Zone. We see the tip of the iceberg in the first installment, and these dynamics will unfold as the series continues…
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Order "The Burn Zone" HERE
Order "Ember" HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: James K. Decker was born in New Hampshire in the seventies, and has lived in the New England area since that time. He developed a love of reading and writing early on, participating in young author competitions as early as grade school, but the later discovery of works by Frank Herbert and Issac Asimov turned that love in to an obsession.
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Official Author Website
Order the book HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Blood Skies
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Black Scars
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Soulrazor
Read Steven Montano's guest post on Cross-genre writing
Read an extract HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Steven Montano is the author of the Blood Skies series. Steven attended college at University of Colorado wherein he graduated with a degree in creative writing. He currently works as a certified public accountant. He’s also addicted to caffeine, movies, and NBA basketball. He lives with his wife, two kids, and a dog of dubious intellect in south of Seattle, Washington. Blood Skies was his debut.
OFFICIAL BLURB: Eric Cross and his team have been to hell and back, but their journey isn’t over yet. Marooned in the remote criminal city of Blacksand, the only way for the mercenaries to get home is to help a local crime boss protect his territories from the Ebon Cities.
To complicate matters, Danica Black is also being hunted by The Revengers, a powerful band of corrupt prison wardens, while Cross himself is trapped in the Whisperlands, a realm of darkness controlled by a cadre of evil mages known as the Shadow Lords.
The team will battle their way through corroding wastelands and deadly vampire outposts, but even their considerable skills might not be enough to save them from the cruel machinations of the Shadow Lord’s mysterious master, a malevolent creature who has manipulated their destinies right from the beginning...
CLASSIFICATION: Steven Montano’s Blood Skies series can be thought of as Glen Cook’s Black Company meets Andy Remic’s Clockwork Vampire Chronicles.
FORMAT/INFO: Crown Of Ash is 292 pages long divided over twenty-two numbered chapters with a prologue. Narration is in third-person by Eric Cross, Danica Black and Mike Kane. Crown Of Ash is the fourth book of the Blood Skies series and it would be extremely ill advised to start the series with this book.
August 18, 2012 marked the e-book publication of Crown Of Ash and it was self-published by the author. Cover art is provided by Barry Currey.
ANALYSIS: I have been reading Steven Montano’s series since I discovered the first book early last year. I have read the first three books so far and while I didn't enjoy the third book as much as the first two, I’m still enjoying the series as a whole. The first two books had standalone plots while the third book ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. The fourth book picks up immediately after the events of Soulrazor and the readers get a glimpse of a new part of the world in the Blood Skies series. Lastly I must reiterate that since it’s the fourth book, there might be some spoilers for the first three books so please be warned those who haven’t read the first three books.
We come across a familiar crew of faces that have captured our imagination with their grit, comradely bonds and overall attitude. Eric Cross, the series protagonist is a bit out especially after the events of the climax of Soulrazor. Danica is now the team leader however she finds herself and the team hobbled after they are forced to hide in Blacksand, the city away from Southern Claw as well as the Ebon Cities. The Revengers, the group of mercenaries that Danica was a part of earlier, are hunting them and they will not stop until they find her. There’s also Mike Kane who is put under the spotlight and becomes the second character after Danica Black to get his own POV chapters. This move becomes a lot clearer on reading the book and so I’ll hope the readers RAFO about it. This book is another fast paced thrill ride and continues the tradition of showcasing a few more aspects of the world of Blood Skies.
Before I begin I have to mention Steven Montano is a cruel guy; I say this with all the sincerity of my heart. He's a cruel guy who absolutely punishes his characters to their physical and mental all. This book continues the trend of the earlier wherein the characters are pushed to their absolute maximums in all areas. The story has two distinct threads dealing with characters in two different locations. Danica, Kane and the rest of the group are trying to get back to what they know as their home. Cross is physically with them however mentally he’s in a completely different place called the Shadowlands which as we learn is of major importance for a whole bunch of reasons. The story then completely immerses the reader in these two plot threads and we are kept on tenterhooks in both of them. The story has quite a lot of pace and twists and even a few serious character deaths. This has been the norm in the previous books however one such event left me shocked as a reader as I couldn’t fathom that the author would pull such a move. The ending is a brutal one and basically makes the next book The Witch’s Eye a must read because of the events that have occurred.
After my experience with the third book, I was a bit wary of this series going downhill for me but with this book [fourth] my enthusiasm for this series is renewed doubly. I must say this book was a whirlwind of action, revelations and plot twists, which keep the reader unsettled in their read and this is a very good thing. Often in series the middle volumes act as transitional volumes and there’s not much happening. Steven Montano eschews this practice and thus makes this middle volume equally important in regards to the revelations and characters arcs that are laid bare in this volume. Prose is another point that the author uses effectively to convey the dread and desolate nature of the world within. I had mentioned in my earlier reviews that this was the author’s strong point and it continues in this book as well. However the author sometimes over enthusiastically goes about his task and that might be bothersome to some readers.
I would have to say that there are a few drawbacks to this story, namely these robust descriptions can be at times overwrought. The author really drives home the bleakness of the world and the character’s despair at their individual situations. This can sometimes seem a bit too much but it is said “the hottest fires forge the strongest steel” and I’m going to give the benefit of doubt to the author that he’s striving to prove this maxim to the hilt. There’s also the pace in one of the plot threads, which seems to be meandering for the first half of the book and only gains prominence and speed in the latter half. These are the factors that detract against the enjoyment that the book provides and it is entirely subjective.
CONCLUSION: Steven Montano is a talented writer and with this book, he proves that he’s no one or two-book wonder and that he has planned a terrific series arc for his characters and readers. Crown Of Ash is a fantastic book and even though is a middle volume, is completely free of all its trappings. The Blood Skies series is a genre-amalgamative one and Crown Of Ash is a superb indicator of the series potential.
OFFICIAL BLURB: Eric Cross and his team have been to hell and back, but their journey isn’t over yet. Marooned in the remote criminal city of Blacksand, the only way for the mercenaries to get home is to help a local crime boss protect his territories from the Ebon Cities.
To complicate matters, Danica Black is also being hunted by The Revengers, a powerful band of corrupt prison wardens, while Cross himself is trapped in the Whisperlands, a realm of darkness controlled by a cadre of evil mages known as the Shadow Lords.
The team will battle their way through corroding wastelands and deadly vampire outposts, but even their considerable skills might not be enough to save them from the cruel machinations of the Shadow Lord’s mysterious master, a malevolent creature who has manipulated their destinies right from the beginning...
CLASSIFICATION: Steven Montano’s Blood Skies series can be thought of as Glen Cook’s Black Company meets Andy Remic’s Clockwork Vampire Chronicles.
FORMAT/INFO: Crown Of Ash is 292 pages long divided over twenty-two numbered chapters with a prologue. Narration is in third-person by Eric Cross, Danica Black and Mike Kane. Crown Of Ash is the fourth book of the Blood Skies series and it would be extremely ill advised to start the series with this book.
August 18, 2012 marked the e-book publication of Crown Of Ash and it was self-published by the author. Cover art is provided by Barry Currey.
ANALYSIS: I have been reading Steven Montano’s series since I discovered the first book early last year. I have read the first three books so far and while I didn't enjoy the third book as much as the first two, I’m still enjoying the series as a whole. The first two books had standalone plots while the third book ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. The fourth book picks up immediately after the events of Soulrazor and the readers get a glimpse of a new part of the world in the Blood Skies series. Lastly I must reiterate that since it’s the fourth book, there might be some spoilers for the first three books so please be warned those who haven’t read the first three books.
We come across a familiar crew of faces that have captured our imagination with their grit, comradely bonds and overall attitude. Eric Cross, the series protagonist is a bit out especially after the events of the climax of Soulrazor. Danica is now the team leader however she finds herself and the team hobbled after they are forced to hide in Blacksand, the city away from Southern Claw as well as the Ebon Cities. The Revengers, the group of mercenaries that Danica was a part of earlier, are hunting them and they will not stop until they find her. There’s also Mike Kane who is put under the spotlight and becomes the second character after Danica Black to get his own POV chapters. This move becomes a lot clearer on reading the book and so I’ll hope the readers RAFO about it. This book is another fast paced thrill ride and continues the tradition of showcasing a few more aspects of the world of Blood Skies.
Before I begin I have to mention Steven Montano is a cruel guy; I say this with all the sincerity of my heart. He's a cruel guy who absolutely punishes his characters to their physical and mental all. This book continues the trend of the earlier wherein the characters are pushed to their absolute maximums in all areas. The story has two distinct threads dealing with characters in two different locations. Danica, Kane and the rest of the group are trying to get back to what they know as their home. Cross is physically with them however mentally he’s in a completely different place called the Shadowlands which as we learn is of major importance for a whole bunch of reasons. The story then completely immerses the reader in these two plot threads and we are kept on tenterhooks in both of them. The story has quite a lot of pace and twists and even a few serious character deaths. This has been the norm in the previous books however one such event left me shocked as a reader as I couldn’t fathom that the author would pull such a move. The ending is a brutal one and basically makes the next book The Witch’s Eye a must read because of the events that have occurred.
After my experience with the third book, I was a bit wary of this series going downhill for me but with this book [fourth] my enthusiasm for this series is renewed doubly. I must say this book was a whirlwind of action, revelations and plot twists, which keep the reader unsettled in their read and this is a very good thing. Often in series the middle volumes act as transitional volumes and there’s not much happening. Steven Montano eschews this practice and thus makes this middle volume equally important in regards to the revelations and characters arcs that are laid bare in this volume. Prose is another point that the author uses effectively to convey the dread and desolate nature of the world within. I had mentioned in my earlier reviews that this was the author’s strong point and it continues in this book as well. However the author sometimes over enthusiastically goes about his task and that might be bothersome to some readers.
I would have to say that there are a few drawbacks to this story, namely these robust descriptions can be at times overwrought. The author really drives home the bleakness of the world and the character’s despair at their individual situations. This can sometimes seem a bit too much but it is said “the hottest fires forge the strongest steel” and I’m going to give the benefit of doubt to the author that he’s striving to prove this maxim to the hilt. There’s also the pace in one of the plot threads, which seems to be meandering for the first half of the book and only gains prominence and speed in the latter half. These are the factors that detract against the enjoyment that the book provides and it is entirely subjective.
CONCLUSION: Steven Montano is a talented writer and with this book, he proves that he’s no one or two-book wonder and that he has planned a terrific series arc for his characters and readers. Crown Of Ash is a fantastic book and even though is a middle volume, is completely free of all its trappings. The Blood Skies series is a genre-amalgamative one and Crown Of Ash is a superb indicator of the series potential.
Visit Catherine Fisher's Official website HERE
Read FBC's Review of Incarceron HERE
OVERVIEW: Finn has escaped Incarceron only to find that he must defend his right to the throne from another challenger. His life and Claudia's hang on Finn convincing the Court that he is the lost prince, even though he has his own doubts about being the true heir.
FORMAT: Sapphique is the sequel to Incarceron. It is a YA
novel that combines adventure, fantasy, steampunk, and dystopia elements. It
stands at 462 pages. It was published in the US on December 28, 2010.
ANALYSIS: It's taken me a while to really grasp my feelings
on this book. When I finished Incarceron, I was floored. I enjoyed the book a
lot more than I thought I would and I just couldn't wait to read the sequel,
Sapphique. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the momentum and excitement that I had
for Incarceron carried over to Sapphique.
When Incarceron ended there were literally hundreds of
unanswered questions that I had. There were characters I was waiting to see
develop and grow, there were plots and twists I wanted to see resolved, and
just hundreds of questions about the 'prison' and world. Unfortunately, I
didn't see many of these things come to light in Sapphique as I would have
liked.
The characters didn't seem to grow, change or develop from
the first book. Everyone acted in a very stilted, wooded style – almost as if
they were pre-programmed to fit a mold and that was how they were going to act.
When the book finished, I could honestly say I felt as if the characters were
the same as when I first started the book.
Catherine Fisher is a great story teller that focuses a lot
on adventure, action, excitement. All of that is in this book, but I really
feel more time could have been spent on developing the characters, showing more
interactions between them, and really having them develop and become more than
one dimensional characters.
One of the many reasons I feel as if the characters didn't
grow or develop during the course of the book is the way the story is told.
Catherine Fisher has a habit of telling the readers how the characters think,
feel and act. She doesn't take the time to show it. For example, readers are
told that Claudia is angry, upset or mad. But the question that kept coming up
was 'why?' or 'how come?' and I never really got any answers to that.
Another issue that I'd like to bring up was the ending of
the book. I walk away from this two book series feeling nothing. I don't feel a
real sense of closure. I felt as if Catherine Fisher woke up and was like 'oh I
need to end this book? Okay here's the end." Considering the rather
intense, emotional situation she developed through the entire two books in the
series, I really feel that the ending was thrown out there and really anti-climactic.
I know it sounds like I didn't like the book, and that isn't
entirely true. I will still read other books by Catherine Fisher. I just thought Sapphique was just alright. Maybe it was a case of an author who had so much going on in their head that it became difficult to wrap the story up.
I appreciate the creative, wonderful world that was developed in this series. I loved the whole idea of the people living in the future, but embracing the past, but I just have this incomplete feeling after reading the series. And because of that feeling, I just give it an 'okay' rating not a 'wow I'm amazed' rating.
I appreciate the creative, wonderful world that was developed in this series. I loved the whole idea of the people living in the future, but embracing the past, but I just have this incomplete feeling after reading the series. And because of that feeling, I just give it an 'okay' rating not a 'wow I'm amazed' rating.
The idea behind my novel, The Six-Gun Tarot, began quite a while back and it began not with a specific character, but with the notion of the town of Golgotha itself. Let me see if I can give you a map to how I found Golgotha, Nevada. Fair warning it’s not a straight route.
I love westerns; I loved them as a kid. I remember playing at being The Lone Ranger and The Rifleman (an old 60’s TV show I saw in reruns with Chuck Connors) and Trinity. “Trinity” was a knock-off of the Sergio Leone “spaghetti westerns” starring Clint Eastwood and I made their acquaintance as a kid at the drive-in ( “My Name is Trinity”, “Trinity is Still my Name”, you get the idea…) before I was introduced to Mr. Leone and Mr. Eastwood’s superior brand of frontier melodrama. Not that I cared one bit as a kid about superior- Trinity was fun! Played by Terence Hill, Trinity was a little funnier and more of a smart ass as compared to Eastwood’s Man with No Name- who was just pretty much primal bad-ass.
Another inspiration that led me to Golgotha was David Lynch and Mark Frost’s “Twin Peaks” Television show. The idea of, again, an isolated community where everyone had secrets inside of secrets was very appealing to me and the concept stuck. “Twin Peaks” had murders, inhuman evil spirits, extra-dimensional lodges, giants, dwarves, secret societies, sexy women and damn good pie!
H.P. Lovecraft is also obviously a huge source of inspiration for The Six-Gun Tarot. Lovecraft’s works almost universally include a powerful sense of isolation, of secret little communities and towns dotting the globe where secrets and primordial powers lurk. His work influenced me a great deal. I think it’s safe to say there are very few writers in the fields of fantasy and horror who Lovecraft didn’t influence to some degree.
There are smatterings of other influences I can pull out of the air —Robert Parker, Ambrose Bierce (who may make an appearance in a future Golgotha novel), Larry McMurtry, Tony Hillerman, Mary Shelley, Steven King’s “Salem’s Lot”. Grant Morrison’s “The Invisibles” comic book series (by DC/Vertigo) and Alan Moore’s “Swamp Thing” Comic series were also invaluable for warping my young, impressionable mind. You throw all that into my addled brain and shake well, and often, and you eventually get the base components for the Six Gun Tarot. Give or take a few...
One of the things that developed while writing Six-Gun, was I started out with the premise that the majority of the town folk in Golgotha had some kind of secret, and many of them were supernatural. I wanted the town to be a magnet for the best and worst kind of people in the world. Many of the characters in Six-Gun Tarot, like Clay and Harry, owe their larger roles in the book to how much I liked them as I fleshed out their secrets and how much potential I saw in them as characters. So the town actually played a huge part in the how the characters and the story developed. All roads lead to Golgotha!
The blending of genres in “The Six-Gun Tarot” really came from the same twisted process as my writing. I didn’t set out to write a multi-genre mash-up. I set out to write a book that I thought would be fun for the reader, about things I think are cool and interesting. I classified it, while writing it, as a historical horror story. But looking back now, I can see where people see steampunk, and fantasy and a lot of the other elements that are being discussed. I swear all I was trying to do was write my book, my way and enjoy it. I hope people enjoy the book as much as I did writing it!
Thank you for letting me prattle on today. I like feedback and I can be contacted a bunch of different ways: You can reach me at sixguntarot@gmail.com, or on FaceBook through Author RS Belcher or the Six-Gun Tarot FB page. Thanks again for this great opportunity to chat on your blog.
Official Author Website
Order the book HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Six Gun Tarot
Read Qwill's interview with R. S. Belcher
AUTHOR INFORMATION: R. S. (Rod) Belcher is an award-winning newspaper and magazine editor and reporter. He has been a freelance writer for over a decade. He has written for local, state and international publications. He was born and brought in Virginia and has spent majority of his life in the old dominion.
Rod has previously worked as a private investigator, a DJ, a comic book and game store owner and also has degrees in criminal law, psychology and justice and risk administration, from Virginia Commonwealth University. He has done Masters work on a degree in Forensic Science at The George Washington University, as well as worked with the Occult Crime Taskforce for the Virginia General Assembly’s State Crime Commission.
His short story won the grand prize in a Star Trek strange New Worlds Anthology contest and hence was published in the Star Trek Strange New Worlds 9 anthology. Another short story of his was also published in the horror anthology “Deep Cuts”. He currently lives in Roanoke Virginia with his family and their pets. This is his debut.
NOTE: Author picture courtesy of David Hungate (Dominion Images) and the author. Hang 'em High picture courtesy of Movies.film-cine.com. Swamp Thing cover image courtesy of Wired.com.
Order the book HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Six Gun Tarot
Read Qwill's interview with R. S. Belcher
AUTHOR INFORMATION: R. S. (Rod) Belcher is an award-winning newspaper and magazine editor and reporter. He has been a freelance writer for over a decade. He has written for local, state and international publications. He was born and brought in Virginia and has spent majority of his life in the old dominion.
Rod has previously worked as a private investigator, a DJ, a comic book and game store owner and also has degrees in criminal law, psychology and justice and risk administration, from Virginia Commonwealth University. He has done Masters work on a degree in Forensic Science at The George Washington University, as well as worked with the Occult Crime Taskforce for the Virginia General Assembly’s State Crime Commission.
His short story won the grand prize in a Star Trek strange New Worlds Anthology contest and hence was published in the Star Trek Strange New Worlds 9 anthology. Another short story of his was also published in the horror anthology “Deep Cuts”. He currently lives in Roanoke Virginia with his family and their pets. This is his debut.
NOTE: Author picture courtesy of David Hungate (Dominion Images) and the author. Hang 'em High picture courtesy of Movies.film-cine.com. Swamp Thing cover image courtesy of Wired.com.
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