Thursday, August 22, 2013
"Black Swan Rising: Black Swan Rising #1" by Lee Carroll (Reviewed by Cindy Hannikman)
Visit Carol Goodman's Official Website Here
Note: Lee Carroll is a pseudonym for the collaboration between Carol Goodman and Lee Slonimsky.
OVERVIEW: When New York City jewelry designer Garet James
stumbles into a strange antiques shop in her neighborhood, her life is about to
be turned upside down. John Dee, the enigmatic shopkeeper, commissions her to
open a vintage silver box for a generous sum of money. Oddly, the symbol of a
swan on the box exactly matches the ring given to her by her deceased mother.
Garet can’t believe her luck and this eerie coincidence until she opens the box
and otherworldly things start happening. . . .
That evening, the precious silver box is stolen. When Garet begins to investigate, she learns that she has been pulled into a prophecy that is hundreds of years old, and opening the box has unleashed an evil force onto the streets of Manhattan and the world at large. Gradually, Garet pieces together her true identity—one that her deceased mother desperately tried to protect her from. Generations of women in Garet’s family, including her beloved mother, suffered and died at the hands of this prevailing evil. Does Garet possess the power to reclaim the box and defeat this devastating force?
On her journey, she will meet the fey folk who walk unnoticed among humans and a sexy vampire who also happens to be a hedge fund manager that she can’t stop thinking about. But the fairies reveal a desire to overpower mere humans and the seductive vampire has the power to steal the life from her body. Whom can Garet trust to guide her? Using her newfound powers and sharp wit, Garet will muster everything she’s got to shut down the evil taking over her friends, family, New York City, and the world.
That evening, the precious silver box is stolen. When Garet begins to investigate, she learns that she has been pulled into a prophecy that is hundreds of years old, and opening the box has unleashed an evil force onto the streets of Manhattan and the world at large. Gradually, Garet pieces together her true identity—one that her deceased mother desperately tried to protect her from. Generations of women in Garet’s family, including her beloved mother, suffered and died at the hands of this prevailing evil. Does Garet possess the power to reclaim the box and defeat this devastating force?
On her journey, she will meet the fey folk who walk unnoticed among humans and a sexy vampire who also happens to be a hedge fund manager that she can’t stop thinking about. But the fairies reveal a desire to overpower mere humans and the seductive vampire has the power to steal the life from her body. Whom can Garet trust to guide her? Using her newfound powers and sharp wit, Garet will muster everything she’s got to shut down the evil taking over her friends, family, New York City, and the world.
FORMAT: Black Swan Rising is the first book in an urban
fantasy trilogy. It combines vampires, supernatural characters, fantasy, and a
little romance. It stands at 396 pages and was published by Tor Books on August
3, 2010.
ANALYSIS: The minute a book is labeled 'urban fantasy' and
the main character is a woman, people automatically assume they are going to
get this smart-ass, sassy heroine who can do anything and everything under the sun.
Mix in a few werewolves/vampires or a handsome guy who works for the FBI/law
enforcement and you have the whole book wrapped up in a nutshell – but Black
Swan Rising is not like that.
Black Swan Rising
shows that urban fantasy – good urban fantasy – doesn't have to follow the
cookie cutter layout that has become so popular. It has an interesting plot,
mixture of everyone's favorite vampires, fairies, demons, and the like, the use
of history/art and modern-day NYC, and characters that are written in a way
that readers almost instantly fall in love with them.
The first thing that attracted my attention upon reading Black Swan Rising was the characters.
There was just something about Garet James – our leading lady – and her friends
and family members that just clicked. I found them likeable and easy to relate
to, which lead to the easy ability to connect with this book.
Garet James is strong, but not in the sense that she would
win a fist fight or be the class bully. She's strong and independent in other
ways. I think this is where Black Swan
Rising veers from other urban fantasy books, as it has a relatively normal,
yet strong woman in the lead. The novel was able to stand on its own without
having this major, super-strong, sassy woman at the wheel of the ship and it
did just fine.
Another intriguing aspect of Black Swan Rising was the setting of the novel. It takes place in
NYC. There are lots of major landmarks and attractions used in various scenes
throughout the novel, which really added character to the whole book. It was
nice to see a novel that focused on the historical aspect, without drowning
readers in boring, dull facts.
There were a handful of times where I did feel a little like
an outsider with the whole NYC setting. I have never visited there and have no
ability to reference some of the locations mentioned, but I was able to breeze
through those sections and not feel totally lost.
While Black Swan
Rising is an amazing novel, it is not without its faults. Some of the novel
revolves around Garet discovering all these magical elemental skills. I have to
admit, this part wasn't as captivating as I would have imagined. Maybe it is
because some of the stuff was so technical and out there that it was hard as a
reader to follow along or maybe I just couldn't seem to follow it. Either way,
it wasn't – in my opinion – one of the stronger parts of the book.
Another weakness of the book was its habit to throw multiple
fantasy creatures at the reader. There are vampires, fairies, and demons. While
all play a part in the plot, they do seem a little 'thrown out there'. I would
have liked to see them a little more integrated into the book and not so random.
Overall, Black Swan
Rising was a surprising novel. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected and
found the artistic elements, underground fantasy world, and loveable characters
captivating until the last page. This is definitely a gentler/slower urban
fantasy, but do not let that prevent you from reading it.
12:30 AM | 
Posted by
Cindy |
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Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Three More Books of Great Interest, Ryk Spoor, Eleanor Catton and D.K.R. Boyd (with comments by Liviu Suciu)
A quick post about three recent or upcoming books that somewhat unexpectedly took over my reading and displaced some books that were quite high on my asap list like the third Thomas Cale novel, The Beating of His Wings by Paul Hoffman or the other upcoming trilogy ending, MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood.
**********************************************************************
First is Spheres of Influence by Ryk Spoor, sequel to the excellent Grand Central Arena (see updated review with comments on Goodreads too)
Spheres of Influence picks up where GCA ends, though the immediate
aftermath is just summarized for good reasons - action better than
politicking, though there is some of that later.
A lot of
backstory about the Hyperions, new awesome characters in addition to the
usual, some human villains for once and some Molothos dialogue for ages
(available in the free Baen snippets btw), some twists an a good ending
at another stop point, but I was really disappointed that the novel
ended at all as I could and would have read another 500 pages of our
heroes adventures in the Arena and the Solar System and a few other
places tbd; also the big promise form earlier on (read to see what) is
for volume 3 and I really want to read that adventure!
Excellent stuff, top 25 of mine, full review later and I hope the series goes on for a long tim.
Spheres of Influence will be published in November but the earc is available for sale on Baen's site today!
**********************************************************************
Long-listed for the 2013 Booker Prize, The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton is the one novel of the 13 book list that truly interested me and so far it is living up to the high expectations and I believe it will be another top 25 of mine.
Exceptionally
well written and while the subject did not really interest me that
much at least to start with, the writing and the structure of the novel are keeping me hooked.
"On a blustery January
day, a prostitute is arrested. In the midst of the 1866 gold rush on the
coast of New Zealand, this might have gone unnoticed. But three notable
events occur on that same day: a luckless drunk dies, a wealthy man
vanishes, and a ship's captain of ill repute cancels all of his business
and weighs anchor, as if making an escape. Anna Wetherell, the
prostitute in question, is connected to all three men.
This sequence of apparently coincidental events provokes a secret council of powerful townsmen to investigate. But they are interrupted by the arrival of a stranger: young Walter Moody, who has a secret of his own...
THE LUMINARIES is an intricately crafted feat of storytelling, a mystery that reveals the ways our interconnected lives reshape our destinies."
This sequence of apparently coincidental events provokes a secret council of powerful townsmen to investigate. But they are interrupted by the arrival of a stranger: young Walter Moody, who has a secret of his own...
THE LUMINARIES is an intricately crafted feat of storytelling, a mystery that reveals the ways our interconnected lives reshape our destinies."
**********************************************************************
The Reflecting Man by D.K.R. Boyd, billed as the first volume of a duology about the "antic, ribald journey
of a loquacious and unreliable narrator, Kurtis De’ath, whose unusual
talents lead him into the innermost circles of Hitler’s Third Reich and
Churchill’s British government." came out of nowhere and the first person irreverent narration just took over. The novel promises a lot and I will finish it soon with a detailed review as I just saw it by chance.
It starts like this and it kind of hooked me from the first page:
"'My name is De’ath.
You can say it all in one breath…Deeth, as they do in Essex in England. Or you can double the syllable and have…Dee-ath, which is how we say it in the Maritimes in Canada.
Accent on the ‘ath, please. Invariably I am asked to spell it aloud.
Most don’t note the apostrophe if they’re writing it down or pretend to omit it, especially when it gives them a chance to be clever at my expense. Almost no one can avoid remarking upon it.
I thought Death himself had come for me! Isn’t that something? Death himself standing right here in front of me. If that don’t beat all…etc. etc.
I find no humor in it. From snotty bureaucrats—the ilk infesting Whitehall in war-poor, crapped-out London instantly come to mind—to the ashes of the sadists in the recently extinguished Reich chancellery in Berlin, there has been an overwhelming fascination in meeting Death…and joking about it.
Meeting De’ath is not quite the same thing.
Almost, but not quite.
Death, as I learned, is as easy as falling down a well. You make a little splash and that’s the end of it. Death in war is conducted under different rules. It is my task to explain why this is so and how and why I found myself so tangled up in the one which just ended.
Yes, I am the notorious Herr Death, mysterious confidant of the Führer.
Yes, I am the famous Schokoladenmann, chocolate maker to the Wagners.
Yes, I am Kurtis De’ath, a young man from the Maritimes, and your unreliable, opinionated narrator, leading you through the labyrinth of what Lord Beaverbrook now refers to as World War Two..."
It starts like this and it kind of hooked me from the first page:
"'My name is De’ath.
You can say it all in one breath…Deeth, as they do in Essex in England. Or you can double the syllable and have…Dee-ath, which is how we say it in the Maritimes in Canada.
Accent on the ‘ath, please. Invariably I am asked to spell it aloud.
Most don’t note the apostrophe if they’re writing it down or pretend to omit it, especially when it gives them a chance to be clever at my expense. Almost no one can avoid remarking upon it.
I thought Death himself had come for me! Isn’t that something? Death himself standing right here in front of me. If that don’t beat all…etc. etc.
I find no humor in it. From snotty bureaucrats—the ilk infesting Whitehall in war-poor, crapped-out London instantly come to mind—to the ashes of the sadists in the recently extinguished Reich chancellery in Berlin, there has been an overwhelming fascination in meeting Death…and joking about it.
Meeting De’ath is not quite the same thing.
Almost, but not quite.
Death, as I learned, is as easy as falling down a well. You make a little splash and that’s the end of it. Death in war is conducted under different rules. It is my task to explain why this is so and how and why I found myself so tangled up in the one which just ended.
Yes, I am the notorious Herr Death, mysterious confidant of the Führer.
Yes, I am the famous Schokoladenmann, chocolate maker to the Wagners.
Yes, I am Kurtis De’ath, a young man from the Maritimes, and your unreliable, opinionated narrator, leading you through the labyrinth of what Lord Beaverbrook now refers to as World War Two..."
Official Shadows of the Apt Website
Read FBC Review of "Empire in Black and Gold"
Read FBC Review of "Dragonfly Falling"
Read FBC Review of "Blood of the Mantis"
Read FBC Review of "Salute the Dark"
Read FBC Review of "The Scarab Path"
Read FBC Review of "The Sea Watch"
Read FBC Review of "Heirs of the Blade"
Read FBC Review of "The Air War"
Read FBC Review of "The War Master's Gate"
Read FBC Interview with Adrian Tchaikovsky
It's a weird thing but "world building" can be a dirty word(s) in some corners of the genre. To spend time and effort lovingly crafting a setting for your characters and stories to play out in is regarded as a bit juvenile, I sometimes feel. There's a suggestion it's all a bit Dungeons and Dragons (and is that necessarily bad?), and not the occupation of a serious novelist, and people look down their noses at the maps and apparently feel the whole business relegates your work to a sort of lesser canon, not fit to contend for a Hugo, and most certainly not Literature. The setting, such a standpoint seems to suggest, should be a mere hobbling servant whose job it is to bring the lounging characters the cakes and wine of plot. "Excuse me, m'lord, but might I recommend the magic '72?" It's has a fruity symbolism and an aftertaste that acts as a foil to your inner nature..."
Or something. Enough hyperbole, anyway, but it's a harsh truth for a writer of epic fantasy that people get damned sniffy about fantasy worlds sometimes, and the level of detail that writers such as yours truly, like to put into 'em. It's as if a detail that is not direct and immediate fuel for the surging locomotive powerhouse of the plot is nothing but wasted words. They look at the big tomes of the epics, I sometimes feel, and tut tut tut, surely there are 20,000 words of description that could have been cut with nobody being the wiser. Dear oh dear...
Read FBC Review of "Empire in Black and Gold"
Read FBC Review of "Dragonfly Falling"
Read FBC Review of "Blood of the Mantis"
Read FBC Review of "Salute the Dark"
Read FBC Review of "The Scarab Path"
Read FBC Review of "The Sea Watch"
Read FBC Review of "Heirs of the Blade"
Read FBC Review of "The Air War"
Read FBC Review of "The War Master's Gate"
Read FBC Interview with Adrian Tchaikovsky
It's a weird thing but "world building" can be a dirty word(s) in some corners of the genre. To spend time and effort lovingly crafting a setting for your characters and stories to play out in is regarded as a bit juvenile, I sometimes feel. There's a suggestion it's all a bit Dungeons and Dragons (and is that necessarily bad?), and not the occupation of a serious novelist, and people look down their noses at the maps and apparently feel the whole business relegates your work to a sort of lesser canon, not fit to contend for a Hugo, and most certainly not Literature. The setting, such a standpoint seems to suggest, should be a mere hobbling servant whose job it is to bring the lounging characters the cakes and wine of plot. "Excuse me, m'lord, but might I recommend the magic '72?" It's has a fruity symbolism and an aftertaste that acts as a foil to your inner nature..."
Or something. Enough hyperbole, anyway, but it's a harsh truth for a writer of epic fantasy that people get damned sniffy about fantasy worlds sometimes, and the level of detail that writers such as yours truly, like to put into 'em. It's as if a detail that is not direct and immediate fuel for the surging locomotive powerhouse of the plot is nothing but wasted words. They look at the big tomes of the epics, I sometimes feel, and tut tut tut, surely there are 20,000 words of description that could have been cut with nobody being the wiser. Dear oh dear...
Well, OK, my last few have been rather big, I hold my hand up on that one. It's not because I spent too long staring at the scenery, though, honest.
I am a writer who spends a great deal of time on my setting: the history and political entities; the factions, philosophies and races; the magic and metaphysics. For me, that's a big part of fantasy fiction. This also goes for me as reader. I love a well-crafted, immersive setting. It is not a crime to take that world away with you, as a reader, and want to return to it. It's perfectly all right to want to know more than the writer tells you. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that good settings are a major reason that the genre is popular. People remember great characters, certainly. They remember moments of high drama and tragedy. But equally they remember settings, and it is the settings that mark out fantasy. They are where the author's imagination is unleashed to its very fullest.
Counter-argument. A setting indulged for its own sake, for the author to show how very clever they are, how well-researched it all is, how elaborately constructed, that's toss, surely? Well, yes, I suppose it is, and probably it is a thing that happens. I just don't think it happens anywhere as often as the naysayers say. But it is true that setting is often used in a way that does not serve story in a direct and simple way. Setting creates somewhere for the story to happen, yes, but very often it is the minutiae of that setting that makes the stepping stones without which the story would either fail, or be simply far more mundane and less remarkable than it is.
I am a writer who spends a great deal of time on my setting: the history and political entities; the factions, philosophies and races; the magic and metaphysics. For me, that's a big part of fantasy fiction. This also goes for me as reader. I love a well-crafted, immersive setting. It is not a crime to take that world away with you, as a reader, and want to return to it. It's perfectly all right to want to know more than the writer tells you. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that good settings are a major reason that the genre is popular. People remember great characters, certainly. They remember moments of high drama and tragedy. But equally they remember settings, and it is the settings that mark out fantasy. They are where the author's imagination is unleashed to its very fullest.
Counter-argument. A setting indulged for its own sake, for the author to show how very clever they are, how well-researched it all is, how elaborately constructed, that's toss, surely? Well, yes, I suppose it is, and probably it is a thing that happens. I just don't think it happens anywhere as often as the naysayers say. But it is true that setting is often used in a way that does not serve story in a direct and simple way. Setting creates somewhere for the story to happen, yes, but very often it is the minutiae of that setting that makes the stepping stones without which the story would either fail, or be simply far more mundane and less remarkable than it is.
Setting often provides the toolkit for both author and characters to navigate the story, provides the 'why' to the fantastic elements to prevent them seeming contrived and jarring, and opens the door onto any metaphor and meaning whereby the work reflects the real world. And is it truly an offence against the writer's craft to suggest that an immersive, living world is in itself a piece of art? These are the worlds that extend beyond the trammels of the pages themselves, the worlds that have a history and a geography and an existence that doesn't stop where the story stops - the worlds that let you know there's more than you've seen, ergo the worlds that you can return to, speculate about, write fanfic about. These are the worlds I love to read about. These are the worlds I try to write.
This is, for me, the core of fantasy fiction, the fount of possibility. Lord of the Rings is the story of Frodo, Aragorn & etc, but it is also the story of Middle Earth; A Song of Ice and Fire is about Westeros (and the wider world) as much as any individual character; Perdido Street Station and its sequels are set in a vast, rich world of intricate detail. These are worlds of the imagination in the truest sense, because they become worlds of the reader's imagination. They are in no way lessened or made trivial by this fact.
This is, for me, the core of fantasy fiction, the fount of possibility. Lord of the Rings is the story of Frodo, Aragorn & etc, but it is also the story of Middle Earth; A Song of Ice and Fire is about Westeros (and the wider world) as much as any individual character; Perdido Street Station and its sequels are set in a vast, rich world of intricate detail. These are worlds of the imagination in the truest sense, because they become worlds of the reader's imagination. They are in no way lessened or made trivial by this fact.
Such settings are grand and complex memes all on their own. And, very often, they are made so by those little throwaway references that serve only the setting itself, and so open a brief door onto that wider world, so that when Martin writes of Asshai falling "under the Shadow", or Mieville of the difficulties of acquiring the wings of an assassin beetle, there is a moment of connection with a greater creation. And even if that greater creation has never been formally set down by the author in any notes or schemes, it is still there. The single reference creates that mental space between reader and writer, to be populated by the dreams of either, a kind of Schroedinger's Nation unless and until the author chooses to collapse the waveform by going there on a later visit.
In "A Tough Guide to Fantasyland" Dianne Wynne Jones talks about those fantasies where every inch of the map gets visited in the heroes' slogging progress towards prophecy-assisted catharsis. For me, it's always about the places you never go, but that you know are out there.
In "A Tough Guide to Fantasyland" Dianne Wynne Jones talks about those fantasies where every inch of the map gets visited in the heroes' slogging progress towards prophecy-assisted catharsis. For me, it's always about the places you never go, but that you know are out there.
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Adrian Tchaikovsky is the pseudonym of Adrian Czajkowski, a British fantasy author. He was born in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire and studied zoology and psychology at Reading, before practicing law in Leeds. He is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor and is trained in stage-fighting. “Empire in Black & Gold” was his debut novel and since then he has gone on to write eight more books in the Shadows Of The Apt series. He currently lives in Leeds with his family.
NOTE: All cover art pictures courtesy of Stefan of Civilian Reader blog and Adam of The Wertzone. Author picture courtesy of Adrian Tchaikovsky and Jo Perridge.
Monday, August 19, 2013
"Obsidian Mirror: Chronoptika #1" by Catherine Fisher (Reviewed by Cindy Hannikman)
Visit Catherine Fisher's Official Website Here
Read FBC's Review of Incarceron Here
Read FBC's Review of Sapphique Here
OVERVIEW: Jake's father disappears while working on
mysterious experiments with the obsessive, reclusive Oberon Venn. Jake is
convinced Venn has murdered him. But the truth he finds at the snow-bound
Wintercombe Abbey is far stranger ... The experiments concerned a black mirror,
which is a portal to both the past and the future. Venn is not alone in wanting
to use its powers. Strangers begin gathering in and around Venn's estate: Sarah
- a runaway, who appears out of nowhere and is clearly not what she says,
Maskelyne - who claims the mirror was stolen from him in some past century.
There are others, a product of the mirror's power to twist time. And a tribe of
elemental beings surround this isolated estate, fey, cold, untrustworthy, and
filled with hate for humans. But of them all, Jake is hell-bent on using the
mirror to get to the truth. Whatever the cost, he must learn what really
happened to his father.
FORMAT: Obsidian Mirror is the first novel in a proposed YA
trilogy. It does not really fit into any one category. It has a combination of
sci-fi, fey characters, mystery, adventure, and historical feel. There is also
reference to people traveling from the future and special magical powers. It
stands at 384 pages and was published in the US on April 23, 2013 by Dial.
ANALYSIS: Every so often a fantasy/sci-fi book comes along
that just sweeps you off your feet and you honestly don't know why. Obsidian
Mirror is one of those books, at least for me, for the year. And it should come
as no surprise considering who the author of this book is – Catherine Fisher.
Catherine Fisher has made a name for herself throughout the
fantasy/sci-fi community for creating detailed, highly original novels and
Obsidian Mirror is no exception.
Obsidian Mirror has a little bit of everything. There are
the fey creatures, wonderful historic London, time traveling, love, greed,
mystery, action, and adventure. Think of it almost as a combination of a time
traveling novel/sci-fi/fantasy novel, but its set in the modern world.
I was unsure how I liked this combination of genres and
elements. I was undecided at first, but by the end of the novel I was loving
it. It really just came together and worked. I think for some authors this
combination of elements and genres could have been disastrous and appeared
forced, but Fisher has made it work and turned out an amazing novel which will
hopefully be the start of a great YA series.
Readers just venturing into Obsidian Mirror might get
slightly confused at first. In classic Fisher style there is a lot going on,
but readers are not given any real backstory or explanation of what is going on.
Readers are forced to go with the flow and learn as they read. Everything is
nicely put together and explained eventually, but it can be a tiny bit
confusing at first.
Very similar to other novels that Fisher has penned, the
characters in Obsidian Mirror are a bit of a mystery to readers. They are
extremely detailed and react honestly to situations with intense emotions, but
they this mysterious vibe to them. Readers throughout the novel will slowly
start to get to know the characters, what makes them tick, what their motives
are, and what role they may or may not play in this entire novel.
The mysterious element, just like the slow unraveling of the
plot/back story, can be slightly frustrating, but Fisher works her magic and
really pulls it all together. The pacing of the novel, eloquent writing style,
and unique feel of the novel really makes this novel stand out from the rest.
This novel is a part of a trilogy and does end with a
cliffhanger. The main plot elements are temporarily resolved, but there are
dozens of unresolved plot elements that leaves readers wanting and craving
more. Unfortunately, they have to wait for the next installment.
Overall, Obsidian Mirror is another wonderful addition to
the YA sci-fi/fantasy world. It is definitely a top novel for 2013 and I have
high hopes for the series. I hope Fisher has learned from the Incarceron
series, where it started out with a bang and fizzled out to a disappointing
end.
If you are looking for something new, unique and fun, yet
not too overly complicated, a fan of Fisher's previous workers, or like
adventure, sci-fi, and time travel, this is definitely a novel for you to try.
The pacing is quick, the characters detailed, and the plot is one is not filled
with the same old, same old.
Order
“War for the Oaks” HERE
Read
An Excerpt HERE
ABOUT WAR FOR THE OAKS: Acclaimed by critics
and readers on its first publication in 1987, winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel, Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks is one
of the novels that has defined modern urban fantasy.
Eddi McCandry sings rock and roll. But her boyfriend just dumped her, her band just broke up, and life could hardly be worse. Then, walking home through downtown Minneapolis on a dark night, she finds herself drafted into an invisible war between the faerie folk. Now, more than her own survival is at risk—and her own preferences, musical and personal, are very much beside the point…
Eddi McCandry sings rock and roll. But her boyfriend just dumped her, her band just broke up, and life could hardly be worse. Then, walking home through downtown Minneapolis on a dark night, she finds herself drafted into an invisible war between the faerie folk. Now, more than her own survival is at risk—and her own preferences, musical and personal, are very much beside the point…
By
turns tough and lyrical, fabulous and down-to-earth, War for the Oaks is
a fantasy novel that’s as much about this world as about the other one. It’s
about real love and loyalty, about real music and musicians, about false
glamour and true art. It will change the way you hear and see your own daily
life.
ANALYSIS: I worried that Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks would be over-hyped. I've read a lot of urban
fantasy so I worried if this book that helped found the whole genre of urban fantasy might feel
over-worn, uninspiring. I worried that this take on the fae would be no
different than any other take I'd seen before.
Nothing
could be further from the truth. Emma
Bull's War for the Oaks is
absolutely amazing.
In
the true spirit of urban fantasy,
this book is set in the city of Minneapolis, specifically, and that means
something. I've only passed through Minneapolis once, but you can feel its
presence in this book.
The
fae were spot on, particularly as regards etiquette and honor. I love how she
dealt with the name of the phouka and the 'thank you's’, the deceptions and the
debts, and the evaluating and twisting of ethics into something unexpected for
all sides involved.
There
were a couple of tropes that irked ever so slightly, namely when the main
character is not quite believing something fast enough, or not seeing something
that is glaringly obvious to the reader.
There
is no ass-kicking PI protagonist here. I mean, she's incredibly strong, but not
in the martial arts sense. There may or may not be a rock and roll battle to
decide the fate of the world, which is amazing in and of itself. The magic in
the world is numinous in the best way. I knew the romance was coming a mile
away and loved every second of it (well, except when the protagonist seemed to
be too dense about something, like the love interest's motivations).
The
very best part was the emphasis on the power of humanity, of human nature, and
that power roared through this story.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
From Hell: A Demon Squad Novella by Tim Marquitz (reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)
Official Author website
Order the novella HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Armageddon Bound
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Resurrection
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of At The Gates and Betrayal
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Echoes Of The Past
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Beyond The Veil
Read Fantasy Book Critic interview with Tim Marquitz
Order the novella HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Armageddon Bound
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Resurrection
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of At The Gates and Betrayal
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Echoes Of The Past
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Beyond The Veil
Read Fantasy Book Critic interview with Tim Marquitz
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Tim Marquitz is the author of the Demon Squad series, and the Sepulchral Earth serial stories. He is also an editor, a heavy metal aficionado, a Mixed Martial Arts fan, and is also a member of the Live Action Role Playing organization. When he’s not busy writing dark stories, which catch his imagination he also manages to go about his day job. Tim lives in El Paso, Texas with his wonderful family.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: A rash of brutal murders set God and the Devil at odds, and it's up to Frank to prove Hell's innocence. With his angelic cousin watching his every move, he quickly learns there's more to the mission when he comes face to face with the legend of Jack the Ripper. Time running out, Frank and Scarlett must stop the killings and restore the balance of peace before it spirals out of control.
In a battle of wits to determine the fate of Heaven and Hell, it's a good thing Frank brought a gun.
From Hell is a standalone novella in the Demon Squad universe, and is a great introduction to the Demon Squad series outside of the main story line.
FORMAT/INFO: From Hell is 88 pages long divided over fourteen chapters. Narration is in the first-person, exclusively via the protagonist Frank “Triggaltheron” Trigg. This is a prequel standalone novella and can be read by new readers as well as series fans (without any worry about series spoilers).
August 4, 2013 marked the e-book publication of From Hell and it was self-published by the author. Cover art is provided by Carter Reid.
ANALYSIS: Some series have such a hold on you that you *have* to read every bit that the author writes about them. A few examples of such series for me are A Song Of Ice And Fire by George R.R. Martin, The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews, the Drenai series by David Gemmell and lastly The Demon Squad series by Tim Marquitz. With Demon Squad we were introduced to lovable rogue Frank Trigg who would leer at your girlfriend while regaling you with salacious banter. He’s the kind of character that usually gets an early gruesome death courtesy of the protagonist in most fantasy stories. In Tim Marquitz’s universe, we get to see how the world seems to be from such a person’s point of view.
Since I met Frank in Armageddon Bound, I’ve counted myself as a Frankophile and have eagerly devoured each and every story (both long and short) that featured him or was set in the world featuring him. Last time around in Beyond The Veil, certain events and a huge amount of unveiled secrets have left Frank and the reader with a lot to ponder. However with this prequel standalone novella, Tim gives us a chance to view Frank in his good old days when he was the Anti-Christ in training. Cue Frank in hell and having a good time or as much as a good time as can be expected in Lucifer’s domain.
When the story opens, Baalth is training Frank for a fight that he has no control over and after the umpteenth disappointing finish, gets tasked by his uncle to go to Earth to resolve a situation. Frank’s initial joy turns a bit sour when finds himself in London, circa 1888 and is forced to resolve the Jack the Ripper murders. He finds that Hell isn’t the only party interested in unmasking Jack as his cousin Scarlett is sent as the angelic counterpart to his investigations. Backed into a corner, Frank will have to rein his perverted thoughts and focus on finding who is behind the infamous letter which begins by saying “From hell…”
As is the case with previous books, From Hell while focusing on a dark subject, takes a rather dark comedic path as Frank narrates the story. We get his usual banter on the state of things, uncle Lucifer, Scarlett and her vivacious ways and lastly how he stumbles from the fire into the frying pan. Readers acquainted with the previous books will find a delicious mix of the same but with a tiny difference, Frank isn’t the hardened wiseass we have met in the previous Demon Squad books and that’s because he still has his powers with Lucifer’s backing. While that might save him from bigger hurdles, watching him trip over smaller stuff is still hilarious. With this novella, the author explores the demon squad universe in a different time period and I enjoyed this past romp of Frank a lot.
Beginning with the humor, as usual we get a nice stream of thoughts and one-liners that would keep you in splits but also we get a tightly paced plot that moves towards a conclusion rather strongly. There aren’t too many plot twists in this story but the main one if you don’t guess it, will liven up your read. I enjoyed Tim’s take on the Ripper’s identity and his reasoning for the stoppage of the murders. Lastly there’s even a small thread left open for Frank’s further adventures out in the old west that frankly sounds like a bunch of fun.
Drawbacks to this novella are simply that if you didn’t like the previous books then this novella might not change your stance. Also if you are easily offended by salacious humor then I would pray you never venture into the demon squad universe. Besides the afore-mentioned reasons I couldn’t find any other thing to nitpick about this story.
CONCLUSION: Frank returns in a prequel story and it is a gory yet fun one. You will want to read this novella if you have been on the fence for trying out a new, unknown series. From Hell is a great introduction to the Frank and his world. Be prepared though it’s unlike any other urban fantasy that you have read so far. Frank Trigg isn’t a Harry Dresden or Atticus Sullivan clone, he’s his own man and the rest of the world needs to find that out.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: A rash of brutal murders set God and the Devil at odds, and it's up to Frank to prove Hell's innocence. With his angelic cousin watching his every move, he quickly learns there's more to the mission when he comes face to face with the legend of Jack the Ripper. Time running out, Frank and Scarlett must stop the killings and restore the balance of peace before it spirals out of control.
In a battle of wits to determine the fate of Heaven and Hell, it's a good thing Frank brought a gun.
From Hell is a standalone novella in the Demon Squad universe, and is a great introduction to the Demon Squad series outside of the main story line.
FORMAT/INFO: From Hell is 88 pages long divided over fourteen chapters. Narration is in the first-person, exclusively via the protagonist Frank “Triggaltheron” Trigg. This is a prequel standalone novella and can be read by new readers as well as series fans (without any worry about series spoilers).
August 4, 2013 marked the e-book publication of From Hell and it was self-published by the author. Cover art is provided by Carter Reid.
ANALYSIS: Some series have such a hold on you that you *have* to read every bit that the author writes about them. A few examples of such series for me are A Song Of Ice And Fire by George R.R. Martin, The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews, the Drenai series by David Gemmell and lastly The Demon Squad series by Tim Marquitz. With Demon Squad we were introduced to lovable rogue Frank Trigg who would leer at your girlfriend while regaling you with salacious banter. He’s the kind of character that usually gets an early gruesome death courtesy of the protagonist in most fantasy stories. In Tim Marquitz’s universe, we get to see how the world seems to be from such a person’s point of view.
Since I met Frank in Armageddon Bound, I’ve counted myself as a Frankophile and have eagerly devoured each and every story (both long and short) that featured him or was set in the world featuring him. Last time around in Beyond The Veil, certain events and a huge amount of unveiled secrets have left Frank and the reader with a lot to ponder. However with this prequel standalone novella, Tim gives us a chance to view Frank in his good old days when he was the Anti-Christ in training. Cue Frank in hell and having a good time or as much as a good time as can be expected in Lucifer’s domain.
When the story opens, Baalth is training Frank for a fight that he has no control over and after the umpteenth disappointing finish, gets tasked by his uncle to go to Earth to resolve a situation. Frank’s initial joy turns a bit sour when finds himself in London, circa 1888 and is forced to resolve the Jack the Ripper murders. He finds that Hell isn’t the only party interested in unmasking Jack as his cousin Scarlett is sent as the angelic counterpart to his investigations. Backed into a corner, Frank will have to rein his perverted thoughts and focus on finding who is behind the infamous letter which begins by saying “From hell…”
As is the case with previous books, From Hell while focusing on a dark subject, takes a rather dark comedic path as Frank narrates the story. We get his usual banter on the state of things, uncle Lucifer, Scarlett and her vivacious ways and lastly how he stumbles from the fire into the frying pan. Readers acquainted with the previous books will find a delicious mix of the same but with a tiny difference, Frank isn’t the hardened wiseass we have met in the previous Demon Squad books and that’s because he still has his powers with Lucifer’s backing. While that might save him from bigger hurdles, watching him trip over smaller stuff is still hilarious. With this novella, the author explores the demon squad universe in a different time period and I enjoyed this past romp of Frank a lot.
Beginning with the humor, as usual we get a nice stream of thoughts and one-liners that would keep you in splits but also we get a tightly paced plot that moves towards a conclusion rather strongly. There aren’t too many plot twists in this story but the main one if you don’t guess it, will liven up your read. I enjoyed Tim’s take on the Ripper’s identity and his reasoning for the stoppage of the murders. Lastly there’s even a small thread left open for Frank’s further adventures out in the old west that frankly sounds like a bunch of fun.
Drawbacks to this novella are simply that if you didn’t like the previous books then this novella might not change your stance. Also if you are easily offended by salacious humor then I would pray you never venture into the demon squad universe. Besides the afore-mentioned reasons I couldn’t find any other thing to nitpick about this story.
CONCLUSION: Frank returns in a prequel story and it is a gory yet fun one. You will want to read this novella if you have been on the fence for trying out a new, unknown series. From Hell is a great introduction to the Frank and his world. Be prepared though it’s unlike any other urban fantasy that you have read so far. Frank Trigg isn’t a Harry Dresden or Atticus Sullivan clone, he’s his own man and the rest of the world needs to find that out.
Order “Warbound” HERE
Read Excerpts HERE
Larry Correia is primarily known for his urban fantasy
Monster Hunter International series,
but his steampunk Grimnoir Chronicles
are not to be missed. The first in this series is Hard Magic; the third and final book, Warbound, was released Tuesday,
August 6th, 2013 via Baen Books. Correia has described the Grimnoir
Chronicles on his blog as follows: “Imagine hard-boiled gangster pulp meets
magical powers and the addition of golden-age super science, only with more
zeppelins and ninjas, and you’re on the right track.”
The lovely
thing about that pitch is that it's completely accurate, and if that doesn't
catch your attention then I don't know what will.
In case
the aforementioned dirigibles did not tip you off, this is a steampunk
alternate history set in the 1930s. Correia
has reimagined history on the premise that during the 19th century,
people started finding out they have magic. In this world, Nikola Tesla’s
purported weapon of inconceivable destruction is real. World War I still
happened, but it did not end the same way: for instance, zombie armies played a
crucial role, and the Berlin Wall had a rather different purpose. One of our
characters got to (by certain definitions of “got to”) visit the Dead City in
this book, and it was wonderfully creepy.
Each
chapter begins with “historical” quotations, which seem like they could be
actually quotations until you notice the references to magic. There is
everything from altered philosophical tracts to invented Dear Miss Manners-type
letters, all written in character and in the style of the times. I think this
is a great way to set the mood while also providing information about the world,
and gives a sense of how deeply Correia
conceived of the effects of his alternate history setting. (Also, because I am
a nerd, I loved how Correia adapted
figures like Tokugawa, Hattori Hanzo, and Saito for his purposes.)
There are
a lot of familiar magical powers, along with some new ones and some twists on
old ones. At the beginning of this series we don’t understand how the magic works, but the characters
understand the basic rules—until our heroes (being heroes) start stretching
those rules. This is the kind of magic system I like: people try and
rationalize magic a lot of different ways, and people look at it through their
own lenses, but ultimately, since it's magic, no one quite understands what
they’re dealing with.
We
essentially have two constant protagonists throughout the series, though other
characters' weight on the plot varies from book to book. Jake Sullivan has been a constant throughout, but he doesn't have
much in the way of a character arc. He knows who he is at the beginning, and
he's the same person at the end, just with a little more magical muscle. I much
preferred getting to see Toru's
character arc and how that intertwined with his relationship. This story in
many ways is Toru's, and also Faye's.
Faye is our other main protagonist, and she is my
favorite. One of my favorite character’s ever. She's a genius, and is both
innocent and yet proud of her immense talent for killing everything that thinks
it's too badass to be killable.
With Larry Correia’s work, you can pretty
much always count on a few things. One is that he will nail all the details on
guns. They’re arguably not as important in the Grimnoir Chronicles as they are in Monster Hunter International, but why waste magic if a perfectly
good gun will do the trick?
There were
a few things that niggled at me in this book aside from Sullivan's lack of character arc. The biggest is his romance with Lady Origami (I swear in context this
name makes sense), because it felt completely arbitrary, like a romantic
subplot was added just because books are supposed to have one. It was
underdeveloped to the point that I wish it just hadn't been a feature at all.
I was
reading the ARC, so some of these things might have been adjusted in post, but
I also wonder about the scenes from Lady
Origami's perspective. She does have another name, which she gets her love
interest to call her, and yet in her head she thinks of herself as Lady Origami. I suspect that was done
to make it easier for the reader to follow, but it read to me like a POV error.
There was also a rampant “As You Know, Bob” problem, which was probably done to
remind the reader of previous events, but it wasn't subtle. It also wasn't
necessary, so it felt like the author assumes his readers can't keep up, and I
don't think that's the case.
The real
tragedy about reading the ARC is that I missed all the illustrations in this
book, and given the caption for each incredibly awesome character moments and
scenes, I'm jealous of all of you who are going to get to see them when you
pick this up.
I know
this author has gotten criticism for the overt politics in his novels, but I'm
not concerned with author or character politics as long as all characters are
behaving in a way that makes sense for them, and in most cases the characters'
opinions made sense given what they knew. That said, the one discussion that
didn't work for me was the dialogue with FDR, in which FDR was set up too
blatantly as a straw man.
There were
a couple of Chekhov's guns that never went off: I wish Correia had done more with Francis struggling with FDR and the
political and economic pressures after making such a big deal of setting them
up. I also wish he'd done more with the sociopathic doctor after making such a
big deal of bringing him on board.
That said,
Correia fired pretty much every
other gun he could get his authorial hands on.
One other
thing you can count on with Larry
Correia? When the shit hits the fan, his characters will buckle down and
take care of business and make it a point to prove what humans are made of.
It's refreshing. Each side is competent, motivated, and has characters with
more than a little steel in their spines who follow their respective senses of
honor.
"Jean-Marie Charles d’Aumout is many things. Orphan, soldier, diplomat, spy, lover. And chef. This is his story. We
meet Jean-Marie d’Aumout as a penniless orphan eating beetles by the
side of a road. His fate is changed after an unlikely encounter finds
him patronage and he is sent to military academy. Despite his frugal
roots, and thanks to it and courage in great measure, he grows up to
become a diplomat and spy. Rising through the ranks of
eighteenth-century French society, he feasts with lords, ladies and
eventually kings, at the Palace of Versailles itself.
Passionate
love, political intrigue and international adventure abound in
Jean-Marie’s life, but his drive stems from a single obsession: the
pursuit of the perfect taste. Three-Snake Bouillabaisse, Pickled Wolf’s
Heart and Flamingo Tongue are just some of the delicacies he devours on
his journey toward the ultimate feast.
But beyond the palace walls, revolution is in the air and the country is clamouring with hunger of a different kind."
As the first foray in the historical fiction arena of noted sff author J.C. Grimwood, The Last Banquet was a must novel for me. On finishing it, I immediately thought that it generally met my very high expectations as the novel had great moments and overall hang
together well, but its episodic character and "outside observer"
mostly emotionless first person narration stopped it from being one of
those truly memorable novels that one would read many times. On the other hand a few days after reading it, I felt compelled to reread it, so The Last Banquet may actually turn out to be one of those novels that stay with me for a long time...
The story
is simple - poor and orphan but of noble blood, Jean Marie d'Aumout is
lucky to be noticed by the passing "Regent", the former ruler of France
and his retinue who send him to a school for poor nobility and later to
an officer academy.
Jean Marie has a very unusual sense of taste and experiments with lots of strange recipes - some could be disturbing to some as they involve cats, dogs, bats, rats, beetles and even various human products - while he makes friends with rich bourgeois Emile Duras who sort of follows his coattails and gets to study and hang out with the higher nobility without being really accepted, and two young noblemen, Charlot, Marquis de Saulx and heir to the famous Duke de Saulx, a long ago protege of the Sun King, and Jerome Vicomte Caussard who is more conniving and later becomes part of ruling elite behind Kings Louis XV and XVI.
Jean Marie has a very unusual sense of taste and experiments with lots of strange recipes - some could be disturbing to some as they involve cats, dogs, bats, rats, beetles and even various human products - while he makes friends with rich bourgeois Emile Duras who sort of follows his coattails and gets to study and hang out with the higher nobility without being really accepted, and two young noblemen, Charlot, Marquis de Saulx and heir to the famous Duke de Saulx, a long ago protege of the Sun King, and Jerome Vicomte Caussard who is more conniving and later becomes part of ruling elite behind Kings Louis XV and XVI.
Jean Marie gets the girl - you'll see soon who obviously - and the money and becomes quite famous on his own as a sort of natural
philosopher and connoisseur, but life with its joys and sorrows goes on,
showing that getting the girl and the money may not be quite enough or
the happy ending one usually sees in books.
For me the beginning
parts and then the ones when in his 50's, Jean Marie gets involved in
the Corsican adventure of 1768-69 were the highlights, though each
episode from his life has its moments.
"He
laughs, as if at a joke, and asks what I know of Corsica, laughing
again when I tell him the national dish is brocciu, a ricotta-like
cheese made from goat’s milk. And the island is famous for the quality
of its ham, which is made from pigs fed in winter on sweet chestnuts and
grazed in summer on the maquis, the wild herbs of the Corsican uplands.
‘You’ve read Diderot’s encyclopedia.’
‘I wrote that entry.’
He glances around him. ‘You understand the encyclopedia is banned?’
‘I understand the king has his own set, as did la pompadour. No doubt you have copies of your own.'
‘You’ve read Diderot’s encyclopedia.’
‘I wrote that entry.’
He glances around him. ‘You understand the encyclopedia is banned?’
‘I understand the king has his own set, as did la pompadour. No doubt you have copies of your own.'
‘That is beside the point.’..."
While being of the nobility
and staying true to it till the bitter end of 1789, Jean Marie always
notices the poor and their hatred of his class, clinically and
occasionally compassionately as he tries to be a good master, but
without the least bit of sentimentality or belief that if the storm
comes, the end result will be much different than what came before:
"Court
politics have long since ceased to have any interest. Those I leave to
Jerome and Charlot. And the kind Emile once practiced? They bore me.
Emile’s friends don’t want to open the cage and return the animals to
the wild, they simply want to change who owns the zoo"
A tiger stars also as the cover indicates, while Ben Franklin makes quite a memorable appearance and if Jean Marie sounds a bit too modern on occasion, his 18th century France is recreated superbly.
‘I’m
not sure the people can cope without the idea of God,’ I told him.
‘Without spiritual heights to which they can aspire, like young men
looking at a rock face and daring each other to climb. If we abandon our
belief in God we become God and take his powers.’
Emile laughed. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve started to believe?’
I stared at him. ‘I’ve always believed.’
‘In God the father, God the son and God the holy ghost?’
‘Of course not. But in something. We all have to believe in something.’
‘If we don’t . . . ?’ He let his question hang.
‘We start believing only in ourselves.’
‘Belief in God is the cause of war, superstition, irrationality . . . And has been the cause of those since time began.’ What Emile spoke was treason, and if not treason, then certainly blasphemy, but I’d heard it from him so often it barely registered. He was hunched forward, knuckles white around his wine glass from where his fists were clenched, like a boy trying to make an impression on the classroom. As he’d been when I first met him, a lawyer’s son sent to live among the children of impoverished nobles.
‘Without God the wars will get even worse.
Emile laughed. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve started to believe?’
I stared at him. ‘I’ve always believed.’
‘In God the father, God the son and God the holy ghost?’
‘Of course not. But in something. We all have to believe in something.’
‘If we don’t . . . ?’ He let his question hang.
‘We start believing only in ourselves.’
‘Belief in God is the cause of war, superstition, irrationality . . . And has been the cause of those since time began.’ What Emile spoke was treason, and if not treason, then certainly blasphemy, but I’d heard it from him so often it barely registered. He was hunched forward, knuckles white around his wine glass from where his fists were clenched, like a boy trying to make an impression on the classroom. As he’d been when I first met him, a lawyer’s son sent to live among the children of impoverished nobles.
‘Without God the wars will get even worse.
Highly recommended.
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