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Thursday, May 23, 2013

"Antiagon Fire and Imager's Battalion" by L.E. Modesitt (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)





Since I was away from Fantasy Book Critic when Imager's Battalion was published in January, I will talk about it below too, but I will start with the current Antiagon Fire to be published on May 28th. 

For the series background I refer to our reviews of Scholar and Princeps linked above, but the essential structure is the classical sfnal: powerful and competent but not invincible/all mighty hero needs to solve issue after issue; some need his magic, some need his relations with the powerful of the day, some need his wife's or his friends skills, some need just common sense...

Antiagon Fire is the 4th Quaeryt Imager book with Rex Regis next January ending his saga and it was as superb as the previous three. The novel has the same structure and similar topics being a direct continuation of Imager's Battalion as it starts with Quaeryt's awakening after the dramatic events at Variana. There is a lot of action, intrigue while all our favorite characters are back.

Vaelora has a more directly important role in Antiagon Fire as she becomes co-envoy with Quaeryt and starts manifesting some of the power hinted in earlier volumes, though most of the book still follows Quaeryt solving problem after problem and after a while, finally taking overt action on his own to bring about the desired outcome.

New characters are introduced who may be of interest later and there is much more background on Khel and the Bovarian conquest. There are new High Holders who may see or not the wisdom of submission to Bhayar, while the strange land of Antiagon behind its literal - the border with Bovaria is walled - and metaphorical walls - Antiagon Fire and Imager power - is quite different than any place in Lydar we've seen so far. 

As the title kind of makes it clear, Quaeryt and his staff finally meet opposing imagers in battle, though now as they have a lot of campaigning under their belt, the combination of war experience and imager training under fire, makes them hard to stop.
   
The ending happens at a good to be continued point, while the last 150 pages or so are even more intense than in any of the previous books. Antiagon Fire together with Imager's Battalion form an impressive 3-4 series installments dealing with the wars of unification proper and they are my top sff of the year. 

As it has a high reread value - I've already read each Quaeryt volumes at least 3 times and the original Rhenn ones probably 4-5 times - the Imager series has become one of my huge favorites and I will be sad when the last volume is published early in 2014, though the author has not precluded returning to Terahnar at another point in its history.

 ******************************************************************

  

Imager's Battalion by LE Modesitt is the 3rd Quaeryt book and 6th Imager overall and it was another addictive read that I finished very soon after receiving an advanced review copy sometime last year.

Excellent stuff with the same structure as books 1/2 (Scholar/Princeps) though this one is mostly war: Imagers - magic, powerful but few of them - against musketeers, canon, guns, arrows, ambushes, lots of expendable soldiers and even the powerful super-weapon of the day, Antiagon fire, as now sub-commander Quaeryt leads 5th Battalion, the vanguard of the Southern Army of Telaryn led by commander Skarpa, his friend from Tilbor, into Bovaria proper against the forces of cruel Rex Kharst.

After Quaeryt and Skarpa defeated the Bovarian invasion so decisively at Ferrravyl in the previous book, the Bovarians are on the defensive and unprepared as they lost all their invading army, but they still can muster 40+ regiments if given time, while Telaryn can manage 20-30 at most in addition of having all the logistical problems of an invading army in enemy territory, though luckily Rex Kharst is not that popular, only extremely feared.

Also the hopes of the Pharsi nation, subjugated and persecuted by Kharst, rest on Quaeryt's shoulders too as his command is mostly Pharsi refugee soldiers and officers in addition of course to the few mostly untrained Imagers whom he has to shape into officers too.

And not to make matters easier, Quaeryt's wife and Lord Bhayar's youngest sister, Vaelora, now pregnant, has her own job at court to co-rule with her sister-in-law Aelina, as Telaryn's ruler is with the main Army of the North since he has staked everything on the invasion too..

Moreover the Telaryn Commander in Chief, Marshal Deucalon doesn't like Quaeryt or Skarpa in the least so they get the minimum amount of soldiers and the maximum amount of hardship possible without triggering Bhayar's ire, while Sub-Marshal Myskil, former close confidant of governor Rescalyn and presumably involved in his plot to take over Telaryn and depose Bhayar, still remembers Quaeryt's so elegantly breaking the plot, while leaving a dead Rescalyn as a big war hero of Telaryn...

Tense, with lots of memorable moments and a great ending.


12:00 AM | Posted by Liviu | | Edit Post
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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The Heresy Within by Rob J. Hayes (reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)


Order the book HERE (Amazon US) and HERE (Amazon UK)

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Rob J. Hayes was born and brought up in Basingstoke, UK. As a child he was fascinated with Lego, Star Wars and Transformers that fueled his imagination and he spent quite a bit of his growing up years playing around with such. He began writing at the age of fourteen however soon discovered the fallacies of his work. After four years at University studying Zoology and three years working for a string of high street banks as a desk jockey/keyboard monkey Rob lived on a desert island in Fiji for three months. It was there he re-discovered his love of writing and, more specifically, of writing fantasy.

OFFICIAL BLURB: The Heresy Within is the first book in the debut trilogy, The Ties that Bind by Rob J. Hayes. Thanquil Darkheart is an Arbiter of the Inquisition, a witch hunter tasked with hunting down and purging heretics. Thanquil Darkheart is also something else, expendable. When the God-Emperor of Sarth tells Thanquil there is a traitor operating among the highest echelon of the Inquisition he knows he has no choice but to sail to the city of Chade and follow the Emperor's single lead.

The Black Thorn is a murderer, a thug, a thief and worse but he's best known for the killing of six Arbiters. These days he travels with a crew of six of the most dangerous sell-swords in the wilds. After a job well done they find themselves on the run from the law once again but the boss has good news; a new job, the biggest any of them have ever pulled. First, however, they need to evade capture long enough to secure travel to the free city of Chade.

Jezzet Vel'urn is a Blademaster; a swords-woman of prodigious skill but she knows that for a woman like her in the wilds there are two ways out of most situations; fight or screw. Truth is, all too often for Jezzet’s likes, it comes down to a combination of the two. Jezzet is chased half-way across the wilds by a vengeful warlord until she makes it to the free city of Chade. Instead of sanctuary, however, all she finds are guards waiting to turn her over for some quick gold.

FORMAT/INFO: The Heresy Within is divided into four sections with sixty POV chapters. The narration is in third person via Thanquil Darkheart, Jezzet Vel’urn and Betrim Thorn aka The Black Thorn. This is the first book of the Ties That Bind trilogy.

April 14, 2013 marks the US e-book publication of The Heresy Within and was self-published by the author. Cover art is provided by Julio Real.

CLASSIFICATION: The Heresy Within is a dark fantasy debut with terrific characterization and a twisted plotline that is very reminiscent of the works by Joe Abercrombie, David Dalglish and Scott Lynch.

ANALYSIS: This is another indie debut that came out of nowhere and was brought to my attention thanks to Amazon’s fabulous algorithm for suggesting titles. I had no clue about this book but the blurb that suggested a dark story and the excerpt that I read had me ordering the book as soon as I finished it. The book safe to say was far from a disappointment.

The story begins with Arbiter Thanquil Darkheart who is a member of the Inquisition that seeks to root out demons and those who practice the dark arts in the lands in and around the holy city of Sarth. They are an organization who based on the teachings of Volmar, have dedicated their lives trying to burn heretics and forever stamp out the dark arts. Such dedication has given them the street title of “witch hunters” and it’s one that is actively discouraged as well. Thanquil is however not a typical one and is just returning from distant mission before he gets shanghaied into an even more dangerous one. 

Jezzet Vel’urn is a blademaster, she’s also a person who thinks more of day-to-day survival than anything else. Her troubles stem from a past friendship gone sour and before long she has to decide whether she will “fight or fuck her way” out of the shit headed her way. Lastly there’s Betrim the Black Thorn, mercenary, rogue and all round deadly murderer. His name echoes throughout the wilds as a name to be feared. Having lost a few digits on his hands and feet have made the Black Thorn extremely cautious in trusting folk even those among his crew but come long he will have to decide whether he wants to remembered as just a vile mercenary or something more.

That’s the basic gist of all the POV characters however there are more and all of them crazier and scarier than these POV ones. If I had to pinpoint the one single strength of this book, I would say it’s the characterization. Very few authors manage to write such terrific characters in their debut, only a few such as Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie and Anthony Ryan come to mind but now I believe we have another addition to this list. Rob J. Hayes who writes about lowlifes and scum but writes with such wonderful application that these very characters seem fascinating gems and before long have you hooked onto their antics. This is the best part of the story, kind of reminiscent of Blake Crouch and J. A. Konrath’s serial killer thrillers wherein they explored the darker side of human depravity and power. 

Similarly the author herein focuses on people who frankly would be villains in most books however gives them three dimensional personas for the readers to enjoy reading about. Betrim, Thanquil and Jezzet are the main characters and they shine brightly through their chapters but it's also the side character cast such as Henry, Bones, Swift, etc that make the story so much more intriguing. The POV characters Thanquil, Jezzet and Betrim are all psychologically broken people however the way they cope with their problems is fascinating to read. Plus amid all the savagery, their semi-honorable actions seem even brighter as compared to the muck around them. Sure enough some of them are still scum, act crazy, commit violence in a wild manner upon each other and normal folk, however many of them become so interesting that the readers will be forced to turn the pages to get to know them better as well as their sides of the story. This was what I loved so much about this debut, the terrific characterization, the unpredictable plot-line with all the action and bleakness.

There are plot twists galore as the story hardly moves in the direction that the readers would expect and in the end the author makes sure that the rules of the world are obeyed in the sense that no character is truly safe. There are quite a few deaths and so I would recommend that readers not read the blurb of the next books to not spoil their reads. The ending is very Abercrombie-like wherein situations are resolved but the characters are put through a psychological and physical grinder of sorts. All in all this is a kind of debut that you definitely don’t want to miss because as soon as you finish this book, you’ll want to start the next one and the one after that. The great news is that all three of them are released and therefore ready to be devoured.

Now moving onto the parts of the book that seem to be a bit deficient, namely the worldbuilding front. Sure enough there is enough history and geography provided to make it seem three dimensional but because the story focuses so much on characters and action, some readers who might want to know more of the surrounding world might not be satisfied. This book is without a map and so for cartophiles it’s a bit of a negative. Lastly those who don’t like dark fantasy or grey characters please, please avoid this book at all costs as you definitely will not be able to stomach it for all its brutality, gore and graphic nature. There's also quite a few situations and characters that come on to the main stage without any explanation and so I hope their status and back-stories will be explained in the succeeding volumes.

CONCLUSION: Who is Rob J. Hayes, I don’t know entirely but I’m willing to bet that before the year ends, many readers will have heard his name and also become fans of his. The Heresy Within is an Indie debut and like last year’s Blood Song is a absolute gem. If you like Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch or David Dalglish, make sure this is your next book. If you want a dark journey filled with action, betrayals and truly magnificent bastards of characters then The Heresy Within is the book that you should seek. DO NOT MISS IT!
12:01 AM | Posted by The Reader | | Edit Post
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

"Libromancer: Book 1 Magic Ex Libris" by Jim C. Hines (Reviewed by Cindy Hannikman)




Visit Jim. C. Hines Official Website Here

 Read FBC's review of Hines' Stepsister Scheme here

OVERVIEW: Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg.  Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped.

With the help of a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of oak cudgels, Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. And his search will uncover dangerous secrets about Libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic.

FORMAT: Libriomancer is an urban fantasy novel that is rich with magic, secret societies, adventure, and humor. It is the first book of a series and was published by DAW on August 7, 2012.

ANALYSIS: It is my belief that there are two types of readers in the world; those that sit down and just read the words of a book and those that live the book. Those that are classified in the second category live, breathe, and become all consumed with the characters, plots, and events of a book. Sometimes this happens with one book, sometimes it happens with every book that they read, but it happens.

If you have ever had an experience like the above mentioned situation then Libriomancer is a book for you. Jim C. Hines has created a magic system that exists in the modern world that I only wish really existed and I'm sure that other book lovers wished existed too.

Libriomancer revolves around the idea that there is a secret group of sorcerers, known as Libriomancers. These people have the ability to open a book, reach into it, and take out anything was created in that book. This even includes people, but they would of course be copies of the individual not the actual individual.

Of course, there are limitations like the item has to fit through the size of the book and only items that were written into books that were widely distributed could be materialized. And with all magic systems, there are problems and consequences such as hearing voices, the book may drag you too far into it, and the books get charred or burned look if used too many times.

I found this entire magical system extremely captivating and intriguing. Just the simple thought that the books that are sitting on my shelf could essentially be used as weapons or that I could grab a copy of Harry Potter and pull out a wand to try and use it really fascinated me.

Hines' spent a lot of time developing this magic system and put a lot of thought into it. There would be occasional times throughout the book that I would wonder about a certain problem or loophole I discovered, only to find that that same exact question is addressed later on.

For example, I was struggling with the idea that if people could do anything with books (pull people out, use items, etc.) what would happen if something that was extremely powerful or influential was used, say The Bible. Hines addresses this exact question by having a group of Libriomancers who read all books and determine if they are a risk. If they are the book has a magical lock placed on it and people can read it, but not use it for magical purpose.

That isn't all that kept me reading this book. Jim C. Hines has a way of writing that just pulls you into the book. His writing is smooth, yet filled with humor that doesn't appear forced or awkward. The humor also does not appear at inappropriate times. If a huge fight scene is going on, Hines isn't going to have his characters rattling off one-liners in the hopes to get you laugh. You'll be sitting there in the midst of a battle or fight.  Hines even intertwines several literary references to popular books and authors into the novel without making it feel forced or awkward.

Fans of Hines' Jig the Goblin series will like the little surprise that Hines' has weaved into the novel. Jig the Goblin is one of my favorite fantasy books and I loved the way Hines' tipped his hat to that series.

The pace of the novel is just right. It takes time to fully explain everything, including history of the Libriomancers and the magic system, without bogging the book down with lengthy explanations.

Libriomancer is an urban fantasy. Unfortunately, I believe too many people will read magic, vampires, supernatural, and chalk this series up as just another one of 'those flashy urban fantasy books'. Let me tell you, it is far from it. Yes, it has the same plot elements, but it really is a unique take on the urban fantasy.

Overall, I loved this book. I think Hines has some Libriomancer magic going on because this book just pulled me in and kept me reading. If you are a fan of urban fantasy or liked Hines' other series, you will definitely enjoy this novel. Grab a copy and see for yourself, who knows there just might be a little Libriomancer inside you that is waiting to come out.
12:00 AM | Posted by Cindy | | Edit Post
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Monday, May 20, 2013

Guest Post: The Truth Behind a Legend by D.E.M. Emrys


Have you ever met a legend? I have. I've stood on the walls of a doomed-to-fall fortress with men too old, too young, and women who fight like lionesses; I've been chased across enemy territory by wild beasts, but rescued by a deformed cripple who was turned on by everyone he has ever known yet he still cared; I've gone behind enemy lines to cut the head from the snake’s body; I've met killers who would turn on country and kin, who have committed the most violent of acts, yet they would sacrifice themselves for the sake of children; and I have fought and fallen besides heroes. I am a soldier, and I have ‘been there, done that’, but these are legends. And the first legend that I met was not a soldier. He was a writer and his name was David Gemmell. 

David Gemmell was a fantasy writer. That’s the truth of it. He was and still is regarded as the British ‘King’ or ‘Father of modern heroic-fantasy’, a title worthy of his legendary status. To eleven year old me the big-daddy-of-heroic-fantasy was a fireside mythmonger. But behind every legend there is a human being, and you couldn't get more human than David. For all his renown, David was simply known as ‘the big man’ to his fans and readers. 

I picked up my first Gemmell novel when I was eleven, back in 2001. At the time I hated reading, so much so that I was classed under ‘special measures’ at school. So when my mother gave me £5 pocket money in a book shop as a last attempt at kindling an interest in reading, she fully expected me to pick-up a pack of stickers or a Pokémon magazine at best. Needless to say she was shocked when I chose a novel, let alone something from the adult ‘Fantasy’ section. Thinking back on it, I’m surprised that my mother didn't tell me not to waste the money – me being me, at first sight I honestly only wanted the book for the cool picture of the axe on the front. I’m eternally grateful that mum didn't talk me out of it. 

That novel was ‘Legend’. 
An eleven year old with an adult fantasy novel? Spotty pre-teen vs. violence, cursing, death, sorrow, tragedy…and courage, love, friendship, too. Above all else David Gemmell wrote passion. I laughed and I cried. I discovered a world where men stood against death – and in many ways life – not because they had to, but because it was the right thing to do. I wanted to be like one of these men. (Or women for that matter! Gemmell also catered to the strong female archetype. The character Virae from Legend will always have a place in my heart. As a boy, when I’d rather wipe a bogey on a girl’s back than play kiss chase, to have strong female role models was a real eye-opener. Though I still didn't play kiss chase.)

Gemmell wrote ‘lightly’. Don’t take this the wrong way. He doesn't skim on detail nor does he info-dump pages of history in a single go. His voice is light as it’s easy to read, so easy in fact that eleven year old me who didn't EVER-want-to-read finished ‘Legend’ in a single night. My mum wasn't impressed with the bags under my eyes, but she was speechless that I had actually read a book, let alone in a few hours. 

I was young and impressionable, and Gemmell’s stories cast a spell over me. Where most teens my age had sports stars or pop sensations for idols, I had the heroes and heroines of Gemmell’s books. I was not alone in my fascination. One reader reportedly saved a woman from being attacked by two men, all because of Gemmell’s influence. If there’s one thing that has stayed with me over the years, it’s a code. A code of warriors, ‘The Iron Code’, something that Druss the Legend said. Something that Gemmell wrote. 

“Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men." 
"Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the pursuit of evil." 
"Never back away from an enemy. Either fight or surrender. It is not enough to say I will not be evil. Evil must be fought wherever it is found.” 

When asked by one of my fellow soldiers how we should act in Afghanistan, I showed him this quote. Need I say any more? 


In 2006 two men, whose words I valued the most, both passed away. My father and David Gemmell. Sounds odd to put both of them side-by-side like that, and please don’t mistake me for being cold-hearted towards my father for comparing him to a writer I never met, but when you’re a sixteen year old boy going from school to college to real life, you sometimes need a steer. 

My father was an engineer, but he was also a fighter. He fought mental illness for much of his life. Writing this is already making me a little…well, you know. My father battled the worst bout of his illness in 2006. I do not condone nor condemn what he did, but in November of that year he took his own life. In his eyes, rather than let the illness take what little he had left, he went down fighting. My father always did right by my sister and I. Whenever I read a Gemmell novel the Iron code would come to mind, and I would immediately think of my father. That was how he lived. I wanted to be a fighter. Like my father and like the characters that Gemmell created. So I joined the army. This is when fantasy became reality. 

Gemmell’s stories are real as real can be. He knew what he was writing about. Gemmell’s characters aren't knights in shining armour that ride in at the last minute to save the day. They’re normal everyday people like you and I. They had heart. Gemmell might never have stood on the front lines of a battlefield, but somehow he encompassed even the minute details of conflict. That’s because he wrote with heart. He didn't just write about the implications of two countries, kingdoms, or even empires going to war with each other, he wrote about the human element of each individual in the press of humanity. Armies weren't faceless ranks of soldiers, they were men and women with dreams, hopes, fears and problems of their own. 

It’s a testament to Gemmell that people like me want to write about him. Though my scant few words will never do the justice that the big man deserves, when you think about it, if a soldier-reader-writer wants to spin up an article over someone he’s never met, it’s something special. Gemmell left a legacy behind him. 

This legacy is something that if you are a fantasy reader you've almost definitely encountered, even if you didn't realize it. Renowned writers such as James Barclay, Conn Iggulden and John Gwynne  credit  Gemmell as an influence. There’s a whole generation of writers who at one point have read a Gemmell book, and now write with a semblance of his influence. And now David’s wife Stella, who also finished Gemmell’s last book 'Fall of Kings’ after his passing, has released her debut novel ‘The City’. 


Stella’s dedication in ‘The City’ simply says: 

 ‘For Dave, of course.’ 

That sums it up really, doesn't it? 

And I can’t forget, The David Gemmell Legend Award. Divided into three categories: Ravenheart (best book jacket/cover), MorningStar (best newcomer to the fantasy genre), and Legend (best release of the year), the DGLA is an annual award that celebrates fantasy literature in the name of Gemmell. It’s highlighted the successes of writers like Helen Lowe, Joe Abercrombie, Elspeth Cooper, Peter V Brett, Trudi Canavan, Glen Cook, Kate Elliott, the list goes on and on. And the best part about it? It’s done by votes from you and me, the readers, because as many who knew Gemmell will testify, the readers are the ones that mattered most to him. After all we’re the little guys that made it into his stories. 

David Gemmell wasn't just a writer. Nor was he just the British Father of Heroic Fantasy, or a figurehead for the genre’s popularity. David Gemmell inspired me to write. Me, a little guy. A dumb soldier who didn't want to read as a child. Talk about a square peg and a round hole! We've all got dreams of our own, and it’s safe to say that though I’m only a self-published author now, one day I aspire to reach the nominations of the DGLA. Heck, all this because I read a book when I was a child. 

I’d like to thank Mihir for inviting me to sum up my thoughts on David Gemmell on this esteemed blog. I could have rambled on all day (as you can see) about the big man, but if there’s any single way to put it all into words (without stealing Stella’s – which I thought were perfect!) it’s this: 

David Gemmell. Legend. 

Lastly here are a few thoughts/comments from some authors who label the big man as an important influence and my thanks to them for their time and contributions:
Marc Lawrence, ‘Prince of Thorns’, DGLA Morningstar nominee 2012: 

"Gemmell captured what I loved about fantasy in the 80s and felt I’d outgrown, but somehow repackaged it in a way that still appealed. That’s something I owe him considerable thanks for. There’s a fire in Gemmell’s work that keeps me reading, keeps me involved. He is in fact the only author I've ever taken the trouble to find out more about." 

John Gwynne, ‘Malice’: 

"David Gemmell set a new bar in fantasy. When most fantasy was full of shining hero's and black and white causes, David smashed an axe into the genre and chopped down that wall. His flawed characters, gritty worlds and fast-paced plotting were fresh and exciting, and a re-read of them today proves that they still are. My personal favourite is 'Sword in the Storm,' but he was so prolific with never a slip in quality that it is almost impossible to choose a 'best of.' He is, beyond all doubt, a legend, and 'Malice' would have turned out a very different book without him." 
Helen Lowe, ‘Heir of Night’, winner of the DGLA Morningstar award 2012: 

"Growing up, so many aspects of David Gemmell's novels “spoke” to me: the grand sweep of the stories and their sense of contending light and dark, the way the characters’ choices are so often around sacrifice and duty, yet friendship and love are always the heart of the story. And yes, I then wanted to write stories 'just like that' myself."

Stan Nicholls, ‘Orcs’, chair of the DGLA: 

"Dave Gemmell’s greatest influence on me was as a man, and as a friend. You have to understand that his fiction wasn't some kind of artifice; it was a genuine expression of his personality and beliefs. He really did lay great emphasis on honour, loyalty and the desire of decent people to try to do decent things, while acknowledging that none of us our perfect beings. It was how he tried to live his life, and he imbued his characters with those qualities."
James Barclay, ‘Dawnthief’ and Chronicles/Legends of the Raven, DGLA nominee: 

"The greatest inspiration was the man himself, not his work. To sit with Dave Gemmell for an evening was to realize that every word he spoke was laced with the passion and belief that filled his novels. He didn't imagine it, he lived it."


AUTHOR INFO: D. E. M. Emrys. Author. Soldier by day, Soldier by night - Writer in between. Knows war to write war. David Emrys, known as D to his friends, is a serving soldier and author.

Growing up with the heroic tales written by authors such as David Gemmell and James Barclay, D was inspired to write stories of his own. After joining the army D used his free time to focus on his dream of sharing shelf-space with his idols.

D lives where the army send him, but home is in Chelmsford with his fiancé. They say that behind every great man there is a woman pulling the strings, but she lets him dance to his own song whilst being the perfect partner in step. D claims that his books would not have been written without her.

David Emrys is not his real name. Nor is D.

Official Author Website
Read my review of From Man To Man by D.E.M. Emrys
Read David's review of The Grim Company by Luke Scull

 NOTE: David Gemmell cover montage courtesy of Alaa_Mk_2020. David Gemmell picture courtesy of WFC 25 and Patricia McKillip. All author pictures courtesy of the authors themselves.
12:00 AM | Posted by The Reader | | Edit Post
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Sunday, May 19, 2013

"Adam Robots" by Adam Roberts (with comments by Liviu Suciu)

Order "Adam Robots" HERE

I read most of the stories from Adam Robots in their original venue - having an Adam Roberts story makes an anthology generally an automatic buy, assuming reasonable price and availability - so it took me a few months to buy this one as I oscillated between "even a few newer Adam Roberts stories are worth the price" and "I am already spending so much on books not to be able to justify this one."

On finishing Adam Robots, I would say that it is definitely worth the money as it is arguably the most diverse, inventive and overall excellent author collection I've read in a long time with a few stories as good as anything in their category - never could differentiate between short story, novella, novelette beyond the obvious if it is close to a novel, it's a novella and if it's one page it's a short...

A few comments with links to more when I talked about the story in cause at another time:


1: The best of the best, stories that are at the top of the genre:

The Imperial Army - military space opera a la Adam Roberts; while the main conceit is similar to the one in Exultant by S. Baxter, the story is chock full of irony and goodies

Anticopernicus - first contact and the Fermi Paradox a la Adam Roberts; wrote more in its review on original publication

Shall I Tell You the Problem With Time Travel?  - time travel and the atomic bomb; crazy ideas but excellent storytelling that makes one suspend the disbelief

Thrownness  - Multiverse/many worlds QM


2: Excellent stories that would be the highlight of any volume:

Adam Robots - Adam and another Adam rather than Eve in paradise

A Prison Term of a Thousand Years  - long lived humans and what the world does about them; if usually the "scientific" ideas the author uses as main conceits are far fetched to put it mildly, the content here struck me as much more plausible than say the way Peter Hamilton deals with long lived humans...

The World of the Wars - HG Wells reinterpreted

Constellations - dogma and its questioning on an alien planet

Review: Thomas Hodgkin, Denis Bayle: a Life - review of imaginary books; love this stuff when done well

Wonder: A Story in Two - sense of wonder a la Adam Roberts so not quite what one would think


3: Very good and enjoyable:

Godbombing - riff on religious wars and Christianity; Adam Roberts' piece in Aeon makes a good counterpoint to this

The Mary Anna - Kipling for the 22 century and in verse too;  appears also in Jack Glass

Dantean - as expected from the title

The Chrome Chromosome - short from the perspective of a sort of chromosome, though not the usual one


4: Stories that are an ironic take or a straight-out parody on various tales and which try too hard to fully succeed, but are still quite good:

S-Bomb - short and stringy, tries too hard for gross out funniness

ReMorse® - wonder drugs parody

The Time Telephone -calling from the future and the paradoxes thereof

The Man of the Strong Arm - future criticism of early sf

The Cow - famous children story retold in 8 lines (!)

Pied - sfnal zombies and the like


5: Stories that just failed to impress me that much, though still readable:

Woodpunk - riff on the "original on publication topical steampunk"; forced and it shows, so generally pointless and a little boring

Me-topia -creation envisioned by Adam Roberts; again forced and not that interesting

And tomorrow and - Macbeth somewhere; never cared about Macbeth, so could not care about this

The Woman Who Bore Death - sort of fantasy Roberts; could be interesting at longer length but here came as disjointed and pointless

12:00 AM | Posted by Liviu | | Edit Post
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Saturday, May 18, 2013

“The Cats of Tanglewood Forest” by Charles de Lint (Reviewed by Casey Blair)

Official Charles de Lint Website
Order “The Cats of Tanglewood Forest” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE

I don't often read children's fiction that isn't YA, but one look at the recently published The Cats of Tanglewood Forest was enough to convince me that this was a good idea. Yes, I judged the book by its cover, and it worked out very well for me.

The Cats of Tanglewood Forest was written by the renowned Charles de Lint and illustrated by Charles Vess. Apparently, it's a further exploration of a picture book they wrote and illustrated together a decade ago, A Circle of Cats. I'm glad they decided to expand it.

Not only is The Cats of Tanglewood Forest beautifully written and illustrated, the book itself is absolutely gorgeous. I wish I'd had this book when I was little, but even as an adult it's still wonderful.

The story is, on one level, whimsical, although I think that the idea that all cats are magic explains more than it doesn't.

I love how much agency Lillian had, that her decisions defined her story and that she simply would not allow herself to be fit into an easy categorization. If there is a moral of this story, it is to consider our choices carefully, because actions have consequences: not good or bad, necessarily, but that our choices shape our lives and our world. And I think that's a wonderful message to send, but the book isn't that explicitly didactic. Like the best children's fiction, there's a lot going under the surface when you stop to look. Mostly you don't, though, because you're distracted by other things, like a girl having an adventure and magical cats.

The Cats of Tanglewood Forest delivers on every level.
12:00 AM | Posted by Robert | | Edit Post
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Friday, May 17, 2013

“Unclean Spirits: Gods and Monsters” by Chuck Wendig (Reviewed by Casey Blair)

Official Chuck Wendig Website
Order “Unclean Spirits: Gods and Monsters” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE

Unclean Spirits: Gods and Monsters, released on May 7th, was my first introduction to Chuck Wendig's writing, and I didn't really know what to expect. Now I can't wait to read more.

This is the first of a new urban fantasy series from Abaddon Books. The similarities to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods are hard to miss, but don't be fooled: Unclean Spirits: Gods and Monsters is a whole different animal. The tone, the pacing, the characters, all of it, and honestly, this story is just plain fun. Dark, sometimes horribly creepy, but fun.

Wendig really has a gift for mood. He absolutely nails dialect, which is so easy to mess up, and I loved how he used sentence structure and tight POVs to bring the reader into the chaotic or violent scenes. I should probably mention that if you have difficulty with graphic imagery and profanity, then this book is not for you. I don't think either was gratuitous, but there was quite a lot.

The author did a great job of making extremely dangerous choices seem perfectly reasonable, as if, given who those characters are, the choices they make are the only ones that make any possible sense, and being that truthful to human nature is especially important in a story that has so much bizarre going on.

I love how Wendig captured the capriciousness of gods, and the resilience of humans despite, or because of, any odds. The Coyote sections are absolutely perfect, and I snickered all the way through. I really appreciated that he didn't show favoritism to the more famous mythologies (I weary of supposedly pantheistic world-building that dwells on the Olympians). There are some enormous cosmic things going on in this story, but Wendig doesn't really give you time to process the implications because they're already punching the protagonist in the face. And even though this reads like a fun, plot-driven story that doesn't dwell on the philosophical side so much, you know the he understands what matters:

“It's always in the myths. The legends. The history. The stories. The stories have secrets. They tell the truth, even when it's a lie.”

I have very little to nit-pick with Unclean Spirits: Gods and Monsters. The ending was a little abrupt for me, but it does keep with the character of the book. And the protagonist makes all kinds of Casey cracks for a character whose name is actually Cason, but I suppose I'm predisposed to notice that. =)

So I was happy to learn that Unclean Spirits: Gods and Monsters isn't the end for this series, and happier still to learn Chuck Wendig has another new book, Blue Blazes (May 28, 2013 via Angry Robot), coming out in just a few weeks.
12:00 AM | Posted by Robert | | Edit Post
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Thursday, May 16, 2013

“Rogue Descendant” by Jenna Black (Reviewed by Casey Blair)

Official Jenna Black Website
Order “Rogue Descendant” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE

Rogue Descendant, published at the end of April, is the third of Jenna Black's latest urban fantasy series (she's written a few, all worth checking out), the Nikki Glass or Descendant series. This is one of those world-building structures where Greek mythology features heavily, though there are some other cool mythologies as well. Essentially, the gods have descendants, and if a mortal descendant kills an immortal one, they gain immortality and some magical powers related to whatever deity they're descended from. How our protagonist came by her seed of immortality is part of the matter of book one, Dark Descendant, but the fact of the matter is that all unwanted, Nikki has to learn how to live in the world she's joined and with the powers she inherited from Artemis. Unfortunately, while she's beginning to deal with the former, there is no movement on the latter.

This bothers me. In book one, of course Nikki wouldn’t know how to use her powers; she was too busy trying to survive to start exploring them. Book two rolls around and that no longer holds up; when her approach in book three is still pretty much, "Oh, I feel like we should turn this way for no apparent reason IT MUST BE MY HUNTING POWERS,” I have suspension of disbelief problems. In fairness, Nikki seems to find this ridiculous as well, but she doesn't seem inclined to do anything about it. She can come up with ways for other characters to explore their power, but her own she ignores until she needs it and then vainly wishes it worked better. Possibly a comment on human nature, but I find it tiring.

There's also no net movement on the romance front — it's still well-handled, but it leaves off in pretty much the same place as the last book. I can deal with that, though. What concerns me is that the climax of all three books has involved a final confrontation with Nikki and Anderson, the head of their non-Olympian-descended-exclusive band who is not the love interest, against an external threat, and now this book has been dropping hints that we are going to have a love triangle on our hands, and I hate love triangles.

However, excepting the fact that all the immortal characters seem to be easily swayed by circumstantial evidence when they're supposed to be experienced enough with Byzantine plots to know better, they do all behave in horribly logical and often twisted ways given what they did know and who they were. Konstantin's son is a refreshingly complicated sort-of-villain, and the lingering problem of Emma has been resolved. In theory. Jenna Black is great with character consistency and emotional responses to traumatic events, be they personally painful or physically, that really resonate as true. It must be said that Nikki is very inventive about not relying on magic or immortality to save her, and understanding her limits makes scenes a lot tenser than they would be if she knew how to use her magic and depended on it. I burned through this book, which is always a good sign.

And yet, I'm disappointed in this installment. Rogue Descendant wasn't painful to read by any stretch, but there's no character growth, no romance development, no exploration of the protagonist's abilities, and no particularly revealing information about the world. I feel like this whole book was in order to set-up the characters' huge problems in the next book. It's very plot-centric, and I want more from a story than just events unfolding.
12:00 AM | Posted by Robert | | Edit Post
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