Thursday, May 29, 2008

Pamela Freeman - Blood Ties (Book Review)

-


"Blood Ties" (Amazon: UK, USA)
by Pamela Freeman
Format: Paperback, 400 pages
Publisher: Orbit Books

-
"Blood Ties" is a typical representative of the new wave of fantasy literature - that is, it can easily remind the reader of Karen Miller's "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker", Brian Ruckley's "The Godless World", Scott Lynch's "Lies of Locke Lamora" or Joe Abercrombie's "First Law" trilogy - it reminded me of these books anyway, but the list of books that fall under this label doesn't stop here. The template of a medieval city is the prevalent setting for the story - most of the events are happening in the world surrounded by merchants, thieves, craftsmen, farmers and the like. There also have to be people who hold the power and pull all the strings - in this case this role is taken by warlords, whose power is absolute and omnipresent everywhere, except in the free cities. Their men are all over their Domain - officially, they are soldiers, bound to protect the people, but in truth, they are mostly just merciless thugs and brawlers. Gods, old legends and histories play a large and important part in the story. The role of the outsider is given to the race of nomads (surprise!), who are shunned by the so-called "Acton's people"; but they are slowly being integrated into the populace. Freeman uses other genre convention as well - the warlord, a power-crazed figure that lusts after conquering, joining together, and then ruling all the Domains; we also have magic, although used rarely. A welcome refreshment to the fantasy formula is the way how Pamela Freeman handles prophecies - instead of using a trope of an old, doom impeding prophecy that would (pre)determine the plot, there are just usual mundane prophecies that people are very familiar with, since they can get them from the stonecasters, who are able to read the fate of others. This is the point, where I noticed the first difference and realized that this book is not just another example of new wave fantasy, but has merits on its own.
-
The first thing I've noticed about "Blood Ties" is that each chapter tells a story of a different POV. It's a well-versed and familiar pattern by now, but what counts is that Freeman succeeds in not changing character perspectives at a wrong time -- we all know the feeling when an interesting POV's story is abruptly cut off just to be replaced by a duller POV -- I guess this is partly due to the fact that I found most of the characters interesting enough, plus, there are only three main protagonists - Saker, an enchanter (who appears rarely and his chapters are relatively short), Bramble, a village girl, who has the ability to tame even the wildest horses, and Ash, a safeguarder by proffesion. Unfortunately, there are still some nasty cliffhangers present in the book, but nothing that would make you fuss over too much or even resent the author. What I really liked is the small twist to a classical POV structure - in select few chapters, a couple of minor characters convey their stories, which usually reveal information relevant to the main story arc.
-
The plot, as mentioned before, is unashamedly straight-forward and very typical - travelling, surviving and stuff like that, but the lack of young-apprentice-turns-hero prophecy felt like a balm to my eyes. Freeman creates a world where asking about your fate is almost like going out for a beer and accepting the answer you get is the most logical thing to do. It makes the whole thing a lot more convincing - "why me? I'm just a simple farm boy!" is a classic answer when a hero-to-be hears the news/rumors that he is supposed to be The Chosen One; but when he starts slaying beasts/foes with one hand, gathers followers with the other and in between uses his superior wits to achieve the unachievable - then you are safe to say that the suspension of disbelief is heavily strained. But in "Blood Ties", the characters rarely complain about their fate (and even when they do, they do it half-heartedly), not to mention that they don't need to repeat how ordinary and unsuited for the task they really are - by that point in the story this will already be crystal clear to the reader.
-
The thing that bothered me the most is character development, which is a bit unsatisfactory at times. You observe the main protagonists learning this and that, travelling to and fro, but their emotional and personal growth seems somewhat erratic or even illogical at times. [warning - minor spoilers ahead] For example, Ash has strong feelings for Doronit - he adores and lusts after her badly (he is more than partial where she is involved); so it was hard for me to believe, that at a certain point of the story he suddenly realizes -- without any proper explanation -- how she deceived and took advantage of him. Seeing through her wicked ways right at a crucial moment, he stands up against her and acts against her orders. Besides, even though he treated Martine as his friend, he barely knew her at that time, and was even a bit suspicious of her. Or, if we look at Bramble - she masters the skill of treating and training the horses, but isn't able to judge her faithful roan unfit to enter the chase? [end of spoilers]
-
And then there is Saker, who shows no personal growth at all, he just keeps doing things he does - partly for reasons of his own, but mostly to please his deceased father. Family matters permeate "Blood Ties" (I guess that's what gave the novel its name :) - relationships, between spouses, between parents and their (fostered) children, and between siblings present a discernible thread in the book. The main theme I observed in the novel is a wish to belong - to be a part of something, to be loved by someone and to have family/home to return to. This is rather unusual for a book of the fantasy genre, where theme(s) of heroism, loyalty, despair and so forth are usually in the fore. Here, an important part of the story is built on family bonds - ghosts of the dead are everywhere, returning to the world of living for revenge, love or simply to repay a debt, but only a few gifted people can actually communicate with them.
-
All things considered, this novel is good, the world-building is subtle and efficient, and the plot -- classical in its essence -- has a couple of innovative elements. If you enjoy a light and fast-paced read in the vein of "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker" (and some of the other books I mentioned at the beginning), you'll certainly enjoy this one as well. "Blood Ties" is an easygoing and entertaining book that never fails to be interesting. I can't wait to read the sequel.
-
-
-
(3 Evil Fruitcakes and a half!)
-
-
-
-
-
~ Trin ~

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

(Not So) Lazy Linkage

-

While we've been really lazy for the last couple of weeks (posting-wise), that doesn't mean that our friends and colleagues from around the blogosphere took the same liberty. There is a lot of interesting stuff going on in the realms of speculative fiction, so I decided not to direct you towards everything that would otherwise deserve your attention; but I'll cull the selection down to the things that piqued-my-interest the most:
-
Fantasy Book Critic reviewed Greg Keyes' short story collection “Hounds of Ash: and other Tales of Fool Wolf” (released on April 3, 2008, in US). Greg Keyes is renown for his Kingdom of Thorne and Bone series, that are often compared to GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire in style and setting. “Hounds of Ash…” sounds like a very promising collection of old-school sword & sorcery adventures reminiscent of R.E. Howard’s “Conan the Barbarian” and Moorcock’s “Elric of Melniboné”. But what really got me interested in the book is the beautiful cover art by Julie Dillon (gallery). I think I found a new Eye Candy Cover (pt.VI)...
-

-
If this was a competition than the second place would go to Liz Williams’ new Inspector Chen novel – “The Shadow Pavilion”. The art was contributed by Jon Foster (gallery)
-

-
Neal Stephenson’s new book, “Anathem”, is coming out in September. Check out A Dribble of Ink for more info.
-
If you are a Malazan fan (there are few who aren’t) then the new Malazan artwork from the Subterranean Press “Gardens of the Moon” limited edition might interest you. Pat from Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist also reviewed the forthcoming “Return of the Crimson Guard” by Ian C. Esslemont, his sophomore effort in the Epic (yes, epic with a capital E) Malazan universe. While browsing the net I also stumbled upon Tattersail’s DeviantArt gallery, where there are some nifty illustrations portraying the characters and the events from the Malazan world exhibited. And while Tattersail’s art is not always the most professional, I believe that her interpretations and choice of themes are quite distinct and original (example: Lady Envy and the Sheguleh).
-
Adam from The Wertzone reviewed one of my all-time favorites – “Hyperion” by Dan Simmons. Fantastic book.
-
Sara from Jumpdrives & Cantrips got back from her short “hiatus” with some serious style and served us with another great review. She was dissecting a legend worthy of its name – Robert A. Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers”.
-
Speculative Horizons posted a review of “The Red Wolf Conspiracy” that walks pretty much the same lane as Blindman’s assessment of one of this year’s fallen angels.
-
Are you interested in free books?
  • Cory Doctorow’s excellent YA sf novel “Little Brother(via Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist)
  • The sequel trilogy -- collected in the omnibus entitled "Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company" -- to one of the best fantasy books I’ve had the privilege to read…"Chronicles of The Black Company" (review) (via Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review)
  • The Book Swede is giving away ARC of “Bloodheir” by Brian Ruckley (enter the competition), whose debut, "Winterbirth", was lauded as one of the best fantasy books in the last couple of years. You can read Trin’s review of “Winterbirth” here and John’s review of the sequel, "Blood Heir", on his blogGrasping the Wind. (via The Book Swede & His Blog)
  • Win a set of Jay Lake's "Mainspring" & "Escapement" (via Fantasy Book Critic)
---SF Reviews.net on "Mainspring":
"Mainspring is a grand and glorious adventure, an epic journey of imagination the likes of which I haven't often seen..." (more)

Paul Kearney is an excellent (fantasy) writer, but sadly overlooked by the wider audience and vastly oversold by the likes of Gail Z Martin, Trudi Canavan, Karen Miller and other, in my opinion, less deserving writers. His latest book, “The Ten Thousand” -- loosely based on the Greek legend of “Ten Thousand” mercenary soldiers, hired by the Persian prince to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother -- is being released early in September by Solaris Books. I’m doing my best to lay my hands on an advanced reading copy...so you can expect a review of the book in the (near) future. To sate your curiosity until then, read an article on Kearney at Speculative Horizons.
-
Rob (Rob’s Blog o’ Stuff) really enjoyed T.A. Pratt’s “Blood Engines”, a novel he categorizes as Supernatural Fantasy / Modern Day Sorcerer.
-
And while I'm mentioning the “supernatural” side of the fantasy genre, you can also take a peek at Tia’s interview with Jennifer Rardin, author of the popular Jaz Parks series, back at Fantasy Debut blog.
-
If you are more deeply interested in the genre machinations you should check out SFSignal’s latest Mind Meld article; the title is self explanatory – Which Medium is Driving Science Fiction…Books of Film/TV? The Question is tackled by many prominent names in the science fiction genre (John Scalzi, Joe R. Lansdale, Lucius Shepard, Mike Resnick etc.). SFSignal also has a nice and all-encompassing review of 2008 Hugo award short fiction nominees availabe here.
-
Last but not least, Larry (OF Blog of the Fallen) kick-started a heated debate on ASoIaF forum, questioning the premise that “the latest is also the greatest” - talking about debut efforts and (the veracity of) hype that builds around new authors – link. Larry also pointed out to me a brand new YA fantasy author that I’m sure to be keeping an eye on – D.M. Cornish. I implore you to read Larry’s thoughts on Colonialism, Hegemony, and Fantasy as well.

Joe Sherry from Adventures in Reading gives you an extra reason not to dismiss YA fiction. If you think that you are too mature to read YA then you need to check out "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld.
-
~~~
-
Lazy Linkage? I don't think so :)
-
-
~ Thrinidir ~

Friday, May 23, 2008

R.I.P Robert Asprin

-
Robert Asprin, writer of humorous science fiction and fantasy, best known for his legendary "MythAdventures", has sadly passed away yesterday, on May 22, 2008.
-
~~~
---Robert Asprin (1946-2008)

On May 22, 2008, Bob passed away quietly in his home in New Orleans, LA. He had been in good spirits and working on several new projects, and was set to be the Guest of Honor at a major science fiction convention that very weekend. He is survived by his mother, his sister, his daughter and his son, and his cat, Princess, not to mention countless friends and fans and numerous legendary fictional characters.

He will be greatly missed.-----(via MythAdventures.net)
~~~
-
Robert Asprin's last written novel, "Dragons Wild" -- which was meant as a beginning to a brand new series -- was released just one month ago, on April 1, 2008. I always believed that reading an author's work is the most appropriate way of saying goodbye to him - it beats posting (fake) condolences on the internet message boards any time... So, if you are not already familiar with Asprin's work, you can start with his latest book (reviews: Fantasy & Sci-fi Lovin' Book Reviews and Darque Reviews; buy: Amazon.uk, Amazon.com) or alternatively, with the much acclaimed "MythAdventures" (18 novels; the earlier books are supposedly much better than the later ones).
-
-
~ Thrinidir ~

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Ted Chiang - The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate (Novelette Review)

-


"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" (Amazon: UK, USA; free eBook)
by Ted Chiang (Wikipedia)
Format: Hardcover, 62 pages
Publisher: Subterranean Press
-
I’ve never been much of a fan of short literary forms -- I’ve always favored big sprawling epics -- but this changed in the last couple of months. As the latest trend, novels tend to be overblown, lacking in focus and good editing; but the lesser the page count (novellas, novelettes and especially short stories) the greater the focus, the more profound the idea and the more well-versed the writing has to be to make an impact on the reader. Ted Chiang is a well renowned writer – he won three Nebulas, one Hugo and countless nominations for best short story or novelette of the year, prior to writing The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate (TMatAG) which won him another Nebula Award for Best Novelette (2007) and a Hugo nomination (the recipients of the award will be proclaimed at Worldcon late in the summer). It is beyond question that Ted Chiang writes quality fiction and that TMatAG is another fine effort on his part, but did the novelette suit my peculiar tastes? In short and without exaggeration – yes, it was quite a savory dish.
-
~~~
-
Plot Summary (Wikipedia)
---All the while I thought on the truth of Bashaarat's words: past and future are the same, and we cannot change either, only know them more fully. My journey to the past had changed nothing, but what I had learned had changed everything, and I understood that it could not have been otherwise. If our lives are tales that Allah tells, then we are the audience as well as the players, and it is by living these tales that we receive their lessons.
-
~~~
-
The story takes place in the milieu of the Near East and this helps tremendously with the creation of sense of wonder and fantastical, since this setting is not nearly as (ab)used, demythologized and banalized as the medieval European setting. The method of storytelling is 'borrowed' from the fabled "One Thousand and One Nights", where a fictional narrator tells individual stories that are interconnected by a frame narrative of the wider setting (where, why, how and to whom is the narrator telling the story). Ted Chiang does this with much skill so that the frame narrative both contextualizes and enriches the individual tales told by the Merchant as well as the Alchemist. The stories themselves caution, explain and teach prudence to those who would pass through the Alchemist’s Gate and go forwards or backwards in time to with intention to intervene.
-
Chiang’s writing is clear and lucid - almost to the point of being pedagogic, but I rather think that the words in TMatAG are only meant to advise caution, wisdom and (self)reflection.
-
The book is obviously not focused on characterization, but on plot - the story meanders towards the conclusion of the protagonist’s own story and to his final words of what he has learned (or at least thought he did). And while there are no hardboiled action scenes the story still turns out eventful and rich with ethos of the world it is set in. I admit that I was a bit unhappy with the Merchant’s own story (it somehow felt lackluster compared to the stories told by the Alchemist), but the last few paragraphs that caption his experience in a candid and heartfelt manner manage to dispel the drag of the last few pages.
---"All the while I thought on the truth of Bashaarat's words: past and future are the same, and we cannot change either, only know them more fully. My journey to the past had changed nothing, but what I had learned had changed everything, and I understood that it could not have been otherwise. If our lives are tales that Allah tells, then we are the audience as well as the players, and it is by living these tales that we receive their lessons."---(pg.62)
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate is available (also) for free at Free Speculative Fiction Online with some of his other works. This is a truly evoking and virtuous story that I would gladly read to my children, if I had any.
-
-
-
(3,5 out of five Evil Fruitcakes...for the uninitiated)
-
-
-
Some of the other reviews are available at Strange Horizons, SF Site, Neth Space and Adventure's in Reading.
-
-
~ Thrinidir ~

Saturday, May 17, 2008

[title under construction]

-
We've all been pretty busy the last couple of days - I'm at least pretending to be reading Bonehunters by Steven Erikson (it's a great book, but demands a lot of attention - just like a spoiled child in a way), Trin had some personal stuff going on, BlindMan is trying hard to put his students through history class without failing (in any great numbers at least) and Madwand is doing what he...I have no idea what he's doing to be honest (fiddling with World of Warcraft I suspect :). But I've stayed in touch with the rest of the blogosphere and I've found a lot of interesting things going on...

~~~

I've stumbled upon Elena's blog Austin's Tales quite accidentally, but I really liked her witty and self assured (a bit egocentric too) blog description/introduction so I'm posting it as "Quote of the day" (week? month?). Here goes:
"I am a twenty-something with a motivation deficiency and a tendency to meander around a while before getting to the point. I have a high tolerance for alcohol and a low tolerance for stupidity. My only real ambition is to become a genius. That is, to be considered to have a "degree of mental superiority that enables its possessor to live acceptably upon his admirers, and without blame be unbrokenly drunk." The auspice under which I aspire to such heights of glory is writing fantasy/sci-fi novels. And, I suppose, convincing people to pay to read them. Hence the living acceptably upon my admirers. This blog is a chronicle of my struggles with artistic endeavors of both the short and the long variety, and also--more so?--the random interesting tidbits that catch the attention of a girl with an NQ (nerd quotient) of 180. So sit back, pop a cold-coldie or a Caucasion, or whatever your beverage of preference may be, and prepare to have your mind blown in the most elegant and only occasionally sexual of ways..."
Eye Candy Cover? Yes, I found another great one - pt.V, if anyone keeps count...I've bought John Scalzi's much lauded Old Man's War (Goodreads) a couple of weeks ago and while I still haven't got around to reading it, I found a beautiful cover of the book's 2007 hardcover edition by Subterranean Press >

Other interesting stuff I've found "littering" the blogosphere...

James at Speculative Horizons wrote an excellent article debating why you should read George R.R. Martin and while I think that one should be living on the Moon for the past couple of years (a decade or so at least) for not having at least tried to read any of the Martin's works, but I still believe that James' homage to the author is well worth reading! And because I'm tackling the sixth Malazan novel at the moment, I was thrilled to read his review of Night of Knives, the debut effort by Ian C. Esslemont, the co-creator of the Malazan universe. His second book - Return of the Crimson Guard, is scheduled for a release on 14.August in the UK as a hardcover and on the 23.September in the US market as a paperback.

Adventures in Reading reviewed A World Too Near by Kay Kenyon, book two of The Entire And The Rose, one of this year's sf highlights. He also pointed out to me a short story by Elizabeth Bear - Your Collar, with one of the most intriguing premises in my experience:
"A minotaur is freed from the labyrinth at Crete. This is not a beast, but a thinking creature which honors his commitments though Asterion cannot speak. Asterion is brought to England, to a Queen, and from that moment, knowing the legends of minotaurs, we (as readers) expect the story to go in one of two directions. Elizabeth Bear chooses another path. “Your Collar” is one of the best of all of Bear’s short fiction. The story is thoughtful, moving, intelligent, and surprising." (via Adventure's in Reading)
Another title that piqued my interest lately is Stephen Hunt's sophomore effort - The Kingdom Beyond The Waves, which is fabled for its vivid world-building with a classic Victorian/steampunk milieu. You can read great reviews by Robert (Fantasy Book Critic) and Liviu (Future and Past). They seem to have collaborated on another interesting title - House of Suns by Alastair Reynold; here is Robert's review...and on to Liviu's review here.

But the book that I'm most interested in hearing more about (and reading it) is Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. It garnered a few stellar reviews by some of the most renowned sites: SFSignal (5 star review), Rob from SFFWorld has been talking world about the book as was Robert from Fantasy Book Critic...and what is most important about this title is - that it is absolutely FREE. Go, download!

Since Little Brother is technically a YA title, maybe you are interested in some other "Young Adult SF/F Books That Adults Will Like, Too". (via SFSignal)

Audrey Sofa from Fantasy Magazine wrote an article about why she hates STEAMPUNK. Here's an excerpt:
Congratulations. You’re part of the next big thing. Take a taste of that, savor it, lick it and suck it down and swallow it. Because, in a couple of figurative seconds, it’s going to be gone. And the taste that follows is going to be bitter.
CNN interviewed the grand-master of science fiction - Iain M Banks. (via Locus Online)

Adam from The Wertzone wrote two great reviews lately - the first review is about Hyperion, that I deem as one of the greatest sf books ever written, and the second one talks about Paul Kearney's This Forsaken Earth, book two of the Sea Beggars.

Larry from OF Blog of The Fallen wrote a review about Scott Bakker's forthcoming technothriller novel Neuropath in his own special way.

~~~

There is more, but I had to cull the selection a bit. I hope you enjoy the links.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Peadar Ó Guilín - The Inferior (Book Review)

-

----------
"The Inferior" (Amazon: UK, USA)
by Peadar Ó Guilín
Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
Publisher: David Fickling Books

-
---Stopmouth is a young and resourceful hunter of the tribe of men. It is a harsh and competitive world where a wide variety of lethal and highly intelligent beast-like creatures abide. Since there seems to be no traditional sources of food, the law of survival culls down to the essentials – Eat or Be Eaten. But Stopmouth soon realizes that the source of the threat is not necessarily limited to the outside world and when one of the mysterious Globes that traverse the Roof (sky) happens to crash into the Tribe's Centre Square, and an exotic woman rises from the wreckage, a new opportunity and a yet untrodden destiny open up for our young hunter...
-
~~~
-
The Inferior is a debut effort by an Irishman Peadar Ó Guilin. The novel is a beginning of the sf/fantasy trilogy that is marketed under a young-adult tag; and while one might question the wisdom of this marketing decision, since one of the main issues addressed by this novel touches upon our (moral) right to consume flesh -- especially if it comes from hunting intelligent and self-aware species that are akin to human beings in many ways -- but despite the fact that it does so in a pretty straightforward manner, the author employs a 'user-friendly' and inoffensive style that eschews overtly explicit descriptions of violence, sex and other questionable contents with relative ease. But don't get me wrong, if Ó Guilín chose not to do gritty, that doesn't mean that he pampers his readers – he raises a few important questions and while he doesn't serve us the answers on a silver platter, he still implores his readers to think about them on their own time without bogging the narrative with excessive introspection.
-
The prose is pretty straightforward, which is most evident from the names that the author chose for his characters (Stopmouth, Rockface, Mossheart, Wallbreaker), the beasts (Flyers, Diggers, Hoppers, Armourbacks) and the natural phenomena (Manways, Wetlanes, the Roof, Globes). The names of the beasts and their primordial physique resonate with a palpable pulpish feel which I really liked. The first impression of the world I got was that it's very small, crammed, artificial and that its shaping preceded its current inhabitants – as it turned out, I wasn't far off the mark, and it was quite intentional on the author's part. The portrayal of the tribal society was simplistic and a bit too naive with regard to certain facets, but it was nevertheless effective and very vivid.
-
The world-building occurs through the events and the dialogue – Ó Guilin really succeeds to bring the world to life with 'minimal' efforts. The nature of the author's approach is such that he never lingers indefinitely on feelings and thoughts of the characters – they tend to show rather than tell. The characterization might feel a bit rough around the edges at times and somewhat lacking in finer nuances, but it still manages to impress, regardless of its relative simplicity. I believe that the author's charisma shines most brightly through the characters such as Stopmouth (obviously!), Indrani and Rockface. This is a perfectly decent survival story - brimming with optimism, courage and wonder, and balanced by the right amount of the romantic and the mysterious.
-
Another thing that is going really strong for The Inferior is the (clandestine) inclusion of the sf elements (Globes in the sky, 'Talker' - alien object that allows communication between the incompatible races of beasts and men, etc.), while it still manages to be read as a straightforward fantasy story. Without giving too much away, I concur with the blurb on the cover that familiarizes some of the ideas from this book with those from the movie The Truman Show.
-
Peadar Ó Guilín has a knack for making likable characters. Stopmouth is presented as an intelligent, brave and thoughtful, if a bit naive young man. The portrayal of relationships that Stopmouth cultivates with his brother, with »the woman that has fallen from the sky« and with Rockface, presents the biggest strength of the novel - along with the characterization per se. I especially enjoyed Stopmouth’s ambivalent and precarious friendship with his brother Wallbreaker. The gradual blossoming of feelings between Indrani and Stopmouth was done with great care and tact, as was the seemingly incompatible friendship between the cautious Stopmouth and the reckless Rockface that evolved into something deeper along the way. The way how Wallbreaker was portrayed as an ambivalent person really intrigued me and I couldn't decide if he was either good or bad. While I felt that not all of the changes of Wallbreaker's personality were sufficiently explained and some of the choices he made were a bit extreme as well, but I would still love to see him as a POV (maybe in one of the sequels?). I also regretted the fact that he makes the last appearance somewhere around the middle of the novel – that is one of the reasons why the book lost some of its appeal for me in the second half despite the fact that it loses none of its steam. The concluding chapters felt a bit rushed in my opinion - I would have preferred, if the author had chosen to slow down the action for a while, so he would have had more room for character development and world-building.
-
There are also some other minor discrepancies and loose plot threads: (1)Why is the extinction of the Hairbeasts not followed by repopulation with another beast-race? (2)Why are the Diggers so omnipotent in relation to other races? (3)The author goes explaining at length how impossible the communication between various beast-folk (including humanity) is, due to the fact that they have completely incompatible minds; but the inhabitants of this makeshift world still somehow succeed in forming alliances. But all this 'problems' don't detract from the reading experience and, besides, I hold high hopes that all the loose-ends will be tied up neatly in the forthcoming sequels. There is also some hinting at a strife between the spiritual and the atheist fraction (that goes on behind the screens) of which we will surely hear more later on.
-
As a YA title I would 'judge' this novel as a highly entertaining read that even manages to make you question humanity's complacency with killing other conscious beings and eating their meat; but I have to admit that I missed a bit of political incorrectness and/or outright subversive elements – the wholesome impression I got was a bit mellow, but we can’t have it all, or can we?
-
Regardless of the gripes I had with The Inferior it is still a fabulous read and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel. I know that what I’m about to say is stretching it a bit, but I really found some general similarities between The Inferior and the works of Paul Kearney or even David Gemmell. You can figure out how highly I value Peadar Ó Guilín’s debut effort by this comparison alone.
-
-
-
Some of the other reiviews of The Inferior are available at: The Wertzone, The Book Swede & His Blog, Graeme's Fantasy Book Review, A Slight Apocalypse and SFFWorld
-
-
-
~ Thrinidir ~

Monday, May 12, 2008

[meme] What Is Your Battlecry?

Here's my (artificially generated) Battlecry!! ...feel free to post yours as well :)

What Is Your Battle Cry?

Yea, verily: Who is that, skulking across the tundra! It is Thrinidir, hands clutching buzzsaw hand extensions! He bellows gutterally:

"I'm going to fuck you until war is peace, then bake cookies!!"

Find out!
Enter username:
Are you a girl, or a guy ?

created by beatings : powered by monkeys



via: The Antick Musings...

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Richard Matheson - I Am Legend (Book Review)

-

"I Am Legend" (Amazon: UK, USA)
by Richard Matheson (Wikipedia)
Format: Paperback, 160 pages
Publisher: Gollancz

-
Before I get on with the review let me caution you that there are a few major spoilers included - I just couldn’t write a coherent review without them; so if you haven’t read the book yet or are strictly against knowing in advance some of the important issues that the book raises, you should consider not reading further.
-
I bought this book based on many recommendations, most of them coming from trusted sources, and I’m glad to say that they’ve once more hit the spot. I bought I Am Legend with a bunch of other books last month, when I was visiting Croatia for one of their biggest SF conventions – SFeraKon (the guest of honor was no other than Richard Morgan). I was determined to be thrifty, but when I decided that I needed every other book on sale at the convention…then the spending spree was inevitable (In my defense, this time around I went for “pure” quality…I bought several titles from SF Masterworks series). My to-read-pile is enormous and since I don’t have an exact schedule worked out I never know which book I’ll read next. I picked up I Am Legend on a pure whim. What I heard about the book before I bought it is that it’s good and while I really wanted to see the movie (starring Will Smith) I decided against it…at least until I read the book first.
-
I have to agree with all the praise and really cannot question its inclusion in the fabulous SF Masterworks series – it’s absolutely stunning. I was actually surprised when I found out that it was written way back in 1954 because it could as easily be conceived by any of the current writers – any talented writer at any rate. Matheson set the story in the late seventies (so it counts as a near future post-apocalypse story; at least by that era’s standards). One of the rare clues that give away the fact that the book was written more than five decades ago is the lack of modern technology (computers, mobile phones,…), but while the lack of mobile phones is understandable -- the last man on earth really has no need for them – a microwave and a few other modern gadgets would come in quite handy if he had them at disposal. The depiction of vampires is quite outdated (naïve) as well, especially for post-Interview With the Vampire-era, where Buffy the Vampire Slayer inspired series and urban fantasy literature thrives. But I guess it could easily reflect the view of a modern person that never cared about any horror movies and vampire series.
-
The post-apocalyptic urban setting devoid of life and the main protagonist -- a middle-aged American, practical and witty by nature – remind me heavily of Stephen King’s The Stand and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I suppose it’s one of the main reasons why this novel is called an ageless classic :). Besides, regardless of the year in which the book was conceived it takes the events on a whole new level.
-
When “post-apocalypse” is mentioned, one inadvertently envisions a bleak and ravaged setting that usually entails the following elements: (1) a small number of survivors coping with chaos and imminent extinction and (2) those same survivors striving to reestablish some sort of order (civilization). In I Am Legend Matheson chose a bit different approach – the society is being actively rebuilt all right, but not by humanity as we know it. The harbinger of the apocalypse in this case is a bacterium that causes people to transform into vampires, and since nobody actually dies from the infection (or rather – they don’t stop living), there is plenty of the so called “survivors” that can rebuild the civilization as they see fit. The apocalypse in this case does not devastate, but trans-morphs – it presents a switch between two modes-of-being that brings the extinction of one race and the birth of another. Hence the title of the book – as the vampire society comes to be, so the human society drifts into myth and becomes a legend almost overnight.
-
The main protagonist, Mr.Neville, presents a glitch in this new system, a true anachronism, but otherwise a likable and sympathetic fellow (from the readers perspective that is) – a perfectly ordinary person, not the brightest or the strongest, but definitely one of the most stubborn and resilient, a true survivor (the reason behind why he hasn’t changed is a mere coincidence). He adapts, studies books learns the hard way how to improve his chances of survival against the vampire society. In time he comes to accept the fact that they are not as brainless and evil as he believed them to be – they are as intelligent race of individuals as we are – or, in this case, were. It’s just as hard as with many brilliant works of fiction that manage to touch you in a profound and emotional way, to be one hundred percent objective and analytic – you are prone to let yourself go and just enjoy the ride. This is exactly why this book earned its place with the rest of the SF Masterworks. Strongly recommended and something that fans of post-apocalyptic fiction need to read, if they want to call themselves that.
-
-
(you should bear in mind that this is a very subjective grade – even more so than usual, and is based more on my reading experience than any objective analysis I could muster up)
-
-
-
-
~ Trin ~

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Konfuzija 2008 ...or What really happened at The Last Supper

(click on the image for larger picture)
-
---Thrinidir: *CHOMP*
---Trin: "Hey, I wanted to eat that last slice of pizza." *sad face* "Gimme back, I need it so I'll be able to do a proper barrel-roll."
---Thrinidir: "Well ... I guess I can spare the scraps. Your plea really touched me. Take this and make your dream come true, but don't forget your friends when you barrel-roll down the street."
---Trin: "Thank you kind master. Cthulhu blessed thee! May all your children be green and betentacled." …thinking to herself “Smug bastard! He’ll pay for his insolence. His tentacles are done-for when the night falls. This I swear!”
-
---BlindMan: "Don't you dare touch that pizza! All your pizza are belong to me!"
---Madwand: "What the hell, dude!?!? You've barely touched your own! Don't you know that it will get cold if you don't eat it soon? And then the bad bad germs will come and fester on it. And then your tummy will hurt. You don't want that, do you?"
---BlindMan: *baffled* "No. No, I don't."
---Madwand: "You know what. I could help you with that - so the pizza won't get cold and germinated...you could share a slice you know; but I'd eat it only because I want to help you, so you won't get sick and all! You know that, right?"
---Blindman:"Yes Moth...ermmm...Yes...I mean no, I don't want that Madwand." *grumbles* "All your pizza are belong to both of us I guess." *shares a slice* ...after a while he realizes that he's been doped into sharing his food and chomps Madwand's head off.
-
***
-
The picture was taken at Slovenia's (one and only) sf&f convention - Konfuzija. This is only the second time that the convention took place and while the program was minimal and the contents more or less improvised it was still heaps of fun. The event took place in a junior school at the seaside. The booze was cheap, the lodging was free of charge (we slept in classrooms), the weather served us well and a bunch of old fiends and interesting people were present - what more could one wish for? ...I forgot about the books, but we had those too so it's o.k. :) If you haven't figured out who we are from the picture & the ragtag scenario above, then click HERE to see *the spoiler photo*.
-
-

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Eye Candy Covers pt.V

(Todd Lockwood's cover illustration for R.A. Salvatore's "Sojourn" - click on the image for bigger picture)
-
Among this month's new releases a cover of a certain Forgotten Realms title really caught my eye. I'm talking about Richard Baker's "Swordmage", book one of the Blades of the Moonsea. Wizards of the Coast has come a long way cover-wise throughout the years they’ve been publishing Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance and recently Eberron media tie-in novels - from the generic, often pulpish cover art (example 1, example 2) of the early years, artists such as Raymond Swanland (I urge you to check out the gallery on his home page; his art is completely out-of-this-world) and Todd Lockwood now produce some of the most exquisite cover illustrations of the fantasy genre. Here are just a few examples, you can goggle away at the rest of their cover illustrations here (Swanland) and here (Lockwood).
-
~ ~ ~
-
-
(the newest Forgotten Realms novel)
-
----
-(all cover art by Raymond Swanland)
-
-

Robert V.S. Redick - The Red Wolf Conspiracy (Book Review)

-

"The Red Wolf Conspiracy" (Amazon: UK, USA)
by Robert V.S. Redick
Format: Paperback, 480 pages
Publisher:
Gollancz
-
---Pazel Pathkendle is a tarboy, an apprentice sailor of a kind, but of course he was not born a sailor. When Ormali, his native city-state was Invaded (or Rescued, as the winners call it) by the empire of Arqual, he barely escaped slavery with indirect help of doctor Chadfallow. If there is a motive, other than perhaps love for his mother, why the mysterious doctor helps Pazel, guiding him from ship to ship, captain to captain...the boy cannot figure it out. Endowed with a gift/curse that his mother, a witch, cast upon him, he instantly learns any language he hears, but the gift takes a toll resulting in episodes during which he can not speak any comprehensible language at all.
-
---Finally, Pazel's way leads him on board I.M.S. Chathrand – the last of the great ships of old built by shipbuilders and magicians that used masteries now lost forever. Chathrand is officially on a mission of peace, bringing to the Arqual's greatest enemy, the Mzithrin Pentarchy, an ambassador with his consort and his daughter, tomboyish Thasha. She is meant to be a "treaty bride", a token of peace. But that mission is not the only one that the Emperor has entrusted upon the ship and its passengers. Darker conspiracies, some official and some private, mark the voyage upon the magnificent ship. But even the mighty Emperor and his minions are not aware of all the plots and plans going on the ship...
-
***
-
The Red Wolf Conspiracy is the first book of the planed trilogy titled The Chathrand Voyage. The first impression I got when I started to read the book was that Robert V.S. Redick sure does it by the numbers. We have our "farm boy" with a destiny and ability of some kind, as well as a beautiful and active maid between which love is destined to blossom. We also have several (I've counted at least three) wise mentors and, again no surprise here, one of them turns out to be less benevolent as we were led to believe at the beginning. Then we have our "magical artefact of great power" (i.e. Nilstone) and of course the threat that "the end of the world as we know it is near, if we don't…". So far so good I suppose. It's a recipe that was used for numerous times before. Let us just look at the work of David (and Liegh) Eddings. It's formulaic, true, and lately one does get the feeling that they believe their readers daft, but The Belgariad and The Redemption of Althalus are a decent enough read.
-
So what makes The Red Wolf Conspiracy a book in its own right? For one thing, I find the world that Redick created simply beautiful. This is a world of ships, big and small, and creatures alike – from miniature ixchel to huge augrongs, the mysterious glowing childsnatching Flikkerman and the Muths, the cruel merefolks that just want to survive. The world's politics and history are intriguing too and some of the characters are flawed to perfection (for instance, captain Rose with his letter writing…)
-
The world-building is undoubtedly Redick's forte, but unfortunately the plot is not so original. Teenagers saving the world spiel is seen all too often, but O.K., I mean, it's his first book, right?
-
But then, this the book ends! Oh lord! "And then there were seven!" was everything I could think of. The ending was such a cliché that it was almost painful to read through. Seven "chosen ones" to stop the seemingly overpowering evil. Each bearing the mark and the burden. Yawn! Redick is intent on writing at least a trilogy set in this world, so please, somebody, make him stop writing such ... arghhhh!
-
Truth be told, it was my intention to give this book three solid Fruitcakes, since it's for the better part a solid book true to its genre, but after reading the last chapter I even considered to give the book none. Well, it's been a couple of days since then and I've had some time to cool my tempers - so let us pronounce the judgment (pompous enough for you all?):
  • great worldbulding
  • decent storyline
  • a bit too formulaic
  • the ending is utter crap
...all of that takes the book right into the middle:
-
-
-
-
-
Of course, if you imagine seven people wearing a scar that bears a perfect image of "a red wolf with one of his paws raised" and doing his thing in the petunias the ending becomes quite hilarious.
-
-
~ BlindMan ~

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Stephenie Meyer - Twilight (Book Review)

-

-
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is currently one of the most popular books around here. All of a sudden, every girl who used to rave about Harry Potter (and, in some instances even about the pervy HP fan fiction) and is now a bit older started hyping Twilight. They even call it their 'brand of heroin'. Before now, whenever I talked with my girlfriends, they peppered me with disbelief...
"You haven't read it yet? OMG!".
Not to mention the usual...
"That Edward guy, he's so hot! <3."
So what was I to do but go and buy the damned thing? If nothing else, I got it cheap and it has a really nice cover. (Maybe it's even nice enough for one of Thrinidir's "Eye Candy Covers" articles?)
-
The first thing I noticed when I started reading was that Twilight is not a fantasy book by any means - or at least, not in any conventional way. The plot is as simple, predictable and straightforward as with any of the stories that have a high-school girl which moves to a new town for a central protagonist. Isabella (Bella) has to deal deal with a major change - she moves from a big city (Phoenix, Arizona) to a small rural town (Forks) in the middle of nowhere to live with her father. She has no friends upon arrival and she feels miserable about it - we are all familiar with this narrative setting. However, the book had an exceptionally beautiful prose from the start on, so I kept reading despite the prosaic themes (and without a hint of any 'epic' elements, that I got used to expect when picking up a book labeled as fantasy). That said, Meyer's prose is probably the best feature of Twilight - no matter how implausible, predictable or just plain silly things are, the author still knows how to make them interesting to read about. It is a big and important bonus to the book.
-
If I haven't made it clear enough before - Twilight is a book intended for girls (I'd say teenage girls, but Twilight is well-liked by older and presumably more mature women as well), especially for those who prefer an engaging and a beautifully told story above the quality of its contents. I wouldn't recommend this book for guys and those individuals who don't appreciate romance for what it is and what it can offer. Why?
-
Twilight is almost completely without any discernible plot or action scenes, even the fangirls admit that. What little plot there is it revolves around a typical high-school romance, and the sole fantastical element I could find were the vampires (that's what determines this novel as urban fantasy, right?). Our protagonist is a seventeen-year-old Isabella Swan and she has to deal with the common problems of a teenager, the most prominent are (1)how to fit in and (2)being in love (awakened sexuality and every nuances that come with it). The real catch comes with the latter - Bella is in love with a vampire, the gorgeous Edward, and their problem is how to handle their relationship so not awaken Edward's desire for blood. Otherwise, everything evolves mostly around Bella's feelings and, of course, how incredibly sexy Edward is.
-
Believe it or not, Meyer manages to pull the lackluster story through with flying colors. The plot itself is virtually unexisting and it hurts to think about it, but the ever-popular love theme and a sublime writing style are obviously the things that do the trick here. Nevertheless, this doesn't change the fact that the whole thing is still nothing more than an entertaining goodnight story that bursts with romantic sentiments - but it somehow manages to avoid being completely cheesy and it keeps you turning the pages. Twilight does not do deep revelations or hidden meanings, but it offers a great example of what can be done with abundance of style and a good idea of what to offer to your audience (a dazzling beauty & the beast vampire relationship).
-
I have to admit that I enjoyed the book, but I don't think I'll read the sequels. They only reiterate what has been done here, or so I've heard, and while it was interesting this time, it would probably annoy the hell out of me the second time around. I've had my share of Edward and Isabella; I'll leave the sequels and re-reading to fans and those who have nothing better to read.
-
To sum it all up, I'd recommend this book to girls who enjoy a stylish, hip and easy read that teems with (c)overt sexual tension. It's a very involving book and it hits the exactly right spots of its core audience, but otherwise has no literary merit whatsoever.
-
-
-

-
-
-
-
~ Trin ~

 

blogger templates 3 columns | Make Money Online