Saturday, June 28, 2008

Faith Hunter - Bloodring (Book Review)


"Bloodring" (Amazon: UK, USA)
by Faith Hunter
Format: Paperback, 352 pages
Publisher: Roc Books
(imprint of Penguin Group USA)
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Remember my review of "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer? In short, "Twilight" is a book written with great style but at the same time being completely plotless. While reading "Bloodring", I was instantly reminded of "Twilight" - both books fall pretty much under the same genre (paranormal romance for "Twilight" and urban fantasy for "Bloodring" - as daydream said in one of the comments, these two are like 'twin sisters, the one pink and fluffy, the other hardcore and bad to the bone. But the gene make up is the same.'). Also, both include an unusual young woman as the main protagonist, not to mention that in both cases, this young woman ends up attracted to a young ''man'' (who, in fact, is not a man at all, and not necessarily young, either). "Bloodring" is clearly the better of the two where the plot and the mix of fantasy genre conventions are concerned, but unfortunately, the style of writing falters more often.

If I continue with the comparison - "Bloodring" was written for slightly more mature audience than "Twilight". The heroine here is, though still a young woman, a full grown-up with an extraordinary past and abilities to match it; not to mention that her obsession with a certain 'man' is much more physical than the almost pre-adolescent "Twilight" relationships (in fact, the 'mage-heat' she so often succumbs to slowly starts to annoy the reader at some point, since every odd chapter of the book seems to deal with it). Also, the plot is on a higher level - the reader is faced with a post-apocalyptic Earth ruled by Seraphs, angelic beings who came to Earth to punish humanity for its sins. They are not the only non-human beings inhabiting the Earth; there are also many demons and other devil-spawn haunting the innocents, kylen - offspring of Seraphs and men, and neomages, who are kept in 'havens', for their power could endanger the hegemony of Seraphs. But there is one unlicensed mage living amongst the human - her name is Thorn and she is the above mentioned heroine we follow throughout the book.

The setting is varied and convincing, as is the everyday life Thorn strives to live. The post-apocalyptic era is sometimes presented rather unconvincingly, as if the author had not completely decided how exactly it should look like. There are many unexplained and rather illogical elements to it - for example, there is severe human hatred against unregistered neomages, seemly based on nothing at all, and a somewhat funny balance between available and unavailable goods (no problem with aspirin and Internet, but don't even think about getting some sugar - or a car).

Also, as the end of the book nears, things start to get chaotic, everything's happening very fast - too fast, even - and not many of the events are explained properly. The ending leaves everything open for the next book in the series, "Seraphs", to carry on with the story, and since the overall impression "Bloodring" left was pretty ok, I just might give "Seraphs" a try.
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~ Trin ~

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Movie Trailer)

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"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a 1922 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald (read it here). In short, the story speaks of the life of Benjamin Button who is born with the body of a seventy years old man and how his life unfolds as he ages backwards. The story gets complicated when he falls in love with Daisy, a thirty year old.

The movie will be aired just before Christmas this year, but the trailer is really promising and might just be enough to get your juices flowing until then. The people involved in the making of this movie are enough of a reason to get excited - the cast (Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button and Cate Blanchett as Daisy) and the director (David Flincher; Se7en, Alien 3, Fight Club and the announced Rendezvous With Rama) are hopefully a recipe for a great flick. [IMDB]

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But you should really see the trailer in better quality (link).

Monday, June 23, 2008

In The Limelight - Locus Award Winners

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Winners of this year's Locus Awards were announced on Saturday 21 June 2008 (link). Here is the list of nominees. The winners in their according categories are as follows:
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Science Fiction Novel

---"The Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Michael Chabon (Amazon: US, UK)
Runners up: "Brasyl" (Ian McDonald), "The Accidental Time Machine" (Joe Haldeman), "Halting State" (Charles Stross) and "Spook Country" (William Gibson).

There is something intrinsically unappealing with the title of the book for me, but the reviews I've read were pretty positive; but from what I've heard "Brasyl" was a more suited candidate for the award (Trin finished "Brasyl" a week ago so you can expect a review coming soon). Stross got some mixed reviews, but they mostly agreed that it's not Stross' best book to date, and the Haldeman's and Gibson's new books didn't get nowhere near the public spotlight that was accorded to "Brasyl" and "The Yiddish..." so I guess they weren't really an option. You can read the review of the winning novel at Strange Horizons and/or SF Site.
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Fantasy Novel
"Making Money" by Terry Pratchett (Amazon: US, UK)
Runners up: "Endless Things" (John Crowley), "Pirate Freedom" (Gene Wolfe), Territory (Emma Bull) and Ysabel (Guy Gavriel Kay).
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As with the sf nominees I haven't read a single nominee for best fantasy novel - none of them is even among my to-read pile (with exception of Gene Wolfe and maybe Emma Bull - I've heard terrific things about "Territory") so I'm not really competent to comment on this years fantasy pick, but I don't think "Making Money" counts among Pratchett's best. Reviews of "Making Money"...SF Reviews.net, Graeme's Fantasy Book Review and The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.
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Young Adult Book
---"Un Lun Dun" by China Miéville (Amazon: US, UK)
Runners up: "Extras" (Scott Westerfeld), "The H-Bomb Girl" (Stephen Baxter), "Magic's Child" (Justine Larbalestier) and "Powers" (Ursula K. LeGuin).

Other from the fact that Miéville and LeGuin are both humongously big names in the (adult) genre literature, it probably comes as no surprise that one of them won. "Un Lun Dun" recieved raving reviews all over the 'net (SF Reviews.net, SFFWorld, FantasyBookSpot.com), but you should probably keep your eye on Scott Westerfeld, since he wrote a tremendously successful and quality YA trilogy "Uglies"; John Scalzi wrote about Westerfeld on his blog and labeled him as one of the prime sf writers, who is introducing a whole new generation of readers to sf.
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First Novel
"Heart Shaped-Box" by Joe Hill (Amazon: US, UK)
Runners up: "City of Bones" (Cassandra Clarke), "Flora Segunda" (Ysabeau S. Wilce), "The Name of the Wind" (Patrick Rothfuss) and "One for Sorrow" (Christopher Barzak).

I've heard only good things about Joe Hill's horror novel "Heart Shaped-Box" (reviews: Strange Horizons, SFFWorld, SF Diplomat ), but that the book actually won came as a bit of surprise; "The Name of the Wind", a debut effort from Patrick Rothfuss, was without a doubt the highest bidder for the award, as it is beloved by critics and the public alike (and it has the numbers to back the claim up).
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Novella
"After the Siege" by Cory Doctorow (link to the story at Infinite Matrix)
Runners up: "All Seated on the Ground" (Connie Willis), "Memorare" (Gene Wolfe), "Muse of Fire" (Dan Simmons) and "Stars Seen through Stone" (Lucius Shepard).
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Novelette
"The Witch's Headstone" by Neil Gaiman (available in collection of stories "Wizards:..." on Amazon: US or "Dark Alchemy..." on Amazon: UK and Gaiman's anthology of stories "M is for Magic" on Amazon: US, UK)
Runners up: "Dark Integers" (Greg Egan), "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" Ted Chiang, "Trunk and Disorderly" Charles Stross and "We Never Talk About My Brother" (Peter S. Beagle).

I was pretty impressed with "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang (review), but I can't judge the right or wrong of the winning choice, since I haven't read any of the other nominees.
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Short Story
"A Small Room in Koboldtown" by Michael Swanwick (link to the story in PDF format *I'm not sure if it's still available*)
Runners up: "The Last and Only, or, Mr. Moscowitz Becomes French" (Peter S. Beagle), "Last Contact" (Stephen Baxter), "Tideline" (Elizabeth Bear) and "Who's Afraid of Wolf 359?" (Ken MacLeod).
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Collection
---"The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories" by Connie Willis (Amazon: US, UK)
Runners up: "The Dog Said Bow-Wow" (Michael Swanwick), "The Jack Vance Treasury" (Jack Vance), "Overclocked" (Cory Doctorow) and "Things Will Never Be the Same" (Howard Waldrop).
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Anthology
"The New Space Opera" edited by Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan (Amazon: US, UK)
Runners up: "The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet" (Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant, eds.), "The Coyote Road" (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds.), "The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 2007: Twentieth Annual Collection" (Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant, ed.) and "The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fourth Annual Collection" (Gardner Dozois, ed.).
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Non Fiction
---"Breakfast in the Ruins" by Barry N. Malzberg (Amazon: US, UK)
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Art Book
---"The Arrival" by Shaun Tan (Amazon: US, UK)
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Ellen Datlow (read her lustrous bio here!)
Magazine
F&SF (link)
Publisher
TOR Books (link)
Artist
Charles Vess (Wikipedia)
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(example of Charles Vess' art)
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Thursday, June 19, 2008

John Scalzi - Old Man's War (Book Review)

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"Old Man's War" (Amazon: UK, USA)
by John Scalzi
Format: Paperback, 320 pages
Publisher: TOR Books

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---"Then Maggie turned, faced the planet that would kill her, and like the good professor of Eastern religions that she used to be, she composed jisei, the death poem, in the haiku form.

-----Do not mourn me, friends
-----I fall as a shooting star
-----Into the next life

---She sent it and the last moments of her life to the rest of us, and then she died, hurtling brightly across the Temperance night sky.

---She was my friend. Briefly, she was my lover. She was braver than I ever would have been in the moment of death. And I bet she was a hell of a shooting star."---(pg.163,164)
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My pile of unread books is not getting any smaller, if anything it's growing bigger on a weekly basis, since I like to buy books faster than I can read them. That's o.k. though, because I like a vast array of books to choose from. When I was deciding what to read next, I was consciously looking for a short, entertaining and fast paced SF novel, as opposed to the sprawling fantasy epics I've been reading lately (e.g. "The Bonehunters"); and you know what, "Old Man's War" turned out to be all that and more.
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"Old Man's War" is the Hugo Award nominated debut effort (it lost to "Spin" by Robert Charles Wilson in 2006) from the veteran blogger (Whatever) and the prestigious John W. Campbell Award winning author in the category for Best New Writer in 2006, John Scalzi. The novel garnered much praise and was later serialized/followed by "The Ghost Brigades" in 2006 and "The Last Colony" in 2007, but that is a story for another time...
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The main premise (catch) behind the story of "Old Man's War" is -- as the title already implies -- how to make old people useful again for the society. The story is told through the eyes of John Perry, a 75 year old geezer, who enlists into Colonial Defense Forces for the same reason as many of the 75 year olds do - the prospect of getting young again. The fear of dying is stronger than all the moral and religious objections that one might have had towards army servitude and all that goes with it when young and full of ideals. We then follow his journey towards the training facility, the whole process of "rejuvenation" and all the consequences this corporeal change brings to a couple of thousand people with very alienated relationship towards their bodies; forming of new friendships (the clique of "Old Farts", as they name themselves) and finally John's participation in intergalactic war where the race of men battles myriad of diverse and rapacious alien races for the right of colonization and expansion. What makes all this work on a whole another level is John's personality and his view on events as the they unfold. He is a thoughtful and very likable protagonist with a great sense of humor (subtle and witty, not the all over the place hilarious).
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The conscripts exchange witty banter throughout the novel and this makes for a very refreshing read. Characterization, or rather the main protagonist, is without a doubt the biggest strength of the novel, before all other aspects - such as style, elements of "hard science", plotting or the lackluster worldbuilding. What I found a bit strange is that the the "old" people act, think and feel no different than a 25 year old person would; but I've also heard that people often feel young (and even immature) regardless to their advanced age and a life time of experience, so this minor gripe of mine might not really be a real problem of plausibility. Some of the side characters feel somewhat flat and one-sided though. For example, one of the side characters' most notable trait is his rampant appetite (or at least this is the only thing I've remembered him after) and Scalzi later on "offs" him by having some strange, sentient slime mold jump into his mouth and down his throat, suffocating him.
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The world that Scalzi creates does not awe the reader, but although the worldbuilding doesn't play a major role in the narrative it still serves it well and compliments the plot and characterization, so that it leaves more than enough room for character interplay. Some of the body modifications and enhancements that the soldiers receive are pretty cool - something that every athlete (SmartBloodTM, green skin, HardArmTM) or whiz kid (BrainPalTM - an internal computer, incorporated into your body) would kill for, but it's really nothing that hasn't been done before. The universe is large and dangerous, inhabited by (mostly) belligerent alien races that kill, eat each other and contend for scarce resources and inhabitable living space. This pessimistic world-view and the harshness of the struggle is covered up well with lighter elements, such as John Perry's witty musings and the bantering dialogues between characters. Scalzi actually makes good use of info-dumps (tell, rather than show), but they are low on tech-speech, relevant and unobtrusive to the narrative. He makes this approach work for him and that's what matters the most.
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As I've already mentioned, the dialogue is really effective in its companionable nature and keeps you turning the pages as much as the fast-paced, economical narrative and the likable protagonist. "Old Man's War" is an extremely likable military sf novel; a younger, more playful version of "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman (review), with a more sympathetic hero and ultimately more enjoyable story, but it also has a lesser degree of scientific detail and societal speculation. So while "Old Man's War" offers nothing exceptionally new or mind-blowing to the genre it nonetheless kept me well within the comfort zone and this counts for a lot in my book, since I am not easily entertained for, oh, I don't know...it's been a while now (the old Grumpy syndrome, I know :)). Recommended? Hell yeah.
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If you want a second opinion visit A Dribble of Ink, where Aidan posted his thoughts on the book just a couple of days ago.

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~Thrinidir~

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

So We Got Tagged

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Larry from OF Blog of the Fallen got tagged, copied the fifth sentence from the 123 page from the nearest book to hand, talked something about rum, parrots, eye patches and wenches (link)...and then tagged us in turn (among 4 other bloggers). So guess what follows! :)
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The first book within my reach is Mark J. Ferrari's "The Book of Joby" since I'm going to start reading it now that I've finished "Old Man's War" by John Scalzi (review forthcoming). If I got the rules right than the fifth sentence on page 123 would be:
"Like he'd seen a ghost!" Frank had laughed, suggesting it might be time to get a more effective chamber of commerce.
I'm at a loss here, or it just might be that my imagination is faltering - I got absolutely nothing on ghosts and chamber of commerce, but make of it what you will :)
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---~Thrinidir~
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---They'd better piss or get off the pot.
Since the nearest book was on a bookshelf full of them, I chose the book that first caught my eye. I've already read "Hyperion" and it was a great book - not to mention that the sentence above was one of the funniest descriptions of intentional delaying of the battle I've ever read.
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---~Trin~
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In turn, we tag:

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

(Not So) Lazy Linkage

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It’s been a month since the last "(Not So) Lazy Linkage" article already, so without further ado – the links to all the interesting stuff that has been going on since then.
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1.) Subterranean Press has announced “Songs of the Dying Earth” – the Jack Vance Tribute Anthology.
---"Jack Vance has been a seminal figure in the development of modern fantasy, so much so that it’s nearly impossible to imagine the genre as we know it today existing without him… Today, in order to honor the magnificent career of Jack Vance, one unparalleled in achievement and impact, George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, with the full cooperation of Jack Vance, his family, and his agents, suggest a Jack Vance tribute anthology called Songs of the Dying Earth, to encourage the best of today’s fantasy writers to return to the unique and evocative milieu of The Dying Earth, from which they and so many others have drawn so much inspiration, to create their own brand-new adventures in the world of Jack Vance’s greatest novel."
Some of the more known contributing authors are as follows: Robert Silverberg, Glen Cook, Liz Williams, Elizabeth Moon, Jeff Vandermeer, Neil Gaiman*, Dan Simmons*, Tad Williams*, Lucius Shepard* and many others… [*authors slated to contribute]. But before going all wild and ordering it right away, you should consider the price, the anthology is pretty costly! Read more.
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2.) There have been some misunderstandings regarding the definition of the term hype, what constitutes hype and what does not. As I saw it, the argument was started by two different, even opposing, but both legitimate definitions of the term – the one with the positive connotation (hype as causing extreme excitedness, zeal and stimulation) and the definition with the negative connotation (blatant, sensational, exaggerated and even undeserved promotion). The whole thing started at Pat’s fantasy Hotlist (link), but the fire spread quickly over to OF Blog of the Fallen (link) and Speculative Horizons (link). Even the mighty Joe Abercrombie (link) deemed it a worthy enough topic to convey a few thoughts on it.
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3.) The torrent of triumphant reviews for “The Ten Thousand” - written by the fantasy mastermind Paul Kearney, continues to spread like a plague. I’m very pleased that my fellow reviewers see eye to eye with me where “The Ten Thousand” and Paul Kearney are concerned. A great book and without a doubt one of the candidates for this year’s best fantasy novel award. The Wertzone (link) gave it a five star review, Speculative Horizons (link) gave it a four 'shields' review and Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review (link) considered the book worth nine points out of ten.
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Aidan from A Dribble of Ink conducted a two part interview with Paul Kearney (part one, part 2) and it's nicely complemented with the interview by James’ (link).
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4.) Land ahoy! We have a new joined member to the ranks of speculative fiction bloggers – Speculative Fiction Junkie (link). Best of luck!
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Bonnie Shlakoff asked me for assistance and I agreed to give her a shout out. Bonnie is a fledgling writer who had published a few articles and stories. She started a speculative fiction blog bonnieshlakoff (link) where you can read her stories of the Tumbleweed series.
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5.) Now to the books that piqued my interest. Pat (Pat's Fantasy Hotlist) is the lucky bastard who got to be the first of us to review Steven Erikson's "Toll the Hounds" (link).
excerpt from the review:
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"Though most of the book remains a slow-moving affair, when Toll the Hounds kicks it into gear it delivers on all fronts. Moreover, it sets the stage for what's to come. Still, I have to concede that the ending likely saved this one from being what could have been the weakest volume of the series."
Don't forget the two crispest interviews with Steven Erikson, the first is available at Fantasy Book Critic (link) and the second is situated over at Fantasy Book Spot (link).
excerpt from the interview at FBC:
---Steven: "I don't think it's a secret any more that I've signed with Bantam UK for six more fantasy novels. Two trilogies, in fact. But not one a year – that pace (with novellas thrown in) is wearing me out. I won't get into any details on the books, or whatever stand-alone works I may squeeze in here and there. Not yet. Too early."
John from Grasping for the Wind wrote a great review for what seems like a very intriguing debut effor – “Destroyermen – Into the Strom” by Taylor Anderson (link). Meanwhile, Grasping for the Wind reached an important milestone - 50.000 visitors since John started with the blog a few years ago (link). Congratulations again John, it is well deserved!
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It's no secret that Blindman and I are big fans of Glen Cook (he dwarfs me in both fandom and stature), so I'm happy to link to another site that thinks much of Glen Cook's work; Rob's Blog o' Stuff is "trying to catch up with the Classics" and this time Rob chose to review "A Cruel Wind: A Chronicle of the Dread Empire" (link). Great stuff.
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If you are looking for something new, fresh in approach, absolutely free, but above all something that bespeaks quality and entertainment at the same time, then you should look no further than “Shadow Unit” (link), a full “season” story arc consisting of seven short stories and a full novel, written by a “collective minds” of Bear, Bull, Monette, Shetterly and Downum (most of them well known in the world of genre literature). I’m being intentionally vague, since you should really go and read what Joe Sherry from Adventures in Reading has to say about “Shadow Unit: The Complete First Season” (link).
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Airbender is a western fantasy anime series and while it has nothing to do with books or literature per se you should really check out Adam’s (The Wertzone) review of season one (Book 1: Water) and season two (Book 2: Earth) of “Airbender: The Last Avatar”, if you enjoy anime with a fabulous story. If I quote Adam, then what sets Airbender apart from a big number of the Japanese anime series is that its rarely faltering in focus and pace (i.e. little or no filler episodes!).
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The last but not the least of the reviews I'm linking in this episode of "...Lazy Linkage" will be Dark Wolf's review of Paedar Ó Guilin's "The Inferior" (link); if you are still unfamiliar with this highly enjoyable fantasy (with shades of sf) novel you should check out Dark Wolf's impressions as they mirror my own to a large extent.
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6.) Some other interesting articles, interviews, speculations and musings I came across are:
  • SF Signal's MIND MELD: Who Are Tomorrow's Genre Big Stars? (+Top 18 Genre Authors To Keep an Eye On)...if you are interested in who the next Abercrombie, Lynch or Rothfuss might be.
  • Brian Ruckley, author of the popular "Winterbirth" and the recently released "Bloodheir", muses on product placement. Interesting read, see for yourself :).
  • Jonathan McCalmont shares his 'blasphemous thoughts' on the aggressive expansionist tendencies of science fiction and asks himself if YA is the latest succumbed victim to this tendencies. This guy really has a way with words.
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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Paul Kearney - The Ten Thousand (Book Review)

"The Ten Thousand" (available for preorder on Amazon: UK, USA)
by Paul Kearney
Format: Paperback, 496 pages
Publisher: Solaris Books

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The Ten Thousand” lays a new cornerstone for the vastly under-appreciated fantasy author Paul Kearney that marks his rebirth as a writer under the wing of a new publisher, Solaris. They made a sweet deal with Kearney not only to publish his forthcoming standalone novel “The Ten Thousand -- release date: Aug 26 in US and Sep 1 in UK -- and to re-release his outstanding “Monarchies of God” series encompassed within two hefty omnibuses later this year (Kearney is currently revising the ending of the last book in the series, which he feels that it was rushed and could be done better), but also endorse his decision to complete the “Sea Beggars” trilogy which was unceremoniously dropped by Bantam after the second book because of the low sales. The sole Kearney's novel I’ve read prior to “The Ten Thousand” is “The Mark of Ran” (review) and suffice to say that I had high expectations for this novel which were for the most part met or even exceeded, but for the minor quibbles I had.
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Ten thousand elite mercenaries of a legendary race known as the Macht, renowned for its savage, fearless, but utterly disciplined heavy spearmen, are hired by the Assurian Empire’s prince, who covets his brother’s prestigious throne. From the moment the Macht host crosses the narrow sea separating their homeland from the Empire a new legend begins to shape itself with each step they take further into the heart of the lustrous Empire.
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Before continuing with the review I should warn you that the blurb on the back cover contains a nasty spoiler you would do best to avoid, if the final draft of the text intended for the mass print remains unchanged.
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The main plot line deals with the army of Macht sellswords (sellspears?) fighting for their lives in someone else’s war and their employer’s motives are beyond their caring. All this is not groundbreakingly original, but what counts here is the manner how Kearney manages to pull it through. If I’d pit this novel against, let’s say, the graphic novel/movie “300” -- as it has relatively comparable storyline and themes, and is also based on one of the ancient Greek legends (legend of the Ten Thousand) -- then I’d have to admit that I find “The Ten Thousand” vastly superior in every aspect, except where the CGI animation, en masse popularity and end-profits are concerned.
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The subplots evolve around the fates of several individual soldiers of the Macht and a few other side characters: the young conscripts Gasca and Rictus of Isca, centurion Jason of Ferai, Vorus – the renegade general of the Assurian Empire, and Tyrin, the lowborn Kufr concubine of the upstart prince. But the collective is always at the forefront of attention. Kearney succeeds at making you care for what happens to the Macht army by representing it through the eyes of a few carefully selected individuals; and this achievement makes the novel an assured page-turner. The suspense is held from the beginning until the end, even though I had some problems accepting the fact that an army of ten thousand elite spearmen (no matter how skilled, disciplined or desperate) manages to repel a host at least five times its size, with no fortifications or supporting cavalry.
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Kearney’s prose is as lean as a wolf and reflects the utilitarian nature of his characters. At first I had some difficulties with remembering all the exotic names and unfamiliar terminology, but then, you have a perfectly handy glossary at the end of the novel explaining all the essential words. But no matter how low-key the writing style is, deep insights into the nature of men (and also otherwise) are still found embedded within seemingly trite or just casual observations and character dialogue.
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The land is harsh, unfriendly and stripped bare with the passing of the Macht - leaving only rotting corpses and woe behind them. Depiction of the surroundings fits the emotions, moods and pathos of the mercenaries and serves the purpose of conjuring up a somber impression for the reader quite well. The environmental extremes that the army encounters (freezing cold vs. baking heat) reflects the dual nature of the soldiers themselves; as you can discern from the following passage:
--- They were soldiers, creatures of appetite and routine with a core of indefinable restlessness at their heart. They were callous, brutal, sentimental, sardonic. They were selfish and selfless. They would knife a man over a copper obol, and would share with him the last of their water. They would trample a masterpiece of art in the dirt and be brought to tears by a veteran’s voice raise in a song. They were the dregs of the earth. They were Macht. ---(pg.204)
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It is no secret that the world Kearney created within the novel draws heavily upon ancient Greece and the Persian Empire – the level of fantastical elements is kept at the minimum and without them “The Ten Thousand” could be just as easily categorized under the tag of historical fiction.
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Characterization is utilitarian as well, at times even laconic and contributing to the story only the most necessary elements. I felt myself instantly drawn to Rictus, Gasca, Jason and some others, but as I’ve already stated – it’s the army of the Ten Thousand that bears the role of a main protagonist. The individual characters are there (only) to make the collective more human and palpable. I, for one, would want the relationships between the individual characters more fleshed out, but this clearly wasn’t Kearney ’s intent and I can understand the sense behind the decision.
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All in all, we have before us a juggernaut fantasy novel even though, and because of its relative shortness (496 pages). It’s a brisk, fast paced book that never bogs you down with unnecessary detail. The story deals with the themes of courage, loyalty, friendship and bare survival as any true epic fantasy novel is supposed to - the required harshness is tempered with wit, great action scenes (Kearney is among the best in the field at those!) and moderate pathos that never oversteps the bounds of mawkishness. In “The Ten ThousandKearney accumulates all the good stuff from D.Gemmell’s books and mixes it with a pinch of R.Morgan’s style, but keeps his own distinct voice throughout. I would recommend this book to all fans of epic, no bullshit fantasy brewed especially for the modern reader. Be advised though, the novel contains some elements of strong language and has no strong female leads (I just hope that this novel doesn’t get misinterpreted as misogynist…alas, that wouldn’t be the first time for Kearney).
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You can read a free excerpt here (FantasyBookSpot.com exclusive) and a fresh interview with the author (part one, part two) back at Aidan's blog (A Dribble of Ink).
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~ Thrinidir ~

Monday, June 9, 2008

The Cathedral (Short Animated Movie)

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"The Cathedral" (Amazon: USA)
by Tomek Baginski (IMDB)
based on a short story by Jacek Dukaj
running time: 6 min 20 sec



Yeah, I know, "The Cathedral" (orig. Katedra) is far from being a new thing. It impressed me back in 2003 when it was nominated for an Academy Award and I'm sure that it was the same with many of you. I rediscovered it now - and was impressed again.

For those who managed to miss it: "The Cathedral" is a short animated movie, made back in 2002; the author is Tomek Baginski (also the author of "Fallen Art"). It was nominated (as mentioned above) for Oscar in 'Best Short Film, Animated' category and won the title of 'Best Animated Short' - Siggraph 2002. It's available on DVD (region 1 format only), but you can also watch it on YouTube. I warn you, though - you should really see it in high-res. :)



But there was one thing I managed to miss - the film is based on a short SF story by Jacek Dukaj. The story, however, is originally written in Polish and was never fully translated (at least not officially; if there is a translation on the Internet I don't know about, feel free to notify me). You can find the translated parts of it here - they are pretty awesome. There are also some other partly-translated short stories on Dukaj's site, along with selected excerpts from one of his novels, "Black Oceans". His only short story that's been fully translated is "The Golden Galley" - you can find it in The Dedalus Book of Polish Fantasy.
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~Trin~

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Steven Erikson - The Bonehunters (Book Review)

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"Bonehunters" (Amazon: UK, USA)
by Steven Erikson (Wikipedia)
Format: Paperback, 709 pages
Publisher: Bantam Books

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It took me the better part of the month to work -- yes, sometimes it really felt like a chore, but which ultimately paid off in the end -- my way through the sixth novel in the sprawling Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I found out that most of the things I’ve ascertained in my review of Midnight Tides (review) still hold true for its successor – The Bonehunters. Erikson is a genius epic fantasy writer, but alas, the series is beginning to show first signs of jadedness.
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In The Bonehunters, Erikson returns to the continent of Seven Cities, where we once again encounter Fid, Kalam, Bottle, Quick Ben and the rest of the menagerie that is the Malazan’s 14th Army under Adjunct Tavore Paran. The 14th is in the pursuit of Leoman of the Flails and his Dog Slayers, the last remnants of the Shaik’s rebellious army. The Jhag Icarium finds himself with a new companion, a witch named Samar Dev, as does Karsa Orlong, whose long time companion, Mappo Trell, is ambushed by Dejim Nebrahl, a D’ivers agent of the Nameless Ones, and then replaced by Taralack Veed, a warrior of the Gral tribe. Tiste Edur scour the seas in send foraying parties to all parts of the world in search of champions who deem themselves worthy of challenging the Emperor of Lether. Their second objective turns out to be The First Throne, defended by a meager crew – consisted of Minala, Aptorian deamon, a legion of warrior children, Trull Sengar and his loyal companion, Onrack The Broken -- scrapped together by the two rulers of The High House Shadow. Heboric Light Touch, Croaker, Scillara, familiar Greyfrog and Felisin the Younger are on their way to reach Otataral Island. There are also other (semi)important characters appearing, but suffice to say that everything builds towards another convergence, this time to happen in the heart of the Malazan Empire, The Imperial City of Malaz itself.
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I have to admit that the novel left me pretty unconvinced until well after the page count passed the half mark. The set up, the characters -- their musings and wanderings, overstretched and relatively unimportant for the plot -- and the rest of the elements of the first half of the novel seemed insipid when compared to some of the things that transpired in the previous books. The first thing that crossed my mind was that Erikson’s writing would really profit from stricter editing; the book seems vague at times and overlong for at least 200 hundred pages or so.
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The world’s scale is as colossal as ever, with a few sprinkling details added, some of them even sufficiently explained – but once again, the questions raised supersede by far those answered. I really hope that Erikson manages to bring his saga to a proper (or at least satisfying) conclusion with the last three books that are yet to see the light of day. Some of the gods/ascendants get a proper (re)introduction -- I’m referring to Cotillion and Shadowthrone -- which is a good thing; but also a few of the previously unseen god-figures make their presence in the book, which is not such a good thing, since we are once again left wandering in the dark regarding their motivations, heritage or what is most important – allegiance. I admit that I sorely miss Anomander Rake, Caladan Brood, the laconic T’lan Imass and some of the other previously encountered characters and races.
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The most probable reason that I didn’t get into the book for what seemed like an eternity was because the characters left me nonplussed – the pathos that reverberated within Deadhouse Gates (book two), Memories of Ice (book three) and even House of Chains (book four) is now mostly gone. One of the best times I had with the book was when Erikson unleashes Iskaral Pust (one of my favorite characters, no doubt). On the other hand, Bottle, who plays a big role in The Bonehunters, never managed to entice me as much as I would have liked. I’m aware that it’s the plot that moves the series forward, prior to characterization (or anything else for that matter), but I’d still prefer, if Erikson wouldn’t use his characters as a vessel for his baffling musings on life, war, religion etc. so much, because it becomes sordid with overuse. I’d also opt for lesser number of POV’s; this approach is slowly outgrowing “epic” and is becoming something big, misshaped and unrecognizable. It’s hard for a reader to follow all the new players and the recurring old ones (dramatis personae and internet recaps are a must).
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---“Now, prepare to ride – I shall lead, but I shall not once wait for you should you lose the way.”
---“I thought you offered to guide me–“
---“Of lesser priority now,” she said, smirking. “Inverted in a most unholy fashion, you might say. No, what I seek now is to witness. Do you understand? To witness!” And with that the girl spun round and sped off.
---Swearing, the cutter drove heels into his mount’s flanks, hard on the girl’s tale.---(pg.541)
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The above excerpt seems something to reflect Erikson’s attitude/relationship towards the reader. (I've made an intentional lapsus linguae, which makes for a perfect pun)
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Erikson’s writing is competent, but also bloated and overindulgent at times. His usage of extremities (larger-than-life characters, exponential magnitudes of suffering and misery,..) gradually leads to a dampening-effect with the reader; nothing seems extraordinary any more. I often speculated who would beat who in the book, but Erikson deftly avoids such ambiguity by carefully planted misdirection or just by simply avoiding the question at hand. I’m also glad that he lessened the amount of humor used in the story, which I felt was overdone and not really that funny in Midnight Tides.
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Malazan Book of the Fallen has a set of constantly recurring themes: convergences in becoming (the foremost theme), chains/chaining (i.e. obligations, indebtedness), warmongery, misery (but which feels spread thin against all the power-struggles), anti-war sentimentality, power-struggles and so on. But we are also given something new to contemplate in The Bonehunters – the relationship between gods/ascendants and their followers. Is this relationship really one-sided or does it go both ways and is more arbitrary than we were lead to believe?
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I’m aware that I made this book sound horrid, but which clearly it is not. It’s just that I have really, really high expectations of such a talented author as is Steven Erikson; I got the feeling that he let me down in some essential way. Ok, sure, the series is showing signs of wearing down, but no matter how jaded it gets, Erikson still weaves the most complex, multi-layered, multi-threaded and colossally epic fantasy tale to date – he upholds the throne of badassery.
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~ Thrinidir ~

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Roger Zelazny - The Great Slow Kings (Short Story Review)

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"Masters," suggested Zindrome, "the half-life of radioactive materials being as ephemeral as it is, I regret to report that only one spaceship is now in operational condition."
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Before leaving work today I thought to myself: "Wouldn't it be nice to read some good short story on the way home?" This of course led to me printing the above mentioned tale (for those touchy on the subject of copyrights, I own at least one tome containing said tale :) ) and a fun bus ride home.
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Like a lot of Zelazny's short stories, "The Great Slow Kings" is concise, witty and most importantly well writen. And while some may disagree I find it slightly satirical.
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We are shown a very busy day of the last two creatures belonging to a highly advanced decadent civilization. Having deduced there might be other life forms "out there", one proposes they might populate their barren planet, thus providing them with some loyal subjects yearning for their wise leadership. The other having agreed to the proposal, they employ their loyal robot helper, the only other inhabitant of their lonely planet, to go forth and find them some subjects. Their life cycles being what they are, the two appear to be immortal and slightly unaware of the passage of time...leading to a very entertaining read.
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Highly recommended even if it would take you more than a meager few minutes to read.
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~ Madwand ~

 

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