Karen Miller - Empress (Book Review)

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I bought Empress mainly because I enjoyed Karen Miller's Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology and hoped to get something similar – flowing style, predictable but intriguing plot, likeable characters. Wrong. Empress is nothing like that, but sadly, that's nothing positive.

The beginning promises a lot – the protagonist, Hekat, is a young girl, born and raised in 'the savage North' where she, as a female child, is not even worth to be named and is only good to be sold as a slave. When that happens, however, Hekat's potential for beauty (ant thus a high price) brings her comfortable living, education and above all, a new-found confidence.

Hekat's personality and behaviour are a bit hard to explain. It's only logical that she bathes in the attention she is suddenly receiving, and she is stubborn by nature, but there are little to no doubts or fears born of her earlier life. She finds her confidence in being 'precious and beautiful', but when she learns that she is only precious because she will undoubtedly fetch a high price as a slave (and is therefore only good for her beauty), her faith in herself is not shattered. She escapes from her masters, decides mid-escape that she is god-chosen, and sacrifices her beauty so she would not be easily recognised. Hekat suddenly doesn't need her physical beauty to feel 'precious and beautiful'; she substitutes it with her connection to the god in the same moment she realises that she is 'in the god's eye'. It's all too rational, swift and unconvincing – Hekat has no second thoughts, her faith is absolute and despite everything that happened, she still feels precious and beautiful.

After that, the quality of the plot seems to deteriorate. Hekat doesn't grow as a character, she just gets more and more annoying. Sadly, she's the protagonist, so not even the more likeable characters such as Vortka and Zandakar can make the novel more enjoyable. I found Hekat more annoying than even Catelyn in ASOIAF (who is, for me, a synonym for an annoying character) – where Catelyn was whiny and overprotective, Hekat keeps repeating that she is precious and beautiful and likes to think that she is the smartest, the best and the most beloved of god. She also dislikes most of the people around her with the exception of her son, of whom she is obsessively overprotective.

I gave up on Empress on page 430. Maybe if the book were a bit shorter I could fight my way through it but as it is, I felt that for every interesting, plot-oriented page, there were three pages of Hekat being an annoying, unlikeable character. It also seemed to me that the book was getting worse, not better, so I saw no point in reading on. It's too bad – the book really has potential, but it got lost somewhere along the way.


DNF (did not finish)


Trin


Related posts:
Trin's review of Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology

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My first DNF review! I was in a bit of a dilemma whether to post it or not, but in the end, I decided to post it anyway.
Also, sorry for not updating in such a long time! I was busy passing the last of my exams for this year and looking for a roommate. Now that both is taken care of, I can focus more on reading and reviewing.

Eye Candy Covers XI

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BRANDON SANDERSON, if u haven't heard of him yet, is becoming one of the most recognisable names in the fantasy genre. His "Mistborn" trilogy garnered much praise from both readers and critics alike, as have his standalone novels "Elantris" and "Warbreaker". The latter was originally released under a Creative Commons non-commercial, non-derivative work license, but was recently (June 6 2009) re-realeased as a hardcopy by Tor Books. What this means is, while you can now buy a nifty hardcopy version of "Warbreaker" from a local bookstore, the rough version of the book is still available online for no fee at all. If the name BRANDON SANDERSON still doesn't ring a bell, he is the guy who will write the last three books of "The Wheel of Time" saga after the passing-away of ROBERT JORDAN. To deliver such a prominent franchise into the hands of a relative newbie is a great show of faith from the publisher, but you can be sure that their decision hasn't been incidental and I don't think we'll see a drop in quality. Quite the contrary actually. I think that SANDERSON will revitalize the series by infusing into it fresh ideas while remaining true to the spirit of JORDAN's original vision. The first of the three books, entitled "The Gathering Storm", has been completed and will see the light of day in early November 2009. The cover art for "The Gathering Storm" has been released and all I can say is that it is absolutely awful, maybe even a contender for this year's crappiest cover. Now, can you see the irony in this post? :)

The cover art I've posted above is going to adorn the first book in the UK edition of the "Mistborn" trilogy (US editions, both hardcover and paperback, were hit and miss as is to be expected by now) that was originally realeased in 2007 and 2008 by Tor Books. The cover art is stunning, if you appreciate the minimalist approach, as I do. If I could describe it with as little words as possible they would be something in the vein of: delicate, graceful, clean and unobtrusive to the senses. Good job.

China Miéville - Un Lun Dun (Book Review)

"Un Lun Dun" (Amazon: UK, US)
by CHINA MIÉVILLE
Format: Paperback, 528/496 pages
Publisher: Pan Books/Del Rey (February 1, 2008/January 29, 2008)

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Un Lun Dun was recommended to me as a book I'd surely love, since it was 'a lot like Alice in Wonderland'. The part about me loving Un Lun Dun was completely right, the one about it being similar to Alice less so – there's so much more to Un Lun Dun than that. It's definitely a YA book, a very good one on top of that, and the illustrations are adorable, adding to the experience - but the book is written with so much imagination that you don't really need them.

Deeba and Zanna are best friends, who have lately noticed some very strange things going on around Zanna. When one night Zanna sleeps over at Deeba’s, they are awoken by a strange sound coming from outside. It turns out to be a broken umbrella, and when they follow it, they stumble straight into the strange world of UnLondon, made of garbage and facing a severe threat, an enemy named Smog. It was prophesied that Zanna is the Shwazzy, a hero who will save UnLondon, but things go badly wrong and the girls get sent back home. Zanna has no recollection of events in UnLondon whatsoever, so Deeba, still determined to stop Smog, decides to take things in her own hands – but she only has a limited number of days before everybody in London forget she ever existed.

At first, I had some suspicions that the morale of the story will be something about saving the environment, which would make the book a very annoying read (I don't like a too obvious morale to the story, be it on environment, family ties or respect to other people), so I was very relieved to find out that all the garbage in UnLondon plays a much simpler role – it makes a great setting for the story. The idea of a garbage world (or even better, an un-world) struck my imagination like a lit match strikes a barrel of gas. I was totally intrigued by the whole idea and I guess I even got carried away a bit – I imagined a dark, wicked place, a lost and morbid city instead of just, well, a garbage one, which (despite everything) never gets really scary or dark - Un Lun Dun is a YA novel and my imagined city could not exist in it by default. UnLondon makes for a fine substitute, though – it’s a place made with obvious precision and leaves more than enough space for a reader’s imagination to go rampant, being filled with wonders (mostly made of garbage) and a unique set of various characters. It is clear that MIÉVILLE is a master writer who enjoys his language – a lot of the aforementioned characters are, in fact, puns and various wordplays brought to life. Others are no less imaginative; my favourite was Curdle, a little carton of milk, which Deeba adopts as a kind of pet. It bothered me, though, that he was left forgotten at times – there were long spans of pages without him showing up at all.

The plot was no less enjoyable than the setting and the characters. I especially appreciated the fact that Mieville does not underestimate his (young) readers – the plot is far from naive, without major, unconvincing holes that too often appear in YA novels. It’s basically about The Chosen One’s best friend, which is uncommon enough, since we all too often get a tale of how The Chosen One saved the day (and, usually, also the known world) with a little help from a selfless best friend. While Deeba remains a bit idealised, she is still a far more realistic and plausible character than the heroes we usually meet in aforementioned tales. She doesn’t play by the rules – she starts her ‘quest’ right at its end and learns that saving the world is much harder – but not impossible – when people know you’re not the hero destined to help them.

Overall, Un Lun Dun is one of the best YA books I’ve ever read, including the ones I’ve read as a kid. In fact, I’m a bit sorry that I couldn’t read it when I was twelve or so, since I’m pretty sure I would adore it and sympathise with Deeba far easier than I do now. I’m content that I got to read it at all, though – it is a great book, and (as said before) perfect for people whose imagination runs on the wild side, regardless of their age.





~Trin~

Kay Kenyon - Bright of the Sky (Book Review)

"Bright of the Sky" (Amazon: US, UK)
by KAY KENYON
Format: Paperback, 453 pages
Publisher: Pyr (April, 2007)

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I'm getting a bit rusty, I read little and review less... This is one of the books I've read quite a few favorable reviews about in the past two years and the whole thing made me more than a bit curious, but when I finally got the book (a courtesy of Pyr Publishing) it lay gathering dust on my bookshelf for quite a while - it could be said the same for a helluva lot more books sitting on the exact same bookshelf, but let's talk about one thing at a time, shall we - and when I picked it up it was more on a whim (a personal quirk) and because of a certain feeling of obligation (to the publisher) rather than any real desire to read this title at that exact moment, and I believe I should warn you beforehand that this fact probably reflects (and somewhat mars I'm afraid) the impression that "Bright of the Sky" (BotS) left me with after the last page was turned.

BotS is the first book in KAY KENYON's light science fiction trilogy "The Entire and the Rose", that is followed up by "World Too Near" (2008) and finally "City Without End" which is scheduled for release on February 24 this year. In BotS we follow the story of once exceptional star pilot Titus Quinn, who disappeared in a space accident and was missing for more than a decade before he miraculously showed up on a distant colony world. He now claims that he, along his wife and daughter, sojurned in a parallel universe known as the Entire. The story is so unbelievable that he falls from grace from his former employers (Minerva company). Consequently, he isolates himself from the world and lives for his memories, until first scientific evidence of this possible parallel universe presents itself to the Minerva execs and Quinn turns out to be less of a raving lunatic than they first believed him to be. Minerva coerces Quinn into crossing over to do their biding, since he is the only one with any knowledge and expirience of this alien place. Quinn has no real choice but to accept, though he's priority is of a more personal nature -he's driven by a burning determination to find his daughter and his wife that were left behind in the Entire when he returned to our world with only vague recollections of what transpired there...

The author tries to picture Titus Quinn - the main protagonist and one of two POV's (the other being Sydney, his daughter) - as an extremely remarkable person bestowed with great intelligence and integrity, a true hero on whom the destiny of both world stands. His friends and allies adore or even worship him and his enemies loathe him without exception; no one remains indifferent to his presence as I saw it. I'm not saying that I disliked Quinn as it is (he is definitely not an anti-hero figure), but I did find him stalwart (not always in the positive meaning of the word) and, quite frankly, unremarkable. But my observations are in stark contrast to the way in which other characters respond to him in the book. He is a good guy by all means, but I'd as soon smack him as I would sympathize with him; the biggest discrepancy between my apprehension of Titus Quinn and KAY KENYON's portrayal of the man lies somewhere else though: Quinn is supposed to be a savant, a true genius, but I sadly didn't see him as one. He is way too naive, takes things more or less at a face value and solves problems in what I'd call too conventional ways to be a savant. I mean no disrespect to Ms.Kenyon, but it's really hard to create a believable savant character (it's that much harder if the character in question is the protagonist of the story) and this really grates on the plausibility of the characters she created.

The supporting cast is often more intriguing, likable and even complex than the main protagonist. The one who piqued my interest the most was Stefan Polich, the president of Minerva company: there is a short chapter around the middle of the book that that showcases KENYON's brilliant grasp of human character (but this is sadly the only example of it in this book) and I'd ironically - since this is a sidestep from the main storyline - call it the highlight of BoTS.

Sydney, Quinn's daughter that the Entire claimed for its own and sent to live among Inyx, a horselike sentient beings that live in the steppe, as an outcast, where she dreams of 'free bonds' with their captors and of overthrowing the evil Tarig rule. While I commend KENYON's imagination at creating a vivid alien world full of exotic places and beings that populate them, I can't go pass the naivete of the Entire's internal, and external for that matter, politics. Nothing really subtle here, everything progresses by the way of grudges, hate, coercion, stubbornness, longing, love, idealistic dreams etc. You get the picture. Another central figure, besides Qiunn and Sydney, is Anzi - a native of Entire who acts both as a dampener and a sidekick to Quinn. She admires Quinn and follows his cause almost blindly; she is a sort of a standard for how the rest of the people perceive Quinn. His alleged charisma and strength of personality are taken for granted at first sight and that bothered me some, because I don't think he deserves such 'royal treatment'.

The world that Key created is, as I already noted, lush and full of interesting ideas, but if you strip away all the layers and reveal the core, it lacks some indiscernible quality, substance and/or flavor that, let's say, the City of Camorr from Scott Lynch's "Lies of Locke Lamora" (review) undeniably possesses. The world of the Entire is somewhat fluctuating and not as defined by physical boundaries as our own. The only means of long-distance travel for the common people provides the river Nigh that connects all the distant lands in some astral manner. The Tarig, cruel overlords of the Entire, seem to withhold crucial technological knowledge from their subjects and herein lies their power. The human race of the Entire, the Chalin, are an approximate copy of the (ancient) Chinese people, but there is a well-justified reason behind this so this fact doesn't grate on the skeptic reader. There is also the Ascendancy - Entire's capital city - where the Tarig lords reside; I'd like to see more of it to be honest. We witness its preoccupation with bureaucracy and rules, but the more mundane aspects of the city, its underbelly and the life of the common people that give the city its life, is left unexplored, which is a shame really since the potential is there. Hopefully KAY KENYON returns to the Ascendancy in the following installments and breathes more life into it.

KAY KENYON is an apt storyteller and keeps the flow of the story smooth at all times. The prose is never clunky, extraneously verbose or bogged down with disposition; the writing is neither grand nor pedestrian and the fact that everything comes at seemingly the righ moment (i.e. perfect pace) makes for a smooth and enjoyable read.

Some of the themes pursued in this book are: (torn) loyalties, friendship, oppression, coercion, dreams of freedom (and democracy) and family love (the author makes it obvious that she highly values the institution of family and close relationship between relatives). There are no new grounds broken here and events flow by in middle-of-the-road fashion, so I'd day that this book is a safe bet for everyone that is not explicitly looking for a more morally ambiguous read. I'm not opposed to books and authors that think outside the box, but the 'clean' style suits BotS just fine.

While "Bright of the Sky" lacks exceptional qualities to be marked an unforgettable read, it is nevertheless an enjoyable enough and competently executed adventure to be given 'a thumbs-up'. It definitely sets good foundations for the sequels to build upon, so when I'll feel like reading a not too demanding sf adventure I'll definitely consider continuing with this series.
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~ Thrinidir ~

P.C. & Kristen Cast - Marked (Book Review)

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Note: Dannie has answered our Smugglivus post in which we offered to take another reviewer, and she is now acting as our apprentice of some sort. :) Judging by her taste in books, she'll contribute urban fantasy and horror reviews mostly, and will jump in whenever the original team is too busy with other things.
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"Marked" (Amazon: US, UK)
by P.C. & KRISTEN CAST
Format: Paperback, 320 pages
Publisher: St.Martin's Griffin (May 1, 2007)

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In 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres not only exist but are also tolerated by humans. Those whom the creatures "mark" as special enter the House of Night school where they will either become vampyres themselves, or, if their body rejects the change, die. To Zoey, being marked is truly a blessing, though she's scared at first. She has never fit into the human world and has always felt she is destined for something else. Her grandmother, a descendant of the Cherokee tribe, has always supported her emotionally, and it is she who takes the girl to her new school. But even there the teen stands apart from the others. Her mark from the Goddess Nyx is a special one, showing that her powers are very strong for one so young. At the House of Night, Zoey finds true friendship, loyalty, and romance as well as mistrust and deception. She realizes that all is not right in the vampyre world and that the problems she thought she left behind exist there as well. (Yeah, I admit - Amazon helped me a bit with this summary.)

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While I do admit to the premise being interesting, despite the basic Harry Potter spin (Kid despises family, whisked away to magical school), this book is by far the worst vampyre (or, as the authors prefer, vampyre) novel I have ever, in my entire life, had the misfortune of reading. I would describe it as one of the more unfortunate instalments of Gossip Girl, except all the dialogue is unrealistic and all the characters are vampyres. But wait! They don't drink blood to create new vampyres. Instead, they appear at random places and moments of time and create these 'fledglings' by saying a corny incantation which makes a blank crescent moon appears on some kids forehead. Yeah, these are the joys of a vampyre's life.

Let's look at the horrible inner and outer dialogue:

1. Overuse of the whole "out-of-quotation" exclamation mark ("Quote", imagine how silly that would be!) - I don't know why, but it bugs me. A lot.
2. Use of the words 'yummy' and 'hateful'. Again, these are teenagers, like, 17 year olds. I have not said 'yummy' since I was seven, and I don't know anyone who uses 'hateful' in everyday conversation.
3. Painfully corny, down to the facial expressions.
4. It's a mother-daughter writing team. Need I say more?
5. It could basically pass as a long children's book, if it weren't for the clumsy addition of stereotypical gay placement and unrealistic whoring around.

In addition, the character development is like a bad piece of fan fiction. The main protagonist's shaky narrative is only stood-off by the misplaced addition of extremely detailed description of her Cherokee facial features and annoyingly cheesy vampyric rituals. She seems to be unable to describe the world around her unless she's staring into a mirror or discussing all the guys she could screw, which might just be the ultimate example of ego brushing, if I've ever seen one.

Another thing you might notice is that people are mentioned that you'd think would be important, such as Zoey's biological brother and sister. They are referred to once in the first novel as a junior and senior, one's a slut and one's a meat-headed jock, and that's the end of it. Not even on the oh-so irksome 'Parent Day' are they mentioned. You'd think something like this would be explored upon, but maybe the two authors just sort of hoped their readers would forget about it.

And, if none of this were enough, apparently every celebrity you love (or hate) are---wait for it---VAMPYRES as well. Very publicly so. Every genius in history, every country singer, every socialite. All. Vampyres. Again, the writing duo seems to think that misplaced, awkward pop-culture references will make up for their lack of personal and social skills.

Overall, it could have been written by a sexually depraved, teen drama obsessed sixteen year old. It might have been something far more enjoyable, but alas, in "Marked", P.C. and Kristen disappoint (and in the following three novels as well, might I add). It's a nice idea, but not nice enough to actually waste time on.
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Catherynne M. Valente - The Orphan's Tales Duology (Book Review)

The Orphan's Tales: In The Night Garden (Amazon: US, UK)
& In the Cities of Coin and Spice (Amazon: US, UK)
by Catherynne M. Valente
Format: Paperback, 496 pages & 528 pages
Publisher: Spectra Books

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Once, there was a palace of a sultan, and around the palace, a garden was spread wide and blooming. In this garden, full of beautiful flowers, exotic trees and singing birds, there was also one young, wild girl. No one knew her name and origins - even more, they all turned away from her and never let her set foot onto the palace floor. That was because this girl had dark circles around her eyes like a raccoon, and so people whispered she was a demon, a devil, a cursed one.

But despite all that, one day there came a young boy from the palace who didn't fear the girl. She revealed her secret to this young prince and then told him stories she read in the ink around her eyes ...

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As a kid, how fond were you of fairytales? Personally, I loved them. I had a book where there was a tale for each day, a set of 'seasonal' books which included a book of tales for each season, Grimms' Fairy Tales and The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter. Later on, these were replaced by a depressing book, written by Oscar Wilde (The Happy Prince and Other Tales) and a huge, nameless collection of folk tales, edited and collected by Italo Calvino. Maybe you've red other stories, ones I have no clue about, but I'm sure about one thing - my younger self would kill for "Orphan's Tales" and made it reasonable with only one sentence: it's the ultimate storybook. And by this I most certainly don't mean to say that this duology is meant for children only - it's more like a book for children of all ages.

At first glance, "Orphan's Tales" doesn't differ from an ordinary storybook, despite being published in two volumes. The story begins like all classicall tales, there are pretty illustrations accompanying the text, a nicely done deckled edge and the books as a whole are overall quite adorable. But as you immerse deeper and deeper into Valente's wonderful world, you realise there is something more to the tales. There are small details and trinkets we usually don't find in fairytales - e.g. when a girl dances with a Firebird, she inevitably gets severe burns. It's a realistich touch that makes the tales much more believable, despite the fantastic elements and the often grotesque settings and creatures. A touch of light irony is also sensed at times, as Valente plays with the romantic, idealistic view which is found in classical fairytales. In "Orphan's Tales", the brave princes are often stupid, pretty princesses turn out to be half-monsters and your friend in need is the ugliest, most savage beest in the whole forest. But despite all this, the "Orphan's Tales" is essentially a 'serious' storybook, unlike Sapkowski's "Last Wish", where classical tales are turned upside-down and modernised, sometimes even made fun of.

One thing I really adored in "Orphan's Tales" is how incredibly intertwined the stories are. There is a frame narrative that supports a horde of substories, which sometimes lead to a bit of confusion, especially when you fail to remember what exactly all those were about. Both books can also be a bit long-winded if read in one big gulp and one after another, but on the other hand, it's good to read them in that way, lest you forget what exactly happened in the previous volume and miss a lot of little details that connect the stories. For example, the characters from different stories often meet later on or tell tales of one another, which I found thrilling - it's a great cohesive touch and the read is packed with realisations in the vein of "Hey, I know that one!".

While a lot of authors, even some of the masters of the trade, have trouble with writing good endings and therefore often fail to do so; Valente avoids writing a 'bad ending' with grace and certainly succeeds in writing an almost perfect ending. Since I liked the frame narrative a lot and could hardly wait to see how it ends, the fact that ending is well-written is even more important to me. It all clicks together perfectly, creating a rather surprising and (at least for me) very exciting mosaic. The only thing I would wish different is a bit happier ending for Dinrzard, but I guess one can't have everything. Anyways, "Orphan's Tales" is a superb duology and I heartily reccomend it to everyone who wishes to please his/hers inner child.
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Andrzej Sapkowski - The Last Wish (Book Review)

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"The Last Wish" (Amazon: UK, USA)
by Andrzej Sapkowski (Wikipedia)
Format: Paperback, 280 pages
Publisher: Gollancz

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---Geralt was always going to stand out, with his white hair and piercing eyes, his cynicism and lack of respect for authority... but he is far more than a striking-looking man. He is a witcher; his sorcerous powers, enhanced by elixirs and long years of training, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. He is no ordinary murderer, though: his targets are the vile fiends that ravage his land, preying on the unwary. But as he roams the country he comes to realise that first appearances are often deceptive: not everything monstrous-looking is evil, and not everything fair is good... and in every fairy tale, there is a grain of truth.
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---In his role as a guardian of the innocent, Geralt, the witcher from Rivia, meets incestuous kings with undead daughters, vengeful djinns, rancorous maidens, shrieking harpies, love-lorn vampires and despondent ghouls. Many are pernicious, some are wicked, and none are quite as they seem.
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I usually avoid blurbs-slash-synopsis on the back of the book, since in most cases I see them as tedious, spoilerific, pompous and in most cases not at all in character that permeates the actual story. But in this case I've made an exception as the blurb hits the proverbial nail on the head.

Sapkowski is considered a bit of a superstar in Poland and in few other European countries that were lucky enough to get a translation of his works - ironically enough, the English speaking world had to wait for more than 15 years to get a translation of the first book featuring Geralt the Witcher. The second book in the series, entitled "Blood of the Elves" (US import, UK), is scheduled for release on September 18. So, was "The Last Wish" worth the wait? Without doubt. Sapkowski brings a set of fresh elements and twists alongside with the otherwise pretty straight-forward quest oriented epic fantasy.

First off the bat, despite ¹the disjointed structure of the narrative - "TLW" is basically a set of short stories set apart by individual chapters and loosely interconnected by a story of Geralt's reprieve which is dissected and wedged in between the chapters that delve into the past exploits of Geralt - and ²simple adventurous-oriented plot I liked the book a lot. It read really well and besides, Geralt is a most sympathetic character (I'm a sucker for righteous outcasts with their own heightened sense of judgment and highly reflective approach to situations). We get to know little about his past and he doesn't show any signs of personal growth (since he is already a fully grown/developed adult), but he nevertheless displays incredible depth and complex personality which is revealed through well-timed and well-measured snippets of dialogue, through the way he looks at the world and through how he deals with situations. In some of the later adventures Geralt is joined by Dandelion - a sidekick in the form of a wandering scholar, famed bard and skirt-chaser. The novel's structure and the Geralt/Dandelion due resembles much the adventures of Gotrek and Felix. One of the downsides is that the rest of the crew is not as fleshed out as Geralt and usually cross the threshold of stereotypical by a fair margin, although if I'm honest this didn't bother me all too much as Sapkowski compensates elsewhere in abundance.

What makes "The Last Wish" stand out from the crowd is not the way it mixes fantasy tropes with their subverted and disfigured mirror images because this is not a groundbreaking practice anymore - it's become a bit of the latest trend really - but the inclusion of the (mainly) Slavic mythology within the faux-medieval setting; ¹predomination of Slavic names for cities and people is a relief from the randomly generated multiple-vowelled names with apostrophes jutting here and there to make things more otherworldly and exotic, as is the ²inclusion of creatures such as strigas, spriggans, leshys, kikimoras, vyppers etc. where otherwhere we are being literally drowned with imps, orcs, goblins and other creatures from the Nordic folklore.

Worldbuilding is otherwise spare and the info-dumping dampened to boot - the book concentrates on Geralt and the tasks that lay at his feet. Magic is present, but subdued and complimented by vials, elixirs, Signs, intentional body mutations and other inventions. Like said, these elements are subdued and unobtrusive, but the mere hint of their presence really makes the otherwise unadorned storytelling work on a deeper level. If you are at least partly familiar with the structure of fairytales and myths you will probably be delighted by the way Sapkowski plays with conventions.

Sapkowski's dry wit permeates the whole book; from dialogue, characters' traits, to his use of language and so forth. There is little to no explicit content in the book so it is suited for the people of all ages (and convictions) without turning out childish or...well, anesthesised. The younger readers should be hooked on the awesomeness that is Geralt and those a bit older might appreciate his subtle cynicism and world-weariness that make him a truly memorable character.

"The Last Wish" is not all flowers, though. The world and the secondary characters could be done with more care so they wouldn't turn out so one-sided. The plot lacks real substance and coherence; all you get is a set of short stories that account for the Witchers exploits and not much else. The whole book works as an introduction into the word and the protagonist that Sapkowski created, but I think it is safe to expect that the later installments improve on this aspects of the storytelling, as the potential and talent are obviously present. All this niggles might be seen as shortcomings when you dissect the text, but on the accumulative level everything works as it should and that's what matters the most.
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~ Thrinidir ~

Ian McDonald - Brasyl (Book Review)

"Brasyl" (Amazon: US, UK)
by Ian McDonald (blog, Wikipedia)
Format: Hardcover, 357 pages
Publisher: PYR Publishing

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When I began reading "Brasyl", I could hardly believe that it was nominated for many prestigious awards (2007 Quill Book Award and John W. Campbell Memorial Award, 2008 Hugo and Locus), not to mention that it won 2008 British SF Association Award. It was supposed to be a great book, but for me, it felt long-winded, full of unnecessary explanations and sometimes, a bit too complicated. But since I have a personal policy to finish the book I start reading, I forced myself to continue instead of putting the book back on the shelf. Lucky for me, I guess! It certainly is a very good book, even if it falls a bit short of greatness.
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McDonald's style impressed me. It is obvious that he knows the subject he's writing on and the way he goes about it; even at the beginning, when I was still unsure what to think of the book, it was clear to me that McDonald is a master of style. The plot was another matter, though - the three main characters, each of them positioned in his or hers own era (2032, 2006 and 1732), were presented with great care and detail, but the point of the novel was nowhere to be seen and the story moved at sluggish pace. A great part of "Brasyl" consists of three people living their lives without a hint of connection between them, and frankly, I'm not really a fan of such stories. But, to my relief, things started happening soon, the plot evolved and connections began to uncover, if slowly; after the first part of the book, it finally becomes clear that there is something bigger going on behind the scenes.
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Although the book's genre is SF, not all three protagonists come from the future. Father Luis is a Jesuit missionary, sent to punish a disobeying priest in the middle of Amazon rain forest - which is a perfectly normal thing to happen since Father Luis lives in the 18th century. Marcelina, a Rio TV producer who is always hunting for provocative and scandalous stories, is a woman of our present, addicted to Botox and knowing no shame. Only Edson, a guy from 2032, could be regarded as a typical SF character, but even so, the problems he deals with are not very futuristic. What makes "Brasyl" a science fiction book is the idea behind the novel - a theory of parallel worlds. You may already heard of it before, since it's pretty widespread (I first learned of it a few years ago). It is, however, presented surprisingly well, awing the reader and making him think, at which point "Brasyl" becomes one of those addictive can't-put-it-down books.

If you're not familiar with modern Brazilian slang, you might have some trouble with the dialogue which is heavily tinged with the said slang. There is a glossary at the back, but it's not really handy to constantly flip between the pages. Both -- pure Portugeese and slang words -- add a lot to the atmosphere, but at the same time, they make "Brasyl" harder to read.

Long story short, everything more or less serves its purpose in "Brasyl". Long introductions to the lives of Marcelina, Edson and Father Luis seem redundant at first, but later on you see how the happening creeps slowly into their everyday and overwhelms it, which (at least for me) felt as a fresh and welcome take on the matter. Also, the seemingly unimportant details turn out to be crucial for the story, and the above mentioned slang words add to the overall atmosphere. "Brasyl" is a very good book written with style, but it has its flaw - the long, confusing beginning. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend it to all SF fans.
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-~Trin~

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

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"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" (Amazon: UK, USA; free eBook)
by Ted Chiang (Wikipedia)
Format: Hardcover, 62 pages
Publisher: Subterranean Press

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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(3,5 out of five Evil Fruitcakes...for the uninitiated)
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Some of the other reviews are available at Strange Horizons, SF Site, Neth Space and Adventure's in Reading.
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~ Thrinidir ~

Peadar Ó Guilín - The Inferior (Book Review)

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

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---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...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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
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~ Thrinidir ~

Karen Miller - Kingmaker, Kingbreaker (Book Review)

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---Asher is sick and tired of being a fisherman's son with too many brothers who never miss the chance to beat him up. That's why he decides one day to leave secretly for Dorana, a capital city of the Kingdom of Lur. All he wants is to earn enough money to buy a boat for himself and his father, but an ancient prophecy has a slightly different destiny in store him. When Asher finds himself working for the prince, he believes his life could not get any curiouser, but he is not aware that the members of the Circle, a secret organisation dedicated to preserving an ancient magic, are shadowing his every step...

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Karen Miller is an Australian science-fiction and fantasy writer, best known for her Stargate tie-in and for her bestselling fantasy duology "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker" (you can read the prologue from the first book, The Innocent Mage, here, and the first chapter from its sequel, The Awakened Mage, here. She is releasing the first book - entitled 'Empress', in her brand new Godspeaker trilogy this month (April,2008). By the way, Chris (The Book Swede & His Blog) has done a nice interview with the author – you can read it here.

I've read the "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker" duology a short while ago and it left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, these are a pretty refreshing set of fantasy novels; they are skillfully written and include some competent world-building. The plot, on the other hand, is rather straightforward and fairly typical of the genre and it felt heavily YA oriented too.

Maybe the fault for feeling that way lies predominantly at my feet because I read Miller's books during the period I was discovering the works of the new generation of fantasy writers (Lynch, Abercrombie, Ruckley and some others). It's no wonder then, that I kept comparing their efforts with hers – this might not be entirely just, since the comparisons are not always simple to make or even very relevant – but still, some elements of the "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker" kept reminding me of one or another that I've already seen before elsewhere...and done better, might I add. Here we have the ever-present social inequality and class struggles (or, in the case of "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker", the superiority of one race over another as well), the barrier against the world of Evil (hello, Terry Brooks and other Tolkien derivatives!) and the same old-same old fantasy setting. There is the classical coming-of-age hero story – another rural boy possessing an undiscovered secret power – and the never tiring plot device: prophecy of the Chosen One who is to save the world, naturally. The mythos of Miller's world plays an important role in the over-arching story as well. The myths & legends of this world made me think of "The First Law" trilogy by Joe Abercrombie; it's not that they are similar in structure - it just feels that way. I would have gotten more from reading Karen Miller's books – if only I read them before the above mentioned works.

Otherwise, "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker" duology classifies as a perfectly decent read. I read both books in one big gulp – it's a veritable page-turner and the reading flows exceptionally well, especially if you are a girl and/or a sucker for romantic stories where the hero is destined to get the (forbidden) girl, after struggling for her for a while. For more than a half of the second book, I was anxiously waiting for something interesting to happen between the two. Maybe it’s a cheap writer’s trick, but it worked for me perfectly (it can, however, bore you or spoil your reading experience, if you aren’t fond of such things and prefer action oriented story-telling). As you are drawing nearer to the end of the book, the tension grows considerably and the situation explodes at last into a colossal battle against the ultimate evil, that brings to a typical, but a bit bitter ending as well. The humor in the books is light and easy-going and it made me grin uncontrollably on more than a few occasions.

To sum things up, I have to say that reading the this duology made me feel like I was reading a more imaginative and humor-tinged version of "Winterbirth" by Brian Ruckley (my review). Even though I know the plots are nothing alike, the feeling I got from these books was more or less the same - it's just that Miller writes with more humor, more imagination and more style. I had much fun reading "The Innocent Mage" and its sequel so I'm not sorry at the least for the time spent reading it.
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~ Trin ~

Joe Abercrombie - Before They Are Hanged (Book Review)

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---If the first novel of The First Law trilogy plummeted into the fantasy genre as a delightfully refreshing and innovative subversion of (epic) fantasy tropes, “Before They Are Hanged” delivers a heightened style into the mix, it also triples the action and multiplies the humor. Simply put– Abecrombie managed to write a rock-hard sophomore effort; and the best of it is that he managed to keep the plot interesting and simple at the same time - skillfully avoiding the danger of making it too dense or convoluted and therefore detract the attention from the biggest strength of the first two books in the trilogy – c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n.
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---Although it did not take him long to put out the sequel of “The Blade Itself”, Abercrombie matured as a writer somewhere in-between the books, learning from the experience of writing “The Blade Itself” and its shortcomings. In the first instalemnt, he acted unsure at some parts of the novel, relying heavily on his (otherwise cracking) sense of humor and at times the story just felt a bit confusing. The humor is as dark and as present as in the first book but even subtler this time around, with Glokta clearly stealing the show displaying his bitter irony and world-weariness. The plot itself evolved somewhat from a light-fantasy fare interwoven with humor and occasional gritty scenes, to a more realistic setting where webs within webs of conspiracies, backstabbing politics, raging battles and endless lust for power flourish. At the same time however, “Before They Are Hanged” still manages to retain the lighter elements of its predecessor. Characters remain realistic and quite unusual, although sometimes a bit stereotypical (prevalently the gentry) – but still a good distance from the typical fantasy geezers I’d say.
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---It might come as a surprise, but Abercrombie doesn’t pay heavy attention to detailed world-building; or at least that’s how it appears at first. The narrative in “Before They Are Hanged” does not baffle the reader with the depictions of land or people, but regardless to that Abercrombie stands triumphant, because the reader easily conjures up in his mind the fictional world of the book down to its grittiest details. The catch is that Joe inserts many simple, but shrewd observations into his characters’ dialogue and uses the occurring events themselves to build up stones, paths, trees, houses and walls and the rest of the surroundings. The final result is a more or less completed image of the world, acquired without having to read through boring descriptions of the world and (sometimes) tedious info-dumps.
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---The one flaw - if you could call it that, of his subtle world-building is that the reader can easily lose track of time. Joe jumps from one scene to another in order to keep the action unabated and manages not to flounder in the hellish tempo of all the activities that are going on. That, unfortunately, costs him a bit when it comes to the perception of the passing of time; the voyage to the end of the world, which takes months, seems to last only about weeks or so. Mind you, I didn’t find this very off-putting, since I read the book in one reading, devouring it in one afternoon – what I want to say is that Abercrombie keeps only the interesting parts and skips the potentially boring ones but it might bother some of you, who enjoy and prefer the process of telling of a story in favor of relatively bare and goal-driven plot.
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---Another fallacy that still plagues Abercrombie's writing is predictability (but that changes with the third book, I can tell you that now :) and unusually so if you consider the unpredictability of a couple of protagonists.
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*minor spoilers ahead*

---For example, Jezal - a high-brow noble with a slight but undeniable potential to become a bearable, if not worthy companion in the first book - now, unsurprisingly, grows into a skilled fighter with a rational touch to everything he does, thus being a bit easier to cope with and maybe being even slightly likable. The situation with Glokta is somewhat similar. He expects to be killed (in one way or another) throughout the book and is so sure of his inevitable demise that he says (monologue) his goodbyes at every possible occasion. If the reader is not completely naïve or a beginner, he doesn’t actually believe in Glokta’s imminent demise It therefore comes as no surprise when Glokta manages to stay alive and ‘well’. But that is actually ok, since he is one of my favorite characters, if not the favorite.

*end of spoilers*

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---“Before They Are Hanged” will not be remembered for its arguably pedestrian plot, neither can it boast with great epic battles or vivid world-building, but it nevertheless holds your unwavering attention up to the end. The book is strong on humor and sharp dialogue, not to mention how it manages to render (rather than avoid) many clichés. It is true that it sometimes feels a bit predictable, but that doesn’t spoil the reading experience at all. Quite on the contrary, “Before They Are Hanged” is one of the more enjoyable fantasy books I’ve read - not to mention the fact that I can hardly remember the last time I laughed so hard and so often while reading a work of fiction. Strongly recommended.
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~ Trin ~

Dan Simmons - The Terror (Book Review)

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"The Terror" came as a welcome refreshement after all the fantasy I've read lately. There are absolutely no dragons involved, neither is there any magic or mighty knights strutting out of the pages. Yay! (There are, however, some affluent and snotty snobs, but in the terms of the 19th century England's upper class rather than medieval nobility.) This is one of the things that gives "The Terror" such appeal and a particular feeling of substantiality.
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At first, I've had some second thoughts about buying the book, since I've read a couple of reviews that left me confused and unconvinced. While some reviewers praised the book as if they had been paid for it, others complained about it being long-winded and including too many complex and unfamiliar nautical terms that really bear down on the story.

This last thing must've been written by some ''spoiled'' native speaker, because although I still haven't got a slightest idea who a caulker could be (or more specifically, what his job is), I understood well enough that he has some kind of a professional function on the ship and I'm completely satisfied with that. If English is your mother tongue, you can take your time and look up the unknown words in the dictionary – there really aren't that many in the book. And if you're not a native speaker, you don't need to worry, because not being able to discern different parts of the deck will not rob you of jour reading experience. Besides, everybody knows that constant skimming through the dictionary is a time-consuming activity that usually breaks the flow of the reading process. (I looked up what the hell a 'sperm whale' could be, though, and it figures out that it's the Moby Dick one. I nearly died laughing afterwards. :)
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Secondly, the book is eons away from boring. Simmons' style of writing is brilliant (as I've already induced from reading "Hyperion" and its immediate sequel) and keeps the reader awake and alert – at least until s/he decides that the stuff is getting too scary since it's very, VERY dark outside and maybe s/he should stop reading the book until tomorrow when there's plenty of light. The amount of scary you feel probably depends on your personality and while I don't consider myself the kind of girl who gets scared easily, I really dislike the idea of an unknown evil lurking in the dark (it's always better to know exactly who or what you are up against). Especially since the arctic night lasts for 24 hours a day; it's pretty damn frustrating. I have to admit I was very glad when there was someone else in the room with me when I was reading. That helped to prevent my imagination from going wild, but the book in consequence lost some of its effect.

Another thing I've noticed is how impossibly knowledgeable Simmons is and how much effort he put into researching the book's topic. While explaining just about everything that is of any relevance regarding the expedition (I read a Wikipedia article about it afterwards and it only proved that, excluding the 'evil' thing, "The Terror" follows the recorded facts faithfully, thus being a (partly) historical novel as well as a horror one); he studied and explained the Esquimaux's culture as well. What I also loved is the hommage to E. A. Poe (mentioned in the novel as 'that American writer' – one of my favourite chapters in the book is a tribute to his "The Masque of the Red Death").

When I try to find a weak spot that would mar the book, I seem to fail. Maybe the ending will not be to everyone's satisfaction since it is pretty unusual, but for me presents an interesting alternative to the 'classical' endings we are so familiar with. I actually liked the loose ends left hanging. I'm ordinarily against giving a perfect score – I agree with Thrinidir's take on this point – but at the same time, I don't know what more could I expect from a book of this genre. "The Terror" is a brilliant book, but as I already mentioned, it was otherwise met with mixed feelings. Give it a try, though; I say it's worth it.

A perfect mark (five out of five):

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~ Trin ~