Realms Of Speculative Fiction

Sarah Rees Brennan - Sorcerer and Stone (Free Fiction)

2009-07-02T13:41:00.000+02:00

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I reviewed SARAH REES BRENNAN's debut, "The Demon Lexicon", back in March, and found it an appealing YA novel. She has now come up with an idea for promoting her book with gifts and free fiction - a short story entitled Sorcerer and Stone (I haven't decided yet whether the title, as well as some other things, is a deliberate reference to Harry Potter or not), which tells the background of one of the characters in "The Demon's Lexicon". You can read the short story here.

David Louis Edelman - Infoquake (Book Review)

2009-06-28T17:35:00.000+02:00

"INFOQUAKE" (Amazon: UK, US)
by DAVID LOUIS EDELMAN
Format: Paperback, 432/534 pages
Publisher: Prometheus Books / Pyr (orig.pub.date: July 2006)
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In the distant future, a few centuries after a big societal revolution and the war against the thinking machines, the science and business of bio/logics is what keeps the world turning. Bio/logics - the science of using programming code that helps manage and extend the capabilities of human body and mind - is the forte of Nacht and his personal fiefcorp. Nacht, a shrewd businessman and a brilliant programmer, and his employees find themselves at the crux of it all when Nacth receives a business proposal to implement, make practical and promote a revolutionary new technology under the name of MultiReal. While this is, without a doubt, the opportunity of their lives, no one really knows yet what this MultiReal is and on top of that, the worlds most powerful and pervasive force, The Defense and Wellness Council, doesn't look too kindly upon the emancipatory implications of this new technology...

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DAVID LOUIS EDELMAN creates within "Infoquake" a vivid, high-tech future, of which he focuses mainly on what he knows most of - programming, marketing, technology, office and intercorporational relations. The author, however, does not completely neglect the human factor that keeps the reader from losing interest in the tale. There is much focus on the subjects mentioned above, and while they are of little interest to this reader, he nevertheless manages to present them in a lucid and, for the most part, unobtrusive manner. There are a lot of layers to the world EDELMAN created, but infodumps are surprisingly sparse. If there is anything left unexplained or you find something confusing, you can easily search it up in the handy appendix at the end of the novel. The author succeeded at extracting the essence of the contemporary corporate and capitalist driven world and projected it into a future setting. Thus, the story of "Infoquake" operates on a higher level as an effective allegory of here and now. All this brings credibility -- and the promise to the reader that he can decipher the story -- to the world of "Infoquake". The world-building is still fantastic enough to feel sf-nal, though.

EDELMAN is an apt writer. His style is clean and flowing. I especially admired the observations characters make about themselves and others. I often found myself reading aloud specific passages from the book to my significant other, because even though I wasn't as captivated by the novel as I'd like to be, I still wanted to state my appreciation for the author's writing skills (i.e. I could easily relate to his way of thinking and I enjoyed his lucid insights, whether it be into how society works, how one conducts business, how people relate to each other or what makes a person tick). EDELMAN does a great job at making you keep reading a story, even if you don't find the plot all that interesting.

Characters are, with the exception of Nacht, all a bit underdeveloped. Nacht is a strong-willed, goal-driven, charismatic and somewhat enigmatic protagonist who walks a thin line between being a hero or an anti-hero. Jara, one of the Nacht's employees, perfectly recapitulates the readers attitude towards Nacht: she is fascinated by and attracted to his strong vision and charisma, but she also despises him for his self-assured and sometimes obsessive ways.

The biggest problem of "Infoquake" is its lukewarm story. The start is slow and the climaxes, such as they are, lack emphasis. The ending, especially, doesn't provide the tension and/or catharsis the way EDELMAN leads us to expect. This is mostly due to the fact that the revolutionary new technology - the MultiReal, fails to impress. If you can't go without devious plot twists, high drama, swirling emotions, action-packed scenes, gritty violence or explicit sex scenes then this book offers little for your tastes. Emphasis lies elswhere and it's not such a drag I made it sound like.

Rat's reading sarcastically promotes "Infoquake" with the following words: "If you like to see all the office politics behind the creation of a Powerpoint presentation, then this book is for you!". While Rat's words are uncomplimentary to an extent I wouldn't mimic for they are a bit rude and simplify things way too much, but if I wouldn't like the book upon reading it, which I did, this appraisal by Rat would, I'm afraid, strike home. For there is wit and a bit of truth in his sarcasm.

Hallmarks of "Infoquake" are (1) a detailed and well thought out future society (especially the driving force behind it: bio/logics), (2) memorable writing (3) and a few really memorable sections of the story (e.g. Nacht's backstory), but this qualitities can't full compensate for some of the jutting drawbacks, namely, (1) a somewhat tepid plot, which is also (2) plagued by meandering pace and insubstantial climaxes - or lack thereof, (3) underdeveloped characters (with exception of Nacht), and finally: (4) MultiReal, a technology that fails to impress, even though it was obviously meant to since the whole novel is structured around it.

All in all, "Infoquake" is a slightly above average debut with a few brilliant features and storytelling moments, and it shows DAVID LOUIS EDELMAN as a promising new author, but it ultimatelly lacks substance and charisma for me to recommend it to you.
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~ ThRiNiDiR ~

Eye Candy Covers XI

2009-06-24T10:25:00.002+02:00

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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.

Fw: Where'd the Enthusiasm Go

2009-06-23T12:08:00.001+02:00

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This is not a review, a promotion, a give-away (it is, but of a diferent sort), a rant or anything that has to do with fantasy genre in general; this is about me. The lamentable thing is -- from my perspective -- that somebody else is advocating my, up until that moment, unrealised thoughts. Thoughts and reflection on why we started blogging in the first place. I could summarize and rehash Aidan's post...but honestly, I would just butcher a well-versed, poignant and lucid contemplation/confession/resolution that jarred me from my own stupor...

I'm not sure what needs to be done, or even if anything can be done, but I'll certainly try to set my priorities straight.

Thought of the moment (to cite one of my good friends): "Life is not a cake walk."

For an insight into many a blogger head -- mine included -- go and read Aidan's post.

China Miéville on J.R.R. Tolkien

2009-06-22T13:47:00.001+02:00

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MIÉVILLE's derogatory opinion of J.R.R. TOLKIEN is pervasive and documented. His leftist criticism from a few years back denotes TOLKIEN as stultifying (i.e. tending to humiliate), reactionary, pompous, petty and in favour of status quo among other things. He consciously strived to move fantasy away from TOLKIEN's influence. In other words, MIÉVILLE's goal -- as I understand it -- was to make fantasy more aware of the problems of contemporary world, to make fantasy socialist, subversive and revolutionary, critical of the ruling elite and in favour of the common man. MIÉVILLE's position on the genre is, as he admitted himself, also indebted to MICHAEL MOORCOCK. MOORCOCK's highly critical and somewhat elitist position on the genre, or rather, the genre paradigm stemming directly from TOLKIEN is evident in the article titled "Epic Pooh", which is also well worth reading.

Now, "Lord of the Rings" was the first fantasy book I've read -- how cliched, I know :) -- and I don't, or rather, I won't, say a bad thing about it. Of course, I'm open to criticisms directed at "LOTR", as long as they are rational and constructive, and I wouldn't go out of my way to stubbornly defend it (I'm stallwart, but I'm not that rigid). But when it comes to me thinking about reviewing the trilogy, I wouldn't want to do it, because I don't feel that I'm grown up to the task. I'm positive that my attempts at impartiality would be utterly thwarted by my own feelings of affection and nostalgia. All this holds true only, if I wouldn't be completely disillusioned upon rereading "LOTR", but which I wasn't when I did reread it a couple of years ago, so it does, hold true that is.

In one of MIÉVILLE's latest entries as a guest blogger on Omnivoracious, he tempers his past commentaries on TOLKIEN with what could be called a praise or even a hommage -- he even mentiones the words grateful and rocks -- to the forefather of the large piece of contemporary epic fantasy, if only from the perspective of MIÉVILLE's past barrage of denunciation. Although he still acknowledges that even an author of TOLKIEN's fame can and -- exactly because of such high standing -- must be open to intellectual reproach, he nevertheless gives TOLKIEN credit for the achievments and contributions he's made to the genre, which, MIÉVILLE admits, were seminal and substantial. The essayistic manner in which MIÉVILLE wrote "There and Back Again: Five Reasons Tolkein Rocks" makes it for a dense, scholary read, but the five reasons can, basically, be boiled down to this:

TOLKIEN was responsible for a tectonic shift of focus in storytelling; a shift from Greco-Roman mythology to a more yeasty Norse Magic. Greco-Roman influence on fiction was run of the mill at that time and MIÉVILLE views it as "too clean," "overburdened with percision," and "as cold as Greek and Roman marble". Norse mythos is, on the other hand, more fleshy, anti-moralistic and, well...awesome.
TOLKIEN's vision is tragic. This is a noble trait that most of those who followed in his footsteps forgot -- intentionally or unintentionally -- to take over. The ending of "LOTR" is not happy, even though the good guys win. It is an end of a glorious age: the magic is going west with the elves, a premonition of a more mundane, and thus poorer future. The book ends with strong melancholia and nostalgia for times that are not quite gone yet, but are in passing. All this, argues MIÉVILLE, deserves celebrating and reclaiming.
TOLKIEN "...gives good monster. Shelob, Smaug, the Balrog...in their astounding names, the fearful verve of their descriptions, their various undomesticated malevolence, these creatures are utterly embedded in our world-view. No one can write giant spiders except through Shelob: all dragons are sidekicks now. And so on." All this, coming from a man with seemingly unfathomable imagination, means a lot.
"TOLKIEN explains that he has a 'cordial dislike of allegory'. Amen! Amen!" If "LOTR" would be allegorical, then it would, in one way or another, represent, reflect or suggest resemblance to reality. Metaphor on the other hand does not suggest any such thing. MIÉVILLE still cautions that TOLKIEN's work does "throw off metaphors" that do "all sort of things, wittingly or unwittingly, with ideas of society, of class, the war etc.", but where metaphors "evade stability", allegory, on the other hand, is, "in some reductive way, primarily, solely, or really 'about' something else, narrowly and precisely." An allegorical work of fiction gives promise to the reader that he can 'solve' it by finding a right key, by decoding it, and "TOLKIEN knows that that makes for both clumsy fiction and clunky code. His dissatisfaction with the Narnia books was in part precisely because they veered too close to allegory, and therefore did not believe in their own landscape." So, in MIÉVILLE's view, "LOTR" is worthwile, because it believes in itself and in the world created within. It is 'lartpourlart' in its true sense and whichever stereotypes it does reproduce and if it defends the status quo, it does so evasively and unintentionally. I'm curious though, how does MIÉVILLE's work relate to allegory? Isn't he guilty of the same thing he stands so firmly against in this treatise?
"Middle Earth was not the first invented world, of course. But in the way the world is envisaged and managed, it represents a revolution." Middle Earth was not the first, but definitely "an outstanding herald" of the fantasy worlds that are not secondary to the plot. TOLKIEN represents a paradigm shift which reverses the order of things: "the world comes first, and then, and only then, things happen--stories occur--within it." TOLKIEN calls this process 'subcreation' and it is now, probably, the default fantasy mode and an extremely potent literary approach, whether you denigrate or praise it. MIÉVILLE laments the fact that there is little to no theoretical work on this technique as of yet.

MIÉVILLE concludes his article in a lenient, mannerly way: "There are plenty of other reasons to be grateful to Tolkien, of course--and reasonable reasons to be ticked off at him, too: critique, after all has its place. But so does admiration..." You can read the article in its entirety here.

While MIÉVILLE doesn't recall his past harsh criticism of TOLKIEN, he nevertheless tempers and balances it out by complimenting the Professor and giving him acclaim, where acclaim is due. I'm just curious what brought him 'about'? Was the article written as a consequence of the process of MIÉVILLE's 'wising up' with age or is there a more pragmatic reason behind it? James takes an educated guess and speculates that MIÉVILLE's article comes as an indirect reposte to the RICHARD MORGAN's rant and I'm inclined to agree with him.

~ ThRiNiDiR ~

In the Limelight - The Winner of The David Gemmell Award for 2009 Announced

2009-06-21T11:08:00.001+02:00

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On April 12th the shortlist for the first DAVID GEMMELL LEGEND AWARD was announced and the final five nominees were as follows:
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"Last Argument of Kings" by JOE ABERCROMBIE
"Heir to Sevenwaters" by JULIET MARILLIER
"The Hero of Ages" by BRANDON SANDERSON
"Blood of Elves" by ANDRZEJ SAPKOWSKI
"The Way of Shadows" by BRENT WEEKS

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The award ceremony has taken place on June 19 in the Magic Circle in London and at the end of the night THE DAVID GEMMELL LEGEND AWARD went to:
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"Blood of Elves" by ANDRZEJ SAPKOWSKI

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Congratulations to the winner and condolences to the rest! I haven't yet read "Blood of the Elves", but if I could judge it by "The Last Wish" (SAPKOWSKI's first novel translated into English and reviewed here) then I'd say it was a strong candidate at the least. Now I have no excuse to delay reading it anymore.

David Gunn - Maximum Offense (Giveaway)

2009-06-17T11:59:00.001+02:00

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Thanks to the folks at Transworld, we have two giveaway copies of DAVID GUNN's "Death Head's: Maximum Offense" (2008; Amazon UK) - a direct sequel to "Death's Head" (2007) - for you to win. If you'd like to find out more bout this in-your-face military sf title you can read the review at Graeme's Fantasy Book Review or over at Fantasy Book Critic. A section of what Graeme had to say about the book:

"No expense is spared in bringing the reader the most visceral hand to hand combat, that I’ve seen, along with lots of heavy machinery exploding in a variety of ways. There’s elements of ‘MacGyver’ here as Sven seems able to make use of pretty much anything to get himself out of a tight spot and bring down the enemy."

"‘Maximum Offense’ makes no apologies for what it is, a hefty slice of violent space opera that will entertain. It doesn’t do a lot more than that though so make sure you’re in the right mood to enjoy it before you pick it up (unless you’re a fan already in which case you’ll love it)."

...and here's what Fantasy Book Critic has to say about the book:

"In the end, “Maximum Offense” is basically more of the same in-your-face military SF that was on display in the author’s debut, but where I enjoyed “Death’s Head” I absolutely loved the new book. What’s even better is that there will be at least one more Death’s Head novel and if the first two are any indication, then the book is going to kick some ass…"

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If you are interested in having this book for yourself send us an email at sf.fantasy.books[AT]gmail.com (remember to replace [AT] with @) entitled "DEATH'S HEAD" and containing your full mailing address (name, surname, street etc.). If you don't want your real name/full name posted on our blog when we announce the winners, please include that information in your email.

Because our resources are, unfortunately, still of a very restricted nature, we can't afford to mail the book overseas. What it means is, that this particular giveaway is for European residents only. If you are a member of any particular message board you can include your nickname in the mail as well, but this is not obligatory.

Multiple entries and emails failing to follow the above guidelines will be disqualified.

We will announce the winners of the giveaway on July 7, 2009.

Good luck to all the participants!

James Enge - Blood of Ambrose (Book Review)

2009-06-08T13:46:00.001+02:00

"Blood of Ambrose" (Amazon: UK, US)
by JAMES ENGE
Format: Paperback, 401 pages
Publisher: Pyr (April 21, 2005)

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Like "Midwinter" by MATTHEW STURGES, "Blood of Ambrose" is a novel with a promising blurb and an appealing cover, but it took some time for me to convince myself to pick it up and start reading. Even then, I regarded the first few characters with skepticism: sure, they showed promise, but so did the opening chapters of "Midwinter" and look what those have lead to... Luckily, "Blood of Ambrose" is - among other things - much more coherent than Midwinter, and the opening chapters do not charm the reader in order to make up for a disappointment he will experience later, but rather lead him into a story about a child-king, growing up in a restless age of riots and uprisings.

John from Grasping for the Wind described the plot as "Lathmar's capture, rescue, recapture and rescue again", which correctly describes the gist of it, but there’s more to the story than just the adventures of the little King. "Blood of Ambrose" is an action-packed fantasy, which, despite seeming to revolve around the boy-king Lathmar, actually focuses more on Lathmar’s grown-up ‘assistants’ and his distant relatives: his ‘grandmother’ Ambrosia, her brother, the notorious Mordock, and his apprentice, who all fight Lathmar’s war in order to bring peace back to his kingdom. There is still a lot of focus on Lathmar’s adventures, though, which makes "Blood of Ambrose" a nice blend of YA and fantasy – the not-too-serious narrating tone prevents "Blood of Ambrose" to sound too bleak or ominous when regarding some of the graver events like the uprising of the ‘zombies’ and the painful past of the Ambrosii (i.e. Mordock and Ambrosia). At the same time, we get a pretty realistic picture of Lathmar as a boy: he hardly knows what the grown-ups are talking about half of the time, he has no special skills except for those which are more or less common in his family and his perception is, at times, rather naïve.

Some reviews claim that "Blood of Ambrose" lacks characterization, but I disagree. Sure, there is a lot of unused potential to the characters, but we get to know their main personality traits and since we view them mostly from Lathmar's perspective I think it's only logical that they all seem a bit mysterious and distant – after all, these are the basic attributes of an adult viewed from a child's perspective. There are also a lot of little tidbits of characters' pasts, which implies that we'll get to know them even better in the sequel, This Crooked Way (personally, I suspect that Mordock will appear there as the main character).

"Blood of Ambrose" has other problems, though – what I missed most was humour. There were some attempts at it, but I just didn't find them amusing enough. There were maybe two or three really humorous moments, but mostly, it just seemed as though there were a lot of little holes in the flow of narration or dialogue which should be filled with humour but were, for some reason, left empty.

At times, parts of the story are simply left unfinished, such as the part where Lathmar falls in love and then never mentions or remembers that again. What bothered me as well were the parts with Hope, who only appears a few times; her relationship with Ambrosia could use some more detail and overall complexity. Also, how come Morlock is still confused by the signature in her note to him, when he received a farewell from her just before that? Such small things make the book look unfinished, which is never good.

These flaws aside, "Blood of Ambrose" is still more than a decent debut with a nice, flowing style, intriguing characters and a unique idea. Its ending led me to expect that we'll see a great deal more of Ambrosii in the sequel, and I look forward to it.

---(4 out of five EvilFruitcakes)
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~Trin~

David Eddings has passed away...

2009-06-04T12:39:00.009+02:00

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DAVID EDDINGS, aged 77, has, sadly, passed away two nights ago, on June 2, 2009. He is most well known for his five-book Belgariad saga, written in 1980'. His fantasy was extremely popular, inspired many contemporary writers, and has helped to carve what we call modern epic fantasy. He was one of the most influential fantasy authors in the eighties and early ninties. Amongst his peers were such authors as Stephen Donaldson and Terry Brooks. While often criticized for his formulaic and repetitive approach to writing (he didn't deny that he started writing fantasy for profit), his works nevertheless possess some inate quality and appeal that made his such a prominent name.

It is always sad to hear that an author passes away, especially one that brought pleasure to so many of us. Our condolances to his family and friends, this truly is sad news for the genre fans. May you rest in peace Mr.Eddings...

source: The Wertzone, Graeme's blog & SFCrowsnest.com

Condensed&Appropriated BOOK RELEASES for JUNE 2009

2009-06-01T10:34:00.003+02:00

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Why condensed and appropriated? Because I shifted through the more extensive publication lists that were published elswhere (I wouldn't want to take credit for other people's work: The Deckled Edge, SFRevu.com, The Ostentatious Ogre and Fantasy Book Critic) and I appropriated them for my own needs; since I'm rather picky the list I'm making is also of a condensed nature :).

Without further ado, the books of June 2009 that look especially promising are:

"Best Served Cold" (June 1, 2009 UK) by JOE ABERCROMBIE
"The Angel's Game" (transl. June 1, 2009 UK and June 16, 2009 US) by CARLOS RUIZ ZAFÓN
"Nights of Villjamur" (June 12, 2009 UK) by MARK CHARAN NEWTON
"Retribution Falls" (June 18, 2009 UK) by CHRIS WOODING
"Naamah's Kiss" (June 24, 2009) by JACQUELINE CAREY
"Warbreaker" (June 9, 2009 US) by BRANDON SANDERSON

For the rest of the books being released in June 2009 follow the links above.

As for what you can expect from us in the next couple of weeks is Trin's review of "Blood of Ambrose" by James Enge, my review of "Infoquake" by David Luis Edelman and a new giveaway, so stay tuned...
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~ Thrinidir ~

Alison Goodman's "The Two Pearls of Wisdom" - Giveaway contest winners!

2009-05-31T17:32:00.002+02:00

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Thanks to all of the participants who entered the competition, but the book is going to only one person, and that person is...

Anne-Elisa, France

The book is going to be shipped as soon as possible and the date of arrival depends only on how fast the guys on the post work :). I'd again like to thank the good people at Transworld, who made this giveaway possible and to the rest of you, better luck next time!

Untill another good book finds its reader...

Carlos Ruiz Zafón - The Shadow of the Wind (Book Review)

2009-05-25T19:59:00.001+02:00

"The Shadow of the Wind" (Amazon: UK, US)
by CARLOS RUIZ ZAFÓN
Format: Paperback, 544/487 pages
Publisher: Phoenix / Penguin (October 2005 / January 2005)

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CARLOS RUIZ ZAFÓN was quite famous in his motherland Spain for his appealing YA literature even before he set his pen to write "The Shadow of the Wind" (which will, from now on, be referred to as "TSotW"). But it was "TSotW" that brought him international fame and recognition as one of the speculative fiction's most promising new authors (where 'new' is a relative term). Even though "TSotW" was written back in 2001 it took several years for the various translations to circle the globe and reach world-wide popularity and acclaim.

If we look at this novel at face value only, it's a pretty straightforward mystery/crime story set in Spain's lascivious metropolis Barcelona in one of it's more ominous periods - reign of fascism and general Franco. Our protagonist, a 10-year-old by the name of Daniel, discovers a spellbinding book and the more fascinated that he becomes with it, the more he prods into it's authors shady past, more dangerous, interwoven and jarring the discoveries and his everyday life become. But "TSotW" wouldn't be written by a Spaniard if it didn't include tinges of Mediterranean passion and love for life. But when you finish the book and think of it, this is so much more than a 'simple' mystery/crime story (which isn't all that simple to begin with), but a book about life itself and why it's worth living for - and what's worth dying for as well. So, like all great literature, "The Shadow of the Wind" transcends any simple genre labeling.

Telling you more about the story than I just did would be pointless and counterproductive to the message I'm trying to convey in this review, but let it be enough to say that the plot itself is as enigmatic, gripping and intense as one would want from a mystery/detective story. The pace - after a slow start - and suspension of disbelief are handled with the guile of a master storyteller for the better part of the novel as well.

Characters are, for the most part, complex and multi-layered, but also most vivid and sympathetic. ZAFÓN is prone to caricature his characters (i.e. representing them in a mildly exaggerated manner for the purpose of comic relief from the otherwise often bleak and dreary content). If there was a specific character in the novel, beside the main protagonist Daniel, that I'd want to expose, it would definitely be Fermin, once secret agent and now homeless person who played for the wrong side and attracted an unwanted attention from a certain vicious police inspector. His musings and dialogues are really an accomplishment of smart writing. ZAFÓN's history as a writer of YA literature is most clearly evident with how he approaches and handles his characters and this is one of the biggest appeals of "TSotW"; characters of this novel stir up the reader in a profound way, they bring out the awe, youth and innocence in us, and it's simply priceless.

If I had any grievances with the book they would be that the start is somewhat slow and that I didn't always like how Zafon handled the relationship between Daniel and his father. Well, when I think on it, quite a few families we meet in "TSotW" are portrayed as at least mildly, if not severely, dysfunctional and estranged, but with Daniel and his father it feels like there is a void in narration; the reader expects some kind of shift, closure or...something, but it never comes. But other than that, "The Shadow of the Wind" is a terrific example of how powerful - as in meaningful, smart and moving - can a scribbled slab of dead wood be. May ZAFÓN's fate never reflect that of Julian Carax*.

----(4,5/5 Fruitcakes)
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* Julián Carax - The alleged author of "The Shadow of the Wind". Daniel desperately seeks to find out the truth about this mysterious man: the reasons for his journeys, the truth about his childhood, and the explanation for why his books are all being destroyed.

p.s. Definitely the best book I've read in the last year and a half (rivalled only by the brilliant "Flowers of Algernon" by Daniel Keyes - reviewed by Trin).

GRRM...

2009-05-14T12:54:00.009+02:00

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...is not your bitch.
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I'm glad NEIL GAIMAN agrees with me (I've commented on Aidan's post back in January) and James (link to his post).

To reiterate my comment:

" I usually stay away from GRRM debates, it’s become pointless over the years. Some people are just to thick or plain obsessed to be reached with rational arguments. My stand evolves around the following conviction: GRRM is a writer, and even though this is his profession, it is also a form of art, creative endeavour…you can’t put a deadline on art; well…you can, but the results won’t be satisfying in most cases. I don’t care if he is an outliner or a freewriter, he gets the job done in the end and the only standards he has to live up to are his own, and the only obligation he has is to himself. I’m as big a fan as there is, but I haven’t thought even once that I’m in any kind of position to pester George about it. I don’t care when he does it, as long as he does it the best he can. Fu** the griefers and the bullys and the offended fans, if he does it right, his work will be praised and cherished for decades to come (if not more).

Is George being unprofessional; from mere business perspective - yes, but profession and art don’t go always hand in hand. I think he has chosen the right path.

And why are people upset anyway? There are so MANY good to great authors out there, stellar work is being published almost on weekly basis; do yourself a favour, stop obsessing about ASoIaF and go read something else, if you call yourself a book lover. Breathing down your favorite author’s back and making his life more difficult than it already is is not only distasteful, but plain rude. GRRM seems as a sensible fellow, not entirely unconcerned about what passes around him.

Why shouldn’t he make posts about football and favorite figurines…it is his right and privilege to do so. He is only a human being, not a Writer 24/7 for god’s sake. If you don’t care for his human side, don’t read his not a blog, period. Writers are arstists, creatives…they need inspiration and time for the fruition of their ideas; please don’t rush them.

I’ve only touched upon the topic, but I’ve made my stand clear, I might have even fought fire with fire, but the attitude of some people demanding this and that really bothers me. I don’t believe that writers are untouchable, but some people really go to far. "

And here's what James from Speculative Horizons had to say on the matter:

" I almost called this post 'A Dance With Dickheads' because that's how I view some of the 'fans' that constantly berate George R. R. Martin for the delay in delivering A Dance With Dragons, but then that would just be stooping to their level.

I have posted on this subject before, and I'll now post on it again since the issue of the delay with Dance has once more reared its ugly head. Shawn Speakman proved the spark this time, with an interesting article about how whether any of the criticism of George is justified. Since then, other bloggers have given their views on the whole business:

Wert has written an excellent piece that explains the reason for the discussion in the first place, before giving his own reaction to the various accusations of the 'antifans' (I like that term, it has a nice ring to it...).

Aidan has given his thoughts here (look for the well-considered comment by blogger Thrinidir).

Graeme has also waded into the debate, including an amusing story about the time he met GRRM himself...

I'm a huge fan of GRRM, and naturally I've got my own feelings on the matter. Whereas my fellow bloggers have written carefully considered articles, I'm going to just have a good rant. Apologies in advance if it's a little incoherent...

George R. R. Martin is an amazingly talented writer, and A Song of Ice and Fire is a brilliant fantasy series. We should be grateful that we have had the chance to read his work, and we should appreciate the blood, sweat and tears that he has put into it. Let's be honest here - the guy's given his readers an unsurpassed reading experience and countless hours of enjoyment (and by that I mean not just by reading the books, but debating their many mysteries online). GRRM's work is something to be celebrated and cherished.

Yet sadly we have 'fans' who spend their time berating GRRM's apparent tardiness, demanding fresh news on the long-awaited next novel, and whining about how he's being 'disrespectful' by refusing to reveal how close the book is to completion. These deluded antifans think GRRM should be writing 24/7 to deliver Dance, that he shouldn't watch another second of NFL until the manuscript is turned in, and that when he's not writing he should be updating us all on his progress. GRRM, they squeal, 'owes' us.

What absolute bullshit. GRRM owes us nothing, and anyone who says he's being disrespectful to his fans is deluded. The guy's a human for fuck's sake, not a bloody machine (can you tell I'm getting angry now?). He can't write for 24 hours a day. More than that, just like anyone else, he's entitled to his free time. He needs his free time. So what if he blogs about NFL? So what if he blogs about politics? It's his blog - he can blog about whatever the hell he wants (Aidan, I'm afraid I completely disagree that he should only blog about ASOIAF!).

Oh, but it's distracting him from his writing, they say. He's wasting time that he could spend writing ASOIAF. More bullshit - check out Wert's post for the reason why that argument is a load of hot air.

Look, I'm as big a fan as the next person. ASOIAF is my all-time favourite fantasy series. I am looking forward massively to Dance. But I'm not being a tosser and whining about how long it's taking, and I just don't see why some people feel the need to. There's loads of excellent books by other authors out there, so go and read something else while you wait!

What many readers don't understand is that writing is an organic process. It ebbs and flows. It's not like a factory conveyor belt, churning out the same product every time. You have good days and bad days. Sometimes you hit a brick wall and can't get past it. Other times, you feel unstoppable. You just can't rush it. You have to take your time. Writing isn't easy, as some people think. It's bloody hard at times - as someone who's had work published before, I know this from personal experience. We just have to accept that Dance will be done when it's done, and only GRRM knows when that will be (or maybe not even he knows).

Look, I don't deny that GRRM made a mistake saying Dance would follow closely on the heels of Feast. With hindsight, that was the spark that led to all these pointless flame wars and I think GRRM would be the first to admit that he's learned a lesson. However, I wouldn't go as far to call him unprofessional, which is the stance that Speakman takes. Go ask his publisher and see if they give you the same answer - I doubt it somehow.

I admit the odd update on his progress would be appreciated. But even when he did give us updates, people complained about their lack of frequency. So he's criticised if he does give updates and criticised if he doesn't. No wonder it drove him nuts and he gave up on updates altogether. I think some people would only be satisfied if he updated us every day, and that is just never going to happen.

You know what riles me the most? The antifans that claim GRRM is rude/discourteous to his fans. That is a total crock of shit. I've met GRRM, and as I've said before, he's a true gent. Great sense of humour, very humble and really down-to-earth. When I told him I dabbled in short fiction, he asked me what I'd had published. He then gave me a few words of advice. Discourteous? Disrespectful? Hardly.

In fact, it's the antifans that are being disrespectful. Hurling abuse at a man that has given them so much enjoyment is childish, petulant and downright stupid. We should show GRRM the respect he deserves, and wait patiently while he makes Dance as good as it can be. If it takes another five years, then so be it. I'll still be here. "

Frank Beddor - The Looking Glass Wars (Book Review)

2009-05-13T10:45:00.003+02:00

"Looking Glass Wars" (Amazon: UK / US)
by FRANK BEDDOR
Format: Paperback, 384 / 400 pages
Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd. / Puffin (May 2005 / August 2007)

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Princess Alyss Heart’s life turns upside down when her vicious Aunt Redd beheads Alyss' mother and begins to rule over Wonderland with an iron fist. Alyss escapes from Wonderland and is exiled to Victorian London, where she is adopted into a new family, renamed Alice, and befriended by Lewis Carroll. Wonderland never leaves her mind, though, and at age 20 she returns to Wonderland in wish to overthrow Redd.

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Wonderland is real, folks. Carroll enthusiast, proceed to jump with glee. Someone--somewhere--has stepped forward, once again shedding the light on the classic adventure of a girl who stumbles upon a bustling rabbit and a strange little world. I, being one of the Wonderland-junkies, had to pick it up and make sure Carroll’s legacy was being kept properly.

Too bad that Looking Glass Wars was not much to my liking.

Not that it wasn’t an enjoyable read. It was. I read it in one sitting, almost entirely immersed in this vicious new Wonderland, where only the disloyal and heartless survive. I was incredibly impressed with Mr. BEDDOR’s imagination with the whole thing. He took a children’s book with roughly drawn characters and turned it into this maniacal world with armies and palaces … I could even go as far to say that he has created an entirely new world. The idea of turning the Cheshire Cat into a Cat assassin with nine lives was brilliant. The Mad Hatter has become a loyal but deadly guard for Queen Genevieve (aka the White Queen) and her daughter, Alyss Heart. The Red Queen/Queen of Hearts is, of course, the sinister Redd, and the wise scholar Bibwit Harte (an anagram for White Rabbit) is the royal tutor.

I’m not good at summaries in the least, so I’ll just get to the point: it was okay. Not marvelous, not terrible. Simple okay. The setting is fantastic, unbelievably creative, with such an amazing twist on everything. This might have, however, been the downfall of the whole thing.

It seems like the author spent SO MUCH DAMN TIME coming up with the setting, twisting these characters into generals and queens and princesses, that he forgot about the rest. It feels like he spent too much time exploring one scene, then remembered he had a plot to follow and rushed it through so he could quickly get to the next part. When I read books, the first thing I look for is a connection to the characters. Am I rooting for him/her? Am I invested in their life? Do I want them to win? I did not find any of this with Alyss Heart.
Looking Glas Wars is narrated in a cold, detached third person point of view, and the author separated the moment she fell into Victorian London and thirteen years later when she returns to Wonderland with a single paragraph. There is no time for the reader to relate to Alyss, or even to get to know her well.
First she’s seven and running around with a group of homeless orphans. The next moment she‘s ten and put in an orphanage. In a nick of time, she’s eleven and adopted and trying to push aside her Wonderland memories. Finally, she’s twenty and all of a sudden a powerful queen. I really wouldn’t mind reading an extra two hundred pages or so as long as there would be more insight, perspective and details. It would have been interesting to see how she adjusts to this new, drab world. She comes from Wonderland, a place full of color and imagination and strange creatures, to one of the bleakest places of the Victorian era, where women are meant to stay in their place and imagination is near-sin. There is a prince who proposes to her, their relationship is described in five paragraphs, tops, and when they’re about to get married, she’s suddenly back in Wonderland with little to no transitions explaining this.
She mentions that she loves the Liddels, who raised her, but she hardly even describes them or the rest of the family whatsoever. The only one she describes at length is Mrs. Liddel, and what she has to say about her is not really positive. How am I supposed to cares for these people when she left them without a thought, replacing herself with a figurative clone she created of herself (using imagination, which has obviously become a kind of superpower). There is no indication that she misses them, even though they were raising her since she was ten, or that she missed Wonderland during the time of her exile. Upon her return, everyone greets each other with quick, cold mutterings that hardly reflect the fact that none of them have seen each other for most of Alyss’ life.

Honestly, I could go on like this all day, but then my rating would make no sense. Despite the plot being rushed and detached from the characters, the setting was really imaginative and made "Looking Glass Wars" quite fun to read. "Looking Glass Wars" has brisk pace with a lot of action sequences, and some of the characters - such as Jack of Diamonds - are just hilarious to read about. While this may not be enough to overlook the sloppily written plot, it does make "Looking Glass Wars" an enjoyable light read.

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~ Dannie ~

Alison Goodman - The Two Pearls of Wisdom (Giveaway)

2009-05-11T18:14:00.004+02:00

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Thanks to the folks at Transworld, we have one giveaway copy of ALISON GOODMAN's "The Two Pearls of Wisdom" (2008) for you to win. If you aren't familiar with this endearing fantasy title, you can read Trin's review here. She liked it quite a bit and calls it feminine and graceful; here is a snippet of what she had to say about it:

"...successfully manages to merge the essence of the Orient and a classical tale of a commoners (who is, in this case, also disadvantaged by being a cripple and a woman in a patriarchal society) rise to power and fame, all wrapped into a delightful story of intrigue, warfare and discovering one’s past. All in all, “The Two Pearls of Wisdom” is a very enjoyable read, which flows smoothly and never fails to hold your attention, but brings nothing new to the - full laden fantasy - table."

If you are interested in having this book for yourself send us and email at sf.fantasy.books[AT]gmail.com (remember to replace [AT] with @) entitled "TWO PEARLS" and containing your full mailing address (name, surname, street etc.). Because our resources are of a very restricted nature we can't afford to mail the book overseas, alas. What it means is, that this particular giveaway is for European residents only. If you are a member of any particular message board you can include your nickname in the mail as well, but this is not obligatory.

Multiple entries and emails failing to follow the above guidelines will be disqualified.

We will announce the winners of the giveaway on May 31, 2009.

Good luck to all the participants!

Michael Moorcock - The Stealer of Souls (Free Fiction)

2009-05-07T11:19:00.005+02:00

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MICHAEL MOORCOCK is a legend of science fiction and fantasy. Period. Despite the fact that he has written quite a few distinguished literary novels (he never dedicated himself fully to fantasy or science fiction) he is nevertheless most known for his recurrent creation of the the Eternal Champion, where "Elric of Melniboné" and his adventures represent only one part of the Multiverse, but they are undoubtedly his most popular works to date. Elric is an anti-hero (he is the actual prototype for the anti-hero characters that came after him) written as a deliberate reversal of what Moorcock saw as clichés commonly found in fantasy adventure novels at that time (think Lord of the Rings or Conan).

In 2008, Del Rey Books reprinted the original, classic Elric material as a series of three illustrated books: "The Stealer of Souls", "To Rescue Tanelorn", and "The Sleeping Sorceress". Subsequent volumes appearing in 2009 (Duke Elric and Elric in the Dream Realms) and 2010 will reprint later material.

And now, "The Stealer of Souls" (the first reprinted book), is available for free and you can download it via following links: Download, Kindle, Sony Reader, Scribd.com

And if you are interested in synopsis:

When Michael Moorcock began chronicling the adventures of the albino sorcerer Elric, last king of decadent Melniboné, and his sentient vampiric sword, Stormbringer, he set out to create a new kind of fantasy adventure, one that broke with tradition and reflected a more up-to-date sophistication of theme and style. The result was a bold and unique hero’”weak in body, subtle in mind, dependent on drugs for the vitality to sustain himself’”with great crimes behind him and a greater destiny ahead: a rock-and-roll antihero who would channel all the violent excesses of the sixties into one enduring archetype.

Now, with a major film in development, here is the first volume of a dazzling collection of stories containing the seminal appearances of Elric and lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist John Picacio’”plus essays, letters, maps, and other material. Adventures include ‘The Dreaming City,’ ‘While the Gods Laugh,’ ‘Kings in Darkness,’ ‘Dead God’s Homecoming,’ ‘Black Sword’s Brothers,’ and ‘Sad Giant’s Shield.’

An indispensable addition to any fantasy collection, Elric: The Stealer of Souls is an unmatched introduction to a brilliant writer and his most famous’”or infamous’”creation.

Via BookSpotCentral.com

May Day

2009-05-01T10:40:00.006+02:00

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For what is worth nowadays, we wish you all great 1st of May (International Workers' Day).
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Everybody knows one can't live on principles and rights alone. But do bear in mind, that if we accept their suspension for the duration of a crisis then it's very likely that the crisis, at least for us, will never end.

Good luck to all of us!

In the Limelight - 2008 Nebula Award winners announced

2009-04-26T15:39:00.010+02:00

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The winners of 2008 Nebula Award have been announced yesterday (April 25); the recipients of the Nebula Award are as follows:
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Best Novel: "Powers" by URSULA K. LeGUIN

Best Novella: "The Spacetime Pool" by CATHERINE ASARO

Best Novelette: "Pride and Prometheus" by JOHN KESSEL

Best Short Story: "Trophy Wives" by NINA KIRIKI HOFFMAN

Andre Norton Award for YA fiction: "Flora's Dare" by YSABEAU S. WILCE

Bradbury Award: JOSS WHEDON

Script: Wall-E

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...and the Grand Master Award was awarded to HARRY HARRISON, respectively.

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Congratulations to all the winners! I'd like to thank Larry from OF Blog of the Fallen for breaking the news to me. The nominees from the final ballot are listed here (you can read the long list here), Joe Sherry from Adventures in Reading has been diligently reviewing all the nominated works he could get his hands on (with the exception of the nominated novels) and you can read his thoughts on the nominated short stories, novellas and novelettes. If you're interested in reading the winners and the rest of the nominated work that is available online for free, then follow this link. Finally, you can read about the last years winners here.
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Reviews? Reviews! Reviews.

2009-04-23T15:03:00.003+02:00

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The Hard Way.

Reivews? Reviews! Reviews. The hard way. is a new fiction review blog that sprouted up on the blogosphere this April and it's run by Ripley "who doesn't write about herself" and she's "sorry about it". Thank's to our Danny who pointed us towards her sister's blog. Be kind, drop by and wish her luck. Godspeed Ripley, we'll be seeing you around :).

Matthew Sturges - Midwinter (Book Review)

2009-04-20T01:30:00.002+02:00

"Midwinter" (Amazon: UK, US)
by MATHEW STURGES
Format: Paperback, 345 pages
Publisher: Prometheus Books / Pyr (March 2006)

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You probably know how it is when a book's cover looks so great and its summary sounds so intriguing that you want to adore it straight away, without even reading it. In fact, you could almost say you're afraid to read such a book because you don't want to get disillusioned. I felt like that when I got "Midwinter" in the mail – but to my relief, when I finally dared to open it, I found out that its beginning was great.

The opening scene shows us directly into a prison brawl, where we meet two of the main characters; a warrior called Mauritane and the mysterious Raieve. There is no introduction to the world in which the story takes place or to the events that lead to either one’s imprisonment, which is one of the reasons why the beginning is so gripping and intriguing. When the plot became quest-oriented soon after the opening chapters, I was not disheartened – even though there is a danger of getting trapped into the usual cliché of quest-oriented fantasy (the great hero goes on a quest, saves the world and gets the girl), there are still really great books with quest-based plots. I was also charmed by the amount of humour present (you can find an example at the beginning of SQT’s review) and I often laughed out loud while reading. Plus, there were curious little tidbits of mystery: different worlds, the strange Gifts and re energy of the elves, Mauritane and Purane-Es’ past … The first third of "Midwinter" showed great potential – honestly, I was certain that it could get better than, say, one of the Abercrombie’s books.

The problem is that all the initial potential went more or less to waste. In fact, the book deteriorates so much after the first third that the reader wonders whether STURGES simply got lucky with the beginning. First signs that the story has started to go wrong appear soon enough: on about one third of the novel, more and more of the details don’t get explained, and the adventurers are revealed to bear the most typical roles of adventuring party members:

a near-omnipotent, loyal and honourable leader
a mysterious elven woman who is, depending on situation, either a cold-blooded fighter or a damsel in distress
a wizard whose sole point in life seems to be chasing young women
a human physicist who serves as the clumsy, confused provider of comic relief and
a few elves, who seem to be there only because STURGES felt that not all of the party members should survive but couldn’t spare any of the important ones.

Other characters are, sadly, none the better. Hy Pezho is your typical frustrated villain who abhors the fact that he is of no interest to women and wants to achieve greatness in order to finally win the hearts of the court ladies. The two Queens of the opposing sides appear to be little less than statues when it comes to their character – we don’t even get to know why exactly our party of ‘good guys’ follows one and not the other, since the only vague reason we get is somewhere along the lines of ‘ well, we’re used to being loyal’. Lady Anne is one of the rare brighter spots here and the only character who isn’t strictly black or white; she is shunned by society because of her noble husband’s imprisonment and must choose between loyalty and social life. Purane Es is half mindless, vengeful jerk and half romantic poet who is forced to obey his father’s wishes. My almost-extinguished hopes rose when Purane-Es decided to win Lady Anne for himself and delivered the ‘you’re so special, I’ve never felt like this before’ speech – I was delighted with how evil, cunning and convincing he was. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that he was, in fact, being honest.

At that moment, I put "Midwinter" down for a week. I can’t describe how disappointed I felt – I kept hoping that all those little mysteries will be solved, that the questions will get answered and things like Gifts will get explained, but as I neared the ending, I saw that this was not the case. When I finally decided to pick "Midwinter" up again, I saw that it would be better if I left it unread – the conclusion is the lowest point of the book, not because it were badly written but because it is the end of all hopes that Midwinter’s potential will be put to good use. The party almost trips over the quest’s objective, but we still don’t get to know what good the quest actually was. The aforementioned Gifts and re energy are only mentioned once or twice after the beginning, the humour is completely gone after the first third and it is painfully obvious that things like Silverdun‘s transformation and the human settlement subplot were meant to have a purpose which was then lost in the process.

This might sound a little harsh, but I was reminded of the time when I was 14 and trying to write a ‘book’. I had lots and lots of ideas (not terribly innovative ones, but still), but I just piled them all up and then filled the holes with random stuff. When I look at that text now, I see a few good ideas, some unused potential and a lot of useless junk. "Midwinter" is pretty similar in that aspect – piled up ideas, lots of fillers and a potential to be something much, much better. For now, though, "Midwinter" is more of a raw draft than anything else, and will leave a bad taste, regardless of how good the sequels are, but they can push the trilogy onto an average level and maybe even past that if they return to the style of Midwinter’s first third. If it weren’t for the latter, "Midwinter" would be a total waste of time.
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~ Trin ~

The David Gemmell Award 2009 (shortlist)

2009-04-14T13:10:00.004+02:00

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On April 12th the shortlist for the first DAVID GEMMELL LEGEND AWARD has been announced and the final five in alphabetical (bold) order are as follows:
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"Last Argument of Kings" by JOE ABERCROMBIE
"Heir to Sevenwaters" by JULIET MARILLIER
"The Hero of Ages" by BRANDON SANDERSON
"Blood of Elves" by ANDRZEJ SAPKOWSKI
"The Way of Shadows" by BRENT WEEKS

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Congratulations to all the nominees! I've only read the first book so my (partial) vote lies with LAoK; I've heard a lot of good stuff about Sanderson (Mistborn is sitting by me pleading to be read), Sapkowski (The Witcher was brilliant) and Weeks though...nothing about Marillier, but I don't doubt the book deserves recognition. So, where lies your vote?
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Hugo Nominees 2009: Free Reading

2009-04-14T02:38:00.005+02:00

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Asimov's Science Fiction has made available all of their Hugo and Nebula award nominees for 2009 as a free read up on their website.
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HUGO

Novellas
"The Erdmann Nexus" by NANCY KRESS
"Truth" by ROBERT REED

Novelette
"Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders" by MIKE RESNICK
"The Ray-Gun: A Love Story" by JAMES ALAN GARDNER
"Shoggoths in Bloom" by ELIZABETH BEAR

Short Story
"26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss", by KIJ JOHNSON
"From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled", by MICHAEL SWANWICK

NEBULA

Novelette
"The Ray-Gun: A Love Story" by JAMES ALAN GARDNER
"Dark Rooms" by LISA GOLDSTEIN

Short Story
"26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss", by KIJ JOHNSON
"Don't Stop" by JAMES PATRIK KELLY

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I'd like to thank Joe Sherry From Adventures in Reading for the heads up.

EDIT: Thanks to MentatJack for directing me to his Hugo tracking post, where he offers quite a few more links to free online versions of Hugo nominees ("Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow, all of the nominees for Best Novellete as well the nominees for Short Story and almost all the nominees for Best Novella). Good stuff.

~ Thrinidir ~

The ULTIMATE (and somewhat bloated) Best Of 2008 List: Recap & Conclusion

2009-04-08T13:10:00.002+02:00

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Finally, here is the absolute "Ultimate Best Of 2008 List"! I perused every single article in this ongoing series of articles we've been posting over the last couple of months [links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6 & The RoSF List] and the linked sites that were referred to in each subsequent article, including the huge database of various 'best of' lists over at FANTASY BOOK CRITIC (link). Here I've compiled a list that's made up from all the books that were mentioned at least 6 (5) times (on different lists, of course, and regardless of the ranking, if the list in question happened to rank the books in any manner); also worth mentioning is that this is technically not a real 'best of' list, but more of a 'most popular' books list, since - among other things - some of the lists sorted the books from best to worst and others listed them in no particular order, making it very hard to determine the absolute winner of 2008. What is more, the books we've taken into account weren't necessarily released in 2008, they just had to be read last year. The books with the same number of mentions are listed in alphabetical order and are as follows.

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1. Last Argument of Kings [review: 1, 2] – JOE ABERCROMBIE, 2008 (12 mentions)
Little Brother – CORY DOCTOROW, 2008 (12 mentions)

3. The Graveyard Book – NEIL GAIMAN, 2008 (11 mentions)

4. Anathem – NEAL STEPHENSON, 2008 (1o mentions)

5. The Name of the Wind [review coming soon] – PATRICK ROTHFUSS, 2007 (9 mentions)

6. The House of Suns – ALASTAIR REYNOLDS, 2008 (7 mentions)
The Shadow of the Wind [review coming soon] - CARLOS RUIZ ZAFON, 2001/2004 (translation) (7 mentions)
The Ten Thousand [Review] – PAUL KEARNEY, 2008 (7 mentions)
Thunderer [review coming soon] – FELIX GILMAN, 2008 (7 mentions)
The Terror [Review] – DAN SIMMONS, 2007 (7 mentions)
Toll the Hounds – STEVEN ERIKSON, 2008 (7 mentions)

12. Caine Black Knife – MATTHEW W. STOVER, 2008 (6 mentions)
Pump Six and Other Stories (short story collection) – PAOLO BACIGALUPI, 2008 (6 mentions)
The Drowned Life (short story collection) – JEFFREY FORD, 2008 (6 mentions)
The Painted Man [Review] – PETER V. BRETT, 2008 (6 mentions)
The Steel Remains [review coming soon] – RICHARD MORGAN, 2008 (6 mentions)

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A bit of STATISTICS for interlude: there were 518 different sf&f books mentioned in all the lists we used in our survey, but only 142 of those were mentioned more than once and only 74 were mentioned more than twice. Another interesting fact: while a lot of these ‘Best of 2008’ lists were not limited to books that were published in 2008, these books still prevail on overall.

What about the RUNNER-UPS? There are 10 books who missed the top of the chart by only one mention - and they're all just as (some even more in my opinion) interesting as the top tier:
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17. Implied Spaces – WALTER JON WILLIAMS, 2008 (5 mentions)
Lavinia – URSULA K. LE GUIN, 2008 (5 mentions)
Matter – IAIN M. BANKS, 2008 (5 mentions)
Old Man's War [Review] – JOHN SCALZI, 2005 (5 mentions)
The Alchemy Of Stone – EKATARINA SEDIA, 2008 (5 mentions)
The Dragons of Babel – MICHAEL SWANWICK, 2008 (5 mentions)
The Engine's Child – HOLLY PHILLIPS, 2008 (5 mentions)
The Gone-Away World – NICK HARKAWAY, 2008 (5 mentions)
The Red Wolf Conspiracy [Review] – ROBERT V.S. REDICK, 2008 (5 mentions)
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse (anthology) – ed. JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS, 2007 (5 mentions)

Congratulations to all the books that made it on this list (and to the ones that were left out by a small margin as well). There is not much to say really, since most of the books you see listed here have been getting a lot of attention (with a few exceptions) on the blogosphere and other relevant genre sites in the past year. Although this list reflects POPULARITY of books before anything else, it is still somewhat an indicator of the QUALITY of these books. We read only a handful of the titles listed above and we have the intention to correct this mistake in the future, but from what we've read we can agree with the pick in most cases. We're not going to write an opinion for each of the books and whether they deserve to be on the list or not, but I'd like to hear what the rest of you think...is there a book that is missing on this list, but should be there? Or maybe one of the most popular books you see here doesn't deserve to be nearly as popular as it appears to be here? All in all, we've put much work into making this list and I hope it will give you at least a small insight into what went on in science fiction and fantasy genre in the past year.
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Trin & Thrinidir

Paul Kearney - This Forsaken Earth (Book Review)

2009-03-30T18:17:00.001+02:00

"This Forsaken Earth" (Amazon: UK, US)

by PAUL KEARNEY
Format: Paperback, 368/336 pages
Publisher: Bantam Press/Spectra (July/November 2006)

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KEARNEY needs no introduction on RoSF, as we have already given him a lot of attention; I reviewed a couple of his books: (1) “The Mark of Ran”, the first book of The Sea Beggars trilogy (2) and “The Ten Thousand”, a heroic tale of a highly organised mercenary army and its epic journey through a hostile empire. “This Forsaken Earth” picks up where “The Mark of Ran” left off - with Rol Corthishane running from himself and his past to live as a ruthless but loyal pirate captain. While this book cleverly eschews some of the pitfalls of the middle-book syndrome it is in other ways still deeply trapped by those same dangers: the most obvious one is how the story, which was sublimely set up in “The Mark of Ran”, develops but little.

But if the plot progression disappoints to an extent, the reading experience itself is still as emotionally mesmerising as was with the previous book, if not more so. The novel doesn't resolve any of the questions raised in the first novel, it even raises some new ones, but while both the story and the main protagonist stagnate, author nevertheless manages to put a few hints here and there that he has something great in store for the reader in the final book of the trilogy, which is yet to be released (hopefully by the end of this year).

Cortishane and his motley crew of followers are flawed and morally ambiguous, but feel real and are likeable. Sadly, Cortishane's most trusted sidekicks lack a bit of character development, but I guess it's hard to fully flesh out a plethora of characters, if you write in such a condensed way as KEARNEY does (this is even more prominent in “The Ten Thousand”, his latest book). I still believe that the author has excellent skills for characterisation, but he intentionally (or unintentionally) chooses not to put it to the forefront of his novels. The bits of story that are character - not plot - driven are brilliant; I especially enjoyed how he handled the interaction between Rol and Rowen, Rol's lost love, when they happen to meet again. If anything, she is a true femme fatale, a woman I could find my self falling for. She is cold, haunting, distant, but scarred and also caring in her own way.

The world wherein the story transpires is lush and mysterious, but again, it remains largely unexploited (and unexplored). One third of the story takes place in the hidden pirate city that we were introduced to in the first book, another part of the story takes place in the war-riven state of Bionar, which was presented all to sketchy for my tastes, and the final part of the story unfolds in a bleak, wintry setting of a certain mountain ridge that Rol and the people that follow his lead have to pass to escape prosecution. To be honest, I enjoyed the first book's setting more, even if it was more static (and small-scale) compared to how this book's story resonates with the surroundings; I'm referring to the large household that was run by a charismatic and vile master, ruled by protocol and riven with hidden chambers (this was freshened up sporadically with Corthishan's forays into the city beyond). But I think I'm straying from the point here.

If I summarize my impressions of “This Forsaken Earth”: I must say, that despite all the niggles I had, the book remained a compulsive read throughout, KEARNEY's storytelling abilities are as sharp as ever and his style leaves the impression of being intentionally brash, simple, primordial and uncompromising at times. I wouldn't say that this book impressed me as much as I wanted it too do, but it certainly has some brilliant moments and is, generally speaking, a work of quality that I can nothing but recommend.

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~ Thrinidir ~

The ULTIMATE (and somewhat bloated) Best Of 2008 List [part 7] - THE RoSF LIST

2009-03-23T16:25:00.005+01:00

And now, finally - and also long overdue - Realms of Speculative Fiction Best of 2008. The only guidelines we followed while making this list were (1) that the books had to be read (but not necessarily published) somewhere in between January 2008 and March 2009 (2) and that most of the books comprising the list have to be genre related (the terms sf, fantasy and horror were perceived in the broadest sense possible). TRIN, MADWAND & THRINIDIR started regurgitating the books we read in the past year and you can find out which books we thought were more special than others from here on; let's start with Trin's reading highlights of 2008...

TRIN: I've already listed some of my favourite books of 2008 in Thea and Anna's Smugglivus post, but as soon as that list was posted, I realised I forgot to include some of the other books I've read last year as well. So, here goes: the full list of my favourite books of 2008, in alphabetical order.

Ender's Game (1985) by ORSON SCOTT CARD: I enjoyed this one greatly, but sadly never wrote a review for it (though I plan to do that after a re-read). It's one of the classics of the SF genre, but I didn't even know it existed until last year. The funny thing is that despite my love for this book, I don't plan to read any of the following instalments, at least not in the near future. Probably because I doubt they can get any better than Ender's Game.

Flowers For Algernon (1966) by DANIEL KEYES - Another classic! (In fact, about half of this list is made of classics … I'm slowly discovering some great things that others read ages before. I blame it on not being from US/UK.) Also, one of the first reviews I wrote. I suspect it'll stay one of my all time favourites, because it's one of the best books I've ever read.

Heroes Die (1998) by MATTHEW WOODRING STOVER – I'd never have thought that such a great book can hide behind such a funny cover. I can't get the second installment anywhere, though, since it's out of print, and I'm not going to read the third one without reading the second one first, so I'm kinda stuck. I also don't want the e-book (what good is an e-book without an e-book reader? True, I could spend some extra hours at the computer screen, but that doesn't sound very appealing to me) – as someone said: I need a dead tree in my hands when I read. Sorry, trees.

I Am Legend (1954) by RICHARD MATHESON – A classic again, and one of the rare 'horror' books we've reviewed on RoSF (I don't really think it a horror book, but I can hardly call it sf or fantasy …). I find it funny that at the time of reading it, I was perfectly sure that it was written in the 90s and kept asking myself why doesn't he use some technology. Hah! Also, I didn't watch the movie – I mean, they failed at choosing the main character (Neville from the book has pale skin, blue eyes and blond hair), so I didn't want to know at what else they've managed to fail.

It (1986) by STEPHEN KING – I don't know if this one should be called a classic, but it surely is a notorious book. I guess it's a sort of book that you love or hate, and I'm clearly on the former side. One of my little pleasures is creeping out people who only watched the TV series and think they know what "It" is about. Did that with Thrinidir and he swore that he's never going to read this book. Awww. :(

Orphan's Tales (2006, 2007) by CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE – Finally, a book (two of them actually; Book One: In the Night Garden and Book Two: In the Cities of Coin and Spice) that's pretty fresh! It's a criss-cross between a fairytale storybook and 1001 nights (which could also be called a storybook, I suppose), written in a very poetical language. Very nice.

Otherland (1996-2001) by TAD WILLIAMS – This series has been sitting on Thrinidir's bookshelf for quite some time, but it never seemed really interesting to me. Thrinidir, however, insisted that I should read it, and I finally did so in the last days of 2008. I'm glad that he insisted.
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The Name of the Wind (2007) by PATRICK ROTHFUSS – Still trying to write a review of this one. It's one of the best fantasy books I've read lately, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.-
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The Road (2007) by CORMACK McCARTHY – I can't believe I almost forgot to include that one. Another one of my beloved post-apocalyptic books with a sociological note and a beautiful story. I can't wait to see what the movie will look like.

The Steel Remains (2008) by RICHARD MORGAN – An actual 2008 book :) I loved every part of it – the realism, the explicit language that went with it, the characters, everything. A thought: there can hardly be any strange slash fanfic written for this one.
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The Terror (2007) by DAN SIMMONS – I've read Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion before this one, but it's The Terror that made me a real fan of Simmons'. The only book I've read and re-read in 2008.

Wasp Factory (1984) by IAIN BANKS – Not sure if this is speculative fiction at all, but I nevertheless loved it. I can't explain what's so great about a book where almost everyone is obviously crazy, though, but Banks is one hell of a writer who managed to successfully pull the whole thing off.
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MADWAND: Even though I managed to read only a few books in 2008, there was one that stood out; Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006). I should thank Thrinidir for having been such a pest [Thrinidir: "Oh rlly?"]: he has continuously badgered me about this book until I caved in and finally read it.

Locke is a young thief whose talent is recognized and nurtured by a con artist, Chains. A man with a vision, Chains moulds Locke and the other orphans he took under his tutelage into a group of confidence tricksters feared by the wealthy nobility. But then the plot thickens... :) Lynch did manage to spoil the experience near the end, but the overall impression was a very positive one. How can one not like a well written tale of charismatic con artists set in a fastastic rendition of Venice?
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THRINIDIR: I don't read as much as some of the people I know and I'm not as genre knowledgeable as others, so I wouldn't take my year's pick as a definite indicator of sublime quality or some other serious referential pointl (i.e. I'm not saying that the books I'll be highliting represent the actual top of the crop), but I'm doing this in hope that people will be able to find at least a few noteworthy suggestions to add on their reading list.
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Last Argument of Kings (2008) by JOE ABERCROMBIE. Though I was slightly less satisfied with the final volume of the superb "The First Law Trilogy" (Blindman was even more disgruntled by it) than with its two predecessors, especially "Before They Are Hanged", I still highly value Abercrombies' satirical wit, feel for characterization and utter disregard for what the endings should be like by the genre standards. This trilogy is definitely one of the highlights of the new millennium.
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The Painted Man (2008) by PETER V. BRETT. While I called this book light-weight and suffused with genre staples it is still one of the best - if not the best - fantasy debuts of 2008. This is book one of the "Demon Trilogy" and its main purpose is to set up the world and introduce the main protagonists, but here this is not that much of a problem, since the characterization is sublime and a few innovative elements are thrown into the mix with the genre archetypes. This is a traditional fantasy, but it feels modern without the explicit content that a lot of authors abuse to try and make their book distinguished from the genre classics (and the dross).
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The Shadow of the Wind (2001) by CARLOS RUIZ ZAFÓN. I'm in the process of writing a review for this monster of a book. What defines it as a monster isn't its length or even the inclusion of horror elements, but the richness of the prose and chock-full of thematic content and references. This is a book about life, but carefully hidden behind a mystery story that unfurles in the fascist Spain under general Franco. While not a fantasy, horror or science fiction book in the strictest sense of the word, it is still one of the finest books I've had the privilege to read in the past recent years. Highly recommended.
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Chronicles of the Black Company (the original novels were published in 1984,1984 and 1985; the omnibus was published in 2007) by GLEN COOK. In a recent review of the "Black Company" books that I've came across the author of the article refers to these books as a "...revered ancestor that should be honored as well as awarded a significant place in the history of the genre, but they shouldn't be (re)visited often, because while they left their mark on the genre, they have been outlived and outperformed by its successors." While I agree with this estimation to an extent, I was nevertheless left more appreciative (as opposed to the author of this review) of the Black Company and Glen Cook when I finished this terrific omnibus. While the Black Company books might be labeled as sort of an revered ancestor, I still think that they should be visited at least once, by anyone who loves down-in-the-trenches first person narrative, charismatic protagonist or simply put - great fantasy.
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The Road (2006) by CORMAC McCARTHY. The most evocative and touching book I've read in ages. Somber, moody, oppressive and primal, but never falling into the pit of pathetic. This is the book you need to read as soon you can. You really mustn't miss the sad journey of one father and his son following the road to nowhere in a fictional post apocalyptic world. Simply brilliant.
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The Mark of Ran (2004) by PAUL KEARNEY. Paul Kearney, who? I've never heard of this author before I've started following online book reviews; Adam from The Wertzone referred to Paul Kearney as one of the most under appreciated fantasy authors out there and every since I've decided to read "The Mark of Ran", book one of The Sea Beggars trilogy, I have to agree. After this book I've read two more of his titles ("This Forsaken Earth" and "The Ten Thousand") and each of them is marked by the distinctive quality of Kearneys writing. He is a master storyteller who knows how to weave a tale and I promise you, when you'll pick up a book signed by Kearney - if you haven't already - you will be everything but disappointed.
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Flowers for Algernon (1966) by DANIEL KEYES. If I'd have to pick a favourite book I read last year, it would arguably be this one. "Flowers for Algernon" is Daniel Keyes' opus magnum that won the Nebula for Best Novel (with Babel-17) in the year that it was published. This is, technically speaking, a diary of a man who undergoes a surgical procedure that allows him to slowly progress from a state of idiocy to become nothing less than a genius and then gradually regresses to his previous state. The author shows tremendous insight into the human condition and has a knack for making you care for the protagonist. This is an ingenious work of fiction, you just have to be smart enough to pick it up.

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I promise that the next article in the series (part 8, if I counted right) will be the last one; we only need to tally up all the books people refered to as special in 2008 and give you the final numbers (i.e. the books that were mentioned on the most lists).