Blood of the Muse

Poll - To Number Or Not to Number

2009-09-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

Seems I stirred up some folks when I tried to explain my rating system in a recent interview with Temple Library Reviews. Some took my cowardice comment personally. It's a shame, but it happens.

James from Speculative Horizons, Joe from Adventures in Reading, Larry from OF Blog of the Fallen, and Jeff of Fantasy Book News & Reviews have all come to a consensus: I'm an idiot. Like retarded banana pepper level of idiocy. And a likely cross-dresser.

Well, I could have told you that.

Which makes me wonder: should I drop the number grade from the end of my reviews here on Blood of the Muse? Do you as the reader find it helpful or superfluous? Does it even matter?

There's a poll on the right, so cast your vote now. Whatever people decide is what I will go with.

Oh, and vitriolic comments and emails are welcome. Thanks for playing.

The First 100 - Richard Kadrey's "Sandman Slim" (Eos)

2009-09-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, most urban fantasy sucks. With the ridiculous romantic subplots, supernatural stupidity, sluts a-plenty and the ubiquitous Does-this-cover-make-my-butt-look-fat dust jackets, most urban fantasies are about as much fun as taking a cheese grater to your tender parts.

So when you encounter something really good in the genre, it's like a happy cool breeze on a hot day. The proverbial breath of fresh air.

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey is more like a cyclone of fresh air. It's that good. 100 pages in and I'd already recommend this book, however it turns out. Kadrey's voice is utterly unique and singularly wacky. Not since Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt series have I read an urban fantasy this good, this cool, this damn wicked. Definitely something to be checked out, particularly if you like urban fantasists like Charlie Huston, Warren Ellis, and Mike Carey.

News - Blood of the Muse Interview

2009-09-07T11:13:00.001-07:00

Harry over at Temple Library Reviews has a super cool feature on his site called Reviewer Time. Every Sunday he interviews a new blogger/reviewer, turning the tables on them and making them squirm.

This week it was my turn in the hot seat to answer questions. Witty. Insightful. Controversial. My interview is none of these things. I'm just a big goof. Shows why my own Mom doesn't think I'm cool.

For those who want to read it, check it out here. And stay a while to check out Harry's site. It's a great one.

"Hand of Isis" by Jo Graham (Orbit)

2009-09-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hand of Isis
Jo Graham
528 pp. Orbit. $14.99
Pub. Date: 3/23/2009
ISBN-13: 978-0316068024

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

Queen Cleopatra.

She’s different things to different people; where Egyptian mythology meets flesh and blood. A Guardian of Egypt, Protector of its People, and an incarnation of the Goddess Isis. A lover, mother, friend, and sister. A shrewd politician and savvy negotiator, smart, sassy and driven.

And dead for over two thousand years.

So how do you breathe life back into someone that’s been dead for so long? How do you recapture a time that even the dust has forgotten? These are the questions historical fantasies struggle with, the questions they must answer to have any chance at being successful novels. Making history come alive is like scaling Mount Everest: difficult. Pain-in-the-ass difficult.

It’s difficult since modern readers often can’t relate, and don’t wish to. So you have to dress the history up, letting it show a little skin, making it sexy and appealing for the MTV generation. Resurrecting the past is like re-animating a corpse. One needs a little bit of Dr. Frankenstein in them, mad scientist hair aflutter, screaming to the heavens “It’s Alive”, in order to pull it off.

If Hand of Isis is any indication, Jo Graham must have oodles of Dr. Frankenstein oozing from her pores. Because Hand of Isis doesn’t feel like a history lesson; it’s not dry, dusty and stifling, not a dead legacy as fresh as two-dead old Texas roadkill. It’s not a museum piece, mummified behind glass, reeking of decay. No, this novel lives. And it’s a magnificent monster. So ruffle your hair, and scream with me, quickly before the villagers come: It’s ALIVE!

The story is told from the first-person perspective of Charmian, handmaiden, half-sister and childhood best friend—along with another half-sister Iras—with Cleopatra. Together they form a powerful triumvirate, the Egyptian equivalent to the Three Musketeers, each one a symbol and incarnation of the Goddess Isis, each one indispensable. They are three sides of the same coin, three faces of the same nation.

Choosing Charmian as the narrator of the story was a perfect choice by Graham. Historical fantasies work best when the narrator is not the main historical figure, but rather an observer with access to said figure’s inner circle. If Hand of Isis had been told from Cleopatra’s perspective, most of her characterization would have been lost, because Graham defines and delineates Cleopatra mainly through her relationships with the other characters. We would not see Cleopatra the Queen or Cleopatra the mother from her perspective as well as we can from the eyes of Charmian. Royalty and being regal is an attribute best observed, not explained.

It helps that Charmian is also a strong and appealing main character. The narration would suffer if her personal story wasn’t as interesting as her observations of Cleopatra.

Graham brings Egypt to life with impressive skill, too. Alexandria feels modern and fresh, a worthy consort of Rome. Most importantly, the city doesn’t feel dead; it doesn’t feel like a tomb. The Great Pyramids, mummies and death rituals are not the prevailing imagery. This is an Egypt where life reigns supreme. And it’s gorgeous to behold.

I’ll admit I’m not a fan of historical-based fantasies. But I’m a fan of this book. Vivid to behold, like a spring meadow bursting with flowers, Hand of Isis enthralls.

Final Grade: 83 out of 100

The First 100 - L. Jagi Lamplighter's "Prospero Lost" (Tor)

2009-08-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'll admit it--that is the first step after all--one of my favorite comedies is The Tempest by that Shakespeare fellow. There, my dark dirty secret laid bare before you.

This explains why I was so eager to jump into Prospero Lost by L. Jagi Lamplighter. See, Prospero Lost continues the story of Miranda and Prospero, the two main characters from Shakespeare's play.

In the novel, Prospero has disappeared, leaving only a directive behind for his dutiful daughter, Miranda, that sends her on a journey to track down her estranged siblings, warning them of an impending danger, the Three Shadowed Ones.

The novel reads like a detective story, with a quirky literary charm sprinkled liberally on top. It's action-light, though, so Prospero Lost is very much a character-based fantasy. Still, it's quite engaging, especially for the English Lit geeks among us.

"Nowhere-Land" by A.W. Hill (Counterpoint)

2009-08-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

Nowhere-Land
A.W. Hill
468 pp. Counterpoint. $25.00
Pub. Date: 6/1/2009
ISBN-13: 978-1582434988

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

Stephan Raszer is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill private investigator sleuthing for dollars; he transcends the typical pulp noir P.I.s drawn and shaded with crayons straight out of Mickey Spillane’s monochromatic Crayola collection. He doesn’t sit alone, waiting, generally for some sexed-up dame to walk through his badly stenciled door and lay a case down on his desk; meanwhile, worrying about where this month’s rent money is going to come from, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, worn fedora cocked to the side, bottle of rotgut on his desk; his shabby office with water-stained walls situated in a dilapidated, rodent-infested building. Even when said sexed-up dame does show up on his doorstep, usually murder’s the name of the game.

Not with Raszer, though. Finding missing people is his Monopoly. And it’s something he’s good at. Really good at.

And these aren’t the got-lost-on-the-way-to-the-liquor-store-hey-check-me-out-on-the-side-of-a-milk-carton kind of missing persons. These people fall off the grid completely, seemingly vanishing into thin air, spiritual victims led astray by persuasive cults or religious-themed alternate reality games. Victims, who’ve searched for God in all the wrong places, looked for salvation in too many faces. One moment they’re here, the next—poof—gone like the Devil in a brimstone-scented puff of smoke.

See, Stephan Raszer is a cult specialist; an extractor who finds and returns people, who have tumbled down the wrong spiritual rabbit hole, back to their loved ones. He doesn’t save them just physically, but mentally and spiritually, a shaman who guides them back to the flock, shepherding them, protecting them. He’s not just a deprogrammer looking to reverse the effects of brainwashing, he’s more. He’s a soul savior.

His latest missing person is a young woman named Katy Endicott, a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who was abducted during a brutal triple homicide. In order to find Katy, Raszer will have to travel deep down the rabbit hole, to where mysticism and reality converge, always careful not to lose himself—and his soul—in the process.

Trying to describe A.W. Hill’s Nowhere-Land is like trying to describe how something tastes without using the word chicken. Extremely difficult, to the point of seeming nearly futile. Forget about putting it neatly in some genre; it’s far beyond genre. It’s like nothing you’ve ever read before, probably like nothing you’ve even imagined before, singular and refreshingly unique. And completely unforgettable.

Hill seamlessly merges together disparate elements in the narrative like mysticism, cults, castration, religious-based alternate reality games and Middle Eastern slavery rings, each element well-researched and imagined, creating an intellectual powerhouse of a novel. Nowhere-Land is stunningly intricate, detailed and erudite, a novel that is both highly philosophical and substantive containing numerous overlapping layers. Which makes Nowhere-Land extremely challenging fiction.

Most of the challenge comes from the mystical, reality-distorting nature of the novel, which is most evident in its last act. Nowhere-Land is the mystical experience, novelized; it is belief, faith and spirituality, described. It’s the visions of Hildegard of Bingen wrapped up in a mystery like an evangelical egg roll. Points in the novel are reminiscent of Plato’s allegory of the cave, surreal moments where the reader emerges from the shadowy confusion of the cave to behold the light and truth outside, finally glimpsing reality, utterly overwhelmed. While disorienting at first, it’s also extremely rewarding, and it makes Nowhere-Land feel mystical. Special. And, strangely, believable.

A.W. Hill’s Nowhere-Land will likely be overlooked by readers due to its challenging subject matter and genre-defying nature. That’s a shame, because it’s one of the most substantive and unique novels I’ve read in years. Clearly, one of this year’s best.

Final Grade: 88 out of 100

The First 100 - S.A. Swann's "Wolfbreed" (Spectra)

2009-08-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Wolfbreed by S.A. Swann is not a book I'd normally pick up to read, but the blurb on the back from George R.R. Martin had me giving this one a shot.

And I'm glad I did. A hundred pages in, and I'm loving it.

Yeah, it's a werewolf book, but Swann takes it in such a new direction, it feels fresh and novel. And completely unexpected.

I can see this one falling through the cracks, which is a shame. Because it deserves a broader audience.

The First 100 - Joe Abercrombie's "Best Served Cold" (Orbit)

2009-08-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Say this for Joe Abercrombie's novels: they're distinct. Easily identifiable. Only a few pages in, and you know you're in the warped mind of the master.

Must be all that glorious torture porn. Because if someone's not being tortured in the first five pages of an Abercrombie novel, you need to immediately return it to your point of purchase for a refund. Likely one of those pod aliens has abducted Joe and left a simulacrum behind.

All that said, one hundred pages into Best Served Cold and I'm enjoying myself immensely. Go torture porn!

Collector's Corner - David Anthony Durham

2009-08-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

Since he was recently awarded the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, what better time than to highlight David Anthony Durham. A couple of years back when he was at San Diego Comic Con, I was able to score this autograph. Enjoy.

Book Giveaway: Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

2009-08-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

This is for those who love urban fantasy, and like it a bit philosophical. Up for grabs is a copy of Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch. If you aren't familiar with it, I have a review posted here.

Others. They walk among us, observing. Set in contemporary Moscow, where shape shifters, vampires, and street-sorcerers linger in the shadows, Night Watch is the first book of the hyper-imaginative fantasy trilogy from bestselling Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko. This epic saga chronicles the eternal war of the "Others," an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers who must swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light.

The agents of Light--the Night Watch--oversee nocturnal activity, while the agents of Dark keep watch over the day. For a thousand years both sides have maintained a precarious balance of power, but an ancient prophecy has decreed that a supreme Other will one day emerge, threatening to tip the scales. Now, that day has arrived. When a mid-level Night Watch agent named Anton stumbles upon a cursed young woman--an uninitiated Other with magnificent potential--both sides prepare for a battle that could lay waste to the entire city, possibly the world.

To Enter to Win: Send an email to pstotts@bloodofthemuse.com with the subject line "WATCH" and include your name and mailing address in the body of your email. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Winners will be selected at random. No purchase is necessary. Contest is open to worldwide residents. Contest ends: September 1, 2009 at 11:59pm PST.

For more Blood of the Muse giveaways: click here.

Bloggers: if you promote this contest on your blog, I will give you an additional entry. Email me at pstotts@bloodofthemuse.com with the subject line "WATCH", and include the address to your blog in the body of the email, or you can leave the address to your blog in the comment section of this post. I'll check it out and make sure you get another entry.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

"Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson (Tor)

2009-08-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

Warbreaker
Brandon Sanderson
592 pp. Tor. $27.95
Pub. Date: 6/9/2009
ISBN-13: 978-0765320308

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

Those pesky politically arranged marriages; they can be trouble. What may have started as a good idea to wed two governments together to ensure an era of blissful peace and cooperation can quickly turn sour.

One day, you’re a princess, with a bee-hive hairdo and silky flowing garments, gallivanting like Snow White across a flowered meadow, a precious song in your heart, birds twittering on your shoulders; the next, you’re married to some God King ruling a rival kingdom, serving as a noble vessel whose only purpose is to provide an heir, a royal Rent-A-Womb.

Soon you discover many in the government who despise your homeland, viewing your people as rebels in need of a good crushing; eager to convince the God King—your new husband—to go to war. A war you may be helpless to stop. A war you’re not prepared to stop.

Because you were never meant to be in this position, never meant to marry the God King, never meant for the political wrangling, the behind-closed-doors negotiating, and court intrigue. Never meant to be important. That was supposed to be your older sister, the brilliant bulb in the family, the one with grace and poise, who’d been promised to the God King since birth, and prepared accordingly. Instead, she’s back home, safe, for now, her entire life’s purpose now yours.

Two sisters. Their places switched. Both struggling to prevent a bloody war that seems inevitable. Both struggling to save the other.

Let’s get to the point quickly. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson rocks. Rocks like Jimi Hendrix grooving on the San Andreas fault, guitar screaming to the rock-n-roll heavens, shifting tectonic plates supplying a throaty bass rumble. It’s a teeth-rattling, Richter-scale busting seismic shock of a fantasy novel. It’s intense, humorous and full of life. And one of the absolute best fantasy reading experiences of the year.

Successful world-building in fantasy often depends on the author’s ability to bring alive four important aspects: politics, religion and mythology, history, and the physics of magic. Only in thoroughly detailing and exploring each area does the author give the reader a full and rich fantasy world. Sanderson excels at this, lovingly crafting each aspect, giving the reader some real tender meat on each of these four rib bones. Simply stated, the world-building in Warbreaker is fantastic; it’s immersive, complex, and smart.

And while the world-building is sufficiently complex, I found Warbreaker to be one of the easiest and most accessible books. It’s one of those rare novels where after only a few pages, you’re hooked, caught in the flow; it’s the best kind of magic. The kind where a spell’s been cast over you, sucking you deeply into the world, submerging you. Taking your breath constantly away.

Political intrigue—with religious overtones—makes up the heart of the story. Warbreaker isn’t about silly quests, fancy magical swords, or an all-singing all-dancing troupe of dwarf entertainers. It’s about power, raw naked power. And the struggle for it. The plotting for it. The killing for it. It’s about lies and deception, trust and sacrifice, and—maybe even—love. It’s about people. Real people; not caricatures or clichés. And that’s what makes it resonate.

And then there’s the magical system Sanderson has created. It’s the fantasy equivalent of comfort food, like the warm and gooey inside of a sweet chocolate chip cookie. In the novel, the magical coin of the realm is breath. The more you have, the greater your abilities. Give an object enough breath, and you can animate and control it. Along with breath, color plays an important role as the magical impetus. While breath may give the object life, color provides the spark which gets things started. It’s fuel for the fire. Articles of clothing and non-animate objects can be drained of their color to imbue an object with life. While intricate at first, Sanderson’s magical system eventually becomes wondrous and awe-inspiring, growing and evolving over the course of the novel. Finally becoming completely unforgettable.

There are books that you can heartily recommend, and then there are the kind of books you want to thrust upon everyone you meet, going so far as to lock them in a room, prying their eyelids open, and demanding they immediately read it. Warbreaker is that kind of book; one that must be immediately read. A novel that doesn’t seek an audience, it demands one. Incredible and engaging world-building. Shrewd political intrigue. Awesome characters. Clever magic. And humor that’s actually witty. It’s all in here.

And it’s that which makes Warbreaker rock. Rock on, baby. Rock on!

Final Grade: 91 out of 100

News - Trailer for Thomas Pynchon's "Inherent Vice"

2009-08-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

Love this trailer for Thomas Pynchon's new book Inherent Vice. Better yet, it's narrated by the man himself.

The First 100 - Jo Graham's "Hand of Isis" (Orbit)

2009-08-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not usually a fan of historical fantasies. Most aren't as interesting as the true historical record anyway. And the ones that follow an alternate course in history seem silly.

But after 100 pages of Jo Graham's Hand of Isis, which follows Egypt during the era of Cleopatra, I found myself rethinking my stance on historicals. Well, maybe not all of them. Maybe just the ones by Jo Graham.

Because she's clearly rocking it here. Hand of Isis is shaping up to be one of the best fantasies I've read this year. All hail Cleopatra!

Book Giveaway: Magic Kingdom For Sale: Sold! by Terry Brooks

2009-08-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

Talk about classic fantasy. One of the books I picked up for free at San Diego Comic Con a few weeks back was Magic Kingdom For Sale: Sold! by Terry Brooks. It's an extra copy, so I thought I'd try to find it a new and loving home.

Landover was a genuine magic kingdom, with fairy folk and wizardry, just as the advertisement had promised. But after he purchased it, Ben Holiday learned that there were a few details the ad had failed to mention.

The kingdom was in ruin. The Barons refused to recognize a king, and the peasants were without hope. A dragon was laying waste to the countryside, while an evil witch plotted to destroy everything.

Ben's only followers were the incompetent Court Magician; Abernathy, the talking dog who served as Court Scribe; and the lovely Willow--but she had a habit of putting down roots in the moonlight and turning into a tree. The Paladin, legendary champion of the Kings of Landover, seemed to be only a myth and an empty suit of armor.

To put the final touch on the whole affair, Ben soon learned that the Iron Mark, terrible lord of the demons, had challenged all prospective Kings of Landover to a duel to the death--a duel which no human could hope to win.

The task of proving his right to be King seemed hopeless. But Ben Holiday was stubborn...

To Enter to Win: Send an email to pstotts@bloodofthemuse.com with the subject line "KINGDOM" and include your name and mailing address in the body of your email. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Winners will be selected at random. No purchase is necessary. Contest is open to worldwide residents. Contest ends: August 31, 2009 at 11:59pm PST.

For more Blood of the Muse giveaways: click here.

Bloggers: if you promote this contest on your blog, I will give you an additional entry. Email me at pstotts@bloodofthemuse.com with the subject line "KINGDOM", and include the address to your blog in the body of the email, or you can leave the address to your blog in the comment section of this post. I'll check it out and make sure you get another entry.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

Collector's Corner - Jeff Lindsay

2009-08-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

I've found myself addicted to the Showtime series Dexter recently, immensely enjoying the first two seasons on DVD. Years ago, I read the book the series was based upon, Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, and enjoyed it. I was able to eventually see Lindsay on tour when he was out promoting his third novel in the Dexter Morgan series, Dexter in the Dark. The following is the ghoulish autograph obtained.

"Cemetery Dance" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central Publishing)

2009-08-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Cemetery Dance
Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
448 pp. Grand Central Publishing. $26.99
Pub. Date: 5/12/2009
ISBN-13: 978-0446580298

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

Here’s one for the strange case file. Strange like those head-scratching stories that are plastered in big, bold headlines across supermarket tabloids, like a glittering neon sign screaming: something weird this way comes! Weird things like Sasquatch, UFOs and ghosts haunting the local Piggly Wiggly, a poltergeist in produce causing the celery root to rearrange itself. Strange events that toe the line of believability, that test our gullibility. That seem beyond rational explanation.

The latest entry in this wacky world of weird: a couple is brutally attacked in their swanky New York City loft, the crime scene littered with feathered gew-gaws and voodoo trinkets, the walls finger-painted with blood. Another resident of the building, a struggling and aloof actor, is identified by witnesses during his escape as the assailant; the vicious attack seemingly random and irrational. Weird? Not yet.

No, things get weird—and the story careens off the tracks of normalcy, plunging into the land of tabloids and media honey—when a curious thing is revealed about the assailant. He’s dead. As in six-feet-under-buried-in-your-best-black-suit dead. A suicide victim who took a long jump off a tall bridge; his body fished from the river, taken to the morgue and identified by his sister. And then buried. About two weeks prior to the attack.

So how does a dead man commit such a crime? Shuffling off the mortal coil should limit one’s ability to go all Grand Theft Auto on someone. Clearly, there’s no logical answer. But there may be a sensational one: voodoo. As in the type of voodoo that turns a person into a zombie. And not just a brain-eating mindless shuffling member of the George Romero undead family; this zombie is a little more on the ball, a little more real. And the voodoo behind his creation seems very real.

Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is the latest adventure featuring their wildly popular recurring protagonist, Special Agent Pendergast. For those unfamiliar with the character, Pendergast puts the Special in Special Agent; he’s a superhero without the cape and tights. A genius and Renaissance man, he’s an investigator par excellence, a wealth of information—seemingly omniscient—who can probably tell you the rectal temperature of a bumblebee. And he always seems to be five steps ahead of everyone else like a master chess player toying with three-year olds.

Which makes finding challenges for him difficult. How do you challenge someone who’s intellectually beyond everyone? Who seemingly can catch a perpetrator even before a crime is committed Minority Report-style, just by knowing the evil in men’s hearts and the darkness in their minds. So how do you challenge him? You give him a case that goes beyond rational explanation, and have him attempt to find a reasonable answer. Like an episode of Scooby-Doo with Pendergast playing the role of the pesky kids uncovering a spooky mystery.

Starting with an improbable premise and trying to make sense of it is the underlying hook in the Pendergast thrillers. It’s the novel’s greatest strength and charm, the very definition of an intriguing page-turner. By taking the unknown and making it known. You keep reading just to see how Preston and Child will pull their newest rabbit out of the hat, to see the magic of everything coming together. It’s a summer popcorn movie with thrills-a-minute, but with some of the most intelligent writing you’ll ever see in a thriller. It’s fast, fun, shrewd and accessible, standing alone on its own. Readers can jump right in to Cemetery Dance without having sampled previous Pendergast novels.

But there is a downside to this narrative approach, sometimes the resolution doesn’t satisfy, doesn’t give you the juicy answer you’re expecting. Sometimes it just seems too mundane. Too normal considering the improbable starting premise. This was the case with Cemetery Dance. The buildup is incredible; I found myself rushing through the book, staying up late into the night to finish. Once finished, I found myself asking: is that it? Feeling slightly disappointed in the outcome.

Even with the disappointing ending, Cemetery Dance is a fine addition to the Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child catalog. A finely conceived, executed and intelligently written thriller that’ll keep your nose buried deep within the book. And, ultimately, well worth the ride.

Final Grade: 81 out of 100

Welcome Our Newest Reviewer to Blood of the Muse

2009-07-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Things have been quiet the last couple of weeks here. Really quiet. No reviews, no giveaways, no nothing.

So I thought it was time for some new blood, someone that could bring a fresh and exciting perspective to Blood of the Muse. With that in mind, we welcomed our latest addition to the Blood of the Muse family on July 23, Liam Stotts.

What can we expect from Liam? Well, mostly naps. But he does like his dark fantasy. The type of fantasy that's like bodysurfing in a sewer. Really disgusting stuff. He's already hit my Joe Abercrombie collection, stating that "Joe is the [expletive] [expletive], but if he knew anything about good suckle his latest novel would have been called 'Best Served Warm.' "

Clearly, there's a critic born everyday.

"The Way Home" by George Pelecanos (Little, Brown)

2009-07-14T23:06:00.001-07:00

The Way Home
George Pelecanos
336 pp. Little, Brown. $24.99
Pub. Date: 5/12/2009
ISBN-13: 978-0316156493

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

Fathers and sons. The relationship can often be difficult and frustrating, like a pissing contest between arguing men, their egos clashing, grating against each other. Each one frustrated and conflicted, because they don’t know how to express their love for the other. They don’t know how to say I love you. They don’t know how to let go, to find common ground.

So instead they become adversaries locked in a perpetual battle, both seemingly fighting for what the other one has. Like a superhero confronting his nemesis, right versus wrong, my way or the highway. The spot where old school meets new school, where the past stares into the face of the future, and the present glimpses its future in the past. Where the replaced meets their replacement, the son proclaiming It’s my time, old man, the father holding off the march of time as best he can, knowing defeat is inevitable, his time will soon pass. Knowing one day all his power will belong to his son. All of his legacy will belong to his son, his conqueror.

And the only thing the father can ask is to be conquered by a better man, by a son who’ll protect his legacy, who will appreciate and respect it. He expects it. Expects his son to be twice the man he is. He raises him to be better, riding him every day not to make his mistakes. Because being a successful father means leaving your legacy in the hands of someone better than yourself.

So fathers have expectations of their sons; expectations that can be grating and a point of contention, something to be rebelled against during bouts of youthful spite. When expectations aren’t met, the father disapproves, disappointed with his failures. He pushes harder, demanding more, eventually creating unrealistic expectations. Making it harder for his son to get the one thing he deeply desires: his father’s approval. But at some point, if one can’t get approval, one settles for disapproval.

Because sometimes that’s the only way to get your father’s attention.

Take Christopher Flynn and his father Thomas. Despite being raised in an upper-middle class home, Chris decides he doesn’t want his life to be anything like his dad envisions for him. He doesn’t need college; that’s just not his thing. He was made for something else. Unfortunately something else eventually lands Chris in a juvenile facility.

Now, after serving his time, he must find his way back into society. Find his place in the world. Find his way back home out of the darkness that consumed his previous life. But something tempting steps in Chris’s way, something hard to refuse and ignore. Something that could put him back on the dark path he’s trying to leave behind.

A father’s expectations and a son’s perilous journey to meet those expectations serves as the emotional center of George Pelecanos’s breathtaking new novel The Way Home. This is Pelecanos at his absolute finest: a mixture of classic crime drama, both realistic and utterly gripping, smart and insightful social commentary, and an overwhelming amount of heart. In this respect, it’s similar to the amazing work Pelecanos did as a writer and producer of HBO’s brilliant series The Wire. The Way Home is about real people struggling with real situations, always trying to do their best. It’s about searching for redemption, searching for a chance to turn their life around after a past filled with failures. Searching to find their way home, searching to find themselves. It’s a journey of self-discovery encased in a crime drama. And it’s spectacular.

But even though you try to do your best, try to do the right thing and turn your life around, life sometimes still goes bad. It’s how you respond to these setbacks that measures you as a person. It’s about the choices you make even in the face of adversity. Do you give up, or persevere? Do you spit in its eye, or cower in a corner, fearfully wetting yourself?

The characters shine in the novel; it’s hard not to root for them to succeed. I wanted Chris to figure things out, to get his life back on track, to achieve some sort of redemption. To really connect with his father, finding that common ground where the two could be happy with their relationship. No one should be defined by youthful indiscretions forever; they deserve the room to grow, to become better people. And Pelecanos makes it hard for the reader to not want this for Chris.

Though The Way Home may seem like an incredibly engaging crime drama on the surface, first and foremost it is a character drama. This is what raises the novel above other crime thrillers, pushing it securely into the realm of literary fiction. This is what made me want to call my Dad, just to tell him I love him.

Final Grade: 88 out of 100

Collector's Corner - Brent Weeks

2009-07-06T18:45:00.001-07:00

Here's a signature I expect a few people to be interested in. Last week I had a chance to attend an informal signing with Brent Weeks. Having attended a fair share of author events, I have to say that Brent put on a great show, coming off as humorous, witty, and thoughtful. If you ever get a chance to visit with Brent, I recommend it wholeheartedly. Until then, here's a peek at Brent's authorial scrawl.

Collector's Corner - S.J. Day

2009-07-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

While the book Eve of Darkness wasn't for me, I know there are people out there who love the series. So for all you urban fantasy lovers out there, here's the signature of S.J. Day herself.

"Eve of Darkness" by S.J. Day (Tor)

2009-07-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

Eve of Darkness
S.J. Day
368 pp. Tor. $6.99
Pub. Date: 4/28/2009
ISBN-13: 978-0765360410

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

There must be an unwritten law that all urban fantasy heroines must be attractive. And not just the everyday kind of attractive, but the causing-men-to-lose-all-self-control-and-self-respect-set-your-phasers-on-stunner type of attractive. The better-than-Viagra type of woman. Forget the other non-genetically blessed ladies who already struggle with a negative body image, and don’t even mention women who fell out of the ugly tree, hitting every branch on the way down—they could never be heroines in the genre. Because they’re not hot. And chicks kicking butt have to be hot.

Do you find that offensive? Because it is.

Super-attractive urban fantasy heroines isn’t just a bad cliché, it’s a damaging one, a terrible message, a knife in the heart to the female empowerment vibe underlying these books. So much of the protagonist’s worth is related to her looks, to her ability to attract that dark, brooding—and very sexy—guy. That’s not empowering, that’s limiting, objectifying. Because what happens if you can’t attract the sexy guy? And why is attracting him such a crucial objective? Is saving the world not as important without the nookie on the side?

Which brings us to the latest in hot little fantasy packages, Eve, the perky protagonist in S.J. Day’s Eve of Darkness. She’s smart, sexy and personable; spunky like a hyperactive barista with a triple espresso IV. Entirely normal. Until some illicit sex changes her life. No, it’s not the kind of life change that requires going to a clinic for some ointment to treat a bothersome itch. Her happy carnal congress has left a different mark on her: the mark of Cain, turning her into a supernatural Dog the Bounty Hunter. Got a gargoyle urinating on you outside your local church? Better call Eve.

Suddenly, she transforms from the Kryptonian Kal-El into Superman, manifesting a slew of handy-dandy super-abilities. Like super-hearing. Super-sight. Super-agility. And—oh yeah—being super-horny. (I exaggerate often; this is not one of those times, though. Who knew superpowers could be so encouraging to one’s love life.) Talk about your teenage boy wish fulfillment; Day just became their favorite writer. With such an overactive libido, it is amazing Eve has time to fight the baddies and unravel mysteries. But she does; she’s a trooper like that, a team player. Luckily, she has some help, an ex-boyfriend serving as her Obi-Wan, teaching her about her new super-abilities, even helping with that being super-horny problem. What a guy!

The sex is gratuitous in Eve of Darkness, entirely unnecessary in furthering the plot. Like an urban fantasy got mated with a late night Cinemax flick, killing creatures of the night fills the time between bedroom excursions. Even worse, it’s boring. The narrative is consistently interrupted by incongruous and dull soft porn moments, distracting the reader from an otherwise well-executed storyline. If Day had removed all the sex scenes from the book, she would have been left with a pretty good yarn. It’s a shame, and a missed opportunity.

Maybe the sex scenes wouldn’t have been so frivolous if there was emotion and love behind them. But the chemistry between Eve and her ex-boyfriend is also lacking. Day tries to convince us of this great connection, this deep bond, a romantic intensity between the two, but I never saw it, never believed it. Both act as if the other is the love of their life, but I couldn’t figure out why that was the case aside from pure animal lust. I didn’t believe they had respect for each other. Even worse, I didn’t think they had any self-respect. There is no connection, no emotion. Like watching animals mate on the Discovery Channel, or two self-absorbed twenty-something attempt a relationship. Uninteresting and depressing.

Eve of Darkness isn’t a bad book. With more focus on the fantasy narrative and less on the romance aspects, it might’ve even been a good book. It’s just not the book for me. Those who love their urban fantasy with truckloads of sex should love it, though.

Final Grade: 60 out of 100

Author Appearances - Brent Weeks

2009-07-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

This is a special treat for Southern California fans. Just found out that Brent Weeks will be visiting informally with fans at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego on Friday, July 3. Should be a fun time.

Friday, July 3 2009
5:00pm
Mysterious Galaxy
7051 Claremont Mesa Blvd. Suite 302
San Diego, CA 92111
Map it on Google

The First 100 - A.W. Hill's "Nowhere-Land" (Counterpoint)

2009-06-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

A streetwise shaman searching for a missing girl. Sounds like your typical mystery. Maybe even a bad mystery.

But 100 pages in you realize that A.W. Hill's Nowhere-Land is anything but typical. And no where near bad. It's incredibly well-written, scholarly, philosophical, and about as far out there as you can get in its subject matter. Hill's pioneering new ground here, and it's fascinating to watch.

One of the few mysteries that really attempts to engage the reader on an intellectual level.

The First 100 - Brandon Sanderson's "Warbreaker" (Tor)

2009-06-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

100 pages into Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker, color me very impressed. An extremely imaginative magic system and some great world building has this one already shaping up to be one of this year's fantasy highlights. And the humor is great throughout, which is a pleasant surprise.

This is my introduction to Sanderson's work, and I'm cursing myself for not having taken the plunge earlier.

Live and learn.

"Lamentation" by Ken Scholes (Tor)

2009-06-28T21:11:00.001-07:00

Lamentation
Ken Scholes
368 pp. Tor. $24.95
Pub. Date: 2/17/2009
ISBN-13: 978-0765321275

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

A cataclysmic event. A city vaporized—instantaneously. One moment a city filled with bustling, teeming life: people strolling down wide cobbled avenues; vendors hawking their wares, shouting; children laughing; scholars poring over vast tomes in the Great Library, pensive, scribbling notes in the margins; then: nothing. A city gone. Destroyed. Eradicated. Replaced by a cloud of ash, dark as death’s panties, polluting the air, like a crematorium burping out an entire city. Only a dirty smudge left, as if a child suddenly dragged their eraser across the map, destroying everything.

As the ash settles—a glowering sun browbeating it to the ground, regaining its aerial supremacy—the aftermath is revealed. Once there was a vibrant city, the seat of the Androfrancine religion, the home of the Great Library that collected and housed most of the world’s knowledge. Now: dust. Buildings razed, blackened, shimmers of heat roiling across the ground; random fires dotting the landscape, crackling and hissing, orange embers swirling in the air like fireflies. Charred bodies are everywhere. In the streets, near the town squares, under the buildings. Everywhere. There are no survivors; no one to care for the dead, no one to say a prayer, no one to bury the bodies.

But there are two witnesses to this atrocity. This Desolation. One is a teenage boy, and one a mechanical man. Both are instrumental in the war that comes next.

Some stories end with a bang, some start with one. Literally. Wars are often the same way, starting with a pivotal event, a defining moment, a casus belli. Pearl Harbor. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The Gulf of Tonkin. 9/11. Ken Scholes’s debut novel Lamentation starts with such a cataclysmic event—the obliteration of the city of Windwir—before documenting the many-sided war that arises out of this event.

That’s not to suggest that Lamentation is a novel-length description of a massive war campaign. Because it’s not. It’s better. More intelligent, more insightful, more intriguing than a typical sword-thrust-by-axe-blow description of a battle. Scholes’s novel concentrates, instead, on the politics of warfare, on the real power, the puppetmasters behind the scenes, controlling the players, guiding events and people. And their mysterious motivations for doing this. It’s court intrigue, amplified to a Spinal Tap-approved eleven; it’s powerbrokers wheeling, dealing, and, most importantly, stealing, with a grin on their face and blackness in their hearts. It’s the Usual Suspects meets K Street, where the biggest crook lurks in the shadows, hidden, unknown. A ghost.

The narrative is told mainly through the points-of-view of four central characters, with a few additional character perspectives tossed in along the way. It’s an effective way to document the behind-the-scenes political maneuvering without bogging the story down with too many characters doing too many things. Which makes the novel more personal than epic; more about a group of characters dealing with an extraordinary incident rather than the incident itself. More a view of the individual trees, and less of the forest.

The downside to such a tight focus on the characters is that there’s only moderate world building that can be accomplished. Still Scholes creates a full world, filled with religion, culture, and history, we just don’t get to see much pass the surface. It’s a shame because what is there is tremendous, and had me only wanting more. Hopefully future volumes in the series will give us a deeper plunge into this magnificent pool Scholes has envisioned.

This year has already seen some memorable debuts. Lamentation is definitely near the top of that pile. If not for Peter Brett’s The Warded Man, it would be in the conversation for best debut of 2009. An auspicious start for Scholes.

Final Grade: 85 out of 100