fantasybooknerd
You all know much I loved Inscape right?
Well, if you don???t, let me give you a little recap!
It was one of my favourite books of last year.
What can we say about the second one that is going to match that ??? I dunno!
Inscape came along at the beginning of 2021 and blew my socks right off! And now at the beginning of 2022 we have Outcast, the second one in the series. And guess what, that blew my socks off too.
Now with the second one, we are all re - introduced to the characters of Tanta & Cole, we all know how they rock and roll. Right? Well not quite! You see things are a bit different now.
Tanta is irrevocably changed from the results of the last book (I would like to tell you dear reader about the incident that I was referring to, but for your own good , no can do! Spoilers and all that! And you never know you might want to read it and what would be the point of that if old Billy big britches ???ere had gone and spoilt it for you?) Now, both Tanta and Cole have to live with the results.
Cole has forcibly been made to work for the company that he thought was so bad, he had wiped his own memory to forget about it ??? I mean that is really good for company morale isn???t it? Whilst Tanta has a new boss, who hates her, wants to get rid of her and sends her off into the procedural wilderness. And on top of that, there???s a new threat to Intech, the war is still on with Thoughtfront and now, they have launched an attack right at the heart of Intech.
Tanta is tasked to find out how and why this has occurred (much to the chagrin of her new boss).
Outcast does a fantastic job of continuing the story of Tanta and Cole, and also expands the world too, showing us what it is like outside the city. In addition to that, we get the introduction of some new characters, with the most notable being Fliss, the leader of a scavenging group in the Unaffiliated Zone who gets embroiled in the fight against Intech and used as a pawn in the enemy???s games.
As usual, Louise Carey???s writing is top notch and she immerses the reader in the world of Outcast. This time though, it???s a little bit easier to become immersed in this world as we are used to it and technology that is an integral part of the story.
Tanta and Cole are as brilliant as ever, however, they both have the extra burden of the changes that have happened. It is like looking behind the curtain and finding the bloke that pulls the wire to make the swan fly. Tanta struggles with this and it has in impact in places that she does not expect. And similarly with Cole. As the creator of a certain insidious programs which was designed to bring the Corporation and their Corps Wards together, he now finds that his past has come back to haunt him and will be used in an even more insidious way.
Outcast is a brilliant second outing for the pair and I enjoyed every page of it.
Monsters from the time of myth emerge to reclaim what is rightfully theirs, but as usual the people of The Dominion do not take heed, until it is too late.
Chris Cloake???s second book in his Dominion series immediately follows on from the events of the first book, as Rupert rides out to reclaim his sister Sorcha from the clutches of the Gaticus.
Not only that, the fires of Rebellion threaten to tear apart the Dominion from the inside.
The Dominion ??? Defiant is written very much in a classical fantasy kind of vein and put me in mind of the prose of Porl Anderson, in that it has a kind of mythic quality to it. Some people will enjoy it, and others won???t. Me? I was fine with it.
There is some good world building in the story, with Chris Cloake building on the groundwork that he had done in the first book.
The second book of the trilogy is always the hardest to talk about as it has the most demands placed upon it, such as, did it continue to the story that had been set out in the first book, does it move the story along to its conclusion, and finally can it stand as a story by itself. Well, the answer to this in the case of The Dominion Defiant, is that it managed to fulfil that criteria.
In addition to that Cloake writes some good action scenes that pulls you along. Throughout the action scenes, he got the pacing and cadence of the story right, and I would happily bumble along with the action that was happening on the page. However, I think that the one thing that I noticed was that the pacing could sometimes slow down, especially when we came to matters of intrigue and politics, and it was at these times that I found that I could become a little overwhelmed with the amount of information described.
This definitely falls into the dark fantasy realm of the genre, and as anyone knows I do like to get my teeth into a good bit of dark fantasy.
With The Dominion ??? Defiant, Chris Cloake had me immersed in his world of intrigue and action, and his tale of grief and loss, war and rebellion, and things returning from the times of old to haunt a kingdom. It entertained me right till the end, and I cannot wait to see how the trilogy concludes
Daniel Weisbeck is a new name to me. However, it seems that he has an IndieReader Discovery Award for Science Fiction under his belt for one of his previous books.
In addition to this, I am pretty new to the Biopunk scene. However, if Moon Rising is anything to go by, I may be delving a little bit further.
The story revolves around an unknown girl trapped in a cellar by a man called Sad Man. Initially, the book is claustrophobic and very tense as Sad Man makes his demands. He keeps her in darkness in the cellar, only allowing her light when he visits her and dresses the girl in what we learn are his daughter???s clothes.
However, aid comes from her former teacher, Dr Bobby Houndstooth (also known as Teach, or Teacher), which sets off a chain of events that includes shadowy organisations, underground tech geniuses and an android that likes to dance, interwoven with a story of a girl who is learning to live in the outside world and her capabilities.
In Moon Rising, Daniel Weisbeck gives us a fast moving Sci Fi action thriller that after the initial set up, takes off as quick as the gliders in the book. The plot is compelling and you cannot help but be drawn into the story. The characters are well realised and have an ability to grow, which is surprising in light of the brevity of the book.
The story is written from the first person perspective. However, what he cleverly does is use each of the three main characters perspectives to flesh out scenes that they have all been involved with, so you are able to navigate how each of the different protagonists feel about the same scene. This works surprisingly well.
As an introduction to both Daniel Weisbeck???s writing and to the series as a whole, Moon Rising is an effective and solid introduction, I enjoyed Moon Rising and I am looking forward to seeing how the series progresses and develops.
Shorter fiction is something that I have come to appreciate very much later in my reading life. I like how there is a little world shining in a nugget of a story. The Man and The Crow is a story that has been on my Kindle for a while and I have just been waiting for an opportunity to read it.
Well, as Morrissey says ???How Soon is Now??? ??? pretty damned soon, I???ll tell you Mozzer!
The Man and The Crow is my Gateway into Rebecca Crunden???s writing and I have to say ??? I like it!
The story starts out as any good story should ??? with a Murder!
All good stories start with a murder, it brings that little bit of p???zazz to a story! Gets it off the ground with a bang!
However, the trajectory that this little firecracker takes from there is ace!
At the begining of the story, we meet Jessica, a part time store assistant at a hardware store who also has a room mate, who is a bit strange and a little bit annoying. She regularly brings home stray animals that don???t like Jessica. Even the rabbits that her room mate bring home don???t like Jessica.
And whilst Jessica???s room mate might be a bit of an oddity, Jessica quite OK with that. However, her sharing with Clara is cut short when she comes home to find a man standing over Clara???s dead body, a knife in his hand and a Crow on his shoulder.
She???s a bit shocked to say the least, but at least he has the common decency to offer some financial recompense for the cleaning bill!
The story then shifts perspectives to follow the Man, Enlil and the Crow, Aris, the main stars of the show.
In a small amount of time, we get to learn that Enlil & Aris have an agenda, and what follows is a tale of witchy goodness that won???t spoil your reading appetite.
In this short little tale, Rebecca Crunden writes a wonderfully dark tale of witchcraft and revenge that leaves you wanting more of these two characters.
The story is skillfully done, as in a short space of time, you get back story, motivation, world building all wrapped up in a bundle of wry wit. I loved it!
In fact, I want more of these two as they are such a good double act and I would love to see what they get up to next, especially as Rebecca Crunden leaves us with a bit of a cliffhanger.
Part Pierre Boulle, part revolutionary dystopian tale, Adrian Tchaikovsky's new entry in his Terrible World's trio of short fiction tells the tale of Torquell.
Torquell is a rogueish teen who lives in a pastoral village which is governed by the tyrannical Sir Peter Grimes and his equally cruel son, Gerald.
It soon becomes apparent that things are not as they seem. We learn that the world that is ruled by the 1% (not much difference there I hear you say) except that in this world the ruling class are bone crunching, carnivorous Ogres and the underclass are vegetarian serfs whose only function is to be the play things of their masters.
Torquell's destiny is irrevocably altered when he strikes the Lord's son after he is teased and taunted by the vicious Gerald. The repercussions from his actions lead to a tragic conclusion which results in Torquell becoming a hunted fugitive, and a social oddity.
He is subsequently procured by the socially precocious Lady Isadora, who indoctrinates him into her staff retinue. Whilst there, he is guided by Lady Isadora to begin his education of the world around him and the reasons behind the social structure that has emerged, and question its legitimacy as she similarly questions as she fights the male dominated world of the Ogres.
Now whilst the reader may be expecting a cosy fantasy, especially as it has well known Tolkienesque creatures in the title, Ogres is in fact a biting social commentary. It raises questions about class and social behaviour, the use of automated weaponry in war, and also what makes a figurehead.
The narrative itself is written in the second person which brings a kind of mythic detachment to the story, whilst also engaging the reader to experience the events that Torquell has throughout the story. Some readers may find this style of writing off putting, but due to Adrian Tchaikovsky's storytelling skill, it does actually become quite beguiling. In some ways it can be quite clinical as you never actually empathise with the characters. However, determining the labyrinthine puzzles at the heart of the plot strangely moved the story along as both the reader and the main character fathom the events that have lead to the current structures of the world Torquell inhabits.
Ogres is a twisty conundrum of a book that is at once strangely immersive, yet leaves you feeling clinically detached and is Tchaikovsky at his experimental best!
Now, let's get this party off the ground!
I liked this book and it was unlike anything that I have read before!
I think before we start the review, we need to talk about the fact that this book has a good dose of rumpy pumpy in it. And I have to admit, in general, I am not one for books with a bit of a saucy romantic edge to them. Yep, I can cope with a bit of the Luvvy Dubby stuff, but on the whole, my ethos tends to revolve around the ‘quick, shut your eyes! They're doing it!' kind of philosophy. Yeah, I know, sex is a pretty necessary part of life, and it should be easy to read about, coz we are all grown ups here!
However, I have to say that I didn't mind the fact that there was sex in the book and it added to the story and felt like a natural part of the two main characters relationship.
The story centres around the two main characters of the book, Patia and Gilea.
Patia, if you recall had her laboratory destroyed in The Living Waters when the roughabout with Leo et al went to visit her, and The Living Waters did a daylight smash and grab number on her quiksilver and ran off with it.
This left her in a bit of a pickle. However, one day, she hears that one of her former colleagues/professors have found a way to make something called a Universal tincture which lets you enter this thing called The Caravan and talk brain to brain with other people in The Caravan.
The caravan is a pretty cool thingymajig, and we tend to see this through the other main character of the story, Gilea (if you have read earlier reviews, or you have read the earlier book,you will recognise the name from The Living Waters).
In response to the fact that Patia's business has now pretty much sunk due to the fact that she has lost all her collateral that lets her make her meditation tinctures, she decides to set off for pastures new and investigate this Universal Tincture malarky, and get in on the act.
In the process of searching for the truth of the Universal Tincture, she sets up shop with another alchemist, Gero, which evolves into a relationship.
Meanwhile, Gilea is getting deep into this Caravan thingymajig, setting up a deal with the Maer for their stock of Sunstone (which happens to be an energy source for the Caravan) and discovers that there is a nefarious plot abroad, whilst trying to manage her relationship with Temi.
I enjoyed The Isle of a Thousand Worlds a lot. It was a bit of a breath of fresh air in all honesty, and a welcome reprieve from the frenetic pace of my normal reads. And I think this is one of the strong points of the book, in that the pacing is quite sedate and moves along at a pretty evenly, which makes everything in it to be very organic in its development.
For instance, the relationship between Patia and Gero doesn't get straight into it, it evolves naturally into where it is going. Similarly with Gilea's storyline, and it evolves layer on layer.
Another reason that I enjoyed this book immensely was the fact that the main protagonists are not young whippersnappers chasing about the land carrying out quests, coming of age and all the rest of the stuff that happens in fantasy. Now I don't have a problem with this normally, but I have to say it wasn't until I was presented with a book that had older protagonists in it that I realised how much I enjoyed this differing view. Yes there are plenty of books with older protagonists, but quite rare that they are in their sixties and nearly seventies. And I cannot say how much I enjoyed this aspect of the story.
Dan Fitzgerald writes wonderful characters and I was enthralled with them all. Patia, as an older woman is aware of her needs and wants, and her life experience makes her such a wonderfully rounded character. Whilst Gero is an older gentleman, there is a childlike quality to him that is quite sweet. We get to see more of Gilea and Temi's relationship, which at times can be bittersweet as they have to navigate their involvement as two very different people with different goals and aspirations.
I have to admit there were a couple of times that I did wonder how the two story lines would impact an each other and how they would intersect, as they seem to be two completely separate stories. However, I needn't have worried because Dan Fitzgerald nicely ties the two stories together.
Now, I know that The Isle of a Thousand Worlds will not be for everyone, but me personally, I really enjoyed it. Yes it is different! Yes it has some steaminess to it and romance, but I enjoyed all these aspects, and found the book to be a breath of fresh air.
If you liked this review and you want to catch more of my whitterings about books I have read visit www.fantasybooknerd.com
When Kaiju ruled the world!
That???s the premise in John Scalzi???s Kaiju Preservation Society. Jamie Gray has given up their college course to work for a startup company called M??df??d.
At an appraisal with their boss, Jaimie???s life is irrevocably changed when they are ???let go??? from their job. They are offered a job as a delivery person. However things are about to change when the pandemic strikes.
Whilst out delivering, he happens to deliver to an old friend who seems to have done
quite well for themselves. Over a period of time they reacquaint themselves and Jamie is offered a job.
What Jamie does not realise is that the job is on an alternative earth, studying massive Kaiju, who have developed on an alternative evolutionary trajectory.
This is the first book by John Scalzi that I have read and found that it was a good introduction to his writing as it is a light read that is just entertainingly fun. The prose is light and breezy, and by his own admission, this is a bit of a pop novel that is simply there to entertain, which it does with ease.
One of the strengths of the book is the relationship between the new comrades as they become orientated to this new earth. There is plenty of snarky dialogue between the new recruits as they become familiar with both their new roles in the job, and this other earth that is vastly different, where in all honesty it is not the massive Kaiju that is the main danger, but everything else.
As the story progresses we are treated to the scientific reasons why the Kaiju exist and how they differ from our perceived ideas of just being behemoths that terrorise the world they live in and are in fact massive ecosystems that are a part of the ecology of the world. You are never overwhelmed by the ???science??? of the world that Jamie now inhabits and it adds to the fun of the book.
There is a solid cast of characters that are well realised. The characters are all diverse, and John Scalzi doesn???t make any issue of this, for example, we have non binary characters, and this is treated as part of the culture. No judgement, no source of conflict etc, which makes it refreshingly inclusive.
The book is peppered with pop culture references, and there are references to things like Godzilla and other things that make you smile as the references become more apparent.
However, underneath the fluff and bubblegum, there is a satirical swipe at our current world and the corporate dictation that has emerged and shines a light on the fact that this culture regularly puts profit at the forefront of its ethos and the disastrous results this can have.
The book itself is lighthearted and playful, and will be a delight for those of us who have grown up on monster flicks, and wondered about the science behind the creature.
So, I have tried to read this book a couple of times and just did not get into it. Don't know what it was, it is nothing to do with the book. I don't know why,but I think tha it was something to do with the timing. First time was when it first came out and at the time I had little kids and it ultimately boiled down to the choice of read or sleep and it was obvious that the choice would be sleep. The second time, I just couldn't get into it.
Any ways, this time I finally took the plunge and this time I really enjoyed it. I think the times that I have read it before. I could not get my head around what it was. I know that this is my problem but once I had made that shift in my head the book clicked. It helped that I follow Mr Lawrence and follow his blog. This gave me some insight and the light went on (nothing creepy, it;s just that when I read his reviews of the books that I liked I could kind of see the influences). Once I got my head around the fact that this is like a ‘dystopian fantasy' rather than the traditional sense of fantasy. It's like taking the idea of Terry brooks one step further and then mixing in mad max in John boorman's excaliber with a bit of American psycho. That was what made it click and then I really got into it and the book got its thorns into me and that was it. excellent book. Now onto the next one.
Warning, this is not a review, just some musings
I am late to the party with Joe Abercrombie. I don't know why, but I am. I wasn't going to write a review of this book. My intention was to just put up some stars and direct you to the much more accomplished reviews that are about this book.
However, I changed my mind and thought I would put some thoughts down on paper.
When it comes to Joe Abercrombie, and the amount of stars this bloke receives on review sites, he could literally throw them up in the sky and create his own universe. I mean the general consensus is that Abercrombie is such a good writer he could write a story that would convince a donkey it's a horse.
So needless to say, I had some pretty high expectations for this book. I expected this to be a masterclass in grimdark writing (I think you can see where this is going, can't you. There seems to be an unwritten ‘but' here doesn't there. However, before you all start howling at me that I don't know what the hell I am talking about, give me a minute!)
So, the book starts with Logan fighting a Shanka, or a flathead as they are also known. I am reading this. I think this is not a bad start, I haven't got a clue what a Shanka is, but I will go along with it and see where it goes.
The point of view then moves to Inquisitor Glotka. A member of the kings inquisition who is very good at his job of torturing people and has a severe dislike of stairs. His no.1 greatest enemy. Partway through his torture session, he suddenly has a job appraisal with his boss who gives him a secret mission
I've got to say, there's nothing grabbing me here. You know, it's just not doing it for me at all.
After Glotka, there's the introduction of another character, Jenkal. Now the book throws me because all of a sudden in my head it changes to a William Thackery type setting and reminds me of Vanity Fair.
Ok, we have a nifty bit of world building going on here. The barbarian north and Thackery's London.
Still a bit unsure about it to be honest with you , but I think I will plough on because this book is supposed to be like goldust.
Well, a few things happen in the first book and it keeps changing pov between these three characters. Logan is quite good, Glotka constantly tells you what is going on in his head and then there's Jezal, who, to be quite honest is a bit of a dick.
So for this first part, I an generally plodding along with the book, thinking ‘I might just give this a miss because its brilliance seems to be passing me by and I am not getting the hype at all. I mean seriously, I was thinking of ditching this book. It seemed to me there was no plot and it seemed to be just moving form POV to POV.
However, something weird started happening, in that I was laughing along with the prose. There seems to be some pretty dark humour running all the way through this book.
And then when Bayaz does his magic thing and starts blowing up the forest, the same way that Gandalf never would, I start to get really in to it. Then, I cannot put the book down and all of a sudden the pacing goes through the roof and I have finished it.
So, if you are just starting with Abercrombie, don't be put off. Stick with it, the payoff is ace. If you want a review, there are loads, with Petrik being the most notable, but other reviewers are available.
My review of Time of the Twins -
Caramon/Raistlin. Stop it. If you don't pack it in I am going to bash your heads together.
Dwarves - stop it. Pack it in. If you don't stop it I am going to bash your heads together.
Nooooooo, Timely Wimey stuff
My head hurts.
Oooh, Crysania, can't you just see he's using you.
Where's Taz, not enough Taz
Well, didn't see that coming
Oh for god's sake Caramon, just kill him.
Oh, There's Taz. Definitely not enough Taz.
Yeah well, you will go and think he's god's gift won't you.
My eyes, my eyes - stop talking about Raistlin's muscled body.
Raistlin! There was no need for that.
So here we go again. Timey wimey stuff.
Well, I got round to reading the second book of the series and again this is utterly fabulous. I have to say when it comes to Brandon Sanderson - Where have I been? How on earth did I miss these books. I know I fell out with fantasy books for quite a while, I kind of got sick of the same thing (bearing in mind I have been reading fantasy since I was about fourteen and I am now well past this age). Anyways, about the book. One of the things that impresses me about these book is the fact that they are character driven rather than all out fantasy action. Obviously, Vin's character is expanded on as is Elands, but I have to say that the growing relationship between Vin and Oresur is by far the most interesting and it also gives an insight into Kandra culture which I found intriguing.
This is one of those books that ‘I have been meaning to read'. This is an ace book and I really enjoyed it. Sanderson's characters are well rounded and you actually believe in them. The laws of the magic system used in the books are really intriguing and gives you a bit of a different perspective.
Obviously, the character of Vin is the most intriguing. Sanderson incorporates all the normal fantasy tropes and then turns them on their head.
I originally started to listening to this on Audiobook, and quite frankly, found the narration awful to say the least. I don't know if anyone has heard the audible massacre of the book, but if they have and they liked it, I am sorry to have put forth such a polarising viewpoint. But I am sticking with it and not changing my mind.
However, in light of this I ended up getting the print version and carried on where I so vehemently left the audio book. Thank god I did!
Now, I have read a lot of reviews that state that a lot of people tend to start with Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy or Stormlight Archive and read this retrospectively. Which is what I did. In terms of a debut, it's good. It does not fall into typical fantasy tropes in some ways, but it does in others.
The begining of the book really does give a sense of unease when it describes the main characters change in circumstance and you think it cannot keep up this pace. And it does not. I think that when it does get to the middle of the book, it does drop off a bit.
The characters are good and you do tend to believe in them, particularly Sarene. Hrathen starts off as a two dimensional character but really does get fleshed out in the book
At times, I think the structure of the book does tend to hamper the story a bit. It changes viewpoints between the three main characters and at times I found this impeded the main story. However, I did enjoy the book. Just a few niggles.
The comics obsession continues. This is one of those Batman stories that is regarded as a benchmark, and I can see why. I read this ages ago but had forgot the details. Jim Lee's art is excellent and Jeph Loeb's story is one that twists and turns to the final reveal.
If you are new to comics and want to start somewhere, this is a good place to begin.
Phenomenal, intricate, mind blowing and just bloody brilliant!
All these superlatives can apply to describe Trudie Skies???s book The Thirteenth Hour.
I have been dying to read this since I was first involved with the map reveal, which I think was in August last year. And from the initial view of Soraya Cocoran???s design for the book, it hinted that there was something definitely special about this book. I mean look at it!
The story revolves around our two main characters; Kayl and Quen
The two characters couldn???t be more opposite. Kayl is a Vesper, a race of people from Eventide, who can control shadow and darkness. Well, that is what she thinks she is as she is an orphan that was brought up on the streets of the Undercity of Chime. However she is a bit of a mystery. No one knows anything about her past, like who her parents are etc etc.
Now she is a Godless, a member of a disparate group of anarchists, made up of different races of people from the different realms that make up the domain of Chime. As a person, she is chaos!
Quen on the other hand is highly organised. He is a member of the Wardens, a Diviner. A race of people that can control time. He is fastidious about his appearance, order and following the rules.
We start the story with Kayl missing a tram! From this seemingly innocuous event things go rapidly down hill from there. You see, as I said earlier, Kayl is a member of the anarchist group, The Godless, who are there to fight against the God???s cruel and capricious rule over their mortals. As she and the other Godless are attempting to transport a group of refugees from the land of Eventide, events occur that will change both Kayl and Quen???s life.
After a disastrous incident in which she is noticed to not be affected by the Diviners control of time, she is confronted by none other than the leader of The Wardens. Her boss at the tea shop that she works at intervenes which results in Kayl inadvertently killing the owner.
At the same time a series of Diviner deaths are rocking the Warden ranks. Diviners are turning up with their eyes torn out and their souls ripped from their bodies.
The star Warden, Quen is brought in to investigate the connection and discovers Kayl???s involvement. However, things go from bad to worse. Not only is Kayl accused of murder, she also discovers that everything that she knew about herself is not what she thought. And as she and Quen discover the truth about the deaths of the Diviners, her world will be changed forever.
The Thirteenth Hour is a rip roaring adventure that I totally enjoyed. In truth I was not sure what to expect from the book, I expected it to be good but this totally blew my socks off. I totally fell head over heels with this book. Trudie Skies has really created something special with this book. The world is intricately built and is extremely original. The characters of the book are so vivid and real and I was so engrossed with the story of Quen & Kayl that I was thinking about what would happen next in the story, even when I wasn't reading it.
In addition to a fantastic plot and brilliant characters, we have to talk about the real star of the show, Chime itself. It is such a wonderfully developed piece of world building. Not only is there the description of the environment in the book, but there are also little nuggets of information at the head of each chapter that give details about the lore of different lands and general observations about race, culture and a whole load of other things. But let us get back to Chime itself! In some aspects it is reminiscent of portal fantasy, where the characters have to cross a gate to another world, and in others it is like a Neo ??? Dickensian playground of sin and filth, but with the pristine newness of Industrial age mechanika.
And another thing that jumped out at me was the care that is taken in the book. Let me explain! The story cycles points of view every chapter. One chapter Quen, one chapter Kayl (although this is not a finite rule!), but you can always tell whose chapter it is going to be with the chapter numbers. Quen???s chapters are headed by Roman Numerals, whilst Kayl???s are presented in the standard Arabic numeral forms for easier identification of whose chapter it is, which I have to say that I loved as it gives a clear boundary and you know what to expect. It is these little things that make the book that much more enjoyable.
The Thirteenth Hour is a brilliant start to one of the most original fantasy stories that I have read in a long time, totally captivating me with its engrossing narrative, intricate world building and incredibly dry wit (with some of the standout little tidbits getting ???exceedingly good cakes by Mr Kipler, or the Ferrero Roscher reference, which made me chuckle no end). Oh, and lets us not forget the biscuits. I was just dying for a pink wafer to show up, or maybe a Garibaldi!
We Break Immortals is one of those books that I have had on my radar many months prior to it being released, and when a tour was being organised to showcase this book, I was compelled to join to discuss this book???s awesomeness.
Let???s get this out of the way in the first instance. This book is a chonker! Not only in page size, but the amount of material that is in there. Thomas H. Riley simply does not hold anything back and at first the book is an assault on your senses as you are plunged into the narrative.
In all honesty, I don???t think I was quite prepared for how much stuff is there! How intricately detailed every part of the book is!
The only way to approach this book, is to regard it as a plunge pool because as an author, Thomas Riley does not take the gentle and soft approach of leading you up to the water, dipping your toe in to test the temperature, have a little paddle and then immerse yourself in the relaxing waters of the story. No, he prefers the much more direct approach of sneaking up behind you whilst you are carefully contemplating if this is going to sting, placing a foot on your arse and shoving you in!
The story is set around three primary protagonists Aren, Keluwen and Corrin as they try to stop a deranged wizard in his quest to become a god. However, the main characters are quite a flawed bunch that have their own problems. Aren, a magical sniffer dog called a Glasseye, is addicted to a substance called Malagayne (which I likened to some kind of opioid). Keluwen, a magick user who is only concerned with her own vengeance and has very few personal limitations (such as instigating a ruse in which she appeals to the less than savoury predilections of the person they are trying to catch at one point) in how she gets that vengeance. And finally, Corrin, whose way of coping with the world is to soak it thoroughly in a steady stream of alcohol (I mean his theme song would be Streams of Whiskey by the Pogues).
Riley does a masterful job of letting each of his characters shine in their own ways. In all honesty, I found that I did not ally myself with a particular character, which normally tends to happen in multi POV stories, but was equally fascinated to see each of the protagonists and how they interplayed with the story.
The book itself is layered with intricate and complex detail, which I have to be quite honest, can be a little overwhelming at times. Especially at the beginning. I did spend a bit of time contemplating what the heck was going on and how this impacted the story. And in addition to that, it took me a little while to attach myself to the characters. There is an almost anthropological amount of detail in the first portion of the book in which Thomas Riley gives to the world building, and I think that those used to such tomes as Malazan would find this on a level. However, for me what Thomas Riley excels at is his ability to write tension fuelled plot, which becomes more apparent when you have trod on the sands of initial world building and character introduction.
Like I said earlier, it did take a while to get orientated to the story and this challenged my investment initially. Not that I wanted to pack it in or anything like that, it???s just when you are a little bit challenged, it seems a little like hard work at first (and me and hard work like to nod at each other in recognition but stay the hell away from each other if I can help it!). However, on this occasion I decided to at least shake hands and was thoroughly rewarded, especially later in the book where I surprisingly found myself galloping through the book with the wind ruffling my prized hair follicle.
One of the things that I forgot to mention is that there is a sense of wry wit throughout the story, and it is peppered with sly bits of humour that had me smirking throughout.
I think one of the things that shines through the story is how much Thomas Riley loves the fantasy genre as a whole, you can see the influence that various authors have had on him and how he has translated this love of the genre to his own interpretation to create something quite unique.
Now before you go! And I am sure that you have far more urgent things to do than listen to me rabbiting on about stuff, there is one final point I want to make ??? That Cover!
Do I need to say anymore?
Good! I think we are on the same page then
The book is an Asian inspired fantasy with loads of martial arts, assassins and mystical spirits.
Initially, the book introduces us to our main character, Sonika, a young Okami girl who are a race of people that are highly in tune with the environment and nature, on the island of Othaka. A people that are in tune with everything around them, and commune with the wolf spirits (who feature quite prominently throughout the book as a kind of portent to events). Almost immediately we are plunged into the story as those around Sonika are cruelly slaughtered after they are betrayed by the Giahatians, a cruel, warlike community who rule over their empire with fear and terror, and she is left for dead.
As this is quite a short book, Alyssa Lauseng wastes no time in introducing us to protagonist no.2, Kulako. Who is currently held in a harsh military assassin training school on Perena, where even the slightest infringement of the rules will earn you a beating of the harshest kind. And in addition to that, it isn???t guaranteed that you will see the day out. Kulako comes from the slave island of Okara, being indentured to the brutal assassin regime when he was six years old, when he was sold to the Giahatians by his father.
I think you can see a theme running through here. These Giahatians are not the peace, love and live in harmony with others type, are they?
Anyway, back to Sonika, who has been left for dead! (This is not a spoiler, because it says it on the back of the book) Sonika survives! However, she then escapes the island, pops over to another one, gets taken in by a kindly old couple, and happy days! Except, it doesn???t quite work like that. Our poor Sonika is harried from island to island as the Giahatians mercilessly hunt for her in their bid to wipe out her race completely. Whilst there are moments of peace and quiet for Sonika, she does have a pretty horrid time of it initially, and in her hour of desperation she ends up in the care of Okubo, who is at best described as a waste of good skin, and subsequently takes advantage of the situation that Sonika finds herself in.
Now I may have painted a slightly jovial picture of the book, but the story is far from that, and at times deals with some pretty hard stuff including domestic and sexual violence. In addition to that there is violence against children, particularly in Kulako???s case who is basically being indoctrinated and honed into a compassionless killer by quite brutal means.
Alyssa Lauseng deals with these issues sensitively and with compassion. Especially with Sonika???s story. She successfully navigates her story, highlighting that even though Sonika is a strong woman, there are situations that go beyond her control, and even when Sonika recognises the danger, she does not have the means to escape her predicament and is subsequently trapped.
However, it is not all doom and gloom, as Alyssa Lauseng skilfully blends the tones of the book by adding lightness and hope to the story as well. Nicely adding balance to the story.
Throughout the book, Alyssa Lauseng brings the characters of Sonika and Kulako to life, bringing different perspectives and expanding the environments of the world by following these two points of view. In Kulako???s story, there are some elements that are instantly recognisable in any coming of age story, or even assassin???s school story. We have the obligatory bullies, harsh teachers and brutal regime that serves to remove any kind of compassion, even to those that they call friends. It is a harsh and horrible situation, that is made equally distasteful by those who (and I say this in the loosest way possible) care for them.
It is not long that you learn that the empire of the Giahatians is built on hate, fear, racial purity and subjugation.
I think before we go any further, I am going to have to mention the world-building in this book. The world in this book really captured my imagination, and similar to Andrea Stewart???s The Bone Shard Daughter, is set in a world, with a number of different islands, ruled by a centralised government, the tyrannical Giahatians. I have to admit that I do like this type of environment, as it gives the ability to introduce vastly different cultures, environments and motivations within the world.
There is a lot of island hopping in this book, as characters move from one island to the other. So, it can be refreshing because if you were stuck primarily in Perena, it is going to become pretty grinding.
Whilst Keeper of the Fallen is pretty low on magic, in the sense that it does not have loads of people chucking spells about every two minutes, it is quite high with the mysticism. And this is the main driving force, at times giving an almost epic feel to the book. Especially later on in the story.
One of the things that stood out for me was Alyssa Lauseng???s writing. She impressed me with a number of things throughout the book. Her writing is engaging, and never once did I lose my concentration on the story. She shows a particular adeptness for engaging the reader, and showing them the world that the characters live in, entrenching it in the plot rather than as big chunks of information, giving the reader the immersion in the world that she has created rather than them being general observers.
For me, whilst on the one hand, I found the brevity of the book mostly worked in its favour, I did find myself wanting some more expansion of the story at times, and with some of the characters. I did feel that I wanted to know more of their motivations, or how this world had evolved. I wanted to know more about the shift of the balance of power that led to the development of the social structure of the environment. Whether that is to come further in the story, I don???t know. I also wanted to see more of the Emperor as well. He felt a little like a cursory character in this story. In addition to that, there were certain scenes that seemed to be over in a flash and I had to go back and read them again to see if they really happened, such as Kulako???s second encounter with Roku. However, on the flip side of this, the book's brevity was also its strength in that Alyssa Lauseng didn???t waste any words. She got to the heart of the story without any superfluous exposition.
Keeper of the Fallen is an introduction that is bursting with promise, and I found myself engrossed in this mystical story of family, assassins, gods and tyrannical empires.
If you liked this review, I have lots of other reviews on my website which you can go to by pressing here
Catriona Ward cements her position as The Queen of Unease with her new offering, Sundial. A tale of toxic motherhood and long held secrets.
Rob is a wife and mother who escaping her difficult childhood has set up home in suburbia with her husband Irving. But not all is as it seems! Behind the veneer of domesticity, Rob is a serial philanderer, and her eldest daughter is showing worrying tendencies that point to something being wrong! Very wrong!
After an inexplicable incident involving pills, and her two daughters, Rob decides it is time to return to her home of Sundial to set things right and attempt to revisit the events that have led to her current situation.
Full of intrigue and suspense, Sundial is a masterpiece of disquiet and unease, and from the very first page, the feeling of wrongness permeates from the page to give you a sense that nothing is what it seems.
The book itself took me two days to devour and I could not put it down, could not stop thinking about it until the story had revealed its secrets and showed me how the tale would evolve into its true nightmarish form. Catriona Ward???s previous book had me similarly gripped and I spent hours trying to puzzle the labyrinthine plot, and Sundial is much the same. However, I have quickly learnt to just follow the story without obsessing about what secrets lie below and let the tale unfold at its own pace to reveal the core of the story as its layers are peeled off, one by one.
There are so many things happening in the story. You have the story of Rob and her husband whose marriage is built on petty cruelties, each adding to something that is painful to watch, as he carefully manipulates everyone around him to join in his cruel games of misdirection and hate, and Rob responding to him. Irving is truly one of the most loathsome characters that I have met in fiction. He is never outright nasty, but you can feel it pulsing in every venomous act that he does.
Rob on the other hand can be equally as poisonous at times, and there is an underlying feeling of cruelty about her, and whilst she loves her daughters, she has a creeping sense of mistrust to her older daughter who speaks is emojis at the end of every sentence and collects the bones of dead animals.
The story is told from the point of view of Rob who imparts all her insecurities and scorn to the reader, but carefully hides them from her family, afraid they may be mistook for signs of weakness, particularly when Rob is playing his cruel mind games with her and currying favour with his eldest daughter to continue the miasma of vitriol that he surrounds himself in. However, there are times where we get the view of Callie, Rob???s eldest daughter, who may seem to be sweetness and light, yet holds darkly disturbing thoughts, especially to her younger sister, Annie.
With Sundial, Catriona Ward has carved out of the desert rock her place as a master of the disturbed as not a word is wasted. She will wrongfoot you at every juncture and just when you think you have the pieces in the right place, she will change the dimensions of the puzzle so that it doesn???t fit. Her prose is amazing, and it is not since I started reading Shirley Jackson novels many years ago that I have read anyone that has the same level of making all her characters seem to be so utterly awful yet utterly beguiling.
The narrative itself is cloying and claustrophobic yet gives the characters time to develop and explore their unusual circumstances whilst never once missing a beat and letting up its grip. Sundial is one of this years must read books that will have you gripped to the end of the story until its secrets are revealed
Life in Red Valley is simple if you follow the rules:
Do not trust the Liar
Do Not go in the River
Do not cross The King
In the Liar of Red Valley, Walter Goodwater mixes equal doses of urban fantasy with other worldly horror and a blisteringly paced plot to write a thoroughly entertaining book.
The book starts off with the death of The Liar, and her daughter, Sadie, coming to terms with the death of her mother. However, The Liar keeps all the town???s secrets and makes the lies that they tell come to be reality. This may be a little lie, like I am not going bald, to even bigger lies, and Sadie needs to know how to be the Liar, quick!
With the death of her mother, Sadie inherits the power of the Liar, and all that that means. She discovers that the position of The Liar was given to her family by The King, an all powerful being who walked the cosmos eons before the coming of the human race, generations ago in order to keep the lies of The King and the people safe.
In the course of the book, she discovers the power of Lies and what it can do. However, everyone wants that power, and she discovers that people will do anything to get the power of the lies for themselves as she is chased, threatened, arrested and reviled for her powers. It seems that everyone wants to know what lies Sadie???s family have been keeping and they will stop at nothing to discover the truth.
Sadie finds herself chased by the Laughing Boys, a gang of addicts who let demons reside in their head instead of using drugs. Harassed by the local Undersheriff who says that he wants to depose the King???s reign and let Red Valley govern itself. However, one thing that they all have in common is that they will use whatever means necessary to obtain the power that is stored in her family???s ledgers.
I have to say that I enjoyed this book immensely. It is filled with monsters, a time traveling house, Cthuluesque leviathans and all sorts of madness in between. Sadie is a good character, who develops as the book moves on. Initially beginning the book as a dormouse and transforming into a snarky lion that is able to navigate her own destiny. On the whole the plot moves at a frenetic pace as Sadie. is forced to come to terms with the death of her mother, and then know how to use her powers whilst at the same time traversing the strange and murky waters that is Red Valley. You watch her grow and she is aided by a supporting cast that at times, are a little one dimensional, but they adequately buoy the story along to get Sadie to where she needs to be.
Added to that a plot that introduces twists and turns that is both unpredictable and blisteringly fast paced. I also found the setting of Red Valley and its plethora of strange residents that add a rich vein of strangeness, immersive and vividly written as the book runs towards its climactic ending.
Whilst this is a standalone novel, I would love to see some more of this world that Walter Goodwater has crafted and hope for more stories set in Red Valley in the future as I think that this could be cracking ongoing series.
Ever since reading L. L. MacRae's novella, The Citrine Key, The Iron Crown has been on my must-read list. So, when I received a message from L.L. MacRae asking if I would like to receive an advanced reading copy of this book to review, I could not move my thumbs fast enough to type the reply that I most definitely would.
Upon starting the book, I knew I was drawn in, right from the very first page and as I got further into the story, I did not want to leave it alone for a minute and would find myself disappearing in various parts of the house with my Kindle in hand, trying to see what would happen next, trying to fit in another page, or another chapter on the sly.
You can always tell a good book when you can't wait to pick it up or you find yourself thinking about what is going to happen next. And that was the case with The Iron Crown.
The book immediately throws us into the story, as we meet Fenn, struggling for his life in the middle of a bog. However, he has no recollection of how he got there and no memories of the time before the incident in the bog. As he struggles for his life, rescue comes from an unlikely source, the Dragon Spirit, Hassen, the Spirit of Salt Ash.
At the end of the encounter, the dragon leaves him alive because he finds him ‘interesting'. He subsequently meets Jisyel, (who has been cursed by Hassen) and her partner, Calidra. They take pity on his wretched state and take Fenn back to Jisyel's home, an inn owned by her grandmother.
In the meantime, Calidra has received an invite to return home to attend the funeral of her estranged father. And here we have the springboard for the adventure that is to come.
There are so many things to like about this book. If you like the found family trope in fantasy, then this is a book for you. L. L. Macrae does this so well. However, what I found interesting in L.L. MacRae's use of the found family aspect was, as more characters join the party, travelling across Bragalia to attend the funeral of Calidra's father, the relationships become more and more fractious, and there is always the underlying tension that the party will fall apart. Initially, the party is comprised of Fenn, Jisyel and Calidra, but this expands to include Delays, a priest of the Dragon Spirit Neros, and Varlot, a former general in the Posenthian Army.
The book is filled with memorable characters. Fenn is the obvious one that drives the story, The mystery of who he is, why he has lost his memories and how he can be cured is the main driver of the story, and I think that one of the appealing things about him is that due to the fact that he has lost his memory and all the aspects of himself, he is a blank slate. He is almost childlike in his innocence and sees the good in people regardless.
Similarly, with Jisyel. She has an extremely positive personality, despite the affliction of being cursed by Hassen and this counteracts Calidra???s sometimes untrusting and negative view of the world. Varlot, is another matter. I am not quite sure what is going on there. He regularly disappears in the book. Usually visiting taverns and gambling dens, for which he seems to have an addiction to. However, he has reasons, and it is the reason for his behaviour that made him a character that I wanted to get to know more.
When you look at the characters, they each have endearing qualities, and the more that you get to know them, the more you come to realise that they are broken through events in their life, and it is these experiences that draw each of them together.
The book is written with multiple points of view, and in all honesty, I couldn???t pick out my favorites, from Fenn to Torsten (an inquisitor in the Iron Queen???s army, who I haven???t discussed, but is an equally intriguing character). About halfway through the book, we are reintroduced to Apollo from The Citrine Key. I really liked Apollo in that novella, and it was brilliant to see how he had progressed from the original story. It was kind of like meeting an old friend.
Now enough of the characters. What you want to know about are the dragons. The Dragons are a prominent feature of the story and go through the book deigning to give the people of Lassar their gift or their curse. I liked the dragons in this book as they seemed didn???t fall into the westernised version of Dragons as terrible flying lizards that terrorise the countryside, eating goats, horses and the odd stray child. To me they seemed to fit more of a Chinese mythological representation of dragons, in that they are more like localised spirits that are attached to either certain areas of land, sea or elements. And these facets give them their own personalities. They each have their own quirks to them. In some instances, they can be fearsome, or wise. At other times, they can be capricious and cruel.
Oh, and as a side note, besides Dragons other magical creatures populate the world. You also get a side helping of Griffins
The world-building is rich, and it is cleverly written, in that the world opens up with the story. Initially, it is small and contained as the story starts on the small Isle of Salt, but as the story unfolds, so does the world, to become massive.
Additionally, the magic system is similar. Whilst not initially overt, you get the feeling that there is more to it and by the end of the book this aspect opens out in a similar fashion to the world-building. You get the impression that there is something big happening behind the scenes, but you cannot put your finger on it. However, towards the end of the book, we get some tantalising glimpses of it.
Thinking about this book, I have lots of questions.
There seems to me that there is a lot of ambiguity in the story. One of these ambiguities is The Iron Queen herself. I mean, anyone that is called The Iron Queen isn???t going to Miss sweetness and light, but what is her deal? She seems to run the country with tyrannical zeal and yet everybody seems to trust her. And similarly, the Myr! Throughout the book, the people portray them as monsters. However, there are hints that other things are afoot and nothing is as it seems.
I tell you; this book quite plainly and simply has got its hooks into me and I cannot wait to see how the story progresses.
If you liked this review, I have wrote lots more on my blog Fantasy Book Nerd
Krystle Matar's debut has been garnering much attention in the book community of late, with everyone raving about how good this book is. So, when you come to a book that has had so much positive attention, there is a little trepidation, hoping that as a reviewer, you are going to find the same positive aspects of the book
However, after finishing the book, I can see why there have been so many positive reviews of ‘The Legacy of the Brightwash'. It is an exceptional debut that brings something that I have not seen previously to the fantasy genre, and I have to say that Krystle Matar has done something that I didn???t quite expect. She surprised me! Now, let me tell you, I have been reading fantasy since I was a teen, so without giving my age away, that is a pretty long time, and one of the downfalls of reading fantasy for an extensive amount of time is that you tend to see the echoes of other authors or the influence of such and such. However, I didn't get this with Legacy of the Brightwash.
Legacy of the Brightwash is a mixture of crime novel and fantasy set in the Victorian City of Yaelsmuir, that seemed to me to be a mixture of Victorian London, but also brought to my mind a Canadian frontiership.
I like this world that Kyrstle Matar has built in the book. I like it a lot! It???s harsh and unforgiving, but additionally Krystle Matar has built it with such precision that she knows every blade of grass in the world. On the one hand she will show the disparity between the opulent ruling classes and then switch to the hand to mouth environment of the poor of the city. It is such a well constructed environment. So well constructed that you can smell the spices of the sausages in the market that Tashue and Stella eat when they visit the market place in the book, to the sweat and blood of the fighting pits.
And that brings me to the characters. As you can guess, the two main characters are Tahsue and Stella. However, there is a full supporting cast in the book and at times we follow their point of view, like Ishmael or Tashue???s son, Jason, but the main points of view revolve around Tashue and Stella. I have to say that Krystle Matar does not waste a single character in the book. Each individual is fully fleshed out and seems like a real person. In all honesty, all the characters were so well crafted that they simply walked off the page and took up residence in my imagination.
The plot of the book is excellent. Like I said,it???s a mixture of crime drama and fantasy, and to be honest this works immensely well. The story starts with the washed up body of a dismembered child on the banks of the Brightwash of the story. It seems that dead bodies washing up on the banks of the river are not particularly uncommon and the girl is treated the same as the regular flotsam and jetson that is generally washed up. Initially, there is a crowd watching the proceedings, but you get the feeling that no - one actually cares, even the local constabulary, that is until Captain Tashue Blackwood of the National Tainted Registration Authority takes charge of the investigation, even though it is not his job, against the advice of his lieutenant, Kazrani.
This leads him to investigate the death of this young girl, and he becomes involved in an investigation that could lead him to the higher echelons of the Dominion, the cruel and oppressive government of Yaelsmuir.
On top of that, Tashue is railroaded into the political machinations of local politician in his run for mayor which leads him to become involved with femme fatal Illea Winter, who along with Tahue???s former military commander, Nathaniel Wolfe believes that Tashue???s exemplary mitlatry background would help bolster the career of Illea???s husband.
You get the feeling that when we start the book, that whilst Tashue is an individual that can take care of himself, he is a bit of a bystander in his own life. He seems to go where the situation leads him, but he has no real convictions. He seems a bit lost, and it is not until he becomes involved with Stella that he actually starts to come to life.
Phew, that???s enough for one book isn???t it. But not for Krystle Matar, because she introduces one of the most interesting aspects of the book that really intrigued me.
Obviously, this is fantasy, and any good fantasy needs some magic. And Krystle Matar does something quite interesting with the magic. Whilst at this precise time, the magic system is not particularly intricate. However, the Dominion uses the magic of the tainted (the magic users of the book) as the literal battery of the Dominion Empire, powering engines and vehicles etc. People who use magic are seen as subhuman and if they do not register as magic users are thrown into jail, much like Tashue???s son Jason. In addition to this, they are forced into breeding programs or if they are free, they are monitored to make sure they are following the rules that are assigned by the Dominion. Throughout the story, people with magic are treated awfully, and the vile attitudes of the Dominion are so pervasive they seep into the foundations of the city. I mean, there are obvious real world connotations in this aspect of the story. However, Krystle Matar handles this with care and sensitivity, without failing to highlight the brutality and the hypocrisy of these attitudes.
Now my final point to make, is the romance. Yes, there is romance in the book, and it can get quite steamy at times. Let me tell, generally, when it comes to romance, I will generally run the other way. However, I didn???t mind this aspect of the story and it adds to the depth of the characters.
I think you can guess I like this book, I like this book a helluva lot and it is definitely up there as one of my favorite books of the year. I simply cannot believe that this book is a debut, as Krystle Matar???s writing is so accomplished it is ridiculous. There is such a depth to her prose! Goodness knows what she is going to do next but I will be jostling my way through the multitude of admirers to get to the front and get my copy.
