In the meantime..

While you guys are awaiting the review of Lynch’s Red Seas Under Red Skies (I finished it, yes!), here’s a heads-up for another excellent review/analysis I encountered today on the blogosphere and enjoyed reading.

Over at OF-Blog, Larry dives into “The Shadow of the Torturer” first of Gene Wolfe’s monumental Books of the New Sun and expands on it in depth. I love this kind of ‘review’ because a) obviously the guy knows what he is talking about, b) he explores the different themes in the novel thoroughly (kind of rare thing, you don’t see it a lot in reviews these days) and c) he sheds some light on how the book works structure-wise. All in all, that makes up for an excellent post. Even more if you have read the book already, are reading it right now (that would be me), or are planning to read it in the near future. Quality stuff, check it out here.

Some books I just bought

Here in the Netherlands we annually celebrate “Sinterklaas”, a holiday tradition which is the chief occasion for gift-giving. I had not idea what I could possibly ask as a gift, so I figured that I would just buy books for myself. I had about $75 to spend on goodies and ended up ordering these from the Book Depository:

Matthew Stover – Heroes Die
The novel is set in a future dystopia Earth where a parallel world called Overworld reminiscent of traditional fantasy world has been discovered. The corporations that run Earth send actors into Overworld in order to provide the masses of an overcrowded world with virtual-reality entertainment. Supposedly extremely gritty, well crafted I can’t wait to read this. I might end up reading the Star Wars book he wrote as well as the Blade of Tyshalle.

Cormac McCarthy – The Road
The Road is a post-apocalyptic tale describing a journey taken by a father and his young son over a period of several months across a landscape blasted years before by an unnamed cataclysm which destroyed civilization and most life on earth. Ranked high in different ‘best-of’ lists last year, plus it got the nod from Jay Tomio, I want to find out for myself.

M. John Harrison – Viroconium (Fantasy Masterworks)
Viriconium lies in a dying Earth littered with the detritus of the millennia, partly drawn from Jack Vance’s own Dying Earth series. This is actually the novel I am looking forward reading the most, Viroconium tends to split readers, they either love or hate it. I want to know what the buzz with Harrison and world building is all about. Aside from that this is classic work they I feel I ought to have read at least once in my lifetime.

Jeff vanderMeer – City of Saints of Madmen
The stories of City of Saints and Madmen are set in Ambergris, an urban sprawl named for “the most secret and valued part of the whale” and populated by humans after its original inhabitants—a race of mushroom-like humanoids known as “gray caps”—were violently driven underground. These creatures, though removed from the eccentricities of daily life in Ambergris, continue to cast a mushroom-shaped shadow over the city with their seemingly innocuous, yet sinister and unfathomable nocturnal activities. VanderMeer has been an influential writer and online presence for years so I thought it only natural to give his works a try once, and why not now.

Jeff vanderMeer – Shriek: An Afterword
Shriek is set in the fictional city of Ambergris, a recurring setting in VanderMeer’s work (as in City of Saints and Madmen). Bought this one for the same reasons as ‘City’.

Richard Matheson – I am Legend (SF masterworks)
Robert Neville may well be the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone. An incurable plague has mutated every other man, woman, and child into…Got to check this out before I will watch the movie in the theaters.

Ragamuffin by Tobias S. Buckell (Tor Fantasy)

Originally I had planned to put this review up on my blog here, but since the review was missing over at FBS I figured fuck it (let’s go bowling, no kidding) let’s submit it there and be the team player. So yeah, if you really curious what I had say about this second novel by Tobias S. Buckell, check out my review on FBS. Little teaser for you guys here:

“I can safely conclude that this was a very satisfying read, providing me with a lot entertaining hours spanning over the 300 odd pages. The prose was good and enjoyable but not mindblowing. “

” One of the strengths of this novel is the characterization, especially Nashara the newest addition to the cast, was portrayed in an interesting way. The novel benefited quite well from another ’strong’ (in terms of personality) character, because she can kick ass ladies and gentlemen. When the advanced technology came into play, it produced some amazing scenes that left me grinning like a madman. The stucture of the short chapters (at times barely one page) also enabled Buckell to switch point of views in high rate, thus every character got plenty the attention and polishing he/she deserved. This in turn affected the level of characterization in a positive way. “

” However, with regard to the short chapters, there was one downside. Although the characterization did benefit from the point of view switching, the pacing certainly did not. The pacing was actually the only really major drawback of this book. I mentioned earlier that in the latter parts of the book the characters met up with each-other, needless to say the frequency of the chapter switching increased there as well. It resulted in a rather fragmented sequence of action scenes, it almost felt too ‘jumpy’. It was as if Tobias Buckell had trouble keeping all the balls in the air at the same time. It was also difficult to gain a clear view of what was exactly going on at the same time, I imagine these parts would have improved in quality when the author would have chosen to settle with one character to describe the action from. The plotting was mostly OK, Buckell tied up most of the plot lines quite nicely like I said earlier on, but there still was one plot line that seemed pretty pointless in the end. Thinking back to it, I can’t actually recall what purpose it served other than a more thorough introduction to the ruthless methods of the alien Satrapy make use of when controlling humanoids all over the universe. When push came to shove, the boy and the girl featured in the plot line were cast aside as characters without any importance. I do hope that Tobias Buckell has something up his sleeve for them in the next novel Sly Mongoose (which will be published in 2008) otherwise the whole thing seemed a precious waste of time. So far there is one thing that Tobias Buckell has succeeded in pulling off in both novels, quite an accomplishment really, and that is in giving each respective work a kind of Caribbean flavor that makes it stands out as an unique work from the rest of the pack. It is fun to see how his Caribbean background is gradually incorporated in the story and setting, with the Ragamuffins (who talk in some sort of Caribbean version of English), who could be dubbed as the Caribbean Space Cowboys, being the perfect examples to illustrate that. “

I rated it a solid 7.5 / 10

Midnight’s Mask by Paul S. Kemp (Wizards of the Coast)

Midnight’s Mask is the third and concluding installment of Paul S. Kemp’s Erevis Cale Trilogy. It is by all means a book to be very excited about for a couple of different reasons. Firstly, it is the conclusion of what has been a remarkable journey through the lands of the Forgotten Realms. If it was not for Paul S. Kemp (and FBS in extension) I think I would have never even touched FR works. Call me biased, but most of the stuff I have read over the past few years with tie-in settings like Dragonlance, or the Drizzt works by Salvatore were mediocre reads at best if not downright shitty. They never managed to actually capture my attention. Luckily I was persuaded in giving these pieces a shot and I must admit that these books are an fine example that not every novel in shared world setting  equals a lousy read. I would even reckon that these works are all the more enjoyable once you have familiarised with the different cultures, landscapes, cities and creatures that inhabit the Forgotten Realms. Secondly, it is also the conclusion of a remarkable battle that has stretched over three novels. If more than anything else I am curious whether Midnight’s Mask will bring any twists that will leave me stunned and surprised (I know the author is capable of doing thus) and how the battle of the Sojourner and his Slaadi versus Cale and his friends is going to turn out.  It is really strange how some characters can grow on you and how much you will start to care about these fictional guys after reading through more than 600 pages of writing. Of just words. That is one thing that always tends to amaze me, how brutally powerful words can be. Apart from caring about the characters, I do care about the story in way too, because I really want to see it finished properly so I can put it to rest as well. There is nothing as frustrating as a bad ending, it almost haunting. I have often wondered how some endings can seem to make the rest of the book pale in comparison (even if the rest of the novel was of high quality), as if the rest of the book was not worth it when the ending sucked. There also those endings that suck for different reasons, but you can’t help but shake your head in admiration.  Thirdly, it is simply put yet another chance to read writings of an author who is very aware of what he is doing and is overall a pleasure to read. I don’t know exactly how these works fit into the rest of the fantasy library, all I know is that they make up for some interesting, quick and entertaining reads as opposed to the slow, heavy works of other authors. In a genre that has been littered with people trying to write the next Lord of the Rings saga these type of books are a brief and blissfully welcome alternative.

What is going in this final book? We pick up the story right the second after where Dawn of Night left off, with Cale and his friends making the (un)expected escape out of the crumbling cavern. After this it is time – with a quick visit to the Shadowrealm (that is rapidly become familiar) in between – to gegroup and make up their minds. They are faced with an increasingly threatening sorcerer, who seems to grow in power more than ever. Although that may be true the Sojourner still must plant yet one more seed in precious magical soil for the Weave Tap to tap into, after which he can obtain his Crown of Flame. All things considered it does not look all that promising for our friends, but how do you tackle such a problem? Right, by rushing right into the action.

Will I be able to put this arc of the Erevis Cale saga to rest? I think I can, yes, the book certainly belonged to the good-decent ending category.  It is difficult really, discussing a final volume of a series without being able to go into details, but on the other hand I want everyone to experience the books without any knowledge of the direction the plot takes towards the end for example. I think this installment of the Erevis Cale offers everything that can expect from such a novel, a lot fast-paced action, unexpected things happening, Cale racking up a nice body-count, lots of magic as well and the prose – not mindblowing or extremely innovative – certainly good enough to support the storyline. The last time I took a look at an Erevis Cale novel (couple of weeks ago), I felt the characterization was somewhat off, but I was pleased to notice that in Midnight’s Mask it seems up to par again. Characterization is most of the time illustrating how the storyline affects the characters individually plus it should serve to create a sense of progress on physiological level.  I think that aspect certainly came into play more in this novel. What did fascinate me as well, was how the servant of Mask element gradually came more to the forefront during these three novels, it was a sort steady, almost indiscernible development that clearly affected Cale. That struggle between his ’shadow self’ and ‘human form’ with all the conflicting emotions contributed to the characterization heavily too.
One of other things that still manages to amaze me is Kemp’s style of describing the action scenes and building up suspense to the event. Kemp always succeeds in bringing you close up to the action, we get to see all the great assassin moves of Cale or Riven for example, or the broad variety of spells in the arsenal of the Sojourner. The Forgotten Realms setting is a world were, like it or not, magic ominously present. This does influence the battles in a major way, as ‘normal’ wounds can be healed easily enough with healing runes or the aid of some deity. I have not yet completely figured out if that is essentially a bad thing or good thing with the regard of the story. It surely enables to writer to move on quickly, while keeping it ‘realistic’, and not waste too much time on describing how the characters recover from their wounds. On the other hand, when wounds do not equal mortal danger to one of the characters per se, this does it affect the suspense one way or another. I think I am fine with it either way, as long as it is not over-used.

Paul S. Kemp’s Midnight’s Mask managed to impress me and provide me with an entertaining novel to read. It offers everything what you can expect from it, lots of magic and action, Cale racking up a nice body-count and solid prose to go with that along. It is in short, conclusion to a memorable trilogy that I was hoping for. Certainly recomended reads for those who are looking for more character-driven story as opposed to the epic fantasy approach.

8/10

The Electric Church by Jeff Somers (Orbit)

Just posted my review of Jeff Somers’ debut novel, the Electric Church, on FBS. This is what I thought of the book:

” In short, I was not as impressed by this debut as other reviewers on the blogosphere seemed to be with the Electric Church. Although the premise on the cover sounds intriguing, “Eternal life can be yours. For a price” with the Monk on the cover is striking enough, the book is a poor execution of what could have been an interesting cyberpunk novel in dystopian setting. There is hardly any description of the characters or the world. The characters are standard archetypes, for example, our man Avery Cates is one doing the badass shooting stuff, the technie is the behind the scenes guy, brilliantly capable of doing the required work with computers and other technologies but portrayed as the nerd-ish kind of guy, and so on. The characterization is dull, not challenging in any way. Only the few instances we get to see a bit more of Avery Cates’ personality did manage to spark a bit of interest. The world building or the lack of any description is part of the reason as well why the book did not live up to expectation either. What you get with a bare-boned style of prose Jeff Somers’ adopted, is a setting that has a sketched, cartoonish feel to it, as if it is mocking itself all the while. Nothing has any consequence; no weight is attached to the lives of some characters that are so easily tossed aside in almost comical fashion. That in turn, contributes thoroughly to the reality of the book you are reading. It determines whether that temporary reality will start to live a life in your imagination or not. This one is as soulless as recently converted Monk of the Electric Church is. The novel is also a classic example of trying too hard, trying to squeeze just too many twists and turns in one 300-page work. Sure, a plot that just goes on and on forever in a straight line in no fun, but trying to keep with each twist in the plot (usually even more unbelievable than the previous one was) is no fun either. You get to a point where the suspension of disbelief just ends, when you refuse to believe that that really could happen to the characters and I reached that point soon enough. There is plenty of action going on, but the pace and frequency of all it is uneven. Some scenes seemed to drag on excessively long while other scenes finish in a blink of an eye.

Rounding up, I did not enjoy The Electric Church much; it is a classic example of trying too hard in terms of plotting resulting in an uneven paced story. If you are looking for action, there is plenty of it but it is hardly believable. The characterization of the characters is rather weak and neither original nor challenging. The lack of description did not manage to raise the quality of the novel to a higher bar. Not recommended reading. “

I rated it 4/10

Full review HERE.

Books in the pipeline for the last two months (recommend me some)

We are getting awfully close to the end of yet another year, so I decided to do a little preview post here. With the rate I am reading books right now, I read an average 4-5 books in a month, about one medium-sized book in a week (300-400 pages). At the end of the year I do have two weeks of vacation, so let’s say I have nine slots for books to read before the end of this year. So far these novels are the ones I will definitely read:

1. Red Seas Under Red Skies - Scott Lynch
Just ordered this one on Amazon.com because I wanted to have the USA hardcover edition and not the UK one. Delivery estimate varies from November 16, 2007 – December 27, 2007. I did actually win a copy of RSURS some time ago on FBS, but from strange reason the book never arrived. As you can see it takes a hell of a lot long time to get things shipped properly from the US to Holland, but the deivery date even exceeded the maximum of 36 days it takes to deliver the book. So I could not wait any longer, I mean I had to get this book so I gave in. Would be a shame if somehow the book popped up, right after the copy I just ordered was shipped. Oh well.
Why would I want to read the second of Lynch so badly? Simply put, because the first made me realise you freakin’ much I love reading fantasy once again. And I want to find out whether the second lives up to the expectations.

2. The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
Another one I just ordered, this one at the Book Depository. For the last half year, or pretty much since its release earlier this year, I have heard some many raving opinions on this work and even now the book sells in big numbers. Seems like that is something I must get my hands on too.

3. Ragamuffin - Tobias S. Buckell
Crystal Rain was very good (8/10) and I love to read more Space Opera’s, so yeah this one is definitely a must-read.

4. The Thousandfold Thought – R. Scott Bakker
I enjoyed the previous two volume in the Prince of Nothing trilogy enormously, so this is a book I want to read as soon as possible.

5. Black Man - Richard Morgan
Dubbed by some as the best (SF) book of this year, plus that it received plenty of praise. Just looking at the gorgeous hardcover makes me want open the book.

So that leaves 4 slots for various novels to read. I am also thinking of reading Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon and Acacia by David Anthony Durham (if my review copy ever arrives *prays*) . Now the reason I wrote this post was to ask you what you recommend reading. What I am basically looking for is the best that has been released this year. Let me know!

Heliotrope III out now

Finally, finally the long awaited volume III of Heliotrope, a project founded by Jay Tomio, Damon Caporaso and Dave Comery, has seen the light with all its goodness. For those who are unknown to the project, Heliotrope is a speculative fiction e-zine. It is offers quality short fiction reading and interesting non-fiction as well. You can read the previous two editions here and here. The table of contents for this issue is:

Fiction:
‘Red-Haired Man in a Sweater‘ by Brendan Connell
‘Moon at the Starry Diner‘ by Tina Connolly
‘He Angles, She Refracts‘ by Rob Vagle

Poetry:
‘The Witch‘ by Theodora Goss

Non-Fiction:
‘A Virtual Anthology: The Anatomy of Sleep‘ by Jeffrey Ford
‘Plus ca change?‘ by Michael Moorcock
‘The Shadow Cabinet: Bachelor and McNaughton‘ by Jeff VanderMeer

Exclusive Excerpts:
Once Were Cops by Ken Bruen
Grease Monkey Book 2 by Tim Eldred
Fablewood edited by William Ward

I already took a sneak peak at the content, I have read the pieces by Ford, Moorcock and VanderMeer in fact and I am really impressed with the quality of the writing. It provides excellent reading material by writers of obvious merit.

Do you want to read this issue too? Click the image and have a great time reading.