The 'First Day Back at Work After a Two Week Break...' Competition Winner's Post!

And I am feeling the pain...

Thanks everyone for bearing with me over the Christmas and New Year Period where I thought I’d take a little break and lay off the reviewing so I could recharge my batteries and take my time over what I was reading. You can consider my batteries fully recharged! I really enjoyed what I read over Christmas/New Year and am looking forward to telling you all about it over the next few days. Book reviews begin tomorrow!


In the meantime though, bear with me for one more day because today is all about the people who won the ‘Thirteen Years Later’ competition that I ran just after Christmas. If you won the book then I hope you enjoy it!

The lucky winners were...

Stuart Blakeley, South Australia
Steve Renshaw, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Melissa Emmerson, Sheffield, UK
Dejan Mitrovic, Belgrade, Serbia
Joy Whitelock, Somerset, UK

Well done everyone, your books are on their way right now :o) If you didn’t win this time round, keep your eyes open for more competitions that I hope to run in the future...

Sci-Fi Classics: 'Tarantula' & 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'

Because the weather has been rotten the last couple of days so there was nothing for it but to watch old sci-fi films from the fifties... :o)

 'Tarantula!' (1955)

Because there is nothing better than watching a very obviously superimposed spider tear up the Arizona desert before being taken down by the US military! Having said that though, the spider may well be obviously superimposed but it’s somehow all the more lifelike for it. Watching this bad boy creep up on cattle and unsuspecting passers by makes for some surprisingly creepy moments. I’m thinking of when it creeps up to the mad professor’s house while his attractive assistant is getting ready for bed. I was not at all telling her to look out of the damn window, no sir…
John Agar does a great job of showing us just why small town American doctors were a great defence against alien invasion in the fifties while Leo G. Carrol (Mr. Waverly!) shows us just why America’s ultimate demise will come at the hand of absent minded scientists who can’t see the perils inherent in their creations. The real star of the show though is the Tarantula.

'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1956)

Something alien has invaded the sleepy town of Santa Mira and who else can combat this threat but the local doctor? (I told you, if there’s an alien invasion happening then a small town doctor will be heading the resistance) His job is made all the harder though by the fact that the invading force is hidden in plain sight. They could be any one of us…
I’d seen ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ years ago but was more than happy to get a copy for Christmas as I’d read Jack Finney’s book fairly recently and wanted to see how the two matched up. The film does a great job of matching the sense of creeping dread and paranoia in the book; all the more so as the director is happy to take more of a risk with leading characters and have them succumb to the invasion. I liked how the film ends on such an open ended note (it could go anywhere) but preferred the victorious yet strangely downbeat ending of the book itself. ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ was still a lot of fun to watch although I was left wondering how the colour version could be five minutes longer than the black and white version even though they are both exactly the same film… 

Zombies Zombies Zombies - Strippers vs Zombies

Whereas ‘Zombie Strippers’ was just execrable, ‘Zombies, Zombies, Zombies’ is a little harder to call. Is there any such thing as a film that’s so bad it’s good? ‘Zombies, Zombies, Zombies’ could well be that film. It was awful but I haven’t enjoyed a film so much in a long time :o)

The premise is simple; a motley gang of strippers, hookers, bouncers and pimps are caught in the middle of a zombie outbreak and shelter in the local strip joint. And… that’s it :o)

The acting and dialogue are poor to say the least (although Johnny ‘Back Hand’ Vegas totally steals the show, seriously!) and the CGI is likewise. What I loved though is the sense that everyone knew the film was going to be a bit rubbish and just decided to have fun until it was done. Loads of zombies, loads of screaming and loads of blood – you actually can’t ask for a lot more than this from a zombie film and I really got into it. If you’re a fan of zombie films then you should really give it a go (I picked up my copy for £5 from HMV). If you’re a fan of bad zombie films then you’ve probably already seen it ;o)

Cover Art! 'The Sentinel Mage' (Emily Gee)

I don't read enough books from Solaris at the moment so will be picking this one up to give it a go, can't say that the cover is all that inspiring though... Check it out,

Just a little bit of added colour would have made this a lot more eye catching. As it is... There's sand, we get it! It's very well drawn but the effect they were looking for was lost on me; I like more than one thing to look at on a cover and that's not the case here at all...

The blurb looks familiar as well but with a hint of danger that has piqued my interest,

In a distant corner of the Seven Kingdoms, an ancient curse festers and grows, consuming everything in its path. Only one man can break it: Harkeld of Osgaard, a prince with mage’s blood in his veins. But Prince Harkeld has a bounty on his head - and assassins at his heels.

Innis is a gifted shapeshifter. Now she must do the forbidden: become a man. She must stand at Prince Harkeld’s side as his armsman, protecting and deceiving him. But the deserts of Masse are more dangerous than the assassins hunting the prince. The curse has woken deadly creatures, and the magic Prince Harkeld loathes may be the only thing standing between him and death.

 

Assassins are cool and that's all there is to it, I'm after something with a bit of a rush to it and a guy with a bounty on his head looks like it could do the trick (even though it's a plot that's been done before). As I said in another post, I've never read anything by Emily Gee although I know she wrote 'Thief with no Shadow' and 'The Laurentine Spy'. Has anyone here read these books? Were they any good? Let me know what you thought...

The 'What Graeme got for Christmas' Post...

 I know it’s not exactly Christmas anymore but I’ve only just been able to spend my Christmas book tokens so this post counts dammit! :o) Check out what my latest trip to Forbidden Planet saw me come home with (as well as what was under the tree) to be reviewed at some point soonish -–I told you there would be no promises about books being read this year…

I don’t normally pick up YA stuff but Charlie Higson’s ‘The Dead’ was under the tree and I enjoyed it enough to go out and find a copy of ‘The Enemy’ which I thoroughly enjoyed as well. You won’t be surprised to find that zombies (of a kind) feature heavily. Like I said, these books have been read and I’ll be looking to post reviews at some point.

I'm slowly building up my Glen Cook collection although his books are hard to pick up in the UK. I'm hoping that 'An Empire Unacquainted With Defeat' offers me a more accessible route into the world of the Dread Empire, the other two books are intriguing yet unforgiving if you can't get going with them straight away...

I missed out on the last few issues of 'Conan The Cimmerian' so picked up 'Free Companions' in an attempt to fill in some of the gaps. I polished it off this morning and am aiming to have a review up next week, I'm loving the Truman/Giorello partnership as ever and am looking forward to seeing more 'Conan' work from them in the future (which I think is going to happen). A whole load of 'X-Men' cartoon DVDs under the tree got me interested in the X-Men all over again so I thought I'd grab something a little more 'old school' to chew on for a while.

After plowing my way through a whole load of 'Conan' comics there was really no excuse not to go back to the original text for the first time in a long time. Not sure when I'll get round to these but one thing I do know is that I'll be taking my time and enjoying them.

What about you though? Any of these books take your fancy? Did you get anything particularly nice and bookish, for Christmas, that you'd like to share here? Leave a comment and let us know...

Cover Art! 'The Conan Chronicles' (Fantasy Masterworks)

I know it's more cover art but I'm on holiday right now and taking my time with my books :o) Normal service will resume next week.

In the meantime, check out the cover art on a couple of my Christmas/New Year's presents. Isn't it gorgeous?

 

Not only am I looking forward to getting into these anyway (after having read a whole load of the comics, it's time to read the real thing) but I love how the cover art captures that 'pulp vibe' in such an elegant way. All the best bits of Conan on a cover that you wouldn't be embarrassed to be see with on the train. At least that's where I'll be reading my copies :o)

What do you think though?

Cover Art! 'Sweet Silver Blues' (Glen Cook)

I'm only about half way through the book and I don't want any spoilers but... If you've read 'Sweet Silver Blues' can you let me know if any of the Gnomes are packing semi-automatics or Uzis by the end? My money is on 'no' which leads me to wonder why they're packing heat on the cover...

'Sweet Silver Blues' is turning out to be a very entertaining read though and I'm resolved to track down the rest of the series as and when I can.Well worth a look if you're a fan of Alex Bledsoe's 'Eddie LaCrosse' books.

New Year's Reading Resolutions

Because it's the 'Reading Resolutions' that you're really interested in, right? Do you really want to know that I plan to try and lose some weight (again) this year and stay off the Fruitellas? Or would you rather know about my vague resolution to eat an entire pig all in one go, this week, so as to put myself off eating sausage sandwiches for the rest of 2011? Okay, one of those resolutions wasn't true...

It's all about the reading today and this has thrown up some contradictory resolutions...

1) No More Promises!

Seriously, even though that negates the whole point of making resolutions... It felt like I spent the whole of 2010 saying that I'd read stuff for the blog that never ended up happening (I just couldn't get into 'The Anubis Gates'...) and that's not going to happen again this year. Having said that though...

2) Get to the Bottom of the Reading Pile...

Just because it's getting too big now and Hope is able to crawl now, I don't want any accidents... There's also a whole load of really good books in there that I'm excited to read and I don't want to hang around! This means...

3) Read 'Thick' Books...

You know what I mean :o) This blog has lived off books weighing in at a slender 300-400 pages long and it's way past time it had something a little meatier to chew on (it'll also solve the reading pile issue!) This can only mean one thing...

4) Finally Finish the 'Malazan Series'...

It has to be done. I'm about three books behind now and that's almost beyond the point of no return. 2011 will be the year that I get up to speed here with a series that is still my favourite despite my not being able to get back into it.

And finally...

5) Have a little Fun here :o)

Because there's really no point otherwise, is there?

That should be manageable I think :o) I'd also like to read roughly the same number of books that I did last year, we'll see how we go...

What about you though? What are your reading resolutions for 2011? Do you have a certain number of books that you'd like to read? Is there a particular author that you haven't got round to trying yet? All comments are welcome and we'll see where we all get to by the end of the year...

What books are you looking forward to in 2011?

Just a quick one to get us going now that we've had New Year's Day and we're all facing the prospect of another long year ahead...

I made a few posts, towards the end of 2010, pointing out books that might be worth keeping an eye for in 2011. Now it's your turn... :o)

It's a simple question, what books are you looking forward to finally seeing in 2011? Give us some reasons to look forward to the year ahead! :o) Can we just assume though that everyone is looking forward to seeing a certain book by a certain GRRM...? ;o)

All comments welcome! (Apart from the spam that is...)

Happy New Year!

 

I hope you all have a great 2011 and that everything you want comes your way! :o) Could this be the year that I finally get to the bottom of the reading pile...?

'It’s the End of the Year…'

And what an amazing year it’s been, certainly the best year for reading good books since I began the blog. I have to add a little caveat there though as the main reason the reading has been so good is that I’ve found myself deliberately gravitating towards the good stuff, rather than taking a chance, after Hope arrived. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt this year it’s that there’s only so much time in the day for reading at the moment and I’d rather make the best use of that time! This will probably be the case more often than not next year but you should still see me taking the occasional chance here and there with things that I wouldn’t normally try.

Still, a good book is a good book and there were plenty of them read this year. I listed my favourite zombie reads over Here, if you fancy a look but there were many more…

‘Surprise Find of 2010’ had to go to Guy Adams’ ‘The World House’ and considering I read this way back in February you can see that it blew the competition out of the water before the year had barely begun.  I said that ‘If there was ever a writer who could write in Technicolor it’s Guy Adams; his creations leap off the page at you and make you jump back in shock’. Never a truer word spoken I think, ‘The World House’ has lived in my head ever since and I’m eagerly anticipating the sequel ‘Restoration’.

Like I said, there were far too many good reads in 2010 for me to go and make a ‘Definitive Best of List’; there’s another reason as well but I’ll come to that in a second. Here though are a few that really stood out for me…

‘Farlander’ – Col Buchanan

February was a good month for reading! ‘Farlander’ mixed a well-conceived setting with a plot that threw up a climax that makes me go ‘what the f…’ even now.

‘The Third Bear’ – Jeff Vandermeer
Just thinking of this book sends a little shiver down my spine. Gorgeously weird and disturbing in equal measure.

‘The Body Snatchers’ – Jack Finney

A read that grew on me without my even realising it with a downbeat ‘happy’ ending that I would love to see more of in other books.

‘Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles’ – Michael Moorcock

A book that combined two of my favourite things in speculative fiction; that’s all I need to say really.

‘A Gathering of Crows’ – Brian Keene

I don’t know where Keene will be published next but what a book to (possibly) bow out on.

‘Salute the Dark’ – Adrian Tchaikovsky

I wasn’t sure where this series was going, quality wise, but this is the book that has ensured I’ll definitely be on board for the duration of the series.

‘The Bird of the River’ – Kage Baker

What a gorgeous read and a nice contrast to the grittier fantasy that’s in fashion at the moment, the fantasy genre is all the poorer for Baker’s absence.

2010 wasn’t just about the books I managed to read though… Demands on my time meant that I wasn’t able to get to all the others that I really wanted to read and it’s only fitting that some ‘photos of shame’ be included to mark the passing of a year when I didn’t read…

 

 

There are many reasons (excuses?) why I didn’t get round to reading all these books. Perhaps my first New Year’s Resolution should be to make these books priority reads for 2011…

That’s all for me this year. Have an amazing last day of 2010 and I’ll hopefully see you all again in 2011 :o)

Which Cover would you go for?

No title this time because the UK and US publishers have, for some reason, decided to give the book two different names. The blurb is the same for both though, check it out…

My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden . . . and there's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair. The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying.


Here’s the UK cover,





Here’s the US cover,





If 2010 has taught me one thing (other than the whole changing nappies thing…) it’s that the reputation held by US covers for being a bit, well… you know… is unfair to say the least. Have a look back over the year and you’ll see that US cover art can more than hold it’s own with what we have in the UK. It’s kind of nice then to end the year with a decent bit of UK cover art lording it over its counterpart. ‘Midnight Riot’ does the whole ‘bad ass cop’ thing very well but ‘Rivers of London’ gives you a real look at a city that you only think you know and you’re cordially invited to delve a little deeper. I the ‘blood red’ river thing as well, very intriguing. The book is due out here in the next ten days, and has already been reviewed Here, so I’ll be doing some delving fairly soon I think :o) Urban Fantasy that promises Mike Carey is just my kind of thing.

What about you though? Which cover would you go for and which title do you prefer…?

One for 2011? ‘Prince of Thorns’ – Mark Lawrence

I’m using the ‘post Christmas come down’ as a time to really chill out and enjoy what I’m reading; something that I really need to do more of I think. Could that be a New Year’s Resolution? I reckon it might be…

In the meantime, here’s another entry in my occasional list of books that you might want to keep an eye open for next year. It may be a case of the publicity people being over eager (although you can’t really blame them for doing their job…) but ‘Prince of Thorns’ comes with a letter talking of the book being ‘acquired in the US for the highest advance for any debut in this field for the past 7 years’ and that ‘every single fantasy publisher in the UK bid for the rights’. Voyager are certainly pinning their hopes on this one as the book isn’t due for release until August and I’ve already had an advance copy through the door…

Check out the blurb and see what you think,

"Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother's tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that's true enough, but there's something worse out there, in the dark. Much worse."

Once a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg's bleak past has set him beyond fear of any man, living or dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.

I’ve read the first chapter and it’s definitely a little bit more than the ‘young prince after the throne that is his’ story that it initially looks to be. On the other hand though, does the genre really need another tale of a young prince after the throne that is his? I’ll let you know once I’ve finished reading. In the meantime though, what do you think? Has the blurb got you interested in picking this one up?

Cover Art - 'The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo' (Adam Roberts)

One of the ways that you can tell it's Christmas is by Adam Roberts releasing a book that pokes more than a little fun at a more well established/recently successful work. I'm thinking 'I am Scrooge', 'The Sellamillion' and 'The Soddit' amongst others...

This time round it's the turn of Stieg Larsson's 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' to get the 'Roberts Treatment. I was given a copy but won't be reading it, purely because this one feels like you actually need to need to have read the original first to get the jokes here (and I won't be doing that, I don't know why but it just doesn't appeal to me). I love the cover though so thought I'd feature it here, check it out...

 

I'm not sure how you would describe the grin on the dragon's face but... I like it :o)

Has anyone here read the original? What did you think of it?

Giveaway! ‘Thirteen Years Later’ – Jasper Kent

If you enjoyed Jasper Kent’s ‘Twelve’ then this could be the competition for you...

The mass market paper back for ‘Thirteen Years Later’ is out at the beginning of January and, thanks to Transworld Books, I have five copies to give away. Check out the blurb...

Aleksandr made a silent promise to the Lord. God would deliver him--would deliver Russia--and he would make Russia into the country that the Almighty wanted it to be. He would be delivered from the destruction that wasteth at noonday, and from the pestilence that walketh in darkness--the terror by night...

 

1825, Europe--and Russia--have been at peace for ten years. Bonaparte is long dead and the threat of invasion is no more. For Colonel Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov, life is peaceful. Not only have the French been defeated but so have the twelve monstrous creatures he once fought alongside, and then against, ten or more years ago. His duty is still to serve and to protect his tsar, Aleksandr the First, but now the enemy is human. 

However the Tsar knows that he can never be at peace. Of course, he is aware of the uprising fermenting within the Russian army--among his supposedly loyal officers. No, what troubles him is something that threatens to bring damnation down upon him, his family and his country. The Tsar has been reminded of a promise: a promise born of blood...a promise that was broken a hundred years before.

Now the one who was betrayed by the Romanovs has returned to exact revenge for what has been denied him. And for Aleksei, knowing this chills his very soul. For it seems the vile pestilence that once threatened all he believed in and all he held dear has returned, thirteen years later... 

Do you want in? Just in case you were wondering... This competition is open to everyone, it doesn’t matter where you live :o)

Entering is really easy (same as ever). My email address is at the top right hand corner of the page, just drop me a line telling me who you are and what your mailing address is. The subject header needs to be ‘Thirteen Years Later’.

I’ll leave this one open until the 9^th of January and will aim to announce the winners as soon as possible afterwards.

Good Luck!

One for 2011? ‘Dark Jenny’ – Alex Bledsoe (Tor)

My reading is slowing down now, as it gets to the end of the year, so I thought it might be fun to look ahead to next year and check out books that I think could be worth your time. If ‘The Sword Edged Blonde’ and ‘Burn Me Deadly’ are anything to go by then I think ‘Dark Jenny’ is definitely worth picking up. It’s not out until April next year but check out the blurb in the meantime,

Murder, betrayal, and magic--just another day on the job for Eddie LaCrosse.

Freelance sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse is in the wrong place at the wrong time while conducting an undercover investigation on the island kingdom of Grand Bruan. When a poisoned apple kills a member of the queen's personal guard, Eddie becomes the prime suspect in the murder. He must do some fast talking to keep his head attached to his shoulders. While trying to clear his name and find the real killer, Eddie becomes embroiled in a nasty political scandal. Someone is trying to ruin Queen Jennifer and doesn't care who is killed along the way.

The more Eddie digs, the more twisted the lies become, until Eddie finds himself caught between two opposing armies. The fate of the entire kingdom lies in his hands.

I’m a fan of Alex Bledsoe’s work in general but I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Eddie and the way that he always seems to find himself way in over his head. Not too sure about the new cover art though, oh well... I’m not sure that I’ll be able to hold off until April for this one; expect a review sooner than that :o)

Happy Christmas Everyone!

I hope you all have an amazing day and that Christmas brings you everything you wanted :o) I would tell you not to eat too much but... it’s Christmas! Leave it until a couple of days after Boxing Day before you start worrying about the diet ;o)

Christmas Day is normally all reading books for me but this year it’s more about watching Hope stare in amazement at the lights on the tree and stopping her crawling into all those places where she shouldn’t really be. Books are great but I know what I’d rather be doing today :o)

This is pretty much the reason why you’re not seeing a review for Tolkien’s ‘The Father Christmas Letters’ today, maybe this time next year? We’ll see... What I will say though is that, from what I’ve been able to read, this collection of letters from Father Christmas (written by Tolkien to his children) not only maintains his reputation as a writer but also casts him in a very good light as a father too. It’s the kind of book that inspires you to try something similar.

Oh well, back to wrapping up all the presents that should have been wrapped up days ago...

Happy Christmas!

‘Dark Side’ – Jonathan Green (Abaddon Books)

I told you it wouldn’t be too long before I got round to reading ‘Dark Side’... It’s an occasionally bumpy ride but I know that anything involving gentleman adventurer, and agent of the crown, Ulysses Quicksilver is guaranteed to be nothing short of entertaining. The quickest way to explain the series (other than telling you to go and find yourself a copy of ‘Unnatural History’ and get reading...) is to sum it up as a ‘Steampunk Blockbuster’ where the heroes and villains positively brim over with their requisite traits and the resulting antics are crammed full of rooftop chases, frantic cliff hangers and climactic fights in submersibles or zeppelins... Lightweight? Maybe. Fun? Definitely!
All of this brings me onto ‘Dark Side’; a book that I was eagerly anticipating following the insane events of ‘Blood Royal’ and a book that I subsequently polished off in no short order. I was left wondering if ‘Blood Royal’ set the bar a little bit too high and whether it was too tough an act to follow. ‘Dark Side’ is a great read in itself but there was something missing...

Having saved the world yet again, Ulysses Quicksilver could really do with a holiday. He could certainly do with getting away for a bit as holding a gun to the Tsarina’s head hasn’t gone down well in some circles, no matter how good his intentions... If you’re looking to get away from it all then there’s no better place to go than the British Lunar colonies but Quicksilver has other plans in mind than a mere holiday. Ulysses’ brother Barty has fled to the Lunar colonies in an attempt to escape his problems on Earth; Ulysses wants to track him down and help him out.
What Ulysses will find though is far more dangerous than a sibling in a spot of bother. Why are people constantly trying to kill him? Can he convince the Lunar Police Force that he wasn’t involved in one particular murder? What is going on at a hidden base on the dark side of the moon? And will he ever be cast in anything but a bad light in front of his former fiancé? Three of the questions could well lead to a catastrophe beyond all proportions...

Picking up a ‘Ulysses Quicksilver’ book is like catching up with an old friend. You know roughly what he’s been up to and you just need to know the details. ‘Dark Side’ treads familiar ground in terms of plot and reaps the benefits of a tried and tested formula; namely throwing everything possible at Ulysses and seeing how he handles it. This book takes a couple of significant diversions from it forebears though and one of these ends up being to the detriment of the book itself.

The world of Magna Britannia, and London in particular, are as integral to the series as is Quicksilver himself. This heaving mass of humanity provides a rich and incredibly deep backdrop to the ongoing adventure and it’s a backdrop that I could quite happily lose myself in for hours at a time. It’s dark, dangerous and there is always something going on that sheds light on what a nasty (yet compelling) world this really is. I don’t have the link to hand but Charles Stross had a few words to say recently about Steampunk covering up the seamier side of what the British Empire was built on. While I haven’t read an awful lot of Steampunk, I would say that Green’s setting goes some way towards addressing these particular issues. You get to see the high life here but you are left in no doubt as to what the foundations are...

Moving the action to the Moon then is a bit of a risk and, for me, it didn’t entirely pay off. I can see the sense in introducing fresh scenery that will throw fresh problems at Quicksilver as well as broadening the scope of the Empire in this series. I’ll also quite happily agree that it may be a case of waiting for this new background to ‘bed in’ with the rest and things may seem different in a few books time. For me though, the transition to a new setting didn’t flow as easily as I was hoping.
What the reader is basically doing here is going from a rich tapestry to a relatively blank canvas. Of course it was going to be relatively blank; we’re talking about the Moon here! The thing is though, Quicksilver’s adventures work very well with the level of detail that they’re set against. Without that detail, things didn’t feel quite right. Maybe it’s something that I need to get used to but it didn’t sit well in the meantime...

Can I really complain though when the rest of the book is a glorious medley of time travelling Nazis, giant robots tearing up stuff and an ultimately tragic murder mystery? No, not really!
Green attacks the plot with his usual zest and vigour, giving us a story that rockets along with a mix of heady spectacle (I’m thinking of the giant robots here, loved that bit) and murderous intrigue. Mysteries abound and Quicksilver has to solve them all; the plot moves far too quickly for the reader to have any choice left but to come along for the ride and what a ride it is. There is plenty going on but Green has no trouble keeping everything in the air and ticking along nicely. And what a cliff-hanger ending! Whereas previous books have stood well on their own, ‘Dark Side’ is all about setting up the finale in the book to follow. There is no doubt at all that I will be around for that instalment, especially if things follow the background described in Al Ewing’s ‘El Sombra’.

The shift in setting causes ‘Dark Side’ to stumble a little after the magnificent sprint that was ‘Blood Royal’. In terms of sheer entertainment though, you can’t fault what turned out to be another gripping instalment in the adventures of Ulysses Quicksilver.

Eight and a Half out of Ten

Exclusive excerpts from HALO: CRYPTUM by Greg Bear!

If you’re a fan of either the game or the books then you’re probably waiting to get your hands on Greg Bear’s ‘Halo: Cryptum’. The book itself isn’t out until the 4^th of January but, in the meantime, you can read exclusive excerpts via Tor.com (chapter one) and halowaypoint.com (chapter two). Have a click and see what you think :o)

From the email...

HALO: Cryptum takes place 100,000 years before the events of the Halo games and serves as a great entry point into what has become one of the most successful science fiction franchises of all time. These two exclusive excerpts will be the first place to begin this deep exploration into the time of the Forerunners, the creators and builders of the Halos. Almost nothing has been revealed about this ancient race. This new series will delve deep into the reign of these enigmatic beings, and tell the epic story behind one of the great mysteries of the “Halo” universe: the complete disappearance of the Forerunners from existence, while also revealing an amazing tale of human origins.

An icon in the science fiction community, Greg Bear has penned such critically celebrated international bestsellers as Eon and The Forge of God.  His recent novel Hull Zero Three was published in November by Orbit Books and met widespread acclaim.  Bear’s talent for taut narratives, intellectually rigorous themes, and realistic, appealing characters make him the most qualified author writing today to begin a new chapter in this blockbuster franchise.

Greg Bear will also be appearing with special guests from 343 Industries at University Books in Seattle for an exclusive signing and launch event on January 4th, 2010 at 7 PM.

Not sure if I'll pick this one up or not. I prefer military sci-fi personally and Greg Bear is a little too 'hard sci-fi' for me...

‘Prospero Burns’ – Dan Abnett (Black Library)

It feels like a lot longer ago but it was only back in February this year that I read Graham McNeill’s ‘A Thousand Sons’; one half of what promised to be an epic (and tragic) tale of the opening stages of the Horus Heresy. And very good it was too (if aimed a little obviously at long term fans rather than the casual reader), certainly more than enough to have me very much looking to reading the same tale all over again from the perspective of the Space Wolves .
Illness (the authors, not mine...) meant that the wait for ‘Prospero Burns’ ended up being a little longer than anyone had anticipated but my anticipation for the book never lessened. In fact, it’s safe to say that ‘Prospero Burns’ was the one Black Library book that I’ve been waiting for above all others.
All good things come to those who wait and that’s what eventually happened with my copy of ‘Prospero Burns’. And it’s well worth the wait; I would even go so far as to say that ‘Prospero Burns’ is the best ‘Horus Heresy’ book yet...

Following the events of the Council of Nikaea, unregulated use of psychic powers and the pursuit of occult knowledge have been strictly forbidden by the Emperor himself. Well intentioned as it was, the breaking of these edicts by the Primarch Magnus the Red has ultimately cost thousands of lives and cast the Emperor’s own plans into disarray. The Emperor is enraged and the ultimate sanction looms; Primarch Leman Russ and his Space Wolves Legion are sent to bring Magnus and the Thousand Sons to justice.
Kasper Hawser’s time with the Space Wolves has shown him many things about this most bestial of legions but he hasn’t seen anything like the sacking of Prospero and he won’t even begin to divine his own true role in events until it’s far too late...

The Horus Heresy series retells a period of Warhammer 40K history that fans are already well aware of. The trick then is for each author to strike a balance, giving new readers a chance to jump on whilst not repeating stuff that long term fans already know, and at the same time fleshing out the detail to give us a story that’s fresh and new. Abnett may fall down slightly when maintaining that balance but what he does give us is a compelling tale that turns itself inside out to spring a few surprises. It’s the tale of espionage and counter espionage that ‘Legion’ really wanted to be but fell short of.

‘Prospero Burns’ is a tale of manipulation and scheming, decades old (the longest of long games in fact), that is all aimed at one particular point in time and for a particular purpose. What better to illustrate this level of deception than by telling the story through the eyes of the man who is unwittingly at the centre of it all?
What is initially a simple study trip to the Space Wolves home planet Fenris is gradually revealed to be a lot more for Kasper Hawser and it is the way that this is done which more than held my interest. Questions are either answered with more questions or not answered at all until the time is right. This gradual unfolding of the picture did an admirable job of getting me hooked early on and, despite knowing how it would eventually all turn out, I couldn’t help but be surprised by the detail of how it ended. This was very much a case of, ‘I knew it would end like this but I didn’t quite realise that was how it would end...’ Everything falls into place so neatly that you will wonder how you never saw the big picture to start off with.

When you add Abnett’s ability to write consistently excellent military science fiction then you’ve got a book that satisfies on more than one level. Abnett gets right inside the beast that is humanity’s Great Crusade and turns it into a living and breathing animal on the page, complete with a structure that is complex enough to accurately reflect its great purpose whilst also being simple enough to get to grips with quickly. Abnett also once again demonstrates his ability to accurately portray the common soldier on the field and adds yet another layer of welcome detail. You will probably never have a better view of mankind’s endeavours in the thirty-first millennium than you get with Dan Abnett.

When the guns start pounding the story ramps up another gear; especially when you see the Space Wolves take to the field. Abnett has already taken time to dispel some of the notions that this Legion is nothing but a gang of bestial killers with the cunning they display during the long game. This is none more evident than in the Primarch Leman Russ himself who orchestrates affairs with a purpose that belies his status as a mere brawler (although he is fond of the grand gesture as well, check out what he does to an enemy space station...). When the fighting kicks off in earnest though, Abnett leaves his readers in no doubt that the reputation of the Space Wolves, as the Emperor’s ultimate sanction, is thoroughly deserved. There is a raw animal power here that burns in every axe blow made by a Space Wolf and you feel it every single time. On the whole, Abnett generally delivers a balanced account of what it means to be a Space Wolf although the flow of the story is sometimes interrupted by Abnett’s pandering to the casual reader with more background detail than is perhaps necessary.

This is really only a small complaint though when set against what is undoubtedly a quality offering from Dan Abnett. ‘Prospero Burns’ completes the picture initially begun by McNeill’s ‘A Thousand Sons’ and in some style. Highly, highly recommended (look out for it at the beginning of next month).

Nine and Three Quarters out of Ten