Which Cover Would You Go For? 'My Dead Body' (Charlie Huston)

Every now and then different publishers will send me the same book. I’m not going to read the same book twice (although I am reading ‘The Gathering Storm’ and listening to the audiobook right now…) but I do like to try and give both books a nod so… the US versus UK cover art posts were born!

This time round it’s the turn of Charlie Huston’s ‘My Dead Body’, Del Rey published this back in September (you can read my review over here) and the Orbit edition will be on the shelves around the beginning of December. Lets take a look at those covers…

Here’s the US cover,



And here’s the UK cover,



Now, the ‘Joe Pitt’ US covers have been growing on me but the UK covers have been consistently superior (as far as I’m concerned) and it doesn’t stop now. Silhouettes are cool, red silhouettes are even better! Are the red ones the vampires or the regular humans? Who knows…? There’s not a fang in site either and yet you just know that there are vampires involved.

Don’t get me wrong, both covers are cool but the UK cover edges it for this reader. What about you guys though? What do you think? US or UK cover? What has been interesting, so far, is that the ‘cover art balance’ hasn’t been all about the UK covers winning every time. Where has the US cover art picked up it's bad reputation from?

‘By the Mountain Bound’ – Elizabeth Bear (Tor)

This week seems to be the week for going back to books that I read a year ago by way of reading their follow ups... Last year, I came across Elizabeth Bear’s ‘All the Windwracked Stars’ after an abortive attempt at checking out L.E. Modesitt Jr for the first time (Note. I’m going for the ‘read Elizabeth Bear first, then L.E. Modesitt Jr’ approach this year and I think I’m going to get better results this time round). I won’t go into too much detail over ‘All the Windwracked Stars’ other than to say that my review can be found Here. Suffice it to say that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to...

So here I am, one year on, about to tell you all what I thought of the prequel ‘By the Mountain Bound’; what happened? Well, despite not really getting into what I read last year the concept was appealing enough for me to decide to give Elizabeth Bear’s work another go. There was also the fact that I had enjoyed her short story ‘Boojum’ (co-written with Sarah Monette) that appeared in the ‘Fast Ships, Black Ships’ anthology. If that wasn’t enough, I’ve made a very early New Year’s Resolution to give more authors a second chance. You can’t judge someone on the strength of one book, can you? (Maybe you can but that’s the subject of another post I think...)
Anyway... I figured I’d give ‘By the Mountain Bound’ a go and I’m glad that I did. While it suffers from some of the same issues that plagued ‘All the Windwracked Stars’, the story has a little more room to breathe this time round and is all the better for it.

‘By the Mountain Bound’ takes a two thousand year leap back into the past of the mythical world of Valdyrgard; a time when the Valkyrie Muire is not the last of her kind. The Children of the Light live an idyllic existence of feasting, fighting and protecting the nearby human settlements from danger with only the slightest hint of the secrets within their ranks that could prove divisive. All this is about to change however. A woman is found by the shore who claims to be the embodiment of a prophecy made flesh. Are her claims the truth though? Or is the warrior Strifbjorn merely loath to give up his power as warleader? The only result can be war that will tear a world apart...

I’ll confess to being a little bit bemused about the practice of writing a book and then going on to write it’s prequel. If people know what the ultimate outcome will be then what’s the point of reading the prequel? This made me slightly wary when approaching ‘By the Mountain Bound’; seeing as I already knew how it had to end I was on the lookout for plenty to make up for this... And I got it.
While the outcome is never in doubt, Bear uses this to place greater emphasis on the sense of tragedy that lies heavily over the plot. People fight to avoid what the reader knows will be their ultimate destiny and the resulting futility of their actions makes for a depressing yet compelling read.

That’s not to say that I found the book easy to get into however. As with ‘All the Windwracked Stars’, Bear likes to take her time before things really get going. The problem here is that the book is only three hundred and eighteen pages long so there isn’t all that much room to take things easy like this. Things really need to get going a lot earlier than they eventually do...

When things do kick off though, Bear proves adept at drawing the reader along with a mixture of action (that is understated yet surprisingly powerful) and a no holds barred look into the minds of the three main characters. Again, this can sometimes slip into ‘overkill’ (which slows things down when it really shouldn’t) but for the most part what we get is an incredibly raw and personal account of what Strifbjorn, Mingan and Muire are feeling at any one time. The relationship between Strifbjorn and Mingan is particularly intense in this regard and the way that events played out really had me feeling for both of them. I’d say that you could read ‘By the Mountain Bound’ without having read ‘All the Windwracked Stars’ first but if you have read the other book then you will certainly see Muire and Mingan in a new light by the end.

When the end comes, it’s powerful enough but over a little too quickly perhaps. Maybe that’s to be expected given that the reader will probably know how it ends already and I’d also say that the ending is more concerned with getting Muire where she needs to be for the next book (or the last book, depending on how you look at it) to begin. Scenes of destruction set against white snow always stand out though and this is one hell of a way for the book to end. We know what’s coming so we find ourselves with time to concentrate on what’s in front of us...

‘By the Mountain Bound’ suffers from some of the same problems as its predecessor but I found it to be a far superior book in its execution. As a result I’m going to be around for the next book in the series and I’m really looking forward to it.

Eight and a Half out of Ten

‘Halo: The Cole Protocol’ – Tobias S. Buckell (Tor UK)

Long term readers of the blog will know that it doesn’t take a lot for me to get bored of a computer game and start trying to get it to do stupid things instead. I was playing ‘Grand Theft Auto’ the other day and didn’t even get as far as finding out what the missions were. Not after I’d found the petrol bombs... :o)
It was the same kind of deal after I gave ‘Halo’ a go for the first time. It was all good to start off but it didn’t take long before I was shooting my comrades and seeing how far ‘Master Chief’ could fall and still survive (if you haven’t tried it yet, he cannot survive the fall to Earth from a space station...) Things are about to change though. There’s no way that I can afford an Xbox right now so I might have to find someone who has one and play ‘Halo’ to death. Why? I’ve been reading Tobias Buckell’s ‘Halo’ tie-in, ‘The Cole Protocol’ and it’s really rather good...

As the alien Covenant continue their inexorable march across human space, the UNSC enacts the Cole Protocol to safeguard Earth and its inner colonies. All navigational data that could compromise Earth’s location is to be destroyed; Lieutenant Jacob Keyes is part of the effort and is about to find that enacting the protocol is a lot more than stopping freighters at random...
The planet Hesiod lies beyond the outer colonies and its asteroid belt (‘The Rubble’) is home to both human insurrectionists/refugees looking to make a new life away from UNSC rule. It’s also home to one of the Covenant member races and both of these groups co-exist in an uneasy harmony. This strange alliance is about to bring all of the warring parties down on Hesiod. Keyes’ ship is drafted into a secret mission around Hesiod and the elite Spartan Gray Team are also about to make their presence felt. The Covenant have their eye on Hesiod as well, especially an Elite whose quest for nobility and rank will lead him to do anything in order to fulfil his mission. The Hesiod system is about to explode...

If you’re a regular around these parts you’ll know that I have a lot of time for Tobias Buckell and his books. If you’re a fan of Space Opera then you really need to check out ‘Crystal Rain’, ‘Ragamuffin’ and ‘Sly Mongoose’ if you haven’t already; that’s all there is to it! Yes, I’m a fan so you might want to bear that in mind when you read the rest of this but any tie-in book that makes you want to go out and play the game it’s based on has to be doing something right!

‘The Cole Protocol’ is a good mixture of full on Space Opera and the more thoughtful air that Buckell has brought to his other work. When the sky lights up with plasma fire then that’s your notice that things are about to head into overdrive, and they do! Whether it’s ship based combat, flights through asteroid fields or combatants facing off in person it’s all very much in your face and written with an intensity that made me wince at times. Buckell knows that war is an ugly business and that no-one is safe when the bullets are flying; he’s not afraid to kill his characters off so try not to get too attached to anyone. This is a war fought over vast areas of space and a human life can appear fleeting in comparison... These descriptive pieces are also backed up with well thought out (and drawn) military structures on both sides, making sure that there is some sense of purpose behind the combat rather than characters just lined up shooting at each other.

It’s not all about the spectacular scenes of space combat though, ‘The Cole Protocol’ also goes behind the scenes and looks at the covert manoeuvres (on both sides) that can result in the big face offs. This is an altogether darker side to the book where lives are written off, by those in charge, so that military gains can be made. No-one can be entirely trusted and this lends an air of suspense to the book that drives things forward at a pace that definitely hooks the reader. I really wanted to know what happened next!
It’s at moments like these that Buckell gets a little bit thoughtful about what the Earth/Covenant war can mean for those who aren’t actually fighting in it. I’m talking about the outer colonies looking for independence but suppressed by a regime looking to clamp things down in order to safeguard humanity as a whole. Where do you draw the line with behaviour like this? Have the UNSC crossed that line? Is there a line to be drawn at all? It certainly made me think.

If Buckell goes wrong anywhere in ‘The Cole Protocol’ it’s perhaps in his attempts to make the book accessible for both seasoned ‘Halo’ gamers and people coming to the book for the first time. It’s a little top heavy on the background information and this not only slows the story down on occasion but also runs the risk of smothering it entirely. Personally, I’d be happier with less background detail if it meant that the pace could remain more constant...

This is only a small complaint though. ‘The Cole Protocol’ was a good introduction to the ‘Halo’ universe (for me) and a book that I think long term fans, as well as fans of military sci-fi, will get a lot out of.

Nine and a Quarter out of Ten

William Horwood's 'Hyddenworld'...

I loved William Horwood's 'Duncton Wood' books, when I was younger, so the news that he is writing a new fantasy series was very much welcome around these parts! I'm not sure if it's YA or not (I think it is) but even so, I'll still be checking this one out. Here's what the email had to say...

February 2010 sees the publication of Hyddenworld: Spring, the long-awaited return to fantasy by William Horwood. Famous and treasured for the 1980’s classic bestsellers, The Duncton Wood novels, about a civilisation of warring moles, William’s work sparked a multitude of anthropomorphic spin-off tales and earned him a devoted fanbase. Sixteen years after the sixth and final Duncton book was published, with a memoir, a historical thriller and a host of sequels to The Wind in the Willows under his belt, William introduces us to the world of the ‘hydden’: the little people existing on the borders of our world. The journey begins with Spring and an epic journey undertaken by two brave and captivating young heroes, who must cross into the Hyddenworld to save both worlds from environmental destruction.

Hyddenworld: Spring is the first of four books, to be published annually from 2010. William’s research for the series—he's about to hand in the second, but knows how the fourth and final book will end—has included marching up Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham to see if it was doable (it isn't), and taking a course in Old English to help create the book's mythology.

I'm up for reading this and will let you know how it goes. In the meantime, Pan Macmillan will be conducting a video interview with William Horwood (next week) and are opening the questions to anyone who would like to ask one. If you're one of these people, just drop me an email (at the usual address) and I'll make sure that your questions get to the right person. Try and get your questions to me by Sunday 22nd of November though...

‘The Devil’s Alphabet’ – Daryl Gregory (Del Rey)

Every so often a book will just come out of nowhere and blow you away. I’m not talking about books by your favourite author either (although they’re obviously very cool). I’m talking about a book that you wouldn’t normally consider picking up at all (by an author that you’ve never heard of). That’s what happened to me in June last year when I read Daryl Gregory’s ‘Pandemonium’. I could go on at length about how great I thought it was but it would be quicker just to point you at the review over here instead.
When I realised that Gregory had another book on the way I knew that I would have to check it out. However, this feeling was tempered by the nagging doubt as to whether ‘The Devil’s Alphabet’ would live up to what Gregory accomplished with ‘Pandemonium’. Of course, there was only one way to find out and I duly took the plunge!
Having finished ‘The Devil’s Alphabet’, I have to say that while it didn’t quite match up to ‘Pandemonium’ but it’s still worth a look...

Transcription Divergence Syndrome (TDS). No-one knows how it happens but the results are only too plain to see in the eastern Tennessee town of Switchcreek. Fifteen years ago TDS struck Switchcreek; killing a third of the population and mutating the rest into giant grey skinned ‘Argos’, hairless seal like ‘Betas’ or the grotesquely obese ‘Charlies’. Only a few people escaped these changes, Paxton Martin was one of these people and his father (a Charlie) shipped him out of Switchcreek as soon as possible. Now one of Paxton’s childhood friends is dead and he has returned to Switchcreek for the first time in fifteen years...
On the outside, life in Switchcreek is the same as it was when Paxton was there last. Look beneath the surface though and Switchcreek is a town full of secrets; some may answer why Paxton’s friend died, some may influence the future of humanity itself...

I know I mentioned it before, in another review, but sometimes things don’t have to happen for a reason. They just happen and it’s up to people to adapt as best they can to their new circumstances. This is the approach that Daryl Gregory takes in ‘The Devil’s Alphabet’ and although I’m normally into books like this I had mixed feelings about its effectiveness this time round.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the concept and Gregory does a lot of good things with it, raising interesting questions along the way. While people’s lives have irrevocably changed, they are still human and deal with their resulting problems in a very human way (even the Betas although you wouldn’t think so at first). Sometimes you have to really stir up the weirdness to place greater emphasis on the underlying humanity and Gregory does this with style. Twelve foot tall Argos who cannot have children, seal like Betas who cannot stop getting pregnant... Gregory really brings out the way that people are suffering through this approach and this makes for some really touching moments (Deke and his wife spring to mind pretty much straight away).

These unexplained mutations are also a great means of kicking off a plot full of secrets and devious behaviour from the townspeople. Everyone has something to hide, even if they don’t realise it, and this makes for a plot full of twists and turns that isn’t afraid to send you down blind alleys when you’re least expecting it. There’s plenty to ponder here, both in terms of the plot itself and the questions it raises over the cause of TDS and its ramifications.

If you’re not going to give an explanation for an event then the danger is always that the resulting speculation can cross that line between ‘just enough to provoke discussion’ and ‘stifling the story itself’. There are moments in ‘The Devil’s Alphabet’ where pages of speculation and techno-babble (although I do like the sound of ‘Quantum Teleportation’...) slow things down to a crawl and make it really difficult to get back into the story itself.
This is also the case with the main character (Paxton) and that’s not really a good thing. To be fair, there’s not a lot for him to do but think things through; part of the whole point of him coming back to Switchcreek is to think things through and resolve certain issues in his life. This approach allows him time to develop as a character, and that’s cool, but it also slows things down when they could be moving along nicely. Time spent trying to get back into the story should be time spent in the story and it just doesn’t happen...

For me, what felt like the constant deliberation over TDS stopped ‘The Devil’s Alphabet’ being what it had the potential to become. Having said that though, there’s still a lot to recommend it with an interesting concept coupled plenty of plot to get your teeth into. I might have slight reservations next time but I would still check out further books from Daryl Gregory.

Eight and a Quarter out of Ten

Michael Moorcock to write Doctor Who story for the BBC.

After my posts about tie-in fiction last week, it turns out that Michael Moorcock will be writing a Doctor Who novel for the BBC. I'm a fan of Moorcock's fantasy/sci-fi as well as being a fan of Doctor Who as well, this could well be the ideal combination for me...

What I watched this weekend...

For one reason and another, this weekend was more about watching films on DVD than it was about reading books (although books have been read and reviews will be going up later this week...) This weekend was also about surprises, particularly when my father-in-law asked me if I had any horror films worth watching. Talk about things you never expect to hear...
Anyway, I had a couple of DVDs that I hadn’t got round to watching so I thought we could give them a try. One of them worked but the other one didn’t go down quite so well. See if you can work out which is which...



‘Outpost’
Nazi Zombies! They’re always good in a horror film. Except these aren’t so much Nazi Zombies as they are ‘Nazi Super Zombies rendered indestructible by Cosmic Rays’ which has to be even better! And it is. ‘Outpost’ recounts the tale of an ill fated mission to loot the contents of an underground SS bunker and what happens once the sun goes down. These days you have to ask yourself why teams of battle hardened mercenaries insist on raiding places where military experiments have taken place. Haven’t they figured out what’s likely to happen when they go into these places? Luckily for the father-in-law and I, DC’s team of mercenaries thought this was just going to be an ‘in and out job’; how wrong they were... ‘Outpost’ hasn’t got the best script in the world but a solid concept coupled with a fine line in tension being drawn out (to some particularly gory ends) makes this a film that’s worth a look if you like horror, zombies or both at the same time. And it looks good too; gunfights between mercenaries and Nazi Zombies are always welcome in this house! IMDB has mention of a sequel and I’ll definitely be checking that out when it arrives.



‘Black Sheep’
Here’s one that I’d picked up weeks ago and then completely forgotten about... until last night. ‘Outpost’ had gone down a treat so I thought we could give this one a go too. After watching ‘Black Sheep’ the question on my mind was how much can you laugh at a film before you’re laughing at it for all the wrong reasons? ‘Black Sheep’ (genetic modification breeds killer sheep on a New Zealand farm) was a lot of fun but I was laughing a lot more than I normally would. Was it the appallingly bad ‘lamb puppet’ that tore off a guy’s ear? Was it the actors deciding that the best way to deal with the script was to take a run at it and yell lots? Possibly ‘yes’ to both of those questions... Having said that though jokes about sheep farts never stop being funny, at least in this film anyway. ‘Black Sheep’ is a lot of fun but don’t even try and take it seriously, you might hurt yourself.



‘Dead Set’
Just over a year since it was on television and I finally get round to watching this tale of zombies attacking the Big Brother House (something I’ve often thought about!) I am so bad at keeping up to date with what’s on television...
I’ve been meaning to get round to this one for a while now and it was well worth the wait. I prefer zombies that shamble rather than run but I was willing to let that one go as the episodic nature of ‘Dead Set’ (I watched this one at various points over the weekend) meant that things had to move quickly. And they certainly moved quickly! The action did not let up for a second and even when things quietened down we still got an in depth look at how the survivors were coping with the zombie threat. Fraught and tense are the words of the day here! As always, the zombies don’t need to stir up the survivors as our band of Big Brother contestants and production crew are more than capable of fragmenting all by themselves. While I could see how things would deteriorate I wasn’t entirely convinced by the manner in which the zombies finally stormed the TV studios. I don’t want to give too much away (even though I’m possibly the last person to have seen ‘Dead Set’ for the first time!) but I couldn’t see why one particular character did what he did...
Despite this though, ‘Dead Set’ made for some superb viewing (and the nods to the original ‘Dawn of the Dead’, and the remake, were a nice touch as well) All good things come to a Graeme who waits :o)

Back to book reviews tomorrow...

The Monday Morning Competition Winners Post - The 'Slightly Hungover Edition'

Morning folks. I'm keeping this post short and sweet while I wait for the Nurofen to kick in... Hopefully your Monday morning is treating you a bit more kindly! Monday morning is certainly being nice to the following people who won last weekends competitions...

'Elric in the Dream Realms' (Michael Moorcock)

Jaydee Dusenberry, Oregon, USA

'The Gathering Storm' (Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson'

Claire Melvin, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Sarah Oztoprak, Bristol, UK
Elaine Maunders, Newbury, UK

'Gardens of the Moon' Tenth Anniversary Edition (Steven Erikson)

Karen Barrett, Bolton, UK
Beth Melito, New Jersey, USA
Ole A. Imsen, Norway
Stephen Castle, Kent, UK
Claire Higgins, Blaenavon, Wales

Well done guys, your books are on their way! Better luck next time everyone else...

Giveaway! 'The Cardinal's Blades' (Pierre Pevel)

You've read the review (scroll down a little bit if you haven't, it's still there), now you have the chance to win a copy of the book itself! Thanks to Gollancz, I have three copies of Pierre Pevel's 'The Cardinal's Blades' for three lucky readers to get their hands on (entries from the UK and Europe only though I'm afraid, I'm working on getting some competitions for the US/Canada next week...)

Entering is simple. All you need to do is send me an email (address at the top right hand side of the screen) telling me who you are and what your mailing address is. You also need to make it clear that this is the competition that you are entering. I'll do everything else :o)

I'll let this one run until the 22nd of November and will announce the winners on the 23rd.

Good Luck!

Giveaway! 'The Templar Magician' (Paul Doherty)

The good people at Headline not only offered me a copy of 'The Templar Magician' but also wondered if I'd like some copies to give away. It looks like an interesting read so I said yes! :o) Here's the blurb...

Murder and mayhem set at the time of the secretive Templar Order.

The year is 1152, and Jerusalem is still in the hands of the Crusaders, although the lofty ideals of before have now been replaced by subtle power-play. Meanwhile, in England, King Stephen is waging bloody war against Henry Fitzempress. The Templar Order, now fifty years old, is a wealthy power, glittering with tempting riches. Against this background of bloodshed, Robert de Payens, grandson of Eleanor, one of the co-founders of the Temple, finds himself caught up in a murder mystery when Raymond, Count of Tripoli, is brutally assassinated. Who would have wanted to murder Raymond, and is it possible that the answer may lie within the hallowed ranks of the Templar Order itself?

Sounds good to me! Now, how do you fancy winning a copy? (This one is only open to entries from the UK and Europe, sorry everyone else...)

It's easy to enter. Just drop me an email (address at the top right hand side of the screen) telling me who you are and what your mailing address is. You also need to make it clear that this is the competition that you want to enter. That's all you need to do, I'll do everything else ;o)

I'll be letting this one run until the 22nd of November and will announce the winners on the 23rd...

Good Luck!

‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ – Pierre Pevel (Gollancz)

When you’re off for a weekend in Paris and a book arrives promising a mixture of Cardinal Richelieu. Musketeers and dragons... Well, there’s really no choice but to take it with you! As it turned out, ‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ ended up playing second fiddle to Jeff Vandermeer’s ‘Finch’ but I still managed to find the time to get stuck in (both in Paris and throughout the commute this week). Readers of the blog will know that I am always up for anything with a hint of swashbuckling about it but ‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ also offered me the chance to start filling in a gap in the blog that I’ve never been aware of until now. I’ve never really read outside my own language, more than likely due to the fact that high school was a long time ago now and I’ve totally forgotten the little I’ve learnt in the way of foreign languages (French and German, I wasn’t particularly good at either of them). ‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ is a translated work (Tom Clegg did the honours here) but I figured that it was a start at least in terms of redressing the balance on the blog.
‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ isn’t without its issues but the bottom line is that I couldn’t put it down until I was finished. Are there any more books about the Cardinal’s Blades? I hope so...

The year is 1633 in a France totally different to that which you may have read about. The big difference is the proliferation of tame dragonets and wyverns that are made use of by the populace and the shadowy Black Claw sect that looks on France, with covetous eyes, from Spain. Louis XIII may reign over France but it is Cardinal Richelieu that rules the country; working constantly to thwart assassination attempts, espionage and other threats to the throne. The threat from the Black Claw is great and there is only one way to counter it; Captain La Fargue must reform the ‘Cardinal’s Blades’, an elite band of swashbucklers who were once ready to risk all for France. Are they ready to take up the fight once more? Will their best be enough, even if they are...?

‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ is one of those books where I find myself really wishing that I spoke the original language that it was written in (French) so I could get a proper feel for this book and what it’s all about. Not that there’s anything majorly wrong with the translation. Clegg takes the original text and reworks it into an English version that doesn’t seem to spare any of the detail. Or does it? An overabundance of descriptive pieces (about the history of certain locations or simply what they look like) has the unfortunate effect of slowing the book down to a crawl when it really needs to be gearing up for a sprint. I also found that the relative shortness of each chapter (and the constant switching back and forth between characters) lent a choppy air to the pace which made it difficult to stay with the story. I was left wondering if translating ‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ into English robbed the piece of the more natural flow that it may have enjoyed as a book written in French. Has anyone here read the original French version? If you have, how did it work for you?

Luckily, ‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ is one of those books where a little persistence over the flaws uncovers a book that is well worth sticking with. Any book where I get to the end and am left wanting a sequel has to be doing something right!

When it gets going, ‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ is a rip roaring mixture of sword fights, spies, evil schemes and (best of all) dragons. While the dragons are very much present in the book, Pevel doesn’t hang the whole story on this concept and things work all the better for it. The ‘matter of fact reference’ to dragons (and the Black Claw sect) makes their presence all the more plausible whilst giving the ‘spy plotline’ a chance to shine. And shine it does! Big cities have ever been a breeding ground for labyrinthine schemes and seventeenth century Paris is no exception! Everyone has something going on and all credit to Pevel for bringing such a large number of schemes together to form a plot that’s driven forward by answers that spawn yet more questions. Anything can happen and Pevel’s deliberate vagueness about his characters ensures that it invariably does. Pevel also has some real surprises for his readers, especially regarding the Blades themselves. Here’s a group that’s proof that no matter how close knit a team is, self interest will always undermine a common aim... Pevel saves some real surprises up for the very end and their impact is intensified by the amount of time that the reader has had to get used to certain people. I’ll admit to getting a little lost with it at times but it certainly all came together at the end!

Pevel adds colour to all of this by including sword fights and rooftop chases that I thought were the very definition of ‘swashbuckling’. Our heroes are cool under pressure, capable of delivering witty one liners whilst fighting off multiple foes and considering whether or not to jump through the nearest window. Swordfights are brutal yet delivered with a certain flourish; I wouldn’t mind seeing this on the screen...

‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ may have lost a little something in the translation (although I’ll never know for sure until I learn to read French!) but it remains a thoroughly entertaining read that I had a lot of fun with. The final pages hint at further developments and more adventures, I hope this is the case.

Eight and Three Quarters out of Ten

‘Total Oblivion, More or Less’ – Alan DeNiro (Spectra)

Hands up everyone who has ever sat at their desk (on a particularly dull school or work day) and thought, “what if...?” If you read a lot of speculative fiction then this is a common side affect and one that is somewhat of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, I feel adequately prepared for a zombie infestation or for a sea monster to rise from the Thames and start laying waste to the city. On the other hand though, I never seem to get anything else done...
If we’re really lucky, our ‘what ifs’ can transcend mere idle speculation and make the leap onto the printed page. Alan DeNiro has done just that with his debut novel and the result makes for some interesting reading. Not all of it though...

What if our world was suddenly invaded by warriors from Ancient Europe? Here’s a question that sixteen year old Macy must answer when the invasion comes to Minnesota. One day everything is normal; the following day (and those to come) is full of warring tribesmen, wasp borne plagues and talking dogs. As the world is unravelling so is Macy’s family and she must struggle to keep both intact as best she can. The alternatives aren’t good...

In the spirit of all the best ‘What Ifs’, DeNiro’s ‘Total Oblivion’ never even attempts to get to the bottom of just why North America has been invaded by warriors from the past. That’s not the point at all. What’s important is that it’s happened and that people must somehow find a way to deal with the consequences, Macy’s family in this case. This is where the story truly lies and the fact that it’s being driven by something totally unexplained (but at the same time very apparent and dangerous) gives it the concept a little extra kick which should speed the plot along nicely.

I say ‘should’ because although the plot does flow well it did feel more than a little bogged down by the fact that much of the plot is advanced through talk rather than physical action. In one sense this is very much a good thing as we get to see Macy’s character develop over time along with others. It also gives us an insider’s view on how the world is changing and continues to change. On the other hand though, when the balance of the plot shifts towards talk (over action) then you can be left feeling that not a lot is actually happening. This is certainly how I felt at times when reading ‘Total Oblivion’, not a good thing when the book itself is only three hundred and six pages long.

It’s not all bad though. As I’ve said already, the mystery surrounding the invasion not only provides an intriguing entry into the story but also serves to paint a vivid backdrop for the story to be set against. While the story may slow down in places, it is rescued by a plot that demands things be done otherwise certain characters won’t make it all the way through... These two things are what kept me reading in the main, an interesting central character was the clincher.

If the world goes belly up then the first thing you’re going to want to do is try and get some level of control over what is left. This is the approach that DeNiro takes with Macy and it works well as far as I’m concerned, almost rendering the state of the world in microcosm through the workings of Macy’s very dysfunctional family. Macy must learn a lot about herself in order to more effectively fulfil her aims and this is where the character development comes in. By doing this, Macy is also able to learn a lot more about her brother Ciaran and so we see his character in a new light as well. He’s still the same guy by the end of the book but at least we have a better idea of why he behaves the way that he does. Things aren’t quite the same by the end but was anyone expecting them to be? When your world falls apart things are never going to fit back together in exactly the same way. What matters is that things are good enough to get by. DeNiro recognises this and ends the book appropriately.

‘Total Oblivion, More or Less’ is a book where the concept hooked me from the start. Unfortunately the book’s structure made it more difficult to get into than it needed to be, it didn’t do itself any favours there. However, a little perseverance uncovered a tale that was worth taking the time to find. Worth a quick look if you come across this one in the bookstore.

Eight and a Quarter out of Ten

Genre Fiction vs. The Tie-In: Two Discussions.

This seems to be a debate that crops up every now and then. They've been chatting about it over at Westeros and now Mark Charan Newton and Dan Abnett have got together to chew the fat on this topic over at Ecstatic Days. Both discussions are well worth a look and browse.

Do I stand anywhere on this? I'm probably preaching to the converted but running this blog has taught me not to turn my nose up at tie-in fiction; you may have to wade through some absolute crap (actually, there's no 'may' about it!) but you will find some gems on the way. Paul S. Kemp is one (gutted to hear that he's moving on from Wizards of the Coast but apparently he'll be writing Star Wars books in the future) and Karen Traviss is another (and there's also Dan Abnett of course). As far as the rubbish goes, I've been quite lucky so far but Keith Baker's 'The Queen of Stone' was one that really didn't work for me...

A book that I'll be reading very soon is Tobias Buckell's 'The Cole Protocol' (from the 'Halo' universe) so I'll guess I'll see how this balances things out in the ratio of 'Good Tie-In' to 'Bad Tie-in' fiction... How about you guys though? What are your experiences of tie-in fiction? Anything that you think I should look out for?

‘Finch’ – Jeff Vandermeer (Underland Press)

How do you choose which book to pick up next? I generally go by a mix of genre choice and book cover but I’ve also been known to choose slim books over doorstop novels as well as closing my eyes and grabbing a random book from the pile. Sometimes though I really cannot decide what book to read and, in those times, I know that I should take my choices to a higher power and let them decide what I should be reading. Yes, sometimes I get my wife to choose a book for me... :o)
Last week I showed the wife two books to see which one she would go for. After careful consideration it was ‘the book with the pretty cover’. I won’t tell you what was said about the other choice, it wasn’t pretty...
The ‘book with the pretty cover’ was Jeff Vandermeer’s ‘Finch’ and I’ve just spent the last few days utterly enthralled by this tale. I don’t know quite where it will end up in my list of reads for the year but you can bet that it will be somewhere near the top.

Ambergris is not the city you knew before. The fungal Gray Caps have taken advantage of a drawn out civil war to rise above ground and make their presence felt. The city is now theirs.
In this bombed out landscape, haunted by the Gray Caps and their hybrid human allies (‘Partials’), detective John Finch is tasked with solving an impossible double murder. When you’re working for the enemy though, how much do you let them know? How much can you let anyone know in a city where personal survival is paramount and knowledge is power? When it comes down to it, what does Finch really know at all...?
The answers will become apparent but whether Finch will live to reach them is another matter entirely...

I love a good cityscape in a fantasy novel; if it’s done well then it almost becomes a character in its own right and you put the book down feeling as if you’ve actually been there rather than just read about it. Vandermeer already achieved this with Ambergris in ‘City of Saints and Madmen’ (I’ve still yet to read ‘Shriek: An Afterword’) and does it again in ‘Finch’.
The Ambergris of ‘Finch’ is a striking mix of bombed out wasteland and nightmarish fungal growth; Vandermeer doesn’t lay the description on thick but there’s no question of you not knowing what you’re walking through on the way to the conclusion. Landmarks play an important role in defining the current landscape of Ambergris as well as the constant sight of rubble. If you’ve walked down either Manzikert Avenue or Albumuth Boulevard before then these familiar streets will ease you back into Ambergris while at the same time showing you just how much time has passed. If you haven’t then... maybe you need to read the two preceding books first. In fact, you definitely need to. There’s a lot going on here that will make a lot more sense if you read ‘City of Saints & Madmen’ and ‘Shriek’ first and the conclusion (although fine on it’s own) really needs that prior reading to kick ass in the way that it was designed to.

Ambergris also feels like a character in its own right as the city itself comes across as practically empty during the course of Finch’s mission. There are other characters but they are all hidden away, behind their doors, for Finch to find. What you get as a result is a sense of silence that is almost palpable and is perhaps a hearkening back to the original ‘Silence’ that blighted the early history of Ambergris. There is a story to be told but a lot of the time the emphasis comes across as being on the city itself and those are the best times to get a feel for Ambergris. I’m glad I don’t live there but the atmosphere was so rich and compelling that I didn’t want to leave.

Detective stories are inevitably tales of impossible cases, double crossing and a detective who has no idea of what he’s got himself into until it’s far too late. Vandermeer doesn’t stray too far away from this outline and you can find yourself getting a feel for the ebb and flow of this part of the plot; so much so in fact that you may be able to predict just when the case will either hit a dead end or move in a new direction. There is such a delicious sense of the ‘alien’ about things though and this balances out the feeling that you may know where the plot is going. Where else would you find a detective novel where the chief was a ruthless talking piece of fungus? And having a partner being eaten alive by a fungal disease certainly adds an interesting new slant to the idea ‘the cop and his partner’ solving a case while sorting out their own issues. Like ‘Lethal Weapon’ with talking mushrooms...

Finch himself also drives the plot forward in the best possible way. Here’s a character who can’t even remember who he really is and has enough ties with the shadowy organisations of Ambergris to make knowing who to support a tricky question every single time. Finch is a tenacious character though, even if his overall motives are questionable, and it’s this tenacity that makes you want to stick with him and for him to make it through to the end. Does he end up doing the right thing though? I’m still not sure about that one...

‘Finch’ is not only a gripping detective story but a triumphant conclusion to events set in motion a long time ago. Things are left open for more tales in Ambergris and I hope things are explored further as I would certainly be there for more.

Nine and a Half out of Ten

The World of 'The Adamantine Palace' - Free Gazetteer available for download.

If you enjoyed Stephen Deas' 'The Adamantine Palace' (I did!) and you're having trouble waiting for 'King of the Crags' (I am...) then this might just help you through...

Stephen Deas has been working on a big ol' gazetteer detailing the world of 'The Adamantine Palace' and has made it available as a free download. If you fancy a read then click Here for the download...

‘Essential Tales of the Zombie, Volume One’ (Marvel Comics)

When I picked up Mike Raicht’s ‘Zombie’, and later on Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell’s ‘The Zombie Simon Garth’, (a couple of years ago) I had no idea that Simon Garth was a reworking of a much older character of the same name. Google and Wikipedia set me straight on that score but I was left thinking that I would never be able to read the original comics. Marvel set me straight on that score! Little did I know that there was an ‘Essential Tales of the Zombie’ collection that would fill in the gaps. It took me a while to get hold of a copy but eventually I did, only to have the front cover/spine/back cover come off in my hands as I was reading it this weekend. It’s a thick book and I guess that the glue wasn’t up to the job (something you guys might want to watch out for if you’re planning on picking up your own copy or any other of the Marvel ‘Essential’ collections). It was a good job then that the story inside was worth the read, even if Simon Garth isn’t the kind of zombie that I would normally read about...

‘Essential Tales of the Zombie Volume One’ collects ‘Tales of the Zombie #1-10’ along with ‘Dracula Lives #1-2’ and tells the tale of Simon Garth; a work obsessed executive who is set to learn some hard lessons about the true meaning of happiness and love. Garth is set to become a human sacrifice in a voodoo ritual but manages to escape when help arrives from an unexpected source. This reprieve is short lived however and Garth is killed by his former gardener, only to be brought back from the grave as an undead zombie. Now, Garth is under the control of the fabled amulet of Damballah and must obey the will of whoever holds it. Despite this though, Garth’s real aim is to achieve the peace of true death...

You would have thought that I’d know better by now. I thought that Marvel were solely about superheroes and mutants but way, way, back in the day they were also all about Dracula, the Wolfman and... the Zombie. This isn’t the George Romero style zombie (what I would normally go for); what we have instead is the zombie of Voodoo lore and this Caribbean tone adds a more vibrant feel to the proceedings (and the artwork). What we get as a result is a refreshing contrast to the grimy and bleak post-apocalyptic fare that I’ve been used to in the past.

What I also enjoyed was the change in approach to what I’ve seen in Romero’s films and ongoing serials like ‘The Walking Dead’. Whereas the zombie media I’ve been into concentrates more on mankind’s attempts to survive in the face of a zombie infestation, ‘Essential Tales of the Zombie’ turns this round and comes back at it from the opposite direction. Simon Garth is one zombie on his own in a world full of humans only too ready to take advantage of his situation; he has limited control over his actions (although he does display some evidence of free will) and must somehow get by in the face of overwhelming opposition. As with all zombie fiction, it’s the humans who are worst of all. It helps then that Garth is a hard character to put down...!

There’s also a lesson in morality to be learned it that comes across very well. By stripping away everything that Garth originally found important he is able to put things in perspective and eventually act to put things right in his life; both as a zombie... and later on.
I very much enjoyed reading the tale of the original Simon Garth. If ‘Volume Two’ is ever released then I’ll be sure to pick it up.

That’s not all there is to ‘Essential Tales of the Zombie’ though as the book also collects the ‘one off’ short stories that accompanied the main feature. This is the bit where I would normally have a list of examples but my copy of the book is in pieces (awaiting repair) so I don’t have it to hand right now! As you would expect in shorter stories, the emphasis isn’t so much on character development as it is on quickly setting things up and then smacking the reader in the face with a gore ridden conclusion. The simple message is that evil never wins and it’s a message that’s played out almost too far across a volume of this size (the same thing over and over again)... To be fair, the affect would have been far more pronounced in a shorter punchier monthly issue.

‘Essential Tales of the Zombie’ was perhaps a strange choice of reading for a weekend in Paris but was nevertheless an entertaining read that I had a lot of fun with. Like I said, if volume two ever makes an appearance then I’ll be there to pick it up.

Eight and Three Quarters out of Ten

The 'Early Morning Competition Winners Post' - French Edition!

Just got back from a weekend in Paris (very nice it was too) and I'm really after just going to bed, stupid noisy neighbours in the hotel... Before I do that though, here are the winners from last week's competitions!

'7th Son: Descent' - J.C. Hutchins

Bryce Lee, Wyoming, USA
Rob Charron, Ontario, Canada
Sheldon Florence, British Columbia, Canada

'The Big Fat Horror Giveaway!'

Lee Barker, Thurnscoe, UK
Stuart Pickering, Birkenhead, UK
Caroline Allard, Floing, France
Mark Devery, New Zealand
Yuriy Volyanskyy, Ontario, Canada (Canada did really well this time round!)

Well done everyone, your books should be on their way really soon! Better luck next time everyone else, why don't you scroll down a little bit and see if any of the current competitions take your fancy...?

Normal service will resume soon but not until I've got some sleep. See you all in the morning! :o)

Giveaway! 'Elric in the Dream Realms' (Michael Moorcock)

If you scroll down the page a little bit you'll see that I had a lot of time for this latest collection of Elric's adventures. I wanted to share the love a little bit and the good people at Del Rey were of a similar mind. As a result I have one copy of 'Elric in the Dream Realms' to give away to one lucky reader (only if they're living in the US or Canada though, sorry everyone else...)

All you need to do to enter is drop me an email (address at the top right hand side of the screen) telling me who you are and what your mailing address is. As there are other competitions taking place right now, you also need to make it really clear that this is the competition that you're entering. I'll do everything else... ;o)

I'll let this one run until the 15th of November and will announce the winners on the 16th.

Good Luck!

Giveaway! 'Gardens of the Moon' - Steven Erikson (10th Anniversary Edition)

Has it really been ten years since 'Gardens of the Moon' was released? Apparently so, I feel old now...

No matter though, for those yet to start the series (or those who are looking to replace a well loved paperback) I've got the perfect competition! Thanks to Transworld Books, I have five copies of the 10th Anniversary Hardback Edition of 'Gardens of the Moon' (complete with a special foreword from Steven Erikson although this may be the same as the recent paperback edition, I'm not sure...) to give away to five lucky winners. And the great thing, anyone can enter this competition (it doesn't matter where you live!)

To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is drop me an email (address at the top right hand side of the screen) telling me who you are and what your mailing address is. There are a few competitions going on right now so remember to make it clear that this is the competition you are entering.

I'll let this one run until the 15th of Novemeber and will announce the winners on the 16th.

Good Luck!

Giveaway! 'The Gathering Storm' (Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson)

Here's a book that a lot of people have been eagerly waiting for. If you haven't got yourself a copy already then here's a chance to pick one up for the princely sum of... nothing! :o) That's right, thanks to Orbit I have three copies of 'The Gathering Storm' to give away to three readers of the blog. Here's the thing though, this competition is only open to UK readers, I've been reliably informed that 'The Gathering Storm' is a huge book capable of grounding flights etc due to it's excessive weight... Let's leave it to a postman to carry then :o)

Enough rambling though! If you're still with me then you'll know that entering this competition is as easy as, well... entering all the other competitions here. Simply drop me an email telling me who you are and what your mailing address is. I'll do everything else.

I'll let this one run until the 15th of November and will announce the winners on the 16th.

Good Luck!

‘Iron Man: Femmes Fatales’ – Robert Greenberger (Del Rey)

Well, the plan was to finish reading ‘Finch’ last night and post a review this morning; that didn’t happen! Not only didn’t I have much time for reading last night but ‘Finch’ is fast becoming one of those books that I really want to take my time over and not rush. It’s good, look out for a review hopefully sometime next week.
In the meantime, I finished reading Robert Greenberger’s ‘Iron Man’ novel a couple of days ago so figured that now was a good time for it to step up to the plate and get its review...

Before I really started collecting comics in earnest, while I was at college, my two favourite books were Roger Stern’s ‘The Death and Life of Superman’ and Dennis O’Neil’s ‘Batman: Knightfall’. These novelizations of two major DC events were a great way for me to get straight into the thick of things without my having to spend loads of money on either the trades or individual comics (and they were great stories as well!) These days are more about collecting comics for me but I’ve still got a soft spot for the tie-in novels so when ‘Femmes Fatales’ came through the door I know I’d be giving it a go. I’ve been meaning to give ‘Iron Man’ a go since watching the film but had no real idea where to start; not only did this book give me a starting point but it wasn’t a bad read either...

Millionaire industrialist Tony Stark is taking his company in a new direction, away from the lucrative arms trade that made its name. Stark is also trying to keep the secrets of his ‘Iron Man’ suit out of the hands of anti-terror organisation S.H.I.E.L.D but still feels that he must help S.H.I.E.L.D in their fight against the terrorist group known as HYDRA. New York is in imminent danger of an attack from HYDRA cells, intent on using Stark Enterprises munitions to further their aims, and only Tony Stark (as Iron Man) and S.H.I.E.L.D have any chance of stopping them. A critical weakness in Stark’s personality has been found though and two beautiful women are out to exploit it for all it’s worth. Can Stark or the city survive the results?

Having never read any ‘Iron Man’ before, I was interested to see how easy it would be to just jump straight in without any previous knowledge of the character. It turned out that I had more background information floating around in my head than I thought; I’ve read a few Marvel comics in my time (and browsed Wikipedia) and it all seemed to complement what I was reading. As far as the story itself goes, things are fairly well self-contained (with the book giving you just as much background information as is needed to appreciate the plot) and I’d say that if you’ve only seen the ‘Iron Man’ movie then that’s all you need to enjoy this book.

The plot itself isn’t massively demanding but it’s fast moving and a great way to while away a few hours with plenty of explosions, double crosses, chases and high powered confrontations. I say ‘high powered’ because none of the characters are super powered and it was nice to see a side of the Marvel Universe that wasn’t focused on well nigh invulnerable super heroes or mutants. What you get instead is the murkier world of espionage and counter espionage where nothing is quite as it seems... Having said that, things are signposted a little too clearly for the reader to be caught out by any twists and turns. Where the fun lies is in watching Tony Stark (and others) try and work their way round, or through, these problems as they arise.

Stark may be Iron Man but, at the same time, he’s all too human whether he’s in or out of the suit and this lends us a fresh perspective into his character. Whether he’s on a mission or just battling it out in the boardroom, Stark is a man who’s having to get used to major changes in his life and the resulting moments of indecision add interesting new directions to the storyline as well as his character. It’s also good to be right there at the start of the development of S.H.I.E.L.D as an organisation and see the circumstances that lead to its creation. Things like this tend to get lost in the immense backlog of Marvel continuity as far as I go (I know it’s there but not why...) so it was good to get a feel for this aspect of the background history.

‘Femmes Fatales’ isn’t high literature but not only did it entertain the hell out of me but it’s also got me thinking about searching out more ‘Iron Man’ stuff to get into. If that was its job then it’s a job well done! Fans of ‘Iron Man’ should love ‘Femmes Fatales’ and it’s also a good entry point for newcomers to check things out.

Eight and a Half out of Ten

‘A Touch of Dead’ – Charlaine Harris (Gollancz)

Apparently there’s a show on right now called ‘True Blood’ that’s about vampires in Louisiana. Sounds cool, if only I had a TV to watch it on (curse me for my irrational hatred of the TV licence etc)... In these situations, it’s always good to be able to fall back on TV tie-in fiction or, in Charlaine Harris’ case, the fiction that inspired the TV show that I’m unable to watch.
I’ve actually already read ‘Dead before Dark’ (the first book in the ‘Sookie Stackhouse’ series) but haven’t got round to reviewing it here just yet. It’s not a bad read at all and it prompted me to give ‘A Touch of Dead’ a go when it came through the door.

‘A Touch of Dead’ is a collection of short stories that fit in at various places throughout the ‘Sookie Stackhouse’ series. In my new found spirit of ‘diving straight into a series’, I thought it could be cool to see how much this book would stand on it’s own as a read or if you really needed to have read the other books first (as well as seeing if the stories were any good of course!) It also weighs in at a very slender one hundred and ninety two pages long which made it a nice quick read to chill out with after a busy night last night!

Each of the five stories in ‘A Touch of Dead’ are self contained and have enough background information to make diving straight in fairly easy. Here’s the thing though... In her introduction, Harris places each story in context to the rest of the series; making it clear that the reader will get the most out of these stories if they have read the other books first. The other point here is that if you haven’t read the rest of the books first then you run a pretty big risk of encountering some pretty hefty spoilers. I’ve only read ‘Dead until Dark’ so when I read through ‘A Touch of Dead’ it was to the accompaniment of “Who’s dead?’, “He did what?” and “I didn’t even know that character and now they’re dead too!”
The stories work fine on their own; just beware of the spoilers if you’re reading ‘A Touch of Dead’ before the other books in the series.

As for the stories themselves... I really enjoyed that Harris told each story ‘how it was’. There’s no going off on angst filled tangents here (although maybe there isn’t the room in stories of this length); Sookie may have her issues but the emphasis is always on the plot at hand and what’s going on, just the way I like it. It’s also refreshing to see how Harris treats her otherworldly characters; while they’re powerful enough they’re also susceptible to human failings (and I’m not just talking about sex!) that make them more endearing to the reader and easier to get into. Have you ever met a vampire who’s a mad fanboy over Dracula? You will do when you read ‘Dracula Night’.

There is plenty happening in each tale although the layout of each story is pretty much the same in that there’s a mystery to be solved and Sookie is the one to solve it. What is good though is that Harris doesn’t always choose to go down the ‘Very Important and Probably Life Threatening’ mystery route. Sometimes mysteries crop up unexpectedly and are only important to the person that they directly affect as is the case in ‘Lucky’. What this approach gives the reader is a real sense of the community that Sookie lives and an earthier feel to the collection as a whole.

One thing I did find though was that there was a real sense of each story being ‘incomplete’ in a way. As Harris says in the introduction, each story fits in a certain place and this comes across in that they all hearken back to previous events covered elsewhere. As I haven’t read all the other books I can’t really blame ‘A Touch of Dead’ for feeling incomplete; if I had read the other books then I would probably be saying that ‘A Touch of Dead’ fills in all the gaps! It was a feeling that I got though and is worth bearing in mind if you’re thinking of picking this book up without having read the others first...

As much as I enjoyed the tales in ‘A Touch of Dead’ I couldn’t help but feel that this book is more for established fans of the series who will ‘get’ where each story goes in the established scheme of things. Time will tell whether I count myself in this group, I like what I’ve seen so far...

Seven and Three Quarters out of Ten

Tor UK acquires dark, literary zombie novel

It won't be published until August next year but it sounds like it could be one to keep an eye open for. At least as far as I'm concerned, they used the 'Z word'... :o)
Here's the press release...

Pan Macmillan imprint Tor UK has signed a two book deal for titles by novelist Joshua Gaylord, written under the pseudonym Alden Bell.

Senior commissioning editor Julie Crisp bought UK and Commonwealth rights, including Australia and New Zealand , from Angharad Kowal, British rights director at Writers House UK .

The first title in the deal, The Reapers are The Angels, is due to be published in August 2010. Kowal called the book a “dark, literary zombie novel”. The second book in the deal is yet to be titled and does not yet have a publication date finalised. Bell previously wrote Hummingbirds under his real name, which was published by Harper in October this year.

Kowal said: ‘It’s rare to find an author such as Josh who can effortlessly switch from writing about an Upper-East Side prep school in Hummingbirds to what's been described as, “Steinbeck but with ‘meatskins'” in The Reapers Are The Angels, and still manage to engage the reader equally by always going back to the characters’ humanity. I’m extremely pleased to find a home for Josh’s other passion, literary fantasy, with Julie at Tor.’

I've had a little look around the internet but can't find anything else about this title right now. When I find out more I'll let you know...

‘Elric in the Dream Realms’ – Michael Moorcock (Del Rey)

After yesterday’s brief sojourn into ‘books with girly covers’ I felt the need to pick something up where the cover was a little more... you know... manly. This probably says a little more about me than I should admit! ;o) There are plenty of covers, on the reading pile, that do the whole ‘manly thing’ but the one that caught my eye was the cover for Del Rey’s latest ‘Elric’ collection. Have a quick look, isn’t it great? Michael Wm. Kaluta’s illustrations, on the inside, aren’t bad either.
It wasn’t just the cover that prompted me to give this one a go. I’ve been a fan of Moorcock’s ‘Elric’ stories for a long time now and while the new Del Rey collections have stories that I’ve read before there are always a few little gems that I haven’t come across. This was certainly the case with ‘In the Dream Realms’...

As the title suggests, ‘Elric in the Dream Realms’ covers certain of Elric’s adventures in the lands of Dream; most notably in ‘The Fortress of the Pearl’, ‘Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer’ and the Neil Gaiman short story ‘One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock’. Out of these I would have to pick the Neil Gaiman as my favourite piece as he totally captures that disconnected feeling of discovering fantasy fiction, for the first time, and then getting totally lost in it as the rest of the world passes you by. I’ve felt like that and sometimes I still do, even now. The odds are, if you’re reading this blog then it’s a feeling that you still have to deal with every now and then. And who among us hasn’t wished that they could talk to (and generally hang out with) their favourite characters from a book? Gaiman certainly has and lets us experience this as well by giving us a bridge to cross between this world and the world of his dreams. After all, isn’t that what most (if not all) fantasy fiction is?

When I read ‘Elric’ for the first time, ‘The Fortress of the Pearl’ was perhaps the story I liked least of all; it felt like it strayed into self indulgent philosophizing at times and not a lot actually happened. It’s been a few years now since I read it last and taking that break seems to have been a good thing to do. ‘The Fortress of the Pearl’ does meander still (I got the feeling it could have been done in perhaps half the time) but there is a lot more to the nature of the ‘Dream World’ than I realised last time and there is more going on, in the plot itself, than I thought. Lessons are there to be learnt and Elric has to learn as many as the ones that he dishes out. There is a real sense of progression in Elric’s character here; while his ultimate quest remains the same it is a different Elric that leaves the desert at the end of the book. While ‘The Fortress of the Pearl’ stands well on its own, if you’ve read the rest of the series then it takes on far more tragic overtones and is worth revisiting in this regard...

‘Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer’ was a comic book that I meant to pick up years ago but never quite managed to. I was glad then to see it appearing in this collection but I’m guessing that certain practicalities meant that we were only ever going to get the script and not the whole thing. We do get a glimpse at some of the artwork but this only whetted my appetite for something that the book couldn’t deliver. The script does work well on it’s own though and what was interesting (as well as seeing how Elric’s future was ever set in stone, by his own hand...) was to see the conversational tone of Moorcock’s work here as he left little asides in the script for the artist, Walter Simonson, to pick up on. You may not get all the artwork but the trade off does work for the reader.

The three big features, in this collection, ended up working very well for me but the smaller pieces were more ‘hit and miss’ as far as I was concerned. I never really got the point of ‘A Portrait in Ivory’ the last time I read it and this time was no different. All credit to Moorcock for creating an entire story from the word ‘insouciant’ but it felt more like a story written for the hell of it rather than something that fits into the wider picture (like the other ‘Elric’ stories do).
‘Aspects of Fantasy’ and the introduction to the Taiwan edition of ‘Elric’ show some interesting hints at how Elric’s character has developed, both prior to his initial creation and since then; definitely one for those who like to get behind the scenes and find out about the influences that gave rise to a character.
‘Earl Aubec of Malador’ isn’t actually an ‘Elric’ story at all but does give the reader an insight into the history of the Young Kingdoms that Elric would eventually travel through. I like my world building to be as thorough as possible so this added breadth was welcome as far as I was concerned.

Bonus cover art, art work and maps round off what I found to be a very enjoyable collection of ‘Elric’ tales and supporting material. Here’s a collection that’s ideally suited to both the ‘completists’, looking for rare material, and those who are looking to check out ‘Elric’ for the first time.

Nine out of Ten

'Finch' - Join the Insurgency Campaign!

I'm a little behind with this (what with not being able to access my email at work and ) but it's still worth a mention.

Jeff Vandermeer's 'Finch' was released yesterday (I started reading it this morning) and if you click Here the you'll be able to play around with a whole load of cool stuff inspired by the book (including listen to the 'Murder by Death' sountrack amongst other things). Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to insert pictures of my family into 'Wanted' posters... ;o)

‘Candle in the Storm’ – Morgan Howell (Del Rey)

When this book came through the door my first thought was to leave it to one side. After all, it was ‘book two in a trilogy’ and I hadn’t read the first book so wasn’t sure if I’d get the most out of the story (seeing as I’d be playing catch up). Then I figured, why don’t I just give it a go anyway? It would be interesting to see if I could just jump in without having read the first book and it felt like it had been a while since I had read a slim fantasy novel (‘Candle in the Storm’ weighs in at a healthy three hundred and seventy pages). I decided to go for it even though it led to the slightly awkward prospect of reading a book where the cover art is focused on a woman showing off some leg while trying to look all coy. This wouldn’t be so bad but I do most of my reading on the commute to and from work...

As it turned out, my fellow commuters were all too busy reading ‘Twilight’ (or the ‘Metro’) to really care about what I was reading, let alone what was on the cover. Score one to me! As far as being able to jump straight into the story though, keep reading and I’ll tell you what it was like...

Through his earthly incarnation, the dread Lord Bahl, the Devourer has tightened his grip on the land and revels in the systematic extermination of the followers of the benevolent Goddess Karm. Only two people stand in the way of the prospect of hell on Earth. Yim is a former slave girl to whom Karm has given the ability to stop Bahl’s conquests; the cost of this could prove to be terrible however... Honus is a warrior without equal and her sworn protector. They share a love that will be put to the ultimate test in the face of the only possible way that the approaching darkness can be halted...

The blurb will give you a pretty clear indication that ‘Candle in the Storm’ suffers from ‘silly name syndrome’; something that you don’t see a lot of in fantasy fiction these days but is still prone to making the odd appearance here and there. These aren’t the worst names either but I’ll leave you to find them by yourself. The setting appears to be fairly formulaic as well with a Dark Lord overrunning the land (which is drawn very well) for no real reason other than to see it burn and glory in the destruction. Don’t Dark Lords ever stop to think about what they’re going to do once there’s only ash and bones left and they’ve killed everything else? And surely it must be pretty lonely lording it over a world where you’re the only thing left alive? The whole ‘Dark Lord thing’ works as a threat but only up to a point. If the destruction is just mindless though, and serves no ultimate purpose, the threat loses its focus and I’m left wondering what the point is. Although having said that though, there is a lot to be said for fighting to stay alive! I guess I was just looking for more than just wanton destruction this time round.

The good news though is that Howell writes with such emotion and intensity that I for one found myself forgetting the silly names and going along with the flow for what ended up being a very entertaining tale. (And there are enough hints about previous events to make jumping on at this point a viable option). Pairing up Yim and Honus proves to be a good move in that the reader has a book with a good balance between compassionate introspection (Yim) and all out combat (Honus); if you like either then there’s something here for you. The warfare was what I came for and that certainly didn’t disappoint. They’re not the grittiest scenes you will ever read but you’ll be left in no doubt as to the horrors of warfare. Again, the ‘ultimate warrior’ trope isn’t exactly new but Howell pulls it off nevertheless by giving us a look at Honus’ state of mind throughout the plot. The contrast between physical prowess and the mental process it took to get there certainly freshens things up.

While Yim and Honus’ budding relationship may seem a little contrived at first (and very black and white regarding how certain decisions are made) once you get into it a little bit more there’s a lot that keeps the pages turning. Both Yim and Honus are trying to reconcile themselves with a tough past in a world where the both present and future are far from certain. There is a lot to deal with here and the urgency of the plot doesn’t allow them a chance to settle down and get things sorted. A lot of things have to be done ‘on the run’ and this results in a ‘two fold urgency’ that drives the plot even faster.
When Yim is faced with her ultimate test, you can’t help but feel for her even though the way forward has been clearly signposted. The outcome of this ‘test’ sets things up nicely for the final book but the formulaic approach to the plot left me feeling that I know how it has to end...

‘Candle in the Storm’ is a weird one in that while I’ll certainly pick up the next book I can’t see the story staying in my head in the meantime. It didn’t fail to entertain me but I couldn’t help thinking that I’d seen it all before...

Seven and Three Quarters out of Ten

Jeff Vandermeer - 'Endurance' Tour

I'm going to be reading Jeff Vandermeer's 'Finch' very soon (loved 'City of Saints and Madmen' but couldn't get into 'Shriek' so it will be interesting to see how this one goes) so thought it was just the right time to point you guys in the direction of the schedule for Vandermeer's 'Endurance' signing tour. I'll be nowhere near any of these events unfortunately (stupid not being able to nip over to the US just like that) so let me know what it's like if you do make it along.

Details of the tour can be found over Here.

‘The Goon: Calamity of Conscience’ – Eric Powell (Dark Horse Comics)

Remember the other day when I was talking about the sadness of coming to the end of a favourite series? While there’s hopefully a lot more to come from Eric Powell and the Goon, an absorbing and compelling storyline comes to an end in ‘Calamity of Conscience’ and I’m left looking for a new fix until ‘The Goon’ picks up again (although do I start buying the comics now or stick with the trades...?)
It’s been a long road but one that’s had more good than bad along the way, the ‘Christmas Carol’ story really didn’t do it for me but that was the only real blip in a series that edged ‘The Walking Dead’ as my personal favourite. To be fair though, while I’m a little sad to see it all end that’s nothing when compared to what the Goon has to go through...

War has come to the town on the edge of Horse Eater’s Wood and only one of the two gang leaders will be left standing by the end. Labrazio’s power is growing but the Goon has a few tricks left up his sleeve, one of these could prove decisive in the struggle. Nothing is certain though as there are still more twists and turns to come, any one of which could trip the Goon up. Unexpected reunions can prove deadly, even when they’re not meant to be...

The hardest hitting stories are when your favourite character wins it all and then loses everything else all in an instant, especially when you can see it coming and there’s nothing you (or anyone else) can do about it. This is ‘Calamity of Conscience’ in a nutshell. The Goon has already turned his back on the chance of happiness and now it’s time for him to pay the rest of the bill. Bella’s revelation, right at the end, makes it all the worse; especially as the Goon knows nothing about it. Half of me is hoping that this gets picked back up in the future but half of me hopes that it stays forgotten, how much more pain can one man take?

‘Calamity of Conscience’ was one book that I didn’t want to finish; partly because it’s the last in the series but also because Powell pours even more of what’s good about ‘The Goon’ into the book just so we can go out with a bang. And what a bang it is! There’s only going to be that one final fight and it’s suitably apocalyptic, maybe Powell chickens out a little on who makes it through but he more than makes up for this by the one person that doesn’t... It’s not just the fights that are intense either, various plot lines are being tied up and some of the emotion on display is raw to say the least. The Goon and Bella, Mirna finally getting to meet her brother again (even though he’s dead) and the Unholy Little Bastard’s new dog pining for his mother... The dialogue sizzles and even where there’s no dialogue at all Powell’s art (and Dave Stewart’s colouring) still conveys that sense of something enormous going on.

The dialogue also drives the plot along in the best possible way, powering it forward to that inevitable flurry of bullets and blood. Such as the confrontation between Buzzard and the Woky...

“Well Buzzard? What’s your answer? Please hurry. I can’t wait to take you to Hell, where we will peel your skin and fry it like bacon.”

“Why can’t I die? I... I don’t know the answer. But at a guess... I’d say... It’s so as I can kill you!”

‘Calamity of Conscience’ is full of moments like these and, coupled with the art, they kept me reading the whole way through. Not that I actually wanted to stop anyway!

Like I said earlier, I’m a little sad to see things come to an end with ‘The Goon’ (at least for now) but what a way to round things up! ‘Calamity of Conscience’ is Powell on top of his game. Just take my word for it and pick these books up, you can thank me later.

Ten out of Ten

'Fantasy Debut' is now 'Debuts and Reviews'...

One of my favourite 'always check it daily' blogs is Tia's 'Fantasy Debut' as it's a great way to find out about a whole load of new books by authors you've never heard of. I would have added a little link there but the whole point of this post is that Tia is now blogging over Here instead. It's a little different this time round but it's still worth you having a little click and a browse... ;o)

The 'Monday Morning Competition Winner's Post' (Early Edition)

Happy November everybody! Now it's dark outside when I get up as well as when I come home... And it's nearly Christmas too (I'm starting to get a little excited!)

This month I shall be bringing a whole load of books your way; advance reviews, books that are just making it onto the shelves and another stab at the big pile of books looming over the computer. Some of these books have been in the pile since I began the blog and they really should have been read a long time ago. We'll see what happens this month...

Before we get on to any of that though, there's the small matter of announcing last week's competition winners. Without further ado, here they are...

'Traitor's Gate' (Kate Elliott)

Kevin Faulk, Santa Clara, California

'In His Majesty's Service' (Naomi Novik)

Elton Porter, Woodstock, Georgia

Well done guys, your books are on their way! Better luck next time everyone else, scroll down the page a little bit and see if either of this week's competitions take your fancy...

Giveaway! '7th Son: Descent' (J.C. Hutchins)

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, I have three copies of '7th Son: Descent' to give away to three lucky readers of this very blog (Although the competition is only open to people living in the US and Canada, sorry everyone else...) This is a book that was high up on my 'To Read' pile, so high up in fact that my wife saw it and decided she was going to read it first. '7th Son' will be read and reviewed but you're going to have to wait a little while...

Here's the blurb...

As America reels from the bizarre presidential assassination committed by a child, seven men are abducted from their normal lives and delivered to a secret government facility. Each man has his own career, his own specialty. All are identical in appearance. The seven strangers were grown--- unwitting human clones---as part of a project called 7th Son.
The government now wants something from these “John Michael Smiths.” They share the flesh as well as the implanted memories of the psychopath responsible for the president's murder. The killer has bigger plans, and only these seven have the unique qualifications to track and stop him. But when their progenitor makes the battle personal, it becomes clear he may know the seven better than they know themselves.

It sounds like my kind of thing, how about you?

If you fancy your chances at winning a copy, all you need to do is drop me an email (address at the top right hand side of the screen) telling me who you are and what your mailing address is. Remember to make it clear that this is the competition you are entering...

I'll leave this one open until the 9th of November and will announce winners on the 10th...

Good Luck!