Fantasy Book News & Reviews

Today in Fantasy: November 25, 2009

2009-11-25T13:38:00.001-06:00

FBNR Stuff:

Didn't read much yesterday, about 30% done with Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher. Things are getting more and more interesting, that's for sure.

Also, for those of you in the US..Happy Thanksgiving! I know I am thankful to have the ability (financial/mental, etc) to be able to read and enjoy books. I can't imagine being one of those folks who just don't like to read. I guess I would have other interests instead, but am glad I ended up being the one in my family with the love of reading. And thanks to all of you who stop by here and leave comments, as without dialogue, this would be pretty boring. As with many other blogs I'm sure, posting will be sporadic over the next few days, due to the usual holiday busyness.

Reviews:

The Sword-edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe is one of those rainy-day kinda novels. You know the type. It’s not the deepest book on your bookshelf, but it’s fun. It won’t stick with you for weeks afterwards, but you can’t put it down while you’re reading it. It’s got problems, but, for some reason, you’re willing to look past ‘em. The Sword-edged Blonde doesn’t set out to be anything more than what it is: a pulpy homage to Raymond Chandler, set in a world not unlike those found in any other Fantasy world.

link: Review | The Sword-edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe | A Dribble of Ink

While Remic does a decent job with the characterisation, he really delivers when it comes to pace and action. Kell's Legend is a blistering read; the pace is frenetic and the action scenes come thick and fast. Most chapters end on a cliffhanger - often in the middle of a combat scene - and this is a device Remic uses to very good effect. He's clearly honed his craft of creating pulsating action scenes during the writing of his military SF novels, for the fight sequences are often electrifying.

link: Speculative Horizons: Book review: Kell's Legend

This is a novel that should appeal to those who enjoy dark, harrowing post-apocalyptic novels, as well as survival stories. It is a fairly introspective tale, despite the action and adventure aspect, told through first-person narration from Mary's point of view. Mary is a compelling character, and I felt immediate sympathy for her, but she was the only character I felt a strong connection with. I felt occasionally frustrated by her inability - or unwillingness - to communicate with certain characters, and at times it felt as though the lack of information passing from her to other characters was more a convenience to the plot direction than a believable action (or inaction) on her part.

link: Books & other thoughts: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

All of the things that distinguished the previous volumes in the Riyria Revelations series are present in Nyphron Rising and the additional worldbuilding and exploration of Royce and Hadrian's pasts are welcome developments. But I still couldn't quite escape the feeling that this is clearly a transition book. It's similar to The Two Towers in that respect: not the strongest link in the trilogy but very good nonetheless and a necessary bridge to future books.

link: Speculative Fiction Junkie: Review - Nyphron Rising by Michael J. Sullivan

First, I absolutely LOVED the pacing of this 12th book. Now, there are two schools of thought on this. Either Brandon Sanderson naturally writes with a quicker pace than Jordan (aka more stuff happens) OR Jordan always had a faster pace in mind for the final volumes. Either way, fans of the series (myself definitely included) seem to have enjoyed this book a great deal simply because "stuff happens." Lots of stuff, things that have been hinted at for years now are finally coming to fruition, and as a reader that's a beautiful thing to see.

link: The Intelli-Gent Reviews:: The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson

The actual plot itself is alright but nothing spectacular. There is a lot of running around the town from point A and then move onto point B. In between Ray must fight a bad guy and destroy a building or two. Then he goes to hotel to discuss the events with an ailing Annalise. There times in the story that I would lose interest and become bored. Maybe this is because the villain is revealed early on in the story.

link: Robots and Vamps » RaV Book Review: Child of Fire by Harry Connolly

It's pretty good, especially the last 150 pages. The beginning was typically slow with a ton of set-up. In this case, it isn't a problem. Remember, this is essentially the first third of a huge novel. We need a little set-up that doesn't go all CROSSROADS OF TWILIGHT on us. TGS does the set-up well, while introducing plot elements (or furthering previously introduced elements) that will be crucial to 'The End', but won't take too long to wrap up.

link: Elitist Book Reviews: The Gathering Storm

The characters are not standard ones because they are not the expected vivid heroes. They have strengths and weaknesses and you get delivered all stuff which is important for the story. The story is a dark and don't underestimate revenge. Not to forget the cynism which comes along soft-footed and of course the black humor. K. J. Parker celebrates the interplay of human feelings, wishes, emotions and the interaction between the characters, the society and the surrounding. All in all it is such a clever mix for which you need some brain to fully enjoy it in depth. I really admire this peace of dark, intelligent, sophisticated and exceptional entertainment.

link: Review: Colours in the Steel by K. J. Parker | Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Like most paranormal fiction "Bone Crossed" isn't Shakespeare, but it's pretty darned entertaining if you're a fan of the style and Briggs continues to be one of the consistently better authors in the genre.

link: Fantasy & SciFi Lovin' News & Reviews: "Bone Crossed" by Patricia Briggs

Are you getting the drift here? Dan Brown's THE LOST SYMBOL should never have been printed. The writing skill is sub-6th Grade level, and his story is contrived and cliché. An interesting observation: When you talk to most people who have read Brown's Robert Langdon novels, the almost always like the first one they read most. Why? Because it is the same plot over and over again. It is like the mystery version of a Harlequin Romance Novel. So, it shouldn't be any surprise that this third novel is even worse. IT'S THE SAME NOVEL...AGAIN! Of course, when you stop to think about what the "Big Problem" was that everyone in the novel was trying to prevent, you realize just how terrible the "novel" is. So. Absurd.

link: Elitist Book Reviews: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

And yet, like so many ‘difficult’ books, once the more advanced reader pushes past Gardens’ first few chapters and becomes more comfortable with what Erikson is trying to achieve, it becomes obvious that something rather remarkable and, to be honest, bloody awesome is going on. This is book that enjoys playing with the fantasy tropes that readers have come to expect – in a hilarious, sophisticated and overwhelmingly positive way.

link: Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson: Keeping the Door Review

Quick Take: Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher

2009-11-25T12:44:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post to recommend that last book I read, Cursor's Fury (Codex Alera, Book 3) by Jim Butcher. While I wasn't overwhelmed by the first book, I did think book 2, Academ's Fury, was pretty darn good.

Cursor's Fury continues to progress with the story of Alera, and Tavi's progress from boyhood to manhood. I think your ability to enjoy this series really ties in to how much you like Tavi. Yes, there are other viewpoint characters, but this is really Tavi's story. So, if you like him, you should enjoy this series (at least the 3 I have read so far). Luckily, the supporting characters are likeable, too (including some of the enemy Canim that we get to meet). I think the author does a good job detailing daily life in the military, though its not as dark as Ruckley or Abercrombie would portray it in their world. And the large (and small) battles feel realistic. The biggest drawback of the series for me is that I'm not really a fan of the magic (Furies) system. It doesn't bother me as much as it did in book 1, and the likeability of the story and characters is enough to outweigh any problems I have with how the magic works.

Fans of traditional epic fantasy would find lots to enjoy here, though it does seem like the story would have a little more impact if more bad things happened to our viewpoint characters. While they are placed in danger quite a bit, and you do feel like they could get hurt..you also know that lots of wounds and sicknesses can be healed rather easily. This kinda takes the edge away from some of the fighting scenes (and this is one of the problems I have with the magic system). But overall, I am finding the Codex Alera series to be increasingly entertaining with each new book I read. I have high hopes that the last 3 books are going to be even better, and that this will end up being a series I want to re-read again in the future.

Recommendation: Definitely worth reading.

Note: To comment on this post from the home page, look at the top of the post, and click on the number in parenthesis beside "Comments"

Today in Fantasy: November 24, 2009

2009-11-24T13:09:00.002-06:00

FBNR Stuff:
My reading time was messed up over the weekend after hurting my back putting our daughter in the crib for her nap. Never felt such pain in my life. I've been using a Swiffer Mop as a walking cane to help get around the house, though now I only need the help when getting up and down. Good times. I am reading Captain's Fury, book 4 in the Codex Alera series...about 25% through..this one definitely gets going right from the beginning. Good stuff so far.

I've also made a decision in the "netbook versus nook experiment" I was conducting, but more on that in a post to come soon :)

And some of you music lovers out there, like me, might be interested in this: Amazon MP3 Store Black Friday Deals

Finally, I'm gonna try adding more commentary (again) to some of the review posts, if I feel I have anything to say about the book and/or the review.

Reviews:

The book is rich in historical detail, plunging the reader into 17th Century Paris and its environs quite convincingly, and the fact that sometimes chapters at a time go by with no reference to the draconic storyline can occasionally make you forget that you are reading a fantasy work at all.

link: The Wertzone: The Cardinal's Blades by Pierre Pevel

Like in the previous volume, Bear does not believe in explaining all the strange words she uses, so unless you are well versed in Norse mythology (or a master of the Google search engine) you are going to miss an awful lot of references. This combined with Bear's rich, poetic use of language means one needs to pay close attentions. At 318 pages it looks like a fast read. It isn't.

link: Val's Random Comments: By the Mountain Bound - Elizabeth Bear (I guess this is where you would get a benefit by reading this book on an e-reader with a built-in dictionary. I'm certainly not gonna read a physical book and check a physical dictionary as a read. Thats just too much work. I guess if you have an iPhone, you could read the physical book and use one of the Dictionary apps in the App Store).

With all the praises I have heaped on this book, it is quite obvious that there are many rough edges to the story. While reading, I found the pacing a problem which made me having to gloss over many sections. Above that, the highly complex and rich world that John created sort of got away from him. I felt confused on numerous occasions and was thankful for the glossary at the back. For fans of stories centered around world building, this just might be your cup of tea. In terms of character development, I felt that John did a decent job. I felt emotional attachment to the characters and loved certain portions of their interactions.

link: Fantasy & SciFi Lovin' News & Reviews: Servant of a Dark God by John Brown (Seems like the general consensus on this book is that while it has some flaws, its worth reading, especially with the potential for the last 2 books. I really want to read this now, but won't since I am trying to read complete series nowadays)

Let’s revisit the recipe. Unlikely young hero, who has been thrown into the big frightening world with responsibilities, both hidden and known? Check. Prophecy? Check. The quest to save the world from an ancient evil? Check. Motley crew of adventurers, who have are bound to stay together with dark pasts, funny antics and humorous group dynamics? Check. As you can see Drown is juggling with many clichés and I gather that for the readers that would be in search for the gritty, new and uncharted territories this book won’t appeal to them.

link: Fantasy & SciFi Lovin' News & Reviews: "A Mage of None Magic" by A. Christopher Drown

The most resounding criticism that I read about this novel is that magic system is confusing. Personally, I think was done on purpose. The people of Whitecliff are in all reality neophytes in the ways of magic. They understand the basics as I explained above but there is whole world of lore that they are not privy to and do not fully understand. Essentially, they are kept in the dark by their masters in order to keep control. The reader also is left in the dark but this because the viewpoint of the story comes mainly from characters who do not understand the old magic. In my opinion I believe this was handled very well by Mr. Brown and I am glad he did not spoon feed everything in the first novel and leaves something look forward to in the proceeding novels.

link: Robots and Vamps » RaV Book Review: Servant of a Dark God by John Brown (Matt has an interesting and plausible explanation for some of the criticisms of this book)

On the whole, Forbes’s skill as a writer has grown, both in the breadth of his storytelling abilities and the scope of the story he seems to want to tell. In some respects, I find the widening scope and increase in the quality of writing between book one and book two to be similar to what I saw in Joshua Palmatier’s first two novels of his Throne of Amenkor trilogy. That is, slowly introduce the character and his/her relation to their small world or nation and then expand and show how that affects and is affected by the world at large.

link: The Words of Making by David Forbes - Official sffworld.com review

And so the adventure begins and it's a non-stop page turner to the end, with great inventiveness and superb illustrations that accompany the text. Both main characters are plucky and endearing and their adventures will keep you turning the pages and wish for more. The plot so far is somewhat predictable but the inventiveness of the novel, the superb and clear prose style and of course, "Dylan" and Alek make "Leviathan" one of the best lighter sff novels of the year and one the big positive surprises of the year for me.

link: Fantasy Book Critic: "Leviathan" by Scott Westerfeld (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu) (I'm wishing I had read this before I switched my reading plan, as I think I would like this and don't wanna wait another 2 years or so for the series to be complete).

That doesn’t address what readers really want to know here. “That’s great, Joe, but is it any good?” Hell yeah, it’s good. Fans of The Sword-Edged Blonde will be delighted with Burn Me Deadly. The action is just as good, the story is bigger, and the mystery stays fresh. Like Glen Cook before him, Alex Bledsoe deftly works a hard-boiled detective story in a traditional fantasy setting and he does so with style and verve. Eddie cracks wise, he gets into scrapes, his life is continually in danger, and through it all he retains his moral center and gruff edge. He’s the hero you want on your side, but it’s better if you don’t need him.

link: Adventures in Reading: Burn Me Deadly, by Alex Bledsoe (this series stands alone well enough that I will read this book soon..even sooner if I can find the ebook for less than the 14 bucks Amazon wants for it. EDIT: Looks like bn.com does have it now, for just 9.99. This gets moved up on the list! Oh, and booksonboard.com also has it now, but for almost 19 bucks.EDIT 2: Now neither of the Eddie LaCrosse book appear in the Kindle store. Must have been removed for some reason. Weird. I know for a fact they sold them at one point, because I was gonna buy Burn Me Deadly until I saw it was 14.97 or something)

Servant of a Dark God is, at times, a serious novel. It is a story full of heartbreak and sadness but it isn’t all doom and gloom. Brown manages to inject seeds of hope into much of his narrative, even in Hunger’s point of view, and frequently leaven’s the darkness with dashes of genuine humor that never feels forced.

link: Review: Servant of a Dark God by John Brown « King of the Nerds!!!

But you know what really made this novel great for us? The feeling that it was a Sherlock Holmes novel. In a Steampunk setting. Where Watson is a chick. And the Queen is a Steampunk monstrosity. Geez...it's exciting and cool just thinking of it.

link: Elitist Book Reviews: The Affinity Bridge by George Mann

An older pick from my local library, I decided it was time to give this one a read yesterday: again, it was a mixed read. Not because it was mediocre - it wasn't - but because Jude Fisher's Sorcery Rising possessed good and bad points in almost equal measure. There are moments of real flair, and there are those which could, in my opinion, have benefited from a little more pruning.

link: Drying Ink: Review|Sorcery Rising - Jude Fisher

Help Requested For My Amazon E-Book Experiment

2009-11-20T14:01:00.003-06:00

Based on my post yesterday about the Tad Williams e-book silliness, I decided I wanted to conduct an experiment. On pages for the print versions of books on Amazon, if there is no Kindle version they post a link that allows you to request a Kindle version. Supposedly, this request is sent on to the publisher. I don't know how this works behind the scenes or how many requests are needed before a publisher will be take action. But I wanted to request your help and see if we can encourage Amazon and/or the publisher to give us the digital versions of the first 2 Memory, Sorrow & Thorn books. Who knows, maybe this is in process already, since they did release the 2 part edition of To Green Angel Tower. Then again, maybe the first 2 books are not being converted at the moment. I am using Amazon for this experiment because I think it has a higher chance of success than at other ebook sellers, and also I'm not sure if the other ebook stores have this formal process for requesting books.

So, this is where you come in. Visit the pages for The Dragonbone Chair and The Stone of Farewell and click on the "I would like to read this book on the Kindle" link that appears on the left side of the page, right below the image of the book cover. Note that I did not include my associates id in those links, as I don't want you to think its some sneaky way of making money off this. I simply want to see if I can get enough of us to request these 2 books, so that we have a complete digital set of Memory, Sorrow & Thorn (and I already own them in hardcover, trade pb, and mmpb. That's how much I like this series).

If you can help out by requesting Kindle version of these books, that would be great. And if you have time, leave a comment in this thread letting me know you helped out, so that we can sorta keep track of how many requests have been sent to Amazon. Of course if you are pressed for time, requesting the Kindle books on Amazon is way more important than leaving a comment here :)

Finally, to get as many folks as possible "voting" for this 2 books, if you have a blog or twitter account, feel free to mention this on your blog or tweet it on your twitter account...I would greatly appreciate it! For you twitter folks, here is a short url link to this post: http://tinyurl.com/yd5b5re

Now let's see if we can make this work. This will be the only blog post I make until Monday, so that this post stays at the top of my blog through the weekend.

Note: To comment on this post from the home page, look at the top of the post, and click on the number in parenthesis beside "Comments"

E-Book Silliness: Incomplete Series (Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn Edition)

2009-11-19T09:52:00.003-06:00

This will be a new occasional feature as a find incomplete series in e-book format.

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn: Sometime in October, most all of the major e-book stores added a couple of new Tad Williams books. No, not the first 2 Shadowmarch books. Instead we get To Green Angel Tower, Parts 1 & 2. Its a good first step, but come on..where are the first 2 books? Nowhere to be found. I could understand if the series was recently published, and they hadn't bothered to make ebook versions of the older books. But the To Green Angel Towers books are new to the ebook format. If you are going through the bother of releasing the series in ebook format, why do the last 2 books, first? My first thought was that Amazon was handling the Kindle conversion, and maybe they just finished the conversion on the last 2 books before The Dragonbone Chair or The Stone of Farewell. That theory went down the drain when other ebook stores listed only To Green Angel Tower 1 & 2. Well, its been about 4 weeks now, and still no sign of the first 2 books.

How are readers supposed to embrace the digital format when stupid stuff like this appears to be the norm, rather than the exception?

Note: To comment on this post from the home page, look at the top of the post, and click on the number in parenthesis beside "Comments"

Book Deals: The Gathering Storm 61% Off at Amazon (plus 2 other books)

2009-11-19T09:35:00.003-06:00

I thought it was time to do another Book Deals post, so I browsed around Amazon for December Fantasy releases, looking for books that were 40% off (or more). Here is what I found (US site deals):

-The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time) - by Bradon Sanderson & Robert Jordan (hardcover, list: 29.99, Amazon: 11.75...61% off. Was this book part of that $9 price war? If so, it has gone up 2 bucks. If now, then 11.75 is a heckuva deal if you haven't bought the book yet)

-Arms-Commander (Saga of Recluce) by L.E. Modesitt, Jr (hardcover, 45% off. list: 27.99, Amazon: 15.11)

-First Lord's Fury (Codex Alera, Book 6) by Jim Butcher (hardcover, 65% off, list: 25.95, Amazon: 9.00. I have mentioned this before, but since it is due out next week, I thought I would include it again. I'll also do my Series Finale post about this book next week. Note that the Kindle edition is also just 9 bucks.)

Note: To comment on this post from the home page, look at the top of the post, and click on the number in parenthesis beside "Comments"

Series Finale: Full Circle by Pamela Freeman

2009-11-19T09:20:00.002-06:00

The third and final book in Pamela Freeman's The Castings Trilogy hit shelves last week. So if you have been waiting for the series to be complete, now you can start reading. I tried the first book, Blood Ties, but just didn't get attached to the story. Below are some other reviews of the first 2 books (extracted from my Fantasy Index on the right side of the blog)

Blood Ties
Fantasy Book Critic, Grasping for the Wind, The Book Swede, Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin' Book Reviews, Graeme's Fantasy Book Review, The Bookbag, A Dribble of Ink, NextRead, Bookspot Central

Deep Water
Fantasy Book Critic, Grasping for the Wind

I had thought about including the book summary for Full Circle from Amazon, but if you haven't read book 1, the summary might include spoilers, so I'll refrain from including the book description. You can view the Amazon page here.

Note: To comment on this post from the home page, look at the top of the post, and click on the number in parenthesis beside "Comments"

Today in Fantasy: November 18, 2009

2009-11-18T14:06:00.001-06:00

FBNR Stuff:

Not much to report today...I've got just 2 chapters left to read in Cursor's Fury, so hopefully I finish it tomorrow. Tonight, I'm going to the Bruce Springsteen concert here in Nashville. It will be my 15th (or so) time seeing him since I became a fan in the mid 1990s. BRUUUUUUUCE!!!!

Reviews:

I understand that people keep refering to this as an Adult Harry Potter book. I vehemently disagree. In fact, the only similarity I found was that Quentin, like Harry Potter, went to a wizard school. And that is where the similarities end. In fact, for some strange reason, the cynical depressing undertones and attitude of the characters in the story reminded me more of Hancock in how added powers need not necesarily add up to greater happiness.

link: Fantasy & SciFi Lovin' News & Reviews: The Magicians - Lev Grossman

Between the thick layers of plot and the intense worldbuilding, there wasn’t a lot of room for character development. But that’s not bad in this case. The characters were just sympathetic enough to pull you into the story, and for a plot-driven story like this, I think that worked for the best. The focus was on the story and the unique world it takes place in. Any more would have overwhelmed it. So the sparse characterization works well in The Court of the Air.

link: Review: The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt « Debuts & Reviews

Here are my issues: Zoey is constantly whining about her boyfriends and her best friend keeping secrets while all hell is breaking loose in the world around her. One would think these issues could be tabled until evil is defeated and life returns to normal. But alas, no. We have to hear about every painstaking bit of boy trauma Zoey has while she is trying to save the world. I understand the Kalona thing as that is part of the evil she is fighting and I suppose I should remember that these are still teenagers who constantly think about their love life. But good grief it starts to get annoying.

link: Robots and Vamps » RaV Book Review: Tempted (House of Night, book 6) by P.C. Cast & Krstin Cast

It may seem a conventional plotline, but far from it. Twists are executed with Brooks' usual comic flair, and although lacking in conventional hilarity, Brooks' own style is prevalent here. It's brilliant, and additions (like Laphroig) to our eclectic cast, aside from the usual mix, only make it more so. A few twists are anticipated, admittedly, but there are few flaws in this polished novel

link: Drying Ink: Review|A Princess of Landover - Terry Brooks

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...

link: Graeme's Fantasy Book Review: ‘Finch’ – Jeff Vandermeer (Underland Press)

Anyway, Carey blends his gumshoe style investigation deliciously with the supernatural activity and a little sardonic humour, it's not dissimilar to the Dresden books, but British and a little darker. The image of the modern world with magic in it is bleaker and the humour a little sharper and a little more sparse. The human behaviour in this book covers all sorts of weird, seedy, brutal and vile.

link: Unbound!: Mike Carey - The Devil You Know

Aside from the constantly humorous inversion of fantasy stereotypes, the novel also tells an engaging and heartfelt story about family. It is a very complex novel, though, with an enormous cast of characters and a great many things happening at one, with much for a reader to keep track of as the plot unfolds. Although my library shelves this book in the teen section, I would say that it is equally appealing to adults, and perhaps even more appropriate for older readers - not because of any potentially objectionable content, but because it is so very complicated.

link: Books & other thoughts: Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones

‘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?

link: Graeme's Fantasy Book Review: ‘The Cardinal’s Blades’ – Pierre Pevel (Gollancz)

I may have mentioned this in other reviews but I always find the introduction of certain Lovecraftian elements endear to fiction. Intentional or not that is the case hear as well not only in the foulthings Mena fights but in certain revelations late in the novel as well (I don’t want to spoil it though I hinted at it above). There are other elements of horror hear as well, particularly as we learn how Lothun Aklun magic actually functions. While not as ground breaking and engaging as I had hoped The Other Lands is still an exciting, well-crafted read that leaves me eager to see if things explode quite as large as I expect them to in the next volume. In addition to a fascinating plot and tangled (in a good way) politics Durham has created what I think is an excellent study on the nature of leadership and family, particularly as the two pertain to one another, in additional to providing some vibrant portraits of our three main characters and their relationship to one another.

link: Review: The Other Lands by David Anthony Durham « King of the Nerds!!! (has anyone read a review where the reviewer liked The Other Lands better than Acacia? Both are getting good reviews, but I get the impression that most expected a bit more from ToL. I still plan to read them when the series is finished)

The final verdict: 7.5/10

link: Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb (some of you will get the joke..i.e. why i posted just that part of the review :) )

Does This Really Qualify as a Review?

2009-11-18T11:13:00.003-06:00

I know there has been a lot of discussion this year about what actually constitutes a review. To me, it has to contain at least some personal opinions and thoughts from the reviewer. I just read a review of A Young Man Without Magic by Lawrence Watt-Evans on the SFRevu.com site. I read the "review" twice, and still can't find the actual review. I do see a book summary/book report, but nothing in regards to the reviewer's thoughts. I mean, there is no way to even know if the reviewer read the book, as the "review" sounds to me like extended jacket copy that you would find on the back of the book (or the hardcover jacket). Below is the entire review, though you can find it on the SFRevu site here.

The kingdom's present social order was established by a Grand Council more than five hundred years ago. Sorcerers form the nobility with responsibility for maintaining the land and making farming possible. Those without magic are treated as servants or worse. Of late, the land no longer produces rich harvests, and unrest among the commoners grows.

The Emperor has no magical talent and vies for control against the nobles. Debt-ridden and concerned about the growing unrest, he invokes a new Grand Council in hopes he can gain greater control of the kingdom.

Anrel's best friend, Valin, was born a commoner but possesses talent and passes his trial to become a sorcerer and noble. Anrel's uncle fosters and trains Lord Valin. A political firebrand, angry at what he perceives as the abuses of power, Valin challenges the status quo. He sees the Grand Council as a means to give the commoners power and to curb the nobles.

Anrel's troubles begin when his friend challenges the status quo and champions the need for change. Lord Allutal, a powerful sorcerer, condemns the baker's son is to death for stealing from his private herb garden. Valin protests, but to no avail. Frustrated, he inadvertently challenges the lord to a duel. Unable to marshal enough magic to stave off the attack by the sorcerer, he suffers a horrible death.

His death frightens Anrel, and he demands justice. The death also awakens his latent magic. Despite not sharing his friend's beliefs, he remains determined to ensure his friend's voice is heard. He travels to the capital of the province and makes an impassioned speech demanding change. A riot ensures, and Anrel flees for his life. Now considered a traitor no safe haven exists for him.

After a narrow escape, hungry and cold, he encounters a family of witches. They sense his power, but he has no ability to manage it. He learns simple spells from the witches. They live a precarious life. Witches are beloved and feared by the commoners and regarded as a nuisance by the nobles. They live on the fringes of society. However, if anyone lodges a complaint they can be executed because technically witchcraft is illegal.

Plans go ahead for the Grand Council, and Anrel's speech ensures the election of those opposed to the present order. Half the council consists of nobles and half of commoners. They agree on little.

When one of the witches attempts to place a love spell on Lord Allutal, he apprehends and condemns her to death. Anrel had accompanied her to a reception and must flee again. He vows to save the woman.

Watt-Evans, author of more than thirty fantasies, plans a sequel, Above His Proper Station, for November 2010.

That's it. I know I shouldn't 'call-out' another reviewer, since everyone has their own opinion on what a review should contain. But come on, how is this really a review?

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What's Up With the Pricing on the New Kris Allen Album?

2009-11-17T13:16:00.002-06:00

I usually buy an album or 2 every week, and shop iTunes, Amazon, and lala.com for the best price. Lately, most all of my purchases are from lala.com. They seem to consistently have the lowest prices, with their "normal" album price at 7.49. Tough to beat that. I was one of those rooting for Kris Allen to win American Idol last season (though I did like Adam, too) and was looking forward to his new album. Having listened to it on lala.com (using up my free listen), while I don't love it, I do like it enough to buy (my biggest issue is that its too produced. I would like to have heard a little more of Kris's acoustic guitar playing. I was hoping for something a little more singer-songwriter, and less of the glossy anthems). After checking all 3 of my usual sites, I notice that every single one of them is pricing the album at 10.99. Really, Jive Records? I'll pay 10.99 for an mp3 album that has some good extra content, but I will not pay 10.99 for a "normal" album. Yeah, 13 songs is a nice number, but I can find tons of 13 song albums on lala.com for just 7.49. I am guessing the label has a fixed price (like some video games) for this one, hence the high price at all 3 stores. Looks like I will be skipping this album, unless they drop the price, or Amazon features it as one of their 3.99 albums of the day. You can sample the album on the Amazon site here. Other than the price, do you like the sound of the album more (or less) than I do? I am betting we don't get a great album from Kris until he leaves the American Idol contract.

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Take a Peak Behind the Curtain: Cover Art

2009-11-17T11:08:00.002-06:00

About a week or so ago, the preliminary cover art for the next Brent Weeks book started to appear on some fantasy blogs...one of those was Aidan's A Dribble of Ink. He gave some thoughts on the cover, which lead to some really great discussions. I don't normally link to blogs just to bring your attention to the comments, but in this case it's definitely worth it. Brent Weeks stops by, as does Alex and Lauren Panepinto from Orbit. Check out the blog post here if you would like to learn more about how cover art comes about.

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Today in Fantasy: November 17, 2009

2009-11-17T11:04:00.001-06:00

FBNR Stuff:

I've gotten way behind on my Today posts..been spending most of my time trying to read on the netbook and decide whether to keep it. While I have come close several times to deciding to keep the netbook and cancel my nook pre-order, I believe I will return the netbook and go with the nook. The screen on the netbook doesnt bother me, and i like the other stuff it can do besides read. But, the netbook does overlap quite a bit with my macbook and my iPhone. So, I figure if I am going to spend money and a device I plan to dedicate to reading, I should go for the device designed for reading only. I'll miss some of the extra features of the netbook, but most of them I still get on the iPhone.

As for my reading, I am about 75% done with Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher. I thought it was a little slow to start, but things are really moving along nicely now. The series continues to get better with each book. Hope to finish it later this week.

Reviews:

Not only did it live up to expectations, it surpassed them many times. The story was much more than I originally thought it would be and it expanded the Warhammer 40K universe a little more for me. This is the sort of book that once you pick up won't be put down easily, and for its length it delivers a great story with a lot packed in and much to admire. Highly recommended!

link: Walker of Worlds: Review | Cadian Blood by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Black Library)

It's a fantastic satire with a message: for fashion, on equality, whatever Pratchett sets his pen to, it's literary gold. I don't need to talk about the prose, so instead let it suffice to say: it's brilliant.

link: Drying Ink: Review|Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett

This is a brutal novel, but I was not overwhelmed by blood and gore. There is no sex and only a hint of romance. I found the quality of writing literary, yet the pacing equal to more commercial fiction. Most of the major characters are men, but Mr. Allen makes up for this by making the major villain an absolutely kick-ass Niphilim woman, and we even get to spend some time in her head.

link: Debuts & Reviews – Slaves of the Shinar by Justin Allen

The combination of steam punk fantasy with American folk tales is something that is fresh and unique. There is the Gog and all his bad guys that are made of clockwork parts, and then there are the elements of the South and all that culture. It is something that I don't think the average reader will have encountered before and will be walking away with a unique experience.

link: Fantasy Book Critic: "Nine Pound Hammer" Book One in the Clockwork Dark Series by John Claude Bemis (Reviewed by Cindy Hannikman)

The initial impression is that Brust is clever with dialogue, but the reader will expect to be merely satisfied by the end of the novel. But here’s the trick Steven Brust pulls off. The longer you stay with Jhereg the better it gets. The world becomes deeper and richer, the characters more compelling. Vlad Taltos becomes an old friend who you don’t mess with. Brust lures the reader in chapter after chapter. Before you know it, you’re hooked and you don’t want to put Jhereg down for fear you might miss what’s in the next chapter, and the next.

link: Adventures in Reading: Jhereg, by Steven Brust

But, Burn Me Deadly has more of a gritty western type movie flavor to it than The Sword-Edge Blonde did. Since I a big fan of westerns this made me like the story even more. I did not become as emotionally involved in the story like a I did with The Sword-Edge Blonde but Burn Me Deadly is more of complete story with a solid beginning, middle and end.

link: Robots and Vamps » RaV Book Review: Burn Me Deadly by Alex Bledsoe

Unseen Academicals is a bit choppier than usual. As Len Goodman of Dancing with the Stars might say, it lacked “elegance and grace”. Bits and pieces of the dance of words were wonderful to behold, but the entire work just didn’t have “star quality”. Sure, it was funny, sure it was Pratchett all the way in theme and structure, but the story just lacked cohesiveness. There are really three separate stories here that come together okay at the end, but don’t have quite the sizzle one expects in a Pratchett climax.

link: Book Review: Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett – Grasping for the Wind

Pratchett once again uses the cliches and ideas of police procedurals to generate humour and satire, although this volume is much more of a hard-bitten (in some cases, literally) mystery novel.

link: The Wertzone: Wertzone Classics: Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

Of course, as has been said in these reviews before, Pratchett on autopilot is still better than most writers at the very top of their game. Pratchett has a huge knowledge of music and lets the reader know it with references (both overt and subtle) to Buddy Holly, Elvis, the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, Meat Loaf, punk rock and The Blues Brothers roaring past the reader like bullets from a machine gun. The pace is fast, the narrative is tight and some of the cliches of rock 'n' roll are very cleverly used to set up and further the storyline.

link: The Wertzone: Soul Music by Terry Pratchett

This is one of those books that would make an excellent read-aloud, not only for the strong voice and humorous asides of the narrator, but because Sanderson is obviously having great fun lampooning everything in sight, and much of the humor will be equally appealing to adults as well as children.

link: Books & other thoughts: Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

Then there is the dragon Snow. Deas could have done the easy thing and made her the hero, but he didn’t. Snow is, quite frankly, scary. Distant, inhuman, alien, powerful? Yes and while you might let out a cheer when you first meet her it dies in your throat pretty quickly leaving you with an uneasy sinking sensation in the pit of your stomach and the sudden need to back away very very slowly. I loved that. Deas has crafted a fascinating back story for the dragons, examined it a bit, but left in largely unexplored. But Snow, particularly for us human types, is not a hero.

link: Review: The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas « King of the Nerds!!!

Choose Your Own Adventure Books: Now on Kindle!

2009-11-13T09:31:00.002-06:00

If you grew up reading fantasy in the 1980s, you probably remember the Choose Your Own Adventure series. I didn't read a lot of them, but I did think they were fun. You can now get Kindle versions of these books..pretty cool! From what I remember, the writing definitely isn't award-winning, but they were fun in a cheesy kind of way. So, if you have a Kindle, or the Kindle iPhone app, or the new Kindle PC app..you can read/play these books in their new digital form. According to Amazon, these books are Kindle exclusives, so you won't find them in other e-book stores. I believe these just went live today (or this week), and I am getting 404 errors on some of the product pages. You can find the entire list of books available here.

If there is enough interest (i.e. requests in the comments for this post), I will "take one for the team" and try one of these on my iPhone, and report back here with a review.

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Legends of the Raven Coming to the US

2009-11-13T08:27:00.002-06:00

James Barclay tweeted on Wednesday to let us know that Pyr has signed up to release the Legends of the Raven in late 2010 and/or early 2011. At the moment, this deal does not include Ravensoul, supposedly the last (ever) Raven book. Barclay's next series (coming March 2010 in the UK..no US date yet) does, however, involved the elves from the Raven series. There hasn't been a post from Pyr as of yet with details about the Legends of the Raven series, so this is all the info we have at the moment. Very glad to see Pyr (Lou) bringing us more Raven...thanks, Lou!

For more James Barclay info, check out Fantasy Book Critic, which just posted an interview (nice job, Cindy!) with the Raven author.

Now if I could just buy the Raven books in digital form...

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Quick Review: Noonshade by James Barclay

2009-11-11T16:13:00.004-06:00

It's been a busy week..with my project at work finally going live yesterday, and my younger brother (only 36) getting diagnosed with kidney cancer 10 days ago, and having his kidney removed 2 days ago. But, I want to get my thoughts on Noonshade down before I forget.

Overall, I liked it, though maybe not quite as much as book 1, Dawnthief. The characters and world as as interesting as ever. And as the story progresses, the relationships among the members of the Raven feel deeper and more real. At times it has that nice "buddies on a road trip" kinda feel. There was also less time describing what the Raven stand for, and more time just letting them do what they do. After all, it is book 2, and we don't need to be reminded about the code the Raven live by. There are dragons in this one, so if you are a dragon fan, that will interest you. While I like elves, dwarves, etc..dragons I am more ambivalent about. At least as talking characters. There was also plenty of action..well-described, too, like Gemmel or Salvatore. Even the large scale battle plans seemed believable and thought-out. If you like small scale or larger scale fighting, there is plenty of that here for you.

On the negative side, I have two things to say. I wasn't too interested in the history of the dragon dimension (probably due to my issues enjoying talking dragons). I would rather have the entire story spent in Balaia, building out its history, instead of learning the history of this new dragon dimension. And the biggest issue I had was the ending...it seemed we spent the entire book building up to an ending that lasted 5 or 10 pages. I just seemed to wrap up way too quickly for me.

Despite those 2 complaints, The Chronicles of the Raven is turning out to be just as great as I had hoped while waiting for the US release. Fans of traditional epic fantasy would have a lot of fun with these. Even you "gritty" fans could find some love here. I'm looking forward to seeing how the first series wraps up in Nightchild. And I wonder if Pyr is considering releasing the other 4 Raven books so I don't have to import them.

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Today in Fantasy: November 11, 2009

2009-11-11T16:09:00.001-06:00

FBNR Stuff:

Well, like some of you commented in my netbook post yesterday, I am already thinking the form factor of a netbook is going to be too much to overcome. And apart from larger screen, the netbook doesn't offer anything over the iphone. I'll try it a little bit more, but I bet I return the netbook and keep the nook. I still think it was worth trying, though, just so I know from first hand experience whether the netbook would work for me.

Reviews:

There are no great shocks or surprises in The Burning Land – Cornwell has his formula, and he follows it effectively. The battle scenes, as always, are very well written and you get a genuine sense of the bloody desperation of combat in the shield wall; the tension between Christian and pagan is effectively conveyed, and I always enjoy Uhtred’s take on the Christian faith;

link: Simon A’s Review: The Burning Land, by Bernard Cornwell | Bookgeeks

Redick handles the characters with flair and allows the meetings and exchanges between them to show more than simple story progression. We get to find out more of the history of Alifros, what preconceptions and prejudices that certain characters and countries have, and also what motivates the characters. I know this is something that should be done in every good novel, but Redick manages to build characters that are relatable and enjoyable while never losing sight of the wider picture.

link: Walker of Worlds: Review | The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert VS Redick (Gollancz)

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).

link: Graeme's Fantasy Book Review: ‘Elric in the Dream Realms’ – Michael Moorcock (Del Rey)

I feel that Jeff Somers has matured as an author. The Eternal Prison, though it remains a non-stop action, shoot them all, and kick you in the balls kind of book, shows a lot more depth than its predecessors. It looks as though Somers has more confidence in himself, and he challenges himself more with multilayered plotlines. Which bodes well for future Avery Cates books.

link: Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: The Eternal Prison by Jeff Somers

Brilliantly fluid prose, hilarious gags, and a real sense of Adams' original direction make And Another Thing an unmissable continuation.

link: Drying Ink: Review|And Another Thing - Eoin Colfer

Although the novel leaned on the setting a little too much at some points, I thought it was a very interesting read. I absolutely am going to have to get better acquainted with this subgenre in general and Priest's writing in particular.

link: Val's Random Comments: Boneshaker - Cherie Priest

Seven for a Secret touches on loss and memory, on being the resistance in an occupied city, and on how governments might use supernatural elements. It’s a story of young girls, an old woman, and an even older vampire.

link: Adventures in Reading: Seven for a Secret, by Elizabeth Bear

But, with perhaps one or two exceptions, many of the narrative threads in Dust of Dreams don’t come together. Which, I suppose, is likely because the novel was technically split in two. I frightening thought given the size of this tome. I’m equally excited and nervous about the next and final book given it apparently needs 890 pages of setup.

link: Review: Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson « King of the Nerds!!!

Y'all know I love me some steampunk, and Westerfeld delivers the goods. LEVIATHAN is set during the first days of World War I, which is later than most steampunk offerings, but all the trappings are there. Fabulous, anachronistic technology? Check. Interest in the ethical implications of said technology? Check. Focus on class and gender issues? Check. Add in a healthy dose of action - which Westerfeld does - and you make Memory a happy girl indeed.

link: Stella Matutina - 148. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

An issue with Servant of a Dark God is that the reader learns early on that the views of the protagonists are, quite simply, wrong. The lack of layering, knowledge dumps, and relative omniscience provided by the multiple perspectives tend, sadly, to remove much of the suspense from the narrative. What remains is, nevertheless, a compelling story that lays down a significant foundation for the next installment to build upon.

link: Review: Servant of a Dark God | Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy

While completely full of action, (Seriously, we were well sated on the action aspect of this novel.) James didn't forget that Fantasy stories are about the characters and character growth. The emotions, ambitions, concerns, and thoughts of each of the characters are as tangible to us as the book in our hands. We know and understand what each of the characters are feeling. No small accomplishment in a book with dragons, eh? Oh speaking of dragons, as if making elves cool again wasn't enough, James does it with the dragons who are strong characters themselves!

link: Elitist Book Reviews: Noonshade by James Barcley

Experiment: Using a Netbook as an E-Reader

2009-11-10T11:58:00.002-06:00

I've made it known that I am attempting to make the move to ebooks now. I have the Barnes & Noble nook on pre-order at the moment. It isn't due to arrive until November 30 (approximately), so I still have a 3 week wait. While waiting, I did some more research into ereader options, and came across one I hadn't thought of before: using a netbook as an e-reader device. I did some shopping around online and stopped by my local best buy yesterday and decided to pick up this:Gateway LT Series 10.1-Inch Netbook (Over 7 Hours of Battery Life). The reason I decided to demo a netbook is mostly due to features and price. For pretty much the same price as a dedicated ereader, I found out I could have a netbook..which i could use for more than just reading. Though I do have an iPhone and a macbook, so I'm planning on using the netbook primarily as an ereader. I have a 14 day return window for the netbook, so I'm planning on using it a lot the next 2 weeks. If I decide I like it, I will keep it and cancel the nook order. If I don't like it, I will return it and go with the nook.

There are some big differences between the netbook and a dedicated ereader, so below is my list of advantages/disadvantages for the netbook vs an ereader:

Netbook Advantages:
-Bigger screen. Instead of a 6-inch e-ink screen, I have a 10.1 inch LED display.
-Backlighting - able to read in the dark without a book light.
-Although not a primary concern, I can use the netbook for other things like checking email.
-I can buy ebooks from ANY ebookstore. No device lock-in due to a vendor specific device.
-I can read ANY format. And pdf's should be no problem. I do sometimes read technical books (java & iphone programming), and these will be much easier to read on the netbook.
-Amazon and B&N both have PC ereader software. Thus, theoretically, they should synch up with the iPhone versions. Meaning when I read on the PC, then open the Kindle or BN ereader on the iPhone, the app should open to the last page i read on the PC. nice.

Netbook Disadvantages:
-Lack of e-ink screen. While I do like the e-ink screen and find it much closer to a printed page, I actually don't have a problem with glare or eyestrain on backlit screens. With this new netbook, I turned the screen brightness all the way down, used a black background and grey text, and to me, the reading quality is pretty darn close to an e-ink screen. Definitely not the same, but close enough for me.
-form factor. the ereader is definitely smaller, lighter and more portable. But the netbook is also definitely smaller than a regular notebook, and it weighs under 3 lbs.

So..i have to decide if the flexibility of the netbook makes up for the increased size and weight. The ereader can be held like a book, while the netbook would still sit in my lap. I'll post more updates here on the blog as I spend more time with the netbook.

out of curiosity: is anyone else using their laptop or a netbook for ebook reading? Or is anyone else going through the netbook vs e-reader debate like I am?

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New Releases: Week of November 9, 2009

2009-11-10T10:58:00.003-06:00

Below is the list of this week's new fantasy releases, according to Amazon. Links take you to the product page for more details.

Full Circle (The Castings Trilogy) by Pamela Freeman (tpb, kindle)

An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe (tpb, kindle)

The House of the Stag by Kage Baker (tpb)

A Young Man Without Magic by Lawrence Watt-Evans (hc. I would be interested in this if I could find a digital version. I like the plot, so hopefully an ebook version shows up somewhere. The Publisher's Weekly review on the bn.com site isn't reassuring, however)

Everlost (The Skinjacker Trilogy) by Neal Shusterman (pb, kindle)

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Today in Fantasy: The Gathering Storm Edition

2009-11-10T10:51:00.001-06:00

Most of you have probably already read most of these reviews, but I'll post 'em anyway. Instead of sprinkling them in with the normal review links, for some reason I wanted to wait until I have quite a few, and just do a special post of just The Gathering Storm reviews. Since it was announced yesterday that The Gathering Storm is now the #1 fiction book in the US (the New York Times list I think?), I thought today would be a good day to post all those review links I have collected. So take a look, in case there is one you missed.

Reviews:

There is a momentum shift in the final third of the book, when Sanderson finally kicks it into high gear. But the first two-thirds of The Gathering Storm suffer from broken rhythm. I felt that there were a number of missed opportunities and a few scenes were impaired by faulty execution.

link: Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: The Gathering Storm

How was I to write a review of a work that is likely to gather high praise from most as well as some few detractors? But the truth is my dilemma is a false one. You see, the Wheel of Time series is too deeply personal to me for me to be the objective reviewer I usually try to be. The Eye of the World came off the library shelf at a time when I was feeling a void in my life, a powerful feeling of hopelessness and despair that pervaded my workaday existence. The Eye of the World and its sequels brought me characters who struggled against impossible odds, yet triumphed at each and every turn, even as their own souls were damaged by the choices they were forced to make. This series of fiction brought to me a sense of hope, a joy in wonder. So I cannot be the objective reviewer I usually seek to be. The Wheel of Time is part and parcel of my self, as much a part of my psyche as my family and social upbringing.

link: Book Review: The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson – Grasping for the Wind

It’s also appropriate for me to say that I’ve been one of those insane fans endlessly discussing these books on the internet. I’ve been reading The Wheel of Time since the mid-1990s and I’ve re-read the series multiple times. I think true objectivity in reviews is a fallacy, but I do believe that reviews need to be thorough and fair. So know that I’m a biased fanboy but also someone striving to write a decent, holistic view of The Gathering Storm that won’t come off feeling liked the biased praise of just another blind fan.

link: Neth Space: The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

For those wanting to know if Sanderson would manage to capture the essence of the late Jordan's writing style or if his passages would integrate well with the ones Jordan had completed before his death, it will be difficult for most of the time to discern which author wrote which passage. Sanderson's interpretations of the two main characters of this story, Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, and Egwene al'Vere, the rebel Amyrlin, are almost pitch-perfect. What I found interesting about Sanderson's treatment of the characters is just how well they are integrated with Jordan's earlier development of them.

link: OF Blog of the Fallen: Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, The Gathering Storm

As I finished the last page, bleary eyed and sleepy, the only thought that came to mind was “thank you, thank you”. I have been involved with Rand, Mat, and Perrin for longer than I care to think, and finally getting the ball rolling on the end of their epic adventure let me breath a great, and much needed sigh of relief – something akin to a junky finally getting a fix, but without all the negative connotations. In short, that is exactly what The Gathering Storm sought to achieve, to get the ball rolling, to get the story moving, to bring it towards a much-anticipated culmination, and most importantly, to give fans of the Wheel of Time much needed closure. Now ware readers, for the review that follows is steeped in spoilers.

link: Review: The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson | Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Another concern was that originally these last three books were supposed to be one volume, A Memory of Light, and Sanderson actually wrote the bulk of the text under the impression it was going to be probably split in two. The decision to split the book in three instead resulted in much recrimination, although at 800 pages in hardcover (and assuming the second and third come in at a similar size) and well over 300,000 words, tying it with Knife of Dreams as the longest book in the series since Lord of Chaos, it's clear this could never have been done in just two books either. One problem with this split was that since Sanderson hadn't been writing with three books in mind, The Gathering Storm would feel incomplete or unsatisfying on its own. This is not the case at all. In fact, The Gathering Storm has the most cohesive through-line in story, character and theme of any book in the series since The Shadow Rising, and possibly out of all of them.

link: The Wertzone: The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

God, I’ve missed it so much. I had a very emotional reaction to this book. The question of whether Jordan substitute Brandon Sanderson is up to finishing the series has been answered. He is. Thank you, Brandon Sanderson. Not only did we enjoy your stellar Mistborn series, along with the rest of Team Jordan, you have already gone some way towards realising the dreams of likely hundreds of thousands (millions?) of Wheel of Time fans who have been dying for this series to be finished in a way that will honour Robert Jordan, arguably the best fantasy author of our time. Keep up the good work.

link: The Gathering Storm: Review by Keeping the Door

Let’s just get one thing cleared up before we start here. If it wasn’t obvious by the last eleven posts of the series re-read, I’m a bit of a Wheel of Time fanboy. There’s nothing I can do about that and I’m quite happy with it. This is a seminal series of my fantasy reading life and Robert Jordan has stuck with me over the last fifteen years when other authors failed me. So, please understand that while I may recognize flaws in the novel (and the series), I can easily gloss over them because this is a series I love dearly. Never is anything so egregious that it will hamper my enjoyment of the series.

link: Adventures in Reading: The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

There have been a number of well-written reviews for The Gathering Storm. So rather then belaboring many of the points covered elsewhere or echoing the slightly off-putting voice Sanderson employed for a one Matrim Cauthon (though the elderly aunt conversation did have me literally laugh out loud but there was something vaguely Erikson in that exchange) or even summarizing the plot up until this point I will recommend that you check one of the many fine reviews already out there. Instead I’d like to take the time to look at, and praise, the theme that runs through the entirety of novel: identity.

link: Sa souvraya niende misain ye: Identity and The Gathering Storm « King of the Nerds!!!

Angry Robot Books Announces US Release Schedule

2009-11-06T12:59:00.003-06:00

Angry Robot has announced their US book release schedule. Details below:

May
Moxyland" by Lauren Beukes
"Slights" by Kaaron Warren
"Triumff: Her Majesty's Hero" by Dan Abnett
"White Tiger" by Kylie Chan
"Winter Song" by Colin Harvey
"Kells Legend" by Andy Remic

June
"Amortals" by Matt Forbeck
"Damage Time" by Colin Harvey
"Sixty-One Nails" by Mike Shevdon
"Red Phoenix" by Kylie Chan
"Zoo City" by Lauren Beukes
"Soul Stealers" by Andy Remic

July
"Blue Dragon" by Kylie Chan
"Nekropolis" by Tim Waggoner
"Vegas Knights" by Matt Forbeck
"The Crown of the Blood" by Gav Thorpe
"Walking the Tree" by Kaaron Warren

August
"City of Dreams and Nightmare" by Ian Whates
"Death's Disciples" by J Robert King
"Edge" by Thomas Blackthorne
"Embedded" by Dan Abnett
"The Road to Bedlam" by Mike Shevdon

September
"Dead Streets" by Tim Waggoner
"Book of Secrets" by Chris Roberson
"King Maker" by Maurice Broaddus
"Point" by Thomas Blackthorne
"Servant of the Underworld" by Aliette de Bodard

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Interesting Comment on the E-Book Conversion Process at Amazon

2009-11-06T08:15:00.003-06:00

While reading the comments on the Tor post about the Wheel of Time ebook release schedule, I came across this from Pablo Defendini. It is his response to some folks questions about why the Kindle versions of The Eye of the World have a minor formatting issue at the beginning of each chapter. This is comment #15, if you want to check the original post for more details:

The ebooks all have maps and chapter images, as well as drop caps at the beginning of each chapter and other niceties. The maps, in particular, are nice: they are relatively high resolution scans, so you can even zoom in if you have the right hardware.

Speaking of hardware: Unfortunately, since Amazon handles the conversion from our source file (an ePub file, which is the de-facto open standard for ebooks, as opposed to their proprietary Kindle format) internally, after we hand them our file, the quality on Kindle editions leaves much to be desired (it's an automated process within Amazon, so we don't get to peek into that black box, much less get oversight once the file comes out the other end, before it's made available for sale). As a result, things like the maps, the formatting and such, that look great on all the other e-editions of the books, look bad or don't show up on the Kindle edition. For example, maps don't show on the Kindle sometimes, there is no table of contents, and drop caps look like Artanian's first letter on its own line. By all means, complain to Amazon. They listen to their customers much, much more than they listen to publishers, actually.

My advice, if you really want a nice e-edition? Don't go with the Amazon version (I know, I know: if you own a Kindle, you're kinda locked into the Amazon store. But that's a bigger conversation about open formats and device agnosticism). Of all the other retailers who have The Eye of the World available (B&N, Sony, etc.), Sony is the best-looking; they take our file as-is, and don't alter or convert it at all.

I find that pretty interesting. And it makes me wonder if its worth saving a buck or two to buy the Kindle version, if the conversion process lacks quality control. Does anyone at Amazon even look at the files, or due to the volume is it just totally automated? If I have to spend a little extra to ensure I get the formatting specified by the publisher, I think its worth it. I am guessing Sony is the best because they are now an epub shop (if their conversion is complete). B&N plans to move to epub with the release of the nook, so hopefully their epub files will be the exact same as the publisher's, just like Sony. I would guess Pablo's comment about B&N is probably due to them still using the eReader format in their store.

Do Pablo's comments surprise anyone? Does it make you want to consider a different ebook store (i.e not Amazon) if it means having more confidence in the quality of the ebook you will buy?

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Wheel of Time E-Book Publishing Schedule

2009-11-06T08:11:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Aidan (A Dribble of Ink) for pointing this out..I somehow missed it. Below is the release schedule for the Wheel of Time ebooks. You know I'll be picking up each of them (well, except for the split books versions..the ones at the end of November 2010):

October 27, 2009: The Eye of the World

November 17, 2009: The Great Hunt

December 15, 2009: The Dragon Reborn

January 19, 2010: The Shadow Rising

February 16, 2010: The Fires of Heaven

March 16, 2010: Lord of Chaos

April 20, 2010: A Crown of Swords

May 18, 2010: The Path of Daggers

June 22, 2010: Winter’s Heart

July 20, 2010: Crossroads of Twilight

August 24, 2010: Knife of Dreams

September 28, 2010: New Spring

November 2, 2010: The Gathering Storm

November 16, 2010: From Two Rivers

November 16, 2010: To The Blight

November 16, 2010: The Hunt Begins

November 16, 2010: New Threads in the Pattern

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Today in Fantasy: November 4, 2009

2009-11-04T09:02:00.001-06:00

FBNR Stuff:

While I am waiting on my nook to arrive (supposed to ship Nov 30), I thought I would try to read a couple of paperbacks. I know once my nook arrives, I will be reading mostly ebooks for awhile. Pyr was kind enough to send me all 3 of the Chronicles of the Raven books. I already reviewed (and loved) the first one. I started Noonshade but put it down because I just have more interest in reading digital versions (and there is none for the Raven books). Since there is about a 4 week gap between when i read the first 200 pages, and when I started it again this week, the review will be a little different. But, I'm on page 280 (of 410 or so) and enjoying it. I think I actually prefer Dawnthief so far, but not by a lot. Noonshade has been very enjoyable, and is getting even better as I approach the end.

Author News:

-Looks like Paul S. Kemp is done writing for Wizards of the Coast. So the book he was working on, Godborn, will not be published. Too bad, I know the Cale stories were pretty popular. Seems like Wizards of the Coast is falling on some tough times in the book world. I don't see anyone really talking about the Eberron novels, and i thought I read that after December, no more Dragonlance books would be published for awhile (need to find confirmation of that).

-You can read the first 3 chapters of David B. Coe's final Blood of the Southlands novel, The Dark Eyes' War, here.

Reviews:

Is this a better book because the last couple weren’t quite as good? Yeah, maybe. I’m not exactly unbiased here and I can only admit that I love this series and frequently overlook flaws. But, this one is just better than Wheel of Time had been for a while

link: Adventures in Reading: Knife of Dreams, by Robert Jordan

For me the plot is like the skin layers of an onion. So far I didn't talk much about my secret star of the series: The Chathrand. Mr. Redick's depiction of the sailing vessel and the life on board is most imposing. I got nearly seasick on the sofa when I read the novel.

link: Review: The Rats and the Ruling Sea by Robert V.S. Redick | Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy

....But the actual threat bears no connection whatsoever to the remainder of the book, and the resolution of it - and the book - is slightly, well, laughable. It's a deux-ex-machina to the extreme, insipid, and meanders slightly.

link: Drying Ink: Review|Hawkspar - Holly Lisle

Character-wise, “The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart” revolves around Hegel and Manfried Grossbart, two of the most vicious and appalling protagonists I’ve ever set eyes on. Crude, selfish, and nasty, the Brothers Grossbart are characters that filled me with disgust and who I would root against at every opportunity. Yet for all that I disliked Hegel and Manfried Grossbart, at the same time I found the twins to be quite fascinating thanks to Jesse’s wild imagination and detailed rendering.

link: Fantasy Book Critic: “The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart” by Jesse Bullington (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)

Tempest Rising is a short, entertaining read. It had some humor, which was rather hit or miss. Sometimes it was quite humorous, but other times it seemed to be overdone and trying too hard. There was a lot of sex - too much for my taste - and for a while I was thinking it seemed more like a paranormal romance. I decided I wouldn't actually label it a paranormal romance, though, just because it didn't seem, well, romantic.

link: Fantasy Cafe: Reviews of Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler

For me, as someone who genuinely enjoys a lot of different types and genres of fiction, Finch is one of the best books that I’ve read in years. It is also the book I’ve been waiting to read for years without knowing it. Beyond that, though, when all is said and done, Finch will be among the best books of the year.

link: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer – review » BSCreview

I really like the direction of this series and feel it has a very bright future. This will sound corny but as I finishing up this book there was a huge magic battle scene and a strange thought came into my head, this is like Harry Potter but for adults. This is series is becoming that good and easily becoming one of my favorites.

link: Robots and Vamps » RaV Book Review: Magic in the Shadows by Devon Monk

It's nothing of any great consequence, but it's certainly a quick engaging read. Salvatore keeps the plot moving along at a good clip, but he doesn't stint on his characters. These folks aren't as instantly engaging as the characters in his popular Drizzt books, (which are my favourite fun reads), but they're still fun to read about. They face some interesting moral dilemmas, too, in addition to the excellent fight scenes Salvatore's known for.

link: Stella Matutina - 146. Canticle by R.A. Salvatore

Basically, if the author had spent as much time and effort on developing the fantasy parts of the novel as he did the rest of the book, then “The Cardinal’s Blades” would have been profoundly better.

link: Fantasy Book Critic: “The Cardinal’s Blades” by Pierre Pevel (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)

I hate to say this because I very much like this series and hope for a satisfying conclusion with some future volume, but Chasing the Dragon was a bit of a disappointment. There are some interesting things going on here, a couple of major developments, but they don't add up to enough to recommend the book. Even though we don’t know what the larger picture is supposed to be, there is little sense of how Chasing the Dragon really connects to the previous books.

link: Adventures in Reading: Chasing the Dragon, by Justina Robson

Series Finale: The Silver Mage by Katharine Kerr

2009-11-03T13:01:00.002-06:00

Here is the debut of the new feature I mentioned last week, where I post a short feature/reminder on the publishing of concluding books in a series. Today, the 15th and final book in the Deverry series,The Silver Mage, hits stores. There is a temporary (I assume) LiveJournal site to celebrate the series conclusion here. The author's home page, including lots of info on the Deverry series, is here. I own 13 of the first 15 in mass market paperback, and hope to read them someday. However, I'm disappointed that only the last 4 in the series are available in ebook form. It seems like as part of the marketing for this series, they could have made an attempt to publish digital versions of all of the books...kinda how Tor is doing with the Wheel of Time. Though in this case I don't see a reason they should be published one per month. With ebooks gaining more visibility, I would have thought it made sense for them (Daw) to publish the entire series in ebook form, and add that to the marketing push. Maybe Daw doesn't own all of the series, in which case I would understand. But if they do have rights to all 15, seems like a missed opportunity. Plus, as part of the marketing push, I would have made the ebook for the first book, Daggerspell, free. Sorta like a "To celebrate the publishing of the final Deverry novel, we would like to announce that the entire series is now available in ebook format. And new readers can start the series by downloading Daggerspell for free."

At least that is my opinion. But hey, what do I know?

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New Releases: Week of November 2, 2009

2009-11-03T08:35:00.002-06:00

Below is the list of new fantasy related releases this week, according to Amazon. As usual, links take you to the Amazon page for more details.

Grand Conspiracy by Janny Wurts (mmpb, kindle)

Finch by Jeff Vandermeer (tpb)

The Golden Tower: Book Two of The Warriors of Estavia by Fiona Patton (mmpb, kindle. Note that the kindle edition is still listed at 14.97, even though the mmpb is now available for 7.99. Hopefully the kindle price drops to match the mmpb price)

Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier (hc, kindle)

Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier (mmpb, kindle. Note this too has the high Kindle price reflecting the hc edition. Now that the mmpb is out, the kindle price should drop. At least that is normally the case)

The Lord-Protector's Daughter (Corean Chronicles) by L.E. Modesitt, Jr (mmpb, kindle. Kindle price still reflecting the hc. I know Amazon had problems with the Kindle store yesterday, wondering if these pricing issues are a side-effect? I would guess it is Amazon's job to make these pricing changes, right? They are normally pretty quick to drop the kindle price when the mmpb editions hit shelves.)

Magic in the Shadows: An Allie Beckstrom Novel by Devon Monk (mmpb, kindle)

Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set by Brandon Sanderson (mmpb box set. Not really a new release, but getting them all in one box set is. And at $16.17 for the entire set, its really like getting one free. So if you have been meaning to check out this series, this might be a good way to buy it.)

The Silver Mage: Book Four of the Silver Wyrm by Katharine Kerr (hc, kindle. The end of the Deverry series)

Son of Khyber: Thorn of Breland, Book 2 by Keith Baker (mmpb. Outside of Weiss & Hickman & Salvatore, Wizards of the Coast must not be a believer in ebooks.)

The Trouble With Heroes by Denise Little (mmpb, kindle)

Agents of Artifice: A Planeswalker Novel (Planeswalkers) by Ari Marmell (mmpb)

Born of Fire (A League Novel) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (mmpb, kindle)

The Breath of God by Harry Turtledove (mmpb, kindle)

Corsair: Blades of the Moonsea, Book II (Blades of Moonsea) by Richard Baker (mmpb)

Crusade: Destroyermen, Book II by Taylor Anderson (mmpb, kindle)

Death Masks: A Novel of the Dresden Files (The Dresden Files, Book 5) by Jim Butcher (hc, kindle. I am guessing this is the initial release of the hardcover edition, since the first several books were mmpb only.)

The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy by various authors (hc, kindle)

Elegy Beach by Steven R. Boyett (hc, kindle)

The Fall of Highwatch: Chosen of Nendawen, Book I by Mark Sehestedt (mmpb. Wizards of the Coast is 0 for 4 in releasing digital editions today.)

Fade Out (Morganville Vampires, Book 7) by Rachel Caine (mmpb, kindle)

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