Geeks On Fire! Collective blog for all things geek

Audio Book Review: The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock edited by John Joseph Adams

2010-03-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

In this collection of stories, compiled by John Joseph Adams, a variety of authors invent cases that Sherlock Holmes might encounter if our world were just a bit different. These are cases in which the “improbable” occurs. Most of the stories involve some sort of fantastical situation in which Holmes is required to go outside of his normal logic-based abilities and enter the realm of fantasy. The array of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi authors is quite extensive. Laurie King, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Baxter and Robert Sawyer are just a few of the names that grace this anthology.

I enjoyed the premise of the book very much. I’m an urban fantasy fan, and this sounded right up my alley. Many of the stories stay true to the theme, but a significant number are just typical Holmes stories: he gets involved in a case that seems fantastic, but by the end he is able to explain what happened in his usual surprisingly mundane way. I was a little disappointed that so many of these stories were not the “improbable” type that the book advertises. The whole hook was supposed to be that these are Sherlock Holmes stories that go beyond the normal. That small complaint aside, I found the majority of the tales enjoyable. I love a good mystery, and I love to watch Sherlock Holmes pick apart a case using his inhuman deduction skills. You will find plenty of that in The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

There are a few stories that really stand out. Tim Lebbon’s “The Horror of the Many Faces” captures the spirit of the collection perfectly. Watson bears witness to a series of grisly murders. The story takes an unnatural path, and stretches the imagination by the time it concludes. Although the things that happen would be impossible in the actual Holmes universe, “The Horror of the Many Faces” never loses the spirit of a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Neil Gaiman’s entry, “A Study in Emerald,” is another that stood out for me. In a Lovecraftian world, where the dark beasts are now our rulers, Holmes works a case involving a murder of one of the ruling races. Very entertaining and twisted stuff, as we have come to expect from Gaiman.

I listened to The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on a set of 18 discs released by Brilliance Audio. As in the original Holmes tales, the stories are primarily dictated from the point of view of Holmes’ friend and sidekick, Dr. Watson. Simon Vance provides the voice of the male characters, and he is nothing short of brilliant. He switches from Watson to Holmes seamlessly, and adds inflections that match the ages and personalities of the characters perfectly. His voice acting instantly took me away to the Holmes world. I did cringe a little whenever he was forced to do an “American” accent, but I will say that his American accent is worlds better than my English one! Anne Flosnick is another voice contributor and does a great job as well. It’s obvious that the voice actors were cast with great care.

The beginning of the book gives a welcome introduction to the Holmes universe. I am not altogether familiar with the cast of characters that appear in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work, so I was grateful for the short history lesson, and it left me much more knowledgeable about certain figures in the stories.

I had a lot of fun listening to this anthology, and the production quality was flawless. My hour-long commute to work went by much more quickly, and for that I’m grateful. I would also suggest that readers take their time with Adams’ collection. The stories are best enjoyed one or two at a time. I found they tended to mesh together when going through them one after the other. When I read one or two and then moved on to something else, I found that to be the most enjoyable way to experience these stories.

www.fantasyliterature.com.

You can also learn more about various anthologies at the Fantasyliterature Anthology page

HBO greenlights 'Game of Thrones' to series! (pic) -- The Live Feed | THR

2010-03-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

Yay! According to The Hollywood Reporter "Game of Thrones" has been green-lit on HBO. Many fantasy have been watching the development of this HBO series for quite some time. It's great to finally see that it is 100% going to happen. They released a picture as well (below), which I can assume is Jon Snow somewhere beyond the wall. Read THR's article linked below.

HBO greenlights 'Game of Thrones' to series! (pic) -- The Live Feed | THR

Book Review Quickie: Map of Bones by James Rollins

2010-03-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

Second book in the sigma series, and a couple characters from the previous book play a roll, but mostly it's a whole new cast. Map of Bones is another action/adventure romp through the world, solving an ancient mystery and saving the world. Rollins writes good stuff, these stories are serious fun. Rollins takes the format he used in Sandstorm and makes tweaks to great improvement. I would recommend this book for any fan of action/adventure stories with who like a dash of scifi. I look forward to reading the next one.

Book Review Quickie: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

2010-02-26T07:33:00.000-08:00

The book was well written and very engaging. I enjoyed the world Gaiman created and hope he writes more books that take place there. The only thing really keeping this book from getting 5 stars was the ending. It kind of left me feeling...well unfulfilled. After such an epic adventure to have it end the way it did was anticlimactic. Really, it didn't make much sense. Makes me wish books had a "director's cut". They always say that the it's not the destination that matters, but the journey...and this book definitely follows that philosophy. I would highly recommend the book for any Gaiman fan, or anyone else that's a fan of a good tale. You will not gain any insight into the complexities of humanity or any other moral quandaries from this story. Gaiman's overall message seems to drift around. It never seems to settle in on a message. However, I did find it endearing and different, but you might not like the lack of focus. If you like your stories a bit more concrete I would recommend the semi-sequel to this book "Anansi Boys"...it's the better book in my opinion, and more traditionally structured.

Book Review Quickie: Sandstorm by James Rollins

2010-02-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

When I picked this book up on a whim, it was purely to serve as a break in my typically fantasy diet. It served that purpose well. The action starts immediately and never lets off. A fun and interesting book. I had never read anything by Rollins before, and after reading this I went out picked up the rest of the sigma series to read later. Think Indiana Jones meets Tom Clancy. A perfect action/adventure story with enough fantasy and scifi to satisfy my imagination. Some parts were a little hard to bite, but nothing major. I call these types of books candy because too many of them might not be good, but one once in awhile is great to have.

Deal of the week: Toshiba NB205-N325WH 10.1" Netbook $289

2010-02-25T05:45:00.000-08:00

Who needs an ipad when you have this kind of thing available???

Toshiba NB205-N325WH 10.1 Netbook, Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 1GB, 160GB HDD, 802.11b/g, Webcam, Windows 7 Starter (Frost White)

The NB205-N325WH Netbook redefines the computing experience available on a laptop. The new design with a generous 10.1 display is contemporary with enhanced protection and build quality fitting for a Toshiba brand. The near full-size keyboard instantly makes it much easier to use and broadens the appeal to a new generation of users. It is an ideal secondary laptop for web browsing. Webcam and Mic Built-in webcams and microphones let you chat face-to-face, collaborate with classmates, videoconference, and generally improve the way you interact with the world around you. USB Sleep-and-Charge Power up your smart phone and other favorite portable electronic devices, even when your Toshiba is asleep or off. Memory Card Reader Transfer files easily from our your digital camera, camcorder, MP3 player or smart phone, sharing home movies and playlists with SD cards, Memory Sticks and more. PC Health Monitor Toshiba's PC Health Monitor alerts you to issues before they become problems, constantly gauging your machine's temperature and power usage, while checking the hard drive to help protect against shocks. EPEAT Gold Compliant EPEAT Gold is the highest possible ranking of the acclaimed Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool which measures products across 51 different dimensions. LED Backlit Display Last longer, use less power, and warm up quicker with the unique LED backlit display. Energy Star Compliant Engineered with respect to our planet, 93% of Toshiba laptops, netbooks and Tablet PCs have met the ENERGY STAR 4.0 standard since it was established in 2007.

Geeks On Fire! Takes on EBook readers: Round 2 - The Samsung E6

2010-02-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

This is my second entry into my on going series on Ebook Readers. You can read the first one I did on the Bookeen Opus HERE

Samsung E6

From Geeks On Fire! Collective blog for all things geek

Samsung weighed into the ebook market at CES in 2010. The initial hype looked promising. Due to release early this year. Here is what I found out:

Size: No specific details available other than the screen sizes detailed below.

Display: E101 model has 10-inch screen, and the E6 has 6-inch screen. No backlight, which means long battery life. According to Samsung a 4hr charge will last you 2 weeks...very nice. It uses a stylus pen and has the ability to "write" on the display. Meaning you can take notes, mark up pages, and keep calenders.

Connectivity: A category that is becoming more common in ebook readers. The Samsung readers have Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g for downloading books and newspapers. It also has Bluetooth 2.0.

Format it reads: ePub, PDF, TXT, and even Mp3. They also currently have a deal with google for their out of copyright database. No news yet as to what retail option they will have.

Storage: 2 GB of flash memory.

Cost: $399 for the E6 and $699 for the E101..$399? and $699??!! Samsung has lost their mind. The price for either of these is just dumb.

There really isn't much to say about this one. The price alone is enough to send me running in terror. I also don't like the fact that the storage appears not to be expandable. I'm thinking this will be used to store audiobooks, and 2gb isn't a lot these days. I do like the fact it plays MP3s and has an input option available with the stylus.

Chance of me requesting this reader from The Asian Overlord: NONE unless the price drops to below $300 then it's a possibility.

I found a very similar product with one of my sponsors (imagine that!). This is more in the price range of what I'm looking for. It doesn't support the Lit files, but everything else seems to match up fairly well. The memory is expandable also.

6" JC Planetary E-Book 100 E-Book Reader w/E-Ink Technology & SD Card Slot

Enjoy thousands of books within one handy device with this JC PlanetaryÂ eBOOK100 6-inch E-Book reader!The JC-eBOOK100 features a 6-inch E-Ink screen withÂ 4-level gray scaleÂ that lets you comfortably read electronic books for hours on end without tiring your eyes. It's powered by a Samsung S3C2440 400 MHz processor and includes 1 GB of internal flash memory, but you canÂ add up to 8 GB with Secure Digital or MultiMediaCards!The thin and lightweight design feels like you're reading a thin pamphlet and includes a convenient carrying case that's perfect for travel. The JC-eBOOK100 supports PDF, TXT, JPG, BMP, and FB2 ebook files and even supports MP3 playback! Listen to music with the included stereo earbuds!Order now!

Book Review: Brooklyn Knight by CJ Henderson

2010-02-22T09:29:00.000-08:00

Professor Piers Knight is the charming, handsome, and intelligent curator of the esteemed Brooklyn Museum. He has in possession the mysterious “Dream Stone” — an artifact that may hold the key to unraveling an ancient and dangerous mystery. But Knight is not the only person who is aware of its importance. With the help of his gorgeous assistant Bridget and his knowledge of magical items, Knight must protect the stone and solve the riddle in order to keep a global disaster from happening.

CJ Henderson‘s Brooklyn Knight proves to be a very entertaining read. Professor Knight is by the far the most developed character in the story. (The others tend to be left a little hollow, but I’m hoping they’ll get more depth in later books). The back cover describes him as “New York’s answer to Indiana Jones,” but that’s a bit of a stretch. Yeah, Knight and Jones are both charming male academics who moonlight as adventurers and solvers of ancient mysteries, but Indy’s abilities are much more mundane, whereas the things Piers Knight is capable of are anything but. Also, Knight never leaves New York, though the potential for future global adventures is definitely there.

Also providing potential for future fun is the magic system which is primarily based around ancient artifacts. Henderson gradually introduces these believable magical elements and, as curator of the museum and a descendent of a long line of adventurers, Piers Knight has almost unlimited access to a wide range of items that give him special abilities. This should provide many interesting plot devices for the stories to come!

Brooklyn Knight is essentially an action/mystery, with fantasy elements thrown in. I enjoy this style of urban fantasy more than any other. I like the adventure, mystery, humor, pseudo-historical aspects, and the limited magic — they combine to make a really fun story!

www.fantasyliterature.com.

You can also learn more about CJ Henderson at the Fantasyliterature author page

Geeks On Fire! Takes on EBook readers: The Bookeen Opus

2010-02-19T07:03:00.000-08:00

I've been contemplating buying an ebook reader for quite some time. I have found it very difficult to discern which product I should buy. Everyone seems to love the Kindle, or the Nook. However, I find it rather scary to limit my book buying ability to just one retailer. I want a device that does it all. I want the perfect device. With the number of devices that are coming out it's a daunting task to say the least. Instead of pondering to myself, I thought I would bring you along with me as I explore what's out there. A few times week I'm going to post an ebook reader and what I learned about it. This may take some time, so I hope you can join me as I plow through these readers in the coming weeks. The ultimate point of this journey is get me an ebook reader I can be happy with (you too for that matter). Once I have gathered enough info on a respectable number of devices I'll try and decide which one to buy. Once I have decided, I'll make my plea to The Asian Overlord (wife) and request it for my birthday.

So here we go. Today I've chosen one that I'd never heard of, but seems promising.

The Bookeen Opus

First one I'm going to talk about is the Bookeen Opus brought to by...ummm..Bookeen. Making ebook readers is apparently all they do. To start my research I went directly to the source www.bookeen.com and downloaded their "press kit". 81.8mb of pressy goodness, and it took an hour to download...wtf? My internet connection isn't that bad. Come on guys this is your one product, an hour for 80mb? Lets hope that every media outlet int he world is simultaneously writing an article on Bookeen and it's put a strain on their system. Anyway, besides the name making me think about penguins...here is what I found out.

Size: 4.2" x 6" x 0.4" That's just about twice the size of an iphone. I have an ipod touch and I like the ability to put in my pocket, but if you are wanting a supplement for an actual book, this seems a bit small

Display: The Opus uses the E-Ink® screen. Which means black and white, but has massive battery life. 8,000 page turns to be exact. There is no backlight, but that's pretty common.

Format it reads: HTML, Txt, PDF, Epub(adobe drm). That's not too bad. I wish it read microsoft's Lit format. That is pretty much the only one that is missing.

Cost: $250..ouch. The only thing that would make this reader really enticing would be a price you can't refuse. $250 is not that price. I'll just use an ipod touch and deal with the size and battery life. Plus there are a million other things you can do with an ipod touch.

Chance of me requesting this reader from The Asian Overlord: none

A World Builders Prize Winner is

2010-02-18T09:16:00.001-08:00

ME! Yes my friends yesterday I received in the mail signed first edition printings of Book 1,2 and 4 of Tad Williams' Otherland series. I dontated to World Builders charity and was entered into a raffle, and it appears I got lucky. It's such a good cause, it felt good to help in a small way. The prize was a bonus to the warm a fuzzy feeling of supporting a great charity. I want to say Thank you to Pat Rothfuss for the prizes, thank you for doing this for Heifer International. Above and beyond...way above. It makes me proud to be your fan. Congratulations to you for a job well done.

WorldBuilders or rather Patrick Rothfuss's collection front for Heifer International

From Geeks On Fire! Collective blog for all things geek

Vacation Report

2010-02-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

Back from vacation and thought I would share a little about the trip. We went on a 5 day Carribean cruise with Carnival Cruise lines. We departed from Mobile Alabama of the Carnival Fantasy cruise ship. I'll break down my thoughts on each portion. If you are ever interested in taking a cruise you might find it interesting, otherwise you can bask in my pictures of sunshine and seethe in your jealousy.

Leaving for the trip/Arrival in Mobile:
We flew Delta because we had enough Miles accumulated over the years to get our tickets paid for. Though they weren't really free. Because it was "short notice" (less than 20 days in advance" we had to pay about $70 a piece for them, I also had to pay a $100 fee to transfer miles from my account to my wife's account so we would have enough total miles. We also had to pay for a baggage. We had three suitcases total, that was about $75. The planes were the tiny two row types. Horribly uncomfortable, but the flights weren't long, so no big deal. We spent the night in Mobile and boarded the ship the next morning. The boarding process was a little chaotic, but we were in our room by 1pm.

Cruisin:
The first day and a half were "at sea" Basically we spent that time eating, sleeping and exploring the ship. Wednesday we stopped in Cazumel, Mexico and took and excursion ($80 a piece). Our excursion was a the Isla Pasion by Twister. A speed boat ride to a private island where we got free alcohol and small buffet for a few hours of relaxing on the beach. It was great. Most of our pictures are from this one 5 hour event.

This is the speed boat we took the island. It was 20min ride to the lagoon of the island. The boats are designed to do high speed 360 spins, which they did about 10 of before landing. Before getting off the boat were warned not to drink too much on the island cause there would be "more twisting" on our way back to port...they were telling the truth.

Heading home:
We were supposed to go on another excursion in Calica, but my wife got sun poisoning in Cazumel and had a swollen face all day Thursday...so we didn't go. Don't worry she is fine now, but was a doing a good impression of a chubby Inuit for a day or two. We had rough seas for the 24hr trip home. I never got sick, but the inability to walk in a straight line for a whole day did start to get to me. Once we got home it took a day or two for my head to understand the boat was no longer moving.

Had to share this photo. Carnical likes to leave you "towel animals" on your bed after they clean your room. It's a cool thing to do, but this animal made me laugh. it was supposed to be a dinosaur, but it looks more like a monkey mooning me instead.

A few more picture from the trip.

cruise blog

Book Review: Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov

2010-02-15T13:07:00.000-08:00

Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov

Shadow Prowler is classic epic high fantasy which uses common fantasy characters – elfin princesses, cantankerous dwarves, burly warriors, and even a selection of enigmatic wizards. This fact alone will be enough to turn off some readers. Add in the fact that they are on a quest for a unique magical item in order to stop a faceless evil wizard and his army, and that just might be all you need to know to give Shadow Prowler a pass (see Stefan’s review). I, however, enjoyed how Pehov turned these classic themes into an enjoyable story with its own unique personality... Read the rest.

On board

2010-02-08T13:38:00.001-08:00

Heading out. Internet onboard is stupid expensive so updates will be few.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Morning we left for vacation

2010-02-07T18:30:00.000-08:00

This week I'm on vacation. I'll be posting up random stuff from the trip. I took this picture as we left for the airport. Making this post iPod at the hotel in mobile alabama.

Liveblog: Apple's "our newest creation" event

2010-01-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

This is where I'll watching for the Apple tablet announcement event.

Liveblog: Apple's "our newest creation" event

FanLit Interviews Chris McGrath with a giveaway

2010-01-19T15:25:00.000-08:00

Head over to http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ to see my interview of Chris McGrath. It was fun one to do. Hope you enjoy!

Frosty and Santa: Hard Night of See-Saw

2010-01-19T12:51:00.000-08:00

The Angels are real!

2010-01-12T13:48:00.000-08:00

Photographic proof that the events documented in Neon Genesis Evangelion anime will come to pass. Below is photographic proof of Angels heading toward Antarctica. Whats an Angel? Watch the anime. Its so worth it. Don't like anime? Scroll down to the next post.

This is the traditional Angel:

This is what is being called a ‘Ningen’

Similar? yes! Creepy? HELL YES! Makes me want to sign up to pilot a giant ass robot? Trick question, I would do that anyway. Read more about the Ningen here.

Mmmmm Old Yeller dog food.

2010-01-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

No pet diet is complete with out Old Yeller dog food. Save your UPC for discounts on Old Yeller brand rabies vaccinations.

**Old Yeller brand shed and shotgun not available

A day on the ice

2010-01-10T14:30:00.001-08:00

Spent the afternoon today ice fishing with my Father and brother. We used to this a lot when we were younger, now we try to do ti at least once a year. We go to a local farm pond of a friend of ours and set up for a few hours. It's a lot of fun, and today there was some success. Took home a meal for 4. A mix of Bluegill and Bass...mmmm tasty! It was about 24 degrees out and the ice was about 4-5 inches thick. A great day.

Your faithful blogger in what appears to be a fat suit.

Shackleton? Cook? Nah just two weirdos on a cow pond

View the rest of the pictures here.

Do You KNOW How Old Your Tires Really Are?

2010-01-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

Think you have good Tires? Better check again. This video shows a growing problem of death in this country, and how to know what your getting put on your wheels.
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=4826897
Stay Safe
-Mookie

Book Review: Deadtown by Nancy Holzner

2010-01-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

When FanLit interviewed Nancy Holzner last month, I thought she sounded so nice, and her debut, Deadtown, sounded awesome. While shopping that night at my local Wal-Mart, I noticed Deadtown on the shelf, so, naturally, into my cart it went, and I started reading as soon as I got home.

After a mysterious plague strikes Boston, its fallout area becomes known as Deadtown. Deadtown residents are controlled by the state of Massachusetts — they have few rights and must carry identifying papers when they move about the various zones. Paranormals are segregated, creating a racially tense atmosphere that underlies the whole story.

Deadtown’s lead character is a deceptively dynamic female shapeshifter named Victory Vaughn (Vicky). Through her welsh ancestry and hard work, Vicky became a demon hunter for hire. She gets wrapped up in a series of events that has Boston’s human and non-human communities in danger. Lots of action, political intrigue, and sleuthing are required from Vicky in order to try to save the city and its people.

There is a wide cast of supporting characters in Deadtown, and they range from typical to downright awesome. Holzner’s take on demons is a fun mix of literal interpretations of abstract concepts and actual demons you’d find in typical fantasy. For example, Hellions are demons who feed off violence and destruction and can be summoned and bound by sorcerers in the typical fantasy fashion. But then there are the Eidolons — demons that manifest from an individual’s feelings of guilt. They are self-created, but not any less real than the Hellions are. It’s a cool way of imagining demons. The zombies in Deadtown are also great; Vicky’s zombie sidekick/trainee, Tina, chews gum, wears midriff-baring t-shirts, and possesses an inhuman amount of strength. Holzner regularly takes a known urban fantasy device and twists it in her unique way. Vampires, werewolves, and witches are all spun creatively. I look forward to seeing what kind of characters Ms. Holzner brings into a sequel......read the rest of my review on FantasyLiterature.com

Book Review: The Morganville Vampires (omnibus edition of Glass Houses and The Dead Girl’s Dance)

2009-12-31T10:19:00.000-08:00

I pretty much avoid sparkly vampire stories. I’ve never read Twilight, and have not seen the movies. I am only vaguely familiar with Anne Rice’s stuff. I have been “self-sheltered” from vampire fantasy fiction. But when I saw that Penguin Books was re-releasing Rachel Caine’s The Morganville Vampires in omnibus editions, I asked for a copy of the first one (Glass Houses and The Dead Girl’s Dance). I wanted to get a feel for this whole area of fantasy about which I was mostly clueless.

Glass Houses and The Dead Girl’s Dance were both written from the perspective of 16-(almost 17!)-year-old Claire Danvers, an exceptionally smart girl who got into college early. She wants to go to Yale or MIT, but before her parents will allow her to live on the other side of the country, they are making her do a two-year term at a close college in Morganville, Texas. This proves to be a rather unwise decision on the part of her parents, as Morganville happens to have a lot of vampires. Our little Claire ends up in the thick of them rather quickly.

In Glass Houses, Claire is getting harassed and beaten by other girls in her dorm, so she takes refuge in an off-campus house with three roommates. Claire and her roommates become the four central characters of the story as they try to unravel the bloody secrets of Morganville while trying not to piss off the local vampires. Glass Houses ends and The Dead Girl’s Dance begins in the middle of the same knife swing. In The Dead Girl’s Dance, the four girls get deeper into the vampire doodoo, and it’s fun to speculate about how they are going to get out of it without nuking the entire town.

The Morganville Vampires books are definitely intended for teenage girls. I suffered through several detailed descriptions of hunky dudes with windblown hair, various shoe selections, and lots of kissy-face action. But I knew what I was getting into and, to be honest, none of the girly stuff was overdone. I felt that Rachael Caine wrote the extremely smart 16-year-old perspective rather well.

I have only a few real complaints, mostly with the first book: In Glass Houses all of the characters except for Claire felt a bit shallow and the plot felt rushed. It’s almost as if Ms. Caine needed to get this opening book out of the way in order to get into the more juicy bits of her story. In The Dead Girl’s Dance several characters go through changes that bring them more depth and the plot is more complicated and feels more cohesive. I wondered whether these two books were originally written together, because it certainly felt that way.

I enjoyed The Morganville Vampires books, even though I’m way outside the intended demographic. I think it’s safe to recommend them to any fantasy fan that needs a break from their usual fare. I can definitely recommend them to our teenage readers. I would advise parents to read to them first, though, especially if your young one is under 15 or 16. There is some suggestive content, but all of it falls within a PG rating.

There are seven Morganville Vampires books out now, with #8 (Kiss of Death) on the way. I hope Penguin plans on publishing the rest in the 2-for-1 package, for it makes it a worthy purchase.
—J.B.

See this review and others at www.fantasyliterature.com

Book Review: Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

2009-12-29T13:07:00.000-08:00

Joe Abercrombie is a master of his trade, and his trade is dark fantasy. He is becoming the standard bearer for gritty realistic fantasy, and Best Served Cold might well be the masterpiece that represents that sub-genre. Monza Murcatto is a renowned and very successful mercenary, or was…till she was stabbed, beaten and thrown from a mountain side by her employer. Best Served Cold tells the tale of Monza and her quest for revenge. Monza contracts a party of unsavory characters to aid her in her revenge quest. The story goes from dark to black to “a wet match in the bottom of a dark cave”. Everyone suffers, lots of people die, the trail of blood and tragedy that Monza leaves in her wake is unprecedented. Abercrombie takes what appears to be a simple tale of revenge and twists it into a sanguine journey of self discovery on the part of each character. No other author I’ve found works so hard to create likeable characters out of such nasty individuals

The book is exceedingly well written, so much so that I have really no other option but to give this book 5 stars. It really is an amazing work. Reading his work is always bitter sweet for me. I know I’m going to get an amazing story, with unique characters told in a way that only Abercrombie is able to pull off. All the wonderful writing comes with a price for the reader. The price is that it changes you a little, it’s altered my perception of what fantasy can be. Before reading Abercrombie I was blissfully unaware of how truly brutal and tragic fantasy as a medium can be. Sure there is George R.R. Martin and his love of killing off main characters, but these books are different. In Martin’s work I never had any doubt that I was observing the story from the outside. With Abercrombie he makes it a point to bring you there. I feel the character’s spirit break in the hands of the torturer. I know the person that was on page 112 is now someone else on page 113, and it makes me sad. There is no redemption, no “making it up” later…they’ve simply changed. It’s a very real and unsettling thing to experience as a reader, and it’s a feeling that’s not commonly found in fantasy. The heart of Best Served Cold is how Abercrombie strips our “heroes” down to their core and reveals with in them who they truly are.

I have a love hate relationship with Abercrombie’s books. I will most certainly continue to read them, they are just too incredible not to. I will be sure to keep something exceedingly happy to read right afterwards. Best Served Cold is technically a stand alone novel, but I would highly recommend reading The First Law Trilogy prior to this since I get the feeling of an overall “Big Picture” taking place in this world. Read this book if you are ready to have your thoughts on fantasy challenged. Do not read this book if you like your fantasy to be a pleasant escape from the harsh realities of life. -JB

See this review and others at www.fantasyliterature.com

Google Wave invites

2009-12-11T05:54:00.000-08:00

I think just about everyone that wants one has one, but if you don't and would like one. All you need to do is follow my blog and comment on this post and I'll send you an invite. I have 15 left...so it's first come first serve. I'll need an e-mail address to send the invite to. You can choose to post it in the comments (e-mail at whatever.com) or drop me a line a at geeksonfireblog at gmail.com with the name you used in your post and "wave invite" in the subject line and I'll send it straight away.