Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review

Cover Unveiled for Dangerous Women edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardiner Dozois

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:51:00 +0000

Above is the cover for what to me is the most anticipated super-anthology of the year, Dangerous Women. I've already mentioned all the contributors, but seeing many of them listed there does give me goosebumps. Especially knowing how many of these will connect to the novel worlds of many of the writers. While I do like the general look, it looks a bit just too that--general, but then again so was Warrirors which this is a companion volume to. Maybe Tor was concerned with ending up with a chain mail bikini girl so they went safe. Still I would have thought this would have been a good opportunity to show a strong, dangerous woman on a Fantasy cover with out the awkward poses or unrealistic accouterments. Dangerous Women will be out in early December. Get your Christmas lists ready.

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New Procurements

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:41:00 +0000

Lot of good books have made it into the house. So many that I had to donate 4 bags of books to my local library this weekend. I'm sadly at the point where I have to make tough decisions every month about what books to keep, both old and new just to keep up with the flow. It is in a way a nice problem to have since when I was young I barely had any books to call my own that weren't school related. I was a library hound for many years so it is wonderful to have an amazing selection at hand. Anyway on with the new. Rather than discuss each book I'm just going to point out the ones I'm likely to read sooner than later. Also, if it is pictured here, but not mentioned don't take that as me not being interested. I want to read them I just know it won't be any time soon. Books I receive that I'm not very interested in go in the donation pile and don't get pictured.

The first 8 above are buys starting with the much lauded The Dog Stars by Peter Heller followed by the Demon Cycle mini-collection The Great Bazaar and Brayan's Gold by Peter V. Brett. The Brett collection is a UK only release, but the stories are available as eBooks readily in the US. Starslip Crisis Vol 1. I picked up signed by Kris Straub at PAX East this year. While at the comic shop I nabbed Manhattan Projects Vol 2. and Elric: The Balance Lost Vol 3. You is the sophomore novel from Austin Grossman, which is his love letter to video games and the people who make them.

The above are all review copies. Carniepunk started as a joke online that quickly tumbled into a full-blown theme anthology anchored by Urban Fantasy stars Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rachel Caine. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson is one I've been looking forward to for a couple years now and is his YA debut. Two Serpents Rise is Max Gladstone's sequel to Three Parts Dead, which was one of my favorite debuts last year. Red Planet Blues is Robert J. Sawyer's detective noir on Mars. Max Barry's Lexicon will be read quite soon as well Zachary Jernigan's debut No Return. The Thousand Names by Django Wexler's debut and another read soon, but not officially out until June. I wasn't aware of Jeff Noon before I received these UK review copies, but his books sound too bonkers to pass by. Ari Marmell is the first to take on the Iron Kingdoms setting in novel form with In Thunder Forged. Iron Kingdoms is an RPG setting I've been interested in for a while as it combines magic and machines and epic battles. That's a recipe for fun.

I just finished reading The Great Bazaar by Peter Brett which was a nice treat and I'm now making my way through Iain M. Banks' Consider Phlebas, which is my firs Culture novel. So far it is slower and more brutal than I thought it would be, but it contains one of the best Prologue's in Space Opera I've ever read.

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INTERVIEW | Peter Higgins author of Wolfhound Century

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:30:00 +0000

Every once in a great while a new author bursts on to the scene that is so different from everything else being published I have to sit up and notice and shout a bit about it. This year that author is Peter Higgins with his debut Wolfhound Century. It is a strange novel to be sure, but that is its greatest strength. Think China Mieville with more of a Slavic Folklore bent, but with the speed of a LeCarre novel. If that sounds like a heady mix it is yet a good one and making it feel startlingly original. Higgins has published short fiction in such places as Asimov's Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine, but his novel was my first exposure to his work. It certainly won't be the last.

**********

MH: Wolfhound Century is a dark, fast paced visage of a Russia that never was. But it is so much more than that. What is your barroom description of Wolfhound Century?

HIGGINS: If I’d just arrived in the bar, I’d say that Wolfhound Century is an SF-fantasy-thriller set in an immense totalitarian state, the kind that spies on and murders its own citizens, but it's also a world of giants and golems and sentient rain, with an alien presence deep in the endless forest. There are elements of Russian and central/northern European history, art and literature lurking beneath the surface, if you want to look for them.

If I’d been in the bar for a while, I’d say it was inspired by books like Gorky Park, but written by someone who’d read a lot of Gene Wolfe and John Crowley and the folklore of the endless Slavic forests, and had grown up in the Cold War, with a life-long attachment to the dark, extraordinary history of Soviet Russia. Someone who’d read Nabokov’s memoirs and random pages from the 1914 edition of Baedeker’s Russia. I might add that one of the root ideas is that painters like Chagall and Malevich weren’t painting abstract or fantastical parables, they were simply recording what they saw.

And if I was still there at closing time, I’d be talking about the archetypal 20th century struggle between, on the one hand, the totalitarian idea of the individual as an atom of the state, subjected and reduced by the overwhelming forces of history, party and state, and on the other hand, the conception of each and every human being as a huge and partly unconscious world of emotion, perception, imaginative potential and creative imagination. Then I’d have to get my coat and go home.

MH: What came first? The world, the angels, or Vissarion?

HIGGINS: The world came first, definitely, or rather, two worlds: a northern and central European world of slow rivers, birch forests, wintry Baltic shores, and that 20th century world of revolution and war, marching crowds and gulags and state police, writers and artists and composers and dissident intellectuals.

But it was when the detective, Vissarion Lom, came on the scene that the story really began to come together. A door opening. I saw that the book could be – needed to be – a thriller. And Lom, the decent policeman who realizes he’s working for an indecent regime, would have to confront the cruel realities of that regime. He meets a woman who works in a factory and wants to change the world, he’s opened up (quite literally), and he begins to explore the wilder, stranger extremes of his world. There’s potentially more in Lom’s future than being a detective. In some ways he’s like Severian, the wandering exile from the torturer’s guild in Gene Wolfe’s Book of the Long Sun. (The near-anagrammatical relationship between Severian and Vissarion isn’t accidental.)

The ‘angels’ are immense beings that fall out of the sky, dying or already dead, and their mined, abraded torsos litter the continent. The regime appropriates them as a justification for its mythology of itself: in a sense, it’s a parallel with the way totalitarian dictators claim to embody wider, universal forces, the inevitability of history. When one angel survives the fall and starts to reach out, to speak, to influence, some people want to listen. They want to subject themselves to the greater, more certain power. And the really dangerous ones think they might be able to use it …

MH: One of the themes I was struck by was the land fighting back for its very survival and you've given them avatars of a sort with the palubas. Which gives it a very Robert Holdstock vibe.

HIGGINS: I’m glad you mentioned Robert Holdstock! I’m a huge fan of Mythago Wood, and even more of the sequels like Lavyondyss and The Hollowing, where the things in the wood get wilder and more extreme. It’s astonishingly vivid and free and unconstrained writing. I find Holdstock’s imagination massively inspiring. The idea in Wolfhound Century that the world – not just the forest but the rain, the air, the mud, the rivers – are watchful, active and potentially dangerous, owes a huge amount to him.

So the forest in Wolfhound Century – its endlessness, the avatars that come out of it – is proudly Holdstock-ish. But Holdstock’s wood is very English: superficially, on the outside, it’s small, only a couple of miles across, and in a specific, almost-mappable English location. Only when you go in and get lost there do you learn how immense it is on the inside. It draws you in, dilates time. And nothing escapes from it: the mythagos that cross its borders soon fade. The forest in Wolfhound Century, on the other hand (like the forests of Russia and central Europe) really is huge. It dominates the psychic terrain. The regime tries to close the forest off and blind the people to it, but their cities are full of forest things. Forest presences. Forest influence. Several of the principal characters themselves have forest roots, which they grow more aware of and try to understand. And the forest asserts itself: it reaches out and participates. As you say, it fights back. Fangorn and the ents are in there somewhere.

That idea, that everything is alive, has other roots too. It’s central to shamanism, for example. It runs deep in the Russian, Nordic and central European forests and Siberia, and comes through in the folklore from there. That world view was still influential in 20th century Russia, and not just as a primitive relic. There’s a fantastic quote from Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the Cosmist who drove early Soviet thinking about the human colonisation of space and transhumanism:
‘There is no substance which cannot take the form of a living being. The simplest being is the atom. Therefore the whole universe is alive and there is nothing in it but life.’

This concept – panpsychism, sentient matter – shaped my thinking about the Wolfhound Century forest, and also about the angels: where they come from, what they’re made of, how they do what they do. And what unfettered or assisted human perception can tap into.

MH: With Wolfhound Century you've subverted Stalinist Russia as well as Slavic mythology, but this is clearly not the Russia we know. Possibly a deep past alternative history, but this world appears very much separated for ours. Are you worried that people will feel you've appropriated a culture? Have you had any feedback from Russian natives?

HIGGINS: No, I really don't feel like I've appropriated another culture.

As you say, in Wolfhound Century I’ve drawn on Russian history and culture. I haven’t taken them straight, I’ve re-imagined them and mixed them up with other things that aren't Russian. I’ve felt a responsibility to my sources and I’ve tried to write as well as I can. I'm very much aware that the history which my book stands sideways to was real – millions died and millions more had their lives ruined – and I've tried to let that awareness show through in Wolfhound Century. How far I've succeeded, whether I've always got it right, that's something for readers to make their own minds up about. It's not for me to say. But I’ve never worried that this book, the way I've written it, was trespassing across some kind of frontier into another culture's territory, and personally I don’t think the artists whose work I’ve drawn on – including writers like Mandelstam, Akhmatova, Pasternak and Nabokov, and painters like Chagall – would recognize that idea of their cultural separateness – those barriers of difference – either.

If I can give you one example of what I mean, Mandelstam was Russian but he wrote about Charles Dickens, Beethoven, Rome, the ancient Scottish poet Ossian, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and Notre Dame in Paris. He saw continuity between ancient Greece and Russia: he said they met on the shores of the Black Sea. And he specifically denied the relevance of personal background to his work: of himself he wrote, 'it is enough to speak of the books he has read, and his biography is done'.

Other writers and artists I've drawn on maybe wouldn't use such stark terms as Mandelstam, but they all have the same deep involvement with a culture that goes way beyond Russia. They're part of a shared, complex, three-thousand-year old, wide-ranging, multi-linguistic, allusive tradition. It's one culture, modernist and frontierless, that may take account of local and national differences and inheritances but isn’t limited by them. And the precarious existence of that culture in a totalitarian state is part of the story Wolfhound Century is trying to tell, and it’s part of its way of trying to tell it.

I’m sitting at home at the moment, about 1300 miles from St Petersburg. The idea that, somewhere between here and there, there might exist a line of separation, a cultural and historical boundary drawn across Europe, doesn't feel right. That’s one of the reasons the Cold War was so cruel and why we celebrated when the wall came down. But even when the Cold War was at its height, we read books and listened to music and watched films from the territories of the Eastern Bloc.

I don’t know if maybe someone 1300 miles away from me in St Petersburg is writing an SF fantasy about a weird version of London during World War II, with a Prime Minister who’s a bit like Churchill and with writing that draws on Dickens or Virginia Woolf or Dylan Thomas. But I hope someone is. That would be awesome. And it would be fantastic if Wolfhound Century finds Russian readers. I'd love to know what they make of it. Of course, they’ll see that it’s not written in the same way that someone who lives in Russia would have written it. The imagined elements in it are my response to, my engagement with, Russia and what happened there, but it’s written from my perspective and it couldn’t be anything else.

MH: Do you have a favorite Russian folk tale? And if so did you integrate it into the Wolfhound Century in some form?

HIGGINS: Well, there’s a fantastic tradition of Russian folk tales. Sadko. Prince Ivan. Baba Yaga. The Fire Bird. The Snow Maiden. They’re part of the background to Wolfhound Century, certainly, they’re in the air: but in terms of integration into the story, they’re not really primary sources, as far as I’m consciously aware.

More specific sources were Siberian shamanism and the Slavic folklore of the wild forest. The palubas that come out of the forest and the wind-walker in the White Marshes are based on Slavic conceptions of wood spirits. I found a lot of material for the forest in a collection from 1918: The Mythology of All the Races, edited by Louis H Gray, particularly the Slavic and Finno-Ugric volumes. And the Pollandore and the mythology that surrounds its creation owe a fair amount to the story of the Sampo and other parts of the Kalevala from Finland.

MH: Wolfhound Century ended a bit abruptly. What made that a good breaking place and what can we look forward to with the sequel Truth and Fear?

HIGGINS: I thought you might ask me about the ending! There is a longer story arc and I wanted to leave Wolfhound Century with a sense of doors opening rather than closing, and - for the characters - a return to battle with a greater sense of who the enemies are and what's at stake. Not an ending, but a moment to take breath. Like Gene Wolfe, "Here I pause, having carried you, reader, from gate to gate......"
Truth and Fear, which is coming out early in 2014, widens the story out. I'm not going to say too much, but you'll see a lot more of the bad guys and what they're up to, and more about some of the things that were off-stage rumblings in Wolfhound Century, as well as other quarters of the city of Mirgorod and some new places on the continent.

And some new characters. And some big surprises. And a finish that'll knock your socks off and leave you wanting more ...

MH: What is the greatest advice you've even been given as a writer?

HIGGINS: "If someone tells you you’re doing too much of something in your work, then do it more, because that's your true voice."
A friend who's an artist told me that.

MH: Now on to the important issues. What is your favorite hat?

HIGGINS: For winter, a pull-on woolen cap: the acme is a Kangol Squad with a cuff. For rain and sun, a crushable bush hat in buffalo hide, easy to shove into a backpack. And for all seasons and all purposes except looking natty, there was my white canvas Tilley “Endurable” T3 Traditional, in many ways the finest of them all, which alas I seem to have lost.

MH: Sorry about the hatloss. Always remember a lost hat is never forgotten. I feel your pain having lost one of my old standbys last year. I also have a different hat for each season. Well, multiple hats for each season. Another important, life directing question: Scotch or beer?

HIGGINS: If I've just tramped twenty miles across Scottish moorland through mist and rain, then Scotch, but otherwise definitely beer.

MH: What books are you reading at the moment?

HIGGINS: Not for the first time, I'm making a determined attempt on the lower slopes of Gravity's Rainbow.

MH: That's a heavy one. I appreciate all your time. Is there anything you'd like to say to close us out?

HIGGINS: Just to say, thanks for inviting me to do this. It's been a lot of fun. I'll be lurking somewhere at World Fantasy Con 2013 in October if anyone wants to say hello.

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NEWS | Dangerous Women edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois gets a release date

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:26:00 +0000

News broke about George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois' next big anthology quite sometime ago, but a release date hadn't been set until just now. Dangerous Women will be released December of 2013, which should be just in time for Christmas. And what's better than original stories by Joe Abercrombie, Lev Grossman, and Brandon Sanderson to close out the the year? Well, only if we got a new Martin A Song of Ice and Fire story, which we do. It will cover the Targaryen civil war which has been mentioned a lot in the novels and Dunk & Egg stories, but little detail has been revealed. But don't confuse this with the Dunk & Egg stories as it takes place well before Egg was born. Here's part of Martin's announcement from a few months back that goes into more detail on some of the stories:

The Abercrombie is set against his RED COUNTRY backdrop, the Holland gives us Eleanor of Aquitaine, Jim Butcher returns us to Harry Dresden’s world, Lev Grossman contributes a tale of life at Brakebills, Steve Stirling revisits his Emberverse, Diana Gabaldon’s story features Jamie Fraser of OUTLANDER fame, the Spector is a Wild Cards story featuring Hoodoo Mama and the Amazing Bubbles, and mine own contribution… well, it’s some of that fake history I have been writing lo these many months, the true (mostly) story of the origins of the Dance of the Dragons. The stand-alone stories, not part of any series, feature some amazing work as well. For those who like to lose themselves in long stories, the Brandon Sanderson story, the Diana Gabaldon story, the Caroline Spector story, and my “Princess and Queen” are novellas. Huge mothers.

Here’s the table of contents…

“Some Desperado” by Joe Abercrombie
“My Heart Is Either Broken” by Megan Abbott
“Nora’s Song” by Cecelia Holland
“The Hands That Are Not There” by Melinda Snodgrass
“Bombshells” by Jim Butcher
“Raisa Stepanova” by Carrie Vaughn
“Wrestling Jesus” by Joe R. Lansdale
“Neighbors” by Megan Lindholm
“I Know How To Pick ‘em” by Lawrence Block
“Shadows For Silence In The Forests Of Hell” by Brandon Sanderson
“A Queen In Exile” by Sharon Kay Penman
“The Girl In The Mirror” by Lev Grossman
“Second Arabesque, Very Slowly” by Nancy Kress
“City Lazarus” by Diana Rowland
“Virgins” by Diana Gabaldon
“Hell Hath No Fury” by Sherilynn Kenyon
“Pronouncing Doom” by S.M. Stirling
“Name The Beast” by Sam Sykes
“Caretakers” by Pat Cadigan
“Lies My Mother Told Me” by Caroline Spector
“The Princess And The Queen” by George R.R. Martin

December can't get here soon enough.

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GUEST POST | Industrialization in Epic Fantasy by Brian McClellan

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:12:00 +0000

The Industrial Revolution was a time of great change in our history. There were immense technological breakthroughs as well as wave after wave of political and social reform. The class system was breaking down and kings were being pulled from their thrones. Unprecedented economic growth swept across large parts of the world.

This most important of times in human history is often either maligned or ignored by epic fantasy.

The precedent for this seems to have been set by Tolkien. In his Lord of the Rings series, industrialization and technological advancement only seems to happen among the orcs. This is portrayed very well in the film where we can see great clouds of toxic pollution hanging over Mordor, and in Sarumon's lands he tears down the ancient forests to fuel and make room for belching factories to arm his Uruk-hai.

Tolkien focuses on the negative aspects of the industrialization, and why wouldn't he? During the Industrial Revolution people were crammed into dirty, overpopulated cities. Streets overflowed with trash and raw sewage. Rivers became toxic with the filthy runoff. Mining and logging on a large scale destroyed the countryside. All of this industrialization created a world in which it was possible to equip armies for world wars—a fact that Tolkien saw first hand.

There are plenty of others who focus on the disadvantages of technological progress in their epic fantasy. The starkest of these are post-apocalyptic epic fantasy; these are fantasy worlds that take place on a future Earth after nuclear war. Mark Lawrence's Broken Empire trilogy is one example, while Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman's Death Gate Cycle is another. In these worlds we see the ultimate endgame of industrialization—near annihilation.

In Promise of Blood, I wanted to treat the Industrial Revolution differently. Not as the means of evil, as Tolkien did, or advancement toward a nuclear holocaust, but as the simple wheels of progress. There is no inherent evil in industrialization—only what man decides to do with the results.

So I asked the question. "What place does magic have in an industrializing world?" The answer I found: a big one.

In my novels, the old school of magic—the Privileged with their elemental sorcery—are deeply entrenched in the nobility of the world. Along with the nobility they oppose this new rising middle class of capitalists and the factories and unions that come with them. At the same time they don't mind getting rich off the backs of the working man, or the canal being built over the mountains that will enable the import of more luxury goods.

The new powder mages, with their sorcery based on gunpowder, embrace industrialization. How better to produce more gunpowder and flintlocks? Factories help the Adran army become the best equipped among all the Nine Nations. The greater population density of the cities make it easier to find and recruit more powder mages.

Then there's the Knacked and their talents. The sorcery of the commoners is turned to whatever use they can find for it. Inspector Adamat uses his perfect memory to aid in his investigations. Olem becomes Field Marshal Tamas' bodyguard because he doesn't need sleep. The commoners adapt. They use their magic to better themselves in an increasingly complicated world.

There are some that might argue that industrialization takes the "epic" out of "epic fantasy." They might say that writing in this time period goes against the whole spirit of the genre. I don't agree. I think there are magic and heroes, good and evil, adventure and intrigue to be found in an industrial world and that the Industrial Revolution opens up a whole new set of possibilities for epic fantasy. Magic does not fade with technological advancement. It adapts along with the people that use it.

*****
Brian McClellan lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, two dogs, a cat, and between 6,000 and 60,000 honey bees (depending on the time of year). He began writing on Wheel of Time role playing websites at fifteen. Encouraged toward writing by his parents, he started working on short stories and novellas in his late teens. He went on to major in English with an emphasis on creative writing at Brigham Young University. It was here he met Brandon Sanderson, who encouraged Brian’s feeble attempts at plotting and characters more than he should have. Brian continued to study writing not just as an art but as a business and was determined this would be his life-long career. He attended Orson Scott Card’s Literary Bootcamp in 2006. In 2008, he received honorable mention in the Writers of the Future Contest. In November 2011, PROMISE OF BLOOD and two sequels sold at auction to Orbit Books. It is due out in April of 2013. More info can be found on his website or on twitter.

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Meet Tor.com's Newest Contributor: ME!

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:29:00 +0000

This is something I've been keeping under my hat for over a month. I'll be running The Way of Kings Reread for Tor.com! It is a gargantuan task that I hope I'm up to. This is one of the secret projects I've mentioned before. The intro post is up and my first chapter post should be going up on the 28th with a new one to follow every Thursday. So join me in the discussion as we try to make sense of Roshar and by extension the mind of Brandon Sanderson. It should be a hoot and a half.

Also, Tor is running a special on the eBook of The Way of Kings for $2.99 as well as a contest for print copies.

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Mad Hatter's Reading Log - August to December

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:25:00 +0000

I'm posting this just in the interest of keeping my reading log up-to-date, but as this goes down my commentary gets shorter.

August

66. Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff - After a very boring first 100 pages of mostly walking around and explaining the world things finally took a turn for the better in this Steampunk quasi-Japanese influenced tale of a young girl facing off an entire nation with a griffin. Don't let the griffin part throw you off, he's much cooler than you'd think. Think Saphira only with more rage. What Stromdancer does well it excels at (fight sequences, window dressings such as the chainsaw katanas) and what it doesn't do well really shows (such as the use of the Japanese language at odd points and mutilated mythology). Granted this isn't trying to be a true to form Japanese Fantasy like Lian Hearn's work. Even amid all the problems I enjoyed Kristoff's opening salvo in the Lotus War trilogy. Fans of classic Fantasy who are looking for a bit of Steampunk accents thrown in would enjoy this, but don't expect something deeper.
67. "Devil in the Dollhouse" by Richard Kadrey - The first Sandman Slim short story takes us to what is considered the backwater of Hell. The ending felt off since it negates everything that happens, but damn if that wasn't a fun ride.
68. "Box of Devotion" by Anthony Huso - If you've been on the fence about trying Huso's The Last Page and it's sequel Black Bottle then please check out this short which shows off his considerable writing skills in a compact form. Yes, it is a side story from Black Bottle, but you needn't have read it to enjoy it on more than one level. Recommended.
69. Devil Said Bang by Richard Kadrey - I stand amazed that Kadrey has been keeping this series at such high level with blistering action and one of the best anti-heroes of the last decade. He is still holding out on us on the Aelita confrontation though.
70. Irredeemable vol 8 & 9 by Mark Waid - It is over and got a bit convoluted towards the end to the point I wish I stopped a bit sooner. But I needed closure. Sigh.
71. The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett - A couple years back I read Bennett's Mr. Shivers and found it to be more than decent, but not my cup of tea. The Troupe on the other hand feels like one of those book tailored to my taste. Believable yet odd setting: check. Endearing yet aloof characters: check. Genuinely original mythology: BIG CHECK. For me this came off as a period American Gods only it was even more epic towards the end. Vaudeville, evil monsters, dark family secrets. Just bliss. Highly recommended. This is also my book of the year.
72. The Twelve by Justin Cronin - Even though it didn't live up to the promise set forth in The Passage Cronin's characters are some of most magnetic and well-drawn people. Things escalate, however slowly and in more telegraphed ways. Recommended, especially if you devoured the first.
73. The Maze Runner by James Dasher - Decent YA Dystopian, but I finished without a urge to continue with the series as the ending was completely opaque to me. Anyone have an opinion on whether I should continue on to The Scorch Trials?
74. The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison - This bittersweet story centers on a man who has lost everything and has given up searching for a new life. Driven by the need to pay his bills he turns to becoming a caregiver to a young man with muscular dystrophy. At times heart wrenching and other times laugh-out-loud. Recommended
75. Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - Secrets codes in books, a book cult, and genius use of tech that is on our doorsteps made this a very fun read with an ending that lost the push the rest of the novel had.Highly recommended.
76. Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines - This is the sequel to the Zombie/Superhero mash-up Ex-Heroes. It wasn't as strong as the first book, but still a good time. Recommended. I'll be checking out the third book when it is released.
77. Trapped by Kevin Hearne - The fifth in the Iron Druid series. I'm more than a little bit smitten with Atticus and Granuaile. So if you've been on the sidelines with the series try the first out as the whole series has been on an even level. Highly recommend.

September

78. The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks - Even better than The Black Prism and the series veers away from a more predictable path. Highly recommended for Epic Fantasy fans.
79. Two Ravens and One Crow by Kevin Hearne - The author refers to this novella as Iron Druid 4.5. Recommended.
80. The Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams - This goes in the unexpected book of the year category. Who knew Williams detailed Fantasy skills would translate so well to an Detective Noir Urban Fantasy? Really well done and I can't wait for the next volume.
81. The Boolean Gate by Walter Jon Williams - This is almost a brief history lesson about Sam Clemens and Nikola Tesla with great touches of New York City history. Is Telsa a mad man not working under his own power? Will Sam get his thousand island dressing? You have to read to find out.
82. The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers - Taken as part of the whole of the Zamonia novels this is the only tedious volume to date. I'm hopeful it gets better because this is the first part in a duology that the next volume something actually happens.

October

83. The Kingmakers by Clay & Susan Griffith - The third and final volume of the Vampire Empire closes out things very strongly. Series highly recommended. It feels pulpy yet modern with a tinge of romance.
84. Savage Worlds: Explorers Edition - Gaming is afoot! This is a new RPG system for me so I've been studying up.
85. John Dies at the End by David Wong - Like the Evil Dead bucket loads? Then you'll love this. I also bought the sequel before I finished this, which should say a bit all on its own. Very twisted, funny Horror. Highly recommended.
86. The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson - Recommended and also a good introduction to Sanderson's writing with an Asiatic bent.
87. Sundiver by David Brin - A classic with loads of good ideas. Recommended and I hope to continue with the series in 2013.
88. Rapture by Kameron Hurley - Simply bad-ass. I love this series and this volume gives us plenty of closure. Highly recommended.

November

89. Red Country by Joe Abercrombie - An all-star cast from the world of the First Law is a fan's delight. It is not nearly as strong as Best Served Cold, but still one of the strongest Fantasy releases of 2012.
90. The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi - If you thought The Quantum Thief was a bit of a mindfuck then you haven't seen anything yet. All though very confusing at times I fell hard for what Rajaniemi is doing to Science Fiction. Recommended.
91. The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde - Fforde has brought the series back to form after the last volume left me disappointed. It also seems the series is coming to a close, which is probably the way to go.
92. Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck - A gorgeous collection. The best of the year and perhaps the best of the last 10 years. Dark, strange, beguiling. Buy it.
93. Cold Days by Jim Butcher - See short review here.
94. Santiago by Mike Resnick - A bit too slow for my liking given I went in with high expectations as it is supposed to be a forebearer to Firefly. The Western/outlaw in space feel is definitely there though. Recommended with reservations.
95. Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach - A very well told story, but the characters felt too detached. Yet there is something about this story that has stayed with me. Recommended.
96. The Inexplicables by Cherie Priest - One of the most "fun" books in the Clockwork Century series this time with a more YA friendly tone and character POV. And again a revisit to Seattle and many characters from the past with big things lurking in the fog. A nice close off to the Seattle storyline overall, but I'm at the point where I want to see what else is going on in this world. Recommended.
97. Osama by Lavie Tidhar - I think Tidhar was channeling Philip K. Dick in this reality bending pulp fiction. A very impressive read that is sure to create controversy and discussion. Recommend.
98. The Siren Depths by Martha Wells - This the third book of the Raksura has cemented Wells' work as a staple on my shelves from now on. Highly recommended for those wanting an exciting and original Fantasy novel.

December

99. City of Hope and Shadow by Ian Whates - I enjoyed the first book in this trilogy so much (City of Dreams and Nightmares), but second and this, the last volume, never entirely took off further for me. I just kept wishing more more of that discovery magic that happened with the first.
100. Becalmed by Kristin Kathryn Rusch - The latest in the Diving Universe series is actually a prequel on how a certain ship became stuck. Recommended.
101. Star Wars: Scoundrels by Timoty Zahn -See review here.
102. Among Others by Jo Walton - A gorgeous novel about a troubled young girl's experience with books, making friends, and leaving the past behind with some magic thrown in. Highly recommended.
103. Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell - This was a reread as I wanted to get to the rest of the series. It is still a wonderfully big Sci-Fi adventure with a diverse cast. Cyborgs, gruesome aliens, and warring cultures. Good stuff. Highly recommended.
104. Mockingbird by Chuck Wendig - Our favorite foul-mouthed death-predicting vixen Miriam Black returns and this time she's going back to private school. Hilarity and death ensue. Highly recommended.
105. Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone - Apparently I saved one of the best debuts for last. I was at first put off by the premise of a magic system designed along the lines of the legal system, but this world is so different from common Fantasy I was left wanting for more. Highly recommended.

So that was a lot to cover at once. Hopefully my next update won't be so long in the tooth. It was a heck of year of reading. Check here for my year end best of in case you missed it.

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Cover Unveiled for The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:22:00 +0000

One of the debuts I've most been looking forward to this year is Brian McClellan's Promise of Blood. It is a meaty looking Fantasy with a society that is working its way towards the mechanical age. You see guns are worked in, but there is still magic in the world. And Gods walk the Earth. This falls firmly in the up-and-coming sub-genre Flintlock Fantasy, which has been starting to come out in the fiction of Abercrombie, Weeks, and Chris Evans, but this appears to be the first to go for it full throttle. Promise of Blood isn't even out until April, but we've already got a chance to see the cover for the sequel The Crimson Campaign, which won't be out until February next year.

Art by Michael Frost and Gene Mollica, Design by Lauren Panepinto

I'm not always into photo realistic images, but these covers more than work for me. They evoke a beautifully textured and detailed world that knows the dirty side to warfare. Bravo to Orbit for the attention to detail. Here's the blurb for Promise of Blood since we don't want to ruin things for the sequel this early. Now do we? No, I thought not.

It's a bloody business overthrowing a king...
Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces.

It's up to a few...
Stretched to his limit, Tamas is relying heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be his estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty is being tested by blackmail.

But when gods are involved...
Now, as attacks batter them from within and without, the credulous are whispering about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods waking to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing. But they should...

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Covers Unveiled for Lexicon by Max Barry

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:12:00 +0000

US Cover, Art by Will Staehle

I've been a fan of Max Barry's since his satirical Sci-Fi winner Jennifer Government, but it was Company that truly won me over with it hilarious views of corporate governance and organization. His last effort from 2011, Machine Man (reviewed here), was quite the twisted view on trans-humanism, but his latest Lexicon, goes after language itself. We've got two covers to gander at. They both do the job well enough, but the type treatment on the US is a bit stronger. The UK cover is clearly going after the style that was done on Jennifer Government. In either case I'm very interested with what going on in the inside. Whatever happens I expect a funny yet intelligent read.

UK Cover, Art by Ben Summers

Here's the blurb:

At an exclusive school somewhere outside of Arlington, Virginia, students aren’t taught history, geography, or mathematics—at least not in the usual ways. Instead, they are taught to persuade. Here the art of coercion has been raised to a science .Students harness the hidden power of language to manipulate the mind and learn to break down individuals by psychographic markers in order to take control of their thoughts. The very best will graduate as “poets”: adept wielders of language who belong to a nameless organization that is as influential as it is secretive.

Whip-smart orphan Emily Ruff is making a living running a three-card Monte game on the streets of San Francisco when she attracts the attention of the organization’s recruiters. She is flown across the country for the school’s strange and rigorous entrance exams, where, once admitted, she will be taught the fundamentals of persuasion by Brontë, Eliot, and Lowell—who have adopted the names of famous poets to conceal their true identities. For in the organization, nothing is more dangerous than revealing who you are: Poets must never expose their feelings lest they be manipulated. Emily becomes the school’s most talented prodigy until she makes a catastrophic mistake: She falls in love.

Meanwhile, a seemingly innocent man named Wil Jamieson is brutally ambushed by two strange men in an airport bathroom. Although he has no recollection of anything they claim he’s done, it turns out Wil is the key to a secret war between rival factions of poets and is quickly caught in their increasingly deadly crossfire. Pursued relentlessly by people with powers he can barely comprehend and protected by the very man who first attacked him, Wil discovers that everything he thought he knew about his past was fiction. In order to survive, must journey to the toxically decimated tow nof Broken Hill, Australia, to discover who he is and why an entire town was blown off the map.

As the two narratives converge, the shocking work of the poets is fully revealed, the body count rises, and the world crashes toward a Tower of Babel event which would leave all language meaningless. Max Barry’s most spellbinding and ambitious novel yet, Lexicon is a brilliant thriller that explores language, power, identity, and our capacity to love—whatever the cost.

Lexicon hits the shelves in June.

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New Procurements

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:54:00 +0000

It is new book time!

To start us off we have two purchases. American Elsewhere is Robert Jackson Bennett's just released novel, which seems to channel a bit of Bradbury and King in small town America. I can't wait to dive in. Next is the first volume of The Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra, a twisted history of the secret program filled with one messed up Oppenheimer, an off Einstein, sadistic Von Braun, and a very vain Feynman. All in all gorgeous art with a story that slants history towards the darker side. Bad Science indeed.

The rest of the stack are review copies including one of my most anticipated debuts Promise of Blood coming from Sanderson student Brian McClellan. It is a Flintlock Fantasy, which seems to be an up-and-coming area. Next is a reissue of the classic The Iron King by Maurice Druon that is being heavily pitched as the direct inspiration for A Game of Thrones including a foreword by GRRM. Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill has been receiving a lot of early praise comparing it to Neverwhere and The Magicians. I'll have to see if it lives up to that.

Reviver is Seth Patrick's debut where the protagonist can bring back the dead for a short time period. It reminds me a bit of Mike Carey's Felix Castor novels, which is a good thing in my book. A few Sub Press novellas showed up including one I preordered called The Gist by Michael Marshall Smith, which has had an interesting journey. The book is comprised of 3 versions of the story with the original in English, a French Translation, then an English translation of the French version. Best of all the story focuses on a mysterious book. Next is The Last Fullmeasure by Lost Fleet author Jack Campbell. I must confess at never having read Campbell before so I might give this a go. Last in the novellas is The Guiding Nose of Ulfant Banderoz by Dan Simmons, which I read a few years ago when it was released as part of the Vance tribute Songs of Dying Earth. Blood Pride is Evie Manieri's US debut that has gotten a decent reaction so far. Gillian Philip's Firebrand has been out for over a year in the UK to much acclaim. At the bottom of the stack is the sequel to Doctorow's Little Brother, Homeland. Maybe a double feature is in order since I haven't read the first book and it seems to be his most universally acclaimed.

So many books....

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INTERVIEW | Bradley P. Beaulieu on His New Series

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 02:08:00 +0000

Already Bradley P. Beaulieu has released the first two books of The Lays of of Anuskaya series in the last two years. The third and final book The Flames of Shadam Khoreh is expected later this year along with his first Kickstarter collection Lest Her Passage Be Forgotten. The collection will also feature at least new 2 stories related to Lays. Now he is branching off into a new world and he just became much busier.

MH: You just signed for a new trilogy with DAW. It seems like the series name is Song of the Shattered Sands. What is the new series about and do you have a working title for the first book?

BRADLEY: That's right! The working title of the first book is Twelve Kings in Sharakhai. It's a story set in a powerful desert city that controls the flow of trade and spice through otherwise impassable terrain.

The story is about Çeda, a woman who fights in the pits to scrape a living from the cruel but beautiful city she calls home. As the story opens, she discovers that the book her mother left her before she died holds the clues to the unraveling the mystery of her mother’s death, which was tangled up in the story of the Twelve Kings of Sharakhai, men who have ruled the desert with an iron fist for nearly two hundred years. As Çeda begins to unlock the secrets hidden within the poems in the book—as well as what her mother was trying to do before she died—the Kings learn of her, and they will stop at nothing to keep those secrets buried in the desert where they belong. And so the chase is on. Çeda must unlock the hidden riddles of her mother’s book before the Kings find her. She had better hope she does, for she is the last hope for the people of the desert.

Beaulieu's Kickstarter Collection

MH: What was the germ of the idea that started it? Is it related to any of your short work?

BRADLEY: I wrote a story called "From the Spices of Sanandira", which was published by Scott Andrews in his literary adventure fantasy zine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies. You can still read the story there for free. Because it was (ahem) a longish short story, it was split over Issue 70 and Issue 71.

Spices had the same feel as I was shooting for with the new series, but I needed to widen the scope a bit and deepen some of what was there. I truly hate treading the same ground, so I used that story only as inspiration, groundwork for the new series. (Anyone who reads it, though, will see a return of the desert sailing ships, which I liked too much to get rid of.)

I also wanted to pay homage to stories that affected me when I was younger, so while there aren't direct influences, the astute reader will see touches of A Thousand and One Nights, Thieves' World, and perhaps even a touch of Elric of Melniboné in this epic tale.

MH: When might we see the first book?

BRADLEY: We'll see. The schedule is still up in the air. The first book is about a third written, and I plan to turn that in late this year. I don't know when the first book might get slotted but I'm hoping for late 2014 or early 2015.

MH: Now DAW seems like the perfect publisher for you. You write BIG books and DAW is known for their larger books and also supporting their authors long term.

BRADLEY: I completely agree. There are publishers I would have been proud to be a part of, but I do feel like my style is particularly suited to DAW Books. Part of that comes from reading so many stories published by DAW when I was younger. I paid no attention at all to publishers back then, but my future editor, Betsy Wollheim, was bringing along wonderful talents like Tad Williams and Celia Friedman, who would shape the way I read and now, how I write.

MH: What did you do to celebrate?

BRADLEY: Ha! Again, we'll see. I had a nice lunch with my wife the day I heard, but I like to do these things right. I'm a bit of a foodie, so I'm probably going to hit a favorite food place in Milwaukee or Chicago one of these weekends. I'm a huge Rick Bayless fan, so Topolobampo might be in order. Sanford's and the Hinterland Gastropub in Milwaukee are also abnormally good restaurants. So probably one of those three.

*/****\*

Follow Beaulieu on twitter or at his blog for the latest news.

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REVIEW | The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett

REVIEW | The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 23:31:00 +0000

The Daylight War is the third book in the Demon Cycle series, which is planned at 5 books at this point. So it is very much a middle volume. Relationships are tested, alliances are made, and demons are killed. What more could you ask for? A book you stay up late for because you're lost in it perhaps? Well that's what Brett has given us.

As The Warded Man was Arlen's book and The Desert Spear was Jardir's the latest is Inevera's. While I do feel an important aspect of Brett's style is reveling in the back stories of his focus characters The Desert Spear felt too bloated on Jardir's part. The Daylight War gives Inevera the limelight this go around and it was much more balanced showing more of what other characters were up to. In fact, I wouldn't have minded a few more chapters on her past as some aspects of her personality were not addressed as much as I hoped. My liking of Inevera's part could be due to the fact it was more interspersed throughout the book rather than being dropped in larger chunks as Jardir's portion was.

Inevera's rise to Dama Ting is the mental game compared to the physical game Jardir rose to the top of. They are very much the two sides of the same coin. The female side of the Krasians society is explored in depth from the very bottom up. Brett's nod to his love of dice-throwing is finally showcased as we learn the secrets to Inevera's dice and how much they mean.

Killing demons seems very secondary to most of the book save a couple very large battles. It really comes down to whether Arlen or Jardir will lead humanity or somehow find a way to work together again.

Brett's characterization is at an all time high, giving each and every character nuance and depth. This is also the volume where I actually found myself liking Gared. Rojer begins to truly master his powers while also gaining companions of his own, which injects just the right amount of levity when needed. Renna goes to extremes to keep pace with Arlen while Leesha, having not decided on her options in time, is left with few alternatives. Renna's relationship with Arlen deepens in many unforeseen ways. She is keeping Arlen tethered to his humanity while she tempts losing her own. Yet even with all of this going on it was the trader Abban I kept waiting to hear from again. Abban comes alive showing his side of things. Or at least a partial view of his side as his grand plans are kept close to his chest. Mark my words he's up to big things.

The ending, while fulfilling some promises, did feel very rushed. It was a confrontation that seemed to warrant more page time given the amount spent on lesser entanglements.The abruptness may also throw off some fans, but at this point I trust that Brett can live up to what he has done so far.

The Daylight War keeps the quality to near the same level as previous volumes while turning up the pacing, but if you haven't dug what's happened so far than this isn't the series for you. If you like your Fantasy big, dramatic, and with characters you grow to love the Demon Cycle will be quite memorable. With The Daylight War, Brett reaffirms his high place in modern Epic Fantasy. I give The Daylight War 4 out of 5 hats. By the end it seems like the deliverer issue was put to bed so that the true war against the demons can begin. The wait for the fourth volume, The Skull Throne also begins...

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INTERVIEW | Myke Cole author of Fortress Frontier

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:20:00 +0000

Myke Cole is the author of the Military Fantasy series Shadow Ops, which started last year with Control Point followed by the just released Fortress Frontier. He’s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. I finished Fortress Frontier right after this interview and found it to be an even better read the the first in the series. Each book has brought something new to the table while giving a good view of life in the military, granted military with magic, but that just amps it up even more.

MH: Shadow Ops: Control Point introduced us to a world where magic has come alive again and people with abilities are conscripted into the military. Control Point is through the eyes of military lifer Oscar Britton, but Fortress Frontier moves the POV to someone else. Why the change?

MYKE COLE: All of my favorite fantasy writers, from Peter V. Brett to George R. R. Martin, deal with ensemble casts. I know plenty of writers have been incredibly successful following a single protagonist (Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Devon Monk, etc . . .), but that has never been the story arc that appeals most to me. It's the interplay between characters that we know really well that draws me in. I love the sense of in-depth world building that we get when an author fully fleshes out even the most ancillary characters. The serving boy has a story, so does the guy who pumps your gas. Steve Martin does an amazing job of this in his novella, Shopgirl. Joe Abercrombie is another writer who does this really well. The three books following his outstanding First Law trilogy are all in-depth examinations of 2nd string characters from First Law.

I have worked really hard to give the reader a very different experience with each Shadow Ops book. I understand that this risks those fans who like to follow a single protagonist, but it's just not how I write. I'm proud of the fact that Fortress Frontier and Control Point do very different things. You'll be following an entirely different protagonist for Breach Zone as well.

MH: One of the biggest confrontations Oscar faces in Control Point is revealing his powers to his parents. But one of this things that keeps coming back to mind is Oscar's dad goes through a portal where everyone supposedly dies, but we learn that is not necessarily true. So is there a chance his dad is not dead?

COLE: I'm not going to give spoilers. I will only repeat what you saw in the text: A gate opened, Stanley Britton went through. When the gate closed, he was still alive. Schroedinger's Cat, brother.

MH: Holding out on me, I see. This brings up an old discussion. I understand why authors don't like to give spoilers of their stories, but as a reader do you think there are such a thing as spoilers? This is something I go back and forth on a lot personally, while when I write my reviews I try not to include big reveals, but rarely would learning something "ruin" the story for me.

MYKE COLE: I'm with you. Learning what's going to happen in a story seldom cheapens the experience for me. That said, I recognize that there are people for whom so called "spoilers" really do ruin the experience. I always keep that in mind when talking about stories. It's like a wedding that way: you think it's about you, but it isn't.

MH: Your military experiences permeates Control Point. Did you always plan to go into the service? And were any of the characters based off officers you worked with?

MYKE COLE: If you'd come to me in college and told me I'd be a mercenary and eventually a uniformed officer, I would have laughed until milk came out of my nose. I was raised as a scrawny, nerdy aesthete, and only developed physically because working out was less shameful than sitting alone in the cafeteria during lunch. 9/11 spurred a reinvention for many Americans, myself among them. It created a perfect storm of opportunity: A passionate desire to DO SOMETHING, coupled by a glut of opportunities to do them. As the smoke from those planes cleared, the public was suddenly willing to let contractors do a lot of things they would never permit if they weren't frightened half to death. Once I was working for a private company in a war zone, I felt like my service was cheapened because it ultimately served a for-profit entity. That planted the seed that grew into my deciding to join up.

MH: I had a friend join up as well. I think that's something that ran though a lot of people's minds during that time.

You've an acknowledged Dungeons and Dragons player and last year helped DM and organize the Author D & D event at ConFusion. After watching that I couldn't help but wonder if you ever had a game going during your tours of Iraq.

MYKE COLE: I worked 18 hour days, 7 days a week, so that was definitely not happening for me. However, when I was at the US embassy, I did note with pride that there was an advertisement for a Warhammer 40K game right along side the yoga class flyer on the community bulletin board. Space Marines in Baghdad. Real life is *way* stranger than fiction.

MH: Grueling hours, man. But I'm glad gaming is still out there. Back to Fortress Frontier. What are the biggest differences between Oscar Britton and Alan Bookbinder? Both are military men, but one from the grunt side and the other bureaucratic.

MYKE COLE: Oscar Britton is a *lot* more conflicted than Alan Bookbinder. This is because Oscar never had a sense of being moored somewhere. He didn't get along with his family, never established a lasting romantic relationship, and . . . well, he's a black guy in rural Vermont. He always had a sense of being out-of-place. The army filled that role for him, it became the home he never felt he had. So, when he's suddenly faced with the choice between the army and his own identity, he is really, really, REALLY torn over it.

Alan is the opposite. His life was smooth sailing from jump. Stable, supportive childhood, wife and kids, great career. He is as grounded as they come.

And then there's one more critical factor: Oscar Britton is a Probe. Alan Bookbinder self reports and is embraced by the system. Bookbinder faces some hard choices, but they're not morally conflicted choices. His path is clear. It's just a matter of finding the will to get it done.

MH: Fortress Frontier is the second volume of Shadow Ops with Breach Zone being the third. How will that differ from the first two?

MYKE COLE: I'm very proud of having made each of the SHADOW OPS books very different from each other. Each book does something totally different (which also plays into my decision to vary protagonists for each book).

BREACH ZONE does two things that the first two books don't do. It is a tragic love story and an in-depth look at a single battle (a la Joe Abercrombie's THE HEROES). It also shifts focus to the political landscape in America following the upheaval resulting from . . . certain actions by the protagonists in books I and II. It has been the most difficult of the 3 books for me to write, and that's likely because it's the most ambitious. Here's hoping I pulled it off.

MH: You've also mentioned that you're writing a media tie-in novella. Is there anything you can say about that publicly?

MYKE COLE: Only that it won't be media tie-in. I have worked very hard with a few companies to find ideas that work with their franchises, but unfortunately, my writing just doesn't seem to be wired to fit those molds. In the one case where we were able to agree on an idea, the contract specifications were, frankly, unacceptable. I am certainly open to media tie-in work, but I'm not going to write something my heart isn't in just to make money.

MH: What is one your favorite D & D character names you've created?

MYKE COLE: When Pete (Peter V. Brett) and I played D&D in college, he got the Complete Book of Humanoids (2nd ed) and I rolled up a Wemic fighter. I a lot of . . . leonine stuff, I guess. Kicking down doors, killing people without talking to them and generally mucking up the campaign. Pete shook things up by killing me, then binding my soul into a statue. The resultant character had 18 in every stat, but was completely immune to all magic, including positive spells. Made for a fascinating game.

Oh, wait. You wanted to know his name. I don't remember.

MH: Do you have any celebration rituals when a new book is out?

MYKE COLE: I grab my agent and we hit every bookstore in the area, signing as many copies as we can find. I also try to chat up all the booksellers, even buying them a copy if they're willing to give it a read. A lot of the people working in bookstores are serious genre fans, and getting them interested in your work (or thinking you're a nice guy) is a great way to accelerate a launch. Sadly, this ritual takes less time every year, as more and more bookstores are closing.

MH: What is the greatest advice you've even been given as a writer?

MYKE COLE: It's the same advice I've been given as a military officer, government drone and human being: quit your bitching and get to work.

MH: Now on to the important issues. What is your favorite hat?

MYKE COLE: Of course it's my Mich 2002 combat helmet. Here's a shot of me posing with it during my 2nd tour.

MH: Awesome. What books are you reading at the moment?

MYKE COLE: Joe Abercrombie's Red Country and 2 other books for prospective blurbs. This is probably the most frustrating thing about being a pro writer. You barely have time to read as it is, and when you do, you can't simply get lost in a book and enjoy it. You're either deconstructing the reading experience as you try to improve your own craft, or you're reading a manuscript that your publisher sent you and feeling like a jerk because you're either too busy to finish it by the blurb deadline or don't like it enough to attach your name to it (I only blurb books I *really* love. So far, that's been just two: Daniel Polansky's Tomorrow, The Killing and Wes Chu's Lives of Tao). Going pro really does suck a lot of the joy out of leisure reading, which is ironic, because that's what made you want to go pro in the first place.

MH: Is there anything you'd like to say to close us out?

MYKE COLE: My blog, FB and Twitter are great places to see what I'm up to. I'd also like to call on your readers to consider a commitment in the military reserve. Seems like the nation has been going through some tough times lately, and nothing has done more for my mental health than feeling like I was able to ante up and HELP. I've deployed for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Hurricane Irene and now Hurricane Sandy, and I sleep so much better at night knowing that I pitched in and did something. If you can, I think you should. Stand with me.

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New Procurements

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:59:00 +0000

My shelves seem to be overflowing more than ever before. This is despite cutting back drastically on the number of review copies I actually request for the last year. This is even the case after donating more than 4 large bags of books (at least 70 books) to a nearby library that was hard hit by Sandy and lost much of their collection. Hopefully their regular patrons are big Sci-Fi and Fantasy fans because, man, I just filled that place up with lots of new books and some older books I decided I could live without. So what do I do after all that? Well, I, of course add to the collection. The first pic is of my recent buys and the second 2 are review copies that have come my way.

For Christmas I received only 1 book, which was self-published phenomena Wool by Hugh Howey. I did however also get quite a few gift cards, which fuel the purchase of most of this pile. I read the first of Seanan McGuire's October Daye last year and want to continue on this year hence the next 2 books in the series A Local Habitation and An Artificial Night. I also started David Brin's much loved Sundiver series last year and grabbed the third book so I'll have nothing to hold me back from continuing on in the series along with his Earth, which is a standalone. Did you hear I loved Robert Jackson Bennett's The Troupe? If not I LOVED IT. Buy it. Now. That's not a request. This also meant I had to get his previous book The Company Man so my shelves looked complete.

Yes, I already own The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. But no I didn't own a first edition, first printing of the hardcover. I nabbed it for $8, which is a steal from prices I've seen online. A Once Crowded Sky is Tom King's debut novel, which is a prose superhero story that has gotten a decent rep so far. I also filled out my HC collection of Tobias Buckell's Crystal Rain series with Sly Mongoose and Ragamuffin. The last in the pile is Unidentified Funny Objects, which is a Sci-Fi/Humor anthology I Kickstarted last year. On to review copies.

I lucked into an ARC of probably one of my most anticipated titles for the year with NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. Especially since Hill's last was an incredible read. Blood Oranges is Caitlin Matthews aka Kathleen Tierney's start to a new Urban Fantasy series. It seemed like Caitlin considers this her less serious work hence the nom de plume. The Explorer by James Smythe has already been devoured and very much enjoyed. I hope to do a review soon. Karen Lord's The Best of All Possible Worlds is another I've been looking forward to this year. Blind God's Bluff is Richard Lee Byers debut, which intrigues me, but I generally don't care for books with a gambling theme for some reason. Maybe because I'm not much of a gambler. The Kassa Gambit is M.C. Planck's debut Sci-Fi, which I've heard mixed things about. Impulse by Steve Gould is his latest Jumper novel. I loved the original and liked the sequel so I may take it for a spin though I was hoping for another 7th Sigma related story from him. Five Autobiographies and a Fiction is Lucius Shepard's latest collection. Good-Bye, Robinson Crusoe is a new collection coming from John Varley. Doktor Glass is Thomas Brennan's debut which looks to be a Steampunk/Horror of some sort. Looks interesting. Stephen Baxter's The Wheel of Ice is the latest Doctor Who novel. Though I'm a latecomer to Who I have fallen for it, even the old stuff.

The fat daddy at the top is another of my most anticipated: The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett. Though I haven't done proper reviews of the first two in the series it has quickly become one of my favorites from the last 5 years. The man knows how to do a dark Epic. I've already read Shadow Ops: Fortress Frontier by Myke Cole, which is a marked improvement over Control Point. More on that later. The Six-Gun Tarot is R.S. Belcher's Weird West debut and I love the Raymond Swanland cover art. Wolfhound Century is Peter Higgin's debut, which I just heard called Ian Fleming meets China Mieville. That's sounds mighty good to me. The Many-Coloured Land is the first in a reissued series by Julian May that should be hitting the shelves in the UK soon. It sounds like the TV show Terrra Nova only much more interesting. No word on US reissues, but the Kindle editions appear to be up. Exile is Betsy Dornbusch's debut, which I don't know much about. Yet Night Shade usually comes out with Fantasy books I like and it seems to be a revenge story, which I like. The Departure is the start to a new Sci-Fi series from Neal Asher that might work if a hard Sci-Fi mood hits me.

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GUEST REVIEW | A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:15:00 +0000

Two diplomas, three jobs, one marriage, one kid, three dogs, twenty years. Those are a few of the things that have happened to me since I read Robert Jordan's The Eye of the World for the first time. I've since read it a dozen times. I love it almost as much today as I did then. Rand's long walk from his home to Emond's Field, his father laid out on the horse cart clinging to life, still instills the same sense of dread and determination it always has.

I'll be the first to admit that as the Wheel of Time spun out new books over the years they got worse, and worse, and worse, until a time came that I hardly anticipated their release. I challenge anyone to casually mention 'the Bowl of Winds' to any Wheel of Time fan. The reactions are almost assured to involve crude language. That isn't to say they were bad books, on par with Piers Anthony or Terry Goodkind, but they weren't the same kind of magic captured in first four, and to a lesser degree the first seven.

Much of that changed when Jordan passed and Brandon Sanderson took over the franchise. I write that not to condemn Jordan's writing, but to highlight that he had perhaps reached a point in the series where a new set of eyes was needed to finish it. First with Towers of Midnight, then with The Gathering Storm, Sanderson was able to put aside some of Jordan's pet projects and, for the first times in years, progress the story to the places it needed to go to complete the series. At the time, it was an incredible thing to witness; the seeds of Jordan's labors were finally bearing fruit.

While that continues in A Memory of Light, the final Wheel of Time novel, some warts are also exposed as Sanderson is forced to cut the cord on extraneous story lines in order to accomplish the necessary greater good of completing Jordan's opus. The result is a novel that finishes the mission, so to speak, but leaves me wondering about Jordan's actual vision.

Before I go any further let me assure everyone that A Memory of Light wraps up the stories of Rand, Mat, and Perrin entirely. It leaves nothing unresolved, or dangling. In almost every way, this fourteenth volume is the novel Wheel of Time fans have waited the better part of twenty years to read. The Last Battle comes. Rand confronts the Dark One. Taim is revealed. Loial turns into Chewbacca. And the great swordsman question is put to rest. I admit to a certain amount of sheer joy at watching these things unfold. I also admit to a certain disappointment that they all unfold in such expected ways, with only a few minor twists.

The largest among those twists, related to an often unseen but prominent villain, fails because it just wasn't properly foreshadowed and/or developed with a point of view character. I feel confident that had Jordan lived to finish his series, there would have been one. I say that on faith, but faith is an important part of a series of this length. I had faith that Moraine's eight book absence amid endless speculation would pay off in the end, and that Cadsuane for all the posturing would serve some significance. That same faith had me believing that the transposition of Padan Fain and Slayer/Luc within the narrative would tie together. Perhaps that faith was misplaced. While there is resolution to all those arcs, they are inadequate given the amount of time devoted to them.

I don't want to be misunderstood. There's almost nothing Sanderson could have done to fix these problems short of writing two more books, or rewriting the ones that came before his involvement. The record was too long and the future not tolerant enough for more exposition. Many of my frustrations are merely the cause and effect of a series that spans fourteen books, two authors, and twenty three years. I strongly believe that Brandon Sanderson wrote the best books that anyone could have written who wasn't Robert Jordan himself. He treated the material respectfully and brought the series to a satisfying conclusion. In so doing, he gave much needed closure to a rabid fan base that grew up with Rand, Perrin, and Mat. I'm one of them.

Because of that, what follows here was difficult to write, but I also cannot in good conscience not write it.

I'm often asked, "Is the Wheel of Time worth it?" In other words, should I invest the better part of a year's reading in the series? My answer for the last decade has been, "I don't know, I'll let you know when the series is finished." With the final novel now in my rear view mirror, I feel capable of answering it.

The answer has to be no. But, like so many things it isn't that simple. To anyone who's read deep into the series, and put it aside until it was finished, please make good on that promise. Sanderson's first two books in the series are iconic, full of huge moments and promised pay-offs. The third lacks those eye brow raising theatrics, but it provides the closure the Wheel's fans needed. But, for the reader just beginning, I believe there are better places to look. The miasma of the eighth through eleventh books is a slog I cannot wish on anyone, full of bloat and wasted words. The payoff, however good, can never overcome the frank and utter disregard for editorial oversight that those novels exemplified.

And still. . .

My inner fan says thank you Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. My memories of the Wheel of Time will be with me always. The series wasn't the beginning of my reading life, but it was a beginning. For whatever that's worth.
------ About Justin Landon

Justin Landon is the Overlord of the genre blog Staffer's Book Review (and occasional musings). When he's not writing things of dubious value to the world, he's at the gym or being a dad. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, which is strongly suggested lest you miss out on vital information that could someday save your life.

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Introducing Our First Guest Reviewer

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:49:00 +0000

Mad Hatter's Bookshelf will be entering its fifth year in a few months and in all that time other than a review written with my wife I have been the sole reviewer. For the longest time I've liked it that way despite many offers. I do like to host the occasional guest post on the odd topic from authors and a few others, but later this morning will be the first time another writer has done a review here. It is the last book in a very special series, which is partly how this came about. I wanted to give the book coverage, but didn't feel I was up-to-date enough with the series to do it proper justice.

That's where Justin Landon comes in. Many of you will be familiar with Justin as his blog Staffer's Book Review has been putting out high quality reviews and erudite commentary for almost two years now. He is also co-editing Speculative Fiction 2012: The Years Best Online Reviews, Essays and Commentary with Jared Shurin coming out later this year. Justin and I have been looking to do something together for awhile now and we do have another idea brewing so hopefully this will just be the first post of others to come.

I hope you enjoy his review, which I'm sure will create discussion and visit his site to see what else he's been up to. This man gets around.

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Growing Pains: Lessons in Writing the Sequel by Bradley P. Beaulieu

The Hattie Awards 2012!!! Or the best books of 2012 (That I've read)

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:50:00 +0000

In 2011 I clocked in with 125 books read. This year I just skirted by 100 with 105 books read with many of those graphic novels. Overall, 2011 was a better year of reading for me and I felt the debuts were a bit stronger, granted I didn't get to check out as many debuts this year as in the past as I have been trying to vary my reading even more than in the past. I still have plenty ground to gain in that regard.

Fantasy Novel of the Year

Winner - The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett

Runner-up - The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks

Honorable Mentions - Red Country by Joe Abercrombie, The Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams,

The Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed,

and The King's Blood by Daniel Abraham

Overall, Fantasy in 2012 wasn't as strong for me as in 2011, but there is still plenty to crow about with some memorable reads. The Troupe is one of those novels that just sticks with you long after closing it. Think of it as a period American Gods through the lens of Steinbeck. Yes, that's heavy praise, but this book deserves it. The Blinding Knife surprised me and then surprised me some more. Abercrombie gave us back many memorable characters from the past with Red Country, a very nice spaghetti western, yet it still isn't as much of a standout as his previous work. I haven't read a Tad Williams book in quite a few years, but I was immediately drawn to The Dirty Streets of Heaven, his first bonafide Urban Fantasy series where he uses his complex story skills to great effect with an Angel detective. Again Abraham is developing some of the smartest Fantasy with his latest Dagger and Coin novel, The King's Blood, but I think the next will cement the series as a favorite as he takes his time building things up.

Top Science Fiction

Winner - Faith by John Love

Runner-up - The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi

Honorable Mentions: Redshirts by John Scalzi

It was an interesting year for Sci-Fi, but an early call on Faith still remained the most accomplished Science Fiction I've read this year. Rajaniemi remains one of the most heady writers of the last few years and The Fractal Prince turns things up to 11 in terms of complexity leaving me very eager for the next in the series. I do wonder though if I'll have to draw a line as his writing can get so complex you have hardly any idea exactly what something is supposed to be. As I mentioned in my review of Redshirts, Scalzi hit so many of the right buttons I could not resist enjoying the hell out of it. Definitely a grin worthy read. Many of the books that could have fallen in this category such as those by Kameron Hurley and G. Willow Wilson are elsewhere on this list as they are mixing quite a few things into their cauldrons than something that would typically be called Science Fiction. Had I included them here this list would look very different. Which brings me to the next category.

Top Hybrid - Forging New Ways

Winner - Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

Runner-up (tie) - Rapture by Kameron Hurley

and Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway

Honorable Mentions - The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis

and Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone

This category which I've referred to as Cross Genre before, is probably my favorite because each of these authors are trying to bring out fictions that haven't been conceived of before. Or at the very least combing seemling disparate genres together in innovative ways. Wilson's Alif the Unseen brought an authenticity rarely seen, especially when combined with magical beings and hacking. Hurley is in the vanguard of those authors bringing new perspectives and entirely new worlds into being. Rapture also finished off a storyline for one of the most badass characters to come along in a decade that should be remembered for decades to come. Harkaway's Angelmarker nearly blew my mind with this Spy Thriller/beepunk fest. Tregillis again is redefining alternative history while Max Gladstone's debut Three Parts Dead created a Legal Magical Thriller. Good stuff all around.

Top Mind Fucks

Winner - The Croning by Laird Barron

Runner-up - The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R.Kiernan

Honorable Mention - John Dies at the End by David Wong

I went with a different title for this category instead of calling these Horror as the flavor of darkness I typically enjoy isn't the bloody sort. Barron's The Croning is also a debut and works the big "DREAD" angle to the utmost in a novel filled with atmosphere. The Drowning Girl is just flat out beautiful and mind bending. Including John Dies at the End is a bit of cheat since it came out a couple years back, but it epitomizes fucking with one's head.

Top Short Takes

Winner - Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck

Runner-up - The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss

Honorable Mentions: Stories for Nighttime and Some for The Day by Ben Loory

and After the Apocalypse by Maureen F. McHugh

I adored Karin Tidbeck's debut short story collection Jagannath. It is a virtuoso performance of the askew combing Scandinavian folklore with a modern weird sensibility. Theodora Goss's pair of novellas is a beautiful love story mixed with slightly familiar mythology. After the Apocalypse and Stories for Nighttime were both release in 2011, but I only managed to get to them in 2012. Both a very worthwhile collections to seek out. Loory's collection is on the funny side of things while McHugh fixates on the dark.

Mad Hatter's Library Lover Award (i.e. books concerning books)

Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines

Among Others by Jo Walton

I love books about books. Libriomancer pulls the magic out of books while Walton's Among Others makes the experience of reading pure magic.

Top Popcorn - Ohhh, that was fun!

Alexander Outland: Space Pirate by G.J. Koch

Railsea by China Mieville

The Iron Jackal by Chris Wooding

If you're just looking for a pure good time these will certainly sate you.

Top Debut Novel

Winner (Tie) - Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

and Faith by John Love

Runner-up (Tie) - Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

and The Croning by Laird Barron

Honorable Mentions: Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone

and Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole

I try and think of this category of who has shown the most potential and Wilson and Love both certain do.That said I can't wait to see what each of these authors has up their sleeves next.

Series That Keep Turning Out the Hat-tricks

The Woman Who Died A Lot (Thursday Next) by Jasper Fforde

Cold Days (Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher - See short review here.

The Siren Depths (Raksura) by Martha Wells

Devil Said Bang (Sandman Slim) by Richard Kadrey

People always want to know if a long-running series is worth grabbing on to and each of the above is the 3rd or later book each of which are on par or superior to earlier volumes in said series.

Top Reads from Previous Years

Winner - Blindsight by Peter Watts

Forerunner by Andre Norton

The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett

Noctuary by Thomas Ligotti

Best Overall Book of the Year - You guys have got to read this!

The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett

This category is all about which book I loved and think will stand the test of time being talked about more than a decade from now. The other front runners were Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck, Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson, and Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway, but as soon as I finished The Troupe I knew there would be no other book that could beat it this year. I also want to throw an Honorable Mention to The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon since I haven't mentioned it elsewhere even though I had some reservations about it. It still fills-in the world nicely, if a bit lightly compared to the first two books.

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Cover Unveiled for The Flames of Shadam Khoreh by Bradley Beaulieu

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:17:00 +0000

Art by Aaron J. Riley.

Bradley Beaulieu's series The Lays of Anuskaya perfectly melds Fantasy with skyfaring Russian and Persian influenced cultures amidst a chain of islands. The art above is for the third and final volume in the series The Flames of Shadam Khoreh showing Nasim at age 18. Here's the blurb:

The Flames of Shadam Khoreh begins nearly two years after the events of The Straits of Galahesh. In it, Atiana and Nikandr continue their long search for Nasim, which has taken them to the desert wastes of the Gaji, where the fabled valley of Shadam Khoreh lies. But all is not well. War has moved from the islands to the mainland, and the Grand Duchy knows its time may be limited if Yrstanla rallies its forces. And the wasting disease and the rifts grow ever wider, threatening places that once thought themselves safe. The Dukes believe that their only hope may be to treat with the Haelish warriors to the west of Yrstanla, but Nikandr knows that the key is to find Nasim and a lost artifact known as the Atalayina.

Will Nikandr succeed and close the rifts once and for all? The answer lies deep within the Flames of Shadam Khoreh.

The Flames of Shadam Khoreh should be out sometime in 2013, but I can't find a firm listing as of yet. Beaulieu is also running a Kickstarter for his first short story collection, Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten & Other Stories, which will contain 2 original stories placed in this world. It ends in less than 2 days so get in it while you can.

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REVIEW | Scoundrels (Star Wars) by Timothy Zahn

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:30:00 +0000

What's this? Me read a Star Wars novel? Well stranger things have certainly happened. The last time I got into a SW story it was The Force Unleashed, which I liked well enough, but the video game was better. Scoundrels though is a decidedly different style though and is part of the movement to diversify the stories told in the SW universe.

Scoundrels is the caper we've all wanted from the SW universe and what should be the type of story that Disney attempts next rather than jumping into Episode 7. They need to do a side story or something only loosely attached to get their feet wet and what better than something that plays off the fun side of the SW Universe?

The story takes place not long after the events of Episode 4, so those memories are fresh for the characters, especially the destruction of Alderaan. Scoundrels is above all things a caper/heists, which is pulled off quite well as Han is put on the trail of over 100 million credits in the hands of the Black Sun, which is basically an intergalactic Mafia outfit used in many of the SW novels. Han, not one to be too greedy, brings in a crew to share the wealth and danger.

There are a few too many characters to keep track of on the team of 11 that Han has assembled, but Zahn has done an admirable job giving each their own distinctive voice and not throwing the balance too much in favor of any. The story is at its best when Lando and Han get into the thick of it. Han in particular spends too much time behind the scenes giving Lando a lot of time to grab attention, but isn't that what Lando is best at? Chewie even through all the warbling is still somehow an endearing character, but it was those I just met such as the ghost burglar, Bink, that I keep hoping would get more page time.

The villains though are much more of a standout than the traditional SW villains showcasing a keen intelligence and understanding of the implications at hand as they try to thwart all comers. With a caper it is all in the planning and finally improvisation to really sell it, which Scoundrels does well.

All in all this is a big step away from the traditional SW novels focused on action with plenty more tension and planning, but there are still plenty of things that go boom. And that ending was a nice twist I didn't see coming.

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New Procurements and Update

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:25:00 +0000

Yes, I've been quiet unless you follow me on twitter. It's that time of year where I'm running in 3 directions. I will even be traveling again right before Christmas so it will be relatively quiet until the new year. Have no fear though as I am working on a few things I hope to have up soon including a new interview and even though I have posted it I have been keeping up with my reading log. Might even get around to posting it before the end of the year so that I can post my favorites at the start of 2013. In the meantime to catch you all up on the latest additions to my collection. The first photo are my latest purchases while the 2nd are the review copies that have come my way.

Becalmed is a novella from Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Diving Universe with this one filling in what I see as an important hole about why a certain Dignity vessel was on the run. Next is the second volume of the graphic novel Super Dinosaur that I'll pass on to my niece and nephew after I have my fun with it. Nine Kinds of Naked by Tony Vigorito is one I've been meaning to get for myself since I read his absurdist debut Just a Couple of Days. Also filling a hole in my collection is Delany's Dhalgren, which has been on my to read list for over a decade. Maybe next year it will finally get checked off. The Fantastic Pulps is an anthology originally released in the 70's comprised of stories published in the late 1800's to the 1930's with some greats including Jack London, E.R. Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Dashiell Hammett, and Robert Bloch. Appropriately last in the stack is Zoran Zivkovic's The Last Book.

London Falling is Doctor Who scribe Paul Cornell's first novel outside of the Whoverse in almost a decade. This one definitely seems aimed at the Felix Castor audience, which means I'm game. The Apes of Wrath is the anthology idea I wish I always came up with. It goes pretty deep in the canons of Weird too with stories by Franz Kafka, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard all the way to modern scribes Mary Robinette Kowal and Karen Joy Fowler. The next, Star Wars: Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn is a Han and Chewie focused caper ala Oceans 11, which means I'm reading it right now. This is the type of story Disney should try before going right for Episode 7 showcasing the rich universe available. One of my favorite anthologies of 2011, Brave New Worlds (reviewed here) edited by John Joseph Adams, is getting a new edition with 2 new stories. If you missed it the first time around grab it now. River Road is Suzanne Johnson's sophmore novel continuing her New Orleans focused Urban Fantasy series. Cyberpunk is an anthology coming out next March with an all-star collection of authors.

The Rise of Ransom City is Felix Gilman's sequel to one of the Weirdest Westerns I've ever read, The Half-Made World (reviewed here). The big number next is the final Wheel of Time novel. Since I'm woefully behind on the series I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm open to ideas. Closing out the pile is King of the Dead by Joseph Nassie and Malice by John Gwynne.

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MINI REVIEW | Cold Days by Jim Butcher

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:14:00 +0000

Where to start with the latest Dresden Files? The 14th in fact. This is one of the longest series I've ever stuck with. The total word output from other series I read might be longer, but this is definitely the longest number of volumes. 14 books is quite an amazing accomplishment and the fact that most are better than good is astounding.

I had quite a few quibbles with the last volume, Ghost Story (reviewed here), so I started Cold Days with lowered expectations that it more than surpassed them bringing Harry back to form and thrown into the thick of all things paranormal. So my greatest fears that the series was ruined for me are unfounded at this point.

Dresden awakens inside Faerie's Winter Court with new powers and new debts that must be paid. Summer Knight was the volume that made me love the series since it broadened the Dresdenverse so much and Cold Days explores the politics and inhabitants of Faerie deeper than ever before. We see Mab in all her crazy glory along with nearly every other important figure including many unexpected personages of a magical persuasion. And when Harry is given a seemingly impossible task from Mab, of course, he gets drawn into even greater problems and old grudges back in the real world.

Harry has always been thought of a strong power in the past, but this supercharged version would have stomped on the young Dresden. There is still a heavy reliance on past associates including some that might have been better left out, but outside of that the action and detective work was incredible. Harry's magical island, Demonreach is vividly explored with many of its secrets finally unveiled. Cold Days more than most any other volume has payoff and reveals galore for long-term series fans. Many of the dots that have been tossed Harry's way over the length of the series are connected to great effect and seemingly disparate cases finally make sense.

So if you're still hanging in there for the series, which I expect most are, Cold Days brings the series back to a nice high with plenty of laughs and things are on track for plenty more action.

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New Procurements

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:26:00 +0000

Due to travel and the hurricane I'm a bit behind with updating. My house is fine, but we were without power for over a week, which definitely put a damper on things technologically speaking though I was complaining losts on twitter as my phone was my only outlet. This batch is from the last few weeks with the first stack from Uncle Hugos or as I call it Sci-Fi Book Nerd Mecca, while I was off on a work trip in Minnesota. I'd love to go back to Hugos to do a lot more damage.

I read the first of David Brin's Uplift trilogy for the first time while in Minnesota so I, of course had to pick up the next volume Startide Rising. The copy of Snodgrass's The Edge of Reason is signed. And after much hemming and hawing along with the the award wins I finally picked up Walton's Among Others. I had been meaning to get The Imago Sequence for awhile now as well. This Book is Full of Spiders is David Wong's sequel to the very enjoyable John Dies at the End. In the next picture is Rapture by Kameron Hurley which I also bought at Hugos though it turns out another copy was waiting for me at home. I already gobbled it up as I couldn't hold back and Hurley closed Nyx's story superbly.

Now on to the review copies. Yep, that is the next Dresden Files, Cold Days, sitting at the top. Given the problems I had with Ghost Story I'm not rushing to this as quickly as I would have in the past, but I will probably read it over my upcoming Thanksgiving break. Fingers crossed that I'll fall in love with it again, but I'm trying not to get my hopes too high. Priest's The Inexplicables is one that I'll be reading very soon though. The Red Knight is Mile Cameron's debut coming out in January that's being pitched as a gritty Fantasy, so you know I've got to try that out. The Best of Joe Haldeman should be a nice career retrospective collection if I can find the time. This year hasn't been the best for me in regards to reading short fiction except for some novellas. Speaking of novellas, I Travel by Night by Robert McCammon looks like fun what with a vampire adventurer placed in the 19th century. Definitely might try to squeeze that one in.

I received Valente and Hobbs' latest novellas coming from Sub Press next year. Six-Gun Snow White looks especially promising. The white one, which is difficult to read is A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan, which is one of the books I've most been looking forward to for 2012. Still love that cover. Diverse Energies edited by Tobias S. Buckell and Joe Monti contains stories by Paolo Bacigalupi, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ken Liu, and Daniel H. Wilson among many others with a focus on YA appropriate culturally diverse Sci-Fi stories. Swords of Waar is Nathan Long's second Jane Carver book, which I still want to get to. Krampus would be my first Brom book, but it looks like a fun and holiday appropriate one to start with what with Krampus taking his revenge on Santa and all. Death's Apprentice is by K. W. Jeter and Gareth Jefferson Jones, which combines Grimm style fair tales with a noir detective bent.

Quantum Coin is Myers' sequel to Fair Coin, which I never bought, but it is on my long list as I've heard good things. London Eye by Tim Lebbon is the first in his YA trilogy of post-apocalyptic stories featuring mutants with powers of one stripe or another. I've always had a thing for thieves and forgeries so The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro might find itself in my hands soon.

So quite a pile to wade through... Should be fun doing it.

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Winner of the Earthsea Cycle

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:56:00 +0000

The winner of the complete Earthsea cycles is Ben from Atlanta. I hope he or whoever he gives them to will get as much enjoyment out of them as I have.

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INTERVIEW | John Brownjohn on Walter Moers and Translation

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Walter Moers' Zamonia novels are some of the most creative humorous Fantasy I have ever read. Yes, even better than some of Terry Pratchett's work. Moers is also one of the biggest authors in Germany, but in the English speaking world he has more of a cult following. To date there have been four Zamonia novels published with the fifth The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books coming out November 8th. I'd recommend on checking out the first book in the series, The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear first or The City of Dreaming Books, not to be confused with the latest Labyrinth. Though all except Labyrinth standalone quite well

Today joining us is a very special guest. I'm use to interviewing authors and editors, but this is a first for me with translator John Brownjohn sitting in the hot seat.

Mad Hatter: You've translated many books of all genres (History, Biography, Fantasy) including the classic The Neverending Story. How did you get involved in translation?

John Brownjohn: In an age when translation has become an academic subject in its own right, I hesitate to admit this after translating the better part of 200 books from German and French, but I came into the trade quite fortuitously. I started life as a classicist and won an open classical scholarship to Oxford, then spent ten years in a commercial job in the City of London. Around halfway through those ten lucrative but uncongenial years, a cousin of mine who happened to be a director of the venerable publishing house of Jonathan Cape said to me, “You write decent English and have a knowledge of German and French, how about trying your hand at translating a book for us on the side?” The book was a juvenile novel for which I earned the princely sum of £70.00. I enjoyed the challenge, Jonathan Cape liked what I’d done, and one thing led to another until I was being offered so much translation work by several publishers that I chucked my City job and have devoted myself to the keyboard ever since. Incidental note: I didn’t translate Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story, though I did do his Momo.

MH: The internet led me astry yet again. How does the translation process work for you? Are you generally in contact with the author? Do you go through multiple drafts? Are you approached by publishers about translating or do you try to pitch them?

JBJ: It varies from author to author. I’m regularly in touch with Walter Moers, for example, but my only contact with the onetime bestselling author Hans Helmut Kirst, sixteen of whose novels I translated including Night of the Generals, was a brief letter from him thanking me for my efforts. (Dead authors can present a problem. I once caught one out in a bad bit of continuity. Being naturally unable to contact him, I corrected it on the assumption that he’d have been grateful!) No, I don’t make multiple drafts. I compose my translations as I go, then print out my drafts and give them a final polish before delivery. I have to read and correct everything in hard copy - can’t assess what I’ve done solely on the screen. As to sources of work, the first move always comes from my publishers. I’ve tried to pitch books but never succeeded.

MH: Were you aware of Walter Moers’s work before you were asked to translate The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear?

JBJ: Yes, but only of his work as a cartoonist.

MH: The Zamonia books are quite wacky and strange. There are literally hundreds of made-up words, names, and anagrams galore. How did you handle it all?

JBJ: Producing English versions of Walter’s made-up names certainly taxes one’s ingenuity. Sometimes I have to diverge completely from the original German. Elsewhere I often draw on the remnants of my classical education and resort to Latinizing bits of them. For instance, the “Living Books” in German became the “Animatomes” in English. As for the anagrams, which are great fun to do, I took Walter’s advice and got out my old Scrabble set, which proved a great help!

MH: Did the illustrations ever come in handy while translating?

JBJ: Yes, they’ve often provided me with an insight into the author’s wealth of imagination.

MH: Will we ever see Moers' Hansel and Gretel novel in English? Also, do you know the status of the next Zamonia book given The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books ends on quite a cliffhanger note?

JBJ: Unfortunately, I don’t think his Hansel and Gretel book lends itself to translation into English. The sequel to The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books is already taking shape..

MH: Is there a book or series you'd love to see translate into English?

JBJ: No, I don’t have anything special in mind.

MH: Why do you think in other languages about half of the published books are translated from English, but the percentage of books translated into English is less than 10%?

JBJ: Sadly, if it’s a toss-up between two books of roughly equal merit, one of them written in English and the other in some foreign language, US and UK publishers will ten to go for the former. This is partly because translation fees represent a not inconsiderable part of the production costs, and it’s possible (I don’t know) that British and American translators are better paid than their European counterparts. I suspect there is also, even now, a hangover from the days when a lot of very poor translations appeared after World War II, often done by European expatriates whose command of idiomatic English was less than adequate. This created a prejudice against translated works in general. My own “philosophy” - though some would disagree - is that a translation should read as if it were an original. After all, readers who are continually brought up short by unidiomatic turns of phrase will soon lay a book aside in disgust.

MH: What projects are you translating at the moment?

JBJ: I’m taking a few weeks off while awaiting the imminent arrival of another two new German novels by existing authors of mine, Alex Capus (Leon and Louise) and Alain Claude Sulzer (A Perfect Waiter).

MH: You're certainly keeping busy. Thank you for all your time. Is there anything you'd like to say to close us out?

JBJ: Yes, I’d like to thank all the US publishers and reviewers who never fail to mention the names and appreciate the efforts of those who render foreign literature accessible, i.e. translators. The same cannot, alas, be said of UK reviewers and literary editors, whose neglect of us is shameful.

MH: Thanks for making it possible to read so many foreign works.

You can catch-up with the whole Walter Moers Blog Tour at these fine establishments:
Thursday, Nov 1 - Introduction to the Blog Tour - BookSexy Review
Friday, Nov 2 - Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews will post an Overview/Presentation of Moers’ Books
Saturday, Nov 3 - TNBBC will post a review of The City of Dreaming Books
Sunday, Nov 4 - BookSexy Review will post a Travel/Tour Guide to Bookholm
Monday, Nov 5 - SJ @ Book Snobbery will post a fan letter to Optimus Yarnspinner
Tuesday, Nov 6 - Anastasia at Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog will post a review of The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books
Thursday, Nov 8 - Theresa will pot the giveaway at the Winged Elephant blog (Overlook's Blog)

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On Retiring One’s Bloody Beloved Characters by Kameron Hurley

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Hatter Review) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:24:00 +0000

On Retiring One’s Bloody Beloved Characters

by Kameron Hurley, author of the Bel Dame Apocrypha

I’ve written all sorts of characters over the years, but Nyxnissa so Dasheem and her band of hired rogues are the first I took across a full published trilogy. Nyx herself was an amalgamation of some of my favorite trash-talking, whiskey-slinging, 80’s apocalypse heroes. I first conceived of her after playing the part of Banquo in MacBeth in my high school drama class, which my theater teacher had set in a post-apocalyptic gender-swapping England that let me carry a whip and a sword and walk the stage covered in mint-flavored fake blood and chocolate sauce every night.

Gender-swapping all those bloody feuding lords was a lot of fun, and I started to wonder if I could write a heroine as scary as some of the ones we brought to life on stage.

Hard-ass Banquo and her fellow bloody women feudal lords became Nalah, the desert weary heroine in a short story I wrote at Clarion in 2000. I tasked Nalah with murdering her son, Eshe, at the whim of the foreign lord she served. There was blood and sand and matriarchies… but it wasn’t enough to carry a story. It needed something more.

That was really the trouble with my trash-talking apocalypse heroine – I just didn’t have a really good understanding of who she was, because I didn’t have a good handle on the type of world that would produce her. It wasn't until 2004 or 2005, when I scribbled down the line, “Nyx sold her womb somewhere between Punjai and Faleen, on the edge of the desert,” that I realized I was onto something.

What kind of person sells their womb? Why? What kind of world is that?

Writing God’s War was a process of discovery for me. The world and the people in it came into clearer focus as I wrote. It wasn’t until I’d nearly finished the first draft of God’s War that I realized I wasn’t writing about a particularly nice or heroic or honorable person. Putting Nyx into the world I did, and having her survive (if not thrive) in it meant I was actually writing about a borderline psychopath. But she was a relentless, single-minded sort of psychopath who cared just enough about a few things to keep her interesting, and I found myself sympathizing with her despite myself.

Who would each of us be, if we came of age in the same world, with the same experiences? Would you act any better, and live to tell about it?

Only Nyx would say something like, “Can we fuck about it later?” and “The cunt is not the heart.” Her dialogue always flowed fast and sharp when I wrote it, and often surprised me with its brutal honestly and needling malice. She was emotionally stunted and abusive. But she was very good at killing, and never pretended to be anything she was not.

There are many characters I got to know well while writing the Bel Dame Apocrypha – Rhys the terrible magician with the conflicted moral compass; Khos the big-hearted puppy with his desperate desire for a family; self-hating Inaya and poor little lost Eshe… but as I wrote the concluding scenes of Rapture, the final book in the trilogy, I knew it was whiskey-drinking, trash-talking, self-destructive Nyx I was going to miss the most. There was just nobody quite like her, and try as I might, I couldn’t think of another world that would spawn somebody exactly like her.

This was her world, her story, and it was done. And as freeing as it felt to have her take her last drink… it was a bittersweet sort of drink, because I knew she’d never take another one. Not with me, at any rate.

I hope to return to the world of Umayma in the future, but to be honest – it’s not so much Nyx’s world anymore. That’s the reality of writing a fantasy world that’s dynamic and not static. The world that created Nyx has changed during the decades in which the books take place. The world has moved on. So has Nyx. Now it’s somebody else’s world, and I look forward to telling their stories as passionately and crazily as I told hers.

But it won’t ever be quite the same.

***

Kameron Hurley is an award-winning, Nebula nominated writer currently hacking out a living as a marketing and advertising writer. She’s lived in Fairbanks, Alaska; Durban, South Africa; and Chicago, but grew up in and around Washington State. Her personal and professional exploits have taken her all around the world. She spent much of her roaring 20′s traveling, pretending to learn how to box, and trying not to die spectacularly. Hurley is author of the of the Bel Dame Apocrypha consisting of God's War, Infidel, and the just released Rapture.

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