Book Reviews and More

Reviews, New Products, The Information Age in 2012

2012-12-23T21:21:00.000-08:00

Reviews, New Products, The Information Age in 2012

This is becoming the age of The Tablet and The Smartphone. Tons of retailing transactions are moving out of the realm of the physical and into the realm of the digital. From buying shoes and clothing online to grocery delivery subscriptions, the nature of sales and selling is being altered drastically.

This naturally is happening to the fields of Literature and Music. From downloads on web sites, to freebies and pay what you think it is worth options, to outright just Electronic Formats for books and magazines, the era of the hardcopy is narrowing moment by moment.

So how the heck do you know you will like what you are purchasing? That is the whole crux of this post. How do you know what you will like or wont like before clicking that Purchase Button? Reviews of course. Reviewers who already spent the money, or got a free copy, who tell you their opinions and hopefully help you in your selection process.

Of course a reviewer will not help you in ordering low boots. Well they could if they said that a style of boot was actually pretty narrow for the shoe size, instead of average or wide. Information like that will help in avoiding spending money on shipping and restocking to return a product.

For a book or a CD it is a different situation. Unless there are free previews, you really cannot thumb through a book/magazine or read the back cover blurb. For a CD there is no longer the option of listening to them in partial in such locations as FYI Music or in Barnes and Nobles Music Section on their headphones. So barring full disclosure on like Youtube or the performer's site, the options are now limited.

This is where reviews you like, you trust, come into importance. There are the ratings on various sites. Still words on paper or the screen will give you a great idea what to expect.

So there you are.

Book Review: Soul Hunter by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

2012-10-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

"In Midnight Clad"

This is the call to arms, to armor up for The Night Lords. In the setting of Warhammer 40K they are one of the Traitor Legions. They were once one of the most prized of the Warriors of The Emperor of Man. Once led by one of the Emperor's Sons, their Primarch Konrad Curze (The Night Haunter). Now they are Traitors to their Race and their former comrades.

Their legion was raised on the night shrouded world of Nostramo where their Primarch can come to rest. The Legion was raised from murderers, killers, thieves, gangers and worse.
Among the Traitor Legions, they are not nice people.
By the standards of the time, of the setting, they are not nice people at all.
One step above mass serial killers, barely a step above.
They are the Night Lords, and they are one of the cooler Legions in the Warhammer 20K Universe.

About the Book Soul Hunter
The story tells of the tale of Talos, once an Apothecary (Healer) of his Space Marines Chapter. Now he is the de facto leader of a badly under strength squad. Once a part of the 10th Company, he now is plagued with prophetic visions and the captain of the ship he is on is posessed by a Warp Entity and is no longer human in any sense. The other members of his squad are as reliable and interesting as one can make an engineered super soldier.

The setting is familiar. The Imperium and the endless wars that plague it.
The protagonist is different. This is the first Apothacary in the spotlight that I am aware of. As it is a character that would skin his foes alive to increase their terror makes it a little different at the best. Still this is one of the more fleshed out, more realized Space Marines characters in the overall setting in a long while.

The novel deals with the politics and machinations as the Covenant of Blood and its complement of Night Lords are drawn into a series of battles that are aimed at conquering several worlds in a planetary system. One of the main villains in the setting, Abaddon the Despoiler, a Mighty Warlord of Chaos and essentially the leader of the largest remaining portion of the Heretical Traitor Legions, seeks to add more materials to his warfleets and armies.

Pulled into the schemes by the aspirations of the leader of the ship, as well as his own prophetic powers, Talos becomes central to the plot and eventually begins to realize his past and future are different than that of his fellow Night Lords. With much battle, many wounds, losses as well as victories, Soul Hunter turns into a fight for survival in a universe that is completely against them.

People in the Wh40K setting tend to be very One Dimensional. Especially those like The Space Marines or Inquisitors or any character related to the Adeptus Mechanicus or Adeptus Ministorum. This is in part due to the setting (a Feudal Dark Ages with Ignorance and anyone different is wrong and very like to end up at the stake burnt as a witch) and due to the theme of Unending War and Enemies everywhere. Soul Hunter is no different in this respect. Most of The Space Marines are one dimensional, most of the crew of the ship that Talos serves on, The Covenant of Blood, do not even have names, being too low in the hierarchy to rate that. There are several normal humans that are in the book as essentially indentured servants (for life) to the Traitor Marines. Both end up surrendering their own names and are named for when they were taken into service with the crew. So it is a very dehumanizing setting.

When the rules for the Wargame first came out, the Rogue Trader edition, I read through them and I found it to be one of the most bleak and disheartening settings in fiction that I had read. Since them I have remained a loyal fan of the ideas and the overall landscape. Gothic Horror meets Genetically Engineered Soldiers fighting an impossible war across all of space, with monsters and hidden dangers all around. In the almost 30 years it has been around the setting has deepened and the material has increased.

This is truly one of the better WH40K novels I have read over the decades. It really tells a great story, full of old fashioned GW Battles, with a very different point of view. Few are the stories told of the Traitor Legions, outside of the Horus Heresy Series and the Soul Drinkers, so this is a different part of the 40k setting compared to most of the novels I have read.

With that said, of the well over 30 Novels, intermittent issues over the last 20 years of the gaming oriented magazine White Dwarf, this is one of the more memorable novels. There are two sequels that I am now on the hunt for. It is a worthy addition of a WH40K fan's library. I am definitely on the hunt for the follow on two novels, Blood Reaver and Void Stalker.

Written by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Cover Art by Jon Sullivan
Published by Black Library Publications in 2010

My copy was purchased in Books A Million on 06/17/12 and it cost $ 8.99 before Discount and Taxes

In the Queue as of 10/02/12

2012-10-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

The following are the books in my 2 main queues, reading and to be reviewed.
Eventually I plan to review every book that I have. This is just the next few on the list.
Also these do not include the non-fiction, nor gaming books on my plate.

To Read/Being Read:
Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
The Crippled God by Steven Erikson
Jimmy Plush Teddy Bear Detective by Garrett Cook
Soul Hunter by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Sagamanda by Alan Dean Foster

To Review:
Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough
The Webmage Series by Kelly McCullough (all 5)
Echo City by Tim Lebbon
Brass Man by Neal Asher

To Re-Read Pretty Soon:
Mainline by Deborah Christian
One Eye by Stuart Gordon
Light by M John Harrison
Nova Swing by M John Harrison
The Last Guardian of Everness by John C Wright
Mists of Everness by John C Wright

Book Review: Bared Blade by Kelly McCullough

2012-07-22T13:33:00.001-07:00

Bared Blade
Kelly McCullough

Bared Blade by Kelly McCullough is the second novel in the Fallen Blade series. Continuing about a year or so after the events in Broken Blade, it follows more exploits of former Temple Assassin Aral Kingslayer and his Shadow Familiar Triss.

This time the action opens again in a tavern, a common feature in the life of Aral since the fall of the temple he had devoted his life too. However in Broken Blade he is quite a bit more dried out than at the end of Broken Blade. The novel title helps to prepare us for the movement closer to his old focused self, hinted at in Broken Blade.

In walks two females, both intriguing for different reasons, that Triss hints need to be paid attention too. Shortly after that the magic starts flying, chairs and tables are destroyed, Stone Dogs arrive and Aral is back in almost over his head aiding females of the species. Yes it sounds a bit like the first novel in the opening, and there are some gross similarities. However the different magics that come into play, politics, information on the history of the entire world Aral and Triss live in, as well as more fantasy with a different flavor than stock Euro-Centric makes this all seem plausible and more than a little enjoyable.

The plot continues with more political intrigue, Aral seems to keep getting caught up in politics, and the different factions in both his adopted city of Tien and outside of it in the greater scheme of nations and their interactions. There are killings, assassinations, machinations, ancient rivalries come into play, all far outside the scope of Aral's life, and he is drawn into all the competing factions with Triss, his boltholes, and his skills to help him to carry the day.

One really nice aspect to the novel is how the relationship between him and Captain Fei is looked at and expanded. Digging deeper into how they can work with each other, as well as more about the good Captain's background and abilities, is a welcome part of the overall reading experience. The character of Captain Fei is expanded beyond window dressing into an integral part of the city and how the entire place operates in the shadowy parts that Aral and Triss live in.

The various elements to the magic in the setting is expanded with a variation on the Spell Caster and Familiar motif he established in Broken Blade. The Dyads, I first read it as Dryad but after a few more times it was used I read it correctly. The idea of expanding the magic to include two humans linked is a logical progression. Not a lot of expansion on the Stone Dogs for magic purposes, and some hints that the longer someone is practicing the stronger they become. Which is logical as well, still the hero is focused in his abilities and there are some different aspects that are brought out in Bared Blade. Additionally the introduction of another species, The Durkoth, an ancient more elemental species tied to earth and stone, with some different abilities compared to who we have seen so far. There are a few others mentioned that hopefully will be expanded on in future novels as well.

Not as strong of love interest in this novel compared to the first one. This is more an implied and potential one, vice consummated. Still there is a faint chance for something to come to fruition in a later novel between Aral and the ladies he encounters. The addition of these parts does not detract from the overall look and feel to the story.

Kelly McCullough is one of the great idea generators of writers currently being published. His MythOS series was groundbreaking pretty much creating an entire new Fantasy Genre all by himself. In The Fallen Blade novels he has taken the idea of the Noble Assassin (First really seen in the Steven Brust Vlad Taltos Novels) and brought in way neat magic ideas. He has a real skill in coming up with awesome ideas that are just to the left of most any other writers I have come across in years.
It helps that he is very accessible to his readers in various online sites.

Overall Bared Blade, and the first novel Broken Blade, is a fine addition to my own Fantasy Library. There are some very favorable comparisons that can be made to the Vlad novels, with tons of new and innovative aspects to the overall genre of fantasy novels that he brings to the table. Well worth the cost to pick it up new in the bookstore in dead tree format.

Bared Blade written by Kelly McCullough published by Ace Fantasy

Creators and Reviewers:

2011-04-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

Creators and Reviewers:
As I was reading Live Free or Die: Troy Rising I by John Ringo it occurred to me that as time passes along, and from reading lots of author webpages and discussions on epublishing as well as Seth Godin (Linchpin and Poke the Box especially) it occurred to me that the role of a reviewer is likely to become more important to independent book publishing.

From authors that state it is tiring to market themselves, to examples I see in the RPG field, it seems that a good reviewer could, soon, be the make or break. With the plethora of options out there and sheer difficulty in keeping up with small indie book publishers, I suspect people like me, that do write reviews, could become (as Consumer Review magazine used to be) the guiding force in helping out creatives (authors, photographers, musicians, artists, etc.) reach out and find their markets.

One potential aid would be aggregate sites, similar to Digg or Stumbleupon but focused on Reviews and Reviewers. Not a bad idea actually, a central place where people looking for particular tastes in their reading or other entertainment can find reviewers and see what hits their fancy.
Food for thought to be expanded as time passes.

Primordial Lands A Role Playing Game of Elder Times

2011-04-03T15:14:00.001-07:00

Primordial Lands
A Role Playing Game of Elder Times
By
Mouse-Produced Games

Complimentary Copy Review
List Price $5.00

Primordial Lands is a Rules Lite RPG in the vein of the Older Editions of Dungeon and Dragons, with some more modern twists.
It is currently available in PDF format from DriveThruRPG. Size wise it comes in at 32 total pages and is a complete RPG by its self. No other text or books are necessary to use this game system. The Contents include a Table of Contents and then right into the character creation and rules. There is no cover page, etc, nothing like that. It is stripped down the the bare minimum to accomplish the mission, which is admirable in fact.

There are two main elements to characters in Primordial Lands, Attributes and Focuses. Attributes are generated from random die roll of 1d4 minus 1d4 yielding a starting result of +3 to -3 with the chart in the game running from -1 to +7 for Attribute Ranges. Basic Resolution is 1d20 + Rating of Attribute vs a Set Target Number (TN).

The attributes in the game are pretty stock and standard
Strength
Speed
Grace
Constitution
Intelligence
Wisdom
Charisma

Focuses take the place of Skills in other systems, allowing for a bonus to an Attribute Roll in particular circumstances. So if a player wanted an archer type character they could define a focus as +1 with Bows.
Additionally once a Focus is taken it cannot be improved further (on its own), however when a character takes a difference focus, all existing Focuses increase by a +1 (Note: I asked the author and that is how the text is written and how it is intended). So back to the Archer Example, if the second focus taken is in Woodland Combat, the Focuses would then be
Bow Combat +2
Woodland Combat +1
Each Focus can apply only once, they do not stack, but if there are different ones that can apply, they can be used in a synergistic fashion. There are examples of this in the rules to clarify some points.

Combat follows the character generation section, covering attacks, damage, healing, etc.
Next the weapons system, which is very streamlined based essentially on size of weapon rather than endless lists of different swords, knives, pole-arms, etc.

Following that is Experience and a discussion of Levels and how to create other character types. There is a scant discussions of using the idea of Classes and Focuses to create specific sorts of characters.
There are descriptions of Classes, showing sample Focuses and Advancements covering Other Races (Innate) Fighters, Rogues, Sages, Mages, and how to create your own classes.

Next sections deal with races and with Abilities. Abilities are where you can define magic abilities and spells with. Abilities ties into the Mages as a predefined class. Then there is a list of different Abilities to mix and match to create the spells or magic powers that are desired for each character. This is the most customizable portion to Primordial Lands.

Overall this is a decent effort, and if you are looking for a decent rules lite system that has a old school feel without tons of charts, then Primordial Lands is a great fit. Some kitbashing may be required and customization to a specific world setting will be necessary. There is not setting defined, however the descriptions of Elves and Dwarfs and Tobbits (Think Hobbits/Kenders) makes for a stock Fantasy RPG Feeling. Overall a strong 3.5 almost a 4 out of 5 Stars.

Reviewer Note: I received this copy for review purposes. I did not directly purchase it.

Cover Art courtesy of The great artist Clyhp Ahrt
(aka Postmortem Studios)

Relevant Links:
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_-id=89868

Music Review: To All My Dear Friends

2011-04-03T11:01:00.001-07:00

To All My Dear Friends
A Review of a Live Performance at that was held at Evolution Records in Lakeland, Fl

His voice is rough, ragged, sharp, and raw.
He evokes the feeling of the beat poet era, immortalizing it for a new generation.
His singing is more a recitation, or an enactment, or perhaps a wrenching of his heart and laying it bare before those seeing him live.

An Electric Violin, an Electric Six String guitar and pure unadulterated genius rounds out what I witnessed on that Friday night, sitting on an upholstered bench, most likely a long church pew my wife thought. We sat and enjoyed the prior two groups perform their 30 some minute long sets. Then a tall, lanky, vest buttoned up gentleman started setting up. One time he said, I Play the Voilin, there was more to that sentence but I cannot recall what else or the context.

My wife said we should stay and see what the last group, For All My Dear Friends, were like. I naturally agreed. I owe my wife for this recommendation.

From the moment he got up on stage, in those first few seconds, within the first four bars, I was hooked, unable to believe what was unfolding.
The entire performance was live and looped at the same time. He would play a minute to three minute piece on his violin, recording it, then set that to loop and play another 4 to 8 bars, loop that, repeat for a third element, sometimes adding in his guitar, and then with the 3 elements playing, would play more, riff hard, mute and then play and sing or speak/chant/recite his lyrics which are poetry that I wish I was writing, and then bring it all down. Bring it all down hard, and powerful, and utterly into his music.

I tried to watch his footwork, see where he set the MIDI or whatever he uses to start and stop, sometimes I got it, sometimes I was just too entranced with the music and the bodily performance that was being enacted on the tiny stage about 15 feet away from me.

Acoustics were a little ragged for all 3 bands, concrete walls echo and kids coming in and out, still it was sheer urban loop purity in strength and soul.The roughness being environmental vice performance for the most part.

If you make music, go see him perform.
If you love loops, violin, guitars, creation, go see him perform
If you love the unique, go see him perform
If you are alive at all, go see him perform

I know he played the following tracks:
Motions of a Generation
Clouds
The Book of Tofu
Vision

I believe he also played:
Synchro Convergence
Midnight at the Leucadian
Japan to Kenya & Back

He played a few other songs, all were incredible, insane, inspiring. It was only like a total of 6 or 7 tracks he performed (singing and playing just does no credit to this show, it was a performance).

At the end of the show the appreciative audience mobbed him, while I purchased his two CDs (one at $10 and the other at $6) along with two magnets for my home office area and we left for the night.

If you have a chance to see To All My Dear Friends, do not pass on the occasion. This is both new and eclectic and unique and as such, deserves praise and support for the courage to break boundaries and barriers.

Relevant Links to All My Dear Friends and to Evo Records:
http://www.facebook.com/TAMDF
http://www.toallmydearfriends.com/
http://www.myspace.com/toallmydearfriends

http://www.facebook.com/EvoRecords

Cataloging of books has begun

2011-01-01T15:19:00.001-08:00

So decided today to document all my books
Starting with the paperbacks, here are the first 30 some in Alphabetical order

Last Name	First Name	Title
Abnett	Dan	Horus Rising
Abnett	Dan	Xenos
Alten	Steve	The Loch
Andrews	Ted	How to see and read the Aura
Barnes	John	Finity
Barnes	John	Patton's Spaceship
Brust	Steven	The Gypsy
Bryant	Edward	Cinnabar
Caine	Rachel	Chill Factor
Christian	Deborah	The Truthsayer's Apprentice
de Lint	Charles	Mulengro
Dix	Shane	Orphans of Earth
Drake	David	The Fleet
Fawcett	Bill	The Fleet
Ferran	Mick	Necrom
Findley	Nigel	Out of Nippon
Gear	W Michael	StarStrike
Gordon		One-Eye
Harrison	M John	A Storm of Wings
Hodgell	PC	Dark of The Moon
Lindholm	Megan	The Gypsy
Lindskold	Jane	Changer
Lustbader	Eric	The Sunset Warrior
McCullogh	Kelly	WebMage
McKillip	Patricia	Heir of Sea and Fire
Mitchell	Kirk	Procurator
Moorcock	Michael	The Mad God's Amulet
Moorcock	Michael	The Runestaff
Patterson	James	Maximum Ride
Quick	WT	Singularities
Slavicsek	Bill	Storm Knights
Stackpole	Michael	Evil Triumphant
Steephenson	Neal	Snowcrash
Stirling	SM	The Sky People
Swanwick	Michael	The Iron Dragon's Daughter
Tramontana	CJ	Storm Knights
Williams	Sean	Orphans of Earth
Wolverton	David	The Golden Queen

Book Review: The Hero of Downways by Michael G Coney

2010-10-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

Book Review: The Hero of Downways by Michael G Coney

Published in 1974 by Daw Books
Cover illustration by Josh Kirby

Welcome to Downways where the Trukids live and go to school, the Oddlies lurk around the cavern and tunnel corners, maggots recycle waste food and the blackfurs are raised and herded for their fur.

This is the strange world of Trukid Shirl, who meets with John-A a Vatkid and together they battle the fierce Daggertooth, relative to the Blackfurs, a near unstoppable killer to the dwellers of Downways. Only once before has someone defeated, killed, a Daggertooth, and that hero is long dead.

John-A is a Vatkid, the only one in the novel, made from a sliver of flesh from The Hero. He enters into a world unsuited to heroes, danger, or change. Still without his assistance the Trufolk are in danger. Shirl, a Trukid cursed with curiosity or perhaps blessed, has seen the Oddlies moving on the outskirts of the tunnels where she lives at. During the long hibes (periods when either they sleep or are awake) she either sleeps and is plagued with strange dreams or wanders searching for answers. She finds some, along with many more questions along the way. One question she has deals with the reason the Trufolk can see into the Infrared when the older humans could not. Also an illustration of a blackfur, titled a dormouse, sparks her wondering as to the relative scale of things.

Touching on the themes of acceptance, evolution and change, danger and enclosed in communities, The Hero of Downways is a superb story with a decent setting and some distinct characters. The actual setting along with the reasons for their living underground differed from what this reviewer thought was going to be answer up until the end portion of the novel.

There are few novels this reviewer has read in the years since 1974 when he started seriously reading, that are set in an underground situation. The only other one that comes to mind immediately is The Sunset Warrior by Eric Van Lustbader.

Links related to Michael G Conley and The Hero of Downways
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_G._Coney
http://members.shaw.ca/mconey/

Book Review: Implied Spaces by Walter Jon Williams

2010-10-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Implied Spaces by Walter Jon Williams

Published in 2009 by Night Shade Books

Cover illustration by Dan dos Santos

Walter Jon Williams is one of the foremost writers of Cyberpunk and related fiction living today. His novel Hardwired, is a classic in the CP genre, with Voice of the Whirlwind paving ground and expanding his repetoir.

His novel Angel Station is a CP (almost BioPunk) novel dealing with a pair of genetically engineered siblings fighting to save their father’s merchant spaceship, along with making a living and staving off larger more commercial shippers. It carried the CP envelope into the deep portions of space and the details of pharmaceutical use as well as planetary descriptions should be de rigueur required reading for the enthusiast.

From there comes the novel Aristoi, toeing the line between Cyberpunk Fiction and what would come to be called Singularity Fiction a few years after its first publication. This is an excellent read with some incredible concepts, several of which I really wish I had come up with, or were available in the Here and Now (Daemons mostly).

Now comes Implied Spaces. This novel came to the reviewers attention as a feature on the Science Fiction Book Club website (of which the reviewer has been a member of the SFBC since somewhere in the late 70s when it was all hardbacks and via the postal service), where it was spotted. Not until a copy was found in paperback at a Mass Market Bookseller was it picked up.

The novel is blazoned as A Novel of the Singularity and it fulfills this statement. There are AIs galore, wormholes as an everyday tool of civilization, uploading and downloading of personalities, and memes everywhere. It is a decent read, as the story progressed it felt more and more like a rehash or a reworking of the basic plot to Aristoi, which as the ending approached the 374 total pages, it really did remind me, the antagonist motives, etc, it really felt like a weaker version of Aristoi.

That said the ending was poignant and sweet, and while it is in this reviewer’s opinion the weakest of the five of his novels read so far, it is still worth picking up and giving it a chance. There are some superb concepts, especially the idea of The Implied Spaces (which bears investigation and elaboration) and the overall end ideas relating to the antagonist as well. Those are almost worth the price of admission by themselves.

Where to find him on the Internet:
Walter Jon Williams Website

Also a Gallery of Artwork for Dan DosSantos on Tor Books

Book Review: Dune by Frank Herbert

2010-10-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Dune by Frank Herbert

Originally Published in 1965

Dune is the story of a family, a family caught up in plots and machinations older than they are.

Dune is the story of Paul Atreides, heir to Duke Leto Atreides, son of the Duke and Jessica of the Bene Gesserit. He is trained in the subtle arts needed to rule in his time, by the Mentat Assasin Thufir Hawat, Master Swordsmen Duncan Idado and . His mother, the Lady Jessica, has broken with the traditions of her guild, the Bene Gesserit, and also trained him in the ways of her kind, how to read people, manipulate them with voice and body language, as well as opening his mind to deeper possibilities.

With the Guild of Navigators on one side with CHOAM and the Imperial House, and their mortal foes House Harkonnene on the other, the story of Dune is the story of how House Atredies, in the shape of Paul, will rise up to challenge their universe.

This is one of the great classics of Science Fiction. It is a political commentary, an ecological treatise, a study in manipulation along with warnings on eugenics and the pitfalls of politics. It is as well a coming of age story for the young Paul Atredies, as events beyond control conspire against him and his family.

The Dune Series originally consisted of the Dune Trilogy

Dune

Dune Messiah

Children of Dune

The 4th book was God Emperor of Dune, taking place thousands of years after the end of Children of Dune.

The reviewer is not enamored of any books published past God Emperor of Dune, and admits to a bias against them. The original book has been adapted to the big screen, the tv, a role playing game and collectible card game, along with fanfic and prequels and sequels written by members of the Herbert household and licensed others.

It is one of the great novels in Science Fiction, and in this reviewers opinion deserves a place in the annals of great literature, where it should be required reading in high schools at least.

The first movie adaptation, while lush in the sets and a wonderful portrayal of St Alia of the Knife and the Reverend Mother and the Gom Jabbar, the rest of it could be edited out.

The TV miniseries for the SciFi channel is a stronger, more accurate depiction of the novel than the movie was. This reviewer has not had a chance to get the Roleplaying Game book yet, and the Collectible Card Game version attempts to straddle the book and the first movie in look and feel.

Dune should be read by everyone. There is something there for all readers.

http://www.dunenovels.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_%28novel%29

Book Review: Starrigger by John DeChanc

2010-10-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Starrigger by John DeChancie

Originally published in 1983 by Ace Science Fiction with cover art by James Gurney

Starrigger is the first in the Skyway Trilogy. The entire series consists of the following three novels
Starrigger
Red Limit Freeway
Paradox Alley

Starrigger opens up with Jake McGraw and his rig, complete with the impressed personality and memories of his deceased father controlling it, picking up a hitchhiker on their way to Mach City. Darla, it turns out, knows them, while they do not know her.

The adventure continues on from that point, rarely letting up across the 264 pages of tight furious reading filled with aliens, crooked law enforcement, monstrous floating aliens used as ships, as well as more and more characters pulled into the hunt for Jake and what he supposedly has found, a map to the entire Skyway, the endless black road that spans worlds linked by portals called tollbooths.

Driving from one world to another, Jake McGraw is the president of the Starriggers Guild, a very small independent truckers group working to make it in a tale of truckers between worlds. The Skyway predates human kind by millenniums, it runs from one world to another, and in driving along it, a person (or alien) can travel from one world to another. The Colonial Assembly strives to keep peace and maintain civil order in what is known as The Terran Maze, those worlds easiest to reach via the Skyway from The Sol System.

With over 60 alien races in all the Mazes (those sections of the Skyway clustered around particular areas), Humanity is not the oldest, nor the youngest, just one of the newer ones plying the road between the stars.

As Jake and Darla cruise towards Mach City on the world called Hothouse (covered with massive jungles where the anti-aging drugs are harvested, they are waylaid early on by his main business competitor, Corey Wilkes owner of Tatoo, a rival shipping concern. The laser beams fly early and mayhem ensues almost from the beginning as Jake and his father Sam (killed and subsequently with his personality and memories implanted into the rig that Jake drives) work to understand the rumors suddenly circulating about them and what they might have access too. Which is supposedly a map to the entire Skyway, showing in theory where the Roadbuilders could be found at, and unknown scientific discoveries.

This all unfolds across the entire novel as Jake’s sense of goodwill leads him into helping more and more travelers, bringing them into his fold.

At the heart of it this is a story of meaning, about discovering essential truths about reality and who and what we truly are. All wrapped up in a rollicking great read filled with aliens, characters with personality, near noir excitement and a truly one of a kind original setting.

Originally the reviewer picked the book up new, traded or lent that first copy away, bought several other copies over the years new and used, always sharing this book with any that might like it as well. This particular book was bought used somewhere, years ago back up in Iowa or perhaps Virginia.

This is one of those SF novels that is just begging to be read over and over. It cries out to be adapted to the RPG field; it demands wider circulation as a superb piece of writing. This is an awesome novel. The depth of the setting comes out as the pages unfold, drawing the reader into a believable world filled with the spectacular.

Reviews of Red Limit Freeway and Paradox Alley forthcoming once they are located again in the reviewers library so he can read them once again.

The author's official website

Book Review: The Runestaff by Michael Moorcock

2010-10-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Book Review: The Runestaff by Michael Moorcock

Published 1969/1977 Revised Edition 1977
Cover art by Richard Clifton-Dey
Map by John Collier

The Runestaff The Fourth and Final Volume in the History of the Runestaff

In the final Volume of the History of The Runestaff, the fate of the Kamarg and all of the world rests on the shoulders of Dorian Hawkmoon, Duke of Koln, Servant of the Runestaff and a Manifestation of the Eternal Champion. Without his effortst the Dark Empire of Granbretan will conquer and consume the entire globe.

It opens with Hawkmoon and Huilliam D’Averc bound for Europe on the boat provided to them from the grateful inhabitants of the city of Nawleeen. On board the vessel, the two heroes were thought to be bound to that city at the behest of the Runestaff.

Events prevent their direct return to Europe, instead ending up at D'Nark and once more fulfilling the plans of the Runestaff as well as thwarting further Dark Empire Machinations. The Runestaff is revealed and more mysteries are indicated as well.

However our heroes do return to The Kamarg and preparatiosn are made for the return to Europe potentially in force to aid in battling the Granbretan advance, when the dark science of Baron Taragorm wrested them from the alternate world and back into the one they had fled from. The final battle with Granbretan would ensue, and not all the heroes would survive.

As the final novel in the History of the Runestaff it brings the short series to a conclusion. As with other Eternal Champion novels not all the companions make it. Life is dangerous being a companion to a manifestation of the Eternal Champion. Still in the case of Hawkmoon, it is a bit less dangerous than for others, such as Elric or Erekose. Still for the length of the novels, there is a wealth of superb ideas to dig into.

It is recommended for any steampunk fan as well.

RPG Note:
If someone is interested Mongoose Publishing has created the Hawkmoon Roleplaying Game. It is no longer in production per Sales at Mongoose Publishing. The author has not had a chance to pick up a copy so no impressions are available. There was another one based on the Runequest game system, which I had seen once many years ago. There are no RPGs currently in production covering this manifestation of The Eternal Champion.

Also is a revised Elric oriented RPG from Mongoose Publishing as well, for the updated Runequest II game system.

Links Section:
Michael Moorcock Online
http://www.multiverse.org/

Book Review: Innocence Proves Nothing by Sandy Mitchell

2010-10-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Innocence Proves Nothing by Sandy Mitchell

Published in 2009 by The Black Library

Innocence Proves Nothing is a sequel to Scourge The Heretic, the second in the novels set in the Calixis Sector, in the Imperium of Man in the 41st Century. As can be ascertained, it is one of the Warhammer 40K novels, focused on The Inquisition.

This novel has a very RPG/Gaming/Campaign feeling to it. There are two separate groups of Acolytes (the term used in the Dark Heresy RPG for all Player Characters, used here to mean those people with talents and skills that have been chosen by faith or acts to aid an Inquisitor in their duties), working on separate lines of inquiry that eventually in the last portions of the book intersect.

The first team consists of characters introduced in Scourge The Heretic. Former Guardsmen Drake returns, along with the Assassin Keira and member of the Adeptus Mechanicus Vex with the team leader Mordecai Horst. They are aided on and off by other lesser supporting characters. The psyker Elyra is accompanied by former Guardsman Vos Kyrlock both also present in the book and following other leads on their own from the main group. The second team is affiliated with a different Inquisitor and the majority of them die in the first encounter they have, which comes about two thirds the way through the novel. Only two of those characters survive and join the main characters right before the puzzle pieces start to fall together.

It is suspected those two characters will play larger roles in the next novel, the ending ties up none of the plot threads and it is obvious this cannot be the end of the story. Where the different plot threads will end up can be guessed at, but it is not certain at all. With their inclusion it makes for about 7 core characters to be accounted for in the opening of the next, and presumed, novel.

There is a definite different feel to this novel compared to other WD/BL novels. This is due, it is believed, to the very strong influence of the Dark Heresy RPG on the composition. The worlds, the planets visited, the foes faced, are drawn from the RPG corebook. As the novel progressed it could be imagined that it was several game session to get to the action. The fights felt like encounters, well gauged to be a challenge, with little chance of failure. Each character has a chance to shine, in and out of combat, again making it a great resource for pacing and plotting tips to writers and gamers alike. It would be easy to make the novels characters for gaming purposes easily. This could add to a gaming session bringing in more flavor and intrigue. However nothing official could

The look and feel of the WH40k setting comes through fine, some new terms, very few flavor text terms from previous works and novels arrive. One welcome change from most WH40k novels is the inclusion of a Librarian of the Space Marines. Rarely are these characters included in novels, the Soul Drinkers novels by Ben Carpenter are a notable exception. The novels from fifteen some years ago (along with the army lists and wargear cards) featured the psychic powers of Librarians more. More recent novels seem to have moved away from this aspect.

This novel while having multiple psyker characters in it, does not feature or make them very prominent. This is a quibble from a long time reader (over twenty years) of materials in this setting. Other minor quirks are the prevalence of Bolt Weapons compared to the core setting philosophy. This trend does seem to have started about 8 or 9 years ago. These are just minor inconsistencies, which are easily explained away in light of the age and size of the setting, making local differences all too common.

Another glossed over element is the level of character information into what have been previously mysteries of the setting. Elements such and the Powers in the Warp, the role Horus played, mentioning Abbadon, how prevalent warp beings are in the novel, all run somewhat counter to past writings. It is very open feel to this novel, and the full on fanaticism prevalent in the overall setting is diminished to an extent in this reviewer’s opinion.

Overall it is a definite read for fans of the Warhammer 40K setting. For gamers playing Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Combination of the two, or a homebrew, it is an excellent source on pacing and decent flavor text. Especially for someone new to the overall setting, that desires to have a low key introduction to the War Torn Future.

Book review: Nova Swing by M. John Harrison

2010-09-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

Book review: Nova Swing by M. John Harrison

Nova Swing by M. John Harrison is a surreal follow on to his award winning novel Light. Set in the same universe, dominated by the Kefahuchi Tract, a near limitless expanse of stars and systems linked economically and socially to one and another, as his novel Light, it showcases the travails of Vic Serotonnin, a travel guide into a spatial anomoly called The Saudade Event Site, where time, distance, and bodies are warped.

Vic is a travel agent, one of a few people that are willing to risk their lives, minds, and bodies by travelling inside the Site, as it is known. Landmarks are useless in the Site, the ground changes and shifts, and what seems like hours inside, days or weeks can pass outside of the Site.

Compounding these issues is the local law enforcement efforts to prevent these tours as the dangers are deemed too difficult to asses completely, so it has been declared illegal to enter or bring anything out of the Site, which is the main income of the Travel Guides. Carrying out artefacts found inside and selling them to collectors.

There are a variety of relationships the protagonist copes with, from fellow travel guides and their family entities to local gansters and other unsavory types. These all complicate Vic Serotonnin’s life, as strange new artefacts, that appear to be people come to life, begin to emerge from the site.

These separate events all lead to betrayals and loss of innocence as well as life. There are strange alterations brought on by the artefacts, police investigations, as well as snippets of the lives lived in this odd and still familiar setting. With concepts like gun-punk chic and Radio Retro as well as scenes of hordes of cats running into and out of the event site, it leads the reader into a world similar, with similar concepts and ideals to the modern world, with surreal twists scattered throughout as well.

In much the same feel as the previous novel Light, M. John Harrison introduces us the readers into a world very different than where we live, yet still recognizable. Filled with addicts, people working to make a living, alcohol and space travel, dreams are one thing the human spirit has not lost, and Mr. Harrison demonstrates that in the pages of his novel.

While not the easiest novel to pigeonhole into a particular category, this reviewer feels it belongs best in the emerging sub-genre of Singularity Fiction, along with such authors as Cory Doctorow, Iain Banks, Charles Stoss, and Sean Williams. A definite one to read.

Book Review: Von Neumann’s War by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor

2010-09-27T18:35:00.001-07:00

Book Review: Von Neumann’s War by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor
Published in 2006 by Baen
John Ringo on Baen Books

Cover art by Kurt Miller

Something or someone is changing the albedo of Mars, and they are heading towards The Earth once they are done.

The premise of the novel lies in Von Neumann robots, self-directing and self-replicating robots, making them essentially self-sufficient. This is one proposed method for a species to colonize another world, send small probes or robots to go, gather raw resources, reproduce themselves, the to continue onward. This is the core idea in the novel, where self-replicating robots come from somewhere else and start to terraform (to their specifications) the entire Solar System, starting with the larger gas giants and moving inward towards The Planet Earth.

The novel opens up with a military operation in Iraq involving what would become two of the main characters. Moving from an insurgent firefight the novel paces into Defense Contractors discussing work flow and then increasing Astronomical Reports of the change in appearance (Albedo or the amount of light reflected from an object. When the surface changes on something, it reflects or absorbs more or less light, which is in very simplified terms the Albedo of the object) of celestial bodies in the Solar System.

As the book progresses more evidence is found to support the knowledge of an incoming alien invasion. The military and defense contractors work together to attempt to devise means to combat the encroaching menace. The book showcases the awesome ideas postulated, along with scientific details that bring out the depth of research the author took in writing it. From sniper work to project management discussions to fringe inventors, Von Neumann’s War never fails to deliver on each page.

Clocking in at 519 pages, Von Neumann’s War is pure Military SF reading pleasure. Go get a copy and discover the great writing that John Ringo does. It used to be available at the Lakeland Books A Million, go try to find it there. This copy purchased at a bookstore sometime a few years ago.

Book Review: Black Steel by Steve Perry

2010-09-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Black Steel by Steve Perry

The Matador Books all By Steve Perry

This is a series of books all interrelated in plot, setting, characters, and themes. They are in order of printing, The Man Who Never Missed, Matadora, The Machiavelli Interface, The 97th Step, The Albino Knife, Black Steel, Brother Death, and The Musashi Flex. They form an intense over reaching whole, telling the story of the rise and fall of a near dictatorship and the democracy that replaces it from the perspective of the trained killers that orchestrate the majority of the overthrow.

So Black Steel follows The Albino Knife, about one year after the end of that novel, and concerns its self with Sleel, the ultimately self-assured Matador from the first trilogy. This is the second stand alone novel set after the main series of novels, and in my opinion, it perhaps Steve Perry’s strongest novel written.

After the end of The Albino Knife, Sleel seems to have taken several small contracts, and at the start of Black Steel, he is contacted by Jersey Reason, the ex-thief us readers met in The Albino Knife. Seems Mr. Reason is being attacked by sword wielding types and wishes to employ Sleel in his capacity as a Matador, one of the preeminent bodyguards in the setting of these novels.

What follows on from this is the Journey of The Shaman, from life, to death, to rebirth, to a new life, embracing a new way of looking at the world and the greater view of creation, as well as encountering and taking on the aspect of his totem.

During this journey Sleel attempts to reconnect with his parents, major details about his life prior to the novels are revealed, showing depth to the character that never has come out in prior novels save in one or two snippets recognizable after the fact. He demonstrates a sense of caring and determination that is near suprahuman, much as all the Matadors do throughout the novels, and is gravely injured.

During his convalescence he comes into his second life, his rebirth, when he holds a sword in his hand for the first time. Here is where the novel takes off and heads into great territory. Up to this point Sleel has been almost a throwaway character, with very programmed and stereotypical reactions. Once his rebirth comes about he becomes much more than words on the page, but becomes an actual character that can be cared about, and that transformation brings empathy to the character and his plight and nascent love for the sister of Mayli Wu, a dead Matador from the first three novels. With a blade at his side, he calls in his extended Matador family to rescue his new love from an egotistical swordsman that kidnapped her for personal reasons.

The ending is pure Steve Perry Matador writing, fast paced, clipped, to the point and the good guys run all over the bad guys, just how it is supposed to be in these books.
This is perhaps the best novel Mr Perry has written to date. Of the Matador novels it is by far the best one in this reviewers opinion, mostly due to the evolution of the main character and while the outcome is never in doubt, still growth is achieved.

Notes on the series in general:
The rest of the novels expand a different character from the initial three novels. Pen is showcased in The 97th Step, Sleel in Black Steel, Bork in Brother Death, and the group as a whole in The Albino Knife. The different novels all flesh out the wonderful setting. The various planets are all rich in depth and the action is intense. Each plot item moves the metastory as a whole along.

This is one of the best Cyberpunk/Near Ribofunk series produced. The elements of Viral technology, information usage, computer interrelationships, and how technology impacts on the common folks all bring to life a galaxy oppressed struggling for a better life with no hope except that suddenly provided by Khadaji and his followers.

As a Science Fiction, Cyberpunk genre series it is highly recommended. These books are full of characters, fights, eastern beliefs, situations and a cohesive societal structure that is eminently plausible. While not the stylistically perfect novels, such as Dune by Frank Herbert or the Amber Novels by Roger Zelazny, the Matador Series books have the power to hold and draw the reader deeper into their world. Once there the reader will cheer their successes and mourn their losses.

The chronological order of the series is:
The Musashi Flex
The 97th Step
The Man Who Never Missed
Matadora
The Machiavelli Interface
The Albino Knife
Black Steel
Brother Death

The novel Omega Cage by Steve Perry and is set in the same universe and while not a part of the Matador series, it bears a relation to it. It falls as the second novel, preceding The 97th Step, in terms of the chronology. The book The Mushashi Flex showcases the origins of the fighting style Sumito as well as the Brotherhood of the Shroud.

Link:
Steve Perry’s Blogsite
http://themanwhonevermissed.blogspot.com/

Book Review: The Sword of the Dawn by Michael Moorcock

2010-09-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

Book Review: The Sword of the Dawn by Michael Moorcock
Published in 1977 by Daw Books
Cover Art by Richard Clifton-Dey

Book Review: The Sword of The Dawn by Michael Moorcock

Published in 1967, 1977 The edition owned is the 1977 Edition Daw SF

Cover art by Richard Clifton-Dey

Cover image courtesy T Kelson, a photograph of his copy of the novel

From the book

“Then the Earth grew old, its landscapes mellowing and showing signs of age, its ways becoming whimsical and strange in the manner of a man in his last years…
-The high History of The Runestaff

Duke Dorian Hawkmoon, Duke of Koln, Sometimes willing servant of The Runestaff, his adventures continue in the third volume in The HIstory of The Runestaff which is titled, The Sword oF THe Dawn.

The novel opens with the warlords of Granbretan surveying the destruction they had wrought on a city, the last in Europe they claim, to fall to their forces. The might of the Dark Empire of Granbretan has swept the lands of Europe and most of the Middle East as well at this point. Their forces are seemingly unstoppable in their relentless pursuit of decadent destruction and devastation.

Meanwhile in the alternate Kamarg where the machine of the Crystal Folk of Soryandum had sent the heros and their land too, boredom has set in for the warriors there. Dorian, Count Brass, Oladahn and Huilliam are all growing tired of the peace and worry about what is happening back in their home dimension mounts. When a poet from Granbretan is captured, fears rise that if he could make it there, then military forcer from Granbretan could also. From there Dorian and Hulliam travel back to the Dark Empire to seek out a mystic and to ascertain what the Scientists of Granbretan do or do not know.

The rest of the novel consists of their adventures in Granbretan, further ruminations and machinations of the nobles of that island as well as the tasking from the Runestaff as transmitted through The Warrior in Jet and Gold. Along the way more of the island is explored, Baron Meliadus is encountered and foiled and travel is found to the fabled land of Amarehk, where a civilization is destroyed, river pirates foiled, loyal friends perish and the next item Dorian needs to defeat the Dark Empire, the Sword of The Dawn, is wrested from the group that had possession of it, and into the hands of the Duke, where the power to summon the Legion of The Dawn is revealed in a most fortuitous time.

The battles are non-stop, the complaining of Hawkmoon continues, and the real hero of Hulliam carries the day once again. Once the quest is complete, Dorian and Huilliam seek to return to Europe in order to return to The Kamarg and to see once again their friends and loved ones.

This third novel is only slightly longer than the previous two, coming in at 173 pages in the edition I own. It has the same pacing and narrative feel as the other novels, slightly more compressed and short in depth in comparison to the novels dealing with Elric or Corum in comparison.

Hawkmoon as a character is not my favorite Eternal Champion Manifestation. He seems the least powerful of them all (With the most items to help him against mortal foes of all the champions as well as a plethora of companions). Still his is one of the more interesting settings, and if you have Granbretan as a power but not a superpower it is probably the most interesting of the core settings to this reader and reviewer. The technology as magic works wonderful here vice in the first three Corum novels. The mood is strong and evocative and, since it is an alternate future, seems much more plausible to me. This is what makes the world of Hawkmoon the most accessible to Roleplaying Games as well, compared to either the Elric or Corum novels (which are the only other ones that have been ported to RPGs).

RPG Note:
If someone is interested Mongoose Publishing has created the Hawkmoon Roleplaying Game. It is no longer in production per Sales at Mongoose Publishing. The author has not had a chance to pick up a copy so no impressions are available. There was another one based on the Runequest game system, which I had seen once many years ago. There are no RPGs currently in production covering this manifestation of The Eternal Champion.

Links Section:
Michael Moorcock Online

Magazine Review: Protodimension Magazine Issue #4 Gaming Support for the Horror Gamer

2010-09-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

Protodimension Magazine Issue #4 Gaming Support for the Horror Gamer In review

It is primarily devoted to support for Role Playing Games. However there is a strong fiction and poetry component to the magazine, and that is the portion to be discussed here in this review. The full review is available on my Tabletop Roleplaying Games Resource Examiner Page

So Protodmension Issue #4 was released in May of 2010 by Kinstaff Media
The Editors are
Norm Fenlason
Lee Williams
Tad Kelson

77 pages of Free Gaming Material accompanied by artwork and did I mention Free to download in pdf format.

Protodimension Magazine is a direct descendant of the Demonground Magazine from a few years before. Two of the three editors on PDM also worked on DG. PDM, as Protodimension Magazine is referred to, is devoted to Horror, Conspiracy, Surreal, and Modern Gaming genres as support for those that run and for those that play these games.

Protodimension Magazine is a quarterly publication, much like the rest of the gaming industry publications of the last few years. This allows time for contributors to send in articles and artwork and time for the three editors to process and work with the authors to make it the best it can be. Submittables are wide open, from Fiction to Poetry to Real World examples and How to Articles along with Creatures and NPC writeups as well as Adventures (So far). The creators are not limiting the scope of what is acceptable (except for really gratuitous violence or those things not really socially acceptable in an online format), so the field is wide enough for most anyone.

In each issue there are only two recurring features. There is the Lead In Editorial appropriately titled From The Shadows. These are penned by the lead editor for that issue. The second feature is the Under The Floorboards Column which is written by the Chief Editor Lee Williams. The focus of Under The Floorboards is in offering ideas and advice to the gamer.

The rest of this short review is only discussing the Fiction and Poetry

• Silence, Poetry by music-freak101
• Market Direct, An Interview with Literature Innovator Jess Hartley
• Report on the Viability of, A Short Story, by CW Kelson III (Tad)
• Staring, A Poem, by music-freak101
• Memories Of A Killer, Fiction by Peyton Bisaillon
• The Big Long Wait, A Short Story by Tim Bisaillon
• Mechanisms, Fiction by CW Kelson III (Tad)

Looking over the table of contents the fare runs from poetry to gun write ups to off color comics and GM support, making for a wide gamut of materials. Now for a little bit about each piece in order, or so, as it appears in the issue.

There are two poems from a newcomer to the magazine, Silence and Staring both short and both from music-freak101 from his dA page.

Then there are some fiction from the Bisalions, Tim and his daughter Peyton. One is in a serial killer vein, the other a vignette related to a cycle of gaming and music that Mr Bisallion has created and still does so. These are two entries that are full of flavor related to the genres covered in the magazine.
There is more fiction from Editor Tad Kelson. A longer piece titled Mechanisms and a shorter piece that was submitted to the Ceramic DM contest on Enworld a few years ago titled, A Report On The Viability of. What are the aliens up to in both is left to the reader to wonder.
The last fiction related piece is an interview with RPG and Fiction Writer Jess Hartley, discussing her work and her Patron Project Shattered Glass.

Overall, this is an excellent support medium for the selected genres. It is of little to no use for those who only play Fantasy RPGs, where all others can draw inspiration from it.

Previous issues have included more fiction from Tad Kelson, Peyton Bisallion and poetry from Lester Smith.

PDM is located at http://www.protodimension.com/

The download page is conveniently linked off the main page leading to here http://www.protodimension.com/zine/?page_id=101

Note: I am one of the editors of this online free gaming magazine. I am not paid for the work, and the issues are free.

Book Review: The Jewel In The Skull by Michael Moorcock

2010-09-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

Book Review: The Jewel In The Skull by Michael Moorcock

Published in 1967, 1977 The edition owned is the revised 1977 Edition Daw Fantasy

Cover art by Richard Clifton-Dey

From the book

“Then the Earth grew old, its landscapes mellowing and showing signs of age, its ways becoming whimsical and strange in the manner of a man in his last years…"
-The high History of The Runestaff

The Jewel In The Skull if the first book dealing with the Incarnation of The Eternal Champion known as Dorian Hawkmoon, Last Duke of Koln and bearer of the Black Jewel.

With the opening lines pulled from the novel, it drew me in that first time back when it was published new and I was just discovering another Incarnation, Elric of Melnibone.
It was so reminiscent of the Kane novels by Karl Edward Wagner and The Pastel City by M. John Harrison, that I remember I scoured the newsstand store and stationary store back in Sioux City IA looking for the others in the series. The opening line drew me in and like with Elric or Corum (who I discovered after Hawkmoon but before Erlic Skarsol or Erekose) I was hooked from the opening lines.

Dorian Hawkmoon lives in a post-apocalyptic Europe ravaged and fragmented by war with the Empire of Granbretan. The Dark Empire, as it is known, is seeking to subjugate the entire continent and then onward to the distant lands of Asia Communista and far off Amarehk. Their goal is total world control and domination under the Empire of the Mask, as all inhabitants of the island of Granbretan wear a mask of the Order they belong to. They live their lives under these masks rarely removing them even among themselves.

The Dark Empire has conqurred the lands of Koln and taken the rule, Duke Dorian Hawkmoon captive and in a scheme to undermine and conquer the lands of The Kamarg, ruled by Count Brass, implant a Black Jewel (Of the title to the book) that is linked by both sorcery and technology to a machine in the capital city of Londra. With the jewel they can see what the Duke sees and along with mental conditioning they send him as a secret turncoat agent to kidnap the daughter of Count Brass, Yisselda, and to bring her as a hostage to the Dark Empire.
The rest of the book relates how Dorian Hawkmoon falls into love, is released from the Black Jewel’s power, and aids in setting the machinations of The Dark Empire back.

The Jewel in The Skull is an excellent example of Michael Moorcock’s writing style and a great introduction to some of the core concepts of his Multiverse Stories. There is a total of 4 novels in the History of the Runestaff as well as 3 follow on novels dealing with Count Brass and more with Dorian Hawkmoon.

If someone is interested Mongoose Publishing has created the Hawkmoon Roleplaying Game. It is no longer in production per Sales at Mongoose Publishing. The author has not had a chance to pick up a copy so no impressions are available. There was another one based on the Runequest game system, which I had seen once many years ago.

Links Section:
The Jewel In The Skull online

Michael Moorcock Online

M. John Harrison

Karl Edward Wagner

Book review: Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti

2010-09-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti

Taya is an Icarus, a courier that soars above the mountain side city of Ondinium, the city named after the lighter than air metal that allows her to soar using wings made of this metal.

The novel opens up with her performing a daring midair rescue after a wireferry (aerial cable car) has an accident and only her quick thinking and skills allow her to rescue a mother and child that are in danger.
This act brings her to the attention of the Exalted Caste, of which the mother and son belong to. The tale continues on with danger, guns, muggings, extravagant dinner parties as well as several budding romances.

The world of Ondinium is a varied and multifaceted one. Multiple other nations are mentioned, and the core elements of the city are brought forth in the novel. The city is broken into three main sectors, Primus, Secundus, Tertius, roughly correlating to the various castes that are prevalent in the Ondinium society.
The different castes are
Exalted
Icarii
Cardinals
Plebians

With differences in each caste such as in the Icarus caste there are the Diplomats, Military, and Courier (Such as Taya is). There are a ton of different locations mentioned in the book, lending a sense of reality and truth to the setting and worldscape.

Eexalted Cristof is one of the ruling class, the Exalted, and the only one to have voluntarily left his caste in order to work with Clocks and to avoid the constraints and confines of his caste.
His brother Alister, is one of the Decatur, a programmer working with the Great Engine, an Analytical Engine that runs punch card programs that aid in the governing of the city state of Ondinium. These two along with Taya Icarus (as she is known to other castes due to her status) are the three main characters to the novel.

The title of the novel refers to a program written by Alister to aid in, well, romance. For more on The Clockwork Heart you will have to read the novel.

The book pulls in multiple Steampunk/Clockpunk staples including Analytical Engines, Caste Systems, aerial combats and intrigue. It has a greatly developed landscape along with interesting and engaging characters, that do not feel YA (Young Adult) instead this reader was not aware it is considered YA at all.

Heartily recommend this novel for a great, engaging read for fans of Steampunk, Clockpunk, or light hear romantic Science Fiction.

One fascinating item about this novel is pulled from the author's site, is that the core novel was written during NaNoWriMo 2004 (National Novel Writing Month) making it a winner in more than one sense.

Various Links

Cover Art to Clockwork Heart by Timothy Lanz
http://www.stygiandarkness.com/

Clockwork Heart page
http://drupagliassotti.com/clockwork-heart/

Dru Pagliassotti Author's Page
http://drupagliassotti.com

Book Review: Emperor's Mercy by Henry Zou

2010-09-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Emperor's Mercy by Henry Zou

Emperor's Mercy is the latest novel dealing with the Inquisition and its efforts to stem the forces that threaten the stability of The Empire of Man in the Warhammer 40,000 Game / World Setting

Subtitled a Bastions War novel, the cover art is also used in the latest release for The Dark Heresy RPG, Dark Heresy: Ascension the artwork is by Raymond Swanland

This is a story of Inquisitor Obodiah Roth of the Ordo Hereticus and his main acolyte Bastiel Silverstein, who is a Hunter / Marksman extraordinaire. They are members of the Inquisition working to safeguard the Imperium of Man.

The novel open up with Chaos Raiders hammering an Imperial world over running it within a short span of time. This is a great opening to a WH40K novel and raised high hopes for the rest of the novel. Then the newest member of the Inquisition is introduced and compared to most Inquisitors introduced till this point, is a bit of a fop. Seemingly more interested in his fighting gear and its appearance than in prepping for an insertion into a Chaos Invaded Imperial World, he seems more generic than of Ordo Hereticus.

The book cuts to their arrival on the world of Cantica and the follow on investigations and deductions of the inquest Inquisitor Roth conducts there and on several follow on worlds.

There are some decent fight scenes, some good new wargear pieces that a writer or gamer in the overall WH40K setting could pull from, but the main character could have died about half way through and then his hunter could have taken over and made a difference and it would have improved the novel.

I recommend it for RPG players for data and ideas to source from. The opening portion where he gets a handwritten note via clockwork pigeon sent via courier ship showcases some of the ideas Henry Zou comes up with. I just do not care for Obodiah Roth the same way I do about Gregor Eisenhorn or Gideon Ravenor elicits in me.

In Final Opinion:
It reads a lot like a series of game sessions. The main character could be pulled from Dark Heresy and this is a series of 1-1 gaming sessions, with the NPC of the hunter being a sidetrek. For that a GM could pull data from the novel and make a decent solo series of adventures. Take it for its worth.

I have been reading WH40K fiction since Ian Watson first published Warhammer 40K: Inquisitor (1990 I got the book new then) and this is not there yet, but the author holds great promise and I plan to read his follow on novels.

Links:
Henry Zou's website

Emperor's Mercy on The Black Library

Ian Watson

Dark Heresy RPG by Fantasy Flight Games

Note: This book was purchased at Haslam's Bookstore in St Petersburg FL

Book Review: Mechanicum by Graham McNeill

2010-09-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Mechanicum by Graham McNeill
Published in 2008 A Black Library Publication

Cover art by Neil Roberts

The ongoing tale of the Horus Heresy continues in Mechanicum penned by Veteran WH49K Author Graham McNeill. The tale recounts the bravery of the forces loyal to The Emperor at the start of the Heresy and of the Civil War that engulfed Mars as the Heresy spread across the Imperium.

This is perhaps the best book in The Horus Heresy Series so far. It captures, for this reviewer, the spirit of the great wars that raged when The Warmaster betrayed the Emperor, and mighty conflicts engulfed the fledgeling Imperium, as showcased in the earlier GW products such as Adeptus Titanicus and Epic 40,000.

While it still at points stray from the look and feel of the other novels in The Horus Heresy series, it really feels the closest to the intent and flavor of the original source materials, Rogue Trader and the first novels relating to Warhammer 40,000.

The story is concerned with two main plot threads. The first is the coming of the heresy to Mars and how portions of The Mechanicum fell under the sway of Chaos and chose to follow The Warmaster into conflict with Terra and the Loyalists. The other main plot point deals with a young scribe, named Dalia Cythera, from the Librarium Technologica, a part of the Imperial Palace on Terra, who is sentenced for death for enhancing the interior workings of her cogitator station, making it more efficient and effective for the work she was performing. Her sentence is denied by the actions of an Adept of Mars, High Adept Koriel Zeth, The Mistress of Magma City.

The two threads come together towards the end of the novel, when the forces of The Dark Mechanicum move against those loyal to The Emperor and open battle breaks out across the face of Mars. Dalia and other servants of the Mechanicum worked together to create new devices and machines at the behest of the High Adept Zeth, while the Dark Mechanicum in a parody of this, create Chaos based servitors and war machines to aid in conquering Mars for the Ruinous Powers.

This book has the curious odd mixture of WH40K sensibilities and feeling with a looseness and different, more ‘Modern’ feel, with primitive natures and blind religious dogma coming into play and repression, with the search for the past with the intent to hide it away from sight. This book really captures the start of the standard Imperium to this reader, much more so than the other books There are a few almost discordant elements to it, how the Adepts function and work feels very different than the other Horus Heresy novels seemed to portray, while the Titans and Knights are almost exactly how they were depicted and portrayed in early WH40K sources and accounts.

It is an excellent WH40K novel, one diehard fans should enjoy.

Links Section:

Graham McNeill

Neil Roberts Cover Artist

The Black Library Publishing Site

Black Library on Twitter

This is the main Games Workshop website

Specialist Games section where Adeptus Titanicus and other specialist titles live on at

Important Note:

This used copy was purchased at The Book Bazaar in Lakeland, FL. Support Used and New Book stores, buy paper not just electrons.

Book Review: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 from Brady Games

2010-09-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 from Brady Games Guide

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is one of the most successful FPS (First Person Shooters) to date. Combining the processing power of the XBox 360 with their game engine and a continuation of the hit storyline from the previous games, along with a built in multiplayer mode, COD MW2 has shown with sales, it is a winner.

This reviewer has been playing for several months now the XBox 360 version almost exclusively in Multiplayer mode. There is a world of depth to the game in the Story and Special Ops modes as well, which this reviewer is slowly starting to indulge in. However, Hardcore Team Deathmatch is the preferred game mode and the entire reason I picked up the Brady Book Guide, for the maps and other data that is in table format in the later portion of the $19.99 US I spent at the Barnes and Nobles in Wesley Chapel, FL. (which was the first store I found it in, and so the one which received my money).

The book is organized into 3 large scale areas
Campaign
Special Ops
Multiplayer

Within each section is a walk through of the various maps and game play modes (especially for Special Ops and Multiplayer including Search and Destroy and Headquarters for instance) with the requisite Brady Games maps and illustrations.

When I begin the campaign mode, I will have this book open next to me, as it gives tips on when and where the opposition will arrive at as well as tips to accomplish each task as efficiently as possible.

What prompted the purchase however were the maps and charts in the back of the book. Even after several months of game play the book comes in handy on the stock battles such as Estate and Scrapyard.

Those along with the Intel Charts (listing the various weapons, perks, killstreaks, accomplishments, etc.) are the real meat to the book for this player.

Along in the maps section for multiplayer are suggested classes (weapon, specials, perks, kill and deathstreaks) that the authors recommend for each map, various play styles and game modes to make it easier for the new player to get started enjoying themselves (perhaps more than I did as I played nothing but free for all for about the first 30 levels and did quite a bit of damage to the KDR which stands for Kill Death Ratio (one statistic the game via XBox Live tracks comparing total kills to total deaths as a ratio. As of the time of writing this article mine was up to .62, not a good showing. 15k some kills to 25k some deaths so far. But it is improving with game play skills, accuracy, and knowing limitations.

With that said, as with all Brady Games Guides, it is full of useful information. Unlike most of them, there are no lists of creatures, mostly due to the lack in the game. With good reference charts, solid advice and maps for the new comer, it is a recommended purchase for those that want a leg up playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 on the XBox 360.

Note:

The book precedes the release of the two ( as of writing) map pack expansions, so it is not much direct use for maps such as Salvage, Overgrown, or Vacant.

Some Links

Infinty Ward's Main Website

Bradygames Guides Main Web Site

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Page on Bradygames Guides Site

Book Review: Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny

2010-09-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny

"I am Jack of Shadows!" he cried out. "Lord of Shadowguard! I am Shadowjack the thief who walks in silence and in shadows!..." pg 85 First Signet Printing August 1972

This is the story of one of the powers of Darkside. Sometime in the future the world has stopped spinning. The Darkside has magic and power and the Shield Compact to hold off the icy cold from space. The Lightside has technology and forcefields to hold the eternally shining Sun at bay. Both parts of the world are separated by Twilight, an in-between section of the world where both sets of rules work on an intermittent or slow basis.

This is the story of Jack of Shadows. He was beheaded when he was caught observing the singular Hellflame. Being a Power of the Twilight, he arose and strode across the lands seeking vengeance on those that caused his untimely death.

This is the story of possession, either of others or avarice in material items. It is also a story of friendship and devotion as well as to inevitable change coming to a static society, with lies and politics involved.

This is one of the finest of Roger Zelazny's novels. While short at 142 pages, it is one of this reviewers most frequently re-read novels.

The story is, in this writer's mind, intricately caught up with the song Moonshadow by Cat Stevens and the Eerie Magazine, especially the issues with Moonshadow (an assassin in a dark magical land as far as I can recall that far back 30 plus years).
In reading on the old series, it perhaps was more in memory than in actuality. However it is still linked in my mind to this novel.

No more spoilers in this review save to state, this is one of the most endearing and enduring novels in Mr Zelazny's epic writing career. A shame there were are not more stories of Jack of Shadows, Shadowjack the Thief, Lord of Shadowguard.

This novel Jack of Shadows, Isle of the Dead, Donnerjack, and Lord of Light are perhaps my favorites of his, beating out the Enduring Amber Novels for my personal reading pleasure. They do all have some shared characteristics, mixture of fantasy and sf, which has carried on to this day in a strong overall reading preference of this reviewer.

A superb novel.

Links:

Jack of Shadows on Wikipedia

Moonshadow the song by Cat Stevens on Wikipedia

Eerie Magazine on Wikipedia

A superb blog covering Eerie and other Warren Comics of the time period

A note I recall owning this particular issue based on the cover art Eerie 92

Note:

The cover illustrator is not noted in the frontispiece of the novel. The art chosen is for the edition I own purchased sometime in High School, when it was newly published.