Fantasybookspot - 6

The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:44:11 -0400

I don’t know what the phrase “extreme fantasy” means. To me the word “extreme” was best defined in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle : white water rafting in a convenience store, hang gliding off a cliff, drinking Mountain Dew and lastly listening to Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler. The editor of The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy defines extreme as “stories that took a basic idea, whether simple or complicated, and developed it to some extreme, beyond what the reader might normally expect.” That doesn’t sound too bad, but I like Harold and Kumar’s definition of extreme better.

For this review, I will give a brief synopsis of each story, followed by what I thought about the story and then finally the rating I give it out of 5. There are 24 stories in total making this one meaty, or mammoth if you will collection. Onto the first story:

1) Senator Bilbo by Andy Duncan. First published in 2001.
Story : A descendent of Bilbo Baggins fights for political power and immigration control in the fantasy land of the Shire.
Thoughts : Boring and overlong. Duncan is usually a good writer, but the characters in this are simply unsympathetic caricatures of Tolkien’s. I mean Gandolf-like magicians interacting with turn-of-the-century senators? Come on! Not a great way to start of a short fiction anthology.
Rating : 1/5

2) Sandmagic by Orson Scott Card. First published in 1979.
Story : A young boy watches his parents die of murder and disease and vows to seek vengeance upon the ones that caused his pain.
Thoughts : I liked the way Card expresses the concept of magic and the consequences caused by using something far greater than any one being. This story is very nicely done— heartbreaking and dark all at the same time. Now if only Card could keep his mouth shut and stop spouting his religious views on the evils of American Democracy and the Satanic undercurrents of homo-sexual marriages.
Rating : 3.5/5

3) Dream A Little Dream For Me… by Peter Crowther. First Published in 2000.
Story : A young man dealing with writers block travels to Germany to unwind and finds out he may be the key to saving God’s one true dream.
Thoughts : Crowther may be better known as the publisher of the great small press publishing house, PS Publishing. However, it also turns out that he is one heck of a good short story writer. This is a tale of how dreams can tempt us, rule us, and ultimately destroy us; how hope can turn to sorrow and regret in an instance. This one has a dreamlike melancholy feel to it— like dreaming of bunnies frolicking while your girlfriend breaks up with you.
Rating : 3/5

4) Lost Wax by Leah Bobet. First published in 2006.
Story : A young boy dreams of magic forbidden and learns that not all things wished for are beneficent and wanted.
Thoughts : A simple story with an abrupt ending. This one could’ve been more descriptive and a tad longer, but still was fun. Nothing much more to really say here, although I could never imagine myself collecting discarded wax shavings.
Rating : 2.5/5

5) Save A Place In The Lifeboat For Me by Howard Waldrop. First published in 1976.
Story : A bunch of old-time film comedians search for their destinies/purpose?
Thoughts : This is absurdist to the extreme. I don’t mind absurdist when it’s done well, like with Beckett, but this was not done well at all. Can comedy really save the world? I don’t know, but if it can, this ain’t it. If anything, this type of comedy will set things back by centuries.
Rating : 1.5/5

6) I Am Bonaro by John Niendorff. First published in 1964.
Story : A man who can turn into anything he wishes loses his mind in more ways than one.
Thoughts : An odd and short little story. This one is quite striking and will stay with you for days— or maybe like Bonaro, you’ll forget it. What wonder!
Rating : 2.5/5

7) The Old House Under The Snow by Rhys Hughes. First published in 2004.
Story : Two friends become trapped in a mansion surrounded by ice which slowly sinks, sending them deeper and deeper into a bottomless world.
Thoughts : The editor of this book, Mike Ashley, promotes this story as a nightmarish version of Alice in Wonderland, and I couldn’t agree more. This was quite the surreal one. Rhys has a definite way with words that will leave readers itching for more. I am officially a fan of his.
Rating : 3.5/5

8) Banquet of the Lords of Night by Liz Williams. First published in 2002.
Story : In a world of darkness where any concept of light means death, one man struggles to bring light to his life and save the world.
Thoughts : This is a short yet suspenseful story. Each word read is filled with more and more dread, reaching a crescendo that explodes of the page. Liz Williams always creates interesting worlds and this is no exception. Reminded me a lot of the tall creepy things from Dark Crystal and Mirrormask .
Rating : 3/5

9) Charlie the Purple Giraffe was Acting Strangely by David D. Levine. First published in 2004.
Story : A purple giraffe becomes aware that he is in a comic book and wonders if there is existence if there are no readers.
Thoughts : A story that can be read many ways: of our cultures obsessions with being famous, of peoples need to feel, well, needed— or perhaps it really is just about a purple giraffe. I’d like to live in a world where comic characters have found out the truth and Batman’s pretty pissed off at us. We can all dream.
Rating : 2.5/5

10) Master Lao and the Flying Horror by Lawrence Person. First published in 2005.
Story : In fantastic ancient China, a demonic evil starts taking the heads of villagers to build its floating head army, and it’s up to a lustful temple acolyte and his aging mentor to save the day.
Thoughts : Clearly Mr. Person has seen many Chinese horror/comedy movies, because this story is like reading the movies I grew up watching in the 80’s. He is rather funny with his turn of phrases and uses them for many laughs. It also seems like there’s more stories set in this world— gives me something to look for. This one is very reminiscent of The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart, which I entirely love.
Rating : 3/5

11) Using It and Losing It by Jonathan Lethem. First published in 1990.
Story : A man who wishes to be apart from society makes himself forget the language of words, but soon finds out that like all animals, words aren’t the only ways to express.
Thoughts : Admittedly, I am not the biggest Lethem fan, but this was quite interesting. The concept of repetition to forget actually blows my mind and makes me wonder if it can work— another odd-ball tall from Lethem. Maybe I’ll have to re-read Glass Soup . Wait, that’s a different Jonathan. Hmm. Still, both Jonathan’s were enormously boring on NPR the other day, so I stand by not liking either Jonathan.
Rating : 2.5/5

12) The All-At-Once-Man by R. A. Lafferty. First published in 1970.
Story : A man seeks immortality by living all ages at once.
Thoughts : This one reminded me of the Great Gatsby . I can’t really pin-point the why but the main character of this story had a “Gatsby-ness” to him, and that’s brilliant. What bogs the story down is that it try’s to explain the “how” of immortality but doesn’t do it well. I wish the author just left it ambiguous. Still, a nicely thought out and quirky piece— the ability to live all ages at once is an remarkable concept.
Rating : 2.5/5

13) Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani by William Hope Hodgson. First published in 1919.
Story : Translated to mean, “my god, my god, why have you forsaken me.” This is the story of a scientist who while trying to initiate an experiment attempting to recreate the biblical Crucifixion finds more than he bargains for, with Lovecraftian results.
Thoughts : This is by far the oldest of the stories, and it really shows— the dialogue is painfully prolonged, while the explanations are devastatingly lengthy and esoteric. Another problem I had with the story is the many shifting narrative view points. This can get a bit confusing at times and every time one of the characters reads “I said”, I was left wondering who in fact was talking. This is not old-time good like Lovecraft, but rather old-time bad like Edward E. Smith.
Rating : 1.5/5

14) Boatman’s Holiday by Jeffrey Ford. First published in 2005.
Story : Everyone knows that when you die, you put a coin under your tongue to pay the ferryman to take you across the river Styx. But what do we know about the ferryman? Tired of ferrying people across for centuries on end, the ferryman decides to use the holiday granted him once a century to escape hell, if only for a week. But can there truly be escape when hell is just a concept?
Thoughts : I liked this one a lot. It’s like Dante’s Inferno mixed with the “cosmic.” The question has always raged: did man create hell or did it always exist? This story tries to answer that question through one man’s journey into himself. This one reminded me of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis as well.
Rating : 3.5/5

15) The Detweiler Boy by Tom Reamy. First published in 1977.
Story : A detective searches for the murderer of an old friend but instead finds a string of murders leading back to something disturbingly cruel.
Thoughts : This one genuinely hit the spot. I question if this belongs in a collection of “fantasy” stories, but I really don’t care. It was a nice break and a damn fine story. More crime-horror than fantasy, but not totally without since all horror contains some sort of fantastical events. Like a side-show coming to town, this one’s a can’t miss. Total Recall anyone?
Rating : 3.5/5

16) The Fence at the End of the World by Melissa Mia Hill. First published in 2002.
Story : Two young girls are told never to leave their yard for fear of falling off the edge of the world.
Thoughts : This is the shortest story in the collection and being so short tells more of a tale than a story. This is about the children we forget that are locked up from the world by parents who are more dictators than family. I feel that there could be more to this tale, but it was in the middle of blossoming before it was cut off.
Rating : 2/5

17) Elric at the End of Time by Michael Moorcock. First published in 1981.
Story : Elric finds himself stranded at the End of the World with his soul sucking sword out of energy and trapped at the mercy of bored immortals.
Thoughts : Besides the previous story by Howard Waldrop, this is the probably the most controversial choice for this collection. Elric has always been a polarizing figure in the fantasy community, and as I get older I tend to come across more people that hate him rather than love him—I for one am a huge fan. The Elric series were the reason I started reading fantasy back when I was 13. Of course I was far too young to understand the underlying themes at play in each Elric tale, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. So the Elric stories always hold a special place in my heart. Kafka may have gotten me to start taking literature seriously, but it was Elric that made reading “fun”— so much so that I own this story in probably a dozen different collections. This is one of Elric’s later, more playful tales, and is in its own way probably the most assessable of his stories— perhaps that’s reason enough to include it. As the editor of this collection, Mike Ashley states, “it was impossible to compile this anthology without something by Michael Moorcock.” I couldn’t agree more.
Rating : 4/5

18) Cup and Table by Tim Pratt. First published in 2006.
Story : A secret society searches for a holy cup that, predating man, will allow them to talk to God and ask him any question, any plea. And only a junkie who can see through time knows the true plea that all of mankind truthfully desires.
Thoughts : I’ve been a fan of Pratt’s since his short story masterpiece, Impossible Dreams — it’s the nearest any story has gotten to a dream after my own heart. This one is another home run. I love the way Pratt shifts through time, layering more and more questions with more and more answers. He does in 18 pages what lesser writers take whole books to do. Love this guy and love his work. Buy everything he does people!!
Rating : 4/5

19) I, Haruspex by Christopher Priest. First published in 1998.
Story : In the early days of the 20th C. a man consumes the flesh and maladies of the dead in order to maintain a balance, keeping demons from overrunning the world.
Thoughts : Most people know Christopher Priest for his novel The Prestige , but he has had a prolific short story career for over 30 years now. This story starts off really slow and builds to a slow finish. Maybe it’s just me, but I felt that this story really slowed the flow of reading the overall collection— like the editor was reloading for something exciting to come so he needed a lull to fill the space. Not one of Priest’s better stories, but it had an interesting, if at times confusing and entirely disturbing, premise.
Rating : 2.5/5

20) Radio Waves by Michael Swanwick. First published in 1995.
Story : The ghost of a man seeking understanding and remembrance is chased by an “entity” in a dead world surrounded by radio waves.
Thoughts : This is an existentialistic story about choices. How even after death, the pain we caused and choices made still ripple against the tide. Can we forgive ourselves even long after the ones we hurt no longer care? This one is a nice, albeit surreal, look at death that reminded me a bit of the Japanese movie After Life .
Rating : 3/5

21) Tower of Babylon by Ted Chiang. First published in 1990.
Story : After centuries of building, The Tower of Babylon is finally finished, and a group of miners makes the 4-month trek to the top, attempting to dig upwards into the vault of heaven. But what they find isn’t exactly what they were expecting.
Thoughts : Besides the Elric story, this was the only other story I had read previously. This is the story of the nature of faith— the accepting of truth when there has never been any proof. Much praise has been heaped on Chiang and this story and deservedly so. What’s even more astounding is that this is Chiang’s first published story? What?!! It’s like finally making the majors and your first career at bat is pinch hitting in the bottom of the ninth in a game seven of the World Series and hitting a grand slam. Again, what?!! This has been discussed and dissected for years in the literary circle and I’m always amazed that by each re-reading of it I find out something new— some new layer previously undiscovered. It’s that good!! What I like most about this story is the way Chiang describes the agriculture surrounding the tower as one goes higher. Since whole communities live along the tower, mini-towns have sprout up and the need for food is ever prevalent. The mid-parts of the tower where water is scarce can only grow onions, while higher up where there is rain, they grow beans and fruits. It’s the little details that show how much care Chiang took into creating this world. Utterly brilliant.
Rating : 5/5

22) Jack Neck and the Worry Bird by Paul Di Filippo. First published in 1998.
Story : A day in the life of Jack Neck (at least I think that’s what it’s about).
Thoughts : This story is just odd. The reader is constantly getting smacked around by words and phrases that are made up and make no sense. I’m sure to Di Filippo, the words made sense in his mind, but since I don’t have the fortune to rent real estate there I didn’t get what’s going on. It’s truly like reading a story in a foreign language. You can maybe pick out every 100th word. Di Filippo is usually such a strong and defined writer. I think for this story he was given too much free reign and probably created a story he has been carrying around since childhood. It’s like reading a Dr. Seuss story if Dr. Seuss didn’t rhyme and made less sense. I have to give it to the magazine that first bought and published this story. That took a lot of guts, and good or bad, the future of short stories needs more of that.
Rating :1/5

23) The Dark One by A A Attanasio. First published in 1994.
Story : A young barbarian is gifted with power and immortality from an ancient sorcerer. Through centuries the barbarian walks, searching for his peace known as darkness, which eventually he hopes will lead him to destroying the world.
Thoughts : The one thing that stands out about this story is that it tries way too hard. Its message of spiritual bliss is laid on pretty thick, like syrup on a stack of pancakes or lotion on a fat guy’s belly. The message of this story is that no matter how much time changes, all things remain the same: empires will always rise and fall, man will always be greedy and selfish— and only darkness is the salvation. This story is all about how religion is faith and that is good, while science is truth and truth is death— how the worst invention ever founded by man is science. I was waiting for Keyser Soze to suddenly appear and say, “and another thing: the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world that he didn’t exist.” I mean it’s like reading some “emo” kids poetry. However, what really bothered me about this piece is that towards the end there’s a huge shift in POV which is extremely jarring, I thought I suddenly was reading another story— like I had skipped the ending or something. This is sadly not the worst story in this collection, but it’s brutal to get through nonetheless.
Rating : 1.5/5

24) A Ring of Green Fire by Sean McMullen. First published in 1994.
Story : A peasant with a penchant for the ladies is cursed with his “member” being surrounded by a green ring of fire. After spreading his wanton onto hundreds of unsuspecting women, a group of men newly infected hunt him down to make him pay.
Thoughts : This one is quite interesting. One of the notable aspects of this story is how beautifully it progressed: from the inanely comedic to the tragically possible— like a message surrounded by a lollipop. I’ve always been a fan of stories that say something profound while still being entertaining. This story is about how even to a healer, some wounds can never be healed; how only through pain can many of us find compassion and hope. This is a fantastic way to end a short-story collection. Heartbreaking and completely spot on.
Rating : 3.5/5

So that’s the end of the collection. I hope that at least someone was interested with what I had to say and will pick up this one up. While this was not by any means the best collection I have ever read (that honor goes to Haruki Murakami’s Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman ), it was still quite good. There were more interesting and excellent stories than there were of dreadful ones. Generally what I find from collections that contain numerous authors is that the overall quality dips pretty low—since every reader has different tastes, some editors try to meet all expectations within a single book, which is frankly impossible. Still, surprisingly enough, this collection worked. There were around 6 stories that I found were poor, 10 that were average to good, and 8 that ranged from great to incredible. Those might not seem to be great odds, but generally in short story collections, the poor stories far outweigh the good ones and the average stories in this were still better than most. The one complaint I had with this book is the “extreme” tag the editor chose. I know I have a different definition of extreme, but none of these stories felt particularly excessive. What would have been better would have been to call this collection, The Mammoth Book of Fantastic Stories to Read While Cliff-Diving or Parasailing — or maybe not.

Storms of Vengeance

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:04:12 -0400

Storms of Vengeance is the debut novel of John Beachem. It is the first book in his fantasy series, “The Lorradda Stone.”

The story is set in the Kingdom of Faranin, a state comprising many formerly independent nations brought together by centuries of war, now enjoying an uneasy peace for the first time in generations. Magic is forbidden, and those tainted with magical power, the Marked, are hunted and destroyed without mercy.

Faranin’s short-lived tranquility is shattered by a daring late-night raid on the capital city. A band of mysterious attackers, aided by magic, penetrate the vast complex of the royal palace and manage to get out alive. In the aftermath, a prominent legislator is found murdered in his chambers. He had many enemies who would have liked to see him out of the way, but what seems at first like a political killing is soon realized to be more. Witnesses reveal that while the assassination was taking place, some of the raiders were busy searching a completely different part of the palace. The speed and efficiency with which the mysterious raiders struck makes it clear that they knew exactly where to find their victim. So what else were they up to?

Into this mystery are thrust two young palace guards. Calton Relanas is a young man of peasant origins, eager to prove himself. His friend, Ratel Eresgot, is the scion of a wealthy aristocratic family who desperately wants to show that he can succeed without his powerful father. Assigned to assist with the investigation, they find themselves faced with a deadly conspiracy with tendrils reaching into the palace itself, and an evil with designs on far more than the life of a single politician.

I found Storms of Vengeance to be a frustrating book, because it keeps showing flashes of potential to be better than it was. After a successful attention-grabbing opening, things slow down badly, meandering dully for a number of chapters, punctuated by attempts at greater excitement that came across as forced. Then, about a third of the way through, things start to pick up, and I was fairly interested by the end. There’s some good stuff here, but it’s a bit of a slog to get to.

The characters are a mixed bag. The main protagonists, Calton and Ratel, were not effective for me, and seemed neither emotionally engaging nor otherwise interesting. Unfortunately, the reader spends a great deal of time with them. On the other hand, some of the antagonists are a good deal more interesting, though again there is a pacing problem: the reader must wade through some rather unsatisfying parts before these characters start to become more intriguing. I also liked the character of Faren, the commander of the palace guard who leads the investigation of the attack. Beachem does a nice job of taking a very boring, stick-in-the-mud sort of person and making him an interesting and sympathetic character. The brief appearances by the King of Faranin were also effective, defying the common clichés for fictional monarchs- heroic guardian of the people, ruthless tyrant and oppressor, or ineffectual buffoon. Instead, he comes across as a well-intentioned man who is just unbearably tired, ground down by a lifetime of crushing responsibility.

The setting is more or less a typical medieval fantasy kingdom; for the most part it is serviceable but not remarkable. It does have one prominent virtue, however. I greatly enjoyed the book’s portrayal of elves- or “forest demons,” as most people in Faranin call them. In an enjoyable break with the common fantasy clichés that have turned elves into little more than pretty long-lived humans with a fondness for trees and shrubbery, Beachem’s elves truly seem uncanny and inhuman, frightening and inscrutable creatures of folklore.

Overall, I would describe Storms of Vengeance as a disappointment. Beachem shows a number of flashes of potential, but the reader must put up with a good deal of much less interesting material to get to them. I think his work shows future promise, and I’m curious to see how Beachem develops, but overall I can’t recommend Storms of Vengeance.

Black God's Kiss

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:45:19 -0400

Black God's Kiss is a collection of six stories featuring Moore's sword and sorcery heroine Jirel of Joiry. They were first published in the magazine Weird Tales between 1934 and 1939. In those days it was highly unusual for a woman to get anything published in genre fiction, the ambiguous name on the cover is quite intentional. Moore's stories were some of the first sword and sorcery stories written by a woman, with a female character as main protagonist. Just for that Moore's stories attained a certain historical significance to the genre. Notwithstanding the achievement of getting them published in the first place, I don't think the particularly stand out quality wise. A lot of the 1930s pulp fantasy hasn't aged well and I think that goes for Moore's work as well.

This collection contains six stories, more or less in chronological order:

Black God's Kiss (1934) in which Jirel travels to hell itself to collect the ultimate weapon and slays her mortal enemy with a kiss.
Black God's Shadow (1934) in which a remorseful Jirel ventures into hell again to set him free from the eternal torture to which she doomed him in the previous story.
Jirel meets Magic (1935) in which Jirel follows an evil wizard into his magic realm to slay him.
The Dark Land (1936) in which a wizard snatches Jirel from the jaws of death and has her face her worst fear: commitment to a man.
Quest of the Starstone (1939) in which Jirel searches a haunted castle for the Starstone, the only ransom that will by the freedom of her man-at-arms.
Hellgarde (1937), co-written with Henry Kuttner (whom she would marry in 1940), in which Jirel's enemies bring in men from outer space to subdue her.

Except for the chainmail bikini, which must have been invented by a man, this covers about every sword and sorcery cliché I can think of. Interesting enough the artist who did the cover did depict her wearing a metal brassiere. In a 10 page introduction author Suzy McKee Charnas goes on at length about how Jirel does not conform to sexist stereotypes, in that light the cover is rather ill chosen. Instead of not conforming to the 1930s ideas on femininity they now submit her to ours.

So, to set the records straight, Jirel is a flame haired, short tempered, sword wielding and, above all, independent woman. Unheard of in the 1930's. Had they hit the mainstream they would have been scandalous probably. Character development is pretty much non-existent in these stories. The wild Jirel will not be tamed. By modern standards they are not unpleasant to read but the genre has progressed a lot since the 1930s. For the jaded 21st century fantasy reader it doesn't offer much. I must admit I am a bit biased here, I never enjoyed pulp fantasy. I tried to read a bunch of Howard's Conan stories once and found them boring. If you happen to like Howard you will enjoy this.

One interesting aspect of this collection is that you can see the development in Moore's writing. The prose of the first two stories is.. well.. by today's standards it is atrocious. Every other sentence in Black God's Kiss starts with "She". In the later stories her writing improves, and in the collaboration with Kuttner the style changes somewhat. This development makes me wonder about her later work. Moore certainly did not lack talent.

All in all I have mixed feelings about Black God's Kiss. Which I appreciate the historical significance of the work and Moore's determination in getting it published, I didn't enjoy the stories themselves that much. They were mildly entertaining at best, the writing of some of them is rather poor. I wouldn't pick this up unless you really enjoy the 1930s pulp fantasy.

The Spiderwick Chronicles (DVD, Blu Ray)

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:34:54 -0400

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I was a Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi "virgin", as I had never read any of their books before. I was going into THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES Blu Ray movie tabula rasa. This can be a good thing, as there are no expectations, and a bad thing as I have no real background as the viewer.

All the actors did a good job with all the blue screen work they had to do, while interacting with the fantasy creatures created by powerful computers. They also portrayed a regular family with brothers/sister interaction very well. I particularly liked Sarah Bolger playing the character of Mallory Grace and how she deals with her younger brothers. Everyone that has an older sister can relate here.

From the voice acting standpoint, the CGI characters came to life. Hogsqueal, who at first I thought was too simple for the story, came around a bit in the end. The humor of the character does lend itself to some entertaining moments throughout the film. Mulgarath , the ogre, was the main villain in the story, but at the end of the day while he seemed so very evil, it did not feel like the character had been built up enough that I felt he had the chance to take over the world.

This is really where the issues come into play. The movie felt very rushed, and I am sure it had to be due to the fact it was covering 5 books in the span of a single movie even if the books were not huge volumes. We are rushed in without too much background and this causes our investment in the characters to be rather small, leading to a low level of concerns for their fate. The story should have been paced over two movies to give the character time to develop on the screen, which I can only assume they did in the book, or there should have been a warning that reads, “read books first for true background before watching”.

The strongest part of the movie stems from the special effects, which are pretty darn special. Mulgarath, the Troll in the tunnels and the goblins themselves are extremely well done and mesh with the environment seamlessly. The battle scenes draw you in and bring what you only thought you could render in your imagination on the screen. These are the scenes that up the excitement factor for the movie and make us sit up and take notice. Mulgarath, with his morphing from one character to the next is truly a marvel of special effects.

The two things from the Blu Ray Extras that stood out (don’t know if they are also on the DVD) were the making of the fantastical creatures in the ILM computer labs as well as the interviews with Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. There are other interviews with the rest of the actors and then some deleted scenes as well, what one has come to expect from the extras section.

Overall, a rather rushed effort that is really too scary to lend itself to a young child’s viewing. Maybe being a well versed fantasy reader had an effect on my review, or maybe reading the books may be necessary to fully enjoy it. The special effects save this movie for a lower score from this reviewer, and everyone should see them in glorious High Definition at some point.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:00:20 -0400

Once Bitten, Twice Shy is the first book in Jennifer Rardin’s urban fantasy series about Jasmine (Jaz) Parks, a CIA-assassin with a specialty in supernatural baddies. Jaz is not only a tough chick with a gun fetish (she has named her handgun Grief!), she’s also sassy, rather funny girl who has a sarcastic quip ready for just about any situation. She is, however, also damaged, something that the reader begin to suspect already from the beginning where her grumpy boss decides to partner her with the Agency’s top assassin Vayl, an almost 300 year-old vampire. Unlike many other novels in the urban fantasy genre, Once Bitten is not a romance though there is a tiny whiff of sexual chemistry between Jaz and Vayl, but it doesn’t interfere with the action-based plot.

The plotline revolves around a single mission that Jaz and Vayl is given six months into their partnership. On paper, it looks like a rather straightforward mission. They are to take out a high-profile celebrity plastic surgeon, which also happens to be the money-man for an extremist terrorist group called Sons of Paradise. And we are not talking militant Muslims here! Since Jaz and her partner regularly deal with the supernatural, this enemy is altogether scarier. The Sons of Paradise worship a mythical chaos-beast called the Tor-al-Degan and their ideal world makes the world-views of other religious extremists look rather warm and cuddly in comparison. However, Jaz and Vayl soon learn that their seemingly simple mission is a lot more complicated than what they initially thought. The scary chaos-sect is apparently involved with an even scarier character called the Raptor and both Jaz and Vayl find themselves as targets of repeated assassination attempts, indicating that there’s a mole in their own ranks. And, as icing on a not very pleasant cake, they learn that the Sons of Paradise plan to release not only a deadly virus but also a voracious chaos-beast into the population.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy is a very fast-paced novel. The story hits the ground running and just keeps accelerating. The fast pace covers a few logic whole and dues ex machinas in the plot, but it also precludes anything other than a superficial characterization. Vayl is a rather run-of-the-mill vampire, world-weary and suave, and not particularly interesting considering his long life-span. Only his rather funny snake phobia gives him a little unique colour.

When it comes to Jaz, Jennifer Rardin has done a much better job, which to some extent is the result of the first person narrative. Jaz comes across as tough, able and quite funny, despite the fact that her wise-cracking lines at times comes off as rather forced. She is also an emotionally damaged person. Her relationships with her family (father, sister and twin-brother) ranges from intimacy to severe dysfunction, she suffers from mysterious blackouts and as the narrative progresses the reader learns that she has survived some truly horrendous event. Jaz is thus very severely traumatized, but she is also unable to acknowledge this damage. I found this aspect of the novel the most interesting, and I must admit that I was not satisfied with Rardin’s explanation. The book is more about action than character, but since there’s a whole series planned, Jaz might become a more layered character.

Once Bitten can perhaps best be described as Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets James Bond, i.e. fast-paced action where the Apocalypse is just around the corner, with a generous sprinkling of a wry, tongue-in-cheek humour:

Still basically clueless, I fell back on what Granny May used to call my “spider sense.” (She was a big fan of Marvel Comics. Dave inherited her collection, the lucky bum.) She had meant my Woman’s intuition, and even without my newly honed senses to back it up, it thrummed like a tightly strung web.

Rardin also peppers her narrative with a welter of popular culture references, some of which are quite funny, but it will make to book look date in the course of a decade or two. The prose is generally unremarkable and the novel is for the most part competently put together (the exception being a lengthy and rather clumsy sequence where Jaz has an out-of-body experience in order to relate what happens elsewhere).

Once Bitten, Twice Shy does not pretend to be anything other than what it is: a fast-paced and generally light-hearted piece of fun. It stays on the surface of things, rather than exploring hidden depths, but that's ok. I personally found it very entertaining, and, let’s face it, once in a while you just feel like having popcorn instead of dinner.

The Path of Daggers

Sat, 31 May 2008 08:27:09 -0400

The eight book in the Wheel of Time series. Published in 1998, this book is often mentioned as one of the least favourite among the Wheel of Time fans. By this point both progression in the story and Jordan's productivity have dropped considerably. There has been a two and a half year gap between A Crown of Swords and The Path of Daggers and it would be another two years before book nine, Winter's Heart was published. Another disappointment for many fans was that Mat does not appear in this book. Although I do not quite agree with the much heard criticism that nothing happens in this book, I don't believe I ever read a book in which nothing happens, I can't say it is a particularly satisfying read.

As with the previous reviews I am going to assume you have read the first seven books and give you an overview of what everybody is up. Which at this point in the story is rather complicated so don't expect a comprehensive summary.

Anyway, book 1 - 7 spoilers ahead.

Elayne, Nyneave and Aviendha leading a group of Seafolk Windfinders, a group of the Kin and a number of Aes Sedai, escape Ebou Dar just ahead of the Seanchan invasion and travel to the Kin farm some miles outside the city. The Seafolk are eager to fulfil their end of the bargain that has been struck in the previous book and the group sets about changing the unseasonably hot the weather.Their massive use of the One Power attracts the Seanchan and the group has to flee again to escape being leashed. This time an even larger group travels to Andor by gateway where Elayne finally sets about claiming the Lion throne.

Perrin and Faile, with a mixed band of Aiel, Two Rivers men and Mayeners (including Berelain) as well as a number of Aes Sedai and Asha'man, are travelling through Ghealdan in search of the Prophet. Berelain, much the Faile's chagrin, manages to convince Queen Alliandre of Ghealdan to swear fealty to Perrin, bringing his resurrection of the ancient state of Manatheren one step closer. The Prophet appears to be in Amadicia though so the party travels on to put an end to Masema's destruction in the name of the Lord Dragon.They find more than the bargained for in Amadicia though. While Perrin is bringing Masema to heel his party runs into one of the scattered bands of Shaido.

Rand in the mean time is settling affairs in Illian. The King Illian has been missing for some time and Rand has accepted the Laurel Crown, or the Crown of Swords as it is know from now on. Apparently wearing it is just as uncomfortable as sitting on the Iron Throne, for those of you who are familiar with Martin. One tends to get cut.
While cleaning up in Illian Rand learns of the Seanchan invasion near Ebou Dar and plans to drive them back again. With a small army of his least loyal subjects, Bashere and a number of Shienaran lancers and several dozen Asha'man Rand departs for the mountain range that separates Illian and Altara and systematically drives the Seanchan. Although Bashere advices against it Rand tries to make a final push for Ebou Dar and for the first time since The Dragon Reborn employs Calandor, the Sword that is not a Sword, to achieve this aim. The result is noting short of disastrous.

Egwene is still struggling to get the Salidar Aes Sedai to accept her as their leader. Their army is still moving at a snail's pace towards Tar Valon and the Aes Sedai are dragging their heels, hoping for a non-violent solution to the split in the Tower. With an inspired bit of manipulation cooked up between Siuan and herself she tricks the Hall into declaring war on Elaida. By the little know tower law of war this puts the Amyrlin in charge of all affairs relating to the war. Not as much as she would wish but definitely an improvement over the stalemate that held a serious effort to depose Elaida back. Egwene orders a month for rest and preparation after which she means to travel by gateway to Tar Valon and lay siege on the city.

We also find out where the Queen of Saldea has run off to, get a quick glance at several plots by the Forsaken and Darkfriends, learn the faith of Elaida's unfortunate expedition to destroy the Black Tower and get a brief look of events in the White Tower and Cairhien, where negotiations with the Seafolk have been completed in Rand's absence.

While the relatively low pace of this book makes it appear longer The Path of Daggers is actually the shortest of the bunch so far. It looks like A Memory of Light will be a lot longer as well. Sanderson is aiming of 400,000 words, which is about the size of Lord of Chaos. The problem with this book, and it appears to be a failing of a lot of other epic fantasy as well, is that Jordan spends so much time building his series that he forgets to put a proper story arc in the individual book. A lot of the book is focussed on the Elayne's story line and that of Rand. Both provide the book with a climax of sorts I suppose but they appear at odd places in the book. Jordan ends A Crown of Swords with the Seanchan invasion in Ebou Dar, then backtracks some hours to follow Elayne's departure and the effort to change the weather. What Jordan is really doing here is finish book 7. This overlap between books will get worse later on in the series, Crossroads of Twilight and Winter's Hart have a lot of overlap, making it hard for the reader to keep the time line straight.

Rand's part in this book is a bit more action packed this time. In A Crown of Swords he mostly juggles his various interests, now he goes into battle mode. His campaign against the Seanchan in interesting enough. The conclusion is somewhat predictable of course but I guess this was a lesson Rand has to learn. After this battle Jordan goes back to building again for another 120 pages at least though. He ends the book on a dramatic note of course but with an event that is only loosely related to what most of the rest of the book is focussed on (but is important to the plot of Winter's Heart). It looks to me like he could have provided a better story arc for A Crown of Swords, A Path of Daggers and Winter's Heart without sacrificing much of story as it is.

This book may be oddly structured and at times a bit long winded, it does have it's good sides as well. From this point on, we'll see a lot more of the Seanchan. It has always interested me how various people have dealt with the threat of having a small number of people among them that can wield tremendous power (and use it to rule over the others). The lands between the Spine of the World and the Aryth Ocean have dealt with it by allowing the White Tower to monopolize the One Power. After a turbulent beginning the Aes Sedai have developed the three oaths that severely limits their use of the One Power. The Seanchan have moved in another direction altogether and leashed it's channellers. Either are quite extreme when you think about it, but logical in a way. Shara also appears to have a repressive policy on the use of the One Power. Looking at Randland from this angle, the Aiel and Seafolk are unusual.

The structure of this book, the absence of one of the main characters and the fact that even after book eight no obvious conclusion the story is in sight frustrate many readers. Jordan keeps expanding his story (by introducing the Borderlander expedition for instance) setting himself an even more impossible task. He finishes very little though. Elayne is still not on the throne, Rand still hasn't found a way to escape madness, Egwene still isn't at Tar Valon, Cadsuane is supposed to be important to Rand but it is still unclear how, etc. It's not that Jordan bores me with this book but he desperately needs to get to the point. I have read worse fantasy books, a lot worse in fact, but by the standard Jordan sets this one is mediocre.

Hidden Warrior

Sat, 17 May 2008 16:56:54 -0400

In March I reviewed the first part of the The Tamir Triad, The Bonedoll's Twin. I wasn't all that impressed with the book but it was not entirely without promise so I read the second book, Hidden Warrior, as well. Book two covers the events between the moment Tobin learns of his real gender and the time he is restored to female from. It's a pretty decent book but it suffers from some of the same flaws as the first book, the story is straightforward and rather predictable.

We pick up the story when Tobin wakes up in his childhood home after the events in which he learned of his birth and how Lhel, Arkoniel and Iya disguised and hid him. There is no hiding this time though, Tobin will have to return to court and take up his role in the Companions, a group of boys surrounding the crown prince Korin. Tobin delays though. Ki has been hurt by Tobin's ghost brother and needs some time to recover. Tobin ignores his guardian's demands that he return immediately. When the two do finally return to court the confrontation between Tobin and his guardian ends badly with the man dead at brother's hand. To make his life at court even more interesting a truce between Skala and Plenimar means king Erius will be returning to the capital shortly. Tobin's position at court is slowly becoming impossible.

While Tobin is somewhat shielded from events in the larger world, the wizards Arkoniel and Iya find themselves uncomfortably exposed. Lord Niryn, one of the king's closest advisor, is continuing his which hunt. All wizards entering the capital are required to register and receive a number. The burning of "traitors", i.e. those supporting the view a woman should rule Skala, are becoming more frequent. Iya travels the country to try and unify the wizards while Arkoniel, who has become the caretaker of the object Iya has been guarding since the beginning of the story, stays at Tobin's childhood home and gathers in the malcontents. Slowly a a coalition is forming that may support Tobin's bid for the throne. Arkoniel doesn't stop there though, he has a goal of his own.

The problem I had with the previous book continues in this one. Every character plays their part and the story rolls on, at the same pace throughout most of the book, to it's inevitable conclusion. Nobody steps out of line, rebels against the faith the gods have dealt them or does anything unexpected in any way. Even the battle scenes are rather anti climatic. Not until the very end of the book does the pace pick up and does Flewelling manage to inject some excitement into the tale. Still nothing unexpected though. The foreign enemy is even kind enough to get rid of the king, sparing Tobin the need to commit regicide.

It is quite obvious at the end of the book Tobin's problems aren't all solved now that the will of the gods is done. Flewelling also leaves herself the task of sorting out Tobin's complicated relationship with his squire Ki and the nature of Tobin's feelings for him (I literally groaned when it became clear what the nature of those feelings is to the reader). And there is also Arkoniel and his mysterious object. We learn a little more of it but Flewelling hasn't made it's relevance to the overall story known yet. I suppose we have something to look forward to in Oracle's Queen.

The second book also hasn't made me like the characters any better. Iya is still cold hearted and obsessed with making her godsend vision come true. Life still happens to Arkoniel, he bravely ventures into the directions Iya and Lhel point out to him without considering following his own path. In fact, he shows something of the same meekness Tobin does. Tobin plays his roll to perfection, keeping up a brave face among the companions even if he should be a psychological mess, haunted as he is by a dead twin brother and the fact that he is living in a male body when he, or maybe I should say she at this point, is quite aware of the fact (s)he is in fact a woman. Potentially Tobin is a memorable character, there is so much in him to work with, especially now that he is in the years that will define his character, but Flewelling makes him an almost mild character. The boy's life has been a drama from the day he was born and only when he completely forgets himself does he even raise his voice about it.

In short, the story and the characters don't work for. That being said, it is hardly an effort to read this book, Flewelling's style is pleasant to read and unlike in The Bonedoll's Twin, she does finish the book with a major part of the story concluded. I thought it was a more satisfying read in that sense than book one of this triad. Still, it disappointed me in other accepts so overall I don't think Hidden Warrior is a better book than The Bonedoll's Twin. Let's hope for the best in Oracle's Queen, I am going to finish this series.

The Last King

Fri, 02 May 2008 09:24:47 -0400

I recently reread Ford's The Ten Thousand, a story based on Xenophon's writings and I was sufficiently taken by this book to try one of Ford's more recent works. All other books by Ford are set in Roman antiquity so I picked the one which deals with a part of Roman history I am less than familiar with. The Last King follows the career of King Mithridates VI of Pontus (132-63 BC). There is quite a bit of contemporary literature on Mithridates but most of it is Roman so the historical picture is less than clear. Ford manages to craft and engaging story but it is clear the one sided view of this king in the historical records posed a challenged to the author. One he doesn't always successfully overcome.

Asia Minor in the first century BC. Rome is still a republic but rapidly expanding eastwards. Several nations in Asia Minor are already under Roman rule and in Pontus Roman influence is clearly noticeable. When Mithridates takes the throne at the age of 21 a lifelong struggle begins to keep his kingdom out of Roman hands. A struggle that would earn him a reputation as Rome's most implacable enemies. It would take forty years and three major wars, fought by three of the most prominent generals of the Roman Republic, Sulla, Lucullus and Pompeuis, to finally subdue him.

Like The Ten Thousand, the story is told from the point of view of someone near power, but not in power. In this case the illegitimate son of Mithridates, Pharnaces II. History seems to be a lot more brief about Pharnaces but in the book he looks up to his father as an ancient Greek god. Mithridates is describes as a very tall and muscular man who could wield sword and bow with the best of his soldiers. He is also said to speak all the dialects and languages of his kingdom (numbering more than 20) and to be resistant to poisoning by regularly taking an antidote. Pharnaces also describes his hatred for Rome and his ambitions to found a new Hellenic state to revive it's ancient culture. Mithridates is said to have looked down upon Roman culture.

We follow Mithridates on his various campaigns against the Romans, his victories and losses and the consequences for the Kingdom of Pontus. Events are very much influenced by the situation in Rome. The republic is far from stable and rapidly on it's way to being replaced by an empire. Pharnaces's narrative is at times overly dramatic, and sometimes at odds with the events he describes. On the one hand we see a man who is king by being the biggest, baddest son of a bitch in his country, on the other a man who sees cultured man, proud of his Greek and Persian heritage, eager to restore Greek culture to it's former greatness. Inevitably the Romans are describes as rude, uncivilized and cruel. Where history is a one sided Roman affair Ford seems to have turned it around 180 degrees and written the book completely from the Pontic side of things.

If you read between the lines however the picture that emerges is that of a charismatic king but not one with particular skills as a general. More often than not he is saved by events taking place in Rome rather than victories on the field of battle. In fact, most of the victories he can claim are short-lived at the very best. His one true skill in battle was probably that of survival. Pharnaces is very much aware of events in the world beyond Pontus but he keeps being surprised of inevitable betrayals and defeats. He also seems to have an incredible amount of faith in his father's army even after it is beaten a number of times in positions where they vastly outnumber the Romans. In short, he strikes me as rather naive. An opinion that is further supported by the end of the book and the death of Mithridates.

When writing a historical novel on events so poorly documented there is always a good deal of story the writer has to fill in using his imagination. Ford does that in part by using just about every bit of gossip and legend known about Mithridates. It is much more likely that Mithridates was trying to build an empire in the Black Sea area rather than being the next Alexander. Even in ancient times propaganda was not unknown. It makes for a better story to use his desire to restore Greece to it's former greatness as Mithridates' motivation to take on the Romans of course but it also adds an element of doubt about the historical accuracy of the novel. This combined with Pharnaces' insistence on seeing godlike qualities in his father made me like this book less that The Ten Thousand, even if that is a just as biased a version of history as this tale is.

On the whole though, The Last King is an accessible, fast paced historical fiction novel, with a lot of detailed descriptions of military action. I don't quite agree with the Roman's (and apparently the publisher's) judgement that Mithridates was their most dangerous enemy. It seems to me Rome was Rome's greatest enemy during the final decades of the republic. But history is written by the victors and they like to stress their achievement wherever possible. The Last King is a decent read, but not memorable.

Sorceress

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:55:19 -0400

Sorceress is a familiar combination of romance, prophecy and quest in a medieval setting. Our heroine Bryanna is guided by a dead woman in her quest to fulfill a prophecy and save a child she has never met.

According to legend, the Sacred Dagger was once owned by a powerful witch. Its magick was strong enough to cause storms to rise, the sea to roll back, or the earth to crack. Men had killed for the dagger and wars had been waged. Fearing it would get into the wrong hands, the witch had dismantled it, removing the magick stones from the hilt and scattering them to the four winds.

Bryanna must travel the farthest corners of Wales in search of these stones. She is joined along the way by Gavin, a childhood friend who is now a fugitive wanted for theft and murder. She is also followed by a dark and threatening presence.

Through the fog, her lover came to Bryanna. Dressed as a hunter and riding upon a dark horse, he appeared through the mist. He was tall, his shoulders wide, his face obscured in the darkness, and yet she knew he was the one for whom she’d been waiting all her life.

“You have the dagger.”

I found Sorceress to be formulaic and melodramatic. I also found it to be an entertaining tale. The author is adept at setting a scene and creating a sense of place without meandering off into long descriptive passages. Although the quest takes nearly a year, the book’s pacing and the mystery of each stone’s location kept me turning the pages.

The characters are distinctive if archetypal. Bryanna is not just a pretty redhead, she is a flame-haired, emerald-eyed beauty. She is smart, but would rather ride horses than embroider cloths. Gavin is not just a handsome man, but a dark-haired, muscular rogue. He is a bastard (by birth not disposition) who had a damn good reason for killing a man and stealing a horse.

There are sexually explicit scenes, but they didn’t seem unnecessarily drawn out and didn’t dominate the story-telling. (The following is one of the tamer scenes.)

His lips found the shell of her ear and his tongue rimmed that sensitive spot. All protests died on her lips. His breath fanned the place his tongue had moistened and she thought she would go wild with wanting.
Dear God, her blood was pounding through her veins, her skin hot and wanting. The desire deep within her was pulsing and hot, hungry, knowing that it would take but a few deep strokes of-----

As my rating indicates, I found Sorceress by Lisa Jackson a solid read with the few minor criticisms already mentioned. If the passage I just quoted makes you wince, roll your eyes, or similarly express displeasure, you may rate this book considerably lower. On the other hand, if you read that passage and want to know where it leads (in addition, of course, in wanting to know where the stones are hidden), you will probably find Sorceress an entertaining read.

{The edition I read was an uncorrected proof. Also, I did not know at the time I read it that Sorceress is the final book in a trilogy (after Impostress and Temptress), but it stands well enough on its own.}

Kockroach

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:30:42 -0400

It is the mid-1950s, and in a fleabag hotel off Times Square, Kockroach, perfectly content with life as an insect, awakens to discover that somehow he's become, of all things, a human. This tragic turn of events would be enough to fling a more highly evolved creature into despair, but cockroaches know no despair. Firmly entrenched in the present tense, they are awesome coping machines, and so Kockroach copes. Step by step, he learns the ways of humans—how to walk, how to talk, how to wear a jaunty brown fedora.

In Times Square he discovers a blistering sea of lights, a great smoking god, walls of glass laden with food, and the opportunity to rise in the human world. Two companions guide him on his way: Mite, an undersized gangster suffering an acute case of existential angst, and Celia Singer, a reserved woman with a disfigured body who finds in Kockroach a key to unlocking her hidden passions.

As Kockroach, led by his primitive desires and insectile amorality, navigates through the bizarre human realms of crime, business, politics, and sex, he meets with both great triumph and great disaster. Will he find success or be squashed flat from above? Will he change humanity, or will humanity change him?

In some ways Kockroach is a success and in others not quite. The first part offers a great version of Times Square and New York in the 50's where junkies, gangsters and prostitutes eat in the same diner as the early members of The Beat Generation. It's told in idealized broad strokes but they are efficient at painting, and affirming a certain pre-Giuliani mental image that probably never really existed. But its a hell of a ride and a lot of fun.

Kockroach is a problematic book though and part of this lies on the shoulders of Mite, one of the main characters and the conduit through which which we read the story.

Through the character of Mite Kockroach cant decide if it wants to be a gangster pulp parody or if it wants to play it straight and as a result it never really attains either. Mite's character reads, at times, like a pale amalgamation of so many pulp characters; on the surface all of the words, slang and rhythms are there but its laid on so thick that it really just approaches caricature. When this becomes really noticeable is when the time frame of the story shifts from the 50's to the 60's and Mite's speech characteristics don't change as well.

**mild spoilers below**

There are some character based reasons why they should have changed; that he is gay and his lover is black. In linguistic terms (especially since we are talking about slang) these are two groups who have done more to influence American Language then any other group. The first due to societal (and legal) restrictions, especially of the time frame we are talking about when being gay was not only illegal but also dangerous, that forced a coded, insular language in an effort to determine who was gay and protect themselves. The second groups contribution to the shaping of 20th century American language is far more pervasive. To say that ghetto vernacular has been moving into everyday speech patterns for 100+ years is not an understatement; from the pre hip-hop world (nitty-gritty, busted, put-down) to the post hip-hop world (bling, boo-ya) this is an linguistically influential group. Or, more succinctly, here is a line from John Brandon's novel Arkansas, "Black children invent slang and in time it makes its way to the dictionary." But the primary characteristic of both of these groups languages is that they are fluid and ever changing. But even looking past those character based reasons the 60's were a decade with their own speech patterns and for Mite to still retain his 50's speech patterns a full decade later with no change speaks to the inability of Mite to progress as a character and the basic two dimensionality of the other characters.

Harder to quantify though is what bugs (intended) me the most about this book. A story about a cockroach who turns into a man is, at its heart, a weird premise and the final product stopped being weird very early on. It should have been, and could have been, weird, odd, maybe a bit horrific but instead it's a little on the sterile side.

--Brian Lindenmuth

Jumper

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:28:44 -0400

David Rice, abused by father and abandoned by mother, suddenly discovers he has the unusual ability to “jump” - miraculously transporting himself and anything he is holding to wherever he pictures in his mind. Using his ability to escape his father, he struggles to survive in a world without job, ID, personal history. Life without personal connections is cold and lonely, though. The temptation to settle down calls to him and, in giving in, he captures the attention of the establishment. Throughout his attempts to avoid the long arm of Big Brother, he tackles terrorism and his relationship with his parents.

Readers familiar with Griffin’s Tale may feel a bit disoriented while reading Jumper. Written in 1992 and re-released this year to coincide with the production of the movie Jumper by 20th Century Fox, Jumper the book sustains a few alterations before making it to the big screen. Griffin is not in the book Jumper but is only a character created for the movie, hence the book Griffin’s Tale written not too long ago to establish the character before the movie was released. Readers shouldn’t avoid this book for this reason, however. Just know that the book is different from the movie, as usual.

I found the concept of jumping interesting and had high hopes for the book. To quote Stephen Gould, “Teleportation is, I hope, a classic trope of science fiction, and not a cliché.” I agree, but even classic tropes need good stories with well-explained back stories in order to shine. Unfortunately, Jumper leaves much to be desired when examined with a critical eye.

Here is a young boy, abandoned and abused, trying to make it on his own. Whenever he meets a struggle, “poof”, he disappears and goes somewhere else. He does deal with some very uncomfortable situations, but his ability makes it all seem so unreal. Yes, I understand the genre is fiction. I expect my fiction to contain kernels of believability sprinkled throughout the fantasy, though.

I appreciate how Mr. Gould tries to have David Rice, the main character, work through these issues. In fact, the adolescent angst is at times palpable and cloying. But, when I got to the end I didn’t feel like I actually made it anywhere. The story read like a chain of events loosely bound together by the same paper cover and not a well-knit story unfolding for the reader. I know no more about David Rice at the end than I did at the beginning.

I had hoped the author would address the root of David’s talent, why he has it and where it came from. One could say this would be developed in the next book in the series, but Mr. Gould released this in 1992 and didn’t follow up with another book. There is no series. (For those of you hearkening back to Griffin’s Tale again, please remember that book deals with the history of a character created for the movie Jumper.) He just cuts us off and leaves us with nothing. In fact, after I finished I remember thinking “hmmm, reads like a television show”. Perhaps the movie is more enjoyable.

The Bone Doll's Twin

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:04:29 -0400

The Bone Doll's Twin is the first book of the Tamir Triad and apparently it is set in the same world as the Nightrunner books (for a taste of that series see this review of Luck in the Shadows by Rune). I am not familiar with the Nightrunner series but having read them is not necessary to read The Bone Doll's Twin. I bought this book on impulse in a books ale a while back so I had no idea what to expect. Having read it I think it is fair to say it could have turned out worse but also a lot better.

Long a ago a prophecy stated that the land of Skala would never be subjugated as long as a daughter of Thelatimos's line defended and ruled the land. For generations the people of Skala have heeded this prophecy. Until the rule of the mad queen Agnalain. Eventually she was overthrown by her son Eruis who proceeded to dispose of all his female relatives with a claim to the throne. All save his sister Ariana. When Ariana is expecting it becomes clear his forbearance will not extend to a possible daughter, who may well be the last hope to restore a woman of Thelatimos's line to the throne.

While visiting the Oracle at Afra with her apprentice Arkoniel, the wizard Iya receives a vision of how to restore Thelatimos's line. Together with the Hill Witch Lhel she sets out for the capital where Ariana is about to give birth to twins. A boy and a girl. In a terrible act of magic they sacrifice the boy child and hide the girl in a boy's body so that she may survive to rule Skala. Unfortunately the ceremony doesn't go as planned and the angry spirit of the boy child remains in the mortal world. The girl disguised as boy is named Tobin and grows up in one of his father's remote holdings, with a mother driven mad by grief and a household terrorized by his brother's spirit. While he is safe for now it is clear that sooner or later he will have to face the world and soon a number of unexpected events force Iya, Lhel and Arkoniel to take a hand in the boy's upbringing.

I find it hard to formulate a definitive opinion on this book at the moment. It is a book full of promises but none of them are delivered in this volume. The book covers the period of Tobin's life from birth to about the age of 12. Then the obvious things happen and the little girl starts to become a woman. At that point the book rather abruptly ends. Just when it start's getting interesting so to speak. I won't say it is a boring book, it kept me entertained well enough, but the fact is there is something seriously wrong with the story arc. The book plods along at the same pace until the cliffhanger end without providing any sort of satisfying conclusion. To figure out how relevant the events in book one are you really have to read the others.

Understandably book one in a series can't leave you with a sense of closure. A lot of the story is left untold after all. Most writers manage to contain at least a part of the story in a volume though. Flewelling fails to do that here. It doesn't help that the reader has very few characters to sympathize with. Tobin's personality is just starting to form, setting him up for the gender identity crisis he will no doubt suffer in the second book. Most of the adult characters are a rather unsympathetic bunch. The only one that really grows is Arkoniel, and I agree with Tobin on this matter, Arkoniel is a wuss. I suppose the most interesting character is Lhel, who isn't blinded by religious zeal or dreams of worldly power. She's quite aware of the damage she has done to Tobin an just about the only one to really take responsibility. In short, not a whole lot for the reader to hold on to.

Flewelling has delivered a book full of promises but whether or not she can deliver does not become clear in this novel. I suppose I should reserve judgement until I have read the other books. In the mean time I don't think I can do better then rate it six out of ten.

Poltergeist

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:44:29 -0400

Poltergeist by Kat Richardson is an interesting read full of Seattle history and places, tidbits on creating magical illusion and a winding plot that leads you down misting alleys, much as you find in the real Seattle. These things are the strength of the book, but for me a sometimes weakness; some of the facts go on a bit too long and resemble dreaded info dumps. Most are quite necessary, but there are occasions when they are a tad dry.

Harper Blaine is a greywalker, a woman able to see into a shadowy realm of ghosts and monsters—a kind of nether world that exists between the living and the dead. She is a private investigator called in to prove that someone is adding a bit of mundane trickery to a paranormal experiment. Of course, the trickery proves to be a real paranormal phenomena, but Harper’s client doesn’t believe in the paranormal even though his experiment was supposed to prove or disprove it one way or the other. The ole, “scientist had his mind made up before the experiment” alongside “accomplish a few things not in the notes” type of non-scientific approach to lab work. The situation creates an interesting set of circumstances and characters.

Richardson is very skilled at creating characters, although I found most of the side characters to have more personality than Harper. I couldn’t fall in love with Harper—too many of her actions were mechanical; she’s very scientific and precise in moving forward through the investigation. Though there are little things, such as a pet hamster, I just couldn’t warm to her. Luckily the plot is quite strong and drives the book. What is causing the paranormal activity? When one of the assistants working on the experiment is found dead, there are many fascinating questions to explore. Was a human responsible or did the paranormal entity get out of hand? Who or what is calling the entity and what is it? Can it be stopped? And if so, how?

These questions propel the reader forward. The grey world is explored and doled out to the reader at a nice pace; it is never boring, because there is always something new in the in-between.

I enjoyed the novel. It’s another in the line of urban fantasy that is all the rage at the moment. This book fits in well in its spot and it does its job—the plot wraps up and all loose ends are accounted for.

Twilight

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:04:43 -0500

About three things I knew about Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight. First, this was a Young Adult (YA) book about a vampire. Second, that her third book’s release prompted the media to call the authoress the American J. K. Rowling. And third, I really didn’t want to read her novel — but read it, I did. And I actually enjoyed it.

A little back story: Over the holidays, both my sister-in-laws gushed together about this series of books — to the degree of my Harry Potter craze — and I suddenly realized I should join this club! A trip to the bookstore later, and I had my copy, which I then proceeded to read within a span of seven hours (That’s the beauty of Young Adult Fiction which I can appreciate).

The term “vampire” carries a heavy load. Whenever I hear a novel has one, my initial reaction is to groan, “Oh no, not another Anne Rice!” The last thing I wanted to read about was another bad boy Lestat, but Twilight overcomes this perception.

This is not a dazzling world; it is a realistic one. The main character, Bella Swan, moves to Forks, Washington from Phoenix, Arizona. She begins a new life co-habitating a house with her policeman father (as her flaky mother is remarrying). In this small town, everyone knows everyone, and her arrival causes a stir.

As Bella tries to make friends with her classmates, she is assigned a lab partner — the strange but immaculate-looking Edward Cullen. He tries hard to stay away from her, which makes her curious about him and his family even more. His aloof brothers and sisters sit together in the cafeteria, buying food but never actually eating from their trays.

Bella’s knack for getting herself into trouble, albeit car accidents or chased down by strangers in Seattle, keeps colliding her with Edward. Eventually, he admits to keeping his distance because he is concerned about hurting her. A boy named Jacob at a bonfire confirms her suspicions, calling the Cullen family “the cold ones.” Edward and the entire Cullen family are vampires.

But the Cullens aren’t like other vampires. They do not hunt people. Instead, they look for prey in wild, and luckily Washington boasts a thriving wildlife. However, they have certain rules and illusions they must uphold. As Bella and Edward’s relationship deepens into true love, she must understand them herself. Understanding evolves into a desire to become like them. But this is a possibility Edward, who believes has lost his soul, refuses to contemplate.

Be forewarned: I’ve introduced two other readers to this novel, and they both complained this middle section dragged. However, in hindsight, this section is necessary to follow future chapters — and future books in the series.

The story builds momentum when the vampires play their own version of baseball. They have incredible speed and strength. However, during this game, a chance encounter with a roving group of tracker vampires suddenly turns everything on edge. Because these outside vampires discovered Bella, a mortal, amongst other vampires, the leader becomes interested. And soon, Bella is being hunted — and the Cullens must protect her.

Note: You will see a film of this novel in the near future, starring Kristen Stewart as Bella and Robert Pattinson (that kid who played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as Edward. One must ask, is this story deserving?

I think so. Something special certainly exists in this novel, and my instinct is to point to the world. Meyer does the unexpected: she tosses the mundane (particularly, the "new kid in school" story) with a vampire culture-slash-romance. For being a vampire novel, you’ll find an awful lot of human experiences involving growing up.

I will say that I did not make the bookstore a priority to buy the second and third novels (although I did eventually read them). To me, that means I was not breathless with anticipation. I was fine to leave Edward and Bella arguing about prom, and go about my day.

Nothing earth-shattering here. Simply a fun read!

Storm Dragon - Draconic Prophecies Book 1

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:46:54 -0500

“Storm Dragon”, book one of the Draconic Prophecies, by James Wyatt is set in the Dungeons & Dragons world of Eberron. James Wyatt is one of the creators of the Eberron world. . Eberron is a change of pace from other D& D fantasy worlds, in that it has slightly higher technology with magical airships, artificially created warriors called “warforged”, and other elements. In some regards I suppose it is like a steampunk D&D world. Not being familiar with the details of the Eberron world I thought that a story by Wyatt, one of its creators, would be ideal for getting an overview of the world as we built into the story. That didn’t happen though. A familiarity with the world is needed to avoid getting lost in the dizzying assortment of names, places, and historical details. Is having some world background woven into the story an unreasonable expectation? Perhaps, but I admit to having that expectation coming into the book.

The other item that dominated my perception of “Storm Dragon” was how slowly events built up and the story finally gained steam. When the plot elements all come together though, much like one of the storms that main character Gavin Lyrandar can magically conjure, things really get going. That takes very nearly the entire book though, as things unfold slowly. Patience is required as we see Gavin Lyrandar and Haldren ir’Brassek get broken out of an inescapable prison in Eberron. Gavin is a man driven mad by obsession with a Draconic prophecy. As a result, he may know more about it than anybody. There are those who seek to fulfil the prophecy for their own gain, and they see Gavin’s knowledge as a key to it. Alliances are forged, broken, and reforged throughout the course of the novel. In many cases character motivation was passed to the reader in the form of riddle-like prophecy text. The constantly shifting alliances made it very difficult to determine who was key to the agendas throughout the story, who was a pawn, or even who the heroes of the story
would be.

Then there was the prophecy itself. It was the driving force that was shaping the world events in the story. But I still wasn’t clear what the prophecy was. It seemed a tale of Armageddon or of a war among gods on Eberron. These seemed to be, at least as I interpreted them, world altering events, yet something that some power hungry people thought that could bring to pass for their own personal gain. The role of “the bad guys” in the story seemed to be clear if they wanted to destroy the world in order to rule it. Their objectives and the exact outcome they thought they could achieve were extremely hazy, still very far into the book. While I like not being spoon-fed by a plot and being able to make my own interpretations and guesses until the author let’s me know whether I’ve been right or wrong, I was having to do too much of this to be able to settle comfortably into the book for the majority of it. While the bad guys were clear whether or not the expected hero of the story would actually play that role was in doubt for an unsettlingly long portion of the book.

That may have been by design as the clouds broke and questions were clearly answered in the climax of the story. However, it made for a frustrating read at times because I felt just as in the dark about which characters I should grow attached to in the story as I was at the beginning. I’m a sucker for a hero, especially when I’m reading fantasy. I want to find that character and travel along with him or her, even if that’s a misdirection to be revealed later in the story. But in this case I had a hard time finding anything redeeming in any of the characters for the longest time so I had nobody to invest in. For the majority of the story the character I liked most was Cart, the warforged. As a constructed warforged, he had a loyalty and innocence to him. Perhaps it is all my years of watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the obvious comparisons to the android Commander Data, but it was most interesting, especially in the early parts of the book, to watch Cart strive to interact with his companions as humanly as he knew how to, but still fall short of that.

Still though, it was apparent that Cart was a secondary character in this story. Perhaps he has previously had, or will get, his own book. But this one was not his. It was obvious that this book was Gavin’s. I was expecting to see the classic journey of the hero, ala “The Hero of A Thousand Faces”. So I waited for the character to develop, and his story and growth to occur along the way.

I waited a long time and was very near conceding that it wasn’t going to happen and this book wasn’t going to hit the mark for me. But then things all came together. Gavin found himself, both in character and as a character in the book that I found interesting and drawn to. Gavin had one huge moment of catharsis where all the bitterness and resentment of his life and particularly 26 years of imprisonment was washed away. But I thought he found a bit too much forgiveness, just a bit too quickly, especially toward the person who was responsible for having him sent to prison. That’s an awful lot of instant forgiveness. It seemed forced to me so that the plot could proceed along. Gavin also had a tearful reunion with a family that he had been “excommunicated” from for 26 years that was also too conveniently resolved. Again I thought it farfetched that 26 years of history could be undone that easily and painlessly. “Storm Dragon” comes in at a comfortable 344 pages, so these couple elements that were forced and rushed could have been expanded out in a less abrupt fashion in just a few extra pages. It didn’t seem like these pivotal moments of character growth and revelation had to be glossed over for the sake of the length of the book. I don’t claim to be the editor or publisher, so perhaps I’m entirely wrong there.

For all the slow build-up, “Storm Dragon ended very strongly over the last thirteen chapters. Better late than never in the “bringing it all together” department. The climax was a large battle sequence that was riveting and was the biggest page-turner of the book. I’ll even look past the fact that there was a beholder at the end that seemed to go down pretty easily. The end left us with questions and a setup for the additional books in this series, but it provided a happy ending for our main characters who had managed to step forward and take the title of “heroes” by the time the book ended.

I give “Storm Dragon” a “rising 6” on my scale. It walked a tightrope and teetered on the brink for me at the beginning. But James Wyatt pulled through and brought it home for me at the end. Looking over the whole book I have to give it a 6, but my opinion was definitely on the rise after the last 13 chapters. They saved the book in my opinion and were a solid springboard from which to launch the rest of the series.

However, to have more than just a average reading experience while reading “Storm Dragon” a reader will need to have two things, an appreciation and some familiarity with the world of Eberron and the patience to let the story come together.

The Sunrise Lands

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 18:44:53 -0500

Stirling is the author of the Nantucket series and Emberverse series of books that have now become collectively known as the Novels of the Change. Not having read those previous six books, I can only surmise, based on my reading of The Sunrise Lands, that “The Change” occurred in our world sometime around 1998 which somehow took away electrical power and nearly all other technology effectively negating the advances of the last two hundred or so years.

The Sunrise Lands begins twenty two years after the Change during which a generation of children have been born and raised, and are completely adapted to this new way of survival, of life. The United States is divided into several different political factions, each self-governed and quite unique. Most conspicuously, there is the Clan MacKenzie that harkens back to the ways of old Gaelic culture with their pagan religion, plaid kilts, and affected brogues. The Portland Protective Association, a society emulating seventeenth century England, a former Army officer now in command of his own sizeable military force seeking to reunite the United States and known as Mr. President, and the Church Universal and Triumphant, a religious cult with aims of uniting the country under the rule of their own Prophet.

A stranger arrives at Clan McKenzie in his search for the Sword of the Lady that he must bring back to Nantucket, a place of some unusual happenings. This sword turns out to actually be Rudi, the son of the clan's High Priestess. With a few trusted friend, Rudi sets off from Oregon to cross the country with this man, Ingolf Vogeleer.

One of Ingolf’s first impressions of Clan McKenzie:

“The towers along the wall had pointed conical roofs sheathed in green copper and shaped like a witch’s hat, which was appropriate if the wilder rumors he’d heard were true. There were two hills showing above the ramparts, off west to the other side of the town. One was crowned by a huge circular building without walls, just pillars supporting a roof, he could see the outline of it because a great bonfire blazed there, and even at this distance he could catch a hint of eerie music and dancing figures. He crossed himself by conditioned reflex at the sight, but without real fear--he’d never been excessively pious, even before he became a wandering freelance.

Maybe the rumors are true, but nobody said they set on visitors here.”

From here, the novel explores the different societies that have emerged since the Change. A great deal of attention is given to how people have adapted to living without power, how they raise and gather food, how they arm and defend themselves, the cultural traditions and religions they observe. Much of the story telling is dedicated to describing the military powers and political strategies employed. However, my attention tended to wander during these parts as they read more like reference material. Stirling has quite the eye for detail, be it in the description of a late supper or the maneuvers of soldiers on the battlefield. But yet again, I often found these descriptive passages interrupted the flow of the story, and I tended to skim through these paragraphs to get back to the story.

Rudi’s half-sisters introducing themselves to General Thurston, also known as the President:

The twins smiled sweetly, and Ritva spoke before he could ask: “And we’re the cuckoos who live in the wood and think they’re elves,” she said politely. “Though really that’s just a scurrilous rumor and a narrow, bigoted stereotype.”

The Sunrise Lands starts off in an exciting flurry of mystery and action, then shifts down to a more leisurely pace as the group travels across the country. At the end, the status quo is once again shaken up, and just as my interest has been reignited, I’m left hanging without any resolution. It would seem that The Sunrise Lands is meant more as a stepping stone to bridge the gap between the books of the Nantucket and Emberverse series and the planned novels for the Change series.

Rise of a Merchant Prince

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:26:23 -0500

After Lord of the Rings, Feist is some of the first fantasy I read. I picked Magician up right after it first appeared in Dutch translation in the late 1990s. Since then I have read many far better fantasy books but I still read and reread Feist. Truth be told, he is not a brilliant author. His work features many of the stereotypical characters you'll find in a 1980s D&D game and Feist has never really managed to grow beyond that. But in a way, he's good at what he does. His books are entertaining. Call it a guilty pleasure but when the next one is published (Wrath of a Mad God, expected in March 08 in the UK and the US) I will read it. Probably in a day.

Most of Feist's works are centred on the worlds of Midkemia and Kelawan. The books tell the tale of five wars, all involving a rift between different realities or alternate plains of existence. Rise of a Merchant Price is the second book in a series of four that deals with the second riftwar or serpent war (the first being Shadow of a Dark Queen, reviewed by Sesho here). It picks up the story of our unfortunate friends Erik and Rupert who have just arrived back in Krondor after their gruelling journey to the continent of Novindus. Where Shadow of a Dark Queen was Erik's story, this book is Rupert's. Rupert has decidedly different plans for the future than Erik, he intends to become the richest merchant in Krondor.

After receiving a royal pardon and a modest reward in gold Rupert begins his business. His first attempt ends in disaster but after getting a job waiting tables at the coffee house where most of Krondor's merchants meet, an opportunity arises. A shameless opportunist, Rupert is not one to pass up on an opportunity. He soon soon finds himself in business with Helmut Grindle and courting Helmut's plain daughter for reasons that have nothing to do with love. Rupert's star is rising but he's made enemies and if he thinks the crown is done with him he is mistaking. War is coming from Novindus and the illustrious Duke of Krondor, Jimmy the Hand, needs all the gold he can get his hands on to finance the defence.

This book is something of an oddity for Feist. Where most of his novels deal with soldiers, nobles thieves and magicians Rise of a Merchant prince deals with a part of Midkemian society we haven't seen before. An insight in trade, at least from the legal side of business, is a new and interesting addition to the world of Midkemia. The economic underpinning is not brilliant, but Feist has given it enough thought to be believable. It also sets the stage for the third book in this series Rage of a Demon King, which deals with the invasion of the Emerald Queen.

Some of Feist's long lived characters do play a part in this book but it is a minor one. That is a shame, I don't like Pug much but Nakor has been a favourite of mine since his introduction Prince of the Blood. As usual Feist puts enough action in one novel to fill two for most other authors. Sometimes it feels like he rushes things. This book gives me that feeling as well, especially towards the end of the book although not so much as the Conclave of Shadows books.

Perhaps Rise of a Merchant Prince is not Feist's best effort but it is a break from the military action that fills a lot of his books. He tried something different here and for the most part he succeeded. Feist is light reading, when you pick up one of his books you know what you can expect. Sometimes, not often, but once in a while, that is just what I want from a book.

The Unnatural Inquirer

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:09:48 -0500

The Unnatural Inquirer is the eighth book in the Nightside series by Simon R. Green. I’d probably have been better off starting with something earlier in the series, because this book felt a bit played out already and tracking the main character’s magical abilities was confusing at times. A lot of time was spent on worldbuilding—why Nightside works the way it does, the cool places on Nightside and the various characters and rules that govern this supernatural seedy, hidden side of London. The setting was actually quite fascinating, but while readers of the series might have been enjoying visiting old and dear characters, I found myself a tad bored with every little stop into yet another place. Each one was unique, but not always necessary in order to forward the story. There were interesting little what-ifs throughout: what-if buildings could rebuild themselves or what if religious zealots really could call down lightening, and the main one, if you could see what the afterlife really looked like, would you want to know?

There were some very dynamic characters in this book: John Taylor, the main character, finds things. He has the ability to look through time and see what happened in the past and then follow the past to the here and now, usually finding the person or object he is after. Of course, he needs enough clues in order for his inner eye to work. As he says, he has to know what question to ask. If he’s looking for an object, he has to know who to look for that might have moved or taken the object. He has to be in the right place. In this book something is blocking his powers, and he is forced into manual mode, searching for a recording of the afterlife without much help from magic.

Suzie “Shotgun Suzie” is Taylor’s girlfriend—and I suspect I would enjoy any Nightside caper that included more of her involvement. I am certain I would enjoy the winding tale of how the two of them came to trust each other enough to work together. In this caper, we instead get Bettie as Taylor’s companion; a reporter from the Unnatural Inquirer—(yes, it’s a play on the magazine and has a similar reputation.)

Bettie appears to be there so that Taylor has someone to talk to. She plays the dumb blonde, asking a lot of questions and supplying info dumps of her own. She was little more than a prop for most of the book.

There were other characters that probably played heavier parts in other books: the mysterious Walker who has the ability to give commands that Must Be Obeyed. He is some sort of enforcer/clean-up/self-appointed cop of Nightside and scenes with Walker were always quite interesting and well-done.

The plot--Taylor is hired by the Unnatural Inquirer to find an Afterlife Recording—a DVD the “newspaper” has already bought and paid for, only it disappeared before delivery. Of course, since it is seen as a valuable object, everyone else wants it too—collectors, religious zealots, the aforementioned Walker and the odd god creature. Taylor’s powers came and went as he tracked down the DVD—blocked by something or someone. I was never quite satisfied with the explanation given; yes, at the end, I knew ‘who’ caused the problem, but not ‘how.’

Perhaps because there are other books in this series, the borders of Taylor’s capabilities were never well-defined in this book. The most interesting scenes were at the beginning of the book where Taylor had use of his power and readers get to experience how he works. As the book progresses, he is steadily blocked—both in mundane ways and as he tries to rely on a few other secondary abilities that he has.

The ending had several battles, but frankly, nothing worrisome. Taylor’s powers just so happened to reappear in time for one or two battles, and when they weren’t working, it didn’t take him very long to talk his way out of trouble or otherwise free himself from disaster.

I wouldn’t hesitate to read one of the earlier novels in this setting because I suspect the whole series is a collection of quick, fun romps through a strangely magical urban setting. The premise for this story was good, the execution of it wandered, and in the end, it was much like bar-hopping with a guide that knows a city well—some places were fun, some had good music, some had interesting people with more than a hint of danger and some were dingy and tired with questionable food.