Upcoming: COVENANT’S END by Ari Marmell (Pyr)

I’m a big fan of Ari Marmell’s writing. Covenant’s End is the fourth volume in the author’s YA fantasy series, Widdershins Adventures. I’ve only read the first two, but I really enjoyed them both (I haven’t managed to get around to Lost Covenant, yet). Here is the synopsis…

The thief Widdershins and her own “personal god,” Olgun, return to their home city of Davillon after almost a year away. While Shins expects only to face the difficulty of making up with her friends, what she actually finds is far, far worse. Her nemesis, Lisette, has returned, and she is not alone. Lisette has made a dark pact with supernatural powers that have granted her abilities far greater than anything Widdershins and Olgun can match.

Together, Widdershins and Olgun will face enemies on both sides of the law, for Lisette’s schemes have given her power in both Davillon’s government and its underworld. For even a slim chance, Shins must call on both old friends-some of whom haven’t yet forgiven her-and new allies.

Even with their help, Widdershins may be required to make the hardest sacrifice of her life, if she is to rid Davillon-and herself-of Lisette once and for all.

Covenant’s End is due to be published by Pyr Books in February 2015. So, that’s rather a long way away (damnit!), but it’s nice to be able to share the artwork.

Marmell’s latest novel is Hot Lead, Cold Iron – the first in his Mick Oberon urban fantasy series set in 1930s Chicago – published by Titan Books in the US (out now) and UK (out next week).

Also on CR: Interview with Ari Marmell, Guest Post (Triumph Over Tragedy), Reviews of The Thief’s Covenant, False Covenant, The Conqueror’s Shadow

Books Received (May-June) – Or, “An Embarrassment of Riches…”

I’ve been lax about keeping up-to-date with these posts (I like to give every book I receive at least a mention on the blog), so this is a bit of a bumper-edition of Books Received. It has been a wonderfully busy few weeks, too…

First Batch…

Philippa Ballantine, Kindred and Wings (Pyr)

On the back of the dragon Wahirangi, Finn the Fox flees the world he has known. As he sets out to find the brother he never knew of, he still holds in his heart the memory of the Hunter. He has denied his love for her, but he cannot deny it forever.

In the halls of the Last Believers, Talyn begins to uncover her own mysteries, but her lust for the death of the Caisah is still strong and clouds her vision. She must choose her path, as the Seer of her people or as the assassin of the overlord.

Meanwhile, Byre, Talyn’s brother, must venture into the fiery world of the Kindred, to rebuild the pact that his ancestors made. He will risk everything he is as he forms a new pact that will change his people forever.

Dragons and myths will be reborn, as the Hunter and her Fox face each other once more.

This is the sequel to Hunter and Fox, which I have sadly left in New York… I will be reunited with it soon, though, and hopefully get caught up.

Also on CR: Interview with Philippa Ballantine

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James Enge, Wrath-Bearing Tree (Pyr)

Into the Unguarded Lands...

The masked powers of Fate and Chaos are killing gods in the land of Kaen, facing the Wardlands across the Narrow Sea.

Vocates Aloe Oaij and Morlock Ambrosius go into the Unguarded Lands, on a mission to find the reasons for the godslaying, and to avert any threat to the lands the Graith of Guardians has sworn to protect.

After crash-landing on the hostile coast of Kaen, they will face vengeful frightened gods, a calmly murderous dragon, a demon called Andhrakhar, and a bitter old necromancer named Merlin Ambrosius.

Amid these dangers they will find that they can trust no one but themselves—and each other.

Ah, James Enge… An author I’ve always want to read, but always start a novel when I’m not really in the mood… I’ll get there eventually, I promise. This is the sequel to A Guile of Dragons, and part of the Tournament of Shadows series.

Also on CR: Interview with James Enge (2011)

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Erin Hoffman, Shield of Sea and Spice (Pyr)

Vidarian Rulorat, called the Tesseract, a powerful magic-user whose abilities spread across multiple elements, finds himself at war with the Alorean Import Company, a powerful cabal of merchants wealthy enough to buy nations. By opening the gate between worlds, Vidarian released the Starhunter, goddess of chaos. With her coming, wild magic returned to the world of Andovar, bringing with it shape-changers and strange awakened elemental technologies, including many-sailed ships powered by air magic, and mechanical automata lit from within by earth and fire. Now, Vidarian discovers that the Alorean Import Company is determined to eliminate two-thirds of this new life on Andovar in the hopes of hoarding more magic for themselves in a new, worldwide plutocracy. Along with his human, gryphon, and shapechanger allies, he must stop the Company if he is to safeguard any future for the diverse life of Andovar, including his and Ariadel’s newborn daughter. With the existence of whole species hanging in the balance, Vidarian is locked in a race for the future of the world.

Really striking cover art – couldn’t help but stare at it for a little while, when I opened the package. Sadly, I haven’t read the previous novel in the Chaos Knight series. I’ve heard some interesting things, though, so I will try to get to it at some point soon.

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Ben Kane, Hannibal: Fields of Blood (Preface)

The fields of Cannae provide the setting for one of the bloodiest battles in history. But who will triumph? Hannibal and his warrior army, or the mighty legions of Rome.

Hannibal’s campaign to defeat Rome continues as he marches south to confront his enemy.

With him is a young soldier, Hanno. Like his general, Hanno burns to vanquish Rome. Never has the possibility seemed so likely.

But a stealthy game of cat and mouse is being played as Rome’s generals seek to avoid confrontation.

Eventually the two armies meet under a fierce summer sun. The place is Cannae – the fields of blood.

The battle will go down in history as one of the bloodiest ever fought, a battle in which Hanno knows he must fight as never before – just to stay alive.

Also on CR: Interview with Ben Kane

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Ian McDonald, Be My Enemy (Jo Fletcher)

Everett Singh has escaped with the Infundibulum from the clutches of Charlotte Villiers and the Order, but at a terrible price. His father is missing, banished to one of the billions of parallel universes of the Panoply of All World, and Everett and the crew of the airship Everness have taken a wild, random Heisenberg Jump to a random parallel plane. Everett is smart and resourceful, and, from a frozen earth far beyond the Plenitude, he plans to rescue his family. But the villainous Charlotte Villiers is one step ahead of him.

The action traverses the frozen wastes of iceball earth; to Earth 4 (like ours, except that the alien Thryn Sentiency occupied the moon in 1964); to the dead London of the forbidden plane of Earth 1, where the emnants of humanity battle a terrifying nanotechnology run wild—and Everett faces terrible choices of morality and power. But Everett has the love and support of Sen, Captain Anastasia Sixsmyth, and the rest of the crew of Everness—as he learns that the deadliest enemy isn’t the Order or the world-devouring nanotech Nahn—it’s yourself.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading about this series (for work), and I’m really interested in trying it out. Be My Enemy is the sequel to Planesrunner. I have both of the novels, and hope to get to them ASAP. (They are published by Pyr Books in the US.)

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Adam Nevill, House of Small Shadows (Macmillan)

Catherine’s last job ended badly. Corporate bullying at a top antiques publication saw her fired and forced to leave London, but she was determined to get her life back. A new job and now things look much brighter. Especially when a challenging new project presents itself – to catalogue the late M. H. Mason’s wildly eccentric cache of antique dolls and puppets.

Rarest of all, she’ll get to examine his elaborate displays of posed, costumed and preserved animals, depicting bloody scenes from World War II.

When Mason’s elderly niece invites her to stay at Red House itself, where she maintains the collection, Catherine can’t believe her luck. Until his niece exposes her to the dark message behind her uncle’s "art". Catherine tries to concentrate on the job, but M. H. Mason’s damaged visions raise dark shadows from her own past. Shadows she’d hoped therapy had finally erased. Soon the barriers between reality, sanity and memory start to merge. And some truths seem too terrible to be real...

I’ve never read anything by Nevill, before. After a discussion about horror at work, in which he was mentioned, this rather fortuitously appeared in the mail! It must be fate. Colour me intrigued. Even if the cover gives me the willies…

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Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Presidential Leadership and the Creation of the American Era (Princeton)

A non-fiction book, obviously. I don’t know why I included that in the picture… I have received other non-fiction books, and they belong on Politics Reader. I’ve actually already finished this slim volume. It was good, but somewhat wanting. Review on the other site in the next few days, hopefully.

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Mark Pryor, The Crypt Thief (Seventh Street)

It’s summer in Paris and two tourists have been killed in Père La Chaise cemetery in front of Jim Morrison’s grave. One of the dead tourists is American and the other a woman linked to a known terrorist; so the US ambassador sends his best man and the embassy's head of security – Hugo Marston – to help the French police with their investigation. At first, Hugo is stumped. How does this killer operate unseen? And why is he stealing the bones of once-famous can-can girls?

Hugo cracks the secrets of the graveyard, but soon realizes that old bones aren’t all this serial killer wants: his ultimate plan requires the flesh and organs of the living. And when the crypt thief spots the former FBI agent on his tail, he decides that Hugo’s body will do just fine.

This is the sequel to The Bookseller, which I thought was a pretty interesting debut. It wasn’t perfect (what is), but I enjoyed the writing, the character and the location. Pryor does a great job of bringing Paris to life on the page.

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Anthony Ryan, Blood Song (Orbit)

We have fought battles that left more than a hundred corpses on the ground and not a word of it has ever been set down. The Order fights, but often it fights in shadow, without glory or reward. We have no banners.

Vaelin Al Sorna’s life changes forever the day his father abandons him at the gates of the Sixth Order, a secretive military arm of the Faith. Together with his fellow initiates, Vaelin undertakes a brutal training regime – where the price of failure is often death. Under the tutelage of the Order’s masters, he learns how to forge a blade, survive the wilds and kill a man quickly and quietly.

Now his new skills will be put to the test. War is coming. Vaelin is the Sixth Order’s deadliest weapon and the Realm’s only hope. He must draw upon the very essence of his strength and cunning if he is to survive the coming conflict. Yet as the world teeters on the edge of chaos, Vaelin will learn that the truth can cut deeper than any sword.

The latest self-published author to be given the traditional-publisher roll-out, I’ve been hearing good things about this series for a while. A number of reviewers have reviewed the novel before Orbit picked it up for wider distribution. I’m certainly intrigued. I’ve also heard there’s a cockney urchin in it. This troubles me… Nevertheless, I’ll be reading it pretty soon, I hope.

And hey: broody-fella on the cover? Not wearing a hood!

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Stephanie Saulter, Gemsigns (Jo Fletcher)

For years the human race was under attack from a deadly Syndrome, but when a cure was found – in the form of genetically engineered human beings, Gems – the line between survival and ethics was radically altered.

Now the Gems are fighting for their freedom, from the oppression of the companies that created them, and against the Norms who see them as slaves. And a conference at which Dr. Eli Walker has been commissioned to present his findings on the Gems is the key to that freedom.

But with the Gemtech companies fighting to keep the Gems enslaved, and the horrifying godgangs determined to rid the earth of these ‘unholy’ creations, the Gems are up against forces that may just be too powerful to oppose.

I’ve already reviewed this novel (see, I told you I’ve been slow about getting this posts written…). Great novel. Highly recommended.

Also on CR: Excerpt from Gemsigns

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Various, Nebula Awards Showcase 2013 (Pyr)

The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published annually since 1966, reprinting the winning and nominated stories in the Nebula Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. The editor selected by SFWA’s anthology committee (chaired by Mike Resnick) is two-time Nebula winner, Catherine Asaro.

This year’s volume includes stories and excerpts by Connie Willis, Jo Walton, Kij Johnson, Geoff Ryman, John Clute, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Ferrett Steinmetz, Ken Liu, Nancy Fulda, Delia Sherman, Amal El-Mohtar, C. S. E. Cooney, David Goldman, Katherine Sparrow, E. Lily Yu, and Brad R. Torgersen.

A smorgasbord of fiction from a number of interesting authors. I’ll dip in, now and then.

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Mazarkis Williams, Knifesworn (Jo Fletcher)

After years locked in a tower, Prince Sarmin has come into his own. He has been crowned emperor; he has wed Mesema of the horse tribes; the Pattern-Master is dead. Everything should be happy-ever-after.

But war has begun, Sarmin has no royal assassin, and both his wife and mother have given birth to sons, throwing the succession into question.

The last thing anyone needs is for Kavic, the Yrkman peace envoy, to be murdered in his bed. There are numerous possible killers, and with no convincing explanation for Kavic’s death, there is no hope for peace. It’s up to Grada, Sarmin’s trusted investigator, to solve the mystery – no matter how close to the throne the answer may lie.

I enjoyed The Emperor’s Knife, the first in this series. I’ll be interested to see how it continues, and hopefully before the third novel comes out, later this year.

Also on CR: Interview with Mazarkis Williams

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And, the Second Batch…

Adam Baker, Terminus (Hodder)

The world has been overrun by a lethal infection, ravaged by a pathogen that leaves its victims locked half-way between life and death. New York, bombed to prevent the spread of the disease, has been reduced to radioactive rubble. A rescue squad enters the subway tunnels beneath Manhattan, searching for the one man who can create an antidote.

The squad battle floodwaters, lethal radiation and infected, irradiated survivors as they race against the disease that threatens to extinguish the human race.

Adam Baker has not featured enough on this blog. His novels all sound pretty cool, and right smack-dab in the middle of my wheelhouse. (Eh?) So, when I learned of the premise of his third novel (zombies in New York!), I knew it would have to get read very quickly. So expect a review of Terminus very soon. (It’ll be my next read, after I finish Robert Jackson Bennett’s American Elsewhere, but I’ve stored up a few reviews now, so it’ll be a couple of weeks before the review actually appears…)

Also on CR: Interview with Adam Baker (Video), Guest Post on Trauma

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Max Barry, Lexicon (Mullholland)

Two years ago, something terrible was unleashed in an Australian mining town called Broken Hill. Thousands died.

Few people know what really happened.

Emily Ruff is one of them. She belongs to an elite organisation of ‘poets’: masters of manipulation who use language to warp others to their will. She was one of their most promising recruits until she made a catastrophic mistake: she fell in love.

Wil Parke knows the truth too, only he doesn’t remember it. And he doesn't know why he’s immune to the poets’ powers. But he knows he needs to run.

As their stories converge, the past is revealed, and the race is on for a deadly weapon: a word.

Because the poets know that words can kill...

Max Barry is a superb author. Jennifer Government was superb, so I’m really looking forward to reading Lexicon. It’s going to be placed very near the top of Mt. TBR.

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M.L. Brennan, Generation V (Ace)

Reality Bites

Fortitude Scott’s life is a mess. A degree in film theory has left him with zero marketable skills, his job revolves around pouring coffee, his roommate hasn’t paid rent in four months, and he’s also a vampire. Well, sort of. He’s still mostly human.

But when a new vampire comes into his family’s territory and young girls start going missing, Fort can’t ignore his heritage anymore. His mother and his older, stronger siblings think he’s crazy for wanting to get involved. So it’s up to Fort to take action, with the assistance of Suzume Hollis, a dangerous and sexy shape-shifter. Fort is determined to find a way to outsmart the deadly vamp, even if he isn’t quite sure how.

But without having matured into full vampirehood and with Suzume ready to split if things get too risky, Fort’s rescue mission might just kill him…

I first heard of this via Bastard Books (whose taste in Urban Fantasy I respect and value very highly), so when this turned up, I was most intrigued. I’m working on an interview with the author, too. Watch this space!

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Charlie Human, Apocalypse Now Now (Century)

Baxter Zevcenko is your average sixteen-year-old-boy — if by average you mean kingpin of a schoolyard porn syndicate and possible serial killer who suffers from surreal  nightmares. Which may very well be what counts as average these days. Baxter is the first to admit that he’s not a nice guy. After all, if the guy below you falls, dragging you down into an icy abyss you have to cut him loose — even in high school. That is until his girlfriend, Esmé, is kidnapped and Baxter is forced to confront a disturbing fact about himself — that he has a heart, and the damn thing is forcing him to abandon high-school politics and set out on a quest to find her. The clues point to supernatural forces at work and Baxter is must admit that he can’t do it alone. Enter Jackie Ronin, supernatural bounty hunter, Border War veteran, and all-round lunatic, who takes him on a chaotic tour of Cape Town’s sweaty, occult underbelly.

What do glowing men, transsexual African valkyries, and zombie-creating arachnids have to do with Esmé’s disappearance? That’s what Baxter really, really needs to find out.

I’ve actually already read this novel. It’s kinda awesome. Review sometime in July…

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Karen Lord, The Best of all Possible Worlds (Jo Fletcher)

The Sadiri were once the galaxy’s ruling élite, but now their home planet has been rendered unlivable and most of the population destroyed. The few groups living on other worlds are desperately short of Sadiri women, and their extinction is all but certain.

Civil servant Grace Delarua is assigned to work with Councillor Dllenahkh, a Sadiri, on his mission to visit distant communities, looking for possible mates. Delarua is impulsive, garrulous and fully immersed in the single life; Dllenahkh is controlled, taciturn and responsible for keeping his community together. They both have a lot to learn.

I’m really intrigued by this novel, so I was very happy to get a copy in the mail. I’ll also be sharing an excerpt of it in the near future. (Can’t remember the exact date I settled on, but be sure to keep checking back.)

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Ari Marmell, In Thunder Forged (Pyr)

An action-packed steam-tech fantasy that combines elements of epic wartime adventure with thrilling cloak-and-dagger espionage.

The Iron Kingdoms are at war – a war fought with machine guns and magic, knights of valor, and earth shaking titans of steam and steel. And now that war may hinge entirely on nothing more than a sheaf of papers.

An alchemical formula, stolen by an ally they thought they could trust, could cost the brave soldiers of Cygnar everything. Their only hope: a cunning spy, a knight out of her element, and a frighteningly small unit of the best that Cygnar has to offer.

Arrayed against them is not only a single, devious enemy, but the combined intelligence apparatus-and possibly the full military might-of the most brutal martial power Cygnar has ever known.

This is the first novel in a new tie-in series, based on the Warmachine: Iron Kingdoms roleplaying game. I know nothing about the game (except for a quick visit to their website – it looks kinda interesting), but I’m a fan of Marmell’s novels (the Widdershins YA series, and also The Conqueror’s Shadow, the sequel for which I really need to get around to…). I’m going to have to squeeze this in near the top of the TBR mountain.

Also on CR: Interview with Ari Marmell (2010), Guest Post

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Will McIntosh, Love Minus Eighty (Orbit)

A NOVEL OF LOVE AND DEATH, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

The words were gentle strokes, drawing her awake. “Hello. Hello there.” She felt the light on her eyelids, and knew that if she opened her eyes they would sting, and she would have to shade them with her palm and let the light bleed through a crack. “Feel like talking?” A man's soft voice. And then her mind cleared enough to wonder: who was this man at her bedside? She tried to sigh, but no breath came. Her eyes flew open in alarm.

The Minus Eighty... Where millionaires browse the catalogue of icy women, judging on beauty ratings and revival costs. Where a freezer’s gentle hum plays the background symphony for the world's most expensive first dates. Where death is only the beginning.

This has been lauded around the SFF reviewing community already (and beyond – it’s causing quite the stir), so I’m hoping to get to it ASAP. It has a superb premise, too, which can’t fail but grab your attention.

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Seth Patrick, Reviver (Macmillan)

Death won’t silence them. Revivers. Able to wake the recently dead, and let them bear witness to their own demise.

Twelve years after the first reviver came to light, they have become accepted by an uneasy public. The testimony of the dead is permitted in courtrooms across the world. Forensic revival is a routine part of police investigation.

In the United States, that responsibility falls to the Forensic Revival Service. Despite his troubled past, Jonah Miller is one of their best. But while reviving the victim of a brutal murder, he encounters a terrifying presence. Something is watching. Waiting. His superiors tell him it was only in his mind, a product of stress. Jonah is not so certain.

Then Daniel Harker, the first journalist to bring revival to public attention, is murdered, and Jonah finds himself getting dragged into the hunt for answers. Working with Harker’s daughter Annabel, he’s determined to find those responsible and bring them to justice. Soon they uncover long-hidden truths that call into doubt everything Jonah stands for, and reveal a threat that if not stopped in time, will put all of humanity in danger...

This has been getting a fair bit of buzz on the Twitters, so I’m hoping to get to it relatively soon. It sounds pretty cool.

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Which of these grab your fancy? Any other upcoming books you’re really looking forward to?

Guest Post: “Triumph Over Tragedy” by Ari Marmell

The other day I posted a write up of the Triumph Over Tragedy charity anthology, written by R.T. Kaelin who conceived of the idea. I also included a number of introductions or synopses for the stories that will feature in the collection, which I sourced from the authors. Ari Marmell, one of my favourite fantasy authors (whose work I nevertheless haven’t read nearly enough of) also wrote something up, but it turned out to be a lot more than I was expecting. Therefore, in the spirit of bringing you as much info as I can, here is Ari’s short article about his contribution, “Big Apple, Small Serpent”…

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“Big Apple, Small Serpent” wasn’t written with this anthology in mind. In fact, I wrote it well over a year ago, when the events that inspired it – the temporary escape of an Egyptian cobra from her enclosure – were still in the national news.

I wrote it, I edited it, I showed it to a few friends, I rewrote it... And then I stuck in a drawer. (Well, a folder on the hard drive. Call it an e-drawer.) Not because I wasn’t proud of it, but because I hadn’t the first clue what to do with it. It was something of a departure for me, really. I normally write fantasy (both traditional and contemporary) and/or horror. And while this had elements of those, it wasn’t really either. Nor was it precisely magical realism, or the “new weird,” or anything else. I honestly hadn’t the first idea where to submit it. I thought about just putting it up on my web site, but I kept feeling like I could find something else to do with it. And eventually, it just sort of slipped my mind.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Phil Athans forwarded me Ryan’s e-mail, inviting authors to contribute to this anthology. I knew I really wanted to contribute, but I wasn’t sure I was going to have the time to write something new. And that’s when “Big Apple, Small Serpent” jumped back to mind.

It’s a tiny bit of a squeeze, I admit. You have to sort of tilt your head a little and squint to see the “triumph over tragedy” theme in the story, but it is present. To me, though, that’s not what makes it appropriate for this book. No, it’s the fact that it’s based on a genuine news event from one of the cities hit by Hurricane Sandy – a far lighter event. An event that brought humor and wonder to the many across the nation who followed it, and that ultimately provided us with a happy ending.

Whether in good times or in bad, I don’t think we can get enough of those.

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More on CR: Reviews of Conqueror’s Shadow, The Thief’s Covenant, False Covenant, and an Interview (the second ever for the site, actually)

To learn more about Ari multiple writing projects, many excellent novels, and other bits ‘n’ pieces, check out his website and be sure to follow him on Twitter.

His latest novel is Darksiders: The Abomination Vault.

“False Covenant” by Ari Marmell (Pyr)

Widdershins rides again, thieving and attempting to survive a nasty supernatural threat

It’s over half a year since the brutal murder of Archbishop William de Laurent during his pilgrimage to the Galicien city of Davillon. During that time, the Church of the Hallowed Pact has assigned a new bishop to the city — but it has also made its displeasure at the death of its clergyman quite clear. Davillon’s economy has suffered beneath the weight of the Church’s displeasure. Much of the populace — angry at the clergy — has turned away from the Church hierarchy, choosing private worship or small, independent shrines. And the bishop, concerned for his new position and angry at the people of Davillon, plans to do something about it.

But a supernatural threat is stalking the night-time streets, come to infiltrate the seedier streets of Davillon, to intertwine its tendrils through the lower echelons of society. Faced with both political upheaval and a supernatural threat to its citizenry, the local representatives of the Church are paralyzed and the Guardsmen are in over their heads.

Into this mix, you have to add Widdershins, the hero of Thief’s Covenant, gifted member of the Finders Guild, and sole worshipper of the god Olgun. This second Widdershins adventure maintains the fun and excellent pacing of the first, and shows that Marmell has the ability to write for younger readers and adults with equal skill. This novel, while not perfect, was a lot of fun and showcases Marmell’s gift for writing the sinister side of fantasy as well as the fun side.

Week in Review (Mar.31-Apr.7)

You know what this is all about…

Slate: “Is Game of Thrones too white?” by Saladin Ahmed [Article]

An interesting article. Some of the commenters… *disagree*… Because they’ve misunderstood the point of the article. So, read the article but not the comments. (Which is a good approach to the internet in general – especially on Rolling Stone, Slate, and HuffPost, to name but three…). While on the subject of Saladin Ahmed, check out my review of Throne of the Crescent Moon.

Mouseferatu: In Which Ari Gets Fed Up and Dives Into the Discussion” by Ari Marmell [Response]

Author Ari Marmell responds to some of the particular, ridiculous reactions to Saladin Ahmed’s article for Slate. Not the blatantly, obviously “plain stupid” response. Rather, he addresses “some of the responses that sound a lot more reasonable – and that the people who espouse them probably believe are more reasonable – but which are just as problematic.”

On an un-serious note, points for getting “rare as a bald wookiee” into the article. Ari Marmell is a favourite author of mine, so expect a lot more reviews coming up in the future (new and ‘old’ work). You can also check out my interview with him (the second on the blog).

Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf & Book Review: “Growing Pains: Lessons in Writing the Sequel” by Bradley P. Beaulieu [Article]

A good article from Brad Beaulieu about moving on from one’s debut and tackling the second book in a series.

The Big Idea: “The Boxer Rebellion & the Great Game in China” by David J. Silbey [Article]

A rare moment of cross-over of two of my favourite things, in this article Silbey talks about the challenge he faced when writing his book: “The famous maxim says that history is written by the winners. But happens when the other side not only doesn’t write a history, but can’t?”

The Passionate Foodie: “Authors, Alcohol & Accolades: Volume 6” [Article]

Ok, this is cheating a little bit, as I wrote some of this post – it’s about readers and our favourite authors and tipple. Also contributing are Justin Landon of Staffer’s Musings, Sally Janin of The Qwillery, and Bastard Books.

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On CR this week, we’ve had two interviews: with Helen Lowe (with giveaway – still time to enter!) and Lyndsay Faye. On the reviews side, we’ve had Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s superb Void Stalker and Lyndsay Faye’s Gods of Gotham.

This coming week I’ll be travelling a bit, so not sure how much I’ll be able to get posted, but Alyssa reviews Timeless by Gail Carriger on Monday; I have a review over on Speculative Scotsman also on Monday (Tobias S. Buckell’s The Executioness); I hope to get the Felix & Gotrek Anthology reviewed for the latter half of the week, too. There will be the usual comics reviews and maybe a graphic novel or two featured as well. And, of course, Wednesday’s interview – this week’s with Gini Koch.

The Week in Review (Feb.26-Mar.2)

The second links post, and one that’s a bit more varied.

New York Post “NYPD in 1850” by Lyndsay Faye

This is a very good, short article by the author of Gods of Gotham (Headline), which I intend to read very soon. It has a really intriguing premise, so I’m looking forward to reading this historical take on the NYPD.

Staffer’s Musings: Interview with Elspeth Cooper

With Songs of the Earth finally available in the US, Justin sat down with Elspeth (uh, metaphorically) for a very interesting interview. For more on Songs of the Earth, check out my review of SotE and interview with Elspeth from last year.

io9: “Rejected Star Wars Toys: George Lucas is denying you an inflatable Emperor’s Throne!”

Some of these are great fun, and the uber-geek in my would really like to own a Death Star Basketball and Cloud City Desk Lamp. And the Darth Vader Magnetic Chip Clip with Sound? “I have you now!” – Brilliant!

Simon Spurrier: “London Super Comic-Con: Panel Parity”

Simon Spurrier, author of A Serpent Uncoiled and Marvel’s X-Club series, talks about London’s inaugural Super Comic-Con and how “this convention was also notable for a slight controversy [he] happened to create”. It’s a nice, long post in support of Paul Cornell’s thoughts on the gender-balance in comics. Written in Spurrier’s trademark zaniness, it’s a thoughtful, thought-provoking and intelligent read.

“At the moment it’s all too easy for the lip-curlers and sneermonkies of the world to dismiss Western Comics as the sole preserve of thirtysomething-plus men in teeshirts who never properly grew up because that’s the only face of comics they ever see. Which is terrible. And I say that as a thirtysomething man in a teeshirt who never properly grew up.”

Washington Post: “Book Review: The Annotated Sandman” by Mike Musgrove

A good, proper review of the ground-breaking graphic novel. Which I still haven’t read. I don’t think I could ever justify the cost of this annotated version, but I may pick up a paperback edition to read at some point. [If I remember correctly, the Strand have a load of copies.]

Barnes & Noble SciFi & Fantasy Blog: Jim Butcher & Benedict Jacka

A good discussion between the two authors and more.

*

And, of course, there was also all the content on Civilian Reader – an interview with E.C. Myers and a review of his debut, Fair Coin; my review of Ari Marmell’s first YA novel The Thief’s Covenant; and yesterday’s guest post from A. Lee Martinez.

“Thief’s Covenant” by Ari Marmell (Pyr)

A great new heroine in a great new world

Once she was Adrienne Satti. An orphan of Davillon, she had somehow escaped destitution and climbed to the ranks of the city’s aristocracy in a rags-to-riches story straight from an ancient fairy tale. Until one horrid night, when a conspiracy of forces — human and other — stole it all away in a flurry of blood and murder.

Today she is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon’s underbelly with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no other worshippers but Widdershins herself. It’s not a great life, certainly nothing compared to the one she once had, but it’s hers.

But now, in the midst of Davillon’s political turmoil, an array of hands are once again rising up against her, prepared to tear down all that she’s built. The City Guard wants her in prison. Members of her own Guild want her dead. And something horrid, something dark, something ancient is reaching out for her, a past that refuses to let her go. Widdershins and Olgun are going to find answers, and justice, for what happened to her — but only if those who almost destroyed her in those years gone by don’t finish the job first.

This is the start of what promises to be a great new YA fantasy series. I’d only read one other novel by Ari Marmell before reading Thief’s Covenant, The Conqueror’s Shadow, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was intrigued by the idea of Marmell writing YA fiction, so came into this with high expectations. Luckily, my expectations were exceeded: this novel is a fun, action-packed and sneaky adventure. Thief’s Covenant features engaging characters and a great story, and kept me reading well into the night on more than one occasion.

February 2012 Top Picks

The first half of this year alone sees a high number of highly anticipated titles coming out, and February is a particularly bumper month for the genre fan. So, here’s my top eight for this month. I doubt I’ll be able to read even half of them in February (the best laid plans, etc.), but I thought I’d offer at least a hat-tip for those I may not be able to get around to.

2011 in Review: The Ones That Got Away

The longer I’ve been reviewing books, the more novels I find that I really want to read but end up not having the time for.

This year, like last year, also saw another decline in thriller and non-genre fiction reviews: I was either finishing my PhD or recovering from the final push, so needed a real escape from the real world and politics, which means I avoided some of my normally must-read authors (David Baldacci, John Sandford, to name but two). I’ll try to get some more read in January, but that’s a pretty busy month as well for big new releases (in anticipation but also page-count)…

This year there have been a lot of books that were highly anticipated that I just couldn’t get around to (see the link-gaps on the “2011 Releases” page and you’ll see what I mean, and that list is by no means exhaustive). Most of them I have already, either sitting on my TBR pile or on my Kindle, which just makes it more frustrating.

In lieu of timely reviews, though, I thought I’d give a quick shout-out (with synopses and a few comments) for some of the ones that got away in 2011. Only, given the number of books I neglected, it’s not really that ‘quick’ a post…

Best Book-Week EVER…?

Quite probably. This week I have received (and bought) perhaps the most number of Highly Anticipated books than any week previously. Am I gloating by writing about it here? Well, maybe a little bit, but I do also want to take advantage of the opportunity to tell everyone a little bit about these books that are coming out in the near future. So, let’s start first with a photo of The Big Pile O’ Exciting Books:

Here’s why we should be excited about them…

[Please Note: Some of these novels are sequels, so there may be some spoilers in synopses.]

CR’s May Picks

With the month of May (very) fast approaching, I thought I’d just share a quick post and some thoughts on next month’s most-anticipated releases.

So, without further ado, read on for a breakdown of my most-anticipated novels coming in May (in no particular order).

[Warning: A couple of the synopses have spoilers of varying detail.]

2010: A Retrospective – Fantasy & Sci-Fi

I know every blog, magazine and newspaper does one of these, but because 2010 was quite a bumper year for reading, I thought I’d offer a quick run-down of my favourites. I’m not going to reiterate why I thought these books were the best of the year – instead, I’m just going take this as an opportunity to link to the reviews I already posted during the year. And last year was quite busy.

Not only was there a considerable increase in posting (in part thanks to Alyssa joining the reviewing team), but I’ve also been able to get so many books read (including non-fiction, I’ve read 109 books in 2010). Thinking about this post, however, I realise how much my reading habits are changing – I have read and enjoyed far more fantasy novels than thrillers, which makes this the first year I’ve had difficulty coming up with the ‘Best Thrillers’ selection (which I posted earlier today). Also, given the wealth of fantasy novels I’ve read this year, whittling them down to just ten was impossible, so I’ve mentioned all the ones that really stood out (in no particular order).

 

Chris Wooding, The Black Lung Captain (Gollancz)

(I should to take this opportunity to say another big “Thank You!” to Alyssa for giving me this novel. I loved it!)

Col Buchanan, Farlander (Tor)

Kevin J. Anderson, The Map Of All Things (Orbit)

Daniel Abraham, Shadow & Betrayal (Orbit)

Blake Charlton, Spellwright (Harper/Voyager)

Brent Weeks, The Black Prism (Orbit)

N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms & The Broken Kingdoms (Orbit)

Graham McNeill, A Thousand Sons / James Swallow, Nemesis / Aaron Dembski-Bowden, The First Heretic

(Black Library)

MD Lachlan, Wolfsangel (Gollancz)

Lachlan was also kind enough to answer a few questions for me, and his was the first interview we’ve done on the site.

Ari Marmell, The Conqueror’s Shadow (Gollancz)

In addition to the review, Marmell agreed to do a short interview, which can be found here.

(As I mentioned at the end of the Lachlan interview, I’ll be trying to get as many short interviews with authors as possible – either with authors whose books have been reviewed on the site, or exciting upcoming authors, if at all possible.)

There are many more fantasy novels, and a couple more sci-fi novels that could easily have made the cut (for example, Sam Sykes’s Tome of the Undergates, Amanda Downum’s The Bone Palace, and CL Werner’s Wulfrik). But, in order to keep the post as short as possible, and to properly highlight the best of a very good year, I shall leave it at that. Feel free to use the comments to add your own. There are, as with every year, a number of novels I was unable to read. I will catch up on those that were missed, where possible and time permitting.

Anyway. It is time to start looking to the present, and 2011 looks like it will be a very good year for readers of every genre. Keep checking back for more reviews, interviews, artwork, and asides!

Six Questions for Ari Marmell (Gollancz)

A quick interview with the author of The Conqueror’s Shadow:

1. How did you come up with the idea for Conqueror’s Shadow? Who would you say is the biggest influence on your work?

The very earliest kernel of the idea was just one of those random thoughts that strikes out of nowhere: I was having lunch with my wife, and I just sort of came out with “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to have a fantasy novel where the ‘hero’ is a retired evil warlord who has to come back to stop someone even worse?”

Really, the genesis was just that basic. Obviously, the concepts of the novel grew and evolved well beyond that – for instance, my decision to take the opportunity to take many classic fantasy tropes and twist them throughout the book came later, and was much more deliberate – but the core just sort of dawned on me.

As for my biggest influence? While there are several, if I had to pick one, I’d say probably Steven Brust. Specifically, his Vlad Taltos novels.

2. You’ve been writing and developing fantasy products for a long time, from Dungeons & Dragons to White Wolf’s Vampire: The Masquerade; what made you decide to finally create your own fantasy world, and how did you find that process?

The truth is, while I’ve been publishing mostly role-playing game materials for most of my career, my actual writing happened the other way around. I wrote five full-length original novels before I ever wrote a single word for the games (though I’d been playing the games for years). The first three of those novels were, to put it kindly, a learning experience, and are utterly unsalvageable. The other two, after massive rewriting, became The Conqueror’s Shadow and The Goblin Corps.

But at the time, I wasn’t having any luck getting my fiction published (in part, I’ll admit, because I wasn’t good enough yet). So when the opportunity came to write for RPGs, which were also a passion of mine, I jumped on it. As I said, though, the original stuff actually came first.

As to what made me decide to start shifting focus once more from RPGs to fiction? Simply the fact that I’m finally having some success with the latter. It’s always been my ultimate goal. (I don’t see myself abandoning the RPG stuff any time soon, though. It just won’t be as much of a focus as the fiction.)

3. What can we expect from your upcoming novels, The Warlord’s Legacy (the sequel to Conqueror’s Shadow) and The Goblin Corps?

The Warlord’s Legacy picks up six years after TCS, with things having not even remotely gone the way one might expect from the ending of the first book. I think it’s a more mature novel; not necessarily a better book, but better written. (At least, it feels that way to me, and I hope it is.) While there are some far-reaching ramifications of what’s happening, it is, in a way, a somewhat more personal story for the protagonists than TCS. (This despite the fact that it’s a threat to his family that brings Corvis Rebaine
out of retirement in the first book.) I can’t really say more than that without spoilers, but I’ll admit that I’m very much looking forward to seeing how fans of the first book react to the second.

I did, incidentally, do my best to make TWL stand alone. It’s better if you’ve also read TCS – you’ll have a more emotional connection to the characters – but I’ve had several people read TWL first and tell me they didn’t feel like they were at all confused or missing important details.

The Goblin Corps is something of a different beast. It’s completely unrelated to my other novels – different setting, different tone – and it’s rather more exaggerated. What I mean by that is, anyone who’s read any of my prior novels knows that I enjoy the juxtaposition of sarcastic humor and bloody violence. TGC takes both of those to an extreme. It’s both funnier and gorier than TCS, and while TCS focused on a very dark anti-hero, TGC actually focuses on the villains. They’re not “dark good guys”, they’re not looking for redemption; they’re the bad guys, and unapologetic about it.

Basically, take your typical almost Tolkien-esque epic fantasy. Then turn it around, so you’re telling a tale about what’s happening to the villains during these events, rather than the heroes. Then flavor the resulting story with a dollop of Quentin Tarantino and a tiny sprinkling of Sam Raimi.

4. How do you enjoy being a writer and working within the publishing industry? Frustrations, pleasant surprises, different processes depending on genre, etc.?

Well, I really enjoy working from home, for one thing. The dress code is pretty relaxed, and the hours are flexible.

Honestly? It has its ups and downs. Income is far from steady, there are no benefits, and a huge amount of my time is spent waiting and hoping. I don’t have access to nearly as much information as I’d like – in terms of sales, marketing, audience, etc. – and I wouldn’t know what to do with it if I did. There’s a lot of frustration, a lot of waiting, a lot of worrying.

But I’ve also gotten to meet and work with some truly fantastic people, including several who I now count among my very close friends. More importantly, I love what I do, and I truly can’t imagine doing anything else.

So far, there’s not a huge difference in terms of genre. Obviously, when I work on tie-in materials, there’s more creative control from above, but since I developed my career doing freelance work, I usually find that pretty easy to work with. And while it’s important for any given book to have only one hand actually at the rudder, I’ve found that the collaborative process can actually produce some pretty cool results.

5. What else do you have in the pipeline?

Well, I can’t go into too much detail, but I can say this much. In addition to The Goblin Corps, I’ll be publishing another novel through Pyr Books. It’s currently untitled, but it’s a fantasy set in a culture somewhat reminiscent of Renaissance France. It’s actually my first young adult novel, but it should prove perfectly accessible to my older fans as well.

My agent is currently shopping my first urban fantasy novel. (That is, modern or near-modern fantasy. Near-modern, in my case.) I obviously can’t talk about it until it sells, but I have really high hopes for it. I feel it’s one of my best books to date, if not the best.

And I’ll be doing some more tie-in novels in the future as well, though again, I can’t yet talk about what or for whom, I’m afraid.

Beyond those? Dunno. I have a whole heap of ideas, but which one(s) I go with really depends on how everything else turns out. (I wouldn’t mind going back to the setting/characters of The Conqueror’s Shadow and The Warlord’s Legacy, if the opportunity arises. But to be perfectly blunt, that’s all a question of sales, now, whether it happens or not.)

6. Who are you reading at the moment (fiction and/or non-fiction), and which books of 2011 are you most looking forward to?

I’m right in the midst of James Lovegrove’s Age of Zeus at the moment. I recently read Gary Corby’s The Pericles Commission and Peter Brett’s The Warded Man. Next on my list (in no particular order) are The Desert Spear (Brett again), The Wolf Age (James Enge), Shadow’s Son (Jon Sprunk), and, well, a whole mess of novels from Pyr Books.

Books I’m looking forward to? Man, there’s a lot; I’m sure I’m going to forget a bunch (and if any of my friends are on that list, I humbly apologize). Some are actually already out, but I haven’t gotten them yet. In any case, they include another heap of Pyr novels (far too many to list here), new instalments in Simon Green’s Nightside series and Drood series, Echo (Jack McDevitt), Unsympathetic Magic (Laura Resnick), Iorich (Steven Brust), Servant of the Underworld (Aliette de Bodard), the start of the Iron Druid series (Kevin Hearne)...

Man. At this rate, I’m not going to have time to write anything...

Big thank you to Ari for taking the time to answer these questions!

The Conqueror’s Shadow is out now in both the US and UK, and was reviewed on this site, here. The novel has also been nominated for the 2010 David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy!

The Warlord’s Legacy will be published in the US on January 25th 2011 (Spectra/Random House), and will be published in the UK in May 2011 (Gollancz/Orion).

“The Conqueror’s Shadow”, by Ari Marmell (Gollancz)

A brilliant new fantasy, with a sense of fun and a classic feel.

They called him the Terror of the East. His past shrouded in mystery, his identity hidden behind a suit of enchanted black armour and a skull-like helm, Corvis Rebaine carved a bloody path through Imphallion, aided by Davro, a savage ogre, and Seilloah, a witch with a taste for human flesh. No shield or weapon could stop his demon-forged axe. And no magic could match the spells of his demon slave, Khanda.

Yet just when ultimate victory was in his grasp, Rebaine faltered. His plans of conquest, born from a desire to see Imphallion governed with firmness and honesty, shattered. Amid the chaos of a collapsing army, Rebaine vanished, taking only a single hostage – the young noblewoman Tyannon – to guarantee his escape.

Seventeen years later, Rebaine and Tyannon are married, living in obscurity and raising their children, a daughter and a son. Rebaine has put his past behind him, and given up his dreams of conquest. Not even news of Audriss – an upstart warlord following Rebaine’s old path of conquest – can stir the retired warrior to action.

Until his daughter is assaulted by Audriss’ goons.

Now, to rescue the country he once tried to conquer, Rebaine once more dons the armour of the Terror of the East and seeks his former allies. But Davro has become a peaceful farmer. Seilloah has no wish to leave her haunted forest home. And Khanda... well, to describe his feelings for his former master as undying hatred would be an understatement.

But even if Rebaine can convince his onetime comrades to join him, he faces a greater challenge: does he dare to reawaken the part of him that glories in cruelty, blood and destruction? With the safety of his family at stake, can he dare not to?

I’ve not got much experience reading Marmell’s work. I do know his Vampire: The Masquerade novel, Gehenna: The Final Night, which I thought was good, but I am not familiar with his roleplay output at all. Despite his success in the US, the author doesn’t appear to be too-well-known in the UK; it probably doesn’t help that I’ve yet to actually see a copy of Conqueror’s Shadow in any bookstore, despite it’s recent publication over here.

The author’s first foray into an entirely original setting, the Conqueror’s Shadow exceeded my expectations, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

The Conqueror’s Shadow is lighter in tone than much of the top fantasy output these days, despite some of the sinister and grim content. One gets the sense that Marmell wants his novel to entertain just as much as make the reader think on its themes – maybe more, and for this reason we are put in mind of early, classic fantasies. That being said, despite its classic feel, The Conqueror’s Shadow still retains a contemporary ‘grittiness’, and can sit comfortably alongside the novels of Lynch and Abercrombie, while also appealing to fans of Gemmell and Erikson. If I had to choose one of Marmell’s peers to compare him to, I would say that Scott Lynch is probably the closest in style and quality, if not content. At the same time, his world had a similar feel to that in the Fable computer game series.

The humour Marmell sprinkles throughout the novel is good – it’s made up of understated quips, sarcastic or amusing comments, observations and asides, rather than laugh-out-loud moments. It doesn’t always work (sometimes the comments fall a little flat, or come a little too close together), but rarely did I go a chapter without smiling or chuckling at a comment or snippet of dialogue. Marmell’s writing can lean towards the flamboyant or florid on occasion, but it’s easily forgiven as the pace of the story and quality of the plot and writing pulls you quickly onwards.

Marmell writes all of his characters well and realistically. His companions are well-rounded and their banter makes it easy to visualise them as a loyal, if difficult, band of warriors. The more you read, the more you will become invested in the fates of Davro, Seilloah, and you’ll even come to like Khanda. There’s an interesting twist about three-quarters of the way into the novel, wrapped around a red-herring that was satisfyingly dealt with. Audriss never comes across as clichéd or cartoonish. The author’s take on vampires, the “Eternal Legion”, is pretty sinister and an interesting, original take on the supernatural species. The relationship with Corvis and Tyannon was initially difficult to accept (it felt like an extreme example of Stockholm Syndrome), but as we get to know Rebaine it feels more plausible.

The author has a good knack for describing locations and atmosphere: his descriptions are sparse, but still evocative, allowing the reader’s imagination to fill in the blanks, or the perspective of the characters to fill out our impressions. A good example is Rebaine’s walk into Theaghl-gohlatch, the (horribly “fantasy”-named) haunted forest in which he searches for a former companion. Rebaine is clearly spooked by his surroundings, with all-too-human and familiar fears and phobias creeping into his thoughts.

In general, Marmell’s characterisation is solid and very believable, and I don’t think any characters came across as contrived. The dialogue is fluid and quick, as are the author’s prose. The plot rattles along at a fair clip, which is a very good thing as this is not a short novel. I was never bored, reading this, and never felt myself starting to skim-read. Rebaine struggles with the ease with which he falls back into the role of warlord, and some of the actions he condones (sometimes without all the information) haunt him.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Conqueror’s Shadow. It is a fantasy novel that invites you in and allows you to stay for as long as like, entertaining you all the way. It was easy to sink into each time I picked it up – unfortunately, there were altogether too many other things going on while I read this – although I still managed a couple of into-the-wee-hours reading sessions, and found myself grabbing any and every opportunity to read even just a couple of pages. The characters are all well-realised, engaging and likeable, and it was fun to get to know Rebaine and his companions over the course of the novel. Marmell draws on a number of classic fantasy tropes and makes them his own – we have a band of ‘heroic’ companions, a quest to retrieve long-forgotten treasure, and also an evil marauder to slay.

Marmell maintains a sense of fantasy, wonder and fun in his novel that sets it apart from many of his contemporaries. This is a great fantasy novel and getting inside the mind of a former-marauder, and one who is all too familiarly human, is a welcome premise.

Very highly recommended, The Conqueror’s Shadow is an absolute pleasure to read, and offers an alternative to the more ‘gritty’ fantasy output that dominates at the moment (not that there’s anything wrong with this type of fantasy). I really can’t wait for The Warlord’s Legacy.

For fans of: Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, Gav Thorpe, Nathan Long, William King, David Gemmell, KJ Parker, Graham McNeill, Col Buchanan

The Warlord’s Legacy is is published in the US in January 2011 by Spectra, and UK in May 2011 by Gollancz.