Showing posts with label Tim Lebbon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tim Lebbon. Show all posts

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Upcoming: “Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void” by Tim Lebbon (Del Rey/Random House)

Lebbon-DotJ-IntoTheVoid(SW)I rather enjoyed the first story-arc for Dark Horse Comics’ Dawn of the Jedi series (they’re into their second arc, The Prisoner of Bogan, but I haven’t had a chance to read it just yet). Now there will be a series of novels set during the same time. The first novel will be written by Tim Lebbon, author of Echo City and The Heretic Land, London Eye and many more critically acclaimed dark fantasy and horror novels.

On the planet Tython, the ancient Je’daii order was founded. And at the feet of its wise Masters, Lanoree Brock learned the mysteries and methods of the Force—and found her calling as one of its most powerful disciples. But as strongly as the Force flowed within Lanoree and her parents, it remained absent in her brother, who grew to despise and shun the Je’daii, and whose training in its ancient ways ended in tragedy.

Now, from her solitary life as a Ranger keeping order across the galaxy, Lanoree has been summoned by the Je’daii Council on a matter of utmost urgency. The leader of a fanatical cult, obsessed with traveling beyond the reaches of known space, is bent on opening a cosmic gateway using dreaded dark matter as the key—risking a cataclysmic reaction that will consume the entire star system. But more shocking to Lanoree than even the prospect of total galactic annihilation, is the decision of her Je’daii Masters to task her with the mission of preventing it. Until a staggering revelation makes clear why she was chosen: The brilliant, dangerous madman she must track down and stop at any cost is the brother whose death she has long grieved—and whose life she must now fear.

Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void will be published in May 2013 by Lucasbooks (Random House). In addition, Lebbon’s latest novel is Coldbrook (Hammer).

Thursday, October 25, 2012

An Interview with TIM LEBBON

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Tim Lebbon is a busy author, and one who dabbles in the darker corners of fantasy. Lebbon’s work has always been on my to-watch list, but I have sadly never had the chance to really devote much time to his fiction. This is going to change, however, as London Eye is my next read (see below). This year, in particular, he seems extra busy, with a number of fantasy, sci-fi and YA titles either already available or on their way. What better time to get in touch and give him a grilling about all his novels?

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Not a Review: “The Heretic Land” by Tim Lebbon (Orbit)

Lebbon-HereticLandA victim to my unsettled mind

Arrested by the Ald, scholar Bon Ugane and merwoman Leki Borle find themselves on a prison ship bound for the island of Skythe – a barren land and the site of long-ago wars. Warped and ruined by the ancient conflict, survival on the island is tough and its original inhabitants are neither friendly nor entirely still human. But something else waits on the island, a living weapon whose very existence is a heresy. Destroyed many years ago, it silently begins to clutch at life once more.

I’m afraid I didn’t actually finish this novel. Not because it was bad, by any means. It just wasn’t clicking for me while I was reading it, and I ended up putting it down in favour of something else after just 100 pages. Here are some initial thoughts on what I did read.

It’s actually a  novel that seem to revel in its world-building, without being too dense or excessive. I loved a lot of the elements that Lebbon has incorporated into his world, and his characters are readily likeable and sympathetic. I particularly liked Bon Ugane’s son, who is a genius but also slightly like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory in his single-minded thirst for knowledge and slight awkwardness. The opening scenes that detail Bon Ugane and Leki Borle’s trip to Skythe are great, and to begin with I was hooked. But, sadly, I’m just too distracted at the moment to dive into an entirely new world, I think.

The Heretic Land is just the right amount of dark, which is certainly my preferred ambience. It has everything from a devastated prison island surrounded by lethal seas, religious and political persecution, illegal magic, a hidden history, and plenty of other shenanigans going on to slake the thirst of any fantasy fan. The author’s prose is fluid but not exactly quickly-paced, which may have been why I didn’t feel like I was engaging with it.

Anyway. I will most likely come back to this novel in the future, and will hopefully write a proper review when I do. But, at this point in time, I’m just not in the mood for it. Maybe I need some more variation? A couple of novels outside of the fantasy genre (which has dominated of late). Some thrillers and sci-fi, perhaps.

I haven’t seen anyone else mention it on their blogs or anywhere else, really – if you’ve read it, feel free to add some of your own comments below.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Most-Anticipated Novels – August 2012

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Just a quick run-down of my ten most-anticipated novels of August 2012. Given the lack of stability, frequent travel and relocation of the past few weeks, I’ve not been able to keep on top of my reviewing as well as I would have liked. Therefore, these books may not be reviewed in a particularly timely fashion (some because I don’t have them, others because I don’t have them with me at the moment). Nevertheless! Each of these is near the top of my to-read list, and I fully intend to feature more of them in the near future. Of course, the best laid plans…

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Featured: Madeline Ashby, vN; Charles Cumming, A Foreign Country; James Enge, A Guile of Dragons; Jim C. Hines, Libriomancer; Darius Hinks, Orion: The Vaults of Winter; Mark Lawrence, King of Thorns; Tim Lebbon, The Heretic Land; T.C. McCarthy, Chimera; James Rollins, Bloodline; James Swallow, Fear To Tread

Thursday, December 29, 2011

2011 in Review: The Ones That Got Away

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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)…

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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…

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