A Refresher Course for “The Name of the Wind”…

First, some advice from Mr. Rothfuss himself:

“My best advice, of course, is that if you really can’t remember what happened in book one, you should probably re-read it. Most of what’s in there is pretty important to the story, y’know. I put it all in there for a reason…”

If, however, you do not wish to start all over again, or do not have the time to do so, then look no further than the hilarious cartoon-version that Rothfuss has put together with Nathan Taylor, and posted on his website, here. It will set you straight, refresh your memory, and make you laugh.

The second book in the Kingkiller Chronicle, Wise Man’s Fear, was published today, and is also available as Kindling.

I hope to get Wise Man’s Fear read and reviewed (not to mention ‘bought’ – I’m being slow) soon, but I have some work commitments that have to be taken care of first, so I’ll be reading and reviewing some shorter novels in the meantime. Needless to say, I loved the first book in the series, The Name of the Wind, and I’ve been impatient for this ever since.

[Thanks are due to Suvudu and A Dribble of Ink for tweeting links and thereby drawing my attention to this.]

“A Discovery of Witches” by Deborah Harkness (Headline)

Reviewed by Emma Newrick

An Academic, a Book, and Daemons, Witches and Vampires…

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft.

Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels...

This book has received lots of hype, which usually either makes me desperate to read something, or very determined not to. Thanks to Twilight and the other zillion books that have featured fanged heroes, I was rather tired of supernatural romance, but this one did intrigue me...

Competition! “Changes” by Jim Butcher

So, here we have the first ever competition on Civilian Reader! And I think it’s a rather good one, too…

“O, A Presidential Novel” by Anonymous (Simon & Schuster)

A satirical portrait of the people trying to win the presidency in 2012

Among them are: Cal Regan, a rising political star who takes over the president's 2012 re-election campaign after O’s veteran campaign chief is forced to resign because of an affair with a teenage prostitute; Maddy Cohan, a dazzling young journalist whose sharp reports for an upstart website are a frequent source of conversation among the political elite, and whose relationship with one of her sources could complicate her career; Walter LaFontaine, one of O’s earliest Chicago supporters, who despite being left behind when O went to Washington, yearns for a larger role in his hero’s re-election campaign; Tom “Terrific” Morrison, a one-term governor with a military background, who is emerging as the likely nominee and a formidable opponent. Privately derisive of O, Morrison seeks to run a classic change campaign similar to O’s historic march to victory in 2008; Allen Knowles, a wealthy Silicon Valley campaign donor who gives Cal Regan secret information which could be damaging to Morrison’s campaign.

Meanwhile, O is chafing under the demands of the presidency. His senior aides are running him too hard and, to his irritation, have advised him not to play golf on the weekends. To win re-election, he realizes he may have to adopt political methods he had once denounced.

President Obama is fast becoming the most written-about (modern-day) president. Following on in a new sub-genre, we get O: A Presidential Novel (henceforth, O:APN) – an anonymously-penned fictionalisation of Obama’s campaign for re-election in the upcoming 2012 presidential election. Filled with insider detail, and satirical jabs at Washington culture and many familiar faces from the Obama White House (all given different names, of course), O:APN is a novel of mixed strengths and weaknesses.

“Broken Honour” by Robert Earl (Black Library)

A trial by fire for a new, wholly unprepared regiment of convicts

The armies of Hochland are at breaking point. Beset on all sides by the feral beastmen, the safety and prosperity of the province is shattered. These are desperate times. Mercenary Captain Eriksson looks to capitalise on the conflict, buying the freedom of a group of prisoners to form a new free company.

The criminals are delighted to be released, but this comes at a terrible price – to fight and die in the upcoming conflict. Eriksson must lead his makeshift company into one bloody conflict after another, putting his faith in those who gave up on honour long ago. On the battlefields of Hochland, either damnation or redemption awaits them.

A new regiment is thrust straight into battle, as a devastated Hochland military groans in the wake of a devastating loss to the rampaging beastmen. With some good characters, solid (but not excessive) action, a dark and cynical sense of humour, and some intrigue thrown in, Broken Honour is a great Warhammer novel that stands up to Gotrek & Felix in quality and entertainment, and certainly shows room for growth and maybe some sequels...

Upcoming: “Snuff” by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday)

The next Discworld novel to be a new Vimes novel!

It feels like an age since Sam Vimes was the focus of a Discworld novel, but he is back as the star of Snuff, published in October 2011. Snuff is the ninth novel in the City Watch/Guards series, following on from the excellent Thud! (2005); and it will be the 39th Discworld book overall.

Here’s the synopsis:

According to the writer of the best-selling crime novel ever to have been published in the city of Ankh-Morpork, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a policeman taking a holiday would barely have had time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse.

And Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is on holiday in the pleasant and innocent countryside, but not for him a mere body in the wardrobe. There are many, many bodies and an ancient crime more terrible than murder.

He is out of his jurisdiction, out of his depth, out of bacon sandwiches, and occasionally snookered and out of his mind, but never out of guile. Where there is a crime there must be a finding, there must be a chase and there must be a punishment.

They say that in the end all sins are forgiven.

But not quite all…

No artwork available as yet, but I’ll keep an eye out for it, and feature it on the site as soon as possible. Needless to say, the Guards have always been my favourite series-within-the-series, and I can’t wait for Snuff.

In other Pratchett news, The Long Earth series is going ahead (two books – one an omnibus of two novellas, one full-length novel) – a collaboration between Pratchett and well-known and successful science-fiction author Stephen Baxter, the first book should see an early 2012 release.

“Vegas Knights”, by Matt Forbeck (Angry Robot)

“Harry Potter meets Ocean’s Eleven”

When two college freshmen decide to use Spring Break making magic on the gambling tables of Las Vegas, little do they imagine that Vegas harbours a dark magical secret of its own…

And as they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – alive or dead.

I am familiar with Matt Forbeck’s previous writing for Black Library (his amusing series of Blood Bowl novels), so I was eager to read his take on urban fantasy set in Las Vegas. Brisk and action-packed, Vegas Knights is an entertaining read.

Upcoming: Journalists getting in on Sci-Fi Action

Two novels coming out in the near future feature journalists embedded (in one form or another) with military units as their main protagonists. I’m surprised it’s taken so long for this premise to take hold, given the attention it received during the current Afghanistan and Iraq wars. In some ways, the Horus Heresy series from Black Library has adopted the idea of journalists accompanying military forces, but it was never really central to the story – rather, it was a device to portray the story.

In Dan Abnett’s Embedded and T.C. McCarthy’s Germline, the embedded journalist takes the top spot.

Having studied both international journalism and the role of the media in foreign policy, I think both of the novels sound pretty appealing. The idea of seeing conflicts from the frontlines, but from an outsider’s perspective, offers great scope for intelligent discussion of the nature of war, so transferred onto these speculative settings, we could be in for a real treat.

“The Quantum Thief”, by Hannu Rajaniemi (Gollancz)

A Science Fiction Heist set amongst a complex and bizarre, post-human civilisation

UK   |   US

Jean le Flambeur is a post-human criminal, mind burglar, confidence artist and trickster. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his exploits are known throughout the Heterarchy – from breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to steal their thoughts, to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of the Moving Cities of Mars. Except that Jean made one mistake. Now he is condemned to play endless variations of a game-theoretic riddle in the vast virtual jail of the Axelrod Archons – the Dilemma Prison – against countless copies of himself.

Jean’s routine of death, defection and cooperation is upset by the arrival of Mieli and her spidership, Perhonen. She offers him a chance to win back his freedom and the powers of his old self – in exchange for finishing the one heist he never quite managed...

Mind-bending science-fiction. With a heist. Sounds like a brilliant premise. Rajaniemi is a gifted author, and writes in oft-sublime prose, but don’t expect to just sink into this universe – I was left a little adrift as I juggled the various terms that were thrown about without much explanation. That being said, it’s interesting, highly imaginative, well-paced, and often amusing.

Book on Film: “Absolute Power”, by David Baldacci

Movie   |   Book

A career thief witnesses a horrific crime involving the U.S. President.

In this adaptation of David Baldacci’s debut thriller, Clint Eastwood makes a good attempt to bring the novel to life on screen, however the story does not ultimately lend itself to the restrictions imposed by Hollywood.