Short Story Reviews: A SPELL OF VENGEANCE and THE PRICE OF DOING BUSINESS by D.B. Jackson (Tor)

Two THIEFTAKER prequel short stories

A SPELL OF VENGEANCE

Ethan Kaille is a thieftaker in Colonial Boston, scratching out a living by restoring stolen property to its rightful owners. But unlike others in his profession, Ethan relies on magical spells as well as his wits to track down thieves. Being a conjurer doesn’t make him popular with the law in Boston, so Ethan is taken aback when the sheriff seeks his help in settling a dispute between a pair of wealthy merchants and a ship’s captain who has threatened their lives. Ethan knows the captain can back up his threats with magic of his own. But there is more to this matter than the merchants have let on, and Ethan soon discovers that what he doesn’t know might actually kill him.

THE PRICE OF DOING BUSINESS

Ethan Kaille is a Thieftaker in Boston in the years leading up to the American Revolution. Having suffered losses and reversals in his life, he is neither naive nor without considerable personal resources. He isn’t just a detective; he’s also a conjurer, which makes him someone who lives on the margins of polite society. Some people fear his powers; others merely find him a distasteful rogue who should simply go away… but still, he is useful to the powers-that-be when problems arise requiring his unusual skill-set.

This story is one from Kaille’s early days as a thieftaker in Boston. In it, he must face a formidable foe, one of a most unexpected sort, whose own powers, very different from his own, prove the equal of Ethan’s.

Both of these stories are decent introductions to Ethan Kaille and Jackson’s urban fantasy take on early-America Boston. My interest in the novels in the series (now up to three), has grown considerably since reading A Spell of Vengeance and The Price of Doing Business.

An Interview with TOBY VENABLES

Today, an interview with horror author Toby Venables, whose latest novel Knight of Shadows was recently published by Abaddon Books. We chatted about the changing nature of genre fiction, writing, undead vikings, and a 12th Century James Bond…

Quick Q&A with SNORRI KRISTJANSSON

Here’s a quick interview with Snorri Kristjansson, author of Viking-tastic Swords of Good Men, which was published at the beginning of August, by Jo Fletcher Books…

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Snorri Kristjansson?

Teacher, writer, lover of cake, mild-mannered Viking and all-round enthusiast.

Your latest novel, Swords of Good Men, was recently published by Jo Fletcher Books. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader?

As a subversive, gritty, Grimdark-with-a-heart genre-buster, straddling the realms of Historical Fiction and Fantasy like a mythical God – or an action book with Vikings. Depends, really.

Is it part of a series?

It is indeed! Book 2 is currently finished and at the being-beaten-with-sticks-until-it-behaves stage. Work starts on Book 3 at the end of the month.

What inspired you to write the novel?

An abundance of time, a lack of employment and a couple of ridiculous coincidences.

And where do you draw your inspiration from in general?

All around. An awful lot goes in, gets mixed somewhere about an inch behind the right ear and comes back out in idea form. Some of them aren’t very good at all.

Why are Vikings so cool?

Big question. Short answer: A combination of beliefs, actions, ingenuity, style and individuality. Shorter answer: ’coz they are. Wanna fight?

How were you introduced to genre fiction?

We are all children of Tolkien, I suppose. Stacks of Raymond Feist and David Gemmell followed.

How do you enjoy being a writer and working within the publishing industry?

It’s great. My publisher and her army of Book Ninjas are a terrifying joy to behold. 

Do you have any specific working, writing, researching practices?

I write well in cafés, but I haven’t had the luxury of establishing rituals yet. The time will come, though.

When did you realize you wanted to be an author, and what was your first foray into writing?

I’ve been writing for a long, long time, but never really viewed it as my Main Thing until relatively recently, when I totaled up the years and brain-miles spent doing text work of one sort or another.

Do you still look back on it fondly?

I’m not big on looking back, truth be told. I’m a forward kinda guy.

What’s your opinion of the genre today, and where do you see your work fitting into it?

The genre’s main problem is that there are way too many clever storytellers out there pumping out great and glorious work, and I don’t have the time to read it all. This is serious, so I would like fellow authors to be less awesome, thank you kindly.

What other projects are you working on, and what do you have currently in the pipeline?

The conclusion to the Valhalla Saga, an outline of another thing that I can’t speak about, a couple of film things with cool kids that I can also not speak about and various other things. This list might have been more interesting in mime.

What are you reading at the moment (fiction, non-fiction)?

Tome of the Undrgates by Sam Sykes, which is great fun.

I completely agree! What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?

I have done a full 50 minute standup show on a warship.

What are you most looking forward to in the next twelve months?

Oh, that list is LONG, but right at this moment I’d say, “Not being in the state of moving house”, which will happen very soon. Oh, and cake.

Interview with PAUL WITCOVER

I must confess that I only discovered Paul Witcover’s latest novel (which I erroneously believed to be his debut), The Emperor of All Things, completely by accident. When a copy of the book arrived in the mail. I did some investigating (i.e. read the back cover blurb) and thought it sounded great. It promptly was slotted into my TBR pile, and I got in touch with Paul for an interview. Read on for more about his writing, processes, and his love affair with reading.

“Bitter Seeds” by Ian Tregillis (Orbit/Tor)

The Milkweed Triptych Begins

The year is 1939. Raybould Marsh and other members of British Intelligence have gathered to watch a damaged reel of film in a darkened room. It appears to show German troops walking through walls, bursting into flames and hurling tanks into the air from afar.

If the British are to believe their eyes, a twisted Nazi scientist has been endowing German troops with unnatural, unstoppable powers. And Raybould will be forced to resort to dark methods to hold the impending invasion at bay.

But dealing with the occult exacts a price. And that price must be paid in blood.

It’s been a long time coming to these shores, but Bitter Seeds is finally available in the UK. The wait has been entirely worth it, too, as this is one of the best novels I’ve read this year. It’s original, inspired and engrossing from the first page until the last. It is a very assured, well-written, and accomplished debut.

An Interview with D.B. JACKSON

D.B. Jackson’s Thieftaker has received some great feedback around the book-related blogosphere. As a sucker for American history, thrillers, and the fantastic, I am very interested in reading this novel. While I wait to get my hands on a copy, I thought I’d get in touch with Jackson to pick his brains about his new novel, pen-names, writing, and more.

Guest Post: “We know goblins don’t exist, but they don’t…” by Jon Courtenay Grimwood

Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s The Fallen Blade was one of my favourite novels last year, and definitely one of my favourite vampire novels ever. It was dark, original, and visceral, populated by engaging characters. The sequel, The Outcast Blade is out now in the US and imminent in the UK. In this post, he takes a look at what it means to write a character in a particular time period…

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“We know goblins don’t exist, but they don’t…”

In the beginning there was a bad man who met a girl who made him want to be less of a bad man and – if this was possible, and he wasn’t entirely sure – perhaps even a good man in time. And even if being bad was a hell of a lot more fun – for him and for the writer, which concerned him not at all – he still wanted to be good, because he’d done many bad things and the girl loved him and hey, he didn’t want to be bad anymore…

That, basically, is the template for a hundred novels and, with a couple of minor amendments, quite possibly, a thousand, if not ten thousand real lives. I was aware of the psychological profile we expect for a character moving from darkness to light, and the reading protocols, the expectations readers bring to different kinds of books when I set out to write Tycho. What I hadn’t factored in were the complications inherent in trying to place him in a historically realistic setting.

Interview with AIDAN HARTE

Described as “Pavane meets The Sopranos, with a hefty dose of Rimbaldi artefacts from Alias”, I was really intrigued when I first heard of this novel. I was lucky enough to receive an early copy, too, which I’ll be reading and reviewing soon. In the meantime, I thought I’d get in touch with Aidan for an interview, to learn more about him, the book and his writing practices. And his answers just made me want to read it even more!