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 (November 2013)

Another impressive book-haul, this month. Also rather varied, too, which is always nice. As per usual, I can’t read them all instantaneously, so here is an initial, first-look at the books that are coming soon to the blog and to bookstores/-shelves near you.

Recent Acquisitions (Early October)…

Another clutch of interesting books.

A nice mix, actually. I’m really trying to broaden what I feature on here – who knows how successful I will be in that endeavour. Partly, this is because my day-job involves reading a fair bit of SFF, which means I’m finding myself drawn more to thrillers (e.g. John Sandford) and (literary-)fiction. I’m still going to be reading plenty of SFF, of course (my interest in that is never going to go away). I just hope I can at least somewhat keep on top of all of these titles. Maybe I need to get some more writers involved.

Anyway, here’s what has turned up in the first few days of October…

“Last Argument of Kings” by Joe Abercrombie

A strong finish to The First Law trilogy

The end is coming.

Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him – but it’s going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the king of the Northmen still stands firm, and there’s only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy: it’s time for the Bloody-Nine to come home.

With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. As his days with a sword are far behind him, it's fortunate that he's deadly with his remaining weapons: blackmail, threats, and torture.

Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is too painful an undertaking and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too – and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it.

The king of the Union lies on his deathbed, the peasants revolt, and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No one believes that the shadow of war is about to fall across the heart of the Union. Only the First of the Magi can save the world, but there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, than to break the First Law...

It is always tricky to review the final book in a trilogy or series. So how to go about it, with a series and novel that I could talk about for hours? To avoid spoilers or over-analysis requires a very short review. But, “This is the culmination of a superb series” seems just a tad too short… The Blade Itself started the series in fine form. Before They Are Hanged kicked things into a much higher gear. And Last Argument of Kings brings things to a brash, loud conclusion.

All of our favourite characters are back, and each of them experience their fair share of heartache, pain, and unexpected turns of event. Glokta is back in Adua, working for an Arch Lector he increasingly disrespects. Logen, the “Bloody Nine” experiences perhaps the greatest emotional turmoil, as he continues to struggle with his berzerker nature. Jezal, upon his return, finds his life utterly turned upside down, as he is caught up in the political maneuverings that resulted from all the heirs to the throne expiring earlier in the series. Ferro is still here, too, thankfully – she’s a fascinating character, and by the end of the book, things are going to be very different for her. And the First of the Magi Bayaz’s grand long-game comes to fruition, and all who are caught up in its wake are changed forever – some for good, plenty for ill. He is like the antithesis of Gandalf… To make matters even worse, the Gurkish have besieged Adua and the rampaging Northmen of King Bethod.

The ending itself felt just a tad busy, but this was mostly forgivable, and I think Abercrombie did a fantastic job of weaving a dark, epic tale of the ultimate of political and historical manipulations. It’s grand in scope, visceral in style, and – despite the occasional belief that it could have done with just a bit more pruning – utterly compelling. There are even a few revelations I had not seen coming at all. There’s a little less social and political commentary, but just as much examination of the darker reaches of the human psyche, and how downright evil we can be to each other, when in a position of power…

Speaking of Lord of the Rings, earlier: I can still see shades of that trilogy in Abercrombie’s work – distorted and twisted into a new shape, true, but I think I’m right in assuming Tolkien was an inspiration. It’s faint, but it’s there.

Regardless of what you might feel about the proliferation of “grimdark” fantasy, and the sub-genre itself, I think it’s safe to say that Abercrombie is one of the most important fantasy writers of the new millennium. The First Law trilogy shows what can be done with the genre, in both style and invention. Thank god I have Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Red Country already to hand.

Abercrombie’s success is entirely deserving. If you haven’t read any of his novels, yet, I highly recommend you rectify that as soon as possible. This is very highly recommended.

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If you are already a fan of the series, or are more inclined towards comics and graphic novels, I would point you in the direction of The First Law graphic novel, which is a work in progress. Can’t wait to read the whole story in this new medium.

Art: “Be My Enemy” by Ian McDonald (Jo Fletcher/Pyr)

The Everness series is one I will be checking out very soon, I just wanted to share the newly-released artwork for Ian McDonald’s Be My Enemy (published by Jo Fletcher in June 2013):

“Before They Are Hanged” by Joe Abercrombie (Gollancz/Pyr)

The awesome, second novel in the First Law trilogy

Bitter and merciless war is coming to the frozen north. It’s bloody and dangerous and the Union army, split by politics and hamstrung by incompetence, is utterly unprepared for the slaughter that’s coming. Lacking experience, training, and in some cases even weapons the army is scarcely equipped to repel Bethod’s scouts, let alone the cream of his forces.

In the heat-ravaged south the Gurkish are massing to assault the city of Dagoska, defended by Inquisitor Glokta. The city is braced for the inevitable defeat and massacre to come, preparations are made to make the Gurkish pay for every inch of land… but a plot is festering to hand the city to its beseigers without a fight, and the previous Inquisitor of Dagoska vanished without trace. Threatened from within and without the city, Glokta needs answers, and he needs them soon.

And to the east a small band of malefactors travel to the edge of the world to reclaim a device from history – a Seed, hidden for generations – with tremendous destructive potential. A device which could put a end to war, to the army of Eaters in the South, to the invasion of Shanka from the North – but only if it can be found, and only if its power can be controlled…

I am a newcomer to Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series. Despite buying (and subsequently losing) all of his novels. I read the first book, The Blade Itself, and while I enjoyed it a great deal, I didn’t quite see the genius that so many of my friends and fellow reviewers saw. Then I read Before They Are Hanged. NOW I get it. This is a fantastic book, that had me hooked from the first page onwards. Joe Abercrombie is, frankly, a fantasy genius.

Appreciation: Tom Lloyd on Terry Pratchett

This is the first post in a mini-series focused on the work of Terry Pratchett, which will go up on the blog over the course of this week. Here, Tom Lloyd (author of the Twilight Reign series) discusses the impact of Pratchett’s writing on his own…

“On Terry Pratchett” by Tom Lloyd

Terry Pratchett has an entirely unique position in my book collection. I’ve got beautiful folio editions of Tolkien, a hardback collection of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, several first editions by BB I’m saving to read to my daughter, but the tatty, much-read Pratchett paperbacks still reign. For starters, I own more of his books than anyone else’s – they almost rival my own for the number of copies I have – and secondly, they’ve been read more than any other’s. I rarely re-read books, I’m a slow reader and simply don’t have the time, but whenever I’m stressed or too tired to keep up with a new book, I’ll grab a Pratchett as I head to bed. It’s a habit my wife’s taken up and a testament to the quality that some have had over a dozen re-reads and remain enjoyable. They’re not perfect, with fluctuations of style and missteps aplenty, but still I’m not convinced millions of readers and a knighthood is sufficient recognition for his body of work, given the sniffy attitudes of the large chunks of the reading public.

Art: “Skybound Sea” by Sam Sykes – French Edition (Fleuve Noir)

I’m currently reading some of Sam Sykes’s fourth novel (not for review), which means there may be a bit of a delay before my next novel review appears on the blog (well, actually, I have one coming up on Thursday, but after that…). Therefore, and in keeping with my Sykes-mood at the moment, I have shamelessly pinched the French artwork for Sam’s third novel, Skybound Sea, from Staffer’s Book Review. Because it’s jaw-droppingly good:

That is so, so much better than the UK and US covers for the book. The artist is Marc Simonetti.

Kataria looks bad-ass, and Gariath… Wow. (He’s the big, red, demonic-looking fella in the near-background).

Dear Pyr and Gollancz: re-release the novel with this cover.

Thank you.

[NB: I’m only guessing about the French Publisher – they’ve published the first book, but I can’t find much evidence of book two or three… I’ll keep checking, and post correction/confirmation as I find out.]

“Dawnthief” by James Barclay (Gollancz/Pyr)

The Chronicles of the Raven Begin

The Raven have fought together for years, six men carving out a living as swords for hire in the war that has torn Balaia apart, loyal only to themselves and their code. But when they agree to escort a Xesteskian mage on a secret mission they are pulled into a world of politics and ancients secrets. For the first time The Raven cannot trust even their own strength and prowess, for the first time their code is in doubt. How is it that they are fighting for one of the most evil colleges of magic known? Searching for the secret location of Dawnthief; a spell that could end the world? Aiming not to destroy it but to cast it…

It took me a rather long time to get around to reading Dawnthief. There’s no particular reason for this oversight, but for the longest time, The Chronicles of the Raven has been a series I’ve always wanted to try. With my New Year’s Resolution to finally get around to four particular fantasy series, I thought there was no better time. I’m glad I did, too. The book, while flawed and suffering from a number of rookie issues, is nevertheless addictive. I’ll certainly be reading more of the series. This was, given the pacing and events of the first third of the book, a tricky review to write.

Interview with JAMES BARCLAY

James Barclay has been mentioned a couple of times on the site since it started, but as an author whose work I keep missing. Therefore, I have made a resolution to read at least the first in his Chronicles of the Raven series this year (I hope to get to it next month or in March). In the meantime, I got in touch with James and asked if he’d be interested in an interview. He said yes. So here it is. Read on for James’s take on the genre, his series, the wonderful people he’s met in publishing, and what it means to be an author.

2013: New Year’s (Reading) Resolutions – Fantasy

Last year, I promised myself that I would read at least one of Joe Abercrombie’s novels. Thankfully, I just managed it. For 2013, I’ve decided to come up with a similar resolution, to address a few more gaps in my SFF reading. In this post, I give you the four fantasy series I hope to read at least one novel from in 2013:

Robin Hobb – Farseer Trilogy

James Barclay – Chronicles of the Raven

Brandon Sanderson – Mistborn

Tom Lloyd – Twilight Reign

There are, of course, many other established and completed series I wish I had tried by now. These are just four of the fantasy series I’ve decided to single out for this year. Allow me to share some details about these series, in case you haven’t managed to get around to them yourself. If you have already read any of these series, please do share your own thoughts and impressions, in the comments. (Or, alternatively, share suggestions for other fantasy series you think I and other readers need to try out.)

An Interview with TOM LLOYD

With the release of The Dusk Watchman, Tom Lloyd’s Twilight Reign is now complete. Which seems like a perfect time to catch up with him for an interview, see how he feels about finishing his first series, what plans he has for the future, and the danger of working as an author with a puppy in the house…

“The Blade Itself” by Joe Abercrombie (Gollancz/Pyr)

The First Law, book one

Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and increasingly bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer extraordinaire, is trapped in a twisted and broken body – not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.

Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain, shallow, selfish and self-obsessed, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men.

And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past, is about to wake up in a hole in the snow with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod, the new King of the Northmen, once and for all – ideally by running away from it. But as he’s discovering, old habits die really, really hard indeed…

Especially when Bayaz gets involved. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Glotka, Jezal and Logen a whole lot more difficult…

Finally! Despite owning each of Joe Abercrombie’s novels, and having purchased each of them in its first week of release, I have only just managed to get around to actually reading one of them. My immediate thoughts? I’m very glad I did, and it’s not difficult to see why The First Law series has taken the fantasy community by storm. It does not display the genius a lot of my fellow bloggers sometimes ascribe to Mr. Abercrombie, and I had some issues with it, but it is nevertheless a very strong debut.

Interview with ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY

Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shadows of the Apt series has one of the most interesting fantasy settings I’ve come across. Sadly, I’ve not read beyond the first, excellent, Empire in Black and Gold, but I fully intend to catch up on the rest. Given Adrian’s impressive productivity, though, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to truly catch up. And that will be absolutely ok by me. I have wanted to interview Adrian for a while, and I am very happy to share with you his thoughts on writing, his novels, and also his contribution to the post-Hurricane Sandy charity anthology, Triumph Over Tragedy.

An Interview with BRENDA COOPER

Brenda Cooper’s next novel, The Creative Fire, has been receiving a fair bit of buzz around the corner of the blogosphere that I frequent. With the arrival of a copy of the book, too, I thought it would be a great time to interview Brenda, to get some more insight into her writing and work, her thoughts on the genre and more.

An Interview with TIM LEBBON

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?

Catching up with SAM SYKES

I think Sam Sykes is one of the most interesting young authors currently writing in the fantasy genre. (I think, actually, he’s younger than me, which should give me license to refer to him as a “Scamp”…). His Aeons’ Gate series (which I always punctuate wrong – see the first question, below) has been a blast to read. It’s weird, dark, funny, terrifying, brutal, and populated with flawed, realistic characters. With the third book in the trilogy now available (through Pyr in the US, Gollancz in the UK), I thought it would be a great time to get in touch with him and ask him a few catch-up, post-game-style questions.

UK Edition: “Planesrunner” by Ian McDonald (Jo Fletcher)

In March 2013, Jo Fletcher Books will release the UK edition of Ian McDonald’s Planersrunner – book one in the author’s Everness series. The book is already available in the US, with the sequel also published this month (Be My Enemy). The reason I’m writing about it here is to share the quite striking UK artwork for the book:

I really like that cover. Here’s the synopsis:

There is not just one you, there are many yous. We’re part of a multiplicity of universes in parallel dimensions – and Tejendra Singh has found a way in.

But he’s been kidnapped, and now it is as though Tejendra never existed. Yet there is one clue for his son, Everett, to follow: a mysterious app, the Infundibulum.

The app is a map, not just to the Ten Known Worlds, but to the entire multiverse – and there are those who want to get their hands on it very badly. If Everett’s going to keep it safe and rescue his father, he’s going to need friends: like Captain Anastasia Sixsmyth, her adopted daughter, Sen, and the crew of the airship Everness.

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Planesrunner and Be My Enemy are published by Pyr Books in the United States.

While I was Out… (Books Received)

Things have been pretty great on the book front recently, so I wanted to share some thoughts and info on some of the new novels that arrived while I was up in Durham for the last few weeks. Here’s the pile:

The top seven on the stacked pile were sent to New York, and Alyssa kindly forwarded them on to me. However, it’s entirely possible that I’ll be sending them right back, if all goes well on Thursday…

Catching Up with MD LACHLAN

MD Lachlan’s Wolfsangel reinvented the werewolf lore, turning it into in a very dark twist on Norse mythology. The novel has since been followed up by the equally excellent Fenrir and the just-released Lord of Slaughter. Lachlan was also the first interview I did for this blog, so I thought I’d send him a few, quick follow-up questions about how he thinks things are going…