LAST UPDATE
2/22/12
Path of the
Renegade by Andy Chambers, Black Library, 2012, $8.99, ISBN
978-1-84970-137-2
Knight of the Blazing Sun by Josh
Reynolds, Black Library, 2012, $8.99, ISBN 978-1-84970-141-9
I
generally like the fantasy side of the Warhammer universe better than
the science fiction side. There is more room for innovation and the
stories are much more varied, although the writing level seems about the
same. These two are fantasy and they are both, I believe, first novels.
The first one was far more my cup of tea even though the plot -
overthrowing a tyrant - is old hat. The conspirators this time include a
homunculus who helps revive an ancient warrior who might be powerful
enough to overcome the bad guy's magical allies. The dialogue is
occasionally a bit stilted, possibly deliberately to suggest an archaic
age, but otherwise it's competently and entertainingly written. The
second is about as well written although the dialogue is frequently
choppy. A group of knights disappears under mysterious circumstances and
the protagonist goes searching for them. He has various adventures
before and after finding them, but is troubled by disturbing dreams
which suggest that something darkly evil is present. He's right. 2/22/12
Dreaming Awake
by Gwen Hayes, NAL, 2012, $9.99, ISBN 978-0-451-23554-1
Sequel
to Falling Under, which I considered horror, but this one feels
more like a fantasy. In the first, a teenaged girl has erotic dreams in
which she falls under the sway of a mysterious male figure, who then
shows up as the new kid in school. The result is not the most
traditional of romances, although it's nothing out of the ordinary.
There's a created fantasy world, the Under, which casts its spell in our
world, and sometimes the tension there works quite well. Unfortunately I
found the protagonist to be frustratingly naive and shortsighted at
times and while I accept that this might be true of a great many
teenagers, it seems more of a contrivance to keep the plot churning. Not
badly written and slightly better than the first, but still of limited
appeal. 2/14/12
Shadow Heir by
Richelle Mead, Zebra, 2012, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4201-1180-4
I've
read and enjoyed some books by this author but this, the final volume in
the Dark Swan series, is not among them. Our magically empowered
protagonist sets off to protect her people from another menace, while
dealing with complicating personal and romantic relationships and her
about to be newborn children, the latter of which she pretty much
ignores. The challenge isn't particularly interesting and the structure
of the novel itself is disjointed, almost anecdotal, and seems more like
the middle volume of a trilogy than the ending of a series. I also don't
recall the protagonist being so woolly headed in the earlier books. Mead writes
enjoyable prose, but this time her plot fails to live up that standard.
2/11/12
Pandemonium by
Chris Wooding and Cassandra Diaz, Scholastic, 2012, $12.99, ISBN
978-0-439-87759-6
This
graphic novel is a fantasy version of Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of
Zenda. The main character is a commoner who just wants to see the world
outside his village. When the local prince disappears, it precipitates a
crisis and our hero is drafted to fill in for him temporarily since he's
practically a twin. Naturally he has no trouble with the general public,
but the prince's enemies know that he's not the real thing and they
don't like disruptions to their plans. Not badly done. The artwork by
Diaz has a vague feel of anime. No particularly striking images but it's
nicely done and full color all the way through. 2/7/12
Luthor Huss by
Chris Wraight, Black Library, 2012, $8.99, ISBN 978-1-84970-131-0
A
new Warhammer novel. A witch hunter gets involved in the investigation
of a series of murders which through a series of complications places
him at the head of army, which will eventually interact with the title
character, a sorcerer who is currently trying to protect his people from
a plague of zombies. Predictably the two problems become interrelated
and the two story lines eventually converge. I found this one to be
surprisingly good reading despite the large array of cliches inevitable
in a game tie-in novel. There are even a few creepy scenes sprinkled
among the violence and the two main characters even have enough foibles
that they rise a bit above the usual stereotyped images that prevail. A
blend of traditional sword and sorcery and the contemporary obsession
with the walking dead that actually works reasonably well. 2/5/12
Greatshadow by
James Maxey, Solaris, 2012, $8.99, ISBN 978-1-907992-72-8
First
volume of the Dragon Apocalypse. That and the blurb almost discouraged
me from reading this one. The plot involves a female mercenary who joins
a company which seeks to steal the treasure guarded by a famous and
powerful dragon. The mission has conflicting purposes because some are
in it for wealth and glory, but others are fanatics who want the dragon
killed because of its mystical powers over humankind. Despite my
trepidations, I found myself reading this with considerable pleasure,
mostly because the interplay of characters was better than I had
anticipated and the adventure, while nothing out of the ordinary, was
well constructed and revealed. I tried to read Maxey's earlier trilogy
and gave up on it very early, but perhaps I should go back and give it
another try. 2/4/12
Babylon Steel
by Gaie Sebold, Solaris, 2011, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-907992-38-4
There
are signs that the urban fantasy trend may be abating somewhat. This
debut novel has some of its attributes - feisty female, urban setting,
wry humor, and a touch of romance - but it's set entirely in a fantasy
world city. The protagonist, whose name is the title, is a brothel owner
fallen on hard times because of protests against her business by
religious fanatics so she agrees to take a job tracking down a missing
girl, whose problems make up a secondary plot. There's some pretty
explicit and kinky sex in this one, spicing up a mixture of adventure
and mystery. The writing is fine, if occasionally a bit too cute. I'd
read another of Steel's adventures, and something tells me I probably
will. 1/29/12
Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon by Mark Hodder, Pyr,
2011, ISBN 978-1-61614-535-4
Third
of the Burton & Swinburne books, and my favorite so far. Adventurer
Richard Burton and his sidekick, poet Algernon Swinburne, are off on
their wildest mission yet. It's an alternate version of the 1860s where
the world is on the brink of an earlier world war than in our timeline.
Possession of three occult stones of great power could alter the balance
of power so our heroes and the nature of time itself has been changed,
allowing the author to sample different time periods. This is apparently
the final book in the series, which is a real shame as I was getting
very fond of the characters. Hopefully Hodder's next project will be
even better. 1/26/12
Tempest by Julie
Cross, Thomas Dunne, 2011, $17.99, ISBN 978-0-312-56889-4
Some
surprisingly good fantasy gets published in the young adult field, along
with some equally surprisingly bad fantasy. This one, which one might
argue is actually SF, falls somewhere in between. It's about a college
student who can move back and forth in time. His visits to the past
don't change the present, so he considers them mere jaunts with no
consequences. But then mysterious assassins fatally wound his girlfriend
and when he jumps back to 2007, he finds himself unaccountably stuck
there. And the assassins are after him, planning to recruit him
into their organization. Comparisons to Steven Gould's Jumper are
inevitable. There are a few shortcuts that I found a bit hard to
believe, like having friends who can run DNA tests and answer highly
technical questions or hack into computer systems, but for the most part
this was a lot of fun. First in a projected series. 1/24/12
Under Attack
by Hannan Jayne, Kensington, 2011, $7.99, ISBN 978-0-7582-5893-9
I
believe this is the second in an urban fantasy series about Sophie
Lawson, a woman who is theoretically immune to magic. In this one
she has to deal with a fallen angel and his secretive plans involving
the inevitable magical artifact. At the same time, someone is killing
even supernatural characters and the demons themselves are upset about
the state of affairs. When Sophie finds herself without a job, and with
her mysterious love interest back but preoccupied, she finds herself
launched on a series of sometimes bruising adventures. About
average of its type, with occasionally clever dialogue but nothing
particularly interesting about the plot. 1/7/12
When the Saints
by Dave Duncan, Tor, 2011, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-2348-4
Even
at the height of the high fantasy phase when I cringed at the sight of
another sword swinging hero, besieged castle, or rampant dragon, I
always looked forward to the next Dave Duncan novel. He could take even
the most basic and familiar idea and spin it into a new shape and over
the course of his career he has only managed to disappoint me once. This
is not the second time. The setting is another small war, but in this
case one side can call on supernatural assistant - saints or devils is
not clear. There's someone on the other side who might also appeal for
their help, but there is a strong religious prohibition against such
things, and if he attempts to save his people, he might be branded a
heretic in the process. Above average for Duncan, although I still
like the King's Blades series much more than anything else he's ever
written, but even an average Duncan is worth a shelf full of lesser
writers. 1/6/12
The Thirteen
Hallows by Michael Scott and Colette Freedman, Tor, 2011,
$24.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-2852-6
This
is the first in a series that is technically fantasy although it has
much the feel of a horror novel, involving several explicit murders and
other mayhem. It reminded me a bit of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child,
my favorite collaborative team. The hallows of the title are magical
artifacts sprinkled around the British Isles and the novel/series
partially involves the quest to find them. Whether they are benevolent
or malevolent is unclear, and in fact may depend more upon the motives
of their possessors. The hallows were originally guarded by a secret
order, but someone is murdering them systematically and stealing the
artifacts. Our protagonist is enlisted in the job of delivering one of
these to a new keeper, but ends up suspected of murder herself, and the
chase is on. Folklore mixes with modern evil in this gripping and very
effective suspense novel. It's a kind of fantasy we don't see very
often. 1/6/12
The Alloy of Law
by Brandon Sanderson, Tor, 2011, $24.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-3042-0
The
world of the Mistborn series has progressed considerably in the three
century gap between this and the previous book. There is electricity,
railroads cross the land, and skyscrapers are appearing in the cities.
The protagonist is an ex-lawman from a kind of Old West part of the
world who gets involved in the investigation of a gang of unusual
thieves when he comes to the big city. Needless to say, things don't
proceed conventionally. Sanderson has an interesting magic system which
he expands upon here, and the switch to quasi-steampunk is surprisingly
smooth. You can find traces of the older Mistborn world here from time
to time, but often they've been altered a bit by fading memories. The
mystery plot itself is actually pretty good too, although I thought the
novel's ending could have been stronger. This is not directly related to
the earlier trilogy and appears to be a standalone despite the setting.
1/6/12
Kultus by Richard
Ford, Solaris, 2011, $9.99, ISBN 978-1-907992-28-5
The
protagonist of this one is a combination mercenary, psychic detective,
etc. who takes on an all too familiar task, acquiring a magical
artifact. The slight difference this time is that he lives in a
steampunkish alternate version of England. The action here is
straightforward and fast paced - you won't find much to surprise you.
Ford's style is spare at times, but he keeps the plot flowing forward
consistently. I found it a bit difficult to invest much interest in
whether or not his protagonist actually succeeded, since he's such a
disagreeable person, but then again, the various forces opposed to him
are even worse. Lightweight but agreeable. 1/6/12
Mercury Rises
by Robert Kroese, Amazon Encore, 2011, $14.95, ISBN 9781612180861
Second
in a series about a fallen angel - Mercury - who wants to prevent the
world from sliding into apocalypse. And there's certainly plenty of
possible disasters to choose among. This time - I haven't seen the first
in the series - the central focus is a megalomaniac who wants to perform
a dangerous scientific experiment that could bring the universe to an
end. There are enemies both human and inhuman, and an underlying sense
of humor that makes things a bit hard to take really seriously, which
undermines the suspenseful elements. The story also jumps around in time
a bit. The best part is Mercury's encounter with Noah and the "truth"
about the Ark. Fun, and there's a final volume promised.
1/5/12
Virtual Virgin
by Carole Nelson Douglas, Pocket, 2011, $7/99, ISBN
978-1-4391-6779-3
This
installment in another urban fantasy series has something for everyone,
vampires, robots, zombies, romance, action, mystery, and even some
humor. Sequel to Silver Zombie, which I haven't seen, it features
Delilah Street, a paranormal investigator and recent conversion to
vampirism, of the relatively benevolent variety. Her problem is that a
self aware robot, who happens to be a tool of a gang run by demons, has
the hots for Delilah's boyfriend. Much of this is standard material but
Douglas adds a touch of flare and maybe because I haven't read much of
this subgenre recently, this one seemed more original and entertaining
than most. Have to look for the first in the series. 1/5/12
A Dance of
Dragons by George R.R. Martin, Bantam, 2011, $35, ISBN
978-0-553-80147-7
The latest and longest installment in Martin's epic
fantasy answers some questions and raises many more. This volume follows
the adventures of approximately half of the cast of characters including
my favorite, Tyrion Lannister. The wars among the various would be kings
begin to whittle the numbers somewhat and a few more of the regulars die
- one of which came as a considerable surprise to me. There's trouble
along the great wall to the north, among the distant slaver kingdoms,
and all around fallen Winterfell. It's hard to call this a great
novel because it's really only part of a novel with no beginning or end,
but it's great, whatever it is. I've never had 1000 pages go by so
quickly. But now I have to settle down for a longish wait for the
next one. 1/1/12
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