Storm Front - Wizard PI and His First Case

Jim Butcher has hit a homerun with his Dresden Files series of novels. By his own confession, he wrote the first book, under the name Semiautomagic, at a writing course, trying to prove to his teacher that it would be horrible. It turned out to be completely opposite.

The main character is private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden, the world’s only consulting wizard. He works as a private investigator and police advisor. In the world of The Dresden Files, magic is real, along with vampires, demons, spirits, faeries, werewolves, outsiders, and other monsters. But most of the people still do not believe in the supernatural. When he works with the police, he is engaged by detective Karrin Murphy, head of special investigations unit, the unit that deals with the strange cases.

Shadows of the Apt - progress update III

I have just finished The War Master's Gate, the penultimate book in the series. Just a few thoughts: I am glad to say that the quality remains high throughout the entire series, and this book is no exception. There are some new characters, and they are well rounded, and reminiscent of the characters from the start of the series. There is a feeling of a circle closing. One more book to go and I feel tingling in my fingers, eagerness to start the last installment in this true epic. I hope to find time to write something more about it when I have finished reading. Until then, keep moving forward!

Werthead's History of Fantasy - fantasy reader's heaven

One of my favorite bloggers has written a fantastic (no pun intended) series of articles on the history of fantasy literature. They represent a great read no matter if you are already well acquainted with the genre or your interest has merely been sparked by the Game of Thrones TV series or Lord of the Rings movies. You can find it here.

Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky - Insectpunk Fantasy

Empire in Black and Gold is the first book in the Shadows of the Apt series. The series is finished, it consists of 10 books and it has garnered flattering reviews from the blogosphere. I have been circling it for some time and finally decided to give it a go.

At the beginning, the author throws us in the middle of a battle for the city of Myna, where Stenwold Maker and his friends are trying to help the city fend off the attack of the Wasp Empire. In the midst of all chaos, we are presented with barely a sketch of a somewhat different fantasy setting. I really like my FSF this way. At the start, you see a tip of the proverbial iceberg, and then your patience is rewarded as you read along.

Caine Black Knife and Caine’s Law – the Final Chapter?

I have finished reading these two books a while ago but I needed some time to think about them before writing this review, not to mention being firmly clamped in the jaws of everyday life. The reason why I decided to write about both of them is the fact that they can be easily perceived as one novel divided into two parts.

In Caine Black Knife, Caine returns to the place where he had the adventure that made him a star (Retreat from the Boedecken).

Blade of Tyshalle – Perfect Blend of SF and Fantasy II

I have just finished the second book in the Mathew W. Stover’s Act of Caine sequence and I am amazed. This is one of the best books I have ever read. Considerably more ambitious than the first one, this book successfully raises everything to a whole new level.

At the beginning we find Hari Michaelson as a well-off administrator who is trying to cope with his disability resulting from his spine being severed by the sword Kosall at the hand of his arch enemy Berne. Some seven years after the events in the first book, Hari lives with his wife Shanna and her daughter Faith, who share the connection with the Chambaraya, the Overworld River. Ma’Elkoth is a prisoner in some sort of the Overworld Museum, where he teaches magic, and he is Hari’s best/only friend.

Heroes Die by Matthew Stover – Perfect Blend of SF and Fantasy

Heroes Die is the first book in the Matthew Woodring Stover’s Acts of Caine trilogy. The author created a world that consists of the future dystopian Earth and a parallel world called Overworld, which is actually a fantasy setting bearing the characteristics of the majority of books published in this genre after Tolkien. This provides for a very interesting dichotomy – on the one side we have a science fiction milieu in which there is an overcrowded Earth, the population of which is divided into castes, with very strict rules and harsh system of punishment. On the other side is a fantasy world rich with magic, all kinds of creatures, and filled with adventures. 

This is not a new thing.

James Rollins: The Eye of God

 The Eye of God is the ninth book in the Sigma series, focused on the adventures of Commander Gray Pierce and the other members of this covert group.

In this installment of a very popular series, the world is faced with a threat in the form of a comet that consists of dark matter and through wonders of quantum physics provides Sigma with a glance into a possible catastrophic future. In an effort to prevent the disaster, members of Sigma, accompanied by Vigor and Rachel Verona, go to Mongolia looking for the fallen satellite called the Eye of God, under the pretense that they are trying to resolve the ancient mystery concerning the ancient artefact given to Genghis Khan.

As is always the case in Rollins’s Sigma books, the two aspects of the story are closely intertwined. The ancient artefact is actually the thing they need to find in order to save the world from annihilation. Rollins cleverly weaves the different strands of the plot, combining the breathtaking action, modern science, old enigmas and religious beliefs. It is all seamlessly blended into a highly readable and enjoyable piece of literature.

Rollins is in his full form in this one. However, there is one thing that sets this book apart from the previous parts of the series. He decided to say goodbye to two of his characters, who played a significant part in earlier books, and I must confess that I was rather taken aback. It is interesting that one can feel genuine sorrow for a literary character. Even though I was not particularly attached to these characters I still felt a certain amount of grief. Maybe it is testament of Rollins’s writing or proof that I am over-emotional, or something else, I honestly don’t know. Anyhow, I think it poses a very interesting question. Does it increase the quality of writing if the author is not afraid to do away with his characters? It definitely makes it more realistic. I remember when I read the Game of Thrones and when Ned Stark was executed. It was a shock but it was important to the depiction of Westeros as a ruthless and unpredictable world. Perhaps Rollins wanted to make his books more gritty and harsh. It is to be expected that people in that line of work get in mortal danger and might die. But, in the end, they exist only in our minds, in our imagination. And yet we still empathize with them. I guess that is one of the things that makes us human.

In the end, as if trying to alleviate the blow, Rollins added a chapter, essentially an alternate ending, which stems from his deliberations on quantum physics and the possibility of existence of parallel universes. In essence, he speculates that, if this reality is merely a hologram (as some physicists believe), at the point of death there is nothing that prevents consciousness from jumping to other universes, where it can continue to live and fulfill its true potential.

As you can see, Rollins teaches you about history and science, shows you extraordinary corners of our planet, makes you care about his characters and forces you to think about the fabric of the universe and our very existence. All that in a highly entertaining thriller. All can I say is: read it and you’ll get more than you expected.

Beyond the wall - Essays on Ice and Fire

The phenomenon that is А Song of Ice and Fire has long ago transcended the domain of literature. The HBO television series is already one of the most viewed shows on television, and the most pirated one, for sure. It has literally taken the modern world by storm. 

The reason is simple – it’s got quality. The novels that make the series are so layered, exquisitely written and meaningful that they present an abundant source of material for debate and deliberation.

Therefore it is no surprise that something like this has been published. Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, from A Game of Thrones to A Dance with Dragons is a collection of some 15 essays on various aspects of Martin’s exquisite literary work. And these essay do it just.

The contributors are RA Salvatore (foreword), Daniel Abraham, Linda Antonsson, Myke Cole, Elio M. García, Jr., Brent Hartinger, John Jos. Miller, Alyssa Rosenberg, Jesse Scoble, Caroline Spector, Matt Staggs, Susan Vaught, Ned Vizzini, Gary Westfahl, Adam Whitehead, and Andrew Zimmerman Jones.

All of the essays in the collection are remarkable. Well-written and interesting, they provide the reader with deep insight into the very world of Westeros, but also into some unexpected but important and noteworthy aspects of these books. For example, Daniel Abraham wrote about the challenges related to adapting the original books into graphic novels, and military science fiction writer Myke Cole tackled the way how Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder shaped many of the leading characters.

There is also an excellent character study of Littlefinger in a Petyr Baelish and the Mask of Sanity written by Matt Staggs.

One of the most interesting to me was the essay of a television writer Ned Vizzini, Beyond the Ghetto, How George RR Martin Fights the Genre Wars, about the biases against genre fiction and how that affected the critical response to the television series.

All in all, this collection represents a well of knowledge and a true treat for every fan of George RR Martin’s work. It is a must read.

Monster Hunter International – Urban Fantasy with a Twist

To tell the truth, I am not a big fan of urban fantasy. The reason for this aversion towards is because I do not like when fantastical events take place in an urban, everyday setting. To me, it just feels as if something important is missing. I like reading about invented new worlds, whether based on science or pure imagination. World building is one of the aspects of fantasy and science fiction that made me such an avid reader and follower of the genre.

On the other hand, I am not a big fan of “sub-genreing” either, if such a word exists at all. In my opinion, genre labeling is just a mean of advertising with profit as the ultimate goal. GRR Martin once said, “…a story is a story is a story, and the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.” That is why I avoid being constricted by labels such as military fantasy, military sci-fi, paranormal romance and who knows what. I try to read good books, and if they happen to have dragons in them, all the better.

So why do I even pay attention to these labels? Well, they are impossible to avoid and they can usually give you a starting point when you are writing a review.

I am always on the lookout for something new and interesting, and I have no fear of trying new things. That is why when two of my friends decided to persuade me to read Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter International, I conceded without much resistance, so here is my review, and yes, it does contain spoilers.

The protagonist of the book is Owen Zastava Pitt, an everyman who is one day attacked at work by his boss-turned-werewolf. He survives, having killed the werewolf, and is recruited by a private company that hunts and kills supernatural beings presenting a threat to mankind. He is quickly drawn into this parallel world where war is waged on vampires, werewolves, weights, demons, and almost every kind of monster that has ever been described in oral or written literature. Some of them are close to their usual stereotypes, while others are so different that they are unrecognizable.  

There are some exquisite homages to Tolkien and Lovecraft. The book reminded me a lot of Carpenter’s Vampires. There are plenty of well described action sequences, interesting characters and ideas, and a lot of humor, which make this book quite an entertaining read.

However, there are some things that I did not like. For one, the main character starts like an everyman, an ordinary accountant, but it turns out that he is an expert gunman, big and strong, experienced hand-to-hand combatant, trained for the inevitable world’s end by his war-hero father, and psychic as well. By the end, he gets the girl of his dreams and saves the world. A bit far-fetched, in my opinion.

Also, the fact that mother and father of one of the main characters are vampires, and one of the main characters is a werewolf, creates some contradiction. The former are discarded as monsters and are to be hunted, while the latter is accepted as an ally, and he is loved and protected.

Actually, thinking more about it, those are minor issues and if you don’t mind them (and you shouldn’t) you will probable like the book.

It is interesting to mention that, apparently Correia has put a lot of himself in the main character, which is evident from his biography posted at his site. That piece makes quite an interesting read in itself.

The verdict: I liked Monster Hunter International. I liked it very much. It is fun, quick-paced and  unpretentious. Still, I did not like it so much that I would definitely read its sequel(s). The jury is still out on that issue. When and if I am in the mood for some gun-loving monster hunters, I know where to look for them. If I were forced to grade the book, it would be somewhere above the middle: 3/5.

Joe Abercrombie – fantasy with grit

When I decided to start reading Mr. Abercrombie’s novels, I did a brief consideration of the reading order and opted for The Blade Itself, the first book in The First Law trilogy. As my expectations were rather high I was not surprised with the overall quality but I did find some aspects of the books more satisfying. There will be some spoilers in the remainder of this article so read with caution, if you happened to have stumbled on this blog and are interested in reading what some guy from who knows where has to say about these particular works of literature.

I have read five of Abercrombie’s novels in total, without pauses. When I read series of books, and I do have all published parts at hand, I usually read something else between parts of the series. I don’t have a specific explanation for that but if I had to explain myself, I would say that I do it so as not to grow weary of the same setting, characters or both. This tactic has helped me wrestle through The Eye of the World, but that is another story…

In this case, however, there was no need for such approach. I was through The First Law very quickly, and it left me craving for more. It was The Heroes then, followed by Red Country, after which I decided to make a little break.

First, I will mention some of the obvious strong points of Abercrombie’s writing. Characterization is one of three essential elements of good writing, the other two being plot and style, and it is simply superb. Abercrombie has great skill in making lifelike and realistic characters. Most of them are not likable, and those who are, usually get killed soon. I must confess that Logen Ninefingers, is my favorite. I still cannot decide if he has a split personality, or is there a demon who possesses him during battle, or is he a berserker who gets into a battle frenzy. He is a very good example of Abercrombie’s characterization craft. Glokta is another, maybe even more nuanced. There are also some particularly interesting female characters. Characterization is definitely one of the strongest elements of Abercrombie’s books.

As regards style, it is in perfect harmony with Abercrombie’s take on fantasy literature, or its deconstruction, conditionally speaking. He is often using internal monologue, colloquialisms, characters are swearing, there are a lot of quips. On the other hand, there is not much description, except in battle sequences, and those are top of the line. The best action sequences that I have read so far were in Paul Kearney’s Macht series, and Abercrombie is getting pretty darn close. All in all, Abercrombie’s writing style is perfectly suitable for the grittiness that he is trying to convey.

That leaves us with the plot. There is not much to object in this respect. All Abercrombie’s books that I have read are fast-paced. He has achieved great balance between action and the rest. Since my reading time is restricted to commuting and bedtime, I had been expecting that it would take me a lot of time to read these books. However, Abercrombie just makes you find time. He is that good.

The world that Abercrombie has created is a harsh world, world where magic exists but barely, world where it does not pay to be nice because you will pay for it. It is a world where people get hurt, crippled, tortured, cheated, deceived, manipulated and every victory has a bitter taste. One just has to be realistic about these things. And this world is exactly that. Realistic

Verdict or De gustibus non est disputandum: I am not very good at grading but I can highly recommend these books. It does not matter if you like this genre or that. A good book is a good book. Try Abercrombie, you might like it a lot.