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Book News

Cover Art

A lot of cover art has been released this week:

R. Scott Bakker - US Cover

The White Luck Warrior - As Anasurimbor Kellhus and his Great Ordeal march ever farther into the perilous wastes of the Ancient North, Esmenet finds herself at war with not only the Gods, but her own family as well. Achamian, meanwhile, leads his own ragtag expedition to the legendary ruins of Sauglish, and to a truth he can scarce survive, let alone comprehend. Into this tumult walks the White-Luck Warrior, assassin and messiah both, executing a mission as old as the World's making ...

Jonathan Maberry - US Cover

The King of Plagues - Joe Ledger goes up against a secret society using weaponized versions of the Ten Plagues of Egypt.

Paul Kearney 

Kings of the Morning - The final book in the acclaimed Macht series

The Century of the Soldier- The second half of the Monarchies of God omnibus'

Steven Erikson

Great news from Batnam UK as they have announced they will be issuing the three Malazan novellas- Blood Follows, The Healthy Dead, and The Lees of Laughter's End in an omnibus in August. The omnibus will not include the latest book in the series Bauchelain and Korbal Broach.

Locus Awards 2010

The 2010 Locus awards, voted on by the readers of Locus, the magazine of the professional science fiction and fantasy field, were announced today in Seattle, Washington. Congratulations to the winners!

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
Winner: Boneshaker, Cherie Priest (Tor)
Also nominated:
The Empress of Mars, Kage Baker (Subterranean; Tor)
Steal Across the Sky, Nancy Kress (Tor)
Galileo’s Dream, Kim Stanley Robinson (HarperVoyager; Ballantine Spectra)
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America, Robert Charles Wilson (Tor)

BEST FANTASY NOVEL
Winner: The City & The City, China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan UK)
Also nominated:
Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett (Harper; Doubleday UK)
Drood, Dan Simmons (Little, Brown)
Palimpsest, Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam Spectra)
Finch, Jeff VanderMeer (Underland)

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Winner: The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade)
Also nominated:
The Manual of Detection, Jedediah Berry (Penguin)
Soulless, Gail Carriger (Orbit US)
Lamentation, Ken Scholes (Tor)
Norse Code, Greg van Eekhout (Ballantine Spectra)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Winner: Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse; Simon & Schuster UK)
Also nominated:
The Hotel Under the Sand, Kage Baker (Tachyon)
Going Bovine, Libba Bray (Delacorte)
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic; Scholastic UK)
Liar, Justine Larbalestier (Bloomsbury; Allen & Unwin Australia)

BEST NOVELLA
Winner: The Women of Nell Gwynne’s, Kage Baker (Subterranean)
Also nominated:
“Act One,” Nancy Kress (Asimov’s)
“Vishnu at the Cat Circus,” Ian McDonald (Cyberabad Days)
Shambling Towards Hiroshima, James Morrow (Tachyon)
“Palimpsest,” Charles Stross (Wireless)

BEST NOVELETTE
Winner: “By Moonlight,” Peter S. Beagle (We Never Talk About My Brother)
Also nominated:
“It Takes Two,” Nicola Griffith (Eclipse Three)
“First Flight,” Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor.com)
“Eros, Philia, Agape,” Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com)
“The Island,” Peter Watts (The New Space Opera 2)

BEST SHORT STORY
Winner: “An Invocation of Incuriosity,” Neil Gaiman (Songs of the Dying Earth)
Also nominated:
“The Pelican Bar,” Karen Joy Fowler (Eclipse Three)
“Spar,” Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld)
“Going Deep,” James Patrick Kelly (Asimov’s)
“Useless Things,” Maureen F. McHugh (Eclipse Three)

BEST MAGAZINE
Winner: F&SF
Also nominated:
Analog
Asimov’s
Clarkesworld
Tor.com

BEST PUBLISHER
Winner: Tor
Also nominated:
Baen
Night Shade
Pyr
Subterranean

BEST ANTHOLOGY
Winner: The New Space Opera 2, Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan, eds. (Eos; HarperCollins Australia)
Also nominated:
Lovecraft Unbound, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Dark Horse)
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin’s)
Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance, George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, eds. (Subterranean)
Eclipse Three, Jonathan Strahan, ed. (Night Shade)

BEST COLLECTION
Winner: The Best of Gene Wolfe, Gene Wolfe (Tor; as The Very Best of Gene Wolfe, PS)
Also nominated:
We Never Talk About My Brother, Peter S. Beagle (Tachyon)
Cyberabad Days, Ian McDonald (Pyr)
Wireless, Charles Stross (Ace, Orbit UK)
The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny: Volumes 1-6, Roger Zelazny (NESFA)

BEST EDITOR
Winner: Ellen Datlow
Also nominated:
Gardner Dozois
David G. Hartwell
Jonathan Strahan
Gordon Van Gelder

BEST ARTIST
Winner: Michael Whelan
Also nominated:
Stephan Martinière
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Charles Vess

BEST NON-FICTION / ART BOOK
Winner: Cheek by Jowl, Ursula K. Le Guin (Aqueduct)
Also nominated:
Powers: Secret Histories, John Berlyne (PS)
Spectrum 16: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Cathy & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood)
This is Me, Jack Vance! (Or, More Properly, This is “I”), Jack Vance (Subterranean)
Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess, Charles Vess (Dark Horse)



Movie News

Finally, in movie news the first Harry Potter trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Parts I and II) is out:

What is the Round Table Discussion?

When the five of us got together to start a book review blog, we wanted to review as many books as possible, but we also wanted to, on occasion, review a book together. This way you can see our different personalities and be able to have our own little (private) book club.

Since our little group is scattered across the globe: North America, Europe, and Asia, the concept of a Round Table Discussion was born. From time to time we will all read the same book and offer our personal insights and criticisms for that book. This is an experiment and a way for each of us to add our voices to the website and also work together as we all have lives outside of SBR and are separated by a great physical distance. We also want to work together whenever possible. The idea/concept will evolve over time and we hope to use the feature more often in the future.

This is our first foray into the experiment and we would love your thoughts and suggestions. So from all of us at SBR, we thank you for constantly coming back to us for reviews and hope you enjoy our latest concept - The Round Table Discussion. We promise, we will do our best to keep spoilers out of our discussions.

Round Table Discussion: Dante's Journey by J. C. Marino

Dante's Journey by J.C. Marino
Publishing information: Paperback; 366 pages
Publisher: Star Publishing (22 Feb 2010)
ISBN 10: 1935188097
ISBN 13: 978-1935188094
Copy: Provided by Author

Back of the Book

"A flash of light and Detective Joe Dante steps through. No longer on the cobblestone streets of 1961 Boston, Joe finds himself in a horrifying new world-Hell itself. Joe was in hot pursuit of his family's killer, drug lord Filippo Argenti, when both were killed, and isn't about to let a little thing like death slow him down. So, with a healthy dose of New England stubbornness and the help of a mysterious guide, Virgil DiMini, Joe must evade angry demons, and search ever-lower through the rings of the original Dante's Inferno in hopes of finding justice for his wife and children. However, Joe will soon discover that behind every sin lies a secret and each secret revealed could land Joe in an eternity of hot water... VERY hot."

Plot

Victoria:  While Marino stays fairly true to Dante's Inferno, he adds and tweaks so much that I couldn't complain that he stayed too true to the original, which was a fear of mine.  I was afraid that he'd stay so true to the original text that'd I'd be reading a cardboard replica.  My fears were needless, I am happy to announce.  Yes, the hero is named Joe Dante, yes, he travels through the nine levels of hell, but that's really where the similarities end.  Marino does a good job at creating an Inferno for the modern ages.  He has offered us a funny, fast paced, deliciously wicked romp through hell.

Tyson: I have to agree with Victoria on this as Marino stays fairly close to the original, but gives it an updated feel as we do not see people like Julius Caesar or Cleopatra. The people that Dante encounters on his journey are much closer to him and are also from his own time. While I have only read some of the Divine Comedy, it appears to be a updated version of the story with Marino's own brand of humor and spin.

PeterWilliam: I, too, found Marino's take to be unique. I thought of it more comparable to Pilgrim's Progress, by Bunyan, than the Divine Comedy. The plot, as it unfolded, had me thinking of Dashiell Hammett, which is a good thing.

Yagiz: I was impressed by the plot. I didn't expect a journey through hell to be this satisfying in various levels. The story surprised me more than once with unexpected twists and turns, which was done with skillful realization.

I don't remember much of Divine Comedy from my high school years so I won't be able to comment on it however I greatly appreciated where Marino takes the reader in his book. He manages to keep the story high-paced and action-packed. And this, from the very beginning of the book.

Cara: This is an excellent update of the classic Dante's Inferno, reworked for a modern audience. Some aspects remain true to the original; the nine levels of hell, and the sins that are punished within each level, for example; but it was Joe Dante's personal journey that hooked me in. Why was he in hell? What happened to his family? These questions are finally and satisfyingly answered by the end of the book but for me, added an extra dimension to the plot. I enjoyed that J.C.Marino kept a fast pace throughout without skimping on descriptions of the surroundings. At no point did my concentration drift. The device of intercutting the journey through hell with the events that led to Joe being there was well done and added considerably to the plot.

Characters

Tyson: Joe Dante is your average Joe, a detective with a grudge against a man who murdered his family. When he learns that his family's killer is also in hell Dante enlists the help of a cast of characters. Each has their pros and cons which help Dante come to terms with his situation and show him just what kind of person he truly is. The growth that goes on with all of the characters is exceptional considering how short a book it is. As Victoria pointed out, the fact that there is no concept of time in hell, causes some confusion as people from the future and past confuse Dante and the witty dialogue kept things light. When he meets people from the future the first thing he always asks is how the Red Sox were doing which was a great running gag throughout the novel.

I also enjoyed the portrayal of the demons. We normally think of demons as something similar to a gargoyle. In Dante's Journey we have robots and insects that make up the devils army. While it may seem strange it works in the story. They are also not all-powerful and all-knowing, they are flawed and have human characteristics. These are not your typical demons. The deviation from the norm was a nice change of pace.

Virgil was also an interesting character. He was probably the most complicated individual in the story. We are always keep off balance with him and I really enjoyed him and his motivations (or lack thereof) as the story progressed. While his true identity is revealed late in the novel, I found that it could have been remained a secret and would have added a touch of mystery to the book. A loose end that stays that way and has the reader guessing long after the story is done. I will side with Peter on this character (see below).

Victoria:  There is a fun, strange cast of characters in this novel.  At first, I wondered why my main character was from the late fifties/early sixties, but then I was introduced to the cast of characters, and I began to understand.  Joe Dante is in hell for a long time, which means he'll encounter people from his future.  This gives Marino a selection of interesting time periods to choose from, and the ability to befuddle our hero with modern slang and history.  Some of the most funny moments in this novel came from Joe's misunderstanding of other character's words.

PeterWilliam: It was the character Joe Dante, that made me think a bit about Sam Spade (of the Maltese Falcon). Dante is that stereotypical, hard-boiled detective, which Hammett used to create an entire niche (or sub-genre, if you will). Argenti, an easy mark as your all-around scumbag, later comes back to make the reader face his/her own humanity and wonder about their own worst personal characteristics, traits and aspects. The characters employed by Marino provide the necessary ingredients which grant the redemptive element to this story.

My one real gripe with the story has to do with the who Virgil really is. It wasn't necessarily Virgil's identity that irked me, but his identity as it pertained to his motivation. A tough part of the story for me to buy into.

Victoria: I disagree, Peter. I felt that Virgil's motivations were perfect.  That was, in fact,  my favourite aspect of the book.  I thought Marino created a really modern and tragic figure.

Yagiz: I loved the way Marino portrayed Joe Dante. As Peter mentioned earlier on, he is the stereotypical hard-boiled detective. I greatly enjoyed the aspects of his character pertaining to 50s and 60s. He made me laugh out loud more than once. I wasn't familiar with the slang and the expressions used by Dante but I must say that I loved his humor. On a more serious level, the fight between his conscience and his stubbornness in not believing that he's in Hell reflects some of the major traits of his character.

Me too, I quite enjoyed Marino's being a fan of the Red Sox. I could definitely relate to the importance of supporting a team. If there's a hell (Heaven? I probably won't be going there as I don't believe in all that spiritual fantasy) I hope they transmit football (soccer for our North American friends) on big screen.

The way the author used time (or lack of) in hell creates an interesting situation to meet different types of characters throughout the story. The reflection of these characters on the story is very entertaining. With their attitude and the slang of their era, they feel well chosen and they fit pretty well into the overall story. Even though the reader ends up asking questions about their motives, these characters add so much color to the story that one keeps wondering about the next person Joe Dante is going to meet. Some of these characters are quite humorous too. For instance, I loved it when one of the dead people told Dante about the robot wars in '93 and the destruction of San Francisco in '99.

To be honest, when I first read about the types of demons, I thought I wouldn't like it very much. I couldn't place a mechanical demon in my mind's picture of Hell. However, as I progressed into the story, these demons didn't feel awkward at all. I think this was mostly due to Marino's skill in mixing all his ingredients masterfully.

Cara: I'll be honest here, I loved Joe! His hard-bitten, cynical cop demeanour worked well for me, as did his disillusion with God and religion. Yet this was lightened by the addition of some very clever black humour, something that fitted well with his detective persona. However, there were times when I just wanted to shake him because of his stubbornness to accept the reality of his situation and also because of his obsession with the Red Sox... what is it with Boston writers/film-makers and their baseball team?

Virgil too was an interesting and well-developed character, and when his true identity was eventually revealed  I was left muttering "yes, of course!" I agree with Victoria that Virgil's motivations were spot on and made perfect sense after the reveal. The incidental characters were also well done, especially with the connections with the lead characters that many had in 'real life'.

Style

Victoria:  I really liked the narrative style in this novel.  It had that private dick/noir feeling going on.  Marino has some great imagery, and for the most part, it sounded natural.  There were a few moments where the style took me out of the story because of something being repeated a little too soon, but over all I think it was done really well.  I laughed far more than once at one of Joe's observations.

Marino has action sequences down pat.  There are so many of them in this novel, but not once was I bored.  Not once did I start skimming.  He had me pretty gripped.  In fact, I was kicked out of bed one night because the bedside light was keeping my significant other awake.  Instead of turning in for the night, I moved to the couch and ended up being very, very tired at work the next day.

Tyson: Marino set this book up well. The book has the detective noir feel that continues throughout the book and never gets old. While the book is a retelling of The Divine Comedy, the book is also a mystery set within hell. The combination of the two genres made for great story telling.

PeterWilliam: Marino uses a standard first-person approach with the story. There are plenty of flashbacks, at key moments, to keep the reader on par with the unfolding plot, but never more than a first-person limited (vs. omniscient) approach - a necessity, I would say, when writing a mystery, which, at the heart of things, this story is. The action, mystery, sci-fi and supernatural elements within were tied together better than I thought such a thing could be done.

Personally, I love all of the Red Sox references, probably because I'm a life-long Red Sox fan (as well as any other New England based team). As Dante encounters other souls, who have departed the mortal coil after 1961, he receives news of the Boston Red Sox's exploits. It is a long, sad and tragic list from 1961 to 2003. My favorite part of the entire story is where he encounters another (significant) Bostonian and receives the final Red Sox update in the story. Priceless.

Cara: If Dante's Journey was a film, it would be an all-action blockbuster! Sharp, snappy dialogue; a hero on a mission; a plot that never drags it's heels... these aspects made for a very enjoyable read and made Dante's Journey impossible to put down. I loved the way the descriptions of the different levels of hell gave me enough information to set the scene, yet allowed my imagination to fill in the details. This was well done and added to the fast pace of the novel.

I will return this novel again, mainly because there are so many references to people and events that I fear I may have failed to pick up on some in my first reading. Overall I felt the style suited both the main character of Joe Dante and his quest to find out what happened to his family. His pain and loss was palpable even in his black humour and the blend of comedy, horror and self-exploration was very clever in its execution.

Yagiz: In general I am not a big fan of first-person narrative. I feel that it requires a greater effort from the author to create a captivating story. But I must admit that Marino manages this very well. He gives Joseph Dante such a great character that the protagonist becomes an interesting narrator to follow.

Peter mentioned earlier on something that I think contributes to the success of this book: Flashbacks. In and of themselves, they don't make a story good. However, when they are skillfully synchronized with the progression of the present story then they become a very interesting tool in creating a page-turner. As Dante journeys through Hell, the reader also discovers his past and the events that preceded his arrival in Hell. The reader becomes curious about what's going to happen to him in Hell and she is also curious about his past that's told by regular flashbacks. In Dante's Journey they are very well realized as the reader is never certain of the truth until the very end of the book.

All in all, Marino's style creates a very pleasant read.

Setting

Tyson: The story takes place briefly in 1960's Boston, USA and then quickly moves to Hell. Since the outline is the Divine Comedy, Marino has a helluva (pun intended) great time playing around with the original concept. The fact that it is a modern retelling gives him a lot of leeway to re-imagine Hades. The demons use flying transportation to capture individuals that escape their punishment. The demons need to use a gas station to refill their vehicles. The idea of a gas station in the middle of hell cracks me up. Even though the story has been updated the penalties for a sinful life are all represented and some have been updated to include people you would never have thought of.

Victoria:  Like I said earlier, while the nine layers of hell are familiar, Marino adds his own voice to them.  He tweaks things a bit.  Expect Dante's poetice justice, but do not expect his demons, or at least do not expect them to show up the way he imagined them.

PeterWilliam: The setting is a cross between Hell and Boston of the early 1960's. In manipulating those settings, Marino is able to introduce elements of technology and give it a sci-fiesque feel. Ty mentioned the gas station above, as well as "new" sins, with suitably ironic punishments. It is in the terms of setting, where Marino's work most mirrors Alighieri's. Specifically, the descending rings of Hell, which the protagonist must travel through to reach his objective.

Yagiz: This book has a captivating setting. Dante's goal is to find the guy who killed his family so he decides to travel through various levels of Hell. This not only gives the author an opportunity to show how far he can push his imagination, it also creates a curiosity factor with the reader who wonders what's on the next level. Furthermore, my scientific mind liked very much the way that the author used the concept of time (or lack of) in Hell. Being able to meet people from the future, created situations entertaining to read about.

Cara: Updating the original hell of Dante's Inferno for the modern reader was very well done. The irony of the punishments matching the sins, although closely based on the original work, worked brilliantly in my view. Adding historical and fictional characters that are familiar to the reader enhanced this aspect of the setting, as did the use of more modern technology. It made sense to me that Joe Dante would face demons recognisable to him from his own life experience. I also enjoyed the idea that time has little meaning in hell, thus allowing Joe to find out about such events as the assassination of J.F.Kennedy and 9-11.

REVIEW: New Model Army by Adam Roberts

New Model Army by Adam Roberts
Publishing information: Paperback; 288 pages
Publisher: Orion Publishing 15 April 2010
ISBN 10: 0575083611
ISBN 13: 9780575083615
Standalone
Copy: Out of pocket
Reviewer: Tyson


Back of the Book: "Adam Roberts' new novel is a terrifying vision of a near future war - a civil war that tears the UK apart as new technologies allow the worlds first truly democratic army to take on the British army and wrest control from the powers that be. Taking advances in modern communication and the new eagerness for power from the bottom upwards Adam Roberts has produced a novel that is at once an exciting war novel and a philosophical examination of war and democracy. It shows one of the UKs most exciting and innovative literary voices working at the height of his powers and investing SF with literary significance that is its due."


New Model Army is told from the prospective of one man, Tony, he holds no rank in the NMA but his voice is just as important as every one else in the unit.  The Unit, Pantegral, is composed of free men and women that during the heat of battle offer varying opinions on military tactics and maneuvers via a online chat system. Once a tactic with merit has been brought to everyone's attention the entire NMA then votes on whether or not to do the proposed action. our protagonist, Tony, makes it a point to always vote in the NMA's decision and voting process. 


Tony's NMA, named Pantegral, relies on WiFi for their communication and Google maps for their intelligence and surveillance. The book takes place roughly 20 years in the future and Google updates their maps every thirty minutes. I thought this was an ingenious method of military intelligence as it cuts down on costs but the issue that I had with the concept was that the government (in this case Britain) would just shut down the New Model Armies access to the site. This would virtually make the New Model Army reliant on human intelligence (humint) which would disable the whole idea of the New Model Army in that they would not be able to vote on every action Pantegral would propose/take.


Tony states that each person in the New Model Army is given a budget to get their own supplies and equipment. Those that choose to overspend their budget would be penalized and those that underspend would suffer for it in the field. I do not disagree with ideas behind underspending on a soldier's kit but, if a soldier goes over their budget not much is said.  I would have like to have found out what the majority of the soldiers chose for their kits as we only hear about Tony and his AK-47. I would think that the majority of soldiers in the unit would chose the same weapons as they may need to borrow munitions from a fellow trooper. Also, every soldier must don many hats, they have to learn many different skills- logistics, intelligence, leadership, medicine, and trauma.  While it is possible, I found it impossible to suspend disbelief. Tony's background is that he comes from the regular British Army and after training he became disillusioned with the chain of command and went AWOL (Absent Without Leave) and joined the New Model Army. Even if this was the case, I highly doubt that he was properly trained to have learned these skills adequately.


In the New Model Army, Adam Roberts touches on the concept of loving the man you share your foxhole with. It is a topic that has been written about countless times and will be written about many times in the future. Men in highly stressful situations come to rely and gain a close pact with his unit and certain individuals. However, Roberts goes a step beyond that and in New Model Army we learn late in the book that Tony is a homosexual. This is not news breaking in anyway, but the way that Roberts uses Tony seemed to me as if he was doing in more for shock value than to progress the story. While retreating from the British army, Tony visits an old lover who he learns has been married and his partner takes an immediate dislike to Tony as he is against the war.  Instead of having a discussion on the pros and cons of the conflict and the New Model Army and their conflict with the British government, Roberts decides to have a short love scene between Tony and his ex-lover. This causes a rift between Tony, his ex, and the ex's partner and allows Tony to get back into the conflict with the British, I felt it was again thrown into the novel more for shock value and less to progress the story.


In the end, I was disappointed with New Model Army not because of the concepts or the events in the book that I felt were included to shock the reader, but only because as I read the book I found myself constantly looking for flaws in the idea of an army that constantly votes on their mission parameters. If the British had disabled the communication network of the New Model Army, then their ability to fight would have been significantly hindered and more than likely defeated. For a novel set in the future, the ability to block or jam communication should have been highly likely and plausible.  Roberts does bring up the issue of hackers in the book and how it was impossible to hack the NMAs network he never brought up the idea of simply pulling the plug on them instead. A localized EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse) would have simplified things for the British Army greatly. I have Blue Yellow Tibia Adam Robert's previous novel in my pile to read and I am curious to see the difference in the two books.  For me Roberts shows a lot of talent with the novel and I think that the ideas behind New Model Army were great but, just failed to deliver for me. 


Plot  7
Characters  6
Style  8


Overall  6.5

REVIEW: The Noise Within by Ian Whates

The Noise Within by Ian Whates

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Solaris (13 May 2010)
ISBN-10: 1906735646
ISBN-13: 978-1906735647
Copy: Reading Copy sent by the publisher
Reviewer: Yagiz

On the brink of perfecting the long sought-after human/AI interface, Philip Kaufman finds his world thrown into turmoil as a scandal from the past returns to haunt him and dangerous information falls into his hands. Pursued by assassins and attacked in his own home, he flees. Leyton, a government black-ops specialist, is diverted from his usual duties to hunt down the elusive pirate vessel The Noise Within, wondering all the while why this particular freebooter is considered so important. Two lives collide in this stunning and innovative space-opera!

The previous generation had been born into a time of war, a time when every human territory had been caught up in a lumbering conflict which monopolised resources and attention. Towards the end, few people if any could remember what the War was about, it was simply a fact of life. Eventually the conflict ground to a stuttering conclusion, only one side dominated the 'unified' government: the United League of Worlds. Now, despite the peaceful years, the known universe is not the safest place, especially not for our protagonists who find themselves chasing after a rather special vessel.

The first pages of a book have always been very important for me. It is almost like the first impression that I get when I meet someone. And it is a great satisfaction to be gripped by a book from the first page and not being able to let go until the last one. The Noise Within was such a book. It has a great start, with the reader finding herself right in the middle of the action.

Not only The Noise Within starts fast but the author also manages to keep the pace of the story at a very high level throughout the book, which was glued to my hands. I pretty much read it in one sitting.

Another strong side of the book is its characters. I really liked the protagonists. Whates has created a number of very interesting characters who come alive through the pages. Divided in multiple threads, the story takes different flavors and fragrances with each main protagonist: Philip, Leyton, Kyle and Kethi.

I also found the setting very captivating. Not only the history of the known universe but also the various planets, various technologies such as AI or union of organic and artificial life tickle the reader's curiosity. The details such as wric (wrist-information center), shimmer suits, intelligent gun unit, computer generated reality and the concept of "partials" improve the story's sense of completeness and create a satisfying degree of background. The story never becomes absurd and the futuristic concepts remain still familiar and believable.

The Noise Within is one of the best sci-fi books that I've read in recent years. It ticked all the boxes for me and left me looking forward to the next installment. I'm expecting great things from this space opera series.

Plot: 9
Characters: 9
Style: 9

Overall 9.5/10

REVIEW: Kethani by Eric Brown

Kethani by Eric Brown
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Black Library (6 May 2008)
ISBN-10: 184416473X
ISBN-13: 978-1844164738
Copy: Bought online
Reviewer: Cara

From the back cover:
It takes an alien race to show us our humanity.

When a mysterious alien race known as the Kethani make contact with the people of Earth they bring with them the dubious gift of eternal life. These enigmatic aliens will change the course of the human race forever but also touch people’s lives on a personal level, not least in a small town in the English countryside. But do the Kethani have a hidden agenda and will the human race choose to evolve or turn in on itself in the face of this momentous revelation?

Kethani is a superbly crafted novel that examines the consequences of first contact with an alien race, and the choices faced by those whose lives are touched by these visitors from the stars. This is science fiction at its powerful, literary best.

I read Kethani when it was first released 2 years ago and it had an immediate impact, so much so that I devoured it in one go. I just couldn’t put it down. Yet this is a quiet, introspective book which focuses almost completely on a group of friends who meet in a local pub every Tuesday night. Over a few pints they discuss life, the universe and everything. And this is how Eric Brown tells us of the Kethani and their miraculous gift of immortality, shown through the filter of ordinary, everyday people like you and me. After reading a lot of action-packed fantasy, I decided to re-read Kethani as a kind of literary ‘chill-out’to current world events, and I remembered why I loved it so much first time around.

Kethani is basically a “what if…” scenario that examines life, immortality and contact with an alien race. The plot is straightforward – Earth is given the technology for immortality by benign aliens who do not ask for anything in return. What makes this book so interesting is how humanity reacts to the Kethani’s gift. Some embrace it wholeheartedly, others reject it outright and religious ideology is severely threatened. Who needs the promise of heaven when the Kethani offer the reality of life everlasting? But instead of presenting us with a narrative about the Kethani and their motives, Brown chooses to use a group of friends in a small Yorkshire town as the vehicle for his book. And this, for me, is what made Kethani special.

I found out long only recently that Kethani is really a collection of short stories, first published in magazines like Interzone and in anthologies, linked together by Interludes. In parts, this shows as there is some annoying repetition, but overall works well as each story explores a different aspect of the Kethani’s impact on Earth and human society by telling us of a real example. As a book, it is a beautiful tale of humanity being 'helped' by seemingly benign aliens to achieve immortality and venture out into the stars. It reminded me of the Uplift series by David Brin in that respect, but the Yorkshire small town setting surprisingly softened the tone.

The use of everyday people discussing world events and relating personal experience drew out the ethical and moral implications of the first contact through discussion. This was a fascinating approach as it made the situation a lot more realistic for me. What I personally recall about major world events is flavoured by where I was and who I was with when they happened; it is the same here. Each member of the group has their own opinion and life experience to bring to the discussion. For example, Khalid is a doctor so he has a scientific and medical bias. He was my favourite character and we find out most about what happens to people who choose reincarnation after their death through his experience, or at least as much as he is willing to recount. For the Kethani’s gift is a choice, one that many people elect to forgo, for religious or other personal reasons.

We never actually ‘meet’ the Kethani. We learn they are an advanced species, with enemies both on earth and elsewhere in the universe, but they remain mysterious, seemingly benign benefactors. Human mistrust of the unknown or alien is clearly demonstrated through characters commenting on news reports or religious edicts, and at times I found myself wondering ‘do they [the Kethani] have an ulterior motive?’ I liked that the book made me ponder the human reaction to an alien race that ‘comes in peace’ and I did ask myself if I would accept the Kethani implant that provides the technology that kick starts the reincarnation process at point of death. Would I want to go to the Kethani home world and be re-educated? How would I be changed by the experience? Would I want to return home to my family and friends or travel around the universe promoting the Kethani version of immortality? These questions are covered by many of the stories in the book, but much is left to the reader to consider.

As a straightforward science fiction first contact novel, Kethani has little in the way of plot, and the aliens only really appear as shadowy background influences. Instead we get a philosophical debate presented in a series of interconnected short stories and this is what made Kethani great for me. It is not a style that everyone will enjoy, indeed some of the reviews I have read online really slate the book for that very reason. While I loved Kethani and got a lot from it in an ethical sense, I consider it a “Marmite” book… you will either love it or hate it. But there are some challenging issues raised and for an unusual take on the first contact trope, I think Kethani lives up to the recommendation from Stephen Baxter quoted on the front cover:

“Vivid, emotional, philosophical, this is a work to feed the mind, heart and soul.”

I would recommend Kethani to anyone who is despairing of the human race and the mess we are creating of our home. A utopian get-out clause maybe, but a hopeful dream of human potential is one worth holding on to.

Plot: 6
Characters: 8
Style: 7

Overall rating 7/10

Dark Fantasy: Your Thoughts

When writing my post for yesterday, it really hit me that I'm getting tired of 'dark, gritty realism' in my fantasy.  I was delighted when I first started to come across it.  It was refreshing, after so many years of reading about clean cut heroes.

But now, as I've been bombarded by seedy character after terrible character, I'm growing tired of it.  There are good people out there.  There are people who do not view sex as a means to an end or people who do not think that killing people is the answer for a good time.  There are people who do not believe that violence is the answer to just about every situation.  Where are the characters who want what's right?  Where are the characters who have a moral code and stick to it? It's depressing.

Where is the middle ground?

What are your thoughts?

The George R. R. Martin Experiment: Part Three

The George R. R. Martin Experiment

Part Three A: A Clash of Kings

Victoria

How This Works

For those of you who missed Part One and Part Two of the experiment, here's a point-form recap:

Personal Views

1. Personally, I am not a fan of epic fantasy. I prefer standalones.
2. Personally, I prefer three or less point of views in one novel.
3. If reading a series, I prefer each novel to have its own plot. There can be overarching plots which connect all the series, but each book should be self-contained.
4. I thought that A Game of Thrones (the only novel in the series I've read in its entirety) had solid structure, style and imagery, but I was put off by the cliffhanger ending.
5. It took me nearly two years of on-again-off-again reading to complete A Game of Thrones.

What I'm Doing Here

1. Well, I'm going to re-read A Game of Thrones, then, I'll start reading the other books, but here's the kicker: I'm only going to read the chapters of the characters I like.
2. All the other points of view, I'm going to skip. When a new point of view is introduced, I'll give that character a minimum of two chapters to make me like them.
3. I want to see if GRRM created characters that are integral to the story. If I miss massive chunks of story because I've decided to follow characters who have nothing to do with the plot. . . Well, then answer me this: What is the point of having that character?
4. There will be spoilers throughout this post, so beware!

Concerning Character Growth

Let me tell you, there has been no shortage of people telling me that character growth is an integral part of this series. My main response has been: Character growth should be an integral aspect of any novel. I don't want to read about a stagnant character.

With that said, I have amended my rules:

I will give every character their first two initial chapters, and for the rest of that novel, if I do not like them, I will skip all the rest of their chapters. When I move onto the next book of the series, I will then give them an additional chapter to prove to me that they have changed. If not, they will be disregarded for the rest of that novel.

On to the Experiment!

Alright, this book is a big book, especially since I have to read a bunch of extra chapters, so in this post I will only be looking at the first half of it, hence the post being called Part Three A.

What I Think of the New Players

Davos Seaworth
I'm not particularly sure about this one so far.  He sounds interesting, but then I have to wade through a lot of his inner dialogue, where he's constantly reminding himself that he owes everything to Stannis.  I got it the first time, I still got it the second time.  The third time I was still understanding, and by the fourth and fifth, I just started to get irritated.  I'll give him a little more time before I decide to do anything drastic, like cut him out of my reading list.

Theon Greyjoy
I didn't like him when he didn't have a point of view.  Now he has a point of view and I dislike him even more.  He's brash, crude and just. . .  Really, not a nice person.  I really had to struggle to give him his two chapters.  I will not be continuing on with him.  He's not enjoyable to read about.

Have I Changed My Opinion About Other Characters?

Tyrion
Well, I like the fact that he's sticking it to the right people, that excites me, and really, over all, he's not a bad person.  I just wish he didn't have to think about sex all the time.  I'm not a prude, but it's just getting excessive, and I find I skip a lot of scenes 'cos I just don't need to read about sex every other chapter.  (That's actually something that put me off about Theon as well.)  I've actually read more than two Tyrion chapters, so I guess I'm continuing on with him.  I do admit, though, I skim through his points of view.  There is a lot of political stuff going on with him, and it bores me to tears.  I know that he's a dwarf, and really, he's not going to go and fight, so politics is all he has to work with, but man oh man, it's slow going.

Catelyn
No.  I have not.  Still don't like her.  All her chapters so far just seem to consist of "Oh, my boy has grown up.  Oh, my boy doesn't think he needs me anymore.  Oh, woe is me."  Yeah, no thank you.

Sansa
Ok.  I cheated.  I did not give her a full chapter.  I tried.  I tried hard, but I couldn't do it.  I made it three quarters of the way through her first chapter and then gave up.

Daenerys
I have to continually remind myself that this character is only fourteen years old, which is why she behaves the way she does.  (Though, really, she's lived more than any fourteen year old I know.  Hell, she's seen far more of life than I have.)  I'm warming up to her.  I really wish, though, that she didn't have dragons.  I equate dragons and fantasy with things like leprechauns on St. Patrick's Day and hearts on Valentine's.  I think they're cheesy.  I don't like them.  I am, however, continuing on with her.

Thoughts so Far

This novel is slower going than the last one, but that's because I'm reading more points of view, and the fact that I'm giving all the old characters that I discarded in A Game of Thrones a second chance.  There was no way I could get this done in a week.  (Unless, of course, I didn't have a pesky thing called a job.  I could've done it then.)

I'm able to follow the plot quite well, but then again, I read every chapter for a bit, until Catelyn and Sansa's second chapters came up.  Skipped those, and will skip the rest.  Skipping Theon too, now that I've read my obligatory two chapters.  But, because I read those two chapters, I know what he's about.

I really wish there was more Arya.  I could read an entire book just about her.  In fact, she's about the only reason I'm even really interested in the series.  I want to know what happens to her.  I care about her.  Jon too, but not to such as a degree as Arya.

I am discovering some things about myself as a reader as I go through this process, I have to say.  One thing I'm starting to realize is that I'm getting tired of 'dark fantasy'.  Y'know, all that stuff that's being labelled as 'dark', 'realistic' and 'gritty'?  There is more to life than vices.  Not everyone in this world are horrible people.  There are nice people out there.  This whole dark thing is starting to get depressing.  I thought it was really cool when I first started noticing these more 'realistic' fantasy novels.  They were new to me, and therefore caught my attention. Now that I've read a whole bunch, and more and more seem to be released every month, I'm starting to get bored.  I don't know about everyone else, but I prefer sunshine to rainclouds.

Ah well, life goes on.

Iain M. Banks- Surface Detail- New Culture Novel

Tweet it from the rooftops, a new Culture novel by Iain M. Banks will be released in October.

The title is SURFACE DETAIL, which refers to a number of things, not least one of the principal characters, who is covered, externally and internally, with congenitally administered tattoos.

Here’s the cover:

Here’s the blurb:

It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters.

It begins with a murder.

And it will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself.

Lededje Y’breq is one of the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit. Prepared to
risk everything for her freedom, her release, when it comes, is at a price, and to put things right she will need the help of the Culture.

Benevolent, enlightened and almost infinitely resourceful though it may be, the Culture can only do so much for any individual. With the assistance of one of its most powerful – and arguably deranged – warships, Lededje finds herself heading into a combat zone not even sure which side the Culture is really on. A war – brutal, far-reaching – is already raging within the digital realms that store the souls of the dead, and it’s about
to erupt into reality.

It started in the realm of the Real and that is where it will end. It will touch countless lives and affect entire civilizations, but at the centre of it all is a young woman whose need for revenge masks another motive altogether.

Orbit will be publishing SURFACE DETAIL worldwide in print and e-book editions this October.