Now Your Thinking With Portals

GoT T-shirt

If you a fan of the Game of Thrones TV series you may just want to add HBO's new GoT t-shirt to your list of must haves.

For those of you that don't know what the "Eight" is check out the show, or better yet read the books. The t-shirt is available here for $25.

Manybooks.net a Great eBook Resource

Just thought we would give you a heads up on a great resource for eBooks. The website Manybooks.net features some of the classics in literature. from John Quincy Adam to H.P. Lovecraft. They are available in many different formats and are advertisement free.

Manybooks.net features approximately 29,000 titles and you can search by looking up the author, language, or genre. Lots of great short stories and hard to find titles from ages past are available.

REVIEW: The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker

The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker
Publishing Information: 2003 (first publishing) 2005 (current edition)
Publisher: Overlook, Trade Paperback
ISBN-10: 1-58567-677-2
Series: Prince of Nothing (The Second Apocalypse), Book 1
Reviewer: Andy
Copy: Out of Pocket

Synopsis: (from back cover): Strikingly original in its conception, ambitious in scope, with characters engrossingly and vividly drawn, the first book in R.Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series creates a remarkable world from whole cloth -- its language and classes of people, its cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals-- the kind of all-embracing universe that has thrilled readers of Stephen R. Donaldson and George R.R. Martin.

It's a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both two thousand years past and two thousand years in the future, as untold thousands gather for a crusade. Traveling among them, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasurimbor Kellhus --part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence -- from lands long thought dead. The Darkness that Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.

With this stunning debut, R. Scott Bakker is poised to become one of the next great fantasy writers of his generation. The Darkness that Comes Before proves again that epic fantasy can be intelligent, majestic, and terrifying.

Upon beginning this series, I wasn't sure what to expect. Some friends and critics whose opinions I trusted had showered Bakker with praise while others had advised me to steer clear for fear of wasting precious hours of my life. However, its a wonder that this sat on my shelf for as long as it dead. Bakker's academic background is philosophy, the same discipline that I study in graduate school. I have always thought that philosophy was a goldmine of ideas for a fantasy series, and Bakker certainly found some inspiration in the tradition. I was sure that this would be a cerebral series. My only worry was that Bakker would get carried away with the philosophy influence, and the series would suffer from some kind of third-rate esoteric convoluted philosophical-psycho-babble.

My fears were quickly put to rest. Bakker uses philosophical ideas sparingly and not in pedantic way either. For example, the Dunyain are a brotherhood of monks who study the the principles of cause and effect, and by desiring and willing the causes that affect their behavior, they are able to achieve free will while the rest of the world are relegated to deterministic puppets. This is very close to Harry Frankfurt's definition of free will, a direct reference to a prominent contemporary philosopher. Still, its not important whether this is some correct, consistent theory or even good theory of free will, but rather that the monkshood in novel believes in the theory and uses it as the basis for their discipline. These foundational ideas give Bakker a unique voice and really allows him to offer something different from the more dull fantasy fare.

Bakker is not afraid to blend the magical and the mystical either - the series is replete with religious factions and movements that are often tied tightly to the magic in the world. This element was reminiscent of Frank Herbert, and I mean that as a form of high praise. Learning about the factions and their beliefs is fascinating in the same way that learning of the Mentats and the Bene Gesserit was fascinating in the first Dune book. Meanwhile, the book not only resonates with an epic feel, full of political maneuvering and the promise of epic battles, but brings with it some of the most haunting and terrifying imagery I have an encountered in a fantasy novel. The appearance of a crow with a human head is just one example of the deeply disturbing nature of some of more dark magic in the series.

This is, however, a book that is full of promises. This is clearly written as a planned trilogy, as very little is resolved in the first book. Other writers, like Steven Erikson for example, have the ability write serialized novels that introduce story arcs that get resolved in each individual book . Bakker has not attempted this and instead merely set the table for the fantasy series to come. It has resulted in a very promising first novel. Regardless, I have read enough fantasy to know though how easily things can go sour. Therefore, I must be conservative in my rating, with the proviso that this is a series I am very excited about continuing to read.


Plot……….6/ 10

Characters………8.5/10

Style………..8/10

Overall……….7/10

Latest Avengers Rumor

There are plenty of rumors flying in regards to the new Avengers movie scheduled to be releases next year from the Skrulls, Loki, and the Cosmic Cube. The latest rumor is a huge:

REVIEW: Soul Stealers by Andy Remic

Soul Stealers by Andy Remic
Publishing Information: Paperback; 412 Pages
Publisher: Angry Robot; 26 October 2010
ISBN 10: 0857660675
ISBN 13: 9780857660671
Series: Book 2 of the Clockwork Vampire Chronicles
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Back of the Book: "They came from the North, and the city fell. Now it is time for Kell to organise the resistance. But there are vampire assassins on his trail."

Soul Stealers is the second book in the Clockwork Vampire Chronicles and is a direct sequel to Kell's Legend. It takes place mere minutes after the events in the first book. Admittedly, it took me a chapter or two to recall everything that had happened in the previous installment. But once I remembered where the book left off, I was back in the swing of things (pun intended).

As I mentioned in my review of Kell's Legend, Remic has a style that is reminiscent of David Gemmell. However, with Kell he has all the aging hero of Druss but it is definitely his own character. The problem that I have with Kell is that he is cantankerous at the best of times. Admittedly, I read Kell's Legend many months ago so perhaps I just do not recall him being so cranky. But in this installment it is what I noticed the most.

Kell is joined by a popinjay, or womanizer who is handy with a rapier. Saark provides the light-hearted portions of the story. After several decapitations and other grisly acts, Saark will switch gears and take your mind off of the scenes depicted. His discussions with Kell are at times humorous. My biggest problem with Saark is that after the first few incidents where it is fight or die he never changes his need for carnal pleasures. With legendary vampire assassins on your tail, staying sober and refusing the pleasure of a woman would take a step back but not with Saark. He can only think about those two things.

For all the hype about the twin vampire sisters being famed and deadly assassins, they failed to impress me. They spend more time hunting Kell and his companions down and then when they finally catch up to them they dodge and spin around but really fail to show me that they should be feared. For all the hype and concern, the characters seemed rather tame and inept. Considering Remic's ability to tell brutal battles and fight scenes, I expected more from this duo.

Soul Stealers is a steam punk/clock punk series. The vampires are a combination of clock parts and flesh. Their deadly fangs are actually copper funnels. Somehow when you mix the two, you come out with a powerful creature that hunts humankind. The big difference between the legendary vampires and Remic's vampires is that they need blood-oil to continue to exist. Through a magical creation the vampires take blood and transfuse it with oil to create the elixir of life. While the process has yet to be fully explained, I have to admit it is rather ingenious. The mystery surrounding it is interesting.

While Soul Stealers is a great follow up, it failed to enthrall me the way that Kell's Legend did. The ending left me scratching my head as I felt I had missed something very important and I ended up re-reading the entire chapter in order to double check. I did not miss anything but it was rather muddled and many readers may have a hard time following all that takes place. Some clarification is definitely needed as it felt like a page or two was missing from the scene. Muddled ending aside, Soul Stealers is a fast paced, gory tale with some great moments. Some of the characters are bigger than life. While others are hit and miss. The third book in the series Vampire Warlords is planned to be released in sometime in 2011.

Plot 7
Characters 6.5
Style 7

Overall 6.5/10

Hyperion to Hit the Big Screen?

According to Chud, Bradley Cooper is writing the script for Hyperion:

"Cooper is a huge fan of Dan Simmons’ Hyperion series.   He and a friend wrote a spec script, handed it to GK Films (who currently has the rights — which, happily for Cooper, are still at Warner Bros) and he says he may get a chance to actually write the whole screenplay."


Full article here.