REVIEW: Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
Publishing Information: 2001 (first publishing) 2001 (current edition)
Publisher: Roc Fantasy, Mass-Market Paperback, 439 pgs
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-45844-5
Series: The Dresden Files Book #3
Reviewer: Andy
Copy: Out of Pocket

Synopsis: (from back of book): Harry Dresden has faced some pretty terrifying foes during his career. Giant Scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Psychotic werewolves. It comes with the territory when you're the only professional wizard in the Chicago-area phone book. But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's never faced anything like this: The spirit world has gone postal. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble - and not just of the door slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone-or something- is purposely stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn't figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself....

Given the serialized nature of a series like Dresden, the biggest danger is falling into the formula trap. When an author is producing 1.5 books of a series per year, all somewhere between 380-500 pages, its easy to simply repeat what has been done before and write self-contained novels that don't push a larger story forward. For example, the comfort of watching a popular sitcom on television is that each week you know that characters will be right back where they began at their natural standpoint as if nothing ever happened. This creates a sense of familiarity at the expense of character development.

I sincerely hoped Butcher would not fall into that trap. Butcher could produce a one-shot mystery for us each time without a deeper storyline, but in that case his novels wouldn't have much more substance than Nancy Drew. Thankfully, Grave Peril, Butcher's third novel in the Dresden Files, indicated that it is willing to take the series in new directions. A new partner, by the name of Michael is introduced, a pious and holy cross between a character from Camelot and a character from Highlander. Michael deepens the religious themes in the series, as he constantly cautions Harry against premarital sex and lying. The moral rigidity of Michael adds a nice foil to the rule-bending and brash maverick Harry.

And even better, we begin to explore Harry's past. Apparently, Harry owes some kind of soul-debt to a creepy fairy godmother that pesters him throughout the novel. There is a strange sexual tension between the two characters and this is complicated by Harry's growing affection for reporter Susan Rodriguez. We learn more about vampire politics and the various vampire factions that compose the vampire underworld. These elements enrich the Dresden universe while adding enough intrigue and character development to keep the series fresh....

Still though, this series causes me minor annoyances on many levels. There are constantly monotonous info-drops in every novel, the serve to fill first time readers in on Harry and his modus operandi. Butcher attempts to be clever with quite a bit of the dialogue, but often ends up sounding cornball. The 1st-person Harry has a flare for the dramatic, as he tries to explain his life in the most dramatic way possible, and often ends up sounding like someone with a deeply constructed narcissistic narrative about themselves. Meanwhile, there are knockout femme fatales that make eyes at Harry around every corner, even offering him sexual favors. This charade gets tiresome quickly and makes you wonder if the novel's target audience is teenage boys or Butcher is simply playing out his personal fantasies. More mature readers may roll their eyes during these moments.

Still, there is plenty to like about the Dresden series. It's fun urban fantasy, with a pulp noir and a horror twist and this novel might open the story up a bit for future books.

Plot……….7/10

Characters………6/10

Style……….5.5/10

Overall……….6.5/10

REVIEW: Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
Publishing Information: 1998 (first publishing) 1999 (current edition)
Publisher: Ballantine Books, Trade Paperback, 438 pgs
ISBN-13: 978-0-449-00483-8
Series: Sequel
Reviewer: Andy
Copy: Out of Pocket

Synopsis: (from Goodreads.com): Mary Doria Russell's debut novel, The Sparrow, took us on a journey to a distant planet and into the center of the human soul. A critically acclaimed bestseller, The Sparrow was chosen as one of Entertainment Weekly's Ten Best Books of the Year, a finalist for the Book-of-the-Month Club's First Fiction Prize and the winner of the James M. Tiptree Memorial Award. Now, in Children of God, Russell further establishes herself as one of the most innovative, entertaining and philosophically provocative novelists writing today. The only member of the original mission to the planet Rakhat to return to Earth, Father Emilio Sandoz has barely begun to recover from his ordeal when the So-ciety of Jesus calls upon him for help in preparing for another mission to Alpha Centauri. Despite his objections and fear, he cannot escape his past or the future. Old friends, new discoveries and difficult questions await Emilio as he struggles for inner peace and understanding in a moral universe whose boundaries now extend beyond the solar system and whose future lies with children born in a faraway place. Strikingly original, richly plotted, replete with memorable characters and filled with humanity and humor, Children of God is an unforgettable and uplifting novel that is a potent successor to The Sparrow and a startlingly imaginative adventure for newcomers to Mary Doria Russell's special literary magic.

Mary Doria Russell's books contain a level of maturity that is scarce in speculative fiction. Her books don't try to sell you characters as being "badass". Though there is sex and violence in her books, it is rarely gratuitous. And she likes to tackle those spiritual and philosophical questions that grown-ups care about. "What does it all mean?", "Does God exist?", "Why is there evil in the world?" These sorts of qualities led me to think that my senior citizen father would enjoy her books and I sent him a copy of The Sparrow. Russell is that kind of author - she is not writing sci-fi because she thinks spaceships and aliens are "cool" but rather because she is trying to achieve something quasi-literary and respectable while still incorporating her science background into her work.

In The Sparrow, Children of God's predecessor, Russell had a strong premise: a group of Jesuit missionaries would brave interstellar space travel to another solar system after making contact with an alien race. In the historical tradition of missionaries traveling throughout the globe to unexplored lands, Emilio Sandoz and his ragtag group of holy men and scholars would explore the only planet in the universe that showed signs of intelligent life. I found it a tad farfetched that the Catholic Church would be the ones launching this first mission to an alien world but I can suspend my disbelief long enough to let a story be told - especially when it is a good story. And, the Sparrow was a good story. But then, the story concluded and I didn't ask "where is the rest of the story?" or "what happens next?" I was content to put these characters and storylines to rest.

Russell didn't think so. Children of God feels like an unplanned sequel, and whats worse, it just reads like she is leading us on a worn-out path. What made The Sparrow effective was that it was full of mystery and suspense. Russell showed us the aftermath of a space mission gone bad and I desperately wanted to know what occurred and how things had went so horribly wrong. The relationship between the two alien races that inhabit Rakhat was not fully revealed until the end of the book, and it was bizarre, sadistic, and downright interesting sociological dynamic. There's nothing new that's that interesting here. The story of the Runa aliens and the human survivors from the first novel playing Che Guevara was rushed and told mostly by the characters in retrospect. Russell chose to introduce too many new alien characters and tried to re-tell too many famous stories at once. Children of God is a re-telling of the Old Testament, the Holocaust, and the colonization of the Americas all rolled all into one. I guess Russell figured that she could garner much praise from drawing parallels to history and myth, but she forgot to tell a decent story in the meantime.

Russell's The Sparrow was interesting and provocative - but my advice is to skip this sequel and not taint your memories of it with a pointless sequel. However, if you still want more resolution concerning the spiritual journey of Sandoz and are endeared to the setting of Rakhat already it may not be a complete waste of time.

Plot……….4.5/10

Characters………5/10

Style……….5/10

Overall……….5/10

REVIEW: It's Superman by Tom De Haven

It's Superman by Tom De Haven
Publishing Information: Paperback; 432 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books; 29 August 2006
ISBN 10: 0345493923
ISBN 13: 978-0345493927
Standalone
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Back of the Book: "Coming of age in rural 1930s America with X-ray vision, the power to stop bullets, and the ability to fly isn’t exactly every boy’s story. So just how did Clark Kent, a shy farmer’s son, grow up to be the Man of Steel? Follow young Clark’s whirlwind journey from Kansas to New York City’s Daily Planet–by way Hollywood. This ace reporter is not the only person leading a double life in a teeming metropolis, just the only one able to leap tall buildings in a single bound–a skill that comes in handy when battling powerful criminal masterminds like scheming Lex Luthor and fascist robots. But can Clark’s Midwestern charm save the day and win the heart of stunning, seen-it-all newspaperwoman Lois Lane? Or is it a job for Superman? Look deep into the soul of a pop-culture legend brilliantly reimagined in this novel, which is as inventive and thrilling as it is touching and wise."

Not sure how this book got past my radar when it initially was released but It's Superman is yet another spin on the most famous superhero of them all. Since I missed it when it first came out, I can only imagine that it was released along side the popularity of Smallville. The difference is that Smallville centers on a present day Clark Kent where It's Superman takes us back to the 1930's.

In this origins story we find Clark and his family with no knowledge of his Kryptonian past and that was a minor complaint. Clark and those that encounter his abilities simply assume that he is gifted that he is somehow an anomaly. That the good lord smiled upon him and that is how his powers came to be. I was hoping for some insight into his heritage and came to find that his spacecraft was destroyed upon landing. It was a minor issue but I looking forward to his arrival on earth. Clark and his adopted family cannot explain his gifts and as the novel progresses he adjusts to them in his own way. De Haven also allows Clark to have a much looser moral compass. Throughout It's Superman Clark is constantly going against what we normally see in previous installments of his origin. Clark Kent and his family are ahead of their time when it comes to race issues but Clark is not going to sit idly by and watch racist actions. He uses his heat vision to destroy private property and while he has an anger management issue he knows he is in the wrong but still feels good about his actions. I like the idea of Clark having a troubled past but then again it bothered me as his luck at finding the Kents as his parents were the reason he grew up with such a strong moral compass in the first place and that seemed to get lost in this retelling.

De Haven does a great job of nailing the 1930's. There are a lot of famous events and people that are brought up and intertwined into the story. Lex Luthor is Superman's nemesis in this book and we gain a lot of insight into his beginnings. Instead of having a multi billionaire father this Lex Luthor does everything he can to separate himself from his humble past and make a name for himself by playing both sides of the street. He has political ambitions and uses his ill-gotten gains from his various criminal enterprises to help him politically. While the majority of the book dealt with Clark Kent, Luthor really steals the show as he is constantly juggling both of his personas and still steering towards his future goals. He is seen as cunning, ruthless, and maniacal which made his portions of the book much more enjoyable to read.

Lois Lane is also slightly changed. She is very progressive and she is a very determined individual. There were a few things I did not care fore as far as her new personality. She smokes and drinks and has more than a few men walk through her door. I know that Lois is suppose to be a worldly woman but I had a problem with some of her actions on a personal level. When it came to showing Lois as a reporter was where she really shined. She was all business and very level headed which was how I like to see her portrayed.

It's Superman is interesting since it is told from the 30's so there is a lot more going on besides Clark growing into the man and superhero that he will become. When Lex decides to build robots for every home in the world it quickly becomes obvious that Superman will have to face the mechanical menace before the book reaches it's conclusion. The fight really started out very good but then ended a little to quickly and I would have liked to have seen more of the altercation. Even though the build up was getting there it failed to deliver but the final confrontation between Lex and Superman was well worth the wait.

It's Superman is a slightly different origins story that is not that cut and dry. There is a bit of moral ambiguity built into its story. It was both frustrating and refreshing. There were times when I found myself saying that is not in the spirit of Superman on several occasions and then I would just relax and enjoy this new interpretation. There is not much of Superman until the very end of the story but it is a very well done building up to the final confrontation and it is left open for a sequel if De Haven desired to do so. It's Superman is a more mature look at the Man of Steel and on a fluke I picked it up and I am glad I did. Recommended for Superman fans and those that want a slightly grittier origins story.

I would also like to point out the cover of the novel. I really liked the look of it as it is quite subtle and also nostalgic.

Plot 8
Characters 7.5
Style 7

Overall 7.5/10

REVIEW: The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker

The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker
Publishing Information: 2004 (first publishing) 2005 (current edition)
Publisher: Overlook Press, Trade-Paperback, 607 pgs
ISBN-13: 978-1-59020-119-0
Series: The Prince of Nothing Trilogy Book #2 (The Second Apocalypse)
Reviewer: Andy
Copy: Out of Pocket

Synopsis: (from back-cover): With his spectacularly powerful debut The Darkness that Comes Before, a fantasy epic that rewrote the conventions of the epic fantasy genre and garnered thunderous praise from reviewers and readers alike, R. Scot Bakker introduced readers to his richly imagined world of myth, violence, and sorcery. In The Warrior Prophet, the thrilling story of the powerful logician-monk Anasurimbor Kellhus and the apocalyptic Holy War continues, as we venture further into the darkly enchanting, horrifyingly threatening battlescape upon which the war will be decided. As the crusade plunged violently southward, struggling with both the enemy and internecine turmoil, the enigmatic Kellhus finds himself ever closer to the elusive goal of meeting his father, while gaining further mastery of the ancient knowledge he will need for the encounter. And amid the brewing apocalypse, his swift-rising career has aroused more than curiosity from his enemies. Boldly imaginative, wickedly suspenseful, tantalizingly adventurous, The Warrior Prophet furthers Bakker's claim to the highest ranks of the fantasy genre.

Bakker's debut, The Darkness that Comes Before had a ton of promise. The setting was intriguing, the characters were complex, and the drama was riveting. However, the book ended abruptly. The first book of the Prince of Nothing trilogy, put simply, was a book full of promises. Bakker had yet to flex his muscle by including major plot turns - instead his debut was merely an exercise in setting the stage for things to come.

In triumphant fashion, Bakker has demonstrated that he is in the same league as the other heavyweights of fantasy, such as Kay or Martin. However the term "fantasy" often doesn't do the series justice. The world of the Second Apocalypse often reads like a black mirror of our own world's darker history, a quality that only adds to the appeal of the series. Dogmatic zealots expend their energies warring with one another while a far more ominous danger looms in the distance. A small group of sorcerers, the only ones who are aware of this apocalyptic peril, are relegated to heathens and pariahs, since sorcery is considered an abomination. Meanwhile, the more sinister forces behind the scenes are manipulating the practitioners of sorcery and holy men against one another to disastrous results.

Even theologically, the world of the Prince of Nothing series is well constructed. The Fanim, the victims of the Holy War hold a staunch and extreme monotheism similar to Islam while the Inrithi who lead the holy war are more akin to the Christians. Anasurimbor Kellhus, a monk from a secret monastic sect, begins to travel with this holy war, and he is trained as a master manipulator. Kellhus slowly endears himself to the holy men, becoming a prophet and savior, hiding his sociopathic nature behind a veil of presumed godliness. The depth of psychology and philosophy injected into the series is implemented so well that Bakker proves that scholars can still write fantasy in the tradition of Tolkien, while still pushing the genre forward. While so many other fantasy authors simply confuse obscurity with depth, Bakker's series genuinely contains authentic richness.

But, Bakker still isn't perfect. Though he does an excellent job in writing a battle scene, the long trek of the Inrithi Holy War begins to get tedious after one to many stops along the way. Meanwhile, readers who are used to indicators of who to love and who to hate will instead only find characters with serious weaknesses and often despicable qualities. To really love any character in this series, you have to forgive some other major character flaw, which some readers will find hard to swallow. Basically, Bakker makes the moral ambiguity in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire look as rigid as the Chronicles of Narnia. However, readers looking for realistic characters will find Esmenet's struggles with identity and promiscuity compelling, and the sorcerer Achamian's conflicts of loyalty and duty absorbing. This is simply because Bakker is talented enough to create interesting characters that reside in an interesting world, a combination that is such a rarity in the genre.


Plot……….8.5/10

Characters………9/10

Style……….9/10

Overall……….8.5/10

REVIEW: Anno Dracula by Kim Newman

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman
First in the Anno Dracula
Paperback: 560 pages
Publisher: Titan Books Ltd; Reprint edition (27 May 2011)
[Originally published 1992]
ISBN-10: 0857680838
ISBN-13: 978-0857680839
Copy: Bought new
Reviewer: Cara

From the back of the book:
A new savage era has arrived...
It is 1888 and Queen Victoria has remarried, taking as her new consort the Wallachian Prince infamously known as Count Dracula. His polluted bloodline spreads through London as its citizens increasingly choose to become vampire.

In the grim backstreets of Whitechapel, a killer known as 'Silver Knife' is cutting down vampire girls. The eternally young vampire Geneviève Dieudonné and Charles Beauregard of the Diogenes Club are drawn together as they both hunt the sadistic killer, bringing them ever closer to England's most bloodthirsty ruler yet.

When I first saw the current edition of Anno Dracula on the shelves of my local bookshop, I thought 'meh, yet another vampire novel' but I was wrong. Very wrong indeed! For this is no 'sparkly vampire' story; instead it is a fully realised alternative history of Victorian London, complete with a large cast of often familiar characters, both real and fictional. The central premise - that Dracula didn't die at the end of Bram Stoker's book - provides the base from which Kim Newman creates a whole new world.

The central plot revolves around the mutilation of vampire prostitutes in Whitechapel. Anyone who knows about Jack the Ripper will immediately recognise the similarities; some of the victims' names, the letters 'From Hell', the left-handed murderer, etc. We know the identity of the killer from the outset and gt his point of view at various stages in the book. Charles Beauregard, agent of the Diogenes Club (a secret society whose purpose is to protect the Crown) is ordered to investigate the murders. In the process of doing so he meets up with Geneviève Dieudonné, a 450-year old vampire from a different bloodline than Dracula. Both characters, original creations of Newman, are fascinating. Beauregard is the epitome of the quintessential English gentleman spy, a forerunner to James Bond. Dieudonné is working as a doctor for sick vampires, products of the corrupted Dracula bloodline. She is a strong elder vampire, well travelled and knowledgeable, yet myseterious; we only get tantalising glimpses into her past experiences. These two are the principle characters through whom we see most of the action. Dracula himself, on the other hand, is often mentioned but not an active character until almost the end of the book. He is, however, well worth waiting for. To say much more would risk a spoiler.

Where Anno Dracula excels is in the creation of an alternative Victorian London. While the physical locations remain familiar, with the Dickensian slums of the east end and the high class Mayfair, it is the social and political environment that has changed significantly. Dracula has insinuated himself and his followers into the upper echelons of British society and by marrying Queen Victoria has consolidated his power base. Leading politicians, members of the aristocracy, industrialists etc have succumbed to the lure of immortality and become vampires. All levels of society are filled with an increasing number of 'new-born', that is newly created vampires, and they all need feeding. Opponents of the new regime, including Sherlock Holmes, Lewis Carroll and Bram Stoker himself, have been rounded up and imprisoned in camps. Rumours abound as to the purpose of these camps...

"How soon would it be before the 'desperate measures' Sir Danvers Carew advocated in Parliament were seriously considered? Carew favoured the penning-up of still more warm [non-vampire humans], not only criminals but any simply healthy specimens, to serve as cattle for the vampires of breeding essential to the governance of the country." [p73]

What sets Anno Dracula apart from other vampire novels is the writing. On the surface the books reads like a good historical murder-mystery with a vampire twist. But there are a large number of references to classic vampire fiction, and to the works of contemporary novellists, particularly Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle. Being familiar with Bram Stoker's original Dracula helped me to pick up a lot of references, but there are a few modern ones in there too. This added another dimension to the book and while it was slightly distracting (and sent me off to look stuff up on Wikipedia at times) it was also very cleverly done. The mix of historical and fictional names worked well in this context, particularly with the vampire characters - do Lord Ruthven, Kurt Barlow, or Lestat de Lioncourt ring any bells with you? Luckily, in the new 2011 edition of Anno Dracula, there are some helpful annotations in the accompanying extra end sections.

Overall, Anno Dracula is a fun, though at times gory, read. Mixing two well established themes, in this case  vampires and Jack the Ripper, could have been disastrous, but Kim Newman succeeds with aplomb. The subtle wit running throughout the book lifts it from a good read to a very enjoyable one.

Plot 7
Characters 8
Style 8

Overall 8/10

The Thing (2011)

I rarely blog about movies and TV series however sometimes I feel I have to.

There is a handful of movies that scared the hell out of me when I was young and John Carpenter's The Thing was one of them. In the movie, an alien life-form infiltrated an Antarctic research station and started to kill everyone. But what added to the paranoia of the staff was that the extraterrestrial organism was capable of imitating them. It was a brilliant movie and I was absolutely delighted to hear that a prequel is going to be released very soon, on 14 Oct 2011.

John Carpenter's movie started with an Alaskan Malamute that was trying to evade a Norwegian helicopter with an on-board sniper frantically trying to kill it. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.'s The Thing takes place right before the first movie, following the exploits of the Norwegian and American scientists who originally discovered the alien.

I realize that it's going to be almost impossible to match or surpass Carpenter's movie but nonetheless I'm still very excited about it:

Dark Knight Rises Official Trailer

Many people have already seen it but here it is, the Dark Knight Rises official teaser trailer:



Personally, as far as trailers go, this one is a little weak. However, I will be there as I have enjoyed all of Nolan's films so far.