Review Category: Books

BOOK REVIEW: STAR WARS: A NEW DAWN / AUTHOR: JOHN JACKSON MILLER / PUBLISHER: LUCAS BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Star Wars was never very good as an example of subtle political commentary. It never felt like the right place for it. That’s why we sort of tuned out during the New Republic power squabbles, the New Jedi Order series and the various ‘of the Force‘ series. After a while, the novel line just stopped feeling like a sprawling space saga of rebellion and romance and turned into Heroes in space, full of on-going plotlines it was very hard to give a shit about.

This brings us to A New Dawn. The prequel book to the new TV series Star Wars Rebels, it introduces us to Kanan Jarrus, a likeable and funny Jedi-in-training who managed to survive Order 66 (sometimes it feels like every bloody Star Wars book features one of those). Kanan is drifting from job to job without giving away his secret until he rolls up to Gorse, the setting of this book’s political intrigue. This is the main issue we have with the book. It’s the victim of a plot that requires us to follow supporting characters who are just discovering that the Empire – gasp! – might be doing bad things (and this is 14 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, so they’ve had a while). Then it turns out that the main problem is caused by evil businessmen, like, taking our natural resources and hurting the environment, you guys. Don’t get us wrong, the actual storytelling was effective. Information is masterfully held back until the right moment and there were twists we didn’t see coming.

Miller is clearly a very skilled writer who makes use of clear and efficient prose to conjure up a vivid mental image. (We do feel a bit like we’re writing a report card here). But, all the same, a plot it’s hard to be interested in means that we’ll probably not be coming back to it in the same way we will the X-Wing novels.

BÊTE

In a world where animals have been implanted with Artificial Intelligence chips, Graham Penhaligon is preparing to kill a talking cow. So begins Bête, the latest book from Adam Roberts. Graham’s dilemma – if the speech and self-awareness given by the AI means the animal should be treated more like a human being – forms the core of the novel, but this is much more than a discourse on man’s treatment of animals or a promotion for vegetarianism. From the very first page, it’s clear that Bête is something special. Despite the serious concept, there’s an opportunity for a laugh after only a few lines; that this humour comes from the cow only serves to deepen Graham’s predicament. 

Graham, as narrator, is a character we can all identify with, a man who knows his flaws and accepts them as part of who he is. It’s a pleasure to read about him and, thanks to the skills of the author, we’re immersed in his journey rather than simply being told about it. There are moments of laugh-out-loud hilarity, yet when Graham feels pain, we feel it too; when he hurts, we hurt along with him, to the point of sharing his sadness. Be warned – there may be tears.

As the novel progresses, society inevitably alters and adapts to the new animal intelligences and, while it’s all very believable, it’s not necessarily in the way the reader would expect. Ultimately, because Bête is about this one man, it’s all seen through his eyes; it feels post-apocalyptic at times until being reminded that society, however different, still exists. 

The greatest science fiction novels take into account the changes on the people affected by the advances in technology, and Bête ranks with the best of them. What could have been just quirky and satirical – it is both – becomes so much more through intelligent writing that takes the reader through a whole range of emotions. Bête is a wonderful book that, once begun, insists on being read in one sitting; darkly comic, it’s a deeply thoughtful, moving and uplifting story from a master of the genre.

INFO: BÊTE / AUTHOR: ADAM ROBERTS / PUBLISHER: GOLLANCZ / RELEASE DATE: MAY 14TH 

BOOK REVIEW: THE GHOSTS OF HEAVEN / AUTHOR: MARCUS SEDGWICK / PUBLISHER: JO FLETCHER BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 25TH

We have come to expect intelligent yet accessible work from Marcus Sedgwick; his previous book, Midwinterblood, was impressively haunting, disturbing, yet very easy to get into. His latest novel, The Ghosts of Heaven, is in fact four novellas. Although presented in chronological sequence, they can be read in any order, each one fitting on top of the others perfectly to form one whole tale in a way which Sedgwick likens to a spiral.

Tackling them as they appear in the book, the first tale is set in the far past. We meet a cave-girl who learns to understand the importance of memory, perceiving the stories people tell each other as magic. She is a seeker of wisdom and this follows on nicely to the next story, which is an adventure of a woman who is wise. The 17th century society she lives in, however, is far from understanding and it is their fear and greed she has to cope with, all the while clinging onto the few memories she holds as precious. Our third tale is set in the 1920s and is a tragedy of insanity, obsession, forgotten wisdom and an abandonment of sense. The final story takes place in the far future and concerns a man stuck aboard a spaceship called the Song of Destiny. Woken up for a short while every decade, his experiences are also ones of forgotten moments, poorly understood revelations and loss.

Each story reflects the last and also adds meaning to the story that follows. Sedgwick’s writing is easy to comprehend yet is also heavily textured. Key elements in each story resonate throughout the work, and common themes emerge naturally. This is a lesson in perception and meaning and though more learned readers may find some of the plotlines a little bit too obvious, it’s still an extremely enjoyable journey, and one that should fascinate mature minds of all ages.

THE INCORRUPTIBLES

Hired as guards to a wealthy family on a riverboat making its way upstream, mercenaries Shoe and Fisk become embroiled in their employers’ mysterious mission, while defending them from the myriad dangers of the frontier, not to mention their own complacent arrogance – since this group seem to believe that the invulnerability provided by their station in society somehow also applies to the desolate wilderness, where wild animals and wilder humanoids couldn’t give a crap how blue your blood is.

The world of The Incorruptibles is a distinctive fantasy/western hybrid, and much as in the work of David Gemmell, the nationalities portrayed are analogous to past cultures given a fantasy twist. In this case, it’s as if the Roman Empire has never fallen and has continued to dominate the world to the present, an equivalent of the late 19th century. So fused are the genres, it also wouldn’t feel amiss to see The Dark Tower’s Roland Deschain riding across the hillside.

With the emergence of daemonic forces, the Industrial Revolution took a different turn in this world. “Engineers” are those able to summon and bind daemons, imps, devils and the like, utilising the energy from these captured entities to power anything from machinery and engines to light bulbs and ballistic weaponry, the latter causing the aftermath of a gunfight to reek of pure brimstone rather than gunpowder

Primary among the fantasy races are the vaettir, but despite also being referred to as elves, these are not the androgynous pretty boys the word has become associated with since Tolkien, but more akin to the vicious and malevolent supernatural creatures that medieval folklore knows them to be, such as those seen in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novel Lords and Ladies. They are colloquially referred to as stretchers due to their lanky, elongated bodies (one is specifically described as being ten feet tall and the smallest of a group). It’s also unlikely to be a coincidence that they exhibit the behaviour of the more despicable of Native American stereotypes perpetuated at the time.

Shoe himself is a dvergar (dwarf), a native inhabitant of the New World and perceived as a second class citizen at best. Stoically tolerating the unwarranted verbal abuse he receives from the upper classes, he comports himself with a calm demeanour and a quiet dignity, an attitude likely helped by knowing that he will outlive them by centuries. Interestingly, both the racial terms are of Norse origin, possibly in reference to the Vikings’ attempted colonisation of the New World, and perhaps tacitly suggesting other creatures from Scandinavian mythology may make an appearance in the subsequent books of the trilogy.

The world the characters inhabit is by turns indifferent, cruel and unforgiving. Out on the desolate frontiers of civilisation, there are no guarantees that bad things won’t happen to you just because you don’t deserve it. Throughout the book people are variously beaten, shot, stabbed, hanged, mauled, scalped and immolated, every featured death seemingly more agonised and tortured than the last. The only shadows of civilisation encountered are isolated and insular settlements where the townsfolk are taciturn and suspicious, the law is largely crooked, and outsiders are about as welcome as another Uwe Boll movie. Honest and honourable men, Shoe and Fisk may belong to a world mired in corruption and violence, but they will do all they can to ensure it’s only the latter they have a part of. Of the aristocrats, the most interesting and least annoying is the governor’s daughter Livia, a strong-willed woman just as at home on horseback as in a ballroom, who carries a blunderbuss strapped beneath her layers of skirts.

The history of how the world came to be is gradually revealed as the book progresses, and will likely have later significance, and as motives and hidden agendas start to become clear, it becomes apparent that everyone’s actions will have repercussions as the trilogy continues.

INFO: THE INCORRUPTIBLES / AUTHOR: JOHN HORNOR JACOBS / PUBLISHER: GOLLANCZ / RELEASE DATE: MAY 14TH

BOOK REVIEW: BROKEN MONSTERS / AUTHOR: LAUREN BEUKES / PUBLISHER: HARPERCOLLINS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Gabi has been on the Detroit City police force for years, but just when she thinks she’s seen and been hardened to it all, a new killer comes along to appal both her and the rest of the city. The first body that’s found is of a young boy cut in half at the torso, whose legs have been replaced with the legs of a deer. The force interview meat packing plants about the glue used and ask for taxidermists advice but nothing uncovers any firm leads.

When the second body is found, Gabi does her best to keep any details out of the press; the killer obviously wants attention but she won’t be the one to give it to him. But when the third body is found at a public art show by her own daughter the case starts to spiral out of her control.

Struggling journalist Jonno Haim is also attending the art show where the third body is found but instead of following the police orders to leave, he follows his nose for a story and starts to connect the dots between the local murders. He offers money and anonymity to anyone who can help his story and more importantly, boost his online persona. What he doesn’t realise is how he’s feeding the machine, encouraging an evil that’s growing stronger off the exposure he’s giving it.

Broken Monsters is set in the dark underbelly of Detroit, bubbling with crime, poverty and abandoned factories, creating a powerfully noirish first impression. The characters drawn into the murders are all struggling with their own demons that are only exaggerated by the city itself. You are introduced to the killer early on, so there is no secret to his physical identity, and you experience not just his actions but his deranged state of mind. A gradual introduction to characters and locations gives way to fast plotting about half way through, speeding up to gripping ending that is as twisted as it is enjoyable.

Not for the faint-hearted, Broken Monsters isn’t excessively graphic but it has a certain darkness that gets under your skin. As the tale unfolds, it not only serves up a vivid character study of a gruesome killer but also raises questions of how social media now plays a part in crimes and investigations, which is a sadly current topic. These issues are what makes Broken Monsters so much more interesting than many crime/fantasy novels out there at the moment. If you fancy something well written, disturbingly dark but with some real depth, then Broken Monsters is it.

BOOK REVIEW: BEYOND FEAR – REFLECTIONS ON STEPHEN KING, WES CRAVEN AND GEORGE ROMERO’S LIVING DEAD / AUTHOR: JOSEPH MADDREY / PUBLISHER: BEAR MANOR MEDIA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Author Joseph Maddrey has had a busy year: as well as editing A Strange Idea of Entertainment: Conversations with Tom McLoughlin (director of One Dark Night and Friday 13th Part VI) he has published this study of the careers and works of three of the most important horror masters of all time: George A. Romero, Wes Craven and Stephen King.

Maddrey’s previous study of the horror genre, Nightmares in Red, White and Blue was one of the first (and best) to consider the socio-political context of horror cinema. In Beyond Fear, he poses the question: what attracts filmmakers and writers (as well as audiences) to horror on a personal level? Maddrey explores the private fears and philosophies of these artists, and how they link in with his own as a viewer and critic, and ours as an audience. As he writes of Craven’s infamous Last House on the Left (1972), it’s ‘not just a protest of violence in American culture; it is also the filmmaker’s own therapeutic “primal scream”’; and while some of Stephen King’s work has a socio-political bent, all of it, according to Maddrey, ‘hinges on questions of metaphysical belief: is there a God? If so, what does he want from us? If not, what do we want from ourselves?’ As Maddrey rightly points out, ‘many of the genre’s most successful storytellers – as well as its most avid fans – are often more deeply interested in timeless fears than in timely subtexts. We ask universal questions… and seek personal answers.’

At its heart, Beyond Fear is an in-depth examination of Romero, Craven and King as artists, through their fears and – ultimately – their beliefs: namely, ‘the romantic idealism of Romero, the intellectual spirituality of Craven, and the hard-won humanism of King.’ Maddrey writes sensitively and authoritatively about the creative process of these artists, and takes into account their whole body of work. Almost two thirds of the book is devoted to King, for example, and Maddrey covers pretty much every novel, short story and film adaptation that King has written to date, including unpublished works; his coverage of Craven’s career is equally comprehensive, and includes unproduced projects and little-known scripts. This makes Beyond Fear exceptional as a career overview in itself. But Maddrey goes much deeper than just discussing  the oeuvre: he exposes the souls of these artists for all to see. Informed by interviews with King, Craven and Romero conducted especially for book, Maddrey is able to go further than the usual run-of-the-mill account and give a real sense of what makes these artists tick.

At 330 pages, Beyond Fear manages to cover a lot of ground in a lot of detail; some films and novels are, of course, given more space than others, but Maddrey doesn’t give anything short shrift. This, and his personal engagement with the work of King, Craven and Romero makes for a truly engrossing read. As a result, Beyond Fear is a fascinating and impressive book on several levels and comes highly recommended.

 

BOOK REVIEW: THE MAKING OF GEORGE A. ROMERO’S DAY OF THE DEAD / AUTHOR: LEE KARR / PUBLISHER: PLEXUS / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 2014

While the original Night of the Living Dead has been eulogised in print numerous times, and the follow up Dawn of the Dead likewise has had plenty of column inches devoted to it, the third film, Day of the Dead seems to be the forgotten son. Until now, that is. Karr’s lavishly (and gorily) illustrated and meticulously researched tome takes the reader through the full development of the story, from the initial script drafts to its lukewarm reception and eventual acceptance as a classic example of intelligent horror cinema.

Covering the entire history of the production in detail in a diary format, the main bulk of the book (Chapter 3) is a fascinating read, brilliantly informative without being too technical or dry. Recounting the 56-day shoot retrospectively, Karr instils the process with comments and recollections from many of the cast and crew involved. One date in particular – December 6th, 1984 – stands out, as it was actor Joe Pilato’s final scene; the famous moment in which hordes of the ravenous dead tear him apart. Rare photographs of the various stages of Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero’s stunning special effect make-up naturally accompany this, some of which are so graphic that one can almost smell the infamous putrefied pig entrails used to pack out the fake part of Captain Rhodes. As brilliantly detailed as the text is, the photos make the book even more compelling. Many are, as one would expect, gloriously gory, which allows the reader to really inspect the remarkable work the effects team did, although there are also some that are rather amusing, showing that all the crew had a blast while making the film.

Like the film itself, the book is such a remarkable read that one can imagine coming back to it many times in the future. Nicotero provides the foreword to this opus, revealing he had hoped to publish a similar account himself not long after the film’s release, and as such provided a wealth of notes and material from his archive. We can only be thankful that he documented the shoot as thoroughly as it’s superb and an essential addition to any fan’s bookshelf.

BOOK REVIEW: WALLOWING IN OUR OWN WELTSCHMERZ – AN AUTON GUIDE TO THE STORIES BEHIND THE STORIES OF THE SEVENTH DOCTOR / AUTHOR: ANDY DAVIDSON, CHRIS ORTON, ANDREW ORTON, ROBERT HAMMOND, MATTHEW WEST / PUBLISHER: MIWK / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Few eras – oh, all right, no eras – of Doctor Who are as divisive amongst the show’s aficionados as the dying years of the 1980s. Sylvester McCoy became the seventh Doctor in 1987 after the unceremonious dumping of Colin Baker and the show limped on for three more brief series before the BBC finally turned off the life support in 1989. A hardcore group of fans maintain that McCoy’s era was the beginning of a new ‘golden age’ in the show’s history, signifying a creative turnabout in its fortunes unfortunately not mirrored in the BBC’s own attitudes towards a show they’d long since considered well beyond its sell-by date. Others – naming no names – have little or no time for the show’s last three series and some – naming no names – might even take the view that not only should all tapes of the episodes themselves be buried forever deep in a sea of peat but also that the memory of having ever seen them should be surgically removed from the brains of all those who suffered at the time – or even since.

Weltschmerz isn’t, thankfully, a hectoring ‘you are wrong, this is why it’s good’ text book chronicling the show’s perceived last-minute renaissance. Written by the team behind the popular and irreverent 1990s Auton fanzine, Weltschmerz is the work of admirers of the era who aren’t blind to its faults. The McCoy era is dissected and its illogicality, irrationalities and its downright inanities are laid bare for the world to see. Weltschmerz asks how and why the Rani built her cliff-side base on Lakertya in McCoy’s rancid debut serial ‘Time and the Rani’, how her four-eyed slaves the Tetraps could be kitted out with spectacles, why ‘Paradise Towers’ needed so many Caretakers and how its inept rebel Kangs evolved. Also of concern is why the CIA would employ two bumbling comedy spies to track down a rogue satellite in the pitiful ‘Delta and the Bannermen’ and why, having waited thousands of years to exact vengeance upon his people, ‘Dragonfire’s Kane chose the very moment the Doctor arrives on iceworld Svartos to put his revenge plan into motion.

McCoy’s twelve serials – plus his appearances in the 1993 Children in Need special ‘Dimensions in Time’ and the 1996 Paul McGann TV movie – are subject to similar outrageous scrutiny and generally found wanting. But there’s the sense that this is all being done with tongue firmly in cheek and a real sense of affection for the source material. It’s not for the faint-hearted; the humour’s often not just near the knuckle, but occasionally halfway up the arm and sometimes the Auton boys wander off on some fanciful frolic in their attempt to make sense of stories which clearly have the capacity to fall to bits with the application of even the most basic principles of logic. But we’d wager that a similar approach might reap similar results if applied to even the better-regarded eras of Doctor Who’s long history.

Weltschmerz is silly, smutty and seriously unnecessary. It’s also frequently very funny indeed, and with all proceeds going to Alzheimer’s Society it’s got to be deserving of a place on any Doctor Who fan’s bookshelf, alongside all those monster picture books and chunky anniversary celebrations volumes. It’s honeypotterific.

BOOK REVIEW: SHERLOCK HOLMES – THE SPIRIT BOX / AUTHOR: GEORGE MANN / PUBLISHER: TITAN BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

It’s World War One, and Holmes has been called from retirement by his brother, Mycroft, to look into three suicides. Watson is alone in London enduring the war and missing his wife who is in the country. Holmes and Watson investigate and are soon drawn into the world of spiritualism and the mysteries of the human soul. What is happening at Ravensthorpe House and what is the secret of the spectrographic photographs said to capture a man’s soul!?

Although time has passed, leaving the Victorian era far behind, the London of Holmes and Watson is still recognisable, even if it has been embellished with motor vehicles and German air raids. The format of the story sticks close to tradition, as might be expected from a Holmes expert such as Mann. Holmes is mysterious and still a genius, Watson more measured, his reaction to events coloured by recent experiences in his family (a nephew has died in the trenches). Spiritualism – a fascination of Conan Doyle’s – is worked into the narrative without overdoing things.

George Mann has expanded the characters to include his own Sir Maurice Newbury. This gives a pivot point for the plot and allows the action to flow round the various locales, making this more than just a simple detective tale. Of course, there is a dénouement with all the players in the Diogenes Club and we expect nothing less. By the end, we have had all the staples of a great Conan Doyle tale and a respectable story with well-crafted updates to both Holmes and Watson. World War One is more than just a backdrop – not only does it provide a context for plot strands to do with German spies, but it is also a very real presence.

Our only complaint about The Spirit Box is that it is over too soon. Fortunately, there is every chance that this Holmes and Watson will be back shortly.

The Spirit Box also contains a short story set in the author’s other connected works, the world of Newbury and Hobbes. It tells of the pursuit of the mysterious Lady Arkwell and gives more insight into the figure of Sir Maurice Newbury. It is really an expanded anecdote, but it is entertaining and serves its purpose in raising the reader’s curiosity as to these other stories.