Review Category: Books

REVIEW: STAR WARS – CRUCIBLE / AUTHOR: TROY DENNING / PUBLISHER: CENTURY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

If you are an established Star Wars Expanded Universe fan, you’ll be very aware of the backstory surrounding Crucible (first released last year). However, if you’re not already a fan or frequent reader of the novels, this book does a good job of welcoming you into the fold as well. Aside from the necessary pieces of established lore needed for this novel, it is a standalone work. Nearly every mention of an expanded universe element includes a brief recap and makes clear how this element relates to the story in progress. This reviewer hasn’t read a Star Wars novel in years, so it was much appreciated.

Unfortunately, some aspects of the novel are treated far too lightly. Denning has gained a reputation as ‘the hit man of the EU’ and it’s not hard to see why. One event in particular, which is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, seems like it should have a much greater impact on the universe at large. As it stands, it informs a few character motivations (barely) but it seems more like the reason the evil alien capitalists have to be stopped is because they’re trying to harm our heroes personally. We’d also like to point out that Solo loses an eye but this is barely mentioned. If the author wasn’t intending to use something like that, he might as well have not brought it up at all.

It’s not all bad, though. There are some very good sequences in here such as the Sabacc game and the opening scene in the Cantina. The ending, while a bit baffling unless you understand what’s going on, is well written and rather touching. The whole thing could have used some work but it is a good send-off for the ‘Big Three’, at least until we see them on the big screen again next year.

REVIEW: THE OATHBREAKER’S SHADOW / AUTHOR: AMY MCCULLOCH / PUBLISHER: CORGI CHILDREN’S / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Set in the land of Darham, The Oathbreaker’s Shadow follows the story of Raim. Tormented by a spirit conjured by an oath he never recalled making, he is driven into exile by his people. Forced to wander the land as an outcast, he begins hunting for answers and soon begins to uncover darker and more dangerous secrets about the world.

As a concept, The Oathbreaker’s Shadow looks to be an interesting outing. Along with the idea of oathbreaking carrying significant weight beyond besmirched honour, Darham contains more eastern influences than the common or garden fantasy setting. The issue is that while the world itself is interesting in concept, the presentation fails to make the best use of it. Rather than working minor elements of cultural significance into the narrative as the story progresses, the book relies upon lengthy info dumps to exposit on the nature of the world. This is only made worse when many elements, such as the Mongol elements of culture, feel copied and pasted in rather than used as an influence.

Things unfortunately don’t get much better with the story, as the prose reads as if it is throwing information at the reader rather than telling it to them. This is unfortunate as Raim himself is a likeable enough protagonist if a little bland, and there are definite moments of harsh survival and action which do play to McCulloch’s strengths. But because of her flat, uninvolving style, the slower moments feel like dead air, and this creates a barrier preventing true immersion within the tale.

There is definitely a good story in here with sparks of entertainment, but with so many flaws holding the tale back it’s a hard to recommend it. With more focus and better presentation this could develop into a great series. As it stands though, give this initial entry a pass.

REVIEW: FIEFDOM – A KINGDOM NOVEL / AUTHOR: DAN ABNETT, NIK VINCENT / PUBLISHER: ABADDON BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 14TH

In the distant future, mankind is the stuff of legend, civilisation long destroyed by insect-like monsters known as Them. After many bloody struggles, the world belongs to the Aux – man-like dogs left behind in the dying days of humanity’s dominance. This is the post-apocalyptic world of Fiefdom.

Fiefdom shares the same world as Dan Abnett’s excellent comic book series Kingdom, which originally featured in 2000AD. The novel moves the action one hundred years and half a hemisphere away to the ruins of Berlin. The exploits of Gene The Hackman and his friend, Oldman Gary have long since passed into legend and the Aux roam the ruins of human cities asserting dominance. Knowledge of the graphic novel isn’t needed here, any relevant information is quickly summarised fairly early on. The story instead focuses on a brave and courageous female Aux called Evelyn War.

Evelyn believes that Them are coming back. Evelyn also believes that the Aux should unite to face this threat together, and this makes her an outsider. In order to save the day, Evelyn has to stand up for what she believes.

This is not a book for those with an allergy to puns. The Aux tend to have names that riff on the literary world; Oscar So Wild, Evelyn War, Atticus Flinch and so on – the puns never stop. Abnett has also given the Aux a unique pidgin language, one that is easy for the reader to understand and at the same time reminds you that the Aux are not human. Their short, brutal language defines them very well but doesn’t alienate the reader.

Abnett is a master of fast-paced cinematic action. His world building is as strong as always and this particular setting benefits from a shift to the medium of the novel. We get a more in-depth understanding of what has happened to the world and these little bits of information never fail to entertain. Fiefdom is a solid read and fans will lap this up and that is, as the Aux put it “truer than true. “

REVIEW: NO TRAVELER RETURNS – THE LOST YEARS OF BELA LUGOSI / AUTHOR: GARY D. RHODES, BILL KAFFENBERGER / PUBLISHER: BEARMANOR MEDIA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Scholar Gary D. Rhodes has spent his career debunking myths about classic horror cinema in general and Bela Lugosi’s life and work in particular. He has done this through meticulous research, leaving no stone unturned along the way. This, his latest – and best – book on Lugosi (written with Bill Kaffenberger) is no exception.

No Traveler Returns tackles the popular misconception of Lugosi’s ‘lost years’ between 1945 and 1951, assumed by many to be a low in Lugosi’s career as the once-famous star of Dracula began sliding into unemployment, obscurity and drug addiction. Rhodes and Kaffenberger reveal this not to be the case at all: in fact, Lugosi was crazy busy at this time, touring the country in summer stock and vaudeville, making personal appearances at magic shows, and starring in a number of B pictures, as well as in the classics The Body Snatcher (1945) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) – all of which kept Lugosi’s public profile high.

Far from being the broken-down ex-bogey man of popular myth, Rhodes and Kaffenberger reveal the Lugosi of this period as a hard-working, consummate professional able to carry numerous stock company theatre productions, giving excellent performances and drawing crowds wherever he went. Rhodes and Kaffenberger detail Bela’s touring schedule down to the day, and provide a timeline that astonishes in terms of how busy and full Lugosi’s diary actually was during these years. So what went wrong after 1951? Here Rhodes challenges the usual theories of morphine addiction and Communist Party membership, arguing instead that more complex reasons lay behind Lugosi’s rapid career decline in his last years, most of them to do with the fickleness of show business in an era that was rapidly changing as the spectre of television threatened movies, closed theatres and drove vaudeville virtually out of existence. All of this goes towards restoring to Lugosi the dignity that he deserves.

No Traveler Returns is a wonderful read and you don’t have to be a Lugosi fan to enjoy it. It paints a vivid picture of life on the road for the travelling thespian in the days of spook shows, ‘straw hat’ theatre circuits and barn emporiums. Highly recommended.

REVIEW: PRINCE OF FOOLS / AUTHOR: MARK LAWRENCE / PUBLISHER: HARPER VOYAGER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Prince of Fools kicks off Mark Lawrence’s highly anticipated new trilogy The Red Queen’s War, introducing us to a new narrator in the shape of Prince Jalan Kendeth. His previous antihero Jorg Ancrath was always going to be a tough act to follow, but fortunately Lawrence has created a character who is sufficiently different.

Jalan is more Jack-the-lad than Jack Carter: he’s a gambler and ladies man, isn’t the greatest of sword-fighters, and relies mainly on his wits and a keen sense of when to turn tail. This time, he’s in serious trouble, up to his neck in debt and forced to pair up with Snorri ver Snagason, a huge Northern axeman and all-round killing machine.

The novel draws on the usual buddy trope – they work together only because they have to, forming an initially reluctant bond that blossoms through their mutual adversity – but by placing it in the fantasy realm of The Broken Empire, Lawrence creates an interesting spin on it, having the pair bound by a magic that forces them on a quest. Jalan’s narration gives a one-sided view of events, and keen readers may begin to wonder if he’s as much of a coward as he claims to be, as if he’s playing with the reader as much as he does with the other characters. As with Jorg, the narrative voice is so well-defined, it’s like listening to someone telling the story, drawing the reader deeper into the book.

It’s a good tale, too, moving quickly from one scene to the other while scarcely pausing for breath. Be warned: once you’re in, you may find yourself still reading a hundred or more pages later, if you even stop at all. In his previous novels, Lawrence has proved adept at manipulating emotions, and that skill flourishes between the covers of Prince of Fools. There are moments of suspense, fear, hilarity and gut-wrenching sadness throughout, all ending in a final line of only two words that have enough impact to set up the second book very nicely indeed.

While Jalan is a more ‘accessible’ narrator than Jorg, it’s debatable if Prince of Fools is the best place to start reading Lawrence’s work. There are several in-jokes that would fly over the heads of new readers,  such as guest appearances from characters, and the pace is such that the Broken Empire itself doesn’t feel as richly described as it has been in previous novels.

Being a damn good fantasy writer, Lawrence has inevitably been compared with George R.R. Martin, but a more apt comparison would be with the late David Gemmell. Lawrence’s characters display similar self-doubt and eventual courage, and Snagason – “son of the axe” – smacks of affectionate tribute to Druss the Legend, all of which makes Mark Lawrence a worthy heir to Gemmell’s crown.

REVIEW: UPRISING / AUTHOR: SARAH CAWKWELL / PUBLISHER: ABADDON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Ever since Sarah Cawkwell’s Warhammer tie-in novel Valkia The Bloody, we’ve been keen to see what she can create freed from the constraints of franchise fiction. Uprising is a rather fine example of the author unleashed. It’s an exciting blend of fantasy and alternate history. In this world, Richard the Lionheart brought magic to England following the Crusades. Initially this transformed and improved lives but by the time history gets round to Richard the Third and the Battle of Bosworth, things take a darker turn. This is thanks to an unwise pact that allows the Plantagenet line to rule the land, but taints their bloodline in a way that threatens the whole world. By the time we get to 1590, magic users are being hunted down and exterminated by a rather nasty cadre of Inquisitors, who carry all sorts of horrid toys made by the kingdom’s finest scientists.

The bulk of the tale focuses on two young lovers, Mathis and Tagan. Both are skilled in magic and are lucky enough to live in a secluded Welsh village that encourages the use of the art. Inevitably the Inquisition turn up and events thrust the two heroes into a high speed tour of the more mystical parts of Europe. This also gives the Plantagenet king the excuse he needs to declare war on France and things get rapidly more exciting from that point on.

Cawkwell has constructed a neat and engaging fantasy world, we have a nice blend of strange technologies and stranger magic. There are no subplots here, each element of the tale is as vital and important as each other, from the relationship between Mathis and Tagan to the growing desperation of the High Inquisitor. This is a fast-paced and cinematic adventure tale and, though there is plenty of characterisation, the main character here is the action.

Uprising is a strong start to what we hope will be an ongoing series, Heirs of the Demon King. The book does an excellent job of painting a rich and entertaining fantasy world and we look forward to seeing more.

REVIEW: QUEEN OF THE DARK THINGS / AUTHOR: C. ROBERT CARGILL / PUBLISHER: GOLLANCZ / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

One of the common publishing clichés is the way that up and coming authors are constantly compared to the leaders in their field. For example, it’s practically impossible to pick up an urban fantasy novel without the blurb on the back telling you that the author is the next Neil Gaiman, and in most cases this is very much hyperbole. Robert Cargill’s debut urban fantasy novel, Dreams and Shadows was heavily compared to Gaiman’s earlier work (such as American Gods) when it came out and you’ll be forgiven for dismissing the comparison as advertising nonsense, but in this case, the blurb writers got it right.

Queen of the Dark Things is a direct sequel to the Dreams and Shadows and is as fresh, original and exciting as Neverwhere or Anansi Boys. The action begins six months after the events of the first book and is more character focused. The world’s most powerful wizard Colby Stevens is still dealing with the consequences of his actions as well as getting used to his powers. The last book established the rules of the world and in this follow-on we get to know Colby and friends a little better ,which is good as he is likeable and flawed.

This time round, a dark force is rising and despite his powerful friends and great potential, Colby is still in over his head and unable to stop it on his own. This means getting demons to help out and Colby doesn’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to making sensible deals. The supporting cast is as entertaining as ever and the dialogue continues to be witty, clever and never too knowing. A series of flashbacks, tied into manic current events, keeps the pace constant and Cargill’s style is as friendly and engaging as ever.

High quality urban fantasy is always hard to find and Cargill has proven that he can deliver time and time again. If he carries on like this then all the other urban fantasy blurbs will be telling us that their book is written by the next Robert Cargill.

REVIEW: SKIN GAME / AUTHOR: JIM BUTCHER / PUBLISHER: ORBIT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series is one of the heavy hitters of the urban fantasy genre. Skin Game is the fifteenth book in this wildly popular series and see’s Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, getting involved in one of the most elaborate heists possible.

This time round Harry finds himself manipulated into working with one of his arch-rivals, the hel-powered murderer Nicodemus, a chap so evil that he has a fallen angel in his head. The job is to break into the vaults of the Greek god Hades and steal the Holy Grail. As you may be able to guess, that’s no small task and what we have here is a very solid Ocean’s 11-with-supernatural-monsters tale that keeps the reader guessing throughout.

Skin Game is a return to form for Jim Butcher. Some of the previous books have gotten bogged down in the world’s own mythology and, though a little bit of familiarity is expected, the series had begun to get repetitive and somewhat dull. This new instalment fixes this by giving Harry fresh reasons to stay alive and moving his various relationships forward. It’s also nice to see that the other heroes of the book finally have lives outside of Harry’s activities.

Butcher’s style is an addictive and clever one; his approach is warm and easy but he loves to toy with the reader, adding twist after twist. Fans will be familiar with the way that the main character is always getting beaten up and at times this stretches credulity. But as this is a series of books that once featured zombie dinosaurs, you are advised to enter into the spirit of the thing and relax.

Skin Game partially reboots the series: nothing from the previous books is lost but Harry’s journey through this adventure tells the reader everything they need to know about the character. This is a good starting point for those looking to see what the fuss is about and existing fans will be delighted that it’s as good as ever.

REVIEW: HEXED / AUTHOR: MICHELLE KRYS / PUBLISHER: CORGI BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 10TH

Popular cheerleader and likeable Los Angeles teen queen Indigo Blackwood has it all. She’s ensconced in a Mean Girls-esque crew of frenemies, dating the hottest jock in her high school, and keeping up her Grade Point Average. There’s just a few little problems. After being persuaded to give her ‘loser’ next door neighbour a lift home from school the girls witness what looks like a suicide carried out by a gorgeous Gothic boy. Trying to cope with this, the girls are then summoned and threatened with murder by some shady looking characters interested in a mysterious book that Indie’s mother is guarding. Indie’s about to become embroiled in a centuries-old battle between sorcerers and witches. Why? Well, this is because Indie too is about to discover that she’s a witch. And man, is she hexed…

Author Michelle Krys has written a fun young adult novel; it’s Gossip Girl meets Charmed with a hip hop sound track. The story is told in gossipy first person by – like, duh – Indie herself. However, it’s not all fun, games and teenage snark. Those sorcerers are sadistic, and some good people die. This gives the book an edge to counterpoint the saccharine, bubblegum tone.

There are knowing nods towards popular culture, the sort that some teenagers may be obsessed over: looking good, going to the Jay-Z concert, feeling self-conscious when one of the baddies picks up your old, battered copy of Twilight.

Without dropping any spoilers, the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Fortunately for our young readers, Hexed is the first of what is currently a two-book deal. It will be interesting to see what happens to Indie and her friends next…

REVIEW: DEAD MAN’S HAND – AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE WEIRD WEST / EDITOR: JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS / PUBLISHER: TITAN BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Dead Man’s Hand is a collection of 24 short stories by a wide range of authors in the subgenre of Weird West. If you haven’t heard of this before, then that is one reason to give this collections a try; Weird West is the American cousin of steampunk, but set in the Wild West and possibly involving more supernatural elements.

Like all good anthologies, Dead Man’s Hand features tales that define the subgenre, tales that fit in but could fit elsewhere and just a collection of darn good stories. Joe R. Lansdale (who is credited with formalising the idea of Weird West) kicks off with the Red-Headed Dead, featuring his character Reverend Jebediah Mercer in an encounter with an undead horror. Next up is one of my favourites, The Old Slow Man and his Cold Gun From Space by Ben H. Winters which manages to be grim, strange and funny all at once.

Other contributions include Orson Scott Card’s Alvin and the Apple Tree, returning to the world of Alvin Maker after ten years away. Alastair Reynolds gives us Wrecking Party, a story that is both Weird West and almost pure science fiction. It discusses the emergence of machines and is a Luddite’s dream.

Last is the title story Dead Man’s Hand by Christie Yant which tells the tale of the death of Wild Bill Hickock via the cards he was holding when he died. It is experimental in style and shows how minor events can change a whole life and therefore history itself. It does all this in a memorable few pages; masterful stuff.

Starburst is a massive fan of short story collections and the very best have more hits than misses. This is very much the case for Dead Man’s Hand, and Weird West is an offshoot of science fiction/fantasy that we will be paying closer attention to from now on.