Review Category: Books

Review: Steampunk: An Illustrated History of Fantastical Fiction, Fanciful Film and Other Victorian Visions / Author: Brian J. Robb / Publisher: Voyageur Press / Release Date: Out Now

Steampunk – love it or hate it, it’s everywhere, like that red weed in The War of the Worlds. Who would have thought that what was once no more than a niche literary subgenre created by some quirky Californian sf authors with a love of foggy Victorian London would grow into the pervasive influence on popular culture it is today? High time, then, to treat the subject to a lavish guide. Fstttt! Dammit! Sprung a leak in my steam-driven typewriter! Someone pass me a spanner!

The problem with this particular effort, though, is that it’s presented as an “illustrated history”. What with Steampunk being only 25 years old, warning bells ring, and sure enough prepare yourself for some heavy front-weighting as artful bodger Brian J. Robb works hard to give the newbie genre some kind of lineage. No even vaguely Steampunky book or film is safe: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang “does feature Steampunk touches”, we learn (uh, okay, going off Steampunk now), and David Lynch’s The Elephant Man is “a Steampunk approach to a real-life story” (Or maybe that should be Steamtrunk? Anyone? I’ll get my frock coat.) And how’s this for an assertion: “A century of films featuring Steampunk (starting with Melies) climaxed at the millennium with the Will Smith-starring Wild Wild West”. Climaxed!? Glad it was good for you, Brian. It did nothing for us. Meanwhile, many of the current luminaries of the genre are skimmed over with what feels, by comparison, like indecent haste. As for gamers and those into the lifestyle culture (and who isn’t into knee-boots festooned with buckles and straps, pimped out pith helmets and corsets covered in cogs?), they’re bound to be rather underwhelmed by the skimpy and/or waffly coverage afforded these topics.

On the plus side, there are gracious tips of the bowler to Steampunk’s founding trio, Powers, Blaycock and Jeter, a decent bit on graphic novels, a nice tribute to Michael Moorcock, whose Nomad of the Time Streams trilogy is a much-loved genre wellspring, and some fun pictures, including one of a rather sad Steampunked Dalek with a brass funnel poking out of its rear (the indignity!). Also, Robb enthuses engagingly over several easy-to-overlook TV shows, such as the original Wild Wild West, CBC’s Secret Adventures of Jules Verne and its sequel The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells (both of which have jumped to the top of this reviewer’s must-see list) and the artefactelicious Warehouse 13. Not a total train wreck by any means, but unlikely to make your brass goggles mist up with glee.

Review: You And Who / Editor: J.R. Southall / Publisher: Miwk Publishing / Release Date: December 2012

I’ve not done the math – as they say – but I’d be willing to wager than there have been more books about Doctor Who than any other series in the history of television. And, like the show’s TV stories, they come in all shapes and sizes. We’ve had brain-draining academic tomes, episode guides, behind-the-scenes extravaganzas, more episode guides, critical analyses and lots of big books with pretty pictures in them. Superfans and TV historians have all done their bit to chronicle the comings-and-goings of TV’s most enduring and larger-than-life science-fiction superhero and many of them have gone on to shape the on-screen destiny of the very character they’ve written about. But few viewers of the show have been able to have their say; not the professional or semi-professional fans who eventually turned Doctor Who into a livelihood but rather the viewers, the ordinary joes, the you-and-mes who sit down on a Saturday night in search of a foolish, fabulous and occasionally ferociously frustrating bit of telly escapism. Viewers have adored Doctor Who ever since it first appeared on British TV screens in November 1963 but rarely have its grass roots devotees had the chance to explain exactly why this silly, quirky show managed to get under their skin.

Until now. You and Who, compiled by Starburst Magazine’s own Whoru J.R. Southall, is a lovingly-assembled collection of writings of various length – erudite essays, random episode appreciations, warm and charming and extremely personal remembrances of time and Time Lords gone by – all shot through with a sort of collective reverence towards Doctor Who and, in many cases, a realisation that appreciation of the show has had a fundamental affect on the roads taken and the way many of its contributors have lived their lives. You and Who is a grab-bag of enthusiastic fan opinion which, fortunately, rarely ascends to the level of pomposity displayed in many of the more earnest ‘I’m right and you are wrong’ fan forum debates. Here you’ll find fans writing heartfelt letters to their younger selves, fans writing letters to the Doctor himself, fans who nail down their love of the show to the mast of some specific facet or other of the series’ unique format. Others recall the dark days when Doctor Who was slowly slipping from its pedestal of popularity and fading away into youthful memory until that explosive 2005 rebirth made the show – and a half-forgotten love of it – a brand new passion born out of something long gone and shared amongst new friends and new families. Many of the pieces here recall earliest memories of earliest episodes and J.R. himself goes right back to the beginning with an evocative appreciation of ‘An Unearthly Child’, the episode which started it all way back in November 1963. 

And ultimately ‘evocative’ is the word which best sums up You and Who; it’s guaranteed to bring back memories, raise a smile or two (one piece which states ‘I have for some time been an actor and a journalist’ turns out to have been written by a fourteen year-old…and why not??) and possibly even make you mutter ‘What? You can’t possibly have liked that!!’. But it’s all done with good grace, a great deal of wit and, above all else and even when the writing’s sometimes not quite as polished as we might be used to in Doctor Who books, an absolute and pretty much unswerving devotion to a show which, arguably, hasn’t always deserved it. Over the next twelve months, as Doctor Who’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations move into high gear, we’ll undoubtedly be hearing a lot from the great and the good about why they love Doctor Who and always have but You and Who much more modestly reminds us that the people in the audience who matter most aren’t the comedians and the chat show hosts and the TV chefs with their showbiz reminiscences and snappy soundbites; the people who matter are the people like you (and me) who’ve been there through thick and thin and whose faith, if not always unwavering, has enabled Doctor Who to reach its fiftieth anniversary in rude health and with its head held high. In the end this isn’t really a book about Doctor Who at all, it’s a book about you – about you and Who – and I doubt we’ll see a more passionate and enthusiastic book on the series in the tide of titles almost certainly coming our way in the next twelve months. It’s a book to cherish.

Review: The Hobbit – The Official Movie Guide / Author: Brian Sibley / Publisher: HarperCollins / Release Date: Out Now

Impatient Middle-earthlings who can’t wait to see Peter Jackson’s return to that world could do worse than The Hobbit: Official Movie Guide, a tantalising peek at Bilbo’s Unexpected Journey.

It’s a big book, packed full of sumptuous behind the scenes photographs, interviews, production stills and concept art. Reading it so soon before The Hobbit’s cinema release is a little akin to shaking one’s own Christmas presents under the tree, but when the packaging is so pretty, it’s difficult not to. It manages to intrigue and entice readers without ever feeling as though it’s spoiling the movie.

This reviewer read Tolkien’s The Hobbit long before reading or seeing The Lord of the Rings, so very much appreciated this sneaky peek at the story’s translation from book to screen. The emphasis here is firmly on character, with much of the book devoted to the inhabitants of Middle-earth. Sir Ian McKellen’s Gandalf is back, as are the likes of Galadriel and Elrond. But we already knew that – of more interest are young Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and his dwarven companions. The Official Movie Guide answers a question a lot of us have had since day one – how did they shrink James Nesbitt and Aiden Turner down to dwarf height? All of these make-up tales and more are answered, with more Hobbit feet and enlarged foreheads than you can shake a stick at. 

For those who would prefer to go into The Hobbit completely blind (and we can’t blame you) we’d recommend picking up this book after seeing the film. Mister Jackson is a fellow who puts a lot of work into his movies, and The Official Movie Guide is testament to that (as are the nine-or-so hours of discarded footage across the previous trilogy). His frequent collaborator and fellow workaholic Andy Serkis also pops up to give his thoughts on playing Gollum and partially directing a bit of the film. Fans of movie guides and behind-the-scenes books should enjoy The Official Movie Guide. It’s beautiful and does its job (to get people excited about the film) very well. Given that it’s been released alongside the Visual Companion, it could seem to some like a bit of a cash-in. £15 is maybe a tad steep too, but there will surely be fans glad to pay the price for an insight into one of the year’s most anticipated movies. 

The Hobbit: The Offical Movie Guide is detailed, pretty and a very nice size (size matters, in cases such as this). It does a great job of whetting the appetite for the forthcoming film and celebrating the minds behind it.

To paraphrase a certain Smeagol – the preciousss is nice. Juicy. Scrumptiously crunchable. Well, maybe not that last bit. It is only a paperback, after all.

Book Review: VirulentBlurb: Fractures / Author: Kneel Downe / Publisher: Self Published via Lulu.com / Format: Paperback / Release Date: Out Now

“Non ingestion of ReGen is not illegal but the State will not cover medical repair. ReGen protects from the Foul. Take your pill. Live long.”

VirulentBlurb, brainchild of the amusingly monikered Kneel Downe, began on Twitter as a story unfolding in successive Tweets. Fractures compiles the first twelve ‘Phazes’ of the story, along with some equally enigmatic pieces of background, and three mini-scripts that focuses the story, highlighting of the characters, Detective Kurt Lobo and brings it into a more cinematic, and orderly structure.

The Blurb Universe is a place of humans genetically spliced with animals and birds, a plugged in dystopia in the vein of Blade Runner and Sin City. A web of intrigue and impending revolution set against a noir-esq futuristic background.

Downe’s world is one of pop culture influences, from classic rock bands to Alice in Wonderland, in the style (but not derivative) of the likes of Philip K. Dick and Jeff (Automated Alice, Vurt) Noon (who himself uses Twitter as a platform for his micro fiction). Delivered in often dizzying, descriptive prose, more akin to Sci-Fi poetry than a straight novel, the 140 character Twitter format makes for a staccato flow during the initial Phazes of the story, and once you get into the swing of it is very absorbing.

The book has already attracted praise from Downe’s literary hero, the aforementioned Jeff Noon and the story has caught the attention of media companies keen to expand on his Universe, for whom the mini-scripts were prepared. This is an ideal opportunity to catch up with the happenings and inhabitants of the Blurb. Go in with an open mind, and prepare to be spliced.

You can follow the story on the Twitter feed @virulentblurb and order the book here.

Review: Splintered / Author: A. G. Howard / Publisher: Abrams / Release Date: January 1st

Love triangles, teenage angst and Alice In Wonderland. A.G Howard’s Splintered seems to have its eye firmly upon the increasingly lucrative young female audience. ‘I think,’ I thought, picking up Splintered as a too-adult male who finds Alice In Wonderland to be a bit tiresome, ‘I made a mistake’. Splintered will suit its target audience very well, but does it have much to offer anyone else?

Alyssa is a great-great relative of Alice Liddell, the young protagonist of Alice In Wonderland. Victim of a family curse incurred by Alice’s adventures in wonderland, Alyssa’s burgeoning womanhood may threaten to send her quite mad. Mother Alison is incarcerated in an asylum, terrible voices whispering sweet nonsense into her ear. As Alyssa begins to hear those same voices, she realises that only a trip down the rabbit hole can hope to cure what ails her. Accompanied by her annoyingly perfect best friend Jeb, she ventures into Wonderland to face her demons.

With its twisted version of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Splintered is strangely reminiscent of American McGee’s Alice videogames. Most of the characters and locations from Carroll’s novel return, but in grisly deviations of what you might expect. So the White Rabbit becomes a horned dwarf sort of thing (well, it might have looked like a rabbit to young Alice) and so on. New characters are introduced too, most notably Morpheus – one third of the book’s very prominent love triangle.

Snide, sneaky Morpheus is obviously designed to fit the Team Edward archetype – dark, smug and a bit of a bastard – while Jeb – sweet and attentive – is The Team Jacob. The book skews more towards a preference for Jeb, but all three of them are fairly horrible. Heroine Alyssa is prone to melodrama. While she’s more proactive than Twilight’s Bella, she still complains far too much. The book tends to emphasise Jeb’s heroism by having him rescue her all the time (or at least attempt to) and treat her like a helpless child. His nice guy act, however, is completely undermined by the fact he constantly flirts with Alyssa despite the fact that he has a girlfriend. Morpheus, meanwhile, is boring despite his English accent and ‘dark’ affectations. A trio of less likeable characters one could not hope to meet.

In spite of its obnoxious love triangle, Splintered deserves to be read. It does a better job of a ‘dark’ Wonderland than either McGee’s Alice or Tim Burton’s recent sequel. There are good ideas and some creepy imagery at play here. It’s also refreshing that Howard doesn’t attempt to emulate Carroll’s style of writing, which can come across as horrible in the wrong hands. It’s a brief read with a quick pace and interesting story. In spite of its flaws, Splintered is well written and engaging. The characters may not be likeable, but the world in which they find themselves is a truly memorable one. Even today, Wonderland proves that it has the power to enthral new visitors. Curiouser and curiouser.

Review: The Fractal Prince / Author: Hannu Rajaniemi / Publisher: Gollancz / Release Date: Out Now

Hard science and science fiction have always had a little bit of an odd relationship. Sci-fi would not exist without people taking scientific theories and crafting them into an interesting narrative, but on the other hand, works of fiction that require at least a Bsc in Astrophysics to make sense will only ever appeal  to a limited audience.

Hannu Rajaniemi first made his debut with the Quantum Thief, which was acclaimed for its solid plot, roguish characters and dedication to hard science fiction. The problem with the sequel, The Fractal Prince, is that Rajaniemi has turned up the volume on the complex explanations and overly flowery descriptions, making the entire work virtually impenetrable. Though one could argue that the point of the book is to create a complex, gossamer like structure that elevates the reader, it doesn’t go far enough to achieve this; too much work is required by the reader making this book a chore rather than a joy.

A sign of a bad genre novel is when the work is so entrenched in its own nonsense that it prevents the reader from understanding what is going on.  Though Rajaneimi’s work is based on complex real world ideas, the way they are handled means that these things may as well be rubbish. This is a real shame, as the premise of the book; two stories that intertwine to produce a Schrodinger’s cat style conundrum, is a staggeringly interesting one. Rajaneimi is the master of the high concept story, but this does not save the novel from being a big mess of hard to understand cosmic spaghetti.

If you like very hard science fiction and consider movies like The Fountain to be childlike in their simplicity, then this is for you. The rest of us, however, will struggle.

Review: The Tower of Bones / Author: Frank P. Ryan / Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books / Release Date: Out Now

The Tower of Bones by Frank P. Ryan sees four people Kate, Mo, Alan and Mark in a world with many dangers and few allies. Not only do they need to contend with the native creatures and inhabitant but also the treacherous witch Olc. Her plans to summon the demigod Fangorath has our four heroes involved in something greater than they themselves can barely comprehend…

It is the detail with which the author writes that is so immersive. The locations have a real sense of authenticity within the context of the world they are set in. This detail isn’t in place of, or doesn’t mean, your imagination won’t be needed, it does in fact allow it to be used to greater effect. This allows for a real appreciation of the book as you are then able to enjoy the story fully. The story in this book is violent, dark and while the premise of four people in a fantasy sounds familiar, it is a far cry from people having tea with beavers. Not only is the physicality of the characters and creatures described well but so are the sounds they make, which only heightens the sense of danger.

There are moments of real fear in the book, when the characters seem to be in real danger. The author does a nice a job of making sure you empathise with the heroes and loathe the villains. Faltana in particular is a character which likes to inflict pain on people but never kill, she enjoys it, maybe a little too much. The anticipation lies with how characters like Faltana will meet their demise and if it is fate deserving of a character so evil.  All the characters in this book are crafted well, each with their own motives for doing what they think is right. It is interesting to find out of how these motives will lead to good or bad things and how it affects other characters.

Frank P. Ryan has crafted a world of such detail that it deserves a read at least once. It’s refreshing to read a fantasy novel which is relentlessly dark as it is all the more satisfying when something good happens. This is a strong entry to a series and the next entry can’t come soon enough.

Review: The Shifting Price of Prey / Author: Suzanne McLeod / Publisher: Gollancz / Release Date: Out Now

Urban fantasy broadly splits into two distinct styles; veiled, in which the world appears normal but there are supernatural elements under the hood waiting for the unwary, and unveiled, where goblins run market stalls and vampire rights are debated in parliament. The Shifting Price of Prey falls very much into the latter category, and also follows another convention of urban fantasy; the kickass heroine with a heart filled with lust.

The plot follows on from previous novels in the series; the protagonist, Genny, is a fae-blooded woman with the power to break enchantments; basically, if it’s magic, she can smash it. She works for a franchise of witches called Spellcrackers.com and in this latest novel, her job is to prevent the arrival of a mystical carnival from causing too much chaos in the streets of London. Add to that the mandatory infatuation with a powerful vampire and an ongoing plot to cure a major faerie curse and what we get is a messy, but fun, little supernatural romp.

Fans of the earlier Anita Blake books will be on familiar ground here; this a book filled with slow burning passion, supernatural naughtiness and highly personal twists. What improves the whole affair is that McLeod has crafted an addictive yet believable world filled with dreams, nightmares and strangeness. Combined with a rambling yet interesting first person narrative this makes the various sub-plots a little difficult to follow, but it is worth ploughing through, despite being quite predictable in places.

Fans of Kelly Armstrong and Laurel K Hamilton may want to consider adding McLeod to their shelves, as she’s certainly on the same level. If you’re looking for something deeper, however, or with a less self-obsessed protagonist, then you should look elsewhere. This is more of the same for those who like this sort of thing, and brings nothing new to the urban fantasy table. If you need a day under the covers with an enjoyable read and a bucket of ice cream, then this is for you.

Review: Pandaemonium / Author: Ben Macallan / Publisher: Solaris / Release Date: Out Now

Pandaemonium is the sequel to Desdaemona, which was an urban fantasy tale about a young man called Jordan who, in over his head, was being pursued by supernatural forces who wanted to take a very precious thing from him. The titular character in the first novel is the main character in this follow-up book. Pandaemonium is Desdaemona’s story, and is very much a ‘what happens next’ tale, following directly on from the first book.

Written from a first person perspective, the story is told in a deeply engaging, conversational style which nonetheless maintains a rapid pace throughout. The protagonist is quite strong because she is also very believable; this is not some idealised supernatural heroine; her greatest power is her pragmatism and sense of self, rather than supernatural special effects.

Desdaemona’s world is one of godlings, demons and all sort of supernatural shenanigans. It draws upon British Folklore to create a rich and interesting world. Macallan throws a lot of ideas at the reader very quickly, but because we’re so familiar with the themes, we absorb them effortlessly. It’s nice to see the sort of tales many of us think of as children’s stories (but are in fact, part of our shared heritage) being used this way, and it makes the whole thing very British without being alienating.

It’s worth pointing out that Ben Macallan is the pseudonym of the highly prolific Chaz Brenchley. If the name Macallan rings any bells it’s because Ben Macallan is the hero of two of his earlier novels Dead of Light and Light Errant. Though these are earlier works, they are quite similar in feel and theme; young and supernaturally powerful people trapped in a situation where those far stronger and influential than them wish to destroy them. Pandaemonium is the far superior work (as you’d expect), bringing with it both the cocky arrogance of youth and the low cunning of experience.

If you prefer your urban fantasy quick and easy to read, with plenty of twists and turns, you should take a look at this series. Hopefully this is a tale not yet finished, as it is a world filled with potential.

Review: Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane / Editor: Jon Oliver / Publisher: Solaris / Release Date: Out Now

More and more often now, we’re starting to see something new when it comes to anthologies. The editor has become the DJ, mixing stories and talented writers to create a smooth work sampled from lots of sources. When it works, you get a reading experience that is more than a collection of stories on a single theme; you get a fine blend of ideas. Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane is fifteen stories that combine the themes of Magic and the modern, alongside horror and loss. It’s a cleverly compiled collection, filled with gems.

Highlights include Audrey Niffenegger’s tale, The Wrong Fairie, which features Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s father and is a cunning little Victorian fairy tale with just the right amount of creepiness to work. Niffenegger is better known for her novel, The Time Traveller’s Wife, and though she’s perhaps the biggest name on the cover, the collection is packed with brilliant authors. Department 19 author Will Hill gives us Shuffle, a cracking little tale about a street magician with a broken past, unstoppable word cannon Dan Abnett contributes a topical tale of politics and conspiracy called Dirty Tricks, which not only show’s off the authors flexibility, it changes the pace of the anthology nicely, making the rest of the stories blend in well.

Other notable entries include Christopher Fowler’s splendidly horrid piece, The Baby. Fans of Fowler will be aware as to how visceral and strange his work can be, and this is no exception. If you’ve never read his work before, you’re in for a treat. On the other hand, we also have nicely understated tales with a strong, post-modern magic feel, such as Sarah Lotz’s If I die, Kill my cat, a tale of the public sector, outsourcing and shamanism which is almost strange enough to be true.

Urban Fantasy fans, horror fans and people who like a good spooky story over the winter months should take a look at this; it’s a rare short story collection that contains no low points, and Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane is filled with good tales.