March release and missed titles

March is just over the week-end so I though it was the right time to post my spotlight for next month. Here are the release of note I wanted to mention. Most of them will probably find their way into my library soon (and from what I gathered so far with my last post, my book backlog is not monstrously abusive). Two of them are debut and the others are from big names. I also added to the list the books I forgot to talk about since the start of the year.

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Farlander
Col Buchanan
March 5

Farlander received generally good reviews so far. Should be a contender for best new debut in fantasy this year. It's about an ex assassin and his new pupil, but there's more to it as you can read in the blurb :

The Heart of the World is a land in strife. For fifty years the Holy Empire of Mann, an empire and religion born from a nihilistic urban cult, has been conquering nation after nation. Their leader, Holy Matriarch Sasheen, ruthlessly maintains control through her Diplomats, priests trained as subtle predators. The Mercian Free Ports are the only confederacy yet to fall. Their only land link to the southern continent, a long and narrow isthmus, is protected by the city of Bar-Khos. For ten years now, the great southern walls of Bar-Khos have been besieged by the Imperial Fourth Army. Ash is a member of an elite group of assassins, the R shun - who offer protection through the threat of vendetta. Forced by his ailing health to take on an apprentice, he chooses Nico, a young man living in the besieged city of Bar-Khos. At the time, Nico is hungry, desperate, and alone in a city that finds itself teetering on the brink. When the Holy Matriarch's son deliberately murders a woman under the protection of the R shun; he forces the sect to seek his life in retribution. As Ash and his young apprentice set out to fulfil the R shun orders - their journey takes them into the heart of the conflict between the Empire and the Free Ports ...into bloodshed and death.

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Spellwright
Blake Charlton
March 2

Hyped? Yes this title is... but here again, a debut with good reviews so far from the early readers. I think this is my most expected read of the first few months of 2010. A unique magic system in a kind of old school fantasy from what I read. Here's the synopsis :

Nicodemus Weal is a cacographer, unable to reproduce even simple magical texts without 'misspelling' -- a mistake which can have deadly consequences. He was supposed to be the Halcyon, a magic-user of unsurpassed power, destined to save the world; instead he is restricted to menial tasks, and mocked for his failure to live up to the prophecy. But not everyone interprets prophecy in the same way. There are some factions who believe a cacographer such as Nicodemus could hold great power -- power that might be used as easily for evil as for good. And when two of the wizards closest to Nicodemus are found dead, it becomes clear that some of those factions will stop at nothing to find the apprentice and bend him to their will!

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Shadowrise
Tad Williams
March 2

Next on the list is Tad Williams with his follow-up to Shadowplay (2007). This is the first part of the last book of the series that started with Shadowmarch in 2004 (the book that started as an internet project). I have only read his first novel, The Dragonbone Chair, but I intend to pick up more of his work in the future. Here's what this one is about :

As shadows threaten to consume the kingdom of Southmarch, Barrick Eddon, heir to March throne, battles his way across the sinister Shadowlands. He must journey through this dangerous, inhuman realm to fulfil a pact ? as this may be all that can prevent the atrocities of a full-scale war with the Twilight people of Qul-na-Qar. Princess Briony, Barrick's twin sister, finds herself in no less danger at the court of Tessis in Syan. When those close to her fall dead from poisoning, she is to learn the true extent of the betrayal surrounding her. Her only option is to flee, as all those in Tessis turn against her ? all, that is, except for one important ally. Meanwhile, the assault upon Southmarch has truly begun. Yasammez, the formidable head of the Qar army, has ordered the attack, believing that the pact between humans and Qar has been broken. Unless Ferras Vansen, Captain of the Southmarch Royal Guard, can convince her otherwise, the humans are sure to meet the dark end that has been promised to them ...

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Dragon Haven
Robin Hobb
March 11

I'm certainly not going to read this soon but it still worth mentioning. This is the second book of the Rain Wilds Chronicles (The Dragon Keeper was released last year). It takes place after the Liveship Traders trilogy. Here again, I'm not up to date, I have the first trilogy from Hobb and I have Ship of Magic in by bookcase but someday.... For now :

The dragon keepers and the fledgling dragons are forging a passage up the treacherous Rain Wild River. They are in search of the mythical Elderling city of Kelsingra, and are accompanied by the liveship Tarman, its captain, Leftrin, and a group of hunters who must search the forests for game with which to keep the dragons fed. With them are Alise, who has escaped her cold marriage to the cruel libertine Hest Finbok in order to continue her study of dragons, and Hest's amanuensis, Bingtown dandy, Sedric. Rivalries and romances are already threatening to disrupt the band of explorers: but external forces may prove to be even more dangerous. Chalcedean merchants are keen to lay hands on dragon blood and organs to turn them to medicines and profit. Their traitor has infiltrated the expeditionand will stop at nothing to obtain the coveted body parts. And then there are the Rain Wilds themselves: mysterious, unstable and ever perilous, its mighty river running with acid, its jungle impenetrable and its waterways uncharted. Will the expedition reach their destination unscathed? Does the city of Kelsingra even exist? Only one thing is certain: the journey will leave none of the dragons nor their human companions unchanged by the experience.

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The Many Deaths of the Black Company
Glen Cook
January 10

This is the last omnibus of the Black Company series by Glen Cook. This edition contains Water Sleeps and Soldier Live.

"Let me tell you who I am, on the chance that these scribblings do survive. . . . "I am Murgen, Standardbearer of the Black Company, though I bear the shame of having lost that standard in battle. I am keeping these Annals because Croaker is dead, One–Eye won’t, and hardly anyone else can read or write. I will be your guide for however long it takes the Shadowlanders to force our present predicament to its inevitable end...."

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The Conqueror's Shadow
Ari Marmell
February 23

A book about the life of a world conqueror after his victory? Sounds promising a lot. Ari Marmell wrote books in the D&D and Magic: The Gathering universe and this is his first non tie-in / shared-world novel. With a premise like this, I can only point out to the blurb :

They called him the Terror of the East. His past shrouded in mystery, his identity hidden beneath a suit of enchanted black armor and a skull-like helm, Corvis Rebaine carved a bloody path through Imphallion, aided by Davro, a savage ogre, and Seilloah, a witch with a taste for human flesh. No shield or weapon could stop his demon-forged axe. And no magic could match the spells of his demon slave, Khanda.

Yet just when ultimate victory was in his grasp, Rebaine faltered. His plans of conquest, born from a desire to see Imphallion governed with firmness and honesty, shattered. Amid the chaos of a collapsing army, Rebaine vanished, taking only a single hostage—the young noblewoman Tyannon—to guarantee his escape.

Seventeen years later, Rebaine and Tyannon are married, living in obscurity and raising their children, a daughter and a son. Rebaine has put his past behind him, given up his dreams of conquest. Not even news of Audriss—an upstart warlord following Rebaine’s old path of conquest—can stir the retired warrior to action.

Until his daughter is assaulted by Audriss’s goons.

Now, to rescue the country he once tried to conquer, Rebaine once more dons the armor of the Terror of the East and seeks out his former allies. But Davro has become a peaceful farmer. Seilloah has no wish to leave her haunted forest home. And Khanda . . . well, to describe his feelings for his former master as undying hatred would be an understatement.

But even if Rebaine can convince his onetime comrades to join him, he faces a greater challenge: Does he dare to reawaken the part of him that gloried in cruelty, blood, and destruction? With the safety of his family at stake, can he dare not to?

The Crown Conspiracy review

The Crown Conspiracy is the first published work of author Michael J. Sullivan. This is the starting volume of The Riyria Revelations series which will span 6 novels. The book was released in October 2008 and the follow-ups were or will be available at approximately 6 month interval. Currently released are Avempartha (April 2009) and Nyphron Rising (September 2009), with The Emerald Storm coming up in April 2010.

Royce and Hadrian are two professional thieves working on their own, aside from the organized guilds. One is taciturn and self-possessed while the other one is talkative, brawny and adventurous. After being asked to perform a theft at the king's palace, they find themselves imprisoned on false pretense. They will be freed by an unlikely ally to protect the heir to the kingdom. Roaming the countryside in search of a millennia old wizard they will meet with Myron, the only monk who survived the slaughter of his abbey. With his help, they will try to restore the crown to the prince.

There wasn't a tremendous hype surrounding Sullivan first novel, but step by step, the book made its way around the blogosphere and was eventually very well received and much talked about. Although I enjoyed the novel, I'm not as ecstatic about it as most of the other reviewers. I think the whole series will probably appeal more to me than this instance alone. The fact that it was a short read probably has something to do with it. It's not a fault but it can shorten considerably the time to get immersed in Sullivan's world and appreciate the characters.

The Crown Conspiracy can be classified as traditional fantasy. One of the best comparisons for me with this novel is Greg Keyes's A Kingdom of Thorn and Bone series. The use of Myron the scholar/monk reminded me quite of lot of Stephen Daridge (and there's this power-hungry behind the scene church...). For "use" I mean as way of helping the characters decipher ancient texts, be a "portable" source of knowledge and produce a good quantity of history for the world. I felt at times that it was overly exploited but in the end it served the worldbuilding well (even though it's still a little thin) and probably helped with the pace since info dumping was not necessary aside from Myron's discussions.

There was a scene that I felt was a bit too much taken from LOTR. Maybe it was intentional but I'm not sure. Everybody remembers when Gandalf and his fellowship find themselves in front of the Hollin gate of Kazad-dum. Aside from the monster in the lake, the scene in The Crown Conspiracy is feeling strikingly similar. They even try to open the door with 'dwarven words'...

I enjoyed following most of the protagonists. Even though the main characters of Royce and Hadrian remain mysterious at the end, I connected with them. The duo is entertaining with just the right touch of humour. The "villains" of the novel felt slightly too limited but not too dumb to undermine the story.

Magic is often used in fantasy as a safe conduit, but not in this case. The all knowledgeable monk take this responsibility. For me, that was a plus. Speaking of magic, it is present but mostly as a prospect for the future books of the series.

The writing is effective with only so many descriptions. The third person perspective felt right and the short chapters helped to create a real page turner with a faster pace. One of the best moments of The Crown Conspiracy for me was the final convergence. This was ably done by the author. The chapters were even shorter and the pace increased to create a great finale, I was hooked.

I would recommend this book mostly if you intend to read the full series, although I hope to confirm this soon since I have only read the first book so far. This is good old fantasy well executed and just addictive enough to make me want more.

Technically, I loved the AMI cover by Michael J. Sullivan himself, an uncommon art style in fantasy which is much appreciated. The paperback edition of the novel is 296 pages. The map of Elan is beautifully detailed and is also available on the web (link at the index).

The Crown Conspiracy review score :

Characterization............. 7.5 /10
World building............... 6.5 / 10
Magic system................. 7 / 10
Story.............................. 7 / 10
Writing........................... 7.5 / 10
Overall (not an average) 7.5 / 10

Enjoy!

Micheal J Sullivan page

Numbers - Books backlog

This is the number of physical books in my backlog (also have a couple of audio books in store). I need to switch to a job where I can read all day long. Here's a peak :

Brian Ruckley -the whole Godless World trilogy
Brandon Sanderson - last 2 books of his Mistborn trilogy and Warbreaker
Glen Cook - the three Black Company Omnibus and the first Dread Empire
Robert V.S. Reddick - The Red Wolf Conspiracy
Scott Lynch - Red Seas Under Red Skies
Brent Weeks - the last two books of the Night Angel trilogy
Adrian Tchaikovsky - the whole Shadows of the Apt series
Ken Scholes - Canticle
N.K. Jemisin - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Lev Grossman - The Magicians
Carlos Ruiz Zafón - Shadow of the Wind
Andrzej Sapkowski - Last Wish and Blood of Elves
et cetera

Let's poll with this. Fellow readers I ask you this :

How many books do you have on your backlog?

- None to 10
- 11 to 25
- 25 to 50
- A full library
- None and all since I rent them

The Way of Shadows review

The Way of Shadows is the first book of the Night Angel trilogy (followed by Shadow's Edge and Beyond the Shadows) by first time novelist Brent Weeks. The whole trilogy was released at the same time in 2008 and eventually in omnibus version. His next novel, Black Prism should be released in 2010 and is set in a completely different environment.

Kylar Stern is a wetboy, a merciless killer with deadly skills. He rose from the station of a simple guild rat to an assassin apprentice with the help of the ultimate wetboy in town, Durzo Blint. Kylar will have to prove his worth to his master, with death as a price for failure. During his training, he will struggle with friendship, love and morality. He will eventually find himself at the center of prophecy and fight off the invasion of his hometown.

The Way of Shadows was tagged by some as a YA novel... not sure why, probably because it focuses on a boy from age 10 to 20 but then that's not what categorize a YA novel. Anyway, it's not, at least in my opinion that's grown up fantasy. That being said, this novel doesn't start as fully 'epic' but the term can eventually be applied to the book and from what I gather, the rest of the trilogy gets even wider in scope.

This story is the genesis of a professional killer, his transformation from a difficult boyhood to his full fledged training. I always liked to learn in details how someone came up to be as he is. In this instance, it is admirably achieved. Decidedly, this assassin has imperfections and they are entirely believable human flaws. That's one of the aspects of this book that I liked the most. Although this is a fantasy world, the protagonists felt real in their mistake and success. Kylar, his master Durzo, his love interest Elene and even the prophet Dorian make vital decisions during the book and we get to see the consequences over the years. There is only one point which comes to contradict all that "authenticity", people are perhaps too hard to kill. A considerable amount of characters come back from the dead and you're never sure if someone is unquestionably dead.

The narrative is essentially presented with the PoV of Kylar. At key events throughout the tale, a couple of different PoV are used. For me, the character choices in those instances felt really appropriate. The names of the protagonists are afflicted with a lot of K and G. and as Brent said himself in an interview, this could have been worked on a bit. This make the names and locations seems slightly too classic in term of fantasy literature. This is not the only typical element used by the author (a mythic magical sword for example), but still, I felt he used them deftly and in his own way.

I think there's a small lack of humour in the novel. The duo of Dorian and Feir could be called funny but aside from this, the tone is serious. The state of things being as they are in a young assassin life in a harsh city, it's to be expected to have a grim ambiance, but still...

Worldbuilding is more concentrated around the city of Cenaria and its inhabitants, but Midcyru looks like vast world with a profound history. We get to scratch a little more than the surface and there was enough for me to feel immersed in Week's world. The city in which the majority of the story evolves is skillfully depicted. Religion, politics and conspiracy play a significant role in the development of the story. I was drawn in easily.

The magic system integrated in this tale is intriguing and detailed in a rather simple and precise way. Without spoiling, let's say that you need three aptitudes to be able to use magic and each of these are regulated by the power the user can possess. Mages eventually run out of 'magical fuel', which is something I appreciated about this system, making them not too almighty. Magical artifacts also play a very important role in the book.

Why should you read this book? If you like stories with action and some kick ass magically enhanced assassins coated with a layer of intrigue and humanity, this is for you. This is an easy read and I don't mean this as a default. This tale is entertaining and compelling. The writing may not be in the most extravagant form but it drives the plot nicely enough.

Technically, the Orbit cover by Peter Cotton is quite representative... although... a hooded figure for an assassin book? While not very original, at least it looks kind of nice. The mass market paperback edition of the novel is 645 pages. The map is a nice addition although I could not find it on the web.

The Way of Shadows review score :

Characterization............. 8 /10
World building............... 7.5 / 10
Magic system................. 7.5 / 10
Story.............................. 8 / 10
Writing........................... 7.5 / 10

Overall (not an average) 8 / 10

Enjoy!

Brent Weeks page

Last Argument of Kings cover art

Joe Abercrombie revealed the last cover art by artist Chris McGrath and Designer Laura Brett for his First Law trilogy. The cover shows Jezal dan Luthar (he looks a bit like a young Sean Bean don't you think?). Looks great, I love it!

By the way, it's the UK mass-market paperback version of the Last Argument of Kings. Joe posted the pic here on his blog. You take a peek at the first two covers here :

Before they are Hanged
The Blade Itself

February reading-reviews and TSS negative review

Cold and snowy morning in Quebec, time to post a little update.

During this year first month, I posted three reviews for fantasy novels I read that were released prior to 2010. Today, I finished reading The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J. Sullivan and yesterday my listening to the audiobook of Midwinter by Matthew Sturges was concluded. Having said that, it means that I now have three reviews to write (with the addition of The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks). I hope to have all of them posted in the two following weeks.

Following this, for my listening pleasure while I walk to work, I'll try A Darkness Forged in Fire by Chris Evans and I will start reading The Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd. This brings me to my next subject, the books of February.

Last month, no books caught my attention and in February, there were three. One of them can only be on my 'To read' list since it's the fourth book of the Shadow of the Apt series by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Salute the Dark, and I still haven't read the first three. Soon I hope. Here's the blurb :

The vampiric sorcerer Uctebri has at last got his hands on the Shadow Box and can finally begin his dark ritual - a ritual that the Wasp-kinden Emperor believes will grant him immortality - but Uctebri has his own plans both for the Emperor and the Empire.

The massed Wasp armies are on the march, and the spymaster Stenwold must see which of his allies will stand now that the war has finally arrived. This time the Empire will not stop until a black and gold flag waves over Stenwold's own home city of Collegium.

Tisamon the Weaponsmaster is faced with a terrible choice: a path that could lead him to abandon his friends and his daughter, to face degradation and loss, but that might possibly bring him before the Wasp Emperor with a blade in his hand - but is he being driven by Mantis-kinden honour, or manipulated by something more sinister?

Next on my watch list will be my first 2010 released novel. With some great reviews from fellow bloggers so far, N.K Jemisin debut novel The Hundred-Thousand Kingdoms could live up to it's 'not so exaggerated' hype. The blurb you say? Here you go:

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky - a palace above the clouds where gods' and mortals' lives are intertwined. There, to her shock, Yeine is named one of the potential heirs to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with a pair of cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history. But it's not just mortals who have secrets worth hiding and Yeine will learn how perilous the world can be when love and hate - and gods and mortals - are bound inseparably.

In conclusion, an aside about a novel that made much noise last week, at least from Niallalot (N.R. Alexander) at The Speculative Scotsman. There was tremendous hype for The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman, and then Niallalot posted a negative review of the book (here). No problem there aside from a few comments about readers that mentioned they were not going to bother with the book after reading his review (myself included). The reviewer was not really surprised by the power of a negative review but by looking at the reaction about the comments from author Sam Sykes and other readers, he thought that he ought to clarify the situation. I think this is completely understandable, although maybe stretched a bit too far.


I do not know anybody who would read a criticism of a book and be influenced by it without taking account of the opinion of the critic in comparison with his. At least, as Sam Sykes states, (and if I understood correctly) it would be a shame. Sometimes, a negative review can even have the contrary effect, i.e. give the desire to certain readers to buy the book because by judging the criteria which made the critic dislike the book, they would find out that it is in disagreement with what they seek in a book. For my part, after reading the review of Niallalot, I knew that this book would probably not be to my taste. I believe that I share several interests with the critic about what I'm looking for in a fantasy novel. Moreover, this is invaluable to have reviewers who are able to explain in details what they don't like about a book and who stand by their belief.

Being able to avoid a poor book according to what I perceived in a review and be able to read one of the numerous and excellent novels which are available is a necessity. So again, thanks Mr. Alexander.

You can read the follow-up and Niallalot take about the situation on The Speculative Scotsman here.

The Fires of Heaven ebook cover art

The fourth cover art for the ebook release of The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan was just unveiled by Tor.com. It depicts Moraine and I have to admit that I love it! Great artwork. The artist behind this work is Dan Dos Santos.

Find out more about the creation of this cover art (there's even several sketches) at Tor.com.

You can see the first three ebook covers here :

The Eye of the World
The Great Hunt
The Dragon Reborn

Round of covers

Some new cover art were released to the world since the start of the year, so here's a little round-up to catch-up.

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Stephen Deas posted yesterday on his website the cover art (by Paul Young) for his upcoming new series, The Thief-Taker's Apprentice. The infamous hooded figure is back, but this time he's not alone, he's with another hooded figure. Well it seems everyone is into those nowadays. Stephen is joking about that on this post about the cover. Click the pic for a very high quality image.

To continue with Mr. Deas, here is the cover for the US release of The Adamantine Palace (my review here). The book is now available. Even though I liked the UK cover a lot, I find this one to be quite gorgeous too.

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Next on the spotlight is Celia Friedman cover art for the upcoming mass market paperback release of Wings of Wrath (august in the UK). It's in the vein of the first book of the Magister series, Feast of Souls. Orbit posted about the cover art here. Not bad.

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The following cover was graciously offered to us by Mihai at Dark Wolf's Fantasy reviews (here). It's the international french cover art for King's Dragon by Kate Elliot (Le Dragon du Roi), illustrated by Didier Graffet. It's the kind of good old fantasy art with a knight in an almost impossible to wear kick ass looking armor. It's cool (even thought it's not really "artistic" and original) and reminds me of the cover for Zrozeni Zimy (Winterbirth - Brian Ruckley), one of the covers I liked the most last year (my Bests of 2009).

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Finally for now, another cover (the bottom left one in the following pic) for The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick was unveiled and posted in the blogosphere by Mad Hatter (here). This time it's a mass market paperback edition and here are the different covers so far (I prefer the top left) :

Tonight

Finishing everything you read and new poll

My last poll is over. The question was "Do you finish all the books you read?"

It seems that a majority of fantasy readers are putting some books aside. The question could be pushed even further by asking why do you put them down. The answer would probably be an overwhelming majority of "because the book is bad or simply not to my taste" but I could be mistaken. In my case, even though it didn't happen often, in every case of abandon it was because the book was not to my linking and rarely because its awful. I even finished the whole Sword of Truth series even though I found the books were very bad since half of the series. I had to know how this ended even if it a was only a big disappointment (although this could be explained by a lack of reading material at the time). I never put aside a novel for any other reason such as "it may not be the best time to read this". I think that if I ever do that, I probably won't ever return to it.

So the result of that last poll was a score of 58% for those who don't finish all the books they read and 41% for those who finish them all. I was surprised to find out that there was this much people finishing them all. Maybe they usually pick up the right books for them. I admit that over the years and with the help of a plethora of great blogs full of useful information, my choices have become more successful.

What is your point of view on this?

On to the next topic. I recently posted about some extracts or excerpts from authors on their website (or even from fellow bloggers). I haven't read many extracts before going into a novel but it could be useful. I remember that with at least two Malazan novels, I read the prologue on the web prior to the release of the book and my anticipation grew but I already had pre-ordered the book. I think that if we could compare movies to books, a trailer could probably be kind of a synopsis for a novel and if I continue with that line of thought, a book extract would be like a 5 minute opening.

Thus, I think that excerpts are really useful and I intend to read more of them in the future. It can be a great tool beside the bloggers review. A nicely chosen extract can create a good hype. Enough of my opinion :

Do you read extracts before buying a book?