Bledsoe's Dark Jenny cover and blurb

I read the two first Eddie LaCrosse novels this year and loved them both (The Sword-Edged Blonde - Burn Me Deadly reviews). The third book in the series, Dark Jenny is set for release on April 2011. I looked for a blurb or some cover art recently but alas found none until today, when I received the Tor Winter 2011 catalog. The cover is not in the same style as the first two books and I hope to be able to post the real deal soon(UPDATE : Tor sent me the real cover).

As for the blurb, I can only say that it sounds like the same good old Eddie and that's what I'm looking for in a La Crosse novel! Here you go :

Freelance Sword Jockey Eddie LaCrosse is in the wrong place at the wrong time while conducting an undercover investigation on the island kingdom of Grand Bruan. When a poisoned apple kills a member of the queen’s personal guard, Eddie becomes the prime suspect in the murder. He must do some fast talking to keep his head attached to his shoulders. Trying to clear his name and find the real killer, Eddie becomes embroiled in a nasty political scandal. Someone is trying to ruin Queen Jennifer, and they don’t care who they kill along the way.

The more Eddie digs, the more twisted the lies become, until Eddie finds himself caught between two opposing armies. The fate of the entire kingdom lies in his hands.

Murder, betrayal, and magic—just another day on the job for Sword Jockey Eddie LaCrosse

.

Newton's The Book of Transformation cover

Mark Charan Newton posted earlier today (on his blog here) two drafts for the cover of the third book in the Legends of the Red Sun series, The Book of Transformation. The character depicted on the cover is a new one. Although I loved most of the multiple covers for the first novel, Nights of Villjamur (the first UK hardcover city art being the best imho), I didn't really like the cover art of the second book, City of Ruin. The UK paperback cover is in the same art style as this last one(s) (you can look at it again here).

So which one should he choose (don't forget to comment on his blog)? Even though I'm still not a huge fan of the "real" girl on the cover, I prefer the first one, the close-up. Here you go (the book will be out in July 2011) :

The Black Prism review

Brent Weeks is already a notable voice in the fantasy field. His first series, The Night Angel trilogy, was received nicely enough, myself included even though I have only read the first book so far (review here). This new sequence set in another world, titled The Lightbringer series, starts off with The Black Prism. I enjoyed the read and you can count myself as a fast buyer for the follow-up and would firmly recommend it, but alas, I also have to put the words "some tiny reserves" in the phrase.

Gavin Guile is the Prism. He's the one representing Orholam on earth and the only person that can balance the colors of light used as a magic source for drafting luxin. On the eve of going on a hunt for a rogue drafter, a disturbing letter find it's way to the Chromeria, the drafters' home. Gavin will have to return to Garriston, site of the famed final battle of the false prism war, accompanied by his ex-fiance now bodyguard Karris. One of his goals as a Prism being the restoration of Garriston, he will have to start a war against a new King, surrounded by Kip his "nephew", Liv the daughter of his old enemy finest General and the head of the Blackguards, Commander Ironfist.

Kip is the farm boy being destined for more. However, since he's not the prime protagonist and so clumsy in every aspect of his persona, I forgot the fact swiftly and grew to like this unlikely boy. His new “mentor”, Gavin Guile is the shining star of the story. His narrative is handled with more skill by the author and he feels like a righteous human being with a dark past, looking for redemption and understanding the burden and responsibility of power. He becomes even more compelling since he's almost all-powerful but can't always use it to his advantage, creating some of the best situations of the book. Around them is Ironfist, the committed bodyguard who is a bit too stereotypical, Karris the broken love, Liv the young drafter in search of someone to believe in and more. A great cast, if not slightly falling into clichés at times.

In fact, I could not really discern a major improvement in Weeks’ prose, but I can say that it's at least as good as his previous work if not better. One of the elements I liked from his writing in The Way of Shadows was how he really made Durzo look "kick-ass" as a assassin. I actually find it fun sometimes (I may insist a bit on this last word) to have flashy protagonists. In this instance, the same can be said about Gavin. He his a "kick-ass" drafter in his prime, not the usual patriarchal head of his religion with mysterious powers.

I aslo remember writing that WoS had a small lack of humour. Well in this area, even though it's not always a necessity in epic fantasy, The Black Prism delivers. Kip is the source of many grins, although it's usually about comments concerning his weight or his adolescent discovery of the feminine attraction. Don't worry, it's handled skillfully enough. This lighter tone is also surrounding a couple of scenes with Gavin. Altogether, it helped me to connect with the characters.

The world they live in is divided in seven Satrapies, representing the seven colors used by the drafters (magic users in chromaturgy), blue, orange, yellow, red, green, sub-red and superviolet. The color or colors a drafter can use affects his emotions and way of life in the long run. In the Chromeria, where they are trained, everything is considered so that light is exposed to its maximum, from mirrors to pivoting buildings. Everything links together nicely.

Then, you can't speak about the world-building without commenting further on the magic system. Two things come to my mind about this, it's a very imaginative, well-thought and original system but it gets in the way of the storytelling at times. Since it's not that simple, the author has to manage many explanations throughout the book, infodumps. Hopefully, at the end of the run you'll be well acquainted with it, meaning that the second book should be concentrated on the characters and the story evolution.

As for the story itself, I felt it was a preparation for big things to come and a general introduction in term of character positioning. I was compelled to go through several chapters without putting the book down and since much of them are quite short, you can blast through it quite fast. I only had some problem with Gavin's goal of giving back to the people of Garriston. I didn't connect with it, it felt hollow for me somehow. However, the tale narrated in The Black Prism is one full of surprises. For many of those, you can probably uncover the “secrets” before the punch is revealed. Although, for the characters in the story, it feels normal that they don't see it coming. I grew more eager to read about the reactions generated by startling revelations than learning about it when it’s exposed.

In the end, The Black Prism is a fast paced epic adventure concentrated around its magic system but with a bunch of entertaining characters. If you don’t buy into this kind of fantasy novels usually, this one probably won’t reconcile you with it.

Technically, the cover of the book is nice looking, representing at least something within the novel... well maybe not exactly but close enough. The book stands at 626 pages and a decent map of the Seven Satrapies is included.

The Black Prism review score :

Characterization............. 8 /10
World building............... 8.5 / 10
Magic system................. 8.5 /10
Story.............................. 7.5 / 10
Writing........................... 7.5 / 10

Overall (not an average) 8 / 10

Enjoy!
Brent Weeks page

Above and below anthology

David Anthony Durham posted an interesting bit of news for readers of short-fiction anthologies. He was asked by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer to write a story that fits this theme :

ABOVE AND BELOW: FLOATING WORLDS & SUNKEN CITIES, edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer - Whether it’s myths of kingdoms in the sky or of strange subterranean realms, exotic and fantastical places have captured readers imaginations for centuries. From Jules Verne and Edgar Allen Poe to modern times, that which waits above or below has enticed readers with its promise of mystery, adventure, dark beauty, horror, and fantasy. Join some of today’s top writers as they take you to the heights, and down into the depths.

The writers already on board include : Alan Campbell, Jay Lake, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Cherie Priest, N.K. Jemisin, Alastair Reynolds, Joe R. Lansdale, and Steven Erickson.

Sounds promising, but no date so far.

The White Luck Warrior UK cover art

R. Scott Bakker posted the new cover for the UK release of The White Luck Warrior, second book of the Aspect Emperor trilogy. I think it's way better that the US art (at the end of the post). The blurb was just slightly updated from the one I posted back in the summer. The novel is set for a release in the first quarter of 2011.

Imager review

Imager is the first novel in the Imager Portfolio trilogy by L.E. Modesitt Jr., a very prolific author with over fifty novels written since the eighties. The book is my first taste of Modesitt, which I decided to pick up in audiobook format after reading a couple of interesting reviews about this particular work. I admit that I knew the name but not really anything about his previous novels. The two follow-ups, Imager's Challenger and Imager's Intrigue are already out.

Imager is the story of Rhennthyl, a journeyman apprentice to a master portraiturist suddenly becoming aware that he can image things out of nowhere. As for many new imagers, after performing possibly dangerous imaging without the necessary knowledge, Rhenn will find himself taking the road to Imagisle, to enter the Collegium Imago, with a career as an Imager as a last resort. Swiftly going up the ranks of the Collegium, he will spend most of his time in training to eventually find himself entangled in assassinations attempts, while trying to find love and do his job as a security messenger at the council of L'Excelsis.

The magic system, built from the concept that certain people can actually "image" (create) things pictured in their mind into reality is at the heart of the tale told in Imager. While being sufficiently original to support the imaginative side of the book, the journey in which Rhenn find himself to become a master of this particular discipline is not particularly exciting and seems too often redundant.

The first years narrated in the novel describe the life of Rhenn as a journeyman portraiturist. This almost made me put the book down. Pages after pages about the young man making portrait made me feel like the model posing without moving for hours; bored. However, when Rhenn is going about the city, things seem significantly more dynamic. Hopefully, an accident happens and Rhenn's career will be reoriented toward the magical art of imaging.

Then again, when Rhenn studies start at the Collegium, the books returns to its redundant state. The guy wakes up, train, study, speak with a couple of fellow students and end up being lectured by Master Dichartyn, again and again. Then on the weekends, he will meet with his family or with his love interest, the Pharsi (kind of pun for Far-see I think) Seliora. At least, the assassination attempts of his life will eventually add a dose of action and intrigue into the narrative.

Among the side cast, the most compelling character is Master Dichartyn, the gruff teacher with a knack to find young imager with potential in anti-spy business. Some of his conversations with Rhenn are really interesting and you feel that he is taking his apprentice to another level and training him to be someone quite important to the Collegium. However, most of the rest of the cast at the Collegium are too seldom present or have only small interactions with Rhenn to be worth taking note.

At least, Rhenn will have to learn to use his imaging skills in imaginative ways. He will create poisons, fill someone's heart with air and learn to put up invisible shields against bullets or other imager's creations. His training and uses of shields end up being the finest uses of the magic system by the author. It doesn't really get farther than this but it's built to be ultimately something of great interest.

In term of general storyline, Imager is pretty straightforward but tries to create some suspense with Rhenn's investigation in his own case of assassination attempt. The problem is that even though I was interested in seeing how it would play out, I found the outcome to be falling flat. Nonetheless, the love story blooming between him and Seliora is well handled. However, with the second book starting there, I could be tempted to give the series another shot.

The book is set in a world on the verge of modernism, i.e. the people are still using coaches but they travel long distances in train and where they can draw a pistol as well as a sword. The political situation of the country of Solidar is explained thoroughly, ruled by the council of High Holders in the capital city of L'Excelsis, where all of the action takes place. A worthy effort in term of world-building, more so since Modesitt puts a lot of attention to details. Almost every meal taken in the span of the book is meticulously described as are all the wine. Most of the dresses worn by the ladies, the landscape of the city and most of indoor locations are also meticulously made vivid. Sadly, this tend to slow the pace quite frequently.

Finally, a small aside... as a French speaker, I found the naming of the days of the week, the months and city streets to be annoying. It really is a replication of the French words, just changed enough to be slightly bothering.... anyway, this should not trouble you if you don't speak French.

Technically, every chapter starts with an insight about the main topic covered in the chapter. Some of those epigraphs are interesting enough. The cover for the book is nice, in line with most of L.E. Modesitt Jr books. The novel stands at 432 pages and includes some maps of the important districts of the city of L'Excelsis. As for the audiobook narration, its by William Dufris and it's masterfully recited, with nice changes of voice between the protagonist and just the right intonations during the narration to make this slow pace read more interesting to listen to.

Imager review score :

Characterization............. 7 /10
World building............... 8.5 / 10
Magic system................. 8.5 /10
Story.............................. 6.5 / 10
Writing........................... 7 / 10

Overall (not an average) 6.5 / 10

L.E. Modesitt Jr. page

Game of Thrones tv series teaser

I don't need to add anything to the two videos... this simply looks amazing, I can't be more exited to watch this! The Game of Thrones seems to be going down the right road toward success in term of book-to-tv translation!

The "Raven" preview :



"In production" video :

Farlander review

Farlander, Col Buchanan first fantasy novel, was pointed out a couple of times since the start of the year as a contender for best fantasy debut in 2010. I think it deserves even more press since it's the work of a promising new voice in the genre.

Nico is in trouble. He sought city life in Bhar-Kos, but in a town occupied but enemy forces, one can only get so many openings. The opportunity will eventually present itself in the liberating form of Ash, a Roshun. This gathering of assassins is at the heart of every revenge being executed in the name of those who have been protected by the Seal they bought for protection. Following the old man despite his unwillingness, Nico will hone antagonistic abilities in a hidden monastery. He will eventually take the field and discover that the work of the Roshun is way more exhausting and dangerous than he expected.

The summary of Farlander's story sound pretty familiar but is should not stop you. Yes it's about assassins but we are not reading about the tale of their incredible deeds, we are reading about the men behind the swords. The two main protagonists are Nico and his master Ash. They are an unlikely pair, the master not really wanting an apprentice and Nico following him for reasons outside of his own choosing. This creates an awkward relationship at first, eventually growing into respect for each other beyond the master-apprentice bond.

Nico is one of the most genuine characters I've read about in a while. He is not the prodigal son and even though he begins as the wandering farm boy, he won't grow into an extraordinary man of prophecy. Buchanan wrote a character with heart, failings, trying to find himself and struggling with his coming into manhood within a band of elite killers. The humanity behind the boy makes me believe in the character in a way that I have not felt very often. His reactions and those of the young prince Kirkus near the ending (I won't spoil) are natural and not always heroic, it feels authentic.

Then, Nico is surrounded by Ash, who may remain slightly too much like the silent and mysterious skilled warrior we see oftentimes. However, this bad-ass old assassin is also charmed by the boy and the result will push him to do what's right at the cost of some of his principles. The young apprentice will also find friendship in the form of Aléas, and love interest when finding himself near Serèse, the sibling of Aléas mentor, the tough and pride Barracha. All in all, a great bunch of characters. Nico's uncle, Bahn has some chapters for himself, but they don't really connect with the whole plot... interesting but kind of weird choice.

I felt at first a great distance between the good protagonists and the seemingly evil religious-empire rulers but the addition of some characters from within the empire eventually blur the lines. For example, Ché, a young assassin (yeah, there's a lot of them) shows a bit of the other side differently from the dictatorial god-incarnate-playing rulers of the empire and their unforgiving generals and priests.

If you read about Col's past (in a small summary) on his website, you can understand where some of the ideas or concepts for the book came. It shows in some of the Roshun training in the monastery. However, much of the setting in which the protagonists found themselves is a medieval world with a touch of modernism, mostly gunpowder. The religious-political background is well established and the world seems to be filled with various exotic nations and history. We have seen this mix a couple of times but the presence of zeppelins, trams runned by horses and sky steeples creates a unique blend for the author. There's especially one scene with Nico and Ash in the airship that is quite entertaining.

Magic is not a primordial part of the book. There are some instances of mysterious events (dream talking between great distances or seers visions) that could only be explained with some sort magical elements or mystical theories but this is not an aspect driving the world or its inhabitants.

Buchanan writing is precise and concise but with ample style. The right dose of descriptions is used and the fluidity of the prose can only be complimented. Everything from the choice and alternation of PoV, length of chapters and vocabulary simply feels accomplished. If you're looking for a well written fantasy novel, serious but funny at times, set in a finely crafted world dominated by an expansionist empire, betrayals, mysteries and inhabited by authentic protagonists all coated with a nice layer of realistic human emotions and reactions, Farlander will be a blast for you.

And the ending is really awesome.

Technically, I found the cover of the book to be gorgeous even with the infamous hooded assassin portrayed. The novel stands at 388 pages and a very nice map of some alternate Mediterranean Europe :) Midères is included (love it!). The map can also be found here.

Farlander review score :

Characterization............. 9 /10
World building............... 9 / 10
Magic system................. 7.5 /10
Story.............................. 8 / 10
Writing........................... 8.5 / 10

Overall (not an average) 8.5 / 10

Enjoy!

Col Buchanan page

The Gathering Storm ebook cover art

Irene Gallo posted the last cover art for the new ebooks of The Wheel of Time (at least until Towers of Midnight is upon us). The Gathering Storm cover was done by Todd Lockwood (his page here).

The scene depicted is Egwene fighting a To'Raken in the white tower. I don't remember reading about Egwene holding a magic wand?!? Anyway, not bad, I kind of like it. Here's a glimpse of the thinking behind the work (click here for the post at Tor.com) :

Egwene’s coming into her own—as Amyrlin and as a force for the Light to be reckoned with, but also simply as an adult, fully-developed character—has been a long and sometimes tortuous progression that has spanned the entirety of the series, and, in my opinion, ultimately ranks second only to Rand’s himself in its centrality to the series. Her triumph, at the moment depicted, is awesome not only because of how much ass she is kicking right then, but because it represents a fundamental turning point for her character—and, therefore, for Tarmon Gai’don itself.

The White Tower, the supposed ultimate bastion of the Light against the Shadow, has teetered on the brink of succumbing to corruption and collapse for so long now that we hardly remember it doing anything besides sucking. And then here comes Egwene, proving herself a true leader and fearsome warrior, and being everything that the Tower is supposed to be, and isn’t, and the Aes Sedai know it. Her courage is what turns it all around. She’s saving the Tower right here, in every way possible, and by extension, saving the forces of Light themselves.

Taking all of them into account, it was a very successful project.

You can see the first eleven ebook covers here :

The Eye of the World
The Great Hunt
The Dragon Reborn
The Shadow Rising
The Fires of Heaven
Lord of Chaos
A Crown of Swords
The Path of Daggers
Winter's Heart
Crossroads of Twilight
Knife of Dreams

The Heroes new extract

Joe Abercrombie posted a new extract on his blog for The Heroes. The first one featured Corporal Tunny (here) and this time we follow several southerners facing the northmen army. Here's the link to the extract and a small glimpse :

Captain Lasmark thrashed through the barley at something between a brisk walk and a jog, the ninth company of the Rostod Regiment following him as best they could, dispatched towards Osrung with the ill-defined order to “get at the enemy!” still ringing in their ears.

The enemy were before them now, alright. Lasmark could see scaling ladders against the mossy logs of the town’s fence. He could see missiles flitting up and down. He could see standards flapping in the wind, a ragged black one over all the rest, the standard of Black Dow himself, the Northern scouts had said. That was when General Jalenhorm had given the order to advance, and made it abundantly clear nothing would change his mind.

Lasmark turned, hoping he wouldn’t trip and catch a mouthful of barley, and urged his men forward with what he hoped was a soldierly jerk of his hand.

“On! On! To the town!”

Everyone knew General Jalenhorm was prone to poorly considered orders, but saying so would have been most unbecoming. Usually officers quietly ignored him where possible and creatively interpreted him where not. But there was no room for interpretation in a direct order to attack.

“Steady men, keep even!”

The Broken Kingdoms first chapter

N.K. Jemisin posted today on her blog (Epiphany 2.0) the first chapter of her upcoming novel The Broken Kingdoms, book 2 of the Inheritance trilogy. The 100th Kingdoms was released earlier this year (my review here) and the follow-up is due out on November 3rd.

Here's the link to the first chapter but note that the author beware of spoilers.

A small glimpse?

I remember that it was midmorning.

Gardening was my favorite task of the day. I’d had to fight for it, because my mother’s terraces were famous throughout the territory and she didn’t quite trust me with them. I couldn’t really blame her; my father still laughed over whatever I’d done to the laundry that one time I tried.

“Oree,” she would say, whenever I sought to prove my independence, “it’s all right to need help. All of us have things we can’t do alone.”

Gardening, however, was not one of those things. It was the weeding that my mother feared, because many of the weeds that grew in Nimaro were similar in form to her most prized herbs. Fakefern had a fan-shaped frond just like sweet ire; running may was spiky and stung the fingers, same as ocherine. But the weeds and the herbs didn’t smell anything alike, so I never understood why she had such trouble with them. On the rare occasions that both scent and feel stumped me, all I had to do was touch a leaf-edge to my lips, or brush my hand through the leaves to hear the way they settled into place, and I would know. Eventually Mama had to admit that I hadn’t tossed out a single good plant all season. I was planning to ask for my own terrace the following year.

I usually lost myself in the gardens for hours, but one morning something was different. I noticed it almost the moment I left the house: a strange, tinny flatness to the air. A pent-breath tension. By the time the storms began, I had forgotten the weeds and sat up, instinctively orienting on the sky.

And I could see.

September releases

This is not a month that will help grow my to-read pile to extreme proportions. Although there is more noteworthy releases in SFF just outside my usual fantasy readings, I have spotted only a few titles. Note that Salute the Dark by Adrian Tchaikovsky will be released in the US in September.

***

Antiphon
Ken Scholes
September 14th

I have read the first novel of the Psalms of Isaak (Lamentation review) and quite enjoyed it. Canticle, the second book is waiting in my bookcase. A series and an author to watch. Here's the third volume :

Nothing is as it seems to be.

The ancient past is not dead. The hand of the Wizard Kings still reaches out to challenge the Androfrancine Order, to control the magick and technology that they sought to understand and claim for their own.

Nebios, the boy who watched the destruction of the city of Windwir, now runs the vast deserts of the world, far from his beloved Marsh Queen. He is being hunted by strange women warriors, while his dreams are invaded by warnings from his dead father.

Jin Li Tam, queen of the Ninefold Forest, guards her son as best she can against both murderous threats, and the usurper queen and her evangelists. They bring a message: Jakob is the child of promise of their Gospel, and the Crimson Empress is on her way.

And in hidden places, the remnants of the Androfrancine order formulate their response to the song pouring out of a silver crescent that was found in the wastes.

***

The Last Page
Anthony Huso
September 1st (UK, august in the US)

I missed this one last month (at least in term of North American release date). My copy should be shipping right now and I think it will be my next read. The Last Page is another contender for best new fantasy debut in 2010. Good review and a small hype building up. Here you go :

The city of Isca is set like a dark jewel in the crown of the Duchy of Stonehold. In this sprawling landscape, the monsters one sees are nothing compared to what's living in the city's sewers. Twenty-three-year-old Caliph Howl is Stonehold's reluctant High King. Thrust onto the throne, Caliph has inherited Stonehold's dirtiest court secrets. He also faces a brewing civil war that he is unprepared to fight. After months alone amid a swirl of gossip and political machinations, the sudden reappearance of his old lover, Sena, is a welcome bit of relief. But Sena has her own legacy to claim: she has been trained from birth by the Shradnae witchocracy - adept in espionage and the art of magical equations writ in blood - and she has been sent to spy on the High King. Yet there are magics that demand a higher price than blood. Sena secretly plots to unlock the Cisrym Ta, an arcane text whose pages contain the power to destroy worlds. The key to opening the book lies in Caliph's veins, forcing Sena to decide if her obsession for power is greater than her love for Caliph. Meanwhile, a fleet of airships creeps ever closer to Isca. As the final battle in a devastating civil war looms and the last page of the Cisrym Ta waits to be read, Caliph and Sena must face the deadly consequences of their decisions. And the blood of these conflicts will stain this and other worlds forever.