Return on the last poll

The last poll question was about the author quotes often found on the top/back covers of fantasy novels. I was interested in getting your opinion on whether or not you are influenced by them when you pick up a book at the library, more so since it happened to me a couple of times in the past. Simply put, are you more compelled to buy a novel with a quote from one of your favorite or to put it back on the shelves in case of an heartily hated author?

The results couldn't be closer... or almost. So, is this marketing technique working for you :

Are you influenced by author cover quotes to buy a book?

Yes - 45%
No - 54 %

Maybe the fact that, more and more, we mostly buy our books online has an effect on the poll results. Since that's what I'm mostly doing, I admit that there's less chance that an author cover quote will influence me in the future if I buy from the web. Reviews, synopsis/blurb and sometimes the covers themselves seem to be more important. Hence, I'll have to come with a similar question about the reviewers soon. There again, 'contextonomy' will come in consideration and I believe that the results will be in the same interval as with this poll.

As for the publishers, half of the readers (judging by that particular sample) stating that the quotes can be influential is probably enough to keep doing it. Anyway they would already have stopped if it was not working.

As for the memorable quotes you may remember, since I didn't really get any answers about it, I'll assume that author cover quotes are not that much memorable.

Now to the topic of overuse of some authors. One anonymous commenter wrote that he was curious as to why I mentioned that I've seen too much cover quotes by Terry Brooks and felt that his perspective on the novels I could choose was kind of diluted. Well I admit I may have been a bit harsh toward Terry Brooks. I have read my share of Shanara novels but I'm not a big fan of the author even though I have nothing against the guy. However, the comment made by anonymous, where he also stated this : " If I recall correctly, he doesn't actually give out too many 'blurbs' as a matter of policy, and is quite particular about which books he does endorse in this manner." made me take a look again at my library. I have seen Tad Williams and Orson Scott Card often enough and even though I didn't find a Terry Brooks cover quotes tsunami, he was among those repeated the most. To his credit, much of the novels I possess with his quotes where right in my alley. The Unremembered by Peter Orullian, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, both Peter V. Brett novels, a couple of Steve Donaldson Covenant novels, Greg Keyes' The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series and Black Prism by Brent Weeks were among the lot. So I think I ought to reconsider Mr. Brooks choice of endorsement. :)

***

All this bring me back to something lighter in tone. Back in January 2010, I collected all the most popular answers to the non -scientific 'statistically short in number' polls I posted in the first year of the blog and came up with a not-to-serious generalized definition of the fantasy reader. Adding to this the answers from last year polls, here's a peak at the fantasy reader (feel free to comment!) :

The fantasy readers like to read epigraphs at the start of a chapter, only a minority of them are also audiobook listeners, most of them were introduced to the epic fantasy genre by Tolkien's work, they prefer series over stand alone novels, they like to have maps included in their books, they have bought at least one book for the cover alone, they do not finish all the books they pick up, they don't generally read extract before reading a novel, they have a backlog of 25 to 50 books, they read 24 to 40 novels a year, they like completely original but simple name for their characters, they read only one novel at a time, they don't think that they should diversify their reading choice from the usual genre, they already read e-books and if they don't it's because of the loss of physical book feeling and they are not really influenced by author quotes when buying a book.

A close enough match for some of you? :)

Spectrum awards

The Spectrum 18 awards winners were announced last week. While not all the winners are directly related to the fantasy novels cover art field, I thought that some names/winners were worth mentioning.

Among them is Kekai Kotaki, one of my favorite artist in the fantasy fields. Recently, his work was observed on the cover of The Unremembered and Sacrifice of the First Sheason by Peter Orullian, Misericorde by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett and The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan e-book edition among others. As for the Spectrum Gold award for Concept art, he won with the Riven Earth concept for the Guild of Wars 2 video game.

As for the books themselves, the Silver award went to Dan dos Santos for his work on White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland. His illustrations were seen on the covers of The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan e-book edition featuring a beautiful Moraine, Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson and many other fantasy novels. Here's the cover art for White Trash Zombie (I'm not so sure about this one....) :

Kudos to both of them. For the full list of winners head on to Tor.com.

Round of covers

Some interesting covers surfaced on the blogs in the last few days, staring thieves and author quotes by Brent Weeks. Here's a round-up :

***

A couple of months ago, I posted the cover for the second book of The Necromancer Chronicles by Amanda Downum, The Bone Palace. While I found the art to be interesting for that particular novel (Larry Rostant is the artist and it is published by Orbit), I'm not so sure about the follow-up, Kingdoms of Dust. I think it has to do with the eyes, looking too much like an edited photo of a model in a magazine... less interesting than the previous slick and gorgeous cover art. Anyway, that's just my taste for a cover.

***

Pat at the Fantasy Hotlist posted the cover for Steven Erikson latest novella, Crack'd Pot Trail. While I truly loved the first three novellas set in the Malazan universe, I'm not sure I'll pick up that title. The story being a kind of metaphor about authors vs critics feel less appealing (and the slightly deceiving reviews that came with it). Now as for the cover art itself, Beauchelain and Korbal are back in the US edition (even though they seem to have less spotlight in this book), which is closer in style with the omnibus edition of the first three stories. The second pic is the UK cover art.

***

Next up a trilogy (called Ancient Blades) written by David Chandler. I didn't know the name before reading about the title at The Wertzone. Chandler is a new pseudonym for horror writer David Wellington. The UK cover art could almost be used for an Abercrombie novel... however I think that the quality is not as good (though not bad). Head on to Adam's blog for the US edition cover art.

***

Finally, Graeme posted the US and UK covers for Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick. I'll let you go to his blog for the US cover but among the two of them, I would clearly choose the following UK edition. That's the kind of cover where you would expect to see the infamous hooded figure :)

The Book of Transformation extract 2

Mark Charan Newton, author of the fabulous two first novels of the Legend of the Red Sun (Nights of Villjamur and City of Ruin) posted on his blog the second excerpt for The Book of Transformation. Note that the book will be released in June 2011 (UK).

Full extract here. For a glimpse :

A firework exploded and the sound sent the animals cowering in their cages and rattling the bars in a feral chorus. Lan strolled along the drearily lit dust-track underneath the arena, to check that the hybrids were not too distressed. It was freezing, and the sounds from the half empty arena seemed hollow in a way that reminded her once again of the near-pointlessness of her life in the show.

To one side, a two-headed cat growled at her meekly. Lan paused and put both her hands between the bars to rub each skull, calming the striped beast. It scratched one nose against her hand in utter contentment. She glanced aside at the rows of bars that glinted dully in the light of several cressets. How did these poor creatures feel trapped, barely witnessing sunlight, and with hardly any food?

That goes for both of us. Rations decreased every now and then; a cost-saving, Astli explained, against the dwindling revenues. Lan’s grey breeches and thick black shirt appeared rather loose on her these days. Not only because of the lack of good sustenance for the performers, but because she didn’t like to eat under the suspicious gaze of the others. How long could she keep this up for?

The Digital Era

This is it, I'm going digital! Well, "eyes-wise" at least since you could rightfully state that audiobooks are now digital (I don't listen to them on an old Walkman). When I posted about the results of the poll on e-reading a few months ago, I thought that this day wall still far away. Seems I've finally been picked up by the wave. Anyway, I'll at least give it a try.

I chose to go with the Sony Reader PRS-650 instead of the Amazon Kindle 3. I have nothing against the latter aside from the useless keyboard but I prefer the more solid construction and options of the Sony e-reader. So far I really like the e-ink display, much much better than reading on a tablet.

The first e-book I'll read is The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham (my first taste of the author).

So I'll keep you updated on my impressions when the moment comes where I will put down a non-physical book. Will the touch of soft pages and the weight of a good old doorstopper hardcover bring me back to the physical thing or will I eventually like e-books better? Only time will tell. Stay tuned!

No Nazgul were harmed during the photo shoot.

Cover art for Sanderson's The Alloy of Law

Brandon Sanderson next novel is set for release in November 2011 and it will not be the follow-up to The Way of Kings (The Highprince of War will probably see the light of day in 2013) or A Memory of Light (the last WoT should be out in 2012) or even the next trilogy to follow the original Mistborn trilogy, it will be The Alloy of Law, a short story set 300 years after the events of Mistborn. This short eventually became a full novel as it is detailed on Tor.com.

Chris McGrath, mostly known lately in the fantasy field for the covers of Antiphon and Canticle by Ken Scholes, Corvus by Paul Kearney, First Law MMPB by Joe Abercrombie, an edition of the Mistborn trilogy and the Harry Dresden Files novels by Jim Butcher is the artist behind this nice looking "Sherlock Holmish steampunkly" cover.

As for the synopsis, here you go (BEWARE : not spoiler free for those who haven't read Mistborn) :

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.

One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.

Week-end update

I finished The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin last week and the review was posted yesterday. In audiobook, I'll catch up with Locke Lamora since the audiobook edition of Red Seas Under Red Skies was released. I'll be ready if Republic of Thieves makes its way before the end of the year. So far the book is as good as The Lies of Locke Lamora, so glad to return to the Gentleman Bastard. I didn't know that "Jean" was pronounced like the french name...

I'm kind of itching to pick up Dark Jenny right now (which I received this week, still no sign of The Crippled God) but I'll try to finish The Unremembered first. I didn't have much time to read in the last two weeks so progress is slow but I'm more than half way through.

Books received

Finally, The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss is home. Along with Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe, the reading pile will again be reorganized.

Best SFF Novels of the decade

Tor.com posted the final results for their poll on the Best SFF novels of the decade. Here they are:

1. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi - 295 votes
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman - 270 votes
3. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - 231 votes
4. Blindsight by Peter Watts - 221 votes
5. Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey - 194 votes
6. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin - 179 votes
7. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke - 167 votes
8. Anathem by Neal Stephenson - 141 votes
9. Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson - 125 votes
10. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville - 124 votes

My vote was for Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson which ended in 38 place with 49 votes. Sadly, I have only read 3 of the top ten novels! However, since I'm more of an epic fantasy reader than the whole SFF library, it's understandable. Most of the names don't come as a big surprise. From that list only, I admit that I would chose A Storm of Swords as my best. What's yours?

Author update

The Cold Commands is done, at least it is now entering the edit phase. Richard Morgan shared the news on his blog today. Another big title that will be on time for the end of the year (still October...). Here's a glimpse of what Richard had to say :

DONE!!!!!

Final line penned (er – keyboarded) this morning – The Cold Commands is a wrap! As they say in Spanish, Cha-Chan!!!

Of course, this is all slightly deceptive. There’s actually a fair bit of work still to be done. The rough cut goes out to Simon Spanton at Gollancz tomorrow, and I now have to back up and read the whole manuscript through from scratch, trying to form some kind of overall impression of where we’ve been and what we’ve ended up with. There’ll be tweaking, there’ll be proofing, there’ll be polish to layer on – less at the front end than the back, since the earliest sections have been buffed smooth with a couple of years of constant revisiting and revising as the story inched its way forward. The back end, though, is probably still altogether too cask-strength rough and ready in places. Will need tempering.

Poll

The poll is over and it was a close call, almost fifty-fifty for the interest in author cover quotes. I'll post more details later this week along with a new poll.

Have a nice week!

Alex Bledsoe's Dark Jenny excerpt

Dark Jenny is the third novel featuring Eddie LaCrosse, the sword jockey written by Alex Bledsoe. The book will be out on March 29, 2011. You can take a look at my reviews of the first two novels featuring Eddie here (The Sword-Edge Blonde and Burn Me Deadly).

Macmillan posted the first chapter as an excerpt. Head on here.

chapter
ONE

Gary Bunson, Neceda’s slightly-honest-but-mostly-not magistrate, came into Angelina’s Tavern accompanied by a blast of winter air. Immediately an irate chorus erupted, some with language that implied Gary had carnal relations with livestock. Gary was used to that sort of response so he paid it no mind, and it stopped when he closed the door behind him. He shook snow from his long coat and looked around until he spotted me sitting with Liz at the bar.
“LaCrosse,” he said. “There’s somebody outside looking for you.”
“Me? Must be a mistake.”
“No mistake. He knew your name, and knew to find you here.”
As a private sword jockey who either helped find the skeletons or made sure they stayed in the closet, I got my share of visitors, but not on a day like this. It was the worst winter in Muscodian history, and Neceda had it harder than most, being right on the frozen Gusay River where the wind had room for a running start.
Liz Dumont, my girlfriend, said, “Expecting someone?”
I shook my head and asked Gary, “Who is it?”
“What am I, your secretary?” Gary snapped. He straddled the empty barstool on the other side of Liz. “He’s outside, go find out for yourself. Angie, get me something hot to drink, will you?”
Angelina, the tavern’s owner as well as its main hostess, said to me, “You must owe someone a lot of money if they’d come out in this weather.”
“I owe you more than I do anyone,” I pointed out.
“That’s true. But I always know where to find you.”
“Maybe it’s someone coming to hire you,” Callie the waitress said. Even dressed in winter clothes that covered her from chin to ankle, Callie’s beauty could melt icicles at ten paces. It was a shame those same icicles could probably outthink her.
Gary put both hands around the mug of hot tea Angelina placed in front of him. I watched the door expectantly. When nothing happened, I asked Gary, “So is he coming in?”
“Hell, I don’t know, the snow’s blowing so hard I could barely see him. He’s got some kind of box with him.”
“Box?”
“Yeah, you know, a box. Like a coffin or something.”

Here' s the blurb :

Murder, betrayal, and magic--just another day on the job for Eddie LaCrosse.

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. While 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 doesn't care who is killed along the way.

The Broken Kingdoms review

The Broken Kingdoms is the follow-up to the great fantasy debut novel by author N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. The ultimate book of the Inheritance Trilogy should be out later this year and is named Kingdom of Gods.

Oree is a blind artist selling trinkets to tourists visiting Shadow, the city standing at the base of the World Tree, formerly known as the city of Sky. Even though she can't use her physical sight, she has the special ability to see magic. In a city populated by free Godlings pouring magic everywhere, this can be quite useful, more so when your lover or your roommate is a Godling or sort of. However, she will eventually attract the unwanted attention of the Order of Itempas and only trouble will ensue. With the addition of the death of a Godling and her special powers, she will be lead toward an unreal tale where Gods, demons and mortals fight for their very existence.

As was the case with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, the narrative is set with a first person perspective. I mentioned in my review of Jemisin's first book that I was eager to find out how she would deliver another story in that narrative mode while taking into account the ending of the first novel (the review is still spoiler free, if you haven't read THTK, it's not what you think). The tale is again told for someone but this time the comments toward the figurative reader/listener are less frequent. I appreciated that decline in interaction since it keeps you more focused on the story itself.

The whole God/Godling/demon mythology is relatively expanded in The Broken Kingdoms. Therefore, mixed with the many Godlings Oree encounters, which is almost the double from THTK, the world created by Jemisin feels richer. The action is centered mostly on the city of Shadow and an intrusion into or unto the tree itself, creating a viable surrounding for the blind heroine (remember, she needs magic to see). It's not an easy feat to describe the background, people and the atmosphere surrounding that type of character. The author handed this difficulty quite remarkably even though there were some minor slips.

For me, Oree is not as fascinating as Yeine, the previous heroine, although I would still cheer for both. Nonetheless, she's a compelling character with an interesting ability, luckily because without a strong protagonist the whole thing would simply have crumbled. My main problem with Jemisin's second opus, and this could be directed at Oree, is the first hundred pages or so. I don't usually like when an author puts too much information about the previous story in a follow-up and that's not actually the case here but the problem is related. Oree doesn't know what really happened ten years ago and I grew annoyed to see her in the blind (figuratively) for so long, mostly in the case of Shiny's identity (her roommate). This Shiny is a mystery to her even though she is affiliated with many Godlings. By the way, the incarnations of those last are always a welcome addition to the cast, more so since Nahadoth, another star character form the first novel makes rare appearances.

When things get into motion, the story present an elaborate scheme with a slightly faster pace. The 'so to speak' villains are motivated by greed for Godly power and in this kind of world it's quite conceivable. Oree adventure becomes more dangerous, heartbreaking and personal. Sadly, at the head of this band of conspirators is a one dimensional evildoer. Nevertheless, it's Oree who we follow and she's more than meets the eye. Hopefully, we also get to encounter many of the characters from the first book.

Then, there's the ending. The conclusion is fine, not quite a big surprise but still somewhat unexpected. The choices made by Oree throughout the tale are always consequent with her nature. That's a great asset for a central character of that magnitude. However, I felt the closure came too soon. A large part of the book is like a long epilogue. I enjoyed knowing what became of her in the aftermath but I would I have preferred a bit more 'adventures' or a more concentrated outcome. That aspect is not a huge downside since I think that Oree had to live through that, is was just coming too slow for my taste.

Although I have mentioned a couple of negative aspects for the novel and didn't like it as much as the first, I still find it worth the time. This series is about the complex relationship developing in a world where gods mix with mortals in a unique magical setting. The consequences on Jemisin's world for the next novel are again quite important and we ought to be grated with a grand finale. Moreover, the strong feminine characters created by the author feel more real than most of the women protagonists I've read about of late.

Technically, I find the Orbit covert art to be gorgeous or as Naomi Novik states on the cover (I know it's about the book and not the cover) "Lush and evocative". No map of the city of Shadow is included, sadly, but there's a glossary at the end of the book that can be useful. The paperback Orbit edition stands at 384 pages.

The Broken Kingdoms review score :

Characterization............. 7.5 /10
World building............... 8 / 10
Magic system................. 8 /10
Story.............................. 7/ 10
Writing........................... 8 / 10

Overall (not an average) 7.5 / 10

Enjoy!

N.K. Jemisin page
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms review

Val Gunn's In the Shadow of Swords map

In the Shadow of Swords by Val Gunn was released on February 28 2011. Val sent me the gorgeous map to his world (the link was also added to the Map index), named Mir'aj :

UPDATE : the map was created by Chris Gonzalez

Here's the blurb :

When legendary killer Ciris Sarn ends a life in an empty city plaza with a single dagger thrust, little does he know that an insidious game has been triggered by the brutal slaying. Turning predator into prey, this part fantasy, part espionage novel races along as it follows the now hunted Sarn across the brilliant white sands and sparkling seas of Mir'aj, pursued by the widow of his latest victim who will stop at nothing for vengeance.

Dancing with dragons in July

The biggest news of the year is here (it's probably the announcement that was awaited the most since the release of A Feast for Crows in October 2005). As you can judge by my poll at the beginning of the year, that novel is what we are waiting for.

The man itself, George R.R. Martin finally posted on his blog the release date for A Dance with Dragons!

July 12, 2011

Here's a bit of what he has to say about it :

No. Sorry. Not done yet.

I'm close, though. Watch this space. When the book is done, you will read it here.

Meanwhile... there is news. Big news. The end is in sight, at long long last, and we're close enough so that my editors and publishers at Bantam Spectra have set an actual publication date.

Also, he informs us that it will be in the range of A Storm of Swords in length (around 1000 pages)! Can't wait!

March releases

March is full of long awaited sequels. The spotlight is mostly on The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss and I hope the author can deliver another great story. It seems to be a lengthy one at 1000 pages.

In North America, The Crippled God by Steven Erikson will also be released this month.

***

The Wise Man's Fear
Patrick Rothfuss

Day Two: The Wise Man's Fear.

"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."

An escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe discovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King's road.

All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived. Under her tutelage, Kvothe learns much about true magic and the ways of women.

In The Wise Man's Fear Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

***

The White Luck Warrior
R. Scott Bakker

As Anasûrimbor Kellhus and his Great Ordeal march ever farther into the wastes of the Ancient North, Esmenet finds herself at war with not only the Gods, but her own family as well. Achamian, meanwhile, leads his own ragtag expedition to the legendary ruins of Sauglish, and to a truth he can scarcely survive, let alone comprehend. Into this tumult walks the White-Luck Warrior, assassin and messiah both. The White Luck Warrior is a story filled with heartstopping action, devious treachery, grand passion, and meticulous detail. It is both a classic quest tale and a high fantasy war story

***

Dark Jenny
Alex Bledsoe

Murder, betrayal, and magic--just another day on the job for Eddie LaCrosse.

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. While 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 doesn't care who is killed along the way.

***

Black Halo
Sam Sykes

Lenk and his companions set sail to bring the relic away from the reach of Ulbecetonth, the Kraken Queen. Haunted by their pasts, plagued by their gods, tormented by their own people and gripped by madness, their greatest foes may be themselves.