Best of 2009

The new year is coming fast but it's not too late for my honorable mentions for this year fantasy books. The blog started in April and I added a good number of review from my last years of reading but here's what I liked the most during this my first blogging year, 2009! You can read about my choices for Best novel, Best new author /debut, Most beautiful map, Most beautiful cover, Kick ass moment of the year, Best genre blog in my humble opinion and Best author website / blog. Here we go!

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Best novel

Best Served ColdJoe Abercrombie
Review

I remember writing this in my review : "[...] I can tell you that Best Served Cold is a strikingly well written, humorous, gritty, sexy, darkly and unforgiving piece of work. You just can't pass over this one." Well... it really is and it does it better than any title of this kind. The story is still vivid to my memory which is also one of the main reasons I chose this one. Abercrombie is growing up to be one of the superstars of fantasy literature.

Runner up for best novel

Dust of Dreams
Steven Erikson
Review

I stated before on the blog that I'm a real Malazan junkie. But since I think I can be objective, I didn't put this one first. The reason is probably because it's a two books finale. The book is as good as most of Erikson's Malazan books but there's a finality missing. I know that even the author mentions this at the beginning of the book but hey, it's still my number two! Every fan of the genre with a little reading experience under the belt should start this series as soon as possible!

The Judging Eye
R. Scott Bakker
Review

This is the first review I have ever written. Aside from this, The Judging Eye is a very good book by an amazingly talented author in my opinion. There's a couple of problems with this follow-up to the great Prince of Nothing series but it's not enough to drag down the novel. This is the start of a compelling new trilogy.

******

Best new author / debut

Mark Charan Newton
Nights of Villjamur

I expected good things from Nights of Villjamur mostly because of James Long (Speculative Horizons) review. Mark created engrossing characters in a rich world without much flaw. With his writing style, he really sets out from the crowd. Noire fantasy like this is bliss. I can't wait for City of Ruins!

Runner up for best new author / debut

Ken Scholes
Lamentation
Canticle

I still haven't read Canticle, but Lamentation was a great start. All the elements of a good fantasy books are there, mixed up with a touch of religion and nice world building. I think that Ken prose is finely woven but there's just too much cleverness in almost every characters (I would never have thought to put this on the negative side...).

Stephen Deas
The Adamantine Palace

I finally chose Stephen Deas because of the way he handled his dragons. It feels fresh and even though I will repeat myself, the best way to describe Stephen work was given by Joe Abercrombie : "A fast, sharp, ruthless read". Great things to come from this author.

******

Most beautiful map

Westeros, The Seven Kingdoms
ASoIaF by George R.R. Martin
Rendered by Tear at the Cartographer Guild

Simply amazing!!!
Index of maps

Runner up for most beautiful map

Northen Reaches of the Yhelteth Empire
The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan
Rendered by Ravi Shankar at the Cartographer Guild


Index of maps

******

Most beautiful cover

The Return of the Black Company
Glen Cook
Cover art by Raymond Swanland


Runner up for most beautiful cover

Zrozeni Zimy (Winterbirth)
Brian Ruckley
Cover art by Kekai Kotaki (thanks to Mihai (Dark Wolf) for the info)

******

Kick ass moment of the year

I posted 8 "kick ass moments" on the blog this year. Most of them are not from books released in 2009 but I'll judge by the ones I added this year anyway. There one kick ass moment I didn't add to the list and it's from Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie. The scene was so funny and I didn't want to spoil the fun for anyone. If you've read the book you probably know what I'm thinking about, you know this scene with Monza and Duke Rogont of Ospria in his bedroom... :)

Kick ass moment #1
George R.R. Martin
A Storm of Swords

"For once, his father did what Tyrion asked him. The proof was the sudden stench, as his bowels loosened in the moment of death. Well, he was in the right place for it, Tyrion thought. But the stink that filled the privy gave ample evidence that the oft-repeated jape about his father was just another lie.

Lord Tywin Lannister did not, in the end, shit gold."

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Best genre blog in my humble opinion

A Dribble of Ink
Aidan Moher
http://aidanmoher.com/blog/

Speculative Horizons
James Long
http://speculativehorizons.blogspot.com/

******

Best Author website / blog

For this one, I'll give a three-way tie. I judged mostly by the quality of the interaction between the authors and their fan.

Patrick Rothfuss
http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/content/index.asp

Joe Abercrombie
http://www.joeabercrombie.com/

Mark Charan Newton
http://markcnewton.com/

New map - Spellwright

I just stumbled on the beautiful map for Spellwright by Blake Charlton. This book is still not yet released but I can't wait to read it judging by the blogosphere ARC impressions so far and the blurb. I added the map to the index. Here's the link too.

http://www.blakecharlton.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Spellwright-map-size.jpg

2010 releases

Here's a list of the big guns coming out in 2010 in our beloved fantasy genre. A good year in perspective!

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The Desert Spear
Peter V. Brett
April 2010

The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that arise as the sun sets, preying upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind ancient and half-forgotten symbols of power. These wards alone can keep the demons at bay, but legends tell of a Deliverer: a general—some would say prophet—who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. Those times, if they ever existed, are long past. The demons are back, and the return of the Deliverer is just another myth . . . or is it?

Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons—a spear and a crown—that give credence to his claim. Sworn to follow the path of the first Deliverer, he has come north to bring the scattered city-states of the green lands together in a war against demonkind—whether they like it or not.

But the northerners claim their own Deliverer. His name was Arlen, but all know him now as the Warded Man: a dark, forbidding figure whose skin is tattooed with wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. The Warded Man denies that he is the Deliverer, but his actions speak louder than words, for he teaches men and women to face their fears and stand fast against the creatures that have tormented them for centuries.

Once the Shar’Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends, brothers in arms. Now they are fierce adversaries. Caught between them are Renna, a young woman pushed to the edge of human endurance; Leesha, a proud and beautiful healer whose skill in warding surpasses that of the Warded Man himself; and Rojer, a traveling fiddler whose uncanny music can soothe the demons—or stir them into such frenzy that they attack one another.

Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are blissfully unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent—and deadly—than any that have come before.

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Towers of Midnight
Brandon Sanderson / Robert Jordan
Late 2010

Penultimate book of the WoT final trilogy. Still no blurb be it's a direct follow-up from The Gathering Storm.

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The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson
Summer

Aidan at A Dribble of Ink posted the synopsis here.

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City of ruins
Mark Charan Newton
June

Viliren: a city of sin that is being torn apart from the inside. Hybrid creatures shamble through shadows and barely human gangs fight turf wars for control of the streets. Amidst this chaos, Commander Brynd Adaol, commander of the Night Guard, must plan the defence of Viliren against a race that has broken through from some other realm and already slaughtered hundreds of thousands of the Empire's people. When a Night Guard soldier goes missing, Brynd requests help from the recently arrived Inquisitor Jeryd. He discovers this is not the only disappearance the streets of Viliren. It seems that a serial killer of the most horrific kind is on the loose, taking hundreds of people from their own homes. A killer that cannot possibly be human. The entire population of Viliren must unite to face an impossible surge of violent and unnatural enemies or the city will fall. But how can anyone save a city that is already a ruin?

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Spellwright
Blake Charlton
March

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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Salute the Dark
Adrian Tchaikovsky
February

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?

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The King of The Crags
Stephen Deas

Prince Jehal has murdered, poisoned and betrayed his way to the top. There is a new speaker for the realms, his opposition has been crushed, now he just has to enjoy the fruits of power. And yet ...He feels more for the wife he married for power than perhaps he should and his lover knows it. And out in the realms those loyal to the old regime are still plotting. and there are rumours that the Red Riders, heralds of revolution and doom are on the ride. And still no-one has found the famous white dragon. The dragon that, if it lived, will have long since recovered from the effects of the alchemical liquid fed to the dragons of the realms to keep them docile, to block their memories of a time when they ruled and the world burned

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Crippled God
Steven Erikson
September

The series finale will pick up right from the end of Dust of Dreams (this is a two books finale).

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Stonewielder
Ian C. Esslemont
No date confirmed

The blurb was taken from this interview by Pat at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.

Stonewielder unfolds on the subcontinent variously known as ‘Korel’ or ‘Fist’. Again, like Deadhouse Gates, or Return, the novel will serve to flesh out the region of its setting over the course of which answering or furthering certain larger themes and questions. For example, I understand from the threads on the Malaz site that many readers were troubled by the appearance of the ‘Riders, or Stormriders, in Knives (and elsewhere). The readers will have the chance to decide whether Stonewielder puts all those concerns and reservations to rest.

Events follow closely on Return and center on a new Malazan offensive in that theater launched by the new Emperor, Mallick Rel.

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The Dark Commands
Richard Morgan
Mid 2010

Direct follow-up of The Steel Remains in Morgan's fantasy trilogy.

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Black Prism
Brent Weeks
August

Brand new trilogy with no blurb so far.

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Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery
Edited by Lou Anders & Jonathan Strahan
June

An anthology with :

"Introduction: Check Your Dark Lord at the Door" - Lou Anders & Jonathan Strahan
"Goats of Glory" - Steven Erikson
"Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company" - Glen Cook
"Bloodsport" - Gene Wolfe
"The Singing Spear" - James Enge
"A Wizard of Wiscezan" - C.J. Cherryh
"A Rich Full Week" - K. J. Parker
"A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet" - Garth Nix
"Red Pearls: An Elric Story" - Michael Moorcock
"The Deification of Dal Bamore" - Tim Lebbon
"Dark Times at the Midnight Market" - Robert Silverberg
"The Undefiled" - Greg Keyes
"Hew the Tint Master" - Michael Shea
"In the Stacks" - Scott Lynch
"Two Lions, A Witch, and the War-Robe" - Tanith Lee
"The Sea Troll's Daughter" - Caitlin R Kiernan
"Thieves of Daring" - Bill Willingham
"The Fool Jobs" - Joe Abercrombie

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Antiphon
Ken Scholes
No date yet

And still no blurb but we will probably continue to follow the story of the same great characters in the Psalm of Isaak series.

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And here's the wishful list... we probably won't see any of those next year....

The White Luck Warrior - R. Scott Bakker
A Dance With Dragons - George R.R. Martin
The Republic of Thieves - Scott Lynch
The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
Heroes - Joe Abercrombie

Some covers just for christmas

Here are some of the new book covers posted on various blogs and author website recently.

First off is the various beautiful covers art for the new print of George R.R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire series in french at "J'ai lu". The artist is Marc Simonetti (you can look at more of his stuff here).

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Next on the list is the new US cover for Blood of the mantis by Adrian Tchaikovsky, book 3 of the Shadow of the Apt series. This one was first posted by Aidan at A Dribble of Ink. I think it looks better than the first one.

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Peter V. Brett posted the german cover for The Great Bazaar, his collection of short stories. I think I prefer the US cover.

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Finally, Mark Charan Newton posted the US cover for Nights of Villjamur. This one is not a though choice, I go 100% with the original UK cover (the second one), it was much better. I also added the UK paperback cover I posted a couple of weeks ago.

The advice

This is taken from the on screen tips when the game is loading in Dragon Age : Origins. Now... advices can't get any better!

"Robes don't help as much as you'd think against swords and axes. Keep your mages at a safe distance."

Rothfuss interviews Abercrombie

If you're a fan of Patrick Rothfuss blog, you're probably aware that he is hosting his second fund raiser for Heifer International. The first iteration was quite a success. If you're into donating to the cause, you could be the lucky owner of some signed or even rare books. To add a little spice to this 'event', Rothfuss interviewed Joe Abercrombie. Here's a take and the link :

How often do you check your amazon sales rank?

At one point it was getting a bit silly, so now I have to strictly limit myself to five times an hour. This has become a great deal easier since I discovered Sales Rank Express, a web application that allows you to check all your sales ranks simultaneously. Or those of everyone at your imprint, for that matter.

How many copies of your own books do you currently own?

Hard to say, since most of my books are packed up in boxes, but since I get sent several dozen of any new UK release and half a dozen of each foreign language edition, plus extra books whenever anything's reprinted, a lot more than is decent or functional. I'm currently looking at about fifteen UK and US Best Served Colds, a box full of new Blade Itself Mass Market Paperbacks, A box of Swedish Blade Itselves (Itselfs?) where they split the book in two therefore doubling the number I got sent, a stack of Russian ones, a Czech Before They are Hanged, and my Mum's old copy of Beowulf. I didn't write that last one, of course.

The interview

Stephen Deas update

Stephen Deas re-write of his second book in the Dragon trilogy, The King of the Crags is finished. The book should will released in April 2010 and will eventually be followed by The Order of the Scales. Here's the blurb by the way :

Prince Jehal has murdered, poisioned and betrayed his way to the top. There is a new speaker for the realms, his opposition has been crushed, now he just has to enjoy the fruits of power. And yet ...He feels more for the wife he married for power than perhaps he should and his lover knows it. And out in the realms those loyal to the old regime are still plotting. and there are rumours that the Red Riders, heralds of revolution and doom are on the ride. And still no-one has found the famous white dragon. The dragon that, if it lived, will have long since recovered from the effects of the alchemical liquid fed to the the dragons of the realms to keep them docile, to block their memories of a time when they ruled and the world burned ...

In the meantime, Deas posted on his site his gazetteer, a new map and an excerpt from The King of The Crags. The gazetteer is 180 pages of stuff about the dragon-realms geography and people. I updated my map index and here are the other links :

The gazetteer
The night of the knives (taster)

Finally, the author is still working on his next series, The Thief-Taker's Apprentice. For more info about his next titles, take a look at my interview. Don't forget The Adamantine Palace review...

The Dragon Reborn ebook cover

Tor.com released today the third cover for the WoT series ebook, The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan. Not bad! (btw, I took the larger cover from http://www.dragonmount.com/News/?p=1087)

To read all about the creation of the cover by Donato Giancola, go to Tor.com.

You can see the first two ebook covers here :

The Eye of the World
The Great Hunt