New poll - Publishers

The hiatus on the polls is over. But as always, before I tackle the new one, let's return to my last interrogation in my non-scientific search for the complete description of the typical Fantasy reader and to its results. I asked you fellow readers two questions:

Do you like battles in Fantasy?

and

The more detailed the better?

The idea behind these two questions came to mind after I read the insightful guest post Grieftongue, written by Jeff Salyards (that you can find on the blog).  He mentioned in his text that he knew that some readers (dare I say Fantasy readers?) don't like battles. While I agree that it was certainly the case, I thought that it must be a minority in the Fantasy readers crowd.  And the results are in.

96% of readers answering my poll like battles in Fantasy and 79% of them think that the more detailed the better. So, it can be concluded that Mr. Salyards is hitting the bullseye when he so deftly describe a battle in his books. Don't forget though that I focus on Epic Fantasy...

***

Next up is the publishers!

For  the first several years of Fantasy reading I indulged in, I didn't really care about the publishing houses behind the books I picked up. Even when I began blogging in 2009, that was the last of my concern.  But eventually, I tended to favor some publishers over the others, without putting real thoughts behind it.  And then the ARCs began coming my way and I got a better understanding of the nature of most of them.

The Fantasy genre has a great number of publishers investing into it but some of them clearly stand out from the crowd, be it for the sheer number of novels they print or for the quality of the authors they sign and the editors they employ.

While browsing the web for a complete list of them, I stumbled into an interesting one from Worlds Without End. This isn't a list strictly for Fantasy publishers (there isn't that many who focus only on the particular genre) but for Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror. The top list is based on the awards the books they publish received and the number they won. Anyway, I'm not here to talk about awards and judging from the connection we can make between the number of books and authors and the wins, there's no big surprises except that Gollancz clearly stand out.

Here's the top 20:

Gollancz

Tor

Ace Books

Bantam Spectra

Orbit

William Morrow & Co.

Doubleday

Ballantine Books

Bantam UK

Ballantine Del Rey

Del Rey

HarperCollins

HarperCollins/Voyager

DAW Books

St. Martin's Press

HarperCollins UK

Eos

Pyr

Roc

Timescape Books

Night Shade books could have been on the top 20 if it hasn't been for their misfortune. Here's the link for the complete list.

A comparison could probably be made with the movie studios or the recording companies.  For these two industries, I dodn't care much about the company behind the works and when I think about it, I'm more interested in the book and gaming publishers.

It would be though to point out a favorite and Tor is clearly more present on my shelves. However, I admit that I always had something for them, Orbit books, Gollancz and Pyr more recently. Feel free to comment about the publishers you care about (or the ones you might despise).

And now, for my poll question:

Is the publisher of a book influencing your acquisitions?

- Yes

- No

Joe Abercrombie's Half a King french cover

Joe posted the Bragelonne cover art for the French edition of Half a King, book One of The Shattered Sea.  The cover is nice, but not as good as the Subterranean Press limited edition (my favorite so far, the one with the boy king). What do you think?

Veil of the Deserters review

Veil of the Deserters is the second book in the Bloodsounder's Arc, a series by American Fantasy author Jeff Salyards that started with a bang with the fabulous Scourge of the Betrayer back in 2012, my best new author/Fantasy debut for that year. Could Jeff pull it off a second time in a row?

History, Family and Memory… these are the seeds of destruction. 

Bloodsounder's Arc continues as Captain Braylar Killcoin and his retinue continue to sow chaos amongst the political elite of Alespell. Braylar is still poisoned by the memories of those slain by his unholy flail Bloodsounder, and attempts to counter this sickness have proven ineffectual. 

The Syldoonian Emperor Cynead has solidified his power base in unprecedented ways, and demands loyalty from all operatives. Braylar and company are recalled to the capital to swear fealty. Braylar must decide if he can trust his sister, Soffjian, with the secret that is killing him. She has powerful memory magics that might be able to save him from Bloodsounder’s effects, but she has political allegiances that are not his own. Arki and others in the company try to get Soffjian and Braylar to trust one another, but politics in the capital prove to be far more complicated and dangerous than even Killcoin could predict. 

Deposed emperor Thumarr plots to remove the repressive Cynead, and Braylar and his sister Soffjian lie at the heart of his plans. The distance between "favored shadow agent of the emperor" and "exiled traitor" is an unsurprisingly short road. But it is a road filled with blind twists and unexpected turns. Before the journey is over, Arki will chronicle the true intentions of Emperor Cynead and Soffjian. And old enemies in Alespell may prove to be surprising allies in a conflict no one could have foreseen.

Veil of the Deserters picks up right after the events of Scourge. Arki, the young, impressionable and now road-weary archivist seems less enthusiastic to dig in with the deliberately baffling Syldoons focused on their mission but is now considered as part of the implacable group. Muldoos, one of the Lieutenants under the rigid but effective command of Captain Braylar is always making sure that Arki remembers he's not a Syldoon while keeping him safe with his more altruistic companion Vendurro since he now has more value than being a simple chronicler. With new company from Sunwrack, the center of the Syldoon Empire, right on their toes and more Hornmen on their trail than they care for, the band is in dire need of the help of Memoridons, mostly for Braylar's sake.

With that introduction, I was able to present the new developments that clearly enrich the experience of Arki, and ours, in this second opus.  The narrator situation is evolving fast and with a new job of translation looming ahead, courtesy of Braylar, the unattainable mysteries of the Syldoons and of the stern Captain's cursed weapon are now within his grasp. In Scourge, Arki was already a competent and compelling figure to host the narrative.  In Veil, he simply lives the arduous and precarious adventure with as much vertigo, dread and giddiness as he can muster, for my greatest pleasure.

Salyards's previous novel was leaning toward the short side and while it opened many threads of interest and kept the lid on many cryptic elements, it might have benefited from deeper exploration of the themes that made it special, namely so, grief in many a form and the aftermath of violent battles with all the discussions, theories, effects in can have (for more insight on Jeff focus on grief, read his guest post called Grieftongue here). However, as I mentioned in the review, Scourge is an interesting premise or prologue and the proposition that is Veil is delivering on all counts, it's even upping the bar.

Moreover, I wanted further insight into the magic system embodied by the Memoridons and the whole memory-centered concepts and I was more than satisfied.  In the aftermath of the events at the end of Scourge, the Syldoon troops in Alespell are now short of helpings hands in the consciousness dabbling department. Who then can deliver the knowledge without dumping the information like a school teacher while making Braylar's life and mission more complicated and delivering the recall order for his company which will possibly render several years of hard work futile? None other than the Captain's sister and her small accomplice. The position in which the protagonists now find themselves couldn't have more ambiguous and convenient both at the same time.

I mentioned that info dumping wasn't a result of the presence of the two Memoridons but there are still some heavier passages. Nevertheless, with Arki's curiosity and ignorance in the matter and the recurring absence of the two women, the flow of information is kept short and fascinating. Nicely done Mr. Salyards!

Next on the list is the "origin story" of Bloodsounder, Killcoin infamous weapon. In this case again, Arki is privy to detailed explanations granted by the need for his skills in deciphering old texts. The state of the world and the disappearance of the gods are even mixed in with this, finely expanding on the mythology, theology and geography (I'm looking at you the Godveil). Add to this the reason behind Emperor Cynead recall and you get a storytelling explosion. The last chapters are simply amazing.

What else is there to consider?  The author writing feels even more intuitive and competent while retaining the straightforward aspect and atmosphere we witnessed in Scourge, all for the greater benefit of the delivery of a first person perspective.  The descriptive aspect of it makes the world more vivid than most authors can achieve and the battles scenes could only be praised for a second time around. I was there even if it was not always easy to witness it. Simply a great story, with fascinating themes, meaningful characters and close combat action aplenty.

Cover: The Night Shade Books cover by Micheal C. Hayes is nice but I would have liked a gloomier art style...
Release date: June 3rd 2014
Map: Yes! Hurray!
Number of pages: 448 (hardcover edition)
Acquisition method: courtesy of Mr. Salyards publisher - NSB
Other: No appendices, dramatis personae or glossary

I liked...	Was disappointed by...
The themes explored (especially grief in various aspects)	Some short moments of pace slowing
The detailed action sequences	A bit of info dumping
Arki's recounting
The story new direction
The worldbuilding explosion

Veil of the Deserters review rating :

Scourge of the Betrayer review
Jeff Salyards' page

New maps - Brent Weeks

With the release of The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks and the inclusion of maps of the Seven Satrapies and the Jasper islands, I realized that Brent maps from both the Lightbringer and Night Angel series (Midcyru) were missing from my index.  No time to wait, here they are!

Daniel Abraham's The Spider's War cover

Orbit Books revealed the US cover art for the fifth and final book in the Dagger and the Coin series, titled The Spider's War. There's still not synopsis, not surprising with The Widow's House just out of the oven. The novel will be out next year.

What do you think?  I think it looks nice. Here's the other books from the series:

The Wurms of Blearmouth review

The Wurms of Blearmouth is the fifth novella by Steven Erikson featuring the infamous necromancers from the Malazan Book of the Fallen, Korbal Broach and Bauchelain (from Memories of Ice). The first three novellas were also released in omnibus edition (titled Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, including Blood Follows (released originally in 2002), The Healthy Dead (2004) and The Lees of Laughter's End (2007)) and Crack'd Pot Trail was released after that. I didn't read this last one since the necromancers are only present as some kind of cameo... maybe I'll pick it up in the future...

Tyranny comes in many guises, and tyrants thrive in palaces and one-room hovels, in back alleys and playgrounds. Tyrants abound on the verges of civilization, where disorder frays the rule of civil conduct and propriety surrenders to brutal imposition. Millions are made to kneel and yet more millions die horrible deaths in a welter of suffering and misery.  

But leave all that behind and plunge into escapist fantasy of the most irrelevant kind, and in the ragged wake of the tale told in Lees of Laughter’s End, those most civil adventurers, Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, along with their suitably phlegmatic manservant, Emancipor Reese, make gentle landing upon a peaceful beach, beneath a quaint village at the foot of a majestic castle. There they make acquaintance with the soft-hearted and generous folk of Spendrugle, which lies at the mouth of the Blear River and falls under the benign rule of the Lord of Wurms in his lovely keep.  

Make welcome, then, to Spendrugle’s memorable residents, including the man who should have stayed dead, the woman whose prayers should never have been answered, the tax collector everyone ignores, the ex-husband town militiaman who never married, the beachcomber who lives in his own beard, the now singular lizard cat who used to be plural, and the girl who likes to pee in your lap. And of course, hovering over all, the denizen of the castle keep, Lord—Ah, but there lies this tale.

Even if Wurms is a novella featuring Bauchelain and Korbal Broach in a self-supporting story, I would strongly recommend reading the first three novellas beforehand. To fully benefit from all the insights and characters appearance from the other novellas, here's the reading order:

Blood Follows
The Lees of Laughter's End
The Healthy Dead
The Wurms of Blearmouth

Despite the fact that the necromancers have an important part to play in Wurms, there's a whole new cast to consider and the brightest gems of Erikson's new humorous novella are clearly the weird and weirder inhabitants of the town of Spendrugle.  Who are we meeting?

Lord Fangatooth Claw the Render and his dutiful scribe Coingood, ruling narcissistically from the keep
Spilgit Purrble the deposed Factor and Felittle, a girl with dubious habits concerning her urinary habits
Hordilo Stinq, one of Fangatooth's men patrolling with curiously named Golems and becoming friend with a dead man who doesn't seem to be able to actually die like a real dead man
Comber Whuffine Gaggs, a lonesome herder with hidden powers
Felittle's mother, Feloovil Generous, who holds the inn and has some strange... body parts...

I'll stop enumerating here but with this list alone, you get an idea of the tone of The Wurms of Blearmouth.  Spendrugle citizens have seen their share of oddities and eccentricities since the town resides at the specific spot where most, and possibly all, of the ships sailing the region are wrecked, for their sincere pleasure. However, this time, things will change.

To reiterate, even if it's a novella, different storylines are established and recurring characters from the previous books are coming back.  In the end, everything revolves around the new opportunities presented by the arrival of the necromancers and their pursuers. With each new relationships developed in this short time, new characteristics emerge from the funny and original protagonists and a whole lot of grins made easy appearances on my lips.

If you have already read a Bauchelain and Korbal Broach novella, this one is a no-brainer.  For everyone else, even if you haven't read Erikson or if you were disconcerted by his more heavy writing in the Malazan Book of the Fallen, this is the time to discover a whole new perspective presented by the author, one at which he excels as much.

Cover: The Tor cover (by Steve Stone who's behind other Malazan covers) looks good with the necromancers and the violet coloring!
Release date: July 8th 2014
Map: No
Number of pages: 208 (paperback edition)
Acquisition method: courtesy of Tor
Other: No appendices, dramatis personae or glossary

I liked...	Was disappointed by...
The weird characters	Wanted more!!!!
The humor
The return of the three-handed sword!!!

The Wurms of Blearmouth review rating :

Bauchelain and Korbal Broach review

Kick ass moment #14

It's been a while since I have posted one, not for lack of grins while reading but simply because I always forget about it. Anyway, here's one I read today!

[...]

"What the hell are you doing here?" I said.

"As it appears, waiting for you."

"And Degan just happened to show up right outside my door while you were in here?"

"I've been waiting for a long time," he said. "We need to talk."

"You talk; I'll sleep. Feel free to make up my side of the conversation in case you get bored. I recommend throwing in the occasional 'fuck you' on my behalf, just to keep things true to life." I bent down and, after succeeding in not falling over, began undoing my shoes.

[...]

Douglas Hulick - Sworn in Steel

Index

September releases

September 2014 is upon us and it's the time for my spotlight for the Fantasy novels released this month!

What will you read this month?

***

Grudgebearer

The Grudgebearer Trilogy book 1

J.F. Lewis 

September 2nd

Kholster is the first born of the practically immortal Aern, a race created by the Eldrennai as warrior-slaves to defend them from the magic-resistant reptilian Zaur.  Unable to break an oath without breaking their connection with each other, the Aern served the Eldrennai faithfully for thousands of years until the Sundering. Now, the Aern, Vael, and Eldrennai meet every hundred years for a Grand Conjunction to renew their tenuous peace. 

While the tortures of slavery remain fresh in Kholster's mind, most of the rest of the world has moved on. Almost six hundred years after the Sundering, an Eldrennai prince carelessly breaks the truce by setting up a surprise museum exhibit containing sentient suits of Aernese armor left behind, never to be touched, lest Kholster kill every last Eldrennai. Through their still-existing connection with their ancient armor, the Aern know instantly, and Kholster must find a way to keep his oaths, even those made in haste and anger. While Kholster travels to the Grand Conjunction with his Freeborn daughter and chosen successor Rae'en, his troops travel by sea, heading for war.

***

Age of Iron

Angus Watson

September 9th

LEGENDS AREN'T BORN. THEY'RE FORGED.

Dug Sealskinner is a down-on-his-luck mercenary travelling south to join up with King Zadar's army. But he keeps rescuing the wrong people. 

First, Spring, a child he finds scavenging on the battlefield, and then Lowa, one of Zadar's most fearsome warriors, who's vowed revenge on the king for her sister's execution. 

Now Dug's on the wrong side of that thousands-strong army he hoped to join ­- and worse, Zadar has bloodthirsty druid magic on his side. All Dug has is his war hammer, one rescued child and one unpredictable, highly-trained warrior with a lust for revenge that's going to get them all killed . . . 

It's a glorious day to die.

***

The Falcon Throne

The Tharnished Crown Quintet book 1

Karen Miller

September 9th

In the distant past, the Kingdom of Harcia was torn apart by royal brothers who could not accept a lesser inheritance. Now, the consequences of their actions are coming to light. 

Balfre, son of Aimery, Duke of Harcia, is his father's heir. But he has dreams of a crown, not a coronet. He dreams himself the king of a Harcia re-united, but his brother Grefin, their father's favorite, stands in his way. 

Harald, debauched Duke of neighboring Clemen, is feared and despised by his nobles. He thinks he can trust his bastard-born cousin Ederic ... but Ederic fears for the duchy and will do what he must to save it. 

And caught between dangers is Harald's infant son, Liam. Stolen by his nurse, vanished into the lawless Marches, he is the spark that will grow to set the world on fire.

***

The Knight

High Kingdom book 1

Pierre Pevel

September 18th

When the King dies his will, to everyone's surprise, leaves the throne to the second of his three sons. It's a surprising choice, and a worrying one as it coincides with a prophecy: that the succession will lead to war, chaos and the undoing of the entire nation. It's something his eldest son can't allow to happen . . . so he challenges his brother's right to rule - as does the youngest son, with the full support of the Church behind him. But while the prophecy itself is clear, it's not so clear which prince it's referring to. 

Lorn knows which side he's on: his King chose a sucessor, and Lorn is going to fight to the last to place him on the throne. Honouring that last wish is the right thing to do; Lorn is also fighting for his best friend and the man he believes should be king. But belief is one thing, victory in politics and war is another and the odds are against them. Worse: with every passing day the prophecies grow darker, and a land already torn by civil war is easy pickings for an invasion... 

The High Kingdom is facing its darkest hour. Its King has been weakened by illness and many are discontent with the Queen’s regency. As rebellion rumbles throughout the land, new threats are massing forces at the realm’s borders. 

Desperate, the King decides to free Lorn, who has spent the past year locked away on trumped-up charges in the citadel of Dalroth. Acting on the advice of a mysterious emissary of the Dragon, he dubs Lorn ‘Knight of the Onyx Throne’, making him the upholder of royal authority. 

Lorn accepts the King’s mission but also hunts those responsible for his imprisonment. Reinstating the Onyx Guard, a once-powerful elite force, he becomes a new figure of hope for his people. But some take a dim view of his growing popularity and influence, and they are busy plotting his downfall. 

If he foils his enemies, will he assume the role of champion that the Dragon’s Council of Emissaries have been seeking, the one capable of facing the Black Prince ? He must first confront an evil that gnaws at him ever since he was exposed to the Obscure at Dalroth, which now threatens to overwhelm him.

***

The Relic Guild

Edward Cox

September 18th

Magic caused the war. Magic is forbidden. Magic will save us. 

It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir. The Aelfir who had brought trade and riches, and a future full of promise. But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind boundary walls a hundred feet high. 

Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and the Thaumaturgists have faded into myth. Young Clara struggles to survive in a dangerous and dysfunctional city, where eyes are keen, nights are long, and the use of magic is punishable by death. She hides in the shadows, fearful that someone will discover she is touched by magic. She knows her days are numbered. But when a strange man named Fabian Moor returns to the Labyrinth, Clara learns that magic serves a higher purpose and that some myths are much more deadly in the flesh.

The only people Clara can trust are the Relic Guild, a secret band of magickers sworn to protect the Labyrinth. But the Relic Guild are now too few. To truly defeat their old nemesis Moor, mightier help will be required. To save the Labyrinth – and the lives of one million humans – Clara and the Relic Guild must find a way to contact the worlds beyond their walls.

***

The Prophecy Con

Rogues of the Republic book 2

Patrick Weekes

September 23rd

Who would have thought a book of naughty poems by elves could mean the difference between war and peace? But if stealing the precious volume will keep the Republic and the Empire from tearing out each other’s throats, rogue soldier Isafesira de Lochenville—“Loch” to friends and foes alike—is willing to do the dishonest honors. With her motley crew of magic-makers, law-breakers, and a talking warhammer, she’ll match wits and weapons with dutiful dwarves, mercenary knights, golems, daemons, an arrogant elf, and a sorcerous princess. 

But getting their hands on the prize—while keeping their heads attached to their necks—means Loch and company must battle their way from a booby-trapped museum to a monster-infested library, and from a temple full of furious monks to a speeding train besieged by assassins. And for what? Are a few pages of bawdy verse worth waging war over? Or does something far more sinister lurk between the lines?

***