Pyr Celebrates 5th Anniversary With Essay Contest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2010

Pyr Celebrates 5th Anniversary With Essay Contest
Grand Prize Winner Embarks on a ‘Pyr and Dragons Adventure’

Amherst, NY -- To celebrate their 5th anniversary, Pyr, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books, will sponsor a contest that incorporates things they hold dear: creative and powerful writing, a passion for reading genre fiction, and this year’s special number, five.

For their Pyr and Dragons Adventure 5th Anniversary Contest, Pyr invites readers and fans to submit a short essay on the theme: Five reasons why science fiction and fantasy is important to you.

Eligibility requirements follow*. Any essay submissions that do not meet these guidelines will be disqualified:

• Entrants must reside in the Continental United States and be at least 21 years of age.
• Essays must be no longer than 1500 words.
• Essays must be emailed to publicity@prometheusbooks.com as a Word document attachment, with the subject line “Pyr and Dragons Adventure Essay Submission.”
• The body of the submission email must clearly identify the entrant’s full name, address (within the Continental United States), phone number and email address.
• All submissions must be received between April 1, 2010 and June 1, 2010.

*For complete list of rules and regulations see

http://www.pyrsf.com.

All eligible essays will be read and reviewed by publishing staff at Prometheus Books. Not all of these preliminary readers will be science fiction and fantasy fans, so outstanding essays will likely be those that pique their interest in the genre and make them want to read it too. The top twenty-five essays as determined by these industry professionals will be read by Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders, who will select the top three.

The writer of the Third Place essay will win a commemorative Pyr 5th anniversary keepsake and five complimentary books of their choice from the Pyr catalog.

The writer of the Second Place essay will win a complete set of Pyr books as published by the contest end date of June 1, 2010 (one copy of each title, without duplicating those that appear in more than one binding) and a commemorative Pyr 5th anniversary keepsake.

The Grand Prize Winner will embark on a “Pyr and Dragons Adventure” that includes*:

• A round-trip flight to Atlanta, GA during Dragon*Con, one of the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the US. Dragon*Con 2010 will be held September 3 - 6, 2010 (Labor Day weekend).
• Two nights hotel accommodation in Atlanta, GA, Sept. 3 and 4, 2010.
• Dragon*Con membership/entry badge.
• Dinner with Special Pyr Author Guests and Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders—details to be announced!

The grand prize winning essay will be posted at the Pyr-o-mania blog, and may be promoted by the publisher by other means, including but not limited to their other blogs, websites, e-newsletters and social networking pages.

Prometheus Books—a provocative, progressive and independent publisher of nonfiction since 1969—launched Pyr in March 2005 to complement its strength in popular science. The imprint rather quickly earned acclaim, awards, and loyal fans, including Pulitzer Prize–winning author Junot Díaz, who called Pyr “the imprint to beat in the science fiction and fantasy fields.”

With an emphasis on quality, Pyr helped to introduce readers to some authors then little-known in the U.S., such as John Meaney, Ian McDonald, Joel Shepherd, Justina Robson, and Joe Abercrombie. Pyr has also published such established authors as Mike Resnick, Robert Silverberg and Michael Moorcock. Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders has been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Editor Long Form for three consecutive years. In 2009, Prometheus Books and Pyr launched a major e-book initiative, with titles available on Kindle and programs with many different e-reader platforms in the works. In 2010, in addition to celebrating its five-year anniversary, Pyr will publish its 100th title.

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For a complete list of contest rules and regulations see

http://www.pyrsf.com

Something Completely Different

Ponderosa skeleton, Chuska Mountains, New Mexico

Lord of Chaos E-Book Cover Art

I love what Tor is doing by having different artist do new and original covers for each Wheel of Time novel for the e-book release (links to all here). So far the art has been great and I’ve really enjoyed the commentary about each release. But with the Lord of Chaos cover by Greg Manchess Tor stepped out and went beyond. They embraced technology and created something new with the cover art. And it’s awesome. Way to go Tor. Way to go Irene. And make sure you watch the video – it’s overlaid with music and audio from the audio book.

Now if I can only figure out a way to post the animated cover art here. (edit: thanks Kevin)

Ari Marmell Answers Questions Five

Ari Marmell is best known the world of Dungeons & Dragons where he is a freelance writer and has published several tie-in novels. The Conqueror’s Shadow (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) is his first non-tie-in novel and was released to the world last month (I enjoyed it quite a bit). He lives in Austin, TX and has several more non-tie-in novels are in the works. After reading his snarky style in The Conqueror’s Shadow I knew he’d make a good fit for a Questions Five interview.

Thanks again to Ari and enjoy…


Ari, as a Texan (well someone who lives in a Texas anyway – it’s hard to imagine someone with the name of Ari actually being Texan), I can only assume that along side your expertise in cowboy boots, horseback riding and BBQ, that you can let the world know the proper way to prepare armadillo. How do you prefer your armadillo?

AM: It’s a very specific process. You have to start with the “flat” variety—the one you find alongside every highway in Texas. (Armadillos are actually born that way in parts of the state.) The tire tread marks are really good for catching spices and flavoring. But first you have to take the flat armadillo, hang it, and beat it like a piñata, so as to shake out all the bits of broken shell, gravel, burnt rubber, and bugs. Then it’s just a question of tossing it on the grill and rubbing in whatever spices and sauces you prefer. Me, I tend to go with a mixture of jalapeno and honey mustard dressing if it was hit by a Ford or Chevy, or teriyaki if it was hit by a Honda or Toyota.

D&D had a huge impact on your childhood and you found a way to make it pay the bills in adulthood. Has your love of D&D ever spilled out into real life in a way that is less than flattering? Do tell…

AM: Well, I could mention that I proposed to my wife at a D&D game… But then, since she was already a gamer, and we surrounded by gamers, that hardly qualifies as “real life,” does it?

I got some weird looks from teachers in middle school when I chose certain project topics based on my love of D&D. I did a presentation on demons in various religions that made use of pictures copied from the first edition Monster Manual (including a rather under-dressed succubus) that got some raised eyebrows. And my father and I built an entire suit of plate armor out of poster board for a history project. (And yes, I wore it during the presentation.) But again, while perhaps geeky in the extreme, those were deliberate.

It’s actually difficult to find places where D&D “spilled out” into real life, because D&D has always been a larger part of my life than was probably good for me. An enormous number of characters and adventure ideas found their genesis during the hours, and using the brainpower, that should have been devoted to homework. It’s hard for anything to spill into areas where I’d already deliberately and liberally poured it.

If The Conqueror’s Shadow were a fortune cookie, what would its fortune be?

AM: “You will soon discover an old suit still fits better than you expected.” (Trust me, if you read the book, this actually makes a whole lot of sense.)

How would you interpret this fortune if it were your own?

AM: Well, I would hope it would mean that I’m finally going to succeed in losing some damn weight, but then I’d have to ask how likely that is considering that I’d just eaten a fortune cookie.

Why should The Conqueror’s Shadow be the next thing that everyone reads?

AM: Assuming you want an answer with a little more broad-based appeal than “So I can eat something other than Ramen for the next eight months”…

The Conqueror’s Shadow is a perfect example of what I try to do with a great deal of my fiction writing. First, I enjoy starting with some of the traditional fantasy tropes, so that people have an easy and comfortable gateway into the book and are almost certain to find stuff they enjoy—but then taking at least a few of those tropes and turning them around, or taking a sharp left turn. Basically, playing with them in ways that are far less common than the tropes themselves. I think it’s something that most fantasy fans can enjoy.

And that leads quite nicely into my other point, which is that The Conqueror’s Shadow is a fun read. It’s fast-paced, it’s very funny in some scenes while very dark in others—all of which, I certainly hope, makes it an exciting story. Different fantasy novels are written with different goals in mind; the most important, to me, is to create an overall enjoyable experience. Obviously, I’d like to make the reader think about certain concepts, or feel certain things at certain points—but at the end of the day, if the reader doesn’t want to put the book down until s/he’s read “Just one more chapter”… If the reader had a lot of fun getting to the end… That’s when I feel I’ve successfully done my job. And while I’m hardly an unbiased source, I feel like The Conqueror’s Shadow provides exactly that.

Bonus question for inclusion in The SFF Literary Pub Crawl:

Please recommend a favorite pub or similar establishment – it doesn’t have to be local to you, but that is encouraged and if you can’t limit to just one, recommend more, but try to keep it to 3 or less. And don’t forget to say why it’s so great.

AM: This is a surprisingly tricky question for me, because I’m actually not a drinker. I’ve been to a few clubs in Austin for various shows, but never actually for the sake of just hanging around and having a few drinks. (I’m more of a coffee shop guy for that sort of thing.)

So as far as a pub/club, I’d say Prague is the coolest one I’ve been to in Austin, if only because of the ambiance; it’s got a really nifty feel and aesthetic to the place.

And if I may stretch the definition to include the aforementioned coffee shop, I’ve never found any better than It’s a Grind. It’s local to Austin, and it’s absolutely fantastic. Wonderful ambiance and people, and their blended mochas are what the gods drink when they want a special treat in place of their usual ambrosia.

My Wheel of Time Re-Read (err…Listen): The Eye of the World

Long-time readers of this blog are probably aware of my love for The Wheel of Time and exactly what it means to me and how it really is ultimately responsible for me starting this blog – I’ve talked about it before, so I won’t repeat here. So, when The Gathering Storm (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) was released last year it rekindled that love and got me excited about the series again (review). I wanted to read more. With this blog and all the great books out there to be read I just couldn’t bring myself to do a re-read – which would take many months. So I decided I would listen to the books – which I’ve not done before.

After I finish each book in the series, I’ll post my thoughts here. These won’t be reviews and they’ll no-doubt contain spoilers for later books (but I’ll refrain from anything major). It’ll be more of a reflection of these books that I love so much – what I think of them now when I haven’t read or re-read them in years, a bit of remembering what I’ve thought in the past, and a few thoughts on what that may mean for the remaining books. It won’t be anywhere near the level of the Tor Wheel of Time re-read, or what you’ll find at The Thirteenth Depository. I’m also posting a few thoughts over on The Thirteenth Depository’s forum – that post is getting lengthy, discussion goes on wild tangents and it is spoiler-laden. But it’s a fun read as well.

Anyway, on to The Eye of the World (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)….


I suppose I’ll start with the difference of listening versus reading. Audio books are absolutely dependent on the reader’s performance – and for the Wheel of Time books there is a bit of a unique direction taken – a guy (Michael Kramer) reads the points of view of the guys and a woman (Kate Reading) reads the points of view of women. I really like the approach, though for The Eye of the World there aren’t that many points of view from women – something that changes as the books the progress. Of course it is odd – voices are different than they were in my head, though I adjusted. And everyone foreign to the Two Rivers seems to have a bit of an Irish accent (accepting Illianers who sound like pirates) – at least those points of view from the men. The adjustment took a while – longer than usual with audio books, but then I have more invested in these books than any others, so I wasn’t surprised.

I first read The Eye of the World when I was a freshman in college back in the mid-1990s and it really resonated with me. This partly because the main characters in the book were my age and partly because in many ways it was my first exposure to fantasy (I had read and enjoyed some before but never really explored it much). It was easy to relate to Rand and Perrin – not so much Mat since we didn’t have a point of view from him and the taint of the Shadar Logoth dagger really makes him a jerk for the first couple of books. I remember being particularly amused by how Rand and Perrin keep thinking thoughts about how the other is so much better with girls – as a relatively shy and unconfident young man myself, I could easily relate.

Of course now I’m in my mid-30s and I found myself much more on the side of Nynaeve. Yes she’s a bully and stubborn to a fault (but all the Two Rivers kids are), but it was much easier to relate to someone who is a bit older and looking out for the interests of others than a bunch of headstrong youths. I was also struck by just how flawed Moiraine seems to be. For all her knowledge and wisdom as one of the most powerful Aes Sedai from a noble home in Cairhen, she really turns out to be an idiot much of the time. With a sheltered upbringing and then jumping into the ‘girls club’ of Tar Valon, Moiraine has absolutely no clue how to handle adolescent young men. She’s completely unprepared for people who don’t take her word as law and she is really quite stupid in her refusal to share vital information with her ignorant charges. Funny how in the past all I saw was person of authority.

I had forgotten just how wonderfully subtle Robert Jordan is in his writing. And for all the criticism (that can be rather valid) about his long wind and great detail, Jordan’s writing is remarkably applicable to the story. Tons, and I means tons, of very subtle foreshadowing is present. Darkfriends are almost always hinted at with dark descriptions of one kind or another – or with comparison to ravens or rats. Events that don’t occur for 10 books or more are foreshadowed right at the start. And again, is it any surprise that descriptions of cloth, clothing and weaving are common when the world itself is created by the Wheel of Time that weaves threads in the great pattern/web of life?

I’m also fascinated by some of what I know now in terms of the origins and inspirations of the book. The nice audio interview with Jordan at the end of the stories was simple pleasure to read. It was great to hear him discuss how he wanted challenge the notion that some all-knowing wizard type can show up in a small town, tell someone that the world’s future depended on them and that person would willingly and unquestioningly follow along. He also wanted explore just how communication alters events in direct proportion to its distance from where the events occurred – in this case distance is either actual distance or time. How the myths and legends of the Wheel of Time folks occurred in our own world and how our myths and legends are from them. And of course how due to the timing of the writing and publishing of The Eye of the World, very intentional parallels and similarities to The Lord of the Rings were included in the beginning and how the story slowly and surely diverges as it goes on.

Another aspect that I remember liking when I first read the series is the way Robert Jordan portrays women. I think he’s both rightly and wrongly criticized for his female characterization, but overall I think it’s a really interesting thing and says quite a bit about who he was and what his experience and ideals regarding women were. Jordan was from the American South and was of the baby-boomer generation. Women in the South of his generation and older are traditionally extraordinarily kind on the surface and rather subservient to men. They adhere to the society role very closely. But behind doors they are strong, forceful and live a world of societal politicking that most men never see or understand. This is what he knows –in many ways he sort of reverses this role for the Wheel of Time and then replaces the part where women say only kind things (whether they mean them or not) and has the women say what they think regardless of how kind it is or isn't. It seems an odd sort of view that he wished he could see and he was greatly influenced by the women in his life. I think the result is very often misunderstood (not surprisingly most loudly by males between say 16 and 25 years old). It has its own sort of flaws, but I find it a fascinating view into both Jordan and the traditional role of women in the South.

All in all, I’m still in love with the characters and the world that Jordan created. The end of The Eye of the World is a bit confusing and has some issues that I’ve never seen satisfactory explanations for. Some of these may still be resolved in the final books of the series and some are what I’ve come to call EotW-isms – things in The Eye of the World (and to a lesser extent, The Great Hunt) that were either forgotten or retconned changed in later volumes of The Wheel of Time. It’s really been great listening to The Eye of the World – it’s fast become one of my favorite parts of the week – a 3-hour one-way drive (6-hour roundtrip) drive spent with friends who happen to be characters in a book.

Onwards…

Review: The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell

A few weeks ago I was thinking about some on-line discussion or another and wondering just what sword and sorcery really means and if any of the books I tend to read really fit that definition. Now I’ve come to realize that like porn, I’ll know sword and sorcery when I see it. It was The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) that showed me just what sword and sorcery is – vast armies and battles, witches, warlocks, ogres, gnomes, magical weapons, enchanted armor, and some object of great magical power that opposing forces want really badly. Perhaps it’s not the perfect definition for sword and sorcery and maybe there is often much more (or much less) to it, but it’s just possible that with The Conqueror’s Shadow, Marmell shows us what sword and sorcery should be.

What happens when the evil dark lord who marches seemingly unopposed across the land, reeking havoc and terrorizing the populace, reaches his goal and fails? He doesn’t fail due to the kingdom rallying a great defensive host and it’s not because of some destined hero’s intervention. The failure is just one small oversight. One evil dark lord, Corvis Rebaine, the Terror of the East, takes a hostage and disappears – abandoning his army of man and beast and allowing the kingdom to repair and believe that they actually met and beat the threat. Corvis eventually marries his hostage, settles in an out-of-the-way village, and enjoys being a father to his two children. What threat could possibly bring this past his prime, evil dark lord (who may not be so evil after all) out of retirement?

In many ways the plot of The Conqueror’s Shadow is utterly predictable right from the start. At first it was no bother – the compelling way the story unravels was more than enough to entertain and hold my interest – then things began to be a bit annoying, but I could still shrug it off, and just when I reached the ‘oh please’ moment some nagging doubts appeared. Then the story twists – now I have to say that I still found it fairly predictable, however the twist was enough to satisfy and the overall plot serves its role well.

The Conqueror’s Shadow isn’t a particularly deep book, and it’s not meant to be. The strength of it is in the snarky, harsh, action-packed plot and its colorful characters. However, that isn’t to say that The Conqueror’s Shadow isn’t without depth – it’s just not fully realized. Corvis, the Terror of the East is actually a disenchanted former soldier, a man who saw corruption in government, its inability to actually lead, and that the real power lies in bickering corporations guilds. This bitter young man decides that he could lead much better than those currently in charge – and he is probably right. Unfortunately the only way to achieve this sort of power is to become an evil lord wielding a magical weapon, wearing intimidating armor made of ancient bones, extracting power from an enslaved demon who feeds on the souls of humanity, partnering with a cannibalistic witch, and heading an army full of horrific beasts full of bloodlust. Now take this evil lord, add a loving wife, two children who mean the world to him, a couple of decades to mature and reflect, and then put him back in that place but facing an new evil lord, in so many ways the shadow of himself. Regret and remorse abound, atonement is sought, but he’s still that same man capable of evil, no matter how good his intentions. Just what means are worth the ends? How much sacrifice can actually achieve a greater good? Is the path to hell paved with good intentions? All this is in the background, a stage wonderfully set, but unfortunately never fully utilized. Maybe it’s appropriate because there are no real answers. Maybe asking the questions is enough, but I couldn’t help but want more.

A major short coming of sword and sorcery is the great talent of its protagonists with the sword and sorcery. He (and it’s almost always a he) is too good to be beat, his special weapon unsurpassed, his magic stronger than everyone else’s – and this magic all too often becomes a very convenient crutch to lean on when story needs a way out. The Conqueror’s Shadow walks this fine line and succeeds where so many fail. Corvis is vulnerable, emotionally and physically. Corvis is long past his prime, not particularly skilled in magic (though some of his friends are) and he faces a younger evil lord that is at least his equal. It’s refreshing and works fairly well – but this is still sword and sorcery and Corvis is still that stereotypical badass who may be captured, beaten and tortured, but cannot be defeated.

It’s often wondered just what the implications of our on-line world will be. One such path those sorts of discussions often wanders down is snark. Sarcasm isn’t enough in an on-line world – you must be so blatantly obvious that subtly isn’t acceptable. Thus sarcasm becomes snark. The Conqueror’s Shadow is snarky – nearly every single exchange of dialogue is snarky – heck, the interior dialogue of characters is snarky. Often this sort of humor sours a book, growing old and tedious. The Conqueror’s Shadow manages to maintain some weird not-balance where the relentless snark doesn’t grow old, it stays fresh and fun, adding to the characters in an odd sort of not-gallows humor of hard men (and women) in hard situations. This isn’t the first example of snark infusing fiction and it won’t be the last, but is it a new trend spawned by the denizens of the intranets? Thankfully, that is a question for somewhere other than this review, but I will say again, the snark works for The Conqueror’s Shadow.

The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell is fast and furious and full of snark – sword and sorcery at its best. Marmell cut his teeth in tie-in fiction – an oft maligned branch of the genre world. Authors of tie-in fiction are often accused of only being in it only for the money, or only looking for a way into ‘real’ fiction, but Marmell shows that he was in it simply because it’s what he loves. The Conqueror’s Shadow is welcome step from the tie-in world, bringing snarky excitement and a new voice that I’m anxious to hear more from. And while The Conqueror's Shadow stands fine on its own, there is more to come in the forthcoming sequel, The Warlord's Legacy. 7.5-8/10

Related Posts: Ari Marmell Answers Question Five

Winner: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

With the help of Random.org, a winner has been chosen for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound). The winner is…

Laura from Vero Beach, Florida

Congrats to all the winners!

Links to Stave Off….

It’s been a mix of a ‘blah’ kind of week and extremely hectic with lots of work to do. And I’m not finding near enough time to watch curling. Anyway, here are a few links.

As the picture shows, I got mail from Patrick Rothfuss – how cool is that? I won prize in for donating to his Heifer International Worldbuilder’s charity fundraiser, which raised nearly $200,000. I got a signed copy of The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound, my review) – free signed books are always cool, but I wish it were a book I didn’t already have. Not that I’m complaining.

SyFy is Time Magazine’s third worst corporate name change.

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) won’t be published in the US until Spring 2011 at the earliest – hopefully there’s still a chance of 2010 release for the UK.

A snarky interview with authors Blake Charlton and Gail Carriger.

I was mind-melded again at SFF Signal – this time about SFF TV shows that should be remade. I have no qualification for this at all, so I attempt humor.

Mark Charan Newton has an idea, a crazy idea. It’s an opportunity for writers to plagiarize remix his fiction. Personally, I’m holding out for Pride of Newton and Zombies – clearly a best-seller.

Author Sam Sykes interviews some bloggers (supposedly I’m in line – last I believe). An aside – what would you do if you found out that this guy lives in the same area as you?

And last, since I am a geologist and landslides are cool…

Something Completely Different

A wonderful autumn afternoon in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales.

Giveaway: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Sometimes when a publisher sends me books they never arrive – and sometimes when a publisher sends me books I get double. Thanks to the latter, I have an extra copy of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound). This book is building tons of buzz and looks to be THE debut of 2010 (and I really liked it). Below is the publisher’s description of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and you can read the first 3 chapters on-line for free.

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky, seat of the ruling Arameri family. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with a pair of cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother’s death and her family’s bloody history.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate — and gods and mortals — are bound inseparably.

So, the giveaway is simple. Just send an email to nethspace ‘at’ gmail ‘dot’ com. Remove and replace the ‘at’ and ‘dot’ with the appropriate symbols or use the email link in the sidebar. Use the subject of ‘100K’. Include you're name and mailing address. The deadline is Friday, February 26. Only one entry please and this is open to all. Good luck!

Review: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

It looks like The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) is shaping up to be THE debut of 2010. The buzz has been building for some time, reviews are stacking up, and the absolutely beautiful cover art (design by Lauren Panepinto and illustration by Cliff Nielsen) cannot be ignored. So, is the buzz justified? For me it is – Jemisin’s debut isn’t flawless, but it is a fun, unique and compelling read that is a welcome new addition to the world of fantasy.

The Arameri rule the world from their isolated perch in the city of Sky, magically held above all. They rule cold and harsh, wielding the power of enslaved gods to enforce their will. Yeine is the daughter of the former heir to the Arameri thrown. Raised far from Sky among the barbarian people of her father, she is summoned to Sky upon her mother’s mysterious death. Thrown into a world of vicious politics, Yeine must figure out who her allies really are – her rival heirs, hated grandfather, or the enslaved gods.

Immediately jumping out is the narrative style with which Jemisin chooses to tell The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. The story is told through the first person view of Yeine at some point in the future (making the ending somewhat predictable) in a sometimes startling colloquial way. At times the story jumps forward or backward with some relevant tangent with almost snarky interjections that often break the 4th wall of author-reader interaction. The reader is lead to question the reliability of Yeine and what she chooses to reveal and not reveal while being slowly charmed with a fish out of water story – an angry fish forced to fight for survival. One product of this approach is that The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a fairly fast read for its 400+ pages – I’d say fast-paced, but some may disagree with this characterization due to a relative lack of action where the fighting is largely with words and political maneuvering. This style sets the stage well for the refreshing twist Jemisin puts on the standard outsider vying for the thrown in a fantastic world.

Throughout The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms Jemisin subtly addresses some rather deep issues important in our own society – slavery, colonialism, sexism, racial and ethnic intolerance, class warfare, and others. Slavery is perhaps the most obvious of these as a central element is the struggle of the enslaved gods as they seek freedom. Perhaps more interesting is the way Jemisin twists typical feminist roles by having Yeine come from a deeply sexist, matriarchal society and thrusts her into a more typically patriarchal one. Part of me really wanted this brought out more, but I realize that leaving it as a subtle background works better in the end. However The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is mostly about power – the abuse of power by Arameri, the ambition for power of rival heirs, power struggles of gods, siblings and lovers.

Not to be limited, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is also a love story – the fairly standard story of a strong woman falling for someone that is more powerful than her, dangerous to be with and at least theoretically, unattainable. Yeine’s forced growth as she figures out who she is while dealing with the anger and grief of her mother’s death in new and dangerous surroundings of course makes her vulnerable to a sympathetic soul. The sympathetic soul and forbidden fruit happens to be an enslaved god – something perhaps even more deadly than the succession struggle she find herself at the heart of. All of this culminates in a sex scene that is at once fascinating and full of ‘oh please’.

While it’s an overall solid debut, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not entirely without flaws. First person narration is always tricky – it really works best when the reader likes or loves the narrator and can fall apart if the narrator becomes uninteresting or annoying. While I never became uninterested or annoyed, the narrative style did break the flow of the book at times in irritating ways and I can see how it could be an even bigger issue for some. Overall it’s handled well, but the unevenness is noticeable. Also, the scientist in me can’t help but question the city of Sky – I can accept that the power of the gods allows the city to be suspended half a mile above the ground. But apparently the gods also need to moderate the temperature and atmospheric pressure of the air around sky. This is completely unnecessary since Sky is only about 2600 feet above the ground – as someone who lives at an elevation of 7000 feet this inconsistency jumped out pretty readily even if it’s only a rather minor detail.

Jemisin creates a wonderfully unique and rich world even if we only see and experience only a small part of it in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Book 1 of the Inheritance Trilogy. While it is the opening of a trilogy, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms stands well on its own. Subsequent books promise to show us more of the world as they are told from points of view other than Yeine in places other than Sky and Jemisin maintains that each will stand on its own equally as well. Book 2, The Broken Kingdoms, is coming in fall 2010 (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound).

Overall, I found The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by Jemisin to be a quick and fascinating read. Her unique voice and layered storytelling are welcome additions to the world of fantasy. Highly recommended. 8/10

I’m so bad at Birthdays

I fall into the typical male stereotype of not being very good at remembering dates. It’s not that I really forget, I just loose track. Thankfully, my wife doesn’t mind all that much and I do manage to remember the big ones (her birthday, our wedding anniversary, etc.). Though I did miss the 10-year anniversary of when we first got together earlier this month. But I digress.

Of much more importance (OK, of much less importance) is that I in fact missed the birthday (or anniversary or blogday – I’m not sure the correct term) of this blog earlier this month. It was 4 years ago in early February that I first started throwing reviews that I’d written on a message board up on this blog for no other reason than to put them in one place and see what happened. There weren’t many SFF blogger/reviewers out there at this time and those that were around often hadn’t embraced the blog format or become as closely tied with message boards and the wider internet fandom as exists now. So, I was a pioneer of sorts – not the first wave and probably not even the second wave, but the wave just before it became the cool thing to do. And at 4 years old, this blog is relative ancient among the fan/reviewer blogs that we all know and love today.

There’s not really anything else to say – I’m not going to say anything profound and I’m not going to go all nostalgic. Heck, it’s only a 4th anniversary, which doesn’t any mean much. So, back to work for me and I hope you enjoy your February.

Review: Spiral Hunt by Margaret Ronald

I call it the new urban fantasy – not to be confused with old school urban fantasy or paranormal romance. But what is it? To me this new urban fantasy is basically chicks kicking paranormal ass (sorry to use what is a derogative term, but for whatever reason it seems to fit in this case). The setting is generally urban, and there are usually vampires, werewolves, demons, or some other sort of magical beasties that need some ass-kicking – and the woman who ultimately does this ass-kicking often has some sort of supernatural powers herself.

The way I describe the new urban fantasy above probably leads you to conclude that I’m not the biggest fan of the sub-genre that is taking over the SFF-world with its huge popularity and corresponding sales figures. That conclusion is at least partially correct – as a result it’s not something that I read all that often. However, I do believe that it can be done well just as I believe an exploration of why it’s so popular in this post-911 world is something I’d like to see more of. But I digress.

I picked up Spiral Hunt by Margaret Ronald (Book Depository, Powell’s Books , Indiebound) for a few reasons – I wanted something that could be a short and entertaining read while I was waiting for another book, Spiral Hunt is intriguing to me because of it’s grounding in Celtic mythology which I’ve always been fascinated by, it’s set in a city (Boston) that I’m not too familiar with, and because I am making an effort to read more books authored by women this year. And let’s be honest, as a reviewer of SFF books, I need to read the occasional new urban fantasy book to keep up with things.

Spiral Hunt follows the new urban fantasy rubric fairly closely – Evie Scelan is a relatively young, single woman, is fiercely independent with few friends, haunted by her past, and somewhat down on her luck. Evie also has the ability to magically track the scent of people and things. She makes ends meet with the day job of courier, and moonlights as a finder of people and things for which she utilizes her gift/curse. A call from her past brings her into the middle of a conflict within the dark, dangerous, and magical undercurrent of Boston where a gang of magicians seeks to gain power by feeding off of the magic of gods that have faded a bit from the world.

Spiral Hunt got off to a slow start. Maybe this was due to my own preconceptions about the new urban fantasy that hint at above, but Evie doesn’t start out as a particularly likeable or even interesting person – which can be a real problem for a book told from the first person. The few supporting characters we meet don’t feel fleshed out enough to add any interest. The Boston that we see feels more like a cliché than the unique city I’d hoped for. The plot was slow to get started and rambled aimlessly at times – though this is probably more a result of Evie’s point of view than anything.

But once the novel gets going, Sprial Hunt gets interesting. Once the cast has been introduced and the setting established, Ronald is free to get things rolling. Evie’s conflicted loyalties become compelling and I began to care about Evie’s coming to understand herself and her place. Through this Ronald lays out a wonderfully subtle and ultimately powerfully cathartic resolution for Evie involving her dead mother.

As I mention above, I find Celtic mythology fascinating and with Boston’s long ties to Ireland, there is an obvious connection to be explored (or exploited). And that’s just what happens – the Celtic gods are indeed exploited. I would have loved for more exploration, yet I’m willing to admit that Americans exploiting ancient Celtic gods is probably much more appropriate.

I don’t read enough of the new urban fantasy to really know if Spiral Hunt sets itself apart from the pack. But it did satisfy what I was looking for – it was ultimately a short and entertaining read. At times disappointing, at times addictive, Spiral Hunt left me interested enough to want to know what’s next for Evie – and the adventures of this latest urban heroine do continue in Wild Hunt (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), a book that I imagine I’ll look into the next time I need something short and entertaining. 6.5-7/10

Something Completely Different

Rheinfels Castle, St. Goar, Germany

Review: Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Diving into the Wreck (Book Depository, Powell’s, Indiebound) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch explores deep space through its wrecks with a healthy dose of government conspiracy and family troubles.

Boss dives wrecks – she doesn’t salvage, she’s not in it for profit and she makes ends meet by leading tourists through some of her favorites. She dives for the love of the mystery and unique history each presents. Diving is dangerous – the environment of deep space is hostile, wrecks present all sorts of external dangers and unknowns, but it’s perhaps the human response to these dangers that proves the most deadly of all. Boss has found the wreck of her lifetime, a wreck that will lead her to her past and dominate her future, a wreck that will kill.

These days most of the books I read are epic fantasy and most of the authors of those books are male. When I picked up Diving into the Wreck it was an intentional departure from my typical fair. It ended up being both a welcome departure and an interesting one. Diving into the Wreck is an extremely introspective book – we are firmly routed in Boss’s head as she is forced to contemplate her fears, motivations, relationships with family and friends, her past, and future. These explorations feel real – far more real than one may expect from a relatively unreal far-future space adventure. And these explorations feel like a window into Rusch herself. I’ve never met Rusch, so I have no basis other than gut-feel, but it feels very much like through Boss, she delved deep into her own fears and motivations. This sort of deep personal introspection is not often found in the books I typically read – whether this lacking is from epic fantasy or from male writers I can only speculate, but I found it a pretty stark contrast.

Beyond the introspection, Rusch tells a compelling story about adventure in deep space. I’ve been a scuba diver for over 20 years, so I can relate just a bit to what it’s like to leave your natural environment and enter one that is hostile to your life – where you are dependent on a suite that has a finite ability to sustain life. The few times that I’ve done anything approaching cave and wreck diving are among the most terrifying and thrilling experiences in my life. Obviously the recreational diving I’m familiar with is vastly different from penetrating a dark and unknown derelict space ship in an environment that is orders of magnitudes more hostile than the ocean. But the emotional response has to be similar. For me, Rusch captures this very well, though I wonder if someone who has no point of reference (such as scuba diving) would feel the same.

Diving into the Wreck is told in three parts – each a novella originally published in Asimov’s. I have not read the original novellas so I don’t know how much editing occurred to mash them into a more coherent narrative, but the pace of the story does suffer at times – particularly between the parts one and two. The result almost gives it the feel of a mosaic novel, though I stop short of calling it such. The style and feel of the book doesn’t really change, just the timing and flow.

Ultimately the introspection dies down as the story picks up pace toward its finale. By this point Rusch had created a strong connection between reader and character and the book was near impossible to put down. The end is satisfying, if a bit too Hollywood, and leaves the field wide open for a sequel, tentatively titled City of Ruins, that has already been announced.

Diving into the Wreck was something of a departure from my usual fair and a departure that rewarded me well. The deep introspection combined with palpable tension created a near-perfect balance throughout. And Rusch does it all less than 300 pages. This one isn’t just for fans of traditional science fiction. 8/10