Someone Disagrees With Me on the Internet

OK, I think a lot of people disagree with me, but that’s not really the point. Renay over at Lady Business doesn’t like my review of Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. She disagrees with me (in fact a lot of people disagree with my opinion on that book), but that’s not really the point. She takes the biggest issue with how I end the review.

 

My ultimate takeway is simply this. Seeing this book get so many accolades, so much attention, only emphasizes just how stagnant SFF is as a genre. With relatively few exceptions, the genre that’s best suited to explore what’s possible, what should and should not be, what our own expectations say about us and everything in between doesn’t do any of that in regard to many fundamental aspects of our society. 

And I can’t decide if that depresses me or pisses me off.

 

Renay really disagrees with the idea of SFF as a stagnant genre and expands this to disagreement with the very commonly espoused idea that SFF is dead. Perhaps it’s mostly due a poor word choice on my part, but that’s not really the point I’m making here. The point I make stems from a rather simple observation – compare Ancillary Justice with pretty much any book that Ursual K. Le Guin wrote 40-50 years ago, but for simplicity’s sake, let’s say The Left Hand of Darkness (my review if you're interested to compare my thoughts of each). How much progress is evident from that simple comparison? EDIT: For a more in depth comparison of these two books check out this post on Tor.com./EDIT

 

It seems to me that there is relatively little progress evident in that specific direct comparison given all the actual social change that’s occurred in the nearly 50-year time period covered. Or to put it another way, after 50 years the same issues keep coming up over and over again. Sure, it’s great to point out that the baseline (or perhaps goalposts?) shift every time these issues come up. But at least from my point of view, I can’t help but feel a bit saddened by apparent lack of progress evident in the SFF genre over that time period (admittedly, from a single comparison).

 

To go back to that excerpt from my review, I do consider Ancillary Justice to be an exception to the ‘stagnation’ I reference. And that’s why it depresses me, because after 50 years (or more) of this repeating cycle, a book like Ancillary Justice is still an exception, something outside of the mainstream of the SFF genre, something different. And it shouldn’t be. Not by a long shot. That’s what really pisses me off.

 

And as award season ramps up, Ancillary Justice is proving to be a shortlist favorite – and has already won its first with the Kitchies. Now, I personally would not have nominated it (I don’t really nominate for any awards so it hardly matters), but I am pleased to see it on the lists. To me it shows that a growing and increasingly vocal part of fandom craves books that push boundaries and expectations, just as the best of the genre always has. So, while not my choice, I am happy to see it gaining attention over the same old, same old that often populates award shortlists.

 

Oh, and by the way, I still thought Ancillary Justice was boring and an overall mediocre book. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth talking about.

 

 

 

*A note that I hesitate to even mention, but another unfortunate part in all this is some of the discussions I’ve seen on Twitter about my review – apparently writing the review I did has regulated me to being just another male critic who doesn’t get it. I find that reaction terribly hypocritical, but it’s also one I don’t plan on engaging any further than this note.

 

Review: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) is a book that people who follow this blog have probably heard about by now, a lot. Many of you have likely read it, and those that haven’t should certainly consider reading it, if for no other reason than it seems to be at the top of many people’s award nomination list (it’s already on several shortlists) and I’ve seen people calling it something along the lines of the most important science fiction book in the last decade.

 

Here comes the big ‘BUT’.

 

All of this buzz, and I’ll even elevate the buzz to hype, essentially results from one aspect of the book – how it uses pronouns. The primary society of this book treats gender in a way fundamentally different than any of the dominant societies of our world. Gender is simply not a distinguishing characteristic of people and the default pronoun is ‘she’. This results in some interesting observations and confusions in other cultures and a default view of all the characters in the books as female rather than male. This rather simple shift can have a pretty significant impact on expectations.

 

Now, I want no confusion on this point. The above aspects of the book are great. SFF needs more interesting treatments of gender, race, etc. and this is a book that has people talking. These are important issues that SFF as a genre is particularly suited to addressing since it can make up pretty well whatever it wants as default conditions. To put it lightly, it’s unfortunate how often the default conditions mirror our own society with little to no reflection on why.

 

Here comes BUT again.

 

Ancillary Justice as a novel is boring. The plot seems…absent. Sure there is a plot and it involves some potentially interesting exploration of artificial intelligence as well as discussions on where a society as a whole should go. BUT, while I won’t call the plot secondary, it’s entirely uninteresting. The characters are less interesting than an inflexible wooden board. I didn’t know or didn’t care what the character motivations were. I didn’t care how the book would end. I DIDN’T CARE.

 

If a book can’t make me care about the plot or its characters, then it’s almost certainly a complete waste of my time. And that would be the case – any other book like this and I wouldn’t have finished it. I doubt I’d make it 50 pages in.

 

BUT

 

There’s all the hype, the buzz, the talk about how this book is such a wonderful exploration of gender. Only the whole gender thing – it’s really nothing. It’s simply a part of how things are in Leckie’s world society. Which is great, which is how things should be. BUT it didn’t add anything to the story. Nothing of interest (at least to me) was explored in any depth. Not gender. Not the interesting religious implications of an AI-lead, galactic-spanning theocratic empire. Not the politics of an empire ripping apart at its seams. Not the impact of a xenophobic society expanding through a galaxy. NOTHING.

 

After a fair bit of thought, I think it really comes down to my expectations for Ancillary Justice after seeing so many people I often agree with praise this book so highly. I was expecting something new, something exciting. Ancillary Justice is none of those things. Ursula le Guin was exploring gender in much more important, more shocking, and more meaningful ways 50 YEARS AGO.

 

My ultimate takeaway is simply this. Seeing this book get so many accolades, so much attention, only emphasizes just how stagnant SFF is as a genre. With relatively few exceptions, the genre that’s best suited to explore what’s possible, what should and should not be, what our own expectations say about us and everything in between doesn’t do any of that in regard to many fundamental aspects of our society.

 

And I can’t decide if that depresses me or pisses me off.

 

My Warped Sense of Humor

A few years back my wife asked me what my 10 favorite books were. The point of the question was that she was interested in reading what I considered my 10 favorite books so she could learn a bit more about me and we could have some interesting stuff to talk about (at this point we'd been married for almost 10 years, so we were hardly newly weds). Anyway, I'm pretty terrible with lists, but I did come up with a few of my favorite books to give over to her.

 

Fast forward to this last weekend and she was looking at those books and asking me to describe them to see what she may want to read. One of those books I described something like this:

 

"Imagine all the most inappropriate and offensive aspects of my sense of humor - you know the really bad stuff. Ramp that up by an order of magnitude or two and you'd get this book."

 

Her response was something like 'Oh'.

 

And I said, 'yeah, I don't think you'd want to read this one at all.'

 

For the record, this is the book I was talking about:

 

 

Escape From Hell! by Hal Duncan
My Review

Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon.

Review: The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley

A few times a year I notice a big push by one big traditional publisher or another about a book that they’ve clearly identified as the next big thing. The marketing is typically ratcheted up a notch or two – many review copies, interviews, blog tours, free sample chapters, etc. One of these books for 2014 is The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley – go ahead and search out the buzz, you’ll find a lot, including 7 sample chapters.

 

Of course these books are often mixed in how they are received both critically and financially, but in general it’s safe to say that they tend to have a potentially wide-market appeal and are not overly different from other popular books at the time. In this, The Emperor’s Blades is no different – it’s a fairly traditional sort of epic fantasy somewhat in a similar vein as George RR Martin and David Anthony Durham.

 

I rather enjoyed the story of the book, and I have to freely admit that Staveley writes a very good action scene and made me connect in a positive way with the characters of the story. This makes the book very readable, hard to put down, and flat-out entertaining. The world is neatly developed in the familiar medieval European and surrounding environs sort of way and the magic system is subtle in this opening book of the series with a potential to be bigger. All in all, it’s exactly the sort of thing that fans of epic fantasy crave, making this book a very logical choice to push as the next big thing.

 

However, I had a few nagging issues that simply didn’t go away. The first, and lesser, is with the character Adare, the daughter of the emperor, though not an heir due to being a girl. The book’s description talks her up in a big way, though this isn’t well realized in the book as she seems marginalized to a low page count as she plays something of the traditional role of female victim. It was disappointing, and consistent with the treatment of the only other female character of note in the book. I’ve been told that the second book rectifies many of these issues, but so far the series is not out to a good start.

 

But the bigger issue I had was with the general framework of this series. In short, epic fantasy is often a very conservative genre at heart and this series appears to be a poster-child example of it. Much of traditional epic fantasy revolves around the basic tenant of maintaining the status quo – the goal is keep or re-establish some monarchy or other style of generally oppressive government, usually in the face of some grave, even existential, threat that only the government can protect the people from. Only rarely is any sort of actual human progress sought.

 

This is absolutely the case with The Emperor’s Blades – there is a rather tyrannical empire, complete with casual slavery. Everything in the story is about maintaining this empire at all costs, and the always looming great evil that this government must protect its people from is introduced. This is a story of an aristocratic elite fighting to keep power.

 

To me, this sort of storytelling in epic fantasy is tired and lazy. I want something more, something progressive, or at least not something inherently conservative (and I’m not necessarily using these terms in a political sense). And I find it troubling where the default for epic fantasy is basically that tyrannical governmental structures are fine as long as they protect you from evil. Especially as I look at around at my own and similar governments.

 

In spite of my reservations, I feel that Staveley’s storytelling rose above the mediocrity of its framework, and I agree that most fans of epic fantasy will find it enjoyable. The book was fun to read and I imagine that I will read the second book, The Providence of Fire, to see where things go. Hopefully there will some big picture surprises that improve upon my reservations.

 

The Emperor’s Blades (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

 

 

Hurt: The Ballad of Roland of Gilead

The other day I heard a song that I haven't in a while. The song is Hurt, not the Nine Inch Nails original, but the version sung by Johnny Cash that made such a splash about ten years ago. I love both versions, though the Johnny Cash version just feels so real. And to me, I've always, since the first time I heard the that version, thought of Roland of Gilead from Steven King's Dark Tower series. To me, that song embodies Roland perfectly.

 

Roland of Gilead is the last gunslinger, a holdover from a gilded age of civilization and prosperity. The world is decaying, humanity is decaying, and Roland is the symbol of it all, He's the decay of humanity, and the last hope for it. He's a deeply flawed and hurt individual, on a quest, perhaps the most noble of quests. But he's single-minded, selfish, and willing to sacrifice anything to reach the end of his quest, even his own humanity. He is the tragic hero.

 

The series itself if flawed, Roland is flawed, humanity is decaying, and the gilded age of before was never the ideal everyone remembers. The metaphor is strong, and perfect, and flawed. Say whatever you want of the series, but Roland is one of the most powerful protagonists I can think of in the fantasy genre. And he is so deeply imperfect.

 

So, I give you Hurt, the Ballad of Roland of Gilead. A song that nearly always brings me to tears - whether I think of Roland, Cash, Reznor, or others from my own life.

 

 

 

 

 

The Dark Tower begins with The Gunslinger and one of the best opening lines I've ever read.  

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

 (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Checking in with 2014 and SpecFic'12

Somehow, someway it's already 2014. Time flies and since my birthday is on New Year's Day it literally is another year older for me. But I digress.

 

Last year had the distinction of being my least productive blogging year in the 8 years this blog has been around. I hope to improve on that this year, but I doubt it'll be dramatic. I do have about 7 reviews in various forms of writing (mostly in my head still) so hopefully I can get a few of those posted soon. Anyway, I imagine I'm still going to be on a 1-2 reviews per month pace while I read about 3 books per month. Nothing notable there, but it's been ages since I've been anything close to a post per day blogger. I may do a 2013 summary post and I may not - I'll decide later.

 

However, somehow last year I never got around to blogging about one of the coolest things that's happened to me in 8 years of blogging. I was actually published (and paid). I think that makes me semi-pro now, though you'll have to pry my amateur status out of my cold, dead hand (I should note that I have no aspirations of being a writer, so it doesn't matter one way or another).

 

One of the reviews I wrote in 2012 was selected for publication in Speculative Fiction 2012, (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) which is a collection of reviews and other non-fiction web-based content from 2012. It's sort of a best-of publication and it's an honor to be included. I mean, my contribution is clearly bringing up the average with authors like Kate Elliot, Elizabeth Bear, Christopher Priest, and Joe Abercrombie holding the publication back. Anyway, it's a good read and I think it's worth checking out. Nomination are still open for the next publication in 2013 of what I hope will become a long-running series.

 

Below is a bit of promo from the editors Jared Shurin and Justin Landon the book that I figured I pass along.

 

What are we asking?

We're writing this particular message to make a request. Speculative Fiction 2012 is eligible for a Hugo Award in Best Related Work. As a contributor to the project we would very much hope you would include it on your nomination ballot (if you have one). If you're a member of LonCon3, or were a member of LoneStarCon3, you have the ability to nominate. You can do so here.

Why nominate SpecFic'12?

Well, as contributor I'm sure you know all this, but Specfic'12 came to be for two reasons: to create a record of the year and to recognize blogging, for the first time, as a legitimate means of commentary in a world obsessed with... erm... legitimacy. We believe the project was outlandishly successful on both fronts. Three reasons, even, as all the proceeds have been donated to Room to Read.

The collection included over fifty of your pieces written on subjects ranging from ethnocentrism in My Little Pony to the role of historical authenticity in fantasy. We were privileged to publish your book reviews, biopics, essays, and eviscerations. We convinced Campbell Award winner Mur Lafferty to write the foreword because we knew she'd win the award and aid us in our quest to build votes for the project (that's what we call REVISIONIST history). In short, we put together a time capsule for future generations of science fiction and fantasy readers to understand what was important to readers in 2012. And we're excited to see it happen again in 2013, and on into the future.

What else can you do to help?

Share the contents of this email on your social media and blogs. Leave out the first paragraph. It's terribly charming, but may not make a lot of sense out of context. Encourage your networks to consider SpecFic'12 in Best Related Work. Talk about why criticism and commentary and blogging and online debate are all important. Share links to Room to Read. Talk about how fun it would be to own exactly 1/50th of a Hugo Award. We believe it's a project shared among the entire online community, a symbol - and hopefully some sort of small representation -  of all the great work that's happening online.

Regardless of what you decide to do with your nominations, thank you so much for contributing to SpecFic'12. It's a project we felt passionate about and we're so proud that it came to fruition, and even more proud that it's in good hands for 2013 with Ana Grilo and Thea James of the Book Smugglers.

Sincerely,

Justin Landon & Jared Shurin

P.S. Because we're especially shameless, we're making the eBook of Speculative Fiction completely free this weekend - January 11 and 12th.

 

 

 

Mini-Review: Caine Black Knife by Matthew Stover

Caine Black Knife is the third book in the Acts of Caine series by Matthew Stover which is one of those series that is criminally under-read. Basically, if you are a fan of fantasy, particularly epic fantasy, then you need to read these books. If you’re not familiar, take a quick moment to read my reviews of Heores Die (Act of Violence) and Blade of Tyshalle (Act of War), not only are they some of my better written reviews but they will hopefully help show why SFF fans should be reading these books.

 

Caine Black Knife picks up a few years after the events in Blade of Tyshalle (a book often lauded as one of the best of epic fantasy, period – though there is a minority disagreement of course). Caine Black Knife tells of Caine’s return to the place where he made his fame on earth and we see through flashbacks the how Caine earned that fame through the slaughter of the Black Knife tribe of ogrilloi and his improbably survival through it all. Over and over again the reader sees that Caine is no hero, he is only good in comparison to how bad others around him are.

 

Caine Black Knife is the first half of Caine: Act of Atonement, Book 1 and you could argue that it’s only the first half of the final book in the series. There is a full story told, but it is clearly the set-up for the book to come. In this respect it’s rather straight-forward and linear in its approach, though few would likely call this a linear book with all the flashbacks and parallel stories.

 

Stover’s writing is supurb. His characters are deeply developed and as conflicted as people in real life – though thankfully much more interesting to actually follow than most people typically are. Stover writes action and fight scenes better than anyone else writing in SFF today and if there existed a photo of Caine, that would be all that is needed for the Wikipedia page for ‘bad-ass’.

 

However, to discount Stover as only the best action/fight writer in SFF is an injustice. Because what makes that writing so good is the way in which he makes it mean something. This book is the first part of Caine’s journey toward atonement. We see the past, we see the present. We see the regret and the non-regret. Everything from sacrifice to parenthood is explored, though underlying it all is the idea of what is good versus what is bad versus what simply is. Caine is good. Caine is bad. And Caine is everything in between. But really, Caine simply is. As fans of this series have come to expect, he kicks major ass, he survives and he continues to surprise any and all who find themselves on the wrong side of Caine’s goals.

 

But Caine Black Knife mostly sets the stage for the Act of Atonement, Book 2: Caine’s Law, the final book in the series. And that book is simply the culmination of all that is Caine and his method of atonement – and that is another story: what Caine will be.

 

Heroes Die: Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon

Blade of Tyshalle: Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon

Caine Black Knife: Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon

Caine’s Law: Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon

 

Think You Know So Much? I'm only Mostly Dead

Since I actually bothered to look at the blog today, I figured I'd give you all a bit of update. Yes, it's been quite around here lately with only 1-2 posts per month. Let's just say work, home life and everything in between and around have conspired to sap my enthusiasm for blogging in my few free hours per week and the simple truth is that will probably continue for the foreseeable future. I have a few reviews that I plan to do, but those will probably trickle out pretty slowly over the next month or two. But I am conspiring (I like this word today) with another blogger to bring about some potentially interesting content here. Stay tuned for it. I am still around on Twitter most days, so I'm not completely silent.

Anyway, so expect more of the same, though I do hope my enthusiasm will reappear soon. I even took a break from reading at all for nearly a month. I suppose I could take a picture with the stacks of books I've received since I posted the last one. But I don't even have the energy for that and those posts were mostly filler anyway.

Anyway, here's to more of the same and to blave!

Mini-Review: The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

Check out the usual suspects (i.e. – blogs that run in the same circles I do) and look for any reference to ‘year’s best’ or similar, and you’ll probably come across a reference or 5 to The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon). Karen Lord is an author I’ve been looking out for since I heard a lot of good about her debut, Redemption in Indigo (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon), and after I overcame my initial reluctance to jump on the ‘Best of All Possible Bandwagons’, I final have gotten around to reading the book.

 

I’m glad I did – I enjoyed it a lot and can see why it’s frequently mentioned as a front runner for various awards.

 

The Best of All Possible Worlds does much of what science fiction is at its best – it’s a throwback to classical science fiction of the Star Trek variety, though it’s framed in much more of a progressive, humanistic light. It explores humanity through extreme ethnic evolution where humans of varying origin can still interbred, but have evolved a wide-range of telepathic, empathetic, and other abilities. Through this lens Lord explores such deeper ideas as emotionally damaged people, arrogance, humility, communication, dominance, slavery, and genocide. But all that is really a sideline.

 

The Best of All Possible Worlds is a romance and shame on you if your initial reaction considers this a negative description of the book. This book tells the story of how two individuals from very different upbringings, with large emotional scars, come to love each other. This is not a book about sexual seduction, but friendship building into a deep love and respect. And it’s subtle. So deliciously subtle.

 

When I call The Best of All Possible Worlds a romance, that shouldn’t mean that’s not science fiction. It is – the two are not mutually exclusive no matter how many times I’ve read a review that suggests it is so. Both exist in the same book. Both are well done. And the combination is what makes this such a great book. And if you’re inclination is to not read this book because I invoked the icky word ‘romance’, take that as one giant reason why you should read this book.

 

I typically don’t read other reviews of a book I plan to review. With so much attention already brought to The Best of All Possible Worlds, I made this one the exceptions. The result is that my review is somewhat in response to what I’ve seen in several other reviews. There is a lot more that can be said of this book – much of it positive, and some of it negative. But I’ll let you read about that elsewhere. In short, I very much enjoyed The Best of All Possible Worlds and I can see why it’s talked about as front-runner for awards.

 

Except for that whole business with the faerie world/elves analog. That part really didn’t work for me at all.

 

Mini-Review: Blood and Bone by Ian C. Esslemont

Blood and Bone by Ian C. Esslemont (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) is his 5^th effort in the overall Malazan sequence by Erikson and Esslemont and the penultimate book in the entire saga of the two authors – excepting of course a few novellas, Erikson’s prequels, and whatever the future brings. If that first sentence isn’t enough to convince you, at this point these books are for the fans and those that have read all the others. So, in many ways, this review is nearly pointless anyway…but I digress.

 

In many ways, the writing of Blood and Bone is the best effort yet I’ve seen out of Esslemont, an in my opinion it’s a huge improvement over Orb, Sceptre, Throne (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon). However, in retrospect, while the craft was technically superior to his other work, it seems that it does suck some of the life out of the story. When reading the book I felt I was on autopilot – if someone had asked me what happened 10 pages earlier or even if I cared about what was going on, I don’t think I’d have had an answer for them. Combine this with Esslemont’s insistence on being over-subtle (which is a kind way of saying he doesn’t fully explain what should be explained to the detriment of the story), and the book as a whole was failure. I think the biggest take-home lesson is that I simply prefer Erikson’s writing to Esslemont’s. This is unfortunate, because I think thematically the culmination of the entire Malazan saga in the final book – Assail (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) – should be spectacular. But I have zero confidence at this point that Esslemont will be able to pull it off to my satisfaction. But I’ll read it anyway – I’ve come too far not to.

 

And a parting note – I did enjoy how the deadly slog of slow death that soldiers experienced in this book was through a jungle. In Malazan we’ve seen that story repeatedly in desert environs – it was a pleasant juxtaposition to see death by jungle in this book.

 

Mini-Review: Hunted by Kevin Hearne

Kevin Hearn’s Iron Druid series has become my own special sort of cotton candy – it’s light, fluffy, I know it’s bad for me, but I enjoy it a lot anyway. While it’s billed as series, it’s more of a serial to me – the books have much more in common with episodes than actual novels. And there is nothing bad about that, except that treating like a series rather than a serial will probably mean it ends soon than it should.

 

Anyway, Hunted (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) is the most episodic entry in the series so far. It picks up directly after the cliffhanger ending of Trapped (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) and consists entirely of Atticus and company fleeing from a few Greek and Roman gods trying to kill them. Yes, it still has the same humor, the fun wish-fulfillment action and all that. And of course the ending is something of a cliffhanger for the next episode, Shattered, which I’ll happily consume when it is released.

 

My only real complaint (keeping things in the context of my opening sentence), is that Hearne does a truly terrible job of writing the point of view of Granuaile. They read like a 13-year old girl’s private essay of life where she is trying like hell to sound profound – or perhaps a 14 year old boy’s imagining of such. They do not read like the point of view of a grown woman with full agency and independence from male imagined feminine ideals. If the points of view are going to be so bad – keep it to Atticus and the dog.

 

Anyway, these books are nothing more than fun asides from someone who lives in Arizona and sets events in places I’ve been. I’ll keep reading and enjoying, but keep in mind the context of my enjoyment if you’re looking for a recommendation.

 

Review: The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch

In 2006 the world of SFF fandom was changing. As you would expect, Fandom had already adopted the internet, however much of it was still bound up in listserves, forums and other early communities that would feel quite dated these days. There were plenty of review sources online, but they still felt like simple digital reprints of dead tree products. In 2006 blogs were coming – sure they had been around for years already, but this was the period when it was realized that pretty much anyone could start a blog (note, my blog was started in 2006). This proliferation of blogs at a time when the old listeserves, forums and other communities were still relatively vibrant created a perfect storm for viral fan mania. Enter Scott Lynch from stage left with The Lies of Locke Lamora, a fan himself quite familiar with the online world (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon). The Lies of Locke Lamora was very refreshing at the time – it felt new. Not quite gritty (or do I have to use the term grimdark?), not quite humor, not quite epic fantasy, but all kinds of fun. This was a merry band of thieves that that the 21^st century could get behind (ironically in a renaissance-inspired second world). It went viral, fans everywhere embraced it, and yes there was fun internet controversy as a one reviewer who was not a fan got a bit hyperbolic and fans exploded (even me).

 

*Note: if you follow some of those links back to posts and reviews I wrote 6 and 7 years ago, please be merciful. I’ve come a long way.*

 

Lynch followed in 2007 with Red Seas Under Red Skies (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon), which again was wildly popular, though perhaps not as universally praised (though I found it to be much better written). It was still clear that fans loved Lynch’s writing and he was poised to become the next big name in genre. Fans eagerly awaited the next book – The Republic of Thieves (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) – for this one promised to be even bigger and better. We’d finally get to meet Locke’s long lost love and greatest rival Sabetha. Rumors were the bondsmagi would play an even bigger role. It would be the best yet.

 

A year passed and fans were still eager. Another year and they get restless, impatient – comparisons to George RR Martin and Patrick Rothfuss are made (not favorable comparisons, though it’s good company to be in). Rumors fly and the pitchforks begin to come out. Then we learn the reason – Lynch has been suffering from debilitating depression, he’s gone through a divorce and the death of close family members. People are sympathetic, Lynch’s public announcements are widely praised and quite inspirational – most of the pitchforks are put away. A couple more years go by, people are still generally accepting, growing rather cynical, a few are dusting off the pitchforks again, yet most are still eager. Now, it’s 2013. It’s been 6 years since Red Seas Under Red Skies was released and The Republic of Thieves exists in print form for release on October 8.

 

One may question why I’ve begun a review with a history lesson (of sorts), and my response is that it is critical to how The Republic of Thieves will be received by long-waiting fans. Expectations are simultaneously high and low, yet nearly universally hopeful. In the intervening 6 years, this blogger has played all of those fan roles I reference above. I will say this now: The Republic of Thieves exceeded my expectations and was one hell of a good read.

 

Looking at what I wrote above from a different point of view, that of Lynch himself, I can see pressure, anxiety, more pressure, more anxiety, holy shit how did I get myself into this… We fans only made this worse. And Lynch promised us the world – he promised us the long anticipated reunion of Locke and Sabetha. The best cons ever going head-to-head against each other. With bondsmagi. Then he promised us a Shakespearean play to mirror it all. What was he thinking...no wonder he was reduced to anxiety attacks and depression.

 

*Note, it’s not my intent to mock Lynch or anyone else’s anxiety and depression in any way, and I apologize if it’s taken as such.*

 

The Republic of Thieves is very ambitious – it has stories in parallel to other stories, flashbacks, romance, treachery, and Lynch basically wrote an entire Shakespearean play in the middle of it all. This is the best of the best versus the best of the best. It’s deadly serious yet Lynch still needed to maintain that cavalier, mocking attitude that serves to lighten the load. It’s new ground and it’s setting the stage for the next 4 books in the series. It also has a major reveal, one that Locke (and his fans) simply cannot trust…or afford not to.

 

And Lynch pulls it off in grand fashion. The present of Lynch’s world mirrors the past which mirrors the play our favorite thieves are pretending to act in. Sabetha and Locke go head to head in a dance of cons, yet the greater dance in the romance and seduction that underlies it all (both past and present). Who wins the con? Who wins the seduction? Are there winners at all? Does he get the girl? Does she get the guy? Who dies? I throw those questions out there to entice while building up expectations to knock them down. Just as Lynch does. Because, the most important questions may not have been asked.

 

Lynch’s writing is his strongest yet, but that’s only the start as the way he constructs The Republic of Thieves really brings it all together. It’s the plotting, the shuffling of scenes and the emotions of those characters we already care about. It’s Locke, Sabetha and Jean. And those that have (and will) die.

 

The Republic of Thieves is one of the most highly anticipated books in the SFF world over the last 7 years. The biggest question is whether those high expectation will or can be met. As I’ve said in this review, in my opinion Lynch not only meets, but exceeds those expectations. Welcome back Scott – I can’t recall the last time I had so much fun reading a book. So…when’s the next one coming?

 

*yes, I’m an evil bastard too*

 

Mini-Review: Always Forever by Mark Chadbourn

Always Forever is the final book in the Age of Misrule trilogy by Mark Chadbourn (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon), tells the story of f a Faerie apocalypse where the modern world is invaded by the magic and magical creatures of Faerie and other similar worlds. It’s set in Britain and I really enjoyed the first two books in the series World’s End (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) and Darkest Hour (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon).

 

The trilogy follows 5 people who are destined to have the power to save humanity from both the Tuatha de Danaan and undeniable evil of the Fomorii and their gods. Their reluctant leader is Church (Jack Churchill) as they struggle to overcome death and despair with the lost of their world as they knew it and the events of Darkest Hour.

 

I’ve enjoyed this series primarily because it’s both a different sort of apocalypse and the infusion of Celtic myth into the modern world. The way Chadbourn writes the series makes it read sort of like a travel guide of ancient sites of power throughout Britain. I must admit that this really appealed to me as it almost became a sort of bucket list for my next trip to the British Isles (I’ve visited some of these sites, but certainly not all). As such, I often would have my British atlas open as I read. Seeing this fantasized version of how history, myth and legend combine at these historic/pre-historic sites is fascinating, and probably the thing I enjoyed most about the series.

 

The personal struggles of the 5 ‘Brothers and Sisters of Dragons’ bring an authenticity to events as each person has strengths, weaknesses, and flaws in their character. The contrast of humanity and all its flaws presented against the evil of the Fomorii and lack of humanity of the Tuatha de Danaan brings an interesting depth to much of what happens through the series. The result is a different way to look at the Celtic fantasy that comes in and out of fashion – it’s not romanticized though sticks to typical fantasy format. This balance works quite well and always keeps things interesting.

 

In retrospect, the end of the series seems obvious and appropriate. It was one that I think I would have figured out had I tried. But the truth is that I would simply dive in and enjoy the writing so much that I never bothered to – and I suppose that little bit says more about the series than just about anything else I can say.

 

Mini-Review: Bones of the Earth by Michael Swanwick

Sometimes worlds do actually collide. While my alter-ego on the internet (who I colloquially call Neth) is well known in certain areas of the internet, I do have a real world identity that includes me being a trained geologist. While it’s not the cliché that many would think, I do love dinosaurs. Neth loves what he’s read from Michael Swanwick and when Swanwick writes about dinosaurs in Bones of the Earth (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) worlds collide.

 

In many ways, Bones of the Earth is Jurassic Park written by a much more likeable author. They both involve dinosaurs, they both involve science fiction (genetic engineering in Jurassic Park and time travel in Bones of the Earth), and they are both something of a thriller in nature easily adaptable to the likes of Hollywood. My instinct is to call Bones of the Earth a smart person’s Jurassic Park, though I admit that this is likely due to my dislike of Crichton and doesn’t really reflect what I actually thought of Jurassic Park the first few times I read it (I loved it back in the ‘90s).

 

Regardless, Bones of the Earth is an intelligent mash-up of dinosaurs and time travel where paleontologists are presented with an opportunity to study actual living dinosaurs in their actual habitat. As expected, it follows the rubric of presenting a few somewhat crazy ideas as scientific possibilities in a thoroughly entertaining manner. Where Bone of the Earth does distinguish itself is in the people. This book is as much a story of how people and their personalities interact with others and in time – after all, time travel often presents the opportunity for a younger self to interact with an older self. And time travel paradoxes are always fun.

 

Bones of the Earth is fun and I very much enjoyed it. Swanwick is a very good author and everytime I read his books I wander why I’m not reading more of them. The book is probably best summed up in the simple equation below.

 

Dinosaurs are cool. Time travel is cool. Dinosaurs + time travel = really, really cool.