A Quick Top 6 of 2012 So Far

A nod of the hat to Jared of Pornokitsch for reminding me that yes, we're halfway through the year. My answer to the question is always the same. It depends on what flavor you're after. These are my top six of the moment in no particular order:

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway - A gonzo pulp cold war thriller fest with crazy contraptions.
The Croning by Laird Barron - As perfect of a Horror story that I've ever read.
Faith by John Love - Imagine the crew of the Enterprise only they're all a bit off their rocker while battling a mysterious ship.
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed - Sword and Sorcery done right. Great characters and action.
Prepare to Die by Paul Tobin - A superhero novel that reminded me of a cross between Nick Hornby and Alan Moore.
The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis - The perfect middle volume in a genre bending trilogy. He used what was setup in the first so well. The wait was worth it. Nazi Supermen versus Dark Elder Gods indeed.

And yes, I'm just now realizing 3 of the top 6 are Night Shade titles as well as 4 being debuts, but I do tend to be a debut heavy reader. Wells's The Serpent Sea was another top book in addition to Kiernan's The Drowning Girl. Also, I'm almost halfway through with Black Bottle by Anthony Huso, the sequel to one of my favorite books of 2010, The Last Page. As of this moment I'm not sure if it would have made this list as there are plenty of pieces left to fall into place.

In the camp of best books I've read this year published prior to 2012 I'm still blowing the horn for Watts's Blindsight and Andre Norton's Forerunner. In the short story camp Loory's Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day as well as Ligotti's Noctuary are the bee's knees.

Some of my most anticipated books left for the year include The Broken Isles by Mark Charan Newton (another series closer), The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (already have a copy), A Red Country by Joe Abercrombie (on pre-order), The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi, The Inexplicables by Cherie Priest, and The Siren Depths by Martha Wells. Still plenty of time for some surprises as well.

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Top 5 Reads for first half of 2010 (Plus Top 5 Most Anticipated)

With the year half over I thought now would be a good time to reflect on what I've enjoyed the most so far this year and what I'm most looking forward to for my loyal readers to squeeze a few more reads in their busy summer. In no particular order here are my favorite reads of the year:

Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis - A shockingly good debut. Tregillis has an ability to twist history in a beautiful and sometimes scary ways. His characters have depth and he puts each and every one of them through paces of mental and physical anguish.

Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky - This is a book that leads to so much as the series progresses. A wonderfully imaginative fantasy world with technological advancement  that makes sense along with human's having insect abilities. An odd coalescing that works so well.  And you never know what Tchaikovsky is going to throw at you next. The second volume Dragonfly Falling is a actually stronger though, but for those uninitiated start with Empire.

Horns by Joe Hill - Where did this kid come from? Oh, yeah he is Stephen King's son, but Hill picks apart characters better and can do a fine and believable ending more imaginative than his father has done lately. Horns will be seen as a classic of the Horror genre years from now.

Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding - I've already gushed about this one quite a bit so let me just say this book has everything an adventure novel should have. Great characters, story arcs, tension, and setting.

Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton - What an awesome and expansive world with a history of more than 60,000 years in the making. Shades of Mieville and Vance do apply.

Bonus classic:

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. - If you have never read this you should. One of the best Apocalyptic novels ever that spans thousands of years as humanity tries to rebuild itself after a nuclear holocaust. There are three linked novellas that comprise the whole with each story separated by 600 years as the Order of Leibowitz strives to collect and safe guard humanity's store of books and other written knowledge through the eons.

The Way of Kings was pretty close as well and might knock one of the above once I reflect a little more.  Kraken nearly made it too, but was a bit of a mess in many ways.

Now here are the books I'm most looking forward to that will be out before the end of the year:

Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey - Sandman Slim kicked the right amount of ass and Kadrey certainly has plenty more to do with this character. October release.

Antiphon by Ken Scholes - The third Psalms of Isaak. September release, but I'm reading the arc right now. So far I'm not as enthralled as I was during the first two, but I've plenty more to go.

Dreadnought by Cherie Priest - Can this live up to the steampunkitude of Boneshaker? We shall see. Clementine definitely surpassed my expectations although it had a very different temperament than Boneshaker. October release.

The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers - I'm really eager to see how Aker's develops his style of Noird a bit more after Heart of Veridon. November release.

Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding - Wooding's first Tale of the Jetty kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page, which is why I can't wait for this to land in my mail box. I've had it on pre-order since before I finished Retribution Falls. July UK release.

Also, I'm really looking forward to Mike Resnick's The Buntline Special. Weird West here we come. I just noticed that of the five mentioned above only one is not from a series. Hmmm.... So what are you favorite reads this year and what are you looking forward to?


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REVIEW | Horns by Joe Hill (William Morrow)

Horns is a devilishly funny read that'll make you question the very nature of good and evil. Horns is even perhaps the best Horror novel I've ever read, which I finished in three sittings and nearly didn't go to a friend's party just to get further. Yeah, it's that good.

Now, I'll readily admit I'm not a huge Horror reader so take it for what it is worth. Hill's first effort Heart Shape Box was too unevenly paced and also went off on a few too many tangents for me. The whole ghost standing around all the time just didn't give me a creep factor either, which is why I wasn't expecting amazing things from Horns. Boy, am I glad to have been proven wrong here.

Joe Hill's sophmore effort is without a doubt one of the best books released this year.  I was totally engrossed from the second page in. Horns is dark, depraved, and fiendish in the most unexpected ways yet it is a Horror story with a heart. Two hearts in fact with the angst-ridden Ig and easily lovable Merrin both coming across as endearing and understandable characters whose deep love tear them apart.  Rather than go into the plot here is a bit of the description:

At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.

Ig's powers lead to particularly lurid conversations, which examine the human thought process in dark ways as seemingly everyday people are prodded to say exactly what demented things are on their mind. Multiple flashbacks give insight into many of the story threads including 3 different character's POV for one incident, which worked better than I anticipated.

Horns is a writing exercise in perfect subplots, pacing, and characterization that achieves on every level. This is one of the few books I can't find any fault with in anyway. Well, I did figure out one aspect within the first couple of chapters, but the reveal wasn't any less enjoyable for it, especially as Hill pulled a couple good rabbits out of his hat to make it work.

Hardcore Horror fans may feel Horns doesn't go dark enough, but the story goes as far as it needs to in order to achieve the depth it required, which is quite touching, sly, and immensely clever. Still there are some disturbing parts that'll make some turn away. I give Horns 10 out of 10 Hats. Hill has raised his game to lofty heights and he has now made me an unabashed fan. I can't wait to see what he does next.

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REVIEW | The Quiet War by Paul McAuley (Pyr)

The Quiet War is Space Opera that hits close to home and is surprisingly digestible with its pacing. I find many Space Opera's a bit overdone, but that is not the case here. In fact this is the first must-read Sci-fi book of the year. The Quiet War having already been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award is quite deserving.

Earth and the outer separatist colonies have been at odds for the past 200 odd years. Earth is recovering from a planetary wide environmental collapse, which seems all too feasible presently. A Green fervor has taken hold of the people and the politics as they have repairing the planet, which leaves all of the power to the most wealthy families. The colonies exists as an egalitarian societies loosely connected, where debates run rampant and action is slow.

However, the people of Earth and the colonies are diverting on more than just politics. The colonies are situated on moons around planets in our solar system where they have been changing themselves genetically for generations to adapt to these new environments and also lengthening their life spans to hundreds of years. Many now consider them a separate species and as the gap widens so does the trust each group has for the other. Earth's own attempts at toying with humanity's capabilities are quite startling, especially the creation of the people on the moon, which I wish were used a tad more.

The Quiet War shows that no matter what side you are on, throwing yourself too much in any direction can take you further away from your goal as so much scheming is going on you never know when a favor will be called in. Nearly every character is a pawn in a greater game of chess. Just when you think you've reached the Queen a new piece swoops in to take position. Told from multiple points of view at a multitude of locales The Quiet War brings heaps of action and suspense. The characters are sometimes stuffy, but never uninteresting. The science is spot on and believable.

This is my first exposure to McAuley's work, but he has definitely piqued my interest with his highly informed style and voice. The Quiet War is the best Space Opera I have read in years. I give The Quiet War 9.25 out of 10 Hats. I didn't find out until I finished, but there is a a sequel, Gardens of the Sun, scheduled for release in October in the UK. No US publication date has been announced but McAuley has said Pyr will be the publisher so don't be surprised if you see it on their Spring/Summer 2010 list. That said The Quiet War does stand on its own but I for one would like to see what the future holds for some of these characters.


Book link: US Europe Canada

REVIEW | The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Doubleday)

Ever since the moment I first finished Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind I was left wanting for more of his beautiful Barcelona and never have I wanted to visit a time and place as much. Now with The Angel's Game we finally get another look. The translation is impeccable and beautiful while never feeling overly verbose as some translations are wont to do. The Angel's Game is one to savour. I found myself re-reading whole chapters again and again as I was entranced by not only the story but the sumptuous language. Zafon has once again proven he is one of if not the brightest voices in literature today. The Angel's Game has easily become my favorite book of the year and it will be tough to knock it from that perch. However, do not expect Angel and Shadow to be similar. The Angel's Game is a much darker and much more melancholy Faustian tale with stronger supernatural themes running throughout. The themes of love taken away, unreciprocated love, and filling of voids are still are here along with memorable characters, dialogue, and love of the written word. Quite a few characters from TSOTW show up in younger forms, but I won't ruin it by telling who. The Cemetery of Forgotten Books plays a central and even more important role as well. We are also gifted with a little more history of the Cemetery, which I have been salivating for since the opening pages of TSOTW.

Zafon has truly conceived a rich mosaic city where every character and the city itself has a heart and lost soul all its own. With the main character, David Martin, he managed to create someone with a deep sardonic humor and no matter their foibles you want to see him somehow best his creepy publisher Andreas. The discussions between Andreas and David are something out of a good philosophy debate. Zafon takes the no happy ends to an entirely different realm with this as he twists and turns the written word to his incredible will. The biggest let down was the character of Cristina who needed a few more scenes earlier on to grab me a bit more, maybe even in their childhood. In the end I felt she was very short shifted. There are also a few plot lines that aren't answered very well or at all that may nag some, but it was done with the intent of perpetuating the mysterious and any explanation may have ruined the narrative.

The ending was quite unexpected as it leaves you more perplexed than anything else, which will probably turn a few readers off, but you are left with a sense of wonder that will stay with you. I give The Angel's Game 9.75 out of 10 Hats. This is a book no one should miss. The Angel's Game can be thoroughly enjoyed without have read The Shadow of the Wind, but I highly recommend you read Shadow first.

Book Link: US Canada Europe

REVIEW | The City & The City by China Miéville (Del Rey)

The City & The City was one of those books that everyone has been hotly awaiting since announced. I must admit I fell into the trap as well with the entire mystique surround its release. Even to the point where the author asked reviewers to be very vague about some of the details. After reading I can certainly see why China and his publisher wanted to keep things quite. A loose word here or there could ruin the entire experience, which is why I'll keep this brief.

The City & The City is a detective murder mystery a la Raymond Chandler with a little fantasy mixed in narrated by Inspector Tyador Borlu of Beszel Extreme Crime Squad. The setting is quite strange in that it is a divided city. Think East/West Berlin only with the streets split in half with one side of the populace on each side and neither being able to acknowledge or see the other. Borlu lives in Beszel and the other half of the city is called Ul Qoma.

The style of writing is almost as if it were written in another language and than translated into English, but it works beautifully. Some may consider this work too high brow, but I think it can be enjoyed by anyone willing to put in the effort. It will certainly make you think. I found myself putting the book down a few times between chapters just to ponder what it would be like to live or visit a city such as this. A few brief chapters have Borlu accompanying visitors around the Bezel, which gives you a bit more insight into the alienness of it all. Borlu's investigation takes him to the other side of the city so you do get a complete view of each.

The City & The City twists and turns into something I was never expecting, but is all the more satisfying for doing so. I give The City & The City 9.5 out 10 Hats. I would have given it 10, but I do have to leave room for improvement. I'm even contemplating getting the Subterranean edition, but I haven't decide if it will live up to repeated readings. I'll definitely be checking out China's Un Lun Dun and maybe some other works by him in the next couple of months.

Book link: US UK Canada Subterranean

REVIEW | Fall of Thanes by Brian Ruckley (Orbit)

Fall of Thanes is the third and final volume of the Godless World series by Brian Ruckley. The first volume Winterbirth was one of my favorite fantasy debuts of 2007. The follow-up Bloodheir carried on the story well, but I entered Fall of Thanes a bit trepidaciously as I hope Ruckley would not rely too heavily on some overused tropes of epic fantasy. My fears were alleviated as Ruckley succeeds on all fronts with keeping the epic feel right while giving the characters and world a fitting end. If you haven't read the first two in the series you may want to skip down to the last paragraph. Fall of Thanes more than lives up to the title although something along the lines of Bloodlust or Bloodmadness might have worked just as well. We finally get to learn more about the shared with a brilliant description of its corruption at Aegylss's hands as he perverts the minds of the populace. The true bloods of the lands find themselves shattered. Former allies are at each others throats while the Black Road have overrun much of their land. The relationship between Orisian and Ess'yr is a bit cardboard and K'rina turns out to be just what I thought she was but nonetheless it worked well to accomplish the goals. Overall Shraeve turned out to be one of my favorite characters along with the morose Orisian. Anyara finally comes into her own although she still seems like a bystander. The fight scenes were very good especially a couple involving a particular Hunt Inkallim, a group I felt got a bit short changed in the first two books. I was very saddened by the bleak ending, but it worked so well I can't imagine it differently. Fall of Thanes is one of the bloodiest books I have read in the last few years save The First Law trilogy although the Godless series may have a higher body count. I give Fall of Thanes 9.0 out of 10 Hats. This is definitely in contention for my book of the year list and I'm curious where Ruckley will go from here. Book Link: US Canada UK

REVIEW | Midwinter by Matthew Sturges (Pyr)

Midwinter was my most anticipated read from Pyr this year and it turns out that it more than lived up to my expectations. This is the world of the Faery, but the way Sturges handles them is a bit more original and realistic in a lot of senses than I have read before. Even though the Fae are long lived and most have some modicum of magical abilities (called Gifts) they are not the powerful beings most would associate them as and theirs is even an almost caste-like culture. That said Titania and Mab are quite powerful and there is something different about the main character Mauritaine. When I first started I thought I was in the same universe that Justina Robson created with her Keeping It Real /Quantum Gravity series, although Sturges truly makes the idea of his own shared dimensions standout. We join Mauritaine where he has been imprisoned for two years of a life sentence for an offense not revealed until much later on. To the Fae of this world honor and loyalty are most important and to Mauritaine it is nearly everything. Even though sentenced to life in jail he is offered a pardon if he succeeds on a mission for Titania, Queen of the Seelie. He is allowed to bring some of the prisoners with him to aide in the mission. All of the would be rogues in his rag tag band have been imprisoned wrongly or so we are lead to believe. The group consists of a fallen nobleman, a human, a female fae from the dimension of Avalona, and an old comrade of Mauritaine that went down with him. The author sets up the dimensional idea really well, which left me grasping from more detail. The human is supposed to be from a contemporary time as our own, although contact has been mostly cut off from the human world for hundreds of years. There are hints at the reasons Faery has been cut off from the human world, which will hopefully be revealed in future installments. The group has to head through enemy territory and a disputed zone of the Seelie and Unseelie called The Contested Lands and their shifting places. I loved the idea of the shifting places, where time can be different depending on where you stand in the Contested Lands. So a short journey can be done quickly or slowly but the shirting places can also tear you apart. The floating cities of Mab were a truly inspired touch even though you only get a few glimpses of them. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed as I saw the book only had about 30 pages left and they still hadn't achieved a major objective of their mission. But Sturges managed to pull it off, which is better than feeling like the story is dragging as a few books I've read recently have done. The world building although not as detailed as I would have like, was impressive with its history that leaves the door open for so much more. My biggest gripe is not getting to learn more about these other worlds and their histories, especially Avalona, which we learn almost nothing about in how it differs from Fae. Midwinter should definitely appeal to readers of Abercrombie and Lynch or anyone looking for an adventurous read à la the dirty dozen with a healthy dose of fantasy mixed in. Pyr and Lou Anders have once proven again that they are the leader in the Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Midwinter is now in the running from one of my top reads of the year. I'll be one of the first to grab a copy of the follow-up of Mauritaine's adventures in The Office of the Shadow, which will hopefully bow early next year. I give Midwinter 8.5 out of 10 hats. Book Link: US Canada UK