REVIEW | Control Point by Myke Cole

Military Fantasy has been a staple of genre for decades. The Black Company, Malazan, Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt, and the Warhammer universe are some good examples, but none that I'm familiar with tackle the military in the present times. Contemporary Military Fantasy is something that we've clearly been lacking and Myke Cole's Control Point hopes to fill that void though it often has the feel of an Urban Fantasy even though much of the action takes place elsewhere. Given Cole's long military experience with 3 tours of Iraq he does have a unique experience to fuel the story.

Cole's series opener provides deep glimpses of some of the harsh realities and amazing highs capable in a military life even while mincing in some geek humor to take the edge off. Magic has seeped back into the normal world giving abilities to certain people. The world knows magic exists and all those capable of it in the United States are conscripted into the military except for a few people adept in the forbidden classes of magic. Those are silenced less they become the monsters humanity has always feared. The legal schools include the basic elements of those that can summon storms, move the earth, control fire, and command water at will. Illegal ones include those that can animate the dead and create portals to anywhere at will. This sets up a class system that is easy to hate and turns magic users into little more than drones. At least those that acquiesce to authority.

I ended up reading the first 2 chapters of Control Point 3 times before finally getting into the style as the first chapters can be difficult for those who abhor cold blooded killings of young people. That's exactly the choice that Oscar Britton faces in the opening pages. To do his job he must kill a teenager who has magic that she cannot be allowed to let loose. She's a Selfer who doesn't worry about the greater good. At least that is how the government characterizes Selfers.

After that mission Britton is faced with an even tougher choice. He manifests abilities in one of the prohibited schools of magic and things take a turn as he runs. The biggest weakness of the novel is Oscar. The world is very compelling, the politics, the magic, and the different views on the same issues (magic). But Oscar just goes too much back and forth over what he wants to do, what he feels his duty is, and what he believes in. He fights himself too much. He is a military man so why turn away from that when it is what he loves? At points he acts totally for himself and never really accepts that certain events were totally his fault. Granted he isn't put in a good place and left with many decisions so perhaps this fault is going too much into his head in the narrative. But when the chips are down Britton delivers.

Even with the weakness of Oscar I still ended up liking him. Control Point is at its best when the action happens, which is really quite often. Britton is flung from one life harrowing mission to another within pages. The magic is very impressive, especially when a skilled user is letting their full abilities loose. The sequencing of battles is particularly vivid. Picture those with the abilities from Avatar: The Last Airbender in modern combat situations from everything to a search a destroy mission in a sewer to an all-out battle on the field.

There are a lot of aspects I wish were explored more such as China being a country where magic users are free to live a semi normal life along with the magical plane that is only sparsely discussed. Also, I'd like to know a bit more about how the common people view those with latent abilities besides awe and fear.

Control Point is a solid, action packed debut with a few shaky parts that has a lot of appeal to it. By the end Cole more than found his footing and left me with high hopes for the continuation of the Shadow Ops series. I give Control Point 3.5 out of 5 Hats. The sequel Fortress Frontier should be out in February 2013, which I plan on checking out.

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Covers Unveiled for Heaven's Shadow by David S. Goyer & Michael Cassutt

US Cover

Three years ago, an object one hundred miles across was spotted on a trajectory for Earth's sun. Now, its journey is almost over. As it approaches, two competing manned vehicles race through almost half a million kilometers of space to reach it first. But when they both arrive on the entity, they learn that it has been sent toward Earth for a reason. An intelligent race is desperately attempting to communicate with our primitive species. And the message is: "Help us."

Heaven's Shadow is the debut novel from David S. Goyer & Michael Cassutt.  It seems to be a mix of hard Sci-Fi and Thriller, but it hard to tell with the scant information that has been release thus far.  The just released US cover art is quite nice though and intrigues me much more than the UK version (below) as I wasn't too enthused by the color palette. The name David S. Goyer should be familiar to most of you as he is the screenwriter of the Blade Trilogy, the latest Batman Franchise, and notable Sci-Fi movies such as Dark City as well as the too short lived TV shows FlashForward and Treshold. While Michael Cassutt is no slouch either having written episodes of The Twilight Zone, seaQuest DSV, Stargate SG-1, Farscape, Andromeda, and Odyssey 5. He was also the main writer for one of my favorite TV shows as a child Eerie, Indiana.

Heaven's Shadow will be released July 5th and could be quite an entertaining summer read. It is also the start to

UK Cover

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A Fantasy Debut to Watch for in 2011 [Updated with final cover]

Two things brought this book to my attention. I recently received the Tor Winter 2011 catalog and the cover immediately caught my eye. I had to flip through the catalog that instant to find out what book this belonged to and didn't have to go far. Right on page 1 was The Unremembered by Peter Orullian. Tor obviously has high hopes for the series. The second connection was Brandon Sanderson mentioning the author in our interview with Orullian's book sitting on his nightstand. Tor hasn't released the final cover in color, but here is a picture of the catalog cover, which shows off this lush image.

Cover art by Kekai Kotaki

UPDATE: Art impressario of Tor Irene Gallo offered to send me the final color version, which I couldn't pass up. So feast your eyes.

Just...drool..ummm...Wow! The art is by Kekai Kotaki who is best known for his work with Gears of War, Guild Wars, Magic the Gathering, and a few books covers such as the recent Shadow Prowler. All around he is producing gorgeous work with a bright future ahead of him.  The cover for The Unremembered is breath taking in its depth and detail. Click to embiggen. It is worth it. Now on to the book itself, which doesn't sound too shabby either.

The Unremembered is Peter Orullian's debut novel although he has published a few short stories in various anthologies the last few years. The series is named The Vault of Heaven, which brings a lot of things to mind. Definitely something on an Epic scale. The Unremembered will be released in April 2011. I know that is a long time, but it certainly could be a strong Epic Fantasy debut. Next year is ramping up to be one of the most competitive years for Fantasy with new books by Abercrombie, Rothfuss, Lynch, Morgan, Abraham, and Grossman. There are also sequels to a number of my 2010 debut favorites coming out, but I always like to make time for debut authors so I'll definitely be one of the first in line to check out The Unremembered. Here is the description to taunt you with:

The gods, makers of worlds, seek to create balance—between matter and energy; and between mortals who strive toward the transcendent, and the natural perils they must tame or overcome. But one of the gods fashions a world filled with hellish creatures far too powerful to allow balance; he is condemned to live for eternity with his most hateful creations in that world’s distant Bourne, restrained by a magical veil kept vital by the power of song.

Millennia pass, awareness of the hidden danger fades to legend, and both song and veil weaken. And the most remote cities are laid waste by fell, nightmarish troops escaped from the Bourne. Some people dismiss the attacks as mere rumor. Instead of standing against the real threat, they persecute those with the knowledge, magic and power to fight these abominations, denying the inevitability of war and annihilation. And the evil from the Bourne swells….

The troubles of the world seem far from the Hollows where Tahn Junell struggles to remember his lost childhood and to understand words he feels compelled to utter each time he draws his bow. Trouble arrives when two strangers—an enigmatic man wearing the sigil of the feared Order of Sheason and a beautiful woman of the legendary Far—come, to take Tahn, his sister and his two best friends on a dangerous, secret journey. Tahn knows neither why nor where they will go. He knows only that terrible forces have been unleashed upon mankind and he has been called to stand up and face that which most daunts him—his own forgotten secrets and the darkness that would destroy him and his world.

And a bit more from the author's site:

When the First Ones framed the World, they appointed one among them to create adversity and contrariness to harrow the lives of men. But the One became scornful and dark in his work, so that the Council branded him Quietus and exiled him and the dark races he’d created. The Framers sealed them all beyond the Bourne and abandoned the young World, leaving it with but a small hope of redemption.

That hope may come through the choices of a stripling boy, Tahn Junell, in a time when the use of the Will (the energy that exists in all matter) has become a crime, and the Bourne has begun to let loose its secrets. As Quietus’ creations descend into the land with dark indignation, Tahn and his friends (thus far held safe in the Hollows—their home) are chased out.

But a Renderer of the Will and a creature of myth have come to guide them through a world now rife with political turmoil, rumors of war, an insidious human trade, and the dark creations that hunt them. Tahn and his companions race to see if the restoration to him of all his own dark secrets will end his unnatural life or prove him their one last hope.

The author also has an early book trailer up on his site, plus maps, and a few illustrations of the characters. The series is planned to be a trilogy at this point with books released a year apart.

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I just love this cover...

REVIEW | How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe automatically wins the longest title award, which is par for the course given what an enchantingly odd book it is. This is Charles Yu's debut novel, but he has already made a name for himself for his short work especially his collection Third Class Superhero, which won him the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 Award. I read that collection a few years back and found the titular story ride the line between fun and sad well, showing the human side of having a superpower. Overall it was a strong collection. With How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe Yu successfully subverts the time travel genre into a literary tale about a man's relationship with his father.

"When it happens, this is what happens: I shoot myself."

How to Live in a Science Fictional Universe starts out by giving away the crux of the book. Namely the starring character breaking one of the commandments of time travel. Never interfere with yourself. But who wants to follow rules? Certainly not the starring character Charles Yu. And yes this is one of the meta-fictional tales where the author has named the main character after himself. This is either a bold or lazy way of naming characters depending on the story. In this case this decision is made of win as Yu takes us on a journey through time, alternative universes, and into the depths of a lost man's mind.

"The good news is, you don't have to worry, you can't change the past.

The bad news is, you don't have to worry, no matter how hard you try you can't change the past.

The universe just doesn't put up with that. We aren't important enough. No one is."

This is far from your typical Sci-Fi book. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe is probably best seen as the story about a man's search for his father and his own disentanglement from his father's dreams. But it can be enjoyed on many other different levels. As an alternative universe tale, a metaphoric take on how we interact with the world and people at large, a mind bender, and in some ways the story of a family immigration to a new place where they don't feel quite right in. A simpler title for this book might be Zen and the Art of Time Travel.

After Yu shoots himself he enters a time loop and isn't sure he hasn't already done this a hundred times before. Now he must rewrite a book in order to save himself. Along the way we get an introspective look at how Yu grew up and why he has separated himself from reality. The main character has shut himself off from most stimulus generally choosing to stay in his box of a time machine with his not really-real dog and a codependent computer program as a technician for time machines. The structure, although is mostly in first person, is interspersed with everything from diagrams, equations, and excerpts from a manual on, you guessed it, living safely in a science fictional universe. The structure might turn some readers off, but it actually intrigued me more than the characters at first. Some readers may be disappointed more isn't made of the time travel capabilities, but the time paradox more than makes up for this.

There is a comedic bent to the work as well. Read this if you ever wondered what a serious and introspective side of Douglas Adams would be like. In fact, Charles Yu just might be a universe hopper himself and be an alternative version of Adams come to spread his style here. Hey it could happen. According to Yu it probably already has.

What Grossman's The Magicians did for Fantasy last year Yu does for Science Fiction this year leveling up the realism and making the reader feel like this could be part of their Universe. I give How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe 8.5 out of 10 Hats. This is a memorable and thought provoking debut that will stay with you. Yu is a bright talent that uses his skills to the utmost to turn out tender stories in a milieu that rarely reaches that level.

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REVIEW | The Last Page by Anthony Huso (Tor)

The Last Page is the most unexpectedly good novel I've read this year and is a remarkable debut from a daring author. Technology and High Fantasy come together to create a symphonic novel of a high order. This review is going to be kept short because the less you know about this book the bigger the impact it will have. I had some preconceived notions about what this book was and all of them turned out wrong except for thinking the story would be good and it somehow had Steampunk elements.

The story begins in a high class school where Caliph is studying in anticipation of becoming a ruler to his country because of succession. This is not another Harry Potter riff. Only the first part of the book takes place in the school and magic is just one small part of what they teach although intricate to the plot as it develops. The form of magic they teach is called Holomorphy and is seen as high magic mixed with mathematics giving it a light as a science albeit a dark one. The story actually gets much more exciting once Caliph leaves school and takes on the yoke of leadership while dealing with powers seeking to overthrow him. Sena especially comes alive on her journey.

"Forbidden by most governments, silenced through flames that had once danced on great piles of holomorphic lore, slowly, very slowly, holomorphy was being practiced again. Opportunist seeking an edge in business, politics--they had begun drawing blood."

The Last Page is filled to brim with new ideas and is a sumptuous baroque delight of horrors, wonders, and real people. More than once I had to sit back and absorb all that had just happened. The style does take a while to get used to as unusual words and even non-English fonts or glyphs are used for some words. This threw me for a while and even the footnotes didn't seem to help much, but it all adds to making this world more believable and absorbing. I could see this turning off some readers, but I can only suggest you persevere if this becomes a problem.  Another issue was the map included didn't show enough of the land where a lot of the action takes place.

Caliph is at once a protagonist you want to root for while also a character one might like to take to the side to smack some sense into. Sena is the women every man wants and every women despises. Things come easily to her. Almost too easily as she has a taste for the forbidden and arcane. The relationships created are utterly convincing and whether I loved or hated a character I had to know where each and everyone of them ended up. Huso gives his characters a path and than sets it ablaze in the name of identifying what love is and what someone would do for the one they love. This is not Steampunk, but it does use the devices such as zeppelins as aesthetic in a world that feels very natural and sets an atmosphere unlike any Fantasy novel before. Huso has an immense talent for creating wonders and playing with language and emotions.

The Last Page is overflowing with poetic prose that beckons you further into this world and into the minds of the main characters. Sena stands as one of most beguiling and attractive characters that have come in ages. Caliph who's stuck playing a role foisted upon him shows unexpected ruthlessness and yet a tenderness as well. The Last Page is a remarkable debut that shouldn't be missed with a very satisfying climax. I give The Last Page 9 out of 10 hats. I urge my readers to discover what an unkind and wondrous world Huso has concocted. The Last Page is the first half of a duology with the follow-up Black Bottle scheduled for a 2011 release. Between Huso and Tregillis Tor is knocking me out with their stellar debuts this year.

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REVIEW | Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk (Pyr)

"A killer stalked the shadows."
-first line from Shadow's Son

That first line is very telling about this solid story, which unfolds in Jon Sprunk's debut, Shadow's Son. The city of Othir is the center for nefarious political and not so political dealings. Caim has made a name for himself in Othir as the go-to man for assassination. He is given a job that looks to be a simple sneak and stab turns into anything, but as Caim is thrust into the middle of a deep plot to change the political structure of the region.

Josey a rich, spoiled heiress is dragged into these dealings far too quickly for someone of her pampered upbringing.  Caim is often accompanied by Kit a rambunctious and quick-witted entity with no physical presence who can only be seen and heard by Caim. Think of Kit as Caim's as to Harry Dresden's Bob the Skull only a much more loose lipped, freewheeling fairy godmother who is scantily clad. Kit is the jealous type and is quick to runaway whenever the mood strikes.

Wonderful fight sequences is what you expect out of a Swords & Sorcery novel and Sprunk more than delivers on that front as Caim swirls out of the darkness and into the hearts of his enemies.  In many ways Shadow's Son isn't a very new plot as we have damsels in distress, cold-blooded assassins, and a political situation ripe for the toppling. Yet Shadow's Son revels in the tropes of Swords and Sorcery keeping it an engrossing, page turner. If you are a reader just after a fun story Shadow's Son is a pleasure. Caim is certainly a likable, albeit closed off, character who rolls with the punches. Caim has unusual powers involving pulling shadows around him. There appears to be more to them, but their extent is still unknown as Caim has pushed himself away from them most of his life.

Josey was at first playing the damsel role to the utmost and falling a bit flat what with her prissy and sheltered nature, but I was surprised in the last third how quickly I grew to care for her. Sprunk does have a habit of being too quick to kill off some characters as he probably could have gotten a bit more out of them, buts he gets to the heart of the matter quickly and effectively. Where Shadow's Son excels is in the area of baddies.  Ral is Caim's nemesis of sorts. Both are assassins. Only while Caim does it because he is good and it is a living, Ral revels in his deeds to fuel the lifestyle he was born into and frittered away, who seems to love to spread his sense of entitlement around. Caim's other foe Leviticus is quite impressive as he bleeds through the world with strange and impressive powers. I could have definitely used a few more fight scenes with Leviticus, but Sprunk is clearly holding that for later in the series.

Shadow's Son had me up late at night as nearly every chapter ended in climax after climax of tight action sequences to see how Caim will get out of the next scrape.  Fans of Brent Weeks and Brandon Sanderson will certainly find plenty to like here, but in a much smaller package as it is less than 300 pages. I give Shadow's Son 7.5 out of 10 hats. Even though this is the first in a trilogy Sprunk does an admirable job at having a clear culmination to most of what he started while leaving plenty left open for the next volumes as things escalate. Sprunk shows loads of promise as he hones his craft. The sequel in this trilogy, Shadow's Lure, will most likely be out sometime next summer, which will delve further into Caim's origins and mysterious powers. Hopefully we'll get more Kit as well because she was missed by me during most of the middle.


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REVIEW | Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Pyr)

The Wasp Empire is coming to the lowlands. They are conquerers who known no bounds. No one believes they are a threat even as the swarm the region, except one very smart Beetle-kinden and the people he has encircled himself with.

Bug people. Sounds intriguing doesn't it? Bug people with steamtech in a Fantasy setting with large warring factions sounds even better, which is what you get in the shockingly original Empire in Black and Gold. Tchaikovsky is an author to watch and this Shadows of the Apt is a series to take note of.

Empire and Black and Gold is as different a Fantasy world as you're likely to find. Picture a world where humans have broken into different tribes known as kinden with each developing vaguely insect features and traits known as ancestor art, but with some steam-tech thrown in that makes perfect sense with the overall history. Some of the main kinden include the mind linked Ants, the warrior Mantids, the flying and stinger handed Wasps, and the technologically minded Beetles. Finding out about each breed and what they can do is half the fun of the book as Tchaikovsky introduces more than a dozen types with more to come. But also there are half breed people who tend to end up with a mixed bag of attributes from both parents yet are generally looked down upon by society at large.

One concept took a while to gel in my mind. Some insect-kinden are what is known as Apt, which means they have an aptitude for understanding and developing technological advancements such as clockwork or steam driven devices. Some kinden are non-Apt where they cannot even begin to fathom how to use most of this technology let alone create it. The non-Apt are also more in touch with magic although it plays only a small part in this story, but will be greatly expanded upon in future volumes.

The Wasp Empire from the northwest is coming to the Lowlands. Most accept them and their money. A few are wary because of what they have seen and heard and only a small group is ready to slow them down because the Wasps can't be stopped by a few stalwart Beetle and Mantis people. They are a swarm that threatens to destroy or enslave everything in their path. Stenwold Maker is a Beetle-kinden trying to rally the lowlands into defense. Empire in Black and Gold surrounds his young protégés as they each play deep hands into the coming war. Some of the characters are a bit wishy washy with their inner thoughts and desires, but Tchaikovsky has set them up well to grow in succeeding volumes.

Empire in Black and Gold is a rousing start to a series that is full of awesome ideas and premises in a tantalizing world of what is to come. I didn't see the end sequence coming, even after all the finale hints were laid out, but man can Tchaikovsky write big beautiful battles. With Empire in Black and Gold debut author Tchaikovsky has created a completely original world never seen in the Fantasy genre prior as he eschews Elves and Goblins for races of people with attributes of insects. I give Empire in Black and Gold 8.5 out of 10 hats. Empire in Black and Gold is an awesome open salvo to a series I'll be devouring for years to come. This is a world filled with wonders, magic, and mechanics with characters that pull you through every step. The second volume Dragonfly Falling and third Blood of the Mantis are already available in the US with the fourth coming out this September, which caps the first major story arc of the series. So it will be a long haul series, but Tchaikovsky doesn't hold back much as he continues to reveal more about this world to keep you captivated.  My one big question is where are my kinden action figures?


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REVIEW | Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis (Tor)

The year is 1939 and World War II is upon us. The Nazi have raised their own team of elite battery-powered X-Men through scientific means called the Gotterelektrongruppe. The British have access to dark, blood thirsty demons. Both sides make undeniably hard decisions in the effort to thwart the other.

Bitter Seeds begins when many of the main players are children and where we see how events of the past entwine their future for the rest of the narrative. The British dark magicians pass on their knowledge to their children for some very interesting reasons. The subject matter involving Nazis may turn some people off, but Tregillis handles delicate matters deftly and does not at all show support or in any way condone what they did. In fact he has clearly made the group at large the bad guys while molding some of the Nazis into deep and complex characters. And he has developed a great mad scientist that rivals Dr. Moreau. Both sides stoop to some very evil yet justifiable depths, but when doesn't that happen in real war? Harsh times call for harsh decisions.

Ian Tregillis has arrived and what a bright and promising voice he has brought to bear. Bitter Seeds is an extraordinarily original work of fiction that blends ideas of Alternative History, Fantasy, and Science Fiction seamlessly yet denies being labeled specifically as one type. No matter how you approach it though it wins on each count.

The view point switches between various characters but mostly settles on Klaus for the Gotterelektrongruppe who can walk-through walls and spymaster Raybould Marsh for Milkweed, which is a covert group in Britain. Marsh is kind of the Jason Bourne of the book as you follow his missions into enemy territory.  Both Marsh and Klaus show unbelievable strength as characters to endure. Tregillis has a knack for knowing when to switch view points. Just when you want to long to see what's going on in the other camp he delivers. Other standout characters are William Beauclerk whose makes pacts with demons he hardly understands and Gretel, Klaus's sister, who is as mysterious as any seer of the future ought to be. Gretel is a very central character as she shapes future events, but to what end is still unknown.

The swiftly moving Bitter Seeds is a debut from a new and powerful voice in speculative fiction that I hope stays around for years to come. If you are a fan of dark comics or alternative histories Bitter Seeds would be well worth your time as we see a masterful mix of mad science versus the dark arts unlike any other. I give Bitter Seeds 9 out of 10 hats.  Bitter Seeds is the best debut so far this year and I can't see leaving it off my year end best of list. I suspect it will be on many others as well. 

Tregillis has caught me as much with his originality this year as much as Jesse Bullington and Ken Scholes did last year. Bitter Seeds is the first in a trilogy, but it more than stands on its own. However, you are left with greater implications on the world stage as events lead into Tregillis's version of the Cold War. The second in the Milkweed Triptych, The Coldest War will be released in February 2011.  Tregillis is also part of the Wild Cards consortium helmed by George R.R. Martin with stories in the three latest volumes.


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REVIEW | Tome of the Undergates by Sam Sykes

If it is gritty Fantasy you've been dying for than Tome of the Undergates will certainly be the answer for you as Sykes has made the name Adventurers out to be a vile thing with his debut effort. Tome of the Undergates drops you in the middle of a vicious battle from the first page and only gets bloodier from there. Although not nearly as bloody as I thought it would be though at first glance.

Tome of the Undergates is a breath of fresh air tinged with a pang of dank water. Refreshing in the sense that it was fun to read an action packed Fantasy quest not mired in some underground dragon den nor traipsing through mountains. Sykes embraced the water like no other author before.  He has taken to the high seas with a rough-born lot featuring the most unlikely grouping of characters you can think of who all loathe one another. Lenk and his gang remind me of Jason and the Argonauts on crank. Clocking in at little more than 600 pages it is a breezy read that feels two thirds that length once the story gets going.

It takes a few chapters to get over the fact that none of the main characters like each other and can't stop acting like a rove of 5th graders always hitting and spitting on the girls they like, but after that it is clear sailing into an Epic Fantasy with teeth. I do get the feeling Sykes has played some snarky, bitter, venomous games of D & D, which led him to create the world and characters of Tome of the Undergates. Sykes has made the career choice of Adventurer into something more loathsome than being a mercenary.

The leader of this brooding gang of Adventurers is a human named Lenk. He is a bit on the small size, but is quite a fierce warrior when the chips are down and is the easiest character to connect with. He is usually follow closely by Kataria, who is a Shict. Think of an elf that is rough around the edges who thinks of humanity as a plague. Also, in the band of unmerry travelers is a Wizard still finding his feet in the craft, a cut-throat ne'er-do-well, and a blood-thirsty Dragon man. You read that right. An honest to badness Dragon man. They fight for their lives on a severely screwed up world just for money. They know little of honor and their back stories are only lightly covered so their motivations take sometime to get a grasp on. They are survivors and fighters to their core, but aren't adverse to a knife to the back.

While on the job protecting an important passenger they get tossed into a quest that will test their mettle in every possible way facing frog men and giant proselytizing sea monsters from the deep. The world building is quite interesting with a deep secret history of god and demon off shoots, but only some broad strokes are revealed. There is enough to whet your appetite, but you'll be wanting more which will hopefully be fulfilled in future volumes.

The dialogue was very reminiscent of Scott Lynch at times and the action close to that of Abercrombie. Still Sykes has created his own distinctive style and voice that is wholly different and much more visceral. He clearly has quite a flair for action sequences and monster creation. Sykes is holding out on us a bit as I think his biggest battles are still to come in future volumes. I give Tome of the Undergates 8 out of 10 hats. If Abercrombie was too much or rode the line too harshly for you at times than Tome may be the right where you want it to be. Tome is set for an April release in the UK from Gollancz with a US date from Pyr to still be announced update: in September. And where are the swears Mr. Sam Sykes Swears? Where are they?


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REVIEW | Spellwright by Blake Charlton (Tor)

Blake Charlton has done the extraordinary with Spellright. He has managed to use all the tired tropes of classic Epic Fantasy (magical books, dragons, a school for wizards, and a boy who didn't fulfill his destiny) and make them all feel fresh and engaging. Plus he does it with a main character, Nicodemus Weal, who you can't help but to root for.

The dragons, although they happen off screen, are quite inventive as are the various animated helpers that swarm the keeps and grounds of Starhaven, which is the school in question. Nicodemus is an apprentice spellwright also known as authors who suffers from a form of magical dyslexia known as Cacography, which is based off the authors own battles with it. Of course the story also involves prophecies about a special Wizard who could be a a great hope to the land or harbinger of the demons of the past who wish to control the world.

There are a few bumps in the road, but most are forgivable in the name of fun escapist Fantasy. The pacing was a little stop and go, especially in the first third. The magic systems while also the strongest and most original part of the book are initially a bit confusing, but about 100 pages in a much clearer explanation is given. This could have come a tad sooner, but it probably would have slowed down the pacing of the story if it had. Also, at one point the main villain comes off a a little too much like a bad Bond nemesis by over explaining himself and the plot, which was on the excessive side. More than one soliloquy happens like this. This problem may stem from the author trying not to drag things out. Lastly, the fight at the end of the story was worth waiting for, but the very last section felt a little tacked on and Eragon-like. Still Charlton at least condensed a fairly long time frame in a short number of pages instead of stretching a training story into a whole other book as Paolini did.

There are many different wizard factions each with their own view points and magics. The histories shared from each group were quite fascinating, although there is plenty left to reveal in future installments. Charlton has also sneaked in one of my favorite and criminally underused mythical constructs, which I'd love to mention but he went through pains to make it a big reveal. The style is heavily influenced by the likes traditional Epic Fantasy from Feist, Le Guin, and Tad Williams so don't go expecting some gritty, harsh Fantasy. Blake is being evocative of something more playful yet every bit as Epic as all the aforementioned names. A whole lot of foreshadowing goes on, which was expected given it is planned trilogy.

Even though Spellwright is Charlton's debut it certainly doesn't show many freshman jitters, but he has left himself room to grow.  If you're a fan of classic style Epic Fantasy this will be a must for you.  I give Spellwright 8 out of 10 Hats. Spellwright is definitely in the running for debut of the year so far and it would be surprising if it wasn't still near the top by the end. Bring on Spellbound. Now he's gotten me all in the mood to read some classic Robin Hobb.


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What's the Weirdest Book You've Ever Read?

Covers Unveiled for The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

(US Cover, Dutton)

The Left Hand of God  by Paul Hoffman is ramping up to being one of my most anticipated reads of 2010.  I've even gone so far as to preorder it from the UK since the US pub date is in June and it will be out in January across the pond.  This is something I seldom do.  Although now that I see the US cover I'm glad I'll be getting the UK version.  I know the book has God in its title and heavy religious overtones, but this looks like something that would be more appropriate for a Tim LaHaye novel.  I certainly wouldn't even give this cover a second glance in store, but maybe this is not the final cover.  The UK cover is much more mysterious.  Here is a bit of the synopsis:

'Listen. The Sanctuary of the Redeemers on Shotover Scarp is named after a damned lie for there is no redempt ion that goes on there and less sanctuary'. The Sanctuary of the Redeemers is a vast and desolate place - a place without joy or hope. Most of its occupants were taken there as boys and for years have endured the brutal regime of the Lord Redeemers whose cruelty and violence have one singular purpose - to serve in the name of the One True Faith. In one of the Sanctuary's vast and twisting maze of corridors stands a boy. He is perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old - he is not sure and neither is anyone else. He has long-forgotten his real name, but now they call him Thomas Cale. He is strange and secretive, witty and charming, violent and profoundly bloody-minded. He is so used to the cruelty that he seems immune, but soon he will open the wrong door at the wrong time and witness an act so terrible that he will have to leave this place, or die. His only hope of survival is to escape across the arid Scablands to Memphis, a city the opposite of the Sanctuary in every way: breathtakingly beautiful, infinitely Godless, and deeply corrupt. But the Redeemers want Cale back at any price...not because of the secret he now knows but because of a much more terrifying secret he does not.

(UK Cover, Penguin)

REVIEW | Norse Code by Greg van Eekhout (Spectra)

I wasn't very familiar with Eekhout before, but I have since checked out a couple of his short stories which were surprisingly strong. I'm glad he decided to tackle something long form as Norse Code is his debut effort. He most certainly has a bright future in front of him. Norse Code was one of those titles that as soon as I heard it I knew it would be for me. Norse Code can almost act as an entertaining primer to Norse Gods and their associated lore. Eekhout manages to deftly include nearly every aspect of Norse mythology in some fashion. Even tiny aspects are discussed in depth while they are barely mentioned in the legends. The book centers on Hermod Odinson, the wandering god, who is often considered a minor player in the mythology but in this he grows into a star. The book quickly switches gears from what I thought was going to be more of a typical Urban Fantasy placed mostly on our world but turned into a tour of all the Nine worlds of Norse mythology traveling to the very roots of the World Tree. This is most assuredly the coming of Ragnarok. Norse Code is action-packed and fun, but I did have a few problems with it. Overall, it was almost too quickly paced and many of the problems the characters encounter are solved too easily. Some more fleshing out of the coming of Ragnarok would have been good especially in the worsening of the human realm just to connect the reader a bit more. I felt that the book did lose something by not following up more on the NorseCode company which is only mentioned at the beginning and little elsewhere. It almost seemed like this should have been book 2 in a series. The main female character Mist could have used a bit more emotion, but I guess being a Valkyrie it is understandable why she isn't. Even with all of these problems Norse Code is still very much a worthwhile and enjoyable read. The battle scenes with the Gods and other creatures are well done as are the depictions of creatures such a Surtr a giant fire being. The dialogue is especially funny in the most unexpected scenes as Hermod always makes it seem that he is out of his element or out matched. Fans of American Gods and Thor comics will find something to love in these pages. Norse Code will definitely keep you compelled enough to get to the finish line just to see what all this talk of Ragnarok is all about. The ending certainly surprised me. I give Norse Code 7 out of 10 Hats. For a first novel this is a fine showing. Book link: US UK Canada