Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review

NEWS | Sequel to Lev Grossman's The Magicians signed

During my interview with Lev Grossman last year he hinted at a sequel to The Magicians, which now has a title: The Magician King. This is very exciting news for those of us who enjoyed The Magicians and for the other possibilities Grossman left open to explore. Here is the announcement from Publisher's Weekly:

Tina Bennett at Janklow and Nesbit has closed on a sequel to Lev Grossman’s The Magicians. Molly Stern at Viking (who edited The Magicians) bought North American rights to The Magician King. The new book picks up with protagonist Quentin Coldwater five years after the original—at the end of The Magicians Coldwater is 23—when he and his friends have become royalty in the fantasy world of Fillory. Coldwater, who is dealing with the challenges of being a member of the ruling class, embarks on a dark quest in the novel, which Bennett called “Voyage of the Dawn Treader [book 5 in the Chronicles of Narnia] as rewritten by Raymond Chandler.”

The Magician King is slated for a Fall 2011 release on Viking's schedule. Mark this as my first Looking Forward Fantasy of 2011.

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REVIEW | The Good, The Bad, and The Uncanny by Simon R. Green (Ace)

The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny is the 10th volume in the always strange Nightside series by Simon R. Green. The strangeness is at an all-time high as the Nightside is still reeling from the events of Just Another Judgement Day, which was one of the quickest volumes and more of an interlude than anything else. I read Just Another Judgement Day right before this one, which lays the ground work for the crux of Uncanny. There was something of continuity error in Uncanny that I hope got cleared up before it went to press as I am basing my review off an advance reading copy. Than again this is the Nightside and it is all about screwing with continuity. Basically two characters talk about something as if they hadn't already in the previous volume.

If you haven't read the other Nightside books do not skip ahead to this volume as it would ruin everything that happened prior. Green does nothing if not build off everything that is seemingly unimportant from past volumes and he is still not scared of killing off some fairly prominent characters. The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny shows that Green is still able to push the envelope with John Taylor as he hasn't lost the touch of putting him in situations that seem unwinnable just to somehow sucker punch his way out of. The series formula has not wained on me at all, which is especially telling of such a long running series.

Flying carpets, biker neaderthals, twisted religious men, hot pink transportation, and the truth about the running of the Nightside are all covered this time around. To start we get a nice little almost novella of Taylor taking a case to get an Elf to the otherside of the Nightside, which from what I can remember is the first such instance of this race having a role in the Nightside. Green takes it from the angle that Elves and their ilk should never be trusted and rightly so. In typical style Taylor enlists aid for the trek. This time around from the little seen Ms. Fate who is a kind of like an Emma Peel drag queen superheroine. She is much more likable than I was expecting. At first I was missing Deadboy, but Ms. Fate more than holds her own with her dialogue and battle skills. After Taylor clears up that trouble he is accosted by Larry Oblivion to help find his brother Tommy who has been missing since the Lilith War saga. We get Larry's origin story from his point of view, which was nice for a change of pace. A lot of closure happens this time around as things come to a head for many characters including Taylor who gets a 'best of' tour of sorts from Walker in his attempt to have Taylor better understands what it means to be Walker.

Fans of the series will not be disappointed as a real showdown with Taylor and Walker finally happens. Through it all you gain a deeper insight into the underpinnings of the Nightside and the growth of John Taylor. The one flaw in the series is the constant repetition of some lines such as "in every way that matters." Yet Green certainly moves the story along at a fox's pace. I give The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny 7.5 out of 10 Hats. This is setting everything up for the penultimate volume in the series as Green has said he will stop at the twelfth volume. The groundwork has been laid to give the series a strong show stopper.

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Steampunk Movie: The Marionette Unit

As everyone who visits here regularly knows I'm a bit of a Steampunk fanatic, but we've never really gotten a good movie out of all the wonderful stories so far. Well that may be changing with The Marionette Unit as it is the first Steampunk related movie that actually looks to be well done. That may be because it is being done by a group of British filmmakers instead of a large Hollywood studio. Here is a bit of the synopsis:

This film is set in an alternate Victorian England, a world where steam-punk technology has developed rapidly and in a world where all creativity, art and individual expression is state-controlled. The Marionette Unit is a theatre show where machine and human have been fused together. A musical machine that resembles a twisted tortured church organ, run with valves, steam and electricity, is connected by a mass of electrical cables to three ballet dancers, who have the wires fused into their bodies. The dancers are controlled by the machine much to the amazement of the Victorian audience.

From what little has been released the story is not derivative of any other Steampunk work I know of. Director Azhur Saleem has this to say:

This is an ambitious film with cinematic aspirations. For a while now I've wanted to make a film whose scale - in terms of ideas, design and execution - belies its budget. With this in mind, I set about writing a film that would move away from the typical gritty, urban landscape of British filmmaking and into a world that has always interested me: science-fiction and fantasy. Within this genre, I will be exploring steam-punk. The story will be set in an alternative Victorian England, where steam power is still widely used, but with prominent elements of science fiction.

At the centre is a powerful story of the human spirit breaking free from oppressive forces and in turn we see the expression of self and creativity with no barriers. This film allows me the space to tell an effective story with this theme and allow audiences to connect emotionally to the characters as they would in any drama. Co-written by myself and Paul B. Adams, we feel that the narrative captures these fundamental human desires but places them in an inventive and fantastic setting.

At this point they are still in the production phase, but a sample trailer has been made which looks astoundingly interesting. There are also a few concept art images following the trailer, which are also available as wallpaper. It looks as through the group will be putting more info on their site as it becomes available.

Click widescreen button for your viewing pleasure.

[Via SFSignal]

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Cover Unveiled for The World House by Guy Adams

Adam over at The Weirdside reminded me about Guy Adams's The World House a few weeks back and now Angry Robot has released the cover. What I like so much about the direction of covers at Angry Robot is that they try so many different approaches with each project. No cookie cutter designs are being thrown out there and they are willing to try some things a bit on the edge. The World House looks to be the start to a series as well. Below is part of the description pulled from Guy's blog where an even longer one is located. The first line was all it took to pique my interest.

There is a box. Inside that box is a door. Beyond that door is a house.

It is a house of many rooms, a veritable labyrinth of dark walnut and Axminster weighed down with the dust of years too numerous to count.

The house is not of our reality or time. People get in but they do not get out.

The house is a world. In some rooms forests grow while others suffer from seasonal downpours or encroaching ice floes.

It's filled with dangers: a lethal library where the books slice unwary readers, a kitchen where intruders are the finest meat and a cellar where something moves, at night when the lamps in the walls grow dim.

The box that leads to this house has been cherished for centuries. Stories of the passageway it contains written of everywhere from the yellow pages of lost Apocrypha to the columns of the National Enquirer.

People have dedicated their lives to finding it. Tracing the box from palm to palm as it switches owners; from museum display cases to padlocked drawers; hermetically sealed wall-safes to the skeletal grip of the dead as they lie in their tombs. The box doesn't care much for the conventional passage of time, it can be found pretty much anywhere in the history of our planet if you only know where to look.

But so few do.

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REVIEW | Couch by Benjamin Parzybok

REVIEW | Burn Me Deadly by Alex Bledsoe (Tor)

Burn Me Deadly is Bledsoe's second Eddie LaCrosse novel, which again plays the Noir/Fantasy combo very well. The action is believable as its main character Eddie gets as good as he gives most times. I'd be treading on a lot of similar ground if I went on too much on the world and character so check out my review of the first adventure The Sword-Edged Blonde for some basic tidbits. The pacing of Burn Me Deadly is a bit slower this time around, but it serves the story well after some hard action on Eddie at the start.

Eddie is one tough nut and won't let go even if he has no clue what is going. A promise made to someone he just met leads him down a harsh road and into the hands of bastards and questioning the allegiance of those closest to him. Although you get the feeling he is avenging his horse and pride more than the girl. Again the magic is on the low side, which makes you appreciate the little this is included. This is a land where legends have laid dormant for a long time and are just now stirring. But legends don't always turn out to be what you expect as Eddie and his companion Liz learn as they step into the mud. Liz was given some expected and needed depth this time around.

Burn Me Deadly comes off a bit like Abercrombie-light, which is not necessarily a bad thing as Abercrombie can be a bit much for some stomachs as was evidenced by some of the harsher scenes in Best Served Cold. That said this is the gruesome side of Bledsoe as he lets some truly harrowing things happen to a few characters with deeply tortuous acts. All in all this was a great revenge tale that pleases on all levels including the ending.

Bledsoe has again achieved an action packed adventure as Burn Me Deadly will keep you guessing at the truth of the matter in its truly Noir style along with its likeable protagonist LaCrosse. I give Burn Me Deadly 8 out of 10 Hats. Highly recommend to fans of detective style mashups. The next Lacrosse novel currently titled Dark Jenny will be released in the winter of 2011, but given that this series can definitely be approached at any point it hopefully won't feel like a long wait. Folks new to the world should start at the beginning to get the best idea of where the characters have come from. I'd really like to see a map included in the next volume as the region and its divisions are discussed quite a bit and LaCrosse moves around a lot--it would help to get some more footing for his movements.

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200th Post Contest

To commemorate the 200th post of Mad Hatter's Bookshelf I have one hardcover copy of How to Make Friends With Demons by Graham Joyce up for grabs. This was published in the UK under the title Memoirs of a Master Forger where it won the British Fantasy Award. I never did get around to posting a full review as I wasn't happy with what I wrote despite enjoying the read in the end so here are some choice tidbits from what I wrote. William Heaney committed an occult transgression in his youth which has been plaguing him for 20 years. He is a very flawed person who despite trying to do his best is his own worst enemy. Heaney deals with the fact that he sees demons by trying to do good in a Robin Hood style with his not so merry band of book forgers. The dialogue is the strongest part of the book with many witty and honest lines. The demon factor barely comes in and neither the British or American titles seem entirely apt because of it. The story had its slow parts and had little semblance of a plot for the first half, which I found disconcerting as the main character is seemingly traipsing about, but that is only because this isn't treated as your normal modern day Fantasy with a mission in mind from the start as it is more of a general lit story that could fine a home in many bookshelves next to the likes of Nick Hornby. It is all about character growth and human interaction. That said the occult underpinnings are there and very realistic in their approach and tact. If you have friends who always say Fantasy isn't for them this could act as a good bridge book between more standard Fiction and genre. If you are expecting something Epic look elsewhere, but for an interesting character driven tour of London with some very flawed characters this is definitely worth checking out. The look into book forging was also quite intriguing. Send an email to madhatterreview (AT) gmail (dot) com with your full name and snail mail address and "DEMONS" in the subject line to enter the contest along with naming your favorite book read in 2009 because I'm curious. The deadline is midnight January 17th. I'll announce the winner on the following day. This contest is open to the United States and Canada only. If you send multiple entries you will be disqualified from the contest.

Happy New Year - Reading Resolutions for 2010

Happy New Year!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful or peaceful night depending on your tastes. If I may be so bold I'd also like to suggest everyone make a reading resolution of some sort. Whether that be to try an author you've been meaning to, finish a series you started, or finally pick-up that book that has been sitting around on the shelves for 3 or more years. Below are my reading resolutions.

Next year I'm going to attempt to:

Read more Science Fiction including some of the suggestions from commenters on this post.
Read more short story collections and anthologies.

Read more books from my shelves including:

Charles Stross's first two Laundry Files, because they sound so cool.
The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick, because the idea of a whole city on a ship intrigues me.
The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan, because Morgan's Altered Carbon was so damn good.
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, because Warbreaker was so good.
Shadow Falls by Simon R. Green, because it keeps getting mentioned in the Nightside series.
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem, because I've heard it is brilliant.
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon, because I love the synopsis and my wife loved it.
The City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VandeerMeer, because I've had it forever and Finch sounds fantastic.

Most of my books are still boxed up and will remain that way until late January otherwise this would have been a longer list, but at least it gives me a good place to start. Also, when I move back into my house I'll clean out the bookshelves of books I (probably) won't re-read and of books I (probably) will never read because I've lost interest. And if I'm feel audacious I'll finish the archiving of books I own started last year.

REVIEW | Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (Viking)

Shades of Grey Glossary: The Colourtocracy. A system of hierarchy based on the colour you can see. Purple at the top, Reds at the bottom. (Greys don't really count)

Jasper Fforde has stepped away from his beloved Thursday Next characters to create an entirely new, hilarious, beautiful, and incredibly realized world with Shades of Grey, which is much closer to Science Fiction than anything he has done prior. If you are already a fan of his than go out and get a copy, but if you need to be coerced a bit more read on.

Shades of Grey Glossary: Eddie Russett: A happily unambitious drone of the collective 'til he travels to East Carmine and meets Jane Grey.

Narrator Eddie Russett is likable character who is to take his Ishihara shortly. He has some wonderful dialogue and his inquisitive nature is infectious to the reader as he delves into the mysteries of his world. Eddie has grown up following the rules and trying to help keep the status quo of society. An errant joke lands him the inane task of chair census in an outer town where his father has been sent to replace a recently departed Swatchman, which is kind of like a doctor with paint chips. Shades of Grey is a very colorful and downright silly future where classes are divided depending on what color they can see. Everyone is colorblind with most seeing only one color strongly while others that can only see grey are the lowest class and are treated like pack mules performing the most arduous tasks. The citizens have a last name that somehow coincides with their color perception such as Granny Crimson, Roger Maroon, and Bunty McMustard, which has to be the funniest name I've heard in a while.

Shades of Grey Glossary: The Ishihara. A Colour perception test taken at age 20 that determines one's social standing and career

Color is the most important thing to this society. That is besides their spoons, which are a hot commodity as no one has been allowed to make new ones for hundreds of years. Sounds a bit silly doesn't it? Well that is because it is as is almost every rule this society lives by. Eddie, a strong red, upon entering East Carmine falls in love with Jane who is a grey and also the most notoriously unlikeable citizen in town. The cast of characters is as colorful as you'll likely find with its backstabbing friends, conniving leaders, and power hungry people everywhere. A lot of foreshadowing goes on as Fforde loves to hint at things including the death of one of the main characters right out of the gate. Step into a world that is regressing on purpose and where people can read barcodes and people can be healed or drugged by the use of color.

Shades of Grey Glossary: The ‘Something That Happened’: Dramatic event that occurred in the distant and unknowable past. Followed shortly by the ‘Epiphany’ and the beginning of the New Order.

Placed hundreds of years after "Something That Happened" this is a society in stasis that likes it that way. The world of Shades of Grey is all about misdirection, but you don't feel confused with the telling, especially when the pieces start falling together in the end. Eddie Russett is every bit as lovable as Thursday Next, but he is a man all his own with an inquisitive streak that could change the world. What is amazing is the book takes place over less than a week or so of time and it is so packed to the brim that it feels like a month given everything covered. Yet the pacing is slower than that of the Thursday Next series. Shades of Grey is some of the most pleasing Fiction you'll likely find in 2010. Fforde hits all the marks of romance, adventure, thriller, and satire perfectly.

Shades of Grey Glossary: The Yateveo. A carnivorous tree able to snatch prey at great speed. Victims are digested alive. Not pleasant.

Sufficed to say I did not want this book to end. Shades of Grey is without a doubt the best dystopian novel I've read since Brave New World and it will be re-read many times. Fforde has challenged himself to create something entirely new and different which he more than succeeded at. I give Shades of Grey 9.5 out of 10 Hats. A truly can't miss original book. In some ways it reminds me of a satirical version of Ken Scholes's Psalms of Isaak series with its intricate plotting and highly realized characters along with the dystopian long view. There are layers and layers of intrigue with smartly written characters along with a few intentionally stupid ones. Fforde has laid the groundwork for a series that'll keep me coming back for each fresh coat of paint. And the biggest mystery is never answered. What is up with the swans and why is everyone so terrified by them? At this point I still like the Thursday Next series better, but that could change as Fforde plays more with this world as there are at least 2 more books planned. Fforde has created a site for the series with a wealth of information about this new world.

Recent Procurements - Holiday Edition Spectacular

Well maybe spectacular is going a bit too far, but this was quite a good haul for year's end. Plus I received a bunch of unexpected review copies so I'll be holed up for the rest of the winter with some quality reads.

Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson - I've been meaning to pick this up for a while, which is why I'm glad my Mother in-law gifted it to me. Wilson's Spin was a lot of fun and I've heard only good things about Julian Comstock so far with Rob talking it up quite a bit..

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett - This one was almost too on the nose for me, but again it is an intriguing look into the world of book collectors and thieves in the vein of The Professor and the Madman. This is non-fiction if you weren't sure.

Under the Dome by Stephen King - Some of you may remember my article debating on whether to read the latest King after basically giving up on him. Well I actually pre-ordered the book, but it never showed up because of a Post Office fiasco involved with my flood a couple months back. My Uncle kindly dragged this book to the tree this year so it looks as though I'll give it a whirl. Expect other reviews to go quiet while I am reading this over 1,000 page monster of a novel next month.

Sandman Vol. 3 Dream Country by Neil Gaiman - Slowly but surely I'm collecting this series. I've actually read all the volumes, but only recently started to get the trades. My hold-up was deciding whether to get the absolute editions, but ultimate I decided to go with transportability over durability. Plus I think my shelves would crack under the weight of all those absolutes.

Gift Card & Other Purchases

WWW: Wake by Robert J. Sawyer - Sawyer is one of my favorite Sci-Fi authors and I've been meaning to give his new series a go. If you haven't tried him before do yourself a favor and pick-up Calculating God, which is his best novel in my opinion. Watch the second volume in the WWW trilogy is due out in a few short months. For those bargain hunters out there Amazon is selling the hardcover of WWW: Wake for under $10.

Just Another Judgement Day by Simon R. Green - I've been following the Nightside for a couple years now, but I always wait to read at least 2 books in a row. That is probably due to their skinny size. That said I've also got a review copy of The Good, The Bad, and The Uncanny waiting to be reviewed after I'm done with this one. I'm actually in the middle of Judgement Day and so far Green has managed to introduce another amazingly powerful enemy for John Taylor.

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman - I mentioned ordering this one a little while ago. It looks even better in the flesh as the cover paper is a parchment type, which gives it a nice texture that goes well with the art. Also when I flipped through it I noticed the publisher used a larger font than normal so it looks to be a quick read as well.

Review Copies

Sleepless by Charlie Huston - Huston is one of those authors that intrigues me and his takes on Noir have had no small part in reintroducing it for a new generation. The premise is pretty out there as well so I hope to get to it in the next couple of weeks.

I received the first 4 books in Pax Britannia Series, which was a bit unexpected. I thought I'd be getting just the first book, but the kind people at Abbadon Books sent the whole shebang. I'll definitely be trying this Steampunk/Horror series in the near future, which starts with Unnatural History by Jonathan Green.

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REVIEW | Already Dead by Charlie Huston
REVIEW | Heart of Veridon by Tim Akers
Recent Procurements - December 9, 2009

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NEWS | Sequel to Lev Grossman's The Magicians signed

REVIEW | The Good, The Bad, and The Uncanny by Simon R. Green (Ace)

Steampunk Movie: The Marionette Unit

Cover Unveiled for The World House by Guy Adams

REVIEW | Burn Me Deadly by Alex Bledsoe (Tor)

200th Post Contest

Top Articles and Referrers of 2009

Happy New Year - Reading Resolutions for 2010

REVIEW | Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (Viking)

Recent Procurements - Holiday Edition Spectacular

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