Book Review Round-Up, Part Two: November
I am on such a roll that maybe I will post December today, too. Then again, UHD is playing season 4 of Battlestar Galactica today starting at 5 p.m. Mountain time (first five episodes today; the rest next Sunday), and I need to catch up badly before 4.5 starts in a couple weeks. I don't think I can watch BSG and write book reviews.
Anyway, here's November: three books reviewed for the adult science fiction/fantasy section of Booklist and two books read for fun.
Booklist Reviews
The Steel Remains, by Richard K. Morgan -- Fantasy
Morgan is the author of Thirteen and many other science fiction novels, and this is his first fantasy novel, which is quite good in its mix of traditional quest elements, a corrupt political landscape, and contemporary-feeling characters and language. Ringil is a war hero living in a backwater village, where he gets free room and board for telling stories of his legendary deeds and for taking care of the village's occasional supernatural predators. Basically, he's wasting the rest of his life, but that changes when his noble mother arrives and asks him to find one of his cousins, sold into slavery. Because slavery has become legal since the war ended, Ringil's investigations attract the attention of some powerful forces and bring him into contact with two comrades from the war: Egar the Dragonbane, a Majak clan leader; and Archeth, a kiriath half-breed advisor to the Emperor of Yhelteth. They discover evidence that the Aldrain, an otherworldly race supposed to have been driven from the world long ago, have returned to make war. This book has a lot of sex and violence and profanity, but it all fit with the characters and the pretty dark world Morgan created. At the end, there's the suggestion that Ringil may be becoming something he isn't sure is good, and that'll keep me excited for the next book.
The Warded Man, by Peter V. Brett -- Fantasy
I read a lot of fantasy, and I thought this first in a new series (and also a first book by Brett, who apparently wrote the first draft of this on his Blackberry during work commutes) is different from a lot of what's out there. Yes, there's still the hero's journey and all that, but the setting is unique and compelling enough to make it feel fresh. At night, the evil corelings rise from the earth to devour any people and animals they can find; the only protection people have are wards, magical protective symbols everyone draws on their homes, barns, city walls, and so on. The only ones who brave the night are Messengers, who travel among isolated areas bringing news and supplies, sheltering inside fragile portable wards at night. Arlen, the main protagonist, is restless at being trapped behind wards his whole life and wonder why people never fight back against the demons. After a coreling kills his mother, he trains to become a Messenger, learning in the process that humans once fought against the corelings with equal strength and defeated them. He resolves to re-discover the lost fighting wards and deliver them to the people. He is joined by two other survivors--Rojer, a musician, and Leesha, an herb gatherer--who have also discovered lost techniques. This is mostly a character-driven story about these three children becoming legends, but there are lots of heart-pounding battles and terrible sacrifices and betrayals in the process. None of the three children have an easy family life, and one of the recurring themes is how fear of the corelings has caused people to be less then they could be. Plus, the corelings are legitimately scary. This is definitely a new author to watch.
The Judging Eye, by R. Scott Bakker -- Fantasy
This new series begins twenty years after the conclusion of Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy. Kellhus, the all-seeing Aspect-Emperor, is leading a second war, the Great Ordeal, against the evil Consult, intending to prevent the rise of the No-God. While his army continues to subjugate once proud nations, others plot to contest his domination. Nannaferi, of the Cult of Yatwer, awaits the Goddess' White-Luck Warrior, prophesied to destroy the Demon Kellhus. Sorweel, the young king of conquered Sarkarpus, seeks to defy the invaders while traveling with its army. Achamian, the exiled Schoolman, and Mimara, a witch with the Judging Eye, begin a dangerous trek to discover Kellhus' true nature. Esmenet, Kellhus' wife, navigates the brutal politics left in her care, while their son Kelmomas manipulates those around him with disquieting motives. This was a challenging, dense read, especially to someone who hasn't read the other series. I would almost recommend reading the first trilogy before picking this one up, because though Bakker gives plenty of backstory (almost too much), it's hard to place it within the context of his world and his characters' history. Part of this is because even the structure of the novel is challenging; it's not linear, there are tons of characters and storylines to keep track of, and sometimes transitions between past and present and reality and dreams are not telegraphed. The writing itself is often beautiful and very grand, appropriate to the epic feel of the story, but it takes attention to appreciate it. This is not a book you can skim parts of; you'll be lost within seconds. Still, the book left an impression, and I will be reading the next one. Philosophically, the book is very interesting as well. One of the most intriguing questions I kept asking is: Is Kellhus a benevolent messiah or a cruel despot with god-like powers of manipulating others? He certainly is horrifying, but wouldn't a god be horrifying by definition, with all that power and no one to keep him in check?
Books for Fun
Kitty Kitty, by Michele Jaffe -- YA Mystery
I loved Bad Kitty and its ridiculously funny plot and characters, so how could I resist a sequel? In this one, Jasmine Callihan has been forced to move to Italy with to her father Dadzilla and step-mother, Sherri! (yes, she spells her name with an exclamation point). While Jas plots out a way to return home to her friends and new boyfriend, she is of course embroiled in another mystery when one of her only friends in Italy is murdered right after confiding to Jas that she is being followed. Like the previous book, the plot is wonderfully ridiculous and the cast of characters (including the return of the Evil Hench Twins) is just as kooky, with Jas and her friends creating more MacGyver-esque spy equipment, speaking to each other in silly footnotes, and engaging in madcap hijinks. These books remind me of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series for teens, but Jaffe's series has more fast-paced zaniness and uniqueness.
The Gypsy Morph, by Terry Brooks -- Fantasy
This is the conclusion to Brooks' new trilogy Genesis of Shannara, and it's pretty good as far as third books go. Kirisin, the elf, finds the elfstone he is seeking and rescues the Ellcrys and his people, but not without cost. The elves and humans and mutants eventually come together under Hawk's protection as the Gypsy Morph after a stirring battle between the Knights of the Word, Angel and Logan, and Findo Cask and the once-men (Hawk of course plays a significant part in this, too). I enjoyed the way Brooks combined the Shannara lore with the post-apocalyptic setting of his Knights of the Word books, but I thought the ending of Findo Cask was a little weak, and I saw what would happen to Hawk coming from a mile away. Still, the characters matured believably (especially Panther and some of the other Ghosts), and the overall victory was hard-won.
Anyway, here's November: three books reviewed for the adult science fiction/fantasy section of Booklist and two books read for fun.
Booklist Reviews
The Steel Remains, by Richard K. Morgan -- Fantasy
Morgan is the author of Thirteen and many other science fiction novels, and this is his first fantasy novel, which is quite good in its mix of traditional quest elements, a corrupt political landscape, and contemporary-feeling characters and language. Ringil is a war hero living in a backwater village, where he gets free room and board for telling stories of his legendary deeds and for taking care of the village's occasional supernatural predators. Basically, he's wasting the rest of his life, but that changes when his noble mother arrives and asks him to find one of his cousins, sold into slavery. Because slavery has become legal since the war ended, Ringil's investigations attract the attention of some powerful forces and bring him into contact with two comrades from the war: Egar the Dragonbane, a Majak clan leader; and Archeth, a kiriath half-breed advisor to the Emperor of Yhelteth. They discover evidence that the Aldrain, an otherworldly race supposed to have been driven from the world long ago, have returned to make war. This book has a lot of sex and violence and profanity, but it all fit with the characters and the pretty dark world Morgan created. At the end, there's the suggestion that Ringil may be becoming something he isn't sure is good, and that'll keep me excited for the next book.
The Warded Man, by Peter V. Brett -- Fantasy
I read a lot of fantasy, and I thought this first in a new series (and also a first book by Brett, who apparently wrote the first draft of this on his Blackberry during work commutes) is different from a lot of what's out there. Yes, there's still the hero's journey and all that, but the setting is unique and compelling enough to make it feel fresh. At night, the evil corelings rise from the earth to devour any people and animals they can find; the only protection people have are wards, magical protective symbols everyone draws on their homes, barns, city walls, and so on. The only ones who brave the night are Messengers, who travel among isolated areas bringing news and supplies, sheltering inside fragile portable wards at night. Arlen, the main protagonist, is restless at being trapped behind wards his whole life and wonder why people never fight back against the demons. After a coreling kills his mother, he trains to become a Messenger, learning in the process that humans once fought against the corelings with equal strength and defeated them. He resolves to re-discover the lost fighting wards and deliver them to the people. He is joined by two other survivors--Rojer, a musician, and Leesha, an herb gatherer--who have also discovered lost techniques. This is mostly a character-driven story about these three children becoming legends, but there are lots of heart-pounding battles and terrible sacrifices and betrayals in the process. None of the three children have an easy family life, and one of the recurring themes is how fear of the corelings has caused people to be less then they could be. Plus, the corelings are legitimately scary. This is definitely a new author to watch.
The Judging Eye, by R. Scott Bakker -- Fantasy
This new series begins twenty years after the conclusion of Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy. Kellhus, the all-seeing Aspect-Emperor, is leading a second war, the Great Ordeal, against the evil Consult, intending to prevent the rise of the No-God. While his army continues to subjugate once proud nations, others plot to contest his domination. Nannaferi, of the Cult of Yatwer, awaits the Goddess' White-Luck Warrior, prophesied to destroy the Demon Kellhus. Sorweel, the young king of conquered Sarkarpus, seeks to defy the invaders while traveling with its army. Achamian, the exiled Schoolman, and Mimara, a witch with the Judging Eye, begin a dangerous trek to discover Kellhus' true nature. Esmenet, Kellhus' wife, navigates the brutal politics left in her care, while their son Kelmomas manipulates those around him with disquieting motives. This was a challenging, dense read, especially to someone who hasn't read the other series. I would almost recommend reading the first trilogy before picking this one up, because though Bakker gives plenty of backstory (almost too much), it's hard to place it within the context of his world and his characters' history. Part of this is because even the structure of the novel is challenging; it's not linear, there are tons of characters and storylines to keep track of, and sometimes transitions between past and present and reality and dreams are not telegraphed. The writing itself is often beautiful and very grand, appropriate to the epic feel of the story, but it takes attention to appreciate it. This is not a book you can skim parts of; you'll be lost within seconds. Still, the book left an impression, and I will be reading the next one. Philosophically, the book is very interesting as well. One of the most intriguing questions I kept asking is: Is Kellhus a benevolent messiah or a cruel despot with god-like powers of manipulating others? He certainly is horrifying, but wouldn't a god be horrifying by definition, with all that power and no one to keep him in check?
Books for Fun
Kitty Kitty, by Michele Jaffe -- YA Mystery
I loved Bad Kitty and its ridiculously funny plot and characters, so how could I resist a sequel? In this one, Jasmine Callihan has been forced to move to Italy with to her father Dadzilla and step-mother, Sherri! (yes, she spells her name with an exclamation point). While Jas plots out a way to return home to her friends and new boyfriend, she is of course embroiled in another mystery when one of her only friends in Italy is murdered right after confiding to Jas that she is being followed. Like the previous book, the plot is wonderfully ridiculous and the cast of characters (including the return of the Evil Hench Twins) is just as kooky, with Jas and her friends creating more MacGyver-esque spy equipment, speaking to each other in silly footnotes, and engaging in madcap hijinks. These books remind me of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series for teens, but Jaffe's series has more fast-paced zaniness and uniqueness.
The Gypsy Morph, by Terry Brooks -- Fantasy
This is the conclusion to Brooks' new trilogy Genesis of Shannara, and it's pretty good as far as third books go. Kirisin, the elf, finds the elfstone he is seeking and rescues the Ellcrys and his people, but not without cost. The elves and humans and mutants eventually come together under Hawk's protection as the Gypsy Morph after a stirring battle between the Knights of the Word, Angel and Logan, and Findo Cask and the once-men (Hawk of course plays a significant part in this, too). I enjoyed the way Brooks combined the Shannara lore with the post-apocalyptic setting of his Knights of the Word books, but I thought the ending of Findo Cask was a little weak, and I saw what would happen to Hawk coming from a mile away. Still, the characters matured believably (especially Panther and some of the other Ghosts), and the overall victory was hard-won.