Reviewed by Aaron M. Wilson
What is really fun about the fan-reviewer community of bloggers is that you can help each other out, meet interesting people, and most of all read great reviews. So, I jumped at the chance to help out SQT at Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin' Blog when she put out the call for assistance, Help Me, I'm Drowning!
I took on the 175 page The Charon Covenant. I typically review short stories, at The Soulless Machine Review, and the occasional shot novel. It is what my short TV corrupted attention span can handle. Thank you, SQT, for this opportunity.
Despite some unevenness in the writing The Charon Covenant is a fast passed thrill ride that takes place over just six days. The novel is broken in six chapters that each represent a day in the life of those who live on the surface of the moon. Tragedy has befallen the earth and what is left of humanity is living in an enclosed environment on the moon. Their dark sky filled with the hope of someday being able to return to earth.
The heroine of the story is Dara, a woman who's world is about to change for ever. Not only is she about to give birth to her first child, but she is going to find out that her destiny is going to leader her places she had had never dreamed of going. Motherhood is only one of the adventures waiting for her.
In order to save her newly born son, Daryl, she must find an inner strength to combat an evil force that that uses the name of protection to heard humanity into its trap. The inner circle is reminiscent of such classic aliens such as those on the TV Miniseries V and the short run TV show War of the Worlds, where aliens use the a human guise to walk among us like wolves in sheep's clothing.
The Charon Covenant is an interesting first novel. I hope that we will see more forthcoming from Brenda Munday Gifford.
Gifford, Brenda Munday . The Charon Covenant. Baltimore: Publish America, 2007
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THE CHARON COVENANT by Brenda Munday Gifford
Neo-Opsis Issue #12
Neo-Opsis was one of the magazines that I purchased a single copy of several weeks ago as part of my move to find magazines worth subscribing to. Part of the reason is I that I need to keep up with the short story market for my own writing and because I feel rather detached from the market anyway, having not read any 'new' short stories in some time.
When I bought this issue I had never heard of Neo-Opsis before. It's a quarterly Canadian magazine that pays roughly 2.5 cents USD per word, putting it in the semi-pro market. It hosts a wide range of material from fiction to poetry to non-fiction. I actually hadn't intended to finish this so fast, but like anyone who loves to read, when you get hooked on something you just can't stop. I read the entire issue in a day. This is a high quality magazine publishing everything from hard SF to near-future and even urban fantasy. It may be difficult for Americans to find this magazine anywhere but online, but it is definitely worth trying out if you're at all interested in short fiction.
Now on to the individual items:
Aside from the fiction is some book reviews, general and science news, and other nonfiction. Neo-Opsis is definitely a magazine worth paying attention to. It's not perfect, but nothing really is. But it's still quite good.
This is probably my favorite story from the whole issue. It's a time travel story set in what seems to be the world of today. Chris is a business man running a new stationary store hoping to bring himself riches when his lift is suddenly interfered by a time traveling entrepeneur named Nuntia, who, as it turns out, has come back in time for some paper clips. This story is really rather ridiculous, but that's part of its charm. I really enjoyed this story.
Another time travel story that takes an entirely different approach, and one that some of us have probably seen somewhere before. It deals with the consequences of someone trapped in the never-ending web of trying to fix the past to change the future. Just as you might suspect, it doesn't always work out the way it's supposed to. I found this story to be rather interesting even if it is an idea that has been done before. Sometimes new writers can put a new spin on a story.
This story is set in a world where orphan children are assigned an intelligent floating sphere to guide them somewhat like a parent would. I think the story is okay, but it sort of fell apart for me when the main character randomly said "I love you" to the sphere even though throughout the entire story the character has made no indication that his feelings are anything but annoyance and hatred. The irony I think is that the sphere doesn't seem to work as the people who had assigned it would hope.
Another cute story about a furry green alien that has come to Earth to escape its horrible world of deserts and addiction. The little alien makes a friend and ends up getting entangled in the all-too-familiar fallacies of the legal system on Earth. It's a good story. I kind of felt sad for the little alien though. He turns out to be like a talking ET, only with fur. Huggable would be the right word here.
I'm not adequate at really rating poetry, so I won't delve too deep into this. It was entertaining and had good imagery. I guess you could say it is about either the despair of leaving the world behind or the despair of diving into the frightening vastness of space. The image that comes with it makes me think a little of both.
The future of corporate power: being able to frame people for stealing and using a law that allows businesses to use prison labor. You can see where that is going right? I think the story was fine until the end, where things get sort of jostled. There is a last section where the main character is suddenly in prison appealing his imprisonment, but before the character was free. It sort of destroyed the integrity of the story I think. If you cut that out and put a different ending it would have worked out better.
This is an urban fantasy piece about a treasure-protecting dragon's struggle to deal with the woman he loves breaking off their relationship. He's a dragon that can be in human form by the way. This was a fascinating character story that begins well, has a good middle, and generally ends well. One problem was the author telling us what happens to a series of characters that neither receive a POV or have a need for it. It would have been best letting the main character find that information out on his own. Good story otherwise.
War between the clones of a psychopath and mankind don't look remotely pretty. These clones get pleasure out of destroying others--actual pleasure. Sergeant Jameson wakes up to find himself in the care of one such clone, only this is a different clone--a medic, which gets pleasure out of healing people. It's a grim story indeed and I rather enjoyed it. I think a lot more could be done with this concept and I hope the author does so.
Flash fiction about a boy who is dealing with the fact that his parents 'manufactured' him to their specifications--smart and perfectly healthy. It's hard to judge such short fiction since there isn't much that goes on, but it is well done. I'm not sure about the very last line though. It makes me think this kid is going to kill his parents.
Part cyberpunk and part paranormal. This story follows Malverne, a brilliant composer who has had to be rebuilt mechanically because of a violent accident. Barber has done well to bring together technology and the human psyche, which made this story rather exceptional. It's not my favorite, but a close second. The paranormal aspect involves what could be called the 'ghost' of another dead composer that helps Malverne begin to accept who he has become.
The Complete Guide to Writing SF Vol. One
Edited by Dave A. Law and Darin Park (sorry, the name of the book was too big to include the editors into the title).
I received this book from EDGE/Tesseract, which is also in league with Dragon Moon Press, who happened to be the publisher of this particular book. On a side note to this, they also have a couple volumes of a guide to writing fantasy, which may be of interest to those of you who are not into SF.
I'm going to do this review in two ways. First I'm going to talk about the book as a whole, second I'm going to address each article individually, and third I'll end with a conclusion. Here goes:
This book should be on your required reading list for genre-related non-fiction. If you write science fiction, get this book because it will help you in so many different ways, especially if you're just starting out in the SF field. This book covers everything from the early history of SF to sub-genres, creating believable aliens to getting your science right, writing to editing, and submitting to the life of a published author. In a lot of ways it is too much subject matter for one book, but I imagine that Dragon Moon is intending to do with this what they did with their guide to fantasy--multiple volumes--which would help expand upon the ideas that were intentionally left alone. In short, this is one of the most useful books for writers of SF that I have read since Orson Scott Card's how-to book on SF & F. It's definitely worth more than the $24.95 USD price.
Edit: I forgot to mention that the back of the book includes an extensive collection of resources that I have found remarkably useful. It includes websites, publishers, and all of the works that were cited within the articles, among other things.
Now for the criticism, which is sort of bad criticism and simple observational criticism which is neutral. There were some articles that had spelling and grammar errors, though the vast majority of the book was generally perfect. Also, it seems as though there was a printing problem throughout the book that I can't imagine being an editorial issue. The italicized capped "N" was consistently replaced with an italicized capped "I" with a little dot under it. This has to be some sort of printing fluke. It's hard to miss otherwise. Other than that, and what will be mentioned in the individual article discussions, there little wrong with this guide. With authors like Orson Scott Card, Wil McCarthy, Piers Anthony, Michele Acker, and Kim Richards in the table of contents you can see how good this guide really is. The reason I'm doing the articles last is because you may not want to read my take on the individual articles, since overall the book is really awesome. But, in case you want to know what I thought of them individually, here they are:
Part One: Defining
Part Two: Building
This article gives a very, very, very brief history of SF. I did learn a few things about the history of SF, but I think the weakest part of the article--other than some grammar and spelling errors--is that it is too broad. If another volume shows up I would really like to see certain aspects of SF's history expanded upon. It's a good article for the ill-versed reader, but it is very much glossing over the vast history of SF.
Addressing the age-old question of "what is Science Fiction"? The great thing about this article is that it paints the argument perfectly. What is science fiction? Well, how about, what isn't science fiction? It's impossible to come up with a definitive definition, essentially. Darn good article.
Nailor does a good job here discussing some of the myths in science fiction and basically pointing out that if you intend to write SF, even if you don't know the science and you're simply making something up that can't happen anyway (such as FTL travel), you still need to present it in a way that works. Technobabble used appropriately makes your writing seem effective, etc. He also uses some well known SF writers (Heinlein, Asimov, etc.) to support his point.
The title says it all basically. This is another of the articles that could do with expanding, especially on the subject of the blurred lines between different genres. Still a good introduction, but I think that sub-genres are vastly more complex than this.
Part Three: Crafting
Basically, if you want to write SF, you have to get the science right. McCarthy basically says what anyone else who writes SF seriously will tell you. Readers will drop you like a hat if you create a technology that is absolutely idiotic and unbelievable, within limits of course (readers are likely to accept that a FTL ship works, but only because that's just a general acceptance in SF). McCarthy does a good job going into the use of ideas and researching. His methods might not be for everyone, but he still provides you with a unique insight into how important the science in SF really is.
The simplest way to explain this is that it's fantasy world building, only from an SF approach. Aliens instead of goblins and elves, alien cultures instead of medieval countries, etc. Depending on the type of SF you intend to write this could be a hit or miss. I found it useful because I do like designing alternate worlds, and it did give a glossed over version of dealing with alien creations.
Just read the title and you'll know what this is about. McRae does go into this by making a point that your aliens don't have to be human, but they have to have a human element to them. If something is too alien it will be impossible to translate it to an audience of people who are human. So, even if your aliens have twelve arms and three mouths, you have to make it so the audience can identify with it. A really good article here for anyone wanting to make aliens.
Another very brief article, but I think this is still effective. It should be expanded though, and I hope that Dragon Moon does so. Allen discusses the vastness of space--stars, galaxies, and beyond--while pointing out how harsh space is. Everything from radiation to the effects of zero gravity on the human body, methods of creating artificial gravity to methods of space travel--real and otherwise--and even the enhancement of humans via artificial means. A good introduction to everything, and very valuable.
A discussion of the cliches in SF. Really it's impossible for this to be any more limited because there are so many cliches in SF anyway. However, it serves as an example of the types of things that have been done to death already and what you need to do to make sure that any cliche elements you use come off as more creative and interesting.
Part Four: Specializing
Basically a brief discussion on how to make your characters more lifelike. Giving them little habits and such to make them seem real. We've heard it before, but I think the basics of writing tend to be left out of genre specific books for writers. Now genre writers have a place they can go to get most, if not all, of the necessary info.
Another basic look to an important element of writing. It was a decent article, I thought, and it did manage to help me really think about some of the issues I'm having with a novel I'm currently working on.
Card talks in some detail about some things you shouldn't do with fiction in general: don't intentionally send a religious message or preach to your audience, etc. He raises some good points and defends his position by stating that he has written stories from various viewpoints, including non-religious viewpoints, even though he himself is a religious man.
Another basic approach to a common fiction element. This discusses all the little things within editing that you should be aware of. Rules like "show don't tell" and "don't be redundant" come into play here. It's a good article and certainly worth the read. Again, this is basic though. It works, but you'll want to go look for more expansive takes on some of the points made if you don't already know about them.
Part Five: Publishing and Beyond
Humor...as in knock-knock jokes and other funnies. Okay, not really, but Sparhawk goes into the uses of humor in SF writing, whether it be within a serious work or a work that is intentionally being funny (like what Douglas Adams did). I think there could have been better humorous examples provided by Sparhawk, but I think he still gets his point across.
This article discusses Fan Fiction. The interesting thing about it is that when I started reading it I expected to see only things related to FF, except Hightshoe goes even further by addressing shared-world series (such as Star Wars and Star Trek). This is a really good article that also delves into the issues of copyright infringement in FF (true FF I mean, not shared-world stuff). You might be interested to know that Lucas is one of the few franchise owners that actually encourages FF and Fan Films provided they follow some guidelines (no slash, and length limitations). More reasons to love Lucas I suppose. This was a fascinating read even though I have no intention of writing FF or writing within a shared-world (though I imagine I may try it one day).
This article was partially useless to me and partially interesting. First, it's useless to me because I have no real desire to get into graphic novels. This doesn't mean the article is bad, what it means is that it just doesn't provide information that I really intend to use. For someone who is interested in this field it will provide some valuable information, especially if you're interested but know very little about the field. It's a good introduction to how things work, particularly on the publishing side.
This has to be the first article I have ever seen that addresses SF for kids and young adults. I've seen far too many ones that take on fantasy, but never on SF. The interesting thing about this is that much of what is required to make SF for adults work ends up not being required in the same manner for kids. Science doesn't have to be explained too much, it just has to be believable to kids, and since kids are more likely to accept something as believable in a book it's not too complicated to make SF stories for kids. I enjoyed this article a lot.
The conclusion is: buy this book. Period. Okay, well don't if you don't want to, but you should really consider it if you're a writer and want to work with SF. It's an awesome book! Plain and simple!
Everything from conventions to workshops, markets to agents, etc. Everything that takes place between having completed your story to getting it published, and the means to do so. Acker also delves into the different types of publishers (print, POD, electronic, etc.) and talks with actual agents and editors on some very important subjects. Very useful article here.
Those of you looking for a speculative fiction look into the world of promoting your newly published book should look no further than here. Irvine goes into detail on the various methods by which you can promote your book, while also addressing how the publisher may or may not help promote you. I learned a lot from this article and, in the end, I still want to be a writer. I can deal with having to work my butt off.
What can you say about this article other than saying that this shows the grim reality of what it's like to be a writer before and after being successful (if you are successful)? That's about all you can say really. It ain't an easy life.
Winner!
The winner of Once Bitten Twice Shy and Another One Bites the Dust is Kari Thomas!
Congratulations Kari. Just send me your address and I'll send the books to you as soon as I can.
Thanks to everyone who entered. And make sure you keep an eye out for further contests!
How Did I Miss These?
Because we are moving (this week!) I've been a bit scattered with my reviews. I've sent a few books out (thanks to those who are helping) but I still have a decent pile to get through. But because I am so scatterbrained lately I've been reading more of my "personal" to-read pile than what I consider my "official" to-read pile. What's great about that is that I can read and enjoy the book without trying to write the review in my head at the same time.
So over the last week I've read two books that have been out awhile and the whole time I kept thinking, how the heck did I miss these when they first came out?
I ran across the name of author Brandon Sanderson while reading reviews at other book review blogs. All of the reviews at the time were focused on Sanderson's second book, Mistborn and I was curious enough to start looking for it. But then I came across his first novel, Elantris and was so interested in the premise I picked it up too.
Am I glad I did.
From Booklist
Until 10 years ago, Elantris was the capital of Arelon, inhabited by ordinary humans transformed into magic-using demigods by the Shaod. But the magic failed, Elantris started to rot, and its inhabitants turned into powerless wrecks. Princess Sarene of Teod arrives in Kae, the new capital, close enough to Elantris to constantly remind of faded glory, prepared for a marriage to ally Teod and Arelon against the religious imperialists of Fjordell. But, she is told, her fiance, Prince Raoden, is dead. She and a recently arrived high priest of Fjordell, Hrathen, clash. Sarene tries to retain the freedom of Teod and Arelon, Hrathen tries to incite the populace to convert so that Fjordell can take over. Neither suspects the truth about Raoden. Taken by the Shaod, he struggles to unite the crippled Elantrians and discover why the magic failed. The unrest comes to a head as governments topple, the Elantrians' secrets are revealed, and Fjordell's forces arrive. A surprisingly satisfying, single-volume epic fantasy that invokes a complex, vibrant world. ~Regina Schroeder
I stole that quote from Booklist because it really is a good, succinct description of the book.
Sanderson is one of many authors that I have seen compared to David Eddings, but the first I would agree does have a similar style. Like many people I prefer my books to be character driven and Sanderson seems to focus his energies on developing the personalities of his characters. There were moments that I thought were very Eddings-like in Elantris, especially the conversational bits. Even better, Sanderson manages to make the characters likable without falling into the trap of making them too cute or stereotypical; my main complaint with Eddings' later books.
But what I liked the most about Elantris was the originality of the story. The magic is different than what I'm used to seeing and that's always refreshing. The story also takes place primarily in Elantris or the surrounding city of Kae, thus deviating from the formula of the quest novel. And, last but not least, the book is a one volume story. No trilogy or 10 book saga! Though to be honest, I would love to see these characters again. Most importantly, the book is just plain good. It's a lot of fun to read and I can't figure out how the heck I missed this one when it was first printed in 2006? Oh well, at least I finally got around to reading it.
The other book I read this week was His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. I didn't actually miss this one when it came out in March of 2006, I just didn't pick it up for some reason. I think I read a review somewhere that said the book didn't have any magical elements and I kind of wrote it off. But then I've been reading what other people have said about the whole series (there are 4 books now) and decided to pick one up.
I really wish I hadn't read the earlier reviews that put me off of reading the book when it first came out. It is true that the book doesn't have the same magical elements as a lot of fantasy, but you could say the same thing about Anne McCaffrey's Pern series-- and I think Novik's series could be compared to McCaffrey's iconic books very easily.
His Majesty's Dragon could really be described as alternative history. The book is set during the Napoleonic Wars and France and England use dragons as part of their Aerial Corps. Navy Captain Will Lawrence ends up with a dragon egg after the capture of a French ship and suddenly finds himself bonded to young dragon he names Temeraire.
There isn't traditional magic in the book, but the dragons are magical in their own way. They vary in intelligence, though many speak with a human-like understanding. Temeraire is unusually intelligent and has an insatiable appetite for knowledge that he feeds by having Lawrence read to him.
I also like that Captain Lawrence is an older character with rank who is forced into a career change through his bonding with Temeraire. So many books start out with a juvenile character who escapes difficult circumstances by discovery of a magical ability or bonding with a magical creature. But Lawrence already has a comfortable life and has to deal with rearranging his ideas of what he thought his life was going to be.
I've read many reviews that have said the book is dry, and at times it can be. Because it is set in the 1800's the dialogue can seem stilted, but as a reader I felt it lent a feel of authenticity to the time frame. But I can't deny that the action sequences sometimes didn't flow as well as they might have had the language been less formal. Overall though, I thought it was a fun, easy read.
So there you have it. My impressions of what I read this week. Impressions based on good old-fashioned, no-review-necessary reading. If you haven't read these books already, I recommend you check them out. If you like good, lightweight fantasy fiction, I think you'd like these.
Book Giveaway! Jaz Parks
The wonderful people over at Orbit Books have been very kind to me. I have been pressed for time on my reviews, so they have graciously allowed me to giveaway the first TWO books in Jennifer Rardin's Jaz Park series instead.
One lucky person will get Once Bitten Twice Shy and Another One Bites the Dust!
There are lots of great reviews of the Jaz Parks series. If you're interested, here's a few links to get you started.
Katie's Reading-- "Once Bitten Twice Shy" 
Scifi Chick-- "Once Bitten Twice Shy"
Love Vampires-- "Another One Bites the Dust"
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review--"Once Bitten Twice Shy"
If you'd like to win, just comment here or send me an email. Just make sure I have a way of contacting you so I can let you know you've won! A winner will be picked by Wednesday November 21.
Good luck!
And the Winners Are.....
The winners of "The Cipher" giveaway are:
Charles Gramlich of Abita Springs Louisiana
and
Melissa Markham of Virginia
Congratulations Charles and Melissa! Send me your addresses and I make sure the books are on their way to you soon.
Sorry I don't have copies for everyone, but I am going to have another giveaway tomorrow-- so come back and see what's up for grabs then!
Help Me, I'm Drowning!
We're moving in two weeks and yet I still have a pile of books to review. There isn't a single one in the pile I don't want to read and review personally, but I just can't do them all justice right now.
So I NEED volunteers to read AND review a few books for me. Just a few paragraphs for a free book. It's fairly painless, I promise. :D
The first one I have is The Charon Covenant by Brenda Munday Gifford. This is the only straightforward sci-fi book I have at the moment. It's small at 175 pages but has an interesting premise:In The Charon Covenant, society has been forced to relocate to the moon (known as Earth II). The story's heroine, Dara Drew, discovers that not only can she not trust the government in this new society, she can't trust her neighbors, or her own brother as she accidentally discovers the ugly truth that turns their world upside down.
The next book I have is Master of Shadows by Janet Lorimer. This one falls more into the "chick lit" category-- but hey, I love that too.
As a child, Ariel McPherson was warned about a ferocious creature that allegedly stalked the forest near her family's summer cottage during the full moon. But surely those were merely stories meant to warn a little girl of dangers that lurk in any wood? When her adult world collapses, Ariel takes refuge in the cottage. Forced to go on an errand of mercy during a night of the full moon, Ariel finds legend crashing into reality. She meets a mysterious stranger, Louvel, in the forest. He will not allow her to see his face, but still strangely captures her heart. Then Ariel's life is shattered by a mysterious death; secrets are revealed and suspicions raised. Ariel's search for answers endangers her own life. Louvel may possess powers that can protect and help her...or he may a beast more fearsome than any found in a fairy tale.
And lastly I have Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist. This one pains me the most to get rid of. I have read about 
70 pages and it's very good. It definitely falls more into the category of horror fiction and Lindqvist has a wonderful, lyrical quality to his writing. I want to read this one a lot, but I have a lot of other books I'm obligated to read first and I hate to let this one languish on the shelf. Please only take this one if you really can do a review of this book.
Swedish TV and stage writer Lindqvist's first novel is set in a commonplace suburb of Stockholm, where 12-year-old Oskar lives with his mother, is bullied at school, shoplifts, and keeps a scrapbook of notes and clippings about gruesome murders. Eli, apparently about his age, moves in next door but doesn't go to school, leaving the flat only at night. Shortly after, the killings start. At first more fascinated than sorry, since one victim had bullied him, Oskar eventually discovers that Eli is a vampire, stuck permanently in childhood. What should Oskar do, especially when Eli is his friend as much as anyone is? Lindqvist develops the plot in rich detail. The characters, adult and child, are quite convincingly the sort that one would probably cross the street to avoid in any city. Lindqvist also realistically depicts the aftermath of brutal homicide on the nearby: shock and horror, some sleepless nights and bad dreams, despite which you must go to work and get the groceries; eventually, the police leave the neighborhood.
Leave a comment or email me if you're interested in reviewing any of these books. If I get multiple request, I'll do my standard pick-a-name-out-of-a-hat method of picking who to send the book to.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!
The Steam Magnate by Dana Copithorne
The Steam Magnate is published by Aio, a small press specializing in what they call "books that stir your soul". I can't say that The Steam Magnate stirred my soul, but I can definitely say that I found this book to be absolutely amazing.
The story takes place in a unique blend of science fiction, real world, and fantasy, put together into what I can only call obscure steampunk. The elements of steampunk are there, but they are almost intentionally made so they don't devour the story. Copithorne has managed to develop a world that is surreal and real all at the same time. The elements of fantasy are kept to a level just above what would be called magical realism, making this world seem so much like a Victorian age Earth, with some modern attachments.
The summary: Kyra is under orders to search for a man who possesses something of great value to the Heiress--certain documents that hold great sway. But the man she's searching for, Eson, is no ordinary person, and so she too finds herself under his influence. She's strangely attracted to him and as she becomes entwined in Eson's world she finds herself struggling to understand who she is and the the world around her.
Eson, however,
possesses unique abilities that allow him to bind people to him so that he can use them to his advantage. Some love him and others wish to see him imprisoned in the same home left to him by his ancestors. After recovering from a disastrous relationship, he meets Kyra and as his affections for her increase, so too does his realization that the challenges taking over his life are a little too close to home.
To put it simply, this work is stunning. Copithorne's prose is superb. It's fluid, powerful, and gripping. I found myself dragged right into the world and unable to escape. This is prose to look up to, in my opinion. This is also not your typical story. While it flirts with the lines of science fiction and fantasy, it isn't a story of adventure, but a story of characters. The focus is on Kyra, Eson, and Jado (a character I didn't mention in the summary), and how they are affected and influenced by everything that goes on. Taken into account that this is a highly literary work, The Steam Magnate never ceases to be beautiful in its creation.
One criticism I think is that perhaps some of the characters feel a little under developed. Kyra is painted clear, but there could be a little more of Jado to give the reader more cause to care. I personally found Jado to be very interesting, but at the same time I feel as though we didn't get to know him well enough. This may be more personal opinion though. In any case, the book is a must read. It was absolutely enthralled with how Eson seemed to almost be a vampire-like character. He reminded me of Dracula, only charming and less creepy--oh, and no sucking blood. His powers are not grandiose, but so very limited that the character himself has to expend considerable effort to even use them. I think this is a rather brilliant idea that diverges from other fantasy.
The short version of all this is: pick this book up. It's absolutely beautiful and I intend to cherish it. Aio is looking to be a fantastic small press publisher that we should all be looking out for.
Guest Review: Yellowknife
Crunchy Carpets took the time out of her very hectic life to do a review for me. That's what I call dedication. :)
Yellowknife by Steve Zipp
AGES ago I got an email from the gorgeous lady who runs Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin’ Blog. She had started a great site called The Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin’ Book Review. Through this site she has been receiving and sharing out a huge variety of books for her blogging friends to read and review.
She had gotten an email from a publisher regarding a novel he thought she might be interested in despite it not QUITE fitting the bill. Being that the book was published in Canada and set in Yellowknife, she thought I would be interested.
While I do real a lot of Sci Fi and Fantasy, my tastes are quite varied and anything a bit quirky will usually grab my attention.
This book did.
It was a lot of fun to read.
I am sad to say that I have not visited that part of the world, and instead have cowered in my lower mainland micro climate. The author, Steve Zipp, has done an amazing job of bringing to life the weather, the environment and the characters you may or may not meet on your trip there.
I don’t know if you have read any of Kate Atkinson, but the styles are quite similar…..and very engaging. He introduces us to life in the north. Life in a boom town. Life filled with snow cats, hunters, and mysterious noises from underground.
The publisher describes the book thusly -
The time is 1998. The millennium looms. Yellowknife, capital of one-third of Canada and home to beasts and bureaucrats, is about to become a major player in the world diamond market.
Stir in a little crime, a dash of sex, some hunting and fishing, not to mention hockey, videogames, lost explorers, crazed biologists, and spectacular scenery.
The perfect setting for mystery and adventure.
We are introduced to Yellowknife through the eyes of Danny. Danny is a bit of a lost soul. A drifter. But a drifter with enough gut instinct in him to keep him alive and fed…even if it is just dog food. He has been driving for a while…..with no real direction or destination in mind. He ends up heading north as far as his beater will take him or until a bison takes offense to his mode of transport.
Danny’s survival instincts are put to the test in Yellowknife. Even when he finds warm digs through the offer of house sitting. Things are never ‘normal.’ He is constantly confronted with strange people, sights and sounds.
The other main character is Nora, a government hired biologist. She works with a bunch of other ’specialists’ who spend a bit too much time isolated in the wilderness instead of sharpening their social or hygiene skills. Politics are beginning to trickle down to their little department and she finds her job on the line. The impact of this takes a while to sink in for her as she is planning her nuptials with her mosquito loving fiance. Until he disappears.
There are many mysteries in this book. Zipp does his best to tie them all together. This is a world of conspiracy, big money and magic. This is the north.
I do have to admit that I felt a bit let down at the end. I felt that I wasn’t given quite ENOUGH answers to so many tantalizing questions out there. He carried me along throughout the book and I guess I still needed a bit more closure than he was willing to give.
I do highly recommend the book. It was a lot of fun. He is an engaging writer and skilled at crafting interesting characters.
I thank the publisher and SQT for the chance to read the book.
Book Giveaway! The Cipher by Diana Pharaoh Francis
I am so happy! Diana Pharaoh Francis has graciously offered two copies of her book The Cipher to giveaway.
Just leave a comment here, or email me to enter. I will pick two winners by Tuesday November 13th.
Good Luck!
((This is also posted on my sci-fi blog homepage. Entries are already piling up-- make sure you put your name in!))
The Cipher
I've been reading a lot of review books lately, and some are harder to get into than others. Fortunately The Cipher by Diana Pharaoh Francis was a very easy story to fall into.
I hate to admit it, but I have been struggling with a few of my review books. I've been skipping around my book pile, mostly prioritizing by whether or not a book is soon to be released, though I also try to take into account which books came first, and have had mixed results with finishing my reading. It was a bit of a surprise to me when I went to the bookstore and saw "The Cipher" already on the shelf. My copy said it wasn't due out until November 6th. So I put down what I was reading and happily found that I could finish "The Cipher" in no time flat.
"The Cipher" is an original in so many ways. The main character, Lucy Trenton, is royalty, but not the lazy, unproductive type. The royal family has been entrenched in a costly legal battle that has taken much of their wealth, forcing extended family to actually work for a living. Imagine that. Lucy works as a customs inspector and takes pride in her job and her adherence to the law-- most of the time.
But Lucy also has an unusual ability that gets her into a lot of trouble. She has been able to sense the presence of magic since she was a child and this has allowed her to find magical objects, called "true Ciphers," created by a long dead magician by the name of Errol Cipher. True Ciphers are dangerous and illegal to possess but Lucy can't help feeling drawn to them due to her special ability. She ends up being snared by a cipher and doesn't know if it will kill her or not. Lucy also finds the cipher is only the beginning of her problems as she begins to receive blackmail letters that threaten to reveal her secret.
The best part of the book to me is that it has a logical progression. Lucy ends up in a lot of trouble, but rather than try to hide what she has done, she actually tells her family and friends what it going on and asks them what she should do! This never happens does it? I absolutely love that Diana Pharaoh Francis doesn't follow the same generic formula of so many other authors.
An added bonus is that the system of magic in "The Cipher" is completely original as well. The island of Crosspointe, where most of the story is set, is surrounded by treacherous waters that often carry a deadly substance called "sylveth." Sylveth can be adapted by "magicars" to be used to power magical objects but if an ordinary person is touched by the sylveth it can turn them into "sylveth spawn," and horribly alter the victim.
The characters in "The Cipher" are as well done as the story. Lucy could be annoying because she has a sharp, straightforward character, but she never gets to that point because she knows darn well she has no tact. She describes herself as fat and shrewish and has a very real personality.
Truthfully, I could go on and on. "The Cipher" has a lot of action without a lot of what usually moves a story in a fantasy setting. Not one battlefield appears in this book and there are no sword fights-- and you won't miss them. There is magic, but it is also truly unique. If I were to try to find a complaint about the book, and really there isn't much, it might be that Lucy gets injured a lot. A whole lot. But I think there may have been a reason for that-- and I would encourage you to read the book and tell me what you think.
I only regret I don't have a copy to giveaway. Mine is a galley that was signed by the author and there is just no prying this one out of my hands.
First Rider's Call
Lil inhaled and blew into the horn. The notes of the Rider call rang out sure and strong. She sensed it pulsing through the layers of the world, ringing with need and urgency. Would it reach far enough? Would the girl hear it? Most importantly, would it reach her heart?
Lil lowered the horn, listening still as its crisp notes faded away. And she watched. At first there was nothing and Lil's hopes plummeted, but then the pillow was flung aside and the girl- young woman, really-- sprang upright into a sitting position, eyes wide open and bright. She hurled herself out of bed in a flurry of sheets and nightgown sprawled across the floor in a tangled heap.
Unaware of all else save the call, she disentangled herself and scrambled to her feet. She swiped her brooch from the bedside table and threw open her wardrobe, withdrawing a saber sheathed in a battered black scabbard, and ran from the room as if all the demons of the five hells pursued her.
Lil listened in satisfaction as bare feet raced along the corridor then thunked down a series of stairs.
She convulsed with laughter, her feet rising a few more inches above the floor. She wondered just how far the girl would get before she realized she was riding to Sacor City in her nightgown.
~Excerpt from First Rider's Call by Kristen Britain.
I've had the pleasure of going back and re-reading Kristen Britain's Green Rider series in anticipation of the release of the latest book in the series, The High King's Tomb. As I mentioned in my review of Green Rider, the sequels have been a long time in coming, but worth the wait.
2007 has been a great year for debut fantasy. "The Name of the Wind," "The Blade Itself," "Lies of Locke Lamora," and "Winterbirth" are all great books. But they definitely fit into what I would consider the more 'gritty' category. The battles tend to be graphic and the language profane, and mostly, I have no objection to that. But it's nice sometimes to just read a good fantasy adventure that doesn't hit you between the eyes with so much heavy content. That isn't to say that Britain's books lack depth, they're just not as demanding of the reader's energy as some books can be-- kind of like a good action movie vs. a heavy drama.
"First Rider's Call" picks up roughly a year after "Green Rider" left off and Karigan is pressed back into the Green Rider service due to the strength of the call of the first Green Rider, Lil Ambriodhe.
In the first book, Karigan is the first of her people to come into contact with the Eletians--another variations on the elf myth--for generations, so she is ordered to accompany a delegation sent to find the Elt and open communications with them. Along the way the group encounters wild magic that proves to be deadly and warns of dangerous times ahead.
What I liked most about "First Rider's Call" is that it builds significantly on the story that was begun in "Green Rider." I must admit, that as much as I liked "Green Rider" the story didn't seem to have an awful lot of complexity. But this book proves my first assumptions wrong. There is a lot of backstory that is finally told and many more layers are added to the original story. I was also glad to see that a lot of character development went into this one as well. If I had a complaint about "Green Rider" it's that the character of King Zachary is a little too perfect. I often felt his dialogue was a bit stilted and unrealistic in the first book, but I think he is much more believable here.
Rider is somewhat typical of the sophomore book in a series in that Britain adds a lot of content to the overall story. But she still manages to keep the book flowing with plenty of action so it never gets too slow or boring. The only small complaint I have about this book has more to do with a typeface than any content. There are several entries into the journal of a man named Hadriax el Fex, and the print is insanely small. I don't need reading glasses but I was hard pressed to read the tiny script at times. But overall, the book is a good, solid entry to a very good series.
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