The Blade Itself

Publisher : Gollancz
432 pages
ISBN-10: 0575077859
ISBN-13: 978-0575077850
£18.99
4 May 2006


I don't often order books from overseas, but I made an exception for Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself. Buzz surrounding this fantasy novel was quite good, and I decided I couldn't wait for the Pyr release this fall, and ordered the Gollancz edition.

This is the first novel in the The First Law series. I'm not aware how many volumes are planned but Volume 2, Before They are Hanged was recently released in the UK. Anyway I'd heard a lot of comparisons between this novel and Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora, which I absolutely loved, and after reading it I can see why they were made. Both are lighter novels, and they rely on pithy dialogue to support the action. The Blade Itself is definitely an introductory chapter to something larger. In this first installment we are introduced to the main characters, the barbarian northman Logen Ninefingers, the bitter crippled Inquisitor Sand dan Glokta, the brash young nobleman, Captain Jezal dan Luthar, the feral ex-slave Ferro Maljinn, and finally the mysterious wizard out of legend, First Magi Bayaz. Well, its not the most original cast of characters, quite of few standards of the genre there as a matter of fact.

So lets move on to the world of the The First Law. Most of the story take place in Adua, capital of The Union, a confederacy centered around The Midderlands and which includes in its colonies, Angland in the North and Dagoska in the South. The Union must deal with a threat to Angland from Bethod and his barbarian horde. On top of this, the violent Gurkish threaten Dagoska in the south. Seems The Union is in quite the pinch. The king is old and senile, his heir is a flamboyant layabout, and his council is busy fighting each other. Luckily Bayaz, the power behind the first king Harald centuries ago, has shown up to save the Union, if that is ,he can convince the council he is who he claims.

So the world is a pretty typical fantasy setting, the plot is standard, and the characters cliche. Sounds like a mess huh? Well it could be. But Abercrombie take all these standard ingredients and weaves them into a fun exciting yarn. Glokta is a great character. I envision him as Hugh Laurie's House character. House MD has the same plot every week, yet it never fails to entertain. Sometimes the common place and familiar can be very good, comfortable can be welcome. The Blade Itself, is comfortable, and its good. Not every novel needs to be groundbreakingly original, Sometimes it can just be some well done standard fare. Mr. Abercrombie won't be winning any Hugo awards with this debut, but what he is doing is winning a lot of fans with this entertaining tale.

7.5 out of 10

Buy this book at

Amazon UK
or
The Book Depository

Gates of Fire

Publisher : Doubleday
400 pages
ISBN-10: 0385492510
Hardcover
$29.95
October 1998

"Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie."

I went to see the movie "300" on opening weekend. I thought it was very well done. I left craving more Spartan bad-assery, and seeing how Steven Pressfield's epic novel had been sitting in my to be read pile for awhile, I thought it was the perfect time to read Gates of Fire.

Both "300" and Gates of Fire are based on the Battle of Thermopylae, the now legendary battle where a force of 300 Spartans and their Greek allies are said to have held off the entire Persian army. Both are fiction. Gates of Fire is much less fantastical than "300" and hits much closer to the truth of the battle. Gates tells its tale from the viewpoint of the lone Greek survivor of the battle, a squire named Xeones.

Xeones is rescued from the rubble of the battlefield and taken before the Persian King Xerxes, who wishes to learn more of these Spartans, who numbering only 300 had managed to hold off his army of hundreds of thousands. Treated by the royal surgeons, Xeones says in order to truly understand the Spartans, he must start at the beginning. The narrative repeatedly jumps around in time, as new points in the tale are related to other events from Xeo's past. Xeo eventually becomes the squire to the Spartan officer Dienekes, who Heredotus credits with responding the the claim that the Persian arrows will blot out the sun replying "Then we shall have our battle in the shade."

Being historical fiction, we know how the story ends. The Spartans are killed to a man, but their courage inspired the rest of Greece to unite and defeat the Persian army.

Gates of Fire is a wonderful novel. Pressfield retells a well known tale with style and flair. I felt like I knew the characters. He gives us a knowing look into the workings of Spartan society, and the warrior psyche. Even though I knew they were all doomed, I kept hoping that Xeo, and Dienekes, and Alexandros, and Leonides, would achieve victory. By their sacrifice, they did indeed.

8.5 out of 10

Purchase this book thru Amazon

Supreme Power Vol2

Publisher: Marvel Comics (December 27, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0785121331
Hardcover: 264 pages
$29.99

This volume collects Supreme Power issues 13-18 as well as Hyperion issues 1-5 in a lovely hardcover format.

Written by J. Michael Straczynski the first part is illustrated by Gary Frank and the later half is drawn by Dan Jurgens. While the book compiles two different comics, the plot line is pretty well integrated as Hyperion takes place immediately following the end of the Supreme Power series. The change in the artwork I found rather jarring as I loved Frank's work, and Jurgens style is not so much to my liking. I really didn't care for the story line in the Hyperion half either. The first half of the book follows Hyperion, Blur and Nighthawk as they track down a serial killer who is an escaped convict who was subjected to genetic experiments by the government. He essentially was given the same powers as Hyperion. The story itself was OK, but not IMO up to par with the prior storyline in Vol 1. In the Hyperion sub arc, the government upset at Mark leaving "the team" outs him as an alien. They also assemble a team of super humans to bring him back. I was average at best.

I was rather disappointed with this collection. I loved the first volume, but this one certainly is quite the fall off in quality. Combine that with half the book being drawn in a style I didn't care for results in a reader not to bothered by the dropping of this title from the Max line.

5 out of 10

Available from

Amazon

Howard Who?

Publisher : Small Beer Press :Peapod Classics
August 1, 2006
ISBN 1931520186
$14trade paperback
256 pages


Howard Who? is a short story collection by Howard Waldrop with an introduction by George R. R. Martin.

It consists of the following stories.

The Ugly Chickens
This story won the Nebula and the World Fantasy awards as well as being nominated for a Hugo.
It puts forth the question What if the Dodo hadn't been wiped out.

Der Untergang des Abendlandesmenschen
I have no idea what this story was about, but I was never the less tremendously entertained by it.

Ike at the Mike
Did you ever wonder how the world would be different if Eisenhower and Patton had been in a band with Louis Armstrong rather than leading the allies in Europe? Well Me neither, but Howard did, and its a wonderful story.

Dr. Hudson's Secret Gorilla
Classic old school horror movie plot. Or old school bugs bunny cartoon either way .

. . . the World, as we Know't
I don't see the word Phlogiston used enough anymore. This story is a cautionary tale of a science experiment gone bad. Really, Really, horribly bad.

Green Brother
This is the first of two Native American centered stories. I much preferred the next one.

Mary Margaret Road Grader
Or Mad Max meets the county fair. This is a post apocalyptic story where Native American again rule the plains of the US, and they engage in tractor pulls.

"Save A Place in the Lifeboat for Me
Abbot and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, and others are sent to prevent "The day the music died." This was also one of my favorites perhaps because I've been to the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake IA many times.

Horror, We Got
You've got to love a time travel tale crossed with a Zionist conspiracy don't you? I loved this story.

Man-Mountain Gentian
Zen Sumo. 'nuff said.

God's Hooks
Izaak Walton goes fishing for a nightmare.

Heirs of the Perisphere
Another post apocalyptic tale. This time Mickey, Goofy, and Donald are the only survivors and they are trying to figure out why no one is coming to Disneyland.

I enjoyed this collection, but I've found I have a hard time getting into reading short fiction. I have a zone I get into in a book I really like, and short stories are over before I ever get to that point. Its much more of a chore to read short fiction for me. But taking that into account the writing itself is very good. Waldrop is very eclectic, and is certainly a master of the short story.

8 out of 10

buy this book at
Amazon
or
Dreamhaven

Infoquake

Publisher : Pyr
400pp
ISBN: 1-59102-442-0
Trade Paperback (6" x 9")
$15
July 2006
Cover Illustration and Design: ©2006 David Stevenson

"Hack the body and the mind will follow."

Infoquake, the debut novel by David Louis Edelman, is the first volume of the Jump 225 trilogy. Its a financial thriller in a cyberpunk setting. Infoquake takes place several hundred years in the future, mankind has emerged from the decimation of the autonomous revolution thanks to the work of Sheldon Surina. Surina is the father of bio/logics, digital programs that work through nanobots, or OCHRES, which are spread throughout the bodies of most humans. Competition to create and sell new bio/logic programs is fierce, and Natch is one of , if not the best in the business.

The story starts out with Natch unveiling a Machiavellian plot to ascend to the top spot on Primo's list, the Fortune 500 of the bio/logic biz. This stunt works and even earns him the notice of Margaret Surina, the descendant of Sheldon. She presents Natch with the opportunity of a lifetime. She wants him to finish and sell MultiReal a bio/logic program capable of creating a near infinite number of alternate realities. The catch is that not only does every other Fiefcorp want to get their hands on this program, so does the shadowy High Executive of the Defense and Wellness Council, Len Borda.

The book is fast paced from the start, although the action is much more cerebral than physical. Plots and intrigues abound. Edelman creates a very interesting character in Natch. He has few redeeming qualities but the reader is drawn to him none the less. The supporting cast is very strong as well. I particularly enjoyed Jara, one of Natches apprentices. Edelman creates a rich narrative of a future earth. The back of the book is chock full of appendixes, which includes, a glossary, a time line, and in depth explanations of some of the most prevalent technologies. He is clearly a master at fleshing out his concepts. The story drew me in from the start, and I'm eagerly anticipating the forthcoming volumes.

8.5 out of 10

A sample chapter can be read here

You can purchase this book at Amazon

The Left Hand of Darkness

The Left Hand of Darkness is the Hugo and Nebula Winning novel by Ursula K. LeGuin, and is widely considered to be her finest work. It is a novel of first contact on the surface, but its deeper purpose was in exploring gender roles in society. It tells the story of Genly Ai, a human representative of the Ekumen, a loose confederation of planets. Genly is tasked with extending an invitation to the world of Gethen to join the Ekumen. His ally in this is the Prime Minister of Karhide, Lord Estraven.

In a political shift, Estraven is ousted and must flee to the neighboring nation of Orgoreyn. Genly is rebuffed in his mission by the King of Karhide, so he then decides to take his offer to the government of Orgoreyn. Orgoreyn , however is esentially a communist oligarchy, and Genly is caught in between opposed factions here as well.

The plot struck me as rather mediocre. The characters outside of Estraven and Ai were rather dull as well. World building is the strength of this novel. The novel is considered a major work of feminist science fiction. I'm not sure I agree with that. The key element of the story is the nature of the Gethenian people themselves. They are androgynes, a people possessing the potential to manifest either sex, but normally they are nueters. For 2 days every month they go into a state called kemmer, in which they take on sexual characteristics of one of the genders, and more or less go into heat. The result is Gethenians can both sire and bear children. Because of this traditional gender roles such as developed on Earth are not present on Gethen. Its a very interesting concept, but not one that I really look for in my SF reading. LeGuin also inserts several short chapters in which the mythology of Gethen is explored.

This book wasn't to my liking. I found it very hard to get interested in. Not until the last third of the book did I find myself enjoying it. Combine that with an uninspiring plot, a mostly bland cast of characters, and the fact that the only truely groundbreaking element of the story was a commentary on gender roles, I was underwhelmed. I certainly see why people hold the book in high regard, but personally, it didn't do much for me. I will stick with the Earthsea trilogy as the signature LeGuin work.

6.5 out of 10

Available from Amazon

Dragon Avenger

Dragon Avenger by E.E. Knight is the second cook in the Age of Fire cycle. It tells the tale of Wistala, the sister of Dragon Champion's Auron. The book starts in the same place as the first. With the hatching of the clutch in the cave. and for the first several chapters, it tells the same story, but through Wistala's viewpoint. This time when Wistala and Auron part, she believes he is the one who dies.

Wistala takes off to find her father who flew off to exact vengeance upon the Wheel of Fire Dwarves who betrayed them. She even manages to find him, near death from his rash attack, and spends some time trying to nurse him back to health. Being a coming of age story, of course the outcome of this reunion is bound to be temporary, and it is. Wistala is forced to flee and is nearly killed by the Dragonblade. Tala, though is rescued by a kindly elf named Rainfall. and she spends the majority of the book growing up in his company. Not a lot of avenging going on yet huh? just a lot of talking cats, and mules, Well the avenging does come. Events lead to Wistala getting the opportunity to take revenge on all who have wronged her, and her family, and she takes full advantage.

I liked the book, it was a light entertaining read for the most part. It felt more like a young adult novel than Champion did. Perhaps it was because of the different feel from the Dragonelles perspective. Perhaps it was where the first book had talking wolves, this one had cats, and horses, and mules, and buzzards. Perhaps I just didn't notice it in the first book. Anyway, Knight does a nice job of expanding his world. We see different areas than we did with Auron. We learn more about the history of the land. He also creates characters that you get attached too. I found myself saddened by the loss of certain characters. Its a worthy follow up to Dragon Champion. The next book in the series is slated to be about the little maimed Copper. I look forward to it.

7 out of 10

You can purchase this book at,

Clarkesword
or
Amazon

The Final Reflection

The Final Reflection is a Star Trek novel written by John M. Ford. Its the first Star Trek novel I've ever read, and from my understanding its pretty atypical. Ford, like the Enterprise liked to go where no man has gone before. Even himself. He actually wrote a second Star Trek novel, How Much for Just the Planet, which is a musical if you can believe it.

The main twist in this book, is it doesn't follow the adventures of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, but rather it has a Klingon as the main protagonist. Vrenn, is a houseless orphan who was trained to play the live version of the game klin zha, a much more complicated form of chess. During a match he gains the notice of a prominent Klingon admiral, and ends up being adopted into his line. Vrenn is now able to fulfill his dreams of becoming a naval officer. Vrenn eventually is forced to take the name of Krenn, as a political expediency, and is made captain of his own ship. Part of the price of this is he must travel to Earth to bring back a delegate from the Federation. Kreen becomes a key figure in a plot to bring about a war between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. He must determine who he can trust in order to prevent a needless, honorless war.

Ford does masterful work in representing the Klingons as noble , honorable characters, not the hated barbarians they had always been portrayed as. Keep in mind this was written in 1984, well before The Next Generation introduced us to Worf, and the concept that Klingons were anything other than "the enemy". Ford takes a universe all of us are familiar with, and makes it his own. The trouble with so many tie-in novels is that the authors have little room for original creation, but Ford never seems constrained by those limits.

I really enjoyed this book. Any fan of either Star Trek books, or Ford's work should definitely pick this up. I will be moving his other Star Trek book up in my to be read pile.

8.5 out of 10

But this book at Amazon

Blindsight

Blindsight by Peter Watts is a hard sci-fi novel set near the end of the 21st century. Humankind has just experienced Firefall, when 65,536 objects simultaneously enter earth's atmosphere. In response man sends a manned mission to investigate the source of this phenomenon.

The spaceship Theseus is a wonder of engineering, beyond the cutting edge of science. The crew is an eclectic group selected for their unique abilities and skill sets. First there is Siri Keaton, the synthesist. He is there to observe and report. The story is told through Siri's viewpoint and is interspersed with flashbacks from his past life, which give us a view of what Watt's future Earth is like.

Next is Jukka Sarasti, the mission commander. Sarasti is a vampire, and as such his reasoning and logic skill far outstrip what any homo sapien could hope to achieve, even with cybernetic enhancements.

The rest of the crew consist of Amanda Bates, the pacifist military officer in charge of security. Next is Susan James, AKA the Gang of Four. James is a linguist who has split her brain into 4 unique personalities. Finally there is Isaac Szpindel, a biologist so heavily interfaced with equipment he can see xrays but at the cost of most of his normal senses.

These five are sent in suspended animation to make first contact. What they encounter is beyond their wildest nightmares.

Blindsight has a definite horror element to it. Conceptually its a brilliant take on first contact. The science is highly plausible, and the alienness of what the crew of the Theseus encounter is unlike pretty much anything I've seen before. There is an appendix at the end up the book in which Watts explains certain concepts, and while the technology factor is pretty high, the story doesn't get bogged down in jargon.

Hard sci fi isn't my normal sub genre of choice, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A lot of the early buzz surrounding Blightsight has speculated that it could win the Hugo. While its not my first choice, it definitely belongs on the short list and I wouldn't be upset if it did win. Any fan of hard sci fi should certainly pick this book up.

8.5 out of 10

Buy this book at
Clarkesworld
or
Amazon

If you would like to try before you by Watts has even made this book available under the creative commons licence. It can be downloaded here.

Starship Troopers

"I always get the shakes before a drop."

Starship Troopers by Robert A Heinlein is a seminal novel of military Science Fiction. It won the Hugo for best novel in 1960 and has been sited or at least suggested as an influence on such award winning novels as The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and Old Man's War by John Scalzi.

It novel is the first person narrative of Johnnie Rico, a young man from the not to distant future, and details his experience in the Mobile Infantry. It follows him from recruitment, to boot camp, to action. From raw recruit to non-com to officer. Interspersed in the scenes of training, and a few sparse battle scenes are a number of philosophical arguments on subjects such as the nature of war, the rights and duties of citizenship, and the merits of various forms of government.

Its these philosophical arguments that have made this book so controversial over the years. Heinlein was widely criticized for his belief in a meritocracy and what many see to be his anti communist views.


This is a great book. Its strength lies in the storyline and the development of Rico as a soldier. The world building is rather limited, but the Heinlein does do a pretty good job in portraying both a future Earth society , as well as developing the alien society of the Bugs.

I greatly enjoyed this book. Many of course criticize Starship Troopers as a propaganda vehicle for for Heinlein's personal views on society, and while that certainly is a relevant argument. I don't think it needs to detract from the reader's enjoyment of the book. I found it to be a quick read, and while its not a light read, and is filled with philosophical questions, one doesn't get bogged down in them as you can with other books. The influence of this book can't be denied. In fact the themes have been repeated so much in other works I almost felt like I'd read this book before.

9 out of 10

You can purchase the book at

Amazon

or

Clarkesworld

Tigana

"In the autumn season of the wine, word went forth from among the cypresses and olives and the laden vines of his country estate that Sandre, Duke of Astibar, once ruler of that city and its province, had drawn the last bitter breath of his exile and age and died."

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, is a beautifully written example of high fantasy. It tells the story of the people of the Palm, nine provinces located on a peninsula and surrounded by greater powers. Eight of the provinces have by conquered by two separate tyrants Brandin, King of Ygrath hold sway in the west, and Alberico of Barbadior rules in the East.

The driving point of the story is the fate of the province of Tigana, and its remaining survivors, for it was the Prince of Tigana who had slain the son of the Tyrant Brandin. In revenge the King of Ygrath not only scourged the land itself but cast a sorcery over the rest of the palm wiping the very memory of Tigana of anyone not born there. This is why Alessan the Heir of Tigana has gathered his company together. To take down the Tyrants and restore freedom to the people of the Palm.

Kay is a true wordsmith. His prose is beautiful and moving. His world building is not very deep, but where most high fantasy seems to have evolved into epic multi volume series, the economy here is welcome. The characters are interesting, and deep, even the antagonists receive enough attention so they are more than just a mysterious dark lord. If the story falls short anywhere its in plotting. It is a fairly standard story line, a group of heroes struggling against an oppressor. Perhaps I've become a bit cynical, but by and large there seem to be a lot of times where the heroes make it out of impossible situations nearly unscathed due to fortunate coincidences or twists of fate. Despite this the ending is rather bittersweet, Kay doesn't totally cop out with an entirely happy finish to the story.

Tigana was a good read. I liked it quite a bit. When starting a new book with unfamiliar characters, it tends to take me a while to find my footing, and feel out who is who. I reached this point about 100 pages in, and from there everything rolled by very smoothly. Its a very traditional story, and the ending left me very satisfied. This is probably a must read for fans of high fantasy.

8 out of 10

You can purchase this book at

Amazon

Altered Carbon

"Coming back from the dead can be rough."

Altered Carbon is Richard K. Morgan's debut novel but you'd never guess if you didn't know. Its a Sci -Fi Thriller set on 25th century earth, and Buck Rogers it is not.

Man has colonized the galaxy under the guidance of the UN Protectorate, and The UN has created the Envoys to deal with special problems. Technology has changed the definition of life itself. Peoples consciousnesses can be downloaded in to a cortical stack, so that a person's body is no more part of their being than their car, or home. Something that they make be attached to, but can be changed, upgraded, or even sold. For those with the means death merely becomes a minor inconvenience.

Takeshi Kovacs is on the stack doing a 120 year sentence, when he is freighted to Earth via needlecast to go to work for Laurens Bancroft. Bancroft is a meth, a Methuselah, one of the privileged who have extended their lives for centuries. Bancroft had his head, and his stack blown off, the police have ruled it a suicide, Bancroft doesn't buy it. That's why he has brought in Kovacs. The investigation throws Kovacs into the middle of a far reaching conspiracy. He must find a way to solve the puzzle, while saving his skin and those of his friends.

Morgan weaves a complex tale of mystery, adventure, and betrayal. His world building isn't extensive, but as the story takes place mostly on the San Francisco, he doesn't need much. He does create a very interesting back story of colonization and the UN Envoys. Characterization is strong. Kovacs is a very memorable complex character, the supporting cast is strong as well.

Fans of sci-fi or detective stories should enjoy this book. It evokes comparisons to the work of Phillip K. Dick. I loved this book and highly recommend it. Broken Angels has moved to near the top of my to be read pile.

9 out of 10

Buy this book at
Clarkesworld
or
Amazon

Dragon Champion

Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight is the first book in the Age of Fire sequence. I'd seen Knight by an author I'm a fan of so I decided to give him a read. Knight is more known for his pulpy Vampire Earth books, but as I'm a fan of high fantasy I went with his new series instead.

Dragon Champion has all the staples of High Fantasy going for it. It has elves, dwarves, and of course dragons. It even has a dragon on the cover. ( Beautifully drawn by Paul Youll.) The protagonist is an orphan. Sounds cliche right? Well it certainly could be, but Knight take the cliche and turns it around. Perhaps not 180 degrees, but at least a sharp 90.

The orphan protagonist is Auron, a rare scaleless gray dragon, and the story is told entirely from his viewpoint. It follows his life from an emerging hatchling to a full fledged dragon. Along the way he experiences loss, finds new friends, makes new enemies, and discovers what it is to truly be a dragon.

The world building is very good. Knight sets sown several varied histories of the world, differing of course on which race is recording them. The creation mythologies are well layed out. He also does a fine job with characterization. For the most part his characters are very believable. The book sets a strong pace, but also gives the reader time to rest and reflect.

All in all Knight does very well in this endeavor. He takes what could be a tired concept and injects it with new life. I very much enjoyed Dragon Champion and will be looking to pick up the soon to be released follow up Dragon Avenger.

7.5 out of 10

you can purchase this book at
Clarkesworld
or
Amazon.com

Tripping to Somewhere

Life is going nowhere fast... until the night some freak wanders into the convenience store where Sam and Gilly are hanging out. He lets them in on a secret; The Witches'Carnival is nearby. If they travel fast, they might catch it.

Tripping to Somewhere is the debut novel by Kristopher Reisz. It was described to me as a cross between Gaiman and Kerouac. While that may be what the author was aiming for, I think its too lofty of a goal for his first book.

The story follows Gilly and Sam a pair of angst filled teenage girls as they run away from home to join the fabled Witches' Carnival.
Their chase takes them on a trip across not only the country, but across the ocean. Along the way they run the gambit of sex, drugs, rock & roll, and even throw in a few felonies for good measure. They find the Carnival, but the cost to join in might just be too much to pay.

Tripping was published by Simon Pulse which is an imprint of Simon and Schuster generally aimed at younger readers. I think I was outside the key demographic audience for this book. While I found it fairly enjoyable, and a fun easy read, It did nothing to particularly grab me. Perhaps I'm just not capable of empathizing with an angst filled teenage lesbian, but the characters did not make me care about them. The situations they got into and out of seemed too unrealistic for me, even in a fantasy novel.

All in all, while I don't think its a great novel, I think that it will appeal to many teens, who are looking to live vicariously through the protagonists. As I said it was a fun read despite the flaws.

6 out of 10

One More for the Road

One More for the Road is a short story collection by Ray Bradbury. It consists of 24 unrelated stories, 17 of which had never been published before. Bradbury is a master of the genre, and this book contains some really nice stories. It also contained some that fell very flat. A few of the stories grabbed my, and several others were very interesting in concept, but just weren't my style. Unfortunately a lot of the stories didn't meet either of those criteria for me.

The Nineteenth was my favorite. It was a moving story of a man mysteriously encountering he deceased father on a golf course looking for lost balls.

The Dragon Danced at Midnight was a furiously paced story of the rise of a filmmaker via the lucky accident of a drunken projectionist showing the reels of his film out of order.

Autumn Afternoon was a sad tale, of an old woman and her young niece. The niece saves calendar pages as remembrances. When cleaning out her attic the lady finds a stack of her own calendar pages from her youth, but she can't recall why she saved them.

For the rest the tales were mostly forgettable. Not bad really, just not remarkable. If you are a fan of Bradbury, feel free to give this a shot. You may like it more than I did. If you are new to the man, I'd stick with Fahrenheit 451 or the Martian Chronicles.

5 out of 10

Ultimate Iron Man

I have been reading comic books since the late '70's. Since then comics have gone from selling for Still Only $.35 to $3.95 for many titles. I've recently stopped buying comics on a monthly basis, as I feel the price is too much for what I get. However, one other change in comic publishing had been the rise of the graphic novel. It used to be that Marvel or DC would publish a special graphic novel once in awhile, but over the past few years, they have begun publishing omnibus editions of their regular comics a lot more often. Some of them even in nice hardcover editions.

Ultimate Iron Man is one of these. For those not familiar with the Ultimate Universe, let me give you a brief overview. Marvel has been publishing super hero comics since 1960, which of course gives their trademark characters like the Fantastic Four and Spider-man huge histories. Every writer needs to try and keep continuity with what every writer before has done, and this can certainly stifle creativity. What's more it can be imposing to new readers. So Marvel launched the Ultimate Universe, and treated all the characters then in as if they were brand new. They updated origin stories, and from what I've read Iron Man's update is one of the most extreme.

I was interested to read this seeing that Card who wrote the wonderful Ender's Game, was the scripter. I've really enjoyed some comics penned by big names in entertainment like Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, and J Michael Stryzinski. One of the best Graphic Novels I've read was Richard Morgan's run on Black Widow. I wasn't disappointed in Card.

The reimaging of Tony actually begins before his birth and involves an accident effecting his geneticist mother. The only way to save Tony is by utilizing some experimental technology developed by his father Howard. Quite the change from the original story of Tony being taken prisoner and forced to develop the armour to keep a bullet lodged in his chest from reaching his heart. Of course we do eventually get to the Iron Man armour, but that ends up being fairly secondary to the main storyline.

I don't believe that the series has gone beyond the first 5 issues, but I'm hoping it does eventually, as the story ends rather abruptly. There is certainly more to tell, and I hope that Card gets to do it.

8 out of 10

The Blood Knight

The Blood Knight is the third book in the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series by Greg Keyes. This follows up The Briar King and The Charnel Prince. Reportedly he is planning on wrapping this series up in the next novel, tenatively titled The Born Queen.

I really enjoyed the first two novels in this sequence, so I had high expectations for this book. I was not disappointed. I would recommend brushing up on what happened in the previous installments before reading this, as Keyes drops you right in the middle of the action. It took me nearly 100 pages before I found my footing and recalled where The Charnel Prince had left off.

*spoilers for the first two books follow.*

Anne, Austra and Cazio, have met up with Sir Neil, as well as Aspar, Winna, and Stephen, so almost all out protagonists are together, or nearly so. The lone exception is the composer Leoff who has been imprisoned by Robert after the performance of his enchanted concert. Robert also has Queen Murielle imprisoned, and has allied himself with the corrupt church and with Crotheny's ancient enemy Hansa. With the help of her friends Anne must find a way to win the throne. She will have to manage without the full group as Stephen is taken and Aspar and Winna are sent to find him, and help him fufill his destiny.

I've heard Keyes often described as Martin-Lite. The comparison is fairly accurate. Keyes writes in the same POV chapter style, and his strength is characterization. His characters are certainly a bit more cliche than Martin's but they are strong none the less. He also does a nice job of world building. The history of the world is fleshed out a bit more with each novel, and he does manage to throw a few curves to keep the reading guessing as to what side certain supporting characters are on.

Keyes doesn't rate on my top tier of writers of epic fantasy but he sits with some pretty good company on the rung below Martin and Bakker. The Blood Knight is certainly an enjoyable book.
If you are a fan of the series, by all means keep reading. If you haven't read this yet and are looking for something to tide you over until A Dance with Dragons, or the Aspect emperor are release, give Keyes a shot.

7.5 out of 10

Fevre Dream

Imagine if Mark Twain had written a vampire novel, and you've got Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin. The novel follows the story of Captain Abner Marsh and his dream of having the grandest steamboat on the mighty Mississippi. Unfortunately his dream has been shatter thanks to a hard winter destroying his fleet. Captain Marsh is thrown a lifeline, however, when a mysterious and eccentric benefactor named Joshua York offers to build him the ship of his dreams.

Marsh of course accepts and they begin their maiden voyage. But once on the river York's eccentricities begin to rouse suspicions. Why does he only appear at night? What is up with his equally odd friends. Why does he leave the ship for days at a time, only to return with blood stains on his hands.

Martin deftly weaves a tale that grows more engrossing the further I read. Not all is as it appears to be, and the amalgam he has created, between Life on the Mississippi, and Dracula was certainly interesting. He leads you to what you think is the climax of the story several times, before finally wrapping the story very satisfactorily.

I liked the book, and Martin is my favorite author. I'm a huge fan of A Song of Ice and Fire, and I'm slowing getting around to reading his earlier works. While not up to the level of the other Martin novels I've read, Fevre Dream is definitely worth picking up.

7.5 out of 10

Magic for Beginners

Short Fiction is something I've not read much of. For most of my life the majority of what I read was Epic fantasy, big heavy multi-volume works. As a result, I've missed out on a whole lot of great writing. While good epic fantasy is still my favorite, I've been trying to expand my horizons, and I thought a great place to start would be with Kelly Link. The fact that she will be appearing at Dreamhaven on Thursday probably lead me to pull her book of the shelf ahead of other worthy canidates, like Jeff Ford or Ted Chaing. I will get to them eventually though.

Magic for Beginners, is a collection of 9 stories. Having never read Link I went in not knowing what to expect. The first story, The Faery Handbag, was a winner for me. Odd and quirky are the first two words that spring to mind when I try and describe this story, and come to find out the rest of the stories make this one seem pretty normal. In this story a young woman searches for her grandmother's magical handbag, that contains a realm in which time runs at a fraction of the speed of our world.

The Hortlak, details the goings on of a 24 hour convenience store. Its sort of reminded me of Clerks meets Shawn of the Dead.

The Cannon, was the shortest story and I didn't care for it. Link has a very stream of consciousness style of writing. Sometimes its brilliant, other times, its just too disjointed and out there for my taste.

Stone Animals, had a very horror feel to me. While not a scary story really, I felt very disturbed at times while reading this.

Catskin, was like a Grim Brothers' fairy tail on acid. While reading many of the stories, I found myself baffled as to how someone thinks of stuff like this.

Some Zombie Contingency Plans, was my favorite story, not only does it have an awesome title, but it was the most realistic of the stories. I felt more connection to Soap than to anyone else in these stories.

The Great Divorce, is a story about a man and his dead wife. She was dead when they were married. People occasionally marry ghosts. This of course can be problematic.

Magic for Beginners, seems to be a favorite to take the Hugo for Novella this year. I can see why. This was a great story. How Link manages to craft a world within a world in such a short amount of space is amazing. The story centers around a group of teens and their love of the cult show The Library. The ideas she presents here are mesmerizing. I marvel at how her mind works.

Lull, was a bit anticlimactic after the wonderful title story. This story was again rather meta. Stories within stories.

As a whole I like the collection. Odd, weird, strange, and beautiful. I fully intend to read more by Link , and read more short fiction.

8 out of 10

The Lies of Locke Lamora

"Richer and cleverer than everyone else!"

That's the cry of the Gentleman Bastards, in The Lies of Locke Lamora by debut author Scott Lynch.

Lies is the first volume in a planned seven book series called the Gentleman Bastards.

Set in the canal city of Camorr, Lies is part Oliver Twist, part heist movie and is as fun of a romp as you could want to read. The prologue starts with our young protagonist, Locke, being sold from one gang of thieves into another where he is trained into adulthood where most of the story takes place. Scott uses interludes between the present day chapters to tell more of the backstory of the Gentlemen Bastards. Its a toll he uses very well, at least for the first 3/4 of the book. The flashbacks set up action in the present with a wonderful sense of timing and flair. However, the last few interludes, are not flashbacks, but more history lessons, and while they were informative, they felt a bit out of place to me.

While some of the plot elements are fairly standard, the way they are executed keeps them from seeming cliche. In fact and exciting as the plot was, I don't think its the best part of the book. Its the dialogue that I fell in love with, the witty banter that brings to mind some of the best I've ever read, like GRRM's Tyrion Lannister. The thief with the heart of gold would be all to easy of a trap for Lynch to fall into, but he manages to avoid all pitfalls, and deliver a book that should be heralded as a classic of the genre twenty years down the road.

I loved this book, it has all I could want, action, drama, suspense, plot twist, fun characters, witty dialogue. Do me a favor, do yourself a favor, read this book. Buy it now. If you cant buy it, beg borrow or steal it. The Crooked Warden will reward you. :p

9.5 out of 10