Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days..I've been a little under the weather.
I have been reading The Phoenix Endangered by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. I hope to have the review up Thursday, if I dont get more sick between now and then.
Here is the list of new fantasy books due out today, that i compiled from various online book sites:
Piers Anthony - Air Apparent - mmpb
Felix Gilman - Thunderer - mmpb
Sasha Miller, Andre Norton - The Knight of the Red Beard - hc
Charles Stross - The Merchants War - mmpb
Todd McCaffrey, Anne McCaffrey - Dragon Harper - mmpb
Review: The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
I was a little bit nervous about reading The Way of Shadows. I knew I would be publishing an interview with Brent Weeks followed shortly by my review of the book. The last thing I wanted was to trash the book after the author was kind enough to take time to answer my questions. However, I did vow a few months ago not to let things like that interfere with my opinions. Lucky for me, those worries were unfounded, as I had a great time reading The Way of Shadows. This review will be in the Things I Liked/Things I Didn't Like format, which means I wont do a plot summary. I will quote the summary from the publisher:
For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist.
For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.
But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.
Things I Liked
--First off, there was a lot to like, as this book might take my label of best book of the year away from The Ten Thousand. It really is that good. I haven't heard a lot of buzz about this book prior to launch, so I think readers are going to be pleasantly surprised.
--The conflicted characters. There is hardly a character that doesnt have a dark side. Even some characters that you think really are "good" have a shady paste that they regret. Or vice-versa. The 2 main characters, Durzo and Azoth/Kylar, both have their dark side and light side. Its cool that there are things to like and dislike about both. However, as the story movies along, its almost impossible not to get attached to these two characters. They are both very well realized.
--While the story appears to be about 2 assassins, its also about much more. It gradually expands to include more of the world giving the book (and series) wider implications.
--The entire series is being published in a 3 month period. No need to wait 1 year between each book.
--The high body count. Not that I like to see lots of deaths in the books I read, but it is a nice change of pace to know that absolutely NO character is safe. Don't become too attached to the characters, as they might not make it until the end of the book. The author doesn't take it easy on his characters, as pretty much all of them face tough choices at some point. And, not all of them make the right ones.
--There were lots of unpredictable elements. Several times I thought I knew where the story was going, or I thought I had figured out the surprise background of some of the characters, and in every case I was wrong.
--The relationship between Durzo and Kylar was well-done and believable. Because of this, it was tough reading some of the later sections of the book, knowing that things between them were going to change.
--I liked the continuing "value of life" theme throughout the book, as well as the morality war between Durzo and Kylar that resulted from that theme.
--For me, it had that hard to define quality of being a must read. The last 400 pages were non-stop and i honestly wanted to take a half day of vacation just so i can read through the book in one sitting. In fact, I got up early this morning to do cardio at the gym, just because I knew I could finish the book in that 45 minute workout.
Things I Didn't Like
--At times early in the book, the writing was a bit awkward, especially when trying to introduce the differences between the various lands in Midcyru.
--Some early plotlines that seemed like they were going to be important, just kinda got dropped. For instance, early in the book Logan becomes regent. Then Logan's mother raises a claim to have herself named regent instead. Seems like its going to be a big deal, time is spent building it up, but then nothing every really happens and it just fades away.
--I kinda wish we didnt zip through 8 or so years in the first 150 pages. I know this is a big book already, but I would like to have seen more of Azoth's training with Durzo. I think that could have been pretty cool. If this was a shared-world series (like Dragonlance), I bet we would see a story about those "missing" years.
Overall, I was more than pleasantly surprised by this book. I actually loved it. The characters, the plot, and the quick pacing really worked for me. About halfway through the book I thought I would name it my debut novel of the year, but after finishing the book, I'm not sure if that claim is enough. The Way of Shadows is definitely in my top 5 novels of the year, and might even hold the top spot. I can't wait to see if the high quality continues in the next 2 books. I'm very glad I will be able to answer that question in 4 weeks when Shadow's Edge is published.
I Don't Get This Review
First off, I want to say that the fact that I published an interview with Brent Weeks yesterday has nothing to do with that I am about to say below. Last year, I exchanged emails with David Forbes after my harsh review of book 1, and it didn't prevent me from being less than kind to his second book. That being said..on with my post..
I read Pat's review of The Way of Shadows this morning, and I must say it left me pretty confused and perplexed. We have different opinions in how we felt about the book (our likes, dislikes, etc), but that is not where I have the problem with the review. Of course everyone is free to have their own opinions..but I want to make it clear that his opinions aren't where I had a problem either. My issues were with some of the vague statements he made, as well as some things I think are flat out wrong. I'll list some parts of the review, then give my comments.
I can agree with the Lynch comments, and would even add in some Karen Miller (kingmaker/kingbreaker duology). I have read 8-9 Salvatore books (though not the ones Pat listed), but I dont see any resemblance to any Salvatore book I have ever read. Yeah, both characters might be assassins, but thats about all they have in common. And it feels like a Salvatore book about as much as a Carl Hiaasen book does. So while this is just his opinion, I would like some explanation for it, as the Salvatore reference is mentioned in almost every paragraph of his review.
What the heck does that mean? How can the tone of a book be YA, yet deal with very mature themes. There are plenty of deaths, some graphic violence, some bad language (the occasional shit and f*ck), the main characters are assassins, and there is even the mention of cutting off a male character's "sack" to use as a coin purse. So how can the tone of the book be written to make those things YA? I wouldn't classify this in the neighborhood of YA in a million years. I guess if Joe Abercrombie had written his book with a different "tone", but kept the same story and language, he could have made it YA??? I am not saying this book is as mature as Abercrombie's, but its definitely not as lite as an Eddings/Brooks/Williams book either.
Ignoring yet another Salvatore refence, I would like to point out that one of the main protagonists has ALWAYS been a badass. In fact, its kinda hard to be the best, most-feared assassin if you are a sissy, isn't it? Yeah, Azoth/Kylar becomes almost as powerful and deadly as Durzo...but that is kinda one of the main elements of the book. I don't think he is any different in that respect from Logen Ninefingers (to throw another Abercrombie reference in this post).
Here we go again with the YA tone that is never explained. Again..plenty of mature themes and graphic violence, but a YA tone? Ignoring Salvatore reference #75, to ask what does it mean to be "up to par in terms of grittiness"? Is there some unwritten grittiness rule this novel is supposed to meet?
Cuz the shit never hits the fan (and everything falls apart at once) in real life I guess. Besides the fact that the plot revolved around a big setup near the end of the book...so naturally everything was going to come to a head at that point.
What does this mean? 97% of most fantasy novels wont be nominated for an award. What qualifies this as a "lite" tale? The tough street life, the assassinations, the massive deaths, the occasional sexual reference, the graphic violence, the "sack" as a coin purse thing, the conflicted characters?
I dunno...I don't think in my reviews I will ever claim to know what will be said of a book on message boards or the SFF fandom "in crowd"...whoever they are.
Thats it. Again, I don't have a problem with a reviewer not liking a book I liked, or vice versa. Any blogger can say whatever they want in their reviews. However, in this case there were some many vague statements and generalizations that I had to make a post out of my feedback. While I am the last person who should be questioning other reviews (given how I don't always love mine), in this case I couln't help it. I think Pat is definitely a better review writer than me, but this review raised some questions for me. And Pat, if you read this, in no way am I attacking you personally..just this particular review :)
My review of The Way of Shadows will probably be delayed until Thursday, since I have a sick baby at home. Everyone can feel free to rip into my review when it is posted :)
I read Pat's review of The Way of Shadows this morning, and I must say it left me pretty confused and perplexed. We have different opinions in how we felt about the book (our likes, dislikes, etc), but that is not where I have the problem with the review. Of course everyone is free to have their own opinions..but I want to make it clear that his opinions aren't where I had a problem either. My issues were with some of the vague statements he made, as well as some things I think are flat out wrong. I'll list some parts of the review, then give my comments.
And yet, though Brent Weeks' fantasy debut does bear some resemblance with Lynch's, The Way of Shadows has a lot more in common with R. A. Salvatore's Drizzt novels. Indeed, it is very similar in style and tone to Salvatore's The Legacy, Starless Night, and Siege of Darkness.
I can agree with the Lynch comments, and would even add in some Karen Miller (kingmaker/kingbreaker duology). I have read 8-9 Salvatore books (though not the ones Pat listed), but I dont see any resemblance to any Salvatore book I have ever read. Yeah, both characters might be assassins, but thats about all they have in common. And it feels like a Salvatore book about as much as a Carl Hiaasen book does. So while this is just his opinion, I would like some explanation for it, as the Salvatore reference is mentioned in almost every paragraph of his review.
Although The Way of Shadows explores some very mature themes such as child and sexual abuse, the overall tone of the narrative is definitely YA.
What the heck does that mean? How can the tone of a book be YA, yet deal with very mature themes. There are plenty of deaths, some graphic violence, some bad language (the occasional shit and f*ck), the main characters are assassins, and there is even the mention of cutting off a male character's "sack" to use as a coin purse. So how can the tone of the book be written to make those things YA? I wouldn't classify this in the neighborhood of YA in a million years. I guess if Joe Abercrombie had written his book with a different "tone", but kept the same story and language, he could have made it YA??? I am not saying this book is as mature as Abercrombie's, but its definitely not as lite as an Eddings/Brooks/Williams book either.
In true Salvatoresque fashion, the main protagonists become über-powerful and too badass for their own good.
Ignoring yet another Salvatore refence, I would like to point out that one of the main protagonists has ALWAYS been a badass. In fact, its kinda hard to be the best, most-feared assassin if you are a sissy, isn't it? Yeah, Azoth/Kylar becomes almost as powerful and deadly as Durzo...but that is kinda one of the main elements of the book. I don't think he is any different in that respect from Logen Ninefingers (to throw another Abercrombie reference in this post).
And, though there are plenty of mature themes and graphic violence throughout this novel, the dialogues are a bit juvenile at times and not up to par in terms of grittiness. Again, the more YA tone of it all I mentioned -- not unlike R. A. Salvatore's works.
Here we go again with the YA tone that is never explained. Again..plenty of mature themes and graphic violence, but a YA tone? Ignoring Salvatore reference #75, to ask what does it mean to be "up to par in terms of grittiness"? Is there some unwritten grittiness rule this novel is supposed to meet?
Too many different storylines converge at the end, which takes a lot away from the realism of the start of the book.
Cuz the shit never hits the fan (and everything falls apart at once) in real life I guess. Besides the fact that the plot revolved around a big setup near the end of the book...so naturally everything was going to come to a head at that point.
The novel will likely never be nominated for a World Fantasy Award or a Hugo Award. Still, it can stand tall as an entertaining fantasy "lite" tale, if that's what you are looking for.
What does this mean? 97% of most fantasy novels wont be nominated for an award. What qualifies this as a "lite" tale? The tough street life, the assassinations, the massive deaths, the occasional sexual reference, the graphic violence, the "sack" as a coin purse thing, the conflicted characters?
Similarly to Karen Miller's books, this series will probably get savaged on various message boards and by a few critics. Nevertheless, as R. A. Salvatore makes regular appearances on the NYT bestseller list, I believe that The Way of Shadows and its sequels, Shadows' Edge (Canada, USA, Europe) and Beyond the Shadows (Canada, USA, Europe), will sell extremely well, regardless of the fact that it will likely not be held in high esteem by the SFF fandom's "in crowd."
I dunno...I don't think in my reviews I will ever claim to know what will be said of a book on message boards or the SFF fandom "in crowd"...whoever they are.
Thats it. Again, I don't have a problem with a reviewer not liking a book I liked, or vice versa. Any blogger can say whatever they want in their reviews. However, in this case there were some many vague statements and generalizations that I had to make a post out of my feedback. While I am the last person who should be questioning other reviews (given how I don't always love mine), in this case I couln't help it. I think Pat is definitely a better review writer than me, but this review raised some questions for me. And Pat, if you read this, in no way am I attacking you personally..just this particular review :)
My review of The Way of Shadows will probably be delayed until Thursday, since I have a sick baby at home. Everyone can feel free to rip into my review when it is posted :)
Interview: Brent Weeks Author of The Night Angel Trilogy
Brent Weeks is a new author, who has a trilogy being published in three consecutive months. While this has been done a few times recently, I don't know of it happening for an author who has never been published. For example, Karen Miller, Jennifer Fallon, and Naomi Novik have all had books published in the US in consecutive months. However, their books had already been published overseas. So, I was interested in how it came about that Orbit was willing to take the chance of publishing 3 large books, in consecutive months, by a previously unknown author. Brent was kind enough to answer that question, as well as a few others.
A quick note: The Way of Shadows, the first novel in The Night Angel Trilogy, is now available in some stores. I picked it up at my local Borders Friday. My review copy came a day later, but I had just finished a book Thursday night and needed something to read. Thus, I went ahead and spent some bucks on the book, though that means I know have 2 copies. I am 450 pages into the book (of 650) and I can honestly say that my money wasn't wasted. I'll elaborate more in my review (probably Wednesday or Thursday), but I am really enjoying it (I wish i take a few hours off work and read the last 200 pages right now), and I think most folks that give this book a shot will be pleasantly surprised. There is already one positive review, and you can find a link to it on my review index page for 'W' authors here.
On to the interview:
Q: It seems pretty unusual for a debut author to have a deal that will publish his works in 3 consecutive months. The other times I have seen this done is for authors whose works are already available in other countries. So, being a new author, how did this deal, and release schedule come about?
A: When I finished writing The Way of Shadows, I really thought I'd written a book that could sell. While I looked for an agent, I figured the smart thing to do was to start a new series, then if The Way of Shadows didn't sell, or if it took a long time, I would at least have two different books out there making the rounds simultaneously. After all, if you never sell book 1, any time you put in on book 2 is a total waste. But I had this problem: the story I was really passionate about telling was the sequel (Shadow's Edge). My wife told me it was as simple as that: write what you're passionate about. So I made this dumb decision and wrote a sequel. By the time I signed with my agent Donald Maass, I was almost finished. At that point, I was too far in not to take it all the way, so I started the third book. It was only then that I heard about Naomi Novik-a woman I've never met and a writer I've never read. Someone had the bright idea of publishing her books quickly a couple years ago, and it worked big time. So when Orbit heard that I'd almost finished this trilogy, they were thrilled. Readers don't want to wait years for a trilogy to conclude; writers don't want readers to have a year to forget them between books; and booksellers don't want to hold shelf space for years seeing if a new writer is going to sell. It requires a bigger gamble for the publisher, but obviously, that was something Orbit was willing to do-for which I am grateful. So it turned out the decision I'd been sure was terrible for more than two years wasn't so bad after all.
Q: Can you give us a little insight into how the idea for this series evolved?
A: Before The Way of Shadows, I wrote another (sadly unpublishable) novel also set in Midcyru. I had a minor character in that novel who was a serious bad-ass but operated by a strict moral code that he didn't
bother to explain to anyone. Characters also spoke in hushed tones about Cenaria, an entire city that was like Hell's Kitchen and Compton put together on their worst day. So that gave me my beginning: there's this little kid, trying simply to stay alive in the worst neighborhoods of this awful city...and then things just keep getting worse.
Now, I demand a certain level of psychological realism, so I knew
parts of these novels were going to be dark. You know, if you tried to
set Cinderella in Compton, at the end, she'd be at her wedding and her
prince would get killed in a drive-by shooting. Anything less betrays at
least the archetypical scary-place "Compton" we believe in. My feeling, though, is that even in Compton there are mothers who would do anything for their kids, kids who don't do drugs, and fathers who stick around. There's hope. So I really explored the other side of this killer: can you be a moral killer? What or who would instill a sense of morality into this street kid? How was that going to work out for him? It set up a lot of great tensions and gave me the first of my many deeply conflicted characters.
Q:Since you are publishing an entire series in a 3 month period, I assume the publisher wants to quickly build a fan base for you. Does this mean you are already working on your next project? If so, are there any details you can pass along?
A: Oh, absolutely. First, for anyone who falls in love with Midcyru and these characters-at least the ones still left alive-we will be coming back. Eventually. I spent years working on a novel-call it Episode IV, I wrote it first, but chronologically, it comes after the Night Angel Trilogy. I made some bad structural decisions that doomed that novel, but the core story is sound. It comes sixteen years after Beyond the Shadows and there will be some overlap in characters. The way I foresee it, the major characters of this trilogy will only be minor characters in the next. The Night Angel Trilogy and this new trilogy will each stand-alone, not be a monumental series. So a new reader could start at either place, but a reader who's read the Night Angel Trilogy will have a deeper understanding of everything.
However, the idea I've fallen in love with right now is set in a new world. Cool new magic, cool new characters. I'm setting at least one major fantasy trope on its head, and taking some others in unexpected directions. If you like deep, conflicted characters and surprises and lots of action, you'll like it. If you don't, go watch a movie, mouth-breather. Just kidding. Right now, I've got about fifty pages of notes and outlines and four different possible first chapters written.
I'm aiming at a stand-alone novel, and I promise not to spin it out in a
trilogy for a trilogy's sake. I really believe in writing exactly as much as the story demands-and no more.
Q: Now for the lighter, non-writing questions. What are your top 5 albums of all time? If you aren't a music fan, you could list your 5
favorite movies.
A: Albums? I gotta be honest and say I usually just buy the tracks I like. But fair enough, I'll try to play by the rules. There have been a few albums where I buy the whole disc because it's worth it. Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt, Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park, Jake Armerding (eponymous), the Amadeus movie soundtrack, the opera Rigoletto by Verdi(Joan Sutherland and Pavarotti version). Honestly, my tastes are broad rather than deep. I'm a sucker for clever lyrics: The Offspring, Freezepop, Bowling For Soup. I also like the internationally quirky: die Prinzen, Tokio Hotel, Basshunter, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (technically American, but, um, an ocean apart). And I like music by young artists desperate to prove themselves. Early Blink-182, Paramore, early Green Day, early Eminem.
Q: What is your favorite joke? This can be as dirty or clean as you want it to be :)
A: It's a political season, so how about some non-partisan political humor?
Winston Churchill is at another fancy dinner, and he's fortified himself
against the occasion. A dignified Englishwoman seated next to him says, "Why Winston Churchill, you're drunk!" "Yes, madam, and you're ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning."
One more. Like Democrat F.D.R., Republican Ronald Reagan is now mostly remembered warmly. But during his presidency, people said he was a moron and loved to make fun of his acting in B movies. So some smart-aleck autograph-seeker brings in a poster of this movie, Bedtime with Bonzo, where Reagan's costar was literally a chimpanzee. Reagan signs it, "I'm the one with the watch."
Thanks for the interview, Brent. I won't hold it against you that Bruce Springsteen and Ryan Adams (or even Social Distortion) were missing from your music list :)
A quick note: The Way of Shadows, the first novel in The Night Angel Trilogy, is now available in some stores. I picked it up at my local Borders Friday. My review copy came a day later, but I had just finished a book Thursday night and needed something to read. Thus, I went ahead and spent some bucks on the book, though that means I know have 2 copies. I am 450 pages into the book (of 650) and I can honestly say that my money wasn't wasted. I'll elaborate more in my review (probably Wednesday or Thursday), but I am really enjoying it (I wish i take a few hours off work and read the last 200 pages right now), and I think most folks that give this book a shot will be pleasantly surprised. There is already one positive review, and you can find a link to it on my review index page for 'W' authors here.
On to the interview:
Q: It seems pretty unusual for a debut author to have a deal that will publish his works in 3 consecutive months. The other times I have seen this done is for authors whose works are already available in other countries. So, being a new author, how did this deal, and release schedule come about?
A: When I finished writing The Way of Shadows, I really thought I'd written a book that could sell. While I looked for an agent, I figured the smart thing to do was to start a new series, then if The Way of Shadows didn't sell, or if it took a long time, I would at least have two different books out there making the rounds simultaneously. After all, if you never sell book 1, any time you put in on book 2 is a total waste. But I had this problem: the story I was really passionate about telling was the sequel (Shadow's Edge). My wife told me it was as simple as that: write what you're passionate about. So I made this dumb decision and wrote a sequel. By the time I signed with my agent Donald Maass, I was almost finished. At that point, I was too far in not to take it all the way, so I started the third book. It was only then that I heard about Naomi Novik-a woman I've never met and a writer I've never read. Someone had the bright idea of publishing her books quickly a couple years ago, and it worked big time. So when Orbit heard that I'd almost finished this trilogy, they were thrilled. Readers don't want to wait years for a trilogy to conclude; writers don't want readers to have a year to forget them between books; and booksellers don't want to hold shelf space for years seeing if a new writer is going to sell. It requires a bigger gamble for the publisher, but obviously, that was something Orbit was willing to do-for which I am grateful. So it turned out the decision I'd been sure was terrible for more than two years wasn't so bad after all.
Q: Can you give us a little insight into how the idea for this series evolved?
A: Before The Way of Shadows, I wrote another (sadly unpublishable) novel also set in Midcyru. I had a minor character in that novel who was a serious bad-ass but operated by a strict moral code that he didn't
bother to explain to anyone. Characters also spoke in hushed tones about Cenaria, an entire city that was like Hell's Kitchen and Compton put together on their worst day. So that gave me my beginning: there's this little kid, trying simply to stay alive in the worst neighborhoods of this awful city...and then things just keep getting worse.
Now, I demand a certain level of psychological realism, so I knew
parts of these novels were going to be dark. You know, if you tried to
set Cinderella in Compton, at the end, she'd be at her wedding and her
prince would get killed in a drive-by shooting. Anything less betrays at
least the archetypical scary-place "Compton" we believe in. My feeling, though, is that even in Compton there are mothers who would do anything for their kids, kids who don't do drugs, and fathers who stick around. There's hope. So I really explored the other side of this killer: can you be a moral killer? What or who would instill a sense of morality into this street kid? How was that going to work out for him? It set up a lot of great tensions and gave me the first of my many deeply conflicted characters.
Q:Since you are publishing an entire series in a 3 month period, I assume the publisher wants to quickly build a fan base for you. Does this mean you are already working on your next project? If so, are there any details you can pass along?
A: Oh, absolutely. First, for anyone who falls in love with Midcyru and these characters-at least the ones still left alive-we will be coming back. Eventually. I spent years working on a novel-call it Episode IV, I wrote it first, but chronologically, it comes after the Night Angel Trilogy. I made some bad structural decisions that doomed that novel, but the core story is sound. It comes sixteen years after Beyond the Shadows and there will be some overlap in characters. The way I foresee it, the major characters of this trilogy will only be minor characters in the next. The Night Angel Trilogy and this new trilogy will each stand-alone, not be a monumental series. So a new reader could start at either place, but a reader who's read the Night Angel Trilogy will have a deeper understanding of everything.
However, the idea I've fallen in love with right now is set in a new world. Cool new magic, cool new characters. I'm setting at least one major fantasy trope on its head, and taking some others in unexpected directions. If you like deep, conflicted characters and surprises and lots of action, you'll like it. If you don't, go watch a movie, mouth-breather. Just kidding. Right now, I've got about fifty pages of notes and outlines and four different possible first chapters written.
I'm aiming at a stand-alone novel, and I promise not to spin it out in a
trilogy for a trilogy's sake. I really believe in writing exactly as much as the story demands-and no more.
Q: Now for the lighter, non-writing questions. What are your top 5 albums of all time? If you aren't a music fan, you could list your 5
favorite movies.
A: Albums? I gotta be honest and say I usually just buy the tracks I like. But fair enough, I'll try to play by the rules. There have been a few albums where I buy the whole disc because it's worth it. Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt, Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park, Jake Armerding (eponymous), the Amadeus movie soundtrack, the opera Rigoletto by Verdi(Joan Sutherland and Pavarotti version). Honestly, my tastes are broad rather than deep. I'm a sucker for clever lyrics: The Offspring, Freezepop, Bowling For Soup. I also like the internationally quirky: die Prinzen, Tokio Hotel, Basshunter, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (technically American, but, um, an ocean apart). And I like music by young artists desperate to prove themselves. Early Blink-182, Paramore, early Green Day, early Eminem.
Q: What is your favorite joke? This can be as dirty or clean as you want it to be :)
A: It's a political season, so how about some non-partisan political humor?
Winston Churchill is at another fancy dinner, and he's fortified himself
against the occasion. A dignified Englishwoman seated next to him says, "Why Winston Churchill, you're drunk!" "Yes, madam, and you're ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning."
One more. Like Democrat F.D.R., Republican Ronald Reagan is now mostly remembered warmly. But during his presidency, people said he was a moron and loved to make fun of his acting in B movies. So some smart-aleck autograph-seeker brings in a poster of this movie, Bedtime with Bonzo, where Reagan's costar was literally a chimpanzee. Reagan signs it, "I'm the one with the watch."
Thanks for the interview, Brent. I won't hold it against you that Bruce Springsteen and Ryan Adams (or even Social Distortion) were missing from your music list :)
Review: Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher
I have to admit I wasnt exactly excited about picking up this series again after reading book 1, Furies of Calderon (review). I thought the book was ok, but it wasn't enough to make me look forward to the rest of the series. However, since i own the first 3 in mmpb and hc, I thought it was time to give Academ's Fury a shot. Most folks say that each book gets better as the series goes along, and I was hoping I agree with that sentiment.
I'm happy to report that I thought Academ's Fury was a big improvement over book 1. I honestly had a hard time putting this book down. There was hardly a moment when one of the 3 viewpoint characters (Tavi, Isana, Amara) wasnt in trouble. In fact, it seemed like all 3 were in almost constant danger throughout the book. It made for a pretty exciting read, with no slow moments.
In this volume, we have both political and physical threats to Alera. The First Lord is weak and unconscience for most of the book. Tavi and his friends help hide this fact from the First Lord's political enemies, as if they knew about Gaius's weakness, they would take advantage of that fact to usurp rule of the country. In addition, Tavi continues to live in a world where he is the only one without any kind of fury crafting. His Aunt Isana is threatened with repeated assassination attempts, as she is the only female Steadholder. Killing Isana would weaken Gaius politically. Finally, the physical threat is from creatures known as the vord, who sneak into people's body and take it over (kinda like in a horror movie). The vord then control that body, though in every other respect the previous owner of that body is dead.
I wish the physical threat wasnt reminicent of some horror movie, but that is really my only slight complaint about the book. The political aspects, the backstabbing, the plot, the characterizations, and the dialogue are all well done. You really get the sense that the author has a firm grip on the story, the characters, and the world now. The pacing was excellent, and each of the 3 veiwpoint characters get sufficient screen time. It is also nice that the subplot for each of those 3 characters are equally interesting. For those who don't like cliffhanger endings (I know I do not), you will be happy to know that the book does have a solid conclusion. However, there are pieces that will carry over to the rest of the series, but you do feel like you read a complete story. The hints for what comes next are enticing, and there are a couple of hints about Tavi and his background that could turn out to be very interesting indeed.
Fans of traditional epic fantasy will find a lot to like here, as there isn't a weak spot to be found. I would whole-heartedly recommend this book, especially to those who, like me, found the first book a bit average. This one will make you a fan. I am honestly looking forward to catching up on the rest of the series now. Hopefully Cursor's Fury doesn't let me down.
New Releases for the First Half of September
I plan to resume posting a list of books coming out each week. I spent 2 hours today creating a list of all books coming out between now and next September. I might post that just for fun, too, if anyone would like to see it.
Below are the releases so far for the month of September (according to bamm.com):
Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory - The Phoenix Endangered - hc (9/16)
Steven Erikson - Toll the Hounds - tpb/hc (9/16)
Stan Nicholls - Orcs - tpb (9/7)
Karen Miller - The Riven Kingdom - mmpb
Fiona McIntosh - Emissary - mmpb
John Betancourt - Roger Zelazny's Shadows of Amber - mmpb
Kage Baker - The House of the Stag - hc (9/16)
Gene Wolfe - An Evil Guest - hc (9/16)
Jaleigh Johnson - Mistshore - mmpb (9/16)
Patricia A. McKillop - The Bell At Sealey Head - hc (9/7)
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller - Duainfey - hc (9/16)
Steven E. Schend - Blackstaff Tower - mmpb (9/16)
Violette Malan - The Soldier King - tpb (9/16)
Next week I will start the weekly posting of new releases.
Below are the releases so far for the month of September (according to bamm.com):
Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory - The Phoenix Endangered - hc (9/16)
Steven Erikson - Toll the Hounds - tpb/hc (9/16)
Stan Nicholls - Orcs - tpb (9/7)
Karen Miller - The Riven Kingdom - mmpb
Fiona McIntosh - Emissary - mmpb
John Betancourt - Roger Zelazny's Shadows of Amber - mmpb
Kage Baker - The House of the Stag - hc (9/16)
Gene Wolfe - An Evil Guest - hc (9/16)
Jaleigh Johnson - Mistshore - mmpb (9/16)
Patricia A. McKillop - The Bell At Sealey Head - hc (9/7)
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller - Duainfey - hc (9/16)
Steven E. Schend - Blackstaff Tower - mmpb (9/16)
Violette Malan - The Soldier King - tpb (9/16)
Next week I will start the weekly posting of new releases.
Janny Wurts News
According to a post on Janny's forum here, all books in her Wars of Light and Shadow series are going to be republished in the US in April 2009. Looks like the books covers will match what's currently available in the UK (and those covers aren't too shabby). The previous 2 books in the series were only available via import. I own all the books, but haven't read them yet. I might buy the entire series when they are re-released, as I like to have matching covers. Hopefully before then I will have read a couple of them to make sure they are worth the investment.
Review: Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs
While I am waiting for a couple of review copies to come in, I was looking for something short and quick to read. Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs has been on my shelf (along with the sequel, Dragon Blood) for a couple of years now. Clocking in just under 300 pages, it fit the bill as the short read I was looking for.Dragon Bones is told mostly from the 1st person view of Ward of Hurog. As the book opens, we are told that Ward has been playing the role of idiot most of his life. His father, The lord of Hurog, is abusive, and in one of his beatings almost kills Ward. Ward feels that his father feels threatened by him. So, Ward decides to play dumb after the beating, letting others assume the beating altered his mental abilities. This choice has ramifications throughout the book, as at various points along the story, Ward has to convince everyone he really is intelligent, and was just putting on an act to save his life. Most folks seem to readily believe him, and several even had an idea that he was faking his lack of mental abilities.
After his father's death, the King claims that Ward is too dumb to rule Hurog, and Ward's uncle is given the position. Ward is then supposed to be taken to the King's Asylum, where all the other noble simpletons are kept. After finding out about this plan, Ward escapes. The rest of the book follows his plan to regain control of Hurog. Along the way we discover the reasons that Hurog is so important to the world. We also find out how the loss of dragons in the world have affected many lands in the five kingdoms.
There are other plot elements as well: Oreg, who claims to be human, yet also part of the keep of Hurog..he has a big secret. There are some political elements involving the war to save Oranstone. And there is the Vorsag King, Kariarn, who is on a mad quest for all magical items (though we are never really told why, other than the simple reason that he wants to be more powerful).
The story is predominately told from Ward's 1st person point of view, with occasional chapters told from the 3rd person point of view of his cousins. The writing is fine, and Ward is a sympathetic hero. Pretty much all of the characters are likeable at some point, even the cousins who start out appearing to be bad guys. I would say that all the characters have their imperfections, so from that standpoint, their portrayal was pretty realistic.
So, despite being fairly well written, with well thought out characters and a decent, quick moving plot, I cant say i loved the book. In fact, I dont know how I really feel now that its over. It definitely wasn't bad, and might have even been slightly above average. But something in me just failed to connect with the story. I barely had any reaction at all after finishing the book. I'm honestly cant say that I would recommend it, but I also wouldnt tell you to stay away from it. I think there is enough there to appeal to many readers (it got high ratings on amazon, for what its worth), but something just didnt click for me. I know that happens sometimes..you finish a book, the elements are there for you to really like it, but you come away rather indifferent. That pretty much sums up my feelings. I would be interested in hearing from others who have read this book..maybe you can help me figure out what I am missing. At this point, I'm not really eager to pick up the sequel.
Brian Ruckley on Writing Battle Scenes
I have been pretty vocal with stating my opinion that I think Brian Ruckley (author of Winterbirth and Bloodheir) writes the best battles scenes in the business. His battles scenes have a very cinematic quality to them.
I asked Brian Ruckley the following question via email:
I have gone on record in my blog and on some of the forums that you are the best writer of battles in fantasy (they remind me visually of the fight scenes in Gladiator with Russell Crowe). My question would be if its possible to describe the writing process behind your battle scenes.
His answer:
Praise like that's liable to go to a chap's head, but thank you anyway. Always room in my head for a bit more praise (helps to crowd out the teeming doubts and insecurities!). On the whole, I'm lousy at analysing my own writing process too closely, but I do try quite hard, and quite consciously, to achieve certain effects when I'm doing battle scenes, so I can offer at least a couple of (pretty basic) observations.
First, I'm very deliberately trying for a visual, cinematic feel in the violent scenes. Won't click with every reader, of course, but it evidently works for you, which is good. When I'm writing them I'm conscious that I'm being much more influenced by movies than I am by other books. That has a number of effects. I vary the point of view and scale of the description from battle to battle (and sometimes in the course of a single battle), for example: sometimes its very tightly potrayed from a single character's point of view, sometimes its from an eagle's eye height. Makes it a bit more 'visually' dynamic, I think, to have that diversity. It's like moving the camera in and out and up and down. Another movie influence is sound - I don't know how well this comes across in the books, but I give a lot of
thought to the sound effects, partly because they're often the most visceral
elements of the experience when you see a big battle on a movie screen.
Second, I'm always trying to imbue the combat scenes with pace and energy. It's obvious, I suppose, but conveying a sense of movement is kind of key to creating a good battle. But I deliberately try to make it a 'ragged' sort of movement. Which isn't a very clear explanation at all. I guess what I mean is that all the energy is a bit chaotic, the movements are a bit unco-ordinated, whether its an invidual warrior's swings or the charge of a whole army. There's nothing neat and tidy about it. I want the reader to always have a clear sense of what's happening, but also a clear sense that what's happening is unpredictable, chaotic, brutal.
Third, and this is just the rather trivial technical part of the second point really, I imagine most readers (and all aspiring writers) are fully aware of this so it hardly needs saying, but your writing pretty much automatically becomes more dynamic and immediate if you shorten your sentences and use simpler, shorter words within them. If I'm writing an atmospheric or descriptive passage (or answering an interview question), I give myself a lot more latitude to let sentences stretch and I feel free drop in some mildly unusual or languid words, because I'm kind of painting a picture for the reader, and they've got the mental space to reflect on or think about what they're reading. If I'm giving the reader a high energy battle, the text moves far more quickly and more simply, because I'm trying for a much more visceral and gripping type of engagement, and anything that causes - or allows - them to stop and think will break the momentum. Like a lot of writing, it's just a matter of rhythm. Description is a slow waltz; battles are heavy metal. Or something like that.
Anyway, the basic point is: in a way, I'm a different writer when I'm doing an action scene. Writing differently, thinking a bit differently.
After reading his answer, it goes a long way to explain why I like his battle scenes so much. The final book in the Godless World trilogy is the book I am most looking forward to in 2009. I thought I read the title of it somewhere, but can't seem to find it now. Does anyone know/remember what book 3 is titled?
Edit: According to amazon.uk, book 3 is Fall of Thanes.
I asked Brian Ruckley the following question via email:
I have gone on record in my blog and on some of the forums that you are the best writer of battles in fantasy (they remind me visually of the fight scenes in Gladiator with Russell Crowe). My question would be if its possible to describe the writing process behind your battle scenes.
His answer:
Praise like that's liable to go to a chap's head, but thank you anyway. Always room in my head for a bit more praise (helps to crowd out the teeming doubts and insecurities!). On the whole, I'm lousy at analysing my own writing process too closely, but I do try quite hard, and quite consciously, to achieve certain effects when I'm doing battle scenes, so I can offer at least a couple of (pretty basic) observations.
First, I'm very deliberately trying for a visual, cinematic feel in the violent scenes. Won't click with every reader, of course, but it evidently works for you, which is good. When I'm writing them I'm conscious that I'm being much more influenced by movies than I am by other books. That has a number of effects. I vary the point of view and scale of the description from battle to battle (and sometimes in the course of a single battle), for example: sometimes its very tightly potrayed from a single character's point of view, sometimes its from an eagle's eye height. Makes it a bit more 'visually' dynamic, I think, to have that diversity. It's like moving the camera in and out and up and down. Another movie influence is sound - I don't know how well this comes across in the books, but I give a lot of
thought to the sound effects, partly because they're often the most visceral
elements of the experience when you see a big battle on a movie screen.
Second, I'm always trying to imbue the combat scenes with pace and energy. It's obvious, I suppose, but conveying a sense of movement is kind of key to creating a good battle. But I deliberately try to make it a 'ragged' sort of movement. Which isn't a very clear explanation at all. I guess what I mean is that all the energy is a bit chaotic, the movements are a bit unco-ordinated, whether its an invidual warrior's swings or the charge of a whole army. There's nothing neat and tidy about it. I want the reader to always have a clear sense of what's happening, but also a clear sense that what's happening is unpredictable, chaotic, brutal.
Third, and this is just the rather trivial technical part of the second point really, I imagine most readers (and all aspiring writers) are fully aware of this so it hardly needs saying, but your writing pretty much automatically becomes more dynamic and immediate if you shorten your sentences and use simpler, shorter words within them. If I'm writing an atmospheric or descriptive passage (or answering an interview question), I give myself a lot more latitude to let sentences stretch and I feel free drop in some mildly unusual or languid words, because I'm kind of painting a picture for the reader, and they've got the mental space to reflect on or think about what they're reading. If I'm giving the reader a high energy battle, the text moves far more quickly and more simply, because I'm trying for a much more visceral and gripping type of engagement, and anything that causes - or allows - them to stop and think will break the momentum. Like a lot of writing, it's just a matter of rhythm. Description is a slow waltz; battles are heavy metal. Or something like that.
Anyway, the basic point is: in a way, I'm a different writer when I'm doing an action scene. Writing differently, thinking a bit differently.
After reading his answer, it goes a long way to explain why I like his battle scenes so much. The final book in the Godless World trilogy is the book I am most looking forward to in 2009. I thought I read the title of it somewhere, but can't seem to find it now. Does anyone know/remember what book 3 is titled?
Edit: According to amazon.uk, book 3 is Fall of Thanes.
Mistborn RPG in the works
I received the following info via email and thought I would pass it along...
More info can be found on the Crafty Games website.
CRAFTY GAMES TO PUBLISH MISTBORN RPG
Creators of Spycraft 2.0 to develop RPG Adaptation of Epic Fantasy Trilogy by Wheel of Time Author Brandon Sanderson
September 7, 2008 — PORTLAND, OR: Crafty Games LLC has reached an agreement with popular fantasy writer and author of the final volume of the Wheel of Time, Brandon Sanderson, to publish a roleplaying game based on his epic fantasy trilogy Mistborn. The game will arrive in 2009 and let players create their own exciting adventures in the Final Empire.
"Mistborn is an enchanting and innovative dark-fantasy series that's tailor-made for gaming," said Crafty Games partner Alex Flagg. "We're thrilled at the opportunity to work with Brandon to create a product capturing the unique magic, action, and intrigue that's made Mistborn such a hit with fantasy fans across the world."
"I've been a role player for years and I've looked forward to the day when I could help adapt one of my properties as an RPG setting," said Brandon Sanderson. "Mistborn is the perfect story for an RPG; the magic of Allomancy lends itself well to gaming and there are many untold stories to play out in this world of falling ash and cloaking mists. Crafty Games is one of the premier independent gaming companies out there and I'm ecstatic to be working with them!"
"We've got a great relationship with Brandon and he's already working with us to provide new content created specifically for the RPG," added Flagg. "Next year [2009] is going to be a great time for fans of Brandon, Mistborn, and Crafty alike."
More info can be found on the Crafty Games website.
Free Matt Wertz EP on Amazon MP3 Store
If you are a fan of Matt Wertz, you can download from Amazon a free 7 song EP entitled Where We Started. Five of the seven songs are from his forthcoming cd due out next week. So look at this like a free sampler. It might be a little too mellow for me, but I'll try to give it a good listen anyway.You can download the mp3 album here.
Upcoming Stuff
Just wanted to drop a quick post to let you know what to expect in the next couple of weeks on the blog.
1) I am expecting a review copy of The Phoenix Endanged by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory to arrive from Tor any day now. As soon as it comes in, I'll start reading it, as the book is due to hit stores next tuesday (and I would like to have a review up as close to that date as possible). You can find my review of the first book, The Phoenix Unchained, here.
2) I sent 5 interview questions to Brent Weeks, author of the upcoming The Way of Shadows, and Alex at Orbit passed along his answers to me last evening. I'm going to hold off on publishing that interview until the end of Sept, closer to the release of the book.
3) I might be receiving an arc of The Way of Shadows. If so, that will be read and reviewed after The Lackey/Mallory book.
4) I am about 200 pages into Mistborn, and so far so good. I put it down, however, for a shorter book. I knew I wouldnt finish Mistborn before the Lackey book arrived, so I picked something shorter I could read and review prior to getting The Phoenix Endangered in the mail. So, I am about 130 pages into Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs. I hope to have that review up by the end of this week.
1) I am expecting a review copy of The Phoenix Endanged by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory to arrive from Tor any day now. As soon as it comes in, I'll start reading it, as the book is due to hit stores next tuesday (and I would like to have a review up as close to that date as possible). You can find my review of the first book, The Phoenix Unchained, here.
2) I sent 5 interview questions to Brent Weeks, author of the upcoming The Way of Shadows, and Alex at Orbit passed along his answers to me last evening. I'm going to hold off on publishing that interview until the end of Sept, closer to the release of the book.
3) I might be receiving an arc of The Way of Shadows. If so, that will be read and reviewed after The Lackey/Mallory book.
4) I am about 200 pages into Mistborn, and so far so good. I put it down, however, for a shorter book. I knew I wouldnt finish Mistborn before the Lackey book arrived, so I picked something shorter I could read and review prior to getting The Phoenix Endangered in the mail. So, I am about 130 pages into Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs. I hope to have that review up by the end of this week.
Those missing Bloodheir reviews...
I got an email with links to some Bloodheir reviews that were missing, so I have added them. The new links are below, in case you would like to check them out:
The BookBag
Grasping for the Wind
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
SFF World
Fantasy Book Critic
The BookBag
Grasping for the Wind
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
SFF World
Fantasy Book Critic
Review Index Hits 700 Reviews
Just a quick post to thank all of you bloggers for letting me link to your reviews. The review index now has over 700 links to fantasy reviews around the web, including links to 364 different books!
For those of you who havent been here before, look to the right side of the page. Reviews are alphabetized by author's last name. For example, for Joe Abercrombie, click A. You will find 16 reviews for The Blade Itself, 13 for Before They Are Hanged, and 7 for The Last Argument of Kings.
For Brian Ruckley, click R. There are 14 for Winterbirth, but only 2 so far for Bloodheir (such a big drop off seems a bit odd).
For those of you who havent been here before, look to the right side of the page. Reviews are alphabetized by author's last name. For example, for Joe Abercrombie, click A. You will find 16 reviews for The Blade Itself, 13 for Before They Are Hanged, and 7 for The Last Argument of Kings.
For Brian Ruckley, click R. There are 14 for Winterbirth, but only 2 so far for Bloodheir (such a big drop off seems a bit odd).
Get The Gypsy Morph Ebook (Practically) Free
Fictionwise has listed The Gypsy Morph by Terry Brooks as one of their specials of the week. This means that you can buy the ebook version for $18.00, and get the entire 18.00 credited back to your account good towards a future purchase. You must use your credit card to purchase the book, but its still a good deal. Hard to beat a 100% rebate (even though the rebate is essentially store credit, if I understand how the system works).
So, buy the Gypsy Morph for 18 bucks, and you get back 18 bucks to use on other books on their site.
The book can be found here.
So, buy the Gypsy Morph for 18 bucks, and you get back 18 bucks to use on other books on their site.
The book can be found here.
Gentlemen's Challenge: Aidan (The Ten Thousand)
I know I have seen Aidan leave a comment here before, so hopefully he checks in from time to time. I will probably post a comment in his The Ten Thousand review, also.
What I want to do is propose a challenge to Aidan: If you will read the rest of The Ten Thousand...I will read and review a book of your choice. I know you might not want to revisit that book, given the discussion around your review, and your recent comments about being burned out a bit on epic fantasy. But I thought I would try this gentlemen's challenge anyway :)
The reason I wanted to ask you to read the rest of it, is that i had the EXACT SAME opinion as you (seriously) for the first 1/3 or so of the novel. The entire book changes right after the point where you left off reading. (those of you who dont want to know when the Macht begin their flight home...stop reading now).....
In the mmpb edition, the Macht begin their journey home on page 256 (the book has 467 pages). So just over the halfway point, the crap hits the fan and they are fighting for their existence while on the run. At this point is when Paul's writing worked, and the magic happens (at least for me. And remember, despite the slow start, the finish was so good it made my top book of 2008 so far). So, since we both had the same opinions of the early part of the book, and we seem to have similiar tastes in books for the most part..I thought i would try to convince you to give the rest a go.
Remember that i read almost exclusively epic/high/heroic fantasy..so if you are willing to finish The Ten Thousand..I will read a book of your choice. Feel free to stick it to me and pick something completely outside my comfort zone (though i would prefer something without graphic sex or violence beyond that found in the First Law trilogy).
What do you say?
UPDATE: Aidan accepted the challenge with good humor. I'll respond to his book choice on his thread, which can be found here.
What I want to do is propose a challenge to Aidan: If you will read the rest of The Ten Thousand...I will read and review a book of your choice. I know you might not want to revisit that book, given the discussion around your review, and your recent comments about being burned out a bit on epic fantasy. But I thought I would try this gentlemen's challenge anyway :)
The reason I wanted to ask you to read the rest of it, is that i had the EXACT SAME opinion as you (seriously) for the first 1/3 or so of the novel. The entire book changes right after the point where you left off reading. (those of you who dont want to know when the Macht begin their flight home...stop reading now).....
In the mmpb edition, the Macht begin their journey home on page 256 (the book has 467 pages). So just over the halfway point, the crap hits the fan and they are fighting for their existence while on the run. At this point is when Paul's writing worked, and the magic happens (at least for me. And remember, despite the slow start, the finish was so good it made my top book of 2008 so far). So, since we both had the same opinions of the early part of the book, and we seem to have similiar tastes in books for the most part..I thought i would try to convince you to give the rest a go.
Remember that i read almost exclusively epic/high/heroic fantasy..so if you are willing to finish The Ten Thousand..I will read a book of your choice. Feel free to stick it to me and pick something completely outside my comfort zone (though i would prefer something without graphic sex or violence beyond that found in the First Law trilogy).
What do you say?
UPDATE: Aidan accepted the challenge with good humor. I'll respond to his book choice on his thread, which can be found here.
Review: The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney
I was eagerly looking forward to this book, after some of the early reviews started popping up on the blogs. I truly expected to love this novel and couldnt wait for it to be published. Finally, while in Atlanta for work last week, I spotted it at Barnes and Noble and immediately purchased it. I was about 7 folks deep in the line, so i had even read 10 pages while waiting to check out. Thats how excited I was that I finally had a chance to see if this book would be as good as i expected.
About 150 pages in, I had mixed emotions. While i liked the sparse writing, I felt that character development had taken a back seat, and had a hard time really getting into the novel. While I didnt come close to putting it down, I was disappointed and wasnt exactly looking forward to the rest of the novel.
All of that changed around 250 pages in, when a huge turning point in the book occurred. After that event, I could not wait to see what happened next. I spent every free moment the last 2 days reading, I just couldnt pull myself away from the book. And when I finally finished it earlier this evening, I was genuinely sad that it was over, and that I didnt have another novel in that world to jump into immediately.
Most of the other reviews have mentioned that this is a retelling of Xenophon's Anabasis. I am not familiar with that story, so reading Kearney's work was like reading an original story. His writing is known for being more compact than most epic fantasy, as his novels are closer to the 300 page mark than the 600 page mark. even though The Ten Thousand comes in a 467 pages in mmpb, the book is printed in a large font, and most likely would have come in closer to 350 with a more traditional font size. His terseness, if you want to call it that, hampered the begining of the novel for me. I just wasnt drawn into the world, and didnt really care about any of the Macht. To me, they were just a bunch of hired mercenaries. While we were introduced to the main viewpoint characters, I didnt get enough background on most of them to have an interest in their well-being. Thus the first 150 or so pages were just a somewhat dry accounting of the Macht marching off to fight a war in another land. Ho-hum. Then around 200 pages in, the big battle is already taking place, and this is where the writing style really begins to work. We start getting glimpses of the charactes as they deal with the effects of war. We are there with them as they fight in the mud and battle the enemy. We are there when Gascas experiences his first battle. Even though he didnt kill anyone, we feel for him as he comes to grip with the reality of war, as opposed to the romantic notions he had prior. While I had gone on record as saying Brian Ruckly wrote the best battle scenes in the business, I think Paul Kearney is right there beside him. We are there in the mud, the blood, the screaming, the comraderie. We experience the workmanlike fighting style of the Macht, and how it makes them who they are. How it holds them together, defines them, makes them brothers.
So..while some might say Paul Kearney doesnt spend time on character building, I would say I disagree. Yes, we dont get pages and pages of Rictus or Jason pondering life and the decisions they have made. However, what we get is even better. We get a window into how the characters react and deal with the war. On how they deal with the harsh conditions, and the hopeless situation they are in. On how some of them let the situation turn them into animals, and how other charcters try to hold on to their humanity with a grim purpose. For me, that told me more about the "makeup" of each character than anything else could.
By the time the book was over, I already knew this book was my top read of 2008 so far. The sad twist at the end sealed that thought. So far, The Ten Thousand is my favorite book of 2008. I will admit that it starts slow and the writing style keeps you an arms length away from the characters initially. However, once the big battle ends only halfway through the novel, Paul's writing style pays off, and you absolutely wont be able to put the book down. You will be rooting for the Macht, even while being disgusted by some of their actions. Their long journey home is what really makes this book work.
I would, without a doubt, recommend this book to any and all fantasy fans. I think The Ten Thousand would also appeal to those who like reading alternate history, as their really isnt a lot of "fantasy" in this book. If you want magic, elves, dragons, etc, look elsewhere. If you want a moving story of how war affects people, how some are changed by it and others fight to remain true to themselves, then you need to run out and buy this book now.
