Friday Round-Up: de Bodard, Hough, and Wilde @SFFWorld

Seems I let some time lapse since I last did a round up. This one features latest round up features Aliette de Bodard, Jason M. Hough, and Fran Wilde. Let’s have at it…

We’ll start with de Bodard’s angelic post-apocalyptic novel, The House of Shattered Wings:

Much of the novel focuses on House Silverspires, the head of which was Lucifer Morningstar. Stress on the “was” since he disappeared years prior to the events of the novel. The head of the house is his one-time protégé Seline, who is struggling under the weight of his shadow, the post-war state of Paris, and people in her House dying. This struggle becomes even more challenging when two new people are brought into her House – a newly Fallen (Isabelle) and a mysterious man named Philippe who knows many things about the politics of this supernatural world. Though not a Fallen, he is immortal and soon comes to realize he is as haunted as is House Silverspires.
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The strength of the novel is the atmosphere and world building. I thought de Bodard did a wonderful job of contrasting the beauty with the horror, giving much of the novel a dark sinister feel. The magical elements were also quite potent and well-drawn. The apocalyptic supernatural and religious elements are dressing on what is essentially a murder-mystery, which adds weight to the familiar story/plot. de Bodard’s prose is ethereal, magical and brings a great deal of weight to a story that is weighty by its nature. Despite that excellent prose, I found myself detached from the pacing and story itself. This is a case where I’ll definitely notch it up to “it is me and not you,” as life was in a bit of a transition stage for me while I read the novel. I’ve also seen a great deal of positive response to the novel and I recognize what Aliette is doing with this novel and admire it a great deal.

Up next is an action-packed Spy-Fi novel of lost memories and parallel worlds. Here’ the standard link to the review, cover shot, and review excerpt of Jason M. Hough’s Zero World:

Zero World is a high concept SF novel that takes the multiverse/parallel world theory to an ambitious, exaggerated degree and places at its center Peter Caswell, an operative of a highly secretive organization tasked with finding a woman named Alice who was thought to be dead when the vessel on which she was a crew member crashed a little over a decade prior to the events in the novel.
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Hough’s plotting is terrific in this novel, the pace and action pieces in Zero World make for a page turning thrill-ride set against an epic backdrop. We are immediately thrust into Peter’s plight as his mission is thrust upon him. His limited knowledge base allows for the reader to be more attuned to Peter’s disorientation and how he absorbs his surroundings. When he arrives at the parallel world, his limited understanding of who he is comes into greater question when he realizes his target – the woman thought dead for over a decade – has set herself up on this parallel world as a scientific genius and global figure. That is of course a relatively easy task since the parallel world is a few decades behind Earth from a technological standpoint.

Lastly, and most recently, Fran Wilde’s stunning debut novel, Updraft:

For such a relatively short novel (350 pages), Wilde packs a great deal of detail into her world and the consequences of living in such a strange place. It seems clear that Wilde put a enormous effort and time constructing this world, but she does not dole out those details with reckless, word-dumping abandon. The world-building comes as the plot comes, in the adequate amounts to round out the characters and push the story forward. There’s enough detail about the flying equipment to give a good understanding of the challenges Traders/fliers face without dragging down the narrative. The Spires themselves are harrowing constructions, and even more harrowing are the lower levels. They are made of bones, but bones of what? It isn’t clear (and that’s a strength of Wilde’s storytelling), so in that sense there’s the right amount of detail leaving me wanting more. The spires and a (once?)-living environment constructed of bone, reminded me of Mike Underwood’s highly enjoyable Shield and Crocus. There’s a vein of mysterious darkness in Wilde’s fantasy world that echoes some of the darkness underlying the New Weird just as it did in Mike’s novel.

Friday Round-Up: Kate Elliott @Tor.com, Chuck Wendig @SFFWorld, & @SFSignal Mind Meld

What? Two weeks in a row with a Friday Round-up? That’s what happens when a person gets a new job and also has three new pieces post in a week. I’ll start with the review that posted the afternoon after I posted last week’s Round-Up.

Kate Elliott’s Court of Fives is her first Young Adult novel, but far from her first novel. It shows, because it is a helluva novel and I want the next book now. Part of my review:

Elliott immediately thrusts the reader into Jes’ head and heart, and the result is a wonderful immersion in both familial love and the tensions at work within these relationships. Jes and her sisters adore their mother, and while they respect their father, they don’t know him nearly as well because he is often away, off leading armies. What makes this such an outstanding novel is Elliott’s experienced hand at revelation and building compelling characters. I was immediately drawn to Jes as a character, caught up in her plight and the story she had to tell. Much of the YA I’ve read is told from the first-person POV, and in adopting that narrative style, Elliott has placed a great deal of weight on Jessamy’s shoulders—we experience the entire story through her consciousness, and in this case, it works extremely well.

Court of Fives is a novel with very wide appeal, which benefits from a young, headstrong, and charismatic protagonist, a mythically-inspired setting that provides a fantastical spin on historical/classical antiquity (think ancient Egypt, Macedonia, and Rome), a strong base of well-rounded supporting characters, and the magnetic force of its dramatic tension, which kept this reader glued to the pages.

This past Tuesday, my review of Chuck Wendig’s gripping, dark near future SF Thriller Zer0es:

Chuck takes a look at a world Twenty Minutes into the Future and a group of hackers who are corralled by NSA Agent Hollis Cooper to do the NSA’s dirty work. They are Chance Dalton, picked up just as he was being beaten up by the football players he exposed as rapists; Aleena Kattan, DeAndre Mitchell, Wade Earthman, an old school hacker, and perhaps one of the most annoying characters I can recall encountering in SFF, Reagan Stolper. The hackers, who dub themselves zer0es, are brought to The Lodge to infiltrate America’s enemies, it is either that or serve time in prison so the choice is pretty easy. As the plot rolls along the zer0es form an odd bond, a second family almost. Working more closely together, something more frightening than they imagined becomes apparent.

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The novel begins by introducing each character through their apprehension by Agent Cooper; here Chuck did a great job of making each of these characters unique and provided a solid foundation for their participation in the plot/story and later character development. Building on the solid base built for the characters, Wendig does a great job of revealing more depth to the characters, the backstory that led them to come together. He also mixes them up very nicely as they get to know each other and their pasts are revealed to each other (voluntarily or otherwise).

Lastly, my August Mind Meld posted. In it, I asked Paul Weimer, Jana Nyman, Joe Sherry, Lisa Rodgers, Jonah Sutton-Morse, Susan J. Morris, and Jason M. Hough about Author Comebacks, "Some authors publish a few titles and disappear, or move on to other things (comic book writing, tie-in writing, leaving publishing, etc) but you’d like to see more from them. So we asked this week’s panelists the following:"

Q: Who would you like to see make a comeback to writing original SFF fiction? What subgenre(s) or worlds would you hope they would write?

Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-08-08)

Another significant batch of books, many of which look very appealing.

Shadow of Empire (Far Star Trilogy #1) by Jay Allan (Harper Voyager 11/10/2015) – Allan makes the jump from small press/self-published to one of the Big SF publishers. This launches a Space Opera trilogy to be published over the course of three months. That is proof of a publisher showing confidence in a writer.

The first installment in the Far Star series, a swashbuckling space saga that introduces the daring pirate Blackhawk and the loyal crew of the Wolf’s Claw, from the author of the bestselling Crimson Worlds saga.

Smuggler and mercenary Arkarin Blackhawk and the crew of the ship Wolf’s Claw are freelance adventurers who live on the fringe of human society in the Far Stars. A veteran fighter as deadly with a blade as he is with a gun, Blackhawk is a man haunted by a dark past. Even his cynicism cannot banish the guilt and pain that threaten his sanity.

Sent to rescue the kidnapped daughter of his longtime friend Marshal Augustin Lucerne, Blackhawk and his crew find themselves drawn into one deadly fight after another. When the Wolf’s Claw is damaged, they are forced to land on a remote planet subsumed by civil war. Pulled unwittingly into the conflict, they uncover disturbing information about secret imperial involvement that could upset the plans of Lucerne.

For the Marshal is determined to forge a Far Stars Confederation powerful enough to eliminate all imperial influence and threats in the sector. He needs a skilled warrior like Blackhawk on his side, but the mercenary, plagued by dark memories from the past, refuses to join the cause. All too soon, though, he and his crew will have to take a stand.

Nightwise by R.S. Belcher (Tor, Hardcover 08/11/2015) – After a well-received Weird West/Steampunk series, Belcher turns his pen to something a little bit darker.

R.S. Belcher, the acclaimed author of The Six-Gun Tarot and The Shotgun Arcana launches a gritty new urban fantasy series set in today's seedy occult underworld in Nightwise.

In the more shadowy corners of the world, frequented by angels and demons and everything in-between, Laytham Ballard is a legend. It's said he raised the dead at the age of ten, stole the Philosopher's Stone in Vegas back in 1999, and survived the bloodsucking kiss of the Mosquito Queen. Wise in the hidden ways of the night, he's also a cynical bastard who stopped thinking of himself as the good guy a long time ago.

Now a promise to a dying friend has Ballard on the trail of an escaped Serbian war criminal with friends in both high and low places--and a sinister history of blood sacrifices. Ballard is hell-bent on making Dusan Slorzack pay for his numerous atrocities, but Slorzack seems to have literally dropped off the face of the Earth, beyond the reach of his enemies, the Illuminati, and maybe even the Devil himself. To find Slorzack, Ballard must follow a winding, treacherous path that stretches from Wall Street and Washington, D.C. to backwoods hollows and truckstops, while risking what's left of his very soul . . . .

Silver on the Road (The Devil’s West #1) by Laura Ann Gilman (Saga Press Hardcover 10/06/2015) – Gilman is a very prolific writer, slipping between sub genres and genres. This one has a nice weird/horror west flavor to it.

“The right hand gathers and gives, visible to all. But the left hand, Isobel, the manu sinistra? It moves in shadows, unseen, unheard…. Until I deem it time for it to be seen and heard. And when it moves, its work cannot be undone. It is the strength of the Territory, the quick knife in the darkness, the cold eye and the final word.”

She looked up, away from his hands, and was caught by a gaze the burnt gold of the morning sun.

“I have been lacking a left hand for too long, now. Are you strong enough for that, Isobel nee Lacoyo Távora? Is the iron in your spine, the fire in your blood, proof against my forging?”

Back East, they claim the so-called Devil’s West is overrun by magic, magicians, and monsters. But to Isobel, it’s home. She grew up in a saloon, trained to serve drinks and fold laundry, to read those who came to the gambling tables, and report back to her boss on what she saw.

But when she comes of age, she is given a choice….

Now the Territory’s Left Hand, Isobel takes to the road, accompanied by the laconic rider Gabriel, who will teach her about the Territory, its people and its laws. But she needs to learn quickly: The bones of the earth are cracking, and the Hand has work to do…

Zero World by Jason M. Hough (Del Rey Hardcover 08/11/2015) – Hough’s trilogy earned him some very good sales and acclaim and graduated him to Hardcover for this release.

Published in rapid succession, Jason M. Hough’s first three novels, The Darwin Elevator, The Exodus Towers, and The Plague Forge; earned mountains of praise and comparisons to such authors as James S. A. Corey and John Scalzi. Now Hough returns with a riveting near-future spy thriller that combines the adrenaline of a high-octane James Bond adventure with mind-blowing sci-fi speculations worthy of Christopher Nolan’sInception. 

Technologically enhanced superspy Peter Caswell has been dispatched on a top-secret assignment unlike any he’s ever faced. A spaceship that vanished years ago has been found, along with the bodies of its murdered crew—save one. Peter’s mission is to find the missing crew member, who fled through what appears to be a tear in the fabric of space. Beyond this mysterious doorway lies an even more confounding reality: a world that seems to be Earth’s twin. 

Peter discovers that this mirrored world is indeed different from his home, and far more dangerous. Cut off from all support, and with only days to complete his operation, Peter must track his quarry alone on an alien world. But he’s unprepared for what awaits on the planet’s surface, where his skills will be put to the ultimate test—and everything he knows about the universe will be challenged in ways he never could have imagined.

Cold Iron (The Malorum Gates #1) by Stina Leicht (Saga Press Hardcover 07/14/2015) – Leicht’s new series is a huge epic/flintlock fantasy which asks the question, “What would Lord of the Rings look like if Tolkien were American?”

Fraternal twins Nels and Suvi move beyond their royal heritage and into military and magical dominion in this flintlock epic fantasy debut from a two-time Campbell Award finalist.

Prince Nels is the scholarly runt of the ancient Kainen royal family of Eledore, disregarded as flawed by the king and many others. Only Suvi, his fraternal twin sister, supports him. When Nels is ambushed by an Acrasian scouting party, he does the forbidden for a member of the ruling family: He picks up a fallen sword and defends himself.

Disowned and dismissed to the military, Nels establishes himself as a leader as Eledore begins to shatter under the attack of the Acrasians, who the Kainen had previously dismissed as barbarians. But Nels knows differently, and with the aid of Suvi, who has allied with pirates, he mounts a military offensive with sword, canon, and what little magic is left in the world.

The Moreau Quartet: Volume One by S. Andrew Swann (DAW Mass Market Paperback 08/04/2015) – Swann’s been writing in this particular universe for quite some time. These are two of the earliest novels in the sequence - Forests of the Night and Fearful Symmetry. Though published order has these as books 1 and four, Fearful Symmetry is a direct sequel to Forests of the Night.

It’s 2053, and the U.S. has long since genetically engineered life successfully. “Moreaus,” humanoid and animal hybrids, and “frankensteins,” genetically manipulated humans, live as second-class citizens. Nohar Rajasthan is a moreau, a humanoid of tiger stock. Raised by a human after his parents’ death, Nohar ekes out a career as a private eye. Mixing science fiction with detective thrillers, Nohar’s story leaps off the page with all the nonstop excitement and danger of an action blockbuster.

Forests of the Night: When Nohar accepts a commission from a frankenstein to investigate the death of the campaign manager of a local politico, all hell breaks loose. Nohar finds himself targeted by everyone from local cops to federal agents to a drug-running gang to an assassin with a 100% kill rate.

Fearful Symmetries: Nohar retired from the private eye business ten years ago, and just wants to spend his remaining time in the peace and quiet of his wilderness homestead. So when a human lawyer asks him to take on a missing moreau case, he refuses–and soon after is attacked by a paramilitary team. Now Nohar must find the missing moreau and discover why someone wants him dead.

Six Gun Snow-White by Catherynne M. Valente (Saga Press Hardcover 11/09/2015) – Valente seems to write only well-received award worthy stuff. This western reinvention of Snow White looks like it could be a great deal of fun.

A New York Times bestselling author offers a brilliant reinvention of one of the best-known fairy tales of all time with Snow White as a gunslinger in the mythical Wild West.

Forget the dark, enchanted forest. Picture instead a masterfully evoked Old West where you are more likely to find coyotes as the seven dwarves. Insert into this scene a plain-spoken, appealing narrator who relates the history of our heroine’s parents—a Nevada silver baron who forced the Crow people to give up one of their most beautiful daughters, Gun That Sings, in marriage to him. Although her mother’s life ended as hers began, so begins a remarkable tale: equal parts heartbreak and strength. This girl has been born into a world with no place for a half-native, half-white child. After being hidden for years, a very wicked stepmother finally gifts her with the name Snow White, referring to the pale skin she will never have. Filled with fascinating glimpses through the fabled looking glass and a close-up look at hard living in the gritty gun-slinging West, this is an utterly enchanting story…at once familiar and entirely new.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-05-09)

A huge haul this week at the O' Stuff, many of these look very appealing to me.

Nightborn (Book 2 of Thrones and Bones) by Lou Anders (Randon House Kids 07/14/2015) – Second installment in what is turning out to be a very popular and acclaimed fantasy series for younger readers. Lou’s a smart guy and it shows in his writing. This will be reviewed for SF Signal, where I reviewed book one, Frostborn.

From the author of Frostborn comes Book 2 in the acclaimed Thrones and Bones fantasy-adventure trilogy for fans of Lloyd Alexander and Brandon Mull.

Karn Korlundsson is a gamer. Not a riddle solver. But in order to rescue his best friend, Thianna Frostborn, he will need to travel to the faraway city of Castlebriar (by wyvern), learn how to play a new board game called Charioteers (not a problem), decipher the Riddle of the Horn, and tangle with mysterious elves.

Meet Desstra. She’s in training to join the Underhand—the elite agents of the dark elves. When she crosses paths with Karn, she is not all that she appears to be.

Everyone is chasing after the horn of Osius, an ancient artifact with the power to change the world. The lengths to which Karn will go in the name of friendship will be sorely tested. Who knew that solving a riddle could be so deadly?

The novel includes instructions for playing the board game Charioteers. Visit ThronesandBones.com for additional games, maps, character profiles, and more!

Zero World by Jason M. Hough (Del Rey Hardcover 08/11/2015) – Hough’s trilogy earned him some very good sales and acclaim and graduated him to Hardcover for this release.

Published in rapid succession, Jason M. Hough’s first three novels, The Darwin Elevator, The Exodus Towers, and The Plague Forge; earned mountains of praise and comparisons to such authors as James S. A. Corey and John Scalzi. Now Hough returns with a riveting near-future spy thriller that combines the adrenaline of a high-octane James Bond adventure with mind-blowing sci-fi speculations worthy of Christopher Nolan’sInception. 

Technologically enhanced superspy Peter Caswell has been dispatched on a top-secret assignment unlike any he’s ever faced. A spaceship that vanished years ago has been found, along with the bodies of its murdered crew—save one. Peter’s mission is to find the missing crew member, who fled through what appears to be a tear in the fabric of space. Beyond this mysterious doorway lies an even more confounding reality: a world that seems to be Earth’s twin. 

Peter discovers that this mirrored world is indeed different from his home, and far more dangerous. Cut off from all support, and with only days to complete his operation, Peter must track his quarry alone on an alien world. But he’s unprepared for what awaits on the planet’s surface, where his skills will be put to the ultimate test—and everything he knows about the universe will be challenged in ways he never could have imagined.

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley (Harper Voyager / William Morrow Hardcover 04/28/2015) – This is Headly’s first foray into the Young Adult market and it looks like a solidly entertaining novel

Based on an obscure legend, MAGONIA is a wholly original story about a girl caught between two worlds, two races, and two destinies.

Aza Ray Boyle has been drowning in thin air since she was a baby, suffering from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe – and to live. So when she catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a side effect of her medication. But Aza can hear someone on the ship calling her name and it doesn’t seem like a hallucination.

Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, she’s lost to our world – and found by another. Magonia.

Above the clouds, in a land of ships, Aza can breathe for the first time. Better, she has power that can change the world. But as she navigates her new life in the sky, she discovers that war between Magonia and Earth is coming. The fate of all humanity – including the boy who loves her – lies in Aza’s hands. Where do her loyalties lie?

ALIVE (Generations Trilogy #1) by Scott Sigler (Del Rey Hardcover 07/14/2015) – I listened to Scott’s first podcast two novel Infected and Contagious. This is one; however, seems poised to be an explosive next-level type of novel for Scott. I saw Myke Cole mention the book on twitter with an infectious level of positivity so I’m looking forward to getting my grubby hands on a copy of this one closer to the summer.

For fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising comes a gripping sci-fi adventure in which a group of teenagers wake up in a mysterious corridor with no knowledge of who they are or how they got trapped. Their only hope lies with an indomitable young woman who must lead them not only to answers but to survival.

“I open my eyes to darkness. Total darkness. I hear my own breathing, but nothing else. I lift my head . . . it thumps against something solid and unmoving. There is a board right in front of my face. No, not a board . . . a lid.”

A teenage girl awakens to find herself trapped in a coffin. She has no idea who she is, where she is, or how she got there. Fighting her way free brings little relief—she discovers only a room lined with caskets and a handful of equally mystified survivors. Beyond their room lies a corridor filled with bones and dust, but no people . . . and no answers.

She knows only one thing about herself—her name, M. Savage, which was engraved on the foot of her coffin—yet she finds herself in charge. She is not the biggest among them, or the boldest, but for some reason the others trust her. Now, if they’re to have any chance, she must get them to trust each other.

Whatever the truth is, she is determined to find it and confront it. If she has to lead, she will make sure they survive. Maybe there’s a way out, a rational explanation, and a fighting chance against the dangers to come. Or maybe a reality they cannot comprehend lies just beyond the next turn.

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay (William Morrow Hardcover 06/02/2015) – Tremblay’s a pretty big deal in the horror genre, he’s been shortlist for the Bram Stoker Award twice and is on the jury for the Shirley Jackson Award

A chilling thriller that brilliantly blends domestic drama, psychological suspense, and a touch of modern horror, reminiscent of Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, John Ajvide Lindqvist’s Let the Right One In, and Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House.

The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.

To her parents’ despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie’s descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts’ plight. With John, Marjorie’s father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.

Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface—and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.

Bombs Away: The Hot War by Harry Turtledove (Del Rey Hardcover 07/14/2015) – If I had to guess, this might be the 50th Turtledove book (inclusive of all editions – Finished, ARC, Hardvover, Mass Market Paperback) I’ve received over the years here at the O’ Stuff.

In his acclaimed novels of alternate history, Harry Turtledove has scrutinized the twisted soul of the twentieth century, from the forces that set World War I in motion to the rise of fascism in the decades that followed. Now, this masterly storyteller turns his eyes to the aftermath of World War II and asks: In an era of nuclear posturing, what if the Cold War had suddenly turned hot? 

Bombs Away begins with President Harry Truman in desperate consultation with General Douglas MacArthur, whose control of the ground war in Korea has slipped disastrously away. MacArthur recognizes a stark reality: The U.S. military has been cut to the bone after victory over the Nazis—while China and the USSR have built up their forces. The only way to stop the Communist surge into the Korean Peninsula and save thousands of American lives is through a nuclear attack. MacArthur advocates a strike on Chinese targets in Manchuria. In actual history, Truman rejected his general’s advice; here, he does not. The miscalculation turns into a disaster when Truman fails to foresee Russia’s reaction. 

Almost instantly, Stalin strikes U.S. allies in Europe and Great Britain. As the shock waves settle, the two superpowers are caught in a horrifying face-off. Will they attack each other directly with nuclear weapons? What countries will be caught in between? 

The fateful global drama plays out through the experiences of ordinary people—from a British barmaid to a Ukrainian war veteran to a desperate American soldier alone behind enemy lines in Korea. For them, as well as Truman, Mao, and Stalin, the whole world has become a battleground. Strategic strikes lead to massive movements of ground troops. Cities are destroyed, economies ravaged. And on a planet under siege, the sounds and sights of nuclear bombs become a grim harbinger of a new reality: the struggle to survive man’s greatest madness.

The Prince of Valor by Django Wexler (Roc July 2015) – I read the first two Shadow Campaigns novels last year and thought The Shadow Throne was awesome.

In the latest Shadow Campaigns novel, Django Wexler continues his "epic fantasy of military might and magical conflict" following The Shadow Throne and The Thousand Names, as the realm of Vordan faces imminent threats from without and within.

In the wake of the King’s death, war has come to Vordan.

The Deputies-General has precarious control of the city, but it is led by a zealot who sees traitors in every shadow. Executions have become a grim public spectacle. The new queen, Raesinia Orboan, finds herself nearly powerless as the government tightens its grip and assassins threaten her life. But she did not help free the country from one sort of tyranny to see it fall into another. Placing her trust with the steadfast soldier Marcus D’Ivoire, she sets out to turn the tide of history.

As the hidden hand of the Sworn Church brings all the powers of the continent to war against Vordan, the enigmatic and brilliant general Janus bet Vhalnich offers a path to victory. Winter Ihernglass, newly promoted to command a regiment, has reunited with her lover and her friends, only to face the prospect of leading them into bloody battle.

And the enemy is not just armed with muskets and cannon. Dark priests of an ancient order, wielding forbidden magic, have infiltrated Vordan to stop Janus by whatever means necessary...

Updraft by Fran Wilde (Tor 09/01/2015) – This is Wilde’s debut novel and it looks like it will be a lot of fun. Just look at that awesome cover!!

Welcome to a world of wind and bone, songs and silence, betrayal and courage. 

Kirit Densira cannot wait to pass her wingtest and begin flying as a trader by her mother's side, being in service to her beloved home tower and exploring the skies beyond. When Kirit inadvertently breaks Tower Law, the city's secretive governing body, the Singers, demand that she become one of them instead. In an attempt to save her family from greater censure, Kirit must give up her dreams to throw herself into the dangerous training at the Spire, the tallest, most forbidding tower, deep at the heart of the City.

As she grows in knowledge and power, she starts to uncover the depths of Spire secrets. Kirit begins to doubt her world and its unassailable Laws, setting in motion a chain of events that will lead to a haunting choice, and may well change the city forever-if it isn't destroyed outright.

SFFWorld Review Round-up: Baxter & Pratchett, Hough, Kemp, Jemisin, Martin, Willis

Some new reviews  have been posted over at SFFWorld and the SFFWorld Blog over the past coiuple of weeks. Reviews from both Mark and myself, as well as Nila White.  Here goes...

Visitors to the SFFWorld forums who know Mark are probably aware he's a big fan of Connie Willis.  His take on the collection The Best of Connie Willis (SFFWorld / SFFWorld Blog):

There are 10 stories, the 2006 Worldcon Guest of Honor Speech and her Grand Master speeches (both given and as an alternative version) included. As the editor of the book points out, Connie is nearly as well known for her presence on the US convention circuit as she is for her writing, so her speeches are nearly as entertaining.

What may also make this a must-buy for those who know the stories is both the Introduction by Connie and an Afterword by Connie for each of the ten tales. Like the speeches, they are, as you might expect, emotional, filled with warmth, wit and great self-deprecation, as well as clearly showing a deep everlasting love for the genre. Connie’s Introduction to her stories and how she came to read (and write) SF is about as eloquent an homage to older writers as you can get. The Afterwords end each of the tales nicely.

Yesterday (7/16), I reviewed the debut novel from Jason M. Hough, The Darwin Elevator, which also launches his Dire Earth Cycle of novels:

Hough does a lot of things well in his debut effort, The Darwin Elevator, which also launches The Dire Earth Cycle of novels. There’s a convincing sense of despair and desolation as conveyed through the characters who live in the world. Hough also imparts a plausible sense of fear about the Elevator and the characters concern over its source/origin. The elevator itself is more than just a MacGuffin, the mystery behind it, as well as potentially more events or contact with the builders is theme laced throughout the narrative. Neil Platz is the Donald Trump/Lex Luthor (with a slightly more altruistic bent, but still the Magnificent Bastard) like character who pulls many strings in Darwin and the civilized world. He was able to build his power and influence because he just so happened to have built power, water, and energy supply stations near the center of the civilized world which is now Darwin. Timing is everything and knowledge is power seem to embody Platz.

...

Unfortunately, the inconsistent pace of the novel brushes over some of the characterization, especially regarding Skyler’s crew and the snarling Russell Blackfield (surprise, he’s an antagonist). Danger is inherit in an apocalyptic landscape with an alien technology people fear, don’t understand completely and whose origins are in question.

Over the past weekend, Nila had a look at the first installment of N.K. Jemisin's Dreamblood duology, The Killing Moon:

The Killing Moon is more about a time and place of Jemisin’s making than it is about any of these characters, but they will make you rejoice and weep as you follow them into the dream world and struggle to overcome the corruption that seeps through the fabric of their lives and their religion. This is the book’s greatest strength: its richly layered world and its incredible characters.

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Based on both Egyptian mythology and Nairobi traditions, I actually found the book to be too short. I wanted to spend more time with the characters in the places they found themselves, from the streets of the outer city of Gujaareen, to the desert oasis, and further afar into Kinsua. I found the cultures Jemisin created in the two city-states. as well as the religious Hetawa. to be both an interesting interpretation of African mythology as well as a relief from our own cultural hang ups concerning sex and gender. Not that the cultures in this book are perfect in that regard, but different from our own western sensibilities - and I liked it. I wanted more ‘meat’ to this story and would have been glad if the book was twice as long.

A little over a week ago, I dove into a long out of print fix up novel/collection from George R.R. Martin, Tuf Voyaging:

Seven stories are included in this fix-up novel/book and are presented in chronological order of the events of Haviland Tuf and his acquisition of the Ark rather than publication order.

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Martin has long professed his admiration for Jack Vance’s writing and these stories can very much be seen as homage to Vance or his style. The balance of humor and fantastical situations were hallmarks of Vance’s work. In particular, one might imagine Tuf himself interacting with Cudgel the Clevor or Rhialto the Marvelous. Undoubtedly, Tuf’s deadpan style and pure logic work in direct contrast to every personality he encounters. Nobody trusts Tuf, he is distressed by this lack of trust when he always attempts to present himself as, if not altruistically as possible, as logically as possible. Humanity has evolved to a state on many of the planets he visits that logic is far from even the tenth lens to view their respective world.

Last week Mark posted his review of The Long Earth, the collaboration between Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett (SFFWorld / SFFWorld Blog):

Much of the actual bones of the tale appear to be themes of Baxter’s, as there are resonances of his writing style, so reminiscent of Arthur C Clarke, throughout. There is an imaginative extrapolation of the ‘what-if’ here. The consequences of people migrating to these new worlds, the changes in society, trade, commerce and even religious belief are all examined here, and have that overarching tone of some of Baxter’s other books, such as Evolution. The characters also seem to fit the Baxter/Clarke template, in that they are not particularly deep or complex, but they are understandable and accessible. In terms of worlds, the writers clearly had a lot of fun explaining extinct animals and sapient civilisations. There’s a definite Arthur C Clarke/Olaf Stapledon feel of epic-ness to that aspect of the plot, which I am assuming comes mainly from Stephen Baxter.

If Stephen brings the imagination usually demanded by SF readers, what we seem to get, with added Pratchett, is a warmth and a less clinical, more human dimension that will appeal to those readers less SF-inclined. Readers should not be misled, however - this does not make a laugh-out-loud, comfortable Discworld-kind of novel – but there is, in places, a wry grin, and even at times a little acidic statement (something Terry can do very well.) In tone, this is more like Nation than Discworld. It is clear from the start, though, that when the power for the stepper is a potato, it’s obvious that there’s going to be a certain amount of humour involved. How a potato can change the world… 

A few weeks ago, I posted my review of Paul S. Kemp's second Egil & Nix novel, A Discourse in Steel (SFFWorld / SFFWorld Blog):

I said in my review of The Hammer and the Blade that Kemp is evoking Fritz Leiber, that evocation/homage continues here in A Discourse in Steel quite nicely. The protagonists Egil and Nix are fully realized characters who breathe and banter in my head like old friends. Kemp’s writing/storytelling with this duo puts you in the room, the tunnel, or dungeon with them; essentially, it feels as if you become part of their group. Sword and sorcery can be considered the fantasy equivalent of the buddy movie and Egil and Nix, along with Scott Lynch’s Locke and Jean, are perhaps the most entertaining buddies in the genre. Egil and Nix are a bit more experienced, which adds another layer to their dynamic and the depth of their history. At times I’d almost expect one of them to echo Murtaugh in saying I’m too old for this shite. That age and history comes into play as the Blackalley plays against a person’s fears, sorrow and loss. This affects Egil very profoundly as the regret over his lost wife and child continually come back to him as the duo progress through the narrative.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2013-04-20)

Mark Yon and I have launched the SFFWorld blog where our future reviews will be appearing. Have a hop over there, read our little ‘mission statement’ and be sure to check there a couple of times per week for new reviews or reviews pulled from the archive.

The Darwin Elevator (The Dire Earth Cycle #1) by Jason Hough (Del Rey Mass Market Paperback 07/30/2013) – Warrington’s fairy-tale trilogy comes to a close with this volume.

Jason M. Hough’s pulse-pounding debut combines the drama, swagger, and vivid characters of Joss Whedon’s Firefly with the talent of sci-fi author John Scalzi.

In the mid-23rd century, Darwin, Australia, stands as the last human city on Earth. The world has succumbed to an alien plague, with most of the population transformed into mindless, savage creatures. The planet’s refugees flock to Darwin, where a space elevator—created by the architects of this apocalypse, the Builders—emits a plague-suppressing aura.

Skyler Luiken has a rare immunity to the plague. Backed by an international crew of fellow “immunes,” he leads missions into the dangerous wasteland beyond the aura’s edge to find the resources Darwin needs to stave off collapse. But when the Elevator starts to malfunction, Skyler is tapped—along with the brilliant scientist, Dr. Tania Sharma—to solve the mystery of the failing alien technology and save the ragged remnants of humanity.

Advance praise for The Darwin Elevator

“A brilliant debut, full of compelling characters and thick with tension.”—Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles

“Claustrophobic, intense, and satisfying . . . I couldn’t put this book down.”—Hugh Howey, New York Times bestselling author of Wool

“This book plugs straight into the fight-or-flight part of your brain.”—Ted Kosmatka, author of The Games

Grail of the Summer Stars (An Aetherial Tale #3) by Freda Warrington (Tor Hardcover 04/23/2013) – Warrington’s fairy-tale trilogy comes to a close with this volume.

The climactic concluding novel in the spellbinding magical contemporary fantasy Aetherial Tales trilogy

A painting, depicting haunting scenes of a ruined palace and a scarlet-haired goddess in front of a fiery city, arrives unheralded in an art gallery with a cryptic note saying, “The world needs to see this.” The painting begins to change the lives of the woman who is the gallery's curator and that of an ancient man of the fey Aetherial folk who has mysteriously risen from the depths of the ocean. Neither human nor fairy knows how they are connected, but when the painting is stolen, both are compelled to discover the meaning behind the painting and the key it holds to their future.

In Grail of the Summer Stars, a haunting, powerful tale of two worlds and those caught between, Freda Warrington weaves an exciting story of suspense, adventure and danger that fulfills the promise of the Aetherial Tales as only she can.