Firedrake, Realms of Fantasy, and The Departure at SFFWorld

We’ve been averaging two to three new reviews per week at SFFWorld lately, and this week is no exception, one from me, one from Erfael/Joey, and one from Mark/Hobbit. I’ll do the link/cover/review blurb in that order.

I returned to the worlds of Warhammer 40,000 with the second book in Nick Kyme’s Tome of Fire Trilogy, Firedrake

Nick Kyme continues the story of a group of Salamanders, a unit of Space Marines in the military force of the Emperor’s Imperium of Man, in Firedrake, the middle book of the Tome of Fire Trilogy. Picking up not quite immediately from the events of Salamander, Kyme follows two storylines throughout the novel, one of which continues Da’Kir’s story, whose dreams and past continue to haunt him as he becomes initiated as a Lexicanum in the Librarium, in other words, the lowest rank of a military Librarian responsible for overseeing communications, memoirs, history of the chapter, as well as providing support in psychic battles against enemies of the Imperium of Man. As a Da’Kir undergoes the initiation rituals under Pyriel, Da’Kir’s dreams may have a large meaning, and Da’Kir himself may be the one prophesized in the legendary Tome of Fire, the bible for the Salamanders.
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As he follows two storylines, Kyme plots them in different fashions. For Da’Kir’s story, it is a very mythic and singular journey. Da’Kir searches within himself, takes part in a symbolic, mental, and metaphysical struggle to become a member of the Librarium. I thought these scenes provided a sense of power, not just for Da’Kir, but for the overall mythology of the Salamanders themselves. This ‘hero’s journey’ also served to show how, even though the Salamanders are part of the overall Imperium of Man, they have a unique almost nationalistic identity that is their own.

Another review of short fiction from Joey/Erfael, this time the August 2011 Realms of Fantasy

This issue contains 5 short stories, an article on female fantasy artists, a Folkroots column on monsters, and a full complement of reviews of fiction (epic fantasy, urban fantasy, YA fantasy), games (PnP and electronic), graphic novels, and movies.…

The final short story of the issue, Alan Smale's "Leap of Faith" brings us an other-dimensional retelling of the fall of Sodom, or in this case Shadom. The main character, Levi, seems to be some sort of engineer or construction worker doing God's work in helping to shape the world. While his exact role is never made clear, the impacts of his work are: He leaves his family for months at a time, and when he comes back he has difficulty adjusting back to normal life. This story picks up just as he's returning from one of his times away from home when he's approached by a pair of "angels", bluish fellows who seem to know that the town is in trouble. In fact, they're there to save Levi and his family because they're the only good people in Shadom and God has further work for them. The family drama here and the way it fits into the Biblical story is interesting. There are some turns of phrase that feel very out of place in the setting until one realizes that this may not be a world quite like our own. This was an engaging, enjoyable story on which to close the issue's fiction section. RECOMMENDED

Mark returns to a favorite, Neal Asher, for a review of what turns out to be a new series titled The Owner, the first of which is The Departure:

Things in this dystopia are generally not good. A too-large population using too many of its finite resources without the luxury of expansion means that life for many is arduous. The idea that ‘Power Corrupts’ is important here, and there’s clearly something rotten in the socio-political structures of the 22nd century. The world government administrators live in luxury, whilst the ZA (Zero Asset) people, who contribute nothing to the economy, exist on a bare minimum with limited health care and facilities.
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It’s all pretty fast, dramatic stuff. We have city riots, shootings, space planes destroyed, the deliberate bombardment of the Earth from space, and combat in space aided by construction robots. As you might therefore expect, the body count is very high (though that is something that you rather expect with Neal’s books.) This is definitely not one for the faint hearted in that respect, with body parts flying around and blood splashing many a wall.

Similarly, like many of Neal’s other books there’s also lots of cool gadgets: the robot-like Shepherds ensuring control, spider guns (robotic tanks), readerguns (that can recognise their targets before shooting them), space planes with scram jets and lots and lots of lethal guns.

Swords, Griffins, and Short Stories - Oh My!

Two more reviews this week at SFFWorld, I’ll start with mine. I took a look at a novel that launches both a trilogy The Chaos Knight trilogy, and an author’s novel writing career: Sword of Fire and Sea by Erin Hoffman:

Hoffman throws the reader directly into the fray with little preamble or wasted time, somewhat refreshing for a novel set in such a richly developed world. As Vidarian progresses through the story and communicates through a mental bond with the Gryphons, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the Dragons from Anne McCaffrey’s Pern saga. Where the similarities end; however, is in the assertiveness of Hoffman’s Gryphons who are much more in tune with Andovar, the world in which the novel takes place. There’s a sense these beings are comprised of a portion of magic, or at the very least, have a direct connection to the source of magic in the world. Hoffman’s use of the Gryphons as something both intimate, because of how Vidiarian and the other characters communicated with them, as well as foreign and magical, in the way they possess a shared knowledge and power of magic, is perhaps the strongest element of the novel. Through her characters, Hoffman imbues the Gryphons with a true sense of awe, and an initial feeling of them being the Other.
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The shortness of the novel may be both its strength and weakness. It seems clear that Hoffman is telling a longer story in a very well-developed world, both from a historical perspective (hinted and explained events prior to the novel, magic) and a global perspective (societies, cultures). Sword of Fire and Sea could have benefited from some more development of the characters to complement the hinted at developed world and backstory which serves as a pre-amble to the novel. I also felt as if some scenes weren’t entirely connected, things seemed to happen without a direct connection and I found this to be a major strike at the plausibility in Vidarian and Ariadel’s relationship.

Joey’s (Erfael) tear through short-fiction continues with the July/August 2011 issue of Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction edited by Gordon van Gelder:

The July/August issue contains 9 short stories, 5 columns, and a number of cartoons. As sometimes happens with an issue, there seems to be a recurring theme this month: Many of the stories either deal directly or indirectly with the loss of family members or loved ones.
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In his first F&SF story in over a decade Peter David tells us of "Bronsky's Dates With Death". Bronsky suffers from a condition which forces him to speak honestly of anything that comes to mind. As he ages, he becomes more and more focused on his death, which he doesn't fear. In time, Death invites him to a meeting where he informs Bronsky that his frank candidness about his inevitable death is preventing it. Death can't work when he's his coming is both expected and welcomed. Bronsky and Death have a number of meetings over the course of the story. In his way, Bronsky speaks frankly about these meetings to his wife and daughter, who become understandably concerned for him. These various encounters with an exasperated death are quite funny. Between all that are the very real concerns Bronsky's wife and daughter have for his health. In the end David turns all the humor around and gives us a heartfelt finish where everyone gets what he or she wants or deserves.

Conan, Realms of Fantasy, & Gary Gibson Reviewed at SFFWorld

Lest anybody think I’m the only person providing content, in the form of reviews, to SFFWorld. It couldn’t be farther from the truth. Over the past week, we’ve got three new reviews. First up, Mark Yon’s review of Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard. This is the latest mass market release collecting stories about the mighty-thewed barbarian just in time for the new film:

This short time of intensive publication is such for a very sad reason. Howard killed himself, following the death of his mother, at the age of thirty in June 1936. Most of his Conan tales therefore were written between 1932 and 1936, and set in the Hyborean Age, which Howard described as a time after the disappearance of Atlantis but before present civilizations appeared.
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The tales included here are: The Tower of the Elephant; Rogues in the House; The Frost Giant’s Daughter; Queen of the Black Coast; A Witch Shall Be Born; The People of the Black Circle; Red Nails; Beyond the Black River; and the background article for the stories, The Hyborian Age.

The selection is generally a good one. The tales are not in written/publication order, but instead broadly chronologically throughout Conan’s life. The Conan in The Tower of the Elephant is described as ‘a youth’, the Conan of Beyond the Black River an older man.

Joey (Erfael) continues his short-fiction reviews with the June 2011 issue of Realms of Fantasy by Fiction Editor - Shawna McCarthy; Editor - Douglas Cohen , the 100th issue of the venerable fantasy magazine:

The June 2011 issue marks the 100th issue of RoF. RoF is a full-sized, full-color magazine with full-page art accompanying every short story. This is the second magazine added to our collection of periodical short fiction reviews.

This issue contains 7 short stories, poetry by Ursula K. LeGuin, a gallery and article on artist Petar Meseldzja, a Folkroots column on fairies, and a full complement of fiction, gaming, graphic novel, and movie reviews.
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"Wreathed in Wisteria, Draped in Ivy" is an Oriental-themed story by Euan Harvey. It's made up of tales within tales within a letter that implies an even larger tale above all. The letter tells of one man's discovery and pursuit of never-ending life. He follows the trail through many hardships and battles and eventually comes to know the secret of avoiding death. All of this is done in pursuit of vengeance he seeks to serve on someone he refers to only as Noble Lord. This is a fun quest fantasy outside of the more typical medieval setting, and all the more interesting for it. RECOMMENDED.

Back to Mark for a review of the latest from a fairly new, yet relatively popular and acclaimed, UK SF writer – Gary Gibson. The book under review is Final Days:

The story is set in 2235. The key premise of the tale is that wormholes, if one end is accelerated to relativistic speeds, can allow people to travel hundreds of light years quickly. People who travel outside the gate can eventually catch up with the people who have travelled through the gate but only by travelling at standard speeds. Thus we appear to travel in time, with those going through the wormholes able to travel into the future, so to speak.
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This is a big Niven-esque type disaster novel, or perhaps a Greg Bear (Forge of God springs to mind), so much so that it really needs one of those dramatis personae lists at the front. Though there are the main characters, a number of others are there to help develop the plot, which are a little more less developed and can take careful following.

It’s also a book that you have to just accept at the beginning, even when things don’t always make immediate sense travelling forward and backward in time. It’s a tale that needs a while to set the scene and develop. Of course, as we have ‘seen’ video from 2245, we know what is going to happen: if the title of the book doesn’t give it away, it does seem that the future is set and unchangeable, though this is never as clear-cut as it sounds..