Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf – her wolf – is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: in winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human – or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

The positive of Shiver is the prose. It is delicate and fragile, like ice crystals and the wind through leaves. It is haunting and desperate, like the best parts of Romeo and Juliet. Maggie Stiefvater writes beautifully. I found myself drowning in the loveliness of the prose - to the point where I was *almost* able to ignore the flaws of the novel. If Stiefvater had managed to take the plot to the same places as the prose - stratospherically good - then this would have been an AMAZING book.

As it is, I think the best words to describe Shiver are ephemeral and fleeting - much like the summers that the wolves experience as humans before turning back to animals. As I read it, I was drawn into this story, but I can't imagine that it will stay with me beyond a few days.

Even while reading and luxuriating in the stunning writing, I found myself frustrated by Grace's character. She loves Sam just because. Why does she love him? Why is she so obsessed? Why is she willing to overlook the fact he is a wolf half the time?

I also found the background around the story very limited. Why are there werewolves anyway? Why have they settled in Mercy Falls? Why does Beck need more werewolves? Why did he decide that Sam should be a werewolf?

Why doesn't Olivia - who is such friends with Grace, apparently - come to her friend about the issues she's having? Why is the ending so very artificial?

Ack, just writing all of these questions makes me become more frustrated. Shiver should have been a superb novel. A brilliant book. A book that you are dying to share amongst all your friends. As it was, I enjoyed it and will want to read Linger and Forever, but it wasn't the classic that it deserves to be.

Queen of Kings by Maria Dahvana Headley

What if Cleopatra didn’t die in 30 BC alongside her beloved Mark Antony? What if she couldn’t die? What if she became immortal? Queen of Kings is the first instalment in an epic, epoch-spanning story of one woman’s clash with the Roman Empire and the gods of Egypt in a quest to save everything she holds dear.

As Octavian Caesar (later Augustus) and his legions march into Alexandria, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, summons Sekhmet, the goddess of Death and Destruction, in a desperate attempt to resurrect her husband, who has died by his own hand, and save her kingdom. But this deity demands something in return: Cleopatra's soul. Against her will, Egypt's queen becomes a blood-craving, shape-shifting immortal: a not-quite-human manifestation of a goddess who seeks to destroy the world. Battling to preserve something of her humanity, Cleopatra pursues Octavian back to Rome - she desires revenge, she yearns for her children - and she craves blood...

It is a dangerous journey she must make. She will confront witches, mythic monsters, the gods of ancient Greece and Rome, and her own, warring nature. She will kill but she will also find mercy. She will raise an extraordinary army to fight her enemies, and she will see her beloved Antony again. But to save him from the endless torment of Hades, she must make a devastating sacrifice.

Queen of Kings, by Maria Dahvana Headley, should have been a book that I adored. It has a fantastic premise; it involves one of the strongest female characters from history; it has both Egyptian and Roman flavour (some of my favourite periods of history); and it includes a cover quote from Neil Gaiman. I should have been proclaiming my love of this book from the rooftops - and yet...

I liked it, but didn't love it. Headley's prose is dark and elegant, and her imagination is vivid. The tale comes across very much as an historical epic such as The Odyssey or The Iliad. It is fantastical and gripping in many ways, but at times I found myself turning the pages only because I had read so far and ought to at least finish, which is not what I envisaged when I started Queen of Kings.

Despite the fact that Queen of Kings is deemed to be meticulously researched, I found that Headley didn't imbue her writing with a true feeling of the time period. Egypt could be exchanged wholesale for Rome, with no issues. I didn't see any of the colour and attitude of the Egyptian people. Certain historical facts seemed to be thrown in just because Headley had discovered it, not because it fit that particular scene. I especially disliked a couple of situations where characters told other characters myths and legends that were incredibly dry and felt as though they'd been taken from Mythology 101.

Added to this, I completely failed to engage with Cleopatra as a character. Now, this is a Queen who ruled at a time when women were deemed only fit for childbearing. She seduced famous generals of the time. She was romantically associated with two of THE most famous Roman personalities: Mark Antony and Julius Caesar. This is a woman who doesn't need any real dressing up to be fabulous and interesting and someone who should leap from the page. Unfortunately, Cleopatra in Queen of Kings is relatively lifeless (and I don't intend any pun there...) I couldn't understand her motivations at all - at one point she seems entirely focused on Mark Antony, then suddenly her children are what she is concerned about.

Like I say, Headley's writing is very skillful and hence I'm sure there are others who will adore this dark fantasy about Cleopatra - in fact, this review details many of the plus points from another reviewer's point of view. For me, the characterisation of this famous queen was lacklustre and I didn't "feel" the historical aspect. If you have any interest in Ancient Egypt, then do yourself a favour - pick up River God by Wilbur Smith and avoid Queen of Kings.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages - not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers - beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor has received a great deal of pre-publication buzz - trailers, limited proofs and plenty of information. This often makes me a little concerned about whether the book can possibly live up to all my expectations. With the case of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I am pleased to say my expectations were absolutely surpassed - this is an exceptionally special book.

It tells the story of Karou, blue-haired artist living in Prague - ward of Brimstone, a chimaera who creates wishes in the world of Elsewhere. Karou has always felt as though she doesn't belong entirely in either world, and only comes to find out why when she meets akiva, one of the seraphim - and her mortal enemy.

From the very first page Taylor opens up a world of folklore and fairytale. The winter location of Prague feels 18th Century and very mystical - a perfect setting for the otherworldly Karou. She - with her tattoos and blue hair and artistic ability - is one of the strongest female protagonists I've seen in a YA novel for a while. She is strong yet vulnerable, talented, sardonic and brave.

Taylor's prose is exquisite. It is whimsical and delightful, playful and wistful by turn and kept me enthralled from first page to last. I just can't emphasise enough how beautiful it made this book to read.

The story feels a little like the weaving of a tapestry - thread after thread pulling together to create a glorious whole. I really enjoyed the unveiling of some of the mysteries - and I'm glad that some of them have been left to discover in the further two novels of the trilogy.

For me, one of the areas that most YA fails in is the way the romance develops and the manner in which the two protagonists fall in love - but here is was completely believable and organic, especially thanks to some of the reveals later in the story.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is something incredibly special. While watching it I felt the same way as I did when I watched Pan's Labyrinth. It's an Event and deserves the capitalisation. This really is not to be missed.

Guest Book Review: Ole from Weirdmage's Reviews takes a look at the Legends anthology

Ole from Weirdmage's Reviews lives in deepest darkest Norway, and reads an utterly obscene amount when he is not lurking on Twitter. He has become a great friend, and deigned to write a review for me. Settle in, guys, this one is an epic!

LEGENDS edited by ROBERT SILVERBERG

This anthology contains eleven stories from what was arguably the top fantasy series at the time it was published in 1998.

I’ve chosen to write a little review of every story in this anthology, including a paragraph about how it represents the series it is a part of. At the end there will be a short review/comment on the whole anthology.

THE DARK TOWER: THE LITTLE SISTERS OF ELURIA by STEPHEN KING

This is a prequel to the first Dark Tower book, The Gunslinger.

Although unlike most of Stephen King’s writings, this still bears some of the hallmarks that make it distinctly a Stephen King story. Like many of King’s stories it is set in a post-apocalyptic world, but this is not our world - it is instead a world that mixes the fantasy and western genres.

The story itself reminded me a lot of H.P. Lovecraft. The reader knows all along that something is wrong, but we are seeing the events through the eyes of the main character, and are told it as he discovers it for himself.

If I had to classify this story into a SFF subgenre, I wouldn’t hesitate to call it horror.

King manages to put his own twist on several creatures that will seem very familiar to both fantasy and horror readers. It is a very good story and that it is mostly confined to one small location makes it stronger. The pace of the story is relatively slow, and there isn’t really much action, but for this story that is the strength. I’d go so far as to say that this is one of the better Stephen King short stories I have read.

Having read the first three books of King’s Dark Tower series I found this to be an almost perfect story. It is an interesting look at what Roland was up to before the events of The Gunslinger.

If you have yet to read anything of the Dark Tower series this is a good introduction. You get to know a bit about the series’ main character, and you are also given quite a good glimpse into the world that is the setting for the series.

NOTE: The two page introduction to the story contains spoilers for the Dark Tower books. If you don’t like spoilers, do yourself a favor and skip it.


DISCWORLD: THE SEA AND THE LITTLE FISHES by TERRY PRATCHETT

Set in Lancre, this story stars the witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg.

It’s basically a story about what happens when someone acts out of character and does things that are not expected of them. And anyone that has read the Witches series-within-a-series will understand, and perhaps even sympathize with the eerie feeling that the secondary characters have throughout this story.

It is a good standalone that shows us two of the most popular Discworld characters on their home turf.

There’s plenty that will make you laugh, or at least smile here. I think everyone will to some degree recognize some of the situation that Pratchett describes.

Pratchett shows that he can bring the same craft and imagination to a shorter story that he does to his novels. This is a great example of the master of humorous fantasy at his best.

For any fan of Pratchett’s Discworld books this story will probably be worth picking up the anthology for. If you have somehow managed to never read a Discworld book this would be a good place to start.

THE SWORD OF TRUTH: DEBT OF BONES by TERRY GOODKIND

This story takes place over a generation before the events of the first book in the series, Wizard’s First Rule.

This is a bit hard for me to review because, having read the whole series, it is hard for me to really keep my feelings of this story separate from that. I’ve given it my best shot though, and I hope I have given this story a chance to stand on its own.

There’s quite a bit of Goodkind’s overwriting here. The story starts slowly mostly due to unnecessary descriptions that don’t really add anything to it, and I got a bit impatient for it to really get going. I can’t help but feel that this story will be somewhat confusing to anyone who is not familiar with the series, and that it does not really function as a standalone.

On the plus side there are a couple of twists towards the end of the story that are well handled, and that raises the quality of the story a little bit.

The first time I read this anthology, in 2002, it actually got me curious enough about the series to check it out. That is because there are some good ideas here and actually in the series itself too. Unfortunately Goodkind is not very good at handling his ideas, and his blatant preaching of right-wing politics and semi-fascist views on what is heroic tend to leave a slightly sick feeling in your stomach as you read his work.

This does showcase what you can expect from the first part of the Sword of Truth series, but I have to say that the series only gets worse as it progresses, and I can’t really suggest you start on the series unless you think this is one of the best stories you have ever read.


TALES OF ALVIN MAKER: THE GRINNING MAN by ORSON SCOTT CARD

This story is quite different from the others in this anthology. Not only is it an alternative history story, but it is written in a close approximation of the style of fairy tales.

I actually found it quite hard to cope with the style and tone this story was written in; it was just too short for me to get used to it before it was finished.

The story follows many of the tropes you would expect from a fairy tale and the magic you find here has very little difference from what you usually find in folklore. The alternate history setting felt a bit wasted to me. It doesn’t really come into play except that it introduces a famous American, and gives a wholly different version of his legend. This was actually done in a very good fashion, so it might seem as if I am contradicting myself a bit here. But I still can’t let go of the feeling that the alternate history aspect could have been removed without it really affecting the story.

If you look at this story as a Young Adult, or perhaps Mid-Grade, fairy tale this is quite a good story despite the problems I had with getting into it. For fans of fairy tales, and those who have an interest in US history, I think this will be a good read.

Since I haven’t read any of The Tales of Alvin Maker books I can’t really comment on whether this story is a good representation of what to expect from the series. And as I didn’t really connect with the style of writing Card used here, I can’t say I feel very tempted to pick up the series in the future.

MAJIPOOR: THE SEVENTH SHRINE by ROBERT SILVERBERG

This story is set in the years after the novel Valentine Pontifex.

A murder at an archeological dig is the setting for this story starring the Pontifex Valentine. Although space travel exists in the Majipoor universe, and the different species here are aliens rather than fantasy races, it is a fantasy setting.

This is a very intriguing and varied story. One of the themes it tackles is reconciliation after a war between two different groups and the suspicions and prejudices that follow that.

As someone who has a stronger than average interest in archaeology the setting here is an immediate draw for me. Silverberg also manages to use the archaeological setting as more than just window-dressing, it is integral to the story as a whole.

The murder mystery part of the story is not very complex or original but I didn’t feel that this mattered much since what is really important here is the whole setting more than the story itself.

This should hit the right note for fans of crime, archaeology, and fantasy.

I have read the first Majipoor book, Lord Valentine’s Castle, and the story collection Majipoor Chronicles. This story makes for a good addition to those books, as well as a very good taste of what you can expect from the series. I feel like re-reading Lord Valentine’s Castle after reading this story.

NOTE: Both the introduction to the series, and the story itself contains spoilers for the Majipoor series.

EARTHSEA: DRAGONFLY by URSULA K. LE GUIN

This story starts out as what seems like a run-of-the-mill unrequited love-story, and with a male point of view character. After the first part it suddenly changes to the point of view of the women he was in love with, and he disappears completely from the narrative. What follows after that seems like a re-telling of Terry Pratchett’s Equal Rites. However nothing really happens at all before the female main character saves the day without there being any real explanation as to how she managed to do this.

Dragonfly contains the beginning and ending of a standard “chosen one” fantasy tale, but it completely lacks the middle part of such a story. There is very little character building, no heroine’s journey and no discernible development of any power that is needed to fight evil. It is a bit like reading the chapter of The Lord of the Rings where Gandalf tells Frodo that the ring is the One Ring and then skipping ahead to Frodo and Sam exiting the cave on Mount Doom and congratulating themselves on a job well done –and that is all you get.

Added to the, in my opinion, extremely poor story you have a tendency from Le Guin to infodump and overwrite that made it a hard story to get through. I really wanted to skip ahead to the next story before I was halfway through this one. I couldn’t help but feel that the time I spent reading this story was a total waste.

About fifteen years ago I read the four Earthsea books in Norwegian. I don’t remember anything else about them than that I liked one of them and thought one of them was bad. I was actually planning to buy Wizard of Earthsea and see what I thought of it now. But after reading this story I have moved the Earthsea books to the bottom of my to-buy/read list, and I’m even a bit reluctant to start reading The Dispossessed by Le Guin, a book I have already bought because I’ve heard a lot of good things about it.

For me this story couldn’t have failed more than it did, and my suggestion is to skip it if you read this anthology. I don’t think it is worth reading.


MEMORY, SORROW AND THORN: THE BURNING MAN by TAD WILLIAMS

Told in the first person, this is the tale of Breda. It encompasses several different threads without feeling in any way like it tries to do too much.

Breda tells the events of her fifteenth year with the wisdom and hindsight of old age. The story is strengthened by giving us a quick recap of events prior to the story’s beginning, and although it is quite short it manages to build up a good background to what is happening.

The central love story, that binds together a story of exile and Breda’s stepfather’s search for an answer that is very important to him, is made all the much better for the analysis Breda gives as she narrates the story.

Williams’ writing is excellent here. Breda’s voice as a narrator is incredibly natural. He also manages to incorporate a surprising twist into a story that at its heart is very familiar.

It’s been years since I last read the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, and reading this I realize a re-read is long overdue. The story is a great addition to the world of an excellent fantasy trilogy.


A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: THE HEDGE KNIGHT – A TALE OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS by GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

This story of a roaming knight without a lord, a hedge knight, is set about one hundred years before the beginning of A Game of Thrones.

With the central stage for the story being a knightly tournament it reminded me very much at times of the two film adaptions I’ve seen of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, and I wonder if either of these has served as an inspiration. If the tournament had been the only element to the story it wouldn’t have been very interesting as that part in itself is not really very original. But Martin has mixed in another element, and although this is not very original either the mix of the two makes for an interesting and entertaining tale.

Martin’s writing is very good and he manages to convey quite a lot about the life of hedge knights in general, and the main character Dunk in particular, in what is relatively speaking a few pages. This feels very focused and tightly written, something that makes it a very good story in my opinion.

Only having read the first volume in A Song of Ice and Fire, and that some years ago, I can’t really remember if the events told here have any bearing on, or are even mentioned, in the series. It is however a point that is not really relevant as this works perfectly as a standalone story. It also serves as a good introduction both to Martin’s writing style and the world in which it is set.

If you have ever wondered if you should start reading A Song of Ice and Fire this is a great place to start.

PERN: RUNNER OF PERN by ANNE MCCAFFREY

It’s refreshing to read a fantasy story about some of the “invisible” people who are a part of every world. This tale is about runners, messengers who run from place to place like a non-tech Internet, or perhaps more accurately a human Pony Express.

What I liked most about the story is that McCaffrey has chosen to not set it during some momentous event. It would be easy to tell a tale of a runner delivering a world-changing message against all odds. Instead we get the personal story of Penna, a young woman from a family of runners who is just starting out in her career.

There are a lot of details here of the life of a runner, and it is a good glimpse into a closed group of a society. McCaffrey manages to deliver the details without making the reader feel like they are having information dumped on them. It feels like an integral part of the story and adds to the overall feel of it.

I must say that this one of the stories I really enjoyed, perhaps mostly because it was so different from what you usually see in fantasy.

I’ve not read any of McCaffrey’s Pern novels, and don’t know much about the world. But this story did feel like it at least gave me some sense of how the society on Pern is set up. This one glimpse into the Pern series has made me curious about the series, and I now plan to try it out.


THE RIFTWAR SAGA: THE WOOD BOY by RAYMOND E. FEIST

This standalone story is set during the events of the Riftwar Saga trilogy.

Central to this story is the wood boy, Dirk. As the name implies his job is to ensure that there is an adequate supply of firewood.

Actually I think this story would have worked well even if it was just a tale of daily life during enemy occupation, which it basically is. Feist has added an extra twist to the end of the story, however. This twist works very well, and separates the story from the normal “growing up in fantasyland tale” that we already have in McCaffrey’s tale. It is not a very happy tale, and that may make some readers feel let down by it.

I think the story is well written. It is short but it does tell a lot. Dirk is also a realist and quite an interesting person to get to know better. And I don’t think the story suffers from being read as a standalone.

There are some events from the Riftwar Saga mentioned here. And this story is a good indication to what you can expect if you choose to move on to Feist’s series.


THE WHEEL OF TIME: NEW SPRING by ROBERT JORDAN

This is a prequel to The Eye of the World, the first novel in the Wheel of Time series.

Here we get the story of how Moiraine and Lan meet. If you are not familiar with the Wheel of Time series, they are two of the main characters.

The story itself is a bit of a mess, many things are not explained and many of those that are get lost in Jordan’s tendency to over-describe inconsequential details. Trying to get a grip on what is important by looking at how much room they are given in the text will not be very helpful.

There are definitely some good ideas here, but as I said above they get lost in a lot of waffle. This is a shame, because by cutting out the unnecessary description there would have been more room to explore them.

This is what I would define as a true prequel. In the way that I don’t really see how you could make much sense of what is happening without being familiar with what is going to happen later. But it does give a good idea of what I found when I read The Eye of the World, the only Wheel of Time book I have read.

If you have read my The Eye of the World review on my blog you will know that I didn’t like it. So I will suggest this as your starting point with Jordan’s series. It may leave you a bit confused, but at least you don’t have to read that many pages to find out if it is something for you.

I do realise that the Wheel of Time has many fans. And if you are one of them, you may think you have already read this. But this version predates the New Spring novel and is much shorter. So you might want to get hold of this anthology to read this story as it was originally written


OVERALL IMPRESSION

There’s really not much to say here. Although I did not think every story in this anthology was good, this really is essential on the bookshelf of any fan of fantasy. If you have already read and enjoyed any of these series you’ll like the addition that the short stories make to them. And if you have never read an epic fantasy series, and are curious to whether you should, this anthology lets you check out the worlds of eleven authors in one place.

Not the greatest anthology in fantasy publishing, but the most essential.

Michelle Franklin - Short Story - Alasdair's Music

Michelle Franklin, in her own words, is: a small woman of moderate consequence. I write many, many books about giants, romance, and chocolate. I am the author of many published fantasy stories and the Haanta series.

For my two week hiatus, as you know I did a call for people to offer up guest articles and reviews etc. Michelle asked me if I would like a short story set in the Haanta series. Michelle has written many, many stories in this world and I was grateful for the chance to host one on Floor to Ceiling Books.

Without further ado...

Alasdair's Music

With what dejection and oppression did the commander observe Alasdair escorting the Duchess back to her apartment in the guest quarter. He walked before them through the main hall with a sinking heart and downcast eyes, listening to his guest but hardly attending her. She could not but be aware of his change in countenance but said nothing beyond the continuance of general pleasantries. She spoke of the moderacy of the concert, praised the pieces and the singers, lauded the traditional Frewyn dress. He responded with a few halfhearted smiles but said nothing beyond a few hums in recognition of her accolades; his mind was elsewhere, and though the Duchess perceived his inattention she did her utmost to draw him from his disparaging considerations until she was handed into her room at the end of the hall. Her attendant followed, holding her train as she passed the threshold into the main room of the apartment. She wished his majesty a good evening, and Alasdair answers with all the manners his good breeding could allow.


The mechanical necessities of the night were done and Alasdair was at liberty to be as openly disheartened as he liked. He thought to indulge himself in one of Martje’s pies but was too miserable to eat; his stomach churned in anxiety and he resigned himself to the consolations of silence his private quarters provided. He did not even close the door when he entered and immediately began to undress. He had only unfastened the high collar of his jerkin when his eyes wandered over to his bed. He pondered sleep but the sight of a something hidden, a something he had thought was secreted away, drew his unmitigated attention. He walked toward his bed and stopped beside the post, canting his head to spy the case beneath. He sighed and closed his eyes: he should not touch it, for to take the case into his hand would follow the desire to open it. This would have been of little consequence excepting the promise he had made himself. He had wished his grandfather’s memory restored in his kingdom before the legacy was to be renewed in his music, but the power of knowing it was ever there, the work of a dusty old fiddle ever drawing him down, begging to for its pearlescent strings to be plucked and the taut bow to be taken into his hand. The force of the remorse he felt in only just beginning to reconcile his grandfather’s legacy compelled him to stoop, and before he could stop himself, he was taking the case from beneath the bed, he was opening the lid, and he was caressing the scroll of the instrument. He ought not remove it but he must; his fingers curled around the bridge, filling him with a warm sense of familiarity. His eyes closed with the consciousness of it being replaced in his hand, the sensibility of which soothed him and agitated him all at once. He must play it; his fingertips ached to again stroll the strings of an implement that had held much meaning for him, but he must harden himself to his promise. He placed it back into its case and before he could conceal it from view, he turned to the door and noticed the commander standing at the threshold with a cup of lemon tea in each hand.


“He would want you to play,” she said with a half smile, remaining in the doorway.


Alasdair coloured for being caught with it in his hands, and with a deep sigh said in a low voice, “I know he would.” He remarked his grandfather’s instrument one last time and resolved to put it under the bed, but in his inviting the commander into his quarters and taking the tea she offered, he subconsciously placed it onto the vanity instead.


The commander acknowledged now what had troubled him: the performance was too well done and had perhaps reminded him of an earlier time, one in which his grandfather were alive and one in which his musical capabilities were encouraged and glorified. Now between the throws of court and the sufferances of stately visits, he had little time to himself. Her intrusions, she suspected, was not unwelcome: it gave him a moment to reconsider what he had best do with regard to his music, whether to take it up once more as an passage for his daily frustrations as he had done before his time in the armed forces or to leave it buried with its mentor. It was true that Alasdair had more than one counselor when living in the castle during his youth, but the guidance and sagacity of Good King Dorrin could not be replaced.


“Do you remember,” she began, spying the instrument with a knowing look and seating herself beside Alasdair at the vanity, “when we were at Church and we were told there was an afamed singer from Gallei coming to sing for us?


Alasdair nodded and sipped his tea.“I was so excited that day.”


“As was I, but only because we didn't have to sit through another fatuous lesson. You were pleased because you thought we were meeting one of vast musical accomplishment.”


“She sang well.”


“Well enough, but her lyrical prowess was abominable.” The commander drank her tea, regarding Alasdair’s renewed happiness from the corner of her eye. “It was all very well until I realized that she was someone the Church had promoted to be their representative. She was promoted if only to prove to us that one may be religious, creative and wealthy. You were so disappointed when you discovered she was a Sister.”


“I was, I admit.”

“Your compositions could have vanquished hers even then. You always had superior taste in music.”


Alasdair looked into the remainder of the tea in his cup. “My grandfather saw to that,” he said quietly, his lips curling momentarily.


There was a slender pause and the two exchanged a glance.


“To allow such a gift to go to ruin especially when one has the courage to play and compose as well as you do is a horrid shame, Alasdair,” she said in a delicate accent. “I'm certain you would agree.”


He would, but to own such a sentiment to her would mean he would be impelled to play again.


They left their conversation there with the commander offering to take the cup back to the kitchen while Alasdair undressed for the night. They bid their good evenings to one another, but where the commander had planned on sleep, Alasdair could not be so decided; the fiddle was yet on the vanity, and when he lifted the case to return it to its space beneath the bed, his finger somehow unhinged the fastener, his hand was suddenly around the neck of the instrument, his fingertips were upon the strings, the rest was beneath his chin, and the weighted bow was in his opposing hand. He spent a moment assessing the tuning knobs and testing the tautness of the strings with a few hoarse thrums, but soon the memory of what he should play rushed on him. The beginning notes of his grandfather’s favourite Frewyn air screeched from the touching strings. He grimaced and endured the awkwardness of not having played in longer than was good for him, but after playing through the piece once, he was able to continue with tolerable talent and comfort. Presently, trills and skips leapt from the strings, extended reverberating notes resonated throughout the royal quarter, and all at once the mellifluous reminiscence of his powers at music returned to him: the morning lessons with King Dorrin, the evening concerts they made for one another in the privacy of their room, reading together, composing together, and doing everything inspired the notes that were created by his hands. He played any melody he could recollect, stringing them together, making reels into jigs and jigs into airs; his fingers would not rest until he exhumed every note he had suppressed over the last few years.


Servants within the keep ceased their exertion and nobles halted their card playing to hear the barren hallways of the keep fill with sound some of them had not heard in several years. Those who had been used to hear Dorrin and Alasdair play together gave reverential sighs when listening to the familiar songs echo through the castle, and whether the sound was faint or firm from their standing, all were disposed to pause and attend. Their king was playing: this was an unconscionable conception, but it was one when believed made those who had missed his music delighted.


The commander, too, was pleased, and standing where she was on the opposing side of Alasdair’s door and hearing Alasdair’s heart alight with the bygone melodies of their keep gave her immense satisfaction. She smiled to herself and went to the kitchen where she found Martje heaving fat sighs of joy over a folded napkin in one hand and a generous slice of cake in the other


“Aye,” she sniffed, “you’ve done a good thing, kin.”


The commander gave the cook a warm smile. “I did nothing for him that he would not have done himself.” She simpered as Martje stuffed herself with cake to ease her emotions and took a secretive enjoyment in knowing that Alasdair was slowly reclaiming his most deserved happiness.

Michelle Franklin can be found on her blog The Haanta Series and the first novel in the Haanta series (The Commander and Den Asaan Rautu) is available from Amazon on Kindle. Many thanks to Michelle for stopping by!

Guest Book Review: Sakura reviews Fire by Kristin Cashore

Sakura (from the fantastic blog chasing bawa - one of my great favourites in the blogosphere) has kindly stopped by, in my absence, to provide a book review. Please enjoy!

Fire by Kristin Cashore

I gushed about Kristin Cashore's debut, Graceling, when I read it last year. It was a surprisingly refreshing reading experience for me with likeable characters and interesting ideas. What was most welcoming was how the main female protagonist had a sense of self that defied the usual stereotypes you get in fantasy fiction. I liked it very much. So you can imagine how I was really looking forward to Cashore's second book.

Fire is set in the Dells, a neighbouring land to Monsea in which Graceling is set, where instead of gracelings (the gifted and cursed with mismatched eyes), there are monsters, both human and animal, distinguished only by their vibrant and brilliant colours with extraordinary powers and a hunger for their own flesh. 17 year old Fire is a monstrous beauty with flaming hair, daughter of the monster Cansrel who was once the brilliant and cruel companion to an insane king. Brought up in a secluded estate with Lord Brocker and his son Archer as neighbours, Fire is unlike her father and lives a lonely but loved life, always on the lookout from other monsters who crave her. Because that is what she is, something to be craved. When she is accidentally shot by a trespasser, she is flung into the path of an oncoming war where the prize is King's City and Fire herself. And when she is called up to help King Nash and his cold and closed-up brother Briggan dissipate a power struggle that threatens the Kingdom, her life changes as she must use her mind-controlling powers to help her friends survive. A power which she had sworn she would never use after the suicide of her father, Casrel.

In another part of the Dells, a fugitive graceling with a liking for control and a little pain is swiftly growing into an unforeseen power. Will they meet? And if so, will Fire, and the Dells, survive?

Somehow I was expecting the titular character to be an adult so was a little surprised that she is a teenager. Nothing wrong with it, of course, just an error in my expectation. After reading Steven Erikson's Malazan books, any fantasy not featuring the brutal and adult voice I've grown used to will feel a little soft for me. But that's not really fair as Fire is an accomplished novel, written very well, quickly grabbing your interest as you begin your journey to see how Fire will survive. Don't get me wrong, Fire does deal with a lot of adult themes about identity and the consequences of sex and rape but it was dealt a little too simply. The darkness of the issues and the simplicity of the characters felt a little dissonant. Consequently the character of Fire seemed a little too naïve and her relationships with the people around her didn't have enough depth for me to feel that we were really getting under her skin.

As a YA novel, I think it works well. I had no issues with the plot although I would have liked to know a little more about the monstrous graceling Immiker/Leck. However, there were a few things that bothered me, such as, if Fire was so strong, why couldn't she just overpower everyone more easily? And why did the ending feel rushed? I know, grumble grumble. I loved Graceling so much I wanted to love Fire too. But the issues about the simplicity of the novel with some of the darker themes that could have been explored more fully did not, unfortunately, leave me. Even at the end.

BUT, I really like Kristin Cashore's writing style and the world she has created and will be keeping an eager eye out for her next novel in the series, Bitterblue.

I won this book courtesy of a competition by Orion Books.

Thank you SO much, Sakura!

Dangerous Waters by Juliet E McKenna

The Archmage rules the island of wizards and has banned the use of magecraft in warfare, but there are corsairs raiding the Caladhrian Coast, enslaving villagers and devastating trade. Barons and merchants beg for magical aid, but all help has been refused so far.

Lady Zurenne's husband has been murdered by the corsairs. Now a man she doesn't even know stands as guardian over her and her daughters. Corrain, former captain and now slave, knows that the man is a rogue wizard, illegally selling his skills to the corsairs. If Corrain can escape, he'll see justice done. Unless the Archmage's magewoman, Jilseth, can catch the renegade first, before his disobedience is revealed and the scandal shatters the ruler's hold on power...

It's been a while since I read a Juliet E McKenna novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed the quintet of novels that made up The Tales of Einarinn, and felt it was long overdue picking up a new one. When I saw that Dangerous Waters was the start in a new series by McKenna, I thought this was a great chance to try this talented lady author again.

Dangerous Waters is a great example of traditional fantasy, from the faux Medieval setting and the corsairs and the mage powers. McKenna easily handles the various strands of story, as we follow Jilseth, Corrain and Lady Zurenne in their respective plotlines.

I particularly enjoyed the way that McKenna worked within the constricts of the societies she created. I've seen panels that McKenna has sat on during UK conventions and she is always very determined to see a good representation of women in speculative fiction. In this novel, we have the enjoyment of one women who is granted easily as much power as the men, in the form of magewoman Jilseth - in fact, Jilseth is particularly talented and has a fairly prominent position in her society. We also have Lady Zurenne, who is bound by her role in a male-dominated society - she has to work by devious means to attempt to wrest power from men after her husband is killed.

All the characters are deftly written, and, as ever, are a strength of McKenna's work.

Dangerous Waters is not dominated by battles, although there are some badass mage fights. Rather, it is political by nature - different realms clashing and presenting different ideas, some innovative and forward thinking, while some are deeply conservative. I particularly liked all of the scenes featuring the backbiting and division in the mage realm of Hadrumal - the heated discussions of whether the mages should involve themselves in events beyond the boundaries of their island.

I have to confess that, although this is the start of a new series, I felt a little lost while hearing about some of the realms and people involved since I suspect they feature heavily in McKenna's previous series for Solaris. Dangerous Waters can be read as an entry point to McKenna's work, but I do think that the reader will take more from this novel if they've tackled the Chronicles of the Lescarii Revolution.

In addition to this, Dangerous Waters sometimes felt a little... well, long for the plot contained therein. The novel is just under six hundred pages, and not all of it felt completely essential - but then, it is the first book in a series, so some of what I was reading might well be set-up for future instalments.

Altogether, Dangerous Waters is an entertaining slice of traditional fantasy. If you like your mages accompanied by a dose of political intrigue, then it would be well worth you picking up this book.

The Inheritance by Megan Lindholm/Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm are one and the same person but they are very different writers. The Inheritance is a collection of short novels, novellas and stories, some of which are based in Hobb’s popular universe of the Six Duchies. Before each of the stories, Lindholm/Hobb gives a small snippet of history as to how she came to write the piece and I loved this insight into her working process. I have read all of the novels written so far by Robin Hobb and thoroughly enjoyed them but this was my first experience at reading anything by Megan Lindholm. I would say that I’d be tentatively willing to pick up a Lindholm novel in the future but I do prefer her work as Hobb.

The three stories by Robin Hobb – strictly, one short story and two novellas – were the strongest part of this collection. In particular, I adored ‘Homecoming’, a tale about some of the first settlers into the Rain Wilds. Lady Carillion, a noblewoman betrayed by her husband, was strong and capable, a joy to read about. The tale of the misfit group becoming the seeds of a new civilisation was just long enough to allow me to truly immerse and gave me a strong desire to re-read the Liveship Trader trilogy.

The shorter tales from the pen of Lindholm were more of a mixed bag (as is the case, I generally find, with anthologies). ‘A Touch of Lavender’ was a quirky and very enjoyable story of aliens – beneath the surface there is a darker discussion on the nature of drug addiction and motherhood that gave this short a very powerful edge. ‘Strays’ was also fantastically written; the punky Lonnie is a great character and one I would welcome a longer piece about. I spent the whole story wondering about how Lonnie came to be the kind of person she is and why she takes such care over stray cats.

I did not, however, like ‘Silver Lady and the Fortyish Man’ a great deal. This story, Lindholm confesses, was written for her husband and I feel it should have remained a private matter between them. I’m sure that if I was privy to the couple’s in jokes, then this tale would have been more fun. As it was, it was whimsical but incredibly lightweight and didn’t leave much of an impression. I had the same feeling of dissatisfaction after finishing ‘The Fifth Squashed Cat’ and ‘Drum Machine’. Both of these stories felt as though Lindholm only had the grain of an idea that she hadn’t developed effectively into a complete tale.

The Inheritance is not the strongest anthology I have read and didn’t leave me desperate to pick up novels by Lindholm. However, fans of the Six Duchies work by Robin Hobb will find this chance to read more about the world extremely satisfying, while newcomers can pick it up very successfully as well. Cautiously recommended.

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that's true enough, but there's something worse out there in the dark. Much worse.

There has been much made of the fact that Prince of Thorns features a rapist as the main character, that it is far too dark and bloodthirsty, that it bears great similarity to Joe Abercrombie, that it objectifies women. I would dispute every one of these points. Every single one.

Prince of Thorns features a young boy as the protagonist, someone who offers his band of brothers "a different sort of treasure" to keep them sweet, someone who has raped women but only ever off screen. I've seen far, far worse occurrences of rape in novels - for heavens' sake, Steven Erikson has women raping the bodies of dead soldiers in Memories of Ice. Yes, there is rape - but nothing worse than presented in historical novels that I have read. When you have a marauding band of criminals, there will be raping and pillaging.

It is a dark and bloodthirsty novel, I would agree - but, once again, nothing that hasn't been done far worse before. It is grim at times for sure. However, I would argue that grimy fantasy is still flavour of the month, so Prince of Thorns should prove popular on this point.

Prince of Thorns bears very little similarity to Joe Abercrombie and absolutely none to George R R Martin - I'm surprised it was marketed in the slipstream of A Dance With Dragons. For me, Prince of Thorns shares more with Wolfsangel by M D Lachlan. It is basically the novel that Paul Hoffman of "The Left Hand of God" fame wishes that he had written. There are dreamlike sequences of necromancers (rather than witches, as with Wolfsangel), and there is a relativity with our world (as with The Left Hand of God).

And the woman thing. There ARE female characters in this novel. And they act independently of men. Men do not drive their story. In this respect, it was perfectly satisfactory. You cannot write a novel about a marauding band of brothers and try to include strong women who are the equal of the men; it doesn't fit the tone or the passage of the novel. I can't actually see why people have complained about this fact.

Now that I have refuted these claims, what did I think of the book? Prince of Thorns is readable, but, at the moment, not much more. I would be interested to read a sequel to see whether my personal issue can be addressed.

This issue is that I felt as though I was reading the outline of a novel. There were events in Prince of Thorns, but they felt slight and as though there should have been more involved. I was left dissatisfied by my reading experience because I felt as though Lawrence was fully capable of producing better, but hadn't fleshed out Prince of Thorns enough to achieve this.

With regards to the post-apocalyptic world - well, yay for not being yet another faux Medieval world. But DO MORE WITH IT! The world surrounding Jorg could have been interesting and unique. It could have been like nothing in any other fantasy world so far created. Instead, it felt stale and very, very underdeveloped.

Like I say, Prince of Thorns was readable. I liked certain characters very much, I enjoyed the structure and I would want to see more from Lawrence - but I do want to see a significant improvement on Prince of Thorns. A very tentative yes from me.

An A-Z of Urban Fantasy (N-Z!)

Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural elements. However, the stories can take place in historical, modern, or futuristic periods. The prerequisite is that they must be primarily set in a city.

The term 'urban fantasy' was somewhat stolen by the 'paranormal romance' subset of fantasy/horror - what used to be merely fantasy tales set in cities, such as Charles de Lint's marvellous Newford sequence, now became fantasy about kick ass heroines in leather with guns hunting vampires.

Whichever way you look at it, urban fantasy encompasses some of the finest novels committed to paper. Here is a handy guide taking you from A-Z.

This is the second part of my A-Z article - the first can be found HERE.

N - Neverwhere

My very favourite Neil Gaiman book, Neverwhere is very definitely an example of urban fantasy in the Charles de Lint mould - fantasy where the city takes on a true character. Check out the blurb:

Under the streets of London there's a world most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, and pale girls in black velvet. Richard Mayhew is a young businessman who is about to find out more than he bargained for about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his safe and predictable life and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and yet utterly bizarre. There's a girl named Door, an Angel called Islington, an Earl who holds Court on the carriage of a Tube train, a Beast in a labyrinth, and dangers and delights beyond imagining ... And Richard, who only wants to go home, is to find a strange destiny waiting for him below the streets of his native city.

The book actually came about as a result of the 1996 TV series that Neil Gaiman devised with Lenny Henry.

Neverwhere was first broadcast on BBC Two from September 12, 1996. There are six half-hour episodes:

Door
Knightsbridge
Earl's Court to Islington
Blackfriars
Down Street
As Above, So Below

O - Otherworld

When I talk about Otherworld, I could be referencing the various myths and legends across the world that encompass a world that is "other" - supernatural and strange. What I am actually talking about is the Women of the Otherworld series created by Kelley Armstrong, an absolute staple of the urban fantasy ouvre.

Kelley has so far written twelve novels, with various other short story collections and graphic novels. These novels stand out because Kelley has utilised various different character perspectives for each book, rather than sticking with the same characters.

P - Paranormal

The element that really defines urban fantasy as it is right now is the paranormal - the werewolves, the vampires, the witches, the magic, the demons, the fae... Paranormal romance is a term intertwined with urban fantasy, usually emphasising the relationship between the main characters more than the latter will.

Q - Quinn

Q is a really hard letter! I would welcome your suggestions, but I decided to go with Quinn - and then talk more about Sookie Stackhouse than Quinn (in a big ole cheat of a letter!) Quinn appears later on in the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris and gives me a handy excuse to showcase one of the very popular urban fantasy series. This series has received a spike in sales recently thanks to the success of the TV series True Blood, based on the Sookie novels.

They are quirky and generally light-hearted, and include some great male characters - including the aforementioned Quinn (although Eric is my favourite!)



R - Rivers of London

Ben Aaronovitch exploded onto the urban fantasy scene earlier this year with 'Rivers of London', described by some as Harry Potter meets Neverwhere (and released as Midnight Riot in the States). It garnered many favourable reviews, including mine, and has so far spawned an additional two novels in the series - Moon Over Soho and the forthcoming Whispers Under Ground.

S - Sex

Bit raunchy, this one, but you can't discuss urban fantasy these days without talking about the sex. Authors like Laurell K Hamilton, Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine Harris etc all include strong sex scenes in their novels. Of them all, Laurell K has gone down the strangest route, with strong S&M themes, furries, snuff and rain making all now crowding the pages of her novels.

Personally I like a good sex scene, but sometimes it goes a little far in urban fantasy!

And, no, you're not getting any images for this entry!

T - Tattoos

Writinghood came up with a list of urban fantasy cliches, and front and centre was the issue with tattoos:

And while we’re talking about the cover model, what is up with the idea that the woman must always be wearing the same type of clothing (belly-baring or bra-as-shirt and low-rise jeans) and always be covered in tattoos? If we have read more than one urban fantasy series, we get that she’s supposed to be tough. Not to mention, if these tattoos have no significance to the novel ( such as, they don’t serve as a connection to the supernatural, or they aren’t a mark or calling card), they really aren’t necessary.

Read more: http://writinghood.com/writing/urban-fantasy-cliches/#ixzz1W8HOuCQR

Luckily, we are now getting some urban fantasy novels where the tattoos provide a crucial part of the plot, key amongst them the Hunter's Kiss trilogy by Marjorie M Liu:

In addition to this, some of our heroines from urban fantasy are taking back tattoos from the mainstream - making it as ballsy and original a habit as it used to be, such as Stacia Kane's heroine Chess:

I also want to give a shout out to Blood Rights, coming soon from Orbit, where the main character bears the marks on her body of a comarré - a race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility.

U - Urban Settings

Yep, we've already mentioned London. Here are some other awesome urban settings, from the imaginary to the very real.

Stacia Kane - The Downside, part of Triumph City (fictional, but based on an American City)
Kelley Armstrong - Toronto (real!)
Laurell K Hamilton - St Louis (real!)
Jim Butcher - Chicago (real!)
Tanya Huff Blood series - Toronto (popular place)
Kim Harrison - Cincinnati

Pretty much every major urban fantasy series will have a very strong sense of place, and describe the city in depth, which adds to the feel of the novels.

V - Vampires

From the feral and mindless, to the sleek and courtly, vampires have found their way into urban fantasy by the bucketload. One of my favourite characters is Jean-Claude (although he has become toothless in recent novels compared to his restrained hunger from the early Anita Blake novels).

I like vampires still, but I have found they've become ubiquitous to urban fantasy novels. The list of those who still include them would run to many, and it can get a little dull which, I suspect, is why there has been a move away from vampires to tackle other supernatural beings.

Vampires have been around since the writing of Dracula and even prior to that, and I don't see them going away entirely any time soon!

W - Werewolves

From one creature to another. We've seen a rise in popularity of werewolves as well, in recent times, and it is odd how many times how heroine has to pick between a werewolf and a vampire in a love triangle! Probably because of how very different their natures are...

Here is a selection of the novels available featuring werewolves:

- Wolf Moon by Charles de Lint
- Blood Trail by Tanya Huff (second in the Blood series)
- The Anita Blake series (from the second novel onwards)
- Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (second in the Dresden files)
- Bitten by Kelley Armstrong (first in the Women of the Otherworld series)
- Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn
- Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
- Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
- The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
- Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar

X - X-Files

Alright, so X is hard as well - and this only loosely fits under urban fantasy. But there were a number of X-Files episodes that dealt with urban fantasy i.e. folklore and fairytales that occurred in cities. I would include the character of Tooms under this definition (still one of the ONLY things to freak me out and give me nightmares!)

For me, the X Files helped to establish the idea of supernatural and investigative work going hand in hand.

Y - YA Urban Fantasy

For me, since Twilight (yes, it can be argued this is paranormal romance rather than urban fantasy, as one of the commentators to the previous A-Z post pointed out, but I class them rather under the same banner since they're so hard to segregate), there has been an explosion of novels that could be deemed YA Urban Fantasy.

I'm talking about series like the House of Night, like Blue Bloods, like Vampire Academy. They take urban fantasy back a stage, so that there is much less sex and more wondering about whether a boy likes you (and, of course, whether he is a vampire!)

This books can be identified in book stores by the black covers, the beautiful cover models in flowing dresses, the dark fantasy aspect of them. Some bookstores now have separate sections altogether for this explosion of category.

Z - Zombies

Again, this is a tenuous link at best, thanks to the difficulty of the letter. If anyone with good knowledge of urban fantasy would like to pitch in and suggest something else, then please do!

For this, I would say that the Anita Blake novels do feature zombies on occasion, and novels like I Am Legend take place in a city, so technically urban fantasy... Yep, I'm scraping the barrel!

So, there you have it! My A-Z of Urban Fantasy! Please do chip in with your own suggestions, and don't forget to check out the rest of my A-Z series!

The Office of Lost and Found by Vincent Holland-Keen

Thomas Locke can find anything. You know the hurricane that hit a while back? Word is he found the butterfly that started it. So, when a desperate Veronica Drysdale hires Locke to find her missing husband, it makes perfect sense.

Except the world of Thomas Locke doesn't make sense. It puts monsters under the bed, makes stars fall from the sky and leads little children to worship the marvels of road-works.

This world also hides from Veronica a past far darker and stranger than she could ever have imagined. To learn the truth, Veronica is going to have to lose everything.

And that's where Locke’s shadowy business partner Lafarge comes in…

I think I can count on one hand the times I've been unable to finish reading a book. It happens incredibly rarely, since I'm generally stubborn enough to push through and find out what happens at the end. Unfortunately, The Office of Lost and Found by Vincent Holland-Keen is one of those rare books.

I couldn't complete this not because of the premise (which was kooky and interesting) and not because of the writing (which tended towards being pretty good). The reason I couldn't finish The Office of Lost and Found is because I read up to 30% completed on my Kindle - a fair proportion of the book - and did not have a single clue what was happening. Not one clue. I notice other reviewers have said that it is a confusing read and you need to stick with it, but I simply couldn't keep details straight in my head.

I think part of the problem with this is the structure of the novel - it jumps back and forth, it seems to contain little short stories within the overall arc of the novel, it plays around with time. Fine, if you can keep up. But I was bemused and, ultimately, frustrated by my efforts.

Try The Eloquent Page for a different take on The Office of Lost and Found - they loved it. It just wasn't for me.

The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale

Bruno Littlemore: linguist, artist, philosopher. A life defined by a soaring mind, yet bound by a restrictive body. Born in downtown Chicago, Bruno's precocity pulls him from an unremarkable childhood, and under the tuition of Lydia, his intellect dazzles a watching world. But when he and his mentor fall in love, the world turns on them with outrage: Bruno is striving to be something he is not, and denying everything that he is. For despite his all too human complexities, dreams and frailties, Bruno's hairy body, flattened nose and jutting brow are, undeniably, the features of a chimpanzee.

The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore was published back in April, and caused nary a splash as it hit an unsuspecting public. I've seen very few reviews and not many discussion points concerning this novel. It's not been put onto any longlists or shortlists that I'm aware of, and Benjamin Hale has not been feted as one of the bravest debut novelists of recent times.

In my opinion, The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore should have exploded into people's consciousness. It should have been reviewed by people who admire both contemporary/literary works and those who appreciate a more speculative bent to their fiction.

I can't even point to a particular reason why it didn't perform as well as it should have. Possibly because this is a large brick of a debut novel, and people these days don't like to put out cash on an unrecognised name. Possibly because the subject matter is so bizarre and, at times, outright taboo.

For me, The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore was virtually as challenging a read as comes along. It challenged my perceptions of what it means to be human. It challenged my ideas of science versus art. It shocked me into laughter at times. At other points I was curling my lip in disgust and reading the novel through eyes blinkered by societal norms. This is a bolshy, brazen novel that does not shy away from that final step into offensiveness and darkness.

Bruno is the very definition of an unreliable narrator. He is telling his story to "Gwen", who remains off-screen for the duration of the tale. Everything we find out about Bruno himself and the life he leads is coloured by his own neurosis, arrogance and self-loathing. He is frustrating, witty, compassionate, rambling and often incredibly difficult to read about. Apart from the fact that you spend much of the novel suspending disbelief about the very nature of Bruno and his relationship with Lydia, sometimes Bruno can also be pretty bloody unlikeable. But he is a magnetic narrator, and I remained mesmerised by his story almost all the way through.

I say "almost", because sometimes The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore descends into a rambling mess. Sometimes it feels pretentious. Sometimes the language was wilfully difficult to process - beyond purple prose. When it touches the heights of its prose, though, it is difficult to imagine a better novel. It defies belief that this is a debut novel.

I admired particularly the level of intellect and discussion present in The Evolution of... such as the following passage:

"I hope that the future's scholars of dramaturgy (if indeed such people will exist in the future) will recognise that I, Bruno Littlemore, was the first actor to realise that the role of Caliban should be played through an evolutionary perspective. While I understand The Tempest was first performed in 1612, a good two and a half centuries before the publications of Charles Darwin, on closely studying the text, I find it hard to believe that Shakespeare was not in some way anachronistically informed and even influenced by The Origin of the Species. Time perhaps is not as uninterestingly linear as we imagine, Gwen. Shakespeare was at the very least a clear premonition of his future fellow Englishman. I even go so far as to imagine that the ship in The Tempest is the Beagle, and Prospero's island, Galapagos."

When it was applied in the following passage, it made me snort with laughter:

"We watched the cartoons that take eternal pursuit as their theme: both the amorous pursuit of lover and beloved [...] as well as the violent pursuit of predator and prey: Coyote and Road Runner, Sylvester and Tweety, Tom and Jerry...all that mythic pursuit! - the endless flux of the chase, the magnetic push-and-pull of aggression and defense, of repulsion and desire!...perhaps the true spirit of myth - of Echo and Narcissus, of Achilles and Hector - survives for us, in its pure form, only in cartoons."

So, how to conclude my thoughts on this novel? Probably to say that The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore is more than good enough for you to spend money on. Probably also to say that if you were to buy only one more novel this year, you should make it this. It is dark, brave, satirical and surprisingly tender and moving. The story of Bruno Littlemore demands patience and attention, but it is worth every minute.

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

Daine's knack with horses gets her a job helping the royal horsemistress drive a herd of ponies to Tortall. Soon it becomes clear that Daine's talent, as much as she struggles to hide it, is downright magical. Horses and other animals not only obey, but listen to her words. Daine, though, will have to learn to trust humans before she can come to terms with her powers, her past, and herself.

Wild Magic begins the second quartet featuring the land of Tortall. Although there are some familiar names in this novel - cameos from the Alanna quartet, such as Alanna herself, Jonathan and Thayet, George - a newcomer to the Tortall world could start here with absolutely no problems.

The level of reading is eight plus, I'd say. There are occasional moments of violence, as you'd expect from events in a feudal country that is beginning to descend into war, but nothing that I'd be worried about a younger reader encountering.

Wild Magic is a very good novel in terms of feminism. The central character, Daine, is living her life without any direction from a man. She is independent, stubborn, loyal and simply fantastic to read about. Within the novel you also have the Riders, a military force that accepts women. The Queen of Tortall, Thayet, is easily the equal of Jonathan (the King) and shares all the duties of the monarchy. Thayet and Buri helped to create the Riders, and still assist with the instruction of the new trainees. And, of course, Alanna is the Lady Knight. In every walk of life, in every instance, Tamora Pierce introduces a world where sex is not important when considering what is achievable. The men and the women are equals in every respect. This, for me, is an exceptionally healthy attitude to bring to a novel that younger readers will enjoy. I only wish there was more enduring and potent feminist fantasy fiction like this.

Alongside this feminist angle, Wild Magic's principle 'lesson' is that people can be accepted, no matter their background or beliefs. I would be very happy if my daughter or niece (or son or nephew) were reading this take on life. It is a strong message, and one that can't be taught too soon.

The plot within Wild Magic is very much an introductory piece - we come to know Daine and the people around her, principally, but there are hints towards what is to come in the other three books of the quartet. (Interestingly, Tamora Pierce has celebrated J K Rowling's impact on the world of children's and YA fiction, in terms of making publishers realise that books don't need to always be 200 pages or less. She says that, if the Daine quartet were published nowadays, it would be a duology instead). Wild Magic can be read as a complete story, but you would miss much of the overall plot if you didn't then move onto Wolf Speaker.

Pierce's greatest strength when writing is a real ear for dialogue. A book can falter, no matter how strong the story is, if the dialogue feels stilted and unrealistic. Here, it is easy to speak the dialogue aloud, and have it sound as though real people would be saying it, including the little idiosyncrasies of speech and differences in dialect.

Wild Magic would find great favour with girls who love horses as well. Daine owns (or, rather, is the human of) a pony called Cloud, and she gains a job looking after the horses of the Riders.

Personally, I love this story because it's pure old-fashioned magic and adventure, with a dash of mythology. The characters are collectively incredibly strong, and make you want to read on to find out more about them. The animal aspect - and Daine's wild magic - is just the icing on the cake, as far as I'm concerned.

I marvel a little at the fact that Tamora Pierce's novels about Tortall aren't more popular, in all honesty. They are, above all, fun, and I would encourage you to immediately seek them out, if you haven't already tried them. Wild Magic is a great place to start your journey.

Which Fantasy Books Will Still Be Popular in 50 Years?

So, NPR have released their tallied list of the best fantasy and science fiction books EVAH, as voted for by the public, and, whaddaya know? The Lord of the Rings takes the top spot. Again. *yawn*

I've had a bit of a storm about this on Twitter and Facebook, but I won't bore you with how dull I find the book, how unimaginative I think it is that we're still putting this at number one.

A lot of people are telling me that it's only number one because it's the most well-known, been read by more people and has been around the longest. Personally, that doesn't seem a great reason for voting a book to a "BEST" placing, but.... *shrug*

Consequently, I am opening the floor to you knowledgeable lot.

If this poll is conducted again in 50 years' time, which fantasy book would you put at the top of the list from now? Which book do you think has enduring value? I'm not playing the silly NPR game and putting series as one entry - you're only allowed ONE book title. And please give reasons!

Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings

Legends told of how the evil God Torak had coveted the power of the Orb of Aldur, until defeated in a final battle. But prophecy spoke of a time when he would awake and again seek dominance over all the world. Now the Orb had been stolen by a priest of Torak, and that time was at hand.

The master Sorcerer Belgarath and his daughter Polgara were on the trail of the Orb, seeking to regain it before the final disaster. And with them went Garion, a simple farm boy only months before, but now in the focus of the struggle. He had never believed in sorcery and wanted no part of it. Yet with every league they travelled, the power grew in him, forcing him to acts of wizardry he could not accept.

Thus continues Book Two of the Belgariad.

I really really like the David Eddings books, and they were where I properly started out reading in the fantasy genre, back when I was thirteen or so. I adore them and have read them time and again. However, Queen of Sorcery is far from the strongest entry in the Belgariad, and this time during my re-read it was very hard to prevent myself seeing the many faults. I still love the whole series, but struggle with this particular book.

One problem I have is the character of Garion. With all the (many, many, many) clues that are dropped we know already that he is destined for greatness. Even if it wasn't prophesied, the fact that he is distantly related to Polgara and Belgarath should mean that he is something out of the ordinary. And yet this clever boy (it is pointed out a number of times in the text that he has a great deal of intelligence) is completely oblivious to what might be coming to pass. I really struggle to comprehend how this could be.

Sticking with Garion for now, Eddings (in this book) employs the tactic of "tell, don't show". We are told that Garion is seeking vengeance for the murder of his parents. And then the matter is dropped entirely until he meets said murderer and then Eddings reminds us that Garion is mightily annoyed at this person. That sense of hatred should have been carried through the novel in a better manner and shown through Garion's actions.

Other than Garion, the other characters irritated me more than pleased me in this outing. Barak and Silk are very interesting and entertaining characters. Silk, in particular, is a complicated little fellow - and I could have stood to see much more character development, and motivations for their following Belgarath (apart from being told to!) Instead we are introduced to yet more characters who seem to have absolutely no reason to be on-page at all, such as Lelldorin. He turns up, he shoots a few arrows, he tells Garion about a plot to kill the king, and then he is left behind with a near-fatal injury. Why? And the trip across Arendia seemed futile, including a scene in the Arendish throne-room that felt incredibly repetitive after a *very* similar scene in book one of the series, in the Cherek throne-room.

Speaking of Arendia and Cherek - isn't it useful for the reader that you can completely recognise where a character is from by their appearances and foibles? Chereks all have bristling beards, drink ale and hold grudges (dwarves, anyone?), while the Algar are all brilliant horsemen, with flowing scalp locks. And so it continues across every race of man. This just seemed far too lazy on the part of the world-builder - it makes a novel far more interesting when race is not so heavily defined.

The story itself suffers somewhat from middle book syndrome - we are still gathering characters together, and discovering the overall arc of the plot. There is a lot of travelogue-style fiction - namely, wandering around from place to place and having episodic adventures.

And we have the PROPHECY and the VOICE. Neither of these plot points were in Pawn of Prophecy at all (despite the title) and it feels as though Eddings felt they would be good additions to the overall story. I know this isn't so, thanks to reading The Rivan Codex, a novel where Eddings describes how long it took him to develop the world and story, but it reads as such. Suddenly we hear about the prophecy about Torak rising again, and the Tolnedran princess who will marry the returned Rivan King.

As a personal preference I find prophecy to be a very tired device (maybe it wasn't when the Belgariad was written, but it just creates such innate plot problems). It takes away all freewill from the characters and is essentially one big deus ex machina if the author gets into any problems - "oh, that happened because the prophecy said it needed to..." Add to this the 'dry voice' that speaks in Garion's mind - "don't mind me, I've always been here, I can show you how to use the magic you never knew you had etc etc." Again, a very cliched manner of moving the plot along - need to explain to a dense boy what is going on? Use the mysterious internal voice that is never adequately explained....

So, rather scathing all round. The thing is, this book is essential reading in the quintology that makes up The Belgariad. You can't really skip it, unless you've read these books before. And, well, it's Eddings - the prose is still smooth and very readable, the dialogue is still amusing and sometimes very touching. I LOVE Eddings. But this one, I'm afraid, was a wee bit of a struggle.

A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must... and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty. The old gods have no power in the south, Stark's family is split, and there is treachery at court. Worse, a vengeance-mad boy has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities beyond the sea. Heir of the mad Dragon King deposed by Robert, he claims the Iron Throne.

I first read A Game of Thrones back in 2000, and since then I think I have read it a further five times. I would not re-read a book that I did not love and yet this time around the experience reading A Game of Thrones was a bitter one.

I still loved it. Yet, at the same time, I hated it. For what is held up to be the epitome of epic fantasy, A Game of Thrones felt much more like horror. Dark scenes set to shock, the dead walking, and points in the story where you wanted to wish it all away and quit reading. A Game of Thrones takes a strong stomach to read - and a will of steel.

In the dictionary, the definition of 'grim' should show A Game of Thrones. It is relentlessly dark, grim and terrifying. There is little to cheer about, little to laugh about.

I compared, in my mind, A Game of Thrones to Gardens of the Moon - both are very dark and gritty epic fantasy, but Gardens of the Moon shows real flashes of mordant humour. In later books, Erikson explores slapstick comedy, outright belly-laughs, exchanges between characters that cause chuckles. If you look for it, the Malazan series has laughs-aplenty, which help to break up the tragedy and grim darkness of the rest of the books. A Game of Thrones does not. I searched for the humour. I was told that Tyrion Lannister would provide humour, and perhaps Arya Stark. But there was nothing that made me laugh - and all too much that made me cry.

Also, when a novel tells a tale from multiple viewpoints, it lives and dies by the choice of those viewpoints. Some of them I raced through, gulped up compulsively and was desperate to read more. Some of the viewpoints I plodded through and wished would end. Catelyn Stark was one of the latter. I know people say she is a formidable female protagonist, but I disliked her manipulation and her crazy actions against Tyrion Lannister. She was so blinkered and failed, for me, as a major character. Her sister, however, was worse - Lysa Stark deserved booting from the Moon Door.

By far my favourite parts of the book involved Jon Snow on the Wall as part of the Night Watch. The Others were suitably creepy and nasty, with those starry blue eyes, and I just wanted to know more and more and MORE about what was happening beyond the wall. The feeling of foreboding I had during the entire novel intensified incredibly when I thought about the vast expanse of the wall left unguarded.

Martin is a very clever writer. The use of different viewpoints kept the pace of the novel moving at an incredible speed, because the reader wants to continue reading to find out what happens to favourite characters. I did find the constant cliffhanger endings very artificial, however, and it seemed as though Martin did not trust the quality of his prose or characters to keep the reader turning the pages.

He is also clever in giving us characters on both sides of the conflict within the Seven Kingdoms who we end up liking best. For me, I like Jon, Ned, Arya and Tyrion. I have a grudging admiration for Jaime. I do NOT like Sansa, Catelyn, Cersei or Joffrey. It means that the reader is able to understand why some actions might come to pass, and how this conflict escalated into an inevitable war. It is fitting that A Game of Thrones is based somewhat upon the War of the Roses, another conflict where there were good and honourable people to be found on both sides.

I still like A Game of Thrones - but I no longer love it the way I used to. I need more than the horror that I am presented with here. I need less of the darkness and more of the humour and light. I'm not saying I'm solely a David Eddings girl, where no one is allowed to die, good always wins out and the bad guys can be recognised by their black armour. But neither do I fall right at the other end of the spectrum, inhabited by GRRM and others of his ilk. Unrelenting grim is not my style, and I found myself more depressed and horror struck by the events of A Game of Thrones than joyful. I want to know how the story ends. I will read more. But I shall ensure that I have a VERY light book lined up to read immediately afterwards!