tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22287965206872208412024-03-13T03:13:01.766+00:00Graeme's SFFGraeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.comBlogger351125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-15434948704553004632014-10-29T02:00:00.000+00:002014-10-29T02:00:01.327+00:00Adventures in Charity Shops, an occasional series…<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2241">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2240"><b>Warning</b>: <i>This post isn't as exciting as the title makes it look. Anyone who used to watch 'Mr Benn' as a kid should pay particular attention to this warning...</i> </span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2240">If
I found ten pounds on the floor (oh I wish I could find ten pounds on
the floor…) you would see me heading off to either a charity shop or
second hand book shop to see what I could find. I don't have anything
against Waterstones etc but as I've got older I find myself drawn to
slightly less obvious places to find my books. I could stay out of
Waterstones for weeks and still be able to tell you what's on the
shelves, almost book for book. Oxfam and the British Heart Foundation
shop (amongst others) though? Not a clue and that's what I love about
book shopping in these places; I have no idea about what I'll find until
I find it. How cool is that? Much better than going into a bookshop
with a 'get in, get the book and get out' plan in mind. Where's the fun
in that? I'm all about browsing these days, how about you?</span></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2241">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2262">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2261">Yesterday
say me take a little wander up Bromley High Street in search of a
couple of 'Horus Heresy' books, that I fancy reading again, but also
with an eye open for anything that stood out. Little did I realise that
by the time I got back to my desk my Fantasy Masterworks collection
would have grown by one and I'd have my own copy of a sci-fi classic
that I hadn't read since high school. Have a look at the picture,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<br />
</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwAm1myzrxCs2SPeNzd8jJ3lkjvQwY7kV5Z2XxK9O1iIJDBxBD6L9j77jypEBzO2MxfMsduJVrxFgZukyViSj6LCwPKCVPKrwlHy6-TUWHcbsSsu-boRgBOlzsbCruAFqTBvoPvzMCsuG/s1600/20141028_141208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwAm1myzrxCs2SPeNzd8jJ3lkjvQwY7kV5Z2XxK9O1iIJDBxBD6L9j77jypEBzO2MxfMsduJVrxFgZukyViSj6LCwPKCVPKrwlHy6-TUWHcbsSsu-boRgBOlzsbCruAFqTBvoPvzMCsuG/s1600/20141028_141208.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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</span></span><br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2263">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2264">'Voice
of Our Shadow' is a book where I'm actually really glad that I never
found a copy of the Masterwork edition. It's slightly defaced (thanks to
an overly sticky price tag…) but look at that bird and how well drawn
it is, much more detailed than the Masterworks edition (Google it). I've
been looking for a spooky book to read on Halloween and it's currently a
tie between this and Joe Hill's 'N0S4R2'.</span></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2263">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2266">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2265">The
last time I read 'Fahrenheit 451' was way back in high school, possibly
for GCSE but more likely because I absolutely tore through the sci-fi
shelves in our school library. It was either that or play football and
have you ever seen me play football? Reading sci-fi it was then… I've
got vague memories of a hard going old read, I'll be interested to see
if my mind changes now.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2267">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414538567963_2268">So,
charity shops all the way then in terms of amazing surprise book finds
:o) Please feel free to use the comments bit to tell me about anything
cool that you've found in a charity shop recently. Just so long as it
isn't 'Know No Fear', that was the book I was looking for and I'll get
all jealous if you've bought that already...</span></span></span></div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-29139304361991027312014-10-25T01:30:00.000+01:002014-10-25T01:30:00.173+01:00'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Trailer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/tmeOjFno6Do?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
I know the whole internet has seen this already but it is still awesome enough to post all over again. How many days to go until we can see the whole thing...?<br />
<br />
And as a bonus, here's the 'Honest Trailer' for 'X-Men: Days of Future Past', just because it made me laugh. You're welcome :o)<br />
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<br />Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-62687562826818874712014-10-24T01:30:00.000+01:002014-10-24T01:30:00.819+01:00'The Flame Knife' - Robert E. Howard & L. Sprague de Camp<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2211">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2210" style="font-size: small;">Well,
I was going to try and break things up a little bit but if I'm being
absolutely honest, 'The Flame Knife' looked like another quick read that
would give me time to get in a couple of extra games of 'Frozen Free
Fall' before I got to work. I've been filling up my phone with 'Frozen'
stuff just recently, Hope is really into it (that's my excuse and I'm
sticking to it), and some of the apps I've found are a real testament to
just how far developers will go to jam an idea into a concept. I can
just about get my head around the whole 'look after baby Ana and Elsa'
app (cos' they were babies once upon a time) but the 'stitch up the
large gash on Ana's face' app…? Nope, me neither. Hope loves it though,
she's bloodthirsty like that…</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2211">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2230">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2229" style="font-size: small;">But, 'The Flame Knife'…</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2230">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2229" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2231">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2232" style="font-size: small;">A
little digging (thanks 'Conan Wiki'!) revealed that 'The Flame Knife'
was originally an El Borak tale that De Camp reworked (extensively too)
into a 'new' Howard story for publication in 1955. This feels more than a
little harsh to me; poor El Borak and poor everyone else who thought
that they were getting a brand new tale. It's not as if the tale was
worked from a fragment either, it's a re-jigging of something that was
already doing the rounds. Like I said, poor El Borak… I couldn't help
but have this at the back of my mind while I was reading 'The Flame
Knife' which is a bit of a shame because it's a very entertaining read.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2231">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2234">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2233"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2235">Now
leader of a group of kozaki, Conan, on the run from the displeased king
of Iranistan, finds himself in the demon-infested mountain ranges of
Drujistan where he discovers a hidden city and the secrets of the
cultish Hidden Ones. </span></i></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2234">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2237">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2236" style="font-size: small;">The
danger of following one 'Conan' review with another 'Conan' review is
that you don't really leave yourself with room to say anything new;
especially when the second tale is written by the same author who wrote
the first one. You don't have to feel sorry for me or anything but,
well… Maybe feel a little bit sorry for me. It's a tough line to walk
though. The length of 'The Flame Knife' gives De Camp more room to
explore the world of Conan and the reader gets to follow Conan through
some gloriously bleak desert landscapes as a result. Or is it El Borak?
I'll stop with that now…</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2237">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2238">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414101549702_2239" style="font-size: small;">Whoever
and whatever, 'The Flame Knife' has all the hallmarks of a classic
Conan tale; more than likely because Howard's hand is more evident in
the proceedings rather than 'just being the muse' as he was for 'Black
Tears'. All the usual ingredients are there (I loved the bit with the
obligatory huge monster that Conan has to defeat) but there just seems
to be more zest and energy to the proceedings. As it happened, I ended
up giving 'Frozen Free Fall' a miss so I could finish reading 'The Flame
Knife' and that says it all really (given that my attention span has
shrunk to the size of my phone screen). 'The Flame Knife' can be found
in 'Conan the Wanderer'. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-21651493752804647642014-10-23T01:30:00.000+01:002014-10-23T23:04:08.500+01:00'Black Tears' - L.Sprague De Camp & Lin Carter<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3102">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3101" style="font-size: small;">Me: "Hey blog, how's it going?"</span><span style="font-size: small;">
<br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3105">Blog: "…"</span>
<br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3107">Me: "Come
on, don't be like that. You know how the last couple of weeks have been;
the only books I managed to read were for the kids bedtime and I
couldn't exactly post about 'Snugglebunny' could I?"</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3125">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3124" style="font-size: small;">Blog: *Accusing Face*</span><span style="font-size: small;">
<br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3128">Me: "No, just no. As brilliant as 'Snugglebunny' is, it has no business being on a genre blog."</span>
<br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3130">Blog: *sniff*</span>
<br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3132">Me: "I know
you're upset but I managed to do a little reading on the bus this
morning and it was 'Conan'. We both like 'Conan' don't we?"</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3134">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3136" style="font-size: small;">Blog: *Hopeful Eyes*</span><span style="font-size: small;">
<br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3138">Me: "Lets
post something about that and see where we go next. I've got some David
Gemmell to read and the new Sam Sykes is looking pretty promising as
well. It's going to be good, I promise."</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3141">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3140" style="font-size: small;">Blog: *Slighty Teary Smile*</span><span style="font-size: small;">
<br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3144">Me: "Come on, lets do it."</span></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3141">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3144"> </span></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3147">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3146" style="font-size: small;">Now
the slightly awkward reconciliation is out of the way (I'm sorry you
had to see that…) lets get on with business. A little while ago, I
picked up a load of old 'Conan' paperbacks so I could get other writers
takes on the iconic barbarian. Most of what I've had a chance to read so
far is by De Camp and Carter, both of whom played a large part in
keeping Robert E. Howard's Work in print, be it completed stories or
fragments.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3147">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">From my own limited knowledge (correct me if I'm
wrong guys), 'Black Tears' is an original piece by De Camp and Carter
that fills in one of the many gaps that appear between Howard's own
tales. There's clearly a lot of fertile ground here to really bring
Conan to life but it's up in the air as to whether De Camp and Carter
actually manage it. 'Black Tears' is a solid enough read but…</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3150">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3149" style="font-size: small;">'Black
Tears' has Conan pursuing a traitor into the desert after foiling an
ambush by a Turanian army. What lies at the heart of the desert is so
fearsome that Conan's Zuagir tribesmen would rather drug him and flee
than face it themselves. Not only a traitor awaits in the city of Akhlat
the Accursed, there is also a demon that prophecy says only Conan can
kill…</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3150">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Like I said to the blog just now, 'Black Tears'
was a tale that I read over the course of one bus journey with more than
enough happening to keep my interest. I'm not sure of the thought
process that led Conan to kill the demon at the end (it's not a spoiler,
everyone knows how Conan stories have to end…) but there's a lot of
power behind these scenes to pull you past those moments of doubt just
before you realise that they are there. Sword fights, beautiful women
and a monster to be killed; it's a typical Conan story and this
realisation casts its own shadow over the tale.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Conan is Howard's own creation and once you read
Howard's stories, you realise that all any other writers can do is
borrow Conan for a while before putting him back where he belongs. If
you follow the formula then you are 'aping' Howard but if you don't
follow the formula you have the shadow of a master storyteller hanging
over you; a shadow that it's pretty much impossible to emerge from
(especially if you have borrowed arguably his greatest creation). Karl
Edward Wagner came closest to achieving that impossible goal, with 'The
Road of Kings', but he didn't quite make it; De Camp and Carter appear
to opt for playing it safe and are quiet happy to sit under that shadow
in the meantime. That's fair enough but Conan is a character who's never
afraid to take a chance, it would be nice to see a writer/writers who
would do the same.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maybe it's unfair to ask that though. Maybe we
should just be happy that there are writers out there who were prepared
to try and give us a little more of something amazing, even if they were
never quite going to manage it. I don't know what that means for future
posts here about Conan stories, I have a few still to read, I think
I'll probably just enjoy them for what they are and post 'as and when'.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1414010623646_3164">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you want
to read 'Black Tears' you can find it in old copies of 'Conan the
Wanderer' or Orbit's (not quite as old but still getting on a bit) 'The
Conan Chronicles 2'.</span></span></div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-78075942745902429712014-10-10T16:07:00.003+01:002014-10-10T16:07:48.659+01:00'The Old Scale Game' (From 'The Very Best of Tad Williams' - Tachyon Press)<span style="line-height: normal;">I'm always a little bit wary of titles like 'The Best of', 'The Very Best</span><span style="line-height: normal;">of…', 'Even Better than the Very Best of…' (well, you know what I mean)</span><span style="line-height: normal;">because it always feels like the book is either setting itself up for a</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">fall or, perhaps even worse, setting the reader for a fall. It's a nice </span><span style="line-height: normal;">thing to put in a title but it just feels like asking for trouble. Even </span><span style="line-height: normal;">with a writer like Tad Williams, I found myself looking at the table of</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">contents and thinking to myself, 'No 'The Burning Man'? Really?'</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">It's a good thing then that this particular book is all about work by Tad </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Williams because even if it's missing a favourite or two you're still </span><span style="line-height: normal;">pretty certain of coming across some very good storytelling. I've said it </span><span style="line-height: normal;">before and I'll say it again, I'm a fan (so take my words as you will) but </span><span style="line-height: normal;">it's hard not to be when the quality of what I've read is so consistent and</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">also that Williams is prepared to turn his hand to anything. I came to Tad </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Williams through his 'Osten Ard' books and, as a result, I've always kept </span><span style="line-height: normal;">an eye open for anything of his that is fantasy based. Not only was 'The </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Old Scale Game' the first tale in the collection but it has dragons and all </span><span style="line-height: normal;">sorts of monsters in its eighteen pages. I was sold right from the start.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">'The Old Scale Game' takes a simple premise and shows the reader what could </span><span style="line-height: normal;">happen if a scheme is a little* too* successful and everyone wants in on </span><span style="line-height: normal;">it. What originally begins as a 'one man, one dragon' operation leads to </span><span style="line-height: normal;">any number of mythical beasts wanting to get involved, resulting in </span><span style="line-height: normal;">depression and spiralling alcoholism for one of the original conspirators. </span><span style="line-height: normal;">I found myself in the position where I couldn't help but feel a little </span><span style="line-height: normal;">sorry for Guldhogg and Sir Blivet, even though a blatant lack of </span><span style="line-height: normal;">forethought had led them to this in the first place. Everything works out </span><span style="line-height: normal;">though (it had to, given the note of gently humour that runs through the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">piece) and all credit to Williams for taking a thoroughly twentieth century </span><span style="line-height: normal;">concept and having it sit very comfortably in a tenth century setting </span><span style="line-height: normal;">(although if the reader is asked to believe in dragons then it's not a huge </span><span style="line-height: normal;">leap to believe in a dragon that… that would be telling).</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">I'm still not sold on the title of this collection but I bought 'The Very </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Best of Tad Williams' with the sole intention of having a lot of fun with </span><span style="line-height: normal;">the stories inside. 'The Old Scale Game' ended up being a great way to kick</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">that off (I knew it would).</span>Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-81596873252931150162014-10-08T06:42:00.001+01:002014-10-08T06:42:46.984+01:00'The Free' - Brian Ruckley (Orbit) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Dc-CCa2_sGa30XEDGDZhvxQwsgAmgXQ_9cylLaiGTaZZsvm53ilKWr14C3jmRxycuBMYO4CddOnbPYlehGCZgDbzTKXZdv85kZY7TN8grLEFxj1tsF2YFqIzoqjR-scBkyjKfgiH4UzH/s1600/The-Free-Cover-gif.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Dc-CCa2_sGa30XEDGDZhvxQwsgAmgXQ_9cylLaiGTaZZsvm53ilKWr14C3jmRxycuBMYO4CddOnbPYlehGCZgDbzTKXZdv85kZY7TN8grLEFxj1tsF2YFqIzoqjR-scBkyjKfgiH4UzH/s1600/The-Free-Cover-gif.jpg" height="400" width="260" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2276">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2291">They are the most feared mercenary company the kingdom has ever known. </span>
<br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2277">Led by
Yulan, their charismatic captain, the Free have spent years selling
their martial and magical skills to the highest bidder - winning
countless victories that shook the foundations of the world. Now they
finally plan to lay down their swords.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></i><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2279">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2278">Yet
when Yulan is offered a final contract, he cannot refuse - for the
mission offers him the chance to erase the memories of the Free's
darkest hour, which have haunted him for years.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></i><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2287">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2288">As
The Free embark on their last mission, a potent mix of loyalty and
vengeance is building to a storm. Freedom, it seems, carries a deadly
price.</span></span></i></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2287">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2285">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2286">I
can't remember why I never carried on with Ruckley's 'Godless World'
books after thoroughly enjoying 'Winterbirth'; somehow the time was
never quite right I guess. The premise of 'The Edinburgh Dead' never
quite appealed to me either and so it has been a few years since I've
read anything by Brian Ruckley. The prospect of a new fantasy novel
piqued my interest though, especially when I realised it was standalone
and there were no worries about committing to a series (I have HUGE
'series commitment' issues right now…) And it was about mercenaries as
well! I always enjoy reading military sci-fi/fantasy as the whole 'band
of brothers' theme is one that's rich for exploring characters and
seeing just what people will do to survive the battlefields of
speculative fiction. On the face of it then, 'The Free' looked like it
had everything I look for in a book and written by a guy with good form
for writing fantasy. It couldn't really go wrong… Could it?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
<br />
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2298">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, could it…?</span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
<br />
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2283">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2284">The
good news is that nothing went wrong, nothing at all. The only
criticism I'd level is that every now and then, Ruckley's prose doesn't
quite match the high standards he has obviously set himself in terms of
world building, exploration and characterisation. There were times when
the prose didn't grab me in the way that it was clearly meant to and I
was left reading in order to get to the next good bit rather than
reading because I really wanted to. If you know what I mean.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2283">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2299">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2300">What
didn't grab me though may end up grabbing you by something vital, and
refusing to let go, so don't let me put you off on that score because
there is still one heck of a lot to recommend 'The Free'.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2299">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2302">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2301">'The
Free' is an engaging mix of action and introspection with panoramic
scenes combat broken up with characters reflecting on it all. Fair play
to Ruckley for avoiding what could have become an issue of 'ebb and
flow' with the pacing of the novel. There is just as much weight given
to Yulan's issues surrounding leadership of the Free, and Drann's unique
perspective on it all as contract bearer, as there are to each of the
battles. All of these have a suitably climactic feel to them by the way;
you may only be a hundred pages into the book (with clearly a lot more
plot to go) but you can't escape the feeling that a lot rides on each
confrontation. It all makes for a gripping read.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2302">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2301"> </span><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2301"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2304">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2303">Ruckley's
treatment of the Free initially casts them in a familiar light to most
other mercenary companies etc that you will come across in speculative
fiction. A hard-bitten crew, very good at what they do and with loads of
enemies because of it. Dig a little deeper though and their feeling of
shared responsibility, over one of the darker moments in the history of
the Free, is an intriguing hook that will have you rooting for them all.
That and Ruckleys exploration of his magic system, the Entelech, and
how it can result in 'permanences' that are as likely to kill allies as
well as enemies (and wouldn't we all secretly want to own something like
the Clamour? I would)</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2304">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Seeing all of this through the eyes of Drann, a
young man who can just about hold a spear and found himself in the right
place at the wrong time, also makes for compelling reading at times as
we see not only his preconceptions of the Free both shattered and
confirmed but we also see his character tempered in the warfare that
follows the Free. He is not the same character who starts the story and
that's as it should be when coming out of a journey like the one he has
made.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412746429739_2313">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">'The Free' is
a lot of fun to read and gives its readers a lot to chew on, all
wrapped up in a world that I for one would like to see more of. Given
the ending, it is highly unlikely that we will see any more of the Free
but I can but hope… Look out for 'The Free' around October 14th and when
you see it, buy it.</span></div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-49910898462489241982014-10-07T02:00:00.000+01:002014-10-07T02:00:00.497+01:00Books in the Post! 'Long Overdue' Edition… <div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2252">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2253">As
you can see by the pile of books below, it's been a while since I've
done one of these posts… :o) This isn't one of those 'Update' posts
though as updates have been crept into the last couple of posts and you
can have too much of a good/bad thing ;o) Nope, we're all about the
books today; check 'em out,</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2252">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oG4Jgn3SgHfxlJ70bq_LuyRim015WN3wIxBDNoWXIRXFCtKlLa5YsqNG9QfTR_yKZ75XxAMCxUDMm4dcbSDP1vlKihslbswfSPi2fjivoNPPv1kY_dpMHOm573A2nTahv3G0aIb4fTJj/s1600/20141005_175244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oG4Jgn3SgHfxlJ70bq_LuyRim015WN3wIxBDNoWXIRXFCtKlLa5YsqNG9QfTR_yKZ75XxAMCxUDMm4dcbSDP1vlKihslbswfSPi2fjivoNPPv1kY_dpMHOm573A2nTahv3G0aIb4fTJj/s1600/20141005_175244.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2252">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2253"> </span></span><br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2275">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2274">This
is the shelf where all my comic books used to sit until I realised I
wasn't going to read them again (and away they went!) Some of the money
that I made off them went on…</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2275">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2276">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2277"><b>'Gridlinked'
</b>(Neal Asher) - Because I got such a kick out of 'The Departure' that I
figured it was time to give the 'Polity' books another go as well.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2278">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2279"><b>'Darkness
Weaves'</b> (Karl Edward Wagner) - My hunt for the 'Kane' books is a slow
and steady one that pays off every now and then. Two down, three more to
go (I think)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2280">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2281"><b>'Sharps'
</b>(K.J. Parker) - I've never quite managed to 'get' Parker's books and I
really want to. I never got round to reading 'Sharps' when it first came
out so am going to give it another try after I've got another couple of
books out of the way first.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2283">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2282"><b>'The Fire Prince'</b> (Emily Gee) - No idea, possibly because the guy on the cover looks really worried.</span>
<br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2284"><b>'Blood &
Bone'</b> (Ian Cameron Esslemont) - The only Esslemont book that I didn't
have on my shelves, now all I have to do is read them all...</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2285">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>'The Fifth
Head of Cerebus' </b>(Gene Wolfe) - I have a weakness for the old 'SF
Masterworks' books (the black cover looks a lot nicer than the new
yellow one) and I've been meaning to read more by Wolfe.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2287">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2286"><b>'Mockingbird'</b> (Walter Tevis) - As above really, only substituting Tevis for Wolfe.</span>
<br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2288"><b>'The Crown
of the Blood' </b>(Gav Thorpe) - It doesn't happen often but every now and
then I have to buy a book before leaving a bookshop (feel like I've
failed somehow if I don't) and 'The Crown of the Blood' was that book a
couple of weeks ago. Looks good though and will be saved for those
precious moments when I've got time to get stuck into something a bit
thicker than normal.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2287">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2289">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Did I tell you that it was my birthday the other day? I didn't? Well, it was and here's what I treated myself to…</span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2291">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2290"><b>'Revelation
Space' </b>(Alastair Reynolds) The last time I read this book (years ago) I
was high on morphine (legitimately high, I was in hospital) and had
some really weird dreams. No anaesthetic this time, we'll see how it
goes.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2292">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>'Chasm City'</b>
(Alastair Reynolds) - Again, it's been years since I read 'Chasm City'
and buying 'Revelation Space' got me all interested again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2294">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2293"><b>'The
Sentinel Mage'</b> (Emily Gee) - Because I'd already bought 'The Fire
Prince' by this point and 'The Sentinel Mage' precedes it.It would have been kind of weird <i>not </i>to buy it...</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For some odd reason Patricia McKillip's <b>'Ombria in
Shadow'</b> didn't make it into the picture. It should have done (buying it
was the first thing I did once the birthday money cleared in my
account)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It has been more of a time for 'books bought'
rather than 'review copies received' and I'm happy with that. I'd
forgotten how satisfying buying books could be (online or in the store).
A few turned up from publishers, mostly because I asked for them (just
as satisfying albeit for different reasons) :-)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>'Zero Point'</b> (Neal Asher) - As I said above, I
enjoyed 'The Departure' enough to want to read more and Tor UK very
kindly agreed to help out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>'Jupiter War'</b> (Neal Asher) - Because if I'm going
to read the first two books in a trilogy then I would be dumb not to
pick up the last one (unless 'Zero Point' is awful but I don't think it
will be)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2301">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2302"><b>'The
Knight' </b>(Pierre Pevel) - I don't know if it's my watching 'Game of
Thrones' but I'm really into knights at the moment so the title pretty
much sold itself.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2301">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2299">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412627399222_2300">A
nice load of books to get stuck into then; I can see Asher's books
being read first, possibly followed by 'Sharps' then… Whatever comes
next :o) Anything there catch your eye?</span></span></div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-26219417159592014342014-10-03T01:30:00.000+01:002014-10-03T01:30:00.423+01:00Did not finish… 'The Wolves of London' - Mark Morris (Titan Books) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpzuM5Kc8gx9n9hf8xfv00R2HlMRB_N_KvUHAl1_JVQLKHmsLeC0ub1mcvIbowADwPbilj0LY700K0QT3ATLKrION9nnRm7mqZE5bl_KeBV6Tdi6n8xOcqyNg-F-MHgvEluA5dJb3N799/s1600/wolves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpzuM5Kc8gx9n9hf8xfv00R2HlMRB_N_KvUHAl1_JVQLKHmsLeC0ub1mcvIbowADwPbilj0LY700K0QT3ATLKrION9nnRm7mqZE5bl_KeBV6Tdi6n8xOcqyNg-F-MHgvEluA5dJb3N799/s1600/wolves.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2062">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2063">Alex
Locke is a reformed ex-con forced into London's criminal underworld for
one more job. He agrees to steal a priceless artefact - a human heart
carved from the blackest obsidian - but when the burglary goes horribly
wrong, Alex is plunged into the nightmarish world of the Wolves of
London, unearthly assassins who will stop at nothing to reclaim the
heart. As he races to unlock the secrets of the mysterious object, Alex
must learn to wield its dark power - or be destroyed by it.</span></span></i></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2062">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2072">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2071">So,
the first post for October is a 'did not finish'… If I'd got my act
together this post would have probably featured around the middle of
last month but a heck of a lot has been happening and the blog has
suffered the most in terms of what has my attention (probably because,
out of everything, the blog really doesn't care if I ignore it for a few
days and that's the way it should be). I'm also finding it really
difficult to focus on more than a few pages at a time (which is killing
me, I love reading) which isn't really conducive to blog posting either.
I keep plugging away though :o)</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2072">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2099">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2100">But
the book, the book… I picked up 'The Wolves of London' with high hopes
that eventually came to nothing and resulted in a 'did not finish'. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2101">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2102">I
live in London and it's a place that was made to be an Urban
Fantasy/Horror setting with its haphazard sprawl and attendant myths and
legends all helping to provide a setting full of inspiration. Hence the
high hopes then and, to begin with, 'Wolves' looked like it was going
to deliver with an engaging lead and a set of intriguing questions
punctuated with otherworldly violence. All good, right? </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2101">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2103">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2104">Well,
it would have been all good if Morris could have kept up that early
promise of fast paced action with his own slightly weird (but very
unsettling) take on Urban Fantasy. If he had, this would be an entirely
different post. This is the post it is though and some moments of really
intense and creepy fear were cancelled out, for me, by a tendency for
the prose to linger (where it needed to keep that frantic pace) and an
inescapable feeling that 'Wolves' was treading overly familiar ground in
terms of this particular sub-genre. I try to be forgiving of things
like that but that forgiveness only goes so far when I want a book to hold my attention (instead of feeling like I'm reading the same book over and over again...) </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2103">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2104"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2103">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2104">I read the first couple of hundred pages (well, more like the first hundred and then skimmed the next hundred...) and there is evidence of a read that will suit fans of Urban Fantasy mixed with a hint of horror. Just not me though; the days are long gone where I would have torn through this and had a review up the next day. I need a little more from my reading and 'The Wolves of London' didn't quite make that leap into 'must finish' territory.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2103">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2104"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2103">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1412282446590_2104" style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh well, onto the next book (which is Brian Ruckley's 'The Free' in case you were wondering)...</span></span></div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-43572956452590494732014-09-26T01:30:00.000+01:002014-09-26T01:30:00.408+01:00'The Departure' - Neal Asher (Tor UK) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEKvYtVbLyLoi9uZK7RxFTS4QEcxY3llLqJkPJ9VyfQoQHzon7esZhY_RPituPUHmaWiR4cD1nqoTIw5YydUKpS9amzJXmtdSKI_IbKq7TIn52U5uo2k8o8nLBYVe8LL2-8V32KOuHfQyc/s1600/The+Departure.jpg" height="400" width="257" /></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2271">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2270">The
Argus Space Station looks down on a nightmarish Earth. And from this
safe distance, the Committee enforces its despotic rule. There are too
many people and too few resources, and they need twelve billion to die
before Earth can be stabilised. So corruption is rife, people starve,
and the poor are policed by mechanised overseers and identity-reader
guns. Citizens already fear the brutal Inspectorate with its pain
inducers. But to reach its goals, the Committee will unleash satellite
laser weaponry, taking carnage to a new level.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></i><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2273">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2272">This
is the world Alan Saul wakes to, travelling in a crate destined for the
Calais incinerator. How he got there he doesn’t know, but he remembers
pain and his tormentor’s face. He also has company: Janus, a rogue
intelligence inhabiting forbidden hardware in his skull. As Janus shows
Saul an Earth stripped of hope, he resolves to annihilate the Committee
and their regime. Once he’s discovered who he was, and killed his
interrogator . . .</span></span></i></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2273">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2275">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2274">Neal
Asher is one of those authors where I really feel like I should have
read more of his books than I actually have done (three or four so far,
in case you're wondering). I have a natural aversion to long running
science fiction series if I haven't been reading them from the start,
too much time and investment required, and this is the case with Asher's
'Polity' works. (Apropos of nothing, I have absolutely no qualms diving
into long running fantasy series; that's how I roll).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2277">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2276">A
bit of birthday money and what looks like a completed trilogy ('The
Owner' trilogy) looked like a great way to address this, I've been in
the mood for a little space opera just recently, so I did the only thing
I could. I started reading :o)</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2277">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2278">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2279">'The
Owner' books are a 'departure' (pun not intended originally but I'm
running with it) from Asher's 'Polity' books, taking place on an Earth
reminiscent of 'Blake's 7' with a totalitarian government stamping down
hard on the general populace. I couldn't help but wonder if Asher's
politics were showing a little too clearly in the plot (with some of the
background prose perhaps being a little too opinionated in terms of the
actions of government) but the overall affect is compelling with Asher
killing off vast swathes of humanity with almost gleeful abandon (in
marked contrast to the chilling statistics delivered by an increasingly
impersonal Alan Saul) using weaponry apt for such a vicious regime. The
Shepherds make me shiver a little just writing about them. There is a
lot of scope here for full on 'sci-fi violence' and Asher makes the most
of every chance he gets. The body count is astronomical although the
heavy numbers all happen 'off the page' as it were. What you do see
though is hard hitting enough. No-one is safe from the guns of the
Committee or Saul's robot army. Certain characters are guaranteed to
make it through but don't get too attached to any of the supporting
cast, that's all I'm saying…</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2280">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2281">A
key theme of 'The Departure' is Saul's transition from man into a
post-human man/machine hybrid. For the most part Asher handles this
transition very well with some interesting insights into just what it
means to gradually surrender your humanity. Saul's conflict with
Director Smith is also a high point as far as this theme goes with Asher
showing the fight on two fronts with blows dealt in cyberspace and some
stunning sequences taking place between opposing armies of robots on a
space station (worth the price of entry). Metal stuff gets blown up
and/or ripped to pieces by other metal stuff and there are times when
you can't ask for much more than that. Where Asher fell down for me,
exploring this theme, was that there were times where he made Saul a
little too impersonal. I can understand the approach but some of the
resulting descriptive passages came across as rather dull, I'm thinking
of Saul's view of the Argus space station which I ended up skimming just
to get to the good bits.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2280">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2284">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411680545798_2283" style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the whole, 'The Departure' is a fast paced affair with a mix of big explosions, an 'evil empire' and a flawed anti-hero; more than enough to make me want to read the next book in the series. Having said all that though, 'The Departure' is also a book that can feel like it's talking in a monotone at the most inappropriate times; I'm hoping for good things from 'Zero Point' but will approach it with some caution...</span></span></div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-87936257507428266602014-09-25T01:00:00.000+01:002014-09-25T01:00:01.933+01:00'Elric Volume 1: The Ruby Throne' - Moorcock, Blondel, Poli, Recht, Bastide (Titan Comics) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytRnKoaJLwaPHO5kePYfLgQ17GSrVTIX6qQN3qe7rYUHOrgMeM-IL6l7G1b7oEy0UvAb6cVQ8EVXrEI6dPCpTJ8WtbNd-IB4YOSFldW3YAKET8tMgQ-OrmU00noOcXUbpOfU_AmKy-jH-/s1600/Michael-Moorcock%E2%80%99s-Elric-vol.-1-The-Ruby-Throne-600x907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytRnKoaJLwaPHO5kePYfLgQ17GSrVTIX6qQN3qe7rYUHOrgMeM-IL6l7G1b7oEy0UvAb6cVQ8EVXrEI6dPCpTJ8WtbNd-IB4YOSFldW3YAKET8tMgQ-OrmU00noOcXUbpOfU_AmKy-jH-/s1600/Michael-Moorcock%E2%80%99s-Elric-vol.-1-The-Ruby-Throne-600x907.jpg" height="400" width="263" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The laptop is working again! This blog might just see a little more activity from here on in...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2045">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2064">It's
a fact long ago established, on blogs other than this one, that I will
read pretty much anything 'Eternal Champion' related that Michael
Moorcock has written. Which means pretty much everything he has written
doesn't it? I mean, from what I've seen it all ties together at one
level or another. I have a lot of reading to get through yet then…</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2045">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2062">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2063">In
the meantime though, it's the 'Eternal Champion' books 'proper' that
provide an element of the comfort read but with characterisation and an
'edge' that really forces me to engage with what is in front of me.
Elric may not be my favourite of the Champions (this changes between
Corum and Hawkmoon with a little Bastable thrown in for variety) but, of
all of them, he is the one with the tale that is really worth staying
the course for.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2062">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2061">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2067">That's
the reason why then that you will see Elric pop up a little more in
other mediums than the likes of Erekose etc. Especially in comics which
offer the kind of 'wide screen' format that really suit Elric's
sprawling, multi-dimensional adventures. All of which leads us to the
latest comic book iteration of Elric's adventures…</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2061">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2068">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2069">The
story itself will be familiar to fans with Elric battling the human
side of his nature as well as his vicious cousin, Yyrkoon, who wishes to
rule Melnibone and restore it to its old cruel glories. What is
surprising though is the amount of backstory (and 'front story' too, if
'front story' is a term…) that has been taken out. This is a very much
stripped down version of the tale with only the key moments happening
and that's fair enough if you're a first time 'Elric reader' wanting to
get a feel for things. Longer term readers may feel like there's a
little too much missing for the read to be truly satisfying. That was
how I found it anyway. The important bits are all there and the story
itself doesn't feel disjointed in any way, just lacking the depth of the
novel.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2068">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2071">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2070">The
artwork though… The artwork almost makes up for the skeletal plot with
Robin Recht and Didier Poli combining to give the reader some quite
frankly awesome depictions of Melnibone and its decadent inhabitants.
Recht and Poli don't pull any punches when showing the readers the cruel
and yet somehow strangely lazy excesses of Melnibone; this is not a
book for younger readers (just in case you were wondering) with explicit
scenes of torture that are exactly what Melnibone is all about. And
those last scenes where Arioch makes his first appearance… You can
almost hear his entrance, the artwork is that good.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2071">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2073">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411594227791_2072">I'm
not sure where 'The Ruby Throne' falls then as the plot is a little too
flimsy for the long term fan while the art might put off newcomers (it
worked for me but I can see it being a little too evocative for some…) I
enjoyed it for what it was though and am looking forward to reading
'Stormbringer' when it is published; just hoping there's a little more
meat on that one...</span></span></div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-61818679553516819422014-09-19T02:49:00.001+01:002014-09-19T02:49:08.652+01:00'Guinea Pigs ate my Laptop!' A Quick Update...<span style="line-height: normal;">Hi y'all :o)</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">Apologies for the extended period of silence on the blog, it's been a crazy </span><span style="line-height: normal;">couple of weeks what with one thing and another (and another and another…)</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Work has been full on every single day, easily the most high pressured job </span><span style="line-height: normal;">that I've ever found myself in. It's good though and it sure beats the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">alternative; yep, I still remember what is was like to be out of work for </span><span style="line-height: normal;">over a year and I never want to find myself in that place again. The </span><span style="line-height: normal;">internet access here is severely restricted so I can't even pop on for a</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">quick post at lunchtimes.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">As far as home goes, well… Maybe I'll tell you more about that another </span><span style="line-height: normal;">time. Suffice it to say that internet access is fine but the fact that the </span>guinea pigs chewed through the adaptor lead, on the laptop (still needs to <span style="line-height: normal;">be replaced at time of writing) led to other problems. My money is on 'Big </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Red Fire' (yes, we let Hope choose his name) having done the deed.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">And as far as reading goes, I haven't really done an awful lot to be </span>honest. Busy at work, busy at home and the anti-depressants that I'm taking <span style="line-height: normal;">can make it difficult to stay focussed on anything heavier going than a </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Doctor Who book (which is why I've been reading them!) I've read a few </span><span style="line-height: normal;">books though and, rather than wait until I've got hold of a new adaptor for </span><span style="line-height: normal;">the laptop, figured I'd sum them up here. Nothing in depth, just a few </span><span style="line-height: normal;">quick thoughts.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">Here goes...</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span><b>
<span style="line-height: normal;">'The Crimson Campaign' - Brian McClellan (Orbit Books)</span></b><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="line-height: normal;">Tamas's invasion of Kez ends in disaster when a Kez counter-offensive </span>leaves him cut off behind enemy lines with only a fraction of his army, no<span style="line-height: normal;"> supplies and no hope of reinforcements. Drastically outnumbered and pursued </span>by the enemy's best, he must lead his men on a reckless march through</i><br />
<i><span style="line-height: normal;">northern Kez to safety, and back over the mountains so that he can defend </span>his country from an angry god.</i><br />
<i><span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="line-height: normal;">In Adro, Inspector Adamat only wants to rescue his wife. To do so he must </span>track down and confront the evil Lord Vetas. He has questions for Vetas <span style="line-height: normal;">concerning his enigmatic master, but the truth is darker than he could have </span><span style="line-height: normal;">imagined.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="line-height: normal;">With Tamas and his powder cabal presumed dead, Taniel Two-shot finds </span>himself alongside the god Mihali as the last line of defence against <span style="line-height: normal;">Kresimir's advancing army. Tamas's generals bicker among themselves, the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">brigades lose ground every day beneath the Kez onslaught and Kresimir wants </span><span style="line-height: normal;">the head of the man who shot him in the eye.</span></i><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">I loved 'Promise of Blood' and read 'The Crimson Campaign' over two coach </span>journeys to/from Plymouth. It's hard not to say anything that I haven't<br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">already said about the first book; plotting, pace and moments of spectacle </span>here are all on the money as per the last book. 'If it isn't broken…' and <span style="line-height: normal;">all that… The forced march of Tamas' army does add something new to the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">mix in terms of seeing Tamas as renowned soldier as well as Tamas 'the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">soldier who killed all the nobility and took power'. I love it when a </span><span style="line-height: normal;">writer takes time to flesh out their characters and there is a lot of that </span><span style="line-height: normal;">in 'The Crimson Campaign'. There is also a really good mix of warfare on </span><span style="line-height: normal;">the front line (go Taniel!) and arguably dirtier warfare in the back </span><span style="line-height: normal;">streets of the capitol; a lot of intrigue balanced neatly with moments of </span><span style="line-height: normal;">mayhem and bloody violence. This is a series that has already ticked all </span><span style="line-height: normal;">the boxes that I want ticking, for must read fantasy, bring on 'The Autumn</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">War'. Bring it on now!</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span><b>
<span style="line-height: normal;">'The White Towers' - Andy Remic (Angry Robot Books)</span></b><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="line-height: normal;">Vagandrak is broken, and a new threat has arisen that threatens to defeat </span>even the mighty Iron Wolves. The twisted, deviant Elf Rats have gathered in <span style="line-height: normal;">the toxic realm beyond the White Lion Mountains... swiftly they invade the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">troubled land of Vagandrak, killing for profit and pleasure. The</span></i><br />
<i><span style="line-height: normal;">now-disgraced Iron Wolves are the realm's only hope, but there's a problem: </span>they've been sentenced to death by the insane King Yoon for the dark <span style="line-height: normal;">sorcery in their blood. In the mountains of Zalazar lie the White Towers, </span><span style="line-height: normal;">pillars of legend said to contain the Heart of the Elves. The Iron Wolves</span></i><br />
<i><span style="line-height: normal;">must journey north to steal the Heart, and purify the evil in the land, but </span>the land belongs to the Elves and they won't give it up without a fight!</i><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">In a parallel dimension, David Gemmell was writing one day and all of </span>sudden thought, "f*** this s***, I'm done with writing about redemption and <span style="line-height: normal;">honour; it's time to just focus on nasty b******s doing evil things in the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">name of… I don't know, I'll add more spilled entrails to those passages." A </span><span style="line-height: normal;">dimensional rift bought the parallel universe David over to our dimension </span><span style="line-height: normal;">where he currently writes under the pseudonym of Andy Remic.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">Seriously though, Remic is what David Gemmell would have been if Grimdark </span>had been more of a thing (or a thing at all) back in the eighties. Remic <span style="line-height: normal;">being Remic though, </span><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1970" style="font-family: Times New Roman;">the
grimdark is dialled up to a level beyond parody and becomes a whole new
cartoonish realm of fantasy altogether. Not being easily offended
myself, I had a great time reading 'The White Towers' with its
intoxicating mix of high octane action and more thoughtful moments on
what it means to be an Iron Wolf and loathe your comrades, even though
they're the closest thing to friends that you have. It looks like
there's at least one more book in this series and I personally am well
up for it. 'The White Towers' may not be doing anything new but Remic is
enjoying himself too much to care and when the author is enjoying his
story you can't help but enjoy it with him.</span><br />
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1970" style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span>
<br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1972" style="text-align: left;">
<b><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1971" style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'The Return of Conan' - Bjorn Nyberg (1957)</span></b></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1972">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1971" style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1974">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1973" style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I've
been collecting the old Conan books, mostly to pick up stories that I
haven't read yet but also (if I'm being completely honest with myself)
because I have a real soft spot for the 'old school' cover art. I'm in
two minds over 'The Return of Conan'; it's a book that represents the
worst of formulaic and linear plotting (Conan has a fight, makes love to
a princess and repeat…) but at the same time I love the way that
Conan's mission becomes a 'Reunion Tour' of sorts where he keeps bumping
into old friends and settling old scores. It's like Nyberg took it upon
himself to tie up loose threads left by Howard, perhaps a little
presumptuous but you have to admire his nerve in terms of building upon
what Howard had left behind. And the sword fights were good too, even if
they were a little one sided and lacking in any kind of narrative
tension.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1974">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1976">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1975" style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'The
Return of Conan' made for a nice little palate cleanser then (every
time I couldn't get into something heavier) and another title that I can
tick off my list of books to read. Anything more than that though?
Eminently forgettable just about covers it.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1976">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1976">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1411091137186_1975" style="font-family: Times New Roman;">So that's the books I've been reading just recently. When I can find a cheap laptop adaptor, I'll let you know about the comics as well... ;o) </span></div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-42784787731918071702014-09-11T04:30:00.000+01:002014-09-11T04:30:01.808+01:00Cover Art & Blurb - 'The Hive Construct' (Alexander Maskill)While I try to wean myself off 'retro-comfort reading' (and try to remember enough about 'The Crimson Campaign' to be able to write a review...) have a look at the cover art for 'The Hive Construct'...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJsOdzf9kHYJFja4JpFKNWqYV1vcYxaDZAj5GOOUrrJIqTXcciV566dRlcZOs9hjT_MrPdmGOom0cwmExLn3_zhgsTTa7yJM-d2mX0XyRCqj5hoxK73qSrKc-vrYQD6iH-QkS9ctEhL4o1/s1600/hive+construct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJsOdzf9kHYJFja4JpFKNWqYV1vcYxaDZAj5GOOUrrJIqTXcciV566dRlcZOs9hjT_MrPdmGOom0cwmExLn3_zhgsTTa7yJM-d2mX0XyRCqj5hoxK73qSrKc-vrYQD6iH-QkS9ctEhL4o1/s1600/hive+construct.jpg" height="400" width="264" /></a></div>
<br />
How can a cover have so much going on but be so bland at the same time? It actually takes a level of genius to come up with the kind of cover that says 'I'm safe, read me and no-one will ever know what you are reading about...' Shame really as the blurb looks promising,<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Situated deep in the Sahara Desert, New Cairo is a city built on
technology - from the huge, life-giving solar panels that keep it
functioning in a radically changed, resource-scarce world to the
artificial implants that have become the answer to all and any of
mankind's medical problems. </span></span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> But it is also a divided city, dominated by a handful of omnipotent corporate dynasties. </span></span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
And when a devastating new computer virus begins to spread through the
poorest districts, shutting down the life-giving implants that enable so
many to survive, the city begins to slide into the anarchy of violent
class struggle. </span></span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Hiding amidst the chaos is Zala Ulora. A
gifted hacker and fugitive from justice, she believes she might be able
to earn her life back by tracing the virus to its source and destroying
it before it destroys the city. Or before the city destroys itself . . .</span></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">'The Hive Construct' won the 2013 Terry Pratchett Prize </span></span><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">and will be published early next month. The cover art for 'The Hive Construct' will win no prizes whatsoever but does have my grudging respect (for what it's worth).</span></span>Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-45089340863875930732014-09-10T23:21:00.003+01:002014-09-10T23:21:19.101+01:00'Doctor Who And The Image Of The Fendhal' - Terrance Dicks (Target) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYMLXBtGFOu1BdFVymP52JCNuX8Dox2-MeI-KVdTEAoZkcR5N_TxLbhd78sYzsgGsECx0mA1SU29BK7wKrC8wr8-Rg7Nh4xZXkN2_s8uPTnEmyMrXr_9LexubynNfKz-2LmGr7tKTA6kk/s1600/Doctor_Who_and_the_Image_of_the_Fendahl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYMLXBtGFOu1BdFVymP52JCNuX8Dox2-MeI-KVdTEAoZkcR5N_TxLbhd78sYzsgGsECx0mA1SU29BK7wKrC8wr8-Rg7Nh4xZXkN2_s8uPTnEmyMrXr_9LexubynNfKz-2LmGr7tKTA6kk/s1600/Doctor_Who_and_the_Image_of_the_Fendahl.jpg" height="400" width="243" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2003" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2004"> If there is anything that looks more dated than old Doctor Who cover art I have yet to see it... :o)</span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2004" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2003">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2003">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2004" style="font-size: small;">A
sonic time scan draws the TARDIS to the Fetch Priory on Earth. There,
the Doctor and Leela discover an impossibly old human skull that is the
key to a nightmare from the Time Lords’ past.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></i><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_1999">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2002" style="font-size: small;">A
murderous monster stalks the priory grounds; and within, someone is
intent on unleashing a malevolent creature that feeds on death itself... </span></span></i></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_1999">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2011">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2012" style="font-size: small;">I
think this is likely to be the last 'Doctor Who' book (well, Target
novelisation) spoken about here for a very long time. I've done enough
comfort reading around Doctor Who anyway and there's also the
inescapable fact that the more of these books I talk about, the less I
have to say. They all follow the same lines structurally and
thematically which doesn't leave you a lot else to talk about. One day,
I'm considering copying an old review (just swapping the title for
something different) and seeing if anyone notices… ;o)</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2011">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2014">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2013" style="font-size: small;">But
in the meantime, 'The Image of the Fendhal'. If 'The Curse of Fenric'
was the story that scared me as a teenager then 'The Image of the
Fendhal' is very much the book that scared the life out of me as a
child. The opening scenes, which cut between an experiment that takes an
unexpected turn and the resulting death of a hitch hiker build up
tension very nicely to a well placed climactic scene which pushes you
headlong into the rest of the plot. </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2014">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2016">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2015" style="font-size: small;">'The
Image of the Fendhal' is another Doctor Who story simply told and very
formulaic. You certainly get what you pay for here (in this case, a
penny via Amazon New and Used…) Making up for this though is a really
dark undertone of horror that props the story up. When even the Doctor
is scared of the Fendhal you know that they are an enemy who will take
some defeating. And you really feel the rising terror in the characters
when they find their legs refusing to move as the Fendhaleen bears down
on them… It's moments like this that make the story worth reading and I
wouldn't mind tracking down the DVD to see how the story comes across on
screen. 'The Image of the Fendhal' is a simple tale but also a dark one
that taps into Doctor Who in a way that I don't normally find with the
TV show. Are all Fourth Doctor stories like this (I seem to remember
reading a few like this as a kid)?</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2016">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2017">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1410387473664_2018" style="font-size: small;">I'm
not sure I'll be in a mad hurry to re-read 'The Image of the Fendhal'
(nostalgia will only take you so far after all) but it was fun while it
lasted and still had the capacity to make the hairs on my arms stand up.
Can't ask for a lot more than that really.</span></span></div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-73195621767847974122014-09-06T00:05:00.001+01:002014-09-06T06:44:46.775+01:00My Favourite 'Book Place' in LewishamBooks are great; as a child some of my very best friends were books (not that I didn't have real friends but, you know what I mean) and there are still some dog-eared books on my shelves that I'll never get rid of because... I feel like I owe them a bit more than that.<br />
<br />
All the other books though...<br />
<br />
One of my first jobs, when we moved to London, was to go into the homes of the recently deceased and sift through their belongings, looking for information on next of kin and how they could be contacted. Seriously, it is a job that people do.<br />
One thing I realised, fairly recently, is that I don't want to be the book equivalent of the dead guy who we found had filled his house full of thousands upon thousands of biros. I'm also getting to a point now where if I'm never going to go back to a book then it needs to go somewhere it will feel appreciated again. It's only fair after all.<br />
<br />
A lot of books are leaving the house then and I wanted to show you where they're all going, just because I think it's a great idea and more people should do stuff like this.<br />
I take a ten minute walk up the hill, from my house, and leave my old books here...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_lshF4qPtif-8oCTi2HKVrm1uykvqm3NUcoUiXmPz-no33_4_4nQiqxxaDhysA1JQdXOuUPDoX9jmhwwcWwudZD7UE9rg_VORJ63Fx4pk7xbEcgzZJV1fM1F3c42yg0t2ejLGavtfwiA/s1600/20140905_210355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_lshF4qPtif-8oCTi2HKVrm1uykvqm3NUcoUiXmPz-no33_4_4nQiqxxaDhysA1JQdXOuUPDoX9jmhwwcWwudZD7UE9rg_VORJ63Fx4pk7xbEcgzZJV1fM1F3c42yg0t2ejLGavtfwiA/s1600/20140905_210355.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Yep, it's the 'micro-library' I've mentioned here a couple of times. It operates a 'take a book, leave one behind' policy which I've turned into a 'take one occasionally, leave thirty or forty books behind whenever I happen to be passing'; I'm sure they don't mind. I know I used to donate my books to charity and I do feel a little guilty that I'm not doing that now. There's something really cool though about a community coming together and sharing their books via an old phone box that would have been removed. Like I said, it would be great if we could see more of this happening.<br />
<br />
I dropped some books off last night and this was what I was greeted with when I opened the door,<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJ_EwIhI2wMrY_0NYfrqQ2Yx_e6gwG-6BZYDQSR_wA3iYq4iYEY93NGjlTIeOVA4-sHuYiA75B1eXbvGsjRhisQq7FIWW-uktIRo42id5OSerfr5ENmEzVlpz6hfl8F8UxDVzO0vf3yPs/s1600/20140905_210457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJ_EwIhI2wMrY_0NYfrqQ2Yx_e6gwG-6BZYDQSR_wA3iYq4iYEY93NGjlTIeOVA4-sHuYiA75B1eXbvGsjRhisQq7FIWW-uktIRo42id5OSerfr5ENmEzVlpz6hfl8F8UxDVzO0vf3yPs/s1600/20140905_210457.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
Maybe not the most inspiring sight for a fan of SFF fiction but funnily enough, that's what I like most about this phone box full of books - you never know what you will find until you pay it a visit. I went a few weeks ago and someone had filled an entire shelf full of old crime books; there were comics to be had a few weeks before that. While I'll always know what to expect from a bookshop (and that's not a bad thing) there's something a little magical about stepping into this phone box and not knowing what you will find once you are there. If it comes down to it, I know which side I'd choose.<br />
<br />
That's me then, other than to say that there are some good books, waiting in the micro-library, for someone just like you you to pass by. I should know, I left loads there last night. If you pick one up, happy reading :o)Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-67402913366966352862014-09-05T22:39:00.001+01:002014-09-05T22:39:57.881+01:00Cover Art and Blurb, 'The Lady' - K.V. Johansen (Pyr)<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just because, Raymond Swanland :o)</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRofPauVxFdG06uPtshy4mM9a3hdRjrI3jpmQcPEq6gcHcRk-wxXcSG4HDg1HJXzxir1aYKokDL4FhJ-7TEhb40iKbzDnJmuSxfPu6CtiEl5M11El7U8muCvHYjvrR_kGDbwIdnx_0Rjr8/s1600/The+Lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRofPauVxFdG06uPtshy4mM9a3hdRjrI3jpmQcPEq6gcHcRk-wxXcSG4HDg1HJXzxir1aYKokDL4FhJ-7TEhb40iKbzDnJmuSxfPu6CtiEl5M11El7U8muCvHYjvrR_kGDbwIdnx_0Rjr8/s1600/The+Lady.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is my firm belief that Raymond Swanland couldn't do bad cover art if he tried. The guy clearly has the talent of ten lesser artists coursing through his veins which must be the reason why I can't draw at all... Well, that's my reason and I'm sticking to it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And here's the blurb,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Possessed by a ghost who feeds on death, the undying assassin Ahjvar the
Leopard has been captured by the Lady of Marakand, enslaved by
necromancy to be captain of her Red Masks. His shield-bearer Ghu, a
former slave with an uncanny ability to free the captive dead, follows
Ahjvar into the war-torn lands of the Duina Catairna to release him,
even if that means destroying what is left of Ahj’s tormented soul.<br /> <br />Deyandara,
the last surviving heir of the Catairnan queen, rides into a land
ravaged by disease and war, seeking the allies she abandoned months
before, though they have no hope of standing against the army led by the
invulnerable Red Masks of Marakand and the divine terror of the Lady. <br /> <br />In
the city of Marakand, former enemies ally and old friends seek one
another’s deaths as loyalists of the entombed gods Gurhan and Ilbialla
raise a revolt, spearheaded by the Grasslander wizard Ivah, the
shapeshifting Blackdog, and the bear-demon Mikki. The Lady’s defenses
are not easily breached, though, and the one enemy who might withstand
her, the Northron wanderer Moth, bearer of the sword Lakkariss, has
vanished.</i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I really want to read this but although I have a copy of 'The Leopard' to hand, I've never read 'Black Dog' and am wary about doing a big ol' catch up (my life is a big ol' catch up right now and I haven't got any time for more of the same). Can anyone set my mind at rest/confirm my fears...?</span></span><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
'The Lady' will be published by Pyr in January next year.Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-14567213696030108312014-09-04T15:17:00.004+01:002014-09-04T15:17:42.365+01:00 'Ladyhawke' - Joan D. Vinge (Piccolo Books)<span style="line-height: normal;">Captain Etienne Navarre is a man on whose shoulders lie a cruel curse. </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night whilst</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day. Together, with </span><span style="line-height: normal;">the thief Philippe Gaston, they must try to overthrow the corrupt Bishop </span><span style="line-height: normal;">and in doing so break the spell...</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">So, am I comfort reading again? Yes, yes I am. The way things are at the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">moment, this blog would be a desolate and empty place if I left all the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">comfort reading out. Just bear with me a little longer and I'll be back to </span><span style="line-height: normal;">the good stuff before you know it (and I'll spare you the childhood </span><span style="line-height: normal;">reminiscing this time round, I supect there's only so much about cheese on </span><span style="line-height: normal;">toast that anyone can reasonably be expected to hear).</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">So...</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">Did you watch the film or read the book first? As far as I was concerned, I </span><span style="line-height: normal;">didn't even realise that there was a film until some years later and, </span><span style="line-height: normal;">looking back, I think that was a good thing. Yep, I'm talking about the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">awful eighties 'disco' soundtrack that accompanies Rutger Hauer fighting </span><span style="line-height: normal;">the Bishop's Guard (trying his manful best to ignore it as he does so) I'm </span><span style="line-height: normal;">sure a little piece of me died when I saw the film for the first time and the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">music started playing. But the book though…</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">I've had my copy of 'Ladyhawke' for almost thirty years and it still hasn't </span><span style="line-height: normal;">lost its power to utterly captivate me. I start reading and that's it, I'm </span><span style="line-height: normal;">in the story until it finishes. 'Ladyhawke' is by no means a classic and </span><span style="line-height: normal;">doesn't do an awful lot that is different. A curse is a curse wherever you </span><span style="line-height: normal;">go and this is very much the deal here. Where Vinge makes things shine </span><span style="line-height: normal;">though is her characterisation and how this shows through when you actually </span><span style="line-height: normal;">see Navarre and Isbeau have that 'almost together' moment on the cusp of </span><span style="line-height: normal;">dawn. There's a part of me that is an old romantic and it never fails to </span><span style="line-height: normal;">make me well up a little to see two people in love who can't be together</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">because of evil magic. Vinge also has a happy knack of being able to get </span><span style="line-height: normal;">inside her characters heads and really lay them bare in such a way that you </span><span style="line-height: normal;">can't help but will them on. Navarre comes across as one dimensional </span><span style="line-height: normal;">initially but he is anything but once Vinge lets you into his head.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">But I was saying, two lovers that can never be together... What was I </span><span style="line-height: normal;">talking about? Of course they will be together! I told you that this is a </span><span style="line-height: normal;">book that doesn't do an awful lot differently and the outcome is never </span><span style="line-height: normal;">really in doubt (hence the comfort read) despite some moments where you </span><span style="line-height: normal;">wonder what could happen. The final chapters are stirring affairs that rush </span><span style="line-height: normal;">the reader headlong into the final outcome whilst still giving the reader a </span><span style="line-height: normal;">feeling of doubt (especially when the bells ring, you'll know what I mean </span><span style="line-height: normal;">if you've read the book/seen the film). It's a heady mixture that still </span><span style="line-height: normal;">keeps my eyes on the page, even though this is a book that I must have read</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">dozens of times now.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">It's no secret then (and definitely not a spoiler) that the ending is a </span><span style="line-height: normal;">happy one; like a medieval fairy tale with loads of grim bits but a hefty </span><span style="line-height: normal;">dose of morals at the end. Everyone gets what they deserve and this kind of </span><span style="line-height: normal;">ending doesn't really gel with the 'grimdark' tone of todays fantasy </span><span style="line-height: normal;">fiction. There's still a place for it though and I'd say a very necessary </span><span style="line-height: normal;">one. Our world may not be one for happy endings but fiction tells us that </span><span style="line-height: normal;">happy endings can happen and it's important for us to know this. </span><span style="line-height: normal;">'Ladyhawke' does this very well indeed and there are enough second hand</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">copies floating about out there for you to get some of those good vibes</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">too. I'd thoroughly recommend it in fact.</span>Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-72976104717383439032014-09-01T14:03:00.000+01:002014-09-01T14:03:17.097+01:00'Couldn't Even Really Get Started, Let Alone Finish It…', 'The Black Guard' - A.J. Smith (Head of Zeus)<span style="line-height: normal;">The city of Ro Canarn burns. With their father's blood fresh upon the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">headsman's sword, Lord Bromvy and Lady Bronwyn, the last scions of the</span><span style="line-height: normal;">house of Canarn, face fugitive exile or death. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">In the court of Ro Tiris, men fear to speak their minds. The Army of the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Red marches upon the North. Strange accidents befall those who dare </span><span style="line-height: normal;">question the King's new advisors. Those foolish enough to speak their names </span><span style="line-height: normal;">call them the Seven Sisters: witches of the fire god; each as beautiful and </span><span style="line-height: normal;">as dangerous as a flame. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">And, called from the long ages of deep time by war and sacrifice, the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">children of a dead god are waking with a pitiless cry. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">All that was dead will rise. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">All that now lives will fall... </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">Look at that blurb and bask in the glorious promise of epic fantasy… Cities </span><span style="line-height: normal;">with stirring names? Check. A Lord and Lady on the run? Double check. </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Attractive ladies who get up to all sorts of machinations in the name of </span><span style="line-height: normal;">their 'fire god'? And what about an ages old threat waking up to lay waste </span><span style="line-height: normal;">to the world of the living? Check and Check.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">It's a blurb that really wants people to think that it's the next 'Song of </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Ice and Fire' and I really wish that's what 'The Black Guard' had been. If </span><span style="line-height: normal;">it had been then I'd still be reading it instead of casting about looking</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">for something to take its place. As it is, I will go back to 'The Black </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Guard' at some point as there is a lot of potential in what I've read. It's </span><span style="line-height: normal;">just a real shame that I made it about two hundred pages into the book and </span><span style="line-height: normal;">found that the story was still to get going… Slow and steady may win the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">day but 'too slow and steady' has a nasty habit of sending me to sleep</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">these days. Reading that first chunk of of 'The Black Guard' was like </span><span style="line-height: normal;">wading through treacle; really sweet but ultimately tiring.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">While there is an argument to be made that a lot of epic fantasies take </span><span style="line-height: normal;">time to get going, you could look at any of these series and it would be </span><span style="line-height: normal;">really apparent how they have worked round this issue. Compelling </span><span style="line-height: normal;">characters, ominous foreshadowing, even a dirty great battle where the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">aftermath can be explored. 'The Black Guard' has none of these things, </span><span style="line-height: normal;">preferring instead to weave its narrative around the edges of the plot and </span><span style="line-height: normal;">give you tantalising glimpses of what is to come. Well, that is the idea </span><span style="line-height: normal;">anyway; it never quite worked for me, mainly because the plot is so slow </span><span style="line-height: normal;">but also because Smith plays his cards a little too close to his chest and </span><span style="line-height: normal;">you never really get much of a glimpse of anything.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">But you know what? I'll be going back to 'The Black Guard' and powering my </span><span style="line-height: normal;">way through the rest, probably when the insomnia really kicks in and I know </span><span style="line-height: normal;">that I've got a couple of hours to myself to really get stuck in. Is that </span><span style="line-height: normal;">slow pacing deliberate then? Is 'The Black Guard' a book that forces you to</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">take your time and really get a feel for the setting? I'm thinking it's </span><span style="line-height: normal;">more like David Bilsborough's 'The Wanderer's Tale' but I'm happy to be </span><span style="line-height: normal;">proved wrong when I give it another go. In the meantime, has anyone else </span><span style="line-height: normal;">here read 'The Black Guard'? Did you make it any further than a couple of</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">hundred pages? If so, what did you think?</span>Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-85737419462452634822014-08-30T00:22:00.006+01:002014-08-30T00:22:56.876+01:00'Doctor Who and the Stones of Blood' - Terrance Dicks (Target)<i><span style="line-height: normal;">Searching for the third segment to the Key to Time brings the Doctor and </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Romana to present-day Earth, where the travellers have to contend with </span><span style="line-height: normal;">stone circles, Druidic rituals and a not-so-mythical goddess known as the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Cailleach. </span></i><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">Unsurprisingly at the moment, it's all about comfort reading for me right </span><span style="line-height: normal;">now (which explains why it has taken me weeks to get to where I am with </span><span style="line-height: normal;">A.J. Smith's 'The Black Guard' but more on that another time…) and it </span><span style="line-height: normal;">struck me how the term doesn't quite gel with a lot of genre fiction. For </span><span style="line-height: normal;">example, last night I was after a comfort read and, at one point, it came </span><span style="line-height: normal;">down to a choice between 'A Game of Thrones' and 'The Stand'… I guess </span>'comfort reading', in this case, is more about familiar settings and<br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">characters rather than the story itself and that's why you're looking at </span>another Doctor Who post today :o) The Target novelizations are all about<br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">comfort reading for me; familiar stories that I either read or saw on the </span>TV, all wrapped up in cosy memories of cheese on toast for tea and <span style="line-height: normal;">lunchtime trips to the mobile library that used to park outside the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">shopping centre. And where is that shopping centre now, eh? It’s the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">foundations of an Asda, that's where it is. But anyway…</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">I never saw 'The Stones of Blood' on TV but borrowed it from the library, </span>as a kid, and was scared by it just enough to make me pick up a copy again <span style="line-height: normal;">from the local comic book store (which is incredibly well stocked on Doctor </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Who books, I sense the possibility of another collection starting up…) and </span><span style="line-height: normal;">see what how the intervening years had treated it. These days, a Doctor Who </span><span style="line-height: normal;">book is normally good for a bus ride to work and back and 'The Stones of </span><span style="line-height: normal;">Blood' proved no different in this regard. It still had the power to scare </span><span style="line-height: normal;">as well, mostly through what is implied rather than what you actually see </span><span style="line-height: normal;">happen. The note of fear in De Vries' voice, coupled with the keen timing </span><span style="line-height: normal;">of the Ogri attack, makes for a nerve wracking passage and there are more </span><span style="line-height: normal;">of these interspersed throughout the book.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">I'm at the point now, with the Target novelizations, where it almost goes </span>without saying that 'The Stones of Blood' is, for the most part, a 'by the <span style="line-height: normal;">numbers' retelling of what viewers would have seen on the TV. Dicks does </span>take time though to capture that quirky sense of two mildly eccentric<br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">people bouncing off each other (the Doctor and Professor Rumford) although </span>I wasn't so keen on the way he basically gave away the identity of the main <span style="line-height: normal;">villain very early on. I know people would have seen the show before </span><span style="line-height: normal;">reading the book (so it wouldn't have been much of a surprise anyway) but</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">it still felt a little clumsy, in terms of structuring a book, to do the </span>'big reveal' so early.<br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">There's also a slightly disjointed feel to the book in terms of how it </span>slips from 'slightly Gothic horror' on the Moors to the overtly sci-fi <span style="line-height: normal;">element of the tale. When each piece is taken on its own though, both are </span><span style="line-height: normal;">done very well in terms of atmosphere (my personal favourites were all the </span><span style="line-height: normal;">bits set on Earth, just on case you hadn't worked it out already).</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">A nice little read then. It goes without saying (so I should probably stop </span>saying it…) that fans of the TV show will get the most out of 'The Stones <span style="line-height: normal;">of Blood' and that is probably why I enjoyed it as much as I did. I do </span><span style="line-height: normal;">wonder why BBC Books aren't republishing these books in omnibus editions or</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">something like that...</span>Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-83333493015273057542014-08-28T00:30:00.000+01:002014-08-28T00:30:00.329+01:00Things that the Discworld books have taught me...A Wizard's staff has a knob on the end.<br />
The hedgehog is a particularly lucky animal :o)<br />
<br />
There, now we've got those out of the way... (And yep, I made up at least two verses to the 'Hedgehog Song' when I was a teenager. I'll bet you did too)<br />
<br />
I haven't picked up a 'Discworld' book in a few years now (whenever I reviewed 'Unseen Academicals' on the old blog, that was the last time) but I still remember some of the things that I learned through laughter. Genre fiction takes itself far too seriously and needs a little fun poked at it from time to time. The series as a whole wouldn't miss 'The Colour of Magic' at all. If you laugh with a character (no matter who they are) then you'll want to follow them right to the bitter end. And sometimes, it's ok to admit that the jokes just aren't tickling you any more and that new laughs are waiting over the horizon.<br />
<br />
The thing that has struck me just recently though is how Pratchett does away with the whole notion of good and evil. People are just people, trying to do their thing and continuously running smack bang into other people who are just trying to do their thing. Trying to create something for themselves out of the raw stuff of daily life. What really scares Pratchett though (or at least, what he thinks should scare <i>us</i>) is the grey conformity of the Auditors where creation and growth are stifled and there is nothing left to do but exist (and don't you just <i>feel </i>the note of despair in those passages).<br />
<br />
I'm in a grey area right now and have been for a long time. The greyness of depression played a part in my old blog finishing and it's doing its level best to tread all over this one too (hence the lack of posts just recently). It's hard to muster up the energy to do anything other than just exist sometimes.<br />
I'm not done yet though (not quite yet) and if you're feeling anything like me then hang in there for a bit longer. If you can, be a Terry Pratchett character trying to create a little something for themselves out of the raw stuff of daily life. Even if it's just writing a sentence or two; once you've done it then depression can't take it back, no matter how much it wants to. It's all yours and you can be damn proud of what you've done.<br />
<br />
I'm rambling a bit now so will stop just about here before all meaning is lost. I just wanted to let you know that depression is a bitch but I've got your back. And read 'Guards! Guards!' One of the older Discworld books but still the best of a pretty amazing bunch ;o)Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-77528274841176344162014-08-22T07:33:00.002+01:002014-08-22T07:33:23.136+01:00Books 'Not in the Post' - 'Huge Spider!' Edition <div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1917">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRMVXNe_SBhXDSk8rMRtwq_XAj35rPv8O0DMIM4NZtjvpmGKgnnfs0GS4U0KitupZNlvh-H0RHWu5igBzPO5Fj_b9Vf0EHSy03JSoiU9w8y6c8vEmjsoYwbnZIZY7vb8ZLWNXDvQDquIp/s1600/20140820_052937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRMVXNe_SBhXDSk8rMRtwq_XAj35rPv8O0DMIM4NZtjvpmGKgnnfs0GS4U0KitupZNlvh-H0RHWu5igBzPO5Fj_b9Vf0EHSy03JSoiU9w8y6c8vEmjsoYwbnZIZY7vb8ZLWNXDvQDquIp/s1600/20140820_052937.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1916" style="font-family: Arial;">Ok,
maybe it wasn't such a huge spider but it scared the **** out of me
when I looked up and saw it above the doorframe… Of course, Hope wanted
to keep it so she could 'teach Mummy not to be scared of spiders'. No
chance of that; at about half six yesterday morning Hope and I stood outside
the house, waving goodbye to the spider as it was released from its pint
glass prison and strolled off down the street. Seriously, it strolled;
no-one was going to mess with this beast and it knew it.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1917">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1916" style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1916" style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1922">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1925" style="font-family: Arial;">But anyway, the books!</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1922">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1925" style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1925" style="font-family: Arial;"> </span>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1920">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1921" style="font-family: Arial;">I've
pretty much cleared my comic book shelf these past couple of weeks (if
I'm not going to read them…) and made a few quid out of the deal. Most
of that was spent yesterday as I browsed some second hand bookshops on
the way to meet Sue and the girls from the station. Check em' out,</span><br />
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1920">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Gb5ofVenL_Q5cmjmzfcCEL3qSxf4QVFySjrb_dJPLR96I2_PnGcpuxF_10ASziCZk22f8obLdqZIuiFfKWsjTVhIvTy5sjXBsUBQzW4s62GgfZ06hg1DHYkrZnlCu88gRk5nqRDEA3Kl/s1600/20140820_052655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Gb5ofVenL_Q5cmjmzfcCEL3qSxf4QVFySjrb_dJPLR96I2_PnGcpuxF_10ASziCZk22f8obLdqZIuiFfKWsjTVhIvTy5sjXBsUBQzW4s62GgfZ06hg1DHYkrZnlCu88gRk5nqRDEA3Kl/s1600/20140820_052655.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1926">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1927" style="font-family: Arial;">I've
got most of the 'Conan' stories already so 'Conan' and 'Conan the
Adventurer' were pure indulgence, bought mostly for the covers and to
see how Lin Carter added to a couple of the unfinished tales. But mostly
for the covers :)</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1926">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1929">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1928" style="font-family: Arial;">I've
read a few of the Vlad Taltos books (well, more like a couple) and
really enjoyde them so 'Dzur' being a book that I hadn't read and only
costing a pound was a good combination. It looks like it could be a good
read for the bus when I'm commuting, anyone here read it?</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1931">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1930" style="font-family: Arial;">The
slightly blurred looking book, top right, is a rather well kept advance
copy of Jeff Vandermeer's 'Acceptance', concluding book in the
'Southern Reach' trilogy. I haven't read 'Authority' yet, no excuse
really, but it still didn't take much to persuade me to part with a
little more cash. It will be a little while before you see a review here
but you can expect one, definitely.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1931">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1932">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1933" style="font-family: Arial;">And
the final book? I had just enough money left for either 'The Very Best
of Tad Williams' or Erikson's 'The Wurms of Blearmouth'. The winner is
obvious (clue, it wasn't 'The Wurms of Blearmouth'…) and I'll be dipping
in and out of it every time full length novels feel a little too much
like hard work ;o)</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1932">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1934">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408685464698_1935" style="font-family: Arial;">And that's that! Anything there catch your eye?</span>
</div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-2943431739739390242014-08-19T01:00:00.000+01:002014-08-19T01:00:03.764+01:00'She Who Waits' - Daniel Polansky (Hodder) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowmyU-UAkbHCmB4EPgjdCeL7-xosrs57htdvGL8vVV0j9kSNUEt_8E3k6X4q4lPNy9Dz7_kBslAk0WgNDBUUUZCARsyFQp_YA6i-gEXNATleo4SLxuqcItHBmXZIl-rCb_d9GNGqcIC_2/s1600/SWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowmyU-UAkbHCmB4EPgjdCeL7-xosrs57htdvGL8vVV0j9kSNUEt_8E3k6X4q4lPNy9Dz7_kBslAk0WgNDBUUUZCARsyFQp_YA6i-gEXNATleo4SLxuqcItHBmXZIl-rCb_d9GNGqcIC_2/s1600/SWW.jpg" height="400" width="260" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11689">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11688"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11687">Low Town: the worst ghetto in the worst city in the Thirteen Lands. </span></i></span>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11689">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11691"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11690">Good
only for depravity and death. And Warden, long ago a respected agent in
the formidable Black House, is now the most depraved Low Town denizen
of them all.</span></i></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11689">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11716">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11715"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11714">As
a younger man, Warden carried out more than his fair share of terrible
deeds, and never as many as when he worked for the Black House. But
Warden's growing older, and the vultures are circling. Low Town is
changing, faster than even he can control, and Warden knows that if he
doesn't get out soon, he may never get out at all.</span></i></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11716">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11717">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11719"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11718">But
Warden must finally reckon with his terrible past if he can ever hope
to escape it. A hospital full of lunatics, a conspiracy against the
corrupt new king and a ghetto full of thieves and murderers stand
between him and his slim hope for the future. And behind them all waits
the one person whose betrayal Warden never expected. The one person who
left him, broken and bitter, to become the man he is today. </span></i></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11717">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11722">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11721"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11720">The one woman he ever loved. </span></i>
<br /><i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11724"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11723">She who waits behind all things.</span></i></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11722">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11724"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_11723"> </span></i>
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_6244">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_6243">Reading
is a journey and nowhere more so than in speculative fiction where if
you're not following the progress of an actual journey (thanks for that
Mr. Tolkien…) then you're watching the main character make a mental
journey towards a complete change in character. Once upon a time, this
second kind of journey was the sole preserve of kitchen boys 'with a
destiny' who would find destiny/nobility thrust upon them and have to
adapt accordingly. These days aren't those days though and thank
goodness for that. We now have characters seeking redemption from the
pits of immorality, we have others who are happy to sink yet further;
the most interesting characters though are the ones where you can see
that change but have to question their motives and direction. Did X
commit the vilest crimes for ultimate good or were they just scraping
the bottom of the moral barrel for their own ends? These are the kind of
characters that really get you thinking and invested in a story, genre
fiction can't have enough of them as far as I'm concerned.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_74" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_6243"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_6229">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_6234">For
my money, Daniel Polansky's Warden is the greatest of these; a
character who will happily spread chaos in the pursuit of aims and leave
you wondering whether he's a good man forced to do bad things or… the
other way round. 'The Straight Razor Cure' (a much better title than
'Lowtown') and 'Tomorrow The Killing' have posed these questions already
and to excellent affect. 'She Who Waits'… Well, the best way to sign
off a series is to leave the reader with a few tantalising questions and
Polansky somehow manages to do this while at the same time giving said
reader an appropriate sense of closure at the same time. The story ends here and I for one wish it hadn't.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_78" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_84" /></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_81" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_6234">For those of you familiar with the series, 'She Who Waits' follows a path well travelled by the Warden. Lowtown is starting to fall to pieces under the pressure of a mystery that apparently only Warden can solve. While he is doing this, Warden must watch not only his back but those of his closest friends. And while he is doing <span id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_108" style="font-style: italic;">this</span>... Warden is also putting the pieces into place that will give him the revenge that he been searching for all these years.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_105" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_112" /></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_109" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_157"><span id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_155"><span id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_153"><span id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_151"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1408396473614_6234">And that's what sets 'She Who Waits' apart from any number of 'trilogy concluders' (I've said it so now it's a word) that follow the safe path through to the end. Not only has Polansky been playing an incredibly long game (seriously, there are things in 'The Straight Razor Cure' that make a lot of sense now) but he's not afraid to torch the whole thing once he has finished playing. Imagine that slow, patient build up; imagine the pieces finally falling into place... And then gasp as Polansky elects not to play it safe after all, sending everything and everyone straight to a hell of Wardens own making. You've got to admire the way that Polansky holds his nerve here when the safe option would have been so much easier. Lowtown is a brutal place at the best of times, by the time 'She Who Waits'
comes to an end you will have seen a Lowtown only hinted at previously.
Not only does it open your eyes to what Warden has to live with, it
makes the story fly by and will have you almost forgetting the inevitability of the ending.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_6_1408396473614_160" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm
not going to give too much away but it's clear to anyone that there is
only one way for a man like Warden to leave a tale like this. Polansky
deals with it very matter of factly and you get the impression that's
just how Warden would have wanted it. I really appreciated the respect that Polansky has for his characters that he comes across as more than happy to let characters like Warden show him the way to the finale, not the other way round. That is why I will be reading more books by Polansky while other authors will fall by the wayside, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Does 'She Who Waits' tread an awfully familiar path then? I'm afraid it does. Does it matter though? Not to me it didn't, not when the plot flowed the way it did. Should I read it then? Damn right you should, just as soon as you've read 'The Straight Razor Cure' and 'Tomorrow The Killing'. 'She Who Waits' is a worthy finale to what has turned out to be quite the superb trilogy (almost without anyone noticing, shame on you all). Read it.</span>Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-83083853548405968472014-08-14T01:00:00.000+01:002014-08-14T01:00:02.409+01:00More New Fantasy Masterworks On The Horizon.Way back in November last year (and wow that seems such a long time ago now...) I wrote a post about all the new Fantasy Masterworks that Gollancz were publishing. Seriously, I did, it's over <a href="http://graemesff.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/more-fantasy-masterworks-coming-from.html">here</a>.<br />
Several months down the line and I haven't finished any of them yet; new baby in the house, three new jobs and two new guinea pigs, something had to give somewhere... I'll get round to them at some point :o)<br />
<br />
A little mooching around on Amazon, yesterday, revealed that a whole load more Masterworks are on their way and I'm pretty excited about one in particular. Have a look at this list (which kind of picks up where the last list left off)...<br />
<br /><i>'Mythago Wood' - Robert Holdstock (November 2014)</i><br />
<i>'Little, Big' - John Crowley (February 2015)</i><br />
<i>'The Forgotten Beasts of Eld' - Patricia McKillip (March 2015)</i><br />
<i>'The Book of the New Sun Volume 1: Shadow & Claw' - Gene Wolfe (April 2015)</i><br />
<i>'Expiration Date' - Tim Powers (May 2015)</i><br />
<i>'Lavondyss' - Robert Holdstock (June 2015)</i><br />
<i>'Grendel' - John Gardener (July 2015)</i><br />
<i>'Thomas the Rhymer' - Ellen Kushner (July 2015)</i><br />
<i>'The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox' - Barry Hughart (July 2015)</i><br />
<i>'The Book of the New Sun Volume 2: Sword & Citadel' - Gene Wolfe (August 2015)</i><br />
<i>'The Riddle Masters Game' - Patricia McKillip (August 2015)</i><br />
<i>'The Anvil of Ice' - Michael Scott Rohan (September 2015) </i><br />
<i>'Something Wicked This Way Comes' - Ray Bradbury (October 2015)</i><br />
<i>'Elleander Morning' - Jerry Yulsman (October 2015)</i><br />
<i>'Earthquake Weather' - Tim Powers (November 2015)</i><br />
<i>'Ash: A Secret History' - Mary Gentle (January 2016)</i><br />
<br />
And here are some of the thoughts that went through my mind when I saw this list...<br />
<br />
1) 'The Anvil of Ice' is going to be a Fantasy Masterwork! Yes! I always thought it was great and it turns out that Gollancz agreed with me :o)<br />
2) But what about the sequels...?<br />
3) Still, yay! Childhood favourite becomes a Masterwork, time for a little dance.<br />
4) Alright, calm down Graeme. Have a look at what else is on the list.<br />
5) Is Tim Powers really that good? It feels like he can't write a book without it becoming a Fantasy Masterwork.<br />
6) And does 'The Book of the New Sun' really need a new cover seeing as the old Fantasy Masterwork edition has been handily kept in print all these years? Either pick a new title or one of the old titles that hasn't fared so well, it's not hard people!<br />
7) There are some intriguing looking new titles though and ones that I've never heard of. A nice mixture of old and new books overall.<br />
8) Going on titles alone, I'd pick 'Thomas the Rhymer' and 'Elleander Morning' as ones to read.<br />
9) And have I mentioned how pleased I am to see 'The Anvil of Ice' on the list...? I have? Oh...<br />
10) And why wasn't 'Mythago Wood' a Fantasy Masterwork long before now? It really should have been.<br />
<br />Any titles here catch your eye?Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-89627939714956164162014-08-12T20:19:00.001+01:002014-08-12T20:19:34.519+01:00'Judge Dredd, Day of Chaos: Fallout' - Various (Rebellion)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGO7Ef7mzMiZwLgztioe1KXL1O_9hM8BoJSN9mw8XQFQFloSW4IoBvb67NOr0r1fGq3fJcyDrxsAchemKjnZbov3gy11DhyphenhyphenKlgXxAKDn8YCpUv94AWbJEkIuzB1PLb3a07QRt7B6Di3Gp/s1600/Fallout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGO7Ef7mzMiZwLgztioe1KXL1O_9hM8BoJSN9mw8XQFQFloSW4IoBvb67NOr0r1fGq3fJcyDrxsAchemKjnZbov3gy11DhyphenhyphenKlgXxAKDn8YCpUv94AWbJEkIuzB1PLb3a07QRt7B6Di3Gp/s1600/Fallout.jpg" height="400" width="291" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407870601777_2586" style="font-size: small;">Over
the years, I've become used to Mega City One being trampled all over
and millions of citizens dying. It's like an extra season in a way;
'Spring', 'Summer', 'Autumn', 'Winter' and 'Mega City One being beaten
to within an inch of its crime-ridden life'. It's always fun to be a
spectator when 'Catastrophe Season' rolls round and 2000AD outdid
themselves with the 'Day of Chaos' storyline; the Mega City skyline in
flames, 350 million dead citizens and Justice Department struggling to
mount any kind of resistance to the anarchy that the city is sliding
into. 'The Fourth Faction' and 'Endgame' were awesome reads but where do
you go from there? How can you top such a powerful story?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407870601777_2644" style="font-size: small;">The
answer is that you can't really top it but there is still a wealth of
stories to be told in the shattered remains of the city. And that's what
'Fallout' is all about, an exploration of the aftermath of 'Chaos Day'
and, I suspect, seeds being sown for future tales.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407870601777_2642" style="font-size: small;">Dredd's
actions, thirty years ago, led to the viral attack on Mega City One so
it's only fitting that the bulk of this volume concentrates on how he is
bearing up under the strain. Dredd is a fairly one dimensional
character, from what I've seen, so it is interesting to see cracks
starting to show in the façade at the same time as he is busting perps.
Stories like 'Wolves' and 'Save Him' force Dredd to face up to his
actions in really intense ways (some incredible artwork from Currie
backs this up) and the fact that you know Dredd will pull through is
besides the point; it's all about internal conflict and in more ways
than one, *COUGH*'Save Him'*COUGH!* Dredd knows where the responsibility
for Chaos Day ultimately lies but he still has a job to do and he's
going to get it done. It's an interesting dynamic that I wouldn't mind
following further. Would it go to the logical conclusion or would the
writers decide that Dredd is made of sterner stuff? Like I said, just
the fact that you can see those cracks at all is really telling… </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407870601777_2641" style="font-size: small;">There's
fifty million other people, than Dredd, in the Big Meg though and
'Fallout' also chronicles the attempts of the 'Chaos Day' survivors to
make something of themselves, generally involving varying degrees of
illegal activity from breaking and entering ('Sealed', a moving tale
that had me getting a piece of dust out of my eye, ahem…) to grave
robbing ('The Pits') to seceding from Mega City One entirely ('Debris',
superb artwork from PJ Holden and a story to match). The theme just
about stays on the right side of being too repetitive, built only just,
luckily for the writers there are a million different ways to break the
law in the Big Meg. The only stories that didn't work for me were
'Wastelands' and 'Power Struggle'; the switch to the machinations of the
rich/big corporations came at the expense of the raw emotion of the
survivors at ground level and these stories felt a little detached as a
result.The art was a little bit lacklustre too...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1407870601777_2641" style="font-size: small;">'Fallout' is one of those books that you're only really likely to read if you've already read the preceding volumes but, as far as I'm concerned, it's still a worthy follow up (albeit with a couple of misses amongst all the hits) to possibly one of the biggest events in the history of Mega City One. Nothing will ever be the same again and 'Fallout' leaves you in no doubt as to just why that is.</span></span></div>
Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-66226617484480873602014-08-11T11:55:00.001+01:002014-08-11T20:33:52.133+01:00'Doctor Who And The Leisure Hive' - David Fisher (Target)<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Doctor and Romana arrive on Argolis in search of a peaceful holiday at the famed Leisure Hive. Instead they become embroiled in both a takeover scheme by the Argolins' historic enemy the Foamasi and the machinations of Pangol,the child of the Generator. If the Doctor can overcome a murder charge and a lethal encounter with the Tachyon Recreation Generator, him and Romana might just make it back to the TARDIS in one piece…</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">'The Leisure Hive' was one of those Doctor Who shows that I first saw as a kid and missed large chunks of due to being four (almost five!) and possibly being scared of the Foamasi. Or having to go to bed early, could have been either one really.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The DVD has been on my shelf for a little while, might get round to watching it over the weekend, and it was always far more likely that I would get round to reading the book first (even though I've had the DVD far longer), especially now I'm commuting a lot and am in need of some</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">seriously easy reading that doesn't tax me too much. What? The style of most Doctor Who books (well, the old Target novelizations) is to recount exactly what happened in the show, with minimal padding, and that is what I'm after at the moment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was kind of a pleasant/unpleasant surprise then to find that 'The Leisure Hive' delivered a little bit more than the regular 'run of the mill' Doctor Who novelisation. 'Pleasant' because I ended up with a little more to chew on but 'unpleasant' in that anything that means some kind of independent thought gives me a splitting headache. I suffer for my reading sometimes :o)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On the whole though, it's always nice to read a Doctor Who novelisation where the author steps out of the comfort zone and tries to add a little something new to the setting. Here, David Fisher gives us a little extra history of the Argolin, the Foamasi and how cultural similarities can lead to conflict. This is all done with a refreshing comedic tone that's reminiscent of Douglas Adams ('The Leisure Hive' was published four years after the 'Hitchhikers' radio series, roughly the same time as the book itself so I don't think there's any coincidence in the tone). I like it when a Doctor Who writer fleshes out background detail and even more so when the writer injects a little of their own tone into it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The plot itself… Well, I've still to watch the DVD so can't really comment on how well the book compares to the source material. The plot does hold up well though; it's a little more linear than it at first appears but raises enough interesting questions to keep the readers interest (it did for me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">anyway). I'm still not 100% sure how the Doctor got out of that final spot but sometimes you have to suspend a little disbelief when he's concerned and just accept that stuff can happen. I'm not blaming this on woolly writing; no, not at all…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I picked up my copy for a pound in town and the most likely way of coming across a copy of 'The Leisure Hive' is getting it second hand somewhere. Probably only worth the hunt then if you are a fan but a surprisingly enjoyable read if you do get yourself a copy.</span>Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228796520687220841.post-36292559102258559322014-08-10T20:00:00.001+01:002014-08-10T20:00:34.815+01:00Books in the Post! 'Anticipated' EditionIts been a quiet week for books coming through the post; its been a quiet week in general actually with settling down into a new work routine (minutes, lots and lots of minutes...) and not an awful lot of reading getting done. It's not all bad though, I'm halfway through 'She Who Waits' (it has only taken me a year to get this far) and it's an excellent read. Bit gutted that I skipped to the end, to see what happened, but if I will insist on spoiling books for myself... I also managed to get Amazon to pay my bank charges but that's another story altogether :o)<br />
<br />
A couple of good looking books have found their way home though and it seems to be all about adding to collections this week. Check em' out...<br />
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<br />
Ever since Gollancz announced their new Fantasy Masterworks series, I've been waiting to get my hands on a copy of 'Votan', the only book on the list that I'd never heard of. Also, look at the lovely cover; isn't it glorious?<br />
<br />
<i>In the second century AD, a Greek nobleman is travelling and living
abroad in Germany while carrying on an affair with a military man's
wife. When discovered, he takes an emergency business trip to save his
life and packs amongst his belongings certain items that lead the people
he encounters to think him a Norse God, a fortuitous point of view
which he does little to dispel. Forced to keep up the pretence of being a
god while staying one step ahead of his lover's jealous husband,
Photinus must juggle the severity of his situation with the enjoyment of
being a god.</i><br />
<br />
On the strength of that blurb, 'Votan' doesn't look like it has any right to be in a series of 'Fantasy Masterworks'<i> </i>but I'm going to give it a go anyway and see what happens.<br />
<br />
'The Drawing of the Dark' was a surprise find whilst on the way home from dropping Sue and the kids off at the station. I'd pretty much stopped collecting the old Fantasy Masterworks ('collection burnout') but the instinct is still there and when I saw 'The Drawing of the Dark' on the shelf I was handing over money for it before I even realised what was happening. I still haven't read anything by Tim Powers, really need to do something about that.<br />
<br />
One question before I go, have any of you read 'The Drawing of the Dark'? The only reason I'm asking is because the tagline on the back of this edition reads, <b>'Myth, Magic and Mystery as East meets West in Mortal Combat'</b>. Is that a fair summary of the book or did the blurb guy get a little carried away...?Graeme Floryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15411505049326440010noreply@blogger.com1