'The Sigillite' - Chris Wraight (Black Library)

Nick Rondeau – This first Black Library review is for you seeing as you were wondering whether there would be any here :o)  There will be more to come.

There used to be a time when I would listen to Black Library audiobooks as a way of escaping the hell of the daily commute into work. They really helped, there's no better way of shutting out an awful journey, on the underground, than by listening to far future tales of a time that is far worse. The constant echo of gunfire helps as well!
It has almost been a year since I was last in work so, these days, Black Library audiobooks are something that I listen to before I go to bed. Sometimes, depending on the day I've had, I'll even find the sound of gunfire soothing enough to send me to sleep. It's funny how things change isn't it?

Chris Wraight is a BL author that I've always had a lot of time for so I was pleased to see that his 'promotion' to the Horus Heresy line (first with a short story contribution and now with his debut audiobook) shows that a lot of people clearly think the same. I might well be the only person left who wishes that Chris would write more Warhammer Fantasy stuff but there you go. He is worth reading either way.
I'd been particularly interested to hear this story as it deals with a character who may well be at the forefront of everything happening, in the Heresy, but is also a character that we don't know an awful lot about. Malcador the Sigillite may well be the Emperor's right hand man but what does he actually do when he is at the office? Chris Wraight's 'The Sigillite' tells us and in some style.

Before we get into the story itself, I ought to point out that I am reviewing an MP3 file instead of the usual CD. This was a deliberate choice (Hope broke the CD tray on the computer) but it means that I have no idea who played what part... So for now then, lets just say that the production and narration is at least on a level with some of Black Library's better audiobooks. I certainly found the story very easy to get into on that score. Talking of which, onto the story itself…

The galaxy is divided, but while his armies prepare for battle the Emperor himself remains curiously absent. In his place stands Malcador – legendary Sigillite, First Lord of Terra and regent to the throne – now arguably the single most powerful man in the Imperium. Army officer Khalid Hassan reports back to the Palace after a disastrous secret mission into the wastelands of Gyptus, but soon learns an awful truth about the destiny of mankind. Where do Malcador’s true loyalties lie?

On the surface, ‘The Sigillite’ is perhaps a little too straight forward for my tastes although, with a running time of 75 minutes, that’s understandable. Dig a little deeper though and you realise that ‘The Sigillite’ is more of a character study than an exercise in ‘twists in the tale’. It’s here that Wraight excels, giving us more of a glimpse into Malcador than I’ve come across anywhere else. This being the case, ‘The Sigillite’ is a tale for fans rather than the casual listener. I fall into the former set and I had a great time.

Without giving too much away… Not only do you get to discover just what Malcador is all about, Wraight ties this into our own past as well lending as sense of real poignancy to the proceedings with the hope that Malcador is trying to give humanity for the future (as well as what the Emperor is up to while he is ‘away’). If you’re a fan then you will know just what kind of world Terra is ten thousand years after Malcador’s demise and it makes things all the more sad that we know it’s coming while he doesn’t. Or is Wraight planting seeds that will come to fruition and make the universe of the 40th millennium a better place after all? I don't think so either but maybe there’s some hope yet…

If you’re a fan then you should have either listened to ‘The Sigillite’ by now or be waiting for it to turn up in a future anthology. Either way, make sure you listen to/read ‘The Sigillite’. It’s a tale that you need to get into.

Cover Art - 'Requiem' (Ken Scholes)

I read 'Lamentation' years ago (really enjoyed it from what I can remember, it's been a while) but never got round to reading the others. That will change very soon as I suddenly realised that 'Requiem' was published just recently. I loved the whole 'Dying Earth' vibe, back then, so expect a flurry of reviews in the near(ish) future. In the meantime, have the cover art for 'Requiem' if you haven't seen it already.

I was going to include some blurb but there isn't much of it to be honest. I'm a big fan of the way the cover is all posed, and the slightly archaic font, but I can't for the life of me remember the name of the artist. It's on the tip of my tongue... Help?

Giveaway! 'Man of Steel' (Titan Books)

For all those who haven't been able to make it to the cinema yet (like me)... This one is for you :o) Thanks to those nice people at Titan, I have three copies of the movie novelization to give away (I would normally post some blurb at this point but you either know the story already or don't want to be spoilt). I'll point out now though that this competition is only open to people in the UK. Sorry about that everyone else.

If you're still reading and you want to enter, here's what you do. I haven't got round to creating a new email address yet  so drop me an line at graeme@NOSPAMgraemesfantasybookreview.com (remove the 'NOSPAM' bit) telling me what your postal address is. The subject header should be 'Man of Steel'. Just to make this one a little more interesting, winners will be determined by how sorry I feel for you after you tell me why you haven't been able to see 'Man of Steel' at the cinema :o)

I'm letting this one run until the 3rd of July and will announce the winners as soon as possible afterwards.

Good Luck!

‘Terminus’ – Adam Baker (Hodder & Stoughton)

I’m not so hot on zombie novels any more but if there’s a good apocalypse between the pages of a book then you can bet that I’ll be picking up to see if anyone is left standing by the end. Adam Baker’s last two books (‘Outpost’ and ‘Juggernaut’) have been a healthy mixture of the two with a thoughtful new spin on the zombie genre blending well with some fast paced horror. I enjoyed ‘Outpost’ a whole lot more than its sequel but I’d still recommend reading ‘Juggernaut’ anyway; to be honest I don’t think you’ll have much of a choice after reading ‘Outpost’…

All good things come to an end though and that’s no different here. At least I don’t think there are any more books planned here although I wouldn’t mind being proved wrong; it’s been one hell of a ride. But anyway…
My copy of ‘Terminus’ came through the door on Friday afternoon and (after brief stops for barbecues etc) I had finished it by Sunday evening. It wasn’t a perfect read but, at the same time, it was also one of those books that I couldn’t help but read until it was done. Now I’m waiting for ‘Terminus’ to become a movie (along with the other two books), I’d definitely go and see it.

The techno-virus has spread across America; locking its victims halfway between life and death while sending them out to spread the pathogen even further. New York has just had an atomic bomb dropped on it (to halt the spread of the virus) but the one man who might have been able to find a cure didn’t get out in time. Luckily, radio signals coming from the shattered city suggest that not only is he alive but that he found the answer everyone was looking for…
A rescue team is dispatched to search the subway tunnels, beneath Manhattan, and bring back the scientist. The radiation count is rising, infected survivors lurk under the water and there’s something lurking in the walls of Base Camp. Not an easy job then but there isn’t any other option when humanity itself is on the brink of extinction…

What a way to end the series! (I should note that these three books can be read in any order but I’m personally sticking with order of publication) It’s like Adam Baker has stared into the dark heart of the apocalypse and truly gets what it means. While there will always be hope, do you seriously think hope stands a chance hiding amidst the radioactive rubble and trying to dodge techno-zombies. Nope, me neither. I found ‘Outpost’ and ‘Juggernaut’ notable for just how bleak they were and Baker doesn’t let up here. If a radioactive, bombed out, landscape wasn’t bleak enough for you, Baker proceeds to fill it full of the kind of human stupidity that lends even more inevitability to the outcome. First rule of the apocalypse: Work together and you will be fine. Second rule of the apocalypse: People cannot work together, not even if their lives depend on it. Baker plays to these rules and does it with a cast of characters that I couldn’t help but root for. Yep, even Galloway (especially after what he did to escape infection…)

In an apocalyptic scenario some things are just inevitable but luckily for us, Baker really gets the importance of a good story to go along with the doom and gloom. There’s no chance of us getting bogged down in just how depressing and final this apocalypse is. Baker shows us that there is still room for human drama to play out and that’s the hook. Strong characters will rail against the inevitable, whether it’s down to the possibility of a cure or purely because they are so hardcore that they won’t give up until they are literally covered in techno-zombies. Baker  gives us some of each and this mix moves the plot along nicely. Some characters act out of hope for a positive resolution and this makes some of the twists even more powerful. Others act purely out of a desire to stay alive for as long as possible and this lends the action scenes even more of a punch (especially when Lupe gets involved). There is a lot going on in what feels like a relatively short read, just over four hundred pages but all written at break neck pace. Baker doesn’t let ‘Terminus’ forget its horror roots either (would you call these books horror or sci-fi?) with finely crafted moments of tension suddenly exploding into viscera and gore. Like I said at the start, this book would make for some great cinema.

If there was one thing that I didn’t get on with in ‘Terminus’ it was, well… not what you think actually. I could handle the revelation behind the pathogen as not only had it been hinted at, in the preceding books, but confirmation came out of a twist in the plot that just changed everything and left me gasping. Brilliant stuff.
No, what I found difficult was that while Baker was clearly on top of his game in terms of plot and characters, there were so many tunnels and little rooms (all with very little to distinguish them) that I had no idea where things were happening let alone how they came to happen there. I can see that Baker was going for a sense of claustrophobia (which he got) but I spent too much time trying to figure out where stuff was happening to really feel it like he intended.

When there was so much else happening though, this became a minor niggle that was fairly easy to move past. I found ‘Terminus’ to be a heady concoction of horror and sci-fi, all served up at the world’s ending. A great book to end a memorable trilogy.

A Couple of Tales from 'The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities' (Edited by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer, Harper Voyager)

I will pick up anything with Ann and Jeff Vandermeer's names on it, that's just the way it is. Getting round to reading those books though, thats another matter entirely. Lets just say that my copy of 'Shriek' is still looking suspiciously new and there probably hundreds of stories in 'The Weird' that I am still to read. This is an attempt to redress the balance a little bit then with a couple of tales taken from the collection of the infamous Dr. Lambshead; a collector of all sorts of strange and arcane things.
It's also an opportunity for me to read some short fiction by two of my favourite authors, Michael Moorcock & Tad Williams, which is something I'll never pass up. These guys have never let me down yet and, if you have yet to try them, I don’t think they’ll let you down either. They’ve certainly both delivered this time round…

“It resembles a Lazy Susan,” commented a reporter for America’s New York World, “but instead of spinning to present dishes to be served, its revolutionary motion is meant to deliver children to Scholarship.”

I’d be the first person to admit that I’m a big fan of Tad Williams’ work and should probably give you a pinch of salt to take with this short review. The fact is though, I found ‘A Short History of Dunkelblau’s Meistergarten’ to be a tale all the more chilling for his leaving the ending deliberately ominous and open. Through his descriptions of the machine in question, Tad invites his readers to marvel at Dunkelblau’s invention whilst also questioning the people who would willingly surrender their children to its embrace. Dunkelblau’s madness also comes under the spotlight albeit with an edge of sympathy for a man who was perhaps a little too close to his mother and subjected to the world of academia at a very tender age.
The stated aim of the ‘Meistergarten’ is at odds with the results in all but one of the children it ‘teaches’ but the reader is left asking whether its one ‘success’ is perhaps the most insane of them all. With that question asked, ‘A Short History’ ends very abruptly but in just the right place to have you thinking about it for a long time afterwards. Another great read from Tad Williams who proves here that he is just as adept at telling short stories as he is at telling ones much longer.

‘The bare facts of the case were as bizarre as they were brief: The small daughter of a Bermondsey tailor claimed that her half-grown cat, Mimi, had eaten a fairy.’

If you’ve read Moorcock’s genre fiction, you will know that it will inevitably tie back into his wider mythos (call it ‘The Multiverse’, ‘Second Aether’ or whatever, it’s all the same thing). I’m not sure quite how I feel about this sometimes but in ‘Shamalung (The Dimunitions)’ it feels right somehow; especially when placed in context with the voyage that our intrepid explorers make. Think of this tale as a Steampunk version of ‘Fantastic Voyage’ (albeit outside the human body) and you won’t go too far wrong; I particularly liked the idea of Christian missionaries using this device to preach the word right at the very boundaries of existence (despite the inevitable cost).
I think what I really liked about ‘Shamalung’ is how it is initially dressed up as a pulp style detective tale that is suddenly revealed to be a lot more. That ‘pulp energy’ drives things along nicely (with an intriguing hook) and then you are deposited in the middle of a revelation so vast that it is all too easy to keep turning the pages and see where you end up. Moorcock also decides to end things on a question which, although not as urgent as Williams, does leave you wondering at the sheer size of a landscape only really hinted at in the story. Another tale well worth reading if you get the chance.

It’s great to open up a short story collection (every now and then) to have a browse, and I do have a few more collections on my shelves, so I think you can expect to see more posts like these in the future. Are there any collections that you would recommend for a guy who likes fantasy (and some weird fiction in particular)? Bear in mind that I already have a copy of ‘The Weird’ and am working my way through ‘Fearsome Journeys’. Doesn’t have to be a new collection either. Leave a comment if you think of anything :o)

Books, Books & Books...

You may have heard me go on about this elsewhere but I'm on a bit of a mission to collect the old Fantasy Masterworks series. The rules are simple; all purchases can only be made through second hand book-shops/market stalls etc. When I finally get a job, one small excursion into the world of 'Amazon New & Used' will be permitted :o)

With this in mind, there was no way that I could pass up a visit to the Hilly Fields Fair (just up the road from where I live, always fun) without a little nose around the second hand stalls after time spent watching Hope try to kill herself on the bouncy castle. No Fantasy Masterworks this time, the search continues, but I did manage to find this...

Last time I came across one of the 'Eternal Champion' books in hardback ('A Nomad of the Time Streams' in case you were wondering) it set me back £15 for a first edition. I'm not sure if 'Von Bek' is a first edition (how do you tell?) but it only cost me a pound so I'm not too bothered if it isn't :o) I don't often get luck like this on the second hand book trail so am feeling pretty pleased with myself right now. All I need to do is to find some 'Jerry Cornelius' at a similar price and I'm all set :o)

In terms of books that have come through the door recently; I put down whatever it was I was reading (must have been good then...) to have a go at these two...

'Man of Steel' is the kind of book that makes me want to go out and buy a coffee table just so I have something to put it on. It looks absolutely gorgeous inside and out with all those shots from the film and the double spread concept art. That's where the appeal ends for me though... 'Man of Steel' is one of those books that gives you a lot of background in terms of actors insight into a character, location details etc and that's just not my thing. I love to escape into a story, not have it stripped down into the mechanics of what made it in the first place. If this is your thing then I would totally recommend 'Man of Steel' but, if I can't get to the cinema, I'll wait for the novelization to show up.

I'm about fifty pages off the end of 'Terminus' so won't say too much right now other than that I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. Have some blurb,

The world has been overrun by a lethal infection, ravaged by a pathogen that leaves its victims locked half-way between life and death. New York, bombed to prevent the spread of the disease, has been reduced to radioactive rubble.

A rescue squad enters the subway tunnels beneath Manhattan, searching for the one man who can create an antidote.

The squad battle floodwaters, lethal radiation and infected, irradiated survivors as they race against the disease that threatens to extinguish the human race.

Review to come later this week I reckon.
I was going to say that 'Terminus' is a great way for Baker to round off his series but the books haven't been written in order of events so, erm... It's a great way for Baker to begin the series? You can read these books in any order so I'll let you make up your own mind ;o)

Free Reading Friday!

I've spent the last couple of days on a course where you are told how to go out and find a job (turns out I was doing most of this already...) so haven't had time to write the reviews that I wanted to. In the spirit of this new (slightly more relaxed in terms of posting reviews) blog that's not a huge deal though. Everything gets pushed back a couple of days and will turn up a little later ;o)

So what do you get in the meantime? Does a little bit of free reading sound good? Are you a fan of Mark Lawrence's 'Broken Empire' books? If you answered 'yes' to both questions then you might want to click Here to read his free short story 'Sleeping Beauty'. If you want to read Mark's thoughts on finishing the 'Broken Empire' trilogy (the last book will be published next month I think) then have a click Here.

In slightly related news I'm going to have another crack at reading 'Prince of Thorns' with the aim of being all caught up by the time the last book comes out. Last year wasn't the right time for me and that book but I think it could well be now. Keep an eye out here and I'll let you know how it goes...