Happy Hallowe'en!

That's all I have to say, really.

I should have reviewed yesterday's zombie adventure, today, to make it more festive, but hey, I'm silly like that ;)

Death Hulk

Death Hulk
Matthew Sprange
Abaddon Books


Death Hulk is a book in The Tomes of the Dead, a series of zombie novels from the publisher Abaddon -- who are, by the way, rather appropriately named, with "Abaddon" meaning realm of the dead in Biblical poetry. You learn something new every day! I've previously reviewed The Words of their Roaring, from this series (though it should be noted that the books are separate stories, only tied together by the undead ... as it were!) and found it to be a quite fun zombie read, nothing too challenging, but definitely something good to read for a quick zombie buzz! Now I move onto Death Hulk, and ghoulish-ness on the high sea...

Havelock, captain of His Majesty's Ship Whirlwind, is doing his bit for King and country. Being sent to the coast of Africa to deal with Elita, a French warship (Napoleonic wars) comes under that category. The fact that the Elita isn't the problem, and that there's a sunken ship suddenly afloat, teeming, yes, teeming, with zombies isn't what he signed up for.

Not that he has a choice, of course. And the zombies seem to be after only one man -- guess who?! It would seem that poor Havelock's grandfather, supposedly a major hero of some previous war, attacked a ship of innocent people and then fired upon it's rescuers. And those rescuers, the French warship, Elita, namely, want revenge ...

The concept of zombies on the high seas, was something that drew my attention immediately. The zombies took quite a while to show up, however, and quite a large chunk of the novel read like an ordinary sea-faring adventure. While that's not really my cup of tea, Matthew Sprange had clearly done his research, and the internal politicking and superstitious nature of the rest of the sailors featured, was still interesting. It was at that point that one of the sailor's mentioned rumours that Napoleon had managed to control an army of the undead, and was marching across Europe with it -- that would make quite a cool spin-off and my imagination chose to go into overdrive...

Once I got back to the story, I did enjoy it, but one of those annoying little things occurred, and occurred thus: in The Words of Their Roaring, I rather felt that the epilogue had been tagged onto the end of the story with little relevance, and only to provide a link to the title. Well, this time it wasn't the epilogue: about half way into the story, when the "deathships" were being mentioned, a character decided to call it a "Death Hulk". They all thought it was a good idea, but next time they spoke of it, they called it a "deathship". It was only that character who still used the term "Death Hulks", and that character who spent quite a while eventually forcing everyone to use his term. What has this got to do with story?! It probably seems like I'm being unnecessarily picky (and I am) but again, it seemed only to link the cool nifty title into the text, and a bit of a cop-out...

All of that said, when all I can find wrong with a book is a few nitpickings, then it's not bad at all. I've never really read much zombie fiction, so my experience with that particular sub-genre isn't particularly extensive, but I still recognise a good, fun, fast read when I see one. 7 out of 10.

For more info:

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

PS: You may have noticed that I'm starting to embolden certain key features of the book or key points of the review. I feel it adds a bit of texture to what could be a large chunk of text, and is a useful pointer for readers ... and it's not my idea! It's a homage to Robert at Fantasy Book Critic -- a great idea, so I've had to borrow it, though Robert might have different reasons for his bold-ness :)

Catastrophe's Spell Winner

Sarah Heacox

was the lucky winner of a signed, personalised copy of Mayer Alan Brenner's Catastrophe's Spell! Congratulations!

Consolations to all those who entered and didn't win -- I would previously reply to all who didn't, but the numbers of entries now make that too difficult. Best of luck next time, though!

Interview with Philip Palmer

This Q&A has been in the works for quite a while, and it's one I've been looking forward to greatly. Philip Palmer is a British SF author, debuting with Orbit in January 2008, on both sides of the Atlantic. I was lucky enough to get the page proofs of Debatable Space -- and it's a truly fantastic read. Without further ado, then...

--

Well, I finally decided that I would stop re-writing questions, and get them out to you, so I'd like to welcome you to my blog :) Refreshments are always served, but the first of our never-ending annual lunches is on you... :P

A: Yes of course, but I insist that that you buy the meal in the pizza place on Mars - bear in mind that the cost of transporting fresh ingredients from Earth is going to be exorbitant!

(Oh... I think I'll stick to offering people cookies in future!) Just to get people tearing at their calendars for January 2008, could you tell us a little about your science-fiction début, Debatable Space?

A: I wanted to write a space opera, with intergalactic battles and weird aliens and a rollercoaster narrative…it’s the kind of stuff I’ve always loved. Ringworld was a big influence on me; there’s something magical and special about the Pierson’s puppeteers, and something indefinably glamorous about Louis Wu. And the way Niven creates alien worlds that you can visualise and believe in is so extraordinary.

So that’s where I started – with a childlike zest to write an all-action story set in space. But at some point in the writing process, quite early on in fact, I was ambushed by a desire to explore all the nooks and crannies of this world I was conjuring up. Instead of just proceeding from battle to battle, I began writing sections from the POV of all the important secondary characters. And Lena, who was supposed to be the hapless victim of an evil space captain, turned into the story’s protagonist. Lena then took over her own sections of the book, as she narrates her thought diary. And, frankly, I was rather amazed at where the story ends up. I hope that the book’s readers will be too….

Orbit have bought the rights to two other SF novels from you – could you tell us a little bit about them, and what their relationship is to Debatable Space?

A: Tim Holman is my editor at Orbit – he’s British, but is in New York at the moment setting up and running Orbit US. Tim asked me to lunch to talk about Debatable Space, which he wanted to buy; and prior to that he’d asked me to pitch an idea for a second book. So I had it all prepared – the further adventures of Flanagan and Lena, in a story called, I think CIRCLES OF HELL. So my agent John Jarrold and I met Tim for lunch – a great lunch, by the way, all the better for being paid for by Orbit – and Tim said Don’t write more Flanagan and Lena, write a totally new story set in the same Debatable Space Universe. So I thought, oops, wasn’t expecting that.

But then, quick as a flash, I immediately pitched him an idea for a ‘Russian novel’ set in space. I was thinking of big books like War and Peace and Crime and Punishment which create a whole textured and to non-Russians ‘alien’ world in which the main, exciting narrative takes place. So that kind of vibe and scale and scope, but on an actually alien planet.

Tim liked that idea so I then had to think of a story to back it up…and I came up with a yarn about Dolphs – genetically engineered human beings who can swim in the water like dolphins – who feature briefly in Debatable Space. This has grown into an ambitious epic novel called Ketos. For the etymologists among you, Ketos is the name of the planet on which the Dolphs settle – it’s a Greek word from which the word ‘cetacean’ is derived, and it also means ‘sea monster’. (And it is, in my view, a great and scandalously under-used word, so I thought I’d give it some limelight.)

I’ve just seen the cover for KETOS which is amazing…with a blood red sea and jagged, angry letters.

I have a storyline for the third book, but haven’t pitched it to Tim yet. So that one’s still at the ‘Will we try for a baby?’ stage.

But the moral of that whole story about the meeting with Tim is – I was all set on going for the easy option, a simple sequel to the story I’d written. Tim – well, he didn’t push exactly, he coaxed, he encouraged, he inspired – but damn it all, he basically succeeded in forcing me to test my own limits, to go out of my ‘comfort zone’. And I’m glad he did.

People tell me Debatable Space is ‘strange’; Ketos is even stranger. I guess that suggests I am, deep down, a pretty strange individual.

(I loved it, and it is a brilliant, brilliant book, so what does that say about me?!) On your blog, you recently mentioned that one of your ideas from Debatable Space actually turned out to be true, saying, ”To be honest, as a science fiction writer with no science degree, I had only a smattering of a grasp of how such a spaceship engine would really operate. It just, er, kinda sounded good...” How much research did go into Debatable Space, though? There were quite a few good ideas in there, and while I have no science degree either, I could tell it wasn't (all!) made-up!

A: I’ve been reading science fiction since I was 11 (I can’t remember the first book, but it ended up with the protagonist being eaten alive – I guess that trauma of that is what made me so strange…?) And I’ve been reading books on science avidly from about the same age. I love science, and scientific ideas, but have never had any formal scientific qualifications.

So to write Debatable Space I read a number of hard books on quantum physics and superstring theory and was rather chuffed to come up with the concept of Quantum Beacons, which is a way of faster than light travel which doesn’t (as wormholes do) violate Einsteinian physics.

But beyond that – I relied on instinct, and refused to get hemmed in by detailed explanations on how the spaceships work, or how the laws of physics are understood by the characters. Other SF writers do such stuff brilliantly, and I admire them for their erudition and their talent; for me, though, it’s all about story, and how characters are affected by the story.

I did have a qualm though on reading the proofs when I read a line about Lena’s spaceship having an ‘ion drive’. What the hell, I thought to myself, is one of those? It must have been a phrase that stuck in my mind from another SF novel I’d read. So I was a bit nervous about being caught out in a scientific solecism. Then I read about the spaceship Dawn, recently launched, which has an ion drive, which I now discover is the best possible way to power a spaceship. So luck was on my side there.

For me, one of the joys of SF is extrapolation, wonderful ideas about what might possible, based on what actually is possible. And I hope Debatable Space has extrapolations that entertain.

As a scriptwriter for film and TV, what would you say has been the biggest change in writing a full length novel, and how have you coped? Would you say your other experiences at writing, even if in different areas, has helped?

A: I think the experience of writing film and TV and radio has been hugely beneficial to my SF novel writing. The pressure and intensity of being a jobbing writer for telly has forced me to think hard, again and again, about how to tell a story. How to make the protagonist drive the story. How to weave in reversals and twists. And, most important of all, how to rewrite. Everything I write, I rewrite and refine a dozen times. In TV, if you don’t do that, you get sacked, so you do it.

Having said that, the joy of writing novels is in the freedom it offers. Writing for TV – I did about 14 BILL episodes at the start of my career, a real school of hard knocks – is all about adapting your vision to someone else’s vision. It’s about being obedient. Writing novels is about being original, having a voice.

Most of the fun I’ve had as a writer (prior to now) has been working for radio. There’s a similar freedom – once you’re commissioned, you’re trusted to deliver. If you don’t get it wrong, you don’t get told to do it again; though if you do get it wrong, well, then the script editing is fierce and focused and rightly so.

The biggest difference in writing a novel is that there are more words. That sounds facetious – but really, it’s just awesome how much more there is to do. Every section in Debatable Space is the equivalent of writing a feature film script. So time management and stamina have become real issues for me.

If you could co-write with one author, who would it be and why?

A: Neil Gaiman. Except that wouldn’t work – he’s too damned good, and his style is too individual and quirky.

So maybe it’s Mark Greig. Mark is a highly successful TV writer who’s written for Life on Mars and is currently writing for the spin off series, Ashes to Ashes. I commissioned Mark to write an episode of Taggart some years ago – I think it

was his first TV commission – and he’s cool, and stylish, and has an ability to write thriller material that awes me. Plus he’s fun. I could imagine co-writing a feature script with Mark; or better still, developing a TV series together. And I love that collaborative way of working, for drama at least.

Oh and Joss Whedon. He can be part of our gang too.

(Wow, that would be quite a gang! I look forward to seeing your collaborations!...)What do you hope to achieve as a writer?

A: Solvency.

But that may be too ambitious a dream! So I’d settle for – creating a body of work that I’m proud of. And I feel I’m some way towards that – mainly because of the radio dramas I’ve done which are mine, all mine; and say something, and which audiences connect with. And with Debatable Space and Ketos out next year, I f

eel I have an oeuvre (oh I love the pretentiousness of that word!) of stuff that’s me, that’s got Palmer written all over it, and which has some resonance for the people who read or see or hear my work.

Could you tell us a little about the journey your story undertook to be published? How does it felt now to be soon-to-be published author? Being published on both sides of the Atlantic at once, I'd imagine that feels good!

A: Writing Debatable Space was a huge gamble which failed. I spent a year, maybe a year and a half writing it, and then, that was that. I just couldn’t sell it. I had an agent who was and is a highly esteemed and successful drama agent who didn’t like SF, and had no notion whatever how to sell the damn book. So I’d pretty well written it off and was moving to other things. But then, in a stubborn moment, I startling Googling SF novel agents, to give it one last try. One name kept leaping out – John Jarrold, former SF editor turned literary agent. So I emailed John – then I think I sent him the novel, or maybe just the first chapters – and he snapped it up. About three months later he’d got the book to the attention of every single SF publisher in the UK and sold it to Orbit.

I was in Patisserie Valerie with two very good friends having a chat and a coffee when John called to say Tim Holman was very interested. That certainly was a good day; although (on my part) a very bad and incoherent conversation.

The news that Tim was moving to the US and hence there was a very good chance of getting a simultaneous US publication was icing on the cake.

Writing’s a risky business; to do anything that’s good you often have to do so much on ‘spec’, which means for no money. So a great agent is vital.

And John’s a great agent; he’s extremely nice, and funny, and clever, and he delivers.

While reading, I became particularly fond of the fire beasts – super-intelligent, able to burst a man into fire, uber-cool ... what isn't there to love!? When creating an alien race, what would you say was more important – a distinctive appearance or an unusual characterisation?

A: Alby, the flame beast, is based on a friend of mine who is super-intelligent and able to burst a man into fire with a single glance, and who is called Alby - so that bit was easy. I think the key to aliens is making them real, without making them human. Who were those cuddly aliens in Star Trek which bred like rabbits – Tribbles? That was a great concept. And Asimov did an entire book from an alien’s POV and it was hugely intriguing.

But I think it’s very hard to avoid cliché when creating aliens, and that’s the challenge for an SF writer.

For the next book I’m aiming to create a whole series of alien creatures – an alien ecosphere.

Which characters have changed the most from your original idea of them to how they've appeared on the page?

A: Lena, as I say, started as a minor character then stole the book – cheeky minx. The other characters came alive in their very first scene – I could see them all. And the rest I think was about discovering more facets to each character; but they didn’t change so very much.

When writing, are you the kind of writer who sits in front of himself with notes written on everything (walls, cups, arms, etc!) -- a planner basically, or do you just sit and write and let the Great Muse inspire you? (That questions was slightly biased towards the latter option, as that's my approach!)

A: I lost all my Post-Its five years ago and haven’t been organised since. I do like to be spontaneous, when writing novels and radio. For screen work, I’m more inclined to plan intensely – I write ‘scene by scene breakdowns’, what some people call ‘step outlines’, which plan the story in every single beat and particular. Then I add dialogue.

For Ketos, which has a large cast of characters, I have a piece of paper stapled to the cabinet beside me with a family tree for all the characters. Otherwise, I get lost about who’s who and how they’re related.

I wrote a blog about Jeremy Dyson (the writer of League of Gentlemen) who likes to have everything totally organised, and claims it’s impossible to write unless you have a tidy desk. I by contrast have a room full of clutter and sometimes lose coffee cups for days on end. My computer, however, is pretty well organised, with Folders for everything and everything in its Folder.

Are there any genre type of things for TV or Radio, that you're currently involved in or planning? And do the those ever overlap into your novel writing? I caught a reference to Isaac Newton, whom you depicted in your radio play, The King's Coiner, in Debatable Space, which is what made me ask =D!

A: I loved doing the Newton play – Isaac Newton, detective! was my pitch, and it’s a true story. I’ve been to the Public Records Office in Kew and read and held the interview transcripts of felons interrogated by Newton in his days as a thieftaker.

I have a couple of genre movies – a film noir and an action thriller – which I’m trying to get financed. And a cool new zombie movie I want to write when there’s time.

Yes, there’s quite a bit of overlap. I researched brainwashing and mind manipulation for my radio play Breaking Point; and that’s become one of the main themes of Ketos. I call it ‘hommage’, but basically I steal from myself all the time.

(As did Oscar Wilde -- you're in pretty nifty company!) Well... it seems I've run out of steam! I'm sure by book two, though, that I'll have come up with more ;) I'd like to take the opportunity now to thank you for taking part in this Q&A, and wish you very good luck with the release of DS. I'll of course be pimping Debatable Space as it's release gets closer and closer! Any last words? (Make them famous!)

A: Thanks Chris. I don’t believe in last words – too deathbed a subtext for my taste – but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this Q & A.

I’ve just received the bound proof of Debatable Space, and it’s the coolest feeling.

The Long Price

The Long Price
Daniel Abraham
Orbit Books


Daniel Abraham is an author who has been making waves within the speculative fiction genre for quite a while. His collaboration with George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois on Hunter's Run, a boldly innovative science fiction novel, was praised heavily, and enjoying the writing style of all three, I was eager for more.

And then I heard that Abraham's epic fantasy quartet, The Long Price, has received good reviews for the first two books, A Shadow In Summer, A Betrayal In Winter in the United States, and for the first time, they've been released in the UK in one large edition... perfect...

In a world where Poets can bind thoughts to shape, their creations, the andat, are essential to the protection of certain cities and the mighty nations themselves. From a young age, the youngest, most dispensable children of the Great Houses are trained in this art. Only a few will make it, and, for a while, it seems that Otah is one of them... Until he decides to flee, and seek his own life...

The ties of the past are inescapable, though, and years later, Otah will forced back into the intrigue and danger, living as he is in the city of Saraykeht, where the andat, Seedless, is entering into his own plans to be rid of his master, and the slavery that binds them. For when he was made, his master unwittingly created an andat who hated the Poet just as much as the Poet hated himself. And there spells great trouble.

The first time I picked this book up, I read quite far in, and then I put it down. The concepts were ambitious and brilliant, the characterisations and worldbuilding above par, but... a sluggish beginning to Winter made it, for the first time in the series, put-down-able. The book was in good company though: I'd done the same with, believe it or not, Robert Jordan's The Eye of the World and Tad Williams' The Dragonbone Chair, both of which are now two of my favourite fantasy books ever written.

So, was The Long Price going to be one of those types? Yes and no, but mostly yes.

After I gave the book a brief respite, and a friend, Robert at Fantasy Book Critic, expressed his profound shock at my initial dislike, I gave the book another go, starting from the beginning and not allowing any disturbance... The benefit of a re-read was all it took for me to realise just what I'd missed in the week I'd abandoned it, and though I still think Winter starts a bit slow, there were plenty of redeeming factors...

For me, Daniel Abraham's greatest strength is definitely his ability with creating strong, real, but not always likeable, characters. The worldbuiling was on a large scale, and very vividly realised, but it was Otah and Maati, and the andat who were best built of all. I loved the struggle between Poet and master, as Seedless did everything he could to thwart his master, but, at the same time, hated himself for doing it.

The ideas on which Abraham has built this series are original and thought-provoking, in a genre where cliche can be rife. The slowness of pace in some parts is something that I'm looking forward to seeing Daniel Abraham overcome, for he is surely one of the brightest stars to come into the genre for quite a while. 8.5/10.

For more info:

Over at A Dribble of Ink, Aidan has an interview with Daniel, so check that out! Robert also has one from a little while back, as well as the great review that made me pick this one up :)

Stephen Donaldson UK Tour

Stephen Donaldson, one of my favourite authors, will be touring my country, which makes a nice change from most authors staying in the US! I won't be able to see him, but if you want to...

There's still time to get your tickets for one of Stephen Donaldson's UK tour dates next week. Stephen will be promoting his new novel Fatal Revenant at several bookshops across the country and this is a rare opportunity to meet a true legend of the fantasy world. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant have become classics and this new volume is the latest in the final tales of Thomas Covenant. It's sure to be an extraordinary evening so get along to one of these bookshops for your chance to meet the author himself and get your copy signed!

Monday 22nd October 7pm Talk and Signing Waterstones 297A High Street Lincoln LN2 1AF Call: 01522 540011

Tues. 23rd October 7pm Talk and signing Waterstones 91 Deansgate Manchester M3 2BW Call: 0161 837 3000 Weds. 24th October 7pm Talk and Signing Waterstones 1/5 Bridlesmith Gate Nottingham NG1 2GR Call: 0115 948 4499

Thursday 25^th October
7pm
Talk and Signing
Waterstones
United Reformed Building
89a Broad Street
Reading
RG1 2AP
Call: 0118 958 1270

[Someone is going to be getting my copy signed for me here!]

Friday 26^th October
7pm
Talk and Signing
Waterstones
11a Union Galleries
Broadmead
Bristol
BS1 3XD
Call: 0117 9252274

[Darn! If I'd known, I could have made this one!]

Saturday 27^th October
1pm - 2pm
Signing
Forbidden Planet
179 Shaftesbury Avenue
London
WC2H 8JR

[This one's for you, Graeme ;) ]

Internet Problems...

Sorry I've been quiet lately -- Firefox closes every time I click on this blog! It's really annoying and five hours later, I still haven't stopped it, merely side-stepped the problem. It's only this page that gets this kind of reception from Firefox, so I'll now have to log in a different way, and never be able to look at my handsome (!) blog on this computer! :(

Lucky that posts have a preview feature, or most posts might come out really mixed up!

Anyway, sorry about this, I should be back tomorrow, but if not, I'm off all of next week, so there's some content that I've been wanting to get on this blog for ages and I'll be free to put it up! :)

My other Internet things aren't affected, so please continue to email me, etc -- only the blog is affected and it's way annoying, way weird and way unlucky.

Adios.

Win A Copy Of Mayer Alan Brenner's CATASTROPHE'S SPELL

Following my review of Catastrophe's Spell, Mayer was kind enough to offer up one copy to a lucky winner. What's more, it will be signed and personalised -- pretty nifty if you ask me! To be in with a chance of winning, do the usual...

• Send an email to: thebookswede@googlemail.com, containing the subject (aka header) "SPELL"

• No multiple entries (will result in disqualification, and a mighty, virtual back-side boot)
  

• Open only in the USA
  

• Please also include any Message Boards you frequent, if any

• Make sure your email contains your full mailing address (snail mail -- that is to say, where you live)

• If you don't want your name announced on the blog, please say :)

• Threatening, say, the death of a beloved animal unless you win, is unlikely to work unless you pick an animal I like (previous experience shows that the threat of tying balloons to a cat, has no effect on my final, random decision -- you are, however, free to try)
  

Good luck!

NOW CLOSED!

Want To Write A Novel...?

Hey, thought this might interest some of you :) I did it last year, but it's not to be this year, I'm way too busy...

Edit: The writing bug has come over me, I will be taking part, so add me as a friend!

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2006, we had over 79,000 participants. Nearly 13,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

So, to recap:

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.

Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.

When: Sign-ups begin October 1, 2007. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

To take part: click here.

...Happy writing!

Catastrophe's Spell

Catastrophe's Spell
Mayer Alan Brenner
Daw Books


Catastrophe's Spell is the first book in the Dance of Gods series by Mayer Alan Brenner, and published by Daw up until the early 90s (see here for more details).

From the few reviews I've read, Brenner has been compared several times to the great, great Roger Zelazny, something which, I must admit, I was a bit dubious about. After reading Catastrophe's Spell, I still don't understand the comparison. That's not to say that the book was bad, in fact, it was quite good -- but, for all their similarities in having written good books, in terms of style, what they're writing, etc, I'd say they were quite different.

Called upon by an old friend, Karlini, who has managed to get himself trapped in a magically snared castle that has the habit of vanishing and re-appearing on the other side of the world (think icebergs, here!), Maximilian the Vaguely Disreputable travels to the small, but busy, town of Roosing Oolvaya. There, Max is to find whoever has trapped Karlini, get them to stop (by way of Max's incredible charisma (and the help of his large, magical power, of course!)), and then return to wherever he was before...

That's the beginning -- but every good story needs a beginning, a muddle, and an end ... and Max is about to walk right into the muddle between Gods and men ... and immortals who want to kill the Gods, mortals who want to kill the immortals and become Gods, Deaths ... and a large amount of zombies, necromancers, and all-around general bad guys.

The humour was never farcical, always intelligent, but there was a certain madcap, slyness to it which I haven't experienced in fantasy for quite a while. Some scenes had me laughing out loud -- not good when traveling with a bunch of strangers, but a perfect remedy to Life.

I was also impressed with the idea of science and magic being intertwined, with Max trying to use science to understand how magic could possibly work ... and how it could be used to remove the Gods... The use of science to do magic was something that reminded me of Charles Stross' Bob Howard books -- and Brenner cited Stross as one of his favourite authors in a previous email.

While not seeming so densely packed with ideas as Stross' work (though that could be because Mayer Brenner's books have more pages, whereas Charles Stross' tend to be slightly thinner), Catastrophe's Spell has its fair share, both humorous and thought-provoking ... with Max spending some time pondering the nature of the Gods, and how they achieved their divinity... Jurtan Mont with his own private mental orchestra that causes unconsciousness whenever he hears a rhythm ... one of the Death's trying to take control of the the town of Roosing Oolvaya, a place where Gods just happen to hang out ... and a sorcerer/detective unable to cast even a minor spell without becoming mortally ill!

Catastrophe's Spell, although humourous is also an engaging, interesting story and an excellent start to the Dance of Gods series. I would like to see this book back in print -- there are some good books out right now, and there are some not-so-good books ... this one deserves its place with the former, and definitely has at least person who'd buy them. 7/10.

I will be reviewing the other books in the series, too. They can though, be read and downloaded (PDF) on Mayer's website -- that includes this book. Happy reading!

Winners of The Awakened Mage...

Orbit were kind enough to give me 6 copies of Karen Miller's excellent, The Awakened Mage, conclusion to the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology. Karen spoke with me a little while ago, about a wide range of topics, so if you're interested, click away! :)



Orbit have some great things going on over on their site, so I'd suggest you check that out too! Stuff like the contest for the Electric Church stuff (see below post)...

But now, for the lucky six!:

Kendall P. Bullen, USA

Mihai Adascalitei, Romania

Siu Ann Lam, UK

Scott Moore, USA

Andrew Glover, UK

Marie Cloutier, USA


Congratulations, thanks for entering, and good luck for next time to those who didn't win!

Cool Electric Church Contest...

Copied from the Orbit e-zine is this fantastic contest!:




THE ELECTRIC CHURCH is out now, and the critics are calling it:

A "kickass thriller" , "fun, cyberpunky noir SF" and "an exhilarating example of powerful and entertaining storytelling."

To celebrate, we’re giving away a Near-Future Dystopia Survival Kit from thinkgeek.com, packed with items that might just help you elude Dennis Squalor's electric monks. The kit includes:

*an RFID Blocking Wallet to keep your info hidden from scanning monks

*a Lazer Tripwire set to help secure your computer from SFF snoops

*a Wall Safe that looks like a power outlet to keep sensitive info away from prying eyes

*a Super Ear that can amplify sound up to 50 decibels to monitor chatter outside your safehouse

*And a Ninja remote – which gives you control over most tvs, and might even shut down an Electric Church monk in a pinch.

...To enter, just send an email to orbit@hbgusa.com with the words “Electric Church Sweepstakes” in the subject line. (Official Rules)

And be sure to check out the official website of The Electric Church...

--

Philip Palmer knows a bit more about it than me:

There's a mad ELECTRIC CHURCH offer from Orbit at the moment offering a prize of anti-surveillance technology to protect you from electronic monks. The gizmos include a wallet with a built-in Faraday cage...I thought at first it was just a wild spoof, but all the gadgets appear to be real and on sale from an actual site! The world is clearly stranger than I realised....(Or am I being duped?)

How awesome is this?!

The Book of Joby

The Book of Joby
Mark J. Ferrari
Tor Books

Joby, a boy with a vivid imagination and dreams of greatness, is about to become the pawn in a game between God and Lucifer ... for the rest of his life, he will be faced with challenges beyond that of most of his peers and family. Unknowing of the causes, his life will be influenced and changed forever...

Combining Arthurian legend with a modern take on the Bible story of Job, The Book of Joby is the fantasy debut of Mark J. Ferrari, a spec fic artist, and is published by Tor.

I particularly liked the way God and Lucifer were presented as characters, and the different -- though still evil -- take on Lucifer, as a creature hating God's creation not because it was too good, but because he felt Man was flawed and evil, unworthy of the love God wouldn't show him. With a recurring wager between the two super-powers, Creation itself hangs in the balance ... can Hell unleashed upon an unsuspecting child for most of his life, turn a good man to evil, as they've done only a few times before? We'd better hope not...

I also loved the way that Mark Ferrari had God and Lucifer "hanging out" in restaurants and cafes across Earth, and a particular scene towards the end of the book, with the angel Raphael trying to speak "cool" and fit in, brought a huge grin to my face. The story of Job was always going to be a good story to work from, but some of the new elements brought in were very clever and original. The Arthurian themes, for example, were tied in really well, and I liked seeing the similarities -- and differences -- between the two legends, with Mark Ferrari doing an excellent job of putting in lots of detail from the legend, but making The Book of Joby his own ... and some of the twists on both legends were both subtle and brilliant.

I do tend to focus on characterisation, but the setting was above par too, with each change of scenery seeming to reflect a change in Joby's feelings or life ... which, was in fact, true and a major basis of the story. Joby's journey to, and eventual fight to protect, Taubolt, the mysterious village where he feels he belongs (and Hell can't enter ... at least for the moment!) was entertaining and imaginative, with yes, yet more twists upon the legend of Arthur, Merlin & the Holy Grail. Mark Ferrari has managed to make the setting almost a characterisation in itself, something that very rarely an author can achieve.

If I were to make one criticism, it would be that the pace of the story slowed a bit in the middle -- but perhaps that's because Ferrari had built the tale up to a breaking point, and I was looking forward to all Hell breaking loose ... literally!

It has occurred to me, that perhaps some people may shy from this book because of its religious nature, but as an atheist with a deep interest in biblical history and the stories of the War in Heaven (ironic, I know), I can say that it isn't trying to make a religious point ... and knowing some Christians who have read this book, it isn't insulting or disrespectful, either. A very good book, basically! Definitely one of the better fantasies I've read this year, and an excellent debut. The Book of Joby is a stand-alone novel, but I look forward to more work from Mark J. Ferrari. Definitely a name to remember, and a novel to buy! 8.5/10.

PS: Mark was also one of the few authors who got to do (part of) his own cover illustration :)

For more info:

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Fantasy Book Critic: Interview & Review

Mark J. Ferrari...

I don't normally post anything about a book which I'm still reading (I don't have anything against it, and blogs like Tia's do it very well, giving a book maximum exposure; it's just different styles), but let me just say this about the opening five pages of The Book of Joby, Mark J. Ferrari's Tor debut:

They're good. Very, very good.

--

I would have had some reviews up today, but Blogger is mangling anything with a picture in it for some reason today, and I like my reviews looking "pretty-ful" :)

In the absence of a "What I'm Reading" bar, here's just a handful (ie. five!) of what I'm reading right now and what's coming up for review:

The Book of Joby, obviously

The Long Price (two books in one, from the acclaimed Daniel Abraham, and published by Orbit ... today!)

Debatable Space by Philip Palmer (Jan 2008, another launch title of Orbit's World Empire), which is fantastic SF, and the review will be up just after I get the questions back from Phil for our interview ... which'll be difficult because I'm still wanting to be writing many, many more! And therefore, haven't sent them off yet...

Saturn Returns by Sean Williams

Lots of nice Pyr goodies which I'm very excited about, and should be arriving soon! Among them, an anthology edited by Gardner Dozois (see, I am getting around to reading everyone who co-wrote Hunter's Run!) Crossover by Joel Sheppard ... and the rest, a very nice surprise, me hopes!

Still waiting for the questions back from the Pat Rothfuss interview, but hey, he's a busy man!

... I'll be closing the Awakened Mage contest sometime soon, too, so get your entries in!

N&HAW

Pat has already blogged about this, but over at Westeros, it's Naked & Hatted Avatar Week, so I suggest you go have a look at this fantastic Message Board, where you can talk GRRM, literature, and show off pictures of people wearing hats!



Mine is from about 6 months ago (forget the event...), as I have no hat to wear for N&HAW :)

I'll be back tomorrow for some serious (Mwuaha) literature critiquing ;) Repeats "Mwuaha"...

Mayer Alan Brenner...

A little while ago, I posted about being contacted by a man called Mayer Alan Brenner (although, that post has now been eaten by Blogger) who's series, Dance of Gods, was published by Daw Books in the late '80s and early '90s.

For a variety of reasons, Daw finally decided to stop publishing the books, though they still retained a loyal readership... Over on his website, Mayer is now trying to attract attention in the books by publishing them online, and hopefully get interest in the "real world", too.

Intrigued, I asked if Mayer might be able to send me some copies of the books (since I'm pretty awful at reading for too long on the computer!). He was pleased to note that I'm quite a fan of Charles Stross, whom he likes too, and mentioned that some bits of the Dance of Gods magic/science system were eerily similar...

I'm currently half-way through Catastrophe's Spell, and let me say, so far, from what I've read, I'd very much like to see these books republished. Review coming soon...

You might be wondering why I'm reviewing books that no one can get hold of in hard copy, but hopefully, after the good publicity Mayer has been receiving lately (from Boing Boing, etc), he may actually make that rare trip back from out-of-publication...

Bye Bye for today, folks :)

My Interviews In German...?

Seems so! I don't understand enough German to tell what the blog's about, but this one has my interview with Karen Miller translated into German!

Sprechen sie Deutsch? If so...

Click here.

(I know, yes, the "sprechen sie Deutsch" bit was lame, but I couldn't resist!)

Win a copy of Karen Miller's THE AWAKENED MAGE

After reading the fabulous conclusion to the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology, The Awakened Mage, by Karen Miller and then interviewing Karen, it was agreed that it was about time you got a chance to win the novel!

So, thanks to the (as usual) lovely people at Orbit, I have SIX copies to give away!

The rules are the same as ever:

• Send an email to: thebookswede@googlemail.com, containing the subject (aka header) "MAGE"

• No multiple entries

• Open WORLDWIDE
  

• Please also include any Message Boards you frequent, if any

• Make sure your email contains your full mailing address (snail mail!)

Good luck!

NOW CLOSED: WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED...