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Title: Jack of Ravens
Author: Mark Chadbourn
Publisher: Gollancz
Published: 6 December 2007
Price: £7.99
Review Copy

Jack of Ravens continues Mark Chadbourn’s exploration of myth, archetypes and human nature. He does a lot more besides that but these are the backbone of the cycles of books that started with World’s End. Jack of Ravens starts with return of Jack Church who disappeared (or died depending on your point of view) at the end of the Age of Misrule trilogy and who was brought back following the events at the end of The Dark Age cycle.

Chadbourn has definitely taken the long view when it comes to this series. As one book builds on the next and each cycle seems to come to end only for something greater or deeper or darker is then revealed.

In Jack of Ravens Chadbourn changes tack again in his exploration of the Fixed Lands (here), the Fragile Creatures (us) and the Tuatha Dé Danann (old celtic gods who influence our lives but in this book there is hint that the world also has gods from other denominations) But instead of confining himself to the near future and the ancient sites of Britain of previous books instead Chadbourn takes us through time and across continents as Jack Church tries to stop the darkness that has altered history to make its plans work.

The best part of each book is that as the reader gets more exposed to the world that Chadbourn has created the more he changes the rules. Here he gathers again the heroes and some villains of past books but they are changed and how they act and react is different as the events that have shaped them previously has changed.

I could go on about the layers that have been built into this series and the connections that are pulled, rewired, crossed and severed as the story is told but that would spoil it. The nature and effect of experience is a major theme.

There is one slight problem with Chadbourn’s storytelling is that it relies on the reader putting things together.Lots is left unexplained but makes a lot of sense if you consider what has gone on before. But in the case of this book if you haven’t read The Dark Age and ideally the Age of Misrule you may lack the knowledge to care about Jack’s journey through 2,300 of history.

Which would be a great shame as Jack of Ravens gave me several ooo and ahh moments as I realised how events were playing out. Chadbourn also has a wonderful imagination. The characters and places of the Far (Faery) Lands are as tangible as they are fanciful.

Overall, Mark Chadbourn has again proved himself an amazing and imaginative story-weaver (he’s laid so many threads) that kept me breathless from beginning to end. I can’t imagine what he has planned for The Burning Man but I can’t wait to find out.

9/10

Additional:

Here are links two reviews of books two and three of The Dark Age cycle.

And an overview of the series so far by me is here.

Tags: 9/10, Gollancz, Mark Chadbourn

Anyone who’s been following my blogging might notice that I go quiet occasionally and then have a burst of activity. If’ I’m clever enough I bottle this recharged energy and let it out slowing by pre-writing posts and if I’m not there’s a flurry of activity and then a bit of a recharge but rest assured I’m always around.

I’m on the last 70 pages of Jack of Ravens by Mark Chadbourn so look for a review of that tomorrow, hopefully. I’ve been wondering what to read next. I think I need a dose of science after all this fantasy so it’s likely to be Bloodmind by Liz Williams as I’m also in a British mood.

Anyway, enough of my blogging habits let’s see what everyone else has been doing:

One book that has been standing out for me, and it might be the cover, is The 13th Reality by James Dashner. It’s got good reviews from the SciFiChick and The Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin’ Review. SciFiChick makes it sound very interesting:

Involving quantum physics and alternate realities, the plot is a unique one for youth. And my favorite part was trying to solve the clues in the letters along with Tick.

Plus I’m a big kid at heart.

UK SF Book News is one of my favourite sources of UK book news. I always like the books received posts as they point out all the interesting books I’ve missed or didn’t know about. The lastest one has books like The Ninth Circle by Alex Bell, which is described as, ‘Neil Gaimen writes The Bourne Identity’. A big promise on that one as I love the Bourne films and the imagination of Gaiman. There’s also mention of Procession of the Dead by D.B. Shan, which I think Chris, the book swede is going to review shortly.

World creation is always hard but the Fantasy Book Critic seems to have fallen for the victorian steampunk setting of Whitechapel Gods by S.M. Peter. I’ve fallen for the cover

Another selection from the SciFiChick this time in the form of Grimspace by Ann Aguirre though it was a bit too mundane for OF Blog of the Fallen. Speaking of OF Blog this is a wonderful post on China Miéville. I’m soon to read his YA novel Un Lun Dun so it’s good to read a summery of a career so far.

Finally ending on books that seems to have come out of nowhere is Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry. Returning to The Fantsy & Sci-Fi Lovin’ Book Review who has an interview and a review and says, ‘ I thought this was the funniest book I’ve read in a while, in a sick kind of way.’ and, ‘I get my paranormal fix and a lesson in fashion. I admit, sometimes the references were over my head. I’m a suburban mom for Pete’s sake. I don’t know Prada from Versace. I shop at The Gap. But I still appreciated the humor of it.’ Oh and it has zombies in it!

There is a dilema inherent in most genre fiction: Should I start at beginning?  Sometimes that choice is easier than others. Lord of the Rings comes in three parts, clearly numbered and in sequence. And once you’ve read them you’re done. A series like Terry Prattchet’s Discworld is more fluid though it helps to read about The Watch or the Witches or Death in sequence but you can read him in mostly any order you like as one book doesn’t, for the most part, depend on the events of the others. Then you have books which are sequels but not part of a trilogy or longer sequence, should you read those from the beginning? I guess the idea is that you find a book by an author you like and then go back and read to fill in the gaps.

So why has this thought struck me? One reason is that I’m halfway through reading Jack of Ravens by Mark Chadbourn and I’ve been thinking what a new reader would make of it? Does it actually make any sense if you haven’t read the books that have gone before? I think that a new reader is going to find it confusing and disappointing and lots of the events, and people, and meaning is missing if you take things on face value. The trouble is that it’s got a completely different cover to the other books and it doesn’t really make any indication that there is so much history behind it. And it’s a shame as Chadbourn is amazing, he blows me away with his gift of weaving so many things into his stories. But they only have significance is you know that the Jack of the title is a hero from the first three books and his return was bought about by the end of the events in the second three (JoR is book seven) and that what is happening in Jack of Ravens has already happened but the events have darkened and aren’t working out the way things are supposed to be.

Have you read any books that are part of something larger only to be disapointed you didn’t start at the beginning?  Just wondering.

Tags: sequels, series, thoughts

That blogger would be me, btw I can’t help it I have a few ideas about what I want to write about but the idea’s don’t seem to land in anything resembling a coherent post so you’re going to get a ramble, sorry.

I see the old vs new debate has flared up again (and no it’s not the PC vs Mac thing).  The new is me. A blogger who happens to post reviews. There a very good post on Vulpes Libris about the whole thing (thanks to . Susan Hill has it bang on when she says that we (for the most part) are unedited, undisciplined (we don’t review to release dates), and sloppy. I try not to be but without an editor it’s hard to get everything polished though I do try to get reviews done to release dates if I have a book far enough in advance.

On the plus side because we are raw and our reactions are little bit freer, or that’s how I find it.  The other thing is that the books that I read about on blogs rarely appear in national publications though SFX, and Deathray magazine do a sterling job in the space available.  John Self said somewhere that his reviews have mellowed a bit as he knows that his review might be read by the author and doesn’t want to be too negative.

That’s funny as sometimes I want to write xxx really should step away from the keyboard and then have their fingers chopped off. Though I don’t ever write that. What would be the point? Whoever it was didn’t work for me but it obviously worked for the people produced it so it’s not the right book for me. There are books that aren’t perfect but well worth reading like Debatable Space by Philip Palmer because you know that as they progress they’ll get better and what they’ve written already is pretty good.

I do wonder if all this positivity can be confusing? I’m a bit a of a cheerleader I admit. I do tend to gush, and I’ve written about that before. But then I think that I’m giving readers of this blog a better idea of what a book is about and whether it’s the type of book for them than if I hadn’t written the review and even if I don’t get chance to do a review I might mention a book that sparks your interest and you can follow the links or look it up on google (or any other search engine of your choice). So in the end I’m not to worried about the gushing as long as it comes over as genuine (which it is)

OK, changing subject but sticking with old vs new. This time I’m thinking of books vs books or more exact glue-bound paper vs electronic screen read words. This is because publisher are giving PDFs away for free, free, free. This is quick a sensible idea to see if people find this a good way of read. I don’t. I can’t imagine anything more uncomfortable than reading and entire novel glued to a screen, maybe I’ll change my mind when I see a Kindle, Sony Reader, etc in the flesh but until then I’ll stick to my TBR pile of books. Though strangely I do by PDFs of non-fiction like Zen to Done, How to be a Freelance Rockstar, 2dArtist Magazine, and boring web-related textbooks. The types of books that don’t need to be read from beginning to end and don’t need undivided attention.

Moving on, I had a look at the outermost level of my bookshelves the other day and got slightly disturbed by the number of supernatural, detective, urban fantastical titles there are. I wonder what sort of impression that gives out? I need to get some more straight titles on there pronto.  But I can’t see that happening that soon as much as I do like the odd literary tale I’m more captivated by the extra-ordinary.

And I’d better now

Title: No Dominion
Author: Charlie Huston
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 5 Jul 07
Price: £6.99
Review Copy

You gotta feel sorry for Joe Pitt. He can’t seem to help finding himself in serious trouble. Out of blood and out of cash and being behind on the rent Pitt needs a job. Though being a Vampyre and a Rogue it can’t be a 9-5 gig. Unfortunately he’s in the wrong place and the wrong time and a job finds him and it involves a trip Uptown.

Carrying on from the sucked dry Already Dead Charlie Huston delves deeper into the Vampyre Clans on Manhattan.  Huston keeps it simple. We see it all from inside Joe’s head as follows the trail set out in front of him.  But Huston isn’t a simple storyteller not by a long shot. He’s created a deep, dangerous and moral man in Pitt and throws that up against the different Clans who are more establishment than Pitt likes getting close to. And Huston plays on this tension, as well as tensions from the hunger for blood and from his girlfriend who needs him a lot right now.

Huston is a master of set-up and pay-off even if the payoff isn’t what it first appears and in most cases isn’t a pay-off at all but another set-up.  Something is about to go down.

I can’t wait to get my teeth into Half the Blood of Brooklyn, which happens to be out now from Orbit.

9/10

Tags: 9/10, Charlie Huston, Orbit, review

Title: The Somnambulist
Author: Jonathan Barnes
Publisher: Gollancz
Published: 10 Jan 08
Price: £7.99
Bought Copy

There is something intriguing about Victorian England. A place and time that has a personality all of it’s own. It’s that personality which Barnes draws on for The Somnambulist. Set in Victorian London we follow the latest and maybe last case of Detective and Stage Conjurer Edward Moon as he looks into the mysterious murder of Cyril Honeyman. But all is not as it seems. Something is afoot.

A good writer gets the reader to suspend their disbelief and brings them into the story’s reality. It feels like if you take a wrong turn you might run into The Somnambulist writing on his chalkboard as Edward Moon waves his hand dismissively.

The Somnambulist is a strange tale. We follow Moon as he traipses around London following leads and taking us to some weird and wonderful places like establishment of Mrs Pugsey and the butchers shop in Limehouse. The places are nothing compared to characters like Mr Cribb, who can’t possibly knows what he says he knows and Madame Innocenti whose prediction makes the investigations of Edward Moon even more urgent.

The story isn’t wholly logical and it isn’t meant to be. It’s phantasmagorical, teasing, and imaginative. The characters are extra-ordinary sometimes grotesque but quite believable in this setting. A combination of the personality of the narrator and skill of Barnes makes it strangely believable and quite compelling.

There are some oddities even in this strange tale. In part it comes down the to limitations of the point of the view of the narrator (quite cleverly chosen BTW) and partly it is the tale as a whole. It doesn’t quite all fit but no matter the journey is highly enjoyable entertaining and it doesn’t spoil the tale being told.

I’m looking forward to sampling more of Barnes’s formidable imagination in The Domino Men where characters from The Somnambulist are trapped in a chalk circle under Downing Street, a manuscript brings together every conspiracy theory about the Royal Family and explains where the power of Number 10 really lies.

8/10

Tags: 8/10, debut, debut review, Gollancz, Jonathan Barnes

Another trip around the book-o-sphere in this semi-regular feature.

Firstly, what was lost if now found thanks to kimbo at Reading Matters. I saw Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn, thought I’ll have to remember that, and promptly forgot about it. I’m glad it’s as good as it looks.

Darren at The Genre Files confirms that The Dresden Files is a series with legs and is as strong in book nine as it is in book one. I also read somewhere (was it the same page?) that there are 12 more planned. I got to get a move on!

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick could be in the running for fantasy debut of the year as it’s having a lot of buzz. The Robert aka Fantasy Book Critic gave it a good review so does Chris The Book Swede though Darren was a little disappointed.

Speaking of Chris he’s also given me a good reason to get Once Bitten, Twice Shy higher up the TBR pile.

Back to Reading Matters with a review that’s pushing The Book Thief back up the reading pile. I wouldn’t say my reading pile is in a state of flux it’s just that I when I find books harder going than I expected my reading rate falls and books have to get swapped around.

Dovegrey reader, doesn’t get mentioned too often though her blog gets checked everyday, has a review of a new book by Susan Hill. This one is a children’s book called, The Battle for Gullywith. And the beginning of the blurb says, ‘A stone army, an enchanted castle, mysterious ancient powers - and some very clever tortoises - Olly finds there’s more than meets the eye at Gullywith.’ I’m looking forward to this one! It’s not out until April.

As as aside, the swivet does a wonderful job of keeping an eye on what’s going on around the place

That was just a small one. More next time.

Well we are into the second month of 2008 and it’s that time again. So here are some books that I like the look of that are appearing on the UK shelves this month either as brand new releases or paperback re-releases plus some books that I think that for some other reason are worth mentioning.

Lets start with the paperback release of one of novels of the year in 2007, Heart Sick by Chelsea Cain from Pan Books. In my review last year I said,

‘It’s just one more chapter reading until you come to the twisted end, which isn’t even where the ending should be. You need to know what comes next. Cain is a perfect poker player laying out the right cards at the right time but giving nothing away.’

It focuses on the investigators as well as the victims. I like this style of crime investigation. I wonder when the next one is out?

Then we have the next in the Joe Pitt series by Charlie Huston from Orbit. Half the Blood of Brooklyn is the third book in the series. The first book I reviewed a little time ago and loved. The sequel No Dominion has been floating about the top of the TBR pile, though not quite making it to the top for quite a while (there’s a review of that at The Gravel Pitt). There is a series review over at Fantasy Book Critic. I think they call it Vampire Noir. If they don’t they should.

There’s a bad vibe in the air. Every Vampyre in Manhattan feels it in their bones …and in their blood. The mother of all gang rumbles is brewing between the divided Clans of the city’s undead. A battle royal for more turf that will tear the island from stem to stern. And just his luck, Joe Pitt is smack in the middle of it. A rogue Vampyre who shunned Clan life, Joe’s his own man. Kind of. Thing is, there’s certain people have a claim on his talents. When they need someone who’s …expendable, they call on Joe Pitt. They’re calling now. With war drums beating from the Hudson to the Harlem River, Joe’s been dispatched into the uncharted territory of Brooklyn to seal an alliance with the Freaks - a Clan who more than live up to their name. But across the bridge, things go south with savage swiftness, as Joe gets swept into a murderous family feud between crazed Clans that will paint the borough scarlet from Gravesend to Coney Island.

Changing from Brooklyn to UnLondon not to be confused with London as UnLondon is where all the lost and broken things of London end up and some of it’s people too. China Mieville has been on the radar for a long time. But he tends to write very thick novels; Perdido Street Station (880 pages), The Scar (624) and The Iron Council (400 pages). OK, they get shorter as you move along but the first one at over 800 pages is a little scary. He’s also been nominated for and won various awards so it’s got to a good 800-plus pages. Anyway, Un Lun Dun is his first Young Adult novel, which btw he also illustrated. Two girls called Zanna and Deeba enter the strange wonderland that is UnLondon, but they arrive at a dangerous time. It’s a frightened city looking for a hero. Look for a review soon thanks to Pan.

Speaking of Pan. Pan/Tor were kind enough to send me this month’s paperback releases. As well as Un Lun Dun. First is Bloodmind by Liz Williams, SFX gave it a 4/5 review. And it looks interesting:

If its set-up is pure pulp fiction, Williams also throws in elements of horror, hard SF, fantasy and the techno thriller as we follow Vali’s quest to find Idhunn’s murderer. It’s an investigation of shifting allegiances and brittle alliances. Jonathan Wright, SFX.

It’s got to be tried, surely? It’s a sequel to Darkland though I don’t think you need to have read it first. At least I hope not. It’s sci-fi just in case that’s not’s clear.

I’m not sure the other two are quite me but you never know. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi explores using DNA of the dead and turning it into prefect soldiers for the Colonial Defence Force. It seems that three alien races have joined forces to hinder Earth’s expansion into space. But a turncoat scientist knows the biggest military secrets who’s helping the alliance. I think that’s right. Actually, it’s probably clearer to see the entry on Amazon.co.uk, where it also has 3 high star reviews. Here’s an extract:

The Ghost Brigades seems to wrap up the personal storyline of the series’ main protagonists, but it sets up some huge events for the galaxy at large for the next book. There are certainly no major flaws to hinder the enjoyment of this wonderful book. Unless you have a huge aversion to any kind of military SF, pick this one up.

And lastly moving from Military Sci-Fi to paranormal romance with Dark Moon by Lori Handeland. The Romance Reader had this to say:

Handeland does an excellent job of showing us how this kind of conditional approval aimed at a child can scar an adult. Therefore, we understand why Elise is what she is, how she can rip a bad guy’s throat out with no remorse. Handeland doesn’t sugarcoat Elise’s childhood or the violent world in which she lives.

You can read the rest of the review here. So if you have an interest in paranormal romance this look like a good one to go for.

The big release of the month has to be Iain M. Bank’s return to Culture with Matter from Orbit. I’ve said before that I’ve only read one Bank’s novel, his first Culture novel, and didn’t get into it. But as Matt pointed out I really should. I’m going to read The Player of the Games at some point and see how I go. The other interesting thing about this release is the audio version is getting pre-released on iTunes. If I travelled more I’m sure I’d listen to more audio books. What do you think audio books good idea?

We also have The Domino Men by Jonathan Barnes from Gollancz, a sequel to The Somnambulist. Barnes brings the Victorian events of The Somnambulist bang up to date with a tale that brings together every conspiracy theory you’ve ever heard about the royal family and the true story about where the power of Number 10 really lies. Look for a review of The Somnambulist very soon. If you can’t wait Fantasy Book Critic has one already

And finally two translations. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski from Gollancz is seven interlinked short stories and follows;

Geralt a witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.

Sounds like my sort of book. You can find reviews at The Gravel Pit and The Wertzone.

Finally, we have a retelling of the vampire myth in Let The Right On In by John Ajvide Lindqvist by Quercus.

Oskar and Eli: In very different ways, they were both victims. Which is why, against the odds, they became friends. And how they came to depend on one another, for life itself. Oskar is a 12 year old boy living with his mother on a dreary housing estate at the city’s edge. He dreams about his absentee father, gets bullied at school, and wets himself when he’s frightened. Eli is the young girl who moves in next door. She doesn’t go to school and never leaves the flat by day. She is a 200 year old vampire, forever frozen in childhood, and condemned to live on a diet of fresh blood.

For a comprehensive and alternative take on February releases have a look at The Fantasy Book Critic.

Tags: Charlie Huston, debut, Gollancz, New Releases, Orbit, Orion, Pan Books, Quercus, Re-releases, Tor

Title: The Houds of Avalon
Author: Mark Chadbourn
Publisher: Gollancz
Published: 08 June 2006
Price: £6.99

There are some writers who build whole new worlds and some who raise questions about the world we are already in. Mark Chadbourn has created his own brand of urban fantasy by building a story around the myth and legends surrounding the British Isles and asking what if these old Gods and creatures of myth and legend returned?

The Hounds of Avalon sees a diminished British government coping as best it can when an unstoppable army of mystical creatures attack with intention of eliminating everyone in their tracks as they march towards Oxford, the government’s new home. Their only hope of salvation is the actions of those chosen to be champions of humanity; those known as the Brother and Sisters of Dragons. But the government doesn’t realise how important they really are.

To say more about the plot would end up with me getting in a muddle, giving away spoilers and confusing you. Because, unofficially, this is book six in the series and book three in the second story arc, so a lot has gone on already to get to this point (see here for details).

You can read it as a standalone but some of the significance of the events and characters might pass a new reader by. Though saying all that Chadbourn does a grand job keeping the events self-contained enough so that the story works in its own terms and is accessible enough for new readers and those of us who has left it a while between books.

What’s impressive is the amount of action, information, and emotion that Chadbourn builds into each page. His skill is how he weaves the exploration of what it is to be human with a story of what could be the last moments of the human race. He shows how we all deal with situations differently; some of us hide away, some of stand and fight, but in the end we all have a role and we can’t always see the role we play or how vital it is.

Chadbourn’s other strength is that he sets a lot of different threads in motion, some placed books ago, as he recalls to the roster characters who had fulfilled their jobs in previous books and it seemed that they had no further role to play.

As a storyteller he keeps the reader moving along a roller coaster that could come off the tracks any second and the characters could fail in their missions and the world could end before they have chance to fight back. One thing he does show is that there is always hope. Oh, and the end really isn’t the end.

Personally I’d say read all the previous books as Chadbourn is a master storyteller and all the other books in the series are tell different parts of the tale but stand in their own right as masterpieces of fantasy.

An excellent end to The Dark Age sequence and sets us up for the next one with The King of Serpents and the first book, Jack of Ravens.

Score: 10/10

Tags: 10/10, Gollancz, Mark Chadbourn, review