NextRead

Title: The Ghost Brigades
Author: John Scalzi
Publisher: Tor
Published: 01 February 2008
Review Copy

If you have the mind of a traitor but not the body and want to know what he, Charles Boutin, knows what do you do? If you’re the Colonial Defence Forces (CDF) you make a body for the job. And the good news is if the mind doesn’t take you have a genetically enhanced new solider. It’s a win/win situation or so you’d think.

The opening description has got to be one of the best and most misleading openings to novel ever. If it’s designed to drag you in then well it did it for me.

It’s misleading as it uses a level of poetic and flowery language that doesn’t appear from then on in, which is actually a good thing. It shows that Scalzi can write but also shows that he’s using it for effect. The rest of the novel is told more functional but no less effective prose.

I tend to think of military sci-fi as grand and sweeping but the battle in The Ghost Brigades is more internal as Jared Dirac, the solider created from the seemingly failed attempt to join mind and body, has memories that aren’t his start to surface, that changes everything.

There are so many good things about this novel. The world building and the alien races. The hidden conspiracy. The evolution of Jared Dirac. The relationships between Jared and everyone around him. The technology. I could go on.

Suffice to say The Ghost Brigades is amongst the best sci-fi novels I’ve read in ages and Scalzi deserves a lot of success.

*This review doesn’t have a rating. I’m putting ratings on hold as I’m going to try to let the review speak for itself and you can decide whether you should read it or not.

Tags: military sci-fi, review, review copy, Tor

Title: Looking for Mr Piggy-Wig
Author: Andy Secombe
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 18 July 2008
Review Copy

Synopsis

It’s twenty years after the ‘New’ Battle of Britain, and rationing is still in force. Our hero, Jack Lindsay, is a private investigator of the old school If he has a weakness, apart from a fondness for garibaldi biscuits, it is for a woman with a sob story - and one has just walked into his office, and into his life. Jack finds himself becoming embroiled in a worldwide criminal conspiracy involving gun-smuggling, political assassination, and a chain of burger outlets.

Comments/Thoughts/Analyse

All the best private investigator stories start with a beautiful woman walking into an office and bringing with them nothing but trouble or maybe that’s just the impression I’ve picked up from the few that I’ve read. That’s what happens to Jack Lindsay and he finds himself into a lot of trouble.

Andy Secombe sets the tone at the start with the banter between Lindsey and his assistant Mango Pinkerton and Jack’s description of the arrival of Marian into the office. You can see that Secombe loves word play and enjoys a surreal sense of humour.

And that sense of fun continues with the rollercoaster of a trip that takes place following that meeting. Secombe keeps everything moving with Jack and the reader thrown in the deep end.  With its futuristic setting Secombe has been able to create a world that’s familiar but at the same time surreal and hopefully our actual future. Thankfully policing doesn’t seem to have changed much and I’m not saying if that’s a good or a bad thing. You’ll have to read it to find out.

There is a lovely mix of characters from Mango with his extreme sense of fashion to Detective Sergeant Lana O’Hara who adds a lot of tension and offers of relief to Jack’s time in the office.  The quest for garibaldis ensures we know what Jack finds important.

I loved every second of it.

Summary

A 21st century detective story that’ll keep you reading and entertained until the end.  And hopefully it’s not the end of Jack Lindsey and Mango Pinkerton as I’d love to read more.

9/10

Tags: 9/10, macmillan, review, review copy

Title: Trading in Danger
Author: Elizabeth Moon
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 6 Nov 2003
Review Copy

Description
Ky Vatta is kicked out of the military academy for what should have been a small act of kindness. For the daughter of a rich trading family it should mean nothing but disgrace. Instead she is offered a captaincy that will take her away from her troubles and set her on a new path.

Her orders from Vatta Trading are simple take her ship to the scrape yard and come back with a profit. But her instincts find more profit and trade along the way and this is how her trouble starts.

Comment
All novels are about journeys. Some are plot driven and some are character driven. I’ve always preferred character to plot. I need someone or something to engage in and someone else’s to see that journey through. Elizabeth Moon has shaped a world and a situation that allowed her to take us on Ky Vatta’s journey through Ky’s eyes.

Moon really gets to the heart of the character by showing more than directly telling us how she handles herself as her and the crew of the Glennys Jones are put in a situation that they never planned. She also intersects this with scenes from other places allowing us, the reader, to see the wider situation so we’re aware of the full extent of trouble that could be coming Ky’s way.

With such a large dangerous backdrop Moon stays tightly focused on the consequences for Ky and her crew. We never get to see the full extend of what they find themselves in and we don’t need to. It is only a backdrop to the changes that take place in Ky, her ship, and her crew and I’m hoping that it’s also creating the basis for their next adventure.

A story about a trading ship could be quite boring, or so I thought, as there are only so many times you can see a ship travelling from planet to planet. Good writers though can make anything interesting; actually they show us what is interesting about anything. At no point was did my mind wander. I wanted to know what could happen next and how Ky was going to get out of it. I found it very hard to put down, which is rare with me.

Summary
Perfectly balanced. Emotional and adventurous. Trading in Danger has one of the most touching and best endings I’ve had read in ages. And the adventure is only just beginning. I’m eager to see where Ky Vatta goes next.

10/10 (I just couldn’t think of anything I wanted done differently)

Tags: Elizabeth Moon, Orbit, review, review copy

Title: Debatable Space
Author: Philip Palmer
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 24 Jan 08
Price: £10.00

A band of pirates kidnaps the daughter of the ruler of the universe and holds her for ransom. The trouble is ruler of the universe Cheo isn’t that receptive to their demands and their prisoner, Lena, isn’t what she first appears.

But this isn’t just a pirate story. It’s an exploration of 1000 years of human history. And what has happened? Human have travelled, colonised, enslaved, and turned into dolphins (well some of them have).

For a first novel it’s a big challenge and a bit of a balancing act. Palmer presents his story from multiple viewpoints. We delve into the minds of Lena, the pirate crew, occasionally others, but we get most of our information from Lena.

And this is where the balancing act comes in. How time do you spend with each character and how they appear will depend on their part of the story. As Lena is a big part of the story we spend a lot of time with her. As a main character she is a fascinating and a worthy companion. The problem is she goes on a bit.

Palmer through her retells how the current state of humanity came about. He does occasionally retell too much. This is slightly frustrating especially as events speed to a conclusion when we’re presented with a large chunk of history. It is relevant but maybe isn’t as vital or as enjoyable as Lena, or perhaps Palmer, thinks.

This is strange as I enjoyed most of the other tales and the asides and presentation of history. It’s probably because it takes too much time out of the current action at a point where it should be sprinting towards the finish.

This isn’t though a fatal flaw. The characters are varied and well formed; the story is well planned and interesting. And most of the time it works. When it doesn’t I’d put down to over enthusiasm on Palmers part to share the universe and history he’s created.

For a first novel and a story on such a wide scale Palmer keeps a good grip on the reins and where it does get away he pulls it back in. I look forward to seeing what tale Palmer tells next.

Tags: 7/10, debut, debut review, Orbit, Philip Palmer, review copy