Stephanie's bookshelf: on-hold-indefinitely (showing 1-30 of 64)

[close] As good an ending to the series as I could have hoped for. I was sad to see a few characters killed off and some of the revelations were a surprise and I am satisfied with the wrap-up of the main characters Harry, Ron and Hermione.

While action filled it is definitely not as dark as books 5 and 6. [close]

[close] This is everything you read science fiction for; sweeping storyline, great heroes, cool aliens, awesome space battles and evil antagonists. This is book 6 of the Saga of the Seven Suns and this series is in my top 5.

Great stuff and I urge you to go read the first 5. [close]

[close] This book is second in the Vorkosigan saga chronologically. It tell the story of Cordelia's first few months on Barrayar and is chock full of action.

Another terrific book by Lois Bujold [close]

[close] A solid story with a great intro by Harlan Ellison on the way Hollywood screwed with him on the TV series based on this frst script.

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[close] The first in the Miles series to star Miles. A fun romp but a little convoluted. But the characters are great and the emotion strong. Bujold writes well. [close]

[close] This is the first Tim Powers book and I was somewhat unimpressed. The prose is good and his use of description is excellent but the characters and story didn't really do a lot for me.

The beginning was interesting and it looked liked it would get good but the last third of the book fizzled.

Part of this may be because the wole premise of the book, paranormal, time-bending, out-of-body experience etc. is not my cup of tea.

From what I understand this is the typical story path that Pwoers writes so if that's true, his fans will love it. [close]

[close] A solid romp the the Vorkosigan universe with Miles doing his best to get and stay out of trouble. Plenty of sharp dialogue, tense situations, humor and fun to satisfy anyone.

As always, Bujold entertains. [close]

[close] First off, I want to point out that this ebook was a free download from the author. In the introduction, which you should NOT skip, Doctorow lays out his views on copyright, DRM and all things related to this subject. It is well thought out and credible since he is a well-known authority on the subject and co-editor of the Boing Boing blog, one of the most read on the web.
The reason I point this out is because I may not have read this book otherwise, as I have no books by him. However, after reading this, I will not only pick up a copy of Little Brother but some other books by him as well. Another reason the intro is important is that it plays into the book so well.
The story is told in first person by Marcus Yarrow, a seventeen year old who is an adept hacker, geeky in the way many teens his age are, and he is not happy about the way our country is being stripped of freedom and privacy. The majority of his hacking is to personally defeat all this monitoring, not to steal or cause disruptions to society. Even so, my initial reaction to Marcus was he was sort of a punk.
That changes quickly however, when he is rounded up by Homeland Security after a terrorist bomb (or was it terrorists - that is never totally revealed in the book) blows up the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland. The brutality of his captivity is powerfully written and by the end of it, you hate DHS as much as Marcus does.
The rest of the book tracks Marcus's attempt to take revenge on DHS for what they did and because his one friend is still a captive or dead as far as he knows. IN the end he learns that you have to fight but in a way that shines the light on what our government is doing to us in the name of "Security".
The novel is well written with excellent pacing, well-developed characters, and a plot that is complex without being confusing. There are plenty of references to pop culture and tech stuff that will appeal to all levels of geekdom. The ending was very satisfying without being predictable.
I highly recommend this book both for its quality and for the message. While fiction, everything in this story is either already happening or could happen if we let things continue without raising the flag and not letting our government walk over us like so many bugs.
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[close] **spoiler alert** This is a collection of three novellas, which take place between Warrior's Apprentice and The Vor Game, with a little bridge between them of Illyan debriefing Miles on the three events. All three are great examples of Miles in action - One as Miles the other two as Admiral Naismith of the Dendarii mercenary fleet.
The Mountains of Mourning - This story is Miles first real test as the heir to the Vorkosigan legacy as he gets unintentionally involved in a infanticide investigation in the hill country belonging to the family. Aral gives Miles the power of his voice and Miles manages to get to the bottom of who killed the child and at the same time establishes himself as someone to be respected; no easy task in the back country where children are murdered like this with regularity because they have defects.
IN the end, Miles manages to bring this village into the modern times a bit as well as set up a future of better prosperity and tolerance - not bad for a young man.
Labyrinth - In this story, Miles assumes the role of Admiral of the Dendarri assigned by Impsec to retrieve a scientist from Jackson's Whole - a planet where genetic modifications are bought and flesh is cheap. It is controlled by several houses, Fell and Ryoval being the two involved in this story. As you would expect from a Miles story the mission is not as easy as it sounds. The main snag is that the scientist will not leave without some tissue samples that he has imbedded in a mutant that is currently in the possession of House Ryoval.
A raid is planned, it fails and instead of killing the mutant and getting the samples, Miles is thrust into captivity with said mutant who turns out to be human and Miles saves her, enlists her help to escape and scores a blow against Baron Ryoval.
Borders of Infinity - The title story is an interesting tale of Miles being imprisoned in a dome by the Cetagandans - who from previous stories we know were defeated after a bloody invasion of Barrayar years ago. The conditions in the dome are deplorable and escape is impossible. It appears the series will end prematurely but Miles manages to make order out chaos using his most powerful weapon - his mouth.
In the end you find out he was planted there all along to contact and rescue an important General, but Miles can't stop there. Lots of action at the end of this one.
All three of these stories are good and each works on a different level. Mourning is a touching story about human nature and attitudes and Miles shows his compassion in this story for the first time in such a powerful way. Labyrinth uses the whole host of variant humans and genetic modification to teach us tolerance and at the same time shows Miles resourcefulness under pressure. Borders is pure Miles and shows him scrambling to resolve an insurmountable problem.
 

Of the three, I liked Borders least but only because it drags a bit and the ending comes up fast at the end and is just okay. The writing in these is a step up gain and as I read these stories it is clear that Bujold gets better with each novel.
You could skip this and not really miss anything that ties into later novels but they all give you a keen insight into Miles Vorkosigan and they are all enjoyable to read.
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[close] This installment of the Vorkosigan saga is set after The Vor Game and in between the stories in Borders of Infinity (both of which are reviewed on my web site). Miles and his cousin Ivan are sent to the home world of the Cetagandan Empire to attend the funeral of the Empress. Before they even get to the planet, their shuttle is visited by a Ba (a servitor of the haut women) who leaves a strange device behind and ends up murdered later in the hall where the Empress lies in state.

This sucks Miles in to a situation rife with internal politics involving the various levels of society in Cetaganda. Miles manages to use the Barraryan ambassador, the ghem Colonel assigned to investigate the murder and even Ivan in his twisted plans to solve the mystery and clear Barraryar of any embarrassment. As always, Miles uses his mouth and his wits to accomplish his goals, and in the end manages to gain the respect of some Cetagandans.

This is a mainstream story and while fun to read and intriguing is not particularly riveting. It is clear that by this book, Bujold is very comfortable in the Vorkosigan universe and is setting the table for many more novels. If you like Miles you will enjoy the book thoroughly. If you haven't read Miles yet, start with the earlier books to get a feel for the world and this book will more enjoyable.

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[close] This short novel is about Jim Keil, an earth born human trained on Alpha Centauri III to be a spy. His mission is to impress Princess Afuan with his bullfighting skills enough to gain passage to the Throne World. That is where the High-born live and rule the empire. The reason Earth wants Jim to spy on the High-born is to determine if Earth, who was recently re-discovered by the Empire, really is a lost world of the Empire or if it evolved entirely on its own and does not have to be part of the Empire.

The story proceeds with Jim getting to the Throne World and immediately being embroiled in a plot by certain High-borns to overthrow the Emperor. Jim proves to be more than a "Wolfling" and impresses a few High-born enough to be nominated for adoption into the Throne World. This privilege allows him to get close to many key players and in the end resolves the plot.

He then goes back to Earth and is tried for treason because he went far afield of his original assignment. The trial and revelations about Jim are interesting.

I liked this book even though the ending could have been a little better but it was still very satisfying. Dickson uses the short length of the novel to keep the pace brisk and very little fluff is in this book. I have found that most novels of this time period in scifi were brief. The market then wanted these books and authors of the time were skilled at delivering taut plots and great stories. Today's bigger novels are not necessarily better for their girth but that is what the market requires so that what is written.

Dickson is better known for the Dorsai novels but he wrote many stand-alones like this and I have enjoyed the few I have read. One day I will get around to reading the Dorsai books.

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[close] This book was written early in the Vorkosigan series and fits chronologically about the same time as Cetaganda. It does not however, feature Miles or his family. The protagonist is Dr. Ethan Urquhart, a leading reproductive expert on the planet Athos. This is an extremely important position because Athos has no women. All the men are born from a combination genetic material contributed by a male on Athos who has achieved parental status by earning it thorough community service. The female part of the genetic material comes from ovarian cultures donated 200 years ago when the Founding Fathers settled Athos. The fetuses grow in uterine replicators developed on Beta Colony.

The conflict in this story comes when the cultures are discovered to be losing their viability. Replacements are purchased from Jacksons Whole, a planet known for genetic manipulation, but the cultures are not as advertised and turn out to be worthless. Ethan is chosen to leave Athos, find a replacement and bring them back personally.

Ethan's first stop is Kline Station, which is a nexus to many other worlds. One of the first people he meets is Ellie Quinn, who has received a new face (she was the one Miles left with his grandmother on Beta Colony at the end of Warrior's Apprentice) and tries to be helpful. Coming from a lanet of men, Ethan is totally unprepared for a woman like Ellie, even though he "boned up " on women during his trip. From here, he gets involved in a wild romp that leads to him finding out what happened to the original cultures, getting fast-pentaed, beat up, as well as other fun stuff written as only Bujold can.

This book works on so many levels because in between the lines are all sorts of interesting reflections on the relationship of the sexes and how a man form a planet of men, who has been taught into thinking that women are the devil himself, creates many hilarious moments. The ending is also very good in the way it wraps up the issue of the main characters.

I also found it interesting how Bujold doesn’t comment good or bad on the necessity of male to male sexual relations on Athos. It isn’t important to the story so she doesn't throw it in gratuitously like many authors would have. This is a trait of her writing that's refreshing. She addresses many subjects like this, Miles himself is full of physical characteristics, that could be more crudely handled but she never succumbs to that. This is, in my opinion, the mark of a truly quality writer.

You can certainly skip this book and not miss anything in the overall world of Miles Vorkosiogan, but you would miss a chance to read a good story.

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[close] **spoiler alert** This novel is the first in The Long Price Quartet series of which three are published the fourth to come out in 2009. It is a fantasy novel although the only fantasy element is that of the andat who is a non-human construct that affects the world around them such as helping crops grow and such. I hesitate to call the andat a god because it does not appear to be omnipotent.

The story is about Otah, a young man from a influential family who is expected to become a poet. Poets are one of the highest callings and the highest-level poets control the andats. Otah chooses to drop out and go to the big city to become a laborer under an assumed name. He meets a girl, falls in love, and they both become involved in an intricate plot to discredit the leaders of the city and bring the Empire down on it. The plotters intend to monetarily gain from this. The plot is subverted by Amat, a strong woman who is the chief overseer for a trading house, the same house who ends up as a main conspirator. Amat is left out of the conspiracy but manages to find out and with much pain and help from Otah and others, saves the day. Amat turns out to be the most interesting character in the book.

I have a hard time assigning this story to an genre. As I mentioned it is barely fantasy, it isn't action-adventure; it's not even an alternate history - although it is obviously based on Asian culture. A romance is probably as good as anything, though the romance is not very intense. Overall, the story is just so-so, spending too much time on the gestures and scene painting and not enough on action. Abraham writes decent prose but the story never hooked me. I almost put it down after the first few chapters but I had expectations that were never met.

Considering the blandness of this novel, I am somewhat surprised the next two books in the series were published. I hope that they are better but I will not know because they are not on my list. Looking at Abraham's credentials on the web, he obviously writes well as he has many books and short stories published. Maybe this is just an aberration.

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[close] This is a story of a rich and powerful business man set in a future world that has a large number of 'espers'. Espers can read minds but with only a few exceptions cannot transmit thought so that non espers cannot receive their thoughts. They can, however, usually sense when they have been 'peeped'.

Ben Reich is obsessed with power and control but his main competitor, Craye D'Courtney, has him backed up against a wall. Reich feels his only way out is to merge with D'Courtney and when he is turned down, plots to murder him.

Murder or any other violent crime is almost unheard of because of the espers. The punishment is Demolition which is so horrible it is a viable deterrent. Reich however has a plan to defeat the espers and get away with the perfect crime. And he does even though D'Courtney's daughter walks in on Reich doing the deed.

The investigation into the murder is handled by Lincoln Powell, a level one esper (the highest) and the middle of the story is consumed with his efforts to gather enough evidence to convince the master computer that Reich is guilty.

The ending has a solid twist and we also find out exactly what Demolition is.

Bester writes with a clarity and deftness that is not seen much today. Not one word is wasted and his plot is razor sharp. The characters are fully developed without wasting a paragraph. I loved this story and at 230 paperback pages it reads quickly and is hard to put down. We could use more writing like this today instead of the bloated novels we see so much of.
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[close] **spoiler alert** What if the World Wide Web gained consciousness? How could it happen and what might be the result? This is the essence of the new series WWW: and the first book in the trilogy Wake. As the title suggests the first book deals with the awakening of the Web. Woven around this process are three other stories.

The first, and key one in my opinion, is that of Caitlin Decter. She is fifteen years old and has been blind since birth. The cause of here blindness is a condition that causes her retinas sending a scrambled signal to the optic nerve so her visual cortex cannot interpret them. This leads to a Japanese scientist implanting her with a device that intercepts the signal, unscrambles it using a processor that Caitlin calls her "eyepod" and send it via Bluetooth to her optic nerve. At first, the process fails but because she is hooked the web via a wi-fi connection she sees "something".

The second story is set in China where an outbreak of human communicable bird flu has broken out in a couple of remote villages. In order to stop it from spreading, the Chinese government orders extreme measures and to prevent another Tiananmen Square PR nightmare, they execute a lockdown of all communication to the outside world; telephones, television and the Web. This sudden loss of a large part of "itself" triggers the self-awareness of the web. As a few resourceful hackers break through and the web is whole again, it strengthens this awareness.

The third story is about Hugo, a chimpanzee/bonobo hybrid who is adept at sign language. After researchers set-up a webcam meeting with Hobo and another chimpanzee so they can sign with each other, Hugo paints a portrait of one of his handlers. While animal art has been around for a while, it has always been abstract. This is the first time this level of ability has been shown. Tension occurs when this news gets back to the zoo who actually owns Hobo and they want him back to sterilize him. The excuse is the purity of the species, but there is more to it than that.

As you might guess, the something Caitlin is seeing is the newly formed consciousness of the web and eventually it sees the world through her eyes and the relationship develops. If I say anymore, the story will be ruined so I will leave that to you to find out.

The only two negatives I have about the book is the mystic nature of the Web's awakening, I would have liked more details, and the story of Hugo. It is very peripheral so far to the main story but I am hopeful it will become more integral in the next book.

This is the third trilogy from Sawyer and it may end up being his best. The first, the Quintaglio Ascension series was an excellent series dealing with sentient dinosaurs being the dominant species. The second was the acclaimed Neanderthal Parallax about a rift that connects a parallel earth where Neanderthals evolved into a highly advanced society, in some ways more advance than our own. The storytelling style is consistent with these and the many stand-alone novels he has written.

Sawyer does a superior job taking familiar concepts and making us look at them in a different way that challenges the reader to think what would it be like if this happened or we dealt with these issues in this manner. Often times he points out the vulnerabilities and dangers of the dogmas and rigid thinking of a society. I have no doubt the other two books in this series will do the same.

The other thing that Sawyer does well is to incorporate current developments in science or related fields into his stories. While the fictional search engine Jagster does not exist (at least I could not find it), the references to the A.I. work by Doug Lenat is real and provides a key element in the story. In some ways, much of Sawyer's work is not science fiction in the sense of space and aliens and the like but it is science and fiction with a psychological bent. Sawyer has dubbed the term PsiFi to describe some of his stories. Whatever you call them they are always entertaining, they keep you wondering where he is going and they satisfy immensely. My only regret is that I have to wait for the next two.

Note: This review is based on a serialization of the novel that ran in Analog magazine from November 2008 through March 2009. The hardcover from Ace is due out in April 2009.
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[close] **spoiler alert** This book is set two years after Miles meets his clone brother Mark on Earth. Since then, Mark's whereabouts have been monitored by Imperial Security until recently. He manages to go undercover as Miles' alter ego Admiral Naismith in order to assume a small Dendarri mercenary force to go to Jacksons Whole. The mission - rescue as many clones as he can before their bodies are used to insert the brain of some aging Baron.

While Mark is identical in appearance and knows a lot about both the Vorkosigan and Naismith personas, he lacks Miles' experience and cunning so the mission goes badly. The group ends up in the hands of House Bharaputra. Admiral Naismith arrives to rescue Mark and the other Dendarri after negotiation fails. The rescue is going well until one of the clones wants to stay and in trying to get her back Miles is killed taking a disruptor for Mark.

Mark must now go to Barrayar and face the Count and Countess. His reception is better than expected and he even finds a friend in Emperor Gregor. Impsec does everything it can to find the cryo-chamber that Miles' body is in - a quick thinking tech was able to get it packed and shipped off before he was also killed but he left a vague clue where it was sent. Mark - with the help of Gregor, convinces Impsec to allow him to work on the investigation and he comes up with a possible location, back on Jacksons Whole.

The countess finances a rescue attempt that manages to get Mark captured while trying to negotiate for Miles's return. It gets real ugly here as Mark ends up in the hands of Baron Ryoval who is convinced he is Admiral Naismith who destroyed most of his lab a few years ago.

The story reaches depths of depravity and psychological detail that is incredible. I won’t reveal the ending but it is intense.

This is my favorite Vorkosigan book and one of my top ten overall. The intense emotion of both Mark and Miles in this book makes it a great read. I especially like the way she writes the four distinct personalities Mark exhibits when being tortured by Ryoval. Also watching Miles slowly recover his memory is also a treat. The other books that follow this are all excellent but this one always shines.

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[close] This is a story of some exceptional children, now in their teens, who are held in a castle by unusual masters who are losing their control on the kids.

The masters turn out to be gods and demons and all sorts of mythical characters who I am sure many readers of this genre will be familiar with. I was not unfortunately.

But aside form that the story is slow and dull. I rarely do not enjoy a book but I got this as a free ebook from Tor which is the only reason I read it.

I am sure that their is an audience for this and it is not poorly written just uninteresting to me.



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[close] **spoiler alert** The Iowa Canal Players put on a great comedy at this years’ Archon/TuckerCon/NASFiC. As Janice and I were leaving, she was telling me what a great spoof it was on the Stainless Steel Rat books by Harry Harrison. She said I did not get much of the inside humor because I hadn’t read these books yet. In order to correct this oversight I have extracted a couple of these novels from the farm library and started reading them.

Janice suggested I start with this one, every though it is not the first one he wrote, because it tells the tale of how Jimmy DeGriz became the above mentioned rodent (in name only – no metamorphic activity occurring).

The story starts with a very young Mr. DeGriz robbing a bank on the plant Bit O’ Heaven, and then getting intentionally caught – you see he wants the criminal education only those on prison can give. Unfortunately Prison U. failed to provide the higher education our hero – and I feel comfortable calling him that as you will see later – required; thus a jailbreak with a somewhat reluctant partner. The one thing he gleaned was that a master criminal called “The Bishop” who could be the one to teach him what he yearns to know.

The one problem is that the gentleman with the chess piece moniker is retired and no one knows how to contact him. Jimmy figures the best way to flush him out is to commit a crime and make it look like the old guy did it.

He does, and meets him in an unusual scene and they end up having some very interesting adventures. Harrison writes with ease and keeps the ride going swiftly. Every time it looks like things are fine, another problem occurs. In the end Jimmy learns that he is not a crook or even a common criminal. He is one who lives outside the rules of everyone else and as such it is a lonely life but a rewarding one.

At first I had some issues with the philosophy of the Rat, but in the end I felt comfortable with the way Harrison justifies what Jimmy has become. He learns from the old man that even though they are outside of the normal rules of society, they have a strict set of rules they live by.

I recommend this book have started an omnibus of three other SSR novels. I am confident these will be as entertaining.
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[close] The Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms is in the tenuous grip of Joffrey, the apparent heir of the late king, but the word is spreading that Joffrey is the son of the queen and her brother. This prompts the brothers of the dead king to make claim to the throne and Robb Stark, the heir of Eddard Stark who was killed right after the king died by the new boy king, has made claim to King of the North.

On another continent, the female heir to the family that was king until the recently dead king usurped it is planning to retake the throne with the help of the only three dragons known to exist. This struggle is what drives the story and along the way the large cast of characters fights to hold on, conquer and take revenge for past wrongs. The story ends with the major battle for King's Landing and the changes it brings.

What I liked
The continuing depth of the characters, the increased depth of the story and the way Martin describes the battles and the action. He is so good at using just the right word. The pacing is so good you never feel the story drag. The fact that he helps keep all the characters straight without being too repetitious is also well done.

What I didn’t like
The main thing I had a problem with was the overuse of the trick of killing off a character and then revealing that they weren't really killed. Once is fine but two or three times is annoying. I understand it adds to the story but after a while I found myself thinking, are they really dead.

This book was every bit as good as A Game of Thrones. While the ending didn't blow me away as much as the first book, the storytelling is solid and moves the saga along well. I would like to have seen a few more loose ends cleaned up but I will have to wait until I read the next installment for that. I have been spoiled by Martin on this series as I am even more critical of bland writing. That's not a bad thing though.
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[close] **spoiler alert** While the war may be over, the question of who rules the seven kingdoms is still lingering. Stannis rules the North, but is not advancing, Euron Greyjoy (he Crow's Eye) is now king of the Iron islands and is bent on conquest. Queen Cersei plots and schemes to hold onto her power in the name of eight year old Tommen her son who is king, her brother Jaime is still coping with the loss of his sword hand and by the end, his relationship with his sister Cersei hits bottom.

Also in this volume, Brienne of Tarth continues her quest to find the Stark girls and fulfill her oath to the now dead Catelyn Stark. Samwell Tarly finally gets to Oldtown where things are not as expected and a ruthless bandit leader known as Lady Stoneheart is decorating the roads of the kingdom with hangings.

What I liked
The continued depth of the characters revealed, the twists and turns that Martin's plot weaves, and the wonderful descriptions of events, people, and the world around them. It was good to find out more about some previously minor characters such as the Iron men and Samwell Tarly.

What I didn’t like
The fact that we only got half the story (more in the comments). The pacing was slow in spots and the story was not as cohesive as the previous volumes.

Final Comments
I was disappointed that many of the key characters such as Dany, Tyrion, and Jon Snow were not in the book other than references. Martin addresses this in the notes at the end saying he has written many chapters for them but that if he had included all that he would have had a book too large to publish. Therefore, instead of writing half the story of all the character, he chose to write all the story of half the characters. Had he delivered the second half in a year or so as he hoped, this would have worked, but now that it is going on four years later, it creates a problem.

I also can’t believe he is done with the characters in this book; many have story lines that need completion. I heard that the fifth book was to be the end of the story. If it is, he must either write some final chapters for Cersei, Jaime and others or include their final fate in the chapters of Tyrion, Jon Snow and Dany. Of course, that may be the problem, wrapping all this up in the next book in a satisfying way.

Considering how many people have been waiting so long, I hope Martin can pull it off. In the end this is the least interesting of the four books with only a few characters in the spotlight, but it is still a good story and a piece of the puzzle that must be read.
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[close] The king's hand dies by unusual circumstances and a Stark from the North is chosen to be the new Hand. He reluctantly accepts, which means leaving his family at Winterfell at a time when things north of the Wall are starting to become ominous.

Shortly after they arrive back at King's Landing - the capital city - the intrigue begins as Ned Stark finds forces at work to usurp the throne. In an unfortunate accident, the king is mortally wounded by a boar while hunting and his young son is to be the new king. Except that the son is not really his and Ned knows this. This sets up a chain of events where Ned is removed as Hand and branded a traitor, the Lannisters - the house of the Queen - make their move to control the empire and Ned's son is forced to gather the other houses into battle to save his father.

The boy king turns out to be ruthless beyond expectation, and to complicate things further he is betrothed to Ned's oldest daughter Sansa.

Side stories involving the old dynasty house Targaryens, Tyrion - the imp brother of Jaime Lannister, and others abound in this sweeping novel.

What I liked - The simple answer is everything. I really loved this book. What I liked most were the rich characters and the complex but easy to follow plot. The language is also very medieval and lends a great deal of feeling to the story. The battle descriptions are excellent and the pace is riveting.

What I didn’t like - I didn't like what happened to Ned Stark, but I understand the need for it. And the food descriptions kept making my hungry!

Comments - I don’t read many fantasy novels but if more were like this, my sci-fi books might collect a little more dust. Martin writes with a vengeance and even though the book is a tad over 700 pages it reads shorter. The last page of the book blew me away! I did not see it coming until I read the first paragraph and I still get a chill when I think of it. Martin also got me to like Tyrion the imp even with his faults. This is the first of the Song of Ice and Fire series and I will be reading the next three very soon. The fifth and final (so the rumors go) is not published yet.
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[close] This is first in the Promethean Age series. It is a story about the Prometheans - a group of mortal mages - and the fairies. These two forces are at an uneasy peace but that's about to change. The catalyst is the knowledge that a new Merlin is in the world. Merlins only appear every generation or two and they are special - they do not use magic they control it. That power makes them a valuable ally so as you can guess, both sides decide to woo the Merlin.

The story winds through a complex plot that involves werewolves, power struggles within the fae world, and even the minions of hell get involved. The climax takes place in Times Square in front of the mundane world and that will require some clean up.

I have not read many books that deal with the world of the fae and so many of the in jokes and plot lines were not easy for me to get. That combined with the pace of the book in the beginning, made me almost put it down after the first few chapters. I persevered and enjoyed the book somewhat. I felt the book suffered from an identity crisis; it couldn't decide if it was action, fantasy, or romance. In the end it gets sorted out but not clearly.

If you are a fan of this type of fantasy, you will probably like it more than I did. Other wise - I would recommend you pass.
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[close] **spoiler alert** After writing nearly a dozen novels in the "Dune" universe (with Brian Herbert) and the outstanding seven-volume space epic The Saga of the Seven Suns, Anderson has turned to fantasy in his latest series. This book is the first part in an expected trilogy call Terra Incognita.

The world he creates is two continents connected by an isthmus. There is just a hint of magic, sea creatures are large and scary but have no super powers, and much of the mystique is in the legends. The technology and knowledge level is comparable to 12th or 13th century Earth. The northern continent is called Tierra, and is populated by a culture that is Scandinavian-like. The southern continent is called Uraba and is very western Asian/Mid-Eastern.

The main story line revolves around a holy war that is ignited by accident when a fire breaks out in the Uraban section of Ishalem, a divided city on the isthmus much like Jerusalem. It occurs, ironically, when the two leaders are meeting there to celebrate a treaty that will assure peace and prosperity for the future. Tempers flare as both sides think the other started the fire and in the end the city is totally destroyed.

The secondary storyline is about discovery; the Tierrans send a ship to the unknown waters west which leads to disaster, and the Urabans send an expedition south across the vast desert to find another civilization and possibly a way to defeat the Tierrans.

As you would expect from Anderson, there are many characters whose stories are woven into the web of the story. I found two that were very interesting. Adrea, a young Tierran, sees her new husband off on the ship that sails to the unknown and then is captured when the Urabans raid her village. She finds favor with the young leader of Uraba and ends up bearing him children and in the end is forced to do something terrible. The second is Prester Hannes who is send to Uraba as a religious spy, almost burns to death in the fire, is nursed back to health by the daughter of the old Uraban ruler, and escapes to cause havoc for the Urabans. His descent into darkness is very well written.

Surprisingly, I was a little disappointed at the end of the book. Anderson wraps up a few of the main storylines, but too much was left for the next book making it somewhat unsatisfying. I know that in a series some things need to be left hanging, but the book also needs to be good as a stand-alone. This book reads much like Hidden Empire, the opening volume of Seven Suns, but it is not as exciting or compelling as that series was, not to mention it doesn't have the awesome ending of Hidden Empire.

Make no mistake, this is an excellent novel and I recommend it. I am confident the next two volumes will pull it all together and make the trilogy a satisfying read but my expectations are high when reading Kevin Anderson and this one misses just a little.
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[close] This is the second book in the trilogy and while written well and interesting, I could help but think it wazs filler between book one and book three. A few interesting characters are introduced and the overall plot of the trilogy is advanced but barely. The war in the title never really comes until book three and I felt unsatisfied that I read this rather large book and got little out of it.

I think the trilogy could have been reduced to two books with the vital bits of this book spread between vols 1 and 2.
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