In Fabula-divino is one of those projects that seemed to fly under my radar, despite being aware of and following many of the authors, the editor and...moreIn Fabula-divino is one of those projects that seemed to fly under my radar, despite being aware of and following many of the authors, the editor and publisher of the project. I’ll let the Editor, Nicole Murphy explain the concept in her own words:
In March 2009, author and editor Nicole Murphy began the In Fabula-divino project – the aim being to provide up-and-coming authors with their first taste of a professional editing experience, mentor them through the ups and downs of a writing career and give a leg up to some talented writers.
The first few months were crowdfunded via Indiegogo. The first four stories were turned around in just three weeks, undergoing at least three rounds of editing in that time. The later stories were edited over a two month period.
Each story was published online, available for a month here on this very website, before it was replaced by the next fabulous story.
Unfortunately, time and family health issues meant the project couldn’t continue at the standard Nicole had set….
The anthology was made available in electronic form and despite all the poor luck it had to confront getting there, a paperback version was launched over this past weekend at the Australian Natcon.
But you want to know about the stories don’t you?
I wasn’t a big fan of anthology’s or a big reader of short stories before I became a reviewer, so the last two years has been a bit of an education in reading the shorter form and getting the feel of how anthologies work and what defines a good one. No anthology is going to be 100% everybody’s thing, it’s the nature of getting a large number of writers together and building something cohesive but that still allows individuality.
In Fabula-divino lacks a unifying theme, but it’s a slim read so I didn’t feel that it impacted on my reading experience. What Murphy has done is given us a sprinkling of reprints and original works (all we new to me) from well known authors of speculative fiction interspersed with some well work-shopped and edited work from new or up and coming authors. It was a quick, satisfying read with some excellent work from new and seasoned writers alike.
From the seasoned writers, I was emotionally gutted by Kaaron Warren’s White Bed (her first published story if I’m not mistaken)- I should know by now what to expect from Kaaron, but this story is a prime example of why she picks up awards for her writing. The second seasoned writer story that made an impact was Angela Slatter’s Dresses, Three, a fairy tale retelling.
Of the new writers SG Larner would have tied with Slatter for the story with the most emotional impact with her Regret, had the Warren not been included in the collection. It’s a really good example of the kind of speculative fiction that easily straddles the boundary between fantasy and magical realism i.e. it would not have been out of place in a Lit Journal.
Stay Out of the Park by Janett L Grady was another story that I felt mixed emotion, horror and hope in any interesting fashion. Finally I was kicking myself for not seeing the reveal in Holy Kench’s Zombie story, The Secret Life of a Zombie Fan, having been exposed to her unique fiction via her blog.
In Fabula-Divino is a mixed bag in the best sense of the word, a selection of good (some great) short stories, there’s no liquorice in this bag of lolliesY.
In Fabula-divino was published by eMergeant Publishing in partnership with Nicole Murphy and can be purchased through Amazon and Smashwords in electronic form. A review copy was provided for this review.(less)
River of Bones was previously published by the Australian Review of Fiction under the title of Elyora, the name of the town featured in the novella. I...moreRiver of Bones was previously published by the Australian Review of Fiction under the title of Elyora, the name of the town featured in the novella. I read it back in January and by a stroke of good fortune happened to read Dr Lisa L Hannett’s article, Wide Open Fear: Australian Horror and Gothic Fiction at the same time. Hannett introduced me to the concept of unheimlich, a term that roughly translates to an object, situation or place that has a quality of being familiar yet foreign at the same time.
The term describes River of Bones perfectly. The setting is familiar, yet strange and Cleghorn presents a story that straddles the borderline between the everyday, the mundane and the disturbing. She presents an Australian landscape and characters that I know and manages to embed a “wrongness”, a fractured reality that builds until the true horror is revealed.
Australia is the sort of country where a wrong turn can kill you, either the people, the animals or the environment. The initial opening of the tale ( a short prologue was added with the new edition) starts off with a band in their combi-van traveling an outback road to a gig. Most Australian’s have that experience of the road trip, of turning off into towns bypassed by the highway, of taking shortcuts that turnout to be long-ways-around. Elyora could be anyone of a hundred once-were-towns in my state.
Jo, Benny and Hal, members of the band Faunabate, have no idea what they’re in for when their car suddenly breaks down on the way to their first gig. Their nearest town? Elyora. Upon arrival it quickly becomes clear that this is not your normal town. Why are all the magazines dated at 1974? Why have all of their clocks stopped? And where exactly have all the people gone?There are some towns you don't ever want to visit.
And Elyora is one of them.
I have become a fan of Stephen King in recent years, more so for the emotional weight he embeds in his focus on character -I was more torn up over the love story in 22.11.63 than the Kennedy story. Though he does take a long time getting there. With River of Bones Cleghorn somehow manages to deliver that same weight, that same investment in character that I feel with King, but without such a long run-up. I would have been fine with just the emotional interplay, the tragedy in this novella, but Cleghorn delivered a double punch of emotional and very deftly placed, visceral horror. The ending was particularly gutting with respect to both.
Cleghorn’s rendering of Elyora and its inhabitants is so vivid that I see possibilities for it as an independent horror film in much the same vein as Wolf Creek. Hannett did not quote River of Bones as being part of the tradition of Australian Gothic ( she probably hadn’t read it at the time) but it strikes me as one of the better recent examples. (less)
What do you get when “Australia’s Master of Dark Fantasy” sets out to write a debut adult fantasy novel? Not Granddad's, journey through Middle Earth,...moreWhat do you get when “Australia’s Master of Dark Fantasy” sets out to write a debut adult fantasy novel? Not Granddad's, journey through Middle Earth, that’s for sure.
I have read Robert Hood’s work before but short fiction is obviously different to the novel form, so I didn’t have any firm convictions going in – possibly the best way to approach a book really.
Other reviewers have compared Fragments of a Broken Land to that branch of the fantasy tree inhabited by Moorcock, Lieber and Vance. I know of these writers but have only ever played games that use them as a source material ( I’ll hand in my Fantasy Fan Union Card after this review).
So for the general fantasy reader, bereft of the esoteric knowledge bestowed on readers of Elric and Fafhrd what do you get? A world that is deceptively rich for one that exists only as a “solid firmament”. Hood manages to evoke a sense of long history, a passage of time and an exoticism that doesn’t rely on orientalism. It’s more sorcery than sword with a definite emphasis on the workings, metaphysics and consequences of manipulating “deep powers”.
In a place where no stars appear in the night sky, a group of strangers whose ancestries reach back to an earlier apocalyptic disaster are brought together to track down a resurrected corpse that might hold the key to the End of the World.
Structurally we have two stories, one that is a fairly straight forward fantasy quest, shadowed by the other which deals with the metaphysics, the unseen forces that impact on the first. We have characters that exist in both stories and that are aware, though not always fully, of the existence of two differing realities.
Fragments of a Broken Land will take an investment of your time and attention. This is not a book that you will want to devour. It will exercise your brains as you hold these two storylines and attempt to figure their conclusion before the main character does. It’s the mystery that pulls you through the book, the desire to know how Hood can pull the story, the world, together.
Initially I found the dual storyline and the shared characters a work out, but I think the structure of the book emulates the state of confusion the main character is experiencing. As the book progressed both I and the character seemed to get our head around things. On reflection then, I feel the structure was well done.
Another thing I enjoyed was the use of poetry and song. It’s a brave author that attempts these forms within a story. Some readers will skip over them(why this is I am not sure) and you have to have both skill and knowledge of poetic forms in addition to being able to place them in a fantasy setting and make them “sound” natural. So kudos to Hood for doing so.
Fragments of a Broken Land is a rich, thought provoking fantasy read with elements of horror. It’s a book that requires some fantasy grounding and possibly a mature reading experience to fully enjoy ie you don’t get annoyed when things aren’t handed to you on a plate.(less)
Witch Fire continues the adventures of Glory Starling and Lucas Sterne, that began in Burn Mark. It’s not necessary to have read Burn Mark; Powell doe...moreWitch Fire continues the adventures of Glory Starling and Lucas Sterne, that began in Burn Mark. It’s not necessary to have read Burn Mark; Powell does an excellent job of providing enough back story to fill in new readers and not annoy fans who have already read the previous book.
Powell continues her unique blend of espionage, adventure and witchcraft. The gritty, understated “British-ness” I found in Burn Mark remains and further endears me to the series. The fact that it’s YA might turn off some readers, but I think you’d be doing yourself a disservice if that’s the reason why you’d make a pass on it. In Witch Fire actions have consequences, characters die – the descriptions might not be gratuitous, but often I find that implication throws a stronger punch. I found myself every bit as much on the edge of my seat as I would be with Quintin Jardine novel.
Glory and Lucas have been recruited and trained by WICA (Witchkind Intelligence and Covert Affairs) but its all hush-hush because of their ages. They are beginning to get tired of the endless training when they are offered their first assignment – to go undercover at a special school for troubled witchkind teens with rich parents.
It sees them both leave England for the first time and the reader begins to get a wider understanding of the alternate reality that Powell presents. In the background is the ominous threat of an Inquisition that neither of them can quite trust and the shadowy terrorist group known as Endor.
Burn Mark impressed me with the goal driven characters and a generally well balanced take on gender roles. Witch Fire continues in the same vein. While there’s a budding attraction between the two main characters, this plot thread is left alone for most of the book. Lucas and Glory can be as incompetent as each other (they are teens) and are adept at coming to each others rescue. The secondary characters are also competent (they are intelligence operatives) and gender diverse.
I did feel that the make up of the nationalities at the school was a little “cookie cutter” stereotypical i.e. a Chinese witch who is really quiet and plays the piano expertly, an American cheerleader, a sleazy Latin-American playboy and the sister of an Indian Bollywood star. It was the only hiccup in what was a very smooth read.
Witch Fire picked up the threads that were left hanging at the end of Burn Mark and wove them into a compelling and expanding story, major character goals were realized, villains encountered justice and yet it does not feel as though the story arc is anywhere near finished. I don’t think “issues” should be the focus of every book written for teens but I think Powell gives us a great story, well realized characters and a world that can be examined for its prejudices from a safe distance.
I’ll repeat my concluding comments from the review of Burn Mark.
If you’re a fan of British crime or espionage drama I think you’ll enjoy this read.
This review copy was provided by the publisher at no cost(less)
In 2002 David Hontiveros won second prize in Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards- Futuristic Fiction Category for his short story titled Kaming Mga Seroks....moreIn 2002 David Hontiveros won second prize in Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards- Futuristic Fiction Category for his short story titled Kaming Mga Seroks. That piece forms the first story in this collection. I say collection but Seroks is a tightly structured series of stories, so tightly linked that I am inclined to call it a mosaic novella.
Through a number of forms and perspectives Hontiveros gives us a far future Philippines run by an almost omnipresent Maharlika Company, a world where the Chinese are the dominant force and the United States was bought out in the aftermath of a gene based attack on the male section of the populace leaving them mostly sterile.
If you are a fan of old school Gibsonian Cyberpunk you’ll feel a tingling of familiarity. Hontiveros, however, drags in some other ideas and influences that give this mosaic a fresh feel -there’s some Superhero DNA, the history of Filipino film is alluded to, and the occurrence of piracy is extrapolated past the point of software and cd’s.
Imagine a world with clones, imagine that film studios can clone actors and have the duplicates or Seroks (took me half the book to realize that Seroks = Xerox and that it roughly translates to Copies) stand in for them. Imagine then that these clones or the templates that are used to create them can be pirated. We have a world that’s ripe for abuse. We have a world where Seroks, who are for all intents and purposes human, don’t have human rights.
The mosaic follows the fortunes of a group or Seroks owned by aging Filipino movie star and disgraced President Frederico Rubio. The Seroks are all grown to look like the aging star at the different stages in his movie career, some engineered to be the characters and not merely the actor playing the character.
Seroks is part thriller, part comment on corporate greed, part superhero story. I love the diversity of writing form that Hontiveros brings to the work; first person point of view, television script, a couple of the pieces described almost in terms of stage directions. It comes as no surprise to me that he writes the Supehero comic series Bathala as I feel he has a very good handle on imagery and conveying that to the reader.
As a first Iteration, a part one, Seroks, does a very good job of laying down a firm foundation and giving the reader some action and resolution. The world building is fresh and tangible and I think that Hontiveros has played it well; giving us just enough to feel immersed and temporarily satisfied. I await further iterations. Don’t leave us waiting too long Mr Hontiveros.
The artwork is provided by Alan Navara - the cover and internal story separators. I think he and Visprint should be commended for rounding out the work with high spec. production and simple but striking artwork.(less)
I think I enjoyed Dieselpunk before I was even aware of the genre tag or that of its more prevalent cousin Steampunk. I can remember playing the table...moreI think I enjoyed Dieselpunk before I was even aware of the genre tag or that of its more prevalent cousin Steampunk. I can remember playing the tabletop version of Crimson Skies (the original, with the cardboard press out game pieces). So coming into this collection I had an expectation of something similar. "That Sort of World: a Tale of the Aether Age" by Grant Gardiner certainly didn’t disappoint on that front- indeed it felt like a Crimson Skies story. I enjoyed the genre markers: gangsters, speakeasies, spies and Grant employed some subtle humour to good effect.
Who are the People in your Neighborhood?" by John Picha, I thought had a good shot at mixing social comment with pulp action. It felt more 30’s vigilante superhero than my concept of Dieselpunk and there was some interesting use of tense that jarred me out of the story.
"The Wise Man Says" by Bard Constantine was hardboiled detective fiction in a dystopic future earth. It felt a bit like Dark City without the aliens. It was well done genre writing but the futuristic setting didn’t quite convince me. It would have been none too different a story without the science fictional markers.
"Friend of the Spirits" by Jack Philpott showed the broadest range in what could be called “Dieselpunk”, but it struck me as more fantasy than Dieselpunk for some reason – not enough Art Deco perhaps. All in all it was original even if it didn’t quiet fog up my aviator glasses.
So. It’s a showcase and it certainly displays a broad range of what an author might be able to do in the sub-genre. For my personal tastes though I am more a Sky Pirates kinda guy, battling Nazi’s on the back of giant Zeppelins. So I’d say I liked some aspects of the showcase more than others but it’s worth a look if you have the time.
Published by the very pulpy sounding Snub Nose Press, Ghost Money is a solid outing for a first novel. Though I don’t read a lot of pulp Crime, I thin...morePublished by the very pulpy sounding Snub Nose Press, Ghost Money is a solid outing for a first novel. Though I don’t read a lot of pulp Crime, I think I have enough of a handle on the genre to sense where Nette is going with this novel. For the most part I think he gives us a pulpy feel without the misogyny, treats the history of Cambodia respectfully and gives us a well paced read.
Ghost Money is pulp detective fiction featuring an Asian-Australian lead, Max Quinlan the son of an Australian ex-serviceman and a Vietnamese mother. Quinlan’s an ex-cop recently self-employed as a private detective on the trail of an Australian businessman lost somewhere in South East Asia. Chuck in the dismantling of the Khmer Rouge, a country in turmoil and you have an interesting backdrop, with plenty of scope for double dealing and dastardly acts.
What I like about Quinlan, is that once Nette takes him further away from his area of expertise ie investigation, the reality that he is largely on his own, and increasingly out of his depth, impact on the character. Our tough guy has his limits.
Nette's research and experience working in South East Asia is evident in the novel; perhaps too much so in some cases. There were times when the history and the ambience that Nette tried to generate though imparting it, felt a little clunky. A subtler delivery of the information or perhaps less information would have ensured a smoother read for me.
That being said I am a history nerd, with some undergraduate background in Ancient South East Asian history so I enjoyed the history in and of itself.
Ghost Money is gritty without indulging in it and considering the history of Cambodia, that’s a wise decision on Nette’s behalf. The romantic liaison, a staple I am sure of every pulp detective novel, felt a little light-on for me. There were two potential love interests and I am not sure if the character’s choice necessarily married up to the effort Nette put into developing the back story.
Perhaps we’ll see the further adventures of Max Quinlan, where his choice of dame comes back to bite him.
Asymmetry is the latest of the top shelf Twelve Planets series to emerge from Twelve Planet Press. It continues what I have found to be an outstanding...more Asymmetry is the latest of the top shelf Twelve Planets series to emerge from Twelve Planet Press. It continues what I have found to be an outstanding showcase of Australian women writers in the speculative fiction field.
Thoraiya has been well supported by the team at Twelfth Planet Press for some time; she appeared in the anthologies, New Ceres Nights and Sprawl(her short, Yowie, won an Aurealis), had a novella, The Company Articles of Edward Teach (which won the Ditmar Novella Category in 2011) published as part of a double with Matthew Chrulew and now she’s produced Asymmetry. Thoraiya also picked up a Ditmar this year for her The Wisdom of Ants published published in Clarkesworld.
So as you would expect this collection of shorts is worthy of someone who is generating a lot of good work. There’s four stories that showcase Thoraiya’s versatility within the genre and I would be stretched to find a less than brilliant one amongst them:
Asymmetry is the latest of the top shelf Twelve Planets series to emerge from Twelve Planet Press. It continues what I have found to be an outstanding showcase of Australian women writers in the speculative fiction field.
Thoraiya has been well supported by the team at Twelfth Planet Press for some time; she appeared in the anthologies, New Ceres Nights and Sprawl(her short, Yowie, won an Aurealis), had a novella, The Company Articles of Edward Teach (which won the Ditmar Novella Category in 2011) published as part of a double with Matthew Chrulew and now she’s produced Asymmetry. Thoraiya also picked up a Ditmar this year for her The Wisdom of Ants published published in Clarkesworld.
So as you would expect this collection of shorts is worthy of someone who is generating a lot of good work. There’s four stories, that showcase Thoraiya’s versatility within the genre and I would be stretched to find a less than brilliant one amongst them:
I fell into After Hours, a story of a young vet attached to a practice that has a special relationship with the nearby military base. They house and train “special” dogs. It’s a sign of very good writing that a novel, let alone a short can draw you in and immerse you when you are tired. I had a distinct yearning for more of the interesting the world and characters Thoraiya has delivered here. Very smooth and subtle writing, great characterization and a tantalizing idea. It’s hard to pull off a werewolf tale and make it fresh but Thoraiya does.
Zadie, Scythe of the West, could not be further from the setting of After Hours. Thoraiya gives us a female dominated warrior society where to participate in battle a woman must have given birth for every life she takes. This set up is not as desirous as some might think though and the emotional core of this story comes from the tension that this society creates around relationships and that despite having to give a life before you take one, war and killing is still horrendous and perhaps unjustified. This short could I think spawn an entirely original Dark Fantasy series if Thoraiya were so inclined.
Wish Me Luck somehow manages to fuse a steampunk-ish future with trans-dimensional travel where you pay your way with physically manifesting luck. It felt very Final Fantasy to me a fusion of science and magic, with pseudo-victorian trappings. Again entirely different to the preceding stories.
And rounding out the quartet is Seven Days in Paris, which is partly about counter terrorism and partly about human cloning. It raises questions about the acceleration of organisms (tips its hat toward current issues on GMO) and what boundaries governments will cross when they think it necessary to save lives. Somewhat evocative of the questions raised by Blade Runner.
I would be very surprised if this weren’t on the awards list next year. The only regret I have after reading it was that it was so easily consumed. For a collection that is thematically about imbalance, Twelfth Planet Press has produced one of the most balanced collections I have come across in recent times.
Kudos to Amanda Rainey for cover design and Charles A. Tan for the eBook layout.
This review copy was made available by the publisher at no cost.
Capital Punishment is the latest from Gold Dagger Award winner Robert Wilson. An author with a raft of books that I have yet to discover and a couple...moreCapital Punishment is the latest from Gold Dagger Award winner Robert Wilson. An author with a raft of books that I have yet to discover and a couple of television miniseries based on his works.
Now when it comes to crime fiction and espionage I am a fan of gritty realism, well researched and constructed secondary worlds, and good pacing that never lets you relax for too long.
Some may think it’s easier to write a work that’s set in a world only slightly removed from our own – no races or continents to construct. I’d argue that it what it might save in terms of the building of a realistic secondary world is paid out in attention to detail, detail that can at the press of a key, be double checked by your readers.
How does Capital Punishment hold up? Pretty good. Not enough perhaps to knock the earlier works of Barry Eisler off my favourite crime/espionage/thriller list but the attention to detail is there and most importantly the pacing. As long a you don’t write a clanger of an error, good pacing, I think can cover a few sins.
Capital Punishment is a gritty blend of espionage, terrorism and old fashioned crime. Charles Boxer is a kidnap recovery specialist, ex-army, now working in the private sector. He’s hired by Indian billionaire Frank D’Cruz to help recover his daughter from the hands of a professional kidnap team. It’s set primarily in London, with some scenes in India for flavour and has that understated English feel to the narrative – gritty environments, hardened professionals, no-nonsense criminals.
The pacing was excellent, and I finished the book within a couple of sittings. The only let down for me was the ending, which seemed a little anti-climactic to me. I felt as though Wilson hadn’t made me worry enough about the characters or the situation. What was high stakes seemed to pan out okay in the end and I kept waiting for a twist that didn’t come.
That being said I’d gladly read Wilson again, the journey was enjoyable even if the ending was a little underwhelming.
This book was provided to me by the publisher at no cost. (less)
The Wild Girl is Kate Forsyth’s latest foray into the milieu of fairy tales. I have been eagerly awaiting its publication since finding out it was in...moreThe Wild Girl is Kate Forsyth’s latest foray into the milieu of fairy tales. I have been eagerly awaiting its publication since finding out it was in the works in my interview with her last year It features the same attention to detail that fans of Bitter Greens enjoyed, that feeling of immersion in the past, created by a confident rendering of the tumultuous years surrounding Napoleon’s rise and fall.
Where the two books differ, however, is that The Wild Girlis a historical fiction, where Bitter Greens was a mix of historical fiction and the fantastique, skillfully weaving historical fiction with fairy tale.
Where they do share similarities (apart from Forsyth’s beautiful and subtle writing) is in the revealing of a woman obscured by history. Forsyth brought to life the wonderful Charlotte-Rose de la Force in Bitter Greens and in The Wild Girl she gives us the life of Dortchen Wild.
Dortchen who? --------------
If you are not into history or perhaps even fairy tale scholarship then you probably didn’t know about Dortchen Wild, when even a mention of the Grimms these days will get you a blank look or a reference to the TV show, it’s perhaps not surprising. Dortchen Wild was the girl next door to the Grimms, the source from which they gleaned about a quarter of their stories and later the wife of the brother Wilhelm.
The Wild Girl is Dortchen’s story, a story which parallels a number of fairy tales in both the misfortunes that beset her and her eventual triumph. At 538 pages it is not a slight tome, but Forsyth’s skill as a storyteller makes the narrative a pleasure to read through, a joy of immersive reading.
I must give fair warning that what starts off as a nice dramatic historical, does take a darker turn, for some of the tale. Some elements of the narrative will be confronting, despite the deftness and sensitivity Forsyth brings to bear on them. Without spoiling it too much, let us say the tale All Kinds of Fur is one of those tales that parallels Dortchen’s life.
I emerged from this story feeling as though I had some sense of the woman and her times, that this could have been her life.
I hesitate to call The Wild Girl a romance, though of course we know from the beginning that Dortchen and Wilhelm get married and that outcome end stops the story. I’d call it a drama, if that would encourage male readers to pick it up.
Please do, pick it up that is. I think your reading life if not your wider existence will be enriched by the process.
This book was provided by the author at no cost to myself. (less)
In Bedlam we see Brookmyre diverge from his usual fare of Scottish crime novels and venture into science fiction. That being said, Bedlam is still at...moreIn Bedlam we see Brookmyre diverge from his usual fare of Scottish crime novels and venture into science fiction. That being said, Bedlam is still at its heart mystery fiction, with our hapless protagonist required to unravel who he is, where he is and how to take down the bad guys.
Ross Baker is computer scientist working for a shady American firm in the charming surrounds of industrial Stirling. He works hard but never seems to get ahead, he thinks his girlfriend is about to leave him and the office psychopath has just screwed him over again when he decides to help one of his colleagues, Solderburn, who is working on side project.
He consents to be scanned by Solderburn’s new cobbled together scanner and wakes up inside a 1990’s first person shooter called Starfire. From this point on he’s on his own and has to figure out where he is, if he’s still Ross Baker and how to get home.
It’s not a new idea, being transported into a video game, but Brookmyre has reworked the idea and given us a story that will be a trip down nostalgia lane for anyone who grew up gaming from the late 80’s onward combined with some techno thriller trappings. There’s some good in-jokes and some not so subtle social commentary – Brookmyre did win a laugh from me with a reference to Daily Mail readers.
I did, however, find it a bit slow going until the last quarter of the book where the pace picked up and both the reader and Ross had a better picture of where things were going. There’s also an info dump at the end of the book which is an info dump in both the literal and narrative sense. Ross gets injected with updated information on what’s going on in the outside world bringing he and the reader up to date. It felt like Brookmyre was glossing over what might have been good techno-thriller material but I don’t know that I can suggest another way to have worked the information into the story without revealing some of the mystery.
If you are looking for a mystery novel with a difference, if you enjoy Brookmyre’s humour and you’re a fan of gaming you’ll enjoy Bedlam, as for the techno thiller aspects, it just doesn't move fast enough for me. (less)
A book that does what it says. If you can't produce something with a smidgen of merit after reading this book then perhaps writing poetry isn't for yo...moreA book that does what it says. If you can't produce something with a smidgen of merit after reading this book then perhaps writing poetry isn't for you. Contains the clearest explanation of metre I have read in a long time. Combined with Fry's sense of humour, its a joy to read through and implement.(less)
International Speculative Fiction is a free e-Zine featuring top quality writing from international authors (preference given to non-anglophone authors) of Speculative fiction.
I gave issue one a signal boost here. You can download this issue here. I suggest you do so, because I think its packed with diverse goodness.
It features fiction from Nassau Hedron, Lavie Tidhar and Ken Liu.
Cristian Tamas interviews Professor Rachel Haywood Ferreira, author of The Emergence of Latin American Science Fiction and there’s a profile of cover artist Tomasz Maronski, whose work you will have seen if you’ve been reading Asimovs or Clarkesworld.
The fiction pieces are reprints, but it’s fine with me because although I have heard of each of the authors I haven’t yet come across them in any of my current subscriptions. Your mileage may vary.
That being said editor in chief Roberto Mendes and team have done a fine job in selecting a trio of excellent stories.
Nassau Hedron gives us a mythic tale of love, tragedy and rebirth in Siren Songs in Deep Time, Lavie Tidhar’s Aphrodisia feels like the love child of 2312 and Neuromancer, a tale of obsessive love and holidaying in far future South East Asia. And Ken Lui’s Single-Bit Error, well I say read it, superb craftsmanship, beautiful imagery, I only wish any of the Philip K. Dick shorts I have read had half the artistry Lui displays in this piece.
You can’t get much better value than quality fiction at $0.00. Go Enrich your reading life.
Though Splintered Walls is the most recent of the Twelve Planets series from Twelfth Planet Press. And like the rest of that series, the quality is hi...moreThough Splintered Walls is the most recent of the Twelve Planets series from Twelfth Planet Press. And like the rest of that series, the quality is high, the selection of story and author perfect.
Splintered Walls follows the loose format of previous Twelve planets volumes with four stories – 3 shorts and a novella.
They are: Mountain, Creek, Road and Sky. Gemma Files in the book’s introduction says of Warren that:
[she] has the true gift of spell-casting, the sort of deceptively direct, declamatory literary style which says: I simply have to speak a thing, and no matter how odd it may seem in the telling, it is instantly rendered so—solid, actual, honest, real.
And I am not going to argue. I also think that Warren, like Lanagan has given us a collection that is identifiably Australian without belabouring the point. I found each of the settings recognisable, each of them resonated at some level within me.
Mountain tapped into my experiences of driving through the Glasshouse mountains and long road trips with my family, Creek awoke memories of drownings in desert waterholes, Road, flashes of roadside death markers and Sky, well Sky made me look at my small rural community in a entirely new and not altogether comfortable way.
Her “declamatory literary style” makes for stories that you just slip into, they are matter of fact, uncontrived. They could be “your” story until the reveal of course.
In looking back at the three shorter pieces I feel myself questioning which is truly horrific, the supernatural or the very real tragedy that occurs in the mundane? I think it’s the mundane situations in these stories that effect me the most. Once you get past the blood and guts in horror, past the suspense, it’s the empathy with characters, the horror they perform or are at the receiving end of that makes a piece work for me.
If you are into good, understated horror, horror in the everyday, then pick up this collection.
This book was purchased from the wonderful Wizard’s Tower Books. (less)
First published in 2001, Archangel Protocol has been brought back to life through the existence of a pirated electronic text. It’s now legally available through outlets such as Wizards Tower Books.
That techno wizardry of some description was involved in the salvage of Morehouse’s text is somewhat ironic given the post-apocalyptic tale that she gives us with the Archangel Protocol. Morehouse delivers a solid tale that has aged remarkably well.
It’s largely detective fiction set in a hyper connected world living on after a third world war. It draws strongly on cyberpunk themes( and I would probably classify it as such) – a hyper connected world, avatars running around in cyberspace, hackers etc., but also serves up some interesting ideas and commentary on religion and politics in an American context.
Morehouse’s vision of the future, its politics and the state of religions affairs, is plausible fresh and certainly still relevant 13 years on. Even the technology, or more precisely the way social media is presented in the book doesn’t miss the mark by all that much.
Where it came a little unstuck for me was in the religious plot. This is more a personal issue for me and not any real reflection on the author. Give me witch kings and wizards and I have no problem suspending my disbelief, the minute we start talking angels in a theological sense and including them in a story I begin to lose interest. Perhaps it’s because I view Archangel Protocol as more science fiction than fantasy, because the “world” is closer to our own, that I have a mental speed bump here.
That being said the metaphysical content in the book is fairly ecumenical, the thrust very liberal – the way I prefer my religions to be.
Another good point is its treatment of gay and transgender characters, the world may be harsh to those living outside the very strictly defined norm, but Morehouse presents sympathetic and strong characters from these minority groups.
If you pine for cyberpunk but want to leave behind the mirror shades and the 1980’s then took a look at Archangel Protocol, I enjoyed the reading despite the speed bump. Would I read more Morehouse? Definitely.
This book was provided by Wizards Tower Books free of charge.
Blood and Dust is the just released Australian Vampire novel by dark fantasy author Jason Nahrung. If you've just obtained an ereader recently and you...moreBlood and Dust is the just released Australian Vampire novel by dark fantasy author Jason Nahrung. If you've just obtained an ereader recently and you like your vampires dark, sensuous and dangerous - buy it.
I am a fan of Jason’s short fiction, where he manages to infuse old tropes with a distinct aussie flavour, something that goes a bit deeper than location and slang.
Nahrung’s a Queensland country boy, though he now lives in the big smoke and there’s a bit of that country sensibility that comes through in the writing, an attitude, a perspective.
The tale centres around Kevin, a mechanic in his parent’s servo in a dying town in outback Queensland. Kevin looks set to marry his girlfriend, inherit the servo and maintain the status quo until, by an unlucky twist of fate, he becomes embroiled in a turf war between two vampire clans The Von Schiller Organisation and the Night Riders, a vampire bikie gang.
What I really enjoyed about the novel, aside from the action driven story was Jason’s infusion of Australian flavour, subtle enough to avoid cultural cringe, consistent enough to deliver a tone or mood that is distinct. There’s an acknowledgement of Aboriginal history, of stolen generations. There’s an observation of country life that most rural Australian’s would have no trouble recognizing.
Bringing a European myth into an Australian setting, especially a rural one and having it stick is, I think, a considerable hurdle. It’s quiet easy for me to imagine vampires in the cities of Melbourne and Sydney for example but not so much in the “Sunshine State”. But Jason has done it and done it well.
I shake the red earth from my hands as I put the book down and dream fitful dreams filled with the roar of Harleys, the smell blood and Bon Scott singing Highway to Hell.
Give us some more Jason, to slake our thirst.
The book was provided by the author you can purchase it through Xoum and other digital outlets. (less)
Rainbird is a novella from Rabia Gale, a self published author who I managed to quite fortunately stumble across earlier this year.
Rainbird is also th...moreRainbird is a novella from Rabia Gale, a self published author who I managed to quite fortunately stumble across earlier this year.
Rainbird is also the name of our half breed protagonist Part Eerie part human she is seen as a lesser being in both societies.
She works with her human father, helping maintain the Sunway, an amalgam of wires, conduit and metal bolted to the great skeleton of a long dead dragon.
Rainbird danced on the sunway to the singing of uncountable stars, music that only she could hear. Her trench coat, too large and shabby, smelling of cigar smoke and mothballs, flapped around her.
Under the thick third hand fabric, her wings whispered, satin-starch-slither. Her long-toed bare feet skimmed the bumpy bone of the sunway, worn smooth and glittering by centuries of inspection. Her oversized lungs pulled in the thin cold air.
The setting, for such a short piece is stunningly original and vivid. I want to say it has elements of steampunk in the description of the mechanics of the Sunway, in the description of the clothes and the attitudes of the Morality League. That doesn’t quite do it justice though. It would be too easy for you to go “pfft more steampunk” and roll your eyes.
That would be an injustice, for I think Rabia Gale has crafted a world that has echoes of several sub genres and seamlessly woven them together. Rainbird leaves me wanting more of the world that Rabia has created – a feature rarely experienced in reading self published work and not as common as you would like to experience in traditional publishing either.
To top it off this well sketched work has a nice little engine of an action story powering it.
It’s a truly original tale of action, love and redemption.
Perfections is McDermott’s second novel, released in digital format through Xoum publications.
I reviewed Kirstyn’s first novel Madigan Mine, released...morePerfections is McDermott’s second novel, released in digital format through Xoum publications.
I reviewed Kirstyn’s first novel Madigan Mine, released in both pbook and ebook fromm by Picador - here.
If you liked Madigan Mine, you’ll still like Perfections but they don’t occupy quite the same space.
Ian Mond, Kirstyn’s co-host on the Writer and the Critic described it as more of a character piece. Kirstyn herself has tentatively called it modern urban gothic, situating it at the subtler end of the horror continuum.
And I think Perfections is a subtler piece of work than Madigan Mine. I always had suspicions with what was going on with Kirstyn’s first novel, it had a stronger affinity with well known Horror tropes.
Don’t get me wrong though, Perfections is still gut wrenchingly nasty at times, enough to really unsettle you but I was hard pressed to figure out where the horror was going to emerge - which of course kept me slightly on edge.
Now you notice here I am avoiding telling you the story. And I am not going to reveal anything about the plot, aside from the blurb:
Two sisters. One wish. Unimaginable consequences.
Not all fairytales are for children.
It’s best to dive into this one blind, trust the author to entertain you. It’s not one to give you nightmares but Kirstyn will make you love the characters and then let things unravel so that the horror, the tragedy hits you unawares.
If you enjoy King when he does well crafted characters in slightly off kilter realities then I think you’ll enjoy Kirstyn’s work here. The horror, the suspense comes from or empathy with the characters she has crafted, and what she does to them.
The writing is smooth flowing prose that seems effortless but that I suspect was agonising to refine.
Even cushioned with anger it hurts to say the words, to hear them, and Antoinette knows with gut-sinking certainty that if Paul was standing here before her, if he had the balls to stay and plead his own case instead of sending Greta as proxy, then she would have little hope of resistance. Poised on the edge of her life here, Paul and their flat and the history that seeps from every wall, every photograph stuck careless to the fridge, every half-burned candle and guilty wine stain on the carpet, how easy it would be to close her eyes and jump, to allow herself the exhilaration of free-fall.
There is so much more I would love to talk about but it would give the game away.– the cover for instance and how well it suits the work. What makes it a smart bit of art amongst all the other “male gaze” cover art out there.
Horror has a bad reputation, possibly well deserved in some areas within the genre, where the grotesque comes to the fore, where violence and blood are thrown at the reader to make up for a lack of real substance.
McDermott, however, combines literary skill and a horror that focuses on the personal, on human desires and interactions, to give us a work of quality that should appeal to a broad audience.
Perfections was provided to me by the author.(less)
Havenstar has a history, a bit of a sad one. It was Glenda Larke’s (writing as Glenda Noramly) first novel, released in 1999 under the then Virgin boo...moreHavenstar has a history, a bit of a sad one. It was Glenda Larke’s (writing as Glenda Noramly) first novel, released in 1999 under the then Virgin books SF imprint.
It raced up the Amazon charts(getting to 81 on the general list) only to be orphaned and out of print as the publisher imploded.
Thankfully Glenda was made of stern stuff and has gone on to release another 9 novels with more on the way.
She decided to re-release Havenstar as a self published eBook. No longer do fans have to contemplate inflated prices of paperback copies on Amazon (of which none of the money is seen by Glenda), it’s now available from a number of digital outlets.
The Eight Stabilities are islands of order surrounded by lethal chaos—and the order is being swallowed by the unstable. The religious leaders of Chantry try to maintain the Stabilities by ordering the necessity of a once in a lifetime pilgrimage across the chaos. And in that ever-changing world, the most important person is a mapmaker who can make a chart of secure pilgrimage routes…
Keris Kaylen is a mapmaker's daughter. When her father is murdered and a mountain disappears, Keris is betrayed by her brother. Forced to flee into the Unstable, she finds her safety is in the hands of a man bonded to the Lord Carasma, the Unmaker…and her ordered life is turned upside-down. Her survival will depend on a map and a place called Havenstar—but she can't reproduce the map, and Havenstar may not even exist…
Havenstar is a debut novel and to be expected there were some sections where I felt characters voice and register were a bit inconsistent. That’s really nit picking though, what is a rather original piece of fantasy writing. A strong female character and mapmaker as lead, an interesting mix of religion and magic.
I think Havenstar still stacks up against anything current in fantasy and exceeds quite a few in execution and concept.
It feels familiar in places – a society controlled by the church and its Rule and exotic in others with the concept of the unstable and the unmaking of the world. There’s enough of a touchstone for a reader of the heirs of Tolkien that you won’t feel lost and enough fresh concept to reinvigorate you reading.
It’s a stand alone book for those with an irrational fear of trilogies (or a lack of time) and a great introduction to Larke, who seems to me to be somewhat of a hidden gem in Australian Fantasy writing circles.
If you are looking for some quality fantasy writing to fill your ereader after Christmas then try it out, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. (less)
Cold Days is Jim Butcher’s latest Dresden Files novel of which there are fourteen.
I wouldn't say I am a fan of the Dresden files but I have 3 titles f...moreCold Days is Jim Butcher’s latest Dresden Files novel of which there are fourteen.
I wouldn't say I am a fan of the Dresden files but I have 3 titles from across the series and also own the TV series as well (not bad for its time, but a little dated now).
It’s hard boiled detective fiction plus wizardry. Gritty urban fantasy with a good dose of witty self deprecation and pop culture referencing.
Now Butcher has been heavily criticised for not having an awareness of his privilege as a white male author in regards to both sexism and racism. There’s a clanger of a passage on the first page of the hard cover:
She was probably too young to drink legally and she was one of the lovelier women I’d ever seen in person. High cheekbones, exotic almond shaped eyes…
Now yes this is Harry Dresden the character and not Jim Butcher the writer. It would have been nice though if Harry had gained some wisdom and perspective over the fourteen books. That being said the series has roots in the Hardboiled genre so unless you are Megan Abbott your going to be relying on a genre that has some hefty sexist baggage as part of its modus operandi.
Cold Days though, is a bit of a departure from that genre, the detective shtick. It’s more of an urban fantasy adventure novel where the stakes are very high. And that’s where it lost me to some degree – I prefer the smaller scale Dresden.
Cold Days felt long and at just over 500 pages it’s 100 pages longer than Fool Moon, the other Butcher novel I own. This was exacerbated by the fact that it’s written in the first person and there seemed to be more exposition or info dumping than normal. I can understand the need to fill-in newcomers to the series, but Cold Days had me skimming some of Harry’s longer passages.
So Cold Days was not as enjoyable as the earlier Dresden for me - but then I am not the same reader I was then either. I feel that Dresden is outgrowing the Genre that he started, in moving closer to a level of super heroism.
Fans of Dresden will likely have already bought Cold Days. For the newcomer you’ll enjoy this if you like you urban fantasy on a large apocalyptic scale. If your looking for the Phillip Marlowe of Urban Fantasy I’d suggest you check out the early Dresden books.
Ayam Curtain is an elegant book, in conception, construction and content. A delight to read and perceive. It’s one of those joyous books that is a wor...moreAyam Curtain is an elegant book, in conception, construction and content. A delight to read and perceive. It’s one of those joyous books that is a work of art because of the words on its pages and how those pages are presented.
I first became aware of the project after stumbling across one of the editors, Joyce Chng(@jolantru) on twitter. She, as well as all the writers in the collection are worth checking out - from the Alvin Pang’s to the Clara Yeo’s.
I rarely give out 5 star reviews, generally a work has to really hit me emotionally or be doing something clever or original.
Being a collection Ayam Curtain doesn’t carry the emotional punching power of a novel, but there are pieces that peck at my emotions, stories that that flit in and out of my perception, evoke memories and images that fade with beat of tiny feathered wings.
Ayam Curtain is split into two distinct parts, the first, Speaking Bird Language or kong jiao wei (translated as a cock and bull story, a flight of fancy), is a collection of micro fiction that gives the reader short fluttering glimpses of alternate Singapore.
They can vary wildly in construction and tone from JY Yang’s Interview (which is lucky if it’s more than 100 words long), which manages to cover class, control and language as an inhibitor, to, They called me the hyacinth girl by Victor Ocampo, a haunting passage of a Crow’s flight.
Dejected, rejected it returns to the parliament of trees, the ninth circle of hell where Indian Troops sing to the dead of Changi: Manasu marugudhey, manasu marugudhey
Yet the sum is greater than its parts, with each of the small pieces forming a cacophony of bird calls that seems to have a distinct sound about it, nostalgia seems to perch easily, side by side with perceptions of the future.
The second part of the book, The Ayam Curtain, features longer works of up to 1000 words. The effect is much the same, diverse tone and style but with an overall synthesis that gives a tangible sense of speculative Singapore.
Woodwind by Clara Yeo points a feathered wing at Singapore’s deforestation, as a young child imagines that she can hear the story of a Rosewood table. While JY Yang posits the real reason for SMRT train breakdowns in The War going on Beneath Us.
The intention of the collection was to
1. uncover the diversity of writers voices in Singapore
2. and to explore local issues
all under the larger wing of speculative fiction. The editors have achieved this vision. I step away from the book with a number of new (to me ) writers that I want to follow up and a tangible sense of the issues that are foremost in the minds of the speculative fiction community of Singapore.
This book deserves wide circulation. I encourage you to purchase and enjoy. To enrich your literary experience with the birdsong than is Ayam Curtain.
This book was a gift borne on steel wings, from the Lion Fish City. You can purchase it from Books Actually, Singapore’s number one independent bookstore. (less)
Zombies plus erotic romance. Thankfully not erotic romance with the Zombies. An interesting short based on the larger Zombie cursed world of Scott's n...moreZombies plus erotic romance. Thankfully not erotic romance with the Zombies. An interesting short based on the larger Zombie cursed world of Scott's novel Flesh.
Feels as though it could be an introductory chapter to a longer work but then I am not sure that we can necessarily judge the construction of erotic short fiction the same as other short fiction. It's purpose is chiefly to arouse and to do so while convincing us that the characters could be real people in real situations. I think Scott achieves this.(less)
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