Adrian Collins's Blog, page 213

ANOTHER letter to the GdM editor

Dear Sir,

Mark Lawrence is innocent! Free the Grimdark One!

It’s all that nice Mr Kipling’s fault.

My name is Anna Smith Spark, and in my brief moments of lucidity I have this delusion that I’m an epic fantasy author called THE QUEEN OF GRIMDARK. My therapist has suggested that this may indicate I have some serious issues around i) status anxiety ii) attention-seeking behaviour and iii) the caps lock key on my laptop, but I made it clear to him that THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAPS LOCKS KEY ON MY KEYBOARD, I PRESS ‘SHIFT’ WHILE TYPING, ACTUALLY, IF YOU MUST KNOW, then left him lying face down on his couch with an axe buried so far up his nethers his guts were hanging out of his mouth. Anyway, the God of Grimdark gave me this damned title, you can see it on the cover of one of my books, and do you have any idea how embarrassing it is being stuck with it, I mean, you try complaining to Ocado they sent an underripe avocado again this week when that’s your twitter handle?

But I may digress.

Your good self, the editor of this esteemed publication, did me (ME!) the singular honour of inviting me to collaborate on a serial story for said publication, writing alongside that upright and upstanding fellow Michael R Fletcher, or possibly Dyrk Aston I’m no longer quite clear on this point. The initial brief, such as it was, was ‘write a story in series form’, but Fletch and myself quickly found this far too constricting on our artistic vision and reached an upspoken agreement to flail around without any idea what the storyline was or what the characters’ motivations were, trying to outdo each other on body count, crude sexual innuendo and the out-and-out disgusting instead. And what a vision! The whole thing was flowing like a seventeen year old boy who’s just been given a picture of a totally hot topless nun. High jinks!

Then I got sick.

I’ve doubted my own health and wellbeing since that fateful day, several years ago now, when I sat at my desk in an anonymous office off Whitehall, fellow workers wandering past regardless, arguing the case for why the baby-killing scene in The Court of Broken Knives is necessary for the characters’ psychological development and a comment on cruel chance and bleak human reality, better it was perhaps for that child not to live what if it had grown up to be another Hitler hey you don’t know that do you those guys totally saved the world, man, be grateful, and not the casual piece of grotesquery some have suggested, and was then able to stand erect, arms raised above my head in triumph, to shout ‘I am with the same literary agency as Peter Ackroyd’, to total disinterest, mutters of  ‘who’s Peter Ackroyd?, and a lady from HR suggesting I sit down and have a cup of tea, pet. Glorious days, yes indeed! But from thaT day (that was the effing caps lock key), from that day a maggot of doubt has gnawed its way through my heart and my soul: what if none of this is real? What if the book never existed, my literary agent, my publishing deals, everything, is but a figment of my imagination? I’m dying somewhere after being hit by a bus crossing the road to buy a Pret coffee, and in my last moments my never entirely stable brain has fantasised all this. Any moment now JRR Tolkien will turn up to oversee why GCSE French exam and I’m going to look down to realise I’m stark naked, and then they’ll switch the life support off. My physical health’s never been great either. and I say this apropos of absolutely nothing, possibly, it’s been suggested, because I’m always fretting about weird random stuff.

But this was different. Slowly, over the course of the last year and a bit, I couldn’t write. First I was just tired, not able to write in the evening, stopping after a few hours to lie down and sleep. Then my physical ability to type started decaying, fat fingers mistyping every word, unable to remwmber ho2 to spell anything, words the place inwronge typed.  Then I couldn’t think to write. Then I had no interest in writing.

But I had no idea anything was wrong. I was tired, grouchy, depressed because the writing wasn’t going well – I mean, that’s not exactly unusual, right? Show me a writer who hasn’t had dry periods like that, and I’ll show you a liar. It was just …a thing. A blip. I just had to pull yself together, keepo writingeven as it ended uplookimng this like making nense.

And so it might have gone, for ever, until, with hindsight fortunately indeed, one bright lovely afternoon at FantasyCon Clydeside when I collapsed in the middle of totally winning a panel on Grimdark Versus Hopepunk. I almost projectile vomited over the hopepunk author, which, also with hindsight, would have been pretty on-brand. The world was swimming, I was pouring with cold sweat, I couldn’t see or speak. Fortunately, Thomas Piety was on the panel next to me and carried me off stage and up to my bedroom, where I lay in the dark shaking and chewing on a leading horror reviewer’s ginger nuts.

All of which is a very long-winded way of leading up to the moment I finally messaged your fine self and that reprobate Fletcher to confess I needed some time off from the writing business.

You were cruel, obviously. Outraged. Furious. Disappointed. What else could I, the Queen of Grimdark, expect from the editor of Grimdark Magazine and the legendary cult God of Grimdark? [Not that Fletch would try to blame the creator of my darling Jorgy boy, certainly].

But I played my trump card – the GP wanted to do full body investigations. Life-changing medical conditions were being discussed. I found myself one morning lying face down on a table, wearing nothing but a hospital gown and a pair of plastic easy access knickers, trying to pretend a not-unattractive doctor wasn’t sticking a camera up my arse. You immediately told me to take all the time in world. Also to swear on my sword and my red right hand that I’d never mention any of the above again if we all live to be a thousand.

I went away and spent several months not writing. Not sitting down much. Turning pale and trembling if anyone asked for a selfie.

And now, finally, THE RESULTS ARE IN. And it turns out that I am on the coeliac spectrum. Which is kind of like the autism spectrum, only with fewer anti-vax nutters telling me it’s all my mum’s fault for not letting me die of measles at a young age. All those cakes I’m been troughing down on over the years, the plates of chocolate brownies that get me through a good fight scene, the piles of biscuits gorged late at night when the light fades and my inspiration grows dim …. Hatha. Knife blades. I might as well have been drinking a litre of firewine every evening. MR KIPLING, THAT ADIPOSE BASTARD, HAS BEEN POISONING ME MY WHOLE DAMNED LIFE.

And that’s the reason things that should have been written have not been written, and deaths that should have been described in loving detail have not been wrought.

Mark Lawrence is blameless. Forgive him. The fault lies in an ear of motherfucking wheat.

I haven’t eaten gluten for two months now, and by all the dark gods I feel better for it. Curse those gods. I’d sell my soul to Lord Unicornsandbunnyrabbits the Sunshine God of Noblebright for a slice of chocolate cake. AND I’M WRITING AGAIN. THE SERIES WILL BE WRITTEN. DICK JOKES WILL BE TOLD. MANY, MANY INNOCENTS WILL DIE. A COUPLE OF GUILTY PEOPLE MAY EVEN DIE. I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. A not-unattractive doctor take a biopsy of my lower intestine with what under magnification looked like a pair of bolt-cutters, for one. Thus, like that topless nun, inspiration rises again.

And so my confession is written. My desperate appeal for sympathy votes in all major fantasy awards loosed upon the world in black and white. I can only apologise for the delay. And suggest that the Neolithic Revolution was overrated.

Death! Death! Death! and so forth

Yours,

Anna Smith Spark

He gave me a real-time review of my lower bowel. And I’ve made it an iron rule never to read even positive reviews of my books. He concluded that it looked ‘good’, and two thousand years of patriarchy made me reply ‘Really, it’s nothing special. There are a load of other women out there with far better colons than I have.’

The post ANOTHER letter to the GdM editor appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole

In Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole, he again writes a modern military science fiction that is solid. Myke Cole is everywhere right now. He has put out multiple novels in the last few years, including The Sacred Throne series, which has The Armoured Saint, The Queen of Crows, and The Killing Light. He has also written the non-fiction book Legion Versus Phalanx about the phalanx formation through history. Myke also has a sizeable military fantasy series, Shadow Ops, which is a comfortable place for him. Myke is very good at doing a military fantasy that is believable, which is probably why Sixteenth Watch was so good.

“What do you want me to teach these guys to do?”

“We need you to get them in shape for this year’s Boarding Action. Commandant thinks if we win, it’ll give us the hand we need. It’s a major media event, watched by millions of Americans. If we win it, that’ll give us the leverage we need to stay on, and if we stay on, we can keep the Navy from turning quarantine-runners into a pretext for war. SPACETACLET came close last year…”

Oliver blinked. “We’re going to stop a war… by winning a game show?”

Sixteenth Watch follows the narrative of Coast Guard Captain Jane Oliver. Jane is a career captain coming to the end of a career and heading towards retirement. The temperament of the different armed service branches are very different.  They have varying goals and needs in doing their duty. These differences are put in stark relief between how Jane conducts herself and her ultimate goals as a Captain and eventually Admiral in the Guard. The Coast Guard is a military division whose purpose is to watch the coasts of the US. They provide search and rescue, coastal defense, and ensure maritime law is respected and abided. In this story’s future, the United States and China are in a resource race for mining the Moon for a mineral called Helium-3. The tensions run high between the two powers, and border pursuits are often raised. Border tensions and following military law are, by definition, the purview of the Coast Guard. However, in this scenario, the Navy is handling border issues, which raises the tension between the two nations. Jane’s ultimate goal is to provide the proper support and training to get the Coast Guard out there protecting the border. To do this, Jane needs to train a team for a very public boarding competition between the different armed services. She has two months to get a group up to the level of other armed service boarding teams and win the competition. Thus ensuring that the Coast Guard receives the respect it deserves and is allowed to protect the border as it should have been doing all along. This competition does not go as planned. The world at large and the military higher-ups make life difficult for her and her team.

Cole is a retired Coast Guard veteran. His military experience and familiarity with the Coast Guard shows. There is an authenticity to the way he wrote both the action scenes and the scenes involving regulation and code. Because of Cole’s experience as a Costie (slang term for Coast Guard), you know that this scenario is entirely plausible in a future world. There is quite a lot of technical jargon used in the creation of this story. The jargon might be off-putting to some readers, but frankly, I enjoyed the hell out of it. The real world jargon did not come off trite, and it put me into this story and kept me there. By the end, I learned what a border team was, different military ranks where, and parts of a ship.

The pacing was non-stop, and the ending was so breakneck that I had to put down the book and take a breath. Cole’s battle and boarding scenes were done with so much detail you could almost smell space and hear the plasma guns.

“Ma’am, with respect…”

“Nothing after the words’ with respect’ is ever entirely respectful, Wen.”

“With respect,” Ho carefully enunciated each word as he stood, walking to her keyboard. “It’s possible you’re being a little paranoid here. You’re the one who insisted on this school in the first place.”

“With no damn respect, I’m around a hundred years older than you and I have been at this game for my entire life. I am not misreading the situation here.”

Ho clicked the mouse to open the email. “Well, you’re right. You passed.”

Oliver gave an exasperated sigh. “I told you I was smart.”

“No, ma’am,” Ho said, “you told me you were old.”

Jane kicked so much butt as an admiral and a role model. She was at both times a military officer and a person. Cole effectively tempered the duties of a military commander with a real human spirit, one that is filled with thoughts, fears, and worries for her family. Much like his Sacred Throne series, he has once again excelled at writing a strong woman. I love Jane; I wish there were more Janes in commanding positions. I wish there were more Janes for little girls to look up to and emulate, and I wish there had been more Janes for when I was growing up.

“I need to… I know this sounds stupid, but I need to make your father proud again. One last time.”

Alice reached across and placed her hand on her mother’s knee. “He already is, mom. I know it.”

The story ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and is left open for a sequel. I hope that Myke keeps writing this world because I want to know what happens. Up until now, I hadn’t thought much about the Coast Guard as a strong military organization. I knew they helped stranded ships and provided border patrol, but there is so much more there that I didn’t know. I think for everything that this book offers in terms of character and narrative, shedding light on the Coast Guard and what it is capable of was the best part of reading this. That and how badass Jane is. We need more examples of obstinate women in fantasy and science fiction, and Admiral Jane Oliver and Sixteenth Watch is a perfect place to start.

Buy Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole

 

The post REVIEW: Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler

I received an uncorrected advance copy of Ashes of the Sun in exchange for an honest review. I’d like to thank Django Wexler and Orbit Books for the opportunity.

The first entry in the Burningblade and Silvereye series begins when Va’aht Thousandcuts – a centarch of the Twilight Order – turns up at a farm dwelling to take away a child from the family that resides there. The youth in question, five-year-old Maya, does not wish to leave the household. Unfortunately, as she suffers frequently from peculiar illnesses, she has no choice and will have to be raised as a member of the Twilight Order. Gyre, her eight-year-old brother, upon seeing his little sister resisting and screaming acts on impulsive and makes a foolhardy mistake in stabbing the centrach. This was a life-altering error to make as Va’aht Thousandcuts retaliates and leaves Gyre scarred for life.

“He was falling backwards, hitting the floor shoulder-first, feeling nothing but the searing agony in his face. He mashed his hand against it, and blood squished, torn skin shifting nauseatingly under his fingers. He only realised he was screaming when he had to stop to take a breath.”

Ashes of the Sun follows the point of view perspectives of Maya and Gyre, alternating every chapter. After the prologue, the action recommences twelve years later. The siblings are living very different lives.

Maya is training to be a centrach under the guidance of Jaedia Suddenstorm. The Twilight Order follow the teachings of the Chosen and are the protectors of humanity. Members of the order can use a form of magic known as deiat and weild legendary blades called haken. Haken are akin to element-fused lightsabers. The magic that Maya can display is that of fire. We join her on her travels with her tutor and a fellow student trying to eradicate monstrous oddities called plaguespawn. Plaguespawn are described as “the product of a mad taxidermist, given the run of the contents of a butcher shop and human morgue.”

Gyre hasn’t seen Maya since the day she was taken away. He is now known as Halfmask and operates in a gang of rebels who are extremely anti-state and authority. The mask her wears is to hide the hideous scar from when he lost his eye. Gyre has a seething hatred to authority but the Twilight Order in particular and will do all he can to oppose them and bring them down.

Ashes of the Sun was my first time reading a novel by Django Wexler and I was very impressed by the top-notch writing, quality storytelling, and the fine worldbuilding. In fact, I completely lost myself in Wexler’s world. The concept intrigued me from the very start. Two siblings on opposite sides of a looming civil war in a dystopian, futuristic fantasy world. Will their paths cross? What will the consequences be if they do? What will they say when finally reunited?

There is a huge glossary of Burningblade and Silvereye unique words such as cognomen, unmetal, dhakim, panoply field, ghouls, the Chosen etc which may seem confusing initially but soon fit perfectly and make complete sense. If confused at any point though the glossary can be found at the rear of the novel and is extremely detailed and useful.

The members of the supporting cast were a joy to follow too. Most of whom have extremely colourful hair. Personal favourites were rival/soon to be centarch Tanax, love interest and arcanist Beq, rebel influencer Yarrow, and the amusing scout Varo. The latter frequently discusses how his friends have died in humorously horrific fashion on former missions. The mysterious, frivolous and kooky Kit Doomseeker is a belter of a character too.

Ashes of the Sun is a real high-octane, dystopian fantasy thrill-ride. The action throughout is scintillating. There are some extremely exciting showdowns, skirmishes, and fights against grotesque monstrosities. Some scenes are unpredictable and shocking too. There is a large amount of violence and gore but the way I envisaged it was extremely heightened and colourful. The finale of Ashes of the Sun is fantastic and was completely thrilling. This novel acts as a complete standalone yet there is still so much to see and explore in Wexler’s world and I’ll 100% be continuing the adventure of Burningblade and Silvereye when the subsequent books are released. Highly recommended.

*Quotations used in this review are subject to change for the final release.

Buy Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler

The post REVIEW: Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

A Beer or Three With Matthew Ward

In this short and sharp interview with Legacy of Ash author Matthew Ward, we chat about his absolutely brilliant epic dark fantasy release (an excellent hold-over for those awaiting the next Game of Thrones), his new take on an old-style magic system, the cast of magnificent multi-layered characters he’s developed, book #2, and those really bloody pesky changes in book sizes that have happened over the years.

A Beer or Three with Matthew Ward

Check out our review of Legacy of Ash

In Matthew Ward’s magnificent and epic Legacy of Ash, the kingdom of Tressia is coming under attack, but the worst is happening within its own borders—the trodden down Southshires are having a fifteen year old insurrection held over their heads by the north and the governing Council and being left without a standing army in the face of invasion as punishment for the disloyalty of a generation all-but-gone.

Read the full review here.

Buy Legacy of Ash

Readers, I honestly can’t say enough great things about this book. Make sure you grab yourself a copy by using the links below.

Author Article: Three Things I Wish I’d Known

By Matthew Ward

While I’ve been writing for decades now, accumulating a small library of self-published works, a back catalogue of credits with Games Workshop (and in this ‘ere Grimdark Magazine issue), this marks a huge step change for my career, and it’s set me thinking.

What advice would I go back and give a younger me, had I the opportunity to do so? What knowledge would I share, or at least try to impart to me of yesterday if he’d just stop arguing for a moment, and listen? What, in short, do I wish I’d known?

Turns out, it’s quite a long list, but I’ve narrowed it down to three points that might have made a difference. I can’t tell me (apparently the technology doesn’t exist, which is disappointing), but maybe – just maybe ­– it’ll be useful.

Read the rest of the article here.

The post A Beer or Three With Matthew Ward appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Wings of the Storm by Giles Kristian

Wings of the Storm is the finale of Kristian’s Viking stories, the last instalment of the tale of Sigurd and it is one of the best books I have ever read.

“…every man with a bit of a brain in his head would chose a trade, instead of a fight”

If you follow my reviews you’ll know I’m a massive fan of Giles Kristian, alongside his narrater Philip Stephens. Kristian’s writing is phenomenal and authentic and Stephen’s delivery is pitch perfect. You should also know that I love Viking books, as a Viking re-enactor I adore what this world brings to my mind and makes me feel, and these types of books inspire my learning, research and enjoyment of re-enactment. If you’re a reader of Christian Cameron then you’ll know his books are seeping with re-enactor experiences, and a level of details that can only be written by doing these things. Kristian’s writing includes details of the language, history, culture and personalities of Scandinavians in the 8th Century. I love these details.

The 3rd and final book in the Rise of Sigurd trilogy is an absolute masterpiece. It has everything you want to read in a great historical fiction tale. Sigurd is pursuing his quest of vengeance upon the man and king who betrayed and killed his father Harald and his family. We have followed Sigurd through hardships, tragedy, heartbreak and many brutal and bloody encounters.  Wings of the Storm does not let up, increasing the pace, providing more warships and tragedy and one of the greatest bloody encounters I have ever read. The final battle is wonderfully told, I could not bear to take a break from it, each moment blending into one. The brutal action is filled with tense and anxious moments and it was so easy to get swept up into the shield-walls and duels and forget about everything else.

“Fire was the new god in that temple.”

Sigurd has amassed around him a crew of characters that I felt attached to and was left with wanting more. They have moments to make you laugh, to shine, some have moments to die, and this all added to the emotional and mental quest of Sigurd to avenge his father and family. I personally loved Olaf and Valgerd who’s personalities were completely believable and unique.

Another aspect of Wings of the Storm I loved was the immense pacing. There is hardly a pause for breath, but when there were they were done brilliantly allowing for character development and growing attachment to Sigurd, his band of followers and Runa. I also loved the numerous twists and turns that seemed to have been conjured by Loki himself, as well as some chapters being told from King Gorm’s point of view.

“…if you’re telling a good story, you must never spoil it with a truth”

5/5 – One of the best historical fictions books I’ve ever read. Wings of the Storm is an incredible read that offers all that a sea-chest of golden arm rings could offer and more. Sigurd’s tale wraps up in magnificent fashion. Read this and ride the wave, you will not regret it!

Buy Wings of the Storm by Giles Kristian

The post REVIEW: Wings of the Storm by Giles Kristian appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Sabbath by Nick Mamatas

Sabbath by Nick Mamatas is a death metal band rolled in a taquito. It is strange, addictive, probably bad for your arteries, and at times makes you want to headbang to some Slayer. These are the mental images I got while reading this story. If Def Leppard could be condensed down to a single book, this would be it.

Sabbath is the novelization of Sabbath: All Your Sins Reborn by Mathew Tomao. The graphic novel currently has a 2.1 on Goodreads, and from what I can tell reviews wise, it is not well-liked. However, the novelization has quite a lot more meat in the story, then the graphic novel does. Hexen Sabbath (see my Def Leppard comment above) is pulled from hell after dying on the battlefields in the 11th century. He has led a prideful and sinful life. He is removed from hell by the angel of judgment for one reason, and one reason alone, he is to kill the embodiment of the seven deadly sins before they destroy mankind. How they go about destroying humanity is not quite fleshed out, but we know that they are bad news. He also must sever their heads and carry them around in a duffle bag to present them to Abathar (angel of judgment) upon completion of his quest. In exchange for his successful killing of the sins, he will be granted a reprieve from hell and welcomed in heaven. He agrees because, of course, he does.

Hexen finds himself naked and confused in the year 2016. Thankfully his head is full of information on how to navigate the differences between his own time and now. This is an excellent opt-in by the author to minimalize culture clash in a story this fast-paced. He also has a helpful tattoo that lights up whenever sin is close. He meets up with a female Russian gallery owner that he connects with, and she becomes a part of his story.

Once he is clothed and donning a new but old sword, Hexen sets out to kill the seven. The battles are entertaining. Lust is a prostitute. Wrath a cage fighter and had some of the most exciting scenes of the book. Envy is a dilettant who is never quite good enough. It is all very grindhouse type dialog and scenes. Matterafact, this book on a whole reminds me of an old grindhouse movie from the seventies, but with better acting. It is a whole lot of sex, violence, and gore, but not in a way that is disturbing but more of tongue in cheek kind of way. I mean, Hexen walks around with six heads in a duffle bag. You can’t take this too seriously.

It is entertaining as hell. Is it perfect? No. The dialog stutters a bit and lost me a few times in the beginning, and there were some pacing issues mid-book. But it is a hell of a lot of fun, and I am just being picky.

If you want to feel completely metal check this out.

Buy Sabbath by Nick Mamatas

The post REVIEW: Sabbath by Nick Mamatas appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is the new fantasy novella from British Fantasy Award and Hugo winner, Zen Cho. The story follows a small gang of “roving contractors” (aka bandits) as they attempt to hawk extremely valuable stolen—or perhaps preserved—goods. When the gang is forced to adopt a former nun turned coffee-shop waitress into their band, dissension, mystery, lust, violence, and bad cooking ensue.

The story is perfectly adapted to the novella format. It features only a few main characters, and we become intimate with them. It is told in the point of view of Tet Sang, the second to bandit leader Lau Fung Cheung. Tet Sang is a quiet, somewhat sullen bandit in tattered robes that seem to show fallen luxury. He is also a wuxia master. He often has to lead the gang because its actual leader, Lau Fung Cheung, is too beautiful to appear in public in most situations. He attracts too much attention. People can’t stop staring at him, and that’s not good since he is a wanted bandit. So “clay-faced” Tet Sang must perform much of the bandits’ public duties, such as trying to fence the stolen goods. Guet Imm is a nun who joins them, much to the chagrin of the other members of the all-male gang, after she is fired for causing a ruckus at the coffee shop. She is very smart, beautiful, and still dedicated to the temple. She has lived much of her life in the Temple of the Pure Moon and has no family. She has nowhere else to go, so she joins Fung Cheung’s gang. But there is something keeping her there beyond just her need to find something to do. These three main characters have a uniting drive to find better lives, or at least survive, in the war-torn southern peninsula, but it is the tension between them that creates such an entertaining story. They are bandits, but they don’t commit “bad crimes,” so they are caught in a kind of limbo between the tyrannical Protectorate, which is clamping down on bandits and reformists, and the actual bad bandits, who will steal their stuff and kill them.

The secondary characters are also excellent. Ah Boon is a bit of a healer. He helps the bandits with their wounds. He is the only one who is eager for Guet Imm to join the men, but when he finds out she won’t fuck them because she is a nun, he gets extremely angry. Ah Hin is a bit of a drunkard and a secret zealot. He is angry that they took in a woman who can’t even cook, and after a short experiment in inedible food, he must resume the duties.

I loved all these characters for their flaws as much as their good characteristics. However, as happens in the best (dare I say ‘literary’) fantasy, the characters’ relationships are what really shine here. What attracts Guet Imm to the bandits? Why is Fung Cheung so faithful to his second, Tet Sang? What keeps Ah Hin in the gang? All the questions arise from the fabric of the gang’s relationships and develop beautifully throughout the novella, right up to the inevitable but shocking ending.

On the surface, The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected on Water is a pretty grim tale about hapless, hungry bandits trying to survive amid poverty, war, and tyranny. In this sense, it is like a lot of grimdark novels and novellas and is pretty much standard grimdark fare. But Zen Cho is so fucking funny that the story becomes as darkly humorous it is grim and pathetic. It’s rare balance that I’ve found only a few times in the likes of Rob Hayes’s Never Die, Mark Lawrence’s Red Queen’s War, and several of Abercrombie’s novels. Not only is the narrator subtly humorous, but the characters are freaking hilarious, mostly unintentionally, often delightfully crudely.

Although The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected on Water is not brimming with violence—there are fights and killings, etc., just not in every chapter—the story sits right in the morally grey area of the best grimdark. We genuinely care about these characters even though they are armed bandits who are attempting to fence stolen goods. They want top dollar for their stolen goods, and will do almost anything to get it. But they are also practically hopeless. There is nothing else they can really do. War and strife have torn their country apart, and poverty is rampant. They are on the Protectorate’s wanted list of bandits, and even the other bandits want to kill them. They must do what it takes to survive.

Usually, when I finish a good book, I feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Not so with The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected on Water. I did not want this book to end. I wanted to follow these characters wherever they went next. I felt attached to them. The ending itself, in a sort of post-modern way, leaves most of the big, surface questions unanswered, which I happen to love. No Country for Old Men is one of my favourite movies for just this reason. But just like No Country for Old Men, when I finished The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected on Water, I realized that, despite many unanswered questions, this story had ended, and it was not the story I thought I was reading. It was a beautiful realization. I hope that makes some sense.

Anyhow, The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is a brilliant novella. It provides all the entertainment, action, surprises, and hilarity one could want from 33,000 words, but in the end, it makes you think about people, their lives, their relationships, their motivations, and their futures. I most highly recommend this book to discerning readers of grim fantasy as well as to ‘literary’-type folks who enjoy books like Alix E. Harrow’s also-brilliant The Ten Thousand Days of January. And even though there are so many more new books to review, I think I’m going to have to dive into Zen Cho’s back catalogue for a bit first. 10/10.

The Order of The Pure Moon Reflected in Water is scheduled to be released by Tor.com on June 23, 2020. Do yourself a favour and read it.

Review originally published in  Grimdark Magazine #22.

Buy The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

The post REVIEW: The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Gideon’s Curse by David Niall Wilson

David Niall Wilson is a horror writer that I have a particular affection for. Full confession time: I’ve worked with his publishing house and on a collection of Lovecraft short stories with him. He’s also worked with much better writers than me like Neil Gaiman, James Lowder, and Elizabeth Bear in Shadows over Baker Street.

I first became aware of him when he used to write novels for White Wolf gaming where he created novels for Vampire: The Dark Ages as well as Exalted. He’s the former Horror Writers Association President too and has won multiple Bram Stoker Awards, so he seems like a good candidate for starting us off in our reviews of horror novels on Grimdark Magazine’s website.

Picking which of his novels to review, I decided to go with GIDEON’S CURSE, a horror novel about an uncomfortable topic in American history: slavery. It’s a combination of zombie, ghost, and surrealist fiction where a plantation continues to exist in-between dimensions akin to Silent Hill.

The tackling of such a sensitive subject within genre fiction is always going to be a delicate matter but I think the author handles it well. It’s not an attempt to deal with the mammoth history of corruption or legacy of the Peculiar Institution in the United States but sticks simply to one particular place that has been utterly wrecked by black (?) magic.

The premise is idealistic Reverend Gideon Swayne comes to spread the word of the Lord to people who might not normally get it during the post-Civil War reconstruction. The former slaves are technically freed, but little in their lives has changed due to the economic realities of the Deep South. Reconstruction is going to fail due to the treachery of both locals and the policies of President Andrew Johnson.

Fortunately, or perhaps not given the way events proceed, Gideon quickly begins to view the freedmen as different from the lesser individuals that his upbringing taught him. He falls in love with one of them as well, Desdemona, who has her own issues with a cross-racial cross-class relationship of such extreme degree. This isn’t a love story, though, as their union swiftly brings about the retaliation of the locals. It reminds me a bit of the backstory to Tony Todd’s Candyman, who remains one of the best designed new horror movie villains.

It’s not a spoiler to say that horrific consequences fall upon the individuals involved but it is a curse that spreads from generation to generation, leaving a lot of collateral damage in its wake. David Niall Wilson has a Stephen King-esque quality of making it so that the supernatural is not particularly familiar. It is not the wrath of God that falls down upon individuals but something older and perhaps darker but maybe just as justified.

This is a solid horror novel and if you’re looking for something to terrify and amuse then this is a novel for you.

Buy Gideon’s Curse by David Niall Wilson

The post REVIEW: Gideon’s Curse by David Niall Wilson appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Camelot by Giles Kristian

James’ Review:

I received an uncorrected proof copy of Camelot in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Giles Kristian and Bantam Press for the opportunity.

Set ten years after the conclusion of Lancelot, Camelot follows the first-person point of view perspective of Galahad, Lancelot’s son. Galahad is a novice monk of Ynys Wydryn and is soon to ascend to the status of a fully-fledged brother of Christ. After witnessing the death of a newborn child and during a horrendous storm, he is met by two strangers. A Saxon-killing, bow-wielding lady of the wilds, Iselle and an ageing warrior who was a former companion of his father’s, Gawain. Circumstances dictate that together they have to leave the monastery, leaving Galahad to question everything he has ever known, completely turning his world upside down.

Camelot is an incredible sequel to Lancelot. It is beautifully written, plucks at the heartstrings throughout and has numerous tragic, truly gut-wrenching moments. The novel packs so much excellence within its pages. It features an adventure to retrieve a mythical treasure, tragic deaths of likeable characters, epic battles for the future of Britain, mysterious druid magic, and young love. It also has some instances where certain facts are revealed that I’d love to share, yet it would be unfair of me as those moments were utterly awesome, left me speechless and occasionally emotionally shattered.

I suppose you could start cold with Camelot if you hadn’t previously read Lancelot however I do believe you would be missing out greatly. Half of the ensemble here were present in the previous novel. Players like Gawain, Constantine, and Parcefal were great to read about again. Some of the other standout characters are new additions such as the previously mentioned Iselle and the intriguing young lad Taliesin. Certain towns are frequented again and it was intriguing to see how things had changed in the previous ten years. Britain is a darker and grimmer place than it was before with Saxon’s running amok and causing chaos, with the Kings of Britain only caring about their own settlements. The characters that were involved refer often to the good old days when Arthur and Lancelot brought Britain together under a united Bear banner and pushed the Saxon’s back to the sea. Is there any chance that Britain could unite again in this novel, without the aid of Lancelot and Arthur? It is mentioned frequently about how much Galahad reminds people of his father.

I’ll finish by saying that Camelot is a sublime, often poetic and hauntingly beautiful historical fiction epic. Featuring its fair share of grit and violence as well as camaraderie and loyalty, fans of heroic fantasy will find much to adore here. I’m unaware if Kristian is planning to return to his version of Britain’s early middle ages but he leaves the possibility open at the novel’s conclusion. Events wrap up nicely, the ending being riveting and hugely engaging. Camelot is a fine continuation to the equally excellent Lancelot and I raced through it in three days.

Edward’s Review:

A massive thank you to Giles Kristian and Bantam Press for the advance copy of Camelot. I was so excited for this read and it did not disappoint!

Camelot gave me one-hell of a punch. It contained some of the best writing in historical-fiction today and completely knocked me off my feet. It had the emotion and intimacy of Lancelot, just with something more. A phenomenal read.

“I am an old fool, but I know that a man so loved by some and hated by others must be a man who was true to his heart.”

Camelot took me completely by surprise. Where I loved Lancelot I adored Camelot, where I felt the emotional pulls in Lancelot I felt my heartstrings well and truly mauled in Camelot. Executed wonderfully, Camelot is completely worthy of its predecessor of Lancelot. After the ending of Lancelot I did not think I would read a book in this world by Giles Kristian again, my excitement levels at being sent a review copy Camelot was indescribable.

Before I carry on I have to say that I loved Lancelot. The whole arc, the characters, I loved it. I loved Camelot even more. There is an edge to Camelot and Kristian’s writing that is evidently honed to perfection. The tone felt right and the characters were believable and memorable.

“A fronte preecipitium a tergo lupi, a precipice in front, wolves behind”

Without wanting to go into the story for fear of spoilers, of Camelot or indeed Lancelot, I will pinch this quote from the Goodreads description of Camelot. For this is the story of Galahad, Lancelot’s son – the reluctant warrior who dared to keep the dream of Camelot alive…

Usually I will not love a novel if I don’t feel a connection with the characters. Camelot contains a host of fantastic characters that are all individual and brilliant in their own rights. There were old-strings that were cut and new bonds that were made. Galahad was a superb POV, a young reluctant hero who was written in such a way it felt like a breath of fresh air. There is hope in Galahad and everything he comes to stand for, flashes of his lineage that left the characters and even myself in awe.

“The dead must be avenged.”

Within Camelot there was some of the most polished and well-written passages I have read. Not just within the plot and characters, but the prose. Kristian’s prose is inspiring to read. He manages to incorporate such time-period specific phrases and feelings into some deeply descriptive writing that makes you feel like you understand the world that our characters are living in. It is, obviously being a 5th Century Arthurian tale, immensely different to our own worlds but Kristian does it superbly world.

There was a couple of chapters just after the halfway point that were some of the best chapters I have ever read. Terrifying and brutal they added so much to the story and the bond forged between a band of warriors set on the same hope-filled quest.

“He is a fool who plants no trees because he knows he will never sit in their shade.”

As a fan of Arthurian tales such as Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles (of course, and I’m sure every review of Lancelot and Camelot will keep Bernard’s portrayal in mind,) Tolkein’s Fall of Arthur alliterative verse and other classic renditions, I never once thought I’d be able to be fully immersed into another telling of Arthur and his knights. However, as you can guess I was indeed wrong. The golden ticket here is containing the bones of that mythology that we know, but making it completely your own, and it is that. Kristian has carved his own path through the jungle that is Arthur, with the action of the Raven Saga, the history of classic tellings and characters that forge a connection with you.

There were a few moments where I felt frustration based on some characters actions and I felt myself urging these characters to do a little more to live up to the song of Arthur, but as Kristian’s tale show us, these legendary characters are human and can go completely against your wishes.

“I was Galahad ap Lancelot and I was a killer of men.”

5/5 – In short, I loved it. In long, I loooooooved it. Lancelot was a wonderful read and Camelot followed it up brilliantly.  Galahad is one of my favourite main characters of historical fiction and I really enjoyed the whole setting of Camelot. It was tense, nerve-wracking but full of hope. Containing beautiful prose, strong characters and authentic action, Camelot is a great Arthurian tale.

Buy Camelot by Giles Kristian

The post REVIEW: Camelot by Giles Kristian appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

Warhammer 40K: Where to start reading

The Warhammer 40K universe books are legion. They cover almost every kind of action and war sci-fi you could want, from mass trench warfare, to special ops, secret agents, void wars, superhuman soldiers and demigods battling aliens and demons. The stories are fascinating and action-packed and the universe Games Workshop have created for their authors to play in mean that there is absolutely no end to the material and awesomesauce coming out of the Imperium and its many, many foes.

BUT, if you’re only just coming across this unbelievable treasure trove of fiction, just where the bloody hell should you start?

Fear not! The team and I have put together a starter pack for you. It covers a range of factions, from the puniest human to the most terrifying of traitor, and covers 10,000 years of Imperial history.

Welcome to the addiction.

Gaunts Ghosts by Dan Abnett

To me, 40K has never been about the space marines. It’s the Guard who truly put the horror and size of the future universe in perspective for the reader. The layperson given a lasrifle and a helmet and sent into the meatgrinder with millions of others, creating a wall of mangled bodies between the people of the Imperium and all that would tear it down. What it’s like to be a normal human being in a universe of superhuman space marines, vicious dark eldar, brutal orks, soulless and all-consuming tyranids, and the terrifying Chaos space marines? No author delivers this experience better than Dan Abnett. To sum up Gaunt’s Ghosts as quickly as possible: its pretty much Band of Brothers in the 40K setting. It’s unrelenting, brutal, and you can all-but guarantee you’ll be shedding a tear over the shock loss of a favourite character at some point.

These books are about as moreish as war SF gets (and there are stacks of them).

Ultramarines by Graham McNeill

If you’re new to 40K, the Ultramaries are the cookie-cutter space marines, and probably the most recognisable faction in the entire universe. Based on the ancient Romans, they are plentiful, have a long list of successor chapters, and are generally considered by the greater 40K gaming community to be boring AF when compared to the other chapters (eg. the ones based on vikings, or vampires, or Ghenkis Khan’s lot). Enter Graham McNeill. He’s taken the Ultramarines and made them bloody interesting by featuring a captain who is not cookie cutter. Uriel Ventris is a brilliant character–a bit of a square peg in a round hole–and his story will really drive your understanding of the space marine chapters and the kind of bureaucratic nonsense that has helped stagnate the Imperium, where innovation once drove mortals to conquer the stars once more.

Space Wolves by William King

This was one of the first 40k series I ever read, and when juxtaposed against Graham McNeill’s Ultramarines it really helps new readers understand the full gamut of legion types out there–everything from space Romans to space vikings! The Space Wolved books by William King (later joined by Lee Lightner) are an adrenaline-packed excitement-fest of war, brotherhood, drinking, and, at times, intrigue centred on one of the legion’s most storied characters, Ragnar Blackmane.

Eisenhorn by Dan Abnett

If Jack Bauer from the hit series 24 was made 20,000 years in the future, his name would be Gregor Eisenhorn. Full of action and intrigue, and delving into the dark political machinations of the Imperium, Eisenhorn is the perfect 40k series if 24, Jack Ryan, and maybe even a little Altered Carbon are more your jam than massed warfare pitting demigods against aliens. Out of all of the 40K series, I reckon Eisenhorn is the most likely to get a Netflix series.

The Beast Arises by Various

Black Library’s The Beast Arises series was an epic venture–a twelve book series which unfolded over the course of 2016. Set in an Imperium still reeling from the effects of the Horus Heresy (making this technically Warhammer 31K), it focused on humanity’s efforts to stave off an assault by their age-old foes, the ferocious, bestial orks. However, these orks are different–bigger, stronger, and worse, smarter; plus, they’ve parked an assault moon at Terra’s front door. Confounding issues are the Imperium’s depleted military, as well as constant, byzantine in-fighting and backstabbing among Terra’s High Lords. If you enjoy some political duelling to go along with your bone-crunching action, or you just want to witness the ferocity of the orks in their brutal glory, then this is the series for you.

Night Lords by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s iconic Night Lords trilogy (Soul Hunter, Blood Reaver, Void Stalker) is not only universally accepted as the greatest Warhammer 40K series centered on Chaos; in fact, many Black Library readers name it as their favourite series of all. This is some feat; as the Night Lords are perhaps the most odious and despicable of all the Traitor Legions–repulsive sadists who not only utilise, but also delight in terror and torture. However, Dembski-Bowden elevates his dramatis personae–Apothecary Talos and his First Claw retinue–with pathos and a sense, albeit warped, of personal honour. It is integral to the success of a Chaos series that they are portrayed as more than snarling villains, and the Night Lords trilogy succeeds in spades.

The Horus Heresy by various

Set in the year 30,ooo, the Horus Heresy are the 50 books that set the backdrop for the the current timeline that Games Workshop’s tabletop game and most of Black Library’s publications are set in. It begins two hundred years into the Emperor’s Great Crusade, where humanity streaks across the stars to claim all of its lost planets and conquer new ones, and culminates in the Seige of Terra at the end of the great betrayal that sparks 10,000 years of stalemate war where humanity scraps and scrapes to keep its foothold in the stars. When I was growing up, trying to find any and every smudge of fluff and story on the Horus Heresy that I could find was a bit of an obsession. I gave up playing and reading 40K in my late teens, and then heard about this series when I turned 20. Once again I was hopelessly hooked. Now, like any series this long, within the 50 books there are a few ones that are superfluous, BUT at the very least you need the first three books that detail the first cracks in the brotherhood of primarchs and the influence of Chaos on Horus in your life.

The post Warhammer 40K: Where to start reading appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.