Nerine Dorman's Blog, page 66

Songs from the Phenomenal Nothing by Steven Luna #review

Title: Songs from the Phenomenal Nothing
Author: Steven Luna
Publisher: Booktrope Editions, 2013

I first encountered Steven Luna’s writing when I perchance downloaded Joe Vampire , and immediately fell in love with his writing. He has that comfortable, easy-to-settle-in style that I adore. His characters are surprisingly… normal… despite their circumstances. Okay, granted, that’s not to say that most other authors’ characters aren’t, but Luna has a particular way of expressing individual voice in such a way that you gain an instant impression of what they’re like as people – within and without.

Songs from the Phenomenal Nothing combines two of my favourite themes – music and a coming-of-age scenario. Tyler Mills loves music. He has hopes of making a career of it, but when we meet him, he’s auditioning for a sport in a conservatory, and he rebels against perceived strictures in his life. In fact, much of his behaviour at the start of the novel is a knee-jerk reaction to some slight (from his point of view, that is).

And the scary thing is how much I identify with the lad – so much so that as I read, I wished I could reach him somehow and hold up a mirror. Tyler is angry. His mother died six months ago and he and his dad are not seeing eye to eye, despite his promise to his mom that he and his dad would look out for each other.

The two couldn’t be more chalk and cheese – delicate, creative Tyler versus mechanic father Tom. It’s a recipe for disaster now that Miranda has passed on.

Tyler’s girlfriend, Chelsea, provides a stabilising force in his life, but it takes Tyler quite a few hard knocks before he sees what an awesome lady he has in his life. His friend, Xan, and fellow band member, might not be the best influence in his life but as a friend he is solid, dependable – and genuinely cares for Tyler.

The catalyst that sets off this story’s conflict even more is when Tyler has to clean up the house, garage and garden as punishment for something that he did (am not going to give spoilers, so just take my word for it). He finds a stack of old journals that used to belong to his mother, which paint in a surprising history. Tyler is set on a crazy journey, and along the way he discovers not only his parents’ past, but also that the people he knows aren’t quite who they seem to be. I’m not going to say any more because I don’t want to ruin the surprises.

Mostly, we are faced with reality as we want it to be versus the unvarnished (though obscured) truth, which may not be as glamorous as we’d hoped for. Tyler must weigh up his options and accept that which is, rather than hanker after the glitter of his self-created fantasy.

Oh, and the music…

Glorious music threads its way throughout this novel – Luna has an understanding that makes his work a pleasure to read, and oh so inspiring.

This is what YA should be, with authentic characters who have plans and ambitions beyond interest in the opposite gender. They are multi-dimensional beings who get angry, make poor judgment calls then have to deal with the consequences of their actions.

I’m going to close by drawing parallels between this book and Suzanne van Rooyen’s The Other Me , as titles that are similar. If you love YA that is edgy, gritty and laced with characters that are less than squeaky clean, and who do the things your mother warned you about, then these are your books.

But getting back to Luna. He is awesome. He is fabulous. Read his books! They are fun, with a touch of poignancy, and will make you laugh or groan out loud at places.

Okay, I can probably froth and gush endlessly so I am going to shut up now and just tell you to go by Steven Luna’s books.

Demonologia Biblica edited by Dean M Drinkel

Title: Demonologia Biblica
Edited by Dean M Drinkel
Publisher: Western Legends Publishing, 2013

So far as anthologies of speculative fiction go, this one’s a mixed bag; not all the stories were quite to my taste, but I’ll touch on the ones that did stand out for me, and also share a little bit about the one I wrote.

C is for Chordewa: Pet Therapy by Jan Edwards tells of a demonic cat that feeds on the lives of the terminally ill in a hospice. I think it’s the grinding inevitability of death that gave me a chill for this one. Especially how some of the patients still try to make a stand against the death-dealer.

Tracie McBredie’s E is for Eisheth stands out for me mostly because I know that whenever she’s at the pen, I’m in for a treat. This was no exception. The story oozes a brooding, oozing dark sensuality; the demon Eisheth seduces humans and slowly steals their vitality. They are addicted to the very thing that is slowly killing them.

Simon Kurt Unsworth is a master of horror, and with his H is for Hrace, he’s certainly in top form with the creepiness factor. I’ll never quite look at a circle of standing stones in quite the same way again. Also, yikes, the oppressive atmosphere … it was a relief when, well … The totally unexpected happened.

My story is S is for Sitakh: Old Scratch will be a treat for those of you who’re familiar with my Books of Khepera . This little tale features my favourite unrepentant black magician, Jamie. The premise is simple: what if Christians who failed to exorcise a demon turned to a demon-possessed occult practitioner to do the job?

Of course things don’t quite according to plan for Jamie, and he has some unintended results. His solution to the problem is, well … inventive.

W is for Wolf: Urban Wolf by Sam Stone had an unexpected twist that I appreciated. Maybe it’s because I’m intimately acquainted with the advertising industry that I found this tale to be particularly nasty and delightful.

Granted, there are 26 stories collected here, so other readers are bound to find some that stand out more for them than others. Pulling together any anthology is no joke, and a lot of work goes into a project of this nature. (I’m speaking from personal experience here.)

So, if you’re looking for infernal entertainment of this kind, then this collection of brimstone-laced may offer you what you’re in the mood for. Even better, you might discover new authors who appeal to you (and that’s always good motivation to dip into a short story collection).

The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit (Wraeththu #1) by Storm Constantine #reviews

Title: Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit (Wraeththu #1)
Author: Storm Constantine:
Publisher: Smashwords, 2009

Possibly one of my biggest sins so far is the fact that I keep meaning to read all Storm Constantine’s Wraeththu Mythos stories but don’t ever quite get round to doing so. So, this is on my “to do” list for 2014. After all, Storm is one of my top favourite authors of all time.

I first encountered her novel, Calenture , and also a number of others way back when I was in my teens. I don’t know quite what it was that drew me to her writing – quite a number of things, actually. Her subject matter always hints at the unfolding of some greater mystery and is filled with references to esoteric subject matter, which is grist for my mill.

Not just that, but you get the idea that events are set up against a greater backdrop of epic proportions. There is an underlying current of eroticism without being explicit. I like that – sexual gratification is often implied rather that gratuitously depicted, which is refreshing in this day and age.

Settings and descriptions are lush. Storm takes her time to place you in her world and, as you read it, it is easy to build up a very vivid image of place and characters in one’s head.

The Wraeththu Mythos has, from what I can see, a small but devoted cult following among Storm’s fans. The world itself has also been expanded by the release of anthologies of stories written by fans of the milieu, not to mention fan art to be found on sites like deviantart.com.

The premise is simple – mankind’s successor, the hermaphrodite Wraeththu, has come into being, and mankind as a species is on the wane. Naturally this shift in the balance of power does not come without a price, and the world we discover is in turmoil.

But instead of putting up a united front, the Wraeththu themselves are in conflict with each other and seemed doomed to repeat the same mistakes as humanity before them.

Wraeththu come across essentially human – like viewing a woman superimposed over a young man. They do not appear to age visibly, and many of them develop magical abilities. They are a young race, and their abilities have yet to be fully explored, so there’s not telling what sorts of powers or abilities will crop up.

It’s clear why Storm begins her story where she does – essentially a coming-of-age tale for one Pellaz, who has spent his formative years as a peasant cable farmer (as for what cable plants truly are, Storm doesn’t tell us – and that’s fine by me. The name and uses suggest a singularly utilitarian crop that is about as inspiring as baked beans. Kinda like young Luke Skywalker working on his uncle’s moisture farm on Tatooine.)

Which makes Pell’s elopement with the mysterious Wraeththu Cal all the more delicious and forbidden. They head off to a settlement known only as Saltrock, which is run by a Wraeththu named Seel – who has envisioned a Wraeththu community where all can live in productive harmony in their self-made Utopia.

We discover the Wraeththu culture through the eyes of Pell the outsider, who like us is unaware of all the subtle undercurrents – and in that way we know only as much as he himself discovers. The first part of this novel is pretty much just a travelogue of Pell and Cal going forth and adventuring, and some fascinating folks along the way.

Then, of course, everything changes. I won’t say what, but there’s enough of a foreshadowing at Pell’s inception for you to figure out that there are larger plans afoot, whether Pell likes it or not.

All I can add is that this mythos will not have broad appeal, especially in this day and age where authors are encouraged to start their stories off with a big bang and lots of trauma. Of course I love the Wraeththu Mythos, for all its intensity and wild beauty and the textured, slow-moving prose. Storm concerns herself with creating moods and weaving a rich tapestry that constructs her rich mythology. Emphasis is placed on complex relationships and vivid world-building.

The story is ripe with detail, and I was surprised by how much of it felt new even with the second read-through of this novel. Mainly, this story is one of those feel-good, self-indulgent tales for me that I can truly immerse myself in the setting – a not-so-guilty pleasure. The Wraeththu themselves are fascinating, enigmatic beings, and if you’re looking for a supernatural creature that is a magical departure from the bog-standard fare of fairies, angels or vampires, then you really cannot go wrong with the Wraeththu Mythos.

The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree by SA Hunt (The Outlaw King #1) #review

Title: The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree (Book #1 of the Outlaw King series)
Author: S.A. Hunt
Author published, 2013

I’m a huge fan of stories where Earthlings inadvertently find themselves stumbling into an alternative world filled with magic, so S.A. Hunt’s The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree snagged me from the get go.

Ross Brigham was never close to his father, Ed, who was a famous author of a fantasy series possibly as iconic as Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time or George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. While Ross himself was not too shabby himself when it came to stringing words together, I get the impression that he walked in his father’s shadow.

When Ross returns from active military service in the Middle East it’s to make the discovery that his home life, as he’d looked forward to, no longer exists. He might live in his dream home, but his wife has left him. Not only that, but his father has died, and having nothing better to do, Ross attends the funeral of a man he suspects his fans knew better than he ever did. What he wasn’t prepared for was to see the impact his father’s writing had on others’ lives.

Predictably that’s when things start becoming more than just a little bit strange for Ross. The long and short of it is that he agrees to finish writing his father’s so far unfinished series about a world ruled by a mystical gunslinger king. Ross befriends two of his father’s young fans – Noreen and Sawyer – who know a helluva lot more about his father’s writing than he does. Ross is no Christopher Tolkien, that much is for sure.

Where C.S. Lewis had a magical cupboard, Hunt present us first with a magic mirror under a church, followed by an elevator ride into this other world, that sees Ross relying heavily on Noreen and Sawyer’s knowledge of the books as they explore. What follows is an adventure, yes, part murder mystery, but also an examination of the creative process.

Hunt doesn’t cover any new ground with this book. That being said, he does take one of my favourite tropes – that of an Earthling transported to another world – and puts his own stamp on it. And, let me tell you, Hunt’s imagination is a wonderful, strange place to be. If you’re looking for elves, orcs and dragons, then you had best go elsewhere for your jollies. This novel recalls everything that I love about westerns, but it’s also in part a surreal homage to The Neverending Story, for all the metaphysical reasons encapsulated in Michael Ende’s work. But this is all fantasy – The Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree leaves me feeling that I’ve dipped into a curious melange that is unlike anything I’ve read recently.

If you can push aside your expectations and just hold on for the ride, you will be transported to some of the most well-realised and utterly strange settings you’ve seen in a while.

Yes, the pacing is a little uneven in places, but oh my, Hunt really understands how to evoke a sense of place, wonder and mood, even at his most surreal moments that I could overlook any rough edges (there weren’t many).

I kept thinking a little about Stephen King’s Dark Tower series while reading – maybe the whole mystical gunslinger vibe – but overall I just loved every moment of this book and I’m keen to go on to book two. Watch out for this author. His imagination has run wild and it’s abso-bloody-lutely awesome.

Mud, (fake) blood, sweat and tears for the silver screen

WHENEVER I let slip that my husband is a film-maker – surreal horror/art films no less – people naturally make the same erroneous assumption as when I mention that I’m a published author.

“Oh, you guys must make lots of money.”

At which point my hysterical laughter is met with looks of dull incomprehension. I must add, darling, that to make a small fortune in independent film-making (or publishing, for that matter) you need to start with a large fortune. Considering that most of us are not in possession of a large fortune… Well, say no more.

Some wives have husbands who like watching rugby or cricket with the boys down at the local. I have a husband who likes to meet up with his fellow co-conspirators to plan their next movie. The actual scriptwriting is the easy part. This process usually involves drinking copious cups of coffee or chosen beverages while the two intrepid directors-writers hash things out. Emails fly, and sometimes there are long, animated phone conversations at odd hours. But eventually the guys will have their script.

Then the fun really starts. It’s called pre-production, and that’s when things become really weird. To be fair, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

“We need a fake animal carcass.”

“We need to make a meat mask.”

“We need at least six litres of fake blood.”

Luckily, Cape Town has numerous prop houses that stock such arcane items as fake animal carcasses (they’re made of foam, in case you’re wondering). I also now have a large, rusted vintage fridge lurking in my yard. Don’t ask how it got there. It was a prop in their last film. I don’t know who the hulk belongs to and I have a nagging suspicion it’s moved in on a semi-permanent basis and won’t be paying rent.

Also, we’ve made good friends with people who are in the business of creating special FX make-up and prosthetics. We’ve also figured out our own recipe for making really convincing fake blood. (It involves corn syrup, food colouring, dishwashing liquid and coffee, and mixing it up to the right consistency isn’t as easy as chucking all the ingredients into a bowl.) Invariably someone has to mop up the fake blood. That would be me.

Never a dull moment.

Camaraderie makes it all worthwhile...
Ronnie and Thomas enjoy the creative process...We go through litres of fake blood every time we film. We’ve also discovered that Worcestershire sauce will do in a pinch if we need to show the stuff running down a wall.

But nothing beats the camaraderie that happens when we’re shooting. I think that’s part of the reason why I keep tagging along and making myself useful. We’ve been in some pretty insane locations over the past few years, including a derelict warehouse, an ancient school hall, a butchery (with prerequisite flyblown, meaty chopping block) and an abandoned quarry.

Granted, if the team needs someone to go to collect the make-up artist; find a hammer (on a Saturday morning, month-end in Woodstock, no less); make lunch for a dozen hungry crew members; or mop up the fake blood – it ends up that the lucky person is me.

Let it be known that I make coffee and tea like a boss.

I’m cool with all this. For once the mere fact that I don’t have any special skills on set means I get to play fly on the wall while nominally lending a helping hand.

Yes, there are bucket-loads of “hurry up and wait”, but each film is different, each experience offering its own challenges and rewards. I’m sure as hell not doing this for the money.

Once all props and equipment have been returned, we enter that dazed “What now?” phase. What, we have weekends? What on earth are we to do with ourselves?

Except then the lads begin to edit, which usually leads to my falling asleep on the editor’s couch while the guys crowd around the computer. By the time we go home it’s so late it’s early, and it’s usually on a school night, which means I resemble something that crawled off the set of Evil Dead by the time I turn up for work in the morning.

“But is it worth it?” you ask.

Hell, yes. Nothing beats sitting in that cinema and seeing the results on the silver screen. The rapt faces of the audience are something to behold. Oh, haai, yes, and the team winning awards. It doesn’t affect the bank account, but it does feed the ego.

Seeing my name at the end of the credits with special thanks, no less. That helps. It almost makes up for having to put up with my husband’s stress. Also, the joy of seeing the films end up at assorted arts and film festivals all over the world. And winning international awards too. That totally rocks. Granted, we’re not going to be trotting up the red carpet for an Oscar any time soon, but hell, to borrow something Neil Gaiman once said, we’re making good art.

And that matters.











See aLONE in its entirety.











See the La Mia Carne trailer.

The Ghost-Eater and Other Stories compiled by Diane Awerbuck & edited by Louis Greenberg #review

Title: The Ghost-Eater and Other Stories
Compiled: Diane Awerbuck
Edited: Louis Greenberg
Publisher: Umuzi, 2013

Short story anthologies number among my guilty pleasures, and it was impossible to resist when two of my favourite South African bookish folk – Diane Awerbuck and Louis Greenberg – put their creative minds together to bring out this selection of 31 tales. There is a little bit of everything here to please most palates, and I enjoyed not really knowing what I was getting into whenever I started a fresh tale.

It’s also far beyond the scope of this review to give detailed mention for each story, so I’ll highlight a handful that stood out for me.

“Revelations” by Jennifer Thorpe is filled with barbed humour made me snigger quietly to myself for the naïveté of the narrator pondering the End of Days and the fate of a beloved pooch.

Ilze Hugo’s “The Ghost-Eater” from which the anthology derives its name offers sly, paranormal humour. Fred Mostert, the ghost-eater, is a character I won’t easily forget – especially for his Klippies en Coke and his penchant for KFC.

Then there are stories like Daniel Bertie’s “The Writing Class” that are just downright disturbing in the most deliciously devious pet-“murgling” ways.

I’ve been following Liam Kruger’s career with interest and his “& Found” features his signature alcohol-steeped observations. Many of his characters offer an uncomfortably seedy vibe and this tale, which features a magician with a rare gift to find lost property is no exception.

Mia Arderne’s “The Fool” amply conveys that dismal “morning after the night before” miasma as the protagonist suffers the depredations of both genders. The crushing despair is painful, and you can’t help but feel that the protagonist is the only one to blame for her misery.

“The Nazi Insurgence Reaches Blairgowrie” by Werner Pretorius brings with it a sense of unrelenting claustrophobia as the protagonist deals not only with a midlife crisis but also his father’s dementia.

As stated earlier, this is but a selection of stories that stood out for me, and I’m certain other readers will resonate with different examples. A sense of Africa in all its diversity permeates this anthology, which brings with it a resonance for locals, and perhaps a taste of the exotic for non-Africans. The tales run the spectrum, from lit fic through to spec fic, and if you’re in the mood to dip into fresh voices worth keeping an eye out for in the future, then you can’t go wrong with The Ghost-Eater and Other Stories. Here you’ll find tales that are humorous, disconcerting, dark or poignant; they will quietly slip you into unexpected realities for a short spell, as all good short stories should.

10 minutes with Suzanne van Rooyen #author

Part of the reason why I review books is so that I'm constantly exposed to new authors, and I've met some awesome people over the years. I'm happy to present fellow South African author Suzanne van Rooyen, who's scarily awesome. To give you a hint, she's into Neil Gaiman and Poppy Z Brite, which immediately makes her good people, in my books. As if it's not enough, she's also into music. I've recently read her novel, The Other Me, which I feel is how contemporary YA *should* be written. Go check the book out on Goodreads. I've been an annoying gushing fangrrrl by telling everyone to go out and buy that book immediately.

So, Suzanne, what do you love about Brite and Gaiman? 

Oh indeed! Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite was the first book I ever read twice, and then a third time. I just didn't want it to end so when I got to the last page, I just started from the beginning again. That book is what made me want to start writing. Ghost was also my first real book boyfriend and he'll always have a special place in my heart. As for Gaiman, my love for him began when I started reading his Sandman graphic novel series. The scope of those stories, the intricacies and complexities of the plots and worlds were mesmerizing and held me enthralled for years as I saved up my pocket money to buy each volume. I'm a huge fan of Gaiman, not only because of his writing but because of the way he views fame and talks about being an author. I love his candour and sense of humour.

The Other Me is, in my opinion, a brave book, because you treat subjects I suspect the bigger local publishers might shy away from. Your teens come across *exactly* as I remember my school days, warts and all. Can you share a little insight into the story?

Yeah, these aren't easy topics, least of all when in a South African setting. This story is extremely personal and was largely inspired by my own high school experiences attending a private all-girls Catholic school and feeling like a total freak. You can read more about that in my Dear Teen Me letter over here. This story had been rattling around in my head for a while. Gabriel – my male MC – was born first as an amalgamation of many of the beautiful but broken boys I knew growing up. Treasa was more complicated. I knew her story and who she wanted to be, but I didn't know how to tell her story in a way that might get my book published. In the end, I stopped caring about 'publishability' and just let Treasa tell her story without trying to censor or edit her. As nervous as I still am about this book being out there given its sensitive subject material and how much this story means to me, I'm so glad I gave my characters the freedom to be who they truly are - which is the core theme of this novel: having the courage to be your authentic self.

Your love of music shines through too (and this is probably why I related even more, because I studied music as a double subject for matric). Can you tell a little more about your background related to music?

Sure. I started playing piano when I was six and played my way through all the UNISA grades. I did music and music performance for Matric before going on to do a Bachelor's of Music and then a Master's in Music, Mind and Technology. I think I'll always be a musician first, a writer second. My current day job includes teaching music to 7th and 9th graders so music is still and always will be a huge part of my life. Like Treasa, in high school I was a choir nerd, I played piano and flute, and I don't think I would've survived my teenage years without my music – hence the musical theme in The Other Me.

For me it's the guitar, and possibly also the only reason why I made it through high school without doing something completely stupid. Can you tell us a little more about the publishing path that you've followed so far? What have been some of the challenges you've faced? And some of the highlights? 

I got published almost by accident to be honest. In 2010, a friend told me about NaNoWriMo. Up until then I'd only been writing for fun and never taken it too seriously. However, after continuing to work on the novel I started writing during that NaNoWriMo session, I toyed with the idea of getting published and submitted my story to an indie press on a whim. I knew very little about how the publishing industry worked and was totally unprepared for an offer to publish my novel. It was a baptism by fire, as they say, as I had to learn a hell of a lot about craft, publicity, editing and publishing in a few short months between signing the contract and seeing my book in print. It was surreal but it was also exactly what I needed at a time when I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. After that, I started pursuing publishing more seriously. After becoming a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition in 2012, I landed my US-based agent as well as my second book contract. It hasn't been an easy publishing path at all and I still have so much I want to achieve, but having had three books published in less than three years of taking this writing thing seriously feels like a major achievement unto itself.

Choose one person who absolutely inspires you (living or dead). Who? Why? 

Christopher McCandless, perhaps better known as Alexander Supertramp. His story as told by Jon Krakauer in the novel Into the Wild (which was also made into a stunningly beautiful movie), changed my life. Reading that book resulted in a major paradigm shift for me, from waiting to have money to start living and being happy to being happy with living the life I had regardless of my bank balance. While I don't think McCandless always made the best decisions, his fearless determination and ability to break free from societal expectation has been hugely inspiring.

If someone's interested in your writing, which three titles would you recommend, and in which order? 

The Other Me for sure - it's my newest YA novel and a departure from my usual science fiction writing.

Obscura Burning – a darker, edgier and weirder read for fans of both sci-fi and contemporary.

And then I strongly recommend waiting for my brand new YA science fiction novel titled I Heart Robot. That's due out in 2015 from Month9Books.

What are you reading at the moment? Why would you recommend this book? 

I'm going to cheat and talk about a book I just finished, The Gospel of Winter by Brendan Kiely. I can't say enough good things about this book. It's a contemporary YA novel about a boy living in the wake of abuse at the hands of his local priest. It's a beautifully written novel that is raw and unapologetic, but always sensitive considering its somewhat controversial subject matter. This story broke my heart, left me with a major book hangover and will haunt me for months to come. For anyone who enjoys poignant stories about broken boys trying to put themselves back together then this is the book for you!

What's next on the schedule for you? What can your readers look out for? 

I Heart Robot is scheduled for release January 2015! I'm so excited about this book! It's about a girl who unwittingly falls in love with an android boy who is the only 'person' who gets her love of music. Music is a major theme in this novel too and it's set in a futuristic Scandinavia.

There should also be a second, and hopefully a third book, in the I Heart Robot series to look forward to as well.

I'm currently working on a New Adult science fiction novel in a similar vein to Obscura Burning, which I hope to have on submission with my agent later this year.

2014 is going to be a very busy writing year!

About the Author:
Suzanne is an author and peanut-butter addict from South Africa. She currently lives in Finland and finds the cold, dark forests nothing if not inspiring. Although she has a Master’s degree in music, Suzanne prefers conjuring strange worlds and creating quirky characters. When not writing you can find her teaching dance and music to middle-schoolers or playing in the snow with her shiba inu. She is rep'd by Jordy Albert of the Booker Albert Agency.

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Queen's Hunt (River of Souls #2) by Beth Bernobich #review

Title: Queen’s Hunt (River of Souls #2)
Author: Beth Bernobich
Publisher: Tor Books, 2012

Beth Bernobich is one of those authors for whom I’ve developed a serious case of instaluv – so I’m compulsively working my way through her books as and when my reading schedule allows. What I adore about her writing is that she’s unhurried, focusing on the relationships between people and also developing whole characters who not only love, but also maintain interests and aspirations. These elements, of course, get derailed by events not always under their control, which keeps me turning those pages.

In book #1, Passion Play, we are introduced to Ilse, who has run away from an arranged marriage and by happy fortune ended up in the employ of Raul Kosenmark, who is unofficially a noble spymaster who rules a shadow court behind the respectable façade of his pleasure house.

In the first book, we are only privy to Ilse’s perspective as she falls in love with Raul, explores her latent magical talent, and becomes deeply involved in political intrigue. By book #2 we follow the tale from multiple points of view which, although took a little getting used to at first, definitely broadens the perspective and in hindsight was quite necessary.

The story as it stands, tells us that war loom between nations, and a despotic ruler, Leos Dzavek, who has had an unnaturally long lifespan, seeks to find the missing Lir’s jewels in order to re-establish his power. This plot element recalls a little Tolkienesque buzz with the Silmarils, if anything, for those of you familiar with that particular McGuffin. Standing against Leos, we have three young people: Ilse, Valara and Miro, who discover a shared history in their past lives related to the jewels and their historical theft and their relationship with Leos.

Okay, that is the underlying spine of Queen’s Hunt – the search for the jewels and the eventual outcome that I’ll not share because, yeah. SPOILERS.

Valara is a queen in exile, who through a quirk of fate ends up in the company of Ilse, who’s gone into self-imposed exile in order to protect Raul, and then a cast of secondary viewpoint characters who all play integral parts to the plot. We even pop into Raul’s head a few times, which is lovely.

Each character has his or her smaller story arc, so I can best describe this saga as a gradual unfolding or unravelling of a massive tapestry, of which we, as readers, only see small parts of the larger pattern.

Bernobich is concerned with texture, sensation and colour. Her writing is visceral and rewards the patient reader. What I especially love is that she doesn’t explain everything, all at once, for which I am very grateful. There’s nothing worse than plodding through reams of exposition – a sometimes unavoidable aspect of fantasy.

Granted, there were a few key moments in Queen’s Hunt where the pacing went a bit quick for my liking, and I felt as if Bernobich glossed over the action in important sequences where I personally needed a little depth in the layering department, but these were few. It would have helped then to have a better understanding of the characters’ motivations, but this is a minor quibble on my part and could possibly also be written off to individual taste.

More than anything, I’d like to underscore how real the characters and the setting feels to me. People don’t achieve what they want. Things go wrong, sometimes catastrophically so. They then have to deal with the repercussions of their actions – and they pay for it, sometimes with their lives.

Bernobich effortlessly sweeps me away into her setting where myth, magic and courtly intrigue are the order of the day, with refreshingly non-Eurocentric set dressing. (There are no blond, blue-eyed gallant knights, in other words.) I can’t wait to pick up book #3, Allegiance, and I’m certain there are many more surprises in store.

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman #review

Title: Anno Dracula (Anno Dracula #1)
Author: Kim Newman
Publisher: Titan Books, 2011

The first time I picked up this novel it didn’t quite stick. I think I was still in my early teens so in hindsight most of the references and interactions would have gone way over my head. I’m glad that I’ve given Anno Dracula another shot, mainly from a research perspective in the genre. On one hand, Kim Newman has a prodigious understanding and love of the vampire genre, of which I’m in awe. Anno Dracula serves as a fitting homage to vampires in popular culture over the years and Newman is adept in painting a thoroughly dystopian Victorian London.

But… And there is going to be a but. Pacing and tension. We are, from the beginning of the novel, well aware of Jack the Ripper’s identity, which robs the story of a lot of its tension. It’s not so much as *who* the murderer is but *how soon* the characters uncover his identity, but even as he continues in his actions, Charles and Genevieve, our two protagonists, sort of bumble along. They pay lip service to their investigation while spending more time staring into each other’s eyes. That they’re going to fall into mutual fascination is charming and inevitable, and the difficulty presented by a mortal/vampire relationship is unavoidable.

The biggest stumbling block I faced with this novel is that it doesn’t really move and, once the crime is solved, the plot takes a sudden twist into unexpected territory, with very little build-up to suggest this as the possible alternative. I’m tempted almost to think that the ending was latched on. I mean, it’s not an implausible conclusion but I would have liked a bit more foreshadowing and felt that the Jack the Ripper story arc was a bit of a red herring to mask the actual ending.

Yet, what I did like about Anno Dracula was seeing the assorted literary characters have their little cameo appearances. Even Anne Rice’s Lestat (and I’m wondering if she’d have a conniption fit about this considering her attitude toward other writers appropriating her darlings in fanfiction).

This very habit of populating his novel with existing personalities is also Newman’s weak point. While it’s certainly fun seeing how many of the characters I could recognise, this also meant that the focus of the novel is diffuse – hence the massive pacing issues. Consequently it’s also difficult to become emotionally invested in any particular individual.

The world-building, however, makes up for the pacing. Newman goes on to show that vampirism only serves to accentuate social ills. The unintended consequences are not pretty. Newborns from the lower classes suffer even more than before – and further divides are introduced into the community – that of the warm and the turned. (This makes me think a lot about how affirmative action and cronyism is affecting contemporary South Africa.) A new class is emerging with its own brand of discrimination as vampires rise in power and favour others if their kind. This is a fascinating social dynamic to examine.

The premise of Anno Dracula is fantastic. Newman begins with the question of “What if Dracula wasn’t defeated by Van Helsing and co?” In Newman’s milieu, Vlad Tepes has taken temporal power by turning Queen Victoria and becoming the prince consort. Vampirism has become de rigueur, and the British Empire is at the peak of its power. (Though it’s quite clear that there’s something rather rotten at the empire’s heart.)

Jack the Riper is at large, only he’s targeting unfortunate vampire prostitutes instead of warm women. Vampires from all over are flocking to London now that their state of being has been offered a veneer of respectability – and this uneasy, unnatural situation is slowly fomenting social discord.

Charles and Genevieve are lovely, complex characters, and it is easy to grow quite fond of them if you can deal with the polarised focus of the novel, as well as its uneven pacing. If you are a die-hard fan of the vampire in literature, then you should definitely consider giving this one a chance – a worthy read.

Tempus by Holly Lauren #review

Title: Tempus
Author: Holly Lauren
Publisher: Libertine Press, 2013

From the get go Tempus by Holly Lauren looks and feels like countless American high school-set YA, with prerequisite love triangle, cheerleaders and football jocks. And you can be forgiven for assuming that, because for the first half of the book that’s pretty much all there is. Except that the protagonist, Chapel Ryan, occasionally suffers what she terms as “hallucinations”. For all that Chapel is your average cheerleader type, with a prerequisite loyal tight-knit group of quirky friends, she literally stops time occasionally, and has little control over these episodes.

Consequently, she thinks she’s a freak and she goes to great pains to be as normal as possible. Her home life might look ideal from the outside, but tensions abound. Her stepfather is an upwardly mobile politician and Chapel’s mum, Valerie, is focused on raising Chapel’s young twin half-sisters. So Chapel can be excused for feeling a bit isolated on the home front, especially since she is still struggling to come to terms with the fact that her biological father died when she was only three. And she so doesn’t like her stepfather. He’s uber creepy as all hell and I don’t blame her for giving him the cold shoulder despite his generally amiable advances.

One of the main accusations I often level at YA fiction is that the main character is primarily boy-obsessed. Not so in Tempus. Chapel is a well-rounded character. She worries about what her future holds beyond sole interest in the opposite gender. She takes charge of her life as much as she can while still technically a minor. She genuinely cares about her friends. She’s a hard worker who’s not afraid to stick to her guns. Chapel tries to do the right thing and applies common sense when solving problems. (Oh, guess what? She’s not clumsy! You have absolutely no idea how refreshing this is.)

Yes, it can be argued that Chapel’s a bit squeaky clean (hello, she’s a Sunday school teacher, it don’t get squeakier than that) but at no point did she make me want to gouge out my eyes.

A word on the love interest: Isaiah is the dark, dark, edgy and unsuitable boy with a dodgy past. He also lives next door to Chapel (but it’s not so much of a coincidence as you’d think). His stalkerish behaviour, however, does creep me out a bit, so I wasn’t entire comfortable with their relationship. Okay, he wasn’t as bad as Edward Cullen, but he was pretty bad.

The reasons, for his behaviour do become clear later on yet still, yeah, I’d be less than thrilled if my love interest pulled a few of the stunts Isaiah does right in the beginning when they’re first getting to know one another.

Let me add that Lauren is pretty good at misdirection. There were a few outcomes in the story that I expected, especially with regard to the love triangle trope that she successfully uses as red herrings. And I think those little bits of misdirection definitely contributed to my enjoyment of the story.

The underlying premise of Tempus relates to the concept of genetic mutations that allow people to perform an assortment of supernatural feats. Over the years, these people have formed secret societies and they’re not playing nicely with each other. With her rare ability to stop time, Chapel finds herself in the midst of a tug-of-war for her loyalty. She doesn’t have all the details and for her it’s a race to uncover the truth about herself, her father’s death and stay a step ahead of a dangerous enemy.

Lauren throws in a few sneaky twists and turns, so not everything is as one would expect. World building is generous and offers a lot of scope for development of the story.

Of course no review would be complete unless I shared a few of my niggles. While overall pacing is tight, and only a few typos grabbed me by the eyeballs (mostly homophone abuse) there are some moments when the writing goes too fast and I had to reread passages a few times to gain the gist of what was going on.

That being said, these moments didn’t make me want to chuck my phablet across the train carriage because Lauren settled those speed wobbles quickly.

Tempus makes me think a lot about the X-men and in that respect should appeal to superhero fans. Would I read book two – definitely. Lauren delivers a solid, action-packed YA tale that’s tight, features well-defined characters and has a lot of potential for an ongoing series.