Alex C. Telander's Blog, page 16

“Neverwhere: Author’s Preferred Text” by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins, 2015)

In 1997 Neil Gaiman published his first novel, Neverwhere, and to many fans (including me) it’s his very best. Now fans get something a little extra with a special edition of Neverwhere known as the “author’s preferred text.” In the introduction, Gaiman talks about the various versions that have been available over the years and that this one is his definitive, preferred text, featuring some extra details and scenes that make the story fuller and more complete.

This is the story of Richard Mayhew, who is an average London businessman, engaged to a woman he thinks is way out of his league, and has always kind of had trouble fitting in. Then one day a woman appears out of nowhere on the sidewalk seriously hurt. Richard brings her home and tends to her. As she is recovering he meets two very interesting people, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, who are looking for a woman named Door. As the woman recovers to a sufficient degree, Richard learns that she is in fact Door, and then she is on her way, out of his life with barely a thank you.

As Richard steps back into his normal world he finds he is no longer part of it. Friends and family no longer recognize or even see him for that matter. It appears he doesn’t even exist to people in the real world. The only thing he can think to do is track down Door and find out what is exactly going on. And so begins Richard’s adventure in to the alternate world of London below. Along the way he will meet many strange and unusual people, some that wish to friend him, and some that wish him harm. All he wants is to get back to his old, boring, normal life.

Neverwhere is the perfect example of what Neil Gaiman’s mind can create. It is a story that sucks in the reader and never lets them go. In this special edition there is also an extra short story set in the same world, “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back,” as well as some hints from Gaiman that he hopes to one day soon return to this world and write more in it.

Originally written on December 31, 2015 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of Neverwhere: Author’s Preferred Text from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

Book News: Nebula Award Winners, Badass Moms, International Bookshops & More

Great Women in Fantasy 

Find good female characters in fantasy can be hard work sometimes, here bestselling author Kate Elliott gives you her recommends.

Nebula Awards 

The Nebula Awards ceremony was held this last Saturday and here are the winners.

Hugo Finalists 

In other awards, the finalists for the Hugo Awards have been announced.

[read more . . .]

“Children of Earth and Sky” by Guy Gavriel Kay (NAL, 2016)

Bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay’s previous two books were fantasy-tinged sweeping works of historical fiction set within the Tang dynasty of 8th century China. In his latest novel, Children of Earth and Sky, he returns to his alternate quasi-medieval Europe that readers have come to know in his Sarantine Mosaic duology and The Lions of Al-Rassan.

Kay throws the reader right into the story by introducing them to the main characters as seen through their eyes. There is Marin Djivo, a merchant in an important family; Lenora Valeri, a disgraced woman who had a child out of wedlock is now a spy; Pero Villani, a talented painter who is being sent to do a portrait of the great Khalif and possibly assassinate him. They are traveling on Marin’s vessel with goods he is bringing to Dubnrovnik to trade. On the way they run into a marauding ship of pirates who attack them. The doctor who is Lenora’s fake husband is killed, but the young pirate Danica Gradek volunteers to go with them to atone for the blatant murdering of the doctor by one of the pirates who Danica promptly killed; she can now never return to her home without fear of being attacked by the family of the pirate killed.

And so begins this traveling tale that has a feel of the Canterbury Tales, as the characters meet and interact with other characters, sometimes working together, sometimes going it alone. This is a story about dipping in and out of these people’s lives. There are deaths. There are rejoices. There is suffering. There is laughter. There is sex. Children of Earth and Sky is a living tale of Kay’s invented world as he brings his characters and stories to the reader’s eye and passes it into the reader’s mind in his own unique style. Guy Gavriel Kay’s work can never be called nor considered a fast read, but is itself a long and, at times, hard journey that by the end is so worthwhile and rewarding.

Originally written on May 14, 2016 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of Children of Earth and Sky from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

“All the Birds in the Sky” by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor, 2016)

Charlie Jane Anders is someone who has been very much a mainstay of the science fiction and fantasy world, is a co-editor of the science fiction blog iO9, and Emcees a monthly reading series Writers with Drinks in San Francisco. So it’s not surprising that she should write an interesting novel the blends the worlds of fantasy and science fiction in a delicious way.

Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead are an unusual couple of kids who never really fit in with school and life and form a union because of this. But they are of different worlds: Patricia develops magical powers while Laurence has an incredible scientific mind and becomes one of the few people to develop a two-second time machine. Their worlds diverge and they go their separate ways.

Now they’re adults and living in the hipster mecca San Francisco and yet things are not going well with the rest of the planet, as the world brings itself to the brink of annihilation. Now an engineering wiz, Lawrence is working for a company that is trying help the world and those suffering through breakthrough inventions and technological intervention. Patricia is a graduate of the Eltisley Maze, a secret academy for those magically gifted, where she has learned much, but also made at least one terrible mistake that cost people their lives. She works with a group of magicians also looking to help those in need by using their magical talents. But there is a prophecy, spoken of years ago, that the two would come together in a final battle and cause the end of it all.

All the Birds in the Sky has a lot going for it, with its complex and interesting characters and whirlwind plot. Plus for anyone familiar with San Francisco, Anders has fun taking readers around the scenic city. But at times the book has too much going on that loses the reader. There is a lot of jumping back and forth and around, to different characters and times, which at first is interesting, but as it goes on, also loses the reader and is at times confusing. The novel feels like it could’ve used another round of editing to make the ideas and points more coherent and fluid. Nevertheless, All the Birds in the Sky does some things no book of either genre has before, and is its own unique tale that won’t be found anywhere else.

Originally written on March 25, 2016 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of All the Birds in the Sky from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

“A Dream of Ice” by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin (Simon & Schuster, 2016)

Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin are back with the second book of the EarthEnd Saga, A Dream of Ice. The stakes have been raised to a whole new level. While tensions are heating up in the world, a mystical link has been discovered with an ancient civilization known as Galderkhaan.

Renowned child psychologist Caitlin O’Hara is now part of this mystical link that stretches back through time and is not exactly understood. But with it Caitlin is able to help these children now, healing their minds and severing their links with this past world. And yet as she is helping those in need, she can sense that there is someone watching her; someone who is linked with Galderkhaan. And this someone is also after her son.

Meanwhile Mikel Jasso, an unusual character who works for a mysterious, clandestine organization and is always used to getting results, is in Antarctica. He knows the power and importance of the mysterious artifacts that appear to be part of this ancient lost world known as Galderkhaan. In a crevasse in this frozen land, he goes down deeper, sensing something important is down there. What he finds will change the world forever.

A Dream of Ice presents the two plots of Caitlin O’Hara and Mikel Jasso on separate tangents that will ultimately be linked. Caitlin’s storyline starts off interesting but stagnates a little, while Mikel’s continues to get more and more interesting. The second book in the series is a little weaker than the first, but continues to open up the world and the complex plot, making the reader wonder where it’s going to go next in the third book in the series, due out September 2016.

Originally written on March 24, 2016 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of A Dream of Ice from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

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“A Vision of Fire” by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin (Simon & Schuster, 2015)

Apparently working on The X-Files for a significant portion of her adult life has rubbed off on Gillian Anderson, the actress who plays Special Agent Dana Scully on the show, as she has turned to writing books recently of a definite supernatural vein. A Vision of Fire is a science fiction thriller and the first book in the EarthEnd Saga co-authored with New York Times bestselling author Jeff Rovin.

Caitlin O’Hara is a renowned child psychologist who is asked to quietly and secretly help Maanik, the daughter of India’s Ambassador. The teenager has begun speaking in tongues, having strange fits, and powerful visions. Caitlin begins working with the girl, thinking a lot of her stress and actions are due to a recent assassination attempt on the girl’s father’s life. Meanwhile, India’s ambassador is wrapped up in escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.

But then more kids around the world start acting in a similar manner. Caitlin travels to Haiti to investigate a girl who appears to be drowning on dry land. An Iranian boy inexplicably sets himself on fire. And then animals from rats in New York City to birds in South America are starting to act out of the ordinary which is somehow related to what’s happening to the kids.

Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin have created a compelling work of science fiction that immediately sucks the reader in and keeps their curiosity clock ticking. Caitlin O’Hara is a fully rounded character who has to juggle her own life and a son who is partially deaf, which makes her feel all the more real and relatable. At the end a big reveal is made that leaves the reader wondering where the sequel is going to go.

And for those wanting to go all the way for the full immersive experience the audiobook is ready by Gillian Anderson, featuring her sultry voice that we have all come to know so well through The X-Files.

Originally written on March 24, 2016 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of A Vision of Fire from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

“Calamity” by Brandon Sanderson (Tor, 2016)

In the final volume of the Reckoners trilogy things come to a close in an acceptable way. The group has been pushed to the brink and while they’re licking their wounds, they must face their former leader, Prof, who has now gone to the dark side of being an epic.

The Reckoners travels will take them across the country to the interesting city of Babilar (once Atlanta) that moves along and rebuilds itself constantly. There they will have a showdown with their former member and will somehow have to beat him. David believes he knows Prof’s weakness. He also has another card: Firefight aka Megan aka David’s girlfriend is proof that when an epic is pushed to the brink they don’t always turn evil; it is possible to come back.

She also has this incredible ability to open portals into a parallel world where there is no Calamity in the sky that causes all the problems. Things in this parallel world are different and the epics appear to be mostly good in nature. So David knows a world without Calamity, the ultimate epic, is a good thing. So in addition to bringing down Prof, he also needs to take care of Calamity and save the world. Just another ordinary day for him and the Reckoners.

Calamity has the same feel at times as the first two books, but is certainly a lot darker, bleaker and more intense, but then this is the final showdown and who knows who’s going to make it out alive. There is a lot of traveling around again, which can get a little boring at times for the reader. But the final payoff with the Calamity showdown is well worth it, as a surprising end is reached that leaves the reader fully satisfied.

Originally written on March 25th, 2015 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of Calamity from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

“Hostage” by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith (Book View Cafe, 2015)

The second book in The Change quartet, after Stranger, does a lot of things the second book in the series should: opening the world further, adding some new and interesting characters, and raising the stakes to a whole new level that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

The sheltered town of Las Anclas is still licking its many wounds from the attack by King Voske of Gold Point. They expect another possible attack but have no idea when, but as Ross Juarez is out on a routine mission with some friends, a team has been sent out by Voske and captures him. He is brought back to Gold Point and shown a world where the changed are respected and at times revered. But this is also a harsh place run by the iron first of Voske; for those who do not follow these ways, they are crushed and ended without question. Las Anclas returns the favor by kidnapping the Voske’s daughter, Kerry, who learns of the very different world and place that is Las Anclas.

Will either side be willing to make an even exchange for the two? Not likely. So the hostage situation will have to be resolved in some other way, that will likely involve bloodshed. But each side has their own people with their own special powers that can be put to use. The final decision will ultimately rest on Kerry’s shoulders: after seeing the good and bad in both Las Anclas and Gold Point, she will have to make her choice and choose a side.

Originally written on March 25th, 2015 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of Hostage from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

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