Upcoming Night Shade, Angry Robot, Baen, Pyr and Releases - Fall/Winter

Now that we're at the halfway mark for the year, I thought it would appropriate to point out all the novels coming out from August-December that strike my fancy. I'll be breaking my posts down by publisher. Below are the novels coming this Fall and Winter from Night Shade, Angry Robot, Baen, and Pyr that will be must reads for me. I'll mention that there are likely some books from November and December here that aren't currently listed on the publisher's websites that I'll end up wanting (Anne Lyle's Merchant of Dreams is an example). Either way, I can't read them all. So I'll be looking forward to seeing what interests you.
Here's what caught my eye:

The Constantine Affliction by T. Aaron Payton (NSB - August)

1864. London is a city in transition. The Constantine Affliction–a strange malady that kills some of its victims and physically transforms others into the opposite sex–has spread scandal and upheaval throughout society. Scientific marvels and disasters, such as clockwork courtesans, the alchemical fires of Whitechapel, electric carriages, and acidic monsters lurking in the Thames, have forever altered the face of the city. 

Pembroke “Pimm” Hanover is an aristocrat with an interest in criminology, who uses his keen powers of observation to assist the police or private individuals–at least when he’s sober enough to do so. Ellie Skyler, who hides her gender behind the byline “E. Skye,” is an intrepid journalist driven by both passion and necessity to uncover the truth, no matter where it hides. 

When Pimm and Skye stumble onto a dark plot that links the city’s most notorious criminal overlord with the Queen’s new consort, famed scientist Sir Bertram Oswald, they soon find the forces of both high and low society arrayed against them. Can they save the city from the arcane machinations of one of history’s most monsters–and uncover the shocking origin of . . . THE CONSTANTINE AFFLICTION.

It seems like Victorian London is the new cat's pajamas. It's everywhere -- like herpes. What attracts me to this novel, and believe it or not it's not herpes, is the gender bending conceit. It just feels unique, something Night Shade has become adept at publishing.


The Tainted City by Courtney Schafer (NSB - October)

Dev is a desperate man. After narrowly surviving a smuggling job gone wrong, he’s now a prisoner of the Alathian Council, held hostage to ensure his friend Kiran — former apprentice to one of the most ruthless mages alive — does their bidding. 

But Kiran isn’t Dev’s only concern. Back in his home city of Ninavel, the child he once swore to protect faces a terrible fate if he can’t reach her in time, and the days are fast slipping away. So when the Council offers Dev freedom in exchange for his and Kiran’s assistance in a clandestine mission to Ninavel, he can’t refuse, no matter how much he distrusts their motives. 

Once in Ninavel the mission proves more treacherous than even Dev could have imagined. Betrayed by allies, forced to aid their enemies, he and Kiran must confront the darkest truths of their pasts if they hope to save those they love and survive their return to the Tainted City.

Schafer's debut novel, The Whitefire Crossing, was one of my favorite finds of last year. It came out of nowhere as one of the first novels released from Night Shade's New Voices Program. The story was a pretty straight forward travelogue from one city to another with the author's passion for mountaineering bleeding through on every page. I really can't wait to read this one.


Rapture by Kameron Hurley (NSB - November)

After years in exile, Nyxnissa so Dasheem is back in action in service to the bel dames, a sisterhood of elite government assassins tasked with eliminating deserters and traitors. The end of a centuries-long holy war between her country, Nasheen, and neighboring Chenja has flooded the streets of Nasheen with unemployed - and unemployable - soldiers whose frustrations have brought the nation to the brink of civil war.

Not everyone likes this tenuous and unpredictable "peace," however, and somebody has kidnapped a key politician whose death could trigger a bloody government takeover. With aliens in the sky and revolution on the ground, Nyx assembles a team of mad magicians, torturers, and mutant shape-shifters for an epic journey across a flesh-eating desert in search of a man she's not actually supposed to kill.
The only problem?

Killing is the only thing Nyx is good at. And she already left this man to die...

Kameron Hurley's first novel, God's War, has one of the more fascinating roads to publication. I won't go into it here, but the takeaway is that it's an incredibly difficult book to categorize and therefore to market. It's also fucking incredible. To quote a big-six fantasy author, the ideas in it are "China Miéville level". Sure, it suffered from some storytelling hiccups, but that wasn't enough to hold it back from being one of the best first novels of 2011 and maybe one of the best novels period.

Also released last year, was Hurley's second novel, Infidel, which I actually found even better than the first. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that I'm frothing to get my hands on Rapture. You should be too.

Knife Sworn by Mazarkis Williams (NSB - November)

After spending most of his life in captivity and solitude, Sarmin now sits upon the Petal Throne of Cerana. But his reign is an uneasy one. Ambitious generals and restless soldiers want war at any cost. An insidious foreign religion stirs fear among the people and the court. And the emperor’s own heart is torn between two very different women: Mesema, a Windreader princess of the northern plains, and Grada, a lowborn untouchable with whom Sarmin shares a unique bond. A natural-born mage, Sarmin also carries within him a throng of bodiless spirits whose conflicting memories and desires force him to wage a private battle for his sanity. 

In times past, a royal assassin known as the Emperor’s Knife served as the keen edge of justice, defending the throne from any and all menaces, but the last Knife has perished and his successor has yet to be named. For his own safety, and that of the empire, Sarmin must choose his own loyal death-dealer . . . .but upon whom can be he bestow the bloody burden of the Knife-Sworn?

Three sequels in a row from Night Shade! They really had a tremendous 2011. I haven't been as impressed with their 2012 debuts, a fact that should take nothing away from what they're doing as a publisher. Knife Sworn picks up where The Emperor's Knife left off.

In my read through of the first novel, I discovered that Mazarkis Williams writes an understated style that layers tension. My main criticism of it related to that subtleness in the lack of foreshadowing for the major reveal. I'm hoping Williams cranks up the volume a bit in this one.

*** 

Seven Wonders by Adam Christopher (AR - August)

Tony Prosdocimi lives in the bustling Metropolis of San Ventura – a city gripped in fear, a city under siege by the hooded supervillain, The Cowl. 

When Tony develops super-powers and acts to take down The Cowl, however, he finds that the local superhero team Seven Wonders aren’t as grateful as he assumed they’d be…

I didn't rave about Christopher's first novel, Empire State. It had some strong points, but really struggled to pull together a coherent conclusion. I'm hoping Seven Wonders has a clearer idea of where it's going. If so, Christopher's exceptional ability to work with setting and tone should make for a great read. 

Superheroes seem to be en vogue this year, with Prepare to Die! by Paul Tobin and Only Superhuman by Christopher Bennett also on the shelves.

The Corpse-Rat King by Lee Battersby (AR - August)

Marius dos Hellespont and his apprentice, Gerd, are professional looters of battlefields. When they stumble upon the corpse of the King of Scorby and Gerd is killed, Marius is mistaken for the monarch by one of the dead soldiers and is transported down to the Kingdom of the Dead. 

Just like the living citizens, the dead need a King — after all, the King is God’s representative, and someone needs to remind God where they are. 

And so it comes to pass that Marius is banished to the surface with one message: if he wants to recover his life he must find the dead a King. Which he fully intends to do.

Just as soon as he stops running away.

The blurb seems to be leaving some things out because immediately I'm asking, why don't they just keep the King they already have? I suppose it's possible Marius tells them he's not a King, but then why would he be able to find a King for them? I might be over analyzing this.

The idea of casting battlefield looters as main characters is great. These guys show up in every fantasy novel to one degree or another and it's time they got their due. I'm looking forward to seeing what Battersby does with it.

***

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen - November)

Captain Ivan Vorpatril is happy with his relatively uneventful bachelor’s life of a staff officer to a Barrayaran admiral. Ivan, cousin to Imperial troubleshooter Miles Vorkosigan, is not far down the hereditary list for the emperorship. Thankfully, new heirs have directed that headache elsewhere, leaving Ivan to enjoy his life on Komarr, far from the Byzantine court politics of his home system. But when an old friend in Barrayaran intelligence asks Ivan to protect an attractive young woman who may be on the hit list of a criminal syndicate, Ivan’s chivalrous nature takes over. It seems danger and adventure have once more found Captain Vorpatril. 

Tej Arqua and her half-sister and servant Rish are fleeing the violent overthrow of their clan on free-for-all planet Jackson’s Whole. Now it seems Tej may possess a hidden secret of which even she may not be aware. It’s a secret that could corrupt the heart of a highly regarded Barayarran family and provide the final advantage for the thugs who seek to overthrow Tej’s homeworld.

But none of Tej’s formidable adversaries have counted on Ivan Vorpatril. For behind Ivan’s facade of wry and self-effacing humor lies a true and cunning protector who will never leave a distressed lady in the lurch–up to and including making the ultimate sacrifice to keep her from harm: the treasured and hard-won freedom from his own fate as a scion of Barrayar.

My first, and only, Miles book was CryoBurn. I only read it because it was nominated for the Hugo. It impressed me with Bujold's deft use of drama and humor. Given the huge back story associated with Miles I've been hesitant to pick up any of the other books in the series. I'm excited that this new one appears to be departing from that main arc. Sign me up.

*** 

London Eye by Tim Lebbon (Pyr - October)

Two years after London is struck by a devastating terrorist attack, it is cut off from the world, protected by a military force known as Choppers. the rest of Britain believes that the city is now a toxic, uninhabited wasteland. 

But Jack and his friends—some of whom lost family on what has become known as Doomsday—know that the reality is very different. at great risk, they have been gathering evidence about what is really happening in London—and it is incredible. 
Because the handful of London’s survivors are changing. Developing strange, fantastic powers. Evolving. 

Upon discovering that his mother is still alive inside london, Jack, his sister, and their three friends sneak into a city in ruins. Vast swathes have been bombed flat. Choppers cruise the streets, looking for survivors to experiment upon. the toxic city is filled with wonders and dangers that will challenge Jack and his friends . . . and perhaps kill them. But Jack knows that the truth must be revealed to the outside world or every survivor will die.

Steven Erikson blurbed Lebbon's Echo City. That was enough for me to want to read him. Alas, I haven't gotten around to Echo City (for shame). I'm going to make sure I can't say the same about London Eye come next year. This is one of those books I'll be reading the second I get a copy.


The Creative Fire by Brenda Cooper (Pyr - November)

Nothing can match the power of a single voice. . . . 

Ruby Martin expects to spend her days repairing robots while avoiding the dangerous peacekeeping forces that roam the corridors of the generation ship the Creative Fire. The social structure of the ship is rigidly divided, with Ruby and her friends on the bottom. Then a shipwide accident gives Ruby a chance to fight for the freedom she craves. Her enemies are numerous, well armed, and knowledgeable. Her weapons are a fabulous voice, a quick mind, and a deep stubbornness. Complicating it all—an unreliable AI and an enigmatic man she met—and kissed—exactly once—who may hold the key to her success. If ruby can’t transform from a rebellious teen to the leader of a revolution, she and all her friends will lose all say in their future. 

Like the historical evita Peron, ruby rises from the dregs of society to hold incredible popularity and power. Her story is about love and lust and need and a thirst for knowledge and influence so deep that it burns.

I first encountered Brenda Cooper's work in Lou Anders's first Fast Forward anthology. From what I understand her fiction always connects to music in some way. It's an interesting point of view and something I'd like to explore a little bit more. I can't say for sure that I'm going to enjoy Creative Fire. It doesn't really seem like my bag, but I'm intrigued enough by the concept to find out.


The Lazarus Machine by Paul Crilley (Pyr - November)

An alternate 1895. . . a world where Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace perfected the Difference engine. Where steam and tesla-powered computers are everywhere. Where automatons powered by human souls venture out into the sprawling London streets. Where the Ministry, a secretive government agency, seeks to control everything in the name of the Queen. 

It is in this claustrophobic, paranoid city that seventeen-year-old Sebastian tweed and his conman father struggle to eke out a living. 

But all is not well. . .  

A murderous, masked gang has moved into London, spreading terror through the criminal ranks as they take over the underworld. as the gang carves up more and more of the city, a single name comes to be uttered in fearful whispers. 

Professor Moriarty.  

When tweed’s father is kidnapped by Moriarty, he is forced to team up with information broker Octavia Nightingale to track him down. But he soon realizes that his father’s disappearance is just a tiny piece of a political conspiracy that could destroy the British Empire and plunge the world into a horrific war.

What?! Victorian London, again? It seems like a combination of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Who, The Prestige, and Guy Fawkes. If it's solely a pastiche of those things, it can't be bad, right?

***

Anything catch your eye? Anything else from these imprints that I didn't mention for the second half of the year? 

Collection of Short Reviews from Early 2012

I tend to write long reviews for everything I read, but I've found that increasingly difficult as I read more. It's particularly difficult with second and third books in a series. From time to time I'm going to do posts like this one where I bundle a bunch of reviews together. Most of them will be second and third volumes in a series, but occasionally I'll throw a standalone in as well. I'll also write up novels here that I didn't finish (very rare) and I'll try to explain why without actually reviewing it. Enjoy!

###

Shadow Master by Jon Sprunk

I finished Shadow's Master last night, concluding Jon Sprunk's trilogy that began a few years ago with Shadow's Son. I'm keeping this review short because I've said almost everything about the series and Sprunk's style that needs to be said in my reviews of Shadow's Son and Shadow's Lure. For those who've been awaiting this final installment I can confidently say it's a fitting end to Caim, Josey, and Kit's stories. The novel is also a bit of a return capturing the kinetic violence and unrelenting pace of the first volume.

If I have one complaint about the series, and it's a relatively big one, it's that Sprunk doesn't do a very good job of giving his world and magic system the depth that could have taken the series to another level. There are times when the magic becomes deus ex machina almost entirely due to the fact that it's just unexplained. None of that really detracted from my enjoyment, but it is something I'd like to see Sprunk do better in his next series.


The Ruined City by Paula Brandon

Last year I wrote a review for The Traitor's Daughter, the first book in Paula Brandon's The Veiled Isles Trilogy. I found it wildly entertaining, but lamented the book's marketing strategy that pushed it more toward romantic fantasy readers. The romance comes across as a secondary story line to the true conflict in the series which revolves around the corruption of the Source, a magical energy that's in danger of reversing course and altering the world. Brandon shines in this space, utilizing interesting, flawed, and wholly believable characters with goals that are equal parts right and wrong.

Book two, The Ruined City, picks right up where Traitor's Daughter left off. Admittedly, Brandon does open up the throttle on the romance, taking Jianna and Rione's relationship to the next level. It's handled well, and never descends into the sugary annoyance the novel's cover might suggest. Unfortunately, it occasionally portrays Jianna as a girl waiting around for men to solve her problems. The novel's conclusion gives me hope that will change in the final volume, due out this summer.


Jane Carver of Waar by Nathan R. Long

Being Long's first original novel, I would typically write a long form review about Jane Carver of Waar. Except as much as I enjoyed the read, I don't have a whole lot to say. Long takes Edgar Rice Burrough's classic John Carter stories and gives them a modern bent with a strong, female protagonist. The novel reads like a pulp lover's fantasy with over the top action, humor, and a good amount of sex.

It's not just cheap thrills. Long embeds a good amount of commentary on racial and gender equality, class warfare, and biker chicks. As I've never read Burrough's original series, I suspect there was a lot of nuance I missed that fans will pick up on.  Either way, it was a ton of fun to read and I highly recommend it.


The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron

Ok, I'm totally cheating because I haven't read the entire Legend of Eli Monpress. It's an omnibus of three novels -- Spirit Thief, Spirit Rebellion, and Spirit Eater. Orbit has released them in this format, I presume, to get some new readers involved in time for the fourth installment, The Spirit War, due out this summer. Personally, I'd never heard of the series before despite the fact that it's part of one of the most popular sub-genres in fantasy (thief/assassin). I can't help but wonder if the original covers had something to do with it (very urban fantasy don't you think?).

I did finish the first of the original three novels and I'm glad to report it was a fun read. Shallow, overly light on the world and character building, but also possessing a great voice with a fast paced adventure plot. I think the target demographic is younger readers, but there's plenty here to enjoy for everyone. I don't hesitate to recommend the omnibus. I mean it's three books for $10, how can you beat that? I plan to finish it before the fourth book is released.


Giant Thief by David Tallerman

I'm kind of cheating here too. I didn't finish Giant Thief. I didn't even get very far -- around 90 pages. It's not a bad book. It's well written and the plot wasn't unworthy, but the narrator didn't do it for me at all. I found his voice bland and completely uninteresting. A first person novel pins everything on the reader's ability to connect to the narrator, and I just didn't. I can't recommend or not recommend it and I hate that. I try to finish everything I start, even bad books, but this was a rare case where I just didn't dislike or like it enough to continue. Most of the reviews out there, from people I trust (Far Beyond Reality), have been good so maybe I just caught it on a bad week.

The Goblin Corps - Ari Marmell

Ari Marmell's most recent novel from Pyr (at least for a few more weeks) is predicated on the notion of the 'bad guys' as heroes.  This is not Joe Abercrombie's morally gray characters, or Stephan R. Donaldson's antihero.  Instead, Marmell takes the stereotypical villains of D&D fantasy -- liches, demons, orcs, goblins, trolls, and ogres -- and makes them the heroes in a war against the righteous.  The Goblin Corps ends up as a hilarious and subversive novel that struggles a bit to engage the reader beyond the absurd fun of well drawn set pieces.

Morthul, the dreaded Charnel King, has failed.  Centuries of plotting from the heart of the Iron Keep was fiuked at the last by the bumbling efforts of a laughable band of heroes, led by the half-elven wizard Ananias DuMark.  When news reaches Morthul that the Allied Kingdoms are assembling a counterattacking army unlike any seen before, he sets a plan in motion to secure his future.  The lynchpin to that plan is a Demon Squad -- the best and "brightest" that Morthul's own army has to offer.  Consisting of a few fighters, a mage, a rogue or two, and a shapeshifter, the Demon Squad exhibits all the classic characteristics of the ideal D&D party.

Structurally, the novel reflects this same homage to the D&D model.  Goblin Corps is divided into a dozen long to very long chapters, each of which represents what amounts to a new adventure for the party.  These adventures are comparable to a night of D&D and the novel at large consists of an entire campaign.  In that regard, Marmell's novel is best read a chapter at a time as each offers some resolution and a lead-in to the next.  For someone who tends to read 200 pages in a sitting, I found it to be somewhat labor intensive as there's not a natural story arc with tension building to a grand conclusion.

Instead the focus is on the characters and the clever dialogue that goes between them.  If this is sounding a little bit like my review of Sam Sykes's debut novel Tome of the Undergates, I'm not surprised, because the two novels are very similar in their tone.  Marmell is having fun with Goblin Corps and it's transferred to his reader in smirks, snickers, and outright laughter as the bumbling Demon Squad goes about its nefarious business.  Occasionally, the novel bogs down in the running gag, sacrificing both pace and storytelling to accomplish the punchline.  Taken in the right mood and frame of mind, these gaffs are ignorable, and the black, slapstick, and pun laden humor shines.

My major complaint about the novel, beyond the minor niggles mentioned thus far, is that Goblin Corps is just too long.  Clocking in around 550 pages, with chapters as long as 50 pages, the novel just doesn't have enough under the hood to sustain itself.  By the time I got to the main story arc, which isn't for several hundred pages, I found myself counting chapters to the end.  Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed almost all of it, but I would be recommending it with much higher praise if Marmell had tightened things up a bit.  I don't see a reason why a few of the "episodes" couldn't have been pruned, or some of the setup chapters shortened, to accomplish a better paced novel.

As far as comedic novels go, Goblin Corps is one of the better ones I've read in recent years.  It has a great deal of charm, and even the blackest member of the Demon Squad finds a special place in the reader's heart by the time that final page is turned.  This is the first novel I've read from Marmell, but it certainly won't be last.  I've got a copy of The Conqueror's Shadow in my office, and I'm looking forward to acquiring his newest novel from Pyr, Thief's Convenant.

The final word on Goblin Corps?  It's the perfect follow up to something like Malazan Book of the Fallen's (Erikson) grim outlook or Little, Big's (Crowley) dense undertones.

The Juice Boxes - Best SFF Press for eBooks (2011)

Winner: Pyr

The first question would be, 'Why not an award for the best SFF Press, period?' The short answer is because it would be impossible and capricious. How do I compare something like Night Shade who does 25 books a year to Orbit who does 75? Or how do I look at Spectra who only publish SFF in relation to Doubleday who does SFF and scads of other stuff? I can't, so I won't. What I can judge, is who's making the effort to put out the best eBooks. And that's Pyr.

It shouldn't be new to anyone who reads this blog that I'm a dedicated eReader. The vast majority of books I purchase are eBooks and the vast majority of ARCs I read are electronic. Gone are the days of error ridden eBooks from major publishers (largely), but there's still a huge gap between the quality of hard copies and their eBook counterparts. Lou Anders, and Pyr, are changing that one eBook at a time.

Sure, their eBooks are almost never available on release day. And yes, they're not as affordable as those from Angry Robot or Night Shade (who both do a great job with their eBooks also). But for me Pyr has become the go to source for beautiful, professional eBooks. I'm sure you're asking yourself, what the hell is a beautiful eBook and what's important about it?

Writing this post, I pulled up a random Pyr title from my electronic library, in this case, The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith. The first thing I noticed was the cover. Believe it or not, a lot of eBooks don't come with covers. They'll start with the copyright page, or a text title page, or something else equally lame. The second thing I notice is the type settings - plural. There's a typesetting for the chapter heads, for the drop letters, and for the primary text. They even take the time to drop in custom scene dividers - no triple asterisk or hash tag here. And check this out - they've been proofread. In fact, I'm pretty sure Pyr puts the same editorial integrity into each eBook than they put into their hard copies. It shows.

Lou Anders w/Hugo.

Know what else? They aren't overpriced. While not 'cheap', I've yet to see a Pyr title in the $12.99-15.99 dollar range now so popular among the big-6 new hardcover release. I get that an eBook is almost as expensive to produce as a bound copy, less print and distribution costs. Still, there's a mental hurdle that many consumers have right now in paying more than $10 for an electronic copy. Until that changes, and I'm not sure it ever will, price matters and Pyr seems to grasp that, coming in at just under $10 even for hardcover releases.

Admittedly, this isn't an award I'm going to repeat in future years, but I felt compelled to recognize Pyr for being an leader in the industry. So thanks to Lou Anders (a proclaimed eReader himself) and his editorial team for making it a priority. Special shout out to Rene Sears, who I'm pretty sure does a lot of the heavy lifting.

###

If you missed my Thanksgiving post, I explained that I'm doing a series of awards. I'm going to call them the Juice Boxes. See if you can keep up here... so there are the Hugos. My name is Justin. Put those two words together and you get Jugos. Jugo in Spanish means Juice. The Juice Awards sounds like something O.J. Simpson would bestow on someone, so I added the box. After all, who doesn't like Juice Boxes?

I'll be doing a separate post for each category with a goal of having them all done before Christmas (we'll see). My award categories are as follows:

Best SFF Press for eBooks

SFF Editor of the Year

SFF Cover of the Year

Most Disappointing SFF Book (2011)

Best SFF Book I Read This Year Not Published in 2011

SFF Debut of the Year (2011)

SFF Book of the Year (2011)

Interview with Shadow Saga author Jon Sprunk

Last week I reviewed Shadow's Lure, the second installment in Jon Sprunk's Shadow Saga series from Pyr.  After finishing Lure I asked Sprunk to answer some questions for me, which he was kind enough to do.  He's also currently moving into a new house, so I'm even more appreciative that he found time to do this during that awful process (wish him luck!).

Also, Pyr has contributed a copy of both Shadow's Lure and Shadow's Son that I'm giving away this week (click here).  Here's the blurb from Shadow's Son, Sprunk's debut novel and first installment in the Shadow Saga:

In the holy city of Othir, treachery and corruption lurk at the end of every street, just the place for a freelance assassin with no loyalties and few scruples.

Caim makes his living on the edge of a blade, but when a routine job goes south, he is thrust into the middle of an insidious plot. Pitted against crooked lawmen, rival killers, and sorcery from the Other Side, his only allies are Josephine, the socialite daughter of his last victim, and Kit, a guardian spirit no one else can see. But in this fight for his life, Caim only trusts his knives and his instincts, but they won't be enough when his quest for justice leads him from Othir's hazardous back alleys to its shining corridors of power. To unmask a conspiracy at the heart of the empire, he must claim his birthright as the Shadow's Son . . .

                                     

Justin: So, two books in Jon - congratulations. A lot of great response to both so far. Are you officially a professional writer?

Sprunk: Hey Justin, thanks a lot. I'm quite proud of the reception that first two books have gotten. Yes, I'm officially a professional writer.

Justin: Do you miss the day job?  I know my wife did the stay at home mom thing for a year and greatly missed human contact. I mean, who do you talk to about the Kim Kardashian break-up? 

Sprunk: I don't miss my old job in juvenile corrections, but I do miss the people. Mostly, I talk to myself these days. Bad for my sanity, I'm sure, but good for my writing. 

Justin: You've got a great story to tell in that you sold your books to Pyr without an agent, or being relegated to the slush pile. For those that haven't heard the story, can you relate it.

Sprunk: Sure. I had just finished Joe Abercrombie's First Law series (loved it) and I saw that Joe acknowledged this guy, Lou Anders at Pyr. On a lark, I shot Lou an email complimenting him on the series and mentioning that I had written a book in a similar vein and did he want to see it. I was actually shocked when he told me to send in a portion of the manuscript. He liked it and eventually bought it along with two more books in the series. He also introduced me to my agent. So, yeah, it was amazing. I'd been doing the writing/submitting thing for years, so to finally accomplish my dream was wonderful and a little scary.

Justin: Did you send Lou a box of chocolate or is he more of a roses guy?

Sprunk: Lou prefers beer (note from Justin: take notice queriers!)

Justin: The Shadow Saga is a dark, not-quite-Abercrombie-gritty, fantasy with an assassin/thief protagonist. Looking around the genre landscape this is a fairly well used 'starting point'.  What drew you to it?

Sprunk: I've always been drawn to the darker side of things, so an assassin protagonist was a natural fit. Basically, I like exploring how and why people do things which place them outside the normal parameters of society. How do they survive on the margin? What would they do if offered a chance to re-connect with the mainstream? Those kinds of questions.

Justin: Given how many publishers are putting dollars behind these kinds of stories, they're clearly resonating with readers.  Why do you think that is?

Sprunk: I think dark, or gritty, fantasy is a response to the traditional high fantasy. I love high fantasy, but after a while you get tired of reading about kings and queens and knights. I think there is a natural curiosity about what's happening on the other side of the proverbial tracks.

Justin: Shadow's Lure is significantly longer that Shadow's Son and, as I commented in my review, it takes a little longer to get going. Was this a conscious decision?  Did you try to bring new readers up to speed?

Sprunk: I try not to do that at all, but it inevitably slips in. Shadow's Lure was a completely different style of novel for me. The journey into a character's past while simultaneously moving them forward into the future. I hope readers didn't expect me to keep up the break-neck pace of the first book all the way through the series. That kind of repetition doesn't appeal to me. In fact, I'd much prefer it if every book I wrote had a different feel and style than all the rest.

Justin: Word on the street is that the final volume is titled Shadow's Master.  When's it set to be released? 

Sprunk: The third book is due out next spring, perhaps even as early as March.

Justin: Can we expect a definitive conclusion to Kit, Josey, and Caim's story or are you going to leave things open to come back here in the future?

Sprunk: Yes, there is a definitive conclusion to the entire story, but that doesn't mean I can't return to this land and these characters. Well, the ones who survive.

Justin: Now that this trilogy is finished (for now), what's next? Care to divulge any tidbits?

Sprunk: I'm working on the 'construction phase' of an entirely new series. Still fantasy, but more epic in scope. It takes place in a fictional amalgamation of several ancient cultures, blended up and advanced to a Dark Ages time frame, and adding in a heaping mound of sorcery and demonology. I'm going much deeper into the worldbuilding this time because it directly relates to the story. (I'm not a big fan of worldbuilding just for the sake of itself.)

Justin: NFL season is in full swing. If I remember correctly you're a Jags fan. Did you move to PA so you could see Jags games given they black out every weekend in Florida?

Sprunk: Ugh, yes, I'm a Jags fan, and this season has been brutal, but at least their defense is looking better. I've been living in PA since I was two or three. Don't ask me how I got hooked on Jacksonville. Or better yet, find me at a convention and ask me over a beer.

Justin: You said beer.  I'm in!  Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.  I'm also going to ask for some stories about how punk juveniles detentionites influence your writing over that beer too.

The Restoration Game - Ken MacLeod

Looks like cyberpunk, 

right? Nope!

I'm not sure The Restoration Game is science fiction.  Sure, it's technically based on a speculative what-if, but does that make something a science fiction novel?  Science fiction, I believe, is all about a discussion on humanity's relationship to technology.  I feel a lot more comfortable thinking of it as a Dickian (Philip K.) novel that grapples with issues of human perception more than one looking at our relationship to technology.  Or maybe it's just a thriller.

Other than a prologue and an epilogue, the events in Ken MacLeod's most recent novel take place in 2008, leading up to the South Ossetia War (or at least a fictional simulacrum there of).  The narrative is recounted by Lucy Stone, an Edinburgh expat from the former Soviet controlled Krassnia.  In that troubled region of the former Soviet Union, revolution is brewing.  Its organizers need a safe place to meet, and where better than the virtual spaces of an online game?  Lucy, who works for a start-up games company, has a project that almost seems made for the job: its original inspiration came from Krassnian folklore.  As Lucy digs up details about her birthplace, she finds her interest has not gone unnoticed.

The main narrative is endemic to spy fiction.  Lucy's mother, and great grandmother both have some connection to the CIA and their machinations have compromised their progeny.  Mystery's abound.  Who is Lucy's father?  What are the motivations for the revolution?  Who stands to gain?  This thriller mentality works well as MacLeod revists the how and the why of the fall of the Soviet Union.  Through Lucy the reader is exposed to documents detailing KGB investigations, and commentary on Stalin's purges.  Ultimately these commentaries become a demonstration of the prevailing power of capitalism and the inherent expression of it in the human spirit.

Early on, Restoration Game seems to be more about how the story gets told than the story itself.  MacLeod layers Lucy's narration, starting near the end and backtracking.  She reveals things about her life in her own time, often referencing things like 'The Worst Day of My Life' without describing the day until several chapters later.  While this technique can be occasionally frustrating, MacLeod is mostly successful in using it to maintain a constant tension.

Additionally, the main plot is bracketed by an prologue and epilogue that set up and conclude the twist that makes the novel "speculative" and not simply an alternate look at Russian foreign policy.  Much like the M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, once the twist becomes clear, the entire narrative changes - was I reading what I thought I was reading?  Unfortunately, this is also one of the novel's weaker points as the 'twist' is fairly obvious from the prologue... wait maybe it is an M. Night Shyamalan movie!  The problem isn't so much that MacLeod does a poor job of concealing it, rather it's a twist I've seen used a hundred times.  I recognized it early on and kept hoping there would be more to it.  Alas.

Telling a story in this manner takes an extremely capable writer. The jumps through time, and back again, into source documents, and then back into Lucy's head, are all done with a deft hand, highlighting MacLeod's command of his story and the language. But, I would be remiss if I didn't say that my opinion of Restoration Game would be loftier with the extraneous bits cut out, which, in this case, means all the science fiction stuff. Most of it comes off as tangential to the larger plot of Lucy and her family's history, making me wonder if the idea for the science came after the idea for the fiction.

Despite a frustratingly transparent and common twist, Ken MacLeod has written a wonderful story about Lucy Stone against the Russians.  While it blends history and current events in compelling fashion, the science fiction framing doesn't wash.  It's a thriller, that would stand out in the spy fiction market, dressed up as science fiction.  All of that makes The Restoration Game a novel worth reading, although not necessarily one that demands to be read.

Shadow's Lure - Jon Sprunk (Giveaway & Review)

Earlier this year I reviewed Jon Sprunk's 2010 debut novel, Shadow's Son.  While I very much enjoyed it, my review was less than glowing.  I felt some things were sacrificed to the novel's breakneck pace and that Caim, Spunk's protagonist, was a little too one-dimensional. In a not so stunning development, Shadow's Lure corrects many of these deficiencies and in so doing demonstrates tremendous growth in Sprunk's craft.

Without spoiling too much of what went on in the first novel, Lure picks up right where Son left off.  Caim (what?! the main character survives? no way!) leaves his home in Othir behind, heading north to discover the truth behind the murder of his parents and his power over the shadow.  He leaves Josey behind, now Empress of the Nimean Empire, to consolidate her power.

The nature of the two stories, which could be read completely separate from one another, blunt the pace that was such a hallmark of Sprunk's debut.  Much of the slowdown (never slowness) is affected by much more extensive character development and world building, an almost always welcome and, in this case, necessary inclusion.  That lack of frenetic energy shouldn't be taken to mean it's inferior.  Quite the opposite.  In taking his time to build the narrative, Sprunk has written a different kind of novel that succeeds because of what it doesn't have, almost as much as because of what it does (Yes, that was an awkward sentence, screw it).

Lure is divided primarily into three points of view - Josey, Caim, and Kit. While Sprunk occasionally dips into other characters, it's these three who comprise the bulk of the narrative.  He separates them from one another in the novel's early stages, providing him the opportunity to drill down to a level that the structure of the first novel never allowed him to.

Josey's point of view is very political in nature, subject to plots and machinations of factions within the Empire. Through her, the world is capably fleshed out without resorting to information dumps or poorly concealed exposition. Similarly, Kit becomes the defacto spelunker who delves into the Shadow, revealing the world behind the world that is only tangentially touched on prior (for fans of Kit she gets significant page time). In contrast, Caim's sections remain highly kinetic, often going from fight to fight. Moments of rest in between allow him to develop into a textured character and not a simple archetype.

Of course, it should be no surprise that Sprunk continues to shine in his depiction of action sequences.  Sure, they compelled a raised eyebrow of disbelief from time to time, but they always left me with a crystal clear picture in my mind of how Caim whipped his opponent(s) - something that other writers (Weeks) in this sub-genre can struggle with.  By novel's end, the relentless action connects with the determined expansion of world and character, making Lure a much more complete novel than its predecessor.

There are some hiccups though.  Things are on occasion too neat and black and white.  At one point there's an attack on Josey where a single bite would kill (or seriously incapacitate) her.  Despite the creature being wrapped around her, she somehow manages to avoid such a fate.  Sprunk uses the annoying trick of handicapping his protagonist with wound after festering wound.  Someday, I would very much enjoy an author letting his protagonist face the final battle at 100%.  The series's villain is inherently evil and I never felt that her actions were righteous even from her perspective - something that modern fantasy has become very adept at doing.  Mostly these are small quibbles and Sprunk tells such a capable story that none of them remotely imperiled my enjoyment of the novel.

While elements remain decidedly couched in a common, and arguably overused, motif, the Shadow Saga remains a worthy addition to the fantasy Rolodex.   Once completed, Sprunk's trilogy will go on the shelf right next to the Night Angel Trilogy where it will compete for the hearts of assassin lovers for years to come.  For fans of Brent Weeks, Brandon Sanderson, and to some degree Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch, this is a series that shouldn't be missed.  Shadow's Master, the third and final volume in the series, is already one of my most looked forward to titles of early 2012.

You can find Jon Sprunk on his blog, Fear of the Dark, or on Twitter (@jsprunk).

*********Giveaway*********

Shadow's Son and Shadow's Lure by Jon Spurnk

2 books to 1 winner courtesy of Pyr.

Giveaway Details:

This giveaway is open to North American residents only (alas).  You must be 18 years of age or older to participate. Void where prohibited by law. Giveaway rules are subject to change.  

How to participate:

• To enter the giveaway, just place a comment in this post and declare intention to participate.
• One entry per person, or face disqualification.
• Make sure to provide an email address or Twitter username at which I can contact you.
• Entries accepted until 11:59pm ET on November 17, 2011
• Winners will be chosen by random sorting entries, and then using a random number generator.
• There will be 1  winners, who will receive 2 books.
• Winner will have to confirm by email/DM to be considered a winner within a week after November 17, 2011.

ONE additional entry may be had by doing the following:

• Follow me on my blog publicly so that you appear on Google Friend Connect.
• Follow me on twitter, @jdiddyesquire. Make sure to provide your twitter username in your entry.

If you do either of the steps above, or you are already following me, you'll receive ONE additional entry.

Thanks, and good luck!

Sword of Fire and Sea - Erin Hoffman

I have a sneaking suspicion that Sword of Fire and Sea is going to be one of the more polarizing novels of 2011 as a perfect example of form over substance.  Erin Hoffman's debut from Pyr has a beautiful voice, and a fully realized, textured world.  It has gryphons, pegasus, and elemental magic all of which evoke whimsy and a general sense of romance.  Ultimately though, the primary motive force of any novel is its story and there Hoffman falls flat, failing to adequately lay the foundation for events later in the novel.

Packaged as a travel narrative, Sword is told from the perspective of ship Captain Vidarian Rulorat, a highly successful merchant with family ties to the fire priestesses of Kara'zul. Vidarian must fulfill his family's obligation by transporting a young fire priestess named Ariadel to a water temple far to the south, through dangerous pirate-controlled territory. A perilous journey in the best of conditions, Vidarian and Ariadel find themselves at the intersection of the world's most volatile elements and an ancient, alien power between them.

Unlike most genre novels, Sword didn't keep me up late into the night despite an frenetic plot.  Hoffman's style is more geared toward reading a chapter at a time to absorb her lyrical imagery, letting it breathe like a fine wine.  I found myself pausing from time to time to really relish over a nice turn of phrase or particularly well put together sentence.  To speak metaphorically, reading Sword felt like looking at an M.C. Escher painting, the longer I stared at it the more I saw.  All of this makes for a rich and textured reading experience.  Paragraphs alone to do not a good novel make though, and often Hoffman fails to connect her reader to her characters or her plot.

Functionally a travelogue, Sword bounces Vidarian all over the map, first with Ariadel by his side, and then to rescue her, and then to their ultimate goal.  I was watching a tennis match with a gryphon, in place of a fuzzy green ball, being batted back and forth across the continent by some unseen, but thoroughly dominant, forehand.  That's me being flip, but the truth is the pace and suddenness of the travel rarely gave me the opportunity to be comfortable with the story.  Instead, I was left scrambling to understand what was happening and more importantly why.

Equally as frustrating were the occasional terms, or factions that Hoffman assumes the reader to have knowledge.  I don't mind the slow world building, dropping new ideas from time to time, and explaining them later (God's War being a great example of this), but never explaining them just leads to confusion.  One in particular that comes to mind was the use of the term, Quenched, in reference to a fire priestess's power.  Early in the novel I presumed this meant one thing, only to find out it meant something else, only to learn it didn't mean that either.  With the novel over, I still don't really know it means.  While I might hazard a guess, it was frustrating that at every point in the novel I thought it meant something different, leaving me scratching my head when characters did things I thought they could no longer do.

The point is Sword reads like a debut novel.  In a year I've been spoiled by brilliant debuts this one just doesn't stand out.  I'm going to compare Hoffman to another author, Sam Sykes, whose debut novel, Tome of the Undergates, I reviewed early this year.  In terms of substance and style there's absolutely no similarity.  Sykes writes a gritty, schlocky style that's as dark as it is hilarious.  Like Hoffman, Sykes was a new author trying to find his way.  While he had some stumbles, mostly related to plot and pacing, he has an incredibly strong voice that's his own.  I can absolutely say the same about Erin Hoffman.  There is something uniquely her in the prose and that's special.  While I may not have enjoyed Sword of Fire and Sea as a narrative, I very much look forward to the author's future growth as a writer.

Thankfully, it looks like Pyr is going to give me that chance as they recently announced the purchase of two more novels in The Chaos Knight series.  I'll be sure to check them out.  You can visit Erin Hoffman's website and follow her Twitter.

Diving Into the Wreck - Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Science fiction as a genre has always been based on what if.  What if we brought a man back to life?  What if we gave a computer control of a space station?  What if robots had the ability to reason?  Diving Into the Wreck is very much in this tradition, asking what happens when we start to forget technology?  Kristine Kathryn Rusch's answer is: nothing good.  Refreshingly old school, Wreck calls to mind the horrors of cramped space craft, the bleakness of space, and the depravity of human greed.

Boss loves to dive historical wrecks, derelict spacecraft found adrift in the blackness between stars. Sometimes she dives for salvage, but mostly she's a historian.  Once she dives a ship, she either leaves it for others to find or starts selling guided tours. It's a good life for a loner, with more interest in history than the people who make it.

When she comes across an enormous spacecraft, incredibly old, and apparently Earth-made, she's determined to investigate. It's impossible for something built in the days before FTL travel to have journeyed so far from Earth. Boss hires a group of divers to explore the wreck with her, but some secrets are best kept hidden, and the past won't give up its treasures without exacting a price.

Diving in space is a lot like diving in the ocean.  Instead of being worried about something snagging the air hose or running into a shark, sharp edges and nebulous ancient stealth technology are the fear du jour.  Rusch does a brilliant job of communicating the claustrophobia and paranoia that seem inimical to creeping through a derelict space craft far from any safe haven.  Stealth tech is the macguffin, a lost technology that promises untold wealth and power to the person(s) who can bring it back, that promises a horrible death to anyone who comes in contact with it.

The most charming aspect of the novel for me was the author's commitment to wreck diving.  Not the plot, but rather the nuts and bolts of the profession.  She considers all the pitfalls and realities of the job - what kind of person Boss would have to be, how she would make a living, and why she would put herself through it all.  By the end of the novel nothing in Wreck lacked authenticity.  So much so that if I didn't know the novel was set in the future I might find myself looking in the yellow pages for wreck divers.... you know, if I had to venture into deep space to recover something.

The novel is divided into three parts corresponding to the two novellas and a third part that weaves them together.  Taken on their own the first two parts are incredibly dynamic with pace, tension, and all the hallmarks of great science fiction.  It's unfortunate then that the connection of the two comes off a bit disjointed as though they weren't necessarily written with each other in mind.  This is pervasive throughout the novel where in order to tie the two novellas into a connected arc with a shared conclusion Boss spends a great deal of time talking, and talking, and talking to members of her team.  While these scenes are excellent opportunities to character build, and believe me the characters are tremendous, they leave quite a bit to be desired when it comes to pace.

Told entirely in the first person, Wreck is very introspective .  Boss spends a great deal of time humming and hawing her motivations in the midst of coming to grips with relationship to her father.  This deep introspection combined with the need to tie together the disparate story modules led to an unfortunate lack of world building.  Although not entirely necessary for the kind of story Rusch was telling the world itself is very bare bones.  I never got a great feel for the 'space' her lush characters were inhabiting and I'm not sure if the final product wasn't a little harmed as a result.

Nevertheless, Diving Into the Wreck is a worthwhile investment of reading resources.  Although the novel as a whole has some hiccups with an overly tidy ending there are parts here that hold up against the best science fiction on the market.  City of Ruins, Rusch's sequel, was released in May of this year.  I've already got a copy on my bedside table and look forward to getting to it soon.  I'm very confident that lacking the need to integrate two novellas into a larger arc City of Ruins can only improve over a very solid first installment.

Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge - Lou Anders

I don't read a lot of anthologies.  No particular reason really other than I tend to read them a story at a time in between novels.  Thus they take forever for me to finish, and oftentimes I've forgotten the less memorable stories by the time I actually finish the whole collection.  If I were smart, I'd do a quick paragraph on each story as I finish them.  In case you're curious, I'm not and I didn't.  So instead I'm going to do more of a short review about the overall tone of Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge edited by Lou Anders and give a few of my favorites.

Anders, in his introduction to the anthology, reminds us that, "To a very real extent, we live today in the science fiction of the past."  He's so right - just look at William Gibson's notion of cyberspace in Neuromancer (1984).  Fast Forward 1 is all about looking at the implications of technology on society, but not today's technology.  Anders and his all-star cast of authors are instead looking at the future of tomorrow and millenium from now to push the envelope not only about what technology we can expect to see, but how it will impact our lives.  Anders goes on to say that, "it is the future of science fiction itself (and that of science fiction publishing) that some have called into question, and lately it seems as if the very idea of the future has been under threat."  In his essay "The Omega Glory," Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon summarizes Anders' thoughts:

"I don't know what happened to the Future. It's as if we lost our ability, or our will, to envision anything beyond the next hundred years or so, as if we lacked the fundamental faith that there will in fact be any future at all beyond that not-too-distant date."

Interestingly, one of Anders' contributors, Paolo Bacigalupi said in an interview with Locus Magazine:

"Maybe science fiction lost its track a little bit, and got off on some lines of speculation which are pretty interesting but not necessarily connected to today’s questions, as previously it had been core to our conception of ourselves and where we were headed."

I think Bacigalupi's view and Chabon's desire to continue pushing the envelop are well blended by Anders.  Fast Forward 1 shows how the world will change just over the next hill in stories like Elizabeth Bear's The Something-Dreaming Game or Mary Turzillo's Pride.  It looks beyond and into the distant future with stories like The Terror Bard by Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper or No More Stories by Stephen Baxter.

For me the anthology works best in the stories that fell in between.  Not so esoteric as to be difficult to identify with, and not so near term as to be uninspiring.  These stories shined because they not only pushed the science fiction envelope, but found a way to use that technology to pull back the shades on the cultural and ethical dilemmas of today.  To me, and Anders who I quote, "science fiction is a tool for making sense of a changing world. It is the genre that looks at the implications of technology on society, which in this age of exponential technological growth makes it the most relevant branch of literature going."

Haunting stories like Bacigalupi's Small Offerings and George Zebrowski's Settlements confront our ability to sustain humanity.  A Smaller Government by Pamela Sargent parodies the U.S. government, while Jesus Christ, Reanimator by Ken MacLeod takes on faith.  Vanity is a popular subject reflected in p dolce by Louise Marley and The Hour of the Sheep by Gene Wolfe.  There are very few failures in the anthology.  Some are not terribly memorable like The Girl's Hero Mirror Says He's Not the One by Jennifer Robson or Kage Baker's Plotters and Shooters, but in the moment they are compelling and well worth the read.

Perhaps the most thought provoking work in the book is Anders' introduction which I have quoted from liberally.  He provides a thought provoking discussion about where the genre has been, is going, and will find itself in the years ahead.  It's well worth a read all on its own and can be read on-line in its entirety (here).  Anders was recently awarded a Hugo for his editing prowess and as far as I can tell from Fast Forward 1 and the dozens of other Pyr titles I've read, it is well deserved.

As I stated in the early parts of this review, I don't read many anthologies so rating this is one tough.  I can say that there was no story I rolled my eyes at or felt like skipping and there are certainly several stories I would hold up against any I've read.

In the mood for a science fiction anthology? Definitely pick this one up.

Blackdog - K.V. Johansen

My wife and daughter were out of town this past week so I took the opportunity to really plow through some of my to read pile backlog.  K.V. Johansen’s Blackdog coming out this September is hard to justify as "backlog", but it's a title that’s called to me from the first time I laid eyes on it.  The cover is another one from Raymond Swanland who has done such good work for James Barclay, Glen Cook, and others. His covers always contain such tangible motion and barely contained violence, which appropriately describes K.V. Johansen's novel.

Long ago, in the days of the first kings in the north, there were seven devils.  These devils, who deceived and possessed seven of the greatest wizards, were defeated and bound with the help of the Old Great Gods.  Now, some of them are free in the world, and some of are working to free themselves still.

In a land where gods walk on the hills and goddesses rise from river, lake, and spring, the caravan-guard Holla-Sayan stops to help an abandoned child and a dying dog.  Driven from their home by the wizard Tamghat, the girl is the avatar of the goddess Attalissa and the dog is her guardian spirit in need of a host.  Possessed by the Blackdog, Holla-Sayan leaves the desert road with the child in tow fleeing Tamghat and his thirst for Attalissa's power.

Moth was once Ulfhild, wizard and warrior of the north.  And she was once Vartu  Kingsbane, one of the seven devils of legend.  She cares little for the fate of a minor goddess like Attalissa, but she is compelled to hunt down her former comrades.  With her lover, the bear-demon Mikki, she is hunting and woe to anyone who gets in her way.

At first glance Blackdog is a traditional epic fantasy.  It has scope, powerful magic, gods, and demons.  There is a central villain and an obvious and vulnerable yet strong willed heroine surrounded by her stalwart cadre of allies.  Soon though, as the pages go by, things become more robust.  Johansen's world expands and what appears to be another hero's journey is instead a journey to humanity, an evaluation of the bonds of family, and an examination of divinity.

Blackdog's world is lush, in a cognitive sense, barren and arid in truth.  Shown only a fraction of the larger spectrum, the novel focuses on a caravan route through the desert to the mountain steppes.  Each city, or culture, is founded around a god of the earth who appears in both human and incorporeal forms.  Similar to novels like The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Jemisin) or Malazan Book of the Fallen (Erikson), gods are very much active in the world, interacting with their followers and enemies alike.

Where Erikson is overly esoteric at times, Johansen has a knack for not getting off kilter.  Opportunities arise to wax on a philosophical leaning or delve unnecessarily into a facet of her world not relevant to her story and each time she resists the urge to be diverted.  In doing she captures some of the scope and majesty that Erikson so often does, but manages to avoid the trap of self indulgence.  While Blackdog lacks the genre commentary and philosophical meandering that Malazan excels at, I can't help be feel some kinship between the two works.

My only real complaint stems from complex naming conventions that often led to a sensation of reading one of the Russian greats.  Everyone has at least two names, and the devil/wizards have a minimum of three.  Cities tend to be 10-12 letters or more, and many of them have similar sounds.  Main characters even have names that run together with each other at times.  Given Johansen's education background (MA in Medieval Studies), I'm confident that phonetically and historically speaking all the naming conventions make sense.  For example, a woman raised in Attalissa's lands is likely to have a similar sounding name to honor her goddess.  However, for readability, I found it all a bit distracting; often pulling me out of the story to reevaluate who the hell she was talking about.

I read fast. Really fast.

If I was pulled out of things occasionally by confusing names, I was more often sucked in completely (I finished the novel at 2 AM). Blackdog possesses a dreamlike quality that lends itself to distorting time. Divination and soothsaying, inherently intangible pursuits, are prevalent themes in the novel. Magic in general is abstract with little no explanation as to why or how it works (Malazan again, anyone?) relying on deep concentration and meticulous preparation. Combined with the notion of body sharing demons, this all leads to long periods of time where Johansen finds herself describing non-visual events like meditation and internal battling. This would normally lead to periods of boredom, but instead she rescues the slower pace with often lyrical prose that shows and directs, but never tells.

Early on I felt myself digesting Blackdog in small chunks. A chapter here, a chapter there, I wrapped my mind around Johansen's complex world building. Like a runner in a 5K, I found my pace, easing into a rhythm before unleashing my Usain Bolt like speed in the stretch run. By the novels end I was breathless, winding down from a tremendous dénouement, and a heartfelt ending.

It's unclear whether or not Johansen has a sequel in store, if so, there's no indication on the copy I received to review.  The final pages complete the story, but leave enough hanging to warrant future installments.  The world building alone surely invites future exploration.  In either case, I should think lovers of epic fantasy, particularly Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, will devour Blackdog with vigor.  I definitely did.

Click here to read an excerpt.  Blackdog is due out in stores this September, but apparently Amazon already has it in stock.