After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall: A Novel by Nancy Kress (REVIEW)

A relatively short (under 200 pages) but interesting novel that puts a unique spin on the apocalypse. As the title suggests, each chapters carries us backwards or forwards in time, telling three intersecting stories:



AFTER THE FALL: A claustrophobic, emotionally charged, post-apocalyptic tale of dying adults, damaged adolescents, and stolen children.



BEFORE THE FALL: Cold and efficient, a contemporary drama surrounding one woman's struggle to decipher a mystery while preparing for single motherhood.



DURING THE FALL: Brief, tantalizing, and the heart of the story, these mini chapters offer a terrifying glimpse into just how simply catastrophic change can begin.



This is a book where execution is everything, where the telling of the story trumps the story itself. Personally, I saw the 'twist' revelation coming very early on, but that's OK. Instead of being something that hooks the reader or sets the stage for an earth-shattering climax, the twist is more a key to unlocking the melancholy truth behind the end of human civilization.



Fortunately, the telling is solid, populated by characters who may not be entirely likeable, but to whom we can either relate, or with whom we can sympathize. Pete (AFTER) is a spoiled teenager, a sad, angry, lonely young man who fills his time by having emotionless sex with teenagers as damaged as himself, and with secret, painful, unrequited longing for an older woman who serves as teacher, mother, doctor, aunt, and friend. His only escape from The Shell (a sterile bubble in which the human race has been preserved) is through brief jaunts into the past, where he steals supplies he doesn't understand . . . and young children to help repopulate the race.



Julie (BEFORE) is a lonely, independent, brilliant mathematician who has been helping the FBI to find a pattern in the bizarre string of child abductions and store thefts. Having become too close to her FBI partner, she chooses to embark on a path of single motherhood, even as she finds herself cast adrift by an agency that doesn't believe her theories. Driven as much by her need to find a purpose behind the pattern as she is by the need to protect her child, she sets herself on a course that will ultimately see her cross paths with Pete . . . before it's too late to satisfy either need.



A solid effort, with a well thought out, appreciably detailed, yet somehow understated catastrophic end to humanity's reign in the final chapters. I would have like a bit more insight into the aliens, but that's a minor quibble and doesn't detract from my appreciation for the story Nancy Kress has crafted here.

Available at Amazon

Available at Kobo

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TuesDecay - Blue Ghost Tunnel

This week's edition of #TuesDecay (follow along on Google+ to see all the posts) features the Blue Ghost Tunnel (Grand Trunk Railway Tunnel) - a long, winding, abandoned train tunnel that runs under Lock 18 of the 3rd Welland Canal. Dark, damp, and sporting icicle stalactites throughout the winter, it's also said to be haunted . . . which is what first took my camera and I there.

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Stacking The Shelves and Mailbox Monday

Stacking The Shelves is a new weekly meme being hosted by Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you've added to your shelves - physical and virtual, borrowed and bought. Mailbox Monday, meanwhile, is a similar meme being hosted by BookNAround this month (check out the Mailbox Monday blog to see who's hosting next month).

It's been a couple of weeks since I did my last post, so I've got  few titles to catch up on. Starting with the most recent arrivals, I found this on my doorstep today, courtesy of Simon & Schuster Canada:

While I had almost forgotten about requesting this one, I got approved  by Macmillan-Tor/Forge yesterday (via Netgalley)for:

Dropping into my inbox on the electronic front these past 2 weeks were:

What's topping your shelves this week?

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TGIF - Feature & Follow Friday

Don't forget to check out my interviews with Lee Battersby and Adam Christopher for a chance to win paperback ARC copies of The Corpse Rat King and Seven Wonders.

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Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that is designed to provide some much-appreciated exposure to the bloggers participating, and to expand their following. Hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, each of whom feature a chosen blog for the week, it's an interesting way to get to know one another.

Question of the Week: What is the best cover of a book that you've read and loved?



Last week I picked Clive Barker's US editions of the Books of Blood as some of the worst covers, so it's time to give some love to the UK covers that first made me a fan. Just to balance things out, I'll include the simple beauty of his original Imajica cover as well (although the re-release cover isn't bad).

      

Parajunkee also hosts a Social Hop for Facebook and Twitter, which I regularly take part in. So, if you're one of those people who aren't on Blogger, or who just don't like Google Friend Connect, it's a great way to keep in touch and follow one another.

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TGIF is another blog hop designed to provide much-appreciated exposure to the bloggers participating, and to expand their following. Hosted by GReads, it's an interesting way to recap the week, pose a question, and find some exposure with a different audience.


Question of the Week: How do you go about choosing what you read next? Do you have a schedule you follow, or do you read whatever makes you happy at the moment?



I am absolutely a mood reader, picking up whatever happens to appeal to my whims of the moment. I will schedule reads where I have a hard deadline (i.e. a book tour), but otherwise I go with whatever interests me.

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Seven Wonders by Adam Christopher (REVIEW and GIVEAWAY)

Good afternoon, and welcome back to Day 4 of Angry Robot Week here at Beauty in Ruins, once again featuring Adam Christopher. We're kicked the day off with an interview, so now it's time to get into my review of Seven Wonders.

Read along, and when you're done, don't forget to check out the giveaway below and enter for a chance to win a paperback ARC copy of Seven Wonders.

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Growing up, I was an absolutely huge fan of comic books. Every Wednesday and every Friday we'd either grab our bikes or hop on the bus downtown to pick up the newest releases. Although I was primarily a Marvel man (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Uncanny X-Men, Excalibur, and The Incredible Hulk were my must-haves), I regularly hopped shelves into DC territory or some of the independents. At some point, however, I began to lose interest. Part of it was frustration with the expensive gimmicks of variant covers, foil covers, bagged editions, etc, but a bigger part of it was sheer boredom. I got the point where I could recognize all the rehashed story lines, and the novelty of massive reboots quickly began to wear thin.



I've tried getting back into comics and graphic novels over the years, particularly with the Dark Tower adaptations and the comic book seasons of Buffy and Angel, but it just wasn't the same. I still like the stories, but the medium just didn't work for me anymore. So, with that in mind, the idea of a comic book novel began to seem very appealing.



Enter Seven Wonders by Adam Christopher - not the first comic book novel I've read, but certainly one of the strongest. The first thing that struck me about it, right from the opening chapters, is that this was a more realistic take on superheroes, and one seemingly tailored for a maturing audience. It's dark, a little gritty, and surprisingly bloody. People actually die, violently and permanently. More than that, it's a bit cynical and jaded, with a city being oppressed by the last remaining super-villain, and supposedly protected by a team of superheroes who aren't in any rush to put their lives on the line to stop each and every act of villainy being perpetrated.



Oddly enough, for a book called Seven Wonders, the heroes are the least interesting part of the novel. Instead, for me, it was the conflict between Tony and The Cowl that kept me reading. Here you have an ordinary guy slowly acquiring superpowers, freeing him from the shroud of terror under which he's lived for years, and the last remaining super-villain, just as slowly losing his superpowers, putting his ultimate end-game for San Ventura (and the Seven Wonders) in jeopardy. The balance between police drama and superhero drama was a nice touch as well, deliberately contrasting themes of heroism, responsibility, and accountability throughout.



I did say it's dark, gritty, cynical, and jaded, but it's also romantic (sometimes in a creepy sort of way), humorous (often in an ironic or sarcastic sort of way), and absolutely action-packed (with very real consequences to those actions). There is also a surprising amount of character development involved, with Tony nearly unrecognizable by the end, and The Cowl and Blackbird . . . well, I'll refrain from saying any more about that pairing, for fear of spoiling one of the most interesting developments in the story. Also, given that we're dealing with prose, and can't actually see the costumes, I must say Christopher does a solid job of differentiating the Seven Wonders themselves, which I expected to be a major challenge.



In terms of plotting, the book reads very much like a comic book, completely with chapter-ending cliffhangers and twists that seem to come out of nowhere. The same with the narrative, where dialogue 'bubbles' are regularly broken up with descriptive 'blocks' as we move from imaginary panel to panel. It's awkward at first, and has the potential to annoy or alienate some readers, but it also helps preserve that comic book feel.



If you like your superheroes all perfect and shiny, your mortality clear-cut, and the lines between good and evil explicitly defined, this may not be the novel for you. Similarly, if you're just looking for more of the same in terms of Dark Knight grimness and grittiness, this may take you in directions you're not comfortable going. However, if you're a comic book fan with an appreciation for all the different flavours of superheroes, and an avid reader with an appreciation for a novel that does something new (and does it well), then this is definitely worth a read.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Don't forget to check out my interview with Lee Battersby as well, for a chance to win a paperback ARC copy of The Corpse Rat King!

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Adam Christopher INTERVIEW & Seven Wonders GIVEAWAY

Good morning, and welcome to Day 4 of Angry Robot Week here at Beauty in Ruins, this time featuring Adam Christopher. We're kicking the day off with an interview, before getting onto a review of Seven Wonders later this afternoon.

Read along, and when you're done, don't forget to check out the giveaway below and enter for a chance to win a paperback ARC copy of Seven Wonders.

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BOB: Thanks for taking the time to stop by, Adam. With the release of Seven Wonders just weeks away, I know you must be busy. Before we get started, can you tell us a bit about yourself?



ADAM: Thanks for having me here, Bob! My name is Adam Christopher, and I’m a writer! I’m the author of Empire State and Seven Wonders, both from Angry Robot, who are also publishing two more books over the next two years – The Age Atomic (a sequel to Empire State), and Hang Wire, an urban fantasy set in San Francisco. I’m also an author over at Tor Books, and my first novel for them, a dark space opera called Shadow’s Call, is out in 2014.



I’m from New Zealand originally, and moved to the UK in 2006. I’m a fan of superhero comics, tea, Lego, and The Cure.

BOB: Wow, thanks for getting Lovecats stuck in my head for the rest of the day! The journey to publication can be a long one, even with the rise of small presses and indie publishing. How has the experience of brining Seven Wonders to print differed from that of Empire State?



ADAM: I initially signed a two-book deal with Angry Robot – Empire State was the novel I pitched to the editor, Lee Harris, and publishing director Marc Gascoigne, over lunch when I went to visit their office back in August 2010. I’d met them both on Twitter a couple of years before, and we became friends thanks to a shared interest in books, comics, films, that kind of thing. I was working on my writing, and while I blogged about it now and again we never really talked about it, even after I met Lee in person at a few UK science fiction conventions. When I dropped Lee a line to say I’d be in the area and suggested we meet up for lunch, I didn’t intend to pitch anything and I certainly hadn’t prepared, so when Marc asked about the book I was currently working on I sort of rambled for about an hour, making a real mess of it. But Marc invited me to send it in when it was done, and I did, and then I got that magic phone call a few months later.



Angry Robot wanted two books – Empire State and something else. Empire State was actually the third novel I’d written (and at that stage I’d written a fourth as well), so a few days after they made their offer I met Lee at the SFX Weekender, a big multimedia SF convention, and we sat down to talk about the other books. I expected them to go with that fourth book, but to my surprise Lee asked to see Seven Wonders, and that was the second book they bought.



Getting Empire State to print – the first time I’d even seen this side of the publishing industry – was a learning curve, but an enjoyable one. I’d written
Seven Wonders before even starting
Empire State, and when it came time to look at it again it had been maybe two years since completion and I’d written two more full novels. So I took the opportunity to revise it extensively – my style and voice had developed in the interim, so
Seven Wonders needed a bit of TLC. Having learned a great deal during the edit of
Empire State for Angry Robot, I was able to pre-empt a lot of the work on
Seven Wonders that I knew they’d ask for, so overall I think the process was smoother.



Looking at
Seven Wonders on the shelf in my office, next to
Empire State, I have a weird sort of feeling – the book was written before
Empire State, but is being published after it. From my point of view it’s an older story… but it feels fresher because it had that big reworking once everything on
Empire State was done and dusted!



BOB: It's fascinating (and a little dizzying) to look at the chain of events that bring a work into print. Given the subject matter of
Seven Wonders, I have to ask where your geek alliances lie – Marvel, DC, or one of the newer kids on the block (Dark Horse, Image, IDW)?

ADAM: I have to say DC – they just feel more like home to me. I do read a lot of Marvel – more now than ever, actually – but I haven’t quite got the depth of knowledge that I do with DC. I’m actually looking forward to the Marvel NOW! Initiative, as that’ll be a good time to dive into some titles and characters I haven’t explored yet.



I’m also really getting into Monkeybrain Comics – they’re a new digital indie publisher, run by Chris Roberson. They only launched in July this year, but already they’re one of the most exciting players.



BOB: Reading a superhero novel is undeniably a different experience than that of a comic book or graphic novel. What advantages/disadvantages do you feel the novel format offers?



ADAM: I agree – comics and graphic novels are visual as well as textual, and superhero comics rely even more on the artwork. That’s why superheroes work so well in films, because you can translate the spectacle and grandeur of a comic page onto the big screen easily if you have enough money!



Novels are completely different, and putting superheroes into prose is definitely a difficult thing. I think it helps that I’m a total superhero comics fanatic, and
Seven Wonders is my big epic superhero adventure, so when I was writing it I was pretty much visualizing it panel-by-panel, shot-by-shot – a mash-up of a graphic novel and a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster. Getting that visual aspect of superheroes across was vital.



Novels have a lot of advantages too – you can do into as much depth and backstory as you like, you can see into a character’s mind and see their point of view. You can really do anything you like, and you’ve got the space to explore it all. Of course, you can do that in comics as well, but it’s a different form that has different rules and different techniques.



BOB: Assuming you were offered the opportunity to adapt
Seven Wonders as a graphic novel, who would you insist upon as the illustrator?



ADAM: I’d be hard-pressed to pick just one favourite artist – I love the work of Ivan Reis, Amanda Conner, Nicola Scott, Francis Manipul and Kevin Maguire. Away from that traditional modern superhero style, Alex Ross would be wonderful – his painted art has a real epic, majestic quality. Darwyn Cooke is another favourite, his work is so distinctive.



BOB: Some nice choices! Let’s take the concept of adaptation in a different direction for a moment. With comic book movies dominating the box office, who would you look at for your dream cast in
Seven Wonders?



ADAM: I tend to cast most, but not all, of my characters as I write, which is a handy trick – I think that probably comes from the way I visualise the story in my mind, especially something as “graphical” as
Seven Wonders.



So Detective Sam Miller is Emily Rose and Joe Milano a somewhere between Idris Elba and Jon Huertas. Tony is Milo Ventimiglia, no doubt about it. Jeannie is harder to cast, but Liv Tyler would be interesting.



The Seven Wonders… hmm, maybe Henry Czerny as Aurora, Erica Durance (with blonde hair!) as Bluebell, an aged-up Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Linear, Brian Blessed as Hephaestus, and Christa B. Allen as The Dragon Star and Patricia Velásquez as Sand Cat. SMART is a robot, and a big one at that, so its more the voice that is critical. How about Kevin Conroy? That would be the icing on the cake!



Although it might seem like a strange choice, I see Nathan Fillion making a good Cowl.



BOB: That is an interesting cast - I can definitely see a few of them, but I'd have to see the others in action to figure out how they mesh with what I imagined. If we can talk the mechanics of writing for a moment, do you have a habit, a trick, or an obsession in how and where you write?



ADAM: Not really – as a born procrastinator I’ve spent years looking for tricks, but have so far failed to find any! Writing is a job, which means you have to treat it like one – sit down and write. I do try and stick to a routine, writing 2-3,000 words a day in 1,000-word chunks. I have two writing spots, upstairs in my office, which is more formal and business-like (which I find best for editing and rewriting, and having a large monitor is handy for comparing documents and cutting/pasting bits in and out and making notes), and downstairs in my library. The library has a big comfy chair and I’m surrounded by books. I tend to start projects here on my laptop, and write maybe 90% of the first draft in this more relaxed environment.



BOB: Damn - I keep hoping somebody will find that procrastination trick for me. I'll have to find it myself . . . one of these days! In terms of story, what comes easiest for you, and where do you struggle the most? Is it the title? The first paragraph? The last chapter? The cover blurb?



ADAM: I like to have a title right at the beginning – I don’t know why, but it makes the writing a lot easier! Which is all in my head, of course. I enjoy the opening pages of a new project, before you get to the real meat of the thing. Endings are probably the hardest bit, as I often don’t quite know where to stop!



Cover blurbs and the like are the responsibility of the editor, usually, although it’s usually pretty easy to cribs bits and bobs from the pitches and synopses I’ve already written. I actually love writing these little things – there is something quite satisfying about distilling an entire novel in a couple of paragraphs, or something even shorter, even if it makes you tear you hair out when you’re trying to trim the blurb down word by word.



BOB: When you’re not writing, what authors do you look to for entertainment or inspiration?



ADAM: I read a lot – all writers should, across many different genres. I used to ignore this advice, sticking to my beloved science fiction, but now I read crime, thrillers, even Westerns. It all helps with the writing, too. I always worry when I hear a writer saying they don’t have time to read.



My reading includes, of course, comics. Lots of comics – I probably read on average about four or five issues a day. As well as trying to keep up with new releases, I’m going through a lot of older material, including Daredevil from the 1970s and the terrific runs of Batman and Detective Comics from 2000.



We’re also in this amazing golden age of US TV, so that tends to be about the only stuff I watch these days – Justified, Longmire, Person of Interest, Fringe, Community… some of the best writing around is now in US television. Stephen King used to say that writers should throw out their TVs, but I wonder if he’s changed his view in the last few years!



BOB: I'm partial to our home-grown Canadian shows myself, which means I'm currently mourning the final season of Flashpoint. Before we let you go, what can we look forward to from you next? I know you've mentioned a few projects, but is there another novel in the works, or perhaps a short story to tide the fans over?



ADAM: The next scheduled releases, as I mentioned, are The Age Atomic (Angry Robot, May 2013), Hang Wire (Angry Robot, May 2014), and Shadow’s Call (Tor, early 2014). In the meantime, readers who pick up the limited edition hardcover of Seven Wonders from Forbidden Planet will find a brand new and exclusive short story in the back, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Comic Con. I’ve got another project I’m working on now in a new medium for me, which I’m excited to be part of but which isn’t going to be announced for a while yet.



And then I’ve got four novels to write next year – in first draft, at least! – I’m actually working ahead of my publication schedule by about two books, as Hang Wire and Shadow’s Call are already done, as is the first draft of The Age Atomic.



So, hopefully there’ll be some news to share soon enough. But until then, I’m just going to have to be a big tease and say “watch this space”.



BOB: Well, I’ll let you get back to writing, but thanks again for stopping by.



ADAM: Thanks, Bob!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Don't forget to check out my interview with Lee Battersby as well, for a chance to win a paperback ARC copy of The Corpse Rat King!

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Waiting On Wednesday: The Dead of Winter by Lee Collins

Don't forget to check out my interview with Lee Battersby for a chance to win a paperback ARC copy of The Corpse Rat King . . . and be sure to come back tomorrow for my interview with Adam Christopher and a chance to win a a paperback ARC copy of Seven Wonders.

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"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:



The Dead of Winter by Lee Collins



Cora and her husband hunt things – things that shouldn’t exist.



When the marshal of Leadville, Colorado, comes across a pair of mysterious deaths, he turns to Cora to find the creature responsible. But if Cora is to overcome the unnatural tide threatening to consume the small town, she must first confront her own tragic past as well as her present.



A stunning supernatural novel that will be quickly joined by a very welcome sequel, She Returns From War, in February 2013. (Oct 30, 2012)



True Grit meets True Blood. Awesome. Angry Robot's announcement of their final book release of 2012 couldn't have come at a more opportune time. From the sounds of it, they're ending an already strong year on a great note, with plans for an even better 2013 already in place.

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