Waiting on Wednesday: On the Steel Breeze by Alastair Reynolds

"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:

On the Steel Breeze by Alastair Reynolds

Sept 12, 2013 (Gollancz)



It is a thousand years in the future. Mankind is making its way out into the universe on massive generation ships.



On the Steel Breeze is the follow-up to Blue Remembered Earth. It is both a sequel and a standalone novel, which just happens to be set in the same universe and revolves around members of the Akinya family.



The central character, Chiku, is totally new, although she is closely related to characters in the first book. The action involves a 220-year expedition to an extrasolar planet aboard a caravan of huge iceteroid 'holoships', the tension between human and artificial intelligence ... and, of course, elephants.



Lots of elephants.





I don't read a lot of hard SF, but I do like to dabble from time-to-time and Reynolds is an author I've had on my radar for a while now. I picked up Blue Remembered Earth last summer, and started reading, but just got sidetracked by other titles. I quiet enjoyed what I read of it, and thought it was a very interesting introduction, so I'm looking forward to catching up.

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Sharing a Sense of Desolation with Travis Simmons (#bookreview #giveaway)

While it wasn't necessarily a bad book, there were so many little issues with Desolation that I really had trouble enjoying it.



On the plus side, Travis Simmons has definitely done something interesting with zombies here, adding a little fresh blood and brains to a genre that's become very tapped out. Rather than limit himself to a choice between the classic shuffling zombie and the contemporary speedy one, he incorporates both into his story, and then adds a third flavor in the infernals - basically zombies with brains. Not content to stop there, he also adds an even darker element, with human necromancers who have the power to create and control the zombies. It definitely makes for a very dark, exciting read, but he needs more space to fully explore the concepts.



Unfortunately, this is a book that's in dire need of an editor. While I generally don't like to focus on that element in my reviews, when it becomes a distraction - as it did here - I have to call it out. Little things like the proper use of its/it's and there/their/they're are one thing. They're annoyances, but you can train your mind to skip by them. Wrong or missing punctuation is another thing entirely, however, and there were passages - particularly following a line of dialogue - where my reading just hit a brick wall of incomprehension. Also, while I know it's difficult to work personal details into a first person narrative, it shouldn't have taken 7 or 8 chapters before Asher is revealed as a guy. Yes, I know it's clear in the synopsis, but when a book has sat on your e-reader for a few months, the value of a synopsis or cover blurb is entirely lost.



As for Asher being a guy, I certainly had no issues with that, and thought gay romance angle was an interesting touch, particularly with his lingering feelings for his now-zombie boyfriend. Their romance was solid, and I think Asher's grief was very well portrayed. In addition, I really liked how Simmons continued to play with the romance angle, right up to the climax of their final zombie confrontation. My problem with Asher was not his sexuality, but his personality and his perfection. He's a little too much of the perfect hero, more a pulp adventure novel cliché than somebody fit to lead a post-apocalyptic horror novel.



Ultimately, this felt like a young adult novel that was deliberately sexed-up and bloodied-up to appeal to a wider audience. It certainly has potential, and I think Simmons can do some really exciting things with the material, but this first volume is just a bit too rough and unpolished for my tastes.

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About the Author



I have been writing since I was 14. I began writing a book called "The Calling of the Two" and while writing that on and off I started uncovering another idea.



"Yes, this is all well and good, but what about before? What happened in the world before these characters came into it?" I always knew there was a "before" and as I started wondering about it I got ideas. At first they were little ideas but as I discovered the names for my characters a whole story about them emerged.



I started working on The Revenant Wyrd Saga several years back and I am very happy I did because hearing and documenting Jovian and Angelica's story has been one wild ride.



I live in a remote part of upstate New York and honestly just hoofing around my neck of the woods gives me a ton of inspiration for my novels. I love research, and I love speculating on different ideas and theories.



Website: http://www.travissimmons.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authortravissimmons

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TravisSimmons5

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4342608.Travis_Simmons

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About the Book



Desolation

by Travis Simmons



Asher St Paul thought it was just a typical zombie apocalypse like in the movies, until the necromancers crawled out of the woodwork.



Since the undead have chased the living into hiding, the necromancers are able to roam freely in a new America of their making. Asher is seeking safe harbor. The need for safety is what drove him from his home in Philadelphia Pennsylvania before it was shelled. He has searched from quarantine to quarantine, always finding them overrun with zombies until he hears of The Refuge, a military compound in Binghamton New York.



With his family and lover lain to rest by his own hand, he has nothing left to lose and gives everything he has to reach the safe haven. But questions arise when he reaches The Refuge, mainly, how has he been able to sustain multiple zombie bites and not change? He thinks he has found safety in the military compound turned quarantine, but he was wrong. Even now there is a necromancer trying to make The Refuge

their kingdom of the dead.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for review from Jitterbug PR and from the author

as part of a virtual book tour. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The

opinions I have expressed are my own. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade

Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in

Advertising.”

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Conflicted (and excited) about King of Thorns (#bookreview)

I opened my review of Prince of Thorns, book 1 of The Broken Empire saga, by saying:



"Damn, but this was one hell of a book!"



I would like to begin this review in a similar spirit, by saying:



"Damn, but this was one hell of a book to review."



I've let it settle and digest for a few days, but I'm still very conflicted in my thoughts regarding King of Thorns. Mark Lawrence has improved upon many aspects of that first book, particularly in the areas of character development and world-building, but the converging paths of the narrative structure didn't work so well for me this time around.



Generally, I'm not a big fan of stories that jump back and forth in time, balancing flashbacks with the 'current' or 'present day' narrative. It's just not a device that works for me. Having said that, it did work for me in the first book, largely because Jorg was such a unique sort of protagonist that I was truly interested in just what happened to place his feet upon such a path. Here, the 'present day' narrative jumps ahead four years, forcing a gap that allows for the same device to be used again. The problem is, with my curiosity about Jorg's origins already sated, the flashbacks here lacked the same drawing power. As much as I appreciate what Lawrence attempted to do with the copper box - I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which his banked memories altered the course of battle - I didn't find the 'big' memory a compelling enough mystery to justify taking us away from the events of his wedding day.



Of course, it doesn't help that the story of Jorg's wedding day is such a strong story on its own. Taking place over the course of a single day, it develops his character, advances the plot, and resolves several key conflicts in exemplary fashion. Here we have a few moments of courtship, a rushed marriage, a siege, a quest, and a battle - more than enough to carry a tale. Once again, Jorg and his band of brother face impossible odds, but find novel and exciting ways of stealing the upper hand. This is fighting dirty, as we'd expect, but it works.



Speaking of fighting dirty, the climax is another aspect of the tale about which I'm conflicted. It's completely in keeping with Jorg's character, and brilliantly resolves some of the larger challenges facing his march to the ultimate throne, but once again it relies upon artifacts of Builder technology. I'm honestly not sure whether I like that pattern. It intrigues me and excites me, and I love the Dark Tower way in which the ghosts of the past have both a significance and an enduring sense of peril, but it just felt a little to convenient here, a little too much of a stretch. Ultimately, whether it's a clever device or a bit of a cheat is something I really can't say until I see how Emperor of Thorns is resolved. I would actually be disappointed not to see it attempted again, but the 'how' and the 'why' of it will mean everything.



I would, of course, be remiss not to say a few words about the women of the world. While her diary entries didn't necessarily add anything to the narrative for me, it's clear that Katherine is being pressed into a pivotal role. Not only is she quickly becoming a key piece in the overall game of thrones, but the significance of her thorn in Jorg's side continues to grow. As for his child-bride Miana, she was a pleasant surprise, worthy of not just her place in the story, but also of a place as Jorg's side. I expected very little of her going in, but began to like her early on, and definitely respected her contributions by the end. Chella, as we might expect, continues to play a role in events, haunting Jorg's thoughts and driving him into confrontation with the dead. The scene in which she forces a confrontation with the ghosts of his genocide amid the marsh and the mud is just awesome, and almost enough to redeem my conflict about the dueling narratives.



Overall, King of Thorns is a strong read, and a worthy sequel to Prince of Thorns. Despite my conflicts with the telling of it, I enjoyed it immensely, and actually stayed up late to read the final 200+  pages. The cast of characters has grown, Jorg has grown, the world has grown, and the stakes have grown. A bigger book than the first in every respect, this is a tale that leaves even bigger expectations for Emperor of Thorns.





Published August 7th 2012 by Ace Books

Hardcover, 449 pages

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Call for Submissions - Midian Unmade: Tales of Clive Barker's Nightbreed

Stoker Award-winning anthologist Del Howison (Dark Delicacies 1-3, The Book of Lists: Horror) and internationally bestselling urban fantasy author Joseph Nassise (Eyes To See, By the Blood of Heroes) have joined forces with horror Grand Master Clive Barker to bring you back to the city of Midian and the creatures of the darkness known as the Nightbreed!

Tor Books will be publishing MIDIAN UNMADE: TALES OF CLIVE BARKER’S NIGHTBREED in simultaneous hardcover and trade paperback editions in the fall of 2014 and we’re looking for original horror and dark fantasy stories that fit the guidelines below.

MIDIAN UNMADE: TALES OF CLIVE BARKER’S NIGHTBREED

We’ve all felt it at one time or another – that sense of unbelonging, of being isolated, possibly even shunned because of our differences; not for anything that we’ve done but for simply being who we are.  We’ve all felt it – in childhood and adolescence, certainly, but even as adults as well, when the winds of change blow through our lives and we discover that those things we thought immutable are, in reality, anything but.

When this happens we all become like changeling children, at odds with those around us as well as with ourselves, looking to distant horizons for fresh comprehension of our purpose, sometimes even of our very nature.

The fiction of the fantastic literally overflows with metaphors for times like these, though none more so than the Nightbreed, those freaks and grotesques and shapeshifters extraordinaire that inhabit the hidden necropolis of Midian and make it their own in the pages of Clive Barker’s CABAL.   The Nightbreed are a colony of survivors, the last remnants of the once great tribes of the moon, and in their alienation they find a sense of togetherness, of belonging that often seems more human than those who bear that name.

Until the coming of Boone, that is, and the destruction of their hidden sanctuary, when they become outcasts once again.

MIDIAN UNMADE: TALES OF CLIVE BARKER’S NIGHTBREED picks up where CABAL left off, chronicling the lives of the ‘Breed as they disperse into the world after the fall of Midian.  We’re looking for stories of struggle and despair, of hope and sanctification, as the former inhabitants of Midian try to adapt to the world from which they retreated years before.  A world that does not want them.  A world that will hound them, hunt them, simply for the crime of being different.

Writers have Clive’s permission to use the existing members of the Breed that appear in the novella Cabal, in the film Nightbreed, and in the companion volume, The Nightbreed Chronicles, published by Titan Books.  Writers also have the option of creating their own unique and fantastical creatures that fit the Nightbreed mold.

We’re seeking original horror and dark fantasy stories.  We pay five cents per word up to 5,000 words, with 30% paid on acceptance and the remainder to be paid after the complete manuscript has been accepted by the publisher. (Please note that this is work for hire project as Clive owns the world in which the project is set. Writers may use their stories in this anthology and have permission to use them in collections of their own works or in annual best-of anthologies, but they may not write and submit additional stories featuring the characters they create for this project to publishing projects elsewhere.)

Story submissions should be sent to either Joe Nassise (jnassise@gmail.com) or Del Howison (del@darkdel.com), using the subject line MIDIAN STORY ENCLOSED.  If the subject line is not used, we cannot guarantee receipt of the story, as we will both be using email filters to isolate all Midian submissions from our regular mail.  Stories should be submitted before September 30^th, 2013.

Questions can be directed to either of the email addresses above. 

We look forward to hearing from you!

Check out Joseph Nassise's blog, Shades of Reality, for updates and additional details.

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Call for Submissions - Silver Birch Press NOIR Erasure Poetry Anthology

Announcing the Silver Birch Press NOIR Erasure Poetry Anthology, a collection of passages from hardboiled detective novels -- by Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ross MacDonald, and others -- with sections marked out to create poems. If you're unfamiliar with erasure poetry, check out our posts that feature The Great Gatsby erasure poems by james (w) moore and  Cathy Dee.

TO SUBMIT: Photocopy a page from a noir/hardboiled novel, mark out passages with magic marker or white out (or another form of your choosing) to create a noir poem. On a separate sheet, list your name, address, phone, and email, along with the title of the novel, author, edition, publisher, page number, and any other identifying information.

SEND TO: Silver Birch Press, P.O. Box 29458, Los Angeles, CA 90029 (DO NOT FOLD, AS WE WILL FEATURE THE ORIGINAL SUBMISSIONS IN THE BOOK) or email as an attachment to silver@silverbirchpress.com.

DEADLINE: September 1, 2013

PAYMENT: All contributors featured in the book will receive a paperback copy of the Silver Birch Press NOIR Erasure Poetry Anthology

We look forward to reading your inspired NOIR erasure poems! 

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Dateline: Atlantis by Lynn Voedisch (#bookreview #giveaway)

While Amaryllis is hardly a female Indiana Jones, and the story dives (pun intended) a little too much into the mystical depths of Atlantis for my tastes, I still found this to be a thoroughly satisfying read. Dateline: Atlantis is a bit predictable at times, as if Lynn Voedisch were conscious of trying to touch on all the standard elements of the genre, but it also contains enough surprises, genuine thrills, and awe-inspiring details to make it worth a read.



Voedisch wastes little time taking us into the subterranean and underwater ruins, painting a vivid picture of an ancient civilization lost as much to the waters as to time. The level of detail is just about perfect, offering enough to satisfy readers with an interest in archaeology, but not so much as to lose readers who are more interested in the mystery and adventure.



As I said, Amaryllis is hardly an Indiana Jones (or even a Robert Langdon), she is still an interesting heroine, and more than capable of carrying the story. The proverbial dogged reporter, she pairs professional diligence with personal enthusiasm for her quest. Gabriel is probably my favorite character in the novel, a man of secrets who clearly knows more about Atlantis than he's letting on, but who is everything you could ask for in a sidekick. As much as I disliked the man and his motives, Landon Hewitt makes for an interesting foil, a museum archaeologist who is willing to hide or destroy the truth of history to preserve the biblical mythology of his employers.



Like I said, the mystical element was a bit too heavy for my tastes, and I found some of the crystal scenes confusing, but the conflict between faith and history was strong enough to counter it. I wasn't quite sure where Voedisch was leading us, and precisely how she'd wrap up all of the elements, but the final scenes are just as satisfying as the initial explorations.

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Author Bio:

Lynn Voedisch is a Chicago writer who had a long career as a newspaper reporter and worked for 17 years at the Chicago Sun-Times. She also freelanced for many other publications, both in print and online. She lives with her husband and pet cat three blocks from the Chicago border. Her son, a new attorney, lives in the city. Her hobbies are tennis, tai ch, an promoting the appreciation of literature.



Catch Up With the Author:

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Read an excerpt:

She dives underneath the waves. Next to her is the tip of a giant stone structure. It widens as it plunges down to the ocean floor, filling her line of sight. She surfaces and swims toward the top of the rock. Amaryllis fights for breath as the waves roll up toward her chin and away. She dives again. The structure is a pyramid, without a doubt. It can’t be a natural formation. Its lines are too regular. The stones used to fit the pyramid together are huge—twenty-ton boulders at least—yet they are meshed with knife-edge precision. She can’t get her fingernail between them. Another thing occurs to her: this pyramid is not built in steps, but is smooth-sided like the monuments of Egypt.



She bobs up and down, diving and surfacing for a quarter of an hour, finding more impossible things. These walls, unlike those of the Maya structures they found on land, are still smooth. They are weathered and pitted, but not covered over with barna- cles and seaweed. She sees the remnants of writing carved into the rock near the top, but can’t tell what language it is. It has neither the pictorial intricacy of Maya glyphs nor the simplicity of Roman characters. It has a modern aspect, clean and stylized, proportionally balanced, as if it were a font designed by an adver- tising agency. Yet, some of the figures recall the ancient themes of the American Indians: swirling vortices, men with large heads, hunting dogs. The most prominent of all symbols is a cross in- scribed with concentric circles.



Amaryllis’ strength is nearly gone, but she dives once more if only to give the fullest of reports to her cohorts sleeping back onshore. She slips below the surface and feels along the eastern wall, pulling herself down. She is looking for a dark square she glimpsed before, gaping and black. It yawns at once before her, its edges wavy in the ocean swells. A sea turtle darts in front of her, and she constricts her lungs. She streaks to the surface, gulps a huge lungful of air and immediately she’s at the opening again. Seconds disappear as she measures the portal. It’s just big enough to slip through, but will she be able to get back out? A shining gem illuminated by a sun ray catches her eye. She swishes inside.



With lungs screaming, she scans a tiny chamber, carved from top to bottom with ancient writing. Gold glints from porticos on the sides. A painting is still visible on the ceiling. A carved hand, claw-like and strong, rests on a pedestal in the center of the space. The red hand holds a stone so beautiful, she can’t bear to leave it. In the filtered sunlight that passes through the door- way, the gem dazzles like Venus in the night sky. The morning star—the guide that Amaryllis can rely on. She grabs the jewel.

Through the door, up to the surface, sucking in the air—she’s free.

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Giveaway:



a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Waiting on Wednesday: King Breaker by Rowena Cory Daniells

"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:



King Breaker by Rowena Cory Daniells

Sept 30, 2013 (Solaris)



The conclusion to the hugely popular King Rolen's Kin series!



The story of Byron, Fyn and Piro picks up immediately where the cliff-hanging ending of The Usurper let off! When Cobalt stole the Rolencian throne, Byren, Fyn and Piro were lucky to escape with their lives, now they’ve rallied and set out to avenge their parents' murder.



Byren is driven to defeat Cobalt and reclaim the crown, but at what cost? Fyn has sworn to serve Byren’s interests but his loyalty is tested when he realises he loves Byren’s betrothed. And Piro never wanted to win a throne, now she holds the fate of a people in her hands.





I've been waiting for this one for almost a year now, having mentioned in my review of The Usurper that "the story really does demand one more volume." Well, Rowena promised that one more volume was coming - two, if your count The King's Man, this winter's surprise novella - and I finally have a release date and cover to share. Definitely looking forward to this!

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