A Not So Simple Art

The Simple Art of Murder is both an essay and a collection of short stories by novelist Raymond Chandler.  As I begin to delve into my detective reading project it is the former, Chandler’s criticism of the detective genre and discussion of the nature of art in general, that is most pertinent to my own needs.  Chandler begins his essay by exclaiming that “Fiction of any form has always intended to be realistic.”  He delves rather quickly into the elements of his own genre, detective fiction, that seem to subvert fiction’s drive towards realism.  He says of detective fiction that it “….has learned nothing and forgotten nothing” and looks towards the classic authors of the British style with a harsh critical eye.  He dissects A. A. Milne’s The Red House of Mystery, lambastes the ridiculous nature of Murder on the Orient Express and, almost as an aside, comments that Sherlock Holmes is less a person and more of an idea and an attitude.  He succinctly sums up his opinion of British authors with this gem of a quote: “The English may not always be the best writers in the world, but they are incomparably the best dull writers.”

Angry Robot

This hit the web news the other day but Angry Book has an interesting offer for for the upcoming Walking the Tree. For print readers who purchase the title they are providing some sample chapters from a novella featuring one of characters from the novel.  In fact the novella, as far as I can tell, features a portion of the novel from that character’s, Morace’s, point of view.  The book will feature a website and download code for the rest of the novel while ebook purchasers will get the ebook already downloaded and ready to go when they purchase Walking the Tree.

Of course that would require Angry Robots’ books being available here in the States.  That won’t be happening until May.  Angry Robot Books is an exciting new imprint as far as I’m concerned and I am more than a little frustrated about the slow crawl across the Atlantic.

More info on the deal and the Angry Robot’s authors and titles can be found here.

Review: The Rookie by Scott Sigler

The Rookie by Scott Sigler

The Rookie
Scott Sigler
Dark Overlord Press, 2009
First Line: Micovi’s three tiny moons hung in the evening sky like pitted purple grapes.  (Technically, that’s the second line).

Having listened to both Infected and Contagious on audio you’d think I’d have noticed Sigler’s football fandom in the person of Perry Dawsey.  Obviously that wasn’t the case and the appearance of The Rookie, if you’ll pardon the mixed sports reference, came out of left field.  A Blood Bowl type D&D Encounter designed by ChattyDM and the appearance of new Blood Bowl video game this last year certainly had my attention primed for sci-fi/football mashups.  Indeed, despite having never played a game it was Blood Bowl I first thought of when reading the synopsis of The Rookie with some vague memories of Mutant League Football worked in for good measure.

The Rookie takes place in a universe where the dominant alien species has “pacified” the various other races of the galaxy by letting them take out their aggressive tendencies through playing football.  The Galactic Football League is divided into 3 “tiers” Tier 3 being the small time bush league, Tier 2 being the minors, and Tier 1 being the big show.  The book follows the rising star of the titular rookie, quarterback Quentin Barnes.  Barnes, in the opening act is recruited by the Ionith Krakens a tier 2 team.  There are some serious hitches to this seeming turn of good fortune as Barnes suffers from a vicious brew of arrogance and racism ingrained by his hardscrabble upbringing in the mines of a close-minded human supremest world.

Fantastic alien creatures.  Personal human drama.  Football heroics.  If any of these sound interesting to you then you should head out and pick up a copy of The Rookie.  Everyone else?  Read on…

A look at January

January was full of odds and ends. The tale end of my space opera reading and a hodge-podge of titles I’ve been meaning to get to. Two titles just missed the January cut and I’ll hopefully have them up this week before I head into my hard-boiled reading. People who have been sticking around likely noticed that I added the first line of each book to my reviews. I’ve long been a fan of Locus‘ “Opening Lines” section of their New Books feature. In fact a number of time it has spurred a purchase or interest where there previously was none.  So I’ve borrowed that for my reviews.  Below you’ll find a list of the reviews I’ve posted this month.  All books this time, but I have a growing backlog of audio, both music and fiction, that I’ve been putting off writing about.  Keep an eye out for some of that this month since I plowed through the audiobooks of Already Dead and No Dominion both of which should fit quite nicely under the hard-boiled theme.

Captain’s Fury by Jim Butcer
Redemption Ark by Alistair Reynolds
The God Engines by John Scalzi
Nyphron Rising by Michael J Sullivan
Arms-Commander by L. E. Modesitt Jr.
Gabriel Hunt at the Well of Eternity by Gabriel Hunt as told to James Reasoner

Review: Gabriel Hunt at the Well of Eternity

Gabriel Hunt at the Well of Eternity

Gabriel Hunt at the Well of Eternity
Gabriel Hunt (James Reasoner)
Leisure Books, 2009

First Line: Gabriel Hunt tugged at the tight collar around his neck and grimaced as he failed to loosen it.

Leisure Books is of course an imprint of Dorchester Publishing the same publishing house responsible for the Hard Case Crime imprint.  Of course none of this should be a surprise at since, as this review points out, the series is the brainchild of Charles Ardai; the man behind Hard Case crime.  I was first attracted to this series thanks to the clever use of the character’s name as the author.  While this somewhat meta-fictional conceit doesn’t extend to the rest of the novel and is traded for a straight-forward no-nonsense third-person narrative.  That isn’t necessarily a bad thing since Gabriel Hunt at the Well of Eternity was a brisk novel full of action, suspense, and excitement.

On Roleplaying

It’s time to Ramble On.

-Led Zeppelin

As I sat in a comfy chair last night, wearing my free Dragon Age t-shirt acquired at PAX ‘07, and playing through the opening scenes of Mass Effect 2 (my Mass Effect t-shit was, unfortunately, in the laundry) I cringed as a notice popped up about earning +4 to my Renegade rating.  I stopped for a minute reviewing the conversation I, or rather Commander Shepherd, just had.  I didn’t recall saying anything particularly “bad.”   I let the moment of sick panic pass and pushed onward secure my good deeds would erase whatever slight misstep I had taken.

You see in every Bioware game I’ve ever played I’ve always been good.  Multiple play-throughs of Baldur’s Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, etc.  All good.  I’ve tried to play evil.  I have, really.  But something always stops me short.  A sick sensation in the pit of my stomach as I lie, cheat and extort.  A cold sweat that breaks out as I exploit the weak  or turn my back on the downtrodden.  I always abandon the efforts, returning to my goody two-shoes tendencies.  With Mass Effect 2 there is a faint curiosity that pulls me towards the glowing orange of the Renegade.  Part of it is a function of story.  I died.  I was brought back.  Two years of my life are gone.  The world around me has changed.  But, have I?  Distrust still exists amongst the various races.  The Alliance left me for dead but Cerebus, whose scientists I slaughtered as a Spectre, brought me back.  The Council sits on its hands unable to act while humanity is threatened.  They’ve turned a blind eye towards the threat the Reapers represent.  Did my old tactics of cooperation and open handed assistance even matter?

I repeat, I’m only three hours into the game.  Maybe it’s nothing Bioware did.  Maybe it’s me.  But I find myself, more than any other game recently, involved on an emotional level with what’s happening.  But I find myself wishing that Bioware made it harder to know precisely how my actions will affect my “alignment.”  Perhaps it’s a holdover from earlier games but more so than any other time I could remember I wish the game would let me just choose without the knowledge of precisely what the nature of those decisions might be.  Mass Effect’s Paragon/Renegade alignment system is fascinating but the foreknowledge of how your words and actions will affect that scale robs me of a certain level of investment in the preceding.  The system is visible, allowing me too much leeway to telegraph my actions to reach the outcome I desire.  The decisions don’t really feel like mine.

I still don’t know why I can’t be evil.  You see.  If you have ever gamed with me at the table you might be surprised to learn about my inability to be even the slightest bit mean.   Scratch that.  You would definitely be surprised to learn that.  Truth be told, you might even refuse to believe me at all since  absolutely none of my tabletop D&D characters has ever been GOOD.  Ever.

Review: Arms-Commander by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Arms-Commander by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Arms-Commander
L. E. Modesitt Jr.
Tor, 2010

First Line: In the late afternoon on the Roof of the World, the guards stood silent on the practice ground, their eyes fixed on the blackness rising just above the western horizon as Istril stepped out of the main door of Tower Black and crossed the causeway.

As I mentioned when I first wrote about reading Arms-Commander this is my first Recluce novel since I read The Magic of Recluce some time after having plowed through the first couple of Wheel of Time novels.  I had forgotten precisely how odd the chronology of the series is where the first novel written is, in essence, is the penultimate tale in the series with the fifth novel written The Death of Chaos is actually the conclusion of the saga at large.  Needless to see for someone used a distinct beginning to end chronology in his fantasy Modesitt stands amongst a bare handful of fantasy authors whose series’ internal chronology leave me scratching my head in confusion (Katerine Kerr’s Deverry novels, and Steven Brust’s Draegaran novels, being two of the other that I struggle a bit with).  You read it hear first folks, non-linear story-telling confuses the hell out of me.

Despite my confusion as to the chronology of the Saga of Recluce the blurb for Arms-Commander had me a bit excited:

Arms-Commander takes place ten years after the end of The Chaos Balance and tells the story of the legendary Saryn. The keep of Westwind, in the cold mountainous heights called the Roof of the World, is facing attack by the adjoining land of Gallos. Arthanos, son and heir to the ailing Prefect of Gallos, wishes to destroy Westwind because the idea of a land where women rule is total anathema to him.

Saryn, Arms-Commander of Westwind, is dispatched to a neighboring land, Lornth, to seek support against the Gallosians. In the background, the trading council of Suthya is secretly and informally allied with Gallos against Westwind and begins to bribe lord-holders in Lornth to foment rebellion and civil war. They hope to create such turmoil in Lornth that the weakened land will fall to Suthya. But Zeldyan, regent of Lornth, has problems in her family. To secure Zeldyan’s aid, Saryn must pledge her personal support—and any Westwind guard forces she can raise—to the defense of Zeldyan and her son. The fate of four lands, including Westwind, rests on Saryn’s actions.

There are a number of points that jumped out at me in that little blurb, particularly the role of gender politics in the novel (not something every fantasy novel explores) and the hint of a blend of military action and politics.  Unfortunately while the novel certainly succeeds in delivering the latter it is on the former that I’m less certain.

Review: Nyphron Rising by Michael J Sullivan

Nyphron Rising by Michael J Sullivan

Nyphron Rising
Michael J Sullivan
Ridan Publishing, 2009

First Line: Amilia made the mistake of  looking back into Edith Mon’s eyes.

Nyphron Rising is the third book in Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations following both The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha.  The first novels set the bar rather high and I’m happy to report that Nyphron Rising manages to live up to its predecessors in just about every respect and even manages to pass them in some.  Following the events of the first two books the Nyphron Empire has reemerged from the ashes of history to threaten the kingdoms of Avryn.  Lead not so much by the prophesized return of the imperial heir but rather by a regency of corrupt church officials the new empire has managed to subsume a number of the surrounding nations leaving the kingdom of Melengar to more or less fend for itself.

As with any series Nyphron Rising is dependent upon the events of the previous volumes to place its story in context.  Where Avempartha and The Crown Conspiracy managed to stand relatively well on their own that is most definitely less the case for Nyphron Rising.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and Sullivan does a better job than most authors  in crafting a tale that, despite being reliant on the context set by his previous, stand confidently on its own two feet.  I still think that a reader walking in off the street, so to speak, would find Nyphron Rising an enjoyable read in and of itself but each novel is part of a greater whole that is slowly being uncovered.

Perhaps most surprising is that where both the previous volumes focuses more or less on the heroes of the series, the thieves Royce and Hadrian, in Nyphron Rising the duo actually ends up sharing center stage with the Princess Arista of Melengar.  While previous volumes in the series, and her reintroduction here, she is initially cast as something of the spoiled princess archetype the bulk of  the novel focuses on her emergence as an actual human being.  I was almost blindsided by this.  In fact when first reading from her perspective  I was mostly impatient to get on to more time with Royce and Hadrian.  However, the more time Sullivan, and the reader, spends with Arista the more she manages to come into her own.  Furthermore, rather than  upset the dynamic and flow that defines Royce and Hadrian she serves as an in, a means for the reader to observe the depth of the relationship between those two characters.  As the story progresses and Arista becomes more familiar with her companions she becomes less an observer and more a participant.

Nyphron Rising is a bit of a broader work then the previous entries as well.  While the main thread of the narrative focuses on Royce’s, Hadrian’s, and Arista’s attempts to gain allies for Melengar there is almost as much time spent on both the politics pushing the Nyphron Empire forward and the heir that is nominally its head.  As the first line indicates Sullivan also takes the time to introduce a new character, the good-natured and straight forward kitchen scullion Amilia.  Sympathetic and honest she is the reader’s anchor in the murky political and religious waters at the heart of the Nyprhon Empire.  Put into something of a difficult and wholly unexpected position by circumstances beyond her control Amilia’s chapters exemplify a fascinating blend of tension and heartwarming compassion that throws the bald power mongering around her into stark contrast.

Amidst introducing new characters, broadening the series’ overarching plot, and fleshing out old characters Sullivan somehow manages to squeeze in examining the history and upbringing of both Royce and Hadrian.  Along with Arista the two thieves manage to stop and visit the birthplaces and childhood homes of  both Royce and Hadrian.  The novel focuses a bit more intensely on Hadrian since his desire to retire from the thieving/spying business is one of the primary sources of tension between the two friends.  Given what we learned about Hadrian in Avempartha (which I’m not going to spoil here) Royce’s attempts to uncover more about Hadrian’s upbringing not only serve as a valuable means of further deepening Hadrian’s back story but a excellent way of learning more about the history of the world without an excess of long expository passages.

Indeed, Sullivan’s ability to add to his world and characters while remaining focused on the plot(s) on hand is impressive and serves to drive the novel forward at a breakneck pace.  There some occasional problems however, primarily with Sullivan telegraphing some of his character’s moves a bit too neatly.  Primarily this problem arises via Arista’s use of magic and her discoveries over the course of the novel early on chart almost directly into important developments towards the novel’s end.  In addition Arista’s sudden attachment to a rebellious leader late in the novel felt a bit contrived, but not so much as to be distracting or off putting; especially in light of what I saw as something of a growing rapport between Arista and Hadrian.  In truth I’m of the opinion these are minor problems that never really detracted one whit from my enjoyment of the novel.

If you are a fan of fantasy and have yet to check out the Riyria Revelations you might consider turning in your credentials. While I can’t recommend it as a starting point for new readers Nyphron Rising has raised the bar once again for future installments in the series.  Sullivan effortlessly blends an old school fantasy feel with a reinvigorating verve and an original voice that make it stand out from the crowd.  Of course there was one major problem with Nyphron Rising….it ended.   In addition to being available via your standard booksellers you can of course purchase the novels directly from the author as well and if you have the time don’t forget to check out his blog.  Meanwhile I’ll be anxiously twiddling my thumbs as I await news on Emerald Storm.

Review: The God Engines by John Scalzi

The God Engines by John Scalzi

The God Engines
John Scalzi
Subterranean Press, 2009

First Line: It was time to whip the god.

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that, despite being something a genre fanatic, that this is the first John Scalzi book I’ve read.  I’ve always had every intention to read Old Man’s War but that intent has never manifested itself into action; this is a fact I’m going to have to remedy.  The God Engines is a horror/fantasy novella that happens to take place in space; mostly.  Our protagonist, Ean Tephe, captains a spaceship whose main means of FTL propulsion just happens to be a god bound in chains.  Captain Tephe is part of an interstellar religious empire almost directly guided by their actual god.  Tephe’s God just happens to have subjugated and bound other gods.  The God Engines is an absolute page turner with vibrant living characters in a vividly depicted landscape.  While the ships in the novella are never discussed in specific detail my brain certainly saw them as something straight out of Battlefleet Gothic (or maybe the Universal Church of Truth with their penchant for worshiping formless squishy things); an image aided by the ominous tone of the novel.

Review: Redemption Ark by Alistair Reynolds

Redemption Ark by Alistair Reynolds

Redemption Ark
Alistair Reynolds
Ace, 2003 (mmpb, Ace, 2004)

First line: The dead ship was a thing of beauty.

Redemption Ark is the third book in Reynolds Revelation Space series.  I inadvertently skipped the second novel Chasm City but thankfully Reynolds’ fiction, despite being part of a larger overarching story, manages to stand well enough on its own and I never felt like I was really missing anything major.  As when I read Revelation Space the first thing that strikes me about Reynolds’ writing is the staid, deliberate pace.  I can’t qualify this in any meaningful way, it isn’t good or bad, but it is certainly an aspect of his writing that for me took some time to warm up to.  More so then Revelation Space, Redemption Ark delves a bit deeper into unfamiliar society, particularly the nearly post-human Conjoiners, and lingers more consistently on technologies that are both new and completely fascinating.  Reynolds is an idea man and barely a chapter passed by without some new and shiny bit of technological wonder to fire up my imagination.