Review: The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas

The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas

The Adamantine Palace
Stephen Deas
Orion UK, 2009 (US: Roc, Feb. 2010)

Stephen Deas’ debut The Adamantine Palace is a strong debut though not without its problems.  The world of The Adamantine Palace is ruled by several Kings and Queens who in turn are, if not ruled, at least mediated by a Speaker who sits in the titular palace.  The power of the nobles of the world stems from what looks like a combination of perceived divine mandate and the harnessing of dragons.  The novel follows the tumultuous events that occur when one dragon, Snow a perfect white, is lost and unable to be tended by the mysterious alchemists as all dragons are.  Amidst this several powerful nobles vie for the role of Speaker double dealing and politicking their way to the top.  Politics, betrayal and violence ensue spinning a tangled web of consequences.  Perhaps the most startling thing, for me at least, and a potential detriment to many readers is the difficulty in finding a protagonist.

Fake Curses

When finishing a fantasy novel, particularly a Robert Jordan or Steven Erikson novel, I typically find that I want to add their diverse list of swear words/phrases to my own lexicon.  After reading a section feature the one-eyed soldier Uno I find I want to make every other word of my sentence ”flaming” or “bloody” or, before a particularly trying moment in my own life, I occasionally want to mutter ‘Blood and bloody ashes.”  Sometimes I want to throw out a “fish guts” or whisper a certain phrase in the Old Tongue before trying my luck at something difficult.

When it comes to Erikson the curses are particularly inventive and, should I ever choose to inject them into my day-to-day speech, likely all the more perplexing to those around me.  Phrases like “Hood’s breath,” or my particular favorites “Togg’s teats” and “Hood’s balls” would likely draw confused stares from friends and strangers alike.  Oddly though Jordan and Erikson are the only author’s whose made-up curses really stick in my head.  Are there others out there?  Does anyone have any other fantasy based explicatives they are fans of?

Review: Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson

Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson

Dust of Dreams
Steven Erikson
Bantam, 2009 [UK] (Forthcoming Jan. 2010 U.S.)

More and more I find that reviewing Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series a difficult prospect.  There is a less of a problem reviewing Ian C. Esselmont’s books set in the same world, they are typically stand-alone novels, but in series as large and sprawling as this one it becomes harder and harder to review as the series has gone on.  Which makes Dust of Dreams, the penultimate volume (really part 1 of a 2 part novel), a bit difficult to review.  Things are even more difficult here because for some reason my heart just wasn’t in this read.  890 pages read in half hour spurts (my lunch break) since I received the book in August means things aren’t exactly fresh in my mind.  Even my co-workers, frequently observant of the near roulette speed with which my lunching reads change, were quick to point out (and chide) at my glacial trek through Dust of Dreams.

As with any late series review I recommend not reading on if you’ve haven’t read earlier volumes.

Sa souvraya niende misain ye: Identity and The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm
Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Tor, 2009

There have been a number of well-written reviews for The Gathering Storm.  So rather then belaboring many of the points covered elsewhere or echoing the slightly off-putting voice Sanderson employed for a one Matrim Cauthon (though the elderly aunt conversation did have me literally laugh out loud but there was something vaguely Erikson in that exchange) or even summarizing the plot up until this point I will recommend that you check one of the many fine reviews already out there.  Instead I’d like to take the time to look at, and praise, the theme that runs through the entirety of novel: identity.

WARNRING: There are likely spoilers below!  If you haven’t read the book yet reading beyond this point might ruin some things for you.

Looking Back at October

Well, I admit I kind of lost a bit of steam towards the end there.  I am in the midst of Who Goes There and a couple of stories into Lovecraft Unbound and, if or when I finish, I’ll get some shorter reviews/commentary up.  Of course the last week of October had significant distractions including a certain Gathering Storm not to mention a Halloween Party and metal concert (both of which rocked).  Moving into November I’m going to be tackling fantasy once again.  This week should see a post on The Gathering Storm and Dust of Dreams.  From there I’m going to be sticking to a bunch of sequels I’ve been meaning to read; we’ll see how far I get.  In the meantime here is my list of October reviews:

Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi #3: Abyss [Audiobook]
The World More Full of Weeping by Robert J. Wiersema
The Tel Aviv Dossier by Lavie Tidhar and Nir Yaniv
The Space Between by Erik Tomblin
Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires by Steven-Elliot Altman
The Revenant Road by Michael Boatman
Locke and Key Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft

A look At the Mountains of Madness

At the Mountains of Madness is, perhaps more then or at least alongside The Call of Cthulhu (and maybe The Shadow Over Innsmouth), H. P. Lovecraft’s magnum opus. At the Mountains of Madness is narrated by William Dyer, a geologist who is penning the story as warning for an expedition to the Antarctic; an expedition whose goal it is to further examine and verify the finds that Dyer and his compatriots discovered on their journey. The discovery of evidence indicating not only the existence of life, but an entire civilization that predates all things known to man at first appears wondrous but quickly shifts into the horrific as events unfold.

Review: Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Locke and Key Vol. 1

Locke and Key Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
Words by Joe Hill
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez
IDW, 2008

As we move into the last week of October I’m be spending the remainder of my time exploring some Lovecraft and Lovecraft influenced fiction.  While not quite Lovecraftian in tone and theme Hill & Rodriguez’s series Locke and Key, the first arc of which is collected in this trade, name their island setting Lovecraft in honor of the New England author.  The novel begins with an almost idyllic summer afternoon spent with typical teenage griping but veers sharply into darker territory as the father of Bodie, Ty, and Kinsey Locke is murdered by a deranged student.  What appears at first to be a simple act by a deranged entity is slowly revealed to be something of dark portent and more supernatural bent.

Following the death of their father the remaining Locke family, the children and their mother, move in with their Uncle to the ominously named Keyhouse.  There the graphic novel takes a rather poignant look at how each of the children is coping not only with the grief of their father’s death, but with the lingering fear left by the harrowing events that saw him dead.  Each deals with it in a different way Ty’s quiet and somewhat dangerous stoicism and Kinsey’s desire to fade into part of the crowd but perhaps the most poignant and disturbing is that the youngest child Bodie.

Review: The Revenant Road by Michael Boatman

The Revenant Road by Michael Boatman

The Revenant Road
Michael Boatman
Drollerie Press, 2009

Names are important to me.  Especially names in fiction.  I’m of the opinion that you can tell a lot about a fictional character on name alone and that a bad name can ruin a good a character.  So when I came across the name Obadiah Grudge a huge smile spread across my face.  I’ve come across few names that are as evocative, original, and fun as Obadiah Grudge; it is a name that fits the character like a glove.  The Revenant Road is humorous and over-the-top action/horror novel filled with great dialogue and creative world-building.

The story begins with the death of Obadiah’s father, Marcus.  It is quickly revealed to Obadiah, first by his mother Lenore (another great name!) and then by his father’s former partner Neville (the “crusty prophet;” a description that somehow manages to work to surprising effect) that Marcus comes from a long line of monster hunters.  Obadiah, a successful if somewhat hacky writer of crime thrillers, of course doesn’t believe, or at least doesn’t want to believe, in this new world.  As it happens Obadiah is constantly thrust, kicking and screaming, into a world he doesn’t want to believe and is forced to confront the presence of the weird in his life since a very young age.

Review: Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires

Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires

Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires
Steven-Elliot Altman
Hells Kitchen Press, 1997

I feel kind of bad reviewing this book since it isn’t in print anymore and doesn’t seem to available for less then $32 from used vendors; I’ll do my best to keep this short.  Its limited availability is unfortunate since it was a thoroughly enjoyable read chock full of awesome.  During a time where many have begun to bemoan the lack of originality in the vampire tale or, perhaps more commonly, the “defanging” of the vampire Altman’s Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires is both an original take on the vampire story and simultaneously a defanging and an elevation of badassery.   While it possible to read this as a spoof I think that it comes off with a whole lot more B-movie charm and an air of detached cool that elevates a notch (or three) above your average horror spoof.  It is, in essence, an mash-up of martial arts action and vampiric horror that is an exciting and engrossing read.

This! Is! THE PROMISED LAND!

Yes, I know the title makes no sense seeing as how God denied Moses the Promised Land, but bear with me here.

Any article that mentions Moses, Moby Dick, and 300 is well worth a look.  The skinny being:

Twentieth Century Fox will develop a retelling of the story of Moses, from his near death as an infant to his adoption into the Egyptian royal family, his defiance of the Pharaoh and deliverance of the Hebrews from enslavement…in a post-apocalyptic wasteland

Ok, I added that post-apocalyptic bit.  Though the truth isn’t any more ridiculous.

The article also mentions that the same scripwriters attached to this Moses project also worked on a  Moby Dick that “was pitched as a “300″-like reimagining of the Melville story as a visually stunning action piece, and the story of Moses is conceived similarly.”

I didn’t add anything to that quote by the way.  Sometimes Hollywood makes me question my sanity….and not in the good way.

Original article here.