Nyphron Rising Sample

I went to see if there was a solid release date for Michael Sullivan’s third book in the Riyria Revelation, Nyphron Rising and, while the date is still listed as a rather nebulous Octoboer 2009. I found out that there was a sample from chapter 1 posted there as well.  If you’ve yet to give this series a try I highly recommend you head on over and check out samples from the first two books The Crown Conspriacy and Avempartha. If you have had the pleasure of reading the series so far then by all means please check out the Chapter 1 sample from Nyphron Rising!

Looking Ahead Backwards

I won’t lie.  I’m taking a cue from Soulless Machine Review and posting a list of my reviews from the month of August.

August Reviews:

The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan
The Island by Tim Lebbon
By Heresies Distressed by David Webber
Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding
A Shadow In Summer by Daniel Abraham
Offworld by Robin Parish
A Betrayal In Winter by Daniel Abraham

Unlike last month, where I had no idea what I was going to read, the next few months are shaping up to be a bit more structured in terms of what I plan on reading.  During September I plan on making my way through a number of Steampunk titles in order to work my way up to Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker.  I have finished reading Justina Robson’s Keeping It Real and should have a review up of that by the end of the week.  As far the aforementioned steampunk titles go I’d like to get through Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti, Whitechapel Gods by S. M. Peters, and Soulless by Gail Carriger.  I am also slowly chipping away at Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson.  Dust of Dreams is good though in roughly 200 pages of reading that book I managed to get through 3 other books as well which should tell you something about its density.  Expect some kind of review though I might try to cook up something a bit different.  Will I stick to this schedule?  I hope so but don’t be surprised if some other serendipitous find somehow jumps the above list.

Gaming Bits and Weekend Recovery

You’d think that with a three day weekend here in the states that I would have got more reading done.  You’d be wrong.  I made the mistake of not properly planning what I want to read next which I means I have stupidly been splitting my time between about four different books.  The result being that I’ve made startlingly little progress in any of them.  Certain other distractions this weekend in the form of golf, grilled meats and Call of Duty 4 mean I made even less progress then I should have.  I’ll be hopefully buckle down and finally finish A Grey Moon Over China tonight.  It has been a slow read for that one, not a bad read mind, just slow and not the kind of pacing I’m used to, but more on that when I finally get a review up.

As mentioned I did purchase Call of Duty 4 only 2 years after its initial release.  I’ve only played the single player campaign so far but it has been enjoyable.  The game’s single player aim assist is a Godsend for the controller impaired.  It helps just enough to make me feel competent without feeling overpower.  Unfortunatley, I seriously doubt it works in multiplayer.  I find the sniper rifle implementation particularly smooth and the added ability to hold your breath and steady your aim is perhaps one of the simplest and most effective control tweaks I’ve seen; now if only I could stop moving my character when I press down on my left thumbstick.  The game is particularly good and capturing epic moments and creating tense adrennaline pumping moments.  Unfortunatley the game, while taking a fascinating multi-perspective narrative approach to tell what appears to be a fairly cohesive, and certainly engrossing, story, fails in getting you at all attached emotionally to any of your characters, or your computer controlled allies.  For me this haslead to a fairly detached gaming experience.

I’ve also picked up Left 4 Dead and have so far enjoyed my experience.  I’ve managed to make it through one of the “films” in the game Dead Air. I came close to completing another but me, and the rest of my group, were obliterated by a zombie horde mere feet from our escape boat.  I’ve been yet to convince any friends that Left 4 Dead is worth dropping $60 for (on the 360) and, truth be told, I can see there point.  Not that Left 4 Dead isn’t worth the money, but I can point to few games I’d really be willing to shell $60 for, especially since the PC version is $20 cheaper.  This is has left me playing the game with the “unwashed masses” on Xbox Live.  So far my first time was the best time, the straight run of Dead Air, but subsequent excursions have proved fun but less than stellar.  I was particularly disappointed that so few of the people I’ve played with were taking advantage of voice chat which in an almost purely co-op experience should be mandatory.  I’ve yet to try either Versus or Survival mode but if they’re even half as fun as the regular game they’ll still be a blast.

I’ve also been slowly working my way though the latest Prince of Persia game.  It has been a surprisingly pleasant experience so far, but one that feels perhaps a bit too easy.  On the one hand the simplicity of the controls lends a certain degree of fluidity to the game.  There is a collection element to the game and, oddly enough, that (rather than the story) has been my favorite element so far.  As you collect the “seeds of light” there are moments when you hit a rhythmn traversing the various levels that is particularly soothing.  There are some sticking point in the game, especially for an anti-platformer like me, but by and large Prince of Persia is kind of like a pleasant walk in the park; not terribly taxing but surprisingly refreshing.  Again, as pleasant as it is, there hasn’t been anything to really grab me.  At this point in the game the titular Prince is only a thief and I’m not even sure he is a prince at this point.   The game does require a fair bit of backtracking which I find a bit tedious.  I’m not sure if I’ll end up finishing it or sending it back to Gamefly for another game.

There are only two games on the near horizon that I’m really looking forward to: Prototype and Ghostbusters.  The Ghostbusters game is the next best thing to a new movie (which we are supposed to bet getting as well) and looks to capture the feel of films quite nicely.  I really don’t know what to expect out of Prototype but I do know that the videos of slaughter, carnage, and mayhem with weird genetic powers and strange biological enhancements tickles some sick fantasy in the dark recesses of my own mind.

Anyway, that’s about it.  Hopefully I’ll have a review for A Grey Moon Over China up sometime Wednesday.

Upcoming Posts/Reads/Games

Thanks to certain people I may add a “vampire” month to my reading/viewing especially if I manage to get tickets to see Let the Right One In at the Angelika Film Center in NY towards the end of next month.  For now here is a list on the reviews I’m working, books I’m reading, books I plan to read and games I’m looking out for in the coming months.

Forthcoming Reviews:

Jedi Twilight by Michael Reeves (finished, but sitting on my laptop)

Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan (I just reviewed a Morgan book so I decided to hold off a bit on this review)

Current Reads:

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie (50%)

A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge (25%)

From Asgard to Valhalla: the Remarkable History of the North Myths by Heather O’Donoghue (10%)

Upcoming Reads:

Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian Cameron Esslemont

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe (late Sep.)

Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazney (via Abebooks.com)

Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Stugatsky

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (Oct.)

Backup by Jim Butcher (Oct.)

Games I’m Keeping My Eye On:

Duke Nuke 3D: XBLA (Sep.)

Rock Band 2 (Sep. 16 or Oct. 19)

STALKER: Clear Sky (Sep. 16)

The Witcher: Enhanced (Sep. 16)

Crysis: Warhead (Sep. 16)

Armored Core: For Answer (Sep. 16)

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Sep. 16)

Fracture (Oct. 7)

Dead Space (Oct. 14)

Far Cry 2 (Oct. 21)

Fable 2 (Oct. 21)

Legendary (Oct. 21, maybe Nov. 4)

Fallout 3 (Oct. 28)

Mirror’s Edge (Nov. 11)

Left 4 Dead (Nov. 17)

Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir (Nov. 18)

The Last Remnant (Nov. 20)

Top Fives: Part 1 (libri)

I thought about doing a list of top 10 books but decided against it. In its place I’m going to try for a list of top fives from a number of different media. At the very list you’ll get a list of my top five books (today) and top five albums. I may decide to do movies, comics, and video games later, we’ll see.

5. Reaper’s Gale by: Steven Erikson

In terms of sheer consistent awesome few authors can even touch Erikson. Interesting characters, action, violence, and magic on an epic scale. Probably my third favorite in the series (after Deadhouse Gates and The Bonehunters) Reaper’s Gale is a worthy addition to the Malazan Book of the Fallen series.

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4. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Old school pulp action in the truest sense. A great action fantasy yarn with interesting characters. Robert E. Howard meets Robert Jordan. Britain always gets the best first.

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3. Acacia: the War With the Meain by David Anthony Durham

A dark fantasy in a realistic setting by author known for his historical fiction. Low magic, evocative descriptions, fascinating family dynamics and a dash of mystery add up to make an interesting, exciting first fantasy.

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2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Classic end to a classic series. An obvious pick I know but a worthy read for child in all of us.

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1. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus

BEST. FANTASY. IN. YEARS. Seriously, one is hard pressed to find a veteran author with a book this good let alone a debut novel. Must read fantasy of the year.

Review: Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds

Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds

Ace, 2000

Review:
When reading sci-fi I find I gravitate towards stories with that feature humans (or something resembling a human) explore/discover the remnants of a dead advanced civilisation. The Martian elements of Richard Morgan’s Takeshi Kovacs novels are an excellent example (Broken Angels and Woken Furies in particular). This aspect of my reading habbit is what initially drew me to Revelation Space and, while the discorvery of ancient alien mysteries plays a part in the unfolding story, it is in the end eclipsed by the rather expansive nature of Reynold’s tale. The plot revolves around Dan Sylveste’s quest to discover the reason why an ancient alien species was wiped out completely, at the same time we get a starship’s quest to save it’s dying captain, an assassin lurking in the shadows, and potentially murderous synthetic lifeforms.

The novel gets off to a rather slow start and I found my interest hindered by the constant shifts between Sylveste, Triumvir Volyova, and Ana Khouri. The initial introduction to each didn’t seem to linger long enough to generate any major interest; at least in terms of plot. All three characters are well drawn, given enough eccentricity to draw them away from genre cliche, and situated in three interesting and diverse worlds. And while each of the settings used for these characters are interesting their geographic isolation from one another really stalls the plot and, unfortunatley, it isn’t until about halfway through the book that these three worlds converge and the action heats up.

While I found the Revelation space enjoyable it was not by any means a page-turner and I felt the Reynold’s writing wasn’t quite up to generating the level of supsense necessary to keep readers coming back for more. At the same time I can’t really fault his writing and I found that I really did enjoy his work. There are elements of the story that set my imagination running in particular the massive ship Nostalgia for Infinity could probably be the subject of a whole book itself. Reynolds did an excellent job of conjuring the mystery and hidden history of the ship enough so that I wish it had played a more central role in the plot.

Desipte the novel’s shortcomings I think it was a worthy read, especially for someone relatively new to the science fiction genre (I’m a fantasy fan mostly) looking to explore the genre. It serves as an excellent contrast to the more adventure/action heavy science fiction of Bujold (Miles Vorkosgian) and Weber (Honor Harrington). Revelation Space touches on some interesting themes, most notably the cost of science. Some of the elements in the story touch on the divide between cyberpunk and postcyberpunk fiction in particular when discussing the nature of humanity. Overall a recommended read.

Final Grade: B-

The Late Great Robert Jordan…

I’ve put off discussing Jordan’s death for a while now.   He is, in effect, the author that started this whole mess.  My first fantasy novel was Eye of the World and I have since devoured just about anything in the genre since.  Admittedly Jordan’s work was the center of a lot of joking amongst friends, especially during the later volumes,  but his work has always, and will always, retain a special place in my heart.  I have grown up alongside Rand al’Thor, Perrin Ayabara, and Matrim Cauthon and going back to Jordan’s work is like coming home again.  I have ceased trying to explain to others quite how I feel about the Wheel of Time series, it’s hard explaining how you view a writer, characters, and a world you’ve been around for more than a decade but I do know that Jordan being unable to complete his tale and that leaves a rather large vacancy in the world of fantasy at large and in my reading life.  So Mr. Rigney:  “May you shelter in the palm of the Creator’s hand, and may the last embrace of the mother welcome you home.”

For a far better articulation of what Jordan meant to us “hardcore” fantasy fans check out Fantasy Book Critic’s post.