Another three books I have been able to add to my stash, all three published in 2011. First is The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco. Although not all his works are of great quality, they are always interesting reads. Second is The Straight Razor Cure, the debut novel of Daniel Polansky. I had the feeling this one might turn out more interesting than others. Third is Vengeance by Ian Irvine. The first book of a brand new series called The Tainted Realm. I have read all of his Three World Cycle series and he always manages to provide an original and interesting read, so I will see if this one will manage similarly or maybe do something different.
Three from eleven
May 20th, 2012Adrian Cole – The Sword Of Shadows
May 18th, 2012With a trilogy you know the third book is the end of the story, but when the books are less than 200 pages, the end comes quick. The Sword Of Shadows (2011) is the third volume of the Voidal Trilogy by Adrian Cole, an epic dark fantasy consisting of a series of connected short stories. The original stories date 25 to 35 years back. To complete the trilogy Cole wrote new stories with the main difference that they have a stronger connection as it was his aim to complete the story. Subsequently the effect is that with each volume the independent story element has become weaker. The stories of The Sword Of Shadows feel more like chapters although Cole still tries to give each chapter a beginning and end.
With its short length and short shorty arcs the plot is mainly filled with action. Little time is spent on reflection or character development. Still it is not absent. The different characters are quite distinct and original, which can be seen as a consequence of the strange and weird universe Cole has created. Normal is not a word that can be put on the creatures, beings and persons that inhabit his universe. There are few rules and Cole simply lets his imagination run free. Just this provides a great reading experience as Cole also uses a stylized easy readable prose to tell this tale of mysterious powers.
There is not much else to say about this novel except the ending. Throughout the series I kept guessing about the truth of the mysteries that spurred the stories and the main characters on. I came fairly close to the right answer, but Cole managed to surprise me in a magnificent way. As such he presented a great and original end for the story which was probably one of his earliest ideas for writing this tale. It puts all the earlier stories together and is an excellent explanation for the sequence of events. A good ending is not that easy to write. At a certain point you have read many variations and getting surprised rarely happens. What does work is making sure the reader can’t guess beforehand what the end will be. It does require that the unexpected ending works and satisfies, else it is still not a good ending. Either way, just the great conclusion is a great bonus to this story. Highly recommended.
Adrian Cole – The Long Reach Of Night
May 14th, 2012The Long Reach Of Night (2011) by Adrian Cole is the second volume of the Voidal Trilogy. It has the rather unique format of consisting of a series of connected short stories. While the first volume Oblivion Hand seemed to have more random episodes The Long Reach Of Night starts to form a genuine plot development. In a way this is a good thing as each book is less than 200 pages long and to reach a conclusion of this epic dark fantasy tale there has to be some serious progress. Cole wrote the short stories about the Voidal, a cursed being who had little control over his actions, 25 to 35 years ago and never completed them. After a first collection of stories published in Oblivion Hand he decided to complete the tale. There were a number of other short stories left so it isn’t a surprise that while he sticks to the original format the new ‘stories’ have a greater focus because Cole just wants to write what is necessary to complete the tale.
The remarkable short length of the books and the short story format keep the pace and action fairly high. Because of the episodic nature he only needs to use those which are required. The stories thrive on the weirdness of the settings which are reminiscent of Michael Moorcock’s Elric stories and other Multiverse novels. The prose is also stylized but quite more readable than Moorcock’s and the stories have a stronger focus. Cole keeps his mysteries well locked, only slowly giving small bits of information. Of course the Elric novels lacked a base of mysteries for the stories as they were aimed more at weird adventures than otherwise. Although the Voidal stories contain little characterization, there is some, and there are always the questions about the weirdness of the whole chaotic universe in which the stories take place. One could call that a different kind of characterization. Is there a greater scheme or is this just how it is?
Because of the episodic format the story in itself is pretty straightforward as the setting keeps changing with different characters being introduced. This does keep the reader fresh as each setting provides new weirdness to explore and wonder about. It is a cesspool of imagination. I name it that because the settings are often dark and creepy, although Cole stays way from making it depressing or horrific.
When I read my first Voidal stories over a decade ago I knew this was great stuff, although not of a groundbreaking level. Just good fantasy. I was confirmed on this opinion when I obtained the first volume a couple of years ago. Personally I think it is impressive that Cole managed to find the exact same tone and style for writing the new stories as it has been over 25 years ago since he did last. Of course he kept writing and as I don’t know the original versions of the republished stories he could have rewritten them to obtain overall coherence. Anyways. This is some great stuff which deserves to be promoted more. It may lack complexity or details like most fantasy these days aim for, but it is refreshingly original and provides an old-style feeling from when fantasy was still far off the mainstream reader. Highly recommended.
Stephen King & Peter Straub – Black House
May 12th, 2012Often my reviews contain first time reads, but as an enjoyed book is always worthwhile for later, I do add the occasional re-read. Black House (2001), which I read first almost ten years ago, is the second joint novel of Stephen King and Peter Straub and a somewhat standalone sequel to their previous joint novel The Talisman. In this period of writing, most books Stephen King wrote have elements relating to the Dark Tower series and so does this one. We actually learn some different things of the background of the at the time still ongoing series, although they remain minor in reference. For fans of that series, this is a reason for reading this book as well and as such it feels more like a Stephen King novel than something else.
Black House contains elements of the horror, fantasy and detective genre. At times it is nasty and brutal, while it is also scintillating and tragic, which seems to be something typical for King’s style. I mainly read his Dark Tower (related) novels, so I can’t say how it works out in his other books. I’ve read nothing of Peter Straub’s work, so I can’t say which parts belong to him. There are two things that do stand out.
First is a very strong third person narrative in the form of an actual narrator talking to the reader most of the time, which is something I haven’t seen Stephen King use. To me it was not a likeable narrator as he was telling the story without personal feeling. The emotions were for the sake of the story-telling and not about the characters. The narrator also had a habit of taking too much time shifting from scene to scene, making these parts longwinded and not very interesting.
The second thing, which for me carried the story, was the powerful characterization of the many average American characters. This is one of King’s strong writing skills and at times I was quite blown away with the easy manner of how he brings them to life so distinctly. It has been some years since I read a King novel, so I am better at noticing and comparing these things.
Another King element, I assume, is that the elderly play an important part again, like he did in Insomnia and Hearts In Atlantis. With this I don’t mean a few old people have a role, but that the elderly community is involved and that certain parts of the story revolve about it.
The plot itself is quite engaging, shifting from horror to fantasy or detective with ease. All of this is interwoven with character scenes creating a multitude of strands which form a greater weave for the whole story. At times these strands seem to cross each other too often, especially as the story takes place over a relatively short time. Certain scenes are sometimes retold from different viewpoints to create a more dynamic picture. Now that I think back it is partially because of those many strands and details that are added to the story that you have the feeling that there happens too much while it does not really do so.
The downside effect of all these strands and details, combined with the longwinded narratives when shifting between scenes and the sometimes replaying of scenes from different viewpoints, is that the book is quite long. Too long in my opinion. Perhaps 100 or 200 pages could have been cut, making the story tighter and more powerful. It isn’t bad to have details. It is just that one does not have to spend time on every little character who plays something of a role in the story. Sometimes it just doesn’t matter.
Obviously as I’ve re-read the book it is certainly enjoyable. I’m no fan of horror, so certain nasty scenes I did not enjoy. Luckily they are few so that was bearable enough. The long length of the book and the not-likeable main narrative are reasons why I don’t consider it a great book. Nevertheless it is recommendable for its powerful characterizations and the Dark Tower references.
A case of un-rarity
May 6th, 2012About 15 years ago I bought three collections of high quality short fantasy stories. They contained a lot of older works and several authors I had never heard of before. Two stories by Adrian Cole, written in the late seventies and early eighties piqued my interest. The stories were related to each other and told a tale of a person named the Voidal who had been terribly punished by a group of gods for some unknown crime and who was forced to live a cursed life he could not control. Finding more stories seemed impossible. These were the early days of the internet and webstores were still in their early stages. I could only think: “Maybe one day”. I’m a patient man and I’ve seen rare items pop up suddenly when least expected.
A couple of years ago I was looking for some interesting books to look for on the web. I remembered the stories by Adrian Cole and I was happy to discover a collection of the Voidal stories named The Hand Of Oblivion, published in 2001, although it was not complete. At least I could read more, although it wasn’t as cheap as a normal book. Considering the possible rare audience who would be interested in such a format – a tale told through a series of related short stories – I simply accepted it for it’s rarity. I quite enjoyed it, like I did with the two stories I already knew. Information on Adrian Cole was limited so I had no idea if anything more was in the stage for this rare tale to be completed. Again patience and hope were all I had.
Recently I once again did a search for Adrian Cole in a few webstores and I was stunned to find out two new Voidal story collections had been released in 2011, naming them to be books 2 and 3 of the Voidal Trilogy, being titled The Long Reach Of Night and The Sword Of Shadows. A quick peak showed they contained the few leftover Voidal stories from 30 years ago while Cole had added the remaining tales about Voidal where they were required within the overall plot for these two completing collections. As they are newly published the tales about the Voidal are now available again and their status as rarity, for the time being, is gone. Joy is mine now that I can finally find out what happens next and what is really going on.
For those who wonder what kind of fantasy the Voidal stories are I can say it is dark fantasy with similarities to the works of Jack Vance (mainly the more gloomy Dying Earth tales), Michael Moorcock (Elric but also other novels) and Tanith Lee (Tales From The Flat Earth and the Lionwolf series). Although there are resemblances it is a unique universe and fans of those three authors will certainly like it.
Queen’s Day Bargains 2
April 30th, 2012Like the year before Queen’s Day in the Netherlands is ideal for getting cheap book bargains as people are free to put the stuff they don’t want anymore for sale on the street. This year I picked up three books. The first two are a Science Fiction duology by Dan Simmons: Ilium (2003) and Olympus (2005). I’m a fan of Simmons’ Hyperion Saga, although I haven’t tried his other works, so now is the chance to do so. The third is the historical novel The Quincunx, The Heritage Of John Huffam (1989), by Charles Palliser. On the last novel I had heard some praises by friends in the past but for some reason I hadn’t picked it up yet.
Glenda Larke – Stormlord Rising
April 22nd, 2012Starting in the second book of a trilogy is not always the wisest thing to do as they often suffer from the middle book syndrome: the beginning is less developed and continuing on from previous events while there is no ending as it has too many open storylines which are only completed in the last volume. On the other side I do like not having a beginning in which all the characters are introduced (really in that sense) before anything interesting happens. It means I have to read with greater attention to understand the situation.
It has been a while since I started in a later book than the first in a series. Stormlord Rising (2009) is the second book of the Watergivers Trilogy by Glenda Larke. It is a non-mainstream fantasy series, which is already a good thing as I don’t like mainstream because, as the name implies, it’s all too similar. Just finding a series that does not contain any tropes makes me happy. The next question that arises is if, even when it avoids the tropes, manages to create something new that is worth reading.
This is not an epic fantasy which means the scope of the setting and the story is limited. The limited setting means that Larke does not have to spend too much time on world-building or traveling as it is all within hand-reach and related to each other. It is also a more simple world as the environment is harsh. This means Larke does not require to create much complexity or pretend otherwise. There are some weaknesses. During the reading I did not really notice them. It was when I wasn’t reading and had some time to think that I had some questions. In that sense it is well done. If it bothers during the reading it will dampen the reading pleasure. At least it does so for me.
What can I write about the plot, development and characterization? What struck me was that it was all so solid. Not exceptional, exciting or powerful. Not long-winded, dull or poor. I could find no real weakness and no things that stood out. The last author I had this feeling with was Daniel Abraham. There is sufficient attention to the development of the different characters. The plot development keeps a steady pace and does not drag down or rush too much. It is all well balanced. I coined it ‘writing by the book’ as if they are following the rules. Now that I think of it, Abraham also only had weaknesses in his world-building, which is the part for which there are no rules as they are defined by your story. When writing something non-mainstream without known elements you cannot determine what is required or should be avoided. Either way, solid writing is no bad thing. It provides an enjoyable read, especially as there is little to get annoyed about.
If there is a downside to solid writing is that the characters are also balanced out. Now that I am comparing Larke and Abraham it is striking that they both use characters either with strong morals or with flawed morals. I say flawed, because they are not weak, just imperfect. There intentions are understandable and not really bad. You just know it will not lead to the right results. On the other side the good characters are certainly not perfect either. This is of course normal. The thing is the presentation by the author. I simply don’t really like the main good characters. I don’t care much about them. There is a lack of connection. The main good characters are too similar in setup. They seem too formulaic. They may be build with different stones and material, but their structure is much the same.
Before I started writing this review I didn’t think I could find weaknesses for this book. It is one of my best talents as it is easier for me to find what is wrong and explain why then spend a lot of time on praising what is good. I have to say first that I do recommend this novel. It is a fairly refreshing non-mainstream fantasy novel. It is an enjoyable read without weak parts and always entertaining. There is magic, but it is limited and while not described in detail this is not required. Magic does not always require an explanation or system as it is also something that cannot be easily explained and a mysterious ability.
Another good thing about this second book is that it pretty much avoids the middle book syndrome. One does fall into the story from the start. Larke does provide sufficient references to earlier events so the reader is up to date. The downside is that she does it a bit too much. I got a pretty good image of the events and plot of the first book. Well, these things happen, so I will just have to wait a longer time before reading the first book so I will have forgotten most of it.
The plot of Stormlord Rising is also not just a sequence of events that have no beginning or end. Most of the main characters get a new storyline (withing the main plot) that also ends at the end of the book. The second book could easily have been the end of the trilogy. Nevertheless there are still a number of open strands that have to be resolved, which will no doubt happen in the third book.
So my ultimate conclusion is that I want to read more books by Glenda Larke. Certainly the third book and I will also look out for her earlier works.
Cheap gains
April 16th, 2012Discounts are always nice, especially when books are still almost new, although lightly damaged. So I picked up two fantasy novels, both from 2009. The first one is First Lord’s Fury, the sixth and final book of the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. I still miss book 5, but the offer was too good to let it go. I will just have to wait until I find a cheap copy of that one. It’s not a series I’m that enthusiast about. Nevertheless I just like to finish the series after reading the first four books and it it’s not that bad.
The second one is Stormlord Rising, the second book of the The Watergivers trilogy by Glenda Larke. It’s not ideal that it’s not the first book. Chances are that it spoils too much about what happened before. That is always a gamble. Either way, it is something new, so I will give it a try. At least I won’t have wasted much money.