REVIEW SUMMARY: Provides an interesting look behind the scenes of video game development, not such a strong story.

MY RATING:

SYNOPSIS: After years of drifting through post-college life Russell joins Black Arts, a video game developer founded by friends of his from high school. He is unexpectedly thrust into a leadership role and forced to solve the mystery behind a bug that could ruin the new game and have more far-reaching consequences besides…

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Written by someone with experience in the field; gives a sense of appreciation for things largely taken for granted in video games.
CONS: Nostalgia is expected to carry much of the book; very little conflict; uninteresting and shallow characters; confusing format and perspective shifts.
BOTTOM LINE: There is probably enough decent material here to fill a movie, definitely not enough to float a 400 page novel. There’s too much nostalgia and not enough substance.

You get a package in the mail from SF Signal. You rip it open, it’s Christmas in May! Inside is a hardbound copy of Austin Grossman’s latest novel, a fictional look inside the world of professional game makers. You’re excited to begin reading it. You haven’t read Austin’s Soon I Will Be Invincible but it sits on your overflowing shelf. You’ve seen some great review for Austin’s latest, comparing it to Ready Player One by Ernest Clines and Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club. You have read (and loved) The Magicians and The Magician King, books written by Austin’s brother Lev Grossman. You are anxious to begin and so you curl up on the hideous burnt orange couch in the living room and start reading…
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We asked this week’s panelists…

Here’s what they said…

When it comes to some of the best action I’ve read, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point you to Ilona Andrews—notably, her Kate Daniels series. This urban fantasy leans heavily on action, outlining the motion—and painting the intensity—in gorgeous detail that skimps on flowery prose. No superhero with impossible pain tolerance, you’re transported with Kate with every cut, every wound, every agony. When I think about authors and books that feature action, I can’t help but arrow right on this series.

Two other authors that come to mind are Chuck Wendig and Stephen Blackmoore. Both write a kind of urban fantasy genre, but both are extremely different. Wendig’s Miriam Black series—beginning with Blackbirds—shows action with an almost fascinating intensity. He describes combat sequences that aren’t so much “fights” as a grotesquely detached explanation of events that could go wither way. Blackmoore, in both City of the Lost and Dead Things, colors his often vicious action sequences with a noir grit you can feel to your bones. They are terse, which only allows my brain to color in the details with such ease that I’m both repelled and entranced. Exactly where I want to be when I pick up a Blackmoore or Wendig book.

Action can be so hard to get right, and extremely easy to get lost in. Too much detail slows down a scene, and a lot of beginning authors tend to want to block and write every gorgeous detail—like an epic martial arts movie scene. It takes a certain understanding of physical capability, some blocking, and the ability to curtail one’s prose to keep the scene going sharp, fast, tight, like an actual fight is. It’s a hard skill to learn, but one worth every moment spent revising to learn it. A reader caught up in the intensity and speed of a fight is one who is there for every breathless moment.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: Bound to appeal to fans of zombies and superheroes alike!

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The apocalypse has come and gone, the undead roam the streets of L.A. and superheroes like Mighty Dragon, Zzzap, Cerberus, Gorgon, and Stealth must protect what few living remain.

MY REVIEW
PROS: Cool heroes; original explanation of zombie virus effects and origin; good use of both genres; exciting action; flashbacks flesh out characters; cool setting.
CONS: Too many interchangeable regular people; somewhat boring villain; over too soon.
BOTTOM LINE: Ex-Heroes is a fun genre mash-up that pits superhumans against ex-humans. If ever a book had the potential for a Hollywood blockbuster, this is it.

How has Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines not been adapted for film yet? Really, I want to know? There’s no reasonable excuse I can imagine. Given the enormous popularity of superheroes and zombies, the major success of Marvel’s shared world movies and AMC’s The Walking Dead, it seems like a no-brainer (ha ha) that Ex-Heroes would make the ultimate Box Office killer. Someone call up the studios, I’m about to earn a commission.
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REVIEW SUMMARY: Extremely strong debut, flintlock fantasy at its best.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The Vordanai Colonial regiment believes their miserable time in Khandar to be coming to a close – that is until a clever new Colonel arrives with a batch of reinforcements. With a force only 4,000 men strong, the Colonel intends to reclaim the city of Ashe-Katarion from a numerically superior force of rebels, raiders, and religious fanatics.

MY REVIEW
PROS: Excellent action scenes that display a wealth of military knowledge; unexpectedly strong female presence; clever world building; good characters.
CONS: If martial fiction isn’t your cup of tea you might not want to crash this party.
BOTTOM LINE: Wexler’s debut will appeal to fans of fantasy and fans of military fiction. I cannot wait for the next book of The Shadow Campaigns.
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In celebration of Women in Genre Month we ask some of our favorites about some of their favorites!

We asked this week’s panelists…

Here’s what they said…

My favorite female author is Ursula K. LeGuin. I started reading her in the late sixties and have never stopped. Her best work combines genuine, multi-dimensional characters with “thought experiments” about how societies are organized, and with what consequences. My favorite of her works are The Dispossessed and the collection of related novellas, Four Ways Into Forgiveness. Brilliant, compassionate, believable, these books truly eplore what it means to be human, in human societies, striving for the things human beings care about.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: A missed chance for something greater.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: For Field Marshal Tamas, overthrowing his corrupt and out-of-touch King was the easy part. Now Tamas must hold the country together with a traitor in his midst and a foreign army at the doorstep. Still a greater threat looms near, ready to engulf the entire world.

MY REVIEW
PROS: Makes good use of the inclusion of gunpowder; updates fantasy themes; some decent action.
CONS: Lack of strong female characters; weak magic system; failure to capitalize on new ground.
BOTTOM LINE: There’s an opportunity for McClellan to tread the road less traveled but Promise of Blood remains a rather traditional fantasy.

I’ve been sitting on this review for a week now. I can’t really start a new book until I expel the last one from my system in the cathartic act of the review. Usually I finish a book and have my impressions written down by the next day at the latest. It took that long to figure out what I wanted to say about Promise of Blood. It’s not even that Brian McClellan’s debut novel is bad – that review would be easier to write. The problem is that there are some great ideas that aren’t fully realized. The bones of a different breed of fantasy are in place, but Promise of Blood opts out for the safe approach.
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I recently watched The Amazing Spider-Man, directed by Marc Webb. I really enjoyed the movie, especially after the horrendous Spider-Man 3, but I know that a lot of people felt that the reboot came too soon. With this on my mind I thought I’d get some feedback from authors regarding the topic of reboots.

The question posed to this week’s panelists:

Here’s what they said…

Necessary? Hmm, I’m not sure ever really necessary. Remakes either. I think you really only want to start playing with established works if you’re sure that you can bring something new (and better!) to it. Expand the characters, the universe. In that sense, I don’t think any project should be protected from reboots, if it has the potential to become better and richer for the experience, say something new.

What properties could do with a reboot? Well, perhaps Rambo? With a younger actor, as a veteran of Iraq/Afghanistan? Could work…preferably with less jingoism though, get it right back to ‘Troubled soldier tying to make sense of the aftermath’. Highlander would be superb – we could not have number 2 as well! Blade maybe could do with an overhaul, and Spawn. I’d have said Mad Max and Robocop too, but they’re being/have been done. Perhaps try again on Mad Max…

For me, some of the best already done are the Batman series, the new Star Trek (I love how they expanded on our knowledge of characters we thought we knew inside out, and then put them in new and interesting positions), which also goes for the Bond reboot. I also liked the new Dredd. What didn’t work for me? The Conan reboot, Mad Max’s Doomsday… Remake/extensions of old franchises, Prometheus and The Thing prequel just didn’t work for me. The originals (Okay, the Carpenter version of The Thing was a remake itself) were so good, that they would have been better leaving well enough alone.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: Strong premise, weak execution.

MY RATING:

SYNOPSIS: Magic has come to the world, upsetting the established order. Lieutenant Oscar Britton is a regular soldier, attached to a military group that specializes in hunting and detaining dangerous radicals. Then, inexplicably, Oscar manifests a magical power of his own and soon he is on the run, wanted by the authorities.

MY REVIEW
PROS: Interesting concept/setting; frenzied action.
CONS: Unlikable protagonist; unlikable secondary characters; repetitive internal/external dialogue; lots of petty complaints that add up.
BOTTOM LINE: A debut novel that does not live up to its potential or the hype surrounding it, yet I still have hopes for the sequel.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: Joe Ledger vs. Vampires in his best adventure yet.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: On a top secret mission in Iran, Joe Ledger and Echo Team get news of a threat to global security. Joe must fight on the run with limited support and intelligence if he is going to save the day.

MY REVIEW
PROS: Joe Ledger, the villains (for once!), high velocity action, dark revelations, cool vampires.
CONS: Rudy freaking Sanchez.
BOTTOM LINE: Easily the best Joe Ledger Novel to date.

Assassin’s Code by Jonathan Maberry is the fourth book in the Joe Ledger Novels, a series that I have mad love for. The series is like Resident Evil without the awful dialogue and shoddy plotting. It’s like the hit FOX thriller 24 but with Bond Villains. It’s like Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter series with a focus on science instead of the supernatural. And Assassin’s Code? It’s like all that with a dose of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. This is a freaking awesome book. Seriously, if you read my review of The King of Plagues and had any doubts about this series please just do yourself a favor and go buy all four books. Forget about reading this review, just go buy all four books and start reading. Thank me later.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: Joe Ledger vs. The Ten Plagues of Egypt.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A terrorist attack on a hospital in London sees Joe Ledger back on the job, fighting once more against a shadowy cabal with intentions of world domination.

MY REVIEW
PROS: Joe Ledger is a (mostly) great character, fast and heavy action, tighter script than previous novel.
CONS: Rudy freaking Sanchez, somewhat laughable villains, Joe’s grief.
BOTTOM LINE: An improvement over The Dragon Factory, delivering everything a fan might expect from a Joe Ledger Novel.

So let me first introduce Jonathan Maberry’s series of Joe Ledger novels. Think Resident Evil without the horrible dialogue. Think the hit Fox drama 24 with Bond villains. Think Monster Hunter International but less supernatural and more scientific. I really love the Joe Ledger Novels (for the most part) and unless you hate America you will too. The first novel in the series, Patient Zero, is one of my all time favorite zombie stories. The sequel, The Dragon Factory, didn’t quite live up to the quality of the first but it was still a solid thriller. Now here is my review for The King of Plagues.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: Despite some clarity issues, this is a wonderful adventure.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Spurred by the murder of the Grand Duke, Prince Nikandr must find a way to avert hostilities and save the Grand Duchy from a horrible sickness.

MY REVIEW

PROS: A richly detailed unique setting, interesting ideas, challenging read, compelling characters, windships!
CONS: Clarity issues make it difficult to follow in spots, challenging read (it’s a pro and a con!)
BOTTOM LINE: There are a number of issues, but the price of admission is well worth the show.

Everyone who reads The Winds of Khalakovo can’t help but to marvel at the wonderful setting. The story takes place on an archipelago ruled by the Grand Duchy, a kingdom with a culture inspired by Tsarist Russia. From the names to the ceremonies, the Grand Duchy is a genuinely different society from what fantasy readers have become accustomed to. The Grand Duchy is spread across the sea, reliant on majestic airships for trade. Alongside the Russian themed Duchy, is the Aramahn a Middle Eastern centric populace, and the Maharraht a violent guerrilla movement that wishes to unseat the Grand Duchy from its throne. The culture clash, alongside varying belief systems and magic, give The Winds of Khalakovo an appealing personality that help carry the story even when other elements flag.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: Vivid, varied, and violent. At once beautiful and terrible to behold.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS:  On the planet of Jeroun god exists, and he is far from benevolent. Adrash looks down upon the world, prepared to unleash final annihilation. Men in suits of black and white do battle in his name, some wish to submit to him and others wish to defy him. Vedas, a Blacksuit of the Thirteenth Order embarks on a journey to a great fighting tournament that may well decide the fate of Jeroun.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Stunning imagery, absorbing setting, diverse cultures, intriguing characters, cool ideas.
CONS: Not enough exploration of some of the settings and ideas. Climax was a little weak.
BOTTOM LINE: Ambitious, impressive, and bold. This is not your run of the mill fantasy.

No Return is an excellent start to the new reading year. This is the sort of novel that stands in the shadow of two super genres, for it is neither science fiction nor fantasy. It is instead a beautiful twining of both. It is epic in the in the more traditional sense of the word, though not a narrative poem. No Return features heroic deeds, strange cultures, dark violence, and consequences. It has the trappings on a new age legend, set on an extraordinary world.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: A beautiful, haunting compilation of art from the bestselling video game horror franchise Dead Space.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Over 300 iconic, full color images and sketches, with commentary from artists.

MY REVIEW

PROS: Absolutely stunning images that latch onto the mind in an icy death grip, annotations from artists deliver a glimpse into the twisted creative cycle that spawned such striking and grotesque visuals.
CONS: Some may consider the price steep.
BOTTOM LINE: An collection of art from all three Dead Space games, recommended for fans of the series, concept artists, and aspiring authors/horror film directors looking to add a serrated edge of inspiration to their work.

So how is this for something different – I’m going to review an art book! Bear with me, as this is a first, but I feel as though my love of video games and my limited stint at an art school provide me just enough knowledge to get the job done. As a disclaimer I must warn you, I haven’t played Dead Space 3 yet. Nor have I beaten Dead Space or Dead Space 2, though I have owned each at one point in time. One thing that always has impressed me with the series has been the unique art direction. Dead Space is a series that is visibly influenced by the titans of space horror that came before it. The Alien franchise is an obvious source, as is Event Horizon. Still, Dead Space has developed an identity all of its own. As the introduction of the book states, “It has sci-fi that’s never fantastical, horror that’s always personal, and action that’s delivered like a punch to the gut…” I couldn’t agree more. All of the science fiction elements of Dead Space are utilitarian. The future isn’t a bright, gleaming beacon of hope – it’s worn and functional and grimy. The horror is isolating and atrocious, and the action is limb-dismembering-visceral. All of this becomes evident as you open The Art of Dead Space and begin to flip through the pages.

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Miles Cameron is the author of The Red Knight, out now in the US. Published by Orbit Books, it is the first novel of The Traitor Son Cycle, merging epic fantasy with intricate plotting and scathing action. Nick Sharps was fortunate enough to discuss The Red Knight with Cameron. The following is an interview involving influences, POV’s, authenticity, film adaptations, and more.

Nick Sharps: Sell me The Red Knight in as few words as possible.

Miles Cameron: Excalibur vs. Alien. 

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As a critic, aspiring author, and a fan of fiction I always keep an eye out for what could be the next big thing. This could range anywhere from authors to series, from genres to themes. But who better to provide an opinion on the matter of The Next Big Thing than authors themselves?

We asked this week’s panelists…

Here’s what they said…

I’ve always been bad at predicting the future, despite my claims as a kid that my dreams were prophetic; I tend to worry over the worst possible scenarios. But in terms of the future trends in speculative fiction, I’m optimistic. I’ve been noticing a strong focus on diversity in speculative short fiction. I mainly read short stories, so I will speak in terms of the next big thing in short story writers. As a bisexual woman, I was thrilled last month to read “Inventory” by Carmen Maria Machado in Strange Horizons, in which the main character’s relationships with women and men are depicted as equally important to her. I think in the future we will certainly see more of an emphasis on diversity in sexual orientations and gender identifications.

Some other writers I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of in the future: I keep running into Damien Walters Grintalis’ work. Brooke Wonders’ “Everything Must Go” in Clarkesworld 74 blew me away, and I think Wonders will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future. Helena Bell’s work has been popping up a lot lately; her Clarkesworld stories “Variations on Bluebeard and Dalton’s Law Along the Event Horizon” and “Robot” are worth checking out. I’ll be keeping an eye on Brooke Bolander as well. It’s great to see so many up-and-coming female short story writers in the speculative fiction field, and I think that this trend will continue as well.
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REVIEW SUMMARY: A new tale of knights and daring deeds worthy of a place amongst some of our most cherished chivalric legends.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The Red Knight and his merry band of mercenaries take a commission to rid an Abbey of a monster problem. It turns out that the monster problem is more complex than any could have imagined and the whole kingdom of Alba is in danger of being overrun.

MY REVIEW
PROS: Highly descriptive, furious combat, huge array of colorful characters, intricate plotting, great pacing, pervading sense of chivalry.
CONS: Minor clarity issues with the magic system, so many characters that some of them are left underdeveloped, over-extended falling action.
BOTTOM LINE: I feel greatly honored to have read an ARC of The Red Knight. This is more than a genre novel, it’s a contemporary myth. I can’t wait for the next entry in The Traitor Son Cycle.

When I returned to reading fantasy after years of focusing on science fiction, there was an emphasis on dark and gritty that I found immediately appealing.  There was one thing I found lacking, and I didn’t even realize it until recently; a sense of chivalry. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read about great heroes in the past few years, but they rarely display the knightliness (for lack of a better word), of stories from my childhood. Of course I didn’t even notice this deficiency until I read Miles Cameron’s The Red Knight.

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Zachary Jernigan’s debut novel, No Return, comes out on the 5th of March, 2013, from Night Shade Books. His short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s, Crossed Genres, and Escape Pod, among others. Nick Sharps got the opportunity to sit down and talk to him, while enjoying a nice cold beer. The following interview is an in depth discussion of No Return, religion, sexual deviancy, world building, sociology, He-Man, female protagonists, future novels, and ice cream.

Nick Sharps: Sell me No Return in as few words as possible.

Zachary Jernigan: Do you like men made of metal? Or fighters in skintight suits? Or alchemical astronauts? A lot of sex scenes? Buy my book.

Oh, and violence. There’s a lot of violence.

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Books have been one of the greatest influences on my life. I say this not to downplay the lessons and values taught to be my family and friends, but instead to emphasize the importance of reading in my formative years. A lot of what I believe and how I act is driven by the characters I have encountered and the fictional worlds I have explored. Frequently I remind myself that “Fear is the mind-killer,” a message picked up from Frank Herbert’s Dune years ago – a lesson that has carried me through hard times. There are many more personal examples I could state but I’d rather hear from some of the very writers that inspire me.

We asked this week’s panelists…

Here’s what they said…

The greatest impact it had on me was instilling in me a love of science, questing for information, and a deep love of creative and wild imagination. My life-long walk on the path toward passing those gifts on to others now means I make a living continuing to live all that. So I would say it had quite an impact on my life.

As to if it makes me a better person, I would have no idea. I would hope that my family loved and learned from me whether or not I had SF in my life. In fact, I find a sort of cultish devotion to any mantras learned from just SF to be problematic. I flinch from ideological insistence, and just because I adored a book at an impressionable age… well, I’d hate for that define the rest of my life as a thinking creature.

The lessons involve various snippets of things I’ve picked up over a lifetime that I’ve found useful. I’d hate to highlight a particular phrase out of the stew that makes me a human, as I’ve always loved Bruce Lee’s admonition to “Take what is useful, leave what is not, add something uniquely your own.” I didn’t learn that in SF, but it’s how I’ve approached all text.

But I can’t be the only SF fan who has found himself repeating the Bene Gesserit litany against fear after smacking his hand with a hammer… right?

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REVIEW SUMMARY: A tragic, action-packed story, easily Dembski-Bowden’s best work to date.

RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Primarchs Lorgar and Angron lead their Legions deep into the realm of Ultramar, wreaking unthinkable havoc. Angron’s violent condition is worsening, he is dying, but Lorgar has a plan to save his savage brother. He will stop at nothing to bring that plan to fruition.

MY REVIEW
PROS: Heavy on the action but also heavy on the characterization, Dembski-Bowden adds unexpected depth to what may have otherwise been flat characters, tragic and compelling, furthers the Horus Heresy timeline.
CONS: None that come to mind, this was worth every dime of the hardcover price.
BOTTOM LINE: With Betrayer, Aaron Dembski-Bowden achieves the unexpected – giving depth to Angron and the World Eaters and topping his best novel to date, The First Heretic.

I wasn’t so sure what all the hype over Aaron Dembski-Bowden was about until I read The First Heretic, a New York Times bestselling novel I consider to be one of the best entries in the Horus Heresy series. Dembski-Bowden took a Legion I had little to no interest in, a Legion I sneered at as vile traitors, and painted them in a sympathetic light. With The First Heretic, he made me feel for the very first Primarch to turn away from the Imperium. It was not an action packed novel as far as the series goes, but instead a gut-wrenching, heart-rending character piece that showed the darkness of the future is even less black and white then believed. With Betrayer, Dembski-Bowden trumps his greatest accomplishment.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: Darkly humorous, intimately violent, promises great things to come.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Small town scribe Arkamondos finds himself in way over his head when he accepts a commission from the enigmatic Captain Braylar Killcoin and his rugged band of Syldoon warriors. As the company of battle-hardened killers embarks on a secretive mission at the behest of the Empire, Arki discovers there are far worse things in life than the mundane histories of millers and merchants…

MY REVIEW
PROS: Black humor, brutality, camaraderie, detailed yet subtle world building, characters worth caring for.
CONS: Length. This is still a satisfying adventure but it is short.
BOTTOM LINE: I read 70 books in 2012 and I consider Scourge of the Betrayer to be both Debut of the Year and Fantasy of the Year.
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