Guest Post: “The Limits of Empathy; or Macbeth Is An Asshole” by Brian Staveley
Posted on January 21, 2015 14 Comments
We have a very special guest post for you all today. Please join us in welcoming author Brian Staveley to the BiblioSanctum to talk about a very interesting subject — writing characters that do bad things!
Brian’s new book The Providence of Fire is the second novel of the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne; be sure to check out the BiblioSanctum review of this excellent sequel if you haven’t already. This series is not to be missed.
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THE LIMITS OF EMPATHY; OR MACBETH IS AN ASSHOLE
by Brian Staveley
Providence of Fire (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #2)
I’ve seen, read, or taught Shakespeare’s Macbeth over twenty times, which is odd, considering I really can’t stand the play. Partly I’ve gone back to it so many times because it was deemed (for reasons I still can’t understand) a necessary part of a young person’s education in the school where I taught. Partly I keep seeing and reading it because it’s, you know, a great play. Everyone thinks so except for me, and I keep wondering if I’ve gotten any smarter. So far, no luck.
On the face of it, my antipathy to the Scottish Play is odd, even to me. After all, Macbeth has witches, curses, murders, battles, riddles, prophecy, and ghosts. It’s pretty hard to really fuck up when you’ve got witches, curses, murders, battles, riddles, prophecy, and ghosts. It’s fantasy, which means that I ought to like it.
And yet, I find the play almost unreadable, more so each time I come back to it. My problem hinges on Macbeth himself, and to a lesser extent his wife. It’s a literary staple that characters at the center of a tragedy are flawed (the word Aristotle used for this flaw was hamartia, a term translators of the New Testament often render into English as sin): Oedipus has his pride (or his stubbornness or his anger, depending on the commentator); Lear his pride; Othello his jealousy. The list is as long as tragedy itself.
The standard reading of Macbeth insists that the corrosive flaw running through both Macbeth and his wife is their ambition. Without the ambition, we are told, they would be decent people: courageous, loving, entertaining at a dinner party, the kind of couple with whom you might want to drink another bottle of wine, even after the meal is over. And yet, every time I read it, that single factor, that overwhelming ambition, so far outstrips every other aspect of their personalities, that I lose all ability to sympathize, or empathize, or perform any emotional action the root of which is pathos.
The problem with the Macbeths is not simply that they are ambitious. The problem is that they are fucking assholes.
They possess none of the virtues that redeem other evil literary characters. They are humorless, selfish, nasty to each other (despite the persistent critical claim that they are one of the happiest couples in Shakespeare, a claim based largely on the fact that Macbeth actually confides in his wife and has a pet name for her), and astoundingly willing to start murdering good people, a few overwrought soliloquys aside. I start out the play wanting to see the two of them dead, and then it’s just a long slow slog through the murder of bunch of people, themselves not particularly likeable, (the notable exceptions being Lady Macduff and her son, who are on stage just long enough to get killed).
This starts to worry me when my own characters start making decisions that are more and more… let’s call them unpleasant. One the one hand, I don’t want to write about a bunch of flawless guardians of all that’s good. On the other hand, I don’t want to shatter the reader’s empathy. I don’t want to turn the Malkeenians into the Macbeths.
The Emperor’s Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #1)
My main characters do some bad things in The Providence of Fire, some really bad things, and as I was writing, I kept wondering, Is this too much? Is this?
Jaime Lannister threw a kid out a window, but he’s loyal, strong, brave, hard-working. Satan in Paradise Lost is, well, Satan – but he’s resolute, bold, and extremely eloquent. It’s tempting to think of the whole affair as a simple balancing act: the good against the bad, a murdered father on one side of the scale, a thousand rescued kittens on the other. In fact, as I started writing this essay, that’s what I had in mind.
Six hundred words in, however, I’m not sure that it’s that simple. Macbeth, after all, is plenty brave. He’s even vaguely introspective. It’s not simply that his good and evil don’t cancel out, it’s that I can’t relate to his evil. He never really explains why he wants to be king, never articulates what void he’s trying to fill, what creeping fear he’s trying to keep at bay. We know why Jaime Lannister does what he does – he tells us as he chucks Bran out the window: “The things I do for love.” It’s a glib comment, but it’s not untrue. Macbeth never says anything quite like it.
After months of fretting, this is my take-away. I hope my characters are complex, nuanced people, men and women built of conviction and contradiction. I think there is good in them, but my real hope is that when they act badly, the reader will look at their decisions, wince, then nod in recognition.
Of course, I wouldn’t want to beat this drum too loudly, Macbeth is one of the most famous plays of all time, and I’m certainly not getting any smarter.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BRIAN STAVELEY is a teacher and writer. He has taught literature, religion, history, and philosophy, all subjects that influence his writing, and holds an MA in Creative Writing from Boston University. He works as an editor for Antilever Press, and has published poetry and essays, both in print and on-line. He lives in Vermont with his wife and young son, and divides his time between running trails, splitting wood, writing, and baby-wrangling. BStaveley.wordpress.com. @BrianStaveley. Facebook. Goodreads.
Book Review: The Masked Empire by Patrick Weekes
Posted on January 20, 2015 14 Comments
The Masked Empire by Patrick Weekes
Genre: Gaming, Fantasy
Series: Dragon Age
Publisher: Tor Books (April 8, 2014)
Author Information: Twitter
Tiara’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
I joked that this was going to be the first review that I wrote using only emojis, but then I realized that I almost wasn’t joking. Discussion of this book with other people mostly involved me using varied emojis, from agitated to mildly amused, to get my point across. When I started writing this, I had to chew on what I wanted to say about this book. Then, when the words started coming, they wouldn’t stop!
As with The Stolen Throne, I read The Masked Empire to learn more about the lore of the Dragon Age universe. I know there are plenty of books and comics between these two books, but while connected, it is easy enough to read these books as standalones. I started The Masked Empire because it serves as a bridge between Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition. It gives readers a history of the recent political climate in Orlais, which factors in heavily in Inquisition.
I started this book after playing the quest “Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts” in Dragon Age: Inquisition. After completing that, I wanted to understand the relationship these characters had with one another and how they got to the point of civil war. Inquisition didn’t do much at giving me a foundation with these characters, and the tidbits I did learn in the game weren’t enough to satisfy my questions about the situation.
This book deals directly with the characters and circumstances surrounding that quest. I picked up this book before I finished the game, nearly right after I played that quest, and in a way, I’m glad. It added some weight to certain parts of the game. When I encountered another character from the book later in the game, I knew this character and what they were seeking to achieve. If I hadn’t read the book, this character would’ve been just part of a random side quest that held no real significance for me.
The Masked Empire follows three key players—Empress Celene, her elven handmaiden, Briala, and her cousin, Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons. Celene’s bodyguard, Michel de Chevin, also plays a considerable role, but in a different manner than Celene, Briala, and Gaspard. Celene has long ruled Orlais after ascending as a teenager when she outwitted Gaspard for the throne. During her rule, she has worked to make Orlais a beacon of education, knowledge, and art. Now, Thedas is in a state of constant flux as the templars and mages wage war against each other. She also has to contend with elven unrest in her empire. Elven dissidents whisper among themselves as discord between the elves and nobles brews toward rebellion.
Celene fears that her grasp is weakening on a empire known for being fickle, politically savage, and unforgiving. Gaspard, who feels he is the rightful ruler of Orlais, challenges Celene’s diplomacy and her right to rule while Briala implores her to be fair to the elves who serve her as loyally as any human. Celene believes she is the only one who can keep Orlais afloat in such precarious times, and she is determined to hold on to her throne by whatever means necessary.
I wanted to love this book, but I was just so annoyed through most of it. This book proved that having too much knowledge about the lore of a game can really kind of stain one’s view of the game. This has the distinction of being a deliberate path between Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition rather than just being story featuring characters we may or may not know during that in-between period. This book serves up something that is an important factor in Inquisition.
I want to stress that these things do not break the game for the player who hasn’t read this book, and I will probably repeat this throughout the review for emphasis.
One of my main issues with this book was that some things stated in the book seemed like they should’ve had some impact on Inquisition but didn’t come up at all. Canon that was created in this book was nowhere to be found in the game. I’m one of those people who feels that books about games should enhance the lore for those who decide to read the books without punishing people who decide to only play the games.
While not knowing about the things in this book won’t hurt game play, it does make me question why these things are included in the book but not reflected in the game canon. It’s one thing to pad and expand canon more, but it’s another to add canon that should, technically, have some impact on the in-game story. There’s a very specific circumstance I’m thinking of in the book that bugged me because I encountered it in game, but the experience in game is nothing like it’s described in the book or even vaguely hinted at being like the experience in the book.
Some of the canon that did find its way into the game from the book seemed one-sided without any potential way to find out that there’s much more to the story that’s being held back from the player. Again, this wouldn’t be something that would break the game for players, but having the knowledge of these characters and what they’ve gone through in the book, it feels like a disservice to give this one-sided account of things without any way for players to optionally learn the full truth.
In my personal opinion, there’s one particular opportunity of finding out how what you’re dealing with connects experiences from the previous two games. There was a chance to show the significance of these encounters and what part this played in the turmoil in Thedas. It could’ve been more than just a random side quest, but you won’t understand the puzzle without all the pieces (or even just the important pieces).
Another issue I had was, just as in the game, I still don’t like the main players. No, maybe that isn’t the right way of phrasing it since I don’t think I’m necessarily meant to like these characters. The game and book tries to present them in a way that shows they have their merits and they have their sins. It’s like playing two truths and a lie with them, but I digress. The problem is: I just don’t care about these characters. They are paper thin, uninspiring, and dull in game, and the book didn’t do much to make feel any differently about them. Their sins, both real and perceived, are the only things that make them somewhat interesting.
There was only one character that caught my attention and that was Michel. What intrigued me about his character was the conflict, the incongruity, that impacted him where his personal story was concerned, which is a side ripple in the book that ties in with the bigger issue of race and class in the world of Thedas. His personal story can also be seen as a very convenient plot device, depending on who you ask.
Maybe I set myself up for this disappointment in really getting to know the characters and their motivations. I know it’s common advice to not expect much from books based on a game/movie/TV show, but I rebel against that idea. I don’t feel like I should hold them to a lower standard simply because they may or may not be a cash grab. This is a world I care about with lore that I care about, and I hold these books to the same quality standards as I would a series of novels set in a world I enjoy. The media it’s based on shouldn’t matter and is not an excuse to give mediocre a pass.
With that being said, I don’t think this story or the writing is mediocre. The things I did like about this book fueled my annoyance more because this could’ve been a story I really loved. Political intrigue, quiet duplicity, court scandal—yes, these are all things that I live for in books. There were scenes I thought were just brilliant in this book.
While I didn’t connect with the characters, the story was actually good with my grievances put aside. This was less generic feeling than The Stolen Throne and really sparkles at highlighting the posh deception that rules the Orlesian empire with an iron grip. Learning more about “The Game” (what the Orlesians call the intricate mostly political scheming they engage in) and how it factored in for these characters was fascinating. Seeing more of how the Dalish elves and city elves view their respective frustrating situations and how they view each other was intriguing. These are things we learn in game, too, but this touched upon it a little more in prose.
Despite it falling flat with me, I think the average Dragon Age fan—who likes to buy the books and comics, that is—will likely enjoy this story. There are gems here, and there is a certain sense of excitement it adds when you’re playing Inquisition and have this context to help shape the in-game story.
Book Review: The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
Posted on January 19, 2015 20 Comments
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
Genre: Science-Fiction
Publisher: Avon Books (March 1971)
Author Information: Website
Tiara’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
The story takes place in Portland, Oregon; the year is 2002. Portland, and much of the world, is existing under very poor conditions. George Orr finds himself on a fantastic journey after being treated for a bad reaction to drugs he obtained illegally. Because his crime is seen as a relatively minor offense, since he obtained the drugs for personal use, George is referred to a type of rehabilitation program—Voluntary Therapeutic Treatment, or VTT for short—that involves him attending mandatory psychiatric evaluations. Even though Le Guin doesn’t go much into the detail of what tests and things George had to be part of, the doctors eventually send him to Dr. Haber, an expert on dreams and hypnosis—a man they send the “tough cases.”
George’s problem is this. He dreams what he calls “effective dreams” and things happen. He manifests new realities in his sleep, and in order to keep this from happening, he takes a drug cocktail to suppress dreaming. However, it’s not as simple as he dreams something and it comes into being much to the delight/horror of others. No, his dreams retroactively manipulate time, history, even science itself to build a continuum that has always been. Therefore, no one but George has ever been aware that time has changed itself.
However, after divulging this information to Dr. Haber, George becomes the doctor’s pet project once he realizes that George is not insane. Dr. Haber begins to feed George ideas while he’s hypnotized to ail the world’s current problems such as overcrowding, racism, and war. In each new reality, Haber becomes increasingly more powerful and fanatical about fixing the world to the horror of George. George knows the doctor means well, but the results are almost never as intended, and George firmly believes in the natural order of things.
To many people George encountered, even Dr. Haber and George’s love interest, Heather LaLache, there’s nothing remarkable about him. In fact, people seem to think that he’s not living more than just existing, describing him as passive, timid, and frail. He appears content to allow life to happen to him rather shaping it. However, George has profound moments that surprise people, showing them that he’s not as fragile and meandering as they believe. George doesn’t show much initiative, but his reasons for his complicity are rooted firmly in response to his ability. He lives his life as straightforward and uncomplicated as possible, but he is nuanced.
On the opposite end of the scale is Dr. Haber, a man who not only is proactive but eventually exhibits a great need to shape himself and his world. Dr. Haber isn’t an evil man, but he lacks the ability to grasp that his vision of a perfect world is hardly feasible without some sort of sacrifice, that there has to be some conflict in the world for balance. George’s dreams confirm this as there is always some point of contention that has to be in play in order to fulfill Huber’s vision.
Dr. Haber can’t fathom that one person cannot take it upon himself to right what he perceives as the world’s flaws. His blindness to this fact is exemplified by his disregard of George’s fears. He feels that George’s ability isn’t something that George should withhold from the world. George’s fears combined with feelings about his trust being abused are not as important as, what Dr. Haber considers, the needs of the many. George and Dr. Haber presented countering arguments to the question of moral obligation/negligence while Heather served as a variable for readers to observe as she changed from scenario to scenario.
Speaking of Heather, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked the romance in this book. When it first became obvious that Heather was going to catch George’s interest, I feared that the romance might feel shoehorned into the book and would detract from the main story. Heather served a purpose as someone who’s swept along in Dr. Haber’s game and presents another view of how George’s dream affect those around him. It helped that the romance blossomed around these changes for better or for worse, and for most of the book, it’s just a cautious dance between two people who aren’t sure about their place in the world.
Even though I loved this book, the scenarios seemed to get more and more outrageous a bit as the story progressed. I preferred the subtle shifting from the beginning to the comical and outlandish scenarios George is faced with later in the book. It’s hard to concentrate on how thoughtful the story is when you’re reading a scene that reads like it came right out of a pulpy science fiction magazine. Maybe this was very deliberate on Le Guin’s part to mirror Haber’s increasing fanaticism in being the world’s savior, but that’s only a minor nitpick.
My first experience with Le Guin was during a college literature course where we read and analyzed her short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas which explored some similar ideas on a smaller scale as this book. It was always a story that haunted me throughout the years. To find out Le Guin published a novel that expanded on some of these ideas made it a must read for me.
For the most part, I enjoyed this novel. This book very much questioned moral ideas like “Is it ever okay to play God?” and “Should the needs of the many always outweigh the needs of a few?” It was a story that asked the readers to ponder these questions as we followed George on his journey. It was much more than just a science fiction novel.
Cover Reveal: Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen
Posted on January 19, 2015 8 Comments
Woohoo, today we’re revealing the cover to Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen, sequel to Stolen Songbird!
It’s…it’s just so beautiful…
Sometimes, one must accomplish the impossible.
Beneath the mountain, the king’s reign of tyranny is absolute; the one troll with the capacity to challenge him is imprisoned for treason. Cécile has escaped the darkness of Trollus, but she learns all too quickly that she is not beyond the reach of the king’s power. Or his manipulation.
Recovered from her injuries, she now lives with her mother in Trianon and graces the opera stage every night. But by day she searches for the witch who has eluded the trolls for five hundred years. Whether she succeeds or fails, the costs to those she cares about will be high.
To find Anushka, she must delve into magic that is both dark and deadly. But the witch is a clever creature. And Cécile might not just be the hunter. She might also be the hunted…
I had a really good time with Stolen Songbird last year, so needless to say I was excited to learn that the series has been picked up by Angry Robot. Hidden Huntress is now set to come out in June of this year, which I know is quite a wait. For now, I guess I will just drool over that gorgeous cover to pass the time…
Book Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Posted on January 18, 2015 21 Comments
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Genre: Fantasy
Series: The Kingkiller Chronicle #1
Publisher: Penguin Group (March 2007)
Wendy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Kote is an intriguing man. To his patrons, he is merely a friendly barkeep, but some spy what lies beneath the vibrant red hair and haunted eyes. But even those who believe they know him best, do not know everything. When the Chronicler arrives, recognizing Kote as the hero of many more names and feats, he convinces the man to tell his story. A story of strange demon spiders, of the angelic woman who stole his heart, of deadly assassins, murdered kings, tragedy and loss, and the magic of the wind.
Well, those are the things I expected this 700 page book to tell me about. Instead, I got Harry Potter goes to alchemy school, but without any focus or the depth of interesting supporting characters and events that Rowlings offers along with her main protagonist.
Chronicler is skilled in shorthand, which is a good thing, since Kvothe seems to have a perfect memory and thus details every moment of his life surrounding his university life. I’m wary of the concept of first person stories that retell their life history in such perfect detail, but in this case, one of Kvothe’s many talents is his genius mind. His recall is superb, and he is a progeny in just about everything he sets his mind to. Thankfully, Rothfuss manages to balance this with tragedy that leaves Kvothe orphaned and starving on the streets, but it becomes obvious early on that Kvothe is going to make it out of anything thrown at him during this coming of age story. Oh there will be scars, both inside and out, but very little drama and suspense for the reader to enjoy. Many of the events and encounters promise of follow up, like carrots dangled before the reader, but then the carrots kind of dissolve into the wind (whose name apparently isn’t all that important).
Then there is the girl, Denna, whose beauty Kvothe takes great pains to describe to Chronicler and Kvothe’s unique companion, Bast. At one point, he likens her unto a selas flower:
“It is a deep red flower that grows on a strong vine. Its leaves are dark and delicate. They grow best in shadowy places, but the flower itself finds stray sunbeams to bloom in. There is much of you that is both shadow and light. It grows in deep forests and is rare because only skilled folk can tend one without harming it. It has a wonderous smell and is much sought and seldom found.”
Like so many things in this story, there is all this build up and promise, but very little pay off. I’m certain Denna was a perfect angel to a young boy in love, but his swooning and her eventual accompaniment on what was meant to be the climactic event of the story were rather dull.
While this book did disappoint me, I will praise Rothfuss on two things: first is the lore interjected throughout, often told by storytellers within the book, or by Kvothe himself. I found myself far more interested in these tellings than in Kvothe’s story, and would love a collection of short stories based on these alone.
I also loved Rothfuss’ obvious appreciation for music. Whether or not he himself is a musician, when he writes about music, his love for the art form fills the pages with the depth that is lacking in the rest of the story.
Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: New Books, Backlist, Reading Challenges & What I’ve Read
Posted on January 17, 2015 30 Comments
I’ve always liked the idea of round up/summary posts, so from now on I’m going to do these Book Haul posts a little differently, and with a slightly altered format. I’m hoping this will be a better way to stay on track and keep up to date with what I’ve read, and more importantly, what I have to read!
Received For Review:
So, it might not look like I’m off to a very good start when it comes to my goal of being being more prudent with accepting/requesting ARCs and review copies, but I’m going to blame the holidays for this one! Publishers are back to running at full steam after vacation and approving digital galley requests from weeks before, and so the books have all kind of arrived this week in a flood.
Firefight by Brandon Sanderson – Audiobook, with thanks to Audible Studios. One of my most anticipated releases this winter, I was thrilled to be offered the audiobook to review, and narrator MacLeod Andrews’ voice paired with Sanderson’s writing is a formidable combination indeed.
Deadeye by William C. Dietz – Physical ARC, with thanks to Penguin. As all my sci-fi reads have been quite heavy lately, I’m actually really looking forward to settling back with this futuristic mutant-hunting police procedural.
Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear – Digital galley, with thanks to Tor. My interest in this one has grown over the last couple months, thanks to all the attention and high praise it has already gotten from early readers. It’ll be my first Elizabeth Bear novel.
Half the World by Joe Abercrombie – From Netgalley. Very excited to have this finally! This should teach me not to request a book on NG right before Christmas time, it was weeks before someone over there must have come back from vacay and approved me! Though, it did give me some time to pare down my reading list and send in feedback for a bunch of titles…
Atlanta Burns by Chuck Wendig – From Netgalley. This one stared me in the face for weeks before I eventually caved and requested it. For one thing, it’s Chuck Wendig! That and being a “Read Now” did not help one bit, I tell ya.
Deadly Spells by Jaye Wells – From Netgalley. I binge read the first two books of this series over the last couple weeks, and then I realized I still had access to the eARC of book three from Orbit. It’s a pretty fun urban fantasy, even if the protagonist drives me a little crazy, but I definitely want to continue.
The Fold by Peter Clines – From Netgalley. I think I’ve read most of what Peter Clines has written, from his superhero and zombie mashup Ex-Heroes series to his creepy paranormal 14. I especially enjoyed the latter, and The Fold looks to have that similar horror vibe, so I’m really looking forward to this.
Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton – From Netgalley. “For readers of A Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games comes an epic new series.” Such an ambitious claim should have me wary, but so help me the description looks good and I’m curious. Plus, I’m in need of a little more YA in my book diet.
Back to the Backlist:
Gotta keep up my goals for the year and not slack on adding those backlist books to my reading list! On tap from the backlist bar this week:
Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes – Library Audiobook. Speaking of YA, here’s one I’ve been meaning to read for a while. Useless bit of backlist trivia: according to Goodreads, looks like this book has been on my to-read list since February 2014. It’s definitely a book I would file under “Series Catch-Up” as this is the second installment of the Falling Kingdoms series, and there’s also already a third out now that I’ll have to get to at some point as well.
Worlds Without End Reading Challenges:
Speaking of burning down my backlist, we have reading challenges! Once again I’ll be participating in Worlds Without End’s Roll-Your-Own Challenge this year, doing the same three challenges I did last year while adding a fourth.
This will be the third year I do the Women of Genre Fiction challenge (and I will continue to do it every year). While I’m sure I’ve completed the challenge many times over in both 2013 and 2014, making a list of only the books in WWEnd’s database is a tradition I’ll keep up just to spice things up and push myself. The 2015 YA Challenge and Read the Sequel are pretty self-explanatory, and I should have no problems with them this year — the question is whether or not WWEnd will have the books I read in their DB.
The one new challenge I’m adding this year is Clear the Shelves. Anyone planning to make a dent in their backlist-TBR this year should look into signing up for this! Though of course, ALL four challenges I’m doing here should go a long way in helping me clear my shelves.
I’m still in the process of building my reading lists for these challenges, but I’m sure I’ll be updating periodically with my progress throughout the year.
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update:
Book Review: Golden Son by Pierce Brown
Posted on January 16, 2015 20 Comments
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian
Series: Book 2 of Red Rising Trilogy
Publisher: Del Rey (January 6, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Tales of courtly politics, noble house squabbles and the machinations of psychopathic lords and ladies have taken the epic fantasy genre by storm in recent years, and it looks like author Pierce Brown has been busy taking notes, adopting these elements for book two of his own futuristic sci-fi dystopian series.
As ever, when the ruling nobility go to war it is the common people who suffer, and it’s really not so different in Brown’s Golden Son. Elite Gold houses embroil themselves in a power struggle with very little thought for the low colors, and at the bottom of the hierarchy are the Reds, miners and laborers literally being kept in the dark below the surface of Mars as they toil away for the glory of the Sovereign. But a new hope has arrived in the form of Darrow, a Red who has overcome much in order to don the guise of the enemy and ultimately arise as the Golden Child. Last we saw him, Darrow had bested the competition in the deadly games at command school, and now he has been taken under the wing of his arch nemesis Nero of House Augustus – just as the rebel Sons of Ares have planned.
Needless to say, the story has exploded beyond the small confines of the Institute. The bloody battles that Darrow faced against his fellow Golds in the war games in book one? Child’s play, compare to all that he has to deal with in this crazy follow-up. But while he may be wholly embedded in Gold society now, Darrow still has games to play. As the rising star of a powerful house, he has also made no shortage of enemies. Saddled with certain expectations, Darrow must do all he can to maintain his cover if he’s to bring down the Society from within its rotten core.
While the first book Red Rising had certain elements in it that made me classify it as Young Adult, Golden Son takes a turn for the much darker, ramping up the violence and mature themes, blurring the lines between YA and Adult and yet managing to transcend both categories at the same time. Once again, Pierce Brown manages to utterly blow me away with his exquisite writing. Subtle and even at times poetic, he can describe something as ugly as war and still make it beautiful, if perturbingly so:
“Roses of a thousand shades fall from the trees as Golds fight beneath them. They’re all red in the end.”
The story takes on a life of its own in this sequel, barreling through one stunning plot development after another. There is seriously very little time to catch your breath. Trust no one, believe nothing. Darrow walks this fine line between deciding to keep his companions at arm’s length versus drawing them close into his inner circle. Perhaps my only real complaint is the inconsistency in his character. For most of the book he is a cunning strategist whose only tool is cold logic, a military genius who seems to read his enemies like an open book. I would question how he gained all this knowledge growing up as a simple laborer in the mines of Mars and would even go as far as to call him a “Gary Stu” if not for the odd inexplicable moments where he just goes and does something downright stupid and unjustified. These decisions often come from his heart, but nonetheless I find it hard to swallow that one moment Darrow can blank out his feelings for the sake of war planning, and the next he can insist on making an emotional decision that he knows may jeopardize years of planning, not to mention snuff out all hope for millions of oppressed.
Still, I enjoy the way his character has grown in the two years since his stint at the Institute. In that time, Darrow has learned that not everything in the world is black and white – or Gold and Red, as it were. Some of the worst and most degenerate people he knows are Golds, but then so are many of his loyal followers as well as the woman he loves. Even if he can succeed in breaking their chains, the low colors might not even accept him as one of their own, not when his own family would probably fail to recognize him. Darrow is in the midst of an identity crisis, knowing that every day he spends as a Gold takes him further away from his life as a Red. It is gut-wrenching to read, knowing all that he has given up and how much more he still has ahead of him.
And of course, speaking of gut-wrenching, there’s that ending. Why must middle books of a series always end with everyone getting the shaft? My poor battered heart can only take so much! Golden Son concludes with a bombshell of a cliffhanger that is blatantly written in a way to drive you nuts, and yet I can’t think of anything else I want to say while I’m down here melting in a puddle of emotions except “Please, Mr. Brown my good man, can you stab me in the heart some more?” I just can’t help it! This book left me more exhausted and stricken than Red Rising, which I can’t claim is an entirely pleasant feeling. But even as it crushes and mangles you, twisting you up like a grungy old mop in a wringer, the story is just so powerful and addicting. Need the third book. Now.
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes contained above are from the advance copy and are subject to change. My thanks to Del Rey Books!
Tough Traveling – Messiahs
Posted on January 15, 2015 19 Comments
The Thursday feature “Tough Traveling” is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information.
This week’s tour topic is: Messiahs
If the world needs saving who are you going to call? Perhaps there is someone out there destined to save everything? It sounds like you need…a Messiah. (Thanks Rabindranauth for the topic).
Mogsy’s Picks
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
In the final showdown against Lord Voldemort, Harry realizes the truth: he must sacrifice himself in order to vanquish his enemy once and for all — because he himself is the Horcrux that needs to be destroyed! Of course, after Harry “dies”, he comes back to life again and well, my memory is a bit of a mess when it comes to this last book but rest assured the good guys win in the end.
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
A prophecy in the Mistborn series says that a savior, or a “Hero of Ages”, will one day come and take the power of the Well of Ascension to use it to save the world. There is great speculation between the characters all throughout the three books on who this person is, and in the end the answer may surprise you.
The Providence of Fire by Brian Staveley
Adare went from being a rather forgotten and underdeveloped character in the first book of this series to become a mighty prophet figure in the sequel. Her supporters followed her willingly, believing that shehas the power to lead their army to victory.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Katniss Everdeen’s whole life has been about sacrificing herself for others. It all began when she took her sister Prim’s place in the Hunger Games. Her eventual victory there inspired an entire nation of people to fight back against the injustices forced upon them by President Snow and the Capitol, and she herself becomes the ultimate symbol for hope for the oppressed and downtrodden.
Yukiko, known as the “Stormdancer” because of the might storm tiger she rides, becomes a bringer of hope for the fight against the tyrannical Shima Imperium. Allies and friends rally around her, but she is also a target for those who understand that taking her out will also mean breaking apart the rebellion.
Wendy’s Picks
The Genesis of Shannara by Terry Brooks
“And Hawk, the rootless boy who is nothing less than destiny’s instrument, must lead the last of humanity to a latter-day promised land before the final darkness falls.”
Sounds pretty messiah-y to me.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
She’s got dragons and survived a fire and everyone calls her “khaleesi.” That seems to be more than enough for Daenarys Targaryen to fall into the belief that everyone needs saving and she’s the only one that can do it.
Princess Leia’s message said that Obi-1 Kenobi was her only hope, but turns out it was that other guy, who would go on to stop the evil Empire (with help, of course), and return the Jedi to their former glory.
Children of Fire by Drew Karpyshyn
Not one messiah, but four! Four children born of chaos, destined to form a bond stronger than blood. But will their legacy be as the saviours of this world? Or will they be its undoing. Sometimes, you never know when it comes to messiahs.
2015: Most Anticipated Science Fiction & Fantasy Books Written by Women
Posted on January 14, 2015 50 Comments
*Our Most Anticipated Science Fiction & Fantasy Books Written by Women 2016 edition!
It’s a very special “Waiting on Wednesday” today as The BiblioSanctum brings back a feature we put together last year. Inspired by a twitter conversation, Wendy and Mogsy made a list of their “Top Most Anticipated Books Written by Women in 2014”, and looks like 2015 is no different with a ton of books by women we’re just dying to get our hands on!
These are just the titles we’re looking forward to, but feel free to chime in down in the comments section with yours. Let’s expand our scope and explore the genre to see what amazing books are out there!
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As a parapsychologist working for Seattle Psi, Tess has devoted her life to studying psychic phenomena. But when doppelgangers begin appearing from a parallel world that’s been struck by an asteroid, nothing in her training will help her survive what’s to come.
After dislocating to Seattle Psi from the other Earth, Jake is confined by a special task force for study. But when he drains life energy from Tess, almost killing her, it causes a ripple effect across two worlds — and creates a bond neither of them expected.
Ross is an FBI agent ordered to protect Tess while she studies Jake. His assignment is not random — he and Tess have a history, and a connection the Bureau hopes to use to its own advantage. By the time Ross realizes his mission could be compromised, it’s already too late — he’ll have to choose between his love for Tess and his duty to protect the people of his own Earth.
Master of Plagues by E.L. Tettensor
Having barely escaped the clutches of the Darkwalker, Inspector Nicolas Lenoir throws himself into his work with a determination he hasn’t known in years. But his legendary skills are about to be put to the test. A horrific disease is ravaging the city—and all signs point to it having been deliberately unleashed.
With a mass murderer on the loose, a rising body count, and every hound in the city on quarantine duty, the streets of Kennian are descending into mayhem, while Lenoir and his partner, Sergeant Bran Kody, are running out of time to catch a killer and find a cure.
Only one ray of hope exists: the nomadic Adali, famed for their arcane healing skills, claim to have a cure. But dark magic comes at a price, one even the dying may be unwilling to pay. All that’s left to Lenoir is a desperate gamble. And when the ashes settle, the city of Kennian will be changed forever…
The Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan
Devoted readers of Lady Trent’s earlier memoirs, A Natural History of Dragons and The Tropic of Serpents, may believe themselves already acquainted with the particulars of her historic voyage aboard the Royal Survey Ship Basilisk, but the true story of that illuminating, harrowing, and scandalous journey has never been revealed—until now. Six years after her perilous exploits in Eriga, Isabella embarks on her most ambitious expedition yet: a two-year trip around the world to study all manner of dragons in every place they might be found. From feathered serpents sunning themselves in the ruins of a fallen civilization to the mighty sea serpents of the tropics, these creatures are a source of both endless fascination and frequent peril. Accompanying her is not only her young son, Jake, but a chivalrous foreign archaeologist whose interests converge with Isabella’s in ways both professional and personal.
Science is, of course, the primary objective of the voyage, but Isabella’s life is rarely so simple. She must cope with storms, shipwrecks, intrigue, and warfare, even as she makes a discovery that offers a revolutionary new insight into the ancient history of dragons.
What if a society banished its worst nightmare to the far edge of the solar system, destined to sip only dregs of light and struggle for the barest living. And yet, that life thrived? It grew and learned and became far more than you ever expected, and it wanted to return to the sun. What if it didn’t share your moral compass in any way?
The Glittering Edge duology describes the clash of forces when an advanced society that has filled a solar system with flesh and blood life meets the near-AI’s that it banished long ago. This is a story of love for the wild and natural life on a colony planet, complex adventure set in powerful space stations, and the desire to live completely whether you are made of flesh and bone or silicon and carbon fiber.
In Edge of Dark, meet ranger Charlie Windar and his adopted wild predator, and explore their home on a planet that has been raped and restored more than once. Meet Nona Hall, child of power and privilege from the greatest station in the system, the Diamond Deep. Meet Nona’s best friend, a young woman named Chrystal who awakens in a robotic body…
When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) is given an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female would under similar circumstances – names it the Spotted Crumpet and floats to India in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea. But India has more than just tea on offer. Rue stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier’s wife, and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis and an embarrassing lack of bloomers, what else is a young lady of good breeding to do but turn metanatural and find out everyone’s secrets, even thousand-year-old fuzzy ones?
Kepler had never meant to die this way — viciously beaten to death by a stinking vagrant in a dark back alley. But when reaching out to the murderer for salvation in those last dying moments, a sudden switch takes place.
Now Kepler is looking out through the eyes of the killer himself, staring down at a broken and ruined body lying in the dirt of the alley.
Instead of dying, Kepler has gained the ability to roam from one body to another, to jump into another person’s skin and see through their eyes, live their life — be it for a few minutes, a few months or a lifetime.
Kepler means these host bodies no harm — and even comes to cherish them intimately like lovers. But when one host, Josephine Cebula, is brutally assassinated, Kepler embarks on a mission to seek the truth — and avenge Josephine’s death.
Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
“You ain’t gonna like what I have to tell you, but I’m gonna tell you anyway. See, my name is Karen Memery, like memory only spelt with an e, and I’m one of the girls what works in the Hôtel Mon Cherie on Amity Street. Hôtel has a little hat over the o like that. It’s French, so Beatrice tells me.”
Hugo-Award winning author Elizabeth Bear offers something new inKaren Memory, an absolutely entrancing steampunk novel set in Seattle in the late 19th century—an era when the town was called Rapid City, when the parts we now call Seattle Underground were the whole town (and still on the surface), when airships plied the trade routes bringing would-be miners heading up to the gold fields of Alaska, and steam-powered mechanicals stalked the waterfront. Karen is a “soiled dove,” a young woman on her own who is making the best of her orphaned state by working in Madame Damnable’s high-quality bordello. Through Karen’s eyes we get to know the other girls in the house—a resourceful group—and the poor and the powerful of the town. Trouble erupts into her world one night when a badly injured girl arrives at their door, seeking sanctuary, followed by the man who holds her indenture, who has a machine that can take over anyone’s mind and control their actions. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the next night brings a body dumped in their rubbish heap—a streetwalker who has been brutally murdered.
Bear brings alive this Jack-the-Ripper-type story of the old west with the light touch of Karen’s own memorable voice, and a mesmerizing evocation of classic steam-powered science
Cherry Bomb by Kathleen Tierney/Caitlín R. Kiernan
Three years have passed since Quinn turned her back on Providence, Rhode Island’s seedy supernatural underbelly, walking out on Mr. B. and taking a bus headed anywhere. She hoped her escape would give her some peace from the endless parade of horrors. But a dead girl who quarrels with the moon can’t catch a break, and, on the streets of Manhattan, Quinn finds herself caught between a rock and a hard place. Again.
What do you do when you’re stuck in the middle of a three-million-year-old grudge match between the ghouls and the djinn, accidentally in possession of a hellish artifact that could turn the tide of the war, all the while being hunted by depraved half-ghoul twins intent on taking the object and ushering in a terrifying Dark Age?
Especially when you’ve fallen in love with the woman who got you into this mess—and you ain’t nobody’s hero…
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.
Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London – but no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her ‘proper adventure’.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.
The Iron Ghost by Jen Williams
Beware the dawning of a new mage…
Wydrin of Crosshaven, Sir Sebastian and Lord Aaron Frith are experienced in the perils of stirring up the old gods. They are also familiar with defeating them, and the heroes of Baneswatch are now enjoying the perks of suddenly being very much in demand for their services.
When a job comes up in the distant city of Skaldshollow, it looks like easy coin – retrieve a stolen item, admire the views, get paid. But in a place twisted and haunted by ancient magic, with the most infamous mage of them all, Joah Demonsworn, making a reappearance, our heroes soon find themselves threatened by enemies on all sides, old and new. And in the frozen mountains, the stones are walking…
Persona by Genevieve Valentine
An acerbic thriller from a Nebula award finalist, set against the backdrop of a near-future world of celebrity ambassadors and assassins who manipulate the media to the point where the only truth seekers left are the paparazzi.
When Suyana, Face of the United Amazonia Rainforest Confederation, secretly meets Ethan of the United States for a date that can solidify a relationship for the struggling UARC, the last thing she expects is an assassination attempt. Daniel, a teen runaway-turned-paparazzi out for his big break, witnesses the first shot hit Suyana, and before he can think about it, he jumps into the fray, telling himself it’s not altruism, it’s the scoop. Just like that, Suyana and Daniel are now in the game of Faces. And if they lose, they’ll die.
Brianna Hai runs an occult shop that sells useless trinkets to tourists—and real magic supplies to witches and warlocks. The magical painting that hangs in Brianna’s apartment is the last portal between the fae and human worlds.
A shocking magical assault on her home reveals to Brianna that her father, High King Liu of the Fae, is under attack. With the help of her gargoyle, Pug, her friend David, and Angelo, a police detective who doesn’t believe in magic, Brianna recovers what was stolen from her and becomes an unwilling potential heir to the throne.
A suspenseful urban fantasy with a hint of romance, The Exile is the first solo novel by C. T. Adams, who is half of USA Today bestselling author Cat Adams. Like the Cat Adams Blood Singer novels, The Exile is set in a world where magic is real and contains Adams’s trademark blend of suspense, action, humor, and strongly emotional writing.
Defiant by Karina Sumner-Smith
Once, Xhea’s wants were simple: enough to eat, safety in the underground, and the hit of bright payment to transform her gray-cast world into color. But in the aftermath of her rescue of the Radiant ghost Shai, she realizes the life she had known is gone forever.
In the two months since her fall from the City, Xhea has hidden in skyscraper Edren, sheltered and attempting to heal. But soon even she must face the troubling truth that she might never walk again. Shai, ever faithful, has stayed by her side—but the ghost’s very presence has sent untold fortunes into Edren’s coffers and dangerously unbalanced the Lower City’s political balance.
War is brewing. Beyond Edren’s walls, the other skyscrapers have heard tell of the Radiant ghost and the power she holds; rumors, too, speak of the girl who sees ghosts who might be the key to controlling that power. Soon, assassins stalk the skyscrapers’ darkened corridors while armies gather in the streets. But Shai’s magic is not the only prize—nor the only power that could change everything. At last, Xhea begins to learn of her strange dark magic, and why even whispers of its presence are enough to make the Lower City elite tremble in fear.
Together, Xhea and Shai may have the power to stop a war—or become a weapon great enough to bring the City to its knees. That is, if the magic doesn’t destroy them first.
The chilling follow-up to The Three, Sarah Lotz’s “hard to put down and vastly entertaining” debut (Stephen King).
Hundreds of pleasure-seekers stream aboard The Beautiful Dreamer cruise ship for five days of cut-price fun in the Caribbean sun. On the fourth day, disaster strikes: smoke roils out of the engine room, and the ship is stranded in the Gulf of Mexico. Soon supplies run low, a virus plagues the ship, and there are whispered rumors that the cabins on the lower decks are haunted by shadowy figures. Irritation escalates to panic, the crew loses control, factions form, and violent chaos erupts among the survivors.
When, at last, the ship is spotted drifting off the coast of Key West, the world’s press reports it empty. But the gloomy headlines may be covering up an even more disturbing reality.
On a freezing Christmas Eve in 1879, a forensic psychic reader is summoned from her Baker Street lodgings to the scene of a questionable death. Alexandrina Victoria Pendlebury (named after her godmother, the current Queen of England) is adamant that the death in question is a magically compromised murder and not a suicide, as the police had assumed, after the shocking revelation contained by the body in question, Alex must put her personal loss aside to uncover the deeper issues at stake, before more bodies turn up.
Turning to some choice allies—the handsome, prescient Lieutenant Brooks, the brilliant, enigmatic Lord Desmond, and her rapscallion cousin James—Alex will have to marshal all of her magical and mental acumen to save Queen and Country from a shadowy threat. Our singular heroine is caught up in this rousing gaslamp adventure of cloaked assassins, meddlesome family, and dark magic.
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.
Stories of the Raksura Vol. 2 by Martha Wells
Martha Wells continues to enthusiastically ignore genre conventions in her exploration of the fascinating world of the Raksura. Her novellas and short stories contain all the elements fans have come to love from the Raksura books: courtly intrigue and politics, unfolding mysteries that reveal an increasingly strange wider world, and threats both mundane and magical.
“The Dead City” is a tale of Moon before he came to the Indigo Court. As Moon is fleeing the ruins of Saraseil, a groundling city destroyed by the Fell, he flies right into another potential disaster when a friendly caravanserai finds itself under attack by a strange force. In “The Dark Earth Below,” Moon and Jade face their biggest adventure yet; their first clutch. But even as Moon tries to prepare for impending fatherhood, members of the Kek village in the colony tree’s roots go missing, and searching for them only leads to more mysteries as the court is stalked by an unknown enemy.
Stories of Moon and the shape changers of Raksura have delighted readers for years. This world is a dangerous place full of strange mysteries, where the future can never be taken for granted and must always be fought for with wits and ingenuity, and often tooth and claw. With these two new novellas, Martha Wells shows that the world of the Raksura has many more stories to tell…
Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman
Reports of a strange, new habitable planet have reached the Twenty Planets of human civilization. When a team of scientists is assembled to investigate this world, exoethnologist Sara Callicot is recruited to keep an eye on an unstable crewmate. Thora was once a member of the interplanetary elite, but since her prophetic delusions helped mobilize a revolt on Orem, she’s been banished to the farthest reaches of space, because of the risk that her very presence could revive unrest.
Upon arrival, the team finds an extraordinary crystalline planet, laden with dark matter. Then a crew member is murdered and Thora mysteriously disappears. Thought to be uninhabited, the planet is in fact home to a blind, sentient species whose members navigate their world with a bizarre vocabulary and extrasensory perceptions.
Lost in the deep crevasses of the planet among these people, Thora must battle her demons and learn to comprehend the native inhabitants in order to find her crewmates and warn them of an impending danger. But her most difficult task may lie in persuading the crew that some powers lie beyond the boundaries of science.
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison
This is the way the world ends. Again.
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze—the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years—collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.
Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.
The Black Wolves by Kate Elliott
SOME CHOICES CAN NEVER BE UNDONE.
He lost his honor long ago.
Captain Kellas was lauded as the king’s most faithful servant until the day he failed in his duty. Dismissed from service, his elite regiment disbanded, he left the royal palace and took up another life.
Now a battle brews within the palace that threatens to reveal deadly secrets and spill over into open war. The king needs a loyal soldier to protect him.
Can a disgraced man ever be trusted?
The following are books I’m looking forward to that are likely to be out in 2015, but do not have a description and/or cover yet at this time…but keep your eyes peeled!
Our Lady of the Ice by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen
Book Review: The Whispering Swarm by Michael Moorcock
Posted on January 13, 2015 10 Comments
The Whispering Swarm by Michael Moorcock
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of Sanctuary of the White Friars
Publisher: Tor (January 13, 2015)
Author Information: Website
Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Michael Moorcock’s The Whispering Swarm is certainly a strange book and not what I expected at all. My first venture into this renowned author’s work notwithstanding, even I could tell this was quite a departure from his older work, involving no small amount of literary experimentation – and not least because of the novel’s semi-autobiographical nature in which Moorcock chronicles the shift of his craft from sci-fi fantasy pulp fiction towards a “new wave” and more modernist tradition.
The first book of a new trilogy, Moorcock’s latest novel presents to readers a semi-factual, semi-fictitious version of the author’s younger self growing up in post-World War II London. We follow Michael Moorcock as he navigates the world of science fiction and fantasy publishing, starting out as editor of his Tarzan Adventures fanzine at the age of 17 and eventually moving on to bigger and more prominent roles in the industry – including his controversial position as the editor of British science fiction magazine New Worlds during the 60s and 70s.
While the character talks about much of his writing, the narrative is also laced with a heavy dose of fantastical elements. Between sections detailing Michael’s personal and professional life, the book slips in and out of reality to feature an alternate world called Alsacia, a hidden sanctuary and home to both historical and legendary figures like Prince Rupert of the Rhine or Dumas’ musketeers. It’s a place where death does not exist and time flows differently, where heroes from different centuries can share a pint and rub elbows down at the tavern and no one will bat an eye. The first time young Michael accidentally stumbles into Alsacia, he meets the beautiful Mol Midnight, literally the girl of his dreams who later on becomes his muse for a number books and stories. And so begins his long relationship with this mystical place and the denizens within. Thus Michael finds himself torn between two worlds, the real London where his career and family reside, and Alsacia where he can indulge in wild romances and adventures. Before long, he can hardly ignore the whispers of what he calls the Swarm, always calling him, tempting him back into the sanctuary where he can find solace from the pressures of the world.
As someone previously unfamiliar with Moorcock’s work, I found myself intrigued by the premise of the book. Unfortunately, I was also frequently frustrated with the seemingly disorganized and irregular pacing of what at times barely passes for a plot. As previously mentioned, a huge chunk of the novel is written in a semi-autobiographical style, where readers are swept along on lengthy descriptions of young Michael’s professional and social life, which include his experimentations with sex, drugs and music. I wasn’t so fond of the explanatory narrative and found myself less interested in the nitty-gritty details of his editing and writing, but when it came to the character’s internal insights into the evolution of his style, I was perhaps more enthusiastic.
As a character, Michael’s motivations were hard to grasp. He’s an unsettled and indecisive narrator, not to mention frequently unreliable which made it more difficult to find him sympathetic. He would alternate between being selfless and self-pitying, especially where the needs of his young family are concerned. The times he steps through the veil into Alsacia are the highlights, however. Regrettably I found these to be too few and far between especially in the first half, or else I might have had an easier time getting into the book; instead, I had to push myself through most of the beginning.
On the other hand, I didn’t expect to enjoy the blurring of reality and fantasy as much as I did; there was always that uncertainty lingering in the background, mixing in that element of the unknown which made the situation more compelling as Michael became more entrenched in the business of Alsacia. This novel is definitely the first of its kind that I have read, and even knowing that most of Michael’s personal details had to be completely fabricated, the questions it made me ask were the sort that were entirely different and unique.
I have a feeling this is a very special trilogy in the making, but the ultimate payoff may require too much investment for some readers, including myself. Michael’s exploits with the various adventurers from Alsacia were exciting towards the end, but I wish more of the book had been dedicated to that aspect of the story. There are some great ideas in here, if somewhat radical and on the experimental side, but my experience was mainly dampened by the slow pacing of the plot as well as a lack of direction for most of it. An interesting novel overall, and in the end I’m not sorry I read it. The style is not exactly to my tastes, but it’s broadened my horizons.
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Tor Books!
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