Dominion by C.S. Friedman (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official Author Website

Read an Excerpt HERE

Order Dominion HERE (Amazon) and HERE (Barnes & Noble)

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Celia S. Friedman was born in 1957 in New York city and was enamored by reading since a young age. She developed a strong affinity towards science fiction in her teens thanks to Isaac Asimov & since then has gone on to read much of it. She got her MFA from the University of Georgia, where she studied Costume Design. She currently lives in Northern Virginia and has two cats that are integral to her writing process.

OFFICIAL BLURB: Four hundred years after mankind's arrival on Erna, the undead sorcerer Gerald Tarrant travels north in search of a legend. For it is rumored there is a forest where the fae has become so powerful that it devours all who enter it, and he means to test its power.

This prequel to C. S. Friedman's bestselling Coldfire Trilogy (Black Sun Rising, When True Night Falls, Crown of Shadows) offers fans of the series a hint of Tarrant's secret history, while new readers will enjoy a chilling introduction to one of High Fantasy's most fascinating -- and deadly --worlds.

FORMAT/INFO: Dominion is 3o-odd pages. Narration is in the third person via Gerald Tarrant and Faith the Church Knight. There is an “about the author” section as well. Dominion is a standalone novella and is also a prequel. January 9, 2012 marked the e-book publication of Dominion by the author herself. Cover art is provided by Linda Gilbert and Casey Gordon.

ANALYSIS: Dominion is a novella by celebrated SFF writer Celia S. Friedman, it is a prequel to her seminal work that is “The Coldfire trilogy”. The first book “Black Sun Rising” was released in 1991 and captured the interest and fascination of readers worldwide with its curious mix of science fiction and fantasy. Two sequels followed at a biennial rate and the author closed of the trilogy and the story of eclectic bunch of characters found within. Liviu is also a fan of this series as is Pat of Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist and it's through both their efforts that I go to know about Dominion.

Before we start I would extoll readers to read this wonderful essay about the series and its motifs by a polish fan. It has a few mild spoilers but it remarkably demonstrates why it had such an impact amongst SFF readers nearly two decades ago and why it still holds a special position in their minds/hearts. I haven’t read the trilogy but that is more due to laziness on my part rather than anything else. Also since this novella was a prequel, I thought of it as a perfect opportunity to begin my exploration of this evocative work.

The story has two protagonists namely Gerald Tarrant and Faith, the former is the first of a kind among mages, the latter the ultimate survivor of a hunting Knight force. They are polar opposites and are both drawn to a certain special forest that will test their fortitude. Gerald is drawn to it for the sole reason that it raises his curiosity by being a font of fae energy, which might have sentience. Faith on the other hand, doesn’t have an exact clue about how she has landed there. Death however stalks both of them and one misstep will be all that it takes for the forest to claim dominion over both of them.

What is so good about this novella is that even though it is on the shorter side in matters of length, it does not waste any extra space in immersing the reader in the dark world of Erna. The setting and background information is quickly given to the reader without making it all to obvious and at the same time is the introduction of the dual POV threads which fuel the story. The pace of the plot is of the express kind but it does not hamper the characterization in any way, which just shows the proficient prose utilized. Another point about the characterization is that readers will be thoroughly invested in both characters and of course it’s almost impossible not to be enamored by the Neocount whose actions, intellect & power are visible only as the tip of the iceberg. I know who the readers will most likely be rooting to achieve dominion (as was I) and that is another highlight for the novella to entrance the reader in such a small timeframe.

The novella is structured in such a way that its not hard to guess where it will end up but here’s the beauty you can’t exactly predict how it will end for both the protagonists (Obviously veteran fans of the Coldfire trilogy will know more about the fate of one of the POV characters). The twist in the end as well as the origin story of another character in the middle will be very much appreciated by pervious fans as I’m lead to believe that both plot twists are pivotal for certain events in the future trilogy. Overall this novella stands out for making it easy for fans & non-fans to get acquainted with it easily, with out losing out on the surprise factor that is often the downfall seen in most prequels due to the nature of the stories.

I don’t think I have any feedback of the dissenting kind for this story as it simply caught me off guard with its sheer excellence and it shames me to say that I haven’t yet read the Coldfire trilogy in spite of owning all the three books.

CONCLUSION: C.S Friedman’s Dominion is nothing short of a brilliant way to get new readers exposed to her seminal trilogy and other works. Do yourself a favor and read this novella if you are looking for dark fantasy and a protagonist who is quite simply the perfect embodiment of an antihero. Dominion is a must read for all fans of the darker turn of the fictional worlds, so go meet the Neocount and be prepared to amazed.

"Stories from The Quiet War" by Paul McAuley (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Official Paul J. McAuley Website
Official Paul J. McAuley Blog
Order Stories from the Quiet War HERE
Read FBC Review of "The Quiet War"
Read FBC Review of "Gardens of the Sun"
Read FBC Review of "In the Mouth of the Whale"

INTRODUCTION: I read this collection after the wonderful In the Mouth of the Whale - my top 2012 book so far and while it's very early, I am quite sure the novel will remain a top 10 as the year goes by - as I did not want to leave the superb universe of the author.

For some of the stories here, it was the 4th or 5th time I read them, some third, some second time and only Karyl's War which is newly published (hint: contains an Arab Spring reference) was for the first time; notable Quiet War milieu stories missing are Dead Men Walking and The Gardens of Saturn which are also awesome and there are 2 or 3 others excellent ones missing also (The Passenger, Assassination of Faustino Malarte...). Still for a very low price, these 5 stories offer a very good reading experience and I highly recommend them.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Stories from the Quiet War opens with a new introduction by the author explaining a bit the genesis of the milieu and of the novels, while also making the transition from the Solar System of their action, to the future and away of In the Mouth of the Whale.

Making History is the first QW story I have read in the awesome PS anthology "Futures" of 2000 and it hooked me on the milieu; this was my 4th or 5th read of this story and the first person narration of an aging history professor who is commissioned by the winning powers to write a biography of the most hated (or most heroic) leader of the Outers, the immediate post war desolation where the winners make the rules and the vanquished endure and a beautiful girl and a love stricken police commander/chief torturer were as fresh as on the first read.

Incomers is a more recent story and is set after the war in a habitat less touched by it, though its reverberations and suspicions still go on; good stuff too but less memorable than most of the rest.

Second Skin - one of several stories about the spies and saboteurs, the Earth Powers had sent in the first wave of the war before the conquest and while Dead Men Walking is the best such, this one is excellent too.

Reef - Outers science and tech on display and sense of wonder and speculations about the future; this story fits best with In the Mouth of the Whale and is another excellent one

Karyl's War - the odyssey of an Outer outsider who wants only to be left in peace to live his nomadic life, but as those memorable words say: "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you". More great world building and action as well as a cautionary tale for all seasons so to speak. When history is in the making, the individual becomes a statistic...

Overall - if you have not read the author's wonderful series that starts with The Quiet War, try these stories and see if they hook you as Making History did it 11 or so years ago for me...

James Rollins News and Author Interview (By Mihir Wanchoo)

Official James Rollins Website

Read FBC’s Review of “The Judas Strain”

Read FBC’s Review of “The Last Oracle”

Read FBC’s Review of “The Doomsday Key”

Read FBC’s Review of “The Devil Colony”

James Rollins is an author who is admired by both Robert and me over here at Fantasy Book Critic. I was first introduced to his writing via his debut “Subterranean” which was released more than thirteen years ago. We have been covering his SIGMA series over the past few years and so we are always excited to hear news about his upcoming projects and what’s new with our favorite literary veterinarian.

Recently James revealed the cover of the next SIGMA book which is titled BLOODLINE. Here are the blurb details that promise another exciting adventure for the SIGMA crew:

Fleeing from Somali Pirates, a yacht bearing a young American Family crashes into a jungle atoll off the coast of Madagascar, only to face a horror far more terrifying: an experiment run amok has turned the island into the bloody hunting grounds for a new form of life. The single female survivor, rescued by Captain Tucker Wayne and his advanced military team, bears a terrifying secret. She is pregnant and something is already changing inside her.

Halfway around the world, firebombing at a fertility clinic in South Carolina reveals a group of women kidnapped from around the globe and enslaved to bear children by artificial means. One woman lives long enough to give birth to a stillborn child at a local hospital. A genetic study reveals the child bears a strange abnormality-a triple helix of DNA.

Commander Gray Pierce of SIGMA Force and Captain Tucker Wayne must team up with a deadly assassin on a journey from the sparkling towers of Dubai to the crumbling ruins of an ancient French fortress, from the halls of power on Capitol Hill to the dark secrets buried at the heart of a centuries-old southern plantation, all in the quest for the truth-and to save an unborn child that may be the key to the future of mankind.

The blurb promises another thrill ride across the world in various exotic locales similar to the earlier books. For those readers who want to get a sneak peek, hop over to James’s Facebook page and start reading an exclusive chunk!

And yesterday there was something absolutely new on his blog, here’s a bit about the new venture in James’s own words:

While I have done many interviews over the years, this is the first interview of an author I'll do on my blog. I'm pleased that the person I'm interviewing is someone I've known a long time that I personally find interesting as well as admirable. That individual is author Jon Land. In observing Jon over an extended period of time, I know that he is first in line to help others. First in line to share his experience and advice to the up and coming, and first to admit mistakes and do all he can to fix them. Don't we all know many others who could benefit from those qualities? It's my pleasure to invite you to visit Jon's website to learn more about him and his books, and my privilege to share with you this, my first author interview.

(Pic Credit: Erika Ekdahl)

So in this wonderful interview the reader will get to know more about Jon, his concept of heroism, his thoughts and the various minutiae that Jon admires. Also to get to you interested, here’s what he thinks about storytellers:

The imagination binds us together in worlds that only exist as we share them. That is the complex and personal nature of the relationship between reader and writer. And though it may seem like casual entertainment it is much more than that. We share the great “what if?” as a story teaches us about the world we know, the one we don’t and more importantly, about ourselves as we walk within the skin of a character we’ve grown to love.

Authors are storytellers. It’s an age-old profession that has captured the hearts and minds of millions of people throughout time. Often, people wonder about storytellers. Where do the stories come from? Why is someone compelled to put a character through hardships, in danger, in love? I invite you to join me as we get to find out the story of the storyteller.

And now to read the entire interview, head over to James’s blog and enjoy!

Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official Myke Cole Website

Order “Shadow Ops: Control Point” HERE

Read an excerpt HERE

AUTHOR INFORMATION: As a security contractor, government civilian and military officer, Myke Cole’s career has run the gamut from Counter-terrorism to Cyber Warfare to Federal Law Enforcement. He’s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He’s also a graduate of the Viable Paradise writer’s workshop and is a close friend of Peter V. Brett. He also won the 2003 Writers of the future award for his story “Blood and Horses”. His passions include comics, fantasy novels and late night D&D games which eventually set him on a path of being a wordsmith.

OFFICIAL BLURB: Across the country and in every nation, people are waking up with magical talents. Untrained and panicked, they summon storms, raise the dead, and set everything they touch ablaze.

Army officer Oscar Britton sees the worst of it. A lieutenant attached to the military's Supernatural Operations Corps, his mission is to bring order to a world gone mad. Then he abruptly manifests a rare and prohibited magical power, transforming him overnight from government agent to public enemy number one.

The SOC knows how to handle this kind of situation: hunt him down--and take him out. Driven into an underground shadow world, Britton is about to learn that magic has changed all the rules he's ever known, and that his life isn't the only thing he's fighting for.

CLASSIFICATION: The Shadow Ops series is a multi volume urban fantasy series which combines the superhero aspect showcased in X-men comics along with the military themes espoused in stories by Glen Cook. Stirring the pot with his own style, the author unleashes a potent tale upon the readers.

FORMAT/INFO: Shadow Ops: Control Point is 389 pages long divided over thirty-four numbered and titled chapters. Narration is in the third person solely via Oscar Britton. There is also a glossary about the terms, acronyms and slang utilized in the story. Shadow Ops: Control Point is the first novel of the Shadow Ops series.

January 31, 2012 marks the North American Paperback and e-book publication of Shadow Ops: Control Point via ACE books. Cover art is provided by Michael Komarck.

ANALYSIS: I first heard about Myke Cole via Peter V. Brett’s blog, he had mentioned his friendship with Myke a few times and this particular section about his then book titled “Latent” caught my attention nicely:

“It is great Military Fantasy – the X-Men meets Black Hawk Down. Myke has been one of my inner-circle test readers for many years, and vice-versa. There is a lot of him in The Warded Man, and a lot of me in Latent. Keep your eyes peeled for it.”

The military fantasy line along with that awesome elevator pitch made me aware of Cole and I was particularly awaiting more news about it. a few months ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Anne Sowards. Anne had pointed out his book as one to watch out for and had some effusive praise for it as well. Thereafter Myke was awesome enough to send me the book’s ARC and I dug in wanting to see how justified the hype was all about in regards to Control Point.

Firstly the story opens with a nice action packed sequence which not only introduces the main protagonist Oscar Britton but the world which is vastly similar to our own except for having one crucial anomaly, that is MAGIC! A world wherein people are waking up with various elemental powers that have to be classified and kept under study. Thus the nations around the world are trying to adapt themselves around this change and started their own official magic-infused soldiers and battalions. Oscar is a simple soldier however once he’s involved in the take down of two teenage “Probes” [Rogue Magicians or Selfers], he witnesses casual brutality which shakes his conscience and he’s forced to help the US Supernatural Corps take down the two at the expense of the safety of his own team members. Once the task is accomplished, while recuperating Oscar suddenly goes Latent and manifests a rare type of magic called Portamancy which not only places him squarely at the top on the wanted list but also makes him special in the eyes of those who are on the search for greater power.

Thus begins the tale of Oscar Britton, who discovers that not all conspiracy theories are false and things are never what they seem to be. The story then moves on to the next phase of his rehabilitation at the hands of the US government which is the true meat of the story and makes this debut such a fantastic one. Author Myke Cole has indeed worked on this story for a long time and it shows vibrantly as the themes which are nuanced within the plot are felt strongly by the reader. The characterization of the main protagonist as well as the fellow character cast is a rich one, perhaps a bit impeded with the third person view chosen. Yet the author resolutely gives the reader a terrific view of the protagonist’s thoughts, feelings and the profound metamorphosis through a narrative prose style which nails the reader’s attention through and through.

Perhaps the best part of the book (for me at least) is the vividly imagined worldscape, to come up with the explosive mix of Magic in today’s world is not hard at all. However to postulate the world scenario created and then convincingly entrance the readers with it, is something of a rave-worthy talent. To find it in a debutante makes it special, and this is the best thing about this book. The world and magic system showcased seems to be so thoroughly constructed that its hard to point out flaws in it (not that they are absent, but on a very close examination are the few ones visible). These minute aberrations can perhaps be better explained with the reason that since this is the first book, the author went in for a more action packed plot eschewing the detailed expositions so as to not sacrifice the narrative energy.

I also want to see how the author expands this world/magic system as there are some glimpses shown that are tantalizingly cool. Lastly the author being a military personnel brings to life a veritable slice of the military life and all the good & bad aspects of it. This exploration creates a rather catch-22 situation for the protagonist and which is wonderfully exploited by the author with some terrific shades of the 1990s X-Men Saga seen. Also within it we are also introduced to perhaps one of the best counter-foil characters ever created, this character is one of those which the readers will just love to hate giving almost no reason to ever change those thoughts.

Lastly there are a couple of hiccups in this book, namely that in between Oscar’s transition from a runaway latent to a self-measured warrior of the Shadow coven, the pace of the book slackens as the book energy perhaps mirrors the protagonist’s plot-induced confusion. This aspect lasts for about 80-odd pages and once its over, the pace picks up again, and for the second drawback is that the author hasn’t quite thoroughly explained some of the crucial happenings in the book. These aspects if focused upon cause the book to feel a bit weak for example it is never quite thoroughly explained as to why/how Oscar got his powers and what marks him out as a “special water baby”. This is just me but when you enjoy certain stories a lot you want them to have almost next to nothing in the negative departments. This might not be the case for every reader and so will depend on each person’s taste.

CONCLUSION: Myke Cole’s debut is another ace from the ACE book stable and possibly heralds a series which if handled competently, can be an absolute break out saga. Myke delivers a standout book which not only gives the readers a different type of a story but also carves a further niche in the sub-genre that is urban fantasy. If you aren’t excited yet for this book, you should be, this is a superb release to start off the new year and one which can be read across genre lines. I can’t wait to get my hands on Shadow Ops series: Fortress Frontier and see where he plans to take the reader next.

2011 BSFA Shortlist with Comments (by Liviu Suciu)

Via SFSignal from which I grabbed the image above and then from Torque Control here are the 2011 shortlist nominees for the British SF Association best novel award. After a few comments, I will include the nominees in the other three categories below.

Best Novel

• Cyber Circus by Kim Lakin-Smith (Newcon Press) - Amazon link
  
• Embassytown by China Mieville (Macmillan) - FBC Rv
  
• The Islanders by Christopher Priest (Gollancz) - FBC Rv
  
• By Light Alone by Adam Roberts (Gollancz) - FBC Rv
  
• Osama by Lavie Tidhar (PS Publishing) -author site

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COMMENTS: While smaller that its US analog Nebula, and not on the scale of the best sff award today - the British Arthur Clarke one - the BSFA awards are (imho) much more interesting and "respectable" than the often butt of jokes Nebula ones and I always take a look at them. This year the shortlist contains three major sf novels that have all made my top 25 list of 2011.

You can find more information and comments in the reviews linked above.

In addition, there is the provocative "Osama" from Lavie Tidhar (the author of the superb "Bookman Files" series from which the third installment The Great Game will be published soon and I plan to review it in early February, while the first two books have been reviewed HERE and HERE). I have a review copy of Osama and I will definitely take a look in the near future too.

Then for the last nominee, Cyber Circus by Kim Lakin-Smith, a book and author I have not heard of before - one of the beauties of these lists is bringing such to attention - but as it is available inexpensively as an ebook at the link above, I have just bought it and will take a look as the blurb is intriguing and the sample reads well.

Of the three major novels above, I would go with By Light Alone as my clear top choice and I give it 33% odds to win, though I would say the big favorite remains Embassytown. The Islanders is an extraordinary book in its way, but I would say it is the "most acquired taste" of the three.

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As promised here are the rest of the nominees in the other 3 categories.

Best Short Fiction
The Silver Wind by Nina Allan (Interzone 233, TTA Press)
The Copenhagen Interpretation by Paul Cornell (Asimov’s, July)
Afterbirth by Kameron Hurley (Kameron Hurley’s own website)
Covehithe by China Mieville (The Guardian)
Of Dawn by Al Robertson (Interzone 235, TTA Press)

Best Non-Fiction
Out of This World: Science Fiction but not as we Know it by Mike Ashley (British Library)
The SF Encyclopedia, 3^rd Edition ed. John Clute, Peter Nicholls and David Langford (website)
Review of Arslan by M J Engh, Abigail Nussbaum (Asking the Wrong Questions blog)
SF Mistressworks, ed. Ian Sales (website)
Pornokitsch, ed. Jared Shurin and Anne Perry (website)
The Unsilent Library: Essays on the Russell T. Davies Era of the New Doctor Who (Foundation Studies in Science Fiction), ed. Graham Sleight, Tony Keen and Simon Bradshaw (Science Fiction Foundation)

Best Art
Cover of Ian Whates’s The Noise Revealed by Dominic Harman (Solaris)
Cover and illustrations of Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls by Jim Kay (Walker)
Cover of Lavie Tidhar’s Osama by Pedro Marques (PS Publishing)
Cover of Liz Williams’s A Glass of Shadow by Anne Sudworth (Newcon Press)