"The Sentinel Mage" by Emily Gee (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Order "The Sentinel Mage" HERE
Official Emily Gee Website
Read FBC Review of TheLaurentine Spy

INTRODUCTION: In 2009 I raved about The Laurentine Spy by New Zelander author Emily Gee, a novel that still remains treasured in my memory almost two years later. So when I found about her new fantasy, a series debut no less after two standalones, I was very excited and had very high expectations, considering that I included the novel in a spotlight with two of my top five expected titles of 2011.

I liked the announced cover, while the blurb below was pretty generic and actually it turned out to be only partly accurate. However while the style of the novel was all I wanted and kept me reading, the content lacked depth badly and the book turned out to be a disappointment at least as my lofty expectations went, though further installments in the series may turn it around for me if they move the series beyond a "kill your enemies, get to the target" video game plot.

"Her magic may be the only thing that can save a prince—and the Seven Kingdoms. In a distant corner of the Seven Kingdoms, an ancient curse festers and grows, consuming everything in its path. Only one man can break it: Harkeld of Osgaard, a prince with mage’s blood in his veins. But Prince Harkeld has a bounty on his head—and assassins at his heels. Innis is a gifted shapeshifter. Now she must do the forbidden: become a man. She must stand at Prince Harkeld’s side as his armsman, protecting and deceiving him. But the deserts of Masse are more dangerous than the assassins hunting the prince. The curse has woken deadly creatures, and the magic Prince Harkeld loathes may be the only thing standing between him and death."

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The series that starts in The Sentinel Mage takes place in a fairly standard and non-specific pseudo-medieval setting with kingdoms, magicians and fantastic creatures. There are two continents, the Allied Kingdoms one, that accepts magic and nurtures it from young age - the Sentinels of the title are the most powerful such magicians and they uphold and enforce a strict code to avoid abuses etc, etc. Some sentinels are powerful shapeshifters, others can wreak havoc with fire, others can heal, some being able to do almost all...

Across the water in the Seven Kingdoms magicians - denigrated as witches - are killed on sight and the smallest taint of witch-blood ensures death if found. There is the bad powerful king, leader of the bad powerful kingdom Osgaard, which has swallowed its neighbors as time had passed; the current king Esger is as nasty as it goes, abusing his children, murdering his wives, you know the spiel from the "guide to write canned fantasy" that is consulted in so many genre offerings...

There is a twist though - some centuries ago a powerful magician did not go quietly to his death and enraged by his family's murder he put a curse on the Seven Kingdoms, curse that laid dormant since then, while of course it has just resurfaced as the book starts. In another cliche from the guide above, said magician is regarded as a one-off evil by his fellow over-the-water magicians who live safely in their land and they really want to do something, but are not quite sure what and how since the curse needs to be broken by a person who has both the blood of the bad royals in cause and magical blood and of course that person's hand and blood need to touch three remote and powerfully guarded artifacts...

And so it goes, with the blurb providing the rest you need to know with the additional detail that Prince Harkeld is accompanied by several Sentinel Mages who take turns at disguising themselves as his newly found, down on his luck non-mage bodyguard Justen, though the girl Innis - inexperienced but most powerful in memory etc, etc.. - is the one doing the heavy lifting as mentioned. And of course the prince does not even ask himself - at least in this volume - about the string of coincidences involved, but after all who needs a smart destined hero when a vain and mostly arrogant one would do...

There are two side plots, the most interesting involving the prince's beloved sister Britta and her "real" brave armsman Karel and enterprising maid Yasma, whose father plans to barter in marriage to a powerful duke - another disgusting, murderous boor etc, etc... This subplot had moments that reminded me why I loved the Laurentine Spy so much, but it is only a small part of the book, most being taken by the chase/kill enemies to get to first artifact above. And of course there are three artifacts and presumably three books etc, etc...

Despite all of the above, I enjoyed The Sentinel Mage more than the overview implies and I kept turning the pages - it's true that I kept hoping for something interesting, some twist, some depth - and that is the real "magic" of writing that the author has. The narrative flows well and you are compelled to turn the pages despite pretty much knowing what will be next and the banter between the main characters is entertaining quite a few times.

Outside of Harkeld and Innis, there is Petrus a young sentinel with a shine to Innis who takes the most turns as Justen when she is tired of keeping the changed shape or when she is needed in battle of for healing. So the triangle Harkeld, Innis, Petrus with one of the latter two playing Justen leads to many amusing moments and I felt a lot of sympathy for Petrus despite him being portrayed as stiff and uptight; especially considering that Harkeld remained an annoying whiner with occasional brutal tendencies to boot throughout...

The princess Britta is also very sympathetic and I hope that her story will take a more center stage in latter volumes. There are many avenues where things can go beyond the cliched one from this book and I hope the series takes some unexpected turns and acquires depth since the possibility is there for sure, while the author's writing style is just wonderful.

Overall The Sentinel Mage (B) is one of the few novels that I felt compelled to finish only because of the "magic of the writing", while the story was not only predictable but it was one that lacked much interest for me being the kind found in video-game novelizations or tie-ins and not what I expect from original work...

“The Warlord’s Legacy” by Ari Marmell (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)

Official Ari Marmell Website
Order “The Warlord’s Legacy” HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s Review of “The Conqueror’s Shadow”

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Ari Marmell is a graduate of the University of Houston with a Creative Writing degree, and has written several shared-world short stories and novels including Agents of Artifice (Magic: the Gathering). He is also the author of The Conqueror’s Shadow and the forthcoming novels from Pyr, The Goblin Corps and Household Gods.

PLOT SUMMARY: Corvis Rebaine, the Terror of the East, is no hero. In his trademark suit of black armor and skull-like helm, armed with a demon-forged axe, in command of a demonic slave, and with allies that include a bloodthirsty ogre, Rebaine has twice brought death and destruction to Imphallion in pursuit of a better, more equitable and just society. If he had to kill countless innocents in order to achieve that dream, so be it.

At least that was the old Rebaine. Before he slew the mad warlord Audriss. Before he banished the demon Khanda. Before he lost his wife and children, who could not forgive or forget his violent crimes. Now, years later, Rebaine lives in a distant city, under a false name, a member of one of the Guilds he despises, trying to achieve change nonviolently, from within the power structure.

Not even when the neighboring nation of Cephira invades Imphallion and the bickering Guilds prove unable to respond does Rebaine return to his old habits of slaughter. But someone else does. Someone wearing Rebaine’s black armor and bearing what appears to be his axe. Someone who is, if anything, even less careful of human life than Rebaine was.

Now Baron Jassion, Rebaine’s old nemesis, is hunting him once more, aided by a mysterious sorcerer named Kaleb, whose powers and secrets make him a more dangerous enemy than Rebaine has ever known. Even worse, accompanying them is a young woman who hates Corvis Rebaine perhaps more than anyone else: his own daughter, Mellorin. Suddenly Rebaine seems to have no choice. To clear his name, to protect his country, and to reconcile with his family, must he once again become the Terror of the East?

CLASSIFICATION: Like The Conqueror’s Shadow, The Warlord’s Legacy combines traditional sword & sorcery with graphic violence and humor that is both sarcastic and lighthearted. Think Dungeons & Dragons meets David Eddings meets Joe Abercrombie...

FORMAT/INFO: The Warlord’s Legacy is 384 pages long divided over twenty-three numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Narration is in the third-person via several different point-of-views, including Corvis Rebaine, Kaleb, Baron Jassion of Braetlyn, Salia Mavere of the Blacksmiths’ Guild, Baroness Irrial of Rahariem, Mellorin, Seilloah, Ellowaine, etc. The Warlord’s Legacy takes place six years after the end of The Conqueror’s Shadow, but can be read on its own, although I would recommend finishing The Conqueror’s Shadow first in order to get the most out of The Warlord’s Legacy. January 25, 2011 marks the North American Hardcover publication of The Warlord’s Legacy via Bantam Spectra. Cover art is once again provided by Larry Rostant. The UK version (see below) will be published on March 10, 2011 via Gollancz.

ANALYSIS: For me, The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell was one of the biggest and best surprises of 2010, and because I enjoyed the novel so much, I had very high expectations for the sequel. Sadly, The Warlord’s Legacy was a major disappointment...

There are many reasons why I enjoyed The Conqueror’s Shadow including the humor and the characters and the sword & sorcery action, but above all else, The Conqueror’s Shadow was just a blast to read. The Warlord’s Legacy uses basically the same formula as its predecessor, but the overall tone of the book tries to be more serious than it was in The Conqueror’s Shadow. The problem with this is twofold. For starters, the humor—which was such an important part of The Conqueror’s Shadow—has been significantly toned down in The Warlord’s Legacy. Sure, there are still jokes and sarcasm present in the novel, but I really found myself missing the playfulness of The Conqueror’s Shadow, especially the banter between Corvis Rebaine and the demon Khanda. Of course, considering the more serious tone of The Warlord’s Legacy, the book might have worked better if the author had just done away with any humor altogether.

The bigger issue though is with the characters. To be blunt, characterization—specifically indepth characterization—is not one of Ari Marmell’s strong points, which is a major problem considering the novel pretty much hinges on the difficult moral dilemmas (murdering the lives of thousands for the sake of millions, forsaking his friends and family in order to protect them, etc.) that Corvis Rebaine is constantly dealing with, and the driving motivations behind the people whose lives he has ruined including Jassion, Baroness Irrial, and his very own daughter, Mellorin. Basically, the author provides just enough characterization for readers to understand why Rebaine did what he did, or why Jassion wants revenge, or why Mellorin seeks answers from her father, but not enough to actually care. It’s a real shame too considering all of the tragic drama that never lives up to its full potential from the lives sacrificed by major characters to the transformation of people whose innocence is lost.

Unfortunately, there are other issues with The Warlord’s Legacy starting with a weak plot that rehashes material from The Conqueror’s Shadow, and just seemed more like an excuse to get Rebaine and former allies and enemies together again than an attempt at an actual story. World-building meanwhile, is once again non-existent, while the magic (demon-forged weapons, teleportation, mind control, etc.) in the book, though entertaining, is uninventive. Even the interludes—one of the things I loved most about The Conqueror’s Shadow—were disappointing. Instead of providing additional insight or depth to the characters like they did in The Conqueror’s Shadow, the brief flashbacks in The Warlord’s Legacy offered no real value to the novel apart from the occasional plot revelation or advancement.

On the positive side, Ari Marmell is a talented writer with a lot of potential. True, his characterization needs work as does his world-building, and I still can’t believe how feeble the plot was in The Warlord’s Legacy, but in the two books that I’ve read by the author, he’s demonstrated skillful pacing, vivid action sequences, and an ability to entertain the reader. And on top of all that, he’s also shown improvement as a writer, as evidenced by some impressive prose in the sequel. Plus, even though The Warlord’s Legacy was a disappointment, I really liked the way he ended the novel, leaving open the possibility for another sequel featuring a different character.

CONCLUSION: Ari Marmell’s The Conqueror’s Shadow was an almost perfect mix of exciting sword & sorcery action, sarcastic yet lighthearted humor, and nonstop fun. Compared to that, The Warlord’s Legacy was a major letdown, due mainly to a flimsy plot that retreads over familiar territory, characterization that couldn’t live up to the novel’s more somber attitude, and a noticeable lack of playfulness and fun. Despite all of this, I came away impressed with Ari Marmell’s abilities as a writer and hope that his next book, The Goblin Corps, can recapture the magic found in The Conqueror’s Shadow...

My Top Independent Novels of 2010 (by Liviu Suciu)

In my highly recommended list of 25 + 30 novels from 2010 - which turned out to be 59 with the last addition here - there were six titles that were independently published and which I wish to highlight since this field is exploding right now with the proliferation of reading devices and the advantageous terms offered to authors who go independent by Amazon and others.

I do not want to enter in the debates surrounding this topic since I think that only the future will shed a clear light on these matters and I only want to note that since for me content is the dominating factor in deciding to look at a book, I am very happy to try any book that interests me and I am also happy to ignore books that do not sound of interest barring other compelling reasons.

So give me secondary world novels, preferably non-pseudo-medieval, future sf that is not pulp-like and those will get priority, while almost anything contemporary, near-future, portal fantasy or pulp sf will get ignored. Alt-history depends on the topic...

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So back to independent books published in 2010, the clear leader is:

1. The Ryria Revelations by Michael Sullivan of which volumes 4 and 5, The Emerald Storm and Wintertide were published in 2010 while the concluding volume Percepliquis due in 2011 is one of my highest expected books of the year. These two novels ranked as #7 in my Top 25 of 2010, among the first traditional fantasies on the list and on par with #6 ranked The Black Prism by Brent Weeks.

I have reviewed all five novels so far and you can read my reasons for liking them there while I will add only that the series starts with a lighter almost standalone adventure novel in The Crown Conspiracy, ramps up in the second semi-standalone Avemapartha and then it takes off with the core of the series that form an uninterrupted long novel starting with Nyphron Rising.

To gauge my appreciation I want to mention that like with few other books that have an approximate but not fixed date for an ebook release (eg Baen e-arcs of David Weber or 163*) I started checking the appropriate e-listing of Wintertide daily around the expected date and despite being sure of receiving a review copy, I bought the ebook on its first listed day and read it that night...

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Then there are four series debuts from three authors which have great potential to become big time favorites depending on how the sequels will turn out and one standalone novel, second in an universe I want more of. In alphabetical order of the authors:

The Hawk and His Boy by Christopher Bunn debut of the Tormay trilogy of which the second book is expected to go live soon. I have reviewed this one two days ago so I will not add more here.

The Sword and the Dragon and The Royal Dragoneers from MR. Mathias, the first debuting a very traditional fantasy series with a twist, while the second debuting a more YA series, though with quite dark overtones too. Both series have expected sequels in 2011.

Lovers and Beloveds: An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom by MeiLin Miranda, a series debut with very strong Kushiel Legacy vibes, though set in a world at the cusp between the pre-industrial and the modern. The second installment is expected in 2011 too.

Ironroot by SJA Turney, a standalone set 20 years after his excellent Interregnum in the late-Roman like secondary universe of his that is very compelling. A very personal book this one.

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I also would like to mention six more books from four series:

Field of Fire and Skywatcher by Jon Connington, a complete duology. I loved the debut a lot, but was a little let down by the concluding volume for reasons expounded in the review linked above.

The Last King's Amulet and The Key to the Grave by Chris Northern another duology with a reasonable ending though the author plans to continue the series. I liked a lot the first book despite having a little too much of "my magic is bigger than yours" syndrome, while the second book was a good conclusion but did not bring anything new.

The Labyrinth by Cristian Zarioiu, a contemporary tale of the fantastic and a standalone which I enjoyed more than I expected.

Second Sight by Greg Hamerton, the second Tale of the Lifesong, a beautifully written very traditional fantasy that in a way represents the most tradeoff between style and content for me since only the author's wonderful style kept me interested in a tale I would otherwise avoid with eternal beings, creation and destruction of the world and such. In "mainstream" genre a great analog are NK Jemisin wonderful novels The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The Broken Kingdoms which again are at the utmost limit of my interest but the author style makes them so compelling I can ignore my utter dislike of a world living under an eternal dictatorship of the gods...

5 inch strappy Buffalo sandals - barefeet

Just a short post for all lovers of bare feet in strappy high heel sandals ;). As it is actually not the right time for wearing sandals barefeet - this is something special I just thought I have to post these photos for you...
A friend of mine just bought this amazing 5 inch high sandals as her new ballroom-shoes. When trying them on at home I just took some photos of her wearing her new shoes. They are 5 inch high strappy sandals from Buffalo (they really make cool high heels) with a half inch high platform wich makes them very comfortable. She is used to high heels but still has to practice a bit dancing with them ;). Maybe I can show you some photos of her wearing these heels at the ball next weekend.
Hope you like her feet and high heels, too.

High Heeled Greetings & Kisses
- Vivian

"The Hawk and His Boy" by Christopher Bunn (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Order "The Hawk and His Boy" HERE

INTRODUCTION: "One night in the city of Hearne, a young thief named Jute is instructed to break into a wizard's house and steal an old wooden box. It sounds like a straightforward job. Climb down the chimney, creep through the house, find the thing and get out fast. Unbeknownst to the boy, however, the box contains the knife that killed the Wind. Overcome with curiosity, Jute opens the box and sets off a chain of events that soon has him on the run from the wizard, his old masters in the Thieves Guild, and their client, who happens to be the Lord of Darkness himself. On his odyssey of escape, Jute is aided by an unlikely assortment of friends, including a guilt-ridden assassin, a reluctant wizard, and a hawk who just might be able to teach him how to fly. But the Darkness will do anything to find Jute, even if it means plunging the whole land into war."

The debut of the independent Tormay fantasy trilogy, of which both next books are written and in editing with plans to be published in 2011, The Hawk and His Boy was a big positive surprise for me.

I found out about it from a review inquiry on FBC and while the blurb seemed standard, though on the intriguing side for me, I checked the online Amazon sample and I really liked what I read there so I bought the ebook and it immediately moved to the top of my reading list. I felt compelled to turn the next page when finishing the current one, so I read it in almost one sitting the first moment in recent times I had some extended reading time/energy and I am really looking forward to the next two books. I also included it as a later addition in my 2010 recommended novels.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The blurb above does not really do justice to the complexity of the tale that starts in "The Hawk and His Boy". Jute's thread while reasonably well described is only a part of a tapestry that contains - a rogue scholar/wizard, a mysterious woman, a young noble who dreams of her ancestors and may have magic powers on her own as she seems to understand the living world, a nasty death-dealing creature, a young girl that survived an attack that destroyed her village, an officer of the city guard and more.

Starting the novel I expected a storyline in the vein of recent young thief offerings - some of which I quite enjoyed - and then when Levoreth Callas the niece and heir of Duke Dolan of a remote semi-independent province, made her appearance with her dreams about the past and her famed namesake, a long ago heroine of legend, I thought, well we will have two threads, one with the boy and one with the girl...

Imagine my surprise when more and more characters started appearing and having their own threads, the rogue scholar Nio, the dreaded assassin Ronan "The Knife" who actually dreams only of retiring to his birthplace and the rest. There are missing books of magic, a past conflict that pitted wizards against the secular power allied with mysterious dark forces, conflict that may reverberate/rekindle today, a magic system based on the four elements and words of power and overall much more depth than I expected.

The first book is in some ways an introduction with stuff starting to happen and plot-lines introduced, but the book achieves a great sense of balance and I never felt the scatter in other similar many-threaded books. There are no narrative walls and the threads transitions are handled so well, you never notice it, while the prose flows smoothly. I cannot emphasize how important an achievement is this since way too many books that started promising quickly foundered on either too much scatter or too much focus on one storyline at the expense of others.

Despite being an independent book, I never really noticed editing problems - there may be some but nothing that jars or throws one out of the story - and to my surprise I enjoyed this one considerably more than I expected. The one niggle is that the world building is a bit naive and idealistic - dukes hanging out with farmers and such - but no more than in most fantasies with a similar pre-industrial setting, so it was not a big deal.

Exuberant and entertaining writing, memorable characters and generally interesting setting with much expansion potential - are things that catapult a novel to favorite, "I want next book now" status, and "The Hawk and His Boy" has them...

The ending arrives at a good stopping point in most threads though the book needs the next installments for full appreciation since it is not a "series standalone" but a clear first chapter in a large novel. The good news is that the next books will be available soon, with The Shadow at the Gate expected early this year and the conclusion later in 2011, so a huge bonus here of a complete series in a short time.

The Hawk and His Boy (A+) is quite traditional fantasy but very interesting and with surprising depth while the series has great potential *if the next two books keep delivering* - now the high expectations kick in for me and as noted quite a few times that is always double-edged. On the plus side though I know that when the author releases The Shadow at the Gate, I plan to read it as soon as I can...