Hell's Horizon by Darren Shan (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official Author Website

Order the book HERE

Read an excerpt HERE

Read FBC review of Procession Of The Dead

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Darren O'Shaughnessy is the much acclaimed author of the "Saga of Darren Shan" and "The Demonata" series. He has previously taken various pen names such as D.B. Shan and Darren Shan which he now uses to differentiate between his adult and YA books. He was born in London but moved to Ireland during his childhood. He currently spends his time between living in the Irish countryside as well as in London. The first book in the "Saga Of Darren Shan" was made into a film called "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" and was released last year.

BOOK BLURB: In the City, The Cardinal rules, and Al Jeery is a loyal member of his personal guard. But when Al is pulled from his duties at Party Central to investigate a murder, an unexpected discovery leads him in a new direction, where his loyalties and beliefs will be severely tested.

Soon he is involved in a terrifying mystery that draws in the dead, the City's Incan forefathers, the imposing figure of The Cardinal, and the near-mythical assassin Paucar Wami.

Wami is a law unto himself, a shadowy, enigmatic figure who can apparently kill anyone he chooses without fear of punishment or retribution. And Al is about to find out that he has a lot more in common with Wami than he could ever have imagined...

FORMAT/INFO: The ARC of Hell’s Horizon is 278 pages long divided into six named parts which are further divided into twenty-six chapters with a prologue and epilogue. Narration is via first person and features Al Jeery exclusively, similar to the first book which featured Capac Raimi. This is the second book in the City trilogy. This book is set in the same timeline as that of the first book and in fact runs parallel with the events of the first book and references some events from the first book. This book can also be read as a standalone however due to the mentions of certain events from the first book, some new readers might be a bit confused.

January 5, 2011 marked the Hardback publication of Hell’s Horizon via Grand Central Publishing.

This book was first published in 2000 and was released under the same name. However the third part of this series was never published. This book has since then been re-written and re-edited and is now being re-released. The story is a bit different from its predecessor in the sense that this book is more of a crime mystery while the earlier one was rooted more in noir UF.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Hell’s Horizon begins a bit differently than its predecessor as a murder occurs and we get to see who had a hand in it. We are then introduced to Al Jeery who is a lowly soldier in the Cardinal’s gang. He is recently divorced however is still happily in love with his ex-wife Ellen. When he returns from his fishing trip, he finds that there is a major upheaval going on in the Cardinal’s hotel as the murder of a young woman without the Cardinal’s know-how or consent is a major no-no! Al is caught between the Cardinal’s two security heads Ford Tasso and Frank Weld. However he soon gets a call from the Cardinal after an inadvertent discovery connects him rather morbidly to the event occurring in the prologue.

Al then gets his first proper meeting with the Cardinal who touches on his past and while enlightening him about his father; also gives him an offer which he cannot refuse [as to do so means certain death]. He agrees to do a “task” for the Cardinal and in the process becomes the man he was deemed to be. As he goes about his way in trying to figure out the why and how of the murder, he also runs into one of the Cardinal’s most feared weapons, Paucar Wami. Paucar however seems to interact with Al on a rather comradely note, which troubles him greatly as knowing Paucar and the legends associated with him, and not knowing the assassin’s thoughts makes him very wary and curious at the same time.

Al is then forced to consider a lot of things about the City which he never bothered with, like the fog which goes and comes, the blind priests which people rarely see, the City’s Incan origins and the cult of the sun worshippers who seem to be linked inextricably with the murder and the girl. Entwined along with the plot threads are events from the first book as both the books occur along the same time frame. The reader gets to see a bit of the action from the first book in a different perspective, Capac Raimi gets spoken about and many characters refer to him however he does not make an active appearance. We also get to know how Al had an active hand in facilitating Capac’s meeting with the Cardinal. Lastly this book lays bare much of the Incan mythology associated with the series. We get a deeper understanding of who the priests are and what they are attempting to do, in the last book the focus was on Capac and the Cardinal, in this book a similar focus is provided on Al and Paucar Wami, we also get more time with minor characters from the last book like Ford Tasso, Frank Weld, etc.

The prose in this book is similar to that of the first, the city and characters hold your attention completely and the mystery is deepened with the overall addition to the Incan mythology, however this book is much different from the first in the sense that this is a murder mystery. The central thread revolves around why the girl was murdered and what does Al have to do with it! The other plot threads involve his connection to the city, with Wami and the other characters. The overall feel is again similar to that of the first with a gritty mysterious aura prevalent through out the book but by the end of this tale the reader is much more awakened to what is truly happening in the City.

Negative points for this book are that while the first one was a fast paced tale, this book trades in a bit of the pace for a deeper understanding of the plot. The first book had a very captivating narrator whereas in this case, the narrative struggles a bit from time to time as Al Jeery is thoroughly misplaced in his role as a detective but manages to hold his own when push comes to shove. This book reads more like a detective novel than an urban fantasy one; this isn’t bad as a lot of readers might enjoy this nuanced aspect of the tale. Darren Shan has taken a risk by not rehashing the first book and making the readers experience a different type of story while enhancing their understanding of the preceding story.

CONCLUSION: Earlier it felt like that this book was a bit of a letdown after the fast paced Procession Of The Dead however on a re-read this book is seemingly the stronger of the two in terms of character and plot development. Either ways the stage is set for the third and final book in the City trilogy, wherein we will get to see Capac Raimi & Al Jeery after the events of their respective stories and with the Priests not yet done with them. The City trilogy looks set to end in a tremendous fashion and I can’t wait to read what Darren Shan has planned for the finale!

"The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" by Mark Hodder (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Official Mark Hodder Website
Order The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man HERE
Read FBC Review of The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack

INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW: "The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" is the second volume of a series that takes place in an alt-history England of the early 1860's with a steampunk flavor and features the colorful Victorian era personality, (Sir) Richard Burton as the main hero. In a distinctive turn from "real history", Burton accepts a commission to become a "special agent" of the king - among other changes Queen Victoria was assassinated in 1840 - while his young friend Algernon Swinburne is his sidekick; many notables like Darwin, Brunel and a very young Oscar Wilde have cameos and in this installment quite a lot of new faces are added of which I will mention only Herbert Spencer who is now a philosopher down on his luck and reduced to begging until he hooks up with Burton and Swinburne.

The blurb below gives a good idea of what the novel is about without being spoilery though I will only add that "The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" contains considerably more than hinted there. As structure, the book is only partly self-contained in the sense that while it definitely solves its main thread and fleshes out a very consistent view of the imaginative universe of the author, it also ends on a clear to be continued note.

"Time has been altered, and Sir Richard Francis Burton, the king's agent, is one of the few people who know that the world is now careening along a very different course from that which Destiny intended.

When a clockwork-powered man of brass is found abandoned in Trafalgar Square, Burton and his assistant, the wayward poet Algernon Swinburne, find themselves on the trail of the stolen Garnier Collection—black diamonds rumored to be fragments of the Lemurian Eye of Naga, a meteorite that fell to Earth in prehistoric times.

His investigation leads to involvement with the media sensation of the age: the Tichborne Claimant, a man who insists that he's the long lost heir to the cursed Tichborne estate. Monstrous, bloated, and monosyllabic, he's not the aristocratic Sir Roger Tichborne known to everyone, yet the working classes come out in force to support him. They are soon rioting through the streets of London, as mysterious steam wraiths incite all-out class warfare..."

ANALYSIS: "The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" continues and expands on the The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack story with which the author debuted; in a quite changed world of 1862, Sir Francis Burton now king's investigator and his assistant Algernon Swinburne, plus a motley cast including beggar/philosopher Herbert Spencer, various policemen and special agents of the Crown have to deal with new threats to "life as we know it" different from the events in the first volume, but related in subtle ways .

Starting innocuously with a robbery, a chase and some interesting events, followed by an excursion into the seemingly supernatural when Burton is drawn into the investigation of a missing aristocrat supposed return, the novel explodes into full sf action in the last part ending on a great note that promises a lot to come.

As opposed to The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack which lacked balance for a good while, not knowing if it wanted to be Victoriana with grime and social commentary or steampunk adventure in which the action takes precedence, while seesawing between narrative modes and breaking the storytelling flow often, The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man is coherent and the author manages the transitions between narrative phases much better.

The Victoriana aspect of grime and social commentary is still there, but the steampunk adventure takes over in The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man and that suits the series well. There is still a bit of disconnect in the middle when the story jumps a little in time, jump that is quite abrupt breaking the flow of the story and the book reads almost like two episodes in a larger story, or maybe one episode and then its connection to the bigger picture.

The other main niggle of the series so far for me is that the main lead, Richard Burton is still a bit on the wooden side. He is not quite the stock action hero since his main character traits: middle aged "personality" with a storied though controversial past, a present in the thick in the action and somewhat troubled spirit combine to a complex image but the author does not quite pull the final step of fully humanizing him. Comparisons with two other similar characters from ultra-favorite series - Ian Cormac of Neal Asher's Polity and Stenwold Maker of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt - show that as series evolve there is clear scope for that and I hope we will see a "complete" Burton in the next installment.

This being said, "The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" (A+, highly recommended) is an excellent book that almost fulfills the huge promise this series had for me when it was announced. There are the many "goodies" of which I mentioned some above, but you really need to read it for full appreciation. The author also expands considerably the universe of the series in terms of the "big picture" which is another huge plus and the mixture of sf and steampunk continues to work well in terms of coherence and suspension of disbelief.

I would like to mention that you can read "The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" on its own since all the necessary backstory is skilfully inserted in the beginning and the series debut was a standalone in many ways. On the other hand this book clearly starts delving seriously into the big picture especially in the second half and with a little improvement in the structure and a more "humane" Burton, I see the next installment taking the series to the top-top A++ level of todays' sff since it sure has the potential for that.

The Informationist by Taylor Stevens plus bonus Q/A with the author (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official Author Website

Read the Prologue & first 2 chapters HERE

Order the book HERE

For a chance to win 5 copies of the book click HERE (Contest ends tomorrow)

Read an article about the author and her background HERE

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Taylor Stevens lives in Dallas, Texas with her children. She spent her formative years in a cult in various countries such as Mexico, Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Japan, and South Korea. As an adult she also lived in many parts of Africa which fuel certain events in this tale. Amidst her twenties she was able to get out of her oppressive surrounding and understand the world beyond the confines of the Children of God. She started writing after being inspired by the Jason Bourne series by Robert Ludlum with no serious background in writing other than having read and loved books by likes of Robert Ludlum, John Sanford & Iris Johansen. She quit her day job on getting a publishing offer for two books. This is her debut.

BOOK BLURB: Vanessa 'Michael' Munroe deals in information - expensive information - working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she's never looked back.

Until now.

A Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. It's not her usual line of work, but she can't resist the challenge. Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood, betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead. If she has any hope of escaping the jungle and the demons that drive her, she must come face-to-face with the past that she's tried for so long to forget!

CLASSIFICATION: The Informationist is a thriller set in Africa with a strong female protagonist. Personally I felt it had the charismatic prose of Tess Gerritsen’s books combined with the deadly pace of Barry Eisler.

FORMAT/INFO: The Informationist is 307 pages long in Hardcover format, divided over a Prologue, twenty-three numbered chapters, and an Epilogue. The book is set in third person solely via the protagonist Vanessa “Michael” Munroe. This is the first book in the series featuring Vanessa. It reads like a standalone and at the end of the book, the reader does get a complete story.

March 8, 2011 marks the North American Hardcover publication of The Informationist via Crown Publishing, an imprint of Random House.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Informationist is Taylor Stevens’s debut book and I happened upon it thanks to the ever excellent ITW site which devotes a special eye on upcoming thriller writers. The book blurb sounded very exciting and it seemed the kind of thriller which I do like to try on every once in a while.

The book focuses on Vanessa “Michael” Munroe, the titular protagonist, who will get you the required information for the right amount of money no matter how irretrievable it might appear to be and no matter where it’s ensconced. After finishing off an assignment and getting ready for a vacation, she’s contacted by her contact/handler Kate Bredeen. Kate informs her about a high profile offer to search for a missing girl and the clincher for the deal is that she gets paid just to listen and (possibly) decline the case. She decides to meet the father Richard Burbank and after listening to the particulars, agrees to take on the case as she sees it as free money especially when the end result is getting information whether Emily (the missing girl) is truly dead. One of the main reasons spurring her decision is; that the girl has supposedly gone missing in the continent of Africa which also happens to be an area which Vanessa/Michael is well acquainted with, as her entire childhood was spent living amongst various African nations. She soon manages to pick up new information which reveals a small but delicate trail for the girl and the people who disappeared with her.

She is also joined by Miles Bradford, who is rather forced upon her by her employer but manages to prove himself to be a decent backup. Things begin to look up as they manage to get further evidence of Emily’s trail however they are soon betrayed and Vanessa is left to fend for herself. Thus begins a long myriad stream of events which will see her come to terms with her past and face a frenemy whom she thought, she had left way behind. She also has to locate the mole on her side and plug the leak and finally discover the truth about Emily’s disappearance.

This book was an amazing read for me as it’s very rare to find such polished thrillers from debut writers. The book completely grabs the reader from the start and never lets go and this is mainly due to the enigma that is the protagonist. Vanessa is a psychologically scarred individual who has taken quite some pains to mask her past. She is a loner and thoroughly dangerous individual however Taylor Stevens makes the reader cohabitate her mind and makes you feel her pain, her thought process and finally experience her indomitable will, ultimately she is showcased in such a way that the reader empathizes with her throughout the tale. The majority of the book is set in various regions of Africa and the author paints a very vivid and realistic environment, the readers who are totally unfamiliar with the social conditions of Africa will not have any problems sinking in and understanding how different life can be. These plus points enthrall the reader and make the tale that much more relishing.

The prose is competent and the characters are very realistically drawn out. Not only is Michael portrayed so brilliantly but we also get a very rounded view of the other characters present as well. In the climax, there were a couple of twists which I did not see coming and the author can rest easy as her plot continuously shifts and will keep the readers on their toes. Many comparisons will arise with Steig Larsson's books due to the similar nature of the protagonists however I can't comment much on it due to my unfamiliarity with Lisbeth Salander.

Negative points for me were almost minuscule, there were a couple of situations which seems a bit too incredible however this is a thriller book and so can be easily overlooked. Vanessa's past is laid bare rather brutally and some readers might find it bit too dark. Also there are some qualities attributed to her which might be a bit perplexing for the reader to believe, however truth is sometimes stranger than fiction and one must definitely keep in mind that almost all fiction is partly inspired by people and events in the real world.

CONCLUSION: This was a very fast paced book and Taylor Stevens marks herself out with her strong protagonist as well her flair for a crisp plot. A very good debut which will soon lead to comparisons with top thriller writers like Steig Larsson, Lee Child and Barry Eisler. However a couple of facts mustn’t be gleaned over, Taylor Stevens is a newbie with almost no background in writing/literature and also coupled with a turbulent past and limited education, therefore her literary debut becomes doubly admirable for these facts. Grab this book and dive in for an exceptional thrill ride that is The Informationist!

Bonus Q/A with Taylor Stevens

1] For the benefit of readers, could you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself?

A) My background is, perhaps, a little unusual for a novelist, in that I was born and raised into the Children of God, an apocalyptic religious cult that believed education beyond sixth grade was a waste of time and didn’t allow access to television and books from the outside. In place of schooling, the majority of my adolescence was spent begging on city streets at the behest of cult leaders, or as a worker bee child, caring for the many younger commune children, washing laundry and cooking meals for hundreds at a time.

2] How did you get started in writing? & could you share with us your experience of getting published?

A) The writing experience started something like this: I’m going to write a book. It will be fiction, and it’s going to take place in Africa. A couple of used writing guides became my Bible, and an old laptop that was now seeing its third continent, my everyday companion. So began a journey that started out as nothing more than a way to take back stolen childhood dreams, and which eventually grew into a three-book deal with Crown.

When the manuscript was finished and as good as I could possibly get it, I set out on the next step of finding a literary agent. I scoured blogs from agents, editors and professional writers in order to understand the publishing industry, and quickly realized that, like everything else, I would be forced to go the hard road. I wasn’t in a position to attend writers’ conferences to meet agents in person to pitch a book. Neither was I well read enough to track down the agents or editors of authors whose books I liked. I didn’t know anyone who knew anyone even remotely connected to publishing: I had no referrals, and no foot in the door. My only option, really, was to cold query agents by email, which, if you believe the naysayers, is impossible.

3] What was the spark of inspiration which lead to the genesis of "The Informationist"? How long have you been working on it, and how much has it evolved from its original idea (if any)?

A) My initial desire in developing THE INFORMATIONIST, before there were characters, or plot, or any idea really of what I would write, was to bring to life some of the foreign and exotic worlds I’d lived in, and Vanessa Michael Munroe, chameleon and predator, a woman with her own brand of morality and a take-no-prisoner’s form of justice, gradually came alive as a result of the demanding environments she was thrown into. In all, it took about two years to finish, and it evolved quite a bit along the way, both because I didn’t have a story in mind when I set out, and also because I learned the mechanics of writing fiction as part of the experience of working on THE INFORMATIONIST.

4] On your website you mention that you feel that pacing and structure are two weak points in your writing arsenal, after reading your book frankly I’m surprised you feel so. What makes you think that this might be the case?

A) Because I get to see my first drafts before anyone else does. There are a lot of unsung heroes in the publishing industry who play a role in nurturing a book through its many phases, and I’ve been very fortunate to receive the kind of feedback that improved upon what I feel are my weaker points.

5] What are you aiming for with this book?

A) I consider myself an entertainer, and my ultimate goal is for my readers to feel that the hours spent on THE INFORMATIONIST were worth the time and money. I don’t deliberately set out to create social commentary or convey a message, but if something deeper is drawn from my work, I guess that’s a bonus.

6] Who are your literary idols and what are the types of books which you like to read?

A) Robert Ludlum will probably always be my favorite if only because it was when reading the last of the Bourne Trilogy that I decided to write fiction. I craved to create these things, these people, these worlds and stories in the way that Ludlum could create them, and one thing I knew was that the life I had led up to that point provided me with plenty of material on which to draw. Vanessa "Michael" Munroe, and THE INFORMATIONIST, are the fulfillment of that desire.

7] What are your plans for the future? What are you writing currently and what can you tell us about your next release “The Innocent”?

A) THE INNOCENT, the second installment in the Michael Munroe series, draws heavily on my childhood of having been raised within The Children of God. Although the story is fiction, it’s based on truth and probably the closest I’ll ever get to writing an autobiography.

“The Cloud Roads” by Martha Wells (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)

Official Martha Wells Website
Order “The Cloud Roads” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Martha Wells is the author of nine previous novels including The Element of Fire, Wheel of the Infinite, the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, and The Death of the Necromancer which was a finalist for the Nebula Award. She has also had short fiction published in Realms of Fantasy, Black Gate Magazine, Lone Star Stories, and the Tsunami Relief anthology, Elemental.

PLOT SUMMARY: Moon has spent his life hiding what he is—a shape-shifter able to transform himself into a winged creature of flight. An orphan with only vague memories of his own kind, Moon tries to fit in among the groundlings with mixed success. Just as Moon is once again discovered and cast out by his latest adopted tribe, he discovers a shape-shifter like himself—someone who seems to know exactly what he is—who promises that Moon will be welcomed into his community.

What this stranger doesn't tell Moon is that his presence will tip the balance of power, that his extraordinary lineage is crucial to the colony's survival, and that his people face extinction at the hands of the dreaded Fell.

Now, Moon must overcome a lifetime of conditioning in order to save himself . . . and his newfound kin...

FORMAT/INFO: The Cloud Roads is 288 pages long divided over twenty numbered chapters. Also includes two Appendixes, one about the Raksura and one about the Fell. Narration is in the third-person, exclusively via the protagonist Moon. The Cloud Roads is self-contained, but a sequel titled The Serpent Sea will be published in 2012. March 2011 marks the Trade Paperback publication of The Cloud Roads via Night Shade. The eye-catching cover art is provided by Matthew Stewart.

ANALYSIS: The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells is a novel that immediately grabbed my attention because of the cover artwork, but the real reward is the book itself with its rich and inventive world-building, seasoned writing, and entertaining story.

World-building by far is the novel’s most striking attribute. Teeming with exotic wildlife (vargit, draughtbeasts, lopers, cloud-walkers), plants (grenilvine, greenroot, three-leafed purple bow) and intelligent species (Cordans, Sericans, the golden-skinned, white-haired Islanders; Dwei), not to mention sky-islands, wind-ships and a rotating city, the Three Worlds is a fascinating place to explore. Vividly brought to life by Martha Wells’ descriptive prose and vibrant creativity, the highlight of this imaginative fantasy milieu are the Raksura and the Fell.

Raksura are shape-shifters who can shift between a groundling form and a scaly, long-tailed form with “retractable claws” and “manes of flexible spines and soft frills”, and are part of an interesting society in which roles (teachers, hunters, soldiers, mentors, warriors, consorts, queens) are determined by breed (flightless Arbora, winged Aeriat) and bloodlines. The Fell are a shape-shifting race somewhat similar to the Raksura in appearance and their different classes (male rulers, female progenitors, kethel, dakti), except they are considerably more beastly and like to “prey on other intelligent species”, thus making the Fell hated and feared throughout the Three Worlds. Appendixes on the two species are provided at the back of the book, which are helpful because the entire novel is basically centered around the conflict between the Raksura and the Fell.

Plot-wise, the story in The Cloud Roads is fairly straightforward and predictable with a number of familiar plot devices and fantasy tropes utilized throughout the book—the traitor whose identity is hidden by misdirection, the protagonist’s forgotten past come back to haunt him, the orphan who discovers his “extraordinary lineage”, et cetera. Furthermore, the themes explored during the story are common ones, which include topics like the lonely outsider trying to fit in, acceptance, social status, love and self-preservation. Yet, for all of its familiarity and predictability, The Cloud Roads is a well-told novel thanks to crisp pacing, exciting action—specifically the battles between the Raksura and the Fell—and deft storytelling.

Unfortunately, The Cloud Roads does have a few flaws, starting with the novel’s characterization. While Moon—the solitary Raksuran with no clan—is likable and sympathetic as the main protagonist, the author doesn’t do a very convincing job explaining or expressing the reasons and motivations behind Moon’s thoughts and actions. Like why Moon is so reluctant to join the Indigo Cloud Court when it’s all he’s searched for his whole life, or what changed his mind about joining the Raksuran clan, or what caused him to fall in love, and so on. From a general sense, I can understand why these things happened because of my familiarity with this kind of story and themes, but Moon’s thoughts and actions were unconvincing when seen from his perspective.

To make matters worse, the supporting cast (Stone, Chime, Flower, Jade, Pearl, etc.) is largely one-dimensional with little to differentiate one character from another apart from their different classes—Stone is a consort, Chime is a warrior, Flower is a mentor and both Jade & Pearl are queens. However, I felt the Fell made interesting villains, partly because of their relationship to the Raksura, and partly because their actions had a purpose behind them that was not completely evil and unsympathetic. At the same time, other elements that did not work so well in the novel included dialogue that felt unnatural and out-of-place at times, and weak attempts at humor.

CONCLUSION: I’ll be honest. I had never heard of Martha Wells before and actually thought The Cloud Roads was her debut novel. So it was a little surprising to learn that Martha Wells was actually the author of several novels and short stories, with her first published fiction dating back all the way to 1995. The real surprise though is how I could have overlooked the author in the first place. If The Cloud Roads is any indication, then Martha Wells is a very talented and creative writer, someone I should have been reading all of these years. It’s a mistake I plan on correcting as soon as possible. In the meantime, I urge anyone who has never read or heard of Martha Wells before to give The Cloud Roads a look. Even with its issues regarding characterization, dialogue and humor, The Cloud Roads is a terrific fantasy novel that stands out due to imaginative world-building, accomplished writing and engaging storytelling. For everyone else, The Cloud Roads is a proud example of what the genre is capable of producing...

Some Updates and More 2011 Titles of Interest

With The Sea Watch read and reviewed, The River of Shadows in my hands and to be read soon and with Embassytown in the mail, I have 3 of the 5 books of my top original top 5 expected list.

Also the Greg Egan Orthogonal series debut has a name and cover - The Clockwork Rocket - and a firm publication date in July from Night Shade, while The Last Four Things is now the one near future book (UK release is April) that is a must for me.

A little to my surprise, How Firm a Foundation has a September publication date despite being finished only recently and still in edits - no cover yet though - and of course Heirs of the Blade is due in August.

Right now the new revised top expected books from 2011 that I do not have are:

The Last Four Things by Paul Hoffman
How Firm a Foundation by David Weber
Heirs of the Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Clockwork Rocket by Greg Egan

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As noted before I keep and continually update a post with all the 2011 releases I finish with links to reviews and/or comments - with the limitations mentioned there (essentially I include only English language novels or anthologies/collection published in 2011 regardless of genre, but not non-fiction or foreign language books) and as of today I have read 30 such titles with several more I started and will finish in the near future.

So far in fantasy there are three books that have a claim at my number 1 of 2011 and three more that will be a top 25 for sure, with Naamah's Blessing currently being the tentative top 2011 book of mine, so wonderful it was. Of course The Hammer and The Sea Watch are the other two, while The Soul Mirror, The Book of Transformations and The Dragon's Path are the top 25 A++ caliber fantasies of 2011 in addition to the previous three.

In sf Leviathan Wakes reigns unchallenged for me so far but next week comes Embassytown, so we shall see. So far no other genres (historical or literary fiction) have a book in my expected top 25, though I've read two excellent historical fiction ones that will be in my highly recommended list for sure.

Also this year has been a strong independent authors books for me with two such already on the highly recommended list and quite a few ones I expect later in the year with great potential, not to talk of the unexpected ones...