"The Testament of Jessie Lamb" by Jane Rogers (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Jane Rogers at Wikipedia

Order "The Testament of Jessie Lamb" HERE



INTRODUCTION: As noted in the recent post discussing novels by Alison Pick, Julian Barnes and Patrick McGuiness, the annual Booker longlist is one the most important sources of books I would probably not hear about otherwise.



So when The Testament of Jessie Lamb appeared on the 2011 list, I became very intrigued by the novel and I decided to read it as soon as possible. The blurb below while generally accurate, is a little misleading in that the novel is a very personal one where Jessie Lamb's tale is more gripping than the world's reaction to the devastating maternal death syndrome aka MDS.



"Women are dying in their millions. Some blame scientists, some see the hand of God, some see human arrogance reaping the punishment it deserves. Jessie Lamb is an ordinary girl living in extraordinary times: as her world collapses, her idealism and courage drive her towards the ultimate act of heroism. If the human race is to survive, it’s up to her.But is Jessie heroic? Or is she, as her father fears, impressionable, innocent, incapable of understanding where her actions will lead? Set just a month or two in the future, in a world irreparably altered by an act of biological terrorism, The Testament of Jessie Lamb explores a young woman’s determination to make her life count for something, as the certainties of her childhood are ripped apart."



OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Testament of Jessie Lamb is a novel advertised as literary dystopia though first and foremost it is a voice novel which kept me hooked me from the first to the last page with its poignant and emotional style.



Looking at the science fictional aspect of the novel, I had several quibbles with the ideas presented in the book - I believe that the whole setup of the MDS does not really hold water since humanity is way too diverse for something of this finesse to work, but I was fine with it as a thought experiment.



The more serious issue for me was the societal reaction to the MDS, which seemed way too rational and moderate; yes there is panic and hardship in the book, but society still stands and science still gets done, while personally I have doubts that a singularity event like MDS would not cause the total collapse of civilization.



Similarly the way science deals with MDS seemed quite simplistic if you accept the original sophistication of the virus that induced it, so basically these three issues made The Testament of Jessie Lamb more of a "scary tale" for adults rather than "serious sf".



These being said though, the novel is really compelling and its narrator Jessie Lamb of the title comes out as very plausible; a determined girl which is set on making a difference - whether her choices are stupid, courageous, right, wrong, etc is for the reader to determine and I thought her father's arguments quite grounded, so I inclined more towards his position, but not that strongly so to speak.



After a prologue which gives a hint of the future direction of the book and to which we will return in due time, the first paragraph of the novel introduces the heroine:



"I used to be as aimless as a feather in the wind. I thought stuff on the news and in the papers was for grownups. It was part of their stupid miserable complicated world, it didn’t touch me."



Compare the above with Jessie of the future as seen in the prologue:



"The logical thing is to do as he’s asked; to think about it. Indeed. Write it down. Remember it, re-imagine it, gather it together. Because it’ll be proof – won’t it? – proof that you really are doing what you want. Proof that I, Jessie Lamb, being of sound mind and good health, take full responsibility for my decision, and intend to pursue it to its rightful end."



So in a sense the huge change in the world that MDS induces - a real and much more plausible singularity if you want rather than the tech nirvana of the geeks that usually comes under that heading - radically transforms our heroine and you can read the novel as her personal odyssey, though of course there is much more.



The supporting characters - especially her father and her school friends Baz and Sal are also superbly drawn and the world building is excellent assuming you accept the assumptions above.



The combination of normality and madness in the MDS world is finely balanced in the novel and while a lot of the ideology of the book is the expected one, I was surprised a little by the nuanced portrait of science which is the usual culprit with/or religion in such dystopias; sure enough the religious fanatics are there, but there are fanatic environmentalists too, ready to bomb left and right, while Jessie ultimately renounces her "activism" as pointless.



All in all, The Testament of Jessie Lamb (A+) is a worthy Booker addition and a very well written book I would wholly recommend and which I hope will make the shortlist to show that science fiction - however not that original as sf per se - has a place on any literary prize list if the writing style is there.

"By Light Alone" by Adam Roberts (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Official Adam Roberts Website

Read FBC Review of Yellow Blue Tibia

Read FBC Review of New Model Army

Read FBC Review of Anticopernicus

Order "By Light Alone" HERE



INTRODUCTION: After recently reading and enjoying Adam Roberts first experiment in independent publishing, the "dwarf novel" Anticopernicus, his main 2011 novel By Light Alone became even a bigger expectation book than before and I got it on its publishing day on August 18. I will present its blurb below though I want to note that while generally accurate, it does not convey the power and richness of By Light Alone which turned out to be the best of the author's more literary offerings and climbed to my top three overall of his generally superb body of work alongside Land of the Headless and Stone which are both huge favorites of mine.



"In a world where we have been genetically engineered so that we can photosynthesise sunlight with our hair hunger is a thing of the past, food an indulgence. The poor grow their hair, the rich affect baldness and flaunt their wealth by still eating. But other hungers remain ...The young daughter of an affluent New York family is kidnapped. The ransom demands are refused. Years later a young women arrives at the family home claiming to be their long lost daughter. She has changed so much, she has lived on light, can anyone be sure that she has come home? Adam Roberts' new novel is yet another amazing melding of startling ideas and beautiful prose. Set in a New York of the future it nevertheless has echoes of a Fitzgeraldesque affluence and art-deco style. It charts his further progress as one of the most important writers of his generation."



OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: By Light Alone is a difficult novel to review because most of its power resides in the main characters and their interactions between themselves and the interesting but weird world the author postulates once a genius geneticist had offered humanity the gift of the "hair bug", allowing people to grow special hair which synthesizes food from sunlight, gift which turned out to be a mixed blessing to say the least.



"Preacher said: ‘Hair’s made all men preachers, now. Made all men preachers or else lazy dogs in the sun. Hair took our work, which had sustained us for millennial generations. It took our power over women and our power over the things of the Earth. These things were ours, and the Hair took them away.’"



So the book strongly depends on style and your enjoyment will correlate with how much you will appreciate the rich and luxuriant prose of the author. In the first part of the book that takes roughly a third of the total number of pages, we meet George Denoone, an aimless and bored member of the super wealthy class that regards Earth as its playground even more than usually in the past, disdaining both what has remained of the middle classes aka the "jobsuckers" and the poor aka "the longhairs".



"He swept out, past his upended and absorbed daughter. A flash of Arsinée’s aghast face. And, in the elevator going back up to the penthouse bar, he did feel a little better. These footling little humps of up-and-down emotion. Demeaning really. Not for the first time in his life he was aware of the sense that he needed some project. It didn’t really matter what, of course; only to find something purposeful to help elevate him, keep him on a more noble emotional level."



Married with a rich woman on her own, Marie Lewinsky and having two kids, 11 year old Leah and five year old Ezra, George is drifting through life, occasionally seducing the wives of his wealthy companions while paying scant attention to his wife or children. Until on a skiing vacation on Mount Ararat's slopes, the incredible happens and Leah is kidnapped, crime that is the only one authorities cannot solve however much money George throws at them, for the reasons explained below, reasons that have a lot to do with the way the world has rearranged itself once most people starting feeding on light:



"Dot nodded, as if this were fair comment. ‘Now, the bosses aren’t stupid,’ she went on. ‘And women aren’t stupid. Easier to grab a child than carry it two thirds of a year in your womb. The women get a kid; the bosses get their population of serfs renewed. That’s why they’re so reluctant to intervene. If a Turk or Iranian had stolen your gold-plated Fwn, then the police would’ve run the news round the local villages, a boss would have shaved a couple of heads, pocketed the reward and the trinket would have come back to you. But the bosses make a point of not getting involved where child theft is concerned.’"



In the second part of the book, we follow the retrieved Leah adjusting to her life back in New York, while then the novel continues for some time with Marie's tale only to end in the fourth revelatory part with the tale of Issa, a strange girl from the underclass with a true odyssey of her own.



So By Light Alone is structured as the consecutive tales of four characters where pov follows pov and illuminates what happens before while also moving the story forward, and once this structure is understood everything falls into place and the novel comes together perfectly well in a very powerful ending that first threw me off a bit since I did not expect it...



Of course as an Adam Roberts novel you get a lot of musings through the characters voices and there is a lot of interesting stuff thrown almost casually in there, stuff about the nature of historical inquiry, the whys and how the world works in addition to sfnal speculation and ideas.



And there is action too since from about half on, the novel changes pace somewhat starting with Marie's tale, only to accelerate with Issa's pov in a crescendo till the powerful finale. There is romance, revolution, brutality, joy and sorrow, all in a superb weave it truly pays to reread at least once.



Overall By Light Alone (A++, top 25 novel of 2011) is a masterpiece of literary sf and a book that could stand proudly alongside any literary novel of 2011. The novel's pieces fit perfectly together and I strongly recommend to reread it once you finish it since you will appreciate it in a different way once you understand everything that has been going on.

“Devil’s Cape” by Rob Rogers (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official Rob Rogers Website

Order “Devil’s Cape” HERE

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Rob Rogers lives in Texas. He is a writer, editor, and communications project manager by trade. Devil’s Cape is his first novel.

BOOK BLURB: Devil's Cape, Louisiana. Founded by pirates. Ruled by villains. Desperate for heroes.

In 1727, the masked pirate St. Diable created the city of Devil's Cape as a haven for his men and a place to begin his empire. Pirates gave way to outlaws, who gave way to gangsters, who gave way to gangs and organized crime. But the city has never escaped from its shroud of violence and corruption.

And now a stunning, murderous act has made Devil's Cape more dangerous than ever. Someone needs to protect the city.

Three people are willing to try. Jason Kale, part of a nefarious family, who hides his own abilities. Cain Ducett, a psychiatrist and former gang member, who finds that he is turning into something improbable. Kate Brauer, genius engineer, daughter of a slain superhero, who has lost more than most to the city and its criminals. But they're outnumbered and overpowered. Can they possibly make a difference?

If New Orleans has earned its “Sin City” nickname for its debauchery, then its nearby sister Devil's Cape has earned its “Pirate Town” moniker for the violence and blatant corruption that have marred the city since its founding. A city where corruption and heroism walk hand-in-hand, and justice and mercy are bought and paid-for in blood, Devil's Cape is a city like no other...

CLASSIFICATION: Devil’s Cape is a dark urban fantasy tale featuring an alternate Earth where heroes and villains co-exist with normal people akin to the TV series Heroes and J. Michael Straczynski’s Rising Stars.

FORMAT/INFO: Devil’s Cape is 409 pages long divided over forty-seven numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Also includes an Acknowledgements page and a Map of Devil’s Cape along with a “sites of interest” listing. There are about 48 observational tales, anecdotes and various Devil’s Cape minutiae to go along with the start of each chapter. Narration is in the third-person via many main POVs: Kate Brauer, Cain Ducett, Jason Kale, Jessica “Jazz” Rydland, Warren Sims, Joe Gaines Julian Kalodimos, Hector Nelson Poteete, Costas and Pericles Kalodimos. Devil’s Cape is largely self-contained, but leaves a thread open for a future sequel.

April 1, 2008 marked the US Trade Paperback Publication of Devil’s Cape via the now defunct Wizards of the Coast Discoveries.

ANALYSIS: I first noticed Devil’s Cape when it was released more than three years ago, but never got around to reading the book. Recently, I came across a signed copy in a bookstore and decided to buy it and see how the novel was. The cover blurb didn’t give a clear picture of the story, so I thought Devil’s Cape would turn out to be an average novel. Boy was I wrong on that count and on multiple levels.

The story in Devil’s Cape is spread over a vast period of thirty-five years and twenty days with the narrative switching between the past and the present with each chapter timestamped. For the first few chapters of the book, the author introduces the three main characters—Kate Brauer, Cain Ducett and Jason Kale—and their backstories: Jason Kale is trying to distance himself from his family’s past; Kate Brauer came to Devil’s Cape to regain something which she lost and possibly carry on her family legacy; and Doctor Cain Ducett is targeted by someone from his violent past. In the first 150 pages, the author also introduces various secondary characters and the city’s history, which might be a bit confusing, but proves to be important in terms of the story. The novel’s main event is a large-scale murder that propels the three protagonists in different ways. Overall, the story has multiple threads that slowly start to coalesce into a fine tapestry, which helps make this book so special and exciting to read. To top it off, after the action-packed climax, the author one-ups himself by dropping a huge twist, which sets the stage for round II.

Besides the story, the novel also succeeds due to excellent characterization with every single character presented in Devil’s Cape wholly three-dimensional. This includes the three main protagonists, the secondary POVs, both good and evil, and even the characters who reside in the background . . . each get their chance to differentiate themselves in the reader’s mind. Simply put, characterization was the MAIN reason why the plot was brought to life so vividly.

Another major plus point of the novel is the city itself which is its own character thanks to the author slowly building up the image, history & geography of Devil’s Cape by providing random and specific tidbits here and there, including intriguing vignettes, quotations or recaps that open each chapter. Not only does this help make the city feel real, but it allows readers to become acclimatized with Devil’s Cape, while also adding various layers to the story. Like the origins of Devil’s Cape which is an important part of the novel.

I also liked how the novel is grounded in reality. Yes, Devil’s Cape is full of super-powered people, but the world presented is dark, gritty and violent, while the physics and limitations of each superhero and supervillain is realistic, bringing to mind the kind of realism found in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. In other words, nothing is off limits. Everyone has a weakness and even heroes can be killed, which makes it fun to see who survives and who doesn’t.

Lastly, Devil’s Cape is brimming with terrific symbolism. For instance, the novel can be construed as a parable of the corruption, avarice and basic human nature we live with in our lives today. On the other hand, Devil’s Cape can be looked at as an origin story where legends are made and epic events occur. Finally, readers can view the book as an odyssey where characters must go through various trials and tribulations in order to get whereever it is they want to go in life. In short, Devil’s Cape is a multi-faceted gem that offers a unique reading experience that can vary depending on the reader.

Negatively, there were only a few drawbacks in Devil’s Cape. The first is the pacing, which can be a bit languid for the first 100-150 pages as characters are introduced and the story is being set up, but it’s not a major issue since things steadily pick up afterwards and stay that way until the terrific climax. Secondly, the large cast of characters can be a bit troublesome to remember, but the author does his best to make sure the reader doesn’t get confused. Lastly, the author has a tendency to repeat certain facts and aspects about the city which can get repetitive after awhile.

CONCLUSION: Random chance gave me another opportunity to read Devil’s Cape, and I’m very glad it did. Rob Rogers’ debut is a fantastic gem, the kind of novel that one fervently searches for, but rarely finds. In fact, Devil’s Cape has now become one of my favorite UF books of all time and I find it a cruel shame that the book is not more popular amongst SFF readers. After all, it’s one of the best superhero fiction novels in the current market. So do yourself a favor and grab a copy of Rob Rogers’ vastly underappreciated debut, Devil’s Cape...

"Into the Hinterlands" by David Drake and John Lambshead (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Official David Drake Website

Order "Into the Hinterlands" HERE or HERE (drm free ebook)

Read the First 15 Chapters of Into the Hinterlands HERE



INTRODUCTION: David Drake is a very well known author of military science fiction and traditional fantasy in the Robert Jordan style and while I have read around 15 of his books, his drier style kept most of them from being the highly favorite novels that I expected based on the content.



Still, the retelling of the Jason and the Argonauts story in the sfnal context of his Hammer universe, The Voyage, his space steward hero and mildly controversial standalone Starliner and his subgenre defining planet with monsters Redliners are big favorites of mine.



John Lambshead came to my attention when he wrote Lucy's Blade, an Elizabethan fantasy for Baen some years ago. While the subject left me meh as there are a dime a dozen Elizabethan fantasies around, I kind of liked his style so Into the Hinterlands as a presumed combination of the second author's writing and the first author world building and plotting was a highly expected novel.



OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Into the Hinterlands is the start of a new series that could be described as "Young Washington in a space opera context". The social setup is pre-revolutionary America with the main powers Brasilia as England, Terra as France and the proto-human Riders who ride continuum crystal living beings as the Indians, while the colonies are, well you got it and the Hinterlands are, well, you also got it... There is even tea as a highly regulated and sought after commodity.



Getting to the specifics of the novel: the universe of the novel is a four dimensional membrane inside the continuum and the humans navigate it by "frames" aka glorified bikes/wagons though there are interesting details as to how this works and what limitations ensue - the hyperspace drag is determined at the subatomic level so what you can carry efficiently on frames is dependent on its molecular properties rather than on mass/volume, so for example metals are hard to carry but ceramics are easy.



The political setup is the Fourth Civilization that spread across the stars when the nature of the universe was understood after the fall of (our) Third Civilization due to resource scarcity and biowars. Humanity now has the expected - lords of land at the top at least nominally, aggressive traders and merchants, while indentured servants take place of slaves in the Brasilian society and convicts in the Terran one, with the usual corruption, inefficiencies, class distinctions and pettiness. In other words, the socio-economic world of the 18th century in a space opera context and I happen to agree with the strong believability of such in the timeline presented by the authors as there is nothing inevitable about democracy and "rights of men" even in a technological world.



The story starts with Allen Allenson, young and promising colonial gentry and in-law to a secondary branch of a powerful Brasilian family, branch that decided to make its fortune in the colonies and married into the rising local families. Allen is leading a survey expedition into the Hinterlands under the nominal leadership of his learned but impractical in-law Destry, while Hawthorn, his childhood friend and dashing ladies man, another gentry but a bit lower in the social standing, is his aide.



This part is awesome and hooked me on the story while it introduces both the universe and our heroes perfectly; later, visiting his dying elder brother Todd - of a gene wasting disease that no medical tech can cure- Allen is convinced by his sister-in-law the ambitious Lynsie Destry to get Todd's position as Inspector General of the colonial militia. After the usual corrupt patronage deals, Allen gets the position conditionally from the executive Governor, contingent of investigating reports of Terran penetrations into the Hinterlands and of renewing the treaty with some of the Riders tribes that have a representative at one of the few trading posts into the wild.



From here the big-picture story starts and there is generally a predictable tone to what happens based on the events of the colonial wars of the 1750-1760's, but I really enjoyed the story and the space opera milieu gives a great canvas to retell it. There is much more including romance, seductive but dangerous women, politics and of course battles, fights, treacherous allies and incompetent generals. Into the Hinterlands packs quite a lot despite not being that long at less than 400 pages.



Overall, Into the Hinterlands (A+) is a great series debut and a complete package with a great ending but of course I want more and I really hope it "has legs", so the story of our heroes and their universe continues. Highly recommended and a book that shows clearly why Baen has been the leading publisher in military sf for so many years by putting out compelling novels that combine an interesting new space based milieu with traditional stories inspired from history.

Superb New Book Trailer for "The Black Prism" by Brent Weeks

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks has been one of my top ten novels of 2010 and I reviewed it HERE as well as having a short video interview with Brent Weeks HERE, so when I saw this recent release of a new book trailer to mark the mmpb publication of the novel I was very intrigued.



There is an excerpt from The Blinding Knife, the sequel to The Black Prism and one of my top ten awaited novels of 2012 but sadly it is on Facebook, so I cannot access it as I have no account and do not plan to open one there.



Anyway, the trailer is superb and I watched it and enjoyed it several times already. While I like book trailers in general, there are occasional ones that really transcend their short format and make one wish there would be a real movie instead. Anathem's book trailer was one such and this one is another.