"Dark Eden" by Chris Beckett (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Official Chris Beckett Website
Order "Dark Eden" HERE

INTRODUCTION: I heard of Chris Beckett's work when The Turing Test collection won the prestigious Edge Hill Short Story prize in 2009. I immediately bought a copy of the collection and I read a few of the stories there. I generally enjoyed them and I plan to read all of them as time goes by, but they seem to work only in smaller doses for me maybe because they are quite concentrated.

However his previous two novels, Holy Machine and Marcher never really tempted me, so when Dark Eden was announced with the blurb below I was not sure either. Remembering vaguely that I read a story with the same title in The Turing Test, I checked the collection and sure enough the story Dark Eden is in there and it is precisely the tale of Angela and Tommy told through their two quite distinct voices in alternating parts. As I quite liked it and some reviews showering great praise on the novel appeared too, I decided to buy a copy for myself and try it immediately.

"You live in Eden. You are a member of the Family, one of 532 descendants of Angela and Tommy. You shelter beneath the light and warmth of the Forest's lantern trees, hunting woollybuck and harvesting tree candy. Beyond the forest lie the treeless mountains of the Snowy Dark and a cold so bitter and a night so profound that no man has ever crossed it. The Oldest among you recount legends of a world where light came from the sky, where men and women made boats that could cross between worlds. One day, the Oldest say, they will come back for you...."

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: In talking about Dark Eden, there are two different aspects that need to be considered, namely literary quality and sfnal scope. In short, Dark Eden is superb as a literary novel but something I've seen many times before as sf or (pre) historical fiction and not only that, but its scope is very limited since there is only so much you can do with a primitive society as sense of wonder and big picture - in other words the attributes that define high class sf - go.

After all, you are given a small grouping of people - no advanced tech to sustain too many or too hostile an environment and the tech base of the society is not able to tame said environment - relatively rigid rules which where justified once upon a time when survival was the first imperative, rules that lead to what the current younger generation perceive as stagnation, and the maverick hero/heroine who is set to change all that and in doing so breaks the social compact for better or for worse.

This is the sfnal structure of Dark Eden too and as mentioned I've read this so many times that in terms of the big picture there is not much to surprise and there is a clear logic of events that you can already guess from the blurb. The specific world building - planet in intergalactic space, with no sun but life, atmosphere and heat coming from underground volcanic activity - is interesting though and there is a lot of potential for complexity if the author chooses to develop this universe more.

If sfnally the novel is just good due to its limited scope, literary Dark Eden is superb. Its structure alternates narration mostly from John Redlantern and his girlfriend Tina Spiketree - they have 21 and respectively 16 of the 46 total chapters - with a few other characters with their own distinctive voices presenting their take on events at various points.

The rules and habits of the Eden society, their way of life, rituals, food gathering and hunting, mating, division into "normal" humans and the disfigured ones - as expected the descent of all 532 humans which live in Eden at the start of the book from Angela and Tommy has quite a few genetic negatives - are slowly revealed and the author balances action with world building and back story perfectly.

The transitions between chapters are very smooth and all characters that narrate even for only a chapter come alive. Of course as they have the bulk of the story John and Tina are the most nuanced and developed of all and we see their growth from a wondering but confused boy who is well liked by most women in the colony to a mature and determined leader in John's case:

"And in the back of my mind a little thought came to me that there were other worlds we could reach that weren’t hidden away in Starry Swirl, or through Hole-in-Sky, but here on ground, in Eden. They were the places where the woollybucks went, the places they came from."

and from a young girl who cherishes her "desirability" by men but does not really question her society and its way of life to one who discovers the courage to confront the "public opinion" and follow John in looking for a better life:

"John was interesting. I mean he looked nice, and I fancied him in that way, but what fascinated me most was the way he behaved. All that hunting trip he was trying to be different, trying not to be the same as all the other newhair guys. He went right up that icy ridge. He annoyed Old Roger and David by questioning the True Story."

So despite that almost everything that happens is predictable as it follows the logic described above, I was still captivated by the novel and turned the pages to see what happens with John, Tina and their growing band of followers.

While a standalone novel and with a very good ending that leaves open a lot of possibilities, I wish the author will return to Eden and tell us more about the fascinating human society he created there. Dark Eden is a highly recommended novel of 2012 and excellent literary sf that I can easily see shortlisted for both genre and mainstream prizes that appreciate writing style and "realistic" characters rather than sense of wonder and big picture speculations.

The Rook by Daniel O' Malley (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official Author website

Order The Rook HERE

Read the first four chapters HERE

Watch the Book trailer HERE

Read Suvudu interview with author HERE

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Dan O’Malley was born and brought up in Canberra, Australia. He then came to USA for his further studies and graduated from Michigan State University. He also earned a Master’s Degree in medieval history from Ohio State University. He currently works for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, writing press releases for government investigations of plane crashes and runaway boats and also acts a spokesperson. This is his debut novel.

OFFICIAL BLURB: “The body you are wearing used to be mine.” So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.

She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Checquy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.

In her quest to uncover which member of the Checquy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.

FORMAT/INFO: The Rook is 496 pages long divided over forty-three numbered chapters. Narration is in the third-person via the "new" Myfanwy Thompson and in first person via the form of letters by the "old" Myfanwy Thompson and an one-off third-person mini-chapter by Ingrid Woodhouse. The Rook is a standalone book however the author has plans for a sequel.

January 12, 2012 marked the North American hardback and e-book publication of The Rook via Little, Brown and Company.

ANALYSIS: Daniel O’ Malley’s The Rook is a debut which comes with high praise and lots of hype as well. When we received the review request, I read a couple of chapters and I was immediately hooked. This is the opening paragraph of the book and is an excellent hook for the book:

“Dear You,

The body you are wearing used to be mine. The scar on the inner left thigh is there because I fell out of a tree and impaled my leg at the age of nine. The filling in the far left tooth on the top is a result of my avoiding the dentist for four years. But you probably care little about this body’s past. After all, I’m writing this letter for you to read in the future. Perhaps you are wondering why anyone would do such a thing. The answer is both simple and complicated. The simple answer is because I knew it would be necessary. The complicated answer could take a little more time.”

The simple answer as well as the complicated one both takes a while to become apparent to the reader however the journey throughout until then is quite a pleasant one as I found it.

With that paragraph, the story of the Rook begins and introduces the reader to Myfanwy (rhymes with Tiffany) Thomas who has two black eyes, more-than-few bruises and absolutely no memory of who she is and how she got here (here being standing in the rain in a park in London). She however finds two letters in her jacket that inform her of her name and what she has to do next. She then slowly makes her way to a safe place but not before encountering a few of her pursuers and then discovers her powers. She discovers more about herself via the letters left by the original owner of the body. The basic premise of the book is the presence of the organization known as the Checquy, which has a hierarchal similar to that of a side of a chessboard. It’s this organization that Myfanwy is a member of and holds the position of a Rook. Thus the story follows Rook Thomas as she has to learn what her role in the organization entails, potentially stave off a supernatural invasion and discover who was the person that caused this predicament to her old self.

The book was a delight to read with its mix of the Jason Bourne-like identity crisis and the way the author unveils the world and history slowly. The author has elaborately alternated the storyline with chapters in the current timeline and the letters from the "old" Myfanwy thereby making the reader go through the same confusion, which avails the "new" Myfanwy. This aspect was a great move by the author and while it will remind many of one of the most famous amnesia-tinged stories (the Jason Bourne series by Robert Ludlum). Readers will have to keep in mind that this book is much lighter than the aforementioned series, the mystery aspect of the book's plot is very strong and is the main thread that propels the story. The eventual mystery is also resolved satisfactorily in the climax and then the author has inserted a nice twist to the story thereby hinting at a sequel as well as making sure that the readers get a savory ending.

Another aspect of the story that resonated with me was its understated comedy, the book doesn’t really go all out on the humor front but it has its moments of dry humor which will surprise the reader and keep them chuckling along. Consider this as a good example of the story’s humor quotient:

“ With the sort of power these new processes granted them, the members of the brotherhood were in the perfect position to seize power. In any other country, a massive, bloody war would have ensued. Horrors would have stalked the land, unholy amalgamations of flesh would have fought on the fields and the nights would have held new unspeakable terrors.

Fortunately this is Belgium we’re talking about!”

With a succinct sense of humor, the author manages to make this story from becoming too dreary. The magic system is also unveiled along with the world history in the form of anecdotes and letters; this was great to read, as it didn't feel too much like an info-dump. The characterization was particularly good as Myfanwy’s development is very nicely shown and to contrast with that the letters which showcase her older persona. Lastly the part which made this book stand out from me was that while its an urban fantasy book, it very nicely avoids the genre trappings by not featuring the usual type of supernatural creatures, romantic angle/triangle sub-plot, etc. All these factors made this debut a very fun one to read.

For factors going against it, the biggest part would be that the pacing is a bit on the slower side and while the story develops along nicely the pace of the story never transforms into the express variety. It takes a while to pick up and but once it does, it does hold its own all the way to the climax. Readers who want a fast sort of read might not get what they want. Another aspect which felt funny to me was the story felt to be grappling the twin genres of YA and adult, there were some sections which felt as if the tale was YA but then after a few pages some plot twist/turn would come up to disavow it of the YA tag. Maybe this was what the author intended and if so then it was a great mix of a story.

CONCLUSION: The Rook is a good debut showcasing the author’s skills as a writer and plotter. It’s a book that genuinely makes the reader invested in the story and its characters. I was most certainly entertained and bemused by its whimsical nature and overall mystery-laced plot. Give it a try if you are in the mood for a urban fantasy book without the usual genre trappings, definitely a debut to remember.

"The Map and the Territory" by Michel Houellebecq (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Michel Houellebecq at Wikipedia
Order The Map and the Territory HERE

INTRODUCTION:Michel Houellebecq is one of the most acclaimed and controversial French writers of today. With four major novels to date, all controversial in a way or another - though he has written other novels and novelettes, non-fiction including a book about HP Lovecraft, performed psychedelic rap and directed movies - and three Goncourt prize shortlists in 1998 for The Elementary Particles/Atomised, 2005 for The Possibility of an Island and 2010 (won) for The Map and the Territory he is hated, adulated and anything in-between...

While I read his sfnal The Elementary Particles some years back - I liked it but thought that as sf it was not that original - and his very controversial Platform (no comment as such are easily misinterpreted today by the thought control police, just read the book and make your own mind about it) pretty much on English language publication in 2002, I sort of forgot about his work until recently.

I got, read and was very impressed by The Possibility of an Island - very sfnal/review upcoming in a few weeks - but The Map and the Territory was a novel that hit it out the park for me so to speak and I will try to explain why next.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Map and the Territory starts with an epigraph that reflects the attitude of the author's alter ego in the book - named also Michel Houellebecq and described as the reclusive author of the novels above, rather than the outlook of the relatively energetic hero of the novel, painter and photographer Jed Martin.

"The world is weary of me,
And I am weary of it."

While the above epigraph could well reflect the philosophy of his earlier novels, especially of The Possibility of an Island, where the world ultimately becomes tired of humanity so to speak, The Map and the Territory is the tamest Houellebecq novel to date as content goes and the most ironical one, not least because of his self-portrait in the book. It is also "very French" and in turns both a love letter to France and an (occasionally scathing) critique.

The first part of the novel taking place in the early 2000's and in which we meet our hero Jed Martin, we find out a little about his past and in which he launches himself in the art world with photographs inspired by the Michelin maps of France, while both the title of the novel and the author's view of France as the ultimate tourist destination for whichever nationalities are on top, like the Englishmen and Americans of the 20th century or the Chinese and Indians of the 21st, are presented, is quite interesting but the true power of the novel resides in the middle part that takes place in the 2010's.

Through Jed Martin's paintings and the whole discussion and reaction to them, the author offers a sfnal like assessment of today's society; I disagree with quite a lot of what the author says here, but his perspective is coherent and I would say Balzacian though of course with 21st century realities and sensibilities.

"Two convinced supporters of the market economy; two resolute supporters also of the Democratic Party, and yet two opposing facets of capitalism, as different as a banker in Balzac could be from Verne’s engineer. The Conversation at Palo Alto, Houellebecq stressed in his conclusion, was far too modest a subtitle; instead, Jed Martin could have entitled his painting A Brief History of Capitalism, for that, indeed, is what it was."

The structure of these first two parts of the novel as a sort of biography/historical fiction told from the future about a 21st century artist is also very sfnal, while of course the epilogue carries the story to the 2040's and offers a glimpse of the future geopolitics in addition to continuing Jed Martin's saga.

"Even if today it is considered a historical curiosity, Houellebecq’s text—the first of this size devoted to Martin’s work—nonetheless contains some interesting intuitions. Beyond the variation of themes and techniques, he asserts for the first time the unity of the artist’s work, and discovers a deep logic in the fact that having devoted his formative years to hunting for the essence of the world’s manufactured products, he is interested, during the second half of his life, in their producers."

The third part of the book is contemporary and structured as a police investigation with all new characters, while Jed appears in a consulting role and despite the major change in focus and pace, this part works superbly because of its topic which I won't spoil though you will easily find out about if you read the blurb for example.

The Map and the Territory has lots of great tidbits, scenes and vignettes and the author uses Wikipedia for a lot of information - leading to nonsensical accusations of plagiarism as the use of public information in novels is a traditional one.

“What defines a man? What’s the question you first ask a man, when you want to find out about him? In some societies, you ask him first if he’s married, if he has children; in our society, we ask first what his profession is. It’s his place in the productive process, and not his status as reproducer, that above all defines Western man.”

Michel Houellebecq's usual themes - aging and death, sexuality and its loss with age, the conflict between generations - appear in droves but here they are more nuanced than in the stark The Possibility of an Island and balanced by a rounded "big picture" analysis of cultural/societal values.

The one niggle that stopped me from ranking The Map and the Territory as my #1 novel of the year to date was the ending from the epilogue which I found a bit dissonant with the rest; a little more ambiguity there would have made the novel even stronger imho.

Overall The Map and the Territory is a great novel well deserving of its Goncourt prize and a top 25 of mine in 2012. While not strictly speaking sfnal despite its taking place in the 1990-2040 period, I strongly recommend it for any sf lover as its big picture themes are very similar (and much better done imho) with the ones in near future sf.

Three Upcoming 2012 Fantasies of Great Interest, Galen Beckett, Beth Bernobich, Mark Newton (by Liviu Suciu)

So far 2012 has been dominated by science fiction with a sprinkle of literary and historical fiction - out of 19 books I have read in 2012 and of 14 2012 releases read so far, only two have been fantasies - and based on my current interests this trend is sure to continue in the indefinite future, so for balance I thought of highlighting some upcoming fantasy novels I am really looking forward to, novels that I hope will find their way here sooner rather than later.

All are part of series and all previous novels in the respective series have been reviewed here, mostly by me, some by/with Robert, and all have been in my top 25 of their respective years.

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After two wonderful novels in The Magicians and Mrs. Quent and The House on Durrow Street, the saga of Ivy and of her family and friends comes to an end in The Master of Heathcrest Hall. Great atmosphere and superb characters in a combination of the classic and the modern, of the strange and the familiar.

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After the wonderful debut Passion Play, comes Queens' Hunt, the next chapter in the story of Ilse and her strange employer/mentor/lover Raul Kosenmark. I have been waiting for this novel for a while now as it has been delayed from its original 2011 release date and I am really eager to find out what happens next as the ending of Passion Play demanded the next installment asap!

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The Legends of the Red Sun saga also ends this year after three superb novels, Nights of Villjamur, City of Ruin and The Book of Transformations. While the ending of the third novel gave some hints where the story will go, I am really curious what surprises were prepared by Mark Newton for The Broken Isles!

The Flame Priest by Karen Azinger (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official Karen Azinger Website

Order “The Flame Priest” HERE

Read an extract HERE (Includes spoilers for the first book)

Read FBC’s review of The Steel Queen

Read FBC interview with Karen Azinger

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Before venturing into the field of writing, Karen Azinger spent over twenty years as an international business strategist, eventually becoming a vice-president for one of the world's largest natural resource companies. She's worked on developing the first gem-quality diamond mine in Canada's arctic, on coal seam gas power projects in Australia, and on petroleum projects around the world. Having lived in Australia for eight years she considers it to be her second home. She's also lived in Canada and spent a lot of time in the Canadian arctic. Eight years ago on a hike in the Colombia River Gorge she realized she had enough original ideas to finally write an epic fantasy, resulting in The Silk & Steel Saga.

OFFICIAL BLURB: Heralded by a red comet, the Mordant is Reborn. A thousand years of evil hidden beneath a young man’s face, the Mordant returns in the guise of his oldest enemy. Keen to regain his full powers, he weaves his way north, sowing a trail of death and deceit. Kath and her companions leave the monastery, chasing an elusive shadow across the kingdoms of Erdhe, but the dark divide has already begun. Allies are set against allies, tearing the kingdoms asunder.

A rebellion rises in Lanverness, threatening the queen’s life as well as her crown. Trapped within her own castle, the Spider Queen must out-wit the traitors led by her own blood, or surrender her kingdom to Darkness. Across the border, the Lord Raven builds a religion into a fanatical bonfire. A fiery frenzy grips Coronth, fanning the powers of the Flame Priest into a raging threat. The eternal battle of Light and Dark is joined, but few mortals understand the rules.

CLASSIFICATION: The Silk & Steel saga is an epic fantasy series in the vein of the twisted & action-packed stories by Stephen Deas and Jennifer Fallon.

FORMAT/INFO: The Flame Priest is 475 pages long divided over sixty-seven titled chapters and a prologue. Also includes a map and appendices for the kingdoms of Castlegard, Coronth, Lanverness, Navarre, the order of Kiralynn monks and The Deep Green. Narration is in the third-person, mostly via Katherine (The Imp), Liandra the Spider Queen, Blaine the Knight, Princess Jordan, Prince Justin, Steffan, the Mordant ,Samson the baker’s son and Prince Danly while the minor POVs include the knight marshall Osbourne, Micah, the Priestess, and Sir Tyrone. The Flame Priest is the second volume of The Silk & Steel Saga, which is projected to be five books long. The third book is currently titled The Skeleton King.

November 8, 2011 marked the Trade Paperback publication of The Flame Preist via Kiralynn Epics—an independent publisher created by the author. The lovely cover art is provided by Greg Bridges.

ANALYSIS: Sequels are hard to write and often doubly difficult to appease the readers. Writers always walk a tight rope when releasing their second books. I believe Karen Azinger must have also faced a similar conundrum and I wanted to see how she would fare and so when I got the opportunity to get my hands on the second book. I eagerly went ahead as I had enjoyed The Steel Queen and the way the book ended, made me want to read the second at the earliest.

The story begins with our heroes who have all gone through their individual trials by the end of the first book. Kath the imp princess is learning more about magic as she prepares to fight the forces of the dark lord. To add to her worries is the whereabouts of Jordan the princess of Navarre & sword sister to Kath. On the other hand her brother Prince Justin the musician is in Coronth trying to gauge how to appease the flames fanned by the flame priests. The goings are tough as he has no clue to the madness which prevails in the kingdom. His only tools are his music and songs but they hold a crucial power & shall it be enough to stem the tide of the flames? Queen Liandra is facing a red hand orchestrated attack on the reins of her monarchy and it does seem to be slipping from her hands. Her second son Danly is anxiously scheming to replace her as the true king. Steffan the Raven Lord is furthering his own plans by helping the flame priests however the Dark Lord has special plans for him. Lastly is the newest player in this game the reincarnated Mordant who is equally terrifying and plays his cards close to his chest. All these characters create a thick web of action, intrigue & emotions, by which the reader will be completely enamored by.

The author has to be lauded for her plotting skills which were nicely evident in the fist book but come to the fore exuberantly in this one. Throughout the story, twists are inserted for the reader to happen upon, some of which are predictable however the majority should definitely take the reader by surprise. The main plot is about transformation and this aspect is seen through all the character arcs. Be it the heroic ones or the villainous ones, they all are striving for reaching their goals and the tribulations they will face will either strengthen or smash them. Its up to the reader to discover who survives and who doesn't.

The pacing is another factor which helps as the book begins on a fast pace and then maintains its zest through out whilst going on to an terrific climax. The entire story almost never slows beginning from the first chapter all the way to the end. There’s always something happening in one chapter or the other. I noticed that the author carefully orchestrated this story so that the ebb and flow of action & emotions is constantly alternated and so every character faces danger at some time or the other. I found this aspect to be very similar to the thriller books by Jeffrey Deaver and this was quite an excellent point.

The character list is also expanded from the last book and while most of the previous POV characters make their return, it’s the presence of the new POVs which is truly the dark feature of this book. Namely the Mordant who is reborn and features across the breadth of the story, he was frequently mentioned in the first book however remained more like a shadowy presence but in this book manages to gain corporeal presence and makes his presence felt in all fields. His chapters as well as those of Stefan are the major negative POV chapters and are the most exciting ones to read. As the reader can read their thoughts and plans which affect several characters through out the story in major & minor ways. This was something which is usually not present in most fantasy books as we often see the actions of the negative characters but rarely see the thought process behind it.

I must also point out that one of the short stories in The Assassin’s Tear, deals with a major plot point in this book and so by reading the short story, the plot acquires depth. The book while having these positive facets still faces some old issues, namely that the predictability factor is never completely toned down and so most older fantasy readers will still be able to get a general idea about how and where the story might be going. The tropes which are utilized are most of the common fantasy ones and the author doesn't really bring anything new to the palate in those terms.

CONCLUSION: A lengthier, twisted & exciting sequel, The Flame Priest lives up to its blurb promise. Focusing on a large cast of characters, Karen Azinger masterfully manages the storyline and holds the reader’s interest with an engaging plot. The Flame Priest is a vastly improved book compared to its predecessor and as a sequel manages to overcome reader expectations convincingly. Give this series a try if you love classic epic fantasy tales with heroes, magic, battles & mayhem.