"Zero Sight" by B. Justin Shier (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official Author Website

Order the Book HERE

Read an Excerpt HERE (Amazon) and HERE (Barnes & Noble)

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Brian Justin Shier was born in New Jersey, grew up in Las Vegas before attending college in St. Louis. He then relocated to California wherein the medicine bug struck him and he’s now a third year medical student. He was inspired by J. A. Konrath to go the indie route and this is his debut novel. He’s currently putting the finishing touches to the sequel Zero Sum.

FORMAT/INFO: Zero Sight is 350 pages long divided over three titled parts and twenty-two numbered and titled chapters. Narration is in the first-person, solely via the protagonist Dieter Resnick. Zero Sight is the first volume in the Zero Sight series.

March 28, 2011 marked the self publication of Zero Sight by the author. Cover design is done by Jordan Kimura.

CLASSIFICATION: Combining the maverick humor of the Dresden files by Jim Butcher with the fluent prose of the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, Brian J. Shier’s debut can be summed up perfectly as Harry Dresden meets Kvothe Kingkiller with just a generous helping of the Harry Potter charm.

PLOT OVERVIEW & ANALYSIS: This book wasn’t a review request and I would have missed it, had it not been for Amazon’s recommendations. Whilst I was searching for some other title, Zero Sight popped up on my screen as a book I might like, based on my previous buys and search history. Never having heard of the book or the author before hand, I looked up some of the reviews on Amazon as well as Goodreads and got myself a copy.

The book was tremendously funny, managing to capture my interest from the first few pages and had me rooting for the main character like no other. Dieter Resnick is the narrator of the story and is in fact one of the main draws of the plot. He’s a sixteen year old kid who’s street smart as well really intelligent. He knows he’s in a shitty situation but is also mature enough to ride it through and get out to a good college. He lives with his alcoholic dad in Las Vegas and while being a physical abuse victim; he doesn’t let it deter him from figuring out his life plans which mainly includes a good college education with a full scholarship. However fate has other plans as the school bully Tyrone Nelson hurts one of his friends, Dieter’s conscience will not let it slide. Things soon take a downturn and after an accident of sorts, Dieter discovers that there’s something kooky about the accident as well as his role in it.

He returns to school and is fixated upon a college with a full scholarship and things seem to be heading his way when he receives an acceptance from Elliot College with the terms he wanted. Feeling full of joy, he sets about on his bus trip from Vegas to New Haven, Connecticut wherein he has no idea what he’s about to get into. On the way he meets Rei Acerba Bathory, a strikingly beautiful female whose looks have him floored but as such stories go, there’s more to her than meets the eye. Thus begins the crazy story that is Zero Sight and one which will have more fans over the years.

I absolutely loved this debut novel as it’s very rare that you discover a book which makes the story come alive, have a great narrative voice and in spite of the obvious tropes utilized, still manages to make the reader oblivious to them. Zero Sight does all of this and then goes on to end in a way that makes you covet the next volume essentially. For me this book was a complete winner and here’s why: The story begins with a rush and Dieter manages to convey his intelligence, charm and spunk all in the very first chapter. The narrative voice is a youthful one and the energy which is abundantly presently in the main character comes across and touches the reader as well. We share his enthusiasm, feel his pain and marvel at his antics. The book’s humor quotient is one which will have readers frequently chuckling along and to add to it Dieter seems like a junior version of Harry Dresden with his geeky references and snappy monologues.

Thus by having the reader root for the protagonist, the author moves onto his next hook namely the location and the plot twists, the story opens up in Las Vegas, then through a bus journey moves cross country and ends in Elliott College, New Haven. The story never slackens and pulls the reader constantly forward and with the plot twists that keep the reader entertained. There is an infectious charm to this story which is inexplicably alluring and adding to its effect is the fact that it was the author’s debut.

The story utilizes some common fantasy tropes but due to the author’s writing, effectively manages to not hinder the reader and gives them a story which will make them engrossed in figuring out what’s going on and at the same time having quite a bit of fun along with and at Dieter’s expense. The addition of the magical college settings which are very reminiscent of Hogwarts as well as Kvothe’s University are a definite plus however the author does his best to differentiate Elliott College from the aforementioned places in many small but significant ways. The magic system is a bit generic but then once the rules are laid out it does make sense, in its pattern and schematics.

Another aspect which I want to highlight is that it doesn’t shy away from violence or the darkness of its characters and thereby makes this story score some points over the Harry Potter & Kingkiller Chronicles. There are quite some scenes of gore and violence, their presence is justifiable in relation to the plot. This story though having a teenage protagonist as well as many young characters is far away from being a YA book and that was another point which I thought should be highlighted as many readers might assume so from its blurb. There’s also the character cast which begins with Rei and she’s the second most developed character behind Dieter, however the rest of the cast gets very less presence however since it’s the first book, the author had very less time and space to do justice to them. I expect this to be rectified in the future volumes and more to be revealed about the rest of the characters as well the world they inhabit.

The sole point which kind of detracted a bit of awesomeness from this book was its ending and in this it coincidentally shares this quirk with Patrick Rothfuss’s amazing debut. The ending is a bit ambiguous in the sense it just ends and leaves the story hanging. The Name of the Wind also faced a similar complaint from its fans that the story just ended instead of having a strong climax. Some might disagree with me on this point but I felt with the aces that the story delivered, it faltered a bit in the ending. This was the only drawback experienced by me.

CONCLUSION: An excellent Urban Fantasy debut which will amaze readers with it narrative voice, plot energy and fun twists. This book is definitely one of the best debuts and will possibly herald Brian J. Shier’s ascent into future authorial stardom. This is a book heavily recommended for all fans of Jim Butcher and Kevin Hearne, give it a try and find out why I think Zero Sight deserves to be counted as one of the best urban fantasy debuts of the year and possibly of this decade as well.

"The Cold Commands" by Richard Morgan (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Official Richard K. Morgan Website
Order The Cold Commands HERE
Read FBC's Review of “The Steel Remains”
Read FBC's Review of Thirteen aka Black Man HERE
Read FBCs 2007 Interview with Richard Morgan

INTRODUCTION: Richard (K) Morgan is the acclaimed author of five science fiction novels including the 2008 Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning “Black Man/Thirteen”, “Woken Furies”, “Market Forces”, “Broken Angels”, and “Altered Carbon”, a New York Times Notable Book that also won the Philip K. Dick Award. Both “Altered Carbon” and “Market Forces” have been optioned for film adaptation with the latter novel a winner of the 2005 John W. Campbell Award.

In 2008, Mr. Morgan turned his hand to fantasy in “The Steel Remains” which was so hyped including by the author who was a bit ignorant that fantasy had moved from Tolkien for a good while before 2008, that it simply could not live up to expectations; it made though a valiant try not by its very traditional subject, but by Mr. Morgan's original take with modern and very dark and explicit language in a pre-modern context that had sfnal elements too.

My opinion of The Steel Remains varied quite wildly over time - loved it on first read, then later thought more and saw its many weaknesses, then almost completely forgot it. I even expected to open its direct sequel, The Cold Commands, and put it down since recently I have moved away from traditional fantasy, but the author's extremely vigorous style hooked me. However I had a problem: I had forgotten what was what except for the strong beginning and the author's trademark twist at the end that appears in all his novels.

So I went back to re-reading The Steel Remains before continuing with The Cold Commands and today after the hype has vanished and enough time has passed, I would say that it is a novel with great parts, superb lines and well done and interesting characters, but it fails to fully cohere and it is considerably less than the sum of its parts. For convenience I will present FBC's 2008 take on the plot of The Steel Remains:

PLOT SUMMARY FOR The Steel Remains: Ringil Eskiath, the hero of the bloody slaughter at Gallows Gap, is a legend to all who don't know him and a twisted degenerate to those that do. A veteran of the wars against the Scaled Folk, he makes a living from telling credulous travelers of his exploits. Until one day he is pulled away from his life and into the depths of the Empire's slave trade, where he will discover a secret infinitely more frightening than the trade in lives...

Egar Dragonbane, a Majak steppe-nomad and one-time fighter for the Empire, is now the Skaranak clanmaster. Pining for the past, Egar finds himself entangled in a small-town battle between common sense and religious fervor. But perhaps there is some truth behind the tribe’s gods, the Sky Dwellers…

Archeth, an abandoned 207-year-old Kiriath half-breed advisor to Jhiral Khimran II of the Yhelteth Empire, is sent to investigate a demonic incursion against the Empire's borders. What she uncovers is evidence of a terrifying new enemy that makes the Scaled Folk seem like children…

Anti-social, anti-heroic, and decidedly irritated, all three of these veterans of the War against the Scaled Folk are about to be called upon to fight again for a world that owes them everything and has given them nothing…

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Cold Commands starts almost a year later after the end of The Steel Remains though later we find out what happened in the meantime too. While Archeth and Egar star immediately, Ringil takes a while to make his appearance, but when he does, it is a with quite a bang and from then on he really takes over the book and makes it a much more memorable experience than The Steel Remains.

The Cold Commands also mixes sfnal tropes - directly as in the technologically advanced Kiriath and their AI-like Helmsmen, as well as in echoes of the Takeshi Kovacs series that made the author's name starting from his explosive debut Altered Carbon - Takavach and Dakovash - and indirectly in attitude and language with fantasy tropes like magic swords, empires, slavery, pre-modern civilization, ancient evil, etc...

The sfnal part works wonderfully and there are a ton of quotable lines and moments in the book, while the fantasy part is ok'ish, a bit boring as in very canned stuff I've seen a million times and with some of the least unsubtle and moronic but powerful villains around.

The Cold Commands coheres much better than The Steel Remains. For once, it is longer by 100 pages or so and that helps - let us remember that in The Steel Remains the main three characters stayed well apart from one another for like 90% of the book with the convergence in a pretty rushed climax - while here the characters come together and separate much more often, so there is more unity. I also think that The Cold Commands being Ringil's novel in a definite way is very important in ensuring this unity.

I quite liked Archeth's thread a lot too as it is both the most political and the most sfnal one, while Egar's deeds are more picaresque and while they add a piece of the puzzle to the storyline, this thread is less important, even tangential to a large extent. The secondary characters are better developed here too than in the first novel - again I think that having more than 500 pages and not having to introduce the world and characters helped a lot, showing again that there is a reason epic fantasy novels must go towards the higher page count and come as series if they are to be very good.

Most notable of all, the Emperor, Jhiral Khimran II, lights up each page he appears on. "The degenerate apostate" as the fanatics of the main imperial religion call him - and which Ringil gleefully enjoys as usually those epithets have been applied to him - is on a roll in this volume, but there are a few more others that add color and depth. Even the usual Morgan twist, while present as expected, is done in a subtler way and we find out about it later as back story. Only the villains are really cartoonish and one dimensional, but that is in many ways a traditional fantasy requirement since how could otherwise so powerful personages be defeated by the rag-tag heroes...

As highlights that show the brutality of the book and of the heroes, early on there is Ringil capturing one of his nasty enemies and giving her to his motley mercenary crew to be gang raped and then when he got tired of listening to her screams, personally cutting her throat, or Jhiral Khimran II also personally water boarding his enemies - though in a pool with the analogues of sharks/piranhas - and they are the good guys; what the bad guys do, well, you can imagine...

Overall The Cold Commands (A++) is a superior effort to The Steel Remains and an excellent novel, though one that's definitely not for everyone; a little more imagination on the fantasy plot and full coherence would make it one for the ages, but even so, the author's powerful writing style, the memorable characters, superb one liners and many other goodies made it one of my top 25 novels of the year.

Some Highly Anticipated 2012 Books: Aug-Dec/Presumed (by Liviu Suciu)

As 2012's publishing schedule has become clearer, I started talking about what books I am looking forward to for the next year. Since I like variation, this time I have done it in several posts for Jan-March (HERE), April-July (HERE) and the rest of 2012 including presumed but unsure titles.

I noticed that except for the Saladin Ahmed title HERE, I have not included any debuts, so I will research the subject and come back soon with a list of intriguing debuts for 2012 also.

In this post I present a list of both the announced titles that have already some relevant links and of the presumed ones that for now have no clear information.

For the full schedule as known to us at a given time, you can visit the Upcoming Releases page. As usually schedules change unexpectedly, wrong dates spread fast online, so while we try to be as accurate as possible, let us know of any mistakes.

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Announced:

The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks (sequel to The Black Prism, Orbit, Fall 2012)
The Eternal Flame by Greg Egan (sequel to The Clockwork Rocket, Night Shade, Summer 2012)
Black Opera by Mary Gentle (standalone sff, Gollancz, Summer 2012)
Jack Glass by Adam Roberts (standalone sf, Gollancz, Summer 2012)
The Coldest War by Ian Tregilis (sequel to Bitter Seeds, Tor, Summer 2012)

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Presumed:

The Air War by Adrian Tchaikovsky (the 8th Shadows of the Apt novel, after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Macmillan)
The 6th Safehold Novel by David Weber (after OAR, BSRA, BHD, AMF, HFAF, Tor)
Cold Steel by Kate Elliott (after Cold Magic and Cold Fire, Orbit)
The 3rd Thomas Cale Novel by Paul Hoffman (after The Left Hand of God and The Last Four Things, Dutton)

The 4th Red Sun Novel by Mark Newton (after Nights of Villjamur, City of Ruin, The Book of Transformations (FBC Rv soon), Macmillan)
Queen's Hunt by Beth Bernobich (sequel to Passion Play, Tor)
Black Bottle by Anthony Huso (sequel to The Last Page, Tor)
Great North Road by Peter Hamilton (standalone sf, Macmillan)

Added Oct 24 as per comment below:

The Complete Sea Beggars Series by Paul Kearney (see this post on dropped series, Solaris)

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Two very speculative but of the highest priority titles for 2012:

Adjacent by Christopher Priest (standalone sf, Gollancz)
English Translation of El Prisionero del Cielo by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Spanish Release, Nov 17 2011 and I will report on it since I plan to get it asap)

A Dance of Death by David Dalglish with Bonus Q/A with the Author (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official David Dalglish Website

Order “A Dance of Death” HERE

Read the Prologue HERE

Read FBC's Review of “A Dance of Cloaks”

Read FBC's Review of “A Dance of Blades”

Read FBC’s Interview with David Dalglish

AUTHOR INFORMATION: David Dalglish graduated from Missouri Southern State University with a degree in Mathematics. He is the author of the popular Half Orcs fantasy series which includes The Weight of Blood, The Cost of Betrayal, The Death of Promises, The Shadows of Grace and A Sliver of Redemption. He is currently writing the Shadowdance trilogy and The Paladins series.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: “We are the ones who own the night. We are the ones with blood on our hands. We are the reapers, the demons, the dark shadows wielding steel. We will not be denied our vengeance.”

Haern is the King's Watcher, protector against thieves and nobles who might fill the night with blood. Yet hundreds of miles away, an assassin known as the Wraith has begun slaughtering those in power, and leaving the symbol of the Watcher in mockery. When Haern travels south to confront his copycat killer, he finds a city ruled by the corrupt, the greedy, and the dangerous. Rioters fill the streets, and the threat of war with the mysterious elves hangs over all. To stop it, he must confront the deadly Wraith, and the man he might become.

Man or God; what happens when the lines are blurred?

CLASSIFICATION: Featuring a world where there are multiple factions at work, the Shadowdance trilogy is a dark, gritty, character-driven fantasy series in the vein of George R.R. Martin, Brent Weeks and Peter V. Brett.

FORMAT/INFO: A Dance of Death is 348 pages divided over twenty-seven numbered chapters with a prologue and epilogue. Narration is in the third person via several different point-of-views, both major and supporting characters, including the main protagonist Haern the Watcher, Alyssa Gemcroft, Zusa, Ulrich Blackwater, Lord Ingram Murbrand, Lady Madelyn Keenan, Princess Laryssa, Torgar etc. A Dance of Death is the third volume in the Shadowdance trilogy after A Dance of Cloaks and A Dance of Blades. The trilogy itself is set in the same world as The Half-Orcs, but before the events of that series with mild and major spoilers contained within. It would be highly unadvisable to read this book before the previous two as it would reveal a significant amount about what happened previously.

October 20, 2011 marked the independent publication of A Dance of Death in E-book format. Cover art is provided by Peter Ortiz.

ANALYSIS: I was introduced to David Dalglish’s writing when I read the previous two books in the Shadowdance trilogy earlier this year. I was completely blown away by those two titles and with his dark gritty characterization as well as excellent action sequences, the author had completely won me over and so my expectations were sky high for the final chapter of the Watcher’s story.

A Dance of Death begins two years after the events where the Watcher ascended to his position and brokered a peace between the thief guilds and the Trifect. It’s a fragile peace however things are still kept in control by Haern and his ruthless vigilantism. This time around though things start to take a unholy turn in the coastal city of Angelport, wherein Laurie Keenan, the third lord of the Trifect resides. Some one called the Wraith is going around killing people and this time Laurie Keenan feels the Wraith's wrath and while the Wraith completes the kill and leaves the Watcher’s mark. Things take an uneven turn as Alyssa Gemcroft decides to investigate the matter and help her fellow Trifect member who’s been besieged in the city by the Merchants brethren and Lord Ingram who is the so-called ruler of the city. To add to this mix is the city’s continual fight with the Elves over the allocation of nearby forest land and all of it just becomes a powder keg ready to ignite with the arrival of the Watcher.

In a recent trailer for next year’s film The Dark Knight Rises, there are a couple of scenes shown from the previous film and there’s a voiceover by Liam Neeson repeating his words from the first film:

“If you make yourself more than just a man”

“If you devote yourself to an ideal”

“Then you become something else entirely … a legend, Mr. Wayne, a legend!”

I think these lines are very crucial to the Batman persona and conveniently fit Haern’s Psyche almost as well. Haern’s actions over the previous books have made him seem more than just a human being. The Thief guilds as well as the Trifect fear and respect him, his actions though scary, have established a peace of sorts in the city of Veldaren. However in Angelport someone has decided to ape him and take his methods a step further. That’s the question raised in this story. How do you stop someone who claims to be following your ideals and makes you out to be everything that you fought against? This question haunts Haern throughout the plot and makes for a great read as the author doesn’t provide any clear cut answer but gives pointers for the readers to form their own opinions. I very much enjoyed this introspective look into Haern’s actions.

Following the past two books, the author has increased the intrigue and machinations in this one, with there being atleast four different parties who are involved and each scheming to get their own demands and objectives. Each faction is vicious and with way more means than Haern, Alyssa and Zusa who find themselves in a new city and without their regular means. This book takes a step in a new direction as it visibly shifts the locale to the city of Angelport, this was a very surprising move on the author’s part as with the last two books being set in Veldaren, it seemed sure that the last tale would be set there as well however this is the first of the many surprises laced in the story along with the new cast of characters who are more treacherous, shady and powerful.

The action sequences are a particular highlight of David’s writing and he doesn’t disappoint in this one, choc-a-bloc with violence and action that is fast, brutal and has far reaching consequences. The best part of the story is that its pace never slackens and all the twists keep the reader guessing as to who and what is behind all the chaos. The book begins with a murder and from thereon its much more mayhem which almost never stops. Zusa and Haern along with Alyssa go through a physical and emotional wringing of sorts and in this the author has to be lauded for never refusing to make his characters jump through hoops or even killing them off in quite drastic manners.

This book’s theme could be that no matter how good you are, there’s always some one better and sometimes no matter what one does, shit happens! The world of Neldar is pretty dark to begin with but the city of Angelport stoops to a further low with its morass of misery, avarice and treachery. No one can be fully trusted and this is a lesson which the main characters learn a bit too late for their comfort. Plus with a slambang ending, the book ends the trilogy on a bittersweet note however it still has some faults. Readers will have to let go of their sensibilities when it comes to the main character’s physical institution as Haern does things which defy explanation but in the context of the story and the world, can certainly be overlooked. Lastly there are a couple of plot-threads which are left hanging, but I’m hoping since this was a prequel story, they might be addressed in the Half Orc series wherein Haern was a minor but important character.

CONCLUSION: A Dance of Death stays true to its name and closes out an excellent trilogy. Overall this book is almost as good as the second and definitely better than the first. I heartily recommend the entire Shadowdance trilogy to all lovers of dark, action packed fantasy stories. Just be warned that the author is a fan of George R.R. Martin and he follows his hero’s path of scalding the main characters like no other. A Dance of Death brings to an end to a fascinating look at the life of the Watcher.

BONUS Q/A with David Dalglish

Q] Welcome back to Fantasy Book Critic, since your last appearance there have been certain tumultuous events occurring in the world of publishing lead by Barry Eisler and Amanda Hocking, your thoughts on these events and what do you feel about traditional publishing and its future?

A) I don’t know Barry Eisler too well, but I’m fairly good friends with Amanda, and I know she made the right decision for her situation. There are a few problems inherent with self-publishing, and you have to have the mindset of a businessman half the time. I don’t think traditional publishing is going anywhere (though I do think a lot of changes are in store, with those embracing digital books far more likely to thrive). The only thing I know for certain, and thankfully managed to predict, was that the Kindle would be huge. Other than that, I don’t have a clue what the next five years will bring, and beware those who think they do.

Q] "The Shadowdance trilogy" is your second completed series. Was writing the second series harder, easier or about the same compared to writing the first one?

A) This was far more difficult. With the Half-Orcs, the finale was something I had in my head for over two years. I’d been looking forward to various scenes for what felt like forever. With Shadowdance, I was entering each book in the dark, not even pretending to know where each story would end. It’s led to a lot of frustrations, and the occasional false start, but the final result tends to be a bit more chaotic and unpredictable, which readers seem to enjoy.

Q] With respect to cover art, the first two books had faceless women on it. What was the reason for Haern’s presence in the third thereby breaking the pattern?

A) A Dance of Death is actually the seventh book of mine featuring Haern, three of which he is the main character. Yet I still hadn’t found a way to put him on the cover of one, even though others of mine were on two or three. So in this last series, in a trilogy dedicated to him, I had to find a way. And the pattern isn’t *completely* broken. Zusa’s still on the cover. She’s just...uh, wounded. Or dead! I ain’t saying which.

Q] Even though your series embraces a number of fantasy tropes (assassins, thieves, feudal infighting), you also have made a rather strong effort to twist reader expectations and keep them entertained. What are your thoughts on fantasy tropes in general and how did you decide what tropes you wanted to utilize, to entice the reader?

A) For me, the fantastical world is the setting, and just that. I’m not expecting to wow anyone with my world building. There are writers who can do that, some of whom I adore, but that isn’t me. My stories are focused on characters and conflicts, a lot of which I could, honestly, rewrite in a sci-fi setting, or modern day setting, and have to change very little. So what do I want to use? What I think is awesome. What do I not want to use? What bores me. That’s really it. For Half-Orcs, it is orcs, elves, undead, and giant fiery explosions of magic. Anyone who has played D&D or World of Warcraft should feel right at home. With Shadowdance, I toned it down. With Paladins, I’m somewhere in the middle. At no point, though, do I expect the sheer fact that “ooh, look, big army of strange somethings!” to try to carry the story. It’s always, always the characters.

Q] In your most recent book A Dance of Death, was it your purpose from the start to end the tale the way you did. Was this the ending you had planned when you first envisioned writing about Haern? Also when you decided to make it a trilogy what were you aiming for in regards to the end of this story?

A) When I decided to make this a trilogy, book two was pretty much already formed in my head. Things always change when I write it, but for the most part, I have an idea of where I want to go, the few major events that will define it, and then everything else falls together. Book three? Not a clue. It took a lot of lengthy conversations with friends I trust, and have read all my books, to really decide where to take it.

The first two books develop Haern as this vigilante protector, show how he became who he is. This last book, I wanted to analyze what it is he had become. I wanted to know what made him special, what set him apart from all the others running about killing in the night. And I did so by creating a character who was a natural evolution to the identity Haern had created, and then pitting them against each other.

Q] Speaking of research, I’m curious about how you approach a new novel. For example, do you start from scratch when you’re working on a new book or do you have a pile of ideas that you can choose from when you’re deciding what to write next?

A) I’m a seat-of-your-pants type of writer. For each book, I generally sit down with a single sheet of paper and a pen, and then write out the entire plotline in a single go on one side (to keep me from over-plotting. This helps connect the characters, and give me a set path to follow. Once I do this, I freely disregard anything in the outline that might hamper the natural flow of the story. Nearly every story, I kill someone who was supposed to live, and let live someone who was supposed to die. A Dance of Death was no different.

Q] Just for fun though, If your books do get adapted for the visual medium, whom would you want to portray Haern, could you also give us some choices for the other characters as well and who would you want involved with the adaptation?

A) Haern would be played by a non-bulked up Chris Hemsworth. For Zusa...Catherine Zeta Jones. That’d be awesome. And honestly, I’d be so stupidly excited by a movie made of any of my stories. It could be some lousy interpretation on the Syfy channel and I’d still have all my friends over to watch and have a ball.

Q] What’s next for you in terms of the world of Dezrel & other new projects? Can you tell us anything about the book which you are currently writing?

A) Next up is the third book of the Paladins, which so far has eluded me in terms of a title. The whole thing will focus on the dark paladin Darius, his attempts at redemption, and everyone else’s attempts to kill him in brutal ways.

The Infernals by John Connolly (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official John Connolly Website 

Order “The Infernals” HERE 

Read an Excerpt HERE 

Read FBC Review of “The Gates” 

Read FBC Interview with John Connolly 

AUTHOR INFORMATION: John Connolly earned a B.A. in English from Trinity College and a M.A. in Journalism from Dublin City University. His bibliography includes the long-running Charlie Parker thriller series which began with the Shamus Award-winning Every Dead Thing, The Book of Lost Things, various short stories, and YA fiction—The Gates and The Infernals. He is also a regular contributor to The Irish Times and currently lives in Dublin, Ireland. 

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: Young Samuel Johnson is in trouble. Not only is his eyesight so poor that he mistakenly asks out a letter box on a date, but an angry demon is seeking revenge for Samuel’s part in foiling the invasion of Earth by the forces of evil. It wants to get its claws on Samuel, and when Samuel and his faithful dachshund, Boswell, are pulled through a portal into the dark realm, the home of the Infernals, it gets its chance. 

But catching Samuel is not going to be easy, for the Infernals have not reckoned on the bravery and cleverness of a boy and his dog, or the loyalty of Samuel’s friend, the hapless demon Nurd, or the presence of two clueless policemen and the unlucky, if cheerfully optimistic, driver of an ice-cream van. 

Most of all, no one has planned on the intervention of an unexpected band of little men, for Samuel and Boswell are not the only inhabitants of Earth who have found themselves in the underworld. If you thought demons were frightening, just wait until you meet Mr. Merryweather’s Elves. . . . 

FORMAT/INFO: The Infernals is 309 pages long divided over thirty-eight numbered ad titled chapters. Narration is in the third-person omniscient view via Samuel Johnson, Nurd, Mrs. Abernathy, Mr. Merryweather’s elves, Ozymuth and many others. The Infernals is self-contained and can be read as a standalone novel, although it is the sequel to The Gates and ideally should be read after it. It was released in the UK earlier this year under the title Hell’s Bells: Samuel Johnson Vs the Devil. 

October 18, 2011 marked the North American Hardcover publication of The Infernals via Atria Books. Hell’s Bells: Samuel Johnson Vs the Devil [UK edition] was published by Hodder & Stoughton on May 12, 2011.

ANALYSIS: The Infernals is the sequel to 2009’s The Gates. Whilst The Gates was an experimental book of sorts for John, The Infernals isn’t of any such sort. It’s a clear sequel to its hilarious predecessor and one which takes the themes and situations developed from the original and pushes them even further into the land of the comically absurd. The book opens up in Hell wherein the Great Malevolence has gone into a crisis of sorts by the mishap which occurred nearly fifteen months ago when the Great Malevolence and his hellish cronies decided to leave their world and join ours. This plan however didn’t account for the presence and active thinking mind of Samuel Johnson, his daschund Boswell and an entity known as Nurd. Events happened which now have caused Mrs. Abernathy to be a recluse of sorts and all hell is in an uproar. Mrs. Abernathy hasn’t however given up hope on her plan and a newer variation includes getting revenge on Samuel for derailing her grand plan. Events are set into motion by the unwitting scientists of the Hadron collider and soon Mrs. Abernathy has her plans come to fruition when Samuel gets pulled along with Boswell in to the realm that is Hell. Unfortunately so do a few other people including Sergeant Rowan, Constable Peel, an ice cream truck driver with an unhealthy optimistic outlook and lastly the four creatures that are known as Mr. Merryweather’s elves. Hell just doesn’t stand a chance when it comes to these elves. 

The Infernals is in many ways a strong sequel to its predecessor as well as a book which stands on its own. The book follows up with the presence of foot notes which made up such a huge part in the hilarious nature of the original tale and in this one are as striking as the first book and will often have the reader chuckling along. well. Basically this story is the mirror reverse of the original tale wherein a few demons went to Earth and now a few humans have come to Hell. The story’s strength lies in is its whimsical nature which is very much reminiscent of Terry Pratchet’s Discworld books. The characterization is good as with other John Connolly books however is kept at a level which this book is aimed for. The story though is a bit less comical than its predecessor due to the darker turn of the story however the Elves make up for much of the mishaps caused in Hell. 

The biggest strong point of the book is humor which particularly fills almost every paragraph of the book. The book lays quite a scenario and then goes about its comical way filling in the reader with nuggets about time travel, physics, the nature of evil, etc. The ending comes as a nice surprise and the author again leaves a thread open for the third and possibly final book in the series. Even though this book is aimed for kids, adults will have a fun time reading it taking in mind that the author has purposefully kept certain things the way they are. Deficiencies to the story are the same which can be labeled against any children’s books. Therefore they can be easily discounted by asking people who do not like to read such stories, to not read them. However I feel one should read such stories from time to time to let the child in all of us escape from adult life. 

CONCLUSION: A heartfelt comedic tale about friendship, demons and what it means to be a hero, John Connolly again excels in this sequel to his previous YA book and leaves a small thread open again for a potential climatic third book which will be fun to read as ever with John’s writing, the reader can easily lose themselves in his world knowing that they are in for a treat.