Monthly Archives: July 2014

Fantasy, Review

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

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Half a King cover
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Half a King , the recent novel by Joe Abercrombie, is the author’s first real foray into the world of Young Adult and the first book in his new Shattered Sea series. I have mixed feelings about YA in general, but with Joe Abercrombie as the author, I was going to dive in either way. On one hand I feel that YA is really flooding the market, especially in the Fantasy genre. On the other hand I love that it is out there and there is a good base to bring younger people into the literary world. I will not go into my YA feelings in any more depth right now, I prefer to take a book for what the content is, rather than how it is marketed.

At the heart of the story we have our main character, Yarvi, the second son of the King and Queen. Yarvi has no real air of royalty and is in fact studying to become a minister, having no interest in the royal life. Yarvi is young, weak and had a deformed hand. In a family and culture which prides itself on strength and warfare, he knows where he stands. Unfortunately his plans are upended and he is forced to take the throne. Whilst beginning to settle and accept a life he never truly wanted, Yarvi is betrayed in usurper’s a grab for power. He swears an oath of vengeance and to reclaim the throne he wished never to have.

Regardless of the YA billing, this is still very much an Abercrombie book. It may have been conceived for an audience younger than the average Abercrombie fan, but the loyal fans can still love this novel and get a real sense that the author has not compromised in writing it. There is still a gritty and grim feel to this book. There is enough death, blood and violence to get that familiar ‘Lord Grimdark’ feel. It is a classically styled fantasy-adventure novel. I think it is good for any age… well, maybe anyone above middle grade.

Although it does go above the YA classification, it does keep strongly to the YA formula. A young protagonist, usually teenage, either becomes a leader, or is thrown into a tough situation (usually a combination as it is here) and has to work through it and grow up quickly. Not to say that I do not enjoy the books, but too many really do fall into that narrow scope. The only other slight criticism I had was the “twist” as it has been labeled by other reviewers. I don’t know how much of a twist it really was. From early on I though “hey I can tell this is going to happen,” and I was just waiting on the reveal. It could be that I was expecting a twist and this was the most logical theme, or that I’ve watched to many bad-guy of the week TV shows that I always look for things. Many others have written about their shock at the twist and I am sure that added to their enjoyment. I, on the other hand, felt that it was a fairly blatant thing and it even helped me better understand one of the secondary characters a bit better as I was reading.

The novel as a whole was a very well done classic story by Joe Abercrombie. It is certainly a must read for any fan and certainly a recommended read as an introduction to this author for any fantasy reader who is not yet a fan. I give Half a King 4.5/5 with the only caveat for me being the predictability. I think being surprised or have a more unexpected ending would have made it that much more enjoyable and moved it well into the 5/5.

Review, SciFi

My Real Children by Jo Walton

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My Real Children by Jo Walton
My Real Children by Jo Walton

Published here on May 20th 2014 by Tor, and coming to the UK in August, Jo Walton brings us her tenth novel, My Real Children. This is the story of a woman, Patrician Conway, who is living in a nursing home with dementia. Her biggest problem is that she seems to be living two lives. Not only does she feel that she is in a different place on different days, but she distinctly remembers two different pasts.  The book dives in to those pasts. It has taken me longer than I had hoped to get to this review, considering I had gotten this from the publisher back at BEA. I even managed a signed copy, though not personal, it was pre-signed, which is still really nice.

The major thing that I have noticed about Jo Walton is that she really is a great writer. The other thing is that her writing almost fits as well, if not better into the “Non-fiction” general category than it does into the genre specific Sci-Fi and fantasy. She writes truly wonderful prose, but she does hover that genre line by having just enough to qualify. Among Others for example has a light fantasy hint to it (though I maintain that girl is crazy), but mainly it was about a weird girl from a dysfunctional family, and her books. My Real Children is really a story of two alternate histories and the way these lives played out based on an early decision. The science fiction is really in the fact that these are alternate histories. Within those histories there are further sci-fi aspects which are more of something ancillary to the plot. It also builds rather slow to this, with the first of these sci-fi aspects emerging about half way through the book.

Again, this was very nicely written and it was a nice story, though it did leave me fairly sad. It was not even the proper ending that did it, rather events leading up to the end. Jo Walton‘s greatest strength is really her development of the main character, and I do not mean solely in this novel. You really feel that you understand the main characters, both versions of them here. Having a strong character development is something that always pulls me in as I get a sense that this is a real person behind everything. I do not know if all of the characters were so developed though. I felt like I got a taste of some of their personalities, and some I did not feel I knew more than their names.

Other than the actual writing, what I loved about this is that you can feel real love for the people and places. I cannot even explain how badly I want to visit Florence right now or get a gelato. What I did not love was the overt agenda. I thought the overly liberalized agenda was way to strong. I am not commenting on the agenda itself, I do not have a problem with it directly, my problem is they way that it felt too obvious, too in my face, and it took me out of the story. I completely felt like I was being lectured about feminism, anti-war sentiment and disarmament. What if you already drank that particular kool-aid and are on board? It still feels like it is being shoved down your throat. A certain degree of it absolutely helped the plot, but I think it went on more than it was needed.

I put this novel at a 3/5. I enjoyed the story and the writing, but it really did start off slow for me. There were plenty of wonderful part as well as things that yanked me out of that world. It was a nice balance, but simply balancing does not really shift me into loving something or not. I may have brought it up another star if I was expecting a general dramatic story, but I tend to like genre driven stories, and I did not feel that is truly lived up to the genre it was billed as. I also did not love the ending. It did not offer the closure I wanted.  Is this novel worth a read? I think it is, sure. As long as you have the correct expectations going in.

Fantasy, Review

The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains

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The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains (Enhanced Multimedia Edition): A Tale of Travel and Darkness with Pictures of All Kinds
The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains (Enhanced Multimedia Edition): A Tale of Travel and Darkness with Pictures of All Kinds

This review is going to be a little different. This is mainly because the item I am reviewing is a bit different. Back in August of 2010 Neil Gaiman read one of his short stories at the Sydney Opera House in a multimedia event. Images were created from the prose and displayed on a screen while a string quartet played to the mood of the story. Last week I found out that this was going to be recreated at Carnegie Hall and that really excited me. Unfortunately I was not working in the NYC office that day, I was working out of HQ on LI and working late. I did the next best thing and bought the published version which came out June 17th 2014. While this story itself has been available online, Neil Gaiman only just released a multimedia version. That, as much as the “book” is what I will review.

Before I continue I have a word or warning to anyone looking for this hybrid version: read device support from your vendor. For example, the Kindle version only works on Kindle Fires and iOS devices. It does not work entirely with standard e-ink Kindles, Android apps or the PC. You can still read it, but not hear it. The same goes for the Nook edition, Nook devices only. I ended up with the Google Play enhanced eBook so that I could see it in color on my Nexus tablet and listen to it. That, obviously, is the version I will review.

The format of this special enhanced, multimedia… thing… was nice, unique, but could use refinement. It was different for sure. I did like the images with the story. It had a feel like a graphic novel at some points, specifically when text balloons were incorporated in the scenes.  One thing I do enjoy when reading is creating the scene in your head, but it is nice to know that you are picturing what the author intended, so the guided images were a pleasant change. The audio included was a mixed experience as well. On one hand it felt like an read along audio book with Neil’s reading from the original event. I will discuss my thoughts on audio books at a later time, but I do like the idea of it having a combined presentation. I can see where some people might not love the idea, but both reading and listening are options and not mutually exclusive. The other side of the audio is that behind the reading is the string quartet. On some level I wish there was a separate track, but I realize that without being timed to the reading, it loses the effect. My major criticism is that the audio stops playing if you do anything. Go to the page that continues the text still being read and the audio stops. You cannot follow completely along. This may be different on other editions, but I cannot confirm. Overall, it was a nice experience, but that did bug me a few times.

On to the story. I am, admittedly, a biased Neil Gaiman fan. I know absolutely nothing of the story other than it was done by MR. Gaiman and that was good enough for me. Since it is a short story that can be read in about 90 minutes I really cannot discuss much without spoilers. In essence this is set on the Scottish countryside  where one man enlists the help of a guide who has a known reputation, to find a cave in a hidden island filled with treasure. The story is absolutely fantasy based, with several twists, and really any interesting tidbits will give the story away. I considered and deleted even a single adjective a dozen times while writing this, trying to decide if it gave too much away.

While it was fairly interesting, I felt that the story was flat. It started very slow and mostly progressed the same way. There were a few big moments, but not enough to really make the story. The end felt right, but a little rushed considering how much the story felt teased out. There were some images as well as the cover that made me think it would be freakier than it was. The story was fine, but it does not really live up to what I have come to expect and love out of Neil Gaiman. Perhaps that is unfair, to judge on the author’s merits, not the sole story, but I honestly feel my rating would be the same either way. I would rate this 3/5 considering all aspects of the multimedia experience as well as story content.

Though Neil was already here in NY and in San Francisco, he can still be seen this week in the UK, in London on 7/4-7/5/14 and Edinburgh on 7/6/14. See his site, http://www.neilgaiman.com/, for details.