Category Archives: Preview

Fantasy, Links, Preview, SciFi

Previews

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A week has gone by since BookCon and I have been inundated. Unfortunately most of the books I picked up are not being released until the fall and the publishers request reviews not be posted until a certain period prior to release. The time varies by publisher, but basically nothing I have right now can be posted. Instead of a new review, I figured I would throw out a couple of previews until I get through a book I can actually write about.

First from Tor, something I am personally excited for, Is John Scalzi’s new book, Lock in. In the near future, a virus spreads through the world’s population. Everyone reacts differently with some people experiencing nothing worse than a headache or flu symptoms. The more severe cases result in acute meningitis, and only one percent gets “locked in” and are unable to move or respond, but are still conscious. This is unfortunately a real phenomenon called Locked In Syndrome. It is generally unrepeatable and the person has almost no ability to communicate, with a few notable cases trying to have interfaces where patients could at least answer “yes” or “no”.

In Scalzi’s book, however they have devised a virtual reality system where those suffering could “ride” a licenses body and once again interact with the real world. The story builds based on what actions are taken with these “loaner” bodies. Tor has released the first 5 chapters on this up coming book. Check here for links to each chapter as well as other related information. Lock In comes our August 26th 2014.

The next link I have is an excerpt from the new anthology edited by George R.R Martin, Rogues. Rogues contains stories from Neil Gaiman, Pat Rothfuss and Mr. Martin himself as well as many other authors in this genre. I know I am excited for some of these stories such as Neil Gaiman’s story “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back” which is based in his Neverwhere story. Martin’s story is based in the “Game of Thrones” universe (so calm down, you’re getting a new story), and of course Patrick Rothfuss has a story with Bast from “The Kingkiller Chronicles”. It is that story I happen to have found an excerpt of on Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. Suvudu has also posted Scott Lynch and Joe Abercrombie reading from their stories. The release of Rogues is right around the corner on June 17th and is being published by Bantam. I really wish I had gotten a chance to review this book earlier, but I promise to try to squeeze it into my TBR list.

Luckily there are tons of great books coming  out and I don’t even come close to scratching the surface. Stay tuned in to your favorite publishers, authors and blogs for the latest.

Preview, Review, SciFi

The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon

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The Word Exchange
The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon

Disclaimer: I received this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Also, as this was an ARC, any content is subject to change by time of publication.

The Word Exchange, debut novel by Alena Graedon, is a new and quite unique book. The novel is being published by Doubleday and will be release on April 8th. The story is set in the near future when printed publications are a distant memory, held on to by only the most dedicated enthusiasts. Electronic devices reign and in the US, the Meme is king. While most of us are already constantly connected through our mobile devices and high speed data plans, Memes take it to the next level. Not only are they connected to everything and constantly using sensors to asses the user’s environment, they are also intuitive. Not in the way my Android has an “intuitive interface”, no, they actually can sense what you want. They can order for your, hail a cab, or even look something up for you without asking it. This includes looking up words in the interactive pay-per-word dictionary (well, sort of) the Word Exchange. There are even even accessories that stream data to the user, some of which can further link to your mind. Some even go as far as an implanted chip.

Anana Johnson (our main character) works with her father, Doug, at the North American Dictionary of the English Language (NADEL) in New York City. Doug is working on finishing the third edition of the NADEL for the upcoming publishing date. As a linguist, editor and general print and book supporter, Doug is not fond of Memes. More than that, he does not trust them. It is more than just seeing the electronic devices as competition, as they are also developing an electronic version of the NADEL. Doug’s behavior and attitude begins to grow more paranoid about the devices and warns Anana about them. he also preemptively give her a course of medicine in case of an upcoming sickness.

Soon after this Doug’s erratic behavior increases, he mysteriously disappears. With her father missing, Anana tries to track him down with the help of her co-worker and her father’s protege, Bart. In looking for any sign of Doug or where he may have gone, Anana stumbles into dangerous situations, subversive conspiracies and the Diachronic Society, a secret(ish) society which shares many of her father ideals and is clearly anti-Meme and against it’s parent company, Synchronic. On top of all of that, a word-flu manifests, with a combination of flu like symptoms as well as symptoms affecting the infected person’s speech (aphasia). The story is a mixture of Sci-Fi, mystery, thriller and somewhat dystopian.

The characters, especially Anana and Bart are very well developed and you get a nice sense of who they are. The writing is also very well done and the tone is unique. It is written from two perspectives, one being Anana, the other being Bart’s journal. I tend to appreciate stories with multiple perspectives as it adds depth to both the reader’s ability to interpret the events as well as an insight into how each character perceives the same things in different ways. My criticism of the writing style is somewhat difficult. I loved the way it was done, but the language seemed a little much. The author appears to have tried to find more obscure words in a thesaurus and really upped the reading level. I get it, I really do. After finishing the book I truly appreciated the value of doing this. The irony of having to look up works while reading on my Kindle was not lost on me and even caused a few errant chuckles. The language lent both to the story and the style. There was motivation there for the author, but I do see this as something that will really divide readers. Certain people will be scared off or turned off with the overly large or unknown words. In the end it works, quite well actually. I do see this as being a barrier for some people who might otherwise like this story.

The plot itself was very good as well. I have always been more into the Sci-Fi and fantasy aspects of stories and less into the mysteries, but as a plot device the mysteries surrounding both Doug and the word-flu worked well. The progression and pace of the story flowed very well in my opinion. I think that many of the allusions and points centering around technology and the loss of printed material is very valid today (have you seen how few bookstores there are in NYC now?).  As is the idea that people do not feel the need to learn things when they can access everything instantly instead. Much of this foreboding content made this whole idea seem very real. I have relatives in school who do not even have text books. Entire schools districts are using nothing but a tablet.

There are some things that even with the suspension of disbelief are a little hard to accept. The way the word-flu spreads is well though out an explained… to a point. After that point of plausibility, it gave me pause. I try not to nitpick, but it bothered me a little that such a well thought out story could have that flaw. The one other thing that got to me where some of the dates. This is obviously set a few years in the future, but the year is not explicitly mentioned. Regardless, there are years mentioned concerning events in various characters’ pasts. I am not sure the years work. The time may work out, but it made me stop and think every time. Also, I am curious what this does to the value of the book in say five years. Would it then be marketed as alternative history? It might be comparable to if Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four in the late 1970’s.

In the end the overall story was very enjoyable, entertaining and absorbing. These traits more than anything are really what is important when looking for a good book. A lot of things that I was wondering about came together in the end which made many things richer upon thinking back. I really like the characters and related to both them and the main thematic ideas. While there were some flaws, everything has flaws, the question is how noticeable of distracting they are. I would give this book a 4/5. There were only a few issues I had with the book, but I really liked it very much. I was not something I sacrificed sleep over, not able put down, but  it was something I really liked from beginning to end. I recommend this book without hesitation. I really wanted to go out and but some printed books after this, but something about reading on the kindle and being able to look up words just felt too right.

Be on the lookout for it on shelves and beamed to your devices ob April 8th. To read more about this novel check out the following links to: the publisher’s page (Doubleday), the distributor (Random House), Alena Graedon’s Facebook and Goodreads.

Fantasy, Preview, Review

Elder Scrolls Online

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So first off, this is my first non-book post. Normally I would not do this, but since it is a preview, I thought some book fans might like to hear about it before it comes out. I felt that the content is strongly fantasy themed and there is a large crossover between fantasy readers and gamers.I received beta access without any expectation from the developer of any review (in fact, at the time I was under an NDA). The exchange was while I got to play the beta, they got the the results and feedback they needed. I write this with an unbiased and honest view.

Exactly one week ago the final scale beta for Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) completed. Luckily I had the opportunity to participate in a few of the test sessions. These beta weekends have been going on for several months, in conjunction with Zenimax’s own internal testing. The sessions I was involved in were primarily meant as stress tests to see what their servers could handleand what needed to be tweaked for public release. Up until the second to last beta there was a strict nondisclosure agreement (NDA) preventing us from writing any reviews or previews. Now that the testing is done and I have a free moment, I would like to share some details of the game. I took some videos and screenshots and while they came out well, I felt they they were not helpful in describing the game-play, so for now I will let my words do their thing. If you really want to see any of it, just ask me. There are many hours of ESO on YouTube already and tons of screenshots floating around. Reddit even has and ESO subreddit.

First, there has been some decent changes between betas, so I am not sure how much of this will hold up between now and release time. The starting area actually changed in the last beta, which I felt was a positive change, but it also shows that anything I talk about here is no guaranteed to be in the final product. The main thing people seem to want to know is whether this is more like Skyrim or like WoW. Well, I don’t play WoW, so I can only guess. It really is somewhat unique though. The PvE does feel like an Elder Scrolls game… ish. It obviously is different from Skyrim in many ways, but the landscapes, exploration and general content make you feel at home in an Elder Scrolls world.  The creatures, both enemy and benign, are call backs to previous games and help you settle into the familiar lore. The biggest differences for me are the magic system and (the elephant in the room) the multitude of other players surrounding you.

Unlike Skyrim and Oblivion, magic is not a weapon slot item. it it a quickslot action. This give it a more MMORPG feel. Most RPGs use a system like this, but it does take something away from the ES spirit a little. The people around surprisingly are not as distracting as i though. Even playing the lone wolf, not playing with friends or finding a group, other players can be helpful. Exploring a dungeon, even above your level, is enhanced when players can watch each others backs. Loot is given to all participant who kill an opponent so there is no scrambling to pick it up, and in PvE you cannot harm other players. The one bad thing is certain objectives are world based and not instanced so you are sometimes scouring for a bit before you find something other players did not take/use/kill.

PvP is a different animal altogether. This is more like Guild Wars 2 with an Elder Scrolls edge. There is still a good deal of exploring and questing to be done, but the real meat of Cyrodil is the Alliance war. Combat is faction based and you can only fight opposing alliances. You fight for control of keeps, for various assigned objectives, and for possession of Elder Scrolls.  The factions are a large central point in this game. There is the Ebonhart Pact with the Argonians, Dunmer (Dark elves) and Nords. The Daggerfall Covenant with Bretons, Orcs and Redgaurds. Finally the Aldmeri Dominion with Altmer (High Elves), Bosmer (Wood Elves) and Kajit. The races are bound to the factions, unless you ordered the Imperial edition where you can choose what group to be in. You also get an addition race: Imperial, and some other extras. Each groups have completely different game-play. They exist in different areas of Tamriel, the quests are mostly unrelated, though guild quests are fairly similar, and your home area in Cryodil (PvP) all depend on what faction you choose.

As in all games of this type, the race and class strongly impact your character’s abilities and grow, more so than in some other Elder Scrolls games. The skills are class and race specific, not available elsewhere. In Skyrim it mostly have you boosts and affinities, in ESO, skill trees are unique.  I created a number of alt characters to test this, and it really makes a difference. Dragonknights make good fighters or tanks, Nightblades are generally assassins and rogues, Templars can be tanks and healers and sorcerers are, well, mages. The abilities are very different. Guilds and PvP also give you access to other skills trees that unlock based on your progression in those aspects. I would say to play around, because my usual character choices did not feel right. I went a little out of what I generally liked and really enjoyed my play times as they synergy of skills really spoke to my play style. While I felt my usual go-to Dunmer Assassin to be underpowered and frankly a bit boring, the Altmer Mage, I created when the Ebonheart quests got stale do to bugs my first session, quickly became my favorite and I stuck to it through the remaining sessions.

Now, this was a beta test, so there were a lot of bug. No, really, a LOT of bugs, frustrating at points. Some quests were fatally broken and I had to play areas way above my level, giving rewards I was not powerful enough to equip, just to progress. Walls disappeared, characters did not spawn, I fell through the sky a few times. I am hoping they have a lot of fixes at work on the private test servers, or hidden up a sleeve, because it was a bit rough, and with early release a week away, it would be a lit of work from what I last saw to be ready for launch. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the game and if you are OK with the $15/mo fee, I highly recommend this as a really nice MMO with fresh look and feel. I just hope they have it polished a bit more for paying customers.

I could bore everyone to death listing the details of the game that are out there, but there are many sources of this already. I just want to share my experiences. Typically I am drawn to single player games. To me they tend to have a richer story. Also I rarely have enough time to get anywhere near as good as serious core gamers. I am not quite a casual, but time is becoming more difficult to find for gaming and single player games move at your own pace. I could put hundreds of hours into a game, but it may take me more time to do it than many others, I spent all of my time in the first beta and half in the second beta only playing quests. I liked the quests quite a bit. They were very much like typical Elder Scrolls type quest, with only the slightest generic RPG feel. There really were not man, kill 50 of these, find 20 of those, style quests which have plagued games recently. I thought I could be content with PvE for a while. That being said, the PvP is really fun. I felt like it could not give proper feedback on the  game without trying everything and I was glad I did. When you find a large group rush attacking a keep, it is really quite entertaining. The siege weapons are really a nice touch as well. These experiences are really more immersive than I would have thought. Enemies are also scaled. When you may be level 20, fighting a level 50 enemy, it is still do-able.

Crafting, I did not love. I didn’t hate it, but it was nowhere near as good as in Skyrim. I did fairly well, got up to decent levels, but I can’t see spending as much time smiting or crafting in this as I did in Skyrim. Same with enchanting, really different, and not nearly as enjoyable. Again, not terrible, just not as good.

The group dungeons and Skyhooks are another great addition, but they really require groups. Groups are easy to find or join, but this is a big departure from Elder Scrolls play and really a more typical MMO type of activity.

Overall I was please with the game. the bugs were frustrating, but it was a beta, they are expected. I have high hopes for this game. I would recommend it to ES players looking for a more expansive world, or MMORPG players looking for something fresh. If you have any questions about the game, let me know. I will have a new book write up later this week as well.

Fantasy, Links, Preview, SciFi

Links & Stuff

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We are almost halfway through March and it has been quite a month already.  This month saw some highly anticipated books (such as Words of Radiance and Tropic of Serpents) with even more to come.

If there weren’t enough new books out there for you, Storybundle.com has a great “Epic Fantasy Bundle”. Those who are familiar with the Humble Bundle will know the format. You choose the price, and if it is over a certain amount, you unlock the other books. Basically (as of this writing) if you pay $12 or more you will get 9 epic fantasy novels by authors such as Neil Gaiman, Brandon Sanderson and Tracy Hickman. All are DRM free and a portion will go to a charity of your choosing. Hurry though because this expires in 14 days.

Going back to new books, I have put together a couple of links with excerpts  for upcoming novels. You can read a little bit and get a preview before it comes out.

First (because it comes out in 2 weeks on 3/25) is Lockstep by Karl Schroeder, published by Tor. This space opera is about a 17 year old boy who is stranded in a dead galaxy. He wakes up unexpectedly on a thriving planet… 14,000 years later. So far people have really enjoyed Schroeder’s world building in this. Take a look and see if it interests you.

The next book is Defenders by Will McIntosh, which is being published by Orbit on May 13th. Earth was invaded by telepathic aliens and the human response was to create genetically engineered super-soldiers with inherent resistance to psychic attacks. Once the war is over, what becomes of these defenders who were created with the sole purpose of being soldiers a psychic war? Will it be a Sci-Fi version of Rambo: First Blood? Perhaps an allegory for current veteran status? The only sure thing as that this looks interesting. Check out the prologue over at io9. Also check out Will McIntosh’s website.

Now to take a step away from books for a second. I know many Fantasy fans are also gamers. An immersive fantasy environment is naturally appealing. With this in mind, I did want to point out that The Elder Scrolls Online is right on the verge of the PC release. I mention this because I have been involved in the last few ESO beta sessions, so between working, reading, and the beta on alternate weeks, I have neglected some of my updates here and on twitter. At first I could not mention anything due to Zenimax’s strict Non Discolsure. After the NDA was lifted 2 weeks ago I was planning to write up something with screen caps and some videos, but I think I will wait until next week, as the beta this weekend will be a better version with some extra content. Check back here for that post.

 

Fantasy, Links, Preview

Links & Excerpts

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There are many really exciting new books coming out this year. Some authors and publishers understand our deep addiction to their content and are kind enough to share a small taste of what is to come. The drawback is that instead of temporarily satiating us, it only leaves us wanting more now, adding to our anticipation. Click the title of the book for the link.

The first excerpt comes from the good folks at Tor Books. This excerpt contains the prologue and first two chapters (with recently released cover art) from the highly anticipated and long awaited second book in the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson: Words of Radiance. The first book in the epic fantasy series was released almost four years ago and has been very highly praised by both readers and critics. A Pavlovian response was triggered when I first saw this link. I am very excited to see where it goes considering the end of the previous book.

Our next link is from io9, which is a a really great site. If you you are not checking it out regularly, I highly recommend it. This link has an excerpt and cover art from Joe Abercrombie’s new novel Half a King. Joe Abercrombie is best known for The First Law trilogy, but of course you already knew that. This new novel is being published by Del Rey. It revolves around the youngest son of a king born with a disabled hand. Due to this he is referred to as “half a man” by those around him.

For our final link for today, we head back over to Tor for the second novel in Marie Brennan‘s Memoir by Lady Trent series, The Tropic of Serpents. This of course is the follow up to A Natural History of Dragons published last year.  This story took an interesting turn on dragon fantasy, taking the topic into the scientific realm. The point of view is of an older and more accomplished Lady Trent taking a look back at her early work as a natural historian, studying dragons. I enjoyed the first book very much and am eagerly waiting for the next.

Check back for more updates from the lands of SF/F!