Holiday Reads

A lucky quirk of fate has resulted in my having five days off in a row this week - hurray for unexpected holidays! I've read two books - Emma Newman's 'Any Other Name' and Catherynne Valente's 'The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There'. 

Angry Robot, £8.99

   'Any Other Name' is the follow-up to this Spring's release in the Split Worlds series - 'Between Two Thorns' (you can find my review here). It's due for release on June 6th. 'Any Other Name' picks up directly where the first novel leaves off, as Cathy prepares for the very advantageous match which has been made for her by her family and their Patron. It doesn't matter in Fae high society that this marriage is the last thing that Cathy wants - her parents and family elders have total control of her fate. 'Any Other Name' continues some of the plotlines introduced in the first novel, as well as presenting new locations, characters, and phenomena - Max the arbiter continues his investigation into the strange events concerning his colleagues, Sam the mundane (person untouched by Fae magic) tries to help some of the 'innocents' captured by Fae in the first book, and we discover London society and its brightest stars, and the mysterious members of the Elemental Court.
   The strange conventions of Fae society continue to bear more resemblance to the Edwardian era than to the modern day, which makes it particularly hard for Cathy - who has lived for a time in the modern world - to accept once again her place in her family and next to her husband. She is expected to attend to interior decorating, hiring of servants, embroidery, and the perpetuation of her husband's family name. It makes interesting reading from this perspective alone, as we see how Cathy struggles to figure out how exactly she is going to bring about wholesale change in this backward social group.
   This seems like a classic 'middle book' in a series, with the accompanying issues. How to develop characters and plotlines, achieve perhaps minor but no major resolution, while maintaining the interest of readers. This novel does manage the feat quite well, but I didn't feel that it also forms a novel which could satisfyingly be read as a standalone, which is disappointing. I have to say that, while so many of them are amazing (and this one is very good), I'm very bored at the moment with the obsession of publishers for making any science-fiction or fantasy novel into a series. I'm dying to read a couple of good new standalone novels! (Suggestions in a comment, if you have any!) Having said all of that, this series is well worth the read, and Cathy is a fantastically sympathetic creation - I rooted for her as I haven't for a character in a while.
   As you may know if you've come across my blog before, Catherynne Valente is one of my

Constable and Robinson, £9.99

absolute favourite authors (my review of 'Deathless' is here). 'The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There' is the sequel to the much-lauded 'The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making', which was released last year (my review is here).
   I really want to avoid any spoilers of either book here, as I love them both so much and really want everyone to read them. Suffice it to say that September is a little older and wiser in this instalment - she returns to the magical world of Fairyland and discovers that all is not well there. In the course of her adventures she meets a host of new characters - the Duke of Teatime and his wife the Vicereine of Coffee, Aubergine the Night-Dodo who is a student of Quiet Physics, gets a Watchful dress, and takes a ride on an Electric Eel. The illustrations are once again by Ana Juan, and are simply beautiful. These are marvelous adventures, written with a clarity and fluidity which is just miraculous.

Illustration from The Girl Who Fell Beneath.., Ana Juan

  

The Shining Girls

   Harper Curtis, a violent and mentally disturbed drifter, stumbles into a rundown property in Chicago. The year is 1931. Inside he comes across a case full of money - US dollars in a wide variety of designs and denominations. He finds himself a change of clothes, pockets a handful of the strange notes, opens the front door, and 'steps into sometime else'.

Harper Collins

   Lauren Beukes new novel 'The Shining Girls' is already being touted as the big it-read for this summer. It's a move into new literary territory for Beukes, whose two previous novels - Moxyland and Zoo City - were both resolutely on the urban fantasy shelf. 'The Shining Girls' is a gripping and terrifying crime thriller, featuring one of the creepiest antagonists I've ever read - the above-mentioned Harper Curtis. 

   Harper uses the miraculous, and never-explained, time-travelling powers of 'the House' to help him follow and eventually kill his 'shining girls': girls in whom he sees particular potential, creativity, or genius. He gives each girl a trinket when they are young, and leaves another beside the body when he returns to finish his job many years later. The difficulty for any law enforcement agency investigating any of his crimes between 1929 and 1993 is how to trace a timeline of events when, chronologically speaking, there simply isn't one. Hypothetically (this doesn't feature in the novel), how could a team of profilers trace the evolution of a murderer's modus operandi when he has committed his first murder in 1981 and escalated towards a final and most elaborate murder in 1974. Throughout the novel, I puzzled over how this killer could ever possibly be caught. 
   Harper Curtis' adversary comes in the form of one of his victims. Kirby Mazrachi was the victim of a horrific assault in her late teens, which she only narrowly survived. Fast forward a few years and she talks her way into an internship at the Chicago Sun-Times, assisting Dan Velasquez - the journalist who originally covered her story, now working in the Sports department. They make an offbeat and attractive investigative team as Kirby starts trying to track assaults similar to hers in the greater Chicago area. 
   The novel does have its faults - we never learn anything about Harper's background or motivations, and leaving the reader with nothing to pin it on does a disservice to the full characterisation of Kirby. I really enjoyed reading it, but it's certainly not the best novel I've read this month, let alone this year. But it is a story well worth reading - especially for the many well-researched titbits. In 1931 Chicago, Harper ends up in a hospital bed in the same room as a woman who is slowly dying because of her occupation - she is a dancer, and her show is special because she performs covered in irradiated paint. Harper visits the construction site of the Sears tower in 1972, then returns a day later to 1973 to take the elevator to the top. 
   I look forward to the word of mouth increasing for this one. So far, I've heard about it mostly from the Sci-Fi/Fantasy community and Beukes' previous readership, but it would be a real shame if the words 'time travel' on the cover put the general crime fiction fans off reading 'The Shining Girls'. 



 

Reviver

   Back in March I arrived into work in the bookshop one day to discover that a rep had dropped in a great batch of Advance Reading Copies for the staff. I grabbed this one, which as you can

Pan Macmillan, £12.99

see has a really eye-catching cover. 'Reviver' will be released on June 20th by Pan Macmillan, and it's the debut novel from Seth Patrick, who is originally from Northern Ireland. 

   Jonah Miller is a reviver. He has the ability to wake the recently-dead and communicate with them. The discovery of this skill is relatively new, and already it's become an essential part of modern life. People take out revival insurance so that they can have one last chance to pass a message on to their loved ones after they die. The most exciting aspect of the phenomenon, however, is the potential for the identification of a murderer by his/her victim. Forensic revival has become a routine part of police investigation, and it's what Jonah does for a living. 
   Jonah is a particularly skilled reviver, and lately he's had some strange experiences during what should have been routine revivals. He's hearing strange whispers, and feeling terror in his revival subjects. When the pioneering journalist who first brought revival to public attention is murdered, Jonah finds himself getting dragged into the search for answers. 
   'Reviver' is a gripping thriller, but what really makes it fun is the addition of elements of horror and crime fiction into the mix. I found myself puzzling over which aspect would come to the fore in the eventual solution to the mystery. Patrick has prioritised plot over style or characterisation in this first outing, but it's exciting enough to absolutely pull this off. It's a great night-off kind of read, not too taxing on the grey cells, but lots of fun.

Bloomsbury Kids, £7.99

   The other book I read this week was 'The Last Elf' by Silvana De Mari, translated from the original Italian by Shaun Whiteside. I'd bought this one second-hand a while ago. The cover design is just gorgeous - thank the gods for people who don't hoard books but sell them on after reading for penniless folks to discover! 
   Yorshkrunsquarkljolnerstrink (or Yorsh for short) is a young elf who finds himself all alone in the world. He's starving, wet through, and very cold. This world is a harsh one for an elf. Humans generally hate elves, blaming them for the horrible state of things, and Yorsh is too young to know how to use his power to get along. He struggles to get along with people he meets because he can't remember whether the polite form of address is 'Excellency' or 'Fool'. 
   Yorsh is a very endearing character - so innocent and yet wise, vulnerable and yet powerful beyond knowing. His human companions provide the comic relief in their desperation at his quirky ways, and their journey takes them to lots of dangerous, beautiful, and strange places.    
   This is a beautiful classic fairytale, improved with a little tragedy and a lot of humour - perfect for fans of 'The Princess Bride' or 'Shrek'. And yes, I do realise how high that praise is - 'The Last Elf' is absolutely worth it. 

Zenn Scarlett and Schools in Fantasy Novels

   Both of the books I'm reading this week have as a major theme one which I've been planning to write about for a while now - that of learning. I really love it when a science fiction or fantasy novel that I am reading features some of the main characters being students to some extent. I think you'd be surprised at the number of amazing titles which fit into this category! I'll briefly mention some of those titles at the end of this post. In the meantime, this week's books were 'Zenn Scarlett' by Christian Schoon and 'Etiquette & Espionage' by Gail Carriger, both Young Adult titles.

Strange Chemistry, £7.99

   'Zenn Scarlett' is released today (May 2nd), the debut novel from Minnesota author Christian Schoon, and Strange Chemistry have picked up the UK rights to a two-book series. It's aimed at roughly a 12-plus age-group.
   This first novel introduces us to Zenn, a 17 year-old studying to be an exoveterinarian in a Ciscan cloister on Mars. She's learning how to treat all sorts of exotic alien species, from the rikkaset - a small marsupial which can alter the colour of its fur to camouflage itself - to the Kiran sunkiller - a huge flying creature so called because its presence blocks out the light of the sun. But all is not well on Mars. The initial colonisation by humans created an artificial environment in some valleys, and alien Sandhogs have made the land fertile, but civilisation on Mars is now at risk after the Rift with Earth. Replacement parts for machinery and essential products are no longer available, and it remains to be seen how long the colonists can last on their own. In addition, the lease on the cloister where Zenn is training is in danger, and she wants to help her uncle to save the school. 
   There were lots of elements to this story that I really enjoyed. Schoon's creativity with his menagerie of alien species is astounding - I particularly loved the description of the Bloodcarn, a gigantic arthropod which has 'a huge, fluorescent-orange centipede back section with what looked like a tarantula growing out of its front end.' These 'alpha predators' reminded me somewhat of the Slake-Moths from China Miéville's 'Perdido Street Station' in the primal terror they cause. I also loved the detail involved in the description of the various veterinary procedures Zenn is learning to perform. In one particularly memorable sequence, she uses a high-tech bone and tissue generator to heal a friend's pet cat which has been hit by a car. The amazing thing about this procedure is that the software which should direct the machine in what to create is broken, so Zenn must perform this task herself - a dizzying accomplishment in anatomy, visualising perfect capillaries, splicing arteries, calibrating synapses, and recreating organs and bone. Zenn as a main character was far from perfect (and quite annoying at times), but there was enough going on with the plot that this was a forgivable fault. The main theme of tolerance, as Zenn and her colleagues struggle to get the human colonists on Mars to accept their alien friends and charges, is an important one, especially for the young age group this novel is aimed at. I thought that the device of dropping the reader right into the deep end of life among aliens on Mars was perfect for this exciting and enlightening story. 
   'Etiquette & Espionage' by Gail Carriger was released earlier this year by Atom Books. Once

Atom, £6.99

again, it's aimed at an approximately 12-plus age-group. It's the first novel in a proposed four-book series - The Finishing School. It's set in the same world as her popular Parasol Protectorate series, which I have heard good things about but have unfortunately not read. 
   'Etiquette & Espionage' tells the story of fourteen year-old Sophronia, sent away by her despairing mother to finishing school. Unfortunately, her mother is unaware that Sophronia has been recommended to this school due to her adventurous and inquisitive nature, and as well as the curtseying, handkerchief-waving, and dancing her mother desires her to learn, she is also taught hand-to-hand combat, the art of dispensing poisons, bribery, and blackmail. Just for good luck, the school also boasts both a werewolf and a vampire teacher. It's a tremendously fun adventure, and an inventive introduction to a bit of steampunk for young people. 
   I've been noticing that a common thread in a lot of my favourite science fiction and fantasy is the concept of a main character attending a place of learning. 'Ender's Game' features a battle training school, where Ender learns the art of war through a succession of difficult games played in a zero-gravity Battle Room. In 'The Name of the Wind', Kvothe wins a scholarship to attend University of Imre, studying Naming among other things. Brandon Sanderson's sensational new Stormlight Archive series begins with 'The Way of Kings' in which one of the storylines features Shallan Davar becoming the apprentice and student of the scholar Jasnah Kholin. Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time series features the White Tower in the city of Tar Valon, where girls may train to become Aes Sedai if they possess the talent. Of course, one of the most famous modern fantasy series - Harry Potter - is all about a school of magic. The classic Earthsea trilogy features the school of wizardry on Roke Island, where Ged, a poor farmboy from the island of Gont, eventually rises to the position of Archmage. In Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy, a slum-born girl named Sonea discovers her talent for magic, and attends the Magician's Guild to learn to control that talent. 
   These have barely scratched the surface of science fiction and fantasy titles featuring schools, universities, or broader interpretations of learning the craft of magic. Please comment below with any of your own favourites. I'll have to keep adding to my list! 

The Lives of Tao

  Here's another big release from Angry Robot books - 'The Lives of Tao' is out on April 30th. It's the debut from Wesley Chu, and it's been very well received so far. I have to admit, it's not

Angry Robot, £8.99

really my type of thing, and it's not going into my top reads of the year - but it, objectively speaking, did have lots to recommend it. 
   Roen Tan is an overweight and unhealthy IT technician. On the way home from work one night he suddenly finds his body invaded by an alien being - Tao. The next few days are a whirlwind of paranoia and confusion as he battles through the suspicion that he has gone mad, and comes to believe the voice in his head telling him that he is now the host to an alien. Tao tells his new host that he is a Quasing - beings which have inhabited the Earth since before the evolution of humans. Roen learns that the Quasings have split into two factions - Tao is a Prophus, and he is involved in the battle with the Genjix, who want to subjugate the human race in their effort to return to their home planet. Roen has inadvertently become a part of a ruthless war, but in order for him to be useful, Tao must first transform him from out-of-shape office drone into a fit and strong secret agent, with all the skills that involves. 
   It's a fun journey, and the internal dialogue between Roen and his new teacher and partner is lightning-quick and snippy. The most fascinating aspect of the story is the fact that Tao is an immortal being who simply transfers to a new host upon the death of a previous one, so he has seen the entirety of human history from one perspective or another. In the course of this time, the Quasings have accumulated an immense amount of knowledge, and often managed to be in the right place to occupy extremely influential historical characters as hosts. So Tao can teach Roen using stories of the time he occupied Genghis Khan, General Lafayette, Sun Yat-Sen, and lots of others.
   While I did find some passages to lack the engaging quality of others, I found myself thinking frequently about how well this novel would translate to the big screen. It's precisely the type of story which I absolutely love in a movie - an action thriller with a fantasy or science fiction basis. I'm unsure as to how a filmmaker might overcome the narrative difficulty presented by the extensive internal dialogue between Roen and his symbiotic partner Tao, but I suppose that's why I'm not in the screenwriting or directing business! This is an energetic and fun novel, and it's well worth a read for any fan of this genre.
   
   A little while ago I reviewed Emma Newman's 'Between Two Thorns', the first in a planned 'Split Worlds' series. You can find my review here. I've recently received the second in the series, and I can't wait to read it, but in the meantime I've discovered Emma's website, containing links to no fewer than 54 short stories based in the world of the 'Split Worlds' series. I'm planning to read those before continuing with the series. I've read about 20 so far, and they are enjoyably quirky and whimsical. Go have a look!

    I also finally read 'The Rights of the Reader' by Daniel Pennac this week. It's a passionate defence of reading for pure pleasure, and an exploration of the experience of reading from early childhood - from a bedtime picture book for a toddler, through learning letters, to exhaustive comprehension exercises in school. He finishes with ten concise 'Rights of the Reader'. The new translation by Sarah Adams is published by Walker Books and illustrated by Quentin Blake, and Walker have produced this illustration of the ten Rights:

'The Rights of the Reader' by Daniel Pennac, illustrated by Quentin Blake. Published by Walker Books, £6.99.

   The book has made me think a lot about how to pass on a love of reading to the next generation - how could I make sure that a child enjoyed books as much as I do? I'll have to wait and see.

Angelmaker

   This week I've read three excellent novels: 'Angelmaker' by Nick Harkaway, 'The Carpet People' by Terry Pratchett, and 'The

Quercus, £6.99

Dragons of Ordinary Farm' by Tad Williams and Deborah Beale.
   'The Dragons of Ordinary Farm' is a really fun fantasy adventure, suitable for ages ten and up. The story opens as siblings Tyler and Lucinda are sent away to their Uncle Gideon's farm for the summer. They've never met him, but are dubious about the possibilities for fun for two urban kids in such a rural setting. Of course, they soon discover that things are not all as they seem at the farm as dragons, a flying monkey, and a herd of unicorns are joined by some very mysterious farm workers. There's a brilliant plot point which promises so many possibilities for many more great adventures to follow. I can't wait to pass this one on to my young sister!
   At the moment, I'm keeping my eye out for the second novel in the series 'The Secrets of Ordinary Farm', and one of the co-authors, Deborah Beale (wife of fantasy writer Tad Williams, the other author) tells me: "Soon I will be putting my head back into the world of Ordinary Farm, and I'll be there for an extended period of time." I'm glad to hear it, because I'm looking forward to further adventures there!

Random House Children's, £6.99

   A few weeks ago I picked up a novel from my 'Books About Tiny People' list, and it was also a major item ticked off another list - the first time I've ever read Terry Pratchett! I know, I know.. How can I call myself a fantasy fan when I've never read any of his many novels (especially since my cousins have loads, so I wouldn't even have to pay for them) - anyway it's a pleasure I've finally experienced. Pratchett wrote 'The Carpet People' while still in his teens, and it was first published in 1971 when he was 23. He has since re-written it, and it was re-released in 1992. It's suitable for ages eight and up.
   'The Carpet People' describes the adventures of a tribe called the Munrungs as they voyage across their world, the carpet, after their village is destroyed by a mysterious force known as Fray. My favourite aspect of books about Tiny People - recognising everyday objects as they are described from the perspective of someone millimetres tall - is one of the aspects of this novel which I found the most fun. The only source of metal in the world of the carpet is a mysterious round plateau, which fell from the sky in the distant past. Explorers have reported that the letters 'ON EPEN NY' are inscribed around the plateau. The Munrungs mission takes them to the big cities of the carpet, they meet many fascinating characters, and they get wrapped up in a leadership battle. It's a really fun adventure, a definite recommendation for any fantasy fan. 
   I've been dragging my feet when it comes to reviewing 'Angelmaker' - Nick Harkaway's brilliant second novel. It presents a couple of

Cornerstone, £7.99

problems for me: first, I listened to it as an audiobook rather than reading a conventional paperback; second, it is just defying any description in my mind. Just to be clear: unlike my other two reviews above, this one is definitely for grown-ups! Here's the blurb:
  
  "Joe Spork, son of the infamous criminal Mathew 'Tommy Gun' Spork, just wants a quiet life, repairing clockwork in a wet, unknown bit of London. Edie Banister, former superspy, lives quietly and wishes she didn't. She's nearly ninety and the things she fought to save don't seem to exist anymore. She's beginning to wonder if they ever did"
  
   'Angelmaker' is a riotous whirlwind of a story, with old-fashioned London gangsters, a clockwork doomsday device, hooded monks, an ancient brotherhood of undertakers (the Waiting Men), colonial espionage, and a pet bulldog with one tooth and two glass eyes. Joshua Joseph Spork is an intriguingly unlikely hero for such a sprawling end-of-the-world scenario, and his journey (and his decisions later in the novel) are vastly satisfying. He is accompanied on his adventures by a host of supporting characters with fantastical names: Billy Friend, Rodney Titwhistle, Mercer Cradle, and an eastern supervillain called Shem-Shem Tsien. An intricate clockwork doomsday device called the 'Apprehension Engine' is accidentally set off by Joe, and the consequent threat to the future of life on Earth starts him on a perilous journey overrun by these, and many other manic characters. How much more terrifying is this clockwork device, which demands enormous skill to alter or stop, than a humdrum modern digital-age bomb with an on-off switch. I also wouldn't recommend that you read about the Brotherhood of Waiting Men's final test for membership while you're waiting for your dinner. 

Harkaway with his Red Tentacle. Photo: Sarah McIntyre

   'Angelmaker' has been understandably very well-received, and has won a number of awards and accolades to date. On April 8th it was announced as being shortlisted for this year's Arthur C. Clarke award, one of the most prestigious in the science-fiction/fantasy community. It won the 'Red Tentacle' award for Best Novel in February at the Kitschies, awards held to honour speculative fiction which is 'intelligent, progressive, and entertaining'. It was named as one of the Wall Street Journal's Best Mysteries of 2012, and one of The Guardian's Best Science Fiction of 2012. 
 The problem with listening to something like this as an audiobook (for me) is that it makes it so much more of an ordeal to pause every time a particularly juicy quote, funny phrase, or brilliant character shows up. I've been listening to bits again to try to recapture some of these moments. It's even more amazing second time around.

Emilie and the Hollow World, Martha Wells

Vintage, £7.99

   It's been a really eventful few weeks. One bookselling job ended abruptly last week; another stretches out in front of me (after a couple of weeks off, yay!). I've had more time than usual to read, but circumstances have conspired to make me want to enjoy the comfort of some re-reading. I re-loved Jasper Fforde's 'One of Our Thursdays is Missing', and of course my ultimate comfort-reading - some Harry Potter. I got hold of a couple of Fred Vargas titles, and picked 'The Three Evangelists' to read first. I've unfortunately since discovered that this title is the first in another series of novels the French author has written around the main characters of the titular 'evangelists' - Matthieu, Marc, and Lucien - as opposed to one featuring her most famous character - Parisian detective Commissaire Adamsberg. I enjoyed it despite its Adamsberglessness, and luckily didn't find it as disturbing as I often find her novels (they usually disturb me because the slightest hint of menace or freakishness in her clear prose cuts straight to the most terrified part of my cautious soul).

   My main read during this past week has been another advance copy I received from the

Strange Chemistry, £7.99

generous folk at Strange Chemistry - 'Emilie and the Hollow World' by Martha Wells, released on Tuesday April 2nd. Look how pretty the cover is!

   Emilie is a smart, brave teenage girl with ambitions beyond the small provincial town in which she has been brought up by relations after her mother ran away The story opens as Emilie attempts to stow away on a ship on its way to the city, where she hopes to attend school. Her plan quickly goes awry, and Emilie ends up on a mysterious round vessel called The Sovereign, where she gets caught up in the adventure of a lifetime. You can read Chapter One on the author's website here. 

   Emilie could have been a very clichéd 'plucky teenage girl' character, but Wells deftly avoids that pitfall and has created a really likeable girl - inexperienced, but brave, intelligent, and resourceful. Her relationships with a female mentor and new friends of various species in the course of her adventures are believable and affecting. I'd certainly recommend this one. It's a fantastical adventure in the spirit of Verne and (my favourite) Stephen Hunt, author of 'The Court of the Air' and 'The Kingdom Beyond the Waves' (while perhaps not rising to the heights of that modern-day master). If you enjoy this one, you should definitely try Hunt next. 

HarperCollins, £12.99

    Another book I'd been eagerly anticipating and finally read recently is 'The Daylight War', the third book in Peter V. Brett's acclaimed Demon Cycle series. For some reason, I had the impression (I think from early publicity around the preceding books) that this book was to be the conclusion of a trilogy. As I read, I was confused as to the lack of resolution and the pace, which didn't seem to suit a dramatic finale of epic proportions. Of course, when I reached the end of the book, I realised that this was in fact not a conclusion at all. It made for a strange reading experience, and I've resolved to do more research in future before diving into any book. Given that there shouldn't have been any change in pace or any appearance of full resolution, 'The Daylight War' was an entirely satisfying read. While I feel that neither this book nor 'The Desert Spear' (book 2) reached the potential hinted at in 'The Painted Man', the amazing first instalment of the Demon Cycle, it once again delves deeply into the backstory of one of the most intriguing characters of the series, as well as bringing the story to new and exciting places with information on the corelings 'hive' at the Core. If you haven't already read one or all of these books... I just don't know what kind of rock you must have been hiding under for the last few years, but it's time to come out now!

   The next few reads I have lined up are 'The Lives of Tao' by Wesley Chu (released May 2nd by Angry Robot), 'Reviver' by Seth Patrick (released June 20th by Pan MacMillan), and 'The Dragons of Ordinary Farm' by Tad Williams and Deborah Beale (one from my 'Books About Dragons' list!).