Dark-humored steam-fantasy science fiction

This is my first Alan Campbell novel ever but it will not be the last. Sea of Ghosts have a great first scene involving a book shop, a little lost girl, magicians, a dragon and the Gravediggers themselves. It is quite entertaining hearing them discuss how get the ceiling to fall on the magician especially since it probably would crumble a significant portion of the city. It makes you understand why the Emperor wants to be rid of them. Now the Emperor is a greedy heartless tyrant but that is beside the point.

The main protagonist Colonel Thomas Granger goes into hiding as a jailer to avoid the emperors clutches but unlucky for him his sense of compassion and loyalty will soon unravel his true identity.

The world is slowly sinking into the sea due to seabottles spread by the Unmer magicians before their defeat by the Empire. They used to enslave dragons with their magic but one of their own freed them and they could not resist the telepathic Haurstaf mercenaries the Empire bought to fight them. Now the Haurstaf are paid to keep the Unmer imprisoned while the world continues to sink. If that was not enough the sea bottles pour out a substance known as Brine that turns human skin into shark skin and prolonged exposure turns you into sea people with no recollection of your previous life. It is an interesting mixture of fantasy and science that Alan cooked up here that tie into the entropy and the end of the universe theories.

It is also a good narration and at least one character you can relate to. Tomas is jaded and cynical when the story begins but he learns that behind his rough exterior beats a caring heart. He also has a dark kind of humor I like. Unfortunately the other characters are sketchier. The banter is okay to good.

The story is fast paced after a slow beginning and starts in a steampunk sword & sorcery land but evolve to a mixture of high fantasy and science fiction. I am a bit of two minds about the plot, it allures to me as a vivid reader of science fiction but I think many fantasy fans might have a problem with it but that’s just my opinion.

I found the firsts Gravedigger novel to be an amusing adventure and a great start of Alan Campell’s new series. The blend of steampunk, high fantasy and science fiction works great for me but I would have liked a bit more about the characters. With that said I recommend it.

Book Information

Sea of Ghosts (The Gravedigger Chronicles book 1) by Alan Campbell – Tor UK 2011 – Bought from Amazon UK | US

When the last of the Gravediggers, an elite imperial infiltration unit, are disbanded and hunted down by the emperor they once served, munitions expert Colonel Thomas Granger takes refuge in the unlikeliest of places. He becomes a jailer in Ethugra – a prison city of poison-flooded streets and gaols in which a million enemies of the empire are held captive. But when Granger takes possession of two new prisoners, he realises that he can’t escape his past so readily. Ianthe is a young girl with an extraordinary psychic talent. A gift that makes her unique in a world held to ransom by the powerful Haurstaf – the sisterhood of telepaths who are all that stand between the Empire and the threat of the Unmer, the powerful civilization of entropic sorcerers and dragon-mounted warriors. In this war-torn land, she promises to make Granger an extremely wealthy man, if he can only keep her safe from harm. This is what Granger is best at. But when other factions learn about Ianthe’s unique ability, even Granger’s skills of warfare are tested to their limits. While, Ianthe struggles to control the powers that are growing in ways no-one thought were possible. Another threat is surfacing: out there, beyond the bitter seas, an old and familiar enemy is rising – one who, if not stopped, will drown the world and all of humanity with it..

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March is gone and it is time to bring my favorite new releases for April to your attention. I will be back in the middle of April with my pick for May.

Please check Almanac of forthcoming SF Books for future releases.

Dreadnaught (Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier 1)

by Jack Campbell – ACE – Amazon US | UK

I like Jack Campbell for The Lost Fleet series and this is the first book in a series that continues the story about Black Jack Geary and the fight against the alien threat that orchestrated the war of the previous series. Now he goes for the truth. I should mention that he also is under contract for a second series set in the same universe called Phoenix Stars that have not been scheduled yet. It is set in a formerly Syndic star system as the people there struggles to cope with the ongoing collapse.

The Alliance woke Captain John “Black Jack” Geary from cryogenic sleep to take command of the fleet in the century-long conflict against the Syndicate Worlds. Now Fleet Admiral Geary’s victory has earned him the adoration of the people—and the enmity of politicians convinced that a living hero can be a very inconvenient thing.

Geary knows that members of the military high command and the government question his loyalty to the Alliance and fear his staging a coup—so he can’t help but wonder if the newly christened First Fleet is being deliberately sent to the far side of space on a suicide mission

Wonder (WWW book 3)

by Robert J. Sawyer – Ace, April 5 – Amazon US | UK

WWW is a cute little YA series about a girl that befriends an emerging AI on the Internet written by Robert J. Sawyer. The third and final novel Wonder is due now in April. You can read my reviews of the previous books Wake and Watch on Temple Library Reviews.

Webmind-the vast consciousness that spontaneously emerged from the infrastructure of the World Wide Web-has proven its worth to humanity by aiding in everything from curing cancer to easing international tensions. But the brass at the Pentagon see Webmind as a threat that needs to be eliminated.

Caitlin Decter-the once-blind sixteen-year-old math genius who discovered, and bonded with, Webmind-wants desperately to protect her friend. And if she doesn’t act, everything-Webmind included-may come crashing down.

The View From The Imperium

by Jody Lynn Nye – Baen, April 5 – Amazon US | UK

Jody Lynn Nye isn’t exactly new to me. I have read her Doona collaboration with Anne McCaffrey and a few short stories. The View from the Imperium is on for April this year from Baen. This is promoted as a space opera version of the P. G. Woodhouse’s Jeeves books. I love them so I will definitely get this one. It looks like great fun.

I have only read a few pages so far in this one so far but it shows a great deal of humor and promise.

P. G. Wodehouse meets space opera, as Ensign Thomas Innes Loche Kinago, fresh from the Academy is given his first command. A crumb from the upper crust, he’s eager to uphold the traditions of his family, and in particular, his mother, a distinguished Admiral of the Imperium. Of course, he’s aware of the importance of always having simply smashing tailored uniforms on hand, and having his camera ready to record memorable moments for his scrapbook. In the meantime, a charismatic leader has arisen who seems able to control the minds of anyone he meets, and may be on his way to taking over the entire galaxy. Can Kinago’s aristocratic bearing and unbridled snobbery stand up to such a challenge? Fortunately, his constant companion, the unflappable Jeeves, er, Parsons, is on hand to look after the young, impulsive master, and somehow help his charge bumble his way through, perhaps even saving the galaxy in the process.

Sea of Ghosts (Gravedigger Chronicles 1)

by Alan Campbell – Tor UK, April 1 – Amazon US | UK

I like Military fantasy as much as science fiction. Sea of Ghosts is the first book in a series by the same name by Alan Campbell and it will be out in April. It is about the last survivor of a elite infiltrator unit that has gone into hiding after the Emperor turned on them. He can’t escape his past and old enemies are rising. It will also give me an opportunity to sample a new-to-me author. This one should land tomorrow.

Sea of Ghosts is the terrific new novel from Deepgate Codex author Alan Campbell. Set in a world of entropic sorcerers, poisoned seas, the Drowned, drug-addicted dragons, Deadships and a powerful sisterhood of telepaths, and featuring ex-soldier Colonel Thomas Granger, this is an incredible novel of imaginative fantasy with strong characters, non-stop action and tremendous descriptive world-building. I’ve just finished editing it and have had to go back and read it again just for the sheer pleasure of it! We’ve got a terrific jacket design from artist Larry Rostant and this will be a lead fantasy hardback for Tor in 2011.

When the last of the Gravediggers, an elite imperial infiltration unit, are disbanded and hunted down by the emperor they once served, munitions expert Colonel Thomas Granger takes refuge in the unlikeliest of places. He becomes a jailer in Ethugra – a prison city of poison-flooded streets and gaols in which a million enemies of the empire are held captive. But when Granger takes possession of two new prisoners, he realises that he can’t escape his past so readily.

Ianthe is a young girl with an extraordinary psychic talent. A gift that makes her unique in a world held to ransom by the powerful Haurstaf – the sisterhood of telepaths who are all that stand between the Empire and the threat of the Unmer, the powerful civilization of entropic sorcerers and dragon-mounted warriors. In this war-torn land, she promises to make Granger an extremely wealthy man, if he can only keep her safe from harm.

This is what Granger is best at. But when other factions learn about Ianthe’s unique ability, even Granger’s skills of warfare are tested to their limits. While, Ianthe struggles to control the powers that are growing in ways no-one thought were possible. Another threat is surfacing: out there, beyond the bitter seas, an old and familiar enemy is rising – one who, if not stopped, will drown the world and all of humanity with it . .

Camera Obscura (The Bookman 2)

by Lavie Tidhar – Angry Robot, April 14 (uk) 26 (us) – Amazon US | UK

I really liked The Bookman it certainly had its own brand of steampunk. Martians ruling the commonwealth. Now Lavie Tidhar delivers another book in the same universe this time across the channel in Paris.

CAN’T FIND A RATIONAL EXPLANATION TO A MYSTERY? CALL IN THE QUIET COUNCIL. The mysterious and glamorous Lady De Winter is one of their most valuable agents. A despicable murder inside a locked and bolted room on the Rue Morgue in Paris is just the start. This whirlwind adventure will take Milady to the highest and lowest parts of that great city – and cause her to question the very nature of reality itself.

Other Books of Interest This Month

Betrayer, Flandry’s Legacy and Shadow Chaser are also on order by me because I follow the series.

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Here are four books I think will be great for 2011.

You can read my teaser for next year on Almanac of forthcoming SF Books

War in Heaven (Veteran book 2) by Gavin G. Smith (Gollancz) July 2011

My review of Veteran.

The high-powered sequel to VETERAN sees an unlikely hero make an even more unlikely return to take the reader back into a vividly rendered bleak future. But a bleak future where there are still wonders: man travelling out into the universe, Bladerunneresque cities hanging from the ceilings of vast caverns, aliens that we can barely comprehend. Gavin Smith writes fast-moving, incredibly violent SF thrillers but behind the violence and the thrills lies a carefully thought out story and characters who have far more to them than first meets the eye. Never one to avoid controversy Gavin Smith nevertheless invites you to think beyond the initial shock of what you have just read. But in the meantime? Another fire-fight, another chase another flight of imagination.

Final Days (Final Days book 1) by Gary Gibson (Tor UK) April 2011

My reviews of the Shaol Sequence: Stealing Light, Nova War, Empire of Light

From Tor UK: Final Days by Gary Gibson follows the lives of a few key characters as a cataclysmic event is unleashed in Earth’s near future. This is a twenty-third-century thriller revolving around the slow uncovering of a conspiracy that irrevocably dooms the Earth, set against a backdrop of interstellar colonies. The story takes advantage of current cutting-edge ideas about the creation of artificial wormholes for interstellar travel, and their implications for practicable time travel. Action-packed and fast-paced, this is a thrilling SF adventure and a wonderful start to Gary’s new series.

Bringer of Light (The Hidden Empire book 4) by Jaine Fenn (Gollancz) July 2011

My Review of Consorts of Heaven, Principles of Angels

Book three Guardians of Paradise will be out in September

Jarek Reen is trying to save a lost world. He discovered the primitive theocracy of Serenein by accident, and now he wants it to take its place in human-space. To do this he needs a shiftspace beacon – without it, there is no way to find the planet again. The beacons were made by the Sidhe, the race that originally gave humanity access to the stars – and dominated human-space for millennia, before a coalition of human rebels and Sidhe males brought the evil Sidhe females down. Most people think the Sidhe are long dead, but Jarek knows better: a renegade female Sidhe is one of his companions, and a male Sidhe gave her and her lover the special powers that made them Angels, very unusual trained assassins. Jarek’s only hope is to find Aleph, the hidden system where the last Sidhe males are rumoured to live. But even if he can persuade these eccentric, introspective beings to put aside their interminable internal squabbles, he still has to persuade Serenein that joining the rest of humankind.

Sea of Ghosts (Sea of Ghosts book 1) by Alan Campbell (Tor UK) April 2011

I also found a very rough cover on Speculative Horizonts.

Sea of Ghosts is the terrific new novel from Deepgate Codex author Alan Campbell. Set in a world of entropic sorcerers, poisoned seas, the Drowned, drug-addicted dragons, Deadships and a powerful sisterhood of telepaths, and featuring ex-soldier Colonel Thomas Granger, this is an incredible novel of imaginative fantasy with strong characters, non-stop action and tremendous descriptive world-building. I’ve just finished editing it and have had to go back and read it again just for the sheer pleasure of it! We’ve got a terrific jacket design from artist Larry Rostant and this will be a lead fantasy hardback for Tor in 2011.

Product description

When the last of the Gravediggers, an elite imperial infiltration unit, are disbanded and hunted down by the emperor they once served, munitions expert Colonel Thomas Granger takes refuge in the unlikeliest of places. He becomes a jailer in Ethugra – a prison city of poison-flooded streets and gaols in which a million enemies of the empire are held captive. But when Granger takes possession of two new prisoners, he realises that he can’t escape his past so readily.

Ianthe is a young girl with an extraordinary psychic talent. A gift that makes her unique in a world held to ransom by the powerful Haurstaf – the sisterhood of telepaths who are all that stand between the Empire and the threat of the Unmer, the powerful civilization of entropic sorcerers and dragon-mounted warriors. In this war-torn land, she promises to make Granger an extremely wealthy man, if he can only keep her safe from harm.

This is what Granger is best at. But when other factions learn about Ianthe’s unique ability, even Granger’s skills of warfare are tested to their limits. While, Ianthe struggles to control the powers that are growing in ways no-one thought were possible. Another threat is surfacing: out there, beyond the bitter seas, an old and familiar enemy is rising – one who, if not stopped, will drown the world and all of humanity with it . .

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