Giant Thief by David Tallerman [Book Review]

Feb 012012

Charming Rascal Debut

Easie Damasco is a lovely rascal, a thief that gets by on wit and charm. This book has a great opening scene where he … No I won’t spoil it for you. The main protagonist kind of steals a giant from an evil warlord who is making a bid for the crown thus the name. It is not giving away any spoilers considering the title and the lovely cover made by Angelo Rinaldi. David Tillerman’s debut novel is a traditional swashbuckling adventure with all the elements you expect. It has an evil villain that does his best to hunt down Damasco. In fact the whole book is one long chase. It also has a fair woman who challenges our hero in more ways than one. She is not a princess, which would be way too traditional. She is the mayor in the next town. I give Kudos to the author for a strong female character in a nontraditional role. There is magic but it is downplayed, this is a story about a thief, not a magician. I liked Giant Thief a lot. It is fast paced fun with a lot of action and just what I needed. I am looking forward to the second book Crown Thief which will be out before the end of this year and a third in 2013.

Book Information

Giant Thief (book 1) by David Tallerman (Angry Robot) uk us - review copy

Meet Easie Damasco, rogue, thieving swine and total charmer.

Even the wicked can’t rest when a vicious warlord and the force of enslaved giants he commands invade their homeland. Damasco might get away in one piece, but he’s going to need help. Big time.

File Under: Fantasy [ Big Trouble | Deception | Saltlick's City | Hang 'im High ]

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The Rogue (Traitor Spy Trilogy 2) by Trudi Canavan (Orbit 2011) [Book Review]

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May 092011

Where is the Rogue?

I like to read fantasy now and then to break with the science fiction and Trudi Canavan is one of my favorites. The Black Magician trilogy was where I fell in readership with her and in love with Sonea a street urchin turned magician. Sonea and many of her friends features prominently in this trilogy too.

The point of view characters are Sonea, her son Lorking, Dannyl and Lilia the novice. Trudi changes view between them in every chapter so the books reads like a tv show with change after each scene. I like that much better than a whole chapter that ends in a cliffhanger and then three chapters until we learn what happens. Sonea and the master thief Ceryl, a childhood friend are hunting The Rogue Skellin and he keeps building his drug empire in their city. Lorking is stuck in the Traitors Sanctuary while he tries to find a way to love and the secret of their magical gems, the later he wants to trade for the Guild’s Healing magic. Dannyl continues his quest for the history of magic while juggling an old lover and a potential dangerous new one. Lilia is a new character and she gets caught in a web not of her own making. She is a naïve young novice born of a family of house servants. Just the type of character Trudi does so well. Lilia is my favorite character, I like coming of age histories and she is so sweet and innocent. Her journey to discover her sexual identity is told very well in my opinion.

The greater forces behind the scene start to take form here. I hope Trudi writes more about the history of the land and it’s magic.

The one thing I feel a bit disappointed with is that we hear and see so little of Skellin the Rogue in a book with his name. What is up with that? It is a great book but the title might lead you to wrong expectations.

The story has good pacing and I read it in one sitting. Trudi Canavan has done it again with this fantasy drama in familiar settings all her own. I am very interesting in what is going to happen in the concluding volume next year. Traitor Queen will probably be out in spring 2012.

Book information

Other books by Trudi Canavan:

- The Magician’s Apprentice (Orbit 2010)
The Black Magician Series
1. The Magicians’ Guild
2. Novice
3. High Lord
The Traitor Spy Trilogy
1. The Ambassador’s Mission (Orbit 2010)
Age of the Five Series
1. Priestess of the White
2. Last of the Five
3 Voice of the Gods

The Rogue (Traitor Spy Trilogy book 1) by Trudi Canavan - Orbit (2011) – Bought from Amazon UK | US

Kyralia is facing threats at home and abroad, as a rogue killer stalks its capital’s streets, while the neighbouring kingdom of Sachaka is breeding a rebellion that could destabilise the entire region.

High Lord Akkarin and Sonea’s son Lorkin has a legacy of heroism to live up to, but despite his good intentions, his incarceration in Sachaka’s rebel traitor stronghold could destroy the tenuous peace between the two countries. Angered by Lorkin’s seeming defection the Sachakans blame the Kyralian ambassador, Danny–and they are a savage people when roused.

And back home, in the University, two young novices are about to remind the Guild that sometimes their greatest enemy comes from within…

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Sea of Ghosts (The Gravedigger Chronicles 1) by Alan Campbell [Book Review]

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Apr 182011

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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Keeping it Real (Quantum Gravity 1) by Justina Robson [Book Review]

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Mar 032011

Lila Black, Sex, Elves and Rock’n'Roll . . .

This new-to-me series (I have in fact finished all five books now) takes place in a fantasy world that works according to scientific principles where a quantum bomb unraveled reality and put earth in contact with other dimensions that already knew all about us. Alfheim, Demonia and Fae being the more accessible. Earth still doesn’t know much about the other worlds but have intelligence agencies working on it. One such agent is Lila Black, our intrepid and formidable protagonist.

Lila is not exactly peachy after being turned into half a machine after a supposedly safe recon mission into Alfheim. Her new mission is to be the body guard of a sexy elven rock star Zal of the band No Show. He is not exactly as she expected and then she gets locked in a Game with him. But before it gets too steamy things derail a bit and she has to enter Alfheim again in pursuit of answers.

I really like this multi verse of unpredictable Fey, mysterious Elves and haughty Demons. Lila’s journey through Alfheim peels layer after layer of our preconceptions of what is really going on and shows us the greater game but the ending is still a great surprise.

The characters are also great. Lila is slightly flawed, damaged psychologically from being maimed and being turned into a machine but with a lot of spirit and tenacity she prevails. Her battle mode also helps. Zal is a bit of the mysterious dangerous but charming stranger and I do enjoy the Game they play a lot. Lila also has a thing for motorcycles I enjoyed immensely. What a ride! This is something that we return to in later books too.

Keeping it Real is is a bit like a more steamy Buffy with cyborg enhancements, gunfights and wonderful one liners (they have those on Buffy too). It was a fast read too. Justina Robson and Lila Black are guilty pleasures I warmly recommend.

Information

Title: Keeping it Real
Series: Quantum Gravity book 1
Author: Justina Robson
Genre: Scientific Fantasy
Paperback: 279 pages
Publisher: Gollancz 2006
Order from: Amazon US | UK

LILA BLACK: HALF ROBOT, ALL ATTITUDE

The Quantum Bomb of 2015 changed everything. The fabric between the dimensions was ttorn and now, six years later, the people of earth exist in uneasy company with the inhabitants of, amongst others, the elven, elemental, and demonic realms. Magic is real and can be even more dangerous than technology. Elves are alien, erotic and very dangerous. Elementals are a law unto themselves and demons are best left well to themselves.

Special agent Lila Black, 21, used to be pretty, but now she’s not so sure.

Torn apart two years ago, her body is now half restless carbon and metal alloy. A machine she’s barely in control of. When it goes into combat mode, enough weapons for a small army springing from within itself, at the merest provocation. And then there’s her AI. And Lila has never known where she ends and it begins.

As for her heart . . . well ever since being drawn into a Game by the elf she’s been assigned to protect, she’s not even sure she can trust that anymore either.

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The Lost Gate (Mithermages 1) by Orson Scott Card [Book Review]

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Feb 172011

Coming-of-age can carry a death sentance

This is in many ways a traditional story about a young boy who grows up not believing he has any powers and being given a hard time by his peers. He then discovers he has powers but it is gate magic and that carries a death sentence since Loke stole all the gates and cut the gods of from their powers centuries ago. He has to go on the run as an ordinary boy and learn about ordinary humans at the same time.

Danny North is the name of this likeable protagonist and it is wonderful to read about him discovering the world and getting a bit more balanced view of humans than his folks back home. He meets some interesting friends on the run and makes some startling discoveries. His clan of Northern gods or magicians as they call themselves is only one of many pantheons that live in secret on earth maintaining the little powers they have left.

The world building meshes well with known history and the magical system is well thought out and implemented. It feels like a lot of energy has been spent on making this a believable world and it shows.

There is also a parallel storyline on Westil, the home of the gods about a young boy who one day step out of a tree with no memory.

I have not enjoyed an Orson Scott Card book as much as this one since Ender’s Game. The Lost Gate is a great coming-of-age story about current day wizards with hints of a greater evil to come in the sequels. I have no idea when the second Mithermages book will be out but I will definitely go for it.

Information

Title: The Lost Gate
Series: Mither Mages book 1
Author: Orson Scott Card
Genre: Fantasy
Audiobook: 12h 21min
Publisher: Blacksone Audio (2011)
Order from: Amazon US | UK | Audible

Danny North knew from early childhood that his family was different – and that he was different from them. While his cousins were learning how to create the things that commoners called fairies, ghosts, golems, trolls, werewolves, and other such miracles that were the heritage of the North family, Danny worried that he would never show a talent, never form an “outself”.

He grew up in the rambling old house, filled with dozens of cousins and aunts and uncles, all ruled by his father. Their home was isolated in the mountains of western Virginia, far from town, far from schools, far from other people.

There are many secrets in the House, and many rules that Danny must follow. There is a secret library with only a few dozen books, and none of them in English – but Danny and his cousins are expected to become fluent in the language of the books. While Danny’s cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see.

Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny as well. And that will lead to disaster for the North family.

Orson Scott Card, a New York Times best-selling author, has won several Hugo and Nebula Awards for his works of speculative fiction. He lives with his family in Greensboro, North Carolina.

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