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

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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Steam Queen by Jack Hessey [Book Review]

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Jan 242011

I hope you like trains

Imagine Europe fragmented into independent city states crisscrossed by railway lines and channeling the Wild Wild West, the country side infested with railway pirates and groups of train based mercenaries hire out to the highest bidder. Technological advances have gone differently in this universe with steam powered trains becoming dominant and the automobile never invented at the same time they have hand carried radios. The author shows so great enthusiasm for locomotives and trains that I suspect a connection there.

Erica is a formidable if somewhat deranged female protagonist and I mean that in a positive way. She starts the book at psychopathic level but ends up growing in understanding and empathy as she comes to grip with the damage done to her. Her father leaves her with the Steam Queen mercenaries as she has become too disruptive and violent to stay in the village she grew up in. She has many quirky facets to her personality but the most fundamental ones are hate of dirt and that she feels a need to punish any infringement on her person including touching with enough violence, including killing or maiming so that it will never happened again. This makes fitting in with the mercenaries somewhat problematic.

The plot is really about Erica learning the world and herself but you can read it as an adventure story since there is a hunt for a railroad bandit, a ‘religious war’ between Diesel and Steam, a super weapon, a love interest of sorts, treachery, orphans, imprisonment and escapes before it is over.

It is a quite short book of 281 pages with double spacing making it around 150 pages with normal spacing which is shorter than I like. At first I felt a bit disgruntled with the shortness but I realized it was okay as I went through the review.

The shortness might be the reason the story feels a bit simplistic and the characters a bit sketchy. It could also be an attempt at writing in style of the 19^th century but I would have liked more fleshed out characters. Erica is likeable if quirky but she never quite steps out of the pages.

The Steam Queen is a promising debut and I think I will keep my eyes on Jack Hessey in the future. It is a fast read and channels 19^th century style of writing in a romp of steam powered war machines in the Wild Wild West of Europe.

Information

Title: Steam Queen
Author: Jack Hessey
Genre: Steampunk
E-book: 871 kB
Publisher: LazyDay Publishing 2010
Copy: Review copy

Order from: Amazon US | UK

Europe is a dangerous, virtually lawless place. Armed bandits prowl the railway lines in their armed Steam Locomotive looking for easy marks, and heavily armed mercenary engines travel from town to town looking for work in a world where every day is a struggle for its civilians.

Erica, an emotionally disturbed girl from England finds herself joining one of these mercenary teams. What follows is a trek across Europe to where two mighty cities, each representing a different way of life, stand on the verge of a war which will shape the way Europe develops.

On one side are the Steam using traditionalists of St Vith, led by the charismatic and cunning General Roosje Cuvelier. On the other, stands the mighty Winterscheid Diesel Empire under the iron fist of the merciless Kaiser Sigmund Eisenburg.

Two vicious armies, treachery from her own allies and the world’s deadliest super-weapon are just a few of the dangers that Erica must face in her journey.

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Out of the Dark by David Weber [Book Review]

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Jan 172011

Alien Invasion Stopped by Trendy Creatures

I should begin to state I am a fan of David Weber and I love his military science fiction. This is the first book in a new series that mixes that with another trendy subject I will tell you about later.

The Galactic Hegemony was immense and oh so peaceful beside a few upstarts that usually fought themselves to extinction before they become a problem. Which makes it so unfortunate that their scouts happened to visit earth in the middle of the battle of Agincourt, descended from herbivore creatures the Barhoni crew was appalled when they reported back, this new specie, the Humans where barely more than animals, they where even worse than the Shonegairi, a race of predators that had risen to Hegemony membership but who was still causing all kinds of troubles. Thinking they could solve two problems at the same time the leaders of the Hegemony gave the Shonegairi leave to neutralize the Humans before they could become a second threat to galactic peace.

But when the Shonegairi arrive at Earth some six hundred years later it had advanced to an incredible level of technology almost on par with them (2010). Against Hegemony law they still attacked and three quarters of the human race dies in a few minutes as all major cities and military bases cease to exist, destroyed by orbital strikes.

The rest of the story follows the war they get on their hand when they land. It tells of heroic land and air battles and how human ingenuity comes out on top. The battles including the one at Agincourt are beautifully told as expected. I really enjoyed all the battles and the military lingo. The parallels to current conflicts are pretty obvious.

As usual David tells the story from many different views including the alien commanders, a fighter pilot striking back at the invasion, a tank commander in Afghanistan, a survivalist family taking the fight to the enemy and especially Master Sergeant Stephen Buchevsky, an American soldier caught in the Balkans by the invasion. The characters are in my opinion a bit more two dimensional than usual in this story but I still root for them. I think it would have been a better story if there has been a more distinct protagonist, but that is maybe just me.

Warning spoiler ahead!

So far it is a pretty standard military science fiction from a master of the craft, but it is what happens in the last few score of pages that makes the difference. It was a fine book in itself up to that time but the ending has a bit of god out of the machine when our hero basically happens on a group of vampires pissed that someone is killing their food and they decide to join forces and kick the shit out of the aliens. Said and done. Earth now has dreadnought space ships and we wait on book number two.

I am not sure David is going to make a sequel and the reviews on this one has been mixed to say the least. Unless he has written it in secret already and turned it over to the publisher we can expect it earliest mid to late 2012. One might suspect it sold pretty well though.

Out of the Dark has some interesting points on culture and how it forms expectations and the battles are very well written. The characters are not the strongest or most interesting Weber has made but I am still interested in reading any sequel. If you go at it with the right expectations you will enjoy this book for what it is, a fun thought experiment otherwise there are many, more stringent books by David Weber like On Basilisk Station to start with.

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Tor (September 2010)
Order from: Amazon US | UK
Copy: Bought it myself

Earth is conquered. The Shongairi have arrived in force, and humanity’s cities lie in radioactive ruins. In mere minutes, over half the human race has died. Now Master Sergeant Stephen Buchevsky, who thought he was being rotated home from his latest tour in Afghanistan, finds himself instead prowling the back country of the Balkans, dodging alien patrols and trying to organize the scattered survivors without getting killed. His chances look bleak. The aliens have definitely underestimated human tenacity – but no amount of heroism can endlessly hold off overwhelming force. Then, emerging from the mountains and forests of Eastern Europe, new allies present themselves to the ragtag human resistance. Predators, creatures of the night, human in form but inhumanly strong. Long Enemies of humanity…until now. Because now is the time to defend Earth. The Shongairi now have a real fight on their hands…as Earth’s vampires strike at them, out of the dark.

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Guardians of the Phoenix by Eric Brown [Book Review]

Books No Responses »

Jan 132011

I should start to state I am a fan of Eric Brown. The Guardians of the Phoinix is his latest work and I was very excited when I started to read this post apocalyptic coming of age slash road movie story.

Paul the young protagonist is living alone with an old lady in the ruins of Paris when we meet him the first time. He gets captured by cannibals and is rescued by another group searching for a means of survival. Both groups are looking for a rumored cache of food and survival gear in the town.

The story has a bit of simplicity to it and the characters are less developed than in Eric’s Bengali Station Trilogy but on the other hand I felt that emphasized the survivalist feel of the book. The humanity that survived in this desert of a world where the seas has dried up and humanity is on the brink of extinction might not be so three dimensional. But there is a core of optimism in all the gloom as indicated by the title.

The Big Breakdown is never explained in detail but its aftermath involved nuclear and biological attacks. The seas have dried up and deserts cover most of earth’s surfaces that much we know. Small colonies of humans survive across Europe. It feels foreboding to read about those small, small enclaves making meager living where millions of people live today.

The group Paul joins with is on the track of a way to save the peoples in the colony they left behind in Copenhagen. And they have more than the rumored cache. Unfortunately for them so has the surviving cannibals and the story continues with a race to reach salvation first. But salvation is never as easy as it seems.

The book made me uncomfortable at times especially when he presented characters that were forced to cannibalism to survive as relatively sympathetic individuals. Some of the violence is also on the rough side. I wonder if this started out as a YA because sometimes the sex feels a bit out of place too.

I read and enjoyed Guardians of the Phoenix as a post apocalyptic space opera but know that Eric Brown can write much better than this. Another fifty pages would not have hurt the book.

Information

Title: Guardians of the Phoenix
Author: Eric Brown
Paperback: 350 pages
Publisher: Solaris (2010)
Copy: Bought it myself

Order from: Amazon US | UK

Global warming has taken its terrible toll. The seas have dried up and deserts cover much of the Earth’s surface. Humankind has been annihilated by drought and the nuclear and biological conflicts following the Great Breakdown. Desperate bands of humans still survive. Some live far underground, away from the searing temperatures and ongoing conflicts on the surface; others scrape a living in the remains of shattered cities above ground. In Paris, Pierre lives like an animal among the sand-drifted ruins of the once great city. Near death, he faces a choice: join the strangers heading south in search of water, or remain in the city and perish. Guardians of the Phoenix tells the story of the last survivors on planet Earth, their desperate fight for survival and their last hope to save the world

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Amortals by Matt Forbeck [Book Review]

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Jan 062011

When You Die You Don’t.

You have a clone with your backup memories. That is if you are rich enough or if you become a national hero by taking a bullet for the President. Rohnan Dooley is the later and the first to become Amortal . Now he returns to try to find out who murdered him but there is much more to the story.

Amortals is my first contact with Matt Forbeck’s writing and I am impressed but not surprised by the tight and action packed story after reading his bio. Matt also weaves thought provoking questions about individuality and identity into the story. I am definitely going to add him to my to-read authors.

The main character Dooley has been long on the job. 200 years in the Secret Service is a long time and he is starting to have second thoughts about it. But if he retires he loses his Amortality. The investigation soon ties in to his previous lives and to his estranged descendants in a way that further highlights the issues with being immortal.

Dooley is a man of action but he is also a national hero and the figure head for the Amortal Project so his murder draws public interest. Patron, his boss wants the matter resolved as soon as possible. Amanda his partner obviously knew his former self which highlights the problem with skipping backup for three months since he have no memories of her or the investigation leading up to his own murder. Amanda is also mortal which leads Dooley to consider the worth of his own life compared to someone with only the one.

It is a fast paced and action packed story that touches on murder cults, old enemies, love, assassination attempts, cover-ups, hidden agendas and a bigger picture. Agent Dooley channels Bruce Willis in RED, Die Hard and Dirty Harry while he tries to finds out what really going on.

The characters are well done and remind me of stories that gave me the same kind of feeling for the characters like Flash by L. E. Modesitt Jr or The Puppet Master by Robert A. Heinlein.

There is no mistake behind that Amortal’s spelling is so close to Amoral in my mind. This book isn’t about the murder mystery. It is about the bigger picture. But it is still good action. It was a book hard to put down. I read it more or less in one go.

Amortals is a high concept techno thriller that has been a delight to read and I would like to highly recommend it both to thrill seeking and cerebral readers of science fiction.

Information

Title: Amortals
Author: Matt Forbeck
Genre: Science Fiction
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Angry Robot
Copy: Review copy from the publisher

Order from: Amazon US | UK

Today you die. Today you are reborn. Today you hunt the man who killed you. It’s Lee Child vs. Altered Carbon in a high-tech blast of tough-as-nails future thrills.

Matt Forbeck arrives as the new king of high-concept – with a blockbuster action movie in a book. In the near future, scientists solve the problem of mortality by learning how to backup and restore a persons memories into a vat-bred clone. When Secret Service agent Ronan “Methusaleh” Dooley is brutally murdered, he’s brought back from the dead to hunt his killer, and in doing so uncover a terrible conspiracy.

FILE UNDER: Science Fiction [Future Thriller / Cheat Death / Rogue Agents / Who Killed Who?]

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