An Embarrassment of Riches

Haiku Review: The City and the City - by Rachael

One City prospers
One City falters and fades
Chosen perceptions

The City and the City by China Miéville

Dirigibles, Steampunk, Demons, Oh My! by Heidi

I do so love a good debut or two. Farlander by Col Buchanan, the first in a new series, introduces a steampunk world with basic pistols, dirigibles and acid rain pollution along with the standard fantasy trappings. There's a corrupt and evil empire and an order of assassin monks, the Roshun, who will sell the wealthy and paranoid an amulet. If the person wearing and bonded to the amulet dies by anything other than natural causes the monks will provide blood vengeance. The murderer will die and no other person will need to start a blood feud. Given how often everyone seems to expect the services of the Roshun to be needed, those that purchase an amulet aren't really being all that paranoid. Farlander isn't absolute perfection - there's a little new novel roughness. For example, there's never any doubt that the evil empire is Evil... and enjoying it. But it is interesting, fast-paced and fun. Find out what happens next in the recently released book two: Stands a Shadow.

I recently read J.M. McDermott's second novel Never Knew Another.  There are children of demons whose blood and sweat corrupts the very ground. Touching one will sicken and eventually kill any human.  The demon-sired children are being hunted down by a priestly order of skin-walkers, wolfish even in human skin. It is death to aid a demon and death to be a demon - even if all you want to do is hide and not hurt anybody. The wolf priests find it necessary to burn down contaminated buildings or even entire sections of town to purify the corruption. They count the resulting human pain and loss as no more than a minor pity. The humans still have their lives after all. The church will see they don't starve or freeze to death, so even if someone loses everything, they are at least alive, and not spreading the demon sickness. 

It's a little different for the genre. The writing style is meant to convey the not-quite-human perspective of the wolf priestess. The author seems to be aiming for literary fantasy. It's very fast paced: I was 100 pages into it the first time I sat down with it. It's the first in a series and I'm really looking forward to book two. The author's first book, Last Dragon, came out in 2008 and I'm putting a hold on that first unrelated stand-alone title just on the strength of writing in this book.  

Up With Chuck - by Heidi I love an action show; give me explosions and I'm a happy camper. So when someone recommended Chuck to me, I was willing to give this action/comedy/science fiction show a try.

Chuck, the title character, is introduced as an underachieving slacker with some personal issues that he's not working out, thanks in part to his sister's well-meaning enabling. Chuck's old college roommate arranges to have a "sufficiently advanced technology" computer downloaded into Chuck's head. Chuck's brain is loaded with all the intelligence that the National Intelligence Agencies have, and their physical database is blown up.

If Chuck sees or hears something that's in the database, he has a flash of intelligence on the topic. Suddenly Chuck's an 'asset', with 'handlers' -- and the too-tall bumbling nerd (with all the athletic skills you'd expect in a computer repairman who spends his free time playing video games) is stuck in a string of spying expeditions, scared out of his wits.

Then Season Two rolled around...and I really fell for the show. Chuck grows as a person, his sister and friend change, his handlers become three dimensional. Plus, Chuck is a decent human being who really wants to do the right thing and cares about his family and friends. The writers made me care, and I want this character to get a happy ending!

Lastly, I'll deny being a sucker for a romance with my final breath, but there may be a pretty decent love story somewhere in there. I might possibly want her to have a happy ending, too.

Shades of Milk and Honey, + a chat with the author on Twitter - by Amy I read Pride and Prejudice in high school and college, thankful I had put it behind me. Slumped at a desk with pink-streaked hair and dirty Converses, a marriage plot among ladies of class fell short of resonating with me as a reader. So when someone suggested I read Shades of Milk and Honey—promoted by its publisher as Jane Austen, with magic—I had my reservations. Flash forward one week to me forgetting to feed my grandmother (sorry, Grams)  and missing MAX stops with this book in hand.

Mary Robinette Kowal has won scads of sci-fi and fantasy awards for her short fiction—Hugo, Nebula, Locus, you name it. After reading Shades of Milk and Honey, it’s easy to see why. Her style is easy, her sentences agile, and her dialogue witty. And if there were a few “shews” and “La!’s” thrown in, well, I might have even enjoyed them.  

Shades of Milk and Honey is a story of two sisters, one born with stunning looks and the other born with a stunning mind. Jane Ellsworth is the neighborhood’s best glamourist, expertly conjuring scents, sounds and images that enhance the family home. Jane fights her attraction to a very eligible neighbor, Mr. Dunkirk, while her younger sister loses herself in a maze of feelings for the same man. Their sibling rivalry is full of bitterness, and jealousy, but also moments of kindness. Jane struggles to tame her own passions while keeping a watchful eye out for her sister—and fails, spectacularly, among secret rendezvous and sensational duels.

Kowal’s debut is a light, absorbing read—a perfect choice to enjoy in the Portland sunshine, while it lasts. Be on the lookout for our upcoming Twitter chat with the author on Aug. 11th, from 12-1. Please join the conversation!

New Moon Rising - Elizabeth Moon - by Heidi

I should have started reading the newest series by Elizabeth Moon much sooner. In the late 80's Moon wrote a trilogy called The Deed of Paksenarrion. In a fantasy world, a sheep-farmer's daughter, a big sturdy girl, joins the local Duke's military to avoid an unwanted marriage. She rises to become a paladin and to see that lord chosen as a kingdom's heir. I liked that trilogy quite a bit. I've even held onto my yellowing paperbacks all these years. In the decades since, Moon has written a number of military science fiction novels that just didn't catch my interest, though they've been popular and well received. Recently Moon has gone back to the world of The Deed of Paksenarrion with the start of a new trilogy.  

You don't need to read the first series to enjoy Oath of Fealty, the first in this new trilogy. It has been twenty plus years since I read the original books and I had no trouble falling into this new story. Paks, the heroine of the first trilogy is only a secondary character in this trilogy.

In Oath of Fealty, after the duke, Kieri Phelan, is discovered to be the heir to a neighboring kingdom, he leaves his former holding under the care of his captains, one of whom will be named the new lord in his place. The kingdom Kieri is leaving is in turmoil after the assassination of the king, leaving an untried young prince about to be crowned. To add further to the machinations, the assassin of the young prince's father was one of his other dukes. Now the crown prince must question the traitor's entire family to find how far their service to an evil god and blood magic has spread. That leaves only one reliable person to whom the lands might be entrusted: an aging captain of Kieri's who was cast out of the family as a girl for refusing to practice blood magic. I really need to get my hands on book two, Kings of the North, in short order because the end of Oath of Fealty left me wanting more.

2010 - The Year in Fantasy - by Heidi

While I've already named a number of good books in earlier entries (and you really should go put a hold on the first book in the Dresden Files), I didn't cover them all by any means. Here are a few more titles that you shouldn't miss from 2010.

Steven Brust has been writing books in the Jhereg series since 1983. His latest, Iorich, brings the total number of volumes to thirteen. Vlad Taltos, is a thief...and an assassin....and a gang boss running drug dealers, prostitutes and engaging in other illegal activities. He's also a witty and likable underdog. He's an amateur chef owing to a childhood spent in a restaurant (don't read Dzur if on a diet) and loyal to his friends. You can't help but like a character who you'd want to see in jail for life if he were a real person. Brust's writing style has improved over the last 27 years but all the books are slim and quick reads. The first books in the series are available as omnibus volumes starting with The Book of Jhereg.

Speaking of main characters who really should be facing the hangman's rope instead of being protagonists, try The Conqueror's Shadow by Ari Marmell. The story could be summed up as "what happens when the Evil Overlord retires...". Corvis Rebaine cut a bloody swath across the world and was known as "the Terror of the East". Now he lives quietly under an assumed name, with his wife and children in the middle of nowhere. Obviously that's not going to last or it would be a boring book.

N.K. Jemisin published her first two books this year. I've already praised her debut novel The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Her second book The Broken Kingdoms is also very good. Ohree, a blind artist who can only see magic, takes in a strange, homeless man on a charitable impulse. This lands her in the middle of a conspiracy. Someone is murdering the godlings that live among mankind and leaving the desecrated bodies all over the city. Ohree's guest is somehow entangled in the mess.

Lastly, gentle reader, peruse Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate, a steampunk urban fantasy series set in an alternate Victorian England with vampires and werewolves. Alexia Tarabotti is a young lady of good family who is far too firm willed and practical to be appropriate in a lady of breeding. While not great classics of literature these three volumes are pleasing diversions for any lady of discerning tastes.

Following Kage Baker - by Rachael

There are only four of authors I "follow", eagerly awaiting each new book. I even have alerts set up in the 'Books in Print' database available through the library – as soon as any of them have a new book announced, I get an email. They are: Kate Atkinson, Connie Willis, Laurie R. King, and Kage Baker. 

I remember my discovery of Baker very distinctly. I read the review of her first novel, In the Garden of Iden, in Library Journal in October 1997, which summarized the plot as follows: “The initial assignment for 18-year-old Mendoza, transformed into an immortal cyborg by the 24th-century Company, is to retrieve from Renaissance England an endangered plant that cures cancer. Posing as a Spanish lady accompanying her doctor father, she falls in love with the mortal Nicholas Harpole, secretary to the owner of Iden Hall and its exotic gardens. Amidst the raging Catholic/Protestant powerplays revolving around the English throne and the fervent religious bloodlust of common folk, Mendoza is torn between her task and her love.” Immortality, time travel, and the Reformation! I was highly intrigued. The next week I saw a copy on the new book shelf, and a love affair began. Oh, the highs and lows as I followed The Botanist Mendoza through centuries of pining over Nicholas (and his Company-fabricated reincarnations). Oh, the horrendous cover art. Before it was over, The Company series spanned nine novels, two short story collections, and four novellas. I loved Baker’s characters, and while I occasionally had serious problems with her plot choices, I was passionate about everything she wrote.

Her other series has no name, and is usually referred by the title of the first book, Anvil of the World. Each of these humorous, original fantasies stands up well on its own. My favorite is House of the Stag, which chronicles the life of the half-demon Gard from outcast among the extremely-peace-loving Yendri, to slave held by evil magicians, to his adulthood as Master of the Mountain – loving father, devoted husband, feared by the entire continent.

There will be no more 'alerts' for Kage Baker. This year we lost her.

The library’s stock of In the Garden of Iden had dwindled down to one copy, but it was recently reprinted and more are on the way. Don’t let the cover art scare you.

This is the Way the World Ends, Portland Style - by Ross

Post-apocalypse fiction is all the rage right now. Nothing like a good ol’ world-clearing disaster to cheer you up when you’ve lost all faith in humanity. It’s important, too, to study such books and movies on a purely practical level (when psychopathic biker gangs start roaming the atom-smashed landscape of our once-green Pacific Northwest, those of us who have, for example, watched Mad Max will definitely have an advantage). And maybe post-apocalyptic fiction is just a pure, primal representation of the classic heroic journey: rags to riches, chaos to community.

At any rate, postapocalyptica seems to be everywhere lately: Justin Cronin’s The Passage has been on this summer’s bestseller lists for weeks; Mockingjay, the third book in Suzanne Collins’s crazy popular teen death-match series is set to come out in August; and two years ago, The Road by Cormac McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. All of these books are set to get made into movies, or already have been.

My favorite post-apocalyptic epic, S.M. Stirling’s Dies the Fire trilogy (Dies the Fire, The Protector’s War, and A Meeting at Corvallis), hasn’t gotten as much attention as the above titles. Not even locally, which is a surprise since it is set in Portland, Corvallis, and the surrounding Willamette Valley. In Stirling’s imagined world, most technology suddenly ceases to function: engines and guns quit firing; computers, radios, and televisions go silent. Without any of our modern transportation network, food supplies to the cities are cut off and rioting and mayhem ensue. A sadistic ex-Medieval-studies professor takes the chance to grab power, organizing a sword-wielding army of toughs and making a stronghold in Portland’s Central Library. The books in the series follow several different bands of refugees as they form communities in the foothills of the Cascades, learning to be self-sufficient and mastering archery and swordsmanship for their defense against this threat from Portland.

The different bands of survivors develop unique cultures in the decades after “the Change,” based on the personalities of their founders. One group follows Wiccan spiritual practices, another is highly militaristic. A group of young rangers, born into this future world, read salvaged copies of Tolkien books and find them more believable than the stories of the past told by their parents. These rangers make their base at the historic lodge in Silver Falls State Park, a place that they call “Mithrilwood.”

It’s really fun, page-turning stuff, and the local setting is both hilarious and also engaging and believable, written with an admirable attention to details of local flora and fauna. There’s a lot of action, too, and the violence is described in shocking, anatomically precise writing which took some getting used to, but ultimately made it feel even more real. It’s a series of books that I will not soon forget.

Ah, it appears that the sun has reached three hand spans past the horizon, and it’s time for me to go practice my broadsword fighting. After all, you never can be too prepared.

Of Holes in Time and Unwanted Visitors - by Heidi

Have you ever felt like a little vacation from reality? Primeval is a British science fiction show that didn't get the attention it deserved compared to Dr.Who and Torchwood. I will say Primeval doesn't require any deep intellectual commitment on the viewer's part. Actually, it would be best if you can forget to think at all while watching this. It's all light and fluffy fun, something you can enjoy and relax with. Okay, light fluffy fun that involves the occasional person being eaten by dinosaurs. But sometimes part of the fun is guessing who is going to scream horribly and die tastefully off screen.

I didn't see Primeval while it was on the air, but I'd heard good reviews so when I saw the library had the whole series I decided to put the first volume on hold. I had the second on hold before I finished the first DVD. There's a decent story arc, the characters are enjoyable, and the writing and acting is solid. It was funny in parts, tugged on my heartstrings in places and even surprised me a time or two. The special effects are a bit spotty, so if you can't stand CGI dinosaurs and the occasional funky cartoonish background, this isn't for you. But if you can forgive or even enjoy the dinosaurs, giant insects and future predators, it's good fun.

The story? Holes in time have appeared, allowing dinosaurs, mammoths and monsters to roam through modern day England. The holes lead to the distant past and not distant enough future. Various villains are seeking to use the holes to further their agendas. Our heroes run around trying to close the anomalies and get the monsters back on the far side, all while trying to figure out what's causing them to appear in the first place. The extras mostly run and scream. Sometimes the extras even run fast enough. Our heroes are fairly archetypal: there's the professor/team leader with some truly grim relationship issues; the action hero/gun boy (someone has to shoot the monsters); the feisty, clever girl (if there's only one female lead in a genre show she must be gutsy, smart and cute); and the socially inept, klutzy, technical genius (because someone has to be comic relief). Despite the archetypes I really liked a couple of these characters. They felt right for the show and the character interactions were enjoyable.
    Now that I've watched the whole thing in rapid succession I was happy to read that they started filming series 4 and 5 in March 2010 and will be airing the 13 new episodes in 2011. I'm also glad I watched it on DVD. I won't have to wait as long to see what happens next. Like U.S. science fiction shows, it had the 'is it canceled/is it not?' drama we all know and loathe. Fortunately, the viewers of this show aren't getting left up the timeline without a plot.

Dear Jim Butcher - Please Write Faster - by Heidi

That sound you hear? That would be me, in the corner, curled into a ball, whimpering gently. I just finished Changes, book 12 of the Dresden Files. Based on past publishing patterns it will be a year before I find out what happens next to Harry Dresden...

Have you read the Dresden Files yet? Harry Dresden is a both a P.I. and a wizard. The Chicago he inhabits is populated with vampires, werewolves, all manner of Fae, beings that claim to be demons and angels (nobody sane would argue with them) and pretty much any other stripe of magical creature you can think of. The Dresden Files is the series other urban fantasies want to be when they grow up. They are fairly light quick reads but they really do need to be read in order, starting with Storm Front.

Several years ago, I bought the first two on a whim. I forgot about them until my husband came to me with book two in hand to ask if there were any more and could I go get them right now please? Huh. Obviously I was missing something. I started reading them myself. I was hooked. Now I snatch up each new installment on the release date and finish it before bedtime. This is my absolute favorite series. I've seen it enjoyed by both male and female readers. I've talked mystery/detective story readers into giving it a try despite the fantasy elements and they've enjoyed it.

A few years ago I heard the author speak at a convention. He was charming and witty. When asked how many books were planned he said he had a twenty year mortgage. At this point I'm not sure how it will end. Harry Dresden may die horribly or finally see a moment of untarnished happiness - probably right before dying horribly. I'm not sure which I'm rooting for. He's done dubious things for good reason, he's allied with not nice beings for a good cause, he's made mistakes, some with bloody, tragic prices.  But so far, Harry Dresden keeps getting back up and trying again.  He's got a lot of flaws, headed up by a smart mouth, although it's sarcasm rather than cynicism.

And while it may sound like these are twelve grim volumes of unremitting gloom, they are frequently very funny. The characterization is truly top notch. I care what happens to Harry, I care a lot at this point. But I can't really describe anything that happens in book twelve without venturing into spoiler territory. What I can tell you is that on October 26th Butcher is releasing a book of short stories called Side Jobs.  It contains the collected Dresden Files short stories from various anthologies plus a few new ones. One of them is written from the perspective of a secondary character and is set immediately after the end of Changes. I am pre-ordering Side Jobs because I can't wait until next April. The author is an evil, cruel, and terrible man and I need a hint of what happens in book thirteen right now.

PS, the tv show? ... Meh, it was OK. If you like genre TV and want to watch something on DVD you'll like it well enough. But it doesn't hold a candle to the books.

A New Voice in Science Fiction - by Heidi I just read a really good debut novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin. So often trying a new author is a hit or miss proposition, but this was a solid hit. Yeine Darr is a half-breed. She was raised in the hinterlands. Although she was raised to rule and her father was the prince of his little country, she's still the half-savage, unfashionable, rude barbarian with no grasp of civilization. At least that's what her mother's courtiers think of her. She's too short and she looks different. Nobody, least of all she, is happy that her grandfather the emperor has summoned his granddaughter to court where his potential heirs are competing.  She's nearly murdered within the first few hours and it doesn't get any better from there. This novel is the first in a series but it does stand alone quite well. The author has said that each new book will center around a new main character and the characters from other books will become side notes. So it's not the usual fantasy commitment of at least three novels to try out this new author.

Whole New Worlds - SF and Fantasy - by Heidi

Welcome to our new contributor Heidi, an SF and fantasy aficionado. Look for her recommendations on great authors in these genres. 

The Chilling Alternative - by Laural I love spooky books!  Or books that tell a story of an alternate universe where vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches and wizards exist.  I recently read a great book in this genre. When I was looking at author read-alikes in the database Novelist (a database that helps you find good reads, available to our library patrons), I found that Jim Butcher’s series The Dresden Files kept coming up. And now The Dresden Files has me hooked!

In Storm Front (Book One of The Dresden Files), Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire in Chicago.  As a reader, once I know something is set in Chicago, I make certain assumptions. Yes, there is a mafia presence. And very scary vampires too. In the mythology the writer draws upon for his supernatural creatures, Butcher doesn’t disappoint. Harry Dresden meets the scariest vampire I have ever encountered in my reading. And I have read many vampire stories. I don’t even want to be in the same city as these vampires. 
Harry is dragged into a mystery.  Someone or something is viciously killing people. It will take a great wizard to solve this mystery.  As the pages turned I realized I really like Harry and I couldn’t wait to read another book in the Dresden Files series. I couldn’t wait to inhabit his very scary Chicago with him. At least in the pages of a book.

Not of This World - by Steve

Ever have one of those days? You know the type where you feel like everything is just a bit off. You miss the bus even though you left five minutes early.You spill coffee on your new white linen, short-sleeve Oxford shirt.Your cell phone reception is nonexistent even though you’re standing in the middle of downtown. Maybe you’re just having a bad morning, or perhaps you’ve been secretly transported to an alternate version of Earth. 

I love when a story seems normal, yet there’s something I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s not until I’m really engrossed in the tale that I figure out that the world is a different place from where I grew up. They’re not science fiction, per se, but contain just enough of a difference to be noticeable.  Here are a few of my favorite examples of these types of stories.

The Walls of the Universe by Paul Melko starts in a small country town. A teenage boy is confronted by his doppelgänger who offers him a trip to an alternate world. Turns out, the trip was one-way. He makes a life in the new world by inventing a new game called “Pinball,” but gets noticed by a shady corporation who wants to rule the world.

Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. Translated from the Finnish, it tells the story of a guy who rescues and cares for a troll that has been badly beaten. The author does a great job of making it seem like trolls actually exist, and when the main character bites off more than he can chew, bad things really start happening.