woodge blog

Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate #1) ~ Gail Carriger
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages ISBN-10: 0316056634 ISBN-13: 978-0316056632

The fun, frothy tale is set in an alternate Victorian London where vampires and werewolves have been integrated into society. The Bureau of Unnatural Registry is the organization keeping tabs on them and one 25-year-old spinster, Alexia Tarabotti keeps finding herself in their company.  Alexia herself is one of the rarest of the unnaturals. She's a preternatural, i.e. one who has no soul, and thus she has a negating effect on werewolves and vampires when she comes in physical contact with them.  When Alexia accidentally kills a rogue vampire -- one that is not part of a hive -- the plot gets into motion.  Alexia herself is a wonderful character: smart, witty, forthright, self-concious about her dark skin tone, dead Italian father, and prominent nose; she is eager to have something to do. Preferably something to do with the BUR and the handsome head of the BUR the Earl of Woolsey, Lord Maccon, the land's hunky alpha werewolf.  This story was very much fun, perhaps a little short on action but long on wit and with a healthy dose of erotica.  I'm probably not the target demographic for this sort of thing, but I greatly enjoyed it and will no doubt scoop up the follow-up, Changless, when it becomes available next May.

Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 2) ~ Steven Erikson
Mass Market Paperback: 864 pages ISBN-10: 0765348799 ISBN-13: 978-0765348791

This tale continues with only four of the characters from Book 1 (Kalam, Fiddler, Crokus, and Apsalar) and a host of new characters on another continent. The four from Book 1 travel to the Seven Cities area of the vast continent west from Genabackis.  The seer Sha'ik launches a war against the Malazans.  The Empress Laseen picks the Wickan leader of the Crow Clan, Coltaine to safeguard the Malazan refugees.  Coltaine begins a long, hazardous march to the city of Aren.  There are several bloody battles, many perilous travels through strange "warrens", and some new interesting characters, notably the Imperial Historian, Duiker (attached to Coltaine's march) and the youngest daughter of House Paran, Felisin.  Her journey takes some strange turns. It's epic, strange, dark, and weird. It's also big meaty fantasy with an eye-popping conclusion.  I enjoyed it but next up is some lighter fare.

       

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The Court of the Air ~ Hunt, Stephen
Paperback 599 pages ISBN-10: 0007232187 ISBN-13: 978-0007232185

I got to page 172 before deciding against finishing this story. The author crams many different ideas into this steampunk-fantasy-mashup of a tale. The two main characters are orphans.  Molly Templar gets placed by the orphanage into prostitution, but her very first john turns out to be an assassin. She escapes but we don't know much about who the assassin is, who he works for, or why Molly would be targeted.  By page 172 I still don't know. 

Then there's Oliver. When he was very young he and his parents crashed an aerostat (an airship) and he lived for 4 years within the "feymist."  The feymist has been known to alter people only after casual contact yet Oliver seems unaffected.  Then his guardian uncle and household are murdered and Oliver is framed. Again we don't know why his uncle was targeted or what the motivations are of the killers.  Ugh.

There's various fun things thrown into the mix: other races like the craynarbians (crab-like people), autonomous "steammen" (think robots) with their own culture, floating pieces of land (often the result of floatquakes), underground cities, etc. The problem is that all these new things keep on coming and keeping everything straight is a complicated chore.  Place names are thrown about but no maps are provided. Various terms are sprinkled in, but their definitions are lacking (no glossary either).  And so far Molly and Oliver are fairly one-dimensional. I don't feel like I know them.  I should after 172 pages, no?

So, dang. I was looking forward to getting into this one but the hypercomplicated, incomprehensible plot along with the cardboard characters and indeterminate world has me scratching my head.  There's too much other stuff to read before I continue plodding through this one hoping it'll get better.  (Plus, this could be first in a series that may number seven books... and I've already committed to too many other series.)  On to other venues.

Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1) ~ Steven Erikson
mmpb 688 pages ISBN-10: 0765348780 ISBN-13: 978-0765348784

This is the first book in a 10-volume series (eight of which are currently published). It's an epic fantasy spanning a world and with a myriad different characters. There are several maps, lists of dramatis personae, and glossaries to help you navigate this intricate world. It would be daunting to someone new to the fantasy genre, and on someone less so to a fan (like me).

Until relatively recently, I resisted getting involved in multi-volume fantasy series — at least those that expand beyond a trilogy. But that all changed when I started George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series (4 published, 3 to come). Got hooked there. I also got hooked on Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series (I've read 2 of 6 so far). Erikson has been compared to Martin because both are not afraid to kill off main characters (both good, evil, and somewhere in between). But these three, Erikson, Martin, and Butcher all have very different writing styles. Erikson's style is less straight-forward than the others. With Martin and Butcher, following the plot and the character's motivations doesn't tax your brain. But there is so much going on in Erikson's world. It's a little much at first but then a third of the way through this book, it begins to get clearer. And his use of sorcery in the story is heavy, detailed, and fascinating.

It's a strange place — maybe not as strange as China Mieville's Bas-Lag, but wonderfully strange all the same. And the characters are wildly diverse as well. But they could use some more fleshing out. Of the two dozen or so that I followed through this tale, I was only getting a clear picture of four or five of them. But I found the whole thing to wickedly engrossing. I love some of the weirdness he puts into this tale, like, for instance, a sorcerer who ends up having his soul transferred into a marionette. Think Chucky with wizardly powers. In this series the Malazan empire is hellbent on world domination but that is neither easy nor assured. Who knows how long it will take me to get through this series, but I'm looking forward to doing so.

One thing I gotta add is that Jeez Laweez, but these Malazan covers are cheesy-looking! I mean, look at this one, is that guy sporting a mullet?! Sheesh. And, Book 3 looks like it may have the worst cover. I'd be embarrassed if I cared enough.

Lately I've been busy writing an adventure story for my kids in my spare time.  I'm also trying to add a few illustrations.  This is the airship Zephyr which has a prominent role in the story.

Poison Study (Study, Book 1) ~ Snyder, Maria V.
trade paperback 416 pages ISBN-10: 0778324338 ISBN-13: 978-0778324331

A couple months ago I had a Borders Gift Card burning a hole in my pocket and as luck would have it, there's a big fat Borders store; a short walk from where I work.  So I was browsing again and came across this title.  I'm much better about impulse buys than I used to be so I checked out the comments on Amazon before snagging it.  Well, as of this writing it's rated 4 and a half stars out of 5 from over 200 reviews.  And sure enough, I was hooked by the second page.  The plot concerns a young woman named Yelena sentenced to be executed for murder.  But she's given an option: die by execution, or become the Commander's food taster, a life-long position (which is currently available since the last food taster died from poisoning.)  Yelena chooses not to die and then gets caught up in the political intrigue surrounding the land known as Ixia.  It's a breeze to read and the pace rarely flags although the rest of the story is not as strong as the first third.  This book can stand alone but there are two more "Study" books featuring Yelena.  They're on my list.  4 stars.

The Hidden World ~ Paul Park

mass market paperback 384 pages ISBN-10: 0765355876 ISBN-13: 978-0765355874

This is the fourth and final book in Park's Roumanian series, easily the oddest series I've read to date.  (Could be the oddest story as well but then I recalled Santa Steps Out by Robert Devereaux and for sheer oddness, that one's tough to beat.)  There are three main characters in the Roumanian series: Miranda, Andromeda, and Peter.  And their trajectory through these books is hard to summarize.  Let's just say that the tale involves: an alternate world; conjurers; magical items (including a gun housing six demons, some of which get loose); possesion; a character that changes from female to dog to male to various combinations of the aforementioned; the titular spirit world; and a war between Roumania and Turkey.  That said, I enjoyed the journey although at times I found it confusing.  I'd recommend it to anyone bored with the same old thing.  Also, lots of writerly types give this series high praise including Ursula K. LeGuin and Gene Wolfe.