"Poseidon's Spear" and "The Long War" Series to Date by Christian Cameron (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

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Official Christian Cameron WebsiteOrder "Poseidon's Spear" HEREOrder "Killer of Men" HEREOrder "Marathon" HERE Read FBC Review of God of WarRead FBC Review of Tyrant: King of the Bosporus
INTRODUCTION: Starting with Tyrant, Christian Cameron has become the preeminent writer of our time for historical fiction set in Classical Greece and he has been getting only better in both style and structure - the research was always there as was the atmosphere and the larger than life characters but the first two books had the occasional narrative wall and structural problems like the prophecy that essentially forced Tyrant: Storm of Arrows into a bit narrower narrative space than it should have been.

When the Long War series was announced in 2010 with its first person narrative from Arimnestos - historical and legendary personage of the Persian wars - each volume became one to get and read on publication, while also each subsequent installment only increased the depth of the series and my appreciation 0f it.
As I have not reviewed here the first two books, I decided to present all three reviews of Killer of Men, Marathon and Poseidon's Spear as done on Goodreads at the time of their reading in the first two cases with a few extra comments from today.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Killer of Men (Long War I)


Arimnestos is a farm boy when war breaks out between the citizens of his native Plataea and their overbearing neighbours, Thebes. Standing in the battle line for the first time, alongside his father and brother, he shares in a famous and unlikely victory. But after being knocked unconscious in the melee, he awakes not a hero, but a slave. Betrayed by his jealous and cowardly cousin, the freedom he fought for has now vanished, and he becomes the property of a rich citizen. So begins an epic journey from slavery that takes the young Arimnestos through a world poised on the brink of an epic confrontation, as the emerging civilization of the Greeks starts to flex its muscles against the established empire of the Persians. As he tries to make his fortune and revenge himself on the man who disinherited him, Arimnestos discovers that he has a talent that pays well in this new, violent world - for like his hero, Achilles, he is 'a killer of men'.
Killer of Men is a first person narration from Arimnestos of Plataea as told to his young daughter and her companions, in the hero's old age when he seems to be a noble of some sort in Thrace.

The book covers his childhood as a member of a leading family of Platea - his father is a renowned smith, important citizen and a sort of client of Miltiades, famous Athenian aristocrat and Black Sea warlord and pirate, while his mother is of the Greek aristocracy herself but a bit unhappy as wife of a commoner - his training under an old soldier and killer of men himself and later his beginning soldiering in a week of three battles when the Athenians and the Plateans face three enemy armies and defeat all.

However, young Arimnestos is wounded, betrayed and sold into slavery to Ephesus where by chance he is taken by rich merchant and poet Hyponnax as companion to his son Archilagos. Here he grows to manhood in a sort of "luxury slavery" studying under Heraclitus and deepening his military skills as bodyguard to Archilagos and sort of tolerated companion to some local Persian officers.  

But Hyponnax's daughter, Briseis, is very beautiful and very ambitious, a "second coming of Helen" of sort and naturally Arimnestos forgets he is a slave in dealing with her, the lady of the house seems to favor the local Persian satrap as much as her husband, while the conflict with Persia is looming on the horizon...

Superb world building and a very convincing narrator's voice makes Killer of Men as good as anything I've read by the author. For some reason though the book stops just short of blowing me away as other historical fiction did and I cannot figure why - maybe the author' style is a bit dry, maybe there is a bit too much soap in the relationships in Hyponnax's household which may reverberate to the future, but I think the novel is missing something to make it a top-top one of mine (note 2012 - actually on further rereads, in 2011 before reading Marathon and recently before reading Poseidon's Spear, Killer of Men jumped to my top 25 list of 2010)

Overall I am in for the duration of the series of course and I highly recommend it.
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Marathon: Freedom or Death (Long War II)

   
"Arimnestos of Plataea grew up wanting to be a bronze-smith, like his father. Then, in the chaos of war, he was taken to a city in the Persian empire and sold as a slave. To win his freedom he had to show that he could fight and kill. Now, to preserve that freedom, he must kill again. For the Persians are coming. A vast army sent by King Darius to put down the rebellious Greeks and burn the city of Athens to the ground. Standing against them on the plain of Marathon, a much smaller force of Athenians, alongside their Plataean allies. To defeat such overwhelming force seems impossible. And yet to yield would mean the destruction of everything the Greeks have dreamed of. In the dust and heat of Marathon, in the clash of shields and the rush of spears, amidst the thunder of hooves and the screams of the dying, those dreams will undergo their fiercest test - and Arimnestos and his Greek comrades will discover the true price of freedom."


(2011 rv) I finished Marathon after a complete rereading of Killer of Men to get in the spirit of the series and while I liked it a lot, it stopped a little short of blowing me away and I think that Killer of Men is a better book overall; trying to think why - since the writing is very good, the atmosphere pitch perfect as usual and the voice still the same Arimnestos of the series debut with the powerful cast from there - I think that the main reason is that Killer of Men was structured after the hero, while Marathon is structured after historical events and because of that it becomes more rigid and predictable (note 2012: after this year's reread of Marathon and its continuation in Poseidon's Spear the book also jumped a notch to my top 25 list of 2011, though I still slightly prefer Killer of Men as the above reason remains pertinent).

Also Marathon: Freedom or Death is slightly a misnomer since the novel is about two major battles, each taking about half the book including of course the periods up to it. Starting where Killer of Men ends with Arimnestos back home, there is a stretch of passing time and then the hero's return to action under Miltiades is a also a bit contrived, but the part from there to the battle of Lade and its aftermath is superb and that - maybe a third of a book - is what I expected the novel to be and a blow me away narrative.

After Lade, there is another stretch of passing time and while things happen, the tension is simply not there and Arimnestos becomes a pretty awkward narrator on occasion. Then there is the lead up to Marathon and the battle itself and here for some reason I felt the tension from Killer of Men or from the battle of Lade was somewhat lacking and a lot of the action read somewhat repetitive and a bit by the numbers.

Overall, Marathon is a very good book but fails to reach the power of Killer of Men outside the events of the battle of Lade. (note 2012: on the 2012 reread, many details that seemed less important at the time, actually became more interesting here and Arimnestos' domestic happenings and his Athenian odyssey were considerably more involving; the ending is excellent though very emotional, but that is necessary for the segue into Poseidon's Spear)

I am still very interested in the series and look forward to following Arimnestos' tale!
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Poseidon's Spear (Long War III)


"Arimnestos of Plataea is a man who has seen and done things that most men only dream about. Sold into slavery as a boy, he fought his way to freedom - and then to everlasting fame at the Battle of Marathon where the Greeks crushed the invading Persians.

Sometimes, however, a man's greatest triumph is followed by his greatest sorrow.Returning to his farm, Arimnestos finds that his wife Euphoria has died in childbirth, and in an instant his laurels turn to dust. But the gods are not finished with Arimnestos yet. With nothing left to live for, he throws himself from a cliff into the sea, only to be pulled by strong arms from death's embrace. When he awakes he finds himself chained to an oar in a Phoenician trireme.

And so begins an epic journey that will take Arimnestos and a motley crew of fellow galley slaves to the limits of their courage and beyond the edge of the known world, in a quest for freedom, revenge - and a cargo so precious it is worth dying for."
Poseidon's Spear has been a novel that was simply impossible to put down the first time and one I reread immediately again at leisure, while also going back to the earlier two novels to stay in their universe. The book follows Arimnestos from the Marathon aftermath in 490 till about half way to Thermopyle and Salamis in 480, so till about 485.  The beginning part which may seem a little contrived from the blurb, works very well and the description of the hellish life of a galley slave on a Carthaginian vessel is as vivid and harrowing as it ever gets.
After that, Poseidon's Spear becomes almost a tour through the western part of the "known world" at the time, part that was generally under strong Carthaginian influence due to their powerful war fleet and control of the Gibraltar. 

However Arimnestos is nothing but inventive and resourceful, so little details like five Carthaginian warships at the strait, lack of knowledge about Atlantic navigation or about the shape of Gaul and the source of tin, won't deter him and his intrepid multicultural crew - including as officers two black Numidian warriors, a Roman noble, an Ilyrian prince in exile and a Sicilian navigator - of former Carthaginian slaves to get back at their hated masters by plundering their ships, their colonies and their trade...
The book is  largely sea action, though there is a lot land action too, romance, intrigue, slavery and we travel to Sicily, Rome, Etruria, Spain, Gaul, Ilyria and even Britain only to come full circle and prepare the return to Plataea and the war.  Arimnestos breaks one more heart, marries one more time, meets Pythagoras' daughter and current leader of her father's philosophical school and still dreams of Briseis who has also gone to even greater things from wife of the leader of the (failed) rebellion of Asia Minor, to wife of an even more powerful Persian satrap, while (of course) still having the time and inclination for the occasional fling with Arimnestos. 

After all, her husband is old and he is Arimnestos' former benefactor from Ephesus, so one could turn a blind eye to a menage a trois if that would bring the famed Greek hero on the Persian side...
With a great ending to boot, Poseidon's Spear is a top 25 novel of 2012, while the next installment of this series cannot come soon enough.

"Mage's Blood" by David Hair (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu and Mihir Wanchoo)

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Official David Hair WebsiteOrder Mage's Blood HERE
INTRODUCTION: "Most of the time the Moontide Bridge lies deep below the sea, but every 12 years the tides sink and the bridge is revealed, its gates open for trade.

The Magi are hell-bent on ruling this new world, and for the last two Moontides they have led armies across the bridge on 'crusades' of conquest.

Now the third Moontide is almost here and, this time, the people of the East are ready for a fight ... but it is three seemingly ordinary people that will decide the fate of the world"
Intriguing blurb, great sample so a novel that became a must read on publication, Mage's Blood is David Hair's first foray into adult fantasy.
ANALYSIS: (Liviu) The setup of the series is as follows: the world of Urte where the irregular orbit of the Moon creates huge tidal differences on a 12 year cycle while making sea navigation all but impossible outside locally coastal; for many centuries, the two main continents in which the action takes place, Yuros and Antiopia/Ahmedhassa have been in complete ignorance one from another despite being separated only by 300 miles of water while developing a Western like civilization in Yuros and Islamic (Ahm) and Indian (Lakh) - like cultures in Ahmedhassa. 
However some 500 years before the start of the novel in 927, magic - gnosis - comes to the West when the 1000 followers of a hippie-like prophet, Corineus, are touched by supernatural power in a terrible and unforgettable night. Some few hundred die, including Corineus, some few hundred are unchanged, but some few hundred become extremely powerful magicians called Ascendants whose gnosis gets transmitted linearly by blood - child of mage and non-mage gets 1/2 power and so it goes up to 1/16 mage blood which is lowest where gnosis manifests - with the caveat that mage with mage couples have very few children overall so "pure bloods" remain relatively rare, while mixed bloods abound.

The original Ascendants split into factions - a militant one that forms a mighty empire in Yuros that rules to the present day and a peaceful one led by Antonin Meiros that retreats to the ends of Yuros in Pontus and sets up Ordo Costruo dedicated to improving the lives of people by magic; among other things, gnosis allows magical flying machines to work, so Anthiopia is discovered by air some 300 years ago and limited trade and visitations occur. 

Meiros - still living in 927, as Ascendants are very long lived - and his followers want to do good, so some 100 years ago he built a tremendous bridge appropriately called Leviathan Bridge, 300 miles long, connecting Pontus with the nation of Dhassa whose capital Hebusalim is the Holy City of the Ahm religion. The bridge opens for two years, every 12 years due to the tides - we learn more details later from Meiros himself. Trade and some colonization ensue and everyone prospers for about 100 years, but the leading imperial families are not happy as in the words of the evil-supremo of the series to date, Sainted Mater-Empress Lucia:

"‘But Meiros, an Ascendant too craven to join the liberation of Yuros from the Rimoni yoke, left the fellowship of the Three Hundred and built that cursed Bridge, and from that Bridge do all of our woes come! I wonder, does Antonin Meiros even know what he has done?’

He seemed perfectly aware of it last time I saw him, reflected Gyle. He wondered whether Lucia Fasterius truly believed the bigoted dogma she spoke. She seemed intelligent, learned – kindly, even. But in her eyes something fanatic lurked, like a venomous snake.

Lucia came to a halt behind her chair and gripped the wooden back tightly. ‘For a century we have seen the Bridge open every twelve years, when the tides drop to levels that permit traverse. We have seen the merchants pour across then return with all manner of addictive Eastern goods – opium and hashish, coffee and tea, even the silks and other luxuries that entrance our people. They can virtually name their prices on return. The bankers extend credit to merchants whilst squeezing the nobility, the magi-protectors who made Rondelmar what it is. 

Who are the richest men in Rondelmar? The merchants and bankers! Fat obsequious slime like Jean Benoit and his merchant cabal. And what have they bought with their ill-gotten gains? Our homes – our belongings – our art, and worse: they have purchased our sons and daughters, our Blood!’ Lucia was shouting now, spittle flecking her lips. ‘Those scum are buying our children and taking them to wife or husband, so that their misbegotten offspring will have everything, both gold and gnosis, and as a result, we are seeing a new breed, the mage-merchant, nasty, grasping half-breeds."

So in an act of treachery, the Imperial legions attack over the bridge in 904 and take Hebusalim in an orgy of blood and destruction while Meiros chooses non-interference rather than breaking his famed bridge, massacring the legions and opening war with the Empire, so he ensures hatred from both sides... 

The Antiopian armies retake Hebusalim once the bridge submerges under the tide as air support from Yuros is not enough, so another round of massacres ensue, while in the second Crusade of 916, the Empire strikes back with ever more force and holds Hebusalim since. In the meantime, the hardships due to the 1st Crusade led to a revolt in a southern province of the Empire, Noros, which while defeated is still shrouded in some mystery today and now in 927, one year before the next opening of the bridge, the Empire prepares the "Crusade to end all crusades", while the Antiopians have declared holy shihad to defeat the invaders...

The main characters of the novel are: Elena Anborn, Norosian half-blood mage and former feared guerrilla fighter in the revolt under the (in)famous Gurvon Gyle who appears in the quote above as an intimate of the ruling Empress Mater as he was pardoned years after the revolt on condition to do the Empire's dirty work from then on. 

Ostensibly working as bodyguard for the Nesti ruling family of Javon which is an Antiopian kingdom partly settled from Yuros during the peaceful era and is unique in the normal - though tense of course - cohabitation of the two races, Elena is actually under Gyle's orders and unfortunately for everyone living there, Javon is very important strategically for both sides, the Yuros Empire, and the Ahm Sultan and Lakh Emperor, respectively.

Alaron Mercer, Norosian quarter blood mage and nephew of Elena who is preparing to graduate the college of magic and get his accreditation. His story is in large part the typical coming-of-age one from fantasy, but in a nice twist, Alaron is still a quarter blood mage so not quite the usually powerful "boy of destiny", but he compensates with his agile mind and intense curiosity...

Ramita Ankesharan from a Lakh family in an obscure city but whose father, Ispal, gets an offer he cannot refuse, so Amita's expected life is turned upside down and she will travel far away to a destiny we only start to glimpse for now...

Kazim Makani, Ramita's fiancee, son of an Amteh warrior who became blood-brother with Ispal in Hebusalim during the terrible 904 - as in our history, Lakh is ruled by an Amteh emperor with the majority locals coexisting uneasily with the Amteh invaders and converts. When Ramita is taken away, Kazim goes berserk and later joins the shihad but of course things are not quite as they seem. The time of trials for all is approaching!

Mage's Blood has great action and memorable characters; the portrayal of the cultures and their clash is extremely well done with nuanced characters, good and bad guys and girls on both side.

On the negative side I had two structural issues: the world itself or at least the known continents to date are just a shrunken version of Europe and Asia and that makes it feel a little like a small sandbox rather than a real world.

Then the cultures described have been in isolation one from another for untold centuries before the gnosis and the airships when the appearance of magic in the world allowed the West to get to the East so to speak - that would be a third flaw in a way, why not do it the other way, with the East getting the magic and getting to the West first - and I just cannot believe the unitary nature of the cultures as despite surface differences there is a fundamental similarity between the Western, Islamic and Indian cultures in our world and in the world of the novel.

This of course is not surprising in our world considering how they interacted and influenced each other forever so to speak (compare to the pre-Columbian Maya, Inca, Mexica or even the North American Native cultures and see what I mean), but it stretches somewhat the suspension of disbelief in the novel.
With a very good ending with a TBC sign but no real cliffhangers, while having revelations and big promises for the next volume, Mage's Blood is a gripping read with lots of twists and intriguing characters so I am in for the duration.

(Mihir) I hadn’t heard of David Hair before I found out about this one. Since it was a release from Jo Fletcher books, I was interested in it purely based on the blurb details as well as the recent excellent and diverse releases Jo Fletcher books had so far. This book had a blurb that promised a war that occurs every twelve years due to a specific tidal event and featured a world that bears a close resemblance to certain areas and historical aspects of our own.
The story focuses on various nations on the continents of Yuros and Antiopia/Ahmedhassa. Yuros is the western landmass hosting various nations that have a magical aspect to their theology and chief among the nations are the Rondians who form the empire to rule over the entire continent. Antiopia or Ahemedhassa is the eastern continent that’s connected to its western half by means of a geographical bridge that was constructed by a mage. 

The eastern continent has many nations which bear a striking similarity to certain middle Eastern cultures as well a region that is culturally, theologically and geographically very very similar to the Indian subcontinent. The story focuses on various characters strewn across these dual continents and many nations. Ranging from long lived mages/witches to young girls to aspiring mages and many more, the POV characters come from varied cultures and backgrounds to give the reader a panoramic view into the world developed by the author.

Justin from Staffer’s Musing’s blog had compared it to the Prince of Nothing trilogy but one that was more accessible to readers. This is a very astute observation; I would modify it to a certain extent and say that the author has tried to present a clash of civilizations, this time occurring literally between east and the west while also shining a close light on some of the cultures existing in the Indian subcontinent as well as the Middle East. This series sets up a conflict that has been years in the making and will occur at a great cost to both sides but before it can begin, the political machinations have already been initiated.

Beginning with the ascension rites across various regions to the beatification of an empress, there is a lot that happens in the first 150-200 pages. The reader might be definitely be bamboozled by the various POV characters, side character cast as well the different plot threads being introduced. There are a few maps present in the start and they will be extremely handy in tracking the various locales mentioned and details occurring in them. 
I frequently referred to them as the action went from place to place and they were very helpful. The character cast is a vast one and it can be confusing sometimes plus there are no character appendices provided so it was very cumbersome to keep track of who’s who and related to whom and located where. 

The story is set on a timescale leading up to the complete recession of the moon tide that leads the story on a very twisted landscape and slowly the readers realize as to what all is truly happening. The end two hundred pages are choc-a-bloc with action, political intrigue, character treachery and much more happening on a grand stage. 
The author has showcased a world that’s violent, dark and as possibly as ambiguous as ours. There are no truly clear-cut characters as most of them have shades of good or bad but the good ones do end up doing things that aren’t entirely befitting their natures and the evil ones do things that cannot be construed as completely evil. Of course there are a couple of ones that are just plain old evil/megalomaniacal and they provide impetus to the political & magical twists to the main plot. 

This book has the best parts of the epic fantasy genre and adding to that also has a conflict that promises to be epic but is also grounded in moral ambiguity that is prevalent so much in the current geo-political scenarios of our world. There’s also the multivariate character cast that will keep the readers occupied with their antics and actions that enthrall and keep the readers hooked on to their chapters. 
The author has managed to bring about a mirror to the complex and fascinating historical conflicts that occurred during the middle ages and gives it a drastic mystical kick to stir up a hornet’s nest. This is the first volume in a tremendously exciting series and one, which I’ll be following with great interest in the next few years.  

David Weber's Shadow of Freedom and a June detailed interview with him in Poland (with comments by Liviu Suciu)

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Now that Shadow of Freedom has been released in earc form to the public and I have already read it three times and gone through earlier Honorverse novels and novellas that connect to it, the usual conundrum about when to talk about it in detail here asserted itself (now when I am really excited about the book or next year in late February when the final book is out and for me it is old news as I am looking forward to the new installments including the first companion volume, House of Steel, and the projected 6th anthology in addition to the new novels). 
So in a compromise, I will present my short thoughts now and a more complete review next year. No real spoilers for Shadow of Freedom, but of course spoilers galore for the series to date...
"Moreover, Mesa couldn’t manipulate the League into such actions if the League weren’t already primed for them and corrupt enough to find them a comfortable fit.”
This quote from Shadow of Freedom ties in with the thoughts of David Weber about how the Honorverse would have looked like without the Alignment manipulations as expressed in the interview below (Part IV) and is one of the really cool tidbits you will find there,
Early thoughts:  Shadow of Freedom 
- length, yes very short; I discount David Weber's books to about 2/3 size due to repetitions and the info dumps (here there is a Detweiler chapter c/p from earlier work with a few crucial words added but also some other stuff that is c/p and is less interesting like the full chapter 6 which really could have been skipped), so the book at about 420 pages felt like an under 300 page one, but those ~300 pages were really, really good, better than 4-500 pages from almost anyone else.

- lots of new beginnings and new characters which I actually like; gives one the idea of both how big the Solarian League and its "protectorates" are and why the series will last another 10 novels or more and this is again a huge positive for me.

- lots of great moments both funny and sad; the desperate resistance movements and the "now we have stopped trying to get you to see reason and it's five minutes to abandon your ships or die" were highlights, but the most I enjoyed the last part with the two "rats" and their escape attempt(s) and the:
 "Of course, at the moment I haven’t found anything that wasn’t your fault, but I’m sure if we keep looking long enough we’ll find someone else who screwed up almost as egregiously as you guys" 
which is another Weberian quote for the ages.

Another great quote was when they were asking Helen about the Mesan allegation that her father blew up Green Pines with a nuke (can read it all as this stuff is chapter 3 which is available in the sample) and after giving the usual reasons why she does not believe it, she ends with the unforgettable:
 "if he was in a city-killing mode..., trust me, the hole would’ve been a hell of a lot deeper!”

 Overall Shadow of Freedom is an excellent series installment, it will be a top 25 of mine for 2013 and the book will become even better when the next few books are released and we will be able to appreciate the subtler touches even better.

For example it pays going back and reading the first few chapters of The Shadow of Saganami and reflecting on the fates (to date of course) of the eight participants at the (in)famous meeting from chapter 5 ( just as a refresher they were: Commissioner Verrochio, the Solarian sector governor of Madras, a multi-system, Verge protectorate of the SL, vice-commissioner Hongbo, Aldona Anisimovna and Isabel Bardassano, high powered - though of course how high we had no clue at the time - agents of Mesa, Brigadier General Francisca Yurcel, the chief enforcer of Verocchio, Valery Ottweiler, the Mesan government representative, trillionaire magnate Kalokainos of Earth and major weapons dealer Levakonic of the Solarian League's major multistellar Technodyne Inc) or to the (very ironic in retrospect) paragraphs from just before that part, at the end of chapter 4 form the same book!
"Maybe you're right, Terence," he sighed. "We've got to prioritize somehow, and Earl White Haven's been as clear about that as anyone could ask. First, the front and our main combat formations. Second, the integration of our share of Silesia into the Star Kingdom. Third, commerce protection. And Talbott comes fourth. Not because it's unimportant, but because it's less important—or at least less vital—than the others . . . and so much less likely to turn around and bite us on the ass. At least everyone there got to vote on their future!"
And, Terence Shaw added silently, whether the Government wants to admit it publicly or not, Talbott isn't going to be a matter of life or death for the Star Kingdom, whatever happens there. I hope. Cortez sat drumming on his desk with his fingers for a moment, then shrugged.
"All right. I'm still not entirely happy about it, but someone has to draw the Talbott duty, and Lord knows they need at least a few modern ships on the station, whatever happens. And Khumalo does need someone with diplomatic experience who can also help him think unconventionally. And maybe you're right. Maybe Terekhov really does need—or deserve, at least—the opportunity to get back up on the horse on a fairly quiet station."

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Here are the interview videos with a quick summary for each from my recollections - all worth watching of course
Part I (general stuff, thoughts on the new publishing landscape, tidbits about Safehold and the Honorverse - including the usual stuff about the original ending of At All Costs and the gradual revelations of the Alignment versus how the books turned out and what this means for the future, while regarding Safehold, noting how the original plan was book 1, Haarahld and galleons, book 2, Cayleb and battleships, book 3, Queen Naimu and aircraft carriers, and why this would not have worked)


 Part II (details about Safehold - 2,3  more books about current war, 3-4 books about the revelations from Charis and then dealing with Gbaba - details about the Honorverse)


Part III (details about Bazhell, current and future - one more book in the current arc, five book series to follow and conclude)


Part IV (details about the movie and the future of his other series - he hopes to solve the conundrum about Multiverse and collaborator's Linda Evans health issues that slowed the series down and have volume 3 out in the next 2-3 years, plans for more Path of the fury and Dahak books...; also the state of Prince Roger's series and how DW and John Ringo met and plotted the trilogy that will bring a good closure to the series with of course more to come if wanted/needed.
 More tidbits including his view of how the Honorverse would have evolved without the Alignment manipulations, view that is shown clearly in the quote above from Shadow of Freedom and more interesting stuff - some will be familiar if you follow DW's posts as "runsforcelery" on the DW forums, but new stuff too at least for me)



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Official David Weber Site/ForumsThe Honorverse WikipediaOrder Shadow of Freedom E-arc HERE or Read First 9 ChaptersRead FBC's An Invitation to David Weber's HonorverseRead FBC Review of At All CostsRead FBC Review of Storm from the Shadow and Mission of HonorRead FBC Review of A Rising Thunder
Read FBC Interview with David WeberRead FBC Review of Midst Toil and Tribulation Read FBC Review of By Schism Rent AsunderRead FBC Review of By Heresies DistressedRead FBC Review of A Mighty FortressRead FBC Review of How Firm a Foundation

Prey and Anathema by Tim Marquitz (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

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Official Author Website Order the book HERERead FBC's Review of Armageddon Bound Read FBC's Review of Resurrection Read FBC’s Review of At The Gates Read FBC's Review of Echoes Of The Past 
Read FBC's Review of Skulls
Read FBC's Review of Sepulchral Earth: The Long Road
Read FBC's Review of Sepulchral Earth: Temple Of The Dead
Read FBC's Review of Fading LightRead FBC's Interview with Tim Marquitz 
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Tim Marquitz is the author of the Demon Squad series, and the Sepulchral Earth serial stories. He is also an editor, a heavy metal aficionado, a Mixed Martial Arts fan, and is also a member of the Live Action Role Playing organization. When he’s not busy writing dark stories, which catch his imagination he also manages to go about his day job. Tim lives in El Paso, Texas with his wonderful family. 

OFFICIAL BLURB:
 Prey: A young, homeless man arrested for a gruesome crime; a respected politician bound for higher office; detective Shane Calvin finds himself caught in the middle as two seemingly disparate lives collide, the weight of their secrets threatening to destroy them all.
 Anathema: Chemist Jerrod Dawkins has lost everything: his job, his reputation, and his family. After a failed suicide attempt, he learns that an envious co-worker masterminded his downfall, and he vows revenge. Jerrod manufactures a virus and turns it loose on his former friend, unleashing far more than he intended.

Prey and Anathema are two dark and disturbing novellas from the author of the Demon Squad series, Tim Marquitz, which explore the concepts of despair, revenge, and self-centered destruction. Don’t be surprised if you are shocked by the depravity of the human heart—as well as it’s resilience in the face of horror—after reading these novellas. 
FORMAT/INFO:  Prey-Anathema is 156 pages long divided into two novellas. Prey is further divided into twenty-eight chapters and Anathema into eight. Narration is in the first-person, exclusively Shane Calvin in Prey and in third person via Jerrod Dawkins for Anathema. They are both standalone stories.

September 27, 2012 marked the e-book and paperback publication of Prey-Anathema by Genius Book Publishing. Cover art is provided by M. Wayne Miller.

ANALYSIS: Tim Marquitz has been a Jack-of-all-trades in regards to his writing; previously he made his debut in urban fantasy then quietly slipped in a couple post-apocalyptic horror novellas and also dabbled with a dark YA book. After that he lent his devious mind to epic fantasy and finally even donned the editorial hat to give us a fantastic anthology about the rise of monsters and the decline of humanity from the Earth’s totem pole. This is another’s of Tim’s experiments wherein he is mixing horror & noir genres along with his own writing style to give us these two novellas Prey and Anathema.
Prey focuses on detective Shane Calvin and his most recent case, a case that will blow the lid off the mind of its denizens and then some. He and his partner were called to an abandoned place and its there that Tim lets loose his dark imagination and we get to witness one of the most disturbing scenes that I have ever read. Its gruesomeness can never be described aptly and so I would request readers to tighten their stomachs before reading it. The story then absolutely twists away from that very scene as each new chapter brings new revelations none however that take away any of the darkness from it though. The story further down makes the reader confused as to what has been truly happening and thus is very much in line with SE7EN for its psychological horror and The Treatment by Mo Hayder because of the similarity of the horrific content and prose.
The second novella Anathema deals with Jerrod Dawkins who has been divorced from his wife Elizabeth after a video has arisen of him getting blown by another woman. Not being able to defend his position leads him to being divorced from his wife, separated from his kids and removed from his job. Thus with no prospects of any future happiness he contemplates ending his life however he comes across a revelation that changes his thoughts about his infidelity. He learns that someone masterminded it and thus he sets upon a path to revenge and trying to regain his family.
Both these novels focus on the idea of revenge, that it can lead people to do things that they normally would never ever contemplate. It’s this emotion that powers certain individuals in both stories. They plan and execute certain things that lead to the devious and morbid events seen in the stories. Tim luridly showcases the extent to which revenge can shape a human mind and how the person descends into darkness to achieve their ends. Revenge is one of the basest emotions and one, which was vibrantly showcased in the classic The Count Of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Edmond Dantes was the original wronged man who moved heaven and hell to exact his revenge. These stories feature characters who have been similarly wronged and they take upon themselves the onus to do what they deem is right.
With both stories focusing on such characters, characterization becomes a vital point and Tim doesn't disappoint with it. In the first story, the author gives us a first person narrative that easily reveals the disgust, revulsion and many other emotions felt by the narrator. These emotions will be mirrored by the reader and they help in intensifying the bond with the story. The readers are in for a surprise and the way the story is set up, it won't be what you think. The second story has a third person narrative and showcases Jerrod who has lost it all and within his mental abyss finds the spark to claw back to defeat his enemy. The change from first person to third wasn't a jarring one however I felt maybe this story would have benefited from a first person approach as it would show how deep Jerrod's mental wounds go.
The author then lets fly his dark side as the reader witnesses the schemes within schemes and finally when all is revealed, the reader might find a modicum of sympathy in their hearts for all that has happened. These stories allow the author to explore the darker side of humanity and it doesn't make for a pleasant scene. Especially with the first novella the author unleashes all of his thoughts and makes the reader stumble continuously with the plot twists. Be assured that what might be apparent in the start is definitely not the whole story. The author had stated that with Prey he wanted to write a story wherein the reader’s perception about a certain character would do a big 180-degree turn from the start to the finish. I’m pleased to report that this is indeed the case and many of the readers will be shocked at the final twist as well.

The only dissonances I felt with the story was in regards to the length. I'm not too fond of short stories and therefore I feel its my personal choice which comes into question in regards to the length of the story. In regards to the first novella, the author was trying to get a compact story that wouldn't have any other interludes to the main plot. The story begins with a physically horrifying scene and ends on a emotionally scarring one. The pace of the story is such that the reader feels compelled to keep turning the pages to see what happens next. So in regards to the length, I felt this could have worked as a longer story as well but ultimately its the author's prerogative and in this case works soundly as well.
CONCLUSION: Tim Marquitz is a writer who loves to explore the darker side of human emotions, all of his previous stories have often catered to these themes and with these two novellas he proves once again there is often more to heaven and hell than Horatio or any of us can presume to know. Give this collection a read if you like to read the darker sides of fiction or if you’re a fan of psychological horror. Prey-Anathema will fit right in within the club of stories that might upset you but to not try them will defeat the purpose of the author to beguile the reader with his dark twisted tales.

"Zoo Time" by Howard Jacobson (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

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Howard Jacobson at WikipediaOrder Zoo Time HERE
INTRODUCTION: The only novel that I have previously read from Howard Jacobson was his 2010 Booker winning The Finkler Question, which I found quite funny and entertaining for its first half or so, but then its descent into political stuff and the author's barely veiled personal opinions on such that were inserted there, turned me off in the last part.
So Zoo Time was not that high on my priority list, but a few weeks ago when in a mood to read something funny I requested a review copy on a whim from Net Galley, and I was surprised at how I could not put the book down when I started reading it. 
As with The Teleportation Accident before, a warning: do not read Zoo Time while drinking water or eating as you may choke from laughing!
"Novelist Guy Ableman is in thrall to his vivacious wife Vanessa, a strikingly beautiful red-head, contrary, highly strung and blazingly angry. The trouble is, he is no less in thrall to her alluring mother, Poppy. More like sisters than mother and daughter, they come as a pair, a blistering presence that destroys Guy's peace of mind, suggesting the wildest stories but making it impossible for him to concentrate long enough to write any of them. Not that anyone reads Guy, anyway. 

Not that anyone is reading anything. Reading, Guy fears, is finished. His publisher, fearing the same, has committed suicide. His agent, like all agents, is in hiding. Vanessa, in the meantime, is writing a novel of her own. Guy doesn't expect her to finish it, or even start it, but he dreads the consequences if she does. 

In flight from personal disappointment and universal despair, Guy wonders if it's time to take his love for Poppy to another level. Fiction might be dead, but desire isn't. And out of that desire he imagines squeezing one more great book. By turns angry, elegiac and rude, Zoo Time is a novel about love - love of women, love of literature, love of laughter. It shows our funniest writer at his brilliant best."
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Zoo Time is an utterly funny novel for about two thirds, while its last part becomes moving drama with terminal illnesses and tragedy and offers a good emotional counterbalance to the more farce-like earlier content. The author lets it rip and pulls no punches in the words of alter-ego, (former bestselling), "literary" writer Guy Ableman whose first person narrative we follow throughout the book.
Making his splash with "Who Gives a Monkey’s" a funny novel about zookeepers and some of their alleged weirder practices about whom he had learned from a former girlfriend, Guy, former salesman in his family high end clothes shop, got the girl (Vanessa), the fame and the literary career he had always wanted, only for things to start unraveling with the present day "revolution" in publishing and the changing tastes of the readers towards genre...  While the following may strike some as overwritten hyperbola, anybody who follows more closely the "reading universe" - the whole reviews, forums, Goodreads, blogs etc scene - will actually find this paragraph very familiar:
"‘I’m gratified you found her death moving,’ I said.
She was quivering with that rage you encounter only among readers. Was it because reading as a civilized activity was over that the last people doing it were reduced to such fury with every page they turned? Was this the final paroxysm before expiry?
‘Moved?’ I feared she might strike me with my berk. ‘Who said I was moved? I was envious. I identified with her because I’d been wishing I was dead from the first word.""  Not that the writing profession, the editors or the publishers get a gentler treatment:

""Even allowing for my naivety, that’s a measure of how things have changed in twenty years. Then, no matter with what foundation in truth, it was possible to believe that being a writer was a glamorous occupation, that two beautiful women might travel up again from Knutsford sometime soon to renew their acquaintance with a man in whose head words cavorted like the Ballets Russes.
Now, one has to apologize for having read a book, let alone for having written one. Food and fashion have left fiction far behind.
‘I sell suits by Marc Jacobs in Wilmslow,’ I’d say today if I wanted to impress a woman, ‘and when I’m not doing that I’m practising to be a short-order chef at Baslow Hall. This fiction shit is just a way of killing time.’"

And for good measure the current rage in YA gets its skewering - the chapter dealing with that is just hilarious but as I can quote only a few lines, its beginning below should give you a feel for how it goes:
"The subject of the Oxford symposium I’d bolted from was the role of children’s literature. In what? The education of children? There was no education of children. If there was education of children – if there were education of children – there’d be proof of it in educated adults. 

But then what did I know? I’d been invited only to be publicly humiliated – an adult sacrifice on the altar of the adolescent paragraph. The short, adolescent paragraph."
Overall, if you appreciate a good rant with a lot of uncomfortable truths about this or that aspect of the reading universe, you will greatly enjoy Zoo Time (highly recommended novel of 2012 for me), otherwise, the "now I won the Booker, I can let it rip and show what I really think" aspect may make one wish they did not read this book, so beware!

Win an autographed copy of Joe Abercrombie's RED COUNTRY

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Thanks to Joe Abercrombie, I have two signed copies of the forthcoming Red Country up for grabs! For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Here's the blurb:

They burned her home.

They stole her brother and sister.

But vengeance is following.

Shy South hoped to bury her bloody past and ride away smiling, but she’ll have to sharpen up some bad old ways to get her family back, and she’s not a woman to flinch from what needs doing. She sets off in pursuit with only a pair of oxen and her cowardly old stepfather Lamb for company. But it turns out Lamb’s buried a bloody past of his own, and out in the lawless Far Country, the past never stays buried.

Their journey will take them across the barren plains to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feud, duel and massacre, high into the unmapped mountains to a reckoning with the Ghosts. Even worse, it will force them into alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune, and his feckless lawyer Temple, two men no one should ever have to trust. . .

The rules are the same as usual. You need to send an email at reviews@(no-spam)gryphonwood.net with the header "RED." Remember to remove the "no spam" thingy.

Second, your email must contain your full mailing address (that's snail mail!), otherwise your message will be deleted.

Lastly, multiple entries will disqualify whoever sends them. And please include your screen name and the message boards that you frequent using it, if you do hang out on a particular MB.

Good luck to all the participants!

Win a copy of Justin Cronin's THE TWELVE

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I received an extra copy of Justin Cronin's The Twelve, sequel to the bestseller The Passage (Canada, USA, Europe), so I'm giving it away to one lucky winner! For more information about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Here's the blurb:

In his internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed novel The Passage, Justin Cronin constructed an unforgettable world transformed by a government experiment gone horribly wrong. Now the scope widens and the intensity deepens as the epic story surges forward with . . .

THE TWELVE

In the present day, as the man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child’s arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as “Last Stand in Denver,” has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned—and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.

One hundred years in the future, Amy and the others fight on for humankind’s salvation . . . unaware that the rules have changed. The enemy has evolved, and a dark new order has arisen with a vision of the future infinitely more horrifying than man’s extinction. If the Twelve are to fall, one of those united to vanquish them will have to pay the ultimate price.

A heart-stopping thriller rendered with masterful literary skill, The Twelve is a grand and gripping tale of sacrifice and survival.

The rules are the same as usual. You need to send an email at reviews@(no-spam)gryphonwood.net with the header "TWELVE." Remember to remove the "no spam" thingy.

Second, your email must contain your full mailing address (that's snail mail!), otherwise your message will be deleted.

Lastly, multiple entries will disqualify whoever sends them. And please include your screen name and the message boards that you frequent using it, if you do hang out on a particular MB.

Good luck to all the participants!

You can read an extract here.

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (October 1st)

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In hardcover:

David Weber’s Midst Toil and Tribulation debuts at number 10. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

George R. R. Martin's A Dance With Dragons is down one spot, finishing the week at number 13. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Brent Weeks' The Blinding Knife is down nine positions, ending the week at number 20. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Deborah Harkness’s Shadow of Night is down three spots, finishing the week at number 26. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Dean Koontz’ Odd Apocalypse is down five positions, ending the week at number 30.

In paperback:

David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas maintains its position at number 5 (trade paperback).

George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones is up one position, ending the week at number 6.

George R. R. Martin's A Storm of Swords is up two spots, finishing the week at number 9.

George R. R. Martin's A Feast for Crows maintains its position at number 10.

George R. R. Martin's A Clash of Kings is up one position, ending the week at number 12.

Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus is down one position, ending the week at number 15 (trade paperback).

Stephen King's 11/22/63 is down four positions, ending the week at number 16 (trade paperback).

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is down seventeen spots, finishing the week at number 31.

Deborah E. Harkness' A Discovery of Witches returns at number 35 (trade paperback).