Karsa Orlong

The Final Empire - Mistborn Book 1 by Brandon Sanderson Amazon blurb: "A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash fields. But now a troublemaker has arrived and there is rumour of revolt. A revolt that depends on criminal that no-one can trust and a young girl who must master Allomancy - the magic that lies in all metals." I've had this book sitting on the shelf for ages and not got around to reading it. I was putting off reading any other fantasy series until I'd finished the Malazan books. Coming to this after Erikson's novels didn't feel like the step down I thought it would. Sanderson's got a nice easy writing style that flows well and, I assume, has developed further since this novel. The story itself is, despite all claims to the contrary, quite standard, and I saw the final twist coming a mile off, but still it's very enjoyable if a little overlong. Vin is a terrific character, who really comes alive on the page, and the book is at its best when she's around, whether she's spying at a nobleman's dance, or leaping through the sky using Allomancy. Unfortunately, the supporting cast are all a little thin, not really providing the gravitas that I suspect Sanderson was aiming for. I found Kelsier particularly annoying for the majority of the book. He has the reasons for doing what he does, but at no time did I actually feel he was capable of doing it, despite the fact that the predicted events were occurring. He's so deliberately enigmatic that it just gave me the impression that Sanderson didn't know how to convey the character that he had in his mind. But enough gripes. The thing that really makes this novel tick is the magic system. It's original, it's innovative, and it leads to some really thrilling sequences that Sanderson pulls off to perfection. It's so good, in fact, that I almost suspect that the rest of the book was created just to frame this brilliant idea. I'm really hoping that the other two books in the trilogy kick things up a level or two. I can see the potential there, and I'm really hoping that he managed to harness it. Looking forward to reading the next one. 8/10

Neil Gaiman on the delays to A Dance With Dragons "George is not your bitch"

That was exactly how I felt about that book! I was so annoyed with myself for buying all three - and I never bothered with the other two I'm currently 300 pages into Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan. It's historical fantasy, no magic or orcs or elves, just a story about what is effectively a re-invention of medieval Spain. And it's marvellous; wonderful, wonderful characters and beautifully written. It's the sort of book that makes me very jealous because I can't write even a tenth as well as he does

Ordered three more Guy Gavriel Kay novels from Amazon: The Last Light of the Sun, Sailing To Sarantium and Lord of Emperors. Thought I might as well get them while they were in stock, as his books always seem to be hard to come by. Although I could've got the Kindle versions, I suppose, but seeing as I've already got physical copies of some of his other books I kind've wanted to keep collecting these

Totally agree, Vinay! But, on the positive side, the next book is out in July and maybe - if the tv show is a success - it'll put pressure on him to get it finished I see the first book has been re-issued with Sean Bean on the cover, as Eddard Stark sitting on the Iron Throne. I'm still wondering, though, why it's now called 'Game of Thrones' instead of 'A Game of Thrones', like it always has been until now

The HBO series based on George R.R. Martin's brilliant books starts in the US on 17th April and in the UK on Sky Atlantic the following day. Watch the first 14 minutes of the opening episode here: HBO Official Site Slightly dodgy acting aside, it starts just like the book and looks awesome!

If you haven't read it, try Magician by Raymond E Feist - it has elves and dwarves in it, but apart from that it's one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time, and is the first book in a series. Then there's A Darkness Forged In Fire by Chris Evans and Once Walked With Gods by James Barclay. You could also try Orcs by Stan Nicholls, or the 'Dragonlance' books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

Thanks Ooshie! And please do give him a try, you won't regret it Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane A friend bought me two hardbacks for my birthday, the next C J Sansom (Heartstone) and this one. He's long raved about Dennis Lehane to me, but I have never read any of his stuff before, so a couple of problems arose here: my friend obviously didn't realise this is a sequel to Gone Baby, Gone, and I didn't even realise it until I'd finished this book and read some reviews. Did it affect my enjoyment? Well, judging by the reviews on Amazon, I would have liked this book a lot less had I read the previous novel(s) about these characters first. I must admit, having seen the movie versions of Mystic River and Shutter Island, I was expecting something a lot more complex and disturbing. Moonlight Mile is none of those. It's a straight ahead mystery/thriller. It's brief, and moves really quickly. I really liked Lehane's writing style. It's great when an author has a distinctive voice, and I think he does. There's an almost laconic edge to it, and the better characters come across really well, especially their senses of humour. He also uses them as mouthpieces for his views on various aspects of society. However, even to me, this has the feeling of being something of a throwaway novel, one the author rattled off quickly to fulfill a contractual agreement. It's almost over before it begins, and the solution to the problem is so contrived it's almost annoying. The plot? Well, it's about the same girl who was kidnapped in Gone Baby, Gone when she was four years old. Now it's twelve years later and she disappears again and Patrick Kenzie, the detective who found her the first time around, vows to find her again. Along the way he gets involved with drug dealers and the Russian mob. 7/10

Oh yes, it has got better and better. Only two episodes left to watch now.

Just seen that some of Guy Gavriel Kay's books have been re-issued here in the UK, so had to get my own copy of his magnificent Tigana, which I borrowed from a friend last year, and also Under Heaven, which I haven't read before

Revelation by C J Sansom In Sansom's fourth Matthew Shardlake novel we find our Tudor lawyer once again caught in the middle of a dangerous situation. When his friend is murdered in a particularly gruesome manner, Shardlake vows to the man's wife that he will find the killer. Naturally, it isn't that easy, and soon the bodies begin to mount up and Shardlake and his assistant Barak find themselves with a full-blown serial killer on their hands. All this is set against the backdrop of Henry VIII's continued meddling in all things religious, and his obsession with Catherine Parr. If I have one negative comment (and I'll get it out of the way first) it's that Sansom does seem to hammer you in the head with clues in the book. It didn't mean that I guessed what was going on, but he does say on several occasions that something is reminding Shardlake of something else, etc. It's a minor niggle. Apart from that, and much like Jo Nesbo, Sansom's standards never seem to drop. This is a gripping novel, full of twists and turns, brilliant characters, and an atmosphere that seems to permeate the pages. Sansom's writing flows as beautifully as ever. His characterisation is wonderful. Shardlake, as always, is a flawed character, full of doubts and anger, which sometimes come to the surface at the worst times. Barak and Guy provide able support, and both have their own sub-plots that wind the way through the book. Other returning characters include Thomas Cranmer and the wonderfully infuriating Bealknap, who basically just makes me want to kick him Of the new characters, I really liked the coroner, Harsnet, who was beautifully fleshed out from what seemed to be a fairly standard introduction, and Ellen, who works at the Bedlam and helps to look after one of Shardlake's clients. And then there's the 16th century London setting which I love, especially as this novel is set in the area where I work. I loved looking at the map at the start of the book. Every day I come out of Chancery Lane tube station, walk down Fetter Lane and across to Shoe Lane and down to Fleet Street. I can see Ludgate Hill and St Paul's from the office window. In some ways it's hard to imagine these streets without buses and taxis and tall buildings, but Sansom's descriptions really make Tudor times live and breathe. It proves to be a very dangerous and uneasy place, full of dark nooks and crannies, no street lights, beggars and thieves at every corner. Just like now, really If you like your modern day crime novels and thrillers and fancy trying something a little different, look no further. These books are superb. 9/10

Glad you enjoyed it!

Yesterday I bought: The Well of Ascension (Mistborn Book 2) and The Hero of Ages (Mistborn Book 3) by Brandon Sanderson American Gods by Neil Gaiman 3 for 2 in Waterstones. I think they are the first treebooks I've bought this year, everything else has been Kindle-fied.

He's a she - common mistake!

Don't worry - I won't get to it for a while, just thought I'd get the sample while I thought of it

Ooh, that sounds interesting <<orders Kindle sample>>

Yeah, ditto I must re-read it when the series is on.

Me too. As Saturday evening entertainment goes, I much prefer it to Doctor Who, I must admit Watched Law & Order UK last night.

Same here. I thought the first two Farseer books were good, the third one dragged immensely, and I read the first Liveship book but have had no inclination to return as yet, although I do have the other two in that trilogy on the shelf so shall get to them at some point.

^^ The tv version of A Song of Ice & Fire hasn't aired yet, has it? A bit early to judge that one, I reckon

Hey no problem Don't say I didn't warn you about The Religion though!

Sorry to hear that. It does seem to be an ongoing problem, judging by the Amazon forums, with people who bought theirs anywhere between September and now encountering it. I haven't encountered it yet but it's starting to feel almost inevitable.

I've reviewed the final book here

The Crippled God - the tenth and final Tale of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain Ten novels. Eleven thousand pages. Somewhere around three million words. When I first saw a Steven Erikson book in Waterstones and went away to look him up I really didn't know what I was letting myself in for. Now here I am, less than two years later, having read them all (and most of them twice), and it's finally over. First things first: The Crippled God is a HUGE book and, for its first half, I didn't think I was going to like it. Much like Reaper's Gale and Dust of Dreams, there is a lot of talk to start off with, a lot of build up, a lot of conversations between lesser characters - the grunts, if you will: Erikson has always told his stories from the points of view of the lowliest soldiers, rather than Kings and Queens. The problem is that, as he invariably kills off large chunks of characters in each book, the ones we are left with, by and large, aren't quite as familiar (or good) as those that have, erm, fallen along the way. Adjunct Tavore, is leading her army of Bonehunters and their various allies to a final confrontation with an elder race, and a few gods, and a hell of a lot of dragons. Much of the first half of the book is about the armies making their way east towards Kolanse, and the suffering they go through on the way. This is fine in theory but in practice it goes on a bit too long. Then, suddenly, about half way through, it's like Erikson flicks a switch, shifts through the gears, and suddenly he's back in the groove that I thought maybe he'd left behind at about book six. It suddenly gets very exciting, and he starts pulling together plot threads from the entire length of the series. Characters I thought he had forgotten about, and had been wishing would turn up, turned up. Suddenly I was reading with a big grin on my face, despite the odds facing my favourite heroes and villains. Suddenly it becomes a novel of epic, awe-inspiring moments of invention and quieter moments of humour and emotion. It's Erikson back to his best. There's a scene where a rift to another realm tears open - and, in so doing, unleashes the long-lost dragons upon the world - that is so well-written that the terror is almost palpable. In another, that mysterious, sly mage Quick Ben strides into battle against the Forkrul Assail, opening gateways here there and everywhere through which to send an assassin to deal with them. And then there is the last stand of The Bonehunters, against insurmountable odds. It's pulse-pounding stuff. Then he turns to the intimate: a father betrayed by his people and then reunited with the children he thought dead; a woman damned to live for hundreds of years who gets one final moment with the ghost of her long-dead lover; the brother and sister reunited after years apart; the soldier who gives up his life to save a dog. The list goes on. It sounds a little trite when I write it down but, in Erikson's hands, I read all of it through misty eyes Yes, there are still unanswered questions after the final page is turned. I, for one, couldn't help wondering what happened to Laseen and her lackies back in Malaz City. But, still, I suspect that maybe that has been left for Ian Esslemont to deal with in his companion series. Perhaps that's too easy an answer, and perhaps it shouldn't be so, but at the moment I'm willing to forgive Erikson all his foibles, all his maddening unexplained events and over-wrought self-indulgence. Scoring this book is very difficult. Based on its own merits, the first half would get a 6, whilst the second half would get a 10. As a finale to such a mammoth series it would get an 11. It's that good. In the end these tales of The Malazan Book of the Fallen get the grandest of send-offs. I can't imagine that, given the scope of everything he has attempted over these ten novels, Erikson could have come up with anything closer to the perfect ending, even down to the two epilogues and a final poem which left a huge lump in my throat. He has delivered the most epic, sprawling, original, inventive, infuriating, exhilarating, amusing, confusing, heartbreaking, uplifting and uncompromising series that I have ever read. And, perhaps most (and best) of all, he did it his way.

Inception. Thought it was very good