Steve's Bookshelf 2014

[Karsa Orlong]

I really liked Cloverfield.  Nothing to do with Lizzy Caplan.  Nope.

 

I would've enjoyed Blair Witch Project more if it hadn't had all the hype - I watched it waiting to be scared and it never happened.  I think if I'd caught it late night on tv and known nothing about it beforehand it may well have scared the bejesus out of me

 

 

Just paid a quick visit to Forbidden Planet and got the third Vorkosigan Saga omnibus:

 

 

The cover, as you can see, is absolutely bloody awful, so I had to find the biggest image of it I could just so I'm not the only one who has to endure it.  Go on, click on it - I dares ya     I'm trying to persuade myself that the embarrassment of that cover is justified by the fact it cost £5.99, whereas to get the Kindle editions of the two novels and one novella included would cost £12.62.  I'm not sure it's working yet

 

 

ETA: the two novels included in the omnibus are Cetaganda and Ethan of Athos, and the novella is called 'Labyrinth'.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Karsa Orlong

[Timstar]

Go on, click on it - I dares ya     

 

I did... I regretted it. Tragic!

[Karsa Orlong]

I'm considering covering it in wallpaper, like I used to do with my schoolbooks

[Timstar]

definitely cover it with something!

[Signor Finzione]

That's one of the worst covers I've ever seen. Great bargain though!

 

No need to be snotty about it

 

Like the girl in Blair Witch? 

[Karsa Orlong]

 

Like the girl in Blair Witch? 

 

Kind of my point!

[Athena]

I clicked on it.. it's not a good looking cover. I hope you enjoy the stories/books inside, that matters even more than the cover.

 

EDIT: Isn't it stupid the Kindle version costs so much more? I'd definitely buy the paper book (I prefer them anyway).

Edited April 17, 2014 by Athena

[Karsa Orlong]

EDIT: Isn't it stupid the Kindle version costs so much more?

 

Yeah, they're taking the pee because the paperbacks aren't published in the UK

[Athena]

Yeah, they're taking the pee because the paperbacks aren't published in the UK

x

Typical ..

 

I hope you enjoy the book(s) .

[Little Pixie]

*waves*

 

Hi Sarah, hope you're doing okay

 

*Waves back *

 

Fine thanks, besides the stooopid shoulder. How`s you ?    

 

BTW, I may have cackled at your book cover.   I bought this one recenly, it`s almost as bad.

[Karsa Orlong]

*Waves back *

 

Fine thanks, besides the stooopid shoulder. How`s you ? 

I'm fine, thanks    Apart from the man flu    Sorry to hear your shoulder's no better

 

 

 

BTW, I may have cackled at your book cover.   I bought this one recenly, it`s almost as bad.

 

Whatever happens, neither of them are as bad as these

[Signor Finzione]

Whatever happens, neither of them are as bad as these

 

They're amazing!

[Karsa Orlong]

I think Roger Welsch deserves a prize for having two books on the list

[Karsa Orlong]

# 27

 

The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell

 

 

 

2009 - HarperCollins ebook - 352 pages

 

 

From Amazon:

 

In the last years of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in failing health, and his heir is an untested youth. The Danes, who have failed so many times to conquer Wessex, smell opportunity…

 

Thoughts:

 

This is the fifth book in Cornwell's 'Warrior Chronicles' and it is, mostly, up to the usual high standard.  Told in the first person, from the viewpoint of Uhtred, son of a Saxon lord and brought up by Vikings, Cornwell once again takes great pleasure in putting him between a rock and a hard place.

 

The year is 892 and Uhtred, sworn to King Alfred and (despite the protests of those around Alfred) his most important warlord, finds himself trapped in Lundene, ordered to protect the city whilst two hordes of Danes ransack Wessex and Alfred's son-in-law, Aethelred, sits with his army and does nothing.  Finally, when Uhtred is sent to deliver a message to one of the Danish Jarls, Haesten, it opens the way for an attack on the larger force, and it is here that Uhtred first encounters Skade, woman to the Jarl called Harald, a formidable fighter in her own right, and completely merciless.  Skade's name threw me a bit as, not only is it a derivation of the name of a Norse goddess, but it was also the name of one of the best characters in Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space books.  Both characters are pretty evil!

 

Learning how Uhtred works and manipulates each situation, and whether or not his plans succeed, is part of the fun of these books, I find, but I also found that this one started to feel a little repetitive.  Maybe it's the law of diminishing returns finally setting in.  I found Cornwell's writing as brilliantly readable as ever, and the characters and action are fantastic, and the twists are constantly suprising. 

 

However, the nature of Uhtred's upbringing, which effectively allows Cornwell to tell the story from both the Saxon and Danish perspectives, means he is constantly changing sides to the point where it started to lack a little credibility, I thought.  Cornwell does his best to convince but, in the end, it just happened once too many times, in my opinion.  Also, Uhtred, with all his arrogance and his imposing reputation, seems to shag every female character who makes an appearance.  He's like Captain Kirk with chain mail.  On this occasion I found it's becoming a bit formulaic, and I'm knocking my score down a couple of marks accordingly. 

 

Those gripes aside, it's business as usual, and it's difficult not to get swept along by Cornwell's bravura storytelling.  I now need to decide whether to buy the next two books in this series and get up to date with it, or to make a start on the Sharpe novels that I've already bought.  Decisions, decisions!

 

 

7/10

[Karsa Orlong]

# 28

 

The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga Book 3) by Lois McMaster Bujold

 

   

 

 

1986 - Baen paperback - 373 pages

 

 

Thoughts:

 

I couldn't find a blurb for this one that wasn't very spoilery   This is the third book in the Vorkosigan Saga, going by the series internal chronology, but it was actually Bujold's second published novel, and is the first to feature the series' main character, Miles Vorkosigan, in the leading role.

 

The story begins as Miles, now 17 years old, is attempting to pass the entry examinations for the Barrayaran Military Academy.  He is desperate to live up to his family's long and proud military history.  The problem is, he has been disabled since birth and his stunted growth and fragile body have proved a neverending obstacle on a planet where any form of physical disability is frowned upon leading, at best, to the individual being shunned or, at worst, to the child being killed at birth.

 

It's not surprising but still somehow shocking, therefore, when Miles promptly breaks both his legs when forced to undertake the Academy assault course without his leg brace.  Thus failing his attempt to enter the military, he is left at a loose end and his mother, Cordelia (the main character from the previous novels), suggests a trip to visit his grandmother on her home planet, Beta Colony.  This ties in nicely with Miles's infatuation with his bodyguard Bothari's daughter, Elena, and his attempts to unravel the secrets of her mother and Bothari's mysterious past.

 

I found Miles to be a very winning and sympathetic character right from the off.  Hindered by his disability he instead has to solve problems with his ingenuity.  He's a wrecking ball of energy, and his intelligence and wit send both him and the story careering forward at such a breakneck pace that I had to pause every now and then to take in everything that was going on. 

 

In the first half of the novel this is perhaps a drawback, as the story seems somewhat chaotic as a result.  Miles gets himself involved in a number of situations that result in him becoming involved in a war but, although credibility is stretched, happily Bujold handles it all with such verve, humour and, at times, pathos that I found it easy to overlook the slightly rough edges - which, this being just her second novel, are quite understandable.  Having already read Barrayar, which ended up being her fifth novel (for reasons explained in my review of that book), it's easy to see how her writing developed from this point, but the groundwork is all here.  It goes for humour rather than the more serious tone of the later book, but the characters are brilliant, the dialogue fizzes, and she throws in a major twist at around the halfway point that changes the game quite unexpectedly.

 

Actually, because she had already half-written Barrayar at this stage, it is impressive how well she had planned the story.  The continuity between the two is fantastic.  You could read this book first, I think, and enjoy the central mystery for what it is.  Or you could, as I did, read them in the now preferred order and already know the backstory, and enjoy the tension she builds up as Miles unravels the truth.  It's so well done as to be seamless.

 

Three books in and I think it's obvious that this series is neither hard SF nor a literary masterpiece.  This book is, in fact, a romp.  It's a hugely entertaining, character-driven adventure that left me grinning from ear to ear.  Enter with an open mind and Fun awaits.  That's Fun, with a capital 'F'

 

The Warrior's Apprentice is available separately on Kindle, or as part of the Young Miles Omnibus Edition.

 

 

8/10

 

[Athena]

Great reviews !

[Signor Finzione]

Yes, great reviews Steve! I really like the sound of The Warrior's Apprentice: as I was reading your review I was thinking I like the sound of this more than the others. It's good to know it can be read first/on its own.
 

 Also, Uhtred, with all his arrogance and his imposing reputation, seems to shag every female character who makes an appearance.  He's like Captain Kirk with chain mail. 

 

This was such an unexpected thing for you to say here! It made me laugh.

[Karsa Orlong]

Thanks!

 

 

I really like the sound of The Warrior's Apprentice: as I was reading your review I was thinking I like the sound of this more than the others. It's good to know it can be read first/on its own.

 

I think it's a much better book than Shards of Honor, so it's probably a good way of testing the water, then - if you enjoy it - you could go back and read the first two at some point.  It's worth it for Barrayar, at least (still my favourite read so far this year, I think - it was a real surprise).  I've read the usual things about the series getting better and better from this point, so we'll see.  I might read the first novella this weekend, as I'm certainly eager to read more about these characters at the moment 

[Timstar]

Was The Burning Land not as good as the previous books then? Cornwell in general is a bit formulaic, but often throws in twists and turns to keep you guessing.

[Little Pixie]

I'm fine, thanks    Apart from the man flu    Sorry to hear your shoulder's no better

 

 

Thanks. Hope the flu`s better now ; I think that those early Summer ones are rotten.

 

Whatever happens, neither of them are as bad as these

 

 

So wrong. So, so wrong.

[Karsa Orlong]

Was The Burning Land not as good as the previous books then? Cornwell in general is a bit formulaic, but often throws in twists and turns to keep you guessing.

 

Oh it was good, for sure, but there were irritations with it.  Plus I'm trying to be a bit more realistic with my scores this year.  7's about right for it, I think.

 

 

 

Thanks. Hope the flu`s better now ; I think that those early Summer ones are rotten.

 

It's still clinging on for dear life

 

Hey, Sarah, did you know that Sky Arts started showing season 2 of Prisoners of War on Tuesday?  Fortunately they advertised it during Game of Thrones the night before, so I was lucky, otherwise I'd've had no idea 

[Karsa Orlong]

# 29

 

War Birds by R. M. Meluch

 

 

1989 - Signet paperback - 253 pages

 

 

Thoughts:

 

This is the story of three planets: Tannia, Erde, and Occo.  They are human colonies on the edge of known space.  Tannia and Erde are twin planets that orbit each other, whilst Occo is closer to the system’s sun and is only heard from once in a while.  Tannia and Erde warred with each other, but that was some sixteen years before the story starts – and Tannia won. 

 

Anthony Northfield is a professor on Tannia when he meets Maggie.  She’s 17, he’s in his late 30s, she’s got the hots for a student called Brute who rents rooms in the professor’s house, and the professor has got the hots for her. 

 

This is the set up for this story by R M Meluch and, to be honest, it sounds awfully clichéd and pedestrian, and not a little creepy.  Maybe it’s just the way I’ve written it down, but the first 50 pages of the book pretty much follow the pattern set above.  It wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, and it was decidedly iffy, in my opinion.  But then, somewhere around that 50 page mark, something happens.  It’s a twist that is actually given away in the blurb inside the book’s front cover but, fortunately, I didn’t read that until later – and it’s a twist that really shouldn’t be spoiled, because I found it kicked the story up several gears, and it went from decidedly iffy to actually quite riveting within a few pages.

 

What I think Meluch did brilliantly was to capture a very distinct narrative voice.  In some ways, it reminded me a little of Glen Cook’s ‘Black Company’ stories: it is told in the first person, and the sentence structure is terse, giving it a really punchy, gritty, almost noir-ish feel.  This voice is maintained throughout, and I don’t think it faltered at all.  It's quite an introspective novel.  Once it gets to that twist things really open up in terms of the direction of the story, and it is certainly not about the rather icky romance at the beginning, which was my fear early on.

 

Also, the setting is a fine, solid, believable creation.  Like a lot of science fiction, it’s a very human story transferred to a fantastic location – it’s essentially about fighter pilots (Meluch apparently has a passion for WWII fighter planes, and that really shines through) – but like the voice it is maintained throughout and has an internal logic that stays consistent.

 

In the end it is the opening plus perhaps a few too many contrivances, conveniences, and coincidences in the latter stages, that let it down somewhat, whilst the main character, his adversary, and that voice counteract those shortcomings and pull it through its old-fashioned, relatively brief page count.  This is the first of Meluch’s books that I’ve read, and another author that was drawn to my attention by someone over on the Malazan forum.  I don’t think I’ve come across a bad recommendation from there, yet.

 

I'm kind of curious as to why Carolyn Janice Cherryh, and now Rebecca M Meluch seem to hide their gender behind their initials.  Do they feel that, as women writing science fiction, they may get overlooked if potential readers know they're women in advance?  Seems strange to me.  I do hope people really aren't so shallow.  If anything, my recent forays into the works of Lois McMaster Bujold, C J Cherryh, and now R M Meluch only serve to reinforce that some of the best and most refreshingly different science fiction I have read - and that has been published in the past couple of decades - has been written by women.  If anyone doubts that, then I'd suggest having a look here

 

 

7/10

 

[Little Pixie]

 

It's still clinging on for dear life

 

Hey, Sarah, did you know that Sky Arts started showing season 2 of Prisoners of War on Tuesday?  Fortunately they advertised it during Game of Thrones the night before, so I was lucky, otherwise I'd've had no idea 

 

Thank you, yes. I look at this site - Geektown - a lot for premiere dates ( they`re pretty good ). I`ve taped it, but haven`t watched it yet ; might save up a few eps and have a binge, `cos I`m so behind with TV due to reading lots.

 

Grr at the flu - take plenty of ginger tea.

[Karsa Orlong]

# 30

 

The Mountains of Mourning (Vorkosigan Saga Book 4) by Lois McMaster Bujold

 

 

 

1989 - Baen paperback - 90 pages

 

 

From Amazon:

 

Miles Vorkosigan is sent to a small mountain village to investigate the murder of an infant, killed because she had a physical defect.

 

 

Thoughts:

 

This is the first of Bujold’s novellas in the Vorkosigan Saga, and takes place roughly three years after the events of The Warrior’s Apprentice (I think – I don’t recall Miles’s age being mentioned in this one).  It won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novella.

 

Miles’s mother, Cordelia, is an alien on this planet, and her position through marriage within the Barrayaran power structure has allowed her to become a cause célèbre for change in the wake of her own son’s troubled birth and resulting disability.  When a young woman, Harra, comes to Count Vorkosigan to report the murder of her newborn daughter, purely because she was born with a harelip and cleft palate, Miles’s father - Count Aral Vorkosigan - sends Miles to her mountain community to investigate and judge the accused.

 

As you would hope, Bujold treats the subject of infanticide with great care.  Through Miles, who himself would have suffered the same fate had his grandfather had his way, we see the bigotry and confusion exhibited by Barrayar’s mountain communities.  Some of the younger members of the community want to break from the old ways but are being held back by the fears of their elders.  Sent a ‘mutant’ Lord to pass judgement upon them, they close ranks, and Miles’s task becomes yet more problematic.

 

Apart from the wonderful writing style and characters, the thing that’s impressing me about this series is how different each story is to the last (so far, at least).  Here we have a deeply upsetting murder mystery, set quite deliberately in contrast against a beautiful setting.  There is none of Miles’s effortless smartassery from the previous novel, thankfully - considering the subject matter.  Instead, there is some brilliant character development.  I found the closing stages of this story packed a real emotional punch, coupled with a heartfelt moral core.  There are no easy answers to the dilemma and I couldn’t help feeling, in the end, that it was not just Miles who had changed, but the entire world of Barrayar around him.  That, for me, is great writing.

 

Fantastic.

 

 

9/10

 

 

ETA:  The Mountains of Mourning can be found in the Young Miles omnibus, and also separately on Kindle.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Karsa Orlong

[ian]

Your review of War Birds has certainly got me interested in reading this! Great review.

 

Unfortunately, I think when it comes to women "hiding" behind initials - I think some people are that shallow.