Dynamic Duo

All round one of the best DC comics I have read in years; it was conceived long before the New 52 and it was as enjoyable for if not more so then the the new 52s Green Lantern that ended Geoff Johns run and th aren Red Lanterns book. Bloodspell takes two of DC's long extant fishnet wearing heroines and gives them both the opportunity to have real character agency and does it with truly georgeous art and style. This book brought me joy as a comics reader for more then just its exiting and fun story that avoided the grim and dark that has gripped the new DC; Dini and Quinoes have a real grasp for DC's long and rich history and delivers hints of it throughout the story, art and even page layouts.

The story is one that mixes just a few story elements and comes out with something glorious like the best Italian and Indian recipes that not have five ingredients or less. The story that brings them together starts with a foiled caper in Las Vegas where Black Canary goes undercover and gets trapped in a magical curse. The story may lean towards slapstick at times but the stakes are at the highest, lives are at stake. Among some pretty hideous offscreen deaths Satanna gets pulled into the story when Dinah goes to her for help realizing what she faces is beyond her ken. Along the way we get a road tale that includes flashbacks that refer to different eras, styles and costumes across DC history as it was. Bloodspell for me is a bit of a love letter to the past and makes me want more of this duo, this fishnet duo.

Paul Dini and Joe Quinones apparently originally pitched this sometime in 2005 and its a great thing to have this stand alone team up tale spotlighting these versions of the characters. The story takes Black Canary and Zatanna their pre heroine days meeting in the Himalayan alps to their then current adventuring lives Zatanna on her own and Dinah as partner to Green Arrow in his goatee style era. The story has the fun tongue in cheek yet serious action that Paul Dini does so well and the art by Joe Quinones somehow straddles that gap between realism and warner brothers cartoonish ness that few artists pull off so well. This is one of those books that pops off the pages in ways 3d comics desperately aspire to. And though I got the opportunity to read this as an advance reader I'm more then tempted to get a real copy because I seldom see a project like this that seemed produced with so much love and care; the book includes the pitch, the script, unfinished pages and design work. Its too good to pass up for fans of female character written so well and for art so detail rich and lovingly rendered.

This edition collects not just the story and its glorious art and story, they give us the initial pitch, the script which is hardly ever included and design work from Joe so this book is like a blue ray disk version of the book. If you love comics with heart that will give you much more then the usual this is one to have especially if your familiar with DC history all the better. Five stars out of five. Bravo....

 

 

 

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Mindless ones and Z-listers

 

So I know there will be lots of reviews and thoughts on this out there and since I love comics and particularly enjoyed this and the zero issue of Original Sin I thought why not add some reviewey comments to the mix. Jason Aaron pulled some particularly nice bits of storytelling together I. This issue given how crowded it was and managed to move both his story and they mysteries along quite well. He manages to hit most of his cast and throws in the a whole heap of monsters and some little used characters along the way. He writes some great dialogue along the way that winds up being both characterful and funny as well as drives the story along. Some of the "mystery figures" from issue one are revealed and many many more questions are raised. Mike's are is solid pretty much throughout and clear despite the mood lighting in some scenes and the opening scenes following Black Panther, the White Queen and Antman into the monster graveyard (the preview has been up a while that shows this but apologies none the less for spoilers.

It left me quite happily entertained and looking forward to leaning more about what is going on. Just enough was revealed to give me some hints as to the timing of the so called original sin and I'm really interested to see how it all its together. Also seeing some truly obscure seventies characters come out of the woodwork was pretty fun; it made me look again at some of the murkier scenes from issue one. Truely this one is aces if you have a grasp of some marvel history and this makes me want to get some of the pre superhero boom marvels....

So yeah I'd say this is one crossoverey story can reccommend. Though issue one felt a bit crowded and not quite there between the touching zero issue starring the new Nova Sam Alexander and this one I'd so get into Nick's flying car for this ride....

Five stars out of five.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok that's a bit of room just in case

 

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"This guy.... This #¥<{!^£ guy...

Nominated for two Eisner awards this year Sex Criminals issues one through five get a collected edition April 15/16 just in time for Tax Day at the image first volume low price of $9.99. On to the review...

So "This guy... This ~^.&*!( guy" (yes I'm talking about Matt Fraction and I'm actually borrowing a quote from Matt's character Suzie from this very same book to describe him). This series is a great mixture of relationship tale, caper story, and comedic sexual innuendo and exploration. Sec Criminals is a book not safe for kids and may be embarrassing for adults reading ichoosing to read it in public given its somewhat explicit content but I will say it takes a fairly mature tact towards its subject matter. The artwork by Chip Zdarsky is downright georgeous, expressive and characterful and is well worth any embarrassment it may cause and manages to be fair to Bo sexes where it comes to being explicit. The title has more to say about sex and relationships then one may think and its well worth reading for people with a healthy ability to laugh at themselves and who have a fairly open mind in general.

Matt and Chip are telling several different stories within the comic and manage to do a good job of tackleing a couple per issue but with the collection that does not really stand out. There is the present day caper tale about the heroes Suzie and Jon using their orgasm given ability to freeze time to pull of bank robberies to save the imperiled library Suzie works at; then there are the tales about their first experiences with their a-hem lacking another way to put it well explorations and exploits with their seemingly unique talents. The first dealing with the combined good and back that comes with having someone as a part of your life and as a part of your life that seemed to be uniquely yours; the addition of their ability to stop time for everyone else when they climax serve to magnify the joys and difficulties that come when you have that someone special in your life. The lack of of better term origin stories for both Suzie and Jon reveal things about them how they approach finding out what the hell is going on with them and how they deal with the revelation that sex with others seems to still leave them alone when time stops for them. There is also the story following another group of characters who have the same sex derived power and their apparent attempts to police those who abuse it. All these tales leave me with the feeling there is some interesting things afoot in the world building here.

The really nice thing about reading this title and really anything ive read by by Matt is a his maintaining a "wink wink nudge nudge" sence of humor that is smile inducing and goes just far enough without breaking the tension in the story. In a book that could easily go for the quick gag or the obvious he takes things to a more interesting place then you'd expect. The same I would say for Chip's artwork which is just cartoonish enough to carry off the outlandish ideas in this without it being, well, ewww gross or off colour. Sex Criminals is nothing like anything I'm reading or have really read in comics but my taste runs more towards the more four colour titles so that may be the reason why. I do recall some titles that addressed sexuality in the past but I'm glad to say that this is nothing like the late eighties Black Kiss by Howard Chakyn that though fun for the time I could do without the shock value it had.

The stories in this form several complete story arcs and come to a satisfying climax (ok so I had to....) and conclusion. You get a real good idea about who both Suzie and Jon are good I'll and embarrassing; a pretty delightfully Coen brothers like caper gone pear shaped and the introduction to some characterful and sort of mysterious figures for stories going into the next volume. As I said Chip's art fits the tone well with its thick lined slightly cartoonish character designs and the colours by Becka Kinzie and Christopher Sebela do make his art pop off the page. Sex Criminals also explores the subject of sex with a kind of gentle humor that western particularly American stories usually don't have in them. I mean honestly yes its embarrassing to talk about and ask questions about and the truth and honesty Matt takes towards the outlandish things he introduces into the equation makes the story that much better. The book is clever and fun but most of all beyond the sillyness, crazyness, and even beyond the musical scene that takes over the middle issue that had me in stitches there is a lot of truth in the story he's telling. This book is a success but I've come to expect no less. Well worth it all told....

 

 

 

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Burton's return to Africa

If you have been browsing my blog over the last couple years you know how much I've enjoyed the alternate history steampunk Albertan era adventures of Burton and Swinburne and this third novel was just as good if not the best if the trio of books. Expedition to the Mountains if the Moon is a culmination of all the promises made throughout the series taking Sir Richard and his ever entreating cast of agents, metal men, bobbies and such back to Africa and towards that elusive source of the Nile and the source of the current and future woes. Though the other volumes were complete tales all of their own this one picks up on the dangling threads throughout and resolves questions I had in very satisfying ways and opening all new ones. This story is one of the roughest on it's players and though it's hard on them the overall tale is stronger for it. Of all the steampunk out there and I've loved all of it I've read this is the series that gets my most enthusiastic vote.


Expedition follows mainly Richard Burton and is broken up chapter wise between three separate time periods reading it is like piecing together obe larger mystery puzzle. The separate Burtons stories often foreshadow one another but for reasons that become pretty evident don't really reference each other much till the climax of the novel. Even though at moments you know the tragedy to come to one Burton the emotional impacts seem stronger rather then weaker for the foreshadowing. In the period closest to the other books events start with a botched assassination attempt prompting a Holmes-ish like little myster and chase tale and culminates in an expedition to Africa in a race with the continential forces allies against the British. The second era is an alternate Great War pitting the forces of the technologists vs the eugenicists, the continental vs the decimated remains if the British and involves another expedition across Africa and more famous historical guest stars then you'd expect going in both old friends and wonderfully new. The third I'll leave readers to encounter on their own.

Mark Hodder has been great about tantalising us with little details of real and alter history from the first volume on. In the first he gave us the urban mythic Spring Heeled Jack and in the second he played lots with the Victorian (well our Victorian) fad of mysticism, occultism, the hoaxes of the fairie pictures, the famous Madame Blavatski and the bizarre Titchbone affair. This time around is no different but he pretty much pushes all the envelopes to the breaking point. His creations make me jealous not just that he thought them up bur makes all his fun and fabulous concepts plausible and Lovecrafty horrible at the same time.

The gonzo travels and trials faced by the gathered agents, police, scientists, flying squad, and soldiers leave no one unaffected. This is as I said in the beginning a rough book for his cast and as in The Strange Affair Mark pulls no punches and the novel is stronger for it. I don't think it a spoiler to say major characters make very final sacrifices in Expedition and there are some shockingly tear evoking moments. I enjoyed the tragic along with the heroic, the great pulpy adventure along with the heartfelt moments. Mark as I said hits all the right notes with me by making the hard choices and giving a truly satisfying and dark finale to this novel.

Further I have read that Pyr have contracted Mr Hodder to write more Burton and Swinburne novels.... I want more.... eventhough I'm curious as to where things go from here....

I received my copy from Pyr for review...

And now the blurb from Pyr

CONTINUING THE HIT STEAMPUNK SERIES!It is 1863, but not the one it should be. Time has veered wildly off course, and now the first moves are being made that will lead to a devastating world war and the fall of the British Empire.The prime minister, Lord Palmerston, believes that by using the three Eyes of Naga—black diamonds possessing unique properties—he’ll be able to manipulate events and avoid the war. He already has two of the stones, but the third is hidden somewhere in the Mountains of the Moon, the fabled source of the Nile.Palmerston sends Sir Richard Francis Burton to recover it. For the king’s agent, it’s a chance to redeem himself after his previous failed attempt to find the source of the great river. That occasion had led to betrayal by his partner, John Hanning Speke. Now Speke is leading a rival expedition on behalf of the Germans, and it seems that the battle between the former friends may ignite the very war that Palmerston is trying to avoid!Caught in a tangled web of cause, effect, and inevitability, little does Burton realize that the stakes are far higher than even he suspects.A final confrontation comes in the mist-shrouded Mountains of the Moon, in war- torn Africa of 1914, and in Green Park, London, where, in the year 1840, Burton must face the man responsible for altering time: Spring Heeled Jack!Burton and Swinburne’s third adventure is filled with eccentric steam-driven technology, grotesque characters, and bizarre events, completing the three-volume story arc begun in The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack and The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man.

You can find Mark Hodders website here

and links to stores follow

You and me and him against Them....

The Wolf Age for me was predominately a book about friendship, the bonds that grow between people who suffer indignity together and the strength they can draw from one another. This book for all its grim gritty noirish sword and sorcery action and artifacts felt very personal and I had a great amount of empathy for many of its characters no matter how small a part they may have had. James managed to mix genres and folklore in ways that I really could not predict the direction the third adventure of Morlock Ambrosious would take and that is hard to do with sword and sorcery that feels so much like Moorcock or Liber's iconic stories. I wholeheartedly recommend reading James Enge's sometimes enigmatic heros tales but with the caveat that this is not the story to start with.

Here is the blurb from Pyr:

"Spear-age, sword-age:
shields are shattered.
Wind-age, wolf-age:
before the world founders
no man will show mercy to another."

Wuruyaaria: city of werewolves, whose raiders range over the dying northlands, capturing human beings for slaves or meat. Wuruyaaria: where a lone immortal maker wages a secret war against the Strange Gods of the Coranians. Wuruyaaria: a democracy where some are more equal than others, and a faction of outcast werewolves is determined to change the balance of power in a long, bloody election year.

Their plans are laid; the challenges known; the risks accepted. But all schemes will shatter in the clash between two threats few had foreseen and none had fully understood: a monster from the north on a mission to poison the world, and a stranger from the south named Morlock Ambrosius.

James Enge has so many great little and big surprises in store for readers in The Wolf Age its hard to write about the cool stuff without spoilers and since I enjoyed the reveals I don't want to say too much. I will say that when I was only a third into the nearly 500page adventure I wanted to go back to the start just to experience it all again and revisit events which I am sure I missed things. His writing is as many reviewers write akin to the noir masters; his prose is not overworked, plots move fast with wit, snappy dialogue and he pulls no punches with the grim and dark events.

So what are you getting from The Wolf Age...

Among the numerous schemers in this novel the main orchestrators are the conceptual Strange Gods; they remind me of the endless from Neil Gaimens Sandman. They are very human like embodiments of concepts like war, wisdom, justice, stupidity death and play a similar manipulative roll in The Wolf Age as do the Greek gods in the Illiad. They appear at times in the story as viewpoint characters revealing plot elements outside the other players or giving a different view of events once to oddly funny scene descriptions.

James created an entire culture of all were-wolves building a consistently interesting and fascinating society driven both by animal instincts and human seeming ideas of democracy and progress. The werewolves he created get to exist outside our modern world they are allowed to be fully in tune with both if their natures even if some of them cant fully change into both their forms. The were-characters we get to really know are just as driven, quirky, funny, and tragic as any human (or whatever other race again fantasy) I encountered in James' stories. Since they are fast healers and hard to kill the scenes that happen while the three main heroes of the story suffer a lit of pretty nasty damage making the prison scenes and even the escape very cringeworthy and grizzly.

And Morlock Ambrosious, well if you've not encountered him yet he is a names sword weilding, artefact creating, ambidextrous swordsman wizard who has been a hero, a killer, a notorious hopeless drunk and a figure of stories used to frighted naughty kids. He is also a man of his own honour and principals. At the beginning of this story he's left behind friends and companions for their protection and is in a bleak mood but gets drawn into a net cast by the strange gods and others and shown what hitting rock bottom can be like... Again. He's a long lived character, heals much better then humans (more fodder for the prison scenes) and prone to manic bursts of creative fervour and deep depressions. He's complicated and though a viewpoint character remains tantalisingly enigmatic though I felt I knew him. He is driven in this story by his strong feeling for his blood bonded friends and they to him so the tragedies that occur hurt all the more.

The Wolf Age is both one of the roughest books I read this year on terms if the wringer the characters went through. I loved reading about Morlock and his faithful wolf brothers of choice; the tale is a full heroes journey for the lot of them and it's one I want to read again.


As an addendum : there are several awful things that happen in this novel that happen as a direct result of choices characters make; characters pay permanent prices for their actions or inactions and just as the friendships are a core element of the plot so are mistakes they make.

You can find James Enge's website here and a free Morlock story at Pyr's website here.
I received my copy from Pyr for review
Here are links to places where you can get copies.....

The Wolf Age
by James Enge

Short Fiction is so not dead.....

I love short fiction collections of all kinds and with all the original anthologies coming out now you can'c help but miss some here and there. This is even more true of authors like Jeffrey Ford who's fiction falls well into numerous genre's. I'e read a bit of his work here and there and getting a collection like is a treat. I got my ARC copy from the author himself a couple weeks back.

Crackpot palace is collected from the last 4 years covering a wide range of fiction; noir, steampunk, Sword and sorcery, memoir , almost all weird and some hard to pigeon hole all is his enigmatic and appealing style. He follows up the the stories with an easter egg essay about the creation or inspiration for the story. His stories remind me of the best of staying up late to watch Twilight Zone, Night Gallery and Creature Features they all take you along on a trip that is exiting and touched with danger and mystery. I have not yet read his novels but this is a taste of something I want more of.

He opens the collection with an introduction which is equal parts hallucination, daydream and welcome. It is in itself a little piece of weird storytelling that strikes me as a bit of how he gets his ideas. The are several shorter pieces in the the book that are great pastiches Polkadots and Moonbeams is the first tale and it sticks with you with its 60's americana setting and noir hip jazzy story. After Moreau takes you to an all together different interpretation of the Wells story from the animal angle that familiar is very new and creepy. In his story Ganesha he explores the folklore of India and I think may be my favorite tale for its take or creativity and respect for the other. Dr. Lash Remembers is a unique steampunk story that goes to places that are uncommon for the genre and need to be more explored.

I have to admit to being a bit of a horror fan and that is the appeal of many of the other stories in the collection; they hit that sweet spot between weird and shocking that did give me just the bit of a chill I look for. This was even true of the stories that had no mystical or weird element to them including his memoir tale. I could hit the titles that gave me these feelings but in some ways I do think that would be telling and since it was cool to find which stories were factual in some ways was great too. A few of the easter egg essays clued me into my ignorance of the folklore of our own country particularly New Jersey and its great to learn something new to look into for a source of mythology.


Jeffrey in a couple of the stories toys with some of the popular mythologies I grew up with. A couple of the stories take a mad scientist tale and run with it. Daltharee is a story that has a miniature bottled city in it that is reminiscent of Kandor and gets to one of those creepy skin crawly endings. I could easily say that the story The Coral Heart, the sword and sorcery tale, struck me as a take of the Michael Moorcock Elric stories feeling familiar but filled with genuine creativity and love for the tradition it comes from. So many of the characters we meet through Jeffrey are quite clearly doomed to make bad choices or even have a bad end but reading their stories is a joy none the less.

I know I have said it several time but the strength of the stories in this collection is their initial familiarity to genre tales we may know in one way or another. He takes what we think we know and adds twists and turns to the familiar hallways of the stories much like the Crackpot Palace in his opening finding new treasures among rooms that seem like ones we know. Short stories are much overlooked by many genre fiction readers who tend towards the doorstops lining the shelves; these short weird tales (and one was in Weird Tales magazine) show the strength of the medium.

He wrote one story for the collection called The Wish Head that tickled the police procedural/crime scene fan in me. Saying much more would give the great bits away as would saying more then a little about his vampire tale or his inclusion of Native mythology in one of his noir pieces. I really just want to wet the appetites for this many course meal of dark weird fiction with bits of reality and wonder thrown in for good measure...


Jeffery Fords website can be found here Crackpot Palace is out on August from Morrow/HarperCollins

Crackpot Palace: Stories
by Jeffrey Ford

.....if wishes were fishes.....

Fair Coin is yet another great addition to the YA shelf of books from PYR. EC Myers novel is filled with emotional tension, moral questions and highly believable characters and situations; it is another novel that I think works on multiple audiences because adolescence is something pretty much was turbulent for everyone. Myers hits right away with the turmoil in Ephraim's life as he gets home to find his alcoholic mother having attempted suicide; his already shaky life clicks down another couple notches. The troubles he is in and the magical coin that seems to get him out resonated with me and though readers might figure there is more going on then mysterious items and notes lead the hero to think the reveals and repercussions hit on the emotional issues.

I empathized with Ephraim from the beginning; he is in a much worse situation then I was so many years ago but i can imagine taking care of an alcoholic mother and relate to his being bullied in school and being attracted to someone but feeling hopeless about it. He is a geeky guy as is is buddy Nathan and though its more in fashion now he is still not gregarious or a hit at parties. His situation goes from bad to worse with his mom in the hospital from a suicide attempt because of his apparent death. This twilight zone situation lands him with a bizarre quarter that should not exists showing Puerto Rico as a state in 1998 and according to a note fulfills wishes. His life changes as does the subtle relationships in his life as he wishes for this or that and odd sighting haunt him throughout. I related to the feeling that if only I could change "X" my life would be great and the prospect of wish fulfillment without the work sadly still appeals to me. As a reader its easy to suspect there is much more going on plot wise and, oh , there are but the emotional center of the story and his relationships play the major roles.

Of the aspects of the main characters that makes them real are their foibles. E.C. 's heroes are the geeks in the school, they are the ones bullies and belittled or used by the popular kids. This is something that is sadly universal and I was one of those people who had been bullied and my life has been affected by it ever since. I enjoyed Fair Coin because Ephraim has courage I never had and well wish I did have. Wishes are a big part of the novel and I think a big part of peoples lives. Ephraim and his cohort of buddies have to live with the consequences of wish fulfilment and they do a much better job then you'd expect.
No matter how Ephraim might think his social circle is small just him and his buddy and fellow geek Nathan as a observer in his life I saw that his circle was bigger then he knew. Before all the wishes and the twists and turns that those cause good and bad he has a connection to the girl of his wishes Jena and her friends Mary and Shelly. There are numerous geek culture winks like that appearing through the novel; EC must have grown up like I did on 50's 60's sci fi reruns on TV and his world though much younger then I am right now really feels of home. I wish I had encountered this story as a teen; I may have missed it being a depressive but its pretty clear Ephraim has more friends then he knows before the first wish. As the world changes around him he gets good with bad and more bad and the creepy. He reveals things to Nathan and well its a interesting ride to say the least.

To be honest though I know blowing the story from there on is so tempting, blowing what is happening if you got clued into it by the story or not; its all to cool to read it for yourself I think. The beauty of the story from the realization of the truth on is the moral implications of what happened and the implications for the future. The friends he has once the third act starts are in much more danger then the bullies and concerns of a teenager. The adventure from there on in is more a caper story and its a real great twist on things; still emotionally charged but grown out of the teen angst to something more adult. E.C. Myers does not opt out of the implications of his story and take the easy way out.

In the end of the story Ephraim though changed in his desire for instant gratification is changed by his experience. The knowledge he gained through his trial and his decisions have made a more fully realized person and again I would love to have read this at much less then more then twice the protagonists age. His supporting cast of geeks, freaks and above all friends are all as vibrant as he. The many changed Jena's, Mary's Shelly's and Nathan's are all as unique was you'd want from a novel that shows multiple views of the same people. I do not want to say more. I got what might be the reveal early on and it ruined nothing. I loved this book and felt for the characters. One of the nicest part of the setting and familiar to me was the mix of people in the core group there was not a self conscious mix of races or mixed race characters but the multi national mix of players was so much like my groups of friends; I wish I appreciated them more then I did.

Really saying more would be giving things away. The end delivers on all the promises E.C. made in the opening and I can not wait for more from the author. Ultimately the characters make the hard choices taking the paths they can live with, again it's moral and emotionally loaded in ways some spec fiction does not get near. Strong characters and strong storytelling make this a must read novel no matter your age; Myers hits where we live and sometimes not where we still live at times. I wish I had another chance yonder it right so often but one chance is all we get really.

EC Myers bio and website can be found here

Lest I forget I received my copy from Pyr for review and am very happy they sent one.....

Fair Coin
by E C Myers

The Night Sessions.....

      

     The Night Sessions is my first foray into the novels of award winning Scottish SF author Ken MacLeod's body of work and now used to his writing style I can say it won't be the last.  I can say that with confidence since I received not only this great short novel but also The Restoration Game review copies from PYR press. The Nigh Sessions fits well among the stable of Scottish crime and police procedural stories if you overlook the hard science fictional elements like the space elevators, the smarter then now smart devices like the iThink and the existence of both self aware and non self aware machines.  His world is one I can well see happening technology aside looking at the tense political and theological situations of today's newspapers and tele.  Again like his thriller and mystery writer stars Ken creates characters that breath and make you want to like them, they are beings with flaws and beliefs the first that make them human and the second that in almost all cases for the viewpoint character are tested and are found wanting in many cases. I'll say this a second time about his setting to me the situations Ken presents are well too plausible given the polarized situations I see in the world today.

    I have read a few UK police procedurals, I'll mention the novels of Mark Billingham for example, and love me some good old BBC dramas like Inspector Lewis and the ever dark and wonderful Luthor so when I encountered DI Adam Ferguson and his leki (read robot partner) Skulk I was looking forward to something gritty and familiar with a spice of hard sci fi. Ken MacLeod did not disappoint I must say; his handling a half dozen plus viewpoint characters in a spare dare I say quick 264 pages reminds me novels of old and could well make an excellent BBC tv drama of three to five parts with the possibility of more (oh yes please sir).  The situation he presents grows out of today's headlines; the was of today fuled by oil money influence peddling and the auspice of faith boil out to encompass the world. The debate oh his world over climate change went on well too long and there have been both sea and temperature rises to deal with; there has been a second enlightenment the advent of self aware computer systems, humanoid robots and the construction of space elevators satellite environs and small extra Terran stations. None of these things have altered mans ability to maintain his hatred for his fellow man and the creations of his hands. With all the change that is in the backdrop of the setting humanity is still at war with itself religion is finally out of politics but it is if anything more of a PC subject then it is today.

    With slightly over half a dozen points  of view the Ken manages to tell a complete story that does not feel crowded once it's all said and done; as a matter of fact I  have some trouble thinking  about how many characters actually had section to themselves since some were so well written from their fellows point of view. The majority of the action is seen from the eyes of Adam the Detective Inspector who starts as the lead on a case where a priest is killed by a package he receives. His squad get nerves when it becomes obvious it's a case involving religion; the separation of church and politics was not at all a bloodless struggle and it's scarred society as much as terrorism and economic struggles along with religious extremism is scarring us now. Adam is the older gritty inspector his partner is and ex soldier artificial intoxicants relegated to a new and less dangerous body they are backed by a anti terrorism squad including many none white English characters which are as colorful in personality as they are in name.  Ken treats characters equal wether they be flesh or machine, or at least the one machine we get the viewpoint from and though there are some stereotypes  in the tale there are sadly sterotypical people in real life too if you only see a little of them.

     The strengths of this story beyond the well written and plotted police mystery story are the philosophical questions it raises. The Night Sessions calls into question the effects and the problems that beliefs cause for everyone not just the believer and the people who hold conflicting convictions.  Our world is polarized and seems to be getting more so and his setting as I said seems all to possible from the current state of things. I do not want to give away any of the neat little twists and turns he foresees  since they are all too interesting to discover as the story goes on.  I will say that if social, hard science fiction  or detective fiction is your thing especially if you enjoy stories that will challenge you to think a bit outside your comfort zones thus is worth a read. And if this wets your appetite reading the short story  iThink from the third Solaris Science Fiction is recommended since it plays a characterful part in one small scene. I like Adam Ferguson and Skully and hope this is not our last  glimpse of their version of our future.

   

      A last thought I'm right there in this mix of today's polarized society mess and I'm also convinced I'm right just as much as the right wind fundamentalist bleeptards.  My attitude us sadly just as bad as theirs and reading a novel like this was a great and enjoyable reality check since like I said I choose a side and think I'm in the right. Novels like The Night Sessions are thoughtful challenging and thought provoking; I think the author has a side but he portrays both viewpoints with respect and though there is a message dark as it is it is a very good read. It won't be my last.... Where is that copy of Cosmonout Keep...   

Thief's Life

   With Thief's Covenant Ari Marmell joins the ranks of established authors entering the YA market; this sword and sorcery adventure novel following the life of a young female thief in a Renaissance like era city could easily sit beside the rougher adventures written by Brent Weeks, Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch and  Richard Morgan.  The world  Widdershins inhabits is one of many gods, political and social intrigues  schemers, backstabbers, social climbers fools fops and thugs; much like one one outside our windows the numerous often meddeling household gods  aside . The tale is told in Terrintinoesque out of order fashion building the characters and setting slowly maintaining tension with breaking scenes to jump ahead or back at just the best moment to keep you wanting more. Multiple viewpoints are head from mainly Widdershins, sometimes Adrianne, sometimes Madaline, all the time wry witty and headstrong but we get her friends, acquaintances, antagonists and the occasional newcomers point of view too. The nove is a spare 280 pages in length and they pretty much fly by because it's kind of hard to put down once you start.

     Though Thief's Covenant is being marketed at the YA market even being printed in a pretty handsome hardcover edition it lacks nothing for grit, action and complexity standing well with the Nighangel and

First Law books etc I mentioned above.  Ari's book is like them  in all the ways that make sword and sorcery stories among my favorites; the characters drive the story along and are not driven by the plot itself; Widdershins is put in many situations where other people including friends try to get her to do or in many cases not do what she sees as the best course. She is smart and canny enough to know following her intuition is going to be best for her and has a strong sense of right and wrong though it is a pretty personal one at times.  Like Brent Week's Kylar she is someone who has had a hard and violent life coming up as an orphan and though we see less of her past then his Ari includes enough  hints and details to let you know her childhood was not an easy one. Through some of the "x" years ago chapters he fills in chapters in her story where she witnesses and causes some deaths and losses that form who she is in the now and to come chapters. Like the so called adult stories there is trash and garbage and more filling the ally's of her city of Davilon there are viscous thugs and nameless or in this case named cults that consort with unclen things; there is some onscreen blood and gore with mostly only the swearing used by others abscent.  

        Ari tells Widdershins tale out of chronological order effectively starting where her personal god Orgun becomes a dirty with a single worshiper. That scene happens in the first chapter which is set in her recent past and then proceeds to jump from past to present and beck building both impression of characters and the world. The way her builds temsion with foreshadowing and backshadowing effectively kept me in the story wether the viewpoint  was any of the aliases his protagonist uses or if it happened to be any of his other interesting cast of characters. They people he populated his tale with are all a little recognisable types but they never feel stale or one-sided no matter how short their lives may actually end up being. He leaves lots of clues around to figure out who is doing what eventhough for his heroine it's pretty much a mystery and she even jumps to some wrong but useful and fun conclusions in the corse of the story.

     I would happily recommend this to readers of fantasy adventure fiction with no reservations... it appealed to the young role playing gamer in me that is still dying to play in a setting and with characters that are are multi-layered and real as he writes. I want more of her adventures to be honest and I hope he has got a good number of them up his writing sleeves..

I received my copy from PRY for review....
You can look up Ari Marmell at mouseferatu to check him out and see his other pretty cool novels.....