Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #01

Hello and welcome to 2010 and issue #01 of my Weekly Roundup. I hope you enjoyed my The End Is Nigh post at the end of 2009. And I hope you have had a marvelous New Year's Eve. I spent a very relaxed night with my wife. No hangover in the morning. I like the midmorning of January 1st. It is more quiet than on a usual Sunday morning. And I use this time to finalize this post which contains slight changes. So let's start with the first Roundup of 2010. Enjoy reading......


Bona Fide's Menu

Bona Fide's Forecast

1. Bona Fide's posts in January 2010
2. Bona Fide's January reading list
   

Books

1. An author returns: Alexander Jablokov

Blogosphere

1. Comics? The Comic Book Appreciation Month
   
2. I'm your pain in the neck: The David Gemmell Legend Award
   
3. ghostfinder aka Adam Christopher

Movies

1. A sorcerer and his apprentice
   

Quotes

1. German proverbs, sayings and idioms Demons, demons everywhere...

Bona Fide's Post and Read Forecast

Post Forecast
I follow a lot of blogs and there are some which provide their readers with a weekly preview of upcoming posts.
I must say I like this. So I wanted to have something similar. But it does not make sense for to do it on a weekly base because Bona Fide does not post daily. Therefore I decided to give you a monthly forecast about my posts. So what can you expect from Bona Fide in January 2010? This is the forecast:

Saturday, January 2nd, Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #01
Content: just read this roundup

Thursday, January 7th, Review: Demon's Bane, by David Douglas (first published in 2009)
A fantasy debut novel. Solid and entertaining.

Friday, January 8th, Review: Crown of Vengeance by Stephen Zimmer (first published in 2009)
Not the first book of the author but the first book of his new epic fantasy series The Fires in Eden.
I promise you a book which is different in a positive way compared to other books I read recently.....

Saturday, January 9th, Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #02
Content unknown so far

Friday, January 15th, Review: Lamentation by Ken Scholes,ISBN: 0765360918 (first published in 2009)
A debut novel and the start of the epic fantasy series Psalms of Isaak.
The book has been nominated for the Morningstar Award over at the David Gemmell Award.
I voted for this book.

Saturday, January 16th, Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #03
Content unknown so far

Friday, January 22nd, Review: The Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd, ISBN: 0575079266 (first published in 2006)
A debut novel and the start of the epic fantasy series The Twilight Reign.

Saturday, January 23th, Bona Fide:Weekly Roundup #04
Content unknown so far

Friday, January 29th, Review: Drood , by Dan Simmons (first published in 2009)
The author of Terror is back with another compelling story.

Saturday, January 30th, Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup#05
Contains Bona Fide's Forecast for February 2010; Reading Forecast and the Reality; rest unknown

Read Forecast January
Beside the posts I also like to inform you about the books I plan to read within a month and why. This has an influence of the reviews for the next month and maybe you find something worth to read or reread for your own.
I must admit I have a tough program for January. I feel surrounded by "door stopper". You will understand when you read the titles. Anyway I still have the goal to read six books per month and to review some of them. And these are the books I want to read in January 2010:



Following three books are part of my Final Reads in 2009 and as I really want to read them I will do it book by book in 2009:
Drood (2009) [US] [UK] by Dan Simmons. The last five years in the life of Charles Dickens.
A Shadow in Summer (2006) [US] [UK], by Daniel Abraham which is the first book of the The Long Price Quartet series.
The Belly of the Bow (1999) [US] [UK] , by K. J. Parker. This is the sequel to The Colours in the Steel (1998) [US] [UK] which I read and reviewed in November 2009.
Drood, by Dan Simmons

For the first time I start to reread a series: Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams.
And this is book one: The Dragonbone Chair (2009) [US][UK]

I own the nine released books of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Stephen Erikson
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
I own copies of the whole (nine books so far) Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson . For information visit Steven Erikson's website and the awesome fan site Malazan Empire. I read the first book last year and now I want to read the whole series in row - one book per month starting in January 2010.
Of course I start with The Gardens of the Moon (2009, 10th anniversary edtition) [US][UK].

The last book will be published on January 7th. I also want to read new books. And this one with a steampunk setting looks promising for me:
Bookman by Lavie Tidhar, ISBN: 0007346581

"A masked terrorist has brought London to its knees - there are bombs inside books, and nobody knows which ones. On the day of the launch of the first expedition to Mars, by giant cannon, he outdoes himself with an audacious attack. For young poet Orphan, trapped in the screaming audience, it seems his destiny is entwined with that of the shadowy terrorist, but how? Like a steam-powered take on V for Vendetta, rich with satire and slashed through with automatons, giant lizards, pirates, airships and wild adventure, The Bookman is the first of a series." [Source]

Books

After more then ten years SF author Alexander Jablokov returns in January 2010 with a new novel:
Brain Thief (2010, 384 p., hc) [US][UK]. I must admit I never heard of the author before. But the blurb aroused my interest.

"Bernal Haydon-Rumi, executive assistant to a funder of eccentric projects, drops by his boss’s house on the way home from a business trip. By the next morning, he’s been knocked out, his wealthy socialite boss Muriel has stolen a car and vanished, and the AI designed for planetary exploration that she’s been funding turns out to be odder than it should be. In figuring out what’s going on, Bernal has to deal with an anti-AI activist toting a handmade electronic arsenal, a local serial killer, a drug dealer with a business problem, a cryonic therapist stalked by past mistakes—and someone who specifically wants Bernal dead.

Brain Thief is a fun, literate speculative fiction adventure, sort of New England cyberpunk noir, set a year or ten from now, somewhere between the Berkshires and Boston, and includes, at no extra charge, a 30-foot-tall fiberglass cowgirl." [Source] An excerpt is available here.

You may understand this when you take in account that I read and loved cyberpunk books like Neuromancer (first published in 1984!) [US][UK]by William Gibson.


Blogosphere

Temple Library Reviews: Comic Book Appreciation Month
The is a repost! The last time I posted it on December 25th. That was Christmas for a lot of readers. And maybe you missed to read it.

Harry Markov, the busy like an ant guy behind Temple Library Reviews, declared January 2010 for his Comic Book Appreciation Month!! Harry explained in detail the reasons for it. When you follow his blog regularly then you know you can expect a lot!! The Comic Book Appreciation Month will start on January 1st and will end on January 31st 2010. Don't miss it!! If you are interested in comics or you want to have a look then give it a go. Did you recognize the five logos? All done by Harry for his first appreciation month. He must love comics!!

Don't miss the introduction post.
In order to make your mouth water I will tell you the series which Harry will introduce to you in order of appearance on the blog:
Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft and Head Games [mini-series, 6 issues each, 2008/2009]
Birds of Prey [concluded series, 127 issues, 1999/2009]
Herogasm [part of The Boys series, 6 issues arc, 2009]
Ultimates [3 volumes, mini-series, published irregularly 2002-2007]
Fables [on-going series, since 2002, have only 50 issues]
I Kill Giants [7 issues, 2008, mini-series]
Madame Mirage [6 issues, mini-series, 2007]
Fathom [3 volumes, 1998-2009]
Young Liars [18 issues, ongoing series, 2008-2009]
Ana Mercury [5 issues, mini-series, 2005]
Ythaq [2 mini-series, 3 issues each, 2003, 2009]
Savage Red Sonja [4 issues, mini-series, 2008]

I'm your pain in the neck


I posted about The David Gemmell Legend Award in Roundup #45 and Roundup #50 and Roundup #51 and Roundup #52. xxxxxxxI posted about The David Gemmell Legend Award in Roundup #45. The polls for The Legend Award and the Morningstar Award are open!!

This is the Legend Arward nomination list. You can vote here.

This is the Morningstar Award nomination list. You can vote here.
I voted for Lamentation by Ken Scholes,ISBN: 0765360918, which I will review on January 15th.

If you want to meet interesting people, talk about fantasy books, share your opinions in a friendly fantasy atmosphere, support your favorite book and SIGN IN:

Visit The David Gemmell Legend Awards
Hope to meet you soon over at The David Gemmell Legend Award ...............

ghostfinder aka Adam Christopher
Who the hell is this? During one of my travels through the net, I found following blog: ADAMCHRISTOPHER.CO.UK . Nothing special. It was the the subtitle which aroused my interest: STEAMPUNK, SUPERHEROES and SCIENCE FICTION. Adam Christopher is an aspiring writer with several writing projects. Before I delve into his projects let me solve the little riddle. ghostfinder is the Twitter account of Adam Christopher. One of the projects is the steampunk novel Dark Hearts. Let me quote the setting:

"December 14th, 1861. Queen Victoria dies from typhoid fever. A distraught Prince Albert holds their son, the Prince of Wales, directly responsible and exiles him to Europe. Using agents inside the government, Albert transforms the Society of Arts – the respected scientific and cultural bureau, of which he is patron – into a powerful political force which is able to take over the governance of the British Empire, with Albert as the head of state. Albert has one overriding ambition – to bring his queen back from beyond the grave, using the power of science and technology. Albert and the Society of Arts wield absolute power, steering the Empire down a dark path of scientific and technological ‘progress’ married with the magical and occult. But under the Prince’s guidance, science takes a wrong turn. As the 21st century dawns, the world remains trapped as a Victorian carcicature, industry powered by sun and steam. Nearly 150 years since the death of his wife, Albert still fights to bring her back, his lifespan unnaturally extended with steam power and black arts."

I must say that I really would like to read the book. Unfortunately it is not published yet. Fortunately Adam wrote a novella The Devil in Chains which is a standalone prequel to Dark Heart. And you can download it for free!! Just follow this link. I downloaded and read the novella on my notebook in the evening of January 1st. And I didn't regret! If you read my posts regularly than you know that I normally prefer real books. But in this case it was the only possibility to get an impression beyond the setting.

Before I start with my reading impression let me quote the setting given on the blog :

"When journalist Jackson Clarke is sent to the Isle of Man to investigate the tale of a talking animal, he unwittingly steps into a battle between mankind and an ancient evil imprisoned beneath the peaceful island. Charged with treason and cut off from the mainland, can Clarke defeat the Devil in Chains?"

The most unimportant thing must be told first.
On page 14 Bona Fide has been mentioned! " “Now that we have our bona fides established, Dr. Clarke, you
will tell me everything of what you have discovered on this island.” "
The story is told from Jackson Clarke's point of view in xx named chapters by using approximately 25035 words. The formatted PDF contains 116 pages. Jackson Clarke is a character which I liked and could easily connect. There are dirigibles, steam driven machines, mechanical soldiers and solar power rifles. And not to forget ghosts, other otherworldlers and cicadas. The story is a great mix of steampunk, mystery and adventure with a splash of horror. I really like the style of the author. Words are flowing like a good drink. You get enough information to create pictures in your mind. The action is well dosed and with the appearance of non human beings you begin to feel uneasy. The whole story is more than an enjoyable read and has a good flow. For me as an non native English speaker it was not difficult to understand.
Finally let me talk about the biggest disadvantage - no absolutely nothing wrong with the novella - there is nothing more available settled in this world. I want to read Dark Heart immediately. Adam, I instantly hope you find a publisher for Dark Heart as soon as possible. I will definitely buy and read your book. Unfortunately I'm just one of many reviewers and I don't have any influence on the publishing industry. But maybe some of the readers will read and enjoy The Devil in Chains as much as I did and spread word.... Anyway I will follow your blog in order to see what will happen with Dark Heart and your other writing projects. In case you find a publisher then remember me. It would be a pleasure for me to read and review your book.
UPDATE
If you want to read the reaction of Adam Christopher then read his post Honourable mentions.


Movies

What comes up in your mind when your hear or read The Sorcerer's Apprentice? My school days are long ago and I don't know the opus of all these famous German writers very well but this is definitely the English translation of Der Zauberlehrling , a poem by Johann Wolfgange von Goethe. You can read the bilingual text over at About.com. Walt Disney produced a movie based on that poem. It was the very famous Fantasia, starring Mickey Mouse as an apprentice. I don't want to bother you with details. For more information please read Fantasia (movie) at Wikpedia. Before I continue with the text you can watch a famous sequence of Fantasia:


And now the Walt Disney Studios return with a movie- directed by John Turteltaub and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer - titled The Sorcerer's Apprentice! Starring Jay Baruchel as Dave Stutler. A guy with hidden potential. He is soon recruited as the apprentice of Balthasar Blake, a master sorcerer living in modern Manhattan. Blake is acted by Nicolas Cage. The movie will hit the theatres on July 16th, 2010. Watch the following trailer for a first impression.




Quotes

I read about demons. I still think of the black mamba (you will understand when you read my review of Demon's Bane by David Douglas next week). Conclusion demons quotes.

"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.”
by Buddha

"An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn't know why they choose him and he's usually too busy to wonder why.”
by William Faulkner (American author 1897-1962)

"Whenever a thing is done for the first time, it releases a little demon.”
by Emily Dickinson (American poet 1830-1886)

"Not necessity, not desire - no, the love of power is the demon of men. Let them have everything - health, food, a place to live, entertainment - they are and remain unhappy and low-spirited: for the demon waits and waits and will be satisfied.”
by Friedrich Nietzsche (German philosopher poet 1844-1900)