Book Challenge... Win: Empress of Outer Space, by A. Bertram Chandler

In an effort to discover new and worthwhile writing, Brice came up with the wonderful idea of running a book challenge for that very purpose. Pick a book at random, read it and review it. His experience was abysmal, sadly, leading to the only review of his that I have read where he actually advocates against buying the book.

My experience was notably different. I picked up, randomly, an Ace Double containing Empress of Outer Space (1965), by Bertram A. Chandler.

Empress of Outer Space is one of the earlier explorations of strong women characters in science fiction and makes for a memorable read. Set in the distant future where humanity spans the stars and is ruled by an absolute monarchy, the book opens with the summary execution of traitors to the empire and the Empress. The leader of the rebels escapes however, and the Empress decides to go after him in person.

Empress of Outer Space is memorable for the way it presents the Empress and the relationship she has with the crew of her ship. At times a spoiled child, fearless leader and vengeance bent madwoman, the Empress seems to try on a number of personas throughout the novel. As such, Empress of Outer Space provides an insightful look at the treatment of woman characters in 'older' science fiction writings.

Empress of Outer Space is a mix between space opera, military scifi and a romantic adventure novel. The highlight of the narrative is undoubtedly the dream sequence in which Mr. Chandler generously borrows from the political debate of his time to present two drastically divergent political ideologies. Communism vs. Absolutism! Of course, the Empress and her trusted lieutenant ally themselves with the the precursor to democracy to crush the evil Communists.

One of the major inconsistencies of the novel has to do with the Empress and her crew getting stranded on a distant planet. On board her ship is a Telepath and Mr. Chandler goes to great lengths describing the history of Telepaths in the Imperial Navy. Lo and behold, one of their many skills is.... faster than light communications. So, getting into adventure after adventure on a foreign planet all could have been avoided by a little psychic phone call to home base for a tow truck.

All in all, Empress of Outer Space is a fun trip back to the past and will interest readers to the extent that it is well written and concise, if maybe a little overly imaginative. I should mention that Ace Doubles are a great way to discover older science fiction and fantasy and can be picked up for a dollar at most any street vendor. Two books for a buck is hard to beat.

Review: The Exodus Gate by Stephen Zimmer

It took me some time to read and it took me also some time to find the proper words for the review of

The Exodus Gate (2009, 566 p.) [US][UK], Stephen Zimmer

One the one hand I stay in contact with Stephen Zimmer. He sent my a copy of The Exodus Gate and additional stuff. On the other hand these factors should not influence my own view. I tried to be honest and fair.
I felt I must write these words before the real review.

The Exodus Gate is the first book in the Rising Dawn Saga. What is the book about? Let me quote the back of the book because it gives you a fair view:
"Benedict Darwin, host of a popular late night radio show that deals with the paranormal, comes into possession of a virtual reality simulator that turns out to be something far greater and more powerful than he ever expected.
Supernatural powers from the Abyss and their human allies are working tirelessly to bring about a One World Government, bridging the boundaries of time and space to bring back the Nephilim, the offspring of Fallen Avatars and humans, who were destroyed in a Great Flood that occurred long ages ago.
On the verge of enslaving the entire world, the vast forces within the Abyss under their proud and defiant ruler Diabolos are more powerful than ever before, and they hunger to shake the foundations of Heaven itself. A Convergence of unprecedented proportions is underway, as meticulously designed plans from malevolent otherworldly powers, set into motion at the foundation of the world, begin to unfold.
In the face of this rising storm, other powers begin to come together to resist. A most unlikely group begins to form, including high school student Seth Engel and his friends, who witness pony-sized wolves during a hike in a forest where wolves have not been seen in decades, to Benedict, his niece Arianna, and even souls existing within the afterworld. The Exodus Gate sets in motion many new forces and unexpected allies that are not going to allow their world and those beyond to fall without a fight."

Rising Dawn Saga is Stephen's second series beside his The Fires of Eden series . Read my review of Crown of Vengeance. The setting of both series is totally different but there are some similarities in the structure of the story and the story telling. The story is told in seven sections. Each section is divided in several named chapters. Each chapter is told from a character's point of view. Like in Stephen Zimmer's Crown of Vengeance, The Exodus Gate shows interspersed chapters which are told by inhabitants from the different worlds and not only the "good" ones.

I read the first chapter - THE ABYSS - several times because I found it confusing. I sent a mail to Stephen and told him about my problem.
He replied " I intended to set a tone for the scale and supernatural elements of the book, before zeroing in on introducing a principle character, Benedict."
So don't get confused like I did. But Stephen hooked me with the next paragraph BENEDICT.
The imagination of a seven foot height wolf on two legs just face to face made my skin crawl.

I liked especially every use of the virtual reality simulator. But I lost a bit the contact the more the story turned to the real world.

And I must admit that there is one thing I really could not cope with: I call it the religious trace. There are so many religious references: names like Satariel, Gamaliel, Thaumiel,the Abyss as a symbol of hell, Benedict and Arianna look like pawns in the preparation of Armageddon, not to forget the Great Flood. And there are more.

Don't get me wrong. Stephen Zimmer delivers a sufficient foundation for the following books. His mix of ideas is unconventional. But for me there is too much religion in the book.
So we have one author with two series. And when I compare the Rising Dawn Saga with The Fires of Eden series, then I must say that my heart beats for The Fires of Eden.

Nobody can love every book. I'm sorry Stephen but The Exodus Gate is not my favorite kind of story.


Bona Fide's Book Oracle

What is Bona Fide's Book Oracle? To keep it short. It is a palaver about the reviewed book held by ediFanoB and his alter ego Bona Fide. And I am the keeper of the minutes. Now read my minutes..

Bona: "Hey Fide, last week urban steampunk romance. How would you categorize The Exodus Gate? Fide: "Hey Bona, you don't waste a second. Let's get down brass tacks! Let me enumerate: Adventure, history, science, fantasy and a trace of religion." Bona: "Not bad for a ninny-hammer like you. That means a scientific adventure?" Fide: "I'm a ninny-hammer. How should I know." Bona: "Hey, don't be in a snit. Lets come back to the trace of religion you mentioned. Any explanation for that?" Fide: "Well, for me the Abyss is a kind of hell. And Benedict and Arianna are pawns in the preparation of Armageddon." Bona: "That must not be bad." Fide: "Of course not. But you must like it. To be honest it is not exactly my taste." Bona: "You have a point here. One can't like/love any book." Fide: "Stephen put in a lot of efford to create a believable world." Bona: "He did a good job in this case. Fide: "But I can't cope with this resonant religious touch." Bona: "That's your opinion. I have had some connection with Benedict and Arianna. But I lost them somewhere in the middle of the book." Fide: "So what do we tell our readers?" Bona: "It is the groundtaking first book of an end of time - apocalypse - story." Fide: "With a lot of interesting creatures." Bona: "It seems we are more the Crown of Vengeance readers and lovers than The Fires of Eden followers." Fide: "Different books for different people. Stephen Zimmer is a versatile writer." Bona: "That's it for today." Fide: "Now it is your turn keeper of the minutes."

I'm the keeper of the minutes and this is my conclusion:
The Exodus Gate is a solid start of an end of time story mixed of adventure, history, science, fantasy and an obvious trace of religion. If you like this kind of mix then read it.


Stephen Zimmer, the author of The Exodus Gate, has been so kind as to send me a signed copy of The Exodus Gate.

UPDATE: In the meantime I received a comment via mail from Stephen Zimmer. He told me that he unterstood what I tried to say. And he asked me whether I will give the sequel a chance or not. The next book will contain a lot more action including a massive battle. Stephen, of course I will read the sequel under that condition. Of course I'm aware that the action doesn't replace the religious traces. But I hope that they are less obvious.

Review: The Stolen Moon of Londor, by A.P. Stephens

This is one example how I get book for reviews beside the normal way of buying books and I still buy 95% of my books.

I received a copy of The Stolen Moon of Londor (2009) [US] [UK] , by A.P. Stephens from the author himself. A. P. Stephens asked me whether I would like to review The Stolen Moon of Londor or not. He asked me because Cindy Hannikman from Fantasy Book Critic told him to ask me if I would like to review a small press fantasy book. And I finally agreed to review because I liked Cindy Hannikman's review.

The Stolen Moon of Londor is the first book in The White Shadow Saga trilogy.

I was surprised when I had a first look at my copy of . It is thin compared to the other books I read so far in 2010 - just 283 pages. I was curious what to expect. And here we go.....


The Setup

The land of Londor is populated by dwarfs, elves and humans. There are wizards and mercenaries. The magic is directly related to the two moons of Londor called Cadmor and Beldas. One night Beldas disappears and cause a lot of problems. Magic starts to fail and the kingdoms get belligerent. There is no way out. The disappearance of Beldas must be reversed. A small group is hired to solve the riddle.
The group consist of a mysterious masked man named Malander, the human Seth and his friend the dwarf Lorn, the famous elf-mercenary Gildan and three northern help. The group is supported by the wizard Randor. Later on another person joins the group. The Stolen Moon of Londor is the first part of their quest......


My Take in Brief

Now you may say just one more fantasy quest novel. My answer is yes and no. Yes, it is one more quest novel but it differs from other quest novels. I never read about a stolen moon before.
Each member of the party has own secrets and they do not really like each other. But they are united in their quest. I thought that it would be easy to connect with minimum one of the nine characters but that was a fallacy. I felt like an observer. But for me it is important to have a connection to minimum one character. It doesn't matter whether with the good or the bad guys. I think I needs more time to build up nine different characters including background stories.

The story contains enough twists and turns to keep you interested. And yes, there are enough obstacles including werewolves and mysterious monks during this first part of the quest. Unfortunately I felt sometimes lost. And I'm not sure I put together all the pieces of the history of Londor..

The Stolen Moon of Londor is the debut novel and the first book in The White Shadow Saga trilogy. There are two things why I want to read the sequel: I really want to know who stole the moon and how it was done. And will there be a development of the characters.

If you like travel quests with original ideas and manageable length you should give The Stolen Moon of Londor a try.
I really hesitated to compare the book with a famous trilogy but there are so many similarities. Fortunately Randor is totally different compared to Gandalf and Lorn has nothing in common with Gimli and and and and........
This may show you that The Stolen Moon of Londor is a familiar but unique work.


Bona Fide's Book Oracle

What is Bona Fide's Book Oracle? To keep it short. It is a palaver about the reviewed book held by ediFanoB and his alter ego Bona Fide. And I am the keeper of the minutes. Now read my minutes..

Bona: "Did you like Prince Arnanor? I couldn't cope with that haughty asshole!" Fide: "Bona, please try to use a civilized language. Even I must agree. He is a pain in the ass." Bona: "That was neither civilized language." Fide: "I thought we could speak frankly about books, stories, worlds and characters. And as long as the keeper of the minutes doesn't censor us it should be OK." Bona: " Let's return to The Stolen Moon of Londor. There are many things which sound familiar." Fide: "Again I must agree. But familiar things must not be bad. When you rearrange them and add some new." Bona: "Now I must agree." Fide: "That is eerie." Bona: "What I liked most is the idea to steal a whole moon." Fide: "I think it should be possible with magic in a world of magic." Bona: "And what is your opinion about the book?" Fide: "It is no new Lord of the Rings. But to be fair. It is a solid debut. It was interesting enough that I want to read the next book in The White Shadow Saga trilogy." Bona: "Yes, a solid debut with a remix of familiar things enriched with some new ideas." Fide: "Hey keeper of the minutes I don't have something to add. See you next time." Bona: "Bye for now."

I'm the keeper of the minutes and I must say I'm suprised. I'm not used to get clear statements by Bona and Fide.

The Stolen Moon of Londor is a solid debut with a remix of familiar things enriched with some new ideas.


More A.P. Stephens

For more information about the author you can use following links: The official A.P. Stephens

If you like audio books then you have the opportunity to listen to The Stolen Moon of Londor then click here.

Origin of the copy

I received a copy of The Stolen Moon of Londor from author A. P. Stephens.

Collected Works: Richard K. Morgan

A new feature of the blog that I have been playing with for a while is going to be author pages, and its hot off the press, so bare with my while I iron the kinks out. I will post these only once I have read all of an authors work, as is the case with Richard (K.) Morgan. The purpose of the author post is two fold. First, it helps you, as a reader, find relevant material quickly and easily. Second, given that I have read all the author's published material, it is a great occasion for me to express my thoughts on how she has progressed, how the author's style has evolved (or not), and illustrate any major shifts that have occurred.

In the case of Mr. Morgan, I feel that this will be a genuinely interesting endeavor, as I have read all of his book in a fairly short period of time, and believe myself to be keenly aware of what he has tried to achieve as an author. I will rely not just on my own understanding of his works, but on everything that is out there. As such, these posts will be a bit longer than most, but also more detailed and researched. If you have any suggestions on anything that you think would add value to this humble endeavor, let me know.

Let us begin.

Published Works of Richard K. Morgan

Takeshi Kovacs novels:
Altered Carbon (2002)
Broken Angels (2003)
Woken Furies (2005)

Standalone novels:
Market Forces (2004)
Thirteen / Black Man (2007)

A Land Fit for Heroes series:
The Steel Remains (2008)
The Dark Commands (forthcoming, 2010)

Graphic Novels:
Black Widow: Homecoming (2005)
Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her (2006)


Vision and Veracity: Beyond the Singularity

Mr. Morgan likes to "draw out the current cultural tendencies and extrapolate," but his vision of current trends can be downright pessimistic, and even fatalistic.¹ These undertones of despair often lead to characterizations of his work as noir and dystopian. The great irony to me is that for a man who sees so little hope in the future for humankind, his characters are unerringly righteous, however much they try to hide it. The tension that Mr. Morgan creates between the bleakness of his future reality and the almost tangible determination of his protagonists is what gives his oeuvre such supercharged momentum.

As an author, Mr. Morgan also cultures a highly personal relationship with his characters, fighting for months on end to make sure that they are doing what they want to do, and often throwing publishing deadlines to the wind because of it.² He admits that his work is character driven, and one would be hard pressed to prove otherwise. And yet, Mr. Morgan also delves deeply into the philosophical and economic by creating highly structured worlds that are governed by exaggerated, yet plausible, socio-economic trends. From the extreme fringe of corporate capitalism in Market Forces to an imperial theocracy in The Steel Remains, Morgan grabs the dark edge of our way of life and proceeds to cut as deep as he can.

Now, it is difficult to judge whether Mr. Morgan takes some of his predictions to heart, as is the case with many authors, or whether they are only entertaining and fanciful visions of the future--although a bibliography heavy in political-economy at the end of Market Forces might shed some light on the question. Additionally, his thoughtful take on the future of marketing³ contrasts sharply with his flippant sense of humor when he links to Cocaine.org from his website.⁴ One constant is that Mr. Morgan remains as candid as ever, and that he is ruthlessly honest with both himself and his audience. In a refreshingly revealing interview in 2008 with I09, the author holds back few punches, if any.⁵

As hinted at previously, Richard Morgan's trademark is "high octane" character driven action. In my first review of his writing, Altered Carbon, I wrote that "the book is so gritty, so in your face that it actually hurts. I'm not even talking about the torture scenes -- just the gratuitous violence sequences are enough to make you clench your teeth and give you a sore jaw."⁶ Far from exaggerating, I probably understated how reading the book made me react; rarely have I had such a visceral physical reaction to the written word. In retrospect, I imagine that the tone of the novel is hammered out in the preface, in which the protagonist is murdered; the reader then follows Takeshi Kovacs along in a lucid post-traumatic stress disorder induced hallucination.

Continued next week in Part II.

Footnotes

1. Pat's Fantasy Hotlist collaborative interview with Richard Morgan.
2. "My characters all ended up where I wanted them to be, they bedded down into the consequences and outcomes of what they'd seen and done with the pleasing clunk of emotional deadbolts falling into place - so rolling them all out of bed again, splashing water on their faces and getting them to open up and let in the morning light has proved a lot more problematic than I'd expected. I started at least twice and then had to tear up what I'd written because it was some weak-assed shit." From Oz and the Dark Delays, on Richard Morgan's website.
3. In What's in the Bottle, Mr. Morgan lays out, Minority Report style, the future of advertising.
4. Morgan's link page sending some love to Cocaine.org. Highly informative I might add.
5. Richard K. Morgan on the Failures of Capitalism and the Success of Science Fiction, over at I09.
6. My review of Altered Carbon. Go easy on me, the blog was fairly new back then.