Review: The Heroes, by Joe Abercrombie

The Heroes [US ][UK] will disappoint the genre reader who yearns for contests of magic, or any magic at all for that matter. And yet, Joe Abercrombie’s 4th novel is a masterfully written smash and bash, and bash again, adventure that rides the fine line between fantasy and historical fiction. Replete with his trademark irony and cynicism, The Heroes gives readers the gritty edge of combat in a tight, almost cinematic focus.

The Heroes is a departure from Best Served Cold, in a fairly minor sense, in the way it treats its protagonists. No longer solely motivated by revenge, our new heroes are instead on quest for redemption. Leave it to Mr. Abercrombie to make that pill just as bitter as all the others his protagonists invariably swallow on a daily basis.

The plot unfolds along sword edges and shield tips. The physical elements of combat become a highly effective method for transitioning from one point of view to the next. That one character, that you just happened to have formed a liking for in the last chapter, well, he now has a sword deeply embedded in his head. Queue point of view switch to the villain now holding the sword, who it turns out isn’t that bad of a guy after all. He was just trying to save his friend!

The banality of war plays a prominent role in Mr. Abercrombie’s narrative, exposing the political machinations that lead to ‘inevitable’ conflicts that can and should have been avoided. The most absurd part of the whole novel is that only a handful of people actually know why they are fighting and what they are fighting for. A metaphor for the current geopolitical reality? I will let you decide.

With enough bleakness to serve a tavern full of hungry soldiers The Heroes also has a number of high and excruciatingly violent moments. Combat after all, is not neat and tidy, and Abercrombie loves to drive this point home, again and again.

Taken in its entirety, The Heroes is a marvelous novel that demonstrates Mr. Abercrombie’s commitment to gritty fantasy, as well as his ability to keep it fresh and imaginative for his readers. A significant helping of talent and a diligent focus on the writing has made The Heroes Abercrombie’s best book yet, and one definitely not to be missed.

My only small complaint was the total absence of The Bloody Nine. We heard his name, we saw line upon line of Northmen run from its very mention, but we did not see our beloved Nine. Is he dead? Will he surface in Abercrombie’s next book? I sure as hell hope so!

Review - Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson

Erikson does it again, he blows me away with a stellar ending, but, does that make the other 1200 pages worth it?

I am a huge fan of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series and I fully realize my limitations when it comes to reviewing these doorstops, these paperweights for giants, these tomes of many words, these ... you get the picture. So, instead of attempting to review the entire thing, I'll let the back of the book tell you the story and then give you a couple thoughts.

In Darujhistan, the city of blue fire, it is said that love and death shall arrive dancing. It is summer and the heat is oppressive, but for the small round man in the faded red waistcoat, discomfiture is not just because of the sun. All is not well. Dire portents plague his nights and haunt the city streets like fiends of shadow. Assassins skulk in alleyways, but the quarry has turned and the hunters become the hunted. Hidden hands pluck the strings of tyranny like a fell chorus. While the bards sing their tragic tales, somewhere in the distance can be heard the baying of Hounds...And in the distant city of Black Coral, where rules Anomander Rake, Son of Darkness, ancient crimes awaken, intent on revenge. It seems Love and Death are indeed about to arrive...hand in hand, dancing. A thrilling, harrowing novel of war, intrigue and dark, uncontrollable magic, Toll the Hounds is the new chapter in Erikson's monumental series - epic fantasy at its most imaginative and storytelling at its most exciting.

In Toll the Hounds (2008) [US] [UK], which by the way is a brilliant title, Erikson departs from his usual formula by having Kruppe narrate. Yes, Kruppe, the man who has a way with words, many many words.

Don't get me wrong, I love Kruppe, he's probably one of my favorite characters in the series, but this really tends to lengthen out an already extremely long book. I've ranted a bit on this before, but I think a bit more editing could be used on these latter Malazan books. Then again, the fanboy in me can't ever get enough Malazan, but it still makes these daunting to say the least.

Does that mean this is a bad book? Definitely not. It's typical Erikson style, dark humor, lots of action, and an ending that is both tragic and exhilarating.

Toll the Hounds brings back a lot of characters that we haven't seen in a while (many not since Memories of Ice), such as the aforementioned Kruppe, but also Anomander Rake and his crew, and some ex-Malazan marines who happen to have retired in Darujhistan.

Why Should You Read Toll the Hounds?

Because it's Erikson, what's not to love? I'm guessing if you haven't given up by now you're probably in it for the long haul. This isn't my favorite installment, but that doesn't mean it's not on the same level as the rest of the series - one of my all-time favorite.

4 out of 5 Stars

What's Credibility?

What makes a blogger credible? Or maybe, the better question is, what makes a blogger not credible? Lots of bloggers lately have "joined the publishing game" or are making some kind of contribution to the publishing industry, Tor being one of the main proponents.

And then you have bloggers who aren't part of the publishing game, some by choice, others not. Other still have abandoned blogging altogether or are deliberately separating themselves from a "game" as possessing undue influence.

I for one, and maybe I'm the only one, think that a blogger who's been inducted into the publishing game is that much more credible. Obviously they've done something so well that even publishers have taken notice.

In addition, I'm an avid fan of reading - yes, I'll admit it. :) Now that us bloggers have some people on the inside, don't be shy. Tell us about it. Let us know what your up to, and don't hold back. If in the past you've shown independence and impartiality and well, credibility, then we can still trust you to give us your opinion. It's okay.

So, what I'm saying here is - You're awesome! You can be awesome and keep blogging. I talked to the credibility police and they said it's fine.

What do you think? Am I completely wrong here? Do you think people will stop visiting a blog because they feel it is or will become overly biased because the blogger is now working in the publishing "game"? Whether people believe they'll be biased or not, do you think they'll be biased anyway?

2011 Goals

In 2010, I really only had one goal, read 60 books ... and I couldn't even reach that. O for 1. Ouch.

This year, I'm going to set a few more goals in hopes of at least having something I can say I accomplished. Beware, some of these goals may seem really odd or arbitrary, but they make sense to me. I'll try to explain a bit, but feel free to ask why. :)

Read 60 Books

This was my goal last year and I didn't quite get there, although I made it pretty close. This year should be even busier for me so this is actually quite the intense goal.

Read at least two of these authors:

Tad Williams
Stephen R. Donaldson
Glen Cook

This is not something I'm proud to admit, but I've yet to read any of these heavy hitters of the genre. I do, however, own books by all three.

Read one of these books by Melanie Rawn:

The Golden Key [US] [UK] (by Rawn, Fallon, Elliott), OR
Stronghold [US] [UK] (Dragon Star Book 1)

I loved the Dragon Prince trilogy and for some reason I've never read another thing by Rawn. I own both of these and I still can't believe I've never read the Dragon Star trilogy.

Read at least one of these trilogies:

The Coldfire Trilogy [US] [UK] by C.S. Friedman
The Rai Kirah Trilogy [US] [UK] by Carol Berg

Both have been staring at me for way too long. Something's gotta happen this year.

Read further in The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

I've only read The Gunslinger (Review) so far, thought I'd get to more last year, and although I thought about the goal 'finish The Dark Tower series' I decided to be a bit more realistic. (Just 1 book = further, although I'd prefer more)

Read further in The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

Again, I'm copping out with my use of the term "further". I've read up through Grave Peril (Book 3) and it's about time I head back. I have the next two on my shelf waiting.

There's probably more, so I'll get those up when I think of them. :)