Giveaway: SF/F Variety Pack

Hear ye, hear ye! This Variety Pack Giveaway is open to all US contestants until April 9, 2013. Just fill out the form below and you are good to go. Winner take all!

As usual, sharing the post or writing in some good snark will net you a bonus entry. Good luck!

Review - Shadow Ops: Fortress Frontier (Shadow Ops #2) by Myke Cole

One of the things that really gets me into a series is when an author creates a unique world or magic system and not only does a good job staying true to those ideas, but constantly and consistently using them throughout the story. Brandon Sanderson and Peter V. Brett are two authors that quickly come to mind where they have created such interesting and compelling worlds that I want to live and breath it no matter what happens, even when they're a doorstopper that doesn't further the plot all that much.

Myke Cole has created such a world with his Shadow Ops series even though it takes place in the present day. Magic is such an integral part of the world that it consumes the reader with its awesome implications. In addition, Cole has created a whole new world, the frontier, in a whole new dimension to be explored and similar to Matthew Woodring Stover's Heroes Die, takes technology to a world that has not advanced past the dark ages.

The Great Reawakening did not come quietly. Across the country and in every nation, people began to develop terrifying powers—summoning storms, raising the dead, and setting everything they touch ablaze. Overnight the rules changed…but not for everyone.

Colonel Alan Bookbinder is an army bureaucrat whose worst war wound is a paper-cut. But after he develops magical powers, he is torn from everything he knows and thrown onto the front-lines.

Drafted into the Supernatural Operations Corps in a new and dangerous world, Bookbinder finds himself in command of Forward Operating Base Frontier—cut off, surrounded by monsters, and on the brink of being overrun.

Now, he must find the will to lead the people of FOB Frontier out of hell, even if the one hope of salvation lies in teaming up with the man whose own magical powers put the base in such grave danger in the first place—Oscar Britton, public enemy number one...

Shadow Ops: Fortress Frontier [US] [UK] actually begins just before the events of the last book, Control Point, and continues the story as well. Introducing a new lead character in Colonel Alan Bookbinder while continuing the story of Oscar Britton, who graces the top of the most wanted list of Selfers, or fugitive magic users who have not given themselves up to the military.

Something that comes off almost immediately is that Bookbinder is a much more sympathetic character than Oscar Britton. It's not the fact that he's one of the highest ranking officers in the Army, but only through pencil-pushing not through field work, but the fact that he is pushed into the world of magic out of nowhere, deprived of his family, and sent to a new world without any real assurances of seeing them again.

I know lots of people had problems with Britton in the first book, but I still liked him. I didn't always agree with the choices he made, one of which got a lot of people killed, but I thought he was compelling and interesting and like I said above, I almost immediately fell in love with the world Cole created.

Bookbinder, having such a high ranking in the military, experiences things a bit different than Britton when he comes into his magic, or rump latency since magic hasn't manifested. He's given a command position, but like most everyone who is magically inclined he is sent to the FOB or forward operating base. But that comes with its own problems as the present commander for the FOB, who is equal in rank with Bookbinder, doesn't take too kindly to his imposition.

That brings me to the point that there are lots of acronyms and many are actual ones used in the military as Cole himself is a military man. I've been extremely impressed at how seamlessly he has integrated the magical (and hence non-existent in the real world) acronyms, but I'm sure my lack of knowledge helps in that regard as well.

Fortress Frontier introduces us to the world of the Source, much more than did Control Point. Where CP focused on the actual base and Britton's training, FF takes us through the world, which shown to be much more dangerous (and even cooler) than we were first shown in CP.

Because of Britton's actions at the end of Control Point, the FOB is cut off from the normal plane of existence and the goblin hordes that have been fighting them to a standstill while the FOB was fully armed and stocked with food and ammo is getting even more brave. Thus, it's time for Bookbinder to show his mettle as a leader taking a small band of the best the FOB has, including a terromancer (uses earth magic) and a seven-headed snake creature who is a prince in his culture.

The interesting organization of this novel, what with starting just around the same time as the events of the first novel in the series and then continuing on both plots toward the end was a bold play that really worked with me. It's interesting to see another's take on the whole magic thing along with the instant reassignment in the military and Bookbinder is such a great character, I was happy to spend more time with his POV (not a military acronym, well, it probably is). Then, Bookbinder's POV is able to show us much more of the world of the Source, which turns out to be a vast and dangerous place, which is always good for more action in a fiction novel.

So what would happen if people suddenly started manifesting powerful magic? You'd get drafted. I don't think Myke Cole's that far off to be honest. I've expressed my opinions on urban fantasy before and while i don't hate it, I don't love it either. However, the Shadow Ops series is something I can get behind, this is my kind of urban fantasy. Highly entertaining, unending action, and great characters that make you think. What more can you ask for?

4.5 out of 5 Stars (Very Highly Recommended!)

Shadow Ops series [read in red]:
1) Control Point (review)
2) Fortress Frontier
3) Breach Zone (forthcoming)

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher

Michael J. Sullivan's Kickstarter Ending Soon

You know, when I first heard of Kickstarter my immediate reaction was to hate it. I really don't know why especially as my viewpoint has changed considerably (in the 180 degree amount). What could possibly be bad about (1) being a part of something you love at the ground level, (2) often getting content for cheaper than you would buying it new, and (3) helping make something you will already love that much better because they have more of an ability to make it better. It's win-win. Seriously, I have no idea what my problem was...oh, it was the fact that I had zero understanding of it.

With that, here's the second time I'm promoting something great that's happening on Kickstarter because why not make something awesome more awesome?

Michael J. Sullivan is not only a self-publishing superstar, but a great author and person. Having been a self-published and traditionally published author, his perspective is extremely valuable in this day where the hybrid author is becoming more and more prevalent.

This year he has three books coming out, two traditionally (Orbit books) and one self-published with the help of the aforementioned Kickstarter campaign. Already, this campaign has beautiful artwork (as depicted above) and lots of people backing it. And yet it's still worth jumping in at this point. Like I said, you can get a good deal on the book, plus things like limited posters of the artwork and more.

In a Goodreads email, Mr. Sullivan explained his book releases for this year and the Kickstarter (which only has 6 days left) as follows:



The first two are a new series that feature Royce and Hadrian from my Riyria Revelations. These are prequels that tell how Riyria began. It was a lot of fun exploring the roots of the pair, espcially given they didn't like each other upon first meeting. I'm not sure how much you know about "the book business," but pre-orders dictate a great deal for an author. It will determine the print run, the marketing budget, and titles with large pre-orders generally get more attention from the sales department. So if you are a fan of Riyria, and will be purchasing anyway, it would be a great help to me if you did so now by pre-ordering. Here are some links to make it easy:

* The Crown Tower: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
* The Rose and the Thorn: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The last book, Hollow World, is a project that I'm very excited about. It's a non-Riyria story and combines science fiction, fantasy, and mystery in a seemless cross-genre adventure/thriller. I'm going to return to my self-publishing route with this title, and due to some restrictions in my current contract I'm not able to release any book between April 6, 2013 and January 17, 2014. So, I'm doing something rather interesting with this. I'm doing a Kickstarter Campaign. It will end on April 4 and anyone who pre-orders will get their copies of the book in June or July, which will be 6 - 7 months before it goes officially on sale.

In additon, since I'm doing a kickstarter I can offer backers all types of perks such as a poster, bookmarks, short stories, bundled ebook when paper copies are ordered, and a chance for you to be a character in one of my future books.

* Learn more & contribute here by April 4, 2013.

Here's a little bit about each book:

The Crown Tower (Aug 6, 2013): TWO MEN WHO HATE EACH OTHER. ONE IMPOSSIBLE MISSION. A LEGEND IN THE MAKING.
A warrior with nothing to fight for is paired with a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Together they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm's most prized possessions. But it isn't gold or jewels that the old wizard is after, and if he can just keep them from killing each other, they just might do it. 

The Rose and the Thorn (Sep 17, 2013): TWO THIEVES WANT ANSWERS. RIYRIA IS BORN.
For more than a year Royce Melborn has tried to forget Gwen DeLancy, the woman who saved him and his partner Hadrian Blackwater from certain death. Unable to get her out of his mind, the two thieves return to Medford but receive a very different reception--Gwen refuses to see them. The victim of abuse by a powerful noble, she suspects that Royce will ignore any danger in his desire for revenge. By turning the thieves away, Gwen hopes to once more protect them. What she doesn’t realize is what the two are capable of--she’s about to find out.

Hollow World (Jan 20, 2014): THE FUTURE IS COMING...FOR SOME, SOONER THAN OTHERS.
A Detroit factory worker who has always played it safe and done the right thing is rewarded with unemployment, a loveless marriage, and a terminal illness. Now with nothing to lose, he’s willing to take an insane gamble. He’s spent months building a time machine, and if it works, he could find a place that challenges what it means to be human, what it takes to love, and the cost of paradise. If only he can survive…Hollow World.

Riyria Revelations: Theft of Swords | Rise of Empire | Heir of Novron
Riyria Chronicles: The Crown Tower | The Rose and the Thorn
Standalone Novels: Hollow World | Antithesis | A Burden to the Earth

Review - The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll

Thomas Abbey has always loved the books by Marshall France, you may even say he's obsessed with them. He has a copy of just about every book written by the famed (and fictional) author and has an inheritance from his famous father that allows him to pay big bucks for even the rarest publications.

Abbey, who is also a school English teacher, decides he wants to write a biography of his favorite author even though he's never written anything in his life. He manages to run into a fellow France-obsessed fan in his endeavors and they proceed to visit the mysterious town where France did the majority of his writing and where he escaped the limelight.

The Land of Laughs [US] [UK] is really a book for book lovers. I'm sure if you've found yourself on this blog, you may have been borderline obsessive about an author or two in your life and even currently, so this book is extremely easy to relate to in that respect. 

If this doesn't make perfect sense to you, I don't know what will:

“Reading a book, for me at least, is like traveling in someone else's world. If it's a good book, then you feel comfortable and yet anxious to see what's going to happen to you there, what'll be around the next corner. But if it's a lousy book, then it's like going through Secaucus, New Jersey -- it smells and you wish you weren't there, but since you've started the trip, you roll up the windows and breathe through your mouth until you're done.” 

Then again, I've gotten over my need to read through everything I start. Life's way too short for that.

The Land of Laughs is considered a fantasy, but most of the book has almost nothing fantastical about it. It could also very easily be described as a horror, at least just as much as it can be considered fantasy because there were some truly spine-tingling scenes toward the end that are worth the read alone.

What impressed me almost immediately is that this is Carroll's debut novel and he's writing about a fictional author who's legendary in this novel he's created. Naturally, you have to prove at least to some degree why this person is such a beloved author. I guess you don't have to necessarily, but it would be much harder to make it believable. And yet, some of the lines from this fictional author are beautiful and therefore completely believable in all respects.

Similar to Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, The Land of Laughs is a book of many other books. Many of the famous books that are fictionally written by Marshall France are explained and even plotted even though never written in real life. Carroll even gives us lines from the books which are splendid and as I said above, purvey the beauty of France's writing.

The eponymous book is actually France's most famous book:

"The eyes that light The Land of Laughs was lit by eyes that saw the light's that no one's seen."

Cover for my copy.

There were a few lines like this that just made me smile and enchanted me to no end. I wish I could find more of them right now because they're excellent and really do provide a magical quality to the story and writing both. 

In addition, the rest of The Land of Laughs is written in a clever way that resonated really well with me. The first person narrative of Thomas Abbey is clever, but in a self-depricating way. In a book where I should have been bored by the slow start, I was enamored from the beginning.

This story has that magical aspect to it that makes reading an experience. Neil Gaiman doest this to me as well with the same sort of wit and charm. Add to that the twist at the end and this is one of those books that's impossible to forget.

4 out of 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)