Shadowblade by Anna Kashina

Shadowblade by Anna Kashina starts off with all the elements that I know I'll love. We meet Naia, a young orphan with astounding martial skills, who is trained up in an order of assassins. We have shadowy puppet masters who are angling to topple an imperial despot. We have a mystery surrounding Naia's birth that is absolutely delicious when she is tasked with taking on a role in a conspiracy to challenge the succession. Machiavellian skullduggery meets fast-paced action. I should have been in my happy place.

I'd say that this book *almost* nails it, but the pacing is just that little bit off. I was deeply invested in seeing Naia as she undergoes her training, yet part of this feels glossed over to where we get her embarking on her first, important mission. A too-obvious, too-easy romance liaison gets tossed in, with repercussions I called the moment we first hit the bedroom, but perhaps the thing that kinda made the entire novel fall a little flat for me was when the antagonist's identity was revealed far too early. And that, for me, made me feel as if we missed out on much of the tension. Not once did I fear that my protagonists would succeed – and I would have liked to have had more of a sense of impending doom.

The setting, in the second half of the novel, that takes place in an imperial palace, is a stage set that is ripe for a more complex treatment – especially if we could see the introduction of more opposing factions, but I feel that this last part of the story gets rushed. I feel with a little careful planning, this could easily have been a very satisfying duology or trilogy, as there is so much material to mine in the setting. Is this still an entertaining read? I'd say yes. This is not the first of Kashina's novels that I've enjoyed, but this one's just not quite the five-star read I was hoping for. But it's still good. It has its moments, and what Kashina does well is write excellent fight scenes involving characters who are likeable and relatable.

Ash Kickers by Sean Grigsby

Ash Kickers by Sean Grigsby is another casualty of my vain attempt to tame my TBR pile. The book was out in 2019. It's 2023. Go figure. But anyhoo, better late than never, hey? In this action-packed caper we meet Tamerica Williams right in the midst of dealing with a dragon. She and her team, garbed in mech suits and armed with laser swords and other, assorted gadgets and weapons, are the thin wedge standing between humanity and certain extinction, now that the dragons have returned and weaponised human wraiths to do their bidding.

In a nut shell, I'd describe this book at Ghostbusters, by way of Reign of Fire, with light sabres. 

Tamerica is a smart mouthed, kick-ass heroine who doesn't take flak from anyone, least of all her boss, veteran fire-fighter Cole Brannigan. But even she feels way out of her depth when a new beastie arises from the ashes – an honest-to-goodness phoenix that noms on dragons. Surely that would be a good thing, right? Nope, it's not, for Reasons I'm not going to go into for fear of spoilers.

Grigsby's prose is sharp and quick, his dialogue is snappy, and he delivers a fast-paced, no-punches-pulled, high-octane race against a big bad to end all big bads. He doesn't give readers time to get too comfortable, but foregrounds teamwork, camaraderie, and doing what's right, even if it means upsetting authority figures. And might just get you killed in the process.

I did find the world building to be completely bonkers, but if you can dive into genres such as Ghostbusters and suspend disbelief, then you shouldn't have a problem with this setting. I'll admit I'm always a sucker for dangerous megafauna, and dragons, fire-breathing or not, are most certainly my jam.

I'll close by saying if you're looking for a measured, sedate story that unpacks gradually, with nuanced layers, this is probably not going to be it. This one's all about kicking scaly posteriors and slaying one heck of a nasty bird.

The Ingenious by Darius Hinks

Okay, so wow, hats off to Darius Hinks for world building. In The Ingenious, he's created a city that immediately grabbed my attention in a way that I won't forget in a hurry. Run by a group of enigmatic alchemists known as the Curious Men, the city of Athanor is not bound by location. Fuelled by alchemy, the city travels from world to world, where it siphons off resources until its rulers deem it time for them to move again. Consequently, the city is a true melting pot of cultures, a sprawling grotesquery of races and architectural styles steeped in squalor for those who don't have power or wealth. I loved this dark, baroque setting hard, and Hinks does a good job of gradually revealing the city's nature.

Enter Isten and her people, a small group of exiles who want to go home. Except they have no say in where Athanor will next settle, and they're hard pressed on all sides by gangs. We stagger into the story just as Isten reappears from a year of drunken indulgence. She's a rogue and a drug addict who has lost her way, and scoffs at her group's idealism. She's also not above using them to get what she wants, and she can't think beyond the next hit.

I get it. She's not a nice person. And she ends up getting mixed up in events that are way beyond her ken when she tangles with one of the Curious Men. Alchemy is involved, as well as dubious moral codes, and just when you think things can't get worse, they do. Isten has no morals, no scruples, until suddenly she does, except after her dark teatime, she's so deep in the dreck that she has to do some fancy footwork to get both herself and the people she's close to out.

This novel has most of the hallmarks I adore in fantasy, but it falls just ever so slightly short of the mark, and I believe it's developmental in the sense that we don't dig deep enough into Isten, in terms of her motivations and her sudden about-face near the end when she has to turn from rogue to hero. We have hints of a wonderful interplay between her and her polar opposite, but I feel as if the story wasn't quite driven far enough for this to feel satisfying. After a promising start, the novel flounders and eventually rushes to tie up loose ends in what feels like a slightly haphazard fashion that left me needing a stronger resolution. Kinda like me sitting back at the end, saying, "Is this it?" There was a particular thread involving the Exiles and a secondary character that could have been foregrounded more to help create a greater sense of upping the stakes and lending more of a sense of urgency.

If you're in the mood for a slice of GrimDark with serious Gothic flavouring, then yeah, this will be your jam. There were some great ideas here, and a simply fabulous setting that's begging a deeper plunge, but I would have loved to have seen more in terms of better realised structure and deeper character development.

Blades of the Old Empire: Book I of the Majat Code by Anna Kashina

Someone told me to pick up a copy of Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina, and for the life of me I can't remember who. So, thank you to that individual. Granted, this novel is published by one of my favourite publishers, Angry Robot, so I know almost without opening the to the first page that I'm going to get high-quality fantasy that will tick all the right boxes. And, as a measure of how well I connected with the characters and the setting, I immediately went out and purchased book two series once I was done with book 1.

This is adventure-filled, combat-orientated fantasy at its best, with just enough intrigue to keep me engaged. We follow the story mainly from the viewpoint of Prince Kythar, who is thrust into a situation where his magical power is the only thing that stands between his world and rise of an authoritarian dark empire. And by the time he and his companions figure out that there's something amiss, the enemy has already infiltrated one of their major religious organisations, and is moving quickly to cement its hold on major players.

Added to the mix are the Majat – an order of elite warriors for hire and Prince Kythar's only hope to get ahead of a well entrenched enemy playing a game they can only guess at. An enemy that is also adept at manipulating events to their own best interests.

I can't find much fault with this story other than the divisions between good/evil were a little too clear. I did at times feel that the world building could have a bit more depth in terms of immersing me in the setting, but the story itself swept me along so that this wasn't a deal breaker for me. I loved some of the support characters, such as the Lady of the Forest and her ghastly dress of venomous spiders. And I'm more than fond of characters such as the Majat warrior Kara, who is both strong but incredibly fragile.

Blades of the Old Empire is a coming-of-age story that should appeal to a broad range of fantasy readers, and delivers a memorable adventure that kept this GRRM fan happy.

The Subjugate by Amanda Bridgeman

Every once in a while I like to venture outside of my preferred genres, and The Subjugate by Amanda Bridgeman caught my eye. The author paints a vivid picture exploring how technology may very well impact our lives in the not-so-distant future. The world that she envisions means that every movement a person makes is recorded in some way. AIs and self-driving cars are the norm, but police are still required to provide the human element in fighting crime.

Yet some people – especially religious communities – have moved away from the city to enjoy more simpler lives, without all the surveillance. But when a murder is committed in Bountiful, a strict Christian community, the case presents detectives Salvi and Mitch with more than their fair share of obstacles.

Suspects abound within Bountiful, but things are further complicated by the nearby Solme complex, where dangerous offenders are treated using cutting-edge technology that renders them, as the word suggests: Serene. We follow Salvi's point of view as she unravels the clues that make her doubt even the people closest to her. Hard ethical questions are asked, with no easy answers provided.

The story has a slow build, with short scenes that speed up towards a tense conclusion, and I must commend Bridgeman for her stunning misdirection in terms of me figuring out who the killer was. I'm not a huge fan of crime fiction, but I really enjoyed the ride nonetheless. Salvi herself is a difficult character to get into at first, but as Bridgeman gradually reveals Salvi's past, her fanatical dedication to her police work makes all the more sense. There were times when I felt that Salvi herself was emotionally distant, but that could also just be part of her characterisation in that she keeps herself apart from the people and circumstances around her until she can no longer avoid dealing with the issues that challenge her.

Daughters of Forgotten Light by Sean Grigsby

The first thing that sold me on Daughters of Forgotten Light by Sean Grigsby was the cover – good goddess that's some amazing design right there. The second thing was the title. Then I read the back cover blurb, and I was all over the idea of the story. In a nutshell, it seems as if the earth is rapidly headed towards another ice age; nearly all the men are at the front fighting a war neither side can win; and to combat overpopulation, mothers are given the authority to ship their daughters to a prison known as Oubliette.

As the name suggests, this is a one-way trip. Once they arrive at this space station that initially began life as an estate for the fabulously wealthy, they're left to fend for themselves a la Lord of the Flies. The only responsibility earth takes is to send shipments of "manna" with the next batch of "shippees". Carnage ensues.

What the government didn't bargain for as these women on Oubliette forming a complex social hierarchy and functioning society (after a fashion), using what available technology exists to craft their own tools, weapons and vehicles.

The story is told primarily from the point of view of Lena "Horror" – the leader of the gang the Daughters of Forgotten Light gang on Oubliette, and Dolfuse, a senator back on earth who suffers incredible remorse for having shipped her baby daughter. Both women are leaders, railing against an unjust system, but from opposite ends.

What I loved: The world building. I'm not a huge one for SF – as in I'm incredibly picky about what I'll read – but I really loved the setting. I admit I wasn't hundred percent on board with the way earth's social structure had shifted, but it was a refreshing change from my usual fare. Grigsby piles on the action with a vivid cast of characters. Sarah Pao with her genetically modified blue hair and attitude was one of my favourite characters. This story moves along at a cracking pace, and readers are never allowed to get too comfortable.

On the downside, I feel as if the assorted narrative threads could have been developed a bit more – I finished with the wish that there could have been further depth, that each character didn't quite get the full sense of being pushed to their limits. Perhaps there was too much emphasis placed on the fulfilment of the outer journey rather than the inner. So this was me hovering between giving four or five stars, so I'm going to settle on five, because this was still, in my opinion, a cracking read that I enjoyed thoroughly. And it's a book I'm not going to forget in a hurry. Grigsby's dystopian vision is an adrenaline-fuelled romp with more than enough speed and ultra-violence to satisfy those of you who enjoy their Tarantino with a side order of Sons of Anarchy but on fancier motorcycles.

Fury from the Tomb by SA Sidor

Rom Hardy is no Indiana Jones, but what he lacks in terms of whip-cracking and wisecracks, he makes up in determination and unexpected bravery. Fury from the Tomb by SA Sidor is best described as Indiana Jones meets The Mummy, and it’s fast-paced, pulpy and fun, taking readers from the sands of Egypt to the desolation of the Arizona desert.

Okay, okay, I was sold on this book when I saw the cover. I mean, look at this glorious beast. How could I even resist?

If you like a novel filled with action, impossibilities (malicious mummies, hopping vampires, serenading ghouls and monstrous worms) as well as a nerdy archaeologist, a hardbitten bounty hunter, occult librarian and a resourceful young orphan, then look no further. Fury from the Tomb was exactly what the doctor ordered, blending elements of westerns with tomb-raiding adventure.

If you’re looking for a novel that indulges in protracted navel gazing, this is probably not going to be for you, although there are moments when Sidor’s narrator – a much-older Hardy who frames the narrative – makes poignant observations about the human condition. So yet, despite the somewhat frantic pacing of the main body of the story, you do step back a bit with a degree of nostalgia. And, perhaps, also, the retelling itself is through the lens of an unreliable narrator; it’s never clear how much of the story is coloured by Hardy’s own perspective – something that I like immensely.

All in all, Fury from the Tomb is a solid read, that gets a great big thumbs up from this not-so-humble reader.

The Traitor God by Cameron Johnston

Every once in a while a review book that ticks all my boxes lands on my desk. The Traitor God by Cameron Johnston is just that. Smart-mouthed protagonist, check. An ancient, degenerate city filled with awful people, check. Mages and dark magic, check. Plenty of backstabbing, skullduggery and less-than-savoury, morally ambiguous characters, check.

Edrin Walker has been on the run for a decade, part of his mind locked away from him so that crucial parts of his memories of one fateful night in the city of Setharis are locked away. He’s done something terrible – he knows that – but as for what exactly, we’ll find out once he does. Not only is he a wanted man, but he’s also a practitioner of a rare kind of magic – of being able to manipulate people’s minds that labels him as a tyrant. Which is another black mark against his name.

When his bestie, Lynas, dies, Edrin (who happens to have a pack of bloodthirsty demons on his trail) is compelled to return to Setharis to solve Lynas’s murder and save the lives of the people he loves, whom he left behind all those years before.

Part murder mystery, part noir(ish) fantasy thriller, The Traitor God had everything I look for in a fantasy epic – in gory bucket loads. I can only describe my level of enjoyment as on par with all the reasons why I love games like Dragon Age so much. Johnston has nearly as much lore that he feeds into the story, trickle by trickle, so you feel as if you’re stepping into an ancient world oozing history. All the excitement. All the nail-biting boss battles and well thought-out magical systems.

His pacing is also on the mark; not once does he allow Edrin a moment’s respite, as he gets embedded into one untenable situation after the other – leaving me asking, “This can’t get worse, can it?” And then it does. Of course it does. And I found myself compelled to read (yet another) chapter. I especially loved the fact that he cleverly foreshadows many outcomes early on – so everything that happens early on in the story, has consequences later. He doesn’t shy away from violence either, and just a warning to squeamish readers – things do get rather messy near the end.

My question now is, when do we get the next instalment? I haven’t had this much fun with a fantasy novel in ages – this is most certainly one of my highlights for 2018. Johnston’s done a fantastic job, and if you enjoy the likes of Mark Lawrence, you’ll be right at home here.

Lost Gods by Micah Yongo

I'll start by saying that Lost Gods by Micah Yongo is an ambitious novel, and Micah most certainly bites off a lot of content for readers to chew on as this adventure kicks off. And this is most certainly a book one in a series, with some narrative threads left undone by the end and some fascinating characters who will most likely still go on to uncovering further mysteries.

Firstly, the world building is something that's right up my alley – a wonderful departure from the standard Euro-centric fantasy – that takes on a decidedly African flavour to the setting that is well realised. So, that's a huge thumbs up from me. That being said, Micah has a bit of a tendency towards exposition that could possibly have been reined in a wee smidge. Not that it bothered me too much, because the story does move along at a cracking pace, but there are moments when I feel that the flow has a few hitches. Then again, I'm a bit of a history buff, and while all the names and places did get a bit overwhelming at times, I reckon I remained afloat.

And there were some lovely characters. While we primarily deal with Neythan, and his quest to find his peer Arianna and figure out what on earth went wrong with his first mission as a newly fledged assassin, we do have some of the story from secondary characters who also have important narrative arcs. Perhaps here is a little bit of my wish that we could have seen a little more of them? Then again, some of what they discover I suspect will be important for readers to know later. There were a few moments where I felt that point of view could have been a bit deeper, with a bit more digging in terms of understanding characters' motivations to keep the overarching plot on track, but on the whole the characters are distinct and I cared about what happened to them. So there is that.

There is a lot going on in the story – not only courtly intrigue, but also conspiracies to uncover within an order of assassins, and Neythan (and by default readers) won't have any clue what's really happening, as Neythan is kept off balance the entire time – which I quite enjoyed. I did feel at times that the divine prophecy aspect to the story felt a bit tacked on, and could have had a bit more development, but it added an intriguing dimension to the novel that I'm certain will be developed later on.

While at times I wasn't entirely certain of what the characters' actual goals were (this was a bit muddy, especially near the end), I did enjoy Lost Gods, primarily because it's a breath of fresh air in an incredibly detailed world. There's a lot of lore here, beneath the skin, and for lore junkies like me, that's pretty much irresistible. So a big thumbs up from me, and I'm going to keep an eye on Micah's career.

Prince Thief: From the Tales of Easie Damasco (Tales of Easie Damasco #3) #review

Title: Prince Thief: From the Tales of Easie Damasco 
Series: Tales of Easie Damasco #3
Author: David Tallerman
Publisher: Angry Robot, 2013

I’m always a bit leery of jumping into a series when it’s a few books in, so I will admit to needing a bit of time to adjust to the story and its host of characters who have already shared considerable backstory. I’m glad I persevered. David Tallerman has an easy, and broadly entertaining style that drew me into his world.
From what I can gather, Easie Damasco has made it a habit to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now he has fallen in with the ringleaders of a rebellion, and the city of Altapasaeda is besieged by the king of Castoval. Things are not looking good, and that’s putting it mildly.

Easie finds himself cast in a pivotal role to steal the Shoanish prince, a miserable youth by the name of Malekrin, from under the nose of his battleaxe mother’s nose, and bring him back to Altapasaeda. The reason: Malekrin is the bastard grandson of the king, and it’s hoped that the lad, who’s pretty much the leader of the rebel nation, will be able to turn the tide in the city’s favour.
Well, that’s the theory, at least.

Things rarely go smoothly for Easie, however, as he and his giant friend Saltlick, embark on their desperate quest.

I will totally recommend reading the books in order. I view myself as a savvy reader, so I don’t mind not knowing all the missing details, but I suspect that I missed a lot, especially the history between secondary characters Alvantes and Estrada.

Easie Damasco is likeable. Insanely so. He’s not the most adept thief in world, and his smart mouth tends to run away with him (I can compare him favourably to a roguish, slightly toned down Captain Sparrow-type character). What’s refreshing about this novel is he’s not the hero of the story. His activities don’t shake the world, but his actions are lynchpins that set the bigger events in motion, and that I appreciate. It makes a refreshing change from following around a mage or a prince.

Mostly, he’s a person. He sees the events that transpire around him from the perspective of an ordinary person. The ugly realities of war are brought home. There is no glory in death dealing. People get hurt. People are maimed. People die. They hunger, and don’t have securities for the future.

What shone through for me mostly was Tallerman’s exploration of the nature of friendship, and if I have to look for a theme that underpins Prince Thief, it’s just that: how we relate to friends. Easie realises that it’s not just every man for himself, but he’s defined also by his relationships with the people around him.

This is a fantastic story for its realism. The tale might not tie up conveniently, or with huge epic fanfare, but it *feels* authentic, and that’s what counts. Lovely characterisation, awesome dialogue and an overall solid fantasy read.

Oh, yes. And giants. Believable ones.

A Discourse in Steel by Paul S Kemp #review

Title: A Discourse in Steel (Egil and Nix #2)
Author: Paul S Kemp
Publisher: Angry Robot, 2013

While this is book number two in what seems like is going to be a series, and it took me a few pages to get the pair of tomb-robbing protagonists straight in my head, it didn’t take me long to become fully invested in Egil and Nix’s doings.

Egil’s a big bloke and a priest of a dead god (complete with an eye tattooed on his shaved head) who’s handy with his hammers; Nix is the nimble, crafty little blighter armed with a falchion and a bag filled with magical “gewgaws” that help when he’s in a tight spot. They’re inseparable and nigh unstoppable, it seems, and always willing to help a damsel in distress.

An initial brush with the sinister Blackalley – which at first seems like some sort of alternative dimension that exists within the darkest part of the city’s slums – turns out to be a dubious blessing later when Egil and Nix find themselves coming up against the somewhat sinister Thieves Guild. And their sojourn through Blackalley does result in some unexpected consequences later on in the story.

A Discourse in Steel is exactly what it says: a straight-up adventure filled with snappy dialogue, a spot of tomb-raiding, breaking and entering, and general asskickery. The magical key that opened any lock once it had a taste of a particular fruit or veggie was just one of the quirky touches strewn throughout the tale.

Paul S Kemp keeps up a relentless pace without flagging, and the characters are certainly kept on their toes throughout. The milieu they inhabit is built on the crumbling remains of an ancient culture, and Kemp deftly paints in snatches of ancient mystery and history in broad strokes that serve to tantalise.

Readers come in at the tail-end of an epic saga, and can only wonder at the cataclysmic events that shaped the Egil and Nix’s world. There are no gallant knights in this novel, the monsters are far more terrible than mere dragons, and the damsels themselves aren’t as helpless as they might appear.

Kemp delivers a solid, satisfying fantasy adventure populated with memorable characters and a setting so real you can smell the stink of the city streets.

She's really lost it this time

Those of you who're close to me know I'm apt to leap before I look, or think, for that matter. Crazy idea number one (of surely many to follow this coming year) is to somehow write an 80 000 (that's what I'm guesstimating) novel in time to revise and submit within March for Angry Robot's open door month. (Yes, I'm an Aries, in case you're wondering.)

You can read more about Incarna here: http://paranormalwriters.blogspot.com/2010/12/adventures-in-urban-fantasy-birth-of.html

Thing is, I work in a deadline-driven environment. I work better when someone expects me to achieve the impossible. So, anyone else wanting to jump in on the madness? I'll crit yours if you crit mine (anyone mad enough to try for the Angry Robot fling?).

Read more about Angry Robot's open door month here: http://angryrobotbooks.com/march-2011-open-door-month/