Glamour in Glass

 

By Mary Robinette Kowal
Tor Books, $24.99, 331 pages

Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamour in Glass is the follow-up to her highly-regarded debut novel, Shades of Milk and Honey. In this sequel, Kowal continues the story of Vincent and Jane, who met and fell in love in the first novel. It is written in the same Jane Austen-esque style, a voice that the author works very hard to maintain, even to the point of researching words in order to avoid anachronism. However, in this one, Kowal seems a little freer and more at home with the characters and the novel length – prior to the publication of her first novel, she was already winning awards for her short stories. Her voice skillfully continued, Kowal moves her characters out of the drawing room and into a wider environment on the European continent. She also lets her very conventional Jane grow and blossom, realizing her power and potential as an individual and a woman. Kowal is a vividly creative, captivating author. Her books are not only entertaining, they’re well written. This book does give away important details from the first novel, so read that first, but then you must read this book!

Reviewed by Katie Richards

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Sisterhood of Dune

By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Tor Forge, $27.99, 496 pages

In Sisterhood of Dune, the latest installment of the Dune series, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson pick up the story 80 years after the Army of Humanity defeated the Omnius Evermind. The Bene Gesserit, Mentat and Suk Schools are each threatened by an independent anti-technology military force unchecked by a weak Emperor. VenPort Holdings, with its monopoly on instant point-to-point transport through foldspace, using its mutated Navigators, is also drawn into conflict with the anti-technology movement led by followers of the martyr Rayna Butler. The biggest threat to the Sisterhood’s future is its difficulty in creating more Reverend Mothers through the use of the near-death poisoning process. Even Vorian Atreides is drawn back into the story as he is pursued by the descendants of Abulurd Harkkonen. The novel reveals how the Sisters are almost disbanded, but with help from an unexpected quarter, manage to survive. The good news is that the authors left plenty of plot lines to work with in future novels. The better news is that more than 10,000 years of Duniverse history remain to be explored before the setting of the original Frank Herbert novels that launched the series.

Reviewed by Brenda Searle

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The Serpent Sea

By Martha Wells
Night Shade Books, $14.99, 339 pages

Moon is struggling in his new role as consort to the queen; having no prior experience of life at court or the ways of his people, Moon is confused about what the expectations are for him and finds himself ill-at-ease with the members of the court.  Given this tension, he is somewhat relieved to be part of a team that is sent to search for the cure to the dying tree at their new court but along the way finds his loyalty tested and questions where he really belongs.

What happens after the fairy tale ends?  This is the question asked in Martha Wells new book, The Serpent Sea. Focusing on Moon, she shows the growing pains that come with suddenly being thrust into a family and having to deal with the reality of compromise and trust. Moon is a delightful character and a great focal point for the story. The world the author has created is wonderfully complex and vivid and has wonderful layers of characters, cultures and creatures. Readers should start with the first novel; reading this series is a choice they will not regret.

A Great Sequel

Reviewed by Barbara Cothern

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Archon: The Books of Raziel

By Sabrina Benulis
Harper Voyager, $22.99, 385 pages

Angela Mathers has come to the Westwood Academy to focus on her art and blend in after spending her life ostracized because she is a bloodhead – redheads who are watched to see if they fulfill a dark prophecy that would cause destruction and chaos in the world.  Angela doesn’t think that she is anything special until she discovers powers she didn’t realize she had – now she has to learn about who she really is and make choices that could destroy her and everyone around her.

Good Story That Needs a Bit More Focus

Archon is the debut novel and new fantasy series by author Sabrina Benulis and she starts out with a very interesting concept – people with certain physical characteristics monitored, feared and abused because of their potential.  Unfortunately, the story lacks focus in both the sheer volume of characters (each one having ulterior motives and power plays) and in Angela herself.  She is a challenging character to understand as she goes from mistrusting to naively trusting within a few chapters.  Additionally, she is puzzlingly surprised each time a demon or possessed person follows through with the evil act they’ve already told her they will commit which gets tiresome and makes the character more annoying than interesting.

Reviewed by Barbara Cothern

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Burton & Swinburne in Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon

By Mark Hodder
PYR, $16.00, 397 pages

The third book in the Burton & Swinburne series, Burton & Swinburne in Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon, follows Sir Richard Burton and his assistant Algernon Swinburne as they search Africa for the three Eyes of Naga, mysterious diamonds said to hold great power. Along the way Burton is thrown into an alternate reality where everything he knows to be true has been turned on its head. The finale comes when Burton must face his nemesis both in Africa in 1914, and London in 1840. By blending historical facts and figures, with fantasy Hodder creates stories that are believable and fun. And although this story is based in imagination, Hodder’s writing creates an alternate history that could just as well be fact. As soon as the cover is opened, this story will suck you in until the last page has turned; and the characters become like old friends, every conversation like catching up.

The only downside to Burton & Swinburne in Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon is the time travel element. By writing a story that takes place in two separate realities, confusion tends to abound. The text doesn’t distinguish between which reality is happening, so without obvious clues, the reader can sometimes become lost. It is never long before things become clear again though, and the story carries along. This isn’t just a book for steampunk enthusiasts, though they will certainly enjoy this work, but it will also entertain anyone interested in a pair of characters as fun as Sherlock and Watson.

Reviewed by Andrew Keyser

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The Alloy of Law: A Mistborn Novel

By Brandon Sanderson
TOR, $24.99, 332 pages

Brandon Sanderson is a rising star in fantasy literature. His Mistborn trilogy garnered him enough acclaim that Robert Jordan handpicked him to finish the Wheel of Time. His latest book, Alloy of Law is a return to the world he created in the Mistborn trilogy except hundreds of years have passed since the events that those books relate and, unlike many other fantasy settings, the world has moved on, progress has occurred. The Land of Elendel is in the midst of an industrial revolution: trains, electricity, firearms, are all now common and working side by side with the unique magical system of the world, Allomancy. Alloy of Law tells the story of noble born Waxillium Ladrian, who has spent the last twenty years of his life in the Roughs, this world’s Wild West, as a law man, until personal tragedy brings him home to the capital city and a house in disarray. What follows is an excellent blend of detective story, high fantasy, and western all rolled into an enjoyable tale of action and adventure. I sound like an old radio man… But, the book just reminds me of the ol’ pulps my dad handed down to me when I was a kid.

Reviewed by Jonathon Howard

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2312

By Kim Stanley Robinson
Orbit, $25.99, 561 pages

2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson is a novel from a science fiction author now in his prime. 300 years in the future, humankind has stretched across the Solar System, living comfortably from Mercury to the moons of Saturn. On Earth it is a different story. Despite stunning technical and medical advances, people on Earth face the same challenges we see today: political division versus the search for peace and understanding; the quest for meaning fighting the desire for power; and above all, the inability to stop harming our native planet. The human race has the tools to terraform Mars, Mercury, even Venus, but cannot heal its ancestral home. Earth retains an emotional hold on those living in space, yet is unappreciated by its 11 billion inhabitants.

Robinson is adept at plumbing the depths of human psychology and spirituality through his character development and 2312 is no exception. His writing provides qualified hope for a human future, not with the Gee-Whiz style of Robert Heinlein but with the analytical precision of Arthur C. Clarke. Indeed, he is in line to succeed Clarke as the greatest living master of meaningful, thoughtful science fiction.

Reviewed by Brenda Searle

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Deadly Powers: Animal Predators and the Mythic Imagination

By Paul A. Trout
Prometheus Books, $26.00, 304 pages

It is interesting the power that predators have over the human imagination. Deadly Powers: Animal Predators and the Mythic Imagination explores this connection, delving into how our various societies have been shaped by the very things that eat us. It shows how we became what we are through the animals that threatened us, and how we learned how to deal with those terrors. It is a history of mankind as told through our veneration of things with claws and fangs.

This is definitely a fascinating book. Trout has delved through some fascinating material to find some interesting stories, and then he masterfully relates them back to our development at that point. It is told in a storyteller’s style, with just enough academic dusting to make it serious. Although he could have gone deeper, and some sections seem to be just a light covering of the subject, this is a  great survey of most of the theories that deal with early man, predators, and managing the fear thereof. This book is not only good for mythologist and psychologists, but writers may get a special kick out of this book as well.

Reviewed by Jamais Jochim

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Zone One

By Colson Whitehead
Doubleday, $25.95, 259 pages

A pandemic has devastated the planet. Due to the plague, the uninfected and infected are at war – the living and the undead. In author Colson Whitehead’s novel Zone One, the worst of the worst is over and the resettlement of Manhattan is a top priority for the provisional government set up in Buffalo. Mark Spitz is a member of a group of civilian volunteers responsible for clean-up. He’ll discover whether or not the worst has really passed or if the end of the world is near. The title refers to the successfully reclaimed island surrounded by plague-ridden areas. This twenty-first century zombie myth switches between flashbacks of Spitz’s experience during the worst of the outbreak to his current narrative. Readers follow Spitz over three days in which time often slows down to give him a chance to reflect on life. Rather than completely focusing on the blood and gore typically found in zombie novels, Whitehead takes a more intellectual approach to analyzing a post-apocalyptic world. This translates to a bit of a boring read which is quite difficult to finish. Find one of the other more satisfying books in the genre to enjoy.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Franklin

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Blood Rules (A Novel of the Bloodlands)

By Christine Cody
Ace, $7.99, 310 pages

Mariah Lyander is a haunted woman. Forced to accept her status as a were-creature, she has still not come to terms with her true nature. Even worse, the vampire Gabriel, blood-bonded to her in a twist of fate, despises her and hates being linked to her. Determined to rid herself of the curse once and for all, Mariah and Gabriel set off on a journey for the cure hoping to rid themselves of each other for good.

Blood Rules is the second book in the series The Bloodlands by author Christine Cody. It is an interesting twist upon the typical fantasy book as it is set in a post-apocalyptic future where, despite technological advances non-humans, or preters, are still sought out and destroyed by humans. The characters in the book are great, especially the main character, Mariah. Full of loyalty, determination and desire to be normal, she fiercely goes after what she wants.  Gabriel is a nice counterpart to her whirlwind and provides a calming presence in the book. Fans of fantasy will definitely enjoy this book.

Reviewed by Barbara Cothern

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