'The Death of Integrity' - Guy Haley (Black Library), Didn't finish the book...

Am I falling out of love with Warhammer 40K fiction? Yep, just a little bit and I think it's down to the success they are having with the 'Horus Heresy' and the knock on affect that is having on the other books they are publishing. If you have a series that is now regularly hitting the NYT bestsellers list (albeit the lower reaches) then that is the series you put all your energy into. More than that though, if you're publishing a series that will pretty much define the Warhammer 40K setting forever then your attention has to be on it to make sure it's the best that it can be. You can't really argue with that but where does that leave the other books? Left to pretty much fend for themselves if 'The Death of Integrity' was anything to go by.

After pursuing an insidious genestealer cult across the sector for years, Chapter Master Caedis of the Blood Drinkers stands ready to destroy the original source of the infection - the vast and mysterious space hulk designated Death of Integrity. However, immediately coming into conflict with both their brothers in the Novamarines Chapter and the priesthood of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Blood Drinkers must reign in their more aggressive instincts and accept the possibility that the hulk itself may be of value to the Imperium...

Now you know that I've always had issues with the 'Space Marines Battles' series; a series that misses the target more often than not and really should have been left as battle reports in White Dwarf magazine. If you don't have a good story to really flesh it out then all you have is a series of gunshots and then a victor. Haley tries to bulk out 'Death of Integrity' with an exploration of the heraldry, honour and brotherhood between two Chapters of Space Marines. It didn't work for me though, certainly not by the time I put the book down unfinished. What I read was cumbersome and didn't feel like it was adding to any kind of plot, couple that with an enemy that drive a story rather than actually contributing to it and I decided that enough was enough. I skipped to the end, just for a quick read, and did like the big reveal (especially with what it had to say about the state of the Imperium); unfortunately though, it wasn't enough to make me want to go back and read the rest of the book.

I can't help but think that if the Black Library put as much thought into this series, as they do the Horus Heresy, then it could one worth following. As it is though, it will only be names that I can trust to deliver that will have me reading this series in the future. That’s probably more than a little unfair on Haley’s book but that’s the way I feel about the series as a whole.

'The Desert of Souls' - Howard Andrew Jones (Head of Zeus)

'The Desert of Souls' was one of those books that never made it past the burn out that led to the end of my old blog. Seriously, there were times where I literally couldn't look at this book (amongst others) without getting a headache and there's no point in reading if you're not enjoying it, don't even try.
This was all the more a huge shame as, at the time, 'The Desert of Souls' was having a lot of good things said about it by all the people whose 'book opinions' matter to me. I guess I subconsciously filed this one under 'must read when the headaches stop' as when I saw that Head of Zeus were publishing 'Desert' in the UK my curiosity was piqued all over again and requested a review copy.
I'm really glad I did, I've been lost in 'The Desert of Souls' for the last few days and didn't really want to find my way back out again. Thankfully there are more books in the series to look forward to. Please excuse the copy and pasted blurb, it’s Monday morning and I’m tired…

THE CHRONICLE OF SWORD & SAND: Baghdad, AD 790. Caliph Harun al-Rashid presides over the greatest metropolis on Earth, ruler of an empire stretches from China to Byzantium. His exploits will be recorded in Alf Layla or, as we know it, The Book of One Thousand and One Nights.
But The Thousand and One Nights are silent on the deeds and adventures that befell two of the Caliph's subjects: the renowned scholar Dabir ibn Kahlil, and his shield and right hand, Asim el Abbas. For their story, we must turn to the Chronicle of Sand and Sword...
THE DESERT OF SOULS: Amid the trackless sands of ancient Arabia, two companions - a swordsman and a scholar - search for the ruins of the lost city of Ubar. Before their quest is over, they will battle necromancers and animated corpses, they will confront a creature that has traded wisdom for the souls of men since the dawn of time and they will fight to save a city's soul.

Before I start on the tale itself, I just want to get a little nostalgic and say how much I like the book as, erm… a book :o) When I was little you used to be able to get hard back books where the cover art was part of the book rather than just on the dust jacket (I’m thinking of my ‘Dalek Omnibus’ in particular here) I haven’t seen that for a long time so it was really cool to see it here. Took me right back…

But anyway, the actual plot. ‘The Desert of Souls’ has a little something for everyone whether you’re into the action and excitement of Sword and Sorcery (there is loads of this by the way, absolutely brilliant stuff) or a really thoughtful plot that takes in the politics of a nation at the same time as the delicate (and sometimes tragic) interactions of the main players. It’s just like all those ‘Sinbad the Sailor’/’Thief of Baghdad’ films you used to watch as a kid. There are even some vicious little undead monkey thieves that had me wishing that Ray Harryhausen was still around for if this book makes it to the screen. There’s a lot to enjoy then and Jones’ skilful handling of his plot and characters makes the book fly by, almost with you realising it.

How could a plot to destroy Baghdad possibly be discovered through the death of a pet parrot? You wouldn’t have thought it possible but Jones unfolds the plot so carefully (tying everything together so neatly) that it all makes perfect sense. As things become more clear the stakes are raised appropriately (through a series of clever twists and cliff-hangers), building swiftly to a real crescendo just at the right time. At no point does Jones not appear in control of the plot; he displays a fine touch, in this regard, but there’s no doubt that he’s in charge.
The other compelling element of the book (and one that really bodes well for books to come) is the growing friendship between Asim and Dabir; two men from very different backgrounds who forge a real bond in the face of dark magic, Djinns, and running battles through cities and the desert. It’s a pleasure to see this friendship grow from polite association to something far deeper where each man trusts the other with his life. That’s not to say there aren’t a few bumps along the way but it all seems to tie together and make their friendship even stronger.

I want to read more of these books and there is no way I’ll be waiting so long to read the next one. ‘The Desert of Souls’ really is like all those Harryhausen films you used to watch, as a kid, but with a real air of thoughtfulness behind it that you don’t normally see. If you haven’t read ‘The Desert of Souls’ already then I wouldn’t leave it any longer if I were you. Highly recommended.

‘Elric: The Balance Lost Volume 3’ – Roberson, Biagini (Boom! Studios)

One of the things that I really wanted to do with this blog was move slightly away from the new and shiny releases and concentrate on clearing the backlog on my shelves. That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot of ‘new and shiny’ on those shelves already but there’s also a load of other books that are worthy of mention too. The range of genre fiction out there is massive and it’s always worth stopping, every now and then, to appreciate just how much stuff is out there. I’m never going to read all of it but I reckon I’ll have fun trying.
‘The Balance Lost’ series kind of falls in between these two extremes then, being a very recent publication but also very much tying in to an older series of books that has influenced much of what you’ll read today. I’ve also got a ‘kind of resolution’ to finish series that I start and ‘The Balance Lost 3’ falls into that category as well (being the last volume in the series). It’s like I’m killing a number of birds with one stone here! So yeah, onto the book itself…

Following the events of the last two volumes (go and have a look for reviews of these in my old blog); Elric, Corum, Hawkmoon and Eric Beck have journeyed to another universe entirely to discover who has destroyed the Cosmic Balance. What awaits them there is beyond even the power of Elric’s black sword but can the Eternal Champions combine one last time to defeat this menace? While this titanic battle is being fought, it is Eric Beck’s final showdown with his brother that will have more bearing on the fate of the Multiverse itself…

If you’re a long term reader of the ‘Eternal Champion’ books then you won’t be surprised by the direction this book takes, a direction that Moorcock himself has followed more than once. This lack of surprise is countered though by a beautiful rendition of the ‘Three in One’ by Biagini whose artwork seems to getting more simplistic and straightforward as the series progresses. Having said that though, what Biagini’s art lacks in complexity is more than made up for in the way that he conveys a sense of sheer scale in the scale of the final battle itself and in the size of certain participants. Some of the panels are amazing in this respect. The story itself will be familiar to long term fans (perhaps a little too familiar?) but Roberson balances this out with a surprise appearance from a couple of favourites, a nice twist at the end and a real ability to tie the whole multiverse together with a few strategically placed panels. ‘The Balance Lost 3’ is a very short book (the big reason why I don’t have an awful lot to say about it…) but those few little mentions here and there make it seem like there’s far more to it.

The twist at the end was a good way to round off the series and ‘The Balance Lost’, as a whole, is a worthy chapter in the life and times of Elric. Now I just need to find copies of the ‘Stormbringer’ comic (much easier said than done I think) and ‘The Making of a Sorcerer’ for my collection to be complete(ish).

‘Zombo: You Smell Of Crime And I’m The Deodorant!’ Ewing/Flint (Rebellion)

Is it just me or do you sometimes find yourself having the best time reading a book but having no idea what is actually going on? Anyone…? Oh, just me then… :o)
Every so often I’ll come across a book like this, full of everything that I love but with nothing remotely resembling a coherent plot. On the whole, it works for me as sometimes I don’t really want to think about why stuff is happening; I want to be swamped by a ‘tidal wave of things just happening’ (the kind of book that can leave you mentally gasping for breath as you’ve spent so much energy just trying to follow events). This ‘Zombo’ collection is very much that kind of book but it’s also the kind of book where that approach can be really annoying at the same time. Here’s the blurb, copied from elsewhere because I still couldn’t tell you what this book is all about…

When the Government's latest crime deterrent, Obmoz goes completely off the rails and starts to destroy everything from the underfunded super team Planetronix to the president himself, who ya gonna call? Not Zombo, because he s dead and not in a zombie-type of dead way, but in a brain-melted-by-laser kinda way! Now the only thing standing between mankind and total annihilation is a male stripper and a well-padded pair of underpants! I don't think we’re going to make it...

‘You Smell Of Crime’ is undoubtedly a lot of fun to read, both in terms of all the crazy mad stuff going on and the fact that Henry Flint is clearly the natural choice for art duties on this particular tale. He’s a man more than capable of rising up to the challenges raised by Al Ewing’s fevered imagination. It’s Al Ewing that’s the problem here for me though. Sorry Al but that’s the way it is. I could just about get on with Ewing’s ‘chuck it all in the mix and hit blend’ approach to ‘Zombo’, it may be hit and miss but the ‘hits’ more than make up for the misses (even though the book feels horribly unbalanced as a result). What I wasn’t keen on, at all, was the constant repetition of jokes that were clearly meant to be ‘one offs’. Once was funny, twice was less so, more than that was just tedious at times (especially when they were emphasised at the expense of the plot, a poor undernourished thing left cowering in a corner while crazy stuff happened around it).

Die hard ‘Zombo’ fans probably ‘get’ this in a way that I just can’t right now. With that said, I think they’ll love ‘You Smell Of Crime’ (this is a late review so they are more than likely loving it already) but it’s a book operating on a wavelength that I can’t seem to tune into. Shame that, I quite enjoyed the first volume.

'Cemetery Girl Book One: The Pretenders' - Charlaine Harris & Christopher Golden (Jo Fletcher Books)

Me and Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance/Whatever You Want To Call It (I don't even know if there is a difference anymore) decided to go our separate ways a long time ago. It had been kind of fun while it lasted but what looked to be a fairly interesting sub-genre swiftly became the same 'angst ridden sex' plot recycled over and over again. This may sound rich coming from me (the guy who has a bit of a soft spot for derivative epic fantasy) but there you go; I never once said I was fair minded ahout these things. Urban Fantasy and I were done... Until now that is.
You all know that I am a sucker for comic books (especially right now) so it was a bit of a no-brainer that I would give 'Cemetery Girl' a go.The blurb sounded interesting as well; go on, have a look.

Half remembered traumatic events lead to a young girl waking up in a graveyard with no idea of who she is, only that she must hide if she wants to survive. Others live in the cemetery but they are more interested in passing on to whatever life comes next, they are no danger to her.
What was a search for answers becomes a whole lot more though when our heroine witnesses an arcane graveside ritual gone badly wrong. Our heroine is on the run again with a passenger in her head who can't leave until justice is done.

'Cemetery Girl' is a very quick read, so this will be a shorter review than normal, but it was also a book that was incredibly easy to get into and read along. While I could probably take an educated guess at where the story is going, Harris and Golden's handling of the plot so far means that I will stick around for a while at least.

Harris and Golden make this first instalment a gripping one by dialling back the supernatural elements (making them more intriguing) and concentrating on the mystery of our heroine instead. Who is she? Where has she come from? Will she ever find it in herself to trust the lonely old caretaker? Okay, that last bit probably wasn't what the writers were aiming for but, for some reason, that one hit the spot for me.

There are loads of questions to be answered here and, on the whole, Harris and Golden do a good job of maintaining the readers interest. They do string things out a little too far though, there's only so much you can say about a character with no identity (when you're not planning on answering your own questions just yet) before it starts to get old. Luckily for us, Harris and Golden rescue things by allowing the ritual murder plot to have a little time. It's a good one too if resolved a little too simply.

On the whole then, 'Cemetery Girl' is a promising start to what looks like it could be a promising series. I wasn't too sure about the artwork (Kramer's work is good but missing a little something that I can't put my finger on, let me get back to you on that...) but there's enough here for me to give the series one more book at least. Maybe Urban Fantasy and I aren't quite done after all...

What, more comic books that I've been reading?

Yes, just a couple more at least ;o) The week just gone has been one of those weeks where not a lot of reading gets done. Understandable really, given that my youngest daughter is eight days old  (with all that entails) and my oldest daughter is growing just a little bit jealous. I wouldn't swap it for anything, I'm soft like that, but I have been really glad of the few minutes I've had where I could sneak off and read comics on my phone; especially when one of the ones I've just read is kicking off a series that I've wanted to see for years.

Yep, 'Ghost' is finally back albeit rebooted. The same kind of questions are being asked about Elisa Cameron's origins but this time the action takes place in Chicago rather than Arcadia. I still miss Arcadia, as it happens, and can't help but wonder why 'Ghost' couldn't stay where she was; especially given that the 'X' reboot does take place in Arcadia. Chicago is a pretty good substitute though it has to be said, in terms of the kind of imagery it throws up, and I think it will grow on me.
As a first issue, it wouldn't be fair to expect much more from 'Ghost' than what it gives us; introductions, questions to be answered and a liberal dose of action to get things rolling in the right direction. It's a mix that is handled very well by DeConnick and Sebela while Ryan Sook's delicate artwork hides its energy until just the right moments. I would probably have said this anyway but I will definitely be following 'Ghost' to see where the story takes me.

'The Song of Belit' is another case of my jumping into a 'Conan' mini-series at least one book too late; one day I'll get the timing right... Thanks to Brian Wood's script though, jumping on board with Part Two isn't as daunting as it looks; there's a little bit of scene setting and then Conan is left to do what he does best, just get on with it. I like this approach, especially with the added impact it lends to the surprise Conan is given partway through the book.
Riccardo Burchielli's art is nothing short of gorgeous by the way; a tiny bit cartoonish but really managing to capture the jungle atmosphere as well as the character of Conan himself. It's the kind of art where it almost doesn't matter if the dialogue is there or not, you could still follow the story either way. I'll probably never see the issue that began this story but I'll be sure not to miss the rest.

I'm always on the lookout for other comics to read by the way, any recommendations?

'The Gods of Bal-Sagoth' - Robert E. Howard

This story is taken from the collection of the same name. I'm pretty sure these tales can be found in more recent collections but this book is going for pennies on Amazon at the moment, just a thought... ;o)

As a rule, I normally stay away from reading too many Robert E. Howard stories in one sitting. As good a storyteller as Howard was (and he was) he was writing for very specific markets so there’s the danger of essentially reading the same story more than once if you know what I mean. That’s a very easy way to get turned off an author and that would be real shame in this case as Robert E. Howard is a very good storyteller.
So the plan was to read and post about something very different then but one of my ‘go to’ favourites let me down and left me with a gap in the early morning commute to work. Sorry ‘They Thirst’, you just weren’t the book for me this time round. Where to go for my reading fix then? I’d noticed ‘The Gods of Bal-Sagoth’ while I was reading ‘Casonetto’s Last Song’ and ‘The Curse of the Golden Skull’ (scroll down the page for my thoughts on those) and figured it was just the right length for a quick read on the train.
As it turned out, ‘The Gods of Bal-Sagoth’ wasn’t just quick filler for the train; it swiftly became a story where I didn’t notice the train stations flash by. I was lucky I got off at my stop and not another one down the line…

Turlogh O’Brien, a mighty Gaelic warrior serving no master but gold, is shipwrecked on a strange island with only his axe and an old Saxon comrade for company. There’s no such thing as a deserted island for Robert E. Howard though and soon, Turlogh is caught in a fight between old gods and the new and a struggle for ultimate control of the ancient city of Bal-Sagoth.

Do you ever get the feeling, reading a book, that the author wrote it just for you? Like they knew exactly what you were after and just gave it to you, all wrapped up in plot and characterisation? That’s the feeling I got with ‘The Gods of Bal-Sagoth’, reading it at just the time I did. Howard tells a story here that took me out of a rather grimy train carriage (I was sat next to the toilet…) and away from everything that’s going on for me in the real world. For half an hour, it was all about high adventure on the seas, facing down a twelve foot tall devil bird and exploring an ancient city. All of this was accompanied by stern heroes and gripping swordfights. Thanks for that Mr Howard.

It’s not just about the swordfights though (well, it mostly was with me but I was having one of those mornings…) It’s also interesting to see Howard play on the title and cast new light on the ‘gods’ who want to control Bal-Sagoth. One is pretending to be a god, one has aspirations to godhood and the final one could well be a god indeed (with definite food for thought regarding its ‘actions’) I also liked the way that the ‘damsel in distress’ is a lot more cunning and Turlogh himself isn’t bound by morals either; this approach adds a bit of a fresh twist to the well-established way that Howard has of telling his tales.

I also really enjoyed the ending where Turlogh ends up with something he was never looking for and no way at all of making it work for him. Everyone loses and just being alive is the best you can hope for here; I like endings like that and will have to dig around and see if I have any more ‘Turlogh O’Brien’ tales lurking on my shelves.

Comics I’ve Been Reading…

Last night I was sharing a room with my three year old daughter who, and lets be completely honest here, was snoring like someone a lot older and a lot heavier. Sleep wasn’t easy to come by then but that was ok; there was just enough battery on my phone to catch up on some comic book reading. While I love my phone for this, by the way, I wouldn’t mind something with a larger screen. Maybe it’s time for an iPad? I don’t know…

But anyway, last night was all about reading the latest batch of comics (well, the ones that I wanted to read…) from Dark Horse. I’ve said it before but I’m going to say it again, I love Dark Horse Comics. Not everything they offer hits the spot but a lot of my favourite books come from them and it never gets old being able to dive into one of their mini-series without having to worry about catching up on years of continuity. I’ll admit it, I’m just a lazy comic book reader who doesn’t want to have to work too hard when I’m reading :o) Enough of my confessions though, let’s have a look at some comics…

‘Clown Fatale’ #2 of 4 – Gischler/Rosenzweig

It’s really hard to add anything new to this when all my problems from last week still stand. Having said though, deaths by enraged gorilla and senile lion power things along rather nicely and make for a couple of eye-catching panels. I’m hoping that things make a little more sense, over the last two issues, but I’m too far into the series to jump out and you know what? I’m not sure that I want to now. With mad clowns shooting up stuff, maybe the story doesn’t really matter after all…

‘X’ #8 – Swierczynski/Nguyen

This is where the ‘Dogs of War’ storyline ends up with X doing what he does best; distinguishing between good and bad cops and dishing out punishment accordingly. This is another brutal offering from Swierczynski and Nguyen that offers not only lashings of violence from X (and he really does dish it out) but also tiny little insights into who X is. That gradually unfolding picture is what will have me coming back for more. Okay, that and the ultra-violence as well :o)

‘Star Wars’ #12 - Wood/D’Anda

While the last issue was all about space battles and double-double crossing, this issue is about tidying up loose ends and setting up things for the next chapter. As such, it doesn’t feel like an awful lot actually happens but D’Anda’s art makes it a really smooth read – even if nothing is actually happening (you can tell how I felt about this one can’t you?)

‘Conan: The People of the Black Circle’ #3 – Van Lente/Olivetti

I’ve come to this series quite late but am not too bothered as I’ve read both the original story and also come across it in ‘Savage Sword of Conan’ (I think). Van Lente does a fine job with the script although given what he has to work with that’s not too hard. I’d be more surprised if he hadn’t done a good job. When I’m already familiar with a story I tend to focus more on the artwork and Olivetti’s art not only captures ‘raw and primal Conan’ but also the savagery of the mountains and the otherworldliness of the Sorcerers. Olivetti’s art does it all in fact, nothing short of superb, and I think that’s why I’ll be back to read the final issue.

‘Eerie #4’ – Various

I’ve read a couple of the big ‘Eerie’ collections and wasn’t all that impressed. They just weren’t that scary at the end of the day… I saw Al Ewing’s name on the cover here though and thought I’d give this issue a go, I’m glad I did. While I don’t have the faintest idea of what ‘The Alien Plague’ was about (might have to give that another read) Ewing’s ‘Shadowplay’ had a vicious twist in the tale while Jolley’s ‘Invulnerable’ made up for a signposted ending with some suitably grotesque artwork from Norm Breyfogle. Be careful what you wish for indeed…

'Daughter of Dreams' - Michael Moorcock (Gollancz)

Thank the Lords of the Balance that all of Michael Moorcock’s books are being republished by Gollancz. As much as I like trawling through second hand bookshops (in my top five list of favourite things to do) it’s always good to be able to get my hands on sought after books without searching for them. It’s also always a welcome surprise to think I’ve read all the ‘Elric’ books and then find that there are a load more that I’ve still to read. Books like the ‘Moonbeam Roads’ trilogy, for example, that I had never picked up until now. It’s worth pointing out, for those of you wondering, that ‘Daughter of Dreams’ is actually the new incarnation of ‘The Dreamthief’s Daughter’, all spruced up to reflect various changes in the multiverse since it was last published. If you want an updated version then this is the copy for you but if you’re not too bothered about that kind of thing… Well, it’s up to you :o)
Like I said though, I’ve never read these books though so was more than happy to jump in here. And what a ride it was. On the one hand, it was very much your typical adventure of the Eternal Champion but, on the other hand, it was a lot more at the same time...

Dark forces are behind the rise of Hitler and imprisoned Count Ulric von Bek must fight to keep his family's black sword out of Nazi hands. Left for dead, he is rescued by a mysterious Englishman and a woman named Oona, the Dreamthief's daughter. Journeying with them to a strange subterranean world, he meets his counterpart, the albino Elric, last sorcerer-king of Melnibone. Ulric and Elric must become one hero to save the entire Multiverse from the machinations of Ulric’s cousin Gaynor, soon to be Gaynor the Damned…

Certain of the Eternal Champion books all follow the same lines and ‘Daughter of Dreams’ is no different. A man of means sees his world come crashing down around him and must fight to regain that world, a fight that invariably becomes part of a much wider struggle. ‘Daughter of Dreams’ doesn’t stray too far from that path and I will be interested to see if the trilogy, as a whole, stays on those lines as well. That’s not to say you’re reading the same book all over again though. Moorcock sets up Ulric Von Bek as a distinctive character in his own right (albeit with perhaps a little too much philosophising sometimes) and sets him against a backdrop that has links to both our history and that of Moorcock’s multiverse. All kinds of familiar names crop up but I’d say that ‘Daughter of Dreams’ remains a book that can be read on its own without too much knowledge of the wider setting, being structurally very self-contained. There is a lot here to reward long term fans though (finding out more about Gaynor was a big plus for me) and there’s a lot to reward fans of fantasy in general. Moorcock’s fantasy worlds are always a pleasure to visit (not sure that I’d ever want to live in any of them though…) and this time round was no different. It made for gripping reading to find out about the landscape (dreamscape?) that underpins Moorcock’s multiverse with the mechanics of the Moonbeam Roads resulting in some beautiful passages. It’s not just the worldbuilding though, ‘Daughter of Dreams’ is very much about high stakes adventure and the swordfights that result from this. If that wasn’t enough, you even get to see dragons take on the Luftwaffe. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Perhaps the biggest change that I encountered in ‘Daughter of Dreams’, compared to other ‘Eternal Champion’ books, is that we see Elric’s adventures through a first person perspective; finding out more about his thoughts than we do normally . Structurally this move makes a lot of sense, seeing that we have the same viewpoint for Ulric , but for me a lot of Elric’s mystique seemed to disappear and he needs that air of mystery about him. It’s almost like we know a little too much about Elric now; he is no longer a man of brooding silences and melancholy, just another guy with the same problems as us. I’m hoping for a little less of this approach and more of the Elric that I’m used to seeing in the next book.

This is a relatively small niggle though when the story, as a whole, makes for an incredibly satisfying and fun read (with a little bit of Multiversal Mechanics to chew on at the same time) I'm rubbish at leaving Moorcock trilogies unfinished so I’ll be into ‘Destiny’s Brother’ pretty soon.

A Couple of Robert E. Howard Short Stories.

After reading ‘Conan the Buccaneer’ the other day, and being pretty disappointed to say the least, I knew that the only way forward was to go ‘back to the source’ and read some Conan that had been written by the man himself. I’m doing just that and it has quickly become very clear that there’s no substitute for the real thing in terms of high adventure and storytelling. If I could make it happen I’d get everyone to take an hour out of today and read a Robert E. Howard ‘Conan’ story, especially now it’s December and the sky has suddenly gone a seemingly permanent shade of grey.

Having said all that, this isn’t actually a ‘Conan’ post at all (that one is a little way off right now, give me a couple of weeks). I was mooching through my bookshelves and realised that I hadn’t got round to reading anything from ‘The Gods of Bal-Sagoth’ (one of the books that I picked up at Nine Worlds). Howard’s writing output always astounds me (not just quantity but the range of genres he covered as well) so I thought I’d pick a couple of short stories for the commute and see where they took me. I deliberately picked two of the shortest tales, ‘Casonetto’s Last Song’ and ‘The Curse of the Golden Skull’, to read as I’m never really a hundred percent awake for the morning commute (despite the Lucozade) and needed a short, sharp burst of storytelling to get me going. And that’s what I got…

‘I eyed the package curiously. It was thin and flat and the address was written clearly in the curving hand I had learned to hate – the hand I knew to now be cold in death’

‘Casonetto’s Last Song’ starts in that deliberately innocuous way that always suggests something really bad is going to happen over the next page or two. Having set things up in such a way, Howard doesn’t disappoint with a satanic recording that takes our narrator back to a moment of sheer terror… and then refuses to let him leave. I think the danger with opening a story like this is that the reader knows what is coming and things lose a little punch as a result. Howard sidesteps this pitfall by ramping up the effects of the recording to new and unprecedented levels. The end result is that while you may have known what was coming, there was no way you could ever know that it would be this bad. ‘Casonetto’s Last Song’ looks like it might just be another ‘by the numbers’ horror story and then swiftly becomes anything but. The ending is also abrupt enough to throw you back into yourself just when you least expect it, the reading equivalent of having a glass of ice cold water thrown in your face when you’re asleep. A fitting way to end quite a shocking tale.

‘Rotath of Lemuria lay dying. Blood had ceased to flow from the deep sword gash under his heart, but the pulse in his temple hammered like kettledrums.’

When I first started reading ‘The Curse of the Golden Skull’ I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure if even Robert E. Howard could make something interesting out of the drawn out death of a pre-historic sorcerer. I mean… Sorcerer takes a mortal wound, Sorcerer dies. Job done, surely?
There’s a little more to it than that though with a link to Kull proving to be intriguing (I really need to read some more ‘Kull’, does this story lead on from a ‘Kull’ tale?) while the sheer anger of Rotath, at his impending demise, powers the story along nicely to the point where Rotath basically turns his body into gold so his cursed skeleton will survive the passage of ages. And that’s where ‘The Curse of the Golden Skull’ really delivered for me. Is the skeleton really cursed or was what happened to the jungle explorer just sheer ill luck? Howard phrases it so it could be either and the ending becomes one that will really make you think about what just happened. It is still making me think (although I’m now veering towards the ‘proper curse’ ending).

A couple of really good stories here then and further confirmation of the fact that I can always rely on Robert E. Howard to deliver short stories (as well as slightly longer ones) that I will always enjoy. I’ll be coming back to ‘The Gods of Bal-Sagoth’ sooner rather than later I think.

'Conan the Buccaneer' - Lin Carter & L. Sprague de Camp

It really didn't take that long did it? There has always been something about my commute that makes me want to escape into a genre novel, mostly fantasy ones. I won't go too deep into the details of my commute (if you live in London you will automatically know what I'n talking about anyway); lets just say that it's safer for all concerned if I let some literary creation swing his sword around instead ;o)
Which kind of neatly brings me to this latest Conan review. I've somehow found myself collecting the old Conan books, with gorgeous looking covers, that weren't written by Robert E. Howard at all. The ones where other writers took it on themselves to fill in the gaps in Conan's life. We've already had 'The Road of Kings' here, now it's the turn of a book written by the two men who basically kicked the whole 'filling the gaps' thing off. I’ve pinched the blurb from Wikipedia…

Conan, now in his late thirties and captain of the Wastrel, becomes embroiled in the politics of the kingdom of Zingara when he seeks the rumored treasure on the Nameless Isle. The fugitive Princess Chabela, the privateer Zarono, and the Stygian sorcerer Thoth-Amon are among those mixed up in the treasure quest.

I seem to be into summing up books in one word, at the moment, and todays word is 'perfunctory'. 'Conan the Buccaneer' does everything that a Conan tale should but feels like it has been assembled rather than created. Take one barbarian warrior and a king who is being controlled by sorcery; add a princess in danger, from said sorceror and an evil rogue, and a tribe ruled by cruel Amazon women. Throw it all in a pot and sprinkle with sex, you have one 'Conan the Buccaneer'; a book that's linear, and a little too straightforward, in its approach.

That's not say 'Conan the Buccaneer' isn't a fun book; it is although the casual racism coupled with Conan's sexual prowess does its best to derail things. There's plenty of stuff happening and at least one indestructible monster that Conan must pit his wits against.In some ways you can't ask for a lot more than that from a Conan tale; Lin Carter even argues, in his introduction that this is the whole point of this and other Sword and Sorcery tales. While I agree with what Carter says on the whole, I find myself disagreeing in the case of this book. Sword and Sorcery is about telling an exciting story, above all else, and this is something that Carter and de Camp seem to have forgotten in their eagerness to line up all the ingredients in the right order. Some of the energy is here but there is surprisingly little heart to be found. 'Perfunctory' and 'by the numbers' doesn't cut it when you're dealing with Conan and I was left more than a little disappointed by the end. I'll still be collecting the titles though, just hoping for better things here on in.

'Skaar - Son of Hulk' - Pak, Garney, Guice (Marvel)

I used to entertain the wild notion that I would someday be able to make sense of the wild mess of decades spanning continuity that is Marvel Comics. I mean, it couldn't be that hard could it? Yeah, I know... That was kind of naive really. I could barely get to grips with the X-Men let alone the rest of it! That way led to headaches and sleepless nights (seriously, that's what I'm like) so I decided to just play it safe and dive into whatever caught my eye. Comics are there to be enjoyed at the end of the day, same with everything :o)

We were in the library, the other day, and Sue found 'Skaar - Son of Hulk' for me to read; my wife is great isn't she? While Sue was rooting out the good stuff, I was looking for a princess book for Hope (I know but what can you do...?) Anyway... I had a great time reading 'Skaar' (great commuter read, the other passengers don't know what to make of it) but that whole continuity thing got the better of me in a way I wasn't quite expecting...

Born in fire. Raised by monsters. Destined to smash. On an alien planet shattered by war, no one is stronger than Skaar, the savage Son of Hulk. But as a Fillian warlord, an Imperial princess, and a mysterious Earthman spread chaos through the wastelands, will Skaar save the puny survivors -- or eat them?

So, Marvel does 'pulp planetary romance' with a lone hero making his way through a world of monsters, techno-barbarians and god-like beings. A world where bombs may fall from the sky but all the important decisions seem to be made by sword or fist, great stuff then if you're the son of the Hulk and are having a bad day. There are too many artists working here to pay credit to each one individually but take it from me, they all know just what they're there for and they all do their job damn well. Sakaar is an alien world of magnificent barbarism and wonder. You don't dare take your eyes off the page for a second for fear of missing yet another piece of gorgeous detail. And they all capture the inherent rage of Skaar himself which makes the battles all the more stunning.

I wasn't too sure about Greg Pak's writing work here though... On the one hand, Pak tells a compelling story of a man trying to find his place in a world that is painfully wary of him at best (actively seeking to reject him at worst) Skaar has tough choices to make and Pak leaves us in no doubt that the outcomes will affect the entire planet.

Did he have to tell all that backstory though...? It felt like every time the main story got going, Pak would bring it to a juddering halt just so one of the supporting characters could tell a story to tie things up a little bit. While I appreciate the attempt at making 'Skaar' more accessible for readers like me, I just wanted the actual story to get going and it never quite managed (although, to be fair, the collected format means that all of this could just be setting things up for more story down the line, I don't know...)

'Skaar - Son of Hulk' is glorious visually then but probably requires a lot more time, than I had, to get the most out of the story itself. There's enough there though (Silver Surfer!) that I'd pick up more of these books if they're in the library.

'The Copper Promise' - Jen Williams (Headline)

Before I get started there's just enough time for some disclosure. I know Jen Williams well enough for her to have very kindly supplied a guest post, at the old blog, and for us to make appreciative noises at cool books whenever we bump into each other. That's not going to stop me telling it how it is but, you know, just so you know :o)

I've been fortunate enough to read 'The Copper Promise' in both of its previous incarnations (you can tell I've been watching Doctor Who recently can't you?) and I've been really looking forward to seeing the book in its final form. This would explain my initial bumping 'The Copper Promise' up the reading pile and I've spent the last couple of days totally lost to everything else while I read it. I know that writing and publishing is a 'long game' but even so, can we have the sequel now please?

There are some far-fetched rumours about the caverns beneath the Citadel: some say the mages left their most dangerous secrets hidden there; others, that great riches are hidden there; even that gods have been imprisoned in its darkest depths.
For Lord Frith, the caverns hold the key to his vengeance. Against all the odds, he has survived torture and lived to see his home and his family taken from him ... and now someone is going to pay.
For Wydrin of Crosshaven and her faithful companion, Sir Sebastian Carverson, a quest to the Citadel looks like just another job. There's the promise of gold and adventure. Who knows, they might even have a decent tale or two once they're done.
But sometimes there is truth in rumour. Sometimes it pays to listen. Soon this reckless trio will become the last line of defence against a hungry, restless terror that wants to tear the world apart. And they're not even getting paid.

If there was one word I'd use to describe 'The Copper Promise', it would be 'joyful'. This is a book that may wear its influences a little too proudly (hints of Leiber and Fighting Fantasy for me) but makes up for it by revelling in these influences and having a lot of fun with them, just the way fantasy should be sometimes. That’s not to say that Williams is just rehashing the ‘good old days’ either; the plot, characters and world are clearly her own and they all work together in just the right way.

But back to that sense of fun I briefly mentioned. Thinking about it, it all comes from the Copper Cat of Crosshaven herself. No matter whether she’s flying a griffin (and being chased by a dirty great dragon) or journeying into a forbidden underground citadel; the ready wit on display and her constant enthusiasm (so long as the day doesn’t start too early) shows that Wydrin is having the time of her life. Adventuring isn’t just what she does, it who she is and Wydrin has as much fun doing the rough stuff as she does loading her dice and fleecing unwary gamblers. When a character is clearly having that much fun, you can’t help but enjoy reading along; it’s the perfect mix and Williams makes it all look really easy. I may even have a tiny crush on Wydrin, as a result, but anyway…

The Copper Promise’ has it all; dark dungeons and cities where your safety just cannot be guaranteed (map please!), all crawling with villainous types who pale into insignificance when you see the dragon and her army on the horizon. Actually, having said that, Fane and Roki made for pretty awesome villains and I’m looking forward to seeing more along those lines in future books. Where was I? Yes, the dragon provides a real air of menace and the resulting battles make for spectacular reading. What ‘The Copper Promise’ was all about for me though was friendship and doing the right thing by your friends (even if you don’t realise that’s what they are at the time). A theme like this sounds almost quaint when placed against some of the fantasy novels doing the rounds, these days, but give it a go; Williams’ strong characters offer a solid base to build on this theme and the exploration makes for some surprisingly touching moments during the questing and warfare (yes, even with the walking dead guy).

While some sub-plots are left open (presumably for future books, I want to see more of Bezcavar) you never get the sense that ‘The Copper Promise’ is anything other than a stand-alone book and I really appreciated that approach. A complete story with hints of what is to come; that kind of book leaves me wanting more but not feeling cheated by a cliff-hanger ending. I hope this will be the approach for future books as I will be reading them.

‘The Copper Promise’ then is a gripping ‘Sword & Sorcery’ read that promises a hell of a lot for the future, both in terms of adventuring and characters that promise to grow with each book. I’ll see you for the sequel.

'The Language of Dying' - Sarah Pinborough (Jo Fletcher Books)

A woman sits beside her father's bed as the night ticks away the final hours of his life. As she watches over him, she relives the past week and the events that have brought the family together. There has never been anything normal about the people raised in this house, and the bonds that bind them are fragile.

Sitting through her lonely vigil, she remembers what she saw all those years ago, the thing they found her screaming for. And as she peers through the window, she finds herself hoping it will come again.

Because it's one of those nights: a special, terrible night - and that's always when it comes. If it comes at all...

It's really hard to know where to begin with 'The Language of Dying' possibly because although I finished the book yesterday I'm still living it. It's one of those books where the subject matter gets under your skin and lets you know, in no uncertain terms, that it will leave in its own good time.

I can't ramble on too much though so here goes. 'The Language of Dying' takes two fairly major taboos and delves deep into them with a raw honesty that left me mentally gasping. Death and families; we don't like to talk about them too much, what they really mean to us, but they are always there. Sarah Pinborough gets the reader to confront them and makes it so you can't shy away from the dark stuff. There isn't a lot of bright stuff either although there are moments that make you realise that death can be a positive thing. For this family though, the positive notes are shortlived and it becomes clear that some families are meant to go off in different directions.

The narrator (I don't think we ever hear her name) tells her story with such a brutal honesty that, at times, I felt like I was intruding on something incredibly personal and shouldn't be there at all. At the same time though, I felt like I had to respect that honesty and make the journey with her. That's what kept me reading, that and a guilty feeling of 'this hasn't happened to me so I feel like I owe her'. Everything is laid on the line and you can't look away.

This brutal yet poignant journey into death is beautifully told and the element of the supernatural adds another layer of storytelling that will keep me thinking about the possibilities to be found in 'The Language of Dying'. Is the creature real or is it a sign of the kind of madness that affects her brother (maybe even her own family)? Either way, it's the offer of some kind of escape that is important and adds that final impetus to the tale.

While ‘The Language of Dying’ may not be the kind of book that I re-read (it would pay dividends but I don't think I could) it’s definitely the kind of book that I will never forget having read. It doesn’t pull any punches and is somehow beautiful all at the same time.

‘Death Ship’ – Richard Matheson (From ‘The Time Traveller’s Almanac’, Edited by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer, Head of Zeus)

 

'Death Ship' is the opening story in Ann and Jeff Vandermeer's 'The Time Traveller's Almanac' and, as such, was the perfect way to combine two of my favourite reading past times at the moment. I'm always looking to read anything by Richard Matheson and if the Vandermeers were to release an anthology of shopping lists, you just know that said anthology would have you considering shopping lists in ways that you never thought you would. Anything with their name on it is required reading for me then.

Have you seen the size of 'The Time Traveller's Almanac' though? It's massive, a book that could easily cause some damage if it fell from a great height (I say this because it fell off the bunkbed this morning and caused some damage...) I'm not going to be able to cover all the stories inside, in one post, so I'll be focussing on some in a bit more depth and offering a few thoughts on the book, as a whole, a little closer to Christmas.

Which brings me neatly back to Richard Matheson and 'Death Ship'.

‘Mason stood up as the captain gestured towards the door. Mickey started to move, then hesitated. He looked at the bodies.
“Shouldn’t we…?” he started to inquire.
“What, what?” Ross asked, impatient to leave.
Mickey stared at the bodies. He felt caught up in a great, bewildering, insanity.
“Shouldn’t we…bury ourselves?” he said.’
Whilst exploring a planet, for potential colonisation, the crew of a spaceship discover another ship has already crash-landed. It's not just any old ship though, the bodies inside the wreckage are theirs... Having seen their fate, the crew must decide whether to depart the planet or cheat death by staying. They can't stay though...

When I realised what the ending actually meant for the crew (I read it three times and suddenly went, “wow…”) I had to ask myself how much of a time travel tale ‘Death Ship’ actually is. There’s a definite element of horror there that, for me, overshadowed the whole time travel thing (and I can’t say more without giving the game away, Matheson does his trick of setting expectations then blowing you away with something out of left field). Time travel is definitely a feature though so it counts. Magnanimous of me, I know :o) I liked the Matheson introduces the theme as it asks a lot of questions of characters already on the edge. It asks a lot of questions of the reader as well. Can the crew cheat fate? On that score ‘Death Ship’ is a tale that gets you thinking.

It’s a Richard Matheson tale and, for me, that means very intelligent use of language that sets the reader in the middle of things right away. You never find out much about the planet itself, you don’t need to. This is all about the crew and their reactions to one hell of a conundrum. I really felt the sense of panic in the crew as things became much clearer, Matheson takes the reader along at exactly the same speed (never giving anything away until the right moment) and it’s like you’re right there with the characters.

And that ending… If the rest of the tales in ‘The Time Traveller’s Almanac’ are of the same standard then I’m looking forward to dipping in and out of this book over the next few weeks.

2000AD Prog 1859

I'm a little bit later than planned with this post but that's kind of been the story of this week really! Just a short post for today then, I am so looking forward to this weekend and just resting up a little... Anyway... Prog 1859 was fun to read, possibly because I decided that life was too short and ditched one story entirely. You can probably guess which one that was.

Here are some quick thoughts on what I read. This time round, I’m concentrating more on the stories as the artwork has remained pretty much consistent from the last issue (apart from the ‘Future Shocks’ story which is new). Here goes,

'Judge Dredd: Ferals (Part 2)'

I only started reading this story last week and already it's at a crossroads. I've got a horrible feeling this story is treading familiar ground (won't someone think of the children?) but I've still got high hopes that it's somehow going to form part of something much larger. Please let it be the latter, please? Still fun to read though, especially with Dredd's interactions with the Juves.

‘Future Shocks: Home Are The Heroes’

I have no idea what was going on here (the plot hinges on something that was never explained) but the note of horror, right at the end, really made it for me. A story that really makes you consider the title in a whole new light. I really enjoyed Nick Dyer’s art as well, reminded me of the copies of 2000AD I used to sneak a look at when I was a kid.

'Brass Sun: The Diamond Age' (Part Ten)

This story is far too advanced for me to get caught up quickly and I found that I wasn't interested in even trying so, erm... I haven't.

‘Flesh: Badlanders’ (Part Ten)

This one is kind of hard to call really. Part Ten has all the awesome stuff that Part Nine had but didn’t really move the story on that much if at all. But… Dinosaurs! Well, one big dinosaur facing off against one lone cowboy. Yeah, I’ll be back for more of this next week :o)

‘Damnation Station: The Howling Beast on the Borderline’

Is there nothing that Al Ewing can’t write? I’m still getting to know the characters (and I’m wishing that I spoke more than just English, couldn’t understand a word the lady was saying…) but this is an awesome slice of void warfare with aliens boarding a space station and some hard choices to be made by the command staff. And what a cliff-hanger… I will definitely be back to see what happens here.

'The Year of the Three Monarchs' - Michael Swanwick

I love reading Sword & Sorcery books right now.Apart from a few books here and there, most Sword & Sorcery books are fairly lightweight reads and thats just what I'm after at the moment (what with all the other stuff going on). It's not just that though, Sword & Sorcery is all about hooking the reader quickly and then making it worth their while with derring do, a bit of swashbuckling and some dark magic. Like I said, just what I'm after these days and the main reason why I keep going back to Tachyon Press' 'The Sword & Sorcery Anthology' when I have a spare half an hour to kill and want to read something that's fun...

Friday night saw me absolutely shattered from work and after something short and snappy for my reading. It doesn't get a lot shorter and snappier than Michael Swanwick's 'The Year of the Three Monarchs', a tale that weighs in at a painfully slender four and a half pages long; a tale that you just want to take home and bulk up with some nourishing chicken soup :o)

Don't be fooled though, there is so much more going on here than you think although it's over so quickly that themes and approaches are highlighted rather than explored. The rather odd outcome of this then is that for a story with so much going on, there isn't actually an awful lot to say. Funny that...

Read 'The Year of the Three Monarchs' though, definitely read it. While I'd recommend the collection to anyone, this is the story that you need to read first. It may even be my new favourite story in the collection itself. 'The Year of the Three Monarchs' has it all, up to and including hiding its punch line in plain sight just as the story starts to move forwards. I love it when an author does that. You have three strong characters interacting in the most unexpected of ways and only one of them will be the ruler at the end of the story. If that wasn’t enough, Swanwick paints an enthralling picture (in hardly any time at all) of just the kind of dark and dangerous world that the best ‘Sword & Sorcery’ tales sit in. ‘The Year of the Three Monarchs’ is certainly one of those as far as I’m concerned.

Like I said, I think you should all be reading ‘The Sword & Sorcery Anthology' anyway but ‘The Year of the Three Monarchs’ has been a real unexpected highlight for me. I’m really keen to read ‘The Iron Dragon’s Daughter’ now if this is any indication of what Swanwick is like as a writer. Brilliant stuff, the ideal way to spend the last little bit of Friday night.

‘Epic Pooh’ – Michael Moorcock

The ‘Epic Pooh’ essay can be found in the ‘Wizardry and Wild Romance’ collection and I’m not a hundred percent sure if said collection is being re-published as part of Gollancz’ new ‘Moorcock’s Multiverse Collection’. Amazon says no but Amazon tends to say a lot of things that are easily disproved; the collection is going for pennies though and is probably worth a punt if you want to see what Moorcock has to say when he’s not writing books.
One of these essays, of course, is ‘Epic Pooh’; an essay that caused a little bit of rowdiness on forums that I have frequented in the past (people love to yell on forums don’t they?) I’d never read it myself so when I saw the book, in the charity shop, I was quite keen to pick it up and see what the fuss was all about. Having polished it off on the commute this morning I’m finding this post a little difficult to write. I find myself agreeing with a lot of what Moorcock says but, at the same time, can’t help wondering if he has missed the point a little bit.

Commuting constraints meant that ‘Epic Pooh’ was a quick read (in terms of me having to get through it) so what I’m giving you guys are quick thoughts and reactions to it; nothing too deep here then…

To sum things up, Moorcock basically attacks the likes of Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and a couple of others, saying that their work is a kind of comfortable ‘rural romance’ where middle class ideals and religious propaganda ‘dull’ the actual story. I can kind of see where he’s coming from here, especially (and I’m going off on a slight tangent here) when he talks about Tolkien’s ‘awful verse’. I can’t stand Tolkien’s poetry, does very little if anything for the actual plot, and it’s my fear of encountering Tom Bombadil again (and his insistence on poetry) that stops me reading ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ as much as I would otherwise. Sorry, I’m digressing; Tolkien’s poetry will do that to me…. I’d also agree with him in that I would much rather read a book by Alan Garner than C.S. Lewis. Garner is the better storyteller, in my opinion, and keeps that as the sole focus; no pushing an agenda here. I really need to re-read ‘The Weirdstone of Brisingamen’ and ‘The Moon of Gomrath’ again… Moorcock does come across as attacking Lewis for his beliefs rather than his storytelling though and that does take the edge off what he is saying (keep it about the books, don’t make it personal). The point does stand though. There is an element of comfort to these works that don’t make them particularly challenging reads, hence the ‘Winnie the Pooh’ argument.

So Moorcock also says that these books somehow betray what Epic Fantasy (or romances) is all about and that’s where I think that his argument at least falters, if not completely falls down. By acknowledging the big difference between the two strands; it becomes clear that while the slight similarity offers room to have a little moan, Moorcock’s vehemence on this score highlights the fact that there isn’t really an effective basis for comparison. So does ‘Epic Pooh’ become a case of Moorcock having a moan about books that he just doesn’t get on with? Not quite, there’s enough analysis here not to make that an issue, but I couldn’t help feeling that Moorcock was framing things to suit his argument and perhaps missing the point of what the focus of his ire was all about. Have any of you guys read ‘Epic Pooh’?

‘Conan: The Road of Kings’ (Sphere)

Despite how it looks, I’m (very) slowly working my way through the books that I brought home from Nine Worlds. There are so many cool looking books on the pile right now that it’s hard to know where to start sometimes (and how cool is that?)

Over the last couple of years, I’ve gone from wanting to read only Howard’s Conan to reading the comics as well and finally just wanting to read anything with Conan on the cover. No matter who the author is, there are core elements guaranteed in a Conan story that will pretty much hit the target with me so it was long past time I widened my scope. I’ve been a bit of a fan of Karl Edward Wagner’s ‘Kane’ books (more evidence that ‘grimdark’ has been a thing for far longer than we realise) so when I saw his name against ‘The Road of Kings’ the book pretty much bought itself :o)
‘The Road of Kings’ weighs in at just over two hundred pages long and was therefore just the right book to be reading on a commute where the carriages can get a bit cramped sometimes. It took me a little longer to finish than I’d planned (I’m far too into playing games on my phone at the moment) but, on the whole, was worth the read. If you’re looking for a copy yourself by the way, ‘The Road of Kings’ can only be found second hand; but I’m digressing, onto the book itself…

Conan is about to find himself at the wrong end of the hangman’s rope but the daring rescue of a fellow prisoner catapults him into the murky Zingaran world of organised crime and revolutionary politics. Sedition is brewing in Zingara and Conan is about to play a crucial role in the overthrow of a corrupt King. But what happens next when the new ruler is not only prey to the corruption of power but is backed by an army of stone warriors that even Conan’s sword arm cannot prevail against…?

Well, it’s Conan that we’re talking about here so we know how things will end up, how things have to end in fact. Wagner spins a pretty good tale though, keeping certain secrets hidden until the last minute so the reader has to find out how things tie together. That part of things is done pretty well by the way, we’re given a reasoned theory that is tested to completion rather than a ‘sudden reveal’ which just magically sorts everything out. I was more than happy with another level of uncertainty which moved the plot forward nicely at a critical moment.

Other than that though… Being as short as it is, ‘The Road of Kings’ is an entertaining read but also a read where the plot is forced into a straight line by page constraints. Working within those constraints, Wagner actually does a very good job of giving the city of Kordava (and ‘The Pit’ beneath) enough depth for it to be more than just a backdrop. I already knew that Wagner could write a mean fight scene but he proves it here all over again with enough swordplay and viscera to keep people like me happy. Wagner also has a pretty good idea of what Conan is all about, giving us the viewpoint of a barbarian constantly bemused (and contemptuous) by the eccentricities of southern ‘civilisation’, eager though to make his mark where the situation demands. To be fair, Robert E. Howard laid those guidelines pretty darn clearly, in the original tales, but Wagner makes Conan stand out on the page in just the way that he was always meant to. You can’t ask for much more than that really.

Or can you? Like I said, the plot starts at point A and moves through all the points, in order, ending at point Z. Conan is not as simplistic a character as people might think and I couldn’t help but think that he deserved a plot that would test the limits of his character, not just his sword arm. It was a nice move by Wagner, forcing Conan to confront indestructible stone warriors, and looking for alternative means to defeat them, but I wonder if there was room for more along those lines. I guess there’s only so much you can fit into so many pages but even so…
I couldn’t complain too much though when all the ingredients of a classic Conan tale are present, in ‘The Road of Kings’, and delivered with gusto. A nice little slice of old school sword and sorcery that made me forget about the perils of the commute; if I could have more of that in my reading I’d be a happy man :o)

'The Lost Canal' - Michael Moorcock

My reading being the way it is right now, it's very unlikely that you'll see an anthology reviewed here in its entirety. I'm more likely to dip in and out of collections, reviewing a short story here and a short story there; at least until I get a spare couple of hours to sit down for some serious reading time.

I used to love watching the old Flash Gordon shows on a Saturday morning (they were repeats on TV, I'm not that old...) so I was instantly interested in Martin and Dozois' latest anthology. Those guys are prolific aren't they?
Where was I? Yes, 'Old Mars'... We're not talking about the Mars of someone like Kim Stanley Robinson, all sterile and waiting to be terra-formed, this is the Mars that we all wished for as kids; majestic and brimming with the possibility of adventure. In case you're still not sure, there's a picture of an old school ray gun on the back. Yep, we are all about the pulp here.

So where to start then? A quick look at the contents and there was really only one option. I (still) have Michael Moorcock's 'Mars' books waiting to be read so 'The Lost Canal' looked like a great way to get accquainted with what Moorcock can do in this setting. As it turned out, 'The Lost Canal' is actually set thousands of years later (and possibly in a slightly different strand of the Multiverse) but it was still a lot of fun to read, albeit with a small reservation...

Mac Stone is a man on the run across the deserts of Mars, for reasons that he is unaware of. The answer lies under his feet, amidst a secret kept for thousands of years. The clock is ticking though and if Stone cannot evade capture then the future of Mars itself is at stake...

If you follow this blog then the odds are that you followed the last blog and know that I am a big fan of Michael Moorcock; a man who has the happy knack of writing pulp sci-fi and fantasy that makes you think at the same time. There’s a real sense of adventure in Moorcock’s writing that, coupled with engaging characters, will always keep me reading. That’s very much the case here with a high stakes scenario being played out by a character that you can’t help but feel sympathetic towards as he has no idea why he is in so much trouble. The answer is another clever hook, to engage the reader, that really opens up the history of Moorcock’s Mars (tying it into earlier works I think) while at the same time making it clear what the threat is in the ‘here and now’. A bomb, from a million years in the past, set to blow up the planet in seven hours time. I wasn’t too sure about that by the way; if the scientists of the past knew where the bomb was and how to deactivate it, why are they calling someone from the future to do the job? I’ll need to go back and re-read those passages I think. While I wasn’t sure about that, there’s still a real sense of urgency here that powers the plot forward in just the right way. Moorcock rounds things off in style with a chase through ancient catacombs followed by a tense and (literally) explosive finale. There’s even a little time for Mars to fall back into the hands of the people who really love it, giving the reader some hope for the planet’s future. It felt like a fitting way for the story to end.

The only other real issue I had here was with the amount of background history Moorcock gives us for Mac Stone and Mars itself. While I love getting into a character’s head (and here, Mars is as much a character as Mac is) it did feel, at times, as all that background took precedence over the plot. This imbalance was unfair on the plot as it ended up feeling a little more lightweight than it actually was. ‘The Lost Canal’ was still fun to read though, a nice little way to spend the commute to work.