Winterbirth

Well, 2006 is turning out to be the year of the hot debuts. Hal Duncan, Naomi Novik, Scott Lynch, Joel Shepherd, Joe Abercrombie, and now Brian Ruckley. In any other year, Winterbirth would undoubtedly be considered the best fantasy debut. But this year, the opening chapter of The Godless World trilogy must share the spotlight with powerhouses such as Vellum, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and a bunch of other spectacular debuts. Such is the quality of this year's new talent. . .

I learned about Winterbirth while browsing through the various threads on asoiaf.westeros.org. Some readers there opined that fans of George R. R. Martin would probably enjoy this one. Upon reflection, I agree with their assessment. Yet I wish to clarify one thing: Winterbirth is nothing like A Song of Ice and Fire in terms of story. In style and tone, however, Winterbirth is similar to Martin's series. It's a dark and gritty fantasy; don't expect humour and bantering dialogues in this novel. And not unlike GRRM, Ruckley is not averse to killing off his characters.

This book is a fine example of good worldbuilding, even though we only catch a glimpse in this first volume. Still, the author provides many hints which indicate that this universe has a lot more depth. A past not yet buried offers a few fascinating glimpses which truly piqued my curiosity. The dissension among the True Bloods was a bit predictable at times, though.

I enjoyed the way magic is subdued to some extent -- again very similar to the manner with which Martin portrays it. The na'kyrim resemble Katherine Kurtz's Deryni in many ways. The storylines involving the Bloods of the Black Road and the Inkallim were my favourites. The presence of those fundamentalists and their religion in a godless world added another dimension to this tale.

The characterizations are typical at the beginning of the book. But when Ruckley starts to kill characters that appeared to be there for the long run, one immediately realizes that the author has several surprises in store for his readers.

The pace is good, meaning that the novel contains no dull moments. The fact that this is a trilogy forces Ruckley to write a tight story, thus preventing him from leading readers astray with a panoply of subplots that serve little or no purpose.

I felt that the ending was a bit rushed. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. As the first volume in a trilogy, it is, in essence, an introduction to a vaster tale. Yet the ending brings closure to certain storylines and it leaves the door wide open for a lot more to come.

If you are looking for another fine debut, Brian Ruckley's Winterbirth should not disappoint. This title will be one of the first novels published by the new US Orbit imprint. Those who cannot wait can order it from amazon.ca. . .

Definitely one of the best fantasy novels of 2006.

The final verdict: 8/10

For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (December 5th)

In hardcover:

R. A. Salvatore's Road of the Patriarch continues its decline, down one position to end its fourth week on the charts at number 26. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

In paperback:

Eric S. Nylund's Ghosts of Onyx is up six spots, finishing its third week on the bestseller list at number 14. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian is down four positions, ending its seventh week on the NYT list at number 32. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Accepting Questions for a Guy Gavriel Kay Interview

Hi there!

I'm pleased to announce that I've secured an interview with one of my favourite fantasy authors of all time! Guy just emailed me to tell me the good news!:-) The Q&A will go live late January or early February, to coincide with the release of Ysabel.

As always, you are all welcome to submit your own questions. The best ones will then be included in my interview. Feel free to submit them here or on the various message boards I frequent.

Cheers!

P. S. This has nothing to do with the Q&A, but I just wanted everyone to know that we have just received our first "official" snowfall in Montreal. . .:-( Damn, but winter has finally arrived!

Interesting chat with Tad Williams

I found out about this Q&A while browsing on elbakin.net.

Tad Williams talks about numerous things, including the forthcoming Shadowplay. You can read the interview here.

The Official Weblog of the Science Fiction Book Club (USA)

If you are looking for links to other reviews, these guys do a very good job of putting together lists of links to heaps of reviews and interviews. Even better, it's updated a few times every week. I discovered this blog when they began to add links to my own stuff.

You can check them out here.

Serenity

Finally, I have found the time to rent Serenity. You know what they say: Better late than never!;-)

I wanted to go see this movie when it was still playing on the silver screen, what with all that buzz surrounding it. Though my expectations were kind of high, I was nevertheless pleasantly surprised. After so many mediocre science fiction movies in the last few years, it's nice to see that some people still get it. With a very modest budget but a good story, these people have created a fun and entertaining scifi adventure. If Hollywood only understood that special effects and huge budgets cannot replace a great story. . .

Anyway, I enjoyed Serenity a lot. So much so that I'll certainly try to get my hands on the Firefly DVDs. Hopefully I can find a place to rent them.

Here's to hoping that the powers that be in the cinema industry are paying attention and that we'll have the pleasure of seeing more movies like this hit the theatres in the next few years. Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath!

If anyone from the cast and crew is reading this, congrats on a terrific job!:-)

Win a free copy of David Farland's SONS OF THE OAK

Hi!

Just got word that Tor Books will supply two winners with a copy of David Farland's Sons of the Oak, the fifth volume in The Runelords series. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

The rules are the same as usual. First off, you need to send an email at reviews@(no-spam)gryphonwood.net with the header "OAK." Remember to remove the "no spam" thingy.

Second, your email must contain your full mailing address (that's snail mail!), otherwise your message will be deleted.

Lastly, multiple entries will disqualify whoever sends them. And please include your screen name and the message boards that you frequent using it, if you do hang out on a particular MB.

Good luck to all the participants!

The images

Yes. . .

By popular demand I've decided to give in and now post book covers and other images. God knows I've been asked to do this since the very beginning.

The reason why it took so long for me to do this, you ask? Pure laziness on my part! Simple as that!

Enjoy!;-)

The Peter Watts contest winners!

Hey there!

Thanks to the generosity of Tor Books, two lucky winners will get a complimentary copy of Peter Watts' Blindsight. Many thanks to the folks at Tor Books for their support.:-)

The winners are:

Steve Spaulding, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA (RaceBannon42 at asoiaf.westeros.org -- a two-time winner if I'm not mistaken)

Maria Avrutsky, from Troy, Michigan, USA (etulftune at asoiaf.westeros.org)

Thanks to all the participants! Stay tuned for more!;-)

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (November 28th)

In hardcover:

R. A. Salvatore's Road of the Patriarch is down five positions, ending its third week on the bestseller list at number 25. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

In paperback:

Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian is up two spots, finishing its sixth week on the NYT list at number 28. For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe.

Submit your questions for an interview with Orson Scott Card

Hi there!

I've juste secured an interview with Orson Scott Card. As always, fans of the author are encouraged to submit their own questions. The most interesting questions will be included in my interview. To submit a question, just leave it in the comment section.

Other than that, William Lexner (Stego) and I will soon be interviewing Peter Watts, author of Blindsight. I also have interviews with both Joe Abercrombie, author of The Blade Itself, and Brian Ruckley, author of Winterbirth, lined up. In addition, I'm trying to get a Q&A with Guy Gavriel Kay. Hopefully it will become a reality!

And in case you didn't know, I have interviews with both China Miéville and Peter F. Hamilton coming up after the Holidays! As to what happened to the Q&A Rob and I did with Greg Keyes, Del Rey Books are still trying to figure that one out.

So as you can see, there are a few interesting forthcoming interviews on the Hotlist!;-)

The Blade Itself

Joe Abercrombie's debut is making some noise all over the internet. Understandably, little more was needed to pique my curiosity! I wish to thank Joe for sending me signed copies of both The Blade Itself and Before They Are Hanged when I could not get through with his publicist.

The Blade Itself is a throwback to what used to dominate the genre during the 80s before doorstopper fantasy epics took over. As such, it is reminiscent of David Eddings and Raymond E. Feist in their heydays. What does that mean, exactly? Well, The Blade Itself is a character-driven tale that is not comprised of countless storylines. The First Law is a trilogy, so the author has no choice but to keep this story under tight rein. There is also a certain sense of adventure throughout, something that was popularized by the sword and sorcery sub-genre during the 80s.

There is a lot to like about Joe Abercrombie's debut. As a throwback fantasy novel, I found it refreshing. It's nice to see the" a The Blade Itself will please some fans, it will fall short with other readers.

As he stated in a recent interview, Joe Abercrombie doesn't attach that much importance to worldbuilding. He prefers to let the readers discover his universe and its inhabitants through the eyes of his characters. Don't expect a level of details similiar to what you'd find in a Jordan, Erikson, Martin, or Bakker book. Still, the author provides enough background info to keep things interesting.

Characters always make or break a book/series. And nowhere is it more evident than in a self-described character-driven novel. The characterizations found in The Blade Itself are at times very good, but some also leave a little to be desired. Characters like Inquisitor Gokta and Logen Ninefingers are well-done, and they literally carry this tale on their shoulders. Others, like Bayaz and Jezal dan Luthar, are clichéd and somewhat of caricatures. A few are barely introduced, like Ferro and Yulwei, yet are intriguing.

One of this book's main facet -- and this is where it might alienate some readers -- is how humorous in tone the story is told. À la David Eddings, the narrative is always written in droll style, making it all but impossible to reach the emotional impact necessary to create powerful scenes. Very similar to J. V. Jones' The Book of Words trilogy and, to a lesser extent, to Brandon Sanderson's Elantris. As I said, I found this approach refreshing. But it's obvious that some readers will be put off by this. Don't let the beginning fool you. As you read on, you realize that, beyond that humorous tone, there is a lot more depth to those plotlines than meets the eye.

As a very accessible novel that can potentially please many disparate fantasy fans, I'm persuaded that The Blade Itself will be a success. Much like Sanderson's Elantris was last year. And with Pyr set to release it in North America in 2007, Abercrombie's debut will get an even bigger readership.

The author will probably never win any awards. In all likelihood he'll never be held in high esteem by aficionados. What he'll do, however, is sell books. What we have here is another bright new voice in the fantasy genre. And there can never be too many of those!

The Blade Itself is a solid debut. I'm curious to see where Abercrombie will be taking this story in the sequel. . .

The final verdict: 7.5/10

For more info about this book: Canada, USA, Europe

'Tis the Season

Hey there!

Well, December is just around the corner and thankfully we have yet to receive any snow over here. That will soon change, of course. There's no helping it.

Now that Larry (Dylanfanatic) has announced that the time has come for the OF Awards on wotmania.com (I have two nominations this year. Crazy, I know!), I thought it was time to reveal the different categories of my very own Year-End Awards. I had fun doing it last year, so I've been thinking about this for over a month now.

There are more categories this year, and more might be added if inspiration strikes me. Here they are:

- My Top 10 of 2006
- Most Promising New Voice
- Most Hyped Book
- Most Ambitious Project
- A Jewel in the Rough Award
- Greatest Comeback
- Unexpected Surprise
- Most Accessible Author
- The Sky's the Limit
- Most Entertaining Read
- Most Underrated Work
- Most Overrated Work
- Most Disappointing Book/Series
- Best-Kept Secret
- Rookie of the Year Award: Best Debut
- "I'd rather be at the dentist" Award: Worst Book of the Year
- Interview of the Year
- "Best thing since sliced bread" Award
- The Beastie Boys "I'll kick you out of my home if you don't cut that hair" Award
- The K-Fed Award: Dumbass of the Year
- Best Book I've read this Year:
- Best Fantasy Message Board
- The Lois McMaster Bujold "This one will win an award or three" Award
- Quote of the Year

As you can see, there are quite a few categories. As always, not everyone will agree with my choices. But it wouldn't be fun otherwise, right!?! Feel free to suggest additional categories, if the mood strikes you.:-) The Fantasy Hotlist Awards shall be unveiled during the last week of December. So stay tuned!

The Joe Abercrombie contest winners!

Hi there!

The names of our two winners have been drawn, and each will now receive a copy of Joe Abercrombie's debut, The Blade Itself. Joe told me that he would try to get you guys signed copies. Many thanks to Gollancz Books for their support.

I'm almost done with this novel myself, so expect my review soon.

The winners are:

Alexis Bormans, from Massy, France (Publivore on www.elbakin.net)

Sarah Lee, from Dublin, Ireland

Thanks to all the participants!:-)

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (November 21st)

In hardcover:

R. A. Salvatore's Road of the Patriarch is down four positions, ending its third week on the charts at number 20. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Max Brooks' World War Z. An Oral History of the Zombie War is down nine spots, finishing its fifth week on the bestseller list at number 35. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

In paperback:

Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian is down two positions, ending its fifth week on the NYT list at number 30. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

The Brian Ruckley contest winners!

Yep!

The names have been drawn and we have our three winners. Thanks to Orbit Books, each of them will receive a copy of Brian Ruckley's debut, Winterbirth.

The winners are:

Chris Hyland, from Bideford, Devon, England

Elio García, from Nödinge, Sweden (Ran on asoiaf.westeros.com -- our first three-time winner!)

Elias Fernandez-Combarro Alvarez, from Oviedo, Spain (Odo on fantasybookspot.com and sffworld.com)

Thanks to all the participants!:-)

The Dark

Steven Erikson, David Keck, Mark Paxton-MacRae have created this brand new scifi serial. And from what I read on the malazanempire.com forums, it looks pretty good!:-) Here is some background info:

The Dark:

Space is dark...silent...lethal.

Ships stay quiet when they can and when they can’t, it’s because they’re too damned big. Either way, no spotlights shining on white hulls, no glowing nacelles. Nobody hails anybody. Space is an unlit sea and everything swimming in it is hungry. Planet systems mean resources and, unless someone says otherwise, it’s there for the taking.

It’s been decades since the last independent nation on Earth was absorbed by the Community of Aligned Nations (aka. Generica). The solar system has been colonised, more or less, and things are going swimmingly for the genetically optimized citizens of Generica; until, that is, the aliens arrive to obliterate most everything.

Mysterious aliens. No one has actually seen them, just their massive, all-devouring ships, and no two of those alike. There has been no communication either, and Generica’s increasingly desperate pleas to negotiate go unanswered. It’s war; and for humans, it’s going very badly indeed.In the unlit labyrinth of undifferentiated asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, three old ships from a long-defunct independent republic drop out of deep-freeze and begin waging their own kind of war against the aliens. Crewed by misfits, genetically randomized (normal folk), these ships, the Widow, Wolf and Recluse begin an unrelenting campaign using stealth tactics, snatching small victories where great navies find only destruction. Like the hunter subs of the first cold war, they lurk in the dark, communicating with no one (not even, no especially not, Generica), with no base to call their own, and each operating with fierce independence.

This is the story of one of those ships: Recluse. Damn-near invisible in space, powered by a throbbing fusion reactor, and inhabited by a crew for whom cabin-fever is a way of life. Each is a study in paranoia, neuroses and just plain weirdness. These men and women are our heroes.

Here is what the creators have to say about the Dark:

The Dark is an independently written and produced sci-fi serial, available strictly through the web to our loyal subscribers. It's been a group effort, from the beginning, and we are proud to be involved in this original web serial that was developed in Rick's Garage, a coffee shop called Bar Italia and a speakeasy dubbed 'The Smiling Fist.'

Over the past three years we have worked hard to bring you these two free, proof-of-concept videos, to deliver a taste of what we're about. We're trying to keep this independent, to remain in control of the story. We want to maintain the vision and send out a great tale where the edges aren't rounded down by constant abrasion with formulaic TV production, middlemen or bland committees. However, an ongoing serial requires moolah, kash, cheddar to make it real.

This is where you come in. The vision is there, the story is there, the talent is there. We're asking you, the reader, to support us in our vision and help create some great sci-fi moments with non-run-of-the-mill stories sparked with characters as deep as space and often just as dark.

The Dark is crafted to fit into a new universe of original web entertainment. It's cheap, too. US $20 one time and then around a US $1 an episode when the show goes live.

Our mission is to tell a great story, and we want you to be a part of it … a lot. So, we're also looking for feedback as well as your dosh. In the spirit of the web, we want our viewers and our loyal subscribers to be part of the process. Enter The Forum. Here the actors and writers will offer up contributions. We're even planning to publish live webcasts of the filming process and off-screen discussions. Through input on The Forum subscribers may end up contributing to the actual content of the series. Talk to us. We'll listen. Luck out and you might get to climb into a freezer on an episode. And that's just the beginning …

We loved making these promos, and we fervently want to make the full series come to life. So have a look. We think you'll find a reason to keep watching as we roll out fresh episodes; hopefully enough to enlist and purchase a subscription.

Welcome to The Dark, the new high definition digital edge in space fiction.

Intrigued!?! I know I am! Truth be told, I've been curious about this ever since Steven mentioned it in our very first interview last January.

The first two episodes are available for free on www.thedarkfiles.com. The site contains a ton of info, as well as other interesting things. Check it out!;-)

I'll give you my two cents as soon as I've had the opportunity to download and watch the two opening episodes!

To Steven, David and Mark: Best of luck in this new endeavor. Hopefully this post will help put asses in the seats!

Another good one

Hi guys!

I know this is a bit out of sort, but I've found another good and affordable wine. So if you're looking for something that won't require you to break the bank, this one's for you!;-)

My first pick a few weeks back was the Duca Di Castelmonte Cent'are Nero D'avola 2003. This one pleased everyone who tasted it during a big dinner we held last month.

My second pick is the J. P. Chenet Merlot-Cabernet 2004 (Premier de Cuvée). You can't miss it, as it comes in a funny-looking bottle. I'm definitely buying this one again! We had fondue on Saturday night with a group of friends, and this wine went down too easily!

I'm aware that most people who stop by are looking for recommendations pertaining to fantasy/scifi/speculative fiction novels. But one day, when you're on a date with that gorgeous girl and you're looking for a fine wine that won't make you go broke and will make you look as though you know what you're doing, perhaps you'll thank me!;-) And most girls I know prefer wine to any other type of booze, so everyone's winner here!

Cheers!

The L. E. Modesitt, jr. contest winners!

Hey!

Okay, so we have our two winners. Each will receive a copy of Modesitt's Soarer's Choice. Once again, many thanks to Tor Books for their support.

The winners are:

Michael Natale, from Cumberland, Rhode Island, USA (dingosatemybaby on asoiaf.westeros.org)

Michelle Crane, from Trenton, Ontario, Canada

Thanks to all the participants! And stay tuned for more!;-)

The Orson Scott Card contest winners!

Hi!

The names have been drawn and we have our winners! Both will receive a complimentary copy of Card's latest, Empire. Many thanks to Tor Books for their support!:-)

The winners are:

- Gil Thibault, from Kansas City, Missouri, USA (Sir Tybalt on wotmania.com)

- Marc Roden, from Bloomington, Indiana, USA (Palimpsest on asoiaf.westeros.org)

Thanks to all the participants! And stay tuned for more!;-)