Princes of the Golden Cage - Halfway Point

I read halfway through PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE tonight. Things sure took an interesting twist.

For quite a while, it almost seemed like Prince Amir had become a sort of narrator for his brother Erik's activities. But with the advent of a certain princess, all that changed and now Amir is once again front-and-center.

I'm impressed with the way Mallet keeps control over Amir's voice. This novel is written first-person, and I've yet to encounter a modern colloquialism (that I recall anyway). There's just enough exoticness in the voice to make it really seem like some sort of foreign prince is telling you a story. She has really immersed herself into the part. And except for Amir having a bit too much self-control for a young, hormone filled man (he manages to avoid the harem, which is at his disposal, but which also is extremely dangerous to visit), I find her rendering of a male voice convincing. I'm not a man, of course, so I can't say for certain. :)

Amir has reached an unexpected (and probably temporary) accord with a previously hostile prince-brother. I'm hoping it lasts. I also sense an aura of tragedy around Erik. For some reason, he seems doomed to die. Maybe he's just too nice and aren't the nice allies the first ones to die? We will have to see.

I'm So Excited!

SciFiChick has added Fantasy Debut to her blogroll! It feels like I've gotten a nod from the queen!

The Princes of the Golden Cage - Two Brothers

I'm about 1/5th of the way through PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE by Nathalie Mallet. The story is moving along at a steady pace. Amir is beginning to get to know his mysterious half-brother, known only as Erik. Erik has this to say about one of their recently-deceased brothers:

"Hamed and I were more than brothers, we were friends."

And that characterizes the typical relationship between brothers in PRINCES. Brothers are not to be trusted, but friends are.

At this point, Erik, who has access to detailed maps of the labyrinthine palace, is taking Amir on a tour through all the forbidden places . . . now, while it is safe, before the Grand Vizier returns. They are supposed to be exiting the palace to go into the forbidden outer city itself, but I have not reached that point yet.

I have not read Arabian Nights, but this book might just inspire me to do so.

Graeme recently put up a review of PRINCES as well.

Back in Gear

My copy of THE PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE arrived today and it promises to be a fast read. I do apologize for letting such a huge gap of time pass by between The Hidden Worlds and Princes. But I have to admit . . . I've been reading a non-genre novel. In fact, it wasn't even written in this century. Yes, I've been sucked into Daphne du Marier's Rebecca, at the prompting of Mystery Robin.

I'm just past 3/4ths of the way through. After reading today's nail-biting suspense, it's nice to read a suspense novel that is a bit slower-paced. Also, I'm astonished at being 3/4ths of the way through, and I know who did it! But then again, I don't suppose you can call this a mystery. Or a romance. Or a suspense. However, it is a blend of all three.

The nice thing about it is that it does not demand that I keep reading (unlike some books I've read recently), therefore I'll be able to set it aside for a while so I can read Princes.

Linking on Sunday

Recently, my fellow bloggers were kind enough give various mentions and shout-outs for Fantasy Debut on their weblogs, specifically:

Lisa Shearin (and here)
A Dribble of Ink
Pieces on Speculative Fiction
Nathalie Mallet
Fantasy Book Critic
The Swivet
The Soulless Machine Review

Thanks, everyone! In return, I'd like to draw your attention to some blogs that you may be unaware of.

The Toasted Scimitar is run by four very funny women who not only review books, but have a featured "subject" every week where they rant on various fantasy stereotypes. This week's topic? Villain Abodes.

Over at Enduring Romance, these two women blog about their favorite authors as well as nonfiction. Don't let the name fool you; they blog on lots of fantasy and science fiction as well. Every once in a while, they host a Cyber-Launch Book Party, and they are aways zany fun.

I believe I've mentioned Scooper before, but she's worth another mention. At her blog, Scooper Speaks, she blogs on all kinds of books, pulling no punches when she dislikes the book, and lavish with her praise when she loves it.

Milady Insanity is a very smart student who has a tremendously popular blog. She host short "6 Questions for . . ." interviews and blogs on many subjects in addition to books.

The Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin' Blog probably needs no introduction from me. She blogs a lot on TV and movies, but now has acquired some ARCs and plans to start reviewing fantasy as well.

Worth another mention is The Swivet, a blog run by a publishing insider known as La Gringa. Lots of big-name publishing insiders also read her blog. If you comment on La Gringa's blog, you never know who who might read it. It's a rather exciting place.

Well, what do you know? For some reason this turned out to be a web-wanderer on female bloggers. I know of several others, but they are still rather new to me and I don't think I'll be able to summarize them properly. Therefore, I will save them for next time.

UPDATE: Oops, I forgot 100 Bloggers, where one of the hundred put up a very nice post about Fantasy Debut!

New Look

Someone pointed out to me that the black with white text color scheme was too difficult to read. So I changed the colors around and upped the text size a notch.

Article by Morgan Howell

There is an article by Morgan Howell in the current issue of the Del Rey Internet Newsletter. His article is the second one down. I found it fascinating because he based his orcs on native American matriarchal societies.

Now I really can't wait to read it!

THE PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE - First Few Chapters

From the first few sentences of THE PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE, you know right away that something is up.

I sat straight up in my bed. I knew someone was coming because my two insane brothers, Jafer and Mir, were screaming bloody murder.

Screaming bloody murder isn't a phrase that we encounter a lot in the United States. Imagine someone screaming just as loud and hard as they possibly can. What a way to wake up.

However, Prince Amir is savvy. He has positioned his room between his insane brothers to act as a sort of alarm system. A servant has brought the grim news of the death of one of Amir's 117 brothers. They think magic was involved, so they brought Amir to investigate since he is known to be a scholar. However, he is also a suspect.

Prince Amir is a captive in a cage, where all the princes are kept until an heir is decided upon. There's not a lot of brotherly love here. Amir's thoughtful caretaking of his insane brothers is as close as it gets.

Therefore, Amir goes to investigate his brother's death. Here is where I had a small quibble with the plot. He barely recognized his brother. If you lived with 117 people all your life, you should know each of them by name. In a typical high school, a student has 6 classes with 25 students per class. That equals 150. Well before Christmas, I always knew each person by name, and everyone else in all my classes did as well.

I was willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps each prince is isolated, so that they hardly know each other. At this point, I'm not sure so I had a "huh?" moment.

What follows is a deepening mystery. The dead prince had some sort of spell on him. The plot quickly turns into a murder mystery, complete with a mysterious locket, a prince-brother who seems to be up to something, rivalry between Amir and his brothers, and intrigue galore. PRINCES is told in first person from Amir's point of view. The writing is straightforward and transparent, sucking you into the setting. The dialog flows well, occasionally becoming a tad melodramatic. However, the melodrama might be appropriate to the setting. Will comment on this more as the plot progresses.

I like Amir, mostly because he looks out for his insane brothers in a touching manner. I too, want him to be able to escape his golden cage and venture out into the city beyond, a city famed for its beauty, but which Amir has never even glimpsed. I also like the setting because it's so different from what I usually encounter in fantasy. Just a few posts ago, I asked for a setting besides medieval European, and now I have it!

My excerpt ends when Amir meets his mysterious brother, who wants to talk. I'll have to wait until I have the book before I find out what they are going to talk about.

KING'S PROPERTY Update

The editor for Del Rey forwarded me a link to an excerpt of KING'S DAUGHTER by Morgan Howell. I will also update my original announcement for this novel. I've read about half of it so far and I am already looking forward to reviewing the book.

THE BOOK OF JOBY by Mark J. Ferrari

I was glad that I waited a few days before announcing this debut because Robert over at Fantasy Book Critic has already posted his review! More on that later.

Mark J. Ferrari has written THE BOOK OF JOBY, which appears to be a very unusual debut; a modern retelling of the trials of Job. Yes, the Job, as in the Bible. As you may recall, the Biblical story tells how God proved Job's faith to Satan by allowing Satan to inflict Job with one loss, misfortune or disease after another. Satan tried to get Job to curse God's name, but he never did. You can find the story in The Book of Job, chapters 1 - 3, with the ending in chapter 42, when God gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Fast-forward to the present day, put the fate of the world at stake and you have THE BOOK OF JOBY (Amazon: US, Canada). Here is the official description:

Lucifer and the Creator have entered, yet again, into a wager they’ve made many times before, but this time, the existence of creation itself is balanced on the outcome. Born in California during the twilight years of a weary millennium, nine year old Joby Peterson dreams of blazing like a bonfire against the gathering darkness of his times, like a knight of the Round Table. Instead, he is subjected to a life of crippling self-doubt and relentless mediocrity inflicted by an enemy he did nothing to earn and cannot begin to comprehend.

Though imperiled themselves, the angels are forbidden to intervene. Left to struggle with their own loyalties and the question of obedience, they watch Lucifer work virtually unhindered to turn Joby’s heart of gold into ash and stone while God sits by, seemingly unconcerned.

And so when he is grown to manhood, Joby’s once luminous love of life seems altogether lost, and Lucifer’s victory assured. What hope remains lies hidden in the beauty, warmth, and innocence of a forgotten seaside village whose odd inhabitants seem to defy the modern world’s most inflexible assumptions, and in the hearts of Joby’s long lost youthful love and her emotionally wounded son. But the ravenous forces of destruction that follow Joby into this concealed paradise plan to use these same things to bring him and his world to ruin.

As the final struggle unfolds, one question occupies every mind in heaven and in hell. Which will prove stronger, love or rage?

The author's website includes several excerpts, a FAQ and his other creative occupation as an artist.

Robert over at Fantasy Book Critic has written a very long and complimentary review. There's also a review at Publishers Weekly (scroll way down). Inkspot has some short reviews, but I'm not finding much else online. It appears to be getting some review attention in print, however.

I find the subject matter for this novel compelling and I cannot read Robert's review without wanting to read it for myself. I'll probably do a post about the first chapter soon, because I've already started reading it.

This - n - That

An anonymous tipster (my first ever!) sent a link to a Lane Robins interview in her local paper. If you're not familiar with Lane Robins, my original shout-out on her novel, MALEDICTE, is here (my shout-outs weren't very good back then, I'm afraid). The tipster has also supplied her website, and since then I've found her blog, which she occasionally updates.

Nathalie Mallet, author of THE PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE, now has the first chapter available as a PDF file.

I've written most of my announcement for THE BOOK OF JOBY by Mark J. Ferrari, but I'm going to hold off on posting it until I can find some more reviews. I plan on posting it later tonight or early tomorrow.

KING'S PROPERTY by Morgan Howell

I discovered KING'S PROPERTY (Canada, UK) on The Swivet, where La Gringa has an interesting post about mass market originals "getting no respect". It is the first novel in the Queen of the Orcs series by Morgan Howell. I was unable to find the author's website, and the link to the author page on the publisher's site is broken. If I find a good link, I will update this post. Here is the book description:

Born into hardship, Dar learns to rely on herself alone. When her family betrays her, Dar is conscripted into King Kregant’s army and its brutal campaign to conquer a neighboring country. Now she is bound as a slave to a dreaded regiment of orcs, creatures legendary for their savagery and battle prowess.

Rather than cower, Dar rises to the challenge. She learns the unique culture and language of the orcs, survives treachery from both allies and enemies, and struggles to understand a mystical gift that brings her dark, prophetic visions. As the war escalates–amid nightmarish combat and shattering loss–Dar must seize a single chance at freedom.

I found reviews by Scott Oden (an excellent new blog discovery for me!), and at Jive Magazine, which adds that Elizabeth Moon blurbed her. Come to think of it, the plot (what I know of it) reminds me a bit of Paksenarrion's Daughter. I found another review as well, but it didn't live up to my quality standards (bad grammar) so I'm not including it here. (I'm trying to do a better job vetting my linkage.)

Del Rey is releasing one book each month, so if you really enjoy it, you won't have to wait long to read the next book.

I have to admit that I enjoy books with a tight focus on a strong female character. Therefore, this book intrigues me. It also intrigues me that a man wrote it. If I can find more, I'll update this post.

UPDATE! Here is a link to the first chapter.

Upcoming

I've decided not to announce debuts on their day of release anymore. I've found that if I wait just a few days after the release date, there are more reviews available to link in. I will have three debuts to announce this week.

 

I will not begin posting on Princes until I have the copy of the book. This is because the book is coming from the west coast to the east coast, and I may well not get it before Saturday. I don't want a huge time gap between posts. In the meantime, Remy has a review of it that you can read here.

 

THE PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE by Nathalie Mallet

The editor at Night Shade Books is sending me a review copy of PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE. This is my first experience with an ARC and I admit to mixed feelings. On the one hand, it seems to validate my small-yet-growing niche as a blogger. On the other hand, it makes it feel more like *Literary Criticism* and less like fun.

However, I'll do my best to banish those feelings. He also emailed me the first three chapters, which I've already read. I'll try to get a post up on it tomorrow morning. In the meantime, here's a link to my original shout-out about her book, where you can find all the usual links.

About Fantasy Debut

Fantasy Debut is owned by Tia Nevitt. This post always has my current policies. I will keep it current.

Status: Not currently taking review copies.

Please note! I only cover debuts for books published by publishers that distribute books to bookstore shelves nationwide, which puts the books on shelves, like this:

In other words, it must be the book that would permit the author to join the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America or Horror Writers of America. It's OK if the author has published other small press or POD books, or novels in non speculative genres.

All books I hear about go on my Debut Calendar, which is available through my sidebar. I also try to do a Debut Showcase for every entry in my Debut Calendar.

For reviews, I'm more selective. I'm open to most genres, with the exception of the following:

• Vampire stories. I'm not interested in protagonists that have to devour humans or human blood. Psionic vampires might interest me, however.
• Stories with demon or undead protagonists. It's okay if they're the bad guys.
• Angels as sexual partners.
  
• Deal-with-the-devil stories. However, I wouldn't mind reading such a book when the main protagonist is trying to save someone who has made a deal with the devil.
• Blood and gore horror. Horror should have a supernatural element and should scare the hell out of me, not gross me out.
• Stories with sex involving more than one partner.
• Excessively gritty stories. Of course "excessively" is subjective.
  
• Christian bashing, either overt or subtle. I don't like to see my beliefs trashed.

Raven, who also reviews here, does read dark fantasy and urban fantasy.

If you don't mind filling out a form, you can use this one to tell me about your debut. It has everything I like to know about new debut novels, which helps me when I do a Debut Showcase. You can also email me at tia dot nevitt at gmail dot com.

THE BLADE ITSELF - Opening Chapters

THE BLADE ITSELF by Joe Abercrombie had its debut in the UK on May 4, 2006, Therefore, as a debut in the US, it has more momentum than an author starting from scratch. It debuts in the US on September 6. Interestingly, it is the second book with this title that came out this year. The other novel is also a debut, and it came out on January 9th. It pops up first on an Amazon search, so don't get confused.

Pyr has made the first 63 pages of THE BLADE ITSELF available as a beautiful PDF file. Therefore, I thought that I would be remiss if I didn't put up a post about the first few chapters.

The first few pages plunge us into action when an axe-wielding man named Logen fights for his life against the Shanka ("flatheads"). He ends up in a very unfortunate situation where certain death appears to loom. At this point, he makes the following reflection:

It was quite a scrape he was in. He’d been in some bad ones alright, and lived to sing the songs, but it was hard to see how this could get much worse. That got him thinking about his life. It seemed a bitter, pointless sort of a life now. No one was any better off because of it. Full of violence and pain, with not much but disappointment and hardship in between.

His reminisces have no opportunity to go on any further. He makes a desperate gamble for life and to his astonishment, it works. He returns to his camp to gather his things, muses about the fate of his friends, and he heads off with his pot, which is the only companion that he has left.

The next part I approached with a bit of trepidation when I realized that it would be a torture scene. However, although there was plenty of corruption that made me wince, along with a short description of the victim after said torture, Abercrombie did not subject the reader to any actual torture. The action was told through the eyes of the head inquisitor, and Abercrombie did a good job making me feel a pitying sort of sympathy toward him. One hopes for his eventual redemption.

The fantasy element, when it came, caught me by surprise. I liked this sentence:

Then, once he’d eaten, he would ask the spirits for guidance. Their guidance was pretty useless, but the company would be welcome.

And so they are. At this point, we're just over halfway through the excerpt. It's a promising start. There's nothing to dislike here. No wonder this novel is creating quite a buzz.

THE PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE by Nathalie Mallet

On Wednesday, THE PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE (Canada, UK) by Canadian debut writer Nathalie Mallet was released. Here is the book description:

Prince Amir lives in a lavish and beautiful cage. He lives in a palace with hundreds of his brothers, all barred by law from ever leaving the palace until he, or one of his brothers, becomes the next Sultan. Living under constant threat of death at the hands of his scheming brothers, Amir has chosen a life of solitude and study. His scholarly and alchemical pursuits bring him under suspicion when his brothers begin to die from seemingly supernatural means. Amir finds himself thrown together with his brother Erik, the son of a barbarian princess. Together they must discover the dark secret that is stalking the halls of their golden cage.

According to the author's weblog, this novel is based on the Ottoman Turks. Since the Turkish empire is a pet historical period of mine, this novel piques my interest. However, I was unable to find any first chapter excerpts.

Here is an article from her local newspaper, the Prince George Citizen (first item). I also found a review by John Kilma, but not much else. Here is a post that her agent put up back in January showing the original cover art for the book. I found it interesting how the concept changed. I like the final version better.

GODS BEHAVING BADLY Review

Gav put up a review of GODS BEHAVING BADLY by Marie Phillips! I may have to send to Great Britain for this novel!

Where Are the Black Elves?

David Anthony Durham (author of Acacia) has a very lively debate going on in his blog about whether readers who claim to be color blind (in terms of what they read and whether or not they will read books from authors of color) really are as color blind as they think. The response didn't surprise me. People have been ruminating over the books that they have purchased and reflecting on whether or not they have been color blind. Many have been willing to admit that most of what they have read has been for whites, by whites. I would have to admit the same. This is not a conscious decision. I gravitate toward the science fiction aisles, where I make my selections.

I don't check the skin color of the author, but when I crack open the book I invariably find a novel about white characters. To be sure, most of these settings are like northern Europe, in a medieval world, where you would indeed expect there to be mostly white people. I have never read about a black elf (except the drow, which I don't think really count). Rarely do I come across novels set in an Egypt-like setting for example, or perhaps Central American. (Tad William's Otherland is a notable exception.) I suspect that this is because, for the most part, people write what they know. Indeed, that is advice that most would-be authors hear.

As soon as I heard that David was black, I wanted to purchase his book. Why? I wanted to read a fantasy from a black point of view. I couldn't recall ever reading a fantasy by an author that I knew to be black. Therefore, David's race prompted me to purchase his book instead of, say, David Bilsborough's The Wanderer's Tale. I'd read plenty of fantasies by British dudes. A black guy? This was the first.

* * *

Now I'd like to take this post a bit further. According to the trackbacks from David's post, this subject is being discussed in a lot of different places. And some of you may be wondering why such things still need to be discussed.

It's a good question, I think. But I also think that many people still feel a need to discuss racial issues, which is reason enough in itself. This is why David has had over 40 responses to his post so far. However, I think most white people feel held back most of the time. I hate to generalize, and this may not be true in your particular case, but for the most part, I think this is true. For evidence, I point to this page on Walter E. William's website. It seems to me, in reading his "amnesty and pardon", that he has encountered this a lot over his long life.

Why do we feel held back? Because many of us are waiting, with the utmost respect, for our black friends to open the way.

Let me compare this with a conversation that myself and my co-workers once had with a Mormon. He knew that we were curious about his religion, but we refrained from speaking out of respect. Then one day he said, "Go ahead. Ask me anything." And we did.

David has said (not literally), "Go ahead. Talk about it." And so we are. The floodgates have opened, to use a tired metaphor. And because we are talking indicates that there is still a need to talk about it. This need will probably take another generation or two to become sated.

On "Grittiness"

I've been thinking about the post that I put up last night. Gritty novels, especially science fiction novels, seem to be in vogue at present. Overall, I have no objection to grittiness. I used to own the complete "Dirty Harry" boxed set and I'm an overall Clint Eastwood fan (I guess I'm showing my age here). However, I don't read a lot of hard SF because it seems to me that the writing is often hard as well. Hard as in gritty.

 

I think I don't really enjoy gritty writing, but I do find it compelling. I didn't particularly enjoy reading The Hidden Worlds, but I did find it hard to put down. It compelled me. So did the first two chapters that I wrote about last night. Perhaps I read them too soon after The Hidden Worlds and I just was not in the mood for another gritty novel.

 

However, I got to thinking about some of the hard SF novels that I've read that were not gritty. Elizabeth Moon's The Speed of Dark was an immediate standout. As are most of Arthur C. Clark's novels. (For a long time, Clark was the ONLY speculative fiction author that I would read.) I don't suppose you can call Pat Frank's Alas, Babylon science fiction, but it seemed SF-like to me, and I didn't find it gritty. 

 

I really don't know of many others. Do you know of any that you would recommend?

 

First Two Chapters of PLAGUE YEAR by Jeff Carlson

First of all, I must admit that PLAGUE YEAR by Jeff Carlson has turned out to be not my thing. I read the first two chapters last night, and I do see much that piques my interest. However, I guess I'm too prim for "pungent" sex scenes that tell me way more that I would want to know. I can do gritty up to a point. If you're curious, here are the chapters; I don't want to get into the details.

However, that scene aside, it was quite compelling. A very small group of refugees have taken refuge at the top of a mountain, where they are out of the range of a nano virus that swims below, an airborne ocean of death. One can take brief trips below, but not without suffering health problems and scarring afterward. Therefore, it shocks the camp when they spy the flashlight of someone actually trying to cross the valley. Way on the other side of the valley, they can see the fires of another group of refugees. However, their fire abruptly goes out. The group on this side of the valley lights their own fire and the traveler eventually makes it to their camp.

Why did he travel to the camp? I don't know. Chapter two ends shortly after his arrival. If you decide to read or review this, please let me know what you think.

First Chapter of YOU HAD ME AT HALO by Amanda Ashby

Since I am between books, I've been reading some first chapters that authors have posted. I'll have comments on them over the next few days.

The title of YOU HAD ME AT HALO by Amanda Ashby should tell you something of what to expect. I knew right away that it would be an irreverent romantic take on the afterlife. Here's the first few sentences:

“Unbelievable.” Holly Evans shook her head as she peered down through the glass window to the scene below.

That was the problem with an open casket. It meant everyone’s last memories of her would be with a white puffy face, the wrong color lipstick and a dreadful polyester dress. They always said the camera added five pounds to you, but no one ever talked about how fattening embalming fluid was, did they?

I guess once you're dead, you don't have much else to worry about than how you looked at your wake, now do you? It turns out that Holly does have some things to worry about. Her biggest problem is that heaven's entrance officials seem to think that she committed suicide.

I'm not sure why there's glass in heaven, or why there are so many rules, or why it doesn't seem very heavenly. Or why they would think that she committed suicide when she insists that she didn't. And you would think that heaven's officials would be rather difficult to fool. So, there's a mystery here.

The chapter ends at a nice cliffhanger when Holly gets kicked out of heaven for talking too much.

I'm not really sure what to think here. I can't say I've ever read an afterlife novel, but I did see All of Me years ago. Oh, and I saw Nick Cage in City of Angels. In any novel or movie of this sort, you cannot expect a doctrinally perfect heaven, or there wouldn't be much of a story. However, my interest is still piqued, mostly because of the zippy writing and the voice.

The excerpt is here.

Thwarted!

My efforts to purchase books this weekend were thwarted! I went to two separate bookstores looking for Amanda Ashby's YOU HAD ME AT HALO and Richard Taylor's THE HAUNTING OF CAMBRIA and could not nab either one. I even tried to purchase HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS at Wal-Mart on Sunday, but they were sold out. Already. And it was a HUGE crate of books. (As it happens, I'm glad I didn't purchase it because a friend wants to give me her copy when she's finished.)

Anyway, I may have to break down and buy these two titles online. As you probably figured out, I don't like buying books online. I do buy a lot of nonfiction online, but I like to browse through the fiction as I purchase and see what else looks interesting. I suppose I could always click the "other people purchased title X as well" link, it's just not the same. I don't usually want to purchase similar-sounding books at the same time. After all, how polar opposite can you can than the above titles? What market analyst would have expected me to go purchasing an afterlife romance and a horror novel all in the same shopping trip?

An Interview With Kristin Landon!

Here, as promised, is the interview with Kristin Landon, author of THE HIDDEN WORLDS, which has been the featured debut for the past year.

I found the cultures of Nexus and Santandru to be fascinating. Did you have any particular real-world influences for these cultures?

Wellllll. . . my husband has been to Las Vegas. . . .

An Irish friend assured me that I clearly had parts of Ireland in mind when I described Santandru. That’s interesting, as I’ve never been there; but in theme I don’t think he’s far off—I respect human tenacity in harsh places, the shifts people are put to in order to survive. It’s a theme SF addresses more often than contemporary fiction can.

As for Nexus, I built that mostly by contrast to Santandru. Plenty, luxury, leisure, wealth. Yes, they have earned it by dangerous work, but there is a lack of compassion, a lack of understanding, that definitely features in the next book.

What is your favorite scene in THE HIDDEN WORLDS?

This took some thought, but I would have to say it’s the death of my male protagonist’s (Iain’s) father. It was such a pleasure to write, bringing together so many threads of plot and feeling. And I'm pleased with how well it works, and how it pays off.

What scene gave you the most trouble?

I had to rewrite the last third of the book extensively, because I’d submitted one book and in the end sold two. I’d left what I assumed was an open door for a sequel, but I discovered that that’s very different from actually planning and executing a sequel. My superb editor at Ace, Anne Sowards, was wonderfully helpful in suggesting ways to turn a fairly closed book into one that satisfies but leaves more to be told.

Of course, I’ve been told by some of my friends that the satisfaction is not quite enough, that they want more right now . . . but that’s good.

Can you give us a teaser about the sequel, THE COLD MINDS?

What happens when the Cold Minds find and use the greatest weakness of the Pilot Masters? When Iain is torn between old loyalties and new realities? When Linnea must choose between duty and family—when love pulls her in two directions?

Can you tell us the release date, if you know it?

It’s not yet set. The manuscript has been turned in, but there is still plenty of work to be done.

Is this an open-ended series? If not, can you say how many books you plan on writing in THE HIDDEN WORLDS setting?

I can’t yet say, because I don’t yet know. THE HIDDEN WORLDS has only been out for six weeks. I certainly have stories to tell beyond two books, if that works out.

Have you finished any other novels besides THE HIDDEN WORLDS and THE COLD MINDS and can we expect to see them in print?

I have one other finished novel stored away. It’s set in a completely different future from THE HIDDEN WORLDS—not related at all. But at this point my agent (Donald Maass) and I agree that I should focus on writing new books. Perhaps in future we’ll give it a look, and see what potential it might have.

It was my first novel, my journeyman piece, and I'm proud of it—but I know my agent’s advice is good.

Your bio mentions that H. G. Wells prompted your love of science and science fiction. Which other authors have you admired?

Goodness, after reading Connie Willis’s wonderful tribute to Heinlein in the latest LOCUS, I know I have to say, Heinlein—specifically his juveniles, such as TUNNEL IN THE SKY, THE ROLLING STONES, and CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY. And I share Connie Willis’s judgment that the best of all of them is HAVE SPACESUIT, WILL TRAVEL. I’ve loved that book since I was nine, and I still love it decades later.

I also deeply admire Ursula Le Guin, a fellow Oregonian. I don’t want to claim her as an influence, because I wouldn’t want anyone to think I imagine I write like her. But THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS is not the only book of hers that I find unforgettable and revisit regularly.

There are plenty of others, a pretty wild mix—Vernor Vinge, Kim Stanley Robinson, oh, goodness! Lois McMaster Bujold, I love her books! Maureen McHugh, Greg Bear— Too many to name.

Please share your publishing story and any writing advice that you may have.

I had been writing seriously for about fourteen years, and submitting off and on for ten. I entered THE HIDDEN WORLDS in a regional writing contest (Colorado Gold, run by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers—a marvelous group and a truly enjoyable conference). It and my other novel were both finalists in the SF category, so I went to the conference. HIDDEN WORLDS won. The judge was an editor from Ace, who asked me to submit the complete book.

It took me a while to work through it all, as I hadn’t looked at it in at least a year. I submitted it the following spring . . . and waited. I had health problems that fall and winter (now completely resolved, thank goodness), so it was actually a surprise to receive an email the following spring, from a different Ace editor (the original had left the company) asking, was the book still available? And could we talk?

It took off from there, to my surprise and delight. In fact, I am still surprised. And still delighted.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Persist at all costs! 

And—thank you, Tia, for choosing to feature THE HIDDEN WORLDS on Fantasy Debut!

Links!

Amazon USA, Canada and UK

Kristin Landon's website

Upcoming - Interview with Kristin Landon!

By the end of the weekend I'll be posting an interview with Kristin Landon, author of THE HIDDEN WORLDS, which I've been featuring for the past week. Be sure to check it out!

A Look Back

This blog is only two months old, but it has seen significant readership expansion in the past three weeks. Thank you to everyone who has linked here and who stops by from time to time. Thanks especially to Pat's Fantasy Hotlist for his recent shout-out of this blog and others. Pat is the Godfather of fantasy review bloggers, so recognition by him was an honor. I also owe a lot of visits to David Anthony Durham's weblog. Thanks, guys!

With that in mind, I'd like to post a look back on my first three debuts, which I featured before many of you knew this blog existed. I loved every one for different reasons, and I want to make sure that they're not forgotten.

Lisa Shearin, who wrote Magic Lost, Trouble Found (Canada, UK), discovered this blog practically the instant it was born. She told her friends, who came leaping to her defense when I had some quibbles with the plot. It made it all great fun. Lisa writes to her weblog every weekday, and she often includes out-takes from her novel "from the cutting room floor."

Magic Lost, Trouble Found is the story of a Raine, mediocre detective-sorceress who did something that every AD&D player knows not to do: she put on a magical amulet without having it thoroughly checked out, first. To be sure, her friend had it on first, so she thought it was safe, but the amulet liked HER much better than her friend. And after that, it got QUITE possessive.

The plot takes place over three action-packed days. Three is also the number of the fascinating guys that she works with or against during this time. However, the book ends with Raine still delightfully uncommitted. If you want a fast read, a heroine that makes you smile, and a tense plot, pick up Magic Lost, Trouble Found. For all the posts I wrote about this title, click here.

Emily Gee does not appear to be very active on the Internet, but she just occasionally pop into her MySpace page. Just the same, I enjoyed her novel, Thief With No Shadow (Canada, UK) very much.

Thief With No Shadow is a deeply personal fantasy, with a scope that only touches the remnants of two families. It is about a young woman named Melke, her brother, the crimes that they commit during times of desperation and its ramifications. By the time the story opens, the crimes have already been committed. The rest of the novel deals with their attempts to make amends. In this world, crimes can become curses that are passed from generation to generation, and supernatural creatures are horrific and wholly alien. Gee does a great job making you wonder how on earth the characters are ever going to find a way to solve their problems. You can find all the posts that I wrote about this title here.

Jennifer Estep showed up when I put a post up about her debut, Karma Girl (Canada, UK), in one of my debut round-ups. She has a very fun website and an active blog.

Karma Girl is a laugh-out-loud take on superheroes. Estep called it a comic book for women in one of her comments, but I think men would enjoy it as well. When Carmen's fiancé cheats on her, she takes revenge on him by exposing his superhero identity -- along with his ubervillainess girlfriend. From the on, she's on a tear, exposing every superhero that she can. She seems to have a special gift for rooting out secret identities.

Then, when she exposes a member of the Fearless Five, she attracts the wrong sort of attention. A troupe of ubervillains decide that she needs to work for them. They give her a month to expose the leader of the Fearless Five, the sexy Striker. You can find all my posts on this title here.

I'd love to know if you read any of these books, or if you intend to add any to your reading lists.

THE HIDDEN WORLDS by Kristin Landon - Final Review

My one word description of THE HIDDEN WORLDS? Tense.

From the time Linnea first set foot on Nexus, the novel held my attention to the last page. I'm not saying that the first few chapters were slow -- not at all. But the novel's true conflict and action only started when Linnea set Iain's life into a tailspin by showing up unannounced, claiming to be his servant.

The novel starts when a ship is lost at sea, thus dooming the village that depends on it for its survival. Linnea and her family evacuate the village, going to an overcrowded city where jobs are scarce. Then, Linnea's sister tells her of a family secret in the form of a mysterious cylinder. Linnea takes the secret to a government bureaucrat with whom she has become friendly, and together they hatch a scheme to use the secret as leverage against the Pilot-Masters to compel them to renew a trade contract with her world.

In short, she wants to bribe them.

Well, it turns out that the government bureaucrat has just the thing she needs to get to Nexus, and it has been waiting for someone in her family to claim it for years. It is a labor contract. With Iain. Who has no idea of its existence.

I'm still not sure of the motives behind the labor contract storyline. But then, neither does Linnea, so I can hardly quibble with that.

In earlier posts, I mentioned that I found the birth restrictions that the Pilot-Masters utilized unrealistic. Well, as it turns out, the plot does address this discrepancy, but it still leaves much a mystery. However, I can hardly find fault with that, since this book is the first of a series. I must be patient. All will be explained in time. I'm also interested in finding out why a society of men would agree to the restrictions that they live under, not to mention why women would agree to be shut out, entirely.

I found Landon's prose utilitarian, in keeping with the gritty story. Her writing was entirely transparent and her dialog flowed effortlessly. I would call it a character-driven story, except that term usually relates to the protagonist and his or her motivations. The characters who drive this story are definitely the villains. Throughout much of the story, the protagonists seem like driftwood in a maelstrom, almost powerless to resist the forces around them. Through the self-sacrificing actions of those around them, they finally find a way to prevail, at least in a small way.

And something that I wondered about turned out to be true. The Pilot-Masters are guilty of perpetuating more than one lie. I was particularly happy with Iain's response to the discovery of this second lie. It made me like him more.

As for the contents of that mysterious cylinder? At the end of the novel, it is still a mystery.

Links!

Amazon USA, Canada and UK

Kristin Landon's website

Grrr!

I wrote my final review for THE HIDDEN WORLDS while I was on break today, and then I went and left it on my hard drive at work! Therefore, I will post it when I get to work tomorrow. I am supposed to go in early anyway, so I can get a new production build in before anyone else gets there (yes, I'm an IT geek). In the meantime, I have some musings for you.

After reading two serious books, I am in need of something lighthearted. Then I got to thinking about classic dramatic novels that have also made me laugh out loud. I love it when I can get a combination of both. Here are some that I especially enjoyed:

Huck Finn by Mark Twain. Serious subject matter, side-splitting laughter.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville. I admit it -- I never finished it. But the opening chapters had me giggling.
East of Eden. The most lighthearted John Steinbeck novel that I have read.
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. The parts about Nell are tragic. But the parts about Kit had me smiling.
The Once and Future King by T. H. White. Who can forget the joust between King Pellinore and Sir Grummore Grummursum?
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Too many scenes to mention.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, when Tess and the girls giggle and sign over Angel.

Those are the ones that I remember right now. Some of them had me crying as well as laughing.
Which books have made you both laugh and cry?

RADIO FREEFALL Review

Robert has written a lengthy review of RADIO FREEFALL by Matthew Jarpe. Check it out!

YOU HAD ME AT HALO by Amanda Ashby

To complete the trifecta of authors that debuted yesterday, we have Amanda Ashby's afterlife romantic fantasy, YOU HAD ME AT HALO. On her website, Ashby calls it "a romantic comedy with a paranormal twist." She keeps a blog, which she updates regularly, and a MySpace page. Here is the book description:

Holly Evans has just seen her own body laid to rest. Now she would like to move onto the afterlife. But apparently she has some mortal baggage to unload first, starting with the matter of how she died. Her heavenly shrink isn't buying that she didn't kill herself- and says she must return to earth to straighten things out. The thing is, she needs to borrow the body of computer geek Vince Murphy to do it. Oh, and although Vince was supposed to have vacated the premises, he apparently never got the memo.

Now, Holly has forty-eight hours to resolve her issues while sharing arms, legs, and...other things...with a guy she barely noticed while she was alive. But the real surprise is what life has to offer when you have only two days to live it.

It got 4 1/2 stars at The Romantic Times. I found interviews at Naptime Writer and Writes and Wrongs, and Mia Musings. Publishers Weekly has a review (last one), but other than that I'm not finding many reviews yet except a short one by Harriet Klausner. It sounds charming.

THE HIDDEN WORLDS - The Secret of Two Families

By the time Linnea's family secret is revealed, both Linnea and Iain have been put through so much hell that one wonders if they will mentally survive it. They are both entirely too trusting of their enemies, but their innocence will soon be shattered.

The secret is a lie that is so ancient that most people believe it as the truth. It asks the question, when is a lie a lie? If the teller believes it is the truth, then is he still lying? The lie didn't seem terribly shattering to me at first until I thought about the contentious United States political environment. Then I realized that any lie discovered of a powerful and hated political entity would be terribly damaging. Especially if it is a lie upon which they base their power.

The lie revealed begins a string of sacrifices to keep the lie alive. More lies are told. Bargains are struck only to be betrayed. Linnea gets what she wanted, but with a terrible price for Iain. It's almost painful to read.

And in the meantime, the Cold Minds are set to devour one of the Hidden Worlds, and the Pilot Masters are about to commit the biggest betrayal of all.

THE HIDDEN WORLDS - Leaves in a Hurricane

Leaves in a hurricane is my attempt to describe how the two protagonists, Linnea and Iain, are getting on by the middle of THE HIDDEN WORLDS.

In other words, they are caught up in circumstances so overwhelming that you wonder how on earth they are ever going to prevail. Secrets, betrayals and lies beset them at every turn. Safe places turn into traps where they are watched by their enemies. Friends are few and seemingly powerless. This is the point where the book truly hooked me (or perhaps a little before this point); where the book did not get put down unless the real world intervened. I got some great rest for my broken toe (which is doing much better thank you), thanks to this book.

Landon kept piling on the problems. And just when you thought that things might be taking a turn for the better, someone would betray them. And all the while, the Cold Minds -- which are much more terrifying than I originally envisioned -- have discovered one of the Hidden Worlds where humanity has taken refuge.

Iain is becoming more human, and Linnea sticks firmly to her original goal. However, more betrayals await them, especially a huge one that should have been obvious, but it walloped me on the side of the head, anyway. At this point, my quibbles with the plot died away, and all I could do was turn the pages.

SPACEMAN BLUES: A Love Song, by Brian Francis Slattery

SPACEMAN BLUES: A Love Song by Brian Francis Slattery releases tomorrow, August 7th. Amazon has a bunch of review snippets on the book site, and one word that I keep encountering is "chaotic". It seems to be getting a great deal of review attention, more than I think I've seen so far. Here's the blurb from Tor's website:

When Manuel Rodrigo de Guzmán González disappears, Wendell Apogee decides to find out where he has gone and why. But in order to figure out what happened to Manuel, Wendell must contend with parties, cockfights, and chases; an underground city whose people live in houses suspended from cavern ceilings; urban weirdos and alien assassins; immigrants, the black market, flight, riots, and religious cults.

Painted in browns and grays and sparked by sudden fires, Spaceman Blues is a literary retro-pulp science-fiction-mystery-superhero novel, the debut of a true voice of the future, and a cult classic in the making.

There is a sample chapter available at the author's website. Interestingly, it is written in the present tense. It doesn't look too distracting, you may not even notice at first. Here's the opening sentence:

It is his last day, and by six in the morning he is already drinking, drinking and shot up, eyes frantic, limbs flailing like he's ready to explode.

The chapter headings are reminiscent of The Three Musketeers, Don Quixote and Candide, reading like this:

In Which a Man Disappears, and Several Parties Are Held

As for reviews? Try the Mumpsimus, Sci Fi Wire (John Joseph Adams), and the Agony Column at Trashotron. Plus, you can go to the author's website and find a bunch more review links here.

THE HIDDEN WORLDS - First Few Chapters

Ok, I admit it. I've finished THE HIDDEN WORLDS. It lived up to its promise of a fast read. However, I will continue to post on it in parts as I ruminate over the plot.

Linnea has discovered a family secret that affects the family of Pilot-Masters on Nexus, the hub of the Hidden Worlds. With the help of a govenrment bureaucrat, she finds the means to leave her world and go to Nexus as an indentured servant, where she intends to offer the secret in return for certain help from them. However, she has no idea that the family secret is the reason behind her world's desperate condition, and when she arrives at Nexus, she steps into a huge spider web of deceit, backstabbing and just pain evil.

While she travels to Nexus, we get to meet Iain, one of the Pilot-Masters, and we get to learn a bit about his mysterious world. Here is where I have a quibble with the plot. It doesn't seem like the Pilot-Masters reproduce often enough to sustain their population. I won't go into all the details because I don't want to give away too much plot. However, I can say that population is strictly controlled (or so they think) and it's a major honor for a man to be selected to father a child. We're talking ceremonies and orgy-like parties, here. Since not every son can become a Pilot-Master, one would think that all Pilot-Masters would be encouraged to have many sons.

However, I found the story absorbing enough to set aside my doubts. Linnea arrives onto Nexus to find that her master had no idea that she was to be his servant. He suspects that his father knows something of it, however his father orders him to turn Linnea over to him and pursue the matter no further.

The society on Nexus reminds me a great deal of ancient Rome, especially the father-son relationship. In Rome, the father's word had the force of law. It seems much the same on Nexus. Therefore, it's a shocking thing when Iain disobeys his father and goes to his treacherous cousin for the truth -- thus unleashing the momentum for the rest of the book.

RADIO FREEFALL by Matthew Jarpe

Three debuts release on Tuesday, so I'm going to start posting them today. I'll start with Radio Freefall by Matthew Jarpe. Radio Freefall appears to be a rock-n-roll cyberpunk science fiction story. Here's an excerpt from the blurb on his website:

Aqualung knows how to get inside his audience's heads. He knows what kind of music they really want, and this knowledge has propelled the Snake Vendors to the peak of fame. He also knows what kind of world the people want, and it isn't the kind of world they are about to get.

Walter Cheeseman is about to give the people the kind of world he wants. He knows how to control the people by controlling information. The only thing that stands in his way is a wild intelligent virus called the Digital Carnivore.

Quin Taber is on the trail of the Digital Carnivore. He has discovered the origins of the virus and is about to unlock the secret that will control it, and through the virus, all of the computers in the world. His motivation: revenge against his former boss, Walter Cheeseman.

On the eve of Unification, when all countries of the world come together under one government, a musician, a hacker and a trickster god of the web combine forces to give the people a new choice.

Jarpe's amusing website hints at his writing style. It's worth a visit just to read his bio, not to mention the sample chapter. And of course, he has a blog. And I might as well put up a link to the Snake Vendors, just so I have a link to almost every page on his site.

There's an interview at SFRevu, plus reviews at SFSignal, Publishers Weekly (scroll way down, as usual), and Don D'Ammassa (third review).

Update: Edited to clear up an error. See comments if you are curious.

THE HIDDEN WORLDS - First Chapter

I figured that I'd better put up a first chapter post before I finish the whole book. This book promises to be a fast read. Here's the first sentence:

"At dawn, at the slack of ebb tide, they all went out again to search the beach outside the harbor mouth."

Search for what? And why again? It soon becomes clear that there has been a disaster: a ship has sunk. With the sinking of the ship, the village that depends upon it is doomed. Linnea, who is considered a spinster at nineteen, is one of the only ones who does not appear to be personally touched by the disaster. She lost her brother-in-law.

Linnea, her sister, and her sister's children flee the doomed village to the planet's only city. We get the impression early on that there's something wrong with the society in which Linnea lives. An unmarried nineteen-year-old is almost a freak. Why? I' don't yet know. She lives on a dying world, with little beauty and little hope.

Linnea's world is a sterile one, except for the seas. The only things that grows in the soil are potatoes. The weather is harsh, and life is barely above the sustenance level. There is little beauty and few pleasures. It doesn't make for pleasant reading, but it is gripping.

New Featured Debut - THE HIDDEN WORLDS

I took a trip to the bookstore today, intending to buy THE HIDDEN WORLDS by Kristin Landon and THE HAUNTING OF CAMBRIA by Richard Taylor. However, only the Landon book was in stock. Therefore, I will feature her book first.

I considered featuring Marr's WICKED, LOVELY and Grossman's SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBIE, but they seem to be getting plenty of attention and are on the bestseller lists. It is my intention with this blog to feature the lesser-known gems.

THE HIDDEN WORLDS was placed cover-out, and there were about seven copies. It piqued my interest because its been a while since I've read any science fiction and because I'm in the mood for a love story.

The cover is good, but not spectacular. I would have been more interested in seeing a rendering of one of the cold minds than a guy and a girl, even if the girl has a cool gun. The city in the background is intriguing.

Here is the cover blurb:

After the Earth was destroyed by ruthless machine intelligences known as the Cold Minds, the remnants of the human race sought refuge on far-flung planets. Humanity was saved by a hereditary guild of jump pilots who now control all travel and communication among the Hidden Worlds.…

Nineteen-year-old Linnea Kiaho lives on a backwater hostile planet, one of the poorest of the Hidden Worlds. To save her family, Linnea does the unspeakable: She accepts an indenture on the decadent home world of the Pilot Masters, hoping that she will be able to barter an old family secret into a future for her loved ones—and perhaps her planet as well.

Linnea's unwilling master, the pilot Iain sen Paolo, knows nothing about her secret. But to spite his father, he joins her in uncovering a truth that could throw the Pilot masters into chaos at a time when they can least afford weakness. For after six centuries, the Cold Minds have discovered the Hidden Worlds.…

I probably won't get all my usual links up until later tonight. For now, it's reading time!

MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND Update

Magic Lost, Trouble Found is now available as an eBook!

Thinking About ACACIA

I put up what I thought was my final post about ACACIA by David Anthony Durham a week ago today. Now here I am posting about it again.

I like it when I find myself thinking about a book a week after I read it.

Anyway, I am rethining earlier conclusions about a certain character's supposed death. I don't have the book right here in front of me, as I am not at home, so forgive me if I get any details incorrect. However, a certain hero-villian was left to die at the hands of another certain slimy character. However, that slimy character is not exactly known for his dependability. He IS known for thinking of himself, first. So, now I'm wondering if the hero-villian is actually dead. Wouldn't he be a nasty surprise for a certain other character?

Sorry to be so cryptic. I'm sure those who read the book will know who I meant.

I've also found myself rethinking a certain fire. It should not have been possible to extinguish the fire. Water would not have worked and the only other possible retardant I can think of is sand, which would not have been available. I suppose heavy woollen blankets might have worked as well, but this was a HUGE fire. Therefore, those that DID extinguish the fire must have had help from somewhere -- or something. Hmmm?

GODS BEHAVING BADLY by Marie Phillips

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips debuts today in the UK. It is also listed at the USA's Amazon site, but does not show any availability yet.

Here's the blurb:

Being immortal isn't all it's cracked up to be. Life's hard for a Greek god in the 21st century: nobody believes in you any more, even your own family doesn't respect you, and you're stuck in a delapidated hovel in north London with too many siblings and not enough hot water. But for Artemis (goddess of hunting, professional dog walker), Aphrodite (goddess of beauty, telephone sex operator) and Apollo (god of the sun, TV psychic) there's no way out... Until a meek cleaner and her would-be boyfriend come into their lives, and turn the world literally upside down.

Gods Behaving Badly is that rare thing, a charming, funny, utterly original first novel that satisfies the head and the heart.

It sounds fun. The author also has a MySpace site, which has lots more information, and she talks about her novel at YouTube. There are reviews at the Independent Online, the Times Online, Scotland on Sunday and gobs more.

Blogrolling

I owe more thanks to Neth Space, Gav's Blog, Milady Insanity, Fantasy Book News & Reviews, Bewitched by Books, and Draxian Trilogy for blogrolling this site over the past few days. I have returned the favor, but please make sure I got your link right.

I also discovered The Paperback Stash.

And, I finally managed to get all my blogrolled sites onto my Google Reader. Now I'll do a better job keeping up with everyone.