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.