Reading Update 29/06/08

The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Volume 2 (Solaris, 2007) is a fine anthology, following on from the success of the previous book the year before. Editor George Mann presents us with another varied collection of SF tales, all new to this volume, from both well-established and relative newcomers to the scene. Not all the stories appealed to me, which is to be expected in any anthology, but for the most part it’s an entertaining and enjoyable selection of stories. I’ll certainly pick up a copy of the next volume when it comes out.

Gary McMahon is another writer I discovered recently, someone very much at home in the short story and small press environment. With All Your Gods Are Dead (Humdrumming, 2006) he has written another fine novella, ably demonstrating how this length is ideal for horror fiction. A gradual sense of unease builds as the main character, Doug Hunter, investigates the mysterious events surrounding his brother’s death. Great stuff. I’ll be keeping tabs on Gary’s future output; there’s his debut novel, Rain Dogs, also from Humdrumming, due in the post any day now for starters.

Coyote by Allen Steele (Orbit, 2002) is a rare thing for me - a book I couldn’t finish. I usually try to see any book I’m reading through to the end, but after a third way through this I just couldn’t take any more. The story wasn’t gripping me and I couldn’t care about the characters or their future fates. I have too many other books to read but hey, the first really bad one in over two years is pretty good going I reckon.

 

Ask Iain (M) Banks

Yes, Iain will be participating in an email-based Q&A session via his SF publisher Orbit, as announced on his official website. As mentioned in the article, questions should be emailed to the publisher by July 9th, and they should be interesting and original.

Reading Update 19/06/08

How The Other Half Lives by James Lovegrove was the first title published by PS Publishing, back in 1999. A short, well-told tale about the lengths some people will go to attain success, a Poe/Faustian vibe in a modern setting, with a sinister, malicious edge. With this and Leningrad Nights as their opening titles it’s no wonder PS have become so highly regarded. You can read an extract from How The Other Half Lives, courtesy of Mr Lovegrove, here.

Sanity and Other Delusions by Gary Fry is the first of the new Author Showcase mini-collections from PS Publishing. This one features 6 stories from Gary and to be honest didn’t really appeal me. The standard of the writing is excellent, with a Poe/ MR James influence, the characters well developed but I felt most of the stories ended rather abruptly. The first and last ones, Beggars Belief and Projecting Malice, worked best for me and, even if I didn’t fully appreciate the others some of their imagery is still in my head several months later.

Lucius Shepard’s The Golden (Golden Gryphon, 1993) is his take on a vampire tale, mixed with a detective story, wrapped up in evocative prose so lyrical that at times it can be challenging reading; I found it best to read in short bursts before brain meltdown set in, there’s only so many ten line sentences a person can take. An interesting slant on the vampire novel, it focuses on the internal structure of their society and the rivalry between the various families therein, rather than the more usual human/vampire interaction associated with the genre.

Eric Brown’s Starship Summer is his most recent novella from PS Publishing, a gentle SF tale of mystery on an alien world, albeit one inhabited by humanity. I only discovered Eric’s work recently but I’ve liked everything I’ve read by him so far, and this one didn’t disappoint either. Long may he continue. Now, would some kind publisher like to approach him about reissues of that out-of-print back catalogue?

Reading Update 03/06/08

Dead Men’s Boots (Orbit, 2007) is the third of Mike Carey’s rather excellent Felix Castor, freelance exorcist, series. If you’ve read the first two you’ll know to expect Castor to be up to his neck in more trouble with his life getting ever more complicated. Issues raised in the earlier books are expanded on while the main plot buzzes along in Carey’s highly readable style. Roll on book four, Thicker Than Water, due early 2009 (the prologue of which we got a sneak preview reading of from Mike at his Alt.Fiction appearance in Derby a few weeks back, and officially on You Tube, part 1 and part 2). Those unfamiliar with the books would be best starting with the first one, The Devil You Know.

In VAO (PS Publishing, 2002), Geoff Ryman sets this early PS novella in a nursing home of the future, with today’s computer savvy kids as the tenants. It’s a short tale, but well told and its brevity ensures not a word is wasted in unnecessary padding. I really haven’t read enough Ryman, just this and a couple of short stories, but that’s a situation I intend to rectify.

Stephen Turnbull’s War in Japan (Osprey, 2002) covers the turbulent Sengoku period in Japanese history when the country descended into civil war and rival clans fought each other for control of the country. Part of Osprey’s Essential Histories series it’s by no means a comprehensive study of the period but serves as an easily accessible introduction to the subject, written by an acknowledged authority on the period, and lavishly illustrated with photos, drawings and maps in the usual Osprey manner.

With The Line of Polity (Tor UK, 2003), Neal Asher continues the adventures of Agent Cormac, introduced in Gridlinked. Neal deals in high action SF, with very little let up in pace from the beginning. What the book may lack in thought-provoking commentary and deep characterisation is more than compensated for by the abundance of explosive action scenes, nifty gadgets and hostile alien environments, combined with several plot threads constantly jostling for your attention.

  

 

 

 

 

Reading Update 26/05/08

Having been reading John Scalzi’s Whatever blog for a while I thought it was about time I checked out his Old Man’s War (Tor UK, 2005) SF novel, the first of his books to get a UK release. It’s military SF, with the emphasis on fast action and snappy dialogue rather than in-depth military tactics and deep philosophical meanderings, and liberally sprinkled throughout with a healthy dose of humour. Very entertaining, I’ll certainly be reading more of Scalzi’s books.

The 1st Humdrumming Book of Horror Stories, released last year by UK based small press Humdrumming and expected to be an annual event, serves as a showcase for the writers with whom the publisher has current or forthcoming titles. It’s a mixed bag, as most anthologies tend to be, and not all the stories within appealed to me but it ably demonstrates the wide variety of subject matter and styles currently being offered within the horror genre. Humdrumming are definitely a publisher to watch, I’ve ordered several other titles off them already.

The Bamboo Sword and Other Samurai Tales (Kodansha, 2005) by Shuhei Fujisawa, and translated by Gavin Frew, is a fine collection of eight stories originally published in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s, and set in 17th century Japan after the unification of the country under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The title story provided the basis for the award winning 2002 film The Twilight Samurai, directed by Yoji Yamada. The longer tales include some historical and cultural background to help put the narrative in context; in fact I had to keep reminding myself when these stories were written, so successful is Shuhei in bringing the period to life.

 

Reading Update 13/05/08

Since discovering the wonderful world of PS Publishing a couple of years back via their Postscripts quarterly short story magazine I’ve been catching up on some of the back catalogue that takes my eye, in particular the novellas (three of which are featured here). As PS tends to publish in limited quantities quite a few of their earlier titles can be difficult to find, and even then the more collectable hardback editions tend to fetch silly prices, but the more affordable paperback versions can occasionally be found in specialist genre second hand dealers.

Tim Lebbon’s Changing of Faces (2004) continues on from the earlier Naming of Parts (2000). As with the previous novella the story centres on 12-year-old Jack, who has had to grow up fast since waking up in a world that no longer bears any resemblance to what he knew before. Tim once again successfully tells the story from Jack’s perspective, as he tries to make sense of what is happening around him. According to Tim’s website there’s four novellas planned for this sequence; I wonder when we’re getting part 3.

I’d only previously read one Conrad Williams short story, which didn’t really click with me, but the whole premise of Nearly People (2001) sounded interesting. The setting of Howling Mile is a thoroughly hostile environment, inhabited by some very unpleasant characters. By no means a comfortable read, it is certainly a captivating one. I’ll admit I’m not sure I fully got what was going on towards the end, but this didn’t spoil my overall appreciation of the story.

Leningrad Nights (1999) by Graham Joyce is set in the city of the title during the 900-day siege of World War 2. Graham vividly brings the city to life, atmospherically portraying the hardships the populace face in their struggle to survive the ordeal they’re going through, and in which 13-year-old Leo has his adventures. It may be a short tale but there’s a lot packed in. This was my first experience reading Graham Joyce and I don’t intend it to be my last.

Reading Updates idea

I thought I’d try out an idea I’ve seen on a few other blogs. I’ve only posted four book reviews and they were so short they probably can’t really be classed as proper reviews, more like a couple of comments. This is an approach I feel comfortable with, I’m not a book critic or professional reviewer. I don’t generally receive ARCs of books, so virtually all the books I read I buy myself so don’t feel obliged to review them. One look at my Books Read page shows I’m very far behind with the individual reviews, which may well indicate a lack of enthusiasm for the whole idea (that and finding time), plus there’s no shortage of much better book reviewers out there in the blogosphere.

With all that in mind I thought I might try posting a reading update every couple of weeks with a few comments, positive or negative, on what I’ve been perusing. This should help to provide a bit more detail to the pics at the top right of the blog; I may even dispense with that part all together. Any comments on this approach will be gratefully received, and I hope to have the first Reading Update posted in the next day or two. I might even try a similar Viewing Update to cover films and TV shows.
 

Neal Asher’s Polity Timeline

Neal Asher’s Polity sequence of SF novels traverse several timelines, spanning centuries, with the books and stories not always written in sequence. There’s also a host of alien creatures, technologies, events, etc to keep track of. This could all get confusing but fortunately Neal has posted on his blog, The Skinner, a link to a chronology and encyclopedia to keep us right.

R Is For Rocket - book review

R is for Rocket – Ray Bradbury – PS Publishing – 2005

Ray Bradbury is a founding father of modern science fiction and a master of the short story and this collection, originally published in 1962, is a fine example of his work. Contained within are tales of journeys beyond our world, childhood dreams of travelling to the stars, time-travel, adventuring on and adapting to alien worlds. Granted, the science in many of the stories doesn’t bear up to modern day scrutiny but Ray’s stories are not so much about the science as about its impact on people, as they adapt to the changing world around them, all told in his characteristic clear and precise prose.

This limited edition PS Publishing hardback (still available direct from the publisher) reproduces many of the drawings illustrating the original release, along with Ray’s original introduction, and includes an additional introduction from Michael Marshall Smith and foreward from Ray Harryhausen, both written specially for this publication. The full story list can be found here.

Gary Gibson’s vampire story

Scottish SF writer Gary Gibson mentioned a while ago that he had written a vampire story, called The Range, and now he has decided to post it on his blog. He explains his reasoning here.