Travels Through Iest

Lex Trent Versus The Gods by Alex Bell

2012-01-29T22:28:00.001-08:00

I like inventive YA books that take familiar mythology and twist them to create new worlds and interesting concepts. I like caper stories. I like stories that focus on cocky anti heroes like thieves and conmen. With a list like that I should have been right into Lex Trent Versus The Gods, Alex Bell’s YA debut.

It contains an interesting setting; a world split into two halves, the Lands Above, inhabited by those who are not Gods, and the Lands Below, curiously in an inversion of the regular trope, inhabited by the Gods. It was hard to pin down exactly what time period the author was aiming for, it seemed to shift depending on where the action was. Some settings were medieval in origin and others resembled the 19th century, there was also a mention of action figures and plastic bags, which come from the 20th century, but the rest of the non magical technology was largely pre industrial. The ‘hero’ of the piece is Lex Trent, an insufferably cocky, amazingly lucky thief/conman. In an effort to escape justice and under a powerful enchantment Lex is used as the ‘player’ by his Goddess the Lady Luck, along with his reluctant former employer, the straight laced and highly moral lawyer Mr Schmidt, in a game the Gods play amongst each other for their own amusement using mortals as their pieces.

It’s a cool idea and the setting allows for all sorts of fun; a village of fairy godmothers, a magical hat, an enchanted flying ship, Alex Bell gave her imagination full reign with this one, she mined Greek mythology quite heavily and there were also elements of Paul Stewart’s and Chris Riddell’s Edge Chronicles, especially in the naming of some of the creatures and the idea of the worlds being tethered to each other via a series of ladders.

Given all these elements I should have loved Lex Trent Versus The Gods and should be happily devouring it’s sequel (Lex Trent: Fighting With Fire) by now. Why didn’t this happen? Mainly because of Lex himself. The character is a seventeen year old thief/conman, somewhat in the mould of a young Locke Lamora or Raymond Feist’s Jimmy the Hand, but after initially appealing to me, he proved to not have the charm of the other two, and I couldn’t warm to him. He starts out incredibly cocky and willing to stab anyone in the back to get ahead, and that’s how he ends up. Despite multiple opportunities to change and his greatest strengths (arrogance, duplicity) also being shown up to be his greatest weaknesses, the character never alters and consequently remains rather shallow and one dimensional. I found his unwilling accomplice Mr Schmidt a far more interesting and layered character (now a book about him may be really worth reading). I had hoped Lex may change, but he never did, and seems destined to continue in the same vein in the sequel. Another small nit pick was the lack of a strong female character, aside from Lady Luck, and she doesn’t really classify as a main character, there are remarkably few women in Lex Trent Versus The Gods, it would have been nice to have a female version of Lex to slap him down or best him once or twice. The opportunity was there to do this with Lex’s twin brother, but it wasn’t taken, and Lucius was used as Lex’s whipping boy for most of the book.

I realise I’m not the target audience, but I’ve read YA with more multi layered and far more likeable protagonists in the past, it may be that I’m comparing Lex Trent Versus The Gods unfavourably with my last few reads, which were books that grabbed me early on and refused to let me go until I completed them. I was genuinely reluctant to put those books down and kept going back to them every chance I got, I unfortunately didn’t get that with Lex Trent Versus The Gods.

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer

2012-01-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer is a bit of a departure for the British author and former politician. It's not about politics or finance, it's not a family saga, and it is largely based on historical fact. It's, I suspect a highly fictionalised, biography of British mountaineer George Mallory.

Mallory has become one of those footnote historical figures. He was among the first Europeans to make an assault on Mount Everest. It's still debatable as to whether he actually made it to the top of the mountain. He perished a long way up the world's highest peak in 1924, his second major attempt. The body was not recovered until 1999, and even now debates rage about whether he attained the peak or not. If it can ever be proven that he did then history will have to be rewritten, noting that it was George Mallory and not Edmund Hillary who first successfully climbed Everest. The New Zealander would still however be the first man to survive the climb.

Paths of Glory follows Mallory from his early days as an adventurous child in 1892, through his school days where he first discovered his joy in climbing and driving himself to be better and climb higher than anyone else, along the journey to his ultimate destiny he encounters other famous climbers, his contemporary Geoffrey Young, who in many ways was a superior climber to Mallory himself, but an injury incurred during the First World War put paid to his dream of conquering Everest, and the pugnacious Australian George Finch (George Finch is probably more famous these days for being the father of the Oscar winning actor Peter Finch), who was the first person to suggest using oxygen to help climbers going above 25,000 feet.

Despite knowing the ending, I did find Paths of Glory a highly readable novel. It helps that I regard the first 20 - 30 years of the 20th century as a real age of adventure and exploration and Mallory's story is right smack bang in the middle of all that. At times it becomes a little soap operatic, Archer does this, but mainly when it deals with Mallory's home life. The climbing and travelling sections are fascinating and would be of interest to any one who likes mountaineering or exploring. Archer also painted Mallory as a paragon of virtue. I don't doubt that the man had many marvelous qualities, but I don't think he was quiet ready for the sainthood that Jeffrey Archer seemed to want to award him in the book.

There's a nice section in the back of the book, which briefly covers what happened to most of the book's major characters. Recommended as an interesting and diverting read.

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

2012-01-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month I read the first of Ben Aaronovitch’s Folly series see review here (Rivers of London UK/Midnight Riot in the US) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Moon Over Soho is the sequel and it fully lives up to the promise shown in it’s predecessor.

Picking up not that long after the events of Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho finds plainclothes London policeman and apprentice wizard Peter Grant still toiling away at his studies and his job, whilst dealing with the fall out from the previous book, mostly the injuries and terrible facial disfiguration suffered by his partner and friend; Leslie Mays. He’s just visited Leslie and not really enjoyed the experience all that much when he receives a call to attend the morgue.

He is confronted by a body that appears to have suffered a heart attack and died. Peter’s not at all sure why the Folly’s regular medical contact; Dr Walid, has called him about this until he hears the notes of the jazz standard ‘Body and Soul’ floating from the corpse. All of a sudden bodies of jazzmen start turning up with two things in common; they die of heart attacks despite age and physical fitness, and ‘Body and Soul' is involved.

Peter’s father is an old jazzman, a former trumpeter commonly known to other members of London’s jazz community as ‘Lord’ Grant due to a comment made by Ray Charles after hearing Richard Grant play one night. That makes this case right up Peter’s alley, and he soon finds himself haunting jazz clubs with one of the victim’s old band mates and finding out that there’s more to his dear old Dad than a long forgotten career wrecked by bad luck, ill health and drug addiction. He also falls under the spell of Simone, the girlfriend of the first dead jazzman to crop up.

The more Peter searches, the more anomalies he turns up, and he finds that following this case and trying to keep himself alive as the fall out from another ongoing series of murders accumulates, is not all that easy, and then there’s the mystery of Simone, she’s not what she seems and what is the bewitching hold she has on her lovers, Peter included, and her love of jazz?

There’s less of the minutiae of police procedure this time, although I found that interesting in the first book, yet the author displays a wealth of knowledge on that subject. He also appears to have done his homework on jazz music and the London jazz scene. Peter is a highly engaging narrator and the books are worth reading for his little deviations into items of historical interest, some things are thrown in by random, or so it seems, but they always turn up to be pertinent to the plot. Aaronovitch has given his protagonist a highly amusing turn of phrase and interesting outlook on things in general. Peter is fast becoming one of my favourite and most interesting urban fantasy heroes.

There’s also some interesting revelations and background given to Peter’s mentor Nightingale and their maid; Molly, who has become an intriguing and strangely endearing peripheral character.

The final part of this book made my jaw drop and the hints of what is to come has insured that I’ll be snapping up the third Folly book; Whispers Under Ground, the second I see it for sale.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

2012-01-21T18:05:00.000-08:00

The list challenge continues! Inkheart by Cornelia Funke is the last of the F's.

Going from something intense and dark like Steven Erikson's Malazan Books of the Fallen to what is becoming a children's classic like Cornelia Funke's Inkheart may seem like a bit of a culture shock, and it kind of is, but that's part of the beauty of doing this list. I'm never really sure what I'm going to get, unless I happen to have already read the work in question.

I've picked Inkheart up and put it down a number of time in bookstores over the years. I do like a bit of YA work or even things written for younger audiences. I find that they often have a sense of wonder and adventure that is sometimes lacking in work done for older audiences. The idea behind Inkheart appealed to me, but there was a lack of depth from what I read when thinking about whether or not read it. The film done a couple of years ago held some interest, but I never got around to seeing it, so the book remained unread by me, that is until it appeared on the list.

Cornelia Funke made her name in the publishing world as an illustrator before writing her own stories. Some editions of Inkheart contain her illustrations, although I don't think the one I read did.

The premise behind the book is that certain people can actually pull the characters and creatures contained in books out of their fictional worlds and into ours by reading about them. Unfortunately this comes with a price, if something is removed from a book world, then something from this world has to replace it. Bookbinder Mo Folchart knows this better than most, having accidentally read characters out of children's tale Inkheart and losing his wife, Teresa to the book. HIs daughter Meggie, does not know about her father's ability or that he lives in fear that she may too develop it.

One day the father and daughter's life is disrupted by an odd, scarred man going by the name of Dustfinger and travelling with a tame marten he calls Gwin. Dustfinger is one of the character Mo read out of Inkheart all those years ago and now he wants to deliver Mo to his dark master Capricorn, in return he hopes to be read back into his world of fiction.

What follows is Mo, Meggie and Dustfinger, along with Gwin, trying to avoid Capricorn's far reaching fingers. Their journey will take them to Meggie's great aunt; the book collector Elinor, they'll be captured and escape multiple times. They will meet the author of Inkheart, eventually stand up to Capricorn and the family will be reunited.

For a children's book, it seems to be aimed at a pre teen set, Inkheart is a very bleak and quite often dark story. The fictional story of Inkheart, while readers don't see all of it, they do see some of the characters, and this was a weakness of the book to me, because the characters and even the way it's creator Fenoglio speaks about it indicate that it's a pretty unpleasant sort of story and I can't see why anyone would be attracted to it.

There's not a lot of fantasy in the first two thirds of the book, that tends to read more like a combination of children's mystery and adventure, the fantasy aspect ramps up significantly late in the book. What sets Inkheart apart from other works written for children is the very evident love of books by most of the characters, and that they love them in different ways for different reasons. There was the rather curious idea that no one believes book authors are living breathing people, they're all dead consigned to history with only their works remaining. I don't think I ever thought this and I'm not really sure why Cornelia Funke felt other people would go along with that particular theory.

The book is presented well and the chapters are all named with definite meaning behind each one. At the beginning of each chapter is a short quote from works of classic fiction, most are children's books, although not all, and again the author's love of books is in evidence.

Inkheart is the first of a trilogy, taken together the three books (the other two are Inkspell and Inkdeath) are known as the Inkworld trilogy. Despite this the first one is self contained and can be read without needing to read the sequels, although there's enough to suggest that that author could continue the story if she wished. It was an interesting idea although I felt the characters became rather stereotypical and I didn't quite buy the ending, so wouldn't read the other volumes in the trilogy, although I know it's not aimed at me.

The best example I've ever seen of blurring the lines between fiction and reality is in Jasper Fforde's hysterically funny Thursday Next series, and I would recommend that to anyone who is intrigued by the concept of Inkheart.

Admitting Defeat - The Malazan Books of the Fallen

2012-01-20T21:15:00.000-08:00

When I read Gardens of the Moon (first of Steven Erikson's massive 10 Malazan Books of the Fallen epic series) some months ago my intention had been to gradually read each of the books, finishing up with the final of that particular section of the series; The Crippled God. There are five planned books by Erikson's co-creator Ian Cameron Esslemont, 4 of which are currently out, and Erikson himself has another two trilogies and 6 novellas planned. I was going to confine myself to Erikson's 10 books, and possibly read the Esslemont's if I enjoyed the Erikson's enough.

I found Gardens of the Moon tough going at times, but not particularly hard to follow, as some have said. I didn't find myself getting caught up in the story or warming to any of the characters, although I must confess to liking Kruppe and his penchant for referring to himself in the third person. Various events in my reading life meant that I was delayed from reading the 2nd book in the series; Deadhouse Gates, until December of last year.

Like Gardens of the Moon I struggled with Deadhouse Gates. The ending was spectacular, but again it took a long time to get there, and although I knew this was the case, it didn't make the fact that it followed a completely separate storyline to the one begun in Gardens of the Moon any less frustrating. I did ask myself multiple times throughout the book exactly what the point of it all was. Both books showcased a seemingly endless struggle between warring parties of which the members seemed to vacillate between sides on a whim. In that particular book the cast expanded significantly and Erikson killed off the only character I even came close to connecting with, although I thought he was probably doomed from the start anyway.

I hate giving up on books or series, so I dutifully picked up Memories of Ice this month. Some of what I'd read from various bloggers said that if you had been able to stick with the series through the first 2 books then Memories of Ice provided a payoff of sorts because it was an excellent book, well Kruppe returned and I liked some of the exchanges between Toc the Younger and Lady Envy, but there was still a disconnection for me, and I have to admit I gave up halfway through the book. I haven't given up on a book for years without finishing it, but with Memories of Ice I didn't see the point in continuing. For whatever reason the series just wasn't grabbing me and apart from Kruppe, largely because I find him funny, and Toc and Envy, I really didn't care about the rest of the characters.

The fact that The Malazan Books of the Fallen didn't do it for me is in no way a reflection on the quality of the series. It's actually quite well written, if in my opinion, under edited. I just felt that after two and a half books and near 2,000 pages there should have been something to keep me reading and for me there just wasn't.

So, I have to admit that The Malazan Books of the Fallen have claimed another victim.

The Circus of Dr Lao by Charles G. Finney

2012-01-16T01:20:00.001-08:00

The Circus of Dr Lao is the 3rd of the F's and 32nd overall in the challenge.

The author Charles G. Finney was a newspaperman who had also been in the army and spent time stationed in Asia. The Circus of Dr Lao was published in 1935, and is the best known of Finney's few books, it was conceived while he was in the army in Tientsin. It was made into a film; 7 Faces of Dr Lao, in 1964. Despite this it's a little known classic of fantasy, although it has influenced a number of writers, especially Ray Bradbury.

The circus run by the mysterious and mischievious Dr Lao comes to the small midwestern US town of Abalone, Arizona. It isn't quite what the townspeople expect. Dr Lao's circus has no actual animals or clowns or highwire acts. It does however have creatures of myth and legend: a unicorn, a Medusa and a sphinx amongst it's roster.The fortune teller tells genuine fortunes and can see the future, he also doubles as the show's magician, he is the legendary Apollonius of Tyana. There are some devastatingly accurate portraits of the small town population and their reactions to the unusualness amongst them. The philosophical conversation between the meticulous and pedantic proofreader Mr Etaoin and Dr Lao's sea serpent is a highlight and a delight. It's quite a short volume, but has true wonder in it's few pages and there's a fun catalogue at the back where the newspaperman in the author comes to the fore as he explains what happened to the characters as he invents backgrounds and futures for his creations.

The book although slim, does offer plenty of food for thought and is written in an easy to understand and read manner. As I was reading it and covering the various mythological creatures that comprised Dr Lao's circus I thought how much like a contemporary or urban fantasy it was, and it may have even been the forerunner of some of the titles that comprise the hot new subgenre.

Ray Bradbury admired The Circus of Dr Lao, and it may have provided some of the inspiration for his classic Something Wicked This Way Comes, another entertaining story of a circus or fair that is not what it initially appears to be is Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard. This is one I can see myself reading again.

Babylon Steel by Gaie Sebold

2012-01-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

Babylon Steel is Gaie Sebold's debut novel and has been identified by the publisher Solaris as one of their releases to look for in 2012. The sequel Hunter's Moon has also been acquired by Solaris, so there's good news for anyone who enjoyed Babylon Steel.

Babylon Steel is a rather Xena Warrior Princess style sword for hire and brothel owner. Babylon lives and works in Scalentine, which is a kind of interdimensional portal. Most of Scalentine's inhabitants come there to escape their pasts, and Babylon is no exception. The chapters set in Scalentine are interspersed with others set on the world of Tiresana, Babylon's original home plane, and they cover her life before she found her way to Scalentine and set up her high class establishment the Red Lantern.

The strengths of Babylon Steel are the setting of Scalentine and the characters. The folk who work the Red Lantern from the S&M twins Cruel and Unusual, who cater for clients wanting a somewhat more memorable experience to the fey Laney, who can give clients the unique experience of having made love to a genuinely magical creature, or even the Orc cook and former pit fighter Flower, are not just employees, they share in the profits and they're as much family as anything else.

The inhabitants of Scalentine range from fey like Laney to four armed hermaphroditic aliens, and it is this world with all it's denizens and gutter crawlers that Babylon ranges through trying to find answers that will help her once and for all put her past truly behind her.

It's a real fun romp full of sex, violence and rock and... no sorry there's no rock and roll, but there possibly should be. Cruel and Unusual would make a great front pair for any rock band. Gaie, being British, does tend to use a peculiarly English form of street slang which she may want to cut down on for future books, because it tended to take me out of the alien landscape of Scalentine.

I did love the setting, though. Scalentine put me in mind of the Time Station from Robert Aspin and Linda Evan's Timescout series, which was a short lived series that I really enjoyed and still wonder why there weren't more books in it.

Despite Babylon Steel reading as a largely self contained story, it has been left open for further adventures, hence the sequel Hunter's Moon (I wonder if Hunter or Moon are going to be character names?), and I hope that the budding romance between the often on the wrong side of the law Babylon and Scalentine's head law enforcer the werewolf Chief Bitternut (shades of Alexia Tarabotti and Conall Maccon in Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate there) comes to something in the future.

My first new book of 2012 and both the year and Ms Sebold's career are off to a flying start.

Royal Flash - a wrap up

2012-01-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

Royal Flash is a bit of an anomaly in the series. It's the only one set entirely in Europe, it's the only one to feature a fictional country, and it's the only book to be mostly based on an already published and successful piece of fiction.

I don't pretend to know George MacDonald Fraser's thoughts, but I doubt Royal Flash would have ever been written if someone hadn't been in his ear about the possibility of a motion picture based on the hero's exploits. I said in my opening about the book that I felt it was based on The Prisoner of Zenda, because they wanted to make a film about Harry and needed something that was adaptable. Had this not been the case Flash for Freedom; the 3rd book, and one of the clunkiest titles, may have been the 2nd book, and Fraser would have found another, possibly more interesting and more historically accurate, way for Flashman to account for his time in 1847 - 48. Flashman's Lady and Flashman and the Mountain of Light more than account for what he was doing following the events of Flashman and before being duped by Otto von Bismarck into masquerading as Prince Carl Gustaf.

Although I loved it the first time I read it and felt that it was far superior to the film, I still do mind you, I find it less successful as a Flashman book. It's fairly trivial and really the presence of Lola, one of Harry's genuine loves and the introduction of Rudi Starnsberg, who even though he was based on Rupert of Hentzau, is quite a unique character in his own right, and someone that Flashman often refers to throughout his other adventures. The other disappointing thing about Royal Flash is that overall it doesn't have much of an affect or impact on his life and career as a whole.

Join me in Feburary for Flash for Freedom, where Harry goes to America and encounters slavery.

Royal Flash - Chapter 10

2012-01-13T20:59:00.000-08:00

In the 10th and final chapter of Royal Flash readers get to see if Harry Flashman can get out of his European odyssey and arrive home to Elspeth safe and sound.

Now saying that may appear slightly odd. Royal Flash is the 2nd of 12 books about the character. Everyone knows he must have gotten out of it okay, because otherwise how can he at the age of over 80 be writing his unexpurgated memoirs? The reason I say it is that the books don't always end as such. This one does, but others have ended on cliffhangers.

Harry is hightailing it out of Strackenz with his ill gotten gains and heads for Munich. He's deduced by now that Rudi's story about him having broken the law for his little episode with Baroness Pechman was just that...a story. He no more broke the law in Munich by doing that than he would have in London, admittedly he'd be in trouble if Baron Pechman caught up to him, but knowing how Bismarck fitted Harry up it's highly unlikely that there is a Baron Pechman, in fact Baroness Pechman may not have even been a Baroness, after all Harry Flashman wasn't a prince, but everyone thought he was because they were told he was, and because he bore a striking resemblance to Carl Gustaf. I think there's a bit of a point being made throughout the book. Harry isn't a hero, but everyone thinks he is because he looks like one and he tells people he is.

Munich, like much of the rest of Europe at the time, is in an uproar. The people are sick of Kind Ludwig's excesses, and he's about to be overthrown. They also focus their anger against the King's mistress; Lola Montez. In another of the actual historical events that populate the books Lola faces down an angry mob and walks through them into her coach. Harry realising that Lola is his best chance to get out of Germany and Europe runs after the coach, he has to hope Lola is willing to pick him, because he is absolutely skint, and it's not like he can pull a jewelled ring or something out of his valise and use it to pay for a train ticket.

Luckily Lola still has some affectionate feelings for her former lover, despite his actions and behaviour towards her in the past and lets him on. The two travel for a time, until one morning Harry wakes up to find Lola and her servant gone, along with his valise! She does leave a note claiming her need was the greater. Uncharacteristically Harry doesn't bear a grudge. There must have been some genuine feeling there, and he does claim her as the most beautiful of his many conquests, he never forgot her either.

In wrapping the story up Flashman explains how he told the story to a young lawyer of his; Hawkins, this was Anthony Hope's real name, and he made it into one of his romances, which sold very well, this of course is how Hope wrote The Prisoner of Zenda, at least that's Flashman's story.

He also said that he met Irma once more. She visited London for Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. Flashman stayed out of her sight, but she had aged well and was still an attractive woman. Carl Gustaf had died some years back. She had her son with her, and he was the spit image of Rudi Starnberg, so Irma may not have been as pure as everyone believed. Flashman thinks Rudi himself perished along with the Germans during a march on Paris.

Bismarck of course went on to become one of history's greatest statesmen and was responsible for the formation of Germany, actions which later led to WW I. Had Bismarck's plan worked out, the course of events may have been advanced a few years, or they may have turned out differently altogether.

Harry's homecoming doesn't create the same sort of stir that his previous one in Flashman did. The Morrisons are still in residence and none too pleased to see him back. Buck's also back at home, although no one seems to think it will be long before he's in rehab again. Elspeth is taking tea with friends, she does wonder what Harry did to his head and why, and asks what he brought her back from Germany.

There are two short appendices. One covers The Prisoner of Zenda, and it was nice to see George MacDonald Fraser acknowledge his inspiration for this book. The other is some more about Lola herself, and she was one of the more remarkable footnote characters in history and a great match for Flashman.

Magician by Raymond E. Feist

2012-01-13T00:54:00.001-08:00

The 100 Must-Read Fantasy Novels challenge returns! I moved away from this last year when the TBR pile started to reach alarming proportions, not helped by a trip to Worldcon in Reno where books cost about half of what they do in Australia. I decided to shelve the challenge for a while. I always wanted to go back to it, and the new year seemed like the ideal time, so I present to you my review of the 2nd of the F novels: Raymond E. Feist's superlative fantasy epic Magician.

Feist was one of the wave of new epic fantasy writers that emerged in the late 1970's and early 1980's. For the time Magician was quite a tome, these days it would be published as a duology or maybe even a trilogy (I believe it was published in 2 separate volumes in the US; Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master), the paperback I read was over 800+ pages and that's big for one book back in the early 80's.

At first glance Magician appears to be a pretty standard generic epic fantasy, drawing on the significant legacy left by Professor Tolkien. The land of Midkemia is a pre industrial society, analogous with medieval Europe, even the name evokes comparisons with Tolkien's Middle-earth (which was based on the Norse mythological term for Earth of Midgard), and Midkemia was also populated with rather Tolkienesque elves and dwarves, there was even a treasure loving dragon, not unlike a benevolent blind Smaug. That's largely where the comparisons end, though. There's no quest here for a magical ring or item of power, and the Midkemians aren't battling an all powerful sorceror. There is a magical suit of armour and weapons, although with what they do to their bearer; the former trainee man at arms Tomas, they're more of a curse than a blessing. There's also a sorceror; Macros the Black, but he mostly aids the Midkemians, although his motives for doing much of what he does are not really adequately explained. I actually felt that Macros was based on John Brunner's Traveller in Black, he of the many names, but only one nature. Macros even had an ever present staff, which seemed to amplify his natural magical ability.

The game changer for Magician is Kelewan. Feist was not content to create one world for his epic, he created two. There was a magical rift opened between the world of Midkemia and that of the feudal Japanese influenced world of Kelewan. There was very little Asian influenced fantasy around in the early 80's and giving Kelewan a Japanese influence was a master stroke. For me the scenes in Kelewan that follow the journey of Pug; the orphan from the Midkemian coastal frontier town of Crydee, from his days as a captive slave to become the Kelewanian magician, a Great One known as Milamber, and commanding near godlike power, are amongst the best and most effectively written in the book.

Magician is the story of the Riftwar, the battle between Midkemia and the Kelewanian invaders, who want to take over Midkemia and exploit it's vast natural resources of metal, something that is rare and highly prized in Kelewan. It tells the story as it follows the experiences of Pug and Tomas, best friends who are torn apart by war and follow very different paths in life. Pug becomes the Great One Milamber and Tomas dons magical armour and is in part taken over by the ancient rulers of Midkemia, the Valheru warrior known as Ashen-Shugar, he also marries Queen Aglaranna of Elvandar, Queen of the Elves.

There is also a third story and that is the one of Prince Arutha, the youngest son of Duke Borric ConDoin of Crydee, he's also in line to one day inherit the throne through his father. It is Arutha's story as he fights to keep his world and people free on the field and in the halls of power, he even takes to the seas and the mean streets of Krondor, that introduces two of Magician's most memorable characters; the roguish former pirate Amos Trask and the enterprising young thief known on the streets of Krondor as Jimmy the Hand (Jimmy was popular enough among readers to be the focus of his own books later on).

Magician and the two books that came after it; Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon, are generally referred to as the Riftwar trilogy, although I find Magician self contained enough to be read as a standalone book. The other two really just tie up a few loose ends concerning Pug and Tomas, but cover their own separate story.

Feist does make a few debut novelist mistakes in Magician. At times there's far too much exposition and the book could have been edited more ruthlessly, yet in the introduction to the 1992 edition of Magician, which was reedited by the author to include material that he had to take out of the original published version, he says he removed something like 50,000 words. The other thing that I found a little hard to take were the love scenes and the way they were handled. The dialogue in these was pretty clunky at times and the relationships seemed to move a bit quicker than they should have in relation to the rest of the story, which explained where it was going and how it got there.

Magician is a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy epic, which was rather original for it's time, holds up well even now and stands up to repeated reads, I've lost count of how many times I've actually read it and my copy is rather well thumbed. Tolkien's masterwork is in the same vein when it comes to the Midkemian sections of the text, and Tad Williams homage to Tolkien; Memory, Sorrow and Thorn has that vibe as well. Feist wrote a number of Midkemian related novels, I think the cycle is up to around 30 now, there was also the Empire trilogy co-written with Janny Wurts, which is set on Kelewan, and is outside of Magician the best related work he did in my opinion. Interested readers could also seek out Faerie Tale, a rather Stephen Kingish horror that Feist did in an attempt to break away from Midkemia. It's well regarded now, but didn't seem to sell well enough at the time to allow for more work in a similar vein.

Royal Flash - Chapter 9

2012-01-11T22:11:00.001-08:00

Chapter 9 of Royal Flash was so short (10 pages) that it barely qualifies as a chapter.

After taking his leave of the Sons and Carl Gustaf you would think Harry was getting out of Dodge (come to think of it somewhere in his adventures I think Flashman actually did get out of Dodge, maybe if he’d been able to write it George MacDonald Fraser would have tried to pin the saying’s origin on his hero), instead he heads for Strackenz.

Why? One last loving fumble at his little ‘wife’? No…well that does happen, but it wasn’t his reason for heading back into the lion’s den. Aside from sex, there is one other thing that motivates Flashman, and that’s money. Those crown jewels are still there and as long as he still looks like Carl Gustaf and the world in general doesn’t know that he’s not the real article then who’s going to stop him from getting access to them.

After assuring Irma that he’s alive and well, knowing that his double will soon be along to replace him, Harry invents a reason to take off and gives the conscientious guard of the jewels some cock and bull story to get him out of the way, and plunders to his heart’s content. He fills a valise with the collection, it’s large enough that he doesn’t even have to bend the coronets flat to make them fit, and away he runs. Seemingly set for life if he can pull this off.

I’m not really sure why this one exists as a chapter on it’s own, given the length of some of the other chapters this one could have been incorporated. There’s some evidence that Flashman thought his theft out too, even if he’s pursued he doubts that because he gave a false name that he can ever be discovered. As he reflects if they go looking for Thomas Arnold then they will track him down, but good luck to them getting anything from the old headmaster’s grave.

Royal Flash - Chapter 8

2012-01-10T22:16:00.001-08:00

Chapter 8 of Royal Flash is another long one and packed full of action. If chapter 7 was bawdy farce, then chapter 8 has Harry buckling on his swash.

Once he’s fallen into the hands of the Sons of the Volsung (the Danish nationalist movement that has captured Flashman, who are as intent on keeping Strackenz in Danish hands as Bismarck is to bring it under German control), he has to lie to stay alive, although he didn’t lie as much as I had expected. He basically gives them the story of how he came to impersonate Carl Gustaf, just changing it subtly to imply that he was an innocent British soldier whose only real crime was to bear a remarkable resemblance to the Danish royal. He also added a wife and child (little golden haired Amelia) to help his cause and changed his name to Thomas Arnold. I’m sure even Flashman found it rather ironic that the only alias he could come up with on short notice was that of a man he both despised and feared.

The Sons swallow the story and Harry’s real ace in the hole is that he knows Carl Gustaf is alive and where he’s being held. The Sons suspected, but they didn’t KNOW. They, mainly driven by Hansen, come up with a mad boys own rescue scheme. Unfortunately for Flashman he’s going to be part of the rescue team. When stripping down for the swim through the Jotunsee into Jotunberg Hansen sees and is impressed by Harry’s collection of war wounds (he has weals on his back from Gul Shah’s torture, a scar on his thigh where his leg was broken at Piper’s Fort and another on his hip where a rifle ball hit him), the wounds all seem to have been gathered in Flashman, which was at the time the only book out, I’ll definitely have to check the texts of Flashman’s Lady and Flashman and the Mountain of Light to see if there were any continuity slip ups, as while those two volumes came out after Royal Flash, they take place in between the 1st 3rd and the final 2 3rds.

Hansen is killed almost as soon as the two men enter Jotunberg. Rudi was waiting and got the Dane with a blade between the shoulders. Flashman was lucky that he too wasn’t killed, and possibly wasn’t because Starnberg has a rather twisted sense of humour and thought it would be amusing to taunt Carl Gustaf with his double. Despite the situation Flashman took a bit of perverse amusement in that both Carl Gustaf and Hansen could tell him from the real thing because the duelling scars were slightly off line, this makes him realise that Bismarck was capable of making a mistake.

Rudi makes an offer to Flashman, as far as he can see Bismarck’s plan is shot and the entire continent is rising up in revolt. It was true, too. 1848 could have very well been named The Year of Revolution. As the world goes it was probably a game changing year in history and laid the logs for the fire that would engulf the world in 1914. In the early years of the 20th century the old soldier and political in Flashman can see the writing on the wall and knows what is going to happen very soon. On a side note Flashman has a cameo in George MacDonald Fraser’s book Mr American, and readers see his reaction to the declaration of WW I. Rudi believes that he and Flashman can kill Carl Gustaf and then have the Englishman play the prince for long enough that the two of them can make a fortune out of it. He doesn’t really outline what he plans to do, but I’d be willing to bet it’s got something to do with the Strackenz’s rather impressive collection of crown jewels. By this stage all Harry wants to do is get the hell out. He manages to get the drop on Starnberg with a wine bottle and tries to make his escape. Before he can do so Rudi recovers and the two men fight it out blade to blade, Flashman is lucky to save his own life and the prince’s, but he does with the rest of the Sons turning up in the nick of time. Starnberg flees and Harry falls into the Jotunsee. Once again he cheats death and survives, even then it takes the word of Carl Gustaf to prevent the Sons from killing him and the chapter ends with him having survived against the odds yet again.

Royal Flash - Chapter 7

2012-01-08T22:48:00.000-08:00

After reading chapter 7 of Royal Flash I can see why the film makers took the decision of creating the sort of the film they did. The chapter is very bawdy and somewhat farcical in parts. It's one of the longer chapters I've encountered as well.

Flashman now impersonating the Danish prince Carl Gustaf, is taken to the duchy of Strackenz where he will meet and marry Duchess Irma. On the way his true colours assert themselves during a presentation from one of the local boarding schools. The school has a number of well turned out students who can recite Greek for his supposed entertainment. Flashman spies a surly lout who he sees as the school's version of his younger self and asks for that boy to recite. Of course he makes a hash of it and Flashman does his level best to ensure that the boy will be beaten following his departure. He leaves well pleased with himself. Detestable man.

Flashman certainly likes the look of Irma. She's young (19) and even more beautiful than her portrait suggested, but she is very cold and has no conversational skills. Flashman does't take to her, it would be hard to, he sees her as spoiled and arrogant, to a certain extent she probably is, but I believe most of it is due to her upbringing and the situation she's in. I believe Flashman mistook fear for arrogance.

He sizes up the crown jewels of Strackenz and like any good British soldier works out how he may be best able to make off with them if given the opportunity. He also notices that Starnberg is doing the same. A man after Flashman's own heart. Courage aside they're cut from the same cloth.

The news that one of Carl Gustaf's oldest friends; Erik Hansen, will be unexpectedly attending the wedding throws Flashman into a panic. Flashman's minders assure him that he won't have time to be unmasked, and if he is Rudi will take steps (kill Hansen) to assure that the plan doesn't come unstuck. He's told to say 'Erik, old friend, where did you spring from?" when one of his co conspirators whispers Hansen in his ear. He messes it up, crying something like: 'Erik, old friend, this is the most springing surprise of my happy day!', but fortunately it doesn't give the game away, or at least doesn't seem to. An uninvited guest at the wedding is the revolutionary Karl Marx, or at least George MacDonald Fraser in his notes at the back of the book believes that the character protesting outside after the ceremony is the Father of Communism judging by the description Flashman provides.

After the wedding the happy couple, along with Starnberg and De Gautet, go to the royal hunting lodge in Strelhow. When Flashman performs his husbandly duty with Irma she is initially petrified with fear, but very soon warms to the task and becomes near insatiable in bed. Flashman naturally attributes this to his skill in bed, although possibly he awakened something dormant in the sheltered young woman. He also sings her a nursery rhyme in English to settle her, he doesn't think she paid any attention, but Fraser in the notes points out that the rhyme first appeared in German after the wedding, so she may have paid more attention than Harry thought at the time.

Flashman develops a friendship with De Gautet during the stay at the hunting lodge, largely born of the fact that both men have a good eye for horseflesh and are excellent riders. Flashman puts De Gautet as almost his equal which puts him up there with the Cheyenne, who Harry in an allusion to another adventure (possibly Flashman and the Redskins) judges as the best riders he's seen. He and the German go riding and De Gautet tries to kill him. Flashman in sheer desperation fights him off and uses the benefits of a British public school education to torture Bismarck's real plan out of the swordsman. The statesman had never intended to pay Flashman, he had always been going to kill him, and then tell everyone he was a British spy and when the region is plunged into revolution use the Prussian army to intervene and thus bring everyone under German rule. The real Carl Gustaf is being held in the dungeons of the old Strackenzian royal castle of Jotunberg, he never had venereal disease, and he and his body will be disposed of once Bismarck has word that Flashman is dead.

Flashman pushes De Gautet off a cliff and does what Harry Flashman does best - run for his life! He shelters at a farm house with the elderly farmer and his daughter and is delivered to a bunch of capable looking types, who are to Flashman's horror led by Erik Hansen. They quickly work out he's not the real Carl Gustaf and Harry is once again going to have to lie through his teeth to save his own worthless hide.

Royal Flash - Chapter 6

2012-01-06T15:27:00.001-08:00

Bismarck's nefarious plan and the real reason for fitting up Flashman come to light in chapter 6 of Royal Flash.

Flashman hasn't forgotten the beating he engineered John Gully to hand out to the Prussian, and neither has Bismarck, despite the intervening 4 years, and he knows the noble's presence doesn't bode well for him, but he predictably decides to bluster it out. It has no effect. He's on Bismarck's home turf and surrounded by 4 of his henchmen, all of whom look remarkably capable.

Bismarck then explains why he wants Flashman. Even then Bismarck was working towards building a German Empire. A lot of turning uniting the German states and turning Prussia into Germany hinged on the small provinces of Schelswig and Holstein. The states were nominally controlled by Denmark, but the population was largely German. This created the Schleswig-Holstein question. I was aware of the question before I read the book. It was something my wonderful 11th grade history teacher; Mr French, explained in Modern History. I don't know if any of the rest of the class even listened, or if any of them cared after the class or remembered it, but I was a bit of a history buff and it did interest me. I never understood it entirely and I doubt even Mr French did. Flashman explains it thus:

Nobody has ever got to the bottom of it - indeed Palmerston (British Prime Minister Palmerston, he was a sort of friend of Flashman's and one of the few politicians Harry actually seems to admire) once said that only three people understood it: one was Pam himself, and he had forgotten it, another was a famous statesman, and he was dead, and the third was a German professor, and he had gone mad thinking about it.

Considering how much Bismarck had to do with the question I would have thought he also understood it, possibly he's the famous statesman, although I would have thought Flashman would have just said so if that was the case.

Now what exactly does Captain Harry Flashman have to do with it all? There's a small duchy on the edge of Holstein called Strackenz (Strackenz does not exist, it's an entirely fictional place). If it were to erupt into unrest things could ruin Bismarck's plans. To that end he's managed to arrange for the marriage of the beautiful young Duchess Irma of Strackenz to the nephew of King Christian of Denmark, Prince Carl Gustaf, who is a Dane, according to Bismarck sympathetic to the Prussian's plans. Why does this concern Flashman? Flashman asked the same question.

When Bismarck had wondered why Flashman looked familiar four years previously it was because of Carl Gustaf. The Danish prince is a dead ringer for Flashman, There are only two significant differences, Carl Gustaf is bald and clean shaven and he bears two duelling scars on his face earned at Heidelberg. Bismarck refers to duelling as drinking from the soup plate of honour, in reference to bowl like hilt of the schalger blades used for duelling.

According to Bismarck, Carl Gustaf has contracted gonnorhea, and will not be able to marry the Duchess in the six weeks time that the wedding has been planned for. Flashman actually finds the concept of a royal contracting as he puts it 'a dose of the clap' highly amusing, which is very indicative of his character, although it did make me wonder why with all his partners Flashman himself never got venereal disease, I can't recall him ever mentioning it.

The six weeks gives Bismarck and his cohorts enough time to turn Flashman into Carl Gustaf, teach him the language, the prince's history and groom him physically as well as mentally. Flashman has a habit of scratching his rear end when thinking, as royalty do not 'claw at the their backsides' as Bersonin tells Harry. For someone who learns as many languages as Flashman does he has an interesting relationship with Danish. He learns it. but he doesn't like it and never thinks in it, which for Flashman is odd.

It is with the schlager scars that Bismarck has the most fun, this is his revenge on Harry for the boxing incident with Gully. One way or other other Harry will get scars. One way is to hold him down and have Kraftstein cut them into his face and the other is to face De Gautet, a master of the blade, and have him do it the honourable way. Flashman opts for the latter and actually manages to inflict a minor wound on the swordsman by breaking the rules and lunging after the second scar is inflicted. Strangely enough the whole incident only reinforces Harry's hero reputation amongst Bismarck and his henchmen.

Although Bismarck is offering 10,000 pounds for this service and claims that after marrying Irma they'll wait for a month or so and then perform a switch of Harry for the Carl Gustaf with no one any the wiser Flashman's been in too many of these sorts of situations to totally buy it. He knows what he'd do and he wouldn't honour the agreement. Sadly enough Flashman holds others up to his own scant moral code and he's very often correct.

Royal Flash - Chapter 5

2012-01-05T22:28:00.001-08:00

In the 5th chapter of Royal Flash, Harry is on his way to the continent, for a brief time he employs a German by the name of Helmuth to be a sort of manservant, but really to help him learn German. Harry doesn’t ever learn a language in the conventional way, he just listens to it around him and tends to pick it up.

Flashman actually confesses to liking the German people and if he wasn't an Englishman he would want to be a German. This is largely based on an observation that because of their liking for order people know their place. Of course Flashman would like this as long as he was still of the ruling class.

He’s met in Bavaria by Rudi von Starnberg. Rudi is very like Flashman himself, with one major difference, his reckless bravery isn’t a front, although like many others before and since him Starnberg believes Harry’s reputation. If they hadn’t been on opposite sides the two men may have become good friends, because they both shared a fairly skewed moral compass. The character of Rudi is based on Rupert of Hentzau from Hope’s Prisoner of Zenda, that made me wonder if Flashman isn’t in fact some sort of subversion of the swashbuckling hero and may also be based on Hope’s hero. Rudi conducts Flashman to Lola’s house, although he remarks that in both appearance and appointment it’s more palace than house.

The house aside Lola has done well for herself, she even seems to have gathered an army of supporters, and when I say army I do mean that in the military sense. Although the former dancer acknowledges her former lover’s presence she doesn’t have a great deal to do with him either at the performance/musical recital or the dinner. Flashman claims to have met Richard Wagner at the function (although George MacDonald Fraser’s notes at the back point out that there’s no evidence to suggest that the composer was in Bavaria at the time, then again there’s also no evidence to suggest that he wasn’t), and held forth the opinion that British marching song British Grenadiers and the hunting ditty Drink Puppy Drink (this is the first mention of the nonsensical hunting song, it’s mentioned frequently from here on in. It seems to be the only song Harry knows, and he was forever humming it, to the extent that Elspeth affectionately named it ‘Harry’s Song’) were better than any opera he had ever encountered.

Flashman gets as Hughes put it ‘beastly drunk’ and is led into a room by Lola, she disappears and he falls into a drunken stupor. He comes to being pawed at and undressed by an overweight noblewoman he had encountered at the earlier dinner; the Baroness Pechman. As she is quite insistent Harry eventually relents and starts having s with her. The door then opens to admit Rudi and two uniformed gentleman. When Flashman protests he is knocked unconscious, and wakes up in the local police station in a cell. Rudi and a lawyer in his employ set things out in front of the British adventurer. What he was doing with Pechman was under Bavarian law illegal, and they can lock him up for life if they so wish. If he puts himself in von Starnberg’s custody and agrees to do whatever he’s got planned then the entire incident will be swept under the carpet and forgotten about. Between a rock and a hard place Flashman reluctantly agrees and is transferred to a forbidding castle a good distance from Munich.

At the castle he is introduced to three of Starnbergs colleagues; Kraftstein, a big beefy Prussian, De Gautet, a tall, lean sinister looking character, and Bersonin, stocky, bald and ugly. He doesn't know this at the time, but they're his guards and will also become his teachers, then he sees the man who makes his heart stop and wonder what exactly he’s managed to get himself into this time: Otto von Bismarck.

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

2012-01-05T02:02:00.000-08:00

Midnight Riot (published as Rivers of London in the UK, which is a far more apt title to my way of thinking) is the debut novel by former Doctor Who scriptwriter Ben Aaronovitch.

My wife got this book and it’s sequel (Moon Over Soho) months ago and had been raving about it. I only just got around to reading it, and am kicking myself for not making time for it earlier, because it was an excellent story, with plenty of humour, pop culture references and clever subversion of a number of urban fantasy tropes.

For an urban fantasy Midnight Riot is a bit different in a number of ways, firstly it’s not set in the US, it has a male protagonist and he’s biracial.

Peter Grant is a uniformed London cop coming to the end of his mandatory two year period in uniform and is hoping to be transferred to a plainclothes division where he can do some ‘real’ policing, actually catch criminals rather than do data entry, attend minor disturbances and stand guard around crime scenes. That is until he happens to meet Nicholas Wallpenny a witness to an unusual murder. Unusual in that the victim’s head appeared to have been knocked off the body. Unfortunately for Peter, Nicholas Wallpenny is not your standard witness…he’s a ghost. I loved that Peter’s permanently perky partner, and possible love interest; Leslie Mays, doesn’t just dismiss Peter as mad when he tells her about Wallpenny, but actively helps him try and pursue that particular lead in the case. Of course then Peter meets Inspector Nightingale, Britain’s last wizard, and his life is turned upside down.

I’ve never lived in London, but I get the sense that Ben Aaronovitch’s descriptions of the cities geography, in particular it’s many waterways, was spot on. The concept that the rivers themselves have magical beings attached to them, which manifest as normal citizens was intriguing and amusing. The bigger the river, the more powerful the ‘person’. Mother and Father Thames (no relation) are the king pins. Peter and Nightingale soon realise that to get anywhere with their investigation they’ll have to deal with the rivers and their families. This brings the delightful Beverley Brook into the story as a sort of de facto deputy. The post riot scene where she’s busted and told off by her big sister; Fleet, is priceless and a highlight for me.

The writer also appears to have done a good deal of research into the London police force as the novel displays a great deal of knowledge about police procedures and hierachies. There are also odd little excursions into British history, which deal with everything from Sir Isaac Newton (the greatest British wizard) and the origins of Punch and Judy. I know I’ll never look at the nasty little puppet show the same way again after reading Midnight Riot.

The big reveal of the book was well hidden and I certainly never saw it coming, so much so that I let out a gasp of disbelief when I read it. The novel starts out rather breezily in the style of some of more recent amusing British novelists, but progressively turns darker, although it never loses it’s humour or drive at any point. It’s a great debut and I’ll be looking for the name Ben Aaronovitch from now on.

The whole cast of characters: Peter, Nightingale, Leslie, Beverley, Mama Thames, Lady Tyburn and of course Nightingale’s unforgettable maid Molly, were fascinating and well drawn. There are still mysteries around Nightingale (exactly how old is he?) and Molly, I’m still not sure exactly what she is, so plenty of room for Aaronovitch to move. The sequel Moon Over Soho is out and a third book is planned.

Royal Flash - Chapter 4

2012-01-05T01:41:00.001-08:00

The 4th chapter of Royal Flash is where the chronology of the books became complicated. At the end of chapter 3 it was 1843. By the time chapter 4 begins it's 1847. Flashman has been on 4 years worth of adventures, but these weren't covered until book 6 (Flashman's Lady) and book 9 (Flashman and the Mountain of Light). Flashman makes no allusions to the events in Flashman's Lady, but he does obliquely reference Flashman and the Mountain of Light, by saying that he'd managed to get some money of his own in his last escapade before arriving back home in 1847. Royal Flash was written in 1970, and Mountain of Light came out in 1990. I really do wonder how far George MacDonald Fraser thought ahead.

To his horror Flashman finds out that his in-laws have moved in, in his absence and Buck is off at a sanatorium drying out, the indications is that this is a pretty regular thing for Buck Flashman, as he had become an alcoholic. There's no mention of Judy, so I assume she didn't meet up to the standards of the pious Morrisons and was sent packing, whether or not Elspeth liked having her around. One of the few loose ends that was never tied up.

Flashman's exchanges with Morrison never fail to amuse. The two of them cannot stand each other and they don't hide it. It makes for some very amusing and snarky banter as the two men snipe at each other continually. The two of them actually need each other. Harry can't survive without Morrison's money and Morrison likes the entry to high society that Harry's name and reputation give him.

During a bout of coitus with Elspeth, part of the reason they get along so well and have remained together for so long is that Harry's rarely at home, so doesn't become irritated by Elspeth's seeming empty headedness or the high snobbery she developed not long after marrying and moving away from Scotland, Elspeth is also good in bed, Flashman's darling wife admits that her parents want to get their two other daughters; Agnes and Grizel married, and to quality. Elspeth reasons that she did it, and they're wealthy girls through their father and well educated so why shouldn't they. Flashman points out that neither of her unmarried sisters is anywhere near as attractive as she is, although Elspeth does say that Grizel is really pretty. I can't remember what became of Agnes, but I think readers found out that Grizel did marry fairly well in Flashman's Lady.

Flashman knows that living in a house containing his in-laws while depending entirely on them for funds (what he made in the intervening years won't take him long to go through) will drive him mad so gets Uncle Bindley to seek him a position that pays tolerably well. Whilst this is happening he receives a flowery letter from a Bavarian Countess. Flashman has never been to Bavaria, he may have bedded a countess, but the name doesn't ring any bells and he was unlikely to have had the opportunity to deflower a Bavarian noblewoman. However she is promising to give him money for travelling and more when she sees him.

Harry goes to see the woman's London based attorneys and discovers that the countess is in fact Lola Montez. While Flashman was adventuring his old lover became the consort of King Ludwig (commonly known these days as Mad King Ludwig) of Bavaria. She got given a title by her lover. Flashman is intrigued and he wants the money, so we'll soon be seeing Flashy let loose on the women of the continent.

The Hafey Years by Elliot Cartledge

2012-01-03T22:36:00.001-08:00

The last few Christmasses I’ve had football books on my wish list, specifically those that relate to the Richmond Football Club in some way, shape or form, and this year was no exception. Santa had a copy of The Hafey Years by journalist and fellow Richmond tragic Elliot Cartledge in his sack for me.

To bring anyone who isn’t aware up to speed: between the years of 1966 and 1976 the Richmond Football Club was coached by former player Tommy Hafey. While Hafey was a modestly talented player, he was a revolutionary coach with an extraordinary ability of getting players to give their utmost, and in his ten years at the helm of the Tigers he delivered 4 Premierships, including the back to back efforts of the 1973 and 74 seasons. Although Richmond did win the 1980 flag, beating arch rival Collingwood by what was then a record winning margin, the years since Tommy Hafey’s departure have been pretty barren.

The book is written from an unashamedly Richmond viewpoint, although it does not attempt to paint a rose coloured picture of anyone involved with the club at the time. Players and officials are human and they have their strengths and their weaknesses. In the case of legendary administrator Graeme Richmond, his strength and weaknesses are often one and the same. While GR had a lot to do with the success enjoyed by the Tigers during the Hafey Years, he was also largely responsible for the team’s fall from grace; a pit they are still struggling to climb out of.

Having lived through the Hafey era, although being a kid during all of it my memories are fairly incomplete, the book was a trip down memory lane for me. Even the players and games I don’t recall well or at all I have memories of my parents, in particular my father, speaking fondly about. It’s a time that many of us, who are desperate to see the team succeed again often relive or long to return to, and Cartledge’s book with it’s quarter by quarter descriptions of the Premiership games, interviews with the players, officials and in some cases the opposition, certainly did that for me, and probably will for many other supporters.

The research in the book is considerable and sheds light on some incidents I had heard of, but been unaware of the full circumstances of. Readers can come to understand people like the often frustrating and eternally enigmatic Billy Barrott or the mercurially talented, but volatile Neil Balme. I even gained more of an insight into the driven Kevin Sheedy, who has been in the media spotlight as a coach and outspoken part of the game ever since he hung up his boots in the late 1970’s.

Many of the names in The Hafey Years are spoken with a hushed reverence by Richmond supporters: Paddy Guinane, Fred Swift, Roger Dean, Royce Hart, Kevin Bartlett, Dick Clay, even the backroom power broker Graeme Richmond and Hafey himself. The book pulls no punches and examines the reasons for the club’s success and why it eventually fell apart.

One thing I was struck by when reading was the similarity with the circumstances of the club just prior to Hafey’s arrival as coach and now. It gives me hope that things are finally turning around and that the Tigers are on the track to some onfield success at long last.

Fans and students of the game will get something out of The Hafey Years, regardless of club affiliation, but the book was written by and for Richmond supporters. If you were fortunate enough to see the club during all or some of the Hafey years then you will love reliving that golden period when the Tigers ruled the AFL (VFL as it was then) jungle. If you’re a supporter who did not see the powerful Richmond of the late 1960’s and 70’s then you’ll still get a smile from The Hafey Years as it will remind you why you follow the Tigers and exactly what the club is like when it’s up and about.

Any Richmond supporter will find The Hafey Years a fascinating and enjoyable experience. One of the best descriptions of the team and it’s success that I’ve been privileged enough to read.

Royal Flash - Chapter 3

2012-01-03T22:14:00.000-08:00

The third chapter of Royal Flash covers the 3rd member of the unholy trio (Flashman, Bismarck and Montez). Harry and Elspeth are still trading on Harry's laurels from Afghanistan, but it is starting to wear thin and Harry has had Uncle Bindley put the feelers out to obtain a position befitting a hero of the Lion of Kabul's status. Harry will of course ensure that any position he accepts will be as far from combat as is possible. Whilst doing this he spends his time gadding about the city and by chance happens to see an advertisement for an exotic Spanish dancer calling herself Lola Montez. Harry goes to see her rehearsing and is surprised to see that she is none other than his former bed partner Rosanna James!

Harry Flashman is not a good person to have as an enemy and the way he and Lola parted (she threw a chamberpot at him) still rankles. He decides to ruin her new career. He could of course expose her as a fraud himself, but he has another person in mind to do the deed. When they were together Lola mentioned another old lover; the current Lord Ranelagh.

Flashman pays Ranelagh a visit and is not totally unsurprised to find him a rather unpleasant sort. Ranelagh is the living embodiment of the wealthy, titled mid 19th century nobility. Fraser rarely misses an opportunity to skewer the ruling class of the time, he's generally accurate, too. Flashman and Ranelagh don't like each other, but they're united in their mutual dislike of the Irish officer's wife, the former Mrs Betsy James. What Flashman plans to have Ranelagh do is pure vindictiveness and it rams home the point that he is a throughly objectionable character.

Lola's maiden performance is a disaster, not because of her dancing (Flashman is captivated, but reports from the time list her as only a modestly talented dancer), but because during her second dance Ranelagh calls her out as a fraud and she is forced to flee first the theatre, and then England altogether. This was something Fraser did regularly throughout the memoirs, and that is have his fictional anti-hero act as the catalyst for a very real incident. There are further reports of Lola Montez, most of which sound too fantastical to be entirely true. It struck me that Lola was the 19th century equivalent of today's internet celebrities. Another Flashman trait is exposed towards the end of the chapter. One of Lola's very real lovers was the composer Franz Liszt. Flashman is a dreadful name dropper, and he casually mentions that he and Liszt met and compared notes about their famous lover. While Flashman said Lola used to hit him with a hairbrush during sex to encourage him, she used a dog whip on Liszt, and he was rather a frail fellow.

While the chapter is entertaining I'm not sure it was entirely necessary. Readers were aware that Lola Montex and Flashman parted on bad terms, we were also aware of Harry's failings and his sheer vindictiveness. George MacDonald Fraser seemed to have a fascination for the scandals of the nobility of the 19th century and he liked to portray them in all their messy glory. This is an example of that little indulgence. In Chapter Four the real story behind Royal Flash should begin as the stage has now been set.

Royal Flash - Chapter 2

2012-01-03T02:35:00.000-08:00

Flashman is out and doing what he does best in the second chapter of Royal Flash, having fun with his well heeled male companions and doing so whilst spending his someone else's money (in this case that of his father-in-law Morrison, courtesy of his doting and seemingly clueless wife Elspeth). Harry and his cronies have gone up the country to watch a boxing match and have a drunken weekend, when one of the cronies turns up with Bismarck in tow.

Bismarck and Flashman renew acquaintances and it’s obvious that the Prussian nobleman has not forgotten how the Englishman stole his carriage and date not so long ago. The sniping starts almost immediately. In the presence of friends and at home, it’s hard for Bismarck to really score points off Flashman, he’s a war hero and he’s got a credibility that Bismarck lacks.

Hostilities between the two reaches boiling point after a steeplechase. Flashman isn’t just a naturally gifted rider, he’s extremely proud of it and rarely ever beaten. Bismarck manages to do so in the steeplechase. Flashman contends that he won the race because he neglected to give way as he should have. It’s rather a moot point, because steeplechasing really didn’t have any rules, and it’s highly amusing to see a cheat like Flashman get some of his own medicine and then howl about it.

It’s rare that any one gets the better of Harry Flashman without paying dearly for it, and Otto von Bismarck is no exception. They attend a boxing match and while Bismarck appears to enjoy the spectacle he compares it unfavourably on every score with ‘schlagering’ (schlagers being the swords Prussians preferred to duel with). Seeing an opportunity Harry dives in and starts to goad Bismarck. Harry often talks about his 4 talents, but he never mentions the 5th, and that’s the ability to start a fight. In that respect Harry reminds of the Asterix villain Tortuous Convovulus from Asterix and the Roman Agent. They could both start a fight in an empty room.

Harry keeps needling until he manages to get former bare knuckle boxing champion turned member of the gentry; John Gully to take on Bismarck in an exhibition of skilled ‘milling’ as boxing was known then. It ends better than Flashman could ever have hoped for with Bismarck bloodied and battered by the ageing former champion. Gully is another of those extraordinary footnote people in history that George MacDonald Fraser kept turning up in the books. It’s not the first or the last time Flashman mentions boxing, he’s not much good at it himself, but he enjoys watching it, and even mentions that he was in attendance in 1882 for a match in the US involving the legendary John L. Sullivan. Exactly why he was there I don’t think has ever been covered in the books that were published. I suspect Fraser himself was appreciative of boxing, particularly the history of the sport. He wrote a book called Black Ajax, about a former slave from the US trying to become a champion in the British circuit of the late 18th century. Harry’s father Buck Flashman makes a cameo in the book.

One interesting thing about Bismarck and Harry in this chapter is that Bismarck is positive that he’s met or seen Flashman before, but as Harry has never visited what would become Germany and this is the Prussian’s first visit to England this seems unlikely. Their paths couldn’t have crossed on the subcontinent or in Afghanistan either as Bismarck was never there. Flashman sees it as being of little import, but it vexes Bismarck and Harry should take greater note of it as it will have a major bearing on his future. Not to mention that he’s number one on Bismarck’s people to be revenged upon list after the run in with Gully.

Royal Flash - Chapter 1

2012-01-01T15:36:00.001-08:00

Before getting into the opening chapter of Royal Flash I'll have some words about the introductions and the cover. The cover for the 1999 paperback edition shows Flashman figged out as a royal complete with ermine lined cloak and sceptre. He wears his trademark smug smile under his magnificent calvary whiskers. There's no girl accompanying him on the cover, as is generally the case. In the background there's some of battle with cannons and castles.

In his explanatory note George MacDonald Fraser informs readers that Royal Flash takes place over two separate periods covering some months in 1842 - 43, and then in 1847 - 48. This is where the chronology started to move away. There's an indication that Flashman does cover the missing period elsewhere in his memoirs, but readers had to wait until book 6 (Flashman's Lady) and book 9 (Flashman and the Mountain of Light) to find out what the hero was doing between 1843 and 1847.

Right from the start of the opening chapter Flashman references other packets of his adventures, saying that if he really was the hero everyone supposed him to be, or even a half decent soldier (I think he's being a bit hard on himself there, although he wasn't much use at the front he does show a great grasp of strategy throughout the books and would have made a decent commander if he hadn't been continually forced to live up to his reckless hero reputation) then Lee would have won the Battle of Gettysburg and maybe even captured Washington. This is a reference to General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Forces during the American Civil War, and it is obvious that Flashman was also involved in that conflict as well as others throughout the world.

The narrative that the book covers begins in 1842 when Flashman is enjoying the laurels he won in the First Afghan War and raising hell with his old friend from Rugby: Speedicut. At this stage Harry is still licking his wounds from the fact that he believes Elspeth is regularly cheating on him, so gets his own back by doing the same to her. Mind you he's still never proved that Elspeth actually has ever cheated on him.

Harry's words about how things were back in the early 1840's running with the young blades tell the readers that he has a great deal of affection for the period, and is still bitter that Queen Victoria and her 'poker-backed' husband smothered the old ways with a lot of pious hypocrisy.

Whilst spending time in a gambling hell it is raided, and Flashman is nearly caught red handed. Speedicut holds off the traps while Flashman makes a getaway.

He takes refuge in a carriage hired by a beautiful woman called Marie Elizabeth Rosanna James (she would later be known to the world as Lola Montez) and a teutonic type who Flashman is informed is Otto von Bismarck, also soon to be better known to the world at large. He annoys Bismarck and makes off with his date. He has a torrid affair with Rosanna which also involves her using a hairbrush during sex to exhort her companions to greater efforts. He does later say that he cannot look at a hairbrush without thinking of his former lover. The meeting with the woman who would become known as Lola Montez is an interesting one in the books in general. Flashman describes her as THE loveliest girl he has ever seen in his life, now when you consider the many women Flashman has met and bedded, including his lovely wife Elspeth, that's quite a statement. Aside from Elspeth, Flashman has probably only ever fallen in love with two women, Lola Montez is one of them. The chapter ends with Flashman fleeing a greatly enraged Rosanna after refusing to come up to the mark when she was feeling amorous, as she very often did. He's made himself two dangerous enemies, and that's just the first chapter!

Royal Flash

2011-12-31T16:38:00.001-08:00

Before I can begin rereading and reviewing the second of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman novels; Royal Flash, I need to talk about the 1975 film of the same name.

I don't think you can really discuss the book without also mentioning the film. In addition to being a journalist and novelist George MacDonald Fraser was also a screenwriter. The Three Musketeers (the 1973 version starring Michael York and Richard Chamberlain), it's sequel The Four Musketeers and James Bond's Indian odyssey Octopussy are among his credits. The Flashman's tend to have a cinematic quality about them, and there were even moves to make Flashman into a film starring John Alderton (Please Sir and The Upchat Line), overtures were made to the actor, and he even mentions this in his autobiography, but curiously enough it is the second adventure that did actually make it to the screen.

I've long held the theory that Royal Flash was written specifically to be adapted into a film. There's a few reasons for this. It's rather unusual for a Flashman in a number of ways. It's the only book to be set entirely in Europe, it's the only one that features a completely fictional country as part of it's backdrop. The map in the front of Royal Flash of the duchy of Strackenz is actually an inversion of the Isle of Man, which is where Fraser was living at the time the book was published. Occasionally in the books Fraser adapts scenes from famous novels of the time when the book is set and then claims that Harry Flashman's experiences were actually the basis for the fictional scene, however most of the storyline of Royal Flash is in fact a pastiche of Anthony Hope's 1894 swashbuckler The Prisoner of Zenda. I believe this decision was made by the author because filming the books had been discussed and the best way to do that was to use a plot line that had already been successfully filmed. The Prisoner of Zenda had already been adapted to the screen five times by the time Royal Flash was written (a sixth version was made in 1979 starring Peter Sellers and Lynne Frederick), being successful in both the silent and talking eras as well as in black and white and colour.

The man behind the film version of Royal Flash was director Richard Lester and George MacDonald Fraser wrote the screenplay. This should have worked. Lester and Fraser had also worked together on the Musketeer films. Unfortunately it didn't on this occasion. Fraser felt that Lester concentrated too much on 'bawdy buffoonery' rather than the historical facts that formed the basis of the story. No other Flashman's were filmed after Royal Flash because the author said that he would not let anyone else have control of the script and that simply doesn't happen in Hollywood. He could also never find an actor he thought could play the role properly. He modelled Flashman to an extent on the Australian born Hollywood star Erroll Flynn, and the idea of Daniel Day-Lewis struck a chord with him, but it never happened.

Royal Flash the film was actually my introduction to the character. I can remember seeing a trailer for the film when it first came out and being intrigued by the swashbuckling clips, but the rating meant that my parents wouldn't take me to see it (I was only a kid at the time), by the time I saw the film on TV one night I'd already seen Thomas Hughes version of Flashman, and the film version was far more preferable. It was after seeing the film that I sought out the books.

I can kind of see why Richard Lester chose to go the route he did with the film version. This was at the end of the Carry On film era and audiences did still like the 'nudge nudge wink wink' style of film, which is what Royal Flash did, but it did not marry well with the rest of the content and created an uneasy mix, which didn't really work as either a historical satire or a broad double entendre laden sexual farce.

One of the problems for me was the casting. They did well with Swedish model and actress Britt Ekland as the ice maiden Duchess Irma of Strackenz. The role which didn't require her to do much other than look pretty and bounce around in bed for a scene or so was perfect for the Swedish beauty. Ekland was always more famous for who she was dating or married to than any actual role she ever secured, and she remains one of the worst Bond girls ever as Mary Goodnight in The Man with the Golden Gun (also a very naff Bond film, possibly the worst one of the entire franchise). Oliver Reed, who when sober, was a pretty decent actor, was also well cast as empire builder Otto von Bismarck. Unfortunately where they fell down was with the casting of Flashman himself. That role went to Malcolm McDowell. At the time McDowell was popular, best known for his work in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Malcolm McDowell is a fine actor, but he was physically wrong to play Flashman. Flashman is described as being tall (6'2" or 3"), broad shouldered, with dark hair and features. McDowell may have had the height, but he's not particularly powerful looking and he's a ginger. Malcolm McDowell could never pass as an Afghani or an Indian as Flashman has successfully on a number of occasions. Then there was the way he played Harry, he came across as rather weaselly, which considering what a coward Flashman is makes sense, but a big part of why Flashman gets away with what he does is because despite the reality of the situation he actually looks like a hero and can always bluff his way out of things. It was hard to buy this from McDowell's portrayal.

In terms of success I think the film did moderately at the box office, although curiously it's never been released to DVD in the UK. The upshot of it was that George MacDonald Fraser was not happy with it, and he's the author and holds the property. They make further attempts to make the books into films or TV shows now that the author has passed away, it does depend on what the holder of his literary estate allows. I personally think that cast right and made by someone who respected the source material the books would make excellent TV shows, rather like Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series.

Now, I've covered the film and the book briefly and given you my thoughts on them I'll get into the reread next time.

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

2011-12-31T15:55:00.001-08:00

Starting the New Year off with a review! Fittingly that review is of a Terry Pratchett Discworld book, which from memory was actually the first book I reviewed back in early 2010. That book was Unseen Academicals, two years on and Sir Terry (he was knighted a few years back for his services to literature) has written two more books in his long running Discworld series. 2011's offering is Snuff.

Snuff is the 39th of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books and allows readers to revisit with an old friend; Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch. The books featuring the City Watch, and it's unusual roster of guards, along with their rough and ready, tough as nails leader Samuel Vimes, are amongst the most popular with the series many fans. The last of the City Watch books was Thud back in 2005, so there was a lot of excitement among readers about Snuff.

Interestingly Snuff doesn't feature much of the City Watch, there are cameos from dwarven raised Captain Carrott, the werewolf Angua, the troll Detritus, Corporal Nobby Nobbs (no one is really sure what species Nobby is), the old fashioned corruptible sergeant Fred Colon, the interestingly named dwarf Cheery Littlebottom and the Watches Nac Mac Feegle member Wee Mad Arthur, however the character that carries the book is Sam Vimes. Sam's a great character, but he struggles to carry the book or hold the readers interest without his supporting cast. He does have his wife Lady Sybil Ramkin, his son the poo obsessed 6 year old Young Sam, and his gentleman's gentleman Willikins to help him out, and all three do provide some humour in Snuff, especially Young Sam and his interest in poo.

Sam has been forced by his wife Sybil to go on leave and pay a visit to their country estate. By marrying Sybil, Samuel Vimes gained the title of Duke of Ankh Morpork, and everything that goes with it. This includes a country estate, which he has never visited before. Sam's a city boy, born and raised in the slums of Ankh Morpork, he's also a copper through and through and finds it impossible to leave behind. So before long he's sniffed out a mystery involving the death of a young goblin girl, and a thriving trade in the wretched creatures, who are being shipped to Howondaland as labour for the tobacco, or snuff, plantations. I found it rather interesting that a country representative of England (Ankh Morpork) was sending slave labour to another area representative of Africa (Howondaland), a nice reversal of what happened in our world.

I found Vimes' investigation into events rather fomulaic and repetitive, readers have seen this before, although I liked the way his initial investigation seemed to echo the popular and long running British detective series Midsomer Murders (it may have helped that while I was reading that section of the book my wife was watching an episode of Midsomer Murders on TV). I actually preferred the earlier parts of the book which neatly described the lifestyle of the extremely wealthy and titled in 17th and early 18th century Britain. Sam discovers that his wife's estate even has a resident hermit (many country estates did, they were the 'must have' item for any well set up country estate). Sam unintentionally also rather humourously inspires what will become one of the most popular works of fiction from the era; Pride and Extreme Prejudice by Hermione Gordon, whose mother and unmarried sisters can only be modelled on the Bennet's from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Snuff is an enjoyable read for anyone who has enjoyed Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, especially if one is a fan of the City Watch or Sam Vimes, but there's something lacking in this one. It struggles to find focus early on, although I quite enjoyed Sam's discovery of the village and his experience with their sport of crockett (kind of like a combination of croquet and cricket, with totally incomprehensible rules), and his bonding with his son during the walks on the estate and search for poo of all various sorts to add to Young Sam's growing collection, but I did have the niggling thought in the back of my mind of where was the story in all of this, interesting and amusing as it may have been. While various members of the City Watch were included briefly there was an air of them just being there to satisfy fans and not really adding much to the story itself. I also think Vimes isn't a layered enough character to be able to bear the weight of a book by himself, not now that readers know him so well.

If you're a fan, you'll love it, but while it has moments, overall Snuff isn't quite what readers have come to expect from their annual dose of Sir Terry Pratchett.

Five for 2011, plus one

2011-12-31T01:18:00.000-08:00

If you've never visited Travels Through Iest before or you don't know how I do this I'll provide a brief explanation. This is the second time I've done my best reads of a given year. Last year I wanted to do a top 5, but hadn't read 5 books that I actually felt qualified, so I did a top 4. I read more books in 2011 than in 2010 and happily I didn't read too many that I thought weren't much good, so that made identifying just 5 a hard task. I also read more books released in 2011 than I did in 2010, and in fact my top 5 were all released in 2011. The plus one refers to what I refer to as my 100 Must Read Fantasy Novels challenge. I read a book back in 2010 called 100 Must-Read Fantasy Novels and decided to read them all and blog them here. I didn't do a bad job of reading them in 2010, but in an effort to get my ever growing TBR pile under control I kind of abandoned the challenge at the F's. I do plan to go back to it in 2012 and will be starting again in January. Although I didn't get that many from the list actually read I did manage to find a favourite from what I did read.

Now Travels Through Iest's top 5 books from 2011 are as follows. The only one that has any specific order to it is number 1, I guess you could call it the winner. I'll start from 5 and work my way up.

5) The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham

This actually kind of happened last year, too. My top books were all settled until late in the year when I read Terry Pratchett's I Shall Wear Midnight and it leapfrogged Mira Grant's Feed to take top spot. I hadn't actually expected The Dragon's Path to make the list, and I read it pretty late in the year. What I got was the beginning to what promises to be a wonderful epic set in a secondary world that is remarkably reminiscent of a war torn Renaissance Europe. There are 13 races, not all human, and it contains bankers, plotters, warriors and remarkably layered and complex characters. Daniel Abraham plans to have the sequel out in 2012 and if the quality is maintained, it could very well find itself on this list next year.

4) The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

I've grown to expect a lot of a Joe Abercrombie release and The Heroes did not disappoint. Concerning an epic battle around a ring of ancient stones that give the book it's title, it takes place over a short period of time and contains Abercrombie's characteristically bleak and cynical outlook, but is punctuated at regular intervals by humour. None of the colourful characters in The Heroes are entirely good, but neither are they entirely bad, mostly they do what's needed to survive. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it would have made this list if only for the 'cheese trap'.

3) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I don't read a lot of science fiction, so for one to first interest me and to then make this list it has to be something a bit different. Debut novelist Ernest Cline was probably always on a winner with Ready Player One with me. It's a love letter to the 1980's and all that decade's marvelously cheezy TV, movies and computer games. Like the fictional computer whiz James Halliday, I too am a child of the 80's, so Ready Player One's treasure hunt, like Indiana Jones meets Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with a bit of War Games tossed in for good measure taking place in a virtual reality pulled me in completely. I had an absolute ball reading it, and I know it's something I'm going to reread more than once.

2) Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick

This one was another late entry and for me another surprise. I had seen it in the book stores a few times, but a read of the back cover blurb saw me pass it up as it sounded so similar to a number of other books in the same thief as hero mould. The positive buzz around Among Thieves led me to give it a go, and I am glad I did so. Debutant Douglas Hulick has created a wonderful world for his anti-hero; Drothe, to operate in. There's magic and the 'thieves cant', there are thieves and nobles, a ruler that has three incarnations and it contains some of the best written scenes of sword play I have been privileged to read. Douglas Hulick is a name to watch, and for mine the debut author of the year.

If anyone has encountered me on a forum somewhere or they've read this blog then they're highly aware of what my number 1 book for 2011 is going to be, but for those of you who just cruised here by accident or haven't read enough of it to seen my rave reviews for the number 1 I will hold you in suspenders for a moment longer. Travels Through Iest's favourite SFF book for 2011 is...drumroll please...

1) The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

I first encountered Cat Valente at the 2010 Worldcon where her book Palimpsest had been nominated for the Hugo. Cat doesn't just put words on a page and hope that they make sense, she creates worlds within worlds and weaves magic with language. She's gone on record on her blog as saying that she would like a Hugo, personally I think she should be aiming for a Nobel. What the woman can do with words is a gift, and a gift that we who have read her work should feel privileged that she has chosen to share with us. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is an instant classic. It appeals to children and adults alike and it's heroine young September can take her place alongside Alice and Dorothy as a role model for all young girls to aspire to be like. Children will delight in the absurdness of a town made of fabric, while adults will enjoy reading about September's friend the well read Wyverary A-through-L. This is something you can read again and again and never become tired of it. My wife and I enjoyed the book so much that we even bought copies for our young nieces. They're a little young yet to appreciate it, but they will in a few years and their Mums will love the book in the meantime.

So that's it for 2011. Now as a little extra here's my favourite from the challenge.

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I picked up The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany. I knew he had inspired Tolkien and Neil Gaiman, but it's one of the oldest works in the challenge, and you can never be sure how they'll hold up to the passage of years. While the story is simple and even rather cliched these days it's the use of language and the painting of a picture with words that draws the reader in, and the stunning ideas and truly beautiful image of fairyland that Dunsany gives to his readers that makes it a genuine classic and realise what a debt modern readers and writers owe this man and his work.

Looking Ahead

2011-12-30T20:21:00.000-08:00

I've seen a number of other blogs around the place producing their 'Looking forward to 2012' lists over the last month or so. I did give some consideration to doing this here, but have ultimately decided against it.

There are a few reasons for the decision.

1) I know what I'm like, I'll get all excited about the forthcoming releases and wind up having pages of them, and even then I'll forget something.

2) I may not even get around to buying and reading some of the titles I list, and that's really rather pointless, isn't it? I can't have been looking forward to them that much in this case.

3) For reasons beyond anyone's control in some cases, some titles slated for release in 2012 simply won't get released and that makes everyone look stupid.

Having said all that there are definitely some things I'm looking forward to seeing hit the shelves in 2012, that I know I will be buying and reading. However you'll just have to wait for my verdict. I like to keep people on their toes and you never know what you'll get with Travels Through Iest, hell half the time I don't know what I'm going to post! If I get a new release rest assured that I will read it post my thoughts, I did pretty well with new releases in 2011, to the extent that my top 5 is entirely comprised of them.

I do want to get back to my 100 Must Read Fantasy Novel challenge in 2012, though. I let that kind of slip to the wayside for a fair chunk of 2011 largely in an effort to make a dent in the TBR pile. I didn't do badly, and a recent reorg of the library means that I don't actually have a physical TBR pile at the moment, although the books are all still there looking at me accusingly from the shelves.

Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling

2011-12-30T00:19:00.000-08:00

Dies the Fire a novel of the Change by S.M. Stirling was not the first of the author's works that I had read. I initially encountered Stirling years ago with a previous book in the same setting as Dies the Fire, that was Island in the Sea of Time. For some reason I could never get into Island in the Sea of Time and put the book down without finishing it. The same author's standalones; The Lancers of Peshawar and Conquistador interested me, and I did read those, and enjoyed them. I first became genuinely interested in his Change series was when I read Ariel by Steven Boyett, and heard that both Islands in the Sea of Time and the Change series in general were partially inspired by the events in Steven Boyett's dystopian fable. What eventually did make me pick up Dies the Fire was the short story Ancient Ways in George R.R Martin and Gardner Dozois' Warriors anthology. I thought Ancient Ways was a real fun swashbuckler and it was set in the Change world, this made me want to find out more about it.

Stirling is in pretty familiar territory with Dies the Fire, the earlier trilogy Islands in the Sea of Time, Against the Tide of Years and On the Oceans of Eternity, were all set in the setting that gave rise to the events of the Change. The main themes of Lancers of Peshawar and Conquistador shared something with Dies the Fire as well.

The premise is that some sort of event causes all technology worldwide to fail, and the world suddenly finds itself having to rediscover old methods of doing things and finding untapped reservoirs of resolve and determination within themselves to simply survive.

Most of Dies the Fire focusses on two groups in the Willamette Valley region of the United States who try to tame this brave new world. One group is led by ex-Marine and private pilot Mike Havel and comprises the Larsson family; engineer father Ken and the Tolkien obsessed teen April, amongst them. The other is folk singer and Wiccan priestess Juniper Mackenzie along with her deaf daughter Eilir and her publican friend Denny.

Both groups set up their own camps which seem to exist largely to help others come to terms with what has happened. Along the way they'll encounter others who have seized an opportunity to make the situation work for them, with little regard for who they hurt along the way.

One of Ariel's problems was that I didn't feel Boyett had totally thought things out about how a no technology world would really work five years after the lights went out, he did have working magic to help him out though, this is not the case with Stirling, if anything he's over thought how things may work and tried to cover nearly every base, he does an admiral job with few nit picks from me, although I think we could have done without some of the exposition, especially on Wiccan ceremonies, if I ever wish to conduct a Wiccan wedding ceremony I think I could make a pretty decent fist of it, having read Dies the Fire. Juniper's insistence of using old gaelic to express herself also became a bit tiresome. S.M. Stirling got some of his Wiccan information from George R.R Martin's wife; Parris, and he seemed determined to use every single skerrick of it in this book.

Although I liked Mike, he was a good, decent man in a pretty crazy world, he was very reminiscent of the lantern jawed hero from Conquistador. They even seemed to have similar pasts, and they acted much the same. Maybe a few more shades of grey were needed to flesh the character out a little.

The main bad guy was a shadowy character from Portland, who went by the name of the Protector, he was a former teacher of medieval history, who had set himself up as a brutal feudal warlord in the technology free world. There's too little screen time devoted to him. We could have had less of the Wiccan side of things and more on the book's 'big bad' for mine. I believe he will be covered in more detail in further books of the series. There are currently 8 books in what is called the Emberverse series, with at least two more planned for release in 2012 and 2013. Dies the Fire has whetted my appetite nicely and I look forward to seeing the further adventures of Mike Havel, Juniper Mackenzie and Co in The Protector's War.

Fables 16 - Super Team

2011-12-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

I made Fables 16 - Super Team my Christmas present to myself and my wife. I could hardly contain myself until Christmas Day and after so I could get a few quiet moments to dive in to it and reacquaint myself with my friends from Fabletown and the Farm, even Haven.

When we last left the Fables they were still under threat from the evil Mr Dark and had not been able to retake Fabletown from the all powerful sorceror.

The opening issue of this collection actually doesn't cover the Fables preparing to take on Dark again from the Farm and Haven, but those still in the Woodland building, mainly the winged monkey; Bufkin. This particular bit was written by Bill Willingham, but drawn by Eric Shanower. I was familiar with Shanower's writing, as he wrote the two Oz comic collections, that I purchased at Worldcon. The only experience I really had of his artwork were the sketches he did in the books when I bought them, and he was gracious enough to sign them for me and doodle in them. His art is excellent. In this story I believe he's even better than regular artist Mark Buckingham. The story itself is about Bufkin climbing the tree in the Woodlands building to try and get home. However home for him is Oz, not Fabletown outside the building. Who knows what could happen from here on in, with Bufkin anything is possible. I also loved the inclusion of his stowaway sidekick, the Lillputian Lily Martagon.

The main part of the book is about how the Fables plan to take on Mr Dark. Flycatcher from his kingdom of Haven is managing to hold Dark back, but he weakens every day and the strain is taking it's toll. Meanwhile back at the Farm, Pinnochio has taken to getting about in a wheelchair for effect while he puts together his Fables Super Team, with the help of Super Witch...sorry Ozma. Nearly every Fable on the Farm, including one of Bo Peep's sheep; Bonny Lamb (her power is being cute), try out for the team. It becomes rather farcical until Ozma takes charge, and puts a real team together. They have the troll Grinder for muscle, Flycatcher in a magical suit of armour crafted by Weyland Smith, the badger formerly known as Stinky, now called Brock Blueheart wielding some sort of mystical blue energy formed from his faith in the cult of Boy Blue that he's begun. Ozma in her guise as Super Witch and The Green Witch (she hasn't yet been named, although Willingham has hinted that she may be Morgana Le Fay) provide magical power and Bigby Wolf has put on spandex and calls himself Werewolf Man (possibly one of the stupidest superhero names I have ever heard), Clara the dragon/crow has her fire and even Thumbelina known as Tiny Titan can come in handy, although she initially makes the team because Pinnoch...sorry Professor F, wanted a tiny person on the team as it's traditional. Interestingly enough readers never actually see the team in action against Dark, except for a story about a possible outcome told by Pinnochio. Dark does get into a major fight, but it involves Bigby's father; the North Wind, not the Fables, and that may also resolve another long running storyline in the book.

There are a few side stories running throughout Super Team, although the superhero comic parody does take up the bulk of the book. One concerns Beauty and the Beast, the loss of the Beast's power and what exactly their child; Bliss, is. Another is Mrs Spratt, who went to the dark side, and was being groomed by Dark as his wife. The former Adversary; Gepetto, hasn't gone away either and he's scheming to retake his power, as well. One possible side story that they may explore is a growing attraction between Pinnochio and Ozma, although I think this is mainly from the ex puppet than the child like witch, she did after all threaten him with dire consequences if he ever called her 'babe' again after he slipped while forming their team.

The final story in the book with pencils by Terry Moore, is about Sleeping Beauty and what has happened in the old Imperial capital since the sleeping princess put it to sleep permanently. There's a power struggle there and it may have implications for the Fables in general.

Interestingly enough despite my love of Mark Buckingham's work on Fables, I felt Eric Shanower's story was the best drawn. Buckingham in this one seemed a little sketchy and he drew Snow as less attractive than she used to be, There was a flatness that I haven't seen before. Maybe it was just because I was so impressed with Shanower's work and I've just come off Danger Girl by J. Scott Campbell which was drawn absolutely sumptously and beautifully presented.

A bit is resolved in Fables 16 - Super Team, but there's more than enough to go on with for 17, hopefully out early in 2012. I'll be lining up when it hits the shelves.

Danger Girl The Ultimate Collection

2011-12-23T16:02:00.001-08:00

Aside from the Fables collections I don't really review comics here, but I'm going to make an exception with Danger Girl.

Before diving right in a little boring explanation is required. I first became aware of artist J. Scott Campbell when he worked on Image's Gen 13 (published under their Wildstorm banner). I personally felt that Gen 13 lost a lot when Campbell left the title to work on another project. That project was Danger Girl. I liked the idea of Danger Girl, but at the time I was collecting about eleventy million titles and didn't want to add another one to them. As it turned out Danger Girl's run wasn't really that long. It pops up now and then, but they always seem to be limited runs, and J. Scott Campbell only seems to have worked on the first 7.

I don't collect any titles as such anymore, I even wait for Fables to be collected before I buy them, but I do occasionally cruise the shelves of a local comic store to see if there's anything of interest, and that's when Danger Girl The Ultimate Collection caught my eye. I always liked Campbell's overtly sexualised depictions of attractive women in Gen 13 (no one did Catilin Fairchild the way he did, even with the oversized glasses and dorky clothes she still looked stunning). So I thought it would be worth trying his Danger Girl collection.

As soon as I opened the book and saw a caricature of legendary B movie actor Bruce Campbell, complete with an introduction I knew I was in for something special. I'm a Burn Notice fan, so love Campbell's portrayal of ex Navy SEAL Sam Axe, I also liked him in Brisco County Jr (when is that going to be released on DVD, damnit!) Bruce Campbell nails Danger Girl in his intro:

The women all seem to have upturned noses - cute, but not snobby. They also have either a mole or freckles - depending on whether they are sexy or stupendous. Bad girls, it appears get to wear fishnets and plenty of make-up. Anatomically speaking, they're genetically impossible, but it's a comic, right?

Men, if they're good guys, have straight, pointy noses and chin dimples.The bad ones get bigger, bumpier noses and chin dimples, but all of them sport physiques a WWF wrestler would envy.

In general, there is very good use of sweat and/or water - those are the wettest heroine T-shirts this side of Ft. Lauderdale!

I'd say the dental work is excellent all around.

The story and many of the characters are straight out of James Bond, with a dash of Indiana Jones thrown in.

Danger Girl is not one person, although most probably give heroine Abbey Chase that title. Danger Girl actually refers to the organisation of beautiful women put together by semi retired British spy Deuce. Deuce's name probably refers to the 00 title given to MI6 agents licensed to kill, like James '007' Bond, and he even looks like an older Sean Connery, with a better build, a beard and slightly more hair than the highly respected Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the British super spy.

Danger Girl consists of beautiful, statuesque knife expert, former KGB agent Natalia Kassle, the curvaceous, leather clad, whip wielding Australian adventuress Sydney Savage, techno whiz kid Valerie Silicon, she could work anywhere in the field of techno communications, but likes the adventure of Danger Girl and secretly longs to be a field agent, she's younger and not quite as gorgeous as the operatives and is in this and her largely home base bound status not unlike M's super secretary Miss Moneypenny. They also have a couple of occasional male operatives in handsome and egotistical CIA agent Johnny Barracuda (involved in a love/hate relationship with Sydney) and the mysterious, but deadly Secret Agent Zero. The team was put together to confront and foil an emerging neo Nazi terrorist threat. Deuce deliberately targets perky American archaeologist and antiquities thief Abbey Chase as what Danger Girl need for their latest mission, locating and recovering an ancient and magical set of shield, sword and suit of armour, as her skills with guns, knowledge of history and knack of escaping from even the most impossible of situations are going to be very useful.

The villains are even more over the top than anything seen in James Bond. The blind ninja Assassin X, who has a connection and some sort of history with Zero. The villainous, but ineffective dwarf Kid Dynamo (who is really a slightly more deadly Nick Nack from Bond's The Man with the Golden Gun) and the overweight arms dealer Mr Peach. They're only a small sample and they do get crazier.

The action sequences are brilliant and leap up off the page. The opening double page panel is a drawing of a Bond opening credit and J. Scott Campbell's sumptuous pencils of beautiful nude silhouetted women put iconic Bond title creator Maurice Binder to shame.

Each issue even opens with a Bondesque pre title sequence. There's wit and humour in the art and the script. I had an absolute ball with Danger Girl The Ultimate Collection and would love the news about a possible movie to be true. My only real criticism is that J. Scott Campbell only did these 7 issues and I've seen other pencillers do it, but they just don't have Campbell's spark to their work, nor do they capture the characters as well as their creator.

The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham

2011-12-22T22:09:00.001-08:00

Although Daniel Abraham has also been responsible for the highly regarded Long Price series, a number of Urban Fantasy's under the pen name of MLN Hanover, and the science fiction collaboration Leviathan Wakes with Ty Franck under the name James S.A Corey, The Dragon's Path, the first of his The Dagger and the Coin epic fantasy (I believe it's currently meant to be 5 books) was my first encounter with the author. I have to say I'm impressed.

The Dragon's Path is set in a European inspired landscape where a collection of small countries are about to erupt into a messy war. The back cover blurb proclaims: Summer is the season of war in the Free Cities. The setting has been described as medieval, but I saw it as closer to the Renaissance and the characters made me think of names like Medici and Machiavelli. The book is arranged as a series of stories from single, mostly separate POV's, somewhat in the style of Abraham's friend and mentor George R.R Martin, although the scope of The Dagger and the Coin is from this opening volume, not as grand and sweeping as A Song of Ice and Fire. Each of the POV characters has a significant part to play in shaping the destiny of the Free Cities.

Marcus Wester is a hard bitten mercenary with a legendary name and a past he'd rather forget, he also wants to get out while the getting is still good.

Cithrin Bel Sarcour, a bank raised orphan, has been entrusted with the bank's funds as her mentor can see the storm arriving. Cithrin is about to enter world for which life has not prepared her.

Geder Palliako knows everything he's learned from books, he believes that life is contained between the pages of those volumes. He desperately craves acceptance and respect, he's prepared to earn it the hard way for everyone else.

Pulling all the strings is the Machiavellian Dawson Kalliam. By the book's end readers are probably none the wiser as to what Dawson's true plans are, but we know he's someone you want to watch your back around. His wife Clara shows every sign that she is every bit as devious as her husband and possibly twice as dangerous.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Dragon's Path, so much so that it has become one of my top 5 for 2011. Daniel Abraham has created an interesting and multi layered world. One small quibble were the 13 races he used to people it. They're not all human, humans are generally referred to as First Blood, although there are brief descriptions of the different races, some have large ears, there's one whose eyes burn, one has tusks and another is almost insectoid, readers aren't really given a sense that anything aside from physical appearance marks them as different. They think and act the same as any human, so it makes me wonder if there was any need to really make them different at all. in this instance Abraham could have possibly taken a leaf
out of Mark Charan Newton's book and looked at the way he portrayed the rumels and the garudas in his Legends of the Red Sun series. They interacted and lived with humans, but not only did they look different, they acted accordingly. Daniel Abraham may build on this in future books.

I did love the characters though, especially Cithrin and Marcus. Marcus didn't change a lot throughout the book and his character is one I've seen before, but he had a dry sense of humour and his almost fatherly concern for the naive orphan was touching. Cithrin herself is a delight and she came a long way. She began as a shy, uncertain child thrown into a situation for which she was ill prepared, but once she was off the road and dealing with the world of high finance she blossomed and showed her true worth. Cithrin's wheelings and dealings were some of the highlights for me. Geder is another interesting character who has polarised readers. He starts off as rather pathetic and pitiable, but becomes truly reviled by book's end. I don't think he's actually bad, batshit crazy yes. Unfortunately Dawson's surface and that of his wife Clara were only scratched, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of her.

I highly recommend The Dragon's Path and the sequel; The King's Blood, due out in May of 2012, is one of my most hotly anticipated 2012 releases.

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer

2011-12-18T22:29:00.000-08:00

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer is the first of Jonathan L. Howard’s Johannes Cabal books (Necromancer was followed by Johannes Cabal the Detective and Johannes Cabal the Fear Institute has recently been published).

Johannes Cabal is a brilliant scientist who in an attempt to create true life after death, (that’s where the necromancy comes in) has sold his soul to Satan. He finds that not possessing a soul interferes with his research, so makes another deal with the Lord of Darkness. In exchange for the return of his soul he will procure another 100. He has a year to collect them, failure to deliver on his end of the bargain will mean that his soul is forever forfeit to the Devil. To help his ‘servant’ Satan gives Cabal a carnival, and the necromancer himself recruits his brother; Horst, into the endeavour. The problem is that deals with the Devil are never what they seem and even the devious Johannes is going to find this a hard task to accomplish.

There are echoes of Faust and Ray Bradbury in Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, with it’s talk of deals involving souls with the Devil and evil carnivals (the authors note at the back does own to being inspired by the Bradbury classic; Something Wicked This Way Comes). I myself kept being reminded of an episode of The Muppet Show in which Alice Cooper was the guest star, and spent the entire episode trying to coerce the puppets into signing their souls over to his employer Satan.

Howard has given himself a hard task by making Johannes Cabal his ‘hero’. The necromancer is not a likeable protagonist. He’s rude, intolerant, humourless, driven and then there’s the whole raising people from the dead thing. Strangely enough I found myself on Johannes’ side a lot of the time, though. He does harvest the souls of some pretty unpleasant people. Conversely his brother Horst (Horst is a vampire, the v word is never actually mentioned, but he drinks blood, sunlight is anathema and he does say at one point that he is undead), a character normally thought of as evil, is actually rather a nice chap. It’s he who makes Johannes see that taking the soul of an innocent child (the priceless chapter 9) or a young mother driven to the edge of sanity by her continually crying baby, is not the right thing to do. Horst often seems to act as his brother’s conscience. It’s implied, although never explained, that Johannes is somehow responsible for what Horst has become.

The writing style (it’s written in 3rd person) is reminiscent of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and even Jasper Fforde at times. The conversational, slightly random explanations did bring Adams and Pratchett (there were even footnotes) to mind. I must confess to particularly enjoying the story of the duplicitous Druin family. The oft referred to chapter 9 is partially narrated by Timothy Chambers, a young visitor to the carnival and is a comic highlight of the book.

It’s hard to categorise Johannes Cabal the Necromancer. It’s part dark fantasy, part comic fantasy, and part dark humour. The comedy does become much darker as the story unfolds and the ending is tragic in many ways. There’s a fascinating expedition into the mind of a serial killer in the inoffensive person of Mr Simpkins, which I suspect is chillingly close to reality. With most funny fantasy, you read it, laugh at it, forget it immediately after. Not Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, this one will stay with me for a long time.

One slightly odd thing was the timing of the book. It had a 1950’s or 60’s quality about it, yet certain elements seem to suggest that it was set about now, however the style of dress and the way the characters acted, not to mention their ages and the references to WW II kept me thinking that it was set in the middle of the 20th century. I also felt the that subplot of Cabal’s efforts being thwarted by one of Satan’s minions was never really satisfactorily resolved and didn’t quite belong in the book overall.

This was a really well written and hard to write book, and I look forward to finding out more about Johannes Cabal.

Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson

2011-12-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

Deadhouse Gates is the second book in Steven Erikson's epic Malazan Books of the Fallen.

I had some idea what to expect having read Gardens of the Moon, and also being aware that the action in Deadhouse Gates was centred away from the setting of Gardens of the Moon (in fact the events in the 3rd book; Memories of Ice, apparently run concurrently with a lot of Deadhouse Gates), and would follow a different set of characters.

There are different groups of characters with their own agendas in Deadhouse Gates, and they converge a little towards the end. While the storylines are wrapped up this is far from standalone and you know there's a definite continuation.

It took Erikson, and his co creator Ian Cameron Esslemont, some time to secure a publishing deal for Gardens of the Moon, and the result is that Deadhouse Gates was written some years after the first book of the series.

Steven Erikson did grow and improve as a writer in that time, there was less influence of Glen Cook's Black Company in Deadhouse Gates, although it was still present at times. The game play aspect was not so evident either.

One thing Erikson could use is a ruthless editor. All his books are long, and they don't need to be as long as they are. A good editor could easily cut 200 - 300 pages from Deadhouse Gates and not lose anything in the process, in fact it may have even improved the narrative, at times I did find my eyes glazing over a little and wondering why I need to read what I was reading. It took over 100 pages before the main set of characters had been introduced and the stories set in motion.

Because of the cast of characters, George Martin puts a lot of characters in his epic A Song of Ice and Fire series, but he's got nothing on Steven Erikson, I found it a little difficult to connect with many of them. Too many of the cast of thousands seem similar. Three that will stay with me are Corporal List, the little soldier reminded me of Colonel Huxley's aide Corporal Zilch, from Leon Uris' WW II epic Battle Cry, and I always liked Zilch. Coltaine, the driven Wickan leader who was trying to get his vast train of refugees across hostile territory to safety. The Wickan horse warriors themselves were a great idea and something that I enjoyed reading about. Then there was Felisin. Felisin seems to rub readers up the wrong way. I started out feeling sorry for the fallen, pampered noble girl, but while she was trying to escape slavery with the discommunicated handless priest Helboric and the huge psychotic murderer Baudin, she became thoroughly unlikeable. I was actually hoping that Baudin may twist her head off, but unfortunately it stayed attached to her shoulders. Crokus the young thief from Gardens of the Moon returned, but I found him less interesting this time around, I did like his familiar, the bok'haral Moby, although in typical Malazan Books of the Fallen fashion I don't think he's what he appears to be.

The twists and turns that the story took and the sheer breadth of Erikson's creation plus his stunning ideas that are well presented did my head in, and I really want to see where he takes this and how it turns out.

Flashman - a wrap up

2011-12-10T18:02:00.001-08:00

So now I've read through Flashman, the first book of the Flashman Papers, what are my thoughts on the book as a whole and it's place in the series?

A couple of things need to be cleared up. I should have mentioned that poor old Elphy Bey never made it out of Afghanistan. He was held as a prisoner/hostage and died in captivity before he could be handed back to the British. He was incredibly incompetent and largely responsible for the disaster that followed, but it wasn't a good way to go out. Akbar Khan became a hero amongst the Afghan people briefly for his part in the revolt. He died in 1845, and was believed to have been poisoned by his father Dost Mohammad, who feared his ambitions.

Gul Shah, Narreeman and Ilderim Khan are all fictional creations. Gul Shah was killed by Sergeant Hudson (also fictional) in Flashman and Narreeman ran off, never to be heard from again, although she does live on in Flashman's memory. Ilderim appears again in Flashman and the Great Game.

I've always found it of interest that George MacDonald Fraser chose to focus on the First Anglo-Afghan War as his subject for the first of the books. It was a little known, and not often talked about, defeat for the British forces at the beginning of one of their great ages under Queen Victoria. Given that Flashman was the right age at the right time it made sense, but the empire was big enough that he could have focussed on other more victorious campaigns. As I go through the books defeat is something that I feel Fraser likes to highlight in his narratives. Flashman seems to be the one victorious person in defeat.

The historical notes in the back of Flashman are only just the tip of the iceberg, they get longer and more numerous, and I find them a highlight of the books. They bring larger than life people like Avitabile and Cotton into sharp relief, and prompt me to find out more about them. Those two themselves could have books written just about them that would read every bit as exciting as any of Flashman's adventures.

If you can get past how bad Harry Flashman is, then you should enjoy the books. For what it's worth I think he's at his worst in the first book. He does mellow and doesn't repeat all the mistakes he made in Flashman.

It was a promising star,t and I'm very pleased that readers gave the character a chance and we got 12 rip roaring stories of Harry Flashman, the biggest bounder in history.

I'm aiming to do one book a month, I kind of made that decision after I'd started this and it spilled over 2 months. So join me in January when I'll take you through Royal Flash as Harry cuts a swathe through the bedrooms of the continent and makes a mockery of The Prisoner of Zenda.

Flashman - Chapter 13

2011-12-10T16:33:00.000-08:00

I didn't realise until now that the first volume of the Flashman Papers actually ends on the 13th chapter. I'm not at all certain if this was coincidental or something deliberate from George MacDonald Fraser, he may have figured out that his ultimate anti hero was so lucky that he could chance ending the book on a traditionally unlucky number and still get away with it.

Flashman talks briefly about how much he enjoyed the ship journey back home, certainly returning as a hero, rather than a nobody has it's advantages.

What he thinks about most of the trip is Elspeth. He actually decides that he is in love with her and doesn't care. With that thought in mind he hurries to his father's house when he arrives back in London. No one knows he's coming, so he thinks it will be a great surprise to everyone to see the conquering hero return. Of course it is a great surprise and he and Elspeth have a wonderful love making session, although one thing Flashman doesn't understand is why Judy is still there. His father is not known for keeping his mistresses that long and Flashman's been away for over two years.

After a talk with the family Flashman the elder explains the lay of the land to his son. Buck Flashman's never been that good with money, but he'd always had enough. However while Harry was earning his laurels in India and Afghanistan, Buck gambled on the wrong railway shares and lost the entire family fortune. Morrison bailed them out. He dotes on Elspeth, always has, and wouldn't let her be shamed by what he considers a bad marriage. Elspeth supports the family and it's lifestyle via her father's very deep pockets, she likes Judy, so Judy stays. Buck doesn't like it, but he's not about to let himself be put out on the street. When it comes to money Harry's never had much pride, he doesn't care who supports him, just as long as he is supported. Elspeth is besotted by Harry, always has been, so is happy to give him whatever he asks for as long as it isn't too much, and having a hero of the empire as a husband is something she thoroughly enjoys.

As the 'hero of Kabul and Jelallabad' Harry is feted and paraded, he's cheered in public and applauded and Elspeth is there right by his side soaking it all up. One concern is that while Harry was away his very attractive wife was courted by a number of young blades. It's quite common practice and it keeps the ladies occupied, but the manner of one; Watney, bothers Flashman, and Judy is whispering poisonously in his ear. She still holds a grudge about how Harry treated her earlier and takes any opportunity to unsettle him. Elspeth claims to barely be able to tell one of the young officers from another, and mention of Watney doesn't register on her, so Harry is put at ease by this, although the thought does stay in the back of his mind.

What drives all this from his mind is a meeting with the Duke of Wellington. The Duke tells Harry that he's going to present him to Queen Victoria later that day. Flashman knows Elspeth will be tickled by that and goes home to tell her and invite her. She's out riding in the Park according to Judy, so Harry has to go meet Her Majesty without his wife.

Queen Victoria appears in a number of the Flashman's, and I do enjoy the way George MacDonald Fraser portrays her as rather amusing and not really the dour image many have of her. The first time Flashman meets her she's quite young. Flashman describes her as a 'girl', although she is actually 3 years his senior. His initial impression is in typical Flashman style: 'but she was just a child then, rather plump and pretty enough beneath the neck.'. He also mentions how tiny she is on a number of occasions, but it must be remembered that at over 6 feet tall, Flashman was a big man for the time.

The coarse streak of the Flashman's shows through even then. When learning that Harry can speak Afghani (Albert remarks that he was brown enough to be mistaken as an 'Aff-ghan'), the royal couple ask him to say something in the language. He reels off a phrase used by the harlots which translates to 'Good day, come into our street.' Queen Victoria asks him what it means, the Duke of Wellington who also served in the sub continent, and knows a smattering of the local languages rescues him by saying it's a Hindu greeting. He also receives a rare 'Queen's Medal', only a handful were struck before, to Her Majesty's displeasure Ellenborough issued his own, at the time Harry is pretty pleased, but as an old man he muses that the collection of tin that he wears serves to disguise a cowardly scoundrel as a heroic veteran.

When Harry returns home, Elspeth scolds him for making them late for tea with the Chalmers', until he gives her his news about the Queen, and then she's all ears and affection wanting to hear everything. Later as they prepare for their engagement with the Chalmers, Harry asks her about her ride with Watney (that was who she was with), and she passes it off as very boring, because all he ever does is talk about horses. Flashman then remembers it was raining and that Elspeth would have gotten very wet, yet her riding jacket is bone dry and her boots look freshly polished, no mud, not even wet. Harry wonders, and he's wondered most of his married life if Elspeth does cheat on him, given that she supports him, he doesn't much care, just so long as she doesn't embarrass him and he's never been faithful, but it is one of those mysteries of the books as to whether Elspeth is faithful to Harry or not. Harry suspects her of having been unfaithful with everyone from his friend from Rugby; Speedicut, to the Sioux chief Spotted Tail (Flashman and the Redskins), but he's never proved anything and it is a rather amusing game that is played out in the books.

The first packet of the Flashman Papers ends with Elspeth offering to give Harry twenty guineas spending money and him saying 'better make it forty.'

Flashman - Chapter 12

2011-12-10T04:08:00.000-08:00

Flashman awakens at the beginning of Chapter 12 (you knew he couldn't be dead, he's got another 11 books worth of adventures, and he's writing his memoirs in his 80's), and realises a few things. He's got some injuries, his head is bandaged and his leg appears to be broken, he's also in a bed, an English bed, so he's been rescued and is now safe.

Once the servant fanning him realises that he's awake others are informed and he's attended by a doctor and two British officials. One is 'Fighting Bob' Sale, the soldier in command of the forces that rescued Flashman from Pipers Fort, and the other is Major Henry Havelock, a grave looking individual.

Flashman's initial concern after working out that he's whole and safe is that if Hudson survived the attack on Pipers Fort the jig will be well and truly up. So his first question is to ask after Hudson. The three men see this as concern for his fellow soldier and this only serves to enhance Flashman's heroic reputation. To Flashman's relief Hudson died. Flashman was found, injured and unconscious, with the flag clasped to him. No one knew he was preparing to surrender it to the enemy.

Luck also intervenes in that the First Anglo-Afghan war was an unmitigated disaster for Britain. They had been abjectly humiliated by what was perceived to be an inferior enemy, so were happy to seize on anything that would take the edge of that. A 'hero' like Flashman was exactly what they wanted. Flashman, as he often does, plays the hero to the hilt, he really could have gone on stage. HIs fire eater reputation will come back to bite him on the backside later, especially with George Broadfoot (Flashman and the Mountain of Light).

He's transported to India and paraded and honoured as the hero of Pipers Fort. While I wouldn't say he's embarrassed by the attention, because he's not, he loves it, it does serve to confirm his belief that most people are hypocrites. Flashman tends to see and judge everyone else by his own deplorable conduct.

The chapter ends with Flashman being told that he will be sent back to England, largely so they can do what they did with him in India, and try to salvage something out of the Afghan disaster and humiliation. Although he does admit India was kind to him he is still overjoyed to be going home, and to be doing it as a hero, well that's just the icing on the cake.

Flashman - Chapter 11

2011-12-08T22:07:00.000-08:00

The 11th chapter of Flashman is full of action and some of it could have come right out of the pages of a Boys Own Adventure annual. It also contains the first of the fever dream sequences. People don’t generally mention them, but I will, because I really like them. I haven’t seen anyone who can write these as well as George MacDonald Fraser. Dave Sim came close, but he had the advantage of being able to illustrate his, Fraser had to do it all with words.

While making their escape Hudson and Flashman happen to see the 44ths valiant last stand at Gandamack. This is what Elphy Bey had led them to. A pathetic brave few desperately fighting for survival against superior numbers. Flashman does not believe anyone survived, although one British officer; Assistant Surgeon William Brydon, did manage to reach Jalallabad. At one point Harry feels that Hudson has become so emotional about what he’s seeing that he may either give their position away or ride into the massacre itself. Flashman also mentions a rather famous painting done of the stand, which he viewed years later and shocked other people there by giving vocal vent to his feelings about the futility of the whole thing. I can see his point, and I have the feeling that while he doesn’t say it in public Flashman’s view is one George MacDonald Fraser also held.

Hudson and Flashman didn’t last long, they were soon captured by a group of Afghans working for Gul Shah. I’m not sure what happened to the lancers, they seem to have disappeared by this point. Flashman says that as jails go, and this is something he has wide experience of, having been imprisoned from back at home in England to Australia and everywhere in between (in his opinion Mexico is the worst, yet another thing that makes me wish George MacDonald Fraser had been able to get down Flashman’s adventures in the Mexican conflict that followed the American Civil War), the Afghan one wasn’t that bad, although as the time it seemed like the worst place in the world. I’m sure that the presence of his sworn enemy Gul Shah and Narreeman, now Shah’s wife, make the experience that much more terrifying. Flashman is overcome enough with fear that he breaks down and confesses everything to Hudson, although he has the presence of mind to not be completely truthful about the Bloody Lance incident.

After letting Flashman stew for some time, Gul Shah visits his prisoners, and has Hudson removed to another cell before chaining Flashman to the ceiling by his wrists. Narreeman is also present. Shah tries to put the wind up Harry (not really necessary) by promising to at some point give him to Narreeman and letting her take revenge for his violation of her. This does really worry Flashman because Afghan women are reputed to be extremely skilled torturers. Gul Shah actually threatened to blind Flashman (this appeared to be a popular punishment in that part of the world at the time), remove his fingers and toes and keep him as a slave, praying for death.

What he does do is flog the Englishmen rather viciously. Initially it’s for information, although Flashman quite truthfully professes to know nothing. I suspect that most of it Gul Shah does for personal pleasure and revenge, he does admit that he recognises Flashman as too much of a coward to hold information back if divulging it would spare him physical pain. This is curiously one of the few times that Flashman is actually tortured. He’s threatened with it often during the books, but is generally rescued or escapes before anything can be done. In hindsight bearing the scars of the beating probably enhanced his heroic reputation, and made it harder for people to see him as anything other than incredibly brave.

When Hudson is returned to the cell he is incensed by the fact that Flashman was whipped, and determines to escape. The plucky sergeant does so, first freeing himself and then Flashman. He kills Gul Shah, and takes Narreeman hostage. This is when Hudson finds out what sort of a man Harry really is, and when he realises that despite appearances Flashman is no gentleman officer. Once they’re far enough away Hudson proposes releasing Nareeman. Flashman wants to kill her, I believe ‘cut her to pieces’ were his exact words. Hudson releases her, and Flashman really isn’t in any position to stop him, although if it had come down to a fight I believe Hudson would have killed Flashman. He’s formed the opinion that he’s travelling with someone pretty low.

The two men make their way to Jalallabad, which to their dismay is under siege from a large Afghan force. Unable to get to the city, they instead decide to seek anctuary at a nearby fort, which is also under siege, but not as heavily. The one remaining British soldier (the rest of the defenders of the fort are Indian sepoys); a Sergeant Wells, is pleased to see two more British soldiers, one an officer, and welcomes them in. Flashman immediately gets under cover and tries to sleep. He’s in pain, exhausted, emotionally wrecked, and mildly feverish. It is during this period that he has this bizarre fever dream:

I was back in the cell, with Gul Shah and Narreeman, and Gul was laughing at me, and changing into Bernier with his pistol raised, and then into Elphy Bey saying, "We shall have to cut off all your essentials, Flashman, I'm afraid there is no help for it. I shall send a note to Sir William." And Narreeman's eyes grew greater and greater, until I saw them in Elspeth's face - Elspeth smiling and very beautiful, fading in her turn to become Arnold, who was threatening to flog me for not knowing my construe. "Unhappy boy, I wash my hands of you; you must leave my pit of snakes and dwarves this very day." And he reached out and took me by the shoulder; his eyes were burning like coals and his fingers bit into my shoulder so that I cried out and tried to pull them free, and found myself scrabbling at Hudson's fingers as he knelt beside my couch.

After Wells is killed, Hudson takes charge, and forces Flashman at sword point from his bed, and into at least making the appearance of being a soldier to give heart and the illusion of command to the sepoys, although both men are aware that they’re probably going to die defending this fort. Hudson also tells Flashman his opinion of the man. He suspected he wasn’t what he appeared when he babbled in the cell, his attempt to kill Narreeman clinched it, and he wasn’t surprised when Flashman tried to shirk his duty when they got to the fort, but he’s going to ensure that if Flashman can’t live like a gentleman he’s damned well going to die like one.

As it becomes apparent that the Afghan forces are going to take the fort Flashman wonders if he can trade his life for the colours (the British flag still flying above the fort), Hudson sees what Flashman is planning and both men make for the flagpole, and try to lower the flag. Hudson is killed, and Flashman is clutching the colours, when a blast from a cannon hits the fort, and he descends back into blackness again.

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

2011-12-06T22:44:00.000-08:00

After the sad passing of SFF great Anne McCaffrey I came to the realisation that I’d never actually read any of her work (I don’t think the Pern short story that I didn’t understand in one of the Legends collections really counts). As my wife is a fan and has almost everything she’s ever written, except maybe the cookbooks, I thought I should rectify the situation. I decided to start with the first published book of her most successful series; Pern. I say first published, because my wife informs me that the chronology of the Pern books has become very complicated over the course of the 20 plus novels that Anne and her son; Todd, have written about the planet. Having now read Dragonflight I can see how this could happen.

Dragonflight didn’t begin life as a novel itself. It’s actually comprised of 2 novellas: Weyr Search (which won the Best Novella Hugo in 1968) and Dragonrider (Best Novella Nebula in 1969). Those two awards were the first time a female author had won either. When reading it I could kind of see where one novella ended and the next began, even without that knowledge. The writing style doesn’t change, but I felt that at least one of the lead characters underwent a significant shift in between the two.

There’s a brief introduction which gives readers a bit of background. Pern was settled many years, or turns as they refer to the passages of time, before by human colonists. They seem to have been forgotten about, and in turn have developed their own society and culture and lost knowledge of their origins. The planet itself is regularly under threat from threads (non sentient parasites that will leech the life from any living thing they contact if left unchecked. I liken them to the vine that I recently ripped out of my backyard), and to combat these the Pernese have captured the planets indigenous dragons and genetically altered them to enlarge them and give them telepathy. The dragons breathe fire and this kills the threads. Each dragon has a rider that they are linked to. In Dragonflight all the riders are male, so are referred to as dragonmen, but there are indications that this situation may change as Pern becomes less patriarchal.

The Weyr Search part of the book concerns itself with setting up the world, the society and culture while the dragonmen, mostly the ultra alpha male F’lar, search for a Weyrwoman to replace the recently deceased Jora, bond with the about to be hatched queen dragon and allow the fight against the threads to continue. It also introduces most of the main characters, although it is established that this story is mostly about F’lar and the soon to be Weyrwoman; Lessa. Lessa’s life will alter significantly, with her going from the displaced and downtrodden vengeance seeking heiress of the Ruatha Hold, to being telepathically linked to a queen dragon (Ramoth) and largely responsible for the fate of the entire planet.

Dragonrider focuses on the fight against the threads and the discovery of how time travel can assist the dragonriders, including Lessa now, in this battle. The largely unknown Southern Continent is also freed of threads and will be used in the future to settle more Pernese and mainly to breed dragons. The love story between F’Lar and Lessa continues and is largely satisfactorily resolved by the end of the book.

I can see why these have become so popular and some of what grabs people about the books. They’re a fantastic melding of science fiction and fantasy, largely before many authors thought to do this. Fans are still arguing over what category they actually fit in. Anne McCaffrey always insisted they were science fiction, but the medieval setting and the inclusion of dragons, albeit technologically enhanced ones, have led many people to pigeonhole them as fantasy. Ultimately though Dragonflight didn’t really do it for me.

Why is this the case? It’s mostly do with F’Lar and Lessa. I took a dislike to F’lar almost from his first appearance. He is, as I said earlier, an ultra alpha male. He just rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn’t see how anyone else could bear to be in the same room with him for any length of time, let alone fall in love with him. I kind of hoped he may fall off his dragon at some point, so maybe his far more likeable half brother F’nor could take over the position of Weyrleader. In Weyr Search the impulsive Lessa continually made bad decisions and took actions with little thought for the consequences for her or others, so long as she got what she wanted. This continued in Dragonrider, only now she was concerned about F’lar’s reaction, which usually consisted of shouting at her or shaking her. I just couldn’t buy them as romantic leads. Maybe if Lessa had been a little less whiny and more thoughtful and F’lar more like F’nor I would have enjoyed that part of the book more.

Then there were the dragons. I’m not a fan of dragons overall. I find them dreadfully overused. McCaffrey’s dragons were a little different, and she also wrote the book before everyone and their dog started including fire breathing reptiles in their books. What I had some issues with was the fact that the Pernese have created these creatures as the ultimate weapon, plus they’re sentient and intelligent, yet they seem to allow themselves to be used as tools and never really complain. Maybe their lives were so cushy that they had no reason to do so, as the dragonriders do pamper their mounts dreadfully, they’re rather like large house pets at times. The other thing was the way McCaffrey chose to have them communicate. Until Lessa, who could speak to ALL dragons, not just Ramoth, each dragonrider was linked only to his dragon and most of what they said was filtered through the rider. Their telepathic thoughts appeared only rarely, and this was a shame as it never allowed them to develop genuine personalities. It may change in future novels.

It’s a good start and introduction to Anne McCaffrey, but not up my alley and probably written too long ago to really appeal to me.

Flashman - Chapter 10

2011-12-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

The 10th chapter of Flashman is mostly about the disastrous retreat from Kabul.

The British forces, which also included the families of the officers, along with a sizeable amount of camp followers, had their steps dogged by determined and effective Afghan fighters who took a considerable toll on the retreating army. While the Afghans certainly thinned the ranks I fancy that the cold weather killed more than the harrying enemy did. A lot of this chapter seems to be largely lifted from the accounts provided by the likes of Lady Sale and Colin Mackenzie. Both of these sources are referenced in the Notes and their works on the retreat recommended by George MacDonald Fraser. The retreat was also not helped by Elphinstone’s lack of leadership and the continual in fighting by many of the British commanders. This chapter gives a reader a bit of insight into the earlier tirade directed Elphy Bey’s way.

There are two non recorded incidents which directly concern Harry Flashman. One doesn’t have much of a bearing on the book, but it is written amusingly and it reinforces Harry’s lack of anything approaching a moral compass again. The other incident does have ramifications for the rest of the book.

Once they’re underway, with Betty Parker’s husband, off on his mission, Flashman makes his move on the army wife. He pops into her tent on the pretext of checking that she is both safe and comfortable. Flashman thinks he’s onto a sure thing here, as he’s laid the groundwork by feeling Mrs Parker up during a game of cards, and she didn’t protest. He gets a shock when he goes in for the ‘kill’ only to be hit across the face by an indignant and scandalised Betty Parker. When Flashman claims that she didn’t mind him having a grope earlier, and actually repeats the action (squeezing her breast) he is told by his intended victim that what he did is something all gentlemen do, it’s not much different to saying hello! To say Flashman is astounded would be understating it. He’s aware that some Victorian ladies had strange ideas when it comes to mixing with the opposite sex, but this one absolutely takes the cake. He apologizes for the misunderstanding but sets her straight, not all gentlemen do it, she must know some pretty odd ones if she’s been taught that it’s acceptable, and she should not allow it to continue as it gives men the wrong idea. As she never takes it further there must be something in Flashman’s words that get to her. I've never been sure if this was based on an incident that Fraser read about somewhere, or whether he just found the idea so preposterous that he decided to use it for comedic effect. Considering how many truly bizarre people and things in the Flashman's turn out to be true maybe this is too.

The second incident in Chapter 10 concerns Akbar Khan. Flashman is part of a delegation that meet with the Afghan prince to arrange cessation of the attacks on the army and the civilians with them. Akbar Khan is attended by a number of his own allies, one of whom is Gul Shah. Khan informs Flashman that Sher Afzul has died, as old men do (it’s not followed up, but highly likely that Shah killed his predecessor), and Shah is now Khan of Mogala. Flashman asks after Ilderim, and is told that Afzul’s son did not inherit because he favours the British, and that is out of fashion. I don’t believe Ilderim reappears in Flashman, but he does enter Flashman’s life again in Flashman in the Great Game.

Realising that the situation is now untenable and the only way he’ll get to India alive is to take matters into his own hands, Flashman informs Hudson and his remaining lancers that they’ve been given a special mission from the command and they have to take off now.

Flashman- Chapter 9

2011-12-04T22:22:00.001-08:00

A couple of chapters ago I said things went pear shaped for the British Army in Afghanistan, they fell apart totally in Chapter 9.

Flashman's rather urbane captor; Akbar Khan, gives his proposal to the British forces to Flashman to deliver. The soldier himself thinks it's a rather good offer, but even if he didn't, it gives him the chance to get back to safety behind British lines, and to do that Flashman would deliver a marriage proposal from Akbar Khan to Queen Victoria if that's what the Afghan prince wanted him to do.

By appearing back in Kabul alive Flashman's reputation is enhanced further, and the Bloody Lance incident given further credence. Even a character like Colin Mackenzie, one of the few British soldiers at the time that George MacDonald Fraser through his anti hero seems to have any genuine respect for, starts to believe the legend that Flashman is beginning to weave about himself. McNaghten is going to take Khan's offer, Elphy Bey is less certain, but by this stage Elphy Bey isn't certain about anything. He's ill and largely bed ridden. Flashman even wonders if his mind hasn't begun to wonder. These days we'd say he had Alzheimers.

This chapter was readers first introduction to Lady Florentia Sale. Although Flashman often directs insults in his memoirs via this remarkable woman's way, one senses that he has a sneaking respect for her. He didn't think much of her husband's abilities as a commander, but like many at the time couldn't deny that he was a damn good fighter. Lady Sale is another intelligent person who has fallen for the Flashman stories, never realising that most of it was luck and a strong instinct of self preservation.

The meeting to arrange the deal between Akbar Khan and the British is unsurprisingly a complete and utter mess. The British have been played for fools and McNaghten, Mackenzie and Trevor are all taken prisoner. The only reason that Flashman isn't also captured is because he alone keeps his head. It's something that he's very proud of later in life. He mounts a white mare that was given as a gift and takes off. He even manages in his frantic escape to see McNaghten executed, although he gets the impression that this was done against the wishes of Akbar Khan.

Once he's safe Flashman employs a tactic he's used many times since; he insults his enemy and makes threatening noises about what he'd do if only he could get to them. He's done this often and people always fall for it, it's enhanced his reputation and made him quite the 'full of pepper' hero.

Elphy Bey finally makes the decision to retreat, even though he's advised that they could no doubt fight their way out of the situation. On the first morning of retreat poor old Elphinstone even manages to shoot himself in the backside. An incident that prompted the fiery Brigadier Shelton to remark that he was trying to blow his brains out.

Flashman determines that by hook or by crook he's getting safe back to India, and gets the reliable and useful Sergeant Hudson on board. He hand picks a hard fighting band of lancers and provisions himself and them to ensure that he at least will arrive in India without any further injury.

He receives a letter from Elspeth. A flowery missive in which she compares him to Hector, Achilles and Ajax. I love reading Elspeth's letters to Harry, they are so totally her. According to Flashman it was very much the fashion of the time for wives at home to compare their warring husbands to the heroes of Greek legends. As Flashman so eloquently puts it: It was a common custom at that time, in the more romantic females, to see their soldier husbands and sweethearts as Greek heores, instead of the whoremongering, drunken clowns most of them were..

The letter reminds him that it's been some time since he had a woman, and he sets his sights on Mrs Betty Parker, the wife of a much older cavalry officer. As soon as it's practical, Flashman has Parker sent off on a mission, not necessarily fatal, but it does get him out of the way. Definitely shades of King David, Uriah the Hittite and his desirable wife Bathsheba in this little episode.

The whole lot of them set off lock, stock and barrel to make their way across some of the most inhospitable country in the world, being harried by tribesmen armed to the teeth the entire way. Should be an interesting journey.

Flashman - Chapter 8

2011-12-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of Chapter 8, Flashman comes to, surprised that he is alive, but he's gone from the frying pan into the fire. He's survived the mob, but been delivered into the hands of Gul Shah. In some ways he was lucky that Shah hated him so much, had he not earned the Gilzai warlord's enmity he would have been hacked to death like Burnes. According to Gul Shah the mob cut Sekundar Burnes into 85 pieces, he counted them.

Because of what Flashman did to Narreeman, Gul Shah has a very special fate planned for him. As usual when presented with his offence the cowardly soldier lies through his teeth, then claims that he didn't actually do anything. It must be a reflex, because it never works, but he never fails to do it.

Gul Shah has one of the more bizarre methods of death arranged for Flashman. He calls a squat, but powerfully built dwarf into the room, and Flashman has to engage in a tug of war with this creature. The loser falls into a pit filled with highly venomous snakes. Flashman is lucky to survive and it is only the entrance of an unexpected guest that allows our hero to turn the tables on his tormentor and pull the dwarf into the deadly pit.

The newcomer shows Flashman every courtesy, removing him from the dungeon and out of Gul Shah's custody. Once this man has ascertained the depth of Flashman's knowledge, or lack thereof, he reveals his identity and Flashman finds out that he has been saved by none other than Akbar Khan.

The torture session with the dwarf in the dungeon was brilliant stuff, real boys own type adventure. If they ever happen to film Flashman this is a scene that needs to be included.

Hellbent by Cherie Priest

2011-12-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

Hellbent is Cherie Priest's sequel to her Urban Fantasy debut; Bloodshot.

Vampire art thief Raylene Pendle is settling into what passes for domestic bliss in her life, having set up house with blind vampire Ian Stott and her two adopted children; the runaways Pepper and Domino. Former Navy SEAL and drag queen Adrian/Rose is also nearby, having decided to settle in Seattle after the events of Bloodshot.

Raylene receives contact from her most regular source for burglary jobs; the shady art dealer Horace. Horace has a particularly bizarre request for his supernatural thief. He wants her to steal a box of baculum. Baculum are the penis bones of magical creatures. A slew of 'dick jokes' ensues. Maybe I'm juvenile, but I found many of these highly amusing.

In the process of obtaining the box, Raylene also acquires a kitten. While trying to track down who now has the magical artifacts, Ian's vampire father dies and Raylene and Adrian find themselves interceding in vampire politics between two vampire houses; those of San Francisco and Atlanta. The Atlanta house is of particular interest to Adrian, as they are believed to know about his sister; Isabella.

The Raylene Pendle series is more about the relationships between the principals than anything else, although the stories are exciting and involving, plus the government conspiracy started in Bloodshot hangs over the whole thing. I particularly enjoy the developing relationship between Raylene and Adrian. There's never the issue of it being anything other than platonic, but even without them realising it they may become ghoul and vampire mistress. Cherie Priest's dialogue sparkles and her characters are amusing and worth reading about. As I've said I'm not really a fan of the vampire hero in Urban Fantasy, but Raylene has hooked me and I'll be keeping an eye out for the followup to Hellbent.

Flashman - Chapter 7

2011-12-02T17:40:00.001-08:00

Chapter 7 of Flashman is where things really started to go pear shaped for the British army in Afghanistan. When an officer gives the below assessment of a commander it's really not that surprising.

This is how Harry Flashman looking back on his 60 plus years of experience on the battlefields of the world saw General Elphinstone, commonly known as Elphy Bey.

Let me say that when I talk of disasters I speak with authority. I have served at Balaclava (Flashman at the Charge), Cawnpore (Flashman in the Great Game) and Little Big Horn (Flashman and the Redskins). Name the biggest born fools who wore uniform in the 19th century - Cardigan, Sale, Custer, Raglan, Lucan - I knew them all. Think of the conceivable misfortunes that can arise from combinations of folly, cowardice, and sheer bad luck, and I'll give chapter and verse. But I still state unhesitatingly, that for pure, vacillating stupidity, for superb incompetence to command, for ignorance combined with bad judgement - in short, for the true talent for catastrophe - Elphy Bey stood alone. Others abide our questions, but Elphy outshines them all as the greatest military idiot of our own or any other day.

Only he could have permitted the First Afghan War and let it develop to such a ruinous defeat. It was not easy: he started with a good army, a secure position, some excellent officers, a disorganised enemy, and repeated opportunities to save the situation. But Elphy, with the touch of true genius, swept aside these obstacles with unerring precision, and out of order wrought complete chaos. We shall not, with luck, look upon his like again.

That is one of the best and biggest serves I've ever seen delivered up to any military commander and George MacDonald Fraser let Flashman have some beauties, but that one pretty much stands alone as true brilliance. With people like Elphy Bey in charge, and as asserted above he wasn't totally alone in his incompetence, it's a wonder that the British Empire lasted as long as it did. However using Afghanistan as an example may be unfair. Since the time Flashman was set, this small, but strategically important country has also managed to outlast the Soviet Union at it's height and they will also defeat the mighty USA military machine currently struggling there. So that Elphy Bey failed there is not really all that surprising, although from what is written in Flashman he was probably one of the worst people for the job.

With Elphy Bey and McNaghten running the show things quickly went from bad to worse in Afghanistan, and even making a quick getaway from Kabul was going to be a problem if it came to that because 'Fighting Bob' Sale was having trouble clearing the passes of rebellious tribesmen. When he wasn't being bullied into running messages to Sale, Flashman stayed bunkered down with the politicals (the 'politicals', of which Flashman was one, were diplomats, foreign agents and even spies, long before MI6 or even it's predecessor the Home Office). The pugnacious, and occasionally brilliant, Scotsman Alexander 'Sekundar' Burnes was talking about taking desperate measures and becoming far too cocky and confident that reinforcements would reach them before the situation became inescapable.

Eventually they were attacked and had to make a run for it, but for Burnes' over confidence they may have gotten out in one piece, but Burnes' actions got them noticed, and he and his younger brother Charlie were both killed. Jim Broadfoot (brother of George) also died. At the end of the chapter Flashman has seen the Burnes brothers killed, and has been knocked unconscious in a mob, believing it is also the end for him.

Flashman - Chapter 6

2011-12-01T22:33:00.000-08:00

The 6th chapter is both long and controversial for something that happens late in it.

Despite saying that travelling is boring, and that he won't go into the tedious detail of his journey from Calcutta to Kabul, Flashman does a great job of describing the country and what he encounters along the way.

He took Fetnab with him, but 'sold' her off to an artillery major early on, because she wasn't enjoying the trip and was irritating Flashman. He did later regret it, because he was fond of her, but I suspect it's really because he had no one to have sex with.

At Peshawar he encounters one of those characters that is so outlandish they can't possibly be real, but he is. His name is Avitabile and he's an Italian adventurer, who somehow became the governor of a province at the very fringe of the British Empire. He and Flashman actually got along quite well. It was Avitabile who gave Flashman his first insight into the tribes of Afghanistan and warned him against ever trusting the Gilzais. In Avitabile's opinion the only good Gilzai was a dead one.

Flashman encounters the second 'can't possibly be a real person' at Kabul. His name was Sir Willoughby Cotton, and he was who General Elphinstone (usually referred to as Elphy Bey) would take over from. Cotton, upon hearing Flashman's name, says he attended Rugby with a Flashman. This was Buck Flashman. Harry owns to the relationship and Cotton says he was expelled from the school. Never one to miss an opportunity to ingratiate himself with a superior Flashman says that he too was expelled. Cotton asks what for and when Flashman says being drunk, Cotton roars with laughter and says that he was expelled for leading a mutiny. He's not lying. in 1797 Willoughby Cotton was the ringleader of a revolt at Rugby School, where the headmaster's door was blown in with gunpowder!

Flashman winds up with the 'politicals', men like Alexander 'Sekundar' Burnes and George Broadfoot. He learns that things are less formal on the frontier and all the officers openly disparage their commander in McNaghten and that they don't have a particularly high opinion of Elphy Bey, either.

Flashman soon finds himself mixing with the locals outside the fort and he picks up Pushtu (the local language), in fact he becomes so good at it that Burnes recommends him for a diplomatic mission to the half-mad Gilzai chief; Sher Afzul. The British need Afzul on side, because he can intercede on their behalf with Akbar Khan (the son of the deposed Dost Mohammed) and his ally Gul Shah, just Gul Shah's name tells you he's bad news. If ever a name had to be invented for a villain (mind you it was his real name), that would be it.

Sher Afzul also takes a liking to Flashman (he definitely has charm when he wants it), and Flashy even makes a friend for life of Afzul's 16 year old son; Ilderim Khan. Afzul makes a 'gift' of a dancing girl called Narreeman to Flashman. The girl is Gul Shah's girlfriend, and it looks like she's become a pawn in a power struggle between Shah and Afzul. Knowing all this Flashman really shouldn't have done what he did. Actually he shouldn't have done what he did at all. This is the infamous rape scene. Flashman himself knows this is a step too far, and he never does it again. There are quite a few people who can't get past this incident and generally don't read on past the first book. It really does drive home what an amoral and pathetic creature Harry Flashman is, and each time I read it I ask myself why I do so often come out on this man's side. In my own defence I will say that Harry does get better after this. He's still a coward, a bully and a cheat, and he does treat women abominably, but he does mellow slightly. I did read an interview with George MacDonald Fraser where he was asked about the rape incident, he stopped short of saying it was a mistake to include it, but he did give the impression that if he'd been able to rewrite the book that scene probably wouldn't have ended up in it. It makes Flashman two enemies: Narreeman and Gul Shah, it's rather hard to know who was the most deadly of the two.

There's an attempt on Afzul's life after this. Flashman, Iqbal and the stalwart Sergeant Hudson are forced to fight for their lives. Flashman's nerve breaks and he winds up getting Iqbal killed. The Pathan curses Flashman with his dying breath. Hudson doesn't witness the incident, but the first people on the scene see carnage, Flashman with a bloody blade and the dead Iqbal and assume that Flashman fought his way out of the attack, but lost his rissaldar in the defence. Flashman so often gets seen as the hero and anyone who knows differently is conveniently killed or discredited. He gets the nickname 'Bloody Lance' out of this one. Afzul even gives Ilderim to Flashman as a hostage for his good behaviour, believing that 'Bloody Lance' will not let any harm come to his son.

Flashman - Chapter 5

2011-11-30T22:44:00.001-08:00

For someone who did everything he possibly could to avoid being posted to India, Flashman's opening comment in Chapter 5 is rather curious: There may be better countries for a soldier to serve in than India, but I haven't seen them.. Despite his impressions of the country back in England, Flashman is an adaptable chap, and once he finds out how things work for a moneyed British officer in India he soon makes himself very comfortable. He rents a house and procures some servants, including a nubile teenage bed warmer by the name of Fetnab. Judging by her description the lass on the cover may be a depiction of Fetnab. She serves a double purpose for Harry. She keeps him busy in bed, teaching him the ninety seven ways of making love (a Kama Sutra reference), although Flashman considers it all nonsense as the seventy fourth position is the same as the seventy third, but with your fingers crossed, this is one of those laugh out loud moments that George MacDonald Fraser regularly inserted into the narrative when you least expected it. The other thing that Fetnab taught her employer/owner was Hindustani. Flashman has an ear for languages, but never picked up Greek or Latin at school because he had no interest in them. He muses that the best way to learn a language is to spend a time in bed with a native girl, he would have gotten more of the classics from an hour's wrestling with a Greek girl than he did in four years with Arnold.

As well as the language, Flashman practises the local custom of lancing from a horse. He is tilting at pegs (and pariah dogs) one morning with his rissalder; a Pathan called Muhammed Iqbal, when he is summoned by an observing British general by the name of Crawford. Two things about the young British officer impress the general. One is his ability on the back of a horse, the other is his facility with Hindustani. Crawford has been in India for nearly 30 years and hasn't been able to pick up more than a handful of sentences, to his ear Flashman has been in the country for 3 weeks and speaks the language like a local. He invites Flashman to his residence that evening.

One thing led to another (although Crawford obviously had this planned from the moment he met Harry Flashman) and the two soldiers are attending a dinner with the Governor-General Lord Auckland and his sister Lady Emily Eden. The Governor-General and his sister take a great interest in this charming young officer and inquire as to where he will be stationed. Not having any great enthusiasm for Company service (the British East India Company effectively ran the country and were the ones who decided where the soldiers were stationed) Flashman indicates this to Lady Emily. Crawford agrees, as does Lord Auckland and they begin to talk about a posting where Flashman's talents can be put to best use. Flashman believes he's landed on his feet, and dreams of a relatively easy position as a galloper for General Elphinstone.

Then the news of where General Elphinstone and his staff are being posted is delivered; Afghanistan. In the 19th century Afghanistan was one of the most far flung areas of the British Empire. Flashman describes the country as being 'the hottest, hardest, most dangerous place in the world.' The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh? I'd bet a few American Marines have applied the same description to Afghanistan in the 21st century as Flashman did in the 19th. Flashman knows that refusing what they see as a generous offer from a general, the sister of a Governor-General and the Governor-General himself is a career limiting move, so with a sinking heart, he accepts. He later takes out his rage and fear on Fetnab, this makes it rather hard to feel much sympathy for him.

Flashman's description of the political situation in Afghanistan, like his description of the country itself, has an eerie parallel today. Afghanistan lay between Russia and the areas it controlled in Turkestan, and the British Empire's Jewel in the Crown in India. The British had invaded the country, removed Dost Mohammed, who they suspected of having Russian sympathies, and replaced him with the less popular, but more amenable Shah Sujah on the throne. The whole thing was a tinderbox just waiting to go kaboom and Flashy said it was just his luck that he was going to end up on top of the resulting conflagration.

Among Thieves - A Tale of the Kin by Douglas Hulick

2011-11-30T22:23:00.001-08:00

Among Thieves is Douglas Hulick’s debut novel, and the first of what looks like turning out to be a consistently entertaining series. The best way I can describe this quickly is to say that it is a cracking good read. Among Thieves treads some familiar ground, but does so with style and class.

Drothe is a Nose (a sort of underworld spy in the ‘thieves cant’ of Ildrecca), he plays a dangerous game, working for two Upright Men (criminal overlords) as well as for himself. One of Drothe’s most lucrative sidelines is the acquisition of powerful relics, which he usually auctions off to the highest bidder. Almost at the opening of Among Thieves the book’s first person protagonist comes in possession of information leading to a particularly hard to find relic. The search for and acquisition of this relic, which seems to be wanted by everyone in Ildrecca for a host of reasons, will lead Drothe into a deadly game of cross and double cross where he can trust almost no one. His family and friends will be put in danger and threatened. To get out of this one intact Drothe is going to have to empty his large bag of tricks, call in every favour he’s ever earned and test his friendships to the very limits.

Very little of this is probably new to a fantasy veteran, particularly of the 'gritty' kind, but Hulick has created something very enjoyable with Among Thieves. There’s top notch world building and characterisation, it’s tightly plotted, the description creates atmosphere without boring the reader by delving into inconsequential details, and the magic system is interesting and makes sense, it doesn’t over saturate the story or give the heroes an easy out, either.

The teeming Byzantine city of Ildrecca with it’s exotic mix of cultures and thriving communities of thieves (the Kin of the book’s sub title), merchants and nobles is Drothe’s world, and he is the readers guide to it. The ‘thieves cant’ (a curious mixture of Elizabethan and modern 20th century criminal slang) is something that sets Among Thieves apart from many similar works. It allows Hulick to be descriptive and give the world some depth, but also means he doesn’t rely too heavily on profanity to get his message across. Some readers have found the ‘cant’ a little hard to come to grips with, but Drothe is an engaging and informative narrator, and he gives readers enough explanation to understand. I personally didn’t need it, but I think a glossary of the ‘cant’ at the back of the book may have been helpful for some, and a nice touch.

The magic makes sense, it’s employed sparingly, but not so little that it is non existent, but again not so much that the reader thinks no matter how dire the situation Drothe and his allies find themselves in, some hitherto unknown magical trick will get them out of it. It exists, it can be useful, but don’t rely too heavily on it.

The characterisation is strong. I particularly liked the banter between Drothe and his best friend; the blademaster Bronze Degan. For that matter Degan was a favourite character, he doesn’t say much, but what he does say is often both amusing and pertinent, he’s loyal and deadly, he lives his life by a code of honour that he will not allow to be compromised by anyone or anything. Drothe and Degan are the main characters, there are others who play smaller parts, but are just as well written. The many members of the Kin are worth it just for their colourful nicknames. I particularly liked two of the female characters; Christiana, Drothe's younger sister who has married into the nobility. There was genuine affection between the siblings, despite the fact that Ana, as Drothe calls her, has tried to have her brother murdered a couple of times. The other was Drothe's bodyguard Jess the Fowler. I hope readers get to see more of both in future books, as Jess could even turn out to be Drothe's love interest. Romance was one element that was rather conspicuously absent from Among Thieves.

The tight plotting allows Among Thieves to roll along merrily without overdoing the action, however when steel is drawn and blades are crossed the choregraphy is another of the book's strengths. Not everyone can write realistic and convincing fight scenes. One of Hulick's hobbies is fencing, and he's used his knowledge to enhance his beautifully written sword fights.

I've read a few debuts this year and Among Thieves is head and shoulders the most assured and my favourite (Ready Player One is a sci-fi, so takes out that title for me), the book is even at this stage likely to end up in my top 5 reads of 2011.

Although the book can be easily read as a standalone, no messy cliffhangers, Douglas Hulick has been contracted to write at least 3 Tales of the Kin books and the second; Sworn in Steel , is due out in April of 2012. I'm there!

Flashman - Chapter 4

2011-11-29T22:39:00.000-08:00

Chapter 4 of Flashman is a real game changer for the character and the series in general. It is for me anyway, it also has the introduction of one of my favourite characters, not just in this series, but in fiction generally.

Harry is in Scotland and he doesn’t much care for the place. The climate is wet and the people are rude. I found it amusing that Flashman calls someone else rude, when he himself is so terribly rude to everyone, unless he can see some sort of opportunity in being polite. He’s in Scotland because the working class are sick and tired of being underpaid, overworked and poorly treated in general and are rising up against the ruling class. Flashman, who at this stage of his life, has only a rudimentary grasp of anything outside his own life, is on the side of the factory owners and aristocracy. He is however concerned about the enlisted men, as most of them come from similar backgrounds to the oppressed workers and he’s not entirely certain of their allegiances should push come to shove.

As an officer, Flashman is billeted with a local factory owner by the name of Morrison. Morrison is a miserable, hypocritical, cowardly penny pincher. He reminds me of Ebenezer Scrooge, as Flashman seemed to associate with many literary types it’s entirely possible that Dickens did base his famous miser on the Scottish factory owner. Unfortunately for Morrison he has 4 daughters. Flashman’s reactions on meeting the girls are as follows: Agnes, buxom and darkly handsome - she would do. Mary, buxom and plain - she would not. Grizel, thin and mousy and still a schoolgirl - no. Elspeth was like none of the others. She was beautiful fair-haired, blue-eyed and pink-cheeked, and she alone smiled at me with the open, simple smile of the truly stupid. Despite Flashman’s description of Elspeth as being stupid, I think it was love (lust?) at first sight.

In an effort to have his wicked way with Elspeth Morrison, Flashman plays the manly, dutiful British army officer for the family until he can get his chance. The opportunity arises when there’s a riot in the town and only Elspeth and her father are at home. Harry offers to escort Elspeth to safety in Glasgow, although he does observe that the girl is unconcerned about any possible danger, seemingly more interested in admiring her reflection in the window than in being spirited to safety.

It is a pleasant evening, and the scenery along the Clyde is nice. One thing led to another, and Miss Elspeth Rennie Morrison became the latest notch on Harry Flashman’s bedpost. Flashman did note that for a novice Elspeth seemed very willing and quite able. Her innocence shows when she inquires if that they had just done could be referred to as fornication and why the minister seemed so set against it. It didn’t bother our ‘hero’ that he had just deflowered a beautiful young woman who didn’t really understand what they were doing, but more that not realising the enormity of the act she could blithely confess it to her mother 'Mama, you'll never guess what Mr Flashman and I have been doing this evening...’ . By and large something of that sort does occur and in the face of an angry, but ineffectual Morrison, Flashman feels it is best to move lodgings.

He hasn’t been out of the Morrison household all that long when a flinty eyed lawyer by the name of Abercrombie calls on him. He’s Elspeth’s uncle and demands that Flashman marry the girl, or be called out. Initially Flashman refuses and tries to bluff his way out of the situation by bringing up his reputation as a duellist. Abercrombie is a no nonsense type, who can see Flashman for what he is and will be only too pleased to accept a challenge on behalf of his niece’s honour. Realising that he could be in trouble, and with no one like Bryant to call on, Flashman reluctantly agreed to marry Elspeth, although her uncle seemed to really look forward to the opportunity of publicly humiliating the young British officer.

When the recently wed couple returned from their brief honeymoon a letter from Cardigan was awaiting Harry. The contents were going to change his life. In it Cardigan suggested that Flashman may wish to enjoy married life, so wouldn’t want to return to the Hussars. A panicked Flashman returned immediately to London with Elspeth. In a private meeting with Cardigan, Harry found out the real reason for his dismissal from the Hussars. Flashman is a snob, but he’s got nothing on the Earl of Cardigan. The aristocrat doesn’t care if one of his officers is married, it’s more who Flashman has chosen to wed. It doesn’t matter if Elspeth’s father has more money than Midas, he’s a commoner and Scottish one at that, it’s a personal humiliation to Cardigan that one of his nobly born officers is married to a common factory owner’s daughter. Cardigan says that India is the place for Flashman, it’s been the making of many a young army officer before.

This was exactly what Harry wished to avoid by joining the Hussars in the first place. He has an aversion to the colonies in general. To him they’re unpleasant, uncivilised, dangerous places. All Harry Flashman wants to do is play fast and loose in London, and let his pretty uniform and magnificent whiskers attract the pretty young things like moths to a flame. Precious little chance of being able to do that in India. Damn Elspeth’s iron backboned uncle!

Not entirely to Flashman’s surprise, his father agrees with Cardigan. Flashman’s immediate response is to resign from the service. Buck Flashman tells Harry that he can do that, but he’ll have to make his own way if he does, he won’t get a penny out of him from that point on. Buck doesn’t lie where money is concerned. Harry behaves like a spoilt child denied a treat, but Buck stands firm. He even tells Harry that he’s a bad lot, as was his grandfather, but India could be the making of him. He has to take responsibility for his own actions, and going to India is part of that and may even change him for the better. Flashman believes his father’s stand is mostly out of spite, and no doubt there’s a fair amount of that in there, but I believe Buck does think Harry needs to grow up and forcing him to go to India may do the trick. Then of course there’s Elspeth. Harry blames Elspeth for his current situation, and that’s not the case. Buck won’t have it. In a very short time he’s grown fond of Elspeth, he may have even wished the girl was his daughter, and Harry not being around for a long time will in the long run be better for her. Flashman shows some of the depth of his feelings for Elspeth when he says that what upsets him most about his father during this exchange is that he does not believe Harry cares a button about Elspeth. Harry doesn't really fall in love with anyone, not in the true sense of the word, he does kid himself that he was in love with Lola Montez (Royal Flash) and Lakshmibai (Flashman in the Great Game), but the only woman he has ever truly loved is Elspeth.

I need to finish this off by talking a bit about Elspeth. I love Elspeth Flashman. She is one of the best characters George MacDonald Fraser ever created. Many see her through Harry’s eyes, as an indulged airhead. She is most definitely indulged, she’s 'Daddy’s little princess', Morrison’s favourite of his 4 girls, but she is not, as Harry often asserts, stupid. She’s certainly naïve and uncomplicated, but I think she’s highly intelligent. She’s aware of her affect on people, it later becomes apparent that women want to be her and men want to be with her, and she uses it to her best advantage. She does genuinely love Harry, too. Once they’re married, you slight Harry Flashman at your own peril! It’s a shame that Flashman does spend so much time away from home and therefore Elspeth, because readers are deprived of her so very often. Glumly, Harry is left packing his bags for India.

Flashman - Chapter 3

2011-11-28T22:30:00.000-08:00

The 3rd chapter of Flashman opens with young Harry getting his wish of being given a junior officership in Cardigan’s 11th Light Dragoons (the name was later changed to 11th Hussars, but early on Cardigan even makes a joke that Flashman is a little heavy for a ‘light’ dragoon).

This is the first time readers of the books would encounter James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan. Cardigan has gone down in history as the man who led the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War (the event was later immortalised in verse by poet laureate Alfred Tennyson), the name has also become famous as a knitted button up garment generally worn by elderly men and women. The Cardigan of the Flashman books seems to embody everything that was wrong with the British Army’s aristocratic, often incompetent leaders. He’s arrogant and spoiled, he’s also petty and completely unable to ever admit that he was wrong about anything. I’m not sure if this was historically factual, or whether George MacDonald Fraser did it for comic effect, but Flashman’s Cardigan has a speech impediment similar to that of noted ‘wabbit hunter’ Elmer Fudd, he regularly pronounces his ‘r’s and 'l's as ‘w’s. He’s also referred to by some of his men (not of course to his face) as ‘Lord Haw Haw’.

There was an interesting split in the 11th Hussars at the time, something which Flashman explains. Cardigan had dreams of leading an elite regiment, and although he did serve briefly in India, he had little time for the career officers in his unit who had spent a large amount of time on the subcontinent. The high handed peer referred disparagingly to these men as ‘Indians’. The newer younger officers, like Flashman, became known as ‘plungers’. Flashman was probably set to rise under Cardigan’s leadership. His commander was largely about appearance, and Flashman looked great in the uniform and on a horse, he was also extremely good at toadying up to his leader, despite his personal feelings about the man’s shortcomings as a military commander.

During this time Flashman took an intense dislike to a brother officer by the name of Bernier. The feeling was mutual. Bernier was the regiment’s crack shot and best blade, he had been the best horseman until the arrival of Flashman. One day in London Flashman chanced to see Bernier with his girlfriend; a pretty little French girl by the name of Josette. Being the unpleasant sort of man he is, Flashman seduced Josette, just so he could have something else over Bernier. It was always going to be discovered, and Bernier surprised the two of them in the act. He later hit Flashman in a fit of jealous rage.

Although Flashman knew that discovery meant disaster he was unable help himself. Once Bernier hits him, he’s between a rock and a hard place. If he allows it to go unanswered then his reputation is shot and he’ll lose any respect anyone had for him. On the other hand Bernier’s a crack shot, and would be likely to kill or seriously injure Flashman if it comes to a duel. Eventually Flashman answers the slight and challenges Bernier to a duel. Pistols at dawn.

Again Harry’s planning comes to the fore. He’s managed to cultivate the friendship of another junior officer called Bryant. Bryant is the regiment’s pauper. It was not possible to survive as an officer in the British Army during Queen Victoria’s reign without some sort of monetary backing. Bryant manages to scrape by, and as he’s funny and good at games of chance he keeps up goodwill and his funds. How exactly Bryant got to where he has, is never explained, he’s too young to have risen from the ranks, but his sleight of hand suggests that he may not have come by all his money honestly. Flashman explains his plan to Bryant. Bryant will offer to act as loader for the two men. and ensure that Bernier’s pistol is unloaded, and Flashman will shoot wide. This upholds Flashman’s honour and saves his skin at the same time. If the deception is discovered then both men will probably be hung for the crime. Flashman offers Bryant 10,000 pounds to do the act. He has no intention of ever paying, but as long as it works he’ll walk out of the duel with honour and life intact.

It was just as well that Flashman did have Bryant unload Bernier’s weapon, because as it is he actually feels the passage of the wadding and the powder past his face. Had the gun been loaded at best Flashman would have suffered a severe and disfiguring facial injury. He then fired wide and accidentally whipped the top off the attending doctor’s bottle of some medicine, and was hailed as a brilliant shot who took the honourable action and deloped, when he could have killed his opponent. During this affair readers discover a slight peculiarity in Flashman’s physical make up. Most people when scared go white in the face, not Flashman. He goes red in the face, the more scared he is the redder he gets. People often mistake his cowardice for anger, it’s helped his reputation no end over the years.

The aftermath of the duel, which will impact on Flashman’s life in years to come concerns Tommy Bryant. Once the duel is over Bryant wants the 10,000 pounds Flashman promised. Flashman predictably refuses, and he knew he had Bryant over a barrel. Bryant can’t publicly admit to his actions, he’d be putting his own neck in the noose. Flashman will just deny the accusations and he’ll probably be believed. Bryant has no option, but to swallow it. He does vow revenge though, and he proves to be a bad man to make an enemy of.

The duel and it’s outcome creates a small wave through London society, and Flashman becomes a minor celebrity, even being praised by the Duke of Wellington. It also has another unintended affect. Strictly speaking duelling is illegal. However out of the public and legal eye, especially in the military, it is not only accepted, it’s encouraged. The old school tie types who run the British military machine see duelling as a perfectly acceptable way for men to settle matters of honour. Cardigan even had to rubber stamp the Bernier Flashman duel before it could go ahead. Unfortunately the attention the duel creates brings it into the busy eyes of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Consort of Queen Victoria. Albert does not approve of duelling and makes his displeasure known.

Cardigan has to discharge Flashman from the Hussars for a brief period until the fuss over the duel dies down. Albert actually wanted Flashman decommissioned, but Cardigan refused as he felt Flashman was a ‘pwomising officer’ (ahhh how little did he know). It was common practice in the British Army in those days for officers to be handed around from regiment to regiment as needs demanded. Flashman, to his horror, is going to be posted to Scotland!

Flashman - Chapter 2

2011-11-27T22:26:00.001-08:00

In the 2nd chapter of Flashman readers see the ‘heros’ true colours.

Despite his father’s volatile temperament the young Flashman does not seem overly concerned about his reaction to the news that his son has been expelled from Rugby. Possibly Harry realises even then that he and his father are not all that dissimilar and that neither of them have much love for Dr Arnold and his teachings. Although they have very similar characters there is one significant difference between Harry and his father. No one could ever call Buck Flashman a coward.

Readers also discover where the Flashman’s money came from, Harry’s grandfather was a nabob, who made a fortune out of the slave trade, and Harry even muses that there was more than likely some piracy involved. Although Buck married into respectability (Harry’s mother was a Paget, and according to Flashman they sit on the right hand of God), the family is still not well regarded, their coarse streak shows through generation after generation.

Although the older Flashman is not greatly concerned at his son’s plight being expelled, he still doesn’t really want him hanging around the Leicester estate. Even then he knew what Harry was like. Harry himself gave his future some thought on the journey home, and says he wants to join the army. Now why would a self confessed coward want to do something like that? The thing is Harry has no intention of ever seeing action or even serving overseas, and for that reason he chose his regiment carefully. Lord Cardigan’s 11th Hussars had recently returned from active duty in India, so were unlikely to be sent back or pressed into service unless absolutely necessary, being commanded by one of the rising stars of the British military in Cardigan they were well regarded, and most importantly to a young Harry they cut a fine figure in their uniforms. Buck Flashman’s first question is how much is it going to cost him? In the 19th century no one could get ahead in the British Army unless they had money or a good name, usually both, and the money was the most important thing. First you had to purchase a commission. A 17 year old like Flashman would be looking at shelling out for the rank of cornet or junior lieutenant, then there’s the uniform and horses on top of that, plus money for the officer’s mess and to keep up appearances. It all adds up. Flashman gives his opinion that even though positions aren’t generally bought now, the recent showing by the British army in South Africa hasn’t proved that it wasn’t a sound policy. It sounds as if Flashman is referring to the Boer War with his South African comment, which would suggest that this particular packet was written in the early 1900’s, post 1902. This is the first time that Flashman prevails upon his Uncle Bindley to use his family name of Paget and his considerable influence with the Horse Guards to get Harry the commission he wants with his preferred regiment. Uncle Bindley proved very useful in the early years of Harry’s career.

It is during his conversation with Uncle Bindley and listing his qualifications, such as they were, for the calvary that readers were made aware of two of Flashman's natural talents. He later claims to have 4: women, horses, languages and cricket. Here he mentions two of them: horses and languages. Flashman is an excellent rider, always has been, he's a natural born horseman, this will appeal to Cardigan, who appreciates a soldier who looks good in the saddle. Despite not being particularly good at the classics (Greek and Latin), Flashman does have an ear for languages, and picks them up very quickly. Both of these talents have saved his life more times than he comfortably cares to remember.

While this was being done Harry set his cap for his father’s mistress; Judy. She seemed receptive to his original advances, and even spent an afternoon ‘playing’ with Harry, but when he tried it on again he was rebuffed, with the woman telling him once for fun was fine, but she had a position and a name, and that afternoon was all he was going to get. Flashman’s mean streak shows, and he threatens to blackmail her, unfortunately for him Judy is made of sterner stuff and tells him to go ahead. He wasn’t expecting his bluff to be called and takes no further action, but he’s not a man to be scorned, and he darkly plots revenge. He tries apologising to her for his behaviour and when it is accepted, again attempts to force himself on her. It ends badly and in violence. Flashman proves, not for the last time, that he is no gentleman by hitting the woman. This particular action reinforces Harry Flashman’s amorality and readers wondered what exactly they were letting themselves in for by following this sort of character.

This chapter also contained the first of the footnotes. George MacDonald Fraser’s footnotes were a feature of the books. Some people found them a little irritating, but I thought they added to the authenticity of the manuscript and often contained some delicious historical nuggets that made the events covered really come alive. There are probably less of them in Flashman than subsequent volumes, but Flashman is one of the shortest packets at just shy of 300 pages in length in the paperback edition I’m using. George MacDonald Fraser quite often had Flashman’s memory for historical facts play him false, errors which he would then mischievously correct in the historical notes at the back of the book. They really made you wonder if somehow he hadn’t really stumbled across an actual historical document.

Bloodshot by Cherie Priest

2011-11-26T19:21:00.000-08:00

I normally avoid Urban Fantasy's featuring vampires like the plague, so why did I pick up Cherie Priest's Bloodshot? There were a few reasons behind the purchase. Despite the main character being a female vampire, an ass kicking one at that, the idea sounded intriguing, Cherie Priest is a quality author (her 2009 opening novel to her steampunk Clockwork Century series; Boneshaker, was nominated for the Hugo in 2010) and Bloodshot was cheap at a Borders going out of business sale.

Bloodshot is a little different from a lot of the vampire infested Urban Fantasy at the moment in that the heroine; Raylene Pendle, is a vampire herself, and she's not a PI or a member of the law enforcement community, she's an art thief. Against her better judgement she takes on a mysterious case from Ian Stott, another vampire. What makes Raylene's 'spider sense' tingle about Stott's case is that he wants her to retrieve classified government documents about a program called Bloodshot.

The case forces Raylene across states, well out of her comfort zone, nearly destroys her carefully built up life, ruins her support network and gives her a sidekick in the form of ex Navy SEAL and current drag queen Sister Rose.

It's a fast paced story and it rattles along with things blowing up and people getting killed on a pretty regular basis. It's interesting enough, although a fair bit of it is paint by the numbers Urban Fantasy. I have to admit to liking Sister Rose, and being taken by Raylene's 'pet children' runaway siblings Domino and Pepper, especially the part fey Pepper. There's a definite mystery behind that abused little girl.

Despite it's relatively throwaway nature Bloodshot has hooked me enough to want to read the sequel Hellbent, if for no other reason than to get the actual conclusion to the story started here. Bloodshot doesn't actually end on a cliffhanger, but it's definitely not standalone.

Raylene has an interesting history that I do want to find out more about, and she's given the vampires in this world (which refreshingly appears to be our world, not some alternate version where vampires, etc... are accepted members of society) an interesting history, with rules that govern their society and lifestyle. Like any good story teller Cherie Priest gave readers just enough to keep them interested, but not so little that all they got was frustrated.

Raylene is annoyingly well prepared (one of the things I like about Laura Resnick's Esther Diamond series is the fact that Esther is completely clueless and totally unprepared for the dangerous magical situations she invariably finds herself in), and she has a tendency to keep talking about her vampire advantages, she continually referred to how she appears as a blur when she moves really fast. I got that the first three times she said it.

Those criticisms aside Bloodshot is a strong entry into the field and I will probably pick up Hellbent when I can.

Flashman - Chapter 1

2011-11-26T18:42:00.000-08:00

Before beginning the chapter reviews I need to say a few words about reading order and explain how the books were written to an extent. The books are not written chronologically. They started to veer off significantly with the 4th book; Flashman at the Charge, and never really got back on track, jumping around all over the place from then on. There is a chronological order on the inside of the 2005 paperback edition that I'm using for this, but even using that there are significant gaps in the old soldier's life. I wouldn't suggest to even attempt reading them chronologically, I've done it and it's not all that satisfying an experience. I've read all the books a number of times; chronologically, in publication order, and just any old how. I recommend reading them in publication order, that was after all how they were written, and that's what I'll be doing in this.

The cover of the 2005 paperback edition has a picture of a youngish Flashman in his dress uniform, leaning on a ceremonial sword, a calvaryman's sabre, I assume, with a scantily clad Indian lady at his feet, wound lovingly around one leg. Flashman himself wears a rather knowing smirk under his magnificent set of calvary whiskers. A horde of heavily armed Afghans can be seen massing in the distance. The first packet of the Flashman Papers covers the years 1839 - 1842.

The back of the book sums it up beautifully:

Can a man who is expelled from Rugby School as a drunken bully, who wantonly seduces his father's mistress, who lies, cheats and proves a coward on the battlefield, who romps his way through the boudoirs of Victorian Britain to the erotic frontiers of her Empire be all bad?

The book opens with an explanatory note from George MacDonald Fraser explaining the discovery of the manuscript and how he came to be in possession of them and was given permission to publish them. He believes that they were written sometime between 1905 and 1910, when Flashman was over 80. There is the possibility that they were dictated. I doubt that due to their expository nature and highly racy contents. His scandalised relatives buried the papers following Flashman's death in 1915, and it is a wonder they weren't destroyed. Fraser said his editing amounts to correcting spelling, punctuation and the addition of a few historical notes.

The passage from Tom Brown's Schooldays where Flashman got himself drunk and was subsequently expelled from Rugby School has been pasted onto the front of the first packet.

Flashman begins the manuscript by saying that Hughes got it wrong, even at the age of 17 (it's often stunning to realise exactly how young Flashman is in this first book) he knew better than to mix his drinks, which he supposedly did in the passage from the book. He blames this on his friend Speedicut.

He claims that he is concerned with facts and that he will be completely truthful in the manuscript, even if he is breaking the habit of 80 years. He asserts that he has a knighthood, a Victoria Cross, high rank (I believe he was a brigadier general when he retired from active service) and popular fame. Looking at the picture of him above his desk from his early days in Cardigan's Hussars (they were originally the 11th Light Dragoons, until Prince Albert changed the name) he can see a tall, roughly handsome young officer. He has always described himself as tall (6'2" or 3"), powerfully built and darkly handsome (even Hughes admitted that he was big and strong and could be charming when he wanted to be). Flashman describes the picture with his usual candour as being the portrait of a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a thief, a coward and a toady.

He goes on to cover the episode of his drunkenness in more detail than was in Tom Brown's Schooldays and talks about how he was to face the school's legendary headmaster; Dr Thomas Arnold (Arnold is one of the many real characters that will appear throughout the books, and he is the first genuine historical figure to make an appearance). Flashman admits to being terrified of Arnold, moreso than of any punishment he may choose to levy on the student. He says that facing Arnold in his study he was as scared as at any time throughout his life and when a man has done what Flashman has throughout life (riding into a Russian battery at Balaclava - Flashman at the Charge, and waiting for the torturers in an Afghan dungeon - later in the pages of Flashman) that is saying something. It is interesting that even at this early point in the books George MacDonald Fraser was referencing incidents that would not actually occur until later in the books. He also talks about the sad end to Scud East later in this chapter, and that doesn't happen until book 5 Flashman in the Great Game.

Flashman is expelled, and as he leaves the school Scud East offers him his sorrow that he's being expelled (East was Brown's best friend and had suffered as much at Flashman's hand as any younger boy had), Flashman calls him a liar and damns his sorrow. He later reflects that all East's gallant goodness got him in the end was a painful death by a sepoy's bayonet in the dust at Cawnpore. Thus ends the opening chapter of Flashman.

A New Project

2011-11-25T21:55:00.001-08:00

The story of Cerebus is done, all 300 issues of it.

I said when I finished the final Cerebus post to stay tuned for something new, so here it is. The Flashman Papers. I need to do a bit of explaining before continuing.

When I decided to reread and review Cerebus the idea came to me because there were a number of read and review and reread projects going on about the place. I read some of them and thought 'Hey, I can do that!' only what to do? Mostly what I came up with were popular things and had all been done to death. Let's face it did the web really need another A Song of Ice and Fire or Harry Potter reread? In the end I came up with a fairly obscure title. Outside of a few comic collectors not many people are aware of Cerebus, at it's height the book only ever had a circulation of just over 30,000 issues per month. I knew at some stage I'd finish Cerebus, so I wondered what to do next. My initial thought was to do Neil Gaiman's Sandman, mainly because I've never read it, and it's talked about a lot, and I know I'm missing some jokes and pop culture references there. I will still read it and review it, just not sure when. Sandman is another graphic novel and I really wanted to do a book or a series, that's when I remembered the Flashman Papers. I reread all 12 of them early in 2010 and did intend to do a series of reviews, however when i started reviewing them there's just too much for me to put all in one review, so I decided to read and review them a chapter at a time similar to the way I did Cerebus.

Who's this Flashman bloke and what is this all about, I hear you ask. Glad you did. There's a book called Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes, it came out in 1857. It's an English classic, and it covers the adventures of a young man called Tom Brown attending the elite British public school of Rugby (I believe the game is named after the school, that's where legend has it that it was first played when William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it). The villain of the piece is the school bully; Flashman. He's a coward, he smokes, drinks and gambles, he cheats and lies, he uses woman badly, in short he's everything you do not want a young English gentleman of the Victoria era turning out to become. Flashman makes Brown's life a misery until he gets as Hughes' puts it 'beastly drunk' and is expelled. The characters life may have ended there and then, but for a British journalist by the name of George MacDonald Fraser.

George MacDonald Fraser wondered what would have become of someone like Flashman. Wealthy, titled and with an education behind him, but expelled in disgrace from one of the country's top schools. Where would he go? What would he do? The answer; join the army, of course. Thomas Hughes created Flashman as the archetypal bully, he didn't even give the character a first name. MacDonald Fraser gave him a first name, a family history and created the most extraordinary life for him post Rugby. I don't know how many adventures he initially intended to write, but he had completed 12 books between 1969 and his death in 2008, there were also allusions throughout the 12 published packets of the Flashman Papers to other adventures, most notably the American Civil War, that were never written, but were part of Flashman's extensive Who's Who entry, created by George MacDonald Fraser to conform to the conceit that Harry Flashman was a real person and he was only editing and publishing his memoirs, which lay undiscovered for many years before being found in a Midlands salesroom. In the Flashman Papers an elderly Harry sets the record straight about his extraordinary life of adventure and his ill gotten hero status. I've had a ball every time I've read the books, so I hope you will too as you follow Harry and I through his life in an era of adventure.

The Last Day

2011-11-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

The Last Day, the second part of Latter Days, the final book of the Cerebus graphic novel, comprises the last 11 issues of the comic.

There’s an introduction from Dave Sim, in which he congratulates himself for having finished the book (and deservedly so, 300 issues, 6,000 pages over 26 years is a hell of an achievement, even if the narrative did devolve into largely incomprehensible ranting for most of the last 50 odd issues, the artwork never dropped in quality, nor did the artist’s willingness to continually experiment with the format), and then not killing himself when it was done.

It begins with Dave Sim’s vision of the creation, each panel is accompanied by suitably biblical script with elaborate lettering to match. Dave has also annotated each page. Every page or so there is a small section with a picture of a very elderly Cerebus sleeping. What takes up the bulk of the pages is his dream.

When Cerebus awakes he is convinced that he has just dreamt the greatest book ever, and fuelled with a desire to write his dream down. Getting from the bed to his desk is a Herculean effort. The aardvark is by now extremely old, infirm, frail and partially senile. Although the descriptions of hi aches and pains are mildly amusing (they are a theme that runs through the book), they’re also a little sad for a long time reader. I couldn’t help contrasting the young vital largely indestructible Cerebus with the dessicated shell that he had become.

Cerebus desire throughout most of this book is to see his son; Shep Shep again. He is stymied in most of these endeavours by his officious head of security; Walter O’Reilly. The character, never seen, is obviously based on the M*A*S*H character of the same name. Like the diminutive bespectacled corporal from the sitcom the head of Cerebus’ security seems to be able to at times read his bosses mind. I wondered if O’Reilly wasn’t really Shep Shep and Cerebus had become so senile that he didn’t even recognise this.

Outside shots of Cerebus Sanctuarie show that it is heavily fortified. It’s never really explained if this is to keep Cerebus’ enemies out or keep Cerebus in. Admittedly one very old aardvark couldn’t cause much damage, but Cerebus was hell on wheels in his day and memories of that may have lingered.

Interestingly in Cerebus’ memories of his son Shep Shep does not appear to be an aardvark, he seems to be human in every way. He does resemble his mother a little. Cerebus refers to her as Joanne, I think he now refers to all women as Joanne, the name seems to have replaced that of Cirin in his mind.

Suffering what he believes is a major case of heartburn caused by eating too much cheese Cerebus takes to his bed. It’s the beginning of a heart attack. The reference to Citizen Kane (why do I think I should be saying Rosebud?) as Cerebus gathers the covers around himself is a way of telling the readers that this is it for the aardvark.

Shep Shep comes to Cerebus in his sleep. He talks about the meaning of his real name, lets Cerebus know that he believes in his mother, that Cirin is still alive, and they’ve developed a giant half person, half lioness that will take over the world. Personally I think this is a dream, but there is evidence to suggest otherwise. Cerebus rises up, sword in hand to kill his son, falls from the bed and dies.

As Cerebus lays there alone on the floor, thus fulfilling the Judge’s long ago prophecy that he would die alone, unloved and unmourned, his life flashes before his eyes. We see Cerebus as a child, as a mercenary warrior, as a politician, Prime Minister, Pope, religious leader. A ghost of Cerebus, tellingly dressed in his vest and medallions, looks down on the old creature laying on the floor in a circle of light and figures from his past appear around him. They’re all there: Boobah, Lord Julius, The Elf. The Roach, Elrod, Astoria, Po, Princes Mick and Keef, the Three Wise Fellows, everyone who was important in Cerebus’ life over that 300 issues (the only reason I can think that Cirin didn’t appear is that according to Shep Shep she was still alive, thus reinforcing the possibility that his appearance to Cerebus wasn’t a dream). Cerebus sees Bear, Jaka and Ham, the love of his life, and the two most important male figures in it (I’m not sure exactly how Ham qualifies, but anyway). Jaka reaches out to him, but before he can join her he realises that Rick isn’t there, and turns into his Reads hero Rabbi, he turns from Jaka and runs into the light, calling out for God to help him. It’s kind of hard to know exactly where Cerebus went. The light could have represented Heaven, although Dave Sim always seemed to believe that the light was representative of Hell. Cerebus could have also just ceased to be. In some ways I think Dave tried to give the fans a happy ending. We’d long known Cerebus would die alone, unloved and unmourned, so that was no real shock. We got to visit one last time with him as he was, and we got one last vision of all his friends throughout the journey.

So that’s it. It’s all done. I’ve finally gone through all 300 issues. I think I first started reading Cerebus in the mid 80’s, so it eventually took me about as long to read the whole thing as it did for Dave Sim to write it. Admittedly I took a long break in between.

I’m kind of unsure what to think or how to rate it. I think the first 150 issues are sheer brilliance and a great look at the evolution of something unique in the field of graphic novels. The last 150 not so much. Dave kind of lost focus, and just getting to issue 300 became more important than actually telling a story. At times his interests in writers, artists and celebrities were fascinating and at other times tedious and self indulgent, as I said earlier though, the art and the experimentation were always at the very least interesting and at their height astonishing and revolutionary. If I were going to recommend Cerebus to anyone I’d advise them to read up to Guys and then stop. That’s the first 200 issues. Pick it up again at The Last Day and just read one of the internet précis of Guys, Rick’s Story, Going Home, Form & Void and Latter Days (there are good ones on Wikipedia and Margaret Liss’ Cerebus Fangirl site has the Cerebus wiki, which is the best resource for the graphic novel that I’ve seen, of course you could also read this blog). It’s an achievement and I’m glad I’ve finally read it all the way through. I don’t think there’s another ride like this in comics.

I set the blog up to read Cerebus and share my throughts, that’s why it’s called Travels Through Iest. It’s kind of evolved into a place where I review books and have the occasional muse on one thing or the other. Now I’ve started this whole reread thing I kind of like it. I won’t be changing the name of the blog, but once this review goes up the focus will by necessity alter. I’ll still review what I read, but I have a new interest to reread, and go through as I do.

Stay tuned.

Conqueror by Conn Iggulden

2011-11-23T22:39:00.001-08:00

Conqueror is the 5th and final book of Conn Iggulden’s Conqueror series, which covers the Mongol Empire from the birth of Genghis Khan up until the reign of his grandson; Kublai.

Guyuk Khan, Genghis’ grandson through Ogedai, is khan when the book opens. Guyuk was not a strong leader, and the book intimates that the empire may have fractured and descended into civil war had he not died when he did. Guyuk’s death brings his cousin; Mongke, older brother of Kublai, to the throne, and that is where the story really starts.

While in the previous book it was implied that Kublai and Mongke’s mother; Sorhatani, really wanted the throne to go to Kublai, she was happy for any of her sons to ascend to power, so accedes to Mongke’s leadership.

Mongke is a warrior first and foremost, and a proud Mongol, this leads him to drive all of the Chin scholars and scribes from the capital of Karakorum, and may also provide some of the conflict between he and Kublai, as the younger brother is scholarly and adopts many Chin customs and manner of dress. Mongke then gives his brothers some measure of power, and in the cases of Hulegu and Kublai sends them away from the Mongol homeland, so as to lessen the chances of conflict, he only keeps the youngest brother Arik-Boke, close.

From this point on the story really divides into 2 separate stories. Mongke’s part is considerably lessened and the book focuses on Hulegu and Kublai. The warlike Hulegu finishes what his grandfather started by extending Mongol control into the middle east, even taking and sacking Baghdad. The khanate Hulegu established in what is now Iraq lasted until 1338 ending with the death of his great great great grandson Muhammad Khan.

While Hulegu is occupied in the middle east, Kublai goes into China to overthrow the rulers of the Sung territories. Genghis had also tried to take over the Sung territories in China, but had died before being able to do so. Kublai’s scholarly ways were seen as a weakness by his brothers, but they along with wise counsel from the Buddhist monk Yao Shu and generals like Uriang-Khadai (in reality the son of the great general Tsubodai, but not mentioned as such for narrative reasons in Conqueror), prove a great strength during the campaign. Unfortunately Mongke’s untimely death and a grab for power by Arik-Boke, cut Kublai’s largely successful campaign short.

I knew that Kublai Khan would eventually become the Khan, as it’s been largely recorded in history, and he is seen as one of China’s great rulers, reigning for over 33 years, and at the height of his powers the empire covered one fifth of the world’s inhabited lands. What I was unaware of before reading the Conqueror series was that there were 3 khans in between Genghis and Kublai. I had always thought that power passed seamlessly from Genghis to his grandson. I was also unaware that Kublai was himself a warrior and general when he was younger, before Mongke died, and he had to wrest power from his younger brother to prevent a civil war and extend the empire as much as he did.

Throughout the series Conn Iggulden has filled in the many blanks surrounding the Mongol Empire to create a fast moving, fascinating picture of an ingenious, although sometimes brutal people. The differences between the various tribes of the Mongols that made up the Golden Horde and would rule the eastern world were often mirrored in the relationships between Genghis and his sons and then later his grandchildren. Women too played a part in these books. Genghis’ mother Hoelun, played a big role in Wolf of the Plains, as did his first wife; Borte. The mother of Kublai; Sorhatani, put the wheels in motion for her son’s ascension to the throne in Empire of Silver and in Conqueror and Kublai’s wife; Chabi, is a strong lady who has significant influence over her husband.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed expanding my knowledge of the Mongols through this series, although at times Iggulden does play a little fast and loose with history for reasons of not spoiling a good story, and he puts in a few too many repetitive battle scenes for my liking. If you want your history entertaining and don’t mind not being pedantically accurate in every detail then the Conqueror series is a good look at a part of history not often covered by many of the historical novelists around today.

RIP Anne McCaffrey

2011-11-22T22:19:00.001-08:00

The sad news broke today that Anne McCaffrey passed away at the age of 85.

Anne McCaffrey was both a giant of the SFF genre and a pioneer as far as female writers went. She was the first woman to win both a Hugo and a Nebula award. She worked with names such as Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Moon and S.M Stirling. She inspired an entire generation of young science fiction and fantasy writers and delighted millions of readers.

She is best known for her Pern series, although they were far from the only books she wrote, including two cookery books. Since 2003 she has been co authoring the Pern books with her middle child; Todd, and Todd McCaffrey has published a number of Pern books on his own.

Anne McCaffrey will be sadly missed.

Latter Days

2011-11-20T22:12:00.001-08:00

To be perfectly honest I’m not entirely sure how to review the rest of Latter Days because I don’t understand it. I’ll do what I can, though.

Cerebus’ plan to be killed by the Cirinists is to open a bar that flies in the face of everything they believe, given the nature of the establishment it probably would have worked, except for one…well three things or people. Three characters looking suspiciously like the original Moe, Larry and Curly of Three Stooges fame enter the story. They call themselves Mosher (Moe), Losher (Larry) and Kosher (Curly). They become known later in the story as the Three Wise Men. In his notes at the back of the book, Dave Sim said he’d been planning to have the Stooges enter the story for some time. I’m really not sure how far he thought ahead. They’re devotees of Rick’s (we find out later in the story that Rick was actually martyred by the Cirinist, they crucified him, another Jesus parallel), they read regularly from the Bookee of Rickee. Kosher recognises Cerebus as the same one in the Bookee, and the three kidnap him and hold him prisoner in the cathedral they’re building. I never understood exactly why.

Resigning himself to the fact that he’s their captive and that they’re mad Cerebus believes he has turned into the popular Reads hero; Rabbi (a Jewish representation of Superman. Yeah, it just kept getting weirder and weirder), eventually he manipulates the trio into attacking the Cirinists. Once they’ve massacred the forces of the Three ‘Wise’ Men, the Cirinists will track it back to Cerebus and kill him. Only it doesn’t work out that way. Forces loyal to Cerebus massacre the Cirinists.

A lot of the victory is due to an insanely brave commander who goes by the name of Todd Farlane McSpahn (this is a parody of popular artist and writer; Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn, and at one time a friend of Dave Sim’s). Farlane, whose speech is almost unintelligible (I don’t know if the real McFarlane spoke like this, I’ve never heard him talk, but I doubt it), leads a breakaway sect of Cerebites loyal to him. Cerebus takes on the persona of Spore (a parody of McFarlane’s Spawn) to regain his forces and control. This works to a point and Cerebus becomes the head of a religious movement.

This eventually gives him a lot of time to do whatever he wants and he devotes it to completing his Rabbi Reads collection and even publishes a Journal about it. I have the feeling that this had something to do with a long running feud Dave Sim had with Gary Groth of Fantagraphics, which published it’s own Comics Journal, but it may have just been coincidence, and was inspired by the inevitable feeling that many collectors feel when they complete the collection that maybe it wasn’t really worth it, and what do they now do?

Cerebus begins a reading of the Torah, and this is where it totally lost me. The pages became long screeds of philosophy about religion, women, relationships, politics, the bible, you name it, it was in there. It may have been Sim writing Cerebus reaction to what he was reading, or it may have been Dave using his creation to put his own thoughts down. During this the writing was accompanied by a largely pictorial history of a film maker called Konigsberg, who was in fact Woody Allen. Why? Probably because Dave felt like it. It’s as much reason as why Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway appeared in the pages of the books.

At the end of this one Cerebus is powerful and wealthy. He can have or buy anything he wants, but he’s still not really happy. He finishes it by seducing a female reporter who looks remarkably like Jaka, but obviously isn’t.

There were a couple of things I noticed in this collection. One was Cerebus’ age. Dave’s always been vague about the passage of time, but Cerebus never seems to age. He’s packed a fair bit into his life, more than anyone who is the age he appears could possibly do. There’s another whack of years in between him arriving in Isshuria and finally beating Annan at 5 Bar Gate, Annan died of old age, and he was in his prime when he first faced Cerebus. The Wise Men all died in between kidnapping him and the end of the book (this was done as a representation of The Three Stooges real break up, decline and ended with the death of Moe), and Konigsberg started out as a young man and ended up as an old one. Cerebus does age in Latter Days, the first time I ever noticed it. The tuft of hair between his ears turned white, and while he was imprisoned by Mosher, Losher and Kosher he was either bald or wearing a yarmulke, it was hard to tell. By the end of Latter Days Cerebus is actually looking like an old man…uhhhhh…aardvark.

The other thing was that what made this particular book a hard one to understand and read wasn’t the fact that it was no longer funny or that it was filled with endless philosophising, there was no support cast and readers didn’t even really know what had happened to them. The Three Stooges are pretty funny on screen, but they didn’t work for me in Latter Days, maybe it’s because their humour is largely physical. Part of the reason Dave never used Harpo Marx was because he never spoke and it doesn’t translate well to the comics medium, which has visuals, but no sound. Readers didn’t know what happened to everyone else. It’s a safe bet to assume that Lord Julius was in Palnu and Jaka went back there, and they both died of old age, but what about Elrod, Sophia, the Roach, The Elf, Astoria and Po? One of the Joanne’s said that she lived next to an Elrod and a Sophia, but it was never made clear who they were. We hadn’t seen the Roach since a cameo in Guys and The Elf may have disappeared in the destruction of Iest, as may have Astoria and possibly, but less likely Po. Dave makes the argument that they died of old age, but weren’t Elrod, the Roach and The Elf all meant to be figments of Cerebus’ imagination? As such could they even die or age? Po, was like Cerebus, a largely ageless aardvark. It was frustrating, and continually took me out of the book to wonder as to their fate.

I’m going to read on to The Last Day to see how it all turns out, but I have the unsettling feeling that Cerebus was on the money with his owun abrupt unexplained theory of the end in Rick’s Story.

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones

2011-11-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones should be required reading for any aspiring writer of fantasy...come to think of it any reader of fantasy should also seek out a copy of The Tough Guide.

The book is organised like a guide book or an encyclopedia, alphbetically from A - Z. Entries begin with Adept (anyone reaching the Adept level is pretty 'hot stuff' as far as magic is concerned) and finish with Zombies who are Undead only nastier, more pitiable and generally easier to kill. Most letters are prefaced with a sometimes relevant quote from the book Gnomic Utterances, most of these come from the scholar Ka'a Orto'o, and contain flashes of insight such as: Beware, when the landscape is of surpassing beauty of the needle in the haystack.

If you've read much fantasy you will find yourself laughing aloud as you read through The Tough Guide and encounter the many cliches and tropes that you have no doubt read of. If you're a writer you may be squirming uncomfortably at times as you remember that stereotypical elf that seemed to be a cool idea at the time you wrote him. Just because you stumble across a cliche mentioned in the book and connect it to something you've either read or written does not mean it is a necessarily a bad idea, it all depends on how it was used.

The conceit behind the book is that the reader is a tourist on one of the many tours that the management (the book is littered with references to OMT's; official management terms) run for profit, which is largely why it's organised the way it is and why it is so exhaustive. Diana Wynne Jones later used The Tough Guide to Fantasyland as the basis for her comic romp The Dark Lord of Derkholm.

I'd recommend The Tough Guide to Fantasyland very highly to anyone with any interest in the genre at all. It's become a classic of the genre and deservedly so.

The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff

2011-11-17T22:24:00.000-08:00

Tanya Huff, the author of the The Enchantment Emporium, is a veteran writer (published since the late 1980’s) has experienced success in the Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance (her Blood Books was turned into the TV show Blood Ties) alternate world fantasy and even SF genres over her career.

The Enchantment Emporium finds her clearly back in Urban Fantasy territory. Alysha ‘Allie’ Gale is one of the younger members of the prolific, insular and highly powerful Gale family (none of the girls are ever named Dorothy). The opening of the book finds her jobless and without focus. That is until she receives a letter from her Gran (Catherine Gale) saying that the older lady has died and left her shop (the emporium of the title) in Calgary to Allie. Allie’s multitude of meddling aunties, especially the intimdiating and formidable Auntie Jane, are none too happy that the irresponsible Catherine (Gran isn’t held in high regard by the rest of the clan) has taken action that will give Allie an excuse to leave the bosom of the family, they’re based in rural Ontario. However they do know that they can’t stop Allie from leaving, and they have no intention of just letting her get on with her life without their influence, they’ll be phoning regularly and may even visit from time to time. There’s also nothing to stop them from sending some of the families younger members to Calgary to ‘spy’ on Allie.

Right from the time Allie arrives in Calgary, and looks around the shop, she has suspicions that her Gran is not dead and there’s a mystery to be solved here. Before she can really even find her feet she’s adopted a leprechaun, managed to trap a monkey paw and formed a sarcastic relationship with the shop’s magic mirror. Favourite cousin; the wild and highly amusing musician Charlie, also drops in for a visit, although she acts to me, and everyone else, like she’s staying for quite a while.

As Allie probes deeper into the mystery that was her grandmother she becomes involved with a charming reporter, who has an interesting sideline as a magical sniper for a malevolent sorcerer, and realises that the dragon in Calgary may have something to do with her Gran’s disappearance. Auntie Jane tells her great niece: ‘Dragons are not this family’s business.’
Allie counters with ‘Unless one ate Gran.’
‘Yes, unless one ate your grandmother.’ Auntie Jane sighs resignedly.
To get herself and everyone near and dear to her out of this Allie is going to need every member of her high powered family she can get and will have to call on powers she never knew she had.

I had a ball reading The Enchantment Emporium, and although the book is largely laying the groundwork for the concept and a series (the sequel The Wild Ways, has just come out and as that is from Charlie’s point of view; one of my favourite characters from the opener, it should be a hoot) it never really flags. There’s enough weight behind the concepts and the tension is good, which stops it from straying too far into light and fluffy territory. The ideas are fun and interesting, the characters are engaging and appealing as well as being multifaceted with depth. One small quibble there, I got very early on that Allie’s best friend and adopted Gale; Michael, was a big guy, I didn’t need it spelled out nearly every time the character was mentioned. The dialogue between the characters flows and it snap, crackle and pops with plenty of pop culture references as any self respecting Urban Fantasy book should. I’m also in total agreement that Sci-Fi cancelling The Dresden Files was a very bad thing.

I hope the series gets the attention and popularity it deserves because I’d like to learn more about the Gales, and I think The Enchantment Emporium has only just scratched the surface.

Latter Days - Prologue

2011-11-16T15:44:00.001-08:00

I decided to give the prologue of Latter Days (phone book #15 of Cerebus the Aardvark) it's own post, because it deserves one. It's a fairly complete story in it's own right, and in many ways I thought it was a return to form of what Cerebus used to be like before Dave Sim lost focus.

I'll mention the cover, because it too is in colour. It's not a photograph this time, it's all artwork. Cerebus is standing with his back to the reader examining a poster on a wall which has reviews of the book, they're all bogus and are from Dave Sim and Gerhard's press junket. This was the sort of humour readers hadn't seen since for quite some time. The top of the cover has TV screens showing Cerebus in a number of situations and costumes. For some reason he's wearing a Charlie Brown t-shirt in a few of them.

The prologue picks up where Form & Void left off. Cerebus is still in the clothes he tore and is pressing ever northward. He finds that Isshuria, which I get the impression is based on Canada, isn't really that different from the Cirinist controlled areas of Estarcion. In some ways it's worse. The bars have a 3 drink maximum and you have to actually pay for them!

Following a rather unpleasant experience in a bar Cerebus 'blanks out' and comes to 3 years later herding sheep. He looks after the sheep, reads what he can find and lust after his employer's younger wife. His employer; Mr Gurzky, comes after him with an axe, for peeping on his wife while she's bathing.

Cerebus 'blanks out' again and heads further north. Eventually he runs out of north and goes east. He seems to want to get himself killed. He lands up at a tavern in Northern Isshuria, it's called McBee's. Cerebus works at various jobs for his keep until they find out that he's really good at a game called 5 Bar Gate.

5 Bar Gate is a 2 player game where each player has a racquet and tries to put a ball through the other player's goal. I think Bear taught the game to Cerebus and he is a gun at it. The rules are totally different, but the following and the passion seems to be based on Canada's love of ice hockey. To the Isshurian's 5 Bar Gate isn't just a game, it's like a religion.

McBee's promote Cerebus as their champion and he goes to the city of Moosehat to compete at Moosehat Gardens (I wondered if this was a take on Madison Square Gardens) to play for the championship. Cerebus is using his old alias of Fred and he's chosen Hammer as his surname. He plays the legendary 5 Bar Gate champion Paul 'Coffee' Annan. Exactly why Dave Sim decided to make his champion's name very similar to that of the former UN Secretary General I don't know, but it was funny.

The problem for Cerebus is that he can beat anyone at 5 Bar Gate, anyone except Annan. Year after year after year Cerebus loses the championship to Annan. The bar even takes to paying him money to represent another tavern in the championship so they won't be associated with Fred 'The Loser' Hammer. Eventually Cerebus does beat Annan, largely because the unbeatable champion dies of old age on the court.

No one wants to accept him as champion, but he is and he's rich. Just before he 'blanks out' again Cerebus decides that if he wants to get killed the only way to make it happen is to have the Cirinists do it for him.

The story was funny and well told. It had the feel of one of those old sports stories that get made into films like The Legend of Bagger Vance. It was probably the most I've enjoyed a single issue since Jaka's Story.

Form & Void

2011-11-16T01:26:00.000-08:00

Form & Void the 14th phone book is actually the 2nd part of Going Home and begins with Cerebus and Jaka travelling north to visit Cerebus’ childhood home of Sand Hills Creek. In keeping with the way the cover of Going Home was presented, the cover of Form & Void is also a colour photograph, this time of a cold looking, rocky coastline.

The fact that the couple are actually going that far north would seem to indicate that Jaka has gotten over her insistence of never wearing the same clothes two days in a row. Maybe this was never true and Jaka only said it so that she wouldn’t have to go north, but the attempt on Cerebus life at the end of Going Home has convinced her that they have to head far north to keep him alive. Possibly it’s a continuity thing, the closer the book moves to the end the less continuity seems to matter. Apparently this far north the only alcohol available is a beer that they refer to as Grizz. A closer inspection of the label shows that the brewer is Lord Julius imbecilc cousin Duke Leonardi. I'm betting Julius pockets the profits, but uses his cousin's likeness to advertise and promote the drink.

They have hooked up with famous writer and adventurer Ham Ernestway. Dave had a new literary obsession, and this time it was Ernest Hemingway. Ernestway and his wife; Mary, agree to guide Cerebus and Jaka in the their trip north. I found it of interest that Cerebus was a huge Ernestway fan. Cerebus has never really been much of a reader, and his efforts at writing his memoirs showed that he wasn’t much of a writer either. In his notes at the back Dave Sim said he thought the idea of turning Cerebus into a Ham Ernestway fanboy was amusing. Oookay.

This is Hemingway late in life and he has regular blackouts due to electroshock treatment. Most of the talking is done by Mary, and the majority of the first 2 3rds of the book is a visual representation of Mary Hemingway’s accounts in her diaries of the African safaris she and the writer went on. It was beautifully drawn and an interesting idea, but I kept wondering why it was in the pages of Cerebus the Aardvark. It could have stood as a graphic novel of it’s own. Having it here is fairly self indulgent and an indication that at this stage Cerebus’ story was of secondary interest to it’s creator.

This particular part of the book and the journey itself comes to end when Jaka informs Cerebus that Mary killed Ham. Whether she did or not is left open to speculation, but it’s probably more likely that Ham took his own life as did the real life Ernest Hemingway. What happened to Mary or the African bearers that were with the couple I don’t know, they simply disappeared out of the story at this point. The setting in terms of clothing and implements seemed to be more mid 20th century than anything. The Ernestways had shotguns and they knew about airships. Cerebus explained his ignorance of these things by claiming that Sand Hills Creek was very off the beaten track. That was another interesting revelation. Part of the reason Cerebus is heading for Sand Hills Creek, quite apart from an apparent desire to see his parents again, is because it’s almost in Isshuria and is not under Cirinist control. This also seems to make it slightly more attractive to Jaka.

With the Ernestways out of the picture Cerebus and Jaka realise that Mary Ernestway has been leading them around in circles. They get caught in a blizzard and are snowed in. There’s a period where they believe that this is it and they will eventually starve to death. Cerebus has a vision involving Rick (the Cirinists killed him, although it’s a dream Rick, so maybe they didn’t really) and is told how to get he and Jaka out. He’s meant to leave everything, including Jaka behind, but he doesn’t and still gets out. In the rush to leave though they forget Missy. By the time Jaka realises this Cerebus claims it’s too late to turn back and he’s not risking his life for a doll.

To say that the relationship between Cerebus and Jaka has been strained ever since the boat trip would be understating it somewhat. They rarely speak and when they do they complain at each other. Cerebus is continually worried that Jaka’s behaviour will embarrass him in front of his parents and the good folk of Sand Hills Creek. When Cerebus started to give a damn what anyone thought of him or who he was with I don’t know. The old Cerebus would have simply beaten up or shouted anyone down. Cerebus’ attachment to his parents was also out. Readers had to wait until Church and State to get any meaningful data about his parents and even then it was in a dream sequence. I didn’t think he’d really given them a second thought after his father left him with Magus Doran as a kid.

Because the Cirinists don’t really want people leaving the lands under their control, especially someone as important as the Princess of Palnu, Cerebus and Jaka have to be careful about when and where they travel. There were flashes of how Cerebus and Jaka envisaged their life being all those years ago, but they’re only brief and fleeting. Sigh. The two uncover some long hidden tunnels, left by the Black Tower Empire, which allow them to get quickly and unseen to Sand Hills Creek. Jaka asks Cerebus to translate the runes in the tunnels for her and his translation is rather amusing, it’s all about how everything in the Black Tower Empire is bigger than anything else anywhere else. This hearkened back to the sort of joke that used to populate the book back in the early days. Cerebus tells Jaka that she can’t let on to anyone she’s been in the tunnels, it’s forbidden for women to be in them.

Sand Hills Creek appears to be deserted, although it soon becomes apparent that everyone is shutting their doors to Cerebus. He eventually reaches his parents house, which is also closed. Peering in, all Jaka and Cerebus can see is one empty chair. Cerebus knows his parents are dead, but wants it confirmed. They see an old man in the field next door and manage to catch him before he can get inside.

He tells Cerebus that his father died not long ago and that the village has shunned him because he couldn’t even come home to be with his father in his dying moments, too busy down south with his ‘harlot’. Cerebus blames Jaka for keeping him down south. She was why he missed his father’s death. This is unfair, but Cerebus often is unfair and irrational. He sends Jaka away from him. She stumbles back, crying, then a carriage appears and an austere gentleman steps out, holding something in his hand. It’s Missy. Jaka accepts it from him and lets him escort her into the carriage which rattles away.

Overcome with grief and rage Cerebus tears his clothes and falls to his knees screaming his pain out. Alone, unmourned and unloved.

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

2011-11-14T22:25:00.000-08:00

I’ll begin this review by stating that I didn’t much care for Prince of Thorns, so this particular review isn’t going to join the many glowing reviews Mark Lawrence has received for his debut novel.

There was a lot of buzz surrounding Prince of Thorns and Mark Lawrence seems to have become the ‘next big thing’ in the subgenre of gritty fantasy, joining the likes of Joe Abercrombie.

Prince of Thorns most definitely fits neatly into the gritty subgenre. The book was so gritty in fact that I had to have a glass of water after finishing it to wash the dirt out of my throat.

The Prince of the title is Jorg Ancrath; a seriously damaged, highly ambitious, vengeance seeking, 14 year old psychopath. When Jorg was 9 years old he was forced to watch his mother and younger brother murdered by the forces of the powerful and vicious Count Renar, Jorg was trapped in the embraces of a thorn bush at the time (hence the book’s rather lyrical title). As his father does not appear to be motivated to move against Renar, Jorg strikes out on his own (at the age of 10, mind you), gathers a band of brutal mercenaries around him and determines to make Renar pay for what he did.

After finishing the book and thinking about it the word that sprang to mind most often was basic. I’ll try to explain why. Prince of Thorns ticks off most of the boxes of epic fantasy, but does so in a very spare way. Compared to many of it’s competitors Prince of Thorns is quite a short work, very tightly edited, it’s one of the few instances where the writer could have afforded to be a bit more expansive. In his defence there, Prince of Thorns is the first of a trilogy and the author wrote it as one work (the sequel King of Thorns is due out in August of 2012).

The need to world build was neatly circumvented by not really bothering to build a new world. Prince of Thorns is set in a post apocalyptic earth in which society has managed to advance to the medieval stage, in the 1100 years since the downfall of the previous civilisation. I had some problems with this setting. Firstly I was over half way through the book before the reveal about the apocalypse came about, and this was done to me in a rather out of the blue fashion. References to ancient philosophers such as Plato and Sun Tzu are scattered throughout the book, I started to wonder about the setting when a character quoted Nietzsche. I found it stretched credibility for me that works from ancient times survived, but nothing later than the 19th century did. There was a distinct lack of history about the setting. The civilisation in which Jorg lives has been around for 1100 years, yet they don’t seem to have any history about them, beyond starting a huge civil war that has fractured the continent into a number of small kingdoms.

Then we have the characters themselves. It’s a very popular thing these days to people a f epic with ‘shades of grey’ characters (I regard George RR Martin as the master of this, and Mark Lawrence has confessed to enjoying Martin’s work), and Prince of Thorns is no exception. Lawrence has attempted to make the characters grey, but they’ve mostly turned out black or irrelevant. For me this made it hard to actually care about any of them. The only character I managed to make any sort of ‘give a damn’ connection with was Jorg’s zen master tutor Lundist; and he was dead by the start of the book.

The construction of the book itself was odd, and this may have been a publisher thing. It’s composed of very short choppy chapters. The chapter ends and it goes straight into the next one, making the reader wonder why it ended where it did. There are a few flashback chapters throughout, set four years before the current narrative, they explain Jorg’s situation and give him some sort of reason for his actions.

I don’t actually mind first person narration, but I didn’t like Jorg as a narrator. He was to the point and blunt, but gave the reader no real insight into his character. He didn’t seem to see beneath the superficiality of anyone else either. Maybe the characters were genuinely that two dimensional. Other reviewers have mentioned the beauty of Lawrence’s writing, there are a few poetical touches, but overall the writing is serviceable, rather than remarkable. The whole thing had the feeling of something written for a writing class or writers group and then workshopped into a full length novel.

The action was well done, although one of the big action set pieces; a fight with animated skeletons controlled by a necromancer/vampire, had the distinct feel of being lifted directly from a computer game. One of the few criticisms that people do direct at the book, and I’m going to touch on it too is to do with Jorg’s age. The belief is that Lawrence made him a little too young. I have to agree. I can’t buy that a 10 year old, no matter how ruthless can run with a bunch of badass mercenaries for three years and wind up running the crew and having them scared of him by the age of 14. There’s also the matter of how Jorg regularly beats bigger and better trained opponents. He does say that at 14 he’s six foot, which is a big kid, but he wins most of his fights by the virtue of being sneakier and more ruthless than his opponent. Sorry, didn’t work for me. Jean Tannen, he ain’t.

Throughout I kept feeling that there was something missing, and it eventually dawned on me that the missing ingredient was humour. I think I chuckled twice, once had to do with an exasperated Jorg cutting off a necromancer’s head before he could bring a spell to bear, and that’s an old joke that I’ve seen done many times in the past, and the other was his observation about another knight’s horse late in the book. People compare Prince of Thorns to Abercrombie's work, although Mark Lawrence has said that he did not read any Joe Abercrombie until after he’d written Prince of Thorns, but his story lacks the wit, charm, class and polish of his fellow fantasist.

Prince of Thorns does have the advantage of resolving most of it’s storyline in this volume, although the way is clearly open for the sequel. That was handy for me, because I was distinctly unimpressed by this and won’t be strapping in for the rest of the ride.

Heartless by Gail Carriger

2011-11-11T21:12:00.000-08:00

Heartless is the fourth book featuring the adventures of the soulless Alexia Maccon (nee Tarabotti).

In the course of the 3 preceding books of the Parasol Protectorate Alexia has gotten married to a werewolf, been made Queen Victoria's supernatural liaison, gone to Scotland, become pregnant and travelled throughout the continent.

In Heartless Alexia is back in England and trying to deal with her pregnancy. Being without a soul, Alexia is not the most maternal of ladies, she in fact refers to her unborn offspring as the 'infant inconvenience'. The Countess Nadasdy; Queen of the London vampire hive, has concerns about Alexia's child, as they believe any child of a preternatural is dangerous to her kind. To this end they're trying to kill her and her werewolf husband; Lord Conall Maccon, Alpha of the Woolsey pack.

The couple come to the conclusion that the best thing for Alexia's child is to adopt it out. Matters are complicated when Lady Maccon decides the best father for the child is her flamboyant friend, vampire about town; Lord Akeldama. This necessitates moving into the townhouse next to Akeldama's residence. Things are complicated when a mad ghost warns of an attempt on Queen Victoria's life and Alexia, despite her condition just has to investigate.

Heartless is exactly what readers have come to expect from the Parasol Protectorate with all sorts of steampunk madness from Alexia and Co. Many of the crowd favourites return; Conall and his level headed Beta Professor Lyall, Alexia's horrible half sister Felcity, who seems to have developed a social conscience and joined the suffragettes, Alexia's tasteless friend Ivy Tunstell, who also indicates that she is pregnant and is inducted into the Parasol Protectorate (in fact this is something Alexia made up specifically for Ivy) and gains the code name Puff Bonnet, Lord Akeldama and his pack of drones and the former vampire drone made werewolf; Biffy.

Although there is one more book planned in the Parasol Protectorate (Timeless due out in March 2012) this one has the feel of a finale and wraps nearly everything up neatly. I thought that this was the best installment so far and had some real character development, readers saw just how devious Felicity truly is, Alexia in particular developed significantly in Heartless. It is often remarked how little affection she has for others, her lack of feeling for her baby being one example, yet she seemed to develop very maternal feelings towards Biffy and was greatly concerned at how his lycanthropy was affecting him.

I must make note of the ridiculous surnames that Gail Carriger gives the gentry, or the ton as they are often referred to, they'r a highlight for me and Lord Akeldama's habit of never calling Alexia the same endearment twice. I can see the author chortling over her keyboard as she dreams these up.

Going Home

2011-11-09T22:27:00.001-08:00

The 13th phonebook; Going Home, is actually the first part of a larger arc which is called Going Home, the second part is contained in the 14th phonebook; Form and Void.

Before you crack the book open one thing strikes the reader as being different, the cover is in colour. All the other phonebooks have featured a black and white drawing. The cover of Going Home is also not a drawing, it’s a colour photograph of a green field on the edge of a dark forest. I believe all the individual issues at this point featured colour photographs.

It begins with Cerebus and Jaka travelling north together to Cerebus’ home of Sand Hills Creek. Since being separated from Cerebus at the end of Jaka’s Story, and being sent back to Palnu in disgrace, Jaka’s situation and her perception by the general populace and the Cirinists has changed. She’s called Princess Jaka, although she often asks to be called Jaka without the Princess honorific. The people, and even the Cirinists love her, and will seemingly do anything for her. I wondered if Oscar’s reads about her had anything to do with her celebrity status. No one says anything about her companion (Cerebus), and he’s treated with every kindness, although where possible he’s ignored.

On the surface of it their relationship seems happy, almost idyllic. They laugh and joke a lot. They certainly appear to be blissfully happy in public. In private Cerebus worries. He worries about the snail’s pace they’re travelling at, he doesn’t want to get snowed in on the wrong side of the Conniptin Mountains on the way to Sand Hills Creek. He worries about keeping Jaka happy. Someone at an inn told him that Jaka was ‘sad’, and the only way to maintain the relationship was to be happy enough for the both of them. Being happy is not Cerebus’ usual state of being, he does a pretty good job, though, despite the nagging internal doubts that plague him. His biggest concern regarding Jaka is what do they do when they get so far north that there are no more clothing huts. Jaka insists that she has to wear different clothes every day. Cerebus offers to ensure that her clothes are clean every day, but Jaka says they don’t have to be clean, they just have to be different. Eventually, faced with the possibility that the lack of clothing huts in the far north will mean losing Jaka, Cerebus agrees to go south. Everyone else went south, so why not?

Dave took time during Jaka and Cerebus’ tour of the northern inns to portray a few fellow comic book writers and artists. Greg Hyland, Rick Veitch (who had appeared previously in Guys) and Alan Moore, were all part of it. Alan Moore’s portrayal was particularly amusing, and I suspect very accurate.

To go south Cerebus and Jaka have to board a boat. The boat looks rather like a large barge crossed with a riverboat. It’s very well appointed and it’s passengers will travel in style. The boat seems entirely crewed and staffed by Cirinists, who are all referred to as Mother. Aside from the aardvark and his princess there only seems to be one other passenger, a notorious reads author by the name of F. Stop Kennedy. F. Stop Kennedy was Dave Sim’s version of popular 1920’s author F. Scott Fitzgerald. It reminded me of the way he had portrayed Oscar Wilde in Jaka’s Story and Melmoth.

In his extensive notes at the end of the book Sim says that drawing Fitzgerald accurately was not an easy task, as not a lot of photographic material featuring the writer was available. He confesses that of Fitzgerald’s work he preferred Tender is the Night and The Beautiful and the Damned to the work for which he is best remembered; The Great Gatsby. It seems that a lot of the way he saw the writer was drawn from those two novels, rather than Gatsby.

Jaka didn’t care for Oscar, in fact she despised the man, and she doesn’t hold Kennedy in much higher regard. As they travel down the river Kennedy works on a read, excerpts from which he occasionally reads out to the other two passengers, and are also often shown between pages. At one stage a few lines of handwriting appeared in the book. Dave Sim says in his notes that this was his attempt at recreating Fitzgerald’s handwriting, and although he says it may not pass muster with some of the better biographers, he thought he did a pretty good job. Being an artist Dave probably has an eye for this sort of thing. The presented story presumably done in the style of F. Scott Fitzgerald (I’ve never read any of the man’s works, so I can’t judge) is a written version of the story that readers are seeing also in drawn form. Dave Sim pushes the envelope again. Kennedy’s descent into alcoholism and his failing health were handled subtly and sensitively.

What hit me most was when the boat passed through Iest, or where Iest used to be. While Cerebus was floating around in space talking to Dave, Cirin returned to Estarcion, and was there during the ‘Iestan Tragedy’. Iest was destroyed. Of all of the settings for Cerebus Iest was my favourite. It’s why I called the blog Travels Through Iest (even though being a city state there wasn’t a lot of travelling to be done in Iest itself), so seeing it being completely obliterated and deserted was quite moving for me. These days people only came there to hear Cirin’s priestesses recite her version of events. A sort of religious pilgrimage.

There’s quite a bit of tension when Cerebus and Jaka decide to leave the boat. The Cirinists seem to have decided to take Cerebus out of the picture, armed troops are lined up on the waterfront and want to separate Jaka and Cerebus. Jaka works out what is happening and narrowly averts disaster. Their travels will continue in the second part of Going Home; Form and Void.

I’ve always been interested in the way Dave Sim seems to change the times in which Cerebus takes place to suit his material. The early issues took place in a Robert E. Howardesque setting to suit the barbarian warrior parody of the book. With High Society it shifted to a setting that was more reminiscent of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Most of Going Home, especially the boat trip seems to be in a 1920’s influenced setting, which fits with F. Stop Kennedy. The main anachronism there is the Cirinist’s uniforms, which have altered subtly to resemble nuns habits more than anything else.

I liked the first part with Cerebus and Jaka doing what they’d always talked about, travelling through Estarcion together, but I really didn’t see the need for a lot of the boat trip. Okay, I know that Dave Sim seemed to have developed a fascination for F. Scott Fitzgerald, the way he had for Oscar Wilde, but I do question the detail into which the writer was examined. At times it seems like Sim just filled in material for issue upon issue so he could reach the magical 300 mark. The Fitzgerald stuff wasn’t without interest, the same as the Wilde works, especially Melmoth, but I kind of felt they belonged in publications of their own rather than in Cerebus story, a story in which they only played peripheral roles, despite the amount of space devoted to lovingly portraying them.

With the exception of Cerebus himself, who always looks like a cartoon, the artwork is very realistic, almost photolike in quality. The mixture of artwork and slabs of prose is now familiar, and even other books by this stage were starting to experiment with this style of work.

The Iron Jackal

2011-11-08T22:26:00.000-08:00

In 2009 British fantasy author Chris Wooding (The Braided Path and The Fade) started a new series with Retribution Falls. As Retribution Falls was referred to as A Tale of The Ketty Jay, it was reasonable to assume that there would be further books in the future. Retribution Falls was a steampunk inspired, audience pleasing swashbuckler and it’s success and enjoyability was repeated in 2010 with the sequel Black Lung Captain. I’ve enjoyed and reviewed both books here. I was eager to get my hands on and read The Iron Jackal. The annual Tale of The Ketty Jay has become one of the highlights of my reading year.

Following the events of Black Lung Captain, smuggler Darian Frey and his rag tag crew have become minor celebrities. While being recognised for their efforts is nice the notoriety doesn’t put food on the table or aerium in the tanks of the Ketty Jay, so Frey takes on a retrieval job from his rival and occasional lover bounty hunter Trinica Dracken. The capturing of the item in question; a much wanted relic of a lost Vardian civilisation is dangerous enough, but it’s what happens when Frey is unwise enough to play around with the relic that really sets the explosive events of the book off and gives it the title.

Frey’s hand becomes infected with a daemon, a daemon that plagues the smuggler’s mind and will take his life if he can’t restore the relic to it’s original keeping place by a certain time. First Frey has to get the relic back, and he’ll need all his crew and their talents to do that. Then he has to get the one person in the world who can take him to the relic's origin, that individual is heavily guarded and his captors aren’t about to let him go without a fight. It’s about then that things really become dangerous…

Although I had a lot of fun reading The Iron Jackal I’ve come to expect that from this series and at times I had a bit of ‘I’ve seen this before’ air about the events. Chris Wooding has revealed so much about the crew that he didn’t have a lot left to tell us about them, although the former slave and mechanic, the taciturn Silo remained a bit of a closed book, so we got his background this time. I appreciated the story and it gave the character a lot more depth, he actually communicates in words now, not grunts and facial expressions, but his story didn’t have the same impact on me as navigator Jez’s secret, and the daemonist Grayther Crake’s tragic past did in Black Lung Captain. Wooding is gradually fleshing out the world, readers got to find out more about the Samarlans and their Arabian/North African influenced culture, plus a little bit about the almost mythical former dominant race of the planet.

I’m still trying to figure out exactly what the Manes are. I had thought they were something like zombies previously, but Jez’s actions and interactions with another member of that strange and powerful undead race made me think they’re more closely related to vampires.

Some of the action set pieces were fantastic and edge of the seat stuff. The hijacking of the train carrying the relic, twitchy pilot Harkins’ star turn in an insane flying race reminiscent of The Phantom Menace’s pod race and the explosive finale in the stronghold of a lost civilisation.

Darian Frey himself gained some more depth and readers saw other sides to him. It would appear that where Trinica is concerned he’s a bit of a hopeless romantic, plus he has affection for his crew that transcends his usual amorality. The interaction between Crake and his indestructible golem Bess were again highlights for me and it’s a testament to Chris Wooding’s skill that he can evoke such emotion using a character that has no voice and no facial expression. From the ending it also appears that the Ketty Jay has gained a crew member, but it will take the next book to see if this is a permanent addition to the roster.

Readers were reunited with old friends aside from the Ketty Jay’s crew in Trinica Dracken and the Century Knights Samandra Bree and Colden Grudge. I’m not certain we’ll see Grudge again, and he talks about as much as Bess, but I think Samandra will definitely return.

If anyone has enjoyed the first two Tales of the Ketty Jay, then they will also like The Iron Jackal, but to continue the strong start I think Chris Wooding will need to add a new string or two to his bow in forthcoming books.

Elfquest - Journey to Sorrow's End

2011-11-07T22:26:00.000-08:00

I’d always been interested in the concept of Elfquest as a graphic novel, but could never find the early issues to follow the story properly, so when I happened to see a cheap 2nd hand copy of the novel, which I believe is a prose version of some of the earlier issues, I decided to give it a try.

With things like Peter & Max (based on Bill Willingham’s Fables comic) and Agatha H. and the Airship City (the novelisation of the 1st 3 volumes of Phil and Kaja Foglio’s webcomic; Agatha Heterodyne Girl Genius) I’d been shown that successful comic concepts could make the jump into novels, and do it with class. I was hoping for similar story quality with Elfquest – Journey to Sorrow's End.

Wendy and Richard Pini were pioneers when it comes to independent publishing, and Elfquest was definitely an interesting and revolutionary concept in a market dominated by powerfully muscled guys in colourful costumes. They melded science fiction and fantasy to create a comic book version of an epic fantasy. Unfortunately for me it didn’t translate on this occasion.

The story is fairly simple. Some years ago a spacecraft landed on a planet with two moons. The local human inhabitants attack the craft and it’s pilots. Those that escape become the elves of the title.

The tribe that the story follows is that of the Wolfriders, they’ve dwelled in the nearby forests, which they call the Holt, and have bonded with a local wolf pack, hence the tribal name, they also use the wolves as steeds. They regularly fight with the humans, and in retaliation for a recent battle the humans set fire to the Holt. Forced from their home, and led by their chief Cutter, the Wolfriders initially seek refuge with the trolls. The trolls, wanting to be rid of the Wolfriders (I can’t actually say I blame them, the Wolfriders are a fairly obnoxious bunch), the trolls offer to lead them to a sanctuary they call Sorrow's End. They dupe the elves and instead leave them in a trackless desert.

With characteristic perseverance, and using their finely honed survival skills, the Wolfriders manage to make it through the desert and arrive at Sun Village. Sun Village is also inhabited by elves. They call themselves the Sun Folk, and they’re peaceful, they raise crops and farm, although they do have one designated hunter. Because the Wolfriders seem to exist for conflict they attack Sun Village, and Cutter carries off their healer and daughter of the chief; Leetah. They are pursued by the Sun Folk’s hunter; Rayek, who surprise, surprise is carrying a torch for Leetah.

The Sun Folk and the Wolfriders come to an agreement of sorts brokered by a first generation descendant of the original elves; a woman called Savah. The matter of who should have the right to court Leetah, Cutter or Rayek, is settled by a test of skills. There are some mildly tense moments during the trials, but Cutter was always going to win.

Humiliated, Rayek exiles himself, and with the Wolfriders the Sun Folk don’t require a hunter now in any case. The Wolfriders make themselves useful to the Sun Folk in the great zwoot (a sort of wild horse that the Sun Folk ride and use as a beast of burden, they also seem to eat them at times) round up. Leetah falls for Cutter and bonds to him. Fade to black.

I wanted to like this, but I just couldn’t. The idea of an elf society being similar to a native American tribe was a good one, but the book failed in so many other ways. What works in a comic using drawings doesn’t necessarily work in a prose novel. The characters were very two dimensional. The fact that the Wolfriders all had these wildly alliterative names: Dewshine, Skywise, Strongbow, I felt like I was reading roll call in a hippy commune, didn’t help me differentiate between them. Of the three leads I took an instant dislike to the boastful Cutter and the stiff necked intolerant Rayek. I liked Leetah a little more, but even her attraction to Cutter, while continually referring to him as a barbarian was totally unbelievable and rather tiresome. The idea, while it was original as a comic, and maybe slightly less hackneyed in the early 80’s when the book was originally published, was very trite and has been done over and over since, often a lot better. Then there is the prose itself. Oh my God! Overblown, too alliterative, overly descriptive, again what you can convey in a few strokes of a brush (Wendy Pini is quite a talented artist) is a very different thing when you’re trying to write it down and describe it in words, and the writing talents of Wendy Pini and husband Richard simply weren’t up to it in this book.

To be totally honest I only managed to finish this because I hate to give up on a book. If I hadn’t bought it very cheaply I’d feel ripped off. The original comics may be quite entertaining, everything I’ve heard says that they are, so if you’re at all interested in Elfquest you may want to track them down, but avoid this novel at all costs.