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Brandon Sanderson: Elantris

Posted by Raphael on October 3rd, 2011 Comments Off

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Elantris is a standalone novel by Brandon Sanderson, in fact his first published book. It takes place in and around the ancient city Elantris which used to be a place of magic and peace, its inhabitants immortal and beautiful. Food, healing and any material good could be created with a handwave. Any Arelonian could be taken by the Shaod and become an Elantrian—a god, effectively—for eternity. But “eternity ended ten years ago”¹. Since then, Elantrians have been looking like zombies and their magic has not been working. General populace panicked, killed as many of the obviously cursed as they could and established a new kingdom. But the Shaod continues to turn people of all kinds into walking dead.

Raoden², the crown prince of Arelon, awakens one morning to find himself an Elantrian. He is immediately thrown into Elantris as custom dictates; to cover up the shame he is declared dead, killed by a hideous disease. He discovers that his transformed body can not die; the downside is that wounds do not heal either and hurt forever. Also, not needing food is not the same as not feeling hungry; in a place without food, most are plagued by a constant hunger. Therefore, most Elantrians have descended to a primal state, preying on the weak to ease their pains for even a moment. Raoden refuses to give up his humanity and tries to help his peers to overcome constant hunger and increasing pain.

Raodens bride-to-be Sarene arrives in Kae, capital of Arelon, just in time to find her spouse diseased. Contract forces her to be King Iadon’s daughter nonetheless for political reasons. Smart and emancipated—but also naive—Sarene observes that Arelon crumbles on the inside and is threatened by the fanatic emperor of Fjorden from the outside and decides to make it her job to safe the kingdom. She ends up plotting revolution with Raodens old comrades who all believe him dead. Read more »

This is the prologue’s last sentence. I think it is a great one; it made utterly sure I would read on. ↩
Have a look at the pronunciation guide. ↩

John Scalzi: Old Man’s War

Posted by Raphael on September 26th, 2011 Comments Off

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Some centuries into the future, humanity has colonised several worlds using the skip drive for FTL travel. Earth, however, has become a backwater because of overly hesitant and cautious politicians; the level of technology appears barely above ours today. There is next to no contact with colonies; whoever leaves does never come back. Only people from overpopulated countries have the opportunity to become colonists. Citizens of richer countries get only one shot at leaving earth for good: becoming a soldier. When U.S. citizens turn 65, they can sign up to join the Colonial Defense Force at the age of 75. Convinced that the CDF has to make them young again in some way, many sign up—including John Perry, the narrator of this story.

We join John for the ride that starts at his 75th birthday; he leaves earth, is rejuvenated (I won’t spoil the details) and joins the battle for humanity’s survival in a less than friendly galactical neighbourhood. With a death rate of more than 75% over a duty cycle of ten years, chances are he will never get to enjoy another life again; so he’d better enjoy this one!

Old Man’s War is fun. Imagine your grandfather on steroids, an iPhone in his brain and a machine gun at the ready; a fantastic premise! It is a delight to read how John and the other gaffers deal with new lives, new technology and war. On the other hand, we get serious, quite brutal battle scenes. Think Space Cowboys cross-bred with Starship Troopers to get an idea. John’s cynical way to think about the wonders and horrors of his job marks the main conflict in the book.

Sadly, there is not much of a story in terms of chains of events through much of Old Man’s War. There are hints at larger questions, though; for example, what are the motives for the Colonies’ aggression? Maybe the big picture is explored more thoroughly in the sequels. All in all, the book was fun to read, thanks to exciting technology and tart humor among the old guys. Sequels, here I come!

Aaron Allston: Solo Command

Posted by Raphael on September 19th, 2011 Comments Off

7.5 ABY

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Solo Command is book seven of the X-wing series and third and last book dealing with Wraith Squadron. Part of Han Solo’s fleet group alongside several capital ships and Rogue Squadron, the Wraiths continue hunting Zsinj. The plan is to lure him and his mighty flagship Iron Fist somewhere the Super Star Destroyer can easily be destroyed. But assassination attempts by non-humans on Admiral Ackbar, Mon Mothma, Wedge Antilles and others fuel old distrusts throughout the ranks of New Republic military. Meanwhile, Lara Notsil’s cover becomes thinner as Myn Donos of all people declares romantic interest in his squad mate.

Solo Command is a usual X-wing book: fast paced, well-written action and a little dry humor. In this instance, some intriguing intelligence work adds to the book’s qualities. Typical weaknesses regarding characters are not as dominant in this book as in some of its prequels but still there. All in all, it is a decent final book for the Wraiths who enter stage again only during the New Jedi Order series.

Tad Williams: Shadowheart

Posted by Raphael on September 12th, 2011 Comments Off

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In Shadowheart, volume four of Tad William’s Shadowmarch series, Barrick and Briony arrive at Southmarch with their respective armies and take up the fight against the overpowering Autarch whose army is breaking down the castle’s wall bit by bit. Inside, Matti Tinwright is caught spying and forced into Hendon Tolly’s gruesome employ. Unbeknownst to the castle’s inhabitants, Captain Vansen and his Funderling comrades fight in a valiant effort to slow down the Xandians; they can not be allowed to reach the Mysteries before Midsummer. With the end near, both Rooftoppers and Skimmers—until now mainly passive observers of events—join the fray alongside their Qar relatives. Midsummer is drawing near.

Shadowheart is one long, bloated battle that diminishes the actual climax. The final reveals are unsatisfying because they seem unimportant or have been obvious since two books before. Even after the finale itself, Williams goes on with some rather embarrassing explanations which try to make things plausible in hindsight.

The Shadowmarch series as a whole is rather atypical. It has a weak start, strong middle and a weak, outdrawn ending. Williams is a good writer in terms of local suspension; there are great scenes with psychological dramas between Olin and Sulepis, Yasammez is a frightening presence whenever she enters stage, the small Rooftoppers are a delight, and the Funderling defense effort is just a great read. The books are decent in other aspects, too, especially because of Williams’ worldbuilding. He took the Greek pantheon and let things get terribly out of hand. Proposing three different religious views on the godly war and having their believers battle for supremacy is a fascinating idea. Read more »

Anne Bishop: Twighlight’s Dawn

Posted by Raphael on September 5th, 2011 Comments Off

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Twighlight’s Dawn by Anne Bishop is a compiliation of four short stories set in the world of the Black Jewels trilogy. Two of them take place between Tangled Webs and The Shadow Queen, another ten years after that and the last spans the subsequent decades.

In Winsol Gifts, the SaDiablo family prepares for Windsol celebrations and has to deal with physical and psychological aftermath of the events in Tangled Webs. It is a mainly character driven story that adds to the depth of side characters like Surreal and Prince Rainer.

Shades of Honor deals with events in Lucivar’s domain Askavi. Still recovering Surreal and Rainier come there in order to train back to their old form under Lucivar’s supervision. They arrive just in time to see an aristo not satisfied with Lucivar’s rule start a rebellion, teaching Lucivar some lessons about proper ruling.

Family is responsible for this book’s grit. A family friend and her children are attacked by a demon-dead serial rapist and murderer. The SaDiablos hunt him down.

The High Lord’s Daughter tells a sad, but inevitable story: since Jeanell is shortlived she dies with Daemon still a young man. One year later, Daemon struggles to pick up his life again as he promised his late wife. His family helps but it takes him decades for him to let go.

On average, I quite liked the stories although they feel like light fare, especially for the full hardcover price. The books set in Shalador which were only loosely related to the SaDiablos were better as everything seems to be told about the family for the time being. I wonder what is next? The last story reads like an epilogue for the Black Jewels universe as far as Jeanelle’s arc is concerned, but it also opens up a lot of possibilities for further stories.