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MOST DISAPPOINTING FANTASY SERIES (UPDATED)

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Bookwraiths

On this “Most Disappointing Fantasy Series List,” you will find those novels that, in my opinion, are not enjoyable reads. Now, I love fantasy: heroic fantasy, epic fantasy, and all the other varieties (Grimdark was not a personal favorite, but is slowly becoming one.), so to make this list, the series must REALLY have struck a wrong cord with me. It does not necessarily mean that the series is terrible or that each book in it is unenjoyable, but rather that after reading one, two or all of the books, I feel that there were much better fantasy series out there that I could have spent my finite reading time on.

Does that mean you should never read the books on this list?

Absolutely not. Just because I did not appreciate a certain writer’s style or the story they were telling, does not mean that others might not love them, so please take this list as solely my personal opinion about these fantasy series and try the books out before you cast them on the “Never To Be Read” pile.

So without further apologizes, here is my list of the Most Disappointing Fantasy Series.

30. The Windameire Circle by Niel Hancock.

Back in the late 1970s and earlier 1980s, Mr. Hancock penned these thirteen, high fantasy novels. The Atlanton Earth books, as they were termed, contained the standard fantasy tropes of epic quests and anthropomorphic animals similar to those in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia, and like Lewis, Mr. Hancock incorporated spiritual themes into his books, though he used mainly Buddhism and Eastern religions. And because I was new to fantasy and because there were not that many fantasy titles to choose from on my local bookstore’s shelf, I picked several of these novels up. I got through them, but I can’t really say I enjoyed them very much.

Buy The Fires of Windameir at Amazon.

29. Guardians of the Flame by Joel Rosenberg

This early 1980s D&D-esque series about a group of gamers magically transported to their RPG world, who then assume the identities of their role playing characters was never a huge favorite of mine — even when I was a D&D addict back in the early 1980s. Sure, it sounded like a decent idea, loaded with potential for soem excitement and laughs, but after reading the first two books and being let down by the writing, I felt so ashamed that I got rid of them and refused to admit I’d ever read them. So big disappointment – especially to my teenage self.

Buy The Guardians of the Flame at Amazon.

28. The Loremasters of Elendium by Mike Jefferies

This late 1980s fantasy series was full of magic, talking animals, and the sing-song, poetic language that all “high” fantasy novels used during the period. Nothing inherently wrong with any of that, especially considering “when” the series was published, but after two books, the one dimensional characters had become confusing as well as boring; the world building was a convoluted mess; and the resolution of the plot was too quick and easy for my tastes. Even for a fantasy junkie like me, The Loremasters of Elendium just did not make the cut.

Buy Road to Underfall at Amazon.

27. Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer by James Silke

To save his land from the unstoppable Kitzaak Horde, Gath of Baal dons a magical helmet belonging to the Master of Darkness, becoming the Death Dealer: an invincible demon in human form with a thirst for blood. Naturally, the price Gath pays for this power is very high — his very soul!

Obviously, this is an old school sword and sorcery tale, which can be damn good IF the writer is top notch. Therein lies the problem with this book: the writing quality. It is on the poor side, turning what could have been a decent sword and sorcery story into a third rate Conan clone.

Buy Prisoner of the Horned Helmet at Amazon.

26. Everien by Valery Leith

Tarquin the Free lost his courage, then his honor, when he abandoned eight companions to die in a magical, floating city years ago. Outcast from his people, forever barred from returning home, Tarquin is the only one who can now warn them of the arrival of the invincible Sekk, and, if he can find the courage, return to the floating city to discover the secret knowledge to defeat them.

Sounded decent. Unfortunately, it was morbidly confusing with such indistinct characters that I had no idea who was doing what most of the time or whether it was internal monologue or actual conversation. After a book and a half, I gave up trying.

Buy The Company of Glass at Amazon.

25. Magics by Lyndon Hardy

In the first book of this trilogy, a reader gets to follow Aldor as he goes on an “epic quest” to master the five schools of magic. (Unsurprisingly, Aldor undertakes this mission to obtain the hand of the fair lady, Queen Vendora, in marriage.) After having spent the entire first novel setting up the rules of magic, naturally, the second book destroys them and introduces a new main character, Jemidon, who must discover why they are ceasing to exist and fix everything before chaos is unleashed upon the lands. I’m not sure what ultimately happened in the last novel, because I stopped reading. It wasn’t that the books were bad as much as they were the same old themes rehashed over and over with the same characters with different names.

Buy Master of the Five Magics at Amazon.

24. The Darksword by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

This series by the authors of Dragonlance Chronicles and Dragonlance Legends focused on a world of magic where everyone had magical abilities, except for the hero, Joram, who had no magic at all. Even though it was formulaic I wanted to care about Joram’s quest to discover his place in the world, but it never really worked for me. Mainly, I found I didn’t care about him or any of the other characters; they were all generic and forgettable. The experience was terribly disappointed, so much so that I’ve never read a non-Dragonlance novel written by either author since.

Buy Forging the Darksword at Amazon.

23. The Dark Border by Paul Edwin Zimmer

The dark border was a great fantasy setting where powerful entities of good and evil were locked in an endless battle over the world, one intent to destroy everything, while the other marshaled the resources of the whole world to maintain a worldwide line of magic towers to hold back the evil tide. This conflict an eternal battle until the world itself ceases to be! Unfortunately, Zimmer’s writing was inconsistent, struggled with pacing and characterization, and caused all four books in the series to be rather disappointing affairs. Such a waste.

Buy A Gathering of Heroes at Amazon.

22. The Emperor’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker

A steampunk-esque fantasy following the exploits of Amaranthe Lokdon, a young police woman of the Turgonian Empire, stuck in a dead-end position below her qualifications. Naturally, within no time, our heroine accidentally impresses the Emperor, enrages the real power behind the throne, falls in with the most dangerous assassin in the world, and begins her life as the leader of a very unusual band of secret operatives. And while other readers love the campy silliness, I just could not get on the bandwagon, finding the plot and characters more stupid than hilarious. Different people like different things, I suppose.

Buy The Emperor’s Edge Collection at Amazon.

21. Elemental Wars by Freya Robertson

Heartwood is the center of the world, but now the Arbor, the holy tree, is dying, causing a grand council to convene to determine a way to cure it. From this meeting of the wise and powerful, a group of heroes are sent off on seven epic quests. And while I desperately wanted to like this series due to the traditional concept, the stiff writing style ruined it for me, as I never felt any emotional attachment to any of the characters. When I don’t care about the characters, ultimately, I lose interest in the story.

Buy Heartwood at Amazon.

20. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

The poor farm boy, Eragon, finds a polished blue stone in the forest and takes it home. Little does he know that the stone is priceless beyond imagination, as, soon, a dragon hatchling emerges and changes Eragon’s life forever! The story that follows is a little Lord of the Ring, a little Star Wars, and a lot of over-used fantasy tropes. I can totally understand kids or young adults really loving this one, I’m afraid everyone else might as well skip it.

Buy Eragon at Amazon.

19. The Deeds of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon

A farm girl runs away and joins the military so as not to marry an idiot boy her father has chosen as her future husband. From there, she steadily becomes a legend. Ms. Moon definitely crafts an excellent narrative with this series, deftly interweaving fantasy themes, intriguing characters, and a realistic portrayal of military life and combat, but, unfortunately, I didn’t find The Deeds of Paksenarrion very interesting, which was a big disappointment — especially since all of my friends back at the time really loved it.

Buy The Deed of Paksenarrion at Amazon.

18. Darkness by Harry Turtledove

This is a fantasy retelling of World War II. Dragons replace aircraft, leylines replace trains, magic replaces guns/cannons, and all the people/nations of WWII are renamed but easy to guess. The story is fairly straightforward and entertaining, but it fails to deliver any suspense, as anyone with a basic knowledge of WWII will know which country is going to be invaded and conquered, which people are going to be persecuted and placed into concentration camps, and how the good guys are going to eventually end the war. After a while, this causes the books to become annoyingly boring. At least, it did to me.

Buy Into the Darkness at Amazon.

17. Shadow Saga by John Sprunk

This tale about a lone assassin going on a quest to discover his past wasn’t meant to be too serious, and I went into the series understanding such and expecting a light, fun read, which I fully received from the first book. After that though the story took a nose-dive until I was mystified why it took three books for the author to get to the ultimate conclusion. To say I was disappointed in the ending would be a huge understatement, because it basically made the entire story irrelevant.

Buy Shadow’s Son at Amazon.

16. Khaavren Romances by Steven Brust

Mr. Brust is an unabashed fan of Alexander Dumas; the Khaavren Romances his attempt to emulate the master of such swashbuckling classics as The Man in the Iron Mask and The Count of Monte Cristo; and if one read this series understanding that it is meant as a simulacrum of The Three Musketeers, then you might have a chance of enjoying it. But if you (like me) pick it up expecting a dazzling story with crisp dialogue, amazing magic and the like, then you will probably be almost as disappointed in it as I was after forcing myself to slog through three books. Honestly, if I want to read Dumas, I’ll just read Dumas. “Yawn.”

Buy The Phoenix Guards at Amazon.

15. The Childe Morgan by Katherine Kurtz

I began reading Mrs. Kurtz’s Deryni series back in the early 1980s when I was a kid, so in a manner of speaking, I have grown up with these characters, which made this trilogy about one of my favorite characters from the original Deryni series, the famous Alaric Morgan, seem like a sure thing. It didn’t work out though. These early chapters in Alaric’s life reading more like a history book than a novel. Sure, it’s great at filling in gaps in the lore of the Deryni world and its people, but other than for background material, this series was a big disappointment to me.

Buy In The King’s Service at Amazon.

14. The Riftwar Legacy by Raymond E. Feist

This trilogy was Mr. Feist’s novelization of the computer game, Betrayal at Krondor, and, unfortunately, the books read just like that: Complete Quest A. Now that you have completed Quest A you need to complete Quest B! There was little characterization, lots of forced camaraderie, major characters disappearing for no reason, and the dialogue was forced and fairly awful. Overall, this was a trilogy which did not need to be written, nor did it add anything to Feist’s ongoing Riftwar saga. It was bad. Wish I could find some silver lining in the experience, but I just can’t.

Buy Krondor the Betrayal at Amazon.

13. Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes Lackey is a prolific writer, having published more books in her fantasy world than most authors have ever dreamed of writing. Unfortunately, I have been disappointed in the ones I have tried, and I have tried more than a few: Arrows of the Queen, Vows and Honor, The Last Herald-Mage, and Mage Winds among others. So I do feel I’ve made a good faith effort to understand why my fantasy friends have enjoyed her writing over the years, yet the simple fact of the matter is that I do not enjoy Valdemar, which is disappointing.

Buy Arrows of the Queenat Amazon.

12. Vlad Taltos by Steven Brust

Vlad Taltos is a member of the human minority of the Dragaeran Empire, born into the lowest class of society, but a noble due to a smart purchase by his dad. Vlad’s “house” one huge criminal organization (Think modern day mafia.), where he acts as a minor crime lord, selling his assassin services and overseeing certain interests of his royal house. The series which follows basically mafia/detective stories glossed over with a thin veneer of fantasy names and places to conceal that you are really reading a modern crime story. If that appeals to you, give this one a try, as for me it made me “yawn.”

Buy The Book of Jhereg at Amazon.

11. Book of Swords by Fred Saberhagen

Set in a world where an ancient war changed the very laws of nature, gods and giants stalk the earth, playing malicious games with human lives by unleashing twelve swords of power; each blade the physical embodiment of its unique moniker. And while I was really captivated by the idea of this story, thought it sounded damn cool and wanted to love the series back in the 1980s, I never could get into the novels after book one. I tried and tried to like them. It just never happened. I’m still disappointed it did not work out.

Buy First Book of Swords at Amazon.

10. The Crescent Moon Kingdoms by Saladin Ahmed

Epic fantasy in an Arabian Nights-like setting with ghuls (zombies), ghul hunters, ghul apocalypses and tea. Lots and lots of tea. Honestly, the main character spent more time worried about getting his greedy hands on his next cup of tea than the ghul apocalypse which was supposedly ominously hovering over his home town. How this rather dull narrative was ever nominated for so many prestigious awards is beyond me, because after finishing it all I wanted to do was grab a good cup of tea and an exciting book to sit down and read, because this one was a huge bore from beginning to end.

Buy Throne of the Crescent Moon at Amazon.

9. The Mallorean by David Eddings

This sequel to The Belgariad picked up where that series left off, introducing another ancient prophecy and another grand quest for our heroes. And to be fair, I loved The Mallorean back in the day, not so much due to it providing me with an amazing story, but because I was able to keep spending time with my childhood friends. Even then, I recall being a little disappointed deep down by the conclusion to this series. I guess I knew that instead of a new epic adventure of Garion and friends all I’d been reading was a rehashing of The Belgariad, which disappointed me and made me more than a little sad — though I couldn’t admit it back then.

Buy The Malloreon, Vol. 1 at Amazon.

8. Deverry by Katharine Kerr

This classic, epic saga is found among many readers’ most beloved fantasy series, and, honestly, I wish I had a very eloquent reason for why I’ve never warmed to it, but I don’t. You see, I willingly concede Kerr’s work has masterful world-building, complex character development, a unique magic system, and even does a great job of bringing Welsh culture to life. However, I just do not like the books. What’s worse is I’ve tried very hard to like them, reading Daggerspell three times and attempting Darkspell on each occasion only to stop in frustration at my sheer boredom. For that reason, Deverry is a disappointment to me.

Buy Daggerspell at Amazon.

7. The Crimson Empire by Alex Marshall

This was a well-written story which made certain to use every one of the grimdark tropes. The only problem was the caricature characters, the ridiculous plots, and a tendency to favor shocking moments over well thought out plot lines. Certainly, the book had potential, but it just did not measure up to superior books in the grimdark genre. All of which meant that this one was a huge disappointment.

Purchase A Crown for Cold Silver at Amazon.

6. Worldbreaker Saga by Kameron Hurley

Great cover. Tremendous hype. An award winning author. And a story of a recurring cataclysm about to strike an unsuspecting world, turning everyone against one another, as worlds collide. Unfortunately, this epic had loads and loads of problems from plot to pacing to characters. If you are interested in all the reasons why this one disappointed me, then I have a lengthy review posted here as well.

Buy at Amazon.

5. Shattered Sea by Joe Abercrombie

Perhaps my expectations were set too high when I picked this young adult grimdark up, but in my defense, I’d heard such praise for Abercrombie’s work that I knew this trilogy was going to be great. But it wasn’t. Good, perhaps. Adequate, maybe. Not great though. Yarvi’s story and the world feeling familiar, unexciting, and meh, if you will. What made it worse was that each book grew worse in my eyes, not better. Overall, the trilogy was a bitter disappointment for me personally.

Buy at Amazon.

4. The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

The Farseer Trilogy follows the life of Fitz, bastard son of the king-in-waiting Chivalry, who is trained to become a royal assassin. Unfortunately, I never finished the series back in the late 1990s, as I found it to be the most depressing story I had ever read up to that time. Truly, I had never experienced a story with so many idiotic heroes, so many unredeemed villains, and so many horrible catastrophes occurring to characters. I’m not ruling out giving this series another try one day, but all I know is I am going to need better anti-depression medication to get through it.

Buy Assassin’s Apprentice at Amazon.

3. Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams

This trilogy is a classic; experts praising its wonderful world building, its magnificent characterization, and its Tolkien-esque touches. I, however, found it to be horribly boring. This epic journey a bloated, formulaic trip to no where. The tale lacking suspense, devoid of surprises. Instead, it was the familiar fantasy trope of simple boy leaves the kitchen to journey across the land until everything is resolved by a nice, neat ending. My disappointment so great after finishing this trilogy that I’ve never read Tad Williams again.

Buy The Dragonbone Chair at Amazon.

2. Demon Cycle by Peter Brett

This tale of a world ravaged by demons every night with humankind cowering behind warded walls really sparked my imagination. Book one truly one of the best fantasy novels I’d read in many years. But then book two and three came out and rehashed the same old story over and over again. I’m not sure if book four turned things around, because by that point I was done with the series. Huge disappointment after the brilliance of The Warded Man.

Buy The Mirror Empire: Worldbreaker Saga 1 at Amazon.

1. Winterlands by Barbara Hambly

Dragonsbane was a fantasy standalone which was light, naive, filled with likable characters and headlined by an endearing couple. so this return to this world and these characters seemed like an amazing idea. However, the Winterlands trilogy was disappointing in every way with Ms. Hambly tormenting the main characters from Dragonsbane, John Aversin and Jenny Waynest, in a ridiculous way, tearing both their relationship and their personalities apart. It was so bad the author reversed directions in the last book, turning it into something of apology to her fans, who had loudly voiced their displeasure with the series. All in all, reading this trilogy was a bitter disappointing in many ways, one I wish I could forget.

Buy Dragonshadow at Amazon.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY BEST OF FANTASY LISTS.

Posted in Fantasy, Lists | Tagged Barbara Hambly, David Eddings, disappointing fantasy books, disappointing fantasy series, epic fantasy series, fantasy I didn't like, high fantasy series, margaret weis, raymond e. feist, robin hobb, Steven Brust, Tad Williams, tracy hickman, worst fantasy, worst fantasy series | 24 Comments

SOJOURN by RON MARZ and GREG LAND

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Bookwraiths

My rating is 3 out of 5 stars.

Back in the day, there was a comic publisher that decided to take on the Big Two (DC and Marvel) by doing something different. Headed by the creative team of Barbara Kesel, Mark Waid and Ron Marz, CrossGen comics began publishing stories based not on superheroes but non-traditional comic fare, such as fantasy (Mystic), science fiction (Crux), Victorian detective (Ruse), and samurai action adventure (The Path). Not only that, but CrossGen became one of the first comic publishers to sell subscription to their comics on the internet, allowing subscribers to view all CrossGen’s titles through their web browser. Unfortunately, after some initial success, CrossGen went bankrupt a few years later, but it is easy to enjoy these old series through some really nice trade paperbacks like Sojourn Vol. 1: From the Ashes, which reprints the Sojourn Prequel and issues #1-6.

This epic fantasy series is set in the Five Lands of the planet Quin, which are inhabited by different races. Like most classical fantasy tales, Sojourn employs the standard plot devices of the genre – things like evil-world-conqueror-with-no-redeeming-qualities, hero-who-has-lost-everything-now-determined-for-revenge, and mysterious-magical-entity-helping-guide-hero-for-unknown-reason. Here the “bad guy” is one Mordath, who was killed in the past by a god-like figure named Ayden, but who has now been resurrected and has unleashed unending war and slaughter on the five lands. Opposing this would-be conqueror is a woman archer named Arwyn (I have no idea where the writer got this fantasy name from, do you?) who has her life ripped apart when her city and her family are destroyed by Mordath’s rampaging armies. Thereafter, our beautiful heroine determines to kill Mordath no matter the cost, and so she sets out with her loyal dog Kreeg to do just that.

Along her way to vengeance, Arwyn finds an unlooked for and unlikely partner in the famed one-eyed archer Gareth, who is basically Han Solo with an eyepatch and bow. Together, the two companions and their faithful dog stumble from one intense action scene to another. They fight. They run. They kill. They are almost killed. And the whole time, they continue to look like super models stepping off the page of a fashion magazine. But the one thing that they do not do is kill Mordath in this collection, and that is because of something I like to call the epic quest.

EPIC QUEST WARNING! EPIC QUEST WARNING! EPIC QUEST WARNING!

Oh yes, as our two would-be saviors of the five lands bumble their way toward vengeance at any cost, they find themselves saved from certain death by a mysterious sorceress named Neven, and it is she, who in her fantastically obtuse way, explains to Arwyn that she must set forth on an epic quest to recover the pieces of a legendary arrow of Ayden. Only when these pieces are reunited can Mordath be killed. And thus, the ongoing plot line of the comic series is established.

As for the art in this collection, I am somewhat torn in my appreciation for it. On one hand, it is filled with great eye-candy artwork by Greg Land that really pops off the page when you are reading and is filled with cheesecake image after cheesecake image. However, that beautiful artwork is also full of Greg Land’s normal problems of drawing everyone as a super model, having a limited number of male and female models for his characters, and struggling to portray character movement on the page. To further illustrate what I mean, let me point out a few specific details of the art in this collection.

1) Gareth and Arwyn are stunningly beautiful; both of them could have walked off a design show catwalk. Even when they are grieving for dead family, chained in a dungeon, or crawling through sewage, both of them do not have a hair out of place on their gorgeous heads. While that is the norm for a lot of comics, it is so bad in this collection that the character’s impeccable looks make the story unbelievable, because their expressions and poses do not mimic the narrative. I mean, how can Arwyn be posing like she is on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover when she is grieving over a dead child?

2) Many times while reading Sojourn, I had to remind myself that this comic was not The Uncanny X-Men, because Gareth looks amazingly like Scott Summers (Cyclops) from Land’s run there and Arwyn is the twin sister of Emma Frost. Who knew Sojourn was an alternate Marvel world?

3) During fights, Arwyn looks like she is posing for a photo shoot rather than actually drawing her bow or punching an enemy. I’m all for cheesecake pictures in comics, but once again, Land takes this to the extreme in my mind.

After reading Sojourn Vol. 1: From the Ashes, all I can say is that – even with its issues – it was a fun, action adventure comic. Honestly, it is best described as a bubble gum version of the Lord of the Rings movies with action galore, sappy morality, and a few laughs. When you add in a couple of likeable heroes in Arwyn and Gareth, a despicable villain to hate in Mordath plus a loyal dog, you have a paperback version of your latest Hollywood blockbuster action film. Well worth the price of a used copy!

Purchase the graphic novel at Amazon.

Posted in Graphic Novels, S & S | Tagged Arwyn, Barbara Kesel, CrossGen, CrossGen Comics, epic fantasy comic, fantasy comic, Graphic novel, Greg Land, Mordath, Ron Marz, Sojourn | 5 Comments

MALICE by JOHN GWYNNE

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Bookwraiths

Malice by John Gwynne

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Faithful and the Fallen #1

Publisher: Tor (December 2, 2012)

Author Information:Website

Length: 640 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Malice by John Gwynne is the first book in The Faithful and the Fallen series, and it is an epic fantasy that has flown under the radar of a lot of fantasy aficionados. After reading it, I can understand that to some extent, because – in this time when grimdark and its close cousins are all the rage – Malice is more of a classic fantasy story with many of the tropes that go along with that term. However, where some novels might flounder under those classic themes, Malice embraces them, turning them into a very engaging and entertaining story; one that any fantasy lover will find themselves enjoying.

The story begins in the familiar vein of a disgruntled young man turning to evil entities for power. In this case, it is one Evnis, who, as the second son of a noble house, feels himself mocked and overshadowed by his older brother. Thus, he turns to an ancient demon for succor, and so finds himself standing before a magical fire, watching as a man is sacrificed to call forth his chosen benefactor. This ancient enemy of the world promises untold power to Evnis in return for Evnis himself. With some doubts, the youth agrees to the trade.

From here the tale skips forward in time several decades. (A plot devise that I generally hate, but here it fits nicely.) Now, we see Evnis as a man, married with a child and grown in power, as the chief counselor to the King of Ardan. Perhaps he is not the ultimate power in his land, but Evnis is still an important figure at court, and he is happy with his life. His love for his wife having overshadowed his hunger for power and cast back the darkness within himself for a time. However, Evnis’ wife is deathly ill, and with her death, there looms a chasm of darkness, not only for Evnis but for all the lands.

For in The Banished Lands, there is an ancient prophecy of a coming war between the gods. A time when the great demon himself, Asroth, will seek to destroy the world. But before this calamity takes place, there will be by dire signs of its eminence: bleeding stones, war between man and giant, and a day when the noon day sun turns black. At this time, there will arise in the land the champions of the gods: The Bright Star (champion of good) and The Black Sun (champion of evil), and all people will choose sides with one or the other, as the whole world is swept up in war and darkness and death.

From this point, Mr. Gwynne uses multiple characters to develop the story, and even if many are standard fantasy fare, they are well written, fully developed, and uniquely entertaining.

On one side of the land, we have the Kingdom of Ardan, where the young boy, Corban, is growing up in a small fishing village outside the walls of Dun Carreg, fortress-city of King Brenin of Ardan. Young Corban’s life is an idyllic mixture of friendship, family, and faith. He deals with childlike concerns even as he learns the fighting skills to become a man. And beside him much of the time is his sister Cywen, a dagger throwing, tough talking, and ferocious young woman, who is always in the center of the action. Plus let us not forget that the villainous Evnis lurks nearby; the darkness twisting within his soul only waiting for a time to erupt and consume all his enemies.

Seemingly a world away from Ardan is the Kingdoms of Tenebral and Isiltir. Here we are allowed to experience the complex pattern of human nature by Veradis and Kastell. Two young nobles from different kingdoms, who find themselves coming together as friends before being swept apart by their choices and fate itself.

Veradis is a warrior born and bred, sent to the capital city of Tenebral to earn both respect and experience in service to his king. Soon, however, our young swordsman finds himself the fast friend of Prince Nathair of Tenebral; a brilliant youth who is the epitome of all a future king should be: handsome, strong, eloquent, brave, and enlightened. And Veradis finds himself rising to heights of authority and power he had never dreamt of attaining, but he soon finds that the web of friendship, respect, and adoration that ties him to Nathair also has a dark side, for the Prince of Tenebral dreams of more than following in his father’s footsteps as king but of becoming something even more legendary: The Bright One himself.

Kastell, on the other hand, is a man bereft of his home and family, having been raised by his uncle, the King of Isiltir, and embroiled in a life long rivalry with his cousin, Jael. A rivalry that has evolved to the point that it has become a life or death contest; one that cannot be quenched even by order of the king. Thus, Kastell and his ever loyal friend Maquin find themselves attempting to find their own way in the world away from the shadow of the throne of Isiltir. However, no matter how far they run from Kastell’s cousin fate seems to draw them back; the inevitable confrontation of Kastell and Jael surely to result in the death of one or both of them.

When you mix these entertaining characters with great lore, some nice battles, ferocious giants, sinuous wyrms, mighty draigs, and fearsome wolven, you have a really enjoyable classic, fantasy tale. Sure, many might say the story starts off a little sluggish, as Mr. Gwynne gets the set up put in the place and introduces all these characters, but once the tale starts moving forward it is quite the enjoyable ride.

Does Malice reinvent the fantasy genre?

No.

Is it worth a read?

Absolutely. It is a solid start to an intriguing epic fantasy series. I enjoyed it immensely by the end and look forward to reading further about this world. Hopefully, you will give it a try and join me in this journey through the God-War.

Netgalley and the publisher provided this book to me for free in return for an honest review. The review above was not paid for or influenced in any way by any person, entity or organization, but is my own personal opinions.

Purchase the novel at Amazon.

Posted in Epic, Fantasy, High | Tagged best fantasy novels, epic fantasy, epic fantasy series, John Gwynne, Malice, The Faithful and the Fallen, Valour | 11 Comments

THE FOREVER ENGINE by FRANK CHADWICK

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Bookwraiths

My rating is 3 out of 5 stars.

The Forever Engine by Frank Chadwick is a genre bender novel that mixes equal parts steampunk, alternate history, science fiction, and fantasy to create something new and interesting. Please understand going into this read that Mr. Chadwick co-created a role playing game called Space: 1889, and this novel is set in the steampunk world of that game. In fact, this book is very much like a Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms novel in that it almost serves as a walk through of the role playing world, giving a reader fantastic details of this alternative reality Victorian England of Space: 1889 and its vast history. Do not think, however, that this book is all source book material, because it definitely has a fast paced and action filled story. In fact, the plot lines move forward so fast that it reads more like a movie screen play than a book, and some reviewers description of The Forever Engine as a “gritty and raw work” is probably very accurate.

The book begins with Jack Fargo, ancient history professor, being called in as a consultant on a secret experiment being conducted in England. Even though Jack is just there to consult on a mysterious Roman coin, he gets caught up in an unfortunate accident that sends him shooting backwards through time to the year 1888. However, not only has Jack slipped backward in time but he has also left our reality for a parallel one.

Once our brave professor regains his bearing, he finds himself in an alternative turn of the century Victorian England, where the South has won the American Civil War, flying steamships dominate the skies, space travel is an accepted part of every day life, and there is even an earth colony on Mars. Not only that, but Jack immediately finds himself immersed in a convoluted political situation, forced to choose sides in this world’s conflicts, and finds himself actively fighting to save this world from its own problems – even as he desperately seeks a way back to his own time.

Overall, this book is just what I assumed it would be: an action adventure tale wrapped in the standard steampunk surroundings of steamships, gadgets, airships, and Victorian England with more than a dash of intrigue added. The characters in The Forever Engine were mostly interesting, even if they were a bit one dimensional at times, and Mr. Chadwick does a good job of adding in famous people from the time period albeit changing them enough to suite their alternative reality world. The action sequences in the book were adequately described, and a measure of suspense was maintained throughout the novel. However, where Mr. Chadwick excels is in the massive amount of history and background material that he provides about this wonderful steampunk world. Here a reader is given vast amounts of information on the world, its history, and its weapons of war until the setting becomes as real to you as our own modern day reality.

With all that being said, I had some issues with The Forever Engine that I’d like to explore briefly. Feel free to stop now and not have to read anything negative about this novel if it is a favorite of yours. If, after carefully consideration on your part, you decide to continue reading, please do not get upset by any criticisms you might see in the next few paragraphs, because – like Stephen King at the end of The Dark Tower Saga – I am warning you that you might not like the ending here.

1) Jack is way over powered and his skill set too conveniently correct for his adventure. I realize that this might seem a strange complaint to make, but let me explain what I mean. You see, it was just chance that brought Jack Fargo to the secret laboratory on that fateful day when he was sent back in time, but in all honest, it must have been fate, because no other time traveler could have been more suited for the trip ahead. Who else except for Jack Fargo would have had the exact sort of skills that he needed to survive in this alternative steampunk world? I can’t think of anyone. And not only does Jack survive but he excels. I mean, once he is in the alternative world, Jack uses his vast knowledge of history, physics, political persons, era specific military equipment, and his linguistic ability to survive and vanquish his enemies. All I can say is Thank God the lab “accident” happened when a man so immensely suited to this time traveling predicament just happened to be there. I mean, think what would have happened if the janitor had been sent back through time.

2) Setting aside the issue of Jack’s skill set for a moment, let us turn to his characterization in this novel. Basically, Jack is your classic Hollywood action adventure hero. This guy pops out of nowhere claiming he is from an alternative world, but instead of being labeled crazy or whatever, he is quickly accepted into the “cool” group. Not only is Jack in the cool group of people, but somehow, he is also the smartest guy in the group, the toughest guy in the group, the guy with the most modern, enlightened sensibilities, and the cool guy who gets the most beautiful, bad ass female as his girlfriend. I mean, Jack has it made. How could he fail?

3) This novel is told from Jack’s first person perspective. I generally do not like first person narratives. It is a personal issue I have. Now, I admit that there have been first person narratives that I have liked (See Mark Lawrence’s Prince of Thorns,) but most of the time, I find these types of novels disappointing. Unfortunately, The Forever Engine was one of the first person narratives I did not enjoy. Just one of those things, I suppose.

4) As I mentioned above, this novel is filled to overflowing with details about this richly imagined steampunk world. As a lover of history and alternative history, I adore this sort of stuff. However, an author has to walk a fine line when spoon feeding a reader vast quantities of lore, because if you provide too much the book readers like a role playing campaign source book, and to me, Mr. Chadwick went past this unseen line, becoming so determined to regurgitate facts that the actual plot and characters became lost in the world building.

Even with its many problems, I decided to give The Forever Engine three stars. It is probably closer to 2 ½ stars, but I am giving Mr. Chadwick credit for the marvelous alternate universe he has dreamed up. This imaginative world is well worth reading about, and hopefully, in the next story, the main character will not be so “over powered” and have to actually struggle with the problems facing him. All in all, the novel is a solid first book in a new series (Does anyone actually believe this is a one shot?) and it definitely has potential going forward.

Purchase this novel at Amazon.

Posted in Alternative History, Cross-Genre, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Time Travel | Tagged alternate history, Alternative History, best alternative history, Best Steampunk Books, Chadwick, Forever Engine, Frank Chadwick, Space: 1889, The Forever Engine | 3 Comments

Top Eleven Fantasy Or Science Fiction Characters I’d Love To Have A Beer With

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Bookwraiths

The other day a blog I follow asked the question “What literary character would you like to have a beer with?” Naturally, I thought about it, and I came up with a host of people that I would love to hang out with, drink a beer with, and just sit around swapping stories with – if these guys actually existed of course.

When trying to weed my list down to a manageable ten, I couldn’t get there. I did find a way to get to eleven, but even then, I found that there were some fantasy and science fiction characters that just had to be put together, because I could not imagine handing a beer to one without the other being there waiting for theirs, so you will notice that in my list there are groups of people as well as individuals. Perhaps this is cheating, but it is my list, and I get to set the rules.

Anyway, here are my “TOP ELEVEN FANTASY OR SCIENCE FICTION CHARACTERS I’D LOVE TO HAVE A BEER WITH.”

11. Count Renato Biagio of John Marco’s Tyrants and Kings trilogy.

Some character believe themselves to be devious. Whether they use this deviousness for good or bad is somewhat irrelevant. Biagio is definitely in the upper echelon of the “Devious Characters” club. He is one of those people who puts things into motion and sits back watching as his multi-layered plans begin to unfold like a piece of paper being turned into an origami masterpiece. Hell, Biagio is so devious even his spies do not know how many other spies are spying on them. The dude has a mind like a spider weaving a lethal web, and I’d love to sit around and listen to him give me the inside scope on one of his Ocean Eleven type plans — if he didn’t kill me first.

Read more about John Marco’s Tyrants and Kings trilogy at SFSignal or at Bookwraith’s 17 Overlooked Fantasy Series List

10. Royce and Hadrian of The Riyrian Chronicles.

The fantasy buddy duo for the twenty-first century. Royce is the slit your throat in a heartbeat type, while Hadrian is the amiable one, who wants to become your best friend. Together, they are interesting and absolutely hilarious, especially when they start arguing with one another. After a few beers, I’m sure they would be great fun to chat with.

See my reviews of three of the novels in the series.
Theft of Swords The Crown Tower The Rose and the Thorn

9. Belgarath the Wolf and Polgara the Sorceress.

I fell in love with David Eddings’ characters when I was a teenager, and my adoration lasted into my early twenties. After all these years, I still think of all the guys and girls and gods in The Belgariad and The Mallorean as my old friends, so if I was going to drink a beer and swap lies with someone, I have to include Belgarath, because he is the ultimate storyteller, and Polgara, because not only is she beautiful and bossy and sharp tongued but — I also had a huge crush on her when I was a teenager (There I admitted it.) Getting together would be like going to my twentieth high school reunion again.

See my review of the first book in the series.
Pawn of Prophecy

8. Rand, Perrin, and Mat from The Wheel of Time.

Even though I have not had the courage to finish this epic fantasy series, I’d love to have these guys tell me all about their fun times growing up in the Two Rivers, their adventures in their previous lives, and explain to me why their story had to be drug out over fourteen books. Hell, I’ll even share notes with Rand about how no one understands women, and one of them can explain to me how I could ever trust an Aes Sedai. Maybe by the time we are finished with our chat, I will actually have found the courage and determination to start a reread of this massive series (even the middle books of their story where very little happens) and finish the Wheel of Time, which at one time was my second favorite fantasy of all times – just behind the Lord of the Rings.

7. Roland Deschain, Jake Chambers, Oy, Eddie Dean and Susannah Dean.

Stephen King, I have major problems with how you finished The Dark Tower saga. Hell, I now refer to the ending as the “Abyss of Bad Endings.” (Yes, I am in the process of copyrighting that.) But you know what I can’t complain about, Mr. King? I cannot say one bad thing about this group of memorable characters that you introduced me to. I love each and every one of them, and I would be honored to sit around a camp fire with them, drinking a beer and listening to the Gunslinger tell another story about the world before it moved on.

See my reviews of three of the novels in the series.
The Gunslinger Wolves of the Calla The Dark Tower Book VII

6. Caramon, Raistlin, Tanis, Sturm, Tasselhoff, Flint, Goldmoon, Riverwind, Lauranna, and Tika of the Dragonlance Chronicles.

This is another group of people I grew up with. Perhaps we might not be friends if I met them now (I am much older and grumpier) but just like Belgarath and Polgara, these are people who helped me get through my awkward teenage years. Sitting around a table drinking beer with them would be just like hanging out with my high school buddies talking about old times. The stories would get bigger, and our parts in it more glorious, especially the more beers we drank.

5. Ingold Inglorion of the Darwath trilogy.

If Gandalf is the epitome of wizardly class and wisdom, then Ingold is the pinnacle of wizardly badassy-ness. He will strike you down with magic. He will cut you up with a sword. If that doesn’t work, he will just cut you to ribbons with his tongue. His friends know he will be the last one to leave the fight, and his enemies recognize him as the person who needs to die first. He is wise, powerful, and one hell of a mentor. On top of all this, Ingold is the only one who might be able to save his entire planet from nearly invisible creatures called the Dark, whose meal of choice is humankind. Talk about a little bit of pressure. But even in horrible circumstances, everyone can always depend on Ingold, because he is the solid rock that will not fail. Sure, Gandalf is great, but has Gandalf ever been on a cover of his trilogy drinking a beer? Nope. But Ingold has, and that is why I’d love to drink a few and get Ingold to show me how to open a portal to another world.

Read more about the Darwath Trilogy. 17 Overlooked Fantasy Series

4. Apollo, Starbuck, and Boomer of the original Battlestar Galactica.

Yeap, another group of favorites from my childhood. While I loved the updated BSG from the last decade, my heart will always belong to this trio who blasted up cyclons before heading back to the ship for a game of pyramid and a good cigar. They laughed, loved, and basically made this Star Wars copycat one my favorite sci fi series of all times. Sure guys, I’ll have a drink, but no, I’m not dressing up in those ridiculous uniforms and playing triad with you.

3. Croaker and Lady from The Black Company series by Glen Cook.

Croaker is my kind of guy: loves history, seen it all, cynical about all the crap in life, and doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty. Along with Croaker comes his Lady, who is/was one of the greatest magic users of her world, conquered a continental empire, ruled the Taken (similar to the Ringwraiths), has a heart blacker than most yet has a tiny sliver of goodness hiding underneath all that black leather. Together, these two have always been my favorite fantasy couple, and I’d love to have a drink with them and just listen to them talk. Maybe, Croaker won’t even notice that I have a horrible thing for Lady.

2. Merry, Pippin, Samwise, Frodo, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, and even Boromir of the Lord of the Rings.

What could be better than sitting around in Rivendell with these guys, sharing a few and listening to some elvish poetry. So would I laugh with the hobbits, or would I participate in a drinking game with Legolas and Gimli? I could get Boromir to tell me some war stories from Gondor, or I could try to get Aragorn to come out of his shell and laugh a little bit. Plus, I would have to find time to talk to Gandalf, maybe even beg for a few fireworks from him. But mostly, I would just sit there star struck with this group of people who turned me into a fantasy fan for life.

1. Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO.

Cue the Star Wars music please. The ultimate group of buddies. They argue with one another, laugh together, and always have one another’s back. While the movies themselves may be showing their age, these characters will always be iconic to me, and I’d love to sit in a cantina somewhere and make a toast to them with my mug of Alderaan beer. Nuff said!

See my reviews of two of the many great Star Wars novels and graphic novels. Star Wars: Razor’s Edge Star Wars Legacy

That is my list. Who are your favorites?

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY BEST OF FANTASY LISTS.

Posted in Fantasy, Lists, Musings, Science Fiction | Tagged Battlestar Galactica, Dragonlance, Gandalf, Ingold Inglorion, Lord of the Rings, Roland Deschain, Star Wars, The Belgariad, The Black Company, the dark tower, The Riyrian Chronicles, Tyrants and Kings, wheel of time | 24 Comments

LIBERTY: 1784

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Bookwraiths

Liberty: 1784 by Robert Conroy

Genre: Alternate History

Series: Stand Alone Novel

Publisher: Baen Books (March 4, 2014)

Length: 368 pages

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

After reading Mr. Conroy’s extremely entertaining alternative history book 1920: America’s Great War, I had high hopes for this novel. Not only did it seem to have an interesting premise regarding “what if” the British had won the American Revolution, but it also promised to delve into the idea of how would liberty survive in a conquered country that has lost its greatest leaders. This intriguing alternative world coupled with the author’s proven ability to write an easily digested, fast-paced, and exciting narrative seemed to make this book a can’t miss for me. However, for reasons I will outline later, Liberty: 1784 was a disappointment.

The whole concept of this book revolves around one simple change in history, specifically who won the Battle of the Capes in 1781. In real history, the French fleet won said naval battle, turning back the British relief ships sent to aid General Cornwallis. As Michael Lewis, the author of The History of the British Navy, puts it: “The Battle of Chesapeake Bay [alternately known as the Battle of the Capes] was one of the decisive battles of the world. Before it, the creation of the United States of America was possible; after it, it was certain.” However, in Liberty: 1784, history has been turned upside down, and the victorious British navy brings relief to Cornwallis’ army, allowing him to win the Battle of Yorktown and thus the war.

From this starting point, Mr. Conroy crafts an eerily similar but far different America. One in which the colonies’ unconditionally surrender to Britain. The people are adrift, bereft of their leaders, as the Founding Fathers are either imprisoned or sent to London to be beheaded before a vengeful King George. From northern Massachusetts to Georgia, the land is an occupied territory, governed by General Cornwallis and the cities controlled by his victorious army. Freedom is something that is not openly spoken of, for fear of being further tormented by loyalist cronies of the Crown. In fact, things are so bleak that people begin to abandon their homes and farms to disappear into the west. Rumors say these travelers are heading to sanctuary. A place where the few remaining American leaders have fled into exile with a remnant of the Continental Army, there to create a new country in the continental interior. A land of freedom that is known only as Liberty!

At first, the British care little if American malcontents vanishing into the endless forests of the interior. Good riddance! But then a European spark ignites the powder keg that the American peace rests upon: the French Revolution. This savage uprising against the French monarchy sends King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette fleeing to England, where King George grants them refuge and determines to put an end to the revolutionary spirit that is spreading across the world like a plague. Thus, the enraged monarch sends an army to France but also dispatches another to America; the western force tasked with finding and destroying the final bastion of liberty on the North American continent!

The story that follows is interesting enough, especially how Mr. Conroy gives a reader numerous viewpoint characters – both historically significant and totally fictional – to see all sides of the conflict. Everyday men and women play major roles in the action along side famous names such as Benjamin Franklin, Lord Cornwallis, Benedict Arnold, and the villainous Banastre Tarleton (most well known for his role as Mel Gibson’s adversary in the movie The Patriot.) Each character’s story blends with the others to form a top to bottom picture of this desperate battle for liberty. Yet, even with this said, there were major problems with Liberty:1784 that I will briefly touch upon.

1) Too much sex. I am not a prude. I’m fine with sex that moves the story along. I realize that hundred of years ago people had sex. However, in this book, it seemed like all the female characters were either being forced to perform sexual acts, getting raped or pulling up their skirts and mounting their men quite a lot. So much so that it detracted from the main story, which was a desperate struggle for survival and the future of the American colonies.

2) Too modern in tone. After reading 1920: America’s Great War, I knew that this novel would not accurately reflect the language, culture and social norms of eighteenth century America and Britain, so it did not surprise me when the characters spoke in a modern, twenty-first century voice. However, the language was so modern in this novel that it became totally unbelievable. We have women saying things like “Fairer and weaker sex my ass.” We have men and women talking about social issues like they are drinking coffee in a local Starbucks. Honestly, it was hard to maintain the belief that these people were living in the 1700s with the language being so modern and their outlook on life so present day in tone.

3) Farfetched history. Even though Mr. Conroy’s alternate world was somewhat plausible, it took too many leaps of faith to believe this type of story would have ever happened. I’ll try to point out a few without ruining the book for anyone.

A) Conroy has a trickle of American revolutionaries setting up a new country in the heart of Native American country without any alliance with or problems from the tribes. It would seem that the natives should play a huge role in the story, but they are only minimally involved.

B) The French Revolution erupts earlier than in our real history and occurs even though the democratic movement of the time has been dealt a huge defeat by the British winning the American Revolution. Really?

C) When the revolution breaks out, Louis XVI takes refuge in England? It doesn’t make much sense, since in real world history the French royals attempted to escape to the Queen’s family in Austria.

D) After taking in the French monarchy, King George decides to join an alliance of the European aristocracy to retaking France, but he then immediately decides to split his forces, because he has to destroy a small frontier town in America that is hoping to “hide” from the British military? Just cannot see where Britain would be concerned enough to send an army.

All in all, Liberty: 1784 was an okay read; it was well-paced, fun in many parts and had enough twists and turns to keep a reader from focusing on the fact that you know the good guys (Americans) are going to win no matter what happens. Mr. Conroy also must be given credit for going out of his way to focus on several female characters and give women the page time that they deserve in this type of novel. However, this book just did not live up to my high expectations for it, so for that reason, it was a disappointment to me. Do not take this to mean I am abandoning any further reading of Mr. Conroy though, because nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I look forward to enjoying more from him in the future and would encourage you to give him a try as well.

The publisher provided this book to me for free in return for an honest review. The review above was not paid for or influenced in any way by any person, entity or organization, but is my own personal opinions.

Purchase this novel at Amazon.

Posted in 3 Stars, Alternative History | Tagged Alternative History, America, American War for I ndependence, best alternative history, General Cornwallis, King Louis XVI, liberty, Liberty: 1784, Revolutionary War, Robert Conroy, the American Revolution | 2 Comments

Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Bookwraiths

My rating is 2 out of 5 stars.

Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz is yet another re-imagining of a classic fairy tale from the people who have brought us Wonderland and the fairy tale superheroes of The Realm Knights. Since I really enjoyed those two series, I decided to snatch this one up and keep my fingers crossed that Joe Brusha could make some magic in Oz. And while he does his best to take the classic Wizard of Oz story, setting, and characters, stuff them all in a blender and pour out something with a whole new flavor, Mr. Brusha fails to fully deliver in this collection.

The beginning of our story is basically the same setup we have all heard before: Dorothy Gale lives on a farm, gets sucked into Oz by a tornado and accidently kills one of the wicked witches with her house. However, from there the story changes, as there are no magic slippers or need to follow the yellow brick road to see the “wizard.” Nope, here Dorothy has fallen into a war between the good witches and the bad, which she immediately becomes sucked into, and once firmly entrenched on the side of the good witch Glinda, Dorothy never looks back but follows a course that leads to a journey around Oz, a few fights with the wicked witch, picking up a number of familiar friends, and eventually returning to Kansas. All in all, not that much different from the classic story.

Well, to be fair, there are differences in this graphic novel. Dorothy’s friends are changed in numerous ways. Some of them for the better. Some for the worst. Most of it is in their back story, but a lot of it is their looks, which – while interesting to view – did little to make the characters more engaging. Honestly, I really could not see that the Grimm Fairy Tale versions of Dorothy’s friends grew and changed much at all in this story. At the end, they are basically the same people as when Dorothy first encounters them.

And you know, I’m sorry I even mentioned the ending, because I really do not even wish to think about it anymore. Let us just say it was abrupt and not very well done and leave it at that. If I explained further, I would be keeping you from experiencing the frustration of it all.

As for the artwork in Oz, I can’t complain. It is very serviceable and fits the mood and tone of the book as a whole. I’ve read other reviewers criticizing the lack of clothing on the female characters, and while I generally don’t mind seeing scantily clad women, I have to agree with the criticism here. Dorothy and the wicked witches’ clothes (or lack thereof) were really over-the-top and somewhat silly. Honestly, if you were Dorothy and you were going into battle, would you be wearing a miniskirt and a mid-drift shirt? Probably not, and it would have helped the story if she had armor on and reverted to her sexy outfit later. Walter Geovanni does this all the time on Red Sonja, and it never disrupts the story.

Overall, I mildly enjoyed this graphic novel – though not as much as I have other Grimm Fairy Tale stories. The artwork was well done and more than capably moved the story along, and even if the story was the same old Oz, at least the re-imagination of Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion were inventive touches. I doubt I’ll be going out to buy this one, but it was still well worth a read. Give it a try.

Netgalley provided this book to me for free in return for an honest review. The review above was not paid for or influenced in any way by any person, entity or organization, but is my own personal opinions.

Purchase the graphic novel at Amazon.

Posted in Graphic Novels, Grimm Fairy Tales | Tagged Cowardly Lion, Dorothy, Dorothy Gale, Fairy tale, Grimm Fairy Tales, Joe Brusha, Oz, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Wicked Witch, Wizard of Oz | 7 Comments

1920: AMERICA’S GREAT WAR

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Bookwraiths

1920: America’s Great War by Robert Conroy

Genre: Alternate History

Series: Stand Alone Novel

Publisher: Baen Books (December 3, 2013)

Length: 354 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

1920: America’s Great War is alternate history at its best. It is fast. It’s fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. Nor does it pretend to give you a history lesson in disguise. Nope, Robert Conroy has written a real page-turner with interesting characters and an engrossing plot that does a great job of doing just what it is suppose to do: entertain its reader!

In this alternative world, the Great War in Europe, or World War I as it is now dubbed, lasts only a few months, as the French do not halt the German army at the Battle of the Marne but are instead given a final defeat that leads to their surrender. Thereafter, the British Expeditionary Force attempts to fight its way to the Mediterranean coast and escape by sea, but they are cornered and brought to heel in southern France. A triumphant Germany then goes on to obliterating the armies of the Tsar of Russia, resulting in a peace treaty that leaves Germany as the supreme power on the European continent and gifts her with even more overseas colonies. The German Empire is now the preeminent power in the world and is supreme everywhere! Well, maybe not on the high seas, because the British Navy still rules there, but the German Navy will deal with the Brits soon enough.

At this point in time, the U.S. is in pretty pathetic shape. She never involved herself in the European conflict, and so her army and navy are almost non-existence. She has a pacifistic President in Woodrow Wilson, who has reduced the armed forces and sincerely believes that there will be no more wars and that peace will now reign eternally. And even when Germany involves itself in a revolution in Mexico and sends troops there, the United States still clings to its belief that the peace between herself and Germany will last forever.

Naturally, President Wilson and the other appeasers are dead wrong on the Kaiser’s intentions in North America. (I mean, otherwise, there would not be a book, right?) For the ruler of Germany is growing older and he is determined to leave to his heir a world dominated by Germany and without fear of any potential rivals, and the Kaiser clearly envisions that the United States – if awoken – has the hidden seed of a superpower within her pathetic breast. A power that could very well upset this new Pax Germanica. And the Kaiser is determined to stop this threat before it ever rears its ugly head!

The stage is set for a fun-filled alternative history tale!

And boy, does Mr. Conroy deliver.

You want political intrigue between nations? They are here.

You’d like to sit in on desperate military commanders trying to slow down an overwhelming attack? Come on in.

The horrible realities of civilians caught in a war? They are touched upon without being too realistic for this type of story.

Naval battles? Check.

Famous people from history making appearances? No problem.

Honestly, 1920: America’s Great War is a very accessible and readable story. Its characters – while generally one dimensional – are plausible, easy to root for or against, and compliment one another, while the historical world they inhabit is genuine enough that the tale never seems too “far-fetched.” Like all novels, however, I found a few things that I wish would have been handled better by the author, and I cannot help but list them – though I promise to be brief.

1) As many other reviewers have pointed out, Mr. Conroy takes many liberties with the historical facts of this time period. Certain equipment that play major roles in this story was not “invented” until later on in World War I, and since in this alternative world, WWI only lasted a few months, those aircraft, tanks, et cetera would not have even existed for use in a German-American War. Also, many of the armaments and fortifications that the U.S. did have in 1920 are omitted to make the U.S.’s position even more pathetic than it really ways. And Germany’s ability (financially/logistically) and its desire to wage a war half a world away in North America is doubtful at best.

2) Everyone in the novel basically talks like they are living around the corner from the author in twenty-first century America. Oh, there might be a few figures of speech from the early twentieth century, but overall, Mr. Conroy does not attempt to mimic the culture or speaking styles of this period of history. So if you are looking for a novel that has the “look” and “feel” of 1920’s America or Germany, this is not the book for you.

Other than these “historical” criticism, I found 1920: America’s Great War a fascinating novel and an excellent read. Mr. Conroy’s obvious love of history comes across in this story, and while he has altered the facts to his liking, he has done so to make the book more dramatic and circumstances more ominous, which is perfectly acceptable in this kind of novel. Give this one a try, it is highly recommended for alternative history buffs everywhere!

Purchase the novel at Amazon.

Posted in 4 Stars, Alternative History | Tagged 1920: America's Great War, Alternative History, America, best alternative history, Germany, Robert Conroy | 5 Comments

THE TRIAL OF THE CORE by MICHAEL E. THIES

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Bookwraiths

My rating is 2 out of 5 stars.

Sometimes, I run across a book that is difficult for me to write a review about, usually this is because I hated it so much I could not finish it, but then there are times when the book had all the appropriate elements (action, decent writing, good characters, world building) but for some unknown reason, I could not get into it. An analogy is going out on a first date with someone who is attractive and has all your same interest, but you feel zero spark between you. Why didn’t it work? On eharmony, it looked like the best thing ever, but as you sit there at dinner wondering when this will be over, you can’t stop asking yourself what happened to the damn compatibility algorithms. And that is how I felt after finishing The Trials of the Core. There is not any reason why I did not “connect” with this story, but I just didn’t. I don’t hate it. Rather, the novel left me feeling indifferent. I guess, The Trials of the Core and I had better just stay friends.

Oh, you want me to stop with the dating analogies and tell you about the actual story already?

Sure. No problem.

Anyway, Trials of the Core is a genre bender of science fiction and fantasy as dreamed up by author Michael Thies. Here he gifts his readers with a universe that has a dash of Harry Potter, a little bit of Star Wars and a whole lot of intrigue circa The Hunger Games.

Far, far away in a distant solar system spin five, diverse planets. Upon these shining globes are a host of nations – each with their own distinct inhabitants and cultures – that together form a world spanning imperium ruled over by a “Guardian,” who protects and governs his subjects. However, even an all powerful Guardian of the Core cannot rule forever, and since the current Guardian is closing in on his 200th year, he determines to seek out an apprentice to beginning training as his ultimate successor. To find this protégée, invitations are sent out to the brightest of the bright among the intergalactic kingdom; these select people to compete in a grueling series of trials that will sort the strong from the weak.

Since there can be only one apprentice to the Guardian, each of the contestant is desperate to win for their own individual reasons, and so the plot line becomes who will ultimately triumph in this intrigue filled contest and to what lengths will the participants go to be the last person standing?

While this fight among youths echoes the plot of some other popular books, Michael Thies does a good job of making this a different sort of competition. Sure, there are a few deaths – not all of them accidental, but by and large, the majority of this novel is about getting to know the characters and seeing them deal with this immense pressure. A reader learns about their pasts, their strengths and weaknesses, their reasons for competing, and their unique abilities, which run the gamut from elemental magic to physical strength to mental dexterity. They exhibit perseverance and courage as well as unbridled ambition. They form alliances against one another, wage internal feuds, and form friendships that some of them are more than willing to discard if necessary to further their drive toward becoming the Guardian’s apprentice.

As the story progresses, a reader is left to twist as to who is going to ultimately win this contest. Will it be one of the royals, who have been groomed their whole life to be Guardian? Or will one of the brainiacs ultimately triumphs? How about the offspring of a famous warrior, who is desperate to exit his father’s immense shadow? Or will the underdog commoner, who possess no great skills but is in the contest nonetheless, find a way to rise above his less-than-stellar origins and become the ruler of the imperium?

On the whole, The Trials of the Core had the makings of an interesting story. It had immense worlds to explore, different viewpoints, “flawed” characters who are as individually compelling as they are repugnant, and unique magic/technology. However, there were a few issues that detracted from my enjoying of this novel.

1) After reading the book, I still have no idea what the Guardian of the Core is. All I know is that it is very important and has immense powers that come along with it. Other than that, I have no idea. After a whole novel, I should vaguely understand why all these people are willing to die to obtain this position

2) There needs to be an appendix with maps, family genealogies, and other important information. While I muddled through everything, I prefer some reference material if the story has lots of world building and numerous characters. This could be just me being picky however.

In summation, if you are a fan of genre bending novels, this unique and unconventional book might be just what you are looking for. Michael Thies writes in a clear and concise voice, and the story moves along rapidly, shifting seamlessly between its various viewpoints as you experience these gifted youths fighting for the right to be the ruler of their worlds. While it is definitely young adult faire, I could envision more mature people liking this one as well.

Purchase the novel at Amazon.

Posted in Cross-Genre, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult | Tagged Fantasy, Michael Thies, Science fiction, The Trials of the Core, Young Adult | 2 Comments

GREEN LANTERN: DARK DAYS

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Bookwraiths

My rating is 3 out of 5 stars.

I cannot say that I have ever been a big Green Lantern fan. Sure, Hal Jordan has had his moments, and all the other GLs from Earth have been interesting from time to time, but the Lantern Corps as a whole has never been more than an endless alien cantina scene to me. However, since I’ve been touring the New 52 universe and had heard good things about this new GL, I decided to give this book a try. After finishing it however, all I can say is “Meh.”

The story itself starts with our testosterone infused and seemingly oblivious Hal Jordan somehow becoming the head of the Green Lantern Corps. Of course, Hal always thinks through the repercussions of monumental decisions (Yeah, right!), which is why he immediately ignores all his fellow GL’s protests and releases hundreds of Green Lantern rings out into the cosmos to find loads of new Lantern recruits when he has no apparatus in place to actual train any of them.

Naturally at the same time the snot nosed kids are coming in for training, all hell breaks loose on Oa. The Orange Lantern Larfreeze attacks while constantly repeating his desire to get some epic loot, and a powerful prisoner (Prixiam Nol-Anj) uses the confusion to attempt an escape. And of course, all these untrained new recruits stand around getting themselves killed because their new rings have delivered them into a war zone and none of them know how to actually use their power! But things only get worse for Hal from there.

Soon after getting things under control on Oa, our fearless GL leader discovers that Carol has given up on him ever growing up and actually acting as if he is in a relationship, and so she is calling it quits. (Okay, did it take her this long to figure Hal out? I mean, when has this New 52 Hal not acted with the maturity level of an eighteen year old frat boy.) And once Hal throws himself into his work, he discovers that an unexplained lose of power to Lantern rings is wrecking havoc to the Corps and, even worse, its cause is absolutely unknown.

At this junction of our tale, the only interesting character in this whole mess shows up. From the depths of time and out of space itself comes a giant scientist from a long dead universe, determined to save everyone from destruction at the hands of the Lanterns!

Relic, as the gigantic brainiac is called, has a wonderful mixture of evil righteous, where he basically is determined to kill everyone but only for the very best of reasons – reasons that even his victims can’t really disagree with. However, the only problem with Relic’s justification for extinguishing all Lantern users in the universe is that it is so persuasive that I wonder how any writer is going to fix this issue with the Lantern’s continued existence, because Venditti has now made all Lanterns the “bad guys.”

The story of Relic has many interesting twists and turns, but like many of these New 52 books, I discovered that it had huge “gaps” or “leaps” in the narrative. Too many times, I would be happily following along with the story of the Lanterns fight against Relic and then I would flip to the next chapter and Bam! a whole world would have been destroyed or a main character has died, but I never saw how any of it happened. While I have since learned that these “gaps” were due to Dark Days being part of a DC Green Lantern crossover story and these other comic issues not being included in this collection, it does not excuse DC’s decision to give a reader a story that is so obviously missing key sections of its narrative.

The only thing in this graphic novel that I have absolutely no complaints with is the art. Billy Tan (Illustrator) does a phenomenal job of capturing the epic nature of the Green Lantern Corps. Every alien is unique and beautifully rendered, while the action explodes off the page. So no blame for any shortcomings of this graphic novel can be laid at the feet of the artists.

All in all, Green Lantern: Dark Days is a ho-hum book. The story of Hal’s leadership of the GL Corps is pretty weak until Relic shows up, and while the Relic storyline is interesting, it is spread over several comics, which are not included in this collection, so there are big “gaps” or “leaps” in the story that are really confusing and leave out important events. Also, this story makes an epic reveal about where the power for the Lanterns comes from, but in doing so, it turns every Lantern into a “bad guy” every time he/she uses a ring. So potential readers, consider yourself forewarned.

Purchase the graphic novel at Amazon.