Theft of Swords is the first in Michael Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations series. Rise of Empire releases this week, and the third and final installment, Heir of Novron is expected on January 31st, all from Orbit.
The series was originally self-published in 6 volumes, and it is helpful to take a look at the author’s explanation of the progression and contents of each volume. He also offers plot summaries and free samples. A terrific article from sffworld.com explains the history of the books, and the blogger/reader popularity that led to their initial success.
SULLIVAN, Michael J. Theft of Swords. 704p. maps. glossary. Orbit. 2011. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-0-316-18774-9. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–This old-fashioned adventure fantasy has had a long journey, from small press to self-published e-book and finally to print (three volumes planned). Throw in a little theft and a regicide or two and it would be a journey worthy of protagonists Royce and Hadrian, an independent thief and sword duo who find themselves becoming heroes when they must clear their names of a crime for which they’ve been framed. Wooden dialogue and misplaced modifiers galore should make for a clunky read, but in fact this is fast and fun, full of witty repartee and daring exploits, with enough big-picture mystery to keep readers hooked. The bad guys conveniently discourse in full paragraphs, so the plotting and machinations are easy to follow, and characterization tends to be fairly simple. Elves and dwarves make an appearance, just different enough to avoid feeling like a Tolkien clone but still familiar; the setting is quasi-medieval (but easier, and the sanitation seems better). Romance is thin on the ground as this is a buddy tale, and although the body count and gore are not lacking, any deep reflections on mortality are. The author’s note indicates that this was initially written with his 13-year-old daughter as the primary audience, so it’s no wonder that everything here lends itself to a perfect teen read. It’s strangely compelling fantasy for fantasy lovers, and likely to appeal to fans of Tolkien or Martin, Eddings or Rothfuss.–Karyn N. Silverman, Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York City
Today’s science fiction blockbuster combines elements of noir mystery and touches of horror.
“An Unapologetic Embrace of Sentiment”, a Publishers Weekly interview with the authors of Leviathan Wakes (James S. Corey is a pseudonym for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) addresses their method of working together.
This is the second book by Daniel Abraham reviewed on this blog in 2011. The first was The Dragon’s Path (also published by Orbit), reviewed in June and the subject of a post from guest blogger Karyn Silverman about series fantasy. Both books are on Amazon’s Best of 2011 So Far science fiction & fantasy list. (As is Jo Walton’s Among Others – can’t resist a chance to remind you of one of my personal very favorites of the year, can I?)
COREY, James S. A. Leviathan Wakes: Book One of The Expanse. 582p. Orbit. 2011. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-316-12908-4. LC 2010046442.
Adult/High School–Responding to a distress signal from the outskirts of the solar system, Captain Holden and his crew discover the Scopuli, an abandoned ship whose fate turns out to have galactic repercussions. Meanwhile in the Asteroid Belt, Miller, a washed up detective who grew up on Ceres, is searching for Julie Mao, who readers know was on the crew of the Scopuli. Corey–the pseudonym of two compatriots of George R. R. Martin–takes Martin’s fantasy style into science fiction, intricately layering politics, weighty themes, and small-scale human themes into a seamless whole. The most important theme is embodied in the differences between the two protagonists and couldn’t be more timely: should information be open (Holden) or hidden (Miller). The ideological division between the two is overly schematic, but Corey redeems it in large part by giving a completely sympathetic airing of each man’s views. And since this is a science fiction epic, the debate is much more than academic, as the decisions Miller and Holden make help to create and possibly diffuse a war between Earth, Mars, and Belters. No matter which character readers think is right, however, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Miller is the real hero of the novel, the most interesting aspect of which is the escalating mystery, starting with Julie’s disappearance and eventually leading to the horrifying true motivations behind the war. For teens with any tolerance for large-scale science fiction, this novel should not be missed.– Mark Flowers, John Kennedy Library, Solano County, CA
I am very pleased to present a review for Gail Carriger’s fourth Parasol Protectorate novel. First, because my students love the series and I know they will be happy to see Heartless on display when they return to school in a few short weeks. Second, because I had the pleasure of meeting Gail at a dinner at ALA in New Orleans. She is easy to talk to, and I was charmed by the fact that she is genuinely having fun with her books. She loves making things up and figuring things out. Little wonder they are so enjoyable. She is also enthusiast about romance and comedy, which shines through in her writing. (Take a look at her website FAQs for a taste.)
I also had a chance to ask about her current work. Turns out she is writing a YA series about a finishing school housed in connected dirigibles floating above England, to be published by Little, Brown. The series is set in the same world (though an earlier time) as the Parasol Protectorate. This interview on the Bookyurt blog offers more details.
And now back to today’s review. The first in the Parasol series, Soulless, won a 2010 Alex Award. The fifth and final installment, Timeless, is slated for release on Match 1, 2012.
CARRIGER, Gail. Heartless. Bk. 4. 400p. (The Parasol Protectorate Series). Orbit. 2011. pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-3161-2719-6. LC 2010041808.
Adult/High School–In this installment in the series, preternatural Lady Alexia Maccon is heavily pregnant and waddling her way through one adventure after another. This time the impending birth has the entire supernatural world in London on edge because her offspring, the product of her marriage to Lord Maccon, Woolsey pack leader and heart-stoppingly handsome werewolf, may just prove the undoing of the supernatural set. As in the earlier novels, of course someone is trying to kill Lady Alexia and that is where the fun always begins. The fine British wit that sparkles on every page will have readers laughing out loud as Lady Alexia, after a warning from a mad and disintegrating ghost, is off to uncover a plot to kill Queen Victoria. Her comical adventures unearth a plot even bigger and scarier than the one she imagines and the outcome, which will leave readers in stitches and begging for the fifthth and final installment, will turn Lord and Lady Maccon’s world upside-down. Along with their somewhat steamy romance, readers also find out about other love affairs that shape the characters and the plot, including the moving story of Lord Maccon’s beta, Professor Lyall, and the deep and abiding love between Biffy, the newest werewolf cub in the Woolsey Pack, and the tartly fabulous Lord Akeldama, the flamboyant rove vampire for whom Biffy used to be a drone. These books just keep getting better and better.–Caroline Bartels, Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY
The first in Mira Grant’s Newsflesh series, Feed, was the second book ever reviewed on this blog, back in October. Since then, Feed has been nominated for the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Novel (awarded by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy novel).
The Newsflesh series webpage, on Grant’s site, does a great job of summarizing the plot of Feed and the series concept. The final book, Blackout, is scheduled for May 2012 release.
GRANT, Mira. Deadline. 608p. (Newsflesh Trilogy). Orbit. 2011. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-08106-1. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Shaun Mason is literally mad with grief after the death of his sister. She still speaks to him. He still answers her, aloud. While the Kellis-Amberlee virus continues to rage throughout the population, transforming ordinary humans into flesh-eating zombies, Shaun cannot get past seeking revenge for Georgia’s death. A young scientist from the Center for Disease Control stages her own death in order to reach Shaun and his After the Endtimes blogging crew, revealing important research that is being suppressed by CDC authorities. Humans with reservoir conditions, which are pockets of the live Kellis-Amberlee virus that are stored in a particular organ, may possess immunity to full-blown infection. In other words, someone like Georgia, who had a reservoir condition affecting her eyes, might have survived her exposure to Kellis-Amberlee without turning into a zombie. Shaun sets off cross-country seeking answers. Ominously, one certainty emerges: Kellis-Amberlee is being deliberately kept alive by someone with a lot of power. Once again, Grant presents that excellent combination of intellectual discourse and terrifying action that appeals to many teens. Readers of sophisticated thrillers reminiscent of the work of Michael Crichton or Douglas Preston should enjoy this series. While this book moves a bit slower than Feed, the first volume in the trilogy (Orbit, 2010), it has a whopper of a twist at the conclusion.–Diane Colson, New Port Richey Public Library, FL
Today’s guest blogger is Karyn Silverman. Take it away, Karyn!
I’m ashamed to say that, although I consider myself pretty well-versed in fantasy, I had totally missed Daniel Abraham’s debut series, The Long Price Quartet. I had also missed his name despite several nominations for various genre awards (World Fantasy, Hugo, and Nebula), although in my defense the nominations all occurred while I was juggling early parenthood and various book committees. The Dragon’s Path has rectified my ignorance, and I was delighted to learn that there are already five books planned.
Now, I know all the readers who aren’t fantasy readers by choice are sighing, Another long unfinished series! What’s with all these fat multi-volume works, anyway? But speaking for the fans—especially the teen fans, although when it comes to genre reading, I think that aside from getting pickier, the differences between the teen and adult readers are pretty minimal—long is good. When a reader opts in to a world an author has crafted from scratch, the desire is to hang out for a while. As a readership, we respect the skill and craft of world-building. An added bonus is the familiarity: The developmental need for formula fiction has passed by the teen years, but there is still the desire to be at ease in the fictional world; multiple volumes in the same world allows the comfort of the familiar while dodging the formula bullet. And finally, there’s the scope. If epic fantasy suits you as a reader, you want it to be big, with lots of characters, lots of narrative complexity, and some deeper layers (forget the old good-evil dichotomy; fantasy these days is all about shades of gray). It’s hard for an author, even the best ones out there, to do epic in just one volume. Fantasy comes in all shapes and sizes, but the bigger stories need bigger books. And when it’s done well, a longer series means more time in a really cool playground with awesome equipment. So check out Abraham’s playground: nobles and bankers and politics, oh my.
Intrigued? You can read the first chapter on Orbit’s website or find excerpts and extras at DanielAbraham.com.
ABRAHAM, Daniel. The Dragon’s Path. (The Dagger and the Coin Series). maps. Orbit. 2011. pap. $14. ISBN 978-0-316-08068-2. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Once dragons ruled the 13 races of mankind. Now, they are gone and the races live in a quasi-medieval world. The firstblood (humans) are at the center of the book, but intimations of racial tensions below the surface add dimension to an otherwise slightly stock world. This is a world in transition: banks and farmer’s coalitions have begun to rise in power, and the old aristocratic and feudal ways are threatened. At the center of rising conflicts are Cithrin, the teen ward of a bank and the last survivor of fallen Vanai, and Geder Palliako, a hapless, frankly nerdy, poor noble trying to make his name. In vaguely parallel adventures, Cithrin and Geder find themselves central to the growing turmoil, which seems to boil down to conflict between the young and the old. Geder gains power through the machinations of a powerful lord and uses it for petty revenge, including razing a city to the ground, while plucky orphan Cithrin rises above easy conventions to be an awesome if understated girl-power figure, protected by aging, embittered hero Marcus. Amid the machinations and coming-of-age elements, a dark power stirs: a long forgotten goddess who wants to destroy the world. High fantasy with a few unique twists, fast pacing, and a fairly straightforward plot and narrative style make this perfect for readers of George R.R. Martin or Patrick Rothfuss while waiting impatiently for the next installment in this series.–Karyn N. Silverman, LREI (Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School), NYC
Zombies are everywhere these days, even infecting Day Two of the Adult 4 Teen blog. I would fight it, but Feed by Mira Grant is entertaining and smart, and as a paperback original it might have escaped notice. First in the Newsflesh series, this particular zombie apocalypse centers around social media, blogging, the future of communications and presidential election politics.
Feed won Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire) the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, presented at the Hugo Awards last month. So when your teen readers clamor for the second in the series, don’t say I didn’t warn you. (Deadline is scheduled for May 2011.)
While we’re here, thought I would mention that the publisher of Feed is Orbit, the Science Fiction and Fantasy imprint of Hachette Book Group. Orbit made a splash in the Adult Books for Young Adults world last year with Soulless by Gail Carriger, a 2010 Alex Award winner. In what is projected to be a five-book series titled The Parasol Protectorate, Soulless was followed this year by Changeless and Blameless.
Tomorrow we move into the realm of nonfiction. Meanwhile, enjoy the review.
GRANT, Mira. Feed. 608p. Orbit. 2010. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-08105-4. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–When readers first meet Georgia Mason and her adoptive brother, Shaun, it is 2039 and they are battling a horde of zombies in the city that was once Santa Cruz. They escape when Georgia is able to drive over the mob and get them safely to the van they share with their third adoptive sibling, Buffy. The three of them form the core of a journalistic team earnestly engaged in spreading the truth through blogging, one of the only forms of communication still available. The society they know is cloistered, ever-fearful of the Kellis-Amberlee viral infection that rapidly transforms a human into a flesh-eating zombie. When the trio is chosen to cover the presidential campaign, they are thrilled. But as they get closer to the inner circles of power, uncovering the truth becomes deadly. This action-packed, technology-amped suspense novel has many page-turning elements–zombies, political intrigue, combat scenes, and even a hint of incestuous romance. Georgia (who is named after George Romero, because it turns out he got it right about the zombies) is a tough and passionate narrator. Teens who loved the latest spate of zombie tales will find something more satisfying than awkward high school romance here. In fact, the zombies are peripheral in much of the novel, which focuses on the corruption of the American political machine as well as the evolution of the deadly Kellis-Amberlee virus. Think Michael Crichton, only savvier. And the ending is a real killer, sure to leave readers hooked to the “Newsflesh” series.–Diane Colson, New Port Richey Library, FL
Angela Carstensen is Head Librarian and an Upper School Librarian at Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City. Angela served on the Alex Awards committee for four years, chairing the 2008 committee, and chaired the first YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adult committee in 2009. Recently, she edited Outstanding Books for the College Bound: Titles and Programs for a New Generation (ALA Editions, 2011). Contact her via Twitter @AngeReads.
