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New Treasures: The Gates of Hell by Michael Livingston

New Treasures: The Gates of Hell by Michael Livingston

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the-gates-of-hell-michael-livingston-smallMichael Livingston’s stories for Black Gate made him a favorite among our readers, so I was looking forward to seeing how the wider world would react to him with the publication of his first novel, The Shards of Heaven, a historical fantasy that reveals the hidden magic behind the history we know. I was not disappointed. Library Journal called it “Top-noth,” and bestselling writer Bernard Cornwell called it “A brilliant debut.” And Sam Reader at the B&N SF Blog gave it this rave review:

The Shards of Heaven is breathtaking in scope. With the first volume of a planned series intertwining Roman history and myth with Judeo-Christian mythology, Michael Livingston has created something truly epic… He uses real events and characters as the backbone for a truly inventive epic fantasy like novel, a massive undertaking that launches a tremendously ambitious series.

The Gates of Hell is second volume in the series; it’s available in hardcover from Tor on Tuesday.

Alexandria has fallen, and with it the great kingdom of Egypt. Cleopatra is dead. Her children are paraded through the streets in chains wrought of their mother’s golden treasures, and within a year all but one of them will be dead. Only her young daughter, Cleopatra Selene, survives to continue her quest for vengeance against Rome and its emperor, Augustus Caesar.

To show his strength, Augustus Caesar will go to war against the Cantabrians in northern Spain, and it isn’t long before he calls on Juba of Numidia, his adopted half-brother and the man whom Selene has been made to marry — but whom she has grown to love. The young couple journey to the Cantabrian frontier, where they learn that Caesar wants Juba so he can use the Trident of Poseidon to destroy his enemies. Perfidy and treachery abound. Juba’s love of Selene will cost him dearly in the epic fight, and the choices made may change the very fabric of the known world.

Michael Livingston’s most recent blog post for us was his 2015 article on the challenges of writing longer fiction.

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The Grim Repercussions of Brotherly Love: Cornelia Funke’s The Petrified Flesh

The Grim Repercussions of Brotherly Love: Cornelia Funke’s The Petrified Flesh

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reckless-the-petrified-flesh-smallAs you plunge into the into the depths of The Petrified Flesh, Cornelia Funke’s newly revised and updated first volume of her Mirrorworld trilogy, you start noticing things. Like that the two protagonists are named Jacob and Will and that they’re brothers with an undying love for one another. Unfortunately, that love has been thwarted by Jacob, the older of the two. For much of the time, he journeys through a treacherous and magical world which he inhabits with the help of a mirror located in their father’s study.

A shapeshifting vixen named Fox accompanies him on his journeys. His mother dies during one of his long forays into the world their father began calling home. When Will and his girlfriend, Clara, decide to follow Jacob into the unknown, a notorious Dark Fairy captures Will and leads Jacob’s band of friends into a perilous landscape conjured from the bubbling cauldrons of fairy tales. All the while, Jacob wrestles with his guilt over making his brother go through the same agonizing separation that he and his friends experience.

Funke does a masterful job at embedding her characters’ dark inner conflicts into the story. We feel for Jacob as he ruminates over his abandonment of his mother and brother. We feel for Fox, his shapeshifting companion, as she suffers through the agony of realizing she loves Jacob, while knowing he has nothing tying him down to her world. And we feel for Clara, who has her boyfriend torn away from her by a fearfully beautiful fairy for reasons beyond her comprehension. The fairy transforms Will into a jade goyl, which petrifies his flesh. The stone creature comes from a fairy tale, many of which are nestled into the story.

Fairy tale lovers will relish the generous references to beloved stories and the appearance of their characters. That the plot moves in the manner of a gorgeously realized fairy tale will not go unnoticed, either. Issues bigger than thwarted romance and revenge, such as prejudice, appear as well. The goyl and their struggle against humans comes off the page with a refreshing intensity and authenticity.

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Future Treasures: Clouds of War by Ben Kane

Future Treasures: Clouds of War by Ben Kane

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clouds-of-war-ben-kane-smallBen Kane has been growing a rep for historical adventure novels. His Spartacus: The Gladiator was a bestseller in the UK, and his Forgotten Legion trilogy is a sword and sandal epic set in the late Roman republic ruled by the Triumvirate of Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Marcus Licinius Crassus.

Clouds of War is the third novel in his Hannibal series, following Enemy of Rome and Fields of Blood. It tells the tale of the greatest war of the ancient world, as the legions of Rome clash with perhaps the greatest general of all time, Hannibal.

In 213 B.C., as the forces of both Rome and Hannibal’s army from Carthage are still reeling from the losses at the Battle of Canae, the second Punic War rages on. With more and more of Rome’s Italian allies switching allegiance to Carthage, the stakes continue to increase. When the major Sicilian city of Syracuse defects to Hannibal, Rome sends all that it has to retake the city. Now, outside the nearly impregnable city walls, a vast Roman Army besieges the city. Inside the city, tensions and politics are an even greater threat.

Two men ― once boyhood friends, through circumstance now find themselves fighting on opposing sides ― are about to face each other once again. Caught between them is a woman. All three trapped in one of the most famous and brutal sieges of all time.

Ben Kane’s Clouds of War is a vivid, exciting, and very human novel about one of the most defining conflicts in history, seen from the very top, where the generals make bold gambits, all the way down to the very bottom, where the people who are caught in the crossfire are trapped.

Clouds of War will be published by St. Martin’s Griffin on November 22, 2016. It is 486 pages, priced at $19.99 in trade paperback and $9.99 for the digital edition.

See all of our recent coverage of the best upcoming fantasy here.

Where Fae Inhabits Diners, Dive Bars and Trailer Parks: The Gallow & Ragged Books by Lilith Saintcrow

Where Fae Inhabits Diners, Dive Bars and Trailer Parks: The Gallow & Ragged Books by Lilith Saintcrow

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trailer-park-fae-small roadside-magic-small WastelandKing_TP.indd

By following so much independent and standalone fantasy, I think I tend to neglect a lot of fantasy series — especially urban fantasy. But much of the most popular fantasy being published today is in the form of exciting and fast paced urban fantasy series. Like Lilith Saintcrow’s Gallow & Ragged dark fantasy trilogy, which Patricia Briggs calls “A true faery story, creepy and heroic by turns… I could not put it down.”

All three volumes in the series have appeared in the last sixteen months — a pretty fast paced publishing schedule, too. The books are:

Trailer Park Fae (352 pages, $14.99 trade paperback/$7.99 digital, June 23, 2015)
Roadside Magic (368 pages, $14.99 trade paperback/$7.99 digital, January 26, 2016)
Wasteland King (352 pages, $15.99 trade paperback/$9.99 digital, July 26, 2016)

This is an intriguing series that’s been getting a lot of attention. Publishers Weekly called the opening volume “far darker and lovelier than the title suggests.” If you enjoy adventure fantasy, it could be well worth checking out. Click on any of the images for bigger versions.

Last Term: Honor’s Paradox by P.C. Hodgell

Last Term: Honor’s Paradox by P.C. Hodgell

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Another tawdry Caldwell cover

Can you tell I really like P.C. Hodgell’s Kencyrath series? Not once have I followed up a review of an author’s book with a review of her next one. And in three weeks I’ll review the next one as well. In between there’ll be a short story roundup and then, provided the Canadian mail runs well, Chris Carlsen’s Shadow of the Wolf.

Last week, I wrote that Bound in Blood (2010) was essentially a story where just a bunch of stuff happens to Hodgell’s cat-clawed heroine, Jame. That’s pretty much the feel in Honor’s Paradox (2011) as well, but this time there’s more apparent purpose. The story is told in Hodgell’s usual mix of the funny, the tragic, and the sublime. One final time, the setting is the Kencyrath military school, the randon academy.

Again, the setup:

Thirty thousand years ago, Perimal Darkling began to devour the series of parallel universes called the Chain of Creation. To fight against it, the Three-Faced God forged three separate races into one: feline-like Arrin-Ken to serve as judges; heavily-muscled Kendar to serve as soldiers and craftsmen; fine-featured humanoid Highborn to rule them. For 27,000 years, the Kencyrath fought a losing battle, one universe after another falling to the darkness. Three thousand years ago, the High Lord Gerridon, fearful of death, betrayed his people to Perimal Darkling in exchange for immortality. Fleeing yet again, the Kencyrath landed on the world of Rathilien. Since then, they haven’t heard from their god and Perimal Darkling has seemed satisfied to lurk at the edges of their new home. Monotheists trapped on an alien world with many gods, the Kencyrath have had to struggle to make a life on Rathilien.

Now, the power of the Three-Faced God seems to be reappearing. The Kencyrath believe that only the Tyr-ridan, three Highborn reflecting the three aspects of their god — destroyer, preserver, and creator — will be able to defeat Perimal Darkling. Jame, raised in the heart of Perimal Darkling, is fated to be the Regonereth, That-Which-Destroys.

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The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: ‘Dirk Gently’ is Not ‘Timeless’

The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: ‘Dirk Gently’ is Not ‘Timeless’

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gently_circleI love Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, the novel by Douglas Adams. Which you know because you read my Black Gate post about it. And I liked the sequel, The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul. And there were some good bits in the third novel, unfinished at Adams’ death.

And, I thought that the BBC miniseries starring Houdini & Doyle’s Stephen Magnon was worth watching. I own audio books of Adams reading Dirk Gently and the excellent BBC radio play of it. So, I’m a fan. I was leery after seeing the trailer for the new BBC miniseries starring Elijah Wood (not as Gently, however). It didn’t look like it was very true to the style of Adams’ books.

I’ve watched the first two episodes. Except for discussing BBC’s Sherlock post-season two, I’m usually pretty positive with my Black Gate posts here. If you are looking for more of that sunshine, skip the following and scroll on down to my review of the new show, Timeless.

With six of eight episodes yet to air, the new Dirk Gently is a festering pile of tripe. It bears almost no resemblance to Adams’ character, and even disregarding that, it’s a ridiculous mess of a show in its own right. Max Landis, who it appears wanted to imitate Quentin Tarentino while showing everyone how talented he is, all but completely ignores Adams’ work.

There is barely a shadow of the actual Dirk Gently in this series. Samuel Barnett’s character is totally clueless, almost completely helpless and neither clever nor funny. He just rolls along with no real insights or ability to influence events. That sound like Adams’ character? And, he’s not even the star, as the show is really about Gently’s reluctant assistant, Todd, played by Wood.

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New Treasures: The Rise of Io by Wesley Chu

New Treasures: The Rise of Io by Wesley Chu

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the-rise-of-io-smallWesley Chu burst onto the scene with The Lives of Tao, the opening novel in the Lives of Tao trilogy. His Tor hardcover, Time Salvager, was optioned by Michael Bay. His new novel from Angry Robot, The Rise of Io, is the first in a new trilogy. Earth is in the aftermath of a civil war between two alien factions, when Ella Patel stumbles upon a couple being chased by a heavily armed gang. Soon she’s caught up in an alien investigation, and listening to a strange new voice in her head.

Ella Patel – thief, con-artist and smuggler – is in the wrong place at the wrong time. One night, on the border of a demilitarized zone run by the body-swapping alien invaders, she happens upon a man and woman being chased by a group of assailants. The man freezes, leaving the woman to fight off five attackers at once, before succumbing. As she dies, to both Ella and the man’s surprise, the sparkling light that rises from the woman enters Ella, instead of the man. She soon realizes she’s been inhabited by Io, a low-ranking Quasing who was involved in some of the worst decisions in history. Now Ella must now help the alien presence to complete her mission and investigate a rash of murders in the border states that maintain the frail peace.

With the Prophus assigned to help her seemingly wanting to stab her in the back, and the enemy Genjix hunting her, Ella must also deal with Io’s annoying inferiority complex. To top it all off, Ella thinks the damn alien voice in her head is trying to get her killed. And if you can’t trust the voices in your head, who can you trust?

Our previous coverage of Wesley Chu includes:

An Origin Story Mashed With a First-Contact Story: A Review of The Lives of Tao by Kelly Swails
New Treasures: The Lives of Tao
Time Salvager
Time Siege

The Rise of Io was published by Angry Robot on October 4, 2016. It is 352 pages, priced at $14.99 in trade paperback and $6.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Tommy Arnold.

Part Teenage Wasteland, Part Lovecraft Fever Dream: Charlie Human’s Baxter Zevcenko Novels

Part Teenage Wasteland, Part Lovecraft Fever Dream: Charlie Human’s Baxter Zevcenko Novels

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apocalypse-now-now-small kill-baxter-small

For all the resources I turn to when I want the latest book news — including Locus magazine, Facebook, Amazon, conventions, and suggestions from friends — there’s really no replacement for browsing a really great book store. The Barnes & Noble in Geneva, Illinois, is a really great book store, and I’ve made many of fine discovery there. Last Saturday was no exception, and I walked out with a copy of Apocalypse Now Now, the first novel by Charlie Human to feature sixteen year-old Baxter Zevcenko, veteran of South Africa’s supernatural underworld.

Lauren Beukes (Broken Monsters) called Apocalypse Now Now “A demented, raucous urban fantasy,” and Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim) labels it “Part teenage wasteland, part Lovecraft fever dream.” The second novel, Kill Baxter, was published in trade paperback by Titan last year, and arrives in a mass market edition this month.

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In 500 Words or Less: Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

In 500 Words or Less: Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

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oie_40735xngboxezBest Served Cold
By Joe Abercrombie
Gollancz (544 pages, £9.99 in paperback, £6.99 digital, June 2010)

Remember a few weeks ago when I talked about Steven Erikson being in my top five fantasy authors? Joe Abercrombie is in there, too – in fact, he’s probably higher than Erikson. The First Law trilogy blew me away, which makes it painful to say that its immediate sequel, Best Served Cold, left me a little disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong: this fantasy-style homage to Kill Bill is just as fast-paced and exciting as the First Law books. Monza Murcatto is a brilliantly flawed protagonist, and between the return of drunken mercenary Nicomo Cosca and newcomers like poisoner Morveer and numbers-obsessed killer Friendly, there’s plenty of Abercrombie’s dark humor. The twists and turns are intriguing, particularly with master assassin Shenkt.

But I found myself missing the epic scope, since I would’ve been surprised if (Spoiler Alert) Monza didn’t succeed in her revenge quest (End Spoiler). And while seeing familiar faces like High King Jezal dan Luthar and Vitari is great and all, along with references to other characters and elements, it’s almost like cameos by John Stamos and Bob Saget on Fuller House: it just reminds you that the original was better.

My biggest criticism is another returning character: Shivers, who appeared in the First Law trilogy as a young Northman with a grudge against Logen Ninefingers. In the previous books, Shivers was his own character, one of many distinct Northern characters and specifically a reminder for Logen about his past bloody crimes. For some reason, Shivers in this novel is like a paper cut-out of Logen without the heart: he has the same mannerisms, wants to be better but can’t, falls for someone who is clearly going to be a problem, and goes berserk with violence just like the Bloody-Nine.

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Gunslingers, Shapeshifters, and Ancient Animal Gods: The Children of the Drought Trilogy by Arianne ‘Tex’ Thompson

Gunslingers, Shapeshifters, and Ancient Animal Gods: The Children of the Drought Trilogy by Arianne ‘Tex’ Thompson

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one-night-in-sixes-small medicine-for-the-dead-small dreams-of-the-eaten-small

The border town of Sixes is quiet in the heat of the day, but at sunset wake the gunslingers and shapeshifters and ancient animal gods whose human faces never outlast the daylight. Appaloosa Elim had to enter Sixes to find his so-called partner Sil Halfwick, who disappeared inside in the hope of making a name for himself among Sixes’ notorious black-market traders.

That was the premise of One Night in Sixes, the popular debut novel by Arianne ‘Tex’ Thompson. A sequel arrived in 2015, and the concluding novel in the trilogy is now scheduled to arrive in paperback in late December. Here’s all the details; links will take you to our previous coverage.

One Night in Sixes (464 pages, $7.99/$6.99 digital, July 29, 2014) — excerpt
Medicine For the Dead (480 pages, $7.99/$3.99 digital, April 9, 2015) — prologue
Dreams of the Eaten (384 pages, $8.99/$6.99 digital, December 27, 2016)

All three were published by Solaris. The covers are by Tomasz Jedruszek.

See all of our recent coverage of series fantasy here.