Dead Men's Boots / Mike Carey

Dead Men's Boots

category: fantasy, author:

Mike Carey

book 3 of Felix Castor
original copyright 2007

read in June 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10, read to pass the time

This book is definitely noir. So deep in noir that it almost comes out the other side. Deep dark, with humour. Darkness laid on just a bit too thick.

World-weary, tough, cynical. A hero who's seen it all and found it all, wanting. And says so, with some excellent one-liners.

The effect is, dark humour that is somewhat depressing.

Nothing that makes you outright miserable. Just nothing really cheerful, either. The hero has no real friends, just acquaintances who work with him because they don't have a better choice. The hero feels some guilt for manipulating nice people into supporting him. He's right to feel guilty.

Then the humour fades away and is replaced by escalating violence. Personal violence and mass violence.

Don't get me wrong: this book will not make you feel miserable. But when the villains are roundly trounced the hero -- and the reader -- are left feeling... low. It feels as though this is not a victory... just a temporary staving off of the inevitable defeat.

Felix Castor -- the hero of this book -- can be compared to Harry Dresden of the Dresden Files. Both are magic workers battling supernatural enemies in an almost here-and-now big city. Read my review of Grave Peril, where Dresden's life appears to be on a downward spiral. Yet Dresden still has friends -- loyal friends. And Dresden favours the truth rather than manipulation.

Dead Men's Boots has no positive inter-personal interactions. When the hero says that he is reluctant to help, you believe him. When he seems to continue on because evil acts must be punished, you wonder if he is just protecting himself from future retribution.

Read this book, you may enjoy it. Do not expect to be cheered up when the hero finally wipes out the baddies. To the very last ghoul and ghost. With no feeling at all of a job well done.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

The Jazz / Melissa Scott

The Jazz

category: science fiction, author:

Melissa Scott

original copyright 2000

read in June 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10, well worth reading

This is an enjoyable book with some surprises. Well, not so much surprises. More, I was surprised when some stereotypes failed to materialise...

Which is good !

First up, the conflict of the story is set up by a teenage hacker. Or, rather, a teenager who uses a tool which was hacked by a friend. The heroine is a smart web user with a past. She helps the teenager.

I kept expecting the teenager to come out of his shell, to develop, to use his skills to somehow solve some of the stories problems. But... he remained a teenager: sometimes surly, sometimes scared, sometimes suitably chastened. Which is fine, really... I suspect that my expectations were set by my recent readings of teen-boy-saves-world-and-gets-the-girl wish-fulfilment stories.

Then there's the heroine with the past...

At one point she thinks, Is this all a long-term plot aimed at me? Then she dismisses the idea as being worthy only of conspiracytheory.com... Which is a pity, since I was looking for a deeper plot. A major conspiracy plot, perhaps.

The Jazz is a straightforward story of nice people versus nasty. No great conspiracies, no nasty surprises. Just a looming threat, a few good friends and fast evasive manoeuvres. With the heroine using her special skills -- right at the last minute -- to save the day.

No great plot complexity but an interesting world. And nice characters except for the one, chief villain.

A pleasantly enjoyable book.