Legend / David Gemmell

Legend
by David Gemmell

fantasy, action
first (or last!) of the Druss / Drenai saga

copyright 1986
read in December 2012

rated 8 /10: really quite good

Started off just a bit clichéd... until I realised that Gemmell may have begun this particular boy-meets-girl, fight-side-by-side, fight-each-other, fall-in-love cliche...

Then there's the cold-looks, scares-baddie, sword-wielding-inspires-heroism-and-loyalty super-hero... Gemmell may have invented this one, too. He has certainly taken the cliches and run with them!

Anyway...

This is a rip-roaring yarn of sword and sorcery. A steady build-up of action. Heroic deeds against insuperable odds. With gentlemanly violence on either side.

You can almost imagine Bertie Wooster telling Jeeves to lay out the best silver: Tonight we dine with the enemy, tomorrow we slaughter them. Pip, pip, old chap!

It's a war of brutality, violence and Queensberry Rules. Fight for life and freedom, give no quarter, respect the enemy. And allow some time for true love to bloom.

Right from the start there is an expectation that the good guys are on a hiding to nothing. There is no way that they can win. Very little chance that they can even survive. And by the end -- nearly everyone is, indeed, dead.

Despite this, the book is positive.

The fighters know why they fight. The dead, gave their lives for a cause in which they believed. The survivors know that they did not fight in vain.

Apparently Lord of the Rings was an inspiration. LotR is an epic battle of good versus evil. Legend is also an epic battle... of good versus good-from-another-perspective. Interesting...

Legend is the tale of a single battle. Made epic by the scale, the people and the overall understanding of what makes a great story.

Legendary.

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The Adventures of Sally / P.G. Wodehouse

The Adventures of Sally
by P.G. Wodehouse

humour
written in 1922
read in December 2012

rated 7 /10: well worth reading

Before I read this book I expected to write, Another great book by Wodehouse... What else can I say.

I mean, I've read enough Wodehouse to know the style: charming, light, warm.

Yet Sally is different...

The Adventures of Sally is set largely in America rather than England. The characters are mostly American. And not every character is likeable!

There is the boxer who enjoys hitting his opponents. There is the money man who is a fool for his woman. His woman, who is her own woman and a fool.

The first fiance turns out to be a self-centred, self-pitying incompetent. The second fiance -- despite being an Englishman -- is an unpleasant snob.

I am surprised!

Perhaps it's because the book is set in America... a melting pot of races, people and classes. Whereas Bertie Wooster and his friends live in splendid upper-class English isolation.

Perhaps the characters of Sally were based on observation of actual Americans... Wodehouse did live in America for most of his life. And, as a corollary, the Wodehouse England may have been based on youthful memories and rose-tinted imagination...

For whatever reason, this book includes several characters who may be actively disliked. Which is unusual -- in my limited readings of Wodehouse.

Is this really unusual? Or is my Wodehouse experience too limited...

I look forward to reading more books by P.G. Wodehouse. I know that I will enjoy them. And I am interested to see if I will meet more of these definitely dislikeable Americans.

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The Way of Shadows / Brent Weeks

The Way of Shadows
by Brent Weeks

Night Angel (1)
fantasy

copyright 2008
read in December 2012
rated 8 / 10: really quite good

At the end of this book the author writes that the truly evil part of this story is near the start, in the abuse of children in street gangs. The rest, he writes, is tough and gritty but infused with hope.

Tough and gritty... indeed!

This book -- first of a trilogy -- tells of the hero's rise from child crim and victim, to professional assassin. Sounds bad, I know. Yet this trainee assassin has feelings and principles. The quintessential killer with a heart of gold...

Okay, the concept is a cliche. Implemented well.

The characters are troubled and sympathetic. I think that "conflicted" is the correct word... Sometimes that means that you don't know what they will do next -- nor why. With Weeks' characters you can understand their motivations. And even if you dislike some of their actions, you can see why they acted that way.

The death count rises rapidly in the last third of the book... Some likeable characters are killed. We are, after all, in book one of three. There is death and tragedy -- but not despair. The good guys suffer -- but they are fighting... and winning minor victories.

The characters move from personal suffering, to personal success, to global suffering, to personal survival. Just as they drag themselves clear of personal issues, the global problems take precedence...

As the heroes overcome their personal challenges, I grow to like them. As the challenges grow, I am cheering for the heroes. And the heroes come through...

The book ends with global catastrophe and personal success. A very satisfactory cliff-hanger of an ending...

I look forward to reading book two of this trilogy.

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Astrotruckers / Mikael Niemi

Astrotruckers
by Mikael Niemi
translated from Swedish by Laurie Thompson

written in 2004
translated in 2007
read in December 2012

science fiction, collection
rated as 6 / 10: read to pass the time

A lot of interesting science fiction type ideas. Some social satire presented with a dash of sometimes rough humour. A Scandinavian view of the world. What's not to like?

Well, it's not a novel. It's not even a collection of short stories. It's a collection of ideas.

Some of the ideas are presented as stories. Those stories add very little to the core idea. The occasional comment by the author that this is not a story... well... honest but adds very little to the enjoyment of reading.

Niemi -- the author -- has a heap of interesting ideas. He has taken a lazy approach to these ideas: here they are, I'm not going to wrap them up in the fancy framework of a story...

All very nice. An idea for its own sake.

Unfortunately it leaves me not asking for more.

The ideas are mixed, so there is no theme which makes me think, I'd like to read more. There are no regular characters, so I am not left wondering, what will they do next.

So okay, read this book to pass the time. And to open your mind to some interesting and possibly new ideas.

I'm hoping to find the interesting ideas in a book with a plot and characters. With a beginning a middle and an end. That is, in a story.

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Apocalypse Cow / Michael Logan

Apocalypse Cow
by Michael Logan

published 2012
Science Fiction
rating 7 /10: well worth reading

Here's a funny quote from Terry Pratchett: "Apocalypse Cow made me snort with laughter." That could be the funniest line in (though it's actually on) this book.

There are suggestions that this book is humorous. It is not. There are some ironic, even sarcastic, comments on society. There are some chuckles.

Mostly, this is a blood-spattered action-packed adventure. Typical horror story, perhaps, with people dying -- horribly -- on every other page. Read the back cover and you get an idea of how few people will survive to the end of the book... Then the compulsory, but wait, it's not over yet, ending.

So it's not humour. Despite Terry Pratchett's humorous introduction.

On the other hand... it's quite a good book.

At the start we are introduced to the main characters. And what an unlikeable lot they are! There are some tiny little positive notes. Yet it reads like some of the worst books of so-called humour, where noone could possibly like any of the characters.

And yet...

Those tiny positives grow. The characters become likeable. Until -- by half way through -- I do care what happens to them.

Then there's all the telling rather than showing. Quite a lot of it. Yet each lot of telling is short. Not long enough to be boring, just enough to be noticeable.

So as a novel it has faults. Yet it is an enjoyable novel. Once I get to know the characters, I like them. Well, I like the small handful who are good guys, anyway.

And by the last third of the book -- I wanted to read on, to find out what happens next.

A good book, worth reading. As long as you are willing to read rather tasteless descriptions of violent death. And open descriptions of the feelings and physical responses of the horny teenager...

A difficult start but it improved, markedly.

Give it a go. Laugh at the clever title. Enjoy the action and horror -- with occasional chuckles and some depth of character. Not perfect but well worth reading.

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Dream Stone / Glenna McReynolds

Dream Stone
by Glenna McReynolds

fantasy
follows The Chalice and the Blade

copyright 1998
read in December 2012
rating 8: really quite good

This book is "really quite good" if you like romantic fantasy! I just like adventure, nice characters and a satisfactory ending. This book has all of that.

Dream Stone is a dream of summer, with the richness of life glowing in the glorious sunshine. It's a dream of spring, with love bursting forth in all its heartfelt splendour. It is a dream of autumn, with everyday work to be done in preparation for winter.

And it's a dream of winter, with danger and the threat of death for the unwary.

Does that sound rather poetic? I hope so... because Dream Stone is an epic myth set in blank verse...

Well, not really. What I'm trying to say is, this is a book which reads like an epic poem. Flows and rhythms and images and imagination... Yet so very readable.

McReynolds has written -- it seems to me! -- from the heart. The result, is a story which glows.

Okay, it's not a genre-shattering classic. Yet it is a very enjoyable book.

Tolkien's hobbits are amazed to realise that Elves have lived through three Ages of the world. McReynolds' fairies have lived just as long, yet they are the everyday heroes of the story. It's a different -- and enjoyable -- point of view.

Their everyday lives are included in the story. Not in the sense of, look, I've created a complete world... It's just, life continues on, around the adventure.

The love scenes are over the top... Sex, in the forget-to-breathe style of Twilight. Yet with the reality of not-always-perfect first attempts.

Battle scenes are... vague. Raise the magic sword, charge ahead... then skip forward to counting the dead bodies. This is a fantasy romance, the battles are simply parts of the plot... Devices to provide threat -- and to add stress to the romantic relationships.

This is a simple story which is set in the middle of an enormously complex world history.

This story, is a lot of fun.

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Wet world / Mark Michalowski

Wet World
by Mark Michalowski
a Doctor Who book

science fiction
copyright 2007
read in December 2012

rating 6: read to pass the time

I was a fan of the old Doctors Who. You can see this coming... I don't like the new Doctors Who. The new Doctors are childish, over-confident and under-performing. Relationships with the companions are also a bit embarrassing.

Some of the "new" stories are okay. I admit that I have not watched many -- I turn off when the melodrama becomes too bad. Still, perhaps the stories may, in fact, be science fiction -- under the surface coating of rom com children's adventure.

This book overcomes most of the weaknesses of the tv show.

The weaknesses are still there: over confident grins, romantic looks, too clever solutions, contrived plot... Yet it is quite easy to read.

I turn off the TV show. How can I bear to read the book?!

A book may be read at any speed... Well, a book may be read, or read slowly and carefully -- or a book may be skimmed... And that's what I did with Wetworld.

When the Doctor was too smug, I skimmed. When Martha was a bit silly, I skimmed. When the story was readable -- I read.

The book is quite readable. And at points where I would have grimaced and reached for the off button of the TV remote control -- I simply read a bit faster. And enjoyed the book.

As science fiction, Wetworld is acceptable. For fans of the old Doctors Who, the book is readable. For fans of the new Doctors: read and enjoy... It's the new Doctor Who, in the great new medium of, "print".

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