Shadow's Edge / Brent Weeks

Shadow's Edge
(Night Angel 2 /3)
by Brent Weeks

fantasy

copyright 2008
read in March 2013

rated 6 / 10: read to pass the time

Stephen King advises authors to, make their characters suffer. When I first read that, I had just finished writing a simple little short story set in a small country town. I liked my characters. I did not want to make them suffer!

Which is, perhaps, why I'm a reviewer rather than a writer.

Brent Weeks, on the other hand... makes his characters suffer. To a person of gentle sensibilities -- such as myself -- it is depressing.

This is book two of a trilogy. There is an adequate conclusion: a villain is disposed of, though the even-worse villain is just off-screen, waiting eagerly for book three. All quite satisfactory.

But the suffering!

I don't mean physical suffering, though there is plenty of that. I mean mental suffering...

Hero and heroine are dragged apart, families are separated, characters are introduced, then slaughtered... No-one is happy with the way that they are performing. It's all so... glooooomy... :-(

Two hundred pages in and I am thinking, will this story ever end?! I have to double-check the cover, to make sure that it clearly says, trilogy.

"Trilogy" tells me that there will definitely be an end to the story, at the end of the third book. If this turns out to be one of those interminable fantasy epics where the author had no idea how to finish a story -- I shall be most annoyed.

Shadow's Edge is exciting, imaginative, action-packed. It is also depressing. I rate it six, read to pass the time.

But read it only if you can handle a large load of suffering and despair.

And hope that book three will bring some modicum of a happy ending.

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Hot Water / P.G. Wodehouse

Hot Water
by P.G. Wodehouse

humour
copyright 1932
read in March 2013

rated 7 out of 10: well worth reading

Is this the American Wodehouse? Sure, it's set in France. There are a couple of English characters, some French... and mostly American. And the Americans are more than just the extremes of hero and villain...

Yet Hot Water is typically Wodehouse.

There is, for example, Mr Soup Slattery, safe-cracker. Reduced, by unfortunate circumstances, to stick-ups. Lots of muscle, very little brain. Yet when push comes to shove -- I like him :-)

In a Wodehouse book, nearly all of the characters are likeable. They may have their minor peccadilloes -- such as a tendency to live on other people's money -- but they are likeable. That is one of the great pleasures of reading Wodehouse!

There is also the clever use of words and the regular use of unreferenced quotes...

The lark is on the wing and the snail is crawling slowly across the thorn... I know I could place that... if only I knew my English poetry! I need to Google...

This book, I did read with the internet close by... So I learnt about Xenophon and his ten thousand. Bloomsbury authors. Macedoine. The Volstead Act. It's surprising how much of our language has fallen into disuse in just... eighty... years.

Hot Water can be read and enjoyed for its humour, it's characters, plot twists and overall sense of fun. It brings alive a -- possibly exaggerated -- sense of the Wodehouse world of the 1930s.

And underneath, is a depth of words, of life, of history. A whole host of common assumptions to add to our enjoyment of the book. Assumptions which have largely been lost, over the last eighty years.

Read, enjoy and -- if you want to -- discover the meaning of all the "current" references which are scattered throughout the book.

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Blade Dancer / S.L.Viehl

Blade Dancer
by S.L.Viehl

science fiction, action, a touch of chick-lit romance

copyright 2003
read in March 2013

rated 8 out of 10: really quite good

Take a girl with street smarts and attitude. She's a seven foot tall half alien with retractable claws... What's not to like?!

Blade Dancer is action and attitude from page one. From being kicked off Earth, through fights on spaceships, snarling at the status quo on her alternative "home" planet, to fighting for her life in a school for assassins... This woman is tough.

Yet she is also supportive and loyal to her few friends. She refuses to take sides in a meaningless war. And she never gives in.

And I just re-rated Blade Dancer, from seven to eight :-)

This book is solid science fiction, with an emphasis on alien humanity rather than technology. Okay, the technology is there -- and almost indistinguishable from magic. But the story is about people. And action. And romance :-)

As the heroine begins to get to know her friends, I see a pattern emerging: a group of close friends, each with a special ability. In this book they will learn to work -- and fight -- as a team. Next book, they will battle evil across the known universe.

Well, maybe they will. But that is not how the book ends.

The ending is, perhaps, a little contrived. Just a bit too "nice" to be believed. A nice ending to match the chick-lit romance which is also a theme of this book.

The ending surprised me. It was unexpectedly happy, upbeat... nice.

I like it.

I like a happy ending.

I like this book.

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TopGear Drivers' Handbook / Richard Porter

TopGear Drivers' Handbook
by Richard Porter

humour

published 2011
read in March 2013

rated 6 out of 10: read to pass the time

Lots of fun, lots of chuckles, suitable for any fan of TopGear. Any fan who can read, anyway:-)

The Handbook is not a story, it's a collection of jokes. Some possibly new jokes, some old jokes, plenty of funny jokes.

What is missing is an overall theme.

Okay, it's a spoof of motoring handbooks. Yet it's not satirical -- just jokey. No clever digs at motoring associations, just a lot of absurdities. Many of which could as easily fit into, for example, a sporting club's handbook. Or a tourist guide. Or... any spoof on almost any topic.

There are plenty of car references. Really, though, it's just a collection of absurd humour. With no growth of the theme across the various sections.

Read a few sections, get a few chuckles, put the book down -- you will not have missed much. The Handbook offers a series of moderately funny sections. Cut to fit the motoring theme, otherwise unrelated.

Read, chuckle, move on.

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City of Dreams & Nightmare / Ian Whates

City of Dreams & Nightmare
by Ian Whates
City of a Hundred Rows (1)

science fiction / fantasy: steam punk

copyright 2010
read in March 2013

rated 7 out of 10: well worth reading

The young hero fights for his life, discovers that he has special powers, finds that his powers will be central to saving his world... Sound familiar?

Don't worry... It's a familiar plot but in a fascinating new world.

There are complex depths to this world. Lots of different groups yet they all seem to fit into their logical niches. A range from peasant to powerful, interacting -- at arms length -- and all essential to the operation of the city.

There are hints that the peasant class are down-trodden. Certainly, no-one asks them to vote. On the other hand -- and I like this -- they are not miserable.

The various people fight hard to live in their niches. Life is sometimes cheap and short. Yet when there is a fire -- passers-by shout warnings and there is a reasonably effective fire brigade. In the poorest part of the city.

Life is tough but not degraded. Self interest is strong yet there is friendship, loyalty and concern for the neighbours.

It is very easy to empathise with the nicer characters. And quite possible to have some sympathy for the rest. City of Nightmare? I've met worse.

An interesting and likeable world. So what about the plot?

The plot is a little simplistic.

Lots going on, plenty of intersecting threads, no sudden changes of fortune. This book simply keeps rolling along...

... Rolling along, providing interest and action. Very enjoyable. The heroes are threatened but never in any really serious danger. Although, of course, they often *believe* that their lives are at risk!

As a book which is "well work reading" I have only one real criticism: the level of deus ex machina...

Near the start there is a suggestion that several people are pulling all the strings. Towards the end the same people appear, just in time to save the heroes.

String-pullers can spoil a book. If the control is too tight there is no free will -- and no interest for the reader. Whates does not make that mistake... His heroes are set up, then left to take their chances... most of the time.

Having the string-pullers appear just on time to save the day... is a bit weak. It does detract a bit from the strength of the book, from the strength of the heroes. Still, no worries -- the heroes do most of the work.

Overall this book is easy to read and a lot of fun. Enough plot lines are closed off to give a satisfying ending. Enough are left open so that there is obviously more to be written.

I look forward to reading more of the City of a Hundred Rows.

Perhaps in book two... the boy will get the girl :-)

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Slow Train to Arcturus / Eric Flint and Dave Freer

Slow Train to Arcturus
by Eric Flint and Dave Freer

science fiction
copyright 2008
read in February 2013

rated 6 out of 10: read to pass the time

This book begins well, with the story told from an alien perspective. So we get an outsider's view of humanity, plus an insight into an alien society.

So far, so good.

Then the point of view shifts. And shifts again. And again... Does this help us to understand the actions and attitudes of the various characters? Or is it simply a lazy way to allow two authors to write one book?

The multiple points of view are not confusing. I just wonder why it's done. And wonder if it also adds to the flatness of the story: We understand all points of view, so there is less stress, less doubt, less tension.

The "slow train" concept is good, solid science fiction. Pity the authors gave it so little attention. As they admit in a brief introduction, they had to write within their knowledge.

So Slow Train is a story of the strengths and weaknesses of closed societies. With a final message which is, essentially, the benefits of cross-fertilisation.

The authors have used a multi-generation space ship as a means to isolate a number of social experiments.

At first I thought, cheap trick. Use a good science fiction idea to allow the authors to pick holes in a whole lot of different social ideas. On the plus side, they did pull together the best of each society in order to save the nice aliens' bacon.

Having read about a third of the book, my thoughts turned to stereotypes... I was beginning to tire of the stock-standard characters and their attitudes. Other than the space ship, Slow Train was offering nothing new.

A few pages further on and I thought, these are not stereotypes -- these are caricatures.

Wait a minute, I thought, is this book intended to be *funny* ?!

I'm still not sure.

Is Slow Train to Arcturus intended to be funny? Should I have been reading -- and laughing? I hope not...

Slow Train is a mix of stereotypes and caricatures. Fighting to help some likeable -- and interesting -- aliens. Fighting against people who, interestingly enough, don't care whether or not the aliens are saved.

In other words...

The action is driven by aliens. The conflict is driven by human social choices, with no interest in aliens. The setting is a space ship which could as easily have been a large city with high internal walls...

Several good ideas, lots more weak ideas, all thrown in the pot. A bit of stirring and hope that the flavours add up to a meal worth eating.

Easy to read. You feel satisfied at the end. I just wish that the authors had put more effort into matching the ingredients.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge
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"Common sense is what tells you that the world is flat"--per Ginger Meggs

Money for Nothing / P.G.Wodehouse

Money for Nothing
by P.G.Wodehouse

humour

copyright 1928
read in February 2013
rated 8 out of 10: really quite good

English country folk from upstairs and down, described with humour and affection. American con artists shown as cunning but not evil. Confusion, coincidences and -- surprisingly -- some almost cave-man action.

Yes, this is vintage Wodehouse. (Is there any other form of Wodehouse?!)

It struck me as I read the eminently satisfactory conclusion, that the world of Wodehouse is a little more fixed than I would expect in a more modern novel.

Sure, the various problems are all resolved. Yet there is no shifting of the relative positions of the characters. If one is a Lord at the start then one is a Lord at the end. There is no chance that a pauper will turn out to be a Prince who was exchanged as a baby. Case in point...

The hero begins the story as the obvious person who should inherit the estate. The actual heir has no interest in managing the history and the economics of a rich country estate. And at the end of the book -- there is no change.

The hero will continue to manage the estate. The heir will eventually inherit and continue his disinterest. There is not even the hint of the possibility of a change.

And there is not even the slightest hint of any jealousy on the part of the hero. He will continue to manage and protect the estate, on behalf of its owner.

A glowing, rosy world.

A Wodehouse world to be enjoyed.

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