The Dreaded TBR Pile

So, recently I revealed how many series I was currently reading and asked y'all to do the same, which you did in droves (well, there were a few blog posts *grin)

The reason I was poking around in my stacks was to find out the definitive number of my TBR pile. And I finally have it. The number of books waiting to be read and reviewed for the blog is *drumroll*

1770

Crazy, non? I hasten to add that the bulk of these books are those I owned before I started this blogging lark - I've always been a bookworm!

What scares me is I have books in there that I can remember buying over ten years ago that I was absolutely bound and determined to read - and then they got put to one side in favour of my latest shiny...

Anyway, that's my naughty number - dare you share?

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

I can't imagine there are many of you who don't know the story within One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (I must be one of the few to have never watched the film or read the book), but here is a brief summary: Nurse Ratched rules her ward in an Oregon State mental hospital with a strict routine. Her regime is unopposed until the arrival of McMurphy, a swaggering rogue of a character, who takes it upon himself to defy her at every turn on behalf of his fellow inmates.

I've been sitting on this review for a couple of days, and those who follow me on Twitter know that I have been having trouble marshalling my thoughts - how best to provide commentary on a book that completely devastated me?

I was told to read this - I've always been ever so reluctant to pick up those books deemed to be classics. I don't know why. Maybe because I feel I'll be made to look stupid when I fail to understand why everyone loves the book. With One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I completely understand why people talk it up so much - in fact, I plan to become one of those unutterably boring people who constantly recommend the same book to everyone.

I loved this book. It took me over a week to read and it is only 281 pages. For comparison purposes, over the last day and a half I have breezed through a book that had almost 400 pages. I just did not want One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to end - partly because I knew it was not going to end well, and partly because I couldn't bear to leave the characters.

Argh, I'm struggling, I knew I would! I want to talk about the darkness in this book which is chilling in the extreme. I want to tell you about the moments of hilarity that come out of nowhere and made me laugh out loud. I think you should know about the chilling social commentary that this book provides - showing the fine line between sanity and madness. But I honestly don't think I can do any of it justice.

McMurphy's struggle is seen through the eyes of Chief Bromden, a half-Indian who sympathises and understands McMurphy's desire to try and beat the system. Bromden's voice has moments of sanity and then will plunge into fog and disorientation which gives some indication of the pain and frustration that mental illness must force onto people who suffer it.

In the past I have made jokes about being an accountant, by saying that, although I do deal in numbers, I haven't had my personality lobotomy yet. Having read this book, those words will never again pass my lips. The treatments suffered by the inmates, including electroshock therapy and, in the worst cases, lobotomy, are described with harrowing honesty. I wanted to cry when I saw how many of the inmates were treated - what they had to go through for the sake of trying to cure them seemed absolutely unreal. (And can I say that it is positively barbaric the procedure of lobotomy has taken place in the UK as recently as 2001?!)

Okay, I'm starting to ramble so I'll close here. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a sensational read - honest, funny, harrowing. The characters and their fates are bitter-sweet in the most part, but you leave the book feeling a strange sense of hope. I desperately want you all to read this. It is easily the best book I've read in years - and it is one of the few books to move me to tears. Excellent.

The Last Blog Post

Okay, it's not actually my last blog post - and I do apologise for the rather sensationalist title.

In actual fact, I want to write about the slightly gloomy and defeatist nature of fantasy!

Let me clarify...

Over the last few evenings I have been having fun cataloguing my books (and, for all those who have asked, I am using a good old Excel spreadsheet, sorting by genre, publication date and whether it is a review copy or not!) I've been thrilled to discover some gems I forgot that I brought, and I have spent a great deal of time saying things to myself such as "Why have I not read that yet?!"

One thing that jumped out at me immediately while sorting through my wonderful, wonderful books is just how many fantasy novels concern themselves with the last of something:

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle
The Last Dragonlord by Joanne Bertin
The Last Guardian by David Gemmell
Last Sword of Power by David Gemmell
The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Last Page by Anthony Huso

What is it about fantasy that attracts all these tales about the last of something?

The End of the World is nigh and all that? I mean, many traditional fantasies do genuinely tell us about the potential ending of the world, the universe and everything in it if the protagonist does not get his ass in gear and save it!

I can't think of another genre that gives us so many instances of an Ending. Why fantasy? I'd be interested in any of your thoughts! And do let me know of other fantasy novels I've missed with 'Last' in the title. And, just for kicks, tell me how I'm wrong and point out novels from other genres that tackle 'Last' *grin*

Happy reading!

An Ode to Books

Today has been a tough day.

The day job is uninspiring, mundane and a trial to get through. I struggle to engage with any aspect of it. I cannot even suffer through the days with colleagues, since I work in a quiet office with just one other person who is often absent.

I am an accountant and I a) can't imagine how I tripped and fell into something such as this and b) can't comprehend how utterly different it is from my true love in life. Which would be books.

I adore books. I love every part of them - from the browsing and choosing of them; to the deciding which one to read next; to the cracking open of the first page and not knowing quite what is ahead of you. I love being transported to different worlds. I love being so frustrated with a book that I throw it down in disgust. I enjoy the use of words, the formation of sentences, the lushness of truly great prose.

Books are my sanctuary. They are my hiding place. They shield me from a world that is often too terrible to contemplate. They provide me with inspiration, regret, humble appreciation and melancholy.

Every time I come into work and struggle through my eight hours I have the knowledge that a book is always waiting for me.

To those authors who read this: you made this. I am eternally thankful.

The Ever-Changing Personality of the Bad Guy

What do you think about when you hear the term ‘bad guy’ in literature? And why are they all ‘Dark Lords’? And, while we’re asking questions, why are they mostly men? Where are all the ‘Dark Ladies’?


Evolutionary Phase 1: The Cardboard Cut-Out Villain

Let’s go back to the beginning, back to the Grand-daddy of fantasy fiction – yep, the Lord of the Rings! I understand I am courting controversy here, and no doubt people will be queuing up to tell me where I’m wrong, but I believe Sauron to be one of the most one-dimensional Bad Guys around.



If I may talk bluntly – his main motivation for coveting the One Ring is to “cover Middle Earth in a second darkness”; he is a glorified minion trying to emulate his master; and comes across as being evil purely for the sake of it. In addition to this, when does he ever actually feature on the pages of the Lord of the Rings – we hear about his actions “off-screen”, as it were; his voice and blazing eye are seen on the briefest of occasions through the filter of the Palantir; but we never get to know anything about the man behind the Dark Lord visage!

And Sauron is not alone… In the Dragonlance Chronicles, we have one of the rare female ‘Bad Guys’, Takhisis, the main goddess of evil and head of the Dark Pantheon. And I swear I just had to look up all of that information – I couldn’t remember a single thing about this character! None of her actions or characteristics stayed with me at all, despite the fact I remember other characters, such as Tanis Half-Elven and Raistlin, with great affection.

Finally, in a slightly more modern series (although only slightly, given the first book was published in 1990, which seems a painfully long time ago now!) we have Shai’tan, clearly a Dark Lord thanks to the redundant apostrophe present in the middle of his name!

Evolutionary Phase 2: The Three-Dimensional Bad Guy

This is the Bad Guy with the personality! I believe that there are two prominent examples of epic fantasy authors who have managed to achieve the seemingly impossible art of writing bad guys that you actually sympathise with and understand. One of these is David Gemmell – he is well-known for the ambiguous characters, drawn in shades of grey, who inhabit his books. The bad guys can sure be nasty – torturing, killing, beheading, maiming – but usually they are capable of acts of incredible kindness as well. A lot of the bad guys will go out to war, but then go home and be caring husbands to wives and devoted fathers to children (who usually happen to be adorable little poppets who love their daddy).

The other author is George R R Martin. We have two excellent examples of three dimensional bad guys in his A Song of Ice and Fire sequence: the Lannister brothers, Tyrion and Jaime. Tyrion is shown to be capable of great callousness, and yet great compassion as well – his treatment of Sansa Stark showed the potential of Tyrion actually being a good guy. In some ways, Tyrion is only a Bad Guy by dint of being a Lannister, and therefore set against the Starks, who are the protagonists of the series. Jaime was shown in the earlier books of the series to be reckless and arrogant, demonstrating malice and amoral tendencies. In later books, he has become greatly conflicted and a more powerful character due to this.

The main feature of all these characters over the Cardboard Cut-Out Villain is an ability to feel and show personality: they are larger than life in the pages of the novels they come from. They stand out as independent characters rather than just being created as someone that the Good Guy has to defeat.

Evolutionary Phase 3: The Hot Bad Guys!

Recently, in the urban fantasy genre particularly, there has been an increase in the number of Bad Guys that end up in bed with the protagonist. I’m thinking in particular of characters such as Jean-Claude from the Anita Blake series – here is a Machiavellian vampire, who is not above sacrificing people for the sake of his own power struggles, who has gone beyond mortal cares. On the face of it he is most definitely a Bad Guy (certainly in the earlier novels; in later novels in the series he was de-fanged to a great extent), and yet we are sympathetic to him because he is both hot and melancholic.

This evolutionary stage can probably be laid squarely at the foot of Anne Rice, and the bad boy vampire Lestat – since then we have lapped up the moody, poster boy Bad Guys that us girls believe we are able to redeem.

Evolutionary Phase ?: The Dark Ladies…

I can’t give this phase a number, since the Ladies have been present throughout all epic fantasy (right from where Grendel’s mother is a bit nasty), but all too rarely.

I’ve already made mention of Takhesis being one of the rare Bad Girls to bestride the pages of our epic fantasy. Can you think of many other examples?

I would probably list in their number Jadis, the White Witch of the Narnia books (although being a ‘White’ witch probably precludes her from also being a Dark Lady!) This is a cruel, bitter tyrant of a lady who wishes to cover Narnia in continual winter. Why? So that it never becomes Christmas – not exactly a great motivation for turning people and creatures to stone, and ruling with an iron fist!

As you can see from this all-too-brief glance at the ever-changing personality of the Bad Guy, it is easy to see why epic fantasy needs these Dark Lords, these petty princes, these manipulative vampires, these Kings and Gods who wish to rule the world. Even the most one-dimensional of villains imbue epic fantasy with a sense of menace and a desire from the reader for Good to defeat Evil – and as such they should be as important and as memorable as the Good Guys.

This article was originally posted to the Voyager blog

WALL-E - A Film Review

Approximately seven hundred years in the future, earth is over-run by garbage and devoid of human life. The only robot left is a little cleaning bot called WALL-E. He spends his days compacting rubbish into blocks and building immense structures with them, occasionally collecting interesting artifacts which he shares with a cockroach - his only friend. At night he watches 'Hello Dolly', and dreams of dancing and having a hand to hold. His quiet existence is turned upside down by the arrival of another robot, EVE, who he is immediately smitten by. Their story, as they realise the presence of growing life on earth, and return to the human spaceship Axiom, provides the entertaining climax to the film.

I unashamedly love all the Pixar films - but some more than others. I've never really managed to get on board with Cars or Finding Nemo, and my favourite has ALWAYS been Monsters, Inc. Until now. In my opinion, WALL-E blows Monsters, Inc. out of the water. I've seen complaints that the robot interaction and the lack of humans makes WALL-E a little clinical. Some people dislike the 'silent movie' aspect of it. And others resent the slightly heavy-handed environmentalism message.

I guess all of those complaints could be considered valid. However, I say that WALL-E himself is one of the most adorable and human creations from the Pixar stable, while his burgeoning relationship with EVE is both cute and romantic. For me, the 'silent movie' was done in stunning fashion - the quirk of WALL-E's eyes conveying so many emotions; the beautiful soundtrack that never dominated the viewing; the tiny little details that might have been missed had there been dialogue shouting all across the film. The messages about exercising, about avoiding complete computer immersion, about treating our planet with more respect - all are done sensitively and with real compassion.

I felt that WALL-E was a triumph, a masterpiece of subtlety that is both provocative and fun. And I'm a sucker for a love story - the tender relationship between WALL-E and EVE gave real heart to the movie; for clunks of metal they were surprisingly expressive! WALL-E is easily the best film I've watched this year - and will survive many rewatches. Excellent.

How many series are you currently reading?

I was browsing my over-loaded Google Reader earlier, and saw this intriguing post on Bibliopunkk. Krys is currently reading 89 series!



It got me wondering just how many series I am reading. So, for your pleasure (or disinterest) I decided to find out. Here are some in all their glory - the full series and the number of books I have read from them. Towards the end you will just see the series, the number of books in it and the number I need to read (because no doubt you'll get bored of seeing an eternal list of books!)

1) Commonwealth Saga by Peter F Hamilton

1) Misspent Youth
2) Pandora's Star (read)
3) Judas Unchained (read)
4) The Dreaming Void
5) The Temporal Void
6) The Evolutionary Void

I have read two from this series, which leaves me four to read. I had been waiting for the whole of the Void series to be completed before I embarked on this full epic - now that this has happened, I will be gearing up for it!

2) Takeshi Kovacs by Richard Morgan

1) Altered Carbon (read)
2) Broken Angels
3) Woken Furies

I have read only the first of these books, which leaves me two to read. After having enjoyed Altered Carbon so very much, I am unsure as to why I haven't moved straight onto the other two... Possibly because I don't currently own them?

3) A Land Fit For Heroes by Richard Morgan

1) The Steel Remains (read)
2) The Cold Commands (forthcoming)

I am up to date with Richard Morgan's fantasy series! Well, up until he releases The Cold Commands...

4) Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde

1) The Eyre Affair (read)
2) Lost in a Good Book (read)
3) The Well of Lost Plots (read)
4) Something Rotten (read)
5) First Among Sequels
6) One of our Thursdays is Missing (forthcoming)

I have one book to read to catch myself up with Thursday Next before the latest book is released. Again, I adored the Thursday Next series and I'm a little surprised at myself for not continuing to read these books.

5) Horus Heresy - various authors

1) Horus Rising - Dan Abnett (read)
2) False Gods - Graham McNeill (read)
3) Galaxy in Flames - Ben Counter (read)
4) The Flight of the Eisenstein - James Swallow
5) Fulgrim - Graham McNeill
6) Descent of Angels - Mitchel Scanlon
7) Legion - Dan Abnett
8) Battle for the Abyss - Ben Counter
9) Mechanicum - Graham McNeill
10) Tales of Heresy - Various
11) Fallen Angels - Mike Lee
12) A Thousand Sons - Graham McNeill
13) Nemesis - James Swallow
14) The First Heretic - Aaron Dembski-Bowden
15) Prospero Burns - Dan Abnett (forthcoming)

Huh, this series is really starting to stretch out now... What I like about it is that various authors have completed novels in the series; it gives different flavours to the grim future of war. What I don't like is that I now have twelve books to read to get myself up to date!

6) Kyralia by Trudi Canavan1) The Magician's Apprentice
2) The Magician's Guild (read)
3) The Novice (read)
4) The High Lord (read)
5) The Ambassador's Mission
6) The Rogue (forthcoming)

I read the original trilogy some time ago and found it inoffensively fun to read. I've since received a couple of books for review and so intend to do a full re-read of the series to review on my blog. Leaving that aside, I have two books here to catch myself up.

7) Outlander Series

1) Cross Stitch (read)
2) Dragonfly in Amber (read)
3) Voyager (read)
4) Drums of Autumn (read)
5) The Fiery Cross (read)
6) A Breath of Snow and Ashes
7) An Echo in the Bone

My mum was also reading this series and I lent A Breath of Snow and Ashes to her, since I was reading something else when it came out. She still has it, some five years later! I need to read the full series again, since a lot of the details from the early books are hazy - but I did love this series. Two to read to catch up.

Other series I am reading include the following:

8) Avery Cates by Jeff Somers

Four books currently released; one forthcoming; I have three to read to catch up.

9) Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Six books released; one to read to catch up.

10)Lodes Chronicles by Fiona Walker

Four released; one to read to catch up.

Overall I discovered that I am currently reading 61 series. I have to read a whopping 246 books just to catch myself up with all of these series... Wow, I don't know whether to see that as depressing or a challenge *grin* How about you? Fancy counting up all the series you're currently reading?

A Different Sort of Review - Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

As regular readers of my blog will know, a chap called Bill Capossere and I are re-reading the Malazan works at a slow pace on the Tor.com blog, a few chapters at a time. Last week we completed Gardens of the Moon and, rather than do one of my regular reviews here on the blog, I have decided instead to show you my recap of the book:

Well, Book 1 of a long, long journey completed and time to reflect on this opening chapter...

I don’t think, when I took on this project, that I knew how all-consuming it would become, or how it would force me to look differently at my reading habits. Over the last two months or so, I have come to deeply enjoy my time spent in Erikson’s world—loving the dissection of words, the wondering about foreshadowing, the commentary that accompanies every post Bill and I put up. When I haven’t been reading Gardens of the Moon directly, my mind has often wandered to it, which rarely happens with books I read. Part of that is the density and challenge provided by GotM, but mostly it is because I am reading it so slowly—enjoying every chapter, and not skipping past essential parts of the plot because I am skim reading. It makes it far easier to remember plot points as well, which I hope will stand me in good stead over the next few books!

Anyway, Gardens of the Moon...I started the novel with confusion and no little frustration as people I didn’t know had conversations I didn’t understand. But then gradually my understanding expanded, my desire to know more about the world grew and I immersed myself more fully in GotM. By the time the big finale came, I was a little bit in love with virtually all the characters, and I definitely don’t want to get off this ride!

One thing I have been enjoying most about the novel are the different levels of interest it provides—for someone like myself, whose attention is captured by human relationships and great dialogue accompanied by big ass fights and lots of magic, it does the job. For someone who likes their fantasy grim and grimy, it delivers. But GotM also delivers for those readers who appreciate a philosophical slant, and discussion points galore. Erikson writes comfortably on the theme of war, the fact that there is no easy right or wrong. He shows us moral dilemmas and doesn’t let his characters take the easy way out. In the commentary each week, I have seen some people take the easy ride like me, and just read this thumping good story, enjoying the characters and not looking much past the surface detail. And I have watched with awe as some of you dissect key passages, provide essays on points that interest you and argue philosophy. Good job! And what a great thing that we can get all that from one book and (hopefully) one series!

So, final wrap-up:

Favourite moment of the book? Probably when Rake transformed into his dragon form—I had waited so long to see it and it didn’t disappoint at all!

Favourite character? Hmm, I’m going to get tiresome and say Anomander Rake here! I think everyone who reads my commentary has been able to see which way that was going. Right now I have an almighty fiction-crush on the guy and I can’t wait to see more of him.

Would love to hear yours! And, y’know, least favourite on both counts if you have them...

So, onto Night of Knives— and I have to confess I’m a little nervous. Mostly because I am wondering how I will adjust to Esslemont’s writing style versus that of Erikson, and whether I will find characters that are as enduring as in this first novel of the Malazan. One good thing! I took a sneaky peek and there is no poetry in sight! *grins*

If you are contemplating Gardens of the Moon, I absolutely urge you to read it - push back the confusion of the first few chapters and you will be gripped. In different places, I have equated reading those first chapters to walking into the middle of a conversation or starting at a new job and not knowing the back history of all your colleagues instantly. Erikson's writing rewards those who persevere - with moments of humour, tenderness and real emotion in amongst the mystifying foreshadowing.

I absolutely adored this book, by the end of the two and a half month stint reading it - and so many parts of it have remained with me: Paran falling into the sword; the duel between Rake and the demon king; and then all the very human moments, such as Whiskeyjack talking with the rest of the Bridgeburners.

I am ready for step two of my journey - Night of Knives by Ian C. Esslemont. Head on over to Tor.com and join us!

Book Video Awards 2010 (plus giveaway!)

The Book Video Awards is a joint initiative run by Random House and The Bookseller Magazine. Now in its third year, the objective of the Awards is to enable talented young film directors to make high quality video trailers for great books. Students from the National Film and Television School are invited to submit proposals to create a 90 second trailer for a book from a selection presented by Random House. The winners each receive £5,000 to create their videos which are then used to promote the books online for example on author and fan sites, YouTube and retailers. Videos from previous years have also been used in adverts, on TV news and as enhancements for ebooks.

The 2010 Book Video Awards celebrate four outstanding new Crime and Thriller books:

Blood's A Rover - James Ellory
Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason
Blood Harvest by S J Bolton
The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

YOU now get to decide the overall winner by viewing the trailers and voting for your favourite. The winner will be announced at an Awards ceremony on October 15th.

I have an exciting giveaway connected the the Book Video Awards 2010 - I have copies of the four titles above, and ONE person will win ALL FOUR by simply going to the site to vote and then leaving me a comment below telling me which trailer you picked and why (giving me some way of getting in touch with you)!

So what are you waiting for? I will announce the winner on October 15th.

Children's Books Week

This week we celebrate Children's Books Week, and I thought I would show you five of the children's books that had a massive impact on my reading as a child. I've previously mentioned Roald Dahl on this blog, and also The Silver Brumby by Elyne Mitchell, so here are five new books!

1) Shadow the Sheepdog by Enid Blyton

This is one of the lesser-known Enid Blyton stories, and follows a small sheepdog puppy as he grows into life on a farm. It is told in an anecdotal manner, and from the point of view of Shadow, showing the values of honesty and family coming first. When I was seven, I loved this book to death and begged my parents for my own Shadow. The book doesn't shy away from showing hardship, loneliness and bullying, but gives the usual Blyton happy ending.




2) The Borrowers by Mary Norton

This is a most beloved children's book, concerning the tale of Pod and Homily Clock, and their daughter Arrietty - tiny creatures known as Borrowers, who live amongst "human beans" and 'borrow' items such as needles, thimbles, crumbs of food and fibres from doormats. Arrietty is encouraged to go borrowing with her father and ends up meeting and making friends with a human boy. This is a wonderful story, with just incredible details and a warm heart at its core. I read this and the others in the series umpteen times as a child, and always desperately longed to make a Borrower friend of my own!


3) Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

The story follows the Walker children (John, Susan, Titty and Roger), who sail a borrowed dinghy named Swallow, and the Blackett children (Nancy and Peggy), who sail a dinghy named Amazon. The Walkers are staying at a farm near a lake during the school holidays and want to camp on an island in the lake; the Blacketts live in a house nearby. The children meet on the island which they call Wild Cat Island, and have a series of adventures, involving sailing, camping, fishing, exploration and piracy.I loved the idea of children being left to camp alone on Wild Cat Island, and the food was definitely in the mould of Enid Blyton - tinned meat and lashings of ginger beer and lemonade!

4) Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh

The plot concerns a girl named Rosemary who buys a broom and a cat from an untidy woman in the marketplace. When the cat starts talking to her she learns that she has encountered a witch, selling up to start a new career. Moreover, the cat, Carbonel, just happens to be King of the Cats, presumed missing by his subjects ever since the witch Mrs. Cantrip abducted him. Unfortunately he can't return to his throne until the enslavement spell Mrs. Cantrip cast on him is undone, so Rosemary, together with her friend John, have to learn a little witchcraft and to track down Mrs. Cantrip for her at best ambivalent help. Well! The idea of any animal being able to talk to me was something I imagined constantly as a child - and Carbonel is just a fabulous character, haughty and affectionate by turn, just like a cat. Rosemary and John are likeable children, and there is adventure galore.

5) So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane

Nita Callahan, taking refuge in the library from bullies, checks out a book found in the children's section with the provocative title So You Want To Be a Wizard. On the way home, the bullies corner her, beat her up, and take a space pen given to her by her uncle. Before Nita goes to sleep, she takes the Wizard's Oath. The next morning she looks at her manual and sees her name in the wizards list. This book flirts with being a Young Adult title, concerning, as it does, teenagers learning who they could become, but I decided to put it on my list because it was one I read as a child and enjoyed thoroughly. The concept, for me, was everything - imagine learning that wizardry exists through a book from the library! Personally, I haunted the library for a while hoping that it would really happen to me - the things we do as children *blush*

Anyway, those are five of the books that had a huge impact on me, and kept me reading - how about you? Tell me your most beloved books from childhood!