Veteran by Gavin Smith

Gavin Smith's debut novel Veteran is a take on near-future military science fiction, where the world has been at war with Them for decades. Our "hero", Jakob Douglas, is the veteran of the title, an ex-soldier who spends his days trying to find oblivion through drink and drugs. One day he is told that a Them infiltrator has crashed to earth and must be retrieved. He is reactivated into service - but events do not proceed as planned. He finds himself on the run with a teenage prostitute, realising that everything he has been told about Them has been incorrect. His journey takes him to New York, as he and Morag pick up allies and enemies, and he attempts to bring peace between Them and Us.

This is a good book. It is entertaining and written very well, considering it is Smith's first novel. There are some flaws, which I shall detail, but on the whole I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The main strength of Veteran is the characters, and the relationship between Jakob and Morag. It is, at best, an uncomfortable relationship considering the relative ages of the characters and the fact Morag starts the novel as a whore, but Smith writes it well and introduces some discussion on morality to proceedings. Jakob himself is a dark and grim protagonist, with flashes of brutal humour, and carries the plot very well.

I've seen some remarks on the fact that the philosophical ramifications of the plot sit uneasily alongside the action sequences - but I actually enjoyed these. Although they were presented slightly clumsily at times, I thought they lifted the novel beyond just a shoot-'em-up presentation of war.

My main complaint comes from the treatment of women. Considering we've drifted into near future, it feels like a backward step to have the main female character be a prostitute. We're in an enlightened age right now, where women share the duties of being in the armed forces, and have lofty positions in industry and government - why would all that have changed thanks to an ongoing war with Them? I felt Smith missed a trick here, where he could have presented women in the same enlightened fashion.

I did really like Them though - they were suitably alien, with little progression made my humanity in sixty years with communicating with them and trying to understand them. The name of Them is inspired, in fact, and helps to push the idea that they are something Other.

Altogether, Gavin Smith has written an explosive debut, with memorable characters and breakneck pace. His prose is sleek and smooth, and his action set pieces are clean and fluid. Despite minor flaws, this is an accomplished start to Smith's writing career and I look forward to reading more.

Learning From History...

This post kinda links into my previous article about the Huck Finn kerfuffle. In that post I discussed the censorship (or not) of removing all references to the word 'nigger' in future editions of Huckleberry Finn. One of the points I was trying to make is that sanitizing texts written from past times takes away from us some of the pleasure of discovering the perspective of those times.

Here is my example! My family (in their entirety) are involved in Scouting and my dad was given "Scouting for Boys", written by Lord Baden-Powell. This was originally written in 1932, and sets out the guidelines for how Scouts should behave. Back then it was deemed to be a very good handbook on how young men should live their lives. Reading it now provides much inadvertent amusement!

Let me give you some choice quotes - enjoy! (and remember - if we keep trying to pretend history never happened, we will miss out on gems like this, which are very much a product of their time and should be enjoyed as such).

Smoking and drinking are things that tempt some fellows and not others, but there is one temptation that is pretty sure to come to you at one time of another, and I want just to warn you against it.

It is called in our schools 'beastliness', and that is about the best name for it. Smoking and drinking and gambling are men's vices and therefore attract some boys, but this 'beastliness' is not a man's vice; men have nothing but contempt for a fellow who gives way to it.

Some boys, like those who start smoking, think it a very fine and manly thing to tell or listen to dirty stories, but it only shows them to be little fools. Yet such talk and the reading of trashy books or looking at lewd pictures, are very apt to lead a thoughtless boy into the temptation of self-abuse. This is dangerous, for, should it become a habit, it may lead to worse habits. But if you have any manliness in you, you will throw off such temptation at once; you will stop looking at the books and listening to the stories, and will give yourself something else to think about.

Sometimes the desire is brought on by indigestion, or from eating too rich food, or from constipation. It can therefore be cured by correcting these, and by bathing at once in cold water, or by exercising the upper part of the body by arm exercises, boxing, etc. It may seem difficult to overcome the temptation the first time, but when you have done so once it will be easier afterwards.

If you still have trouble about it, do not make a secret of it, but go to your Scoutmaster and talk it over with him.

By the way - these days any references to Scoutmasters has been lost because of the possible connotations of slavery. Yep, we have reached PC madness...

Here is another quote (and, yes, I am childishly bringing you all the toilet humour examples!):

And to be healthy and strong, you must keep your blood healthy and clean inside you. This is done by breathing in lots of pure, fresh air, by deep breathing, and by clearing out all dirty matter from inside your stomach, which is done by having a "rear" daily, without fail; many people are the better for having it twice a day.

And one example that is not toilet-humour-based, but tickled my funny bone (partly because I've experienced what modern day Scouts are like on camp!):

A camp is a roomy place, but there is no room in it for one chap, and that is the fellow who does not want to take his share in the many little odd jobs that have to be done; there is no room for the shirker or the grouser - well, there is no room for them in the Boy Scouts at all, but least of all when in camp.

Every fellow must help, and help cheerily, in making it comfortable for all. In this way comradeship grows. On service, if one fellow is out on night duty getting wet through, one of those left in the tent will be sure to get ready a cup of hot cocoa for him when he comes in, and that is the kind of thing every Scout should think of and carry out.

My last quote from this delightful little tome:

When you are travelling by train or tram, always notice every little thing about your fellow-travellers; notice their faces, dress, way of talking, and so on, so that you could describe them each pretty accurately afterwards; and also try and make out from their appearance and behaviour whether they are rich or poor (which you can generally tell from their boots), and what is their probable business, whether they are happy, or ill, or in want of help.

But in doing this you must not let them see you are watching them, else it puts them on their guard.

It is said that you can tell a man's character from the way he wears his hat. If it is slightly on one side, the wearer is good-natured; if it is worn very much on one side, he is a swaggerer; if on the back of his head, he is bad at paying his debts; if worn straight on the top, he is probably honest, but very dull.

I have loved this little excursion through history - the quaint ideals, the very proper language, the wonderful idea that young lads previously used to obey these rules (most of them anyway *winks*).

This is the sort of publication we are in very real danger of sanitizing out of existence. Let's not lose the joy of learning from history...

THE BEST MAP!

I use all caps in my subject title in homage to Sam Sykes. His German publishers have demanded a map to accompany publication of Tome of the Undergates and Sam has complied, with the help of Michael Lee Lunsford!

Take a look at this baby...

I particularly like the shark.

Coming Clean - A Book I Just Can't Read

I have to come clean.

The Gunslinger is not for me. Certainly not in the readalong way I've been trying to read it.

I've been finding it a complete chore, trying to complete the posts for each Friday. I've been dreading picking up this so very slight novel and finding reasons to put it off. Look - it's Friday again today and I haven't even looked at The Gunslinger for two weeks. In that period I've read four chapters of Deadhouse Gates and written posts for the Tor Malazan Re-read, and completed four novels of varying lengths. I've done everything bar pick up The Gunslinger.

I don't like it. I find it tedious, dry. I struggle to gain any meaning or excitement from it. I can totally see why other folk warned me off the book.

So, this is me deciding to stop doing something that feels like a *job*. The Dark Tower Readalong officially ends here. I apologise to all those lovely people who encouraged me and left comments. I hate giving up on something, but would rather end it officially than have you keep coming by trying to find a post that isn't going to happen.

Now, I am stubborn - and I have a feeling I will finish reading The Gunslinger at some point, just for completism, but I really don't understand why this series has gained such popularity.

I invite you to tell me why YOU like the series...

Also, which inordinately popular books/series have you never managed to complete?

Foursome by Jane Fallon

Rebecca, Daniel. Alex, Isabel. Four best friends who met at university and end up married, having babies and living just streets away from each other. When Alex ends his marriage to Isabel, everything changes - and Rebecca is forced to acknowledge that life might never be the same again, especially when Alex gets together with Rebecca's hated colleague, Lorna.

Okay, here to start with is a comment on book covers. I'm used to my chick lit novels having pink or pastel or glittery covers. Foursome has a slightly more serious cover and I was fooled into thinking that Fallon might be covering weighty issues the way that Marian Keyes does in her books. Instead, we get a fluffy tale about a falling out between friends and how lying is BAD. And, yes, that message is hammered home.

Having got my head around the difference between cover and contents, I whipped through this soft confection of lies and lovers in less than a day. Fallon's prose is incredibly readable - she had me turning pages feverishly, even though I scoffed incredulously at most of the plot within the book.

I really enjoyed the first part of the book where the savage office relationship between Rebecca and Lorna is explored. Lorna is a hateful character, memorable, spiteful and with a fantastic turn in passive aggressive behaviour. I had the urge to throttle her, and, as far as I'm concerned, if an author makes you have a visceral reaction like that to a character then they are doing a fine job.

My problems came when Rebecca decided that, rather than tell her bosses that Lorna was going through big personal issues that kept her from work (the normal way to deal with a work issue), she decides to perform a series of lies and charades to pretend that everything is fine with Lorna's performance. This just wouldn't happen, and I could not suspend my disbelief. At all. I found myself rolling my eyes at the behaviour of many of the characters.

With that said, I think Fallon also has a deft touch when it comes to characterisation. She writes strong and real female characters, who are bitchy and loving by turn. Those that are mothers have warm and realistic relationships with their children, who are also written well.

With Fallon's ability to write these great characters, and her smooth prose, it made me even more disappointed at the ridiculous plot. I would really love to see what Fallon is capable of when she has a decent storyline to work with. I will be reading more novels by this author, for sure, but now I know that I shall be using them as light reads when I need fluffy escapism.

Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler

Tracking the Tempest is the second novel about half-selkie Jane True by Nicole Peeler. In this novel, Jane is visiting her gorgeous boyfriend Ryu in Boston for Valentine's Day when they are attacked by another halfling. A hugely powerful half-ifrit who has left a path of dead bodies in his wake, Conleth looks to be hunting down Jane and won't let anything get in his way. Jane - flaunting her newly-trained supernatural powers - and Ryu are joined by a number of others, including Ryu's big rival, Anyan, to find Conleth before he can kill again.

I've just turned into a fangirl. My one real complaint about the first novel in the Jane True series - Tempest Rising - was that it seemed to be all set-up and not a lot of plot. In Tracking the Tempest, Peeler hits the ground running and gives us a delicious plot with no filler. This is a taut murder mystery, as well as a look at the supernatural politics that dominate the world that Jane has been introduced to.

My very favourite part of Peeler's writing is the snarky, knowing humour that fills every page. Anyone who follows this author via Twitter or Facebook knows that she has a very similar sense of humour to her wonderful main character. We have a girl who creeps through a dark and empty warehouse, thinking on all of the horror movies she's watched where the vulnerable young girl is jumped on and murdered. We have a just wonderful scene late in the book where Jane has been rescued, but all she can contemplate is the fact she drank too much water and needs to pee:

"Jane, I don't even know where to begin. I'm trying to rescue you from a psychotic serial killer who is apparently intent on impregnating you. And you want to take a potty break."

See? Who else d'you know would include the fact that heroines do actually have to pee, especially in moments of high tension? *grins*

The shivering romantic tension between Jane and Anyan is also ramped up in this novel. In Tempest Rising I was intrigued by Anyan, but in Tracking the Tempest he becomes absolutely irresistible.

So, I loved the plot. I loved the characters. I loved the prose. I loved the wicked sense of humour. I loved the fact I COULD NOT put this book down from start to finish. Ms. Peeler, I salute you. You are my new favourite UF author!

Oh, and let's give some cover love to Sharon Tancredi, who has produced another vivid and utterly charming cover to grace the outside of such a brilliant story.

The Flight of the Eisenstein by James Swallow

The Flight of the Eisenstein by James Swallow is the fourth book in the long-running Horus Heresy series by the Black Library. It follows the Death Guard Captain Nathaniel Garro as he witnesses the massacre of his brother legions on Isstvan III and his struggle to pass the message of Horus' treachery to the Emperor. It is a sister novel in some ways to Galaxy in Flames, as it shows the events on Isstvan III from a more distant perspective, and from the point of view of an Astartes warrior who has not been party to the changes in Horus and his turn to the forces of Chaos.

By the nature of the story, The Flight of the Eisenstein was never going to be a happy book, but much of the humour and moments of levity from the previous three novels in the Horus Heresy is absent here. Brother betrays brother; Chaos is on the rise; and Garro finds himself questioning everything in which he once believed. It is a dark, grim testimony of the darkness growing within the forces of the Astartes.

Swallow does an admirable job in taking the events covered by Ben Counter in 'Galaxy in Flames', and providing us with the alternative view - in fact, the scenes in which Garro watches in disbelief as Isstvan III is destroyed far beneath him are some of the most powerful and moving in the series to date.

There is also a nice turn in discussing the nature of new vs. old traditions within the Death Guard Legion, which echoes the over-riding theme of Lodges and following a new belief shown in the whole Horus Heresy series. Garro is one of the oldest-serving within the Death Guard, one who was born on Terra unlike many of his battle brothers. He adheres to many of the old traditions and finds himself somewhat outcast within his own Legion.

I also enjoyed (although I'm not sure "enjoyed" is quite the word!) the portrayal of warriors who are unable to fight any longer. Here we have Garro, defiant in the face of injury; Voyen, unable to face the idea of being part of war anymore; and Decius, who chooses a very different path. In each case, Swallow shows how a fighter might respond to the idea that he can play no part in the role that he was born to. All three storylines were written incredibly well.

In The Flight of the Eisenstein, the massive and far-reaching events covered in the first three novels are brought down to a much more micro level. Much of the novel takes place on the Eisenstein itself, and has an incredibly creepy and claustrophobic atmosphere because of it. Adding in a glimpse of the Warp and how Chaos affects the Astartes only increases this.

My main issue with the novel is a matter of characterisation. The Death Guard Legion is not the most charismatic, and they feel a little mundane on the pages. Compare this to the Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus, and the novel becomes somewhat dry. I don't think this is necessarily a fault of Swallow - in fact, I think he portrays these Marines well.

What is a fault of Swallow's is the fact that at times there was little to differentiate the individual characters within the Legion. Apart from Garro himself, Decius and Grulgor - all of whom have a large role to play in the novel - the rest of the Marines are interchangeable and difficult to identify.

All in all, though, this is a very solid entry into the series - dark, forbidding and challenging to read for all the right reasons. Good effort.

Ageism and sexism in publishing

This is going to be a free-form pondering post to which I would welcome any sort of input!

We have heard today in the UK that the ex presenter of a TV show called Countryfile has won her case, in that she argued she had been removed for being too old. It is not the first example we've seen on TV and movie screen where certain people are picked over others thanks to age.

So today I am talking about ageism and sexism - and how it affects/does not affect publishing.

First ageism.

My personal thought was that ageism was non-existent in the book world. After all, writers of all ages are being published! But then I considered the fantasy arena - if an author goes to a publisher with an exciting new ten-book series, but they are in their sixties, would the publisher take the risk on beginning the cycle where an older author might (god forbid) perish during the writing?

If we look at YA fiction, it strikes me that publishers would prefer younger authors to push, since they can talk with a great degree of understanding to the teens who are reading their books.

I don't think any publisher would state directly that they'd prefer younger authors - and this is proved, in the fact that they will take on older authors as well - but do you think age presents any sort of consideration for the publisher?

Relating to sexism, Adam Roberts has written an interesting article on the Booker Prize. He crunched the numbers of the shortlisted/winning authors and discovered that the shortlisted authors have, in the majority, been men. We've also seen a lot of discussion from Niall Harrison at Torque Control about women in the SF arena and the fact that the field is dominated by men.

Is there sexism in publishing? Is it that men are picked over women, or is it that more men are writing novels? Obviously, in a genre such as women's fiction, the reverse could said to be true - authors such as Mike Gayle are very much in the minority and therefore seen as unusual. I'm sure the fact he is a guy is considered a unique selling point by his publisher, since he can write accurately about the way men feel during relationships!

I can't pull any conclusions out of this, which is why I would welcome your impressions on publishing and whether they are affected by ageism and sexism!

Signings and Agents and Books, Oh My!

I've had a tumble of interesting press releases fall into my inbox, so I thought I would do you a quick round-up of the fun and games going on in the speculative fiction arena.

First up, Agent Ring has struck again! With absolute stealth and cunning, Agent Ring has managed to secure the services of one Gareth L Powell. Here is the official version:

Gareth L Powell and Sharon Ring sign author/agent contract.
Gareth L Powell has signed up with Literary Agent Sharon Ring. Sharon Ring will act as agent in regard to five titles, Revenant Skies; Reclaiming The Dead; Silversands (originally published with Pendragon Press); The Last Reef (originally published with Elastic Press); The New Ships.

Gareth is rapidly gaining a reputation as a “strong new voice in epic science fiction” (Solaris). In addition to his previously published novel (Silversands) and collection (The Last Reef), Gareth has appeared in several anthologies, including including Shine (Solaris Books, 2010), Conflicts (NewCon Press, 2010), 2020 Visions (M-Brane, 2010), Dark Spires (Wizard’s Tower, 2010), and Future Bristol (Swimming Kangaroo, 2009). His short story Ack-Ack Macaque won the Interzone Readers’ Poll for best short story of 2007; and Solaris will publish his second novel The Recollection in September this year.

Gareth said, "With two novels and a collection under my belt, I'm glad to have someone with Sharon's contacts and chutzpah to help me scout out the territory ahead. I expect this will be a successful and productive partnership for us both."

Sharon said, “Gareth is an ideal writer to join forces with at this time. The more I read his work, the more I feel he is poised to have wider success in the science fiction community. He has a strong narrative voice; concise, direct and, above all, very human in the exploration of his chosen themes. I’m delighted to be forming this partnership.”

You can find out more about Gareth L Powell at his website, while any queries should be directed to Sharon.

Next the news that Angry Robot Books have signed Trent Jamieson:

Australian wunderkind Trent Jamieson has signed to Angry Robot for a new series of steampunk fantasy novels. Already attracting rave notices for his urban fantasy Death Most Definite (Orbit), Trent’s latest creation takes us to a dying land of decaying clockwork technology that is being devoured by a great rift in reality, the Roil.

The deal was arranged between Trent, agent Sophie Hamley, and AR’s publishing director Marc Gascoigne. It includes publication in the UK and US, in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Trent had this to say: “Angry Robot have been publishing some bloody excellent books in the last couple of years, so I’m thrilled to be part of their list. Roil and Night’s Engines take me in some rather different directions to anything I’ve done before. They’re Steampunk Fantasy, fast, dark and crammed to bursting with monsters. You’ll meet psychopathic Vergers, Quarg Hounds, and Hideous Garment Flutes, and see the terrors of the Obsidian Curtain up close and personal. This is a world I’ve been writing about, and living in, for ten years, and I’m so excited to finally share it with people.”

Roil is scheduled to hit bookstores in September 2011, with its sequel Night’s Engines following in late Spring 2012.

Check out the Angry Robot website for more deets on this one!

Now some information from Solaris about two books coming from them in March 2011.

The first is by Andy Remic:

The fourth novel in the rock-hard Combat K series!

Junks, an evil alien scourge, are flooding Quad-Gal with terror. Combat K are sent on a mission to find an alien artifact which could win the war all at once.
SLAM-dropped to Cloneworld – a planet ravaged by violent civil war – Combat K get caught in a global conflict between augmented mechanised war machines and genetically-modified humans who have the ability to clone themselves. Combat K must fight their way to victory to save the Four Galaxies. But how can they possibly succeed, when their main foes are their own elite, deadly clones?

The hardest man in science fiction has done it again! Pippa and Franco, the last surviving members of the gun-toting, sword-swinging, no-holds-barred Combat K squad, are sent down to the war-torn, TV-obsessed planet of Cloneworld, in search of an artifact that may bring peace to the Four Galaxies. They will find pain. They will find betrayal. They will find a seemingly endless supply of CubeSausage, PreCheese and horseradish. But will they find the truth?

The second by Conrad Williams:

A new book from the three-times winner of the British Fantasy Society Award!

Commercial pilot Paul Roan is in command of a Boeing 777 when it is involved in a near miss. Nerves shot, he resigns and re-launches his life running a small hotel in a coastal village with his girlfriend, Tamara.

On the day they move to their new home, Paul is hit by a speeding car. Emerging six months later from a coma, he discovers that Tamara has left him, and the villagers, astonished by his cheating of death, now see him as a talisman. They bring him secrets too awful to deal with themselves. He burns the things they bring him, wishing he could rid himself of his own darkness. He is suffering from terrible dreams of a crippled black airliner screaming through the night, its pitted engines streaked with carbon and blood. He knows that, somehow, this jet – and its terrible cargo – is coming for him.

Finally, we have the artwork for four books coming in May 2011 from Tor UK, written by David Weber. All artwork is by Chris Moore.

1) Off Armageddon Reef - David Weber

2) By Schism Rent Asunder - David Weber

3) By Heresies Distressed - David Weber

4) A Mighty Fortress - David Weber

Until next time, folks!

The Sentinel Mage Giveaway - Winners!

Okay! I had a lovely little giveaway running this week to win copies of The Sentinel Mage. Using my handy little randomizer programme, I can now announce the winners...

There are three people lucky enough to win copies of both The Sentinel Mage and The Laurentine Spy. These three are:

LizSara

Mihai Adascalitei

Heather Holt

The two people who will receive a copy of The Sentinel Mage are:

Maria Patrinou

David Rowe

Thank you for the many, many entries I received for this giveaway. Congratulations to all the winners, and commiserations to those not so lucky.