R.M. Meluch

Well, it's been a while -- not that I've stopped reading! But sometimes I pass through a non-fiction phase (I need to: I have a whole stack of non-fiction books waiting for my attention, some of which have been waiting since the Christmas before last! The trouble is, so many of them are very fat, and getting through a fat tome on something you want to know more about is not in any way like galloping through a nice fat fantasy.). And I don't by any means want to mention all the fiction I read -- only the really good ones.

The ones I want to comment on today fall into the category of old friends. I have a lot of old friends -- by and large, I don't buy books unless I'm going to read them repeatedly (that still leaves far too many on my shelves!). Anyway, I was browsing my bookshelves a week or so ago, looking for something to fit my mood, and I happened on Jerusalem Fire by R.M. Meluch.

I don't know how many times I've read this book, but it was great to revisit it. And then I had to go through all my other books by the same author: Wind Dancers, and its sequel Wind Child, and Sovereign. Which was all very enjoyable, though Jerusalem Fire, for no clear reason, is my favorite.

The books are slim (well, standard paperback -- this was before the fetish with fat books), science fiction, and written in the early 80s. They invent interesting premises and species, but I think the reason I like them so much is that (unusually for science fiction) they're really character studies -- Jerusalem Fire and Sovereign more than the other two.

Here's the opening to Jerusalem Fire:

The captain was a notorious rebel runner. He was called Alihahd. This was his last run.
He had no real name, only a Chesite word, alihahd, which meant "he left." He had no country, no planet, though several including Chesa claimed him. To most of the known galaxy he was a legend without a face, and to the rest a face without a name.

Jerusalem Fire is the story of this man, and of another man, who is trying very hard to forget he's human. They're great characters, and I like Meluch's voice.

I was interested to see, on investigating the matter, that Meluch, after a long hiatus, started writing again. I don't know anything about her more recent books, but I look forward to finding out. You can read about them at her website at http://www.rmmeluch.com/

Good Omens

Time for something funny. Laugh out loud hilarious, in this case. Lately I've been dipping into Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman's Good Omens. By 'dipping into', I don't mean I'm not reading it cover to cover, because how could you possibly only pick out some bits? There are books I'll pick up and just read out 'the good bits', but Good Omens is ALL good bits! It's just I'm reading other stuff at the same time, but every now and then, at least once a day, I pick up Good Omens and amuse myself a little more.

Of course, I can only do this in such a restrained manner because I've read it several times before.

Anyway, Good Omens is the tale of how the apocalypse happened, or didn't. It's the tale of how living on Earth for 6000 years can corrupt an archangel (in the nicest possible way), of how environment is everything when raising the Antichrist, of ... Well, here's an apt quote from a reviewer: "It reads like the Book of Revelation as penned by Monty Python's Flying Circus." It's seriously funny. It's achieved the label "cult classic". If you're offended by people making light of New Age or fundamentalist Christian beliefs, don't read it. Otherwise, go for it!

Did I mention that I love this book?

My new book!

I never really finished Mike and Dave's story I felt, but the publisher of Secrets unfortunately decided to discontinue their YA line, and so I put away my half-finished manuscript and decided to let it lie -- knowing how hard it would be to interest another publisher in a sequel to a book put out by someone else.

However, that unfinished manuscript nagged at me, and eventually -- in an on-again, off-again way -- I decided I would finish it and put it out there for anyone to read. And yesterday -- shout hurrah! -- I did just that.

It's a wonderful thing, to get a book actually, totally, all i's dotted, all t's crossed, finished! And now I can stop thinking about it, and move on to other things. First and foremost, of course, being putting the finishing touches to my adult mystery -- what I hope will be the beginning of a series (if I can find a publisher!), concerning the adventures of Mike as a private investigator. And if you've ever wondered where Mike and Dave live (something I never mention in the YA books), the answer's Vancouver -- a very nice place to set a PI series I feel.

Anyway, you can download my new book Discoveries from my website, either in one big hit (it's in pdf format) or in smaller 3-chapter chunks. You can also test the waters first by reading the first chapter online.

Discoveries tells Dave's story, immediately following Secrets, and though it spends quite a bit of time exploring what the Pack is, and the Pack-brothers' needs, it centers on Dave's emotional journey as he seeks to overcome the burdens of his past. First and foremost, as always, it's a story of friendship, and love. I hope you'll read it, and if you do, and enjoy it, I hope you'll pass it on.

Richard K. Morgan

Okay, Laurell K Hamilton and Jim Butcher are fun, but sometimes you want something meatier, something that will make you think. Or I do, anyway.

Late last year I discovered Richard K Morgan. I can't quite remember what attracted me to him -- basically, I browse the sci-fi/ fantasy section of the library looking for more food for my hungry boys: fat fantasies that belong to series, mainly. I guess it was the fact that there were several books by Morgan on the shelves, and they were a reasonable size. So that was what caught my eye in the first place, but when I read the blurb, it wasn't my sons I thought of. Something about the premise struck me as interesting. So I tried him out.

well, it was another of those 'got to go through all the books by this guy before I can concentrate on anything else' situations. They were dark, and the opposite of uplifting (I don't want to say depressing), and ... totally enthralling. Set in the future, in a universe where people have spread out among the planets, Morgan has thought up some plausible technologies through which he can explore the whole fascinating question of identity, and of the soul. Fascinating and thought-provoking.

Richard K. Morgan has written five novels, of which three concern the same character (Takeshi Kovacs, a highly-trained mercenary in a universe that routinely 're-sleeves' minds into new bodies). But oddly enough (in view of my avowed prejudices) I actually began with the book called Thirteen or Black Man (depending on whether you're reading the US or UK edition), which takes as the hero a "13" -- a genetically engineered clone, designed for violence and dominance (supposedly a throwback to the alpha males of our more primitive ancestors). I didn't always agree with Morgan's take on alpha males, but it gave me and my older son some good conversational material! and it was a great story.

So, highly recommended author, no caveats at all -- except, obviously, not a good choice if you're just looking for light entertainment!

A further thought

Since I wrote the previous entry, I got into a discussion with my sons on this topic, and they confirmed something I'd thought, but didn't mention because I suspected it might have been an unfair impression caused by the reasons I mentioned earlier. But since they've confirmed my own feelings, I'll mention it.

One of the reasons I took a while to get into the Codex Alera was simply because it wasn't as good as his later books. There was a definite sense of something formulaic about the plot and the writing. So I wanted to reassure you that they do get decidedly better, as do his Dresden books (not that there's anything wrong with his early ones, it just seems that he gets better and better -- which is definitely what you want from a writer!)

Jim Butcher

I've just finished the latest in Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series: Captain's Fury. Of all the books I got for my sons this Christmas (and Christmas is a time of heavy book-giving in my household), this was the most longed-for. I have to admit, I don't feel so attached to the series as all that -- I finished the book I was reading, and another of their presents (Terry Pratchett's latest: Making Money), before getting to Butcher. On the other hand, I remembered how I'd felt at the end of the previous "Fury" book -- annoyed that I'd have to wait at least a year before reading the next -- which motivated me to quickly reread the third book before tackling the latest. And then, despite the fact that I'd promised myself some dedicated fiction-writing time, I was then compelled to sit and read my way through the latest before being able to do anything else!

So, I guess I'm a fan.

The thing about Codex Alera, and the reason I suppose why I didn't dive into the book as soon as my sons had finished with it (luckily we're all fast readers!), is that I wasn't initially all that enamored with the series. Funny how those initial impressions can stay with you. I'm not even sure why; it might not have been anything to do with the first book at all. It might have been all about the difference between those books and Butcher's other series, which is a fun urban fantasy featuring Harry Dresden, Chicago wizard for hire (he's in the phone book!).

My boys and I love the Dresden Files, which is another take on the PI, vampire and werewolf, type genre -- but with an emphasis on magic, obviously. The TV show has been disappointing, even with us constantly reciting the mantra: don't compare this to the books!

Anyway, the Codex Alera is a standard fantasy (as opposed to urban fantasy, which is set in the modern world), without the humor that is so enjoyable in the Dresden Files (which is not a criticism; it's just a warning for anyone looking for it -- standard fantasy isn't supposed to have that lighthearted, taking-the-mickey style). The world is an alternative Roman Empire type world, with legions etc, and with an original invention: the furies, which are elemental spirits that some people can use. The ability to use such furies, and the degree to which you can use them, is the basis of power in the human world. There are also (original) non-human species.

I think the Roman legion thing also played a part in my initial lack of enthusiasm for this series -- a purely personal reaction: I avoid "alternate history" type books as a rule. Not that these do belong to that genre, but I guess my dislike of that genre flavors my reaction to books that so clearly use a particular historical period as a base. But anyway, I've got over it now! And Captain's Fury, I was very relieved to see, left me satisfied (not desperately wanting something to happen that hadn't happened yet, but was obviously going to). So though there's still (I believe) two books to go in the series, I have no trouble recommending you start the series if you haven't done so. No cliff-hanger at the end of number 4, and an emotionall satisfying point.

And I'm really looking forward to the next Dresden File in April!

Laurell K Hamilton

I've been reading my way through Laurell K Hamilton's books lately. I have to say I find them quite more-ish, kinda like chips. They're not hearty, meaty reads -- and I certainly wouldn't rate them as wholesome! -- but they're certainly very readable, with characters you want to read more about, and an interesting world. But I wouldn't recommend them to teenagers. In fact, while my nearly-18 year old and I gobble them up, we hide them from his just-turned-15 brother.

Why? The answer's pretty simple: sex. Now, while I think American culture has become far too sexualized for the well-being of the young, I'm not one of those who think keeping teenagers ignorant of the facts of life will stop them thinking about it. In fact, I think we're rather absurd in the way we censor nudity and mild sexual behavior while freely allowing gross violence on our screens. And I've been quite pleased to see sex enter the fantasy genre, which used to be unnaturally free of it.

Having said that, I think erotica should be labeled as such. And I don't really think it's fair to start a series that's a standard urban fantasy, private detective with werewolves and vampires type book, and then, after ten or so books, have so much sex -- involving multiple partners and multiple orifices -- that you've moved into a completely different genre from where you started.

So, okay, I'm not recommending this to teenagers. And I hope Hamilton is going to scale back the sexual content, that in some of her recent books has grown to ridiculous proportions. But, having said that, I do enjoy her books, and I will continue to follow her characters, to see what happens to them. Because for me, books are all about character, and what makes Hamilton's books so interesting -- and superior to so many PI books out there -- is following the progression of her characters.

Particularly Anita Blake. If you went straight from the first book to the latest (the 15th I think), you would be completely bewildered how Anita changed from that person to the one she has become. But if you read all the intervening books, you can watch it happen. Which is great, and I look forward to one day reading them all in order. And meanwhile, I look forward to the next, in both series.

Laurell K Hamilton is the author of two series: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter -- set in a modern-day world in which vampires, lycanthropes (were-animals of many persuasions), trolls, etc are legally recognized -- and Merry Gentry, Faerie Princess -- set in a modern-day world in which faerie are legally recognized (I have to say, I was initially put off reading this series because of the whole "fairy princess" thing, but the faerie culture, as portrayed here, is even more interesting than the vampire and lycanthrope cultures that Hamilton describes. Which is the other thing I really like about Hamilton's books -- the way she's really thought about these cultures.)