Luck of the Wheels - Megan Lindholm

Luck of the Wheels (1989) is the final part in Robin Hobb’s Ki and Vandien quartet. I’ve reread the previous three volumes last year and had hoped to read and review the fourth book too. As usual that turned out to be too optimistic. A week’s holiday in Norway offered the opportunity to catch up with some loose ends on the blog though. It’s been a while since I wrote three reviews in a week. I guess you could say this book is the odd one out in the series, having been published several years after the first three, which appeared in quick succession in 1983 and 1984. Lindholm had written a number of other books in the mean time, the incomparably Wizard of the Pigeons among them. These additional years of experience show in the novel. It is the best paced book in the series.

After Ki and Vandien’s adventures in with the Limbreth Gate they feel forced to move south, beyond the roads either of them are familiar with. Ki and replaced her lost wagon with a new one, but this one is not suitable for hauling cargo as she was used to. Without any contacts, unfamiliar with the terrain and a wagon that doesn’t suit her needs, work is hard to come by. Ki finally decides to break one of her principles and accept a passenger. The fourteen-year-old boy Gotheris is to be apprenticed to his uncle in a town some two weeks travel away. The boy is decidedly odd but against het better judgment, Ki accepts the generous payment for this job. Something she will live to regret.

Once again Ki manages to saddle herself with a thoroughly unpleasant traveling companion. Unlike Dresh in The Windsingers, Gotheris, or Goat as he prefers to be called, is not stuck in a box. His actions display such a horrible lack of social grace and understanding the consequences of his actions that it is a miracle he has survived this long. Although he constantly claims to have Ki and Vandien’s best interest in mind, he gets them in trouble more than once, doing a number of inexcusable things. For most of the novel, Goat is very unlikable. The reasons for this, and the ending of the novel, are meant to redeem him somewhat but I very much doubt Lindholm succeeded there.

What Lindholm does better in my opinion is work out the political situation in the land Ki and Vandien travel though. The many annoying officials demanding they buy permits for just about every step they take are the first sign not all is well. The local Duke has also hired large numbers of brutal Brujans to patrol the roads and harass, rob or simply kill everybody who in their opinion is not supposed to be there. His tactics to hold on to power are clearly not appreciated by the locals and rumors of a rebellion soon reach Ki and Vandien. The way we see these events unfold through the eyes of Ki and Vandien is very well worked out. Their ignorance of local politics and the way it influences their decisions drive the story more than Goat’s interference in the end.

Ki and Vandien’s relationship is once again put under serious stress in Luck of the Wheels. Ever since meeting him in Harpy’s Flight Ki has had trouble fully committing to the relationship with Vandien. He doesn’t push but throughout the series the feeling that it is incomplete prevails. In this novel they seem secure in the way their relationship works but it doesn’t turn out to be quite the truth. Old scars are ruthlessly reopened and both main characters have to find a new equilibrium. Again something in them has changed fundamentally. In this part of the story I get the feeling Lindholm at one point considered expanding the series further. Ki has never dared to fully depend on Vandien. It would have been interesting to see what would happen to her when she does.

While Ki has to come to terms with her fear of commitment, Vandien battles his own demons. We find out a bit more about his past in this novel; a part that involves his talent in fencing. The last part of the novel includes detailed descriptions of a number of contests. Not all readers will appreciate that much swordplay in their fantasy but it seemed particularly well researched to me. Lindholm has written a page long dedication to the man who helped her with that aspect of the novel among other things. Personally I think it turned out very well. During the tournament Vandien is in a particularly unstable state of mind giving the whole sequence a very dark and threatening atmosphere. His inner turmoil is reflected in the bloody trail he leaves. I think it is not something a new reader could see Vandien doing based on what we’ve seen before. Maybe Vandien’s development in this novel is even more profound than Ki’s.

I would like to say that Luck of the Wheels is a fitting conclusion for the series but that would probably not be correct. In some ways it still feels like an incomplete series. Lindholm wrote as self contained stories however. The ending of this novel is satisfying enough but I can’t help but wonder what else Lindholm had in mind for the two companions. This novel is probably the most well-written of the quartet. The pacing in particular has much improved since the first novel in the series.  Overseeing the whole series I think The Limbreth Gate remains my favorite though. That being said, Luck of the Wheel, just like the previous novels in the series, is well worth reading. They may not be the epic, sprawling fantasy novels Lindholm has produced under her other pen name Robin Hobb but these leaner novels should still appeal to the fantasy fans. This reread has reinforced my opinion work published under the Lindholm pseudonym is a bit under appreciated.

Book Details
Title: Luck of the Wheels
Author: Megan Lindholm
Publisher: Voyager
Pages: 408
Year: 2002
Language: English
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 0-00-711255-6
First published: 1989

Grass - Sheri S. Tepper

I was hoping to find the time to take part in the WWend Women of Genre Fiction reading challenge this year. Until now that has been a dismal failure. I haven’t had time to research and acquire the book I need for it and have mostly been reading stuff that was already on the to read stack this year. I would be surprised if I could still manage to read the twelve required but I can at least read some of them. After the reading challenge for 2013 was announced I picked Sheri S. Tepper’s novel Grass to be my first read. Tepper is a prolific writer in various genres and this novel is one of the few written by a woman that made the Gollancz science fiction Masterworks series when they were still being numbered. I have absolutely no experience with Tepper’s writing but the premise looked interesting so this novel was a logical place to start. The novel didn’t quite turn out to be what I was expecting but it is a very good read nonetheless.

In a far future, overpopulation and environmental degradation have forced humanity into space. Many planets have been colonized but under the influence of humanity’s main religion the expansion has stopped for the moment. One of the colonized planets is named Grass. Most of its surface is covered with numerous species of a genus that resembles the grasses of old Earth. Despite its position at a galactic crossroad, the planet has remained something of a backwater, governed by a small group of families descended from various noble families in Europe. The ‘bons’ as these families are known would rather be left alone but when a plague strikes humanity for which no cure can be found, eyes turn to Grass anyway. For some reason, the population on Grass appears to be immune. Reluctantly, the bons allow an embassy on the planet to look into the matter.

Grass is a pretty hard novel to get into. There are plenty of science fiction novels that explore the mysteries of an unknown planet and manage to do so in 200 pages. Tepper needs will over 500 and there is a reason for that. The social structure of Grass and how it clashes with that of the rest of the galaxy is an important part of the story and not something than can be unraveled in a few pages. Tepper takes her time to set all of it up properly. That does mean that the first part of the novel I rather slow and the relevance of a lot of that material is not directly clear to the reader. I suspect more than a few readers would be tempted to put the book down in that stage. It requires patience. I think it pays off in the end.

The bons of Grass (I assume the name is taken from the ‘von’ found in many names of German nobility) have developed a culture bases on hunting.  They ride the native Hippae and hunt another native creature named Foxen but apart from the name, the resemblance to foxhunting is superficial at best. De bons are a very closed society and not much is known about their planet and way of life in the rest of the galaxy, except their obsession with hunting. Based on this information, the ambassadors sent to Grass are two Olympic medalists in the Equestrian disciplines in hopes of gaining acceptance with the Grassian elite. They are hopelessly ill prepared for what they find on Grass but, aware of the stakes, very driven to succeed anyway. The clash between the desperate ambassadors and the bons, wanting to protect their isolated and privileged lifestyle, is fascinating to read.

The novel has a very strong religious theme as well. Most of humanity is firmly under the influence of a religion referred to as Sanctity. Their motto is Sanctity/Unity/Immortality and immortality is what they promise their followers in the ‘second creation’. This, as the name implies, comes after the first creation is undone. Sanctity influence stretches far and the church jealously guard their influence over human occupied space to the point where they restrict further expansion and strictly limit procreation. Combine this with even more strict taboos on contraception and you get the picture of a very scary organization indeed. They are not the only religion however. The ambassadors sent to Grass adhere to ‘old-Catholicism, which appears to be a religion mostly in line with the stance of the (more conservative parts of) catholic church at the moment.  Here again, Tepper introduces conflict into the story. Ambassador Marjorie Westriding-Yrarier, the woman who could be considered the main character of the novel, is forced to examine her beliefs when they clash with Sanctity, the duty to her family and humanity as a whole, and the sense of superiority displayed by the bons. There is more than a bit of feminism worked in this part of the story. Personally I found both religions equally disturbing for various reasons. Grass is often described as a dark tale and in this respect it certainly is.

Tepper isn’t done weaving strands into the story though. Grass was once colonized by the Arbai, a mysterious alien race that went extinct for unknown reasons. Their ruins can be found on Grass and are being excavated by Sanctity. The reason for their extinction is suspected to have something to do with the plague that is currently affecting humanity but so far, the ruins have not yielded the answers that are needed. Indeed, one might wonder at the motivations of Sanctity, eager as they are to reign in the ever expanding numbers of humanity. This strand in the story is perhaps the most mysterious of all. Grass is the first book in a trilogy in which, as far as I can tell, the Arbai are involved in all three. Grass resolves most of its plotlines and works fine as a standalone but if anything is left dangling it is probably the history of the Arbai. Tepper explores it for as far as it suits her story and not much beyond. Given all the other material already stuffed into the novel that is probably a good thing.

Personally I liked Grass just fine but I can see a few problems other reasons might have with it. The novel is intricately plotted, that is absolutely true, but at some points it lacks subtlety. Especially the depictions of religious madness are taken a bit too far. Marjorie’s family is dominated by a man who feels everything should revolve around him and resents Marjory for having her own interests. On top of that he is hypocritical enough to openly have a mistress and yet accuse her of being unfaithful. The sheer stupidity of his approach to religion is a bit hard to swallow. Sanctity on the other hand is not only hypocritical but plain megalomaniac. I’m not a religious man myself and the disasters, pain and suffering people will put up with in the name of religion never cease to amaze me. I think Tepper’s approach is a tad too stereotypical to be really believable though. In that respect the madness that afflicts the bons is much more believable and disturbing.

Another issue I have with this novel is that the ending, especially compared to the long buildup, feels rather rushed. The novel ends with the reader overseeing the battlefield just after the battle has concluded so to speak. There is no sense yet of the implications of what has just happened. The author needs an epilogue to clean up after herself. The ending fits I suppose but I do think it could be handled better. I can’t shake the feeling that it throws the pacing of the novel off balance.

I do see a few problems with Grass but on the whole it is a fascinating read. There is so much in the way of social, religious and scientific ideas stuffed into this novel that the scope of it is comparable with some of the most ambitious works in science fiction. I felt the execution is not quite good enough to name it a great work of science fiction but it is not far off. The novel is essentially one big puzzle and examining the pieces is enough to keep a science fiction fan reading. It’s not often that one finds a science fiction novel that has taking in so many aspects of human life and manages to weave them into a satisfying plot. The novel may have its imperfections but for me it included so many things I like to see in a good science fiction novel that is was an irresistible read anyway. Opinions will likely be divided on this novel but I would recommend it.

Book Details
Title: Grass
Author: Sheri S. Tepper
Publisher: Gollancz
Pages: 535
Year: 2011
Language: English
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-8579879-8-0
First published: 1989

A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin

After publishing the third novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, Martin ran into some serious trouble. His tale grew in the telling and he struggled with the fourth volume for five years before publishing the part of it that is A Feast for Crows. Working though the rest of the problem and releasing A Dance with Dragons cost him an additional six years. Had it been one book as Martin once intended it would have weighed in at some 1700 pages. Unworkable for the publisher so the book was cut. I first read A Feast for Crows in 2005, shortly after it had been released. I wasn't too pleased with the way the book had been cut but back then Martin predicted he'd have the second half of the novel out within a year, so it didn't bother me too much. In hindsight and after having read A Dance with Dragons I think he did well enough with this part of the story but it definitely goes at the expense of the fifth book.

After the large scale hostilities in A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords things have become messy in the Seven Kingdoms. With King Robb removed from the field and Stannis soundly defeated, the Lannisters appear to be in control of the Iron Throne, but the death of both King Joffey and the formidable Tywin Lannister has dealt them a blow but the twins Cersei and Jaime are still in a position to plant Joffrey's younger brother Tommen on the throne and bring the rest of the kingdoms to heel. Chaos still rules in many parts of the Kingdom though. The Lannisters should be in control but the ambitious Cersei finds ruling Seven Kingdoms much harder than anticipated. There are challenges from the Iron Islands, Dorne, until now uncommitted, is stirring and he Riverlands are not secure yet. At court there is more than a bit of resistance too. The Lannisters have to depend on the strength of house Tyrel to support their rule and they have their own ideas on how the realm should be ruled. The war for the Iron Throne is far from over.

The way Martin decided to cut the book was by location, rather than keep the story more or less chronological. A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons overlap for the most part. Not until the last quarter of A Dance with Dragons does to story move beyond what we get to see in A Feast for Crows. The fourth novel focuses on events in Dorne, King’s Landing, the Iron Islands, the Riverlands the Eyrie and the city of Braavos. That means that characters like Daenerys, Tyrion and, for the most part, Jon Snow do not appear in the novel. With de demise of Robb Stark and his band and those three characters missing, the book has lost a lot of characters that were named as favorites by many readers. It turned out to be an unpopular choice but, again in hindsight, I do think it resulted in a book that works structurally. At some points rumors of events in other parts of the world show up in the book but the idea of isolation and the fog of war is very believable.

You could say that most of the novel revolves around what goes on in King’s Landing. Cersei’s attempt to show that she is as good a ruler as any son Tywin Lannister might have produced are what holds the book together. It is a bit like watching a train wreck. Cersei is prone to shortsighted ad-hoc decision-making and appointing people who are firmly under her influence but otherwise useless to important positions on the council. Tywin is no doubt turning in his grave. Jaime’s role in this turn of events is interesting too. The trauma of losing his sword hand, the part of him he feels defines his life, has changed him to such an extent it drives a wedge between him and his sweet sister. Jaime might have been the most clear cut villain in A Game of Thrones but by now he is starting to show distinct shades of grey. Development of the characters is one of the strong points of this series. It has a lot of unlikable ones but once you get into their heads, it is very hard to sympathize with them a little.

One of the reasons why the story expanded beyond what was possible to cover in one volume is Martin’s insistence on expanding the Iron Islands and Dorne story lines. Personally I wasn’t too interested in what is going on in Dorne. We get to see what happens to Cersei’s third child Mycella, sent to Dorne by Tyrion in the previous book. She becomes the focal point for a plot of one of Prince Doran Martell daughters to get him moving. Martell is seen as passive throughout the series, which suits him fine as we’ll see. Personally I don’t think this part of the story was worth the number of pages Martin spends on it. I more or less had the same feeling for the Iron Island chapters. Asha Greyjoy and two of her uncles clash with each other over the succession of Balon Greyjoy. Martin creates new points of view for the two Greyjoy men which don’t seem to add much other than show the backwardness of the Iron Islands. Asha’s attempt to seize the throne is interesting but not enough to really make me enjoy this part of the story. The Iron Islanders long for a way of life that is lost to them forever and they all know it. I have a pretty good idea of what is going to happen to these people in the long run.

Brienne is mostly responsible for showing us the ravages of war. After leaving Jaime in King’s Landing she sets off on a quest to find the missing Sansa Stark, whom we know to be pretending to be Littlefinger’s bastard daughter in the Eyrie. This fact is unknown to Brienne and the Lannisters however, another clever use by Martin on the multiple points of view and taking into account what each character in each location can know about events elsewhere. That being said, the road trip doesn’t seem to progress the story much. The same goes for Samwell’s chapters which are also mostly spent travelling. Samwelll has the benefit of mostly being on the high seas or in Braavos so we are spared the genealogies, coats of arms and other heraldic details Brienne suffers through though. I must admit as several points in the book I felt Martin was being a bit too detailed.

I guess the most interesting of these outlying stories is that of Arya who has arrived in the city of Braavos using the coin she received from Jaquen H’ghar. Under the tutelage of the priests of the faceless god her thirst for revenge becomes a bit structured. Arya is one of the most interesting characters in the series. She is something of a chameleon, adapting seamlessly to each new situation she is exposed to. Martin makes sure Arya doesn’t forget her true motivations though. It is hard to see where Martin is taking this story line but it is definitely my favorite in this novel. I’ve always liked her better than the hopelessly naïve Sansa, although I must say Sansa is starting to grow on me in this book too.

Cersei, Brienne, Asha and Arianne Martel share one interesting trait and that is that they all try to overcome the limitations their sex imposes on them in their male dominated societies. Martin mixes in a lot of sexism and sexual violence into the novels, something all female characters are exposed to some extent, but that doesn’t stop them from trying in their own way. Brienne is still convinced she can be just as good a knight as any of her male counterparts, Asha is aiming to succeed her father and Arianne and her conspirators feel the Dornish law regarding the status of women as heirs should extend to the other Kingdoms. Something Cersei would no doubt approve of. Martin’s treatment of women can be very harsh at times but he does manage to balance it with a number of strong and determined women trying to overcome the obstacles put in their path. In true A Song of Ice and Fire style, not all of them succeed.

A Feast of Crows is probably not a fan favorite but after this reread I must admit I have developed a new appreciation for it. Martin managed to craft a novel out of the huge stack of chapters that made up the manuscript of a partly completed fourth novel. Structurally it is a decent book. It doesn’t drive the story forward as the relentless pace of the first three novels and lacks a number of interesting characters though. Fans had been waiting for it for five years by the time it was published, half a novel, even a 750 page one, was a disappointment. That being said, Martin produced a novel that was still manageable, with the well-developed characters we’ve come to expect. His choice to split the book according to location might have worked if he’d managed to deliver a decent fifth book as well. The real disappointment in my opinion is how A Dance with Dragons turned out. A Feast of Crows may not please all fans or have quite the impact of A Storm of Swords but I think it is a fine book as it is. It might even be a bit underappreciated. I didn’t think that would end up being my opinion when I started this reread. Let’s hope a reread of A Dance with Dragons will make that one grow on me too.

Book Details
Title: A Feast for Crows
Author: George R.R. Martin
Publisher: Voyager
Pages: 753
Year: 2005
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 0-00-224743-7
First published: 2005

On a Red Station, Drifting - Aliette de Bodard

On a Red Station, Drifting is a novella and the longest piece de Bodard has published in her Xuya alternative history (or future history, not quite sure what to call it). It has been published in a nice hardcover edition by Immersion Press, which may be a little hard to get at the moment since the story has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula BSFA and Locus awards. The author tells me a digital edition is in the works though. Like some of the other pieces I've read, most notably Immersion and Scattered Along the River of Heaven it is set in the 22nd century on a space station. Although the stories are set in the same universe they can all be read independently but I do like the whole idea behind the Xuya time line. Personally I think it is past time the stories in this universe got collected.

War has come upon the Dai Viet empire. From its fringes rebels continue to take planets while at the center of the empire, a young emperor is sitting tight, refusing to commit his forces to open warfare. In the midst of this upheaval magistrate Lê Thi Linh arrives at Prosper station, after having fled the planet she was serving the empire on. Linh has family on Prosper Station and she has come to ask for their hospitality. Family ties are strong but Linh carries a secret that might endanger the family. Her cousin Quyen, in the absence of her husband head of Prosper station, doesn't like or trust her. A battle of wills ensues.

Vietnamese culture is woven all though the story. Much of the governmental and family structures described in the story are adapted form ancient Vietnamese culture. Like the Mexica empire setting in other Xuya stories it is essentially a future civilization not as badly influenced by western colonization as in our own world. De Bodard mixes ancient customs with futuristic technology in a way that feels natural. I don't really know enough of Vietnamese culture to be able to judge how realistic someone from Vietnam might think it is but the alternate history does give her some space if play with. I think she uses that very well. Take special note of the food porn which creeps up in the Vietnamese Xuya stories. If the author keeps this up I think there is a cookbook in there somewhere.

Don't expect space battles or military scenes form this novella. The rebellion is a backdrop against which the story is set. It profoundly impacts the life of the main characters but the actual fighting stays at a distance. One of the things I liked a lot about this story is how the war is felt on Prosper station. A lot of family members are away on military duties, trade is not quite as brisk as it used to be and Quyen has serious problems keeping things together as head of the station. It is a task for which she feels unsuited, a task for which her education and life haven't prepared her. Linh on the other hand, has risen high in the service of the empire and this causes a lot of friction between the two.

I've been thinking about whether I like the two main characters of this novella at all and I think the conclusion must be that they are both rather unlikeable. There is something to the accusation that Quyen flings at Linh about feeling superior. Her having to beg her family for aid rankles and Linh can't hide that completely. On the other hand Quyen is a stubborn character, insisting on her position as head of the station and trying to make all the decisions on her own when she could, and should, pull on what resources remain to the family. Authority is important to the characters and respect for authority even more so. They use it is hurt each other quite badly.

The way authority is handled in this novel is one of the things that set Dai Viet culture apart from what the reader normally encounters in far future science fiction. De Bodard draws from Vietnamese history, which itself is heavily influenced by its big neighbor China. In her future rising service to the empire is can only be achieved though a process rigorous education and exams. Literature and poetry are very important in this education, the characters are constantly aware of others quoting from or alluding to classic works of poetry or literature. The way one prepares for a career in civil service and difference in status between such a career in this book and what one is used to in western society is striking. It reminded me a bit of Guy Gavriel Kay's novel Under Heaven.

One of the elements that returns in other stories is the presence of a Mind that monitors the station. In the story The Shipmaker for instance, we see how one of those minds is integrated into the systems of a new spaceship. They are of organic origin but practically immortal. At the same time they are fragile and delicate creatures, requiring things to be in balance to operate optimally. In The Shipmaker the principles of Feng Shui are used to achieve this balance, it is a discipline that is also known in places like Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam under different names. Prosper's Mind of course, is failing at the worst possible moment, adding even more stress to the already strained situation on the station. The story mostly focuses on the consequences of this deterioration of the Mind rather than it's causes though. I thought this aspect of the story was perhaps a bit underdeveloped.

On a Red Station, Drifting is an interesting piece of writing. It is a novella full of tension between the characters. An environment under so much pressure that traditionally expected politeness and family bonds are forgotten and outright hostility emerges. The novella shows us a side of interstellar war and puts the women who keep things running in the spotlight. It is perhaps not the most sympathetic portrayal but definitely a rewarding read. De Bodard once again manages to put together a complex tale, with a good mix of tradition and future technology and a couple of well developed characters. I wouldn't be surprised if it carries of one of the awards it's been nominated for. In fact, I'd think it's past time de Bodard won a Hugo or Nebula. In short, this one is well worth reading.

Book Details
Title: On a Red Station, Drifting
Author: Aliette de Bodard
Publisher: Immersion Press
Pages: 106
Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-9563924-5-9
First published: 2012

Eye - Frank Herbert

I haven't finished any of the books I am currently reading so I find myself out of material for the blog again. I have dragged up an old review that I originally wrote in June 2008. It has undergone some mild editing to weed out the worst of my errors. I hope to be back sometime next week with a review of Aliette de Bodard's On a Red Station, Drifting. No promises for the week after that though, since I'll be taking a short trip to Norway to visit my girlfriend's family.

Eye is a short story collection but Frank Herbert and one of his last works. Published in 1985, the same year his sixth Dune novel Chapterhouse: Dune was published, it covers most of his career. I guess you could consider this a best of volume. Herbert was not a prolific short fiction writer, especially in his later years, but quite a few are still missing from this collection. Like many SF authors he began his career publishing in the genre's big magazines, quite a few of these stories ended up in this collection. I thought Eye was something of a mixed bag, some of the stories don't achieve the depth many of his novels have and more or less lean on an interesting technological concepts to carry the story. On the other hand there is some very interesting stuff here as well. The two stories that kicked of the ConSentiency universe for instance. For the real fan this collection is worth reading but I wouldn't suggest it as an introduction to Herbert's work.

I own a lovely UK hardcover published in 1986 that I found in a secondhand bookstore in London in 2003. It contains thirteen pieces of fiction and an introduction. Unlike most introductions to collections such as these the introduction to Eye is noteworthy. It focuses mostly on David Lynch' motion picture Dune, which was released the previous year. Herbert seems to correctly predict it will gain something of a cult following. Personally I enjoyed that movie a lot but plot-wise there is an awful lot wrong with it. If someone does make a new movie I hope they'll repeat that particular mistake.

The opening story in the collection is Rat Race. The story about a detective who stumbles upon irregularities in a morgue on a routine job. On nothing but a hunch he investigates and finds out a truth beyond his wildest suspicions. I liked the theme of this story. Superior alien beings using humans as lab rats is hardly original but he handled well, especially the bit on the morality of animal testing and what it would mean if your subjects turn out to be self aware. Good opening to this collection, makes you wonder what Herbert made of animal testing.

The second story is The Dragon in the Sea. It's the short version of the novel I reviewed here a while ago. It originally appeared in three parts in Astounding Science Fiction in 1955 and 1956. This version is far more limited, it ends when Ramsey weathers the first crisis and gains a measure of respect among the crew. Shorter but still quite interesting. I noticed a few changes Herbert made in the long version. If you are going to read The Dragon in the Sea though, go for the novel.

Story number three is Cease Fire, published for the first time in 1958. It's a bit dated. The story is set in a near future so we're probably way past it by now. It's about a soldier who in a flash of inspiration invents a new technology that he thinks will put an end to all wars. His superiors know better of course, it will just change the nature of warfare. It would have been in interesting concept if Herbert had written about the effects this technology has on war. I thought the story ended just when it was getting interesting. The story looked promising but in the end I feel it fails to deliver.

A Matter of Traces is an important story to Herbert's career. This story introduces Jorj X. McKie, the main character in his later novels Whipping Star and The Dosadi Experiment. The ConSentiency universe, as this creation is known, is one where government has become so efficient that it rolls right over the individual citizens and has to be slowed down by Saboteurs such as McKie. I found the acceptance of the acts of sabotage committed by McKie as a matter of procedure very humorous. Not sure if this story works for people who don't know a bit about this particular universe though. Which is a bad thing as this is the first story written in that environment.

In Try to Remeber an alien race descends on the earth and demand that humans try to communicate with them. If they succeed the rewards will be great, if they fail the annihilation of the human race is imminent. As a warning they show their considerable power and clear a Pacific atoll off the map. The world panics and sends their best linguists to solve the alien riddle. Language, both written and spoken, the emotions it carries and the influence it has on the human psyche are frequent subjects in Herbert's novels. This story focuses on it entirely on the subject. I liked this one a lot, the conclusion was interesting. It's one of his early works, he obviously built on this idea later on. One of the Highlights of this collection.

The Tactful Saboteur is the second story in the ConSentiency universe. It has McKie as a main character this time and describes how he manipulates the change of power in BuSab, the agency that sabotages government to keep the speed at which is operates manageable. The story cumulates in a high tension scene in court were McKie succeeds in brining about the change of leadership in BuSab. It's not as interesting as the court scenes in The Dosadi Experiment but definitely an interesting story. ConSentiency works are not light reading though, you have to pay attention to what Herbert is saying or you'll get hopelessly lost in the story.

Herbert also includes a short story on his Dune universe. The Road to Dune is written in the form of a guide for visitors to Dune during the years of Paul's reign. The text itself is not remarkable, it takes us along a number of scenes the Dune reader knows from the books. It is marvelously illustrated by Jim Burns though. This story is not to be confused with the book posthumously published by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

By the Book is a story about a troubleshooter. In the far future humanity is trying to expand to other worlds by sending forth containers holding whatever is necessarily to seed a planet. Including human embryos. Now, nine centuries after beginning the program the containers are reaching their destination. Perfect timing for the "Beam", the device that propels them to their target, to fail. Time to bring in troubleshooter Ivar Norris Gump, the best in the history of the project. He soon realizes he can fix the problem but the price will be high. Again the concept of this story is interesting but the story didn't really satisfy me.

Seed Stock may well be related to By the Book in some way. It is set on a planet recently settled by humans. They are putting all their effort in transforming the ecosystem into something inhabitable but for some reason all their efforts are failing. The colony is struggling to survive. While the scientists and leaders of the colony struggle in vain, the solution appears to be coming from an unlikely source. I liked the way Herbert deals with intuition a lot. The colony has to overcome what is has accepted as the way of the world to survive in this hostile environment.

In Murder Will In we meet a alien species that inhabits the body of sentient races and completely takes over the mind of it's host. The host has no control but it does live considerably longer. When the host body is approaching the end of it's lifespan the alien entity jumps to a new host, discarding the dying body. New hosts are only susceptible when experiencing strong emotions. A favoured method is having the new host kill the old one. Unfortunately for our alien society has progressed a lot since his lost move and appears able to predict violence before it actually takes place (interesting concept, Herbert uses something like it in his novel The Godmakers). The alien's manipulation of his old and new host was not predicted and thus brings unwanted attention. To keep himself hidden he is forced to make an unprecedented compromise. Very good story but you do have to pay close attention to what you are reading. Herbert packs a lot of ideas in 20 or so pages here.

How do you smuggle a Steinway grand piano aboard a spaceship where every ounce of weight is carefully rationed? This is the central question in Passage for Piano. Again this is a story dealing with the colonization of other planets. A group of colonists is in the final stages of preparing for an interstellar trip to their new home. In the family of the colony's ecologist a problem arises though. His son is very attached to the Steinway his grandfather played. The boy has a gift for music and is depressed about having to leave the instrument behind. So depressed in fact he may not survive. His mother is not about to let that happen and thinks of a way to get the Steinway on board. A very moving story, not at all what you'd expect of Herbert really.

Death of a City leans on another concept Herbert developed aimed at keeping a society healthy. A City Doctor is a person responsible for keeping the development of the human species on the right track. The powers of a Doctor include forced relocation and obliteration of cities if they deem that to be in the interest of the species. The city Bjska is looking at is not doing well. He is about to make a decision that will influence the lives of countless people. I didn't really like this story. The concept seemed a bit far-fetched and how Bjska reaches his decision remains nebulous.

Frogs and Scientists is a very short story about two frogs observing a human female bath. One tries to explain her behaviour in a scientific way to the other and he reaches some interesting conclusions. Very funny story, required reading for all scientists.

All in all quite a few ups and downs in this collection. I suppose The Tactical Saboteur was the highlight for me but Try to Remember, Seed Stock and Passage for Piano are also strong stories. On the other hand there are quite a few stories that are not all that great. If you are familiar with Herbert's work you will enjoy this collection for the way he tries out various concepts and themes he uses in his novels. In general though, I think he needs a little more space than a short story offers to really do his writing justice. I enjoyed reading this but I don't think it'll be up for a reread in the near future. It has reminded me I really need to get my hands on a copy of the first ConSentiency novel Whipping Star though. Eye is for the real fan only. Which is probably just as well, I don't think it is currently in print.

Book Details
Title: Eye
Author: Frank Herbert
Publisher: Gollancz
Pages: 328
Year: 1986
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 0-575-03906-X
First published: 1985

Shattered Pillars - Elizabeth Bear

Range of Ghosts was one of the best books I've read last year. Bear's attempt to show what epic fantasy can be if you strip away the sexism, overused tropes, excessive word count and pseudo medieval European setting. It was a bit of a departure from Bear's previous work but certainly a successful one. One element typical of epic fantasy Bear didn't discard is the trilogy format, although the books appear to be one long novel split in three rather than three distinct novels. I was late picking up Range of Ghosts, reading it months after it was published so fortunately I didn't have to wait that long for the second volume Shattered Pillars to appear. My expectations were high and I must say Bear has met them. If Bear can keep this going for the third volume, Steles of the Sky, expected in early 2014, The Eternal Sky trilogy will be a landmark in modern fantasy as far as I'm concerned.

Re-Temur and Samarkar the wizard have reached the house of Temur's grandfather in the city of Asitaneh. Temur's grandfather is a man of influence there but that doesn't mean they are safe. Violence and disease plague the world all along the Celadon Highway and Temur's enemies will not give up that easily. While the pair and their companions try to find a way to free Edene from the hands of the Rahazeen and forward his claim to the Khaganate that is still in dispute. The world doesn't wait for the two of them to sort out their problems though, assassins find them soon enough and on top of that political manipulations pose a challenge as well. Their position is desperate but they are not read to give up.

As with the previous volume, the novel is fairly concise. Where epic fantasy tends to run in may hundreds of pages, with large casts of characters and often many points of view, Bear manages to do an epic in just over 300 pages. Quite a feat if you consider that the novel follows three other major story lines besides that of Temur and Samakar. I haven't quite pinpointed how Bear manages. It is certainly not short on action scenes for instance. If I had to have a stab at it, I'd say it is probably a bit heavier on dialogue and light on descriptive passages. Bear manages to flesh out her world in remarkably efficient prose. Het language is gorgeous in this novel. If I had to make a comparison, the nature of the story and the prose reminded me of Guy Gavriel Kay. Bear doesn't borrow as heavily from history as Kay does but there are clear parallels with existing cultures throughout the book.

The women in this novel again take center stage. Samarkar is particularly impressive. She has always claimed to be a wizard of modest ability but the various life threatening situations she finds herself in make her pull off some impressive feats of wizardry. It is interesting to see that bear presents her magic as a combination of an elemental system and science. In one scene Samarkar is forced to manipulate fire for instance and in a leap of understanding she skips the phlogiston theory and reaches an intuitive understanding of the interplay between fuel and air. The science that can be found reading between the lines expands to such complex issues as radioactivity and human anatomy in other parts of the book. It is an interesting contrast with the sometimes very strange religious views of some of the characters and the Eternal Sky itself, which doesn't behave in any way science could explain.

Gender roles are further explored in this novel as well. Again Samarkar important here. The city of Asitaneh is part of the Uthman Caliphate where the Scholar-God is worshiped. There are some parallels with Islam in this particular faith regarding what is considered proper for women. In one scene, Samarkar is forced to wear armor, complete with helmet in the appalling heat of the city to avoid having to around veiled. Het modesty becomes her armor so to speak, I thought it was an interesting compromise. Appearing warrior like when modesty was the aim. It does allow Bear to show off Samarkar's impressive physical skills as well though.

One of the other plot lines that interested me in particular was the one set in the Song empire. It deals with the outbreak of an epidemic and focuses on the wizards of  Tsarepheth scrambling to find a cure for the disease as well as finding out the origin of the magical attack. Their research is an odd mix of a surprisingly deep understanding of the working of the human body and the magic that suffuses the whole city. I was very impressed with the way Bear describes the procedures. Although there is a distinct supernatural element to the disease the whole handling of the epidemic somehow struck me ar very realistic. One of the more powerful moments in the novel is when the Empress fully grasps her own part in these tragic events. It is topped by a (very understated) death of one of the secondary characters though. The response to this death of one of the wizards affected me greatly.

Shattered Pillars is every bit as good and Range of Ghosts. Never in this novel does Bear let the pace of the tale of the quality of the writing slip. Many an epic fantasist could do worse than take a few pointers from what Bear is trying to do here. Unfortunately I am going to have to wait the full year this time to read the conclusion but given the quality of the first two book I have no doubt it will be worth the wait. I may have to check out the accompanying novellas Bone and Jewel Creatures and Book of Iron, sometime soon. I can't emphasize this enough. Bear is on her way to creating a great work here. Fantasy readers take note!

Book Details
Title: Shattered Pillars
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Publisher: Tor
Pages: 333
Year: 2013
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2755-0
First published: 2013

The Boy Who Cast No Shadow - Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Something remarkable happened a couple of weeks ago when the Hugo nominations were announced; a Dutchman was nominated in the Novelette category. Although, especially in the short fiction categories, a slow movement towards a more diverse and international genre can be detected in recent years, I can't remember a translated work having made the ballot before. Thomas Olde Heuvelt is well known among genre fiction readers in the Netherlands, I've read two of his novels, the most recent one of which, Harten Sara has been reviewed on Random Comments. This novel is also expected to appear in English translation but other than that is is being translated, I haven't been able to find any details on that project.

The Boy Who Cast No Shadow was first published in 2010 and has appeared in Dutch in various places under the title De jongen die geen schaduw wierp. Olde Heuvelt has stated it was written as an ode to Pop Art by Joe Hill, a story he considers the finest short story of the twenty-first century. I'm afraid I haven't read it but the link might be interesting for fans of Hill's work. I first encountered The Boy Who Cast No Shadow in Pure Fantasy magazine number 19, published sometime in 2010. After winning the Paul Harland Prijs, one of the more prestigious Dutch awards for genre fiction, Olde Heuvelt invested his prize money in a professional translation and managed to get PS Publishing interested. The English translation is part of a collection called Unfit for Eden, edited by Nick Gevers and Peter Crowther. You can download the story as the publisher's website for free at the moment.

I have my reservations about Olde Heuvelt making the short list to be honest. At first glance it sounds like a remarkable feat of a  man who is very driven to succeed as a writer. Congratulations on his nomination, which is certainly a momentous occasion in the history of Dutch genre fiction, are in order. On the other hand it is telling that a man who, to my knowledge, only has one short story out in English (a second story titled The Ink Readers of Doi Saket is scheduled to appear on Tor.com sometime in the near future) has managed to get nominated in what is essentially a popularity contest. The Hugo, supposedly the premier award in science fiction, has some credibility issues here. I guess this is an issue that comes up every year after the nominations are announced but clearly the need for a more robust membership base is still present. I haven't quite decided whether or not the very limited number of votes necessary to get on the ballot takes anything away from Olde Heuvelt's achievement or not. Of course it would have been a lot easier to make up my mind about this situation if he had submitted a story of lesser quality. Because The Boy Who Cast No Shadow is without a doubt worthy of the nomination.

The story is a fantastic piece about a boy named Look, who, as the title suggests, casts no shadow. He has no reflection in a mirror and no pictures can be taken of him. He doesn't know what he looks like and while his condition brings him his fifteen minutes of fame, is also causes him to wonder who he is. Not being able to see his face brings on an identity crises of sorts. Until he meets a boy who has a very different problem that is. Splinter is a boy named of glass, he is so fragile that even at the age of fourteen, he is the oldest boy with this condition in his family to survive. Despite this challenge he is an eternal optimist. Splinter will change the way Look views life forever.

As in Harten Sara, Olde Heuvelt uses the unreliable narrator to make things that are clearly impossible become real. There is no doubt in Look's mind that what he experiences is real, giving the whole story a kind of surreal atmosphere. The absurd situations the boys find themselves in and the limitations Splinter in particular encounters are told by someone who is convinced all this is actually happening. It clashes with the reader's sense of disbelief in interesting ways if taken literally. As an expression of vulnerably it is very clear though. In a way Splinter is a more successful character than Look. He feels he doesn't know who he is and that he has no ambitions or goals in life. The world is full of people like that, I don't think not being able to look at yourself in the mirror in the morning is going to make much of a difference in that respect. All things considered, he handles his fame better than many other people would in his situation.

Having read the story both in the original Dutch and in the English translation I can say I like the translation a lot. It is a fairly loose translation I suppose, not following the original too literally in many places. It might be a touch too formal in some places. Olde Heuvelt uses a lot colloquialism in his writing, as one might expect in a story told from the point of view of a teenager. Some of that is quite difficult to translate directly but on the whole I think translator Laura Vroomen manages well enough. There are a few passages where she encounters more interesting problems. A reference to a commercial for instance, that is almost impossible to translate. Olde Heuvelt also uses one line of broken English in the Dutch version but in the translation it is grammatically correct. This is mostly due to the choice not to make Look too obviously Dutch. His name has been translated for instance, references to the town where he apparently lives has been removed, there's probably a few other minor things. Reading the Dutch version made me realize how much layers of meaning a text can actually have. It certainly isn't the easiest work to translate.

Will The Boy Who Cast No Shadow win a Hugo? Most likely not. To most of the voters he will be an unfamiliar name in a field of established authors. I also suspect that this kind of fantasy isn't the most popular among the Hugo voting crowd. I haven't read any of the other nominated works so I have no idea if there is any particular story that stands out in this crowd but from what I can tell, Olde Heuvelt is facing stiff competition. I don't think he'll get it but if he does, you won't hear me complain. The publication date of his fifth novel Hex is rapidly approaching. I'm looking forward to reading that.

Edited on April 28th 2013 to include the link to The Ink Readers of Doi-Saket.

Book Details
Title: The Boy Who Cast No Shadow
Author: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Translation: Laura Vroomen
Publisher: PS Publishing
Year: 2011
Language: English
Format: e-book
First published: 2010

Blood of Dragons - Robin Hobb

I guess this week is Robin Hobb week on Random Comments. After reading Hobb's novella The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince, I'm having a go at Hobb's latest novel Blood of Dragons now.  I tend to avoid reading works by the same author back to back but just this once I did anyway. Blood of Dragons is the fourth and concluding  installment of The Rainwild Chronicles, a series that started out as a standalone and, as Hobb puts it herself, grew in the telling. The fact that story grew so much is reflected in the structure of the novels and usually not to their advantage. That being said, I have enjoyed a return to the Rainwilds in the previous three novels so I was quite eager to start reading the final volume. The Dutch version has been available since September2012, I've been sorely tempted to pick it up. If I'd had more time to read this winter I might have.

Blood of Dragons picks up the story shortly after the end of City of Dragons. The dragon keepers have settled near the famed city of Kelsingra with a fast flowing river between them and the comforts of the ancient city. One by one, the dragons make the plunge and start using their wings, allowing the keepers to move into the city start exploring Kelsingra. In the mean time the Tarman is on its way back from the Rainwilds cities with a cargo of much needed supplies. It is being followed by ships of Chalcedean traders and mercenaries and a mixture of Jamalian and Bingtown captives. They are looking for dragons to kill and take back to their ailing Duke. Only the magic of dragons can save him from death and he is determined to hang on to life by any means. As the outside world encroaches on Kensingra is becomes clear an new understanding between the city of dragons and the human nations around it will have to be found.

For some reason I always have issues with the final book in a trilogy or series by Robin Hobb and this book is no exception. It continues the story of the set of characters we've been with for three books already and many of their trials and problems are familiar with the reader by now. Although characterization has always been Hobb's forte, I think many readers are not eager to go over the details of the main characters' challenges again in this novel. At 535 pages it is a quite substantial book and much of it is given over to the personal struggles of the characters. It makes Blood of Dragons a fairly slow moving and at some points (the love triangle between Thymarra, Tats and Rapskal) repetitive novel. It is a book that requires more than a bit of patience of the reader.

One might argue that Hobb's style has never favoured a fast moving plot but in this case I feel the author has let the characters overshadow the larger bigger story that she has been trying to tell. A war and a heads on collision with the Trader Council, both of which had been brewing for quite a while, are dealt with in the final fifty pages of the book, with quite a lot of the action taking place off screen. It makes the end feel rushed and downplays the importance of some events. After all that careful worldbuilding it is a shame not to employ it to full effect. The role of Chalced in particular is underexposed. Hobb tries to drag the nation out of the role of the perpetual bad guy in the Realm of the Elderlings but in the end there is only one Chalcedean character we can feel any sympathy for.

Another resolution that felt rushed is the final confrontation between Sedric, Alise and Hest. Without spoiling the story here, the resolution is both abrupt and unsatisfying. Frankly, I feel Hobb took the easy way out here, although I must admit Hest's behaviour stays consistent until the very end. Still, for a story line that has been going on since the very beginning of the Rain Wilds Chronicles I thought it was too neat a solution for the threat Hest poses to Sedric and Alise. The fall out of their actions among the Trader communities in the Rain Wilds and Bingtown is also mostly glossed over. By the end of the novel, it feels like the Traders are still mostly in denial, pretending it is business as usual. With such, to their conservative society, shocking affairs taking place that doesn't seem like a very likely outcome to me. It is almost like Hobb is playing this part of the story down to prevent adding even more pages to the story.

One aspect of the novel were Hobb does keep things moving is the dragon's development. From the stunted little creatures they were in Dragon Keeper they transform to the confident yet immature dragons we get to see in this novel. Although the effects from their less than optimal youth are still being felt, they reach the point where dragons once again become a force to be reckoned with in the world. The keepers, highly influenced by dragons' glamour as they are, feel this is the setting right of an ancient wrong. Of those keeping a little more distance from the dragons, many will regret the day that Tintaglia crawled out of her cocoon on the banks of the Rain Wilds River. As always, Hobb's characters are many shades of grey, the dragons included.

In the end I thought Blood of Dragons was a decent novel but not an exceptional one. It suffered from the set up of the series as a whole and . Hobb feels the story grew in the telling. That might be true but I think that with a bit more rigorous editing many of the annoyances in this series could have been avoided. The abrupt cut that was necessary to split Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven into two books for instance. Or the somewhat dragging middle section of this book. The split between City of Dragons and Blood of Dragons is handled a lot better than with the previous two books but the novels feel too long anyway. City of Dragons turns out to be the strongest novel in the series. I feel it is a shame that the conclusion has so many problems. This series deserved a stronger ending.

Book Details
Title: City of Dragons
Author: Robin Hobb
Publisher: Voyager
Pages: 535
Year: 2013
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-00-744413-7
First published: 2013

The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince - Robin Hobb

It's a good year for Robin Hobb fans. This month Blood of Dragons. the final installment in her current series the Rainwild Chronicles, appeared and on top of that The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince,  a new novella also set in the Realm of the Elderlings, was released by Subterranean Press. I'm currently reading Blood of Dragons but when This beautiful little book arrived I couldn't help myself an read that one first. As usual the people at Subterranean did an great job of making the book look pretty. It's a nice little hardcover with with a cover and two full colour interior illustrations by Jon Foster. This book is almost worth the price just for the looks.

Robin Hobb is mostly comfortably writing the long form. Her novels tend to be very big books. In her debut under this pseudonym in 1995, only six pieces of shorter fiction have appeared. Five of them are tied to the Realm of the Elderlings in which most of her novels are set. I've read three of these pieces, collected in the Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm collection The Inheritance (2011). Of those I thought only Homecoming, a story that serves as a prequel to the Liveship Traders trilogy, can live up to the standard Hobb sets in her novels. She just seems to be more comfortable with novel length works.

The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince is a 38,000 word novella, even Hobb's short fiction is long. The story that reaches back to the Farseer trilogy. The legend of the Piebald Prince surfaces several times in those books as an illustration of the prejudice and outright hate people with eh Wit encounter in the Six Duchies. The details of the story are scarce though, and most of it is portrayed as legend rather than history. In this novella, we get an eyewitness account. It is told in the first person and Felicity, the woman who recounts the events, does make it clear that it deviates from official history in a few crucial details. The truth of the matter is for the reader to decide I guess.

Felicity is a servant and wet-nurse in service of the Farseers. She is the playmate of the 'willful' princess Caution and her son the Piebald Prince. The story is told in two parts. She first recounts the story of the princess Caution and her own youth by her side and how the young princess met a certain Chalcedean stable hand possessing the Wit. In the second half of the tale she moves on the Caution's son and the heir to the throne of the Six Duchies. Their lives will bring the Six Duchies to the brink of civil war and change the line of the Farseers forever.

Some reviewers feel this novella is a good entry point into the wider Realm of the Elderlings. I disagree with that. Hobb only touches lightly upon the Wit and the Skill and the significance both kinds of magic have for the Six Duchies. The real significance of what is going on will likely be lost on readers who haven't at least read the Farseer trilogy. The context of that story enriches the novella to the point that is becomes more than a well-written fairytale. Personally I think I would have found it only mildly interesting without having read the rest of the series.

The first person point of view Hobb chooses fits that of the rest of the Farseer books. I thought that was a nice detail. The way the story is split in two halves doesn't work nearly as well though. Essentially it is a tragic repetition. Both the Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince manage to wreck their lives under the influence of the Wit and in both cases it is like watching a train wreck. Hobb's novels are often tragedies and her characters are generally no strangers to self destructive behavior. To fit two of them in less than 200 pages is a bit too much in my opinion.

That being said, it is written with skill. I rarely come across an author who masters the first person point of view like Hobb does. Throughout the tale you feel Felicity's fear of being released from service and having to return to her live of poverty that her mother worked so hard to escape. It's the personal challenges amid events of nationwide significance that make the story come to life. It's the reason why I lived the Farseer trilogy so much and why I have devoured every book Hobb has published since. The novella is perhaps a bit too short for this technique to achieve its full effect but in a way Felicity is a more interesting character than either the Princess or her son.

So is The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince worth the price Subterranean is asking? For a fan of Hobb's work I'd say yes. It is a well crafted tale about a key point in Six Duchies history. It enriches the series as a whole and will keep the experienced Hobb reader turning pages. For a fist time reader I think I'd be better just to pick up a copy of Assassin's Apprentice and start at the beginning. A full novel will be a more rewarding read. That is, if you can find a copy of this book at all. As I understand it Subterranean is almost though the second print of this novella already. Who says this type of work won't sell? I'm glad I got my copy on time, time to head back to the Rainwilds and finish Blood of Dragons now.

Book Details
Title: The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince
Author: Robin Hobb
Publisher: Subterranean Press
Pages: 184
Year: 2013
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-59606-544-4
First published: 2013

Blood and Bone - Ian C. Esslemont

Blood and Bone is Ian C. Esslemont's fifth novel set in the Malazan universe he created with Steven Erikson. The first of these Night of Knives serves as a prequel to the series, where subsequent books explore events and continents not covered in Erikson's ten book series. Esslemont's previous book, Orb Sceptre Throne, was mostly set in and around the city of Darujhistan, familiar territory for fans of the series as it is the main setting for the novels Gardens of the Moon and Toll of the Hounds, in this new novel we're off to the unknown continent of Jacuruku. It has been mentioned in previous novels but until now, we haven't seen much of what has been going on there. I've never been quite as enthusiastic about Esslemonts writing as I haven been about Erikson. That trend continues in this book. I liked it a whole lot better than Orb Sceptre Throne, which is a bit of a mess in my opinion, but it is not as strong as Stonewielder.

The Visitor is hanging in the sky of the continent of Jarcuruku as an omen of war. It approaches from all sides as the thaumaturges that dominate half of the continent prepare to launch another expedition into the wild Himatan jungle that has thus far eluded their control. It is said to be the domain of a powerful entity known as the Queen of Dreams. Further south, the tribes are being united by a recently arrived foreign warlord, looking to strike further into the thaumaturge lands than they ever have before. On top of the locals rattling their swords, the Crimson Guard make an appearance, hired to bring to heel their own runaway Skinner and his band of Disavowed. In other words, a convergence is happening on the continent and such events attract the attention of the gods. Even if events on the Letheri keep some of the gods busy, Jacuruku will not escape their notice entirely.

The jungle setting Esslemont employs in this novel is definitely a first in the series. Where the action in this series usually takes place  in arid climates or frozen wastelands, the this tropical ecology is quite a change. The jungle Esslemont describes has a bit of an Asian flavour too it. I guess that is not entirely surprising given the fact that Esslemont has spent time in south-east Asia in the past. What struck me about his descriptions in particular was the way he describes the jungle has hungry, insatiable for nutrients, with cycles that are so fast everything that dies is consumed again before it has time to accumulate in the soil. The speed at which organic materials such as wood and leather decays in the novel might be a bit exaggerated but this fierce competition of nutrients is a characteristic of tropical rainforest ecotopes. That kind of ecological insight is not something you come across often in fantasy novels.

Malazan chronology is notoriously impenetrable but I'd say the novel is set more or less in the same time frame as Stonewielder and The Crippled God. Despite that, it is a very self contained story as Malazan novels go. There are references to events in Toll of the Hounds, Stonewielder, Orb Sceptre Throne and the concluding volumes of Erikson's Part of the tale, Dust of Dreams and The Crippled God, but mostly the story stays focussed on on events on Jacuruku. It is a quality it shares with Stonewielder I suppose. When Esslemont tries to mesh more closely into the areas Erikson has already covered, the result is often confusing or unsatisfactory. This novel shares a number of characters with other books, but not so many the effect of the different treatment Esslemont and Erikson give them that the result becomes jarring. It also helps Esslemont keeps the number of story lines contained to half a dozen or so. Orb Sceptre Throne had so many it is very easy to loose track of what is going on. This novel is complex in its own right but doesn't depend so much on what has gone before. Esslemont leaves himself more space to tell his own story and he uses it to full effect.

Once again, the Crimson Guard provides the link to much of the rest of the series. Their internal struggles and clashes with the Malazan Empire feature prominently in the novel. It appears the novel also sets up the story for Esslemont's final novel in this series, tentatively titled Assail. The Crimson Guard appears once in a while in Erikson's books but it wasn't until I read Esslemont's books that their history really became clear to me. In Blood and Bone the conflict between Avowed and Disavowed comes to head when K'azz sees no other option than the take a contract against Skinner and his company. Their trip over the river into the jungle will remind readers of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, as every bend seems to reveal a new horror to the company that appears to be totally unprepared for what is hiding amongst the trees. Esslemont focusses more on the environment than Conrad did though. Natives do show up in the novel but in a different story line but not so much as an extension of the darkness encountered but the foreign travellers.

The cast of Blood and Bone is large though, and not only made up of characters we've already seen. Esslemont introduces quite a few new ones too. The Thaumaturges deploy a kind of magic we haven't encountered before. It is a mix very strict mental training and a kind of vivisection that H.G. Well would have ascribed to Dr. Moreau if he'd been around to read this novel. Theirs is a society full of contrasts. Their mental discipline makes you expect balanced personalities and yet, their order has turned into one of the most tyrannical systems of government encountered in the novel. Their society is highly organized and the land heavily cultivated at the expense of just about every basic human right. A sharp contrast to the natives of Himatan, who, when we finally meet them turn out to possess almost nothing and like their jungle just fine the way it is.

The third culture we are introduced to is a collection of what appear to semi nomadic tribes. They show up with great regularity in the Malazan world (Wickans, Awl, Barghast, just to name a few) and although the details differ slightly every time, it is essentially familiar territory. This story line was the one I least enjoyed. I guess the identity of the foreign warlord was an interesting riddle, although the more fanatical Malazan readers will probably figure it out long before I did. Other than that is mostly served to show us the horrors of thaumaturge society. I wasn't too fond of the slightly naive Prince Jatal.

After the messy and disappointing Orb Sceptre Throne, this novel is a return to form for Esslemont. More focussed and less dependent on the story Erikson has already laid out, much more of Esslemont's own talent and ideas on the Malazan world shines through. I still liked Stonewielder better but that is a very personal preference. Looking at the quality of the writing and the way Esslemont handles the multiple story lines and large cast of characters, there is not much in it. Blood and Bone is a worthy extension of this epic tale and promises some very interesting things for Esslemont's next novel. He's been hinting at going to the continent of Assail, one of the last remaining blank spots on the Malazan map. I for one, can't wait to see what he'll treat us to in the next volume.

Book Details
Title: Blood and Bone
Author: Ian C. Esslemont
Publisher: Bantam Press
Pages: 586
Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-593-06446-7
First published: 2012