Pieces on Speculative Fiction

I still have a few read books waiting to be reviewed. Robin Hobb’s Renegade’s Magic, Ian C. Esslemont’s Malazan novel Night of Knives, Tim Powers’ Last Call and David Gemmell’s Shield of Thunder. I also read recently James P. Blaylock’s Digging Leviathan. Still reading Kay Kenyon’s Bright of the Sky and I fear that completing it will take a while. I really don’t like the direction the book is taking and it just isn’t that enjoyable to read. I rather like my science fiction either as quite a bit shorter novels or in the page-turner form.

I’m a bit on the fence whether to read something new or just reread something classic David Gemmell novel. I’m itching to reread Erikson’s Malazan, even though I read it recently when the latest, Reaper’s Gale, came out. I do have a few unread books. Some are really classic fantasies, like Michael Moorcock’s Gloriana, Wind in the Willows, Austin Tappan Wright’s Islandia and quite a few others.

I’m also looking to make yet another big Amazon.com order as Dollar is soon like Monopoly money compared to Euro, so any tips on good newish fantasy & science fiction books are welcome. Maybe mainly fantasy.

3 stars out of 5. PS Publishing’s edition contains all three so far published Bauchelain & Korbal Broach novellas. Every one of them is worth reading, but lack the touch that makes Malazan Book of the Fallen so interesting. All three have the feeling that Erikson wants to try something different. The underlying humor seems to flower more often in these stories.

First one of the stories, Blood Follows, tells how Emancipor Reese came to work for the sorceror and necromancer in Lamentable Moll. It is fairly simple story, yet manages to introduce to us quite a few really quirky characters, while giving some insight to Reese, Bauchelain and Broach. Yet it lacks the deeper complexities of Erikson’s magnum opus.

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I’m really sorry that I haven’t been able to post that often this week, I’ve been a bit feverish, so haven’t got the energy to write. Also was away for the weekend, so no writing done there either.

Sad news this week for some, Robert Jordan passed away. Apparently the last part of Wheel of Time is still going to be published posthumously. I’m really curious whether some hack picks up the WoT franchise. Haven’t been fan of all that tugging and smoothing in a while.

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Quote from recent interview at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. That’s pretty big feat, considering that M. John Harrison is fairly profilic and prominent genre author. It’s understandable that writing Malazan novels has taken his time in recent years so that he has missed Light, but missing Viriconium in the last three decades is a bit odd. Unusual only in that Erikson says that he has been avid reader of science fiction and fantasy.

On a side note, Light is a book I really don’t always remember reading. It feels like I should have liked it, but it always takes some browsing to remember that oh, I’ve actually read this book. Viriconium stuff on the other hand is excellent and a lot of things from seventies are a bit icky.

My favorite fantasy novels in no particular order:

• David Gemmell - Legend
• David Gemmell - Waylander

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