OMG! An Excerpt from The Winds of Winter!

Oh my! Regular readers of this log will know that I am a big fan of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, the inspiration for HBO's Game of Thrones miniseries (which starts airing its second season on April 1st!).

Anyway, Martin has published an excerpt (for free!) of one of the chapters from the sixth book in the series, which is titled The Winds of Winter. The format of Martin's books is that each chapter has a character name as the title and generally tells the story from the perspective of the named character. There are now dozens of named characters and Martin has been ruthless (and notorious) for having horrendous, brutal and sometimes fatal events befall his characters, causing readers to constantly be on edge when reading, because you never know when a favorite or beloved character may be dispatched.

Anyway, the title of the free exerpted chapter is Theon, who is Theon Greyjoy, one of the most despicable and  defiled characters in the series. He is widely hated because everyone believes he is responsible for the deaths of the two youngest Stark children. The Stark family are the ostensible heroes of the series, with the Lannister family being the villains, but this is far too simplistic a characterization of the nuanced nature of the two families. (For example, Peter Dinklage has won an Emmy playing Tyrion Lannister, who is one of the most popular characters in the series, even though he is presumably "on the wrong side.")

Here is a little taste of the chapter:

   The king's voice was choked with anger.  "You are a worse pirate than Salladhor Saan."      

Theon Greyjoy opened his eyes.  His shoulders were on fire and he could not move his hands.  For half a heartbeat he feared he was back in his old cell under the Dreadfort, that the jumble of memories inside his head was no more than the residue of some fever dream. I was asleep, he realized.  That, or passed out from the pain.  When he tried to move, he swung from side to side, his back scraping against stone.  He was hanging from a wall inside a tower, his wrists chained to a pair of rusted iron rings.  

      The air reeked of burning peat.  The floor was hard-packed dirt.  Wooden steps spiraled up inside the walls to the roof.  He saw no windows.  The tower was dank, dark, and comfortless, its only furnishings a high-backed chair and a scarred table resting on three trestles.  No privy was in evidence, though Theon saw a champerpot in one shadowed alcove.  The only light came from the candles on the table.  His feet dangled six feet off the floor.     

"My brother's debts," the king was muttering.  "Joffrey's too, though that baseborn abomination was no kin to me."  Theon twisted in his chains.  He knew that voice. Stannis.        

Theon Greyjoy chortled.  A stab of pain went up his arms, from his shoulders to his wrists.  All he had done, all he had suffered, Moat Cailin and Barrowton and Winterfell, Abel and his washerwomen, Crowfood and his Umbers, the trek through the snows, all of it had only served to exchange one tormentor for another. 

You really deserve it to yourself to read the entire thing. Sadly, it may take another 4 or 5 years before the entire finished version of the book is released. The 4th book (A Feast for Crows) was released in 2005, while the 5th book (A Dance with Dragons) was released in July 2011.

Nominations for 2011 Nebula Awards

According to Scalzi, the nominations for the Nebula Awards are out. I'm always interested in the nominees for Best Novel. Last year, Connie Willis won the Hugo and the Nebula for her diptych Blackout/All-Clear (which I loved).

This year the group of nominees does not look very promising:

• Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)
• Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan UK; Del Rey; Subterranean Press)
• Firebird, Jack McDevitt (Ace Books)
• God’s War, Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books)
• Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, Genevieve Valentine (Prime Books)
• The Kingdom of Gods, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

The Nebula Awards are awards in speculative fiction by writers of that genre. (As opposed to the Hugo Awards which are awards in speculative fiction voted on by fans of that genre.) Repeat nominees from last year's list include N.K. Jemisin and Jack McDevitt. I found Jemisin's debut novel (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms) annoying enough that I did not finish it or review it for the blog. I have never read any McDevitt, but he does seem to be up my alley (hard science fiction) This year's nominee Firebird and last year's Echo are entries in his popular Alex Benedict series which I gather is a mystery series about an antiques dealer set 10,000 years in the future. An earlier work by McDevitt, Seeker won the 2005 Nebula Award for Best Novel. I have a vague recollection of trying to read Seeker (but it may have been Polaris)and giving up for some reason. I think I will try and give McDevitt a try in the near future.

Anyway, of the nominees this year, the only one I have read is China Miéville's Embassytown (which I did NOT love). It is built around an astonishing idea, and written in the British writer's signature "weird" style, so I would not be surprised if he won.

I'm more interested to see what the Hugo Award nominations are, they should be out in about a month.

BOOK REVIEW: Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS

During my 2008 birthday trip to Puerto Vallarta I read Neil Gaiman's American Gods. It is on the relatively short but prestigious list of acclaimed books which have won both the Nebula and Hugo awards, the most prestigious awards in speculative fiction.

Neil Gaiman is an incredibly accomplished writer, and unfortunately, he knows this very well. I previously reviewed his The Graveyard Book which won not only the Hugo Award (the most prestigious award in science fiction/fantasy) in 2009 but also the Newberry Medal, the most prestigious award in juvenile fiction. I was baffled by the critical acclaim for this book which I found trite and boring.

American Gods is a very interesting book and I am glad that I read it but one can't really say that I enjoyed it like other Hugo-Nebula winners which are instant favorites like Connie Willis' Doomsday Book and Blackout/All-Clear or Frank Herbert's Dune, just to name a few.

The basic premise of American Gods is the idea that gods and other mythical creatures are real because they are believed in. In particular, there are specific American gods which have been created by various segments of the American populace, who brought the spirits and fables of their homelands when they immigrated to America. Gaiman also introduces the idea of new American gods based on different aspects of modern life such as the Internet.

The story follows the main character named Shadow who meets a man called Mr. Wednesday and they travel across America until Mr. Wednesday becomes another casualty in the war between the New Gods and the Old Gods. There are many, many scenes between characters who are representatives or symbols of various Gods. The references are so multifarious and obscure it is doubtful that anyone can recognize them all but one has to admire the creativity of the central conceit although I do think it takes a toll on the readability of the book as well as the integrity of the plot.

Interestingly, HBO has decided that the rich diversity of the world Gaiman has created here is worthy material for a blockbuster new television series in the vein of Game of Thrones. It was announced in Summer 2011 that the network intends to produce six(!) seasons of American Gods starting in 2013 with each season budgeted in the $40 million range. I predict that a well-done television series is probably a more enjoyable way to consume and appreciate Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

Author: Neil Gaiman

Title: American Gods.

Paperback: 624 pages.
Publisher: Harper Perennial.
Date: September 2, 2003.

OVERALL GRADE: B+.

PLOT: B+.
IMAGERY: B+.
IMPACT: B
WRITING: A-.

BOOK REVIEW: George R.R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons

After a long wait of nearly six years since the publication of A Feast for Crows, the fifth book in George R.R. Martin's award-winning, best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance with Dragons was released in July 2011.

The entire A Song of Ice and Fire series has had a higher profile lately, especially since HBO started airing a mini-series called Game of Thrones based on the first book, A Game of Thrones. Their intention is to shoot each season of the series roughly based on each book in the series. Peter Dinklage won a very important Emmy award (Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series) for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister, one of the fan's favorite characters.

A Dance with Dragons was reviewed by all the major papers of record (Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Time) as well as the usual suspects of media outlets online, generally positively. Among fans, however, the reviews are somewhat mixed, with the feeling that the latest book is closer to A Feast for Crows than A Storm of Swords. To me, that's to be expected because the timeline of events that occurred in A Feast for Crows occupy about half of the book in A Dance with Dragons, happily told from the perspective of the fan's favorite characters. The problem with this is that not much progress was made on the huge, series-spanning plots like: Daenerys' march to Westeros from Essos, John Snow's attempts to maintain the Wall against the invasion of Creatures of the Frozen North, Bran Stark's destiny to actualize his magical talents and whether the Iron Throne will be controlled by someone who actually deserves the power and cherishes the people they rule, just to name a few. (By some counts, there were around  11 central plots covered in just this book).

On extended reflection, I think my overall evaluation of the book is closer to the official reviewer' than the fans'. I've only read A Dance with Dragons once, but I would still rank it as the second best book of the series, behind the impressive A Storm of Swords which is still the best of the bunch with A Dance with Dragons close behind, followed by A Clash of Kings and A Game of Thrones (the less said about A Feast for Crows, the better).

I had the good fortune of only starting to read the series in 2011, so I have not had to experience the half-decade long wait for the next installment in the series. Sadly, now that I have caught up with Martin's production schedule, I will have to comfort myself during the long wait for Book 6 (widely reported to be titled The Winds of Winter) by re-reading the first five books and watching the excellent HBO television adaptations of the earlier books (apparently each season of the series will be an adaptation of the corresponding book). Hopefully the next book will be out before the television series catches up with Martin!

Title: A Dance with Dragons.
Author: George R.R. Martin.
Paperback: 1040 pages.
Publisher: Bantam.
Published: July 12, 2011.

OVERALL GRADE: A- (3.917/4.0).


PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: A+.
WRITING: A.

BOOK REVIEW: George R.R. Martin's A Feast for Crows

I have previously read and reviewed the first three books of the now-classic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin, for this blog: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords.

A Feast for Crows is considered by some the red-headed step child of the series so far because even though it is the most critically recognized entry in the series (nominated for the Hugo, Locus and British Fantasy Society awards although notably it failed to win any of these) it is also the book in the series which is rated the lowest by actual readers. There's a definite reason for this. A Feast for Crows was first published nearly 5 years after the publication of 2000's A Storm of Swords and the expectations of Martin's burgeoning fan base were extremely high. A Feast for Crows became the first book in the series to debut as #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and be an international publishing phenomenon. This is somewhat surprising, because several of the most popular characters from the series do not make an appearance in A Feast for Crows. Martin structures his novels as series of chapters with intersecting and overlayed points-of-views from specific characters on the same series of events. Because A Feast for Crows grew so gigantic during the five years Martin spent writing it, at some point he decided to concentrate on some of the less popular (some would say more villainous) characters in A Feast for Crows and push the perspectives of the more popular characters (Arya Stark, Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen to name a few) into the still-to-be-written A Dance with Dragons (which despite this headstart still took an agonizing 6 years to be published).

You'd think that the 4th entry in a series which has been decreed to be no longer than 7 books long would be concentrating on reducing the scope of the story not expanding it. If you thought that you'd be wrong, because Martin introduces several new characters who of course come with their own plots and allegiances which somehow link up to the previously revealed plots and allegiances like a slowly growing intricate spider-web or moss spreading inch by inch over a stone tomb.

The theme of the book is about power, and of course we all know absolute power corrupts absolutely. The anti-heroine of the series, Cersei Lannister Barratheon is know fully ascendant at the seat of power in King's Landing, although due to the inherent sexism (some would say misogyny) of the culture she is not officially crowned and of course does not sit on The Iron Throne, as her husband and sons have. Cersei is the kind of character readers love to hate and Martin puts her in her place somewhat, saving the coup de grace for the next book, we hope.

The plots are too numerous to summarize here, but suffice it to say that the conflict which has animated the first three books, the War of the Five Kings is quickly hurtling to a conclusion and this book is about what people do after the war is over, and how the "winners" and "losers" are both affected in its aftermath.

The one good thing about Martin pushing all the story lines of the favorite characters into A Dance with Dragons is that it makes that book an even more desirable read, and one that I will try to review shortly.
Despite the slight lull that A Feast for Crows represents in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, it still points out how salient the stories and characters that Martin has created that even the secondary characters make for a compelling read, and promise that the next book should be even more so.

Title: A Feast for Crows

Author: George R.R. Martin

Length: 784 pages.

Publisher: Bantam.

Date: October 30, 2007.

OVERALL GRADE: B/B-.

PLOT: B-.

IMAGERY: B.

IMPACT: B+. 

WRITING: B-.

BOOK REVIEW: Leviathan Wakes

One of the best new hard science fiction reads of the year is Leviathan Wakes from James S.A. Corey. Corey is actually a pseudonym for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Surprisingly, both of these guys are known for their fantasy bona fides. Abraham is the author of The Dragon's Path, the first book in the Dagger and the Coin trilogy while Franck is George R.R. Martin's assistant. Martin, is, of course, the author of the wildly popular A Song of Ice and Fire series, whose first book the Emmy award-winning HBO mini-series Game of Thrones is based on.

It's interesting that with all this swords and sorcery experience that these two guys have written an absolute kick-ass hard science fiction classic. The universe of Leviathan Wakes takes place in a near future where humanity has established colonies on some of the solar system's planets and large asteroids. To be more precise, Mars, the Moon, and Ceres all have substantial human populations, with distinct and disagreeing cultures. The two big fish are Mars and the Earth, with the Moon and all the inhabitants of the Asteroid Belt (known as "Belters"). There are no aliens, but there are generations of humans that have only lived in non-Earth gravity and have been physically modified as a result.

The story that is set in this universe is a doozy. It is centered around two main characters: Jim Holden and Detective Miller. Holden is the "good guy," an idealist who runs into some Lovecraftian surprises in deep space of galactic significance. Miller is the hard-bitten detective who doesn't even have a first name who doggedly follows his hunch about a case no-one else cares about while history-altering events are happening around him.

The book is an interesting melange of multiple genres; it is definitely hard science fiction (there are space battles with sub-light space travel in the very first chapter) but veers sharply into horror (there are things called "vomit zombies") with a sprinkle of noir (Miller's character is clearly supposed to be some kind of 23rd century Sam Spade).

I don't want to say too much about the details except to say that the story hurtles along at breakneck pace, and although many issues are resolved, one can clearly see how this works as the first book of a planned trilogy. I can't wait until the next book in "The Expanse" series is released; if you read Leviathan Wakes, you will be hooked as well.

Title: Leviathan Wakes.
Author: James S.A. Corey.
Length: 592 pages.
Publisher: Orbit.
Published: June 15, 2011.

OVERALL GRADE: A (4.0/4.0).

PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: A.
IMPACT: A+.
WRITING: A.