Review: Perfect State by Brandon Sanderson

In the future the majority of humanity are disembodied brains housed in jars. Linked to a matrix-like network each individual is the most important person in their own virtual world (of which they are fully aware), populated by millions of AI individuals the majority of which are unaware of the situation. Kairominas is a god emperor of a fantasy medieval setting world. The wode (caretakers of humanity who exist in the real world) require Kairominas to meet with another liveborn and procreate. Something he is not happy with as it interferes with the illusion of his existence. Meanwhile another liveborn Melhi  Kairominas's rival has plans of her own.


There is not much new to the concepts employed here and they are fully standardized trope for science-fiction. However the story is fast paced and has a well executed twist.

I was impressed that the relationship between Melhi (who doesn't even really appear on screen) and Kairominas is actually the crux of this story and is cleverly done.

Overall a concept that's been done often but a clever twist makes this a worthwhile read. 7/10.

Review: Touch by Claire North

"Kepler" is a "ghost", a conscious that can choose to jump from body to with the slightest physical contact, shutting down the existing conscious in the body until the "ghost" departs. "Kepler" has found himself/herself in this state for quite some time and now tries to make deals with people in order to borrow their body, for example a certain amount of money for say three months use. It is during one such arrangement with a woman named Josephine Cebula that "Kepler" finds himself/herself in trouble. Josephine is gunned down by a stranger."Kepler" has experienced people or groups trying to destroy  himself/herself before but what makes this occurrence strange is that the gunman kills Josephine even after he knows "Kepler" has fled her body. "Kepler" is able to grab control of the gunman and begins a quest for answers.

The central premise of the "ghosts" is an interesting and very well thought out one. I enjoyed the way North linked it towards real events such as bouts of amnesia which made it very credible.

North is able to flesh out the concept with well timed flashbacks which works extremely well throughout the narrative and does not negatively effect the pacing.

North (in her other incarnation of kate Griffin) has always had a knack of describing urban areas and their unique characters which brings them to life and this novel is no exception.

The biggest plus for me is the very human aspect of this tale and very adult way the moral implications are considered.

Overall Touch is a beautifully written and clever story with a highly original concept. 9/10.

Review: The Hollow Queen by Elizabeth Haydon

Having given up part of her true name to protect her infant son Rhapsody has been able to join the war against the merchant emperor Talquist , though very important aspects of her personality and memories are now lost to her. Achmed has decided to try and assassinate Talquist himself, though this may not be enough to stop the war even if he is successful. Ashe has left the continent in an effort to gain the sea mages aid in the war and Grunthor stands guard over the sleeping child as a demon housed in an elemental stone body seeks to use the child to open the vault to the underworld.

The main problem with this novel is very uneven pacing and stems from several issues. The first 50 pages or so are spent recapping which is highly frustrating and prevents any early momentum in the story. I could understand doing that in the previous book with the almost decade long wait between that but it makes little sense now and these pages could have been utilized.

After that everything feels like its in a rush. On a few occasions we are brought to the beginning of a battle only to then be taken to the aftermath. Thus actually trying to visualize the war and how it is being fought is almost impossible.

Some very big moments that have been built up for several books are over in a few pages and makes many of the antagonists seem incompetent to an extreme.

Having said all that the lifeblood of this series, the wonderfully realized cast of characters and the relationships that have grown between them are very much intact and does act as a saving grace. Ashe in particular had some of his most memorable moments in the series and his confrontation with his uncle and the sea mages is truly memorable.

Overall this still remains a very good book but severe pacing issues prevent it being the great one (or two) that it should have been. 7/10.  

Review: This Forsaken Earth by Paul Kearney

Despite having fought off the Bionese invading fleet, Rol Cortishane knows in his heart that it is only a matter of time before the pirate sanctuary of Ganesh Ka is destroyed. When an old and unwelcome acquaintance the former thief king Canker shows up  things get worse. Canker has been working for Rol's half sister and former lover Rowan as she tries to take back the throne that was stolen from her father. However things have not gone well and Rowan is besieged in the capital she has taken and needs Rol's help. Rol is reluctant to return to his former life but is put into a position where he has little choice.

Kearney's character development is superb with Rol taking center stage. Having been forced to make a new life for himself after Rowan abandoned him this novel centers around Rol's choices, and his decisions to become the man he wants to be instead of the one is heritage is forcing him to be.

Kearney has always been a master of pacing and this is no exception with well-balanced action sequences and a well worked twist.

Overall Kearney continues to deliver and show just why he is the most under-appreciated and under-read writers in the genre. 8.5/10.  

Review: Firefight by Brandon Sanderson

After the events of Steelheart a number of epics have descended on Newcargo attempting to kill members of the Reckoners. What these epics all have in common is that they are from Babilar (formerly New York City) under the command of a high epic Regalia's, who has a connection with Prof, command. Prof decides to take Tia and David to Babilar to meet up with the Reckoners cell based there and put a stop to her. David meanwhile has plans of his own. Knowing Megan is in Babilar as well he wants to find her and prove that epics can fight their nature. A plan that looks like immediately unraveling when Megan is blamed for the death of a Reckoner.

Like the previous book I have massive issues with David as a character. Despite watching his father murdered by Steelheart and watching his world destroyed by epics he is a goofball obsessed with silly metaphors. A couple of the other Reckoners in the New York cell suffer from similar deficiencies.

Sanderson's two biggest problems as a writer are a very real struggle with humour and writing down to an audience when he is writing Young Adult. In this genre his protagonists tend to seem younger then they are and I wish he would have read through his Mistborn books again, Vin was a very believable and well fleshed out protagonist despite being in her teens.

Once the action heats up about halfway through the book, these problems thankfully are less evident. I'm also glad the weaknesses of epics are looked at further and are no longer so arbitrary.

Overall Sanderson's struggle with humour and the Young Adult genre continue and detract from a very interesting concept. 6/10.    

Review: Monument by Ian Graham

A drunken vagrant named Ballas, comes close to death when a pickpocket goes horribly wrong. Nursed back to health by a clergyman Ballas learns of a jeweled piece owned by a friend of the clergyman who owns a museum. Stealing the piece Ballas hopes to fence it and make his fortune. When a disagreement with an underworld boss, with church connections, ends in the offender's death Ballas finds himself on the wrong side of the Church's considerable resources and on the run. But with the church controlling most of the known world Ballas has no choice but to seek out a mythical lands which may or may not exist. In fact it almost seems like a compulsion...

Monument's greatest strength is the way the character of Ballas is gradually built throughout the novel. While it is obvious from the beginning that he is no hero finding out exactly what he was, was fascinating. Although ninety percent of the novel was told from Ballas' perspective tiny portions are told from a few other character's points of view. While I'm generally not a fan of this (I'm more of the opinion that either stick to one character's perspective or divide it more evenly, small sections in isolation seem like a cop out to me.) in this case it actually and in fact the novel wouldn't have worked without one in particular. The  supporting cast are well realized and the world-building is solid and unintrusive.

Overall Momument is a solid character-driven  novel. 8.5/10,    

Review: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zhan

Five years after the events of Return of the Jedi the members of the rebellion have formed a New Republic, trying to get intergalactic trade up and running, enticing new worlds into the republic and dealing with the remnants of the empire. Thrawn, the last of the empire's Grand Admirals, has taken control of the scattered imperial fleet. He plans on using technology hidden away by Emperor Palpatine and an unlikely alliance with a dark Jedi, Joruus C'Baoth ,  to restore the fleet. In return for his aid C'Baoth would like other Jedi's to bend to his will, leading Thrawn's forces to target Luke Skywalker and his sister Leia.

For the most part Zhan succeeds in capturing the right feel for the characters, though at times it does feels like he is trying to hard by having them repeat lines from the original movies. I was especially impressed with how well Zhan was able to portray non-speaking characters like R2D2 and Chewbacca and really made them come to life.

The original Star Wars movies are pretty intent on portraying the empire as irredeemable evildoers which does give it an overstrung aspect of black and white. However in Thrawn Zhan has created a capable and intelligent nemesis who I couldn't help cheering for a little bit.

The copy I read was the 20th anniversary edition which included commentary by Zhan which added an behind the scenes aspect that added an interesting layer.

I did have an issue with some rather bizarre and silly aspects which popped up from time to time and did spoil my immersion. The best example is a new Wookie character that humans can understand due to a speech impediment.

I did find Zhan's prose a bit simplistic at times.

Overall Zhan delivers a very good Star Wars book but some issues can be distracting. 6.75/10.

This edition also contained a novella entitled Crisis of Faith. I enjoyed it and felt Zhan's prose markedly improved, is well paced and has one of the more interesting alien points of view I have read. 8/10.