‘The Mirrored Heavens’ – David J. Williams (Bantam Spectra)

I don’t normally pick up thrillers so a sci-fi story about infighting between terrorists and various political ‘black ops’ teams didn’t initially fill me with confidence. I thought I’d give it a go though and have to say that I’m very glad that I did. It’s a bit early to be picking my favourite sci-fi novel of the year but I can say that ‘The Mirrored Heavens’ is definitely on my shortlist.
It’s the 22nd century and a mixture of Cold War, environmental damage and an Arab-Israeli nuclear exchange has prompted the various power blocs to draw up the Treaty of Zurich in an attempt to stop world affairs spiralling completely out of control. The symbol of this new found unity is the construction of the Phoenix space elevator but its destruction by the terrorist group ‘Autumn Rain’ causes chaos to break out again. Counterintelligence agents Claire Haskell and Jason Marlowe are best placed to get to the bottom of this but what chance of success do they have when they don’t even know if their feelings for each other are the truth or not?
This world of the future is a dangerous place to live, especially if you’re an agent tasked with either keeping the peace or advancing the goals of your shadowy masters. This makes for a story with a good mix of futuristic warfare and espionage. The espionage is particularly convoluted as people change sides regularly and information is doled out sparingly by characters who want to remain in control. As a result you really have to keep an eye on what’s going on or you will miss something important. I paid close attention and still managed to miss a couple of things that made a difference to the plot. Maybe the plot is a little too convoluted and this gets in the way (too many different groups all with conflicting agendas)? I don’t know but luckily ‘The Mirrored Heavens’ is a book that I am looking forward to re-reading (soon) anyway so I’ll have a better idea then. Another thing that bugged me slightly were cryptic conversations between characters who didn’t want to give too much away. They succeeded in this but it was to the extent where I was often left wondering just exactly what had been said! In a strange kind of way though this actually made reading the book more enjoyable when conclusions were finally drawn and payoffs made. Despite this, the plot kept me hooked right until the end and that’s all that really matters right?
Now what I’ve said so far makes ‘The Mirrored Heavens’ sound anything like ‘favourite sci-fi book’ material but there is a lot more to it which I got a lot out of. Williams writes a pretty mean action scene which gets the blood pumping. Whether it’s two operatives fighting underneath the Moon or an agent going up against a ship full of combat drones, the writing surges with adrenaline and some of the moves/countermeasures that Williams comes up with shows just how much thought he has put into his world building. Plot is important but I love world building, for me it’s the thing that can make or break a book that I want to get lost in. ‘The Mirrored Heavens’ is a winner in this case, Williams has chosen a direction for Earth to head in and paints a vivid picture of the results. His cityscapes are gorgeously drawn (If menacing) with a real cyberpunk feel. Talking of cyberpunk; Williams takes computer/net hacking to a level only dreamed of with the introduction of the ‘Razors’, hackers who can manipulate technology like never before.
‘The Mirrored Heavens’ is a difficult book to get into but I found it almost impossible to put down once I started (and that was only because I had to go to work). The finale is left open ended enough for a sequel (at least) and I’m looking forward to reading more by David Williams.

Eight and a Half out of Ten

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that David has a pretty cool looking website over Here. Check it out...

Stephen King’s ‘The Dark Tower’

The Gunslinger
The Drawing of the Three
The Wastelands
Wizard and Glass
Wolves of the Calla
Song of Susannah
The Dark Tower

Given that I’ve been such a big fan of Stephen King over the years it’s surprising that I never got into his Dark Tower series until a couple of years ago. I don’t know why it happened like this, if anything I think I preferred reading his ‘stand alone’ horror and the thought of waiting years to read the next Dark Tower instalment (he wrote them as the mood took him and I also think he put off writing them as he didn’t want the series to finish) didn’t exactly fill me with enthusiasm! This all changed when I read ‘The Regulators’ and ‘Desperation’, both great books as far as I’m concerned. I read somewhere that these two books had connections to the Dark Tower and all of a sudden I found myself thinking that the series may be worth checking out after all… I picked up ‘The Gunslinger’ to take on holiday and was hooked pretty much right from the start. Despite the ‘piecemeal’ feel of the book (it was originally written as a series of short stories) there was a surreal air to the world and its inhabitants that kept me reading. Our hero Roland of Gilead lives in a world that has ‘moved on’; order has broken down in the aftermath of war but things aren’t as chaotic as you would expect, instead there seems to be a malaise over the land and people are content to just let things wind down. Machines don’t work but no-body can remember how they worked anyway. In our world Roland would be a cowboy, in his world he is a ‘gun-slinger’ which is a cowboy but also a member of a knightly order. His quest is to find the Man in Black and then save the beams which connect the Dark Tower to the whole of existence itself. The world may have moved on but it seems that Roland can stop it ending completely. He cannot do it by himself though and ‘The Drawing of the Three’ and ‘The Wastelands’ see him gather companions to fight by his side. ‘Wizard and Glass’ sheds light on some of Roland’s tragic past and the final three books take us right up to the doors of the Dark Tower itself. It’s here that the reader will find that the success of Roland’s quest doesn’t depend so much on what he has achieved but how he achieved it…
If you haven’t read the Dark Tower series then I think you need to do something about that sooner rather than later. If nothing else, fans of King’s horror fiction will suddenly become aware of a whole load of things that connect almost everything King has written. The Dark Tower series also gives King the chance to showcase writing skills and techniques that don’t fit into his mainstream work as well. There’s something for everyone in this series; terrifying evil, heroism, camaraderie and tragedy. Roland’s tale is ultimately a tragic one so be prepared to say to people, “I wasn’t crying! It’s, er… really dusty and I got some in my eye!” ‘Wizard and Glass’ is particularly sad which makes it heavy going on a first read but it’s a lot easier (and more worthwhile) if you decide on a re-read. All of this is placed against a ‘Western Epic’ backdrop where the gun is law and a man’s quickness on the draw gives him the right to exercise his own justice. It’s this ‘American feel’ that really sets the series apart as something unique.
It’s the characters, and how they get on, that really make this series work for me. Roland’s band (his ‘ka-tet’) explores themes of love, trust, honour and sacrifice in the face of often overwhelming odds which really made me feel for them. It’s not just the heroes that make the story though, King’s villains are also particularly devilish and evil. Funnily enough though it’s the minor villains such as Blaine or the Big Coffin Hunters that come across as the most evil, the Crimson King (supposedly the ‘uber bad guy’) only really makes an appearance right at the end of Book 7 (‘The Dark Tower’) and doesn’t have a lot of time to make an impact.
I love this series and if you haven’t read it already then I reckon you will too. A couple of things though… Stephen King writes himself into the series during ‘Song of Susannah’ which has polarised fans. I’m cool with this, it was his ‘big labour of love’ so it was inevitable that he would find his way in. Personally I don’t think that it damages the story at all. Finally, the end of the series is a shock if you don’t know what’s coming and another one that got fans worked up. I can see why but I think it had to end the way it did. Sometimes it’s not about the destination but the journey itself…

See your name in print!

I'm not talking about your local newspaper either, how do you fancy seeing your name appear in a book of retro-Victorian steampunk adventure? Sounds good doesn't it? Read on...

I'm a big fan of Abaddon Books' 'Pax Brittania' series; in particular the adventures of one Ulysses Quicksilver, gentleman adventurer and agent of the crown. Check out my reviews of Unnatural History and Leviathan Rising for more information. The next book in the series, 'Human Nature', is due to be released in December and Jonathan Green (the author) is offering one lucky reader the chance to see their name used for one of the characters in the book. You could be the arch-villain or you could end up as a cheeky cockney cabbie, who knows...
I'm in and, despite wanting to win this thing, I thought I'd offer you all the chance to enter as well. More information can be found Here.

Good luck!

Giveaway! 'The Indiana Jones Trilogy' (Books not the films!)

I'd be surprised if you didn't already know that the next couple of weeks will see the release of the long awaited Indiana Jones film 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. I would say that I'll be going to see it but every time I say that I end up missing the film... (Still need to see 'Ironman'!) Transworld have got a pretty cool omnibus edition of the original movie novelisations which I've been reading so I can catch up before the film opens. It's a bit of a wierd one to review (what can I tell you about it that you don't already know?) but suffice it to say that reading the stories are just as much fun as watching the films.
Sounds pretty good doesn't it? Fancy a copy for yourself? Thanks to the good people at Transworld Books I have three copies to give away, ideal for the train journey to work :o) Unless you're one of those people with a portable DVD player who can just watch the films...
Want in? Entering is incredibly easy. My email address is at the top right hand side of the screen, just drop me a line telling me who you are and where you live. I'll let this one run until next Tuesday (20th May) and then annouce the winners on the Wednesday. This giveaway is open to anyone so it doesn't matter where you're from, drop me a line anyway! :o) Don't be trying to enter more than once though...

Good luck!

‘Tower Hill’ – Sarah Pinborough (Leisure Fiction)

I’ve read some horrifying stuff over the last week so it seemed strangely apt that I get back into the normal swing of things by reading some horror fiction and Sarah Pinborough’s ‘Tower Hill’ seemed like a good place to start.
There seems to be a rule of horror fiction stating that the quieter a locale is, the more likely it is that something truly evil and terrifying is going to take place. The small American town of Tower Hill seems to be the quietest and most easy going, town in horror fiction so it’s pretty clear right from the start that something big is going to happen! Two men arrive in Tower Hill, not normally something noteworthy but they killed a priest and blew up a Burger King on the way. Now the town has a new priest as well as a new professor at the college and students from the college are beginning to die… Artefacts of great power lie within Tower Hill and Godhood awaits those who are willing to take the risk. Or does it? The stakes are much higher than anyone seems to realise…
‘Tower Hill’ is a genuinely creepy novel of a town that gradually falls under supernatural control and the consequences of this. The tension builds up on each page as the situation grows worse and the few unaffected people find the odds are stacked more and more against them. Pinborough has a real knack for reeling the reader in with the promise of hope and then throwing a curveball that puts everything into doubt again. Even though the storyline could be quite predictable in this way (I came to expect it after a while) it was the character’s reactions, in the face of fear, that really drove things along. A real mixture of fear and heroism, especially in the case of Deputy Sheriff Eccles. This approach also throws up a real sense of inevitability that can make things predictable (as mentioned) but also really adds to the creeping sense of horror that pervades this book. There’s nothing here that will make you jump but there was plenty to give me that sick feeling you get when you know something bad is going to happen and there is nothing that you can do…
After all this horror goodness (a couple of scenes laid on the gore in a particularly nasty way!) it was a shame to see the book end in the way that it did. Without giving too much away there’s an emphasis placed on ‘random chance that is really fate’ that came across (to me at least) like a get out of jail free card. There’s also the fact that while our heroes were labouring in ignorance for most of the book they managed to find out what they needed to know just in time for the final confrontation… I can see how this could happen but maybe it would have been a more effective tactic to let the tension stretch out just a little bit further…
‘Tower Hill’ is let down by its ending but is still a gripping page turner full of creeping dread. Sarah Pinborough has done enough to make sure that I’ll be looking out for more her books in the future.

Seven and Three Quarters out of Ten

Love is...

... something that won't be featuring heavily in my reading for some time to come! :o) Yes, it's time to bid a fond farewell to the 'Week of Love' and get back to the sci-fi/fantasy/horror that got me blogging in the first place (can you hear me breathe a sigh of relief?)
I've learned a few things about 'para-normal romance', and romance in urban fantasy/sci-fi, this week. I gave it a go but it's just not for me. Am I just a prude or do I think that certain authors could write a better story without resorting to graphic detail of you know what? A little bit of A and a little bit B I have to admit. I also learnt that...

A were-leopard never changes its spots.

The motel industry in America is built on the antics of amorous were-creatures that just cannot wait to get home.

Being under a witch's spell is a perfectly good reason for not calling your girlfriend.

Leprachauns smoke pot.

The term 'para-normal romance' is very misleading as far as I'm concerned!

And there you have it. Tomorrow should see a review of a tasty slice of horror fiction that I'm reading and I'll hopefully be setting up a couple of competitions as well. Before I go, I just want to say thanks to everyone who linked to the 'Blood Noir' review. It was really interesting to see some of the comments that came up (it's not just me who thinks this stuff). Cheers!
Hope the rest of your weekend is great!

‘The Host’ – Stephenie Meyer (Sphere Books)

I always wondered what life on Earth would have been like after the Bodysnatchers had taken over completely (you’ve seen the films haven’t you?) I’m not sure if this was her intention but Stephenie Meyer gives her readers a pretty good idea… and tells a love story at the same time.
Earth has been taken over by an alien race that takes over the minds of humanity whilst leaving the bodies intact. Wanderer is a ‘soul’, an alien freshly implanted into a human host and looking forward to experiencing life on Earth. The only problem is that Melanie (the original owner of Wanderer’s body) refuses to let Wanderer take over completely. Melanie has unfinished business in the real world and Wanderer cannot help but go along with it. Wanderer/Melanie find Jared (Melanie’s boyfriend) with a group of other survivors, not only must Wanderer fight to gain the trust of the refugees but she must also work out whether Melanie’s feelings are coming through or if she is in love with Jared herself…
Stephenie Meyer has already made a name for herself, as the author of the best selling ‘Twilight’ series for young adults and ‘The Host’ is her first foray into adult fiction. At least that’s what the press release says, I personally couldn’t tell much of a difference. I’m not saying this is a bad thing just that maybe young adult readers will get just as much out of this book as they have done with previous books.
‘The Host’ is a long and meandering read, weighing in at a hefty six hundred and seventeen pages. Meyer seems to be of the school of thought where using one word clearly won’t do if you can use a hundred instead! The result is a sometimes stifling read where the temptation to skim read could sometimes mean that something important is missed. At the same time though there is something compelling about the writing that made me want to keep at it instead of putting it to one side. Meyer does a great (if long winded) job of portraying the pressure humanity would probably face in an alien invasion. The simplest task takes on a different dimension and I kept reading to see what would happen next. The tension is palpable and every word of dialogue is heavy with meaning. This makes the romance element interesting, especially when the ‘love triangle’ grows another side… Any romance is handled really delicately and this reflects the impossible situation that the main players have found themselves in. My pet hate, right now, in ‘romantic literature’ is the endless soul searching that each character must do and there is no exception here for ‘The Host’. While it may be a great way to give the reader insight into the characters, it sometimes doesn’t sit well when placed in context against the urgency of the situation.
Meyer also has a habit of pulling tricks out of thin air to resolve her plots. While I can understand that Wanderer has a lot of other stuff on her mind, to suddenly ‘remember what to do to solve hers and Melanie’s problem’ out of thin air looked like a big fat get out of jail free card from where I was sitting. Likewise the ending, although a happy one, came across that the author didn’t want to take a risk and gave the reader what she thought would make them happy. I think a sad ending would have made the romance all the more poignant.
Despite all this though I enjoyed reading ‘The Host’, while I don’t think I would read anymore of her stuff I’d recommend it to anyone who’s already a fan.

Seven out of Ten