Author: Civilian Reader

Review: Tanya Huff’s “Confederation” #1-3 (Titan Books)

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Reviewed by H.

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A cracking first three novels in Huff’s military science-fiction series

In the distant future, humans and several alien races have been granted membership in the Confederation — at a price. They must serve and protect the far more civilized species who have long since turned away from war. When her transport ship is shot down, a routine diplomatic mission across the galaxy becomes anything but, and Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr must fight to keep her platoon alive.

These three novels – Valour’s Choice, The Better Part of Valour, and The Heart of Valour – are the first in Huff’s Confederation series, which have finally made their way to UK shores thanks to an extensive new deal with Titan Books (who are also publishing Huff’s Enchantment Emporium novels, The Silvered, and, perhaps, more in the future?). The series is already at five books in the US (published by DAW), with a sixth, Peacemaker (TBC) in the works. These novels are a lot of fun.

The main character, Sergeant Torin Kerr is a great protagonist, and a great guide to this future setting. She is likeable. She plays the part of frontline officer who is willing and able to keep the Top Brass in check, able to navigate military politics without treading on others’ toes. She’s a great character – gutsy, capable, and kick-ass. Everything a reader could hope for, from a veteran Marine.

Kerr’s tendency to talk back does bite her in the ass in The Better Part of Valour, when she is sent on a “special mission” for speaking her mind to a superior officer: she is assigned as leader of protective detail of a scientific exploratory team, who have been dispatched to investigate an enormous, derelict spaceship. Naturally, things do not turn out as simply or as smoothly as originally hoped. By the third novel, Kerr’s military career has become a bit less action-packed, and she’s found herself sidelined into attending endless briefings and debriefings, with no apparent end in sight. So, when she’s offered the chance to go to Crucible, the Marine Corps training planet, as a temporary aide to Major Svensson, she readily agrees. It was meant to be an easy assignment, lasting no more than a month, while the Major tests out his new body (his previous deployment reduced him to little more than a brain and a spinal cord…). Upon arrival on the planet, however, all hell breaks loose, and it’s up to Kerr to look after a platoon of green recruits, to keep them alive until the cavalry (hopefully) come to rescue them.

The other races Torin and her comrades face and fight are all interestingly portrayed and developed – whether they are villains or just strange allies (who, uh, eat humans…), they can be just as fun as the more humorous characters. Through the various species’ and characters’ interactions, Huff does a good job of exploring our reactions to the Other, and also how we can overcome differences to work together for common purpose.

The battle and combat scenes in all three of the novels are very well-written: intense, fast-paced and ‘realistic’ – no doubt, the author has benefited from her own military career and also her family’s. Although, I must admit that reading about the characters and seeing them interact and develop was more of interest to me (military sci-fi is not my usual bag of tea). After reading these, I’ll have to check out The Silvered (fantasy) and also The Enchantment Emporium (urban fantasy) – it’ll be interesting to see if Huff writes as well in those genres as in this one, although I have no doubt she does.

Overall, therefore, while Valour’s Choice is perhaps my favourite thanks to the newness and sense of discovery I felt while reading it, the series maintains its quality and addictiveness over the next two books – there’s a great balance of humour, story, and action. The changing supporting cast also keeps the stories fresh, although sometimes they took a little bit of getting used to. The novels are quick, fun reads that are not dumbed down. I blitzed through them, and can’t wait to read the next one! Keep them coming!

Valour’s Choice, The Better Part of Valour, and The Heart of Valour are all available now in the UK from Titan Books. The fourth and fifth novels in the series – Valour’s Trial and The Truth of Valour – will be published in April and June, respectively.

For Fans of: Rachel Bach, Elizabeth Moon, Robert Heinlein, David Drake, Jack Campbell, Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica

An Interview with ANNA KASHINA

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AnnaKashina-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Anna Kashina?

I am a biomedical scientist and a writer, not necessarily in that order. My day job is being a professor at a major US university. Writing is reserved for the rest of my time. More recently, I am also a mother of two, which taps seriously into all the other occupations.

Your novel, Blades of the Old Empire, is due to be published in February by Angry Robot Books. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader? Is it part of a series?

I hope readers would see it as an adventure fantasy in the best traditions of the genre, which also includes some elements of romance. It does not push the boundaries or create new concepts, it is intended as a fun, fast-paced read. It is book one of the Majat Code series, with book two, Guild of Assassins, coming out this August. I do have plans for other books in the series and hope to see them forthcoming later on.

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What inspired you to write the novel? And where do you draw your inspiration from in general?

As it turns out, these are two separate questions. Generally, my inspiration for writing comes from a desire to get some unresolved emotions out on paper. I can only do it in the form of fantasy, ideally set in a world that does not exist in real life. But a lot of ideas for these stories also come from my dreams. In a big sense, it almost seems as if these worlds do exist somewhere and find their way out into my books.

With Blades of the Old Empire, it was somewhat different. I wanted to write a traditional fantasy. And then, as I sat down to write it, the story just emerged. Once it got going, all I had to do was write it down. So, in this sense, I had an even stronger feeling that not only the world, but this particular story existed somewhere, and just found its way out through me. The feeling was very special, one I still miss.

How were you introduced to reading and genre fiction?

Tolkien-LOTR-1-TheFellowshipOfTheRingI grew up in the former Soviet Union. Back then, reading was pretty much the only form of entertainment available (we had no TV, and people did not go out much). I was reading ever since I can remember; everything I could lay my hands on, but my favorites were always fairy tales and myths, and this probably started my early interest in fantasy. The first true fantasy I read was The Lord of the Rings, and after that I was hooked on the genre.

How do you enjoy being a writer and working within the publishing industry? Do you have any specific working, writing, researching practices?

Now that I have a publisher, I love it. It means I can focus only on my writing and somebody else will do the rest. Of course, I used to see it differently before I found a publisher and an agent.

I write for enjoyment, and I do have a demanding day job; so, unlike many authors, I don’t have a routine in which I must sit down and write something every day. If I need to write something, I just sit down and write it, whenever I can. But the most rewarding times are when I feel inspired, and then keeping from writing becomes a torture and I literally use every available moment to write. This yields some of my best work.

I usually do research as I write, on an “as-needed” basis. If I feel very inspired, I leave blanks for the parts that need researching, sometimes with a note of what needs to be in there, and then fill these blanks later.

When did you realize you wanted to be an author, and what was your first foray into writing? Do you still look back on it fondly?

My first was a self-illustrated “novel” written when I was six years old, which ended with the words “and they sailed to the east, where the sun sets.” When my father politely pointed out to me that the sun actually sets in the west, I was so ashamed that I destroyed that “book”. I am sure it was for the best.

AnnaKashina&VladimirKeilisBorok-NovelMy first novel that I look back fondly on was written when I was in high school, co-authored with my grandfather, Vladimir Keilis-Borok. It is a historical novel about the pirates and Queen Elizabeth of England, written in Russian under pen names. I still think it is very good (probably for young adults) and maybe some day I will translate it into English.

What’s your opinion of the genre today, and where do you see your work fitting into it?

This is difficult to tell. Personally, I really enjoy traditional fantasy that explores the familiar concepts well. I believe there are not enough such books out there – partly because the professionals in the industry, who have literally seen it all, tend to be attracted to new things they have not seen before. As a reader, I still like the old, and I hope we get more books published in the “good old” style. I hope my book would appeal to readers like myself, those who like to have fun with a book and don’t care about anything else.

My books also tend to have lots of romance (which is even more true about the upcoming Guild of Assassins), and I don’t think there are enough books out there that blend fantasy with elements of romance (usually these two genres are somewhat separate). I hope my books will appeal to the readers who are not straight romance fans, but enjoy good romance elements in their adventure story.

What other projects are you working on, and what do you have currently in the pipeline?

The Guild of Assassins is the next in the pipeline. It is a sequel to Blades of the Old Empire, even though each of these books can be read as a stand-alone. I am working on book three in the series.

RabyA-H&T1-AssassinsGambitWhat are you reading at the moment (fiction, non-fiction)?

At the moment I am reading Amy Raby’s Hearts and Thrones series: a great example of traditional adventure fantasy with elements of romance. I am enjoying it very much. I mostly read non-fiction at work, so even though I do have several historical reference books on my shelf, they are on hold for the moment.

What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?

I hope, that English is not my first language…? (Unless, of course, my name already gave it away.)

I grew up in Russia and came to America as an adult, so for the first few years I was really conscious about my limitations in the English language. At that time, I felt that if I could make one wish, it would be to know English as well as I know Russian. I feel that in the past decade I have achieved that state, and possibly switched to English as the dominant one.

What are you most looking forward to in the next twelve months?

Well, I am both anticipating and dreading the release of my books. I hope readers will like them, and sitting around and waiting is just so unnerving. I am sure many authors can relate to this feeling, of pouring out your soul, defeating impossible odds, putting your work out there, and waiting for the reaction it would cause… All in all, fingers crossed!

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Blades of the Old Empire is published by Angry Robot Books in the UK on March 6th and in the US and eBook format today.

Guest Post: “Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Tell Story” by Jonathan Wood

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JonathanWood2When videogames first appeared, they really were games. There were victory conditions to meet, puzzles to solve, opponents to outwit. You could win. But then somewhere along the way, story snuck in, and videogames changed. You were no longer simply trying to win, instead you were struggling to get to the end, to complete the narrative.

Back when I was in college, I watched my friend play Final Fantasy VII. There was a group of us. We’d make an evening of it, gather round as my friend loaded the disc, pour some drinks, and watch what happened next to Cloud, Yuna, Barrett, and the rest of the gang.

Final Fantasy was the first videogame story that really grabbed me. It was epic, operatic, sprawling through twists and turns, through a mythology that was utterly alien to me. The next two games in the franchise were stutter steps for me, but Final Fantasy X held me in its grip once more, as I hastily fumbled through sections of gameplay to get to the next installment of the story.

FinalFantasyVII

I started trying to write my first novel shortly after finishing Final Fantasy X. I knew I didn’t want to write a traditional, Western fantasy. Elves and dwarfs did little for me. Instead, I remembered the fresh mythology I’d seen in the Final Fantasy games — summoning towering spirits, battling titanic monsters… I remembered that sense of the new. Turning a corner in the game and having my jaw hang at a glowing vista, at an aerial battle, an intimate scene in the glow of a phosphorescent tree… That inspiration drove the novel. It filled page after page with words.

The rather unfortunate end to this story is that the novel stunk. It was a first novel. These things happen. But it wasn’t the last time a videogame has inspired me.

Videogames are not often known for their literary ambition. It’s a situation that’s starting to change, but only slowly. There is often an uneven truce between story and gameplay, one trying to drive the desire for the other. But this doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons a writer can learn.

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My personal videogame obsession is the Mass Effect series. There are moments of magnificent storytelling in the game. The pinnacle for me comes in the first game. You must choose which of two shipmates you will save. On the surface it’s a standard life-and-death question, but due to hours of careful characterization, it goes deeper than that. It’s about loyalty, friendship, morality, and love. It’s about the person you want to be playing this game. It is a very personal set of character stakes brought to a towering crescendo.

I write a series. I can’t kill my main character. That’s off the table. But Mass Effect taught me that that doesn’t have to lower the stakes. Rather, I force my protagonist to make these kinds of choices. Who is he going to decide to be? Far worse than dying can be the things we are forced to live with.

The Witcher is another popular RPG series that puts a strong emphasis on storytelling. The focus is on the character Geralt, a monster-killing badass fueled by magic and drugs. On the surface Geralt is everything you could want a hero to be, competent, slick, and cold as a sharp steel blade. The games are everything I want them to be. And yet, I’ve never completed one.

TheWitcher-GameThe problem is, I don’t like Geralt. As competent as he is, nothing is ever done to make me actually feel for him. I am simply thrown into his skin and told to go forth and kick righteous ass. It feels hollow.

Readers like characters to be competent. But that’s not enough on its own. That’s what The Witcher taught me. To make sure there’s something human in my characters to hold on to. A sense of humor, a love of cats, an inability to bite ones tongue. We like characters for their qualities, but we fall in love with them for their flaws.

Writers are encouraged to read, and I certainly wouldn’t disagree with that advice. In fact, I think it’s critically important. But I also wouldn’t say that books are the only storytelling medium that writers should pay attention to. I wouldn’t even limit it to books and videogames. Movies, newspapers, conversations around the dinner table. The world is full of stories, and each one contains a lesson. And if we choose to learn them from videogames, we even can do it while stabbing monsters in the face.

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Jonathan Wood is the author of NO HERO and YESTERDAY’S HERO, first published by Night Shade Books, but coming later this year from Titan Books (March and September). A third novel in the series, ANTI HERO, is due to be published in March 2015. Be sure to follow him on Twitter and Goodreads for news, etc.

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The Importance of a Super-Hero Diaspora…

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That’s a rather grand title. Rather than some deep analysis of why super-heroes should be based and from all over the world, this was just inspired by the fact that a). three super-heroes (at least) have re-located, and b). New York and Gotham have become ridiculously over-populated by super-heroes in Marvel’s and DC’s lines.

Marvel&DC-NewYorkGotham

New York City, while I love it, has become rather ridiculous in terms of Marvel’s super-heroes. I remember at least one comic picking up on the fact that you’d have to be a moron to try to be a (super-)villain in the Big Apple, given the sheer saturation-level population of super-powered, tights-wearing do-gooders. There are the ever-expanding Avengers teams and their various off-shoots and allies. Given how often the city is destroyed, one has to wonder why they decided to locate their headquarters right in the middle of America’s most densely-populated metropolis. Thankfully, though, Marvel seems to be doing something to add some variation into the mix. Namely, The Punisher and Daredevil are leaving the city. This last one is particularly noteworthy, given how important Hell’s Kitchen and its surrounding neighbourhoods are to that book’s and hero’s identity – not to mention the rest of the city. As it happens, these have been my two favourite Marvel titles ever since I started reading them (in the same week, as it turned out). Greg Rucka and Mark Waid have done a great job with writing duties, and the artwork for both books has been stunning.

So, here are some details on the moves, both of which are part of the All-New Marvel NOW! Endlessly-Extending Prefixes Strategy…

Punisher-01ATHE PUNISHER: Moving to LA

“Frank Castle’s one-man-war on crime continues… For years, the Punisher has called New York City his home – keeping a watchful eye on the city through the sight of a gun. But when a lead on a major source of drugs, weapons, and more leads Frank out west – he sets his sights on Los Angeles. And the City of Angels isn’t ready for a devil like the Punisher! But not everything is as it appears, and Frank will soon find himself toe-to-toe with a highly trained military strike force known only as the 131! Who are the mysterious 131? And why are they out for the Punisher’s head?”

The new Punisher series was launched in February 2014. Greg Rucka’s relatively short run on the series was absolutely superb (I recently finished it off, thanks to a 99c sale on ComiXology): not only was Rucka’s writing and story gripping and appropriately gritty, but Marco Checcheto’s artwork is stunning. The new series is written by Nathan Edmondson (whose Ultimate Comics: X-Men and The Activity were pretty good). Artwork will be by Mitch Gerads. It’ll be interesting to see how the character adapts to his new environment – although, given that he has travelled abroad before (including in Rucka’s run), it probably won’t be too different. Nevertheless, I really hope Edmondson manages to maintain the quality – it’s a great character, and the extreme shades of grey in which he operates allow for some pretty great/powerful storytelling opportunities.

Punisher-01&02-PalmtreeCovers

Variant Covers for #1 (Larocca) and #2 (Opena)
Palm trees! He still looks miserable, though…

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Daredevil-01ADAREDEVIL: Moving to San Francisco

“Gifted with an imperceptible radar sense, blind lawyer Matt Murdock patrols the streets with a Billy club and a passion for justice. Only this time – it’s a brand new city, with even more dangerous foes. Join Matt Murdock as he journeys from the dark streets of Hell’s Kitchen to the sun-drenched boulevards of San Francisco.”

In March 2014, the Man Without Fear will be relocating to beautiful San Francisco. It’ll be interesting to see how he manages in the new city – his approach to vigilantism has always involved an awful lot of swinging and leaping around New York’s high-rises, so… Yeah. It’ll be interesting to see how his approach changes. (To be fair, I don’t really know much about San Francisco, but I get the impression it’s not too built up…) Mark Waid will continue to handle writing duties, and Chris Samnee will still be producing the artwork. I’m really looking forward tot his re-boot (call it what it is).

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It’s not just Marvel characters, though. Gotham City is home to the extended Bat-Family and ever-extending Rogues’ Gallery that have plagued the Dark Knight on-and-off for decades. Last year, however, Dick “Nightwing” Grayson departed Gotham City for the Windy City in issue #19. Here are some excerpts from CBR’s interview with writer Kyle Higgins on Grayson’s move…

“I made the decision that if Dick was going to change cities, it needed to be story motivated. It couldn’t just be because of emotional fallout and state of mind… He’s heading to Chicago to find the man that killed his parents. As far as he’s concerned, that’s the only reason he’s going and once that’s over, he’ll be heading back to Gotham City. We’ll have to see how the story plays out, as to whether or not that will happen, but as far as Dick is concerned initially, that’s what he’s headed to Chicago for… Chicago has its own mythology and its own history that we’re tapping into and it’s definitely going to be playing a big part in Dick and Nightwing’s life moving forward.”

I’m quite behind on Nightwing, having not read any issues after the end of “Death of the Family”. I’d like to pick it up again, though, at some point.

Nightwing-20-Interior1

Of course, one thing that still needs to be addressed (and there are some signs that this is happening, for which we can only be happy, and hope for continued progress). Let’s hope we get a little more diverse than just re-locating a Justice League team further north into Canada (which, actually, I do think could be rather cool), and explore countries outside North America and the UK as more than just mission destinations…

Animated Cover for Stephen King’s MR. MERCEDES (Hodder)

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I know it hasn’t been very long since I shared the news that Hodder would be publishing two books by Stephen King this year. But, today they unveiled the UK cover for one of the novels – Mr. Mercedes – and to top it off, there is an (slightly) animated version! Which I thought was rather cool. So here it is, in all it’s moody glory…

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Mr. Mercedes is due to be published by Hodder on June 3rd 2014 in Hardcover and eBook. Here’s the synopsis:

It is a riveting cat-and-mouse suspense thriller about a retired cop and a couple of unlikely allies who race against time to stop a lone killer intent on blowing up thousands.

Retired homicide detective Bill Hodges is haunted by the few cases he left open, and by one in particular: in the pre-dawn hours, hundreds of desperate unemployed people were lined up for a spot at a job fair in a distressed Midwestern city. Without warning, a lone driver ploughed through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes. Eight people were killed, fifteen wounded. The killer escaped.

Months later, on the other side of the city, Bill Hodges gets a letter in the mail, from a man claiming to be the perpetrator. He taunts Hodges with the notion that he will strike again. Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing that from happening. Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. And he is indeed preparing to kill again.

Hodges, with a couple of misfit friends, must apprehend the killer in this high-stakes race against time. Because Brady’s next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim hundreds, even thousands. Mr Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.

Princeless Vol.1 – “Save Yourself” (Action Lab)

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Princeless-Vol.1Writer: Jeremy Whitley | Art: M. Goodwin

Princeless is the story of Princess Adrienne, one princess who’s tired of waiting to be rescued. Join Adrienne, her guardian dragon, Sparky, and their plucky friend Bedelia as they begin their own quest in this one of a kind, action packed, all-ages adventure!

Collects: Princeless Vol.1 #1-4

This was a very pleasant surprise. It’s a progressive, all-ages comic book that should have massive appeal across age groups. The story is witty, well-written, and the artwork is filled with amusing and eye-catching details. I really enjoyed this, and think a lot of others will, too.

The story and ‘message’ (not wanting to get too academic about this) is also very good. It’s a story about a princess rebelling against the Fantasy/Fairy Tale Archetypes. It begins with her shrewdly pointing out the idiocy of sticking princesses in towers in the middle of nowhere guarded by hungry dragons. It’s the only time the financial flaw in such a plan has been pointed out… The rest of the book picks up on a number of fantasy tropes, not to mention the archaic conventions related to women (young, old, noble, and peasant). There were so many scenes that made me laugh or smile. Not only the moment when our heroine discovered the sword under her bed (“Oooh. Shiny.”); but also the excellent scene in which she acquires her own, proper armour.

Princeless-Vol.1-Interior5

I won’t go into any more detail than that, as I think it would ruin many of the other jokes. You’ll find a great protagonist in Adrienne, you’ll grow attached to her new (almost Chewbacca-meets-dog) dragon companion, her zany new ally, and her brother is pretty great, too. I urge everyone to read this. If it found its way into the hands of young readers everywhere, as well as adults’, then it could do a lot for breaking down gender barriers in storytelling and genre fiction/media (in the long and short term).

Princeless-Vol.1-Interior6

Princeless is a must-read for anyone looking for a progressive, fun comic book. Also perfect for anyone who enjoyed Frozen and other similar movies. I really can’t wait to read volume two. Very highly recommended.

Short Story Reviews: FORSWORN and THE FACE IN THE WINDOW by Brian McClellan

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A pair of short stories set in the world of McClellan’s Powder Mage fantasy series. McClellan continues to impress and these two stories (which follow previous short stories The Girl of Hrusch Avenue and Hope’s End) do a wonderful job of adding more to the world he’s creating. And heightening my anticipation for The Crimson Campaign…

McClellanB-PM-ForswornFORSWORN

Erika ja Leora is a powder mage in northern Kez, a place where that particular sorcery is punishable by death. She is only protected by her family name and her position as heir to a duchy.

When she decides to help a young commoner — a powder mage marked for death, fugitive from the law — she puts her life and family reputation at risk and sets off to deliver her new ward to the safety of Adro while playing cat and mouse with the king’s own mage hunters and their captain, Duke Nikslaus.

Occurs 35 years before the events in Promise of Blood.

This is a great novella. This time, we’re in Kez, and we learn about their strict censure of powder mages – lowborn mages are executed, but highborn mages can forswear their gifts and live (branded). It is set a long while before the novel, as is mentioned above, and it’s only at the end that McClellan connects it with Tamas and his revolution. I really liked the way he wrote all of the characters. The story is very well-paced, and the fight scenes are expertly done. The author continues to impress, the more of his work I read.

Very highly recommended.

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McClellanB-PM-FaceInTheWindow(BCS140)THE FACE IN THE WINDOW

Taking place two years before the events in Promise of Blood, “The Face in the Window” relates the story of Taniel’s trip to Fatrasta and his first meeting with a mysterious girl named Ka-poel.

Published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue #140.

The author announced this rather suddenly on his website and via Twitter, just as I was finishing Forsworn. Naturally, I went straight to Amazon and bought it… It’s a great story, too, one that has a slow build to a sudden, appropriate ending. It was great to read of Taniel’s first meeting with Ka-poel (my favourite character from Promise of Blood, probably). It’s set in the muggy, oppressive, dragon-infested swamps, and Taniel attaches himself to a regiment who end up devastated by their enemies. With Ka-poel’s help, he seeks revenge on the Privileged who murdered his company.

Much shorter than Forsworn, McClellan nevertheless offers a satisfying story. You don’t have to have read Promise of Blood, but you will probably get a bit more out of “The Face in the Window” if you have.

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Brian McClellan’s Promise of Blood is published in the UK and US by Orbit Books. The next novel in the series, The Crimson Campaign is due to be published in May 2014. I can’t wait!

Mini-Review: HONOUR TO THE DEAD by Gav Thorpe (Black Library)

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Thorpe-HH-HonourTheDead(eBook)The prose version of an audio-drama

As Calth burns, the Battle Titans of the Fire Masters legion take to the streets of the city of Ithraca, ready to massacre the fleeing civilian population in the name of their new, dark masters. But the remaining loyalist engines of the Legio Praesagius – the True Messengers – still stand ready to defend the Imperium, even in the face of almost certain death. With the nearby Ultramarines forces scattered and lost, the people of Ithraca must fend for themselves as gigantic war machines unleash apocalyptic weaponry across the ravaged skyline…

This is a pretty good short story. It doesn’t really require a particularly long review, however. It was nice to see Titans featured a bit more prominently, and to see first-hand their devastating, over-the-top capabilities.

Near the beginning, there were a few very sudden changes in P.O.V. or scene, without properly-delineated shifts, which threw me a couple times. I quickly dropped back into the narrative, however. I also liked the variety of perspectives, offering not only that of opposing Astartes factions (Ultramarines, for example), but also Titan crews and mere mortals and survivors of the bombed out city.

The only real weakness to the story was Princeps Tyhe (the princeps of a renegade Warhound titan), who speaks like a bad, pulp villain:

“Is it not beautiful, my sweet? … See the ants spilling from their nests to be crushed. So weak and pathetic. But kill them we must! Our comrades in the Word Bearers require deaths, and deaths we shall give them. Deaths by the dozen! Death by the hundred, by the thousand!”

He even delivers a long, Evil Villain Monologue, one page later. I couldn’t help but cringe a little, whenever he was speaking.

Overall, then, this is certainly not Thorpe’s best work. But, it is nevertheless an enjoyable, quick read for a gap between novels. It doesn’t come close to matching the quality of Deliverance Lost or any of Thorpe’s other Horus Heresy fiction.

Also on CR: Interview with Gav Thorpe (2011)

Horus Heresy Series (Novels & Anthologies): Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy in Flames, Flight of the Eisenstein, Fulgrim, Descent of Angels, Legion, Battle for the Abyss, Mechanicum, Tales of Heresy, Fallen Angels, A Thousand Sons, Nemesis, The First Heretic, Prospero Burns, Age of Darkness, The Outcast Dead, Deliverance Lost, Know No Fear, The Primarchs, Fear to Tread, Shadows of Treachery, Angel Exterminatus, Betrayer, Mark of Calth, Promethean Sun, Scorched Earth, Vulkan Lives, Brotherhood of the Storm, Scars (I-III, IV-IX), The Unremembered Empire, Vengeful Spirit (2014)

“A Love Like Blood” by Marcus Sedgwick (Mulholland)

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Sedgwick-ALoveLikeBloodA gripping, chilling psychological thriller

“I’ve chased him for over twenty years, and across countless miles, and though often I was running, there have been many times when I could do nothing but sit and wait. Now I am only desperate for it to be finished.”

In 1944, just days after the liberation of Paris, Charles Jackson sees something horrific: a man, apparently drinking the blood of a murdered woman. Terrified, he does nothing, telling himself afterwards that worse things happen in wars.Seven years later he returns to the city – and sees the same man dining in the company of a fascinating young woman. When they leave the restaurant, Charles decides to follow…

A Love Like Blood is a dark, compelling thriller about how a man’s life can change in a moment; about where the desire for truth – and for revenge – can lead; about love and fear and hatred. And it is also about the question of blood.

This wasn’t what I was expecting. I had expected a good novel, with perhaps a supernatural component. Instead, what I found was an excellent psychological thriller about obsession and the science and mythology of blood. Sedgwick’s first novel for adults is damned good, and a must-read of the year. Continue reading →

An Interview with MATTEO STRUKUL

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Italian author Matteo Strukul stops by to talk about his first novel in English, The Ballad of Mila, his broad and varied influences, his inspirational home country, why Chuck Wendig is a “badass wizard”, and much more…

MatteoStrukul-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Matteo Strukul?

First of all, thank you so much Stefan for this opportunity to talk about my work. Well, about myself… I’m a man who loves life and rock ’n’ roll music (The Black Crowes, Rival Sons, Buckcherry and all the old stuff like Led Zep or Skynyrd). I adore American pulp-crime fiction authors (Jim Thompson, James Crumley, Joe R. Lansdale, among others), but at the same time I read so many European authors and literature (Friedrich Schiller, Wolfgang Goethe, Robert Louis Stevenson, Emilio Salgari), I love Italian red wine like Raboso or Grinton and I love my land that is Veneto in the Northeast of Italy. I’m so lucky to grow up in this area in towns like Padova, Venezia, Verona – so full of arts and beauty, I must confess that it’s an amazing place and for that reason I love to write about my land in my novels.

Your novel, The Ballad of Mila, is due to be published in March by Exhibit A. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader? Is it part of a series?

Yes it is, it’s the first novel in an on-going series, Exhibit A has already bought English rights of the second one, and I’m writing the third exactly NOW. Well, The Ballad of Mila is a kind of “Revenge Movie”: it’s a story about vengeance and blood and you have this amazing woman with long red dreadlocks who is able to face and defeat every kind of man because she was a victim, and now she is a predator and a merciless one. But you have also the Chinese mafia, the Venetian territory, you have non-stop action and torment and rage and hatred and, in the middle of a battle between two different gangs – like in Sergio Leone’s For a Fistful of Dollars – you have Mila, a woman who is also damaged goods and who can’t accept herself for what she became. So Mila is a killer, but at the same time she is broken, in some way she’s a kind of mixture between Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita and Garth Ennis’s Punisher…

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What inspired you to write the novel? And where do you draw your inspiration from in general?

From stories that I read during the years penned by authors like Victor Gischler, Allan Guthrie, Tim Willocks, Jason Starr, Adrian McKinty, Christa Faust, Duane Swierczynski, Massimo Carlotto, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Don Winslow, Anthony Neil Smith, David Peace, Charlie Huston, Dan Simmons, David Wellington, James Ellroy, Derek Raymond, Cathy Unsworth, Stuart O’nan, Kem Nunn, Cormac McCarthy, Henry Crews. Then, of course, I must mention TV shows like Sons of Anarchy, movie directors like Sam Peckimpah, Sergio Leone, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Guy Ritchie, Joe Carnahan, among others, and I don’t wanna forget Videogames (Bloodrayne) and Comic books screenwriters like Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Mark Millar, Garth Ennis, Jason Aaron, and Brian Azzarello.

How were you introduced to reading and genre fiction?

Well, since I was five years old I started reading, and now here we are. I remember that my Mom used to read to me epic poems like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. I loved those stories, about heroes and battles and fighting, so this was how everything started.

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How do you enjoy being a writer and working within the publishing industry? Do you have any specific working, writing, researching practices?

Well I worked for some years as press agent for an Italian independent publisher: Meridiano Zero. I organized press campaigns for authors like David Peace, James Lee Burke, Derek Raymond and I met Victor Gischler in 2008 in Courmayeur at the Noir Festival, I was his press agent because Meridiano Zero published in that year Gun Monkeys in Italy. It was great and we had so much fun. So, of course this fact doesn’t mean that I was an author in those years but means, without any doubt, that I had a strong background.

Then I founded Sugarpulp, a literary movement focused on pulp-crime fiction and was and am line editor for a crime fiction imprint called Revolver that published authors like Allan Guthrie, Ray Banks, Brian McGilloway, Derek Nikitas among others. At the same time I work as author, my new book will be published by Mondadori in Italy next April and will be a Gaslight Mistery set in Padova and Venezia in 1888 AD. It’s a story about an alienist and a serial killer strongly influenced by Caleb Carr, ALan Moore and Dan Simmons stuff. About writing what can I say? I love my life as writer and editor and comic book screenwriter, you know, I’m free and do what I want. Like Jagger said, “Ha, Ha so I’m a lucky guy, probably the luckiest one in the entire world.” For my last book – The Gaslight Mistery that I mentioned before – well I researched so much because I needed to study the Venetian area of the 19th Century. It was a great challenge. For Mila’s novels, I don’t research so much, but I watch so many movies and TV shows, and I mixed all those things and sequences and feelings, and after that I have a new story. I don’t know how it works, but it’s impossible for me to do a synopsis and those kind of stuff, you know, especially because Mila needs to decide everything and I just have to listen to her and write. Ha Ha.

When did you realize you wanted to be an author, and what was your first foray into writing? Do you still look back on it fondly?

I realized that I wanted to be an author when I was a child. I remember that I wanted to be a rockstar or a pulp-crime writer. It was cool, I remember that I formed a rock ’n’ roll band with my brother. We played rock ’n’ roll stuff, gigs in coffee-bars or small clubs. But it was hard to earn money and fame, so I decided to write my own stories. I started with nonfiction and penned two nonfiction books about two Italian songwriters and I wrote for years as a rock ’n’ roll journalist. I interviewed cool guys like Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, Zucchero, Dave Matthews, Ryan Bingham, Joss Stone, among others. But, if I must be honest the best interview that I ever done was with Willy De Ville. We spoke together for one hour, he was so cool and generous and he was an amazing and great person and a so talented artist and I remember that after some months or something like that he died. It was shocking and brutal, I remember I wrote a six-page article for a very important Italian rock magazine. It was sad and bitter, but at the end I was so happy to have done something for him, nothing so important but a kind of way to testify all my love for his music and art. In my opinion he was probably the most talented and wonderful singer of the last 30 years.

What’s your opinion of the genre today, and where do you see your work fitting into it?

Well, I love crime and pulp fiction and I think that a pulp-crime author would be able to be popular if will be able to offer amusement and amazing but low-cost stories. And literature, in my opinion, is real literature, if it could be popular and mass market distributed. Professors and Academics and Intellectuals are so boring and selfish and in fact they use literature like a weapon to divide and create differences between high culture and low culture, between upper and middle class and common people. Fuck them all! Man, it’s a shame. I want to be a honest pulp writer and create good and strong characters.

Wendig-MB3-CormorantFor example, recently I read Chuck Wendig’s Miriam Black’s three books series: Blackbirds, Mockingbirds and The Cormorant… well it was a real roller-coaster, I loved that series. Chuck is a wonderful author, and is able to mix pulp, horror, urban fantasy, crime fiction… He is a badass wizard. At the same time, I think that I wanna try to write some historical novel, especially a big story that I have in my mind about The Northern Crusades with kings, knights, witches, female warriors, wild tribes, castles, snow and tortures, I think could be a very interesting setting.

What other projects are you working on, and what do you have currently in the pipeline?

WillcocksT-TwelveChildrenOfParisAs I said, my new Gaslamp Mistery novel for Mondadori, I’m writing also the third Mila Zago novel and a double book story about Teutonic Knights, and I’m writing a graphic novel, drawn by an amazing Italian artist, Filippo Vanzo. I’m also writing the second ebook novella together with Marco Piva Dittrich for my on-going series about Skuld, a she-werewolf who’s fighting the Nazis during the WWII and I’m editing Tim Willocks’s The Twelve Children of Paris for an Italian publisher. I have many other projects in the pipeline, including comic-books and… movies… but I must keep my mouth closed and, much important, keep my fingers crossed.

What are you reading at the moment (fiction, non-fiction)?

WellingtonD-W1-FrostbiteI just finished reading David Wellington’s Frostbite, a werewolf tale: an amazing novel.

What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?

Probably that I love Ice Hockey, I’m a big fan of Asiago Hockey 1935, my favorite Italian team. Ice Hockey is quite popular in the North East of Italy. Maybe the reason why I love so much this sport is because when I was a child, I lived for two years in Canada: Vancouver, British Columbia. I remember when I watched Vancouver Canucks on TV with my father, so maybe that’s the reason why I love ice hockey so much. I am also a big Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens fan. Ice hockey has an important role in Mila’s novels, ha ha. I’m not kidding…

What are you most looking forward to in the next twelve months?

Well, I’m very curious to see if Mila could break English and American readers’ hearts. I hope they would be so generous and kind to give Mila a chance. So thank you so much, Stefan, for what you have already done for her… and me.

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Be sure to follow Matteo Strukul on Twitter, and check out his website for more information on his writing and projects. The Ballad of Mila is published by Exhibit A in March 2014 (UK & US). Here’s the synopsis:

Imagine Elmore Leonard behind the wheel of a car in Grand Theft Auto, as one Italian woman sets out to cut the mafia down to size – one limb at a time…

Two perfectly matched gangs are fighting for control of the north-east Italian region of Venetia. But a formidable young woman with vengeance on her mind has plans to upset the balance. Abandoned by her mother and violated by a gang of criminals just after they slaughtered her father, Mila Zago is a cold-blooded killer, a deadly assassin. Brought up by her grandfather on the Sette Comuni plateau under a rigid martial code, she returns home to seek her revenge, conspiring to create a spectacular showdown reminiscent of A Fistful of Dollars.

The Ballad of Mila is the first novel in an ongoing series focused on the formidable female Italian bounty hunter Mila Zago, a.k.a. Red Dread.