Matt Curran - Interview

Ok, i've teased you people long enough and it's clearly time to post this.
For reviews of The Secret War and The Hoard of Mhorrer go here.

So this was my first face to face and it was a great experience. Matt is a joy to interview, someone who absolutely lights up with enthusiasm talking about his family and books and is happy to talk about pretty much anything. Also, I got my copy of Hoard signed. The only difficulty is that two hours of chat, wandering in all directions is tricky to fit into as neat q & a format, so I guess that's not what i'm going to do.

Anyway, here we go.

In Matt's bio he mentions that he has been struck by lightning, twice. Well obviously I needed to hear that story.
The first time they got hit Matt and his wife were travelling through Australia and were at Echo Point in the Blue Mountains. It is apparently impossible to get a photo of the three sisters view without other people in it, because it's always so busy. On this occasion the weather turned suddenly and lightning hit the metal hand rail shocking through everyone holding on to it including Matt and Sarah. Once their vision settled and the rain vanished they darted out of the shelter of the kiosk and "got the photo". Remarkably they were both unhurt. The second time, they were walking hand in hand on a golf course in Bournemouth, complete with golfing umbrella, which got hit by lightning, passing through both of them and terrifying a local. Matt says "nobody will stand next to us in a storm now". Probably wise.

We moved onto the The Secret War series and books and publishing in general.
Book 3 was originally intended to run parrallel to The Hoard of Mhorrer and was going to be a more in depth look at the Dar'uka, sadly it was a little too different fromt he William Saxon books for PanMacmillan and Curran is refocusing on the third Saxon book now. It's been disapointing (for me too) but at the same time it's positive that PanMac see a strong opportunity for branding Matt with the Secret War series because it means there will be more of them.

We will come back to the branding issue, right now I want to share what is coming up in the third Saxon book.
The book opens with a huge climactic scene and takes off from there, "more epic, more action packed, more exciting" and "emotionally unrelenting" it sounds as though both writer and readers are going to really be put through the mill on this one. It kicks off at a gothic church in Denmark, passes through Italy and England and Transylvania and depending how the Dar'kua plot ends up settling through the books we could be travelling a lot further than a frigate will take us. We see the Dar'uka at a loss, less godlike in this book and the Vatican traitor will finally be revealed. The Dar'uka play a much larger part in book three than the previous books and a lot of the main characters aren't going to make it through.

At this point Matt explained that he has had an outline for about twelve books in mind, a number of them set before Saxon enters the war. He knows the history of each of the Dar'uka and how they were recruited, what they gave up when they accepted immortality, wonderful stories. Each book has it's place, and where The Secret War is about Keiran's revenge 'Fortress of the Black Glass' is about William's vengence.

Matt is also planning on having some fun writing 'Fortress' with it's superstitious villagers. Talking about superstition and vampires, he describe it as "a joy to write Count Ordrane", explaining "I don't want to write Dracula" and the vampire leader as "F*cking Terrifying". The history of Ordrane and Mhorrer is referred to in Hoard, but I don't want to give any more away because i'm looking forward to seeing how the Count's history is drawn out in the books.

I asked whether it was difficult to deal with the Kieran / William relationship.
Matt describes it as a "long distance relationship" explaining that he'd wanted to build more distance in the relationship but it didn't work with the pace of The Hoard of Mhorrer. In Fortress the Dar'uka are going to have to work more closely with William, largely because he may be their best chance to deal with Marressca. He describes the Dar'uka as working for "William and the monks, not mankind" and describes how the betrayal of Marressca makes it clear to the Dar'uka that their "cold, enigmatic" appearance is down to their choices, not their nature. Curran is considering revisiting the Dar'uka parrallel The Black Hours with a small publisher, just to make it available to fans while he focuses on the Saxon books for PanMac. It's unclear this early on how much of the subplot of The Black Hours will be drawn through Fortress, but clearly the unpublished volume will have an impact on the next Secret War book.

And as promised, we got back to talking about genre
Asked about the branding issue with The Secret War Matt called it "ironic" because the nature of the books themselves are unique. The "muskets and monsters" blend is something different on the market and there are so many other ideas he would like to explore. There are ideas on Matt's wishlist of books to write for sci fi novels, literary novels , pure horror (one set in Sheffield which I really hope gets written) and dystopian thriller.

Talking about his idea for a sci fi, 'Frontier' he described his intentions for the style of it as "very blunt, very uncompromising", similar in tone to 'TheRoad' by Cormac McCarthy (which he recommends to be read in one sitting if possible). As he says "the best way of developing myself as a writer is through writing different things". Still the advantage of two middle names is it gives him a while other identity to write under, so if you do see anything by "Frank Wallace" in your crime and thriller sections in the next few years you might want to take a look. I did ask why not Matt Curran, but apparently he's a hockey player.

Continuing on the publishing theme, we talked for a while about advances and the problems of accepting large ones. An authors advance has to be paid back by the book sales and a million pound advance is a huge undertaking to pay back, comparable to a faustian deal. The publisher has control until you earn a million pounds of profit for the company. This restricts your writing to focusing on what they want and writing "ceases to be enjoyable when you are not writing what you want to write".

There is more help and advise now for new authors, Macmillans new writing section has been a great success for the company and all the authors on it's list are in pretty much the same boat. The macmillan new writers have a communal blog and that's not uncommon now. I think that's where I got distracted by how brilliant the internet is (i'm biast I met my husband on line) and the opportunities it provides for fans to interact with authors and other fans Matt described it as "geek heaven" and I think that sums it up quite nicely.

We are both Clive Barker nuts so inevitably that came up. Turns out we also have the same favourite, 'Weaveworld' if you have never read it you should, Barker has no respect for genre (he made a speech calling for the death of genre at the fantasycon banquet in 2006) and is absolutely brilliant. Matt described Weaveworld as a "revelation" and he's right, it's a wonderful blend of fairy tale and horror and I could ramble for hours about it, but i'll stop there, I only raise it because he freely admits Barker's influence and it is there in his books, in the darkness and the lack of respect for traditional genre boundaries. Calling the Secret War fantasy really isn't fair to the books because they are much more than that, they have been described as "Sharpe meets Buffy" but that's not quite right either, they are darker than either of those. The blend of fantasy and Napoleonic war era is written here by someone who has an affinity for full on dark horror and that's what makes these books that much better.

On a personal note Matt and Sarah are expecting a baby in a couple of weeks (many congratulations) and then in September work on Fortress begins in earnest. I asked how he planned to balance fatherhood work and writing. Essentially the plan is to see how it goes, which sounds sensible, but he has been fortunate enough to be able to go part time to give him time for writing, so it should all be ok.

Huge thanks to Matt for his time and good luck with book three and fatherhood (ok, guess where my priorities are).
The Secret War is now available in paperback and The Hoard of Mhorrer is out in hardback.
You can keep yourselves updated with what Matt's up to (his manic schedule permitting) on his blog 'Muskets and Monsters' or you can visit him and the other talent at Macmillan New Writers on their community author blog 'Macmillan New Writers'.

Alan Moore - Voice of the Fire

Family life and work have almost completely halted progress on the book I'm currently reading (Newton's Wake by Ken Macleod). The good news is that next week I'll be flying out to Texas for work, which means approximately 8 hours of flight time plus 3 hours of airport sitting devoted exclusively to reading! In the meantime, let's remember that Alan Moore has actually done a few more things besides Watchmen like this, his first attempt at a "regular" prose novel.

-----------------------------------

There are writers you read for nothing but plot. There are writers you read for nothing but language. And there are writers you read for the Big Idea, the High Concept. Every once in a while a writer may happen to migrate from one to the other, and in rarer instances, place firm footing on two at once. But it's a rare instance that a writer can consistently manage the contortions to land on all three colors of the Twister mat time and time again.

Case in point: Alan Moore.

Even if you take away his (arguably) greatest accomplishment Watchmen, you still have a body of work that is fearless in its reach and execution. Even if you're not someone familiar with comics and Moore's place in that world, I would be hard pressed to think of another creator - especially in the field of comics - who has has their work adapted for the screen more: V for Vendetta. From Hell. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. And though he's not technically the creator, Moore's widely acknowledged as the writer who breathed life into Swamp Thing. And though we shudder (for the most part) at the film adaptations, the work itself is still intact, and still endures.

Was a novel inevitable? I don't know, and it's actually hard to classify Voice of the Fire as a novel. It's certainly Moore's first foray into substantial prose fiction, and if you're a fan of his work it really goes out if its way to root itself in all three of the embodiments mentioned above - plot, language, and concept. Voice of the Fire is a reckoning of Northampton, England over the course of 6,000 years, using a series of interconnected short narrative episodes (I hesitate to call them "short stories") to cover a wide range of topics including magic, identity - both individual and geographic, betrayal, ritual, and morality. Motifs and symbols - both vague and explicit - carry over from episode to episode. The first episode takes place roughly around 4,000 B.C. and uses a unique language similar in both style and execution to Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban and, to a lesser extent, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Here we get the first of many recurring symbols - the Hob Man, the shagfoals, the mark of murder and the mark of betrayal. Later stories incorporate severed heads, a man dressed as a giant bird, and the use of magic in many different incarnations. The final arc, taking place in 1995 and featuring Moore, wraps the entire book back upon itself, the image of the serpent eating itself for eternity acknowledging, to me at least, not so much a single story going on forever but one that is destined to return time and again to the beginning.

Final words: It's definitely quintessential Alan Moore, and if you're a fan of his writing you'll love this. Take your time getting past the first chapter (the introduction by Neil Gaiman in my edition helped move things along) and the rest rushes past in a flurry of wind and water.

Because i'm a tease..

...and way too excited not to say something, but today I spent a couple of hours in one of the best pubs in Sheffield with the lovely MFW Curran, author of The Secret War and Hoard of Mhorrer. In shameless fangirlness, i'd just like to say OMG how great has my day been!!!!! We talked about lightning, Matt's book, Clive Barker, publishing, the internet and all sorts of other things. But you are all going to have to wait a few days for it to hit the site, because i'm mean and savouring it, and also I have two hours of recording, with the occasional drunken interlude from the other tables, and many pages of notes to go through. Right now very happy to be me.

HBoS - AMP Mills

You've already seen the cover so I thought this was a nice alternative.

The audience for this book is essentially people who have had contact with the banking industry, so there are a lot of nice little touches with that in mind. The name of the book is a nod to a huge banking organisation, the cover is distinctly reminiscent of the Financial Times. Also the chapters do indeed fit nicely into the time you'd have on a shortish tube commute.

Then there are the things that go a little further than just the finance industry, the dig at the sainted Prince 2 made me spit my coffee as a victim of the current project management trends myself, and for anyone who has been to London in the last few years Mills' take on the Gherkin is both accurate and amusing.

One of the things that concerned me a little picking this book up though, was that being so clear on the target audience might exclude others, I thought I might spend the whole time feeling as though i'd missed the joke. Not a bit of it. There was plenty of silliness and wit that was just part of an old fashioned good vs evil story and the characters provided plenty of entertainment.

Enough information was provided that if you are not really familiar with the corporate environment you could still follow and whilst I have no idea what a hedge fund is I am perfectly familiar with the overwhelming role of the Blackberry in some people's lives.

This is the kind of humour that Robert Rankin and Chris Moore do so well, a mixture of wit and the ridiculous thrown into a twisted urban fantasy. AMP (I know he has a real name, but given the nicknames some of his characters are stuck with, the author is hereby AMP to me) has produced an entertaining and easy read on his first outing. I thought at one point I wanted the plot to be tighter, but actually I quite like the casual chaos of the book.

I got home on thursday night and the book was waiting for me, I settled down to read after dinner and finished before even trying to sleep. Soon I shall be buying a copy for my sister and her husband, after all, it's their world he is mocking.

Hell Bent on Success - AMP Mills

Tomorrow I shall be posting the review, but for tonight here is the press release for Mills' first novel. Oh and a quick note on the cover, in the flesh you notice just how similar the colour and print style is to the Financial Times. It has been noted Andrew and I am amused.

WHO REALLY “MADOFF” WITH THE MONEY?

Not everyone is convinced that past mistakes by Presidents and Prime Ministers are solely to blame for the economic turmoil we are experiencing. Perhaps there is a more sinister power behind the scenes, an alpha male or female that has contacts to die for and limitless resources to ensure an Absolute Return… It’s reported 15% of the hedge fund industry has been liquidated. Whose fiendish fingers are really to blame?

"Hell Bent on Success" is a satire set in the high-flying world of investment banking and hedge funds in the City of London.

Some believe the financial market melt-down started with the unfortunate demise of the CFO of Sheol Trading – the world's largest and most feared hedge fund. Others believe it started much longer ago in a time when Gilgamesh ruled Mesopotamia. But what does this have to do with Duncan Bottomley, an ordinary accountant? And why is he attracting the attention of an overzealous combustible woman, a walking corpse, demons and a Chihuahua with an attitude problem? Amid the confusion, it will fall upon Duncan to save Earth from a hostile take-over...

"A comic story on the sinister fall of the Global Financial Markets. The Devil really is at the bottom of all our woes." - Investment Banker

Your author honed his writing skills whilst performing a minor role as an apprentice tightrope walker in the world-famous City of London circus. In his debut novel, he turns a light-hearted mirror on some of the less appealing aspects of our money hub. The results will doubtless strike a chord with anyone who has wondered if capitalism is actually leading us down the slippery slope to perdition. It will also interest those who wonder what exactly an omniscient evil being does to fill his day once the pestilence and plagues are taken care of.

Mr. Mills is a man of considerable talent. During his time working in the City he was able to carry out extensive research into the reading habits of financial professionals, for example. This book reflects that research by being perfectly chunked for reading on your commute. He is also Australian, and hopes you, dear reader, won’t hold it against him.

Upcoming interview

A quick heads up because I am presently at that four books partially read stage, so no reviews for a few more days, but there will be an interview with M.F.W Curran in a few days time. I am meeting the Secret War author in a city that is very close to my heart for a number of reasons...Sheffield.

A SyFy Conversation

I was talking to a graphic designer friend about the rebranding of Sci Fi channel. He didn't object to the name but felt the logo looked like a tissue box. I thought that described it exactly. Anyway this led onto a different subject. How has the demographic for science fiction in books, comics and TV changed and why. We have a theory. Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
There were always a few girls and socially adept folks who just enjoyed these things, but they kept it quiet then when Buffy hit the big time it became a topic of conversation. A lot of people who had never liked sf or at least never admitted to it came into the open.

Over the last ten years sci fi has been more openly tongue in cheek and has enjoyed some mainstream success as well as the usual fan obsession (Firefly, Jericho). I know that authors have always varied, but surely the fact that si fi in TV & film has been seen to take itself less seriously and has come to the mainstream consciousness more forcefully has made people think that maybe the books are like that too?

Most guys i know have had Buffy Overload (the experience of dating several girls in a row that insisted on watching Buffy re runs) and I think that's the whole point really. Whereas once women complained about Star Trek and Dr Who now the guys are getting it too, Buffy, Angel, Supernatural (mmm John Winchester, i'm getting older), Dr Who appeals to girls more now and all in all things are evening out.

In a side note, i suspect most of the girls who are running the sf&f review blogs and website are long standing fans of the genre.

Anyway, this was one lunchtime chat summarised, between a proud and long standing geek and someone who has little interest in the genre but is old enough to be aware of a change. Now I want to know, do you think things have changed in the last 10 years, how and why? Or is it all in my intepretation of what i've experienced?

Personal Demons - Stacia Kane

To Megan "slaying your personal demons" is a stupid tagline she gets stuck with by her boss at the radio station, to the personal demons it's an announcement of intention. From there on in life suddenly gets more complicated the mysterious Greyson Dante is shadowing her steps, group therapist Art Bellingham is oddly insistant that she come to his creepy group therapy sessions and reporter Brian is frankly one more unwanted complication.
This is a fun book, i'd like to see her radio and practice developed more but Megan is likeable, stubborn and fun without being stupid, Greyson is delightfull sexy and the Misters Brown are just adorable. In a lot of ways this book is amusing fluff, but Kane also draws in genuine tension with a few breath holding moments as well as characters that are easy to become attached to. Fans of Jaz Parks and Queen Bestsy need to make room on their shelves for Dr Megan Chase. A second Megan Chase novel "Demon Inside" is due out later this year from Juno Books.
Also - how cute is that cover!!!

Coyote Blue - Christopher Moore

I guess it would be redundant to rave about how great this book is, it's Chris Moore, if you have read him before you know he's brilliant, if you haven't you should stop wasting time on blogs and get started. Also, i've reviewed his books before and nothing has changed, I love them unreservedly, possibly more with each one I read. So a few things I think are worth special comment about this one. I am English and the whole Kai-Yo-Tee vs Kai-Yote pronounciation thing has confused the hell out of me over the years so I was pleased that a handy break down of correct use was provided at the begining of the book. As usual Moore makes pretty free and easy with history and mythology although my limited knowledge only flagged up a couple of things as unlikely, right toward the end.
The plot centres around Samual Hunter who tried to forget he was ever Sam Hunts Alone of the Crow and the sudden reappearance of Coyote in his life and apparent determination to ruin it. There is the usual silliness and some genuinely touching moments among the chaos and a moment of tranquility provided by a very zen mechanic.Through the course of the book Sam gets back in touch with his feeling, his roots, his trickster medicine and in the end, who he really is.

James Morrow - Shambling Towards Hiroshima

By now it's a given that the original GODZILLA (or GOJIRA in its native Japan) film is, besides a monster movie, a commentary on the dropping of the Atomic Bomb as well as a warning on the general danger of nuclear threats. Countless sequels, cartoons, and remakes have diluted that message so much it was going to take a string hand to lift it out again and return the story of the hulking lizard back to the land of allegory where it belongs.

James Morrow, celebrated author of the Godhead Trilogy (one of my personal favorite series in any genre) manages to do just that, in a short novella no less. Shambling Towards Hiroshima is a love-letter to the crazy Hollywood "monster" films of the 40s and 50s, an alternate history for the genesis of Gojira as a result of WWI military planning, and a search for some fundamental truths behind the destruction and fallout in Hiroshima. The story moves quickly in pacing and in styles, going from comical to seriousness, from Hollywood to Baltimore, and from farce to dangerously serious anti-war matter, never once feeling forced or contrived, a credit that applies to all of Morrow's works.

The basic plot revolves around Syms Thorley, an actor molded after Boris Karloff or Lon Chaney, best known for his monster work in such films as the Corpuscula series. He's contacted by the military to take part in a top-secret experiment nick-named the Knickerbocker project. The purpose of the project is to convince Japan to surrender the war. The deterrent? Genetically engineered, gigantic fire-breathing lizards that will be released along the Japanese coasts to wreak havoc. Due to the enormous collateral damage, the US wants to stage a demonstration for the Japanese emissaries, using a mock-up of Tokyo and, you guessed it: a man dressed up in a suit that replicates the hideous real-life monsters created by the government. Thorley's the perfect candidate: a lifetime of mummy and Frankenstein roles has perfect his "shambling" technique, and the money's too good to pass up.

Morrow weaves in a fantastic cast of real life film people to assist in the military project, including James Whale, director of FRANKENSTEIN and Willis O'Brien, who brought the original '33 KING KONG to life. But the real meat of the novella resides in the present life of Syms Thorley, locked in his Baltimore hotel and contemplating suicide for reasons that the novel makes clear.

Shambling Towards Hiroshima is fast, fun, but ultimately more serious than you would first think. If you want to hear more about it straight from the horse's mouth, Morrow was recently featured on John Scalzi's ongoing "The Big Idea" feature. You can check it out here.

Clan Corporate - Charles Stross

Many thanks to Tor for providing this one.

Miriam was born on our side, raised by adoptive parents in an America where women are equals. Suddenly drawn back into the plotting and politics of the great families on the other side Miriam finds herself not only restricted, but subject to blackmail and the political machinations that any female world walker is fated to deal with. With her modern views and sense of personal freedom this does not sit well and Miriam continues to fight the system, even while her alter ego Helge is making a pretense of trying to fit in.
Back on our side Matt has defected taking his knowledge of the second world and it's cross world drug smuggling to the DEA in return for witness protection. Of course that doesn't go quite to plan.
Stross is a sharp, witty writer with a wonderful imagination, creating new twists on the staples of fantasy, a feudal system & royal plots, blending with post 9/11 terror conscious America.
I'm not sure how far into the series this novel is, but not having read the preceeding volumes didn't cause me any problems, the relevant plot points were neatly picked out in conversations and private thoughts bringing the reader up to date. I don't think, however that I can possibly leave it here, I have to know what happens to Miriam/Helge next.

A final quick note on the cover, there are others, but the one shown is the one I received and I love it.

Weekly Geeks - Quote a Day, Day Six

Nearly the end of the quotefest, so a little "Sandman" of course by Neil Gaiman.

"I have always been solitary, but here on the shores of dream, loneliness washes over me in waves, lapping and pulling at my spirit".

It's impossible to choose a fave quote, but that one represents some of what's to love about these comics.

Weekly Geeks - Quote a Day, Day five

Ok it was inevitable. A snippet from Watchmen which I saw last night and has made it's way straight into my top four movies of all time and number one in the last decade.

The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save Us!"...:

...and I'll look down, and whisper, "No".:

Re-Reading Watchmen

NOTE: I've got WATCHMEN fever...brain is burning...wrote long-winded review of movie here...busted out my ABSOLUTE WATCHMEN and read it cover to cover...twice. This review really goes all over the place...you've been warned...

What would happen if Batman suddenly just gave up? Retired to his Batcave and went to seed, telling himself that the world which had for so long despised him was finally right? What would happen if Superman finally came to the realization that the concerns of humanity were really insignificant compared to the knowledge and power that is his to explore? Just how crazy do you have to be to put on a mask and cape and fight crime? And how does a world, already paranoid with the threat of nuclear proliferation and competing ideologies, react to the existence not only of these vigilantes, but actual super-powered people? By stripping the veneer that we typically associate with the superhero archetype, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons set out to answer these questions, and in the process redefined how comic books work, changing the superhero landscape forever.

Folks, THIS is Watchmen.

I've now read the book about five times, and each time more and more things become clear. And yet, summarizing the basic plot of the book continues to be hard to pin down. If I were pressed, I would guess the "hook" of the story is about the murder of a costumed avenger, the reformation of a group of heroes as they investigate the murder, and how all of this leads to an evil plan that will potentially kill millions of people.

But that really says nothing of what Watchmen is really about. By showing its heroes as very flawed humans who, for various reasons, are compelled to dress up in ridiculous outfits and rail against the injustices as they see them, Watchmen not only deconstructs what we normally think of a "superheroes" but also what we think of a comic book. The book is laid out in a very rigid 9-panel pages, with occasional merging of the panels to provide emphasis on key moments. One issues is entirely comprised of a panel scheme that mirrors its opposite page.

It's not just the layouts and physical structure of the book that makes Watchmen unique - each chapter ends with a substantial bit of prose that serve to flesh out the world and the motivations of the characters. The first few chapters are devoted to "Under the Hood", a tell-all memoir penned by Hollis Mason, the first Nite-Owl from the 40s. You also get a scholarly article on owls and mythology from Dan Dreiberg, the current Nite-Owl, newspaper articles from the New Frontier, and the arrest reports and psychiatric studies of Rorschach. Each piece takes its own style, and fills the gaps that lie between the panels of the book proper.

But then what to make of the story-within-the-story, of the Black Freighter? On the surface the "pirate" story, about a devastating attack by a mysterious ghost ship, and the sole survivor who does what he must to survive and return to civilization, feel superfluous. But Moore carefully blends the narration of the pirate story next to the actual Watchmen story, and the result is a reflection of the underlying feelings of the folks at street level, echoing the fears and paranoia of the country as events come to a head.

So, as a manual for a new direction in comic layout and structure Watchmen is genius. But none of that would probably matter if the overarching story wasn't as engaging as it is. Let me try one more time to get to the heart of the story.

It's New York, 1985. History has split from what we know and the 40s see the beginning of the costumed avenger. No powers - just people dressing up and fighting crime. A group bands together calls themselves The Minutemen. Then, something spectacular - Jon Osterman, aka "Doctor Manhattan," the victim of a horrific science experiment is gifted with awesome powers that allow him to re-arrange reality at the atomic level. The United States has found its first superhero, and so begins the twist that brings us to the present: with Doctor Manhattan's help the US wins the war in Vietnam, and Nixon is elected to the presidency 3 times, and is in fact still president when the novel begins, with the murder of the Comedian, a "hero" from the 70s incarnation of the Minute Men (called the "Crimebusters"). His death is noted by Rorschach, another "hero" currently working against the laws of the country, since the Keane Act of 1977 has banned vigilantism against threats of riots and police strikes. Convinced there's a "mask killer" on the loose, Rorschach contacts the now-retired members of the Crimebusters in an effort to find out who killed the Comedian. In the process unresolved issues between members are brought to life, motivations are uncovered, and a massive plot to save the planet from itself is revealed.

Even that fairly in-depth summary doesn't do justice to what the story is about. It's about the nature of time, about our role in the larger scope of society, about the frailty of all our heroes and, ultimately, it's about the two fundamental questions raised directly in the book:

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Who Makes the World?

Pretty heady question from a book starring a naked blue guy and a bunch of people in tights.

Weekly Geeks - Quote a day, Day four

I love Rudyard Kipling. Of course one of my favourites is the Jungle Book(s) and I have a volume of the stories in hardback that I have always treasured. Kipling tended to start these stories with a short poem. Of these one that I can still recite from memory is the beginning of Rikki Tikki Tavi, a brave mongoose who killed a cobra. Oddly I remember this poem better than the plot of the story, but I still googled it to make sure I got it right.

Anyway here it is,

AT the hole where he went in
Red-Eye called to Wrinkle-Skin.
Hear what little Red-Eye saith:
'Nag, come up and dance with death !'

Eye to eye and head to head,
(Keep the measure, Nag.)
This shall end when one is dead:
(At thy pleasure, Nag.)

Turn for turn and twist for twist
(Run and hide thee, Nag.)
Hah ! The hooded Death has missed !
(Woe betide thee, Nag.)

Book Geeks Quote a Day, Day 3

Ok this one is a bit longer, I discovered it between chapters in the graphic novel of The Crow by James O'Barr.
It's one of my fave novels and after I tracked down the song (Robyn Hitchcock) I discovered a new favourite artist too.

"It's a Raymond Chandler Evening
At the end of someone's day
And I'm standing in my pocket
And I'm slowly turning grey

I remember what I told you
But I can't remember why
And the yellow leaves are falling
In a spiral from the sky

There's a body on the railings
That I can't identify
And I'd like to reassure you but
I'm not that kind of guy

It's a Raymond Chandler Evening
And the pavements are all wet
And I'm lurking in the shadows
'Cause it hasn't happened yet"

Joe Haldeman - The Accidental Time Machine

It all begins with a mistake, of course. We never know why the machine works, only that it does. It's the "almost useless" time machine, as accidental creator and MIT graduate Matt Fuller calls it. A small calibrator that's supposed to measure gravitrons but, upon each press of the Reset button, instead travels forward in time, roughly 12 times further each time. So the first time he presses the button it travels 1 second. Then, about 12 seconds. Further and further, and only forward. Determined to prove its existence and get his hands on a Nobel prize Matt endeavors to film himself moving in time, borrowing his drug dealer's friend's car and having him film the event. Matt presses the button, moves approximately 45 days into the future, only to find himself arrested for the murder of the drug dealer, apparently so surprised at Matt's disappearance he falls down dead of a heart attack.

Folks, The Accidental Time Machine only gets crazier from here, as Matt uses his accidental time machine to jump further and further into the future in an effort to not only escape the problems he encounters along the way, but to find a civilization advanced enough to figure out how to make the machine travel back in time and get him home. Joe Haldeman writes a fast and funny adventure starring an "everyman" slacker that just wants to get home, but can't help but wonder at the many different version of the planet he comes to witness. Haldeman has a lot of fun postulating what would become of our society after hundreds and thousands of years, and things range from God-fearing, technology banning theocracies to mindless, suburban bliss where no one owns anything except what they can haggle for.

Along the way there's a fun romance with a Puritan from a couple hundred years in Matt's future, an sentient Los Angeles, and talking bears. Haldeman keeps it all loose and free, and manages to theorize about the possibility of time travel in a way that's clear, easy to understand, and doesn't take away from the narrative. If you're you're looking for a quick and fun time travel story, The Accidental Time Machine is a pretty inspiring choice.

Weekly Geeks - Quote a Day, Day two

Ok, to reiterate, I decided to go with a them and stick to those short pre chapter quotes authors sometimes use.
Todays comes from the very beginning of "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

"CAVEAT
Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous.
Do not attempt it in your own home."

It just about sets the mood for the rest of the book and makes me smile every time I pick this book up.

Brandon Sanderson - The Hero of Ages ARC

Thanks to Tor and LibraryThing Early Reviewers for this one.

Trilogy's are a difficult trick. Each book has to have enough of a story its own right that a reader can enjoy a single volume. At the same time it has a wider story arc that carried through all three books. It's no good if the first novel leaves you feeling that nothing has happened and you are being pushed into buying the second novel, or the third makes no sense out of context with the first two. That's one of the reasons Sanderson is so impressive as a writer. The Hero of Ages is book three of the Mistborn Trilogy, I haven't read the first two. I picked up all the salient points of the world and its mythology as we went along, the details you needed worked in easily. Key points of the back story had obviously left their mark on events in this novel, so I was able to gather those as I went too. It was brilliantly done and has left me wanting more, I will be going back to read the earlier books, confident to that knowing how it all ends will detract little from my ejoyment.

I won't talk about the story itself, since people following the series won't appreciate spoilers and having not read the earlier books I don't know how to avoid them. Suffice to say I found myself surprised time and time again by the turns this novel took.
Sanderson is not only a brilliant writer of Trad fantasy but he has a really incredible feel for people and relationships. It's that skill for writing characters you can relate to, no matter what species or circumstance that really marks Sanderson out as a master in his field.

My only complaint is the cover. It's a bit ordinary for such a brilliant, beautifully written book.

Book Geeks

This weeks Weekly Geek challenge is "A quote a day"

I love this idea, there are so many great quotes in books. I am going to do mine around those little comments and quotes that are used to open new chapters or sections of books.
My first is at the beginning of Clive Barker's Books of Blood and it is also the greeting on my phone.
"Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red".

New quote tomorrow.

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

I read Cloud Atlas for my local book group and throughout the first section cursed agreeing to its selection. Seriously, "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing" has nothing in the way of redeeming features as far as i'm concerned and I would have cheerfully dumped it back at the library then and there. That would have been a shame though, the pacific journal cuts off mid sentence and we move on to Robert Frobisher's letters from Belgium to his friend Rufus Sixsmith. I enjoyed this much more, and so it went as the first half of each story fed into the next, switching style, genre and time period expertly, until "Sloosha's Crossing" which was a complete story in the centre. I didn't really get on with this section either, the language was stylised in a similar way as "The Clockwork Orange" but with less effect and the tale itself didn't really grab me, so I was delighted to pass back into the sci fi tale of Sonmi, which was clever and touching and poignant. The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish was unpleasant and darkly funny and the noir tale of Luisa Rey was fast paced and the rate it racked up deaths could rival Midsomer Murders.
|None of the stories leapt out as wildly original, they could all be compared closely to numerous other works, however the casual cutting across and referencing of one through another was handled more delicately than I anticipated, which was extremely pleasing. Also the splitting of the novellas at key points and picking them back up on the way out was intriuging. I would imagine everyone reading this novel will have stories they really enjoy and stories that they just want to get through, but overall i'm glad to have read it. If i'm completely honest i'm also quite glad i didn't buy it, it' s not a re reader for me.

Unbound Unveils Ravenous Romance!

Yes, Adele has been threatening for the last week or so to unleash hordes (or at least a hordlet) of Ravenous Romance authors on the unsuspecting public (well, some of you have been warned if you've paid attention) every other Wednesday. Today is the official day the Ravenous horde descends! To avoid undue alarm and over-inundation of romance on what was previously pretty much a romance-free zone (until I infected Adele by making her read Ripping the Bodice, bwahahahah!), we're keeping the invasion down to just a few of us at a time; specifically Yours Truly as your host (picture a sort of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, but with hopefully better material), along with one, possibly two of our lovely Ravenous authors at a time, posting articles about writing, research, romance, or whatever takes their fancy.

Today's RR author is the lovely and talented Lexi Ryan, author of Stilettos, Inc., one of Ravenous's Fantastica line. Lexi is going to tell us about writing paranormal erotic romance, including a fascinating tidbit about her formative years. Enjoy, and thanks for joining us!


Inara LaVey
(author of Ripping the Bodice and Succubusted)

“IT’S A BIRD! IT’S A PLANE!

It’s…oh…just another character with supernatural powers…”

First, I want to thank Inara and the folks at the UNBOUND blog for inviting me to participate today! I’m always excited to talk with people who share my passion for reading and/or writing!

I write erotic romance—primarily paranormal—for Ravenous Romance. I didn’t always write this subgenre of romance. As much as I’ve always enjoyed reading paranormal works, I always joked that “paranormal” to most was just “normal” to me. I grew up with a Spiritualist for a father and a trance medium for a step-mother. My dad formed his own church or “whackos” like him (his word, not mine), and my step-mother made her living talking to people’s dead relatives and spirit guides. (Yeah, kind of like that John Edwards guy on TV but without the price tag.) I spent many a weekend during my formative years talking about the supernatural with my dad’s friends (an aura-reader and a witch come to mind as two of my favorite) while other girls my age were talking trash.

How do I feel about all this now, as an adult with a family of my own, and as someone who’s since seen a little bit more of what your average Midwestern family considers “normal”? Well, that’s another blog post. But, in my own way, I’m grateful for my unique upbringing and believe it made me a better writer.

What my background did for me was give me a different approach to all things paranormal. The “strange” needed to have a purpose other than shock value. At Ravenous Romance the “Fantastica” category remains one of the most popular, and I think it’s because the writers understand that everything “out of this world,” everything “paranormal” is an opportunity to expand on their story’s theme and develop their characters. If the “fantastic” elements don’t serve many purposes, the reader will toss that book aside for something that “feels richer.” Readers are smart. They need their brains engaged on multiple levels, whether they’re consciously aware of those levels or not.

In Stilettos, Inc. and the upcoming books in the Stiletto Girls series, all the main characters have special powers. Yep, these books are outrageously fun to write. I get to channel 110% of my inner comic book dork into the stories, but the characters’ abilities alone aren’t what make them fun. After all, I’m interested in people—their strengths and weaknesses, their soft spots and old wounds. And readers are too. That guy can fly? So what! His girlfriend cheated on him with his sister? Oooh! Tell me more!

It’s in the spirit of being fascinated by the characters as people that their abilities come to me. In the Stiletto Girls books, the characters don’t come into their abilities until they lose their virginity, and, often, their abilities act as small windows into their psyches. In every case, their abilities create conflict instead of resolving it.

Take Paige Sykes, for example, the heroine in Stilettos, Inc. Paige’s strength (and Achilles’ heel) is her compassion for others and her connection to them. In fact, being unable to sever that connection with her ex—who appears to be connected to attempts on the president’s life—gets her in trouble. Her special power? You guessed it, she’s an empath. Only, she experiences both the emotions and physical sensations of anyone she touches. (This is particularly handy during those steamier moments…)

Or take Darian Lorring, the hero. Darian is a projector. Opposite Paige’s ability, he can project emotions and physical sensations onto anyone he touches (a skill I secretly wish my DH had—it would certainly make road trips more interesting!). But Darian continually interferes with Paige’s work because he fears for her safety. Imposing his will comes a little too naturally to him, and so his projector ability suits him and gets him into trouble. These abilities also play into their romance by allowing them to connect sexually without physically engaging in the act, but at the same time the fuel the romantic conflict.

I think we’ve all read books where the abilities of the characters were just…convenient. But paranormal books have the potential snag readers keep them when the fantastic elements create internal and external conflict.

What about you? Can you think of an example of a paranormal book where the characters abilities made their journey more difficult or had layers of meaning? Was that vampire just a vamp or was he alienated from normal society in other ways too?

Thanks for letting me visit! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say!

Lexi Ryan

Please visit Lexi at her website

Lexi’s latest release Stilettos, Inc. can be found at Ravenous Romance here!

The Hoard of Mhorrer - M.F.W. Curran

First of all, I love the top part of this cover. I admit the bottom section of battle is kinda cheesy, but the top section is awesome, really creepy.
In The Secret War, Captain William Saxon and his friend discovered that there are stranger more terrifying enemies than the French and became drawn into the war against Hell.
Te Hoard of Mhorrer picks up seven years after the events of The Secret War. Saxon is still fighting for the Vatican against daemons and vampyres, whilst carving out some kind of a life for himself. Now he takes on his biggest challenge leading the monks who serve under him into Egypt. He faces betrayal, local militia, language barriers and harsh conditions, as well as supernatural enemies and an exceptionally skilled warrior cult, in order to destroy the potential for hundreds more daemons to be brought into the war.

Curran's writing is tighter and his sense of character stronger than the first novel, I really enjoyed The Secret War, but The Hoard is a superior offering.
The author's sense of pace is flawless, drawing the reader in with a mixture of intriugue, flight and battle, maintaining a relentless onslaught towards the climax to ensure the reader is as commited and exhausted as the monks. The desert setting along with William's confidence and knowledge give it different tone from the previous novel. Where Saxon was new to command and uncertain of the supernatural, now he accepts both, but he has a different dilemma. Knowing all that he does and after everything he has done can he continue to leave Adriana to go on missions from which he may not return? This doubt and the relationship with his nephew Marco ensure that Saxon remains human and accessable.
Well balanced, beautifully paced and extremely entertaining , it's a satisfying read.

House of Night Book Trailer

Hi all, the lovely people at St Martin's Press (who publish Caitlin Kittredge's books btw) have sent a book trailer for your pleasure.

Here is what they have to say about book

"The House of Night is a thrillingly engaging book series from St. Martin's Press. The series follows 16-year-old Zoey Redbird, who gets “Marked” by a vampyre tracker and begins to undergo the Change into an actual vampyre.

For the first time in hardcover, with a huge initial printing, HUNTED finds Zoey Redbird at her most powerful and in her most important role yet.

The New York Times best selling mother-daughter writing team of P.C. and Kristin Cast again prove why they have become a major force in teen fiction. With over 3 million copies of their books in print, a well-publicized film option, an updated interactive website, daily-growing fanbase, and now a first national book tour, the Cast duo will command your attention with every page turn."

To read the first chapter of HUNTED, please visit the House of Night website by clicking here (link to http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/hunted.html).

Caitlin Kittredge - Interview

Hi folks, got a treat for you today. Caitlin Kittredge of "Team Seattle" who can be found on her own website, or on The League of Reluctant Adults and who we love as our reviews will tell you, has agreed to be an interviewee here on Un:Bound.
Caitlin is known for her Nocturne City series of which the third book "Second Skin" is OUT TODAY. I'm willing to bet things aren't going to get any easier for Luna.
Caitlin also has her new Black London series hitting your shelves this summer, so keep an eye out for it.
So without further ado, welcome to Caitlin and here it is:

HR: You have the first book of the Black London series coming out this summer, Street Magic. What were the particular challenges of writing a series set in London and why did you choose to set the series there?

CK: I love London. It's a magical city and it's tailor-made for the sort of ghost story I wanted to tell with Street Magic. The challenges were the same as they are for any place the author doesn't actually live--there was a lot of GoogleEarth-ing and emailing English friends with silly questions like "Where can you buy cigarettes at 2 am?" The cultural vibe is much different from a US city, as well, so I took a few trips and just walked all over, tourist areas and local haunts, good neighborhoods and bad, getting a feel for what it would be like to live there.

HR: The female leads in both the Black London and Nocturne City series are police officers, why did you decide Luna should be in the police and did you have any concerns about making Pete a "rozzer" too?

CK: Luna is a werewolf, and most werewolves tend to be the cliche "outcast", outside of human society with limited interaction. I wanted to see what would happen if I plunked Luna into the center of the law enforcement profession and turned her loose. Pete's job was a function of the story more than anything, but it did tie nicely into her character--her father was a DI with the Metropolitan Police and she followed in his footsteps. Since UK and US policing is so different, I didn't worry about repeating myself too much.

HR: This year you have two further Nocturne City books, two Black London novels, the first Icarus Project book and a number of stories in anthologies coming out, as well as various other projects on the go, how on earth do you manage it?

CK: I have a clone.

Seriously, I just have good time management skills (sometimes.) I plan out my wordcounts and projects for the day each morning over tea, lots of tea, and then I get to work. You have to police yourself for deadlines if you're a writer. No one is going to do it for you.

HR: You seem very at home on the internet and maintain an excellent online presence. Not every one chooses to do this. Do you feel being online is important as an author? Was being accessible online a deliberate decision?

CK : think it's an absolute necessity in this day and age of Facebook and Twitter. If an author doesn't have a blog, I'm kind of disappointed. I don't think one should take time away from writing to be online, but I think that being accesible to readers will ultimately sell your book and spread word of mouth about future releases. Plus, all it costs you is an internet connection and setting up a blog.

HR: You used to be a game designer, what was your favourite part of that job and is there anything you miss about it?

CK: I liked it when the artists would come in and show us new concept sketches for future games. There was an enormous wall of art in our main office from past and future games, and I really dug seeing something we developed represented visually. I don't miss the long hours and insane deadlines, but I do miss having artists and programmers at our beck and call. Now I just sit back and hope for fanart from my novels!

HR: You were in England a few months ago, visiting my favourite part of the country, Devon as well as London, how would you describe England to someone who's never been?

CK: England is a land of contrasts and history. London is a melting pot, with new construction sitting on top of Roman ruins, and the scent of curry drifting past on the Victorian fog. It's beautiful, cramped, frantic, magical and mysterious. Devon is another world entirely--if you imagine England and have never been, chances are you're imagining Devon. Green fields, rolling hills, sheep and storybook cottages. However, there's a darker side too, which tickles me--I saw wicker men, spooky abandoned farmhouses and the endless desolation of Dartmoor, which hints at the dual nature of England--fairy tale country populated with fairies who just might steal you away forever.

HR: Many thanks for your time, it's been an absolute pleasure having you here.