Merry Christmas!

I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas! May you enjoy amazing holidays and have a wonderful Christmas. And may Santa be generous with you. Merry Christmas!

"The Kill Crew" by Joseph D'Lacey

"The Kill Crew"

by Joseph D'Lacey

Format: Paperback, 80 pages

Publisher: StoneGarden.net Publishing

Review copy received through the courtesy of the author, Joseph D'Lacey

Barricaded into a city block called The Station, two hundred souls have survived the apocalypse. So far. Was it a bomb? A biological attack? Phase one of an invasion? No one knows. The Long Silence has begun. After dark, thousands of the city's inhabitants - neither living nor dead - prowl the streets snatching survivors. The Station is under constant threat. Each day a lottery decides the seven members of The Kill Crew - a night shift of civilian soldiers. Their mission is simple: Extermination. Sheri Foley, a nobody in the days before the Long Silence, discovers she has the heart of a survivalist. She becomes one of the toughest members of The Kill Crew. But there are enemies inside the Station too. The evils of the old world persist and Sheri Foley must fight them all.

I make no secret that the debut novel of Joseph D’Lacey, “Meat”, didn’t sit well with me and failed to meet any of my expectations. Therefore I was rather reluctant to read his novella, “The Kill Crew”, but as anybody deserves a second chance I picked it up eventually for a reading.

Joseph D’Lacey’s “The Kill Crew” is a post-apocalyptic story and after turning the pages of the novella it is obvious that the author doesn’t do anything groundbreaking for this particular type of genre. His story isn’t new, an unknown event puts an end to the world as we know it and divides the survivors into two groups, the Stoppers and the Commuters. The Commuters, in a zombie-like state, try to turn the other survivors in a similar existence while the Stoppers try to fight and survive them. The story felt for me at this level very much like “I Am Legend” or “28 Days Later” with the exception that the Commuters don’t attack the other survivors with the specific goal to eat or kill them. Joseph D’Lacey’s story offers moments of tension and action, but it has its gaps. However, since the story is the background for the deeper levels of the novella and the gaps within the story are minor they didn’t represent a major obstacle for me.

“The Kill Crew” doesn’t excel when it comes to the story, but when it comes to the psychological and emotional aspects than the novella turns into something very different. Joseph D’Lacey focuses on three characters, with preponderance on Sheri Foley, following the trials they pass through on the psychological and emotional level and the challenges they face because of their new situation. He follows the human nature on its survival mode, the human capacity to adapt and to change, or not, to a new deadly situation. Sheri Foley, because the story is told in the first person and only rarely shifts from the main character perspective, struggles with emotions and none of them seem to be artificial, because they are present with reason and logic. The only thing that Joseph D’Lacey’s novella left me wondering is how such an event will affect me (not that I would like to find out).

“The Kill Crew” works on the affection level and this is what makes it stand out from the usual apocalyptic or zombie-like fiction. With it Joseph D’Lacey convinced me not to look with reluctance on his next work I’ll find.

Cover art - "John Shannow" by David Gemmell

I am convinced that the French readers are truly privileged. I’ve seen this year the excellent work made on the cover artworks of the titles that are published on the French market so I thought to end the year in the same tone. Next year Bragelonne will cuddle its readers with new amazing cover illustrations and it will start from January when the David Gemmell’s John Shannow novels, “Wolf in Shadow” (or “The Jerusalem Man”), “The Last Guardian” and “Bloodstone”, will be published, with the first two of them on their second French edition. I find the book covers of these Bragelonne editions are really amazing, powerful, with excellent color tones and suggestive illustrations. These excellent works are made by the French artist Didier Graffet and they left me in awe. I think that if it would be possible for me to have all the book editions I love for their cover artwork I would need a castle where to host my library. I should truly start to play more often at the lottery ;)

Cover art - "Nights of Villjamur" by Mark Charan Newton (US edition)

I’ve seen this cover artwork today on Aidan’s A Dribble of Ink and Mark Charan Newton’s blog and I can’t help myself not make a post about it too. The reason for this is that I loved Mark Charan Newton’s novel, “Nights of Villjamur”, one of the best I read this year and which will make an appearance on my top 10 at the end of the year (I still don’t know on which position though ;)) and because I was caught by Mark’s series and I am looking forward to see how it will develop. There were quite a few discussions around the cover artwork for Mark’s novels or the different editions of his “Nights of Villjamur”. Speaking of “Nights of Villjamur” though I know that I am very subjective, I read the novel and I know what hides between the covers, so it is impossible for me to separate the story from the book cover. Therefore I admit that I like more the cover artwork for the first edition, published in hardcover by Tor UK, because it catches the best the image and atmosphere of Villjamur. A multilayered city, with its bridges and levels, covered in snow and with a dark atmosphere. The cover for the US edition published by Bantam Spectra next year goes for a similar image, but it doesn’t work for me that much. The city walls are good, a bit repetitive but good, a snow covered landscape and wonderful ice flowers behind the title. But the image of the city misses its core (as it is depicted on the UK cover) and the atmosphere seems to be too light and relaxed in the context of the story. So, once again I have to say that for me Tor UK comes with the best cover artwork for “Nights of Villjamur”. But I also have to say that despite the artwork featured on the cover “Nights of Villjamur” fully deserves to be read, because it is a very good novel.

The David Gemmell Award wants you!

Last year a new award for the Fantasy genre was founded, The David Gemmell Legend Award, and as I've seen so far I believe that it was received with interest and excitement. The first winner, announced this year, for the best Fantasy novel of 2008 is Andrzej Sapkowski for his novel in the Geralt saga, “Blood of Elves” (the one I voted for and that I reviewed on my blog). I find the award even more interesting because its mission statements appeal to me greatly:

- raise public awareness of the Fantasy genre

- celebrate the history and cultural importance of Fantasy literature

- appreciate & reward excellence in the field

- commemorate the legacy of David Andrew Gemmell and his contribution to the Fantasy genre

and because the readers play an important part in choosing the nominees and the winner of the David Gemmell Award.

As I mentioned on my blog earlier this autumn from this second edition the David Gemmell Award has two new categories, “The Morningstar Award for Best Newcomer” and “The Ravenheart Award for Best Fantasy Cover Art” (I love the introduction of this one). So with these two new categories and with the approach of the next year there is a lot of work made at the awards' website, especially around the nominations for the three awards. And among the excellent work they do, the award administrators have a new objective for this year too, reaching a number of 1000 members until the end of the year. So, if you want to be a member and play a part in the nomination process, discus the nominated titles and authors and cast your vote for your favorites you can sign up at The David Gemmell Award website. I am happy to say that I am a member since the last year and I am having a pleasant time there. If you sign up I hope to see you there too :)

"Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide" website

I’ve started to work on my top readings of 2009 and also on my list of books I am looking forward to read in 2010. One of those titles is William Hussey’s “Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide”. Last week I posted about the cover artwork of the novel, an excellent one and which I really like, and now I want to tell you that “Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide” has a website. And although there are not many features at the moment on the site, the two posted can give a better idea about the upcoming Bill Hussey’s novel, a video teaser where Bill reads from “Witchfinder” and the opportunity to read the first chapter of the novel. You can find both at Witchfinderbooks.co.uk. My curiosity reached new heights :)

"The Magic Thief: Lost" by Sarah Prineas

"The Magic Thief: Lost"

by Sarah Prineas

Format: Hardcover, 432 pages

Publisher: Quercus Publishing

The review is based on a bought copy of the book.

Conn's quest to save his city's magic has become urgent: his power stone is lost and Shadowmen, ruthless assassins, are stalking the city's people. But when Conn blows up Wizard Nevery's beloved home, he is banished by his own master. Determined to return and save Wellmet, he travels to Desh, a glittering city in the desert, home to the Shadowmen and run by a mysterious Sorcerer-King...

I returned a bit this year to my childhood years with the reading of the children’s novel with which Sarah Prineas made her debut, “The Magic Thief”. Now my memory time travelling was continued with the second novel of the series, “The Magic Thief: Lost”.

I’ll start my review by saying that for the readers unfamiliar with the first novel it is better to start with “The Magic Thief”, because “The Magic Thief: Lost” holds many threads linked with the first novel of the series. But for those who read and enjoyed the previous novel “The Magic Thief: Lost” offers a return to the familiar setting and characters. Obviously, in the center of the story I found Connwaer, the young pickpocket thief who became a wizard’s apprentice and who discovers a new link with the magic. Conn begins a new journey in this novel, a bit darker and dangerous than the previous one, and with deeper connections within the first story. So, the story line becomes more complex, but with it the Conn’s character becomes stronger. It is true that Conn is quieter than in “The Magic Thief”, but he remains the same fresh character and his emotions reach new limits.

With Conn I found his old friends, Nevery, Benet and Rowan, but this time Nevery and Benet play a smaller part and they are only scarcely present. Still Nevery remains the same grumpy and beautifully shaped wizard, while Benet is still the same quiet bodyguard with a few surprising but amusing preoccupations. However, the magic doesn’t suffer a downfall and the child in me, and not only him, was fully satisfied by it. Once again Sarah Prineas brings the magic language into play, making from this a very interesting and attractive aspect. There are a few more spells found in “The Magic Thief: Lost”, but I was glad to find again the Embero spell. And this time it offered a different outcome, but as pleasant as the first time I’ve seen it.

As I said the story becomes a bit more complex and although the first half of the novel seems a bit slow Sarah Prineas kicks the things into motion in the second half and the novel benefits from more action. Further on, the world of “The Magic Thief” books becomes wider, the reader stepping outside the main setting of the first novel, Wellmet, and travelling to new locations. Also a new negative character enters the scene, who proves to be more challenging for Conn and who is darker and more cruel than the previous ones (with a particular scene that I find to be too violent and vicious for children).

I really enjoyed “The Magic Thief” and I am happy to say that I found “The Magic Thief: Lost” to be even better than its predecessor. Sarah Prineas wrote a novel that I would have loved if I have read it in my childhood, but which I truly enjoyed as much as an adult too. It remains only to see what adventures await Conn in the next novel.