Ex Libris: David Anthony Durham's Acacia

This one's going to be a short review.

It's not everyday that I fail to finish a book. And it's not everyday that I actually lose steam at the beginning of the book. But that's what happened when I started with David Anthony Durham's Acacia, his first book of The War with the Mein.

I really wanted to like this book. I've heard great reviews about it, citing how he'd managed to reinvigorate the usual fantasy tropes. And given that his previous book was a fictional retelling of Hannibal of Carthage was well-received, I thought that someone coming into the fantasy genre using his experience in writing a historical novel would be interesting.

So, how come the book didn't work for me? Maybe it was the writing style: blocks and blocks of paragraphs describing what characters were doing to the point that even the dialogue was kept down to a minimum. (An example is the scene in chapter 2 where the tutor Jason tries to steer the class of the four royal children in the right direction.)

I suppose I have a problem with that, wherein characters are described saying something rather than being presented with the actual statements being made (he said, she said, etc.). Also, a lot of the narrative involves the author describing what the characters are feeling and thinking.

This could explain the blocks and blocks of paragraphs. And unfortunately, there is a certain tedium on reading a story-- especially one of fiction-- and it's just the author's voice telling the story rather than the story letting itself be told.

So rather than keep trying, I have to pass on with this one. Alas, I have too many books on my to-read pile and I'm getting too old to work on text that I find a struggle stylistically to begin with. This one's just not for me, I'm afraid. (Rating: no paws.)

Hey Adam (Part 1)

Sorry if I was late in getting this letter to you. I really had to think hard about my answer to your question even as I scanned my bookshelves.

I suppose I found it hard to give you recommendations on what's being published now in fantasy, science fiction and horror (and everything in between) given what I know of your books tastes. I don't just make book recommendations to anyone-- I try to find out first your preferences, your type of personality, etc. before I raise a possible book or two that you might enjoy. I respect books as much as people to make careless matches.

In your case, from what I know of your reading (and writing!) tastes, I would say you were more partial to more experimental types of fiction especially of the European type. However, I also do know that your childhood had its fill of reading SF/F classics like Michael Moorcock, Isaac Asimov and Fritz Leiber (if I remember your bookshelf-crammed home correctly).

So what books would I suggest to you? Given those rather extreme positions, I'm not exactly sure. Which is why I immediately thought of writer extraordinaire Jeff Vandermeer, who has not only created the very dark city of Ambergris (whose books range from The City of Saints and Madmen, Shriek: An Afterword, and Finch which I would all push for you to try) but who also makes exceptional reviews and book lists that I regularly plunder for very different books. Yes, his name is familiar: he co-edited The New Weird anthology I gave you.

In terms of recommendations, you can trawl through his lists like here, here, and here. Though I may sometimes disagree with Vandermeer's recommendations, I do think they're always a top-notch risk worth the chance. A caveat however: a lot of stuff he recommends are not available here or only at Fullybooked. (Though the occasional miracle happens and you may find some books at Booksale; this has already happened twice for me.)

Of the books he cited, I currently have Jessie Bullington's The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart and Catherynne Valente's Palimpsest. I'm still trying out Bullington but I would definitely recommend Valente's other works available locally like The Orphan's Garden as well as the said Palimpsest.

You had earlier asked me how was China Miéville's The City and The City. I can say that I would side with those who look favorably at the book and think it a very good work. But I would also say that I'm an easy target for books that deal with cities so what do I know?

You can also check out his previous works centering on the city of New Crobuzon (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and The Iron Council) as I think they serve as a very good urban counterpoint to the alleged pastoralism in J.R.R. Tolkien's opus. (Fortunately, some of China's works are available at 2nd hand shops while the rest are on the local bookshelves.)

Other recommendations: let's see, you can try out Kelly Link's surfeit of magic realism in her short story collections (one of them available for free online), while [identity-protected] would throw Jeffrey Ford at you for his almost-CNF-type of writing but I suggest trying out his collections first. (His recommendations page is also a good source to plunder but these always change monthly and he doesn't archive his previous recommendations.)

Hmmm... who else can you try? I think you might like Nick Mamatas, whose books are surreal-strange-funny (the Jack Kerouac-meets-Lovecraft Move Under Ground isn't available here but I've seen copies of Under My Roof at National Bookstore). And if there's one writer who is my personal Harlan Ellison (without being Harlan Ellison), that's Lucius Shepard. Why? He was the writer that really blew my mind away and got me started thinking, "Fuck, I would love to write like this man."

That's all I can think of at the moment. Will write again soon on other recommendations, possibly and hopefully more "newer" authors.

Your faithful servant in reading,

The Banzai Cat

Bibliofilia: Wordsworth Editions

Coming off just having picked up a hard-to-find copy of William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki the Ghost Finder (published by Wildside), it reminded me of this thread at a forum about psychic detectives given that Carnacki is a type of a Sherlock Holmes for the supernatural and the occult.

Personally, I've had limited reading experience with this type of sub-genre (the combination of mystery and the supernatural) but I can't help but be attracted to check this out. After all, the pattern of these stories indicate an otherworldly/quirky protagonist who has face the Other-ness of reality and these bear a marked similarity to some of my own stories.

Unfortunately, there is a dearth of new material with regard to this subgenre (except for Sarah Monette's collected stories of Kyle Murchison Booth, The Bone Key which came out in 2007). However, one well-known publication that does is Wordsword Editions, with its category Mystery and Supernatural reserved for that subgenre.

Going through their library, I see they have their own version of the Carnacki book (The Casebook of Carnacki the Ghost Finder), as well as Alice and Claude Askew's Aylmer Vance: Ghost Seer. They also have a collected set of stories on the subgenre The Black Veil & Other Supernatural Sleuths edited by Mark Valentine, with its blurb reading like a who's who:

Here are encounters from the casebooks of the Victorian haunted house investigators John Bell and Flaxman Low, from Carnacki, the Edwardian battler against the abyss, and from horror master Arthur Machen’s Mr Dyson, a man-about-town and meddler in strange things. Connoisseurs will find rare cases such as those of Allen Upward’s The Ghost Hunter, Robert Barr’s Eugene Valmont (who may have inspired Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot) and Donald Campbell’s young explorer Leslie Vane, the James Bond of the jazz age, who battles against occult enemies of the British Empire.

(Meanwhile, they also have some great non-subgenre classic titles I wouldn't checking out like Robert W. Chambers' influential The King in Yellow and Lafcadio Hearn's Oriental Ghost Stories.)

All in all, an excellent selection of books available here.

Komikon Virgin

Well, I do admit it was my first time: I was attending the 6th iBlog Summit at the University of the Philippines on Saturday and I thought of passing by to check out the Komikon at the nearby U.P. Bahay ng Alumni.

Serendipity aside, I sometimes had a chance of passing by previous incarnations of Komikon but never got around to doing it. But this time, my office colleagues and I had lunch at Chocolate Kiss on the 2nd floor of the building and I thought I might as well drop by.

And what a sight there was to see there, with indie and self-published 'zines and comics on display on creators' tables all over the place. There was Bayan Knights, Gerry Alanguilan's Elmer (which I finally bought a copy on convention discount), Budgette Tan's Trese, Manix Abrera's 12 (with ads proclaiming his next kikomachine output), Laban: A Love Story, Kubori Kikiam, Philippine Adventure & Romance Stories,...

There were also anime series on DVD being sold, as well as cosplay clothes, collectible toys, graphic novels and-- of course-- lots of mainstream comics from DC, Marvel, etc. The PinoyWriMo were also there, hand-selling their e-novels to passersby.

What was interesting for me was the can-do spirit of the comic book creators at the event, of how they've managed to put in their love for the form and the storytelling medium to come upw these works using their own time, money and effort.

The other interesting thing that happened to me at the event was that, while dining at Chocolate Kiss, Gerry Alanguilan sat down at the next table and I went fanboy on him to get my copy of Elmer signed, which he gamely did.

Would I wish more creators were like this, eh?

The Fifth Reiteration

Or something similar to it: the Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume 5 has now a launch date at the Fully-Booked Bonifacio High Street U-View Theater on April 24, 2010 (3 pm).

Philippine Speculative Fiction has become one of the country’s most consistent and highly-anticipated yearly anthology series, showcasing the continuing development of the exciting field of speculative fiction writing. This fifth volume, edited by Nikki Alfar and Vincent Michael Simbulan, collects a broad spectrum of short stories that define, explore, and sometimes blur the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all things in between—featuring the work of both literary luminaries and very new voices, from across the archipelago and the globe. PSF 5 contains stories by:

• Angelo R. ‘Sarge’ Lacuesta
• Dean Francis Alfar
• Rica Bolipata-Santos
• Paolo Gabriel V. Chikiamco
• Timothy James Dimacali
• Joseph F. Nacino
• Charles Tan
• Dominique Gerald Cimafranca
• Isabel Yap
• Christine V. Lao
• Raymond G. Falgui
• Mia Tijam
• Joseph Anthony Montecillo
• Ejay Domingo
• Apol Lejano-Massebieau
• Veronica Montes
• Alexander Osias
• Fidelis Angela C. Tan
• Andrew Drilon
• Gabriela Lee
• Aileen Familara
• Marla Cabanban
• Eliza Victoria
• Kate Aton-Osias
• Kenneth Yu

And yes, my story, "The Autochthonic War" is there, as per Vin's request for me to finish my excerpt of Flash Gordon-meets-Lovecraft-in-space-wars.

See you all there!

Ex Libris: Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle's Inferno

This one's an oldie but goodie.

Classical literature has always been a rich source of material for science fiction and fantasy writers. SF grandmaster Roger Zelazny wrote the story of Buddha from a science-fiction perspective (Lord of Light). Steven Brust tried to give Lucifer the right motivation in a prequel to John Milton's Paradise Lost (To Reign in Hell).

Even Dan Simmons wrote a funny short story that lamented (and took potshots at) Dante's political leanings when the latter created Hell ("Vanni Fucci is alive and well and living in Hell").

The last one is of particular importance in this case, as SF writing tag-team Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle has managed to set up an updated Inferno. In this case, as they borrowed heavily from Italian poet Dante's Inferno, Niven and Pournelle have rewritten the journey to Heaven to accommodate their own Dante, i.e. middling SF writer Allen Carpentier.

Carpentier-- or later on accepting his real name, 'Carpenter'-- is your average 20th century guy who discovers that after living a mediocre life, he is now in Hell. But a chance plea has him meet up with his own Virgil and they soon head further into Hell into order to escape to Heaven. At first Carpenter tries to explain away the vast inexplicability of Hell, rationalizing it through the perspective of an SF writer. However, he ultimately realizes that this ain't Kansas anymore and that all the bio-engineering and world-building isn't enough to explain the domain that is Hell.

In the midst of Carpenter's journey, Niven and Pournelle have also updated Dante's kingdom by throwing in various personages throughout history, including Benito Mussolini, Billy the Kid, Vlad Tepes, and even fellow SF writer L. Ron Hubbard (though they don't have Dante's viciousness in naming names). They also point out some outdated sins ('simony') as well as adaptions to old ones.

Ultimately, the two writers question the vision behind Dante's Hell and this resounds throughout the book via Carpenter's 20st century mores: "We are in the hands of infinite power, and infinite sadism." And this reimagination of Inferno is what makes this book-- and others like its kind-- a standout. In this case, how would you perceive Dante's Hell? Is it right or wrong? Would you allow such a thing to happen?

One final thought: one thing great about taking a page from a dead writer is that-- aside from drawing from great source material-- you don't have to worry about them writing a sequel: that will be the future job of today's writers. Heh. (Rating: Four paws out four.)

March books

I managed to up the number of purchases for this month, a total of 11 books. It's an interesting batch, with great gems and some picks I've been sorely waiting for quite some time.

For example, Harlan Ellison's anthology Partners in Wonder and Karen Joy Fowler's short-story collection Artificial Things are incredible finds. Ellison's anthology has the SF grandmaster joining with some notable writers like Roger Zelazny, A.E. Van Gog, and Robert Bloch to write collaborative stories. Meanwhile, Fowler's first collection was still definitely genre before she wandered away into literary territory.

A third find I picked up was the Ellen Datlow-edited Omni Visions I & Omni Visions II from the online bookstore Avalon, a pair of matched anthologies from Datlow's days at the famous science magazine.

I've been a rabid fan of P.C. Hodgell and her latest book Bound in Blood recently came out locally. Horror, humor, action-- if ever there was a series that's sorely underrated, Hodgell's ongoing adventures of Jame is one of them. Fortunately, Baen Books has just published the previous books in the series so anyone can jump right in to enjoy the fun.

Another sequel-book I've been keeping an eye out was Charles Stross' The Jennifer Morgue, his latest about Bob Howard and the super-sikret agency, The Laundry. Think a cocktail drink of James Bond and H.P. Lovecraft with a dash of Dilbert and you'll get the picture. On the other hand, I liked Joe Hill's stuff when it first came out before-- despite the (non-)hype about his parentage-- so it seemed natural that I'd get his latest book, Horns.

I've earlier mentioned that one of my stories was finally published in the Neil Gaiman Graphic/Fiction Awards Prose Anthology collection and I managed to get my contributor's copy this month. Meanwhile, I'm always willing to try out new epic fantasy books and I found Adrian Tchaikovsky's first book a great read. So I picked up the second book, Dragonfly Falling, as soon as I could.

The last couple of books, Escape from Hell by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle and In the Court of the Crimson Kings by S.M. Stirling were chance buys in that these were the sequels. (Chance because I hadn't read the first books yet.) However, I've read their previous works and I thought these would be worth it.

Awards Season

It seems like awards season this past few months with the release of the news of the winners of the following awards: Bram Stokers, the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), Philip K. Dick and James Tiptree, Jr.

The nominees for the Nebula, the Hugo and the Campbell, as well as the Arthur C. Clarke have also been announced, with the winners set to be declared within the next couple of month.

Among the nominees/winners, there are a number of titles and authors concurrently mentioned among these awards, including Paolo Bacigalupi's bio-futuristic novel The Windup Girl, China Mieville's Kafkaesque noir The City and the City, Cherie Priest's take on steampunk Boneshaker and Catherynne Valente's very surreal Palimpsest.

Personally, my choices of reading material has never factored in these awards. It's always been the story, the concept and whatever catches my attention about the book, i.e. the cover, the characters, etc. However, I must admit that the awards adds a certain flavor of want to books I do want to read at the very least (like Priest's Boneshaker or Sarah Langan's Audrey's Door).

It should also be noted that that most of the awards are for SF (though not limited to it). Since I prefer fantasy and horror, unfortunately the draw isn't as strong unless the premise is unique enough.

It helps if I've already read some of the author's previous works such that I already know what to expect from these writers. For those who're relatively new, the awards raise some publicity for the book. But enough to for me to purchase the book? I'm not sure.

I do think it still depends on the story. I'm on the fence about Bacigalupi's stuff but the awards has drawn some interest from me. A prior example of this was Robert Charles Wilson's Spin, which were nominated for Hugo and Campbell a few years ago. Did I buy the book? No, but I'm still considering it, unlike other books that didn't interest me and haven't won awards.

On the other hand, Filipino writer Miguel Syjuco's Ilustrado winning of the Man Booker Asia Prize has certainly piqued my interest that I'm willing to pick up a copy come launch time. So I guess for certain books, sometimes these awards come in handy and sometimes they don't.

Ex Libris: Lev Grossman's The Magicians

Looking past the hype, Lev Grossman's The Magicians doesn't really bring anything new to the table.

If one were to consider literary fiction as another type of genre, then Grossman's book is your usual coming-of-age story with a healthy dose of of angst-- except that it's done in the light of some of fantasy's classic and most popular tales (including J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and C.S. Lewis' Narnia).

But if we were to see Grossman's work as a combination of genres in the same way that China Mieville mixes crime/noir with Kafkaesque fiction in The City and The City, then one can see what's being done here.

In this case,Quentin Coldwater is your regular, too self-reflective, low self-esteem young man deciding on a college. Caught in search for magic and happiness in his life, he finds the former when he is picked for the magical Brakebills Academy. Unfortunately, instead of happiness, he confronts the four horsemen of literary apocalypse: (love, sex, true friendship, and booze) even as he studies the mechanics of magic.

After graduation, Quentin's story veers into Less Than Zero territory (which I didn't really appreciate: anyone who thinks that a magician fresh out of college would be bored out of his/her skull doesn't have the necessary sense of wonder to appreciate the idea). However, the characters get pulled out of their decadent lifestyle when they discover the children's fantasy world called Fillory is real and decide to investigate.

It's at this point that Grossman shakes the story up as Quentin finds the truth behind the axiom of getting what you wish for. Because aside from death and betrayal, Quentin realizes that he's not the hero of the life that he imagined.

If it seems like Grossman's book seems like two stories combined into one, it is. The first half of the book seems straight out of J.K. Rowling's pen except that Harry and his friends were never as self-centered as Quentin and his classmates. Afterward, the companions go on a quest into the fantastical world of Fillory, which was similar to the Narnia stories.

On a side note, it's interesting that there doesn't seem to be any integration between these two stories together, that the two sections could have been sold separately as stand-alones. Shades of Narnia books again? Maybe though the Narnia books were at least sold separately upon publication.

If you get the feeling that I'm feeling a bit 'meh' about the whole book, you'd be quite right. This book has been highly-praised as a fairy/fantasy tale for adults in that it tries to see the usual fantasy tropes through adult eyes. But this only works if you think that being an adult is equivalent to being bored out of your skull. Fantasy ideas like magic doesn't mean you can't screw up your life, just that you can screw it up even more magnificently and this book conveniently forgets this.

However, Grossman writes an interesting story enough. And really, it's an interesting take if you consider literary fiction as a different kind of genre that you then combine with another genre.

As an idea, it's not the Second Coming. But as a good story, I'd probably pick up the sequel... though I won't be dropping everything for it. (Rating: Two paws out four.)