Just Finished Reading: Outlawed by Anna North (FP: 2021) [261pp] 

North America, 1894. Ada Magnusson knew her duty more than most in her small town. Afterall, her mother was the town’s best midwife and had begun training her teenage daughter the challenges and dangers of childbirth. Due to be married herself Ada was looking forward to her role in repopulating a devastated America. The Great Flu had ravaged the country (and the world?) long before she was born killing 90% of those it infected. Now it was every woman's God given role to replenish humanity. But not everyone could. That was the fear of every woman and young girl – especially those on the cusp of marriage. What if....? What if they were barren? Her husband would have every right to send her back to her family and marry again. The woman might, like Ada, have useful skills that the community could profit from but there was always the stain, the taint of ungodliness. If they refused to serve God and man by failing to produce new life were they useless or dangerous? If they did not serve God, were they in league with His enemies? So, after a year of trying and still not pregnant Ada was back with her family and when measles took four young lives it wasn’t long before suspicion fell on Ada. Was she a witch? The sheriff didn’t want to see her, as a family friend, hanging from a rope so gave her a chance – leave or die. But where to go in such an unforgiving world and how to live? Ada was about to find out that her choices were few and none of them were good... 

This was quite the genre mash-up, a Feminist, Alternate-history, Post-apocalyptic Western! So, when I picked it up in my near-by Indie bookshop it was hard not to bring home. I’m glad I did. Despite being a little slow at times (which, to be honest, was the only slight problem I had with it) this was an interesting read. It was certainly a fun twist on the Western genre with cross-dressing women pretending to be cowboys being the least of some intriguing world building. Although no specific date was mentioned for the apocalyptic Flu epidemic in the book, I do “remember” a ‘throw-away’ line hinting at a time a century previously. This sounds like the mid-18th century series of epidemics and pandemics that killed well over a million people at the time. Ramping this up to 11 would give the author the event she needed and it would also chime with the lack of medical knowledge (and of any discussion of Evolutionary or more general biological answers to explain the problems with childbirth and childlessness plus the lack of a Germ Theory to explain things). 

Characterisation was good to very good throughout (Ada was a great character) and I was never in any danger at being thrown out of the narrative because of any kind of inconsistency with how people acted or reacted to their world especially as they had only limited knowledge of the time before the Great Flu (books were very few and far between, very expensive and, all too often, not worth the effort of reading). The overall narrative was well handled and made complete sense with reasonable motivations all round – again especially for Ada who was driven by her need to understand her own inability to have children. The few action scenes were handled well and were suitable dramatic. I particularly liked the fact that, apart from her natural medical abilities and logical thinking, Ada wasn’t all that good at what she was forced to adapt to being a particularly bad shot, only passable on horseback and far too trusting/open with others – in other words REAL.  

This was definitely a somewhat strange read, but a rewarding one. It’s a bit of a slow burn at times but it is a story that stays with you after you turn the last page. I’ll definitely be looking for the author’s other works next time I’m at my Indie bookshop (next planned trip in February). Recommended.  

Just Finished Reading: Ghosts of Empire by George Mann (FP: 2017) [292pp] 

London, 1927. It was supposed to be a much-needed vacation, especially after the incidents in New York which very nearly ended all of their lives. But Gabriel was a man of action, a crime fighter and dedicated enemy of monsters, so visiting historic sites in London and sitting in fancy restaurants for too long was starting to bore him. Luckily their late guest provided much of interest, especially as he arrived covered in his own blood and was barely alive. Unable to tell Gabriel who attacked him or why it was clearly time to his alter-ego known simply as ‘The Ghost’ to investigate further. It wasn’t long before his friend's attackers showed their hand again in an all-out assault using esoteric magic the like of which the Ghost/Gabriel had never seen before. There was far more going on here than a simple attack, something dark, something sinister and, so it seemed, something very Russian. The Ghost couldn’t fight such a force on his own. Even his friends, as capable as they were, would not be enough. Luckily for the Ghost he was far from alone. Operating in the shadows, watching, waiting and gathering strength was an element of the British Secret Service dedicated to fighting the Empire’s supernatural enemies. After the end of the Great War and the recommencement of the ‘Great Game’ they knew that the Russian Empire would be itching to strike at the very heart of Albion itself – and Gabriel Cross, AKA The Ghost – had just walked right into the middle of it. 

This was the 4th and final book in the Ghost series. Whilst not my favourite – that was the 2nd book Ghosts of War – this was still a FUN romp in a crazy mixed-up steampunk, Lovecraftian, gothic Batmanesque world. It did start off rather slow but ramped up quickly once the action started. Some of the characters from previous novels got a bit more into the action this time – Gabriel's cop-friends wife actually got some ‘acting’/action time here and proved herself capable with the pistol – although some got trimmed back a bit – Ginny was definitely toned down as she had become quite powerful in the last book, being inhabited by a shard of an Egyptian god and all that.... The one I really missed was Astrid, the New York witch, who I really liked and wanted to see more of. I did like some of the British spies – both the boss and the girl had some depth of character to them – and the baddies were suitably BAD although maybe a little too weak. Much of the magic work was reasonable (reminding me of Dr Strange more than anything else) but much was very well done. The final ‘boss fight’ was slightly disappointing but not too much so. Overall, it was a pretty good outing and I enjoyed it. It was interesting that more attention was paid to the use of magic in the Great War than had been hinted at before but it's possible that the general public wasn’t aware of it as the information came during an exposition by the head Secret Service guy, but that would cast the conflict in a whole different light. Personally, I’m still totally intrigued by the whole idea of monsters from other dimensions living & feeding in no-man's land. That STILL sends shivers down my back! Looking forward to more novels/series from this author. More to come. Above average stuff and, therefore, recommended. At last, a FINISHED series – time to start two more!! 

Just Finished Reading: 1066 Turned Upside Down by Various Authors (FP: 2016) [200pp] 

The events of 1066, and not just the all-important Battle of Hastings, were pivotal in English and, arguably, European history. But Hastings in particular was a very close-run thing after long hours of intense fighting. On several occasions it looked like the Normans had been beaten – but what if they had been, or what if the famous battle hadn’t taken place at all? It’s always a fun game, looking back at historical events and wondering: what if? This is especially so when the thinkers both know their subject and are willing to push the boat out (or set it afire) to examine the possibilities. Here we have 11 intriguing examples of what if – including one with an actual (wrist mounted) Time Machine. To say that they were fun is an understatement. 

From the obvious: What if Harold and the Anglo-Saxons had won at Hastings to the more interesting questions – many of which hadn’t previous crossed my mind! - the reader is presented with some pretty good (and I think often historically reasonable) alternatives. What if, for instance, after Edward the Confessors death in 1066 rather than Harold Godwinson gaining the throne, it was Edward's young great-nephew Edgar the Ætheling? What difference would that have made? What if the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada had been defeated at the Battle of Fulford and so Harold and his army were ready for William’s invasion forces? What if Harold, rather than victorious at Stamford Bridge had actually been defeated and killed and Hardrada had been declared King of England? Would William have still invaded? One of my favourite stories in this excellent collection was the time-traveller tale where Harold was distracted just at the right/wrong moment that changed everything. Unfortunately, for a pedant like me, the consequences didn’t make a whole lot of logical sense but the *idea* behind it was still fun! 

If you have any interest in 1066 or have ever wondered ‘What if’ around the many possibilities of that profound year, then this is most definitely the book for you. Don’t worry if you’re not a Science-Fiction person. There’s only one tale with a SF component and that is lightly applied. The rest are, by and large, straight alt-history scenarios without a time-machine to be seen or heard. Most enjoyable and definitely recommended.     

Just Finished Reading: Ghosts of Karnak by George Mann (FP: 2016) [294pp] 

New York, 1927. After the recent events with the creature at the funfair it came as no surprise to Gabriel that Ginny needed a break – a break from New York, a break from monsters and even a break from him. Heading to Egypt seemed like a good idea. It was somewhere exotic, somewhere very different and somewhere where she could recharge and consider her next move. Gabriel, AKA The Ghost, barely had time to think about her. A turf war was breaking out between a new crime boss known as The Reaper and the smaller gangs that could challenge his authority. But the New York police department had other worries right now. A dead girl had been found, attacked and dumped in plain sight. This was no ordinary killing, not a robbery, not any kind of sexual assault, it was a message pure and simple – if the word ‘simple’ could be used in this case. Carved into the girl's skin, both pre and post-mortem were esoteric symbols quickly identified as Egyptian. That was really all Inspector Donnovan needed, a war brewing between mobsters and cultists with civilians and police officers in the middle. Meanwhile in Egypt itself, Ginny has fallen in with a pair of archaeologists eager to show her their latest findings in the desert. The dig is impressive and promises to reveal much about early religious practices long abandoned. But something is stirring in the deep desert, something old, something dreaming of revenge and dominion, something with designs on Ginny and then, New York itself. 

This was my third Ghost book (one more to go in the series) and I enjoyed it quite a bit. About the only thing that disappointed me was a notable lack of world building present in the previous books. As with any alternate history piece, or indeed any SF/Fantasy world, I’m interested in the how and the why of things being different and how the particular society functions. We get very little of that here. Indeed, apart from police dirigibles, the mention of coal powered cars (in passing only), and some crude ‘cyborg’ enforcers it could very well have been our world he was writing about – almost. But... There were many things to enjoy here too. My regulars will know that I keep banging on about the importance (to me) of good characterisation. Here we have that in spades. Gabriel/The Ghost is an interesting character – part Gatsby, part PTSD fighter pilot from WW1, part steampunk Batman. His psyche is complicated (or shattered and barely holding together depending on your PoV) and I’d like to know a LOT more about his experiences in and above No Man’s Land. Donnovan and his sergeant side-kick Mullins are definitely growing on me and I look forward to knowing more about them in the next/last book in the series. Ginny is a FUN character, attractive, somewhat dissolute but useful in a firefight and not easily fazed or controlled by anyone. A new favourite is Astrid who is Gabriel’s esoteric expert and, I think, essentially a witch. She’s feisty, fun and VERY knowledgeable – pretty handy with a gun too! The baddy was somewhat disappointing considering who and what he was but I suppose having an unbeatable ‘boss’ isn’t exactly fun either for the reader or the good guys fighting him. The ‘boss’ in the second novel is still my favourite so far. Overall, this was a FUN read and the plot whizzed along nicely. I’m definitely looking forward to the next volume and other books by this author. I may even dip into some works I have on Egyptian religion as this book definitely piqued or re-piqued my interest in the subject. Recommended but read the other two books first to get based properly in the world.  

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Just Finished Reading: Ghosts of War by George Mann (FP: 2011) [348pp] 

New York, 1927. It started with the birds falling from the sky – dead before they hit the ground. Then the disappearance's, random, sudden, unexplained. The police responded in the only way they could, with warnings in the newspapers and over the radio, with talk of a curfew and with increased airship patrols. Still the abductions occurred without apparent rhyme or reason. The Ghost watched from above and caught only glimpses of strange looking brass creatures seemingly searching for something. He wanted to discuss them with his police contact but Inspector Donovan had other priorities. The commissioner himself had tasked him with an important matter of national security. A British spy had obtained information vital to the nation's defence and needed to be tracked down and stopped immediately. All other tasks must be dropped. The spy was Donovan’s top priority. If the spy managed to leave New York it could mean another World War. But both the Ghost and his friend the Inspector knew that such a request didn’t feel right. Tracking down spies wasn’t something the NYPD did, that was a task for the Secret Service. Plus, why was an isolationist politician putting so much pressure on Commissioner Montague which he then applied to Donovan? Maybe they both needed to find the spy (if he even existed) and talk to him before handing him over to the authorities – unless the long-predicted war with the British Empire broke out first! 

This was the second book in the Ghost series (two more to go) and as much as I enjoyed the first book – with a few minor caveats – I enjoyed this one more. As I’d hoped after reading the first book, the author expanded his world a little and we discovered a bit more about the Ghost’s background and experiences during the Great War and his early encounter with a tentacled creature in No Man’s Land. We also discovered a bit more about the British Empire and it’s less than amicable relationship with the growing power of the United States. The Ghost also had a new love life, or actually a reintroduced love life, in the shape of Ginny who turned out to be a capable asset who could handily cope with a shoot-out or an encounter with an alien beast from another dimension (always useful in a girlfriend I think!). Although I was a little disappointed by the baddie in the previous book, I had no problems at all with this one (or actually with this cabal plus the ubiquitous mad-scientist). Each baddie was suitably bad, with few if any redeeming qualities and even fewer moral scruples. We were obviously supposed to cheer when they came to bad ends and, in true pulp style, we did when they did! The inevitable final ‘boss fight’ was handled very well, especially when it looked like the author had painted the Ghost into a corner but got him (and the rest of the world) out of it without use of any ‘magical’ device or anything like that. Things were solved by ingenuity and the application of sufficient – or more than sufficient! - force. Overall, this was a solid work of SF, alt-history, horror tinged, steampunk and I really enjoyed it. I’ll definitely be reading the other two books later in the year – probably when the nights start drawing in again – as I’m still intrigued with the world the author created and where he’s going to take us next. Definitely recommended for steampunk and HP Lovecraft fans.     

Just Finished Reading: The Liberation by Ian Tregillis (FP: 2016) [433pp] 

It was over in an instant. As she watched from the battlements the exhausted defenders saw what they must have imagined to be a miracle. Berenice knew better. The crystal device she had worked so hard to procure and use had instead been used for a higher purpose. The mechanical Daniel, previously known as Jax, had achieved his goal – he had freed his metal brethren from the slavery imposed upon them by the Brass Throne but at a terrible cost. At the moment the lightening flash covered the battlefield everything seemed to have been caught in place as in a photograph. Then, a heartbeat later, the reality of the situation bit – and bit hard. Some of the machines recovered from their momentary pause and continued their attack on the last bastion of New France. At great cost in blood and effort they were subdued or destroyed. Others turned on their Dutch oppressors either killing them immediately or causing them to flee and then left the battlefield themselves. A much smaller group turned to help any humans they could, protecting them as much as possible from other mechanicals. They were now in uncharted territory. In moments the French forces had transitioned from being on the very edge of extinction to having hope, not only of survival but of a return to Old France and ultimate victory. If only, Berenice mused, it was that easy. The mechanicals were now free to do as they wished, no longer forced to obey their human masters. One in particular, known to many simply as Queen Mab, had her own plans and her own path of revenge against those who had created and enslaved her kind for centuries. First, she would take that revenge on the Dutch empire across the sea. Then it would be time for the rest of humanity to tremble at the tick-tock sound of approaching machines knowing that the end was very near – if they were the lucky ones. 

This was a very good end to an excellent trilogy. I was so pleased when the character I had grown to love in the previous novel, Berenice Charlotte de Mornay-Perigord, former vicomtesse de Laval, returned front and centre in this one - although I didn't remember her being such a potty-mouth in previous novels! She was joined by her nemesis and opposite number from the previous novel, Anastasia Bell who I liked almost as much – despite being the ‘baddie’ here. Both were very capable, very intelligent, very able and rather flawed individuals who had a lot of learning (and pain) to go through in a little over 400 pages. I did find myself almost as immersed in their strange world – where the Dutch had created almost unstoppable robots in the 18th century and thereby (largely) taken over the world – as in the previous book which was a delight. As with the previous novels I couldn’t fault the world building in any respect (the only ‘fault’ I found with the narrative being Anastasia’s ability to get out of several dangerous situations by essentially using ‘magic’ despite it being used sparingly and, in the end, ineffectively). I think what impressed me most – over and above being a highly entertaining alt-history combat SF thriller – were things either unstated or understated. After the battle of ‘Marseilles in the West’ on the St Lawrence river, Berenice was introduced to the concept of unintended consequences – in SPADES – as well as the realisation that she had deliberately tortured a sentient creature without realising it or caring overmuch. Anastasia Bell had her own revelations – when along with other ‘clockmakers’ with open enough minds – she realised that their mechanical servants were not malfunctioned but had been sentient from the moment of their creation and whose Free Will had been in chains ever since. No wonder they were angry when freed! Layered throughout the novel were two dangers - the explicit danger of what happens when technology turns against us as well as the implicit danger of what happens when technology doesn’t and we increasingly delegate function after function to machines. Without giving too much away, the fact that the moment the mechanicals stopped serving their Dutch masters they lost the ability to feed themselves, communicate with each other beyond the range of their voices or to protect themselves at all says a great deal about our possible future. 

This was one of the best trilogies I can remember reading in years if not longer. I read the first book ‘The Mechanical’ in 2015 not long after it came out, the second book, ‘The Rising’, about this time last year and now, finally, the last book completing another series (yeah!). Definitely more coming from this author. Long may he continue producing books/series of this quality. Highly recommended.  

Just Finished Reading: Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann (FP: 2010) [326pp] 

New York, 1926. Despite the deepening Cold War with the British Empire Manhattan’s police commissioner has more pressing problems. There’s a new crime lord in town who has managed to muscle his way into the world of organised crime using a combination of extreme violence and mystery to intimidate his enemies. The NYPD are at a loss to discover who this player is and can only refer to him as ‘The Roman’ because of his habit of leaving priceless Roman coins on the eyes of his high-profile victims. If that wasn’t bad enough a new vigilante is running around the streets doing what the police are singularly incapable of – fighting the Roman’s minions on their own turf. Leaving dead gangsters, along with the occasional civilian bystander, in his wake the press has named him ‘The Ghost’ for his ability to appear and disappear at will. Detective Donovan has been given the dubious ‘honour’ of tracking down both ‘The Roman’ and his seeming nemesis-wannabee ‘The Ghost’ but is at a loss as how to proceed. In an act of desperation, he decides to enlist the one person who is actually making headway in the case – the spectral apparition himself. But is joining forces with a self-appointed crime fighter the right thing to do? Only time and results will tell. 

To be honest I picked this first book of the series up because of its amazing cover. Generally, I’m a sucker for all things steampunk so I thought it was worth the punt. What sold it for me – even before I read the first page – was the overall description of the book on the back. This was ‘a glorious mash-up of alternate history, science-fiction, supernatural horror and detective thriller.’ With that to look forward to how could I possibly resist? The noir feeling of 20’s America was handled well with seedy streets, seedy people doing seedy things to get by. There was a depression era feel to things throughout and I couldn’t help visualise a Sam Spade vibe whenever the police were involved. ‘The Ghost’ came across as a Batman/Bruce Wayne/Gatsby character (with probably a healthy dose of Hemingway thrown in) who struggled with his wartime experiences in France as well as nightmares about ‘things’ he experienced in no-man's land (I’m REALLY hoping we find out more about that in subsequent novels!). The cop, Donovan, is reasonably drawn but is the weaker of the pair. ‘The Roman’ I thought was a bit disappointing and could have been a much stronger protagonist given his unusual background and was probably the weakest part of an otherwise excellent and highly entertaining romp. Overall though I enjoyed this first installment a great deal. It was MUCH fun with the mashing together of multiple genres (generally) working very well. Some aspects were a little silly – such as steam-powered cars requiring regular top-ups with powdered coal which resulted in quite a lot of mess (something that would’ve been fixed long before it came into general use) and others intriguing, like the use of holographic video phones! The sprinkling of the supernatural element (with strong hints of Lovecraft) was totally intriguing as was the political falling out of the USA and British Empire after the victory of WW1. I DO hope we learn more about THOSE aspects going forward. I’ve scheduled in the 2nd book soon with the final two probably going to be read later in the year. If you find the idea of a steampunk Batman with a supernatural ‘edge’ interesting then this is definitely the book/series for you. Much fun and highly recommended.  

Just Finished Reading: Dominion by C J Sansom (FP: 2012) [690pp]

England, the Dark Days of 1940. With the situation deteriorating by the day Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has only one choice to make – resignation. He bites the bullet and calls for his arch rival Winston Churchill. There, in the PM’s office, he is offered a job he cannot easily refuse – Minister of War in Lord Halifax’s new administration. For a moment, disappointed, he hesitates and then decides for the good of the country and accepts.

England, 1952. The long drift since those dark days towards an ever more authoritarian regime is speeding up. Political parties, other than the existing ruling Party of National Unity, have been banned. Churchill, the ailing leader of the Resistance, is a hunted man with a price on his head. Despite an increasing severe crackdown strikes, passive resistance and acts of terrorism increase daily. America has just reported the detonation of a weapon that has shocked the world and horrified the Nazi regime still bogged down in their fight with the Soviet Union. Only similar nuclear weapons held by the Germans can save them from a seemingly forever war. But progress is slow and a useable weapon as far away as ever…. Until the Abwehr, German military intelligence, hear a rumour. There has been an inadvertent security breach by the Americans. Secrets have been shouted in anger and a man barely holding onto his sanity may hold the key inside his fevered brain that could give the Nazi’s the ‘Bomb’. Imperial Office Civil Servant David Fitzgerald, an old Oxford friend of Frank Muncaster, the man now horrified that he simply knows too much, is approached by the Resistance to help them spirit Frank away before Abwehr agents can grab him. Thrown into a world he can barely comprehend, David finds himself as the epicentre of events that could determine the future of the world for centuries to come. Meanwhile, in Germany, Adolf Hitler is dying and his possible successors are beginning to vie with each other for the coveted role of Leader.

As much as I love Alternate History books this particular example has been sitting unloved for years before I dragged it out of obscurity. The author is well known for another genre though with his long running Shardlake mystery series based in the 16^th century. So this is QUITE the departure! To be honest I was hooked pretty quickly. The ascendency of Churchill to Prime Minister in May 1940 is one of THE pivotal moments in British and, arguably, world history. What would have happened if he had not assumed that role? The author makes a VERY good stab at answering that question. Essentially an armistice with a slow creeping ‘nazification’ care of sympathises and collaborationists in the existing British government and larger structure – followed inevitably by various forms of resistance. The situation in Britain seems very believable as do the main characters who, mostly on the British side, had hoped to ‘keep their heads down’ and wait for it to pass but it never does, which means that difficult choices have to be made by quite ordinary people. The international situation is also pretty fascinating – not only the ongoing war raging in Russia but the US starting to come out of isolation and the Japanese equally bogged down in China (having followed the ‘Northern Strategy’ rather than the one they followed in our timeline so never attacking Pearl Harbor). The way these, and other, changes play out over the decade since 1940 is both delicious to watch and makes for a very credible backdrop to this gripping novel. Certainly one of the best reads of the year and most definitely highly recommended.

[Side Note: I did debate whether or not classifying this as 'Science-Fiction' as, apart from it being alt-history in the sense that it speculates on a 'What If' scenario, there are no other Sci-Fi elements in the story. After some internal discussion I decided to go with SF in a more generic sense as I'd say that most (if not all) alt-histories are fundamentally Science Fiction(ish) in their core nature. What do you think?]

New High Score(s) (since records began 22nd October 2020)

Page Count: 690pp [+129pp] – I think this will last for a while yet….!

Average page count: 336pp [+1p]   

Just Finished Reading: The Rising by Ian Tregillis (FP: 2015) [443pp]

Jax was free. After over a hundred years of servitude to the Brass Throne he was free. After the iron grip of his programming was inexplicably broken he has been free to follow his own path, to chart his own destiny. Unfortunately for Jax his freedom is not something his masters celebrate. Rather when they catch him, and catch him they will, he will be treated for the abomination he is – a rogue clacker. A malfunctioning device that needs to be corrected, which needs to be scrapped. So Jax is following a rumour, a rumour of other free clackers living far to the north, north of the remnants of Free France now under the final assault of a Dutch clacker army bent on their ultimate destruction. There, Captain Longchamp, defender of the last French city, prepares their meagre defences for the coming attack. Knowing full well that he might die in the attempt he is determined that he’ll take as many of the metal monsters with him into the forges of Hell before he goes. Meanwhile the French spy Berenice (Berenice Charlotte de Mornay-Perigord, former vicomtesse de Laval) is on the trail of information that could turn the tide of the endless war finally in the favour of her beloved France. Through guile, ingenuity and a fair amount of luck she is closing in on the method the Dutch alchemists use to programme their machines. With that knowledge she can subvert them to fight against their previous masters and restore France to its rightful place on the European continent. As a tasty side-dish she is also on the track of the traitor who gave secrets to the Dutch and who caused the death of her husband. Revenge will be definitely not be served cold….

This is the second book in The Alchemy Wars trilogy (3^rd book presently on order!) and moves the plot forward in leaps and bounds. We find out a great deal more about this alternate reality – taking place in the late 1920’s – where a Dutch technological breakthrough in the 18^th century allowed them to build unstoppable machines to conquer most of the known world along with hints of where this enormous power came from (which I won’t reveal here). Moving at pace we follow the intertwined paths of the mechanical Jax (who gained his free will in the first book), the bear of a soldier Longchamp (who is quite brilliant and completed dedicated to protecting the last bastion of France in the New World) and my particular favourite Berenice driven by her twin desires of understanding clacker (mechanical) technology and revenging her dead husband. To say that I completely lost myself in this immersive novel is an understatement. I don’t think that I could find a single fault in the plotting, pace or characterisation. More than once I found myself gasping at an event that I didn’t see coming and was equally thrilled to find out how, or if, those involved coped with it. A total delight from start to finish. After the brilliant last sentence (again which I won’t reveal here) I MUST know what happens next! Completely original and highly entertaining. Highly recommended.    

Oh, almost forgot... 10 more Man Vs Machine books to come!

Just Finished Reading: Transition by Iain Banks (FP: 2009)

Imagine, if you will, a reality of multiple Earth’s each in ways both large and small different from our own. Imagine this Multiverse getting bigger and expanding outward every minute of every day presenting Earth’s of infinite variety. Now imagine people gifted with the ability to move between these worlds and inhabit the bodies of people there, to take them over temporarily, to move about, to study and to manipulate. Such people cry out for organisation and purpose, to be directed in their goals not only to make the world a better place but to make all worlds better, to bring out the best possible outcome for the greatest number of Earth’s. Or at least this is what the Concern, also known as L’Expedience, tell its operatives who, being close to the action, cannot see the ‘big picture’. Being only human they speculate on exactly why they do what they do – are the fighting an anti-Concern dedicated to sowing chaos in the Universe? Are they preventing an alien invasion already taking place on worlds none of the Transitioneers come back from? Whatever the reasons the top echelons of the Inner Council are keeping their secrets close to themselves. Until that is their ultimate assassin, the man that never fails, goes off script and kills the wrong person for reasons unknown. Has he been subverted by a rebel faction? Has he simply gone mad with the endless killing or is there something more sinister going on here. It can hardly be a coincidence that, just as decade long plans come to fruition that the weapon being used has turned on its owners. The problem is a knotty one: how do you find an assassin that cannot be found and kill a man who cannot be killed – especially when he seems to have very knowledgeable and powerful friends?

I have to say that I am a huge fan of Iain (M) Banks in both of his incarnations. This is, as you will notice, one of the more strange variety than you’ll find in his books authored with the M in the name. These, mostly based around the society known as the Culture, are pretty standard SF. OK, highly imaginative but still pretty standard. His other books (no M) are, well, a little more ‘out there’. This is most definitely no exception to that rule. Firstly there is the multiple world’s aspect. As the protagonists flit (Transition) between different Earth’s it can be an effort keeping up with exactly where they are – especially as they’re jumping between bodies at the same time. There’s some discussion on the techniques of Transition, the chemical aids and the background to the Concern. Then there’s the cast of characters. Firstly at least one or two are probably insane – at least one is definitely psychotic. There is much talk of drugs (apparently Coke is best) and quite a bit of sex (with appropriate language to match). There’s also a fair amount of reasonably graphic torture which might put a lot of my readers off reading this. One of the main characters is a torturer (mostly for the Government – and then the Concern) and there are, I admit, some interesting ruminations on the efficacy and morality of torture but nothing that you can’t read elsewhere. Although there’s action a plenty there’s still quite a bit of people sitting in rooms (or often in bed) talking about things. Some of this is interesting and moves the story forwards. A significant amount of it does (unfortunately) neither. The ending, I found, was a little abrupt and a little too over contrived. I also thought that too much of the distasteful aspects of the book served no real purpose.

Overall then I was somewhat disappointed with this work. Banks is great (and sorely missed) but he can be overindulgent and can let his (often brilliant) ideas run away with him. He is not afraid of disturbing, disgusting and, sometimes, offending his readership. He I was both disturbed and (a little) disgusted but never offended. His excesses throughout this interesting narrative were (at least in my opinion) unnecessary but forgivable. There is much in this book to admire but you’ll need a pretty strong constitution and a fairly strong stomach to read every word on every page. A strange, interesting and often haunting tale well told – but be warned this is neither a pleasant nor an easy read.  

Just Finished Reading: Destroyermen – Rising Tides by Taylor Anderson (FP: 2011)

There is, it would seem, not peace for the wicked – or at least not for the crew of USS Walker trapped in a strange world where humans failed to evolve. After helping to defeat the ravenous Grik horde the next stage of the weird version of WW2 needs to be planned and assets put in place. New ships need to be built, new technologies, unfamiliar to the Lemurians or their new erstwhile allies from the New British Empire, such as radio developed and a million other things need to be fixed, taught or found. Speaking of discoveries, the floating of the half submerged submarine goes on apace under the angry watch of a nearby volcano and a beached cargo ship carrying a precious cargo of boxed fighter planes has to be cleared of its new inhabitants before it can be refloated. Meanwhile Walker herself is in hot pursuit of Company ships holding several of his crew hostage, including the captain’s head nurse and love of his life. As they approach waters patrolled by the Empire’s warships tensions rise – they need allies not enemies and the British have something the American’s are very short of: women. But deep in the heart of the Empire is a snake and that snake has the backing of another human power yet to be encountered by the US crew – the Dominion, a corrupted version of Catholicism and South American blood worship. Just how complicated can things get on this strange world whose horizons are expanding with every mile they sail. What strange creatures and strange cultures are just around the next hill and how many will want the American’s dead if only to take their guns.

This is the 5th book in the Destroyermen series and I must admit that I have enjoyed every one. The author has given himself enough room and enough scope to create an entire world to play in (and one that is just chock full of possibilities only so far hinted at). After 5 books we’re still in the Pacific. We have some idea of what’s happening in Asia and India – Grik central – and now we have hints of what’s going on in South America – Dominion territory – but no clue as to what is to be found in the Northern hemisphere. Then there’s the possibility of rifts with other Earth’s and not just our own. That could pretty much find anything that the author can imagine. But he’s not one to pluck things out of a multi-dimensional hat just to get his characters out of a bind. They have real (and potentially tedious) logistic problems which plague them on a daily basis. These are not overcome in a day and we ‘see’ great efforts (generally in the background) to resolve them. The author knows what he needs to do to move the story along but knows that he can take his time to build character, build a believable world and populate it with reasonable internally motivated characters. It is, to be honest, fascinating to watch unfold before your eyes. Just one thing: in line with prevailing trends the author is not afraid putting his main characters in peril and is not averse to actually killing off major characters when the plot demands it. No one is safe and the heroes don’t always win and don’t always survive encounters with the enemy (or random bug bites!) so it’s best not to get too attached to your favourite characters. I’m not sure if I have book 6 in my stack but if not I’ll be buying it soon. After that there’s still another 6 books to come so far! Maybe we’re going to see much more of the world the Destroyermen now call home! I do hope so.

Just Finished Reading: Final Impact by John Birmingham (FP: 2007)

It is the 3rd May 1944. The place is the Pas de Calais – D Day! The final assault against Fortress Europe is underway. With massive Allied firepower the Atlantic Wall is breached by air-fuel explosives. Overhead the latest American jet-fighters patrol the skies as the helicopter assault forces deliver troops directly to the front line. Meanwhile Hitler, convinced that the real attack will fall on the Normandy beachheads as in the other D Day holds back his best divisions to cover the expected invasion. In the Pacific a massive American fleet approaches Japanese controlled territory believing that they are prepared for anything that can be thrown at them. With beefed up air defences they are as ready as they’ll ever be for the Kamikaze planes that will make up Japan’s final throw of the dice. But unlike the Third Reich the Japanese are not working on nuclear weapons or other exotic weapons from the future. Instead they have developed a weapon they believe will hold off the Allies until they can be covered by the German nuclear umbrella. Admiral Kolhammer is worrying about the future though – not his already lived through future but the future legacy he has imposed on this world in 1944. With future knowledge in the hands of allies and enemies alike it is only a matter of time before hot war becomes Cold War and then, quite possibly Nuclear War if Stalin gets his way. With Roosevelt determined to treat the Russians as allies now rather than future known enemies Kolhammer must play a dangerous game of manipulating his new future whilst fighting a very strange rematch of WW2 and keep his own government in the dark as to his final intentions. The only question that really matters in the final analysis is who will have the nukes first?

This this the third in the Axis of Time trilogy which started with the arrival of an early 21st century battle fleet in the Pacific in 1942. Jumping forward 2 years from the previous books we are at the final stages of the war with German and Japan fighting to hold their expanded territories long enough to hold off the Allies by any and all means – including the use of WMD. As always the combat sequences where excellent as was the characterisation of both the ‘temps’ (contemporary) and 21st century arrivals. I was particularly impressed by several strong female characters. I was a little disappointed that the overall planned manipulation of the timeline was side-lined a bit more than I’d have liked (it was one of the things that frankly fascinated me in the previous novel) but it was very much a minor issue. The ending did feel a little rushed – especially with the addition of a chapter outlining what happened next to the major players after VE and VJ Days – but again the tying up of loose ends is forgivable taking into account the quality of the rest of the book. Overall this has been a highly entertaining series and I have enjoyed it on several levels a great deal. I can certainly recommend it to anyone who likes combat-SF, Alt-History of just an action-packed story well told. More from Mr Birmingham soon….  

Just Finished Reading: The Separation by Christopher Priest (FP: 2002)

After finishing his study of the German invasion of Russia historian Stuart Gratton is looking for another topic to investigate. He could try another epic already approved by his publisher about the US war in China and the subsequent decline of America in world affairs or something more focused, more personal, a mystery of identity. For as long as he can remember Gratton has been fascinated with the end of the war in Europe which coincided with his birth on May 10, 1941. Now he has found something else about that fateful date so long ago – the involvement of twin brothers, one in RAF Bomber Command and the other a worker in the Red Cross mentioned in Winston Churchill’s magisterial account of the conflict. But there the confusion starts – Churchill has confused the conscientious objector with the squadron leader and asked his staff to find out more. Is it just a misunderstanding too trivial to publically resolve or is there more to it. Would Graffton be wasting his time even investigating something so trivial and would a book resolving any mystery sell in numbers to justify the expense? But when the squadron leaders daughter provides him with an unpublished manuscript the mystery deepens even further. Memories of participating in huge bombing raids over Germany at late as 1945 call everything into question as do reports of surviving or dying during a crash into the English Channel in 1941. Which account is true? Whose memory is playing tricks? Did the twins even exist as separate people and what has Rudolf Hess got to do with everything?

Chris Priest is one of those authors with a gift. It’s the way he can start a story on solid ground and then, little by little, in logical steps, bend reality in such a way that you start to question everything. It’s not that fantastic elements overwhelm the story, it’s completely rational and makes complete sense. The war ended in 1941 and/or 1945. Bomber pilot Jack Sawyer, died/survived in 1941 and continued to fly until being shot down over Germany and spent the last 2 years of the war as a prisoner until the camp he was in was liberated by the Americans who never actually entered the war in Europe as Pearl Harbour never happened and anyway the European war was over in the Spring of 1941. To hold that many (and more) alternate histories in the palm of your hand and to keep them all nicely interacting until you no longer know what is or is not the ‘real’ history of the world post May ’41 without sending the reader mad is quite something to behold.

As you can imagine for such a superbly crafted but oh so complex plot you really, and I mean really, need to keep your wits about you. This is definitely not a book you can breeze through. You need to concentrate. Fortunately it’s gripping in a way that I haven’t read for some time. The book literally fascinates and I found myself turning pages late into the night (thankfully on my Christmas break). It got me thinking about a great deal – for days afterwards – about how the war could have ended in 1941. Could Britain, with Churchill in charge, really have signed a separate peace with the Germans? If so how would the world have turned out? I know that Hess flew to Scotland in 1941 but was there any real hope of peace at that point? Could our reality just be a failed version of what really did happen at the peace conference in Portugal where a lasting peace was brokered by the Red Cross and the Neutral Powers? I know that Hitler tried to make peace with Britain a few times but was he really serious? I don’t really know and, to be honest, it’s not a subject that gets talked about much in any WW2 books I’ve ever come across to date. They were bad, we were good, and we won. End of story. But what if…..?

It came as no surprise that this excellent work of SF/Alt History won the 2003 Arthur C Clarke Award. It’s one of the best SF books I’ve read in years and goes well beyond being merely thought provoking. Because of it I will be focusing a lot more on the first two years of ‘our’ WW2 to see if it could have been any different than it was. I wonder what I’ll find in the shadowy background and in-between the cracks of reality. Very highly recommended and a cracking start to 2016.

Just Finished Reading: The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis (FP: 2015)

Jax is a mechanical, a robot, a slave. Driven by his alchemical instructions he must do what he is told by his masters or suffer increasing torment until he complies. Such has been the way of things for over 200 years of the existence of his kind. Only 118 years old himself he has known no other life. The Dutch Empire control the world with their uncounted wealth, mysterious clockmakers and their armies of mechanical soldiers and no one stands in their way. Except that is the rump of the French Empire struggling for its very existence in far off Canada. All of this harmony looks like it will go on forever until the day that Jax is requested to carry a package to the New World where his master and family are relocating. During a violent storm in the Atlantic the package breaks open and somehow interrupts Jax’s inbuilt compulsions to obey the commands of the humans around him. For the first time Jax has Free Will. Too frightened to act independently he pretends to be his old self but when discovered is forced to flee towards the only place he can think of – Free France. But nothing could possibly be that simple with a whole mechanised society dedicated to his capture and destruction. Meanwhile Berenice, the recently disgraced head of the French Secret Service, has arrived in New Amsterdam looking for a traitor who not only betrayed his country but also ruined her career and cost her almost more than she care bare. When she discovers Jax it looks like he can lead her to her sworn enemy and help her strike back against her countries hated enemy. But how can she trust a machine which can think for itself, move faster than she can see and break her in half before she can see it move? Is simply being the enemy of my enemy enough to protect her? It looks like there’s only one way to find out.

I have the author’s previous trilogy (inevitably this book is the first in the Alchemy Wars series) but tried this first to meet on of the 2015 book challenges. I was most certainly not disappointed. Told from several characters viewpoints this is a cracking adventure tale based in an alternate 1926 where mechanical creatures provide all of the wealth and much of the heavy lifting of the still expanding Dutch Empire. Seemingly unaware (or possibly uncaring about) their machines inner life – clockmakers lie after all – they are treated like what they appear to be, robot slaves. But the clockmakers have built better than they know. Jax and the others are alive but under iron control – until now. It’s a fascinating variation of the many robotic rebellions from novels and movies over the last century or so. Knowledge of the ultimate workings of the mechanicals (known as clackers because of the sound they make) is forbidden to all by the clockmakers themselves – so we, the ignorant readers must piece things together as we move along with the story. The main characters – about 5 or 6 – each gives their own insight into the society produced by these wondrous machines and into clacker nature itself. The whole thing is wonderfully inventive and I’m definitely looking forward to the next two books. Be warned though this is adult SF so there’s a fair amount of swearing (rather unnecessary I thought), sex and violence including various forms of torture. Parts are definitely not for the faint hearted! But with that caveat to one side this turned out to be one of my top books of the year so far. Highly recommended for anyone interested in something different.    

[2015 Reading Challenge: A book published this year – COMPLETE (18/50)]

Just Finished Reading: Designated Targets by John Birmingham (FP: 2005)

It has now been several months since the 21st century battle fleet ‘emerged’ into the Pacific Ocean in 1942. Despite their best efforts both futuristic technology and knowledge of the future has made its way into both Allied and Axis hands. True to their different natures both sides have handled this information differently. The Americans are using the knowledge to make money – by buying companies destined to be important in the years ahead and by contracting future stars of song and screen – whilst the Russians, Germans and Japanese use the information to eliminate their present and future enemies and anyone associated with them with abandon. On both sides plans for war winning weapons are pushed ahead with foreknowledge and access to previously undreamt of computing power. But now both the Axis Powers and the Soviets know they are living on borrowed time. They know that their present dominion has, in the future they now have access to, become no more than a warning from history. Dedicated to change that forever the Japanese attack and invade Australia and the Germanys, now at least temporarily at peace with the Soviets, launch an all-out attack on England with jet fighters and long range missiles. If they can just hold off the Allies for 6 months they believe they can develop nuclear weapons which would give them the power to hold what they have already gained. 21st century Admiral Philip Kolhammer, USN has other ideas. Not content with simply defeating the Axis Powers he is determined to shape the world so that the future he came from will not come to pass - If only he can defeat the three most dangerous adversaries on the planet whilst keeping contemporary conspirators at bay.
 
As you may remember I really enjoyed the first book in this series of alternate WW2 novels. This volume was no exception – it rocked. The combat sequences are impressive enough and are much more than the predictable ‘my guns are bigger and more advanced than your guns’ sort of way. OK, there’s some of that going on (rather inevitably) but it’s so much more. But what really impressed me, even more than in the first book, was the thinking about the economic, cultural and psychological effects of having a bunch of people from the early 21st century and, much more importantly, knowledge of what is going to happen in the years ahead – scandals, deaths, criminal investigations, biographies written after death that now come back to haunt people still alive and much more besides. The author has given this whole other aspect of the impact of time travel a lot of serious, serious thought and has come up with some things I had never considered and much that I wholeheartedly agree with. It seriously impressed me and raised the whole book to a much higher level of quality and enjoyment.

I am also always impressed when an author can create numerous characters – of box sexes – and make them all real. As you might expect a few of the minor characters where effectively place holders and stereotypes but on the whole they lived and breathed which was all the more interesting in contrasting 21st characters and ‘Temp’ (contemporary) ones. Again the relationships, mostly confused, seemed to be very real and completely realistic, although the percentage of Temps who are out and out racist, sexist and/or homophobic still sticks in my craw somewhat – though reading accounts of WW2 recently seems to have confirmed this attitude at least in some cases.

I’m definitely looking forward to the third volume which I expect to be equally dramatic and equally surprising in many ways. Highly recommended for an exciting and thoughtful experience even if you’re not usually a reader of SF.

Just Finished Reading: Settling Accounts – Return Engagement by Harry Turtledove (FP: 2004)

June 22, 1941. It’s time for the Confederate States to take their final revenge against the hated United States. Launching an unannounced and unprovoked attack President Jake Featherston, the South’s charismatic leader, has nothing more on his mind than total victory and total dominance of the whole continent. Reeling from the initial attack the United States falls back in disarray and is outflanked time and again by the new tactics of combined tank (known as barrels) and ground attack aircraft. Before long the integrity of the entire country is threatened as the Confederate forces approach the Great Lakes. Meanwhile the war expands into Europe, South East Asia and the Occupied Territory of Canada. Drawing new fighters who grew up in a world at peace and veterans who remember the First World War all too well this could be the Confederates finest hour.

I’ve been reluctant to read this for some time after slogging through the author’s previous work in this seemingly never ending series. After making it through the 623 pages in reasonable time I began to wonder if either I was getting used to his somewhat pedestrian style or if things had improved since his last book. Maybe it was a bit of both. Predictably he did spend a significant amount of time explaining each characters past and their particular identifying traits but he seemed to have eased off on the number of times he brought them up – or maybe I’d simply learnt to tune them out more successfully! Like family sagas everywhere it was interesting to catch up on the lives of characters I’d ‘known’ for the past 25 odd years. The author even managed to surprise me by even killing off at least one major character. The events themselves however where, by and large, an almost direct take from real events early in ‘our’ WW2 where the Confederacy is quite clearly Germany, the black population clearly representing the Jews and the Union quite clearly France (and maybe England too). As you might expect there are few surprises for anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the opening events of the real WW2.

Despite the many criticisms I could level at this book – indeed at the author himself – he still managed to produce something that kept me turning page after page and which kept me wanting to know what happened next and who lived and who died. In the final analysis the whole series up to this point could have been handled much better – especially with some radical editing – but this is still reasonably entertaining stuff and is reasonably well written. I doubt if it will win any prizes and there are much better authors of Alt-History out there – I’m looking at you John Birmingham and Taylor Anderson – but if you want a soft introduction to the genre that won’t require much effort or any great thought then this is the series of books for you. I will be reading the rest of the series at some point but I’m not in any great hurry to do so. Reasonable.

Just Couldn’t Finish Reading: Stars and Stripes Forever by Harry Harrison (FP: 1998)

As my regular readership will know it’s a rare thing indeed that I don’t finish a book once started. After 40+ years of I’ve normally weeded out anything that I don’t think I’d read long before it appears in my hand. Not so in this case. On the face of things it was going to be at least readable. It’s by a famous (and actually very good) classic SF author. It’s about an Alternate US Civil War and it’s the first book in a trilogy published over 10 years ago. So, it should be fine……

It’d actually been on my shelf for a bit because I’d heard rumours that it wasn’t very good, but as I was reading a whole bunch of alt-history stuff I thought why not. It certainly had a fairly interesting idea behind it. US Civil War starts, Britain backs the South, British ship is bordered by a US warship, diplomatic row ensues, row goes deeper, and war breaks out between US and British Empire.

I started having misgivings from early on. The characterisation was pretty lame for one thing. The Southerners where either stupid or evil or stupid and evil whilst the Northerners where honourable, wise if a bit naïve and too nice for their own good. The British where arrogant fools full of their own self-importance who were too short sighted and selfish (to say nothing of money grabbing) to see the North’s cause as a just a true one. You see where I’m going with this….? The icing on the cake which transformed itself into the nail in the coffin was the portrait of Queen Victoria as a raving nut-job and deeply hysterical woman. Now I’d be the first to admit that I’m not an expert on this period of British history but most of it appeared less than true to the facts. Reading about the series once I abandoned this book I must say that I am so grateful that I hadn’t wasted the money on the next two books. I think that reading how the plucky United States took on and defeated the combined forces of the Confederacy, the French and the British Empire would have probably had me tearing my hair out and foaming at the mouth! Fortunately my sanity survived by throwing the book on the floor in disgust around page 70.

Taking into account that this was by one of my favourite SF authors who was partially responsible for getting me into the genre in the first place this was a huge disappointment. Save your money, time and sanity by avoiding this junk.  

Just Finished Reading: Destroyermen – Distant Thunders by Taylor Anderson (FP: 2010)

The great Battle of Baalkpan is over. With the help of their American allies the Lemurians have, for the first time in their history, not only survived a Grik Horde attack but have destroyed the Grik force in the process with tens of thousands of enemy dead.  But great as the victory is it is still the first battle in an expanding war – but now there is hope, hope of victory rather than the meagre thought of escape and survival. As the clear up continues and the city state of Baalkpan licks its wounds and burns its dead a complicating factor stays off shore and watches. Four ships of the Imperial Navy of New Britain arrived at the height of the conflict and watching in awe and fear as the Grik were defeated. Now both sides must decide if they want the other side as allies in the future war or if they will become enemies neither wants. If that wasn’t enough of a headache for the lost Americans it soon become clear that the British are far from a unified people and that a serious struggle for power is going on back home at the very highest levels. The British fleet commander Commodore Jenks seems like a man to be trusted but how far can that trust go when the fate of an entire world is at stake. Furthermore what happened to the surviving Japanese crew once the Amagi sank in Baalkpan Bay? Are they still helping the Grik? Can they modify their nature in time to launch a new and successful attack on the fragile alliance of disparate and desperate Lemurians? Just as interesting and maybe far more vital to their survival is what else has come through the rift that brought them to this strange world they are starting to call home, not only from their own Earth and their own time but from other Earths too? What is waiting for them in the vast expanses of a world that has never felt the presence of man until so recently?

I always think that the sign of a good book is always wanting to know what happens next – be it the next page, next chapter or next book in the series. This book had all of that in spades. Despite a long slow start I found it difficult to put down. The stand-up fight with the repulsive Grik might have been enough to keep me reading but the addition of the British complication (and it is very complicating), the actions of the Japanese, discoveries on other islands, the beginnings of a technical industrial civilisation directed by a handful of Americans, and the hinted possibility of truly alien encounters left me wanting more and then more again. I did roll my eyes a few times I admit, the references to the ‘dame famine’ and speculation of human-lemurian relations wore a little thin after the 3rd or 4th reference but I forgave the author this little foibles and missteps. I actuallt thought that he was very brave, or very confident, to spend so much time and so many pages relating the rebuilding of defences and the building of new weapons without using them very often at all. I suppose with at least 8 books in print in the series he can take the time to do things properly. After getting about ¾ of the way through (a total of 415 pages) I had already received the next volume from Amazon. I am enjoying this series a great deal and fully expect to enjoy them as long as the author decides to write them. Recommended.

Just Finished Reading: The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett (FP: 2010)

It all started simply enough with just another body in the canal. Not exactly an unusual occurrence in that part of town during the early morning shift. As it was close enough to the Industrial district they called in Company Investigator Cyril Hayes – just in case the floater turned out to be another Union guy. There had been quite a few Union guys showing up dead lately as the not so secret conflict between the McNaughton Corporation and the Union heated up. But there was little that Hayes could do. He was much better with the living than the dead. His talent (or his curse depending on your viewpoint) was getting inside the heads of suspects and, within a few hours, becoming their best pals and being allowed into their darkest secret places. He wasn’t really an addict or a drunk though. The alcohol and the opium he used with increasing frequency was just to deaden the voices and the memories, some his own some not, that threatened to push him over the edge. But these days Hayes is operating under a black cloud because an important member of the Corporation he was supposed to be gently questioning to test their loyalty decided to see if he could fly out of a particularly high building. Well, he couldn’t. To keep him in line and to keep tabs on him the Corporation has assigned him a minder, an assistant, a jailer all wrapped up in a keen young woman trying to prove herself to her new employer. As she follows Hayes and reports back on his investigation it becomes obvious that something deeply mysterious is happening at the very heart of McNaughton – much more than the invention of strange machines that have transformed the world, much more than bizarre deaths and even more bizarre ‘sightings’ across the city, much more than the strange whisperings in the night and in the dark places under the city streets. Something is not quite right and Hayes is determined to get to the bottom of things – no matter the consequences for himself or his very powerful employers.

This was a very, very strange book. For over half way I had no real idea what was going on – in a good way. The tone was Noir with an interesting Steampunk overlay (mostly because of the Zeppelins). I had lots of theories to explain the strange happenings and often equally strange executives. One by one I had to abandon them to home in on an explanation – only to be proven wrong. The end, when it came, was odd, interesting and rather intriguing – if somewhat (though only somewhat) of a let-down maybe because it simply wasn’t what I was expecting. The writing was excellent though. Hayes was a great character and the environment he inhabited well drawn being both familiar and hauntingly strange. It certainly had me gripped and continually turning pages to find out exactly what the hell was going on! Although a little overblown in places and, from time to time, a bit too clever for its own good this was still a good strong read that kept me wondering and pondering for most of its 454 pages. Recommended to anyone wanting something very different indeed.    

Just Finished Reading: Resistance by Owen Sheers (FP: 2007)

England, 1944. After the disaster on the Normandy beaches the shattered British and Allied forces brace themselves for the inevitable counterstrike. When it comes the German forces, fresh from their victories in the East, quickly gain a beach head and begin to move inland for the long awaited victory over their only remaining opponent in Europe. Meanwhile in rural Wales life goes on as it always has. The war is still far away and the crops need to be harvested. Convinced that the war will pass them by the residents of the border Olchon valley ignore the radio reports of disaster and get on with their lives. Until one morning the women wake to discover that their men have all vanished in the night apparently to join the emerging resistance to German occupation. Much to the women’s surprise and dismay a small German contingent enter the valley with the advertised mission of setting up a radio station before moving on. But trapped by a sudden heavy snowfall the German troops, led by Captain Albrecht Wolfram, decide to sit out the war for a few months in the hope and expectation that it will all be over by the time the snow melts. At first wary of each other the German troops and the local women gradually see that their survival during the harsh winter depends far more on co-operation than resistance. But how far can you go before you collaborate with the enemy and what are the Germans really in the valley for anyway?

I saw the movie of this book some years ago and thought it was reasonable. The book is, as they often are, much better and the main characters – the Captain and his ‘love interest’ Sarah – are particularly well drawn (I really liked the Captain). I had more of a problem with the premise that the D-Day landings would fail so spectacularly that England is invaded and put in real peril. The author does explain, at least in part, that the world in the novel is very different from our world but I still doubt that events portrayed in the book could have come to pass in the way they did. Maybe part of that was I didn’t like seeing England invaded so easily and Allied troops defeated at every turn. Despite those misgivings I did, generally, enjoy this book quite a lot. It was a little slow in places with somewhat less tension that I’d have liked. He handled the sense of isolation (on both sides) well and didn’t go for the easy romantic options that some others might have gone for (for which I was grateful) and much of the characterisation all round rang true.

One thing I did notice immediately. This is the author’s first novel (which is rather impressive considering the strength of the story) but his previously published works have been poetry – and you can tell in his use of prose. It is a very well-crafted novel and you can tell that his choice of practically every word is very deliberate and that, for me at least, distracted from the story. It did seem that the author valued a well turned phrase (and this novel had many of them) more highly that a plot required to move the story along. This wasn’t a bad book by any means but, again for me, there was something missing at the heart of it. An absence most notable which seemed to constantly tug at my consciousness and constantly remind me that I was reading a novel. It’s difficult to explain but I think if he’d turned the absence into an actual presence then this could have been something quite exceptional – but I’m guessing (OK, I’m pretty confident) that the absence I felt was fully intended by the author. Unfortunately for me, that really didn’t work. Interesting and still recommended as something worth reading but it didn’t really float my boat.