I've just finished Grailblazers, by Tom Holt, and found it, on the one hand, very funny and witty, with a storyline that’s pure madness; and, on the other hand, overloaded with ideas, weak on plot, and not all that well executed. A mixed bag, then, and mainly for the fans.
Prince Boamund of Northgales (Snotty to his friends) is dopey, idealistic, and upright. He has been trained from boyhood to be even more so, making him the Holy Fool – biddable, virtuous, stupid, extremely pompous, the sort of person who would never be afflicted by greed, megalomania or anything like that. The perfect Grail Knight. Brave. Honest. Stupid.
Here's a book that I didn't buy myself, but recevied as a review copy instead - so here's my review of The Court of the Air, the first book in the Jackals series by Stephen Hunt.
The main description to sum it up (at least for me) was Steampunk meets Cthulhu in Middle Earth - this is enjoyable and full of drive, albeit not particularly well written in parts, and with way too many topics crammed into it. This is only Stephen's 2nd novel, though, so this might well be a promise for the future.
Here's a quick review for Mister Monday, the first book in the ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ series by Garth Nix, which I found enjoyable, if a tad simplistic and lacking in substance – i.e. an above average, but otherwise run-of-the-mill Fantasy book for younger readers (age and otherwise).
The book follows the adventures of a boy, Arthur Penhaligon (no kidding – with a name like this you have to have strange adventures!), who is thrown into an alternative world by circumstances outside his influence. This is the first book in a series of seven, one for each day of the week.
This is a review for Matriarch, the 4th book in the “Wess’har Wars” series by Karen Traviss. Originally the series was planned to run for 3 books, but Karen decided to extend this through a 2nd trilogy. Now, normally this is (frequently justified) cause for alarm, and for expectations of not enough material stretched across too many pages. Not here, though, I gladly report. Karen kicks off the 2nd half of the story arc with verve, adding another layer of complexity to the set-up for the last two books. Which I can’t wait for now…
Please note - this review is for book 4 out of 6, so will, by neccessity, contain spoilers for what has gone before. If this bothers you then go and read the first 3 books yet (it's well worth doing, it's a great series!) and then come back.
A brief review of The State of The Art by Iain M Banks, a collection of short stories plus the novella giving it the title, all written between 1987 and 1989.
There are a number of Culture stories here, some general SF, Horror, and also some rather Dark Fantasy. Recommended read, as a side order (it’s definitely not a main course!).
