Smorgasbord Fantasia

So Mr.Sanderson can write a twisty fun-filled rocket-propelled urban fantasy with a young male protagonist who is hell bent on avenging his father's death. Am I surprised? No. Am I blown away? Ahem. not quite. Did I like it? I loved it. With SteelHeart - Sanderson's unique take on Superheroes, Post Apocalytic fiction and urban fantasy - he still proves he can write a racy entertaining tale as good as anyone out there. But at the end of a frenetic reading experience, this still seems like a summer internship project for Mr.Talented. Something he would write between the larger tomes he labours on. Remember those read for pleasure stories in our school? Well, this must have been his "write for pleasure" project that just took wings and blazed a new trail in the much starved urban fantasy sub-genre. With this novel, Brandon in his own uniquely original inimitable style takes on an age-old question on superheroes and their super-powers. For when we were kids...

The Remaining is a digital publishing sensation – another one of those run away hits on the internet propelling DJ Molles to be the poster-child of self-publishing. And it’s built up for a good reason: this book while still expounding on the well-trodden path of a zombie novel, still retains that sense of creeping horror and urgency characteristic of a well written and well researched novel. You’ve dozens of books on the post-apocalyptic theme where the world is over-run by infected diseased beings – more than a good share having executed this theme pretty well. So what makes The Remaining an internet phenomenon and now has got snapped up by the biggies as well being commissioned for a movie?  I haven’t cracked that question yet. But what I got when I read the book was a crackerjack of a zombie novel that never lets up on the pacing and action till the end and is a compelling read indeed. It’s a plot we’ve seen before – Captain Lee Hardin is sequestered wit...

The Last City from Australian author Nina D’Aleo flew below my radar until I chanced upon a promo about the second book that came out in 2013, Forgotten City . A quick search got me intrigued and hooked onto the premise. A netgalley request for both books followed but it still took me quite some weeks before I cracked it open.  Blade Runner Meets Perdido Street Station ? Quite an irresistible premise and a lofty one to match up to I must say. Truths be told, I haven’t read the Phillip K Dick book, but yes, have seen the move. And Perdido Street Station by the weird genius China Meiville is the only “AUTOGRAPHED” authentic paperback version of a Fantasy book that I’ve in my bookshelf (sadly still untouched in terms of reading! Had met him in person in Bangalore a couple of years back) But The Last City does something wholly new and original in terms of a stunning mash up of noire crime, science fiction and fantasy. A layer of wholly unrestrained science-fictional...

Deborah Harkness' All Souls Trilogy has become an international phenomenon - a filler for those looking for an entertaining "grown-up" fantasy that doesn't veer into the "dark and gritty"; what with her first book in the trilogy, A Discovery of Witches even being optioned for a Warner Bros movie, Here's the low down on the third book, Book of Life.    After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchant­ing series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they re­unite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its miss­ing pages takes on even more urgency. In the tril­ogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of...

Okay,  I've been so much a lunatic fan-boy raving about the immense potential and talent of a certain Mr. Sanderson that I think I cut a ridiculous picture if I push it anymore. But I cannot hold it back, I am back to the drooling-half-mad-raving fan boy frothing at the mouth by the prospect of, what I wager to be the Best Ever Fantasy Series in "long"-running today, Second Book in the Stormlight Archives. The news from TOR is that the book hits the stands worldwide on March 4th this year. Can I spin those wheels of time a bit faster please (PUN intended, yes) The first book was such a pleasure to read - The Way of Kings brought us closer to Kaladin Stormblessed, the destiny's child and Dilnar Kholin, the tortured General, the enigmatic parshendi and lots more interesting characters - searing into our hearts. And now we cannot wait till we go back into that strange world of Roshar. So for all those fan-boys who suffer from my conditions, here's a bit o...

Among Thieves is a simple enough title but Douglas Hulick ’s debut novel - A tale of the Kin #1 , ten years labour of love according to Douglas - is anything but simple. A debut that almost rivals Lies of Locke Lamora in terms of the style, the settings and the sheer fun element. Almost. While Lies of.. still remains one of my best reads in terms of fun and entertainment, Among Thieves comes a close second as a debut effort.  A novel that follows in the wake of Sword & Sorcery novels reboot in the dark and gritty fashion hailing grey roguish men (or Boys in the case of Locke and Jean?) with a sense of honour as central characters – Among Thieves sees the rise of yet another thief, Drothe caught in the spider-web of conspiracies and flying knives between different criminal overlords and the empire. Drothe who runs a side business of smuggling imperial relics (when not doing his normal ‘day’ job of being a ‘nose’ ferreting out information from rumours for his b...