Best of the West 2016

It's hard to narrow things down, so I'm helping you out.

I am still in the midst of a stack of friends books - I am a polygamist reader - I am in Utah after all - so don't anybody worry if theirs wasn't mentioned or reviewed just yet - I will get to it, but for the here and now, this is a list of favorite reads for the year.

So without further ado.

Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy is among my favorite fantasy period. So coming back to the world of the First Law with this collection of shorts was welcome indeed. The tales are all over the place with characters we know, love and hate - and best of all we get to meet some new great ones too. These stories are are gritty, action packed, and funny. Its a perfect combination.

Gritty, bizarre Lovecraftian adventure and mayhem! This is the stuff! Charles Phipps delivers some serious bone crushing action amidst a destroyed American landscape that owes as much to H.P. Lovecraft as Mad Max. Something I realize going through this list of favorite reads of the year, how much I love humor with my darkness, I think it helps balance it all out and you need that when you are dealing with  ghouls, ghasts and the undead in general - not to mention the matriarch of the Biake. Right when I wonder where Phipp's is going to take a story he throws in some great surprises and always raises the stakes! Wake the Dreamlands, we have a new walking nightmare!

I enjoyed Larry's Monster Hunter International, but wondered what I'd really think of his foray into epic fantasy. I was not disappointed, Larry has the chops for action, humor and intrigue but he also has the world building skills for a great new series. I'm glad I was surprised with this one. Built around a survivor and warrior - not your average chosen one - this had so many surprises both dark and wonderful. The villains are delightfully despicable and mysterious. We really feel like our hero is in danger  - but did I just say hero - even he doesn't really think he is.

I don't review or talk about non-fiction too often on this blog even though that's gotta be at least half of what I read - research and history and such - Steven Pressfield type books are about as close as I ever get to self-help and that's kinda why I picked this one up - Pressfield's blurb was right there on the cover. That was enough for me to crack it open. Seeing how much Holiday puts stock in Marcus Aurelius was the clincher. I had to read this. Its short but very worthwhile.

My fiend Craig is a true renaissance man. He rocks, acts, creates games and off course writes killer books. His latest could be my favorite, a trippy noir ghost story in rural setting is amazing. Mixing teenage angst and stories that feel like we know them and then getting the rug pulled out from us is a tough job, but Craig delivers in spades. Do yourself a favor and grab this!

Another friend of mine I truly admire is Dave Butler. His work is all over the place and this jump into middle grade is an amazing amalgam of Steampunk Pinocchio along with a bevy of fairy-folk creatures. I had to keep reminding myself that this is a middle grade book, Butler's work is clever, even esoteric, there are lots of folklore references inside, whether from our own world or his that is enchanting and deep. This is quite the book. Check it out. Butler has lots more coming.

This is another of the non-fiction books I use for research, though if you have read anything else by Boren it reads like historical fiction. I'm not even sure I believe everything he has to say but it literally makes for a fiction writers gold mine. Not to be missed.

My friend Jason King wrote this one a few years ago, so its an oldy but goody in this list. This is phenomenal flintlock fantasy - something I know I'll be reading more of in the new year - and even has spoiler alert - some unearthly manifestations involved. Think low magic historical science fiction or something like that - its different but great. So great I even wrote a novella in the world of Valcoria that will be released in an anthology that sits between this book and its sequel (coming October 2017)!

Much thanks to Paul McNamee for pointing this out to me. Weird westerns! I love them and this one knocked my socks off! I wasn't even halfway done and I had to write to author Joel Jenkin's telling him how great this was. It blew me away. Somebody was writing exactly the type of weird, adventure, with Lovecraftian references stories I dig. And with "Last of the Mohican's raised by Mormon's vibe to boot! These are collected from numerous anthologies of the the weird that Jenkins has been doing for awhile - he has quite the body of work out there and I've got to check out more! You should too!

This has been a great year for fiction - I still have lots more to catch up on along with working on my own and I have got big plans for 2017. How about you guys?

Oh and for the next two days, Cold Slither is just .99 cents - it could always use a little more love = reviews etc - thanks.

Sharp Ends: Book Review

Sharp Ends, by Joe Abercrombie

I am a huge fan of Abercrombie, and short of getting a new novel set in the world of the First Law, this was a very welcome appetizer. With over a dozen short stories, you get a taste of the bloody action and wry humor and wonderful twists Abercrombie is so adept at.

The tales splash all over the timeline of the First Law world, from the imagery of what Glokta is doing right before his fateful attack on the Ghurkish to how Logen "The Bloody Nine" ended up at odds with Bethod King of the North. While I do think anyone picking up the book could enjoy the hell of out of them - you would definitely be enriched by already being familiar with the world and characters. I'm not saying its an absolute must for enjoyment but it would help.

I think my favorite tale was "Tough Times All Over" relating how an item is being transported/stolen etc all over the city one night. The dar humor is what gets me and what I think Abercrombie s such a master at - along with his surprises.

I highly recomend this for the sake of quick witty tales set in a fantasy world I get such a kick out of. And if you haven't read the previous books, there is still a lot to enjoy here - the impact is simply greater if you have read at least some of them.

And as I always do for Joe's books, I have opted to show the superior UK cover instead of the US cover which is always lame by comparison.

Half the World

Half the World, by Joe Abercrombie

I'm a huge Ambercrombie fan. He has a way of writing things that you think must turn out one way and then sets them on their ear and yes, it was right and plausible and not forced at all and he delivers that time and again.

This is the second installment of the Shattered Sea trilogy and we meet new characters including Thorn Bathu, Brand, Skiffer and Empress of the South, Vialine; and of course some great characters from the first book Half A King, Yarvi, now chief minister of the kingdom of Gettland and Grom Gilgorrim the Breaker of Swords.

Events set years earlier in the first book are now coming to fruition and Thorn, a warrior woman is forged and honed to the deadliest edge. She is instrumental in Abercrombies intriguing way of tying things together. As always Abercrombie has great doses of hard bitten wisdom and dark humor, these and wonderful similes make him one of my favorite writers.

Its strange to say that while this might be one of his weaker books it is still head and shoulders above so many others in the current fantasy line up. A low point for Abercrombie is still peaks above the rest. Don't let my awkward complaint dim my enthusiasm, I'm looking forward to the next book Half A War which will bring to a head all the machinations and tempers that have been brewing and I'll bet its gonna be a great one.

So Graphic!!!

I'm catching up on reviewing here and how about those graphic novels!

The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath, by H.P. Lovecraft and I.N.J. Culbard

This was the last big Lovecraft story I had to read. I've had a tattered copy zebra copy somewhere and I had read sections of it before (I was cheating to get more on Nyarlathotep) and I am pleasantly
surprised at how much I truly enjoyed it - I gotta admit the cover for the Zebra edition I had was off putting and I wasn't sure how much I would like the long form of Lovecraft's work in regards to dreams rather than say The Dunwich Horror which is a favorite of mine. I would say Culbard's art is not the best but it does have a minimalist power to it that I do enjoy. He conveys a lot with dark and light that like Mignola is powerful. On the story side of things, I found that there was an upbeat positivity to it that I did not expect especially compared to other Lovecraft tales. This was a great book all the way around, I shall have to read the novel and I look forward to another adaption by Culbard The King in Yellow coming out next month.


Red Sonja: The Black Tower, by Frank Tieri and Cezar Razek

Right off the bat I gotta say Razek's art is great, he has that savage fluid motion and great character representation, he really brings the action to life. Tieri's writing which I have been a fan of for years is tight here - maybe too tight for a four issue limited series but with each closing issue I am glued and Need to know what happens next. Its all unexpected from the Sonja stories I've read before and I gotta see where this goes...
and when it does get to the finale, I am...disappointed.
It seemed a little too convenient and unexplained, perhaps I missed something but if I did it sure wasn't an easy miss. Still I haven't lost any faith in Tieri's writing because everything else has been so good.


Conan: The Phantoms of the Black Coast, by Victor Gischler and Attila Futaki

I read this quick, it has a fast pace and good action. I would not say its a great REH tale - Conan is not quite the Conan we know but he is close as pastiches go.
Conan is king of Aquilonia now and though it has been more than a decade he suddenly needs to be sure that he can put Belit's spirit to rest. OK, sure why not?
We have a mysterious sorceress and two acolytes that for the most part I thought were shoe horned in as I couldn't see what difference they truly made to the story - everything would have been just the same with or without them.
In a lot of ways it reminded me of your basic Savage Sword of Conan tale - that's not good or bad, but you know its just not great. The art is good and I liked the design work but this wasn't anything to call Crom about.


Hellboy: The Midnight Circus, by Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo and Dave Stewart

I am so far behind in my Hellboy reading - I still need to review/reread Hellboy in Hell - just not here right now. I wasn't expecting great things here with Midnight Circus in part because the young little Hellboy stuff is good but has never been my favorite by comparison, I've never been as interested in the little guy getting into mischief compared with other world shattering events, so my expectations were low.
Maybe that was a good thing, because this pleasantly surprised me. The art is fantastic ( a good second for Hellboy is it can't always be Mignola himself, and the mystery of the circus captivated me, Mignola keeps that esoteric charm alive, he has demons reciting Lord Byron at one point! I love the references in the Hellboy universe that give it that expansive charm, we are talking everything from Ray Bradbury, Pinocchio to Lobster Johnson and all those dark things keeping tabs on Red himself. Great book for Hellboy fans!


The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie and Chuck Dixon and Andie Tong

I already love the original book and Chuck Dixon has been a favorite comic writer of mine for some time, Andie Tong is new to me but his art is good stuff. I've been wanting to get my hands on this collection for some time and I think it only became available domestically a little while ago, I've heard nothing about the series continuing but I sure hope it does.
We begin with basic introductions of our three main characters and like all of Abercrombies work - it ain't boring. We like people we shouldn't like and are excited to go on the journey with them. If anything I was truly disappointed that it ended so soon as I wanted to see more - I was waiting for Jezal's fight with Bremer Dan Gorst and I was hoping to see a little more of Fenris the Feared - not to mention everything with Logen Ninefingers that could fit into the book. Good stuff! Just too short!

Grim Dark No More - Book Review: Half A King

Half a King, by Joe Abercrombie

Abercrombie is one of my absolute favorite writers working today, I only qualify that statement because a huge number of my favorites are dead. In any case, I wasn't sure what to think of his latest considering he is going outside  the fantasy universe that I have so willingly followed him into thus far, that of the First Law Trilogy, and The Heroes, Best Served Cold and Red Country = all of which are stellar works. So I wondered how Lord Grimdark (his twitter handle) would mix things up.

Enter Yarvi, a prince - but one with a crippled deformed left hand that makes him seem half a functional man, he can't hold a shield, row an oar or even pin his own broach properly. Suddenly when his father and older brother are murdered, he is thrust into the throne = one he never wanted or dreamt he would sit in.

Before long, treachery and dire situations one after another pile on and you love it. Abercrombie is not nearly so grim-dark anymore - not that that ever bothered me personally but I do know I felt the need to have a warning sticker on some of my earlier reviews - not so here. Still a gripping low magic fantasy, this series is tamer in the sense of visceral gore and no sex - quite a change from just finishing up Mark Smylie's The Barrow.

This book was a serious page turner - I say that tongue in cheek because even though I bought it when it was released last July, I listened to the audio-book. But this is like Hamlet if the worst possible thing continually happened to him. I have always loved Abercrombies twists in his books believable but true and Half A King may have some of the best yet.

Highly recommended. I anxiously await the next installment Half the World.

Read Somewhat Lately

The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell

I'm late coming to this bestseller, I had to look it up and its been out for about 14 years. Like Freakonomics (which I greatly enjoyed last year) The Tipping Point gives us insights into how things work outside our usual perception. The analysis on how things worked out for Paul revere's ride to be so successful while simultaneously 'what's his name?' ride wasn't...
That was a joke - it was William Drake, but it shows how some people can work things out according to their own connections etc and others don't.
Like Freakonomics this left me wanting more knowledge more insights if only for the sake of better understanding human nature for the sake of my fiction. I don't read these books as I imagine so many others do to better get a handle on business etc, I want to understand human nature and write believable stories where the coincidences work and don't sound too far fetched.
So I'll have to look for more works like this - highly recommended for the sake of understanding humanity.

Last Argument of Kings, by Joe Abercrombie

This is a favorite reread of mine, yes I do that quite often. This took awhile though since I was doing it all on audiobook while taking short drives, same with People of the Black Circle. As before this is an absolute favorite of mine and it was great to revisit some favorite heroes and villains yet again. Abercrombies writing is visceral and fast paced but also with wonderful metaphors and imagery.

LAOK is the third part of the Last Law Trilogy and wraps up a complex tale involving one of my favorite secondary world fantasies. Like things mentioned in Tipping Point, small yet believable little things can ripple and create big differences.
Abercrombie has become one of my favorite living writers of fantasy.




Three Uses of the Knife, by David Mamet

A quick yearly reread, this is David Mamet's examination of Drama and how we need it. I'm reluctant to espouse too much, but this rather short work really makes me think about why we do art and how it gives us a cleansing awe. I just found another one of his essay books today and will start on Some Freaks, right away to continue that artistic high and push to keep working that his work gives me so strong.







The People of the Black Circle, by Robert E. Howard
Always a favorite passion of mine is to return to Robert E. Howard's worlds of wonders. People of the Black Circle is among the best of Conan's adventures, rife with swordplay and magic; its a great entrance to the Sword and Sorcery realm.
Capturing the Devi of Vendyha, Conan soon become embroiled in multiple twists with backstabbing sorcerers and the tumultuous nature of his own raiders. When the Black Seers of Yimsha become involved it only gets more desperate.
I just started The Hour of the Dragon on audiobook so I'll be keeping up with that state of adventure for my short drives for awhile.

Book Review: Prince of Thorns

Prince of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence

I think I first read about this over at Keith West's Adventures Fantastic blog, and it sat in the back of my mind for awhile and I noticed several copies at my local used book store a month ago, but I decided to buy a brand new paperback copy a week ago rather than a trade paperback to get into in my Locke Lamora/Red Seas Under Red Skies withdrawals. Its just handier to read on the plane ride and I don't have to power down the kindle that I got from my girlfriend for my birthday - Thanks Babe.
SO  .  .  .
Prince Jorg, the Prince of Thorns is different, he is nastier and a definite anti-hero but we come to understand why he is the way he is and even side with him in his vengeful cause.
The book is gritty like Abercrombie and GRRM, but I never did feel like Lawrence was too gratuitous or took things too far - we get the idea and that's plenty.

The world building was enchanting and as we learn more we hunger to learn more about the history of the realm, you are in for some good surprises.

I really hate to give away too much, I suspect if you were already thinking maybe on this one, because of its similarities to those other fantasies, you will enjoy this very much. I'll be getting a copy of King of Thorns soon enough.

Black Friday ~ RED COUNTRY

"A choice between killing and dying ain't no choice at all."

Red Country, by Joe Abercrombie
is likely my favorite fantasy fiction read to come out of the Big publishers this year (Orbit) I still mean to read a few more from TOR and PYR, but this will be pretty tough to beat.
Anyone else I really liked (published this year) is almost certainly indie.

I don't like giving away spoilers, but there are a few caveats to Abercombies books. The three standalone novels, Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Red Country could be read without having read the First Law Trilogy, but would be much better appreciated IF you have read them. A lot of back-story could be understood, but the true appreciation and context just won't be there.

They are rough, called Grim Dark by some, but I never felt like it was as nihilistic as others have claimed. Brutal perhaps, but in my mind no more so than Unforgiven and not even as terrible and gut wrenching as another favorite of mine =Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian.

In any case, Red Country is absolutely a western set within Abercrombies fantasy world. It works as any western should, minus the gunpowder. Every scene and confrontation on the plains or saloon easily felt like it belonged in that American tradition.
Living in the Inter-mountain west, I caught quite a few nuances showing Abercrombies research and attention to detail that I think could have easily been passed over by other storytellers, but for me - it fit. It showed how close and true he worked to make this a great western with realistic touches ~ you have to be realistic.

Without spoiling too much, anyone that has read the books knows that the character laying the biggest mark in Abercrombies universe is Logen, 'The Bloody Nine' Ninefingers, and we've been missing him and wondering what happened to him for the last couple books.

He is back-anyone with any sense will know it is him in the first couple pages, so that's no spoiler. But he has tried to put his past behind him and everyone knows him now as "Lamb" the coward.
But when his step son and daughter are kidnapped, there is gonna be hell to pay and the sleeping giant is awakened.

It was just a little slow going in the beginning (not unlike The Heroes) but once things started to happen-Did they ever.
So many scenes and chapters erupting in my head that I'd love to mention but just can't yet, so many that made me want to cheer and laugh. Abercrombie has a wonderful knack for setting things up that make you so sure on how they will turn out and then turning them on its ear and twisting it upside down. Highly, highly recommended.

I so wish I could get my hands on the UK cover (above) these US covers are seriously lame, I wish a marketing rep could see that, all three of the US stand-alones have terrible covers, why is it so hard to just keep the brilliant UK ones? This US cover tells you nothing, shows nothing, and a basket-hilt rapier swung two-handed? Give me a break.

Abercrombie is a little slower on getting books out, The Heroes was released in February of last year, but I am so anticipating the next one already even if it will likely be 2014.

Unlike some of Abercrombies other books, this had a map-that only made me anticipate a wider travelogue than we  received, not a big deal except for the tantalization of what might occur where - I kept expecting something to go on in the rock formation (canyon lands) The Three Emperors, but nothing did, just my being map happy I guess.

Now I've got a hankering to watch some of my favorite westerns while finishing up my Thanksgiving pie and turkey.

The HEROES: Book Review

The Heroes, by Joe Abercrombie

This is my favorite book of the year so far. Abercrombie packs in the action, intrigue, black humor and surprise twists like nobodies business.

There was a bit of bru-haha earlier this year when Leo Grin did an essay on nihilistic fantasy, I read it and while I suspect I probably agree with Grin on most things, I differed here.

Abercrombie's books are harsh-the violence, the language etc, but I never felt like they were in there for shock value-they were simply there because in harsh circumstances - a War! politeness goes out the window and to me this didn't take anything away from the classic fantasy and myths I treasure.

Some other fantasy titles come to mind as examples of this new bitter view - George R.R. Martin for one and while I have enjoyed Martin's world it has also plodded along and I don't know anyone who was particularly happy with his fourth effort A Feast for Crows. Other books of this type (Morgan & Mievelle) that have been reviewed by friends of mine let me know just enough on IF I want to read them or not-atypically No, because there are just too many other books in the world. Different strokes for different folks.

Meanwhile back to my review, The Heroes is Abercrombies fifth book, all of which are in the same world, this and the fourth are standalone novels, and though I believe you might appreciate them more if you read the First Law Trilogy first - you don't have too, you won't be lost. So no worries to my friends that stay away from series.

On to what its about...

A war is on between the Northmen (similar enough to Vikings) and the Union (similar enough to perhaps an early pre-gunpowder renaissance England). A battle is coming in a tactically worthless valley whose distinguishing charteristic is a set of standing stones, not unlike Stonehenge.
The stones are called The Heroes, a joke because Abercrombies universe is supposed to be nearly devoid of Heroes-or so says the jacket. This may be Grin's point and it is the marketing aspect, but the book is clearly filled with men (and women) trying to do the right thing-figuring out that that is what helps them sleep at night etc etc.
For a heading that reads Three Men, One Battle, No Heroes The Heroes seems awful concerned with showing us both the sinister and heroic-and that is a big reason on why I liked it so much. You can't truly have one without the other.

Like a favorite movie of mine The Big Red One it is also about surviving-but a whole lot of people survive (or die) through heroics-or trying to be a straight edge, as the Northmen call it.
Of course there are some bad, bad, bad, people too but what would a great fantasy be without villains? I wish it had more of the barbaric giant Stranger-Come-Knocking, oh well.

The book is 541 pages. A few parts lagged a little (these were brief short two page chapters) and in my arrogant opinion there might ought have been a little more editing done to clear that out-but by the time I got going 100 pages in or so I couldn't put it down. Abercrombie has some masterful predicaments he throws characters into and leaves you hanging to find out what happens-even with characters I didn't particularly like-and I consider that being a masterful storyteller-when I need to know what happens to characters I don't like as much. And the beauty is, there aren't any predictable nick of time rescues-it all comes across as realistic and true for the setting.

Highly recomended. Almost (but not quite) as good as Abercrombie's third book Last Argument of Kings

I still have a big stack of fantasy titles I want to get through this year, but this is going to be an awful tough one to top.