Iain M Banks - Surface Detail

Iain M Banks - Surface Detail

I had been waiting for this for an age. It has been two years since his last Culture novel and not soon enough too. This book really brought back to me why I love Banks. He knows how to balance a book out nicely, always pushing the plot along with a steady pace but also giving us something to really get gripped into.

This book brought back my favourite Sci-Fi culture - The Culture. Banks has even written an essay on his ideas.

http://www.vavatch.co.uk/books/banks/cultnote.htm

Anyway! God damn was this book good. This multi layered novel had me going from start to finish. Its main plot line revolving around Lededje a tattooed slave for one of the most powerful men in the system. She gets killed horrifically by her master and gets a second chance. The story follows her trials to get back to her former master and kill him. Running in tandem with this is the War between the Pro and Anti Hell factions. Both waging a simulated war that has lasted for three decades to decide if the simulated Hells that housed billions of dead souls should be destroyed.

Well in a nutshell this is Iain M Banks back to his former glory. His last few novels had been a bit slow and hadn't held the atmosphere that piqued my interest to Banks in the first place. This book just had everything I look for in Banks - I've grown up with this guys writing and he is definitely the paragon so many authors aspire to. His writing is gripping, funny and fraught with adventure.

He can push forward themes no other genre can handle, huge and epic ideas that couldn't possibly be implemented into fantasy or standard fiction. The Culture holds such a massive influence over its fans because it just is that good - anyone who doesn't have a clue - should.

Banks is able to weave a complex thread for his characters, bringing to the forefront of his novels the intense atmospheres aroused by the dark and often times sick themes. The skill with this is not being overly crass and being able to subtly move the tone of the book - he moves from different plot lines to give the reader a break from some darker moments. His use of scale is one of the techniques that puts him at the pinnacle. The ability to describe vast conflicts and then be able to hone in on select and important events all create a brilliant sense of epic-ness - the perspectives that Banks gives really sold this book to me.

I've got to sum this up. The ending of the book was just awesome. I didn't see it coming at all, Iain M Banks is a titan of good writing. Go read some.

Richard Morgan - Broken Angels

Some great things about Richard Morgan. Where do you start? He writes like a movie, I admit that can be a let down with some authors, but with Morgan he manages to pull off a gripping pace with a deeply involving plot. A definite noir feel permeates all of Morgans writing, always revolving around crime, war and nostalgic thought lines.

Broken Angels is a loose sequel to Altered Carbon, Morgans first. The book revolves - well follows really, Takeshi Kovacs (Eastern european "che")

He is an ex envoy, a trained killer and now a freelance mercenary. Takeshi finds himself going AWOL from his platoon and embarking on a desperate mission to recover some ancient alien artefacts.

I loved this book. It had a nice grounding, given to it by its predecessor on which Morgan could go wild, in a way this must have been a nice ride for him as an author just to focus on the characters and plot - rather than explaining away fifty pages on world building. Granted some of this book was fairly linear, only following the day to day of Kovacs, but makes up for with a gripping story and evocative scenes.

I cant fault Morgan really, he is so much the contemporary author - I revel in it.

(Side note: I didn't know he wrote the script for Crysis 2, and is supposedly on the line up for a movie adaption of Altered Carbon, Cross Fingers.)

James Barclay - Dawnthief

I finally gave in and read some Barclay - not for lack of trying. I'd been owner to one of Barclays books for ages but didn't realise at the time it was a good few books into the series. I thought now was the right time to try again.

Anyway, Barclays Dawnthief is a fast paced, frenetic, adventure filled gorefest. It's mainly character driven - more about the camaraderie and relationships than the staple in-depth world building other fantasy novels thrive on. This brand of heroic fantasy drew me right in.

The focus of this novel is based on an impending war and a spell that can save them all. Ok. Not the most original - but to be quite honest I'd be disappointed if it didn't.

It follows the journey of The Raven, a group of mercenaries who get brought into the fray between the Wesmen and the Four Colleges. Personally I think this read is definitely something you'll love or hate. Its simplistic plot rarely strays far from the unexpected, but it does work. It sets up a great canvas for Barclay to build on for the future - with another six novels in the same world.

Barclay is a rough diamond, I found myself drawn in by the pace and enthusiasm Barclay imbues into his writing. Not too much beneath the surface, but a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Night's Dawn Trilogy

The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God

Finally. Finally I'm done. After finishing this epic three piece story, I'm slightly overwhelmed and a little bit sad that it's over. My constant companion for the last month has really changed my perspective on what a good trilogy should be.

Hamilton certainly doesn't hold back when plot development is involved. He meanders his way through all his books, multi tasking you around a web of expanding plot lines but also keeping you focused on the main point. The Nights Dawn Trilogy (A name I actually really like) put me at ease from the off, immersing me in far future humanity with no warning whatsoever.

Somthing that I find refreshing about Hamilton though is his ability

to not get too involved in the technobabble - things just happen - because they can. This suits me down to the ground - and I can see why some people find his novels very accessable even though they are huge tomes.

The arc of the story follows Joshua Calvert, a renegade space junkie who spends his spare time shagging and trying to scrounge cash to restore his fathers ship. Along the way seeds of the story root themselves along Joshuas path. But basically put - the dead start coming back to life. I know that sounds wierd considering its a sci-fi but i assure you - it still is.

Another favorite for me in this book was the development of Al Capone. He gets reincarnated in another body and works his way to creating an organization. The fantastic thing about this book is just how much fun I imagined Hamilton had whilst writing it, so gripping is it that I dreaded coming to the end. After three thousand plus pages you just need to have a good ending - and that it did.

The clincher for this book that made it rise a level above its contemporaries like Banks or Morgan was just how involved you could get. Quinn Dexter brought me in - following his footsteps through his life as a sadistic Cult member, his eventual rise to pure psycopath. Not once did this character bore me. His abhorrence reminded me of Patrick Batement from American Psycho and just how dark you can be to "Release your serpent beast."

It's not all nasty though, lots of subplots spring up surrounded by unrequited love, betrayal and good old human nature. These things brought the tone of the book to a nice equilibrium, giving me just enough Umph to keep me enthralled and leaving me some breathing space for a good journey.

One thing that got me was the huge vistas that Hamilton paints. Huge disk cities in space, edenist habitats on the surface of gas giants, the naked god a sentient singularity, and my favorite - the

huge spanning Arcologies of future Earth, so destroyed is our eco system that the residents live in huge domes to shelter from the super-storms that ravage Earth. All these apt places to set a space opera on such a scale.

I'll sum it up. Peter F Hamilton is good. He writes in a shed, he has kids, seems like a damn clever guy and I'll definintly be reading more. But for now I need a lighter read, go towards Hamilton if your keen - but you've got to be in it for the long haul.

Enough said.

Fallen Dragon - Peter F. Hamilton

Let me start somewhere. I am a massive advocate of Science fiction, to the point where I will tell just about anyone how much I god damn love it. In no other genre do you get such huge scope apart from fantasy - and even with that you will be hard pressed to find anything comparative.
But I will say, this book blew me away. I cannot fathom how I had managed not to read any Hamilton, I kept telling myself "Yeah I'll get round to it." but I was just lazy! Something I am regretting a lot right now.
This book literally has everything I look for in a good read. Involving characters, substantial plot development and a hugely realized universe to boot. My mind was literally blown by the huge ideas and sheer scope of Hamiltons future Earth universe.

It all starts with our main character, Lawrence Newton, the son of the aristocracy on Amethi (a future Human colony). His life is charmed and with it he is expected to uphold and lead in his fathers footsteps towards a lead role on the families estate and shares. The start of the book progresses evenly, a smattering of Lawrence Newtons upbringing and rebellion as well as some other mysterious ramblings of a nursery teacher on Thallspring (another Human colony). From here we start to get into the thick of it.

The narrative of Lawrence Newtons first love pulls the reader unabashedly in, exploring all the grit of a teenage romance in vivid detail. Along with all the angst and self obsessed misery trailing behind. In parallel we follow Newton as an officer embarking to Thallspring on an "asset realization" mission on behalf of Zantiu-Braun, the readers shade of grey bad guys.
Interestingly I found I was on the fence for a lot of this book. This really makes you think about the scope of evil - everyone in this had a reason for what they did, whether for following orders or having a cause that was humane but wasn't in line with the typical.

The action and thrill of this book really pick up half way through, vast arrays of technology and "cool as fuck" weaponry bring all the elements into focus. From optronic interfaces and dwritten bodies(dna writing I guess) - to the "Prime" program which is held in mystery for most of the book - a semi sentient program for hacking the shit out of anything.

I honestly can't bring all the details in - not for fear of spoiling this book for anyone who reads, just for the fact that the scope of this standalone novel spans everything - I couldn't begin to explain the plot to the any decent extent so take my word for it when I say this book puts so many to shame.

I envy Peter F. Hamilton for writing this.

Charlaine Harris - Living Dead in Dallas

Yeah. Ok, it was good I'll admit - but I'm definitely not one for this vampire fad.

A good sequel to the first book "Dead Until Dark" but one thing that gets me about Charlaine Harris is just how short her stories are. I'm not saying for a second that short stories aren't good stories but it feels to me like I've only just got my teeth sunk in and its over. I felt cheated... Why?! This probably works just fine as Harris has got a ridiculous eleven book series as of yet - which is impressive as she has written them in nine years!

Ok so enough about the author, the jist of living Dead in Dallas.

Bill the vampire (Not a very vampire name, this is explained by his being born in the 1800's) and Sookie Stackhouse both have to travel to Dallas on a job to help track down a vampire. Along the way you see all the characters reappearing from the previous book and a few additions. Harris then takes you step by step, leading you along by the hand and spoon feeding you the plot with some romantic/sexual scenes to give it a little spice.

Now I was getting quite into this plot, I thought, "Ok, not bad, loving the extra backstory about the vampire community" but then as suddenly as it gets interesting and the pace picks up, it all gets too much for our heroine. She packs her bags and goes home, only to find her town is having crazy orgies due to some mystical maenad creature who loves alcohol and shagging and seems to have a knock on effect with the town.

This is definitely got to be read after the first. You can't just pick this one up - even if the author does ball achingly explain everything you'd still be none-the-wiser! I will give her credit, they are enjoyable and funny and I will probably read the next one as well because they are a light read. A tasty snack between intelligent novels. But don't go expecting anything more than a cheap thrill - I took nothing away from it other than that vampires get turned on when their teeth come out.

Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie

What can I say about this book? - I loved it. Joe Abercrombie doesn't compromise when it comes to content. The first thing I'd like to point out is how well his story is put together, no preamble just a hard hitting first chapter that literally throws you into it.

The main character Monzcarro Murcatto is quite possibly one of the most interesting female anti-heroes in fiction. She is betrayed, brutalized and left for dead by her former employer. The story revolves all around this theme, the narrative being pushed ever forward by her quest for vengeance.

Not only does this book put forward unrelenting action - but offers a rich array of characters that all have some quirk that creates such a realistic and enjoyable universe.

The beginning quarter of the book certainly sets the scene, allowing the reader snap shots into Monzcarros bloody past and expertly crafts her new alliances with Shivers the Northman, Friendly the Psycopath and Nicomo Cosca - my personal favourite due to his alcohol problem and fickle morals.

I can honestly say I haven't read a book so engrossing and enjoyable in a long, long time. I had to pry myself away from this book and pace myself accordingly.

Read this book. I urge you. Abercrombie doesn't do heroes, everyone's as dark and nasty as each other, all filled with the bitterness and regrets that are so real to life - but I guarantee this will appeal to your dark side . You just have to go with the flow with this novel - and not to expect a happy ending.

Andrew Cowan