Review: THIS IS HOW YOU DIE edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo and David Malki ! (Grand Central Publishing)

In 2010, there was quite a lot of buzz around a new anthology entitled Machine of Death which collected stories exploring a single premise; a machine that could predict, without fail, the manner in which you would die.  All it needed was a sample of your blood and a tiny slip of paper would have your ultimate fate written on it.  I myself never read it but definitely had it on the ever growing TBR pile.  Then this year, the editors unleashed upon the world a sequel, This Is How You Die: Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine of Death.  Word of mouth was that this volume was even bigger, better and not to be missed.  So I gave in to the siren song, threw caution to the wind and picked up This Is How You Die.

The collection opens with the heartbreakingly brilliant Old Age, Surrounded by Loved Ones by 'Nathan Burgoine.  Burgoine is now on my list of go-to writers that I know will deliver a great story; I have yet to be disappointed.  Also, the story wasn't what I expected at all; Burgoine has written an emotional story about sisters that will require tissues after reading it.  If you're not teary eyed after this, then you have no heart to break.  

Other favorites:

Execution by Beheading by Chandler Kaiden is a thriller that features three children who, upon hearing a rumor about someone who is different, go to extremes to collect a rare "Cause Of Death" card from their machine...

Apitoxin is a very clever spin on the book's premise by John Takis, who places his tale right in the hands of none other than Sherlock Holmes.  Apitoxin is both a wonderful tribute to the famous detective and a well written mystery that was great fun to read.

Monsters from the Deep, editor David Malki !'s contribution to the anthology, is a weird, creepy tale complete with aliens and a delightful Lovecraftian atmosphere.

Lake Titicaca by editor Matthew Bennardo instantly reminded me of The Body and Goonies, with kids a little afraid of what they're doing but too excited not to go off and have an adventure.

Be warned: This Is How You Die is indeed a long book but the stories are so varied and encompass so many genres that you will continually be pulled along to keep reading, unwilling to put the book down. And with a collection like this, that is exactly what you want; great story after great story that keeps you glued to the page til the last sentence is read.

Then you start over again.

Happy reading!

First Trailer for THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

We interrupt Pride Month to bring you, via Tor.com, the first trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!  Enjoy!

The Houses of Westeros from A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE

I've never done a post on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin because a) I'm by no means an authority on the series since I'm probably one of the few people out there who haven't read it all the way through due to the long stretches between books, and b) because so many other bloggers have a multitude of posts on ASOIAF that I felt the subject was more than covered!  But I spied these beautiful posters for the Houses of Westeros on the blog A Dribble of Ink and wanted to share them.  They are by artist Tom Gateley and you have to admit, they are pretty amazing...!

Review: Kell's Legend by Andy Remic (Angry Robot)

Book One of The Clockwork Vampire Chronicles

"They came from the North,and the city fell.

It is a time for warriors, a time for heroes.

Kell's axe howls out for blood..."

KELL'S LEGEND is an action packed, fast paced read that takes hold of you from the very first page and then doesn't let go until the cliffhanger ending.  It is a brutal, dark fantasy and I LOVED IT!

Kell is an old soldier, trying to live a quiet life and forget his bloody past.  But an invader from the North, the Army of Iron, brings all that to an end and Kell is forced to take up his bloodbond battle axe Ilanna again when the city of Jalder is beseiged.  The Army of Iron, albino soldiers led by the sadistic General Graal and aided in their invasion by the alien Harvesters, take the city and Kell is forced to flee, taking with him a small group of survivors to warn the King...

Anukis is a vachine,  part of a race of clockwork vampires that live in the Silva Valley.  Anukis is a prisioner of the Engineer Priests, taken by them after her father, a Watchmaker, was killed.  But Anukis has a secret she's been hiding all her a life, a secret that could see her suffer the same fate as her father...

It is these two storylines that propel KELL'S LEGEND forward.  Remic knows how to keep his readers on the edge of their seats and all his tricks kept me turning page after page to find out what happened next.  In one chapter, I was on the run with Kell and his companions, fleeing the bloodthirsty Harvesters while in the next chilled at Anu's suffering at the hands of her captor.

The battle scenes come at you fast and brutal and bloody, and it's through these scenes that Remic drops little tidbits of Kell's past, his "Days of Blood", which he looks at with bitterness and regret but what the rest of the world calls legend.  It's just enough to fill out the character and makes me eager for more of Kell's history, including the secret behind his blood bond with his weapon, the battle axe Ilanna.

However, it is through Anukis's story that Remic does his world building.  We learn more of the vachine and their albino soldiers and the reason their invading the south.  There are glimpses into the vachine religion, the Oak Testament, that I'm sure will continue to be explored as the series progresses.  And there's the matter of the true nature of Anukis and the path it sets her on as the story closes...

In a genre that is saturated with vampire stories right now, I think Mr Remic has done something incredibly original with the creation of the vachine, bringing the vampire back in a more bloody light while placing them center stage in a Heroic Epic.  And Kell is truly a Hero in the grand tradition, a kill first-ask questions later warrior, stalking the world with his not so trusty weapon, leaving a trail of blood that the bards will glorify in song.

This is my introduction to Andy Remic and as I understand it, his first foray into fantasy.  I think he succeeded here; I thoroughly enjoyed KELL'S LEGEND and the way Remic has left each of the characters, I can't wait to dive into the next volume of the series, SOUL STEALERS.  Highly recommended to lovers of Heroic Fantasy and anyone who is looking for an action packed, satisfying read.

Review: So Fey, Queer Fairy Fiction edited by Steve Berman (Lethe Press)

I was so excited when this book came in the mail!  I've been a long time fan of the Fairy Tale anthologies put out by Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling, including their similar offerings in the Young Adult market.  The way those authors took the old fairy tales and reinvented them in each volume was always so satisfying to me, every story was a jewel.

Steve Berman's SO FEY reminds me very much of those anthologies and is now high on my list of fairy tale retellings.  For me, as a gay man, it was truly wonderful to see fairy stories and queer fiction woven together to create shining, new takes on the old familiar themes.  I thought this was an outstanding collection and want to congratulate Berman and all the authors on their beautiful work.

Here are some of my favorite stories from the collection:

"A Faun's Tale" by Tom Cardamone is a short but sensual story about a faun's romp in New York's Central Park...

"A Bird Of Ice" by Craig Laurance Gidney, where a spirit falls in love with a mortal...

"Three Letters From The Queen Of Elfland" by Sarah Monette, where a woman is torn between her duty to her husband and her attraction to Nyx, the Queen...

"Detox" by Elspeth Potter is a hilarious story where a brownie turns the tables on his mistress...

"The Coat Of Stars" by Holly Black has a gay, Latino man returning home to find his long lost love...

"Year Of The Fox" by Eugie Foster is a beautiful story of a princess in exile who turns hate into love...

and "Ever So Much More Than Twenty" by Joshua Lewis features a gay man who travels with his daughter back to the cabin of his youth, and the memories of his fairy lover...

Again, I thought this was a great collection of stories and I hope Mr. Berman will bring us another volume some day.  It is a must read for lovers of fairy stories and for fans of gay fiction.  You can pick up SO FEY here: http://www.lethepressbooks.com/gay

Lethe Press

Review: Servant of the Underworld by Aliette De Bodard (Angry Robot)

The following is my first review for Angry Robot books.  It's a little late; I blame the holiday hustle and bustle for that.  And to be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this book.  I tend to not like those multisyllable names that permeate works derived from Latin or Aztec histories but I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed and really enjoyed it!  Yes, the author has thoroughly researched the language, customs, and such but uses it just enough to flavor her narrative, not over power it.  The book reads more like a mystery rather than dark fantasy; either way, it's very hard to put down.  It opens when Acatl-tzin, high priest for the Dead, is called upon to help solve the presumed murder of Eleuia, offering priestess of Xochiquetal and candidate to become consort to Xochipilli.  As much as he is reluctant at first, he is forced to help because his estranged brother Neutemoc is the prime suspect for the murder.  From here Acatl's journey goes through many twists, showcasing his world, it's Gods and their customs and politics.  As I said, alot of research has been done by the author and it is in the descriptions of the Empire and its citizens and dieities that we get the payoff.  This book is beautifully written and a pleasure to lose oneself in.  I wasn't familiar with de Bodard before but reading this book has me looking forward to her next one AND I was also happy to find a story of hers in the February issue of Realms of Fantasy!  Please see for yourself and pick up a copy!!