The Way of Shadows- Brent Weeks

I picked up this book during one of my regular book hunts, looking for a new author to hopefully fall in love with.  The Way of Shadows is the first in a trilogy called "The Night Angels" trilogy and is Brent Weeks debut novel.  It's about a young boy in slums, Azoth who later becomes Kylar Stern, a self described guild rat who has to steal to survive.  He gets taken on to apprentice with a "wetboy", an assassin of the most deadly variety.  I had been hoping I'll admit to finding a story similar to Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy, which I love, a character akin to Fitz.  This was nothing like it.  It's much gritter and darker, the world these people inhabit is a far harsher place then the Six Duchies of Hobb's.  Nevertheless I did find myself liking the story, though I didn't really get into it until about half way thru the book.  I'd even put it down for a few weeks reading other things, I was that lukewarm about it.  I won't say that I loved this book or it's characters.  I will say however that the characters are very real, they are flawed, dark things and they do seem to breathe on the page.  I might have been lukewarm about it at the begining but by the end I was wanting to read the second.  If you like darker fantasy you will most likely enjoy this.

Jane Austen Ruined My Life- Beth Pattillo

I picked this one up recently at my favorite local bookstore because the cover just really caught my eye.  It's a short novel, only a little over 200 pages, about a women who sets sail for England after some personal tragedy to start over and to find the lost letters of Jane Austen.  I wanted to like this book, I really did.  Honestly though I spent the whole time just wanting to smack the lead character, Emma Douglas, whose head we spend the whole story in.  She's whiny, trite and frankly ridiculous.  The story itself had great potential but the "heroine" just ruins any and all believablity the story might have had.  I wanted to have sympathy for all Emma had gone thru which had led her to embark on this quest but I just couldn't.  She spent so much of the story crying and feeling sorry for herself while ridiculously blaming Jane Austen for her problems that I could barely stomach it.  Not only was she not believable as a character, she was just annoying to have to deal with.  Add to that that the story is told in first person and her thoughts are therefore inescapable and it's frankly miraculous I even finished it. 
This is one I would pass on, especially if you prefer your chick-lit to have a strong female lead or at the least a multi-dimensional personality.

Sir Apropos of Nothing- Peter David

Sir Apropos of Nothing is one of the funniest books I have read in awhile.  It's been out for some time but I have only just recently decided to pick it up and I'm glad I did.  If Douglas Adams had written epic fantasy satire as opposed to science fiction satire it might have been something like this!  Peter David did a tremendous job lampooning all I hold dear about the fantasy genre.  The witty prose made me quite literally laugh out loud at some points and the sheer knavery of the title character made it impossible to put down.  I had to find out if what he was going to do next!  Despite being a satire it does have a well laid out plot, twists and all.  Im eagerly looking forward to the next installment.  If you are looking for a light read that will make you laugh, especially if you are a fantasy nut like me I highly recommend you pick this one up!

Below the dust jacket description....

They were dark and stormy knights...and when they had their way with a helpless tavern wench one terrible evening, they had no idea that the result of that twilight brutality was going to come after them years later looking to settle the score...
The "result's" unlikely name is Apropos: A rogue, a rascal, a scoundrel, a cheat...and those are his good points. Lame of leg but fast of wit, the only reason Apropos doesn't consider chivalry dead is because he's not yet through with it.  Herewith, Sir Apropos of Nothing- his story in the words of the knave himself.

Apropos, all too aware of his violent and unseemly beginnings, travels to the court of good King Runcible, with three goals in mind: to find his father, seek retribution, and line his own pockets.  However Apropos carries the most troublesome burden a would-be harbinger of chaos can bear: He may well be a hero foretold, a young man of destiny.  It's not a notion that Apropos finds palatable, having very low regard for such notions as honor, selflessness, or risking one's neck. Yet when Apropos finds himself assigned as squire to the most senile knight in the court- Sir Umbrage of the Flaming Nether Regions, whose squires tend to have a rather short life span- Apropos is forced to rise to the occasion lest he be dragged under- permanently.

His difficulties are compounded when a routine mission to escort the King's daughter home after a long absence goes horribly awry.  Suddenly Apropos finds himself saddled with trying to survive while dealing with a berserk phoenix, murderous unicorns, mutated harpies, homicidal warrior kings and- most problematic of all- a princess who may or may not be a pyschotic arsonist.

You can find Sir Apropos of Nothing at your local bookstore or order it here Sir Apropos of Nothing

Memoirs Of A Geisha- Arthur Golden

This book is an old favorite of mine that I decided to reread while searching for a new book.  What can I say about it but that it's a classic?  It's a beautifully written tale of a girl becoming a woman, not just a woman but a geisha, in WWII era Japan.  Historically accurate and emotionally evocative its a must read, even if you've already seen the movie. Trust me the book is better!  The book always is really.
Get it, read it, love it!  Sorry it's short today but I'm in the midst of summer finals!

The Chronicles of Amber- Roger Zelazney

The Chronicles of Amber is my absolute, all time favorite fantasy series.  For those that know me that's saying something.
Amber was my first exposure to the genre and its a series that I can and do read over and over again.  Corwin, the main character, is my favorite of all characters.  Which is also saying something. 
The great thing about this series is its originality, a thing hard to come by in fantasy.  Roger Zelazney's style of writing is like a breath of fresh air to me to read.  His prose isn't wordy but he has a knack for description and for creating memorable moments and characters.  The Chronicles is made of ten books but each is only around 200 pages long as they were written before it was considered necessary for all fantasy books to be a minimum of 500 pages.  They've been collected together into The Great Book of Amber, which is the only way to buy them new as the original seperate editions are out of print.
So what's it about?
The story centers on the mythical world of Amber, the one true world from which all others take their shapes.  Specifically the royal family of said Amber.  It is told in the first person from the viewpoint of one Corwin, Prince of Amber.  In the opening of the first book in the series, Nine Princes in Amber, we meet Corwin waking up with amnesia.  From there it is a nonstop ride for the next five books as we progressively discover just what really is going on, as everytime Corwin and by extentsion, you, think you know you discover you don't.  The next five books, books 6-10, follow another character as we sort out what happens next.  That's the best I can do without breaking my "No Spoilers" policy.
I will say that I am more partial to the first five books then the last.  You can stop reading at the end of book five if you like and feel complete.  However if you want to understand this amazing world and its crazy royals further then the last five books are a must. Since they follow a different character however they feel different and it can be a bit jolting st first after spending so much time in Corwin's head.
If you are looking for an engrossing fantasy or are new to reading fantasy and want a good first read then The Chronicles of Amber is definitely for you! If you are looking for a fantasy with awesome characters, complex plots and without a lot of wand waving (or any as this is pretty devoid of magic) then this is most certainly your new favorite read.  Buy it, rent it, borrow it, whatever but just read this one. I promise you won't be disappointed!

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo- Stieg Larsson

I just finished reading this book which has generated a lot of buzz recently.  With good reason.  Published originally in Sweden in 2005 and translated into English in 2008, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, is the first in what is known as the Millenium Trilogy.  The author, Stieg Larsson, submitted the manuscripts for all three novels shortly before his death in 2004.
I found it to be quite unlike anything I've read before.  It was disturbing, fascinating, macabre, and unputdownable.  It's part thriller, part murder mystery, part corporate corruption with a healthy dash of dysfunctional family drama for added spice. 
The story centers around two main characters, financial reporter Mikael Blomkvist, and punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander, who is frankly the most intriguing, original character I've ever met.  Pierced, tattooed, and with a laundry list of issues, she is brilliant and incredibly, viscerally real.
My only shadow of a complaint is that the novel being of Swedish origin it is of course chock full of Swedish names that I found difficult to even mentally pronounce.   This didn't affect my ability to enjoy and immerse myself in this novel but I mention it if those of you who might find it irritating.
Also a warning here.  This book is not for the faint of heart.  It deals with some very adult and very disturbing subject matter including sexual assault. 
That being said if you are looking for a thrill ride and you have the stomach for it this is one to check out.

The Gathering Storm- Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson

In honor of the upcoming release of the thirteenth book in the Wheel of Time series, The Towers of Midnight, I thought I would do my first official review on the previous book, The Gathering Storm.
The Gathering Storm is the first title written by Brandon Sanderson upon Robert Jordan's unfortunate passing in 2007.  It is the begining of the end for this massive series, quite literally.  Robert Jordan had intended that the 12th book, called a Memory of Light, be the finale to this breathtaking and epic length series.  When Sanderson took up the task of completeing the work it was found that it was simply impossible to finish the story properly under 700,000 words which would make the book unbindable.  The solution was to divide the final book into a trilogy, The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and the final installment A Memory of Light.  The Gathering Storm was released in 2009 to the nervous excitement of fans.  No one was sure how Sanderson would handle the series, if he would be able to capture the characters and the world the way Jordan had.  Sanderson himself a fan, took the work very seriously.  He did not try to emulate Jordan's style feeling that he would do it injustice.  Instead he wrote in his own but with Jordan's vision.  The result in my opinion is a fantastic book.  The pacing is breathless, the characters behaving exactly as I would expect them too.  After the first chapter not only was I hooked, but I had completely forgotten that it wasn't Jordan who had written it.  Despite the differences in style, Sanderson is not as 'prosy' as Jordan, it still managed to feel like Jordan.  A major accomplishment for Sanderson. 
There are some of course who do not share this view, who feel that he didn't capture the characters correctly at all or that it's just too different from what Jordan would have written in terms of style.  Everyone of course is entitled to their opinion but in my view this critcism is unjustified.  No one could wish more then I that Robert Jordan had lived to complete this series.  His loss is devasting, not only to fans but the writing community as a whole.  He was a unique talent, a master storyteller.  That being said it would be impossible for anyone to mimic his style or to write it exactly as he would have.  Sanderson in my opinion did the best job anyone could have done in this respect and I am anxious to get my hands on Towers of Midnight to see what next happens in "Randland", the name fans have affectionately given to the Wheel of Time world.
If you are an old fan of the Wheel of Time I encourage you to pick this one up if you haven't devoured it already.  If you are curious and in search of a fantasy series to really get lost in I highly encourage you to try this one with one cavet, these books are long, each averaging about 800 pages.  They are a major undertaking and one that must be read in order, but one that is worth it in my opinion.  The first book can be found here, The Eye of the World.
So what happens in The Gathering Storm?  Well I'm not giving away any spoilers! However I will provide this teasing snippit from inside the dust jacket.

Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready.



In this epic novel, Robert Jordan’s international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward---wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders---his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.
Egwene al’Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower---and possibly the world itself.


The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Anyone else have goose bumps?!
I promise you this one is worth the read! 


For more information on the Wheel of Time visit the official website http://www.dragonmount.com/

Towers of Midnight, due out November 2nd, is available for preorder thru Amazon.com at a huge discount. Just click the link and you're good to go.

William Gibson- Zero History

 The new novel by William Gibson, author of Neuromancer, Pattern Recognition, Spook Country and many more, is scheduled to be released on September 7, 2010.  As a long time Gibson fan I am looking forward to getting my hands on this one.  According to the released description it features the return of Hubertus Bigend, global marketing fiend we first meet in 2003's Pattern Recognition (my favorite by him) and again in 2005's Spook Country.  Below is the book description taken from Amazon.com where it is available for preorder.  Whether it holds up to Gibson's usual standard of brilliance remains to be seen but Gibson being the visionary he is I think its a safe bet.  It appears after many novels exploring the future, Gibson has set his sights on exploring the now and using his significant talents to show us our world in a way both familiar and almost shockingly surreal. He has a great ability for capturing the fundemental feeling of disconnect that underlies our increasingly more technologically connected society. It will be interesting to see what Gibson shows us this time around.
Check back September 7th for my review of Zero History.



Product description from Amazon.com


Hollis Henry worked for the global marketing magnate Hubertus Bigend once before. She never meant to repeat the experience. But she's broke, and Bigend never feels it's beneath him to use whatever power comes his way -- in this case, the power of money to bring Hollis onto his team again. Not that she knows what the "team" is up to, not at first.



Milgrim is even more thoroughly owned by Bigend. He's worth owning for his useful gift of seeming to disappear in almost any setting, and his Russian is perfectly idiomatic - so much so that he spoke Russian with his therapist, in the secret Swiss clinic where Bigend paid for him to be cured of the addiction that would have killed him.



Garreth has a passion for extreme sports. Most recently he jumped off the highest building in the world, opening his chute at the last moment, and he has a new thighbone made of rattan baked into bone, entirely experimental, to show for it. Garreth isn't owned by Bigend at all. Garreth has friends from whom he can call in the kinds of favors that a man like Bigend will find he needs, when things go unexpectedly sideways, in a world a man like Bigend is accustomed to controlling.



As when a Department of Defense contract for combat-wear turns out to be the gateway drug for arms dealers so shadowy that even Bigend, whose subtlety and power in the private sector would be hard to overstate, finds himself outmaneuvered and adrift in a seriously dangerous world.