Last week, I read an urban fantasy novel, Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London (released in the US as Midnight Riot), about a modern London constable who becomes apprentice to the last sorcerer on the force. The very next day, I … Continue reading
Once upon a time, in the land of Zanzib, there lived a young carpet merchant named Abdullah. Abdullah’s life was safe but dull, and his only excitement came when he daydreamed himself to be a long-lost prince. Then one day, … Continue reading
Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance is the latest instalment in what is, probably, my single favourite speculative fiction series – Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga. For 26 years, Bujold has chronicled her hero, frail-but-driven princeling Miles Vorkosigan, as he grew from a … Continue reading
The Scarab Path and The Sea Watch are respectively books 5 and 6 in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shadows of the Apt series. (You can find my review of book 1, Empire in Black and Gold, here; and my review of … Continue reading
Japan is best known in western geekdom for her video games, anime, and manga, but from time to time, we see the novels (often illustrated YA “light novels”) that inspired some of these works. These usually come out in the … Continue reading
Dragonfly Falling, Blood of the Mantis, and Salute the Dark are respectively books 2-4 in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shadows of the Apt series, and the quickest way for me to describe them would be “more of the same”. Together with … Continue reading
The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace for decades, bastions of civilization, prosperity and sophistication. They have been protected by treaties, trade and a belief in the reasonable nature of their neighbours. But meanwhile, in far-off corners, … Continue reading
The Children of the Sky, Vernor Vinge’s latest science-fiction novel, is the direct sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep (my review here). As such, I wouldn’t recommend starting the series with this book! That said, if you are familiar … Continue reading
Travelling merchant Kraft Lawrence dreams of amassing enough money to open a store in town – but for now, his life is dangerous and lonely, his home simply the back of his wagon. Meanwhile, for centuries Holo the wolf goddess … Continue reading
Berlin, 1964. Germany crushed Britain and Russia, won the Second World War, spent the next two decades locked in a cold war with the United States. Hitler’s 75th birthday is approaching, just in time for a new detente with the … Continue reading
THE MISTBORN TRILOGY Brandon Sanderson After really enjoying a short story by Brandon Sanderson, “Firstborn”, I had high hopes for another set of his works, the Mistborn trilogy (comprising Book 1, Mistborn; Book 2, The Well of Ascension; and … Continue reading
For some viewers, Conan the Barbarian (1982) is something to watch while intoxicated: entertaining but not good. While I agree it’s flawed, I think it deserves better than to be thrown into the “guilty pleasures” bucket. True, the movie is … Continue reading
Formulaic movies. Shallow novels. Glitchy video games. Not the most promising material. Yet even these will have their fans. Some will have differences of opinion. Some, in between gales of laughter, will mumble: “So bad it’s good!” And some will … Continue reading
After six long years, I’ve finally read A Dance with Dragons. Here are my thoughts. SPOILER WARNING – stay out if you haven’t finished the book.
When we want to praise a well-made device, a skilful cook, a more convenient way of doing things, anything, we commonly say, “It’s spoiled me.” Usually this is just a figure of speech. But as with many other clichés, there … Continue reading
Artorius of Cairbrunn hates being dead. In life, he was a hero, protector to emperors and scourge of the barbarians, before he was betrayed and killed. Now, hundreds of years later, he’s been summoned back to the world of … Continue reading
The Honor Harrington series of space operas, by David Weber, features Space Commie bad guys who set out to conquer the galaxy when they realised their own treasury could no longer pay for bread and circuses to keep the mob … Continue reading
HBO has now aired three episodes of Game of Thrones in the US, and while it doesn’t show here until July (in time for A Dance with Dragons!), I have been following the discussion anyway. I am not at all … Continue reading
I have three questions for you guys reading this: 1. What are your favourite genres in any medium (games, books, TV, movies, etc)? 2. How have these changed over time? 3. And why have these changed over … Continue reading
THE OTHER LANDS By David Anthony Durham The Other Lands is the second book in the epic fantasy trilogy by David Anthony Durham that began with Acacia. And I’m glad to say it’s a far more engaging read than … Continue reading
So, George R R Martin has good news and bad news regarding A Dance With Dragons. The bad news is, the book isn’t done yet. The good news is, he’s so close to the finish line that we … Continue reading
UNDER HEAVEN by Guy Gavriel Kay “You gave a man one of the Sardian horses to reward him greatly. You gave him four or five of these glories to exalt him above his fellows, propel him towards rank … Continue reading
Update: Following a patch, Magicka now allows you to save and quit at checkpoints (previously, quitting in mid-level would lose your progress). I now own the full game. After hearing about Magicka, a newly-released game, on the Quarter to … Continue reading
Elf, dwarf, dragon, tavern. Space pirate, FTL jump, space cruiser, space junk. I’ve just summed up the settings of 50% of the science fiction and fantasy novels in existence. And I’ve also summed up the settings of 90% … Continue reading
A new Game of Thrones teaser has been released, and this one is my favourite by far! Dark (quite literally), visually impressive, atmospheric. Check it out here.
The last few days have seen quite a few Game of Thrones-related news items. A recap below: A Game of Thrones will premiere in the US on 17 April. HBO has released new publicity photos, visible here. I particularly like … Continue reading
In real life, how often have you had to make an unpalatable decision because you felt it was the lesser of two evils? Characters in fiction, though, get off easy (especially if they’re the heroes). Often, they’ll find some way … Continue reading
The name of Queen Isabella I of Spain should be familiar to any player of Civilization IV. And it will most likely not be a friendly familiarity. For in Civ, Isabella is a thoroughly unpleasant neighbour, a zealot with a … Continue reading
I usually prefer UK (and, by extension, Australian) book covers to their US covers (see Discworld for an example of good British cover art), and Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes is no exception. Look at this UK cover: yes, it has … Continue reading
As promised by HBO, here’s the long “Inside Game of Thrones” video! It’s also up on Youtube in ten-minute and twelve-minute versions. Mostly, it was the little things that stood out for me. Jaime Lannister’s ornate armour (go to … Continue reading
