Review - The Liar's Key by Mark Lawrence

The Red Queen has set her players on the board...

Winter is keeping Prince Jalan Kendeth far from the longed-for luxuries of his southern palace. And although the North may be home to his companion, the warrior Snorri ver Snagason, he is just as eager to leave. For the Viking is ready to challenge all of Hell to bring his wife and children back into the living world. He has Loki’s key – now all he needs is to find the door.

As all wait for the ice to unlock its jaws, the Dead King plots to claim what was so nearly his – the key to the underworld -- so that his dead subjects can rise and rule. 

I was late to the Mark Lawrence party. 

Shameful, I know. 

In fact, I didn't actually read The Broken Empire trilogy until late last year.

I can actually hear your boos and cries of disdain over the clicking of my keyboard.

In my defence, Lawrence and his books quickly found themselves taking pride of place on my shelves once I had actually read them. The Broken Empire was dark, revolutionary, and addictive. Fantasy crack that I just couldn't get enough of. Jorg not only captured my imagination but proceeded to kick it to the ground and stomp on it as his destiny unfolded before me. I literally couldn't get enough of that trilogy.

So when I say this, I don't say it lightly...

The Liar's Key is even better. 

Kicking off from ending in Prince of Fools we once again return to Trond, where Jalan and his companions have spent the winter following their journey and subsequent events at the Black Fort. As the ice recedes Snorri, now in possession of Loki's Key (a magical key that can open lock, even the one of death's door), decides to head out on his personal mission to resurrect his slain wife and children. However, other forces and agents are lurking in the shadows. And Loki's Key, an incredibly powerful item, is a very tempting prize. 

From this opening The Liar's Key drives forward and never lets up. I loved so many things about this book, from its insanely riveting world building through to its brilliant turn of phrase and storytelling. However, what makes The Liar's Key (and all other Lawrence books) special is its memorable characters. Jalan and Snorri, joined by other companions such as Kara and Hennan (a witch and orphan boy), form an enthralling group that is both fresh and incredibly intriguing. Each member brings something different to the table, and each has their own reasons for staying in the party. I adored the growth and evolution of both Snorri and Jalan throughout this book, and their bond and relationship remains the beating heart of this tale. Snorri, weighed down by the responsibility and guilt over the death of his wife and children, becomes more withdrawn and less certain as the plot unfolds. Jalan, on the other hand, comes into his own. As a self described coward, liar, and cheat, Jalan has to constantly fight against his better nature in order to maintain this description as the group travels South. It was wonderful reading to actually see him transform at times, and his internal monologue is yet again both hilarious and filled with wit. What really fleshed out Jalan for me however was his magical and blood fuelled flashbacks. These flashbacks, used by Lawrence before as a literary device in previous books, revealed much of Jalan's backstory and soul. They also gave the reader an insight into the Red Queen (and how she became known as this) and the Silent Sisters. This really added a depth to Jalan and the world that he comes from that was lacking in Prince of Fools. Prior to this book I had always considered Jalan to be the poor man's version of Jorg. Not anymore. 

The action is also exciting and heart pounding with every turn of the page. Lawrence goes to great lengths to up the tempo and stakes of each and every clash, and I adored how a seemingly mundane encounter could turn deadly in an instant. The Dead King's minions are a constant threat, and necromancers, undead, and various other abominations and creatures plague the group at every step. I often found myself going back to the start of chapters just so I could reread what happens again, and to soak up the atmosphere that Lawrence so cleverly creates. There are amazing sacrifices, mayhem, death, and plenty of destruction as the story builds rapidly from the start to a cliffhanger that literally left my mouth opening and closing like a fish trying to breathe out of water. 

The world of the Broken Empire is finally fleshed out more in this book in all of its gritty and epic glory. One of the deepest pleasures I had with Mark's original trilogy was deciphering the clues about the setting and the catastrophic events the led to its forging. This continues in the Liar's Key, with the reader seeing a much greater breadth of the world through Jalan's eyes. There are modern references littered through the text (CERN anyone?), and the world is depicted and described in a richer and fuller way then ever before. It is a dark and dangerous place, but damn it is addictive! 

All in all The Liar's Key is simply amazing. Lawrence continues to grow as a writer (which in itself is fucking incredible seeing as his debut was mind blowing) and storyteller with this release. I adored every single page of this book, and I can't wait to find the time to reread it in full again. If fantasy was a drug then The Liar's Key would be the most pure and addictive form of heroin known to humanity!

An absolute must read for anyone with a functioning brain and a heartbeat. 

5 out of 5 stars. 

A review copy was provided. 

Review - A City Called Smoke by Justin Woolley

The battle was only the beginning; the real danger is beyond the fence ...

The Diggers have been destroyed, a horde of ghouls is moving inland and the High Priestess has seized control of the Central Territory. Together with Nim, a Nomad boy seeking vengeance against the ghouls, Squid and Lynn begin their long journey toward the city of Big Smoke, a city that may not even exist.

Pursued by forces that wish to see them fail, facing threats on all sides and conflict from within, Squid, Lynn and Nim search for a weapon against the ghouls. It is a search that will lead them into forbidden lands where long-held beliefs about their world are tested and Squid may finally unravel the truth of his identity.

But even if they survive their journey, the teenagers on whom the fate of the Territory now rests have no idea what dangers await them beyond the fence.

I want to be honest from the start... I love post apocalyptic stories. I would even go as far to say that they are my bread and butter alongside fantasy when it comes to my reading passion. There has always been something about the genre that I have found incredibly intriguing, whether it's seeing humanity stripped back to its barest of bones after some unforeseen global event, or the horrors that have been spawned by the collapse of society and its associated infrastructure. Post apocalyptic and dystopian stories have always drawn me in and refused to let go. In saying that though there has been, in my opinion, a noticeable drop off in the quality of the genre as of late (I have a theory about this but that's for another time and place). Stories have started to resemble each other, and the genre has run out of some of its puff for the most part. 

So when I say that a new post apocalyptic dystopian story blew me away and surprised me, I don't say it lightly. 

A City Called Smoke did both. 

I loved so many things about this book, from its insanely awesome action sequences through to its enthralling and incredibly detailed world building that literally gave me head spins of joy (sky pirates... fucking sky pirates!!!). What made this book however, and makes the series so incredible overall so far, is its characters. Squid, Lynn, Nim, Stix and Stownes are all different yet equally fascinating individuals who drive the story along at a rapid rate. I adored how Woolley took their relationships with each other to another level in this book, whilst also using their journey to examine a variety of social issues such as sexism, the divide between the haves and have nots, and the power of religion and belief. This one was of the real strengths of A City Called Smoke, and it gave the story a real deep and layered thoughtfulness that I found incredibly alluring and enthralling. I also loved how Woolley slowly peeled back more and more of the layers surrounding the mystery of Squid and the greater world around the group as everything unfolded. We learn a lot more about the Church and how the Ghouls came to be in this novel, and just how far the Sisters and their power can reach across the desolate landscape. Some of my questions were still left unanswered by the end, but hey, who doesn't like a good mystery? The cliffhanger came out of nowhere and left me reeling (and cursing you Justin, you bad, bad man). I wanted to immediately jump into the next book. That is the sign of a great story. 

Woolley is a relative newcomer to the writing game, but he has made an incredible impact so far in my opinion. A City Called Smoke is a riveting and razor sharp tale that breaks out of the mould of your typical post apocalyptic dystopian stories and claws at your soul for attention. I can't wait to see what Woolley does next in this incredible world he has created. 

Highly Recommended!

4 out of 5 stars!

A review copy was provided. 

Interview - Aliette de Bodard

Hello Everyone! 

I am delighted to bring you another interview from our ongoing series here at Smash Dragons. This week I had the amazing opportunity to chat with the wonderful Aliette de Bodard as she took time out of her busy schedule to talk about writing, her upcoming book, and diversity and the fantasy genre. 

Enjoy!

Aliette, welcome to Smash Dragons!

First up, tell me a bit about yourself and your upcoming title The House of Shattered Wings.

I'm a writer of fantasy and science fiction infused with history/mythology, winner of two Nebula Awards, a Locus Award and a British Science Fiction Association Award. The House of Shattered Wings is a Gothic fantasy set in a Paris devastated by a war between arcane faction--featuring Fallen angels, Vietnamese ex-immortals, witches, alchemists and entirely too many dead bodies! It's coming out August 20th from Gollancz in the UK/Commonwealth, and August 18th from Roc in the US. 

Why did you start writing? Was there one exact moment that led to you becoming a writer or was it a slower evolution?

I've always been a voracious reader (the library was my favourite haunt as a kid), and I dabbled in writing as a child, though you will offer thanks that my first novel, about the Emperor of Cat People, was lost in one of the numerous family relocations (it was an illustrated book. Let's just say I'm not cut out to be an illustrator, and at the time wasn't a very good writer either!)

What was the inspiration behind The House of Shattered Wings? What were the biggest challenges you faced whilst writing it?

The House of Shattered Wings started as a urban fantasy about dynasties of magicians at war--except that I could never make the worldbuilding click for me; and after a while I realised that I needed to do something a little more drastic to the setting in order to be happy. Accordingly, I thoroughly nuked the city in the wake of a magical war--I made it so that the familiar monuments and streets were ruins covered in spell residues, the Seine river ran black with ashes and lashed out impredictably at people who got too close; and magical factions, the Great Houses, fought each other for every scrap of power.

The biggest challenge I faced while writing it actually has nothing to do with the novel: it's that I became pregnant while writing it, and by the time I was done with it was parenting my very own personal tornado (aka the snakelet, my son whom I dearly love--as long as he's not eating my manuscripts or sending nonsensical emails to people by fiddling with my keyboard!). It meant, first, that there was a 6-month hiatus while writing the novel, which killed a lot of the momentum I had going and made it really hard to pick it up again (I was about a third of the way in when I stopped writing, and starting up again meant I had to reread everything, get under the characters' skin, understand the reasons for the worldbuilding, etc., all while being perpetually tired and zombie-like); and second, that I had to get organised to start writing again, to find some brain-space around work and childcare.

A post apocalyptic Paris is the setting for this novel. I’m curious, what was it about Paris that was so appealing to build a fantasy novel around?

I've lived in Paris roughly all my life, so it was a natural setting for me to use--there's a lot of history and a lot of interesting tidbits to mine for story stuff. Also, post-apocalyptic narratives in English tend, not surprisingly, to be centred around Anglophone countries; I thought it would be a nice change to set a story in France! 

Did you undertake much research for this particular novel?

Certainly more research than I thought at the outset: I had this naive idea that setting this in the city where I live would involve very little to research. In reality, there was a lot of things I had to find out about the geography: the plot revolves around Ile de la Cité, so I ended up doing a lot of looking into its history, its famous places and how my alternate Paris would have changed this--it's one thing to nuke Notre-Dame, but what happens to the nearby Hôtel-Dieu hospital, the Préfecture, etc.? 

The society I depict in the novel is a mix of Belle Epoque and post-apocalyptic mores: the class system based on wealth and birth has given way to a class system based on who has safety and who hasn't (aka who is affiliated with a Great House and who isn't), and who can offer it and who can't, so there are slightly skewed dynamics, but still a recognisable system. I dug a lot into 19th Century novels (Hugo, Dumas, Maurice Leblanc etc.) to get the period feel, which given the nature of the novel felt to me more important than getting it historically accurate, and also researched a lot on the aristocracy and the servant system. 

And finally, since a significant strand of the story involves Indochina (the old French colony that covered Vietnam and Cambodia) and a Vietnamese magical system, I had to research a bit of colonial history as well, in addition to re-immersing myself in the folk tales my grandmother used to tell me when I was a child. 

Your characters in The House of Shattered Wings are a richly depicted mix of Fallen, Humans, and other powerful beings. Did you have a particular favourite to write? Why?

I have a particular fondness for Selene, the head of House Silverspires: from a writerly point of view she's a fascinating character to watch, because there is a great disconnect between how she perceives herself and how others see her. Selene thinks herself unworthy of being head of the House and fights crippling self-doubt, but never actually lets it show, so you essentially get two very different versions of her character, depending on whose head we're sharing at the moment. People think she is arrogant and cool-headed, but meanwhile she always agonises about whether she's doing the right thing. She also has quite a good eye for fashion, which allowed me to go wild with the description of people's clothes :) 

How would you describe your writing style? Are you a ‘planner’ or ‘pantser’?

I am a total planner. I need to know where the plot is going and why I'm doing things. I can't improvise, especially at the scale of a novel, because then I feel totally lost, and I hate the feeling I've produced a first draft which I will then need to either throw away or substantially revisse. On a typical project I spend maybe 30% of the time planning, and 70% writing, sometimes less? I write those extensive outlines, and rewrite them in the middle of first drafting if I deviate a lot from them. I think a lot of it is my engineer background, which is that I'm lazy, and it's easier to modify an outline rather than impact dozens of scenes? 

What it is about the fantasy fiction that you love? Do you think the genre as a whole is improving in terms of its diversity or not?

I love fantasy fiction because anything goes; and because you can get this sense of awe and wonder from fantastical things and events: I love that thrill that runs down my spine when getting the first glimpse of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere in London, or the Grass King's Palace in Kari Sperring Grass King's Concubine, or during a particularly emotionally charged moment like the ending of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Guns of the Dawn. Fantasy allows me to visit wildly different places with wildly different rules; with actual magic and the presence of supernatural entities--but in the end it remains a powerful way to look at people who remain human with all their foibles (or superhuman with a different set of foibles :) ). 

I think the genre as a whole is definitely improving in terms of diversity, yes--there's a marked difference compared to when I started out in 2006. Witness the success of people like NK Jemisin, Ken Liu, Charlie Jane Anders... It's, however, a slow and sometimes frustrating process, and I think sometimes we're a little too eager as a group to say that we've got there and have got true diversity; where the truth is that being more diverse and more inclusive is something that happens slowly, like any values shift--and that, like any shifts, we have to keep working at it. Right now I and a few other people are making a concerted effort to include more people beyond the Western Anglophone world in SFF, whether it's people from Western countries but outside the Anglophone world, or people from non-western places like Singapore, the Philippines--I think it's a much needed infusion of new things and new visions into genre. 

Hypothetical question… if you could travel back in time to spend the day with one historical author who would it be? Why?

Hmm it's a really, really tough one. It's a tie, but I think I'd want to spend it with Ho Xuan Huong--she's arguably the most famous Vietnamese poetess, and she wore very irreverent stanzas: she was very clever and chafing at the constraints imposed on women at the time, and I think we would have lots to discuss (of course I'd need to get over the language barrier as my Vietnamese is atrocious, but I'm assuming that would be magically provided). The other person in the tie was Alexandre Dumas, because Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo are the best books ever written and I reread them every once in a while. Especially Monte Cristo. 

What would be your Fallen name if you fell from the heavens into post-apocalyptic Paris?

Well, Fallen mostly pick the name they want--I kind of favor Morningstar's approach of picking them from books and old historical events, except I think picking it from a fantasy book would be totally legitimate *grin* I'm going for Tenaka, the hero of King beyond the Gate, because I've always had a fondness for him--there are obvious sympathy elements (he's half-Nadir half-Drenai, and as someone who's half and half herself I've got a lot of sympathy with his experiences growing up, though mine were nowhere as drastic!), and obviously he gets to the head of his very own empire! (it's a man's name, but I figure no one would bat an eyelid)

The House of Shattered Wings is not your first published work. You have previously written a number of award winning short stories and the Obsidian and Blood trilogy. I’m curious, how do you feel you have grown as a writer over this period of time?

Immeasurably I feel! I've found that I grow in fits and starts as a writer (as we do in many things): I hit a plateau for a while, and then abruptly level up after months or years of struggling and collecting rejections and frustrating "this doesn't work" critiques. Between writing the first book of Obsidian and Blood in 2010, I hit at least two plateaux that I'm aware of. The first was handling more complex novels: Servant of the Underworld was written in a tight first person point of view with few characters, because I was afraid I couldn't handle a complex plot with many points of view and complex worldbuilding; The House of Shattered Wings had three point-of-view characters, a host of minor characters and a lot going on in the background that I hint at. 

The second is that I became much, much better at world building: I became more comfortable with handling complex exposition (which is necessary when you're writing complex things that don't necessarily conform to readers' expectations: the Vietnamese elements in my work require a lot more exposition than the "classic" ones), and more willing to take risks with story structure and worldbuilding that melded disparate elements. My Xuya series, for instance, merges science and technology with mythical undertones, and I don't think I'd have been able to pull it off if I hadn't leveled up as a writer. 

Who is your favourite fantasy writer at the moment? Why?

This is a bit like choosing a favorite child, isn't it? :p I have lots of favorite writers that I admire for different skills and different ways of blowing me away (Sir Terry Pratchett, Elizabeth Bear, Kari Sperring, Sergey and Marina Dyachenko...). If I can plug just one at the moment it would be Zen Cho--she's Chinese Malaysian living in London, writing fiction that is both funny, heartbreaking and incisive. Her short story collection Spirits Abroad won the Crawford, and her book Sorcerer to the Crown is coming out in September--it's Regency England with magic, fairies, characters in over their heads, and laugh-out loud moments. (disclaimer: Zen is a friend, so obviously I'm a bit biased. But I'm not the only one who thought her book was great). 

And finally, can we expect to see you at any conventions or events in the near future?

I will be in London August 6th for Fantasy in the Court at Goldsboro Books, and at Worldcon in August 2015 for the release of the book, and in October I'll also be attending a few events in Europe  (Italy, the Netherlands and France). 

Aliette de Bodard, thanks for chatting to Smash Dragons!

You're welcome! Thank you for having me here!

The House of Shattered Wings is out on August 18th-20th (check you local online retailers and shops for more details.) I have provided some links below. 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Deposity

Booktopia

I implore you all to check this book out. I recently finished it, and it is truly stunning!

Until next time everyone, be nice to each other and keep on reading!

Matthew

Interview - Trent Jamieson

Hello Everyone!

I am delighted to be able to bring you yet another instalment in our ongoing interview series here at Smash Dragons. I had the amazing privilege this week to chat with one of Australia's most talented kleptomani.. err.. writers.. in Trent Jamieson. Trent kindly took time out of his busy schedule to chat (and measure my throne of skulls to see if it would fit in his loungeroom) with me here in the lair. 

Enjoy!

Trent Jamieson, welcome to Smash Dragons!

Thank you. I like the furniture, particularly the throne made out of skulls, and that obsidian hatstand.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Who is Trent Jamieson?

I'm a bookseller at Avid Reader in West End (and I have worked as a bookseller for about twenty years), I am in charge of the returns in the store - that is the books that we don't sell within a certain period and can send back to suppliers - so I am writer of books who is well aware of the limited window that books have to find readers. I have also taught creative writing at Clarion South and QUT, something I always find very satisfying. I was born in Gunnedah in North West NSW, but I live in Brisbane, and Brisbane is where I will probably live until the day I die - I adore this city. 

Why did you start writing? Is it something you always wanted to pursue? 

I started writing as soon as I could put words together. And it was always spec fic. Firstly Doctor Who fan fiction (this was in the seventies, so it would have been Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker) and then my year three primary school teacher, Mr Hill, told me I could actually write my OWN stories. I haven't stopped. 

Also, I was kid that lived in the school library, and loved our family's bi-weekly town library visits.  I read everything I could get my hands on.

Everything from the Muddle-Headed Wombat to the Hobbit and the Wizard of Earthsea, and Asimov's Foundation series, and Star Wars put a fire in my pre-teen belly.

You have recently released a new book entitled Day Boy. Tell me, where did the inspiration for this book come from? What challenges did you face whilst writing it? 

The inspiration came from a very strong initial image of two boys in a crypt flicking cigarettes at the sleeping body of their Master. 

I knew he was a Vampire, but the boys were so cocky flicking their ciggies, that I wanted to explore what they were like.  

Most of my challenges are self-doubt. Then, obviously, like everyone else, finding the space and time in my life to write another world, while this one always pushes in. Pretty common writerly impediments, I reckon.

Self doubt seems to be a common emotion that is experienced by writers. How did you manage to stay on top of it?

By trying to avoid dwelling on it. Trying to make the process as much a game as possible. And by forcing yourself to just sit down and write. You can write yourself out of most doubt - as long as it's coming from the writing rather than something outside the writing.

Day Boy seems to turn the vampire trope on its head by focusing instead on the guardians (day boys) of the vampires when they are at their weakest. What was it about this idea that attracted you in the first place?

Vampires get written about all the time but their servants not so often.   Interesting stories come at the juncture of power and powerlessness. The Vampires are pure power, the boys are pure bluster. My Day Boy's rule through piss and wind and ruthlessness, but also by keeping to the courtesies of the town in which they live. 

I could see so many stories coming out of the idea. One of the challenges was reining them all in.

Why do you think people find the vampire myth so alluring and fascinating?

Vampires like zombies are open to so many interpretations. They are the ultimate monster. They are us, and they are not. They are power and weakness. My vampires are scary, monstrous and weirdly honorable - but it is a twisted honour.

Who was your favourite character to write in Day Boy? Why? 

Mark. His voice pulled me through the story. He tries so hard, and he is so oblivious. He's the kind of character that with the best of intentions can destroy a town. He was the gift that my subconscious mind threw me, and I went with it. And his central choice: man or monster? That's up to the reader to decide what he becomes.

Day Boy is not your first book. You have also published five others (Death Works and Nightbound Land novels). Can you tell us a little bit about them? 

Death Works is a series about Australia's Regional Incarnation of Death and the organisation that the world's Deaths are a party to. It's a comedy, a romance, and a Lovecraftian romp. I have two more stories to write (well, one is mostly written, and the other is a bit of monster) and that one will be put to bed.

The Nightbound Land is a secondary world Steampunk Series about a monster-filled darkness consuming a world. It's a bit bleak, but filled with rage and defiance and living airships, and, hopefully, adventure. It's about as close as I am ever going to get at having a stab at Tolkienesque Fantasy.

I’m curious, how do you feel you have grown as a writer from your first novel up until now? 

I think I've gotten a better control of narrative than I had before. I am also more confident in myself and my editors. I trust that relationship much more. Give me a good editor and I will rise to the challenge (I hope). I've learnt that I need to be pushed and I delight in that.

What is your best writing skill? Worst? 

I'm not sure that I have a best or worst. What can be a strength in one novel may be a weakness in another. I am often so filled with self-doubt that every thing seems to be my worst. Also, I am terrible with commas.

You mentioned teaching at Clarion South and QUT. I'm curious, what did you learn about your own craft whilst you were teaching? 

I think initially it can make you feel self-conscious. You're teaching it so you have to be producing it at a high quality, and I think going into a story demanding that it must be good kills it at the vine. But then you learn to let go of that. Writing needs to be as much a source of comfort to the writer as a challenge.

Also, every writer approaches their writing differently. All of my students have taught me things not just in what they get wrong, but what they do right. Enthusiasm is infectious.

Hypothetical question. If there is an afterlife, and you were only allowed to take one book with you when dying, what would you pick? Why? 

Little Big by John Crowley. Because it is full of multitudes. And it's the sort of book that might just let you cheat death a little.

You have dabbled in a variety of subgenres as a writer (urban fantasy, steampunk, fantasy). Do you have a favourite? 

No, I love them all. I love the way you can squeeze them and push them up against each other. Most of my books have more than one thing going on, which is a strength and weakness, I guess.

If you could spend the day with one other author to pick their brain who would it be and why? 

Ursula K. Le Guin. She is still the best of us. I don't even know if I would want to talk writing, because, honestly, most advice falls away when you're at the keyboard. But, of the fantasists that define my approach: Tolkien, Mirrlees, Lewis, Peake, Leiber and Le Guin, she's the last one alive and, perhaps the most lyrical and assured. I'd just like to share a tea or a coffee with her and let her talk. She is a treasure.

Complete the following statements:

The best thing about being a vampire would be…

Defined sleeping time. 

If I had to hunt vampires for a living my weapon of choice would be… 

Thermonuclear weapons, then a stake, though I wouldn't last a minute in the presence of a vampire.

The best thing about working in a bookshop is… 

Talking about books, and books in general. But the staff and customers are utterly wonderful too (particularly at Avid Reader).

I'm curious, what has been the most ridiculous book order you've ever had to place at Avid Reader? 

I can't think of something off the top of my head. But I know the most ridiculous thing I have ever wrapped for someone. A customer came in and bought a book then asked me to wrap this weird chopping board and knife set. It was a nightmare of angles. I felt like I was wrapping something out an HP Lovecraft story.

What is your take on the state of speculative fiction here in Australia in comparison to the rest of the world? Are there any local writers who may have slipped under the radar that we should check out?

We have a vibrant and wonderful writing community, it is fluid and mixes wonderfully with the mainstream lit community - well, the writers do at any rate.  I actually know so many wonderful Australian writers on the up that I am scared of missing any of them - we are a vengeful people.

I have read that you were working on a sword and sorcery novel. Is that still in the pipeline? 

Shh! Yes it is: it is in the queue. I started it ages ago wrote a draft and then so many wonderful S&S writers appeared that I got a bit gun shy - particularly when Richard Morgan started writing. My projects always take a while to build momentum, but this one is definitely sitting there, and its big and ridiculous and bloody - very, very bloody. And it has one of my favourite female characters, so for that alone, I do need to get along and finish it. 

At your recent book launch your friend Gary Kemble sent you a haunted doll from Scotland. I’m curious, at his next book launch what will you send in return? 

I don't want to spoil the surprise; but it will be damned. Also, Gary's new book is excellent! Whatever evil haunted thing I could muster would do nothing to destroy the potential juggernaut that is that book - I would be so surprised if his novel Skin Deep didn't become some sort of awesome mini-series.

What’s next now that Day Boy has been released? 

A very personal fantasy story that features me and my wife Diana as characters. I'm still working out what voice works best, but it's starting to take shape.

Standard clichéd question… best writing tip?

Honestly, be patient, work hard, and see writing as just part of your life. Friends and family are why we are here, as much as if not more than the impulse to put words on the page.

Finally, can we expect to see you at any events or conventions in the near future? 

Yes, but I am not allowed to say what they are - how mysterious!

Trent Jamieson, thank you for chatting with Smash Dragons!

Thank you for the wonderful questions, can I take this skull throne home?

Err... I kinda need it to sit on! Hey! Come back here with the throne!

You can find Day Boy at all good book retailers around Australia, and online at places like Booktopia and Amazon. And if you happen to find Trent in your travels... get my damn throne back!!! (or you could just check out his wonderful website for more details on Day Boy and his other published work)

Thanks to Paul Brandon too for the creepy photo of Trent with his haunted doll... just looking at it gives me chills (Trent, not the doll). 

Until next time, be nice to each other and keep on reading!

Review - Inquisitor by Mitchell Hogan

To Inquisitor Angel Xia, it was just another corporate killing on a backwater planet. But as the bodies begin to pile up and she finds herself a target, she realizes she’s stepped on one toe too many. 

Barely escaping attempts on her life by powerful agents with seemingly limitless reach and influence, Angel senses even her co-Inquisitors can’t be trusted. But as the web tightens, she receives a cryptic message from a computer program claiming to be a little girl in desperate need of her help. She insists she’s being held prisoner by a major corporation, but is this just a trap to silence Angel…permanently? 

Now a fugitive with her life inextricably linked to the girl in the program, Angel is taken to extremes she never knew she was capable of, and to forgotten places at the edges of known space that hold the darkest secrets of humanity, and the greatest threat to its future.

Now I know what you are all thinking... Mitchell Hogan, author of the award winning Sorcery Ascendant Sequence, has released a science fiction book?!? Huh? Shouldn't he be working on book three?!? Wait a minute... are you serious???

Yep... I am serious... Mitchell Hogan has released a standalone science fiction book. And damn.. it is pretty awesome!

Now before I get into the nitty gritty of why I loved this book, I want to point out something.

I don't usually read a lot of science fiction.

Please don't burn me at the stake before I explain.

I don't usually read a lot of science fiction, but that doesn't mean that I don't love the genre (I do). I just find what I would call 'hard' science fiction incredibly tedious at times. As such, I am very selective about what I read. So when Inquisitor first appeared on my radar my initial thought was one of reluctance. I, like many of Mitch's fans, wondered why he wasn't busy working on the next book in his fantasy series (for the record, he was.) And then I read an early description of this book:

Inquisitor detectives.. a world filled with meddling corporations and genetically altered mutants... and artificial intelligence that could possible reveal the deepest and darkest secrets of humanity... 

My next thought, after reading this, was: Sold! Take my money!

And damn, I am glad I made that decision.

Inquisitor is a fast paced and action packed tale that hooked its tendrils into me from the first page and steadfastly refused to let go. And wow, it is relentless.

From the opening scene, where Xia and her partner take on a Genevolve discard, through to the sprawling space battles and conflict towards the end, readers are taken on a roller coaster ride of action laced adventure and intrigue. This book punched me in my frontal lobe and continued to smash me over and over again with a story that became more absorbing the further I read.

I adored how Hogan structured this particular story. Inquisitor started as a crime novel, evolved into a spy and techno thriller, and finished as a space opera that posed philosophical questions like what does it means to be human?

And you know what... it worked magnificently.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about Inquisitor was how light it felt to read. It never once slowed down and became bogged by factual dumps or scientific explanation (one of the pitfalls of hard SF). This doesn't mean that it was shallow either. Quite the opposite in fact! Hogan has masterfully weaved an intricate tale of murder, espionage, and secrecy into this book whilst also exploring issues such as technological abuse and consciousness.

The world building in Inquisitor is also well done. It features a galaxy filled with cybernetics, space travel, interactive programs and different levels of artificial intelligence that are both fascinating and enthralling. Hogan offers enough description of this world to keep most fans of the genre happy. He does not go to great lengths to explain how something works, or why it exists (such as Xia's implants) in Inquisitor, it just does. This was enough to keep me involved and interested, and I enjoyed how he coupled this level of description with the frantic pace of the novel (not an easy feat).

The characters in Inquisitor are also brilliantly described and portrayed. One of Hogan's real strengths from his Sorcery Ascendant Sequence is his characterisation, and this is no different in Inquisitor. Angel Xia, the main protagonist, is an incredibly layered and fascinating character whose evolution provided the perfect foil to the often chaotic and childish program Charlotte-Rose. I adored how both of these characters grew over time, and how their agency changed as the story unfolded. Their relationship lies at the centre of Inquisitor, and it is handled wonderfully by Hogan amidst the often chaotic events occurring around them. I also loved the other characters in this book, from Xia's partner Victor through to Summer and the mysterious (and ominous) Genevolve's. In fact, I don't think any of the minor characters in Inquisitor were poorly depicted. All of them merely enhanced what was already an awesome story.

And the ending... powerful, evocative, and incredibly well written. I had to put my eReader down for awhile to just think after finishing this story.

All in all Inquisitor is a fast paced and explosive story filled with action and substance. It features a unique and fascinating world with powerful yet sympathetic characters that will grab a hold of you and refuse to let go. Fans of Hogan's previous work will love this book, as will most science fiction fans looking for a cracking and action packed story with body. Highly recommended and, for a few bucks on Amazon, it is an absolute steal!

You would be crazy not to buy it!

4 out of 5 stars.

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Interview - Zen Cho

Zen Cho, welcome to Smash Dragons!

Thanks for having me!

First up, tell me a little bit about yourself and your upcoming book entitled Sorcerer to the Crown.

I'm a fantasy author from Malaysia living in London. I've published a short story collection with Malaysian press Buku Fixi, Spirits Abroad, and I also edited an anthology for them called Cyberpunk: Malaysia which came out in June. 

Sorcerer to the Crown is my first novel and it's coming out in September. It's about Zacharias Wythe, England's first African Sorcerer Royal, who's trying to reverse the decline in England's magic, when his plans are hijacked by ambitious runaway orphan and female magical prodigy, Prunella Gentleman.

What motivated you to write Sorcerer to the Crown? Where did you draw your inspiration from? 

It was a mix of things. Classic popular British authors like Georgette Heyer and P. G. Wodehouse were a huge part of my childhood reading, and I still love their books, so I sort of smushed them together. I added magic because I love fantasy. And I am really interested in the histories you don't hear as much about – the history of non-white people in the UK, for example – so some of that went in as well (I wrote about this for the US cover reveal on the B&N SFF Blog: Giving Power to the Powerless in Sorcerer to the Crown). Sneaking things I'm interested in into the sort of entertaining fiction I like best is an ongoing project of mine.

Tell me about Zacharias Wythe and Prunella Gentleman. What was it about those two characters that you really want to explore in this new series? 

Zacharias is this really conscientious, sweet guy who has grown up in difficult circumstances, but has also been really lucky as a black man in Regency London who is not, you know, a slave or a servant or homeless. He's burdened by the restrictions of his time and his own overpowering sense of duty. Prunella is also disprivileged in many ways – she's mixed race, she has no family or money – but what she does have is a huge potential source of power and a ton of effrontery. I was interested in how different people react to the restrictions society places on them. And I also like writing about odd couples, which Zacharias and Prunella definitely are.

The world in Sorcerer to the Crown sounds absolutely mesmerizing. Can you tell me some more about it? How has magic changed England and English society? 

19th century England plus magic is quite an established subgenre, and one of the pleasures I take in the genre as a reader is actually how little does change! There's magic in Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and dragons in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, but a lot of the joy for me is how prosaic those things can be – it's making the strange familiar, and the familiar strange. So Clarke's magicians cast spells with homely tools like spoons and bodkins, and Novik's dragons are agitating for their rights.

Magic in Sorcerer to the Crown is a limited resource, and like any other resource, it generates strife. One of Zacharias's great headaches is the constant politics in which the Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers is mired. He's like the head of a large, quarrelsome political party, most of which hates him. The Society is increasingly trying to reserve magic for the elite of society – posh white men, basically – and the book is about what happens when Zacharias and Prunella try to thwart its intentions.

In Sorcerer to the Crown is the magic based upon a set of rules or is it a more mysterious and mystical force? 

Magic's basically a natural force or element, like aether – you know how the Greeks thought the universe was full of this invisible stuff the gods breathed. (I suppose if you write about aether you're writing fantasy or steampunk, and if you write about dark matter that's science fiction …) It comes from Fairyland and seeps into the mortal realm through the various portals between the two worlds. Humans can manipulate it, but there are many different ways to do so. English thaumaturges discover rules of magic and invent spells, the way scientists in our world formulate laws of physics and invent technology. 

What challenges did you face whilst writing Sorcerer to the Crown? 

There was a fair amount of historical research involved, and what I found was that researching Regency England was extremely easy – the library and the Internet are overflowing with resources – and the history of black people in the UK is pretty well-covered. But I have supporting characters from countries outside the UK, and finding out even basic things about them – how they'd dress, what they'd do for a living – was much more of a challenge. There aren't many books on Qing dynasty manners in your average UK public library.

Did you always envisage yourself becoming a writer when you were younger? 

Yes. I wrote my first story when I was six years old.

What is it about speculative fiction that you find so alluring? 

I read a lot of period fiction from Britain and North America when I was growing up in Malaysia – Austen, the Brontes, Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, L. M. Montgomery and so on – and one of the things I liked about these books was how they contained a completely different world. Diana Wynne Jones makes this point about Kipling's Kim in an essay called Inventing the Middle Ages – her young son gets obsessed with the book, and she says:

I was under the impression that, to him, this book was a historical novel recreating an empire and an India which had disappeared long before he was born. Not a bit of it. When he was 15, he confessed that he had thought Kim was a fantasy set in an alternative world and that Kipling had made all the India stuff up. … It’s possible that many children regard historical novels as this kind of fantasy. In which they are not exactly wrong.

In many important ways, Kipling's India probably was an invention. But all worlds depicted in fiction are a fantasy. Speculative fiction is just more upfront about it! I think that's the reason for my abiding interest in it.

You are both a lawyer and a writer. How do you manage find a good balance between the two?  

I'm still working at finding a balance! For a long while I was writing to nobody's deadlines but my own, so it was relatively easy to balance that with my job, so long as my job kept to reasonable working hours. But it didn't always do that, and then my writing career started expanding, so it got pretty hectic. You have to be organised and driven – and you have to learn to say no to things, which is something I'm still struggling to do. Recently I switched to a part-time working pattern at the day job, which has helped a lot.

Favourite book? Why?

This is a totally unfair question to ask any reader! I genuinely do not have a single favourite book, because that's just impossible, but L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables is probably up there. I read it when I was young, so it's engraved onto my psyche. It's funny and kind and heartwarming, without glossing over how shit people can be, and it's about all sorts of things that interest me: a girl's coming of age, family, community. It's a story firmly rooted in its own culture.

Sprits Abroad, your collection of short stories, is a wonderful homage to your Malaysian heritage. I’m curious, did your experience as someone who was born and raised in another country help shape your depiction of Zacharias coming to England?

I didn't consciously draw on my experiences of immigration and diaspora when writing Zacharias, but they probably did shape him. I don't do it on purpose, but I seem preoccupied with characters who are detached from their own heritage in some way and are trying to reconcile different cultures in themselves and find their place in the world.

Both the US and UK covers for Sorcerer to the Crown are gorgeous. Did you have much say in their conception? 

More for the US than the UK cover – my editor ran the concept past me in advance, and my agent and I suggested some changes to the proposed design. But I'm not a terribly visual person so am quite happy for other people to deal with that side of things!

If you could sit and pick the brain of one other writer for a day who would it be and why?

I think I'd like to meet Kao Kalia Yang, who wrote a memoir called The Latehomecomer. It's a wonderful, deeply impressive, compassionate book and she seems like an amazing person you could learn a lot from.

If you could pick one magical power to have what would it be and why? 

I'd like a Time-Turner, like the one Hermione has in Harry Potter, that gives her more time. I'd use it for naps.

Complete the following statements:

My favourite fantasy character is…

Eowyn (subject to the disclaimer that obviously I don't just have one).

If I could time travel I would visit… 

The Golden Age of Melaka. Glamour, derring-do, authentic Peranakan food!

If I were the Empress of Earth I would… 

Introduce free universal healthcare and a universal basic income in all countries; remove national borders; institute measures to try to address climate change; support small businesses; improve schools and require everyone to learn two languages other than their mother tongue …. Actually I'd probably just arrange for a democratic government to be put in place and abdicate. I don't think being Empress of the Earth would leave me much time for writing.

What is the best writing advice you have ever received? 

There is one thing a friend said to me years ago that helped me enormously. It was very powerful and it has stayed with me, because it was what I needed to hear at the time. I'm not sure it's advice, but I'll paste it here in case it helps other people too.

Racism is real and cultural imperialism is alive and well and code-switching is part of any colonized person's repertoire …. The things you're fighting with are not phantoms.

But as you go along I think you will find, if you have not already found, that your liminal position as an insider-outsider is actually an extremely powerful one for a writer. It is the ideal position. If you can lay claim to all the different parts of your heritage -- and you have an uncontested claim on Wodehouse as well as Malaysian culture -- then you can synthesize something the world has not seen before. …

It all belongs to you, darling. It's all yours.

And finally, can we expect to see you at any events or conventions in the near future? 

I'll be in San Diego for Comic-Con from Thursday 9th to Saturday 11th July. I'm actually hoping to spend most of my time looking at sea lions, but I should also be at the con itself signing galleys of Sorcerer to the Crown. And I'll be at Nine Worlds in London again this year, from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th August. It'll be my third Nine Worlds and I'm looking forward to it – it's my favourite convention.

Zen Cho, thank you for talking to Smash Dragons!

No, thank you!

Zen Cho's Sorcerer to the Crown is now available for pre-order from all good book outlets. Early indications are that it will be an amazing read! You can also find Cho's other work via outlets such as Amazon. I highly recommend it to you all, an amazing writer, and an incredibly nice person!  

Also, credit to Darren Johnson and IDJ Photography for their great portrait of Zen shown at the start of this interview. 

Thanks again everyone, remember to be nice to each other, and keep on reading!

Review - Uprooted by Naomi Novik

"Our Dragon doesn't eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that's not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he's still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the wood, and we're grateful, but that grateful." 

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over the life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows - everyone knows - that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn't, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. 

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

Wow... where do I even begin in reviewing Uprooted?

Perhaps putting it simply is best. Uprooted is one of the best reads I have had.

Ever.

There... I said it.

Now to go into more detail.

Prior to reading Uprooted I must admit I was unfamiliar with Novik's work. I had never read any of her Temeraire books, despite noticing them on the shelves everywhere I went. So when I received an advanced readers copy of Uprooted I was initially reluctant to start reading. After much indecision I decided to give it a shot and enact the fifty page rule. If, after fifty pages, it hadn't piqued my interest I would move on and start another book. Simple.

After ten pages I was hooked.

After twenty pages I jumped online and ordered a hardback copy.

After fifty pages I snuggled into my chair and let reality slip away.

Uprooted tells the story of Agnieszka, a simple girl from a tiny village which she loves. Bordering that village is the sinister Wood, a forest that is filled with dark energies and spirits. With every year that passes the Wood continues to creep closer and closer to Agnieszka's home. All that stands between the village and this threat is the Dragon, a human wizard whose coldness is almost as malevolent to the villagers as the Wood. In exchange for his help and protection the Dragon demands a heavy price on the village. Every ten years he picks one young woman and takes her away to serve him in his tower until the time of the next choosing. Agnieszka will be eligible for the next choosing, but expects, like the rest of the village, that the Dragon will choose her bold and beautiful friend Kasia. So when the Dragon chooses her she is suddenly whisked away to an unexpected life of magic, terror, and courtly intrigue.

So what did I love about Uprooted? Pretty much everything.

The story itself is magical and enthralling. One of the things that struck me as I read it is that it feels very familiar. Novik obviously drew her inspiration from a rich heritage of folk lore and fairy tales, and as the story unfolded I was taken back to a time where I sat and listened with awe to my dad as he read me stories from our battered copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales. The next thing that struck me was that whilst the story was familiar it was also told in a way that was both refreshing and unique. This is not your run of the mill vomit inducing Disney fairy tale. This is a story steeped in a long and often dark history of fairy tales in Medieval Europe. People die, often brutally, in Uprooted, and the elements of malevolence and evil are an ever-present shadow looming page after page. Novik also weaves what can only be described as incredible action and adventure into Uprooted. This is what makes it so magical and addictive, much in the same vein as Margo Lanagan's Sea Hearts or Kate Forsyth's Bitter Greens. She has taken something old and familiar and turned it into something uniquely her own and captivating. 

And the characters... wow! One of Novik's real strengths in this book was her characterisation. Like most fairy tales (or stories drawing from that rich heritage) Uprooted is often a character driven beast. This is not always the easiest thing to pull off, but Novik does it wonderfully. Agnieszka is depicted brilliantly, flailing and naive at first but with an inner strength, intuitive nature, and stubbornness that endeared me to her as the story unfolded. Some of the best scenes to capture this were the ones where she discovered her latent and very primal powers, and how different they were to ones wielded by the Dragon. I also adored her evolving and changing agency throughout the book as she grew and was exposed to the world outside of her village. 

And the Dragon (real name Sarkan)... holy crap... he was everything I wanted to see in a wizard. Arrogant, cold, aloof and self absorbed most of the time, Sarkan is what a wizard would be like if such a thing were real (I get real tired of the old, wise, and benevolent wizard trope I must admit). Their relationship was magnificently portrayed, and the simmering tension between the two as they learned to coexist and work their very different magics was handled masterfully.

Kasia is also a wonderful character. Bold, beautiful, and the favourite to picked by Sarkan at the start of the novel, it was incredibly fascinating to see how her story developed after being rejected at the choosing. The complex and genuine friendship that she has with Agnieszka at the start was one of the highlights of Uprooted. It is a natural, complex, and very organic thing that evolves, grows and morphs before your very eyes as the story unfolds, especially as events start to take over and cast them both down dark and directly opposed paths. Both girls are also fierce, strong, and full of soul.. which is a breath of fresh air amidst an often male dominated genre.  

And the Wood! The Wood itself is a character. Full of malice and hate, and with motivations that are not fully clear until the final chapters of Uprooted. The Wood permeates everywhere and in everything that occurs in this book. I literally was on edge every single time it was mentioned, and terrified when it (and its creatures) came into play. It is a dark, thinking, and evil force that nibbles away at your consciousness whenever you draw near to it. In fact Novik really drives home the sense of wrongness (and to an extent a feeling of Lovecraftian horror) when portraying the Wood in this book. I felt incredibly uncomfortable whenever it played its hand, and I read on in horror and hope as characters like Agnieszka and Sarkan struggled to keep it at bay. 

And shit... I don't think I've ever blushed whilst reading a love scene in a book before.. but hot damn... I did whilst reading Uprooted!

Finally, the world building itself has to be mentioned! Whilst Uprooted is a great story about characters and their relationships it is also a story set in an incredibly rich and vivid world. The kingdoms of Polnya and Rosya are described magically, and their burning hatred of each other lingers throughout the story, especially when Agnieszka goes to court and is exposed to the scorn and suspicion of the royals, courtesans, and magicians there. The Wood itself also lurks over these realms, weaving its tendrils into every orifice as it pushes its own agenda. And its creatures, from the Heart Trees through to the Walkers, are dark abominations that will lurk in your nightmares after finishing this book. In fact what lifts Uprooted from being a great book to a brilliant one is its setting. It feels old... it feels rooted in folklore... but it is also dark, brutal, and unique. It is a world that is designed to showcase good people who are struggling against evil. It is also world where such a struggle is depicted honestly as the dangerous slippery slope it often is. Add to all of this a deep sense of primal mystery and you truly get a deep and fantastical setting that draws you in, latches on, and refuses to let go.

Uprooted literally has no flaws in my opinion. It is a beautiful, haunting, and magical tale that will gnaw at your very being from start to finish. Novik will make you laugh, cry, whimper in terror, and cheer in hope as you unfold the magnificent adventure that is Uprooted. An incredible book, and a must read for any fantasy fan. 

5 out of 5 stars. 

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