Monthly Archives: February 2012

Today marks the United States release of Elspeth Cooper’s highly anticipated debut, Songs of the Earth. Released in the UK last year, Songs garned a great deal of praise along with its fair share of skeptics. I read an early galley of the U.S. edition and reviewed it about a month ago. Long story short, it’s a very solid debut novel that features great writing with some (not unexpected) first novel unevenness.

Over the last few months I’ve had a chance to chat with Cooper on Twitter and various literary forums. I’ve very much enjoyed her insightful and candid responses. After finishing the novel, I had some questions, which she was kind enough to answer. Enjoy!

Here’s the blurb:

The Book of Eador, Abjurations 12:14, is very clear: Suffer ye not the life of a witch. For a thousand years, the Church Knights have obeyed that commandment, sending to the stake anyone who can hear the songs of the earth.

… Read the rest

Arctic Rising is the best James Bond novel I’ve ever read. Wait, what? Indeed Tobias Buckell’s latest novel could be taken as an Ian Fleming experiment gone terribly… right. An ironic homage to Bond, based on gads of research into the nature of climate change and some of the more inventive solutions, Buckell has created a near term speculative novel that’s as current as it is authentic. Believable? Let’s not get greedy; I did say Bond after all.

Buckell’s premise begins a few years in the future, where global warming has transformed the Earth. The Arctic Ice Cap has all but melted, and the international community is racing to claim the oil beneath the newly accessible ocean. Enter Gaia Corporation whose founders have come up with a plan to roll it all back using thousands of tiny mirrors floating in the air to redirect heat and cool the Earth’s surface.

… Read the rest

So, what’s going on here at Staffer’s Book Review (and occasional musings)? Regular visitors may notice that I’ve substantially changed the way the blog looks. Specifically, I’ve changed the name of the blog because it sounds more like what it is, a book review blog. It’s also brought about a new character here on the blog courtesy of an idea from Rob at Rob’s Blog o’ Stuff (he’s waving hello in the banner).

In other news, I’ve got another giveaway coming up next week of Tobias Buckell’s new novel Arctic Rising. I’ll also have a review of the novel up, and a piece I wrote taking a look at him as an author and a dude. There’s going to be an interview with Elspeth Cooper, author of Songs of the Earth, next week as well.  Furthermore, I promise to try to do something that’ll piss people off.

Have a great weekend!… Read the rest

I tend to write long reviews for everything I read, but I’ve found that increasingly difficult as I read more. It’s particularly difficult with second and third books in a series. From time to time I’m going to do posts like this one where I bundle a bunch of reviews together. Most of them will be second and third volumes in a series, but occasionally I’ll throw a standalone in as well. I’ll also write up novels here that I didn’t finish (very rare) and I’ll try to explain why without actually reviewing it. Enjoy!

###

Shadow Master by Jon Sprunk

I finished Shadow’s Master last night, concluding Jon Sprunk’s trilogy that began a few years ago with Shadow’s Son. I’m keeping this review short because I’ve said almost everything about the series and Sprunk’s style that needs to be said in my reviews of Shadow’s Son and Shadow’s Lure.

… Read the rest

Around these parts I commit myself to finishing everything I start. Why, you ask? Because I think it’s important for me to help my reader make decisions about what they should buy and what they should avoid. If I only read things that I enjoy, how will I ever fulfill the second half of that commitment? I’m also loathe to spend 800 words eviscerating someone’s baby. Thus, Cheryl was born. Cheryl is my imaginary personal assistent who helps me “review” novels I really did not like. Instead of just doggedly attacking a novel’s failures, I try to have some fun with it and get some laughs. Hopefully it’s taken the way I intend it.

This is my fourth installment of posts featuring Cheryl. If you enjoy this one, I suggest finding the Cheryl tag on the right sidebar for the others.

Oh and there’s a new reoccurring character joining the blog today…

Here’s the blurb:

Alexander, Prince of Macedon, is the terror of the world.

… Read the rest

A couple weeks back, I wrote a post offering to read and review a randomly selected self-published speculative fiction novel. I got a decent response, with around 20 people entering their work. Unfortunately, I got almost that many e-mails asking me to review their novel, indicating that they didn’t bother to actually read my post. If I’m being honest, I found that very annoying.

Twelve year old Karen is having vivid dreams that feel more like memories. After her parents go missing, Karen does her best to take care of her six year old brother, Timmy, while they stay with her busy Aunt Sarah, but Timmy is kidnapped to the Shadow Realm while Aunt Sarah is on a business trip.

Joey looks to be about thirteen. He has fiery red hair and a temper to match but no memory of who he is or where he came from. 

… Read the rest

My next two reviews (coming next week) are March releases from Night Shade Books — Pillars of Hercules by David Constantine and Jane Carver of Waar by Nathan Long.  One thing NSB has been good about in the last 18 months is putting out great novels (for the most part).  What they haven’t been very good about is keeping the community well informed about what’s coming.  So, I guess I figured I’d bang the drum a bit for their May titles as I find all three rather intriguing.

In a world where nothing is quite what it seems, a young scribe takes a job that will change his life forever. Arkamondos is hired to chronicle the activities of a band of mercenaries, led by an enigmatic foreign military commander, Captain Braylar Killcoin. But, what starts out as a secret mission escorting mysterious cargo quickly escalates into murder and sedition! 

… Read the rest

Last month I did an early review of Robert Jackson Bennett’s new novel, The Troupe.  It’s all about a sixteen-year-old pianist named George Carole who joined vaudeville to find Heironomo Silenus, the man he suspects to be his father. As he chases down Silenus’s troupe, he begins to understand that their performances are unique even for vaudeville and strange happenings follow in their wake. It’s not until after he joins them that George realizes the troupe isn’t simply touring, and Silenus is hiding a secret as old as time itself.

Long story short, I thought it was an awesome read. It reminded me of American Gods for it’s look behind the curtain of reality and I dare a parent to finish it without a few tear stained pages.  I figured I ought to chat with the author about…. stuff.

Oh and at the bottom of this post there’s a giveaway, just saying.  … Read the rest

Most who read T.C. McCarthy’s debut novel, Germline, called it military science fiction.  After all, it’s a story about a guy serving in the military in a future war.  Under that basic definition, I suppose it is.  Yet, because of the narrator’s point of view, it lacks tactical or political awareness and eschews scientific understanding of the postulated advances.  Told through the filter of Oscar Wendell, an individual so self absorbed (and high) that he rarely relates to the reality around him, Germline is the harrowing psychological coming of age story of a narcissistic drug addict seeking to justify his existence.

I was a big proponent of Germline and have worried a bit over how McCarthy would approach the second novel.  Would it be a continuation of the first?  A departure?  With a first novel that was so bleak, who would want to read, or write, that kind of novel again?  … Read the rest

I get books sometimes that I know I won’t read.  Sometimes I get two copies of a book.  Sometimes I get books and I already have the eBook.  Either way, I have more books than I know what to do with sometimes.  So, I’m going to give some away.

There will be two (2) winners.  I’ll let the each winner choose a book or two they want, and then I’m going to surprise them with the rest (probably 5-7 books each).  I also promise that both winners will receive at least one book that I highly recommend that has not yet been released in the States.

Sound good?  Below is a small list of some of the titles I have duplicates of.  I’ll be adding more when interesting falls out of my shelves.  Rules to enter at the bottom.