The Chronicles of Amber

Rarely in my experience has an addition from the Gollancz masterwork range been a bad read, so with the Amber book I eagerly delved into Roger Zelaznys world. Compromising 5 books written in the 70’s the first Chronicles of Amber follows the trials and tribulations of Corwin, a man who has lost his memory on Shadow earth and seeks to discover more about his forgotten past.

From there Corwin gets plunged into a breathless medley of dysfunctional family life and otherworldly parallel travel as he retraces his steps back to Amber, and the answers that await him there. The first few books set off at a manic pace, and the fast paced start is in a way sustained by the partial ignorance of Corwin, and as the action fades and the intrigue begins, Corwin’s brothers and sisters begin to come more into play, and the story widens into many diverging rivulets of deception and knowledge.

The first few books in the sequence roll along at quite a breakneck speed; the plot is nothing too amazing. In the latter books the writing becomes more fluent and the imaginings more large scale. A real feeling of layers and back story infuses everything, and the heroic fantasy tone is more evened out by the Machiavellian antics of the Royal Amberites. It’s not perfect in places, the writing stalls occasionally, and sometimes I became weary of the inter dimension travelling parts, but overall nothing could seriously detract from the exploits Corwin relates to us throughout.

For any lovers of fast paced Heroic Fantasy, this is perfect, in that it also comes with a heavy dose of intrigue and other serious tropes, which shine against the fantasy background to great effect.

The Chronicles of Amber - 8 / 10

Kafka on the Shore

Sometimes a book comes along that completely blows your mind, Kafka on the Shore changed me and it went about it an utterly enchanting, and charming way. It initially got brought to my attention by winning the World Fantasy Award last year, the book is a great deal of things, it is at once openly simple, yet the more submerged you become the more dark and complex it becomes. This is a magic realist novel, apparently … or whatever you want to call it, yet it’s got so many fantastical and mythical elements to it, to widely appeal to any reader of speculative fiction.

The book is a veritable cauldron of themes, tricks, riddles and emotions, one thing sticks out though, and that is that it’s very weird. Wacky happenings abound, possible UFO’s, talking cats, falling fish from the sky, a Bermuda Triangle Forest, plus what seems to be strictly a modern retelling of a Greek Tragedy, in the story of Oedipus. The book also contains many popular and classical culture references, too music especially, as a song plays a pivotal role in one of the characters Kafka associates with.

But the plot itself simply and essentially consists of two quests, one involving Kafka Tamura, a protagonist who seems to get erections all the time, and runs away from home to become the ‘toughest 15 year old in the world’. The second strand follows that of an old man that can talk to cats, and how he seeks resolution from an event that happened to him when he was younger, he then wanders off and the two threads merge, metaphysically of course.

The protagonists dalliances got very emotional and personnel in parts, and I could safely identify with lots of the tribulations Haruki Murakami was writing about, not really the sexual deviancy of 15 yr old Kafka, but lots of the other facets in his character. The people Murakami writes about are really of the quiet kind, very contemplative and relaxed, something which I really warmed too, Kafka the young boy, takes his time saying things, he thinks about what he wants to say, and means them also. And so it is with Murakami, his work demands and deserves that special attention, of thinking and carefully reading what is before you.

Kafka on the Shore – 9 / 10

The Blade Itself

The Blade Itself is what a debut book should read like. Well written, often funny, often pulsating in the action it contains, this is close to a perfect entrance into the world of fantasy fiction.Joe Ambercrombie certainly knows how to reach out to his reader, his book has managed to win a good deal of fans, and it’s really easy to say how, he’s written a very good book.

The Blade Itself raises the bar in all the crucial elements, bloody scenes, short and witty dialogue, fast paced plot, yet its in characters that Abercrombie shines. The deeply fascinating torturer Glokta, is possibly the book’s crowing glory, this shambling wreck of a man, now sadistically makes people scream, the catch, he was once a brilliant and dashing swordsman, now the only thing he fights is an ongoing battle combating the steep nature of staircases.

At times the blade itself feels like the screenplay for a film, it’s got that movie glitz thing going for it. The action is sharp and merciless, a scene where Logan the Bloody nine, shows us why he’s called the bloody nine particularly stands out. The humour is another enjoyable aspect, though very dark it’s still a welcome addition. Plus the well woven nature of the plot binds everything together in this lovely piece of writing. The actual book feels very nice too, I’ve been stroking it for weeks now, and still feels reeeeally good!

The Blade Itself - 8.5 / 10

The Etched City

For such a small and compact book, K.J.Bishop packs a good deal within the pages. It starts off fairly simplistically; the setting is a desert like clime, full of nomads and barren surrounds. Gwynn a killer and Raule a healer meet up in the middle of no where, two fugitives running from a lost war, pursued by its victors.


The setting soon shifts to the city of Asamoil, a breathtaking kaleidoscope of sights and sounds. This is a city comparable to the likes of New Crozubon and Ambergris, Viroconium and any other exotic and surreal cityscape. The book certainly follows in the footsteps of Vandermeer and Mieville, yet it has its own distinctively beautiful voice, which is impossible to ignore.

The central characters of Gwynn and Raule are quite the opposite, shown in the mainstay of their profession, they share only the cause they fought for in the conflict that brought them together, now in Asamoil they have a desire to lead a new life, not on the run. This new life is one chequered by events both surreal and starkly realistic, as the strange and vivid magic of the city becomes ever more entwined with the people who live within.

Weird, magical, artistic and profound, there is something for everyone within the Etched city, as not only does Bishop write convincing and stimulating philosophical debates, but she also provides us with some gripping and bloody encounters. Delirious and often quite mad, if you like Mieville, Vandermeer, Harrison, you will most certainly love this.

The Etched City – 9/10