2009 Aurealis Award Nominations

The short lists are in for the 2009 Aurealis Awards, recognising Australia’s best Science Fiction and Fantasy writing. It’s been another strong year for Australian SF & Fantasy and the number of new authors in this year’s list is good news for the future. The Winners will be announced on the 23rd January.

Best Science Fiction Novel

There are only two titles in the SF short list and it’s hard to go past Andrew McGahan’s dizzying literary SF masterpiece Wonders of a Godless World – a book that used the age-old idea of psychic power in a truly original way to explore the majesty and scope of planet Earth and our place on it. The Grand Conjunction was gripping space opera and a thrilling conclusion to the Astropolis which has placed Sean Williams amongst the best Science Fiction writers in the world today.

Andrew McGahan, Wonders of a Godless World, Allen & Unwin
Sean Williams, The Grand Conjunction, Astropolis Book Three, Orbit

Best Fantasy Novel

Five very strong fantasy titles and a couple of new authors to watch out for in K.J. Taylor and Peter M. Ball. Ball’s brilliant and subversive urban fantasy novella Horn is notable, coming from the small but exciting Perth-based indie publisher Twelfth Planet Press. Ball has four separate nominations in this years awards including two for Horn and two SF short stories. While I would dearly love Horn to take out the fantasy award I think Glenda Larke’s The Last Stormlord is the one to beat.

Peter M. Ball, Horn, Twelfth Planet Press
Trudi Canavan, Magician’s Apprentice, Orbit
Glenda Larke, The Last Stormlord, HarperVoyager
K.E. Mills, Witches Incorporated, HarperVoyager
K.J. Taylor, The Dark Griffin, HarperVoyager

 

THE LEFT HAND OF GOD – Paul Hoffman

The Left Hand of God - dark epic fantasy with a healthy dose of cynicism

THE LEFT HAND OF GOD
Paul Hoffman

Many reviewers have already pegged this book as the biggest fantasy release of 2010. That’s a big claim only days into the New Year but it’s not hard to see why this is book is getting so much hype.

From its opening lines we are  drawn into an intense, almost urgent atmosphere as Hoffman cleverly hints at the depths and layers of the story to come. This is a world where nothing and no one can be trusted, where words can have great power but little meaning and where cynicism and dark humour are essential to survival.

Our protagonist (hero is too definite a word this early in such an ambiguous series), Thomas Cale, has been raised by the fanatical and brutal Redeemer Monks for a life as a religious soldier. Cale learned early the value of well told lie and the necessity of secrecy – skills that serve Cale well as he and his companions make their way in a world on the brink of holy war. For discretion is not the only skill Cale possesses and there are some very powerful and determined people who will go to great lengths to control him.

While The Left Hand of God reads like an epic fantasy, it features no magic and its world is more of an alternate history with a patchwork of references from Jesus of Nazareth and Jonah, to Australian place names such as Arnhem Land and The Bite. It is a novel with big ideas that are explored through its characters better than your average fantasy novel. Religion is a primary theme, driving much of the plot and shaping the personalities and motivations of its main characters. Hoffman seems particularly interested in the psychology of belief and faith and the processes of inculcation that can just as easily inspire war or charity.

Cale and his companions Vague Henri and Kleist are brought up by the Redeemers in a militarised form of religion that uses fear and guilt to mould children into unswerving holy warriors with no exposure to alternative world views. In fact, when the three escapees first meet non-Redeemers they are shocked to discover that the religion that has dictated every aspect of their lives is all but ignored by the outside world. More than this, it is treated with scorn and disgust – so much so that it is difficult for them to explain just how dangerous and relentless a Redeemer army would be.

Paul Hoffman has already proven himself to be an author with wide interests and incisive opinions in very different disciplines. His first novel, The Wisdom of Crocodiles, more or less predicted the Global Financial Crisis back in 2000 while his second novel, The Golden Age of Censorship, focused on the unusual life of the modern film censor, a job he himself performed for the BBC. The Left Hand of God benefits from Hoffman’s eclectic interests as he draws on them to give variety and depth to a host of secondary characters such as the slippery IdrisPukke, the calculating Bosco, and, my favourite, the enigmatic Kitty the Hare (“he ain’t no woman and he ain’t no hare”). The book remains centred strongly, however, on Cale – a young man uniquely gifted with the ability to kill but also a streak of humanity that surfaces unexpectedly for reasons his fundamentalist upbringing leaves him ill-equipped to rationalise.

Yes there’s a lot of hype around this book and yes, most of it has it’s seeds in the amount of money paid for the advance – a publisher who invests this much in a fantasy novel is sure to spend a proportionate amount on publicity. But this is not another Twilight or Harry Potter. (It is not even really a young adult novel, despite the teenage lead characters and the insistence of the publisher.) It is certainly and above average fantasy though and definitely worth bumping up you reading list.

 

SHADES OF GREY – Jasper Fforde

Shades of Grey - Enter the Colourtocracy

SHADES OF GREY 1: THE ROAD TO HIGH SAFFRON
by Jasper Fforde

Let me just put this out there straight up: I would knock down my own Grandmother if she stood between me and a new Jasper Fforde novel. There are few authors I idolise as much as Jasper Fforde, the man who brought us, Jurisfiction, the Chronoguard, full body-contact croquet and the ingenious Footnoterphone! Imagine, then, my  hand-trembling excitement as I explored a world utterly different from that of the Thursday Next series, a vision of the future I guarantee you’ve never even dreamt about before, and yet still so unmistakeably Ffordeian.

Shades of Grey takes place in a society entirely governed by a Colourtocracy: a system based on the Munsell Colour System. One’s social standing, career potential, address and even marriage prospects are determined entirely by your own innate colour perception – the range of colours your retinas perceive and to what intensity. The social order has been kept for centuries by strict adherence to the Book of Muns, a meticulous and legally infallible rulebook written in the great Epiphany, that, among many other arbitrary laws, prohibits the production of any new spoons.

Of course, any social ladder implies a bottom rung and in this world it belongs to the Greys. With less than 15% colour perception they are treated little better than slaves, performing all the menial labour for the society for minimum wages. Most bow to their fate with the acceptance of people who know they have no hope of beating the system but there are some in the Fringe towns who refuse to conform, despite the risk of being sent to the Emerald City for Reboot.

It is to the Fringe that a young Red named Eddie Russett has been sent with his father to conduct a chair census – a futile disciplinary task designed to teach him humility. With ambitions to marry into the well-to-do Oxblood family and their profitable string empire, a sojourn in the uncivilised Fringe is a real blow to his prospects.  it’s here that Eddie becomes captivated by the dangerously rebellious Jane Grey and is drawn into a mystery that goes to the dark truth at the centre of the entire Colourtocracy.

Jasper Fforde builds his world and reveals the mystery at its heart patiently, almost teasingly, with tantalising and hilarious details on every page about the life in post-Epiphanic England where swans are feared almost as much as lightning and the population puzzles over scant relics left over from the defacting, such as Parker Brothers Maps and Model T Fords. It has a slower pace to it than the Thursday Next series but the central characters are enormously likeable and Eddie’s first person narrative so earnestly charming that you are quickly won over and swept along with increasing fascination.

Shades of Grey is an Austenesque comedy of manners set in an Orwellian dystopia, written by one of the sharpest and most inventive wits alive today.

 

THE CROWDED SHADOWS – Celine Kiernan

The Crowded Shadows - a lively follow up to the thoughtful and dramatic debut, "The Poison Throne"

THE CROWED SHADOWS
Celine Kiernan

The follow up to one of my favourite debut novels from 2009, The Poison Throne – the first book in The Moorehawke Trilogy. The series is light fantasy, with a strong historical fiction feel – the action takes place in a medieval kingdom in an era very reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition. The world building in the series is quite economic, however, and The Poison Throne was a book that took place entirely within a single castle and its grounds. Its strength was the intense, claustrophobic drama that built up within the royal court as the young Wynter, or Lady Moorehawke, and her ailing father attempt to find out why their enlightened kingdom has fallen into superstitious tyranny in their five year absence.

The Crowded Shadows moves outside the castle and into the forests beyond as Wynter flees the court and its poisonous politics to follow her friend Prince Razi and his companion Christopher. They seek the rebel prince Alberon in the hope of preventing a civil war that will tear the kingdom apart. Fearing attack from the Loups-Garous, they take refuge with Christopher’s adopted people, the gypsy-like Merron. But even here Wynter doesn’t know who she can trust as she discovers the Merron are working for the same enemy she and her father have spent the last five years fighting in the North.

The books are character driven, with wonderful dialogue and great depth to each of their conflicting motivations, emotions and loyalties. Kiernan developed great tension and suspense in The Poison Throne so that you always felt something was about to happen. The action, when it did arrive was often breathtakingly powerful and always unpredictable. Fortunately she manages to keep this intensity going through The Crowded Shadows as well.

Like The Poison Throne, The Crowded Shadows is a book for older teens and adults, with less straight out action and more mature relationships. Wynter’s strong feelings for Christopher are another focus of the book but they are complicated by revelations about his past with the Merron people. We see more of the world and the other cultures within it in this book as well and much of the joy from reading The Crowded Shadows is in these cleverly written details.

My only qualm was that some of the answers to the questions raised in The Poison Throne were deliberately withheld from the reader (and Wynter) so that they could be revealed in the final book, but this is hard to avoid in the middle book of a trilogy. As the title suggests, there are enemies and secrets everywhere and they all seem to be gravitating towards Prince Alberon, hiding somewhere in the wilds. It is a perfect set up for a dramatic finale in The Rebel Prince and I for one can’t wait to get me hands on it.

 

Graphic Novels for December: THE CHILD THIEF and PETER & MAX

The Child Thief - exploring the dark side of Peter Pan

THE CHILD THIEF

Brom

You have never seen the Peter Pan story like this. Surprised by the underlying darkness of J.M Barrie’s original Peter Pan stories, Brom was struck by this line in particular:

The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out; but at this time there were six of them, counting the twins as two.

This was no Disney cartoon. Yes, Peter was daring and full of mischief, he was an adventurer, quick to smile and always ready to play — but Peter’s games often end in blood. He targets children — the broken, the hopeless and the sexually abused — and offers them another life. Tempted through the mists, faerie boys like fourteen-year-old Nick, discover there is always more to lose.

 

THE SAD TALE OF THE BROTHERS GROSSBART – Jesse Bullington

The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart - Jesse Bullington

THE SAD TALE OF THE BROTHERS GROSSBART

Jesse Bullington

What happens when the Brother’s Grimm team up with Quentin Tarantino and Irvine Welsh? Diabolical carnage of the most grotesque and disturbing kind – but funny too, right, in a sick kind of way? Welcome to the imagination of Jesse Bullington.

The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart is not for the weak of constitution. Hegel and Manfred Grossbart are two of the most wretched, dislikeable but fascinating characters you will read this year. Travelling across plague-ravaged Europe on a grave-robbing expedition to ‘Gyptland’, the twin brothers corrupt everyone that has the misfortune to cross their path. Along the way their philosophical musings and twisted moral perspective will appal and delight you in equal measure.

This is the most exciting kind of debut novel – a book that announces an author with a fresh new style and who is unafraid to take his readers in new, dangerous directions. It’s not perfect and it’s definitely not for everyone but if you love your horror gruesome, your heroes morally corrupt and your humour dark and sharp, then you cannot go past The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart.

 

UNDER THE DOME – Stephen King

Under the Dome - Stephen King returns to form

UNDER THE DOME

by Stephen King

This is a welcome return to the classic sagas of King’s early career with powerful human drama, a sprawling cast and constant action, all choreographed by a master storyteller. It’s a book that’s been over 25 years in the making, mixing beautifully some themes and ideas that have been simmering away in King’s potent subconscious mind with current world events and even some very entertaining pop-culture references.

The essential premise is classic sci-fi: one October morning (this October just gone in fact) an invisible force field completely encases the town of Chester Mills in Maine. Completely impenetrable, the dome causes a number of explosive traffic accidents and even a plane crash before the reality of the situation is grasped by both the residents and the outside world. Families lose loved ones, either killed by the Dome or cut-off by it, and in the chaos that follows Big Jim Rennie, a second-hand care dealer and crystal-meth manufacturer, seizes power and enacts his own little dictatorship.

 

Australian SF & Fantasy Highlights: November 2009

Hearts Blood - Beauty and the Beast gets a working over

NOVEMBER’S BEST AUSTRALIAN FANTASY

HEARTS BLOOD – Juliet Marillier

NZ born author Juliet Marillier has achieved a huge international audience with her elegant historical fantasy novels. Like some of her previous series, Heart’s Blood takes inspiration from a traditional fairy tale. In this case it’s Beauty and the Beast – and no, you can forget that saccharine sweet Disney version, this is a story with a lot more guts to it.

Set in 12th Century Ireland as the Anglo-Norman Lords are manoeuvring to wrest control from the High Kings and their chieftains, Heart’s Blood centres on the Western settlement of Whistling Tor. Caitrin, a young woman fleeing a life of mental and physical abuse, seeks shelter in the village and learns of its cursed history. For nearly a hundred years the Tor has been haunted by an uncanny host of beings that whisper from the mist and lure victims away from safety.

In the crumbling fortress on the Tor the reviled Chieftain, Anluan, secludes himself away, disfigured from a palsy in his youth and convinced of his own uselessness. Taking work as a scribe in the fortress, Caitrin gradually  uncovers the secrets of Whistling Tor and begins to fall in love with Anluan. The bitter sweet romance between these two beats at the heart of this atmospheric and twisted fairy/ghost story.

Another mesmerising story from Marillier with an even more interesting lead character in Caitrin, a girl far more independent and inspiring than the Beauty of the fairy tale, but less idealised than some of Marillier’s past heroines.

Mirror Space - The Sentients of Orion Book 3

NOVEMBER’S BEST SCIENCE FICTION

MIRROR SPACE -  Marianne de Pierres

The third and penultimate book in the ingeniously constructed The Sentients of Orion space opera series, Mirror Space is choreographed perfectly to set up the world shattering finale in Transformation Space.

Each book in The Sentients of Orion has improved on the one before it as the scope and connections between the different story strands begin to be revealed. The major focus is the pilot Mira, denied her birthright as the captain of the biozoon Insignia, looking desperately for help to save her home planet of Araldis from the Saqr invasion. She has enlisted the help of the mercenary Rast while Trin and the other survivors on Araldis, continue to search for a safe haven.

And, constantly in the background  Tekton competes against the galaxy’s cleverest minds to win the honour of becoming the initiate of Sole, the God entity. This intriguing plot line has bubbled away behind the scenes for the entire series and I am fascinated to see how it will turn out.

Mirror Space is a brilliant continuation of The Sentients of Orion series, lifting it once again to a new level. Can’t wait for Transformation Space.

The Genius Wars - A brilliant conclusion to a wonderful Sydney-based trilogy

NOVEMBER’S BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

THE GENIUS WARS – Catherine Jinks

The Genius Wars is the exciting and entirely satisfying conclusion to the wonderfully original and fiendishly clever Evil Genius series by Catherine Jinks.

Cadel is finally enjoying a normal life with caring foster parents, a place at university and the freedom to go where he pleases without constant surveillance. Prosper English may have escaped from gaol but he has gone underground for nine months and it appears that as long as Cadel keeps his nose out of his business, Prosper will return the favour.

But when Prosper reveals himself again, appearing in CCTV footage around Sydney, Cadel is pulled unwillingly back into hiding. And then, as strange accidents begin to endanger the lives of his closest friends, Cadel realises Prosper has not forgotten about him at all. He alone knows Prosper well enough to be able to stop him and he’ll need to call on all his training as an evil genius to  guess what he’s up to – if only the police would stop treating him like a kid!

I devoured both the first two books in this series and my only disappointment in reading The Genius Wars is that this appears to be the final instalment. Catherine Jinks has outdone herself with the technical wizardry and cunning machinations in this book and, as always, the characterisation of Cadel, Sonja and their friends is an absolute joy to read. Plus, I always love the Sydney setting but the scenes in UNSW were an absolute bonus for an old alumni like me.

 

SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH – George RR Martin and Gardner Duzois (Ed)

Songs of the Dying Earth - A classy tribute to a Science Fiction great

SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH

George R.R. Martin and Gardner Duzois (Ed)

Jack Vance wrote the Tales of the Dying Earth series over a period of 34 years from 1950-1984. It is still regarded as one of the most distinctive and influential creations in the fantasy genre and the Cugel volumes in particular are still as fresh and entertaining as ever. Set in the far far future, Vance imagines an Earth populated by humans capable of both powerful magic and impressive technology. Yet this advanced society lives with the inescapable knowledge that our Sun is in rapid decline and will soon die, dooming all life on Earth with it.

Songs of the Dying Earth is a tribute to this extraordinary series; a collection of 23 short stories from some of the today’s greatest fantasy authors including Neil Gaiman, George RR Martin, Robert Silverberg, Kage Baker, Dan Simmons, Tad Williams, Elizabeth Moon and many more.

 

SOULLESS: AN ALEXIA TARABOTTI NOVEL – Gail Carriger

Soulless - A quirky debut novel for those sick of the same urban fantasy tropes

SOULLESS: AN ALEXIA TARABOTTI NOVEL

Gail Carriger

Gail Carriger describes her first novel as “urbane fantasy” – an apt description for this paranormal Victorian comedy of manners.

In Alexia Tarabotti’s London vampires enjoy positions of influence and prestige in the upper echelons of society and werewolves, while considered by some as barely civilised, play crucial roles in the military and policing. Alexia herself is something altogether different – a preternatural, born without a soul, her touch can nullify a supernatural’s power.

So when an unexpected vampire tries to bite her at a dinner party Alexia is almost as shocked by his woeful awareness of her soulless condition as she is by his inexcusable lack of etiquette. In the frightfully vulgar scuffle that results, Alexia accidentally kills the vampire with her parasol, bringing her once more to the attention of the bothersome werewolf and chief investigator Lord Maccon.

Alexia – spinster and insufferable blue stocking – is a terrific creation and Carriger has succeeded in mixing some of the best elements of paranormal romance, steam punk, mystery and Victorian comedy of manners to create a new series that stands out  from the pack in today’s oversaturated urban fantasy market.

 

THE GATHERING STORM – Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

The Gathering Storm - The end is in sight!

THE GATHERING STORM

Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

What is it about Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series that has managed to keep such a large audience enthralled for so many years? Since the release of The Eye of the World back in January 1990 legions of fans have doggedly followed the fortunes of that original group of heroes who set out from Two Rivers, even as the series grew and grew to encompass the fates of many more players.

Most fans will admit to frustration in recent years as Robert Jordan continued to allow the story to diverge further and further from the original plot line. By the tenth book,  Crossroads of Twilight, it looked like the story might never come to a conclusion and the release a year later of a prequel, New Spring, produced a huge outcry from Jordan’s despairing readership. Finally the message seemed to get through – enough with the new plot threads and divergences, it’s time for some closure. This wasn’t a call for Robert Jordan to wrap everything up and never write another Wheel of Time book, just a plea to conclude the central story before playing around with prequels and sequels and other spin-offs.

 

ANGRY ROBOT – Harper Collins unveils their new SF & Fantasy Imprint

There's a new SF & Fantasy publisher on the block and apparently they're angry (and robotic)

Launched earlier this year by Harper Collins in the UK and Australia, Angry Robot is a new publishing imprint where “[the] mission, quite simply, is to publish the best in brand new genre fiction – SF, F and WTF?!” Essentially, Angry Robot is all about the new wave of SF and Fantasy, whether it be subversive new takes on traditional tropes, crossover fiction, or something entirely, even bizarrely original. What makes me excited about the whole venture is that Harper Collins already has a dedicated SF & Fantasy Imprint in their stable: Voyager is perhaps the biggest specialist SF and Fantasy publisher in the world, home to many of the genres’ most successful authors. For Harper to launch a new dedicated SF & F imprint suggests they are looking to do something new.

Another reason to be optimistic is the publishing team behind Angry Robot: Marc Gascoigne and assistant editor Lee Harris – perhaps two of the biggest SF geeks on the planet. Marc cut his teeth at the Independent SF & F Publisher Solaris and War Hammer specialist The Black Library and Lee is a driving force behind Hub Magazine, a weekly e-Zine that is also worth checking out. The duo have certainly used their connections well to put together a motley crew of authors from around the world, including two from Australia – Kylie Chan and Kaaron Warren. Many of the authors are already hardened professionals, writing film and tv tie-ins, gaming fiction and computer games.

 

Australian Fantasy Highlights: July and August 2009

Fantasy writing is flourishing in Australia these days. Led by established authors such as Garth Nix, Kate Forsythe and Isobel Carmody, the quality of Aussie fantasy just keeps getting better and better. With so much good local fantasy available, I wanted to take some time to highlight some of the best recent releases.

Cry of the Marwing - A strong conclusion to a great Aussie epic fantasy

THE CRY OF THE MARWING: KIRA CHRONICLES BOOK 3

by K.S. Nikakis

K.S. Nikakis actually literally has a PhD in Fantasy Fiction, with her thesis entitled The Use of Narrative in Order to Break the Masculine Dominance Of the Hero Quest. Her debut series, The Kira Chronicles, obviously benefits from her ideas on the subject. Kira is a marvellous character, compelled to undertake a perilous quest to save her besieged, pacifist community. She is a true heroine in her own right, not simply a woman adopting the traditional male hero persona.

In Cry of the Marwing, the concluding chapter of the trilogy, she is forced to betray all her principles in order to save her homeland. The Kira Chronicles is one of those special series that has everything — a gripping story in an expansive and beautifully described world, centred by three dimensional characters with true human drama.

Tracato - Strong politics and more depth

TRACATO: A TRIAL OF BLOOD AND STEEL BOOK 3

by Joel Shepherd

Joel Shepherd has quickly made the transition from up-and-coming-writer-to-watch to an accomplished and reliable spec fiction author. His second series, A Trial of Blood and Steel, has recently been bought in the US by exciting genre publisher Pyr. Tracato, released this month, is the third volume of this politically savvy fantasy quartet.

The noble-born swordswoman, Sasha, still struggles under the expectations of her people and against the squabblings of feudal lords, desperate to hold onto power in the face of revolution. And now despite all her best efforts, Rhodia has fallen into war. Tracato sees some side characters from previous books come to the fore, giving the readers fresh perspectives and removing some of the narrative load off Sasha.

Arrows of Time - epic fantasy with a bonus course in quantum theory (not recommended for trained physicists)

ARROWS OF TIME

by Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer brings together science and fantasy in her first fiction series, the aptly named Quantum Enchantment Trilogy. Set upon two future worlds—a post-apocalyptic Earth and a distant colony on Earth-like Gaela—Falconer plays with technology and magic, quantum theory and astrology, to create a completely original universe where space and time don’t always behave the way we think they should. Portals exist, for example, between the two worlds allowing those with the ability to jump backwards and forwards in space and time. But there’s risks involved and playing with time can really mess up your day. There’s some interesting theory behind all of this and Falconer balances it all with aplomb while managing to develop some great characters to boot.

The second book, Arrows of Time, is due out this month but you will need to read The Spell of Rosette first if you are going to have any chance understanding it all. Personally, I’m a sceptic when it comes to universal connectedness theories and the appropriation of quantum theory by those attracted by its mysteriousness kind of annoys me but, for fantasy and science fiction readers who like to mix Quantum theory with magic, this is just the ticket.

The Dark Griffin - This guy leaves Buckbeak for dead

THE DARK GRIFFIN

by K. J. Talyor

K. J. Taylor is a young author out of Canberra celebrating the release of her second novel and her first foray into adult fantasy fiction. The Dark Griffin takes place in the mythical world of Cymria, where griffins rule side by side with humans. There are problems both political and practical in the sharing of power and high status is afforded to the ‘Griffiners’, human companions who act as diplomats or ambassadors to the griffins, facilitating communication and smoothing relations between the species.

Arren is a griffiner but, being a Northerner, he is mistrusted and despised by his colleagues so that, when his griffin dies, his grief and resentment mix dangerously. Then he meets the Black Griffin, a rogue, desperate to escape his gladiatorial enslavement and quick to recognise Arren as the perfect means to an end. The Dark Griffin is a tight psychological fantasy with memorable characters and a fascinating world to explore – I’m looking forward to reading more.

This post adapted from my article in the Booktopia SF & Fantasy Buzz

 

GALILEO’S DREAM – Kim Stanley Robinson

Galileo's Dream - Galileo circa 3020

Kim Stanley Robinson’s name is synonymous with the term “future history”, which is used to describe those highly detailed sagas that tend to damage the social lives of hard SF junkies such as yours truly. Galileo’s Dream certainly has elements of future history within it  (and I will get to them soon) but  first and foremost, it is a sensitively fictionalised biography of one of the pillars of modern science.

A brilliant mathematician, though naive in politics and other practical affairs, Galileo Galilei struggles to support his family as a tutor and part time inventor. He is fascinated on hearing of the invention of lenses that enable one to view distant objects clearly and soon improves upon the idea and creates his own telescope. His subsequent astronomical observations bring him world-wide scientific recognition and seem to secure his future. But his discoveries, including the four Jovian moons, lead him to revive the heretical notion of Copernicanism, putting him at odds with the doctrine of the Catholic Church.

This much will be familiar to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the history of science but there’s a twist in this version of the story. Just as Galileo’s heretical studies put him in danger of being burned at the stake, he begins to suffer from a series of collapses, each lasting for several hours. While in this state he is visited by a recurring dream in which he is brought to the year 3020 as an advisor to a disagreeing group of future scientists. They are debating whether or not to make contact with a new form of life discovered beneath the surface of Europa and have brought Galileo forward in time to act as arbiter. The ‘dreams’ grant Galileo an insight into the future history of scientific discovery, from Newton to Einstein and beyond. All of these insights are forgotten on awakening, except for the clear knowledge that history tells he will be burned at the stake for speaking the truth.

The heart of Galileo’s Dream lies in its evocation of a man prepared to stand up for scientific integrity in the face of religious dogma. But this book is much more than an exercise in scientific hero worship — it paints a mesmerising portrait of a wayward genius and devoted family man whose name and contribution to our understanding of the universe will no doubt still be remembered 1000 years from now.

 

LAVINIA – Ursula Le Guin

Lavinia - a masterpiece.

Simply one of the most impressive  novels of the year, in any genre.

Le Guin is the undisputed queen of science fiction and fantasy. Her early works (notably the Hainish Cycle and the Earthsea novels) helped establish science fiction and fantasy as a true literary mode, capable of exploring deeper human truths and sociological trends. She cleared a path for female authors in traditionally male dominated genres and did it all with graceful, meaningful and eminently readable storytelling.

If there is any room for complaint against Le Guin it is that her early novels were so good that she has struggled to match their brilliance since. This is why I am so excited about Lavinia — it is quite possibly the best novel she has ever written and, considering her back list, that is a very big statement indeed.

Her new book is a masterful retelling of Virgil’s The Aeneid, re-imagined from the perspective of Aeneis’ wife, Lavinia. Virgil was broadly dismissive of Lavinia in his epic poem, referring to her directly only twice despite the fact that, like Helen of Troy, an entire war is fought over her. An indication of the lack of respect afforded women in Virgil’s time, no doubt, but Le Guin saw more in the demure Latin princess who, unlike Helen, took control of her own destiny. Lavinia emerges as a determined and courageous leader, in tune with her people and their natural surroundings.

There is so much to admire in this very mature, well rounded novel but I will limit myself to just a couple of things that I loved. The use of Virgil’s ghost, visiting Lavinia from the future to instruct her on her own destiny, was a stroke of meta-storytelling genius. Le Guin also beautifully explores the contrast between Lavinia’s pagan spirituality and the Greco-Roman gods of Aeneis (and Virgil) providing a wonderful insight into an age of religious and political upheaval.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough to anyone and everyone, but particularly if you enjoyed other re-workings of classical myths such as Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon or David Malouf’s recent  literary masterpiece, Ransom.

 

Young Adult Book of the Month: August 2009

Vulture's Gate - Mad Max with Roborapters

VULTURE’S GATE – Kirsty Murray

40 years in the future, a plague has destroyed human’s ability to conceive females. In the Australian desert the roving bands of outstationers have cut ties with the Colony government, living out a merciless, womanless future in the outback.

In this all male world, young Callum is kidnapped from his fathers’ and sold into slavery. Taking his one chance to escape, he finds himself alone and close to death in the desert only to be rescued by someone who shouldn’t even be alive: Bo, a young girl living a solitary life as a technohunter with only her pack of faithful roborapters for company.

Pursued by his relentless captors, Callum and Bo seek out the safe haven of Vulture’s Gate, not knowing what they will find or who they can trust.

Reminiscent of The Knife of Never Letting Go, with all the grit and action of Mad Max, this is an edge of your seat thrill ride through a disturbing vision of the future. Brilliant from start to finish. Recommended for everyone from 13+ to adults.

This post adapted from my article in the Booktopia SF & Fantasy Buzz

 

Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer – Jonathan L. Howard

Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer - Faustian Bargains were never this much fun

For fans of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, a brilliantly funny new take on the  Faustian bargain.

Johannes Cabal, scientific genius and renowned intellectual snob, did a deal with the devil. He sold his soul for the ability to control the dead. Unfortunately Johannes soon realises that there’s little point being a necromancer without possession of his own soul. But the devil seemed like a sporting fellow — perhaps they could come to some arrangement.

As it turns out the Devil loves a wager. Enlist a hundred new souls in 12 months and Johannes is a free man— the Devil even offers Johannes a travelling circus franchise to help in the endeavour. So, it’s a simple matter of raising his vampire brother from the dead, resurrecting a troupe of zombie freak show employees and hitting the road with his Carnival of Discord. If only swindling people out of their souls were that easy!

Cabal’s  sarcastic wit slaps you from the page and the nightmarish bureaucracy that is Howard’s vision of Hell surpasses even Douglas Adams’ Vogons for pencil pushing madness. Exceedingly clever, devilishly funny and wickedly entertaining.

 

The City & The City – China Mieville

The City & The City - China Mieville

One never knows exactly what you are going to get when you pick up a new novel from the genre-breaking China Miéville. His surreal urban stories have defied easy categorisation into straight SF or Fantasy, spawning the entirely distinct sub-genre of “new weird” in his ongoing rebellion against Tolkien-style fantasy. But more than this, Miéville is always looking to experiment with other literary genres and The City & The City is his homage to the classic police procedural.

Inspector Tyador Borlu of the Extreme Crime Squad is investigating the murder of an unidentified woman, at first glance just another unlucky street walker in the decaying city of Beszel. But the more Borlu digs, the more he’s convinced that this woman is not where she’s supposed to be and that he has stumbled across a dangerous conspiracy that could cost him his own life.

And this is where it gets new weird.

 

CLOUD & ASHES: THREE WINTER TALES Greer Gilman

Cloud & Ashes - Literary Fantasy that will sweep you away

Fantasy is, in some ways, the most faithful of all literary genres to traditional storytelling, maintaining clear links with the mythical to help explore the deeper mysteries of the human condition.

Magic Realism authors like Salman Rushdie and Gabrielle Garcia Marquez weave ancient myth and traditional folklore into contemporary stories, providing “new” perspectives on modern life. Other’s, such as J.R.R. Tolkien or Ursula K. Le Guin, create entirely new worlds that give free rein to folklore, allowing the reader to escape the prejudices of the familiar and act as an objective observer of the human condition.

To act as more than mere escapism, however, fantasy literature must present a culture internally consistent with all aspects of its world and its people. Language is perhaps the most important component of culture and one of the most effective tools an author can use to transport readers into their alternative universe. Most modern fantasies offer only exotic sounding proper nouns and a handful of twisted colloquialisms and it is rare to find an author with the ability to develop and build a truly original linguistic structure to support their story.

Greer Gilman is such an author and perhaps one of the most talented linguists writing in any genre today. Her new book, Cloud & Ashes: Three Winter’s Tales, recalls James Joyce for its playfulness and inventiveness, mining the Yorkshire vernacular in particular in her creation of a mythical realm called ‘Cloud’. The two short stories and the novella contained within Cloud & Ashes each centre around Cloudish winter myths, based largely upon Celtic traditions such as the death and rebirth of the winter king. Like Tir na nÓg, Cloud is a land of pure myth and these stories are to be read as such, like the symbols on a pack of tarot cards.

Cloud & Ashes is an incredible achievement, a work rich with word play and potent symbolism. Whether you delight in unravelling multi-layered meanings in a text or if you simply enjoy the floating sensation of allowing richly figurative language to wash over you and carry you along, Cloud & Ashes is a book you will turn back to again and again.

 

Sydney Writers’ Festival 2009 Bestsellers and wrap-up

The Brain That Changes Itself - Neural plasticity was the surprise hot topic at the SWF 2009

I’ve sat down to write about the SWF every day this week but there’s been so much buzzing around in my head I hardly know where to start. The Bookseller & Publisher came out with some interesting figures on the festival though, which I thought were worth a closer look.

According to festival bookseller Gleebooks, the top 10 bestselling books at the festival were:

The Brain That Changes Itself – Norman Doidge
A Case of Exploding Mangoes – Mohammed Hanif
The Thing Around Your Neck – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Half of a Yellow Sun – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Between the Monster and the Saint: Reflections on the Human Condition – Richard Holloway
The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 20^th Century – George Friedman
The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas
Stuff White People Like – Christian Lander
Warchild – Emmanuel Jal
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher – Kate Summerscale