In Thunder Forged Rocks

In Thunder Forged:  The Fall of Llael Book One
Ari Marmell
Pyr Books
Trade Paper 320 pp $18.00
ebook Kindle $8.69 Nook $10.31

If you're a fan of dark, gritty military fantasy, then In Thunder Forged is the book for you.  Ari Marmell is a superb writer, and he's at the top of his game in this first volume of The Iron Kingdoms Chronicles.  The series is based on the Warmachine Steam Powered Fantasy Wargame and the Iron Kingdoms Role Playing Game.  They're produced by Privateer Press.  I have to admit that I wasn't familiar with them, not really having time to add gaming to my already full schedule.  After reading In Thunder Forged, I'm going to check them out.

Howard Days, Here I Come

I'm leaving in a few minutes for Howard Days.  It doesn't start officially until Friday, but there's an informal get-together in Brownwood tonight.  Plus, Howard is buried in Brownwood, and I've never visited the grave site.  (Please don't judge me.)

I'll be commuting from my parents' house in Breckenridge, which on the other side of Cross Plains.  (And one of the main reasons I've not visited Howard's grave.)  I'll give a full report when I get back.  I've been reading Ari Marmell's In Thunder Forged, which came out Tuesday. I'd hoped to have the review up before I left, but obviously it didn't happen.  I'll try to finish the book on the trip and post the review when I get back.

Until then, I'll check in once or twice a day, either early or late, but for the most part won't be around much until next week.

New Acquisitions

Today a friend and I took my son hiking in Palo Duro Canyon while our wives stayed home doing whatever wives do when husbands are away.  (I don't want to know; that it involves spending money is enough.)  This will tie into a Dispatches From the Lone Star Front post later in the week after another road trip. 

When I go home, there was a package waiting for me.  It contained a copy of Ari Marmell's In Thunder Forged from Pyr Books.  Along with Wrath-Breaking Tree (James Enge) and Kindred and Wings (Philippa Ballantine) that came Thursday and Nebula Awards Showcase (Catherine Asaro, ed.), which arrived last week, that's four from Pyr in about ten days.  The Marmell and Nebula Awards will be reviewed first since the former will be out in a couple of weeks, and the latter is out already.  That's not to say some of the other review copies Pyr has sent me won't end up in the queue in the next couple of weeks.

I've also got several titles from Angry Robot in my ereader:  The Blue Blazes by Chuck Wendig (which I've already started and am loving), iD by Madelaine Ashbury, and A Discourse in Steel by Paul S. Kemp.

Finally, I'm looking forward to diving into No Return by Zachary Jernigan.  He was kind enough to send me a copy of his first novel.  This one got some good advance buzz, and I love the cover.  It's up Blue Blazes. 

Anyway, those are the novels from publishers and authors I've agreed to read and review.  I still plan to increase the amount of short fiction I review.  (Sooper Seekrit Project #2 requires me to do so.)  I'm also going to stick in some novels just because I want to read them.

Think all that will keep me busy?

Writng Fantasy Heroes Arrives

Writing Fantasy Heroes
Jason M. Waltz, ed.
Rogue Blades Entertainment
trade paper, 202 pages, $14.99

This isn't a review.  That will come later, after I've read the book.  I don't normally profile books until I've read them, but in this case I'm making an exception.  I think you'll understand.

This volume contains 13 essays (plus an introduction by Steven Erikson) on how to write heroes in fantasy.  The contributors include (in no particular order) Glen Cook, Brandon Sanderson, C. L. Werner, Howard Andrew Jones, Ian C. Esslemont, Ari Marmell, Paul Kearney, Orson Scott Card.  I could go on.  But I won't.  You can discover the rest for yourself.

I've reviewed works by several of the above here at Adventures Fantastic, and there are others on that list I haven't gotten to yet, at least as far as reviews are concerned. There will be some great writing advice in there.  (I know, I've already peeked.)

I also know some of the people who read this blog are writers at various stages of their careers.  In the interest of helping you improve your craft (because I'm selfish and want great books by you to read), I thought I'd announce this book here.  And, yes, gloat, because my copy arrived today.  I'm going to steal time from some other commitments later tonight and start reading it.  I'll post a full review when I'm done.

Writing Fantasy Heroes is from Rogue Blades Entertainment and is available from Amazon and B&N.  I was completely surprised when I heard about it.  Rogue Blades Entertainment hasn't had anything out in a while, and they've been sorely missed.  Jason, it's great to have you back.

Recommendations from the First Half of 2012

There have been a lot of lists posted or published, depending on the format, in the last few weeks, claiming to enumerate the best books/stories/graphic novels/dirty limericks/ransom notes/whathaveyou from the first half of 2102.  To which, I say, yeah, right.  Unless these lists were compiled by committee, no one person could have read enough novels to say their list is the best.  And if the list were put together by committee, well, we all know what too often comes out of committee.

Now I'm not saying those lists don't have value, just the title "Best" is misleading.  So I'm going to call the list that follows simply my recommendations for the first half of 2012.

First, a couple of ground rules.  I'm going to limit myself to novels, and with one or two exceptions which were self-published, novels published in 2012.  I'm making an exception for the self-published novels because they sometimes need a little time to develop some momentum.  Anyone paying attention to the trade publishers should be aware of forthcoming novels.

I'm also going to take the coward's way out and not try to rank them.  I started to, but quickly ran into the issue of trying to decide between two books I thoroughly loved but for entirely different reasons.  I could bite the bullet and give them rankings, but tomorrow I'd probably change my mind.  Instead the books will be listed alphabetically by title.

So here are my recommendations from the first half of 2012, along with an occasional cheeky synopsis.  If more than one book in a series came out in the first part of the year, I've only listed the first book.

More Wit, More Charm, More Snark, More Theft, and a Lot More Fun

False Covenant
Ari Marmell
Pyr Books
Hardcover, $16.95, release date June 2012

I think I'm a little in love with Widdershins.  It's perfectly understandable really.  She's beautiful and clever, with a sharp blade and a sharper tongue.  And I'm not the only one in love with her.  There's...come to think of it, much of my competition is significantly better with a blade than I am.  Perhaps I should forget about her.

Besides, she's a fictional character.

Why are you people looking at me that way?

A Study of the Feminine Graces: Wit, Charm, Snark, and Theft

Thief's Covenant
Ari Marmell
Pyr Books
Hardcover, 273 p., $16.95
various ebook editions (Nook, Kindle) $7.99

I've heard of Ari Marmell, but until now I hadn't read one of his books.  Thief's Covenant won't be the last. 

Part of Pyr's new YA line, this is a fun, albeit dark, novel.  The central character is Widdershins, formerly known as Adrienne Satti.  She's an orphan, at one time adopted into a noble family.  Until she was witness and sole survivor of a massacre at the temple of her god.  Fearing she would be blamed for the killings, she fled back to the slums, adopting the identity of Widdershins.

Oh, and there's one thing.  Her god went with her. 

The Next Week or So

I'm getting over a sinus infection at the moment, something that isn't helped by the dust and the wind here on the South Plains.  Unless something major happens tomorrow, I probably won't be posting anything new until Sunday night or more probably Monday evening.  I'll be attending ConDFW this weekend and will give a full report when I get back.  I'm also reading Mark Finn's updated biography of Robert E. Howard, Blood and Thunder, and Matt Forbeck's Carpathia.  They're both great reads, and I'll review them next week.  I had hoped to finish one of them in time to write a review before the con, but being sick has slowed me down some.

In the meantime, this Saturday will see the first guest post here.  Author Ty Johnston is doing a blog tour to promote his new book, Demon Chains, the latest in his Kron Darkbow series.  I'd like to thank Ty in advance for his column.  I've read it, and it's good.  Check it out.  And if you haven't read any of his books, start with City of Rogues, which I reviewed a few months ago.

Coming up after the report on ConDFW, I've got commitments to review (not necessarily in this order) Shadow's Master by Jon Sprunk,  Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell, The Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle, Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig, Trang by Mary Sisson, and Rise and Fall by Joshua P. Simon.  I'll probably look at some short fiction in the midst of all that, plus the occasional essay.