Anne Lyle's The Alchemist of Souls

The Alchemist of Souls
Anne Lyle
Angry Robot Books
UK/RoW
432pp B-format paperback, £8.99
US/CAN
448pp mass-market paperback
$7.99 US $8.99 CAN
eBook
£4.49


I had intended to have this book read and reviewed two or three weeks ago, on or about the release date, but life has been happening at my house, and I'm a little behind.  My apologies to Ms. Lyle and Angry Robot for the delay.  I know Angry Robot likes to have reviews for review copies posted within two weeks of the book's release, and I'm a little beyond that.

Anyway, I was eagerly awaiting this one, and my expectations were higher than usual due to all the positive advance buzz surrounding it.  And while I enjoyed the book, as is often the case in these types of situations, I was somewhat disappointed.

The Best Six Novels I've Read in the First Six Months of 2011, Sort of

Well, 2011 is about half gone, and while I'm not going to look at the New Year's Resolutions I posted (because I've exceeded some considerably and failed at other even more), I thought this would be a good time to look back over the novels I've read during the first half of the year that I've written about and see which ones were the best.

One thing quickly became clear:  I need to read more novels.  Not all the novels I've read have appeared here for the simple reason that some of them were not fantasy or historical adventure.  I've decided to keep the science fiction separate (which is why I started Futures Past and Present), and after one review, I've not blogged about any mysteries or detective stories.

So here's my list of the top six (very loosely defined, as you'll see) of the best novels I've read so far this year.

When Honor is a Career Liability

Among Thieves
Douglas Hulick
Roc, 417 p., $7.99

This is a first novel, but it doesn't read like a first novel.  It's polished, complex, fast-moving, and keeps you off balance.  In other words, it's a great deal of fun.  If you like Scott Lynch or Stephen Brust, this one is probably your cup of tea.

To briefly explain the setup.  Ildrecca is an ancient city, seat of an ancient empire.  An empire with a very old emperor.  A number of centuries ago, the Angels split the soul of the Emperor Dorminikos into three parts.  Each of the three parts was then reincarnated as the emperors Markino, Theodoi, and Lucien.  When one dies, the next in the cycle assumes the throne.  That way there is always one aspect of the original in power at any time.  Sort of a sovereignty-by-time-share.

This arrangement has worked for centuries and allowed for a (mostly) unbroken sequence of rule, with only a few interruptions when someone has attempted kill off the present incarnation and take over before the next incarnation can be identified.  There's only one problem.  Each incarnation is starting to show signs of insanity, and each incarnation is showing those signs earlier in his life than his predecessors.