pornokitsch

Underground Reading: Maisie Dobbs and Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

I'm an avid reader of the vintage tea cozy mystery, from the inspired puzzles of Agatha Christie to the quiet grace of GK Chesterton's books to the sublime "novels-with-detective-interruptions" of Dorothy L. Sayers (my all-time favorite author).  As prolific as many of those authors were, however, they just aren't writing any more books.  So I occasionally pick up modern tea cozies, in the great good hope that I might have found another author or series to help stretch out the time in between rereading Gaudy Night.

Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series has not proven to be such a stopgap.

It is official. I'm hooked on Echo Bazaar - a turn-based, online adventure in a 'Fallen' London that seems straight out of Chambers' King in Yellow. Not sure exactly what I'm doing, but so far I've gotten drunk with spies, gone mud-diving for booze and been (repeatedly) tossed out of a ball. 

New Releases: The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

The first truly hyped release of 2010, The Left Hand of God has a lot going for it - at least, on the surface. Gritty, dark fantasy cover art, great word of mouth & a tantalizing plot all add up to a lot of sound and fury. And, to give it credit, Hoffman does write a very more-ish book, fast-paced from start to finish.

The book's protagonist is Thomas Cale, an orphan in the care of the Redeemers. The Redeemers are a sinister, reclusive religious order that stress penitence & punishment (also torture and the occasional bout of pedophilia). Although the orphans are cut off from the world, it doesn't take much for Thomas to figure out that the abandoned kids are being trained into an army of killers. 

The first part of the book (and probably the best), takes place in the Sanctuary. Cale and his friends scuttle around like rats - survival is their only goal. Oddly, I've always enjoyed the opening "before the prophecy happens" sections of high fantasy epics, and this is a pretty good one. Compared to Garion's kitchen or Frodo's farm, Cale's miserable orphanage is quite a change.

Graphic Novel Round-Up: Heroes Gone Wild

The idea of heroes gone wrong is a popular one - there's nothing more compelling than a fallen star. Historically (in a comic book sense), the caped ones were teflon-coated. Heroes were heroes, and that always shined through.

But what if they weren't?

Watchmen (1986) is, of course, the king of this genre. The entire theme of the book is (superish)heroes gone wrong - unchecked power and ego leading them to sins small & large. Still, Watchmen isn't the only great example of this genre. 

Here are five more... Agree? Disagree? Read our reviews, have a vote, and abuse us in the comments. 

Memory x Opportunity

"In six weeks, [Hard Case Crime] is going to publish Donald E. Westlake's unpublished novel, MEMORY. Both Publishers Weekly and Booklist have given it starred reviews, calling it "a significant final work from a master" and "absolutely a must-read." 

The book hits stores at the end of March -- but if you're reading this message you have a chance to get a copy sooner than that. At the start of March we're going to be sending 12 free advance copies of the book to randomly selected people from our mailing list. Interested in throwing your hat into the ring? Well, we don't need your hat -- just send your name and the address to which you'd like the book mailed if you're chosen to drawing@hardcasecrime.com before 5PM (New York time) on February 28."

  - Charles Ardai, Hard Case Crime

Underground Reading: Dark Lord (Falconfar) by Ed Greenwood

Dark Lord (2007) is the first book in Ed Greenwood's Falconfar trilogy. Greenwood is the mind behind the seminal Forgotten Realms campaign world, as well as writing a billion or so (approximate count) books for that setting. 

Dark Lord, unsurprisingly, is a fairly standard high fantasy novel - good girls, bad wizards, a bit of prophecy and a bit of 'sucked out of the mundane world' thrown in for good measure. 

More surprisingly, Dark Lord is an absolutely ingenious pastiche of the modern fantasy genre.

That, or absolute shit. You be the judge.

The book features Rod Everlar, who is a fantasy writer in "real life". Rod created the immensely popular Falconfar setting - describing every aspect of the world in loving detail. The setting was so popular that a computer game company (the inauspiciously-named Holdoncorp) bought it. Poor Rod can now feel his creation slipping away.

That is, until it comes very, very near. 

Classic Covers: Tell Me About Women by Harry Reasoner

Happy Valentine's Day with Dell Mapback 417 - Tell Me About Women. 

(Map of where to meet the ladeez below the jump)

 

KJ Parker, whose pseudonymity is particularly frustrating for those of us that want to meet him/her at the pub, has a new book out on 22 Feb - The Folding Knife. Parker's last book, Purple & Black, as one of the best releases of 2009. 2010 is already made brighter by knowing that Parker's latest gloomy, existential & blackly comedic release is on its way...

SFX Weekender Post-script: Young Adult Fiction Panel

A little less than a year ago, Jared and I attended the Sci Fi London's literary panel "Writing Young Adult Fiction."  Although fascinating, the event had a few major weaknesses, mainly an overwhelming moderator and an overstuffed panel. 

The young adult fiction panel at SFX's Weekender, however, shared none of these problems. 

In case you haven't noticed, quite a few people made it to the SFX Weekender. Paul Cornell, Joe Abercrombie, Mark Charan Newton, Abaddon's David Moore, Stephen Deas, Den Patrick and the Geek Syndicate all have something to say. Plus us. Twice.