Review | Infoquake by David Louis Edelman (Solaris)

Bio/logics, the way to program the human body - through this technology humanity can control their bodies in ways that could only have been dreamt of in the past. With public memecorps and private fiefcorps developing and refining programs, new possibilities are emerging every week.

Natch is a programmer of bio/logics, running his own fiefcorp and gunning for the top position on Primo's, the list that tells consumers who's hot. When he's approached by Margaret Surina with the offer of untold fortunes through the release of a new technology she's been developing, MultiReal, he's pushed into a cut-throat world. With enemies at every turn and not knowing who to trust, Natch and his team must prepare and release MultiReal in record time.

However, a deadly phenomenon occurs: the Infoquake. With energy consumption reaching some of the highest levels recorded the threat of more of these is not so far fetched. So the race is on and the question is whether Natch and his crew get MultiReal up and running in time.

Infoquake is the first book in the Jump 225 trilogy and one I've been hearing about over the past year but never got around to picking up. I bought it just before Christmas with the intention of being able to read it while I had some time off. Well, that never materialised, but I still kept it on the shelf ready for reading. I picked it up last weekend and didn't look back, it was more than I could have imagined and I'm now wondering just why I left it as long as I did.

To put it in simple terms, Infoquake is not your normal science fiction novel. It doesn't deal with an action hero, it doesn't focus on a threat to the world, there are no aliens or AI's. Infoquake is a science fiction story about business. Doesn't that sound interesting? Well, it is. In fact it's one of the most entertaining novels I've read. The story is interesting, the characters are likable and easy to read and the writing is aimed perfectly - there isn't much about Infoquake that I didn't like.

The main characters of Natch, Jara and Horvil, all of whom work in Natch's fiefcorp, are likable and have their own distinct personalities. Jara is wary of Natch and his methods and doesn't always agree with him, this can be seen early on in the novel and her hesitation is carried through the story very well with her decisions and actions always relatable. Horvil, a friend of Natch's since their childhood, is the sort of person you want as a friend. Not only that, but he's damned good at what he does and brings plenty of experience to the table.

This brings us to Natch, the main character, the person the story revolves around. He's arrogant and cock-sure of himself, putting himself above others in many respects. But it's his development as a character that is the most enjoyable part of Natch. We get a good look at his life, from early childhood all the way through to present day, and see how events have shaped the way he approaches the world. But it's his vulnerability that raises him above your typical run-of-the-mill protagonist. We see why he is as motivated as he is, and those motivations are entirely plausible.

The setting and technology is hugely enjoyable and many times a rich and eventful history is referred to. The bio/logics plot device is great and is a rather unique look at how humans will control their bodies in the future, from managing vital systems to simply keeping a straight face. There is some ingenious inventiveness on the part of Edelman here and the range of uses that bio/logics will permit is truly astonishing. The history that we hear of is interesting and relevant to the plot, from the dark times after the overthrowing of the AI's to the invention of bio/logics and other ground breaking technologies by the Surina family.

All in all Infoquake has many things going for it, but it isn't without it's faults. There aren't any major ones, that's for sure, but there are some thoughts I'm left with after finishing the book. One of these is the Surina family. It seems all very convenient that this one family has been at the forefront of the technological advancements for hundreds of years, from creating bio/logics, teleportation and now MultiReal, each by a separate descendant. The other is the title of the trilogy: Jump 225. I'm still very curious as to what this means, it's mentioned a grand total of once in Infoquake, and that was pretty vague. Hopefully it will follow through a little more in the sequel, otherwise it seems a very strange to give a trilogy a title that doesn't make much sense.

There is only one other point about Infoquake that I'd like to make, and that's the world building and jargon used within. I didn't find myself stuck at all and followed everything quite nicely, so I was very surprised to find around 50 pages of appendices at the back. I can fully appreciate why they are there as they give a little more information to the reader, but I felt the book would have been better off without them. It's nice to read a story that builds a plausible and interesting future without too much info-dumping, but all that extra information detracts from that feeling I had. These appendices are duplicated on the authors website and are well suited to that format, just not as an add-on.

I enjoyed Infoquake immensely and will jump into MulitReal, the sequel, with anticipation. If you want to read an extremely entertaining and different take on science fiction that will keep you hooked from start to finish then look no further. Infoquake is one hell of a book and would have been in my top five last year had I got my backside around to reading it. An excellent read.

Cover Art | Deathtroopers by Joe Schreiber (Del Rey)

Thanks to Dave over at his blog I saw this great artwork for what promises to be the first venture into horror in the Star Wars universe, due for release on October 27th 2009. I think I'll be picking this one up :)

Review | The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom (Sphere)

When Conrad Harrison impulse-buys a big old house in Wisconsin, his wife Jo doesn’t share his enthusiasm, reluctant at the idea of leaving their LA life - so Conrad is left to set up their new home as she ties up loose ends at work. But Conrad’s new purchase is not all that it seems. Soon Conrad is hearing the ghostly wailing of a baby in the night, seeing blood on the floor and being haunted by a woman who looks exactly like Jo. With his wife away, Conrad becomes obsessed by the pregnant girl next door, Nadia, who claims to be a victim of the evil in the house. The crying leads him to a bricked-up body, and the mystery of the Birthing House unravels, pulling in Jo, Nadia and leading Conrad to a nightmarish conclusion…

When The Birthing House came through the post I thought it looked like a very interesting and promising book, so even though it isn't something I usually read I jumped in and hoped for the best. Unfortunately it didn't quite hit the spot and although it gave me a shiver down my spine a couple of times, I just didn't feel that it followed through on those early promises.

The characters we follow - mainly Conrad, his wife, Jo, and next door neighbours daughter Nadia - are interesting enough and the relationships that Christopher Ransom explores have many levels. This part of the story, the breakdown of the relationship with his wife, the obsession with Nadia and in turn her problems with her ex-boyfriend, are an interesting look at life when things don't go to plan. The ghost aspect of the novel also ties this part in tighter, but it just doesn't follow through with a scary story, more like a series of revelations that build with intensity until we get the final one.

I think my main problem with the ghost aspect is the way that Conrad deals with it. It doesn't come across as entirely believable and I found myself shaking my head and wondering why he just carries on when things happen as they do. Conrad doesn't appear too bothered about any of these occurrences and once they've happened his focus switches back to the relationships rather than the very strange happenings in his house. The incidents themselves only gave me a shiver down my spine a couple of times, the scares not really affecting me the way I expected them to.

It's a shame that the story didn't hit me at the right level, the writing certainly hits the right spots and I could easily read Christopher Ransom for hours on end. Here's hoping that his next novel connects with me on the level it's intended too and not just fly wide of the mark.

Review | Predator: South China Sea by Jeff VanderMeer (Dark Horse)

Rath Preap is the owner of a private island in the South China Sea, an island that caters for the rich to come and hunt big game, but is all but cut off from the outside world. Among his guests are Horia, a Romanian ex-wrestler, Nikolai and Marikova, former KGB agents, Gustat, a billionaire with a hidden agenda and Maxim, a British rock star.

When the rhino they are hunting is slaughtered in front of their eyes Rath and his guests soon come to realise that they are no longer the hunters, but the prey. A Predator is on the hunt and is systematically destroying the fragile links the island has with the outside world, leaving Rath, his guests and his men trapped and looking over their shoulders at every turn.

Despite a couple of AVP movies that have done nothing for the franchise, I love the original Predator film (and number 2 isn't that far behind) and the thought of a book that could examine similar themes to that film was something I had to pick up. I've not read anything by Jeff VanderMeer before so I was looking forward to see something from him, even though it isn't an original novel. I've also only read a couple of the Alien vs Predator books, but nothing standalone in either series. I enjoyed this quite a bit and will certainly look to pick up some of Jeff's books based on what I've read here.

I'll be honest when I say I wasn't expecting too much from this - I knew it was a tie in novel and from the experience I've had so far with these sorts of things I thought I'd get a pretty run of the mill story and scenario. I was also worried that the characters would turn out to be two dimensional pieces of meat there only for the killing. How wrong I was - this is an excellent novel with well developed characters, a decent and believable Predator who is on the hunt, a great setting and, despite the tie in nature of the novel, some nice original ideas.

The characters, at least the main ones I mentioned above, are easy to read and each have motivations and reasons for being on a private island. The relationships between them develop as the story progresses and we get more of an insight into some of them. It's refreshing to read a story about characters like this, all from different backgrounds but working together when the time calls for it. Of course, the character that the story is about is that of the Predator, if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have a story.

Which brings me on to the reason I picked the book up in the first place: the Predator. We don't have many scenes from his point of view, but those we have are fairly effective in setting him up in the typical Predator fashion. Most of the time we see the Predator from other points of view doing what he does - completely isolating the island and going after his prey. The sections when we do follow him make the wait worthwhile, giving extra little bits of information here and there.

When the killing starts the story is pushed up a gear, giving everything more urgency and allowing the reader to really get his teeth into the novel. The attacks are imaginative and brutal, the Predator's weapons are lethal, from the old favourite wrist blades and plasma canon to my new favourite that fuses all the bones in a body. The action isn't just limited to what the Predator does either, some of the characters have some great action scenes while engaging the Predator. All of this culminates in a huge battle that ticks every box and has a very satisfying ending.

All in all Predator: South China Sea is a great novel based on the Predator franchise. It follows the rules laid down in the films and adds its own flavour to the mix. Jeff VanderMeer has written a great story that doesn't have any of the drawbacks I would expect to see from a tie in. One of the most enjoyable things about the reading experience is how easily the visualisation is, the descriptions making the pages come to life. If another Predator movie is made whoever is making it needs to read this book to see how a fresh take on a well established series can add new life to it and take it to the next level. Hell, just film this book and you'll have a blockbuster.

Review | Black Magic Woman by Justin Gustainis (Solaris)

Quincey Morris is a paranormal investigator, sometimes working alone and at other times with colleagues and friends. Hired to help the LaRue family who are the victims of a centuries old curse, he reunites with Libby Chastain, white witch extraordinaire, to investigate the mysterious events that have been plaguing the family since the death of Mrs LaRue's mother. Following leads across the country, Morris and Chastain encounter black witches, demons and zombies in a race to lift the curse before it is too late.

Meanwhile, investigating a series of bloody and brutal murders, Agent Fenton has called in Van Dreenan, a detective who works for the South African Occult Crimes Unit, to assist him. With obvious signs of the murders relating to black magic, Van Dreenan and Fenton are on the hunt, but with only a limited time before the murderers have fulfilled their task will they find them in time?

One of the great things about running a blog is that you come across things, one way or another, that you normally wouldn't look twice at. Black Magic Woman is one of those. Justin Gustainis contacted me before Christmas about an excerpt from his new book, Evil Ways, that was available on Book Spot Central. I had a read of it and even though it's out of my comfort zone, it sounded intriguing and read really easily. Solaris were kind enough to send me a copy of Black Magic Woman, the first book in the series so I could start from the beginning and fully appreciate the story. I tore through the book in a few days and loved every minute of it!

As we join Quincey he's about to take on a house full of vampires in a little town. Not only does this start the ball rolling very nicely, but it also give a very good idea of things to come. Gustainis gets you hooked in quickly and shows you what he can do. Quincey as a character is great, he's got depth and is instantly likable, although not your typical hero type. With no supernatural powers he relies on his knowledge and wits to get him through these situations, he's basically your regular guy with a good idea and experience in what he does. Libby Chastain is very similar, although as a white witch she does have the paranormal on her side. She's also one of those characters that I liked straight away, I found her easy to read and also with a nice depth to her. When a book is about a certain character or characters, like Black Magic Woman, it really helps to like them, something I believe Gustainis has managed remarkably well here.

All the elements of the story are also well plotted, integrated and executed. Everything feels right, there are no wildly unexpected plot twists, although that isn't to say there aren't any surprises in there. The way that the supernatural elements are handled are, at least from a newcomers point of view, easy to grasp and follow. There are no in depth examinations of everything we come across, and that suits the story and characters very well. I was a little on the hesitant side when it comes to these things, but Gustainis is very adept at letting the story tell itself rather than a pause every few pages to go into unnecessary explanation. The narrative flows and this made Black Magic Woman a very hard book to put down.

I was very pleased with Black Magic Woman and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The pages kept turning and every time I had to put the book down I was eager to get straight back to it. Even the fact the Black Magic Woman is set in a genre that I don't usually read will make no difference on me keeping up with this series. As long as Justin Gustainis keeps the characters as interesting and enjoyable as they were here I'll be very happy.

Review | Ragamuffin by Tobias S Buckell (Tor)

The Satrapy are a collective that rule the worlds and overlook everything, watching for forbidden technology and destroying it when it surfaces. With Earth, New Anagada and Chimson cut off from this collective hundreds of years earlier, the remains of humanity live where they can, told they are free although more often than not they are restricted in many things.

The Hongguo are a human faction working for the Satrap to ensure that piracy and illegal technology are controlled and restricted in the human population. For many years they have kept an eye on the Ragamuffin, the remaining island people from Earth and the other cut off planets. Now the Hongguo have new orders from their Satrap masters, ones that will force a big change on the human population.

The Ragamuffin are huddled on the outskirts of the wormhole network, making home near the cut-off New Anagada wormhole. When the Hongguo threat becomes apparent, and the wormhole to New Anagada re-opens, they face both old and new enemies and must make decisions that will affect not just them, but all of humanity.

I read Crystal Rain last year and loved the way that Tobias Buckell bought a unique flavour to science fiction. The Caribbean influences made for an interesting story and very strong characters. So, it was with great anticipation that I picked up Ragamuffin. My main question was whether or not Buckell could bring the uniqueness and story telling skills to space opera, and if he could how would it all fit together. I was very pleased to find not only an interesting story, but one with great characters, an interesting history and more than enough action to satisfy anybody.

Ragamuffin is split into three sections, initially following Nashara as she escapes the planet she is stuck on and tries to find her way as close to New Anagada as possible. Nashara's story then goes on to entwine with the other section, life on new Anagada after the events of Crystal Rain and the subsequent re-opening of the wormhole and also the merging of the two plots for the final act. All of these are well integrated as a whole, although I am glad that I've read Crystal Rain to fully appreciate the situation on New Anagada.

Nashara is a very unique character, a clone of one of the old founders of Chimson that is designed with forbidden technology to do very serious damage to her enemies - we find out very early on that her fellow clones died unleashing hell on their captors so Nashara could escape. She is a strong female lead with serious attitude - a character that is easy and fun to read with an underlying history that slowly comes to the surface. We've also got another interesting character in Estudo, a Hongguo who has some rather diverse views that don't entirely match up with the rest of the Hongguo. He's interesting and multi-layered and gives a viewpoint that, as a reader, is ideal. We've also got our old friends from Crystal Rain in the shape of John deBrun and, of course, Pepper. I think that reading the first book would help greatly in reading these characters, although a good job is made to give a summarised back-story without interfering with the plot. Pepper is a great character and one of the most enjoyable to read - I'm always turning the page when he's about to see what he'll do next!

As a storyteller, Tobias Buckell is very good. He's got a neat and focused style that doesn't get bogged down in the more mundane points of world building, but equally he creates a believable and hugely enjoyable universe. This is one of those things that can set a book apart from others, and Ragamuffin certainly hits the high notes in terms of action and adventure. The only criticism I have about Ragamuffin is how quickly events happen from around the halfway point onwards. It feels slightly rushed and the avenues that we are taken down not explored as fully as I'd hoped, but this doesn't have any serious effect on my opinion about the book, it's just a little niggle.

I'm seriously looking forward to Sly Mongoose, the third novel in the sequence, and sincerely hope that any future novels can keep pace with the precedent that has been set here. Highly recommended!

Overall rating: 9/10

You can visit Tobias Buckell's website here, and that of his publisher, Tor, here.
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, The Book Depository

Review | Splinter by Adam Roberts (Solaris)

The blurb for Splinter:

Splinter is a thought-provoking science fiction novel about faith, disaster and alien intelligence by one of the new masters of the genre.

When Hector discovers his father has channelled the family fortune into a bizarre cult who await the imminent destruction of the Earth, he is wracked by feelings of betrayal and doubt. Things change, however, the night an asteroid plummets from space and shatters the planet, leaving Hector and the remnants of the human race struggling for survival on a splinter of the earth. Astonishing SF from the new master of the genre.

Splinter is one of those novels that I suppose you'll either get straight away and enjoy or not. I've never read the original Jules Verne story on which this is based (and after reading this I have no desire to), but even in its own right the story doesn't live up to the blurb.

There really doesn't feel like there is any urgency or desperation to the situation, just the resigned acceptance by the cult that Hector Senior is right. Hector Junior simply will not believe that the Earth is destroyed - and who is to blame him? The relationship between father and son is strained and the cult living on the ranch doesn't do anything to help. This could be a prime plot device to give plenty of exploration and depth to the characters, but it feels secondary and brushed aside rather than looked into thoroughly. There are a few times when it looks like it is going somewhere, but this changes to focus on other, less interesting aspects of the plot.

Unfortunately Splinter was not for me and it has left me thoroughly underwhelmed, which is a shame as I was hoping for so much more from it.

Review | Doctor Who: The Eyeless by Lance Parkin (BBC Books)

15 years ago the Fortress appeared from nowhere in the city of Arcopolis, wiping out the entire population in an instant. Now the Doctor has arrived, determined to destroy the devastating weapon house at the heart of the Fortress. But he discovers the remnants of the civilisation, a generation raised with curiosity in their minds and wanting to know what secrets the city holds.

Now the Eyeless arrive and discover the Fortress, wanting its secrets for themselves. Can the Doctor reach the weapon before the Eyeless and avoid a catastrophe or will they prevail and wipe out everything?

I came to this book through a comment on the blog at the start of December - a comment was left in the monthly releases post saying that they had heard this could be one of the best Doctor Who novels for a while and the best that Lance Parkin had written. I was very intrigued by this and really wanted to see what the Doctor Who novels had to offer compared to the TV series (of which I'm a viewer, but not the biggest of fans). So what did I think? Read on...

I did enjoy The Eyeless for various reasons, but equally I had some issues with it. The story is a decent sci-fi one and offers some good looks and descriptions of a ruined and abandoned city and remaining population. The motivations of the characters are believable (as are the characters themselves) and the generation gap between the surviving adults and their children born since the disaster is looked at and explored nicely. The Eyeless and the Fortress are both mysterious, we know about them and, to an extent, what they can do, but it isn't until later on in the novel when we really find out more about either of them. I won't go into spoilers, but suffice to say that it is all very much Doctor Who, and that's where my problem lies.

Although good, The Eyeless read very much like a Doctor Who episode, from the arrival of the Doctor, the inevitable issues with the culture and the endless infinite knowledge of the Doctor. As this Doctor is the David Tennant incarnation he is always in my mind when the Doctor is on the page. Lance Parkin has written the Doctor very well in this sense - all the mannerisms are there and he does an excellent job of portraying many of the elements of a complex story very effectively.

The Eyeless was a good, quick read, but perhaps one suited for fans of the Doctor Who universe rather than just general sci-fi fans. All in all this is a very worthy addition to the universe, just not entirely my cup of tea.