New interview at Retro Ridoctopus

Making my second appearance in the brig of the Retro Ridoctopus podcast. We discuss HEROES AMONG SHADOWS, and follow various tangents, as per usual.

Paul R. McNamee, Brig #2

recent read; EMPIRE OF BLOOD AND SAND

 If you're looking for a new, dark fantasy/grim dark novel, look no further than EMPIRE OF BLOOD AND SAND by Alister Hodge.

In a brutal desert empire, Jael Crowfeeder survives as a Beast Hunter. Last of his kind and despised by society, he’s betrayed and thrown in prison just as a legion of man and monster storm the border. Forcibly conscripted, Jael will soon wet his sword in the front lines.

I liked this one a lot.

I already have the (just released) sequel CITY OF STONE AND RUIN, waiting on my Kindle.

recent read; The Mines of Behemoth

THE MINES OF BEHEMOTH by Michael Shea

This is the second book concerning Nifft the Lean and is a full novel, unlike the first collection of novellas.

Nifft the Lean and Barnar Hammer-Hand are thieves fallen on hard times. They sail to earn money working a "sap mine." This is no ordinary venture - the "sap" comes from draining gigantic grubs - the offspring of even more gargantuan behemoths. These creatures nest in our world and burrow far into the demon sub-world to sustain their ravenous appetites. On their way to the task, Nifft and Barnar are offered a more lucrative enterprise. Despite growing dangers, their work yields more and more opportunities for wealth, which the two thieves cannot resist to exploit.

Shea seemed to love giant monsters. The creatures throughout the Nifft tales are mostly of giant proportions. It's an interesting take for fantasy novels, where - aside from dragons or frost giants - heroes often face things their own size or somewhat larger.

Shea's use of language in these tales borders on purple and flowery but it does convey and bring Nifft's world to life in vivid detail.

The Nifft stories are heroic fantasy but somewhat removed from classic sword-&-sorcery. The combat is negligible, often tossed off in a few words as monstrous limbs are hacked. No hard or long fought duels or grand armies in battle. There is more an exploration of the fantasy world and Nifft's character journey.

Speaking of which, Nifft does get greedy along the arc of this tale. To the point where I was afraid I wouldn't like him at the end. But Shea, thankfully, includes redemption in the conclusion of the story.

I enjoyed Nifft's journey through the behemoth mines. I'll be returning for THE A'RAK in the near future.

(p.s. - Technically, this was a "recent listen" not a "recent read" as THE MINES OF BEHEMOTH is out-of-print but available through Audible.)

recent read; A Conversation in Blood

A CONVERSATION IN BLOOD by Paul S. Kemp

Egil and Nix are back.

The story started off a little slow this time. Egil spends too much time in his cups and Nix tries to pull his friend out of the downward spiral while feeling caged and edgy himself. Finally, Egil and Nix and their friends agree that Egil and Nix need to get busy with an adventure.

Spring-boarding from the previous story, Nix decides to investigate a mysterious treasure they secured on the their last adventure. As their luck would have it, the simple task of investigation blows up in their faces and they are soon on the run from wizards, unkillable creatures, and seeking sanctuary in the last place they want to go; the thieves' guild house - which they had assaulted in the previous novel.

Egil and Nix are their bantering selves and this time they are joined by a third adventurer, Jyme, who returns from their first story, THE HAMMER AND THE BLADE.

Kemp peels away a few more layers of the onion that is the history their world, too. Tantalizing tidbits.

Though the story is still very much (what I would call) sword-&-sorcery/heroic fantasy milieu, the stakes do get very high and large in scope by the climatic end of the tale.

Though events in A CONVERSATION IN BLOOD are initiated by events of the previous novel, the book can be read standalone.

A CONVERSATION IN BLOOD is another satisfying romp with Egil and Nix.

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One complaint that has nothing to do with the story or the writing - the font of the mass market paperback. I am very disappointed with Del Rey. The font on this is just ridiculously small. Yes, I have glasses but I hate taxing my eyes as I get older. I find the use of tiny fonts with small presses, sometimes, and I assume they are cutting page count and cost. I still don't like it and I see no reason why a larger press like Del Rey needs to do such a thing.

Pay for the extra print pages!

Luckily, for my old eyes, I listened the audiobook.

recent read: A Discourse in Steel

A DISCOURSE IN STEEL by Paul S. Kemp

It took me too long to return to Egil and Nix. Kemp has created a great sword-&-sorcery duo. And yes, even I who prefer novella length as tops for sword-&-sorcery, still consider this novel as sword-&-sorcery. Don't let the length fool you. While it has touches of "high fantasy" and some Dungeons & Dragons magical items and dungeon crawls, Egil & Nix comes right out of the Nifft the Lean and Fafhrd & Gray Mouser tradition.

A psychic friend of the duo learns a little too much about the city's thieves guild. The guild tries assassination and Egil & Nix know they won't let up. So the duo goes for the throat of the guild.

They're not out to save the world - they are out to save their friends .. and their whorehouse.

Along the way we get cosmic horrors of a black alley that appears at random in the city, magical "gewgaws," lost civilizations, a whole lot of action and combat, and even deeper reflections on what makes a person a person, friendship and loyalty.

The banter between Egil and Nix comes to life in the audiobook. It might work well on the page, too, but there were moments when I laughed out loud while listening.

Angry Robot originally published the first two Egil & Nix novels. They were dropped after Angry Robot were bought and went through some restructuring.

Original Angry Robot cover

Fortunately, Del Rey picked them up and republished the first two novels and they have released a third, A CONVERSATION IN BLOOD.

I enjoyed A DISCOURSE IN STEEL a whole lot. I won't wait so long between books this time.

And I want a t-shirt;

In a world of slubbers and fakkers, be an Egil (or a Nix.)

October reads

I managed to get a bit of reading done recently.


Rage of the Behemoth

Heroic fantasy, geared more toward the sub-genre of sword-&-sorcery, with a theme of giant monsters and those who combat them.

Many people have been saying this, and I’ll say it too – this is a great anthology. If you enjoy heroic fantasy and sword-&-sorcery, Jason M. Waltz has pulled together a wonderful collection here. I won’t bother going into standouts, of which there are many, versus lesser tales. The balance on whole is very strong. If you enjoy Andrew Offutt’s Swords Against Darkness series, then Rage of the Behemoth is right up your alley.

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Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Daleks

It had been a long time since I’d read a Doctor Who novel, and this was my first read of the new hardcover tie-ins with the new series. This novel features the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant’s character) and, naturally, his old enemies, the Daleks. Yes, the Daleks were all wiped out, but like any good time-traveling aliens, they keep altering histories allowing the Doctor to stumble into their past. Or something – time travel is fuzzy, as even the Doctor would testify.

This was a fun read, and a fast read that moved along at a quick clip, as with the pacing of the updated series. If you like the series and/or Dalek stories, this one should be added to your library. Nice Dalek scheming, gains and counter-gains, and Dalek dialog rendered in its own Dalek font. All good stuff.

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Dragonslayer

The epic doom of Gotrek, berserker ‘Slayer’ dwarf continues with human Felix Jaeger at his side. This time out, the duo faces a deadly dragon along with a host of other dangers, including orcs and bandits.

This was solid entry for both the Gotrek and Felix series and Warhammer. A tight tale in and of itself, it also opens threads into bigger things in future novels (such as an impending invasion of the hordes of Chaos.) I liked the lighter use of goofy humor in this one compared to some of the previous entries, though it feels like Warhammer dwarf tales should be read while consuming ale to truly appreciate the effect.