The Time Machine - H. G. Wells

RATING: FIVE STARS

When a mysterious and brilliant scientist creates a machine capable of travelling straight through time, he desires nothing more than to shoot into the distant future and see the wonders mankind creates as our science grows ever more sophisticated. He heads tens of thousands of years forward through time and can’t believe what he found: humans have degenerated into simple-minded animals of pleasure and apathy; our once great cities have long since crumbled in ruins.

Yet the world he found is even stranger than it first seemed and, after his time machine is stolen, the Time Traveller quickly realises it's not the paradise he had thought it was! The Morlocks, another division of humans, dwell in the old sewers and caverns beneath our cities. They are predatory and dangerous, true predators with an animal’s intelligent cunning. He must find and retrieve his time machine if he ever hopes to return home, but knows that this will be far from easy . . .

The Good

The Time Machine is certainly worthy of its fame and is one of the best science fiction books I've ever read! H. G. Wells has written it masterfully, with a true flair of imaginative talent and the story kept me gripped even though I was more than familiar with from watching various cinematic adaptations.

I also really enjoyed reading Wells' explanations of the science behind the book, even though it's wrong more often than not! Obliviously, Wells is from a more cultured, less knowledgeable time so it's easy to forgive this and the theories scientists once held are fascinating. My favourite of these is Wells' description of the lifecycle of the sun, which is apparently cooling down with every passing second. Over tens of millions of years, Wells believed that it would go out like a candle if not for the fact that all of the planets eventually drifted back to where they came from and provided an extra mass of fuel (which extends its life)!

It was nice to read about the quiet, privileged life gentlemen once enjoyed in England and Wells gives a real sense of what this was like. It really highlighted how many of the social problems we have now weren't an issue back then and it’s a shame we haven’t stuck to the values that the British were once famous for!

The Bad

I have little to fault with The Time Machine aside from one scene where the mysterious Time Traveller finds that Weena, his friend and companion in the future Earth, had been taken by the Morlocks. He simply assumes that she has been killed or left in the forest by the Morlocks and makes absolutely no effort to find out what happened or rescue her! This was a disappointing hole in the story for me and I considered the protagonist to be rather heartless ever since, which meant that I couldn't really warm to him. I like to imagine him going back to the future to rescue Weena (with it actually being the Time Travellers who snatches her in the forest so he can take her to safety), but Wells never develops this and what the Time Traveller does next is not part of the story!

My Thoughts

The Time Machine is definitely one of the great works of science fiction and it's essential in the education of anyone who enjoys the genre. It's imaginative, full of the Time Travellers curiosity and I've no doubt that people will still be reading it long after other famous book of our time have been forgotten and lost.

Blood of Dragons - Robin Hobb

RATING: THREE STARS

The Kelsingra expedition has found the ancient, lost city they seek but the river is as high as it was when they first found it and is as inaccessible as ever. The warm waters the dragons seek are tauntingly close - water that will heal their deformities and strengthen their bodies if they could only reach them! The keepers to are desperate to reach the city, seeking the secrets it holds about their past and the fabled Silver wells which are the source of the magic they they need for their future.

The dragons are determined to learn how to fly and reach the city, but their need is more urgent then they know. The Duke of Chalced is growing more fervent for his desire for the medicines that can only be made from dragon parts and using Sedric, his captive Elderling, is no longer enough! Tingalia has been attacked and is dying, flying back to Kelsingra so she can heal and wreak her vengeance on the city that has dared to harm her . . .

The Good

Blood of Dragons provides a satisfying conclusion to Robin Hobb's Rain Wilds Chronicles and she ties up the various story arcs and loose ends nicely. Her characterisation is as good as ever and she has managed to create a convincing ensemble of people that seem real. Their hopes, ambitions and motivations are explored and not all of these are for an honest purpose!

The Bad

I’ll admit that I was slightly disappointed with Blood of Dragons and it did have a few problems that detracted from my enjoyment of it. The main issue I had with is was Thymara's continuous whining! Thankfully, she has moved on about whinging about losing her virginity, but Hobb has simply replaced this with which man Thymera wants to go out with! The whining went on and on throughout the entire book and got extremely irritating by the end!

Another problem with the book is Hobb didn't focus on the battles and main events of the book, describing them only briefly and explaining what happened at the end ad hock! This was a shame because the story could have been very exciting, but the way it was told diminished the action and the scenes didn't really stand out from the rest of the book.

My Thoughts

Blood of Dragons was pretty good overall and the series is certainly very imaginative and provides a novel view of the abilities of dragons. That being said, it's not a must-read and isn't a series you will lose sleep over if you skip it.

The Demon Cycle Book 4 release date is announced!

Peter V. Brett's Demon Cycle is one the best fantasy series being written at the moment and the release date of the forth book in the series has just been announced! The book is called The Skull Throne and is due to be released 24th March 2015!

Unfortunately, there's very little information about the book available online at this stage, but its cover has been released and can be viewed on Goodreads here.

Wolves of the Calla - Stephen King

RATING: THREE STARS

Lying in a sheltered valley on the outer edge of Mid-World is Calla Bryn Sturgis, a quiet farming town that was forgotten by civilisation even when Gilead still stood and gunslingers policed the world in force. The valley is beautiful and serene, but it's overshadowed by Thunderclap - a towering mountain that is forever under storm and serves as the home for terrible evil.

Once every few generations, the Wolves ride forth from Thunderclap and sweep through the valley. Clad in green and riding grey horses, they are child snatchers and take one from each pair of prepubescent twins (which are the normal method of giving birth for the folken). The children are taken to the mountain and are changed there, returning months later as adults with simple minds and youthful natures.

When Andy, a robotic relic from the world before it moved on, foretells another coming of the Wolves, the denizens of Calla Bryn Sturgis decide that they've finally had enough and will not so willingly allow their children to be taken. But what can simple farmers do to resist such evil when their hands have only ever held hoes and churned soil? They can look to the ka-tet of gunslingers that have wandered into their lands for aid . . . but will Roland turn aside from his path to the Dark Tower?

The Good
Wolves of the Calla is as well written as any of the books in The Dark Tower and Stephen King has gone all out in creating a rich town and developing the lives and cultures of the farmers that live there. Calla Bryn Sturgis is like something plucked straight out of the historical Wild West as it was in real life and King has really managed to capture airs of anger and sadness about the evil of their children being stolen.

The book is also in 'real time' again and actively continues the series, which I really enjoyed. I did like Wizard and Glass, but the story of Roland's past went on for a bit too long and the quest for the Dark Tower barely advanced through the entire book! I think this would have been better as a companion to the series (like The Wind Through the Keyhole is) and it was nice to have the story moving forward again!

The Bad
Simply put, Wolves of the Calla started to get a bit weird and I feel that King is starting to over do the references to real life. I'm not going to give any examples since they would be spoilers, but you'll know what I mean when (and if) you read the book. King has begun to try too hard in his efforts to link the series with everything and his references to our world are becoming forced and over exaggerated now and are losing the subtly he had in the earlier books.

Other parts of the book began to get a little strange as well, with Susannah's storyline being the main culprit. I always felt that Susannah was one of the best characters of the series, but her scenes were a little cringing and convenient. Sadly, I think this trend is going to continue into the next book and I just hope King tones it down a bit!

My Thoughts
Without giving away spoilers, I can only say that Wolves of the Calla was a little strange and was slightly below the standard of the other books in The Dark Tower series. King has tried too hard to link events and characters to real life and the story does have a slightly 'cheap' feel to it in places. That being said, I still enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward to reading Song of Susannah.

Dangerous Women - George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois

RATING: THREE STARS

Dangerous Women is an anthology of short stories that features female characters as its main protagonists. All of its stories have been written by some of the biggest authors in fantasy, being full of darkness and adversity while women struggle to protect themselves and those they love.

The collection also includes a novella based on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin called The Princess and the Queen! The story is relatively short, but it's full of depth and describes the events of the first Dance with Dragons where two rival factions of House Targaryen go to war for the Iron Throne. GRRM's addition to the book is by far its must read, but many of the other stories in Dangerous Women are extremely enjoyable and its contents are as follows:

• Some Desperado by Joe Abercrombie
• My Heart Is Either Broken by Megan Abbott
• Nora's Song by Cecelia Holland
• The Hands That Are Not There by Melinda Snodgrass
• Bombshells by Jim Butcher
• Raisa Stepanova by Carrie Vaughn
• Wrestling Jesus by Joe R. Lansdale
• Neighbors by Megan Lindholm (Robin Hobb)
• I Know How To Pick 'Em by Lawrence Block
• Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson
• A Queen In Exile by Sharon Kay Penman
• The Girl in the Mirror by Lev Grossman
• Second Arabesque, Very Slowly by Nancy Kress
• City Lazarus by Diana Rowland
• Virgins by Diana Gabaldon
• Hell Hath No Fury by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Pronouncing Doom by S. M. Sterling
• Name the Beast by Sam Sykes
• Caretakers by Pat Cadigan
• Lies My Mother Told Me by Caroline Spector
• The Princess and the Queen by George R. R. Martin

The Good

As said above, The Princess and the Queen is the best story in Dangerous Women and is a must-read for all fans of ASoIaF! GRRM has written it in the beautiful prose I have come to expect of him and it's every bit as detailed as the larger books in his series. It's also extremely interesting to read about the history of Westeros and finally see what fully grown dragons are capable of as cities are burnt to the ground and how armies attempt to defend themselves against devastating attacks from the sky!

It's also nice to read stories where women are cast in strong, independent roles as the heroes (instead of men). Women are every bit as capable of greatness as men and it's refreshing to read about them finding the courage to stand against monsters like in Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson. I think too many fantasy authors are still casting women in non-roles (which is a shame for this day-and-age) and Dangerous Women goes a long way to help rectify this.

The Bad

As with any short story anthology written by different authors, some of the stories included are much better than others. The Princess and the Queen, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell and Some Desperado were particularly good, but sadly some of the other stories were actually quite boring. All of the authors included in the book are highly accomplished in the fantasy genre and I think this is a shame since it easily could have been remedied with a bit more imagination and craftsmanship on their parts!

My Thoughts

Dangerous Women is definitely worth a read overall (even if it's only to glimpse a part of Westeros' bloody history) and will make a valuable additional to anybody's bookshelf. It's an entertaining way to spend a few hours and the good stories easily make up for those that are a bit more mundane. The book is a real collection of talent and won't leave many readers feeling cheated!

Vestige - Chris Roper

RATING: THREE STARS

After banking to avoid a giant asteroid on their return journey to Earth, a small crew of astronauts is lost, drifting further and further away from their home as their fuel and supplies dwindle. NASA decided years ago that a rescue mission was too expensive and would pose to great a risk to the lives of the rescue party and the crew knows that no-one is coming for them.

Yet they do not give and are determined to survive for as long as possible and find a way back home. Their mission is bleak, but the arrive of a strange, alien cube proves to change all that. The cube is europhic and strange, changing their ship as much as it alters their perceptions and minds. Is the cube their salvation? Can it provide a way home? Or it something else, something darker, more sinister and dangerous?

The Good
Vestige is a nice book that makes for light reading. It's not too long and has a nice pace to the story, which builds up the characters before beginning to deal with the major plot events so I could really feel for the characters as the book unfolds.

It's also quite imaginative and Chris Roper and has based the story around the problems with an ever expanding universe - an issue that not many science fiction authors have considered before! Roper really goes into the bleakness that the future will eventually hold for our universe and how this will effect sentient life.

The Bad
There isn't really much description in the book and Roper never actually establishes the appearances of his characters or their surroundings. This is a shame because it left a major facet of his story bare and wouldn't have been too difficult for him to do. Novellas generally contain less description than full novels (due to their shorter length), but that doesn't mean it had to be stripped out altogether.

My Thoughts
Vestige was quite an enjoyable read and was the perfect length for a bit of light reading. It was not dragged out (so the story never became stale) and was fun to read, especially because it was a bit different to most science fictions novels published. Saying that, the book isn't as 'padded out' as it could have been and the lack of description did ruin it a bit for me.

The Beating Of His Wings - Paul Hoffman

RATING: THREE STARS

The Hanged Redeemers are nearly ready to unleash their holy war against mankind. Their soldiers, the best and most highly trained in the known world, are moving and they have already left the Sanctuary in the dust behind. The only person who can hope to stand against them is Thomas Cale, a once proficient warrior who is ailed by a crippling disease. Yet Cale cares nothing for the world around and would gladly watch it burn if it meant others would leave him alone.

No-one will and Cale is pursued and manoeuvred mercilessly by those who think to use him. The Swis King means to have him lead his armies against the Redeemers. Kitty the Hare means to use Cale's talents in violence to make him richer than he has ever been before. Brusco, the Pope of the Hanged Redeemer Church, believes Cale to be the Left Hand of God and the incartion of His wrath. Cale is supposed to wipe man - God's greatest mistake - off the face of the world.

All Thomas Cale sees is chaos and the suffering of his broken soul.

The Good
The Beating of His Wings was a satisfying conclusion to an undoubtedly superb religious fantasy and Paul Hoffman ties up every loose end that has split during the trilogy. It's exciting and inventive, being filled with tactical battles, multi-layered characters and the justifications of faith.

Hoffman has also continued to write in his dry, quirky manner that I really liked in the previous instalments and the book has this odd childishness to it (despite it NOT being for children!). Beloved characters such as Vague Henry and IdrisPukke are back, wandering through Spanish Leeds and adding their wits to Cale's own.

The Bad
My main fault with The Beating of His Wings is with the strange geography of Hoffman's world (once again). No map has been included with the book and he never really makes references to places or the distances between them, simply flinging in real places so they mix together strangely. I assume this is a subtle attempt to remind his readers of the real world so we link to it and add depth to the book, but I found it a little disconcerting!

My Thoughts
Overall though, I think the book was pretty good and I enjoyed reading it. It certainly wasn't a page turner and I had been expecting more from it (although I suppose I was still stunned by the quality of The Martian by Andy Weir and had forgotten that not all books were like this), yet it ended the Left Hand of God trilogy well. I would recommend this book (and series) to anyone who is looking to read something a bit different, especially if you're after something dark and gripping.