My Favourite Book of 2009

A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham was the last novel I read in 2009, but also the best novel I read in 2009. Abraham’s debut is a quiet story that follows the personal struggles of several characters as they deal with such mature themes as love and trust, abortion and alcohohlism, betrayal and justice. It manages to be a wholly adult novel while eschewing the typical blood, guts and sex that defines ‘gritty’ Fantasy these days. A Shadow in Summer shows how far the Fantasy genre can go if an author is willing to throw convention to the wind. I will absolutely be continuing with the series in 2010. (REVIEW)
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A Shadow in Summer

Author – Daniel Abraham

Paperback
Pages: 384
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: March 7th, 2006
ISBN-10: 0765351870
ISBN-13: 978-0765351876

Daniel Abraham is not as well known as Patrick Rothfuss, nor does he sell as many books as Brandon Sanderson, and he lacks the mass market appeal of Joe Abercrombie, but, like these contemporaries, his debut series, The Long Price Quartet, has helped shaped the face of modern Fantasy in the twenty-first century. Where Abraham sets himself apart from these other authors, though, is his ability to shatter the preconceptions of the genre and show that Fantasy is so much more than fireballs, sword fights and Dark Lords.

Despite being familiar with Abraham, and following his career quite closely over the past few years, this was my first experience with any of his long fiction. It wasn’t that I was uninterested in The Long Price Quartet, quite the opposite, but rather that I was saving it for a special occasion, when I was feeling burned out on the genre. Because of this two-year-long build up, and the countless other raving reviews floating around the Internet, my expectations were (perhaps unfairly) high. Having now finished A Shadow in Summer, the first volume of the quartet, I can say without reservation that all my expectations were surpassed. Frankly, it’s hard to believe that A Shadow in Summer is a debut novel, and not the work of a novelist with a dozen novels under their belt. Abraham’s novel is confident, and the writing shows a maturity that’s rare in the genre. It’s frightening to think of how accomplished Abraham will be when he does have a dozen novels under his belt.
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I’m in the final pages of Daniel Abraham’s A Shadow in Summer and am absolutely in love. The Cambist and Lord Iron, which first appeared in 2007’s Logorrhea Anthology and is included in his upcoming short-fiction collection, Leviathan Wept, is different in tone than The Long Price Quartet, but it’s still a great introduction to Abraham’s work (or a great read, if you’re already familiar with him.

You can download a PDF of the story HERE (right/Option click, save as) or listen to an audio version HERE.

I’ve posted a few covers for China Mieville’s The City and The City, and they’ve been top quality each time. This one, the UK paperback release, is clearly targeting a non-Fantasy audience, as it should, given the crime/thriller/fantasy crossover nature of the novel, but it’s a striking image nonetheless (especially in person; I just recieved a copy). It perfectly captures the tone of the novel. My only gripe is that I’d like to have seen the two structures bordering the figure look slightly different from one another, given the main conceit of the novel.

Whatever you celebrate this time of year, I hope it brings much joy to you, your family and your friends. Merry Christmas from A Dribble of Ink.

The Winner

It may not be flashy, it may not be a blockbuster, but Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride for the Nintendo DS was my favourite game of the year. Last year, I absolutely adored Dragon Quest IV, and had to temper my hopes that its sequel would be able to recapture the magic. Imagine my surprise when Dragon Quest V not only met its predecessor head on, but surpassed it in every way. A charming little RPG that just reeks of old-school charm, Dragon Quest V encapsulated everything that’s wonderful about one of the genre’s premiere series: an epic multi-generational story (that never takes itself too seriously), a blazing fast battle system, and nostalgically muddy graphics. During a period in my life when my free time is devoted almost wholly to reading, writing and family, Dragon Quest V sucked me in for 40 hours and wouldn’t let me go. I wait eagerly for Dragon Quest VI, coming in 2010.

Runner-ups

I wrote about Torchlight a few months ago, when it was first released, and it hasn’t left my gaming rotation since. It’s like Diablo 2.5 and the absolute perfect thing to hold over gamers until the real Diablo 3 rolls around.

Machinarium is a cute adventure game in the vein of the old Monkey Island games, but set in a beautiful dystopia populated by robots. It’s great to see a revitalization of the genre after all these years.

Sense a theme? I’m a sucker for clean hand-drawn art, and A Boy and his Blob was on my radar from the moment I first saw screenshots. A great puzzle/platformer, it turned out to be more than just eye candy.

You can find my favourite games of 2008 HERE. So, after my decidedly retro list, what are some of your favourite games released in 2009?

Over at The Book Smugglers, I was invited to be part of their annual Smugglivus celebration. Yesterday, my contribution went up and I talked about some of my favourite things in 2009. On top of the typical list of books I loved, I also wanted to use the space to throw some exposure to some of the blogs that I really loved this year. I thought it would be fun to bring that list over here, also.

• Stomping on Yeti is new to the blogosphere, but has quickly carved out a solid niche for itself with a terrific series of interviews called ‘Keeping an eye on…’ and it seems like every other day there’s another great author being interviewed and showcased. And hell, he even created an eye-gougingly bad cover for my recently completed novel, Through Bended Grass. I expect big things from Patrick in the year to come.
• Jeff at Fantasy Book News & Reviews is one of the most honest and genuine bloggers out there. But the thing that’ll keep you coming back to his website time and again? His daily roundups of what’s going on in the blogosphere, and his exhaustive archive of all the Fantasy reviews to cross his path.
• Many of your readers probably know The Wertzone, but it needs to be mentioned anyway. Adam seems to be an endless well of knowledge about anything related to Fantasy and Science Fiction. Movies, Books or Videogames? He’s got it covered. Sharp reviewer, too.
• Possibly my favourite blog going, Speculative Horizons is witty, acidic and smart all at once. Editor James Long might not be the most prolific blogger, but every time he posts it’s always worth reading. He’s got great insight into the genre, writes solid reviews and isn’t afraid to ruffle some feathers. There’s a lot to admire about Long and his blog.
• Mark Charan Newton, best known as the author of 2009’s Nights of Villjamur (REVIEW), but he’s also made a name for himself through his intelligent, provoking arguments on his blog. His recent series of blog posts on the ‘death’ of Science Fiction set the blogosphere on fire and brought some of the biggest names in the industry out swinging. Newton might be new(ish) to the scene, but he’s certainly doing his best to be heard loud and clear.

These are some of my favourites, the bloggers that really keep me on my toes and get me inspired to keep on trucking with A Dribble of Ink (and also supply me with a near limitless amount of ideas to steal borrow), but they certainly aren’t the only ones out there. Who would be on your list (besides A Dribble of Ink, of course!) of favourite blogs in 2009?

A couple of takes on the cover art for the upcoming Kraken by China Mieville. I really like ‘em both, but if I had to choose I’d probably go towards the subtler look of the US Edition. Which one do you like better?

The Mad Hatter, who has some uncanny ability to dig out Cover Art before it’s supposed to be revealed, posted the artwork for the US edition of Mark Charan Newton’s Nights of Villjamur.

Over all I think the cover is solid, but for one (major) caveat. I like that they’ve strayed away from the figure-centric cover that’s been plaguing the other releases of Newton’s novels, and I like the typhography (especially with the cool looking white stuff behind the title), but wow did they completely miss the tone of the novel. A bright sunny day? Is that supposed to be Villjamur? In any case, the novel’s bloody good, this is just a strange decision by the Bantam Spectra marketing team.

Source

Michael Whelan is my favourite Fantasy/Science Fiction artist. It’s not even close. This painting, depicting Roland of Deschain and the long road he travels in his search for the Dark Tower, is another example of why. Whelan has stepped away from the cover art business in recent years, but is currently working on a painting for Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings, which is released next year. I can’t wait to see it.

A few weeks ago, I posted the covers to two of Tchaikovsky’s novels, Empire in Black and Gold and Dragonfly Falling, which I was quite fond of, in a schlocky-ass-kickery-Fantasy kinda way. Pyr Book released the cover to Tchaikovsky’s third novel, Blood of the Mantis, also with art by Job Sullivan and I’m not quite so enamoured with it.

It’s full of energy and evocative imagery, which I’ve come to expect from Pyr, and I don’t even mind the dreaded ‘hooded-figure’, but the CGI artwork is a bit more obvious this time, compared to the previous two covers. Reminds me a bit of that scene in The Lord of the Rings movie when Frodo falls in the Dead Marshes and is attacked by those weird ghosts. Still, the colour scheme is great, and it’ll certainly stand out on the shelves next to its two companions.

Two weeks ago, I finished writing my first novel.

So that’s it, I can officially say I’ve done it, I’m not a quitter. A smidge under two-and-a-half years (2 years, 4 months, and 21ish days, to be exact), from the first typed word (‘Bye’, if you’re curious) to the last (‘Man’, again for you curious types) and I’m still in bloody love with it. Sure, after a few edits and several read-throughs, it might lose some of that lovely new-car-smell, but right now I’m in that honeymoon period, and we’re very very much still in love.

Through Bended Grass is the story of Rowan Hayes, a young mother searching desperately for her son, violently stolen from her home by his Fey father. Dragged halfway across the globe, she is forced to the gritty streets and wondrous countryside of modern day Ireland, but soon finds herself embroiled in the mysterious, bastardized world of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Fey folk of ancient legend, and exposed to a host of dangerous characters she thought only Fairy Tale. Rowan soon learns that her halfbreed son is purported to be the lynchpin in a mysterious war engulfing the Fey world, and threatening to spill into hers. Travelling through both our world and the alien landscape of the Fey, Rowan must face challenges both physical and spiritual to have any hope of ever seeing her son again.

Perhaps, though, it’s easier to sum Through Bended Grass up with my submission to agent Colleen Lindsay’s ‘Query in 140 Characters or Less’ contest, in which I was selected runner-up out of over 300 entries:

I tend to think of Through Bended Grass (when I’m thinking highly of myself, and feel like an ego-stroke) as Tad Williams’ The War of the Flowers meets Mark Chadbourn’s The Age of Misrule by way of Neil Gaiman. I know, I know, setting the bar a little high, and if I become half the author those three are I’ll be lucky, but I wear those influences very clearly on my sleeve. They’ve been there since the beginning (well, except Chadbourn, I came to him late; but we must’ve been drinking from the same well, give some of the similar themes and mythology we work with) and their work made an indelible mark on Through Bended Grass.
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Robin Hood’s awesome. Russell Crow is badass. Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was a fine film. Really, I can’t see how this can go wrong.

Snagged from Gizmodo, these photos take something that was already awesome and atmospheric (The Empire Strikes Back) and imbue it with even more atmosphere. An achievement, given that it’s photographs of Lego! Now I wanna go back and watch the movies again….

You know me. I’m an absolute sucker for awesome Fantasy artwork. So when Adam Whitehead, from The Wertzone, posted these amazing paintings for use on the upcoming French editions of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, I was absolutely floored. Absolutely incredible work from Marc Simonetti. Makes me sad for plain covers we get over here.