Dark Light
Second book in the Engines of Light trilogy
Author: Greig
Professional Librarian from Fife who likes books and music.
titov?
Cosmonaut Keep
The first of the Engines of Light sequence, this rather wonderful book is set in two
celgas?
The Court Of The Air
In two separate threads this book tells the story of two orphans. Molly, a child of a poorhouse and too smart for her own good and Oliver, raised by his uncle but effectively under house arrest as he’s suspected of having been infected by the feymist.
The book is set in an alternative, steampunky, version of Victorian era Britain. Hunt twists the past and traditions of Britain and continental Europe so effectively as to create a very different, yet believable, world.
Of course this being a fantasy the two orphans are vital to the future of a free world under threat from an insane ‘communityist’ under the thrall of ancient evil gods. Their trials and tribulations take place in wonderfully conceived locations with entertaining, if cut out, characters.
I really rather enjoyed this book. It has it’s flaws, to be sure, with weak pacing at times, the lack of character depth, and a couple of loose threads forgotten come the end but it is very much worth a read if you like fantasy novels.
nails?
The Land of Laughs
Carroll is one of those writers whose name gets dropped from time to time as a great writer if you hang around people who love fantasy. Revered for his original ideas and genuine skill as a writer he’s been on my ‘to read’ list for a long time. I bought two of his books a few years back to do just that. I had difficulty getting into the mood of the first book I tried (Voice of Our Shadow), so I put off trying again for a while.
The Land of Laughs is the story of a man who pursues his obsession with a children’s writer to the extent that he takes a sabbatical from his job to write a biography. With his similarly obsessed girlfriend in tow he travels to the writer’s hometown to seek the permission of his daughter to write the biography.
An undercurrent of weirdness builds up through the story that powers a series of twists in the final third that transforms a pretty normal story into a fantasy.
I found it very interesting, and it certainly kept my attention but there’s something deeply unsettling about the last few pages of the book that make it hard to process properly.
I’d certainly recommend it if you’re looking for something beyond generic fantasy.
pamphlet?
Mortal Causes
I no longer keep up with Rankin’s books as eagerly as I once did (I think I’m about three books behind the publishing schedule) and I never did get round to reading all the early books (I entered with Black and Blue).
Now I was watching the documentary about Rankin, Rebus and Edinburgh on BBC Four earlier this year and Rankin was back in the Cardenden cul-de-sac he grew up in mentioned about sectarianism in small town Scotland and that he’d eventually dealt with it in a book called Mortal Causes. Now this certainly piqued my interest, because sectarianism is something I have never really understood or really experienced (at least not in it’s red raw guise) despite growing up in a town just five miles away from that Cardenden cul-de-sac.
So when I saw it in a local supermarket for £1.99 I couldn’t resist.
It’s a bloody good book, all the better from not suffering from the bloat that later books are infected with. The brilliant device of a young man being found murdered in Mary King’s Close, terrorist execution style leads you into the plot and from then on in you’re hooked. Rankin covers a lot of ground including sectarianism, gangs and paramilitaries in this one meshing it into a coherent whole with all the skill that would lead to the amazing Black and Blue.
I would very much recommend this book, as a crime novel, as a look at 90’s style terrorism and as a bloody good read.
mabuse?
The Jennifer Morgue
The second Bob Howard book is a genuine delight.
Where the first played with the tropes of a Len Deighton style spy, this one subverts the James Bond archetype.
Full of clever twists and humour, Stross subverts your expectations at every step.
Of all his varied output I think that the Laundry books come out best – he tries a bit too hard with his full-on SF and seems a bit bored of his fantasy series. With the Laundry he\’s just having fun and it shows.
I wholeheartedly recommend that you read both The Atrocity Archives and this one – you will not regret it.
woodpecker?
Going Postal
The first Moist Von Lipwig book finds the young conman saved from the noose and given a second chance by the Patrician and tasked to take on the disaster that is the Post Office in Ankh-Morpork.
The scams and schemes that Pratchett puts Lipwig through are ingenious and frequently hilarious. This is a very good Pratchett if not in Night Watch or Small Gods class.
Totally recommended.
earthworks?
Lords and Ladies
The third book in the Witches sequence finds them freshly returned home from the events of Witches Abroad. The story takes a definite turn towards the Shakespearean again, with the plot following the lines of A Midsummers’ Night Dream.
All sorts of really interesting things happen in this one and the storytelling is very strong. It’s a pity that he reused so much of it for Carpe Jugulum, which is a much inferior book.
Thoroughly recommended, but do give Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad a read before starting this one though.
owlswick?
Making Money
The latest Discworld is the second to feature Moist von Lipwig as the lead character.
While, like every Pratchett book, this is a thoroughly entertaining read it just feels a bit tired. The central premise feels weak and several of the supporting characters are utterly forgettable.
There hasn’t been a truly exceptional Discworld book since Night Watch and that’s a good few books back now.
Anyway like every Pratchett I’d recommend it to anyone. It may be best to read the first Lipwig book – Going Postal – first as the storyline follows directly on from it and some of the humour plays off of things that happen in it.
pow?
The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize
This book is not only a comprehensive account of Creation records but also manages to place everything in the context of the fortunes and transformations of the british record industry over the course of a couple of decades.
Alan McGee reportedly hates it, which is a good indication of just how close to the truth the author has managed to get. Indeed it is a deeply impressive piece of research before you even consider it’s other merits.
It is authoritative and intelligent, thorough and thought-provoking. It’s single great flaw is that reading another page on the breakdown of the relationships in The House of Love or another page on the umpteenth studio that My Bloody Valentine spent two hours in before Kevin Shields decided it wasn’t good enough kills much of the momentum of the story and you can start to get bogged down bored with it and it can become a chore to get to the next interesting bit.
I think that you really have to be keen to know everything about Creation before even thinking about picking this one up. If you are you’ll find that you couldn’t wish for better overview.