A Hat Full of Sky

In A Hat Full of Sky, Pratchett brings readers, and Tiffany Aching, much more into the Discworld than in the The Wee Free Men. This is just one of many differences between the two novels. A Hat Full of Sky is a Young Adult title, the third overall YA novel in the discworld setting.

The Wee Free Men found Tiffany just discovering that she was a witch. She had no mentor and only the help of the Nac Mac Feegle to get through some rough times. That was very much a novel about discovery. A Hat Full of Sky finds Tiffany a little older and going away to be trained by an adult witch. She interacts much more with the greater Discworld, including quite a lot with Granny Weatherwax, an old mainstay. A Hat Full of Sky is much more a coming of age story.

Whereas in the first novel Tiffany was not culpable for her actions because she was just holding on for dear life, in A Hat Full of Sky she makes mistakes that are costly. She is more responsible this time around because she is no longer ignorant of the magical world.

One of the high points of The Wee Free Men was how it used Tiffany to give readers a better understanding of the mystery of Granny Weatherwax, because Tiffany is so much like Granny. A Hat Full of Sky capitalizes on this by actually bringing in Granny Weatherwax for much of the action. Thus providing a side by side comparison between the two characters.

All in all Pratchett made good use of both old and new characters in this novel. Although a YA title, and like The Wee Free Men, this is well worth reading as an adult fan of Pratchett and the Discworld.
This novel successfully raises the bar from the first. The storyline is strong and enjoyable, and overall the character of Tiffany is built up nicely. I look forward to the next Aching story, The Wintersmith. I give A Hat Full of Sky a 4/5.

Night Life

The world that Caitlin Kittredge has crafted for her Nocturne City novels is similar to our own. There are some major differences though. Werewolves, witches, and other creatures that go bump in the night are not only present but out in the public eye.

Night Life is the first novel in this series. The protagonist is Luna Wilder, a homicide detective who also happens to be a werewolf. Luna is an Insoli, or packless werewolf, which basically makes her the very bottom of the totem pole. Any werewolf with a pack can at will mistreat her with no fear of repercussions. Add to that her idiot boss and chauvinistic coworkers and life is fairly rough for Luna.

Our story begins with a murder investigation that quickly becomes much more than a single murder or even an ordinary one. Luna is plunged into an occult mystery that leaves more and more people dead by the day. Luckily Luna finds a powerful werewolf ally and has a cousin who is a witch to help out as well.

Kittredge made at least two obvious factual blunders in the writing of this novel. She at one point refers to a broken tibia in someone’s forearm, and since the tibia is in the lower leg this is abhorrent. The fact that not only did Kittredge skimp on her research, but at least one editor overlooked this as well saddens me. The other, much more minor issue, involved the workings of a Glock pistol.

This is not a heavy read by any stretch of the imagination. While the plot does involve the mystery of who is behind the killings and why, this is much more an action based book than a true mystery. The mystery basically gives Kittredge an excuse to throw Luna into dangerous and exciting situations. It also allows Kittredge free reign to build the setting for future novels.

While this is not a novel on par with the work of someone like GRRM or Scott Lynch, it was a very enjoyable read. Kittredge blends together a lot of different elements including action, mystery, romance, and magic, in a seamless manner. The main characters are all likeable and there are even some people to loath. I had fun reading Night Life and look forward to reading other books in the series. I give it a 3.5/5.

Maneater

Thomas Emson’s novel, Maneater, is not your typical werewolf yarn. At least not in today’s urban romantasy saturated market. Maneater is part horror, party mystery, and part urban fantasy.

This isn’t a world populated by lots of paranormal creatures, and it is not a vampires verses werewolves story. That is not to say there aren’t some very cliché bits, just different cliché’s than those that are the standard in this literary era.

Maneater, the titular character Laura Greenacre, is apparently the last surviving werewolf. This is a result of a war waged by the rival werewolf clan. The rival clan hunted the Greenacre’s for thousands of years and even gave up the ability to shift in their lust to end the werewolf lines. The rival clans, of course, started out as two brothers who chose opposite sides of a power struggle and whose families then spent thousands of years feuding.

This entry in the ages long battle between the clans results from Laura’s attempt to avenge the murder of her parents at the hands of the current leader of the rival clan. The murders happened when Laura was very young and thus she grew up with no knowledge or guidance in the ways of werewolves. The rest of the cast of characters include the son of the rival leader, the police, and a few random people involved with Laura or the rival clan.

The main plot is basically a rehash of every other feud plotline. The sides gradually learn more about each other, or rather more information is revealed to the reader, and it all leads to a major climactic battle where good triumphs over evil. Or something close to that anyway. One side is clearly evil the other has a few redeeming factors, but is hardly blameless.

Mixed into all this is at least one completely useless subplot, whose existence I never really figured out. This subplot involves a rapist, and in my opinion really did nothing to advance the story or in any way influence a major character. This subplot honestly felt like nothing more than a way to fill up some space.

All the characters are formulaic. Emson never got much past picking a major character type and giving each character a physical description. Beyond that each character could be replaced by any of about a dozen similar characters from different works. Emson also has the annoying tendency to write scenes of gratuitous male sexual fantasy without much real skill.

This novel, despite its general lack of originality, was a fun, fast read. If you can look past the several glaring flaws and don’t expect anything ground breaking or mind blowing it could be worth a read. I give it a 2.5/5.

Soul Stealers

The second entry in Andy Remic’s The Clockwork Vampire Trilogy, Soul Stealers, is much more tightly focused than Kell’s Legend (the first volume). In the first novel multiple POV’s were followed and most of the continent was covered at all times. In this novel two POV’s occupy most of the story arc, with only the occasional interspersed side POV. Also all of the action moves in one direction this time around.

Beyond that Soul Stealers dramatically alters what the reader knows about the situation. Things we perceived to be true throughout Kell’s Legend are rendered false almost from the opening lines of Soul Stealers. True allegiances are revealed, and the real reasoning behind the Army of Iron’s invasion comes to light as well.

As with the first novel, most of the adventure centers around Kell and his companions. This is largely an old school heroic fantasy tale at its core with a more modern twist brought on by the politics and warfare going on around Kell. This is a combination that worked well in Kell’s Legend and continues to work in Soul Stealers.

Thankfully Remic did not use the cliché of the hero being saved from one monster by an even bigger monster in this go round. That was my one big complaint about Kell’s Legend and I was happy it never reared its narratively lacking head here. Much like the first novel, Soul Stealers is a fast paced thrill ride.

While the overall story arc is less ambitious than Kell’s Legend, Soul Stealers is a very strong middle entry in a trilogy. Largely due to the fact that there is a total change in the perceived power structure right from the start there is nothing about this novel that feels even vaguely like filler. The backdrop of the story is totally changed consistently from the first page to the last. The reader rarely see’s any of the changes coming.

A lot of middle novels and sequel’s fail to live up to the standard set by the first entry in a series. This is not the case with Soul Stealers. The story arc is strong enough to stand alone, granted that would not work well without the history and world building from Kell’s Legend.

Remic knows what worked well and possibly what failed in Kell’s Legend. He stuck to this and moved away from old tired clichés in Soul Stealers. The result is a fun, quick reading second novel in what promises to be a strong trilogy. I can’t wait for the third novel, Vampire Warlords. I give Soul Stealers a 4/5.

Soul Stealers is a publication of Angry Robot Books. It is now available in the UK and Australia (print editions) and ebook format everywhere.

Infoquake

In Infoquake, the first novel in his Jump 225 Trilogy, David Louis Edelman perfectly combines shifting perspectives and timelines to keep you hooked. The first 60 or more pages of the book make you believe that the main protagonist is one character and then suddenly you find that this is not the case. The introductory section introduces many of the main characters, the setting, and some major concepts. Then suddenly just as things seem to be developing we are taken back into the past to learn more about the setting and the characters by seeing how the main character grew to adulthood.

Infoquake takes place many years in the future. Humans have developed programmable nanotech which both maintains the body and improves upon natural systems. This nanotech also allows people to essentially transport their minds all over the inhabited areas of the solar system, while keeping their bodies at home, but still allowing all five senses to be used fully.

The story revolves around a relatively new “fiefcorp” or company that develops new and better programs to fuel the nanotech. The fiefcorps’ master is Natch, a somewhat controversial and enigmatic figure, whose genius and ambition are both envied and reviled. As the plot develops it is Natch’s unique character and drive that fuel the story and the action.

Edelman has combined familiar concepts, ideas, and scenery then blended these with technological advances in a manner which seems highly plausible. This is a world where buildings can expand or collapse depending on occupancy and needed work space. Where cities like London have maintained their unique architecture and character and other cities have boomed and/or broken because of the changes to society and technology. Even though the time is many years hence much of the technology is rooted in familiar things, like the Internet, which tends to make the futuristic technologies feel more real and believable.

The actual time and space covered by the “present” in Infoquake is comparatively short. Large parts of the novel are spent building the back story, filling in history, and explaining technology. Neither of these factors lessen the novel, rather Infoquake is well blended and keeps your attention. While it is readily apparent that there is a much larger story to be told this novel can stand on its own.

I have never read anything else with this take on technology or the future. Edelman’s background as a computer programmer has very much informed his choice of setting and characters. Unlike some future scifi settings where the cool technology feels more like James Bond gizmos designed to add color and flash to the story the technology in Infoquake is the basis for the story. I enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading the next two entries. I give it a 4/5.

The Wee Free Men

As I have noted before Terry Pratchett tends to produce his best work when playing with new main characters. This is true of Tiffany Aching and The Wee Free Men. This is Pratchett’s second Discworld novel aimed at young adults. However, other than having a protagonist that is a child and being slightly shorter than a full length novel, it is little different from any other entry.

One minor, but noticeable difference is the lack of hard evidence that the story is set in the Discworld. There is no mention of the larger world, which is understandable as the protagonist is a 9 year old whose whole world view encompasses the few miles surrounding her family's sheep fields at the start of the novel. Of course, a veteran reader of Pratchett novels can immediately feel the Discworld filling out the boundaries of the story.

Having read this story out of the publishing order I am not sure if this is the first time the Nac Mac Feegle have come into play or not. This is certainly the first situation in which they have played such a major role. Tiffany Aching is a witch, who doesn’t really know it yet, and doesn’t know how to go about being a witch. This provides Pratchett with ample room to do what he does best; turn things on their heads and provide philosophy through sarcasm.

Characters we have certainly met before, the Faeries (from Lords and Ladies), come into play giving us another hint that this is truly the Discworld. Tiffany, of course, has no idea how vicious these creatures are and believes that she can overcome them. The Nac Mac Feegle aren’t so sure about this, but as they are always ready to fight anyone or anything, they go along quite happily.

One of the highlights of this novel is Tiffany’s development as a witch. Since Tiffany is a child and just learning she doesn’t hide her thoughts and actions the way Granny Weatherwax does. Tiffany will grow up into a witch very much like Granny Weatherwax, so the glimpses we get inside Tiffany’s head demystify both witchcraft in the Discworld and Granny Weatherwax. Near the end of the story we get definitive proof that this is, indeed, the Discworld as Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg come to check up on Tiffany.

While this story is intended as a young adult work, it is very much readable by adults. In fact, The Wee Free Men is one of the stronger entries in the Discworld saga. Tiffany is an enjoyable protagonist, and the Nac Mac Feegle are great, possibly even the best sidekicks in any of the novels. I give The Wee Free Men a 4.5/5.