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A Rose-Revolutionary Review
Apr. 28th, 2014 03:00 pmHey,
So I read through a couple of books lately and now I'll tell you what I thought.
First up, The Revolutions by Felix Gilman. Mr. Gilman wrote the Half-Made World duology of which I only read the first half. Although I wasn't really up to following the short series through there were a lot of interesting ideas and the premise of his new book seemed interesting enough that I thought I'd give it a go.
Arthur Shaw is a journalist in Victorian London when a massive storm rocks London and pushes him out of a job and into the arms of Josephine Bradman a young typist who does a lot of work for various occult groups in the London area. Both of them fall into the orbit of Martin Atwood, a wealthy young noble with an interest in the occult that goes well beyond the usual table-rapping. Through Atwood, Arthur lands a job tabulating complex equations in a human computing factory that takes a high toll on its employees. Josephine, meanwhile is inducted into Atwood's secret society.
Eventually, it culminates in a ritual gone wrong, an occult war in London, and an expedition to Mars. That last part is where it gets a little dodgy. I really liked the build up and Atwood's fight against rival groups hoping to use and understand magic, but the last third just sort of hares off into Burroughs territory. I was hoping for a little more creepy, understated, occult war stuff and wasn't exactly expecting this planetary romance. Still, even if it isn't what I expected, the story is good and it's a fun read.
Following that, I stayed up a bit too late last night polishing off A Rose-Red City by Dave Duncan. Jerry is a man who lives in Mera, a fairy-tale kingdom that collects humans from all over space-time where everyone lives in a happy utopia. Mera is governed by an Oracle who will choose citizens for missions Outside to collect new residents. These missions are somewhat fraught as demonic forces oppose Mera and hope to kill of any present or future citizens.
Jerry, warned by the Oracle, takes along his friend Killer (short for Achilles, a Greek soldier) and they wind up at a small farmhouse. They settle down and await their target. It arrives in the form of Ariadne, a woman on the run from her husband and her two small children she's kidnapped from him. Jerry has a bit of a problem since the offer to enter Mera is only for adults not children. But the hounds of hell are on the way and Jerry has to protect everyone until the morning.
This was a fascinating book. People from Mera have a bit of magic but are quite mortal beyond the city's walls. Their missions to the outside could drop them in at any place or time and the Oracles instructions are, if not cryptic, terse. So making contact with the target, convincing them that there's an offer of refuge for them and dealing with the enemy's attacks form an interesting problem where all-out violence is not necessarily the best option.
The children are an extra complication and the mission goes pear-shaped pretty quickly. Jerry's efforts to protect the people in his care and bring everyone safely to Mera make for some interesting reading. The book also spends a fair amount of time dealing with Ariadne and her efforts to do what's right for her kids and make sense of the chaos all around her.
Like I say, I stayed up a little too late to finish off the book so it's a pretty compelling read. The plot has a good flow and short, punchy chapters pull you on to the next page. There's a fair amount of "here are the ground rules for how magic works", but it's integrated well and it doesn't paint anyone into corners (either accidentally or intentionally). It's a good book for long trips or afternoons at the beach.
later
Tom
So I read through a couple of books lately and now I'll tell you what I thought.
First up, The Revolutions by Felix Gilman. Mr. Gilman wrote the Half-Made World duology of which I only read the first half. Although I wasn't really up to following the short series through there were a lot of interesting ideas and the premise of his new book seemed interesting enough that I thought I'd give it a go.
Arthur Shaw is a journalist in Victorian London when a massive storm rocks London and pushes him out of a job and into the arms of Josephine Bradman a young typist who does a lot of work for various occult groups in the London area. Both of them fall into the orbit of Martin Atwood, a wealthy young noble with an interest in the occult that goes well beyond the usual table-rapping. Through Atwood, Arthur lands a job tabulating complex equations in a human computing factory that takes a high toll on its employees. Josephine, meanwhile is inducted into Atwood's secret society.
Eventually, it culminates in a ritual gone wrong, an occult war in London, and an expedition to Mars. That last part is where it gets a little dodgy. I really liked the build up and Atwood's fight against rival groups hoping to use and understand magic, but the last third just sort of hares off into Burroughs territory. I was hoping for a little more creepy, understated, occult war stuff and wasn't exactly expecting this planetary romance. Still, even if it isn't what I expected, the story is good and it's a fun read.
Following that, I stayed up a bit too late last night polishing off A Rose-Red City by Dave Duncan. Jerry is a man who lives in Mera, a fairy-tale kingdom that collects humans from all over space-time where everyone lives in a happy utopia. Mera is governed by an Oracle who will choose citizens for missions Outside to collect new residents. These missions are somewhat fraught as demonic forces oppose Mera and hope to kill of any present or future citizens.
Jerry, warned by the Oracle, takes along his friend Killer (short for Achilles, a Greek soldier) and they wind up at a small farmhouse. They settle down and await their target. It arrives in the form of Ariadne, a woman on the run from her husband and her two small children she's kidnapped from him. Jerry has a bit of a problem since the offer to enter Mera is only for adults not children. But the hounds of hell are on the way and Jerry has to protect everyone until the morning.
This was a fascinating book. People from Mera have a bit of magic but are quite mortal beyond the city's walls. Their missions to the outside could drop them in at any place or time and the Oracles instructions are, if not cryptic, terse. So making contact with the target, convincing them that there's an offer of refuge for them and dealing with the enemy's attacks form an interesting problem where all-out violence is not necessarily the best option.
The children are an extra complication and the mission goes pear-shaped pretty quickly. Jerry's efforts to protect the people in his care and bring everyone safely to Mera make for some interesting reading. The book also spends a fair amount of time dealing with Ariadne and her efforts to do what's right for her kids and make sense of the chaos all around her.
Like I say, I stayed up a little too late to finish off the book so it's a pretty compelling read. The plot has a good flow and short, punchy chapters pull you on to the next page. There's a fair amount of "here are the ground rules for how magic works", but it's integrated well and it doesn't paint anyone into corners (either accidentally or intentionally). It's a good book for long trips or afternoons at the beach.
later
Tom
