Wool Series

Titles: Wool; Proper Gauge; Casting Off
Series: Wool #1-3
Author: Hugh Howey
Pages: 298 total (ebook)
Published: July/November/December 2011
Published by: Broad Reach Publishing

Blurb from the omnibus edition (Wool #1-5)

This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.

The world has gone to pot, and what remains of humanity resides within a silo: a self-sufficient tower with all they need to survive. Including a window onto the outside, so they can always see the corrosion of the planet due to the toxic atmosphere. The very worst crimes are punishable by cleaning: being sent outside to clean the camera lenses which give them this picture, shortly followed by certain death in spite of the protective suits they are given.

I'll hold my hands up and admit that I started reading this series because they were free ebooks. What's not to like about that? Free stuff is always good! It gives me a chance to explore new authors, and if I don't like them it doesn't even matter 'cos it doesn't cost a thing - a win/win situation the way I see it. But this series is definitely an overall win: I've read the three books over the past two and a half months and thoroughly enjoyed each one of them.

They all follow a separate character, but the progression from character to character makes sense, and all follows and continues the thread of the same story. They each have a distinct voice and move the story forwards in their own way, slowly showing you something of the extent of the corruption within the silo.

First is Holston, the sheriff of the silo. His story unfolds both the present day, and with flashbacks to three years earlier when his wife had gone crazy and demanded to be let outside. The descriptions of life within the silo are well done, and you aren't overloaded with details being thrown at you. They're slipped in naturally in the narrative, and you build up a picture throughout each of the books. By the end of the book, you find out what caused his wife's actions, and come to a shocking realisation about the internal workings of the silo.

Book two picks up right after, this time with Mayor Jahns providing the story. She and the deputy sheriff - Marnes - set off on a journey down the depth of the silo, right to the Mech levels right at the very bottom. This one has more of an information-y feel, giving you more about the functioning of the silo and the power struggles, as well as more clues to the underlying conspiracy. Complete with another shock ending, you are slowly pulled more and more into this world.

The third book followed Juliette as she tries to adjust to life on the top levels after spending decades down in the Mech level. She understands machines, not people, but the analogies she draws between the two are wonderful. Her journey is probably my favourite thus far and I really like her character. She's smart, and quickly gets to grips with the things she needs to, even when thrown in a little at the deep end. The end of this book is the most gripping of the three, and I'm incredibly interested to see what happens in the next book.

Howey has created a wonderfully unique voice for each character, the life they've lived tinting the way they think, the way they see and understand the world and those around them. The silo is well thought out, though the world-building is limited, namely because of the limitations of the whole world being confined to a tower. The plot doesn't really suffer because of this, though. It's interesting and goes along at a good pace. Each book is longer than the last (70, 107 and 122 pages respectively), so each story arc is given more time to develop as you learn more.

Obviously, you know things that the characters in books 2 and 3 don't know - you've followed the progression of events and are party to things that they just can't know, so you have a much more complete view of things than either of them do. You have to sit through them discovering or working out things that you already know, but for the most part this isn't a significant issue. There's usually some new information divulged during the course of this, and the story doesn't drag as a result of this necessary rehashing.

My one real complaint with this book is a technical one rather than a literary one: books 4 and 5 no longer seem to be available as stand-alone novels, which means I'll have to invest in the 1-5 omnibus to finish the story. Of course, what happens at the end of book 3 means that this will definitely be happening at some point! A gripping tale, and one which has me quite eager to get back to Wool's world.

The Song of Achilles

Title: The Song of Achilles
Author: Madeline Miller
Pages: 368 (paperback)
Published: April 12th 2012
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing. As they grow into young men their bond blossoms into something far deeper — despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned.

This story is set around the time of the Trojan war - about 3200 years ago. Greece was just a series of small, independently ruled kingdoms, and they waged war on the heretofore unbeaten city of Troy. Here we see the story of Achilles as he grows up and fights in this war. There are gods, goddesses, demi-gods and centaurs abounding in his journey with his best friend Patroclus.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book. What I knew about Achilles before reading it can be summed up in two (very short) sentences: Fabled warrior who fought against Troy when Helen ran away with Paris from whom the phrase 'Achilles heel' was taken. His heel was apparently his only vulnerable spot after his mother dipped him in a river giving him immortality, but held him by his heel as she did so.

Literally, this is everything I knew about Achilles before I started reading, most taken from the film Troy, and quite a lot only a myth - I doubt that he was immortal or a half-god. He was just a great warrior and myths abounded about him at the time.

This story is about Achilles, but less about his life than about his life with Patroclus. It is Patroclus who we first meet, and through whom we see Achilles. They pretty much grow up together from when they meet at age 10, and their relationship is definitely something wonderful.

Miller has obviously done her research - and as a lecturer of Ancient Greek you'd definitely hope so too - and seems to the know the story as it is recorded very well. The personalities of all the characters come through clearly, and there is always some level of logic to their actions. There is a lot of ancient Greek pop culture/mythology stuff thrown in there, but you never feel overwhelmed by it. Stories are told to demystify characters which would have been household names at the time, and gods and mythological creatures get the same treatment without unnecessary depth.

It covers a rather hefty length of time, 28+ years all told, but it skips over the unimportant parts very quicklys and focuses on those times where things actually happen, and all in all is written in a way which was very easy to read. I can't really pinpoint why, but I never had to work at reading it particularly. No, it wasn't the most gripping book in the world, but it was interesting and there were some places where it was definitely a page-turner.

As I said before, this book is really all about Patroclus and Achilles. It is wonderful seeing them grow up together and grow closer through their life together, and the end is a little bit heat-breaking. The depth of their feeling for each other is wonderfully portrayed, even if there is some question as to the exact nature of their relationship in actuality. You can see the ways in which they help each other, how they help each other to be better in so many ways and how they are utterly devoted to each other.

An interesting book, and something I'd easily recommend.

The Blade Itself

Title: The Blade Itself
Series: The First Law #1
Author: Joe Abercrombie
Pages: 517 (paperback)
Published: March 4th 2006
Published by: Gollancz

Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he’s on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian – leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. 
Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules. 
Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it. 
Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glotka a whole lot more difficult. 
Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood. Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge.

Logen Ninefingers is a named man: one of the warrior barbarians of the north who has earned his own fighting name who finds himself dragged along to a city he doesn't understand and a reason he doesn't know. Jezal dan Luthar is trying to become a fencing champion while resisting amorous advances from a completely unsuitable - and off limits - woman. Sand dan Glokta is a bitter, pain-filled torturer who's trying to survive the politics of a dangerous government. Bayaz is a mysterious magician who no one really understands and has his own agenda which is barely even hinted at. These, and others, make up the wonderful and eclectic cast of The Blade Itself.

Joe Abercrombie is another bandwagon that I'm a little late joining. Yeah, he's not as big as like George R. R. Martin and stuff, but I've always heard good things about his books and they've always sounded quite interesting; I just haven't got round to reading anything by him up until now. And he's definitely a very talented author. His cast is wonderful, and you quickly and easily get a great feel for all of them. He gets inside their heads so well and makes all of them distinctive so you can from a few lines know who it is you're now following.

His story is intricate, even if for most of you don't have a clue what's going on: you're following these characters but don't know why or where they're going or what is really going on in the bigger picture for most of the time. When I was around 100 pages from the end of this book, a friend asked me what it was about and all I could answer with was a shrug of my shoulders and the very unhelpful answer of "People, doing stuff." It's all quite enigmatic, and I wished there'd been something more go on earlier than there is.

Of course this didn't stop me reading, if it did slow me down a little. It was just a little hard to get caught up in a story that wasn't particularly there.

I was enjoying it up until the penultimate chapter. Then there was an amazing scene - just a few pages long - that blew me away. I really, really want to know more about what was shown. Like really. Because there was no indication of anything particularly unusual, then suddenly - bam. You're hit with this information. And I can't wait to see what happens.

I'm interested in the fates of the other characters too, but bar one I'm less invested in them. Oh, maybe bar two. No, three. Ok, so turns out I'm more interested in some of the characters than I realised.

Outside of the characters, the writing was still very well done, and there was a nice mix of humour and violence. Nothing particularly horrific, but the fight scenes were realistically written without too much flying-about-of-viscera which I'm always a fan of. Though I if I can get through Battle Royale I'll probably be set for life on that front. And there were some laugh out loud moments, often not at times when you're expecting.  Most come from Glokta and his aides - Practicals - who I suppose have to make light of what they can in their line of work.

A very interesting book with some great characters, if a few too many ends are left a little too loose for my liking. Definitely a series I'll be carrying on with.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Title: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Series: Flavia de Luce #1
Author: Alan Bradley
Pages: 382 (paperback)
Published: January 19th 2010
Published by: Bantam

It is the summer of 1950 - and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. "I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn't. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life."

I grew up reading Enid Blyton adventure books: kids running round and solving mysteries; The Famous Five mostly but also bits and pieces of The Secret Seven. They were set in a different time, when four children (and their dog) could go on holiday together and snoop around new places. Sweetness was recommended to me by a friend, and as soon as he told me about it this sort of the thing was the first thing that came to mind and I was quite excited by the idea.

Flavia is a fiercely independent 11-year-old girl living in a big old house in the English countryside. She has two very annoying older sisters and a passion for chemistry, a love which riddles the entire book in the form of her thoughts and role-models. She is clearly incredibly intelligent and has spent much time learning about all things chemical, aided by a laboratory inherited from a long dead relation - one of the benefits of an ancestral home I suppose! When a dead body turns up in the garden, Flavia wastes no time in trying to get to the bottom of what's going on.

Bradley has created a very good leading lady in Miss Flavia Sabina de Luce. She is smart and quick-witted, if a little forgetful at times. Some things are forgiveable given the amount she learns in such short spaces of time, but forgetting that the local post office will be shut on a Sunday and going wandering about the back of it because of it was a little unbelievable. Though of course you couldn't have had her and the plot kicking their heels for a day, waiting to find out certain important pieces of information.

And of course, this is still a crime novel so the there are the requisite lengthy expositions about the past so that motives can be uncovered, and the the big long explanation at the end where all the clues are brought together. All this is necessary, but these are the things I don't like about crime books and may be part of the reason I don't really read them any more.

Flavia is really the only central character; there are secondary characters with whom she interacts, but her main companion is herself and her musings are all internal. I think it would have been nice for her to have someone to bounce off of, and also so she wasn't working everything out for herself but I can understand why she is so solitary given the nature of her two sisters. Maybe this is something that may be built on further in the series? Though her companion would have to be quite brilliant in their own way to keep up with Miss de Luce!

The writing itself is very easy to read and very descriptive of the surroundings, maybe overly so at times. On a number of occasions I was actually pulled out of the story and noticed just how much description was being used and it was a little distracting, but then Flavia herself is very observant so it is the way she sees the world, and probably quite useful in all her sleuthing.

I don't really have any complaints about this book, but while it was very good it wasn't amazing. There maybe wasn't quite enough happening during her actual detecting: there was a big finish, but after the inital murder the rest of the story is just her finding out stuff. Still, a very enjoyable book, with a mystery with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and a nice story all-round. A series I'm sure I'll carry on with at some point.