Andy Graham Author

Author of dark fiction and fantasy, dystopia, horror.

Interviews/ Views/ Reviews

One Book Interview #58 – Martin Owton

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After last week’s popular return of the One Book Interview, I’m happy to say I have another author here to talk about the ‘words behind the words’.

His choice of books are my kind of books – fantasy staples that I have read, reread and am hankering to revisit yet again.

Good people of the Internet, writing out of England, UK – Martin Owton.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

I’m going to go with The Lord of the Rings (and maybe The Hobbit as a starter). It’s a foundation stone of the fantasy genre and pretty much everyone who has written (or is writing) a fantasy book has read it. It was certainly a transformative book for the 12 y.o. me. I am still in awe of the world-building.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be exiled to Mars

An omnibus edition of The Wheel of Time – because I read up to book 10 back when book 10 was as far as the series went. I never finished the series because the wait for book 11 was so long. I would now have to reread to get back into the story and this would give me the chance. Books 8 & 9 were desperately slow as I recall, but I’ve seen multiple claims that the final books are great.

3 – you took a chance on and enjoyed

The Devil You Know by Mike Carey. First book in a contemporary fantasy series set in London with a freelance exorcist as main character. Mike Carey hit it big with The Girl With All The Gifts (also a brilliant book) and is a truly gifted storyteller and a great guy.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

That would be Exile, the first book of the Nandor Tales and my first completed novel. As my reviewers have pointed out it has its flaws, but I still love the way the plotlines mesh.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

I’m not going to name the book(s). They were published by major publishing houses and they were pretty bad. They made me think I can do better than this and I was right.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Writer rather than single book – David Gemmell, particularly his Drenai books, Waylander as a standout.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with.

There are only 3 to choose from. Exile if you want classic secondary world adventure fantasy, Shadows of Faerie if you want contemporary fantasy.

You can find Martin at www.martinowton.wordpress.com

Martin Owton is a UK-based fantasy author. He has 3 books published: the Nandor Tales duology Exile & Nandor (non-epic adventure fantasy) and Shadows of Faerie – a contemporary fantasy set in southern England where he grew up. He has also published over 30 short stories. His real life job is drug designer for big pharma. He is represented by Shiel Land Associates of London.

One Book Interview #57 – Gareth Hanrahan

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The One Book Interview is back with a bang.

I picked up The Gutter Prayer (Book One of the Black Iron Legacy) a few months back after a few people recommended it.

I loved it.

So when the author agreed to do an interview, I jumped at the chance.

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Cork, Ireland – Gareth Hanrahan.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum. I’m not going to lie and say it’s an easy read – the early chapters, especially, hit you with untranslated ancient Hebrew, obscure conspiracies and an in media res opening – but stick with it. It’s hilarious, insightful and explains everything from the secret history of the world to the publishing industry.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be exiled to Mars

Something short that I can read in the brief window before I asphyxiate, I suppose. I mean, I love Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars trilogy, but I’m not going to get through even a chapter or two before I die. Although I suppose it’s thick enough to be used as radiation shielding in a pinch…

3 – you took a chance on and enjoyed

I think John Higgs’ The KLF; I knew nothing about the band, had no interest in them, and only picked up the book on the recommendation of a friend of mine. Since reading it, I’ve evangelized about it everyone. It’s genius. I can’t wait for his book on William Blake.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

The Dracula Dossier – it’s a rewrite of Stoker’s Dracula, turning it into a piece of espionage fiction and the biggest roleplaying handout ever. That was tremendous fun to work on – weaving our own characters and plots into Dracula, uncovering the secret hints Stoker left for us, annotating the whole thing with notes from the 1940s, 1970s and 2010s. An incredibly indulgent playground.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

The Lord of the Rings. So much of my life is bound up in that book. It brought me into fantasy and to roleplaying; I’ve done a lot of work on Tolkien-based games. My mother introduced me to it, and I’m introducing it to my own kids.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook, I think. It helped a lot when I was having trouble writing fiction.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with.

The Gutter Prayer, the first book of The Black Iron Legacy series.

***

If you would like to read my (Andy’s) thoughts on The Gutter Prayer, you can see them here. Book Two in the series (The Shadow Saint) is already out and Book Three (The Broken God) hits the shelves this month. (May 2021).

You can find Gareth at: www.garhanrahan.com

Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan is a writer and game designer. Originally qualified as a computer programmer, he took a three month break to see how “this writing thing” would go. More than fifteen years later, he’s still on that break. The writing thing seems to be going.

Gareth has published more role-playing games and supplements than he can even recall, including the award-winning The Laundry RPG, Adventures in Middle Earth and The Dracula Dossier.

He describes writing as “the process of transforming tea and guilt into words”.

His debut novel, The Gutter Prayer was published by Orbit Books in 2019. Its sequel, The Shadow Saint came out in January 2020. The third book in the series, The Broken God, comes out in May 2021. More books are in the works.

Gareth lives in Cork, Ireland with more dogs, children and fish than he ever anticipated.

Along the Razor’s Edge by Rob J. Hayes

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To mangle a footballing cliché, this was a book of two halves.

It took me a while to get into, but by the time I was deep in the backend of the book, I was hooked.

Why the initial reservations?

The main character grated. Eskara is angry. She’s been dealt a bad hand, is young and struggling with what she’s gained and lost. She’s easy not to like. I could deal with this. What niggled was her telling me how unlikable she was. She did this a lot but there was no need – her actions told their own story. One or two moments of self-observation would have been enough. Which dovetails into…

The ‘wisdom’ quotes. I feel churlish pointing this out. I’m a sucker for this these and the Razor’s Edge is full of pearls. My problem? They were overused. Their power waned when they came at me too fast. They are good, they would have been better rarer. Then again, it may just be that this swine of a reader couldn’t appreciate them.

The swearing. See point two. (And one.)

Having spent three points saying ‘there was too much of X, Y and Z’, now I want more of D: dialogue. Done well, which I know this author can do from his Best Laid Plans books, it can keep things moving. In the first half of Along the Razor’s Edge there is a lot of digging while the characters get where they need to be. During this section, I would’ve preferred more drive which dialogue may have helped with.

The second half of the book did away these things.

Eska was still angry but she wasn’t telling me how angry she was so frequently. Similarly, there were fewer ‘wisdom quotes’. They were presented more subtly when they were there and, as a result, were more powerful. The same goes for profanity. There was more talking, too.

Then there were other things that came into their own in the second half.

The narration from the point of view of an older Eska added a good perspective. It layered on depth and intrigue, hints of what is to come.

The flashbacks that illuminated parts of her and Josef’s past and linked them to their current situation. (And, I suspect, introduced characters we will see more of.)

The non-human races. The Imps. The Damned. Ssserakis. (Which is a great nnname.*) They added a grim dimension to the world.

On that note, It would have been nice to mix some of the other non-human races from other countries in with the general population of the Pit. In a world where such people exist, I sometimes wondered how segregated the Pit would really be.

The flight through the underground city. Or what in my head was the ‘Moria’ section. (That’s meant positively.) The pieces that had been shuffled around in the first half of the book now had time to vent: lust, anger, regret, violence, duplicity, love and bittersweet tenderness. It was all there and the book lifted.

 

MINOR SPOILER ALERT!!!

 

The characters developed and came into their own. Eska’s infatuation with Isen being very well done (especially the details of how that relationship climaxed*). Her relationship with Josef was similarly good. Though at the end I do wonder why he wasn’t armed with more ‘sources’ and if Yorin got off easy.

 

MINOR SPOILER ALERT OVER!!!

 

There was even sight of a man’s cock and balls, which makes a refreshing change in a genre where the only nudity is usually non-male and there are breasts and ‘boob-plate’ a plenty.

Finally, I need to mention the magic system. It strikes me as something that may have arisen from a typo – ‘sourcerer’ vs. sorcerer. Regardless of the origin, it’s good. The way those powers are wielded is creative (again, more evident in the second half) and ‘sources’ have a great way of limiting those powers. (Though not for those with a weak stomach.*)

I appreciate that the second half of the book wouldn’t exist without the first, that it built on the foundations that were laid in the bleak tunnels of the Pit, but it took a while for me to get to the point where I wanted to read ‘just one more chapter.’ Once there, though, the book flew.

So, Along the Razor’s Edge.

Is it worth it?

Yes.

*Yeah, I know. #dadjokes. Couldn’t resist.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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OK.

This is going to be a bit of a non-review.

Why?

I read the book. I liked the book. Then I spent too long thinking about what I was going to say, got distracted by life, and, as a result, I can’t remember what I wanted to say.

Not ideal.

But if you want a bare bones recap, here we go.

I struggled with the first 100 pages as I got used to the world, tried to figure out the backstories, and keep track of the names.

That’s a fantasy trope that I could do without. Looooooong names. Stop. Please.

The middle of the book was fantastic: the twists, the ups and downs of relationships, the character developments, the depth to the world, the action scenes, the descriptions that can be both grim and beautiful, the humour, the quirk of it, the skull make up, prose that ranges from poetic to crass, and, of course, the bones.

I like anatomy. I always have. This book has it in coffin-loads.

It also has one of the best ‘anatomy’ quotes I’ve read:

“We do bones, motherfucker.”

Then we got to the end of the book. It lost me a little. Those twists kept coming and it got too much. To be fair, that may have been my insomnia playing tricks on me, but there were moments when I wanted a resolution rather than another ‘and then…’ moment.

That said, the inevitable sacrifice was well done and the book set up for the next one.

Which I will read. (And when I do, I’ll review it properly.)


Got a minute? Check out some of the fan art.

So.

Is Gideon the Ninth worth it?

Charlie Stross’s quote –

“Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!”

– paradoxically, both sums it up and does it nothing like the justice it deserves. It’s different to anything else I’ve read. That was part of its attraction and also where I struggled. Maybe not so much because of that difference, but due to the depth of that difference.

But, yes, it is worth it. It’s even worth a reread. And I suspect that when I do, so much more will make sense.

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

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I’m not sure you can miss a book. I’m certain you can’t miss a book you haven’t read but that was precisely the feeling I had within a few pages of A Little Hatred.

The book takes the world as it was at the end of the last series, adds a few decades and some coal, and builds on it. There is a new generation of characters, some of their parents, and references back to what had happened in the past. There are twists. There’s violence. There are flawed characters aplenty and a biting takedown both of capitalism and the consequences of revolution. The text is clean and easy to read and, impressively, the use of each character’s ‘voice’ is not just limited to their speech but to the entirety of the text when it is their turn on the page. And there is the rolling point of view Abercrombie does so well – when the protagonist of one section merges seamlessly into the protagonist of the next. (Seen best here when the revolution bites and one character’s actions knock on to the next’s in the subsequent paragraphs.)

 

All in all, this is a great book. The writing combines grit and glory, humour and horror, beautiful and bitter observations on life and all other manner of alliterating adjectives.

As with The Once and Future Witches, I appreciate that this is not a ‘balanced, critical’ review but I don’t see the point of adding criticism for the sake of it.

That said, I have one issue. I think I missed some of the jokes and references because it’s been so long since I read the First Law books and the stand-alones. The solution? Get the rest of the series and reread from The Blade Itself forwards.

Reckon the books deserve it.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

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I’m not sure why I picked up this book. Someone might have recommended it. It could have been on special offer. It could easily have been the cover. Whatever the reason, I’m glad I did. It’s stunning.

The prose is beautiful. The story is poignant, tragic and powerful. There is a darkness to it which is made so much more unnerving because a lot of the terror happens ‘off screen’. The protagonists have clear and distinct personalities with flaws and wants. (You know, like real people.) The technical aspects of the writing (brackets, hyphens, asides and so on) add to the story rather than clutter it up. The story is clever but does not ram that cerebral aspect down your throat. The wisdom is not heavy handed.

“That’s all magic is, really: the space between what you have and what you need.”

The Crone

There is humour. There is hate. There is love. And, of course, there is a witch burning, though that may not turn out how you expect.

In short, the book is stunning.

I feel that a review needs some kind of ‘but…’ to give it credibility. I have no buts to give. The book had me from the dedication to the last page.

I’ll read it again. Soon. At the moment, though, part of me is worried that The Once and Future Witches won’t live up to my remembered expectations. Memories can be treacherous things. But for those of you who have the will, this book has ‘the words and the ways’.

And they are magical.