Battle of the Books: Weird West

Welcome to another edition of my monthly feature, Battle of the Books! Each month, I will read and review two books that take a spin at a similar topic/subgenre in speculative fiction, be it broad or narrow in scope. There will be two posts a month -- one to introduce the topic and books, and another with my reviews and verdict.

This month's books are both considered Weird Westerns. Also sometimes called flintlock fantasy, books in this subgenre combine a wild western setting with fantasy, horror, or sci-fi.

Why this somewhat obscure subgenre with a horrible history in Hollywood, you ask? If you have been reading my blog, you know that I recently finished Stephen King's Dark Tower series, which has elements of westerns, sci-fi, and fantasy. And that I am still recovering from That Ending. I need a couple good gunslingers in my literary life.

Also: 

So do yourself a favor, get this song on (I'll wait), and scroll down to catch a glimpse the books in this month's duel. 

For this to be a fair fight, I am going to take books from two well known fantasy authors who each happened to have written a standalone western recently - Joe Abercrombie's Red Country and Brandon Sanderson's Alloy of Law. Both are books also set in the respective author's already established epic fantasy worlds (Abercrombie's First Law & Sanderson's Mistborn). 

Red Country follows Shy South and her stepfather Lamb as they chase after her siblings' kidnappers in the wild Far Country. Everyone on the frontier seems to have a bloody past worth forgetting. I'll admit, I love the jacket blurb, too: They burned her home. They stole her brother and sister. But vengeance is following. Shy South does not seem like the type to be trifled with. 

Set 300 years after the original Mistborn trilogy (of which I'll admit I've only read the first, eep), The Alloy of Law is set in a city on the "verge of modernity", with railroads, electricity, and beginnings of skyscrapers. The story follows Waxillium Ladrian, a man who can use both allomancy and feruchemy, as he returns from the Roughs to assume the head role of a noble house. But is the city really safer than the wild country?

Have you read Red Country, The Alloy of Law or another Weird Western? Have any suggestions for fans of the sub-genre? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books For Readers Who Like Character Driven Novels

Welcome to another post for the weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week, they post a new Top Ten list, and then bloggers respond with their answers. Without further ado, this week's list (in no particular order)! 

Ten Books for Readers Who Like Character Driven Novels

I think the best stories always end up being about the people rather than the event, which is to say character-driven. - Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Ah, the character driven novel. Sometimes you just want to delve deep into the psyche of someone else, am I right? I am a big fan of character driven works and will usually choose them over the more plot driven action novel types. Ten novels I'd recommend from speculative fiction are: 

My fantasy picks: 

1. Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb (my review here): Or pretty much anything else written by Hobb. She has a way with character development -- creating people with real flaws and hang ups and usually making tragic things happen to them. But it is so good that you will forgive her the heartache.
2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss: Rothfuss's first published fantasy was popular for a reason -- he creates unique characters that truly drive the story.
3. A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin: As long as you don't mind your favorite characters dying (seriously, no one is safe), the Song of Ice and Fire series is full of wonderfully interesting characters (and very detailed descriptions of the feasts too -- don't read while on a diet, trust me). 
4. The Gunslinger by Stephen King (my review here): King introduces two iconic figures in this book with the opening lines: The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. The rest of the novel gives you the complicated character that is Roland.
5. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson: This book follows Ursula Todd, who sadly dies before she can draw her first breath. And then again, on that same night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to die in early childhood. And then again... you get the picture. Atkinson crafts a wonderful story (which should probably not be read by new parents, take my word for it) that illustrates much of what happens in Europe in the early 20th century while also creating a deep interesting character in Ursula.

And my science fiction picks:

6. The City & The City by China Meiville: If you want to learn whole new vocabularies, Meiville is your author. In this novel, you follow Inspector tyador Borlu as he investigates a murder. His investigation takes him into the neighboring city which is literally right next to him (but not). It is twisty sci-fi and a police procedural all wrapped into one. 
7. The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin: This novel introduced me to the depth of social and political discussion that sci-fi can have. It starts at Anarres, a utopia where there are no laws, no own possessions, and follows Shevek, a brilliant physicist who believes his theories could unite societies all over the universe.
8. Dawn by Octavia Butler: I finished Butler's Xenogenesis series this summer; I am hoping to get a review out on it sometime next month. Dawn, the first in the series, follows Lilith who wakes up in the custody of the Oankali, a race of aliens that has saved humanity from utter destruction, healed our planet, and are now wanting to repopulate the planet -- for a trade. Lilith is a very interesting character with some very weird choices to make.
9. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan: This novel follows Takeshi Kovacs as he investigates a murder in a society where consciousness can be now downloaded into a new body. Part ruthless killer, part man of principle, Kovacs is definitely an interesting character, but this book does have some coarse language and adult content -- so beware for that.
10. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie: Will I ever stop recommending this book? Probably not. Breq has to be one of the most interesting characters developed in a sci-fi novel that I have read in a long long time. If you haven't read this one, please do yourself a favor and read it! Read it!

Sunday Short: Sarah Pinsker's No Lonely Seafarer

This week's Sunday Short is Sarah Pinsker's No Lonely Seafarer, published in Lightspeed magazine.

This short takes place in a town by the sea called Dog's Bay, where all sailors have been grounded and tensions are running high. A group of sirens have taken up residence at the headland of the bay, and no sailors have been able to pass or leave the town.

Our young protagonist, Alex, is approached and asked for help by the captain of a boat who has a new plan to pass the sirens by. Alex is 13 years old and intersexed. All previous attempts to pass the sirens have failed (grown men and women have thrown themselves into the sea upon hearing the sirens). What will happen when Alex faces the sirens?

The story's narration was clear and straightforward, and I enjoyed Alex's viewpoint on the overall problem the town faced. The dynamics of a non-traditional character in the small town were also interesting, and I love diversity of viewpoints in my fantasy. Overall, No Lonely Seafarer was a solid short story that captivated me for the time that I was reading it, but it probably wont be one I think about much again.

Favorite line:

Their two voices? I lived that story every day. They sang that no life could be hid from their dreaming, so I offered mine as proof. I thought maybe they had never heard a creature such as I was...

Rating: 4/5

Next week's short will be Polenth Blake's Never the Same, published in Strange Horizon. Any thoughts on this week's short or future short stories you'd like to see featured? Please them in the comments below!

Soundtrack Saturday: Dark Tower's Eddie

This Saturday & for the month of October, I am participating in Soundtrack Saturday, a meme created by the blogger The Hardcover Lover (with a few changes). I started last week, with a soundtrack devote to Roland. As noted last week, I am creating character-specific playlists from my most recent (and still ongoing) obsession, the Dark Tower.

This week, I am featuring a playlist for Eddie Dean. When we first meet Eddie in Drawing of the Three, he is 20-something heroin addict with an attachment to his older brother (and also addict) Henry.

I love Eddie mostly for his wise cracks / humor and you-got-to-be-kidding-me attitude toward Roland for much of the series. He grows to understand the strange things Roland spouts (ka, gunslinger instincts), but I appreciate that he serves as a character for us, the reader, to lose our disbelief with.

Once again - I compiled my playlist into Spotify -- so hit play to listen along!

Eddie Dean

1. Priory - Weekend: Eddie had unhealthy family relationships. The subplot early in the series of Eddie working through those toxic relationships was one of my favorite.

Tonight I might just lose my way / But I'll never get down hearted

Good friends keep enemies at bay / Forget that I was ever your whipping boy

2.  Fitz and The Tantrums - Out of My League: I loved that Eddie just refused to believe Roland. Because I am pretty sure I would do the same. (I am not sure I'd have Eddie's guts to have a gunfight naked, though.) 

All the things I believe / You were just the right kind

Yeah, you are more than just a dream

3. Passenger - Let Her Go: Eddie misses our world, even when it was crappy to him in so many ways. I get it, and I wish more characters that get sent into weird challenging situations missed home a little more. Our world does rock, I mean, we have astin!

Only know you've been high when you're feeling low

Only hate the road when you're missin' home

Maybe one day you'll understand why / Everything you touch surely dies.

4. Florence + The Machine - Cosmic Love: When Susannah goes missing, Eddie almost loses it. (Well, all the characters almost lose it.) His devotion to Susannah really came through for me then.

I took the stars from our eyes, and then I made a map

And knew that somehow I could find my way back.

Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too

So I stayed in the darkness with you. 

5. Mumford & Sons - Feel the Tide: For me one of my vivid scenes involving Eddie was when the ka-tet were all reunited after spending most of a book in two separate groups. When Eddie and Susannah reunited -- so good. (Damn you, Stephen King. I've got feels again.) 

But you and I now / We can be alright

Just hold on to what we know is true

6. Panama Wedding - All of The People: When Eddie and the others realize they are characters and the whole third wall is blown? Are we all just character's in some other world's book, at the whim of someone else's storytelling? Whoa, right?

All of the people / all of the people take

take it away / you know maybe you just made me believe.

7. J Roddy Walston And The Business - Take It As It Comes: Eddie dismisses Roland early on as crazy (and his concepts as ka-ka). But eventually, he accepts that he is a gunslinger and has an important unreplaceable role in the ka-tet. 

You gotta take it as it comes

You gotta make your final run. 

Well, I got no place to go. 

I got no other life I know. 

I put the bullet in the gun. 

You gotta take it as it comes.

Do you have any songs for Eddie? Have you started the Dark Tower series yet? (No? Why not?!? ;) ) Next week, I'll post a playlist for Susannah.

Robin Hobb's Fool's Assassin

Disclaimer: I received this book as an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book made me realize I need to read a lot more Hobb. Like everything she has ever written. If you haven't read her Farseer Trilogy yet, please do yourself a favor and read it next. And then everything else. Believe me, it is such good fantasy!

Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb

In Fool's Assassin, we are re-introduced to Fitz, also known as FitzChivalry Farseer - bastard of the Farseer line and royal assassin. Fitz is living out middle-age under the assumed name Tom Badgerlock with his beloved Molly as holder for the manor house at Withywoods.

Robin Hobb has a way with beautiful prose and wonderful character development. Some may find an issue with the plot pacing, as it is slower than a lot of fantasy written these days, but I found it perfect. Know that you are in for a deliciously leisurely paced read, and you will be rewarded. 

Hobb's depictment of Fitz and Molly's middle age relationship was something special. We see a couple that respects one another, occasionally fights with one another, and ultimately loves one another in both word and action. Truthfully, I think there are not enough stories of character's in their happy ever-afters of relationships. 

I also enjoyed Hobb's depiction of Fitz in new parenthood. As a relatively new parent myself, you are quick to realize that you can never be perfect. And if you think you are doing everything right... you are probably doing something very wrong. :) I appreciated that Fitz isn't perfect, and, like any new parent, he is constantly having to adapt to new challenges as his child grows. Bee's perspective, as alien and strange as it was at times, quickly became something I looked forward to within the story.

Overall, my only complaint (and one I expressed quite loudly to my husband a few nights ago upon finishing the book), is that this book ends on such a cliffhanger. It was so good (with so many things happening all at once), and then it was done. I don't want to wait for what happens next. But I will. Because I know it will be good.

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite lines (there are so many, it was hard to choose just a few!!!): 

Time is an unkind teacher, delivering lessons that we learn far too late for them to be useful. Years after I could have benefited from them, the insights come to me. 

As dye soaks fibres, drawn into them to change their colour forever, so does a memory, stinging or sweet, change the fibre of a man’s character.

There are endings. There are beginnings. Sometimes they coincide, with the ending of one thing marking the beginning of another. But sometimes there is simply a long space after an ending, a time when it seems everything has ended and nothing else can ever begin. 

How often does a man know, without question, that he has done well? I do not think it happens often in anyone's life, and it becomes even rarer once one has a child. 

Have you read Fool's Assassin? Any thoughts on how to survive a year without know what happens next? Leave them in the comments below!