Author Archives: Keith West

Christmas Ghosts

Christmas Ghosts
Krisitne Grayson, ed.
WMG Publishing
trade paper $15.99
electronic $6.99

It’s good to read outside your comfort zone from time to time. I’m not really the target audience for this anthology. But I found it a nice, enjoyable collection of ghost stories that are a perfect fit for the season. I meant to have this posted a little earlier, but things have been hectic enough that I didn’t finish the book until last night.

The stories here cross a variety of genres, but at heart they’re all romances. Now there are certain conventions of the romance genre that can’t be violated if the story is to be considered of that genre. Editor Grayson (the romance author persona of Kristine Kathryn Rusch) explains this in her introduction.

The main thing is that the two lovers have to end up with each other. While I like an upbeat ending, I prefer a little more suspense in the outcome of the relationship. I guess you could say I’m not that much of happily ever after kind of guy. I find unrequited love more interesting thematically.

Of course, knowing things won’t work out every time is just as unsatisfying.

Anyway, you aren’t here to read about me. You want to know about the stories. They’re all worth reading. They span a variety of time periods and encompass a number of other genres. All of them involve ghosts in some form, although the ghost isn’t as central to the story in some of the tales as in others. Continue reading →

New Post on Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series: The Blue Star by Fletcher Pratt

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Hey, just a quick note to let you know my latest post on the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series is up at Black Gate. I’m looking at the first volume in the series proper, The Blue Star by Fletcher Pratt.

Dayjobbery got in the way of finishing this one, or it would have gone up a couple of weeks ago.

A Request for Assistance

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Strange New Worlds
Ari Marmell
Paperback $8.99
ebook $4.99 Kindle Nook Smashwords DriveThruFiction

I’m a huge fan of Ari Marmell’s Widdershins series, the most recent of which hit the shelves days ago, as well as his other work. I’ve got several other novels by him on the shelves that I haven’t gotten to, as well. He’s become one of my favorite writers.

Ari is having a bit of a tough go of it at the moment, through no fault of his own. I’ll let him explain the details. Bottom line, he’s strapped for cash and needs our help. Because royalties are paid only once or twice a year, it will probably be at least six months before he sees any cash from Lost Covenant, the latest Widdershins novel. That’s assuming the book earns out its advance.

What he will see money from in a reasonably timely manner is the short story collection Strange New Worlds which he recently crowdfunded on Kickstarter. I missed the Kickstarter on this one, or you would have already heard about it from me.

Anyway, if you want to help him out, buy the book. All of the royalties after Amazon or B&N take their cut go to Ari. I had bought a copy the night before he announced his need for support. I’ve moved the book to the top of the TBR list. I’m going to post the review at Amazing Stories, where it should get more pageviews than it will here. Because of my schedule there, it will probably be next week before the post goes live, although I’m going to try to get it in before this weekend’s deadline.

As Tom Doolan mentioned earlier on his blog, we are a community. It falls to us to help each other out.

Promise of Blood is a Promising Debut

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Promise of Blood
Brian McClellan
Orbit Books
hardcover $23.99
ebook Kindle $1.99 Nook $2.00

Yes, I know this one has been out since last spring. I’m behind, okay? Don’t try to tell me you’re current on your TBR pile, ‘cuz we both know better.

Anyway, if you like military fantasy set in an Industrial Revolution type setting, with lots of action, intrigue, guillotines, and not a few surprises, then this a book for you. I mean, just look at the cover. I saw it and was immediately hooked.

Field Marshall Tamas has lead a coup against the king of Adro. The king was going to sign a treaty basically enslaving Adro to the neighboring kingdom of Kez. He says he’s done it for the people, and unlike most military takeovers, he’s on the level. He’s got a group of civilians in on the plot with him to help him rule.

Tamas is a powder mage, a sorcerer whose powers are limited to guns and gunpowder. They are natural enemies of ordinary sorcerers, called Privileged. Tamas slaughters the king’s cabal of sorcerers, but before they die they each warn him about breaking Kresimir’s Promise. Continue reading →

Chuck Wendig Pulls Out All the Stops

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The Cormorant
Chuck Wendig
Angry Robot Books
UK Print
Date: 2nd January 2014
ISBN: 9780857663375 Format: Medium (B-Format) Paperback
R.R.P.: £8.99
North American Print
Date: 31st December 2013
ISBN: 9780857663382 Format: Mass-Market Paperback
R.R.P.: US$7.99 / CAN$9.99
Ebook
Date: 31st December 2013
ISBN: 9780857663399 Format: Epub & Mobi
R.R.P.: £5.49 / US$6.99

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll know I’m a fan of Chuck Wendig’s Miriam Black series. (Reviewed here and here.) Frankly, I find it one of the most compulsively readable series in any genre.

Things take a darker turn in this one. That’s saying something since the whole premise of the series, the hook upon which all things are hung, is Miriam’s ability to see how anyone she touches is going to die. Until now, Miriam has mainly used her abilities to rob people at the time of their deaths.

This time she’s graduated to killer. It isn’t working out as well as she’d hoped. Granted, she’s only killed to save someone’s life, but it’s taken a toll on her psyche.

Miriam is on her own again, and she ends up in Florida, lured their by a lucrative opportunity. When she touches the man she’s about to make a deal with, she sees his murder a year later. In the vision, she sees a message the killer has left her. Continue reading →

All Over but the Crying

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Well, finals have been graded and grades turned in. The great email deluge has begun. (“Why did I get an F? I made a 76 on the mditerm?” Because that’s the highest grade you made all semester and your final/lab/homework/quiz grades were failing.)

Answering them takes time. (“I feel I did better than a D in this class, even though my grades don’t reflect it. What time can I come by your office tomorrow and go over my exam? I’m sure I can find a few fractions of a point to push me over a 70.” I really got an email like this. My rule for this sort of time wasting is if you get to find points to add, I get to find additional points to remove.)

I’m thinking of having a tray of cheese nearby to go with the whine I’m finding in my inbox. (“I think that your giving me a F in the course for cheating in lab, even though I was warned verbally and in writing in both lab and lecture and I signed a copy of the lab policies which included the cheating policy, is extremely unfair, harsh, and mean. I look forward to hearing a decision from you that will be more in line with the grade I want rather than the grade I earned.” I really got this one, too, although I’ve paraphrased and condensed its multiple paragraphs considerably. This was a major case of academic fraud. I can’t talk about the details yet, for reasons I can’t talk about either.)

Of course, hope springs eternal. (“Dr. West, I see I earned an F in your class. Could you please bump me up to a D?” Considering that your lab grade was in the low 60s, all your other grades were failing, and your average was below 50, probably not.)

All of the quotes, while based on real emails have been changed, not so much to protect the identity of the authors, but to cover my ass in the extreme event one of them actually reads this blog. It’s been a rough semester. And, yes, there was a major case of academic fraud which I can’t talk about, and I really can’t talk about the reasons why I can’t talk about it, either. At least, not yet. But soon…

Anyway, I’m going to be posting either here or on one of the other blogs almost everyday until Christmas, starting tomorrow. There will be reviews, opinions, and who knows what else.

Stay tuned.

Final Exams

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We’ve got one day of final exams left. I’ve given mine, but I’ve barely scratched the surface with grading. I spent the better part of the last week dealing with a major academic dishonesty situation involving a group of students. It’s still ongoing, so I’ll not say anything more about it at this time. Anyway, between that and getting the lab grades to the lecture faculty, I’ve been rather busy. I failed to post anything at Amazing Stories for yesterday, the first time since I started blogging for them.

Anyway, it’s going to be a few days before I can get my head above water and post more. I finished with Chuck Wendig’s latest Miriam Black novel, Cormorant, over the weekend. The review will probably be the first thing I post. Then some short fiction, and a review of Brian McClellan’s Promise of Blood.

Just so you know I haven’t dropped off the planet.

Tis the Season for Theft, Snark, and Widdershins

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Lost Covenant
Ari Marmell
Pyr Books
279 pp, hardcover $17.99 US/$19.50 Can
ISBN 978-1-61614-811-9
ebook $11.99
ISBN 978-1-61614-812-6

At this time of year, it’s customary to reflect on upon the things for which one is thankful.

I’m thankful for Mastercard Fraud Division.

I’m thankful that my car, which normally runs perfectly but lately has developed the troublesome habit of dying without warning while moving, hasn’t killed me yet.

I’m thankful this blog was shortlisted for an award.

I’m thankful that there’s a new Widdershins novel about to hit the shelves.

And of course I’m thankful to Lisa Michalski at Pyr books for sending me an ARC so I can read it ahead of time.

You’ll recall I thoroughly enjoyed the first two Widdershins novels, Thief’s Covenant (reviewed here) and False Covenant (reviewed here).

In this one Widdershins becomes aware of a plot against House Delacroix,. Since it was Alexandre Delacroix who rescued her from life on the streets, she takes it upon herself to intervene on behalf of the House as a way of repaying the late Alexandre. She ends up in the town of Aubier trying to convince the last matriarch of the house that she’s a friend. All the while dealing with a mad alchemist, a brutal gang of thugs, and the matriarch’s son, who is somewhat smitten by Widdershins (perfectly understandable). Continue reading →

Team Robot Blogger Awards

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Angry Robot Books has created an award for bloggers. I’m not sure if it’s limited to members of the Robot Army, but it’s called the Team Robot Blogger Award. It encompasses the imprints Angry Robot, Strange Chemistry, and Exhibit A. There is also an Author’s Choice Award given to a blogger who didn’t make the shortlist for the Team Robot Blogger Award.

The winners are Kristen at My Bookish Ways (Team Robot Blogger Award) and Josh at Just a Guy That Likes to Read (Author’s Choice Award).

There were 12 blogs on the short list. In addition to My Bookish Ways, the other nominees were A Fantastical Librarian, Bibliosanctum, Curiosity Killed the Bookworm, Fantasy Faction, Jet Black Ink, My Shelf Confessions, Popcorn Reads, Shots Blog, The Founding Fields, Upcoming4.me. Oh, yeah, and,…um, yours truly, Adventures Fantastic.

Congratulations to the winners and all the nominees. The winners get the cool trophy shown above, and the winners and everyone on the short list will receive three free books. I’d like to thank Angry Robot Books for the nomination as well as the prize. It was a surprise and an honor to be nominated.

All three imprints are having a 50% off Black Friday sale, BTW. Click the links above for some great reading at a great price.

Happy Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the States or around the world who is observing the holiday.

Among the things I’m thankful for are all the people who follow this blog or my others, as well as everyone who reads my posts at Amazing Stories or Black Gate. It’s nice having a platform to share my thoughts and engage in discussions about sword and sorcery, fantasy in general, science fiction, historical fiction, mystery and noir, and history. Even if I haven’t had time this semester to post as much as I’d hoped.

I hope all of you have a great day, whether you’re celebrating the holiday or not.