Category Archives: James A. Moore

James A. Moore Could Use Our Help

For those of you who may not have heard, James A. Moore has been diagnosed with cancer.  A GoFundMe page has been set up on his behalf.  I’ll let you read the details on the GoFundMe page.

I have never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Moore; I look forward to doing so.  The last time I attended World Fantasy, he was on the schedule but wasn’t able to attend. If you’ve been reading this blog for very long, you know I’m a big fan of his work.  Type his name in the search box to see my reviews. He’s one of the best horror and fantasy writers working today.

Even though Jim has insurance through his dayjob, I can tell you from recent experience that cancer treatment ain’t cheap and insurance won’t cover deductables and copays, never mind lost income from not being able to write and meet his deadlines. So if you can help out, please do so.  Give what you can, even if it’s only a few bucks. If we all pull together, we can make a difference. And if you’ve been thinking of buying one of his books, now would be a good time.

Jim, hang in there. You’re going to beat this. If you happen to see this post, know I’m praying for you.

 

This is Halloween

This is Halloween
James A. Moore
Trade Paper $14.95
ebook $2.99

This collection of ten terrific stories came out a year ago, but my copy didn’t arrive until the first few days of November, so I saved it for this year.  Long-time readers of this blog know that I’m a big fan of James A. Moore’s fantasy novels.  Part of what appeals to me about his fantasy is the elements of horror he includes.

That’s hardly surprising since he started his career as a horror writer.  This is Halloween collects ten stories showcasing his talents in the arena of dark fiction. Continue reading

When the Gods Fall

Fallen Gods
James A. Moore
Angry Robot
mass market paperback $7.99
ebook $6.99

I would like to thank Angry Robot Books for the review copy of this novel.

I was quite irritated at the end of this book.  Note I said the end of the book, not the ending.  The ending was great.  I was irritated because I was at the end and there was no more book to read.  I wanted to keep reading.  I was irritated that I couldn’t and will have to wait for probably a year before the next book in the series comes out. Continue reading

James A. Moore’s New Series is Off to a Great Start

The Last Sacrifice
James A. Moore
Angry Robot Books
US/Canada Trade Paper $14.99/$18.99
UK Medium (B-format) £8.99
ebook £5.49 / US$6.99 / CAN $7.99

I really enjoyed James Moore’s previous fantasy series, Seven Forges AKA The Blasted Lands (I’ve seen it called both; individual novels in the series are reviewed here, here, here, and here).  His new series, called The Tides of War, starts with The Last Sacrifice.

The book opens with Brogan McTyre and a band of companions returning from a stint of acting as caravan guards.  Before he even gets home, Brogan is met on the road by a man bearing bad news.  Bad news and four gold coins.  The coins were left by The Undying, raiders who sweep through and take people as sacrifices to the gods.  They’ve take Brogan’s entire family. Continue reading

The Silent Army Takes on the Gods of War

TheSilentArmy-144dpiThe Silent Army
James A. Moore
Angry Robot Books
UK Print
Date: 7th April 2016
Format: Medium (B-Format) Paperback
R.R.P.: £8.99
North American Print
Date: 3rd May 2016
Format: Small (Mass-Market) Paperback
R.R.P.: US$7.99 / CAN$9.99
Ebook
Date: 5th April 2016
Format: Epub & Mobi
R.R.P.: £5.49 / US$6.99

The fourth volume in James A. Moore’s Seven Forges series hits shelves in the US today May 3.  [After I posted the review Angry Robot informed me the release date in the US has been moved back, so you’ve got time to get caught up on the series in need be and can preorder the book.  Meanwhile, I’m going to taunt you because I’ve been able to read this book and you have to wait.]  If you’ve been reading this blog long, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of this series.  (See reviews of the previous volumes here, here, and here.)  I’d like to thank Angry Robot Books for providing me the review copy.

The Silent Army has a lot to live up to from the previous volumes in this series.  I’m glad to say that it does.  The Fellein Empire has been losing every battle in the war with the Sa’ba Taalor.  Things are about to change.  The question is will it be enough or will they go down in defeat.

Moore pulls a few tricks out of his sleeve.  One thing about this series is that it keeps you on your toes.

I don’t want to give too much away, especially if you haven’t read the series.  (And if not, why not?  C’mon, what’s the matter with you?)  I will say this.  The silent army is awesome.  They’re stone warriors who protect the City of Wonders.  The first time one of them comes out of a wall to engage in combat, it’s one of the best, most exciting scenes in the book.

Which brings me to something I would like to point out.  At the risk of sounding like I’m sucking up, James A. Moore keeps getting better.  The cast of characters expands.  Moore juggles them with ease, giving each one some background so that they don’t all run together.

And the battle scenes, whether it’s individual combat or armies clashing, are riveting.  Plus the intrigue keeps on getting more complex.

The silent army has their work cut out for them.  They’re fighting a war against gods who are gods of war.  The Sa’ba Taalor are only the soldiers, they’re not the ones calling the shots.  What chance do stone and human armies stand against gods who can reshape the landscape and the armies that serve them?

The ending has some surprises in it.  My take on it is that The Silent Army is the end of an arc but not the end of the story.  The last few pages fairly say as much.

I don’t know if we’re going to see another volume in the Seven Forges series anytime soon or not.  I hope it won’t be long.  But if it is, or if The Silent Army wraps things up for good, it’s been a great ride with a good conclusion.

This is one is highly recommended.

War Comes to the City of Wonders

CityOfWonders-144dpiCity of Wonders
James A. Moore
Angry Robot Books

UK Print
Date: 5th November 2015
ISBN: 9780857665041
Format: Medium (B-Format) Paperback; R.R.P.: £8.99

North American Print
Date: 3rd November 2015
ISBN: 9780857665058
Format: Large (Trade) Paperback OR Small (Mass-Market) Paperback; R.R.P.: US$7.99 / CAN$9.99

Ebook
Date: 3rd November 2015
ISBN: 9780857665065
Format: Epub & Mobi; R.R.P.: £5.49 / US$6.99

With all the fantasy on the market today, it’s hard to know who to read.  That’s why I’m here.  I aim to help in that regard.  For instance, if you’ve not been reading James A. Moore’s Seven Forges series, you’ve been missing out.  (The first novel Seven Forges is reviewed here, and the second, The Blasted Lands, is reviewed here.)  There’s time to get caught up, because the next installment, City of Wonders, is out in North America two weeks from the day I write this.

I’d like to very much thank Angry Robot Books for the review copy.  Let me sum up my reaction to the book this way:  I WANT MOAR!

Wait, what’s that?  You want details?  Well, I’ll try.  (Geez, how am I going to do this without spoilers?)  Here goes: Continue reading

Autumn on My Mind

Blind VoicesSo it’s that time of year when the dry grass kinda crunches under foot, the Sun sets earlier, and the evenings are cooler less hot.  Classes have started.  Things begin to settle into a routine.  Orange decorations start to appear.

And my reading matter starts to produce more of a chill.

I’m not planning on doing a heavy Halloween related reading project this year, although there will be a few seasonal blog posts scattered among the things I put up here.  One of them will probably be about Tom Reamy’s Blind Voices.  It’s been years since I read it, but it’s one of those rare books that I can remember numerous details about years later. Continue reading

Cover Reveal for James A. Moore’s City of Wonders

So here it is.  The cover for the forthcoming third volume in James A. Moore’s epic fantasy series that began with Seven Forges.  The artist is Alejandro Colucci, who did the first two covers.  Mr. Colucci was nominated for a Gemmell Award for his cover of The Blasted Lands.  Well deserved, I say.  I also think he’s outdone himself with this one.

CityOfWonders-300dpi

I’d like to thank Penny Reeve of Angry Robot Books for providing me a copy of the cover and inviting me to participate in the cover reveal.   I’d also like to thank her for providing 5 copies of the first two books (that’s 5 copies of both Seven Forges and The Blasted Lands) as a giveaway.  To get in on the goodness of this series, email me at the email address at the top of the page (keith [at] adventuresfantastic [dot] com) and tell me which book you want, Seven Forges or The Blasted Lands, and why.  (Sorry, only one title per person.)  I’ll forward the email to Angry Robot, and they’ll contact you about where to send the book.  That will be faster than Angry Robot sending me the books to mail to you.  This is, of course, first come, first served.

Here’s the cover copy:

Old Canhoon, the City of Wonders, is having a population explosion as refugees from Tyrne and Roathes alike try to escape the Sa’ba Taalor. All along the border between the Blasted Lands and the Fellein Empire armies clash and the most powerful empire in the world is pushed back toward the old Capital. From the far east the Pilgrim gathers an army of the faithful, heading for Old Canhoon.

In Old Canhoon itself the imperial family struggles against enemies old and new as the spies of their enemies begin removing threats to the gods of the Seven Forges and prepare the way for the invading armies of the Seven Kings. In the distant Taalor valley Andover Lashk continues his quest and must make a final decision, while at the Mounds, something inhuman is awakened and set free.

War is Here. Blood will flow and bodies will burn.

City of Wonders goes on sale in November.  Remember in yesterday’s post how I said I hated waiting.  That’s especially true here.

The Blasted Lands by James A. Moore

TheBlastedLands-144dpiThe Blasted Lands
James A. Moore
Angry Robot Books
Mass Market Paperback US$7.99 / CAN$9.99
UK Medium (B-Format) Paperback £8.99
Epub & Mobi £5.49 / US$6.99

I really liked the first volume of this series, Seven Forges. The Blasted Lands is at least as good, if not better.

In order to avoid spoilers to Seven Forges, I’m going to be a little vague on plot details since The Blasted Lands opens days after the previous book closed.

Merros Dulver finds himself General of the army of the Empire of Fellein, an army that is ill equipped to fight. The enemy they are facing, the Sa’ba Taalor may well be undefeatable. Desh Krohan has received a vision warning him that the summer capital will soon be destroyed. The new Empress doesn’t realize that as dangerous as the Sa’ba Taalor are (and make no mistake, they are very dangerous indeed), the members of her own family may be just as dangerous.

There is plenty of action and intrigue in this novel, but I suspect there will be a great deal more in the next volume. Oh, and we find out why the Sa’ba Taalor wear those veils on their faces. Talk about creepy.

Moore did something that few writers can do. He kept me interested in all the players. In most epic fantasies, the storyline will become complex, with numerous people doing different things in scattered places. I usually will become more interested in one or two sets of characters and wish the author would get one with it when I’m not reading about those few.

That wasn’t the case in this book. Moore kept my interest. I think the was he was able to do that was by not giving me every detail of every character’s back story. Rather he gave what details were necessary at that time in the story, only those details. The result was a story that moved, and moved quickly.

This is a pretty dark novel, but it didn’t feel that way. I think it was because so many of the characters, in spite of some flaws, were good people trying to do the right thing, which usually ended up with some type of heroics. They were well fleshed out, and were the types of folks you wanted to spend time with.

Which brings me to another point. The Sa’ba Taalor are a nation of warriors, which includes women warriors. There’s been a lot of noise manifestos screaming and yelling polite and reasoned discussion about the need for strong women characters in fantasy.  This has too often come to mean women fighters who are as good or better than every man in the book.  In other words, Conan with boobs.  To the exclusion of other types of women and other types of strength.

That’s not the case here.  Moore balances out his characters, both women and men, but I want to focus on how he handles women, many writers could learn a thing or two here.  There are women warriors.  There are schemers.  There are sex-pots, or at least former sex-pots.  There’s a description, brief though it is, of the wife of the commander of the City Guard which makes her sound like an interesting and unique woman.

And then there’s Dretta March, who quickly became one of my favorite characters in the book.  She never lifts a sword or any other weapon, but she’s (IMO) the toughest woman in the book.  She isn’t afraid to confront the general in charge of the Empire’s armies (that would be Merros) about how he took her husband from her and lead him to his death.  She is capable of forgiving Merros and feeding him on a regular basis and befriending him.  (There are hints that they are growing to love each other.)  And she doesn’t take any of his BS when she questions him about rumors that the city is going to be evacuated.  Rather she gives him some good advice, whether he wants it or not.

In short, she came across as a real person.  That’s the thing that makes this series such a strong one.  The characters are all individuals.  Moore’s fantasy world feels more real than many, and more real than the real world as it’s often presented in books, movies, and TV shows.

I recommend The Blasted Lands without reservation.

I’d like to thank Angry Robot for the review copy and apologize for taking so long to get to the book. Below is an excerpt.


 

2013: An Assessment – Individual Authors and Titles

This is the second part of my assessment of 2013.  The first looked at publishers.  Here I’ll feature some authors and/or individual titles that I thought were standouts.  Links for books will be to my reviews (the reviews will have links to buy if you’re interested.)  Since I’ve been doing a weekly post at Amazing Stories, with only one week missed, I’ll be including some of the titles I reviewed there in this list.

As with the publishers, these are in alphabetical order.  I’m probably overlooking someone or a particular book.  I apologize in advance.  This list consists of titles and authors I read in 2013 and isn’t intended to be inclusive.  Feel free to share your suggestions in the comments.  Again, I’m including mystery, crime, and science fiction as well as fantasy. Continue reading