So, I know this blog was supposed to be about film, but I've already mentioned television in at least one post, so I might as well branch out into books. Because right now I'm more into books than I am films. Because I've been buried nose-deep in some very good books lately.
So far this year I have read...
The second Amber series by Roger Zelazny:
Five books, all reasonably short, all quite gripping, making up one coherent story. Well, if you're being technical it's ten books, because this series follows the trials and tribulations of Merlin, son of Corwin, who was the narrator and (occasionally) hero of the first five books. Their stories, and their personalities, are quite different, so they do really make up two separate series. The second of which is very hard to find in a book store! You can get all ten books in one volume, or just the first five, but not Merlin's series on its own. Which is a shame, because Merlin is actually a much more likeable character than his dad. He is much more human...he just wants to slack off and explore the multiverse, but discovers that his family (especially his ambitious and ruthless mother) have bigger plans for him. I won't go further into the plot because I don't want to spoilerise in case any of my 2 or 3 readers feel like giving it a go! You have to read Corwin first really, to learn what you need to know about the world of Amber, and all the family politics and history, but don't let that put you off...they're also fairly short books, and also very gripping!
The Night Watch and The Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko:
These books are the first two in a series of four. I've not gotten any further than The Day Watch yet, because I got distracted by another book that I'd been waiting to be released for a very long time (and which I will get to in a minute). The basic premise is that the Light and the Dark have been at war since the start of time, and their war is fought by Others, once human but endowed with magical powers, Light Ones and Dark Ones. But the war was creating too many losses (on both sides, and in terms of civilians), so a truce was called. The truce is upheld and enforced by the Day Watch (Dark Ones who keep a watchful eye on the forces of Light) and the Night Watch (Light Ones who watch the forces of Dark). Again, not going to spoilerise by going further into the plot, but will say that they are very, very worth reading! I found the first book a little more enjoyable than the second, mostly because it was narrated by Anton, who is a very interesting character, and it had a lovely style. The second book is written from several points of view, mostly in the third person. Which is a very good technique, because it allows you to see things from other angles and sympathise with the troops on both sides of their stalled war, but I have to say I missed Anton a little.
Both books are split into 3 different stories, which is again very cleverly done...the stories are all quite separate and unconnected at first, but then collide at the end of the book, tying things together. But not too neatly, because that would be boring. This series leaves plenty of room for grey areas, and that is what makes it so compelling.
The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin:
I'm still working on this one, and am only about a third of the way through, but I had to have a rave about it! I have been impatiently waiting for this book since I read A Madness of Angels in April last year (to which The Midnight Mayor is the sequel). I read the first book on the amazing strength of the review in SFX magazine when it first came out (it was the comparison to the work of Neil Gaiman that drew my eye), and they were damn right! About how good the book is, anyway. Comparisons to other authors are always dangerous and misleading...they are a little Gaiman-esque in that they deal with urban magic and are set in London (superficially like Neverwhere, also a superb book), but Kate (who also writes as Catherine Webb, and her teen fantasy and Victorian detective novels are also well worth reading) has her own style, and takes the ideas of magic and urban myth to very different places. And has created a highly likeable (and often pitiable!) character in Matthew Swift, narrator and reluctant hero of the two books. So go get your hands on a copy, and enjoy. You can thank me later!
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