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Illegal Aliens and the Dream Thief Our new batch of reviewers go into a book frenzy, hitting everything from fantasy fare like the Dreamthief's Daughter to Sawyer's SF blockbuster, Illegal Aliens. Dead Ground by Chris Amies
It's 1931. An archaeological expedition, headed by Cosima Garton (renowned explorer) with Allan Delmar (museum conservator and romantic) is heading for the Condals, the smallest of the Pacific island groups, to excavate the Temple of Taharoa the Sea-God. But their arrival sparks a deadly confrontation between the forces of Tané, the god of the dry land, and Kawehe, the servant of Taharoa... The book opens with a map of a circlet of islands that immediately brings to mind Santorini (which itself brings to mind mythical Atlantis). Not that there's anything unusual about that, of course: many (if not most) Pacific islands are volcanic. Koiha Bay thus appears to be an inland sea in the caldera of the volcano, a somewhat perilous place since even sleeping volcanoes have been known to erupt, suddenly and with much violence. Which is what happens in the book, although what wakens is a creature more akin to Lovecraft's elder gods than any topographical feature. Given this premise the book should be exciting, and indeed, the possessed Allan Delmar's walk from the dead ground to the sea is a very evocative, stirring piece of writing. Which makes it all the more irritating that the rest of the story is considerably less than gripping. The language is an interesting but uneasy mix of slightly stilted informal English and what appears to be an attempt to write as the native islanders speak, in a kind of choppy, simplistic style. It was a brave attempt but it didn't work for me. There's a noticeable overuse of the word 'then' to start sentences. Even as a deliberate Lovecraftian homage, I can't see the point of using the word ‘batrachian’ - relating to amphibians, especially frogs or toads - for statues of a shark-like creature. Surely selachian would be more appropriate? Even the monsters aren't particularly monstrous, although that may be the fault of modern entertainment: it takes a lot more to frighten us these days. Then again, I feel that a horror writer should take that into account. The dead ground inside, the 'ghost space inside our heads...where the monsters are real' [back cover], is inhabited by more sophisticated beings than Kawehe... The main obstacles to my enjoyment of the book, however, were the characters. There's no depth to any of them: I found them entirely unsympathetic. By the time I actually found out anything appealing about any of them (and there's not much), I'd lost interest. I simply didn't care enough about them to have any sympathy with their fates. I was left with a feeling of 'so what?' Doom and gloom pervade the story from page one and, personally, I prefer my unease and horror to be a subtle, gradually-unfolding revelation rather than having it made so obvious right from the start, but that's just my opinion. Overall, if you already like Lovecraft, you'll probably like this book. If you don't, this isn't likely to change your mind. Check out website: www.bigengine.co.uk Joules Taylor
This book contains three distinct stories told in an almost episodic form each intermixed in each chapter. The first concerns a presence in a house watching over Victor Lazarus, a retired solder who is running out of money and desperately seeking employment. Victor receives a hand-delivered reply to a job he has applied for at the house which has fallen into disrepair. On arriving, he finds a number of other men have also been requested with only a note from an unknown benefactor asking them all to fix the house until the owner returns in a year’s time. Victor starts spotting strange footprints in the hallway and gets the sensation he is been watched. Accidents start occurring especially to Sam, one of the work men, and Victor when he talks to him thinks he sees a shadowy-like creature behind him for just a brief second. He starts to hunt the creature around the house, not knowing whether its intentions are good or bad. The second story traces the childhood and teenage years of Rusty Brown. When he was just a small boy a strange girl attends the local school he goes to and Rusty is asked to look after her. Rusty himself is a bit of a loner and the two become best of friends until the little girl, Laurel tells Rusty a secret and everything changes. Rusty is told that Laurel has got scarlet fever. The other children who were off school sick return but Laurel doesn't. When he is older he visits his old schoolmaster and finds out about the old legends of wanderers, Islanders and the wounded folk. Strangely he is drawn to the city. The third story follows the city magician Leonardo Pegasus, one of the many councillors to the King. He has invented the Empathy engine which allows the King to view different futures and study them from different peoples viewpoints - try them out and adjust the futures until the King is happy with the result. He gets a new assistant, Alice, who helps with the day-to-day running of his workshop. He becomes fond of Alice but all this changes when the King dies and is replaced by his son who wants to modernise the running of the country. The idea of three different stories that interweave appealed to me a lot, a sort of fantasy Pulp Fiction. The book didn’t quite reach that though. This is Steve Cockayne¹s first book and I hate to say it but it shows. The shortness of each section especially at the beginning of the book doesn’t allow for the characters to develop. They are better when longer passages and more of the story can be got across. Lazarus’ story is written in the style of a journal and at the beginning comes across as quite dry. I found also with the other stories that the descriptive passages were either too short or ended rather abruptly. Another problem I found with the world created by the book was the mixing of medieval society/technology (eg town criers) juxtaposed with modern day items such as electricity. I found that it just didn’t seem to gel. The stories themselves are quite slow to develop and it’s not until the middle of the book that things pick up. From this point there is some convergence of the stories but it’s not until the end of the book that there is any sort of unison of the story lines. This is the one point where the book shines. The stories come together in unexpected ways and the style of writing improves in the last quarter with longer sections allowing the stories to flow. I did enjoy this book and I look forward to his next book in the series but the first half was hard going. I think many readers would have put the book down before the first hundred pages. I would only recommend this book to people who have to read a book to the bitter end and fancy a change from the normal fantasy-style book. Phil Jones Check out website: www.orbitbooks.co.uk
Moorcock's voice has definitely hardened over the years. When his multiverse was first explored, his style was loose, wild and free-flowing - perfectly matching the adventures of his chaotic anti-hero, Elric. Now, however, there is a distinct purpose and a sharper edge to his words. This book contains almost as much cultural analysis and philosophical musing as it does poetic prose. The tale follows Count Ulric von Bek - who is ‘cursed with the family disease of albinism’ - on a multi-dimensional struggle encompassing the rise of Nazism in 20th Century Europe. With a blend of mythology and history, Moorcock manages to convincingly embed his tangled plot in real world events. The extreme juxtaposition of almost formless moments of fantasy against a stark political backdrop is utterly absorbing. I actually laughed aloud during one spectacular battle but if I give you any details it will ruin the surprise. Needless to say though, there are some fabulous examples of the 'existence is beauty, magic and cruelty combined' theme common to the author's work: ‘I saw his face then. His eyes were glassy, blazing rubies. They looked into a world that I could not begin to imagine. They looked into Hell itself. And his mouth was moving, his sword describing complicated geometries in the air, his whole body beginning to turn in ritual movements, a ghostly dance.’ Those that disliked previous Elric stories would be wise to avoid this book as Ulric's narration is even more maudlin than the Melnibonéan's. He has a passive nature which, although entirely in character, does slow the pace. Those that loved Elric in his previous literary incarnations will adore this novel, as all the most exciting and vibrant scenes star the sorcerer and his singing, soul-drinking sword. Stormbringer herself plays a major role and her origins and powers are discussed, along with those of her Earth-dimensional counterpart, Ravenbrand. Moorcock's style has hardened and it is most certainly to the benefit of his readers. His words are crisp, still fantastical but more clearly expressive - as a painting this would be sharp acrylics not his former romantic, water-colour washes. For me, Oona with her 'eyes as red as fresh strawberries' was a particularly enchanting addition to the cast of the Multiverse and the combination of sorcery and spitfires created a wonderfully contemporary fairy tale epic. I am not sure how well it would work as a stand-alone novel but, as a fan of the author's previous creations, I was pleased and thoroughly entertained by this energetic tale. It breaks nearly all of the standard 'rules of fiction' - including a chunky info-dump intro - but it does work, as always with Moorcock, in a uniquely fascinating way. Lucy A.E. Ward Check out website: www.earthlight.co.uk
I can firmly put the blame on Paper Tiger for me picking up this book. I saw the cover in one of their books I reviewed last year and the write-up seemed interesting enough to pursue. I didn’t get a copy with that particular cover but pulled it through ABEbooks.com (a great website for second-hand books and able to select to price and conditions as appropriate to your pocket) thinking it wasn’t available. A quick check with Amazon the other night, I discovered otherwise. It’s still available and for us British, ordering from the US can often be cheaper than UK prices. Gets here rather quickly, too. OK, the story. A disabled alien spaceship arrives in orbit above Earth just before the millennium current time. The small group of Alpha Centauri aliens called the Tosoks enter diplomatic relations with Earth and allowed to stay while we assist them in the repairs of their ship. Actually, they supply the expertise and we manufacture to their specification. One of the Earth scientists is murdered and one of the Tosoks, Hask, is the likely suspect and is on trail for the crime. A terrestrial black lawyer, Dale Rice, is persuaded to represent Hask in order to get him off. The governments of the world, especially America, are also concerned that the wrong outcome could have dire consequences for humanity. There’s obviously far more to this story then I dare let on here without spoiling surprises. Canadian author Sawyer clearly has a firm grasp of American law and protocol and uses it to great effect, especially when he draws comparison to the OJ Simpson murder trail. A very able demonstration that American law depends far too much on the letter of the law and how much you can afford to get a top lawyer to get you off as opposed to asserting guilt. All the characters are ably written and one should question whether Sawyer based them off of anyone in particular especially Rice himself who steps off the page with very strong imaginary. The aliens are equally strange with an essentially non-humanoid appearance although soon get a firm grasp of terrestrial problems. If Sawyer’s other books are on par with this one, then this is one author who should be seen more, especially on UK shelves. It’s worth checking out. GF Willmetts
Subtitled 'A Family Remembrance' this is a must for Bradbury fans, his first novel for many years. The family in question is the Elliott family and if anyone hazards a guess that it is dysfunctional, they're correct! In fact, this Elliott family started living in Ray Bradbury's childhood mind when he was seven years old. The family was sort of real in those days but Bradbury's imagination took over and, many years later, readers are able to read just how the Elliotts turned out. Although portions of the book have appeared previously in short story form, the sum of the parts equals a brilliant whole. Just read the opening few lines and you realise that Ray Bradbury is a poet writing prose, and always has been. 'In the attic where the rain touched the roof softly on spring days and where you could feel the mantle of snow outside...' And 'It arrived when all the cribs and closets and cellar bins and attic hang-spaces still needed October wings,autumn breathings, and fiery eyes.' 'From The Dust Returned' manages to link seemingly different short stories into one complete novel, simply by using the theme of 'the House' and 'the Elliott family' as a connection. Both are disturbingly strange and, both turn up as 'presences' in various parts of our physical world, although they exist as separate ghostly entities. The familiar tones of Cecy, the shape-changer and part-time witch, and Grandmere, the all-powerful being but also the old granny everybody loves, bring to the reader a real sense of unease, when down-home America meets occult stranger than strange. Bradbury makes every word count and, as such, provides plenty of spine shivers to keep any reader of horror, mystery and occult genre satisfied. With around 29 books to his credit, including the famous ‘Fahrenheit 451’ and ‘The Illustrated Man’, Ray Bradbury has written another compelling work of fiction. Phil Stoyle Check out website: www.earthlight.co.uk
& www.simonsays.co.uk
The first memory I have of encountering H.G. Wells is struggling from a huge collection of his works. When I told my English teacher, she scrunched her face up as if I had just admitted that I enjoyed Mills & Boon more that Jane Austen. After that experience I left H.G. Wells well alone. Now I read a lot of Science Fiction and thought that it was about time that I should read some from the granddaddy of SF. So warily, I picked up 'War Of The Worlds'. In this novel, H.G. Wells examines the possibility that there is life on Mars and the horror of an attack on Earth by these creatures. It is a fascinating book. It still has the power to stun, shock, amaze and, more importantly, make you think. Sure, we all know now that the only life-forms on Mars are likely to be tiny microbes than highly civilised beings but the idea that aliens could land on earth and regard us as we regard cattle is terrifying. If you replaced Mars with Z-259 or a planet from a galaxy far, far away, it could still happen to us. And yes, our weapons and technology have now far surpassed guns and canons but what defence would they be against beings from outer space? I started this book with all the prejudices of a modern reader returning to a 'classic' but within the first chapter I was gripped and it exceeded all my expectations. What H.G. Wells does, even with the restrictions of his age, is write an excellent Science Fiction story, which stands up against many written today. It is also very well-written, building up suspense and holds your attention to the very end. Written as a first-person perspective and so you never get a clear picture until the end about what is happening. Is the entire world been subjected to Martian attacks? I knew, from the start, what the twist in the plot was, but I still had to force myself not to read the ending (just to check that the Martians hadn't won!) There are flaws in the book. Wells does make distinctions between the lower and upper classes and their reaction to the attack. Looking back with a modern day viewpoint and while it niggles at the back of your brain it doesn't detract much from the enjoyment of the book. The passages in London with the narrator's brother do lean towards boring but are worth it for the description of the panicking crowds. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Science Fiction that makes you think and question our place in the universe. If you prefer grand space opera played against a panorama of planets then this book is probably not for you. You've probably read the ideas expressed in 'War Of The Worlds' before but remember that H.G. Wells did it first! If you are put off by the countless bad films and spoofs and so believe that you know the story - look again. At its heart it is an excellent thought-provoking story and even if you just want a good book that will scare you, if not stupid then at the least slightly moronic, then try this book. Katie McGivern
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OTHER CONTENT - March 2002
Fortunate
Son (Trek) Illegal
Aliens & a Dream Thief Cold
Front (Trek)
The
Ares Express & the Tomorrow People
Silent
Enemy (Trek) Ice
Cold on Mars
Dear
Doctor (Trek) Sleeping
Dogs (Trek) Shadows
of P'Jem (Trek) 
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'Their
first view of the Condals was a smudge on the horizon, an oily black
smudge against the blue sea. If Allan had been expecting a joyful
cry of "Land ho!" he was disappointed; the islands slid over the
horizon with sullen inevitability.' [p. 7]
Wanderers
And Islanders (Legends Of The Land book One) by Steve Cockayne
The
Dreamthief’s Daughter: A Tale Of The Albino by Michael Moorcock
Illegal
Alien by Robert J. Sawyer
From
The Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
War
Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells
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