The Garden of Iden
Kage Baker
   In the twenty-fourth century, the Company recruits agents in the past (usually those who are just about to die), makes them immortal and sets them up to preserve valuable extinct life forms and works of art.The first of four in a series, Garden of Iden introduces memorable characters who over time discover the Company has a few more things on the agenda than they are letting on.
    “This is a great beginning to a fabulous series. Written with wit, charm and complex characters, it’s a read you will not regret.”

The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell
    Not simply a science fiction novel, but an exploration of spirituality and humanity.The Sparrow tells the astounding tale of an ill-fated voyage of a group of Jesuit scientists to the planet Rakhat.
   Part of the Ballantine Readers’ Circle.-- i.e. great for book clubs. “Astounding”

The Eagle and the Raven
Pauline Gedge

A big, fat, juicy historical novel about Boudicea, Queen of the Britons.


“If this book could be better, I can’t see how. A moving look at the Roman Takeover of Briton.”

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel
Susanna Clarke
Maybe it's because I work in a bookstore but, whenever a book is getting too much hype I immediately turn against reading it. If everyone else is reading it, I think, then surely I don't have to. I'm sure I've missed out on a lot of good books this way, but I can't help it. With everybody going on and on about how great this book or that book is, I grow suspicious and jaded. That's why I'm really glad I picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell before I'd heard anything about it. Its stark cover attracted me first. By the time I'd read the blurb by Neil Gaiman on the back and the story teaser on the inside flap, I knew this was a book I had to read.

The truth is, I adored this book. So much so that, even now, weeks after finishing it, I still have not been able to bring myself to read another fantasy novel. I am sticking to non-fiction for the time being. At the same time, I recognize that not everyone will love this book as much as I did.

First of all, it's a very fat book; and it starts slowly, with Ms. Clarke confidently drawing the reader little by little into her version of 19th century England, where the story takes place. The plot continues to meander and unfold, with occasional bursts of intensity, but with no battles of epic proportions (ummm... unless you count the Battle of Waterloo), no slaying of dragons (unless you count the French), and no long-lost objects filled with magical power (unless you count a library full of obscure books). In short, this is no Tolkien-esque fantasy. The story, like the characters in it, is politic, witty, sparkling, aloof, well-mannered, and intelligent. For this is a story about gentlemen, after all. Two gentlemen in specific, who also just happen to be the last English magicians of the 'Modern Age.'

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is divided into three parts. It begins (even though the title promises otherwise) with Mr Norrell. This will make some of you unhappy, because Mr Norrell is a stodgy, nervous and particular older gentleman, prone to think far too highly of himself and paranoid of the motives of all those around him. In short, he is not that easy to like and not at all, as Ms. Clarke points out, what a modern magician 'ought to be.' Yet, the first third of the book is about him. I thought this was actually a pretty clever choice, however, because by the time you get to the second part about Jonathan Strange you are so glad to meet him at last (after only reading about him in references made in the footnotes during part one -- oh yes, there are footnotes, and they are at times more amusing than the story itself) that you instantly love him. He is quite the opposite of Mr Norrell -- charming, daring, passionate, young and handsome -- and after he appears, the main part of the story focuses on the relationship between the two and the inevitable clashings of their ideologies. The third part is called "John Uskglass." 'Wait a minute', I hear you saying, 'his name is not in the title -- just who is this interloper, Uskglass?' Well, you'll have to read the book to find out.

Mr Norrell emerges out of decades of seclusion in his isolated library to prove that English magic has not completely been lost and that he is the sole remaining practical (rather than theoretical) magician. He sets about, in his own pedantic way, to restore English magic and make himself useful to the government in the wars against the French, and so on. It soon becomes evident, however, that he is not the only magician in England. There is another: Jonathan Strange. Norrell takes on Strange as his pupil but refuses, in his paranoid way, to teach him even half of what he knows. Nevertheless, Strange is obviously more naturally talented than Norrell, and the inevitable falling out occurs. They cause stones to speak, the dead to rise, faeries to appear, ships to be formed out of clouds, the topography of Spain to change, and the coastline of England to stop eroding.

'But what is the point?', a habitual reader of Oprah Book Club selections was heard to ask upon finishing this book. Well, that's just it -- there really isn't one. Unless you will accept a great read as the point. Clarke is a new author, but you would never know it. She writes with an ease and confidence that some authors never achieve with experience. Her quiet, wry sense of humour and steely wit is reminiscent of Jane Austen and William Makepeace Thackery. Indeed, you could almost think of this book as an homage to those great 19th century novelists, which at the same time enfolds the traditions of English fairy stories and Arthurian legends, lacing in an astute knowledge of history.

So, I'm afraid I've now become one of those people who go on and on about how great a certain book is. I've been trying to convince my customers to buy it, trying to convince them not to be turned off by how fat Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is. 'I've heard a lot about this book,' they say, 'can it really be as good as all that?' Yes, I tell them, it can.

The Angel in the Darkness
Kage Baker
It's an interesting contemplation. Many people who decide to have children feel that in having offspring, a part of themselves becomes immortal. But what if you already are truly immortal and can't have offspring? What if you lived forever watching generation after generation of your kin be born, grow, and die? How far would you go to protect them? What would you risk to be near them and to keep them out of harm's way?

This idea is the central theme behind Kage Baker's The Angel in the Darkness. This is a novella set in the same world as her "Company" novels and focusing in particular on the character of Porfirio. If you haven't read at least one of the books in that fabulous series, but preferably all, (In the Garden of Iden, Sky Coyote, Mendoza in Hollywood and Graveyard Game) then this novella won't mean much to you. In fact its greatest charm is that it lets you glimpse into the private world of Porfirio, one of the most intriguing characters in The Company novels (though he makes a late appearance in the series).

It is in fact a very simple story, with a simple plot and unexceptional writing (from a writer who can write exceptionally well when she wants to), but for people like myself who are fans of the series, it is an irresistible read. The story follows one of two sisters (who reads like an urban, mortal version of Mendoza) who is apparently being stalked by some kind of psychopath. The psychopath does nasty things and leaves cryptic messages like: "Wouldn't it be useful to live forever? Think of the things you could save." Happily, her long lost uncle (Porfirio) arrives to help her just as you are figuring out that the psychopath really comes from the disgruntled underbelly of The Company and that his real target is Porfirio...

This volume is the third limited edition (signed and numbered) chapbook to be offered by Golden Gryphon and they've done a lovely job. There is beautiful and intriguing cover art and nice little etched mandalas scattered throughout. The font is clean and easy to read (unlike some chapbooks I've seen) and the whole package very pleasing.

By the way, this book is only available directly from Golden Gryphon so don't go looking for it on your bookstore shelves, which is rather too bad, really. It would be nice to see these little labours of love reaching a wider audience.

Sorcery and Cecelia
Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
One of the sweetest fall-outs of the amazing and unsinkable popularity of the Harry Potter books is that the demand for well-written and magical works of fiction for young readers is on the increase. Publishers, very wisely, have jumped at this opportunity to re-publish some of the best of these books, out of print for some time and all but forgotten. We've seen such works as Prince Ombra by Roderick MacLeish, Dogland by Will Shetterley, and A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer reprinted and marketed for young readers and now we may add to this prestigious list Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer.

Like all of the best writing for young adults, this book can just as easily be enjoyed by adult readers. In fact, in this case, I think it may be better enjoyed by some adult readers. Certainly, it would take a very precocious and well-read young woman (for this is very much a 'girls' book) to catch all the historic and literary references (to "Monk" Lewis, Wellington, Lord Byron & Lady Caroline Lamb, for example), much less revel in the playfulness of the authors' charming homage to Jane Austen. That being said, there is more than enough fun and romance in this story to keep any good reader entertained.

The book is written in the form of correspondence between two cousins, Kate and Cecelia, one of whom has gone away for her first London season and the other who remains at home in the country. The time period is the one which Jane Austen made famous, the exact year 1817. It is the England of that time as we know it, with one major difference -- magic is an accepted reality (though there are still some who oppose it) with a prestigious Royal College of Wizards, where acceptance is by invitation only. People are either born with a talent for magic or they are not, and folk magic exists alongside the higher practice of wizards. As the two heroines embark on their voyage of discovery about the arts of wooing and of being women out in society, they get embroiled in a magical plot to destroy a powerful wizard -- but how much can they help each other out of being destroyed by magic when in different towns, by letters which are delayed for days before reaching each other? Even more pressing -- how can they keep from being matched with 'the wrong man' and convince their guardians to buy them fashionable gowns for the next ball?

I think it a fair assessment to say that Sorcery and Cecelia is utterly charming and, reading it in your favourite chair perhaps with a cup of tea by your side, leaves you feeling delightfully giddy and cozy. For those of us who love both Jane Austen and fantasy, this book is a match made in literary heaven.

True, the book is not "perfect", some of the plot falls short, and attempts to incorporate the slang and expressions of the era do not always succeed -- but, in my mind, any shortcomings are overcome by the authors' sheer joy in writing it, which is apparent in every paragraph. In the afterword, the authors explain how they initially wrote the book simply as a writing game played between the two of them. They each invented a character and began writing letters back and forth, inventing the world and plot-line of the story as they went. It was only afterwards that they thought it might be good enough to publish. They touched up the story a bit and it soon found its way into publication. For this new edition, the authors have written approximately 15 percent new material. There are also plans, you'll be pleased to hear, for a sequel in the not too distant future.

Perhaps the fact that it was written as a game is what gives Sorcery and Cecelia such a rich playful feeling. And the satisfaction one gets upon reading it is similar to how one feels upon finally winning all the marbles.

Fire Logic
Laurie Marks
It's been nine years since Laurie J. Marks has released a novel. (Her last was Dancing Jack in 1993.) Nine years of waiting and wondering -- asking everyone I think might know, 'What's happened to Laurie J. Marks? When is she going to write again? Has she been writing under another name and I just don't know about it? Where is she?!?' Nobody knew. Nine years is a long time to wait for an author as subtly brilliant as Laurie J. Marks to make another appearance on the scene, but now finally she is back ('and there was much rejoicing') with Fire Logic, an exquisite novel of quiet charm.

Fire Logic is a tale of war and magic, of duty, love and betrayal, of despair encompassed by hope. The magic in this world is inherent to the people who wield it -- it is in their blood and part of their soul -- and though most people do not carry magic in them, every once in a while a child is born with it as part of their DNA. There are four types, based on the four elements of water, air, earth and fire. The type of magic as well as the personality of the wielder are determined by which element is in their blood. Earth blood means healer; water means time and space; air means truth-seeing; and fire means prescience and passion.

The book begins with a world governed by this delicate balance being thrown into turmoil when the leader dies without naming a successor. A foreign army invades, destroying the land, enslaving the people (with a highly addictive mind-numbing drug called 'smoke'), annihilating the out-land tribes, and taking all for themselves. A group of soldiers carries out a campaign to try to drive the attackers off, but it is a long and losing battle. It is here among these rebel soldiers, known as paladins, that we spend most of our time as readers with two of the book's main characters, Emil and Zanja. Here amid the blood, the mud, sudden death, and shattered limbs, despair is at its height and there seems to be no possible good outcome to the tale. But, there is a rogue element -- a woman named Karis, a healer of infinite power and strength, partially subdued by her addiction to 'smoke'. She saves Zanja from rotting to death because the earth tells her to. But why? And what will the aligning of the elemental magics bring about? That is the core of the story, and the hope this possibility brings is what keeps the reader turning the pages right up to the satisfying conclusion.

Essentially, Fire Logic is a war novel in a fantasy setting. But in Marks' gentle care, it becomes much more. As the characters search their souls for their motives, and make mistakes, and seek to justify their actions we are drawn into something deeper than just a question of how does the land find peace. It becomes a rather quiet look at how does each person find peace. Suddenly, somewhere along the way, you realize that you are experiencing the characters from the inside out, though when it happened or just how Marks manages to do it is impossible to say. But there you are, struggling with them, feeling the tearing of their muscles and the pounding of their hearts -- hoping for their redemption, but not knowing from which direction (or element) it will come.

It's a thinking person's adventure. Or, perhaps more accurately, a thinking woman's adventure. For the best thing about Fire Logic, as it is with all of Marks' work, is that the women in her worlds are treated no differently from the men. They have equal power and equal vulnerability. You will never know for sure whether the 'Captain' being spoken of is a man or a woman until Marks specifically refers to her as a she or to the 'seer' as a he. It is the same with love. Love between woman and woman or man and man is just as accepted, expected and as common as love between woman and man in Marks' worlds. It is all very refreshing, particularly as Marks manages to present this equality in such a quiet and simple manner that you don't feel like there is any agenda attached to it. You are not being beaten about the head with a political message. In Laurie J. Marks' fantasy worlds, this is just how it is. Perhaps one day, if we are lucky, this ideal will not be confined to the realm of fantasy.

If the book has any real failing, it is a tendency to be over-sentimental in the end. It is perhaps a little too romantic, a little too perfect (think 40s movies). But I find I am willing to forgive the mush, especially after all the trauma and heartache that comes before it in the story.

Overall, its a compelling, turbulent ride through despair to hope and enlightenment (and isn't it always!).

Welcome back Laurie, thanks for toughing it out and bringing us this far-reaching tale.

Ombria in Shadow
Patricia A. McKillip
This is absolutely the most pleasing book Patricia A. McKillip has written in years. All the best things about her writing are here: the imagery, the odd characters, the sense of place, magic. But gone are the moments of messy confusion that have marred her last few books.

In the first two chapters, the reader is introduced to the central characters, particularly Lydea and Mag. One is the lower-class mistress of the dying king, the other is the odd apprentice to a powerful sorceress. Their circumstances are presented with such quiet concern and such skillful simplicity that it is impossible not to immediately want to follow them down the dangerous and shadowy streets of the city of Ombria.

"While the ruler of the ancient city of Ombria lay dying, his mistress,... drifted like a bird on a wave until she bumped through Kyel Greve's unguarded door..."

"Mag was seven when she discovered that she was human."

Thus begins chapters one and two respectively.

From there the plot leads you on a swift-moving journey through a maze of truth, loss, secrets, bravery, temptation, obsession, magic, and, ultimately, love. The king dies, his mistress is cast out, the prince is just a boy and at the mercy of an evil woman and sorceries of all kinds. Those who love him seek to save him, while those whose purposes are woven through with much greater ambition, care not who is destroyed as they move towards their goals.

The world of Ombria, as presented by McKillip, is an intriguing place. The palace is a world unto itself, seemingly untouched by the filth, poverty and brutality of the city. The city is populated with pirates, tavern-keepers, cut-purses, orphans, and lower-class workers. Underneath the city dwells the powerful sorceress, Faey, who has been around longer than anyone can remember, who never comes above ground, and who, for a price, will use her magic to meddle in the lives of those who dwell above -- if they can find their way to one of her many hidden doors. The world she inhabits is part of the shadow-world of Ombria; a glimpse of things and times that were. Filled with ghosts and forgotten pieces of history, the shadow-world is barely thought of by those above -- but for some it holds an irresistible fascination.

Instantly intriguing, McKillip's world is new and at once familiar. The kind of magic used in Ombria, though, is the best part. This is not some high-brow magic with flashy effects. The magic here requires natural components, the energy and focus of the sorceress, purpose and time to take effect. Everybody knows it exists, but most never see it used and very few can wield it. The magic is exciting because it is subtle and seems possible.

It is hard to review this book, actually, because there is so little to find fault with that to point anything out would seem petty. McKillip has once again proven herself a master in the field. The only really disappointment with this book is that it is so (seemingly) short. If her next book succeeds as thoroughly as this, perhaps we shall have to invent a new title for Ms. McKillip -- like an Academy Award for lifetime achievement. Maestro McKillip, perhaps?

One word more before I go. How can anyone review any of the last five books by McKillip and not mention the beautiful cover art by Kinuko Y. Craft? To find an illustrator who actually seems to read the book is a treasure in itself, but to find one whose artwork has as much beauty and subtle magic as the writing is a gift. Bravo! Ace Books for teaming up McKillip and Craft and for the overall pleasing shape and design of the book. A book designed for book lovers, to be sure.