Fire Season is the second Stephanie Harrington novel, the new YA series from David Weber. I thoroughly enjoyed A Beautiful Friendship, so reading Fire Season was a no-brainer. I knew that Jane Lindskold was on board for co-writing duties, and I questioned how this would effect the novel, and how different it could be in tone and style to A Beautiful Friendship. Turns out the answer wasn't what I hoped for, and Fire Season marked a change in both style and storytelling.

With Sphinx entering the end of its long Summer, the forests of the planet are ripe for fires. Stephanie and Climbs Quickly are Forest Rangers, travelling with a more experienced partner and helping where possible. While on one of these excursions, Climbs Quickly identifies the calls of some Treecats in peril, and swiftly alerts Stephanie, guiding her to their location in order to help them. And this is just the start of the Fire Season...

I'm not going to say much else about the story in Fire Season because it's all in the title. Fires rage, Stephanie and Climbs Quickly respond where they can, and Treecats are rescued. Add in a few smaller plot threads - an off-world scientific team studying the Treecats, Stephanie's relationships - and that's Fire Season for you.

To be honest, I'm disappointed. I really thought that there was so much potential after reading A Beautiful Friendship, and while their were glimpses of it in Fire Season, it really didn't live up to expectations.

The major downside to Fire Season, when compared to A Beautiful Friendship, is the prose and style. I really don't know how much of this novel was written by each author, and while I thought there were times I could see Weber's writing, it feels flat. While the first novel was aimed (or at least written) at an older YA audience, Fire Season seems to be undecided as to its target audience. There some times, like most of the the day-to-day incidents that plague Stephanie (i.e. boy issues, friendships, etc), where it's written towards a very young crowd, while at others (like the scientific party discussions) are clearly above such a readership. With no consistency in the writing, Fire Season fails at delivering a gripping and exciting story.

It's such a shame, because their is huge potential here for some truly interesting and exciting stories. Perhaps the subject matter of this one limited the scope, or perhaps Weber & Lindskold were adjusting to working together on a novel. Either way, I've come away unsure whether or not to try the next novel, Treecat Wars. I'm interested in it, but I'm also worried it will be the last Stephanie Harrington novel I read....

After reading some older novels from favourite authors, I thought it was time to go to my bookshelf and pick up something newer. Wool is the novel that caught my eye. Hugh Howey wrote the story contained in Wool in instalments and self-published it before it was picked up by a publishing house. This release contains the first five Wool stories and is effectively a self-contained story, giving some intriguing and interesting plot elements that make it a book that always makes you want to read just one more chapter to find out what happens next, or what exactly the secret behind the Silo's is...

Wool has a simple premise: those that commit crimes inside the Silo are sent to clean the cameras that show the outside world. These cameras remind the inhabitants of how deadly the outside is, and if you go out to do the cleaning, you don't come back. It's a brutal system, but is effective at keeping order within the Silo. As the story progresses we see more of the Silo, how it works and who is in charge of the important aspects, and questions are raised at almost every step.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The first part of Wool looks at Holston, the previous Sheriff of the Silo. He's volunteered for cleaning, and once this is spoken it cannot be changed. This is the hook for the novel, and what it allows Howey to do is to show us the Silo and its inner workings through the eyes of someone that was in charge of its order, but who ultimately learnt secrets of previous uprisings and can no longer do his job. Add to the mix that his wife discovered much of these before volunteering herself, and you've got a story that makes you question many things that are presented, and all done with an emotional tone.

And this is only the beginning of Wool.

The main focus of Wool is Jules, an engineer from the lowest levels who is recommended by Holston to become the next Sheriff. As the Mayor and Deputy Sheriff make their way from the top levels all the way to Jules, we see much of the Silo, learning many aspects of its functioning as we go. Howey appears effortless in doing this, and is able to convey so much imagery within the pages.

It's very difficult to say much more without getting into spoiler territory, so I won't.

What I will say is that Howey is a storyteller, and the episodic format that Wool was initially released in allows him to add plenty of twists and turns to the story. He builds the revelations and suspense throughout and delivers what ultimately is a very readable novel. It's one of those books that trickles information throughout the narrative and keeps on wanting you to go back for more.

I will say that despite all its positives, I came away unsure what to think. Yes, Howey has written a very interesting story, and done so very well, but.... Well, that's the thing. I can't put my finger on why it didn't hit the right spot for me. Regardless of this, I'm very interested to see where he takes the story in the next novel, Shift.

I like Bernd Struben's writing, period. I read his debut novel, 40 Years, a while back and enjoyed it, but lost track of him until this past January when I went on an ebook buying mission on the kindle store. I found out he'd written another novel, The 13th Zookeeper, which I promptly ordered, but also that his publisher, Strider Nolan, had released a couple of kindle-only short stories. I'm not a massive short fiction reader, mainly because working my way through collections and anthologies never works out, but having them as individual stories is another matter entirely. I'm glad I purchased them too because, despite their short length, I enjoyed the hell out of both of them.

I've put some story-specific thoughts below, but one thing that strikes me about Struben is his ability to write a story that you just want to read. His prose is easy to read and flows off the page, completely engrossing you in what's going on. I found that both these short stories were over way too quickly, and it's nudged me to put The 13th Zookeeper right near the top of my to-read stack...

I think I enjoyed this one more the The Duke's Dish, but it was a close call. Another post-apocalyptic setting, with no real explanation as to why, but plenty of suggestions that we're left to decide upon. One Bare Foot is more the story about our hunter, and the world he must live in, rather than anything bigger. It's good, if not a little disturbing in describing what he must do to survive, but all in all it works.

I like Bernd Struben's writing, period. I read his debut novel, 40 Years, a while back and enjoyed it, but lost track of him until this past January when I went on an ebook buying mission on the kindle store. I found out he'd written another novel, The 13th Zookeeper, which I promptly ordered, but also that his publisher, Strider Nolan, had released a couple of kindle-only short stories. I'm not a massive short fiction reader, mainly because working my way through collections and anthologies never works out, but having them as individual stories is another matter entirely. I'm glad I purchased them too because, despite their short length, I enjoyed the hell out of both of them.

I've put some story-specific thoughts below, but one thing that strikes me about Struben is his ability to write a story that you just want to read. His prose is easy to read and flows off the page, completely engrossing you in what's going on. I found that both these short stories were over way too quickly, and it's nudged me to put The 13th Zookeeper right near the top of my to-read stack...

The Duke's Dish is a simple premise, but executed well. The relationships between the friends is well described, and the effect of being locked up away from the world is also thoughtfully dealt with. It's short, but Struben manages to convey everything we need to know about the hows and whys they're in the shelter, making it believable. There could easily have been more he could have said, but it was self-contained enough not to need it.

Here we are, one of the few fantasy books I'll read this year: The Daylight War by Peter V Brett. It seems like an age since I first entered the world of the Demon Cycle with The Painted Man, way back in March of 2009, and the wait since I read The Desert Spear has been a long one. I had high expectations of The Daylight War - simply a given considering how much I enjoyed its predecessors - and it's safe to say that it's a hugely impressive and enjoyable novel.

The Daylight War picks up where we left off in The Desert Spear, and as such it gets the pace going pretty much straight away. We have Arlen and Renna together, growing closer, with Arlen speaking more of his abilities and what he learnt from the Mind Demon he destroyed. Jardir is settling into his new city after his invasion, enforcing Krasian Law, and attempting to wed Leesha as his Northern wife. With Inevera and Abban both having Jardir's ear - one through Hora magic, the other shrewd business sense - events and plans are being laid out to facilitate Jardir's further conquest of the northern lands, and the impending Daylight War.

Brett keeps the formula from the previous books again here, with Inevera the focus rather than Arlen or Jardir. This starts early on and her history is woven throughout the novel, giving the details of her past, where she came from, and just how she worked and manipulated events to her benefit. As the details are spread throughout there are pieces of information that we don't learn about until later in the story, though Brett feeds us the right information at the right time to ensure the story keeps a good and steady pace. This was all handled well, better than The Desert Spear (where Jardir's story took up the first couple of hundred pages), and allowed further inspection and revelation of the Krasian culture.

The details of how the world works are also given some more clarity in The Daylight War, particularly from the side of the demons. We learn new bits of information with the impending arrival of more Mind Demons at Waning, and most of those direct from the Minds. It sheds light on a few aspects of how the demons work, and on the history of Thesa, but opens up more questions than it answers. The relationship between the demons and humans is touched on, and I expect we'll see and hear more of this in the future.

Character-wise, things are much the same with our bunch of heroes and villains, though it's never entirely clear which is which. Brett does a fantastic job at keeping the interactions between the characters fresh, with some issues causing more discussion than others. Some characters, like Rojer, grow more and start fulfilling the promise that has been there since the start, while others, like Leesha, seem to take a step back and are not as prominent this time around.

It's safe to say that The Daylight War is a book of three characters: Arlen, Jardir, and Inevera. Each have big roles to play - especially considering the impending confrontation of the two Deliverers. With Arlen and Jardir each starting to discover more and more about demon magic the possibilities become very intriguing, and the outcome between them is never entirely knowable. Inevera plays a large role because of her backstory, and, of course, because of her relationship to Jardir. She's the character that has the most growth, and this is simply because Brett allows us to understand her more, learn her motivations and reasoning.

I read through The Daylight War pretty quickly, enjoying every page, and always wanting to know where the story was going next. The big events happen later on in the novel, but that doesn't stop the build up from being any less enjoyable. It's a big book, but you wouldn't think that when times flies all too quickly while you're reading it. I'm very interested to see where Brett takes the story from here and hope that, with the end-game in sight, he delivers everything I hope for.

I picked up A Jar of Wasps from the Kindle store after I got a shiny new Kindle Fire HD for Christmas. It was an impulse buy, mainly because I was stocking up on some e-versions of books I owned paper copies of and it popped up as a recommendation. I thought the cover was rather nice, and the blurb and few reviews I read seemed to be positive. I'm not massively into techno-thrillers, but I like to mix things up every now and then, see what reading outside my normal sub-genres can give me. Sometimes I'm in luck and thoroughly enjoy what I pick up, other times not so much. Unfortunately A Jar of Wasps falls into the latter category...

From the opening scene where Graham receives a delivery, finds himself with unwelcome guests, and then at the end of a murder charge that he didn't commit, it's clear that things aren't going to hang around. But it's also clear that we're going to be left with a fairly standard set of characters and a connect-the-dots plot. It's a shame, especially because the story about strange alien rocks falling to earth at volcano sites has plenty of promise, though even that left me wondering after I'd finished reading. I suppose it's a good sign that I thought about the events within, and the repercussions of said events, but the positives were far outweighed by the negatives.

The story, while interesting, jumped back and forth too much and often (despite the timings and dates stated at the start of chapters) I wondered just what (and when) I was reading. The fact that most of the characters seemed to blur into one didn't help me, and I had to stop once or twice to check whether the point of view had changed without me realising. And to add further to me gripes with A Jar of Wasps, sometimes things were a little too convenient for our characters - like Graham ending up at the right place even though he didn't have a clue where he was going. It's the little things that matter, and it felt like they were glossed over more than once in an effort to get the story going where the author wanted.

Despite these things I really did want to like A Jar of Wasps - I read it quickly and found it well paced and, at times, enjoyable. There truly is potential in this novel, but it's hidden beneath cut-out characters and convenient plot points. A disappointment.

The Wind Through The Keyhole is the eighth Dark Tower novel from Stephen King, though events contained within places it as book 4.5 in the series. When it was announced that King was writing a new Dark Tower instalment I was cautiously optimistic, wondering just how he was going to slip in another volume to an already finished series, especially with it placing halfway through. The Wind Through The Keyhole was always going to be on my to-read list, especially with the series as a whole amongst my favourites. A story within a story, The Wind Through The Keyhole is an interesting book. It's not long, and with two tales in a short page count it does remarkably well.

With a storm brewing, Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy take cover to let it pass. With a long wait in store Roland begins to tell a tale of his younger Gunslinging days, not long after his return from Mejis and the events that unfolded there, and after the untimely death of his mother at his hands. Sent to investigate murders by a rumoured skin man, Roland and his partner gather evidence of these murders, which in turn leads Roland to Bill Streeter, a young boy who survived one of the attacks, and the only person that could possibly identify the killer. It is with young Bill that he recounts another tale: The Wind Through The Keyhole.

The titicular story is perhaps the best starting point, and the stand out of the novel by far. The story that King tells here shows off many things: his ability as a storyteller, creating characters and situations that can completely hook the reader, and the level of background detail the Dark Tower universe has. It's a mythical story that includes everything that I've come to love about the books, while adding more depth in, what is at first glance, simply another tale. This story could easily be a stand-alone novella, not necessarily needing the other part of the novel, but it works very well in such context. The rest of the novel is still very enjoyable, and adds more history to Roland, giving us a little more on his background as a young Gunslinger. It also shows much of how Gunslingers work when looking into murders and such, and does so with ease.

One of the main aspects of this novel that I needed answering was whether or not it could fit halfway through a finished series without raising further questions. The answer is simple: yes. Because the structure of The Wind Through The Keyhole is that of past events narrated by Roland, it fits in without any hitches at all, and begs the question: when will we see more of these stories?

As a long time Dark Tower fan I came away more than satisfied, and I'd even go as far to say that even a non-reader of Stephen King's epic could easily enjoy what is within these pages. Of course, you'd benefit more if you read the series...

The Iron Jackal is the third novel following the crew of the Ketty Jay, preceded by Retribution Falls and The Black Lung Captain. I've thoroughly enjoyed the previous novels and, despite my poor reading last year, it always hovered near the top of the to-read stack. After finally settling down to read The Iron Jackal I found myself treading lightly, wondering whether it could equal the previous books. I really shouldn't have worried as Chris Wooding brings his A game to the table and delivers not only a good tale of the Ketty Jay, but an excellent novel in itself.

The fortunes of Frey and his crew looking up, with widespread recognition and the Ketty Jay given a complete overhaul courtesy of his old fiance and long time nemesis, Tranica Dracken. When she offers him a simple heist job Frey is keen to take it on, seeing as nothing could go wrong, or so he thinks. When the item he must steal lays a curse on him, Frey and his crew must race against time before it fulfils its purpose and robs him of life, taking him to many places he's not been, and some that some members of his crew would rather not return to...

It's easy enough to say why I enjoyed The Iron Jackal so much: because, like it's predecessors, it's a page-turning, action packed, character driven novel. Being the third in the series means that you're likely to have read the first two books and know what you'll be getting into, but if not I highly suggest starting at the beginning. Not only does The Iron Jackal expand on what has gone before, it introduces some other new elements that ensure it's not just walking in the footsteps of Retribution Falls and The Black Lung Captain.

Wooding manages to keep the characters fresh, delving a little further into some back-stories, and exploring new aspects following The Black Lung Captain. The dynamic between the crew is as good as ever, and the introduction of Ashua early on means there's a new female for Darien to make a fool of himself over, despite some interesting developments in the Tranica department. And I can't forget Bess, who once again delivers some of the stand-out moments in the novel for sheer enjoyment.

As for the story, well, it's a fairly straightforward affair. Darien needs to return a stolen item to it's home or he dies from the curse that it inflicted on him. But it's not as simple as it may seem, and the crew of the Ketty Jay go from place to place trying to track down where it came from, with some enjoyable set pieces along the way. The ending is great, and once again opens up some new aspects that can be looked at further in the concluding volume of the Ketty Jay saga.

All in all I found The Iron Jackal to be hugely enjoyable. It continues what I expect from the series and leaves a fair few questions open for the final instalment, The Ace of Skulls. Once again, another highly recommended novel from Chris Wooding.

Zero Point is the second Owner novel from Neal Asher, following on from The Departure. While I enjoyed the opening novel in the Owner series, The Departure didn't work quite as much as I would have hoped - it was more a novel of setting things up, establishing the setting, and moving pawns in to place. My closing sentence in my review of The Departure was:

"Now the setting up is done I expect much more from the sequel, Zero Point, and I won't be as forgiving if it doesn't meet the expectations I have."

So, the only question that really matters is whether it met those expectations, or did it fall flat in the attempt? Fortunately Zero Point built on the foundation laid out in the series opener, adding plenty to the story that kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next.

Zero Point picks up events immediately following the ending of The Departure. Alan Saul, the Owner, has captured Argus Station and controls it in its entirety, has wiped out a large proportion of the Committee's ruling Delegates on Earth, and is now looking ahead as Argus travels towards Mars. Var Delex is now in charge at the Antares Base on Mars, trying to use everything at her disposal to ensure the long term survival of the base, though not everyone agrees with her views. Earth is in the throws of change with Serene Galahad taking control of the Committee, setting her targets on a reduced population that cannot bode well for the zero assets. And when she discovers what the Owner is up to on Argus Station her focus to eliminate him only increases...

Following on from an action packed finale to The Departure, Zero Point doesn't wait around to get its breath, instead jumping straight into the meat of the story. We see the Owner investigate Argus Station further, digging up some very interesting hidden research that Messina, former head of the Committee, was working on. The research ranges from android/cyborg experimentation through to zero point energy of the title. It's a very interesting and enjoyable read while this is ongoing, with some rather intriguing possibilities from this research.

Zero Point carries the story along at a good pace early on, with the above mentioned happenings on the Argus Station making for the most engrossing. The Mars colony is another important aspect of the story, one that moves along at a slower pace, but always relevant and adding to the whole. As for Serene Galahad and her movements on Earth - that's on another level again. Seeing someone rise from the ashes of the Committee to assert control and begin a ruthless and focused re-build of the planet raises many questions in itself over the outcome, but it's an aspect of the story that I wouldn't have missed a second of.

I had one minor issue with Zero Point, and it was more one of pacing than anything else. A short way into the story an event happens that puts the brakes on the momentum that had been built up, essentially putting many of the most interesting aspects on hold for a good portion of the novel. It does allow other aspects to come to the fore and Asher adds more depth to the story, but it changes the pacing of the book and slowing down the events.

On the plus side, Zero Point is a thoroughly enjoyable novel with some very interesting ideas. Asher doesn't fail in making this second volume of the Owner trilogy a step up from The Departure, adding in plenty to keep the pages turning. For those familiar with his Owner short stories there are some nice treats in store, and for those that haven't.... well, what are you waiting for? In short, Zero Point is well worth reading, and I will be very much looking forward to Jupiter War!

I don't read much fantasy, mainly because the genre doesn't often appeal to me. Every now and then I come across one that takes my fancy, and because of my taste I'm rarely disappointed when I put sci-fi aside to read one. Over the past few years only a handful of fantasy books have made it into my reading, and of those few only two stuck with me: The Painted Man by Peter V Brett and The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed can be added to that small and exclusive club.

Doctor Adoulla Makhslood is a ghul hunter, and with his assistant, Raseed bas Raseed, he hunts and kills ghuls. It's a lonely life, with devotion to the craft being of utmost importance. Between the two of them Adoulla and Raseed are successful in their work, and as one of the last of the ghul hunters there is always work on the horizon. But when he takes a job for his old flame after members of her family are murdered, Adoulla realises that despite his age and experience, there are some things that not even he has faced. And as he learns more of this new foe, he realises just how much danger the Crescent Moon Kingdoms face.

Throne of the Crescent Moon is not a long book, coming in at under 300 pages. With many fantasy novels hitting double that page count, you'd be forgiven in thinking that such a slim novel might not offer the most in-depth world building, nor the longest or most interesting of tales. But you'd be wrong. Throne of the Crescent Moon is a hugely enjoyable story set in a world that has been vividly realised.

The characters we follow are all well developed, and not in the sense of becoming more rounded as the story progresses, but from page one. Adoulla and Raseed have an amusing relationship, with Raseed the holy man bound by strict rules of his faith, and Adoulla much more experienced and world-weary. Adoulla has much to offer as a character, and it is through him that the story really gains its legs, adding so much to what seems to be a fairly standard good-versus-evil tale. Raseed cannot justify anything that is even slightly wrong, and while it starts to grate a little by the end, his character is interesting and does evolve, but stays believable to his faith and ways. The other character that I enjoyed was Zamia, who is almost the complete opposite to Raseed. A member of the wandering tribes, and one of very few that can shape shift into the form of a Lion, Zamia completes the core group and adds her own impulsive ways.

The story, on the whole, is a fairly simple affair, with the threat of dark and evil beings to the Crescent Throne slowly becoming more pronounced. The Falcon Prince - another character I found amusing and interesting - is bringing about a rebellion against the Khalif, and events within the city of Dhamsawaat are unstable at best. There are more layers to the story than initially come across, and the more it progresses the more intriguing it becomes.

As for the Crescent Moon Kingdoms, and the wider world in which the story is set, I was impressed with how easy Ahmed conveyed the world building without bogging down the story. Yes, there are aspects left untouched, but they are off-page and not central to the story, but despite that there was a true feeling of history and scale to the world. The biggest plus point for me about this book was how easily I slipped into the setting and understood what was happening, how things worked in the city of Dhamsawaat, and just how real it all felt to me.

Throne of the Crescent Moon gave me the sort of story I often want, but rarely find. The prose is easy to read, the characters and setting a joy to behold, and the story begs you to read just another chapter. It's an impressive novel, and Saladin Ahmed is an author I'll be keeping my eye on.