Monday 10 February 2014

The Hellbound Heart - Clive Barker

RATING: FIVE STARS

Frank Cotton is bored of life: long, wild years have left him unable to find excitement and his lustful, lecherous nature has left him unable to find love or satisfaction. It was upon his travels that he first heard of Lemarchand's Box, a gateway to the world of the Cenobites – beings that can bring untold pleasures. After years he manages to attain it, but what is pleasurable for a human may be very different to that of sadistic demons . . . Soon, Frank may wish that he left the otherworldly monsters completely alone . . .

The Good
The Hellbound Heart is a novella so maintains a very fast, exciting pace throughout its 128 pages. Despite its short word count, Clive Barker doesn't skimp on description and manages to build a vivid picture of the mutilated Cenobites and the torture they are able to inflict on us mortals. His tight, inventive language really adds to the atmosphere of horror he creates and the book is nearly as shocking as Hellraiser (1987), its Hollywood adaptation.

Many of you might have seen Hellraiser even if you haven''t read the book, so you know that the story itself is clever and pretty unique. I liked its slightly unconventional view of the demonic arts, where Frank actually called the Cenobites himself because he was eager to sample to pleasures they were reputed to provide. Barker also managed to twist my emotions in the story, so I was actually routing for the antagonist for much of it, as I could really see why he was so eager to escape from the Order of the Gash!

The Bad
As might be expected for one of Barker’s horrors, the book can be a little gory in places and he certainly has no qualms about describing blood and death. The Hellbound Heart can also be a little crude and, with scenes of torture and nonchalant murder, it certainly isn't for the faint hearted!

My Thoughts
I really enjoyed reading The Hellbound Heart and it has been one of the best horrors I've read in a long time. It has a dark, morbid story that is full of torture and death and Barker has a very clever way of writing that conveys a lot of imagery in just a few words. The book is undisputedly worthy of its place on my ‘Shelf of Fame’ and I will certainly be reading more of Clive Barker’s work. I suggest you do the same!

Saturday 8 February 2014

The Dragon Reborn - Robert Jordan

RATING: FIVE STARS

Rand al'Thor has finally proclaimed himself as the Dragon Reborn! Throughout the lands, people are flocking to his banner and his support is swelling as Ba'alzamon seizes the aristocratic peerage and increases his control of peoples' minds. But Rand's destiny is too much for him and, while plagued by dreams of a shining, crystal sword, he decides to flee before more people die in his name.

Led by Moiraine, Loial and the rest of Rand’s trusted friends set off in pursuit of him before he is killed or worse - captured by Ba'alzamon and forced to bend to his will. Even as they track Rand, the Amyrlyn Seat sends Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne on an adventure of their own, tasking them to identify and hunt down the Aes Sedai traitors who serve the Dark Lord himself at heart – those that call themselves the Black Ajah . . .

The Good
As I had hoped, The Dragon Reborn is more complicated than The Great Hunt and resumes telling the story from multiple points of view. Although Rand slips as a PoV character for much of the book (somewhat disappointingly), many of the characters Robert Jordan neglected in his second book are really coming into their own. Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne have a particularly good storyline, while Perrin and Mat both have their own, individual story-arks. Jordan also introduces a few new characters in the book, one of which looks to be extremely interesting as (and if) she is developed in later books.

Jordan has really upped the sense of scale in this book and has begun to weave political intrigue into the storyline. He is showing how Ba'alzamon’s plans to conquer the world are moving forward and, at every turn, our heroes are beginning to realise how insurmountable their task is. This gives them a real sense of desperation that I thought was extremely clever and makes the whole story more believable as I could really imagination that Ba'alzamon has been making his plans for three thousand years from his prison of Shayol Ghul!

I know I've mentioned this in earlier reviews, but Jordan's characterisation was superb once again. Each of his characters really reads as an individual and has their own distinct voice, thought processes and reasons behind their actions. This allowed me to relate them to a degree that few other authors have managed and Jordan really seems to have understood that characters make a story truly great, not just the plot! 

The Bad
Hmmm, 'the bad' . . . Honestly speaking, I don't think there was anything majorly wrong with The Dragon Reborn! Overall, it was an exciting, well thought-out and masterfully executed book! That being said, Jordan's language did get a little repetitive in places and his tendency to repeat words a few times in as many sentences still persists, which does weaken his writing slightly.

My Thoughts
The Dragon Reborn was absolutely fantastic and I blitzed through it in less than a week! It's exciting, builds the story up for grandeur later in the series and reaffirms exactly why The Wheel of Time is so acclaimed! Like its predecessors, the book is well deserving of its place on my ‘Shelf of Fame’ and is a must read for anyone who wants to read high fantasy at its best!

Wednesday 5 February 2014

The Phoenix War - Richard L. Sanders

RATING: FOUR STARS

The human Empire is on the verge of civil war, threatening to tear itself apart as House Akira and other prominent high lords fight each other for the right to sit upon the throne. But such civil division is a waste of effort and resources that mankind cannot afford to lose. The cogs put into motion by the Phoenix Ring are still whirring in the shadows and, as events quickly get out of hand, it begins to become clear that the selfish group of benefactors were never truly in control. The Enclave are stirring in their dark halls of exile and, in a far region of space, the Rotham are mobilising—a highly advanced race that had always coveted the affluence of the human empire; wanting our lush worlds and rich solar systems. But these are only the beginning of human worries and rumour has reached some that the Polarian Dread Fleet—an armada of ships that leaves nothing but dead worlds in its wake—is waking. The Polarians have no love of humanity either and fanatically believe that they have the right of dominion over the entire universe . . . 

Amidst all the chaos and violence, the Nighthawk continues its mission to find and destroy the last of the isotome weapons—missiles that are powerful enough to destroy whole solar systems and leave their suns blackened and cold . . . The success of their mission is crucial to both the future of the Empire and the human race, but they have few leads to go on and are almost literally searching for needles in an infinite haystack!

Meanwhile Calvin Cross, now the Imperial Executor by appointment of Princess Kalila, is ordered to gather as much intelligence as he can on the Rotham and assess whether their military deployment is a threat to the Empire. His mission takes him deep into Alliance spacea xenophobic government that has no sympathy for the Empire and is unknowingly riddled with Enclave agents . . .

The Good
The Phoenix War is an exciting instalment of The Phoenix Conspiracy series and begins to tie lose ends together ready for the final book (which will hopefully be released soon). It also begins to build the political turmoil and military threat from aliens in a fast-paced plot, getting ready for what I imagine will be a stunning end to the series!

The Bad
Once again, I feel like Richard L. Sanders could have included more description in his writing as it is very ‘bare’. His dialogue and tone are both good, but he has an annoying habit of skipping over the details of his environments and provides scant information. This is a shame really, as his characters are aboard an array of space ships that would be interesting to read about and visit a number of worlds where he could quite literally ‘go wild’ and paint stunning landscapes around his characters!

My Thoughts
Overall though, I was impressed with The Phoenix War and think that it's the best instalment of the series so far! I am eagerly awaiting the next (and final) book, although it will be a shame to finish the series off! The Phoenix Conspiracy is undoubtedly a true gem of a series in a genre that I've found somewhat stale of late!