1. Chronicles of the Black Company by Glenn Cook

Omnibus of 3 novels. Military fantasy. Really cool characters.

7/10

2. The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One) by Joe Abercrombie

Book one of Joe Abercrombies excellent series. Dark, Gritty. Loren Ninefingers is a memorable character.  Hes more brutal than al’Lan Mandragoran or Roland of Gilead, but hes also funnier. Pretty Badass character.

8/10

3. Before They Are Hanged (The First Law: Book Two) by Joe Abercrombie

Book Two of Joe Abercombies series. I enjoyed this one just as much as the first. Its hard to believe I was sympathizing with these characters as nasty as they were.

8/10

4. Last Argument of Kings (First Law: Book Three) by Joe Abercrombie

This dissapointed me. I didnt like how the series ended at all. I did not like what the wizard turned out to be. I did not like the very cynical ending.Im astonished at how many people thought this was the best book of the series. I thought it was by far the most disappointing.

6/10

5. Neuromancer by William Gibson

Is there really anything left to be said about this visionary book? Its not really my genre but still an excellent book.

8/10

6. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

This is one of the most imaginative magic systems I have ever read. Brandon Sanderson does that so well, between Mistborn, Elantris and Warbreaker he has given us three unique systems that are comprehensive. Thats an amazing accomplishment.

9/10

7.  Wolfblade (The Hythrun Chronicles: Wolfblade Trilogy, Book 1) by Jennifer Fallon

Jennifer Fallon is the best author I came across in 2009 that I hadnt read before. I ripped through the Wolfblade series. This one is the story of young Marla Wolfblade, the Princes sister, and how she holds her family and country together.

9/10

8. Something from the Nightside (Nightside, Book 1) by Simon Green

An urban fantasy noir. There is an alternate reality London and our hero needs to save someone who was kidnapped. I remember the book as funny and interesting enough that I got the second one. But I never got to reading the second book.

6.5/10

9. The Night Watch (Watch, Book 1) by Sergei Lukyanenko

Another Urban Fantasy, I really enjoyed this book, the idea of the Night Watch and the Day Watch and what Twilight meant.

8.5/10

10. The Novice (The Black Magician Trilogy, Book 2) by Trudi Canavan

Second book of the series. Deals with how an orphan girl deals with going to magical school. If it sounds a little like Hary Potter thats cause it is. I enjoyed it but it wasnt the most original book I had ever read.

7/10

11. The High Lord (The Black Magician Trilogy, Book 3) by Trudi Canavan

A vast improvement on the derivative previous book of the series.We get out of the schooland the city for that matter and start getting into the more interesting back story of Akkarin, and why he has Sonea learning what she is.

8.5/10

12. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

What a book! Seriously read this now if you havent yet. Its one of the most imaginative fantasy books Ive read. The hero is discovered one morning with a Leprosy type disease that has magical roots. He is dumped inside an abandoned city/fortress with others like him. And it takes off from there.

9.5/10

13. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

I thought Eragon was a good but flawed book. Yeah it had similarities with Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and Dragon Rider and Wizard of Earthsea and any number of classics. But it worked. The second book did not. And this one is a steaming pile of crap. I cant believe I actually finished it. I honestly dont know if I will finish this when the last book comes out. I probably will but not because I want to but because I have a niece and a nephew who are big fans and I would want to be able to talk about the book with them.

3/10

14. The Way of Shadows (The Night Angel Trilogy) by Brent Weeks

Excellent Trilogy from a new author. I thought it was an interesting idea to have the first 3 books available one after the other in the course of a few months. They also had a crazy ebook sale where I wound up buying the first ebook for something like $2. Its not a book for kids there are some seriously disturbing themes, but the action sequences in the book are incredible.

8.5/10

15. Shadow’s Edge (Night Angel Trilogy, Book 2) by Brent Weeks

Second book of the trilogy which introduced us to Kylar Stern and Durzo Blint. The world expands quite a bit in this book. Not as good as the first but still pretty damn good.

7.5/10

16. Beyond the Shadows (The Night Angel Trilogy) by Brent Weeks

Spectacular end to a very good series. Brent Weeks does a great job expanding on the Universe he created. Very satisfying Epic Trilogy.

9/10

17. Warrior (The Hythrun Chronicles: Wolfblade Trilogy, Book 2) by Jennifer Fallon

Another strong book by Jennifer Fallon. Here we meet Damin Wolfblade, Marlas son and Crown Prince of the land. Very fun book, Damin is an awesome character.

8.5/10

18. Warlord: Book Six of the Hythrun Chronicles by Jennifer Fallon

Last book of the Wolfblade trilogy and it does not dissapoint.Damin grows up and kicks all kinds of ass.

8.5/10

19. Medalon (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 1)

Another Trilogy from Jennifer Fallon.  A fun romp with politics, war gods and all the rest you would expect. A minor quibble is that there are some continuity issues between the Woflbalde Trilogy and the previous Demon Child trilogy. Nt too surprising considering the Wolfblade trilogy takes place before the Demon Child one even though it was written later, but there are some spots where you go hmm… thats not right.

8.5/10

20.  Treason Keep (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 2)

Second book and things really start moving here. Damin Wolfblade is back from the Woldblade trilogy. Also assuming a lot of importance in this book is the daughter of Hablet Adina.

9/10

21. Harshini (The Hythrun Chronicles: Demon Child Trilogy, Book 3)

The weakest of the Jennifer Fallon books I read this year. It wasnt bad per se, it just focussed on wrapping things up. There wasnt that much that was surprising here, which is not what Fallons style is.

7.5/10

22. The Lion of Senet (The Second Sons Trilogy, Book 1)

23. Eye of the Labyrinth (The Second Sons Trilogy, Book 2)

24. Lord of the Shadows (The Second Sons Trilogy, Book 3)

This is Jennifer Fallons best trilogy. What an outstanding cast of characters. The trilogy as a whole deals with the Second Sons of (mostly)Noble houses and the pains they go through to make their mark on the world. I dont think there is even a little magic in this book so if thats how you define fantasy you wont be happy. What we do get is an incredible world and an incredible story with memorable characters and some truly badass moments.

9/10

Ok. So thats about halfway there. I’ll get the rest up in the next few days.

We actually recorded this almost 3 weeks ago, but almost at the end Marco had the power go out at his place, and we couldn’t get the last few mins done over the next 2 weeks. Finally decided lets cut it and post it(not like it isnt long enough as our first 60 min plus podcast) and we’ll cover whats left later.

So what do we cover? We decided to break the review into 2 parts. The first is going to give you our thoughts on various characters and how their story arcs progressed(Rand, Egwene) or didnt(Perrin, Mat), and  in one notable case finally progressed but the progress didnt do anything to make the character less of an ass.

We discuss Rand, Egwene, Verin, The Rebel Aes Sedai, Siuan and Gareth Bryne, Mat and his group, Perrin and his group, Aviendha, Cadsuane, Nynaeve, Rands generals. We also discuss absent characters like Elayne, Lan, and Padan Fain.

It should be obvious but we spoil The Gathering Storm in every possible way we could think of, so please dont listen if you havent read.

Anyway drop us a comment, really love reading those.

Here goes:

Like many many others I was a little apprehensive about this book coming out.  I’m a huge Robert Jordan fan and I like Brandon Sanderson quite a bit too, but was a little uneasy with how the styles would mix. I am glad to say that my fears were unfounded. Sanderson mentions at the start of the book how he isn’t going to try and imitate RJ, but rather tell the story of RJs characters in his own voice. He succeeds. Despite some quibbles this was an extremely satisfying volume of the Wheel of Time.

Click through for a fuller plot review that includes spoilers for The Gathering Storm

The book has 2 main storylines and a number of minor ones. Let’s tackle the main ones first.

Rand al’Thor dominates this book. Even though he is the Dragon Reborn and everything in the story comes back to him he hasnt had so much screen time since Lord of Chaos where we saw him starting down the road that reaches its conclusion here. It started with Aes Sedai trying to manipulate him in the aftermath of Moirraines death and reaches its culmination when Semhirage uses the Male A’dam to capture him. Rands “hardening” reaches such an insane pitch in this book that for large chunks of the book he is unlikeable. In earlier books when he would do something kind of nasty, his thoughts during his own POV’s would redeem him. This time his thoughts just make him scarier. There are 2 scenes in particular which bring this out for me, and it’s not a surprise that they both occur with Nynaeve. The first scene is when Nynaeve and Rand have a talk after she sniffs out the torturers apprentice who had been compelled by Graendal. He questions why everyone thinks he is stupid and doesn’t realize what he is turning into, he knows and has decided that’s the only way he is going to win, and he is willing to pay the price. The other scene is the way he kills Graendal. Brilliantly coldblooded. And there is no way Rand al’Thor does that, no matter what the provocation, before Semhirage tries to takes him prisoner.

The scene with Tam at the end had a different feel to me. There was a degree of desperation there, not just cold bloodedness. It was the alcoholic/drug addict hitting rock bottom. He has only two choices here, either completely give up on his humanity or bring it back, which he does in a wonderfully written final chapter.

The other major plotline was Egwene’s fight in the White Tower. She is such an awesome character. I have always like Egwene (except in the Path of Daggers, and it wasnt her I disliked so much as reading about the rest of the Rebel Aes Sedai). The way she takes Elaida apart, gets the sitters to listen to her, reunites the Tower and kicks all kinds of Seanchan ass, she is now the character I’d like to read most after Mat.

The minor storyline of Verin was super satisfying as well. Shes always been one of the best Aes Sedai characters and she comes through big time in this book as well. I am glad the hidden Ajah thing is over once and for all. That was a theory that was very tempting though it made no sense. The dedication of Verin is astounding. 70 years in the Black Ajah intent on Double crossing them at the end. That takes something. So not only is she this brilliantly distracted character, she is bad ass enough to take on the Back by herself.

Sheriam being Black and her quick execution was a lot less satisfying.

I thought Gawyn was still a moron, but at least now he is a slightly more curious moron.

The Perrin sections seemed solid but unspectacular.

Elaida I am 99% convinced now has been touched by Fain/Mashdar. Theres something similar in the way she is acting now and Mat was acting when he had the dagger.

Speaking of Fain… Where the hell is he? I think he was last seen in Winters Heart.

Cadsuane got a little annoying in this book, so did the Wise Ones.

No Sea Folk POV’s … Thank the light

The only minor quibble I had with the book was Mats character. I didn’t have a huge problem with it the way people complaining on tor.com and dragonmount.com did. But it was definitely off. The way I see it though the Mat chapters weren’t strictly necessary, but I would imagine that if he didn’t appear in the book the howls would be a lot more strident. And I think the quality of this book more than earns Brandon Sanderson the patience to see what he can do with Mat when he actually has something more substantial to do(Get to the Finns already!!!).

As much as I enjoyed this book I am not quite sure where I would rank it in the Wheel of Time. The Shadow Rising and Lord of Chaos were definitely superior. Path of Daggers and Crossroads of Twilight were definitely inferior. Woo hoo!! Reread!

If anyone wants to check out the original:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/45319

Part 2 which will be spoiler free is a discussion of what we are anticipating in The Gathering Storm, and I’m hoping we can get that up by the end of the week.

Also there is a question towards the end of the episode about the Maidens and whats happening with them towards the end of Lord of Chaos on the march to The Wells. I’d appreciate it if we could get some audience feedback on what is going on between Nandera and Sulin at that time.

As always feedback is appreciated. Here are some ways to interact: If you look on the right sidebar there is a link to thewotcast facebook page, which you could become a fan of. I also made a twitter account @thewotcast though  I dont know if we’ll be posting too much as of right now though it is set up to automagically tweet out the facebook page updates. And the email id is thewotcast@gmail.com, so send us comments and questions. We havent recorded in a while, but we will be recording quite a bit over this next month leading up to the release of The Gathering Storm, so if you would like dozens of people to hear your questions send us some.

His Majesty’s Dragon

Summary: Temeraire by Naomi Novik is a combination of Fantasy and Historical Fiction. The book follows Captain Laurence and Temeraire, his dragon, whose egg he captures from a French Ship. Laurence is forced to give up his Naval career and join the aviators, who have a reputation as a rough bunch, set apart from the rest of the military. The consensus from people he knows is that he has had to make a dreadful sacrifice for King and Country, but as Laurence comes to know Temeraire, he not only comes to terms with his changed circumstance, he dives in whole heartedly.

Thoughts: I enjoyed the book a lot, already ordered the Book 2 in the series(though I have gotten Mistborn Book 3, and The Alchemyst Book 2 on the To Read pile). Both Capt. Laurence and Temeraire are interesting characters. Laurence’s reactions to events that are inconceivable in the time and place are what really makes him such an admirable character. He meets a Dragon who is his instructor, he finds out women in the aviators are captains too, his reaction to a fellow captain who neglects his dragon, all of these sequences inform his character, and its a tremendous character. He is moral, but not unbending, he is a proper prig, but only till he is comfortable with someone. Temeraire the dragon on the other hand is more like our typical fantasy hero, who is uniquely gifted(at least in the western world), picks up things very quickly, asks the questions about society at large, that normally a fantasy hero asks, such as why do they fight for duty, an has mysterious powers that come into play at a very convenient time. He could easily be Belgarion, Rand al’Thor or Paul Atreides.

Another aspect of the book that really makes it compelling is the time period. The Napoleonic Wars are the perfect setting for this story. It gives us the British Army Officer with the stiff upper lip, who is in constant danger because of the tense times, but comes through in grand fashion.

One final point. This book is incredibly visual, and its tough to imagine the scale at which these dragons are imagined. Some of the lager dragons are as high as a 10 story building, and require huge crews to be able to fight. They are used as messengers, bombers, transports, fighters, or all at the same time. I really enjoyed the similarities between the way fighting and working on a dragon is similar to fighting and working on a ship. I’ve never read the Aubrey-Maturin Series(Master and Commander with Russel Crowe was based on them) but am now pretty keen to look through those.

Cross posted to doshiamit.net

Gawyns lack of intelligence (both in terms of dumbassery and information gathering)

Galad’s choice to be a Whitecloak

The chracters story arcs, and how they compare to each other.

Are they mirrors of each other?

Their relationships to themselves and other WOT characters.

P.S. I think Ive got the audio levels and stereo issues fixed. Please email us if there is still a problem.