Title: The Dread Wyrm
Series: The Traitor Son Cycle
Author: Miles Cameron
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit (originally Gollancz)
Release Date: October 20, 2015 (originally October 15, 2015)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 608

 

Note: This review will contain some spoilers regarding the first two books.

The Red Knight and The Fell Sword were a strong start and The Dread Wyrm turns it up to 11. Readers are now in the thick of this fantasy epic really reads like one giant book. Think of the Traitor Son Cycle as more Lord of the Rings then Narnia, as far as structuring goes. The previous book was a bit slow with a lot of planning and politics stretched out between the major battles. In The Dread Wyrm, the war begins in earnest and there is little rest for the characters between each battle.

A lot of questions begin to be answered in The Dread Wyrm. As with the previous books, the world building is expanded quite a bit throughout this novel. Readers learn more about the various races and the major powers at play in the war. As battles begin to break out in various regions, it becomes more and more apparent that all these conflicts either are or will soon be connected. Some will live, others will die, and all will continue to fight until only one side is left standing.

The action sequences are plentiful in The Dread Wyrm, to say the least. After the slower pace of The Fell Sword, it was nice to have the action ramped up. The action sequences are not limited to big, Braveheart level battles either. The story includes one-on-one duels, surprise attacks, and magical combat on the level of the Battle of Hogwarts. There are still slower points here and there for exposition and character development, but these sequences feel fairly limited compared to the immense amount of action here. Miles Cameron has already shown that he can write a siege, from both inside a fortress and outside it, and he has now shown he can just as effectively write a war.

On the subject of war: war is hell and people die. And my goodness does Miles Cameron make that apparent here. He is by no means afraid to kill characters off and does so increasingly as The Dread Wyrm moves forward. Spoilers suck, but I cannot review this book and do it justice without saying that two of my favorite characters die in a single battle alone. And that constant stream of death makes the war feel all the more real. No one is safe, any character can die at a moment’s notice because that is how war works. And the pain of that loss affects the survivors, empowering them with rage on the battlefield and hampering them with grief when the fighting is over. This story is far from over and the war has just begun, with more losses sure to come until the final battle is over.

Title: Prey
Author: Michael Crichton
Genre: Sci-fi
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: November 11, 2003
Format: Hardback
Pages: 507

 

Prey, like many of Crichton’s books, is hard to peg down into a single genre. Crichton had this masterful approach of blending sci-fi, mystery, thriller, and horror. Compared to some of his other books, Prey is a bit tamer. By that, I mean that the book is easier to read. The explanations of real-world science that leads to the sci-fi aspect are not as intense as in his other works like Congo or Jurassic Park. That being said, science and new technology will still scare you senseless after reading Prey.

The mystery, like the science, was on the lighter side in Prey (for a Crichton book). The story had the twists and turns you can expect from Crichton’s work but to a lesser extent. None of the reveals felt particularly surprising; Prey did not have any “I did NOT see that coming” moments. On the whole, Prey is one of the easier Crichton books for a general audience. It is a good starting point for people who want to test the waters with his novels and may not want to jump feet first into the sheer level of science and raw information that is prevalent in many of his other acclaimed novels.

Readers can see bits and pieces of Crichton’s earlier works repeating themselves in Prey. The book centers around a group of scientists trying to stop a threat the rest of the world does not know about that could ultimately have global repercussions, similar to The Andromeda Strain. The threatening technology was made by scientists basing their work off of technology they did not 100% understand. In other words, the scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could they didn’t stop to think if they should. And when disaster finally strikes it is a battle of man vs. monster, a common theme in many Crichton books.

For the time being, Prey is one of Crichton’s books that has aged well. This was the 3^rd-to-last book published before Michael Crichton died. The relative newness of Prey makes the sci-fi aspect more believable compared to his older works. Take something written much earlier like Congo in comparison. A lot of the “advanced technology” in Congo is technology we actually have today. Or are a least a lot closer to in the present than when Congo came out. The technology in Prey is still far enough away that it feels futuristic enough to be scary. Technology we have already tamed is not scary; upcoming technology that could potentially spiral out of control is very scary.

Title: A Dance of Mirrors
Series: Shadowdance
Author: David Dalglish
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: December 3, 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400

 

Note: This review will contain spoilers for the previous two books.

A Dance of Mirrors picks up two years from where A Dance of Blades left off. While the Trifect and thief guilds are still holding to the peace treaty, Haern putting down anyone who threatens said treaty is the main thing preventing war from resuming. Then a second vigilante called The Wraith appears in the city of Angelport and begins a brutal murder spree inspired by The Watcher. With these murders provoking the local elves and threatening a war, Haern considers it his responsibility to stop the copycat.

With his mysterious, cloaked and threatening persona, Hearn takes on a classic vigilante role. He is very much like a fantasy world version of Zorro or Batman. Hearn is still a haunted character with the question of “Am I doing the right thing?” plaguing him throughout the story. Mentally, Hearn is still a very young man and it shows through his conflicting thoughts and emotions. Physically, Hearn continues to impress as a complete and total badass. Despite being a normal human with no magic in this fantasy world, he continues to keep up. Against people enhanced by magic, Hearn continues to survive on skill alone.

David Dalglish’s writing of action sequences continues to impress, whether Hearn, Zusa, or any other character is involved. While the protagonists are powerful, they are by no means invincible. Especially with the setting being a new city where they do not have their usual contacts and resources. And despite A Dance of Mirrors taking place in a different city, Angelport is no less corrupt than Veldaren. The corruption spreads its roots through the city in a different fashion, as Hearn quickly learns, but is still ever-present.

While A Dance of Mirrors is a good story, it is a somewhat specific type of fantasy. Whereas A Dance of Blades was more of a continuation, A Dance of Mirrors is its own story. On the upside, this means it holds its own as a standalone book. On the downside, there really is no overarching plot here. There is not a single, main antagonist whose dastardly plan must be stopped. But halfway through the Shadowdance series, you realize that is not the point. This is not a “save the world” story, it is a coming-of-age story. Hearn’s story. The boy raised as a tool who becomes his own man as he steps out of his father’s shadow. And I look forward to seeing where it goes next.

Title: Fearless
Series: The Lost Fleet
Author: Jack Campbell
Genre: Sci-fi
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: January 30, 2007
Format: Paperback
Pages: 295

Fearless picks up shortly where Dauntless left off, with the Alliance fleet still trapped deep in Syndicate space. As the Alliance fleet slowly makes its way home, Geary continues to implement combat tactics to overcome the enemy. All the while, he still suffers from personnel problems as some fleet officers fight against his command style. This problem becomes worse among the rescue of some POWs that include Captain Falco, a war hero less like Geary and more like Zapp Brannigan. Falco is not a bad person, he has good intentions but is very much set in his ways (i.e. the poor tactical choices that have kept the Alliance in a 100+ year war).

Geary himself remains an exemplary example to the fleet throughout Fearless. All the other officers have been fighting a war their entire lives. In a war that has gone on for several times longer than any of them have been alive. Actions that we consider horrific, like bombing civilian populations, are the norm for these people. Geary goes a long way to remind his subordinates that fighting with honor means being better than your enemy. To extend a hand of mercy in situations where you yourself would not necessarily receive one.

Co-President Rione’s involvement in Fearless starts to establish The Lost Fleet as more of a space opera. The character introductions and world building in Dauntless left little room for other developments. Now with all that information established, the space opera element becomes more apparent. Specifically, Rione begins to show feelings and desires for Geary while still being wary of him. She makes it very clear that there is some attraction, but she is still ready to put a knife in him if he starts to become a threat to the Alliance. The build-up here is slow and will likely grow greater in the next book.

Character development, on the whole, is a bit stunted in Fearless. Captain Falco’s introduction helps push it along, but the main focus here is still big space battles and military tactics. For readers more interested in the military side of these stories, that works fine. But the characters do seem like that could feel more real. At this point, The Lost Fleet is still military sci-fi first and space opera second. And the series is still very enjoyable for it. Fearless was just as good as Dauntless and book #3 should be just as entertaining.

Title: Overlord, Vol. 8: The Two Leaders
Series: Overlord
Author: Kugane Maruyama
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Yen On
Release Date: September 18, 2018 (English); December 26, 2014 (Japanese)
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 288

 

The Two Leaders was…well, a little disappointing. This book focuses primarily on character development, with a little world-building and no real plot development. The novel actually contains two separate (although connected) stories: one focusing on Enri and the second on Ainz. In a nutshell, each story shows what day-to-day life is like for both of them as leaders of their communities. Both stories seem to take place around Volumes 5 and 6, as it is mentioned Sebas is still in Re-Estize. While having a different spin on Overlord is nice, The Two Leaders lacked the flair of the previous volumes.

Looking solely at character development, The Two Leaders was great. Enri’s story displayed how life is for normal, everyday people in this fantasy universe. It also shows how far Carne Village has progressed after being attacked way back in Volume 1. Readers are starting to see humans and non-humans living together peacefully, something that will be required in the future if Ainz is to successfully take over the world without using an iron fist. The resolve of the villagers is made apparent, as they refuse to be defenseless victims again. Enri dealing with many of the same personal issues, as a leader, as Ainz makes for a great comparison.

Ainz’s story shows something touched on in previous volumes: his transition from a normal man to an overlord. As a former Japanese salaryman, he uses what business skills he has to run Nazarick. Many other administrative functions are left to Albedo and Demiurge, since that is literally what they were made for. Ainz’s acting skills are also shown to have improved as he prepares himself for more public appearances as a leader. While seeing big fights is always neat, seeing the day-to-day activities that are normally passed over was interesting too.

Had it been placed between other volumes chronologically, The Two Leaders may have worked better. Having it so close to the also slow Volume 4 may have been problematic but being hypothetical that is really neither here nor there. The biggest gripe with The Two Leaders is that it interrupts an ongoing storyline. Volume 7 ended on a fairly sizeable cliffhanger that is clearly leading to something big. And then this side story just gets dropped in immediately following that, which is frustrating. Frustrating enough, in fact, to knock a star off the rating. But at least Volume 9 will, hopefully, impress well enough to make up for the interruption.

Title: The Kaiju Survival Guide
Author: Wes Parker
Genre: Sci-fi
Publisher: Wes Parker
Release Date: May 11, 2018
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288

 

The Kaiju Survival Guide seems pretty heavily influenced by The Zombie Survival Guide with a dash of World War Z. In that sense, the book is a bit more down-to-earth than the average kaiju film. As opposed to “the only thing that can beat a giant monster is another giant monster (or robot)” rule, The Kaiju Survival Guide tackles what we would do if this actually happened. A real-life military response, as opposed to a convenient plot device, as well as how civilians can survive. These matter-of-fact sections are also broken up with survivor stories from in-universe kaiju encounters.

The term “kaiju” is used a little loosely in this book. Instead of focusing exclusively on giant, Godzilla-sized creatures, the book covers various categories of monsters. These classifications are based on size as well as physical abilities. Monsters can range from something the size of a moose to building crushing behemoths. The Survival Guide advises that smaller creatures can be defeated by local militia while bigger targets are a military matter. There is a good amount of thought put into these tips, from detailed suggestions on finding weaknesses to simple tips like “aim for the eyes”.

Since many monsters require military-grade weaponry to destroy, parts of this book read like a regular survival guide. The Kaiju Survival Guide treats kaiju like a force of nature, so surviving one is treated similarly to surviving something like a tornado or earthquake. There is general useful information in here like getting a survival kit together. Survival tips vary depending on what type of monster you are dealing with. For huge kaiju, you hope you are not in its direct path and get out while you can. In other scenarios, you might have to fight your way past smaller monsters.

There are a lot of allusions to famous monster movies in The Kaiju Survival Guide. The “first contact” incident, for example, is a homage to the original King Kong film. Another parodies the film Them! And the frequently mentioned “worst-case scenario” monster attack is clearly a Godzilla reference. Other sections were either unique or I have not seen the films they were referring to. All in all, The Kaiju Survival Guide is excellent for any fan of monster movies. Finding another book that can keep pace with How To Survive a Sharknado was a surprise, but a pleasant one.

Title: The Fell Sword
Series: The Traitor Son Cycle
Author: Miles Cameron
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit (originally Gollancz)
Release Date: March 11, 2014 (originally December 19, 2013)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 640

 

The Fell Sword picks up shortly after the end of The Red Knight. Extending from the previous novel’s ending, The Red Knight and his company leave the Kingdom of Alba for a new job in the Empire. Whereas The Red Knight worked as a standalone story, The Fell Sword feels more like an installment in a series. It is better established here that The Traitor Son Cycle is one big story broken into five parts. Events are less resolved by the end and the characters are left with outstanding problems and an uncertain future.

As with the previous book, The Fell Sword jumps between various points-of-view. As the Red Knight and his surviving company members ride towards the Empire, events in Alba continue to move forward through the perspectives of the Queen and Jean de Vrailly. The Fell Sword also introduces a number of new characters, most of whom are located in the Imperial capital Livianopolis. All these different POVs, and the high page count, leave room for many plots and subplots throughout the novel. The new POVs do not extend exclusively to human characters either.

The creatures of The Wild are still present in The Fell Sword, though not as at the forefront as before. With the conflict here focused more on human vs. human violence, The Wild is more involved in world building. The various creatures of The Wild are better introduced with their own cultures and societies. They come across more as people than mere monsters as their history and relationship with humanity is expanded upon. Whether human or Wild, every character here feels complex and real. There is no black and white in Cameron’s world. Today’s enemy could be tomorrow’s ally or vice versa in these lands filled with shades of grey.

Along with the characters, the world building is greatly expanded in The Fell Sword. New lands are visited with new maps featured at the front of the book. The magic system also develops significantly, in no small part due to the magic university in Livianopolis. And as in The Red Knight, Cameron’s experience as a student of history shines during the battle sequences. That is not to say his expertise does not shine through elsewhere, but (magic notwithstanding) his battles feel like they could be recounting actual historic military campaigns. Also like The Red Knight, there is significantly more to The Fell Sword than can fit into this little review and it is recommended for any fan of epic fantasy.