Nick Bryan

book reviews

London Falling by Paul Cornell – Book Review

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London Falling - Paul Cornell

Today’s book review is London Falling by Paul Cornell – a writer I already liked for his excellent Captain Britain And MI13 comics, as well as the Human Nature two-parter on Doctor Who, one of my favourite David Tennant episodes.

So I had expectations of London Falling, described in the authorial blurb as his “first urban fantasy novel”. It’s the beginning of a mooted Shadow Police series, introducing a team of enjoyably grounded police folk, who find themselves thrust into the messy world of supernatural evil lurking beneath the surface of the one they already knew.

Detective Inspector Britain?

The big selling point here, for me, was not the fantasy stuff but the air of realism – Cornell has done his research to give us a plausible glimpse into the life of UK police. There’s a nice balance between the driven-for-justice fictional lawman and more complicated characters, who struggle with personal demons even before the literal ones turn up.

Which brought me to another realisation: I would happily read a completely straight realistic crime novel by Cornell about these characters. Having said that, his take on how the police try to bring the weird shit down to their level is very logical and intriguing.

He balances his ensemble cast and their multiple perspectives deftly as well, which shouldn’t surprise those of us who read Captain Britain.

Mind’s Eye VS TV Eye

Interesting to note from the acknowledgments at the back that this was once developed as a TV idea – I can see how it would’ve worked on-screen, maybe one day it still will, but I think Cornell is able to do some more interesting things with the magic imagery here, sequences that would be a struggle to visualise effectively. (Especially on a BBC budget, it has to be said.)

Oh, there is a big reveal towards the end which was guessable quite a while earlier. I’m curious how intentional that was – if it was meant to be a jawdropping surprise from nowhere, didn’t quite work, but perhaps Cornell was fully aware some would get it.

Anyway, another TV-like quality: it’s clearly setting up the Shadow Police elements for a series, and happily, the sequel sounds like it’s definitely happening. I admit, I won this book in a competition on the generous Bleeding Cool blog, but I’ll be spending hard cash on the follow-up. If you want a thoughtful, grounded take on supernatural cops, London Falling is definitely worth a read.

A Storm Of Swords by George R.R. Martin – Untimely Thoughts

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A Storm Of Swords - George R.R. Martin

Last week, I finished A Storm Of Swords, the third book in George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire series. Of course, these are among the most prominent fantasy books in existence right now, thanks to their TV adaptation Game of Thrones, so I doubt I’m alone there.

Having read the other two books after watching their screen equivalents, I thought I’d try this one the other way round. So, how was the experience? Has it affected my expectations of the upcoming series?

SPOILER WARNING: If you’re following the TV show, haven’t read the books and want to remain totally unspoiled for events beyond season two, best not read this.

Vague Review (no real spoilers)

Review verdict out of the way: yes, this is a good book, possibly the best of the three I’ve read. The sprawling universe Martin has created is hugely impressive, even if I sometimes lost track of exactly who was who. In many ways, that makes it feel more realistic –you have a “close” circle of people, then a raft of acquaintances.

He wraps up plot threads stretching back to book one – at times, this reads like the climax to a trilogy. There are a few slightly samey chapters of characters trudging around to get into place, but once you get to about 45% (yes, I read it on a Kindle), the pace is full-speed to the end, which is impressive for such a long book. And the climactic scenes are amazingly satisfying once you get there.

TV Murmurs (minor spoilers)

Indeed, the book is so long that it’s being spread across two seasons of the TV show, which is interesting because of all the set-up in the first half. Based on early publicity and comments from the producers, it sounds like they’re going for the Red Wedding as centrepiece to season three. That’s going to be horrific, isn’t it? I mean, just reading it was bad enough.

And then, presumably, Joffrey’s wedding and subsequent manoeuvres in season four, maybe with some material pulled forward from book four to pad out the remaining space. Danerys really doesn’t get a vast amount to do in the latter half of book three, which might mean a worrying amount of padding to keep her in every episode – which would be annoying, as they already did that in season two.

Still, it was a great read, hopefully an equally good twenty episodes of telly. Definitely got me excited for the series returning next weekend. Let me know below if you have any thoughts about all this – if you can refrain from spoiling books 4-5, though, I’d appreciate it. Ta.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey – Untimely Book Review

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The Snow Child

A book blogger I know claims many of them end up reviewing books ages after they come out, so calling these “Untimely Book Reviews” doesn’t say much. Ultimately, I’m not as much of a precious little snowflake as I’d like.

Which leads me neatly into The Snow Child! Set in 1920s Alaska, written by authentic Alaskan Eowyn Ivey, this novel re-imagines a Russian fairy tale about a childless older couple who fashion a child out of a snow and, seemingly through hope alone, find she has come to life. But how long will she be able to stay?

Once Upon A Snow Child

When composing this review in my head, I considering comparing this book to the rash of fairy tale adaptations stalking the popular culture, such as TV’s Once Upon A Time or Grimm, or cinema’s Snow White And The Huntsman and that new Hansel & Gretel which looks terrible.

But that seems insulting, because The Snow Child has little in common with them beyond that superficial point – or perhaps it plays the same game and wins. After all, those mostly use the fairytales to provide resonance for general fantasy. Whereas this book genuinely feels like a retelling of the original with modern storytelling sensibilities, putting us in the moment with the characters without forcing us through a filter of meta first.

Hug Your Kindle Today!

But no, this is a lovely, sad yet hopeful book. Even before the titular child turns up, the portrayal of Jack and Mabel’s relationship, their different yet complimentary views of life, is thorough and convincing.

And then the sad march towards the inevitable end, while I sat hugging my Kindle and hoping it wouldn’t happen. The descriptions of life in Alaska are beautifully done, and even though the child’s fairytale origins are incorporated into the story, it never feels like an overdone fantasy – everything is so practical and realistic that the “magical” elements never take you out of the story.

Hell, you could just explain everything away with regular physics if you wanted.

In short, The Snow Child is a sweet, absorbing story – well written and just the right side of sentimental rather than saccharine. It might’ve outstayed its welcome if it ran much longer, but I liked the length we got here. Recommended.

Monkeys with Typewriters by Scarlett Thomas – Timely Book Review

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Scarlett Thomas - Monkeys With Typewriters

Monkeys With Typewriters by Scarlett Thomas came out in October 2012, making this less untimely than most of my book reviews, and features the popular novelist and creative writing lecturer setting down, in a mere 400 pages (plus footnotes and appendices), her secrets to good writing.

There are, you may have noticed, a lot of books on writing out there. So, as someone who has already done a whole Masters on the subject, did I get anything extra out of Thomas’s contribution to the genre? Well, yes and no.

Part One: Shall I Kill Them And When?

Broadly, this book splits into two sections: one on how to structure a novel, another covering the nuts and bolts of writing it. The first of these is the more interesting – Thomas has a lot to say about story structure and plotting, her feelings on “basic plots”, etc.

You might get more out of this if you work in a genre similar to her – fictional novel, probably literary. For any story, though, if you’re struggling to crystallise your ideas into a story shape, this book provides a thorough exploration, including tables and the like.

There are sections where Thomas spends ages picking apart concepts, rather than ploughing ahead; I also don’t really agree with her about writing strictly “from experience” (and I’m not even a hard fantasy or sci-fi writer). Still, if you want to learn broad story shapes before playing with them, this is interesting foundation stuff, especially as my particular creative writing MA didn’t go into this material in such detail.

Part Two: How Do I Make Their Deaths Beautiful?

The second part, rattling through such piffling items as “sentences” and “characterisation”, isn’t quite as strong, and considering how fast we skip through such large ideas, I’m not sure Thomas is as interested in these aspects. The back half’s still worth a skim, and if you’ve never read any writing books/advice before, you’ll get more from it. But yes, for those of us who have reached the point of starting blogs about writing or doing an MA, a lot of this might sound familiar.

Still, Monkeys With Typewriters gave me a lot to think about in terms of broader plotting and working with themes, I may even try a few of her matrices. I don’t know if this is a single writing book to live by, exactly, but as a solid introduction, it’s intriguing.

Also, if you’re a huge fan of Scarlett Thomas and want an insight into her process, this book is obviously great. But if you fall into that category, you’ve probably already bought it.So, anyone else read this? Did it redefine your writing process?

Genus by Jonathan Trigell – Untimely Book Review

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My book reviews will rarely be prompt, as I read painfully slowly and pick most novels up in the Kindle sale. Nonetheless, I did recently finish one: Genus by Jonathan Trigell. After taking a month to read it, I should get some thoughts down before I forget them, so let’s go!

So, we’re looking at a future London, where society has turned dystopic after genetic modification becomes widespread and physical perfection becomes purchasable. Which, of course, leads to those who can’t afford it becoming a clearly advertised underclass. Crime, corruption and general shouting ensue.

Most of the story takes place among said underclass, specifically the rundown “Kross” region (formerly known as King’s Cross, London), because I suppose it would be dull to watch the pretty people be obnoxiously content. Although if you do want that, you can always watch Made In Chelsea.

This is one of those science-fiction books where the allegory doesn’t exactly hide itself– Trigell is upfront about his fears concerning gene improvement, and the real possibility of that technology helps draw you in. And yet, despite it being a grounded premise, he has a lot of cool (or worrying) ideas about where this would lead.

He’s also using a lot of stark descriptions to convey urban squalor, which I’m on board with, and despite rapid flicks between POV characters, they all have their clear vocabulary and backdrop marked out. Some of the catchphrases to identify certain characters (especially Detective Gunther) get samey, but it does fit his crude, hammering self. I also enjoyed the tangential vignettes.

I wasn’t as taken by the actual story as I was by Trigell’s vision, which is an issue for me (perhaps more than it should be) because I admit to being a very plot-orientated reader and writer. The broad nature of the climax seemed slightly predictable, although the execution meant it never stopped being readable.

So, yes, this is an interesting contemporary sci-fi book if you’re looking for one, and is available on Amazon in the usual formats if the mood strikes you. Let me know below if you’ve read it and have strong opinions. Or any opinions. Everyone is welcome. Why not tell the group how you feel about paying to improve your babies?