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dsrtao_The Rook_, Daniel O'Malley
Is there a more traditional opening than having the protagonist wake up with major amnesia, knowing nothing of their identity, training or abilities? Yes, there is: the protagonist is orphaned, but one day is whisked away to an odd academy. Oh, and being the One of prophesy is good, too.
Aspects of all of these happen in _The Rook_, and it's a first novel, so it should be crap. Instead, it's a tightly-written thriller along the lines of _The Bourne Identity_, only with magic instead of guns and the British Occult Defense Force (of whatever title) rather than the CIA. Oh, and it works in some of the best casual humor I've seen in a fantasy in quite a long time. I'm looking forward to O'Malley's next book, whatever it happens to be. I doubt a sequel is forthcoming: the loose ends are all tied up and snipped off here.
_The Mirage_, Matt Ruff
In a world where the United States of Arabia is the civilizing superpower, and the continent of North America is a fractured mess of fundamentalist Christian crusaders and barely competent dictators, everybody except our few focus characters has a name you should recognize from the news in the last three decades. It's an alternate universe that superficially looks good but becomes less convincing as you examine the details, and that's the hook for the real story.
This should appeal to Neal Stephenson fans; it has much of his style about it, the casually breezy explanations, the characters that come with interesting backstories, the major puzzle with the satisfying explanation... and the almost complete lack of an ending. There's something called an epilogue, but it doesn't help. Grade A right up until then, though.
_The Throne of the Crescent Moon_, Saladin Ahmed
Here's the story of the last of the great Ghul Hunters, men who wielded the magic entrusted to them by The Most High, whose robes stayed white no matter the mud or dust surrounding them. And he's not getting any younger, so when ghuls more powerful than any man living has seen start showing up, he needs the help of a sword-wielding dervish and a Bedouin were-lion, not to mention wise and powerful alchemists and perhaps the apothecary in the marketplace... it's a modern tale from the Thousand Nights and a Night. Fun.
Is there a more traditional opening than having the protagonist wake up with major amnesia, knowing nothing of their identity, training or abilities? Yes, there is: the protagonist is orphaned, but one day is whisked away to an odd academy. Oh, and being the One of prophesy is good, too.
Aspects of all of these happen in _The Rook_, and it's a first novel, so it should be crap. Instead, it's a tightly-written thriller along the lines of _The Bourne Identity_, only with magic instead of guns and the British Occult Defense Force (of whatever title) rather than the CIA. Oh, and it works in some of the best casual humor I've seen in a fantasy in quite a long time. I'm looking forward to O'Malley's next book, whatever it happens to be. I doubt a sequel is forthcoming: the loose ends are all tied up and snipped off here.
_The Mirage_, Matt Ruff
In a world where the United States of Arabia is the civilizing superpower, and the continent of North America is a fractured mess of fundamentalist Christian crusaders and barely competent dictators, everybody except our few focus characters has a name you should recognize from the news in the last three decades. It's an alternate universe that superficially looks good but becomes less convincing as you examine the details, and that's the hook for the real story.
This should appeal to Neal Stephenson fans; it has much of his style about it, the casually breezy explanations, the characters that come with interesting backstories, the major puzzle with the satisfying explanation... and the almost complete lack of an ending. There's something called an epilogue, but it doesn't help. Grade A right up until then, though.
_The Throne of the Crescent Moon_, Saladin Ahmed
Here's the story of the last of the great Ghul Hunters, men who wielded the magic entrusted to them by The Most High, whose robes stayed white no matter the mud or dust surrounding them. And he's not getting any younger, so when ghuls more powerful than any man living has seen start showing up, he needs the help of a sword-wielding dervish and a Bedouin were-lion, not to mention wise and powerful alchemists and perhaps the apothecary in the marketplace... it's a modern tale from the Thousand Nights and a Night. Fun.
