Thursday 9 January 2020

My modern fantasy challenge update Part One

Nearly three years ago, I talked about an idea I'd first had the year before - My Modern Fantasy Challenge. Me finding out what was happening in fantasy while I'd stayed put with the books of my 

Given how long has passed, I figured it was time to let people know how it actually went.

Out of that list, here's the nine I decided to make the challenge (I have also finished books by another three and DNF books by eight).

Miles Cameron
Scott Lynch
Naomi Novik
Jen Williams
Erin Morgenstern
Brian McClellan
Brandon Sanderson
Robert Jackson Bennett
Ben Aaronovitch

Why that nine? Honestly, most of it was based on what was easily found. My mum actually had a copy of Rivers of London. Thanks to Fantasy Faction, I had a big interest in Jen Williams' work and Miles Cameron's books sounded like they were made for me - both were in the library. Also in the library - admittedly, along with a lot of things that I could have picked instead - were The Night Circus and The Crimson CampaignThe Lies of Locke Lamora and The Final Empire were on kindle sale. I forget where I found City of Stairs but I suspect that was library too. Naomi Novik's Temeraire was the one book I actively sought out, because Napoleonic War Dragons is a 10/10 concept.

I was reasonably happy that it represented a good cross section of the genre too. Vaguely medieval vaguely epic fantasy made up a third of the list. There's an interesting tranche of historical and urban fantasy, a slight focus on the Napoleonic period, some crime, some mystery and some heist. A bit of everything. Some form of female gender representation; not a lot of ethnic diversity though.

So what did I think of those 9 books:

Miles Cameron's The Red Knight: I was impressed by it. It was like someone had crossed Bernard Cornwell with Robert Jordan; it thrummed with intensity and intrigue and carnage. It did have a weakness to my mind in that it started with a plot and cast like Path of Daggers, something I didn't like in a series I liked, nevermind a series I was just beginning. I also could have done without the Captal de Buch, who's the sort of character who I simply want erased, not beaten. Still, I eagerly sought out the next book after The Red Knight but I found that The Fell Sword doubled down on the things I disliked and spent less time on the parts I did like, so I dropped the series there.

Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora: This is simply one of the best fantasy books I've read. The writing is witty and evocative, the characters compelling, and the plot as cunning as a fox who's just been appointed professor of cunning at Oxford University. It's probably the best example that humanistic stories veering between comedy and drama set in fantasy settings can be great since Pratchett. I haven't got around to continuing in the series because... well, first it was because I thought it was in the library, but I can't see it now so I should just go out and get it. Probably will when the TBR list runs low.

Naomi Novik's Temeraire: A cross between Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern and Hornblower, this book is quality entertainment fantasy but there was something a little missing for me about the series. I'd read the book, enjoy it, then move on without thinking. My mum's read a bunch of them but I only got as far as Throne of Jade. Again, that's something I'll probably rectify before too long. The why of this? At first I thought its the character, but now I'm developing a theory that its very hard to do good military fiction if internal struggles are not a big part of the story. That's some Cornwell got but not necessarily everyone else. And I didn't really get that from the Temeraire series.

Jen Williams' The Copper Promise: I struggled hard with this book and barely finished it. The high adventure concept appealed to me but there was too much action and not enough character time, and what there was of it didn't sell me on the idea that I cared about them. It intrigued me enough to read a long way through but I was on-off on it. It also intrigued me enough to pick up The Ninth Rain, the first book of her next trilogy, which I enjoyed and thought was a great example of the sort of adventure fantasy that the genre seems a little light on at times. 

Erin Morgernstern's The Night Circus: This was a treat. There are very, very few writers who can entertain me when mostly describing places and ideas. I love those things, but character and dialogue are my meat and drink. Morgenstern can pull it off. The concept of the Night Circus itself good, the sort of fairytale-esque thing that serves to illustrate the genre's depth. I wish she'd spent more time exploring the complexities of her main characters as I think that'd have made this book perfect but it was still great.

Brian McClellan's The Crimson Campaign: Yes, I know, midway through the trilogy. That's what they had in the library and I believe that with good authors, you'll still have an enjoyable read. Which is what I had here. It's the precision blend of intrigue, action, and characters havering at themselves that makes epic fantasy so more-ish for me and I didn't hate the whole set it in a Napoleonic era to say the least. There was nothing about it that I'd rave about, but I do mean to read the rest of them at some point... which I feel is a common comment that I'll have to explain at some point.

Brandon Sanderson's The Final Empire: If I had not set this challenge, if I didn't have respect for his reputation, I'd have never finished this book. Sanderson's writing voice simply doesn't sit right with me and that there is a killer for me. I forced myself through it and found myself admiring his character dynamics, his plotting - but as I discovered when he wrote Mat Cauthon, his sense of humour and mine are a significant enough distance apart. A shame.

Robert Jackson Bennett's City of Stairs: My true opinions on present tense in fiction are not repeatable in polite society. The fact that I finished and enjoyed this book should therefore say everything about how much I rate this book. The mix of mystery, religion and post-colonial society is compelling; the plot's one of the best I've read. I just wish it hadn't been in present tense. That's why I haven't continued this series. But to everyone else looking for something that's full of the stuff of fantasy yet full of mortal concerns - look here.

Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London: I mentioned that my mother had a copy; I'm pretty sure that's because I brought it for her. It took me a while to read it because I've grown out of the nasty habit of reading people's gifts before I gave it to them. That's the right thing to do but it cost me on finding out on a very good book. It does feel like London; an important thing to me. And its got the right amount of humour to be funny without being a farce. Another series I've meant to follow up on at the library but never seem to find the right book.

That's part one. Part two will talk about the rest of the books I've read from authors on the list and some conclusions.

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