Revelation Space Series by Alastair Reynolds

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 3/9/2013 1:31:00 PM

'While this former Welsh astronomer's Revelation Space series has a lot of things going for it, it's unfortunately filled with some terrible writing. Reynolds does science well, as he ought to. He places real limitations drawn from physics on his plot and the actions of his characters. His stories are on the whole engaging and memorable like a lonely archaeological dig on Resurgam, a lifeless arid world that once hosted the civilization of the Amarantin, an evolved bird lik(...)'

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A Red Sun Also Rises by Mark Hodder

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 3/2/2013 1:50:00 PM

'I get the feeling I've read at least one of Hodder's Burton & Swinburne books but when I read the blurb for Spring Heeled Jack, it's a case of tabula rasa. His style however feels strangely familiar or maybe I am just thinking about one of the numerous Victorian fantasy/steampunk oeuvres we've been inundated with. At the beginning of the book, I was actually quite disappointed. It felt like regular old period fiction with vicars in cottages; as if the cover were some kind of sup(...)'

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The Islanders by Christopher Priest

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 2/16/2013 2:47:00 PM

'I have posted some pretty vile things about certain books and writers. But no, I am not about to express remorse for my words. What I am regretful for is the shocking way in which I put away Christopher Priest's islanders after reading a mere 29 words (I reckon it was about three years ago). It was at the start of my current proclivity for alternative fiction. So, I was perhaps not ready. Virginal in my knowledge of fantasy, I denigrated The Islanders by thinking it a mindless sandb(...)'

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Gary Gibson Space Operatic Overdose

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 2/16/2013 1:59:00 PM

'I thought I would review more regularly this year but truth be told, I think I've reached some sort of saturation point. It could also be because of the kind of books I've been reading for the last couple of years. Engaging but certainly not work that I really want to reflect on. I've just reached that stage in my life where I don't want to be subjected to tortured nihilistic characters in refined prose. I just want to escape and space opera is filling that need right now.(...)'

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The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 1/3/2013 1:21:00 PM

'I did say no more catch-up reviews but this is a book that really deserves a few words. The Girl Who is a Wizard of Ozish type fairy tale at first glance but i'ts so much more than that. This is such a sweet, fun story and you just don't want it end (and it doesn't have to because Valente is writing sequels, 4 to be precise). And I must thank the Little Red Reviewer because I tried reading Valente's The Habitation of the Blessed and I couldn't. The fault didn't lie wi(...)'

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The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 1/1/2013 1:07:00 PM

'This is probably going to be the last of my catch-up reviews. There are several more books I haven't written about but I couldn't really be arsed particularly because I have to get back to the daily grind tomorrow. I haven't read anything by Terry Pratchett in yonks and I have never really ventured outside Discworld - I wasn't even aware he'd written non-Discworld books. So The Long Earth piqued my curiosity especially since it's co-authored by the venerable Stephen Baxter.&nbs(...)'

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Succession series: The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds by Scott Westerfield

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/31/2012 2:27:00 PM

'I have recently become a big fan (in others words a genre whore) of space operas. In one sense, I am returning to the space operas of early adolescence. Westerfield's work of course is a completely different species. Those books of my childhood were John Carter-like in their scope and plot. The Succession Series, however, endeavour to present to us a more credible world and yet a universe that is still tinged by enigma. The Risen empire is set thousands of years in the fut(...)'

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Oaxaca Journal by Oliver Sacks

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/30/2012 1:44:00 PM

'I haven't read any of Oliver Sacks' other books. His other work is apparently quite well-known and makes research and insights into neurology (naturally, he's a neurologist) accessible to laypeople. Oaxaca Journal is a diversion of sorts from his usual fare. If I've understood correctly from his preface, it seems the material in the book is mostly from his journal of a trip to the state of Oaxaca in Mexico and was published at a much later date. At the time of this trip, Sacks was 7(...)'

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Beautiful Thing by Sonia Faleiro

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/29/2012 12:18:00 PM

'I feel incredibly guilty that I've waited till the absolute end of the year to post this review. Indian reporter and writer, Sonia Faleiro's Beautiful Thing deserves much better treatment. This is the best work of non-fiction I've read this year, perhaps even the best book period. A lot of other bloggers have their end of the year top ten lists. My own meagre blog can't harbour such delusions of grandeur, at least not yet. But, if I did have a year end chart of best books of the yea(...)'

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Can I interest you in a Sea Bath with Seaman?

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/29/2012 11:00:00 AM

'Chakra Tirtha Road, Puri, Orissa: And if you don't fancy a sea bath with seaman, you can always go in for a gents to gents or a ladies to ladies, whatever that is. Sounds mighty pimpish if you ask me. '

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Night of Knives by Ian C. Esslemont

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/28/2012 3:50:00 PM

'While I was dissatisfied with Black Bottle, I am really disappointed with Night of Knives. I'd heard so much of the Malazan Empire series and I was champing at the bit to get into it and I tried especially hard to start with the very first one so I'd be completely clued into all the what's its and who's whats. And while I understand the whole dope about how Steven Erikson and Esslemont have created a shared fictional world; and how Esslemont, a Canadian writer, is building(...)'

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Our Lady of Alice Bhatti by Mohammed Hanif

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/27/2012 7:34:00 AM

'It feels like I read this book eons ago. It was actually several months ago but time enough to dilute the reasons why I completely adored it. I can't offer more than vague justification for Our Lady of Alice Bhatti's uber-coolness but this is an exceptionally well-written work. Pakistani writers like Daniyal Mueenuddin seem to have an uncanny ability to craft incisive, goose-bump creating prose. Hanif takes it to a completely different level blending his sharp observations with(...)'

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The Corpse-Rat King by Lee Battersby

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/27/2012 3:06:00 AM

'Marius, a serial opportunist, is out scavenging corpses on a battlefield with his dimwitted apprentice Gerd when he spots the mother load - a dead king in full regalia. Marius quickly divests the deceased sovereign of his crown and other possessions, only to find that Gerd has been seen by soldiers. Gerd is quickly executed while Marius hides among the dead. Escape though is not so easily sought as a dead solider mistakes him for the late king and whisks him away to the realm of the(...)'

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Black Bottle by Anthony Huso

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/26/2012 3:45:00 PM

'I always manage to pick the worst possible book to take with me on holiday. I was in Orissa last week - not the most action-packed of places but I wasn't really worried because I had already resigned myself to filling my time on a sun chair next to the pool with an absorbing book. I had two poolside companions: Black Bottle by Anthony Huso and The Night of Knives by Ian C. Esslemont. And both left me wondering what the fuck was going on.  I still have about 50 pages to finish i(...)'

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The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/25/2012 3:16:00 AM

'Colfer's Artemis Fowl series was well-written and entertaining for the most part. The Supernaturalist makes you feel like he's run out of ideas. At the heart of this sci-fi Oliver Twist tale is Cosmo Hill, christened after Cosmonaut Hill - the place where he is found abandoned as a baby. Satellite City, the setting for the story, is a partially dystopian place controlled by a large corporation and its low orbit, failing satellite.  Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Chall(...)'

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The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/24/2012 1:31:00 PM

'When I was at University, I did a presentation in French class (I had a minor in French - tragique non?) on Nicholas Flamel. This was over a decade ago well before The Alchemyst was published. I got the idea from the very first Harry Potter book which you may recall revolved around a certain philosopher's stone crafted by a French gentleman named Nicholas Flamel. In case you don't remember, this reenactment by some Spanish kids in Spanish (completely random) might jog your memory:&n(...)'

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An Irreverent Curiosity by David Farley

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/23/2012 8:28:00 AM

'This is going to be the first in a series of catch-up posts. I read some of these books over six months ago so no promises about comprehensiveness or even accuracy. My memory might not be as sparkly and sharp as it once was but it's indeed difficult to forget a book with a subject like An Irreverent Curiosity. Its subtitle "In search of the Church's strangest relic Italy's oddest town" should give you a hint. Any guesses what this strangest relic could be? Why it's the holy prepuce (...)'

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The Outcast Chronicles by Daniela Cory Daniells

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/22/2012 6:30:00 AM

'weI find myself judging fantasy books far more frequently by their covers than I do with other genres. There is unfortunately a certain strain of fantasy fiction that I completely dislike. The contents of these novels often figure rehashed and reheated breeds from traditional fantasy; elves, dwarfs, Celtic warriors, bearded ladies etc. along with the more contemporary and ever-popular undead, both of the fanged and the brainless variety. The plots of such tales usually revolve aroun(...)'

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The Goat, the Sofa and Mr. Swami by R. Chandrashekar

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 12/9/2012 2:43:00 AM

'I haven't read Indian fiction in the longest time. Prefix Indian fiction with "engaging" and longest turns into the grammatical form violating "most longestest". The Goat, the Sofa and Mr. Swami was recommended by a colleague at work from the smallish collection of books that my team maintains to ambush unsuspecting non-readers. The short bio on the inside cover blathered on about pricing commodities, derivatives, bonds and portfolios. Another financial wanker trying his hand at wri(...)'

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Humanity's Fire Trilogy by Michael Cobley

Author : Adi      Blog : Words Uttered in Haste      Date : 11/18/2012 12:53:00 PM

'Among the many books that I have been avariciously lapping up and lackadaisically not writing about was James A. Corey's magnificent space opera Leviathan Wakes, upon completion of which I quickly stuck my black-headed nose into its sequel Caliban's War. James A Corey, by the by, is the nom de plume of a science fiction duet, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (yes, the same Abraham I dissed for his less than adequate efforts at epic fantasy in The Dragon's Path). It's hard to b(...)'

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