Tag Archives: Jay Lake

King of the Kingless by Jay Lake

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: King of the Kingless
Author: Jay Lake
In: Hex in the City (Kerrie L. Hughes)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Short story
Year: 2013

Thoughts

It may not have been the best time in my life to read this story – a tale of a wizard who is dying from cancer. But, even though it was a little bit close to home at the moment, it was so well written that I still thoroughly enjoyed this and couldn’t stop thinking about this tale. Even though he’s sick and about to say goodbye to the life that he’s led, he still continues to try and protect his very misguided “way” of life.

I love that in this story, witches are light and life. Whilst the men are just kind of… mired in shit. As a woman, I loved that this was the separation of genders. Plus, it was a reminder that power doesn’t always come from being positive and giving of life, but, in the case of the wizards, it is about giving up things in life. I definitely like the witches’ approach to magic and power much better.

Valdimir as a leader and mentor is so incredibly toxic that I couldn’t even. I feel like, without his leadership and with the influence of the witch, there is much more hope for all of the characters in this story. At least, I finished this short story with a feeling of hope.

<- Hex in the CitySpeechless in Seattle ->

Image source: Goodreads

Westward Weird edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Kerrie Hughes

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Overview
Image result for westward weird book cover

Title: Westward Weird
Author: Martin H. Greenberg, Kerrie Hughes, Jay Lake, Larry D. Sweazy, Anton Strout, Seanan McGuire, Brenda Cooper, Christopher McKitterick, Steven Saus, Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Jennifer Brozek, J. Steven York, Jeff Mariotte & Jody Lynn Nye
In: Westward Weird (Martin H. Greenberg & Kerrie Hughes)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Short story collections, Weird western
Dates read: 15th June – 14th November 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Daw Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: She pulled the last of the pins free and shook out her hair.

Synopsis

When you were a kid did you long to put on your cowboy boots, belt on your guns, saddle up, and ride off to find adventures? Did you sit glued to the TV watching The Lone Ranger, Marverick, bonanza, The Wild Wild West, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. and Firefly, to name just a few of the many series that have been popular over the last sixty years? And were you caught up in movies like Outlands, Time Bandits, Serenity, or Back to the Future Part III? If so, Westward Weird is the book for you.

The thirteen original stories included here ride a very broad range between science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal – and all of htem are told from a Wild West perspective. So get ready for some good old-fashioned adventure as:

  • The Old Gods cross paths in the Old West
  • Two thieves are given a job they can’t refuse, but no one told them they’d encounter aliens along the way
  • A mining family never expected their claim to be jumped from parallel universes
  • A Mars colony may be about to find out exactly how the West was won
  • Cowboys will be hard-pressed to ride herd on the living dead
Thoughts

This was a fantastic collection that introduced me to a genre that I never really knew existed – Weird westerns. I absolutely loved it. Whilst I haven’t really been getting into Westerns all that much, I most definitely love the science fiction and fantasy spin to the topic. Now I have a whole new genre to read and things to fill my shelves with… that wish list just keeps on growing.

Now that I’ve read this collection, I need to find a few weird western full-length novels. After all, it’s a genre that I’ve most definitely fallen in love with and want even more of. I can’t wait to read more and more weird westerns and fill my brain with all sorts of cyborg wild west stories. Tales of werewolves and vampires. And just…. Fun.

This is a fantastic collection that not only fits great into my shelf of books that I already own, but it also introduced me to a great new sub-genre, authors and just… fun. Now I need to save up some money to get some of the books that this has left on my wishlist…

<- Lone WolfThe Temptation of Eustace Prudence McAllen ->

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The Temptation of Eustace Prudence McAllen by Jay Lake

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for westward weird book cover

Title: The Temptation of Eustace Prudence McAllen
Author: Jay Lake
In: Westward Weird (Martin H. Greenberg & Kerrie Hughes)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Demons, Weird western, Westerns
Dates read: 16th June 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Daw Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: His shout smoked the air blue and called dark clouds into swirling overhead.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

Eustace Prudence McAllen is being blamed for the fires being set in his town. So he goes on a ride to find out what is starting the fires in Hell’s Kitchen….

Thoughts

I really liked the way that this story was told more in the traditional oral style. It was like a conversation with the narrator. Even including some not-so-veiled insults throughout for interrupting the flow of narration. It was really quite clever, and whilst not out and out hilarious, it was quite entertaining. And left me smiling throughout.

This story combines fires, the devil and cattle. Cattle rustling and cattle farming. It had all the elements of what I picture when I think Western… but included with that is also Lucifer and the problems that a conversation with The Devil come with. Actually, throughout this whole story, all I could think about was stories of deals at crossroads and the song The Devil Went Down to Georgia. There was just this great, hauntingly familiar feel to the story line. One that felt a little like coming home.

This wasn’t a hilarious short story. But it was an entertaining and slightly funny one. Mostly through the voice of the narrator – the narrator added an extra sense of flair and humour to the story line that I really wasn’t expecting. And honestly, I just really enjoyed this unique take on a Western story.

<- Westward WeirdThe Last Master of Aeronautical Winters ->

Image source: Amazon

The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk edited by Sean Wallace

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Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of dieselpunk book cover

Title: The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk
Author: Sean Wallace, Jay Lake, Shannon Page, Carrie Vaughn, Anatoly Belilovsky, E. Catherine Tobler, Jeremiah Tolbert, Brian Trent, Rachel Nussbaum, Trent Hergenrader, Gwynne Garfinkle, Genevieve Valentine, Joseph Ng, A.C. Wise, Kim Lakin-Smith, Nick Mamatas, Costi Gurgu, Tony Pi, Cirilo S. Lemos, Erin M. Hartshorn, Dan Rabarts, Mark Robert Philips, Catherine Schaff-Stump & Laurie Tom
Series: Mammoth Books
In: The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Dieselpunk, Science fiction, Short story collections
Dates read: 18th March 2019 – 25th March 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: The gremlins will be inside everything given long enough and they just want out.

Synopsis

21 tales of anarchic diesel mayhem. 88 From multiple Hugo Award-winning editor Sean Wallace, a new, cutting-edge anthology of twenty-one vibrant stories that explore the possibilities of history, while sweeping readers into high-powered, hydrocarbon-fuelled adventures that merge elements of noir, pulp, and the past with the technology of today… and sometimes a dash of the occult.

Journey into an era when engines were huge, fuel was plentiful and cheap, and steel and chrome overlaid the grit and grease of powerful machines!

Includes stories by Erin Hartshorn, Trent Hergenrader, Tony Pi, Catherine Schaff-Stump, E. Catherine Tobler, Jeremiah Tolbert, Laurie Tom, Genevieve Valentine, A. C. Wise and many more.

Thoughts

I’ve recently started to thoroughly enjoy steampunk. But this was my first excursion into Dieselpunk. And what an excellent introduction this proved to be! I was enthralled, mystified and totally sunk into some of the stories in this collection. And although it might not be my favourite collection of short stories… it certainly ranks up there.

I found this collection a lot darker than steampunk collections. There is just something about Dieselpunk that is a little more critical, and a little less optimistic than steampunk. Or at least, that’s how I’m finding it. Not that that was a bad thing, but this was certainly a darker collection than the steampunk collections and novels that have been filling my shelves lately.

As much as I loved these short stories, I did take a long time to read this collection. Mostly because I had to be in a pretty specific mindset to actually read them. There is something a little less approachable and more intense about this genre that I both loved and also found a little hard to factor into my daily reading schedules.

<- The Mammoth Book of Dickensian WhodunnitsRolling Steel: A Pre-Apocalyptic Love Story ->

Image source: Running Press

Rolling Steel: A Pre-Apocalyptic Love Story by Jay Lake & Shannon Page

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of dieselpunk book cover

Title: Rolling Steel: A Pre-Apocalyptic Love Story
Author: Jay Lake & Shannon Page
In: The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Dieselpunk, Easy reading, Romance
Dates read: 12th March 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: He squinted into the depths of night through the prism that made up Rough Besat’s forward vision block, watching for the mill which loomed close, its fires never banked.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

A pre-apocalyptic love stories are just so hard to come by. Except for this one… this one is brilliant and beautiful.

Thoughts

This is my first ever dieselpunk story. And it was a really good, fun introduction to the subgenre. This was kind of funny, very fast-paced and had a slightly pragmatic love story throughout. Alright, it’s not the kind of romance that will make you clutch your chest and sigh, but it is one that makes you have a little giggle and grin at the end.

I loved the jumpiness of this storyline. It flicks between the two leads and in this completely alters the way in which the narrative is told. From a completely sane, but obviously slightly unhinged female, to a bat-shit insane male as they rocket through space to do… well, I’m not really sure what. But I loved all of the action regardless!

<- The Mammoth Book of DieselpunkDon Quixote ->

Image source: Running Press

The Mammoth Book of Steampunk edited by Sean Wallace

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Overview
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

Title: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk
Author: Sean Wallace, Ekaterina Sedia, Jeff VanderMeer, Caitlin R. Kiernan, E. Catherine Tobler, Jay Lake, Genevieve Valentine, Cat Rambo, Shweta Narayan, Aliette de Bodard, N.K. Jemisin, Peter M. Ball, Sharon Mock, Catherynne M. Valente, Alex Dally MacFarlane, Eileen Gunn, Michael Swanwick, Tobias S. Buckell, Matthew Kressel, Margo Lanagan, Amal El-Mohtar, Barth Anderson, Jeffrey Ford, James Morrow, Cherie Priest, Margaret Ronald, Megan Arkenberg, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Mary Robinette Kowal, Samantha Henderson, Nick Mamatas, Nicole Kornher-Stace & Lavie Tidhar
Series: Mammoth Books
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Short story collections, Steampunk
Dates read: 3rd October 2018 – 6th March 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: He was in his library, or so he called it, a small room that smelled of pipe tobacco and old leather, so close that one could barely breathe.

Synopsis

30 anarchic mash-ups of past and future that push the boundaries of steampunk.

Great steampunk stories confront an uneasy history of oppression – of women, other ‘races’ and classes – and the abuse of science, by reimagining the past. The writers represented in this outsatnding collection look to the future through the lens of the past, imagining worlds in which technology is used to uplift rather than to oppress.

Thoughts

I’ve only recently gotten involved in steampunk. It’s a genre that I only started reading late last year and one that I kind of love. Although, as I discovered with this collection of short stories, it is also a genre that I have to concentrate a little more to read (unlike genre such as romance).

This anthology runs the gambit of steampunk stories and brings a number of themes, styles and settings to life. It is a perfect way to completely disappear from the world after a long day. Although, with many of the themes, once you have finished the story you are thrown back into reality ten times more heavily than you were before. After all, most of these stories have a great commentary about the world that we live in today.

From capitalism to feminist movements, every major issue and discussion that seems to be occurring in modern society is touched upon in this collection. Yet, these aren’t all serious commentaries on the world. Some of the stories are kind of hilarious, and some are downright weird. The one thing that they all have in common is that they are thoroughly enjoyable and have helped to give me a new addiction.

<- The TraitorSteampunk: Looking to the Future Through the Lens of the Past ->

Image source: Amazon

Tom Edison and His Amazing Telegraphic Harpoon by Jay Lake

Book Review, , , ,

Overview

The Mammoth Book of SteampunkTitle: Tom Edison and His Amazing Telegraphic Harpoon
Author: Jay Lake
In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Adventure, Steampunk, Wild west
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: Legendary as they were, there were no whispered tales of the might monsters’ defeat in battle.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

Tom Edison and his friend Salmon face up against one of the Nephilm. With a telegraphic harpoon in The Age of Reason.

Thoughts

Well. This was not what I was expecting. I thought something that featured Tom Edison would be a lot more concise and filled with a little less fantasy. But it was like a mad, crazy wild western tale that featured someone who is completely obsessed with electricity.

It wasn’t until the very end that I figured out why Edison and Salmon’s relationship was kind of secretive. It almost had homosexual undertones to it. Then, in the final pages, he was called ‘negro’. And, seeing as this is based in the wild west, I completely understood it. And it made this story all the better for me. I loved that this was fast-paced and filled with action. That it also touches on racism just made it all the better in my eyes.

 <- Icebreaker Review The Zeppelin Conductors’ Society Annual Gentlemen’s Ball Review ->
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