The Book Plank

Cassandra by Ken Liu, Clarkesworld #102 [no synopsis available]   A while ago I read Ken Liu's The Paper Menagerie and was taken by the emotional and powerful story. It really put me to thinking. I have been following his recent short story publications and found that he recently featured in this Clarkesworld issue 102 , a SF/F magazine I only found out recently. So without any pre-knowledge about the story (no synopsis available), I jumped in. And again a winner. Believe me.  The first thing that I had when I started reading Cassandra was confusion. But confusion in a good way. Ken Liu begins his story with a quote followed by a current event on tv followed by the perspective of the main protagonist of the story. Which I think is called Cassandra, a her. On the tv there is a scene where a superhero (Yes a story about superheroes!) named "Showboat" mention specifically to Cassandra that villainy doesn't pay. Yup, you follow the perspective of a villain in th...

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson, Reckoners #2 They told David it was impossible--that even the Reckoners had never killed a High Epic. Yet, Steelheart--invincible, immortal, unconquerable--is dead. And he died by David's hand. Eliminating Steelheart was supposed to make life more simple. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And there's no one in Newcago who can give him the answers he needs. Babylon Restored, the old borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic, Regalia, David is sure Babylon Restored will lead him to what he needs to find. And while entering another city oppressed by a High Epic despot is a gamble, David's willing to risk it. Because killing Steelheart left a hole in David's heart. A hole where his thirst for vengeance once lived. Somehow, he filled that hole with another Epic--Firefight. And he's willing to go on a quest darker, and more dangerous even, than the fight ...

Competition Time: Win Firefight and Steelheart One of my current favorite YA series has to be Reckoners from Brandon Sanderson. I markerd Steelheart as one of my favorites of 2014. It really shines a new light on the term of superhero fiction. Firefight is released today in the UK and because of this reason Gollancz is offering you to win both Firefight and Steelheart physical format.  In order for you to be eligible to enter tweet this link to me, RT my own tweet or send me an email at thebookplank [at] gmail [dot] com change the words in the brackets to the symbols. Please note that the competition is only open to UK participants.  I will pick a winner at random after the weekend. Below you can find the excerpts of the books: Steelheart Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire...

Super by Ernie Lindsey "Every hero's journey has a beginning, middle, and end...I am that end." A world mourning a fallen superhero. A president targeted for assassination. A conspiracy that runs deeper than anyone expects. Leo Craft is the best at what he does; he assassinates superheroes, but only the ones who deserve it. Life is good, simple, until an ultra-secretive government agency hires Leo to execute two impossible tasks: eliminate the world's foremost superhero, Patriotman, and hunt down a fellow assassin whose target is the President of the United States. When everyone wears a mask, trust is hard to come by - and even the elusive truth can be caught in a web of lies. If there is one theme in fantasy that is well represented in modern fiction be it TV or comics or books is the superhero theme. If you analyze most of these stories, it often comes down to one thing: a superhero or team therefore that set out to save planet Earth or the universe itself...

Author interview with Ernie Lindsey Author bio: Ernie Lindsey grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia, working on the family farm and reading, and has spent his life telling stories to anyone that will listen. He currently works as a freelance writer and is the author of five Mystery & Suspense novels and numerous short stories. When he's not writing, you can find him tackling the gigantic To Be Read list on his Kindle or the never-ending stack of books in his office. Ernie and his family live in Oregon, along with a multi-fingered Hemingway cat named Luna.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Ernie, welcome over at The Book Plank and for taking your time to answer these few questions for us. BP: First off, can you give us a short introduction as to who Ernie Lindsey is? What are your hobbies, like and dislikes? EL: Thanks for having me, Jasper! It’s funny how I tend to define myself by what I...

Wild Cards III: Jokers Wild by George R.R. Marin & The Wild Card Trust, Wild Cards #3 The streets of New York have erupted in celebration of Wild Card Day-the annual event held every September 15th to remember the dead and cherish the living. It is a day for fireworks and street fairs and parades, for political rallies and memorial banquets, for drinking and fighting in the alleys. With each passing year, the festivities become larger and more fevered. And this year-1986, the fortieth anniversary-promises to be the biggest and best Wild Card Day ever. The media and tourists have discovered the celebration, and taverns and restaurants expect record-setting business. But lurking in the background is a twisted genius who cares nothing for fun and festivity. The Astronomer has only one concern: destruction. The Wild Cards series has been on my to read list for quiet some time now, I haven't read the first book in the series yet but jumped right into the fray with Insi...

The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar They'd never meant to be heroes. For seventy years they'd guarded the British Empire. Oblivion and Fogg, inseparable at first, bound together by a shared fate. Until a night in Berlin, in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a secret that tore them apart. But there must always be an account... and the past has a habit of catching up to the present. Recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowledged heroism, a life of dusty corridors and secret rooms; of furtive meetings and blood-stained fields, to answer one last, impossible question: What makes a hero? If you drop the name Lavie Tidhar to anyone who is reading science fiction or fantasy they are bound to say, isn't he the guy that won the 2012 World Fantasy Awards with his book Osama ? Yes you are correct. Now I have been unfortunate in not having been able to read it, but when I s...

Vicious by Victoria Schwab Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be lef...

Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines, Ex-Heroes #2 It's been two years since the plague of ex-humans spread through the world, and the last of America's superheroes continue to hold the line against the undead... but even they can't hold out forever. Hope comes in the form of a military drone bringing new of 'Project Krypton'. But will salvation come at a price? Ex-Patriots is the second book in the Ex-Heroes series written by Peter Clines. The first book in the series, Ex-Heroes, introduced us to quite some cool stuff. The first being superheroes, the second being zombies and not to forget chock-full of action! In Ex-Heroes , Peter Clines had created a interesting view upon both genres and his envisioned superheroes weren't cliche at all, he gave each one of them a bit of twists and turns (and yes, you will undoubtly see familiarities with the more famous ones). But Peter Clines does drop a few humorous and mocking hints in the story.  In Ex-Patriots the story ...