TheEvilKing Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Almost done with this one. . .The absence of Mr. T is acutely felt, I must say! :PPretty good overall, thus far. Although the grand finale will determine just how good. On the downside, Newton is guilty of the same offense that so many readers found offputting in R. Scott Bakker's The Prince of Nothing: Too much introspection on the characters' part, which at times bogs down the narrative and gets in the way of the story.More later,PatrickSounds like you messed up bit time, Newton.I will be reading this 'lame book' (as people are calling it) just to see if all the introspecting is as horrific as everyone says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCN Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Sounds like you messed up bit time, Newton.I will be reading this 'lame book' (as people are calling it) just to see if all the introspecting is as horrific as everyone says.Introspection: that crime from which I cannot recover. (Am I being introspective now? Oh the irony.) I might as well burn my laptop now and be done with it.Enjoy my car-crash of a novel, EvilKing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEvilKing Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I'll enjoy it just to spite you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Just read Mark's first novel. Realised I could have boosted its sales by 300% by pointing out it has teh lesbians in it (with a twist). Might go back and mention it :)When I read Nights of Villjamur a few weeks back, I noted that the book was being marketed as the author's debut. However, I had noticed Mark Newton's name on another book in my local Waterstones. Some research quickly revealed that Nights is actually the author's second novel. The first, The Reef, was published last year by small UK publisher Pendragon. Having enjoyed Nights, I decided to give it a whirl.In the city of Escha, a scientist named Manolin is trapped in a difficult marriage with a demanding and paranoid wife. When his mentor and friend Santiago DeBrelt suggests an ocean trip to investigate distressing news from a scientist on the island of Arya, Manolin leaps at the chance and soon a disparate crew of researchers are on their way to the distant island. Meanwhile, in the city of Rhoam, a rumel woman named Jella is putting into operation a plan years in the making, a plan to avenge herself on Escha, the city which destroyed her life and that of her people. Her mission takes her and her companions to the coast, and to a ship bound for Arya...The Reef is an intriguing novel. Although the events that unfold have potentially huge ramifications for the continent of Has-jahn and the rest of the world, it's largely a small-scale story focusing on the island of Arya and those who visit it. Whilst the novel is apparently about a mystery - who is behind a spate of murders on the island - it's actually much more of a character study, particularly looking at the dynamics of relationships and desire. The book succeeds admirably at both tasks, with the mystery unfolding satisfyingly and the book's comments on relationships interesting and thought-provoking. Manolin is a sympathetic but flawed protagonist, and his companions are also well-drawn, as are Jella's crew of terrorists (although I'd like to have learned more about the enigmatic and lethal Allocen). Whilst Newton's prose has improved since The Reef, it's still nicely different to a lot of fantasy books out there, with its poised manners and stylistic speech inflections reminiscent of Victorian fiction. The worldbuilding is also top-notch. As far as I can tell, The Reef is set on the same world as Nights of Villjamur (they share the non-human race of the rumel), but in a more distant location, maybe the other side of the world, since none of the locations in either book is mentioned in the other. The 'Dying Earth' feel Newton is looking for with this world of ancient, forgotten technology is again successfully achieved here.The biggest drawback to the book is that the ending is somewhat abrupt. It feels like the plot is building to something quite big, and whilst the events of the end of the book are undeniably large in scale, they also feel a lot more perfunctory than they should. In particular, the meeting of the two sets of characters is brief and somewhat unsatisfying (although with a nice twist). That said, the final chapter is quite well-written and leaves the reader feeling somewhat uneasy.The Reef (****) is a very solid and enjoyable fantasy which achieves the enviable task of not actually feeling like an overt fantasy despite the near-constant presence of nonhuman species and fantastical concepts. It is available now from Pendragon Press in the UK, but not as far as I can tell in the USA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedles Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 My pre-order is being packaged. I'm getting excited. Hopefully I'll have it early next week and can lash into it. Saying that, it's a long weekend here next weekend, so in a perfect world, I'll have it Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCN Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Thanks for reviewing that, Wert. I'd almost forgotten about it: I wrote it four years ago when I was a mere whippersnapper at 23/24, very consciously under that New Weird (shh, it's dead!) banner. To clear things up: it is set in the same world, although a few hundred thousand years before anything in the Red Sun books, so it's very isolated in that sense. They are separate. Depending on how much of a career I get out of all this, there might be room for expansion backwards in the time line, who knows.Oh, and I'll be at Forbidden Planet, London, on Thursday 4th June 6 – 7pm signing copies of NIGHTS, if anyone really has nothing better to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie McBride Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 When will the paperback be out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Oh, and I'll be at Forbidden Planet, London, on Thursday 4th June 6 – 7pm signing copies of NIGHTS, if anyone really has nothing better to do.I wonder if I'll have my copy by then. If so, I'll drop by after work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCN Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 When will the paperback be out?A very good question, Mr McBride. To which I don't know the answer. Publishing usually works by putting at least nine months to a year between hardcover and paperback, if that's anything to go by. I wonder if I'll have my copy by then. If so, I'll drop by after work.If you do (and I think some venues already have it on the interwebs), I'll be sure to devalue it significantly by scribbling on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I wonder if I'll have my copy by then. If so, I'll drop by after work.Cool. You planning to come to the Abercrombie one the day after? The BwB London will be out in (relative) force for that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCN Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Cool. You planning to come to the Abercrombie one the day after? The BwB London will be out in (relative) force for that one.Unfortunately I won't be there for that one - such is the problem living 2 hours from London... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Other than work, I don't have anything better to do either so will probably turn up. Hopefully Amazon will do a better job in delivering the book than they are "Best served Cold".Mark probably wont be able to hold a pint on Friday anyhow what with the RSI from heavy duty signing (first time?). I hope he carries out the recommended stretches before and after or his typing for book two could be set back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie McBride Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 A very good question, Mr McBride. To which I don't know the answer. Publishing usually works by putting at least nine months to a year between hardcover and paperback, if that's anything to go by.I was asking because sometime it's less than that, for example The Painted Man was out in paperback just seven months after the release in hardcover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCN Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Mark probably wont be able to hold a pint on Friday anyhow what with the RSI from heavy duty signing (first time?). I hope he carries out the recommended stretches before and after or his typing for book two could be set back.This will indeed be my first signing, though I'm confident my wrist is up to the job... I was asking because sometime it's less than that, for example The Painted Man was out in paperback just seven months after the release in hardcover.Yes, it's a good point. Entirely up to the whim of publishers, and can change to fit in with promotional plans, budgets etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidan Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 This will indeed be my first signing, though I'm confident my wrist is up to the job...Feeling lonely these days, Mark? :stunned: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 If you do (and I think some venues already have it on the interwebs), I'll be sure to devalue it significantly by scribbling on it.I pre-ordered it from Amazon so I think it's a case of whether I get it by then or not.Cool. You planning to come to the Abercrombie one the day after? The BwB London will be out in (relative) force for that one.I didn't even know he was having one. I pre-ordered Best Served Cold so I hope it's there in time for that as I don't have any other Abercrombie books here in the UK. All of them are stuck in the States. But I would like to meet BWB London as well as Joe so I'll try to plan on it. If there are anymore details you could send me, that'd be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 But I would like to meet BWB London as well as Joe so I'll try to plan on it. If there are anymore details you could send me, that'd be great!http://forbiddenplanet.com/Signings.htmlScroll down for details of both Mark and Joe's signings.It's good to hear that Mark's wrist is indeed mighty and up to the task. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 We'll probably need a spoiler thread soon.I'm just over 150 pages in. The POVS change a little too frequently so I haven't got a real handle on anyone yet, excluding Brynd. The city and world building is very good though. My favourite aspect so far is the inclusion of "monsters". Most of the fantasy I have read of late tend to avoid such races and it is nice to see "new" ones that are integrated into the city, making it feel a lot like a Fantasy London in terms of diversity. The one wierd thing is that I can't help imagining the book as a setting for a "final Fantasy" RPG, which isn't meant as an accusation, but that's the feel I get of the city and it's people.So far so good.I have yet to encounter Mr T... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Hope to see some of you at the london signing this evening, if I can recognise any of you. I shall keep a look out for people having photos taken while molesting Mark (you know who you are :) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Hope to see some of you at the london signing this evening, if I can recognise any of you. I shall keep a look out for people having photos taken while molesting Mark (you know who you are :) )I was planning on it but it's just not possible unfortunately :( I did get my book though but don't know when I'll get to start it given I am finishing The Magus, have Best Served Cold and The Angel's Game to read as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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