Review - The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia

Fantasy fiction with no gay content. This review was previously published on my website, and I'm in the process of moving several reviews such as this one to this blog.

The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia When the citizens of Moscow start disappearing, only a few suspect the truth: that magic is involved. You'd have to be crazy to think that. Crazy or homeless or marginalized or desperate.

Galina fits that category: a sensitive 28 year-old branded with a false diagnosis of schizophrenia, she knows that her beloved sister Masha has turned into a jackdaw and flown away. She meets an alcoholic street artist named Fyodor who claims knowledge of an underground realm accessible through reflections and mirrored surfaces on the surface. Perhaps the answers lie there. So hopes Yakov, a defeated cop who joins them on their quest.

When the three of them dive into the moving reflection on a subway train, they do indeed find themselves beneath Moscow in a rustic subterranean realm complete with a night sky devoid of stars. Yakov is stunned to find his long-lost foreign grandfather serving beer at the local pub - and the man doesn't look a day older than 35!

Galina befriends a countess named Elena (whose tragic history centers on the Decembrist revolt against the Czar in 1825). Fyodor is charmed to meet a profanity-spewing Father Frost, and uneasy to run across Oksana, a gypsy girl from his past. The three surface-dwellers stay the night with Sovin, an agricultural engineer once exiled to Siberia who now lives in peace in this strange community with his swarms of devoted rats.

The next day, several more mythological and historical figures assemble at the pub, wanting to know what the heck is happening to shatter the peace of their underground realm. Whatever surface event happened to turn the citizens of Moscow into birds has been polluting their realm as well: the rusalki water spirits report increased sightings of abandoned weapons and dead bodies turning up in the waterways.

Galina intuits that the organized crime that has infested Moscow is starting to corrupt the underworld as well. But how can that be? The supernaturals decide to mount a quest deeper into their realm to consult with Berendey, a nature god (I think?). Joining our three surface-dwellers are Elena the countess; Zemun, the Celestial Cow from whose udders the Milky Way galaxy once sprang; Koschey, a death-god; and Timur Bey, famed military advisor to the Mongol conquerors of Russia.

Midway through the narrative, it becomes apparent that Galina's insight is indeed correct: a gangster named Slava, turned student of the Kabala, has destroyed ... the metaphysical balance between surface and underground worlds with his experiments in magic. The quest splits in two with Fyodor and Oksana and the rats dispatched top-side to track down parallel clues in Moscow.

Here at Obsidianbookshelf.com, I found this is a vivid and strange fantasy, saturated with the rich and dark mythology of the Slavic lands. This folklore is all but unknown in the West. Those of you fantasy fans who (like me) have grown weary of the usual Celtic underpinnings will find yourself eagerly drinking in these Russian tales. At the same time, you get a gritty feel for modern Moscow: pink streetlights, gangsters in their track pants, and subway stations graced with fabulous chandeliers. It's an unsettling and intriguing mix.
Links:

• See all fantasy and science fiction reviews
• [I don't allow my blog posts to be copied in full. Please click here to see how to use an excerpt/blurb.]
• Available at Amazon.com: The Secret History of Moscow

Recipe - Crème Brûlée

Hello, everybody. This is the debut of a new type of post I'm going to do on Thursdays, recipes. Basically, this is supposed to teach me how to cook, ha, ha! Something I've been meaning to learn. Today, I have a classic dessert recipe to offer you that I'll admit that I enjoy eating, but haven't tried to make yet. As this "Thursday recipe" series progresses, however, I'll have photos and commentary from my attempts. Enjoy!

Crème Brûlée
From Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook,11th Edition
(ISBN 0553577956)

Ingredients:
Two cups half-and-half
Five egg yolks, stirred
One-third cup of sugar
One teaspoon of vanilla
One-fourth cup of sugar

Equipment:
Baking pan, large
Six custard cups, six-ounce each
Saucepan, small
Skillet, heavy
Whisk
Wire rack

Warm the half-and-half in a small saucepan over medium-to-low heat until it shows small bubbles on the surface. Remove from the heat for now.

Use a whisk to mix the egg yolks, one-third cup of sugar, and one teaspoon of vanilla. Then use the whisk to slowly add the add the warm half-and-half.

Put the six custard dishes within the large baking pan and place on the oven rack. Pour custard into the custard dishes. Then pour enough hot water into the large baking pan to rise halfway up each custard dish.

Bake in a 325-Fahrenheit oven for 40 minutes or until you can poke a knife into the center of each custard and have it come out clean. Remove from oven. Remove custard dishes from large baking pan and cool on a wire rack. Then cover the custard dishes and chill in the refrigerator for one to six hours. Before serving, let the custards sit at room temperature for 20 minutes

To caramelize the sugar: Heat one-fourth cup of sugar in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Shake the skillet to evenly heat the grains, but don't stir. When the sugar starts to melt, reduce the heat to low. Continue to melt it for five more minutes or until the sugar turns gold and melts. Stir with a wooden spoon, if needed. Pour sugar atop each custard. If the sugar starts to harden as you do this, return the skillet to the stove and reheat it to soften. Serve immediately.
Links:

• [I don't allow my blog posts to be copied in full. Please click here to see how to use an excerpt/blurb.]

Review - China Mountain Zhang by Maureen McHugh

China Mountain Zhang by Maureen McHugh Okay, first some background. We're 100 years into the future after much upheaval that includes the collapse of the world's economy in the second Great Depression, a second American Civil War, and then the forming of the Socialist Union of American States.

This new government is helped along by China, which managed to reorganize itself faster than the rest of the world. After the sinister-sounding Great Cleansing Winds, which seems to have been the American version of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, America settles into second-place along with the rest of the world all looking to China for direction.

Our story opens in New York City. Our hero Zhang is a 26 year-old American-born Chinese working as an engineering tech on a construction site. He has two big secrets. One, he's not really as Chinese as he looks. When he was in the womb, his Chinese father and Hispanic mother put their savings towards having him genetically modified to look like his father. This is because the ethnically Chinese have the best positions in society. Two, he's gay. This could bring him heavy disapproval in New York City or a bullet in the head in China.

In Chapter One, Zhang gets singled out by the gruff foreman Qian who wants to find a suitable Chinese husband for his daughter San-Xiang. Poor Zhang gets pressured into coming over for dinner. Then he's expected to take the girl out on dates. To make matters more awkward, San-Xiang has a malformed face due to a bone-disorder. While sheltered and naïve, she is smart and her interests center on Marxism. Zhang has no interest in politics. In Chapter One, he takes her to watch the kite races in which fliers practice a risky high-tech version of hang-gliding.

Chapter Two picks up with one of kite-fliers, a woman named Gargoyle. It takes her through a race and reveals her thoughts on life. What does this have to do with Zhang? Nothing, except that she has a conversation with him once. This is how the novel progresses: as a series of interlocking short stories. One chapter works through a situation in Zhang's life. The next introduces new people and new problems. The third returns to Zhang a year or so later.

In this way, we go with Zhang to a research station in the cold darkness of the Arctic Circle, to China to study engineering and to party with the gay underclass, to another part of China to apprentice with a daoist-engineer, and then back to New York City to consider job options. We also get glimpses into the lives of Martine and Alexi who are settlers on Mars; and re-connect with San-Xiang, now a pretty girl with her face fixed, but still naïve.

China Mountain Zhang is an interesting read even though, having been published in 1992, it feels a bit dated to me here at ObsidianBookshelf.com. As is traditional for literary science fiction, the sex and romance are reduced to occasional glimpses. But you do get a definite sense of that outsider viewpoint that a gay man would have in a repressive society.

This novel won the James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award for science fiction that explores gender roles, and the Lambda Award for best gay-themed novel in the category of science fiction. It also won the Locus Award for best first science fiction novel, and was nominated for the prestigious Hugo and Nebula science fiction awards.
Links:

• See all fantasy and science fiction reviews
• [I don't allow my blog posts to be copied in full. Please click here to see how to use an excerpt/blurb.]
• Available on Amazon.com: China Mountain Zhang

Review - Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

Fantasy fiction with no gay content. This review was previously published on my website, and I'm in the process of moving several reviews such as this one to this blog.

Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko. This is the first book in an urban fantasy series translated from Russian and set in modern-day Moscow. It's also a Russian action movie that has achieved phenomenal international success. Here at Obsidianbookshelf.com, I saw the movie first, and then read the book. Ideally you should probably do the opposite though you don't have to.

The paperback book looks like a typical fantasy tome at 455 pages. What a pleasant surprise to find that it's made up of three novellas! This structure gives it the streamlined feel of a mystery series with just enough spy-novel paranoia to make you remember the Cold War.

Here, the opposing superpowers are Light and Dark. Each has a group that polices the activities of the other: the Nightwatch consists of agents from the Light who operate at night to monitor the Dark, and their counterparts the Daywatch keep tabs on them during sunlit hours. Collectively, these supernatural beings call themselves the Others. They start off as humans with supernatural potential who transcend their humanity once they take their first, inevitable step into a dangerous parallel dimension known as the Twilight.

Depending upon an Other's state of mind when he or she first discovers the Twilight, he or she will join either the Light or the Dark. Those of the Dark put their own personal gain first. Those of the Light are cursed with empathy for humanity. Once an Other picks a side, he or she is categorized forever. The Light and the Dark have long maintained a hostile truce that they safeguard with rules and bureaucracies.

Take, for example, vampires. By nature, they belong to the Dark. They've got to eat. So they apply for a hunting license from the Light. The Light assigns them the right to cull a stray human from the population as needed. Ruthless, you might say? It's for the greater good.

Our first-person narrator is Anton Gorodetsky, a computer-programmer and minor sorcerer with the Nightwatch. In the first novella Destiny (175 pages), he gets his first field assignment: to hunt down a rogue vampire. This brings him to the attention of both his enigmatic boss Boris Ignatievich and the Moscow section-chief of the Daywatch, Zabulon.

Along the way, Anton discovers two potential Others. The first is Egor, a 13 year-old boy whom he saves from the rogue vampire. Egor doesn't have much supernatural potential and he's probably going to join the Dark, but he does have importance as a pawn. Sometimes that's all that individuals on either side can hope for: to be used to advance the complex strategy of the higher-ups.

The second is Svetlana, destined to become a Great One for the Nightwatch. But she doesn't yet know what she is. Even worse, she's under a curse so powerful that if it destabilizes, it could tear Moscow apart. Needless to say, the entire Moscow division of the Nightwatch gets involved in trying to solve her curse.

Boris Ignatievich orders Anton's continued involvement and even gives him a partner: Olga, a powerful sorceress transformed into an owl as punishment for a mysterious crime. Olga lends her experience and no-nonsense attitude to shore up Anton's limited powers.

However, he incurs the personal animosity of Zabulon who invokes his right to come along as an observer for the Daywatch. Zabulon has the appearance of a college professor and the heart of a demon.

The first novella Destiny is the strongest, and forms the basis of the movie Night Watch. The next two novellas Among His Own Kind (152 pages) and All For My Own Kind (123 pages) provide elements for the movie sequel Day Watch.

Among His Own Kind gives the Nightwatch a new problem to solve. Someone is sneaking around Moscow, executing minor shape-shifters who belong to the Dark. This person is Maxim, a religious fanatic who thinks he's on a mission from God. His brief and occasional third-person viewpoint gives us an advantage not shared by our first-person narrator Anton: we know what's really going on.

By contrast, the Nightwatch thinks that the killer is someone in the Daywatch murdering unimportant pawns among his own people solely in order to frame someone in the Nightwatch for murder. Specifically, Boris Ignatievich believes that Zabulon might dislike Anton enough to target him with such a plan.

This necessitates a drastic measure to send Anton into hiding: he must switch bodies with Olga! With his personality lodged within Olga's body, he can solve the mystery unobserved. He also gets a chance to move in temporarily with Svetlana, which complicates their mutual attraction. This novella introduces the Inquisition, a mysterious judicial body that sits over both the Nightwatch and the Daywatch.

All For My Own Kind gathers the entire Moscow division of the Nightwatch for a relaxing weekend at the sumptuous country home of one of their best combat magicians, Tiger Cub. It's the weakest story of the three because it spends far too long – almost 60 pages – on the sexual tensions between the Nightwatch members as they hang out and drink and talk on their supposed vacation. Anton has never been more inclined to brood at length about his own destiny as a pawn within the Nightwatch.

Fortunately, circumstances compel Anton to return alone to Moscow. He uncovers a plot involving a mysterious artifact known as the Chalk of Fate. Could this have something to do with the destiny for which Boris Ignatievich has been grooming Svetlana?

Driven by a complex mixture of love, jealousy, and competitiveness, Anton sets out to stop the plan and save Svetlana from her own potential. This will have far-reaching consequences, especially for Egor who plays a small role in each of the Nightwatch stories so far.

I recommend Night Watch, especially to fans of urban fantasy. The translation by Andrew Bromfield puts the story in streamlined, casual, American-flavored English. Yet you get a unique feel for Moscow after the collapse of Communism.

The book gives you countless intriguing details that the movie could not include such as the properties of auras, the specific dangers of each level within the Twilight, and the complete back-story for the vampire neighbors who share an uneasy friendship with Anton.

You get thoroughly steeped in both elements that form the striking contrast at the heart of the Nightwatch series: the spectacular weirdness of the supernaturalism and the comically mundane quality of the Soviet-inspired bureaucracy that holds it in check.

Here at Obsidianbookshelf.com, I found Anton more likable in the movie. Credit for this goes to actor Konstantin Khabensky, but also because Anton is written to be more emotionally involved with the other characters, especially Egor. In the book, Anton sometimes seems like a cynical little pencil-pusher. His insistence on deciding Svetlana's fate all by himself grows a little annoying.
Links:

• See all fantasy and science fiction reviews
• [I don't allow my blog posts to be copied in full. Please click here to see how to use an excerpt/blurb.]
• Find the book on Amazon.com here: Night Watch

Review - Superman Red Son by Mark Millar

Fantasy fiction with no gay content. This review was previously published on my website, and I'm in the process of moving several reviews such as this one to this blog.

Superman – Red Son is a graphic novel by Mark Millar, Dave Johnson, Kilian Plunkett, Andrew Robinson, and Walden Wong published by DC Comics. Here at Obsidianbookshelf.com, I've got to say that I have little or no familiarity with comic books or graphic novels. I picked this one up because the idea sounded so intriguing:

The great American icon ... reimagined as a Soviet hero!

What is the difference between a graphic novel and a comic book? Comic books are those short simple narratives we remember from childhood: Archie, Scooby-Doo, and yes, Superman. Graphic novels are told through panels of art and dialogue like comic books, but have a complex storyline aimed at adults. Superman – Red Son contains no objectionable material and could be appreciated by sophisticated kids on up to adults.

Superman – Red Son takes an unusual departure from the usual Superman mythology, of which even I have some small knowledge. In the usual story, Superman's parents face the destruction of their planet Krypton, which orbits a red-giant star. They put their infant son into a rocket ship and send it into space. It travels far and lands near Smallville, Kansas, USA.

There Superman gets raised as Clark Kent, and imbued with strong moral values. He has a childhood sweetheart named Lana Lang, but he leaves her behind in order to go to Metropolis (New York City) and become a reporter for The Daily Planet newspaper where he falls for reporter Lois Lane.

His great nemesis is Lex Luthor who is sometimes a mad scientist and sometimes a ruthless businessman. Superman frequently crosses paths with fellow superheroes Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Batman (of whose vigilantism he disapproves).

Anyway, Superman – Red Son explores the intriguing notion that Superman's original rocket ship entered the Earth's atmosphere at a different point in its orbit, and he crash landed in Ukraine instead of Kansas. Lovingly raised by Soviet parents in a farming collective, he grew up imbued with Marxist values.

Our story opens during the Eisenhower administration when the United States first becomes aware of Superman's existence. Terrified at the thought of his godlike powers, Americans view footage of Superman in his black-and-red costume with the hammer and sickle emblazoned on his chest. He stands beside Comrade Stalin, raising his hand in greeting to the adoring Soviet public.

Needless to say, this doesn't sit well with mad scientist Lex Luthor back in the United States. Luthor, who possesses godlike intelligence, spends a typical hour simultaneously playing chess with several different opponents, teaching himself Urdu, and reading Machiavelli's Il Principe (how fitting!) in the original Italian. Lois Lane is his long-suffering wife.

It cuts no ice with Luthor that Superman is so conscientious that he travels the world, rescuing anyone whether a Soviet citizen or not. However, Lois Lane cherishes a soft spot in her heart for Superman. They first come face-to-face when he pulls off a spectacular rescue of a little boy in the streets of Metropolis. Lois and Superman share a fleeting mutual attraction but both realize that they cannot pursue it as long as she is married and he must return to the U.S.S.R.

Luthor immediately dedicates himself to the "superhero arms race" and starts trying to produce his own superhero. His first attempt looks like a homicidal golem and scares the British public so badly that they implore Superman to save them from it. Eventually Luthor will bring forth the Green Lantern, otherwise known as test pilot Hal Jordan.

Meanwhile Superman back in the Soviet Union tries to deal with the jealousy of Stalin's son Pyotr who will grow up to control the KGB. Pyotr knows that Superman eclipses him in Stalin's eyes.

In fact, Stalin begins enthusiastically to forge a match between Superman and Wonder Woman, also known as Diana of Paradise Island. Wonder Woman is a princess of a race of long-lived Amazon women. Stalin invites a delegation from Paradise Island to the Soviet Union where he angles for a political alliance as well – and perhaps even to spend the night with Queen Hippolyta. The Queen is unimpressed.

In further developments, Pyotr executes two dissidents, a young couple distributing leaflets. He leaves their young son alive though he remains disturbed at the vengeful look the boy turns on him. Could this be the pivotal event that will create – Batmankoff? Batman is even crazier than usual in this universe. He's drawn with a maniacal grin and the beard stubble of an anarchist.

In the sketchbook that serves as an afterword, the artist reveals that he suffered much harassment over his version of Batman's hat. This amazing creation grafts pointed bat ears onto an aviator's leather cap with chin-straps and then manages to include the sheep's wool visor where Soviet soldiers would pin their badges. Of course Batman pins a bat-symbol there. Where can I buy a hat like this?

Anyway, Stalin's unexpected death in 1953 creates a power vacuum in the Soviet Union. Will Superman give in, albeit reluctantly, to the need to take over first the U.S.S.R. and then the entire world to impose perfection upon humanity for its own good? What do you think?

Superman himself narrates this graphic novel from the perspective of centuries of hindsight and it gives the story a dark and epic gravitas. His tragic personality shines through: his heavy conscience, and his overwhelming need to be liked.

Of course the artwork is amazing. One sequence I loved shows Superman levitating just above a sidewalk in Metropolis. Apparently something has jarred loose a huge architectural model of the planet Earth from the rooftop of the skyscraper that houses the Daily Planet newspaper offices. Superman catches this huge globe before it can squash a woman and her little boy.

In his panic, the kid lets go of his helium-filled red balloon. Now Superman floats in place, showing off the Communist emblem on his chest. One hand holds up the huge globe (a nice Atlas Shrugged image). The other hand gives the red balloon back to the delighted kid.

Here at Obsidianbookshelf.com, my favorite sequence involves the city of Stalingrad, which has been shrunk to nearly microscopic size and placed in a test-tube. You see this cityscape in utter chaos as if ravaged by war. Fires burn everywhere in the rubble and citizens stagger through the wreckage of overturned cars. One soldier sternly lectures Superman on "checking the filters" more often.

Superman responds, "I'm so sorry, comrades!" Then you realize that the huge creature over whose corpse the brave citizens stand is in fact a dust-mite that got loose inside Stalingrad and ran amok! It's weird, amazing, and funny all at once. Don't miss Superman – Red Son, a feat of imagination.
Links:

• See all fantasy and science fiction reviews
• [I don't allow my blog posts to be copied in full. Please click here to see how to use an excerpt/blurb.]
• Available on Amazon.com: Superman: Red Son
  

Review - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Fantasy fiction with no gay content. This review was previously published on my website, and I'm in the process of moving several reviews such as this one to this blog.

Seventeen year-old Bella Swan tells the story first-person as she arrives to start school at the tiny high-school in the rain-drenched town of Forks in Washington State. Being new gets her a lot of attention even though she sees herself as clumsy and ordinary. Soon she's obsessed with the mysterious Cullen teenagers who are glamorous, poised, and secretive.

Turns out they're vampires who have chosen to hunt animals rather than human prey. They also try to stay out of sunlight because it makes them sparkle in an ostentatious way! Bella and Edward Cullen fall in love though he must fight his craving to drink her blood. Meanwhile, a group of evil vampires comes to town, which puts Bella in mortal danger.

Negatives: Edward is bit overbearing at times, and the writing is slightly too wordy (I don't think we really needed 498 pages to tell this story). Positives: Bella is likable and her story held my interest. The cover art is gorgeous.
Links:

• See all fantasy and science fiction reviews
• [I don't allow my blog posts to be copied in full. Please click here to see how to use an excerpt/blurb.]
• Available at Amazon.com: Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)

Coming up next week!

Hi, everybody! I'm going to drop off the blogosphere for about a week and try to catch up on some projects, so I won't be checking up on the blog. If you have an urge to leave a comment on anything, feel free to, and when I return on the 19th I will enable it to post and I'll answer it. Of course, if nobody gets the urge to comment on anything, that's okay, too, ha, ha!

In the meantime, I've got a six reviews of great fantasy fiction for you (no gay content) to happen on each of six days next week, plus the first recipe (on Thursday) in a new series of "food writing" posts I'm going to do each Thursday to try to teach myself how to cook. See you all next Sunday on July 19 when "normal programming" will resume.

Links:

• [I don't allow my blog posts to be copied in full. Please click here to see how to use an excerpt/blurb.]

Change in Review Policy at Obsidian Bookshelf

Hello, everybody. I'm afraid the time has come for me to stop accepting review copies from authors. Readers, rest easy. I'm NOT going to stop writing reviews. From here on, I'll be acquiring my m/m fiction myself (that is, buying it), and I'll keep posting reviews on a regular basis. However, in order to keep my schedule in balance, I've decided to stop accepting review copies from individual authors.

I am very grateful for the fabulous fiction I've received from everybody during the past two years – it has paved the way for my website and blog, and has given me a wonderful introduction to what the m/m fiction genre is all about. I've read some truly outstanding fiction.

The upside is that I'll still be reviewing (though not on request), and – while my own schedule might not line up with everybody's release dates – my purchases will definitely be adding to everybody's revenue, ha, ha! (I've got a couple more reviews that I promised people that I would do, and those are still forthcoming.) Thanks, everyone, for your understanding!
Links:

• [I don't allow my blog posts to be copied in full. Please click here to see how to use an excerpt/blurb.]

Article and Review Rankings - First Week

Would you believe that it's that time again? The first week of July has rolled by (they've already put out Back-to-School displays in the stores out here). Meanwhile, I have the stats from Google Analytics on the most popular content.

Obsidian Bookshelf Website

1. How to Describe Eyes
2. Physical Description - Medium / Athletic Male Body Type
3. Physical Description - Small Male Body Type

Obsidian Bookshelf Blog

1. Character Names, Too Gorgeous and Popular
2. Beware of Trend Echoing!
3. Think About Taglines

If any of you writers and readers are passing the word about this content as I suspect that you are, thank you very much! And thank you very much for reading!
[I don't allow my blog posts to be copied in full. Please click here to see how to use an excerpt/blurb.]

Cover Art Analysis at Cerebral Reviews

There is an outstanding essay on cover art over at Cerebral Reviews. It's done by Fanny Hill, drawing upon her experience as a cover artist, and conveys a wealth of information with examples of good and bad cover art and step-by-step instruction on what to look for. If you're a reader, you'll love this. If you're a writer, you need this. Don't miss Fanny Hill's Cover Art essay!

[I don't allow my blog posts to be copied in full. Please click here to see how to use an excerpt/blurb.]