Brandon Sanderson - The Mistborn Trilogy

As some of you may know, although my first love is crime fiction, I am also a devotee of fantasy and science fiction. A friend gave me 'The Hobbit' to read when I was twelve, I became a fan of the amazing alternate worlds that can be found in these books and love the sense of escapism they offer.
One of the very best series of novels is Robert Jordan's 'Wheel Of Time'. It is possibly the grandest fantasy vision ever created, spanning an incredible fourteen novels with a cast of hundreds, it is truly epic fiction. When Mr Jordan passed away in 2007 with three books incomplete, his family chose Brandon Sanderson to finish the story from notes left by the author.
Before that I knew little of Brandon Sanderson or his work but I was intrigued to see why he had been given this mammoth task.

I chose the Mistborn trilogy as my introduction to his work and I am very glad I did.
The three books 'The Final Empire'; 'The Well Of Ascension' and 'The Hero Of Ages' represent some of the most original fantasy fiction I have read in years.
The magic system in the books is based on people who can use metals to achieve certain feats. The metals are paired with one balancing the other and as the story progresses the reader discovers all the ways they have been used to control and change people.
Without spoiling it too much for you, the first book is the story of the overthrow of the Lord Ruler, a dark dictator who runs the world with the help of the obligators - magicians with metal spikes driven through their eyes. The following two books deal with the aftermath of the overthrow of a tyrant and the faith required by the main protagonists to overcome the problems that they have created by killing him. They discover that there was more than evil behind the Lord Ruler's actions and the consequences of overthrowing him are far reaching. As the story unravels you realise that despite the oppression, he had been a force for good within the land and now that he is gone the world seems doomed.
There are creatures born of magic like nothing else I have ever read, the characters are diverse and interesting with many of the fantasy cliches being turned on their head. The storytelling is wonderful and my only regret was that it finished too soon.
If you are looking for a new take on the fantasy genre, I can thoroughly recommend these books.

More new music

I said I would return to some of the music released this year that I have enjoyed and hope they inspire you. Here are another five albums that I think are worth checking out.

First up is Adele and her album 21. I must confess that modern pop music rarely appears on my playlists but Adele's amazing voice is worth making an exception for. She has an incredible vocal range and her song writing is wonderful, if a times a little gloomy. She hasn't had much luck in love if her lyrics are anything to go by but she delivers every word with a conviction and emotion that the X-Factor contestants can only dream of. Top songs are "Rolling in The Deep"; "Rumor Has It"; "Set Fire To The Rain" and the wonderful "Someone Like You".

Admiral Fallow are a Scottish band and their debut album Boots Met My Face is packed full of cracking melodies and evocative lyrics.

In "Subbuteo", Louis Abbot takes a nostalgic trip home and writes "I've returned for a while, To the concrete that once claimed my knees, And the stones my hands owned, As I sent them toward windows and trees". The album is filled with the kind of imagery that really tells a story. 

Boots Met My Face is packed with great folk inspired songs but my favourites are "Squealing Pigs"; "These Barren Years" and the aforementioned "Subbuteo". 

Kasabian are back with another towering record, Velociraptor!  - the exclamation is theirs not mine.

Kasabian have always walked their own path and they continue to find new ways to entertain. This album is possibly a little less bombastic than their previous efforts but it still has great songs like the almost hypnotic rhythm of "Days Are Forgotten" and the gentle "Goodbye Kiss. There isn't anything to alienate fans in this album but it does continue their evolution into one of the best bands around at the moment.

Now for a change of pace. Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars is a stripped back country-folk album originating from the home of country music, Nashville.

Joy Williams and John Paul White combine their voices perfectly against a background of simple arrangements. Among the stand out tracks are "20 Years"; "I've Got This Friend" and the title track.

If you enjoyed Robert Plant's collaboration with Alison Krauss then you will love this.

Finally I offer you the foot-stomping, drum-battering, guitar-shredding blues-rock of Vintage Trouble's, The Bomb Shelter Sessions. From the first track "Blues Hand Me Down" you are in no doubt that the guys are tipping their hats to the blues legends of the past like Albert King. Ty Taylor's soulful voice is underpinned by the guitar of Nalle Colt, whose playing will raise a smile among the old blues masters.  As well as the opener there is much to love about this album including "Nancy Lee"; "You Better Believe It" and Total Strangers."

That's all for this blog, as usual I would love to hear about anything exciting you've discovered.

Holiday thoughts

I have returned from a week's holiday in the beautiful country of Italy and thought I would share with you my impressions of my first visit in twenty years.
We were based in Lucca in Tuscany and it gave us an opportunity to visit some of Italy's most famous destinations.
Lucca is a city with a long history that dates back to the time of the Romans. The ancient amphitheatre was directly opposite the flat we were staying in. Where once gladiators battled in front of baying crowds there are bars, restaurants and shops catering for the visitors to the city. The ancient stones are mostly gone but you can still see remnants of the Roman structure in the buildings.

The Piazza dell' Anfiteatro in Lucca

Lucca is a walled city and within those walls the streets are narrow and filled with expensive shopping opportunities. The Italian sense of style is a part of the national identity. In Lucca it's not only the clothes that are stylish, even the shops are the very essence of elegance and glamour. To wander down the Via Fillungo, the main shopping street, is to stroll back in time. The shops are small and there are few of the usual high street names that you would find in any shopping mall in Britain. In Italy small is beautiful.

The Di Simo is just one example of the stylish shops.

The trains in Italy are a lot cheaper than the UK. This gave us the opportunity to explore Tuscany in all its glory. We visited Pisa, its tower still defying gravity and offering one of the true wonders of the world.

The Leaning Tower

We also visited the spa town of Montecatini Terme. It was our first visit there and it was an amazing find. You can ride a funicular railway to Montecatini Alto which sits high in the hills above the main town. The views from the top are stunning, the red roofs of the farmhouses and towns stand out from the green of the olive groves as the full pallet of Tuscan colours are displayed.

The Tuscan landscape

Also on our itinerary was Viareggio, which is a lovely seaside town with a beautiful beach. We had stayed in Viareggio on previous visits so there was a little bit of nostalgia when we spent a day in this coastal idyll.
No visit to Tuscany would be complete without a trip to the Renaissance treasure that is Florence. It was my third visit and I never tire of admiring the artistic and architectural achievements that are displayed in that wonderful city.
Other highlights of our stay were Puccini's house in Lucca and the Palazzo Pfanner with its incredibly beautiful gardens.

The garden at the Palazzo Pfanner

At the heart of Florence there is a bronze statue of a wild boar. There is a tradition that states if you rub the boar's nose, one day you will return to the city. We all hope that it proves to be true.

Note: All photographs are my own so please if you would like to use any of them drop me a line.

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

I have been a Mac user since 2004 and love that Apple produces technology that gets out of the way to allow you to do what you want. What Steve Jobs achieved in his life was remarkable. Rather than try to put it into my own words, I thought I would point you to some of the best tributes around the web.

Jason Snell, the MacWorld writer. Making a dent in the universe

Devour shows you Jobs the salesman. Devour tribute page.

The Appleoutsider site. SJ

Thoughts of the staff at TUAW. Remembering Steve Jobs

Photographer and photoshop expert, Dave Cross. Thank you Steve Jobs

The San Francisco Chronicle. And now, a world without Jobs.

The New York Times. Apple's visionary redefined the digital age.

Stephen Fry. Steve Jobs

The man himself with a truly inspirational speech. Stanford Commencement Address 2005

The world may miss him but none more than his family. I hope they take a little comfort in knowing how much he meant to so many people.

Rest in peace, Steve.

A future for indie bookshops?

You won't be surprised to read that I have had a passion for books since I was very small. My mother would take me on an exciting trip to my local library where I would return home clutching a copy of a Paddington book or a Secret Seven mystery. The smell or feel of books can take me back there in seconds.
In the 21st century the future seems bleak for 'real' books. The rise of the Kindle, the iPad and other e-readers has been a boon for self-published authors like myself but it is changing the traditional model of publishing at an amazing rate.
The biggest losers in the move towards internet buying generally and e-books in particular are the large bookstores. Borders has closed, Barnes & Noble in the US and Waterstones in the UK face financial difficulties.

The question is will anybody want to go and browse for books in a shop? The answer at least for the foreseeable future will be yes, people like me. But with no huge bookstores where will we go? I think there is an argument to say small bookshops will survive as a specialist service for those who love the feel and smell of a book rather than just the words between the covers. There might even be small bookshops who specialise in a particular genre, whatever the model there will still be a market for real books and someone will find a niche catering for that market.
I love that e-books are allowing me to sell books around the world and reach people with my stories but I must admit, I would hate to think of a day when I couldn't buy a real book.

What about you are you a complete convert to digital or do you still prefer to hold a book in your hands?

No matter where we buy our books, I hope it's not like this place. How not to run a book shop.

The Aaargh Factor

I don't get the X-Factor. I don't get the fact that the lead story in the two biggest-selling newspapers in Scotland was about how a girl from Fife didn't get picked to appear in the live shows. I don't get that the same story was talked about and tweeted about and Facebooked about for ages on the morning radio show.
It's a celebration of mediocrity. Classic songs are reduced to bland karaoke by people whose talent is about right for a cruise ship or a holiday camp. With the exception of Leona Lewis, the majority of winners sink without trace, any talent they had ruined by the mass produced pop of the Cowell song sweat shops.
There are the now annual scandals which generate column inches of indignation and another million viewers. It is manipulative almost beyond belief and the British public lap it up.
Add to that the overly sentimental stories of life's hardships, the yearly buying of the Christmas number one and Louis Walsh and you have a recipe for television that makes me feel physically sick.
Despite all those things that should make everyone want to reach for the remote to change the channel, it remains the most popular show on British television. ITV and Simon Cowell make millions and the public are so busy talking about it they don't notice anything else.
Maybe it's just me. Maybe I don't get it because I fell in love with music that had real emotion behind it. If the X-Factor had been around since the sixties would The Beatles and The Stones ever have been successful? Would Bowie have challenged the world with his asexual brand of glam rock? Would punk have been strangled at birth by the knot of commercialism? It's a scary thought and with the last truly momentous shift in music being nearly twenty years ago we could be looking at bland being what dominates music.
But have hope, there are still people trying to produce music that matters, it's just that you have to look a wee bit harder.