Book Review: Sleepless by Charlie Huston

[Buy this book on Amazon
in the UK / in the US]

"Parker T. Haas is a straight-arrow LAPD cop whose cast-iron sense of right and wrong has made him a lone wolf on the force. But when a plague of sleeplessness attacks Los Angeles and the world beyond, his philosophical certainties are tested to destruction. Sent undercover to pose as a dealer, Haas is on the trail of a black-market drug that is the one thing providing relief to the sleepless - if you can penetrate the arcane code of its mysterious supplier.

"But as Haas negotiates the increasingly chaotic and dangerous world of a city slowly going mad, he crosses the path of an equally fanatical a-moralist, a hired killer whose extreme sense of aesthetic perfection admits not the slightest humanity. But as their collision course accelerates (two men: one of the old world; one of the newly emerging), Parker must decide not only where the moral centre is located in this frightening new landscape, but also how he is going to save his wife Rose - herself a victim of the disease - and their newborn baby, whose uncertain future is coming into being before their eyes."

***

In the year 2010, humanity has been brought to its knees by a global pandemic of killer insomnia. At least one in ten people are infected by the SLR prion, and though the United States has suffered less than the rest of the world, the people of Los Angeles are in full-on revolt mode. At the outset of Sleepless, a New America Jihadist suicide bombs La Cienega as idealistic policeman Parker Haas watches on, horrified yet helpless, while in the distance, from the comfort of an Ikea sling-chair in his luxury apartment, an aging, cool-cat assassin cracks open a bottle of vintage Rhone to watch "that small, expensive fragment of the city burn."

Sleepless is the first Charlie Huston novel The Speculative Scotsman has read, though if it's any indication of the caliber of this author's talent, it certainly won't be the last. His prose is immediately impactful, his storytelling clipped, concise and utterly cutting. From a high concept equal parts paranoid sci-fi and hard-boiled crime thriller he seamlessly weaves a disarmingly intimate tale of two individuals driven by motivations on opposite ends of the spectrum. Park is an undercover detective with a wife ravaged by SLR who demands justice from an unjust world; Jasper, meanwhile, is a ruthless machine of a man, a cold-blooded killer who cares not at all whether his targets deserve the final judgment he metes out on demand.

As the plague of sleeplessness decimates an increasingly chaotic Los Angeles, Park and Jasper are drawn together by circumstances beyond either's control, moving always towards a tremendous last act that is both devastating and decisive. The journey there is not always easy, nor ever anything less than nightmarishly bleak, but it is one well worth making. Huston's voice is direct yet prone to fascinating diatribe; detached, yet deeply, inextricably involved in the day-to-day existence of Park and Jasper as they make their way through a city fallen increasingly to anarchy. The action is weighty, the philosophy provocative, the setting appropriately suffocating.

Sleepless is a novel in large part concerned with technology, with the march of progress and the devastation our inexorable forward motion leaves in its wake. "When our society is excavated," Huston observes, "our data will be our relics," and so it is that when Haas picks up the trail of DR33M3R - the gold-dust drug which represents the only reprieve SLR sufferers can hope for - he lays the foundation of his investigation with a read through the appropriate Wikipedia pages. Furthermore, the narrative pivots around the indecipherable contents of a portable USB key, and Chasm Tide, an MMORPG which bears more than a passing resemblance to World of Warcraft that the sleepless have taken to like moths to a flame.

Thusly, there's lingo everywhere. You'll be able to follow some, but not likely all of it: drugs, guns and gangs; philosophy, pop culture, video games and chemistry. Huston's knowledge base is incredibly wide-ranging, and though some of his terminology isn't quite right, he never misses the mark by far. Sleepless is astonishingly authentic in nearly every sense, prescient in the mode of a genetically modified super-species of Cory Doctorow's Little Brother and packed full of involved asides that lay waste to government, enterprise and individual endeavour. Huston has taken a world very much our own and turned it on its head, and in so doing, he demonstrates how close we truly are to a nightmare of earth-shattering proportions.

But there's more to Sleepless than an incisive, hellish vision of the future entire. Park's strained relationship with his wife Rose and their newborn baby girl is a heartbreaking tale of hope against the odds. Readers will only truly come to know Rose through Park's fragmented recollections of her; in the middle stages of SLR, she has lost her grip on the present, frequently repeating conversations from years ago and confusing reality with imagination. Park loves poor Rose dearly - his every effort is, in a way, a lovestruck fool's errand under the pretense that he can somehow save the love of his life if only he can break his impossible case.

Sleepless is a stark and startling novel in which nothing is sacred, a lucid dream of an awful future that threatens to impinge upon a present that is but a hair's breadth from our own. Yet it is a league more powerful than other such doom-saying tales because its woeful suppositions are tempered always by the touching, tragic plight Park and Rose are forced to face down within the four walls of their own home. Huston balances the two sides of his first non-sequential narrative with unflinching honesty and a grace bordering on the ineffable, and though Sleepless will leave you emotionally exhausted and wishing the world would wake up and smell the proverbial coffee, the experience is certainly one worth passing up a few nights' shut-eye for - after all, you can always sleep another night.

Can't you?

***

Sleepless

by Charlie Huston

March 2010, Gollancz: London

[Buy this book on Amazon
in the UK / in the US]

Recommended and Related Reading

From Your Blogosphere Correspondent (19/02/10)

My my. Lots to get through today, so let's dispense with the usual introductory burble and get straight to the most interesting nuggets of news to have made waves across the interwebs since the last installment of From Your Blogosphere Correspondent.

First on the agenda has to be the truly shocking report by way of Best Served Cold author Joe Abercrombie's blog that cover artists... don't always read the books they design covers for. I know. *gasp*

Other revelations from Joe's interview with Chris McGrath - the unenviable artist tasked with the glamorous-before-gritty redesign of the new MMPB covers of each of three books of The First Law - include that books with handsome characters depicted on their covers are commercially more appealing, and thus more desirable to those with an eye on the bottom line, than those featuring ugly people; hence the prettification of the likes of Logen Ninefingers and the vile torturer Glotka.

Joe asks the right questions, and Chris answers them as honestly as his future prospects allow - ultimately, the interview is a fascinating insight into an aspect of publishing and marketing readers don't often see, and well worth reading.

Moving on, after years of talk I'd expected would come to nothing, it looks like Vin Diesel and David Twohy are finally moving on a third Riddick movie. Now I didn't hate The Chronicles of Riddick as much as the majority of its minuscule audience seemed to, but there's no denying that Riddick's second, decidedly more fantastical outing was a massive box-office disappointment.

If you'll allow me, dear readers, to use the Alien franchise as an analogue - and I think it's a fair one - Pitch Black was very much the equivalent of Ridley Scott's brilliant first film; tense, claustrophobic horror with a sci-fi backdrop. The Chronicles of Riddick, meanwhile, skipped the balls-out action of Aliens and the admirable, if unsatisfying weirdness of David Fincher's Alien 3 to emulate, instead, Alien: Resurrection, the series' weakest entry by a large margin.

So news that the third Riddick film will go back to the well is the best you could hope for. As per the Hollywood Reporter, "the script features... the most wanted man in the galaxy... left for dead on a barren alien planet," and though talk of jetcycles and three-legged bison leave me somewhat nervous, let's not give up hope so soon. If this second sequel means to jettison the misguided mythos of The Chronicles of Riddick in favour of something more akin to the thrilling first film, my ticket's sold already.

Next up is a story only tangentially related to the genre fiction that is the bread and butter of The Speculative Scotsman: the recent furor over Evelyn Evelyn, a musical act essentially invented by Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls and Jason Webley, who has supported her band in gigs past. Truly, I'm loathe to even bring this up; I mention it only because, well, Neil Gaiman is bumping uglies with Amanda Palmer - and we like Neil Gaiman, don't we?

But we don't like Amanda Palmer. (I've resorted to the royal "we", but of course I'm only stating my opinion.) She was once one half of a great band, and although her solo effort left me cold, I still hold a candle for The Dresden Dolls. Just because I appreciate someone's art, however, it doesn't necessarily follow that I must appreciate the artist, and Amanda fucking Palmer - as she likes to call herself - is exactly the sort of immature, attention-seeking swine that makes me wish for a bygone era where every detail of such a pseudo-celebrity's life wasn't documented to the nth degree on blogs and any number of other social networks.

Of course, no-one forced me read Amanda's blog, and largely, I don't, but in light of the Evelyn Evelyn ruckus, I had to. It's like driving past an accident on the motorway; perverse though it may be, it's hard to avert your eyes from the carnage of a too-close car crash. And a car crash is precisely what happened here. After a press release announced the release of Evelyn Evelyn's self-titled debut in late March, Amanda blogged about it. And what do you know? In one fell swoop, she managed to offend just about everyone. Because Evelyn Evelyn are, as she would have it, conjoined twins with a history of prolonged sexual abuse. 

My $0.02: that's fine. I mean, it's awful, of course, but awful things happen in the world, and art is right, or at the very least entitled, to reflect those awful things. I have no problem with dark and potentially controversial subject matter in any media - books, music, movies, whatever - so long as its represented in a balanced and respectful fashion. But when Amanda blogged about the difficult fiction behind the Evelyn Evelyn project, she did so flippantly, selfishly, thoughtlessly, offensively. In the end, however much backtracking she's done since, she was clearly courting controversy to drive sales of her new album.

Her defense? As outlined in her most recent blog post, at least she's not making corporate pop music. Brilliant, Amanda. Please, everyone: applause!

It's a sickening story that you can follow the fallout here and elsewhere, if you like, but I'm done with it. At least Neil Gaiman has had the good sense to steer mostly clear of it. As far as I'm concerned, though I've enjoyed some of Amanda Palmer's work in the past, I certainly won't be supporting Evelyn Evelyn in any way, shape or form.

On a happier note, the last of today's big hitters has to be Mark Charon Newton's iteration of an idea dreamed up by China Mieville during the SFX Weekender I discussed last time on From Your Blogosphere Correspondent: Mark wants us to remix literature. A novel idea, no?

Bad puns aside, Mark has posted a short story on his blog and invited anyone and everyone to do what they will with it. I think it's a fantastic concept, and I look forward to seeing what the community makes of  'Salam and Baseema', which you can read here and reimagine to your heart's content at your convenience.

I might even throw my hat into the ring with this one...

And now, before I'm off, some news in cycling shorts.

Joss Whedon and Morgan Spurlock are reportedly teaming up to produce a documentary on the vagaries of fan culture as seen through the lens of this year's Comic Con.

Is it news, I wonder, that Patrick Rothfuss says there will be news of The Wise Man's Fear soon? You decide!

James Cameron is writing a prequel novel to Avatar, which for all the backlash, I still maintain I had a brilliant time with. To hell with the haters. Don't you like fun? Did you really think Alien was particularly original? That no-one had dreamed up The Terminator before James Cameron? I mean, come on.

Aidan over at A Dribble of Ink has the story on Scott Lynch's oft-delayed next novel, The Republic of Thieves, which has, at last, apparently been submitted. It may yet see publication before the year is out - although I sincerely doubt it.

With the assistance of The Book Smugglers, the lovely Aidan has also conducted a brilliant interview up with N. K. Jemisin, author of the much ballyhooed-about fantasy debut The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

Talking of interviews, are you all ready to join me in shining The Speculative Spotlight on Tome of the Undergates keeper Sam Sykes? Well, tough. With the sweary gentleman's first novel not due till mid-April, I'm afraid I won't be able to share our long, meandering conversation until shortly after I'm back from my holiday. But then, I promise you, there will be blood.

Well. That's it From Your Blogosphere Correspondent this week. I'll have another news round-up for you before I pack my bags full of books and nip over the sea to Skye, and there's a wealth of exciting content to come between now and then, so keep your RSS software tuned to TSS, readers, and I'll talk to you again tomorrow.

Book Preview: Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

[Pre-order this book from Amazon

in the UK / in the US]

***

They say honesty is the best policy, so let's begin this preview with a little truth-time: if, in the first moments of 2010, there was a single impetus behind my decision to launch The Speculative Scotsman, Guy Gavriel Kay was it. Or, more precisely, Tigana was it.

With the mad rush of the holidays behind me, I wanted to relax with a good book, and for one reason or another, nothing on my shelves seemed to fit the bill. In the time I had spent lurking around the fringes of the speculative community, I'd often heard Kay's name bandied about, and some confluence of my general dissatisfaction with the fiction I'd been reading before Christmas and a timely recommendation sent me to Amazon. A miracle of the postal system meant Tigana arrived in the downtime between the big day and New Year's, and soon after I had gotten to grips with the first few chapters of Kay's dense fantasy epic, I was savouring his novel's every word. You can read more of my thoughts in the first full review to grace the pages of The Speculative Scotsman, but suffice it to say that I was gripped, right through to the last, bittersweet moments of Tigana.

I've since invested in more of Kay's back-catalogue, and though I've struggled to find an opportunity to actually read A Song For Arbonne or Ysabel, I very much forward to a little downtime during which I can do just that.

Realistically, however, I don't imagine I'm very likely to have the chance in the immediate future; certainly not before Kay's new novel has hit bookstore shelves. Under Heaven, his first new fantasy since the aforementioned 2008 World Fantasy Award-winner is very nearly upon us. Though the the reading populace at large will have to wait until late in April for their next Guy Gavriel Kay fix, ARCs of Under Heaven are already doing the rounds with bloggers and reviewers in Canada and the States; here in the UK, meanwhile, advance copies should be upon us within the next few weeks. If I'm lucky enough to recieve one for review here on TSS, rest assured: I fully expect to drop every one of my other critical responsibilities like proverbial hot rocks.

I may only have been waiting a few, short months for another opportunity to immerse myself in another of the lush, historical environments Kay is known to so effectively set his fantasies against - as opposed to the thousand days some long-term fans have suffered through - but my appetite for Under Heaven is no less fully-fledged for that differential. Saying that, the short while I've spent anticipating it, and even the longer period others have, is nothing compared to the length of time the forthcoming novel has weighed on Kay's mind. According to an audio interview with Alex Telander of Book Banter, the esteemed author has himself "been thinking about [Under Heaven] and living with aspects of this since before I published Last Light of the Sun - that’s more than six years ago."

In a publishing environment increasingly driven by the characteristic immediacy of new media such as blogs and e-zines, the ramp-up to Under Heaven's release date isn't likely to mark a quiet, stress-free time for the World Fantasy-winner, but as of now, the manuscript is itself out of Kay's perfectionist grasp at last. In point of fact, in his journal on the wonderful Bright Weavings in late January, Kay even wondered if midday was an appropriate time to pour himself a good single malt.

If by some strange happenstance this preview comes your way, Guy, I say to you: go for it. You've certainly earned a little tipple of the Highland Park.

Some other, excellent tidbits emerged from the aforementioned Book Banter interview - including the likes of this quote, on the voice Kay employs in Under Heaven: "This book [represents] a much more formal society, it’s a much more verbally structured culture; I couldn’t write this one with the tone that I used for Ysabel". But I wouldn't want to be stealing Alex's thunder by repurposing too much of such an stimulating glimpse into what awaits those of us excited by the prospect of Under Heaven, so if you need your anticipation whistle whetting, I'd heartily advise you go here and listen to his excellent interview with Kay for yourself.

Until the reviews begin in earnest, however, your best bet for a taste of the wonders Kay will shortly conjure up comes from the plot synopsis:

"For two years Shen Tai has mourned his father, living like a hermit beyond the borders of the Kitan Empire, by a mountain lake where terrible battles have long been fought between the Kitai and the neighbouring Tagurans, including one for which his father - a great general - was honoured.

"But Tai's father never forgot the brutal slaughter involved. The bones of 100,000 soldiers still lie unburied by the lake and their wailing ghosts at night strike terror in the living, leaving the lake and meadow abandoned in its ring of mountains. To honour and redress his father's sorrow, Tai has journeyed west to the lake and has laboured, alone, to bury the dead of both empires. His supplies are replenished by his own people from the nearest fort, and also - since peace has been bought with the bartering of an imperial princess - by the Tagurans, for his solitary honouring of their dead.

"The Tagurans soldiers one day bring an unexpected letter. It is from the bartered Kitan Princess Cheng-wan, and it contains a poisoned chalice: she has gifted Tai with two hundred and fifty Sardian horses, to reward him for his courage. The Sardians are legendary steeds from the far west, famed, highly-prized, long-coveted by the Kitans."

Doesn't that sound just fantastic?

I don't know that, for me, it'll necessarily be the equal of Tigana - there's always something about your first encounter with an original new voice that's near-enough impossible to compete with - but I've little doubt that Guy Gavriel Kay has another thoughtful, evocative tale to tell, and with all the otherworldly environment of Tang-dynasty China as his backdrop of choice, I, for one, can hardly wait.

Here's to Under Heaven!

***

Under Heaven

by Guy Gavriel Kay

2010, HarperVoyager: London

[Pre-order this book from Amazon

in the UK / in the US]

Recommended and Related Reading

Holiday Reading

I'm just awful at packing for holidays.

It's not that I'm not organised; it's not even that I leave it all to the last minute. It's that my priorities, in terms of what I pack, have always been a little... suspect. Essential toiletries and enough clothes to see me through my break often, I'm afraid, tend to fall victim to my mad desire to pack at least one book for every day I'll be away.

I suppose this is some consequence of a lifetime of holidays to the same dull places over and over again. When the Speculative Scotsman was but a wee beastie, my folks would take me, year in, year out, to one historical hotspot or another, to see the same sights I'd seen a hundred times before. I did not, even then, share their fascination with what made the standing stones stand, or how people might have lived in Skara Brae before it was just some excavated remains for gaggles of middle-class tourists to flock towards.

So, I'd bring books. Many, many books. I remember a week in Ireland where I read through every one of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley books, one a day; another break I can hardly remember for the erotic-come-horrific fog of Clive Barker's back catalogue that occupied me while my folks walked and hiked and climbed everything in sight.

Late last year, I was lucky enough to spend an unforgettable week in beautiful little village by the name of Diklo in Croatia - a few miles down the coast from Zadar. As per usual, I packed my suitcase full of books. I had great plans. I was finally going to finish Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. Latterly, I was going to start on Gardens of the Moon, the first volume of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. I brought Christopher Priest, Dan Simmons and Neal Stephenson. The list goes on!

In the end, I read none of the books I'd lugged across Europe with me, because some kind soul had left the three volumes of Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, and my curiosity regarding the most talked about fiction of 2009 got the better of me. I had a great time with them, of course - it's honestly hard not to - but that's perhaps a tale for another day.

For the moment, I have some news. In early March, I'm going on holiday again. I know! Alright for some, isn't it? Well. It's not quite the exciting international jaunt that Diklo was, but I'm sure between me, my lovely other half and the massive bag of books I'll be bringing, a grand old time will be had. For one thing, it's the perfect opportunity to get a start on one or two of the countless SF&F sequences that I haven't yet had the pleasure of.

Now that we're all caught up, then, my point: readers, I want you to help me choose between which of the many series I have lurking in my library I should cart up to Skye with me.

In no particular order, then, the contenders...

The Deepgate Codex

by Alan Campbell

(Comprising Scar Night, Iron

Angel, God of Clocks)

The Braided Path

by Chris Wooding

(Comprising Weavers Of Saramyr,

The Skein Of Lament, The Ascendancy Veil)

The Malazan Book of the Fallen

by Steven Erikson

(Comprising Gardens of the Moon,

Deadhouse Gates, Memories of Ice)

The Castle

by Steph Swainston

(Comprising The Year of Our War,

No Present Like Time, The Modern World)

The Book of All Hours

by Hal Duncan

(Comprising Vellum and Ink)

So there we have it. Five choices. And it's all up to you, readers!

I make no promises - I'll be taking up a bunch of forthcoming books for review on TSS too - but I'll certainly do my damndest to make a dent in at least one classic genre sequence. And whatever I read while I'm holiday, I'll report back on when I return.

I'm a terribly indecisive creature, so please do help me out here, ladies and gents - cast your votes either in the comments or on Twitter, to @niallalot - or God knows, I'll end up taking them all and then there won't be room for anything else in my luggage.

Help!

Book Review: Lex Trent Versus The Gods by Alex Bell

[Buy this book on

Amazon in the UK]

"Law student Lex Trent’s world is inhabited by fearsome magicians, ageing crones and a menagerie of Gods and Goddesses. And while Lex is seemingly dedicated to his legal studies he’s always enjoyed a challenge – which is why he leads a double life as the notorious cat burglar The Shadowman who has been (luckily) evading capture for years.

"But Lex’s luck is about to run out because the Goddess of Fortune has selected him to be her player in the highly dangerous Games. Losing is not an option for Lex (particularly as it so often involves dying) but can he really win each of the perilous rounds? Given that the reward for doing so is money, fame and glory – all things that Lex is quite keen on – he’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure he will... and he’s certainly got good experience of cheating."

***

Lex Trent Versus The Gods marks the YA debut of young British author Alex Bell, and her third published novel, all told. Informed in large part by her time as a law student, the first of what promises to be a hugely entertaining series centered around the titular farmhand-turned-adventurer manages to pull off an incredible feat indeed: believe it or not, it makes both the legal profession and the ditchwater-dull systems which underpin it... fun!

Initially, Lex isn't an easy character to sympathise with. As smug and self-satisfied as they come, he's done some truly awful things in his short life - abandoning his once-beloved grandfather to a terrible wasting disease Bell calls the soulless wake foremost among them - and if indeed he feels any remorse over his actions, he isn't quick to show it. Since escaping the pressures of his troubled family two years before the start of the story, in fact, Lex has made quite a name for himself as The Shadowman, a prolific conman and thief.

Of course, cheaters never prosper - or do they? In any event, Lex's luck finally runs out when a museum robbery goes woefully wrong and he's taken into custody by the police. When the opportunity presents itself, however, and it doesn't take long, he easily escapes the long arm of the law - and just like that, Lex on the run once again. By all rights, it seems he has something more substantial than luck on his side... and in Bell's well-wrought fantasy world, where Gods walk among men and the Globe has been split neatly into two halves joined by a great axle of ladders, he does.

Lex Trent Versus The Gods has, at its heart, a series of three trials that Lex finds himself competing in; much, I might add, to his own excitement. With a harassed lawyer by the name of Mr. Schmidt as his unlikely assistant, Lex is hand-picked by the Goddess of Fortune herself to play a dangerous game the deities of the Lands Beneath have conceived, the better to entertain themselves... or else be turned into a life-sized chess-piece likeness of himself. At the end of the day, there's really no question that Lex will play the game for Lady Luck. The only question is whether or not he'll survive it.

Bell's first novel for young adults speeds along like an enchanter's ship with a high, warm wind behind its sails. She keeps the pace brisk by ensuring that her characters rarely linger for long in any one place, though glimpses of the myriad locations Lex and his companions flit in and out of over the course of Lex Trent Versus The Gods will leave readers hungering for another opportunity to see the wonderful world Bell has created for her anti-hero to exploit.

There's action in abundance, intrigue to keep you guessing and surprises around every corner; there's wisdom, humour and character everywhere - and there is, latterly, a darker aspect to Lex's adventures, brought to light in several narrative digressions which explain his reasons for abandoning his family. But don't keep your little ones away from Bell's fantastic YA debut on that basis: she treats the thread concerned with the soulless wake with a gentle touch that never threatens to overbear on the more jovial remainder of her novel. In the end, there's something here for every reader to enjoy, be they young, old, or somewhere in the decades of limbo between those two states.

Lex Trent Versus The Gods sets an admirably high standard for all-ages fantasy. Fast-paced and full of wit and insight, Alex Bell's first YA effort makes the dullest things fun and sets the scene for another adventure that I can only hope is the equal of this cracking yarn.

***

Lex Trent Versus The Gods

by Alex Bell

February 2010, Headline: London

[Buy this book on
Amazon in the UK]

Recommended and Related Reading

The Speculative Spotlight: An Interview With Alex Bell

Hello, everyone.

At long last, it gives me great pleasure introduce you to The Speculative Spotlight, a semi-regular interview feature that with a little luck, you'll be seeing a great deal more of here on the blog. It's been an age in the offing, and I've already lined up several incredibly exciting candidates for future installments - but let's not get ahead of ourselves so soon!

I couldn't be happier to have, as the first writer to be subjected to my meandering inquiries, none other than the lovely Alex Bell, author of Lex Trent Versus the Gods as well as two previous novels that rocked genre fans upon their earlier release. Her most recent novel, published earlier this month by Headline here in the UK, is a comic fantasy fans of YA literature will find particularly to their tastes. But I'm not particularly young, nor particuarly adult, at that, and I had a great time with Lex Trent Versus the Gods. There'll be a full review on the site for your reading pleasure tomorrow, but for the moment, suffice it to say that I'd recommend Alex's latest to anyone who likes fun.

Without any further burbling, then, let's all gather round and make an effort to keep any whispering to hushed tones while The Speculative Spotlight shines on... Alex Bell.

***

Hi there, Alex.

Hello, Niall.

Well then! Thanks so much for answering my --- no, no, hang on a second. I’m getting rather ahead of myself, aren’t I?

All kidding aside, I couldn’t be happier to have you here on The Speculative Scotsman, Alex. I’ve been reading through LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS over the past few nights - well into the wee hours, in fact - and I’m pleased to say I’ve had a great time with your first all-ages fantasy. Of course, you’ve written several rather different novels in the past, haven’t you?

I am delighted to be here on the estimable Speculative Scotsman blog, Niall!

I'm glad to hear you had a good time with Lex - I certainly had loads of fun writing about him. In fact, my family teased me mercilessly for laughing at my own jokes whilst I was typing them.

In the past I have written two serious adult novels for Gollancz. THE NINTH CIRCLE is a supernatural, religious thriller, and JASMYN is supernatural romantic suspense. They are both completely different from Lex.

What was it that compelled you to write a novel for young adults, in that case? Had it always been among your no-doubt dastardly plans to win over that audience, or did LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS begin as something else entirely? I’d be very interested to hear how such a radical shift in your writing came about.

I do have an abundance of dastardly plans festering away in my brain, but this was not one of them! I don't really think of LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS as YA, as such, I think of him as comic fantasy. I've always wanted to write comic fantasy, and first wrote one when I was eighteen, which got me my agent at London Independent Books.

So LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS was a return to what I had originally wanted to do rather than a going off in a new direction.

Well, LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS is certainly funny, and fantastic, at that - stay tuned, readers, for a full review tomorrow.

So, would your first comic fantasy, as you say, be one of the two novels you mention on your excellent website that haven’t yet seen publication?

Yes, the first comic fantasy is one of those books. Maybe one day I will get it out, dust it off, and try again, because I still have a special soft spot for that one and would love to see it published rather than wasting away in a drawer.

Now I know it’s not polite to ask a lady her age, but going from the fact you’ve only been around - by which I mean alive - since 1986, you must be... what? 24 years young, at most? How on Earth have you managed to write five novels and study Law in that short space of time? What’s your secret?

I'm 24 in April, and my secret - wait for it - is that I do not sleep! I drink Red Bull instead. Lots and lots of Red Bull! All joking aside though, I was desperate to get somewhere with the writing before I finished my law degree because otherwise I knew I would go straight into training to be a solicitor and would have very little time to write from then on. It was like one of those adventure films where the hero wakes up tied to a raft that's rushing down a river and heading straight for a waterfall. I dreaded getting sucked into the legal profession and never being able to leave it. If there's a more effective incentive to write than trying to escape from a career in Law, I have yet to see it.

But I really do have a mini-fridge full of Red Bull next to my desk.

A would-be lawyer who doesn’t sleep at night? I’m going to leave that one well alone!

For all that the idea of a career as a solicitor seems to leave you in cold sweats, I noticed several things during my reading of LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS that very much feed into the notion of Law and order; if I might be so bold, your novel seems to share many of the same principles that underpin the legal system - even if Lex goes against them at every turn. There’s talk of absolute rights and entitlement; you could very well call the games trials; not to mention that Lex is himself studying Law, and the character of the Judge. Was it a conscious decision to infuse your novel with so many of these notions, or did it just... happen naturally?

Well, the inclusion of all the legal stuff was a conscious decision. There seems little point in denying that some of my own frustrations and boredoms with studying Law are reflected in Lex's feelings and behaviour. I had lectures I wanted to just throw down my books and run out of, but as I couldn't do that myself, the next best thing was to have Lex stick two fingers up at the legal profession on my behalf. This is quite unusual for me as I usually make a conscious effort to keep my own life out of the books, but I think a few personal elements did creep in with LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS. I wanted to poke fun at the Law a bit, as it got a little tedious having to take it so seriously all the time at university.

I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m prying into something very intimate here, but I’m wondering, now, if another of those personal elements you say crept into LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS was the soulless wake. Before we get to that, though, could you be so kind as to explain what the soulless wake is for those readers who haven’t yet had the pleasure of Lex’s inaugural adventure?

The soulless wake is a condition that causes a person to mentally deteriorate, until they forget who they are, and who their loved ones are. It is, to all intents and purposes, a fantasy world version of Alzheimer’s. And, yes, this is one of the personal elements that crept into LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS, as my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a couple of years before I started writing the book.

As I said, I usually try to avoid any of my own life getting into my novels, but this was something that was upsetting me at the time and it just sort of sneaked in. I think having it there helped me deal with it in a strange sort of way. Obviously, I did not react to my grandfather's illness in the same selfish manner that Lex did, but I understand the inclination to give up and run, as it is a very difficult condition to live with, and I think to care for someone who is suffering from Alzheimer’s - as my grandmother did for my grandfather - day after day, for years, requires a very special kind of patience, strength and love, and I have nothing but respect and admiration for such people, even though I am unsure whether I would be capable of such a thing myself.

For myself, I don’t imagine that’s a question you can ever truly answer until you find yourself in such an awful position.

And I wouldn’t say that it’s strange at all, Alex, that fictionalising a difficult thing you’re dealing with in the day-to-day could help you come to terms with it. In much the same way, I would think, as you incorporated into the writing of LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS another of the quandaries you’ve faced: the Law.

Now I know you don’t think of LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS as YA, but given that it’s been at the very least marketed as such, it’s certainly likely to land in the hands of young readers. How do you think that audience will react to the more difficult questions your novel raises?

I'm not sure that teenagers will react to the difficult questions any differently from how adults readers would react. The darker bits in LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS are, I hope, done in a relatively light way rather than an overly depressing way, and were not supposed to be incredibly profound or meaningful as such. The book is primarily meant to be fun, and I would hope that any reader, whether teenage or adult, would enjoy it as a light hearted piece of escapism. I suppose Lex's contempt for the legal profession could possibly put younger readers off the idea of becoming a lawyer, but as there are so very many of them already, I can't say that I view that as an overly bad thing! The world only needs so many lawyers, after all.

I certainly don’t mean to suggest that younger readers aren’t capable of grasping such provocative subject matter; quite the opposite, in fact. I feel that there’s a terribly reductive sort of snobbery as far as YA literature goes. You know the opinion I’m referring to, I’m sure: it’s just stuff and nonsense about pirates or magicians or some such, and if you really want your books to make you think, better to wait it out for the next Ian McEwan or Salman Rushdie, say, than to lower yourself to something that serves little purpose beyond keeping the kids busy.

What I’m asking, ultimately, is having written fiction for both for adults and younger readers, how do you feel YA is positioned to ask and answer the bigger questions? And, if I may, what are your thoughts on the sneers and jeers the genre so often receives from critics more concerned with the high-brow?

I think there is an element of snobbery towards YA as a genre because there is sometimes a presumption that this means "dumbing down" the story. I do think this is a shame as any decent YA book won't talk down to its audience, and novels aimed at young adults can be every bit as deep and insightful as those aimed at a slightly older market.

Having said that, I think some of the snobbery is lessoning now because of the fact that YA seems to be turning into a bigger deal, with publishers starting separate YA imprints, and online reviewers starting blogs aimed specifically at YA books. Also, with the success of things like HARRY POTTER and TWILIGHT, the line between the two markets is blurring a little. Basically, I think anything an adult book can do - any issues it can tackle or deal with - can be dealt with just as effectively in a young adult book because these are novels aimed at young adults, not children. If anything holds the content of YA books back then it is far more likely to be overly zealous parents (who don't realise their kids hear far worse on the playground every day) than the teenagers themselves. But my own experience has been that I have not been in any way hampered by writing for young adults, even though I feared at the start that I might be.

Hear hear!

Before we leave this topic once and for all, though, let me ask: you’ve said a YA book can do pretty much anything an adult novel can, but do you think there’s anything YA is capable of that adult fiction isn’t? I’m of the mind that its unique situation can work to its advantage, despite the fact that the opposite perception seems to be the overriding opinion.

Hmm. Possibly, I suppose. When I was writing LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS I felt like I had more freedom to make the characters and settings as mad and fantastical as I liked, without worrying that I ought to hold back in order to make the story more realistic or whatever. I thought these elements would be accepted more readily by teenage readers. But perhaps that was me doing an injustice to the adult market! I certainly do not think the situation of the YA market is a disadvantage, and I wouldn't deny that it might even be an advantage instead.

Quite right, too.

Moving on, you mentioned earlier that Lex deals with his grandfather’s illness selfishly. In point of fact, he’s a bit full of it in many other respects, too. He’s smug, arrogant and often rather mean - and that’s just for starters. Was there an art to making a collection of such unappealing characteristics into an appealing character?

Did you feel compelled, ultimately, to show him the error of his ways?

Oh, Lex is quite awful in a number of different ways! It's always going to be a bit of a fine line with an anti-hero, but Lex came into my head fully formed. I liked him, and enjoyed writing about him, more because of his faults than in spite of them, and I hope readers will feel the same way.

As for showing him the error of his ways, I think there are occasions in the first book, and especially in the second one, where his selfish, arrogant ways cause him problems. But he usually manages to overcome them! I would never want Lex to be completely reformed because then he would bore me profoundly!

Well, you brought up the second book, so I can’t be held responsible any longer!

What can we expect from Lex’s next adventure? Is there another game in store for him, or are there bigger hijinx afoot?

There is a game - which will be even bigger and better than last time - but there is also a spectacular scam involving cowboys, magic swords and dragons! And Lex finally meets his match in the form of his new companion - a happy-go-lucky, good-for-nothing outlaw cowboy called Jesse, who is almost as much of a liar and a cheat and a scoundrel as Lex is himself!

Oh, that does sound like fun. Any chance you could whet the appetites of TSS readers with a working title, or perchance - to dream - a rough timeframe? With all that Red Bull you’ve got to be making some serious headway with the sequel!

I finished the sequel months ago, Niall! Lex Trent books practically write themselves! Even now I can hardly believe they pay me to do it! I'm afraid I can't give you a title as that is still being discussed at the moment, and, similarly, I can't give you a release date because I don't know it myself. The first Lex book was delayed coming out due to a setback with the cover, and I assume this means the second Lex will get pushed back a little as well - which should probably make it early next year some time.

Ah, well, you can’t blame me for trying for the scoop.

My nosiness aside, that’s some great news. So you’re on number three now? Do you think we’ll see another adult Alex Bell book at some point in the future, or is the comic fantasy of Lex and his continuing adventures all you need for now?

I'm working on a serious adult book at the moment, but I would certainly love to write more Lex Trents in the future. They're very different from the adult ones but I really enjoy writing both types of book, and it's quite nice to have the two as they make a pleasant change from each other.

I gots the scoop in the end!

One last question, then, before I let you go. If you could eat LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS - and that’s not something I’d advise readers try - what would it taste like?

What a great question! It would taste like a funnel cake - this hot, fried batter cake thing that you get at theme parks, carnivals and fairs in America - with lots of powdered sugar and chocolate on top. Not particularly good for you, but a delicious treat nonetheless!

I’ll have to look that one up, can’t say I’ve had the pleasure.

Well, that’s all I’ve got. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to give me and the TSS readership an insight into the creative process, Law, YA literature and why we can’t help but love to hate Lex Trent - not to speak of all the other subjects we’ve covered in this interview. It’s been an absolute pleasure, Alex, and you’ve been a brilliant subject. Thanks again.

The pleasure was all mine, Niall! Thank you very much for the brilliant questions!

***

And that concludes my conversation with the first guest to grace The Speculative Spotlight. Wasn't it fun?

Tune in again soon for my next chat, when I'll be playing host to Sam Sykes, the machete-wielding author of Tome of the Undergates.