[Abyss]

No SPOILERS in this post. SPOILERS in subsequent replies should be

Spoiler

blocked

.

I didn't know Stover had written a third Caine book until about three days before it was released (thanks, Forum!).

I treated this news with glee, since i have a great fondness for HEROES DIE and BLADE OF TYSHALLE. I thought these were great sf/fantasy mash-up books, with a nasty but utterly readable protagonist and interesting setting.

CAINE BLACK KNIFE is more of the same. BAD LANGUAGE NO SPOILERS

Spoiler

[Stover mode ON] I give fucking Stover fucking credit for not letting an arse raping little thing like six motherfucking years since BLADE stop him that cocksucker. If you haven't read the fuck me with a crowbar first two, CAINE is going to be hard reading. Hard like an ass-raped chicken pot pie and no i don't know what that means but fuck it if fucking he can do it so can fucking i. [/Stover mode OFF]

If the preceeding paragraph offends you, skip the book. It makes the language in Richard Morgan's THE STEEL REMAINS look like David Eddings on valium. Caine has... issues... with certain sexual practices and it's sort of evident in his profanity. A lot. It's been a while since i read the first two but i don't remember the language hitting these levels.

In HEROES DIE, Stover gave us Caine, aka Hari Michaelson, an 'actor' sent by evil corporate masters into a fantasy 'Overworld' to have adventures for the thrills of the viewing public. That Overworld is real and people die, violently, just increases the ratings.

In BLADE OF TYSHALLE, the evil corps try a more hands-on approach with Overworld, and Caine has to get involved to save his family.

I really enjoyed both books. Stover has a way of making Caine thoroughly reprehensible and nasty, yet respectable - he has his own code of honour and in his own way, he's trying to do the right thing even while he's assassinating.

That said, this book goes both forward and backwards with Caine. We see him on a mission from God (literally) while in flashback we see the adventure that made him a star.

It's almost entirely first person narrative but it works. Caine goes a bit philosophical at times but i find it interesting in the context of the story and backstory. There are a few points in the book where, just in conversation, the text hits 'did i just READ that?!?!' levels.

Stover hits a new high with this book. If you enjoyed the first two, grab this. If you haven't, grab them, then grab this.

Spoiler

Fuck

. Stover writes some brilliant action scenes and despite the 'actioner' elements, there is some deep, complicated plot at work here. There are non-human factions and manipulating gods and evil corporations and suicidal revolutionaries and religious fanatics who also happen to be indestructible knights and guns and 'splosions and LOTS of four-letter wordage.

Oh, and one more note - while it hits a satisfying end, this is actually Book 1 of 2 and

Spoiler

fuck

you Stover you

Spoiler

fucking asswipe cockless pasty shitepile

for doing that because i

Spoiler

fucking

really

Spoiler

fucking

want to

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fucking

find out what

Spoiler

the fuck

happens next

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fuck fuckington mcfuck fuck

.

-

Spoiler

fucking

Abyss,

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fuck

.

[Deornoth]

I've just finished reading 'Caine Black Knife' and it was

Spoiler

fucking assboning brilliant motherfucker!

I need to read the previous two books now but getting hold of them is going to be expensive if Amazon is anything to go by

Spoiler

(Motherfuck!)

[Salt-Man Z]

I love the Caine books, but I can't afford to drop $12 (Barnes & Noble online price, compared to $14 in-store) on a trade paperback. Hopefully, one of my libraries will carry it, and I'll check it out. Otherwise, I might have to wait for Christmas money.

Deornoth, check the used-book stores in your area. I don't know where you live, but I've found multiple copies of both Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle at the Half Price Books stores in my area over the past couple years.

[Pig Iron]

Heroes Die was fun. I've been hesitating on dropping cash on an expensive used copy of Blade of Tyshalle on Amazon. From mr Abyss' review above it seems it would be f* worth it.

[Abyss]

I'm going a tiny bit spoilerish for BLADE for the purpose of encouraging others to read it, but be warned MINOR SPOILERS SPOILERS
BLADE OF TYSHALLE SPOILERS WILL
FUCK YOU UP AND SPOILERS
SHITE ON YOUR SPOILERS CHILDHOOD SPOILERS
OK SPOILERS NOT REALLY BUT SPOILERS STILL SPOILERS
SPOILER
SPOILERS

Spoiler

BLADE picks up a bit after where HEROES leaves off. BLADE is VERY dark, and a lot of the characters start the story in a position of weakness, which is a bit hard to deal with given how powerful some of them were in HEROES. It also spends a lot more time in the world, rather than Overworld, and the dystopic future is somewhat trope heavy. That said, the eventual payoff is amazing - Caine comes back from major adversity HUGE, and you get a conflict in science v magic that is just cool.

END SPOILERS


BLADE is a slow boil compared to HEROES DIE's action film. Read as a mid-point between HEROES and CAINE, it works nicely, but it was a radical shift from HEROES. I enjoyed it.

- Abyss, parboiled.

[Dr Trouble]

I am in a serious need for reading this book. But I can't find it anywhere to buy in stores! Only online, and I don't have an address to ship to at the moment.

Salt-Z>> You can't afford $12? You're into deep!

[Salt-Man Z]

It's more like I can't justify spending $12 on one book. I got $25 for my birthday, and though I really wanted to pick up CBK and BH, it seemed much more worthwhile to pick up 6-7 books at Half Price Books.

[Use Of Weapons]

I can't be the only one thinking, while reading this thread, 'But Betty Stover, the legendary female tennis player and Grand Slam winner, would never write a book like this, would she?'

What is this author's first name?

[Salt-Man Z]

Matthew Woodring F@#$ing Stover.

[Deornoth]

Saltman - I'm in the UK so it's always a little more difficult to find secondhand stuff from the US, at least it always seems to be for me...

[murphy72]

Okay, you got me. I'm going to order the first book in the series from B & N ($7.19) today. If I like it, I'll try for the rest. Random House shows that they are going to rerelease Blade in eformat on December 9, this year.

[murphy72]

 Briar King, on Nov 16 2008, 11:45 AM, said:

HD & BoT were fucking uber badass reads. I loved them.

I will wait until this one comes out in pb though before I get it as my other two are pb's.

It's already out in trade (large) paperback.

[Abyss]

 murphy72, on Nov 16 2008, 03:07 PM, said:

 Briar King, on Nov 16 2008, 11:45 AM, said:

HD & BoT were fucking uber badass reads. I loved them.

I will wait until this one fucking comes out in pb though before I get it as my other two are pb's.

It's already out in fucking trade (large) paperback.

editted to properly fit within the thread.

I could be wrong but i think it's currently only out in (fucking) tpb (as in no hardback).

- Abyss, bcs no post in this thread is complete without gratuitous harsh language...

[murphy72]

 Abyss, on Nov 17 2008, 07:35 AM, said:

 murphy72, on Nov 16 2008, 03:07 PM, said:

 Briar King, on Nov 16 2008, 11:45 AM, said:

HD & BoT were fucking uber badass reads. I loved them.

I will wait until this one fucking comes out in pb though before I get it as my other two are pb's.

It's already out in fucking trade (large) paperback.

editted to properly fit within the thread.

I could be wrong but i think it's currently only out in (fucking) tpb (as in no hardback).

- Abyss, bcs no post in this thread is complete without gratuitous harsh language...

How could Abyss ever be fucking wrong?

[Sir Thursday]

Just finished Heroes Die and thought it was fantastic...Blade of Tyshalle is incredibly expensive though. £31!!!! I shall have to try and find somewhere cheaper, I guess...


Sir Thursday

[Abyss]

 Sir Thursday, on Nov 21 2008, 08:41 PM, said:

Just finished Heroes Die and thought it was fuck me in the ear with a bowl of ravioli fantastic...Blade of Tyshalle is incredibly fucking expensive though. £31!!!! I shall have to bloody well fucking fuckity fuck fuck try and find somewhere cheaper, I guess...


Sir Thursday

and again,,,

I think you can get the paperback off amazon.ca or .com way fucking cheaper.

- Abyss, ...doesn't actually think that ravioli thing would work....

[Sir Thursday]

Actually, I didn't notice that many swear words in it...apart from the section where Berne kept thinking of Talann as 'wild ass bitch'. I had to laugh at that.


Sir Thursday

[Abyss]

Much excitement and must necro this thread to note that i had a look at Stover's blog to discover, to my great joy, that's he's passed the completed ACTS OF CAINE: HIS FATHER'S FIST on to his publishers who have tentatively sched'd it for Mar 2011. And as soon as it's available i will be pre-ordering that motherfucker like a motherfucking motherfucker. Fuck.

- Abyss, fucking psychfucked.

[polishgenius]

I still can't get Blade of Tyshalle.

[Pig Iron]

 Abyss, on 09 November 2010 - 09:27 PM, said:

Much excitement and must necro this thread to note that i had a look at Stover's blog to discover, to my great joy, that's he's passed the completed ACTS OF CAINE: HIS FATHER'S FIST on to his publishers who have tentatively sched'd it for Mar 2011. And as soon as it's available i will be pre-ordering that motherfucker like a motherfucking motherfucker. Fuck.

- Abyss, fucking psychfucked.

Had no idea. F* christmas right there.

BoT is on Kindle BTW.