Few romantic stories are as complex as those written by a futurist; and Bruce Sterling proves this case to the elegant extreme.

Love is Strange is just what the title suggests; an exploration of romance that is destined to take the protagonists places far beyond the norm. But then the main characters themselves cannot claim to be mainstream, so their journey seems custom tailored the their eccentric dispositions.

Gavin, a young Seattle project evaluator working in a venture capital firm, is a guest speaker at a futurist conference in Capri. Using the conference as a cover for his company’s somewhat shady business deal with a Brazilian cultural minister he enlists the help of his nomadic translator, Farfalla, to help him get in contact with her past client.

Deeply rooted in her mystic upbringing, Farfalla immediately develops an attraction to Gavin; believing him to be “The One” spoken of by her occult mentor. She also rapidly takes on a semi-maternal role with Gavin’s sister; a young Goth musician who is as certain of her eventual fame as Farfalla is of her supernatural connection to Gavin.

The story soon delves deep into the complexities of love, especially when two completely separate narratives seem to be running side by side. Gavin’s journey is taking him towards either the salvation or destruction of his old-money family. Farfalla’s own road to happiness is also strewn with complications revolving around her communist parents and oblivious circuit designer boyfriend.

Love is not only strange but horrifically difficult in Sterling’s tale; and certainty is as much of a hindrance as ambiguity. It is often hard to consistently empathise with both Gavin and Farfalla at the same time, as their opinions clash repeatedly making this story an emotional tug-of-war with no clear line in the dirt.

During the novel Sterling maintains his consistently expressive style that is inherent in many of the greatest futurist writers. There is the constant reverence for what has come with the hope of what is to come, and on the edge there is always a hint of possible destruction. These things are what makes a great tale, and Love is Strange is no exception simply because it is a romance story above all.

Solid writing, evocative scenes and twisted underlying narratives all come together to create something that is neither one thing nor another, but a mixture of many different subjects that prove that love is very strange indeed.

Publisher: 40k Books (December 22, 2012)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Language: English

ASIN: B00ASBPAWY

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m ABSOLUTELY delighted to announce that the SENTIENTS OF ORION series is now available in e-book format in the USA. You can purchase it  through:

E-READS

KOBO (coming soon)

APPLE

AMAZON

NOOK

As you know, I’m blessed to have amazing artist WAYNE HAAG drawing a free graphic novel to celebrate the release of the books. You’ve already seen the cover – but here’s a sneak peek at some of the internals as well. The graphic novel entitled The Hue will be available from this website in February 2013.

Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha (Fever)

by Karen Marie Moning, Al Rio (Artist), David Lawrence (Scripter), Cliff Richards (Illustrations)

An all-new Mac & Barrons story by #1 “New York Times” bestselling author Karen Marie Moning, marvelously adapted into a full-color graphic novel by writer David Lawrence and illustrator Al Rio 

In “Fever Moon, ” we meet the most ancient and deadly Unseelie ever created, the Fear Dorcha. For eons, he’s traveled worlds with the Unseelie king, leaving behind him a path of mutilation and destruction. Now he’s hunting Dublin, and no one Mac loves is safe.
Dublin is a war zone. The walls between humans and Fae are down. A third of the world’s population is dead and chaos reigns. Imprisoned over half a million years ago, the Unseelie are free and each one Mac meets is worse than the last. Human weapons don’t stand a chance against them.
With a blood moon hanging low over the city, something dark and sinister begins to hunt the streets of Temple Bar, choosing its victims by targeting those closest to Mac. Armed only with the Spear of Destiny and Jericho Barrons, she must face her most terrifying enemy yet.

Hardcover, 144 pages  Published July 10th 2012 by Del Rey  ISBN 0345525485 (ISBN13: 9780345525482)

This graphic novel had very detailed illustrations. The emotions and intensity of the story leapt off the pages. After what has happened to Mac in the past, she’s out for revenge. She’s pissed off and now that her friends and acquaintances are being attacked, it’s personal. She doesn’t run from anything, in fact she runs towards it.

It was entertaining to see how the artwork portrayed the villain with no face, and how each of the victims had parts of their face stolen. Mac’s purpose is to discover 1) who is stealing face parts 2) how many faces are they going to take and 3) how much time does she have.

I was impressed by how much detail went into the artwork. The city is in the middle of a war and buildings are destroyed. Most of the story takes place at night and it’s dark, dirty and falling apart. Each brick, facial and body expression, plus details in the crowded bars and streets were all very precise. The landscape is gloomy, the creatures are frightful and the men, well..they are sexy!

The majority of the story is told in dialogue and pictures, with some side details along the way. This has been my favorite form in graphic novels as it really helps to push along the plot at a faster pace, as well as getting to know the characters better at the same time.

There is a bonus feature in the back of the book where we not only get a detailed overview of the Fever series by the author herself but we also get a handful of pages where each of the characters are drawn and their involvement in the series are detailed. The fully colored pages add the extra visuals to the story that help us put a face to the name.