Swainston

For us, until we find him, we're gonna perform like he's alive, said Nick Swainston, a squad leader for Oklahoma Task Force One.

Hope fades for boy's survival in Joplin, Mo. 2011

It ended an hour later with the young Leeds prop Phil Swainston leaving the field with a suspected broken arm.

Billy Twelvetrees revels in new role as Leicester hammer Leeds Ian Malin at Welford Road 2010

Swainston and 34 others searched for Zach for two hours Tuesday morning.

Hope fades for boy's survival in Joplin, Mo. 2011

Justina Robson and Steph Swainston are both remarkable fantasists with series books.

MIND MELD: The Best Women Writers in SF/F 2009

Swainston crams a surprising amount of plot into the book's 360 pages, such as the tortured family history of Lightning, the Archer, and the machinations of Swallow, the musician-governess of Awndan, as she attempts to become immortal herself.

The Year of Our War by Steph Swainston + Richard Morgan snippet Adam Whitehead 2008

The writing is quite interesting, with a sense of bright-eyed whimsy which is often at odds with the subject matter (drug abuse, a soldier getting his stomach torn out, a violent sex scene) in a manner not entirely removed from Jack Vance (although Swainston doesn't push it quite as far as Vance).

Archive 2008-03-01 Adam Whitehead 2008

However, the Swainston excerpt isn't from the book mentioned - perhaps that one is better, being as it appears the first in a trilogy, and higher rated and more widely held on librarything, too.

Archive 2008-03-01 Blue Tyson 2008

The strange mixing of time and space in the book - this is a medieval world with T-shirts and jeans and added steampunk moments - is much more reminiscent of Mieville, which I get the impression is what Swainston was aiming for and was successful, given her acknowledged place in the New Weird pantheon and Mieville's endorsement on the cover.

The Year of Our War by Steph Swainston + Richard Morgan snippet Adam Whitehead 2008

Swainston crams a surprising amount of plot into the book's 360 pages, such as the tortured family history of Lightning, the Archer, and the machinations of Swallow, the musician-governess of Awndan, as she attempts to become immortal herself.

Archive 2008-03-01 Adam Whitehead 2008

Swainston is clearly a talented writer and I look forward to investigating her other work, but at the same time this debut novel is rough around the edges and the ending doesn't really justify the build-up.

Archive 2008-03-01 Adam Whitehead 2008