Tag Archives: Lavie Tidhar

Lavie Tidhar – Paradigm Shift

Hello and welcome to Track of Words, where today I’m absolutely delighted to welcome the fantastic Lavie Tidhar with a guest post taking a broad view over the science fiction genre as a whole – a sort of sci-fi state of the nation. A genre-spanning author of so many fantastic books, and editor of the wonderful The Best of World SF anthologies (both of which are available now from Head of Zeus), I can’t think of anyone better placed than Lavie to speak about current trends in SF fiction and publishing. If you’re at all interested in science fiction, whether as a reader or a writer, there’s bound to be food for thought in this excellent post.

Continue reading →

The Hood – Lavie Tidhar

Lavie Tidhar’s British history/mythology/fantasy mashup The Hood, out now from Head of Zeus, is quite frankly batshit crazy. The second book (following By Force Alone) of his ‘Anti-Matter of Britain Quartet’, it’s a wild reinterpretation of the legends of Robin Hood by way of the Knights Templar, the Murder Ballads, fairy tales, fantasy and a shitload of narcotic fungi – it’s totally bizarre, but weirdly compelling. Set across a strangely distended span of decades and taking in everywhere from the city of Nottingham and the surrounding Sherwood Forest to York, London, the Holy Land and Faerie, it begins with the ill-fated kidnapping of Maid Marian and goes on to feature traumatised veteran Will Scarlett, perma-baffled knight Richard at the Lee, the harpist Alan-a-dale, a Jewish drug mastermind named Rebecca, a succession of Sheriffs of Nottingham, and all manner of other weird and wonderful hoods in the woods.

Continue reading →

QUICK REVIEW: Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre – Lavie Tidhar

Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre, the third of Lavie Tidhar’s Golden Age detective (but with vampires) short stories for Tor.com, sees the eponymous vampire judge and his human companion Jonathan in Paris, remaining in one place for an unusually long time. Even as Jonathan enjoys a measure of stability, not to mention plenty of good French food, he wonders what it is that’s keeping them in Paris, as the normally ascetic judge spends his time attending plays and mingling with Paris’ vampiric population. When a dinner party turns bloody, however, the judge has his work cut out identifying the culprit, given that every vampire in attendance had motive for murder.

Continue reading →

QUICK REVIEW: Judge Dee and the Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels – Lavie Tidhar

The second of Lavie Tidhar’s supernatural, Golden Age-esque mystery stories for Tor.com, Judge Dee and the Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels is another tale of feuding vampires and the implacable justice of the titular Judge Dee. While travelling through the Alps with his put-upon human assistant Jonathan, Judge Dee is summoned to the Duchy of Bavaria to investigate the murder of a vampire. When they arrive at Castle Werdenfels, the Judge and Jonathan find no fewer than three potential culprits, each one claiming to have murdered the Count and proclaiming themselves the inheritors of the castle as a result.

Continue reading →

QUICK REVIEW: Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law – Lavie Tidhar

The first in a new series of short stories from Lavie Tidhar, published by Tor.com, Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law is a delightful mix of gothic vampire story and Golden Age mystery. Accompanied by his slightly hesitant human assistant Jonathan, Judge Dee – a wise old vampire prone to long stares and thoughtful pauses – travels to the Castello d’oro to investigate a squabble between two vampire nobles. As the enforcer of vampiric law (the pax lamia) it’s within his power to be judge, jury and executioner, but first he needs to uncover the truth of what really happened.

Continue reading →