Author and fantasy reviewer Don D’Ammassa wrote a very nice review of The Princes of the golden cage.
Here is a quote from Don D’Ammassa’s review:
“A very solid, satisfying fantasy/mystery with pretty good characterizations and a well developed setting and backdrop. One of the best first fantasy novels of the year.” You can check out his webpage, Critical Mass, and read the entire review: Here. (Scroll down a bit.)
Monday, September 10, 2007
Monday, September 3, 2007
More Reviews
Christopher Hyland, The Book Swede, has given The Princes of the golden Cage its second review from the UK.(The first was from Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review: Here.)
Here’s an excerpt from The Book Swede:
“All in all: a riveting book, not just a tale of mystery, but of magic, betrayal and love. That tends to be the blurb logline for just about every fantasy novel, but this is one where it is true and well-earned.” Read the entire review.
What Paul Abbamondi at Wistful Writings says about my book?
“The Princes of the Golden Cage is a lot of fun and a literal page-turner. All the hints and aptly placed twists culminate with an ending that is completely shocking while making sense in the run of things. I've even forgiven Mallet for making me start another series, but for what it's worth this is definitely a standalone adventure. Wholly intriguing and richly imagined, it's one of the better reads of 2007 that I've been lucky to enjoy.” Read more.
Here’s an excerpt from SciFiChick:
“The Princes of the Golden Cage is a fantastic mystery. And as the mystery dominates the story, I’d consider it more of a mystery than fantasy story. Though there are definitely elements of the fantastic with the magic-related deaths and supernatural monsters…. Fans of both mystery and fantasy will enjoy this exciting novel.” Read more.
Here’s an excerpt from The Book Swede:
“All in all: a riveting book, not just a tale of mystery, but of magic, betrayal and love. That tends to be the blurb logline for just about every fantasy novel, but this is one where it is true and well-earned.” Read the entire review.
What Paul Abbamondi at Wistful Writings says about my book?
“The Princes of the Golden Cage is a lot of fun and a literal page-turner. All the hints and aptly placed twists culminate with an ending that is completely shocking while making sense in the run of things. I've even forgiven Mallet for making me start another series, but for what it's worth this is definitely a standalone adventure. Wholly intriguing and richly imagined, it's one of the better reads of 2007 that I've been lucky to enjoy.” Read more.
Here’s an excerpt from SciFiChick:
“The Princes of the Golden Cage is a fantastic mystery. And as the mystery dominates the story, I’d consider it more of a mystery than fantasy story. Though there are definitely elements of the fantastic with the magic-related deaths and supernatural monsters…. Fans of both mystery and fantasy will enjoy this exciting novel.” Read more.
Fantasy Debut Interview
I recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by Tia Nevitt of Fantasy Debut. Miss Nevitt, who also did a review of my book, asked me some very interesting questions. Here are the first two questions.
Interview with Nathalie Mallet
Q: Nathalie was kind enough to answer ten questions for Fantasy Debut.
According to your blog, you based the world of PRINCES on the Ottoman Turk's Kafes system, which you learned about on a documentary. However, your writing betrays a significant amount of research on the Ottoman culture. You appeared to have researched everything from the type of clothing worn by different social classes to the type of pastries that were popular. How much research did you have to do to write so convincingly? Did you go to Istanbul to see the Kafes for yourself?
A: I did quite a bit of research, which for me isn’t a chore at all because I have a true passion for history and culture. As for visiting Istanbul, I wish I could say that I had. By all accounts, it is a fabulous city. No, what I did instead is use the Topkapi palace’s virtual tour set up by the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. (One can also download a very detailed map of the palace. A very helpful tool when you’re building your own imaginary palace.)
Q: All the other details I found in books and websites. I conducted my research in two waves: the first I did before starting the book and the second, more specific that one, when I had two drafts penned down. By then I knew what I was missing or wanted to add to the story to give it its Arabian Night flavor.
The pastry-eating demons were my favorite. How can you hate a demon who likes sugar? Did you make that up or did it come out of legend? And if it did come out of legend, which one? And if you did make it up, how on earth did you think of such a thing?
A: Glad you loved it, Tia. The idea didn’t come from a legend but from one of many folklore and mythical books I read—I can’t recall which one it actually came from, though. Anyway, these volumes are seeded with little-known facts concerning mythical creatures. Djinn, for example, are known to relish eating bones and to be allergic to salt. I found only one mention of these creatures craving sweets. It was enough. The image of a powerful winged demon stuffing his face with pastry was just too appealing to pass up. I had to use it, even though it was never specified what type of demon it was—one of the pleasures of writing fantasy is that it allows you the freedom to take small liberties with things. You can read the entire interview and review here.
Interview with Nathalie Mallet
Q: Nathalie was kind enough to answer ten questions for Fantasy Debut.
According to your blog, you based the world of PRINCES on the Ottoman Turk's Kafes system, which you learned about on a documentary. However, your writing betrays a significant amount of research on the Ottoman culture. You appeared to have researched everything from the type of clothing worn by different social classes to the type of pastries that were popular. How much research did you have to do to write so convincingly? Did you go to Istanbul to see the Kafes for yourself?
A: I did quite a bit of research, which for me isn’t a chore at all because I have a true passion for history and culture. As for visiting Istanbul, I wish I could say that I had. By all accounts, it is a fabulous city. No, what I did instead is use the Topkapi palace’s virtual tour set up by the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. (One can also download a very detailed map of the palace. A very helpful tool when you’re building your own imaginary palace.)
Q: All the other details I found in books and websites. I conducted my research in two waves: the first I did before starting the book and the second, more specific that one, when I had two drafts penned down. By then I knew what I was missing or wanted to add to the story to give it its Arabian Night flavor.
The pastry-eating demons were my favorite. How can you hate a demon who likes sugar? Did you make that up or did it come out of legend? And if it did come out of legend, which one? And if you did make it up, how on earth did you think of such a thing?
A: Glad you loved it, Tia. The idea didn’t come from a legend but from one of many folklore and mythical books I read—I can’t recall which one it actually came from, though. Anyway, these volumes are seeded with little-known facts concerning mythical creatures. Djinn, for example, are known to relish eating bones and to be allergic to salt. I found only one mention of these creatures craving sweets. It was enough. The image of a powerful winged demon stuffing his face with pastry was just too appealing to pass up. I had to use it, even though it was never specified what type of demon it was—one of the pleasures of writing fantasy is that it allows you the freedom to take small liberties with things. You can read the entire interview and review here.
The Princes of the Golden Cage's audio excerpts
You can now listen to the first three chapters of The Princes of the Golden Cage narrated by Alex Wilson. His rendition of Amir, the main character of the book, is spellbinding. We’re talking real magic here!
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Review by Lynda Williams
Lynda Williams is the author of the Okal Rel Universe series. Not only is she a talented science fiction writer, but she is also one of the nicest person I know. She was kind enough to review my novel. Here’s an excerpt.
Nathalie Mallet sets up the problems faced by her hero, Prince Amir, on the very first page of her lively novel, The Princes of the Golden Cage. From that point on, she artfully entwines a mystery with a journey of self-discovery that includes a motivating love interest on the side. The characters are individuals from the start, and the tale beguiles the reader with a story-telling armoury drawn from the best tradition of secret passages, hidden identities, supernatural thrills and dramatic combat. Read Lynda Williams’ entire review here.
Nathalie Mallet sets up the problems faced by her hero, Prince Amir, on the very first page of her lively novel, The Princes of the Golden Cage. From that point on, she artfully entwines a mystery with a journey of self-discovery that includes a motivating love interest on the side. The characters are individuals from the start, and the tale beguiles the reader with a story-telling armoury drawn from the best tradition of secret passages, hidden identities, supernatural thrills and dramatic combat. Read Lynda Williams’ entire review here.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
SCI FI Wire Interview
I recently had the pleasure to be interviewed by reporter extraordinaire John Joseph Adams (He’s a great guy.) for the SCI FI Wire. I really enjoyed the process and decided to post part of the interview here. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do.
Princes Unlocks Fantasy
Fantasy author Nathalie Mallet told SCI FI Wire that her novel The Princes of the Golden Cage is a blend of fantasy and mystery and tells the story of how a prince wins his freedom.
"Even though I often refer to this story as an 'Arabian Nights whodunit,' it wasn't inspired by it," Mallet said in an interview. "Out of the blue [one day], I remembered a documentary I had seen ... on the great palaces of the world. The episode that came so suddenly to my mind recounted the story of a palace where princes were imprisoned until one was chosen as heir to the throne."
Although the details of the episode were still vague in Mallet's mind at that point, she knew she had found something, she said. "It wasn't one of Archimedes' 'Eureka!' moments, but it was darn close," Mallet said. "It took me only a few hours to hunt down the information concerning the palace in question. And as I dug deeper into the history behind it, I realized that the something I had found was a real treasure."More.
Princes Unlocks Fantasy
Fantasy author Nathalie Mallet told SCI FI Wire that her novel The Princes of the Golden Cage is a blend of fantasy and mystery and tells the story of how a prince wins his freedom.
"Even though I often refer to this story as an 'Arabian Nights whodunit,' it wasn't inspired by it," Mallet said in an interview. "Out of the blue [one day], I remembered a documentary I had seen ... on the great palaces of the world. The episode that came so suddenly to my mind recounted the story of a palace where princes were imprisoned until one was chosen as heir to the throne."
Although the details of the episode were still vague in Mallet's mind at that point, she knew she had found something, she said. "It wasn't one of Archimedes' 'Eureka!' moments, but it was darn close," Mallet said. "It took me only a few hours to hunt down the information concerning the palace in question. And as I dug deeper into the history behind it, I realized that the something I had found was a real treasure."More.
More reviews
I’m quite overwhelmed by the favorable reception given to THE PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE by reviewers.
Here's an excerpt from Graeme’s Fantasy Book review:
“The sense of paranoia within the Cage almost leaps off the page and grabs the reader by the throat and I don’t think I’ve read an ‘Arabian Nights’ style fantasy novel where the stereotypical Grand Vizier, dashing swordsman and beautiful princess have felt more at home. Considering this is a relatively quick read (298 pages), the characterization has to be spot on and Mallet handles this superbly.” Read more.
Excerpt from Bookgasm:
“a pretty darn good read. The Princes of the Golden Cage from Nathalie Mallet and Night Shade Books may not be your normal fantasy cup of tea, but it has an intriguing concept, and enough going on with its characters that you might look forward to a sequel.” Read more.
Here's an excerpt from Graeme’s Fantasy Book review:
“The sense of paranoia within the Cage almost leaps off the page and grabs the reader by the throat and I don’t think I’ve read an ‘Arabian Nights’ style fantasy novel where the stereotypical Grand Vizier, dashing swordsman and beautiful princess have felt more at home. Considering this is a relatively quick read (298 pages), the characterization has to be spot on and Mallet handles this superbly.” Read more.
Excerpt from Bookgasm:
“a pretty darn good read. The Princes of the Golden Cage from Nathalie Mallet and Night Shade Books may not be your normal fantasy cup of tea, but it has an intriguing concept, and enough going on with its characters that you might look forward to a sequel.” Read more.
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