Chapter One

An excerpt of The Princes of the Golden Cage is now posted on my website. So, do you feel like reading the first chapter of the book? Here is a shortcut!

http://www.nathaliemallet.com/Chapter1.PDF

Good news

This morning I received an email from John Joseph Adams containing a series of wonderful comments and reviews about my book and my publisher, Night Shade Books. Go ahead and check them out.


· http://fantasydebut.blogspot.com/2007/08/princes-of-golden-cage-by-nathalie.html
· http://evzine.blogspot.com/2007/08/reading-princes-of-golden-cage-by.html
· http://trashotron.com/agony/news/2007/08-13-07.htm


And this one from Jeremy Brown at The Fantasy Review—Fantasy Book news and Reviews, almost made me cry (of joy). Seriously—it got to me! So please give it a read.

http://www.thefantasyreview.com/2007/08/21/the-princes-of-the-golden-cage-review/#more-218

Home Sweet Home

I arrived late last night form Calgary after a nine-hour drive. Right now I’m in the midst of gathering photos to complete my Con-Version post…and recuperating, of course. My thoughts are somewhat ragged at this point. But don’t worry. The post should be ready soon.

I'll be back

I’m leaving for Con-Version 23, Calgary’s premier science fiction and fantasy convention, tomorrow morning, and I won’t be back until the 20th. (It’s my very first convention, and I’m a panelist—yikes! Oh well, I suppose I better get used to the taste of toe jam, because knowing me I’m bound to put my foot in my mouth a few times. I’m joking—sort of.) Besides that, I know it’s going to be a lot of fun, partly because I’m going there with a group of friends and authors. Thus, you can expect my next post to contain a detailed account of my experience, and, yes, there will be plenty of pictures too.

Another good review

John Kilma has posted a great review of my book on his blog: EV Zine Blog. For those of you who do not know this, John Kilma is the editor of Electric Velocipede, a wonderful magazine that publishes a broad range of short stories in different genres…and some poetry too.

Here is the link:http://evzine.blogspot.com/2007/08/reading-princes-of-golden-cage-by.html

Booklist review

*The Princes of the Golden Cage.*
Mallet, Nathalie (author).
Aug. 2007. 320p.
Night Shade Books (Publisher), paperback, $7.99


"In the later Ottoman Empire, instead of killing all princes but the imperial heir (an earlier custom), lesser princes were kept in luxurious captivity, more or less as backups. Middling prince Amir has become a scholar, which makes him suspect when his brothers begin dying of apparently supernatural causes. Aided by highest-ranking brother Erik, Amir must unravel multiple plots to avoid murder or painful execution. Mallet has realized a fascinating, historically derived world whose characters, especially Amir and Erik, are skillful variations of Ottoman archetypes. The plot is simple, but the pacing is excellent." Booklist

The first review of The Princes of the Golden Cage! Psst...check out its brand-new cover.

By Faren Miller at Locus

Another killer stalks royal victims in The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet, a first novel set in a Sultan’s vast palace that resembles something from the Arabian Nights. Tradition and their father’s fiat restrict his host of princely sons to a life nearly as constricted as that of their mothers in his harem, until their own feuds over posted individual “rankings” produce a suitable heir through something like a Darwinian survival of the fittest.

Prince Amir, the first-person narrator, wants none of this, preferring to stay unheeded on the sidelines and go his own way as a scholar/alchemist.

Then princes start dying at each full moon, mysterious deaths that smack of magic to the point where even a young alchemist could become suspect. Amir could use an ally, and he finds one in Erik, a half-brother with a Nordic mother and much broader, more extroverted scholarly interests in things like economy, politics, history, and law. The two make a good investigative team, whenever Erik isn’t busy introducing Amir into the mysteries of courtly life or sparring with him in friendly practice duels (elements closer to a Dumas swashbuckler than tales of old Araby).

In all, this is a fine debut, a vibrant blend of mystery, adventure, and the fantastic.

I'm ecstatic about this review. No kidding! Big thanks to Faren Miller. And have you noticed the new cover? GO AND CLICK ON IT.