Fated By Carolyn McCray Copyright 2010 by Carolyn McCray An Off Our Meds Project, published by arrangement with the author ASIN B0050VRK20 $2.99
Fated by C...moreFated By Carolyn McCray Copyright 2010 by Carolyn McCray An Off Our Meds Project, published by arrangement with the author ASIN B0050VRK20 $2.99
Fated by Carolyn McCray was a wonderful excursion into the “what if” realms of history. I loved it. It was interesting, it was passionate and it painted a character from history – a much maligned character I must add – in a light that made him human, even if from the story’s point of view he was so much more.
I loved the character of Brutus as written by McCray, a just man who believed in freedom and the individual’s right to determine his or her own path. I liked the fact that Julius Caesar was painted as a man rather than as a martyr, both his good points and his bad points were touched upon. I found the arrogance of Marc Antony rang true, whether that was in fact his personality or not, McCray convincingly made it so. Most of all I loved the character of Syra, proud, strong and more than a match for any man.
I liked the premise that there are people who are more than human who are called upon at key times in humanity’s quest for knowledge and growth to shape events in such a way that mankind benefits from them in the long run. I ached for the characters where their destinies could not be changed and they had to squarely take responsibility for actions they were called upon to take.
Through the pages of her novel McCray made both history and its major players more interesting and understandable to the average reader. It made me want to head for the non-fiction section of my local library and find out more about Julius Caesar and Brutus, and perhaps gain a glimmer of what made Brutus a partner in what is undeniably one of the most famous assassinations in recorded history.
McCray caught me up in her story, stimulated my mind and my senses with characters and scenes so vivid they will be etched upon the canvas of my imagination for some time to come. Once I started reading Fated I was loathe to put it down even to sleep at night and upon rising I returned to it as soon as possible on the new day, anxious to see what lie ahead for the characters so interestingly and intricately woven together into a rich tapestry by McCray. I highly recommend Fated. (less)
Trojan Horse By David Lender Copyright 2011 by David T. Lender ASIN B004JF4J54
Trojan Horse by David Lender is a deeply involved story of terrorism, indu...moreTrojan Horse By David Lender Copyright 2011 by David T. Lender ASIN B004JF4J54
Trojan Horse by David Lender is a deeply involved story of terrorism, industrial espionage and intrigue taking place across the Saudi Arabia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. It involves a rich cast of characters who are very well developed and who remain in your memory long after you read the last page. It contains multiple plot twists and is so believable it is scary.
In Trojan Horse David Lender offers an unusual glimpse into the Muslim mind, both the good aspects and the bad ones. The people who honor the good they are taught, and who try to be stewards of the resources they have in trust for their people and the people who breed discontent and militant thought and stances in their followers.
I was really impressed with the quality of the storytelling in Trojan Horse. It is a rich and complex story that has to be carefully followed but the author weaves together all the varying aspects of the story quite artfully. I found myself absorbed in the story almost immediately and I read it through as quickly as could and still take in all the necessary details. I found my heart thundering in many places and nearly breaking in a few others but the story never failed to keep me absorbed.
I highly recommend Trojan Horse. It is a rich, compelling story. It is filled with well-developed tension. It is full of mystery and intrigue and interesting characters. It will hold your attention from start to finish and the story, as I already noted is realistic enough to be scary. It could happen and that’s part of what makes this such a compelling book to read. I couldn’t put it down and I think you’ll experience the same desire to see how the story unfolds to the exclusion of other activities. All my reading time, plus all my precious “free time” went into reading this book. I quite literally couldn’t put it down. (less)
Erich’s Plea by Tracey Alley, copyright 2010 by Tracey Alley ASIN B003HS4V4S (Kindle version), ISBN 2940000886342 (B&N NOOKbook), ISBN10 1453600973...moreErich’s Plea by Tracey Alley, copyright 2010 by Tracey Alley ASIN B003HS4V4S (Kindle version), ISBN 2940000886342 (B&N NOOKbook), ISBN10 1453600973 (paperback), ISBN13 978-1453600979 (paperback) eBook $0.99, paperback $14.99 Available from Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble or from your independent bookseller by special order.
Erich’s Plea by Tracey Alley is a trip into a meticulously designed fantasy world teetering on the brink of worldwide war. “Erich” is High King Erich and his plea is directed, by way of a dream to his imprisoned son, Prince Einreich, better known as Slade. Slade is being held captive in the worst prison in the known lands, one where escape is impossible, but escape is what he must do if he is to assist his father, the king.
Circumstances make for strange alliances and Slade finds himself being told in the dream to “follow the Trunk,” a strange half-ogre, half-troll. Imagine his surprise when the very creature foreseen in his dream materializes as a prisoner in the courtyard one day. A daring jailbreak ensues, bringing together followers of the different gods, as well as some non-magical people. The followers of any one sect almost all automatically distrust the followers of another sect and those who practice no magic have no fondness for those who do. It is a situation ripe with tension, both within the little group and outside of them as they hope to free themselves and take on the elven witch Shallendara, the Dark One and their group of cohorts. But worse yet is the fact a traitor is among them and no one can know for certain who should be trusted.
Alley does an admirable job of telling a story that is fraught with tension while laying the groundwork for future installments of the Witchcraft Wars. The tale kept me interested throughout its entirety and turning pages eagerly clear till the end. The story rarely lagged; I felt that each piece of information contained in the pages of the book was integral to the developing story. Finally, I enjoyed the book enough that I have the next installment sitting on my computer waiting for me to review in about a month or so.
What follows is an excerpt from the book, the necromancer Nickolai is speaking:
"I was captured in the north, in the Freeholds to be precise. I was traveling there, under orders, with Lord Michael Strong," Nickolai said slowly.
"You lie necromancer," Tares began.
"It's true, Tares,"surprisingly the interruption came from Lara. "I was there," she looked at Nickolai suspiciously, "but that was months ago."
"True," Nickolai continued smoothly even though he was quite taken aback. He had been unaware of this little halfling and wondered just how much she knew. "But what I learned in the freeholds then remains relevant now. Lord Michael and I discovered evidence that suggests a secret army is being formed. Who is behind this or why we were unable to discover. However, I did find out two interesting pieces of information, both of which involved what I believe to be assassination plots. The first," he paused and looked at Slade, "involved your father, High King Erich. Unfortunately I was unable to find out much more than the fact someone had ordered Erich killed."
Slade could feel the blood drain from his face, his heart was pounding and a cold sweat broke out on his brow. This then was what the dream had been about, his father, his king and liege lord was being stalked by an unknown assassin. Slowly Slade turned to face Wulfstan. For the first time since Slade recognized the warrior it occurred to him to wonder exactly what one of his father's royal bodyguards was doing behind bars in Ostland's most vicious prison.
"You," Slade spoke slowly, his fear for his father pounding heavily through his blood, "You should have been with him. You're his bodyguard, one of them anyway," Slade's innate sense of fairness forced him to make that qualification. His love of his father however, drove him to his feet without his even being aware of it. Like a man in a dream or a nightmare, Slade walked over to the big warrior. Grabbing hold of the front of Wulfstan's shirt in his fist he pulled his one time friend to his feet."
"What happened Wulfstan?" Slade was shouting into Wulfstan's face, all thoughts of where he was or the need for silence completely forgotten in his fear and anger. "Where's my father?"
I recommend Tracey Alley’s Erich’s Plea. It was interesting and enjoyable reading, and is set in a world so intricately developed that it is guaranteed to hold you enthralled till the final pages.
Clementine by Cherie Priest copyright 2010 by Cherie Priest, published by Subterranean Press, PO Box 190106, Burton, MI 48519 http://www.subterraneanpre...moreClementine by Cherie Priest copyright 2010 by Cherie Priest, published by Subterranean Press, PO Box 190106, Burton, MI 48519 http://www.subterraneanpress.com ISBN 978-1-59606-366-2 available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble for $4.99 for the eBook
Clementine is the second installment set in Cherie Priest’s “Clockwork Century” world. It is a world where the American Civil War still continues, great and terrible machines are being made and the city of Seattle, Washington is walled in and quarantined.
Clementine picks up the story of Croggon Hainey, a runaway slave who years before stole a Union war dirigible he renamed the Clementine. The Clementine is stolen so Hainey sets off in another stolen airship to try to recapture the Clementine and a race across the country, from Seattle, Washington to Louisville, Kentucky is on.
As Hainey races to recapture the Clementine, Maria Isabella Boyd, better known as “Belle” Boyd, a former Confederate spy has just gone to work for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, her job, to make sure the Clementine makes it safely to her destination. She’s given the information that Hainey, a man wanted by the Confederacy Belle used to serve, is hot on the Clementine's tail. Belle is given a free hand to deal with Hainey any way she wants, including turning him over to her former pals within the Confederate Army.
Clementine is a really good read, although I didn’t like it as much as the first Clockwork Century novel Boneshaker. There is plenty of action in Clementine, but I didn’t feel as though there was enough tension in the book. It’s there in places, but it builds and releases coming to only a moderate climax at the end of the book. I personally prefer novels that continue to build their tension throughout the book without any of the periodic drop-offs that I experienced while reading Clementine.
I really enjoyed the characters in Clementine and the interplay that takes place between them. I was already slightly acquainted with Croggon Hainey through Boneshaker. To me he is the Civil War equivalent of a Rambo, rushing in guns blazing saying to hell with the consequences. He knows he wants his ship back and he’ll run over anyone or anything that gets in his way.
Clementine is worth the time it takes to read it. It’s relatively short. It’s fun and it’s a definite must read if you are a fan of Priest and her Clockwork Century world. (less)
Imago Chronicles Book Four: The Tears of God by L.T. Suzuki copyright 2003 by L.T. Suzuki, available from the author's website http://web.me.com/imagobo...moreImago Chronicles Book Four: The Tears of God by L.T. Suzuki copyright 2003 by L.T. Suzuki, available from the author's website http://web.me.com/imagobooks $5.99
The imagination of Lorna Suzuki is a rich and complex place and nowhere is this made more apparent than in her stellar novel The Tears of God. The Tears of God is the fourth installment in the fantastic Imago Chronicles.
The land of Imago is a wondrous place where brave warriors and knights still fight to preserve their people and keep them free of any evil that threatens to harm them. Imago is people with humans, elves, knights, kings, princes, princesses and all the wonderful things you love to see in fantasy. It is also full of great evil that threatens the lives and loves of the characters you have come to care intensely about.
In The Tears of God Nayla finds herself battling evil in a new form, but this time it’s more personal than it’s ever been before and she must not fail or cost would be unimaginable. The Order is gathered together once again to confront an unknown enemy, or is it really an enemy from the past? Could it be one they thought they had vanquished?
Imago Chronicles Book Four: The Tears of God is the best of the Imago novels to date. Suzuki’s storytelling skills exceed all expectations and the story sets you in the middle of heart-stopping action from the outset. Suzuki handles multiple points of view with ease, always placing you where the story is the most intense. The pace is relentless in this addition to Imago Chronicles.
I highly recommend The Tears of God. It is a wonderful fantasy in the old tradition where the fates of not only individuals, but kingdoms, and entire lands are all at risk. The stakes are high, the action pounds through the pages like a herd of stampeding cattle and all you can do is get out of the way and keep reading till the final climax. I highly recommend Imago Chronicles Book Four: The Tears of God. The Tears of God can absolutely be read as a stand-alone novel. There is no need to have read the previous novels in order to understand it, any backstory that is necessary is provided within the novel itself. (less)
The 9th Judgment by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro is the ninth installment in the Women's Murder Club novels. It is the first of the Women's Murde...moreThe 9th Judgment by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro is the ninth installment in the Women's Murder Club novels. It is the first of the Women's Murder Club mysteries that I have read. I found it to be very interesting.
It is no surprise that Patterson and Paetro do a wonderful job with The 9th Judgment. As of the book's spring of 2010 publishing James Patterson holds the Guinness World Record for the most New York Times bestsellers. His skill in story-telling is superb and the book does an excellent job of drawing you in, even though you know all of the players almost immediately.
Part of what keeps you guessing is wondering what the "bad guys" will do. Knowing the identities of all the book's players does nothing to distract from the tension necessary in thrillers. Patterson and Paetro do an excellent job of developing the tension in the story. I read it in less than twenty-four hours, I found it so interesting. I truly didn't want to put it down.
Here is an excerpt from the Chapter One of The 9th judgment:
"She jerked away from him, dropping her phone into the foot well. She climbed halfway into the backseat.
Pete fired, the round whizzing through the suppressor, hitting the woman in the neck. She grabbed at the wound, blood spouting through her fingers.
'My baby,' she gasped.
'Don't worry. He won't feel anything. I promise," Pete Gordon said.
He shot the woman again, poof, this time in the side of her chest, then opened the back door and looked at the bawler, nodding off, mouth sticky with cotton candy, blue veins tracing a road map across his temple."
The 9th Judgment by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, copyright 2010 by James Patterson, published by Little, Brown and Company, Hachette Book Group, 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017, ISBN 978-0-316-03627-6(less)
Ghost Of The Black by Alan Baxter really had the potential to be a good story. some of the elements were there but it rushed toward the end of the sto...moreGhost Of The Black by Alan Baxter really had the potential to be a good story. some of the elements were there but it rushed toward the end of the story. Also the transition between scenes in some places was unimaginative, merely a spaceflight to a new place or a fight and the new scenes started. The plot line was good, but the characters, including the "hero" were all stereotypical.
Baxter's Ghost of the Black and my appreciation of it may have been affected by its brevity. It is a very difficult task to develop intense characters in novellas and short stories and Ghost Of The Black is not an exception to this problem.
The story line has so much potential for a longer work and I think I'm biased because that's really what it made me want, a longer work were Baxter could explore the characters more and really add some depth to the story. I really like the plot, I just think both the "hero" and the "villian" could have been much rounder characters.
I actually wish we had a score that was a two-and-a-half because there were aspects of this story that I really liked, but there were also aspects I felt were only okay, so given the choices offered I had to give it two stars, though in truth it falls somewhere between two and three. (less)
Cherie Priest does a wonderful job in creating a world that will scare your socks off. If you live in Seattle BONESHAKER might just give you nightmare...moreCherie Priest does a wonderful job in creating a world that will scare your socks off. If you live in Seattle BONESHAKER might just give you nightmares.
Priest gives a view of an alternate reality where the Civil War has lasted for years beyond its actual span and Seattle has been destroyed by a machine designed to tunnel through the frozen Alaskan landscape in order to access gold veins far beneath the surface. The destruction caused by this machine allows a poisonous gas to escape that causes people exposed to it to turn into zombies called rotters. Priest provides reasons why all of these events takie place so it's easy to enter into her fantasy world and suspend your disbelief.
BONESHAKER is populated with villians, heroes, zombies and air pirates. There is a wonderful buld-up of action throughout the story that leaves you panting on the edge of your seat. There is one major problem, the book is missing two pages near the end. It was very frustrating because I knew I was missing a great scene and there was nothing I could do about it. After emailing Ms. Priest she contacted her editor, according to whom one need simply send the defective book to the address below and the publisher will replace the book with one that is not faulty.
But, the missing pages don't affect the plot or the backbone of the story. It's just a great action scene near the end of the book that probably would have built the tension even more before allowing its release.
Here's an example of Priest's writing:
"Briar reached for her satchel and hastily reloaded. If the rotters had breached the building, she might have to shoot her way through them on her way to the basement.
Her hands paused as she held the canister of shells, but only briefly.
If she went downstairs and they came behind her, she'd be trapped there.
She recommenced loading the rifle, and fast. Trapped downstairs, trapped upstairs. The differences were small, and she was damned either way. Better to keep her gun loaded and her options open.
The cacophony had escalated, and Briar wondered if she hadn't already lost the option of seeking a subterranean escape. She locked the cartridges into place and took another long look over the edge.
On the street the swarm gethered and clotted. The number of rotters had at least tripled, more than making up for the small handful she'd dispatched on her way up the hotel's exterior."
BONESHAKER by Cherie Priest, copyright 2009, A Tor Book, Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, http://www.tor-forge.com ISBN 978-0-7653-1841-1 %15.99 U.S., $20.50 Canada available through Tor Books at the website above, online from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other online retailers. Also available at local book stores.(less)
MageSign by Alan Baxter is the second volume in a duology that began with Baxter’s RealmShift. The character of Isiah must purs...moreMageSign by Alan Baxter
MageSign by Alan Baxter is the second volume in a duology that began with Baxter’s RealmShift. The character of Isiah must pursue a personal vendetta with no assistance, or direction, from the force he usually serves, known as the Balance. MageSign is a fast paced ride through the depths of darkness a human soul can hold. It builds in intensity with a mystery involving a dark and twisted cult that leaves you longing for more, while building a deeper sense of dread that leaves you nearly afraid to turn the pages.
A sample of the darkness, from the early pages of the book that made my skin crawl follows:
“…’What am I doing?’ the Sorcerer asked quietly. ‘I’m feeding the baby, of course.’ With one swift motion the blade swept around and straight across Colley’s thin, pale throat. Immediately blood poured from the broad gash in an arterial flood, showering over the child. The Sorcerer muttered the words of his magic, holding tightly as Colley bucked once, twice, before collapsing limp. As Braden screamed the baby stretched its arms up into the waterfall of blood, clutching and grasping at the hot, red fluid. The blood poured over the child and into his mouth and the child gulped and gurgled, swallowing as much of the blood as he could. Little arms and legs squirmed and writhed, his small body arching up into the flow, desperately drinking deeply, the movement of the newborn unnatural. ‘He entered this world in a bath of his virgin mother’s lifeblood,’ the Sorcerer whispered, ‘and his first meal is swallowed from the bloodbath of another. We begin here the creation of untold power.”
While MageSign can be read alone I highly suggest reading the first volume of the series RealmShift, which provides an in-depth back-story for MageSign. After reading MageSign I found myself yearning for more of Isiah’s adventures, which may perhaps include a few other characters from the book. Stand alone volumes that have nothing to do with the duology or a trilogy would be fine, just give me more Isiah!
MageSign by Alan Baxter, First Edition 2008 by Blade Red Press, ISBN 978-0-9805782-1-8, Second Edition April 2010 by Gryphonwood Press ISBN 978-0-9825087-5-6 Available thrhough Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, other online bookstores as well as local book retailers. For more information consult the author's website at http://www.alanbaxteronline.com (less)
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