Joshua Palmatier's Blog, page 39

Signal Boost: "Faerie After" by Janni Lee Simner

Hey, all! The third and final book in my good friend Janni Lee Simner's young adult fantasy series is hitting the shelves today, called Faerie After, part of the Bones of Faerie trilogy. I thought you guys might be interested. Here's the cover art, a summary, and some thoughts from others about the series.





The stunning conclusion to the Bones of Faerie trilogy is here!

After a devastating war between humanity and Faerie, Liza’s world was forever changed. Plants and trees became aggressive, seeking to root in living flesh and bone, and newborn children were discovered to have magical powers. Liza was one of these children, and with her abilities she brought her mother back from the ruined Faerie realm and restored the seasons to her own.

Now there are signs of a new sickness in the forest. Piles of ash are found where living creatures once stood. Liza investigates and discovers that the Faerie realm has continued to deteriorate, slowly turning to dust, and that its fate is inexorably linked to that of the human realm. To find a solution, Liza must risk crossing over, putting herself and all she cares about at risk. Will Liza be forced to sacrifice her life and the lives of her friends in order to save both worlds?

Fans of dark fantasy and dystopian adventure were entranced by Janni Lee Simner's Bones of Faerie and Faerie Winter. Now readers of Holly Black, Melissa Marr, and Cassandra Clare can return to Janni's unique vision of a magic-infused postapocalyptic world.

Praise for Faerie Winter

“An incredible sequel to one of my very favorite books.” —Aprilynne Pike, New York Times bestselling author of Wings

“I have been waiting for this book for over two years now, since the day I finished reading Bones of Faerie. Let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed. Janni knows how to write a strong female character, and the romance is sweet and slow and lovely.” —Eve’s Fan Garden

“A hauntingly exquisite portrait of a postapocalyptic world. Fans of both fantasy and dystopian fiction will devour this one.” —School Library Journal

“A high-appeal blend of unsettling speculative fiction.” —Booklist

“An intriguing mix of post-apocalyptic fiction with a heavy dose of fantasy. All readers will find something to enjoy.” —Voice of Youth Advocates

“Entertaining. For those impatiently awaiting the next, heftier entry by Cassandra Clare or Julie Kagawa.” —Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Bones of Faerie
“If you love authors Melissa Marr or Holly Black, this is your next read.” —Justine

“Simner has added her name to the list of amazing YA Fantasy authors.” —Faerie Drink Review

“This is not your mother’s fairytale.” —TeensReadToo.com

“Post-apocalyptic fantasy? Faeries? Dystopian? Can all of these words really describe one book? In Janni Lee Simner’s case, the answer is a resounding yes!” —The Reading Zone

"Pure, stunning, it is impossible to put down or forget."—Jane Yolen, World Fantasy Award winner

Book Review: "Doppelgangster" by Laura Resnick

Doppelgangster is the second book in Laura Resnick's Esther Diamond series and I have to say it's much better than the first. I really enjoyed it. I would have picked it up at the bookstore based on the title of the book itself. So clever I'm surprised someone hasn't used it before. In any case . . .





Esther Diamond is an struggling actress in NYC who has just lost her current job. She's forced to waitress at a restaurant frequented by numerous mob gangsters, but she feels relatively safe since her current boyfriend is Connor, a cop who's just been promoted to the police's mob squad. But then she serves Charlie dinner one night. As she leaves for work, Charlie comes back to the restaurant for dinner and acts as if he hadn't already been there earlier. And then the next day, he comes in panicked and is shot right before Esther's eyes. Suddenly gangsters are seeing double and getting killed in impossible situations and it's up to Esther and her cohorts--the resident magician and fighter of Evil, and another gangster Lucky--to figure out what's going on, all while trying to date and dodge Connor as he investigates the same crimes.

As I said, I really enjoyed this book. The first book was OK, but didn't inspire me to grab the second immediately after finishing it. The idea in that first book was fun, but I thought there was a significant lull in action in the middle and a lot of flailing around to no purpose. Only the uniqueness and fun of the characters kept me reading.

That doesn't happen here at all. This second book rockets along with no lulls and lots of creative fun and interplay with the main concept of doppelgangsterism. And that's the best descriptor of the book (and series): FUN. Esther Diamond is a fun character to follow. While smart, she stays in character and never comes off as anything other than an actress who's caught up in weird situations and attempts to figure them out. She's believable, and all of her sidekicks and love interests are believable as well. Connor brings in a nice romantic element, but the book isn't a romance in any way, it's just an added element to the story and Esther's life. (As some of you know, I'm not a fan of the heavy romance elements being inserted into my fantasy or science fiction, although having real relationships is fine with me. This is much more of a relationship. Well, a struggling relationship.) I admit that I figured out who was behind it all fairly early on (there was one element that "gave it away" for me) but honestly you aren't reading this for the reveal in the end. You're reading it because the characters are fun to follow.

So, I loved this book and am sorry that I didn't get to it earlier. I'm definitely moving up the sequels higher on my "to be read" list. In fact, I already took the third book, Unsympathetic magic, off the shelf and onto my bedside stand pile. I'd suggest all of you do the same. You can start with the first book, just be aware that there is that lull in the middle. But in this series, you don't have to start at the beginning. I see no reason why you can't pick up Doppelgangster and start reading right now.

The Latest Book Discussion

We're talking about Gini Koch's latest Alien novel, Alien in the House, over at the DAW Books blog ( dawbooks )! Swing on by and see what all of the fuss is about in this wild, fast-paced, action series.

The Next Book Discussion!

I've just posted the last book discussion for the DAW Book releases for April at the DAW Books blog ( dawbooks ). This one's for Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear, the second in his Kingkiller Chronicle series. Stop on by and check it out, if you haven't heard of it already. Leave a comment if you've already read it!

New Book Discussion (Finally)!

I've just posted the book discussion for the paperback release of Sherwood Smith's Banner of the Damned, part of her Inda universe, at the DAW Books blog ( dawbooks )! Swing on by and check it out! It's a stand-alone novel from that universe, so you can pick this one up without having read the others in the series.

Book Review: CHANGELESS by Gail Carriger

This is Gail Carriger's second book in the Parasol Protectorate series, a sort of steampunkish series with werewolves and vampires thrown in for kicks. I enjoyed the first book. It's a different take on the urban fantasy series, certainly unique, and the writing is solid and smooth. There's also some humor thrown in, so while the atmosphere is dark, befitting that time period and the content of the book, there's some levity and lightness as well. A nice balance.





The basic premise of this book is that Alexia Maccon, wife to Lord Maccon, a werewolf, is "soulless," meaning that she essentially counters the paranormal. So when she touches her husband, he is mortal and his werewolf side is subdued. She can also dissipate ghosts and make vampires mortal as well. But suddenly, there appears to be a force in London with the same powers, covering an entire area of the city. Lord Maccon heads out to investigate, and Alexia does as well. But before they can figure out what's going on, the phenomenon ends, appearing again in Scotland. Both Maccons head off separately to find out what's going on--is it a weapon? a natural occurance?--while confronting Lord Maccon's past in the process.

I enjoyed this book, probably moreso than the first, mostly because the plot here is much more focused. The first book had to introduce us to the world and how it worked; this one just dives right in and it makes the reading smoother. The plot unwinds at an easy pace, and the usual biting humor based on the strict decorum of the time period is fun. We get introduced to a few new and intriguing characters, get to see more of Lord Maccon's pack, and we find out more about Lord Maccon's past.

Overall, a good book. I'd be more enthusiastic, but the plot, while interesting, never really grabbed me in a chokehold and refused to let go. It was entertaining and held my interest, but didn't do much more than that. So in the end, it was a fun read, certainly something I'd recommend--especially for those who are looking for something slightly different in the urban fantasy field--and I'll certainly be reading the next book in the series . . . but it wasn't "OMG you must read this!"

Boston Marathon Bombing Fundraiser . . . with Prizes!

So friend and fellow author David B. Coe (aka D.B. Jackson) is doing a fundraiser for the Boston Marathon Bombing organizations over at his blog and he's handing out some prizes for those who want to donate. His current series (under the D.B. Jackson name) is set in historic Boston, so he felt he needed to do something for the residents of the city. I've read his books and definitely recommend them to SF&F readers, if you haven't checked them out already. David also contributed a short story to the anthology Patricia Bray and I co-edited, After Hours: Tales From the Ur-Bar, which was set in historic Boston. So swing on by and check out the fundraiser, and if you have the cash to spare and are so inclined, contribute! And check out David's books as well.

The New Releases Are Here!

I've posted the new releases for May from DAW Books over at the blog ( dawbooks )! We have a new Alien novel from Gini Koch, an omnibus edition of three books from Stephen Leigh, and the paperback release of Michelle Sagara's Silence. Swing on by and check them out! Then hit those bookstores and grab yourself a copy!

Book Review: "Alien Diplomacy" by Gini Koch

I really enjoyed this book in the Alien series, more than the last few. This one had a little more focus for me, and the plot was a little less chaotic and the people easier to follow, which is a good thing. It was still a fast-paced, convoluted, wild story like the others . . . just more fun than the others because it was just that tiny bit calmer.





The main premise is that Martini and Kitty have now become the Alien diplomats, moving to DC where they are out to protect the rights of American Centaurians at the political level, leaving the fighting of supermonsters to others. Kitty is forced to take diplomacy classes, while the others struggle to fit in. But of course, no sooner do they reach DC than someone tries to kill Kitty . . . or are they really after her daughter? Or perhaps they're after Mr. Joel Oliver, their favorite paparazzi? Things move quickly from exploding limos to a connection to the recent rumors of supersoldiers being created down in Paraguay (mentioned in previous books) and some kind of assassination attempt to be made at the President's next big ball. Only no matter Kitty and Martini do, they can't seem to find out who the target is--whether it's Kitty, their daughter, or any one of the high-powered politicos who will be at the party, including the president himself. The race is on see if they can unravel the evil-doers plot before everything goes boom.

As I said, I enjoyed this book more than the past few in this series, mostly because the plot was less chaotic than the others, so a little easier to follow, and because the book was more focused. There were tons of people, but we weren't bouncing back and forth between them, so it was easier to keep track of everyone and remember who they all were. I really think it just came down to the focus--there was one main thread with mentions of a few tangential plots. Part of the reason this focus worked is because, unlike the previous books, the group was investigating an assassination. They were working off of something they knew was going to happen. In the past, they were always simply reacting to things and trying to catch up. Here, they knew what was going to happen, they just had to figure out who, what, why, and when. I also think the book worked better because it took some dangling plot threads we'd heard about in previous books and tied them together, so some of the chaos was resolved. So instead of making things more and more complicated by introducing more and more threads, this book took some of those and closed them off. So it felt like the book had better resolution.

At the same time, it was still the fast-paced rollercoaster ride of fun, humor, action, and sex that you expect from a Gini Koch novel. It's over-the-top antics with nice touches of humanity threaded throughout and the story itself evolves from book to book. The world changes, rather than having everyone back to normal and the status quo at the end, as happens in many urban fantasy series of this sort. I continue to enjoy the series and intend to read the next book from Gini Koch.

New Book Discussion!

I've posted the book discussion for John Marco's latest Bronze Knight novel The Forever Knight at the DAW Books blog ( dawbooks )! Swing on by and check it out!