Warren Rochelle's Blog, page 21

A Short Review of First Frost, by Sarah Addison Allen

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Big Sarah Addison Allen fan here. And I think other fans will enjoy this sequel to Garden Spells and the continuing adventures of the Waverly family. Claire has started a new business, Waverly's Candies--but it seems it might be too successful. "Through her handcrafted confections--rose to recall lost love, lavender to promote happiness, and lemon verbena to soothe throats and minds--is singularly effective," the business itself is consuming her life, taking her from her family and causing her to question her own magic.

Her sister, Sydney, longs for another child--a son for her husband, Henry. They are trying. But her longing is consuming her as well.

Bay, Sydney's daughter, is now a high school-aged teenager and she has found the boy she knows, as only a Waverly can, who is meant for her. But Josh Matteson doesn't seem to know this, and that he is on the other side of the tracks--the richer, respectable side--will he ever know what is clearly meant to be? As Bay has "finally understood... no matter how hard you try, you can't make someone love you. You can't stop them from making the wrong decision" (17).

Then the mysterious stranger arrives, with secrets that could break the family.

And first frost is coming--with its own magic. Something--or some things--were/are going to change.

The magical and the mundane, sweetness, love longed for, lost and found, truths revealed, and the intricacies of family drama--all here as Allen fans have come to expect, in a well-crafted and gracefully told tale.



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A Short Review of The Mercury Waltz, by Kathe Koja

The Mercury Waltz by Kathe Koja

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Mercury Waltz, like Under the Poppy, its prequel, is not for the faint-hearted. Rich, dense, complex, intricate--so I would describe the world and characters of this fin de siecle/Victorian tale, set in what seems to be a universe very close to that of the reader--but then, is there magic here or not? Or is just the magic of the stage, of the theatre, of the storyteller.

Koja continues the story of Rupert and Istvan, puppeteers, who seem to have found a home here in the Mercury. Here Istvan's wonderful and daring tales can be presented on the stage and here Rupert can feel settled. Or can he? There is danger--the local government sees them and their work as immoral--is it? What will happen with the powers of the conventional and the safe confront those who are not safe or conventional, and all too risky, but are the more human?

At the heart of htis tale is the ongoing love story of Rupert and Istvan and of those around them--finding love, and sometimes losing it. Those who loved Under the Poppy will not be disappointed.



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A Review of Wind Raker, by Melissa Scott and Jo Graham.

Wind Raker by Melissa Scott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Like the first three books in this series, The Order of the Air, Scott and Graham have clearly done their homework in creating/recreating this alternate 1930s which is also ours-rather this is a hidden 1930s. History as we know it is in progress: the Nazis have risen to power in Germany, and FDR is in the White House. And there are other forces, other powers, at work. Magic is real, so are the old gods and the Occult. There are those of us, like Alma and Lewis, Mitch, and Jerry, who are practitioners, who are the Order of the Air, and work for good--and others who don't.

"It's the summer of 1935 and Gilchrist Aviation's owner, Alma Gilchrist Segura has brokered a deal that will take herself and fellow pilots Lewis Segura and Mitchell Sorley to Honolulu to test a new seaplane." The gig pays enough that they can take their families along, including the 3 children of their handyman who has abandoned them. Jerry, the other member of the Order is already out there, working on a new dig "investigating whether Hawaii was actually discovered by the Chinese. It's a crackpot idea but it's [Jerry's] chance to prove he can still handle fieldwork," even though missing part of his left from an injury in the Great War.

But, as Scott and Graham fans can expect, not so fast. Who is funding this dig and why? Why is the German archaeologist Willi Radke there, "who seems to know exactly what they want to find?" Why is this new plane plagued by mechanical errors--could the engineer Lily really be cursed? Who wants to kill a "middle-aged Army office of an allied lodge?" Evil is at work, powerful evil, can Jerry, Al, Mitch, and Lewis defeat it?

Along with the magical mystery there is the human drama. The abandoned and traumatized children--will they accept Mitch and his wife, Stasi, as foster parents? Can Jerry prove himself as a dig director and restart his career? Will the unexpected relationship Jerry finds himself in with Willi last past the summer? Should it?

At times, the background material of 1930s aviation slows down this richly detailed and well constructed story, but not enough to slow the reader and lose any interest. And background material like this is necessary. Mystery, drama, danger, evil--all here, along with believable and engaging characters.

Fans will enjoy this book. Those who have been waiting for Jerry to have a relationships will be glad, too.

Recommended.




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A Short Review of The Dark Defiles, by Richard Morgan

The Dark Defiles by Richard K. Morgan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the end of the road for Gil. Sent north with Egar Dragonbane and Archeth on a quest to the Hironish Isles, in search of the "last resting place of the Illwrack Changeling and the fabled floating city of An Kirilnar," it turns out the resting place is "everywhere and nowhere" and, as for the city, well...

Plus there is the Dark Court and its malevolent agenda, and war breaks out ... the Dwenda are involved and the Grey Places are calling..

How all this plays out is worth the read. Where will Gil and Archeth and Egar be at the end of this? What is Gil's ultimate fate?



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A Short Review of Blood Oranges, by Kathleen Tierney

Blood Oranges by Kathleen Tierney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Quinn. A badass demon hunter. An ex-junkie. Wanted, as she says "for crimes against inhumanity" that she "(mostly) didn't commit," she is almost eaten by a werewolf, until a vampire saves her, and takes a bite out of her. And did I mention she was already bitten by a werewolf? She's both: what is a girl to do. Quinn is, as Amber Benson says, "a pedal-to-the-metal balls-to-the-wall female antihero who doesn't give a damn whether you like her or not."

There is a mystery to be solved, bad (than her? sort of) guys to be caught, and occasionally, she eats a few. A troll under the bridge is her buddy, and Quinn trucks on.

You gotta love her.



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A Short Review of City of Stairs, by Robert Jackson Bennett

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I liked the world created here: the city of Bulikov and its visible and real gods, gods who can be killed, now conquered and its history erased, well, censored, as the reminders are there. Enter Shara Thivani, seemingly a junior diplomat sent by the city's conquerors, as part of the government. But she is really sent to solve a murder and in the process of her covert investigation, it turns out these gods might not be so dead, and that the past might not be so hidden after all.

Good stuff.



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A Review of A Death at the Dionysus Club

A Death at the Dionysus Club by Melissa Scott

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


First, let me state for the record, I am a BIG fan of Melissa Scott & Amy Griswold. Those who loved the prequel to this book, Death by Silver, and its two heroes Julian Lynes, magic-using detective, and Ned Mathey, metaphysician, in a richly detailed and believable alternate Victorian London, will not be disappointed.

Scotland Yard wants Ned for its Metaphysical Squad. A poet comes to Julian. The poet is being blackmailed for writing ladies' romances. The Yard wants to investigate a mysterious murder: the man's heart has been removed. Are these events connected? Is there some heart-stealing supernatural creature at liberty? Will the investigation of these crimes expose Ned and Julian--as lovers in a society that would condemn them as sodomites? Julian and Ned are now an established couple, beginning to build a life together in a society that condemns homosexuality except in the shadowy gay demimonde of such places as the Dionysus Club. Can their relationship survive?

This tale--a love story, a murder mystery--and its beautifully constructed alternate reality--is highly recommended.



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A Short Review of The Heroine's Journey, by Maureen Murdock

The Heroine's Journey: Woman's Quest for Wholeness by Maureen Murdock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Murdock wrote this book to be therapeutic, to not just share the "essence of the female journey," but to guide women through a journey of self-actualization, of self-discovery, as she grows up, comes of age, as she becomes her self, as she becomes an adult woman.

The heroine's journey template used is akin to the Hero's Journey or the Monomyth made so familiar by Joseph Campbell, and the book takes the reader through each stage, from Separation from the Feminine to Integration of the Feminine and the Masculine, to wholeness. There are many examples or stories given of women at each stage, and I think this could be a very useful book.

What I missed was any acknowledgment of women who were not straight, who were not seeking a "man with a heart." I wanted to read more of the mythic at work here, but that is not what Murdock is about--for that, read Frankel, From Girl to Goddess. I would recommend reading both books together.




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A Review of Lost Lake, by Sarah Addison Allen

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Sarah Addison Allen fans won’t be disappointed in her latest novel, Lost Lake, a gentle fantasy of the magical and the mundane, of love and romance, and secrets and families and the sacrifices love sometimes demands we make.

The story begins in the past, in Paris, in 1962. Eby Pim and her husband, George, are lingering, stretching out their vacation as long as they can, because “the longer they spent away, the longer they wanted to stay away” (12). One night they are out walking and meet a young girl, Lisette, who, to their horror, jumps into the river. They save her and she follows them, all the way back to America and eventually to Lost Lake, a magical place hidden in the Georgia countryside.

Then, a gentle shift and we are in present-day Atlanta. Addison fans won’t feel dislocated; they know the connections will be made. It’s been a year since the death of Kate Pheris’s husband. Today is moving day for Kate and her daughter, a move orchestrated by her super-capable mother-in-law, Cricket, who micromanages everything. “Cricket doesn’t weather anything. She controlled storms.” She rescued Kate and Devin after her son’s death and Kate’s collapses into a dark, dark lost year of deep grief. Cricket, who is a real estate agent par excellence, doesn’t waste anything; this move is to be filmed for a commercial: “We know a thing about moving on” (22).

The connection to Eby? Her sister, Quinn, was Kate’s grandmother. Kate has had no contact with her great-aunt for years, but she has never forgotten the summer when she was 12 that she spent at Lost Lake. For Eby, now 76, some of Lost Lake’s magic seems to be gone. The cabin resort has been slowly going downhill for years. It looks like she will be forced to sell. This may be the last summer for the quirky folks who have taken a cabin every year, such as Selma, who has been married seven times, and her friend, Bulahdeen, whose husband is in memory care for Alzheimer’s.

Kate, with Devin, bolts from her mother-in-law’s relentless caring and self-serving control. A 15-year-old post card from Lost Lake turns up as they finish packing up their house, the memories rush back and now that Kate has awakened from her grief, she is faced with what it will mean to live completely under Cricket’s control.

They run away and escape to Lost Lake. They almost can’t find it. They drive through a “kaleidoscope of landscapes … farmland, sandy pine barrens, cypress ponds … but mile after mile there was no Lost Lake” (46-47). Until a large alligator “suddenly appeared on the gritty ribbon of highway in front of them’ (47). Avoiding the alligator almost causes them to hit another car and when they catch their breath, there is no alligator, but Devin sees the road sign pointing to Lost Lake.

Was the alligator there or not? Serendipity or gentle magic? Time will tell. Directly ahead for Devin and Kate is reunion with Eby, and what soon turns out to revelations of more possible magic as Kate and Devin learn when they meet Bulahdeen. She tells them that Selma has “eight charms. Eight surefire opportunities to marry the man she wants.” Seven charms have been used. But is this just Selma’s desire, her overwhelming belief in herself? And Lisette, is she just imagining that Luc’s ghost, still 16, is sitting quietly in her kitchen every morning—just as he was when she saw him last before he killed himself after she had turned him down as her lover?

What will happen when a farewell party for Lost Lake is planned, a farewell before it is sold?
And when the last of the players enter the stage, Wes Patterson, the childhood friend of Kate, and his unscrupulous Uncle Lazlo? The latter is a familiar evil: he wants to buy Lost Lake and develop the property. Not to mention the alligator…

Things are now in motion, both in memory and in the present. Allen fans know that things will eventually turn out, more or less okay. Lovers will be reunited and wrongs addressed. There will be complications, crises, and confrontations. There will be magic—and magic will come with a price. The alligator has work to do.

This time, things seem darker. Some of the prices paid to stop the bad guy, end the evil and right—at least some of them—of the wrongs—seemed, to me, to be high and they were paid at great cost and with pain. Allen’s gaze has sharpened, and her understanding of the human condition has deepened, and the novel is the richer for it.

On a different note, when I read the Acknowledgments I learned that in 2011 Allen had been diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer. She is okay; the Acknowledgment ends with this sentence: “I just celebrated my second year in remission.” Hallelujah!

Allen fans, you’ll love this one, too.

PS: I am still hoping for some gay characters.




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A Review of Red Rising, by Pierce Brown

Red Rising, by Pierce Brown

“Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow …Pierce Brown’s empire-crushing debut is a sprawling vision…” These are some of the glowing words used by Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Pandemic, to describe another New York Times bestseller, Red Rising, by Pierce Brown.
“A natural for Hunger Games fans” is the opinion of the Booklist reviewer.
Wow.
Maybe.
Maybe it’s just me.
I did enjoy reading this first novel of a trilogy; and a dark, dark tale set on Mars in a far future, in which humans have colonized the solar system. Darrow is a Red, the lowest caste in a color-coded society, ruled by Golds. Grays are the military, Silvers manipulate currency, Yellows, medicine, and so on. Darrow is a laborer, working to terraform Mars and make it suitable for future generations. He works so that his descendants will walk freely on surface of the planet. His existence, and all the Reds who live underground, is hardscrabble, harsh, and cruel, and life is short. This cruelty can be summed in just one example, as Darrow explains. “On Mars, there is not much gravity. So you have to pull the feet to break the neck [of someone condemned to death]. They let the loved ones do it.”

The Reds have been betrayed, and they don’t know it. The surface of Mars is habitable—and is inhabited. The Reds are slaves. Darrow and his wife, Eo, discover this when they find their way into a garden that shouldn’t be there. They are condemned to be whipped for this infraction. When Eo sings a forbidden song, she is hanged, and Darrow is the one who pulls her legs and breaks her neck. He buries his wife in this garden and he is executed, or so he thinks. Darrow wakes up to find himself among the resistance, the Sons of Ares. From them he learns just how much the Reds have been betrayed and that this betrayal has gone on for a very long time.

They want him to lead his people to freedom, but first he has to be made into a Gold. If he can pass as one of the elite, then the plan is for him to pass the tests of the Institute and not just a member of the elite, but one of the rulers—only then will he have the power to free his people. As he learns in the Institute, “All men are not created equal” (22) and he and other Golds, “are the peak of the human pyramid” (120).

Just being a Gold isn’t enough: the tests are stringent and painful and cruel. They are quickly taught to kill, to eliminate the less worthy. Then, in various teams, given castles to control, Darrow, and the others who are on his team, must fight for mastery and control, domination and power.

Can Darrow survive the fighting and the betrayals and physical brutality of this long game? As a Red, he has endured far worse. A better question is can he survive the political machinations of this long game, when it seems that the one who is meant to win is the son of the ArchGovernor?

I am not sure if this is a spoiler. After all, Red Rising is the first book in a trilogy. And the Golds ae still in power at the novel’s end. What is a probably the best question is this: Can Darrow do this and keep his soul, his true self as a Red rebel?

Why did I say Maybe in response to the stellar reviews Red Rising has received? I was reminded too much of Hunger Games and Divergent. I wanted to care more for Darrow and Eo. I wanted to see that even these pampered Gold children might have some hope for redemption, that there might be hope that they could see that their society is inherently corrupt and ultimately, evil. True, such questions are likely to be considered in the next two books. And, as Darrow is in his late teens, Red Rising is a young adult dystopia, how deep will the character development go? But, this is a novel about humans, and the wide range of possibilities of the kinds of humans there can be, from evil to good. What will the final answer in this trilogy be to what it means to be human?