Carl Alves's Blog, page 6

The Queen is Dead by Kate Locke

I really enjoyed the first novel in the Immortal Empire Series, but I felt the second novel in the series fell off the mark and didn’t live up to my expectations. For starters, the setup is almost exactly the same as the first novel. One of Xandra’s siblings goes missing and she has to go find them. This time, it’s her brother, Val. She is still involved in a relationship with her werewolf boyfriend, a relationship that is so typical in this genre of novel. The storyline is very similar to the first novel as well with the exception that Xandra now knows she’s a goblin instead of the mystery in the first novel where she was finding it out. The novel ends very abruptly with no resolution to the storyline except for the missing sibling.

I don’t want to be overly negative, since there were elements of the novel that I enjoyed. The writing for the most part was strong. The characters were generally well done with a couple of exceptions. The plot moved along and set up for the final novel in the series. Overall, it wasn’t a bad read. It just seemed to be a repeat of the first novel, and no new ground was broken here. It did not deter me from wanting to read the finale and completing the series, which I will be doing soon.

God Save the Queen by Kate Locke

God Save the Queen is a bit of a mishmash of different genres. It’s part alternate history where during the reign of Queen Victoria, she and other aristocrats are plagued with some taking the form of vampires, others werewolves, and others goblins. It’s part fantasy with some shades of romance, although that’s a small part of the novel, with a bit of a steampunk feel to it. Queen Victoria is still alive, and there are divisions between the aristocrats and the humans with half-bloods (half human and half other) somewhere in between.

The protagonist, Xandra Vardan, is part of the Royal Guard, an elite fighting squad of half-bloods whose job it is to defend the aristocrats from humans who might wish them harm. The plot thickens when Xandra’s sister goes missing and is declared to be dead, although she’s not dead, causing Xandra to investigate. In the process, she discovers a conspiracy that she’s at the center of.

By and large, I liked this novel. I like the writing style. Although I generally liked the characterization, if you’ve read any modern urban fantasy, there is a lot of cliché to Xandra and Vex, her alpha werewolf love interest. The biggest shortcoming of this novel is that these two characters, the bad ass female protagonist, and her bad boy non-human lover, have been done to death and there is no new ground here. The plot was sound, and I enjoyed the steampunkish feel to it where there is some technology in this world but not to our levels of technology. Overall, I would give this novel a thumbs up and will be reading the second novel in the series.

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix

We Sold Our Souls is a fascinating and unique novel. I truly never have read anything quite like it. My interest in the novel is heightened by me being a life long heavy metal fan. I don’t know if I would have liked this nearly as much if the focus of the novel was say country instead of metal. That said, I think this novel worked in many different ways, and would still be a great read even if you had no interest in heavy metal.

For starters, the writing is really strong. The voice is loud and clear. The grammar, flow, and pace are all tight. I liked the way the author broke into the action with radio and television interviews or news reports to fill in the details. The characterization was also strong. Chris comes out loud and clear, as do some of the side characters. Even the villains in the story to a certain level are sympathetic and are not just evil for the sake of being evil. It’s easy to sympathize with a musician who will sell their soul not just for fame and fortune, but to be legendary, for their music to live on long after they are gone. There is a lot that I liked about this novel, and my complaints are only minor. This is a horror novel well worth reading.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Eragon is a YA epic fantasy novel featuring a boy and his dragon. It’s a familiar story, so no major new ground is broken here. Eragon as a character is not overly compelling. He’s a bit whiny at times, and things come a bit too easy for him, and some of his fighting skills are more advanced than they should be given his age of fifteen. Where I thought the novel was strong was in the world building. There was a fairly complex and well-developed governmental structure, whose power comes from the emperor who is also a powerful wizard. There was also a strong mythos with the dragon riders of old, who along with their dragons possess great power. They had all been wiped out, that is until Eragon’s discovery of the dragon egg and the hatching of Saphira.

Under the mentorship of an old dragon rider, Eragon goes on the customary journey that is almost a requirement in epic fiction, trying to escape from the clutches of the empire while simultaneously trying to hunt down agents of the Empire who are simultaneously trying to hunt him down, setting up a game of cat and mouse. Being a dragon rider he now finds himself in the middle of a struggle between the Empire and a rival faction of humans, elves, and dwarves. This all sets up for a major battle at the end of the novel.

The story was written at a good pace. There was both action and intrigue. There were certain things I didn’t like about this novel, but on balance the good outweighed the bad, and I will continue to read more in this series.

December Park by Ronald Malfi

December Park is a dark, moody, atmospheric novel that is more psychological thriller and mystery than it is a horror novel. It takes place in the nineties in suburban Maryland. Angelo Mazzone and his group of outcasts obsess over a series of missing children in their area involving a potential serial killer called The Piper. Even though Angelo’s father is a detective investigating the case, he and his friends believe they can accomplish what the cops cannot, which is to find the killer and bring him to justice.

What I liked most about this novel was the quality of the writing. As I mentioned, it created a dark, brooding atmosphere that really added to the novel. I thought the characterization was also quite strong. Angelo and his friends were well done, not to mention Angelo’s father, who was a sympathetic and relatable character. The novel had a strong mystery component to it and a nice build up. What I didn’t like was the ending, in particular the reveal of the Piper. That didn’t make much sense to me and I didn’t feel it was adequately explained. It did bring the novel down a bit but overall, it was still a strong read.

Movie Review: Wonder Woman 84

Wonder Woman 84 wasn’t a terrible movie, but it certainly wasn’t a good movie. To me the question I can’t figure out is who greenlit this movie. After coming off a tremendously successful movie and one of the best in the DC franchise, they settled on a plot of a guy who has a wish to turn himself into this wishstone, to grant wishes to as many people as he can without any particular rhyme or reason for doing so, and without a coherent explanation of what was in it for him? And he destroys the world in the process. Who are these people who thought this was a good idea? They took all of the fan excitement and anticipation of the first movie and wasted it on this? It’s little wonder that DC plays a distant second fiddle to the Marvel franchise.

There were elements that I liked about the movie. For instance, they had talented actors cast in the lead roles, but there were gigantic plot holes and believability issues in the movie, such as Wonder Woman on the fly thinking she could make things invisible because when she was a child, she was taught to make a cup invisible, and then, poof, she makes a fighter jet invisible. Oh, and they just manage to walk up to this jet and fly off on it, so apparently fighter jets are completely unguarded and unprotected in the world of this movie, and a World War 1 pilot has absolutely no issue figuring out how to fly a modern military jet. I’m sure they are exactly the same thing. I could give you a dozen examples of this type of ridiculousness in the movie. And where was the eighties music and references? The movie is Wonder Woman 84 but other than a group of people breakdancing, you would have no idea it was set in the eighties. I wouldn’t say to avoid watching this movie, but keep your expectations low.

The Gates of Hell by Michael Livingston

The bar was raised quite high for me after reading The Shards of Heaven, the first installment in this trilogy. I thought the novel was absolutely brilliant. When my expectations are that high, the sequel generally doesn’t live up to my expectations. Not so with The Gates of Hell. I can’t decide if I liked it better than the first novel, but it’s a terrific and enjoyable book.

Part of it is the writing style. Michael Livingston is a terrific writer, a master of prose. His character development is truly something. An example of this is the character Octavian or Caesar Augustus, who was quite villainous in the first novel but becomes more sympathetic and likable in this book. Even the more loathsome characters like Tiberius and Thrasyllus are well done. But it’s also the way he blends fantasy with history in such a seamless fashion that sets this novel apart.

There are two separate storylines in this novel and they alternate from chapter to chapter. One storyline follows Juba and Selene as they journey with Augustus in Northern Spain, where they encounter a guerilla leader who controls another of the shards. The second storyline takes place in Egypt with the Ark of the Covenant. They are both compelling storylines with lots of drama and tension. I expected the two stories to eventually converge, but it never happened. My guess is that it will in the final installment of the trilogy.

This novel is well worth the read. It’s a winner and I can only hope that the final book in the trilogy can live up to the first two.

The Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston

When I read the back cover of The Shards of Heaven, I found the concept tantalizing. I’m a big reader of both fantasy and historical fiction. The combination sounded fascinating, especially when setting it at the time of the Roman Empire with Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

I tend to be pretty critical in my reviews, but I can’t find much to criticize. The writing is exceptional. The pace was just right, with almost no slow spots to be found. I also enjoyed the characterization. The novel is chock full of memorable characters, especially Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus, who found themselves in the show Rome as well despite not being particularly well known historical figures. On both the Roman and Egyptian side, the characters are well drawn from the main protagonists and antagonists to the side characters.

I also really enjoyed the fusion of history and fantasy. It was so well done that it was often hard to keep track of what may have historically happened and where the fantastical elements were inserted. I like the concept of the Shards of Heaven and how they were part of the staff of Moses/trident of Poseidon and the Ark of the Covenant. The novel started strong, finished strong, and didn’t sag anywhere in between. This novel was a winner and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity

The Fifth Profession by David Morrell

The Fifth Profession is an interesting novel. It’s part espionage thriller and part sci-fi. The crux of the story is that Savage, a former Navy SEAL and executive protector on an assignment to rescue the wife of a wealthy businessman, encounters his Japanese counterpart, Akira, who he saw die when they were serving on an assignment together. Akira has the same memories, except he saw Savage die. They get together and piece together their jumbled memories and find out that many of the things they remembered didn’t actually happen. This leads them back to Akira’s homeland of Japan, where the mystery ensues.

I found this novel to be intriguing. The mystery component was captivating, and I wanted to see how it unfolded. There was action galore with plenty of fight scenes and some chases. It works at that level even without the added element of the jumbled memories. That part of the novel was problematic however, since the false memories storyline really strained believability. To further exacerbate the issue, the author never really explains in any detailed or believable way how the two main characters got their false memories. It was all kind of wave your hand behind the curtains hocus pocus type stuff. Although there was lots of good action, I thought the fight scenes could have been executed a little better. Getting past that, I thought the novel delivered. I was entertained from beginning to end.

Balak by Stephen Mark Rainey

Balak is a Cthulhian mythos style novel set in modern day Chicago. The novel starts off with the disappearance of a little boy, in part witnessed by Claire Challis, whose own child disappeared not long before that. This leads Claire and her boyfriend, Mike, into a dark church, whose members worship Balak, an ancient figure who serves an even more ancient god, who was around when the world was new in a typically HP Lovecraft motif. The Chicago police become involved. All of this leads to an end of the world scenario, where Balak is trying to use Claire to allow this ancient god to enter our world.

I’ve read a number of Lovecraftian type stories, and this kind of falls in the middle of the pack. There was nothing particularly bad about, but it also doesn’t rise above some of the others I’ve read. For me, the bar is set with Brett J. Talley’s work, whose take on Lovecraft is top notch. The situation is fairly ordinary. The characters are solid, but none of them fell into the category of someone I was rooting for too succeed. I just couldn’t latch on to them. The novel is very competently written and was a decent read. You could do a lot worse than this novel, but it’s not one that I feel as if I’ll remember a year later.