Sarah Chorn's Blog, page 36

The Punch Escrow – Tal M. Klein

About the Book

It’s the year 2147. Advancements in nanotechnology have enabled us to control aging. We’ve genetically engineered mosquitoes to feast on carbon fumes instead of blood, ending air pollution. And teleportation has become the ideal mode of transportation, offered exclusively by International Transport—a secretive firm headquartered in New York City. Their slogan: Departure… Arrival… Delight!

Joel Byram, our smartass protagonist, is an everyday twenty-fifth century guy. He spends his days training artificial intelligence engines to act more human, jamming out to 1980’s new wave—an extremely obscure genre, and trying to salvage his deteriorating marriage. Joel is pretty much an everyday guy with everyday problems—until he’s accidentally duplicated while teleporting.

Now Joel must outsmart the shadowy organization that controls teleportation, outrun the religious sect out to destroy it, and find a way to get back to the woman he loves in a world that now has two of him.

319 pages (paperback)

Published on July 25, 2017

Published by Geek & Sundry

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This book was sent by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

—

I’m kind of a big fan of near-future science fiction books. I like how all of the technology is relatable, and I can see where the authors got their ideas. I like how the world is ours, but also not ours. It’s just an interesting mix of ideas based in reality that allow my mind to run away from itself and ponder all the what-ifs.

When I got The Punch Escrow, it rocketed to the top of my TBR pile. It’s the exact sort of book that I love to read. It’s a suspense filled near future science fiction that has an interesting mix of advanced technology, and all of its societal implications.

The thing about this blend of elements is that it will appeal to a broad range of readers. You don’t really have to be a science fiction fan to read this book. In fact, I think this is the kind of book that will appeal to a lot of non SciFi fans as well. If you enjoyed Ready Player One and books of that nature, you’ll probably love this one. It’s accessible, the and the story is so gripping that the SciFi elements are sort of the tapestry that decorates the story being told, rather than overwhelming the story itself.

This book is basically all about teleportation, and secrets that our advanced technology hide, the sort of dark underbelly that all of our flashing lights and beeping machines don’t really let us see.

Joel, our protagonist, is an interesting fellow. He makes a living asking machines unanswerable questions. He’s a sly guy with a quick wit and a marriage that is on the rocks. His wife works for the company that runs all of the teleportation machines as a scientist developing some secret technology. When Joel is in the middle of teleporting for a getaway with his wife, things go terribly wrong and he finds himself in the middle of a horrible situation, with no one to trust, and nowhere to go, with an iron will that refuses to let him give up.

The writing is gripping and the plot is absolutely relentless. The world that Klein developed is well thought out, and just about as interesting as the plot. There are mosquitos that have been engineered to eat pollution (can we please develop some of those?). There are the teleportation devices I’ve mentioned (which are freaking awesome). People have access to computers mentally. The world is still full of countries, but the real power rests in huge corporations (again, I can totally see this happening).

Joel’s snarky wit, and his wife’s scientific mind blend into this world well, mixing and merging into a plot that is fast paced and unforgettable. I picked up this book expecting to read a few pages before I had to put it down, but I ended up reading the entire thing in one session, which is pretty unheard of (my life is pure chaos). I was pretty much on the edge of my seat throughout. I can easily picture this turning into a movie, and a great one at that (in fact, now that I’m thinking about it I believe my copy of the book says that it is in the movie works as we speak).

The Punch Escrow was incredible. I loved the characters, and the world. The writing was fantastic and the whole thing just flowed with a grace I didn’t really expect to see in a technothriller. I’m overjoyed that Inkshares somehow got my address and sent me a copy in the mail.

If you’re looking for something short, gripping, and ranking up there among the best in technothrillers or science fiction currently out there, do yourself a favor and read The Punch Escrow.

Because damn, folks. This one was incredible.

 

5/5 stars

Beyond Redemption – Michael R. Fletcher

About the Book

Faith shapes the landscape, defines the laws of physics, and makes a mockery of truth. Common knowledge isn’t an axiom, it’s a force of nature. What the masses believe is. But insanity is a weapon, conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods.

Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken—men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control.

But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall, including the High Priest’s own Doppels, and a Slaver no one can resist. Three reprobates—The Greatest Swordsman in the World, a murderous Kleptic, and possibly the only sane man left—have their own nefarious plans for the young god.

As these forces converge on the boy, there’s one more obstacle: time is running out. When one’s delusions become more powerful, they become harder to control. The fate of the Geisteskranken is to inevitably find oneself in the Afterdeath.

The question, then, is: Who will rule there?

512 pages (paperback)

June 16, 2015

Author’s webpage

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I borrowed this book from the library.

—

I’ve been having a bit of a time recently. Life has been kind of rough in health aspects, and I’ve been hanging on and just waiting for things to calm down. Sometimes when I get like this, I sort of lose myself in paranormal romance. It’s light and fluffy and it gives my brain a vacation. Other times when it all seems like too much, I just want a whole bunch of things to die in very creative ways.

I’ve fallen into the second camp. I looked up a bunch of books on Goodreads, and put them on hold at my local library (I love libraries) and read them. This one blew me away. You guys, why in the hell didn’t I read this book sooner?

Beyond Redemption was published in 2015, and if you haven’t read it and you enjoy grimdark, you really need to use this review as some motivation and get your hands on it. The premise is amazing. Faith shapes the land. Delusions are powerful, and they become reality. The big religion is creating gods through the power of the faith of worshippers. On the one hand, you have some people who know they are delusional, but they also know their delusions are powerful and they are shaping reality. On the other hand, you have three people who are looking for quick ways to get a buck by doing some dirty deeds. Forces collide, and dark, interesting things happen.

Of course there are a bunch of secondary characters, a scientist, a creative assortment of religious people, others with various sundry backgrounds and more. They are all so well crafted, and so creative within the context of this world and it’s incredibly clever, sort of tongue-in-cheek magic system.

The plot moves really quickly. I was hooked from the first page due to the dialogue, which is out of this world delightful. I enjoy a book that is both thought provoking, but also manages to make me chortle as I read, and this fit that bill. Even if this book had no plot, the dialogue is wonderful enough to keep me hooked. However, the plot, as I was saying above before I distracted myself, is rip-roaring, a sort of heist/exploration of reality that left me hanging on by my fingernails and lamenting the fact that the book had to end.

Fletcher is one hell of a writer, and he had a great way with shifting the voice throughout the book so each character really stood out to me. They all spoke differently. They all treated reality differently, and all of their perspectives, thoughts, actions, motivations were different. Now, this might seem like a “well, duh” moment, but you’d be surprised by how many third-person-multiple-perspective books I read where each character’s “voice” sounds like every other character, and the only way I can tell them apart is by knowing who is telling their story in any one section before I read it. So, this matters, and it’s wonderful.

Beyond Redemption is dark. People die. A lot of people die. And I’m not ashamed to say that some of the death’s had me laughing and nodding in approval. Bravo, Fletcher. You managed to kill enough people, creatively enough, with an undertone of dark humor that you slacked my literary bloodlust during this stressful time in my life.

Beyond Redemption is probably one of the best books I’ve run across so far this year. It did everything right, and exceeded every possible expectation I had. I honestly can’t think of one thing to complain about in this book. It put Fletcher on my auto-buy list. I absolutely need to read everything he writes. I have to. It’s a compulsion. Beyond Redemption did it to me, so go read it so it can do it to you, too.

 

5/5 stars

Sins of Empire – Brian McClellan

About the Book

An epic new fantasy series from Brian McClellan, set in the same world as his wildly popular Powder Mage trilogy.

The young nation of Fatrasta is a turbulent place – a frontier destination for criminals, fortune-hunters, brave settlers, and sorcerers seeking relics of the past. Only the iron will of the lady chancellor and her secret police holds the capital city of Landfall together against the unrest of a suppressed population and the machinations of powerful empires.

The insurrection that threatens Landfall must be purged with wile and force, a task which falls on the shoulders of a spy named Michel Bravis, convicted war hero Ben Styke, and Lady Vlora Flint, a mercenary general with a past as turbulent as Landfall’s present.

As loyalties are tested, revealed, and destroyed, a grim specter as old as time has been unearthed in this wild land, and the people of Landfall will soon discover that rebellion is the least of their worries.

624 pages (hardcover)

Published on March 7, 2017

Published by Orbit

Author’s website

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This book was sent by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

—

Sins of Empire is the second book by Brian McClellan that I’ve read, however, it’s been a while since I’ve read the other book so I really count this as my first experience with the author. I wasn’t sure how well it would work for me. I don’t remember much about the first book (not because it’s bad, but because of cancer I generally don’t remember much unless it’s life altering).

Sins of Empire is the start of a new series, but it’s in the same world, after the events of his first series (if I’m picking up on that correctly). As a person who remembers almost nothing about the first book of his other series, I’m pleased to announce that I really had no problems getting into this one. However, after I read this book I went to the library and picked up all of his other books, and I can say that fans of McClellan will run into a lot of familiar faces, which probably makes this book incredibly enjoyable for them.

One of the things I love about McClellan is how well he develops his world. I really have a thing for books that deal with the intricacies of clashing cultures, and McClellan’s world is full of that stuff, from prejudice, to misunderstandings, to certain quarters of the city being home to certain peoples. It’s quite well done, and it also helps instill a sense of culture and a larger world than is really tackled in this book.

McClellan also does a great job with pacing. There’s never a dull moment, or a chapter where something important isn’t happening. Every bit of this book seems to be full of something that needs to be absorbed by the reader in order for future events to build on it. This is true for both the plot and the character development.

In a lot of ways, this book is a mystery, and it unfolds just about perfectly. There is some blood in this book, and some characters that stood out to me more than others. The mystery is quite intricate, and the way that McClellan treats it is kind of like the snowball effect. It starts small, but by the end of the book you have this huge thing going on that impacts so many different lives.

The writing is superb, and McClellan does a great job at making each character their own independent person with their own unique voice. That is also true with the secondary characters. Sometimes in books with multiple perspectives, each character sort of ends up sounding like all the other characters, but that’s absolutely not a problem here.

This is both a blood book, and an addicting one. McClellan knows how to write. His magic system is unique, the mystery is absorbing, and the plot ended up being absolutely gigantic. His characters are well developed, with their own voices and their own unique personalities. Fans of McClellan’s work will run across old favorites here, and revisiting them will probably really thrill some people. Aside from that, however, Sins of Empire is just a really damn good book, and a very powerful, entertaining, addicting start to a new series.

4/5 stars

Sawbones – Melissa Lenhardt

About the Book

Wrongfully accused of murder, Dr. Catherine Bennett is destined to hang… unless she can disappear.

With the untamed territory of Colorado as her most likely refuge, she packs her physician’s kit and heads West. But even with a new life and name, a female doctor with a bounty on her head can hide for only so long.

Sawbones is the first novel in a gripping historical fiction series.

Published on April 11, 2017

Published by Orbit

Author’s webpage

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This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



—

When I saw this book on Orbit’s Netgalley page, I wondered what the hell they were doing. You see, I’ve always equated Orbit to being a speculative fiction publisher, but here was a historical fiction and it caught me off guard. So of course I had to nab a copy of this book to see what was going on. And oh, I’m so glad I did.

I’m a fan of Wild West books, usually of the Weird West variety, with a nice dose of speculative fiction thrown in for me to chew on. This was really my first historical fiction, no speculative elements at all, Wild West book.

Sawbones is the first book in a trilogy. It’s a historical fiction set in the Wild West in the late 1800’s, where there is a lot of untamed land, and a whole lot of people willing to risk a whole lot of stuff to go hack it out in the wilderness, live a rough life as best they can.

Enter our protagonist, one Catherine Bennett.

Catherine is a doctor, a lady doctor in the days when ladies didn’t do things like doctoring. She’s had a life of having to fight for the right to have her own mind, and her own life, and her own career in a world that didn’t really approve of any of that. A stint of dressing like a man in the Civil War so she could help soldiers medically, and then a few other sundry life experiences have led her to the point where she’s a strong, independent, unapologetic woman.

Catherine ends up on the wrong side of the law, wrongly convicted of a crime she didn’t commit, she’s forced into hiding, so she flees New York and ends up in Texas, with the end goal of hiding out in the Colorado frontier in the hopes that the world forgets her, but on her journey to Colorado, more things happen, and she ends up sidelined by unexpected events.

This book is told in the first person, and I ended up really glad that the author wrote it that way. Catherine is an interesting character, but I don’t think a lot of the events would have been as dramatic or impactful without Catherine’s personal thoughts and perspective.

I will admit that this book is much darker than I expected. I was anticipating a book that glorifies the Wild West and sort of romanticizes it, and I was completely prepared to get sick of that real fast, but Lenhardt stayed away from any of that. The West was a rough, uncut, unpredictable, dirty, dark place and there was absolutely no glorifying it in any way. Mixed with that are the personal struggles of a woman trying to make her own way in a world set against her and you have a book that’s a lot more gothic and grim than I expected.

However, this is juxtaposed with a plot that is actually full of hope despite all of its graphic, dark elements. Catherine has a stunningly hopeful view of humanity and human nature, despite everything set against her. There is also a love story thrown in, which I kind of anticipated as soon as the man of choice was introduced to things, but I have to hand it to Lenhardt. She handled it perfectly. The romance unfolds in a beautiful way, and while heartbreaking things happen, especially at the end (I will admit to some tears on my part), the beauty of their relationship and their chemistry was a huge, vibrant, hopeful part of the book that went a long way toward balancing out all of the darkness.

Sawbones knocked my socks off. I went into it not knowing what to expect, and I ended up loving it so much I devoured it in two days flat. Just having finished it today I’m already about 30% into the second book in the series (and I usually like to rest a month or so between books in a series). This book had it all, drama, action, a strong independent, smart lead character who makes mistakes, a beautiful romance that never got smarmy or purple, and a setting that was so vibrant and well-crafted that it almost became a character in its own right. It’s a dark book that is full of beauty and hope, and struck the right note in every possible way for me.

This book was amazing. I highly, highly recommend it for fans of historical fiction. Or books. Or anything good.

 

5/5 stars

The Skill of Our Hands – Steven Brust & Skyler White

About the Book

The Incrementalists are a secret society of two hundred people; an unbroken lineage reaching back forty thousand years. They cheat death, share lives and memories, and communicate with one another across nations and time. They have an epic history, an almost magical memory, and a very modest mission: to make the world better, a little bit at a time.

Now Phil, the Incrementalist whose personality has stayed stable through more incarnations than anyone else’s, has been shot dead. They’ll bring him back—but first they need to know what happened. Their investigation will lead down unexpected paths in contemporary Arizona, and bring them up against corruption in high and low places alike. But the key may lay in one of Phil’s previous lives, in Kansas in 1859, and the fate of a man named John Brown.

352 pages (hardcover)

Published on January 24, 2017

Published by Tor

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This book was sent by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

—

I really, really loved The Incrimentalists. I felt like Christmas had just visited my house again when the ARC for The Skill of our Hands arrived in the mail. I started reading it right away, and then life happened, and I’m just getting around to reviewing it now.

The Skill of Our Hands is really the second book in this series, and I do think it is absolutely essential to read the first book before you tackle this one. The way the story is told is different, and it did take me some time to get used to, but the general idea behind this whole thing is complex. The background will be essential to really understanding and enjoying this book.

The Skill of Our Hands is a different beast. The whole idea behind this secret society has been established. A little bit of time has gone by, and people have gone back to their own lives and various projects. This book toyed with some weighty issues that face our world today, but in a setting that is both thought provoking and easy to absorb. However, as with the previous book, this is a beast that has many layers, and those layers can be complex, convoluted, and confusing at times.

The entire idea of this society, this group of people who have learned how to cheat death by passing on their memories is an intriguing one. That right there, that entire sentence I just typed out is tested in some pretty dramatic ways in this book. Phil is shot dead. Before they bring him back to life, they have to figure out where he’s hidden some of his memories. In doing this, they discover that good ol’ Phil was working on something on the side, a sort of secret project of sorts.

What interests me is how this society of Incrimentalists is devoted toward doing good, toward bettering the world they are part of, but as we see in this book, the idea of “good” and “better” are nebulous at best. Brust and White really pull and push on those concepts, and on the varying points of view, people, and lifestyles that can impact perceptions. Nothing is simple, and that’s illustrated in pretty bold letters in this book.

Now, to be fair, I really enjoyed this book but it did take me some time to get into. It took me a while to feel the bones of the story, and then feel attached to them. This is a different sort of novel. Like I said, it has layers and layers, and there’s a lot of symbolism and meanings that are sort of danced around but not explicitly stated. It’s a book that you need patience and diligence to read. I don’t think that it’s quite up to the quality of its predecessor, but it is still a really strong installment in the series, and it’s incredibly well written. Honestly, it sort of boggles my mind how these two authors even attacked a project that felt this, well, vast in so many different respects.

This book isn’t for everyone, and it’s one of those books you need to be in the mood for. I read this book when I was in the mood to solve some huge puzzle. The writing is wonderful and the story can kind of be mind boggling at times. I did feel like occasionally it got lost within itself, but Brust and White always led me through those confusing points, like I trusted them to do. I enjoy the warped version of reality that they have crafted here, and I like book that toy with moral gray areas, mind sets, perspectives and mystery.

But layers, folks. This book has layers. You’ll need a scuba mask to dive through them all.

In the end, I found the deep dive to be completely worth my time.

 

3/5 stars

Strange Practice – Vivian Shaw

About the Book

Meet Greta Helsing, fast-talking doctor to the undead. Keeping the supernatural community not-alive and well in London has been her family’s specialty for generations.

Greta Helsing inherited the family’s highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. In her consulting rooms, Dr. Helsing treats the undead for a host of ills – vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies. Although barely making ends meet, this is just the quiet, supernatural-adjacent life Greta’s been groomed for since childhood.

Until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must use her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice, and her life.

320 pages

Published on July 25, 2017

Published by Orbit

Author’s website

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This book was sent by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

You know, I went into Strange Practice not knowing what to expect. I didn’t read a thing about it, I just thought the title was cool and I opened it up and… well, the book happened.

Strange Practice is a book that really enchanted me from the very first page. It is a completely different creature, and those differences is what made it so completely successful and impossible to put down.

Greta Helsing (recognize that last name, anyone?) inherited her father’s medical practice. It’s not just any medical practice, though. Greta specialized in working on the supernatural creature, specifically the undead. Now, you might be rolling your eyes at that, but really, give this book a shot because it is wonderful. Shaw could have gone any number of ways with this, from campy, to funny, to clever, to whatever else. Instead, she kept it pretty true to life – or as much as it can be when you’re talking about vampires and etc.

Greta is a character that is sort of walled off, she keeps herself to herself, which is probably an important part of being the successful doctor that she is. She evaluates things in a clinical manner, and easily steps in to assist where she can, completely aware of her role in any given situation, and how she is qualified to help. I can see where Greta’s emotional distance might be off-putting to some readers, but I honestly really appreciated it. It was another aspect of the book where the doctor seemed to catch the role of the character perfectly. Regardless of her supernatural patients, Greta is a doctor, and she fits her role like she was born to it.

It quickly becomes apparent that not everything is as it should be. One of her cases ends up being a little more complex than she expected, in ways that she doesn’t understand. This requires Greta to do her own research and digging to see what is going on, and things get interesting.

Greta never stops meeting with patients, and the sort of rotating door of cases that she evaluates throughout the novel was part of what kept me so enchanted. Some of the cases she addresses are so completely clever – things I never would have thought of but once I’m introduced to the situation I had to sit back and think, “this makes total sense in the context of what Shaw wrote.” A lot of this stuff was absolutely creatively ingenious.

Greta is a knowledgeable person, and Shaw did her research when writing this novel. The details of the cases and Greta’s practice, mixed with her sort of detached and evaluative nature might overwhelm some readers, or be offputting to them. However, it really, really worked for me. It just felt right. Every aspect of this novel felt right to me. I couldn’t put it down, and Greta’s adventures as a doctor were so well written and well researched that I found myself actually thinking that this person could totally exist somewhere, working this job.

The mystery eventually comes to a sort of conclusion. This book has a definite beginning, middle, and end, but it’s the first book in a series, so I look forward to more installments and other mysteries in the future. I can’t imagine much that would please my bookwormish self more than reading more about Greta Helsing, and her life as a doctor to the supernatural and their various unexpected ailments.

So, in summation, Strange Practice was a homerun in every aspect. This was a novel I started reading not knowing what to expect, and finished in about a day because I just couldn’t put it down. When I say that there is nothing like this book out there, I mean it, and that’s a damn good thing. If you’re looking for a book that is unique, and dry, detailed and fantastically written and thought out, then give Strange Practice a try.

You’re welcome for the recommendation in advance.

 

5/5 stars

The Shadow of What Was Lost – James Islington

About the Book

It has been twenty years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs – once thought of almost as gods – were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs’ fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion’s Four Tenets. A representation of these laws is now written into the flesh of any who use the Gift, forcing those so marked into absolute obedience.

As a student of the Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war fought – and lost – before he was born. Despised by most beyond the school walls, he and those around him are all but prisoners as they attempt to learn control of the Gift. Worse, as Davian struggles with his lessons, he knows that there is further to fall if he cannot pass his final tests.

But when Davian discovers he has the ability to wield the forbidden power of the Augurs, he sets into motion a chain of events that will change everything. To the north, an ancient enemy long thought defeated begins to stir. And to the west, a young man whose fate is intertwined with Davian’s wakes up in the forest, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is…

602 pages (hardcover)

Published on November 8, 2016

Published by Orbit

Author’s webpage

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This book was sent by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

—

I haven’t really been in the mood for epic fantasy for a while now. I don’t know why. Perhaps I get a bit burnt out on it. However, recently I found myself really craving a huge epic. I wanted to read a book that could knock my front door down, and drown me with its words. I wanted to read something that started big and got bigger.

So I ended up with The Shadow of What Was Lost.

The back of this book says that it’s a book for Wheel of Time fans. I read Wheel of Time when I was in high school, but that was exactly the sort of thing I was in the mood to read. And the comparison is apt. In a lot of ways, this sort of ticks off all of the epic fantasy trope boxes. There’s the chosen one (though you aren’t really exactly sure which one is chosen yet, or what they are chosen for). There’s the young man (men?) who isn’t what he appears to be. There’s the woman who is both a friend and a potential romantic entanglement. There is the group of people who venture into the unknown on a quest, and plenty of adventures and sundry happenings along the way.

It does tick off all those boxes, but that’s also what I was in the mood for. On the flip side, if you are sick of all of those roles in epic fantasy, and you’re looking for a book that perhaps paints a different picture with different colors, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere. That being said Islington is his own man, and this book is a creature of his own divining. The magic system is really unique, and a fairly recent war and some laws that are implemented due to that war have created a society where magic use, and those who use it, are really scorned by much of society. There is also another class of magic user who is prohibited. This all creates an interesting tug-of-war between the important elements of magic that propel the plot, and a society who is working hard to stifle said magic and its use.

Things happen, and in the interest of keeping things vague so as to prevent spoilers (you’re welcome), I’ll leave it there. There are a lot of twists and turns, and perhaps because I read upwards of 200 books a year and I’m pretty well versed in epic fantasy, I saw most of them coming, and there were a few occasions where I kind of wished the revelation(s) happened a bit sooner so we could move on past them. however, Islington has a knack with revealing everything in its own time, and slowly unrolling the story as he goes. There is a time and place for all of it, and despite my impatience, his judgment for when things happened and why was better than mine.

This book has a lot of layers, and a lot of tension between characters, in developing relationships, in the mysteries that end up surrounding everyone and everything, and between various aspects of the cultures that are introduced here. Islington has a knack for knowing when the atmosphere needs to be amped up, and when he needs to let things rest for a bit before he piles more on. It was never overwhelming, and the levels of said tension always felt just right as the book progressed. Things start out with three innocent, rather young friends, and as the book progresses events force each of these characters out of their comfort zones, and into territory that forces them to grow up. Islington puts his characters through their paces, and many of them ended up developing in ways that I didn’t expect, shedding their childish natures as the book progressed, and as tension forced them to become something a bit more.

It was quite well done.

This novel is a doorstopper. It’s a thick beast, but Islington manages to fill each page with something interesting. I eagerly turned every single one of them, and when the time hit for me to put the book down for a bit, I did so reluctantly. This is one of those epic fantasy books that starts out feeling comfortable, tried and true, and then it turns into something else, something that is its own kind of lovely. It’s full of tension and atmosphere, a wide world with hints of wider things over the horizon. There are elements here that pay homage to many of the classic genre epics that most of us think of when we think of epic fantasy, but in the end, this is all Islington. This is his brainchild, his visual and descriptive writing, his addictive characters, and his fast-paced genius.

The Shadow of What Was Lost is an epic fantasy that stands nicely alongside such genre classics as The Wheel of Time, and Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. Highly recommend.

 

4/5 stars

#SPFBO 2017 | Round Two Mini Reviews

Oh my gosh, you guys, this year has been kicking me so hard. I’m sorry I skipped last week. My family ended up with a stomach bug, and I basically spent the whole week cleaning up throw up. It was just glorious, let me tell you. Now the stomach bug has seemed to move on out of the house, and I have about a hundred things I’m trying to catch up on. I also just discovered that my email hasn’t been sending or receiving messages since June 3rd, so if you’ve written me and you haven’t heard back, that’s why. I will try to catch up this week. (That should also kind of signal to you what kind of year this is. It’s been over a month and I’ve been so royally pummeled by life that I didn’t even realize my email hasn’t been working on a consistent basis.)

Anyway, it’s a little late, but here are your round 2 mini reviews. I’m working my way through round 3 books right now. I’m hoping to get them done soon. I will probably pop into the SPFBO group on Facebook when I’m a bit closer to having them done, and let all of you guys know to keep an eye out for the reviews when I’m ready to start working on them. It might be a bit of a pause though, as I have some medical things coming up (I’m getting some electrodes put into my spine, and my kid with a congenital kidney disorder is getting some invasive and horrible tests done) that have the potential of sidelining me for a few weeks. I’ll keep you posted, though.

Well, onward.

The Medusa’s Daughter – T.O. Munro

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This book is a good change from the grimmer, darker sprawling epics that I’ve been reading recently. If you’re looking for a book that really focuses on relationships, and character development and the evolution of all of the above, then this book is your jam. Munro does a great job at showing how people fit together, and work together and all of the push and pull intricacies involved in all of that. If you really dig books that are more personal, and more intimate, and perhaps you want to give yourself a break from all of the blood and gore that you can find in the genre, than this one fits your bill. The writing is superb. On a line-by-line basis, I found very little to pick at. However, you might find the pacing a bit slow, and a lack of tension is felt. On the flip side, there really is something to say for an author that can keep me hooked throughout a book purely because I’m really enjoying his characters, and the relationships he’s developing and toying with. This is the start of a series, and I am excited to see what happens next. On the whole, Munro’s book is a different sort of beast. It’s a bit quieter, a bit slower, a bit more intimate, but completely enjoyable.

3.5/5 stars

Award: The most intimate

 

Gateway to Nifleheim – Glenn G. Thater

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I struggled a little with this book. You see, I really enjoy details. I think details are awesome, but sometimes details can bog down the plot. I think this was the case in this book. The details were great, and the descriptions were wonderful, but sometime it got to be a little too much, and some descriptions and details happened in weird places, like battle scenes. All of this worked to make a book that was kind of confusing, with the pacing sort of off kilter – fast in some places, slow in others. I wasn’t always completely clear on which character was doing what, and some of the dialogue could have used some trimming and/or clarifying. However, with all that said and done, the writing was good, and I can tell that Thater put a ton of thought and passion into his book, and once I got used to his style and the general parameters of the story being told, I enjoyed myself. Could this book use a little more editing? Yes, but as it is, it’s a passionate, well researched and well written tale and the start of a series that promises to be interesting.

3/5 stars

Award: Most detailed world building

Pledges of Honor – Joyce Reynolds-Ward

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This book felt very Native American to me. In fact, the mention of buffalo is in the first chapter and I enjoyed that immensely. I haven’t read more than a very few fantasy books that are set in a sort of Native American-esque world. Bravo to the author for that. The magic system is likewise interesting, lots of talk of potions and the various things that go into potions. There’s grand, sweeping characters, and gods, and the mortals that clash with them. My niggles are few. I would have enjoyed a bit more in the way of descriptions. Sometimes I couldn’t quite picture where things where happening, or the people/elements involved in said happenings. A little more in the way of descriptions could have gone a long way toward making this book really take over my mind as I read. I also feel like because this book is set in a unique secondary world, the lack of Secondly, there were some sentences that felt a little oddly worded, and some conversations that were confusing. Some tighter editing would clear that up really fast. Secondly, I felt like some of the characters fell into tropey roles, the gorgeous, mysterious guy. The woman who finds herself an unwitting participant in this gigantic game. However, when it’s all said and done, this book dazzled me quite a bit despite its flaws. The setting is unique, and it’s easy to read and easy to enjoy.

3/5 stars

Award: Most unique magic system

Lamentation’s Peak – Brian Decker

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Lamentation’s Peak is an interesting novel. It tells the story of one Arlyle, who is climbing up Lamentation’s Peak in search of a source of power. While he’s climbing, there are a lot of flashes to events in his past, which serve both as a source of character development, and also of world building. Now, to be quite honest with you, I struggled with this novel. First of all, I had a very hard time turning off my editor’s brain while I read. Decker has a tendency to re-use common words, which makes the flow of the novel feel rather repetitive and was triggering aforementioned editor’s brain. Secondly, I think it’s pretty hard to pull off novels that are equal parts task-at-hand, and flashbacks. While the task-at-hand parts were well written, I felt like some of the flashbacks lacked the emotional depth and the vibrant world building that the task-at-hand sections were full of. It made it hard for me to mentally wrap my head around this world, and Arlyle’s place in it. It’s an interesting concept, but I think editing could have helped tighten up the writing, and the world building. Regardless, this is a strong effort, and a unique take on the classic quest fantasy tropes. This is a surprisingly captivating take on the one-man-against-the-world storyline, and I really admire Decker’s effort here.

2.5/5 stars

Award: Most unique take on a classic

Anaerfell – Joshua Robertson

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This book really surprised me. First, it was darker than I expected. Secondly, it had the kind of back-stabbing, caustic humor, intrigue-ish plot that I tend to really enjoy. Despite myself, I was sucked in pretty fast. The plot moves at a pretty relentless pace, and the world is really interesting and well done, though (sorry, but this is my typical complaint), I could have used more details here and there to bring it more vividly to life in my mind. My other point I need to raise is regarding editing. While by and large this novel was edited very well, there were some points where word use was questionable, sentences could have been tidied up, and some grammar issues that were easy to miss unless you are on the lookout for that sort of thing. However, this is a dark fantasy with two villains as protagonists. Be still my heart. It’s a solid start to a series. If you like your fantasy dark, and your characters darker, then this is a book to check out.

4/5 stars

Award: The darkest epic

Reborn – Linn Tesli

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This book has me kind of divided. First of all, this is an epic fantasy. A bunch of people are on a quest. It’s interesting. The world is well done, and there are plenty of details and things happening. There’s a lot of characters to keep track of, and enough going on both directly and indirectly to feed your epic fantasy itch. It’s interesting, and well written, and the author’s unique touch is strongly felt. On the other side, I kind of feel like this book wasn’t sure if it was geared toward young adults or adults. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, but it is something to be aware of. There’s definite appeal of crossover novels, but usually the author is sure of the fact that it’s a crossover novel, if that makes sense. Secondly, the book had some typical tropes, like elves and etc. While I do feel like this obviously pays homage to some of the genre classics, I also kind of feel like the author is talented enough and the world is unique enough to allow her to sort of color outside the lines a bit. And occasionally the writing felt a little flat. So Reborn, in the end, was a strong epic fantasy, but I really feel like the author could have maybe stretched her wings a little more than she did. Is it worth reading? Yes. It’s a fun story, and well written with some interesting characters that develop nicely. In the end I really felt like Reborn was a work of love, and I felt that throughout the book.

3/5 stars

Award: Best High Fantasy

And the winner is…

Congratulations!

Thunderbird – Chuck Wendig

About the Book

In the fourth installment of the Miriam Black series, Miriam heads to the southwest in search of another psychic who may be able to help her understand her curse, but instead finds a cult of domestic terrorists and the worst vision of death she’s had yet. Miriam Black is being developed as a TV series by Starz with the producers of Breaking Bad.

Miriam is becoming addicted to seeing her death visions, but she is also trying out something new: Hope. She is in search of another psychic who can help her with her curse, but finds a group of domestic terrorists in her deadliest vision to date.

400 pages (hardcover)

Published on February 28, 2017

Published by Saga Press

Author’s website

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This book was sent by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

—

(First: Huge apologies for being so late with this review, and so many others. This year has been really, really, really, really, really rough health wise, and my website and reviewing have been paying the price for it.)

Miriam Black is the reason why I’m glad that books exist.

You can pretty much stop reading there. That sentence says everything you need to know.

I have this weird habit of not finishing books when I really, really love them. I never want them to end, so I always leave the last fifty to one hundred pages unread. I know that’s kind of pathetic, but the truth is, the harder it is for me to read your book, the more I like it.

Finishing The Cormorant just about killed me. I wanted to read it so bad, and then I finally got it and realized that there was no possible way I could ever finish that book. Ever. I finally decided that I had to do it. I had to finish this book, and I did. And then I was all sad until Thunderbird came out.

Thunderbird, the fourth book in this series, and I highly recommend you read the first three books before you get to this one. While you can probably read this one alone, you’ll really miss out on a lot of development and emotional attachment to the storyline and characters as a whole if you start here rather than with the first book.

There was a lot here that reminded me about why I fell in love with this series. Miriam’s caustic humor, and Wendig’s ability to write gruesome, graphic scenes unapologetically is the backbone of this book as well as the previous ones. The storyline in these books tend to be quite unique as well, and they have to be. This is a dark series of books with a dark character who is kind of cursed with a dark talent for seeing how people die. The plot is just as dark, and just as unique as every other aspect of this book.

It’s been a few years since I’ve read The Cormorant, so I had to refresh myself a bit. Miriam is traveling to the Southwest to find a psychic that should help her figure out how to leave her skill behind. In the process of hunting down this woman that is incredibly hard to track down, Miriam (of course) finds herself in all sorts of sticky situations with people who land in various spots along society’s underbelly.

It’s dark, and it’s classic, unforgettable Miriam Black.

This book didn’t quite wow me in the same way as the previous books in the series did. I never really felt those strong, dark, horrified emotions that I felt in some of the other books. However, I do feel like maybe the focus of this book is a bit different, and therefore it’s kind of like comparing apples and oranges. Yes, a lot of the elements of classic Miriam are there, but this book is just… it’s a different animal.

Honestly, I felt like Thunderbird was a bit more of a personal, emotional struggle on Miriam’s part. It’s her facing herself, and the aspects of herself (her ability) that she doesn’t like for various reasons (you should read the series and figure it all out). Miriam is a tough-as-nails character, and in this book we’re really seeing her in a different light. Before she didn’t really like her skill with seeing how people die, but she doggedly stood by it. In this book, she’s kind of done and so we see Miriam in a different light. We know all the things that brought her to this point, but this is the book where she actually is at this ‘I’m done’ point, and it’s a more solemn note, a different kind of dark.

I liked it a lot, but yes, it is different than the other books in the series. If you go into it expecting more fun jaunts in the same voice as the previous books in this series, you’ll probably be a little disappointed. This is classic Wendig, but Miriam has changed over the years, and this book reflects those changes. There’s the caustic humor, the graphic moments, the horrifying moments… but in it’s heart, this is a book of personal struggle. It’s a different kind of dark.

And a very strong installment to one of my favorite series on the market today.

 

4/5 stars

#SPFBO 2017 | Round One Mini Reviews

Well, it’s that time of year again. Time for me to sink into the SPFBO and tell you guys what I think and why I think it. Like always, this first group of thirty books I broke up into five groups of six books. Each book will get a mini-review, generally about a paragraph or so, and an award (because every book has something wonderful to celebrate). At the end of this round, I will announce the winner of round one. When I’m done, there will be five finalist books (maybe more, look at this link for the details). Out of those five(ish), I will announce the one winner that will move on to the final round of books. That winner will compete with the other winners from other blogs to be the ultimate winner of the competition.

Hopefully some part of that paragraph made sense.

Onward.

The House at the Edge of Time – Pat Pflieger

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This book is geared toward a younger audience, and I read a bit of it with my kid. She loved the story and the adventure, but some of the words confused her and I subsequently had to describe them to her (like monstrosity, which is on the first page). She’s almost six, so maybe this book is more suited toward kids that are a touch older. Regardless of that confusion, she ended up really enjoying herself. This is a really fun adventure about an absolutely irresistible kid who is looking for a friend and ends up traveling through time (which kind of reminds me of one of my kid’s favorite movies, the title of which is currently slipping my mind). The mansion ends up being a character in its own right, which I truly enjoyed. The adventure is fast, never a dull moment. If I had a few complaints, it was probably regarding some editing, for example some words felt a little older than the audience this book is intended for. Some of the pacing could have been evened out a little bit. Where this book excelled, though, was with its fun, and the incredible characters (including the mansion) that Pflieger crafted. While it wasn’t perfect, it was really enjoyable. I also absolutely adored the relationships that Max formed along the way. He ended up being a fantastic, genuine character, and the emotions he felt, and the relationships he formed felt very true to his evolution along the way.

3/5 stars

Award: Best characters

 

The Last Priestess – Elizabeth Baxter

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This book interested me because of Maegwin. Maegwin was the last priestess of the peace loving goddess Sho-La. She’s set to be hung for killing some people. That’s interesting. Why would a peace loving adherent kill someone? Also, I’ve read a lot of fantasy involving people who enjoy killing things, and Maegwin seems to be juxtaposed to much of that. So yeah, that’s cool. Anyway, things get going, and while this is a good book, well written, and the plot really lets you sink into it, there isn’t much here that hasn’t been done before. There’s good and evil. Each character has a mysterious past and/or dark secrets. There’s the romantic interest, which I actually enjoyed even if it did feel a little abrupt. Things aren’t always what they seem, and the dark and light and the lines defining each are sharply, and predictably drawn. There are battles, both magical and otherwise, and you learn things along the way about this greater conflict that can be surprising and jarring. The writing is wonderful, though, and the plot moves at a nice pace, never leaving readers wanting for too long. And while this book did have a sort of tried and true vibe to it, I enjoyed it despite that. Sometimes you just want to read a good book, and you don’t really want to work too hard to enjoy it. That’s this book. It’s good. It’s interesting. It might not be incredibly unique, but it sets the stage for the series, and the series itself has the potential to turn any number of surprising directions.

 

3/5 stars

Award: Easiest to enjoy

Soulbound – Bethany Adams

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I read this book really fast. Really, really fast. There are a few reasons for that. One, the concept was interesting, and so was the world and magic system. Two, it’s just easy to read. This tells the story of Arlyn. Arlyn’s mother dies and sends her to find her father, who is an elf living on an alternate earth/alternate reality/alternate planet than Earth. Arlyn is, therefore, half elf and half human. Upon finding her father, she pretty much runs into this stranger, who recognizes her as his soulmate. Along with all of this is a mysterious illness that is wiping out populations, and mysterious forces trying to kill someone for some reason (vague, I know, but I don’t like spoilers). A lot is going on, and a lot of this focuses on the bond between Alryn and her soulmate, and the various problems that face them both in coming to terms with their relationship. Arlyn meets her father and gets to know him, which was enjoyable and felt very natural. The soulbound thing was hard for me to come to grips with, because other than there being some vague pull between the two characters, I never really felt the connection and sometimes it was awkward. For example, there was one sex scene. It was two paragraphs long and I had to read it twice to figure out that sex was what was happening. I think it’s the first time in my life I’ve ever complained about a sex scene being too vague, but there it is. However, other aspects of the book were very well done, like Arlyn’s slowly developing relationship with her estranged father. The sickness was interesting and compelling. The magic system was fascinating (though the laying-out of said magic system occasionally got a bit info-dumpish). The mystery, the who-done-it portion of things was okay, a bit predictable, but it opened up the door for future books in the series. So Soulbound landed evenly on my radar. There are equal things good as not, and it was nothing that a little more editing couldn’t fix. Despite that, though, I did read this entire book, and I read it pretty fast so that should say something. It’s unique. It stands out. It’s a fun book to read if you’re looking for something a little popcorny, but with some substance.

3/5 stars

Award: Most interesting world building

Quest Chasers: The Deadly Cavern – Grace and Thomas Lockhaven

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This book basically tells the story of two tweenaged kids who are hunting for a mysterious tree (two kids searching for a myth, in essence), and all their adventures and the problems they face along the way. The book moves really fast. There is always something happening, and some puzzle needs to be solved to get them out of the current situation. The characters are incredibly likable, and the adventure is rather surprising and relentless. I really loved the ending, and how everything came together. One of the best aspects of this book is that it was geared toward young adults, without feeling like it was geared toward young adults (IE: the authors never dumbed it down). Now, my few complaints are regarding editing. There were places where one word was used too frequently, which really jarred my flow, or certain points of discussion were hashed out a few too many times, making things feel redundant. A little tighter editing could launch this book into another stratosphere of awesome. As it lays, this is a really fun book set for kids. It’s an action/adventure trope full of challenges and all the things that challenges bring upon people. Loads of fun, and a book I highly enjoyed despite the fact that this isn’t usually the type of thing I read.

4/5 stars

Award: The Most Fun

Valley of Embers – Steven Kelliher

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This is one of those books that is going to be hell to mini-review because there’s just so much to it. So many parts went into making this whole thing. I mean, wow. So yeah, it’s epic fantasy. The embers, people who weld flame and are general badasses, are the last line of defense against these horrific creatures that haunt the dark. In this world, there are only a few towns/villages left standing against the dark. There’s a lot of worry there, worry about people dying out and becoming extinct. There’s also talk of something bigger lurking there in the dark, which has the potential to unleash horrific things on the beleaguered inhabitants that are still living. This book is sprawling, and full of battles and emotional angst. It’s hard for me really to go into this book because, as I said, there is just so much here. Kelliher doesn’t take time introducing readers to his world and plot, he just sort of dives in with a huge battle, and the conversations that followed. There are memories of the world before these creatures threatened them, and then the world as it is now. It’s sort of apocalyptic feeling, and very dark, but also huge in so many ways. I’m picky on world building, and I think Kelliher did a great job at developing this secondary world and setting it all up for reader consumption. It will be easy for him to add to, and refine in future books in the series. My complaint, however, is regarding editing (I bet you never guessed that. It seems to be my theme right now). Some of the dialogue felt sort of emotionless. Some of the conversations or points of explanation/description could have been cut out without any huge impact on the book itself. Basically, things could have been tightened up a little bit, but even as the book rests in its current incarnation, it is a stunning, sprawling epic that had me hooked from page one.

4/5 stars

Award: Most epic

Of Angels and Men – Jonathan Yanez

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I’m going to admit from the start that I struggled a bit with this one. There are a few reasons for that, but the first one was because the formatting I got in my copy made it very, very hard to read. Maybe I just got a bum copy, but yes, formatting matters, and it made me struggle. Secondly, there are flashbacks, and various time jumps of that nature in the book, and it made the flow overall feel disjointed and it jarred me. Occasionally I was confused about what was happening when and why. Also, the chapter lengths were… odd. I understand sometimes there is a need for chapters to not all be a uniform length, but the breaks in these chapters felt arbitrary. However, the book itself was pretty interesting. The main character struggles with depression, which I enjoyed. It was realistically dealt with and understandable in the context of his life. It was also just a part of him, rather than a tool used to push forward any plot device. The idea that the book circles around is really interesting, but ultimately the execution really kept me from diving too deep into this one, and I kind of regret it because it did seem really unique and a concept I’d like to explore.

Award: Most unique setting

Did not finish

 

The winner of round one is….

Congratulations!

The next group should be posted in a week (barring health issues, of course) and they are….

Group 2

T.O. Munro – The Medusa’s Daughter

Glenn G. Thater – Gateway to Nifleheim

Joyce Reynolds-Ward – Pledges of Honor

Brian Decker – Lamentation’s Peak

Joshua Robertson – The Blood of Dragons

Linn Tesli – Reborn