Sarah Chorn's Blog, page 50

Thorn Jack – Katherine Harbour

About the Book

They call us things with teeth. These words from Lily Rose Sullivan the night of her death haunts her seventeen-year-old sister, Finn, who has moved with her widowed father to his hometown of Fair Hollow, New York. After befriending a boy named Christie Hart and his best friend, Sylvie Whitethorn, Finn is invited to a lakeside party where she encounters the alluring Jack Fata, a member of the town’s mysterious Fata family. Despite Jack’s air of danger and his clever words, Finn learns they have things in common.

One day, while unpacking, Finn finds her sister’s journal, scrawled with descriptions of creatures that bear a sinister resemblance to Jack’s family. Finn dismisses these stories as fiction, but Jack’s family has a secret—the Fatas are the children of nothing and night, nomadic beings who have been preying on humanity for centuries—and Jack fears that his friendship with Finn has drawn the attention of the most dangerous members of his family—Reiko Fata and vicious Caliban, otherwise known as the white snake and the crooked dog.

Plagued with nightmares about her sister, Finn attempts to discover what happened to Lily Rose and begins to suspect that the Fatas are somehow tied to Lily Rose’s untimely death. Drawn to Jack, determined to solve the mystery of her sister’s suicide, Finn must navigate a dangerous world where nothing is as it seems.

352 pages (paperback)

Published on June 24, 2014

Published by Harper Voyager

Author’s webpage

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

—

I’m a huge sucker for retellings. Folklore, myths, fables, you name it and I’m there with bells on. I love seeing how someone can take a classic tale and make it their own. The ability to take something old, and make it new (and captivating) is a priceless treasure.

Thorn Jack is a retelling of the story of Tam Lin. I basically knew nothing about that tale until I started reading this book and decided to bone up on my history a bit. Tam Lin is the story of a man who is held captive by the queen of the fae. A young mortal woman who loves him risks everything to set him free.

It’s a dark story, and likewise is Thorn Jack. It’s also refreshing in the sense that you have Finn, our heroic protagonist, who remains her own (strong) woman throughout the novel. She does what she wants to do because she wants to do it and damn everyone who gets in the way. She doesn’t bend, and she doesn’t break. She sees something she wants, and she basically goes for it and is prepared to walk through hell to get to it. Damn the consequences.

It was lovely to read a young, vibrant protagonist who embodied all those elements. It was also unique because Finn isn’t really a happy character. Readers are introduced to her after her sister’s suicide. Her mother died years ago. It’s just her and her father, and they are both grieving and moving across the country to get away from their memories, but to also deal with their grief in a new setting. It’s dark and emotional, and it lays a sort of sinister and atmospheric foundation for everything that is to come.

The town of Fair Hollow in upstate New York stands out instantly. If there is one thing that Harbour nails, it’s atmosphere and world building. The town itself seems like a sort of small, quaint place that you could picture in upstate New York until Finn starts poking at shadows. Slowly Harbour unravels the normal to show readers all the abnormal that is holding that delicate façade in place. Not only is the town not what it appears to be, but the atmosphere, the sinister air of it all was absolutely incredible. I could feel the autumn chill. I felt the shivers race up my spine and the wonder and bafflement that Finn felt regarding many of the events that transpired. Harbour didn’t just create a real world, she managed to create it, and then shove her readers into it and let them sink or swim, and it was absolutely fantastic.

The people who live in Fair Hollow are just like the town itself. Normal on the surface (though some try to appear human but obviously never are), but the otherworld is heavy on them. They flow through the book differently. They look at things differently, and interact differently. While they all had the fae beauty I expected, Harbour managed to keep them from ever being anything but dangerous. The menace that surrounded them was palpable.

Thorn Jack is heavy on the romance, but if you know the lore it is based on, you’ll expect it. It’s slow to develop, and I found, at times, the amount of attachment Finn felt toward Jack baffling as the two seemed to orbit around each other rather than actually have any meaningful interactions for most of the novel. Regardless, as I’ve said above if there is one thing Harbour masters, it’s atmosphere. While I might not have understood the pull between the two characters for a chunk of the novel, I absolutely felt it through Harbour’s magnificent writing.

The plot does meander a little bit, having occasional jaunts through alternative perspectives and moments when Finn and her friends go on side adventures that felt like they sort of prolonged the book rather than added anything incredibly pivotal to it. I must note that, despite that, all of the adventures and little winding side plots were a lot of fun and I did enjoy reading them, which is a testament to Harbour’s skill with writing.

Thorn Jack was surprising. I love retellings, but I’ve never really read a young adult/new adult (technically I think this would be a “new adult” book) retelling that has ever really worked for me. Until now. I started this book, and couldn’t put it down. Harbour’s mastery of atmosphere was astounding. The town of Fair Hollow was a character in its own right, and an unforgettable one at that. The romance was well done, and the book was well plotted. The story is dark, but Finn, despite her obvious (and worthy) emotional struggles, is a beacon of light and strength that I didn’t really expect to encounter.

Thorn Jack was a delight. Dark, detailed, sumptuous, and purposeful, this book absolutely amazed me. If you’re a fan of retellings, then you really, really need to do yourself a favor and check this one out.

 

4/5 stars

Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard – Lawrence M. Schoen

About the Book

An historian who speaks with the dead is ensnared by the past. A child who feels no pain and who should not exist sees the future. Between them are truths that will shake worlds.

In a distant future, no remnants of human beings remain, but their successors thrive throughout the galaxy. These are the offspring of humanity’s genius-animals uplifted into walking, talking, sentient beings. The Fant are one such species: anthropomorphic elephants ostracized by other races, and long ago exiled to the rainy ghetto world of Barsk. There, they develop medicines upon which all species now depend. The most coveted of these drugs is koph, which allows a small number of users to interact with the recently deceased and learn their secrets.

To break the Fant’s control of koph, an offworld shadow group attempts to force the Fant to surrender their knowledge. Jorl, a Fant Speaker with the dead, is compelled to question his deceased best friend, who years ago mysteriously committed suicide. In so doing, Jorl unearths a secret the powers-that-be would prefer to keep buried forever. Meanwhile, his dead friend’s son, a physically challenged young Fant named Pizlo, is driven by disturbing visions to take his first unsteady steps toward an uncertain future.

384 pages (hardcover)

Published on December 29, 2015

Published by Tor

Author’s webpage

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—

I’ve put off reviewing this book for a while now. It’s going to be a really tough book to review. It’s a complex machine, and I really don’t think there is any way my review can do any of it the justice it deserves.

Barsk is a science fiction novel unlike any I have ever read before. It takes place in a future where humans no longer exist. Parts of the book felt very fantasy to me, and other parts were obviously interstellar, traveling between planets with diverse species and cultures. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book before that so comfortably and fluidly travels between science fiction and fantasy before.

Not only that, but the species that he has created are absolutely fantastic. The Fant are an elephant-like species that is misunderstood and discriminated against. Their society is rather secretive more to just keep their peace and culture than for any other reason. While they live happily and peacefully on their planet, they have their own issues, and one of the perspective characters, and albino-like Fant, is a perfect (rather heartbreaking) example of that.

This book doesn’t just focus on the Fant. There are other species and other planets that are visited and referenced. A ton of cultures are talked about and converge in subtle ways. The tug of war between cultures and understandings is a thread that runs throughout the novel and powers quite a bit of the atmosphere and various plot points.

I could say a lot about this book, and the fact is that I want to say just about nothing about it because I think going into this one blind is probably a huge benefit to readers. If you don’t know what to expect, you’ll appreciate the magic of Barsk more. This book really is unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s sprawling and deals with so many different, weighty, important topics and it does it so well. This book is vast, and it kind of defies my ability to talk about it in any real form.

I think this is probably as close as I’ve been to speechless regarding a book in the six years I’ve been writing reviews. There is just so much here!

I listened to Barsk in audiobook, and I completely recommend enjoying it this way. The narrator is absolutely perfect, and allowed me to really become absorbed in the story being told, which ended up being great. This book is packed full of deep thoughts and weighty emotions and atmosphere, and being immersed in it that much made reading it an unforgettable experience.

Schoen is a brilliant writer, creating such a vivid, well realized world and populating it with some of the most incredible characters I’ve had the luck to run across. What I enjoyed more than the plot, and the tension, the atmosphere, and the addicting nature of the book itself was all the details that Schoen paid attention to. There isn’t a single part of this novel, or the writing of it that has been overlooked. Not one. And that’s what makes it so powerful. It flows between genres, and examines important, uncomfortable topics, and it’s those details that makes it stick with readers.

Barsk was fantastic.

 

5/5 stars

Borderline – Mishell Baker

About the Book

A year ago, Millie lost her legs and her filmmaking career in a failed suicide attempt. Just when she’s sure the credits have rolled on her life story, she gets a second chance with the Arcadia Project: a secret organization that polices the traffic to and from a parallel reality filled with creatures straight out of myth and fairy tales.

For her first assignment, Millie is tasked with tracking down a missing movie star who also happens to be a nobleman of the Seelie Court. To find him, she’ll have to smooth-talk Hollywood power players and uncover the surreal and sometimes terrifying truth behind the glamour of Tinseltown. But stronger forces than just her inner demons are sabotaging her progress, and if she fails to unravel the conspiracy behind the noble’s disappearance, not only will she be out on the streets, but the shattering of a centuries-old peace could spark an all-out war between worlds.

No pressure.

400 pages (paperback)

Published on March 1, 2016

Published by Saga Press

Author’s webpage

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This book was sent for me to review by the publisher.

—

Borderline by Mishell Baker is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. It’s also one of the most unique, and one of the most important. So, heads up for this one, folks. It needs to be read.

I’m going to get a little personal in this review, but I can’t really help myself. My brother is the reason why I’m so into disabilities in the genre. I’ve talked about him before, and for those who are curious, it’s probably pretty easy to do a search and see what I’ve said. There’s no reason to restate it all here. However, my brother can’t read anymore, which is really tragic. This is the first book I’ve come across in a long, long time (if ever) that makes me keenly aware of that tragedy. This is the book that I wish my brother could read, because this is the book that shows that someone like him can be amazing, too – just like he wanted. Millicent Roper is the protagonist that my brother Rob would have related to in ways that he probably hasn’t ever been able to relate to anyone.

Millie is a fantastic protagonist, and she’s an important protagonist. She’s a wheelchair bound amputee with borderline personality disorder. She is rare as far as protagonists go, because there really isn’t anyone else out there like her. However, Baker has made her so incredibly realistic. She’s such a vibrant character, and a lot of what makes her tick is explained so not only do I have a healthy dose of respect for this fantastic character, but I also really appreciate the window into her world, and what makes her tick. My brother Rob always wanted people to realize that someone like him can be important, too, and I think Millie is exactly what he wanted to see in the genre. She’s powerful, capable, intelligent, vibrant, and important. She’s different, and she’s different in a way that makes her one of the most fascinating characters I’ve ever read.

In fact, just about everyone in the book is atypical somehow, though in many cases readers aren’t given exact reasons why a lot of characters are the way they are, which I actually enjoyed. The privacy was wonderful, and it’s something that made me look at the characters as people rather than whatever it is that they are diagnosed with. It also makes some of the interactions in the book really unique because you never know what is going to set some people off. There are a lot of details, as well, a lot of small points of behavior that many of us (myself included) probably don’t think about act as triggers to certain people or in certain situations. There are hard rules that people have to follow, which made a lot of these interactions that much more interesting, but it also felt natural to the world and situations that Baker has created.

These rules worked really well to help Baker create her fascinating urban fantasy landscape. There really aren’t any fluid ideas here. When Baker creates something, she really goes all out. There are rules. There are benefits and drawbacks. There is a strict parameter for action and behavior, and there are punishments when those behaviors aren’t followed. It’s really well done, and I absolutely loved how detailed and solid the book felt as a result of that. I wasn’t just reading about some world that is like ours. I was actually living in a real world as Baker created it. It was tangible. I could touch it, smell it, feel it.

The plot in Borderline is just about as interesting as every other part of the book. It’s a mystery that involves plenty of investigation, partnering up, awkward situations, and a lot of information that is uncovered along the way. Millie has an eye for details, and it’s these details that often end up playing a huge role in various plot changes or Ah Ha moments. Her interactions with the mundane and magical worlds is also unique to her, and gives her a one of a kind view of this world that Baker has developed.

The Arcadia Project is a shadowy, sort of big brother feeling organization that slowly unfolds along with the plot. As with most parts of this book, readers learn things slowly, in phases, along the way. We discover as we go, not just regarding the plot and mystery, but also about the characters that Baker has created.

Everything about Borderline is superb. Incredible writing, fantastic plot, and some of the best characters I’ve ever read. This is the book that I wish my brother could read. It’s the book that he’s wanted his whole life – the book that shows that people like him can be important too.

Bravo, Mishell Baker. Bravo.

 

5/5 stars

Audiobook Review | Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro

About the Book

An alternate cover edition of this ISBN can be found here.

As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life, and for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special—and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together.

288 pages (paperback)

9 hours 46 minutes (audiobook)

Published on August 31, 2010

Buy the book

—

I get about half of my audiobooks from my various online library sources, which means that about half of the audiobooks I listen to are completely random things that just happen to be available when I’m looking to download something. Never Let Me Go was one such book. I hadn’t ever heard about it before. I read the synopsis and though, huh… interesting and went from there.

Ishiguro is an apparently well known author I’ve never heard of before. When I looked at Goodreads, it seems like just about everyone alive has read at least one of his books. I’m late on this train, but I’m glad I finally made it. Because, wow. This is also a hard book to talk about, because I really want to give absolutely nothing away. I think this is a book where, the less you know, the more you get from it. So I’m going to skip a lot of details and be as vague as possible because otherwise I think I’m ripping you off. Basically, don’t read a ton of reviews. Don’t deliberate. Just read this book. That’s really all you need to know.

Never Let Me Go is kind of like falling down a rabbit hole. It’s told in an interesting way where our protagonist, Kathy, is remembering her life, and sort of talking it all out to herself. It’s surprisingly absorbing to hear someone tell the story of her life. And she isn’t shy about saying, “I might not be remembering this right…” or “I’m pretty sure it happened this way…” at points throughout the novel, so you feel the effect of time and memories on the story. Who knows how accurate any of this actually is, because the passage of time impacts memories dramatically. However, regardless of how accurate it is, it’s very, very compelling.

A note I should add here is, the audiobook narration was absolutely superb. Rosalyn Landor really went out of her way to do this book justice. I didn’t really feel like she was reading it as much as I felt like I was actually listening to Kathy tell the story of her life to me. I think this book probably impacted me even more due to how fantastic she was with brining Kathy’s voice to life for me.

The book starts out with Kathy telling her story, and at the start of it she seems just like an average rich kid stuck in a privileged boarding school talking about things of that nature. Slowly, so subtly you almost don’t realize it is happening, Ishiguro takes away the blindfold so readers see what is really there, under the surface. You realize that these kids, and their life really isn’t normal at all, and the reasons they are where they are is haunting, and terribly sad. They are, in just about every way imaginable, victims to the “greater good” and that’s really why the novel is so powerful.

There is a whole lot of heart here, and a ton of powerful emotion. The first half of the book is the school days, the second half is these characters starting to live in the real world as adults. It’s incredible how painful that real world is, especially when relationships are formed, and when Kathy goes to the people who used to run the boarding school and learns the truth of who they are and their role in the world larger around them.

Never Let Me Go emotionally eviscerated me. There is no other way around that hard truth. The relationships are so realistically formed. The truths that are dealt with are stunningly painful, the insight into the impacts of certain decisions is absolutely unique, and the ending was just about the most poignant, emotionally packed climax I’ve ever experienced. The story itself is pretty deep, about the people who are directly impacted by some of the choices that societies make. These are the people we marginalize, push aside, tend to slip through the cracks and forget. Kathy gives them all a voice through her vibrant memories, and it’s pretty incredible, and very humbling to read a book told by someone who exists purely because of decisions that society made. We think of a lot of the choices and decisions society makes in an unattached, disengaged sort of way, but Kathy makes readers attach and engage and due to that, this book is phenomenally powerful.

Its interesting just how Ishiguro explored moral issues through the eyes of those who pay for it (so to speak). And it’s fantastic how he uses the rabbit hole.  By the time you realize things aren’t what they seem, that this is taking place in some sort of sick parallel world that is shockingly, hauntingly realistic, you’re in too deep to turn around. This book gets in your head, in your heart, and in your blood, and you feel every inch of it keenly. It makes you think, and it will stick with you long after it’s over.

Never Let me Go was a masterpiece of storytelling. It was slow and deliberate and incredibly well thought out with plenty of emotional punches and surprises that kept me on my toes. The underlying message was deep and evocative, and made me really examine the marginalized and ignored groups of people that humanity has shoved aside due to our various choices. It has made me look at the prices that are paid so people have options.

This book is powerful. This book is essential. Read it.

 

5/5 stars

An Update on Our Words

Remember this?

Well, there’s an update.

We have our domain name purchased. Shana and I have the basic website set up and housed happily on a glorious server. We have email accounts. Now I’m tinkering with things and making them pretty and ready for us to launch. I’ve also been contacting people who may be willing to be on a “jury” for submitted writing and eyeballing various other details of that nature. I’m hoping *fingers crossed* that we’ll be launching Our Words (the official title of this project) in about a month, give or take a little bit of time (because things happen).

So, there you have it, folks. Things are happening, and launch date is coming! Stay tuned here for more information as it comes down the pipe.

The Devil You Know – K.J. Parker

About the Book

The greatest philosopher of all time is offering to sell his soul to the Devil. All he wants is twenty more years to complete his life’s work. After that, he really doesn’t care.

But the assistant demon assigned to the case has his suspicions, because the philosopher is Saloninus–the greatest philosopher, yes, but also the greatest liar, trickster and cheat the world has yet known; the sort of man even the Father of Lies can’t trust.

He’s almost certainly up to something; but what?

128 pages (paperback)

Published on March 1, 2016

Published by Tor.com Publishing

Buy the book

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

—

K.J. Parker is one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, authors. I think by this point the man would probably have to murder puppies in front of me for me to think less of him or his work.

So, just from the get-go, you guys need to know that I am HUGELY biased in regards to everything this author writes.

The Devil You Know was right up my alley. A conversation between a philosopher known for his atheistic thoughts (woo!), and a minion of hell (double woo!). The philosopher Salonius is entering his twilight years, and strikes up a bargain with the devil to give him twenty more years of life, complete with youth and health. In exchange, he promises to give his soul to the devil once he dies.

It soon becomes obvious (due to the fact that Salonius is known for shenanigans) that there is a larger con at play, and our devil is trying to figure out Salonius’s angle while Salonius is obviously enjoying himself capering about and deceiving just about everyone he comes in contact with.

So at this point you have a typical K.J. Parker novella. Everyone has an angle, and no one knows what the hell that angle is and I love it. I. LOVE. IT. However, The Devil You Know stands apart for some reasons. This book doesn’t have much worldbuilding. In fact, in contrast with some of Parker’s other works, the worldbuilding is just about nonexistent. It really isn’t about that, though. It’s about the conversations, the interactions, the poking and prodding at the nature of beliefs, traditions, and viewpoints.

For example:

I started from the premise, which sort of came with the brief, that priests and religion are full of shit; from there it followed naturally that the morality they espouse must be false or faulty. Having established the side I was on I looked around for arguments to support it.

And while Salonius is saying this, you never really do figure out if he actually believes what he says in half the novel, or if he says it because he knows he can make a buck off of some of his more daring philosophies. Regardless, the book is full of stuff like that, quotes and passages that are full of Parker’s wry humor, while poking at things that many hold sacred.

And oh, dear reader, it’s like he wrote this book just for me.

The Devil You Know is basically comprised of a few conversations between Salonius and the minion from hell who was assigned his care. And, hands down, not many people can do dialogue better than K.J. Parker. Period.

This novella is told from two first person points of view, and this might be my only gripe about the entire work. The perspective changes can be abrupt, and the voices do sound quite similar so sometimes it was easy to get a little confused before my mind caught up to the fact that the other person was actually telling this portion of the story.

In the end of it, this is a novella that pokes a lot of holes in the nature of belief and human nature in general, and I found it interesting that Salonius ended up seeming less human, while the minion from hell seemed to be the most human. The roles slowly reversed throughout the novella, and that seemed to hold the biggest messages, to me.

This is all done with Parker’s wry humor that I love so much. He has a way with making serious, heavy stories hilarious, and that humor makes it all so much more poignant. And the truth of it is that this is quite a heavy novella, with a ton of really thought provoking, rather deep ideas that are toyed with. That wry humor added into these weighty topics makes them much more palatable.

I’ve come to the personal conclusion that Parker can do almost no wrong, but I will say that I think his novellas are much stronger than his novels (though The Engineer Trilogy is still one of my favorite series out there right now). The Devil You Know is really an example of why his novellas are so incredible. They are short, pack a gigantic punch, and every last detail is honed to perfection. This creates a shockingly absorbing, astoundingly thought provoking, easily digestible story that is undeniably unforgettable.

So basically I can sum this up with K.J. PARKER IS STILL AMAZING. And this novella was just about everything I’ve ever wanted K.J. Parker to write, and never really realized I wanted him to write until I read it.

Or something. Feel free to mentally substitute something that actually makes sense in that last paragraph.

 

5/5 stars

The Last Days of Magic – Mark Tompkins

About the Book

What became of magic in the world? Who needed to do away with it, and for what reasons? Drawing on myth, legend, fairy tales, and Biblical mysteries, The Last Days of Magic brilliantly imagines answers to these questions, sweeping us back to a world where humans and magical beings co-exist as they had for centuries.

Aisling, a goddess in human form, was born to rule both domains and—with her twin, Anya—unite the Celts with the powerful faeries of the Middle Kingdom. But within medieval Ireland interests are divided, and far from its shores greater forces are mustering. Both England and Rome have a stake in driving magic from the Emerald Isle. Jordan, the Vatican commander tasked with vanquishing the remnants of otherworldly creatures from a disenchanted Europe, has built a career on such plots. But increasingly he finds himself torn between duty and his desire to understand the magic that has been forbidden.

As kings prepare, exorcists gather, and divisions widen between the warring clans of Ireland, Aisling and Jordan must come to terms with powers given and withheld, while a world that can still foster magic hangs in the balance. Loyalties are tested, betrayals sown, and the coming war will have repercussions that ripple centuries later, in today’s world—and in particular for a young graduate student named Sara Hill.

The Last Days of Magic introduces us to unforgettable characters who grapple with quests for power, human frailty, and the longing for knowledge that has been made taboo. Mark Tompkins has crafted a remarkable tale—a feat of world-building that poses astonishing and resonant answers to epic questions.

400 pages (hardcover)

Published by Viking

Published on March 1, 2016

Author’s webpage

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

—

Have you ever read a book that impressed you so much you had to chew on it a while before you could even really talk about it? I’m not just talking about a good book. I’m talking about the kind of book that completely alters how you define good books.

Yeah, The Last Days of Magic is like that.

I absolutely love a good historical fantasy, but they tend to all have their own issues where authors obviously focus on one aspect too much and another aspect pays for it (also, I’m picky). I didn’t really run into that with The Last Days of Magic. In fact, the research and historical detail is so well done, and woven throughout the novel that it’s really hard to tell where the actual history ends, and the fantasy begins. That’s exactly how I love my historical fantasy – it’s a perfect circle.

Tomkins had to do an incredible amount of research to write this book. It really does boggle my mind. I can’t imagine how long it must have taken him to do it all, and it had to be a kind of exciting/frustrating process on his part, but it really pays off in the novel. There is so much detail and depth here, and I learned a lot, when I didn’t really expect to. What I loved the most, however, was that Tomkins didn’t just tell a story about a period of history, he actually wrote a book that sort of tells how a lot of these myths that we hear of now (fae, etc) started, and how they fit into the world’s history and to a certain extent, our current events.

There are numerous points of view in this novel, and I was really surprised at how quickly I took to all of them. The book itself starts out kind of dark, with a threat looming, and Aisling losing everything she has ever loved very early on and having to learn to exist in a sort of half-life. On the other side, we have Jordan, who starts sort of dark but quickly turns into a thread of hope in the novel.

The Last Days of Magic is a sprawling, vast epic in just about ever sense. There’s blood and passion, love and loss, tragedy and hope. With how easy it was for me to really, genuinely care about all the characters in the novel, I was just about instantly engaged and feeling all sorts of emotions far more powerfully than I expected as I read this book. The plot is intricate and while some points move a bit faster than others, there is something riveting happening all the time. But most importantly…

This is one of those books that makes you feel.

The Last Days of Magic does take some getting used to. The book is told in linear fashion, but there are flashbacks and point of view jumps, and some historical detail dumps (they are interesting, trust me). However, all of this does take some getting used to. Once readers adjust to Tomkin’s style, the book will absolutely fly.

The Last Days of Magic absolutely blew me away. Hands down, this is one of the best historical fantasy books I’ve ever read. Tomkin’s has a love of detail, a knack for bringing history to life, and a real skill with exploring complex and weighty relationship of truth and myth.

I’m not sure why you’re still reading this. Go read the book! Read it!

 

This book is too good to rate.

Glitch Rain – Alex Livingston

About the Book

Akuba is a low-level hacker for the city’s wealthy, making just enough to keep her bills paid and her booze flowing. Her job is to scrub the social feeds for faces who don’t want to be seen, hanging out at parties to guard the elite from errant social media statuses and incriminating photo posts. Not the most glamorous job, but she’s getting by. When an old debt comes due early suddenly she is the one who needs to keep her face out of the drones’ omnipresent eyes. Thrown into the high-stakes world of international cybercrime, Akuba will have to have to outmaneuver unlimited surveillance, high-tech con artists, and an international hacker kingpin if she wants to survive. Every identity has a price in Glitch Rain.

140 pages (paperback)

Published on February 23, 2016

Published by Apex Book Company

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

—

Glitch Rain was the first book by Apex Book Company that I’ve read, and it was right up my alley. I have to admit that I absolutely love cyberpunk. I also love diversity and strong female protagonists with fluid morals. This book had it all.

Glitch Rain features Akuba, a woman who works as a hacker. She goes from party to party and keeps the faces of important people who pay her out of the media spotlight. It’s an interesting job, and quite unique to the advanced technological age which this book takes place in.

The technology is quite interesting. Basically most of it is obviously based on our own technology – social media is everywhere, and it’s hugely powerful. Most crime seems to take place in the virtual world. There are huge rings of criminals who use credit cards to steal the benefits off of them (like airline miles, for example). Drones are all over, circling cities and taking pictures of just about everyone. Drones are from private companies, governmental organizations, etc. Big Brother is everywhere, and everyone is seen.

Anonymous acts do happen, as exampled by a man in gray who approaches Akuba at a club and gives her the news that her (considerable) debt is being called in and she has a week to figure out where the money is coming from and how she’s going to get it. Then he disappears into the ether, which should be impossible in an age when everything is seen, but he does.

The world where this takes place is really interesting, not just for the technology, but because it takes place in an African country, and that’s just so rare. Other than Nnedi Okorafor, I haven’t really read any SciFi that takes place in a setting that is this wonderfully diverse, and so incredibly vibrant due to that.

Once Akuba’s debt is called in, things really get going pretty quickly. A lot of details remain kind of nebulous. For example, her debt is talked about, and it gets hinted at and poked at enough that readers can deduct how exactly she came into this debt, but you never explicitly learn what it is about. Actually, the nebulous details really worked for me because it allowed me to focus on the important aspects of the book, which is obviously Akuba working through this criminal world in cyberspace to get her debt paid off in time.

Akuba is a great character because she’s so flawed. She’s terrible with money, and generally doesn’t give much of a crap about anyone but herself. She does what she needs to do, and doesn’t really feel any compunctions about it. Though when she has to get a little tighter with the criminal aspect of the cyber world, she starts getting uncomfortable. Her emotions really bleed through the novel, from her tension and her anxiety, to her worry and fear and it’s surprisingly addicting.

However, I had a hard time connecting with her on occasion. I’m not even sure why, but I did feel that there was a divide between the two of us and I never really got into her head the way I wanted to. I didn’t feel personally invested in her story. It was interesting, but it didn’t suck me in the way I wanted it to. Looking at it now, I realize it’s probably because I’d be having panic attacks during most of what Akuba goes through, and she remains so glacially calm the whole time that it caused some sort of cognative dissonance on my part. However, that’s who she is, calm in the face of chaos, and I can appreciate that.

This book is 140 pages long, but there is so much in it, and for cyberpunk world development, it’s absolutely top notch with no detail overlooked or too small to be thought of. That’s what really stand out to me. This is a short book, but it is so incredibly well done.

Despite that, this book was fantastic. It was delightfully diverse, and every detail was thought out. The characters were real and their emotion absolutely leapt off the page. Glitch Rain is a great cyberpunk novel that fans of that sort of thing should really pay attention to. It’s 140 pages long, and you’ll be surprised at how fast it goes by. This is one of those books that is almost impossible to put down.

 

4/5 stars

 

A Gathering of Shadows – Victoria Schwab

About the Book

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift, and into Black London.

In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games—an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries—a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again—meaning that another London must fall.

512 pages (hardcover)

Published on February 23, 2016

Published by Tor

Author’s webpage

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

—

I didn’t want to finish this book. I mean, I had to force myself to finish it. I had to just about bribe myself. “Sarah, if you finish this book, you will give yourself (insert thing here).” I kept not finishing it, so I finally upped the thing I was going to give myself to something irresistible, and that is how I got myself to finish this book.

For all of you reading this and thinking I’m really weird (I am), I have a very hard time finishing books I really, really like. The harder it is for me to finish whatever book basically equates to how much I liked the book. The harder it is for me to finish, the more I liked it.

A Gathering of Shadows starts four months after the events that transpired in A Darker Shade of Magic. A lot happened in the previous book, and in the four months between then and where this book starts, all the characters seem to have spent most of their time trying to find their new version of normal, in varying levels of success.

Lila Bard has found a place on a pirate (erm, privateering) ship. Rhys and Kell are… struggling. On the flip side we have all sorts of interesting things happening in White London, and a huge gathering taking place, a sort of magic Olympics, with Rhys and Kell as the heads of it, and plenty of shenanigans involved. There are people trying to find each other, and people trying to avoid each other, and everything feels very uncertain. Four months have passed, but after such epic events, four months really isn’t all that much.

One aspect of the novel that really interested me were the relationships. There are a lot of darker emotions simmering under the surface. They are felt, they absolutely infuse the book, and that makes them so effective. This book, in many ways, is uncomfortable. Schwab makes her characters work for everything, and while I expected things to maybe be a bit easier for all the characters, it’s obvious from the start that no one is really where they want to be or who they want to be. Things have changed, and that puts a strain on everything. It’s the most obvious in the tug-and-pull between Rhys and Kell.

Lila is sort of trying to find her place in this new London of hers, and she falls into some interesting characters and has a knack for getting into situations that seem like they’d be over her head, but she manages to pull through. She’s one of those female protagonists that I just absolutely adore because of how strong she is, while also being realistic. Lila is incredibly conflicted, and that’s part of what made her work so well, and be so memorable. She’s a fish out of water, and under all her bluster, she’s obviously lost, confused, and alone.

So, we have this interesting character stew brewing.

And we add a dash of fantastic, addicting, absorbing, surprising plot, and let it all boil for about 500 pages.

Red London spends most of its time getting ready for these Element Games, which are as political as they are elemental. Kell and Rhys get swept up into the whole thing, and their own brotherly bond is… altered and impacting things dramatically. Both characters felt a lot darker than they did in the previous book, and probably due to this they were more unpredictable and interesting. The games are on their way, and these two political figures are in the center of attention. Secret plans are made (see shenanigans), and all of this chaos is enough to distract anyone. Meanwhile, Schwab jumps over to another London occasionally to show all the changes going on there, and some of the unexpected reasons why. Slowly, as the book progresses, these two heady stories come to an unexpected head.

The last third of the novel was absolutely riveting and full of tons of twists and turns while Schwab deftly manipulates her readers into looking one way while she uses slight of hand to create a totally different plot twist than I expected with a wham-bam ending that will leave readers shocked. Seriously, book three can’t come soon enough.

There is so much going on in this book, from interesting character growth and relationship dynamics, to darker emotions than I expected, a badass female protagonist, and a very conflicted brotherly bond. The plot is just as complex as all that, with impressive things happening in two different Londons that seem unrelated… until they aren’t. Basically, Schwab crafted something dynamic and amazing here. This book is completely unforgettable, and just about as close to perfect as it gets.

5/5 stars

A Criminal Magic – Lee Kelly

About the Book

Magic is powerful, dangerous and addictive – and after passage of the 18th Amendment, it is finally illegal.

It’s 1926 in Washington, DC, and while Anti-Sorcery activists have achieved the Prohibition of sorcery, the city’s magic underworld is booming. Sorcerers cast illusions to aid mobsters’ crime sprees. Smugglers funnel magic contraband in from overseas. Gangs have established secret performance venues where patrons can lose themselves in magic, and take a mind-bending, intoxicating elixir known as the sorcerer’s shine.

Joan Kendrick, a young sorcerer from Norfolk County, Virginia accepts an offer to work for DC’s most notorious crime syndicate, the Shaw Gang, when her family’s home is repossessed. Alex Danfrey, a first-year Federal Prohibition Unit trainee with a complicated past and talents of his own, becomes tapped to go undercover and infiltrate the Shaws.

Through different paths, Joan and Alex tread deep into the violent, dangerous world of criminal magic – and when their paths cross at the Shaws’ performance venue, despite their orders, and despite themselves, Joan and Alex become enchanted with one another. But when gang alliances begin to shift, the two sorcerers are forced to question their ultimate allegiances and motivations. And soon, Joan and Alex find themselves pitted against each other in a treacherous, heady game of cat-and-mouse.

A CRIMINAL MAGIC casts a spell of magic, high stakes and intrigue against the backdrop of a very different Roaring Twenties.

432 pages (hardcover)

Published on February 2, 2016

Published by Saga Press

Author’s webpage

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

—

Wow, I’m late writing this one.

A Criminal Magic interested me from the get-go. I’m really into alternative histories, and I haven’t yet read one deal with the infamous Roaring Twenties and prohibition, where magic is what is prohibited, and the magic underground is flourishing because of that. It’s a fantastic twist on a time period that most Americans know well.

The underground culture is fantastic. Magic is addictive, and therefore it has been banned. There are hidden hidey holes and bars where people can go and get their fix. Addiction is shown in stark contrast to the fun people have with the substance(s) that are traded. Furthermore, there is a criminal aspect with trading and stealing magical items and supplies. Shows are put on to entertain people and lure in customers. It’s a roaring hidden market that is forced into hiding through the banning of it by the Federal Government. And honestly, that was a very addictive aspect of the novel.

Into this immersive setting, our two protagonists are introduced. Joan is from humble beginnings, and is a sorcerer who is trying to do right by her impoverished family. She accepts a proposal to work for the notorious Shaw gang that she can’t refuse in the hopes to keep food in the bellies of her siblings and better their lives. On the other hand, we have Alex, who has a complicated past. At the start of the novel he is introduced as a young, confused, angry man who is on the road to becoming an incredibly corrupt cop when he is offered a job to infiltrate the Shaw gang and become a mole. It’s interesting how different their backgrounds are, and how that creates such diverse perspectives about the situations they find themselves in.

Most of this book takes place in the criminal magic underground, the shadowed world that prohibition has created. The book moves pretty quickly, and it is quite immersive throughout the whole thing. The ending was fantastic, and the writing was absolutely wonderful. There really isn’t anything to complain about there. Between the protagonists, their dynamic personality, diverse backgrounds, and everything that happens throughout the book.

There were a few issues, however, that kept this book from being completely amazing. First of all, the protagonists are very well crafted but the secondary characters never quite felt as three dimensional as the protagonists. Some of the situations felt kind of forced, which created some somewhat unbelievable relationship dynamics. Furthermore, it took a little bit for me to realize that this book was, in fact, geared toward adults rather than young adults. That’s really not a negative point, because in some ways I do think that this could be a crossover novel for more mature teens. However, it left me feeling rather… uncertain about the tone itself.

None of that is a deal breaker for the novel. In fact, I loved this book and devoured it in near record time. I absolutely adored Kelly’s writing and I thought the setting and this carefully crafted illegal culture was fantastic. There was so much that was good about this book, that I really had to sit here for a while to think of some potential downsides to A Criminal Magic, and that says something. When it takes dedicated thought to think of negative aspects of a book, it means you’ve got one hell of a good book on your hands.

I’d recommend this one without reservation.

 

4/5 stars