Sarah Chorn's Blog, page 53

Envy of Angels – Matt Wallace

About the Book

In New York, eating out can be hell.

Everyone loves a well-catered event, and the supernatural community is no different, but where do demons go to satisfy their culinary cravings?

Welcome to Sin du Jour – where devils on horseback are the clients, not the dish.

225 pages (paperback)

Published on October 20, 2015

Published by Tor.com

Buy the book

—

Envy of Angels is a book that attracted my attention right away. It’s an interesting premise, an urban fantasy novella that almost entirely takes place behind the scenes at a restaurant in New York City. Not just any restaurant, but a restaurant that caters to the non humans in the city.

The thing that really got me was the fact that no one has thought about writing something like this before, and the sheer genius of his execution is staggering. It’s such a simple concept, but because no one has done it before, it is unique despite its simplicity. Restaurants are something I know little about, besides the chaos that must take place in the kitchens and behind the scenes – Wallace ups the ante, and throws in a ton of extra stuff just to make an already intense setting, that much more intense.

The two main protagonists, Lena and Darren, are regular down-on-their-luck humans who are thrown into the position of subbing for a catering gig through desperate want of a job. They quickly end up over their heads in the other side of New York that they never knew existed. It’s interesting to see them navigate this new setting, and a lot of fun to watch them grow and adjust while they keep treading water in this fast paced, rather intense setting.

The setting is rather narrow in scope, mostly taking place in this one restaurant with a few capers that happen outside, but through the people that are introduced, and the various foods and stories told, readers quickly and rather deliberately learn more about the wider world in which this restaurant is set. There are gangs, and tensions between gangs, and get-togethers to celebrate treaties, and agreements, and to stave off war. Wars and fights that most people never know are happening.

And somehow, despite all the tension and the obviously important place Sin du Jour has in this whole thing, Wallace makes it all funny and lighthearted. I soon realized that his humor was part of his genius. He has this uncanny ability to take a world that could be so intense, and a situation that, just reading about it, gives me palpations, and managed to make me laugh through the whole thing.

Envy of Angels is a sort of rabbit hole. Once you start down it, it’ll be almost impossible for you to stop. Things get weirder and weirder, and more addicting as they go. It’s hard to not quickly find yourself morbidly curious about what is going to happen next. When a morally questionable item is requested to be served at one of these important banquets, a sort of huge heist is introduced into things, and everything just gets more intense, and more strange, and more delightful.

The end result isn’t quite a heist, and it isn’t quite an urban fantasy or noir novel. It’s… whatever it is. There’s a delight in reading a book and not knowing how to classify it. It’s quite thrilling to be this surprised by a book. The truth is, Envy of Angels is one huge story packed into a tight little novella. It’s delicious, spiced just right, with the perfect amount of unique elements to make this story sing. Envy of Angels was a treat. I am willing to read anything that Wallace writes.

 

4/5 stars

P.S. I should note that there were a few copyediting errors in this book that were distracting. Maybe I’m just a stickler on these things.

SPFBO | City of Burning Shadows – Barbara J. Webb

About the Book

Joshua “Ash” Drake is a man in hiding.

Hiding from the past, from the horror of his life as a priest after the gods disappeared.

Hiding from his emotions, denying the nightmares that haunt his sleep and the anger that fuels his days.

Most of all, hiding from the truth—that no matter how much he keeps his head down, no matter how he clings to the echoes of everyday life, his city—his world—is dying.

When a new technology offers salvation to his desperate city, Ash must reach out to people he left behind and step back into the world that almost killed him. But coming out of hiding now could be the worst mistake Ash has ever made.

Because there are monsters in the darkness, feeding the chaos, watching the city burn. And once those monsters know his name, Ash will never be able to hide again.

344 pages

Published on March 13, 2014

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

This book was part of the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off.

—

City of Burning Shadows was a book that had me instantly interested. It’s different, a futuristic fantasy that works hard to blend science fiction and fantasy aspects into a seamless narrative but never really detracts from either aspect. The characters are as unique as their world, with plenty of history to draw on, and a lush past that Webb has used as a powerful backbone for the social structure that has been crafted here. As with everything else, this book also blends all these aspects into a nice noir feeling (sort of dystopian) novel that leads readers on a gritty, almost grim sort of adventure that is addictive, and full of surprises.

As you can tell, City of Burning Shadows had a lot going on. It wasn’t quite any one thing, or even any two things. This is true in just about every respect, from the world, to the characters, to the plot, to the magic system. Webb has her fingers in a lot of pies, and while it creates one incredibly different book that is quite memorable, at times I felt like there was a bit too much going on, and the book could have used a bit more streamlining, and maybe minus a few pies would have made it a bit richer of an experience. There is something to be said about books that try something completely new and different, but this one, I felt, might have been trying a bit too hard.

The problem really is the fact that there was so much going on, it kept me from really feeling like any one aspect of the book was as well realized, and fully fleshed out as it could have been. This was something I struggled with throughout the book as I’d be introduced to one interesting concept after another, but never really have the time to explore any of them fully. And the truth is, there is so much in this novel that could have carried the novel on its own, from the trials that the city is facing, the loss of gods, all of these unique races living together in this one place, a protagonist with a dark and mysterious past and so much more. Any of those ideas could have carried the novel, and plenty of them, I felt, were interesting to the point where I wanted to learn more, but I never quite learned enough because there was just so much here and not enough time for all of it.

That being said, there was plenty about this book that pleased me. While it did take some time for the book to get going, and occasionally the dialogue felt a little stilted and unnatural, the overall story of Ash was interesting, and numerous secondary characters that enter the show were just as captivating in their own respects, for their own reasons. The characters, are in fact, one aspect where I really felt like Webb shined. Ash’s inner conflict and obvious desire to hide from a lot of the facts that are right in his face is compelling. It’s a struggle that I’m sure most of us can relate to, and Webb makes him quite human in that respect. The writing is well done, and the world is unique enough to keep just about anyone reading. However, I feel I should note that some details contradicted each other. There are some references to earlier events that, maybe I’m just remembering it wrong, didn’t happen the way they were said to have happened later in the book. Or maybe I just read those parts wrong.

Diversity is a huge aspect of City of Burning Shadows, and in this way I applaud Wells by creating a world and landscape that is so incredibly diverse, the diversity itself feels rather natural. In fact, in a book that I felt tried too hard in a lot of aspects, this aspect of it felt right, like it belonged there. There was no effort. It was natural. I enjoyed all the diversity, and the smashing of numerous cultures that were depicted. In fact, I enjoyed that aspect of the novel so much, I kind of wish it had focused more on that and less on a lot of other things.

It sounds like I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I really did. In fact, I pretty much devoured this one, but it did leave me disappointed. City of Burning Shadows has so much there, I just felt like Webb was trying to chew on too many bones, and all of them got jumbled together into a tasty, but too flavorful stew. When I boil this novel down to its respective parts, I really loved the mystery. I adored the diversity. I thought the city was an entity unto itself, and I thought Ash really stole the show. There is a lot here to love, and I can see a lot of readers really enjoying this novel. I liked it a lot…. but with strong reservations.

3/5 stars

Truthwitch – Susan Dennard

About the Book

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

416 pages (hardcover)

Published on January 5, 2016

Published by Tor

Author’s website

Buy the book

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

—

Truthwitch isn’t the typical book I’d pick up and read. I’m not big on witches, and I’m not big at young adult/new adult books. However, I was gripped by the premise, and the relationship between two best friends who would do anything for each other. And while this isn’t the usual book I’d read, I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected to. There’s something wonderful about taking a chance on something new, and finding out that it was worth it.

Truthwitch surprised me for numerous reasons, the first of which is the magic system. Witches usually don’t do much for me in books, so I tend to avoid them, but the term “witch” here is more of a description than a designation for someone who chants words and makes mystical things happen. Each witch has the ability to do one other big thing. Safiya is a truthwitch, so she can tell the truth from the lie, which makes her incredibly valuable. Her friend Iseult is a threadwitch, and can see the threads that tie people and events together, she can discern possibilities based on this. Another individual can control wind, and another can find people through their blood. It’s quite interesting, and very well done. There are nice limitations in place, while it’s easy to see how this sort of magic has impacted a land, and the people who live in it.

Another thing that really pleased me about this book was the close relationship between Safi and Iseult. Relationships, like close friendships, aren’t incredibly common in the books I read. People rely on other people, and there are occasionally strong feelings, but a friendship and a kinship that Safi and Iseult shares is quite rare. It really transcends the plot, and becomes a shining light throughout the book, a really enchanting thread that made this book something that I didn’t really expect. It’s lovely to read a book with strong female protagonists, who have a strong friendship that they’ve built upon.

This book started a little slow. It took about a hundred pages for me to really feel fully invested, and I could never quite put my finger on whether this book was young adult or new adult. In the end, it didn’t really matter either way. Everything happens in this book because of a mistake made in the very first pages, and I tend to love books that start that way. Instantly the protagonists are flawed, and they spend the rest of the book trying to figure out how to fix the thing that got them into the situation in the first place. They dig themselves deeper and deeper, and soon it becomes apparent that not everything is as it seems. The two protagonists aren’t troublesome girls, one is in the nobility, and the other is discriminated against and low status. The politics are complex, and both girls find themselves at the center of something that spans nations.

All because of one mistake.

The world building is delightful. The landscape and nations are just as interesting as the magic system, and just as defined by it. Each country seems to have their strength and their weakness, and it’s easy to see how many of these play against each other. Wars have been fought, and blood has been spilled, and all of this marks the landscape, and it all plays an important role in the current situation and how it plays out.

Ultimately Truthwitch is about friendship, and undying bonds. How far would two girls go to protect each other in the face of everything else?  It’s well done, layered, and full of emotion. The plot is full of twists and turns, and while it can be a bit predictable, the rest of the book is so much fun that whatever flaws you might find are easy to ignore. This is one of those books that you can pick up, and lose hours reading.

Honestly, I was really surprised by how this book enchanted me.

 

4/5 stars

The Expanse | A Rambling Diatribe about the Books & TV Show

I’ve been asked about 400 times (okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration) about my opinions regarding The Expanse so far. I just finished the third book in the series, Abaddon’s Gate, last night, so I figured I’d pop over here and write a little bit about my insights regarding the TV show and the series.

It’s interesting how two people can approach something so differently. For example, The Expanse series on SyFy is something I’ve been very excited about. My husband, less so. He was curious, but I don’t think he’d have watched it if I hadn’t bullied him into it (ha ha). However, now that he’s watched four episodes, he’s pretty into it. I’m really into it. But I’ve read Leviathan Wakes about three times, and I just finished the third book in the series last night. I’m really excited to see how something I’ve read plays out on TV.

The show is unfolding beautifully for me. My husband is struggling with it a little. I think he’s having a hard time following the numerous storylines and puzzling out who is doing what and why. He find the complex social issues that Miller is wading through a little over his head, and while Holden’s situation is the one he’s having the easiest time following (and I think he thinks it’s more interesting), I had to explain to him a lot of what Holden was dealing with, and why it mattered, through the first two episodes. I think Miller’s storyline is a little boring to my husband so far. He’s looking for a girl, but it isn’t obvious who she is or why she’s important, so why should he care? It will become clear, very clear, very soon, but through the first four episodes, I think it would be pretty easy for a newcomer to the show/book to feel that way.

The series as a whole has been a bit like that, to me, too. Leviathan Wakes was a hugely fun book, but it took about a hundred pages for me to really start caring, and to figure out where things were going. The whole book is its own complex organism, but in the face of the entire series, Leviathan Wakes really is a book that sets the stage for more to come. Parts of it are complex, parts are confusing, parts are paced weird. The whole thing is nonstop action that keeps things moving forward at a relentless pace, peppered with characters that you love or hate, but they are all certainly individual in their own right, and obviously moving toward their own goals.

That seems to be where the show is at, too. It’s following the book very well, but in that it has its moments, just like the book did. Some things that were clear in the book are harder to understand on the television due to time constraints and various other limitations of that nature. I can see how my husband would think the thing is a little confusing. I think I spent more of the first episode explaining what was going on to my husband than actually watching it. It’s easy to understand the political issues and problems Belters face when an ice hauler bites it, especially when it’s addressed frequently in a book of that length. It’s harder to understand when it’s given on and off time in an hour episode. And the difficulty with understanding Belter patois doesn’t really help.

To be fair, my husband had the same issues with the Game of Thrones TV show, and now he’s a huge fan of it. There’s a difficulty that people face when they take something complex and intricate, and try to shove it in a one-hour time slot. I think that’s pretty natural. It took him about four episodes to warm up to Game of Thrones, and that’s about what it’s taken for him to warm up to The Expanse. He’s been asking me relentlessly for a week when the next episode will be up, so that says something.

My personal opinion on the show is that it’s following the book beautifully. I thought the first episode felt pretty rushed and too much was packed into it. It took until roughly the fourth episode for things really to kick in and start getting as exciting as they were in the book. I think SyFy has done amazing things with the setting, and that really helps bring this far-flung space opera sort of story to life. I’m pretty sure that the viewers who are struggling with the show might need to stick it out until the fourth episode, maybe the fifth, to really get things to click in place.

Usually a book loses some things when it gets put into TV format, but so far the writers of The Expanse seem to have done a fantastic job of trimming the things that easily could have been trimmed in the book, and highlighting the things that maybe needed a bit of highlighting in the book. I’m actually quite surprised by how well they’ve managed to make a book-to-TV transition, and I think generally they’ve grown on the book’s strengths, and lessened the book’s weaknesses.

The Expanse has been signed on for a second season, which is pretty exciting. When I look at the series as a whole, Caliban’s War is where things really move beyond the buildup phase and into something interesting. That’s the book where everything is elevated. The writing is better, the plot is tighter, the action is more streamlined, and the intrigue seems to have more of a purpose than it did before. There’s a point to it all finally, and readers might not understand it yet, but it’s obviously the writer duo is moving toward something specific.

That being said, Caliban’s War, in a lot of ways, did feel like it was just more of Leviathan’s Wake. Better than Leviathan’s Wake, but more of it in many respects. I’m very interested to see how that plays out on the television. I think it could be grand if the show continues the way it’s been going. There is so much different, that the underlying issues that made it feel more of the same in many ways could easily be overlooked in a TV medium. Things are given so much more depth, and a more pointed direction. The stakes are higher, and it’s interesting to see the characters stressed and strained and adjusting to life after the tragedies of Leviathan’s Wake, while they watch their universe expand in mysterious, rather terrifying ways.

I said on my Facebook recently that book three, Abaddon’s Gate, seems to be where “shit gets real” in the series. Everything that’s been built on for two novels gets… blown up, I guess. Things turn left, and everything is left open and gaping and I just want to know what happens next (luckily, I have book four looking at me right now). Abaddon’s Gate would be, in my opinion, harder to translate onto TV, but probably the most rewarding viewing experience of the three books so far. I sincerely hope they get the show that far, because I want to see it. Bad.

People say that this series is a guilty pleasure for them, but I’m pleased to say it’s an immense pleasure that I don’t feel the least bit guilty about. I think the book is translating into a fantastic TV show, and I’m thrilled that it’s been so successful. I’m excited that it’s been signed on for a second season. Now, if you’ll forgive me, I’m going to end my diatribe so I can start on the fourth book in the series.

Star Wars Episode I – Book vs. Movie

I need to make a confession. I know absolutely nothing about Star Wars. I am not even exaggerating. Before I saw Episode VII, I knew exactly three things about Star Wars:

Darth Vader is the bad guy. He wears black and breathes heavy.
Jedis use the Force. The Force is basically mad mind juju.
Light sabers are things.

My ignorance regarding Star Wars is so fantastically complete, and so absolutely rare in the genre community that I’m pretty sure it could be its own museum exhibit. I saw Episode VII with my husband, and I went into it thinking that seeing it would be my favor to my husband, and a nice way to get away from my kids for a little while (I love my kids, but let’s be honest here, sometimes mama needs to be with another adult for a while.).

I really enjoyed Episode VII. I mean, really enjoyed it. I loved it. Hell, I wanted to marry it. I left that movie wondering why on Earth I’d put off Star Wars so long. I wanted to get into the world, and read all the Star Wars things. I wanted to learn all the things about Star Wars I possibly could. Therefore, in my naïve opinion, Episode VII is an excellent gateway drug for people like me, people who know almost nothing about the franchise. It got me hooked. I wanted to learn more.

So I went online, and I asked a whole lot of people a whole lot of stupid questions because, damn folks, there is a ton of Star Wars stuff out there, and figuring out where to start with it all is about 900% more confusing than figuring out the Discworld series, and that had me pretty baffled for a little bit. I decided that the best place for me to start is Episode I, mostly because it’s generally a good idea to start series/movies/anything where it says “Number 1.” (Feel free to argue with me about this. I’ve already done it so it’s too late! Mwahahahaha). I also decided that I’d read the books first, and watch the movies after.

After I did this, I went online and said that I did this, and I had an amount of people that honestly amazed me interested in my thoughts. Most of the reasons were because I’m reading the books first and watching the movies after, which is different than normal, I guess, and therefore people are curious about my experience with it all. Also, a lot of people seemed interested in my experience due to my phenomenal ignorance and lack of any predisposition regarding anything Star Wars. Apparently I’m a rare breed of nerd.

I decided to blog about this.

(When I told my husband my decision, he rolled his eyes and said, “Brace yourself for the hate mail, Sarah.”)

So here you go. Please don’t hate me.

—

I’m not really a big fan of Terry Brooks. I never have been. And really, I don’t need to be. Not every author has to work with every reader. I highly respect the guy, and I think he tells some compelling stories, but stylistically, he typically doesn’t work with me. I went into The Phantom Menace with the attitude that I’d have to just keep my head down and plow through it. And that’s what I did.

Terry Brooks writing of The Phantom Menace definitely wasn’t his strongest work. In general, I felt like he had a hard time translating the movie to the book, and really managing to connect with his readers. There was a lot more telling rather than showing. Occasionally Anakin’s point of view felt kind of dumbed down and while I understand that he’s a nine-year-old boy, it was rather jarring. Sometimes I felt like Brooks was just dictating what happened, which was unfortunate, because there was a lot of fodder there that he could have expanded upon, leaving a lot of missed opportunities.

That being said, the story was often gripping enough to keep me interested despite the issues I had with Brooks writing. By and large, the book followed the movie pretty closely, but once I finished the book and sat down to watch the movie I realized that there were enough extra scenes that Brooks threw into the novel that actually added a lot of context to the movie, and a lot of depth that I hadn’t really expected. Seeing things from Anakin’s point of view in the novel helped me understand a lot of the thoughts and layers involved in many of the situations he faced.

One thing that really surprised me was that after reading the book and a few of Jar Jar’s perspectives, he really wasn’t as annoying to me in the movie as he came across to many people. Once I experienced situations from his point of view, and got into his mind, it was easier for me to overlook his awkwardness in the film to see the good, struggling guy with a heart of gold under all the quirky clumsiness. I kind of regretted that in the film he came across as a campy secondary character, where in the novel he felt more important and thought out.

There are other differences between the book and the movie. For example, the book starts with Anakin in a pod race, he wrecks the pod, and has to deal with Watto, which kind of expands upon the relationship between Watto and Anakin’s family in a way that the film never really got to. In one scene, Anakin has to travel into the desert to buy some droids for Watto and ends up helping a guy he finds out there, which gives some background into cultural clashes on Tatooine. Jar Jar, as I’ve mentioned, has a few points where the story is told from his perspective, and getting into his head really served to warm me up to his character where I think if I just saw him in the movie he probably would have seriously annoyed me. The standoff with Naboo is explained a bit more, which helped me understand more of the social and governmental issues that were being faced at that time.

There is also quite a bit of background given as to the Dark Side and the Jedi, their heritage, wars and whatever else that has helped shape things into what it is in this book. The Force is really interesting, but it is obviously complex and this background in the book helped me probably more than just about anything else. The movie doesn’t really give much background or history regarding the Force, and the book, while it doesn’t give much, gives enough to help me appreciate a lot of the nuances in the film that would have gone right over my head. It also helped me appreciate the role of the Jedi in the universe, government, and social situations in general.

And, to be honest with you, all those differences (and more that I haven’t listed) really helped me appreciate the film more than I would have before. Episode I is my husband’s least favorite film, a sentiment that I’ve heard many Star Wars fans share, and while it wasn’t my favorite thing I’ve ever watched (or read), it was interesting to see where all the depth and details in the novel played out (or didn’t) in the movie. I also appreciated what was in the movie more than I probably would have otherwise, and saw a wider story going on than was really shown in the film.

That being said, I do feel like Episode I, while important, had a whole lot of pork in it, scenes that were drawn on a little too long, some parts that didn’t necessarily need to be there (I’m sorry, but Darth Maul could have been super freaking cool and ended up being super freaking wasted in this book and movie, IMO. But I really want his light saber. Bad.)

The Phantom Menace sets the scene for quite a dynamic story. While I’ve figured out where Anakin ends up, the story of how he gets there is something that has me quite interested. It’s neat to see what could have been, and watch the story unfold of all the small things that went into creating what actually was. The book was a lot more dynamic than the movie, with a lot more depth despite some awkward pacing and writing issues in it. I’m glad I read the book first, because if I’m completely honest with you, if I’d seen the movie first I doubt I would have had much interest in reading the book, or really continuing on with the prequel trilogy.

Summarization: The book was more effective than the movie, but they both worked together to highlight this complex story very well. Most people seem to dislike episode I, or at least feel indifferent to it. While I don’t think I’m going to put it on my list of favorite movies or books, I certainly didn’t dislike it. I absolutely attribute that to the fact that I read the book before I watched the movie.

The Phantom Menace sets the scene for a family saga that spans a universe that is both gripping and strange, and incredibly focused on emotions, and their power, which fascinates me. This wasn’t my favorite story in the world, but it sets a good stage that is ripe others to build on. I’ve already started Episode II, and if anyone cares, I will continue doing posts like these as I work my way through the Star Wars canon.

(Note: I have watched Episodes IV – VI, though I watched them while watching two small children roughly two weeks ago. If anyone has watched a movie with two small children, you’ll realize that you can translate that into me saying, I’ve watched about .03% of Episodes IV – VI and therefore, I’m not really counting them as watched.)

(Another note: Everyone has opinions on how to watch/read these books. Everyone. And everyone’s opinions are different, which is why I’ve basically said screw it and started with Episode I. I realize you’ll probably think I’m doing this wrong. That’s okay. I’m having fun anyway.)

Best Audiobooks of 2015

Ah, the time of year for lists….

This year was my year of audiobooks. I listened to roughly 50 audiobooks in 2015. I’ve learned this is a fantastic way for me to keep myself sane at work. I get about half of what I have listened to through Audible, and the other half through Overdraft, and my local library. Overdraft keeps things interesting. Their selection isn’t huge, but they are always getting different books so I tend to take a chance on books that I don’t typically want to use an Audible credit on. Some have surprised me in a good way, some in bad ways.

For audiobooks, it’s all about the narrator. I’ve learned a few things:

I absolutely HATE sound effects in the books I listen to.
I like it when narrators just read the book with some voice changes for characters, but not overwhelming ones.

When I’m making this list, keep that in mind. You won’t find books with sound effects on here, and you won’t find books that are heavily voice acted, either. That’s just my personal style.

With my Best Books of 2015 list, I put only books published in 2015 on it. With audiobooks it’s going to be books published in any year that I listened to in 2015. I haven’t had enough authors or publishers ask me to review their 2015 published audiobooks to make an actual list out of them. This list is in no particular order.

As always, I’m looking for suggested and recommended listening. What would you recommend?

—

The Expanse (series) – James S.A. Corey

Narrated by Jefferson Mays

This series is fantastic, action SciFi with some really interesting concepts in a vast and sprawling universe with tons of social, cultural, and governmental issues. Each book in this series (that I’ve listened to so far) expands upon the last. Jefferson Mays does a great job at focusing on telling a good story. He has a great cadence, and is incredibly easy to listen to. It’s easy to focus on the story the way Mays tells it, which is important when so much is happening.

—

The Iron Druid Chronicles – Kevin Hearne

Narrated by Luke Daniels

Honestly, this one caught me off guard. The books are an absolute riot, but I was told by a few people that they’d probably bounce off of me for various reasons. I put off reading them, but the first two books were part of Audible’s Black Friday sale, so I jumped on them. I started listening to them at work, not really expecting much and I ended up being so absorbed in them I’d get pissed when I had to pause the book to do other things. Daniels does a great job at nailing the voice for both Atticus and Oberon. Oberon is does especially well. The books themselves really breath new life into urban fantasy, but Daniels does a fantastic job at making these books even more enjoyable. In fact, this is one of those audiobook experiences that has made it absolutely impossible for me to read or enjoy these books in any other medium.

—

Half-Resurrection Blues – Daniel Jose Older

Narrated by Daniel Jose Older

This is the first time I’ve listened to an audiobook narrated by the author. It was a lot of fun. There’s something nice about listening to a book that is read the way the author means it to be read. This book is a lot of fun, and quite an interesting twist on urban fantasy anyway, but Older’s fantastic narration really pumps it up a notch. He has a way with bringing people and places to life, and ramping up the tension with his voice. Speaking of his voice, it’s deep and rich and easy to listen to. In fact, I could probably listen to him read me my grocery list. The book is fantastic, and hearing an author read what he wrote himself is memorable.

—

The Eyre Affair – Jasper Fforde

Narrated by Susan Duerden

This book rocked my world so hard. Not only is the book itself incredible, hilarious, action packed and absolutely riveting, but the narration nails it perfectly, from the tone to the dry humor and all the nuances of the plot. Usually I only listen to audiobooks at work, but this is one where I was finding stuff to do around the house so I could keep listening. I had no idea that Fforde was this much fun, and I’m pretty sure everyone at work thought I was insane due to my spontaneous bursts of laughter about nothing they could hear. Susan Duerden managed to tell a fantastic story, and absolutely nail the dry wit found throughout the book. It’s easy to love an audiobook when the book itself is this damn incredible.

—

The Final Empire (Mistborn) – Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by Michael Kramer

This is not the first book I’ve listened to Kramer narrate, and he is probably one of my favorite narrators because he has the ability to absolutely absorb me in the story being told. This is another one of those books that, thanks to Kramer, I just can’t read anymore. I have to listen to it. I tried to read the second book in the series, and I did it, and liked it, but I want to actually listen to it now. I think listening to Kramer read this book to me would scratch the itch I have now. The thing is, Kramer just tells a damn good story. He focuses on the story, giving each character just enough inflection for me to know who is speaking, but not enough to distract me. He balances a really fun, interesting plot with a likewise fun and interesting voice. The whole thing balanced perfectly and he completely ruined me. Now it’s impossible for me to read these books. I have to listen to Michael Kramer read them to me. There is no other way for me to enjoy them.

—

The Grace of Kings – Ken Liu

Narrated by Michael Kramer

MICHAEL FREAKING KRAMER, YOU ARE RUINING READING FOR ME. I’m actually really glad that I listened to this book rather than reading it, which kind of surprised me. I never really expected to say that about a book. However, this one is one of the rare ones when listening to it allowed me to really focus on the story rather than paying attention to the names and trying to imagine how they’d really sound if I had a clue. The Grace of Kings was one of my favorite books this year, and for numerous good reasons. I’m absolutely dying to get my hands on the next incredible thing Liu churns out, but listening to this book was probably one of the best literary decisions I’ve made this year. I spent absolutely zero time trying to figure out how all the names should sound (which is something I spend a ridiculous amount of time on when I read), and I spent all my time just enjoying Kramer hypnotize me with his incredible storytelling and this absolutely phenomenal book. Because, damn folks. If you haven’t read (or listened to) this book yet, what is wrong with you?!

—

The Magicians – Lev Grossman

Narrated by Mark Bramhall

When I first read this book, I was sort of impressed and unimpressed by it at the same time. I discovered that what I really needed was to listen to this book. I actually listened to the entire series this year in quick order, and I was absolutely in love with it. Bramhall does a great job reading this one, bringing the dry humor and the internal conflicts to life for his listeners. It’s easier to sympathize with the characters and the situations, and overlook the things that probably would have really bothered me if I was reading and actually focused on the words and thinking intently about them rather than just sitting back and enjoying someone with an incredible voice telling me an absolutely addictive story. This series isn’t perfect, but it might as well be with Bramhall reading it to me.

—

Midnight Riot – Ben Aaronovich

Narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

This is one of those random books I picked up on Overdrive, and I honestly wondered why in the hell I didn’t read/listen to it sooner. Holdbrook-Smith absolutely nails his performance in this series. He is really intense, with a thick-ish English accent that brings the whole thing to life. In fact, the intensity of him surprised me, but it served to really ramp up the tension throughout the book. I was surprised that there were plenty of parts where I could hear him taking a deep breath, or pausing to lick his lips. These small details at just the right moments brought the whole story, the chases, the conflict and confusion, the worry and everything else, to vibrant life to me. Parts of these books are white-knuckle, and the way Holdbrook-Smith told this story actually had me white-knuckle gripping things. I wasn’t listening to a story, I was living someone else’s high octane life in a London I could almost smell, and it was glorious.

—

Unbound – Jim C. Hines

Narrated by David DeVries

I’m a huge, huge fan of this series, and I am so very sad that Hines is ending it with this book coming out. This series is a whole lot of fun. This one is no different than the last in the fact that it is full of nonstop action and tons of interesting magic that tugs at my book loving heart. Isaac travels far and wide, and while a lot of the characters stay the same as in previous books, we do meet new ones. DeVries has a great voice, and manages to bring each of his characters and their unique speech patterns to life with his reading. Mostly, though, he had an ability to nail atmosphere that really worked for me. He was fun, but he was intense as well. He sucked me into a story and kept pulling me along at a relentless pace. He took a book in a series I love, and made enjoying it a memorable experience. That’s really what I look for in my audiobooks, and he delivered.

—

Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes

Narrated by Jeff Woodman

I realize that everyone on planet Earth has read this book already, but this was the first time I’ve read it. While this book absolutely laid me out, rung me dry, and emotionally eviscerated me, I also think it is one of the most important and profound books I’ve ever read. Listening to it was… intense, to say the least. I’m absolutely floored by what a good job Woodman did, slowly changing his voice, slowly evolving his character the way the book demanded him to evolve. He did it in subtle ways, where things were happening almost without my realization, and that just made the whole entire thing that much more profound. Really, in all things audiobook, I can’t recommend this one highly enough… just be prepared. Gird your emotional loins and get ready for a book that hits you straight in your soul.

 

Lightless – C.A. Higgins

About the Book

The deeply moving human drama of Gravity meets the nail-biting suspense of Alien in this riveting science fiction debut. With bold speculation informed by a degree in astrophysics, C. A. Higgins spins an unforgettable “locked spaceship” mystery guaranteed to catapult readers beyond their expectations—and into brilliantly thrilling new territory.

Serving aboard the Ananke, an experimental military spacecraft launched by the ruthless organization that rules Earth and its solar system, computer scientist Althea has established an intense emotional bond—not with any of her crewmates, but with the ship’s electronic systems, which speak more deeply to her analytical mind than human feelings do. But when a pair of fugitive terrorists gain access to the Ananke, Althea must draw upon her heart and soul for the strength to defend her beloved ship.

While one of the saboteurs remains at large somewhere on board, his captured partner—the enigmatic Ivan—may prove to be more dangerous. The perversely fascinating criminal whose silver tongue is his most effective weapon has long evaded the authorities’ most relentless surveillance—and kept the truth about his methods and motives well hidden.

As the ship’s systems begin to malfunction and the claustrophobic atmosphere is increasingly poisoned by distrust and suspicion, it falls to Althea to penetrate the prisoner’s layers of intrigue and deception before all is lost. But when the true nature of Ivan’s mission is exposed, it will change Althea forever—if it doesn’t kill her first.

304 pages (hardcover)

Published on September 29, 2015

Published by Del Rey

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

—

I devoured Lightless, and there are a few reasons for that. First, it’s unlike most other SciFi books I’ve read. Secondly, the characters and their interactions are likewise unique. Due to that, I think this book will be (and has been) a hit or miss with readers.

Lightless takes place on a spaceship traveling to Pluto with a total of three people on it. The book never leaves that ship, and I think the most players you’ll ever see on the ship at once is six. It has a very limited setting, and a very limited cast. That’s pretty unusual for a deep space SciFi book. If you go into this expecting a James S.A. Corey style space opera, you’ll be disappointed.

The limited setting and cast allows Higgins to really focus on certain aspects of her novel. The plot, for example, and its many minute intricacies. Relationships are also an important focus for Higgins, and they often end up changing and evolving into something far different than I first expected. This novel never really moves toward intimate. The character interactions are always professional. This is a book about a bunch of people doing their jobs, and that might come across as stilted to some readers, but it’s actually pretty interesting as Higgins slowly picks away at the strict boundaries between professional and personal, and blurs those lines so subtly you barely realize it is happening. In many ways, this is a personal drama, and it plays out far differently than most personal dramas play out, and I completely ate it up.

I enjoy books where the setting sort of becomes a character in its own right. An example would be America Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett, the city is so vibrant and well realized that it almost felt as alive as the people who lived in it. Higgins takes that love of mine for a setting that is almost “alive”, and really elevates it to a new, thought provoking level. She explores a new sort of relationship, and artificial intelligence in a way that I’ve never really read before. It was absolutely fascinating. She also managed to keep me wondering what exactly was happening until almost the end, when it was actually happening.

Most of the book is an investigation and questioning. A lot of what is taking place in the wider universe is shown to readers in bits and pieces throughout this questioning, and slowly a picture of the geopolitical (I don’t think that’s the right word for this) climate unfolds. It’s layered and detailed and full of tension. The heist at the start of the book is far more intricate than I first expected, and slowly, deftly, Higgins ramps up the tension throughout her novel until its almost at the breaking point. Toward the last third of the book, I couldn’t put it down if you’d paid me money to do so.

The best part of this novel is how detailed, and subtle it is. The setting and cast is so incredibly limited, really creating a unique setting unlike anything I’ve read before. In some ways it felt larger than life because it was so incredibly well realized. The relationships and personal evolutions are just as subtle and shocking as everything else, and end up being quite surprising. The slow revelations, and the teasing out of information through questioning sessions was incredibly well done. However, where Higgins really excels is under the surface. While all of this is taking place, she’s slowly ramping up the tension, revealing small details and tidbits for her readers, laying out a puzzle that will be pieced together in a dynamic ending that will leave you reeling.

This book won’t be for everyone, but it absolutely blew me away.

4/5 stars

Featured Review | City of Light – Keri Arthur

About the Book

The first in an all-new futuristic fantasy series from Keri Arthur—the New York Times bestselling author of the Souls of Fire novels.

When the bombs that stopped the species war tore holes in the veil between this world and the next, they allowed entry to the Others—demons, wraiths, and death spirits who turned the shadows into their hunting grounds. Now, a hundred years later, humans and shifters alike live in artificially lit cities designed to keep the darkness at bay….

As a déchet—a breed of humanoid super-soldiers almost eradicated by the war—Tiger has spent her life in hiding. But when she risks her life to save a little girl on the outskirts of Central City, she discovers that the child is one of many abducted in broad daylight by a wraith-like being—an impossibility with dangerous implications for everyone on earth.

Because if the light is no longer enough to protect them, nowhere is safe…

343 pages (paperback)

Published on January 5, 2016

Published by DAW

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

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

—

I’ve been interested in trying new things recently, so I jumped on reading City of Light by Keri Arthur. I know Arthur’s books aren’t normally my style, but the description of this one interested me. A futuristic world that has been ravaged by war? Reality has been fundamentally altered? Yes, please.

The world building impressed me from the start. This world felt strange enough to not be our world, but similar enough for me to try to pick out where all this was taking place from various points of reference Arthur gave her readers. The war that happened roughly a hundred years before completely changed society and cultures as we know it. Life is rough, and brutal, and people hack out their existence with their hard work and determination. It’s not a pretty world, and it was surprisingly gritty but so well done. It was layered and textured and packed full of atmosphere. I haven’t read any of Arthur’s other books, but if this is her skill with world building, watch out. She’s a force to be reckoned with.

The magic system is likewise fascinating. Tiger is the last of her kind, a unique sort of vat-built supersoldier who has a very painful, dark past and an incredibly lonely present. She has no human DNA, and all of her kindred have been killed. The world is divided between shifters and humans, with vampires roaming the night. They are dangerous and presented as something less than animals with no language and no social structure. The new take on vampires was very welcome, and another unique addition to the world Arthur has created, making night more than just darkness, and full of danger. Along with this are sprits that can either help (as Cat and Bear help Tiger), or hurt in rather surprising ways. Nothing really is what it appears to be on the surface, and half the magic of the magic system is that it takes so long for Arthur to reveal all the layers involved in it. Just when I figured it out, she added a new little detail and twist that made the whole thing that much more interesting and complex.

The plot takes a while to get going. Some readers will probably think it starts slow, but it gets rolling pretty quickly. Part of what makes the start feel so slow is Tiger’s obvious isolation. She’s been alone so long, and her ghosts are her only company. While ghosts are interesting, they aren’t very conversational so much of this beginning is introspection and thoughts that introduce readers to the world and the magic system as a whole, and Tiger’s place in the whole thing. Things start getting more exciting when she discovers the girl, and the day after she finds the girl marks the point where the plot really starts moving.

This book doesn’t really go anywhere I’d expect it to go. The first hundred pages or so felt reminiscent of Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series. After that, Arthur turned left where I expected her to turn right, and she took all of her unique world building and memorable magic in a direction I really didn’t expect. The mystery is really compelling, and Tiger’s intense, emotional desire to help just about every hurt and needful child she can find added a really raw, emotional bend to a story that I didn’t really expect to jar me as much as it did.

Tiger is an interesting protagonist. She’s a strong woman who has learned to survive in a very hard world. She’s isolated and estranged from just about everything and everyone, but there’s an obvious hunger in her to be with other people, to connect with just about anyone else. She’s independent and tough, but has obvious and realistic weaknesses and knows what they are. In the face of her world, her strengths and limitations came across as believable and rather compelling. Tiger was a character I felt for, because she so obviously had her feet in two different worlds, and was struggling to find a balance in her reality, and herself. The struggles she faced challenged her in fascinating ways, and her connection with others forced her to grow in areas that felt rather stagnate before.

There is sex, which I expected. I know enough about Keri Arthur to know that sex kind of comes with the territory. I faced the interesting point of expecting sex, and bracing for it, and sort of anticipating it, and finding that the sex itself almost completely jarred me out of the storyline. The book was so wonderful, and then BAM, the sex was there, and I was wondering when we could get back to things. Maybe that’s because I’m not really fond of explicit sex in my books, or maybe it’s just because I genuinely felt that the sex didn’t really need to be there. The tension was great, the situations were moving wonderfully, I think in the end, the sex felt a little gratuitous, and unnecessary.

City of Light, despite that complaint, really wowed me. It’s a rather compelling story of a woman who both fits and doesn’t fit at the same time. Her story is shockingly emotional as she tries to figure out what is going on in the world that she’s hidden from, and left her largely ignored and isolated. She’s haunted by her past, and trying very hard to puzzle out her present. City of Light is shockingly emotional, with a world that was absolutely fantastic, and a magic system that left me wanting more. The plot was gripping, and the atmosphere was intense, to say the least. I have kind of avoided Keri Arthur’s books because they generally aren’t my bag, but this one surprised me, and that’s probably the highest compliment I could give it.

4/5 stars

Most Anticipated Books of 2016

It’s that time of year again. It’s time for lists. I almost hate making most anticipated lists as much as I hate making best book lists. It’s so hard to narrow it down to something manageable. Let me just say this, this list is in no particular order, and I absolutely am leaving books off because none of you want to read a novel about all the books I want to read this upcoming year.

Wow, 2016 looks to be a fantastic year for SpecFic.

I also set some goals for myself each year. In 2016, I’m interested in focusing on more short fiction – novellas and short stories. Recommendations are welcome.

On to my list.

—

Age of Myth – Michael J. Sullivan

Publication date: June 28, 2016

Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between men and those they thought were gods changes forever. Now, only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer. Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom. And Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people.

The Age of Myth is over; the time of rebellion has begun.

—

Children of Earth and Sky – Guy Gavriel Kay

Publication date: May 10, 2016

The bestselling author of the groundbreaking novels Under Heaven and River of Stars, Guy Gavriel Kay is back with a new novel, Children of Earth and Sky, set in a world inspired by the conflicts and dramas of Renaissance Europe. Against this tumultuous backdrop the lives of men and women unfold on the borderlands—where empires and faiths collide.

From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request—and possibly to do more—and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman, posing as a doctor’s wife, but sent by Seressa as a spy.

The trading ship that carries them is commanded by the accomplished younger son of a merchant family, ambivalent about the life he’s been born to live. And farther east a boy trains to become a soldier in the elite infantry of the khalif—to win glory in the war everyone knows is coming.

As these lives entwine, their fates—and those of many others—will hang in the balance, when the khalif sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world…

—

A Gathering of Shadows – V.E. Schwab

Publication date: February 23, 2016

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

—

Marked in Flesh – Anne Bishop

Publication date: May 8, 2016

For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community…

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs…

—

All the Birds in the Sky – Charlie Jane Anders

Publication date: January 26, 2016

Childhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead didn’t expect to see each other again, after parting ways under mysterious circumstances during high school. After all, the development of magical powers and the invention of a two-second time machine could hardly fail to alarm one’s peers and families.

But now they’re both adults, living in the hipster mecca San Francisco, and the planet is falling apart around them. Laurence is an engineering genius who’s working with a group that aims to avert catastrophic breakdown through technological intervention into the changing global climate. Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the world’s magically gifted, and works with a small band of other magicians to secretly repair the world’s every-growing ailments. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together–to either save the world, or plunge it into a new dark ages.

A deeply magical, darkly funny examination of life, love, and the apocalypse.

—

A Criminal Magic – Lee Kelly

Publication date: February 2, 2016

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.

—

The Thorn of Emberlain – Scott Lynch

Publication date: July 21, 2016

With 50,000 copies sold of The Republic of Thieves and with praise from the likes of Joe Abercrombie and George RR Martin the saga of the Gentleman Bastard has become a favourite and key part of the fantasy landscape. And now Locke Lamora, thief, con-man, pirate, political deceiver must become a soldier.

A new chapter for Locke and Jean and finally the war that has been brewing in the Kingdom of the Marrows flares up and threatens to capture all in its flames.

And all the while Locke must try to deal with the disturbing rumours about his past revealed in The Republic of Thieves. Fighting a war when you don’t know the truth of right and wrong is one thing. Fighting a war when you don’t know the truth of yourself is quite another. Particularly when you’ve never been that good with a sword anyway.

—

The Wheel of Osheim – Mark Lawrence

Publication date: July 22, 2016

All the horrors of Hell stand between Snorri Ver Snagason and the rescue of his family, if indeed the dead can be rescued. For Jalan Kendeth, getting back out alive and with Loki’s key is all that matters. Loki’s creation can open any lock, any door, and it may also be the key to Jalan’s fortune back in the living world.

Jalan plans to return to the three w’s that have been the core of his idle and debauched life: wine, women, and wagering. Fate however has other plans, larger plans. The Wheel of Osheim is turning ever faster, and it will crack the world unless it’s stopped. When the end of all things looms, and there’s nowhere to run, even the worst coward must find new answers. Jalan and Snorri face many dangers, from the corpse hordes of the Dead King to the many mirrors of the Lady Blue, but in the end, fast or slow, the Wheel of Osheim always pulls you back. In the end it’s win or die.

—

Dreaming Death – J. Kathleen Cheney

Publication date: February 2, 2016

Shironne Anjir’s status as a sensitive is both a gift and a curse. Her augmented senses allow her to discover and feel things others can’t, but her talents come with a price: a constant assault of emotions and sensations has left her blind. Determined to use her abilities as best she can, Shironne works tirelessly as an investigator for the Larossan army.

A member of the royal family’s guard, Mikael Lee also possesses an overwhelming power—he dreams of the deaths of others, sometimes in vivid, shocking detail, and sometimes in cryptic fragments and half-remembered images.

But then a killer brings a reign of terror to the city, snuffing out his victims with an arcane and deadly blood magic. Only Shironne can sense and interpret Mikael’s dim, dark dreams of the murders. And what they find together will lead them into a nightmare.

—

The Last Days of Magic – Mark Tompkins

Publication date: March 1, 2016

An epic novel of magic and mysticism, Celts and faeries, mad kings and druids, and the goddess struggling to reign over magic’s last outpost on the Earth

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.

—

Infomocracy – Malka Ann Older

Publication date: June 7, 2016

It’s been twenty years and two election cycles since Information, a powerful search engine monopoly, pioneered the switch from warring nation-states to global microdemocracy. The corporate coalition party Heritage has won the last two elections. With another election on the horizon, the Supermajority is in tight contention, and everything’s on the line.

With power comes corruption. For Ken, this is his chance to do right by the idealistic Policy1st party and get a steady job in the big leagues. For Domaine, the election represents another staging ground in his ongoing struggle against the pax democratica. For Mishima, a dangerous Information operative, the whole situation is a puzzle: how do you keep the wheels running on the biggest political experiment of all time, when so many have so much to gain?

—

Borderline – Mishell Baker

Publication date: March 1, 2016

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.

—

Snakewood – Adrien Selby

Publication date: March 15, 2016

Once they were a band of mercenaries who shook the pillars of the world through cunning, alchemical brews, and cold steel. Whoever met their price won.



Now, their glory days behind them, scattered to the wind, and their genius leader in hiding, they are being hunted down and eliminated one by one.

A lifetime of enemies has its own price.

Adrian Selby brings us into an unforgettable new world filled with magic, mystery, intrigue, bloodshed and betrayal.

—

The Fireman – Joe Hill

Publication date: May 17, 2016

No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it’s Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies—before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.

Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she’s discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob’s dismay, Harper wants to live—at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.

Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads—armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn’t as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter’s jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.

In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman’s secrets before her life—and that of her unborn child—goes up in smoke.

—

Central Station – Lavie Tidhar

Publication date: May 10, 2016

A worldwide diaspora has left a quarter of a million people at the foot of a space station. Cultures collide in real life and virtual reality. The city is a weed, its growth left unchecked. Life is cheap and data is cheaper.

When Boris Chong returns to Tel Aviv from Mars, much has changed. Boris’s ex-lover Miriam is raising a strangely familiar child who can tap into the data stream of a mind with the touch of a finger. His cousin Isobel is infatuated with a robotnik—a cyborg ex-Israeli soldier who might well be begging for parts. Even his old flame Carmel—a hunted data-vampire—has followed him back to a planet where she is forbidden to return.

Rising above all is Central Station, the interplanetary hub between all things: the constantly shifting Tel Aviv; a powerful virtual arena and the space colonies where humanity has gone to escape the ravages of poverty and war. Everything is connected by the Others, powerful entities who, through the Conversation—a shifting, flowing stream of consciousness—are just the beginning of irrevocable change.

—

False Hearts – Laura Lam

Publication date: June 14, 2016

Orphan Black meets Inception: Two formerly conjoined sisters are ensnared in a murderous plot involving psychoactive drugs, shared dreaming, organized crime, and a sinister cult.

Raised in the closed cult of Mana’s Hearth and denied access to modern technology, conjoined sisters Taema and Tila dream of a life beyond the walls of the compound. When the heart they share begins to fail, the twins escape to San Francisco, where they are surgically separated and given new artificial hearts. From then on they pursue lives beyond anything they could have previously imagined.

Ten years later, Tila returns one night to the twins’ home in the city, terrified and covered in blood, just before the police arrive and arrest her for murder—the first homicide by a civilian in decades. Tila is suspected of involvement with the Ratel, a powerful crime syndicate that deals in the flow of Zeal, a drug that allows violent minds to enact their darkest desires in a terrifying dreamscape. Taema is given a proposition: go undercover as her sister and perhaps save her twin’s life. But during her investigation Taema discovers disturbing links between the twins’ past and their present. Once unable to keep anything from each other, the sisters now discover the true cost of secrets.

An Update… the good kind. Also, The Expanse, and The Force Awakens

Well, this is going to be a bit rambly.

You’ve been warned.

—

Last week I was silent. I spent about 90% of my week in the hospital getting a whole bucketload of tests done. I was sicker than words can possibly describe, and just barely hanging on. It was horrible. However, Friday I had my scan (which I was mentally and emotionally ramping up for all week). My doctor showed up so I wouldn’t have to wait for the results. I had an ultrasound of the cancerous area done before the scan, and then the scan. I waited about five minutes (the longest five minutes of my life) before my doctor was ready to talk to me. He summed up the whole scan with, “Well, Sarah, after five years you’ve finally made it to the other side.”

It’s surreal. After five years of this stuff hanging over my head, I’m finally in remission. My kids now have a mom who had cancer instead of has it. I still kind of feel like I’m dreaming the whole thing, but this huge wave of relief is almost overpowering me, and I feel like I’ve lost about 900 pounds in the past few days. I’m also exhausted. Not the go-to-sleep kind of exhausted, but the kind of exhausted someone feels after they’ve fought a battle and won it.

Whew.

—

I’m spending this week catching up, and Christmas is happening, so there won’t be much happening here until after the holidays. I thought I’d post this update, and either later today or tomorrow, I’ll post my most anticipated books list. Then I’ll probably go quiet so I can enjoy my first cancer-free round of holidays in five long, long years.

In other news, I’m interested in who is watching The Expanse on Syfy. Any thoughts? Have you also read the books? I’m enjoying it quite a bit, but I’ve also read Leviathan Wakes three times. My husband, who hasn’t read the books and knows nothing about them, is enjoying the show, but he finds it pretty confusing and occasionally hard to follow so I have to explain things a lot.

Today we went to see The Force Awakens. For a little history, I literally have never seen anything Star Wars in my life. Everything I know about Star Wars can be summed up with these three facts:

Darth Vader is a bad guy. He wears black and breathes heavy.
The force is mad mind juju.
Light sabers are things.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I actually ended up LOVING the part I saw (more on that later). I’m pretty excited to read/watch more Star Wars and learn more about the universe. I thought the movie was pretty easy to follow and pick up on, even knowing absolutely nothing about any of it. It’s obvious that knowing some of the previous details would fill in some gaps and complete understanding, and I’m sure the nostalgia factor makes it even more enjoyable, but from my newbie perspective, the movie was fantastic (the part I saw of it, anyway). I want more. (And I never thought I’d ever say that about Star Wars).

Why I said that I love what I saw is because of an incident in the theater where our safety was threatened and we ended up leaving early, at about the halfway point. The movie theater comped us a bunch of stuff, so we are going to see it again tomorrow – today, by the time you read this (and hopefully finish it this time). The moral is, guys, please don’t be assholes. The movie theaters are crowded, and everyone is excited and happy. This was the first time I’ve ever left a situation because my safety felt threatened and I thought physically bad things could very easily happen because a stranger completely lost control of himself. I appreciate the movie theater for taking care of us, and I appreciate the cop who was there and made sure we stayed safe. So this is a gentle reminder, folks, please keep yourself under control during this season. And stay safe. People are crazy, and you never know who has a hair-trigger temper.

—

To sum it up:

Last week I was quiet, and this week I get to say, “Yay remission!!!” Also, don’t be dicks in movie theaters.

Stay safe, and have a happy (insert holiday/event you may or may not celebrate here).