Sarah Chorn's Blog, page 63

The Blinding Knife – Brent Weeks

About the Book

Gavin Guile is dying.

He’d thought he had five years left—now he has less than one. With fifty thousand refugees, a bastard son, and an ex-fiancée who may have learned his darkest secret, Gavin has problems on every side. All magic in the world is running wild and threatens to destroy the Seven Satrapies.

Worst of all, the old gods are being reborn, and their army of color wights is unstoppable. The only salvation may be the brother whose freedom and life Gavin stole sixteen years ago.

671 pages (hardcover)

Published on September 11, 2012

Published by Orbit

Author’s webpage

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—

I have about a million books I need to review, and now that I’m back from vacation, I finally feel like I have the energy to catch up. However, most recently I’ve been working my way through Brent Weeks epic fantasy Lightbringer series. It’s on my mind, because I just finished book three. I figured I’d start with my catching-up-on-reviews by reviewing The Blinding Knife.

The Blinding Knife is the second book in the Lightbringer series. Let me start by saying that I first read The Black Prism when it came out. I was quite impressed with that book. I was scrolling through the library’s audiobook website a week or so ago, and I ran across that book again. I figured it was time for a re-read (re-listen?). A few things are a bit different my second time through. First, I was less impressed with the book on my re-read than I was the first time. It was quite entertaining, and very well done, but the plot felt fairly 3-stars to me. Also, the audiobook was incredibly well done, but the narrator drove me crazy. He did all the voices really well, except for Gavin’s. Gavin sounded like a high surfer. About halfway into the book I realized I couldn’t take him seriously, so I got the actual book out of the library and read the rest of it.

Now, onto The Blinding Knife.

Events are escalating, and tensions are mounting from all sorts of directions. In just about every respect, The Blinding Knife outshines its predecessor. The Black Prism felt a lot like an introduction, setting up, and teasing readers. The Blinding Knife brings it to another level.

Weeks has a gift with really getting into the heads of his various characters. He keeps his cast pretty tight and small for epic fantasy. Each book seems to add a few new characters, some secondary, one or two primary. The real growth and development doesn’t happen with the addition of characters. It happens with the political situations, and the character development. Specifically in The Blinding Knife, I was amazed by how Weeks almost instantly changed Kip from being a whiney teenager to a really interesting young adult. Yes, there is a difference.

Gavin also changes. He’s less cocky, and Weeks really shows readers who he is as a person, insecurities, imperfections and all. Gavin suddenly becomes human, and Kip suddenly becomes interesting. It’s fantastic. The characters all have their own goals and aims, and in their own ways they are all thrown into situations that are forcing them into uncomfortable territory. Weeks handles it really well, using that discomfort to realistically develop characters that were lacking in bit in the first book.

The political situation is volatile, and spreading. While things stay pretty well mired in a few satraps that readers are familiar with, the stage is set for real and exciting global expansion. Readers get a better view of the opposition, and their thought processes, which helps balance things out a bit. There are hints and developments that point to the fact that this political development is doing to spread far and wide. Coupled with that are the personal complexities that Weeks has peppered his characters with. The politics and the personal really balance each other out well.

This book is long, and while I did feel that some parts might have gone on longer than they really needed to, by and large the plot moves forward at a good clip. There are a lot of surprises, and if the actual plot feels sort of dull in parts, the personal development will keep you from really noticing or caring. Weeks develops his writing style quite a bit here, infusing his book with a lot of subtlety that gives the book a surprising amount of depth. He also somehow manages to keep a series that could be fairly typical into something quite memorable and extraordinary.

The Blinding Knife surprised me. After a fairly typical introduction to the series, Weeks decided to up everything. It’s better, longer (and none of that length is wasted), more interesting, more surprising, more intricate, more subtle, more action-packed and loaded with more culture and more impact. Basically, it’s “more.” This has quickly turned into a series that is impossible to put down.

 

4/5 stars

The Great Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off | First Five Book (Mini) Reviews

Well, this is a lot later than I thought it would be. Life kind of exploded and I’ve been… overwhelmed. Anyway, I read my first five books and I thought a bit about how I could best go about reviewing them. I could write full length reviews, but honestly I’m pretty crunched for time right now, and I’m very, very behind on reviewing due to life being overwhelming. I decided to do mini-reviews of all five books at once. At the bottom of the post, I will say which book (I thought) was the best of all five, and I will say which books are in my next five.

Art is subjective. I firmly believe that every book I read has something wonderful, and something not-so-perfect in it. I will try to find the even ground with all of these works. I just hope people remember that just because I say something, doesn’t make it gospel. If a book looks interesting to you, read it! Don’t wait for me, or any other reviewer to tell you to read something. Just go for it. Take a chance, and do the authors a favor and write up a review (any size works) on any major book website (Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, etc.).

Regardless of how each book worked for me, they all were the best with something, so after each mini-review, I will say what “award” that book won.

So, without further ado, here you go (in no particular order).

—

The Stone Road – G.R. Matthews

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Set in a world with a very Far East feel, The Stone Road is an interesting personal journey, as well as a rather surprising political one. War is coming, and no one seems to know what they need to know to prepare for it. Matthews does a great job really delving into the psychology of his characters. He keeps the cast small enough for them to be memorable and intimate, yet large enough to allow readers to really explore this world he’s created, as well as the intricacies of it. There are a lot of surprising twists and turns, and is left open enough for Matthews to really get down and dirty with the world and characters in the next book.

While I highly enjoyed this one, the world might put people off due to the fact that it might feel a little “borrowed” from our own world (if that makes sense at all). However, that’s really what I enjoyed the most. It’s not a western setting. There aren’t kings and queens and lots of floofy dresses. This is very unique, and incredibly brave. There’s a lot of exploration that Matthews can do. I did lament the fact that the magic system didn’t seem to get more of a background or buildup in this novel, but I think Matthews will continue to build on it in the next book.

4/5 stars

Award: Most Unique World

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A Touch of Magic – Gregory L. Mahan

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To be honest, I’m probably not the best person to have read and review this book. I tend to bounce off books with young protagonists, and the young man (Randall) is quite young, 14 to be exact.

The writing is solid, and if you’re looking for comfort fantasy – that kind of fantasy that reminds you of the epic quests and the unassuming young man destined for more, then this is exactly what you want to read. There is a place for those books, but honestly, I read so much that new ideas appeal to me more than tried and true.

That’s not to say that there isn’t value in this book. I could feel Mahan’s love for the genre in what he wrote, and his passion for his book. There is real heart in A Touch of Magic, and that heart makes the book pretty addicting, despite the fact that it’s not something I’d typically sit down and read. I read it. Every word (and more importantly, I don’t regret reading it). That should say something right there.

The biggest issue is that there really aren’t any new and sparkling ideas in A Touch of Magic. There’s a lot of heart, but there isn’t really anything here that you probably haven’t read before.

3/5 stars

Award: Most Enthusiasm

—

The Unbound Man – Matt Karlov

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Let me be honest with you – I couldn’t put this book down. It’s kind of a slow-burn novel. Things take a little time to really get rolling, but once they do, you’ll be absolutely addicted. There is a lot of action here, but most of it takes place in more subtle ways. Karlov really excels at intricate, detailed plots. Much of the action happens behind desks, researching, conversing, learning facts and musing over a troubled past. There is some action, but for the most part, this is one of those novels that’s more cerebral than swords flashing and lots of swearing.

Arandras is a man who has a troubled past, and somehow events collide to put him in the middle of quite a few important happenings, each of which seem to build up the tension and the mystery. The world building, and the details (which I’m a sucker for) are absolutely stunning. Karlov didn’t really skip over anything, and while the slow-burn might bother some readers, I found the intricacy, and the depth to the characters, the mysterious and interweaving situations, to be absolutely amazing.

On a side note, this might be one of the best-formatted and edited self-published novels I’ve ever seen. That sort of thing matters to readers. Not only does it make the reading easier, but it also really shows the reader just how much the author loved their book.

I really, really hope this isn’t the last I see of Karlov. He has the potential to be a real force in the genre.

4/5 stars

Award: Most Intricate

—

The Shard – Ted Cross

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Like the previous book, there was a lot of love poured into the editing and formatting of this one, which really made it shine. It also reads like a homage to D&D. It’s an epic fantasy quest, complete with goblins and elves and wizards and all that. Maybe it’ll feel a little done before, and yeah, it is, but Cross really puts his own spin on things.

The writing is tight and flowing, the world is well realized, and the quest is absolutely addicting. The central cast of characters is fantastic to follow. Occasionally personalities kind of merge together, but not often. This is one of those novels that will bring you back to those days where you sat around the kitchen table (library table, in my case) and played D&D with a bunch of friends.

The Shard is addicting and fun in its own right, but it really is a homage more than something that will absolutely blow your mind. Is that a bad thing? No, but it’s probably something you’ll want to be in the mood for (if that makes sense). There’s a lot of passion and heart here. In the end, there really is something to say about a book that you can just sit down and enjoy without really having to pick it apart.

4/5 stars

Award: Easiest to Effortlessly Enjoy

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This Crumbling Pageant – Patricia Burroughs

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When I started reading this book, my first thought was, “Oh, fantastic. A thirteen-year-old protagonist. Just what I love….” (Sarcasm font). Then I got going, and the young girl grows older, and things all start clicking. To be honest with you, the thirteen-year-old Persephone wasn’t really believable as a thirteen-year-old. She was a bit too mature for me to believe her to be that young. When she grew up, I believed it.

Anyway…

Set in a sort of Victorian feeling alternative London steeped in magic and mystery as well as plenty of Greek mythology and traditions, the world has a lot for readers to love and Burroughs took a lot of time really fleshing it out and getting a feel for it. Another thing that I really enjoyed was the family dynamic that Burroughs added to her novel. There’s sibling love, and love between parents and children. With so many novels, the protagonist(s) are on their own. It was refreshing to see a tightly knit family group loving (and arguing with) each other.

This book does have some romance, and the romantic interest is pretty obvious from the start. It felt natural rather than forced, though when all interested parties realized where their interests laid, a switch was flipped and suddenly there were no doubts. There is some tension (that isn’t romantic) and plenty of frustration. Basically, yes, there’s romance, but that’s certainly not all this book is about. It moved at a pretty good clip, though some parts felt like they might have been a bit too long.

My other niggling complaint was the antagonist. In a book that was so detailed and rich, so lush and well woven, he seemed a bit too much like the brooding evil bad guy who wears dark clothes, has melting green skin and cackles in the corners.

In the end, this is one of those books that I started reading thinking, “Fantastic, here’s a book that I’m going to hate, and I’m going to have to tell people I hated it. I hate doing that.” I ended it thinking, “Wow, I’m really glad I read that.” Is it perfect? No, but sometimes perfection doesn’t matter.

4/5 stars

Award: Most Passion

—

And my favorite book of this group of five was…. (Drum roll, please)….

The Unbound Man by Mark Karlov.

(Though to be honest, this was a very, very close group and it was incredibly hard to choose.)

 

My next five reads will be:

1. The Bone Wall – D. Wallace Peach

2. The Darkness Undivided - Jesse Jones

3. Stranger’s Descent - Tony Barrett

4. Bloodrush – Ben Galley

5. The Five Elements – Scott Marlowe

 

Hugo Awards 2015: A Lamentation

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably been aware of the Sad Puppies Hugo drama that erupted this weekend. I won’t go over the details. You guys can look them up. They are everywhere. For the first year ever I do have some thoughts I want to put into the ether regarding this whole thing.

I should state, for the record, that right now I have no idea where this post is going to go.

I have always had a rather complex relationship with the Hugo Awards. On the one hand, as a fan and writer in the genre, I love the idea that anyone’s work might get recognized, and I find the whole process validating and exciting – especially when friends win awards. It’s exciting, and it feeds my enthusiasm for the genre and my place in it.

On the other hand, I’ve never really thought that the Hugos were anything but broken. It’s been obvious from my first year running my website and really paying attention that the Hugos are not representative of the genre as a whole. Instead, they represent a very, very small chunk of genre fans. Most average library goers and bookstore shoppers have no idea what the Hugo is, and have no idea (and care even less) about the politics behind it all.

Which makes any real effort to rig the Hugos a waste of time. In the grand scheme of things, it’s pretty small, and taking the time and effort to really campaign for it and manipulate votes is petty. Aren’t there better things we can spend our time on?

I also have always been rather ambivalent about the whole thing because there are cliques, and often those cliques get together and stuff happens. It’s hard to have any belief that the little guy will win when he-who-has-the-most-friends-and-loudest-voice often wins. I love the excitement of it all, which is infectious, but the pandering for votes and the drama that always bubbles up around this time of year makes my stomach turn.

I don’t really feel that the Hugos reflect the genre as a whole. For example, out of my absolute favorite top-ten authors, perhaps only one or two of them have ever won a Hugo Award. There are a lot of people every year that I think should be shortlisted, but never are. Art is subjective, and my personal taste is not the absolute standard for wonderful. However, regarding the Hugos, I feel that they often reflect popularity rather than actual absolute high-bar skill (though the two often converge).

The Hugo Awards, and any genre award, should really be about art. I don’t think the Hugos have ever really been only about art, but they have been about celebrating the genre, and the people who work in it. They are also a really wonderful way to look at trends and tastes and how they evolve and change. Last year was a wonderful year for diversity, and this year? Well, who knows who will win, but I’m less than impressed.

The fact is, the Sad Puppies set out to accomplish a few things, and they won in one huge respect. They wanted to prove that the Hugos can be gamed, that votes can (and probably have been) manipulated. They accomplished that in spades, and bravo for that. I’m not sure what the point was, but they did it. If we ever really wanted any evidence that the Hugos are broken, then this is it. Will this change anything? Only time will tell.

However, in doing this they’ve tainted the awards. This is absolutely not the year I’d ever want to be on the shortlist. The very tactics the SP’s used to accomplish their goals takes some of the magic away from the whole process, and causes the awards to be received a lot less seriously than they (may or may not) have already been taken. It nurses discord and creates bold dividing lines in a world that’s already divided enough. The point is, some of the people on the list are incredibly deserving, but the SP’s robbed them. It’s hard to take this year seriously when you are aware of all the drama behind who got on the list and how they got there.

(That being said, I absolutely hope that The Goblin Emperor by Kathryn Addison wins best novel. That book rocked my world something fierce.)

My other issue is with some of the people on the list. With the goal of getting some overlooked people recognized like they deserve, I think it’s rather wrong that someone like John C. Wright, an author with an established career and fanbase, has numerous nominations which he could have easily given up for someone who is overlooked and deserving. It’s hard to take a movement seriously when a few names on the list are repeated an extravagant number of times. Especially when said people could have given up some of their slots for someone else.

Regardless of the politics and whatever else people can talk about, my main issue is that the way the SP’s went about this whole thing feels a lot like cheating on a test. It’s not cheating if a big group of people do it and they have the right goals in mind, right? Wrong. And that cheating-on-a-test vibe really takes a lot away from those people who are on the short list, and those people who probably would have been on it if the SP’s hadn’t gamed the system the way they did. They didn’t just steal some of the magic from the awards, they stole some of the magic from the potential winners, and that really, really bothers me.

This Sad Puppies drama took something that was exciting and fun and tainted it. They boldly manipulated something, thereby robbing an award from potential winners, and making those who might win forever be winners of an Award with this stigma hanging over it.

I can absolutely get behind a more honest award. I can 100% get behind an award that somehow gets those who are overlooked, nominated. There are better ways to get that done, ways that wouldn’t have had so much of a negative impact and genre backlash. I don’t like the backbiting, the drama, the horrible name calling and dirt being thrown around. We are bigger than this. Period. (For the record, no one is really exempt from the dirt slinging.)

I don’t have all the answers. I don’t think anyone does, but I lament the fact that somehow the Sad Puppies managed to kill some of the remaining magic of the Hugo Awards. Are there problems with the awards themselves? Absolutely. For example, I think it’s ridiculous that someone should have to pay $40 to have an opinion. I also think that, inherently any award system will have a problem, and popular vote systems like this one are no exception. I don’t know how to fix it, but if anyone doubted this award had problems, then the SP proved that it, in fact, does.

I think the saddest thing is that, now, the Hugos really aren’t about art anymore. They are about agendas. Regardless of whether or not you believe that the awards were broken before, they absolutely are now, and everyone on this year’s shortlist will undoubtedly feel that keenly.

(This is a very, very heated topic, so if you comment, keep it kind. I will mercilessly delete any and all inflammatory comments.)

Life Update… If you care…

Life has been incredibly crazy for the past month or so, and this website has completely paid for it.

So, here’s what’s been going on.

Last November my kid started getting horrible, debilitating ear aches. They’ve been getting worse and worse, until they kind of exploded about two or three weeks ago. I’ve never had ear problems, so I had no idea ears could hurt someone so bad. Her ears were full of gross liquid and other sorts of ooze that was coming out of it. She couldn’t eat because it hurt her ears. She couldn’t sneeze or cough, which is hard because it’s allergy season out here. She couldn’t drink. We put her on medication that did nothing for her. Then we took her back to the doctor and they gave her shots in her legs with serum that was as thick as peanut butter. That was horrible, but finally that helped a little bit. Then we went to the ENT, who basically rushed her into surgery to get tubes in her ears and her adenoids out. That happened last Friday.

The doctor, after her surgery, came to update us on how it went. He said he’s worked as an ENT doctor for 30 years, and Fiona’s ears were some of the worst that he has ever seen. He said the fluid in her ears was like cement and it was incredibly hard to get out. No wonder why she hurt so bad.

So surgery happened. It went well, and was far more necessary than we realized. I regret that it took us so damn long to get her there, but oh well. It’s done now. Recovery after was kind of shaky. Apparently my kid pukes after surgery, and she had a fever for a few days. But, things seem to be on the up and up with her. For the first time in November, she’s not in a horrible amount of pain.

On my side of things, life has been a little hard. I’m pregnant. We knew, as soon as we found out that we were expecting life was going to get a lot more difficult. My body doesn’t agree with pregnancy. My joint disorder, mixed with the pregnancy hormone Relaxin makes my life hell. That’s what basically caused my spine to cave in on itself and keep me absolutely unable to walk (resulting in three spine surgeries) when I was pregnant with Fiona. Now that my spine is fixed, things are kind of touch and go. I was paralyzed from week 14 on when I was pregnant with Fiona. I’m 20 weeks now, and still walking, which is a huge victory, but I also feel like each day is borrowed at this point.

It doesn’t stop with my back (which hurts an incredible amount because most spines make room for babies, bend certain ways that make life easier for pregnant mamas, and mine doesn’t. It wants to bend, and it can’t, and it HURTS SO BAD.). My shoulders completely dislocate pretty much if you touch them. My hips subluxate, and I’m getting this fantastic pelvic girdle pain due to my pelvis stretching weird, that just about makes me want to scream. The point is, chronic pain is nothing to shake a stick at. On the days that I hurt so bad I can hardly see straight, I spend just about all my energy trying not to scream and cry at work. Then I pick up my kid from daycare, and sit in my comfortable chair on my heating pad and refuse to move for the rest of the night until I kind of crawl into bed and start it all over again the next day.

Chronic pain is exhausting, and it’s absolutely depressing. It’s a huge, huge kick in my pants when I need assistance to walk. I hate the weird looks I get from people who don’t understand that, hey, at least I’m walking. I haven’t always been able to say that.

Between my kid, and the pain I’m dealing with, I haven’t had the energy (or the brainpower) to put into writing reviews recently. Some days are better than others, and on those good days I write reviews. On the bad days I read a lot. I have a huge backlog of reviews I need to write, and I will get to them.

Things aren’t all bad, though. I have a vacation coming up, and I’m counting on it to recharge my batteries, because I’m just exhausted, and my constant battle between pain and dealing with my busy daily life is just absolutely burning me out. I’m very, very excited for a change of pace and a change of scenery. I think it will do more for me than anything else. I have a feeling it will help me gain back some energy so I become more active on this site, too. I also have a few irons in various bookish fires, things I’m waiting to come to fruition that I can’t talk about yet. I have accommodations at work to help me deal with my current (fun) situation, which has helped me quite a bit. Baby girl seem to be healthy. We have our anatomy scan in the middle of April, which I’m excited for. We’ve picked out a name for said child. Now we just need to put our house together and get it ready for the new child.

So yeah, it’s not all bad. I feel bad that all of this is causing my website to slacken a bit but maybe you’ll understand why. I hope, after my vacation I’ll recharge, and stop feeling so exhausted and drained all the time. It’s disheartening. I don’t like feeling like this, and I feel very guilty for letting my website activity slack. Hopefully I’ll have some news, and more vigor (which I will use to catch up on reviews!!!), soon.

Midnight Crossroad – Charlaine Harris

About the Book

The #1 New York Times bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, “is back with a vengeance” (Tangled Web) with this first book in an all-new trilogy—and inviting readers to an even darker place on the map… 

Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.

There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).

INCLUDES AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT NOVEL IN THE SERIES,THE DAY SHIFT

384 pages (paperback)

Published on March 31, 2015

Published by Ace

Author’s webpage

Buy the book 

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

—

It’s rare that I feel this torn about a book.

I’m hit and miss with Harris’s books. Midnight Crossroad looked interesting, different enough from her other infamous novels to make me want to read it, but similar enough to feel familiar somehow. What I didn’t anticipate was the amazingly, painfully slow start which included a ton of exposition.

To be honest, it took a ridiculous amount of time for me to make it through the first hundred pages. While there are a lot of descriptions, and the small town of Midnight is described (again and again) in detail (sometimes too much), the fact that the writing felt kind of wooden, and sometimes Harris told rather than showed, made the start of this novel feel like it lasted an enternity.

It took some time to adjust to Harris’s style with this one. Like I mentioned above, the book felt rather wooden and sterile at first. Then Harris adds all the town perspectives into it, and things start feeling a bit more liberated. There are obvious common themes among the populous, which are intriguing (like everyone has secrets, and the rule of Midnight is that you don’t ask questions). The fact that every character is their own little mystery within a mystery makes it obvious that the incredibly long buildup is necessary.

Midnight is a town that is a character in and of itself, and that loooooong start to the novel (sorry to mention it again) really establishes Midnight as a character, and as a real place that I could go to if I was ever crazy enough to want to. There are very few novels that I’ve read where the town is just as real as the characters, and just as interesting as the plot. In matters of world building, Harris really outdoes herself with this one. Midnight felt much larger than the tiny town that it is portrayed as. I loved how much thought Harris put into its development. It really paid off.

The characters are rich, and again their development is probably as fantastic as it is due to that slow start that I just about hated. The characters are real, and they are interesting for a lot of reasons, one of which is because each character is a mystery and you’ll soon discover that you want to unravel all their individual mysteries. Each character is also flawed, and believable. No one is picture perfect and they all work together to make the town of Midnight interesting, and just as real as they are.

There are supernatural elements of the novel, and some of them are explained and some of them aren’t. The thing that Harris does well is that she explains things just enough for her readers, but never too much. She leaves a lot open for expansion in further novels, which is welcome. It’s easy for me to believe that the world building and the development of the supernatural never really will be complete. Harris will always have something to expand and build on.

At its heart, Midnight Crossroad is a murder mystery, and in that respect it packs quite a punch. Harris does a great job with plot twists, and really presenting readers with the nothing-is-as-it-seems vibe (which ends up being true). In fact, once the mystery really gets going, all that slow burn at the start of the novel really starts to pay off. The characters start to matter, the wooden writing loosens up and Harris really hits her groove. This is a sort of subtle thriller. It gets into your psyche.

So, is this novel worth reading? Yes.

But I am torn. I can’t really overlook that slow start. I mean, it was S-L-O-W. Once you get past the 100 pages point, things start rolling and that slow start does pay off. I can’t help but wonder if there was another way that Harris could have developed her novel without making it drag so much at the start. Regardless, it is what it is, and it is absolutely obvious that all that development and exposition is absolutely necessary to the plot. Once you get past that first 100 pages, you’ll quickly realize that this is one of those subtle thrillers that gets into psyche. It’s unexpected, nuanced, detailed, and shocking. It’s a fantastic (and frustrating) start to a new series.

 

4/5 stars

 

The Unremembered (Author’s Definitive Edition) – Peter Orullian

About the Book

Peter Orullian’s epic fantasy debut, The Unremembered, has been critically acclaimed, earning starred reviews and glowing praise. And as much as readers enjoyed the first edition of The Unremembered, it’s about to get even better. In anticipation of the second volume in Orullian’s epic series, and for one of the few times in our publishing history, we at Tor are choosing to relaunch a title with an author’s definitive edition.

In addition to stunning updates to the original text, we’re also including an exclusive short story set in the world of Vault of Heaven, as well as a sneak preview of the sequel, Trial of Intentions, and a glossary to the universe.

The gods, who created this world have abandoned it. In their mercy, however, they sealed the rogue god—and the monstrous creatures he created to plague mortal king—in the vast and inhospitable wasteland of the Bourne. The magical Veil that protected humankind for millennia has become weak, and creatures of nightmare have now come through. Those who stand against evil know that only drastic measures will prevent a devastating invasion.

Tahn Junell is a hunter who’s unaware of the dark forces that imperil his world, in much the same way his youth is lost to memory. But an imperious man who wears the sigil of the feared Order of Sheason and a beautiful woman of the legendary Far have shared with Than the danger. They’ve asked him, his sister, and his friends to embark with them on a journey that will change their lives… and the world… forever. And in the process, he’ remember….

478 pages (paperback)

Published in April 7, 2015

Published by Tor

Author’s webpage

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

—

It is an interesting thing to review a book written by someone who is a friend of mine. It gives me new insights into what they wrote, and all of the underlying emotions and themes in it that I might not have seen before. The Unremembered is no different. Peter Orullian is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and I try to meet up with him whenever he hits Utah. He nicely tolerates me. However, these get-togethers have given me unique insights into who he is, which, in turn, has impacted how I understand and appreciate what he writes.

I read the first edition of The Unremembered, but I’m going to tell you in complete honesty that I don’t remember it. I read it during a really horrible period of my life and I don’t remember anything I read during that time. It’s not a reflection of the author or his book, but a reflection of my mental state. I’m saying that to say that we can all consider this my first time reading his book. I won’t make comparisons to the other edition.

There is something to be said for epic fantasy that reminds me of the books that first got me to love epic fantasy. There is so much about epic fantasy books that I love – the quest, the relationships, the sprawling world, and sense of discovery. In this day and age, so many authors put so much effort into making their epic fantasy new and different, and I truly appreciate that (because I love it). I also really appreciate the authors who remind me of what made me love the genre in the first place, and make their book different in, well, different ways.

The Unremembered is kind of like a trip down memory lane, but not in a bad way. There are some similar notes to other popular epic fantasy books, like the quest, the group of chosen people thrust into something they don’t understand, the sprawling world and sense of discovery. Yes, it might remind you of other books you’ve read and loved, but that isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes it’s good to get back to your genre roots.

However, that’s not all that’s here. Orullian has truly crafted something completely different, and the fact that he’s built it on epic fantasy roots that so many of us have loved for so long will make this book all the more poignant. In fact, I’m quite surprised by just how my Orullian has packed into The Unremembered. There’s all the things I love about the genre, and so much more.

There are a surprising number of narrative threads woven throughout the book. Inevitably some readers will like some characters more than others. While on the surface motivations and moral objectives might seem fairly obvious, as the novel gets going things get a lot more complex and the obvious gets twisted into the unexpected. For example, Tahn isn’t the simple country boy that you are introduced to. Wendra isn’t the heartbroken woman she appears.

That’s part of what The Unremembered excels at. It’s unexpected, from the plot to the world building to the character development. There is a surprising amount of growth and development that takes place in this novel. The fairly typical, rather innocent seeming characters we are introduced to are not the same characters we say goodbye to when the book ends. Complex relationships are forged, and uncomfortable situations force people to move and bend in ways that you won’t expect, and often they leave scars that will probably be felt throughout the rest of the series. In many ways The Unremembered is a coming of age tale as much as anything else, and Orullian handles that really well, with subtlety, depth, and a soft touch.

The plot is full of action, but not all of the action is on the surface. So much of this novel takes place within as character fight their own inner and interpersonal battles. There is a struggle that takes place with all of the characters as they try to let go of who they were and become who they are meant to be. That struggle is just as captivating as their physical journeys and the battles they face. If you are looking at physical and internal plights, The Unremembered rarely has a dull moment.

There’s something intensely personal about these struggles, perhaps because of how human Orullian’s characters are, their plights and the drama of the novel sucks readers in. The anxiety, worry, fear, and love, and the other emotions are powerful, and raw, which makes everything seem so real and important for readers. Are there predictable points? Of course, but not everything needs to be unpredictable to be remarkable. There is beauty and enjoyment to be found in novels that feel this human and real.

As far as world building, I’m a sucker for the details and Orullian has those details in spades. There are cultural clashes, complex beliefs, histories, and mysteries. The world shines, and the intricacies and details are rich and add a rich layer to the plot and characters that really makes the book shine. The characters cover quite a bit of ground, and there’s promise that even more cultures and world will be covered in future novels, which has me really excited. The sense of wonder and discovery, and Orullian’s obvious enthusiasm for what he wrote never dies.

There is a lot of Orullian in this novel, and picking out all the parts that remind me of the author was a lot of fun. Orullian is a musician, and so much of this novel focuses on music. Life lessons are imparted to characters in the form of songs and music lessons, some of the plot is complex and layered, which reminded me a bit of a song where you have the treble and then the bass. Furthermore, this musical feel to the book is reflected in the tempo with which he tells the story. There are crescendos, decrescendos, a distinct introduction, and the middle where you’re just lost in the power of the song, and then the solid, formidable ending.

The Unremembered is the start of a series. This is an introduction and a foundation for what comes next. While it did remind me of some of the books that have come before, that’s not a bad thing. There is a grace to The Unremembered that I didn’t expect, and a musical quality to the story being told that absolutely enamored me. The world is rich and complex, and the characters are real and vibrantly human in their thoughts, actions and emotions. And while The Unremembered reminded me of all the reasons I fell in love with epic fantasy, this novel is unique and powerful in only a way that Peter Orullian can pull off.

In a lot of ways, The Unremembered is Orullian’s love letter to epic fantasy. His enthusiasm and passion for the genre is obvious and infectious.

I cannot wait to see what happens next.

 

4/5 stars

The Mechanical – Ian Tregillis

About the Book

My name is Jax.

That is the name granted to be by my human masters.

I am a clakker: a mechanical man, powered by alchemy. Armies of my kind have conquered the world – and made the Brasswork Throne the sole superpower.

I am a faithful servant. I am the ultimate fighting machine. I am endowed with great strength and boundless stamina.

But I am beholden to the wishes of my human masters.

I am a slave. But I shall be free.

480 pages (paperback)

Published by Orbit

Published on March 10, 2015

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

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

—

Let me just start by saying that this book is genius. Really, that’s all you have to know. It’s absolutely, pure genius. In fact, this one is so good I have no idea just how I’m going to articulate all of the awesome. This review is going to be a bumbling mess, and I apologize for that, but really, this book is genius.

That’s my review. Feel free to stop reading now.

I am a huge fan of Ian Tregillis, which isn’t really news to anyone. I absolutely loved the Milkweed Triptych, which established Tregillis as a new, bold, brave voice in the genre. No one can really take alternative history and warp it quite like Tregillis. His characters are never safe. His books are visceral, emotional, and often (deliciously) uncomfortable and shocking. His writing is strong and powerful. Oh, I could go on, but I think I’ve given you guys the general idea of why he is such an incredibly badass author.

I have yet to read a book by this author that I haven’t absolutely loved, and The Mechanical is no different. In fact, in some ways I think this book might be the crowning achievement of Tregillis’s career thus far.

The Mechanical is something completely different than anything Tregillis has written before. This is another alternative history twisted as on Tregillis can twist things. The Netherlands is the world’s superpower. France is trying to make one last stand in the North America. The world is, at once, the same and very, very different than anything we’re familiar with. The political tension is incredibly high, everyone is out for everyone else, and the world building is…. wow.

Half the battle with books that are political and full of alternative history managing to keep the political machinations, inevitably incredibly important, from overshadowing the actual world building. The world is absolutely stunning, some of the best world building I’ve run across in a novel in a while. The science is superb, and plays an important role in much of the events, and the philosophy that is developed for the plot. Religion isn’t overlooked, either and oh, the magic.

Back in the 17th century some scientists used magic to created clakkers and used a geasa to bind them to the rulers of he Calvinist Dutch Empire. These clakkers, machines, for lack of a better word, add a little steampunk flair to the novel. However, Tregillis, through Jax, really gives their plight some interesting and heartfelt perspective.

And that’s where things get pretty interesting.

The Mechanical is a pretty amazing book, and I’m not really sure how to say why it is as amazing as it is because there is just so much to say. Aside from the intricate world building, the tense politics, and the plot that never really stops surprising me, this novel is full of philosophy and heart felt struggles that will really pull readers in. Added to this is a fascinating class and social battle regarding the Clakkers, and their desire to break the geasa and become their own people. This toys with complex topics like free will and equality, and you really have an interesting soup that only Tregillis seems capable of throwing together this deftly.

I really enjoy books that deal with themes involving the human condition, and ask readers what makes us worthy of equal rights and fair treatment, and Tregillis pulls out all the stops. Coupled with the politics, the religion, the world building, the way that Tregillis handles complex topics and philosophies in this one is nothing short of mind boggling.

While this is incredibly different from other books that Tregillis has written, it has some of the same qualities. The writing is absolutely stunning. Tregillis also has a nothing-is-sacred vibe with his books. No character is out of bounds for his torment, or tragedy. I really appreciate that. Tregillis keeps his readers guessing and unsure. The surprises can be heart stopping, and really ramp up the emotions. The book is evocative, and dark, visceral and real.

The Mechanical is a book I can’t stop thinking about, and I’m thrilled that it’s the first book in a series. This is one of those rare reads that is incredibly hard to review. How in the world am I supposed to tell people how incredible a book is if I can’t even figure out how to put it into words? This is a trans-oceanic, political, intricate, detailed, philosophical start to a series that is going to blow me away.

More, Tregillis! I want more!!

 

5/5 stars

My Five Favorite Audiobooks (so far)

I’ve recently started listening to audiobooks. I’ve discovered that I really enjoy them… well, some of them. Others, not so much. I haven’t listened to a ton of them yet, but I’ve listened to enough to give you a Top Five list. I’ve been getting most of them from the library, which keeps me listening to a fairly eclectic mix of books, books I typically wouldn’t listen to. Sometimes all the library has in are romance books, and sometimes they have pretty cool ones. I dally in all of them. I have one credit a month on audible, which I use for books that I’ve really been wanting to read (erm… listen to).

Anyway, out of the (small sampling) of audiobooks I’ve listened to so far, here are my top five favorites. I’d love it (seriously, LOVE IT) if people would add books that I should listen to to my list. I don’t care if I’ve read them before, I’m discovering that listening to an audiobook is a different experience. I can’t really “graze” it like I tend to with some books. I pick out details in the storyline that I might have missed before, etc.

(P.S. Forgive me for not having graphics to go with this. It’s late. I’m tired. You’ll have to cope.)

Without further ado, here are my top five favorites in no real order:

NOS4A2 – Joe Hill

Narrated by Kate Mulgrew

First of all, I read this book and absolutely loved it. It really blew my mind. When I saw it on my library’s website in audio format, I had to give it a shot. Kate Mulgrew is probably one of my favorite narrators. She has a really unique voice that drew me into the story. Furthermore, she had a way with reading that made each character more memorable, and different from every other character. Some narrators go way over-the-top with their voices, but Mulgrew doesn’t. It just happens. Her reading is organic and memorable, absolutely fantastic. I think I could listen to her read a phonebook.

Midnight & Moon Over Soho – Ben Aaronovich

Narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

This is one of those series that I’m slowly working through. I was kind of leery to start it because I’m kind of sick of the basic storyline, but Aaronovich has a way with telling a story that might sound old and done to start with, in new and absolutely wonderful ways. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith does a stunning job narrating this one. He really brings London to life. The slang and accent isn’t forced (I don’t know the guy from Adam, but I’d guess he’s a native). He gives Peter Grant a really unique voice, and manages to make an already incredibly entertaining story even more entertaining. Seriously, I listen to these books (and will continue to work through the series) as much for the books themselves, as to hear Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s fantastic narration of them.

The Stand – Stephen King

Narrated by Grover Gardner

I’m not a huge King fan. In fact, I tend to not like his books at all. Except, I love this one. This is the only King book (besides his Dark Tower series) that I’ve read and couldn’t get enough of. I debated on getting it on audible for a while. The debate wasn’t because of the book, but because listening to it is a serious investment. It takes about 48 hours to get through this book, but let me assure you, every hour is worth it. Grover Gardner has an interesting voice. It’s deep and rich, and he can’t really do unique voices well just because of his voice, but that’s okay. In fact, I preferred it that way. It was easier for me to focus on the story. He is easy to listen to, and really brings the story to life. I enjoyed reading the book, and yes, listening to it takes A LONG TIME, but I think I actually enjoyed listening to it more, mostly due to Gardner’s narrating skills.

Leviathan Wakes – James S.A. Corey

Narrated by Jefferson Mays

I just finished this one today. It’s a re-read after reading this book when it was first released. This one was recommended to me by Patrick Hester, and I’m glad I took a chance on it. Jefferson Mays does an interesting job narrating. I think people will either love his style or hate it. He really, really doesn’t waste time on voices or stylistic differences at all. Well, sometimes he tries, but really not much. He just reads the book, and does his best job trying to make his reading of it easy to listen to. I had to get used to that at first, but then I learned that I really liked it. I liked not getting distracted by different voices and different styles. I liked his easy cadence, and the fact that he focused on reading rather than entertaining allowed me to absorb a lot of the details I either missed (or forgot about) from when I read it before. In fact, I started another audiobook today and the narrator is doing all sorts of different character voices, and I find it so distracting I almost feel like listening to Leviathan Wakes again.

Steelheart – Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by MacLeod Andrews

I got this book because it was on sale. Period. I have almost no interest in comics at all, and even less interest in young adult protagonists out to save the world (or city). However, it took about two minutes flat for me to realize that MacLeod Andrews was born to read this book. He took a story that I’d probably not read the whole way through (seriously, I probably would have returned this to the library after a chapter because I just don’t jive with this kind of story) and made me absolutely, completely addicted. He entertained the hell out of me, and absolutely brought this story to life. In fact, I’m anxious to listen to the next book in the series because of his skills with the first. MacLeod Andrews made me love a book I’m pretty sure I would have tried to hate, thus, he is amazing.

So there you have it, readers. There’s my Top Five (so far).

Please add some to my list.

Servants of the Storm – Delilah S. Dawson

About the Book

A year ago Hurricane Josephine swept through Savannah, Georgia, leaving behind nothing but death and destruction — and taking the life of Dovey’s best friend, Carly. Since that night, Dovey has been in a medicated haze, numb to everything around her.

But recently she’s started to believe she’s seeing things that can’t be real … including Carly at their favorite cafe. Determined to learn the truth, Dovey stops taking her pills. And the world that opens up to her is unlike anything she could have imagined.

As Dovey slips deeper into the shadowy corners of Savannah — where the dark and horrifying secrets lurk — she learns that the storm that destroyed her city and stole her friend was much more than a force of nature. And now the sinister beings truly responsible are out to finish what they started.

Dovey’s running out of time and torn between two paths. Will she trust her childhood friend Baker, who can’t see the threatening darkness but promises to never give up on Dovey and Carly? Or will she plot with the sexy stranger, Isaac, who offers all the answers — for a price? Soon Dovey realizes that the danger closing in has little to do with Carly … and everything to do with Dovey herself.

384 pages (hardcover)

Published on August 5, 2014

Published by Simon Pulse

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

—

Hurricanes are near and dear to my heart. I spent a few months on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Katrina. The disaster I saw was staggering, and the soul of the area was absolutely clear. There was a lot of frayed and frazzled, dark emotions, but there was also a lot of hope. It was a really interesting thing to see.

Servants of the Storm, due to that, has been on my radar for a while. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was really interested in seeing just how one author with tons of talent could take a natural disaster and turn it into a young adult novel. That’s a true challenge, and Dawson handled it quite well.

Servants of the Storm is a young adult book, but don’t let that push you away. I truly struggle with the YA genre, but I have learned that I enjoy young adult books that treat young adults like they are actually people, rather than children that need to be talked down to. Dawson’s youthful characters have a full depth and scope of emotion that shocked me. Davey deals with loss, intimate death, mental health issues, family struggles, as well as the loss and change of the world she knows and the hurricane ravaged city she’s been part of. These are very real issues, and they are an important emotional core of a book that is full of atmosphere and almost devastatingly powerful emotions.

Atmosphere is really important for any horror or thriller novel, and the eerie setting of a post-hurricane southern town really sets the stage perfectly for all of the creepy things that Dawson is going to throw at readers. She has an intimate knowledge of the city that she’s set her novel in, and it shows. This intimate knowledge does a lot for the world building, and for bringing the setting to life for her readers.

Dawson’s use of demons is rather interesting. While demons feasting on negative emotions is nothing new, Dawson’s use of natural disasters takes that rather tried-and-true demon trope, and spins it into something completely new. Suddenly demons are interesting, and utilize the completely creepy atmosphere to its fullest. It’s hard to put the book down once Davey (and the reader) become aware of this alternative reality.

The ending surprised me. While I could kind of see where things were going to end up, I honestly did not expect how Dawson wrapped it all up. She managed to pull together a lot of the story threads, while leaving enough open for readers to imagine something more after that last word is written.

The writing is solid and really pulls readers in. The character development of Dovey is done in a really fascinating way. Readers learn about Dovey as she learns about herself. After a traumatic experience with the loss of her friend during the hurricane, Dovey has some rather public breakdowns and ends up on medication to manage her moods. As Dovey takes herself off of her medication, she sort of wakes up and has to learn who she is again. She unravels as the story unravels. She has to find out who she is again in the face of this new world, and this other reality that she has to learn about. It’s quite genius on Dawson’s part, and it really works to make Dovey real to readers.

Perhaps my one complaint is the use of details. I’m a sucker for the details, and sometimes I felt that Dawson focused a bit too much on certain details, and not enough on others. This had a tendency to make the book feel a little disjointed in parts. The magic system and the demons seemed to throw her off a bit regarding just how much of what exactly she should tell readers. A character would explain certain points at length, just to have said character reiterate those points again, whereas some aspects of the magic system never really made sense to me. And the rules, or parameters that it is based on were never really fully explained. While, for the most part, this book flows perfectly, there are points where the whole is greater than the parts.

That being said, Servants of the Storm was a wonderful book that truly surprised me and thrilled me. Full of intense, dark atmosphere, and mature characters that will resonate with youth and adults alike, with a fascinating mythology and a riveting mystery. While I do have some quibbles with the execution of details, they are easy to overlook. This is a book that you’ll want to try out if you’re in the mood for something easy to read, intense, and edge-of-your-seat interesting. I’m excited to see what Dawson can think of next.

 

4/5 stars

Harrison Squared – Daryl Gregory

About the Book

From award winning author Daryl Gregory comes a thrilling and colorful Lovecraftian adventure of a teenage boy searching for his mother, and the macabre creatures he encounters.

Harrison Harrison—H2 to his mom—is a lonely teenager who’s been terrified of the water ever since he was a toddler in California, when a huge sea creature capsized their boat, and his father vanished. One of the “sensitives” who are attuned to the supernatural world, Harrison and his mother have just moved to the worst possible place for a boy like him: Dunnsmouth, a Lovecraftian town perched on rocks above the Atlantic, where strange things go on by night, monsters lurk under the waves, and creepy teachers run the local high school.

On Harrison’s first day at school, his mother, a marine biologist, disappears at sea. Harrison must attempt to solve the mystery of her accident, which puts him in conflict with a strange church, a knife­wielding killer, and the Deep Ones, fish­-human hybrids that live in the bay. It will take all his resources—and an unusual host of allies—to defeat the danger and find his mother.

320 pages (hardcover)

Published on March 24, 2015

Published by Tor

Author’s webpage

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This book was sent for me to review by the publisher

—

I’m a big fan of Daryl Gregory. He had me at Afterparty, and since then, each book has blown my mind. Later last year I read We Are All Completely Fine, an absolutely fantastic novella. While it isn’t necessary to read the novella before you read this book, it might help you feel the punch and impact a bit stronger if you do.

Harrison Squared as a book I almost didn’t want to read. As soon as I see the ‘sixteen-year-old protagonist in high school’ line, I kind of turn off. However, it’s Daryl Gregory, and if anyone can do anything interesting with your typical high schooler, he can.

Harrison Harrison, dubbed Harrison Squared by his scientist mother, is actually a fantastic character. He’s a young man that teens and adults can really love. Harrison moves across the country with his mother who is doing research on giant squid. On the surface he’s your typical discontented teenager. He’s sick of moving, and trying to fit into his new town and new school and that sucks. Under that, he’s actually rather adult. He works through situations in a very logical and reasonable way. He never really loses his head, or flies into hormone induced rages and he sort of floats through situations in a way that makes it easy for readers to float along with him.

The atmosphere of Dunnsmouth is absolutely fantastic. It’s dark and weird, unforgettably quirky, and heavy. Nothing really is what it seems. While it looks, on the surface, like the type of place that you’d enjoy taking a nice seaside vacation, it doesn’t take long to realize that the place is absolutely abuzz with the abnormal, and Harrison finds himself in the middle of all of it.

The secondary characters in the book shine just as brightly as Harrison. It’s obvious that they were crafted with love. Lydia, the awkward school student takes time to warm up to but it’s worth it. Harrison’s Aunt Selena was hilarious, and served to brighten the book up quite a bit in places where it otherwise would have been a bit oppressive. Aunt Sel keeps Harrison nicely rooted in the “normal” world, and Lydia does a great job with really immersing and introducing Harrison to the awkward and heavy world of Dunnsmouth.

The otherworldly characters are unique, completely different than anything I’ve run across before, and that was half of the allure. In fact, I can say that about the entire book. It’s like nothing I’ve read before. Gregory really cashes in on that unique quality, but he never really goes overboard with it. He manages to strike a great balance between urban fantasy, young adult, adult, and Lovecraftian horror. While it might seem like too many elements to mesh together, trust me, it’s not.

The mystery is, if anything, just as good as the world building and characters. It unravels slowly, and there is a point where the end becomes kind of obvious, but the journey to get there is wonderful. Harrison learns about himself, and about his place in this unique world. Gregory does a great job at making everything fit together, all of his intricate developments coupled with the mystery will serve to make readers really feel invested in what happens, and just how everything will happen. It’s quite a dance that Gregory has struck.

In all, Harrison Squared was a book I honestly couldn’t get enough of. I absolutely blasted through it because I couldn’t put it down. It’s deliciously weird, and incredibly different. Harrison Squared is one of those unforgettable books that I never thought I’d like but ended up loving. I really hope that Gregory writes more books like this, and I hope he does it soon.

 

5/5 stars