Sarah Chorn's Blog, page 65

Updates of a personal nature

Well, things have been happening… If you don’t care, feel free to overlook this post.

First things first, we are having another baby girl. She’s due sometime around August 23. I will have a c-section, so it’ll be a week or so before that. She’s healthy and apparently comfortable in my uterus. Unlike my experience with my daughter Fiona (who tested incredibly high risk for a chromosome disorder which would probably cause birth to kill her) this one is low risk for all chromosome disorders. That’s a huge, huge relief.

We can’t agree on a name. In fact, I don’t think either of us can even think of a name that makes us anything that says anything but, “meh.” Fiona (the very proud big sister) wants to name the baby either “Starlord” or “Hedgehog Fart.”

As for all things cancer, there is some evidence that cancerous tissue is growing (again). So I’m on hormone therapy to suppress any growth and also keep me from dropping dead. This hormone therapy is tricky because if my dose is off then the baby runs the risk of being born mentally handicapped. In November I will either go through another round of cancer treatment, or another full body scan to see the status of all of my potentially cancerous friends. Normally I’d say this upsets me, but after four times of hearing this kind of news, I’m kind of numb to it. I hate admitting that, but it’s true. I left my appointment and went to Jamba Juice. Worry won’t change anything. As my doctor said, “This cancer won’t kill you, but it will annoy you for the rest of your life.” I’m more pissed off about the fact that I’ll probably never actually be cancer free. Always waiting for the next surprise is no fun. It’s kind of like living your life constantly waiting for the other shoe to fall.

But that’s really no way to live. If cancer taught me anything, it’s that you have to live your life. Period.

In non personal health issue news, I attended a convention and was on my very first panel. I kind of cornered Paul Genesse into doing it, and he really organized, promoted, and moderated the panel like a pro (he is one…). The panel was called “Disabilities in Genre Fiction.” I think it went really well, and I was absolutely AMAZED by the attendance. The room was absolutely packed, and it was probably one of the most moving panels I’ve ever attended (which I feel weird saying because I was on it). So many people had powerful insights, compelling questions, and a passion for the topic. It really did my heart good to see all that goodwill and interest in an area of diversity which rarely gets much focus.

I will be posting the audio for this panel on SF Signal, Special Needs in Strange Worlds on March 3.

Also, for those who care, I am ALWAYS desperate for guest posts for my column.

After the panel I went to lunch (and had an INCREDIBLE burger) with my author friend Mercedes Murdock Yardley. Then I met up with Peter Orullian and L.E. Modesitt Jr for a few hours of chat. Then I went home and crashed in an exhausted sort of haze. It was great, and I really hope I get to participate in more conventions in the future, hopefully when I’m less hormonal. The reception of the Disabilities in Genre Fiction panel really gives me hope.

Other than that, I haven’t been reviewing as much and I’m blaming pregnancy. I’m finally past the morning (it was afternoon/night for me) sickness, but I’ve apparently moved into the OH-MY-GOD-I-AM-SO-EXHAUSTED-ALL-THE-TIME phase (and oh, these hormone fueled emotions. Today I cried about a video of baby ducks my daughter was watching. I can’t even make that up.). I hope I pass over this soon. I read a ton, and then I get halfway into writing a review and I lose my track of thought. It all turns into, “(Details about the book). I really need to take a nap…” and then I give up.

It’ll pass. It has to. Just be patient with me while I grow this human. It is apparently gumming up the mental cogs a bit.

And that’s about all that’s been going on over here.

A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab

About the Book

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London – but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her ‘proper adventure’.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.

400 pages (hardcover)

Published on February 24, 2015

Published by Tor

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

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

—

A Darker Shade of Magic is one of those books that arrived in the mail, pushed everything else I was reading to the side, and became my single focus for the entire day it took me to read it.

No, let’s be real. I think I plowed through this thing in about four hours. Why? Because, simply put, I could not put it down. Period.

Vicious, last year’s incredible work by Schwab, blew my mind. I thought that it couldn’t get any better than that, and I was completely wrong. A Darker Shade of Magic not only blew my mind, but it also haunted, and mesmerized me. This is helped along quite a bit by the confidant prose that Schwab fills the novel with.

A Darker Shade of Magic takes place in multiple Londons. If you’re like me, and you’re kind of sick of books that take place in London, don’t fear. Each London is different enough to be interchangeable with just about anywhere. The only real similar aspect of them in the Thames. Of course one London will feel more like the London we all know, but Schwab strikes a good balance. Yes, it’s London, but it’s just vague enough for readers to visualize it being anywhere, and it’s just solid enough for readers to be able to geographically stick it somewhere mentally.

And yes, the world(s) is/are kind of vague, a little fuzzy around the edges, but that’s because the world doesn’t matter as much as the people and the magic that fills it. In fact, the rather fuzzy world allows Schwab to focus intensely on the characters, their motivations, and all the small details that make them shine so much. When you think of the book in that light, it’s not really sacrificing one to improve another, it’s more of a huge step in the right direction.

The Londons that Schwab has created are incredibly diverse and very, very layered. The cultural nuances that I love so much are deftly wove into the world building, which makes the implications of the magic, Kell’s place in it all, and the plot that he works through that much more compelling. Furthermore, these diverse and well-crafted Londons are all quite thought provoking. It’s easy to imagine how one element of our world, changed just enough, would impact everything we know.

Schwab takes a bit of time making her plot incredibly obvious. Readers will go through the first fourth of the book (or thereabouts) learning a ton about the culture and the magic system, and how it’s altered the various Londons. They’ll really get to know Kell well, and be introduced to some compelling secondary characters. This buildup of important players, culture, and magic is incredibly beneficial. Once the plot does become obvious, readers will be able to focus on that, and truly enjoy it for the intricate dance that it really is.

Lila is a fantastic addition to the book, and quickly turned into one of my favorite characters. She’s an individual in every sense, with an inner strength, drive, and determination that makes her captivating. She is no wilting flower, or a woman after romance. Lila knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to kick ass and take names to get it. Perhaps her acceptance of Kell’s situation was a bit too abrupt to be completely believable, but other than that, Lila was one of the highlights of this book, and the way her story ended thrilled me beyond description.

The antagonists are no slouch, either. Schwab seems to excel at creating each character with their own motivation and drive. No one is exactly what they seem, and discovering who and what they are is almost as thrilling as figuring out how Kell and company will get to the end they are seeking.

So, what is all of this high praise boiling down to?

A Darker Shade of Magic releases on February 24. This is absolutely one of those books that readers should keep an eye on. It’s early days yet, but I think this one will shine as a bright point throughout the year. I predict it making many “Best Of” lists.

This one is really something special.

 

5/5 stars

Murder of Crows – Anne Bishop

About the Book

After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside’s shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

369 pages (hardcover)

Published on March 4, 2014

Published by Roc

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

—

Anne Bishop is a bit hit-or-miss with me. I either love her books or I don’t like them much. I went into The Others not really knowing what to expect. I wanted to like these books, but I was afraid to give them a try. I plowed through the first book, Written in Red in record speed. I put off reading Murder of Crows for a while because I am rather crazy, and when I like a series I don’t want it to end so I try not to read it.

Yeah, I don’t get it, either.

There are a lot of reasons why this series seems to ring all my bells. It doesn’t really fit into any one package. It’s not urban fantasy, not really dystopian, not really alternative history, but it’s a bit of all of that. It’s dark and surprising, and very realistic given the history and the world that Bishop has created.

Murder of Crows takes off very shortly after Written in Red ends. Meg Corbyn is equal parts trying to figure out who she is in this sprawling world, and trying to keep her friends and newfound family safe with use of her visions. It’s an interesting balance that she strikes, and her struggle is half the reason I love the series so much. Each vision, each cut takes a little of her life away, but she’s willing to pay the price to keep those she loves safe.

Meg, however, is one incredibly complex character. She comes from a very sheltered, very abused past, which has scarred her deeply. In many ways, she is like a child. In other ways, she’s far too wise regarding matters that no one should really have to understand. Bishop strikes an interesting balance with Meg, between innocence and dark understanding.

In Murder of Crows, Meg has to face her past in some pretty surprising ways. The mystery is slowly revealed and puzzled together through Meg’s complex and confusing visions, as well as some dark clues that float in through current events – animals dying, a drug that alters moods flooding the streets from an unknown source. Some of the answers to the riddle(s) Bishop poses will be fairly obvious, but many others, while I guessed, I wasn’t sure I wanted those guesses to be accurate because, quite honestly, the answers are shockingly dark.

Yes, this book is dark. I don’t think anyone could really call any of Bishop’s writing anything less than dark, but this one really hit home on that score. It’s brutal and uncomfortable, and absolutely shocking (there were parts I had to read twice because I had to make sure I read it right the first time. “Wait, did that really just happen?”). Yet mixed in with all that dark and shocking brutality is a lot of hope, friendship, a very slow developing relationship, and a warm and growing family unit that can be heartwarming and inspiring in equal measure. While the darkness might be the most obvious and easy to focus on, there is a lot of light here, too; a lot of uplifting emotions, and inspiration in the face of trial and adversary.

Murder of Crows starts out with a bang, and just keeps rolling from there. What little downtime there is in terms of the plot, the excitement is transferred to Meg’s struggle, her relationships, her developing and evolving sense of self. It is all quite captivating and very well done. In fact, in terms of the plot this one grows in leaps and bounds from its already strong, very impressive predecessor.

The Others has quickly turned into one of my insta-read series. I can’t seem to get enough of it. The first book, Written in Red, impressed me. The second book, Murder of Crows, floored me. It’s raw, intense, emotional, and shocking. Dark, but full of hope, this book will hook you from the first page. Don’t let the werewolves turn you away. These aren’t your typical werewolves. In fact, nothing in this book is typical. Completely different and absolutely captivating, this is one series you’ll be glad you tried.

 

5/5 stars

News | NYT Bestselling Author Jim Butcher to Release a New Series through ROC Books

(I don’t generally do press releases, but I figured this one would excite people so….)

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR JIM BUTCHER TO WRITE A NEW FANTASY SERIES FOR ROC BOOKS 
First Installment The Cinder Spires: THE AERONAUT’S WINDLASS to be Published This Fall

NEW YORK, NY, February 10, 2015—Roc Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced today the acquisition of a new fantasy series by Jim Butcher, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Dresden Files novels. Executive Editor Anne Sowards bought World English Rights from Jennifer Jackson at Donald Maass Literary Agency. The first novel in the new series, The Cinder Spires: THE AERONAUT’S WINDLASS, will be released in hardcover on September 29, 2015.

Jim Butcher became one of the most recognized names in science fiction and fantasy with the internationally bestselling Dresden Files series featuring Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard.  The series garnered a large and devoted fan base for Butcher that continues to grow with each installment; the last five Dresden Files books skyrocketed to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Butcher is currently at work on Peace Talks, the sixteenth installment in the phenomenally successful urban fantasy series. In addition to The Dresden Files, Butcher is also the author of the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling Codex Alera epic fantasy series.

Sowards describes The Cinder Spires as, “Horatio Hornblower meets The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—it’s a fantastic, creative new series of airships, privateers, warrior monks, and mad sorcerers. Honestly, it’s like Jim put all my favorite things in one book!”

The Cinder Spires is set in a fascinating new world, where an ancient evil has awoken, plunging the world into a shroud of mists filled with monstrous and fantastic creatures. The fate of humanity will rest on the loyalty and courage of a single airship’s crew. New York Times bestselling author David Weber said, “This is Jim Butcher at his best…It’s steampunk meets magic with a dose of sci-fi for seasoning.”

The Cinder Spires: THE AERONAUT’S WINDLASS is poised to be one of the fall’s biggest genre releases, and Butcher fans are anxiously awaiting news about the release. Perfect for readers of Brandon Sanderson and Naomi Novik—in addition to Butcher’s existing fans— The Cinder Spires is a grand new adventure from one of the biggest names in fantasy.

# # #

The Cinder Spires: THE AERONAUT’S WINDLASS

Jim Butcher

On Sale: September 29, 2015

Alpha & Omega (Books 1-3) – Patricia Briggs

This is a review of the first three books in the Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs. To read more about each book, click these links:

Cry Wolf

Hunting Ground

Fair Game

These books were sent by the publisher for my review.

—

Patricia Briggs is a very well known author. Her Mercy Thompson books are some of my favorite urban fantasy books out there – a real heroine, loveable relationships, fantastic secondary characters, and a world that is fantastically created. There isn’t really anything about that series that I don’t like.

I was really, really nervous about reading her spinoff Alpha & Omega series. Generally spinoff series don’t really do anything for me, and I read that this one was more romance focused, which I’m not very big on. However, the mood hit me. I wanted to read something a bit lighter, but something I knew I would enjoy. Patricia Briggs to the rescue.

I should say that apparently there is a short story involving Anna that can be very helpful to read before you start book one. I did not read said short story/novella before I started the series. I don’t really feel like I missed out on anything. Briggs is good about dropping enough cues and information about her past to give readers a solid foundation for Anna’s character. Though, if you’re a reader who likes to be prepared, you might want to hunt that story out and read it before you start Cry Wolf. In fact, it seems like the events in Cry Wolf start out right after the events in the story end – which might be information worth noting for potential readers.

Alpha & Omega is very different than Mercy Thompson. Some of the characters overlap, but the secondary, and more background characters that passingly get mentioned in her other series get highlighted here. The fact that most of the book centers around Charles, Bran, and their politically powerful pack gives the world that Briggs has created a bit more diversity, a bit more of a dynamic. A lot of the pack politics and hierarchy are mentioned in Mercy’s books, but since Mercy is a coyote, and Anna and Charles both are, they are a bit heavier, more important, and more fleshed out here.

Yes, this series is a bit more romance focused. While I thought that would bother me, it really didn’t bug me in the least here. Anna and Charles are a rather difficult pair. They are complete opposites, and their relationship is filled with as much passion as it is struggle. Both characters are deeply scarred by traumatic lives, and those scars play a very real role in their ability to interact, and trust each other. The tug-of-war that they felt, their getting-to-know-you phase, and the relationship itself is dynamic, raw, real and full of emotion that will make you feel deeply.

As I mentioned, Anna and Charles are both incredibly scarred characters, and that’s probably what made me so pleased with the series. Neither character remarkably heals. They both learn spend as much time learning how to live life as they are, flaws and scars and all, as trying to heal. But there are very real moments of honesty with these characters. They are more fragile, and emotionally unveiled than many other characters that I’ve run across. It was a brave move for Briggs to create a character that actively, honestly, and openly deals with severe PTSD. It impacts the plot, her development and so much more.

Charles, likewise, has his own demons, which become far more obvious in Fair Game. Along with the struggles of their relationship, and the turbulent politics of the time, their struggles to not lose themselves to the things that haunt them is nothing short of awe inspiring.

Each book is, like Briggs other series, is blessedly self-contained. While it is important that you read the books in series order, you’ll get no cliffhangers here. The endings are a bit predictable, and there are plenty of feel good moments to balance out the darkness and the (ample) tension. Briggs always has a tendency to leave me wondering how she packs so much into fairly short, easy to digest novels.

Make no bones about it, this is different than Mercy Thompson. The politics are different, the wolf world is a bit more intense, and the characters are vibrant and real. While I still think Mercy Thompson is my favorite series, Alpha & Omega is a close second. Intense and emotional, with writing that pulls you in, this is a series that is a must-read for fans of this author.

 

4/5 stars

LTUE: Disabilities in Genre Fiction Panel

LTUE, a local (but very cool) literary convention is starting on Thursday, February 12 in Orem, Utah. I am thrilled to not only go to it, but also to be on a panel there. It will be my first convention panel, and the topic is near and dear to my heart: Disabilities in Genre Fiction.

The panel will be moderated by Paul Genesse, who has been working very, very hard to do this sprawling topic justice. I’ve met with him a few times, reviewed talking points, and I am incredibly confident that he will make this panel discussion as impactful and informative as I was hoping for.

Along with Paul, will be me (of course), J. Scott Savage, Fiona Ostler, and Mercedes Murdock Yardley.

I’m incredibly excited. I’m also hoping that we have more than 3 people in the audience.

So, if you’re going to LTUE, try to swing by. This takes place on Saturday, February 14 at 10am.

We Are Not Good People – Jeff Somers

About the Book

From the “exhilarating, powerful, and entertaining” (Guardian) storyteller of the Avery Cates series comes a gritty supernatural thriller featuring a pair of unlikely heroes caught up in the underground world of blood magic.

The ethics in a world of blood are gray—and an underground strata of blood magicians has been engineering disasters for centuries in order to acquire enough fuel for their spells. They are not good people.

Some practitioners, however, use the Words and a swipe of the blade to cast simpler spells, such as Charms and Cantrips to gas up $1 bills so they appear to be $20s. Lem Vonnegan and his sidekick Mags fall into this level of mage, hustlers and con men all. Lem tries to be ethical by using only his own blood, by not using Bleeders or “volunteers.” But it makes life hard. Soon they might have to get honest work.

When the pair encounters a girl who’s been kidnapped and marked up with magic runes for a ritual spell, it’s clear they’re in over their heads. Turning to Lem’s estranged master for help, they are told that not only is the girl’s life all but forfeit, but that the world’s preeminent mage, Mika Renar, has earth-shattering plans for her—and Lem just got in the way. With the fate of the world on the line, and Lem both spooked and intrigued by the mysterious girl, the other nominates him to become the huckleberry who’ll take down Renar. But even if he, Mags, and the simpletons who follow him prevail, they’re dealing with the kind of power that doesn’t understand defeat, or mercy.

Book One in the Ustari Cycle, the first portion of We Are Not Good People was originally published in an altered form as Trickster (Pocket Books)

514 pages (paperback)

Published on October 7, 2014

Published by Gallery Books

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

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

— 

We Are Not Good People is a very dark book. Uncomfortably dark. Deliciously dark. That’s really the first thing you should know before you read this one. If incredibly dark books bother you, you’ll probably want to stay away from this one.

The title pretty much says it all: We Are Not Good People. Somers strips down everything, his world, his characters, the magic system, even the plot, and portrays it in all its broken beauty. I tend to really enjoy books that deal with those moral gray areas. I love the antihero, and the dark, dismal plot that often goes along with it, and Somers brings both of those qualities out in spades.

This book is based on blood magic. It’s dirty and gritty, often involves uncomfortable addictions. Much of We Are Not Good People focuses on society’s underbelly, the seedy joints where drugs are traded, cons are had, and people are scammed. Lem and Mags fit seamlessly into this world, each broken and damaged in their own ways, but they work perfectly together as a balanced partnership in this world that Somers has created.

In many ways this book does have a silver lining. In many ways, this is a very dark, twisted story through the chaotic and nuanced world of blood magic in search of Lem’s twisted form of redemption. This book deals with saving the woman, and saving the world, which in its own boiled down state, is a pretty typical plot. It’s also Lem’s way to prove to himself that, despite the fact that “we are not good people” (as he repeats quite frequently), there is still some good in him despite the bad things he does to accomplish his aims.

The plot moves incredibly quickly, and it’s hard to find any part of this book the least bit dull. If you aren’t absolutely gripped by this dark, dark world and the dark, dirty magic that peppers it, then you’ll be hooked by the plot and all of the seedy, uncomfortable things that are happening as the characters try to make their own way through the happenings.

We Are Not Good People is, in many ways, two books in one. After some research I learned that the first chunk of the book (the best chunk), was previously published as the novel Trickster. The second half of the book adds on to what Somers started with Trickster. This part, while still incredibly well done, felt a bit forced in many respects. There gets to be a point toward the middle where a lot is happening, but not much actual progression is going on. It causes things to feel a little bogged down, a little sluggish until they pick up again.

The ending left me a little less than thrilled, but the journey to get there was completely worth it. This is one of those books that will assuredly make you uncomfortable at points, but if that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, then you’ll enjoy We Are Not Good People just as much as I did. The writing is engrossing, the world is riveting, and the plot is gripping. The characters are real, broken and raw. This book haunted me. It kept me up, and keeps me wondering. Somers was brave and bold with this book, and it pays off.

We Are Not Good People shocked me to my core. Dark, deep, and thought provoking, this book was absolutely unforgettable. This is the first book written by Jeff Somers I’ve read, and I can promise you that it absolutely will not be the last.

 

4/5 stars

And the winners are…

Thanks so much for everyone who entered the Kushiel’s Dart giveaway. The three winners have been selected, and the publisher has been notified.

They are….

1. Shelly from Virginia

2. Mary from Arizona

3. Patti from Tennessee

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who participated!!

Owl and the Japanese Circus – Kristi Charish

About the Book

Fans of Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, and Linda Hamilton will flock to the kick-ass world of Owl, a modern-day “Indiana Jane” who reluctantly navigates the hidden supernatural world.

Ex-archaeology grad student turned international antiquities thief, Alix—better known now as Owl—has one rule. No supernatural jobs. Ever. Until she crosses paths with Mr. Kurosawa, a red dragon who owns and runs the Japanese Circus Casino in Las Vegas. He insists Owl retrieve an artifact stolen three thousand years ago, and makes her an offer she can’t refuse: he’ll get rid of a pack of vampires that want her dead. A dragon is about the only entity on the planet that can deliver on Owl’s vampire problem – and let’s face it, dragons are known to eat the odd thief.

Owl retraces the steps of Mr. Kurosawa’s ancient thief from Japan to Bali with the help of her best friend, Nadya, and an attractive mercenary. As it turns out though, finding the scroll is the least of her worries. When she figures out one of Mr. Kurosawa’s trusted advisors is orchestrating a plan to use a weapon powerful enough to wipe out a city, things go to hell in a hand basket fast…and Owl has to pick sides.

432 pages (paperback)

Published on January 13, 2015

Author’s website

Buy the book

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

—

Owl and the Japanese Circus is one of those books I had absolutely no intention of ever reading. I’m not really that into urban fantasy, but I tend to devour it when I have health issues. For some reason it’s the genre that gives my brain a mental “pause” when I need it. I’ve had some health drama recently, and it’s made it really hard for me to read anything incredibly weighty. I ran across this book, and decided to give it a go. I was in the mood, and I went with it.

“Owl” a nickname given to our protagonist, is delightfully different than most protagonists I run across in these type of books. She’s got a real Indian Jones vibe, and her history with archeology and her obvious knowledge regarding ancient artifacts backs it up. She can hold her own, and has an obsession with online RPGs that plenty of people will relate to. Furthermore, she’s not perfect. She’s trigger-happy, and often reacts without thinking. She doesn’t want to wait for things to happen, she just wants them to happen, which causes her to act rashly on occasion.

She’s quirky and unique, but most importantly, she’s real.

The supernatural creatures are just as unique as Owl is. While they do have the charisma, mystery, and the sexual appeal that readers will expect, they are different in many ways. Vampires do play in the plot, but their politics are quite interesting, and their mannerisms are different than I expected. There are nyphs, succubi, incubi, skinwalkers, and just about anything else. All of them are one-of-a-kind, with qualities that you will only find in this book. Owl works companionably with dragons – yes, actual dragons – masquerading in human form. There are plenty of other supernatural creatures that pepper the book, some more obviously than others, and all of them have that telltale unique quality that seems to be standard for what Charish writes.

The world is sprawling, and the history is rich. It’s obvious that Charish loves the topic she’s writing about, and she’s done her research. The fact that a lot of this book deals with nonwestern countries and cultures either directly or indirectly is incredibly refreshing. There is room for Charish to add some layers and depth to her world, but the world itself and the supernatural qualities of it are absolutely addicting, and leave me anxious to read more of what she writes.

The plot is pretty fast paced. In fact, there is rarely a moment where Owl isn’t in the middle of something, or working toward something. There is a surprising amount of tension that keeps getting ramped up as the plot progresses, and there are mysteries within mysteries. While some of these are predictable and can be a touch obvious, they all work together to form a cohesive and gripping plot that will entertain readers as well as keep them guessing.

Owl and the Japanese Circus is a nice balance between fun and tense. It reads almost like a homage to Indian Jones without actually being Indian Jones, and has enough unique qualities to keep just about anyone entertained. Owl is a strong protagonist with believable flaws, readers won’t be able to keep from loving her. There is some very vague sexual tension, which could develop into more in future books, but as with everything else in this novel, the author doesn’t hit readers over the head with it. The ending is well done, and ties all the ends together in a surprising way while planting the seeds for future novels.

In the end, Owl and the Japanese Circus is a book that surprised me and delighted me, and caused me to renew some faith in a genre that I typically don’t take as seriously as I should. Gems like this show me how wrong I am for that.

 

4/5 stars

Books I’m Eyeing

It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these. This is my way to point out books that look interesting to me, and give the reviewers I respect so much a bit of a nod in the process.

What books are you eyeing?

—

King of Morning, Queen of Day – Ian McDonald

Discovery blamed on: Civilian Reader

Buy the book

About the book

Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award and the Prix Imaginales: Three generations of women share a mysterious power—one that threatens to destroy them

In early-twentieth-century Ireland, life for Emily Desmond is that of the average teenage girl: She reads, she’s bored with school, and she has a powerful imagination. Then things begin to change. Her imagination is so powerful, in fact, that she wills a faerie into existence—an ability calledmythoconsciousness. It’s this power that opens a dangerous door that she will never want to close, and whose repercussions will reverberate across time.

First to be affected is her daughter, Jessica, who, in the mid-1930s, finds that she must face her mother’s power by using the very same gift against her. Then, in the near future, Jessica’s granddaughter, Enye, must end the cycle once and for all—but it may prove too powerful to overcome.

 

 

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The Heresy Within – Rob J. Hayes

Discovery blamed on: Fantasy Book Review

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The Heresy Within is the first book in the debut trilogy, The Ties that Bind by Rob J. Hayes.

Thanquil Darkheart is an Arbiter of the Inquisition, a witch hunter tasked with hunting down and purging heretics. Thanquil Darkheart is also something else, expendable.

When the God-Emperor of Sarth tells Thanquil there is a traitor operating among the highest echelon of the Inquisition he knows he has no choice but to sail to the city of Chade and follow the Emperor’s single lead.

The Black Thorn is a murderer, a thug, a thief and worse but he’s best known for the killing of six Arbiters. These days he travels with a crew of six of the most dangerous sell-swords in the wilds.

After a job well done they find themselves on the run from the law once again but the boss has good news; a new job, the biggest any of them have ever pulled. First, however, they need to evade capture long enough to secure travel to the free city of Chade.

Jezzet Vel’urn is a Blademaster; a swords-woman of prodigious skill but she knows that for a woman like her in the wilds there are two ways out of most situations; fight or screw. Truth is, all too often for Jezzet’s liking, it comes down to a combination of the two.

Jezzet is chased half-way across the wilds by a vengeful warlord until she makes it to the free city of Chade. Instead of sanctuary, however, all she finds are guards waiting to turn her over for some quick gold.

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The Drowning City – Amanda Downum

Discovery blamed on: Fantasy Review Barn

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Symir — the Drowning City. home to exiles and expatriates, pirates and smugglers. And violent revolutionaries who will stop at nothing to overthrow the corrupt Imperial government.

For Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and spy, the brewing revolution is a chance to prove herself to her crown. All she has to do is find and finance the revolutionaries, and help topple the palaces of Symir. But she is torn between her new friends and her duties, and the longer she stays in this monsoon-drenched city, the more intrigue she uncovers — even the dead are plotting.

As the waters rise and the dams crack, Isyllt must choose between her mission and the city she came to save.

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Datura – Leena Krohn

Discovery blamed on: Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf

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From the PW starred review: “Shadows of Kafka and Strindberg are infused with Krohn’s love of her fragile characters…Aficionados of the surreal will find this a contemporary masterwork.”… translated by Anna Volmari and Juha Tupasela. Our narrator works as an editor and writer for a magazine specializing in bringing oddities to light, a job that sends her exploring through a city that becomes by degrees ever less familiar. From a sunrise of automated cars working in silent precision to a possible vampire, she discovers that reality may not be as logical as you think—and that people are both odder and more ordinary as they might seem. Especially if you’re eating datura seeds. Especially when the legendary Voynich Manuscript is involved. Where will it all end? Pushed by the mysterious owner of the magazine, our narrator may wind up somewhere very strange indeed. “Datura is luminous–at once a secret history of losers, dreamers, and quacks, and a lyrical argument on the nature of reality. I thoroughly enjoyed it.” – Sofia Samatar, A Stranger in Olondria

 

 

 

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Signal to Noise – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Discovery blamed on: My Bookish Ways

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A literary fantasy about love, music and sorcery, set against the background of Mexico City.

Mexico City, 1988: Long before iTunes or MP3s, you said “I love you” with a mixtape. Meche, awkward and fifteen, has two equally unhip friends — Sebastian and Daniela — and a whole lot of vinyl records to keep her company. When she discovers how to cast spells using music, the future looks brighter for the trio. With help from this newfound magic, the three friends will piece together their broken families, change their status as non-entities, and maybe even find love…

Mexico City, 2009: Two decades after abandoning the metropolis, Meche returns for her estranged father’s funeral. It’s hard enough to cope with her family, but then she runs into Sebastian, and it revives memories from her childhood she thought she buried a long time ago. What really happened back then? What precipitated the bitter falling out with her father? And, is there any magic left?

 

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The Darkest Part of the Forest – Holly Black

Discovery blamed on: Speculating on SpecFic

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Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

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Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel

Discovery blamed on: The Speculative Scotsman

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An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.

One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur’s chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment, watching out the window as cars clog the highways, gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them.

Fifteen years later, Kirsten is an actress with the Traveling Symphony. Together, this small troupe moves between the settlements of an altered world, performing Shakespeare and music for scattered communities of survivors. Written on their caravan, and tattooed on Kirsten’s arm is a line from Star Trek: “Because survival is insufficient.” But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who digs graves for anyone who dares to leave.

Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. As Arthur falls in and out of love, as Jeevan watches the newscasters say their final good-byes, and as Kirsten finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the prophet, we see the strange twists of fate that connect them all. A novel of art, memory, and ambition, Station Eleventells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.