Sarah Chorn's Blog, page 93

The Assassini Trilogy – Jon Courtenay Grimwood

NOTE: This is a review of a full trilogy, so I did not add book synopses and yes, this may contain some minor spoilers.

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I don’t generally like to review an entire series at once, but sometimes it must be done. I recently read The Assassini trilogy by Jon Courtenay Grimwood. I read each book so quickly I decided to forego reviewing each book independently and just review the trilogy as a whole.

The Assassini trilogy starts with The Fallen Blade where readers are introduced to the major players of the series. While most of the character operate independently of each other, about halfway through the book it becomes clear how everyone will be entangled. Grimwood uses The Fallen Blade to create a believable, vivid alternative 15th century Venice that will undoubtedly enchant, as well as educate readers.

Unfortunately, The Fallen Blade suffers despite its interesting premise. There is so much thrown at readers at the start of the book that the narrative seems incredibly chaotic and hard to keep track of. Instead of introducing all of the supernatural elements (vampires, witches, werewolves), and political problems (two regents that hate each other and a simple duke, complete with a cousin who needs to be conveniently married off), and a few understated but very present social issues (poverty, violence, gangs, etc), Grimwood introduces all of this in the first hundred pages. It is almost overwhelming. Then, after that, the book evens out a bit. The plot finds its pace, and all the overwhelming aspects from the start find their comfortable positions. Yes, the start of the novel is chaotic, but the middle feels natural. The ending is back to being chaotic, rushed, and bit too convenient. Basically, this book has some significant pacing issues.

Grimwood gets a tip of the hat for taking some fairly typical fantasy tropes and putting his own unique spin on them. However, there are some fairly stereotypical elements here. There’s a band of assassins, which has long since ceased being unique. There’s romantic tension. There’s the sexy mysterious guy, and the two regents seemed a little too cookie-cutter thoughout the series, each falling comfortably in their roles – one being incredibly wise and all-seeing, and the other being too easy to hate. Despite how chaotic and tropey The Fallen Blade can be, it was never boring and does a great job setting up the rest of the series.

 

3/5 stars

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Where The Fallen Blade was equal parts entertainment and frustration, The Outcast Blade is where Grimwood really shows his capabilities. Gone are the chaotic elements from the first book. Having established his world, culture, and primary players, Grimwood focuses mostly on plot.

The world has been established, but one of the most entertaining bits of this entire series is that Grimwood never really stops expanding upon it. In fact, in The Outcast Blade, Venice becomes a character in and of itself.  I love reading books where I learn things at the same time. Many people romanticize this period of history, but Grimwood shows it in all its unfair, grimy, disease ridden, violent glory and it is shockingly realistic. Yes, I read this series as much for the addictive world as for anything else.

The Outcast Blade has its own plot, but after the first book it felt kind of hum-ho. There is more political wrangling, plenty of betrayal, some emotional upheaval, romantic tension, and a new interesting character added to the mix. It ends with another battle that I found to be rather predictable.

The problem isn’t that the plot isn’t interesting, because it is. This book moves at a rip roaring pace, and without all the attention on establishing a unique alternative-history world, Grimwood really focuses on the plot and it’s a lot tighter, easier to understand and appreciate due to that. However, The Outcast Blade, at its heart, felt much like The Fallen Blade. I found it to be a touch too predictable for my liking. It felt more like a fun romp rather than the thought provoking read I wanted and expected.

That being said, The Outcast Blade was a much better read than The Fallen Blade. The characters are more realistic. Their emotional journeys were more believable and thus, sympathetic. My one character issue was that the two regents fell more into their cookie-cutter roles, which was frustrating. The first part of the book felt largely like a setup while the second part was really where most of the action and excitement takes place. Don’t worry, the buildup and time spent is well worth it.

The Outcast Blade was a solid second installment in an incredibly enjoyable series. While it didn’t live up to my expectations, it was well worth reading.

 

3/5 stars

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

The Exiled Blade was, in my opinion, the best book of the series. Here the book is almost divided in half between time spent inside and outside of Venice. While I did lament the loss of the city that Grimwood had created, it was necessary, as most of this book focuses on internal battles between Tycho and Guilietta rather than external battles between Venice and (insert army here).

I found it incredibly refreshing to see how Grimwood had developed these characters throughout the series, and then decided to take such a personal, introspective journey with them. Grimwood handles them with care, and their activities, thoughts, and evolution reflect everything they had gone through throughout the book.

Because most of the true story seems to take place on a personal, internal level, there isn’t a ton of outward action and epic battles to speak of (though there is plenty). Each character has to face their own demons and become the person they were trying to become. Some of the relationships that form can feel a bit contrived, and some of the things that happen suffer from convenience syndrome, but those issues are largely easy to ignore.

After the finale of book two, readers might wonder where exactly Grimwood could possibly go with the series. Don’t worry; he quickly turns the perfect ending on its head. The twist will keep readers on the edge of their set. While the tone of The Exiled Blade is a touch different than the tone of the last books, it is probably the most haunting and memorable of the set.

The trilogy ends on a somewhat surprising, bittersweet, but perfect note. It’s a grand payoff for all your time spent with the characters. Despite the flaws of this trilogy, I felt like I was losing friends when it ended. This is the perfect series for people interested in something different, historical, character driven, bloody, and romantic.

 

4/5 stars

To Prologue or not to Prologue

The other day I went on Twitter and said, “Am I the only one who hates prologues?” I didn’t say it to be inflammatory (okay, maybe a naughty part of me did). I said it because that’s the kind of statement that would get me a ton of responses from people all over the map. It’s these kind of all-over responses that make me look at things differently. That’s why I do that kind of thing. I love seeing what people think and feel, because you all think and feel differently than I do, and you often show me how incredibly shortsighted I really am.

You are all geniuses, and I love tapping into that and learning from you.

Hate is probably too strong a word to use in regards to prologues. Prologues largely frustrate me, but well done prologues I absolutely love. My beef with prologues isn’t really anything besides the fact that I am impatient. I want to get to the actual book, and I feel like prologues are largely areas where I waste some time learning about (insert back burner character in far-flung land here) before I get to the book itself.

Prologues, however, have an important place in literature. A prologue sets the tone. It can give the reader important backstory, or even do some important magic/political/world building. If you are a Steven Erikson fan, prologues will stop your heart before you even get to the actual book. They can be incredibly important, and it is these important, heart stopping, tone-filled prologues that I love.

Then you get the prologues that are comprised of a dream sequence, a daydreaming person remembering (insert event here), or a character I’ve never heard of maliciously plotting about (insert event/person here) that you won’t hear about again until the prologue in the next book. These prologues tend to annoy me, and yes, I do skip over them almost completely. Why? Because they take up space, they are infodumpy, the back burner characters you only ever meet in every prologue don’t do anything for me. My ultimate prologue pet peeve? Prologues that are longer than fifty pages. Forcing me to slog through fifty pages of backstory, secondary characters, and obscure happenings is almost assuredly going to make me lose interest in your book.

On the one hand I recognize that prologues have a place in literature and they often help the author set tone, or fill in plot gaps. As a reader, I appreciate that. On the other hand I realize that, like anything, they can be badly done, too long, or lack finesse. I’m jaded in regards to prologues.  I tend to approach them with ambivalence and make them prove their worth to me. I skip bad prologues altogether and just head to chapter one. I hate to say it, but most time I skip a prologue, there is no real impact to the text itself. Even a well-done prologue reads more like a short stories associated with the book rather than part of the book itself.

Am I harsh? Yes.

So prologues: Love ‘em or hate ‘em? Do they have a place in literature? Or are you a prologue skipper?

As opposed to prologues, you have bullet points, or book summaries (think Bradley Beaulieu’s books). I’m an odd case for these. I used to love prologues and hate these summaries. Now I am jaded regarding prologues and every time I see a book summary, or bullet point, I want to kiss the author.

I prefer summaries for personal reasons. The cancer treatment I want through took a toll on my memory, as it does with pretty much anyone who goes through that treatment. Every time a book comes out in a series, I have to reread the whole series just to remember what is going on so I can read the most recent book. That takes a lot of time that. As a reviewer that is waaaay behind on reviewing due to cancer and surgeries, I just don’t have that kind of time.

Bullet points and summaries act as a guide rail for the reader to hold onto. They tell readers important parts of the text, without giving anything away. They help me move my sluggish, broken memories and bring me up to speed on the previous books without forcing me to reread the books. When a series releases a book every few years (which most do), these summaries are doubly important.

On the flip side, if you don’t have the fantastically crappy memory that I have, most readers will probably skip over bullet points because they actually remember the previous book and don’t need to readdress it or refresh it in their minds. Summaries might seem redundant, or indulgent of the author. They don’t add to the story like prologues do, they just help you remember the finer points.

Book summaries: Do you enjoy them or do they seem more indulgent?

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Regardless of how you feel and why, I do firmly believe that, despite my personal preferences and psychological issues, prologues and book summaries both have an important place in literature. It’s the author’s job to decide which fits with their book, and usually authors make the right choice, regardless of my own ridiculous issues. There are no rules for this type of thing, and due to the fact that we are all so deliciously different, everyone will feel, and love or hate different things about pretty much everything. That’s the beauty of art. No one artist will please everyone, and everyone will take different things away from his/her art, but I have a great time discussing the various ins and outs, the many things I know I misunderstand or don’t think about, in spite of that.

Educate me.

Books I’m Eyeing

 

Books I’m Eyeing is a (hopefully) weekly series wherein I show you the books that have intrigued me, and the blogs and reviews we can all blame that on. My goal is to make my library hate me because of all the holds I have placed. This feature will show you just how I’m accomplishing that.

Do any of these books interest you? Or are there some that I’ve missed but should check out? Let me know!

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Trading in Danger – Elizabeth Moon

Discovery blamed on: The Book Smugglers

About the Book

Kylara Vatta is the only daughter in a family full of sons, and her father’s only child to buck tradition by choosing a military career instead of joining the family business. For Ky, it’s no contest: Even running the prestigious Vatta Transport Ltd. shipping concern can’t hold a candle to shipping out as an officer aboard an interstellar cruiser. It’s adventure, not commerce, that stirs her soul. And despite her family’s misgivings, there can be no doubt that a Vatta in the service will prove a valuable asset. But with a single error in judgment, it all comes crumbling down.

Expelled from the Academy in disgrace–and returning home to her humiliated family, a storm of high-profile media coverage, and the gaping void of her own future–Ky is ready to face the inevitable onslaught of anger, disappointment, even pity. But soon after opportunity’s door slams shut, Ky finds herself with a ticket to ride– and a shot at redemption–as captain of a Vatta Transport ship.

It’s a simple assignment: escorting one of the Vatta fleet’s oldest ships on its final voyage . . . to the scrapyard. But keeping it simple has never been Ky’s style. And even though her father has provided a crew of seasoned veterans to baby-sit the fledgling captain on her maiden milk run, they can’t stop Ky from turning the routine mission into a risky venture–in the name of turning a profit for Vatta Transport, of course.

By snapping up a lucrative delivery contract defaulted on by a rival company, and using part of the proceeds to upgrade her condemned vehicle, Ky aims to prove she’s got more going for her than just her family’s famous name. But business will soon have to take a backseat to bravery, when Ky’s change of plans sails her and the crew straight into the middle of a colonial war. For all her commercial savvy, it’s her military training and born-soldier’s instincts that Ky will need to call on in the face of deadly combat, dangerous mercenaries, and violent mutiny.

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The Devil Delivered – Steven Erikson

Discovery blamed on: Civilian Reader

About the Book

Steven Erikson has carved a name for himself among the pantheon of great fantasy writers. But his masterful storytelling and prose style go beyond the awe-inspiring Malazan world. In *The Devil Delivered and Other Tales*, Erikson tells three different, but captivating stories:

“The Devil Delivered” tells a story set within the near future, where the land owned by the great Lakota Nation blisters beneath an ozone hole the size of the Great Plains. As the natural world falls victim to its wrath, and scientists scramble to understand it, a lone anthropologist wanders the deadlands, recording observations that threaten to bring the entire world to its knees.

“Revolvo” takes place in an alternate Earth where evolution took an interesting turn and the arts scene is ruled by technocrats who thrive in a secret, nepotistic society of granting agencies, bursaries, and peer-review boards, all designed to permit self-proclaimed artists to survive without an audience.

“Fishin’ with Grandma Matchie” is told in the voice a nine-year-old boy, writing the story of his summer vacation. What starts as a typical recount of a trip to see Grandma quickly becomes a stunning fantastical journey into imagination and perception in the wild world that Grandma Matchie inhabits.

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Drakenfeld – Mark Charan Newton

Discovery blamed on: SFFWorld

About the Book

“I am Lucan Drakenfeld, second son of Calludian, Officer of the Sun Chamber and peace keeper. Although sometimes it seems I am the only person who wishes to keep it …”

The monarchies of the Royal Vispasian Union have been bound together for two hundred years by laws maintained and enforced by the powerful Sun Chamber. As a result, nations have flourished but corruption, deprivation and murder will always find a way to thrive.

Receiving news of his father’s death Sun Chamber Officer Lucan Drakenfeld is recalled home to the ancient city of Tryum and rapidly embroiled in a mystifying case. The King’s sister has been found brutally murdered – her beaten and bloody body discovered in a locked temple. With rumours of dark spirits and political assassination, Drakenfeld has his work cut out for him trying to separate superstition from certainty. His determination to find the killer quickly makes him a target as the underworld gangs of Tryum focus on this new threat to their power.

Embarking on the biggest and most complex investigation of his career, Drakenfeld soon realises the evidence is leading him towards a motive that could ultimately bring darkness to the whole continent. The fate of the nations is in his hands.

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The Daedalus Incident – Michael J. Martinez

(Full disclosure: I may or may not have mentioned this on previous Books I’m Eyeing posts. I can’t remember. Yay crappy memory!)

Discovery blamed on: Bastard Books

About the Book

Mars is supposed to be dead.…

Bizarre quakes are rumbling over the long-dormant tectonic plates of the planet, disrupting its trillion-dollar mining operations and driving scientists past the edges of theory and reason. However, when rocks shake off their ancient dust and begin to roll—seemingly of their own volition—carving canals as they converge to form a towering structure amid the ruddy terrain, Lt. Jain and her JSC team realize that their routine geological survey of a Martian cave system is anything but. The only clues they have stem from the emissions of a mysterious blue radiation, and a 300-year-old journal that is writing itself.

Lt. Thomas Weatherby of His Majesty’s Royal Navy is an honest 18th-century man of modest beginnings, doing his part for King and Country aboard the HMS Daedalus, a frigate sailing the high seas between continents…and the immense Void between the Known Worlds.

With the aid of his fierce captain, a drug-addled alchemist, and a servant girl witha remarkable past, Weatherby must track a great and powerful mystic, who has embarked upon a sinister quest to upset the balance of the planets—the consequences of which may reach far beyond the Solar System, threatening the very fabric of space itself.

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Books Recieved

I see a lot of websites giving general nods to the books they get in the mail. I think that’s a good idea. I get a lot of books in the mail, and it takes me time to get to them all, so the least these publishers and authors deserve is a public nod while they wait for me to move my butt and get to their product.

Here are the books I’ve received in the past two weeks that I have not yet reviewed. (I know I’ve forgotten a few, thanks to cancer-brain.)

Do any of these look good to you?

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The Heavens Rise – Christopher Rice

Published by Pocket Books

October 15, 2013

New York Times bestselling author Christopher Rice brilliantly conjures the shadowed terrors of the Louisiana bayou—where three friends confront a deadly, ancient evil rising to the surface—in this intense and atmospheric new supernatural thriller.

It’s been a decade since the Delongpre family vanished near Bayou Rabineaux, and still no one can explain the events of that dark and sweltering night. No one except Niquette Delongpre, the survivor who ran away from the mangled stretch of guardrail on Highway 22 where the impossible occurred…and kept on running. Who left behind her best friends, Ben and Anthem, to save them from her newfound capacity for destruction…and who alone knows the source of her very bizarre—and very deadly—abilities: an isolated strip of swampland called Elysium.

An accomplished surgeon, Niquette’s father dreamed of transforming the dense acreage surrounded by murky waters into a palatial compound befitting the name his beloved wife gave to it, Elysium: “the final resting place for the heroic and virtuous.” Then, ten years ago, construction workers dug into a long-hidden well, one that snaked down into the deep, black waters of the Louisiana swamp and stirred something that had been there for centuries—a microscopic parasite that perverts the mind and corrupts the body.

Niquette is living proof that things done can’t be undone. Nothing will put her family back together again. And nothing can save her. But as Niquette, Ben, and Anthem uncover the truth of a devastating parasite that has the potential to alter the future of humankind, Niquette grasps the most chilling truths of all: someone else has been infected too. And unlike her, this man is not content to live in the shadows. He is intent to use his newfound powers for one reason only: revenge.

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Nightlife – Matthew Quin Martin

Published by Pocket Star

October 21, 2013

For centuries an ancient evil has slept beneath the streets of New Harbor. This Halloween, it wakes up.

An action-packed debut horror novel from talented new writer Matthew Quinn Martin, Nightlife pits a feisty bartender and a mysterious loner against bloodthirsty terrors as alluring as they are deadly.

Nightclub bartender and serial heartbreaker Beth Becker might be a cynic. But when her best friend goes missing Halloween night, Beth knows it’s up to her to find out what happened.

Her quest will take her on an odyssey through the crumbling city of New Harbor, Connecticut. Along the way she meets a homeless prophet warning of something he calls the “Night Angel”-a bloodthirsty creature that feeds on the forgotten. And she will form an unlikely bond with a hunted stranger who knows all too well what stalks the streets at night.

 

 

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A Dance of Cloaks

Published by Orbit

October 8, 2013

(Note: Review will be posted next week)

Thren Felhorn is the greatest assassin of his time. Marshalling the thieves’ guilds under his control, he declares war against the Trifect, an allegiance of wealthy and powerful nobles.

Aaron Felhorn has been groomed since birth to be Thren’s heir. Sent to kill the daughter of a priest, Aaron instead risks his own life to protect her from the wrath of his guild. In doing so, he glimpses a world beyond poison, daggers, and the iron control of his father.

Guilds twist and turn, trading allegiances for survival. The Trifect weakens, its reputation broken, its money dwindling. The players take sides as the war nears its end, and Thren puts in motion a plan to execute hundreds.

Only Aaron can stop the massacre and protect those he loves…

Assassin or protector; every choice has its consequences.

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Ancillary Justice – Anne Leckie

Published by Orbit

October 1, 2013

(Note: I’m about 50 pages shy of being done with this one. Expect a review on release day.)

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren–a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.

An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose–to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch.

 

 

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Snake Agent – Liz Williams

Published by Open Road Media

September 17, 2013

(Note: Pay attention to this publisher. They seem to specialize in reprints, but they choose some fantastic books and deserve attention.)

When a soul goes missing, an occult detective ventures into Hell to retrieve it

When the fourteen-year-old daughter of Singapore Three’s most prominent industrialist dies of anorexia, her parents assume that Pearl’s suffering has come to an end. But somewhere along the way to the Celestial Shores, Pearl’s soul is waylaid, lured by an unknown force to the gates of Hell. To save their daughter from eternal banishment, they come to Detective Inspector Wei Chen, whose jurisdiction lies between this world and the next.

A round-faced cop who is as serious as his beat is strange, Chen has a demon for a wife and a comfort with the supernatural that most mortals cannot match. But finding Pearl Tang will take him further into the abyss than ever before—to a mystifying place where he will have to cooperate with a demonic detective if he wants to survive. It’s easy, Chen will find, to get into Hell. The hard part is getting out.



Snake Agent is the first of the five Detective Inspector Chen Novels, which continue with The Demon and the City and Precious Dragon.

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Cold Blooded – Amanda Carlson

Published by Orbit

October 8, 2013

(Note: I’m almost done with this one, too. Review coming next week.)

Jessica arrives back in town to find her best friend missing and the most powerful witch in the country is blaming her for it. But before they can move to save her, the group is attacked.

On the run, Jessica and Rourke head to the mountains. Several surprises await them, but in order to save her father they are forced to leave for New Orleans early.

Arriving on the Vampire Queen’s doorstep unexpectedly, and bringing trouble on their heels, the Sects are thrown into an all out war. The vicious

skirmish ends up forcing the vamps and Jessica to fight on the same team.

The Vamp Queen ends up owing Jessica, but what Jessica doesn’t realize is just how soon she’ll have to cash it in.

 

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Heartwood – Freya Robertson

Published by Angry Robot Books

October 29, 2013

A dying tree, a desperate quest, a love story, a last stand.

Chonrad, Lord of Barle, comes to the fortified temple of Heartwood for the Congressus peace talks, which Heartwood’s holy knights have called in an attempt to stave off war in Anguis. But the Arbor, Heartwood’s holy tree, is failing, and because the land and its people are one, it is imperative the nations try to make peace.

After the Veriditas, or annual Greening Ceremony, the Congressus takes place. The talks do not go well and tempers are rising when an army of warriors emerges from the river. After a fierce battle, the Heartwood knights discover that the water warriors have stolen the Arbor’s heart. For the first time in history, its leaves begin to fall…

The knights divide into seven groups and begin an epic quest to retrieve the Arbor, and save the land.

 

 

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Dying is my Business – Nicholas Kaufmann

Published by St. Martin’s Griffin

October 8, 2013

Given his line of work in the employ of a psychotic Brooklyn crime boss, Trent finds himself on the wrong end of too many bullets. Yet each time he’s killed, he wakes a few minutes later completely healed of his wounds but with no memory of his past identity. What’s worse, each time he cheats death someone else dies in his place.

Sent to steal an antique box from some squatters in an abandoned warehouse near the West Side Highway, Trent soon finds himself stumbling into an age-old struggle between the forces of good and evil, revealing a secret world where dangerous magic turns people into inhuman monstrosities, where impossible creatures hide in plain sight, and where the line between the living and the dead is never quite clear. And when the mysterious box is opened, he discovers he has only twenty-four hours to save New York City from certain destruction.

 

 

 

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Lost Covenant – Ari Marmell

Published by Pyr

December 3, 2013

This third YA novel starring the young thief Widdershins combines the angst and vulnerability of any teenage girl with the high action of the best fantasy adventures.

It’s been six months since Widdershins and her own “personal god” Olgun fled the city of Davillon. During their travels, Widdershins unwittingly discovers that a noble house is preparing to move against the last surviving bastion of the Delacroix family.

Determined to help the distant relatives of her deceased adopted father, Alexandre Delacroix, she travels to a small town at the edge of the nation. There, she works at unraveling a plot involving this rival house and a local criminal organization, all while under intense suspicion from the very people she’s trying to rescue.

Along the way she’ll have to deal with a traitor inside the Delacroix family, a mad alchemist, and an infatuated young nobleman who won’t take no for an answer.

 

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The Diamond Deep – Brenda Cooper

Published by Pyr

October 8, 2013

What if a woman as strong and as complex as Eva Perón began her life as a robot repair assistant threatened by a powerful peacekeeping force that wants to take all she has from her?

The discovery ship, Creative Fire, is on its way home from a multi-generational journey. But home is nothing like the crew expected. They have been gone for generations, and the system they return to is home to technologies and riches beyond their wildest dreams. But they are immediately oppressed and relegated to the lowest status imaginable, barely able to interact with the technologies and people of the star station where they dock, the Diamond Deep.

Ruby Martin and her partner, Joel North, must find a way to learn what they need to know and to become more than they have ever been if they are to find a way to save their people.

 

 

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A Taste of Blood Wine – Freda Warrington

Published by Titan Books

October 8, 2013

1918. A First World War battlefield becomes the cosmic battleground for two vampires, as Karl von Wultendorf struggles to free himself from his domineering maker, Kristian.

1923. Charlotte Neville watches as her father, a Cambridge professor, fills Parkland Hall with guests for her sister Madeleine’s 18th birthday party. Among them is his handsome new research assistant Karl – the man Madeleine has instantly decided will be her husband. Charlotte, shy and retiring, is happy to devote her life to her father and her dull fiance Henry – until she sees Karl …

For Charlotte, it is the beginning of a deadly obsession that sunders her from her sisters, her father and even her dearest friend.  As their feverish passion grows, Karl faces the dilemma he fears the most.  Only by deserting Charlotte can his passion for her blood be conquered. Only by betraying her can he protect her from the terrifying attentions of Kristian – for Kristian has decided to teach Karl a lesson in power, by devouring Charlotte.

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Happy Hour in Hell – Tad Williams

Published by DAW

September 3, 2013

I’ve been told to go to Hell more times than I can count. But this time I’m actually going.

My name’s Bobby Dollar, sometimes known as Doloriel, and of course, Hell isn’t a great place for someone like me – I’m an angel. They don’t like my kind down there, not even the slightly fallen variety. But they have my girlfriend, who happens to be a beautiful demon named Casimira, Countess of Cold Hands. Why does an angel have a demon girlfriend? Well, certainly not because it helps my career.

She’s being held hostage by one of the nastiest, most powerful demons in all of the netherworld – Eligor, Grand Duke of Hell. He already hates me, and he’d like nothing better than to get his hands on me and rip my immortal soul right out of my borrowed but oh-so-mortal body.

But wait, it gets better! Not only do I have to sneak into Hell, make my way across thousands of miles of terror and suffering to reach Pandemonium, capital of the fiery depths, but then I have to steal Caz right out from under Eligor’s burning eyes and smuggle her out again, past demon soldiers, hellhounds, and all the murderous creatures imprisoned there for eternity. And even if I somehow manage to escape Hell, I’m also being stalked by an undead psychopath named Smyler who’s been following me for weeks. Oh, and did I mention that he can’t be killed?

So if I somehow survive Hell, elude the Grand Duke and all his hideous minions and make it back to the real world, I’ll still be the most hunted soul in Creation. But at least I’ll have Caz. Gotta have something to look forward to, right?

So just pour me that damn drink, will you? I’ve got somewhere to go.

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The Scroll of Years – Chris Wollrich

Published by Pyr

September 24, 2013

It’s Brent Weeks meets China Mieville in this wildly imaginative fantasy debut featuring high action, elegant writing, and sword and sorcery with a Chinese flare.

Persimmon Gaunt and Imago Bone are a romantic couple and partners in crime. Persimmon is a poet from a well-to-do family, who found herself looking for adventure, while Imago is a thief in his ninth decade who is double-cursed, and his body has not aged in nearly seventy years. Together, their services and wanderlust have taken them into places better left unseen, and against odds best not spoken about. Now, they find themselves looking to get away, to the edge of the world, with Persimmon pregnant with their child, and the most feared duo of assassins hot on their trail. However, all is never what it seems, and a sordid adventure-complete with magic scrolls, gangs of thieves, and dragons both eastern and western-is at hand.

 

 

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Vicious – Victoria Schwab

Published by Tor

September 24, 2013

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

—

The One-Eyed Man – L.E. Modesitt

Published by Tor

September 17, 2013

The colony world of Stittara is no ordinary planet. For the interstellar Unity of the Ceylesian Arm, Stittara is the primary source of anagathics: drugs that have more than doubled the human life span. But the ecological balance that makes anagathics possible on Stittara is fragile, and the Unity government has a vital interest in making sure the flow of longevity drugs remains uninterrupted, even if it means uprooting the human settlements.

Offered the job of assessing the ecological impact of the human presence on Stittara, freelance consultant Dr. Paulo Verano jumps at the chance to escape the ruin of his personal life. He gets far more than he bargained for: Stittara’s atmosphere is populated with skytubes—gigantic, mysterious airborne organisms that drift like clouds above the surface of the planet. Their exact nature has eluded humanity for centuries, but Verano believes his conclusions about Stittara may hinge on understanding the skytubes’ role in the planet’s ecology—if he survives the hurricane winds, distrustful settlers, and secret agendas that impede his investigation at every turn.

—

 

Tempt the Stars – Karen Chance

Published by Signet Select

October 1, 2013

(Note: I haven’t read this series, and this is the 7th book so…)

Being a goddess is a lot less fun than you might think. Especially when you’re only a half goddess, and you only found out about it recently, and you still don’t know what you’re doing half the time. And when you’ve just used your not-so-reliable powers to burglarize the booby-trapped office of a vampire mob boss.

Yeah, that part sucks.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Cassandra Palmer, aka the Pythia, the freshly minted chief seer of the supernatural world. After all, Cassie still has to save a friend from a fate worse than death, deal with an increasingly possessive master vampire, and prevent a party of her own acolytes from unleashing a storm of fury upon the world. Totally just your average day at the office, right?

 

 

—

 

Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl – David Barnett

Published by Tor

September 10, 2013

Nineteenth century London is the center of a vast British Empire. Airships ply the skies and Queen Victoria presides over three-quarters of the known world—including the East Coast of America, following the failed revolution of 1775.

London might as well be a world away from Sandsend, a tiny village on the Yorkshire coast. Gideon Smith dreams of the adventure promised him by the lurid tales of Captain Lucian Trigger, the Hero of the Empire, told in Gideon’s favorite “penny dreadful.” When Gideon’s father is lost at sea in highly mysterious circumstances Gideon is convinced that supernatural forces are at work. Deciding only Captain Lucian Trigger himself can aid him, Gideon sets off for London. On the way he rescues the mysterious mechanical girl Maria from a tumbledown house of shadows and iniquities. Together they make for London, where Gideon finally meets Captain Trigger.

But Trigger is little more than an aging fraud, providing cover for the covert activities of his lover, Dr. John Reed, a privateer and sometime agent of the British Crown. Looking for heroes but finding only frauds and crooks, it falls to Gideon to step up to the plate and attempt to save the day…but can a humble fisherman really become the true Hero of the Empire?

David Barnett’s Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl is a fantastical steampunk fable set against an alternate historical backdrop: the ultimate Victoriana/steampunk mash-up!

—

Two Serpents Rise – Max Gladstone

Published by Tor

October 29, 2013

The new novel set in the addictive and compelling fantasy world ofThree Parts Dead

Shadow demons plague the city reservoir, and Red King Consolidated has sent in Caleb Altemoc — casual gambler and professional risk manager — to cleanse the water for the sixteen million people of Dresediel Lex. At the scene of the crime, Caleb finds an alluring and clever cliff runner, crazy Mal, who easily outpaces him.

But Caleb has more than the demon infestation, Mal, or job security to worry about when he discovers that his father — the last priest of the old gods and leader of the True Quechal terrorists — has broken into his home and is wanted in connection to the attacks on the water supply.

From the beginning, Caleb and Mal are bound by lust, Craft, and chance, as both play a dangerous game where gods and people are pawns. They sleep on water, they dance in fire… and all the while the Twin Serpents slumbering beneath the earth are stirring, and they are hungry.

—

Fortune’s Pawn – Rachel Bach

Published by Orbit

November 5, 2013

Devi Morris isn’t your average mercenary. She has plans. Big ones. And a ton of ambition. It’s a combination that’s going to get her killed one day – but not just yet.

That is, until she just gets a job on a tiny trade ship with a nasty reputation for surprises. The Glorious Fool isn’t misnamed: it likes to get into trouble, so much so that one year of security work under its captain is equal to five years everywhere else. With odds like that, Devi knows she’s found the perfect way to get the jump on the next part of her Plan. But the Fool doesn’t give up its secrets without a fight, and one year on this ship might be more than even Devi can handle.

 

 

 

 

 

—

 

The Third Kingdom – Terry Goodkind

Published by Tor

August 22, 2013

From the internationally bestselling author of the Sword of Truth series, comes a new Richard and Kahlan novel, sequel to The Omen Machine.

The Richard and Kahlan series, beginning with The Omen Machine (which is also the 12th and final book of the Sword of Truth series) is a NEW series separate from Sword of Truth.

The bloodthirsty Jit is dead, and against all odds Richard and Kahlan have survived. But a new menace has attacked them in the Dark Lands. Infected with the essence of death itself, robbed of his power as a war wizard, Richard must race against time to uncover and stop the infernal conspiracy assembling itself behind the wall far to the north. His friends and allies are already captives of this fell combination, and Kahlan, also touched by death’s power, will die completely if

Richard fails.

Bereft of magic, Richard has only his sword, his wits, his capacity for insight – and an extraordinary companion, the young Samantha, a healer just coming into her powers.

Compelling, fast-moving, and intense, The Third Kingdom is a powerful tale that welcomes new readers to Terry Goodkind’s world, while opening up new vistas of worldbuilding for longtime readers of the adventures of Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell.

—

Kitty in the Underworld – Carrie Vaughn

Published by Tor

Published on July 30, 2013

(Note: This is another series I’ve never read and this is book 12 so…)

As Denver adjusts to a new master vampire, Kitty gets word of an intruder in the Denver werewolf pack’s territory, and she investigates the challenge to her authority. She follows the scent of the lycanthrope through the mountains where she is lured into a trap, tranquilized, and captured. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a defunct silver mine: the perfect cage for a werewolf. Her captors are a mysterious cult seeking to induct Kitty into their ranks in a ritual they hope will put an end to Dux Bellorum. Though skeptical of their power, even Kitty finds herself struggling to resist joining their cause. Whatever she decides, they expect Kitty to join them in their plot . . . willingly or otherwise.

 

 

 

 

—

 

Chimes at Midnight – Seanan McGuire

Published by DAW

September 3, 2013

(Read book, review pending)

Things are starting to look up for October “Toby” Daye. She’s training her squire, doing her job, and has finally allowed herself to grow closer to the local King of Cats. It seems like her life may finally be settling down…at least until dead changelings start appearing in the alleys of San Francisco, killed by an overdose of goblin fruit.

Toby’s efforts to take the problem to the Queen of the Mists are met with harsh reprisals, leaving her under sentence of exile from her home and everyone she loves. Now Toby must find a way to reverse the Queens decree, get the goblin fruit off the streets–and, oh, yes, save her own life, since more than a few of her problems have once again followed her home. And then there’s the question of the Queen herself, who seems increasingly unlikely to have a valid claim to the throne….

To find the answers, October and her friends will have to travel from the legendary Library of Stars into the hidden depths of the Kingdom of the Mists–and they’ll have to do it fast, because time is running out. In faerie, some fates are worse than death.

October Daye is about to find out what they are.

—

 

 

The Incrementalists – Steven Brust & Skyler White

About the Book

The Incrementalists—a secret society of two hundred people with an unbroken lineage reaching back forty thousand years. They cheat death, share lives and memories, and communicate with one another across nations, races, and time. They have an epic history, an almost magical memory, and a very modest mission: to make the world better, just a little bit at a time. Their ongoing argument about how to do this is older than most of their individual memories.

Phil, whose personality has stayed stable through more incarnations than anyone else’s, has loved Celeste—and argued with her—for most of the last four hundred years. But now Celeste, recently dead, embittered, and very unstable, has changed the rules—not incrementally, and not for the better. Now the heart of the group must gather in Las Vegas to save the Incrementalists, and maybe the world.

304 pages (hardcover)

Published on September 24, 2013

Published by Tor

Brust’s website

White’s website

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

—

I have tried to write this review no fewer than four times. Each time I get about three paragraphs into it, and hit the delete key. Not because this book is terrible, but because I honestly can’t figure out how to talk about it. The Incrementalists is so deliciously complex and layered that talking about it in any generic terms requires some mental gymnastics.

At a glance, The Incrementalists is a story about a secret society of do-gooders who reincarnate each life and take their memories and experiences into the new host, so as to continue their work. That, in and of itself, is unique enough to catch a lot of attention. However, The Incrementalists is incredibly deep and layered, playing with themes of reality, free will, and consciousness. It won’t take the reader long to realize that this isn’t a book you can just sit back and enjoy. It requires thought and understanding to fully grasp the plot and themes Brust and White are playing with.

The way the authors handle the narrative might be one point of success or failure depending on the reader’s taste. The Incrementalists is told in first person. Specifically, two different people tell the story in first person. There is Phil, who has been around a long time, and Ren, who is being converted into the group by Phil for various reasons of his own. Usually multiple first person perspectives kill a book for me, but Brust and White manage it well. The Incrementalists is dialogue heavy, and occasionally these two characters would be talking to each other, and it could get confusing to remember who exactly was relating the conversation to the reader.

Some of this book is confusing. There are a lot of conversational infodumps (which I found interesting depite their infodump nature), and because the topics are so in depth, there’s a lot of jargon thrown in that readers may or may not understand. Much of this, readers have to take on faith that they will understand what it at a later point in the book. Whether readers will understand everything perfectly or not is up in the air. After reading it, I feel like I understand most of what was happening and most of what the authors were alluding to, but I’m not completely sure. If that kind of thing bothers you, be warned. The Incrementalists  is slippery in that respect. It’s one of those books that might need to be read a few times to understand it all.

Phil and Ren are both perfect characters to narrate this story. Much like the book, they reveal their depth and layers as the story progresses. Each of them has a unique voice and their vast difference of experience gives readers a point to compare and contrast the happenings around them. Phil has been around a very long time, and Ren is a “convert” of sorts with no experience, who is learning as she goes. Ren’s newness and inexperience shows readers many of the flaws regarding the organization and subtly shows us how people can become numb and blinded to events happening around them despite their age and experience. Both of them, as well as those secondary characters along for the ride, have to learn about what is happening as it happens, which means readers do, too. Phil and Ren start out fairly typically. Ren is learning, Phil is teaching her. Then readers start to catch a whiff of ulterior motives, and then those motives slide into something much deeper, much like a domino effect. Once the ball starts rolling, it doesn’t stop.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating aspect of the book is how quickly Brust and White turn the concept of “good guys” on its head. No one in this book is good, and no one is really bad. They might wrap themselves in one term or another, but it becomes fascinatingly obvious that everyone operates on a sliding scale of those delicious morally gray hues that I love so much. The truth is, without Ren’s new and rather uninformed viewpoint, readers probably wouldn’t be as aware of the deeper themes in this book, or the moral gray area, or how Brust and White almost turn what the Incrementalists do into some sort of passive, subtle joke by the end of the book.

Aside from all of that, Brust and White are a powerhouse duo. The text flows smoothly. Their prose is often hauntingly beautiful and poetic, and filled with atmosphere. While this is a rather serious book that will make you work for it, the authors keep enough humor throughout to keep the serious, deeper notes from becoming too overwhelming. The Incrementalists is a gripping, keep-you-guessing, not-what-you-expect sort of read. It might be confusing. It is definitely deep and thought provoking. The first person perspectives might turn you off, but for those willing to put in a little effort, the payoff is extreme and wonderful. The Incrementalists takes a simple idea, like the domino effect, and blows it up. Readers will go on one hell of a ride in the process.

I want more.

 

4/5 stars

Goodreads Mixups: Public Service Announcement

Last night I was emailed by two different authors, one asking if I could please put my review of his book on Goodreads, and the other asking why I took his review down from Goodreads.

So, I did some digging, and discovered that there’s a little issue over on that site.

I religiously post the last paragraph of my reviews, and a link to the full review, as well as my star rating on Goodreads as soon as my reviews go live. When I got these emails, I looked into the issue and I realized that I have nearly 20 reviews (that I’ve discovered so far) missing. I know I put these reviews on Goodreads because I remember doing it, and I don’t remember much anymore (thank you, cancer treatment) so that means something.

Anyway, I asked the general Facebook and Twitter populous if anyone else had noticed something like this happening. So far I’ve been contacted by six people saying that they’ve noticed reviews missing that they had posted, or weird formatting issues. The interesting part of it is that it’s not just negative reviews missing. They span the gamut from high rated to low rated and anywhere inbetween. For this reason I think it was probably a system glitch rather than a Goodreads culling. I also don’t have any shelves missing, and I don’t think anyone else does, either.

The point of this is to say that if you are a reviewer that uses Goodreads, check your reviews and make sure none are missing/formatted weird. Maybe this only hit a few select people, but fixing it is a pain in the butt so I figure you guys should all check to make sure. Also, authors, please know that your missing reviews on Goodreads aren’t a personal slight. I vaguely noticed an issue last week, but it wasn’t until I was contact by authors that I really looked into it and realized there was a problem that needed fixing. I’m going through and fixing my reviews now, but there’s a lot gone. If you notice that I’ve reviewed your book on my site, and your review is missing on Goodreads, please let me know. It’s easier for you to inform me. Waiting for me to update it might take a while. I’m being as fast as I can, but there are a lot of problems on my Goodreads shelves, so it’s requiring a lot of digging, and digging takes time.

Thank you.

The Shambling Guide to New York City – Mur Lafferty

About the Book

A travel writer takes a job with a shady publishing company in New York, only to find that she must write a guide to the city – for the undead!

Because of the disaster that was her last job, Zoe is searching for a fresh start as a travel book editor in the tourist-centric New York City. After stumbling across a seemingly perfect position though, Zoe is blocked at every turn because of the one thing she can’t take off her resume — human.

Not to be put off by anything — especially not her blood drinking boss or death goddess coworker — Zoe delves deep into the monster world. But her job turns deadly when the careful balance between human and monsters starts to crumble — with Zoe right in the middle.

350 pages (paperback)

Published on May 28, 2013

Published by Orbit

Author’s webpage

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The Shambling Guide to New York City is a deceptively long name for such a short, quick read. In fact, it’s so long that I don’t want to type it throughout my review so I’m shortening it a bit. Heretofore this book will be known as Shambling. You have been warned.

Shambling is Lafferty’s first published novel, which hit shelves right before she won the Campbell award. This book tells the story of young Zoe, who moved to New York to start over after bad stuff happened with her old boss. She lands a job in publishing and then the adventures begin.

Zoe is an interesting protagonist. Much of urban fantasy involves female leads who start out as everywoman and then learn that they are the key to saving the world/super special/uber tough/whatever. Zoe never really takes that turn. She’s just your average jilted woman trying to move on. This makes her incredibly relatable and very down-to-earth throughout the book, something that Lafferty should be praised for.

Another aspect of Shambling that I absolutely loved was how this book never took itself too seriously. Lafferty keeps the humor strong throughout, and there’s a note of self-depreciation in Zoe, in regards to the fact that she really is a stranger in a strange world and she’s well aware that she’s incredibly ignorant, that kept everything humble, light, and fluffy. This is a brain-candy sort of read. It requires almost no thought, there’s not much depth. That’s not a negative, by the way. Sometimes you just need to sit back and feed your mind some lighter fare. I could tell that Lafferty had a lot of fun writing this book, and that sense of easygoing zeal automatically punches the reader. I loved the enthusiasm I felt throughout this book.

Lafferty fills Shambling with coterie (read: monsters). There are zombies, vampires, incubus, fairies, gods and goddesses, and more. In fact, you’ll run into more coterie in Shambling than you will run into plain ol’ humans. Lafferty also gets a bonus on the fact that all of her other-than-human characters are unique in one way or another. She doesn’t fall into the drop-dead-sexy vampire cliché that drives me absolutely insane. No, the vampire that is Zoe’s boss is slightly overweight, which humanizes him a bit. The incubus’ sexiness is dependent on how hungry he is. The goddess is followed by a flock of birds. The zombies have to eat brains, which they get from morgues throughout the city. These details might seem small to you, but they go a long way to making Shambling stick out in an exhausted, same-old-same-old genre.

That being said, Shambling did suffer from some leaps of logic that I just didn’t buy. For example, Zoe gets a job at a coterie publishing house, which made no sense to me seeing as how this is a publishing house geared toward an entire world she knows absolutely nothing about. She’s told over and over again that the job isn’t for her, but she demands an interview in conditions that would have me calling the cops, for no real reason than to damn the man. Then she lands the job, and almost too easily adjusts to this shadowed world she never knew anything about before.

There is a sex scene that felt incredibly contrived and made me feel almost like Lafferty was checking off items on a list of Things That Belong in Urban Fantasy Books. There’s a fight scene in an (sort of) abandoned building that had an incredibly convenient ending and also felt like it checked off a box on the list I just mentioned. Her next-door neighbor is really handsome, and conveniently convenient to the to-do that Zoe is in the center of. Furthermore, after many events take place, Zoe learns easy ways around them that would have stopped the problem from happening in the first place. Example: Don’t want to be effected by an incubus? Don’t look him in the eyes. Simple. If only Zoe could have learned that a chapter earlier.

Shambling is rather dialogue heavy, and I felt like a great deal of this book was infodumps in dialogue form. Zoe is getting schooled in her new world, and conversations are how she (and you, by default) gets her information. This works for Shambling. I’m not really sure how else Lafferty would educate the reader with Zoe’s world, but it does get rather tiresome. On the flip side, these discussions are also how you learn a lot of the details that I really loved about the book.

I believe Shambling is the first book in a series where Zoe will visit different cities and fun things will happen. I’m honestly rather torn about this. While it was a fun, witty, brain-candy sort of read, I found myself rather disappointed overall. Honestly, I loved Lafferty’s writing. I enjoyed the humor. I thought Zoe was an everywoman that was fun to read about even if there were some leaps of logic that just didn’t work for me. The plot was all popcorn and unicorn farts, and the characters varied in their levels of believability, but there are some truly creative details here that shine with Lafferty’s obvious skills. I just wish that she had deviated from the tried-and-true formulaic path a little more. Lafferty obviously has the capability to write a knock-your-socks-off book, and I have no doubt she could knock my socks off and keep me laughing the whole time (two things that rarely go together but Lafferty has the ability to master). I just feel like playing it safe overwhelmed much of her talent.

Don’t get me wrong. There is a time and a place for fluff books, and I enjoyed this for what it was. I just think Lafferty has the talent and ability to really wow me. She’s an author I’m watching. I will pay attention to this series. I am waiting, anxiously, to be absolutely wowed.

I know she’ll do it.

 

3/5 stars

Celebrating Female Authors

A sort of interesting thing has been happening to me recently. I’m going through a transformation. There’s this period when you are diagnosed with something like cancer (and then you learn you are *surprise* pregnant and can’t get the treatment you need, and then your back goes out leaving you basically paralyzed, and then you have a baby that was supposed to be mentally handicapped and/or supposed to die being born but is born normal and survives, and then you learn that, while you were pregnant, your cancer spread… and then you have three back surgeries) where you go through this mental adjustment. You adjust to being sick. My mind, for 2.5 years, had no room for anything but focusing on beating cancer, and getting to a point where I could walk normally again. For two-and-a-half years all I thought about was being sick, making sure my kid was healthy despite how sick I was, and learning to walk. That was it. I reviewed on here, but didn’t really do anything else, because I just mentally couldn’t. I could hardly handle my own life, much less running a website. I’m honestly shocked Bookworm Blues didn’t fall apart around me.

Now I’m cancer free, my two-year-old is healthy (despite everything set against her), and after three back surgeries, I can walk without pain again. The thing I’m learning is that there’s an adjustment to being chronically ill, and there’s an adjustment to being healthy again. For so long I had no room to mentally wrap my head around anything but the absolute basics that made life move forward. Reviewing was important because it got my mind off of me, but I couldn’t handle anything else. Now I’m healthy again, and suddenly I’m thinking about all this stuff that I didn’t have the emotional capacity to think of before. I didn’t run a blog with any commentary on it before, because I just couldn’t. When you are that sick and mortality is staring you in the face, you kind of get consumed. All of my energy was spent on not falling into that emotional pit that I was balanced on the edge of for so long. Now, even though my days are still 24 hours long, I feel like I have all this extra time, all this exciting room in my head to think about crap that doesn’t involve death, surgeries, or sickness. I don’t spend hours pondering the various “what ifs” in life that no one likes to think about. I’m starting to explore the ins and outs of various things more than I used to. This huge pressure has been lifted off of my shoulders. I feel kind of like this (only I’m not a dude):

ANYWAY, all of this is to say that I’m adjusting to being alive again. I mean, really, really alive. Due to all this extra room in my head, I’ll probably be running more commentary and various whatevers on good ol’ Bookworm Blues. I hope that doesn’t displease you. I am discovering that there’s a ton of aspects to SFF I never really thought about before, and I am having a lot of fun with it.

Which brings me to today’s post. 

Yesterday I was reading Ancillary Justice to my kid while she was falling asleep (I’m cool like that). I realized that I’m oddly fascinated in female authors because I so rarely seem to run across anything they write that isn’t specifically urban fantasy. Then, through the pointing out of others and my own introspection, I realized that I’m an idiot. There are a ton of female authors out there who write so many amazing things, I just never really think about it. If someone says, “What’s a great epic fantasy series?” I guarantee you I will point them to a series that is penned by a man. This isn’t because I’m anti-woman, I just tend to have some male-bias with the books I read. I’ll be completely honest with you here, when I want to read a gritty book, I tend to gravitate to men more than women. Ridiculous, right?

The truth is, that’s complete crap. A little while ago I read God’s War by Kameron Hurley. I absolutely loved this book so much so that I don’t think I can really review it. It wouldn’t be a review, it would be a foaming at the mouth, THIS BOOK IS AMAZING diatribe so I’ve just avoided doing it. One thing that Hurley has proven to me is that anyone who says, “Only men can write really good, gritty SFF” is full of crap. Anyone who says that obviously hasn’t read Hurley’s books. When I sit down and have an honest schizophrenic chat with myself, many of the best, most complex, twisted, keep-you-guessing, remember-forever, attach-themselves-to-my-soul books I’ve read, are penned by women.

The fact remains, when a person reads a book they should read it because it looks good. The author’s gender shouldn’t even come into the picture. People write. It’s not a skill that is gender specific, nor should it be. However, gender bias does exist and I think we all participate in it to one extent or another. Regarding SFF, my own gender bias rears its ugly head with the belief that men write more substantial books and women write more romantic ones. Total crap, but that total crap is evident in the type of titles I pick out and read.

I’m being honest here, so don’t throw stones at me, please.

When I really sat down to write this post, I realized that most of my absolute favorite, go-to books I’ve read are books women have written, so I’m not sure why I always seem to turn to books written by men when I want something complex, bloody, or political. The books I’ve listed here are on my top shelf. They are some of my all-time-favorites, and the authors are authors I pay very, very close attention to.

The goal of this post is to admit that I am a flawed person and to share some of my favorite, bar none, top-of-the-class authors. They all happen to be female authors. Why? Because women pump out some incredible books that are worth celebrating. I’m trying to keep this already long post shorter, so I’m focusing on science fiction, epic fantasy, and urban fantasy with my absolute favorite books/authors listed in each category.

Do you have any to add? 

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Science Fiction

God’s War – Kameron Hurley

Gritty and delicious, God’s War is a SciFi book that will make any lover of Abercrombie-type gore, darker themes, and far away worlds as happy as a cat in cream. The main character, Nyx, is rather morally ambiguous (something I love in my protagonists). God’s War is completely unfiltered. It’s complex, compelling, and bloody and moves at a fast pace that will leave you breathless when it’s over. It’s a must-read and a very promising start to a series I’m sure I will love.

 

 

 

 

 

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Ancillary Justice – Ann Leckie

I can’t say much about this one yet, because I’m not done with it, but I can already tell that Ancillary Justice is one of those SciFi books that will stick to me long after I finish it. It’s political, complex, and sprawling. The world(s) are well crafted. With just a few words, Leckie makes everything spring to life in such a vivid way. The main character, Breq, is absolutely captivating in the fact that she’s not what you expect, and her perception of what happen is tinted by that. Ancillary Justice is exactly what I want my SciFi to be. It’s equal parts social, political, tense, and sprawling with a protagonist that is absolutely engrossing.

This book is being published by Orbit on October 1, 2013 and I will post my full review once I finish reading it.

 

 

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A Soldier’s Duty – Jean Johnson

Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of this series, but it’s worth mentioning because Johnson does do some good things here. The protagonist, Ia, swears herself into the military for some unusual reasons. A Soldier’s Duty focuses primarily on her training (which was rather boring to me). Ia, however, is a strong female lead, and her training forces her to face some interesting hurdles which pushes her to save the day in the process. Yes, it is fairly standard for SciFi. There’s nothing really new here, but despite that, I find myself thinking of A Soldier’s Duty often because Johnson really wrote a realistic, believable, and educational version of military life set in a futuristic world with a strong female protagonist anyone could be proud of.

 

 

 

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Epic Fantasy

The Chronicles of Sirkara – Laura Resnick

This trilogy was released a while ago, but it’s very underrated and one of my absolute favorites which I’ve re-read a few times now. The Chronicles of Sirkara takes place on an island with waterlords, assassins, people who control fire, exotic well-crafted cultures and so much more. Sileria (the island) has been oppressed for a long, long time. The people maintain their identity despite it, but conquerors have come and gone. The island is going through a political shift. The people are tired of being oppressed, and this series follows their toils and struggles in that vein. There’s battles, blood, heart break, relationships, magic, and whatever else you need. Yes, there is a prophecy, which is a kind of exhausted trope in epic fantasy, but Resnick handles it well. This trilogy starts with the book pictured here. What I love most about this series is how intricately Resnick crafted her world. Sileria really comes to life, and by the time the series is over, I feel like I’ve lost part of myself in the process. That’s probably why I re-read it over and over again.

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Curse of the Mistwraith – Janny Wurrts

I’ve re-read this book twice now and I have yet to continue with the series. Not because it’s terrible. Acutally, it’s exactly the opposite. I’m just still catching up from the six months of health chaos earlier this year. Curse of the Mistwraith is the first book in one of the most epic of all epic fantasy’s I’ve ever read. This is one of those books that demands your full attention. It’s dense, complex, political, and full of twists and turns. Wurts’ has some of the most dense and descriptive prose I’ve ever read. Honestly, I cannot fathom why this series isn’t more well-known or popular. Curse of the Mistwraith competes with anything George R.R. Martin has ever written, and probably one-ups him quite a bit. Wurts is an epic fantasy powerhouse.

Epic fantasy fans: Why the hell haven’t you read this yet?

 

 

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N.K. Jemisin

I’m just going to put Jemisin’s picture here, because everything she writes is epic and it’s all wonderful. One thing I love about Jemisin’s writing is how she almost always has at least one perspective that is a strong female, and how she always, refreshingly, fills her work with a lot of minority characters that, in my humble opinion, aren’t used enough in SFF. Jemisin is a name anyone in SFF will know. Her writing is flowing and lyrical. Her worlds and cultures are well developed and finely crafted. She adds anything you’d want in your epic fantasy to her plots. Bonus, I believe she’s working on a SciFi series to be released next year. I can’t wait to see what this fantastic author can pump out for that genre.

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Kate Elliott 

Please. Do I really need to say more? Elliott is one of the most prolific female epic fantasy authors. She’s pumped out plenty of books that prove her epic fantasy prowess. Elliott is another author that almost always writes from a strong female perspective. Her books usually have a dash of romance in them, but that’s balanced well with all of her politics, adventures, and battles. One aspect of Elliott’s books that I absolutely love is how completely unafraid of exploring interpersonal growth she is. Her books run on two different levels. There’s the surface action, adventure, and tension. Underneath there’s always a strong theme of interpersonal development that adds a nice emotional zing to all of her books.

 

 

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Urban Fantasy

Of Blood and Honey – Stina Leicht

I am really, really fussy with urban fantasy. It’s a genre I either love or hate. I tend to approach it with care. Of Blood and Honey slayed me. It absolutely slayed me so much so that I actually wrote to the author and bought myself a Christmas present of her books autographed. I mean, I loved this book so much it hurts. Stina Leicht writes urban fantasy the way it was meant to be written. This duology is somewhat historical taking place in Northern Ireland during those intensely political, devastating battles that savaged that country. Leicht shows how those struggles absolutely devastated lives and families. You fall in love, and you lose, right along with Liam. Her research is impeccable. Her prose are absorbing. The fantasy is nicely and naturally woven into the real-world setting. Liam is… wow. Liam is one of those characters that never let me go. He firmly became part of me. Of Blood and Honey is one of those rare books that had me in tears. Stina Leict does it right. Read this book. Now.

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Miserere – Teresa Frohock

I read this book on the heals of Of Blood and Honey, and I probably wasn’t emotionally ready for the emotional havoc this fantastic book would heap on me. Both Leicht and Frohock are authors on the top of my Authors to Watch list, and neither of them write or publish books fast enough for my liking. Miserere is emotionally absorbing, well thought out, and perfectly paced. The world and politics are absolutely perfect. The story is full of tension. However, Frohock does some things that really set her above and apart from the rest. Her use of religion is fascinating, but never hits the reader over the head. This is probably one of the only books I’ve ever read that is so heavily focused on religion, but absolutely never felt preachy. Instead, it felt absolutely natural, like her use of religion should be there, instead of feeling like it was forced to be there. Next, most of her main characters are older and have some sort of disability. This was shockingly refreshing. No one is perfect, and Frohock plays to that. Furthermore, the disabilities her characters suffer from are absolutely realistic. Frohock knows how people compensate for their disadvantages and she also knows how strong disabled people are. This makes her characters incredibly relatable and realistic. Lastly, she’s one of the only authors who has been able to blend “our world” and an alternative world completely seamlessly. There is so much more that I could say about Frohock, but I’m trying to keep this post shorter than a novel, so I’ll leave it there. Read this book.

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Elfland – Freda Warrington

This series of books has some of the most stunning cover art I’ve ever seen. Each cover is exactly like a beautiful painting. The kind I’d want to look at every day. Each book is exactly like that. It’s sort of disorienting, sort of captivating, very emotionally absorbing, and full of fantasy. Warrington’s writing is the kind of writing that lets stories just unfold around the reader without any effort on the reader’s part. Her books are full of layers, and the fantasy is the perfect addition to her books. I started out thinking Elfland would be a typical coming-of-age book, but it’s really so much more than that. I absolutely fell in love with Warrington’s writing, and the realistic emotional struggles her characters face. Her books are comprised of perfectly balanced tension and endearing emotional struggles. Perhaps what I loved most about Elfland was how incredibly realistic her fantasy elements are, and how I so desperately wished that the world of Elfland was the world I lived in. Warrington is an enchanting author, and her books are artwork.

Cover Art Differences: Vicious – V.E. Schwab

I warned you guys earlier this week, I’m really, really into cover art. You guys wanted me to post more cover art, so here I am.

These two covers for the same book were pointed out to me on Twitter. A few things caught my attention right away. First, I usually like UK covers more than US covers. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because people in England drink more tea, and that inspires their covers. Whatever the case, I like the US cover more for this book. Weird, but true.

Secondly, and perhaps the most important, these two covers have such different tones it’s staggering.

U.S. Cover:

U.K. Cover:

 

The U.S. cover makes me think of a more mysterious, sprawling sort of epic involving big cities, power trips, and moral ambiguity. The U.K. cover makes me think that the book with be a fast noir thriller much like the other noir thrillers I’ve read in the past. Maybe I’m the only one that feels that way, but it’s rare that I see U.S./U.K. covers for the same book that make me feel and think of each book so absolutely differently.

Regardless, I started reading this as soon as the I opened the package.

So, what do you think? Am I completely out of touch with reality regarding these two covers? 

Which cover is more reflective of the work as a whole? I don’t know. I’ll inform you as soon as I finish it.

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About the Book

Published by Tor

Victor and Eli, due to a research project gone wrong, become ExtraOrdinaries with supernatural powers. Ten years later Victor escapes from prison,determined to get his revenge on the man who put him there, while Eli has spent the years hunting down and killing other EOs. Driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the arch-nemeses have set a course for revenge…

It all starts with an idea…

My husband once told me that the thing he loves about me is I get these ideas that I won’t let go of until I do something about it, usually right away. That’s why I’ve paid to put girls through school in countries where girls don’t go through school, helped run a charity that helps women in Uganda live stable lives, run a huge fund drive to put books in schools in a ton of undeveloped nations in Africa….

I’m that kind of person. I get these ideas, and they won’t let go until I do something about it.

Perhaps I’m premature with this, but I’m a believer that, if I have a way to reach out to people and get the most information possible while putting forward the least amount of effort (I’m lazy, and I have a two-year-old), then I’ll do it.

Every year I run a series called Special Needs in Strange Worlds, which I am moving over to SF Signal to run on a bi-weekly basis. I do this because disability in SFF has nearly no voice, and gets absolutely no attention. It’s such an important topic that touches so many people so profoundly that running this column and series is one of the most important things I do.

Earlier today I was doing research on an article I’m writing about short stories, their market and whatever else, also because that’s an aspect of publishing I know nothing about, and that never gets talked about.

That’s how I roll.

Anyway, doing this research, and preparing to launch my SF Signal column, gave me this idea:

Why doesn’t someone put together an anthology celebrating disabilities in the genre? And why doesn’t someone donate 100% of the money to an applicable charity? 

I put that on Twitter, and the internet exploded on me (in a good way). I’m honestly SHOCKED by the HUGE level of excitement that I saw within five minutes of posting my question. I mean, wow. You people are hungry for an anthology like this, and that makes me feel really warm and fuzzy inside.

So, I saw all these comments and I graduated from, “why doesn’t someone” to “Why don’t I put together an anthology…”

The problem? I’ve helped edit exactly one anthology, and I wasn’t the person who got the stories or pitched the anthology to authors, so I have no idea what I’m doing, but I am more determined to do this than I’ve been about anything since I beat cancer and delivered a healthy baby despite all my life chaos.

This IS going to happen. Right now I’m doing massive amounts of research, and emailing people that have been suggested to me as Founts of Wisdom I can tap into.

What I’m asking from you is more tips, suggestions, various wisdoms you can give me before I really, really launch this thing. This anthology was literally thought of about an hour ago and so this post is very, very early, but I’d be a fool not to tap into the network this blog has created for me. Please, please tell me who to contact, what sites I should look at, anything else I should know that I am not thinking of (which is a lot).

And thank you so much for the gigantic swell of support I got about this idea. I’m so damn excited I can hardly stand myself.