K.N. Salustro's Blog, page 8

Thoughts on “In the Vanisher’s Palace”

[image error]I don’t know that I can finish this one.

The prose is nice, but that’s all that this one really has going for me. I find myself bored by the lack of plot, and as much as I love dragons, I can say for certain that I have never been sexually attracted to one. So that’s strike one for the romance here.

Strike two is that Vu Con’s touch is continuously described as cold, slimy, and wet. Three things that, historically speaking, have failed to turn on the vast majority of women in the world. Okay,...

Review – The Library at Mount Char

[image error]This was an interesting read, full of weird myths and magic, all coated in violence and a dwindling sense of humanity. I liked it far more than I expected to.

The book mainly follows Carolyn, who survived a catastrophe along with a dozen other children. They were taken in by the mysterious and terrifying man that they all come to call Father, but he is far from it. Training the kids as future Librarians, each with their own strict area of study, this man teaches them strange and wonderful thi...

Review – Chimes at Midnight

[image error]The only problem with the Toby Daye series is that I get so into the books, I burn through them and then am sad when the current read is done. I continue to be enamored with this series for a number of reasons, and love following October as she learns more about herself and her powers and heritage, along with that of her allies and enemies. There were quite a few big reveals in this one, all of which promise big things further down the line. I can’t wait to see them unfold.

But for this book...

Some Cool Stuff This Week!

I guess the title pretty much negates a need for a first sentence, which leads to this awkward opening to the post where I try to figure out how best to follow that and you sit there wondering what the heck I’m doing as I keep typing words that have nothing to do with the cool things.

So.

Let’s just get right into it!

First off, I found out yesterday morning that Light Runner was given an Honorable Mention in the Global Ebook Awards for the Science Fiction category. Pretty sweet! Now I get to...

Review – Wildcard

[image error]Returning to the futuristic, digital world of Warcross was a lot of fun, and yet, there was something missing in this book. Maybe it was the fact that there are way less virtual games played here, and far more character twists and intrigue. That’s not a bad thing, it just wasn’t quite what I was hoping for.

There were a couple of twists in this book that I did not see coming, and I thought that they were very well done. But there were some things about the world that bothered me. For instance...

Review – The Queen of Attolia

[image error]I got this book before I read The Thief. I believe it was on sale and I bought it without realizing that it was a sequel, which is what prompted me to buy and read the first one. That said, I think the first book was better, and I didn’t feel particularly motivated to continue with the series after reading it. But this had been sitting on my Kindle for a while, so I figured it was time to give it a shot.

The book opens pretty well, with an escape scene and then a very harsh punishment for Gen...

Review – The Ocean at the End of the Lane

[image error]I enjoyed this book immensely. Historically, I haven’t really loved Neil Gaiman’s adult novels, but this one was awesome. Eerie, unnerving, and chock full of magic and monsters without sacrificing a balance with the real world, this book is captivating and extremely well done.

The majority of the story is told through the lens of an adult man remembering the supernatural girl and her family and events that shaped a pivotal moment of his childhood, and all the things that he’d forgotten until...

Review – Obscura

[image error]5 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 in my mind

This is a science fiction thriller that pacts a hell of a punch. With a main character who is brilliant, driven, and showcases why you don’t come between mother bears and their cubs, this book is suspenseful and captivating.

Following Dr. Gillian Ryan as she struggles to find a cure for the new form of dementia that is eating away at her young daughter’s mind, Gillian agrees to go on a top-secret mission for NASA when several members of a research crew sta...

Review – Empire of Sand

[image error]4 stars on goodreads, 3.5 in my mind

This is a well written book with fascinating magic rooted in Hindu folklore and an empire based on the Mogul empire. It has a strong cast of characters and a slow burning romance, and showcases a female lead with strengths that lie in areas other than kicking butt.

But it is so, so slow.

It’s pretty awesome to see a book about South Asian culture, and there are a lot of good aspects about this one. There’s some political intrigue alongside explorations of...

Thoughts on Fall of Sky City

[image error]Did not finish, 16%

I was ready to love this book. The blurb sounded cool, I loved the idea of the magic Marks that came to people, and the setting held promise. Unfortunately, it became clear almost immediately that I wasn’t going to be a fan of the execution of the writing itself.

A lot of thought went into this world, which from what I can figure, is a water-heavy planet in a binary star system. Steampunk tech rules, and there are flying airships and science, science everywhere. But all th...