Fantasy, Mystery

Gilman, Laura Anne: Staying Dead (The Retrievers I) (2006)

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Before starting in on a review of the PSI books, I felt the need to revisit the Retriever‘s series’ Staying Dead. Too many books have come between the last time I read it and now. That, and Bonnie, the main character of PSI, has a walk-on in one of the Retriever books.

Staying Dead is a mystery with a dash of current (magic) added in. Well, a lot of current, but it remains mainly a mystery that just happens to be placed in an urban fantasy environment. Theft method is by current and the retriever of that object is also gifted by the ability to use current (electricity both wild and tamed). Lightning is an example of wild current. Tamed is hopefully self-explanatory.

Our main character is Genvieve Taylor. Next in importance is her partner, Sergei Didier. Sergei and Wren “retrieve” lost items. Retrieve is used in its loosest sense in their business. I kind of like it when the a thief is set to catch a thief who has hired a thief to steal from a thief. Maybe this is one crime where there is only one victim – the original one. Or maybe not.

Staying Dead is also very much about racism. Village Pest Removal services ask people to “Let us remove infestations and unwanted visitations”. Wren soon understands that they are talking about removing the fatae from New York. Fantasy and science fiction seem to have become the venue where serious discussions about the impact of racism and all the various forms of bigotry occur. Perhaps that has to do with the opportunity the authors have to create a landscape of humans vs. non-humans.

Our world is filled with racism. Norway is no exception to that. I doubt any country is devoid of it. Here pink in various hues is the majority color. Practically any tone of brown stands out. I admit to be racist. I am also a bigot. Neither fact makes me proud and I do try to keep my mouth shut about some the thoughts that appear in my head. But I have been raised in a faith and several societies that have shared racism as part of their underlying principles (only an explanation – not an excuse). Sergei is that kind of racist. He really tries to control what he says, but he does not trust the otherness of the fatae. Like humans some of the fatae are mean and some of them are kind. Sergei did not understand that until Wren knocked some sense into his head. I needed to understand group processes and exactly what was meant by the term racism and find a way to relate it to myself. Sergei gets to do that as one after the other of the fatae is beaten to a bloody pulp for no other reason than being fatae. Life is like that. Every once in a while something or some person comes along that lets us see people in a new light.

Many books have come between reading Staying Dead for the first time and this time. I am still definitely recommending it.

Reviews:

Staying Dead available on Scribd.com

Race ya.

Poetry, Reblogged

A WRITER’S CHRISTMAS CAROL

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Wonderful description of the addiction of writing.

Gifford MacShane's avatarGifford MacShane, Author

Please Say Goodnight by Gifford MacShane
Sung to the tune of “All Through the Night”

Midnight now, my head is hanging,
Time to say goodnight.
Voices in my head, stop clanging,
It’s time to say goodnight.
I know there are chapters waiting,
Characters anticipating.
I don’t need your conversating,
Please say goodnight.

Heroes have good deeds to do,
But please say goodnight.
Villains will do evil, too,
But please say goodnight.
Demoiselle is left in peril,
Terrified of all things feral,
I don’t really mean to querul,
But please say goodnight.

Night is gone, the dawn is breaking,
PLEASE say goodnight.
My eyes are fried, my hands are shaking,
PLEASE say goodnight.
If I don’t sleep I will perish,
And your story none will cherish.
Voices, please, it may sound churlish
But PLEASE SAY GOODNIGHT!!!

Not familiar with this Welsh carol? Here’s the Kingston Trio’s version of the original. Obviously…

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Adventure, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Wells, Martha: The Ships of Air (The Fall of Ile-Rien II) (2004)

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http://amandine.labarre.free.fr/vaisseauxduciel.jpg

Martha Wells brings back the three worlds caught up in the invasion of Ile-Rien.

For some reason there are readers out there who have decided that The Fall of the Ile-Rien is a fantasy work. The first story, The Wizard Hunters, has plenty of elements of fantasy in it, so that would be a natural conclusion to draw about that. That is until you get to the parallel world and strange technologies that turn up. In The Ships of Air the science fiction element is even stronger. My annoyance comes from the way women authors are so casually relegated categories that simply do not fit.

There, rant over.

Tremaine is a great main character. In spite of Ander’s misogynism, she manages to get people to follow her. Perhaps this is due to her quick thinking, diplomacy and ability to cut through objections when need be. Her childhood training by her father and uncle is clearly an asset in the treacherous landscapes of worlds and people that she finds herself in.

Ander, on the other hand, still needs to have his testicles removed. He never quite seems to grasp just how different the Syprian society is to the one of Ile-Rien and the power women have in Sypria. He really needs to be a bit more careful about what he says around Tremaine. The men surrounding her would probably just nod approvingly if Tremaine got her scissors out.

We get to meet representatives of the Gardier community. The “top dog” there seems to be a soldier of some sort. The Gardier are an interesting people. All of them seem to be terrified of the evil Ile-Rien and dismissive of the animal-like Syprians. Their beliefs about their own superiority  mirrors much of what we see in the real world on a regular basis. Hell, 6 million Jews got killed for being “animals”.

Fear is a powerful tool to get your citizenship in line. We see the US using this tool all the time these days, and it seems to be working. Even here in Norway the government has started using the same type of fear-propaganda. The Gardier leader’s socialisation shows in the way she interacts with the Syprians and the Ile-Rien. Just because she is a Gardier leader does not mean that she sees other Gardiaer’s as equal to herself. Oh, no. Nor do the people in either Ile-Rien or Sypria. That is how the world works. It seems humans have this need to belong to a “we” group that feels far superior to the “them” group where the rest of the world is lumped.

I really enjoy the questions raised in this trilogy and the action I get to enjoy. Sadly, I have to admit to enjoying well-written fight scenes. Yes, that probably makes me a violent creature, but there you are. Martha Wells knows how to make her worlds of the possible and impossible come alive for this reader.

Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

The Ships of Air available at Barnes and Noble, Powell’s, Mysterious Galaxy, Books-a-Million, Book Depository.com, Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon.ca, IndieBound, Tantor Audio, French: Polish: Łowcy czarnoksiężników

My review of The Wizard Hunters

I know I got my shovel, where’s yours?

N.K. Jeminims GoH speech

Science Fiction’s invisible authors

Fantasy

Hostile radar equipment (1995)

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Tornado - for joke about speeding ticket

Top this for a speeding ticket…

Two British traffic patrol officers from North Berwick were involved in an unusual incident, while checking for speeding motorists on the A-1.

One of the officers (who are not named) used a hand-held radar device to check the speed of a vehicle approaching over the crest of a hill, and was surprised when the speed was recorded at over 300 mph. The machine then stopped working and the officers were not able to reset it.

The radar had in fact locked onto a NATO Tornado fighter jet over the North Sea, which was engaged in a low-flying exercise over the Border district.

Back at police headquarters the chief constable fired off a stiff complaint to the RAF Liaison office.

Back came the reply in true laconic RAF style:

“Thank you for your message, which allows us to complete the file on this incident. You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Tornado had automatically locked onto your ‘hostile radar equipment’ and sent a jamming signal back to it. Furthermore, the Sidewinder Air-to-ground missiles aboard the fully armed aircraft had also locked on to the target. Fortunately the Dutch pilot flying the Tornado responded to the missile status alert intelligently and was able to override the automatic protection system before the missile was launched”.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/radar.asp

Fantasy, Short story/novella

Marlowe, Scott: Killing the Dead (A Tale of the Assassin Without a Name II) (2010)

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Killing the Dead - Scott Marlowe

So, how does an assassin go about killing a ghost? Scott Marlowe has certainly thrown his assassin a seemingly impossible job. Getting rid of a necromancer, who was supposed to be dead, is a task fraught with danger for our unnamed hero.

Killing the Dead is an action story with a happy feeling to it. Yes, there is fighting and death and necromancy, but Killing the Dead stays far away from being a dark fantasy. Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

Killing the Dead available at Scott Marlowe’s website

Fantasy, Short story/novella

Marlowe, Scott: Fine Wine (A Tale of the Assassin Without a Name #1) (2010)

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Fine Wine - Scott Marlowe

Never underestimate the power of the right sort of alcohol. Especially if your life is on the line. Abelard discovers the importance of a well-stocked wine-cellar during his dinner with the person who apparently is going to be his assassin.

Scott Marlowe has written a funny and fun short-story.

Reviews:

Fine Wine available on Amazon US

Science Fiction

Johnson, Jean: Hardship (Theirs Not to Reason Why IV) (2014)

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Cover art by Gene Mollica: http://genemollica.com/gallery03/

I wonder if true precognitives exist? There are certainly plenty of frauds out there, who in spite of generally being wrong have their followers. Ia lives in a world where paranormal powers of varying degrees is a fairly normal matter. Paranormal powers seem to be part of most of the species in Jean Johnson’s Theirs Not to Reason Why. When it comes to precognition Ia is strong enough be called “The Prophet of a Thousand Years”. Her predictions thus far have never missed their mark. What she has seen of the future frightens her because she wants life in the universe to survive.

Fighting for the survival of others or fighting to fulfill the political goals of others seems to be a soldier’s lot. This is a way of thinking that is foreign to me. I tend to think that humans need extinction. While some political systems seem saner than others, the politicians within those systems can get too caught up in games. Some of these so-called games cost young men and women their lives as soldiers fighting for what may or may not be healthy for people.

Ia’s precognition has saved the lives of many of the soldiers and non-combatants on her side. Fewer people have died than might have. If I were an officer, that would certainly be my main goal – to keep as many as possible alive while still managing to do the job that needs to be done. Losing that ability for a while – the long-term precognition – blinds Ia in a way that losing her left eye does not. Her team are so used to having solid information that they too are strongly affected by her loss. But needing to live without being able to depend on her foresight teaches Ia more about the quality of needing to lead through trust. I would find that one of the most difficult parts of being a leader, needing to trust my subordinates to do the job properly. But I imagine leaders learn a lot about themselves through such a process.

In the world of Theirs is Not to Reason Why there are quite a few political players. Not all of them are human. Some of these players are the Feyori. Ia is half Feyori and half human. In Hellfire Ia had her first manifestation as Feyori (she describes them as energy-based beings manifesting themselves as something like large soap-bubbles). That soap-bubble image is very much in my mind right now when I think about Ia’s meeting with the other Feyori in Hardship.

Hardship was a great addition to the serial about Ia. So many of the authors that I read are captivating writers who give me loads of action and imagination. Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

Hardship available at Amazon US

My review of:

  1. A Soldier’s Duty
  2. An Officer’s Duty
  3. Hellfire

Aftermath of war (PTSD)

President of US apologises in 2012

Fantasy

Pettersson, Vicky: The Scent of Shadows (The Sign of the Zodiac I) (2007)

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http://www.deviantart.com/art/SAGITTARIUS-86125684

Superheroes and comic books in novel format are challenging for me to read. Needing to suspend logic altogether places me well outside my comfort zone. Every once in a while I choose to expose myself to the genre. The Scent of Shadows is one such novel.

Joanna Archer is born in the sign of the Archer. The Archer ends up being her secret identity, one that her enemies cannot pierce. Her metamorphosis into The Archer also brings about another metamorphosis, caused by the death of her sister and Joanne’s surprising survival.

She now discovers a world where healing happens at extraordinary tempos, and where death is difficult to achieve, the latter being a bonus for yourself but a minus when your enemies are just as difficult to kill.

I found the characters in Master Comics fascinating. Strangely enough, Master Comics is where Joanna finds her answers as to who and what she is. Not from her so-called allies, the Agents of Light. But then it might be difficult to trust someone who represents both our sides with information that could make them stronger. In fact, I think I liked the people frequenting Master Comics more than the rest of the characters of Scent of Shadows.

Ms. Pettersson’s writing is what drew me in. That and some really fun action scenes. One of those is gory, but does represent a need for vengeance that some (if not most) of us probably feel at one time or another.

Reviews:

The Scent of Shadows available on Scribd

Autism / Aspergers

Yes – Asperger’s may present differently in women – but…

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seventhvoice's avatarSeventh Voice

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I’m still not sure what to make of this notion (now being presented to us as an absolute fact), that women with Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome are being diagnosed less frequently, due to their apparently inherent ability to ‘mask’ their symptoms by ‘mimicking’ those around them.

There are just too many assumptions hidden within this concept that have not been deeply analyzed enough for my liking.

It almost seems like once again, we as women, are being told to turn a blind eye to any and all personal experiences that do not match up succinctly to the now, almost biblical accounts being written by psychologists, as to how women with Autism should present.

Accounts that not only seek to define our presentation, but come complete with a rationale as to why our supposedly ‘hard to spot’ tendencies have, for so long been so tricky, that it’s entirely understandable, and therefore forgivable, that…

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Fantasy, Young Adult

Klasky, Mindy L.: The Glasswrights’ Apprentice (Glasswrights I) (2000)

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http://vandersteltstudio.com/other.htm

“Mind your caste”, Rani is told several times both by people who wish her well and those who do not. But what is your caste when you family is killed along with most of the guild you were apprenticed to and you, yourself, are wanted for a murder you did not commit? Add to that being thirteen.

Being a thirteen year old girl in a medieval society was different to being a thirteen year old girl in a lot of countries today. One’s place in society was ensured from birth and one did not step outside of that area. Rani’s place is more fluid due to the circumstances of her life. Needing to hide enables her to cross caste-lines that she might not otherwise.  Some of those lines include what the different castes think of as “good” and “bad”. It turns out that if you are a member of the Soldier caste your idea of what may or may not be done can be quite different to what the Touched caste thinks (not to mention the Brotherhood).

So! How does a girl know what to do? She doesn’t. To begin with her choices have to do with her brother. Later on her focus changes. Knowledge is part of that change. But there is also the matter of Rani having grown up in a religious and political system that encourages certain types of behavior.

Mindy L. Klasky‘s writing style was fascinating. It was as if the words snaked in and out of themselves. To me the intended audience seems to be Young Adults. There is violence, death, mystery, adventure and family choices. I liked it.

Reviews:

The Glasswright’s Apprentice available at Audible, Barnes & Noble

German: Die Lehrjahre der Glasmalerin

Central American class structures

Feudal system Middle Ages Europe

Indian caste system

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Wells, Martha: The Cloud Roads (The Raksura I) (2011)

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Artist: Matthew Stewart
Artist: Ivie Moon
http://www.mattstewartartblog.blogspot.no/2010/10/cloud-roads.html
http://www.deviantart.com/#/art/The-Fell-320466701?hf=1
Artist: Jessica Peffer

Moon is an orphan. A 35-year-old orphan, but nevertheless. Orphans are one type of people this world has in abundance. How strange it is that we are so eager to bring children of our own genes into this world while so many live in horrendous circumstances. We humans aren’t very logical.

Finding your place in the world when you look and act different to the majority seems impossible for a child to do. Like most homeless orphans, Moon goes through some pretty traumatic experiences. Sometimes he thinks he has found his place. Then it turns out the people he lived with were only looking for cheap labor. When such labor was finished, he was tossed out. What would that do to a person? In my case, I would most likely die due to some of my autistic traits. Moon, survives any way he can.

We meet him right after the last group of people he was living with chains him up as bait for a predator. Shapeshifters that might be taken for the group of people called Fell aren’t very popular in Three Worlds.

Since this is fiction, Moon is saved just in the nick of time. When Moon discovers that the person who just saved him is like him he is stunned, angry, suspicious and afraid. Here he thought he was either a monster or all alone in the world. Then he is not. What would that do to a person?

What happens now is that Moon ends up in a society where people are like him. Except they aren’t. After all, Moon has seen a life they could not dream of. Yet again he does not fit into the mold set apart for him. But I think Wells has portrayed him perfectly. Of course, he isn’t thankful for the role these new people want him to play. Why should he be. They weren’t there when he was abused and battered. Instead, they were all learning how to fit into their society and to adhere to the rules created for each class of person. Someone who has had to make on his own isn’t going to be able to play such games. In this inability I recognize myself. But such an inability is bound to create conflict.

Add to that the Fell and Wells has created a world fraught with danger, adventure and plenty of action. Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

The Cloud Roads available at Barnes and Noble, Chapters Indigo, Amazon US, Powell’s, Mysterious Galaxy, The Tattered Cover, Books-a-Million, Book Depository.com, Waterstones UK, Book Depository.uk, Amazon UK, Whitcoulls NZ,  IndieBound, Abe Books. Baen Webscription, Audible.com, Audible UK, iTunes

Thriller, Young Adult

Stewart, Michael F.: Assured Destruction (2013)

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Assured Destruction - Michael F. Stewart
Cover illustration by Don Dimanlig: Loved this cover

I believe the title Assured Destruction could be used to describe several factors in this story about Janus and her current life. One, of course, is the firm Assured Destruction. It seems the employees there are having trouble destroying what ought to be destroyed. It is interesting to see how people trust the honesty of others to such a great extent. I’m guessing the level of reliability in the real world is pretty much as described in Assured Destruction.

Jan’s mother is on the road to assured destruction. We all die and could die at any time. But the path MS takes a person on is one of systematic destruction of one part after the other until the body is completely destroyed. Having to deal with her mother’s illness could take Jan on her own road to assured destruction as her Shadow-Net begins to affect real life people.

Finally, we have the Shadow-Net and its assured destruction. Shadow-Net and the personalities it comprises has made up the people Jan considers her close friends. These imaginary friends have helped her through a terrible phase in her life where more and more responsibility has been dumped on her. Her imaginary friends help Jan interpret the world around her.

Like the rest of us Jan sees the people around her through faulty eyes. Turns out people aren’t what she thinks they are, and as that realization hits her harder and harder, Jan gets the opportunity to change her perspective. And she does. That is the cool thing about Jan. She manages to turn around the way she sees others, to somehow overcome her prejudices and move on to changes in her relationships.

Assured Destruction is a great action/thriller/mystery. I find Stewart’s writing fun and engaging. His characters are loveable. I am going to read the rest of this series. Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

Assured Destruction available at Amazon US

Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Wells, Martha: The Wizard Hunters (The Fall of Ile-Rien I) (2003)

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Łowcy czarnoksiężników (Polish title); translated by Sylwia Twardo
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/64/08/74/6408745e4ac6e10f0e7a01c019741cda.jpg
http://amandine.labarre.free.fr/chasseurssorciers.jpg

A female protagonist looking to die in what seems to be an accidental manner is a relief to meet. Wanting to die is something I experience on a regular basis so I find it nice to know that there are people in literature who feel the same way. Her death-wish is why Tremaine joins the clean-up crews after bombings and why she joins Gerard when he asks her to bring her uncle’s sphere along. Tremaine Valiarde is a woman with an unusual life up to now and it is about to enter the realm of the unexpected. She has two qualities that I really like. One is her ability to make difficult decisions quickly without needing to question her choices. The other is her ability to integrate others in her life as a matter of course. Actually, there are three qualities I really appreciate. The third is Tremaine’s ability to remain fairly clear-/ and level-headed in a crisis. When she, Florian and Gerard end up on an island in the middle of the ocean those qualities will become essential to survival.

Ilias and Giliead see it as their mission in life to hunt wizards. Their experience with wizards thus far in life has been that all wizards are  insane. In Sypria being a sorcerer, wizard or even the victim of one gets you either shunned or killed. Ilias and Giliead are about to get their views challenged.

Prejudice is an interesting quality. All of our fear-attitudes are. There must be people out there who do not struggle with prejudices, but I have not met any of them yet. We get to see different types of prejudices in the people from Ile-Rien and the people from Sypria, but at heart all of their prejudices are the same. This is where Tremaine’s ability to integrate others into her life becomes especially important.

Meetings between two fairly different cultures are bound to be troublesome. But the need to fight a common enemy enables people to overcome some of the fear and cooperate. Gardier provides the role of a common enemy through their invasions of both Ile-Rien and Sypria. When survival depends upon the parties cooperating logic states that they cooperate. But reality both here in the real world and in the world of The Wizard Hunters shows that people aren’t always logical.

The Wizard Hunters is my first meeting with Martha Wells. I have had a lot of first meetings with authors over the years and not all have been as successful as this one. Definitely recommended.

P.s.: Ander needs to have his testicles cut off.

Reviews:

The Wizard Hunters available at Barnes and Noble, Edge Books, Powell’s, Mysterious Galaxy, Books-a-Million, Amazon, Amazon UK, Tantor Audio, iTunes

French: Amazon.fr
German: Trade Paperback

Fantasy

Is life easier for Autistic Women than it is for Autistic Men?

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I know I have reblogged a lot of autism stuff lately, but it is such a relief to finally find words that could be mine.

Science Fiction

Farrugia, Nathan M.: The Phoenix Variant (The Fifth Column III) (2014)

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The Phoenix Variant - Nathan M Farrugia

I like authors that make me curious about the background of their stories. The first thing about The Phonix Variant that set me off was Denton’s trip to Ekne, Norway. Shame on me for not knowing my own country’s history well enough. I had to look the place up. Now I kind of know where Ekne is and I also know that there was indeed a prison camp located there. That is another thing I like in authors – that they do their home-work.

Denton is a fascinating character. Amorality is a state that at times seems enviable and at others horrifying. Not liking Denton is at times impossible because he is so enthusiastic about his projects. Even when he goes against Sophia’s team, he does it with such pleasure and glee that I am unable to dislike him. A well-written antagonist is what he is.

Sophia still struggles with the results of her actions. But at the beginning of the story she goes through a cathartic episode with Aviary. What names people give their children, especially in the US. Aviary cracks her way into Fifth Column’s ones and zeros like nerd she is. Because Aviary is not an operative Sophia and her team underestimate her ability to help. Tsk, tsk. They should know better by now. But they learn to appreciate Aviary for her abilities rather than excluding her from helping due to what she lacks.

The gang needs to keep Denton from getting all three of the Phoenix Variants, and boy are they going to have to work for it. Hurricane Isaac adds to the vectors they need to factor into their battle. For battle it is. As with the previous two installments of the Fifth Column serial, the Phoenix Variant is filled with action and close-up fighting. A lot of property is destroyed while most of the lives taken are operative ones. The action is fun. What gore there is makes sense.

Once again Nathan M. Farrugia’s writing is definitely recommended.

Reviews

The Phonix Variant available on iTunes, Kindle, Momentum

My reviews of

  1. The Chimera Vector
  2. The Seraphim Sequence

CIA’s Support to the Nazi War Criminal Investigations

Falstad concentration camp, Norway (ch. 1)

Nemesis theory (hypothetical star)

Use public libraries