Tag Archives: #Leadership

Fantasy, Thriller

Reine, S.M.: Paradise Damned (The Descent VII) (2013)

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Paradise Damned
Cover art by S.M. Reine
Model photo on cover by Marcus J. Ranum
Paradise Damned is the last novel in The Descent serial. Like all the rest, Paradise Damned is dark. We get plenty of violence. Part of that violence involves abuse of Elise in the Garden of Araboth.

“SEPTEMBER 1, 5509 BCE

In the beginning, there was the earth, formless and empty. Darkness hung over the surface of the deep.

And then there was light.

It spilled over the waters, vast and powerful, and its creation severed the unity that had come before. This light was a separate entity from the darkness. Something novel and cruelly different.

The spirits called it “day.” Its opposite was called “night.” Between them was evening and morning – the First Day.

This division marked the end of peace in the universe.

Everything has been pretty much fucked up since then.”

S.M. Reine’s humour seems to fit mine just fine.

Half the fun of writing reviews is the preparatory work I do. This time I felt like checking out the ancient dates in Paradise Damned and ended up with the info at the bottom of this post.

I want to give S.M. Reine a special thanks for coming up with the old women of Oymyakon, Russia. No wonder these ladies are so tough. Oymyakon is so cold that it has the lowest recorded temperature of any permanent village (- 71.2 C). Brrr, not my kind of winter. Here, indeed, “Winter is coming”. Nothing phases these matriarchs. Give them hybrids or Malcolm, and they won’t hesitate to shoot either if they have to.

Paradise Damned is divided into four different stories that tie together. The first is from the good old ancient days, the next is from the good old days, the third is from Limbo with James and the last story occurs in Araboth 2010.

Longevity or immortality is a concept that I have found a lot of people would like to take part in. How would you stay sane? It seems to me that all the people around you would have to be immortal as well. Otherwise, you would have to watch loved ones die over and over all through “eternal life”. I see how people react to such losses already, and have to wonder how you could deal with it on such a time-scale.

Adam seems to stink at it. His one major loss gave him a liking for mayhem. Yatam and Yatai didn’t deal well with it either. In the end they got the release they sought. What about Adam? Will someone relieve him of the burden of life?

Elise is now back to her job of being a false Eve. She isn’t taking to it. Fighting against it brings grooming/training her way in the form of severe mental and physical torture. I wonder if her lifetime of abuse and pain is aiding her or hindering her in keeping hold of who she is?

Sometimes when I read stories about real life people who have gone through stuff like this (not the impossible things but the rest), I wonder how they managed to hold on to themselves through it all. I know it messed up my grandfather who was tortured during WWII. The post traumatic stress was so strong he tried to self-medicate to deal with the mental pain. The face he showed me as a child was that of a gentle and loving man who brought joy to my life. He managed to stay away from alcohol in his meeting with his grand-children.

Granted, Elise is make-believe, but not really. There are people out there who go through grooming/torture in order for another person to achieve some kind of result. Each and every one of these people will end up changed forever. While a lot of them will be able to hold on to themselves, some will not. The question in Paradise Damned is whether Elise manages to stay true to herself and her ideals in spite of what she goes through.

On a lighter tone for me (maybe not for the rest of you), Elise’s arrival at Oymyakon was amazing. I liked what she did and how she did it.

Once again S.M. Reine has done an excellent job.

Review:

  • File Size: 458 KB
  • Print Length: 400 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Red Iris Books (June 3, 2013)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00CWG91QE

My review of:

  1. Death’s Hand
  2. The Darkest Gate
  3. Dark Union
  4. Damnation Marked
  5. Dire Blood
  6. Defying Fate

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p>5509 BCE: The Byzantine calendar dates creation to 1 September of this year.

4009 BCE: ” placing the creation of Adam no later than 4009 B.C.E.”

3504 BCE: Eve’s creations, angels that are about to hatch, are killed. (Paradise Damned)

3242 BCE: Adam’s need for human replacements for Eve comes about. (Paradise Damned)

Fantasy, Thriller

Reine, S.M.: Defying Fate (The Descent VI) (2013)

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Defying Fate
Cover art by S.M. Reine
Chapter one of Defying Fate reveals exactly who James Faulkner is and has been since 1993. Whereas Elise became a demon, James ended up an angel instead.

There is a need in me to try to understand something about the characters I meet in various fictional and non-fictional works. In Defying Fate it is easy to understand a person like Zane St. Vil. Zane is a kopis with the Union. He is of average intelligence and pleased with the power and firepower the Union brings him. He is a coward at heart and bullyish on the outside. Zane will always do what makes him seem bigger and badder than the rest and if he meets resistance he will use the greatest force possible.

Then we have a person like James. Ultimately, I know that James will do what serves James the best. But what route is he going to take? We are talking about a highly intelligent man with a devious mind and lots of power at hand. He is perfectly willing to harm the people he loves if he thinks it will serve them in the long run, in spite of him never having had the gift of prescience. A person like that is difficult to predict.

I won’t pretend to understand James. His personality has so many twists and turns that I cannot follow along. I imagine part of that personality has come about because he has had to hide his nature from Elise and every other person he has met since his change. Part of it has been with him all along, but as we tend to be the sum of our parts, being an angel would have influence on some of what James does.

Nathaniel is the perfect son for him. This is one powerful kid. James needs a person who exceeds his own abilities so he can stop seeing himself as the epitome of witchcraft. In addition Nathaniel is a 12-year-old in the way that only peeved-off and disappointed 12-year-olds can be. He’d practically worshipped his father ever since he discovered who his father was. Then Nathaniel met the person behind the myths and found that James was not as glorious as he had been made out to be.

Nathaniel is like Elise in many ways. He is fiercely loyal to those he attaches himself to and he will do just about anything for them. In this case that means saving Elise. James says he cannot come along and Nathaniel pretty much says that James has nothing to say in the matter. In the end James brings Nathaniel along because a coming together of choices leaves Hannah dead. Poor Nathaniel.

Gary Zettel is a dedicated and driven leader of the local unit of the Union. He and Allyson are probably the two worst people the Union could have made kopis and apsis. The two of them together are a nuclear bomb waiting to explode. Their potential for destruction is enormous and, like James, they don’t care who gets hurt along the way. Well, James cares, but he still does it. Gary and Allyson on the other hand follow the teaching of “ends justifying the means”. They are also unpredictable.

With a group of people like this Defying Fate can only be one thing – full of thrills. My goodness, Reine writes action well and her descriptions of Malebolge are a delight. Dark, violent and crazy is what Defying Fate is.

Review:

  • File Size: 415 KB
  • Print Length: 432 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Red Iris Books (April 4, 2013)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00C7EPL42

My review of:

  1. Death’s Hand
  2. The Darkest Gate
  3. Dark Union
  4. Damnation Marked
  5. Dire Blood
Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller

Reine, S.M.: Dire Blood (The Descent V) (2012)

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Dire Blood
Cover art S.M. Reine
I’ve had some strange and terrible things happen in my life. Most people have. I grew up in a home with parents who had managed to stray from the original paths their lives might have taken. Instead they changed what they had grown up with into a new type of family life. But the consequences of the lives they had grown up with were there. And let me tell you, their growing up years were extremely difficult. But they changed the script of their lives.

Maybe this is why I prefer Elise over James. Elise continually tries to change what life throws at her into something that will keep the balance between different types of people. James, on the other hand, is driven by his ambition. Both grew up with challenges, although Elise’s seem much more extreme than James’ challenges.

When James was a kid it became apparent that his talent for magic was extreme. At nine years old he taught three girls who were older than he. He thirsted for more knowledge of magic. Conquering magic became his goal in life, no matter what he might end up sacrificing to get there. Sadly, he was good at everything he tried his hand at. I say sadly because in James’ case all of his success turned out to give him a skewed sense of morality (at least it seems that way to me). That affects his relationship with Elise and just about every other person he meets. To him demons are dirty, filthy, evil creatures who deserve only death. Humans are the important breed to him, the ones he needs to protect.

James’ coven has been under the rulership of the angel Metaraon for years and years and years.

Metatron: (Metatetron, Merraton, Metaraon) A great angel honored as the angel of presence, chief of ministering angels, chancellor of heaven, and whom maintained the world.

<

p>The coven has provided Metaraon with girls who are taken to a garden to be with Adam (or Him / God). While James was young Metaraon came to the coven to take away a young girl (Ariane). Metaraon’s ultimate goal was to create “The Godslayer” (yes, you are catching on now, huh? ;= ). Ariane was matched with Isaac Kavenagh in order to create a baby. Ariane became Isaac’s apsis so the two of them would be bound to each other. When Ariane was 16 and Isaac 20 years old Elise was born. And who is Elise supposed to be????

One of Ariane’s co-students was Hannah Pritchard. Hannah later became involved with James and she and James had a son – Nathaniel. If you remember, James found out about Nathaniel in Damnation Marked. James now discovers that Hannah has kept the knowledge of their son from James because of the kind of person James is. That’s got to hurt. James is the god of rationalisation and so manages to keep on finding justification for his actions and ways. Some of the choices he makes bring him and Hannah into great danger. Danger from which Elise is going to have to save them.

As you discovered at the end of Damnation Marked, Elise survived her death. She was changed into a demon of the kind that Yatam and Yatai were. For a kopis that had to suck. All of a sudden she has become what she has fought against her whole life (ever since she was able to hold a falchion). Part of that change has brought confusing urges and a look into other people that she isn’t understanding. So, she is confused, angry and worried.

When Nathaniel turns up, what does she do? Well, in true Elise style she drops everything and goes off to help James. Anthony has stuck with her through thick and thin, but this time he says no thanks and leaves Elise and Nathaniel to the job. And what a job this is turning out to be. Throughout Dire Blood I am reminded of why I like Elise so much (and now Nathaniel as well). Sure, she is a mess, her life has turned up-side-down and she has no idea what is happening to her. So what. Life has to go on and a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do. If that means saving James with his magically talented son coming along, then that is what she will do.

Action. Is there action in Dire Blood. Oh, yes. Plenty of that. I had fun with both the action and the background information on our main characters. As usual I loved S.M. Reine’s writing. She does an excellent job with this kind of fantasy.

Review:

  • File Size: 482 KB
  • Print Length: 428 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Red Iris Books (December 23, 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00ASDEHLM

Source: Angelology

My review of:

  1. Death’s Hand
  2. The Darkest Gate
  3. Dark Union
  4. Damnation Marked
Autism / Aspergers, Reblogged

When the benefits of the many outweigh the good of the few….

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… if all it takes is a sense of justification to overthrow those once clear lines of delineation between right and wrong actions, then how much longer will it be before we lose all concept of a collective sense of right and wrong all together?

Autism / Aspergers, Reblogged

I ALREADY AM A HUMAN BEING – Written BY Judy Endow

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I have to admit that I feel human.

Fantasy, Thriller

Reine, S.M.: Damnation Marked (The Descent IV) (2012)

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Damnation Marked
Cover art by S.M. Reine

S.M. Reine does not go easy on her characters. Not really on any of them. James is not as present in Damnation Marked as he has been previously. The bond that arose between him and Elise in Dark Union is causing both of them problems, and Elise feels betrayed by the way he has handled the whole Stephanie thing. I understand why Elise would feel attracted to James. As we have seen, James was the first person in Elise’s live that showed her that some adults were worthy of trust. That he later betrays that trust in various ways is another matter altogether. Betty was the person that showed Elise that it was possible to enjoy life. Now that Betty is dead, that part of Elise’s life seems to have died along with her.

With the Night-Hag’s death Reno has been left wide open to attempts from other demons to take over. Anthony seems to have stepped in as Elise’s unofficial apsis without all of the advantages that a real apsis has. Elise seems to feel driven to keep the gate in her hands – and out of the Union’s. At the same time I also get the feeling that she has adopted Reno as HER town and along with that a feeling of responsibility for all that happens to her sphere of it. That pretty much means everything that has to do with keeping balance between demons, angels and humans. When it comes right down to it, being a balance keeper is what being a kopis is all about; and Elise has been trained to be the best kopis ever since she was extremely young.

One of Elise and James’ differences of opinion are about just that. James wants Elise to do kopis things only when he deems it appropriate while Elise realises that it is an all or nothing kind of life. This difference of opinion, one they have had for a while, is one of our first glimpses of the way James justifies his driven and self-absorbed choices.

All three of them are messes, complete messes. Despite her awful childhood and less than ideal career Elise seems to be the most grounded of the three. Perhaps it is because of her childhood that Elise is able to stay true to herself and at the same time be of use to those around her. She is going to need that sense of groundedness in her struggles with the “Shadow” and the Union.

The Union is like a cult. These people are crazy. They are so able to convince themselves that they are right, that anything goes as long as it serves their goals. James and they would be a good fit.

I understand why Anthony is a mess. Who wouldn’t be? This is a fairly regular guy who has had to kill others (granted they are demons) and had his cousin killed while he and she were trying to help a friend. In addition Elise is autistic in the way she handles her relationships. That alone is difficult enough for regular people. Poor kid for being drawn into this mess by his attraction to Elise. Some guys just seem to be ruled by their nether parts (see, trying to keep this g-rated).

I personally think that young adults (not the youngest) will be fine reading The Descent series. You need to be prepared for violence, darkness and really messed up people/creatures.

Reviews:

  • File Size: 491 KB
  • Print Length: 352 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1937733130
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Red Iris Books; 1 edition (November 10, 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B009GDLZ42

My review of:

  1. Death’s Hand
  2. The Darkest Gate
  3. Dark Union
Adventure, Fantasy, Young Adult

Canavan, Trudi: The Magician’s Guild (Black Magician I) (2001)

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Magician's Guild - 6 different covers
Various artists for the 6 different covers:
Les Petersen: bottom centre
Steve Stone: top centre
Matt Stawicki: top right

As far as I can tell, The Magician’s Guild has been published in 3 different English dialects and 15 other languages. That is impressive.

My son and I read the UK version of the The Magician’s Guild. As the reader I worked a bit harder with The Magician’s Guild than I have on my last few audio-jobs for my son. As the readee, my son seemed pleased with my job.

Sonea is somewhere around the age of 17 when we meet her. Her mom is dead and her dad has run off. Thankfully, she had her sister’s mother (Jonea) and Jonea’s husband who stepped in to take care of Sonea. They were part of the dwell society and at the point that Sonea’s mother died they lived in the slums. In the time since they managed to make their way into the Outer Circle of Imardin. There the three lived and worked out of a one room flat. Things were looking up for them. Then life did what life does and hit them in the face.

Before the threesome had moved behind the walls of the Outer City The city of Imardin - Trudi Canavan - Magician's GuildSonea was running with one of the gangs (Harrin’s gang) and had learned to pick pockets and steal. Several of the kids in Harrin’s gang are homeless kids who look upon the gang as their home. One of Sonea’s best friends, Cery, is such a kid. His father was killed by the Thieves for breaking trust with them.

Harrin, Cery and Sonea are one half of the equation of The Magician’s Guild. They bring in people to help them, but in essence the story is about them – and especially about Sonea.

The other half, of course, is about the Magician’s Guild. They have the food, the wealth, the king’s approval and magic. Like most privileged people the magicians are comfortable with status quo and reluctant to share their goods with “less worthy people”.

Compared with the rest of the world I am probably somewhere in the top 20% when it comes to privileges (in spite of being a woman). Being a woman lowers me somewhat but this is what I have going for me: I am of Norse blood living in Norway. I have a college degree and am married to a man who has a university degree. He is well-paid. I am not – due to health issues. We live in a country that assures that all of its citizens have free health-care, free education and are assisted if they should fall on hard times. Our home isn’t stylish or up-to-date but it is largish and warm during the winter. We always have plenty to eat. In other words, we have lucked out in the lottery of life.

What this means for me, is that I have to make some kind of effort to keep the other 80% in mind. Then I have to make even more of an effort to try to be of constructive assistance. It would be much more comfortable to pretend that the other 80% did not exist and that I had no responsiblity for the lives of other people on this planet of ours. But I know life is all about luck, nothing more. So I don’t have a choice.

The Magicians are at the point where they are going to be made aware of the dwells as something more than cockroaches to be stepped on once a  year during the Purge. Sonea is the tool to make it so. Discovering that there is one among the dwells whose powers are so strong that these powers have manifested all by themselves is going to change the opinion of some of the Magicians, frighten others and cement the prejudices of the rest.

Good luck, Sonea! You are going to need both it and loads of hard work to even begin to make an imprint in the sceptical attitudes of most of the magicians of the Guild.

Reviews:

Phantastik Award

Winner: Gilde der schwarzen Magier 1: Die Rebellin
Bester internationaler Roman 2007

Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller

Reine, S.M.: Dark Union (The Descent III) (2012)

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Dark Union1
Cover art by S.M. Reine

Dark Union sure is a fitting title, because the Union of kopis and apsis sure is dark and its motives are suspect. You don’t just round up kopis and apsis and witches by force unless you are a bit iffy. Where do they get their money from? There cannot be all that many Mr. Black type kopis – at least not if they are doing their jobs the way they are supposed to. But messing with friends of Elise might not be the smartest thing these guys have ever done. Especially not an Elise that is bursting with anger from all that happened in Darkest Gate.

Elise and Anthony are angry with each other, angry with the world and angry with the sense of helplessness that they feel. We are like that sometimes. Helplessness, grief and confusion are bummer feelings to have so anger can be a tempting feeling to replace them with. We get a lot of anger in Dark Union. A lot of it.

On top of that Elise has to struggle with this new strange bond that she and James have managed to impose on themselves. They actually know what the other person is feeling and can see what they are doing if they think too much about the other person. No wonder James is in San Fransisco with Stephanie. What an awful thing to experience for humans. Especially for some one as private as Elise is. They are both trying to control the bond, but when her pain is too great it becomes a bit difficult for Elise to control how much she shares.

Anthony is finally beginning to realise that he wants more out of their relationship than Elise is willing and able to give. Another thing to add to the simmering pot of feelings.

I’m trying to figure out if anything happy happens in Dark Union. Let’s see. There is one thing. At one point Elise is challenged about her “greatest kopis” status. That is a fight that is both satisfying and without deadly intent. Getting one over on the Union is also a satisfying (but worrying) episode for Elise. Those Union people – especially the leaders – are great big rear ends (don’t want to offend all the asses out there).

So, if you want cheer, Dark Union is not for you. But if you are like me and enjoy the darker side of humanity, jump right in.

Review:

  • File Size: 273 KB
  • Print Length: 115 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Red Iris Books; 1 edition (July 21, 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English

My review of:

  1. Death’s Hand
  2. The Darkest Gate
Adventure, Fantasy

Zamin, Mira: The Puppet Queen: A Tale of the Sleeping Beauty (2012)

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The Puppet Queen
Cover image: “Sweet Nothings”:
John William Godward (1861-1922)
Cover design by Mira Zamin
800px-Sweet_Nothings_by_Godward
Dolce far Niente (1904)
Gorgeous painting

Various versions of the Sleeping Beauty tale have been around since the late 1600’s. The Puppet Queen adds itself to that list and keeps itself somewhat bleak in the tradition of folk-tales.

Twins, fraternal ones, can be as different from each other as any other pair of siblings. Selene and Auralia are like night and day. Auralia is the serene and proper one while Selene is the dark-haired girl in fine, torn tunics, tumbling into trouble any day of the week. Auralia is ready to embrace adulthood while Selene thinks the whole thing sounds like a bore. For a girl growing up in a society such as the one described in The Puppet Queen adulthood could be very constricting, and for a girl like Selene adulthood would probably have been excruciating to adjust to.

Life in the world of folk-tales tends to be fraught with danger. Curses, wickedness, murder, rape, and abuse of various sorts seem to trail through them all. There is always a way out, but that way tends to carry a high price and the “hero” must find it in them to pay it. If not – well …

The curse of Sleeping Beauty and of The Puppet Queen is one of sleep. Sleep for a castle in Sleeping Beauty and sleep for a whole country in The Puppet Queen. The only one to escape the curse in The Puppet Queen is Selene, and Selene it is who must save the day.

I think what I liked most about The Puppet Queen is that it stayed true to the spirit of folk-tales. People in the middle-ages knew how to tell stories. That these stories are used as a base for modern tales only shows the quality of the stories and their value as teaching tools.

I like the way Mira Zamin showed how difficult it was for Selene to withstand Gwydion. Their relationship was clearly an abusive one. But for Selene to break out of that relationship just wasn’t done in the days portrayed in the story. Perhaps she manages to do so and perhaps she doesn’t, but her experiences are the experiences of many women in relationships today. He who was once Prince Charming might well turn into King Terror. I appreciated Princess Selene’s resilience and the way she kept on going no matter what. Her main goal was to break the curse and she would endure what she must to reach her goal.

So, yeah – I enjoyed The Puppet Queen.

Reviews:

Science Fiction, Short story/novella, Thriller, Young Adult

Stross, K.M.: The Man in Black – The Woman in White (2013)

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The Man in Black-The Woman in White
Cover art by Chris Smith

The Man in Black – The Woman in White shows us what the earth could be like in almost 200 years if we keep on letting it go to pieces and allow money to rule the world.

Stross presents us with a world without hope, a dark story of loss, poverty, inequality and disinformation. The town of Present, Nebraska thinks the world works in one way, and it seems they have been intentionally kept in that belief. Maintaining this status quo is the will of the people who hold power to change the lives of the citizens of Present for the better.

One of the tools the powers that be uses to keep the people of Present in Present is lack of education and information. Another tool seems to be to allow companies to move in and “encourage” farmers to sell their land and water-rights.

Stross encourages me to question my own beliefs of right and wrong. Exactly who is the culprit and why do I consider that person to be a culprit?

Poor young Kyle, living in circumstances that quite a few young people live in today. Desertification, water shortage and hunger are all parts of the lives of young and old in certain places of the world. There, too, tools such as the ones used against Present, Nebraska are utilised. The Man in Black – The Woman in White speaks of a world that already exists for many and will probably exist for many more in the years to come.

Stross doesn’t give us a solution or an answer to the problem. I appreciate that. Having an open ending allows me as a reader to look around and see if an answer exists at all.

Reviews:

I could not find any information at all on K.M. Stross.

Adventure, Fantasy, Reading together, Young Adult

Lindskold, Jane: Wolf’s Blood (Firekeeper Sage VI) (2007)

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wolf's blood
Cover art by Julie Bell

I really am an airhead. I managed to press publish before anything had been written. Sorry if that confused you all. Here is the “real” version of my review.

I hadn’t bought this last installment of the Firekeeper Saga until my son asked me to. We had read the previous five novels together and he really wanted to know how it was all going to end. Reading together is an experience more people should be able to enjoy. As I have said before, this is one of the major advantages to having a child with dyslexia.

Jane Lindskold made Wolf’s Blood as much fun to read out loud as she had made the other five. Her language is intelligent and her vocabulary varied. Again I found myself forgetting to follow the plot as I got so caught up in the intense experience of tasting Lindskold’s prose. That didn’t really matter because I had cheated and read through the novel on my own before reading it to my son.

One thing I have wondered is how the Firekeeper Saga can appeal to both an eighteen-year old and a 48-year-old at the same time. What is it about these characters that the two of us find so fascinating?

Firekeeper and Blindseer

Part of it most definitely has to do with Firekeeper and Blind Seer. The whole idea of our wolf-girl trying to find her place in human society and making sense of us all works for us. That Firekeeper often finds herself flummoxed by human society is understandable. All of our various religions and political views are confusing and usually you have to be an insider to understand all of the unwritten codes that rule us. She is an alien and will remain an alien for the rest of her life. But Firekeeper is an alien with a foot in human society and with people who love her and Blind Seer to bits.

I’ve been trying to figure out how Firekeeper was changed by querinalo. In Wolf Hunting we see that something did happen to her. My personal belief is that she became even more firmly a wolf in her heart and head because of her chant during her fever. Blind Seer probably did not change much as he beat the crap out of the source of the illness, but his view of himself changed drastically. Having come from a people who hated magic fiercely would make his adjustment to the “new” him a challenge.

Derian

Derian_and_Eshinarvash_by_Fortunes_Favor (1)
Derian and Eshinarvash by Fortunes Favor

Derian’s change was a bit more visible. This portrait of Derian with Eshinarvash by FortunesFavor shows how he has become a bit more horselike. His ears and forelock are especially telling. Derian struggles terribly to accept his new looks. His greatest fear is how his family will perceive him now that he “looks like a horse”. I would freak out myself if I woke up after an illness and discovered my face and outer extremities had metamorphosed into a blend of human and animal.

Derian also, quite understandably, worries about what women will think of him. Looking past our exteriors seems to be a challenge for a lot of us (myself included). It’s so easy to get hung up in insignificant details all the while forgetting about the significant ones (like personality and temperament). As the saying goes, where there is life there is hope. For Derian this is true (as you will see for yourself when you read Wolf’s Blood).

Perspective

Lindskold presents things from various points of view. Being on the spectrum makes this doubly important to me. I have learned much reading authors like Lindskold. She, too, has been part of a teaching staff who have all helped me understand people.  Perspective changes good guys to bad and vice versa. If there is one thing I have learned in this life of mine, it is that perspective matters.

“Enemies”

War is a strange thing. King Bryessidan and his compatriots’ desire to take over the gates makes perfect sense. They had convinced themselves that they were being slighted and hindered in their “noble” purpose. Therefore they were justified in planning and executing an attack against the Nexus Islands. Seen from the Nexans’ side that is an erroneous argument, but to the winner goes  the writing of history.

I also found myself understanding Virim. What he did was a terrible thing, but he never intended for querinalo to be so bad. But when it was he took advantage of it and found it difficult to let go of the apparent advantages to its system.

The ending was good. I knew this would be the result, but it needed saying and happening.

Jane Lindskold has been a pleasure to read with my son. The Firekeeper Saga kept him asking for more. Being the fantasy nut that I am, it is a pleasure whenever my sons enjoy the same literature I have enjoyed.

Reviews:

  • Series: Wolf (Book 6)
  • Mass Market Paperback: 736 pages
  • Publisher: Tor Fantasy (January 2, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0765353741
  • ISBN-13: 978-0765353740

My review of:

Adventure, Fantasy, Young Adult

Throwsnaill, B.: Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker’s Fire) (2012)

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Hemlock
Cover art by Elena Dudina

B. Throwsnaill is a pseudonym for Bill Ainsworth. Pity! I rather liked Throwsnaill. I like this cover by Elena Dudina.

Something is wrong with magic. For some reason it is less efficient than usual. That is a major bummer for Hemlock’s sister’s stomach problems. Hemlock’s main goal in life is to take care of her sister. Only the two of them live in SanCyra. Their parents are either dead or living elsewhere – details revealed in the novel.

Hemlock is an interesting character. With the help of her adopted father figure, Safreon, her ways have gone from thieving to policing the area she lives in. Because the area is poor, the guards do not feel it has high priority. We never see that in real life, do we??

Both policing and the problems with magic bring Hemlock into the way of the Wizards and their odd creations. Because of her strange powers Hemlock is of interest to the Wizards. They wish to either bring her into their fold or to kill her.

Hemlock is very goal-oriented. In fact her one-tracked mind often lets her forget to plan. The advantage of such impulsiveness is that things get done. The disadvantage is trouble of all sorts. But Hemlock is usually lucky in some way. Maybe that has to do with her powers or maybe she is just one of those people. I am so clumsy I would probably stumble and fall all over the place.

I did not read the novel until just recently. It seems most of the previous comments were listened to and followed as the author saw fit. Hemlock and the Wizard Tower is a pretty good young adult novel. We get a look at an interesting world of magic, one I have not seen before (I think). The whole idea of the city of SanCyra is pretty cool.

Fantasy, Short story/novella, Thriller

Gray, Scott Fitzgerald: A Space Between (The Endlands) (2011)

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A Space Between 2
Cover design by (studio)Effigy, from an image by Jose A.S. Reyes.
The background to the main image is the cover art for A Prayer for Dead Kings and Other Tales
(in which the story first appeared), which is an illustration by Alex Tooth

I love it when I get such detailed information on the cover art. The knife is very appropriate to A Space Between.

Scott Fitzgerald is a demanding name to give your child. Talk about pressure. Fortunately Scott Fitzgerald Gray manages to live up to the expectations of his name.

A Space Between is a dark short story. Talk about dysfunctional family. Love, secrets, betrayal, ambition and murder are all part of the game.

Charan and Jalina make an interesting set of siblings. Their love/hate relationship is what drives A Space Between. Add to that the accidental death of their father and we have the recipe for an interesting tale.

I found myself liking Charan and Jalina. Their love and the murder are very much against societal mores, but society is a fluid thing shaped by its members. Their discovery of two magical artifacts changes their ability to see each other.

It was strange reading A Space Between. Gray’s writing was so beautiful I forgot to pay attention to what I was reading. I got caught up in the flow of the words. I have said this before and probably will again: There are some advantages to being within the autism spectrum. Because my “thing” is words I get the pleasure of finding myself lost in them. A Space Between was a word autists/aspergian dream.

For those of you who aren’t that lucky rest assured that the quality of Gray’s writing is high.

You can catch Scott Fitzgerald Gray at facebook / twitter / google.

  • Print Length: 35 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: Insane Angel Studios (May 18, 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0051OR1FM

 

Fantasy, Thriller, Young Adult

Ficks, J.L. / Dugue, J.E.: Waiting Game (The Shade Chronicles) (2012)

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Cover artist Thom Scott
Logo by James Gilks

First things first. You really ought to take a look at the website Chronicles of Covent. It is full of great art and loads of information about characters and storylines. The cover artist, Thom Scott, is responsible for the artwork done on the website. From what I can see on their website Ficks and Dugue aim to create a world that functions as the Forgotten Realm does – with an abundance of authors dealing with the eight continents of Covent.

The Shade Chronicles are about Shade the assassin, probably the best in his field. He is an Unseen (the best of the best) gone rogue and knows to stay away from the forest surrounding his school. Shade is also a dark elf and are exposed to prejudice just like the ones in the Forgotten Realms. 

The Waiting Game is the first book of this series. It has a proper ending and that makes it a series. I prefer stand-alone novels to the serial type. Serials can be annoying.

Shade is bored. He has been trained to utilise his killing abilities to the fullest and is beginning to run out of challenging kills. Anything will do as long as the hit is difficult. He gets what he wants and from there on there is action galore.

There were two scenes that I really liked. One was in the underground while fighting his challenger. The other was in the bar when Lewd’s hench(wo)men kept coming.

It was refreshing meeting someone who wasn’t out to save the world or make it a better place. Instead we find a dark elf who strikes fear into the hearts of all who realise just who they are dealing with. Only idiots mess with Shade but despite the fear he engenders, Shade is not a bully.

Shade was an interesting character, maybe even some one I would like to meet again. What did I think of the writing? Well, Ficks and Dugue kept me reading. They are above average but fall out of the flow at times. That just gives them room for improvement and I expect we shall see that as time passes.

Adventure, Fantasy, Reading together, Romance, Young Adult

Britain, Kristen: Blackveil (Green Rider) (2011)

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Cover art by Donato Giancola / Cover design by G-Force Design

Both my son and I agree that Kristen is a cruel, cruel woman. Telling why would be a major spoiler, but keep in mind that Kristen Britain likes to torture her readers. Aaaaargh.

I love the cover that Donato Giancola has painted. Maybe it is a little cheerful for Blackveil, but it is still pretty bleak.

Usually Kristen writes in a manner that makes reading aloud a delight. This time there was one exception. The name “Gerlrand Fiori” was a tongue twister, but that was it. The rest of the words were fun to read.

Our adventure into the world of Blackveil begins with Grandmother and her crew. Blackveil is not a place one would normally venture into as it is filled with messed up magic as a remnant of Mornhavon’s attempt to establish Arcosian rule on the shores of Sacoridia. I consider the Second Empire followers to be nuts, but who knows who of us is?

My 18-year old was disappointed when we began our journey with some one other than Karigan G’ladheon. He likes her character, all of it. She tends to see the world in black and white although she has mellowed a bit after all this time as a Green Rider. One thing that has been difficult for her to mellow out about is her father’s acquaintance with prostitutes and his previous life as a pirate. She intends to challenge him about these two issues.

Children, no matter how adult they think themselves, have a scewed picture of what their parents are supposed to be like. If they have seen you in a certain manner losing that fantasy can be difficult. Let’s just say that Karigan’s confrontation with Stevic was an eye-opening one.

One thing that is certain in Karigan’s life is that her abilities bring trouble her way, trouble she tends to barely survive. Supernatural powers aren’t necessarily a gift.

Captain Mapstone meets up with the Eletians after a visit to an ex-Green Rider. This meeting is fortuitous for Laren Mapstone and perhaps so for the Eletians. Together they travel back to the Castle and King Zachary. The Eletians intend to enter Blackveil at the spring Equinox and King Zachary intends to send some of his people along. We all know who one of Zachary’s people is going to be. They agree to meet at the gap in the wall on the day of the Equinox.

One thing I find problematic with the Green Rider series is this ongoing desperate love between Karigan and Zachary. I guess that would be part of the attraction. In this insane world we live in forbidden fruit is always supposed to be soooo much tastier than the permitted. What I do like is that Karigan and Zachary at least have the good sense to not do anything about their feelings. Poor Lady Estora who is doomed to marry a man that loves another. On the other hand she is realistic enough to know that these are the risks of arranged marriages. I like her. Estora is kind, strong and gutsy. She tries to make the best of a difficult situation in spite of her own pain, and she will have plenty of that in Blackveil.

I’m wondering why Britain added the Amberhill story. To me it seems completely irrelevant and as if Britain has just added him to make her series longer?????

While the Green Rider books are a series, there is also a serial bit to them. You do not have to read the previous three novels to understand the story (I think) but it might help. I have enjoyed them all and enjoyed Blackveil as well. My son and I agree on the excellence of Britain’s ability to write novels that can be read as audio.

My reviews of books 1 (Green Rider), 2 (First Rider’s Call), 3 (The High King’s Tomb) and 4 (Blackveil)

Other blogs:

2012: Finalist for the David Gemmell Legend Award: Best book