First of all, I want to congratulate J.A. Clement on her choice of cover artist. Fena Lee captures the spirit of The Lady perfectly in the mood of her cover creation.
I loved The Lady. There, that really should be all you needed to hear, shouldn’t it. After all, my taste in books is superb and anything I like others must too. Or not.
Let me list the reasons why:
J.A. Clement flows. The Lady is a minor-toned novel (musically speaking) – exactly like the cover.
J.A. Clement’s characters grow on you, even Mr. Copeland. He is a sociopath. I know of no other words to describe him. Well, I do, but sociopath is the most descriptive one. His bodyguard has a reputation of breaking bones and possibly even killing people for Mr. Copeland.
The Lady is the Mother of the Shantari. She has made an awful choice (as in for herself) and is feeling a lot of pain.
Our main character is Nereia, another person having to make choices that will demand a high price. But sometimes you don’t really have a choice in life. You just do your best and hope the tides of fate will turn.
I have one complaint about The Lady. It was toooooooooo short.
A warning. This is a serial. You all know that means that you are left with a cliff-hanger. Fortunately book no. 2 in the serial is out along with a short-story giving some background information on one of the characters.
In the same manner Catherine M. Wilson writes in minor key, Melissa Wright writes in major. Initially I read Frey because it was a freebie on Kindle. That is not why I continued reading the rest of the trilogy. Some authors just seem to have fun thinking up their stories and writing about them.
Part of the story was rather obvious, but the rest worked out a whole lot better than expected. I think it was the cover that fooled me. The blurb of Frey reads: “Unaware she’s been bound from using magic, Frey leads a small, miserable life in the village where she’s sent after the death of her mother. But a tiny spark starts a fury of changes and she finds herself running from everything she’s ever known.
Hunted by council for practicing dark magic, she is certain she’s been wrongfully accused. She flees, and is forced to rely on strangers for protection. But the farther she strays from home, the more her magic and forgotten memories return and she begins to suspect all is not as it seems.”
The first sentence kind of sets the tone for the rest of the novel and kind of demonstrates what I mean by writing in major key: “Crap!” I complained as I stubbed my toe on a root, one of the pitfalls of living in a tree. It says quite a bit about an author that begins her story like that.
Frey is an interesting character. As she realizes just how lost she is she also reacts in a manner that I could sympathise with. Frey was a fun read and brought me on to the next two books of the trilogy.
Once again Christopher Bunn manages to catch my interest with his characters in The Tormay Trilogy. In The Shadow at the Gate the battle between dark and light continues. As this is a serial, you will have to read The Hawk and His Boy first to make sense of the story. Ronan and Jute had their incident during a break-in in The Hawk and His Boy. Unexpectedly, the robbery goes awry for both Ronan and Jute. The intention behind using Ronan (the Knife) was to prevent Jute from ever talking about the job. But both Ronan and Jute had their lives turned upside-down during that robbery.
In The Shadow at the Gate Ronan is commanded by the Silentman to get Jute back, or else. Ronan goes after Jute. But Jute is not easy to find. He has hidden well realising his precarious position. The kid wants to live, voice in his head notwithstanding.
Levoreth Callas arrives at the castle with her aunt and uncle. She is slowly waking to the necessity of battling the Shadow. But discovering where the Shadow resides, and in whom it is residing, is going to take all she has.
All three characters have allies/helpers that both hinder and aid them in their quests. Dunn keeps a nice pace in his story and manages to make the novel interesting for both young and old. I have forgotten what it is to be ten years old. It would be interesting to hear what a ten-year-old would take from the story of young Jute and the rest of the gang.
Freedom of Speech. How far are we willing to go to let our voices be heard? How far are others willing to go to stop our voices from being heard?
Dangerous Voices is a wonderfully terrible short story about the lengths people are willing to go to let their voices be heard and to stop those voices from reaching out. What would my choice have been? Hmmmm.
If it was not for the magic, this could be a story right out of Amnesty International‘s archives.
Cover art by Glendon Haddix – a cover I find quite appealing
Flash Gold is a steampunk novella set in the Yukon. As bad as I am at being able to place my litterature in categories, even I am able to discern when something is steampunk. It is the steam that gives it away. Other than that, there seems to be some kind of mystic element involved (supernatural, magic, paranormal and so on).
In Moose Hollow, a small town of Yukon, a young orphan woman named Kali McAlister lives. She has taken over her father’s workshop in an attempt to stay independent. The citizens of Moose Hollow suspect Kali is something more than she seems. Perhaps she is using frowned upon magic??????
A stranger called Cedar drops into her life at the same time as she has entered a contest to win enough money to keep her doing what she loves most – tinker and invent. He applies for an Assistant position as musher for the Barton Race. Kali has no money to pay Cedar with but he is willing to take a cut of the winnings.
What Cedar ends up being is part assistant and part body-guard. It seems there are several parties who are interested in how Kali manages to get her machines to work so well. The two of them end up in a race for their life as much as a race for the money.
Flash Gold is filled with plenty of humor – humor that I actually get – and action. I like action filled books that have a humorous twist. Lindsay Buroker presents her steampunk in a manner that makes me want to read more of her stuff.
Christopher Bunn begins the Tormay Trilogy with the tale about Jute and his unknown protector. Just who/what this protector is becomes clear in the first chapter of The Hawk and His Boy.
I usually compare myself with the characters of the books that I read. Are we very dissimilar? Is there anything in the story that resonates with me?
Another thing I do is try to figure out how likely the scenario is. Not the whole magic/supernatural thing, but the interaction between various characters. Is there any chance of people acting the way they do in the particular piece of literature I am reading? The answer to those questions determine how I view the author’s passion for her/his work.
Another very important factor for me is words. Are there many mistakes? Do I feel a lot of editing has gone into the novel? Does the author know how to move from word to sentence to paragraph to chapter (or the flow as I call it)?
My mother and father grew up under harsh circumstances. They have both seen how life can force people to commit desperate acts. Jute’s life at the time we meet him is wholly believable. His circumstances have made him a thief and a very good one at that. Unfortunately, being good at something can be dangerous for the expert. Chances are you might be “asked” to do something dangerous.
Jute did that dangerous deed and things went about as one would expect in a fantasy novel – not very well for him. But surprising things can get you out of trouble and into boiling water. That is where Jute ends up – over a very hot fire in a bubbling cauldron.
For Ronan the Knife his job with Jute makes him want to leave his business and change his life around. Is that even possible when your adult life has been spent doing a job that is guaranteed to make you enemies? We shall see.
The third character I want to mention is Levoreth Callas. She is a strange one. As it turns out she is even stranger than one might think.
So. What exactly resonated with me in The Hawk and His Boy? Jute’s character in general. His life is terrible (according to my standards), yet he retains his curiosity and optimism.
In Chapter 6 Bunn writes a scene that could have ended up in overkill, yet he manages the balance needed to keep on writer’s tight edge. Not always an easy thing to achieve.
Christopher’s passion for his work is easy to see in the way he puts his words together so carefully.
Deviant Art has tons of fan-art for Kristen Britain. I found this gem depicting Alton’s struggle.
I just finished reading First Rider’s Call out loud to my son. Like Green Rider, First Rider’s Call is audio-friendly. Kristen Britain writes in a manner that makes it a delight to read aloud.
First Rider’s Call begins with the Journal of Hadriax el Fex. My son felt it would be more appropriate for him to save that story until its natural place in the book. It worked out well for him.
Leaving Hadriax el Fex’s journal for later had us starting the tale at chapter two. Karigan gets her call to return to the Green Riders, a call she has been resisting for a year. The manner in which she responds is well-thought out by Ms. Britain. From there on Karigan is thrown into one life-threatening situation after the other. I am so glad I am not Karigan. Along the way she is helped by Lil Ambriodhe – the First Rider. In Green Rider we saw Karigan interacting with ghosts and matters have not changed much in First Rider’s Call.
Blackveil wakes and sends its tendrils of magic into Sacoridia through the breach waking creatures better left sleeping. With this awakening we find the abilities of the Green Riders becoming unreliable. In Captain Mapstone’s case that causes trouble for the whole of the Green Riders. What will they do????
Like Green Rider, First Rider’s Call deals with a lot of loss and grief, but also with hope and friendship. Having to face their fears makes a difference in who various characters become. Realizing how far loved ones will go and deciding how to deal with them leads to difficult choices.
Life is like that. Yet, like many of the characters in First Rider’s Call, all we have to do is dare see ourselves for who we are. We might not be pleased with the result, but it does open up doors to new worlds.
What would you do if you one day discovered you had an unexpected ability? Like running fast, really fast. Fast enough to break the world record. It would be a great ability to have if you had to run away from trouble (or maybe to).
Callie Courtnae suddenly discovers this ability and is asked to join a school in Montana that specialises in youth with record-breaking abilities. She goes and discovers that the people at her school are extraordinarily beautiful and a lot quicker than she herself is. Hmmm, I smell a rat.
The premise for A Diamond in my Pocket is pretty good. It is difficult to come up with something new in the world of fantasy. But Angell manages to put a couple of twists in that I don’t think I’ve read before. However, however, however. The characters needed a bit more work and the novel tightening. I wish A Diamond in my Pocket could have fulfilled its potential, because it did have plenty of that.
The goose that lays the golden egg. What is her story? Gooseis Anderson’s attempt to answer just that. How did the goose happen to begin laying gold eggs? You have to admit it is kind of unusual. What was her road to Jack? And what happened after Jack brought her home with him?
I like Lorraine’s take on this classic folk tale. It is light and humorous and short. 258 words short. I found it well-worth the read.
I just finished reading GreenRider to my youngest son. When you have a dyslexic audience, reading to them is always IN. I cannot imagine how frustrating it must be to love literature, yet be so hindered by something that I take so much for granted. Maybe it is somewhat like my need for a wheel-chair.
Anyways. Back to Green Rider.
Check out this cover illustration for the UK edition of Green Rider by April Schumacher. WOW! It catches the spirit of the novel perfectly.
As I read this book out loud, there are a couple of things I want to point out. Kristen writes beautifully. Names like Karigan G’ladheon just roll off my tongue. Reading was a delight. Tension, fear, beauty and humour came through the translation from page to mouth. Wonderful! What a gift.
Karigan G’ladheon is a typical hero character. She is conflicted about the many challenges that come her way, but she desperately wants to do what is right for her country. Danger is drawn to her, or perhaps Karigan is drawn to danger. Action is practically thrown her way. Thank goodness Karigan seems to have a gift of getting out of all of the life-threatening situations. Like Captain Mapstone claimed. Karigan seems to survive due to sheer spunk. Gritting her teeth, Karigan gets on with whatever comes her way. Gray riders, militia, dangerous creatures or spirits is just part of what Green Rider has to offer.
The plot is easy to understand. Someone is out to take over the country of Sacoridia (they think). Someone else has another agenda. Karigan supports the throne and stability. Battle ensues between the “good” and the “bad”. Presentation is everything and Kristen Britain Excels at this. Good job. In fact, excellent work! Enjoy.
Cassie Alexander’s debut into the world of urban fantasy comes in the form of her Edie Spence trilogy. Her real-life job as a registered nurse serves as inspiration for her novels about registered nurse Edie Spence. I am pretty certain these books are targeted at an adult readership
Cover for audiobook
Choosing Edie Spence as her protagonist is probably the best move Ms. Alexander could have done. Edie isn’t afraid of a little/or a lot of blood and gore and finds that her nursing skills come in handy in her new night job. She had previously worked as a regular nurse working with regular people. To protect her drug-addict brother, Edie made the choice to sign up for hush-hush work at a hush-hush facility at County General. Remember that the next time you go to your own County General. Somewhere below-ground there just might be a secret facility catering to the health needs of the super-natural/para-normal community.
Being on the nursing staff taking care of the rather unusual clientele of zombies, vampires, shape-shifters, weres, etc. can be a bit dangerous to your health. Ms. Spence discovers this when she is present at the death of Mr. November. Because of her nature, Edie ends up looking after a vampire, being chased by a vampire and falling for a zombie. One might just say that her life became a little more challenging after her introduction to the “Other” side of reality.
Nightshifted is a fun and dark novel. Edie is a wonderful character and someone I would have liked to have met. Sometimes authors manage to make their characters seem so real and believable, the way Cassie has managed with Edie. Good job.
The Book of Deacon is a trilogy that should be read in the following order: The Book of Deacon -> The Great Convergence -> The Battle of Verril.
Cover art by Nick Deligaris
THE BOOK OF DEACON (2010)
My husband bought me an android for x-mas and we downloaded Kindle. They had/have a free offer on the novel The Book of Deacon. This is how I entered the world of Myranda, Lain, Myn, Ivy, Ether and Deacon.
First of all I want to say that you should go to Deligaris’ link and take a look at his art. There is some seriously cool stuff there.
Imagine what it must be like to live in a country ravaged by war for 150 years. This setting is where we find Myranda, our main protagonist. At the beginning of the war young men were the main victims. Then women were brought in as soldiers. Now cities and towns are left with the old and children, emptied of the people who are supposed to bring in the new generation. Seems kind of insane, does it not?
Myranda hates the war and all it stands for. She does not understand the need for this long-lasting enmity. As a sympathiser, she is ostracised by the general population. The general population of the Northern Alliance hates Tressorians. Having one of their own say that perhaps peace would be a good thing, grates on them and they tend to act aggressively. It is ever so in society. If you go against popular opinion, you are going to meet sanctions.
These sanctions have left Myranda feeling terribly alone. When she meets another who is hated as much as she is, Myranda opens up. Leo, the malthrope, saves Myranda from trouble and Myranda is left feeling grateful and lonely for his company.
The Book of Deacon does an excellent job of showing exactly how prejudiced we can be. It is also an incredibly good tale for both old and young. There is plenty of action and adventure. Joseph Lallo is one of those gifted persons that grabs hold of me. These authors are so much fun for an avid reader.
Cover art by Nick Deligaris
THE GREAT CONVERGENCE (2011)
I liked The Book of Deacon so much that I had to buy The Great Convergence. This is a serial, so reading these books in order is a must.
Myranda is caught in her black/white way of thinking. To her you have to do your best to follow the Prophecy. If not, you are a traitor. These books are as much about Myranda’s journey toward maturity and understanding as it is about friendship, loyalty and courage. Her thinking undergoes a radical change from the way it was at the beginning.
Finding the four other Chosen of the prophecy is her main goal. Discovering all of them is not a simple task. After all, the Northern Alliance and the Red Shadow are interested in putting an end to her quest.
Another malthrope turns up. Ivy pretty much has split personality. Her moods are what determines the personality she has. Anger, happiness, sorrow and fear are all taken to extremes and in ways that affect those around her. Arrogant Ether shows up and does her thing. She is a fun character. Her ability to annoy the others is priceless.
Cover art by Nick Deligaris
THE BATTLE OF VERRIL (2012)
It is always nice to not have to wait for the next book in a serial. As I had gotten into the game so late, I got to read The Battle of Verril right after Convergence. The promise of the previous two books was fulfilled in the last installment of The Book of Deacon. Each of the characters change into someone who is able to fulfill their part of the prophecy.
Answers to questions left open in The Great Convergence are found and solutions are discovered at the last moment.
Action and adventure are still the main ingredients of the series. Heroic deeds are obviously part of a quest and evil villains keep the plot moving. Mystical figures, monsters and friends appear suddenly. Myranda and Myn are kept busy through the novel going from one action scene to the next. The others are break-necking along them.
I found The Battle of Verril a read-through novel. It was impossible to put down.
Design Sue Michniewicz, illustration Dominic Harman
I have just been made aware of the difference in the usage of serials and series. The Wild Hunt is a serial. This means that each book ends without the story being finished.
I admit it. I hesitated to read Trinity Rising. No way could Elspeth Cooper live up to the promise of her first novel. Hah, hah, what a joke. Trinity Rising was even better. The hiccups of Songs of the Earth were gone. Trinity Rising grabbed my brain and kept its hold until the end. I loved the characterization and the story.
Savin is a psychopath. Cooper shows his complete lack of empathy through the episodes he appears in. Gair is grief-stricken and functions quite poorly until the end of the novel. Alderan is concerned with the well-being of the many over the well-being of the few. In the end Gair finds it impossible to support this stance. We meet Teia of the Northern tribes. She brings with her new traditions and a deeper understanding of the conflicts between the Empire and the Clans. I found myself becoming fond of her and rooting for her and am looking forward to seeing where The Wild Hunt will go in Cooper’s next novel.
For those of you who find reading sexual content difficult, be warned. Ms. Cooper has written these novels for adults. To me it all fit perfectly together and I recommend this novel to you all.
Shaedes of Gray seems to be Amanda Bonilla’s first novel and is a pretty good debut. There are places where the text doesn’t work completely, but Bonilla manages to hit the flow quite often.
Another plus point for the cover. Choosing Cliff Nielsen as her artist was well done. He has illustrated quite a few authors I really like and, of course, some I’ve never heard of. The way he manages to catch the mood of Shaedes of Gray is awesome.
This Seattle is a Seattle that apparently only has one supernatural living there. Darian was told this by her “maker” and has believed it for the past 100 years or so. By my “apparently” I am certain you know that supernaturals are going to be popping out of the wood-work as the novel progresses.
Let’s see. What makes Shaedes of Gray different from the rest of urban fantasy. Hmmm. For one thing, Darian is a Shaede. This means that she can travel through the shadows, yet she appears as human when she is in her corporeal form. She doesn’t know how she was made into a Shaede. Shaedes don’t really appear to be bad/good. Instead they are a kind of distilled in-between gray creature.
Not so unusual, is Darian being an assassin. She makes her living taking on hits to people of dubious morals. When she is asked to kill the resident of a certain address, Darian discovers that she was lied to by her maker. There are indeed other supernaturals living in Seattle. When she discovers just how duped she has been and who one of the dupers is, Darian feels stupid.
So. A good beginning. If what I’ve seen in this novel continues, Amanda certainly has the makings of one of the better authors out there.
Princep’s Fury is the fifth and penultimate book in The Codex Alera series. What can I say about this series now that it is almost over? One thing that is obvious is that Jim Butcher‘s writing is getting better and better. Hard work does pay. I’m hopeful that Jim benefits from this. As a reader, I certainly do. Having read books of all kinds for around 40 years, I have certainly learned to spot and appreciate which authors are serious about their craft.
Tavi has set off with his regiment to assist the Canim with the Vord in their homeland. With his usual tolerance of the Ocean, Tavi vomits his way quite a ways accross the Ocean. Thankfully he has good helpers who assist him whether he wants them to or not. Once they get to the land of the Canim, both Varg and Tavi discover that the situation is a bit more dire than Varg had thought and hoped.
Back in Alera the Alerans are finally realizing that the Vord are real and they are coming to get them. Unfortunately, that usually means that the Vord are about to take over your whole country and population. As we might have guessed by the previous books, the Vord Queen that started the ball rolling this time around is not quite as Vordish as she should have been. This might just be the factor that ends up being a saving factor for the Alerans, Malat and Canim.
Not all Alerans are able to help the First Lord as they are fighting for their lives to save their own people. Which is why Isana is sent north by the First Lord in an attempt to make historic peace between Alerans and Ice-men. Her work might very well be the feather that will tip the scales in the Aleran’s favor.
There is as much action in no. 5 as there has been in the previous four books. Political in-fighting is not quite as extreme as necessity binds people together to an extent.
humanitysdarkerside 