Book Review: The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Posted on March 31, 2019 30 Comments

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Mogsy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Horror, Science Fiction

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Harper Voyager (April 2, 2019)

Length: 432 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling is a story about two women who have more in common than either of them would like to admit, but by the time they realize how much they mean to each other, it might already be too late. Gyre was only a little girl when her mother abandoned her, leaving only a vague note with an invitation to her daughter to come find her when she is ready. Now twenty-two years old, our protagonist has finally decided it is time. But first, she’ll need to make enough money to get off her backwater planet and begin her search, and to do that, she has forged her credentials and work history in order to sign on to a dangerous mining operation known to pay its cavers extremely well.

Given how much she was offered for the job, Gyre expected to be assisted by team of specialists and scientists, but instead, she finds herself alone in the deep, dark tunnels of the planet with only a single overworked individual on the surface remotely monitoring all her life support and suit controls. Introducing herself as Em, her handler is secretive and uncommunicative in her lofty position of authority, which immediately sets off Gyre’s dislike and mistrust of her. But very soon, as the mission becomes increasingly difficult and treacherous, the two of them have to learn to work together and let each other in, because only then can they save one another and put the ghosts of their pasts to rest.

I was torn between like and dislike for this book, and it kills me to have to give this one anything less than 3 stars because it had its moments. However, there were simply too many other things about it that left me feeling disenchanted and utterly frustrated, making it hard to justify a higher rating. The truth is, I probably would have enjoyed the story a lot more had it been presented in a shorter, less repetitive and more condensed form, but as it is, I felt that too many pages were devoted to pointless back-and-forth or were squandered by following our characters as they—quite literally in some cases—walked around in circles.

What’s more, I feel the publisher description has done the book a great disservice by comparing it to The Martian and Gravity, because the reality, as I found out, was much different. For one thing, the “intensive drive” that was promised was virtually non-existent. A heart-pounding thriller this was not, so don’t be expecting anything like The Descent. I just can’t emphasize enough the slowness of this book, even though, in all fairness, I have no doubt the measured pacing here was entirely intentional. The plot featured here is the kind that relies heavily on character development and relationship building, a process that understandably cannot be rushed.

But back to my issues with the blurb: as you would recall, both Mark Watney and Ryan Stone in the respective tales of survival were quick-on-their-feet problem solvers who kept their cool and used their wits to apply their knowledge and resources available to them in order to overcome obstacles. In awe of their inventiveness and ability to find quick and clever ways to get out of tight spots, never once while watching them did I think to myself, “Wow, that was dumb.” Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Gyre, a recalcitrant, reckless and naïve protagonist who frequently and actively sabotaged her own chances of survival with her tunnel vision and less-than-intelligent decisions. That she never learned from any of her mistakes or the fact that the narrative fell back again and again into the same tiresome, infuriating patterns was simply another nail in the coffin. I mean, if you have reason to suspect your mental capabilities may be compromised, perhaps then you shouldn’t rely solely on your own impaired judgment? Sure, Em’s not perfect, but maybe trust that as mission control, she has at least some idea of what she’s talking about? But no, pretty much the entirety of this 400-page novel consisted of repeated variations of the following conversation:

Gyre: “I’m going to go ahead now and do something stupid.”
Em: “No, don’t do it, Gyre. That would be really stupid.”
Gyre: “Fuck you! Just because you’re my boss doesn’t mean you can boss me around!”
*Gyre goes ahead and does something really stupid*
Gyre: “Well shit, I guess that really WAS stupid. I might have just doomed myself with my stupidity. Dammit Em, why didn’t you stop me?”
Em: “You’re right, I really should have tried harder. I’m so sorry that I’m such a monster.”
Gyre: “Damn right you are, and I’m not about to let this happen to anyone else. To do that, I’m going to go ahead now and do something stupid.”
Em: “No, don’t do it, Gyre. That would be really stupid.”

And on and on, ad nauseum. Granted, the first couple of times this exchange happened, it gave us great insight into the characters’ personalities and dynamic. However, tighter writing and more concise storytelling could have probably conveyed the same ideas in half as many pages. The F/F relationship was also not very satisfying, and considering so much of it was developed under mental and physical strain or was fueled by desperate need and duress, I just couldn’t see it as either healthy or sustainable. Furthermore, I was never convinced of Em’s true intentions of sending people down into those caves. The explanations given were so underwhelming, initially I thought they were a smoke screen to obscure the true reasons which would later be revealed, but nope, that was it.

Still, I did mention the book had its moments. First of all, kudos to the author for pulling off what is essentially a novel featuring an extremely limited setting and only two characters. And while at no point did I personally find this “horror” novel scary or disturbing, Starling nevertheless did a fantastic job evoking an atmosphere of isolation and claustrophobia, especially in the sections with the sumps. At times, the hopelessness of Gyre’s situation really got to me, not to mention how all the uncertainties had a way of messing with your head. Scenes of breathless action were few and far between, but whenever they cropped up, they were also well written and suspenseful. Plus, the tunnelers were pretty cool, though we didn’t get to see nearly as much of them as I would have liked.

However, at the end of the day, the positives were still outweighed by the negatives, which greatly impacted my experience with this book. Namely, slow pacing and aggravating characters were my main issues, compounded with the possibility that my expectations had been set too high by the synopsis. That said, I don’t want to discourage anyone from checking out this novel if the story’s description calls to you, or if you think this is something you might enjoy. Good luck, and happy caving.

Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads

Posted on March 30, 2019 43 Comments

Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every other weekend which fills the role of several blog memes, like Stacking the Shelves where I talk about the new books I’ve added to my library or received for review, as well as It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where I round up what I’ve read since the last update and what I’m planning to read soon. Mostly it also serves as a recap post, so sometimes I’ll throw in stuff like reading challenge progress reports, book lists, and other random bookish thoughts or announcements.

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Received for Review

My thanks to the publishers and authors for the following review copies received, and be sure to click the links to their Goodreads pages for more details and full descriptions!

My thanks to Ace/Roc/DAW and Berkley for the following ARCs: Beneath the Twisted Trees by Bradley P. Beaulieu is the fourth book of the Song of the Shattered Sands series; it’s hard to believe the series is so far along now and I’m two books behind! Salvation Day by Kali Wallace is a sci-fi thriller about a lethal virus awoken on an abandoned spaceship–which sounds right up my alley. And Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs is the eleventh installment of the long-running and excellent urban fantasy series, Mercy Thompson. I was so excited when this one made a surprise appearance earlier this week on my doorstep. The publisher also sent along finished copies of Atlas Alone by Emma Newman and Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence. With their release dates fast approaching, I have plans to read both in early April. And from Penguin Books, I also received an ARC of The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell, the same author of The Silent Companions, which I read and loved last year. It’s also known as The Corset in the UK, and I’m so glad to know it’s coming stateside soon.

Speaking of the UK, this month I received a trio of surprise airmail packages from the kind folks at Jo Fletcher Books. Morhelion by Dominic Dulley is the second novel of The Long Game, sequel to Shattermoon which I haven’t read. I’d not heard of this series before, but the premise about an alien war sounds interesting. If I find out that I can jump in at book two without getting too lost, I’ll probably check it out. I’ve also been hearing some really good things about Our Child of the Stars by Stephen Cox lately, so I was pretty excited when a copy showed up. A couple of the bloggers I follow have described this as enchanting, heartwarming, and spellbinding, so that’s definitely put it on my radar. And Hearts of Ice by David Hair is book three of the Sunsurge Quartet, the follow-up to the author’s Moontide Quartet. I have the first book still on my TBR, which I plan on hitting up as soon as I finish the final two books in the first series. This will be a long-term project, I think!

From the amazing team at Night Shade Books and Talos, I also received the following finished copies: Black Moon: The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin by Seabury Quinn is the fifth and final volume collecting the stories of the eponymous supernatural detective made famous in the pulp magazine Weird Tales; Astro-Nuts by Logan J. Hunder is a quirky little novel of sci-fi comedy from the same author who brought us Witches Be Crazy, a book I read a few years ago and just couldn’t get into its brand of humor, but if you enjoy a lot of slapstick and puns, maybe it could be your thing. Lastly, the publisher also sent along an ARC of The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Four edited by Neil Clarke, the latest anthology of buzzworthy stories from the best and biggest names in the genre.

With thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending along a copy of The Astral Traveler’s Daughter by K.C. Archer, the follow-up to School for Psychics. I still mean to check out this series, so I was really glad to receive book two. And also huge thanks to Harper Voyager for this gorgeous finished copy of The Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst, a standalone novel set in the author’s incredible world of Queens of Renthia. I’ve already read this and loved it, so my review should be up soon. From Saga Press, I was also thrilled to receive an ARC of Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse, sequel to Trail of Lightnight. As of this writing, I am about halfway through already and so far it’s a blast.

Thank you also to Orbit Books for A Time of Blood by John Gwynne, the highly anticipated sequel to A Time of Dread! And a big shout out also to Tor for A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, a space opera I’ve been curious to read ever since I first learned about it, as well as Kellanved’s Reach by Ian C. Esselmont, book three of the Path to Ascendancy series taking place in the world of Malazan.

Last but not least, a special thanks to Tor.com for this mysterious little box I received last weekend. Inside its ominous skull-adorned packaging, however, was a delightful treat–ARCs of two of their exciting upcoming releases, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht. The dark theme could not have been more perfect! I can’t wait to read both these books.

On to the digital pile, courtesy of Harper Voyager I was sent an Edelweiss link for the eARC of The Winds of Marque by Bennett R. Coles, which I couldn’t resist because this book had long been on my watch list. In the past I’ve also read some great stuff from Inkshares, so when I saw the description for The Living God by Kaytalin Platt, I decided I wanted to give it a try. From NetGalley, the moment I saw Wanderers by Chuck Wendig pop up from Del Rey it was an immediate request, for although the last few books I’ve read from him were not his best, I am still a big fan.

And at last, the first season of the serial Ninth Step Station by Malka Ann Older, Fran Wilde, Jacqueline Koyanagi, and Curtis C. Chen is finally completed, which means I can finally binge all the episodes at once. With thanks to Serial Box for providing a review copy in both ebook and audio formats. In the audiobook haul, thank you to Penguin Audio for the psychological domestic thriller My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing, Macmillan Audio for a listening copy of the mystery fantasy The Perfect Assassin by K. A. Doore, as well as Audible Studios for the third Threshold novel Dead Moon by Peter Clines.

Reviews

Here is a quick summary of my reviews posted since the last update:

The Song of All by Tina LeCount Myers (4 of 5 stars)
The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell (4 of 5 stars)
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (3.5 of 5 stars)
Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra (3.5 of 5 stars)
Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (3 of 5 stars)
Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston (3 of 5 stars)
The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper (2 of 5 stars)

What I’ve Read Since the Last Update

Here’s what I’ve managed to “unstack” from the TBR since the last update. More reviews coming soon!

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Have you heard of or read any of the books featured this week? What caught your eye? Any new discoveries? I hope you found something interesting for a future read! Let me know what you plan on checking out. Until next time, see you next Roundup!

Friday Face-Off: Unicorn

Posted on March 29, 2019 24 Comments

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme created by Books by Proxy! Each Friday, we will pit cover against cover while also taking the opportunity to showcase gorgeous artwork and feature some of our favorite book covers. If you want to join the fun, simply choose a book each Friday that fits that week’s predetermined theme, post and compare two or more different covers available for that book, then name your favorite. A list of future weeks’ themes are available at Lynn’s Book Blog.

This week’s theme is:

“I thought unicorns were more . . . fluffy.”
~ a cover featuring a UNICORN

Mogsy’s Pick:

The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Time of Contempt is the second full-length novel and the fourth installment of The Witcher Saga featuring Geralt of Rivia, a traveling mercenary who uses his warrior training as well as his mutant powers to hunt and kill deadly monsters. Originally published in Polish, the series has since gone on to inspire dozens of movies, TV shows, comics, and even a hit video game. The books and short stories have also been translated into numerous languages, which is why there are so many different covers to compare today. Here is a selection of the best and most notable ones:

From left to right, top to bottom:
Polish Edition A (1995) – Polish Edition B (1999) – Polish Edition C (2015)

Orbit (2013) – Gollancz (2013) – German Edition (2009)

Ukrainian Edition (2016) – Bulgarian Edition (2017) – Serbian Edition (2012)

Italian Edition (2013) – Czech Edition A (2007) – Czech Edition B (2011)

Spanish Edition A (2004) – Spanish Edition B (2008) – Spanish Edition C (2016)

Finnish Edition (2013) – Dutch Edition (2015) – Hungarian Edition (2013)

French Edition (2009) – Russian Edition (2018) – Chinese Edition (2016)

Winner:

This week, I think my favorite cover is the 1999 Polish Edition. Not only does it feature a unicorn, I love how the stark white background and the monochromatic tones bring out the dramatic interplay between the lights and the darks. At first glance, you could almost even miss the fallen figure at the unicorn’s feet, camouflaged in its shadow. I can’t remember the story well enough to know what’s going on in this picture, but there might even be some meaning hidden in there.

But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?

Audiobook Review: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Posted on March 28, 2019 35 Comments

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Audible Studios (February 26, 2019)

Length: 25 hrs and 52 mins

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Narrator: Liyah Summers

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a labor of love. As a reader, I could sense so much passion and effort poured into this novel, it is no wonder Samantha Shannon decided to take a break from The Bone Season series in order to birth this one into the world. But let’s first just get this out of the way: clocking in at more than 800 pages, this book certainly measures up to the task, but it also contains all the strengths and weaknesses one might anticipate with such an ambitious undertaking, especially considering we are dealing with the author’s first foray into the epic fantasy genre.

The story begins with a prophecy: an ancient evil called the Nameless One, said to be trapped in its abyssal prison, will return to the world after a thousand years of peace. It is written that this evil takes the form of a fire-breathing dragon, which, together with the rest of its fiery brethren, will bring destruction to all of humankind. Because so much history has been lost to time, it is unclear where the Nameless One originated or how it came to be defeated and imprisoned in the first place, but in the West, it is long thought that their legendary hero Galien Berethnet was the one who wielded the sword that grievously wounded the beast. To this day, many in Virtudom, the nation founded by Berethnet, still believe that his ancestors hold the key to the Nameless One’s containment. Legend says that as long as a queen descended from the line of Berethnet sits on the throne, the world will be protected, and so it has been for countless centuries, power passed down to a single daughter in each generation. Currently, the latest in the line is Queen Sabran—young, unwed, and childless, so the pressure is on to arrange a betrothal and conceive a daughter in order to protect her realm.

But while the West despises all kinds of dragons, the nations to the East revere them—especially the water-dragons they believe to have been the true reason for the Nameless One’s downfall. As such, they are worshipped as gods, and some individuals even dedicate their entire lives training for the honor of one day getting to ride one. Tané is one of these dragonrider hopefuls, whom we get to meet at the beginning of this novel when she chances upon a Western interloper and fails to report him to the authorities, fearing that it would jeopardize her ambitions.

And finally in the South, an entirely different kind of belief system has sprung up around the dragons. Like the West, they have no love for the creatures, but they also don’t believe that it is the line of Berethnet responsible for holding the Nameless One at bay. Still, a Southern order of female mages, called the Priory, has dispatched one of their own to the court of Sabran Berethnet in order to keep an eye on things—just in case. This secret agent of the Priory is Ead Duryan, who has been able to stay closely by the queen’s side all this time by masquerading as one of her ladies-in-waiting. In her undercover role, she has discovered that Sabran is being targeted for assassination. Using her brand of forbidden magic to cast protections around the queen, Ead is determined to ferret out the conspirators before they can put an end to the Berethnet line and possibly bring about the end of the world.

Clearly inspired by the epic fantasy traditions established by authors like George R. R. Martin or Robin Hobb, Samantha Shannon tries her hand at a sprawling, world-spanning saga of myth, dragons, and political intrigue. Rich, riveting world-building compels the reader to stick around and explore further from the very first page. I also liked how this novel incorporated a few touches of real-world elements, drawing heavily from European history and theology for the belief system of Virtudom, for example, or the fact that Eastern attitudes towards water-dragons are a reflection of the way Asian cultures revered the mythological beasts, which they also believed were celestial in nature. This blend of the new and familiar, as well as the author’s grasp of the need of balance between the two, was impressive and masterful.

That said, it would be disingenuous to pretend every single page of this massive tome held my attention. With so much world-building and character development to establish, this story takes a long time to find its legs. Even then, it stumbles around awkwardly for some time, jerking the reader’s attention this way and that as this cumbersome multi-thread narrative struggles to get to where it needs to be. What finally sealed the deal for me was the focus on Sabran around a third of the way through the novel, because I thought she was the most interesting character. However, this meant that every time we shifted away from her, it would be uncertain once more whether the other POVs could hold my interest.

As much as I appreciated this being a standalone, a part of me also wonders if the story could have been better served as a series of two or three books. There’s enough content here for a trilogy, certainly, and multiple books could have helped this saga achieve its full impact, as there were some ideas in here that felt shallow and unrealized. It also might have stabilized the pacing, because the difference between the slow, measured way information was doled out in the first half of the novel versus the rushed pacing in some of the later sections was quite jarring.

Still, the main forces driving The Priory of the Orange Tree are compelling, especially once character motivations are revealed and they become the most important factors fueling the story’s many conflicts. This clashing of beliefs and warring ideologies between East, West, and South eventually comes to a head in a very big way. Just who will win out was a question that kept me glued to the pages and pushing hard towards the end, even through some of the more tedious, meandering sections.

All in all, The Priory of the Orange Tree is not a perfect novel, but quite honestly, I did not expect it to be. Although Samantha Shannon already has a few books under her belt, epic fantasy can be a tricky genre riddled with traps and pitfalls for even the most experienced authors. In spite of this, and even given the novel’s flaws, I think she did a marvelous job pulling it all together.

Audiobook Comments: I’ve never listened to an audiobook narrated by Liyah Summers, and a quick check on Audible shows The Priory of the Orange Tree is her only credit, as of this writing. I really hope she’ll be scoring more narrating gigs after this, because her performance was excellent. Even with such a long novel, Summers was able to keep her voices and accents consistent, and she brought the story much power and presence with her reading.

Waiting on Wednesday 03/27/19

Posted on March 27, 2019 20 Comments

Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that first originated at Breaking the Spine but has since linked up with “Can’t Wait Wednesday” at Wishful Endings now that the original creator is unable to host it anymore. Either way, this fun feature is a chance to showcase the upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!

Mogsy’s Pick

The Bone Ships by RJ Barker(September 24, 2019 by Orbit)

Holy crap, a new book by RJ Barker! His Wounded Kingdom trilogy has become one of my favorite fantasy series of all time, and ever since I finished it I’ve been waiting in anticipation to see what he will write next. Looks like his next series will be called The Tide Child, and the first book follows a group of condemned criminals as they go on a dragon hunt on the high seas.

“A crew of condemned criminals embark on a suicide mission to hunt the first sea dragon seen in centuries in the first book of this adventure fantasy trilogy.

Violent raids plague the divided isles of the Scattered Archipelago. Fleets constantly battle for dominance and glory, and no commander stands higher among them than “Lucky” Meas Gilbryn.

But betrayed and condemned to command a ship of criminals, Meas is forced on suicide mission to hunt the first living sea-dragon in generations. Everyone wants it, but Meas Gilbryn has her own ideas about the great beast. In the Scattered Archipelago, a dragon’s life, like all lives, is bound in blood, death and treachery.”

Top Ten Tuesday: Thinking of Trying Audiobooks? Ten Tips for New Listeners

Posted on March 26, 2019 50 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish, a weekly meme that now resides at That Artsy Reader Girl. The meme first came about because of a love of lists. Who doesn’t love lists? The original creators also wanted their lists to be shared with fellow book lovers and to ask that we in turn share ours with them and connect with other book bloggers. To learn more about participating, stop by their page dedicated to it and dive in!

This week’s topic: Top Ten Tips for New Audiobook Listeners

Today’s topic is an audio freebie, and while I had thought about doing a list of my favorite listens (hey, I still might!) I thought tips for readers thinking of making the leap to audiobooks might make a better topic. After all, audiobooks are becoming very popular, and the last few years saw huge growth in sales as well as a massive increase of audiobook titles being published. Over the last month, I’ve also been involved in several discussions with people about trying audiobooks, so clearly the interest is there.

As someone who loves the audio format and can never pass up a chance to sing its praises, I figured I could share some of my experiences and advice to those who are still on the fence about trying audiobooks. Or maybe you’ve already tried and think that the format’s not for you, but in truth there may be some other reason preventing you from getting into audiobooks, and it is my hope that this post will help you figure it out.

1. There Are Lots of Good Places to Find Audiobooks

Listening to audiobooks doesn’t have to break the bank. Sure, there are online vendors like Audible and Downpour out there, but if you’re new to audiobooks and don’t know yet if the format will be for you, maybe you don’t want to commit to a subscription or put down too much money (though many of these sites also offer free trials). My advice, the best place to start is your local library. I personally began my audiobook journey by plundering my library’s online Overdrive collection, where I was able to download available titles for free right away, with just a click of a button. Now that I also review audiobooks on my blog, I find that many publishers with audio imprints are also happy to reach out with listening copies.

2. Find A Good Audiobook Player

Many places offering downloadable audiobooks for loan or purchase also have their own players, like Audible or Libby, Overdrive’s app for library ebooks and audiobooks. Most of these are pretty decent, but if you’re like me, you’ll want a player that fits all your needs, and luckily there are plenty of free and paid options out there. It might take a while, but over time you’ll probably identify a list of must-have features that will help you get into the format or make your listening experience as enjoyable as possible. All players come with the standard controls, but you would be surprised how many consider a lot of what I think are basic features to be “extras” (like bookmarks, FFS). Other options that are musts for me are playback speed adjustments and a sleep timer, which is why I didn’t mind paying for the full version of the audiobook player app I have in order to unlock all its functionality (the one I have is called Smart Audiobook Player for Android, and I love it).

3. Experiment with Different Playback Speeds

People always ask me, how do you finish an audiobook so quickly? Aren’t many of them usually like 10+ hours? Well, yes, if you listen to audiobooks on regular 1.0x speed. Honestly though? I hardly know anyone who listens to audiobooks on 1.0x speed. 1.0x just sounds way too slow for me, which makes my mind start to wander. Depending on the audiobook, I always set mine between 2.0x to 2.5x as that sounds the closest to normal “talking speed” to me, making the narration more engaging, but everyone will have their own preference – hence why playback speed adjustment is such an essential feature of any audiobook player.

4. Consider Shorter Audiobooks to Start

I personally like to tackle longer books in audio because I tend to get through them more easily that way, but someone new to the format might not want to wet their feet with a 20-hour book. Luckily, with so many titles made available in audio these days, you have lots of shorter options – short stories, novellas, and even serials! The publisher Serial Box, which specializes in stories released in episodes like a TV show, offers an audiobook version for all their titles, for example. You can also ease yourself into the format with audio dramas, which tend to clock in at moderate lengths. As a bonus, these are often performed by a full cast with music and sound effects, making them very immersive, leading to many to describe them as a movie in your mind.

5. Before Taking the Plunge, Listen to Samples

I do this whenever I come across a new narrator I don’t recognize, because you can often tell right away if they will be good or not. You’ll be listening to the same voice reading to you for hours, so if a sample is available, why not give it a try to make sure it’s a narrator you’ll like?

6. Ready to Start? Choose a Good Book for your First Listen

This might seem intuitive, but choosing the right book to begin your audiobook journey can actually be more challenging than you think. Not all great books also make great audiobooks, and sometimes vice versa. Some people also think starting with their favorite genre or something by their favorite author will be a surefire way to get them into the format, but I’ve found that that’s not always the case either. For example, I love epic fantasy, but the genre is also notorious for huge chunks of exposition or world-building descriptions that result in sections in the audiobook version where it’s easy for my attention to drift off. To readers new to audiobooks, I often recommend starting with a good thriller, if the genre is what they’re into, because those typically make for compelling and hard-to-stop listens.

7. Choose a Good Narrator for your First Listen

This is why it’s important to listen to samples. A lot of times you’ll see audiobook fans gushing about certain narrators, and that’s because we know they always deliver incredible performances no matter what book they’re narrating. A narrator can make or break a story, something I learned for myself when I first started listening to audiobooks. Believe it or not, I actually had trouble getting into the format right away, until I realized I just wasn’t choosing the right books for my earliest listens because they didn’t have the best narrators. What eventually got me hooked was the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, narrated by the very awesome, very talented Lorelei King. Paired with her voice, these were the books that helped turn me from a “Oh, I don’t think I could ever get into audibooks” person into a diehard audiophile.

For further reading, here are some lists we’ve made in the past of narrators we love! Part I | Part II | Part III

8. Find and Make Opportunities to Listen

Here’s some great advice from my co-blogger Wendy, back when we still regularly did our Sanctum Sanctorum feature. If you’re not sure audiobooks are for you because you don’t know if you’ll have many opportunities to listen, she writes, “Consider what moments in your day might work well with a verbal soundtrack,” and I can’t agree more! A lot of people end up turning to audiobooks because they find they are too busy or their minds are too tired after a long day to concentrate on reading, but they’re also popular with multi-taskers. I for one love being able to make some progress on my ever-expanding TBR while working on something else, whether it be chores like vacuuming or hobbies like crocheting. You’d be surprised how many opportunities you can find. For me, any kind of activity that requires my hands but not a lot of brain power is prime time for audiobook listening!

9. Try Listening with Someone Else

A lot of things are better when enjoyed with another person, and if you find you’re struggling to get into audiobooks, maybe try listening to one with a friend, your spouse, or your children. A friend of mine has “story time” at her house where the whole family will chill in the living room while their Amazon Echo plays an audiobook. My husband and I often listen to audiobooks together on road trips, and I find I’m less likely to zone out on the story when I know I’m sharing the experience with someone else. I just love speculating on a book’s plot with him, or laughing at the funny scenes together.

10. Don’t Give Up

If your first listen doesn’t work out, don’t be afraid to abandon it because things rarely get better when you’re forcing yourself. Some stories just don’t work as well in audio and that’s okay. Or maybe you just struck out with a terrible narrator. But if you really want to give this audiobook thing a fair shot, try again! Like I said, my first few tries with audiobooks were disasters. As a newcomer to the format, it was just plain difficult to go from reading physical books to an auditory experience. I had to keep going back in my audiobook multiple times because my attention kept drifting off and I would get lost. I told myself audiobooks weren’t for me because I just can’t seem to concentrate long enough to finish a book. Over time though, I ended up learning what worked for me and what didn’t. There were plenty of tweaks to my routine, as well as experimenting with things like playback speed. I tried a ton of different genres and and narrators. And now, audiobooks have become an invaluable way for me to enjoy books. It’s how I can chew through my reading lists. Whenever I’m stuck doing a mundane task like mowing the lawn or folding the laundry, it goes so much quicker because I always have an audiobook in my ear. I simply can’t imagine life without audiobooks now!

Book Review: The Song of All by Tina LeCount Myers

Posted on March 25, 2019 22 Comments

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The Song of All by Tina LeCount Myers

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of The Legacy of the Heavens

Publisher: Night Shade Books (February 20, 2018)

Length: 452 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

The Song of All by Tina LeCount Myers is a book that has been on my radar for a while, and with the release of the sequel, recently my interest has been sparked again, which is why I am so grateful for the team at Wunderkind and Night Shade Books for the opportunity to check out this series!

Imagine a world steeped in myth and ancient legend, where the conflicts of gods and mortals have played out over a harsh, icy landscape for time immemorial. Inspired by Scandinavian culture and folklore, the setting of The Legacy of the Heavens transports readers to the wild fringes of the tundra, where Irjan, a reindeer herder, lives with his young family among his wife’s people.

But Irjan had not always lived such an unassuming, quiet life. Before he became a farmer and settled down, he was known as one of the most ruthless and skilled warriors among the Brethren of Hunters, an order that trains its members to kill Jápmemeahttun—a race of immortals that have been warring with humans for centuries. But killing was never in Irjan’s nature. Eventually, he got tired of the endless bloodshed and turned his back on the Hunters and his oath, retreating to a peaceful village where he got married and had a child. He has kept his past a closely guarded secret ever since, not even confiding in his wife.

But soon, Irjan will find that his past is not so easily left behind. A nosy priest in the village whose ambitions know no bounds has caught wind of what Irjan used to be. In his treachery, the scheming priest destroys everything the former Hunter has worked so hard to build, taking everything he holds dear. Not knowing the truth of what happened, Irjan believes he is being punished by the gods for forsaking his oath and embarks on a journey that will not only determine his own fate, but that of his son as well as the entire world and its peoples.

There’s a lot to unpack here. And in doing so, there might be a danger of becoming mired in the details, but once you get into the meat of the story and the larger picture is revealed, it gets easier to see what it is all about. At the beginning though, it helps to focus on the central character of Irjan, taking in his backstory and the implications of his decision to walk away from the Brethren of Hunters. His former comrades are not the kind to take defection lightly, and a terrible tragedy occurs within the first handful of chapters, one that I did not expect so early on.

However, this event sets the stage for the rest of the novel. What follows next is a clear push to get as much information to the reader as possible, and the result is a strange feeling of being simultaneously hustled through the motions while also being encouraged to slow down to take in other threads explored by the book. One of these threads belongs to Aillun, a Japmea woman whom Irjan comes across in the wilderness. With the introduction of her character, we’re allowed a glimpse into the lives and traditions of the immortals. They are a unique and fascinating people, whose life cycles involve a series of transitional stages and changes, and of course, special mention must also be made to the Song of All, the song which all Jápmemeahttun are tapped into as a form of collective consciousness. Meanwhile, another thread continues to follow through on the machinations of the priest and his acolyte in the village, as well as their dealings with the Hunters. Both these storylines are woven into Irjan’s, and together they form a rich narrative that is the summation of all the characters’ motivations and actions.

With all this going on, admittedly things are bit shaky at first. Once the story finds its footing though, it quickly becomes immensely enjoyable. This is the way epics are created, slowly and gradually, building increasingly complex layers upon a solid foundation, proving that a little patience early on can go a long way. In her author’s note, Tina LeCount Myers also writes that her novel’s world was influenced by the northern cultures of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and extreme northwestern Russia. She draws heavily upon the various Saami languages spoken in these regions, which can be seen in a lot of the terms and names. There are also the occasional verse breaks where the Song of All will feature. All of this might seem a bit jarring initially, but again, they’re part of the unique collection of attributes that make this novel special, and the reading experience gets easier once you gain a handle on the rhythm and style of the writing.

Like a lot of epic sagas, The Song of All is a slow burn, but ultimately builds to an action-packed and suspenseful ending. Fantasy fans will be no stranger to this pattern, though the first half of the book may require a bit of effort to get into, as well as time investment on the reader’s part. The payoff is worth it though, and I look forward to reading the next book especially given all that happens in the final chapters.

Book Review: The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper

Posted on March 24, 2019 21 Comments

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper

Mogsy’s Rating: 2 of 5 stars

Genre: Horror, Suspense, Thriller

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (February 26, 2019)

Length: 368 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

I had such high hopes for The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper, the author one of my favorite horror novels, The Damned. Unfortunately, this book only left me with disappointment as well as an incredulous disbelief at how such a great premise could turn out to be such a mess. And it’s a real shame, because the beginning showed so much promise.

Our story begins in the isolated vastness of the Pacific Northwest rainforest as a limo carries surgeon Aaron Quinlan and his teenage sister Bridge to an undisclosed location, where a lawyer will be waiting to read the final last will and testament of their late father, Raymond. Soon, Aaron and Bridge are joined by their sister Franny and their mother Eleanor. In life, Raymond Quinlan had been a mostly absent father, leaving his wife and kids alone for months at a time while doing business for his mysterious employers, but apparently, the man had even more secrets than his family thought. They are all surprised when they discover that their drivers have brought them to a place called Belfountain, a sprawling estate nestled deep in the forest, exposing the extent of Raymond’s hidden wealth. And now all his assets including the property will belong to the surviving Quinlans—but with just one catch. As stipulated in the will, for Eleanor, Aaron, Franny and Bridge to claim their inheritance, each of them must remain at Belfountain for thirty days without any contact with the outside world, starting immediately. That means no phones and no internet. No supplies beyond the clothes on their back, since they had not been allowed to pack before leaving. Arrangements have been made with the people they know to explain for their month-long absence, or so the lawyer says. Food will be provided via regular deliveries.

Despite their misgivings about the situation, the four of them agree to the terms. Any time one of them wants to bow out, the lawyer has assured them that a satellite phone would be available at the gates to call for a ride. Of course, anyone who takes a step off the property will forfeit their part of the inheritance, worth many millions, but Aaron tells himself that he’s not staying for the money—or not just the money anyway. He wants to know what other secrets Raymond Quinlan had been hiding when he was alive, and why his father concocted this strange scenario to bring his surviving family members together. Above all, he also wants to keep Bridge safe. But when night falls, Belfountain becomes a different place. Aaron and his sisters start having the same disturbing dream, and they start to catch glimpses of strangers among the trees, watching them. What’s more, the next day, a new group of visitors show up. And when Aaron discovers who they are, that’s when he realizes just what a twisted man his father was.

All this takes place in the early sections of the book, and I have to say I enjoyed everything up to the end of this point. The mystery of Belfountain was compelling, and the way Aaron, his mother and his sisters were brought together by Raymond Quinlan’s will was simply too irresistible not to keep reading! Was this some kind of bizarre team building exercise? Some hidden camera reality TV show? I wanted to know! And then there were the shared nightmares and the scary people in the woods, giving this book the delicious eerie vibes that I love.

I was also intrigued by the characters. While none of them were immediately likeable, on some level I understood that this was by design. The Quinlans are all flawed people, damaged by the emotionally and physically absent Raymond. Eleanor never felt like she was in a real marriage, with her husband gone more than half the time without ever telling her why. Aaron always felt like he needed to prove himself to his father, even long after it was clear the elder Quinlan didn’t care. Franny turned to drugs and became an addict. And Bridge grew up looking up to Aaron as her father figure instead. Because of this, the two of them are extremely close, even with the age difference. In fact, their special sibling bond was something that touched me deeply even from the very beginning.

But then, something happened after the first quarter of the book. All the mystery and intrigue that was painstakingly developed became lost in a confusing story that neither establishes a convincing explanation for everything that happens nor conveys much suspense or excitement. Even the character relationships became immaterial because of the so-called “answers” we were provided, and with that, the last saving grace of this novel went down the tubes. And then there was the political stuff, which was so completely irrelevant and unnecessary to the plot that it stuck out like shiny red hotpants at a funeral. I don’t mind message fiction, but when it’s so unexpectedly, blatantly, awkwardly, and NEEDLESSLY shoehorned into a story like this, it annoys the hell out of me.

Regrettably, I can’t say much more or rant about a lot more other stuff that didn’t work for me without revealing spoilers, but to sum it all up, this book just didn’t feel like it was that well thought out. There were more holes in the plot than Swiss cheese, and the ending did not provide any satisfying answers. This is the sort of novel that demands the reader to suspend their disbelief, but even for me, it was simply asking way too much. I finished this book with even more questions than I had at the beginning, but by then I confess I was feeling too disconnected to the characters or story to care much at all. It’s just too bad. The Homecoming had so much potential when it started, but sadly it failed to follow through in every way.

YA Weekend: Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

Posted on March 23, 2019 24 Comments

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genre: Science Fiction, Retelling, Young Adult

Series: Book 1 of Once & Future

Publisher: jimmy patterson (March 26, 2019)

Length: 368 pages

Author Information: Amy Rose Capetta | Cori McCarthy

Lots of interesting and unique ideas are happening in young adult sci-fi and fantasy right now, and when the author can pull them off while being diversity-minded and still nail the trifecta of characters, story, and world-building, it can be incredible thing to see. However, I’ve also found these cases to be extremely rare. To wit, I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve come across a book with amazing representation and great ideas, only to have everything else be a convoluted and fractured mess. And it pains me greatly to admit that this was similar to what I found with Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy.

Credit where credit is due though, I have to say this was one of the most ambitious YA novels I’ve read in years. When I first heard about a gender-bending queer retelling of the King Arthur legend in space, I knew I had to read it, but I was also curious to see how it would be done. As it turns out, the answer is a doomed cycle and some nebulous form of reincarnation. In a nutshell, this means that all the characters of the Arthurian legend have come back again and again in one form or another, ever since the time of the first Arthur.

So now far into the future, in a universe ruled by an evil megacorp called Mercer, we get to meet our 42nd reincarnation of the great king, who is a determined teenage girl name Ari. Cut off from her home planet of Ketchan, which has been barricaded off by Mercer, Ari finds herself constantly on the run with her brother Kay to avoid being captured. Then one day, she crash-lands on Old Earth and finds an ancient sword among its ruins. You know the rest of the story: the chosen one, awakened when the world is at its greatest need for heroes. In due course, Ari rallies a group of loyal knights to her cause, including Lam, Val, and Jordan, and even finds her queen Gwen, the ruler of the medieval recreation planet Lionel.

Of course, we also mustn’t forget Merlin, the man of myth and magic. And here’s where things get a little weirder. Cursed to age backwards reliving the tragic story of King Arthur over and over, this iteration of Merlin emerges from his crystal cave the moment Ari draws the old sword, looking younger than ever before. Fearing what would happen if he fails his liege this time, Merlin places his last desperate hopes on Ari, who granted isn’t the Arthur he expected, but might turn out be the one to finally break the vicious cycle.

I’ll give Once & Future this: considering all the elements the authors had to pull together to make this work, the ideas behind the book are surprisingly well realized and great fun. I also didn’t think I would enjoy the style of humor, but I did. Offbeat but not too silly, the jokes and playful banter actually helped make this novel a smoother ride and more enjoyable.

That said though, I found most of everything else to be a struggle, especially the story. Despite the high stakes, there’s a distinct lack of depth to any of our characters’ actions because all the plot points involved are so shallow and simplistic. In a way, I suspect this might in fact be a side effect of the world-building, which I also felt was flimsy and superficial and even a bit goofy—though on this point, I am less sure whether or not this is by design. We seem to be constantly waffling back and forth between a serious space opera in which our characters deal with some pretty grave matters versus an over-the-top sci-fi comedy where the lines between retelling and straight-up parody are being blurred. As a reader, I found this split incredibly jarring and difficult to engage with.

Furthermore, after the first quarter of the book, we started to run out of things to feel excited about. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the refreshing diversity of our characters and the representation in the novel, but like I always say, a gesture like this is diminished if everything else—story, characters, world-building, etc.—isn’t tightly written. And indeed, a lot of these elements fell a bit short. The pacing was haphazard, with examples like our characters becoming best buds in an eyeblink, or time jumps being handled less than ideally. The plot, which started off being so promising and chockful of all these wildly creative ideas became progressively less interesting as the story retreated back to more familiar territory with regards to aspects of the King Arthur legend.

Ironically, I think it’s the reincarnation angle that’s the most intriguing but also the most restrictive feature of this story. Here is a retelling of the Arthurian legend in space where the possibilities are essentially limitless. However, because of the direction the authors have chosen, we’re locked into the same patterns that we’ve seen countless times before, superimposed upon a typical YA dystopian tale of oppression and resistance, reskinned with a sci-fi setting with planets and spaceships.

Ultimately, I believe Once & Future was a case of many well-developed ideas and themes that sadly did not come together as well as they could have. Taken individually, I loved many aspects of this book, including the central premise and diverse characters, but presented as a whole, the experience somehow felt empty and unfulfilling. I’d say this novel is still worth the read for the things it does well, but at the same time, be prepared for the things it doesn’t.

Friday Face-Off: King

Posted on March 22, 2019 29 Comments

This week’s theme is:

“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.”
~ a cover featuring a KING

Mogsy’s Pick:

Dragon’s Child by M.K. Hume

Dragon’s Child is the story of King Arthur (known here as Artorex) and his journey from a humble childhood to become the High King of the Britons. Artorex is presented to us as the reluctant hero, whose personal choice would have been to raise a family on his foster family’s farm and live out the rest of his days as a simple steward. Fate, however, has set him on a different path.

Like many, I’ve read my fair share of retellings and interpretations of the King Arthur mythos, but I am most definitely not well-versed in the historical details. This made me curious as to how M.K. Hume, a leading academic expert on Arthurian literature, would tackle the legend from more of a historical perspective than a fantasy or mythological one. It’s been a few years since I read this one, and in that time, more editions of the book have been published. Let’s take a look at some of the covers:

From left to right, top to bottom:
Headline (2009) – Atria (2013)

Spanish Edition A (2011) – Spanish Edition B (2013) – Spanish Edition C (2015)

Portuguese Edition A (2010) – Portuguese Edition B (2012)

Winner:

My favorite cover this week is the Portuguese Edition B (2012); I just love how the whole thing is laid out as well as the cool highlight effect of the white lines, almost like the entire image has been put through an illustration filter. Plus, the typeface is also very pleasing.

But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?