Book Review: The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
Posted on February 28, 2019 39 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Orbit (February 26, 2019)
Length: 432 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I am but a simple reader, with simple tastes. I can appreciate when an author tries different things, or when a novel tries to break out of its genre and stylistic norms. But at the end of the day, all I want to do is read a good story I can relate to and, above all else, enjoy. Which, unfortunately, was not The Raven Tower.
Thing is, this novel does in fact contain a fascinating premise: in a prosperous kingdom named Iraden, a god called the Raven watches and protects his land and its people, staving off all threats with his magic. But this protection comes at a price—one exacted in blood. To sustain the Raven’s power, a sacrifice must be offered by the ruler of Iraden known as the Raven’s Lease, a human chosen by the god to carry out his will in the mortal realm. As long as this tradition continues, the land remains safe and thriving.
But now, the power of the Raven is waning. Another god called the Strength and Patience of the Hill narrates this tale, watching events play out in its stonebound form. Iraden’s downfall begins as Mawat, the heir to the current Lease, returns home to find his father missing and the throne usurped by his uncle. In the middle of this chaos, an unassuming aide named Eolo tries to help Mawat reclaim his birthright, unwittingly stumbling upon a grave secret beneath the foundations of the Raven’s Tower.
Now here’s the rub: told in a mix of first and second person narration, you as the reader are essentially Eolo, and the narrator is the Strength and Patience of the Hill using its all-seeing gaze to tell you all that’s happening, what you are doing and thinking, and pretty much everything else there is to know about what’s going on. Not that you, as Eolo, can really be aware all the time that the god is speaking all the time, though. Like its name implies, the Strength and Patience of the Hill has also been around for a long, long time. It has seen quite a lot of things and it also isn’t shy about waxing poetic—to itself—about its age-old history and the past.
Consequently, I think the writing style will be the biggest point of contention for readers, and the determining factor in whether you will love this novel or hate it. Personally, I have a somewhat thorny relationship with the second-person narrative mode, though I concede that if used sparingly, or in specific situations that call for it, it can be very effective. Regrettably though, the way it was done here grated on my nerves like nails raked across a chalkboard. I’m not saying the idea wasn’t clever or that Leckie’s technique in employing it wasn’t skillful, but the constant distraction of it was mentally exhausting and frankly not very pleasant at all.
Which is why, as much as I wanted to like this novel, I struggled to connect with nearly every aspect of it. In particular, the characters were a bust. While you are supposed to be Eolo, use of the second person device immediately distances you from everything you do and everything you are supposed to be. From there, everything else failed to spark my interest, which is a shame because in theory, the inspiration behind the story and its lore is actually quite imaginative and compelling. Thematically, it reminded me a little of Joanne Harris’ The Gospel of Loki in that the narrative almost takes on a mythical quality, using the god-and-mortal relationship to explore concepts like power, knowledge and ideology through a philosophical lens. It’s just unfortunate that Leckie’s execution and interpretation did not work for me at all.
Bottom line? If a unique and an entirely different kind of fantasy is what you’re looking for, The Raven Tower is a book you might want to consider, but I also recommend reading samples or plenty of reviews to determine if the style is to your taste. Who knows, this could very well end up being your favorite book of the year. But if what you find strikes you as ludicrously complicated or irritating and awkward to the extreme, then it’s probably safe to say this novel is not for you. I have great admiration for Ann Leckie and think she’s a talented writer. I reasonably enjoyed reading her Imperial Radch trilogy and Provenance, though neither really blew me away, so it was initially my hope that her first foray into epic fantasy would be more my speed. But well, c’est la vie, as they say.
Waiting on Wednesday 02/27/19
Posted on February 27, 2019 21 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
Dragon Unleashed by Grace Draven (September 24, 2019 by Ace Books)
Grace Draven has become one of my favorite authors now that I know I can count on her for the perfect balance of fantasy and romance. Dragon Unleashed will be the second book set in her Fallen Empire universe and the standalone follow-up to Phoenix Unbound!
“A dragon shapeshifter and a healer with power over the earth fight a corrupt empire in this thrilling and deeply emotional romantic fantasy from the USA Today bestselling author of Radiance.
Magic is outlawed in the Krael Empire and punishable by death. Born with the gift of earth magic, the free trader Halani keeps her dangerous secret closely guarded. When her uncle buys a mysterious artifact, a piece of bone belonging to a long-dead draga, Halani knows it’s far more than what it seems.
Dragas haven’t been seen for more than a century, and most believe them extinct. They’re wrong. Dragas still walk among the denizens of the Empire, disguised as humans. Malachus is a draga living on borrowed time. The magic that has protected him will soon turn on him–unless he finds a key part of his heritage. He has tracked it to a group of free traders, among them a grave-robbing earth witch who fascinates him as much as she frustrates him with her many secrets.
Unbeknownst to both, the Empire’s twisted empress searches for a draga of her own, to capture and kill as a trophy. As Malachus the hunter becomes the hunted, Halani must risk herself and all she loves to save him from the Empire’s machinations and his own lethal birthright.”
Book Review: A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery by Curtis Craddock
Posted on February 26, 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.
A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery by Curtis Craddock
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 2 of The Risen Kingdoms
Publisher: Tor (January 22, 2019)
Length: 416 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I loved An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors by Curtis Craddock, so you can imagine my excitement when it came time to dive into its sequel. To my delight, A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery turned out to be every bit as enchanting and mysterious as the first book, featuring the same incredible fusion of genre elements that captured my imagination so completely.
Once again, we’re transported back into the world of The Risen Kingdoms, where protagonist Isabelle des Zephyrs has been struggling with both the success and failures necessary for a leader’s development. Le Grand Leon has made her ambassador to the Great Peace, but unfortunately, the job has come with a lot more strings attached than she anticipated. What’s more, on top of her increased responsibilities, Isabelle finds herself dealing with her newfound well of magic—a discovery which has certainly elevated her status in court but has also meant increased scrutiny for her behavior and actions.
In a cutthroat environment like this, Isabelle knows she must step lightly, but there are also certain lines she is determined never to cross. Soon enough, her morals are put to the test, and when one of her decisions leads to a diplomatic incident, she finds herself thrown under a bus and stripped of all authority and protection. Thankfully, Isabelle’s friend and guardian Jean-Claude has remained faithfully by her side throughout the entire ordeal, keeping her spirits up as she ponders her next step. That decision is quickly made for her though, as Jean-Claude, in his own work as a King’s Musketeer, uncovers a horrific plot involving human experimentation perpetrated by a shadowy enemy known as the Harvest King, inevitably drawing them both into a tangled web of danger and conspiracy.
And here I thought An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors was complex, but its sequel proved to be an even more twisted and suspenseful read. Like its predecessor, A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery was filled with courtly secrets and political intrigue as Craddock continues to build upon the plotlines he’s already established. Almost immediately, multiple threads arise to seize the reader’s interest, introducing even more mystery to the series. I honestly could never tell where the story was going to take me next; at times it almost got to be overwhelming because there were so many possibilities and nothing was ever predictable.
As well, I’m impressed with character development and the direction in which our main characters’ relationships are headed. The author has ensured that his protagonists have evolved with their experiences while retaining the core of their true selves, and Isabelle is a prime example, sticking to her guns even when she knows that it will cost her dearly. That said, she would then utilize her intelligence and whatever resources she can gather to keep moving forward, and I loved that she also started exploring her romantic side as part of her soul-searching. Moreover, I was beside myself with happiness when it came to Jean-Claude, who was my favorite character in the first book. He won me over yet again in this sequel, demonstrating, over and over why his loyalty is one of his most endearing traits. Interestingly enough, we also got to glean some details of his past which showed he was not always the kind of man we know him to be, but somehow these glimpses into his youth only made me like him more, knowing that he had matured and learned from his mistakes.
And of course, I would be remiss if I made no mention to the gorgeous world-building. Craddock greatly expands it in this volume, adding to the already vibrant atmosphere and history of The Risen Kingdoms. As I wrote in my review of the first book, there are honestly few things that this series doesn’t have. Examples from many genres are represented, including intricate magic systems, powerful shapeshifters, clockwork automata, flying airships, floating kingdoms, dashing musketeers and much, much more. With book two, this world has further solidified itself as a complex network of all these disparate but interconnected elements.
Initially, I was concerned that this novel wouldn’t feel quite as fun or surprising, given how a lot of the luster and novelty had worn off. Fortunately though, that was not the case, and A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery turned out to be a riveting and worthy sequel. This is a series I would highly recommend if you enjoy narratives that contains a number of different genres, themes, and ideas. I really hope more people will discover the wonders of Curtis Craddock’s The Risen Kingdoms, and I await the next installment with great anticipation.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (Book 1)
Guest Post: “Under Ordshaw’s Covers” by Phil Williams
Posted on February 25, 2019 16 Comments
As you may have gathered, from our old Cover Lover feature to our participation in the Friday Face-Off meme each week, we love book covers here at the BiblioSanctum–and not just the art itself, but the entire process of planning and designing too–which is why today I am very pleased to welcome author Phil Williams to the blog. If you have been following the coverage of this year’s SPFBO you might recognize his name and novel Under Ordshaw, most notably from Lynn’s Book Blog where it was one of the books she considered when it came to choosing her finalist. But did you know that Phil is also a talented designer who created all the covers for the books in his Ordshaw world? When he reached out to me earlier this month about this series of interconnected urban fantasy thrillers, not only was I intrigued by the stories, I was also immediately fascinated with their colorful covers. Needless to say, I was thrilled when Phil offered to write a guest post providing a glimpse into his cover design process, and as a special treat, we’ll even get to see the finished cover for his upcoming Ordshaw novella, The City Screams, which is set to come out in April! I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did, and be sure to check out the books of Ordshaw.
UNDER ORDSHAW’S COVERS
by Phil Williams
I don’t have the talents of the artists I’ve worked with on book design. But I do have a tight purse, and a dream of producing over a dozen books in the Ordshaw series, so I took a course in cover design. Sadly, my path to simple commercial mimicry was thwarted by the exacting demands of a slightly unconventional series.
In urban fantasy, the predominant cover style sets a sexy woman in (or partially out of) leathers, swimming in bright colours, against urban grunge. Fine for a sexy story of magic, but Ordshaw’s protagonist, Pax, is unfit, dresses in cotton and doesn’t wield balls of light. Her casual urban look is less ‘torn-jeans showing off tight skin’, more ‘can I pretend this food stain just happened?’
It’s not an easy look to capture using stock models.
After extensive searching for my Pax, I gave up in lieu of finding an alternative contemporary fantasy style. Fortunately, there are more minimalist designs in the market: like the Rivers of London series or V.E. Schwab’s books. Unique, and clearly done by branding pros, such styles were unlikely to be easily attainable or commercial for a thrifty unknown author – so I aspired to something fractionally as good using some more common cover design ideas.
I started by going with the trope of splitting the page with a city skyline; particularly fitting for Under Ordshaw, featuring secrets lurking beneath the city. As a prayer for commerciality, I added a text-style based on the modern thriller genre.
Less straight-forward was how to represent the actual story. I wanted to show so many things, including but not limited to: an ancient book describing unheard-of monsters; actual monsters; creepy tunnels; poker; not magic, but something resembling unnatural energies; guns; fairies?!
At some point I settled on two options: 1) Go abstract with one simple image; or 2) create a specific, silhouetted scene from the book.
I created both. The first option was far simpler: easiest way to say fantasy and danger without luminescent magic? Monsters. What says monster? Evil eyes or claw marks. The eye was born.
The scenic choice was more complex. I recreated a scene from about a quarter of the way into the book; something encountered in a tunnel. I carefully combined tons of images, and after extensive editing was quite proud of the result: it actually resembled how it looked in my head.
I opened the pair of images up to feedback, and everyone preferred the eye. My editor said the scenic image simultaneously left little to the imagination and wasn’t satisfying imagery.
So.
The Ordshaw style was settled, and the cover for Under Ordshaw unleashed upon the world.
The second book, Blue Angel, was a simpler affair: all it needed was a new cityscape (the biggest task, as the Ordshaw cityscapes are not pre-existing skylines), a new colour scheme and a new image. Having rejected the claw for Book 1, it came naturally to Book 2, but with added electricity, capturing a theme of the book in the abstract.
Now I’m onto a third book (not Book 3, but a standalone novella, Ordshaw’s unconventional manners swinging around again). The City Screams, out soon, is set in Tokyo, so the cityscape was simple. I hit a hurdle on other visuals, though, as the threats in The City Screams are unseen. I reluctantly went human – but with the style already settled this proved easier than before. And I wasn’t hunting for a Pax, which made me more forgiving (though the end result is still an edited combination of different people who weren’t quite right).
Three books in, with two more rapidly approaching, I’m really happy with how the series imagery is panning out. I’m not sure it fits the commercial bill, in the end, but, for a series standing somewhere between noir, urban fantasy and horror, I at least think I’ve captured the mood.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Phil Williams writes contemporary fantasy and dystopian fiction and non-fiction grammar guides. His novels include the interconnected Ordshaw urban fantasy thrillers, the post-apocalyptic Estalia saga and the action-packed Faergrowe series. He also runs the website English Lessons Brighton, and writes reference books to help foreign learners master the nuances of English.
Phil lives with his wife by the coast in Sussex, UK, and now spends a great deal of time walking his impossibly fluffy dog, Herbert.
You can visit him at his website at http://phil-williams.co.uk or on Twitter at @fantasticphil.
YA Weekend Audio: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
Posted on February 24, 2019 25 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 3 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Series: The Grishaverse, Book 1 of The Nikolai Lantsov Duology
Publisher: Audible Studios (January 29, 2019)
Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang
Between the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, I’ve had some great times in the Grishaverse. However, as glad as I am for the opportunity to read King of Scars and embark on this next chapter of the journey, I can’t say unequivocally that I really enjoyed this book. It had its moments, but overall, I didn’t think it was as well put together as some of Bardugo’s better work.
It has been three years since the end of Ravka’s bloody civil war as we saw in the conclusion of Ruin and Rising, but sadly, the nation is still in turmoil. As King Nikolai struggles to keep his kingdom from tearing itself apart again before old rifts can even heal, he is also dealing with a terrible secret that can threaten everything he has ever built. A darkness has made itself at home within him, and it is growing stronger every day, making Nikolai fear for himself, his friends, and his people. With the help of those closest to him, he devises a plan to travel abroad to find a way to banish his curse, while putting a double on the throne to allay suspicions of his true whereabouts.
Meanwhile, following the events of Crooked Kingdom, Nina has made her way to Fjerda in her grief to seek out more Grisha. It is a difficult mission, for those who have the art of matter manipulation are still mistrusted and hunted down and killed, but Nina manages to find a promising young recruit in a wild region of the country full of mysteries and secrets.
In the months leading up to the publication of King of Scars, I remember stumbling upon an interview with Bardugo where she admitted she never planned on writing a book about Nikolai—and honestly, I wish she hadn’t. I know I’m being harsh, but I really did not enjoy his sections of the book (which is most of it) at all. Nothing against his character—I liked him very much in the original Grisha trilogy—but I found his storyline here incredibly dull and disjointed. And I may catch some flak for this, but I am so over the Darkling. Actually, I was never into him to begin with, never having understood the appeal for such an irredeemable monster who has done such abusive, horrible things. So it annoyed me a bit when I came across many sections of this story that felt like blatant fan service for the character, what with the entire cult that worshiped the Darkling and saw him as some kind of saint. It just left a real bad taste in my mouth.
Fortunately, the other storylines fared much better. Although Nina’s mission took a while to take off, I think her arc was the most interesting from an emotional standpoint. She goes through so many different feelings and inclinations on this journey, and I liked that it dealt with everything from loss to love. Her sections also introduced some of the best new characters, including Hanne, whom Nina forms a deep bond with by the end of the novel. And speaking of new characters, there’s Isaak—poor, poor Isaak…though strangely enough, I think his POV was my favorite of all. Between the slogging parts of both Nikolai and Nina’s storylines, Isaak’s role was like a shining beacon of humor and surprises.
On the whole though, King of Scars really could have been better. As it is now, my feelings are ambivalent, and I’m only glad I didn’t go into this one with hyped up expectations or I might have been terribly disappointed. The thing is, the first half of the book was just sooooo slow. During this time, I kept on asking myself these questions that had no clear answers—like, where is the main conflict? Or, what am I supposed to be caring about? It wasn’t until much later that I started getting an idea, and considering this one clocks in at more than five hundred pages, that’s a lot to demand from your readers. I also don’t recommend tackling this one until you’ve read all the main novels of both series that came before. The narrative does make a valiant attempt at rehashing some of the world’s previous events, but it was neither here nor there, and all it did was probably slow the plot down further.
But I did also say the book had its moments, and I stand by that. There was lots of excitement in the ending, as each storyline comes to a head. While it might not have been enough to increase my overall regard for King of Scars, the concluding sections injected some much-needed energy into what I thought was a pretty mediocre novel. And another silver lining? The ending made me feel much more confident in the next book in this duology, which I do plan on reading. I still love Bardugo and her Grishaverse, and despite the hitches, I’m optimistic that things will get back on track.
Audiobook Comments: I listen to a lot of YA in audio, enough that over time I have developed a list of favorite narrators that I know will never disappoint. Lauren Fortgang is one of them; I loved her performance on King of Scars as well as her work on all the other Grisha audiobooks, so to me she is the voice of this series. In fact, listening to this in audio might have helped me finished the book because I probably would have stalled on the slower parts had I read the print.
YA Weekend: Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
Posted on February 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.
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons BYR (February 26, 2019)
Length: 432 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Wow, Four Dead Queens was pretty great, and if you’ve followed my reviews for a while, you probably know that’s not praise I bestow on YA too lightly, especially when it comes to debuts. Then again, it’s not often that I encounter a YA debut that completely takes me by surprise, which immediately made this one special—and I loved that it didn’t turn out the way I expected.
First of all, this story is really more of murder mystery—but with a twist. And there’s not much more I can say about that without spoiling the plot, but suffice it to say, it made things very interesting indeed. The book’s title refers to the four queens that rule the nation of Quadara, so named because it is divided into four quadrants, each boasting its own unique culture and specialties. Each queen is closely linked to the respective quadrant that she rules, governing the citizens within it with the help of a personal advisor. Queens are sequestered in their palace, never allowed to leave, and the only through death or abdication could they pass on their rule to an heir, who must be a daughter of their blood.
But what happens when a queen dies without an heir? This is the problem Quadara currently faces, with four queens on the throne who have yet to produce female issue—that anyone knows of, at least. And now they are being systematically targeted by a mysterious assassin, who seems bent on destroying the very foundation of the realm and its traditions.
Meanwhile in the Concord, a central area where the four sections of Quadara come together, a plucky thief named Keralie has unwitting stumbled upon a find of a lifetime. However, no great treasure ever comes without its dangers, which our hapless protagonist soon learns when the comm disks she’d managed to intercept are revealed to contain records of how all four queens are brutally murdered. Together with Varin, the messenger she originally stole her bounty from, Keralie must trace the origin and path of comm disks to discover the identity of those conspiring against Quadara and stop their plot before it’s too late.
Perhaps my favorite thing about Four Dead Queens was the story, which isn’t always the strongest aspect of a YA novel. There’s a tendency in this genre to retread common plot tropes, and for me, those books usually end up in the forgettable pile after a few months. Astrid Scholt’s debut, however, was different. While political machinations and threat of death at court are certainly not new ideas, the author chose a very bold and unique way to frame these themes in her novel, and only time will tell if her ambitious move pays off, but it sure worked wonders for yours truly. I loved how the main plot was told through Keralie’s eyes, but that the queens also got a chance to tell their side of the story. And even though more POVs often lead to pacing problems and confusion, I didn’t think that was the case here. In fact, I felt their queens’ part in it only added to the overall depth of the narrative, providing details in a way that wouldn’t have been quite as interesting or effective had they been revealed any way else.
The world-building was also fascinating, even if it wasn’t perfect. While I liked the idea of the four quadrants of Quadara being separate and different culturally and ideologically—e.g. Toria values intellect and education, Ludia values pleasure and entertainment, Archia values the natural world and is inclined towards a simpler lifestyle, and Eonia values logic, science, and technology—none of it really makes sense on a deeper level, and the systems in which they operate are superficial to the point of being absurd. Thankfully, the bulk of this story takes place within the palace and doesn’t venture much beyond, or I probably would have taken greater issue with this facile, all-or-nothing approach to world-building. One must simply accept this is the way of Quadara, and that somehow everything miraculously runs smoothly despite little to no explanation into how inter-quadrant relationships work or what the queens actually do to govern their country.
There were a few other minor issues, mostly related to how time was presented in this story because of the way it was written, but they weren’t enough to detract from my overall enjoyment. The overarching plot was really the main drive behind the novel, which kept me engaged and turning the pages. All in all, I thought the plot of Four Dead Queens was a refreshing change from a lot of the typical YA I’ve been reading as of late, and I found the characters and the mystery entertaining. It’s also a standalone that ties up quite nicely, but even though there will be no sequel to anticipate, that doesn’t mean I won’t be looking forward to Astrid Scholt’s future projects with interest. She’s got my attention now, and I’ll be keeping my eye out for what she writes next.
Friday Face-Off: Abandoned Buildings
Posted on February 22, 2019 36 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:
“Woe, destruction, ruin, and decay; the worst is death and death will have his day.”
~ a cover featuring ABANDONED BUILDINGS
Mogsy’s Pick:
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Behold Newcago – the setting of Steelheart, the first book of Brandon Sanderson’s YA superhero trilogy. Built upon the metallic ruins of the city formerly known as Chicago, what’s left is a landscape made up of completely solid steel after a High Epic named Steelheart went bonkers and transformed everything around him with his superpowers. And just as I expected, this post-apocalyptic dystopian’s covers are rife with imagery depicting abandoned buildings and other defunct structures. Let’s check them out now:
From left to right, top to bottom:
Delacorte Press (2013) – Orion Books (2013) – Ember (2014)
French Edition (2015) – Danish Edition (2015) – German Edition (2016)
Polish Edition (2015) – Portuguese Edition (2016) – Russian Edition (2015)
Slovak Edition (2014) – Greek Edition (2016) – Czech Edition (2015)
Italian Edition (2014) –Dutch Edition (2016) – Thai Edition (2015)
Chinese Edition (2014) – Bulgarian Edition (2013) – Indonesian Edition (2016)
Winner:
So many covers, and representing such a wide range of styles and themes! Many of them aren’t half bad either, making it very difficult to choose my favorite this week. But maybe it’s my current mood, or just the cold, grey and drab weather outside right now, but I find myself repeatedly drawn back to the dark, moody atmosphere of the 2015 Danish edition. I also love the simple yet powerful effect of the sepia tones and just the stark drama of the crumbling ruins captured in this image.
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
Book Review: Crucible by James Rollins
Posted on February 21, 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.
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Thriller
Series: Book 14 of Sigma Force
Publisher: William Morrow (January 22, 2019)
Length: 480 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
James Rollins is one of those authors who has been on the periphery of my attention for a while now, and so when I was offered a chance to review his newest Sigma Force novel, I decided to give it a try. Although Crucible is the fourteenth installment of the series and I usually balk at the idea of starting anywhere other than the beginning, I was reassured when I learned that book can be enjoyed as a standalone.
At the University of Coimbra in Portugal, the first test of an advanced artificial intelligence program is abruptly halted when the laboratory in which the experiment is taking place is invaded by a group of armed cultists. All the scientists in the room were slaughtered except for a young researcher named Mara, who had been the one to develop the powerful AI known as Eve. Frightened and alone, Mara has no idea why her lab was targeted, but knows that whoever the attackers are, they will stop at nothing until she and her creation are destroyed.
Meanwhile, in Silver Spring, Maryland, Commander Gray Pierce and his friend Monk of Sigma Force return home after a night out on Christmas Eve to find a horrific sight. Gray’s house has been ransacked, and his pregnant girlfriend Seichan is missing. Monk’s wife Kat is found unconscious on the kitchen floor with a serious head wound, and the couple’s young daughters are also gone, stolen away by whoever took Seichan. These mysterious kidnappers seem to believe that Sigma Force is linked to the massacre at the University of Coimbra, leading Gray and Monk to travel to Europe to investigate the possible connection and to try to get their loved ones back. Unfortunately, while Kat may be able to glean some information about their enemies, her injuries have put her into a comatose state. Knowing that his wife would do anything to save their girls, Monk agrees for her to be moved to a state-of-the-art MRI suite at the Princeton Medical Center, where Sigma Force members Lisa Cummings and Painter Crowe endeavor to work round the clock with the neurologists there to unlock the answers in Kat’s brain using cutting edge technology.
As a first-timer to Rollins, the best way I can describe Crucible is a techno-thriller and special ops action/adventure hybrid that blurs the lines between science fiction and reality, somewhat in a similar vein as Michael Crichton or Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. The main thrust behind this novel is the idea that a super artificial intelligence would eventually achieve self-awareness and one of its first orders of business would be protect itself against any kind of intervention from its human creators. However, the fear that a global catastrophe or even human extinction might occur if this happened has not halted the advancements in the AI field, which continue to be developed at an alarming pace.
In Crucible, Mara is the brilliant scientist who created Eve as an AI that would learn, evolve, and grow with empathy—presumably so that it would rethink going all Terminator on us if the program ever broke free from human control. But to the main baddies of this story, who are like the modern incarnation of the Spanish Inquisition, Mara and others like her who mess with the natural order of the world must be purged, as instructed in their venerated treatise, the Malleus Maleficarum, or the “Hammer of Witches”. To my surprise, while inundating us with details of high-tech gadgetry and complex scientific theory, the plot also includes elements that take us back to the seventeenth century for answers buried in the past.
Needless to say, there was a lot going on. Since this was also my first Sigma Force novel, I have no idea if this is standard for these books, but there were times where I felt completely overwhelmed with all the people, places, and things to keep track of. You had Mara on the run with her AI program. Kat in the neurology lab going through the most advanced and experimental neurological treatments. Seichan and the girls trying to stay alive in their kidnappers’ custody. Gray and Monk running all over Europe chasing down the clues to get their family members back. The main antagonists and their connection to secret society tracing back to Medieval Spain. Towards the end, Rollins even threw in some quantum physics and time travel for good measure, which I felt was a bit much. But again, this might be par for the course with these books, and for all I know, Crucible is simply serving up more of what fans want.
To its credit though, this book can indeed be enjoyed as a standalone despite the challenges of keeping up with all its moving parts. I felt only slightly disadvantaged when it came to not knowing the characters’ histories, and while I had some problems relating to their motivations and decisions, there was enough background information provided to make me at least understand. In a way, not being familiar with the characters also meant not being able to predict their behavior and actions, which might have actually increased the level of suspense and my enjoyment.
Overall, Crucible was wildly exhilarating, and as a reader coming to James Rollins for the first time, I also found his writing to be wonderfully readable and addictive. I also enjoyed his author’s note at the end describing all the topics he touched upon, revealing how there’s perhaps a lot more truth than fiction in many of the things he writes about. If this is the caliber of action, thrills and suspense I can expect from a Sigma Force novel, then I definitely wouldn’t mind reading another one after this.
Waiting on Wednesday 02/20/19
Posted on February 20, 2019 21 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 Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young (September 3, 2019 by Wednesday Books)
It’s rare for me to come across YA debuts I love, so whenever it happens, I take note to remember to pick up the author’s future books. The Girl the Sea Gave Back is the follow-up to Adrienne Young’s Sky in the Deep that I enjoyed so much, and I believe it is a standalone set in the same world.
“For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.
For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.”
Book Review: Gates of Stone by Angus Macallan
Posted on February 19, 2019 26 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Gates of Stone by Angus Macallan
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of Lord of the Islands
Publisher: Ace Books (February 19, 2019)
Length: 544 pages
Author Information: Website
Historical fiction writer Angus Donald begins a new epic fantasy series under his pseudonym Angus Macallan, drawing from his vast experience of living and working in Asia to create a world where nations war, rulers scheme, and in the midst of them all, a powerful sorcerer quietly pursues his bloodthirsty quest for the seven ancient artifacts required to destroy the world.
Gates of the Stone is the first novel of the Lord of the Islands series, and there are quite a few names and places to keep track of in this opening volume. Of the handful of key characters, however, the first of these is sixteen-year-old Princess Katerina of the Empire of the Ice-Bear. The story begins with the wedding between her and a foreign lord, but alas, their union is short-lived as the first thing Katerina does after their marriage is consummated is to jam the full length of a dull blade into the base of her husband’s brain. The princess has loftier ambitions than to be the wife of a mere lordling; she would have been heir to the throne of her homeland had her birthright not been snatched away because she was a woman, and she isn’t about to let this slight go unpunished. Murdering her husband and usurping his power was just the beginning; soon she will take her forces on the road to reclaim her inheritance from her traitorous cousin.
Next, we have Jun, a royal heir in his own right to a small idyllic island kingdom where he spends his days in lassitude working on his art and poetry. But all that peace is shattered one day when his home is invaded by an army led by a fiendish sorcerer, who killed Jun’s father and stole the blessed sword of their royal ancestors. Determined to get it back, Jun endeavors to get over his cowardice and joins a crew of unlikely allies to follow the sorcerer’s trail through pirate-infested seas. Then we have Farhan, who beneath his guise as a middle-aged merchant is actually part of a mercenary group with much larger designs. A man of many debts, Farhan also has a lot invested in the current venture, given that it is his only chance to get the creditors off his back. And finally, there’s Mangku, the dark sorcerer searching for the Seven Keys to fulfill his greatest undertaking in blood magic. A native of Laut Besar who has been shunned and beaten down his whole life, he is now one step closer to holding the power that will make the whole world break.
I’ll be honest, Gates of Stone was a novel that took me quite a while to get into. Much of the first half is not exactly what I would call fast-paced, and a lot of the “excitement” generated throughout the story felt very contrived and manufactured. From Katerina’s cold-blooded murder of her husband to the scene where she offers a fantastic sum of money to a drug addict to castrate himself, or the rape and torture that Jun encounters in the slave mines to the cannibalistic tribes that Farhan and his shipwrecked crewmates find on an island—all these examples were written in a way that made me think the author’s main priority was dramatic or sensationalist effect, which admittedly put me off for most of the book. The story obviously deals with a lot of dark and mature topics, yet unfortunately the presentation of many of these themes came across to me as superficial and overly simplistic, such as Katerina’s meteoric rise to power with little to no resistance, or her portrayal as cruel for the sake of being cruel. To be fair, these criticisms are likely the result of my own personal tastes in writing and storytelling style, but there were simply too many of these examples that don’t stand up to scrutiny.
More concerning to me were the POV characters, most of whom I found difficult to connect with because for the first half of the book they were all so two-dimensional with entire personas that could be summed up in a couple lines. It also didn’t help that they were saddled with very unpleasant flaws, and if readers were meant to find these characters distasteful from the start, I must say Macallan might have done his job a little too well. That said, things did start looking up in the second half as he began beef up both plot development and characterization, although I still found the supporting cast (Captain Lodi, Ketut, Ari, etc.) to be more interesting than our three main characters for the most part.
But here’s what I did like: the world-building of Gates of Stone is to die for, featuring a setting inspired by the island traditions and environments of Indonesia along with a slight smattering of influences from other Asian cultures like China and Japan. Macallan names this fictional region the Laut Besar, containing an archipelago in a tropical stretch of ocean teeming with pirates, slavers, and smugglers trafficking a potent narcotic known as obat. It’s ocean-faring adventures galore for those of us who love maritime fantasy; every place the plot takes us to is full of new wonders to discover. In fact, the world-building details were so richly described and vibrant and full of life, I only wished that our main POV characters had been given the same treatment.
Still, while it might seem like I’m being overly generous with my final rating of Gates of Stone considering all my criticisms, I could not bring myself to give it anything less. It’s true I couldn’t get on board with many of the characters, but at the same time, all this latent potential beneath the surface is proving irresistible and making me curious to find out where this story is headed. I also can’t deny that great leaps and bounds were made in the second half of the novel with regards to the plot and character development, which spells great promise for what’s to come in the sequel. As it stands now, I think the author’s first foray into the fantasy genre was an average but solid entry, and subsequent books are probably where the series’ full potential will be found and realized. As such, I’ll be waiting for news of the next volume with interest.
The BiblioSanctum 