Friday Face-Off: Freebie
Posted on December 28, 2018 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:
A FREEBIE!
Choose one of your favorite titles and compare the covers
Mogsy’s Pick:
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Yes, I absolutely adored this book, even though magical realism isn’t typically my thing. Combining religion and mythology to tell a story of two supernatural creatures who find themselves in New York City in 1899, the story plays out like a fairy tale for adults. Chava is a magically-crafted clay golem, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi who dies at sea while on the voyage from Poland. When the ship reaches NYC, she is left directionless and without a master. Ahmad is a jinni, released accidentally after being trapped in a copper flask for hundreds of years. Through free from the vessel, he finds himself still bound to the physical world by a band of iron around his wrist, placed there by the wizard who imprisoned him so long ago.
The golem and the jinni become two more faces in the crowd trying to seek a new beginning in America. Despite being creatures of lore, their struggles and aspirations make them feel entirely too human. This was just simply a beautiful book, and a great choice if you’re in the mood for some literary fantasy! Now let’s take a look at the covers:
From left to right:
Harper (2013) – Blue Door (2013) – Portuguese Edition (2015)
Turkish Edition (2014) – Spanish Edition (2014) – German Edition (2013)
Czech Edition (2014) – Russian Edition (2014) – Indonesian Edition (2015)
Italian Edition (2013) – German Edition (2015) – Hebrew Edition (2013)
Hungarian Edition (2015) – French Edition (2016) – Norwegian Edition (2013)
Winner:
So many covers to choose from, and several that really stand out for me this week, but there can only be one! Even though it’s not as atmospheric as some of the others, I’m really feeling the colors of the French edition. At least at this very moment. Ask me another day, and my choice might be different!
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
Best of 2018 and the Year in Review
Posted on December 27, 2018 48 Comments
It’s once again that time of the year where I look back at the last twelve months and round up my favorite reads! As always, my methods are going to be rather haphazard, but as you know I read a TON of books and having to narrow it down to just “Top 10” or even “Top 20” is a difficult (if not impossible) task. That’s why I’ve opted not to do a traditional list, and instead I’m going to be breaking this post down into different genres/categories to highlight all the books that 1) were my favorites of the year, 2) I thought were most memorable, or 3) I think should be getting more love and attention. The one thing they have in common is that I loved them all.
You can see my reviews and more information about the books by clicking on the images and following the links.
Fantasy
Fantasy is typically my biggest category, though this year there were fewer contenders for top spots, or maybe I’ve just gotten pickier. Still, 2018 saw some epic releases, including The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, which is also notable for being my favorite debut of the year. There were some great sequels, including Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames, as well as King of Assassins by RJ Barker which capped off a phenomenal trilogy. A couple of my favorite authors also dazzled with new projects like Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett and Starless by Jacqueline Carey, and one of the year’s biggest surprises came in the form of Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven, a swooningly scrumptious romance fantasy.
Science Fiction
This was also a decent year for science fiction. My favorite sci-fi read of 2018 was probably Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. Other standouts include Before Mars by Emma Newman, Artificial Condition (as well as the other novellas in the Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells, Head On by John Scalzi, as well as a backlist book by Andrew Mayne called Station Breaker that I was really glad I got to read. I also got to sneak in one great sci-fi read before the end of the year, in the form of Outpost by W. Michael Gear.
But wait, there’s more! This year The BiblioSanctum once again participated in the month-long Sci-Fi November event, so if you’re interested in seeing a more detailed list of all my favorite sci-fi reads this year, be sure to check out the Top Ten post I put together for the wrap up!
Horror
I did not read as much Horror in 2018 compared to previous years, but I did love The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, and I also enjoyed Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey and The Chrysalis by Brendan Deneen.
Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
2018 was a good year for me when it comes Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, or just fantastical spec fic that doesn’t really fit neatly into either the high fantasy or science fiction categories. Speaking of being hard to categorize, The Book of Hidden Things by Francesco Dimitri was one of my most memorable reads of the year. The Philosopher’s Flight by Tom Miller was also one of my biggest surprises. An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris and Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse were both gifts to post-apocalyptic UF, and if we’re talking more traditional urban fantasy, we have Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovich closing out the first major story arc of the Rivers of London series. Finally, King of the Road by R.S. Belcher was a book I only finished a few days ago, but it might just be my favorite paranormal read of 2018.
Young Adult
Like most years, there were a number of highly anticipated Young Adult releases that fizzled for me in 2018, but thankfully there were also a number of amazing reads that balanced out those disappointments. Among them are books by a couple of my favorite authors like Skyward by Brandon Sanderson and Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell. I also discovered a couple gems from new-to-me authors, including Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf, and The Hazel Wood by debut author Melissa Albert. In terms of sequels, I had a blast with The Defiant by Lesley Livingston, and Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff was a worthy finale to the Illuminae trilogy.
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
2018 was the year I made a real effort to read more Mystery, Suspense, and Thriller – and it shows. There were quite a few books I loved in this category, including debuts like Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman and The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor, sequels like Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne and This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong, as well as a couple of awesome reads by new authors I discovered like Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier and The Winters by Lisa Gabriele.
Overview: Books Read in 2018
We still have a few more days left in the year so these numbers aren’t going to be final, but the below charts and statistics taken from Goodreads should provide a good general overview of my 2018 in books. It would be cool if I could reach 200 books read for the year!
Goodreads Ratings:
On My Shelves…
By a Male Author: 49.2%
By a Female Author: 47.7%
Unknown/Male & Female Co-Authored: 3.1%
Audiobooks: 21.8%
For Review: 95.4%
Genres (some crossover):
Fantasy: 42.1%
Science Fiction: 29.9%
Thriller/Suspense: 16.2%
Horror: 13.1%
Urban Fantasy and Paranormal: 17.3%
Children’s and Young Adult: 22.8%
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Mogsy: Best of 2014 and The Year in Review
Mogsy: Best of 2015 and The Year in Review
Mogsy: Best of 2016 and The Year in Review
Mogsy: Best of 2017 and The Year in Review
Waiting on Wednesday 12/26/18
Posted on December 26, 2018 16 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
Turning Darkness into Light by Marie Brennan (August 20th, 2019 by Tor Books)
I’m a huge fan of the Memoirs of Lady Trent series, and I couldn’t be more excited when I found out about this book. Isabella’s saga may be over, but her legacy will be carried on by her granddaughter!
“As the renowned granddaughter of Isabella Camherst (Lady Trent, of the riveting and daring Draconic adventure memoirs) Audrey Camherst has always known she, too, would want to make her scholarly mark upon a chosen field of study.
When Lord Gleinheigh recruits Audrey to decipher a series of ancient tablets holding the secrets of the ancient Draconean civilization, she has no idea that her research will plunge her into an intricate conspiracy, one meant to incite rebellion and invoke war. Alongside dearest childhood friend and fellow archeologist Kudshayn, must find proof of the conspiracy before it’s too late.
TURNING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT is a delightful fantasy of manners, the heir to the award-winning Natural History of Dragons series, a perfect stepping stone into an alternate Victorian-esque fantasy landscape.”
Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Gifts I Hope I Find Under My Christmas Tree This Morning
Posted on December 25, 2018 33 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 Bookish Gifts I Hope I Find Under My Christmas Tree This Morning
Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate, and Happy Holidays to all!
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is officially “Books I Hope I Find Under My Christmas Tree This Morning”, but quite honestly, I already have more than enough on my TBR to get through at the moment, so instead of books, I decided to feature bookish or reader related gifts that I think are pretty cool or useful (and wouldn’t mind having).
Book Sleeves
The problem with book sleeves is that you only ever really need one or two, at most a few. But all the many amazing and gorgeous designs out there make me wish I could own a few dozen.
Book Quotes Doormat
I love showing my love for fantasy in subtle ways, and having a quote doormat is a nice way to do it for when the delivery people or neighbors come around. I’m actually trying to convince my husband we need these, but I don’t know if I’m making any progress on getting him on board.
Bookish Apparel and Accessories
Speaking of showing off your love for books, another way I like to do it is through the clothing and jewelry I wear.
Book Totes
I can never have enough tote bags, especially in the summers when I visit the local library every week to stock up on reading materials for my kids. Most of mine are from shirt.woot, and I’ve gotten tons of laughs and compliments on them, so I’m always on the lookout for new available designs with bookish themes.
Headphones
Huge audiobook listener that I am, I go through bluetooth headphones like they’re going out of style. I always carry a pair with me wherever I go, and around the house will be a couple more charging, ready to be switched out when my current one runs out of juice. Due to the hard and constant use, I probably replace a pair every few months, so I have a feeling I’ll find some in my stocking this year.
Dictionary bookmark
I’m not really big on bookmarks; most of the time, whenever I find myself in need of something to mark my page, I pick up whatever’s conveniently lying around be it an old receipt or a piece of candy wrapper. I kind of like the idea of an electronic dictionary bookmark, though. Not sure how well this thing actually works, but it’s a neat concept. Something like that would be super handy for when I’m reading a dead tree book. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught myself poking at a word on the page like an idiot, waiting for the definition to pop up, momentarily forgetting I’m not actually on my Kindle.
Art Books
Okay, so maybe there are some actual books I am wishing for today. For those who don’t know, I’m a collector of concept art books, for video games especially. There have been some recent ones I’m hoping to add to my collection.
Replica Swords of SFF
Speaking of collecting random things, my dream one day is to own a respectable collection of replica swords. Not too surprisingly, there are plenty out there inspired by fantasy literature. The best replicas are super pricey though, so if I ever win the lottery or stumble across some outrageous sum in pirate treasure, maybe it’ll happen.
Little Free Library
So you’ve all heard of the Little Free Library, right? It’s basically a “take a book, return a book” free book exchange. Commonly, they take the form of a small wooden box that anyone can fill with books to share, or bring one home to enjoy. The ones I’ve seen in my area are mostly around local parks and playgrounds, but some people have also placed them in front of their houses to share with their neighborhood. This is something I’ve always wanted to do, if nothing else because it’s a fun way to donate my books and set them free in the world (let’s hope my neighbors enjoy Sci-Fi & Fantasy). If I had any woodworking talent, I’d make my own, though ready-to-be-assembled Little Free Libraries can also be purchased. Still, chances are it’s all a moot point anyway, since my despotic HOA would probably shoot this idea down faster than you can say BAH-HUMBUG! Oh well, I can dream, and if I ever move, a Little Free Library in my front yard might still be in my future.
New Shelves
I’ve long since run out of shelf space. Currently, the linen closet is doing double duty as a makeshift bookshelf, handling some of the overflow, while my side of the walk-in closet is stacked from floor to ceiling with even more books. If I were to grab a coat just a bit too violently, there’s a real possibility I might disturb something and get crushed to death in a horrible book avalanche. Yes, I am in desperate need of new shelves. My husband, who actually does have some woodworking skill, has promised to install some built-in bookshelves for our family room, but six years later, this project has still yet to get off the ground. After all this time, I’m not holding my breath, but with luck, maybe I’ll get to see some blueprints/plans this year at least!
So those are some of the neat bookish things I’ve stumbled across. What did you get (or are hoping to find) underneath the Christmas tree this year? Hope everyone is having a safe and merry holiday season!
Book Review: King of the Road by R.S. Belcher + Series Giveaway!
Posted on December 24, 2018 18 Comments
***The giveaway is now over, thanks to everyone who entered!***
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 the Road by R.S. Belcher
Mogsy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Book 2 of The Brotherhood of the Wheel
Publisher: Tor (December 4, 2018)
Length: 384 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I swear, R.S. Belcher gets better with every book. Of all his projects, The Brotherhood of the Wheel series is probably my favorite, and King of the Road is his best work yet.
First off, I love the premise. At the heart of The Brother of the Wheel series the concept of “road magic”—the idea that frequently traveled pathways have power, which often overlap with ley lines and landmarks or other structures with spiritual significance. In the United States, this would be the Interstate Highway System, and the people who make their livelihoods on it—truck drivers, bikers, highway patrolmen, toll booth collectors, rest stop operators, etc.—are the heroes of this story. They are the Brotherhood of the Wheel, members of an ancient secret society who have vowed to keep travelers on the road safe, protecting them from not just mundane threats, but from supernatural dangers and monsters as well.
King of the Road is the second book in the series, and though it can technically be enjoyed as a standalone, I would not recommend it as a starting point. The story returns to many characters we met in the first book, including Jimmie Aussapile, a thickset pot-bellied trucker whose gruff exterior belies a heart of gold. Like many in the Brotherhood, he lives a double life, moonlighting as a vigilante and monster hunter while he’s hauling freight and doing his best not to miss deadlines. At the moment, however, Jimmie is back at home in North Carolina with his family, trying to help his squire Heck Sinclair survive a gang war involving two rival motorcycle clubs. Meanwhile, Detective Lovina Marcou has traveled from Louisiana to Pennsylvania to follow up on a missing-person case, her desire to find answers driven in part by the disappearance and death of her own sister years ago. Assisting in the investigation is Max, providing Lovina with the necessary research in her capacity as a Builder, the R&D arm of the order. This time though, the mystery will lead them down a rabbit hole of terrifying danger and conspiracy, not to mention killer clowns and the infamous unsolved case of the Black Dahlia.
By incorporating so many elements together, as well as so many different plot lines, King of the Road might be the author’s most ambitious book to date, but he has managed to pull it off flawlessly. This book is a most delectable blend of horror and urban fantasy, offering up the perfect balance of dark and light, of the ancient and the modern, of the magical and the macabre. The separate mysteries Belcher develops here are each independently absorbing, but they also end up tying together in a larger narrative that compounds the immersive atmosphere of dread and unease, keeping the reader glued to the page.
And of course, I loved coming back to these characters. Jimmie was great in the The Brotherhood of the Wheel, which to some extent was also a story exploring his commitment to the Brotherhood. But now that his soul-searching is over, and he has come to terms with his personal sacrifices, it is time for him to take a step back and let his friends take the lead. Heck, Lovina, and Max are the ones who mostly drive this novel, while Jimmie settles into a more supporting role. I liked how this gave us a deeper look into the personalities and lives of the others. This time around, my favorites were Lovina and Max, whose adventures lead them to encounters with everything from hobo shamans to life-sucking carriage ghouls, as well as a visit to a haunted trailer park.
Speaking of which, I would be remiss if I did not give a special mention to the kids of the Valentine Trailer Park. One of the best POVs in this novel belongs to that of Ryan, a boy who has traveled from Baltimore with his mother to live with his grandmother in Pennsylvania. An outcast who suffers from PTSD, Ryan finds a new life as well as camaraderie and mutual support in the group of children at Valentine, who warn him against the monsters that lurk in the woods. Ryan’s chapters read like a love letter to Stephen King’s It, with clear nods to the themes of adolescent friendships, secret pacts, and a vicious cycle of terror that plagues a community. Oh yeah, and the scary clowns.
With so much going on, this novel could have been a right mess, but Belcher kept a tight rein on all the multiple threads, weaving them masterfully to create something incredible here. I’m still floored by how well everything came together. Granted, I wasn’t as interested in the storyline involving Heck and his part in the gang war, but as someone with a fascination into unsolved mysteries, I found myself completely engrossed with Lovina’s investigation into the case of the missing young woman and the connections to the Black Dahlia and Cleveland torso murders. Belcher kept the pace moving quickly, knowing exactly when to transition his scenes, and when to drop the revelations to tie the parts of his story together. He has successfully orchestrated an atmosphere of eeriness and anticipation, playing on the reader’s fears of the darkness and unknown.
We all have things that scare us, and it is precisely because of that we cannot look away. I read this book in record time, consuming it in a couple of sittings, barely coming up for breath. Full of horrors but also a surprising amount of heart and humanity, King of the Road combines excitement with an ambience of mystery. This is dark urban fantasy at its best.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Brotherhood of the Wheel (Book 1)
The Brotherhood of the Wheel Series
+ Trucker Hat Giveaway
And now, time for a pre-Christmas giveaway! Because I am such a fan of this series, I’m thrilled to be working with Tor Books to host this giveaway for a special Brotherhood of the Wheel prize package. As per the publisher’s terms, this giveaway is open to residents in the US and Canada. One winner will receive a print copy of Brotherhood of the Wheel, a print copy of King of the Road, as well as this super nifty trucker hat! To enter, all you have to do is send an email to bibliosanctum@gmail.com with your Name and valid Mailing Address using the subject line “KING OF THE ROAD” by 11:59pm Eastern time on Monday, December 31, 2018.
Only one entry per household, please. A winner will be randomly selected when the giveaway ends and then be notified by email. All information will only be used for the purposes of contacting the winner and sending them their prize. Once the giveaway ends all entry emails will be deleted.
So what are you waiting for? Enter to win! Good luck!
Book Review: Limetown created by Zack Akers & Skip Bronkie with Cote Smith
Posted on December 23, 2018 17 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Limetown created by Zack Akers & Skip Bronkie with Cote Smith
Mogsy’s Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 13, 2018)
Length: 290 pages
Author Information: Website
I confess I’d never heard of the Limetown podcast, but when this prequel novel arrived for me by surprise from the publisher, I thought it might be worth checking out. Apparently you could read it independently of the podcast, and I figured even if I had no idea who all the character were or the background of the story, the fascinating premise should at least help carry me through. After all, a paranormal mystery about a mass disappearance sounds like just the thing I would enjoy.
The story is told through the eyes of two main characters. Lia Haddock is a seventeen-year-old student journalist whose life is changed forever the day she hears about the disappearance of three hundred men, women, and children at a research facility in Limetown, a small community in Tennessee. There is also a personal connection, as one of the missing is her uncle, Emile Haddock. The event sets Lia on a path to uncovering the mystery about what happened to the people of Limetown, as well as her own family’s connection to the place. Why are her parents so reluctant to talk about Emile and what might have happened to him?
Alternating between Lia’s chapters, we also get Emile’s POV, which takes place years before. Emile is revealed to have special powers, and his strange, secretive ways also makes him a bit of a pariah at his school. He and his brother Jacob (Lia’s dad, who is much younger here) live with foster parents, but Emile cannot stop obsessing about the whereabouts of their missing mother. Running away to look for her, he winds up at a secret research facility where his psychic abilities are identified, resulting in him becoming a subject of forced experimentation.
So yes, after reading Limetown, I have concluded you can indeed pick this story up without having any knowledge of the podcast. But should you? Probably not. After some research, I did learn that Lia is the narrator of the podcast, in which she is a reporter chronicling her investigation into the missing people of Limetown, presenting her findings in a serialized fashion over the course of six episodes in the first season. Perhaps if I was a listener of the podcast, I would have felt a deeper connection to her character, but I found myself really struggling to engage with her chapters while reading the book. Granted, being somewhat reticent and aloof might have been part of her personality, but because the writing seemed to always keep the reader at arm’s length, I never felt truly invested in her storyline.
Emile fared a little better. While Lia was all about getting down to business, Emile had an openness to him as well as a humanness to his conflict which made him a more sympathetic character compared to Lia. However, after a while, his storyline paralleled hers so neatly and unconvincingly, that gradually it began to feel more forced than mysterious.
Though I hate to say it, things became rather dull after that. Part of the problem is that the mystery became lost in all the plodding details about family drama and other unnecessary distractions. The connections and big reveals were also predictably spelled out for you, so as a reader I didn’t even have to work hard to figure things out. It made me question the point of this novel. Obviously, you don’t get any answers about Limetown, since those are probably held in reserve for future seasons of the podcast, leaving this book feeling like a hastily thrown together side story with too much padding.
All told, as someone entering the world of Limetown for the first time, I found it hard to care about anything that went on in this prequel novel. Based on my experience, I can’t really say it worked too well as a standalone, but it is now also clear that I am not its target audience. Perhaps the podcast’s fans will find some things in here that will enhance their experience, especially if you are interested in getting more of Lia’s backstory.
Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Posted on December 22, 2018 29 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.
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!
The new year’s ARCs are starting to come in. Most of these were complete surprises, and with thanks for Orbit for this awesome haul: A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher is a journey of survival through a post-apocalyptic landscape, following a beloved family dog that is stolen and her owner who will do anything to get her back. I’m also looking forward to checking out Soulkeeper by David Dalglish, the opener of a new fantasy trilogy about a warrior priest who must answer the call to protect his world from monsters. Up next, The Rosewater Insurrection by Tade Thompson is the sequel to Rosewater, which was one of the strangest books I read this year, but I nonetheless enjoyed it very much. Speaking of sequels, Shadow Captain by Alastair Reynolds is the follow-up to Revenger, a book I had some really mixed feelings about, so I’m still deciding whether or not to continue the series, and The Unbound Empire by Melissa Caruso is the finale volume of the Swords and Fire trilogy, but this one I know I’ll definitely be reading!
Also thanks to the kind folks at Saga Press for sending along an ARC of Vultures by Chuck Wendig, the sixth and final installment of the Miriam Black series. I look forward to this ending with bittersweet excitement.
With thanks to Harper Voyager, I also received an ARC of The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless, a dystopian sci-fi mystery about a society trying to unlock the secrets of the past. I hope to get to this one over the holidays, because the more I hear about it, the more curious I get.
From the amazing team at Tachyon Publications comes this ARC of The Unicorn Anthology edited by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman, a collection containing sixteen magical and powerful tales about unicorns from an incredible line-up of authors including Garth Nix, Patricia A. McKillip, Carrie Vaughn and more.
My thanks also to Ace/Roc/DAW for ARCs of Titanshade by Dan Stout, a noir fantasy thriller which, judging by the cover and description, promises a lot of fun; as well as Wild Country by Anne Bishop which is the follow-up to Lake Silence, the book that began a new chapter in the author’s world of The Others earlier this year.
Also thank you to Tor Books for the following finished copies: Blood of Ten Kings by Edward Lazellari is the concluding volume of the Guardians of Aandor trilogy, and I just realized I’ve only read the first book so it looks like I’ll have a bit of catching up to do before I can dive into this one; and King of the Road by R.S. Belcher is the sequel to Brotherhood of the Wheel, continuing this amazing series a secret society of guardians who protect travelers from all kinds of supernatural threats that seek their prey along the US Interstate highway system. I’m currently reading this now and I’m loving the hell out of it – be sure to keep an eye out for my review and a very special giveaway, coming soon!
And can you all feel the holiday cheer in the air? I got a few extra goodies in the mail this month, with a huge thanks to Harper Voyager for sending along a festive holiday package containing The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty as well as an ARC of its sequel, The Kingdom of Copper. Included with the books were also a couple of yummy looking Arabic sweets, which I’m looking forward to eat! Also a shout-out and a big thank you to Peter Tieryas, who sent me a Mecha Samurai Empire holiday card, which is so unbelievably cool!
My digital haul is lighter this week, with thanks to Tor.com for kicking us off with Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett, described as a haunting story that re-imagines the consequences of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Also thanks to Serial Box for providing me with an advance reading copy of The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon, and SL Huang. Described as a space opera combining adventurous action with political intrigue, this serial has been compared to sci-fi franchises like The Expanse and Battlestar Galactica, but all I had to do was take one look at the writing team involved and I was sold. And finally, I was thrilled to snag an advance listening copy of The Wicked King by Holly Black earlier this week, and this one is already queued up to be my next audio listen. With thanks to Hachette Audio for the opportunity.
Reviews
A summary of reviews posted since the last update:
Soulbinder by Sebastien de Castell (4.5 of 5 stars)
The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman (4 of 5 stars)
Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (4 of 5 stars)
Abandoned by W. Michael Gear (4 of 5 stars)
The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone (3.5 of 5 stars)
Mass Effect: Annihilation by Catherynne M. Valente (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout (2 of 5 stars)
Roundup Highlights:
Interviews & Guest Posts
Here’s to the authors who stopped by The BiblioSanctum this week!
Guest Post: “Why Write About Ghosts?” by Ben Galley
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!
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: Seasonal
Posted on December 21, 2018 29 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:
“Ho, ho, ho!”
~ a SEASONAL cover
Mogsy’s Pick:
The Wolves of Midwinter by Anne Rice
I’m not a big reader of “seasonal” or “holiday” books, and since I already featured Joe Hill’s NOS4R2 in a previous Friday Face-Off, this week I’m going to have to once again bend the rules a little with a book I’ve not read before. Somehow, I just never found the time to get to The Wolves of Midwinter, even though I read its predecessor The Wolf Gift and thought it was decent enough. The story, obviously, takes place around midwinter, and promises a Christmas like no other…
Let’s take a look at the covers:
From left to right:
Knopf Hardcover (2013) – Anchor Paperback (2014)
Chatto & Windus (2013) – French Edition (2014) – Portuguese Edition (2014)
Spanish Edition (2014) – Polish Edition (2014)
Winner:
None of these covers are real standouts this week, but if I had to go with the one I like the most, it would probably be the Knopf Hardcover edition.
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
Book Review: The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone
Posted on December 20, 2018 20 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: Horror, Science Fiction
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books (December 4, 2018)
Length: 432 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Following The Hatching trilogy, Ezekiel Boone returns with another sci-fi horror thriller, this time delving into the world of artificial intelligence by tackling an idea I’m sure most of us who utilize smart technology devices and AI assistants have entertained at some point or another. Every day my Amazon Alexa spectacularly fails at interpreting my voice commands is another day I can sleep easy knowing that humanity’s takeover by robots is still a long way off, but what if, day by day, we are getting closer? Imagine a next-generation virtual assistant whose personality can not only pass itself off as human, but is also completely integrated with all the functions of a house. This is the basic premise of The Mansion, which features a highly advanced computer program called Nellie.
Nellie can do everything from adjusting the temperature to calling you an Uber, but she can also predict your wants and needs, hold realistic conversations, and be a constant companion so that you don’t ever have to feel alone. But there is also something wrong with her programming. Even from the beginning, her development was problematic, which is why her creators shelved her and developed Eagle Logic instead. Years later, Eagle Technology has taken off and surpassed even Apple, Google, and Microsoft, but for CEO Shawn Eagle, the dream had always been Nellie. He’d set her up in an old refurbished mansion that has belonged to his family for generations, and for a time, things were going marvelously.
But then came the accidents. The deaths. Knowing he is in way over his head, Shawn turns to his former friend and colleague Billy Stafford for help. A brilliant programmer, Billy was the real brains behind Nellie, and the only one now with any hope of fixing her. The problem though, is that the two had a falling out years ago, just before Eagle Technology became successful, when Shawn’s girlfriend Emily decided to leave him for Billy. Now Shawn is a billionaire and Billy is a recovering alcoholic just barely scraping by, but even with the bitter resentment still lingering between the them, both men realize how badly they need each other. With this deal, Shawn will finally get Nellie working the way he wants, while for Billy and Emily, who are now married, it will mean the end of all their financial concerns. All the Staffords have to do is live in Eagle mansion long-term while Billy works on ironing out Nellie’s bugs—a simple request, which turns out to be anything but. As her husband is drawn deeper into the mysteries of Nellie’s code, Emily becomes more and more disconcerted with the AI’s erratic behavior and the eerie sensation that there’s more to the house than meets the eye.
Overall, I thought The Mansion was an enjoyable read, though it is not without its bevy of flaws. First of all, the ideas here aren’t anything new, and together with Boone’s heavy reliance on well-worn thriller and horror tropes, these issues held the novel back from meeting its full potential. Also, while this is very different from The Hatching trilogy in terms of the themes and story, I feel the books all suffer from many of the same pitfalls. One is the author’s tendency to info-dump, as well as a long ramp-up to the actual meat of the story. For instance, the first few chapters are mostly filled with character backstory, laid out like a laundry list. Plot points are introduced, then are either dropped or not carried through to their conclusion. By the end, quite a few questions were also left unanswered. Now that I’ve finished the book and have the benefit of hindsight, I can see that these and other signs of disorganization were everywhere, and I can’t help thinking that much of the novel’s first half could have been pared down or scrapped completely to remove the unnecessary parts and redundancy.
To Boone’s credit, however, he has a style that feels cinematic and it makes his writing very readable and the story easy to fall into. The Mansion was very obviously inspired by The Shining (more the movie than the book, is my impression), and the influences are there, with some that are so blatant they can’t be anything else but a homage. As you can imagine, some of these allusions end up being a double-edged sword, and sometimes, rather than transport me into something akin to Kubrick’s classic, the book instead leaves me feeling like I’m reading a cheesy novelization of some B-list film on the Syfy channel. That said, what I did like about the story was this idea of a “high-tech haunted house”, blending elements from both science fiction and the paranormal, two genres that normally do not make such good bedfellows. Flashback chapters were also done very well, especially those showing us some of Shawn’s harrowing memories from his childhood. Moments of insight and other highlights such as these were what kept me reading, leading me to cut the book a lot of slack despite the pacing and plot issues.
In the end, I might have enjoyed this more than The Hatching. My criticisms aside, I can’t deny Ezekiel Boone has written an entertaining story, even if it does feel messy at times. Overall, The Mansion is undeniably flawed in many respects, but I still give it a 3.5 for its interesting concept and for being an easy, popcorn-y read.
Waiting on Wednesday 12/19/18
Posted on December 19, 2018 18 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
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (May 7th, 2019 by Knopf Books for Young Readers)
I have a feeling this will be a popular Waiting on Wednesday/Can’t Wait Wednesday pick today since the cover was recently revealed. The premise sounds a bit goofball to me, but after the brilliant collaboration between Kaufman and Kristoff on the Illuminae trilogy, I’d be curious to see whatever the two of them will come up with. Aurora Rising takes place in a new and unrelated universe, but from the sound of things, it will be the start of another incredible space operatic adventure.
“The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch . . .
A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass tech whiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger-management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering
And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem–that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
NOBODY PANIC.”
The BiblioSanctum