Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Posted on June 16, 2018 38 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
Ahhhhh it’s a huge explosion in my mailbox this week! My thanks to the publishers and authors for the following review copies received. For more details and full descriptions of the books, be sure to click the links to their Goodreads pages!
My thanks to Orbit Books for the following: A finished copy of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White, which I’ve already been hearing some great things about. I can’t wait to dive in. Also a couple unsolicited but no less exciting ARCs of Rosewater by Tade Thompson, which is being reissued by Orbit this fall, as well as Competence by Gail Carriger, the third book of the Custard Protocol series starring the daughter of the protagonist from Parasol Protectorate.
My thanks also to Pyr Books for sending me an ARC of Keepers by Brenda Cooper. I love the author’s books, and this is the sequel to last year’s Wilders.
From the wonderful folks at Titan Books I also received review copies of The Synapse Sequence by Daniel Godfrey, who is an author I’ve always wanted to read, as well as A Demon in Silver by R.S. Ford, the first book of a new grimdark trilogy called War of the Archons. Earlier in the week, The BiblioSanctum took part in a tour for this book, and in case you missed the author’s guest post we hosted, you can read it here!
I was also so excited to receive a finished copy (actually, I got two!) of The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French, with thanks to Crown Books, the traditional publisher who picked up the book after it won the 2016 Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off. I am so happy for the author, because this book is just amazing and needs to be shared far and wide. As such, I’m planning to hold a giveaway for my extra copy next week, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.
Next up, another surprise arrival, this time courtesy of Simon & Schuster. I don’t know much about We Begin Our Ascent by Joe Mungo Reed, only from what I’ve read from the publisher description. But it sounds like a mix of themes, exploring the dramas of a young family caught between love and ambition. Not my usual genre, I’ll admit, but it does sound interesting.
With thanks to Tor Books, I also received a finished copy of Starless by Jacqueline Carey. It’s one of my most anticipated books of the year, and I plan on starting it later this week. In fact, since I’m drafting this post in advance, by the time you see this, hopefully I will already be well into the story.
And this is another nice surprise: Sweep: The Story of a Girl and her Monster by Jonathan Auxier is categorized as a Middle Grade fantasy novel, following a 10-year-old chimney sweep in 19th-century England who accidentally creates a golem made up of all her favorite things. The story sounds so sweet and magical, I just might have to make time for this. My thanks to Amulet Books for the ARC.
I was also thrilled to receive a finished copy of The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay from the awesome team at William Morrow. I didn’t love the author’s last book, but I’ll always read anything he writes. Here’s hoping I’ll like this one better.
And this next one is a new experience for me. I’d never received an unsolicited physical copy of an audiobook in the mail before, and this one even included some swag! Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier is a mystery suspense thriller which also came with, appropriately, a jar of cinnamon candy hearts. It’s described as a story about three best friends–one who was murdered, one who went to prison, and one who never stopped searching for the truth–and now that my interest has been piqued, I’m dying to listen to it. My thanks to Macmillan Audio.
And huge thanks to Nightshade Books/Talos for sending me a bunch of goodies this week! An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor is the latest installment in The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. However, this is the ninth book in the sequence and I’ve only read the first so it looks like I have a lot of catching up to do. And speaking of catching up, The Soldier by Neal Asher is another book set in the author’s Polity universe, but since it kicks off a new trilogy, I’m crossing my fingers that I might actually be able to jump into this one without being too confused. The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Three edited by Neil Clark is the latest anthology of buzzworthy stories from the best and biggest names in the genre. And I’ve had The Reign of the Departed by Greg Keyes on my wishlist for a while, so I was really happy when a copy arrived!
Courtesy of Subterranean Press, I also received an ARC of Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant, also known by her real name of Seanan McGuire. I swear she is really churning out the books these days!
And finally, with thanks to the kind folks at Berkley I received a finished copy of The Mermaid by Christina Henry. I’ve already read this one and I enjoyed it, so stay tuned for my review next week.
Onto the digital pile, there’s just one ebook for me this week. Liath Luachra: The Swallowed by Brian O’Sullivan is the second book of the Irish Woman Warrior series, but can be read as a standalone. You might remember the first installment when it was covered on The BiblioSanctum as one of the titles from our initial batch of books in SPFBO 2016. When the author contacted me earlier this week to see if I would like a review copy of this sequel, I gladly said yes. Thanks, Brian!
And now for a parade of audio listening copies! From Macmillan Audio, I received By Fire Above by Robyn Bennis. I also have a hardcover of this, but of course I just couldn’t resist the audio. I listened to the first book last year and loved it, and the narrator is Kate Reading, who is awesome. With thanks to Hachette Audio, I received A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal, a thriller about a virus that sweeps the world, turning people into something more. From Audible Studios, I received The Singularity Trap by Dennis E. Taylor, who of course also wrote the super fun Bobiverse trilogy, so I have a great feeling about this one. From Serial Box Publishing, I received Born to the Blade by Michael R. Underwood, Malka Older, Cassandra Khaw, and Marie Brennan. I’ve been looking forward to this serial for a long time, and now that all eleven episodes of the first season are almost out, I can finally take a look.
With thanks to Harper Audio, I also received a copy of Awakened by James S. Murray with Darren Wearmouth, a supernatural novel about an underground horror that becomes unearthed by a new subway line in New York City. And finally, courtesy of Random House Audio, I received a couple of video game tie-ins: Minecraft: The Crash by Tracey Baptiste and World of Warcraft: Before the Storm by Christie Golden, which I’m psyched to read in anticipation of the upcoming Battle for Azeroth expansion.
Reviews
A list of my reviews posted since the last update:
Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf (4.5 of 5 stars)
Before Mars by Emma Newman (4 of 5 stars)
City of Bastards by Andrew Shvarts (4 of 5 stars)
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (4 of 5 stars)
Brief Cases by Jim Butcher (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Hollow Tree by James Brogden (3.5 of 5 stars)
The Memory of Fire by Callie Bates (2.5 of 5 stars)
Roundup Highlights:
Interviews & Guest Posts
A huge thanks to the authors who stopped by The BiblioSanctum this week!
Guest Post: “Worldbuilding on the Fly” by R.S. Ford
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update
Here’s what I’ve managed to “unstack” from the TBR since the last update. Tons of reviews coming up!
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: Riders
Posted on June 15, 2018 19 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:
“Live in the saddle. Die on the hog.”
~ a cover featuring RIDERS
Mogsy’s Pick:
Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher
I actually had several options when it came to books this week, and went back and forth on them until I finally decided to settle with Beyond Redemption because of what an awesome book it is. Konig, a twisted madman, is bent on creating a god, and a young and innocent little boy named Morgen is being groomed for the honor, to be sacrificed once it is determined he is ready to Ascend.
However, before his Ascension could come to pass, Morgen is stolen away by three wretched thieves: Bedeckt the old cantankerous warrior, Stehlen the bloodthirsty kleptomaniac woman, and Wichtig the pompous egomaniacal sociopath who fancies himself the Greatest Swordsman in the World. Konig is left with no choice but to send his dastardly henchmen after the trio of brazen miscreants, hoping to salvage his plans before pure, innocent Morgen is forever corrupted by his kidnappers. Anything can happen in this wild, dark tale of cat and mouse, but one thing is guaranteed – there’ll be a body count numbering in the hundreds and a whole lot more blood and guts spilled before this is done.
And with that, let’s look at the covers!
From left to right:
Harper Voyager (2015) – German Edition (2017) – Polish Edition (2017)
Winner:
There are fewer choices to choose from this week, but that’s okay because I already have a clear favorite. HELLO, it’s Richard Anderson, baby! The artist’s gritty style is perfect for the tone of this grimdark fantasy, and you can also easily make out the identities of the riders if you’ve read the book. For more insight on what an amazing cover this is, I would highly recommend checking out the following blog post by author Michael R. Fletcher on the making of this beautiful piece of art. It’s a fascinating read, and highlights again why I love this cover so much.
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
Guest Post: “Worldbuilding on the Fly” by R.S. Ford
Posted on June 14, 2018 19 Comments
The BiblioSanctum is pleased to be a stop on the blog tour for A Demon in Silver, the first volume of a new trilogy called the War of the Archons by R.S. Ford. Featuring a cast of fascinating characters and page-turning action, this exciting grimdark fantasy has been described as a refreshing new take on the genre. Today we are honored to host the author himself as he shares with us the process behind his writing in a guest post about worldbuilding. Released on June 12th from Titan Books, his novel is now available in bookstores everywhere. Check it out, and be sure to also stop by the other blogs on the tour!
WORLDBUILDING ON THE FLY
by R.S. Ford
I’m going to say it, and it’s not going to be popular: I hate worldbuilding. There, it’s out. Don’t shoot me, but it’s true. I find it the most laborious aspect of the whole ‘fantasy author’ thing. But then, I’ve written in shared worlds where the hard work of crafting your world is already done for you… and by better people than me!
I’ve written fiction in the Warhammer 40K universe, a background that’s had over 25 years and myriad writers to develop its rich setting and a history. I’ve written fiction in the world of Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf, a background that was developed over decades, that details an entire continent of unique and diverse cultures and magic systems. I’ll admit – I’ve been spoiled. All the hard work was already done.
Now, clearly I’m not known for my own worldbuilding, I am in fact all about the story. I believe a story should be dictated by characters, who will in turn dictate plot. Worldbuilding comes a close third and includes religions and magic systems and nations and histories. For me, the story should inform the world, not the other way around.
Where this shows itself most vividly in the novels I’ve written is in the magic and mythology behind them. My two series – Steelhaven and the War of the Archons – are both told in medieval worlds, and both have histories of conflict with warring nations vying for power. However, the mythology and theology of the two worlds is very different, and was dictated by the plot as it developed.
The Steelhaven trilogy is set among the Free States, a nation which openly venerates the gods Arlor and Vorena, two deified heroes. There is also worship of the Old Gods amongst the peasantry, and beyond the borders of the Free States are other lands with other pantheons. All of these gods are most definitely imagined by their worshippers though. They have no influence on the plot other than through what the characters believe.
Then there’s the War of the Archons, on the surface of it a very similar background to Steelhaven. The three main nations have their own pantheons but only in the way the Greeks/Romans or the Norse/Anglo Saxons had theirs. They worship their own gods, but many are closely analogous, like Odin and Wotan or Vulcan and Hephaestus. The same gods are worshipped in different lands with different names and there’s one important reason for this… the gods are very real.
I can’t reveal much else without things getting very spoilery, but needless to say the pantheons were invented after I had worked out my plot. The gods only came to life at the behest of my characters, not as part of years of slavish dedication to creating a unique world.
I have the utmost respect for writers who create an entire world populated by a multitude of nations, factions, religions and everything else that goes into worldbuilding. In fact I envy the fun they have. But as someone close once said to me, ‘The three most important aspects of a novel are story, story, story’.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Richard Ford originally hails from Leeds in the heartland of Yorkshire but now resides in the wild fens of Cambridgeshire.
You can find out more about what he’s up to, and download free stuff, here:
http://richard4ord.wordpress.com
And follow him on Twitter here: @rich4ord
Waiting on Wednesday 06/13/18
Posted on June 13, 2018 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
Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto (February 12, 2019 by Simon Pulse)
I know I can be picky about my YA, but when I discovered this book recently, I just couldn’t resist adding it to my TBR. I’ve always enjoyed seeing phoenixes in fiction, but they always seem to be peripheral to the story even when they are featured. In this case though, they seem pretty central to everything that’s happening. And there’s a girl-disguised-as-a-boy plot! That cover too, is to die for. I just hope this one turns out as good as it sounds.
“I had a sister, once…
In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders—legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire—until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.
I promised her the throne would not come between us.
Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders—even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks.
But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled.
Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders’ return and intends to destroy them once and for all.
Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken.
Crown of Feathers is an epic fantasy about love’s incredible power to save—or to destroy. Interspersed throughout is the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider queen, who would rather see her empire burn than fall into her sister’s hands.”
#FearlessWomen: Starless by Jacqueline Carey Spotlight & Exclusive Excerpt
Posted on June 12, 2018 12 Comments
Women are shining in every genre of speculative fiction, and it is no longer enough to say “Women arehere.” Instead, #FearlessWomen everywhere are taking a stand to say “Women will thrive here.”
Highlighting major titles from bestselling authors V.E. Schwab, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jacqueline Carey as well as titles from acclaimed and debut authors such as Mary Robinette Kowal, Tessa Gratton, Sam Hawke, and Robyn Bennis, #FearlessWomen will be a coordinated social media celebration encouraging fans to start a dialogue about women in publishing, their worlds, their voices, and their unique stories.
Starless by Jacqueline Carey
Jacqueline Carey is back with an amazing adventure not seen since her New York Times bestselling Kushiel’s Legacy series. Lush and sensual, Starless introduces us to an epic world where exiled gods live among us, and a hero whose journey will resonate long after the last page is turned.
Let your mind be like the eye of the hawk…Destined from birth to serve as protector of the princess Zariya, Khai is trained in the arts of killing and stealth by a warrior sect in the deep desert; yet there is one profound truth that has been withheld from him.
In the court of the Sun-Blessed, Khai must learn to navigate deadly intrigue and his own conflicted identity…but in the far reaches of the western seas, the dark god Miasmus is rising, intent on nothing less than wholesale destruction.
If Khai is to keep his soul’s twin Zariya alive, their only hope lies with an unlikely crew of prophecy-seekers on a journey that will take them farther beneath the starless skies than anyone can imagine.
Exclusive Excerpt
We sparred atop the high, narrow arch, blades clashing, the drop looming beneath our feet, and a sense of exhilaration filled me. It was madness, but oh, what a glorious madness it was!
“That’s it!” Unexpectedly, Vironesh was grinning; a hard, fierce grin that showed all his teeth. “Channel it, harness it!” Pressed by my attack, he re-treated a step, then parried my follow-up blow with enough force that I nearly lost my balance, teetering on the stone bridge. I glanced down involuntarily and felt my heart leap into my throat at the sight of the ground far beneath me. “Don’t look down! You know damn well how far a fall it is. Keep your eyes on me!” I regained my balance and acknowledged him with a grim nod. His blade feinted and teased, hinting at openings that never quite materialized. “Let the wind guide you, Khai. Look for the spaces between things.”
“I don’t understand,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, but you do.” His blade flicked mine away with one of those infuriatingly subtle parries. “Wind will blow through any chink it can find, flow around any obstacle in its course. Follow the wind’s example and let it guide you into those spaces. Between a strike and a parry, between a step and a turn, between a thought and its execution, between one breath and the next— ow!”
I’d caught Vironesh on the knuckles of his right hand with the blunt inner edge of my yakhan in a backward- sweeping blow. He dropped his blade out of sheer surprise, and it fell glinting through the sunlight to clatter onto the ground below.
About the Author
JACQUELINE CAREY is the author of the New York Times bestselling Kushiel’s Legacy series of historical fantasy novels, The Sundering epic fantasy duology, postmodern fables “Santa Olivia” and “Saints Astray,” and the Agent of Hel contemporary fantasy series. Carey lives in western Michigan.
Join the Conversation
Tor Books’ handles across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@torbooks) will be using the hashtags #FearlessWomen (and #FearlessFantasy and #FearlessSF) to promote excerpts, exclusive content, quizzes and giveaways beginning in May. There will also be exclusive giveaways at BookCon, San Diego Comic-Con, and New York Comic Con. Follow Tor Books online, join the conversation – and get reading!
Be sure to also check out the other blogs on the #FearlessWomen tour to read more exclusive content and reviews!
This is a Metaphor | Dark Faerie Tales | Cherry Blossoms & Maple Syrup | Sci-fi Chick | Books, Bones, & Buffy | Tenacious Reader | Itching for Books | Across the Words | Fantasy Literature
Book Review: Before Mars by Emma Newman
Posted on June 11, 2018 27 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: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 3 of Planetfall
Publisher: Ace (April 17, 2018)
Length: 352 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
By now, the Planetfall books are starting to establish a pattern: each book in the series stands alone, following a different character as he or she travels their own journey across this complex and unforgiving universe. Yet every installment also adds to what we know about the world-building, exploring the ripples of effect caused by greater, overarching events taking place in the background.
Although it is the third book in the chronology, Before Mars also fits this trend. This time, the story follows the life of a young geologist who has arrived on the Red Planet to study it with a group of her fellow scientists, but mostly she is also there to put her artistic talents to work as a commissioned painter, capturing the majesty and uniqueness of the Martian surface. Anna Kubrin never thought she would find herself in such a situation, but when your sponsor is multi-billionaire Stefan Gabor and one of the most powerful people on Earth, you don’t exactly say no—especially when you could really use the money. Of course, the Martian expedition will also mean a prolonged separation from her husband and baby girl, but surely the sacrifice would be worth it if it means a better, more comfortable life for their little family. Or at least that’s what Anna tells herself, in her guiltier moments.
Upon her arrival on Mars, however, Anna is immediately confronted with adversity. While a bit of confusion and some psychological issues aren’t uncommon after coming out of months of space travel, Anna is growing concerned that she may already be losing her mind. In her new quarters, she finds a note bearing a message in her handwriting—except she can’t remember writing it—warning her not to trust Dr. Amalfi, the name of the team psychologist. Soon afterwards, she also discovers while unpacking her valuables that her wedding ring has been replaced by a fake—a good replica, to be sure, but the custom engraving her husband had put on the inside band is missing. As the mysteries continue piling up, Anna begins to wonder if she is a victim of a malicious prank. After all, she has already made an enemy of Dr. Banks, the TV documentary who has been inexplicably hostile towards Anna ever since she arrived. The other more unpleasant option is that she really is losing her grip on reality, suffering what Dr. Amalfi tells her is “immersion psychosis”, a condition affecting those who spend too much time immersed in digital recordings of their memories.
I could probably go on for paragraphs about the delectable mystery of this book, and indeed, the overall plot of it is quite addictive, filled with plenty of unexpected twists and dangerous moments. But as always, when it comes to many of Emma Newman’s novels, I felt that character development was the greatest strength. Like the two previous volumes, Before Mars stars a protagonist who feels caught outside of society’s norms and standards. This time, readers are presented a complex character study of Anna Kubrin, who often struggles with the disconnect she feels towards others, especially with the members of her own family. While deep in her heart, she knows loves her husband and daughter, those relationships have also been severely impacted by her postpartum depression and the fact that she never planned to become a mother. There was no joy for her during pregnancy, no magical spark of love for her child upon seeing her for the first time after birth, leading her to believe that she is somehow broken inside. Feeling guilty over her lack of maternal instincts, as well as wanting so badly to appear normal, Anna has long since gotten used to faking the behaviors and attitudes that are expected of her.
When it comes to hiding one’s true selves in order to conform and fit in, I feel this is a trait that all protagonists in the Planetfall series have in common. However, Before Mars does have the distinct sensation of being a more personal book for the author. You can practically feel Newman pouring her heart and soul out into Anna’s words as she describes her feelings for Mia, the character’s young daughter. A lot of it rings a little too genuine and too powerful for me to believe it is completely fiction, which along with Newman’s acknowledgement section makes me think that a lot of her protagonist’s issues with new motherhood and postpartum depression were largely based on her own experiences. Whether or not this is the case though, it doesn’t matter; in the end, nothing changes the fact that this was simply the best, most honest and undaunted portrayals of the topic I have ever read.
In a way, Before Mars is a book that perfectly exemplifies a flawless balance between plot development and characterization. I also felt that the story’s climax and denouement were handled a lot better when compared to Planetfall and After Atlas, both of which had rushed and insufficient endings. This time, however, the author allows plenty of time to digest the momentous, earth-shattering revelations for Anna at the end of this novel—and trust me when I say you’re going to need it. Newman is not known to pull any punches, and once again she is merciless in dropping gut-wrenching bombshells on her unsuspecting readers.
Needless to say, Before Mars is a book I won’t soon forget. The character-driven nature of the story and the author’s personal touch elevates this one from what is typically expected of a mystery sci-fi novel to something that is truly beautiful and extraordinary.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Planetfall (Book 1)
Review of After Atlas (Book 2)
Book Review: The Hollow Tree by James Brogden
Posted on June 10, 2018 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.
The Hollow Tree by James Brogden
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror, Paranormal
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Titan Books (March 6, 2018)
Length: 483 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I love horror novels based on urban legends, though in the case of The Hollow Tree, I only found out that it was inspired by a local myth in the author’s hometown after I finished the book. In his afterword, James Brogden describes the real life 1944 discovery of a woman’s skeleton inside the trunk of a hollow elm in Hagley Wood, Worchestershire, England. Her real identity was never discovered—and neither were her murderer’s—before the remains mysteriously went missing, and subsequently, a graffiti message appearing on a nearby wall reading “Who put Bella in the Wych Elm” soon solidified the legend behind the investigation. Fascinated, I went to do some more reading on the topic, and was chilled by what I found out. Unsolved crimes and mysteries tend to have that effect on me, and when it comes to the details behind “Wych Elm Bella”, I could certainly understand why the case would be a treasure trove of ideas for a horror writer.
Brogden, however, has created something truly vast and impressive out of Bella in the Wych Elm urban legend, drawing heavily on its basis as well as a lot of the rumors and theories surrounding it. The protagonist of The Hollow Tree is Rachel Cooper, a young woman whose life is suddenly shattered when she loses her hand in a traumatic boating accident. Fighting hard to remain optimistic through her recovery and therapy, she soon learns to adapt with living with only one hand, as well as how to deal with the symptoms related to limb loss such as phantom pain. But unfortunately, there is little she can do about the nightmares. In her dreams, she keeps seeing vivid images of a hollow tree, with a hand reaching out to her from it, as if begging for help. Soon, the visions get so bad that Rachel is starting to experience delusions even during her waking hours. Her missing hand also keeps bothering her, feeling so present and alive, experiencing all kinds of sensations that should not be possible. In a way, it almost feels like the hand is still there, but in another world…
For the purposes of this novel, the “Bella in the Wych Elm” legend has been changed to “Mary in the Hollow Oak”, though a lot of its other story elements have remained the same. I don’t really want to elaborate on how Rachel’s role relates to Mary’s fate in case I accidentally reveal too much, but suffice to say, the two women’s lives will be forever entwined because of Rachel’s connection to that “other place”.
To me, The Hollow Tree feels very much like a story told in several distinct parts. The first third of the book is a very good character study of Rachel. We’re along for the ride when she and her husband Tom go on that fateful boating trip that turns both their lives upside down, and the accident is as terrible as you would expect. I really felt for Rachel, who now must face her new reality of living without her left hand, but her determination and courageous attitude soon endeared me to her. I admired her a lot for her optimism, but at the same time, her struggles were portrayed realistically. Sometimes, memories of the incident would drag Rachel into a dark place, but those are also the moments in which her character felt the most genuine, with her true nature shining through as she resolutely refuses to wallow in her self-pity or to blame anyone for her problems. In fact, much of the suspense in this book stems from the fact that Rachel is so independent, always opting to tackle conflicts head on by herself, and that defiant streak often leaves her alone in many frightening situations.
For the rest of the book, however, my feelings were a bit more mixed. Sometimes, when too much is revealed too early on or all at once, a story can lose much of its mystique, and I think this is what happened here. Rachel’s nightmares and visions kept me intrigued for much of the first third; the ambiguity made me wonder if there was truly a supernatural explanation for all of the things she was seeing and dreaming, or perhaps they were simply the delusions of the protagonist’s stressed mind. So when all was revealed in the second third, it almost felt like the suspense was shattered too soon. In a way, it was like being able to see behind a magician’s tricks, removing all sense of wonder and mystery. While there was still plenty of action and danger to follow, sadly the story never quite managed to regain its foreboding atmosphere and eeriness, becoming a lot more like a straightforward paranormal thriller. Since I had been expecting a lot more horror, this made me feel slightly disappointed.
As a result, the later parts of the book took me a lot longer to read, because I just didn’t feel as invested in those sections of the story as I did in the first third. However, I won’t deny I found the ideas behind the novel intriguing, and I still loved the fact that it was inspired by a such a fascinating urban legend. While it’s true that the book could have been a lot more atmospheric and disturbing, ultimately I think The Hollow Tree would make a pretty good choice for fans of paranormal suspense and light horror.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Guest Post: “The Cat-Mummy of Curzon Street Station” by James Brogden
YA Weekend: City of Bastards by Andrew Shvarts
Posted on June 9, 2018 10 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
City of Bastards by Andrew Shvarts
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Series: Book 2 of Royal Bastards
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (June 5, 2018)
Length: 320 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Have you ever finished a book and thought to yourself, “Wow…I didn’t expect THAT?” City of Bastards made me feel like this for two reasons. First, there was the ending, because damn, I just couldn’t believe the author actually went there. And second, I didn’t think I was going to like this one as much as the first book, given how certain events at the end of Royal Bastards have led to a different cast makeup and a slight change in direction for the series. Clearly I was wrong, because ultimately I ended up liking this sequel every bit as much as its predecessor—maybe even more so.
This probably goes without saying, but you may want to skip reviews of this book if you aren’t caught up with the series yet. Spoilers for the first book are possible, and even likely, because City of Bastards picks up almost immediately from the point where Royal Bastards left off. Tilla, the illegitimate daughter of Lord Kent, has finally made it to the city of Lightspire with her companions, saving Princess Lyriana Volaris from assassination by bringing her home. But now, the king is left with a conundrum. While Tilla and Zell may have rescued his daughter, as the offspring of his greatest enemies—who are even now leading a growing rebellion in the west to try and topple his rule—they cannot be trusted to leave or to roam free. Thus, a plan is made for Tilla to enroll in the University, where she will be given shelter, safety, and a chance to learn about the history of Lightspire and the Volaris reign. Zell, on the other hand, will join the City Watch, putting his fighting skills to good use.
None of them could have hoped for a better arrangement. Finally, Tilla has everything she’s ever dreamed of: a life of luxury, the friendship of a princess, and a gorgeous boyfriend who loves her. But instead of being happy, Tilla is haunted by the past—all the deaths, betrayals, and, of course, her traitorous father, whose shadow is constantly hanging over her head. She’s treated as an outsider with few friends at the University, and then one day, one of those friends ends up dead. Although the authorities are quick to rule the death a suicide, Tilla doesn’t believe it. In the days leading up to the tragedy, she has been noticing a mysterious shrouded figure stalking her in the streets, and everything comes to a head as Tilla herself is targeted by an attacker whose existence shouldn’t be possible. Now even her closest friends have doubts that what she saw was real, and yet, Tilla still can’t bring herself to let her investigations go. The more she digs, the more she’s convinced she’s getting to the bottom of a greater conspiracy.
City of Bastards was such a fun ride, but as I alluded to earlier, I didn’t think this would be the case when I first started. Part of the reason for this is the beginning of the book, which was a far cry from the energy and excitement that filled the pages of Royal Bastards. The first book threw readers into an action-filled adventure almost as soon as it began, while in contrast, this sequel opened with a sense of hopelessness and melancholy as our characters grieved for those they’ve lost along the way. The story then shifts to a university setting, but instead of being shown the new things Tilla learns in her classes, we get to read about the way she and her friends are languishing their days away at posh parties, hooking up and getting wasted. I get it—losing Jax and Miles hit them all hard, but surely they could have found a more original and less irritating outlet for their anguish, especially since as a reader, I was champing at the bit to see more of the city.
Things also didn’t feel quite the same, with the main group missing two of its original five members. The void could be felt almost right away, with the lack of lively banter and interactions I’d come to love when Tilla, Lyriana, Jax, Miles, and Zell were all still together. A couple new characters were introduced, but I wasn’t sure if they would make suitable replacements, if the author had intended them to fill the shoes of the departed.
Around the quarter mark though, everything changed. Once I reached this point, it didn’t matter how quickly I was reading, it simply didn’t feel fast enough. I wanted badly to find out what was going on, yet the plot just kept teasing me with bigger and crazier twists and turns. The story continued to build until it reached its climax, and the aforementioned ending which left me reeling. In fact, a part of me is still in shock that the series has taken such a drastic turn. That’s the thing about these books—it’s easy to be fooled by the humor and slangy, contemporary language into thinking you’re in for a light and fluffy YA fantasy, then out of the blue the author will sucker-punch you in the gut with a sudden violent and traumatic event. After all, it’s easy to let your guard down when you’re having this much fun, but I just have to keep reminding myself that the world of these books can get downright nasty and brutal.
All in all, I’m quite impressed with the way this series is turning out. Even though City of Bastards had a drawn-out beginning and was slower to take off, the time it took to lay down the groundwork ultimately proved worthwhile, and somewhere along the way, the newer characters also started growing on me. Things have certainly changed a lot since Royal Bastards, and while I was initially skeptical, I feel now that this sequel has surpassed the first one in many ways. I’m really looking forward to what’s coming next.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Royal Bastards (Book 1)
Friday Face-Off: Stormy Sky
Posted on June 8, 2018 22 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:
“Raining Cats and Dogs”
~ a cover featuring a STORMY SKY
Mogsy’s Pick:
The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Ten years ago, in the world of The Young Elites, an illness swept through the kingdom of Kennetra, killing many. Those children who survived were marked forever by distinctive scars and other features, like our protagonist Adelina Amouteru, who lost her left eye to the infection and also had her dark hair turn silver. Some even came away with magical powers, and were thus labeled the “Malfetto”. Today, they are still persecuted and looked upon with contempt by much of the population.
As one of the marked, Adelina’s status makes her undesirable for marriage, leading her cruel and unfeeling father to try and sell her off to become some nobleman’s mistress. After finding out about the plot, Adelina attempts to run away, only to wind up manifesting her powers, accidentally killing her father in a horrific accident. And so, we begin the book with our protagonist locked up in prison, awaiting her execution. Before she makes it up to the block, however, Adelina is snatched out of the Inquisitors’ grasp by a group of vigilantes known as the Young Elites, so called because their members are all like her – marked Malfettos who are empowered with special magical abilities.
It feels like we’ve seen this story many times before, and indeed, I kind of recall this one being your typical run-of-the-mill YA fantasy fare. But will its covers end up making more of a splash? We shall see by taking a look at the contenders…
From left to right:
G.P. Putnam’s Sons BYR (2014) – German Edition (2017) – Italian Edition (2016)
Indonesian Edition (2015) – French Edition (2015) – Serbian Edition (2015) – Czech Edition (2016)
Russian Edition (2016) – Chinese Edition (2016) – Thai Edition (2018)
Winner:
Don’t get me wrong, I like pretty backgrounds and landscapes as much as the next person. But all things being aesthetically equal, you’ll likely find me drawn to a cover featuring an actual character. Of these, the Russian edition is probably the nicest, even if it’s a little cheesy. But given the fact I’m not entirely blown away with any of the choices this week, it’s the closest to being the winner, even though it’s hard to tell, but Adelina appears to have both her eyes in this image. (Also interesting to note, this is the second time I’ve given the top spot to a Russian cover featuring a girl in a purple dress.)
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
Novella Review: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
Posted on June 7, 2018 37 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 2 of The Murderbot Diaries
Publisher: Tor.com (May 8, 2018)
Length: 159 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
All hail Murderbot! So glad to be back for another round of action and adventure with our favorite SecUnit. I am unequivocally loving these novellas, and it still amazes me how much punch Martha Wells has managed to pack into each slim volume. Artificial Condition is the sequel to All Systems Red, so keep in mind this review may contain spoilers for the first book if you haven’t started the series yet (plus, if you’re still not on the Murderbot Diaries train, you’re really missing out).
Following Murderbot’s leave-taking from its former team of human allies, our protagonist now has a precarious kind of freedom to decide where to take the next step. But with so much of its past shrouded in mystery, Murderbot is resolved to fill in the missing details in its memory bank first, especially given its violent history. There are so many questions still left to answer, such as how Murderbot went rogue in the first place, an event that resulted in a killing spree and the deaths of many humans. Was it Murderbot who hacked and disabled its own governor module, causing the rampage? Or was someone else responsible for those directives? To find out, Murderbot must first uncover where the massacre took place, and to do so it will need to pass itself off as human in order to travel freely.
Just its luck though, Murderbot gets stuck on a transport whose AI sees right through its cover story and disguise. But instead of alerting the authorities, the AI transport, called ART, decides to help Murderbot learn the truth. Together, the two of them narrow their destination down to a mining planet. ART proceeds to help Murderbot with augments and alterations so that it can pose as a human bodyguard and join a research team down to the planet’s facilities, where Murderbot will hopefully find the data it needs.
I always like to say that it’s the characters that bring a book to life and make me feel a connection, and this is especially true of the Murderbot Diaries. Murderbot is a part-organic and part-synthetic android, but its personality, as it were, is also decidedly unlike that of any robot I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about. Murderbot is still constrained by a lot of its original programming, so its voice could not really be considered human by any stretch of the imagination. And yet, it still displays a lot human-like qualities I find endearing, not least of all its love for the campy entertainment feeds. Considering how Murderbot doesn’t even like humans all that much, it’s amusing how fascinated it is by the lives of the ones in its favorite soap operas. Even better is how Murderbot picks up so much of what it knows about human social cues from the fictional characters in shows with names like Worldhoppers and Rose and Fall of Sanctuary Moon—hiliarious!
Artificial Condition also stands out because of the very special relationship between Murderbot and ART. While the humans come into play later in the story, I loved how for the most part this book was all about the two AI. Is this the beginning of a beautiful new friendship? I sure hope so, even if the two of them didn’t exactly get off on the right foot. It was interesting to see how their programming differed, one being a SecUnit with the other being a powerful, albeit often lonely, onboard computer on a long-haul transport ship. Somewhat to my surprise, it was ART who was savvier to the social ways of humans, teaching Murderbot how to blend in (and also pointing out everything Murderbot has been doing wrong, much to our protagonist’s chagrin). This introduction to ART opens up the world a little bit, as we’ve been led to believe thus far that Murderbot is something of an anomaly among AI. With ART, however, we now know there may be other bots floating around that do not always perform in accordance to their programming, which begs the question: what other possibilities are out there?
I, for one, am looking forward to finding out. With each book in The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells continues to expand and explore the personality of her protagonist, putting Murderbot in new situations where it must learn and adapt. Despite being somewhat prickly and a little awkward, Murderbot is charming in its own way, and I just love reading these adventures through the eyes of such a compelling character. I just can’t wait to find out more as Murderbot carries on its investigation to dig up its past and find out more about its identity.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of All Systems Red (Book 1)
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