Book Review: The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch
Posted on January 27, 2017 31 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 Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Book 6 of Peter Grant/Rivers of London
Publisher: DAW (January 31, 2017)
Length: 336 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
After two years of watching the release date hover in flux and getting pushed back time and time again, I must confess waiting for this book was its own special kind of agony. That was also when I realized I was irrevocably addicted to Peter Grant.
The Hanging Tree is book six of the series which returns to London and places the main story arc back on track, following the short respite we took to the countryside with our protagonist in Foxglove Summer. The story begins with a drug-related death at a house party in one of the most exclusive residential areas in the city. Normally, the case wouldn’t have been within the purview of the Folly, which the Met’s investigative unit for all things magical and paranormal, except for the fact that one of the party goers turned out to be the daughter of Lady Ty, goddess of the river Tyburn. Suddenly, Peter is in a bind since he owes Lady Ty a favor, and as such he has reluctantly agreed to do all he can to keep her teenage daughter Olivia out of investigation. But as it turns out, his promise might be a moot point. After all, what do you do when the young lady in question is actually brazenly admitting to be the one who gave the victim the drugs which might have led to the fatal overdose?
Meanwhile, Peter and his boss Nightingale are also back on the trail of the Faceless Man, the main baddie of the series. Word on the street is that a rare book on magical properties has gotten everyone in the practitioner community in a tizzy trying to get their hands on it, including covert groups from abroad. Peter has reason to suspect that the Faceless Man has his fingers all over this one, but then there’s a lot going on here, including the fatal house party, Lady Tyburn’s daughter and the person she’s protecting, the mysterious book, a foxy thief, and the American agents who have suddenly shown up in town. Now Peter’s job is to find out how all of this is connected.
The Hanging Tree might not be my favorite in the series, but it was still very much worth the wait. For one thing, we come closer than ever before to finding out all the answers and discovering the whole truth behind the Folly’s greatest nemesis. In addition, a complicated figure from Peter’s past also makes a return bearing surprises for our protagonist. If you’ve been following along all this time, then this book is definitely not to be missed, especially in light of the significant revelations dropped on us in the latter half of the story.
That said, I also thought it fell short of being one of the best Peter Grant books because it had a lot less of the dry, sardonic humor which has always been one of the key hallmarks of this series. While still very enjoyable, this might be the first one that didn’t make me literally laugh out loud. There also wasn’t enough of Nightingale. What I wouldn’t give to see him kick some ass again in another epic wizarding duel, instead of just hearing everyone around him talk about it. He is like the Met’s secret weapon that gets waved in front of our faces a lot, but we hardly ever get to see him in action.
In terms of criticisms though, that was probably the extent of it, which made me very happy since I had such high expectations for this book. It wasn’t always fast-paced, but as far as police procedurals go, it had just the right amount of mystery, suspense, and action. The story had so many moving parts that Aaronovitch was constantly juggling and keeping aloft, I can’t say there was really much time for anything else. Still, we got to see a little more of Peter’s relationship with Beverly, and I’m also enjoying the larger role of Sahra Guleed, another police officer who is shaping up to be the perfect partner for Peter while the two of them are on the beat. They have a great working dynamic, almost like they are of one mind when they tackle everything from suspect interviews to Falcon raids, and I’m really hoping this is the first step to Guleed becoming a series regular.
The more urban fantasy I read, the easier it gets to spot if a sequel is “filler” or an actual book where “very important things” happen. The Hanging Tree, I’m happy to report, definitely belongs in the latter category. Don’t get me wrong because I loved the previous book which was a nice break from the hunt for the Faceless Man, but I’m also pleased that this one brings us right back into thick of things and resolves some of the questions left by the shocking events at the end of Broken Homes. This book is what I would call a real game-changer. While it did end rather abruptly, it’s clear that Peter and the gang will have to tread even more carefully going forward, and the next book should be very interesting indeed. Now if I can only survive the wait…
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Whispers Underground (Book 3)
Review of Broken Homes (Book 4)
Review of Foxglove Summer (Book 5)
Guest Post: “The Bantering Partnerships in Literature and Film” by Paul Crilley + Giveaway!
Posted on January 26, 2017 9 Comments
***The giveaway is now over, thanks to everyone who entered!***
Today I am thrilled to welcome author Paul Crilley to The BiblioSanctum to talk about his latest novel Department Zero, a science fiction-fantasy adventure mash-up about infinite alternate realities and a secret society of universe-jumping agents, complete with a nice shot of Lovecraftian horror. In case you missed my review I had a blast with the book, my favorite thing about it being the wicked sense of humor to which I attribute the hilarious dialogue and many of the memorable lines. So you can imagine how excited I was to have Paul himself chime in on this very topic, giving us insight into the art of banter! Department Zero is now available wherever books are sold, so be sure to check it out. Happy reading!
THE BANTERING PARTNERSHIPS IN LITERATURE AND FILM
by Paul Crilley
It’s probably no secret by now that I like to have characters throwing banter at each other in my books. Whether it’s Corrigan the piskie and young Emily Snow in my Invisible Order series, Abraxis Wren and Torin the dwarf in my Eberron books, Sebastian Tweed and Octavia Nightingale in the Tweed & Nightingale Adventures, or the dog and Gideon “London” Tau in Poison City.
Give me banter and cool characters any day of the week. So knowing this it shouldn’t come as a surprise when readers find out my newest book, Department Zero, also has two characters who like to insult and throw zingers at each other. (Who’d a thunk it?)
I think it makes the books fun, it fits with the style of novels I write, and of course, I love writing those kinds of conversations. In Department Zero, the two characters are Harry Priest, a divorced dad trying to do right by his daughter while also going through a bit of a slump in his life, and Havelock Graves, the arrogant, annoying, long-winded investigator in the Interstitial Crime Department, (a rather large law enforcement agency that polices the thousands of different multiverses that are out there.)
Below is my contribution to the bantering partnerships in literature and film.
##
Graves looks at me. “What happened?” he asks.
Should I lie? Say the beetle-armor monster took him out? But s**t, why should I? It wasn’t my fault. The guy appeared from nowhere. With a gun. How was I supposed to know?
“I… kinda shot him. A bit.”
Graves raises an eyebrow. “You shot him?”
“Yes.”
“A bit?”
“Well… a lot. He materialized in thin air. Right in front of me. The goddamn spider wall was closing in. I’d just shot a talking monkey with an old man’s face. I was on edge.”
“You were on edge?” repeats Graves. “That’s the excuse you give for murdering one of my top operatives? You were on edge?”
“Come on, man. I’ve had a rough day. Look, I’m sure I’ll feel terrible about it tomorrow. I’ll probably have to go for counselling. I’ll drink myself to sleep every night to try and forget the look on his face when he died. And you know what? That’s something I have to deal with. That’s my burden for what I’ve done. For the life I’ve taken. So I don’t need you on my back as well.”
Graves studies me curiously. “You really mean all that?”
“No,” I say. “The guy was an asshole. I’m sorry I killed him, but he shoulda known goddamn better than to sneak up on someone with a gun. Especially wearing that creepy-ass mask.”
##
Graves slides in opposite me. I stare at him, shake my head.
“You ruined my life, you know that?”
“That had nothing to do with me. You turned up at the wrong crime scene and your partner stole something that didn’t belong to him.”
“Yeah, well he’s dead, so you’re taking the rap.”
“Whatever makes you feel better.”
I lean forward. “You don’t understand.” I glance surreptitiously around. “Everything’s changed. I can’t sleep. I’m convinced I’m going to turn around and see these… things coming after me. I sit outside my ex-wife’s house all night.”
“Hey now. You can’t pin your stalking on me.”
“I’m not stalking. I’m watching. Protecting my kid. In case any of those… things turn up.”
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“Then how does it work?” I shout. “Because I don’t know!”
“Do you want to know?”
I blink.
“I mean, really want to know? Because… that’s actually why I’m here. To offer you a job.”
“A…job?”
“At ICD.”
“Which is?”
Graves winces. “The Interstitial Crime Department.”
“You’re speaking words, but I have no idea what you’re saying.”
“It’s very hard to explain. It’s like… explaining the concept of time travel to an ant.”
“You can time travel?”
“What? No. I…” Graves sighs. The ICD is like your FBI, right? We look into crimes, but on a cosmic scale.”
I shake my head. “Not following.”
Graves sighs in frustration. “Are you familiar with the multiverse theory? That there are an infinite number of universes out there, some with only minor differences. Some with major differences. Like, there could be a dimension identical to this one, except all humans have nine fingers and toes. Or… or where dogs can speak. Or where the nazis won the war. Or where mankind all has telepathy. Or a world totally different. Where magic works and orcs and ogres exist. Where you can live you your Lord of the Rings fantasy. Or another universe where you can travel the starts in solar-powered sails barges, coasting the gases of stars through the infinite voids of space.”
“Poetic. Still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you’re being wilfully stupid.”
“Nothing wilful about it.”
“You said it, idiot. But you get the idea. An infinite number of worlds means and infinite number of crimes. Which is where the Interstitial Crime Department comes in. See… a lot of people know about these shifting realities and you know what people do when they see an opportunity like this?”
“Somehow use it for sex?”
“That’s another department,” says Graves crisply.
##
And now as a nod to those partnerships that inspired my own writing over the years, I thought I’d list my top three buddy-up partnerships in movies. (Movies, because you don’t really see many in books, and, well, I love movies.)
First up is In Bruges. Do yourself a favor. If you haven’t seen it, rectify this oversight immediately. The film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as Irish hitmen hiding out in the Belgian city of Bruges after a contract killing goes badly wrong. Gleeson is the tired professional, while Farrell (in his best part) is the slightly naïve, terminally depressed protégé. The movie is chock full of brilliant and funny conversations.
Ken: Coming up?
Ray: What’s up there?
Ken: The view.
Ray: The view of what? The view of down here? I can see that down here.
Ken: Ray, you are about the worst tourist in the whole world.
Ray: Ken, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn’t, so it doesn’t.
##
Chloë: So what do you do, Raymond?
Ray: I… shoot people for money.
Chloë: [smiling] What kinds of people?
Ray: Priests, children… you know, the usual.
Chloë: Is there a lot of money to be made in that business?
Ray: There is for priests. There isn’t for children. So what is it you do, Chloë?
Chloë: I sell cocaine and heroin to Belgian film crews.
Ray: Do you?
Chloë: Do I look like I do?
Ray: You do, actually. Do I… look like I shoot people?
Chloë: No. Just children.
Next up is Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Shane Black’s little known black comedy, detective-noir thriller. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is probably my second favorite film, mainly because of the chemistry between Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer. Robert Downey Jr is Harry Lockheart, a thief who’s mistaken for an actor and is flown to LA where he has to take detective lessons from “Gay Perry”. Of course, things do not go to plan and they get embroiled in a pretty complex little mystery.
Perry: We gotta move her somewhere. You got gloves?
Harry: Excuse me?
Perry: Gloves. Do you have gloves? You have to move her. If it’s a frame-up, some asshole’s probably calling the cops on you right now. Do this: wrap up the body in a blanket, a sheet, anything.
Harry: Okay, any particular kind of gloves?
Perry: Yes, fawn. Will you f***ing hurry!
Harry: Perry?
Perry: Yeah?
Harry: I peed on it.
Perry: What? You peed on what?
Harry: I peed on the corpse. Can they do, like, ID from that?
Perry: I’m sorry, you peed on…?
Harry: On the corpse. My question is…
Perry: No, my question, I get to go first: Why in pluperfect hell would you pee on a corpse?
Harry: I didn’t intend to! It’s not like I did it for kicks!
##
Harry: Do you think I’m stupid?
Perry: I don’t think you’d know where to put food at, if you didn’t flap your mouth so much. Yes I think you’re stupid.
##
Perry: Look up idiot in the dictionary and you know what you’ll find?
Harry: A… picture of my face?
Perry: No! The definition of the word idiot which you f***ing are!
And of course, my absolute favorite. Pulp Fiction, (Which I kind of reference in the opening chapter of Department Zero.), the noir, black comedy crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction deals with various intersecting stories dealing with LA mobsters, small time hoods, hitmen, boxers on the run and a briefcase that may contain a human soul (or possibly just the diamonds from Reservoir Dogs.)
But the best two-piece partnership ever comes from the two hitmen. John Travolta’s Vincent Vega and Samuel L Jackson’s Jules Winnfield. Below are three quotes. I could have kept going, but it’s kind of hard to find ones that aren’t all swearing.
Vincent: And you know what they call a… a… a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
Jules: They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with cheese?
Vincent: No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn’t know what the f**k a Quarter Pounder is.
Jules: Then what do they call it?
Vincent: They call it a Royale with cheese.
Jules: A Royale with cheese. What do they call a Big Mac?
Vincent: Well, a Big Mac’s a Big Mac, but they call it le Big-Mac.
Jules: Le Big-Mac. Ha ha ha ha. What do they call a Whopper?
Vincent: I dunno, I didn’t go into Burger King.
##
Vincent: Want some bacon?
Jules: No man, I don’t eat pork.
Vincent: Are you Jewish?
Jules: Nah, I ain’t Jewish, I just don’t dig on swine, that’s all.
Vincent: Why not?
Jules: Pigs are filthy animals. I don’t eat filthy animals.
Vincent: Bacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood.
Jules: Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I’d never know ’cause I wouldn’t eat the filthy mother***er. Pigs sleep and root in s**t. That’s a filthy animal. I ain’t eat nothin’ that ain’t got sense enough to disregard its own feces.
Vincent: How about a dog? Dogs eats its own feces.
Jules: I don’t eat dog either.
Vincent: Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal?
Jules: I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
Vincent: Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?
Jules: Well we’d have to be talkin’ about one charming mother***in’ pig. I mean he’d have to be ten times more charmin’ than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I’m sayin’?
##
Jules: This was Divine Intervention! You know what “divine intervention” is?
Vincent: Yeah, I think so. That means God came down from Heaven and stopped the bullets.
Jules: Yeah, man, that’s what it means. That’s exactly what it means! God came down from Heaven and stopped the bullets.
Vincent: I think we should be going now.
Jules: Don’t do that! Don’t you f***ing do that! Don’t blow this shit off! What just happened was a f***ing miracle!
Vincent: Chill the f**k out, Jules, this s**t happens.
Jules: Wrong! Wrong, this s**t doesn’t just happen.
Vincent: Do you wanna continue this theological discussion in the car, or at the jailhouse with the cops?
Jules: We should be f***in’ dead now, my friend! We just witnessed a miracle, and I want you to f***ing acknowledge it!
Vincent: Okay man, it was a miracle, can we leave now?
So there you have it. When people say my books read like movies it’s probably because I do write a lot of them as if they were movies. I’m a screenwriter by trade, so it’s just natural that kind of style would slip in to my prose as well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul Crilley is a Scotsman living in South Africa. He wrote The Invisible Order series for Egmont USA and The Adventures of Tweed & Nightingale for PYR. He also wrote the award-winning detective novels The Abraxis Wren Chronicles for Wizards of the Coast.
Paul also writes computer games, and worked on the Bioware/Lucasarts MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, and also worked for Disney on Armies of Magic.
On the comics front, Paul adapted his Eberron detective duo Abraxis Wren and Torin for IDW Publishing, and he recently planned out and wrote three issues of their six-issue crossocver series, X-Files: Conspiracy.
Paul is also a scriptwriter and has written over a hundred hours of television, ranging from drama, sitcoms, and crime thrillers to children’s shows.
Department Zero Giveaway
Interested in checking out this book? Here’s your chance to win a copy of your very own! With thanks to the publisher, The BiblioSanctum has two print copies of Department Zero up for grabs! This giveaway is open to addresses in the US and Canada. 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 “DEPARTMENT ZERO” by 11:59pm Eastern time on Friday, February 3, 2017.
Only one entry per household, please. Two winners 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 winners 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!
Waiting on Wednesday 01/25/17
Posted on January 25, 2017 10 Comments
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick
Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski (March 14, 2017 by Orbit)
At long last the official English translation of the final book of The Witcher will be released this spring, though at this time I have no idea if the audio edition from Hachette Audio will be available on the same day as well. Being a diehard fan of the audiobooks and Peter Kenny’s excellent narration for this series though, I wouldn’t even mind waiting a little longer for it if I have to!
“The Witcher returns in this action-packed sequel to The Tower of Swallows, in the New York Times bestselling series that inspired The Witcher video games.
After walking through the portal in the Tower of Swallows while narrowly escaping death, Ciri finds herself in a completely different world… an Elven world. She is trapped with no way out. Time does not seem to exist and there are no obvious borders or portals to cross back into her home world.
But this is Ciri, the child of prophecy, and she will not be defeated. She knows she must escape to finally rejoin the Witcher, Geralt, and his companions – and also to try to conquer her worst nightmare. Leo Bonhart, the man who chased, wounded and tortured Ciri, is still on her trail. And the world is still at war.”
Audiobook Review: Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
Posted on January 24, 2017 19 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Macmillan Audio (January 31, 2017)
Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Narrators: Anna Bentinck, Josie Dunn, Bea Holland, Huw Parmenter
Sarah Pinborough is fast becoming a must-read author for me. Her books, like the Dr. Thomas Bond duology and The Language of Dying are among some of my favorites, demonstrating her incredible writing talent and versatility. Needless to say, my anticipation for her new mystery suspense novel Behind Her Eyes was tremendous, especially with the #WTFThatEnding social media campaign working in overdrive throughout the months leading up to release.
The story opens with an introduction to Louise, a divorced single mom who works as a doctor’s assistant. Having watched her ex-husband move on with a new girlfriend and a baby on the way, she’s understandably feeling a bit dejected and lonely, which is why her spirits are lifted when she meets a handsome man at a bar one night and things end with a clandestine kiss between them. However, that rush quickly fades when she arrives back at work on Monday only to find that the firm’s new psychiatrist is none other than the man from the bar. His name is David Martin, her new boss. And he is also very much married.
The two of them decide to put the night behind them and promise to never speak of it again. But then by chance, Louise runs into Adele Martin, David’s chic, sophisticated and beautiful wife. Try as she might to stay away, Louise can’t help but be drawn to the other woman. Adele may seem perfect on the surface, but Louise senses a timid and broken soul underneath. The two of them strike up a close friendship, keeping their interaction a secret from David, who seems to make Adele nervous and scared. The secrecy is just as well for Louise, since despite their earlier promise to each other to forget the kiss, she and David have become involved in a passionate affair. Louise isn’t proud of what she’s doing, but she also can’t deny that she’s falling for David. And yet, she also cares very much for Adele, a woman who appears to be in desperate need for someone to listen to her and be her friend. Something awful is going on in the Martins’ marriage, and even though Louise is smitten, she also has concerns about David’s angry, controlling streak and wants to know why Adele is so afraid of her husband.
Before one gets drawn into the sense that this is nothing but your usual mystery thriller about a love triangle from hell, I have to warn you that trusting anybody in this book would be a huge mistake. There’s nothing ordinary about this novel, and I mean that on so many levels. Sarah Pinborough is not only an amazing storyteller, she’s also a master of pulling the strings and keeping you guessing. Like a lot of her books, there’s always an element of something beyond the realm of the mundane, and that is all I’ll say to hint at the underlying riddle at the heart of this story.
Here’s also where I’ll be getting a little vague in my review, since I doubt there’s any possible way to discuss plot details without spoiling, so I’m limiting my descriptions to emotions. First, I was intrigued. Most of the story is told through Louise’s perspective, and the author has created a very well-rounded character in her. It’s true that I hated her for her duplicity in carrying on with a married man while being friends with his wife, but at the same time there’s an authenticity to her that made it easier to understand why she couldn’t extract herself from that situation. I felt something similar for Adele, the other major point-of-view character. Her sections were both strange and disturbing. Clearly she’s a damaged woman, and flashbacks to the past reveal tragedy and pain. The scenes she shares with her husband also indicate something very wrong in their marriage. The truth is a mystery, with subtle clues doled out along the way, adding to the growing feelings of unease. These days it might seem like a cop-out to compare any kind of dramatic suspense-thriller novel to Gone Girl, but no joke, I got those same vibes with this one. Tensions reach a peak as we close in on the finale, where Pinborough drops the major bombshell.
That brings us to the ending, where the author clearly delivers on the marketing campaign’s promise of WTFuckery. Still, there’s a part of me that wishes the publisher hadn’t hyped the hashtag all over social media, not only because it raises readers’ expectations but also because everyone knows that surprises always work best when you don’t know they’re coming. Granted it was still a shocking ending, but I think it would have been even better if I hadn’t known ahead of time to prepare for something big. That said, if it drives people to be curious and pick up this amazing book, I can’t complain; just know that this story so much bigger than #WTFThatEnding because it is the twisted, complex and clever build-up which makes the conclusion such a powerful whack on the head.
If you’re fan of psychological thrillers, you need to do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Behind Her Eyes because I really can’t recommend enough. Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.
Audiobook Comments: I was also fortunate to receive an audiobook copy of Behind Her Eyes to review, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book is read by multiple narrators (Anna Bentinck, Josie Dunn, Bea Holland, Huw Parmenterto) to illustrate separate character storylines, though on several occasions a couple of their voices sounded too similar for me to distinguish right away whose perspective we’re following. There were also a few confusing chapter transitions and moments where I was confused whether we were in the present “Now” storyline or flashing back to the “Then” timeline, so I really had to pay careful attention. These nitpicks aside though, this audiobook was a great listen and I was fully immersed in the experience.
Click below to hear an audio excerpt of BEHIND HER EYES, narrated by Anna Bentinck, Josie Dunn, Bea Holland, Huw Parmenter. With thanks to Macmillan Audio.
Book Review: Dreadnought by April Daniels
Posted on January 23, 2017 23 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: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Series: Book 1 of Nemesis
Publisher: Diversion Books (January 24, 2017)
Length: 276 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
This year, if you’re involved in one or more of the many diversity reading challenges out there or simply encouraging yourself to check out more diverse reads, I hope you’ll consider Dreadnought. Books like this one have a relevant place in our world today for their role in celebrating LGBT voices and spreading awareness, and I think what excited me most was the depth of our protagonist and the way her story was told.
Fifteen Danny Tozer has always known in her mind and in her heart that she is a girl, even if her body says otherwise. The crushing anxiety of trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender has been building lately, which is why at the start of this book, she finds herself hiding behind the mall secretly painting her toenails—holding onto this one thing she can control. That’s when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the world’s greatest superhero known as Dreadnought literally falls out of the sky and lands right in front of her. Gravely injured by a supervillain named Utopia, Dreadnought knows his time is near, so with his dying breath he passes his powers on to Danny.
In that moment, Danny is changed. Becoming the new Dreadnought has not only granted the amazing superpowers that come with the role, but it has also transformed her body into what she’s always thought it should be, the girl she has always been inside. For Danny, this is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to her, though that happiness is quickly dampened when faced with the hostile reactions of her overbearing father who refuses to accept her new identity. At school, her best friend David is also suddenly treating her differently, saying and doing these awful things. Furthermore, Danny has realized that the mantle of Dreadnought comes with certain responsibilities—like saving the world. Sure enough, it’s not long before the superhero team Legion comes knocking at her door trying to recruit her, and the offer has Danny feeling torn. She knows she wants to help people, but she’s just not sure she wants to be the kind of hero the Legion wants her to be.
At its heart, Dreadnought is a superhero novel—it’s fun, fast-paced, and action-packed. But as you can see, there’s also a lot more to the story, and the conflicts here are complex and multi-faceted. I liked how this book incorporated the superhero elements while at the same time using Danny’s super-powered transformation and the accompanying acquisition of Dreadnought’s abilities as an allegory for a person coming out as transgender. April Daniels has done a fantastic job exploring Danny’s story, especially in detailing her internal struggles, her hopes and joys, fears and doubts. I can’t even pretend to understand how it feels for teens in that situation, but reading about Danny was definitely an emotional journey. Her character is well-written, deeply developed and very real.
Plot-wise, Dreadnought is an entertaining read. Momentum took some time to build, but when Danny meets the Legion, I think that was when the story really hit its stride. I loved Doc Impossible, and the banter between her and Danny during their first major scene together quickly made her one of my favorite side characters. Another thing I loved about this book was the female friendship. While Danny considers Legion’s offer to join up, she meets up with another “greycape” hero named Calamity (and I have a serious weakness for cowgirl-themed heroes) and the two of them take it upon themselves to help those who slip through the cracks of the Legion’s watch. They have a great dynamic together, and the excitement ramps up as the duo decide they have what it takes to take down Utopia themselves.
But for all its strengths, the story also has its weaknesses. There were parts of it that felt a little too clichéd or unconvincing. For example, other than Danny and maybe a couple other characters, no one else was all that fleshed out, and they were treated more like props than real people. Take the Legion—we hear about all their great deeds and how they’re the most powerful superhero team in the world, but of course at the moment of truth they are rendered useless so that our protagonist can conveniently step up to save the day. Portrayal of characters like David, Graywytch, or Danny’s parents are also extreme to the point where they sometimes felt like caricatures of caricatures. While people like that certainly exist, the way they were written in this book felt scripted and done for the sake of pushing the story along. The author also did more telling than showing, with rocky prose in places and pages of info-dumping being a frequent issue early on in the novel. Finally, world-building felt sparse and glossed over, and throughout the book I couldn’t help but experience this disconnect to the wider world beyond.
All told though, I enjoyed Dreadnought a lot. It’s an eye-opening book featuring a wonderfully developed and genuine protagonist. This is the origin story about how she became the eponymous superhero, and it is an unforgettable journey of action and emotion. What a promising start, with much potential for the rest of the Nemesis series!
Book Review: Little Heaven by Nick Cutter
Posted on January 22, 2017 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.
Mogsy’s Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Gallery Books (January 10, 2017)
Length: 496 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am at my rating. I wanted to like Little Heaven so much, not only because it sounded so intriguing but also because I am a fan of Cutter’s The Troop. However, his newest novel simply did not appeal to me in the same way, despite it feeling like the next step for the author and the story being well put-together.
The book opens with an introduction to a trio of rough mercenaries who have reunited to stand against an evil from their past. Back in 1965, Micah Shughrue, Ebenezer Elkins, and Minerva Atwater were forced to set aside their differences (i.e. stop killing each other) in order to help a woman named Ellen Bellhaven rescue her nephew from a religious cult in New Mexico. Everything that happened during that fateful year is told in a series of flashbacks chronicling their harrowing mission into the wilderness to infiltrate Little Heaven, the cult’s compound run by a fiendishly insane megalomaniac named Amos Flesher. And yet, compared to the true terrors our three protagonists find lurking in the darkness surrounding them, even the human kind of monsters will seem like small fry.
Fast forward to fifteen years later, Micah wakes up one day to find his daughter missing, abducted in the night. When his greatest fears are confirmed, the former mercenary has no choice but to call on his one-time allies, beseeching Ebenezer and Minerva to join up with him once more for round two against the horror that has come back to haunt them.
Since I like leading with the positives, I’m going to first talk about the things I enjoyed about this book. To its credit, Little Heaven really takes the creeps and scares to a whole new level, which is extreme even for Cutter. His writing style has clearly evolved since The Troop, no longer relying solely on the “gross-out” factor to strike terror into readers’ hearts. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of blood, guts and gore in this novel, because there is (not to mention, those with a fear of snakes or creepy crawlies will have especially rough time with this one). Still, in order for a horror novel to be effective, graphic descriptions are only half the picture. The other half of it requires a bit more finesse, a way to bring the atmosphere of dread and suspense to the surface. Cutter did a great job on that front, creating an intense and all-encompassing sense of “wrongness” that never quite leaves you. The scenes in Little Heaven are especially well-written, where it feels like the squalor, degeneracy and madness are constantly closing in on you from all sides.
Now, if only I felt the same love for the character development. In theory, the protagonists should have worked better for me. Micah, Ebenezer, and Minerva are the tough-as-nails sort, killers and bounty hunters with checkered pasts. I have no problems reading about morally ambiguous characters—in fact, I enjoy them, and it’s great when their authors manage to make them sympathetic and likeable. But regretfully, I found it really hard to care about anyone in this book, which also likely dampened my enthusiasm for the story. All the characters were too thinly sketched for my tastes; they were flat, unchanging, and I just didn’t think enough attention was paid to them overall.
The term “old school horror” also seems to get tossed around a lot when discussing this book, which I’d say is pretty spot on. Good news, perhaps, for readers who enjoy the older stylings of Stephen King. Bad news on the other hand for yours truly, who has always found King’s earlier work to be excessively wordy and bloated (which is why I could never get through his books like It). As such, I was really not all that surprised when I came to experience the same ennui with Little Heaven.
Which all comes down to why I’m sure this is simply a case of “wrong book, wrong time” or “Sorry, Little Heaven, it’s not you, it’s me.” As much as I’ve enjoyed Nick Cutter in the past, sadly this one didn’t quite live up to my expectations, though of course that doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. Personal taste being what it is, and with mine being more capricious than most, I hope this won’t dissuade anyone from trying the book out for themselves if the description sounds like something you might enjoy. Indeed, take everything I say here with a grain of salt since the vast majority of other reviews I’ve seen so far have been positively glowing. If the premise interests you, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Book Review: The Guns of Empire by Django Wexler
Posted on January 21, 2017 19 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 Guns of Empire by Django Wexler
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 4 of The Shadow Campaigns
Publisher: Roc (August 9, 2016)
Website: 464 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
With apologies to Django Wexler and Roc, this review is long overdue I think, but better late than never! With The Guns of Empire we’ve reached the penultimate novel in the The Shadow Campaigns and I just want to echo every positive sentiment and praise that has already been made about this book. It is a stellar sequel which succeeds in getting readers fired up for the coming finale.
As this is the fourth installment of the series, please beware this review may contain spoilers for the previous books. The Price of Valor saw the enemies of Vordan defeated at the hands of General Janus bet Vhalnich, leading to possible peace talks at the negotiating table. Janus, however, is unappeased. Against the wishes of his sovereign leader Queen Raesinia, he begins to rally his troops in preparation to march upon the fortress-city of Elysium, stronghold of the Sworn Church. The general is unwavering in his belief that the Priests of the Black will not back down; their followers are too diehard in their beliefs that all demons should be destroyed, and their unwillingness to work with those they consider heretics will make certain any negotiations will be met with failure.
The dissent among their leadership can be felt keenly by Marcus d’Ivoire and Winter Ihernglass, officers who are now torn between their loyalties to their general and to their queen. Brilliant and charismatic, Janus is a well-respected commander—even outright worshipped by some—but those closest to him can see there is more to this campaign than meets the eye. The general appears almost fanatical in his determination to take Elysium, which would not be an easy feat. The Priests of the Black have many weapons at their disposal, both of the mundane and supernatural flavor, and they will do anything to try and stop the Vordanai army. But seeing how Janus’ genius has always never steered them wrong before, Raesinia and Marcus and Winter have no choice but to follow along and hope that their general will lead them to victory once again.
One thing I first noted in my review of The Price of Valor, but I think bears mentioning again here, is the fact that every installment in this series seems to introduce a different theme or underlying conflict that pulls that particular novel’s story together. Between The Thousand Names and The Shadow Throne, we witnessed the transition from large-scale battles to more strategic and localized political plotting. The third book, on the other hand, was a more of a combination. Now with this fourth book, while we’re still seeing a lot of military action and politics, Wexler seems to have also adopted a new approach which would allow him to shine a stronger light on his characters, with the focus shifting to their emotions, vulnerabilities, and personal relationships.
There’s something to be said about the epic battles sequences we’ve seen thus far in The Shadow Campaigns, the way they make your heart race and skin prickle. That said though, when The Guns of Empire decided to slow things down to get more up-close-and-personal with character-driven narratives, I didn’t mind at all. In many ways, I might even prefer this change of pace. Sweeping battle scenes are great and all, but then so is reading about the more intimate and subtle interactions between the different characters. I for one am digging the Marcus and Raesinia pairing so hard; their mutual obliviousness to each other’s feelings is just so adorable it makes me want melt. I am of course also heartbroken over Winter and Jane, whose relationship I wish I could elaborate on, but alas, spoilers. Fortunately, I’ve been reading these books enough to know that Winter can take care of herself; she’s hands down the strongest character in this series—both in personality and the way she is written. I love how far she has come, and how she has been able to forge new bonds. And finally, there’s Janus, who has always proven to be unstoppable, indefatigable, invincible…until now, perhaps?
This book also introduces a whole host of new characters, adding more diversity and fantastic personalities to the cast. Among them are a couple figures we’ve met before, if you’ve read the Shadow Campaigns novellas. Alex, who stars in The Penitent Damned, and Abraham, her co-star in The Shadow of Elysium, both finally make their breakout appearances in The Guns of Empire, making me glad that I’ve read the novellas since the two of them are really great characters. You don’t have to have read them to follow along with the story, but I highly recommend them all the same.
From my personal perspective, I think this is one of the stronger sequels in terms of content, though probably more sporadic in pacing. A lot happens within these pages, and sometimes everything hits the fan all at once, while here and there we experience several lulls. There’s a strong sense too that The Guns of Empire is a “middle book”, and not only that, there’s reason to suspect everything had been planned this way because this is also the set-up novel for the big finale. While there’s nothing inherently negative about that, I do think there’s some biding of time here, saving the actual “big guns” for the concluding volume.
Still, despite this restraint, I thought The Guns of Empire was an excellent read. The Shadow Campaigns remains one of my favorite fantasy series, and you can bet your boots and cannons that I won’t wait as long to review the final book once I get my hands on it. I’m very excited to see how it’ll all come together, and if the pattern continues, it’s going to be truly epic.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of The Thousand Names (Book 1)
Review of The Shadow Throne (Book 2)
Review of The Shadow of Elysium (Book 2.5)
Review of The Price of Valor (Book 3)
Guest Post by Django Wexler
Book Review: Bloodline by Claudia Gray
Posted on January 20, 2017 8 Comments
“When the people with authority don’t have to answer to citizens of the galaxy, the result is tyranny.”
Bloodline
by Claudia Gray
Genre: Science Fantasy
Series: Star Wars
Publisher: Lucasbooks (May 2016)
Author Info: claudiagray.com
Wendy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love Gray’s Lost Stars for many reasons. I love this book even more for many other reasons, most of which involve utter heartbreak. This was a hard read. Mainly because, after four decades of loving the swashbuckling adventure that is the Star Wars saga, I’m slowly waking up to its reality, which TFA brought to light and Rogue One solidified. For as fun as this adventure is, there is always a cloud of darkness over it, from a 19-year-old woman watching her planet obliterated before her eyes, to kids finding out their dad is the second most evil person in the galaxy, to the deaths of our darlings. This is and always will be a story about war. See? It’s right there in the title. George never sugar coated that, but perhaps fans like me glossed over the traumatic parts more than we realized, and when authors like R.A. Salvatore stepped into the EU and sacrificed our heroes, some fans lashed out in anger.
But now here we are, decades later, and the harsh truths of TFA do exist beneath the epic John Williams score. Namely: Han Solo is dead because Ben turned to the Dark Side, and the First Order is a massive threat to the galaxy.
The book focuses on the political climate of the galaxy some time after the Battle of Endor. Unsurprisingly, the senate is still a mess. Why? Because the Emperor is dead, but the entire reason he could take the control he did remains: no one can ever come to a consensus on anything. There are now two groups vying for power, the Populists (of which Leia is one) and the Centrists. The latter lean towards the Empire’s way of doing things, which actually isn’t a bad thing. Leia comes to terms with this when she is forced to work with Senator Ransolm Costerfo, an Imperial loyalist whose personal collection of memorabilia flies in the face of everything Leia represents and has fought against. But there is more to Costerfo than a cool Imperial helmet collection — just as there is more to the underworld dealings that force the two into an uneasy partnership. But at the crux of this story, as the title implies, is the blood that runs through Leia’s veins and ultimately threatens her standing within the senate. It’s not easy being Vader’s daughter.
The hows and whys and whos of the underworld trade story is where the main plot lies, and the story there is a typical Star Warsian adventure involving espionage, blaster bolts, and some fancy flying. Gray relies heavily on what has already been established in the Star Wars universe and what we have come to expect or believe, and uses that to deliver an emotional and political tapestry that adds so much weight to the story, filling in many of the gaping holes in TFA. Like this one:
I dare say that Bloodlines ought to be required reading, if only for the major political and logistical details that it provides. As enjoyable as TFA was, it did the unthinkable in making me appreciate the prequels for the efforts that went into explaining how Palpatine was able to accomplish what he did. Bloodlines is a horrible case of history repeating itself and an Organa having to once again stand up and fight when the rest of the senate fails.
Bloodlines offers many new faces surrounding Leia. It doesn’t delve deeply into the relationship between Han and Leia or with Ben, but Gray’s subtlety strengthens the heartbreak of the “it’s complicated” Facebook status that we find in TFA.
Han: “Speak for yourself, sweetheart. Me, I ain’t ever getting that old.” Me: *ugly sobbing*
Here, Gray shows us a couple who love and respect each other dearly, but whose lifestyles keep them apart. They will always be there for each other, even when those lifestyles pull them in different directions. And yet, we know that something betrays this.
Here, Gray shows us a couple who love and respect each other dearly, but whose lifestyles keep them apart. They will always be there for each other, even when those lifestyles pull them in different directions. And yet, we know that something betrays this.Thus far, I have not ventured too deeply into the new expanded universe of books, but I feel that it’s safe to say that Claudia Gray’s stories are at the top of my list for their storytelling and emotional impact. This book broke my heart many times. And that was before 2016 stole our princess away from us.
Book Review: The Liberation by Ian Tregillis
Posted on January 19, 2017 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.
The Liberation by Ian Tregillis
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Series: Book 3 of The Alchemy Wars
Publisher: Orbit (December 6, 2016)
Length: 464 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I pondered for a couple days how to rate The Liberation. I definitely liked it more than the previous book, but probably not as much as the first one so in the end I decided to split the difference. In any event, there’s no denying this was a fantastic conclusion to a brilliantly crafted trilogy. Bravo, Ian Tregillis, bravo!
Set in the early 1900s, The Alchemy Wars is an alternate historical steampunk series featuring France and Netherlands at war. That the outcome of the conflict will be decided by the might of the Dutch’s powerful clockwork automaton army was already a foregone conclusion—though no one on either side had expected the twist of events that would ultimately lead to the fate of both nations hanging in the balance. For you see, those so-called mechanical “Clakkers”—who were supposed to be mindless and utterly loyal and obedient to their human masters, according to their creators—actually turned out to be not so mindless after all.
For centuries, these free-thinking sentient machines have been held under the powerful control of series of magical geasa, forced to serve as slaves. When the spell that has shackled them is suddenly broken, the result is a swift and chaotic rebellion. The Liberation is its final act, exploring the actions of an oppressed group which has finally experienced its first taste of freedom. While their bodies might be made of metal and glass, the Clakkers have minds that function like our own and a culture that includes language and religion. For all intents and purposes, they are human. And just like humans, their response to their newfound independence is varied and unpredictable, as this novel shows.
Every sci-fi fan knows that robot uprising stories are nothing new. But to me, the genius behind The Alchemy Wars is in the way Ian Tregillis has adapted the theme, framing it within a uniquely different narrative and setting. Here, there are no clear lines drawn between the A.I. and humans. The robots are us. They have the same potential for compassion and evil. They are as just likely to be our allies as our enemies. The human characters themselves are morally grey as well, in that I can’t say conclusively whether anyone in this series is depicted as a true hero or villain. Incidentally, that’s the nature of many of Tregillis’ stories.
Over the course of this trilogy the books have switched their focus between different characters, but in my review of The Rising I wrote that I was starting to look at The Alchemy Wars as being Jax’s series, and The Liberation has not really changed that opinion. Jax, a mechanical servitor who was one of the first to be freed from his geasa, has now rechristened himself Daniel after the events of the previous book. Each installment has seen a major turning point for his character, his role having evolved from wanted fugitive to reluctant messiah, and you will see his moment of truth in this final novel.
Another important figure is Berenice, the disgraced former spymaster for the French. Despite all the tragedies that have befallen her, she has not backed down, fighting her way back to the Americas where Marseilles-in-the-West houses the exiled royal court of France. While her goals align with the Clakkers’ fight for freedom, if the last two books have taught me anything, it is that Berenice is an ambitious woman who values her own agenda above all others—though to be fair, her character has also come a long way since The Mechanical. Her flaws notwithstanding, Berenice remains one of my favorite characters, and I have to wonder if that is because she reminds me so much of Chrisjen Avasarala from James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse. Both women are strong-willed, foul-mouthed, and major forces to be reckoned with.
Missing from action though, is Hugo Longchamp. It was a little disappointing, since he was one of the standouts from The Rising. Still, I understood the reason for his diminished role and the need to bring in other perspectives in order to paint the full picture for this epic conclusion. Indeed, this book introduces an unexpected though no less fascinating new point-of-view, that of Anastasia Bell, a high-ranking member of the Clockmakers Guild of Amsterdam. For the first time we are getting an up-close-and-personal look at what is happening behind the scenes with the Dutch, and boy it is not pretty. When the story opens, Anastasia has just finished recovering from her grievous injuries sustained from the last book, only to be hit full-on with the Clakker rebellion.
The Liberation is about free will, and the privileges and responsibilities that come with it. It is about how a person (or machine) wields that power, whether you choose vengeance and violence or decide to walk the path of peace. It is about recognizing the humanity in others, and the consequences of ignorance and hubris. It’s a satisfying, stunning end to one of the most compelling and cleverly written stories I’ve ever read. If you’re looking for a series that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking, I highly recommend The Alchemy Wars.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of The Mechanical (Book 1)
Review of The Rising (Book 2)
Waiting on Wednesday 01/18/17
Posted on January 18, 2017 17 Comments
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick
The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera (October 3, 2017 by Tor)
The Tiger’s Daughter is a book that has been on my radar for a while, described as a “Mongolian-inspired historical fantasy novel” with influences from the author’s love of tabletop gaming. I was excited to see it has such a stunning cover to go with it.
“Even gods can be slain….
The Hokkaran empire has conquered every land within their bold reach―but failed to notice a lurking darkness festering within the people. Now, their border walls begin to crumble, and villages fall to demons swarming out of the forests.
Away on the silver steppes, the remaining tribes of nomadic Qorin retreat and protect their own, having bartered a treaty with the empire, exchanging inheritance through the dynasties. It is up to two young warriors, raised together across borders since their prophesied birth, to save the world from the encroaching demons.
This is the story of an infamous Qorin warrior, Barsalayaa Shefali, a spoiled divine warrior empress, O-Shizuka, and a power that can reach through time and space to save a land from a truly insidious evil.”
The BiblioSanctum 