Book Review: Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Posted on October 3, 2023 15 Comments

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

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Tor Books (October 3, 2023)

Length: 320 pages

Author Information: Website

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow is a novel which blends elements of gothic fantasy, subtle horror, and intriguing mystery to deliver an enchanting read with low-key creepy vibes—perfect for the spooky season. While I can’t say it’s my favorite of the author’s works due to its more generic themes, the story’s broad appeal is also why I think it will resonate with a wide audience.

As the book opens, readers are transported to a small dying town in rural Kentucky called Eden, known only for a peculiar legend surrounding a haunted house. It’s said to have belonged to a reclusive 19th century author named E. Starling, who wrote one celebrated masterpiece and then seemingly vanished into thin air. The locals say that the Starling House is cursed, warning others to stay away lest they too become caught up in its dark energies and run afoul of misfortune like its original owner. Its current and lone occupant, Arthur Starling, is the last of his line and lives a quiet and isolated existence, burdened by the weight of his family’s legacy and the secrets that the old house holds.

Starling House is also the last place Opal wants to be, but as a struggling young adult with no real job prospects living in a motel room and trying to raise a little brother by herself, she can’t afford to be selective. So, when Arthur offers her a job as a housecleaner, Opal reluctantly accepts, hoping that the extra cash will be enough to give her brother Jasper a better life after high school, far from the dead-end bleakness of Eden. But in truth, there’s more to it than that. Long before she even set foot in Starling House, Opal had been haunted by visions of it in her dreams. By agreeing to work for Arthur, she is answering a call that has been echoing in her heart for years, and she could hardly pass up the opportunity to get to the bottom of her mysterious dreams.

First, the good. I felt the overall premise of Starling House was superb. For self-professed scaredy-cat readers, I also have great news: I personally would not categorize this novel as true horror. Infused with an atmosphere that’s at once a little gloomy and a little whimsical, “eerie” is perhaps the best description for the general mood of the story. I’ve said before as well that I enjoy an unexpected romance, and indeed there was one in here that snuck up on me and took me by surprise. While I have my issues with Opal (more on that later), I can’t deny being drawn to characters with diametrically opposed personalities coming together, sparking a certain dynamic which adds depth to the relationship.

As for the not-so-good, I have to say I was somewhat let down by the unoriginal nature of the book’s plot and themes. This is Alix E. Harrow, who wrote such imaginative works as The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Once and Future Witches, and I’m afraid Starling House simply does not achieve a similar caliber. For one thing, the world-building seemed a bit slapdash, skimping on some details and glossing over others that don’t make sense. For another, while this novel is marketed as an adult novel and Opal reads like she is around her late teens or early twenties, the overall formation of the narrative feels strangely YA.

Much of it may have something to do with Opal herself, whom I oftentimes found infuriating. She’s a tough young woman, but also stubborn to the point of self-destructiveness, and I just really can’t stand characters who are “my way or the highway.” These pages are filled with examples of Opal constantly sabotaging herself, either because she’s too full of her own selfish pride or unable to deal with her many hang-ups leading her to take them out on others. Take the way she is with her brother, for instance—clearly, she loves Jasper very much, yet she doesn’t seem to trust or respect him enough to actually listen to him and honor his wishes.

In sum, Starling House is a novel of mostly hits but also a few misses. While it is not the best or the most innovative story that I’ve read by Alix E. Harrow, it is still a good showcase of her talent especially her skills in creating moody atmospheres and immersive fantastical worlds that draw readers into the plot

Book Review: The Quiet Room by Terry Miles

Posted on October 2, 2023 14 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 Quiet Room by Terry Miles

Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery

Series: Book 2 of Rabbits

Publisher: Del Rey (October 3, 2023)

Length: 432 pages

Author Information: Website

From my review of Rabbits by Terry Miles, I wrote: “Wow, this was one real head trip, and I mean it in the best way possible. Rabbits is the kind of story that worms its way into your mind, and you find yourself mulling over it even days after you finish.” As the second installment, The Quiet Room not only continues where the first book left off but also maintains its mind-bending intrigue and mysterious energy.

Featuring a new cast of characters, The Quiet Room can technically be read as a standalone, but those with knowledge of the first book or the podcast which this series is based on will probably enjoy it more with another level of appreciation. Imagine you are playing a game and trying to follow the rules without realizing you’re the one writing the rules. This, in a nutshell, is the game Rabbits. Using the real world as a platform, players seek out patterns and unlikely connections to uncover even more clues until one winner ultimately prevails in unraveling the thread to its conclusion, gaining the fulfillment of their deepest desires. Once an iteration of a game has been won, another will begin again.

If wrapping your head around this concept makes your brain hurt, this isn’t even scratching the surface. The Quiet Room begins as Emily Connors, who almost won the last iteration of Rabbits, suddenly finds herself trapped in a dimension where the game does not exist. But then there are the “Rabbit police,” asking Emily very specific questions that seem to suggest there is more going on. Because if the game doesn’t exist, then why does she feel like something is pushing back every time she thinks she’s found a thread?

Meanwhile, Rowan Chess is a theme park designer who has unwittingly stumbled into the newest iteration of Rabbits. Without realizing it, he is playing the game—noticing a string of odd coincidences and other strange things like a disappearing blind date. But having found a connection with the missing woman, Rowan isn’t about to give up on finding her. His search ultimately leads him down a path that converges with Emily’s and other Rabbit players, working to navigate a web of unexpected events and challenging puzzles.

The thing about Rabbits is that most of the time, the players themselves don’t even have a clue what’s going on, and when you’re a guy like Rowan, who doesn’t even know he’s playing, you’ve got no chance. As you can imagine, for readers, it’s an even more perplexing experience. While the plot itself is not too difficult to follow, things do get weird with the involvement of alternate realities on top of the nebulous nature of the game. Once you think to yourself, “Are they just making things up as they go along?” then you’re getting it.

As such, reading The Quiet Room can be equal parts rewarding and frustrating. But even at my most confused, I never considered putting it down. And that is the draw of the Rabbits series. It’s why I decided to read this sequel and the reason why I’m happy for the fact it builds successfully on the captivating premise of the original. Of course, like the first book, it also runs afoul of some of the same issues in that the ending went too over-the-top and took things off the rails—and believe me, when you’re dealing with a story where the main hook is “anything goes”, that’s really saying something.

All told, if you’re prepared to read a book which makes an art of not making sense—where, in fact, not making any sense is probably its strongest asset—then The Quiet Room and the Rabbits series in general will be right up your alley. While that sentence may make you go all googly eyed, I truly mean it as a compliment. Clearly it won’t be for everyone, but for the right audience this unique novel promises an enthralling journey filled with surprising twists and a relentless quest for answers.

More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Rabbits (Book 1)

Bookshelf Roundup 10/01/23: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads

Posted on October 1, 2023 8 Comments

Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every 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 summarize what I’ve finished reading in the last week and what I’m planning to read soon. Mostly it also serves as a recap post, so sometimes I’ll throw in stuff like reading challenge progress reports, book lists, and other random bookish thoughts or announcements.

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Received for Review

With thanks to Quill Tree Books for:

Champion of Fate by Kendare Blake, a young adult fantasy novel about the Aristene, a group of mythical female warriors who immortalize heroes in stories by guiding them to victory. Aptly, the series is called Heromakers.

With thanks to Nightfire Books for:

The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey, an urban fantsy of cosmic horror set in New York City’s dark magical underbelly. I’ve enjoyed both authors’ work individually, and I’m excited to read this collab.
Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson, a supernatural horror inspired by Celtic myth and folklore.

Reviews

Recent Reads

I got started on some of my early October reads this week, like The Quiet Room (which was weird) and Starling House (a different kind of weird), and also caught up on The Hexologists. It was definitely more my cup of tea compared to the author’s Books of Babel series, but it still took me a while to really get into it because of the writing style, which was very evocative of the Victorian era setting. I ended up really enjoying it though.

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!

Book Review: Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence by Rafal Kosik

Posted on September 29, 2023 8 Comments

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

Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence by Rafal Kosik

Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Cyberpunk 2077

Publisher: Orbit Books (August 8, 2023)

Length: 417 pages

Author Information: Website

Whatever you feel about Cyberpunk 2077, there’s no denying video game tie-in fiction has gotten a lot better as a whole in recent years. This has also led to a change in the way I review the genre, holding them up to a higher standard so that we may continue to get quality reads for a long time to come. As such, while 3.5 stars might come across as a middling rating for the first official novel of the Cyberpunk 2077 franchise, the truth is I enjoyed No Coincidence more than I thought I would, and it was actually quite impressive for a video game novel.

Plotwise, it is essentially a heist story. While it is set in the universe of Cyberpunk 2077, playing the game is not a prerequisite, nor is watching the Netflix animated series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. The plot of the novel stands alone, following a crew of misfits who are reluctantly roped into a dangerous job by a mysterious employer who holds something over each of their heads. All the characters are as different as they are interconnected; we have an army veteran turned mercenary, a rookie netrunner (a cybernetically augmented hacker), a freewheeling corporate negotiator, a desperate ripperdoc (a medical professional specializing in cyberware), and a stripper with a child who needs a lifesaving operation. Like any heist crew, each member brings a specialized skill to the table, but they are all united by a singular goal: to rob a Militech convoy of their precious cargo. Of course, not one of them has a clear idea of what it is they’re trying to steal. Still, does it matter as long as it’ll make them a lot of money?

The problem with most heists though, is that nothing is ever as simple and straightforward as it seems. One job always leads to another, often leading to deadly consequences as the situation spirals out of control. Our disparate characters must learn to overcome their differences to not only work together but also depend on each other, or else one by one, Night City will eat them alive.

Again, you can read this book even with no prior knowledge of the Cyberpunk 2077 franchise. But would it help if you did? Definitely. From the publisher description alone, you can see how heavily the story leans on references to the game world and lore, simply based on the jargon and terminology. From the very beginning, readers are thrown into the thick of things and unless you are an experienced sci-fi enthusiast or already a cyberpunk genre fan, all the details you’ll need to take in on the fly can get pretty overwhelming. As someone who has played the game though, and actually liked it a lot, my experience admittedly felt somewhat easier as the setting was already familiar.

In fact, being a fan of the game might have biased me against the book a little. Sure, it felt grand to be back in Night City, but that would be the extent of the connection I felt. For the most part, the writing captured the spirit of the characters embodying the gritty and downtrodden mood of the setting—which was a good thing, don’t get me wrong! At the same time though, I wanted and needed more. It simply wasn’t enough to get more of the same; I wanted characters that transcended the game because now I was back in the world in another medium, yet there was nothing memorable or notable about the people I’m reading about beyond what I’d already expected.

But like I said, I’m being picky. If you’re looking for a good heist novel, No Coincidence delivers. Bonus if you feel drawn to the world of Cyberpunk 2077 or can appreciate its aura of bleakness that you can also see manifesting in its desperate populace. This makes the book somewhat unique because there is so much the franchise brings to the table even in the well-established genre of cyberpunk in general while still expanding on the world of the game. Fans will be delighted by how at home this story will feel in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe because of the way the writing captures the game thematically and stylistically. At the same time, it manages to be fun and exciting, which will appeal to newcomers as well.

Thursday Thriller: The Trade Off by Sandie Jones

Posted on September 28, 2023 13 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 Trade Off by Sandie Jones

Mogsy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Minotaur Books | Macmillan Audio (August 15, 2023)

Length: 304 pages | 9 hrs and 56 mins

Author Information: Website

Well, not everything Sandie Jones writes is a winner, but there is something to her style that keeps me coming back. Her latest psychological thriller called The Trade Off lays bare the ugly, cutthroat world of tabloid reporting, and what you’ll read will enthrall you but quite possibly also confuse you (not to mention make you feel a little dirty as well).

The story revolves around the careers of two women, Jess and Stella, who both work for The Globe. Stella is a seasoned reporter now serving as deputy editor, but she’s not done rising and won’t settle for anything less than the top job. That means she’ll stop at nothing to get the latest scoop, and certainly isn’t beneath pulling a few unscrupulous strings to get the jump on publishing the latest and biggest scandals. On the other hand, Jess is a newcomer who left her previous position at a small local paper in order to pursue her dream of making it as a big-time journalist. Despite her inexperience, she is hired The Globe editor Max Forsythe who believes Jess’ strong morals and work ethic will eventually help steer the paper away from the celeb gossip sphere and into more respectable and topical news reporting.

Stella, however, is not on board with this new direction or the latest hiring decision made by Max. She will continue to do what has always worked for her, dirty tricks and all, which is also in line with the sentiments of the paper’s owner, who only wants to sell more copies. But when Stella’s latest machinations to entrap an up-and-coming young actress in a fake drug bust leads to disaster, it is Jess who feels broken and guilt-ridden for the part she played in it. Things only get worse when another TV star ends up dead. With her eyes newly opened to the reprehensible nature of her profession, Jess decides to turn her efforts towards uncovering the corruption running deep at the heart of The Globe.

Despite its scintillating premise, The Trade Off was a decent novel by Sandie Jones but it was certainly not the greatest or her best. The book’s only clear strength is its pacing; Jones is a master at keeping readers’ attention by relentlessly revealing new layers of mistrust and deception. Between Stella and Jess’ chapters, there were plenty of intriguing developments that kept the tensions high, making it difficult to stop reading.

However, the novel lost me when it came to almost everything else. In terms of characterization, Stella was wholly unlikeable, and Jess was bland and lacking in depth. The ruthlessness and ambition of the former felt contrived while the latter’s motivations came across as shallow and overly simplistic. When the two ultimately teamed up near the end to take down the corrupted elements at the paper, it was hard to overcome the distaste to actually bring myself to root for them or even care. I found it particularly irksome that I was supposed to forget all the shitty things Stella had done just because the villain they decided to take down is an even shittier person. It doesn’t work like that.

There’s also a lot driving this story, and inspiration from the current discourse like issues surrounding privacy, exploitation, misinformation as well as movements such as #MeToo can clearly be discerned. But whatever point, if any, the author was trying to make was unfortunately lost in the confusion of ideas and a narrative that doesn’t seem completely sure of what it wants to be. That might be the real trade off here—a book that unambiguously starts off as a thriller, but by the second half, that becomes debatable as the plot veers off into something that more resembles drama and workplace suspense. In the end, this shift resulted in the final message being diluted and robbed of its impact.

In short, The Trade Off was not my favorite book Sandie Jones due to the fact its story didn’t seem as well told or put together. However, I do praise the narrators for the audiobook edition for delivering great performances, though not even the superb narration of Nathalie Buscombe or Sofia Engstrand could help me overcome the novel’s shortcomings.

Waiting on Wednesday 09/27/23

Posted on September 27, 2023 13 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

Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison (March 5, 2024 by Ace Books)

“Luck is its own kind of magic, in this first book in an electrifying new contemporary fantasy series from the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows novels.

Petra Grady has known since adolescence that she has no talent for magic—and that’s never going to change. But as a sweeper first-class, she’s parlayed her rare ability to handle dross—the damaging, magical waste generated by her more talented kin’s spellwork—into a decent life working at the mages’ university.

Except Grady’s relatively predictable life is about to be upended. When the oblivious, sexy, and oh-so-out-of-reach Benedict Strom needs someone with her abilities for a research project studying dross and how to render it harmless, she’s stuck working on his team—whether she wants to or not.

Only Benedict doesn’t understand the characteristics of dross like Grady does. After an unthinkable accident, she and Benedict are forced to go on the run to seek out the one person who might be able to help: an outcast exiled ten years ago for the crime of using dross to cast spells. Now Grady must decide whether to stick with the magical status quo or embrace her own hidden talents . . . and risk shattering their entire world.”

Most Anticipated Releases of 2023: October to December

Posted on September 26, 2023 19 Comments

And with that, it’s time to look ahead to the Science Fiction and Fantasy reads I’m most excited for in the final quarter of 2023. I actually shook my head as I typed that, it’s insane to think about how quickly this year flew by. But even as the days grow colder, the book releases are heating up for fall and beyond. I find that it helps me to make these lists by focusing my attention to the highly anticipated titles I’d like to check out and keep me on track to read. While I’m under no illusions that I’ll be able to read them all, hopefully I can get to most of them (and in fact I did pretty well with my TBR last quarter!) as well as also put some new books on people’s radars.

Do you have any of these books on your list? What’s missing that I should be checking out? Are there any titles you’re anticipating for the next few months? And maybe I should just spend the rest of the year reading October 3rd releases?

October

October 3 – The Pale House Devil by Richard Kadrey, Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson, Edenville by Sam Rebelein, Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson, Shield Maiden by Sharon Emmerichs, The Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand, After the Forest by Kell Woods, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub, Starling House by Alix E. Harrow, The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey

October 10 – An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka, The Art of Destiny by Wesley Chu, Red River Seven by A.J. Ryan, Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

October 17 – The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

October 24 – The Queen of Days by Greta Kelly

October 31 – Nestlings by Nat Cassidy, The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

November

November 7 – Bookshops & Bonedusst by Travis Baldree, The Hunting moon by Susan Dennard, The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher

November 14 – Calamity by Constance Fay, Good Girls Don’t Die by Christina Henry, The Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper, The Star and the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers, System Collapse by Martha Wells

November 21 – Defiant by Brandon Sanderson, The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird by Louisa Morgan

November 28 – The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose

December

December 1 – Night Owl by Andrew Mayne

December 5 – Grievar’s Blood by Alexander Darwin

Book Review: Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Posted on September 25, 2023 21 Comments

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

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Tor Books (September 19, 2023)

Length: 272 pages

Author Information: Website

John Scalzi returns to what he knows best with Starter Villain, delivering a popcorny, feel-good novel characterized by his quirky sense of humor and engaging style of storytelling. If you enjoyed his books like Red Shirts or more recently The Kaiju Preservation Society, there’s a good chance you’ll like this one too.

In Starter Villain, we follow Charlie Fitzer who is a former business journalist now barely scraping by on his substitute teacher salary, yet he has some big dreams. In his Chicago neighborhood is a local pub he wants to buy, just to have a worthy goal to shoot for, though the way things are going, it all might as well be a pipe dream. But then out of the blue, he receives news of his uncle Jake’s passing, and shockingly, Charlie stands to inherit his multi-billion-dollar empire built on parking garage management.

The catch? Uncle Jake apparently led the life of an evil supervillain. His garage ownership was simply a front for his real business, which mainly involved disrupting global economies by screwing over other corporations to get a leg up on them. He even had a secret lair on an island inside a volcano, lavishly outfitted with its own death ray, as well as superintelligent cats and potty-mouthed dolphins in his employ—all of which might now belong to Charlie.

However, any heir of Jake’s also inherits his enemies, of which he had many. Immediately after the funeral, Charlie’s house is bombed, leaving him at the mercy of Matilda Morrison, his uncle’s right-hand woman—now his right-hand woman—who quickly gets him up to speed on the dangers in which he now finds himself. For years, Jake had been fending off attacks from the shadowy Lombardy Convocation, a consortium of ruthless billionaires who’ve vowed to kill him if he won’t join them. Now that he’s dead, the group has turned its sights on Charlie, who has no idea how to run an evil empire let alone defend himself against rival supervillains trying to blow him up.

If you’re thinking to yourself, “This all sounds completely ridiculous, but also kind of fun,” you’ve effectively described Starter Villain in a nutshell. John Scalzi has a unique approach to blending science fiction with his clever wit to tell stories that are highly readable and accessible even if you are not a fan of speculative fiction. These are also typically over-the-top, featuring everyman characters who are victims of absurd circumstances, often giving rise to silly plotlines. In fact, it might even be fair to call some of his books vacuous and shallow, but at least no one can accuse them of being boring. Personally speaking, I associate Scalzi’s work with being wildly funny and imaginative, which Starter Villain certainly was, despite it being even fluffier than usual.

Needless to say, while Scalzi sometimes injects a bit of societal commentary on topical issues like politics or the human equation, this is not that kind of book—or if it is, then it’s completely lost in the aforementioned fluff. For this reason, I don’t think it’s anywhere close to being his best or most artful work, but Scalzi’s easy breezy narrative style comes through in the laid-back prose and snappy dialogue. If the goal was to entertain, then mission accomplished.

In short, Starter Villain is a John Scalzi book that only an author like John Scalzi could write. If you’re looking for a diversion, a wholly uncomplicated read that doesn’t take itself seriously and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, I recommend checking it out.

Bookshelf Roundup 09/24/23: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads

Posted on September 24, 2023 19 Comments

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Received for Review

With thanks to Ace Books for:

The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher, the long awaited sequel to The Aeronaut’s Windlass. It’s been a while for sure, and I will probably need to reread the first book or at least find a good summary. But I am really excited to read this!

With thanks to Del Rey for:

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden, whose Winternight trilogy I adored. I was just wondering the other day what she was up to, and I was overjoyed to learn it was this book, another magical historical fantasy that sounds amazing.
Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare, a story about a prince, his bodyguard/stand-in, and a kingdom on the verge of unraveling.

With thanks to Titan Books for:

The Pale House Devil by Richard Kadrey, a horror mystery noir for the Halloween season!

With thanks to Berkley for:

Murder Road by Simone St. James, who wrote The Sun Down Motel and The Book of Cold Cases, both of which I loved. I can’t wait to read another creepy paranormal mystery from the author.

With thanks to Hachette Audio for:

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub, described as a witchy reimagining of Pride and Prejudice but told from the perspective of the youngest Bennet sister. Sounds like all kinds of amazing!

Reviews

Recent Reads

I picked up Cassandra Clare’s Sword Catcher this week, figuring that reading a longer book would give me a break to catch up with my review writing. Well, it was definitely a saga. It was interesting enough, I suppose, but did it really have to be 600 pages? I don’t know. Like I said, I enjoyed it, but there were also plenty of moments where I felt like nothing much was happening, if that makes sense. The other book I finished was Starter Villain which was typical Scalzi, the kind of story that makes you think, wow, this is so stupid…but I guess kind of fun as well? Only he can pull off something like this. A review for it is on my to-do list for next week.

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!

Book Review: Where Peace Is Lost by Valerie Valdes

Posted on September 23, 2023 11 Comments

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

Where Peace Is Lost by Valerie Valdes

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Harper Voyager (August 29, 2023)

Length: 400 pages

Author Information: Website

Valerie Valdes has really come a long way since her debut Chilling Effect, surprising me with her newest space fantasy adventure Where Peace Is Lost. While her first novel was more of a fun-filled space opera that didn’t take itself too seriously, this one clearly sought to make stronger connections and tell a deeper story, and I believe it succeeded.

In Where Peace Is Lost, we follow Kelana Gardavros, a lone sojourner on the swampy planet of Loth where she’s keeping a low profile as just another refugee of the war against the Pale empire. That was five years ago, when she gave up everything in the name of peace, but apparently the war isn’t done with her yet. Deep in the wilderness of Loth lies an abandoned machine known as a demolisher, and now it has come back to life with no way to stop it. Destruction on a massive scale would soon follow, but unfortunately, the rogue machine’s former owners, the Pale, prove to be no help at all. Loth itself has no defenses against such a devastating force and is desperate to find a way to save its people, and as luck would have it, along comes two off-worlders who claim they can deactivate the machine.

Kel, however, is skeptical of their timing and can’t help but wonder at their motives. Her suspicion only grows when a friend of hers offers to be a guide for the newcomers, and seeing an opportunity, Kel tags along to keep an eye on things. All these years, she has kept her past life as a knight of the First Sword to herself, especially now that her order has been disbanded, but it is soon discovered that the Pale have not been following the conditions of the peace treaty. This development forces Kel to make a hard decision. As ever, her instincts are to fight back, but what if revealing her identity also means putting those she cares about in danger?

Once again, Valdes has written an incredibly entertaining novel that’s fast paced and action-packed. From start to finish, the plot never really loses its momentum, featuring all manner of thrilling escapades which include everything from up close encounters with monstrous swamp creatures to bandit attacks. And yet, the author also manages to weave a number of thought-provoking themes into the narrative without allowing everything else to overshadow its underlying emotions. After all, we must remember that Where Peace Is Lost is also a post-war story, and Kel’s characterization is that of a survivor.

What really stood out for me were the protagonist’s internal struggles and subsequent growth. Between the breathtaking action sequences, we get breaks to really appreciate the character development as Kel wrestles with her inner demons and personal dilemmas. As I recall, I described Chilling Effect as a fun romp that was nevertheless a shallow and fluffy read, but with this one, I sense a genuine effort to provide more depth, which definitely paid off. I have a feeling that, whether it is sacrifice or the consequences of living with one’s choices, the themes explored in this book will stick around for far longer than readers expect.

Speaking of which, I was also pleasantly surprised by the side characters and their interactions which provided the life behind this book. The relationships felt genuine, and the dialogue was well-written. I just couldn’t help but root for the group as I watched them navigate the challenges of Loth. That said, although it was relatively minor, the romance arc that unfolded was perhaps the biggest treat of all, made even more delicious due to its unexpectedness, which added a layer of warmth and depth.

All told, I had a blast with Where Peace Is Lost, with its snappy pace and endearing characters, plus a romance that sneaks up on you. The story is a lively mix of adventure and action, one that is also grounded in emotions. Valerie Valdes proves herself to be a fantastic storyteller whose future projects are worth keeping an eye on.