The Road to Civil War: The Fame Game
Posted on February 12, 2016 4 Comments
Previously, I shared some general thoughts on the original Civil War comic event that the upcoming movie will be loosely based on. I also briefly talked about the various events leading up to Civil War (Avengers Disassembled, House of M, Secret Invasion) that fostered the environment needed for the event. I said that I was going to read the TPB Civil War, but I decided to do something a little different and read the issues separately with their corresponding tie-in comics to give a more complete picture of the events as they unfold starting with Civil War #1.
If you recall, I mentioned that a very ominous event involving Speedball occurred when I talked about The Road to Civil War a couple of weeks back, but it wasn’t mentioned what exactly happened in that TPB. So… Who is Speedball?
This is Speedball.
Hi, Speedball.
Speedball is a little bit of a dick. But he’s a teenager, and I think that’s part of the requirements for being a teenager. The most notable thing about him is that he’s Squirrel Girl’s crush. She traveled back in time in an attempt to change the events that happen in this comic. And he can do some things with kinetic energy or something, too, such as make shields. Remember that.
Speedball means “fame whore” in mutant speak.
The other people with him are Namora (Namor’s cousin, of course), Microbe, and Night Thrasher (who gets referred to as a bondage queen by a villain). They are part of the New Warriors, which also happens to be the name of their reality show. During the course of their show, they stumble upon the hideout of a group of escaped supervillains. Now, the New Warriors aren’t slouches, but there’s a reason they are on the D-team. I mean, one of them literally just vomits on people and makes them sick, okay. There’s no romanticizing that.
Four teenagers with powers find a group of villains, what so they do? Surely, these young upstarts won’t really antagonize the villains for a little uptick in ratings. Not in their nice suburban neighborhood that happens to house a school, which means it’s full of children. What kind of idiots do you think these youngsters are?
Okay, they’re those kind of idiots.
To their credit, the New Warriors were on equal footing with three out of four of these villains, but there is always that one who can totally ruin your whole day in a massive way. In this case, he is named Nitro.
Meet Nitro.
Hi, Nitro.
Nitro just got rammed into the side of a school bus by Namora. Let’s watch the replay courtesy of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (awesome game):
Did I mention that this bus is parked next to a school where children happen to be playing on the playground that’s conveniently located beside the bus? However, Namora’s little dust-up of Nitro isn’t what makes this absolutely terrible. It’s what happens next.
After Namora threatens Nitro and tells him not to try any of his “stupid explosions” tricks, she learns very quickly that Nitro is nothing like those low level villains that were rooming with him. In fact, why would you talk trash to a villain that is literally a walking bomb? How many actual fucks do you think he gives right now? I mean, he may be a villain, but there are kids around after all, right?
Surely, he wouldn’t…
… oh… okay…
And just like that all of Tony’s intentions to thwart the Registration Act are flushed down the toilet. Thanks, New Warriors. How does Speedball figure into this whole tragedy other than being part of the reason why it happened? Stay tuned. We’re getting there. First, we’re going to visit She-Hulk for a moment for the legal fallout.
She-Hulk enters the fray toeing the line. In this issue, Dr. Strange removes Scarlet Witch’s hex on She-Hulk. Hex is a very strong word in this case because it wasn’t meant to harm her. In fact, it was very helpful, but at the same time there were side effects such as She-Hulk not being able to change at will. Dr. Strange can fix anything with magic which is why he often shows up when Marvel breaks something and they don’t know how they’re going to fix it.
Anyhow…
Publicly, she’s come out as She-Hulk and supports Tony, but as a lawyer, she’s fighting to protect the Warriors both past and present from the witch hunt that’s taking place after the events at Stamford. Despite the Registration Act not passing quite yet, there’s a hate site dedicated to revealing the identities of other members, which leads to many of them being assaulted. After a turbulent court hearing that results in desks being punched and a swell of feelings, Tony graces She-Hulk with his presence to tell her who is outing the Warriors. It turns into a moment that can only aptly be summed up with this meme:
Also in this comic, there is a hint of a forbidden type romance between Jen (She-Hulk) and John Jameson (J. Jonah Jameson’s son) who happens to work for the military. Jameson is warned that he needs to give up his relationship with She-Hulk or it may end badly given the current climate with the Registration Act and the public’s current feelings regarding superheroes. After a heart to heart with Captain America where he politely refuses Captain America’s request for help, John decides that he loves She-Hulk too much to let her go. Captain America is a total bro about it, too:
Honestly, I didn’t care for this one too much. Okay, maybe that’s not exactly true. There were things I liked about it such as Jen and John’s relationship. I didn’t care much for the sympathy card they tried to force with the deceased Warriors. Yeah, they made a HUGE mistake, but the way She-Hulk tried to poo-poo their behavior because they were kids made it feel like she was being an apologist, which came off a little gross. I understand what they were trying to do with that, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I thought the twist on the person running the hate site was interesting, but the whole reasoning behind it felt weak and poorly executed, but at least I got hilarious face panels like this one:
Is he supposed to be angry? Excited? I don’t get it, but the face is hilarious.
Civil War #1 is one of my favorite comics. It gave a really promising start to the core Civil War event, and while I didn’t care much for She-Hulk’s comic, it still served it’s purpose in showing how the tensions were growing between heroes and how the public was increasingly starting to sour on them as well. The New Warriors were the straw that broke the camel’s back. This one moment of folly really ripped things apart. After reading She-Hulk years back, I remember being optimistic this would be an event that evenly portrayed both sides. I was wrong. However, I can’t dismiss the fact that the first book in the main event really started out with a bang (no pun intended).
I’d originally planned to talk about Wolverine #42 and X-Factor #8, but that would’ve made this post obscenely long. Also, I might have to dwell on the Wolverine comic and wax poetic about it. So, I’ll discuss them next post.
Comics Read: Civil War #1, She-Hulk #8
Upcoming Comics: Wolverine #42, X-Factor #8, New Avengers #21, Black Panther #17, Civil War: Front Line #1, Amazing Spider-Man #532
Book Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May
Posted on February 12, 2016 19 Comments
The Falconer by Elizabeth May
Genre: Steampunk, fantasy
Series: The Falconer #1
Publisher: Gollancz (September 2013)
Author Info: elizabethmaywrites.com
Wendy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
“Kiaran and I have little connection beyond our names. We battle, bleed and hunt together almost every night. He teaches me how to slaughter in the most effective, brutal ways possible. But I’ve never told Kiaran why I hunt, and he has never told me why he kills his own kind. This is our ritual, our dance. The only one that matters.”
I started a review for this book shortly after I completed it, but it ended up becoming a rant that eventually led to my “Y I H8 YA” post. So let me try this again…
The book blurb starts as follows:
She’s a stunner.
Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty.
Let me just stop you right there, blurb, because I am not about your cheap marketing ploy. If there’s one great thing about both the character and the book itself, it doesn’t spend nearly as much time getting caught up in Aileana’s looks and her subsequent desirability. Which is one of the many things that makes it a YA story that I can deal with.
Aileana is a fae hunter. After the violent death of her mother at the hands of a fae that has haunted her, Aileana has dedicated her life to destroying these creatures, using her unique gifts and her mechanical skills to do so. Much of her training comes, ironically, from a fae, whom Ailaena knows she cannot trust, though she needs him to accomplish her goals of finding the creature that murdered her mother.
And she must achieve all of this while hiding behind the mask society expects her to wear. She doesn’t do particularly well with the latter, which is another thing I like. The story focuses on Aileana and not on any angsty societal struggles over her beaut–or her youth, for that matter. This story could easily belong to a character much older than her 18 years, and it does not spend a ridiculous amount of time reminding us of how old she happens to be.
There is a steampunk element to the story that mainly comes in the form of Aileana’s inventions. The implication is that ornithopters and mending spiders aren’t necessarily unusual in this society, but Aileana has to keep her usage of them on the downlow such that they only tend to appear at the moment of need. This gives them a bit of a deus ex machina feel, but, since they don’t appear too often and aren’t necessarily plot saving devices, I’ll let their convenience slide.
There is an inevitable romance–two in fact, but again, unlike the typical YA demands, Aileana’s story and growth do not get lost in this, and nor are the men who desire her there simply as love interests. They both respect her and her desires and are willing to accept her decision, either way, with the understanding that her priority is well beyond romance. Aileana herself is a powerful character whose struggles with the world after dark are balanced well with her struggles with the society she doesn’t fit into. I particularly enjoyed the scenes with her father that aren’t merely a stubborn daughter wrestling against a father that doesn’t understand. Aileana has lost her mother, but she recognizes too that her father has lost his wife in all of this, and there is a significant amount of depth to the emotions they both keep hidden from each other over this matter.
There seems to be a checklist for what YA novels need to include, and while The Falconer does include a lot of them, I loved the way it carefully side steps the now stereotypical expectations to give me something that I truly enjoyed and definitely want more of.
Book Review: The Guns of Ivrea by Clifford Beal
Posted on February 11, 2016 15 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Guns of Ivrea by Clifford Beal
Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of Tales of Valdur
Publisher: Solaris (February 9, 2016)
Length: 371 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Piratical fantasy? Yes, please. I love me some seafaring scoundrels. Throw in some mercenaries and mermaids, and The Guns of Ivrea sounded like a maritime journey I wanted to take.
Unexpectedly, we’re also given a good dose of politics and religious lore. The book opens very cinematically, deep in the tomb of Saint Elded, the revered prophet of the faith. A young monk named Acquel is with a maintenance team checking for damages when he accidentally glimpses Elded’s body and discovers a shocking secret that can shake the foundations of the entire church.
Suddenly, Brother Acquel finds himself marked for death. He barely manages to escape, though not before slipping away with an ancient talisman belonging to the dead saint. Acquel’s desperate flight leads him straight to the doorstep of Captain Strykar, leader of the Black Rose mercenary band. In need of a new holy man, Strykar allows Acquel to travel with them, leaving the monk in the care of the company sutler, the widow Timandra. Meanwhile, they are on their way to the coastal city of Palestro where pirate princeling Nicolo Danamis commands the largest fleet in Valdur and carries out his privateering activities for the king. However, Danamis’ recent dealings with the Merfolk have made his devout men jittery and unhappy, and his latest trade may prove to be his undoing.
This book is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, and if you’re fond of breakneck action and twisty political hijinks, you’ll definitely find lots to like in The Guns of Ivrea. Clifford Beal keeps things moving at a quick pace, applying his tight plotting and solid storytelling skills to ensure something interesting happens in every chapter. Battle sequences are plentiful and exquisitely detailed, creating an atmosphere so rich and thick that you can practically smell the cannon smoke, though these scenes are still succinct and smooth enough that they do not wear out their welcome. The intrigue surrounding Brother Acquel’s startling discovery—and the extraordinary relic in his possession—is also a mystery that rests comfortably on the narrative, and as we follow along with the story, the big question surrounding the truth of Saint Elded’s identity serves as motivation to keep the pages turning.
So it was a surprise when I found that I didn’t feel as connected to the story as I thought I would be. Even now I’m having trouble putting my finger on the cause of this detachment, but my best bet would be on the characters. What felt lacking was a layer of intimacy, which ultimately kept them all at arms’ length. Despite the entertaining plot, it was hard to feel invested when at the end of the day I felt no great concern for the characters’ fates, though they were enjoyable enough to follow. I knew Danamis and Strykar had a complicated friendship because that’s what the narrative told me, not something I felt. Brother Acquel’s acceptance into their fold was likewise a relationship that was more told than shown, as was the monk’s romantic involvement with Timandra, which I didn’t feel emotionally at all. Similarly, Danamis’ alliance and subsequent bond with the Mer princess Citala in the in the later parts of the novel also felt under-developed.
But speaking of the Mer, by far the coolest thing about this novel is Beal’s unique take on these creatures of myth. They are abhorred and mistrusted by those who live on land due to the teachings of the human religion, which revile the Mer for being abominations and inferior beings. We didn’t get to see much of the Mer in this book, at least not as much as I’d hoped, though their history plays a very important role in the overall story.
It would be very interesting to see what the author has planned for the rest of this series. I hope the more time I spend with these characters, the more I’ll get to come to sympathize with them, but right now Beal has certainly hooked my attention. The Guns of Ivrea is an energetic and suspenseful fantasy that blends nautical adventure with political intrigue and religious conspiracies. I’ll be looking out for the sequel.
Audiobook Review: The Bees by Laline Paull
Posted on February 10, 2016 8 Comments
Genre: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Science Fantasy
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ecco (May 6, 2014)
Information: Twitter | Goodreads
Tiara’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Narrator: Orlagh Cassidy | Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins | Audiobook Publisher: HarperAudio (May 6, 2014) | Whispersync Ready: Yes
“The Queen is dead! Long live the Queen!”
In simplest terms, The Bees is a novel that explores the phenomena of colony collapse in bees with a speculative slant. In more complex terms, this is a dystopian novel that takes issues ranging from racism to self-acceptance and investigates them in this structured “society,” entwining science and myth to present a story that is both analytical and dreamy. It’s a little strange to call this a dystopian story when you have the bee world under a human world that operates “normally.” In fact, readers only see humans briefly a total of four times during this story. We do get to witness the affect that humans have on the bee world, though. And even later, we find out that this story runs concurrent to a human story that we don’t witness, but readers learn is represented symbolically through the bees story.
The hero of the story is Flora 717. We start at her birth where she narrowly escapes the Fertilization Police whose job consists of eradicating anything that doesn’t fall within the hives standards of normalcy. Flora is born too large, too dark, and she’s born into the lowest caste in the hive–sanitation. However, she’s born able to speak unlike other members in Flora. She also has the special ability to make Flow, a substance used to feed the Queen’s offspring. One of the hive’s Sages has mercy on Flora to sedate a curiosity. Flora overcomes many insurmountable odds to reinvent herself many times while in the hive, moving from the nursery to sanitation to foraging. Her actions decide the fate of her hive.
Flora lives in a world that subsists on rules, duty, Mother’s Love (a ritual involving the Queen giving off a scent that reminds the hive of her “love”), and appreciating Maleness (represented by spoiled, lazy male bees with names like “Sir Linden” who use crude language while speaking like they’re Victorian transplants). This world reminds her that she falls short of perfection repeatedly while demanding her loyalty, obedience, and her sweat. These are things that Flora is willing to give to her hive regardless of being an anomaly until she encounters the strongest emotion of all.
Orlagh Cassidy (great name!) narrates Flora’s story from the days she spends sheltered in the hive to her feeling of freedom as a forager. Some of her voices can sound similar, but I sort of wrote this off because the bees are a hive unit. There’s not supposed to be much variance between them in their respective jobs, so it makes sense that many of them sound like the same bee. The voices she uses for the Sir Maleness bunch is hilarious. It may not be the most manly thing you’ll hear from a female narrator, but she captures the tone, the arrogance, the entitlement dead on. It’s really hard not to chuckle a little bit the males. Her voice for the Spiders, especially the Black Minerva, was notable as well. The Spiders, along with the bees’ cousins the Wasps, serve as one of many outside antagonists in this story. The Spiders are witch women, truth-filled villains who speak hard facts if their high price is met. However, Cassidy’s voicing of Flora is where she excels and manages to capture the most variance and emotional nuance.
Complaints? There are a few. This first complaint isn’t really the book’s fault. Again, who is writing these blurbs where they insist on comparing books to other pieces of existing literature? This is really starting to get ridiculous. Let’s just strike this book being like The Hunger Games and The Handmaid’s Tale. The only thing this book has in common with The Hunger Games is the fact that its “citizens” are divided up into different groups, which could be like any piece of media (or real life) that divides its people up. Now, it does share a similar sentiment and atmosphere as The Handmaid’s Tale, but comparing it to that book overlooks the unique angle that Paull takes with her story.
Second, the presentation of the social issues can sometimes seem a bit too abstract. While reading this, I wondered if the messages of things such as racism, sexism, and class issues might be lost on some readers. Despite what emotions this book may tug in readers, it’s easy to disconnect from the underlying message because BEES! I might’ve pondered this a bit too much while I was listening to this. Also, I applaud Paull for using science (while taking liberties, of course) and trying to combine it with myth, but there are some bits that can come off a little too dreamy and fairy tale-like such as the Melissae, which is what the Sages call their collective group.
Overall, Flora’s story is a compelling, emotional journey. She’s tough both physically and emotionally while being tempered with inquisitiveness, independence, and sensitivity. I’m still asking myself how I managed to be gut-punched in the feelings by bees.
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Waiting on Wednesday 02/10/16
Posted on February 10, 2016 25 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!
Wendy’s Pick
The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit: August 16th 2016)
I’m writing this WoW before even finishing the first book in the series, The Fifth Season, but I am so in love with Jemisin’s work (even the ones I don’t like so much) that I’m confident that I’ll be buying this one as soon as it’s available. In fact, I already have a space for it on my bookshelf. In fact in fact, let me just go place my pre-order now…
“THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS… FOR THE LAST TIME.
The season of endings grows darker as civilization fades into the long cold night. Alabaster Tenring – madman, world-crusher, savior – has returned with a mission: to train his successor, Essun, and thus seal the fate of the Stillness forever.
It continues with a lost daughter, found by the enemy.
It continues with the obelisks, and an ancient mystery converging on answers at last.
The Stillness is the wall which stands against the flow of tradition, the spark of hope long buried under the thickening ashfall. And it will not be broken.”
Mogsy’s Pick:
Four Roads Cross by Max Gladstone: July 26, 2016 (Tor)
Speaking of making space on the shelf, I already have a spot ready and waiting on mine for the fifth book of The Craft Sequence. Though I have to say I am also with Wendy in pining for The Obelisk Gate. This summer is going to be great, I can’t wait.
“The great city of Alt Coulumb is in crisis. The moon goddess Seril, long thought dead, is back—and the people of Alt Coulumb aren’t happy. Protests rock the city, and Kos Everburning’s creditors attempt a hostile takeover of the fire god’s church. Tara Abernathy, the god’s in-house Craftswoman, must defend the church against the world’s fiercest necromantic firm—and against her old classmate, a rising star in the Craftwork world.
As if that weren’t enough, Cat and Raz, supporting characters from Three Parts Dead, are back too, fighting monster pirates; skeleton kings drink frozen cocktails, defying several principles of anatomy; jails, hospitals, and temples are broken into and out of; choirs of flame sing over Alt Coulumb; demons pose significant problems; a farmers’ market proves more important to world affairs than seems likely; doctors of theology strike back; Monk-Technician Abelard performs several miracles; The Rats! play Walsh’s Place; and dragons give almost-helpful counsel.”
Book Review: The Damned by Andrew Pyper
Posted on February 9, 2016 19 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Paperback release: February 9, 2016)
Length: 308 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
The Damned somehow missed my radar when it was first released, but I’ve wanted to read it ever since I found out about it last summer. So when a review copy from the publisher showed up on my doorstep in advance of its paperback release complete with a brand new cover, I dropped everything else and jumped into it that very same day.
I ended up devouring the book. Partly, it was because of its quick-pacing and slickly written style, but also, it simply might have been the fact I was really hungering for a good horror novel. It’s been quite a while since I’ve revisited this genre, and by that I mean pure, psychological paranormal Horror with a capital H—the kind designed to chill you to your bones. The Damned fit the bill perfectly, delivering in spades what I needed.
The story held promise from the very start. It introduces us to our protagonist Danny Orchard, who is no stranger to death. It’s even the topic of his bestselling book, a memoir about his trip to the “other side” after almost dying in a fire that claimed the life of his twin sister Ashleigh when they were both sixteen. His writings have made him a celebrity in certain circles, and Danny often finds himself on the road signing books or giving talks at near-death experience groups all over the country, meeting others who have had their brushes with the afterlife and survived to tell the tale. Often, their accounts are of hope and filled with a sense of peace, with most grateful to be given a second chance at life.
Danny’s own experience, however, was a lot different. His sister has been dead for twenty years, but her presence haunts him still. In life, Ash was the picture of perfection—smart, beautiful, popular—eclipsing her twin brother in every way. But behind that façade, she was pure evil, as the Orchard family have always known even before she started outwardly exhibiting her psychopathic tendencies. Ash reveled in hurting others, manipulating their emotions and destroying their lives. And unfortunately for Danny, death hasn’t changed her one bit. For so long, he has remained alone and detached, afraid to truly live his life again lest the ghost of his vengeful sister decides to take it out on those he cares for. But a twist of fate leads him to fall in love with a woman named Willa and grow close to her young son Eddie, and now just as Danny had feared, Ash is out to take his happiness away from him.
This was truly a nail-bitingly intense story, expertly structured and paced to give the reader the full effect of the horror that has plagued Danny his entire life. Pyper knows it’s no fun when the author shows his hand too early, so he teases us, doling out the details one agonizing morsel at a time, and I couldn’t help but eat it all up. Danny’s past is gradually revealed, starting from the beginning when he and Ash were almost declared stillborn in the delivery room—until miraculously, both babies managed to pull through with strong, steady heartbeats. But was it really a miracle? Or was it something more sinister? These are the kind of surprises waiting for you when you read this book.
Hands down, my favorite thing about this book was Danny’s relationship with his sister, especially before she died. As a ghost, Ash is terrifying—but she was also a lot more complex and interesting when she was alive, her personality and misdeeds recounted in Danny’s memories. Ash is as evil as our protagonist is not, but in spite of this, there’s a bond between the two siblings that can never be severed, which puts a knotty twist into the dynamics of their relationship. As Danny searches for a way to free himself from Ash, the story even takes a mysterious turn, leading readers on a hunt for clues to discover the truth behind the circumstances of the fatal fire that one twin came back from but the other did not. As it turns out, there was a lot more to Ash’s life that was hidden even from Danny, and I do enjoy a good mystery with my horror.
The phenomenon of near-death experiences is also an ideal topic for a book like this. It’s a subject rife for speculation about what lies beyond, and Pyper uses our natural fear of the unknown to make The Damned even more psychologically nerve-wracking. The best part about this novel is what it doesn’t tell you, allowing your imagination to fill in what is implied so you can draw your own disturbing conclusions.
I am immediately adding Andrew Pyper on my list of must-read authors. It’s not often that I come across a horror novelist whose style I enjoy so much, whose prose includes more than just the stark display of frightening elements, because it’s clear that he takes the time to infuse his writing with a poignant, artful quality as well. Plus, I love supporting Canadian talent. I highly recommend The Damned if you’re looking for your next spine-chilling read.
Top Ten Tuesday: Valentine Themed Freebie
Posted on February 9, 2016 17 Comments
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. They created the meme because they love lists. Who doesn’t love lists? They wanted to share these list with fellow book lovers and ask that we share in return to connect with our fellow book lovers. To learn more about participating in the challenge, stop by their page dedicated to it and dive in!
This week’s topic: Valentine Themed Freebie
For this freebie theme, I thought I’d list a few of my favorite speculative couples. My own geeky Valentine plans include soft cosplaying Deadpool while seeing the Deadpool movie with Mr. DT and whatever other geeky things come up over the night! Naturally, my all-time favorite speculative couple is Mr. DT and myself. I ship myself with him.
Moon and Jade (Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells) – Not only did Wells give me a great, fresh story about non-human shifters, but she also gave me a great romance between two of the main characters–Jade, the sister queen to the Indigo Cloud colony, and Moon, Jade’s male consort. The Raksura are largely matriarchal, but not so much that males are treated as second class citizens. Wells’ depiction of such a culture and the rules that would exist are fascinating. Also, all the heart eyes at Jade and Moon cuddling.
Marko and Alana (Saga by Brian K. Vaughan) – Saga is a space opera that covers many angles. Important among these is the relationship between Marko and Alana whose people hate each other. Alana develops a relationship with Marko (who is a prisoner that she guards when they meet). Forbidden love stories are a weakness of mine. Also, secret book club.
George and Heather (The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin) – This was one of those romances that I was afraid was going to go horribly wrong. I should have had more faith in UKLG. The romance didn’t detract from the story. In fact, it was more a carefully crafted dance between the characters than a full-blown romance (except for one brief portion of the book).
Tony Chu and Amelia Mintz (Chew by John Layman) – Tony is a cibopath (a person who gets psychic impressions from what they’ve eaten) and Amelia is a saboscrivner (a person who writes about food so believably that others can taste it). Tony rarely eats anything outside of beets when he’s not working. Amelia’s writing allows him to “taste” food without all the visions. Together, they make an interesting pair.
Hirianthial and Reese (Her Instruments by M.C.A. Hogarth) – What happens when you mix a space elf who is adverse to touch and a prickly space captain in a room together? Well, romance… eventually… I haven’t cried enough about this series or the delicious slow burn that is this relationship enough.
Nurse Tyler and Otoh Mohanty (Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo) – This is more a magical realism story than a heavy fantasy or science fiction story, and that magical realism really shows during Otoh’s story. Nurse Tyler, who is the only male nurse at a home for the elderly, and Otoh are both characters who are trying to be true to themselves and lead their best life. Otoh has largely learned to do this. Nurse Tyler, on the other hand, is floundering in a world that hates effeminate men. Together, though, they’re magical.
Allison Mann and Agent 355 (Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan) – All of my feelings everywhere. Allison Mann went from thinking that love is a biological imperative to finding it a couple of times within the series. Her devotion and love for Agent 355 makes me want to cry all over everything.
Cazaril and Beatriz (World of the Five Gods by Lois Bujold McMaster) – The romance was simple, understated, and very sweet in my opinion. I was glad that Iselle wasn’t the object of Caz’s quiet affection, but Beatriz–an affection that she obviously was returning, but he was oblivious, thinking himself too old, too poor, too broken, for someone like her. I thought the simplicity in that was very well done.
Issac and Lena (Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines) – This is actually a triangle polyamorous relationship with Lena serving as the point. Lena is dating a female psychologist before she starts a relationship with Issac. Instead of them freaking out or everyone falling in bed together, it’s agreed that she’ll date both of them and they’ll navigate the uncharted waters as they move forward. I’ve only read the first book, so I don’t know if this breaks down or not. However, it was nice to see a moresome that wasn’t all a jealous love triangle or an agreement to just screw all together.
Wall-E and Eve (Wall-E by Pixar) – Just to prove that I can get emotional about anything. I wrap up with two robots that fell in love in the movie Wall-E, a trash compactor bot, and Eve, a vegetation bot. I swear this movie makes me vomit rainbows.
Audiobook Review: Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon by Delilah S. Dawson
Posted on February 8, 2016 4 Comments
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Science-Fantasy
Series: Star Wars Canon
Publisher: Del Ray (November 24, 2015)
Information: Website | Goodreads
Tiara’s Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Narrator: January LaVoy | Length: 1 hrs and 57 mins | Audiobook Publisher: Random House Audio (November 24, 2015) | Whispersync Ready: No
Very slight spoilers, but you’ve been warned.
I’m one of those people who is easily distracted by secondary characters to the point of joining their cult followings, and I’m not sorry. My most recent secondary character obsession is, Benzine Netal, a character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens the latest installment in the Star Wars universe. In one particular scene we are briefly scan to this intriguing looking woman dressed in Harlequin-esque attire, and in the next we’re learning the bounds of her treachery. She wasn’t in the movie long, but she had the potential to be more than a bit player in the movie, as many characters did, in my mind. There was something interesting and exciting about her character. She offered a plausible counter to Rey’s “moral excellence,”a woman who seemed cold and whose allegiances were shifty unlike the Imperial dedication from Phasma. Bezine carried herself as if she’s not someone to be trifled with, and I was excited to hear there would be a story to explore her background. I wish I could say that I loved what I learned about her. Unfortunately, they did nothing of importance with the character.
Bazine is The Perfect Weapon. trained from childhood to become a formidable foe and fulfill one ultimate goal (unbeknownst to her) that her teacher wanted, which really didn’t make much sense since he had years to complete this objective. There seems to be no mention of her parents because she was adopted from an orphanage by her mentor. Years later, she’s given a mission that requires she turn to him for help because she needs a ship. Why do all spy types need a ship? Do they not save the credits they get to buy one of their own? Her mentor agrees to give her a ship as long as she take his Pantoran techie, a rookie who needs to complete an off-world mission and could use her help. The only problem with this Pantoran is that he was absolutely the most unnecessary character I’ve ever encountered in a book. In fact, the whole premise for the story was weak, and a part near the end had me like, “HOW CONVENIENT!” You really don’t see Bazine being “The Perfect Weapon” much, which is okay. I’m getting to that.
Pantorans, in case you’re curious.
So, why did rate it more than 1-star? Well, because I liked what I did learn about Bazine outside this missions’s premise. How her whole life has been manipulated to be this cold woman when she could’ve been anyone she wanted instead of a woman who wears eel ink on her finger tips or wears poisoned black lipstick to come in for a close kill. She’s not only emotionally scarred, but she’s physically scarred. Her face is a mask to hide the horror of a mission gone bad, and that’s something I would’ve loved to have heard more about. I’m sure seeing her in that moment of both emotional vulnerability and rage would’ve been an excellent story. I would have loved to explore these aspects of Bazine more, the slip of being a woman who does care but at the same time she does what is necessary. It’s not assumed she doesn’t care because she’s just a cold woman. She stops caring because everything she cares about is taken from her to make her the spy she is. It’s dangerous for her to care.
A couple of things other than the plot annoyed me. The constant reminder that she’s a sexy woman and what she’s wearing can get old in the story. We understand this, and even Bazine acknowledges she is beautiful, but beauty isn’t always worth its merits that people place on it in her opinion. We didn’t need constant words being taken up with drunk men hitting on her. Loss potential wasted on words about men too disgusting to be in her presence, according to her, which is another thing that annoyed me. You are a spy. You’ve admitted that you’ve had to go to some awful places, but still have to continuously harp on how gross something is instead of being the focused machine you are. I’m not saying she should’ve ignored it, but we get it! She thinks what she’s doing is gross. There are way better ways to convey disgust other than having what amounts to “OMG YUCK!” every couple pages. And what’s the point of having a million weapons on your person if you’re not actually going to use them. Inquiring minds want to know.
Anyhow, in Bazine, you do see a loss for what she could’ve been, how tired she is, how she feeds off the adrenaline she feels during a mission despite this. January LaVoy did an excellent job with the voices. I loved her Bazine. Just like with almost all Star Wars books I’ve listened to, this has sound effects, but thankfully, they don’t ever overtake the narration. I’m really impressed they added production to such a short story. Just like with The Force Awakens, I don’t think this is a necessary read, but it’s fun to learn a little more about that interesting lady from the cantina (who I hope to see more of… please…).
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Book Review: Chains of the Heretic by Jeff Salyards
Posted on February 8, 2016 20 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Chains of the Heretic by Jeff Salyards
Mogsy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 3 of The Bloodsounder’s Arc
Publisher: Night Shade Books (February 16, 2016)
Length: 524 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I am stunned on so many levels. To call Chains of the Heretic one of the finest pieces of dark fantasy I have ever read would be a gross understatement. It is simply phenomenal, an incredible masterpiece and outstanding achievement for Jeff Salyards. There’s also no doubt about it, this series has come a long way since the author’s debut novel Scourge of the Betrayer, the first Bloodsounder’s Arc book that started us on this epic journey.
Just like the series’ protagonist and narrator Arkamandos (Arki for short), it amazes me to think back to the beginning and see how far things have come. If you’ve read my review of the first book, you’ll know that I liked it plenty. But it was the sequel that really opened up the world for me. Veil of the Deserters drove home for me what Salyards was trying to achieve and made me a diehard fan of the series, and then to have this third book come in and shatter all my already sky-high expectations? It was an unparalleled surprise, to say the least. It goes without saying that these are my favorite kinds of trilogies, the ones where each book just gets better and better.
Not to sound deliberately cryptic, but this series has always been about being secretive and extremely cautious about revealing its intentions. If you haven’t read the first two books, almost everything I say about the story of Chains of the Heretic could be regarded as a spoiler, so I’ll keep my descriptions of it brief. This book picks up right where the last one left off, following Captain Braylar Killcoin and his band of Jackals after their narrow escape from the Syldoon capital, with the shaken Arki in tow. Trapped between the Godveil and the Imperial forces on their tail, the company is forced to make a desperate gambit. All they have to go on are Arki’s incomplete translations of some ancient and obscure texts, which are spotty at best, but the choice is simple: pass through the mysterious Veil and maybe die, or stay to be cut down by Emperor Cynead’s far bigger army and die for sure.
Putting his trust in Arki’s findings, Braylar decides to take a chance on the crazy plan, using his magical flail Bloodsounder to lead his men and women into the unknown. But though this move takes them beyond the reach of their enemies, what awaits them on the other side of the Veil is arguably even more terrible. What they find will shake the foundations of life, religion and history for everyone living in the Empire.
Yes, you heard correctly. At long last, we get to cross the inscrutable Godveil, that ominous piece of the puzzle that has been teasing me from day one. I can practically picture Salyards sitting behind his keyboard as he wrote this book, rubbing his hands together in a villainous fashion while chortling with maniacal glee as he finally unleashed all the secrets he has been sitting on since he first started writing this series. I have to hand it to him though, the wait was well worth it. Plague me, but I was riveted by all the strange things our characters discovered on the other side.
As ever though, what I loved most were the characters. I am and will always be a “character first” kind of reader. Of course in an ideal situation, characters, world-building, story, and writing will all be perfectly balanced, but without the first, it’s generally more difficult for me to get into the rest. That’s why I was really thrilled when Chains of the Heretic delivered splendidly on all fronts, with characters scoring a perfect ten. The choice of Arki as the narrator has always struck me as a brilliant choice—he is the Jackals’ scribe, an outsider hired on to translate documents for Captain Killcoin, but this also puts him in the perfect position to be the company’s Chronicler, both for the Syldoon and us as the readers. His role gives him a reasonable excuse to question everything and everyone, which is how most of the other characters’ motivations and the ways of this world are revealed to us. In this book, we also get to see how Arki’s experience with the Syldoon has changed him irrevocably. He’ll always stick out as the bookish scribe among a group of hardened warriors, but it moved me how the Jackals have gradually come to see him as one of their own.
But while entire series is told through Arki’s eyes, it’s interesting to me how the Bloodsounder’s Arc has always been the about the saga of Braylar Killcoin and his relationship with the eponymous cursed flail. Be that as it may though, the truth is that I would be hard pressed to name my favorite characters. Placing duty above everything else, Captain Braylar is the consummate soldier who will lay down his life for his Tower and commander, but aside from Arki, Braylar’s colorful cast of lieutenants also provide him counsel (or attempt to, anyway). From the seasoned Hewspear to the hulking Azmorgon, from the always-live-in-the-present Vendurro to the foulmouthed Muldoos (who is as eloquently offensive as ever), I literally love them all. And last but not least, there is the good captain’s sister Soffjian, the scary Memoridon who can take down a squad of Syldoon with no more than a single thought if she wanted to. I’ve become so attached to these characters that I’d already braced myself knowing the loss of any one of them would strike a devastating blow.
Furthermore, Jeff Salyards proves himself a skilled wordsmith by the way constructs his prose, especially when he really lets loose in his characters’ dialogue. There’s a lot of humor, and depending on who’s delivering it, you get everything from Braylar’s deadpan, matter-of-fact sarcasm to Muldoos’ creatively crass brand of profanity, plus even some of Arki’s own ironic observances thrown in. This final volume also underscores the superb storytelling, drawing together three books’ worth of intricate plot threads to bring the trilogy to a seamless conclusion. It’s true there are some predictable outcomes, especially if you’ve been following the character dynamics closely, but the overall cohesiveness of the series is a testament to excellent plotting and pacing. I’ve always said that bittersweet endings can be a tricky thing, but Salyards nails it.
The Bloodsounder’s Arc is now in the top spot for my favorite grimdark fantasy series. In case all the frantic gushing I’ve been doing hasn’t driven the fact home already, that’s how much I loved this book. If this is what Jeff Salyards can do with his debut trilogy, I can’t wait to see more of his future writing endeavors.
More at the BiblioSanctum:
Review of Scourge of the Betrayer (Book 1)
Review of Veil of the Deserters (Book 2)
Sunday Musings: Back to the Library
Posted on February 7, 2016 17 Comments
I did it. I finally did it. I went to the library and renewed my library card after months of delinquency. I’m ashamed really. How could I let my library card expire? For shame indeed. Not that I haven’t visited lately. Our local library has many great programs for kids and my seven-year-old has been participating in the science activities that teach her about things like clouds and magnets. She doesn’t need me during these sessions, so I usually hang out reading a book–but not one I’ve actually borrowed from the library. I also moved recently and purged several books with a donation to the library’s box.
But I haven’t been to the library to borrow any books for a long time. This makes me sad because libraries and the whole process of borrowing books is such a sacred ritual. My daughters have library cards and they take out books, but it’s been so long since I have participated in this ritual. I missed it. So when I went to the library to renew my card, I took the time to walk the aisles. To slowly peruse the shelves and check out what was new and what the librarians were promoting as their favourite reads. To smell that wonderful scent of paper with words and images and hearts and souls burned into each page.
I have a large collection of digital and audiobooks, but there will always be something special about real books. Which is why my own bookshelf is such a personal treasure.
We recently moved into a new house and my pride and joy is my new library office. My bookshelf is loaded with books, magazines, and my obsessive Funko Pop! collection. There’s not enough room for it all, so the next step is the design and building of another set of shelves that will go behind my desk. It’s not exactly my dream library, because obviously, in my dream library, I’d be able to do this:
But it’s pretty damn close.
As for the public library, I’ve dived back into the borrowing process, though I’d focused mostly on audiobooks for the moment. I have a few books on hold though and I eagerly await that email or phone call to let me know I can come in and pick them up. I’ll hop into the car and rush over and smile at the librarian as she hands over my prize. I might rush back to the house to read it, or I might just hang out at the library a little longer, cozying up beside that creepy statue of an elderly man sitting in a chair, reading a book of his own.
The BiblioSanctum 