Audiobook Review: Flex by Ferrett Steinmetz
Posted on August 24, 2015 19 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of ‘Mancer
Publisher: Audible Studios (08/06/15)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 4.5 of 5 stars
Narrator: Peter Brooke | Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
Okay, I loved Flex. And not least because there was some of this:
And this:
And this:
And this:
Oh and also throw in a bit of this to boot:
But wait, maybe I should back up a bit. You want to know what the story is actually about. Well, welcome to the world of Flex, where it’s actually possible to love a thing so much, the power of your obsession can kick the laws of physics in the ass so hard that reality literally comes undone. This is what gives rise to the many different kinds of magic users. You get illustromancers. Deathmetalmancers. Collectomancers! Or even videogamemancers. In the case of Flex protagonist Paul Tsabo, he loves his job as a number-cruncher at his insurance company SO MUCH that he’s turned paperwork into more than just an art. He’s become a bureaucromancer, and this means he can work magic on anything in the world, as long as what he needs is logged somewhere on paper.
Thing is, if you’re not a ‘mancer, you can still use magic. Distilled magic can come in the form of crystallized Flex, a powerful drug brewed by ‘mancers. But working ‘mancy and using Flex can cause one hell of a blowback. Maybe with the power of Flex you can twist reality to match your vision – but only for a time. After the effects wear off, the backlash called Flux will hit. Because if there’s one thing the universe hates more than anything, it’s being bent to a magic user’s will. It will fight back with a vengeance, and you can bet the universe always wins.
So there’s a good reason why the general public doesn’t trust ‘mancers; the effects of their magic defy normality and prediction, and chaos typically follows where they go. For this reason, Paul has gone to great lengths to hide his bureaucromancy. But now there’s a dangerous ‘mancer known as Anathema out there, brewing some very powerful Flex. It’s causing a lot of accidents, a lot of deaths. One night, Paul and his daughter Aliyah become Anathema’s victims when a Flex user in his apartment causes a gas main to blow up. Paul’s ‘mancy saves his daughter’s life, but the little girl still ends up badly burned. To come up with the money for Aliyah’s reconstructive surgery, Paul must find a way to use his bureaucromancy without causing the Flux that will make things worse. And to do that, he must find a mentor.
Enter Valentine. The gamemancer. My heroine.
First I have to tell you that I’m a sucker for any book or story that has to do with video games. When I discovered what Valentine’s power meant, I had myself a squee moment. Flex is one of those books that worked perfectly for me, because it hit that special sweet spot balancing a complex magic system with all-out fun. The world of ‘mancy is full of potential and the possibility of pretty much any kind of ‘mancer you can think of, but all of it still works within the confines of rules that make sense.
Flex is also a book that’s full of heart. After all, so much of ‘mancy and becoming a ‘mancer has its roots in emotion. It’s about love and obsession, both the healthy and unhealthy kind. It’s the idea that you can want or believe in something so hard that the sheer force of that power will make it happen. For that reason, ‘mancers aren’t always happy people. Some are lonely. Some are angry. Some are lost and afraid. When push comes to shove, their obsessions and resulting ‘mancy are literally their ways to escape from the real world. And when it comes to Valentine, video games as escapism is something I can sympathize with and understand. More often than not though, the magic just makes ‘mancers feel even more alone and marginalized.
And also, who can blame Paul, the father who only wants the best for his daughter, even if it means seeking out a killer to help him give Aliyah the chance for a normal life? Flex is a thrilling journey through the dark underbelly of the drug trade, but it’s also about friendship and devotion and finding acceptance. It’s also a story about the desperate hunt for an evil villain, but one that will also allow you to geek out big time.
And geek out I did. I also laughed. And screamed. No doubt about it, Flex is the most fun I’ve had with a book in a long time. I was so glad when the audiobook finally released, because I had been wanting to read it forever, in part due to the amazing things I’ve heard from other reviewers. Now I understand what everyone was raving about. I’m a bit in love with this book. Can’t wait for the next one! Highly recommended.
Story: 
| Performance: 
| Overall:
Audiobook Review: Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski
Posted on August 23, 2015 20 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 3 of The Witcher
Publisher: Hachette Audio (8/4/15)
Author Information: Website
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 4.5 of 5 stars
Narrator: Peter Kenny | Length: 11 hrs 59 min
Over the last two months, I’ve been working my way through all the available Witcher Saga novels in audiobook format. The series is surprisingly addictive, so much so that it feels like I was just listening to the first book Blood of Elves yesterday. And now that I’ve come to the end of book three, I find myself a bit lost and drifting. After all, the print version of the next book (The Swallow’s Tower) hasn’t even been translated in English yet, with the release date planned for 2016. So yep, unless I learn Polish in the next year (highly unlikely!), it’s going to be a looooong wait.
The fact that Baptism of Fire was perhaps my favorite book in the series so far isn’t helping my patience either. At first, I wasn’t sure that I liked where the story was going. This installment feels different from the others, shifting to a more traditional quest narrative while downplaying the political intrigue. We start the book off with an introduction to a new character, an expert archer and hunter named Milva. She meets Geralt in the forest, finding him badly injured from the events of the Thanedd coup. However, the Witcher only has his mind on recovering so that he can continue on to Nilfgaard to find Ciri, the young princess-turned-sorceress whom unbeknownst to everyone has settled into a life with a gang of rebels.
Despite his misgivings, Geralt gives in to Milva’s request to tag along. They are accompanied by Dandelion, the poet. And on their way, they also meet a dwarf named Zoltan. Further along their journey, they join up with a Nilggaardian named Cahir. Eventually, the party even gets a vampire named Regis. Far from the monster the group expected him to be, Regis actually proves quite invaluable thanks to his medical knowledge and skills.
I know what you’re thinking. Geralt and his fellow adventurers sound like they stepped straight out of a role-playing game. You even have your different races and classes. Not that I don’t enjoy this particular classic trope, but for a series that has thus far been all about the complexity and plot depth, I was surprised because this seemed like a step back. And indeed, I felt that the story in Baptism of Fire was much simpler when compared to the other books, and not a lot happened at the beginning while Sapkowski worked to introduce all the new faces and names. I also noticed a lot less of characters like Ciri, Yennefer, and Triss Merigold, given that most of the attention was on Geralt and his group. Don’t get me wrong; I always want more Geralt, but I can’t deny I was expecting more Ciri, especially in light of her prominent role in The Time of Contempt.
Around the halfway through the book though, something happened. Maybe the story finds its stride at this point, or maybe I finally got to appreciate the personalities of all the different characters, but I started really enjoying myself. Our adventurers make their way east, eventually running afoul of trouble caused by the ongoing war. Battling enemies and working together towards a singular goal – that’s my favorite part of these kinds of stories, after all. The dynamics between everyone in the group started to get a lot more interesting too, with Regis emerging as one of my favorites. Dandelion was a riot as always, and I got such a kick out of his conversations with the old vampire. Near the end, there was also a very good example of how far the characters have come as a group, when everyone got together to discuss what to do about a situation that would affect one of their members. A ragtag bunch of strangers become a family of sorts, which is what I love to see.
Something else to keep in mind: the original Baptism of Fire was published in 1996. And for a story that’s almost twenty years old, I think it has aged exceedingly well. Classic quest narrative or not, it still feels fresh, probably a testament to Sapkowski’s storytelling as well as the skills of the translator.
And don’t dismiss the audiobook and what it brings to the table. I maintain this is the best format to experience The Witcher Saga. Peter Kenny once again proves what a versatile narrator he is, delivering a superb performance as always. In fact, I feel this is probably his best work on this series so far. Kenny really knocked it out of the park, bringing the whole gang to life in this one, giving each group member a unique voice. He was absolutely fantastic.
So now I settle in for the wait. Heck, it may be even longer for the audio version. But it doesn’t matter; something tells me it will be worth it.
Story: 
| Performance: | Overall:
Stacking the Shelves
Posted on August 22, 2015 28 Comments
I’m sneaking in an impromptu Stacking the Shelves this week because there some very cool new arrivals to talk about. Actually, I’ve not been requesting books that much for the past few weeks in order to catch up a bit with my TBR, but there are always plenty of surprises in the mailbox. Plus there were also a few books that slipped through the cracks and got left off my last book haul post, so we have to remedy that! My deepest gratitude to the publishers and authors who send their books my way, and I’d like to feature them here today:
RECEIVED FOR REVIEW
Doctor Who: Royal Blood by Una McCormack, Big Bang Generation by Gary Russell, Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale – Paperbacks, with thanks to Broadway Books. Confession: I don’t watch the show, and I realize I may be the only one left on the planet who doesn’t. When this set of three books showed up in the mail one day, I even needed my friend’s son to tell me which Doctor this was (Answer: it’s the current one). Still, I’m very interested in checking these out. They look like they’re intended for a Young Adult audience plus they’re relatively short, which means they should be pretty quick reads. I’ve always wondered what the fuss was all about, and I find books are perfect for dipping your toes in (never underestimate the power of a media tie-in novel!) The release of these books will coincide with the premiere of the new season this September, so whether you’re a die-hard Whovian or a total newcomer like myself, be sure to keep an eye out for them on shelves this fall.
The Secrets of Blood and Bone by Rebecca Alexander – Paperback, with thanks to Broadway Books. Another unsolicited title sent by Broadway this week, but it must be serendipity because this one is actually a sequel to a book I read last year! It gets an automatic bump up my TBR.
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho – Hardcover, with thanks to Ace Books for sending a finished copy. It’s gorgeous! Looking forward to starting this one soon.
Supersymmetry by David Walton – Paperback, with thanks to Pyr. The arrival of this finished copy reminds me how badly I want to read the first book. Now I can it and the sequel back to back!
I also want to give a shout out to Tor.com and their incredible publicity team for sending along e-galleys of their fall line-up. Last week I only featured The Builders by Daniel Polansky, but there are plenty more titles that look interesting to me including The Last Witness by K. J. Parker, Binti by Nnedi Okorafor, Envy of Angels by Matt Wallace (this one especially sounds like so much fun — it was described to me as “Christopher Moore meets Gordon Ramsey!”), Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson, Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell, and earlier this week I was also sent an e-galley Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire which will come out later than the others, in April 2016. These novellas will be perfect for checking out authors I’ve never read before (but have always been curious about!) Huge thanks to the awesome folks at Tor.com!
GIFTED
Last fall I was offered the wonderful opportunity to be a beta reader for Daughter of Dusk by Livia Blackburne. As thanks, the author gifted all of us our very own hardcover copy of the finished book, signed and even annotated with notes in the page margins in the book where our suggestions/feedback helped shaped the final version. I was floored by the time and care Livia put in to give us a special keepsake to remember the experience by, and it’s seriously the best bookish gift I have ever received. Thank you so much, Livia.
PURCHASED
There were also some book purchases I made earlier in the summer that I forgot to mention. I really shouldn’t be buying more books but Bookoutlet is evil and they keep enticing me with their emails offering me coupons as well as news about their steep discounts. I ended up mostly grabbing backlist titles I’m very interested in, like Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine which I’m curious about now because I ADORED her new book Ink and Bone (it became one of those must-check-out-everything-else-this-author-has-written situations, you understand). I also got Of Bone and Thunder by Chris Evans, The Time Roads by Beth Bernobich, Hild by Nicola Griffith (some Historical Fiction love) and Dragon Age: Last Flight by Liane Merciel. I think I got all five books for just a little more than $15.
My co-blogger Tiara is also the most horrible enabler, I swear! After her post last month about books available through Kindle Unlimited, I went looking to put together my own list. I’m subscribed to the service too, after all, and I realized there are a lot of free books and audiobook deals I could be getting in on. That was how Darkness Brutal by Rachel A. Marks and The Harvest by Chuck Wendig ended up in my Audible shopping cart. And while I was at it, there was a sweet Whispersync deal on The Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, so oops, it went into the cart as well.
***
Have you heard of or read any of the books featured in this week? What looked good or caught your eye? Any new discoveries? Let me know! Nothing makes me happier than sharing my love for books and I hope you found something interesting for a future read. We’ll be resuming our regular Bookshelf Roundup schedule next week. Until next time! 🙂
~Mogsy/Steff~
Book Review: The End of All Things by John Scalzi
Posted on August 21, 2015 15 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The End of All Things by John Scalzi
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 6 of Old Man’s War
Publisher: Tor (8/11/15)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
I won’t lie, Old Man’s War is probably one of my favorite books of all time. I’ve always been more of a Fantasy reader, and around the time that book came out, my Science Fiction reading was pretty much limited to Star Wars novels and the occasional Star Trek title thrown in. However, Scalzi’s sense of humor along with the rollicking space action and adventure in these books really helped me along, showing me that there’s a lot more to the genre than just hard science and media tie-ins. I’ve followed the Old Man’s War series ever since, and all the books have brought me no small amount of entertainment.
So it was with great excitement when I heard that a sixth novel will be coming out in 2015, a direct sequel to The Human Division. And like The Human Division, the plan was for The End of All Things to again be serialized, except the proportions will be changed. Instead of getting sixteen episodes, this time we’ll only get four, but each part will also be longer, so they’ll be more like novelettes.
If The Human Division taught me anything, is that I don’t mind the serialized format. There’s a certain kind of pleasure to be had, watching a bunch of self-contained little parts come together to form one complete, coherent whole. And if anything, the smaller number of episodes as well as their greater length improved the overall flow of the story in The End of All Things. It was a good book, and a worthy addition to the series. The only real downside is that this would make a poor jumping-on point for new readers. So if you’re fresh to the Old Man’s War universe, you probably wouldn’t want to start here; there’s a lot of history you’ll be missing, and not least because this book deals with a lot of the consequences of events from the last few installments. I recommend starting from the beginning, because you’ll definitely want to know all the details – and because it’s amazing.
Below you’ll get my thoughts on each episode as well as a more detailed analysis.
THE LIFE OF THE MIND
This is the story of how our main protagonist and narrator Rafe Daquin became a brain in a box.
Yep. The Life of the Mind embodies everything I love about the Old Man’s War series. Missing ships. Kidnapped pilots. A mysterious organization conspiring and gathering strength in the shadows. Daquin finds himself entangled in this mess, but even when he is captured by aliens and forced to do their bidding, his first instinct is to fight back and find a way out of his predicament. The fact that he doesn’t have a body anymore and is just a mass of brain tissue hooked up to a ship computer is just a setback. Just another problem to be solved.
The protagonist’s personality and attitude made this one a winner. In the face of overwhelming odds, his optimism was infectious, even if it was sometimes driven by the desire to stick it to the alien Rraey. You know within the first few pages that he makes it out okay, but the conclusion to this section was still oh so satisfying. A really great intro episode to this novel that sets the tone and starts thing off with a bang.
THIS HOLLOW UNION
We switch focus in this one, following Hafte Sorvalh, the Chief Advisor to the head of the Conclave, General Tarsem Gau. She’s probably the second most powerful being in the universe, but as she reminds us, being second isn’t always all that it’s cracked up to be.
I admit to feeling slightly disappointed when I realized this would be a more political story. But after some major twists, I changed my mind. This might not be my favorite episode, but it’s undoubtedly the most important; something huge happens that will throw the entire Conclave into disarray and the ripples will be felt across the galaxy.
CAN LONG ENDURE
Can Long Endure was probably my least favorite episode, but it also showed a very different point of view. In this story, the focus shifts yet again, this time on a group of Colonial Defense Force soldiers who are now busy scrambling from planet to planet, stomping out the sparks of rebellion before they can catch fire and spread. But the will of a huge administrative entity like the Colonial Union is one thing. What about the lives of its soldiers with their boots on the ground, carrying out orders from on high?
This episode lacked the scope of the previous two, perhaps, but it was also the most “human”. It’s a very intimate look into the mind of a CDF officer Heather Lee, just another grunt doing her duty for the good of the CU. But she’s her own person too, and the costs of her government’s decisions are beginning to open her eyes to some ugly truths. And it’s time for Heather to make her own choices.
TO STAND OR FALL
This final episode brings the story to a conclusion. There’s a marked difference in tone from the beginning of the novel, in stark contrast to Rafe Daquin’s snarky attitude and spirited narration. Instead, a certain gravitas surrounds the story, which is fitting I suppose.
In this story, we see the return of several familiar faces here, including a couple beloved personalities. We are also presented the resolution to the problem posed by the shadowy organization calling itself Equilibrium. Given all the build-up, this finale should have been epic and glorious. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get that. That’s not to say it wasn’t a good ending, because it was. I just couldn’t help feeling it should have been more.
This final episode was not what I expected, but it did its job nonetheless. To Stand or Fall was a punchy and cleverly executed conclusion to The End of All Things, as well as a pretty solid offering as the latest piece of the story to the Old Man’s War saga thus far.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of The Human Division (Book 5)
Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Forbidden by Cathy Clamp
Posted on August 20, 2015 7 Comments
*** Be sure to check out the end of this review for details on our US giveaway of FORBIDDEN by Cathy Clamp ***
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of Luna Lake
Publisher: Tor (8/18/15)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
As someone who was totally new to Cathy Clamp’s work, I was very excited about the opportunity to read Forbidden, book one in a new series set in the Sazi universe. A “reboot” of sorts, the novel takes place ten years after the events at the end of The Tales of the Sazi, featuring a new story and new characters – a fresh start, essentially, and a perfect jumping-on point for a newcomer like me.
Indeed, there’s not much you need to know before starting this series, and any required knowledge is helpfully provided by the author. For example, I found it interesting that the two protagonists of Forbidden actually first appeared in the original series as relatively minor characters. According to Clamp’s afterword, the heroine Clarissa Evans (who goes by Claire Sanchez here) was in Moon’s Fury as one of the young victims of a child abductor. All grown up now and an agent of the Wolven, Claire is being sent to investigate a string of missing children cases in the remote town of Luna Lake.
For obvious reasons, the mission hits a bit close to home, and Claire finds herself struggling to deal with unpleasant memories on top of trying to figure out the complex hierarchy of her new pack. The community at Luna Lake is unlike anything she’s had to deal with before, on account of it being a former refugee camp for displaced Sazi and lost orphans. Shapeshifters of all sorts live together here, including owls, falcons, bears, cougars, and of course wolves like Claire herself. On her first day, she meets another wolf named Alek, a Sazi orphan who grew up in Luna Lake after being adopted into a family of owls. Sparks fly between them immediately – both the good and bad sort – but whatever attraction or differences they have between them, solving the mystery must come first…before it’s too late for the missing kids.
Right away, I was captivated by the magic of this world. There are all sorts of Sazi, like those who can turn into wolves, big cats, birds of prey, snakes, etc. There were also the little things that charmed me, like the fact they can talk in their animals forms, or use food smells (most often desserts, I find. Or maybe I just notice them more because of my sweet tooth) to identify the emotional states of other Sazi.
I was also amazed by the social dynamics of Luna Lake. You don’t have to be familiar with the Sazi series to understand that it’s a very special community. The bird shifters aren’t big fans of the cats, the cats don’t much like the wolves, and the wolves can’t stand the smell of the birds, but at Luna Lake all the groups manage to live in relative harmony because that’s the only way to ensure survival. For Alek and other Sazi like him who were adopted by the Williams, the town is literally one big family. Even though he is a wolf, Alek is a big brother to owls, eagles, bobcats, other wolves and more, and there’s this sense of solidarity and togetherness about Luna Lake that gave me all the warm and fuzzy feels. Yet, there’s also a cost to that peace. Over the years the pack has developed a way to identify their “omegas”, and these low ranked individuals are treated poorly and forced to do all the dirty jobs in town. It made me feel really unsettled and angry towards Luna Lake’s leaders and those townsfolk who turn a blind eye to this blatantly unfair and broken system.
Be aware too that while Forbidden is described as an Urban Fantasy mystery, in some ways it actually reads more like a paranormal romance. Claire and Alek’s relationship is often the focus of the story, and the mystery elements of the plot are in truth not that substantial. To really get into the story, you would need to buy into the chemistry between Claire and Alek, and that was perhaps my problem; I didn’t feel like I got a chance to know either of them very well before they were thrust together, and right on the heels of them falling in lust came the obligatory plot contrivances to introduce conflict between them. I also found Alek too self-absorbed for my tastes and Claire too much of a “special snowflake”, which all made it harder for me to care about their developing relationship. That said, I’m not a big reader of PNR so there may be a lot genre norms and nuances that I’m not accustomed to, so feel free to take my opinion on the romance with a grain of salt!
The world of the Sazi does have the benefit of being fully fleshed out and realized though, from all the groundwork that has been established by the original series. Just this little taste of it has gotten me hooked, and I find myself wanting more. Certainly if you have a love for stories about shapeshifters, you need to check this one out for the many different kinds of creatures alone. Recommended for urban fantasy/paranormal romance readers and fans of strange and beautiful magic.
***
FORBIDDEN GIVEAWAY
Interested in the book? Now here’s your chance to win it. The publisher has very generously offered The BiblioSanctum an opportunity to host a giveaway for one print copy of Forbidden. With apologies to international readers, this giveaway is US only. 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 “FORBIDDEN” by 11:59pm Eastern time on Sunday, August 30, 2015.
Only one entry per household, please. Entrants must be 18 or older. The winner will be randomly selected when the giveaway ends and then be notified by email. All information will only be used for the purposes of contacting the winner and sending them their prize. Once the giveaway ends all entry emails will be deleted.
So what are you waiting for? Enter to win! Good luck!
Tough Traveling: Major Discoveries
Posted on August 20, 2015 6 Comments
The Thursday feature “Tough Traveling” is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in (and inspired by) The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information.
This week’s tour topic is: Major Discoveries
While often the people of Fantasyland seem stuck in a time warp occasionally a major discovery can shock the land into changes. Be they new lands, new peoples or new technologies fantasyland thrives on having something to jump start the next age.
Wendy’s Picks
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Her parents cast her away. People viewed the mote in her eye as an imperfection and her penchant for a pain an aberration. But Anafiel no Delauney recognized Phedre for what she truly was: god-touched. And so it was that Phedre, the only known anguisette, was set upon her destiny.
Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
Death, fire, and the truth about the history of the Broken Kingdoms. Jorg Ancrath discovers it all on his journey from prince to emperor in Mark Lawrence’s series.
Dragon Age: The Last Flight by Liane Merciel
By the time players get to Thedas, they learn that, sadly, the griffons have long since died out. Here we learn why. But we also learn that maybe they aren’t as extinct as we thought. Told you so, Wynne.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
Blue and the Raven Boys have been searching for the secrets of Cabeswater for three books now, but when they finally find it, it’s not exactly what they expected it…
Comic Stack 08/19/15 – King #1 by Joshua Hale Fialkov (writer), Bernard Chang (Illustrator)
Posted on August 19, 2015 6 Comments
Genre: Dystopia, Science Fiction
Publisher: Jet City Comics (August 19, 2015)
Author Information: Website
Tiara’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me via Netgalley. I would like to thank the publisher for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed from here forward are my own.
King is the last human on earth. At least, we think he is during the course of this book. Humanity had been living on an apocalyptic earth for the last 300 or so years they’d existed until all humans eventually died with the exception of King. Now, King survives in a terrifying landscape along side various mutated creatures that now roam the earth. These creatures are both intelligent and barbaric, seeming almost human in their day to day endeavors, even if daily life is tinged with weirdness. Despite being the only human left, King has a job working for a reclamation agency which has him scouring the land in search of something called the “Seed of Life,” which will purportedly make life better for everyone on earth.
I try to take it easy on first issues that I read because it’s hard to say where a story might (or might not go) in the future. This is one of those books that could turn out amazing or it could fall off the cliff and tumble over into the deep end. I want to get this out of the way first. The art was amazing. I can’t say that I’ve ever read anything that Bernard Chang illustrated, but this book was an excellent mash-up of the beautiful and the ugly. It’s very vivid with most of the colors, but these colors are used to paint this decaying, exotic earth that King belongs to.
This was an interesting start to King’s story, if nothing else, and the ending of this issue piqued my interest with the introduction of a new character. This may be a little too weird for some people depending on tastes. We learn a little about what happened to humanity and meet the various oddities that King faces in his day to day life. Some part of this story is written with so much finesse and some parts of this story feel like Fialkov is trying a bit too hard, especially with some of the slang, which felt too much like “cool kid” talk. (However, I tried to be forgiving because King’s world is upside down.)
I did expect a little more diversity in character behavior being as there are no humans aside from King, and we’re treated to anecdotes about how intelligent these creatures are but they’re still very, very violent. Most of these creatures just felt human and a little on the trope-y side, such as the hybrid duck creature in a motorcycle gang who confronts King and makes derogatory remarks about him only being one species. However, this series has potential. I can see it in the book. I’m interested enough to keep cautiously going with this series, and honestly, it’s still better than 90% of the mainstream comics I’ve been reading lately. Fingers crossed that this turns into something special.
Despite what I’ve been told, there are no cheetah ladies trying to mate with King in this particular issue, but there are tentacles and that makes it all worthwhile. Tentacles always factor into my final rating.
Waiting on Wednesday 08/19/15
Posted on August 19, 2015 14 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:
Dreaming Death by J. Kathleen Cheney: February 2, 2016 (Roc)
At the moment I’m working my way through the books of J. Kathleen Cheney’s Golden City series, so I am no stranger to her incredible talent for storytelling and crafting imaginative worlds by combining culture and history with magical and mythological elements. Her upcoming novel Dreaming Death is the beginning of a new series called Palace of Dreams, and it sounds just as tantalizing and beautiful.
“In the Novels of the Golden City, J. Kathleen Cheney created a “mesmerizing” (Publishers Weekly) realm where magic, history, and intrigue combine. Now, she presents a new world ruled by psychic talents and fatal magic…
Shironne Anjir’s status as a sensitive is both a gift and a curse. Her augmented senses allow her to discover and feel things others can’t, but her talents come with a price: a constant assault of emotions and sensations has left her blind. Determined to use her abilities as best she can, Shironne works tirelessly as an investigator for the Larossan army.
A member of the royal family’s guard, Mikael Lee also possesses an overwhelming power—he dreams of the deaths of others, sometimes in vivid, shocking detail, and sometimes in cryptic fragments and half-remembered images.
But then a killer brings a reign of terror to the city, snuffing out his victims with an arcane and deadly blood magic. Only Shironne can sense and interpret Mikael’s dim, dark dreams of the murders. And what they find together will lead them into a nightmare…”
Audiobook Review: The Alchemist and the Executioness by Paolo Bacigalupi, Tobias S. Buckell
Posted on August 18, 2015 2 Comments
Genre: Fantasy, Novella
Publisher: Audible Studios (July 7, 2010)
Narrators: Jonathan Davis (The Alchemist), Katherine Kellgren (The Executioness)
Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
The Alchemist and the Executioness is actually two novellas told in a shared universe. This started as an audiobook, but now you can buy both stories in digital print format separately. In this world, magic is banned. Every time someone casts a spell, poisonous, thorny bramble vines appear in random places. These brambles continue to grow and sprout as magic is used, strangling and destroying whole nations. Despite this threat, brambles continue to appear. Magic continues to be used, and the punishment for using magic is death. However, for some, the threat of death is worth the use of magic. These stories explore both sides of the tale and both share a common theme of the things we’d do for the ones we love.
The foreword starts with Tobias S. Buckell stating that while he’d been editing one of his stories he listened to a discussion by Maureen McHugh about women’s roles in genre fiction, mentioning all the young, nubile heroines we get when strength comes from women of all ages. Specifically she asked: “Where are the middle-aged heroines?” This along with an art exhibit he visited where one of the pieces featured an executioner inspired him to look into a genre he doesn’t normally write in (fantasy) and craft a story that tries to give us a heroine who fits this bill. (Check out our past Tough Traveling that explores this theme with many women listed.)
I’ve recently crossed some excellent heroines in fiction who aren’t younger than their mid-20s such as Lois McMaster Bujold’s Dowager Queen, Ista, from her Chalion series and M.C.A. Hogarth’s adventurous space captain, Reese Eddings, who is only 32 (not middle-aged, but still rare to see). And it would be a great disservice for me not to mention Commander Shepard from the gaming series Mass Effect for those of us who play(ed) Shepard as a woman. Shepard begins the series at 29-years-old and end the series in her 30s still kicking all kinds of ass. If I talked about movie/television heroines, I could go on and on. So, this story was certainly high on my interest scale.
While the title of “Executioness” grabbed my attention because how many female executioners–not assassins or rogues, but actual women who publicly execute people at the behest of their government–do you see in a fantasy setting of any age to act as their executioner, to set aside their feelings and punish those deemed guilty by their rulers, to be the feared face of their rulers’ wrath to the public? Finding out the heroine of this story is a middle-aged woman trying to feed her children, a woman who took up her father’s position, made it even more compelling.
Paolo Baciaglupi’s foreword talks about how once they decided to take this adventure on together, which was a new frontier for them as they’re both science fiction writers, they started focusing on “fantasy to what purpose.” What kind of world would require they have an executioner? What sort of ruler beheads its criminals and for what offenses? And I guess for most readers that’s a fairly simple question because we know that those in power like their executions for just about any offense. However, I suppose the medium (short-story) meant they had to think a little harder about that. They have to give these questions more weight because they’re not writing sprawling stories that allow them time to play around with these ideas.
The Alchemist follows a father, an alchemist, who wants to eliminate the bramble through scientific means while keeping his daughter, who is suffering from a wasting cough, alive. The Alchemist is both idealistic and cynical in his pursuits. He thinks that his experiments for destroying the bramble will make him a hero to his family and the country. However, he underestimates the greed of the government that runs their city, which shows him that their interests are going to align with whatever course keeps them in power.
The epic fantasy short story format has always been a curious thing to me because in my mind it seems like it would be much harder to write short stories in a typical epic fantasy universe because you don’t get to have the level of storytelling and world-building those types of stories require. I can’t say that I’ve read too many short stories in that setting that didn’t already have a series it was attached to, such as having various books with short stories set in Westeros as companions to GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, short stories where the readers are already familiar with the world and are only meeting new faces or getting another side of a story.
Both narrators did an exceptional job with their respective stories. Jonathan Davis is one of my favorite narrators, so I knew I’d be pleased with his narration. He never fails to deliver for me, and this story is no exception. I’d first listened to Katherine Kellgren while listening to The Queen of the Tearling, and while I didn’t think she was a horrible narrator, her narration of that book came off a little strange. I’d commented in my review that I thought she’d probably be a fine narrator if she wasn’t doing that weird half-screaming thing she did while reading Tearling, and I was right.
Both of these stories would’ve best benefitted from a longer story. It would’ve been interesting to explore this world more, to find out if the alchemist eventually crossed paths with the executioness, what would become of the magic, etc. There were a few little inconsistencies that popped up between the two stories, but I figured most of this could’ve been explained away if these had been longer stories. I won’t dwell on them here.
The Alchemist worked better in this short format than The Executioness. Despite wanting to see more of the story, it felt more complete than The Executioness and achieved its narrative better. With The Executioness, you’re not getting exactly what you think you are… at first. You think you’re going into a story where a woman is an established executioner, where maybe her sex is commented upon but she’s carved out her role. That’s not really the case in the beginning. It wasn’t a bad story. I still enjoyed it more than I enjoyed The Alchemist, especially later parts of the story, but part of me wonders what kind of amazing story this would’ve been if there had been more meat. It captured the spirit of what can fuel the pain and need for vengeance in a person well. In any event, I applaud the effort of both writers to write outside their comfort zone.
The BiblioSanctum 