Book Review: Cities And Thrones by Carrie Patel
Posted on July 7, 2015 4 Comments
Genre: Gaslamp, Post-Apocalyptic
Series: Book 2 of the Recoletta Series
Publisher: Angry Robot (July 7, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Tiara’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by Angry Robot via Netgalley. I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed from here forward are my own.
The Buried Life took us to the world of Recoletta, an underground city that has existed for many years after an event known only as the Cataclysm caused people to seek refuge underground. However, Recoletta is not some dingy, dark place. The atmosphere of the city is created with colorful gaslamps and there are skylights that allow sunshine in. The people living underground don’t see the surface world as a desirable place to live, even though they get sunlight and much of their resources from the surface. There are surface dwellers, though. The only group encountered in the The Buried Life made me think they all must be happy hippies living in communes. That couldn’t be further from the truth. After reading this book, I learned the surface dwellers live normal lives in towns, and they find the underground dwellers just as fascinating as the underground dwellers find them. However, there is more of a marked easiness between most surface dwellers. Underground life was filled with trite tête-à-tête that often felt like verbal sparring. Surface dwellers are easygoing and more open with much of their information unlike the guarded underground dwellers.
Cities and Thrones plays out less like a whodunit and more like a political intrigue piece. For that reason, this has a more linear storytelling style than The Buried Life. While that can be a good thing, I do like stories that take me on a rollercoaster more than stories that are just trying to get me from point A to point B, but there are a few surprises. The focal point of this story revolves around a hidden library that contains information that the warring parties either think will bring great power or must be destroyed for the power it could bring. Since the Cataclysm, books about the world before the apocalyptic event are closely guarded or destroyed to keep past mistakes from being repeated. As I said in my review of The Buried Life, the Cataclysm serves as some vague fear in the back of people’s minds to keep them under control, to make them agree that destroying and hiding knowledge is the best thing for all humanity. Now, there’s this new threat of a hidden library that everyone wants to get their hands on for good or evil.
I was glad to get more of an idea of Recoletta as a city. In my last review, I complained that Patel had this fascinating world that she spent so little time on. It could’ve been my backyard for all the information I got about it. This time around she gives us more to work with. We learn how Recoletta came to be and are able to make connections to the modern world as we know it. Patel also presents us with this beaten down Recoletta that is trying to forge itself into something new after the dramatic events that ended the last book. At the same time, we’re introduced to new cities and players that wear even more on an already stressed Recoletta who can no longer afford to politic as they once did. This story has opened up, feeling less cloistered and more focused on a story that encompasses a broader range of events. However, the world can still come off a bit empty, but I’m still appreciative that she tried to give us a little more about the surroundings.
Many of the key players from the last book have returned, but one character in particular I’d like to praise this time–Jane Lin. In the last book, I never really reconciled her character to the story, even though Patel did her best to make her involvement mean something. I liked Jane, but Jane seemed unnecessary for much of the book. After reading this, I understand that Jane represents that part of society that is overlooked, ignored, invisible, that part of society that can easily amass information because they’re not deemed important or a threat. I understood that in the last book, too, but this time around her involvement felt organic. I appreciated her character and her junior Nancy Drew skills much better in this story. She meshed well this time around. Another character who made a bit of a change is Liesl Malone. For sure, she’s still that tough-as-nails officer we first met, but she’s finding herself mired even more in politics during this state of unrest, and politics are not her strong point. It was interesting to see her try to navigate her new circumstances. At times, she seemed defeated, but despite it all, she loves Recoletta and she’s willing to do what she has to in order to bring order back to her city.
Again, I have found Patel’s writing quite fascinating. I didn’t find the beginning as slow as the previous book, but there is a significant amount of build-up. However, since it follows straight on the heels of the last book, this build-up isn’t without its merits. One of the things I’m finding that I like about these books is that the endings seem Pyrrhic at best and they end with the possibility of anything being able to happen in subsequent books. While there’s still much that can be improved in Patel’s writing, she has me invested enough to continue reading this series.
Book Review: Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
Posted on July 6, 2015 14 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 1
Publisher: Tor (July 7, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Full disclosure, though I am writing this review for the ARC, I actually had the distinct pleasure of being a beta reader for an early draft of Time Salvager last year, and I just want to say now that being able to experience this story again felt even more amazing. Wesley Chu has already shown a flair for writing thrilling sci-fi adventures with his Tao trilogy, and there’s no doubt that his new novel is another strong entry into the genre.
Time Salvager takes us to a future where Earth has become a toxic wasteland. Those who could afford to get off-planet have long since taken their lives to the outer solar system, but this dispersion has also created a greater need for resources to support the population – resources that Earth is no longer in a position to provide.
Enter ChronoCom and their elite corps of time-traveling agents, aptly known as “Chronmen”. If the present can’t provide the resources that humanity needs, then they shall plunder the past. However, messing around with the chronostream is always dicey, so chronmen are dedicated to keeping their ripples in the past as small as possible so that the timeline can heal itself before effects can be felt in the present. This means that a lot of rules put in place, and the harshest punishments are brought down on those who break them.
Unfortunately for chronman James Griffin-Mars, on his final mission in the twenty-first century to secure his retirement, he experiences a moment of madness and breaks the most important and unforgiveable rule of all. Unstable and already close to snapping, James spontaneously decides to rescue a young woman named Elise from her fated death and brings her back to his time. Viewed as a temporal anomaly that must now be eliminated, Elise is forced to go on the run with James as the full might of ChronoCom descends upon the two fugitives.
Firstly, time traveling stories are always tricky to pull off, and admittedly I can’t think of too many where some willingness to turn a blind eye to temporal paradoxes and contradictions is at least required. Time Salvager is no different, though to Chu’s credit, the time traveling system he proposes is compelling and well-developed. Even though it may not stand up to heavy scrutiny, the process behind the technology lends itself perfectly to the story which will delight readers who are in it for the action and the entertainment. In other words, yes, you’ll probably have to roll with the punches, but at the same time I’m hard pressed to think of any other instance where doing so has been more fun.
Those who have read the author’s Tao series may also notice that the story of Time Salvager has a darker, more despairing vibe. Much of this has to do with the protagonist of James, whose long years working for ChronoCom and salvaging dead-end timelines has exposed him to too much death and destruction. Added to his overall jadedness are the dangerous physiological effects of doing too many time jumps, the character of James Griffin-Mars is definitely not singing a song of sunshine and rainbows. Perhaps the only reason I like Wesley Chu’s Tao books slightly more is because of the emotional cocktail of desperation, hopelessness and pent-up rage that is James’ personality. It fits who he is and makes for interesting development later on in the novel, but it does give Time Salvager a certain gravitas and makes it a heavier read.
Chu, however, did impress me with his characterization of Levin Javier-Oberon, the ChronoCom auditor tasked to capture James and Elise. With his complex view of the world and the way he believes things should be, Levin became my favorite character as soon as he was introduced as a point-of-view character. I can’t even really bring myself to name him as the antagonist; it doesn’t seem fair just because Levin is rigidly tied a set of moral standards that happens to be the antithesis of James’. I hope we’ll see more of Levin in the next book, because I’m not ready for his tale to be over yet, especially given how the book ended.
It goes without saying, I’m really looking forward to the sequel. Time Salvager feels like the next big step in Wesley Chu’s writing career, which continues to rise promisingly. This book does a fantastic job setting up for a fast-paced sci-fi thriller series that is brimming with potential, and you really can’t ask for much more.
Book Review: The Floating City by Craig Cormick
Posted on July 6, 2015 12 Comments
Genre: Fantasy, Alternate History
Series: Book #2 of The Shadow Master
Publisher: Angry Robot (July 7, 2015)
Author Information: Website
Tiara’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars, but with some caveats
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by Angry Robot via Netgalley. I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed from here forward are my own.
This is very different from its predecessor. The only thing that has stayed the same is the Shadow Master himself. The Shadow Master is far from the Walled City in a place called the Floating City (Venice, basically). The city is being besieged by an enemy that sends monsters in the water who attack the powerful people living in the city, such as the seers who are magicians with immense power. The story begins with the writer Vincenzo who is torn as to whether he should write about the trouble of the city, as he feels led to do, or to do the job he is being paid for which is to write the history of the Montecchi family, which largely chronicles the adventures of the Montecchi daughters. However, the Montecchi daughters and Vincenzo’s urge to write about the troubles of the city begin to converge into a single story. Vincenzo also finds himself sort of a master of events to come when he becomes an accomplice to the Shadow Master who sets certain events into motion.
Cormick has taken the heroines from three of Shakespeare’s plays–Disdemona (Desdemona from Othello), Giuletta (Juliet from Romeo and Juliet), and Isabella (Isabella from Measure for Measure)–and essentially has made them sisters in this book along with a few other trappings from their individual stories. I have no problem with that. I enjoy retellings or stories that imagine familiar characters in different ways. I’m a huge Shakespeare fan, so there’s a part of me that takes satisfaction in being able to point out things that parallel his stories in these books. Some things followed Shakespeare’s plays so closely that you can easily predict certain dialogue and situations if you’re familiar with these stories, especially Othello with its inclusion of Otello (Othello) and Ipato (Iago). Sometimes this works for the story and sometimes it doesn’t.
I really did like the sisters, though, especially as their roles became clear and their stories started to make a real impact. You also see much more of the Shadow Master and his machinations in this book, which helped in understanding him a bit better than in the last book. Okay, maybe “understand” is a strong choice of word, but there’s more to him this time around. There are many characters and many point of views in this book aside from the sisters, and funnily enough, few of these POVs actually end up merging together. What’s interesting though is that they do fit together to make an overarching story with Vincenzo acting as the Shakespeare of this story along with the Shadow Master to reshape the story that is taking place. However, so many POVs might be a major turn off for some people who may see it as too overwhelming to follow so many characters, especially some who don’t seem that important in the grand scheme of things. This book is very busy, and the reader will ultimately have to decide if these things make much sense to them or not.
I’ll admit that I am largely still confused by some of this story. There’s still way too much that seemed pointless and just befuddling to me. It’s not badly written, and some of the ideas that are set forth are interesting. I’m starting to see these books as Shakespearean retellings that add more magic, political intrigue, and assassins. I’m going to give it three stars for that because I don’t feel it’s fair to keep giving him question marks when there are things I do like about this overall–especially compared to that last book. I feel like these might be the kind of books that I may need to sit down with one day and reread them with a different way of looking at things, especially now that I am absolutely sure that Cormick means for these to be some type of Shakespearean tragedy with a puppet master pulling the strings. I thought this book was and wasn’t much easier to follow than the previous book, but I just… my brain still hurts after reading this. My husband said this aptly describes my face after finishing this book when I just sat there looking off into space while my brain tried to process this.
There were less euphemisms this time around, which I was thankful for. I’m coming to the conclusion that maybe this just isn’t the series for me, though. Maybe I’m not smart enough for it. If you’re smart enough to understand, please explain it to me. I am lost. I need help. I need an adult, an adultier adult than I am.
More from this series: The Shadow Master (Tiara’s Review), The Shadow Master (Mogsy’s Review)
Book Review: Witches Be Crazy by Logan J. Hunder
Posted on July 5, 2015 15 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Any quotes contained in this review are from the advance copy of the book and are subject to change.
Witches Be Crazy: A Tale that Happened Once Upon a Time in the Middle of Nowhere by Logan J. Hunder
Genre: Fantasy, Humor
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Night Shade (July 14, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Humor, as we all know, is subjective. Especially satire and parody. Case in point, the man I married can watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the nine hundredth time and still bust a gut laughing, while I’m sitting there beside him on the couch rolling my eyes because the movie stopped being funny after the first time (and I expect I will catch a lot of grief for that blasphemous confession). What I find funny/not funny might not be the same as others, which is why I feel it is necessary to preface this review with a big YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY. There are many great things about this novel: it’s clever, it’s entertaining, and it has its uproariously funny moments. On the other hand, there are parts where the humor simply did not work for me. But that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t work for you! Because it is so difficult to put a score on books like this, I’m actually going to leave my rating off for the blog.
The hilariously titled Witches Be Crazy pokes fun at one of my favorite fantasy themes – the epic quest. The story begins “once upon a time in the middle of nowhere” – in this case a desert oasis village, home to an unassuming blacksmith-turned-innkeeper named Dungar Loloth who hears tell of strange happenings in Jenair, the kingdom’s capital. The ruler King Ik is dying, if not already dead, with only his long-lost-but-now-only-just-found daughter to succeed him.
No, as a matter of fact, Dungar doesn’t think that sounds very legit either. Convinced of witchcraft, Dungar sets off on a journey to expose the princess for what she really is, and plans to kill her before she can set her evil plans in motion. Along for the ride is Jimminy, an insane hobo who loves to sing off-tune and drive Dungar (and me) crazy. Surviving each other is just the beginning, though. Together on their way to Jenair, the two companions get to come face-to-face with many more dangers, meet other questing adventurers, and run afoul of plenty more beloved genre tropes.
If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you might have noticed we participate in a weekly meme called “Tough Traveling”, a feature inspired by The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones, a parody tourist guidebook that uses humor to examine the common themes in fantasy fiction. Tropes are popular for a reason – they’re tried and true and entertaining to boot, but it’s also very fun to recognize and affectionately make light of them, which is why I was drawn to the description of Witches be Crazy in the first place. Logan J. Hunder’s debut succeeds at lampooning many of the genre’s most established and cherished clichés, starting with character archetypes. I loved this book’s introduction, which featured many quotable gems such as this one about the ridiculously beautiful Princess Koey:
“She was known to have left the castle and made a public appearance only once. It is said that during this appearance her skin, which was oddly tanned for someone who had apparently never been outside, emitted a light more radiant than that of the sun and her smile was so alluring that a flock of birds splattered themselves all over a tower because they were physically unable to watch where they were going.”
The book is full of moments like this that will make you chuckle – because they reveal the illogical nature behind so many of our favorite tropes. The prologue made me optimistic for the rest of the book, though as I read on, I realized that I prefer a subtler kind of comedy. After the first handful of chapters, it’s clear that there was not going to be much variation to style of humor employed by the author, which consists of mostly punny wordplay and slapstick. If you enjoy that, then you are sure to be in for a real treat. For me, however, there was just not enough variation to the repertoire. While I had an excellent time with the beginning of this book, I have to admit the novelty gradually lost its appeal.
The story read like a series of skits – Dungar and Jimminy are plunged into one situation after another, some of which will be immediately familiar to avid readers of fantasy. You have the gladiatorial arena. A stint on a ship with a fearsome band of pirates. A magical tree with malicious nymphs. This random assortment of events made for an outrageous yet amusing plotline, though ultimately they featured a similar routine played out over and over. By the time Dungar and Jimminy got to the village populated by bigoted Amazons, I was just worn down and ready for this story to end. It might have been oversaturation for me at that point, but I really could have done without that entire section with the all-women village, which I did not enjoy or find funny at all. But like I said, to each their own.
In the end, I think a novella of this type of story would have been perfect for me, but a full length novel was perhaps more than I could manage. It was a fun book, but simply featured too much of the same kind of humor and ran too long for my tastes. I have no doubt that Witches Be Crazy will garner a lot of fans though; to me this is the kind of book with “dedicated cult following” written all over it, much like other parodic classics like Monty Python and the Holy Grail or The Princess Bride. If the novel’s description sounds like something that would interest you, it might be worth giving it a shot.
Book Review: The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Posted on July 5, 2015 18 Comments
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Publisher: Crown Books (June 16, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Tiara’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by Crown Books via Netgalley. I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed from here forward are my own.
First a brief warning. This book is violent, including some violence against children, and has many gross depictions that some people might not be able to stomach. I wanted to acknowledge that before I attempted to talk about this story. Your mileage may vary.
I wish I could say this was an easy book to sum up, but it’s not at all. I’ll try my best, but I fear what I have to say about this book won’t be adequate enough in capturing the imagination and ingenuity that went into creating this story. As a long time fan of horror (for a good number of years I exclusively read only horror books, even forsaking my beloved science fiction), you often see me say in my horror reviews that nothing scares me much anymore. I’m too desensitized to most things that appear in horror stories. However, there are stories that can still leave me unsettled, and any horror story that can leave me with that disturbed, bothered feeling, that feeling that makes me turn the story over and over in my mind, that feeling that keeps me up at night pondering the story, is a success. This book left me unsettled. This book is a success. I haven’t had a story that’s made me feel that in a long time. The closest story that has made me feel that way recently was PKD’s Ubik, and it’s not necessarily a horror story and it didn’t make me ponder it anywhere on the level that I’ve pondered this one.
This story follows a woman, Carolyn. Many years ago, when she was still a child, Carolyn and her “siblings” were adopted by a man named Father during a moment they call Adoption Day. It was the day all their parents died, and they became his. Afterwards, each child is tasked with learning to master a catalog. These catalogs have information ranging from languages to advanced husbandry to the art of war. They aren’t allowed to share the contents of their catalog with one another, except where practical application allows it. Carolyn is a linguist who has mastered over fifty languages. Father is believed to be the master of all the catalogs. Father is powerful and cruel, but now he has gone missing. They are far removed from society, and while they live in the United States, they see themselves as being different from “Americans” once Father’s disappearance forces them back into society to find answers. While Father’s children certainly want to know what happened to him, more out of fear than true devotion it seems, a bigger opportunity presents itself. Who will take over the library? Who will step up and become essentially a god?
This is a dark book peppered with moments of comedic situations often juxtaposed side by side with its savagery. There is one character known for his immense cruelty, and often his scenes are filled with brutality, but despite the carnage he orchestrates, there’s always one moment where someone still has time to think about the absurdity of the purple tutu he wears without realizing these men and women are so far out of touch with society they don’t realize they’re not actually blending in. Their ignorance of how the world works, a world they’ve long stopped understanding, often makes for these “haha” moments, but you’re quickly reminded that these women and men are dangerous, predatory even, as this is how they’ve been raised by Father. This book largely follows Carolyn and her exploits, and Carolyn proves to be naive and calculating all in the same breath. One moment you’re pulled toward her, and the next you’re pushed away. As compelling as Carolyn is, though, she couldn’t have carried this story alone. She’s supported by a bizarre menagerie of characters that really help to make this story engrossing.
This story has flowing, lyrical passages that are downright beautiful, and then can suddenly flip the script and give you such ugly, visceral words. And this works for this story. That’s part of what makes the story fascinating. This is one of those books that will have you flipping back in the story reevaluating what you previously learned as more and more of the picture is painted for you. It’s strange, weird, barbaric while being a parable of sorts that echoes the sentiment that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In fact, there are probably hundreds of overarching themes you could pull from this story. It may even leave you with an overall feeling of “What the fuck did I just read?” I’m still analyzing this book and the ending, and I feel like I’ll eventually end up rating this higher after I’m able to make sense of some things. This will probably be a book I pick up again and again, a book I’ll pluck something new from every time I read it. Well played, Mr. Hawkins.
Audiobook Review: The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
Posted on July 4, 2015 12 Comments
Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism, Mythology
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (June 23, 2015)
Author Information: Twitter | Website
Tiara’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Narrator: Ari Fliakos | Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins | Audiobook Publisher: Macmillan Audio (June 23, 2015) | Whispersync Ready: Yes
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book and audiobook was provided to me by the publishers. I would like to thank the author and the publishers for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed from here forward are my own.
Simon Watson is a librarian living in a house on the edge of a cliff over the sea, a cliff that is crumbling into the waters threatening to take the house with it. On top of that, the house is structurally unsound after years of neglect partly due to his father never keeping up the house even before his mother’s death and partly by Simon’s own willful ignorance of the upkeep needed to maintain a house in that situation even after his father died. Simon receives a book in the mail from an antiquarian named Martin Churchwarry who tracked Simon down after reading his grandmother’s name in an old carnival ledger he acquired. Simon learns that a strange, tragic trend occurs with the women of his family. They all commit suicide by drowning before the age of thirty on July 24th including his own mother. When Enola, Simon’s estranged sister and tarot reader for a traveling circus comes home, Simon has ten days to solve the mystery surrounding the deaths of the women in his family and break the curse that surrounds them.
This book plays around with the Slavic myth of the Rusalka, a type of water nymph. At one point, the Rusalka was a symbol of fertility, but in later years, they became malevolent in stories. They’re believed to be the result of a woman committing suicide by drowning or being violently murdered by drowning. Since their life was fated to be a full one, they continue their lives as Rusalka, luring men to their deaths. However, this is not their sole way of being created. I did a Google search to get all this information since I love learning about new mythology, but the book does a fair job of painting a portrait of the tragic story of the Rusalka. I would call this fantasy, but it is very light fantasy with the magic realism being much more pronounced throughout the story. Much like Mandel’s Station Eleven, this is one of those books that defies it genre by being moving and poetically written. There’s so much going on with family secrets, betrayals, old pains, and how one’s past can come together to be an almost self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s a painful read with so many wins being punctuated by devastating defeats that shapes the history of not only the Watson family but the families that are interconnected with the Watsons.
I probably would’ve rated this book much higher, but I did find it a little hard to connect with the characters, and while this book worked largely on the idea of a thread weaving together many lives, it still felt too coincidental rather than feeling like it smoothly pieced together the many puzzles making up a history that was larger than any of the characters could imagine. I cared more about the story being told about their ancestors than the modern day tale that was unfolding. However, Ari Fliakos was simply amazing. At first, I didn’t know if I was going to like the tone he used for Enola, but as I continued to listen and learned more about the character, that clipped, sarcastic tone he used for her fit the eccentricity of her character well. In fact, he did a wonderful job of making all the characters feel so distinct from Churchwarry’s jolliness to Peabody’s larger than life magnetism to Evangeline’s pensive wistfulness to Frank’s simple straightforwardness. I even loved his southern accents which sounded mostly right and used that softened twang just the way it’s supposed to be. Where I might’ve just rated this 3 stars, Fliakos’ narration was beautiful and swayed some of my opinion on its rating.
The Book of Speculation is a haunting, poetic story that shows how wants, heartache, and wishes can breathe intent into actions that were done simply out of love, how generations can fall into those same cycles until someone tries to break the “curse.” This book has just the right amount amount of myth, magic, and realism that can cause its readers to ponder the ideas presented, and if I’d had the chance to care a little more about the characters that Swyler introduced me to, this book would’ve definitely been a home-run for me.
Story: | Performance: | Overall: 
Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: New Books & What I’ve Read
Posted on July 4, 2015 26 Comments
Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every two weeks where I talk about the new books I’ve added to my library or received for review, what I plan to read soon, and what I’ve finished reading since the last update. Sometimes I throw in stuff like reading challenge updates, book lists, and other random bookish things.
Received for Review
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski – Audiobook CDs, with thanks to Hachette Audio. I love “The Witcher” so I was thrilled to get this from the publisher. What made me gawk was that the box contained 9 discs! Yikes!
Long Black Curl by Alex Bledsoe – Hardcover, with thanks to Tor. The publicist who contacted me about this book had such awesome things to say about it, I just had to check it out. I’ve never read anything by Bledsoe either, so I’m looking forward to it.
Frozen in Amber by Phyllis Ames – Print ARC, with thanks to DAW. An unsolicited copy of this arrived a couple weeks ago, back when I still could not find a description for it anywhere online. But now there’s more information and I think it sounds fascinating. It had me at shapeshifting “WerCougars”.
Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine – Hardcover, with thanks to NAL. I’d heard fantastic things about this book from two bloggers whose opinion I really respect; Lisa @ Tenacious Reader and Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy both gave it high marks, so I jumped on the opportunity when the publisher contacted me about it.
The Child Eater by Rachel Pollack – Paperback, with thanks to Jo Fletcher Books. A care package from the UK came last week containing this little gem. I think this is the upcoming paperback edition from JFB, and I’ve already heard some good things about the book from folks who read it when it was first published last year. Definitely looks interesting.
Half a War by Joe Abercrombie – eARC with thanks to Del Rey. The third book of the Shattered Sea trilogy! I can’t wait to get to this one!
The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard – eARC via NetGalley, with thanks to Roc. A very unique looking fantasy, this one sounded intriguing enough that I decided to give it a shot.
Nightlife: As The Worm Turns by Matthew Quinn Martin – eARC via NetGalley, with thanks to Pocket Star. This is the sequel to Night Life, though the edition I got is actually an omnibus containing both books plus a novella. Thanks to the wonderful interview Wendy did with Matthew earlier this week, I’m even more excited about this.
Press Start to Play edited by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams – eARC via NetGalley, with thanks to Vintage. This book was featured for my Waiting on Wednesday this week so you already know why I want to read it. Very happy my request was approved!
The Red: First Light by Linda Nagata – Audiobook, with thanks to Audible Studios. Saga Press is re-issuing Nagata’s The Red books this year and looks like it’s getting the audio treatment at the same time! I requested the audiobook because the story seems like it would be great to experience in this format.
Purchased Audiobooks:
I’ve been pretty good with reining in my book buying habits so far in 2015, but I just can’t resist audiobooks. They are so easy to slip into my schedule when I’m otherwise unable to sit down to read print books, so I don’t mind splurging on them once in a while. Plus, WhisperSync deals make it so worth it.
Nova by Margaret Fortune – I regretfully had to pass this book up for review when I got an email about it, since my June was just too busy. But based on some of the good things I’ve heard about it, now I wish I’d made the time. Gonna have to listen to this one soon.
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi – Ever since I read The Water Knife, I’ve taken a new interest in everything Bacigalupi has written. I am especially curious about The Windup Girl.
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson – Neal Stephenson’s books can be a challenge, and indeed that has been my experience so I didn’t really have much interest in this one when it came out. However, a friend of mine loved it and insisted that I absolutely must pick it up. At 800+ pages, I figured the only way I could ever get to this one in good time is via audio – and even that one runs almost 32 hours.
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update
This past fortnight has been quite productive in terms of reading and reviews. Keep an eye out for my reviews of these books in the coming weeks, though a bunch are up already: Alive, The Galaxy Game, Blood of Elves and The Price of Valor.
Highlighted Reads:
Holy crap, you guys. Ink and Bone is AMAZING. That one’s definitely going to find a top place on my end-of-the-year list.
Time Salvager was a blast too, a great action-filled time travel book for the summer. Review coming in a few days.
Have you heard of or read any of the books featured in this week? What looks interesting to you?
Book Review: The Price of Valor by Django Wexler
Posted on July 3, 2015 13 Comments
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Price of Valor by Django Wexler
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Series: Book 3 of The Shadow Campaigns
Publisher: Roc (July 7, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
The Price of Valor is the third book of The Shadow Campaigns, of which five books have been planned so we are officially now past the half-way point. An epic fantasy series is often at its most precarious when we get to this tricky place between the introduction and the ending, where arguably the best action and excitement is usually packed. However, it appears Django Wexler is not content to slow things down or let his story languish. Not only does he succeed in carrying through the momentum for the rest of the series, he’s also transformed this middle book into an important turning point.
So far, each installment of the series has given readers something different. Book one The Thousand Names threw us into the middle of a war and treated us to many scenes of large-scale conflict and sweeping battles. Book two The Shadow Throne reined in the scope, concentrating instead on the politics and subsequent revolution in the capital of Vordan. Now book three The Price of Valor is like an amalgamation of both, so that half the narrative remains in the city in the wake of the successful uprising, while the other half takes us back onto the bloody battlefields.
In the wake of her father’s death, Princess Raesenia is now the queen. After an attempt is made on her life, she suspects that the new leader of the Deputies-General is responsible, and goes undercover to search for evidence. Remaining behind in the capital as the representative of the army, Colonel Marcus d’Ivoire finds himself teaming up with the young queen, tasked to protect her and to help her root out those who want her dead. Little does he know though, Raesenia might have a secret or two up her sleeve which would actually make her rather hard to kill…
Meanwhile, Winter Ihernglass is back out in the east, trying to win the war for General Janus bet Vhalnich. She has been promoted and given her own regiment to command, including the new all-women company called the Girl’s Own, though ironically Winter’s own gender still remains a secret to the army, save for a few individuals who are in the know. Among those who are aware of Winter’s secret is her lover Jane, whose hatred for the contingent of Royals in the regiment is making Winter’s job very difficult. Lurking behind the scenes are also the agents of an ancient order called the Priests of the Black, whose Penitent Damned will harness the power of their demons to do whatever it takes to stop the Vordanai army and retrieve the priceless magical artifact known as The Thousand Names.
I was so pleased to see that the military action is back in full force for this sequel. Taking a break to delve into political intrigue and rebellion in book two was a nice change of pace, but I admit my interest mostly lies in the war campaign and the huge battles. Wexler doesn’t disappoint, throwing in plenty of heart-racing encounters with the enemy. Reading some of Winter’s chapters was a little like watching a session of wargames play out across a vast gameboard, with troop actions directed by a shrewd chessmaster who is aware of every piece’s location at all times. In point of fact, these qualities closely describe Janus bet Vhalnich, the military genius whose presence is actually quite limited in the first half of the novel, which made the wargames analogy that much more apt in my mind.
The general’s craftiness is not lost on Jane either, and Winter’s storyline is also made more interesting by the increasingly strained relationship between the two women. Winter’s loyalties are put to the test when she is made to choose between the two things she holds most dear, and I have to hand it to the author for not making that choice trivial. There’s a lot of development to Winter’s character in this book, and I respect her all the more for the difficult decisions she’s had to make about her lover, whom I’ve taken to calling “Insufferable Jane” due to all the problems she’s caused (and that’s already one of my more polite names for her). The road to the eventual camaraderie between the Girl’s Own and the Royals was also fun to read, and made for a good side plot to lighten up the otherwise heavy narrative focused on intense fighting and the resulting casualties.
Still, I was wrong when I thought the best part about this book would be the military action, because what surprised me was how much I enjoyed Marcus and Raesenia’s storyline back in the city of Vordan. Raesenia really grew on me back when she was introduced in The Shadow Throne and I was happy to see her return as a POV character in this one. To see her partner up with Marcus – who has always been my favorite character in these novels – was a real treat. Together they make a great team (and dare I hope, could Wexler be planting the seeds of something more happening between them in the future?) and their investigations into the corrupt government saw their Vordan chapters culminate into one hell of an epic showdown with the Patriot Guards and the Penitent Damned.
Speaking of which, we’re definitely making some real headway into the overall story. I’ve been wondering since the end of the first book when we’ll see some major advancement into the conflict caused by the discovery of The Thousand Names, and when the Black Priests will show their hand. Looks like this book is where it all happens. I did say The Price of Valor is a turning point, and you’ll see why. Even after three books, the impact of the stories have not dulled a single bit.
Needless to say, I’m very excited for the next installment. It’s easy to get caught up in The Shadow Campaigns. Django Wexler’s riveting world of dark magic and martial action featuring strong characters – and especially strong women – is one I’ll want to visit again and again. Military fantasy at its finest.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of The Thousand Names (Book 1) | Review of The Shadow Throne (Book 2) | Review of The Shadow of Elysium (Book 2.5) | Guest Post by Django Wexler
Audiobook Review: Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
Posted on July 3, 2015 7 Comments
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book #1 of The Chronicles of Amber
Publisher: Avon Books (April 1970)
Author Information: Goodreads
Tiara’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Narrator: Alessandro Juliani | Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins | Audiobook Publisher: Audible Studios (July 31, 2013) | Whispersync Ready: No
That cover. The 70s and 80s must’ve been a time to be alive if you were SFF author. Despite how I may feel about the books that came from that era, a unique crop of stories emerged from that time. Thanks to a recent Audible sale I was able to snag the first book in Roger Zelazny’s The Chronicles of Amber series, which came recommended, from some people. I figured this could serve as my cautious first step into the series without committing to the omnibus.
A man, Corwin, wakes in a hospital with no recollection of his memories. He knows that he’s been in a car accident that should’ve been lethal. However, he doesn’t know why or how the accident occurred. He knows that the medical staff in the facility he’d been confined to had been using too much sedative to keep him under for some reason. He learns that his sister has been paying for his stay, so it’s with this knowledge his adventure begins as he tries to remember who he is and complete the path to power that he’s begun. Corwin is an exiled prince vying for control over his homeland Amber, a version of earth from which all other earthly realities are imperfectly copied. Their father has been missing for years and thought dead. Only a few brothers are believed to have a reasonable chance of claiming the throne, including Corwin. The other siblings act as pawns in the game, changing alliances as needed, giving support to one brother over another as it suits them.
When I started reading this, I wasn’t sure if I subscribed to the reasoning behind all this infighting between the siblings. On one hand, having the king’s children fighting over his throne is to be expected, but on the other hand, after a few revelations, I started asking, “To what end?” After about midway through the book, it started to feel like the real reason they’re fighting over the throne is because of the status symbol it’ll give them. I’m not sure if I even believe it’s worth all the effort they’re expending on it and each other. It’s petty and immature, and maybe that’s what Zelzany was going for–to show the fickle nature of these characters more than trying to get me invested in this story about a king’s abdicated throne and his warring children. People have fought for much less than a throne.
I don’t think I ever became too attached to any character, least of all Corwin. Okay, maybe that’s not completely true. I do think the ending did wonders in making me feel like I could like Corwin more if I kept reading. Most of Corwin’s siblings, aside from a few, aren’t in the story long enough for them to matter to me. I found elements of the story more interesting than the struggle between the characters such as the explanation of the Pattern, learning more about the trumps (playing cards), the shadows, etc. Zelazny really excelled there with his take on the magic of this world. Most of my rating comes from the fact that I liked the ideas he used in the story, and I can actually see why writers are inspired by his work in that sense.
The narration. Let’s see how I can condense this without falling into giggles. I’d read that these audiobooks are an improvement over Zelazny’s own self-narration of the story that existed for years. While I certainly have no quarrel with Alessandro Juliani, I can’t say that I cared for his narration of this book. It wasn’t terrible exactly. It just seemed strange, and it didn’t do the story any favors either. Some of the dated language sounded so stilted and silly coming from Juliani. His narration made it hard for me to take this story seriously, and that peppered my overall view of this book.
I’m still on the fence about this one. Admittedly, I probably should’ve gotten the omnibus and just read the whole thing rather than taking it bit by bit like this. While I spent much of this book with one skeptical eyebrow raised, I did like the ending considerably. It felt like the book had finally reached a comfortable stride and I was just beginning to really get lost in the story when this first book ended, which means I’ll probably be reading the next book soon.
Story: | Performance: 
| Overall: 
The BiblioSanctum 