YA Weekend: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Posted on March 7, 2015 16 Comments
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Series: The Reckoners #1
Publisher: Delacorte (September 2013)
Author Info: brandonsanderson.com
Wendy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars
When Calamity struck, several people were transformed into superhuman beings–Epics. No one knows the science behind Calamity itself, or how all of these superpowers work, but it is clear that these humans have become gods. And they are not afraid to use their powers to prove it. There are some who believe that the epics will use their powers for good–that they will be the heroes we’ve read about in books and comics. But up to now, they have only proven their capacity for cruelty and arrogance, and at the top of the food chain is the invulnerable Steelheart. But on the day that Steelheart ruthlessly killed David’s father, the young boy saw Steelheart bleed. And that meant he could be killed. Following this event, the story quickly moves several years ahead with David attempting to earn his way into the ranks of the Reckoners, a rebel force of humans intent on taking down the epics in Newcago. David’s obsession with vengeance makes him a dangerous ally and the Reckoners are skeptical about recruiting him, but they are unable to deny the vast knowledge he’s collected of the epics over the years.
First of all, David. He’s a young adult with a quirky sense of humour–as in, he has an unhealthy obsession with metaphors that could be even more dangerous than his obsession with Steelheart, but Sanderson manages to make David endearing, rather than annoying, even when he becomes smitten with the surly Megan. In fact, all of the Reckoners have unusual quirks, including the southerner intent on exploring his Commonwealth heritage through language, and Prof, the typically enigmatic leader who’s obviously got something (obvious) to hide. But they all work well together and within the story, and soon all of them had endeared themselves to me, to the point where I worried about their fates–because Sanderson makes it clear from early on that they truly are all at risk. Often, it’s either easy to see who will die and who will survive along the journey, but Sanderson manages to maintain the tension throughout, and lets it skyrocket into an epic showdown that had me white knuckling the steering wheel as I listened to the audiobook. It’s not easy to write a fight scene, especially one involving so many players and spanning such a large area, but Sanderson hit this one out of the park, right up until the final pay off.
Let me go back though to the Epics themselves. Sanderson is a master worldbuilder and his worlds always come with unique forms of magic. In this case, it’s genetic mutations that have caused people to have outlandish comic book kind of powers. But, while Sanderson does include several theories on how these powers work and how they gained them in the first place, it was interesting to read a story where Sanderson’s magic is not perfectly spelled out to the letter (though I suspect it is in his head. He’s just not sharing because the mystery is relevant to the story). The concept of humans suddenly becoming supers is also an interesting one, though Sanderson chooses to explore the darker side of power.
“I know, better than anyone else, that there are no heroes coming to save us. There are no good Epics. None of them protect us. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Marvel and DC comics have taught us that when radioactive spiders bite us, or when we’re raised by Professor Xavier or Ma and Pa Kent, we’ll always use our powers for good. But is that true? I admit, if I had phenomenal cosmic powers, I’d probably use them for the occasional naughty thing (and also for lots of lazy things because, well, I’m lazy.)
There wasn’t a lot of time spent with the Epics themselves to learn about how things work for them, but following the events of this story, I suspect some of those questions will be answered, and I am eager to find out what comes next.
Book Review: Burned by Karen Marie Moning
Posted on March 6, 2015 12 Comments
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Series: Book 7 of Fever
Publisher: Delacorte (January 20, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 2 of 5 stars
I’m going to begin this review with a mini-rant: Personally, I’m of the mind that spin-off series should be fresh starts. If you’re going to end the original series and begin a new one focusing on another character, well, that character should have her turn prove herself and shine in the spotlight. It’s fine if the main characters in the original series make minor cameos in the new series, but in the end they’ve have had their chance, they should be put to bed, their problems shouldn’t be dragged up again, and happily-ever-afters shouldn’t need to be revisited.
So yeah, you can understand why I might feel a bit cheated.
Mac, bless her heart, had a good run as the protagonist of the Fever series. I had fun with the books, but it’s over now and I’m prepared to move on. Iced was a breath of fresh air, even though my first thought when I found out about the book was: “What the hell? Why would you take the most juvenile, idiotic and annoying side character in the Fever series and give them their own novel?” Well, as it turned out, Dani “Mega” O’Malley ended up growing on me, and I was actually looking forward to her getting her own trilogy.
So you can understand why I’m disappointed that once again this book is all about Mac, Mac, MAC! Dani gets a chapter at the beginning and then pretty much disappears from the rest of the story. I know the author was trying to rectify some of the bigger criticisms of Iced – mainly the controversy around Dani’s age – but I wish she’d gone about it another way. I’m done with Mac, she’s already had five books! This was supposed to be all about Dani, and instead Moning decided to change tack mid-series and make this be about Mac. AGAIN.
That really annoyed me, but my feelings about spin-offs that I expressed at the beginning of this review are only the beginning. In changing directions, Moning also seems to have lost control of her story. This book hardly felt like it advanced the overall arc, except for the issue of Dani’s age being resolved. I don’t deny that it needed to be addressed; Iced felt way too creepy with all these grown men ogling the fourteen-year-old Dani like a juicy steak. Making her older wasn’t a mistake. What was a mistake was doing it by tossing her through a portal, making her an absentee for most of what’s supposed to be HER book, then completely destroying the very essence of what made her Dani.
The story, or what there is of a story, also left me feeling cold. I found it hard to get excited about it, because I could tell the author wasn’t too excited about it either. To be fair, what happened here probably wasn’t what Moning originally intended. Still, what we have now is very little plot progression, and lots of melodramatic internal dialogue to fill the pages.
There’s also the constant and heavy deluge of sex and sexual references. This by itself doesn’t bother me, nor is it really surprising, given the fact I’m reading a Paranormal Romance. But what I enjoyed most about the early books in the Fever series was the very fact that they read more like Urban Fantasy — there was a strong plot at the forefront, with sex and romance being a side element. It bugs me, however, when the sex starts to overshadow the more important things in a book, or when it is thrown in for no apparent reason at all. There was one scene where Mac thought she was going to die, and I’m not even kidding, her first thought was (I’m paraphrasing here), “Oh no, I’m not gonna have the chance to do all these things I’ve ever wanted to do and, like, I haven’t had near enough sex with Barrons yet!” Really, Mac? That’s what goes through your head when faced with your own fragile mortality?
Like I said, I’ve just had enough of Mac. She and I ended on a relatively high note at the end of Shadowfever and I wish it had stopped there. Now she’s just annoying. I also learned more about her relationship with Barrons than I ever wanted to know, like the fact they only seem to get along when they’re screwing each other’s brains out in bed, and at all other times he’s growling at her and she’s snapping at him like a couple of rabid wolverines. Not sexy. To be honest, their dysfunctional romance never appealed to me all that much, but I was okay with how it resolved in Shadowfever. I was happier living under the impression that they’d worked out their issues. Now that they’ve been dug up again, it’s only served to remind me of everything that I disliked about their relationship in the first place, except now it’s many times more aggravating.
I can’t help but wonder what this book would have been like if Moning had stayed the course. It would have been pretty cool, actually, if the story had been about Dani’s experience in the fae world, and it certainly would have been a more holistic way to age her up. I’ve just had enough with Mac. In the end, I know it’s the author’s prerogative to do what she wants with her own series, but I do wish she would have given Dani a chance.
Tough Traveling – Vampires
Posted on March 5, 2015 30 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 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: Vampires
VAMPIRES are increasingly rare on the TOUR. They have been attracted over to the Horror Tour by offers of better pay. Where they appear, you will find up to date Vampires wear expensive sunglasses and wish to drain you of energy rather than blood.
Mogsy’s Picks:
Hmm, we can easily get overloaded with vampire books this week, so how about I limit my choices to only 5? Okay, 6. Or maybe 8. And only a) my absolute favorites, b) books that feature unconventional vampires, and/or c) those that I don’t think get showcased often in Tough Traveling lists.
The Greyfriar by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
This is a really fun, adventurous (and also quite romantic) steampunk series that I love bringing up whenever I get the chance. Set in an alternate history in which humans and vampires have been locked in a bitter war for more than a century, the blood drinkers have conquered the northern lands, driving the humans towards warmer climes.
Don’t let the title fool you, this isn’t your typical vampire novel. The antagonist Charles Manx is a vampire-like creature all right, but he feeds on souls instead of blood. He prefers children as victims, spiriting them away to his creepy other-realm called Christmasland.
Generation V series by M.L. Brennan
I could have gone with any number of Urban Fantasy series on my shelf (Mercy Thompson, Dresden Files, Anita Blake, etc.) all of which feature vampires, but 1) here we have an actual vampire protagonist and 2) vampires in this are pretty unconventional, and 3) I just ADORE THIS SERIES TO BITS.
I didn’t love this one, but it does have the distinction of perhaps being the first Angry Robot book I’ve ever read. The Titanic hits an iceberg and starts sinking on the night of April 14, 1912. The Carpathia races to its rescue, but with vampires on board. Out of the frying pan and into the fire for those survivors who were picked up, so to speak.
How did we get genetically engineered vampires in Watts’ world? They actually died out thousands of years ago, but humans recently resurrected them, hoping to exploit their predatory talents. The result: smart, deadly, hyper-advanced vampires.
The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman
What’s scarier than vampires? Vampire children. These creepy kids have lived longer and have seen and done more messed up things on this world than we can ever imagine. And their appetites are insatiable.
Siobhan Quinn series by Caitlín R. Kiernan/Kathleen Tierney
A half-vampire-half-werewolf is pretty interesting, right? It’s also nice to see a vampire that isn’t drop-dead gorgeous (ahem, Anne Rice) or sparkling (ahem, Twlight). Siobhan’s eyes are as black and dead as a shark’s and her teeth are so terrible that she needs to disguise herself with contact lenses and make up.
The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
A vampire virus arrives in New York on a dead plane. It spreads via parasitic worm-like creatures and turns its victims into zombie-vampires and changes them physically, giving them long stinger tongues with which they use to feed. The vampire’s jaw can also unhinge, opening up like a snake’s. In other words, they’re disgusting.
Comic Stack 03/04/15: Leading Ladies
Posted on March 4, 2015 3 Comments
This week’s stack (which should’ve been last week’s stack, but I got all caught up in my emotions about another leading lady, Silk) features some leading ladies in comics. We take a trip with five girls at a camp for Hardcore Lady Types. We learn that a third-rate cosmetic company will likely be the cause of a zombie outbreak that only affects women and only men get eaten. Finally, we put on our spiked leather jackets and brass knuckles to team up with The Fever!
Bonus: There’s music! (Thanks to Lumberjanes for inspiring this, and okay, there are three comics and I only made 2 playlists. LANGUAGE WARNING on some of these songs.)
Lumberjanes #1 by Grace Ellis
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Genre: Leading Ladies, Action-Adventure, Comedy
Friendship to the max is what this book promises and is also one of the mottos for Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. Five friends go into the woods after camp curfew after encountering an old lady outside of their bunk that turns into a bearwoman. Of course, they had to investigate, which ends in an epic fox fight where they’re warned by the three-eyed foxes to “Beware the holy kitten,” but not before one of the girls totally punches one of the foxes into stardust or something.
For their effort, they’re scolded by their bunk leader, Jen, who takes them to their camp leader, Rosie, where they recount their adventure in true teenage girl fashion. They’re not punished for breaking eight camp policies, which is a relief because who wants their parents called.
I don’t even know what’s going with this one, but it seems fun. There’s already a strong message of friendship and adventure in the book. I’m going to keep reading it for that reason alone. I think there is a first volume out, so I plan to read it soon because I think this could end up being the type of book that my daughter would enjoy, too. Also, there’s a soundtrack at the end of the book, so that’s important.
Listen to this WONDERFUL playlist (that I didn’t even have to make up myself because they did it for me) Fox Fight Jams!
I’m an audiophile and I’m easy like that.
Alpha Girl #1 by Jean-Paul Bonjour, Jeff Roenning
Publisher: Image Comics
Genre: Leading Ladies, Zombie Horror, Comedy
“Well, I would love to tell you that the world ends due to some beautiful cosmic event.”
The world is in chaos, overrun by female zombies who attack men thanks to a (third-rate) cosmetics company who thought it would be idea to start messing around with pheromones for a project. Judith and her little brother, Buddy, are wards of the state. A brief backstory reveals that they’d always fended for themselves. Their mother was a drug addict, and after she overdosed, Judith was bounced from home to home for a while before settling in one. Buddy, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. After being preyed on twice and defending himself, he ends up in juvenile hall where he won’t be paroled until he’s eighteen.
This is a zombie story. I hate zombies. I hate zombie stories. Correction, I usually hate zombie stories. There have been exceptions to this, as with anything else. I tend to like zombie stories that seem to be more about the people of the story rather than the zombies themselves. The Walking Dead for instance, I enjoy that because of the characters and the stories they have to tell. I’m more interested in how people are shaped by a zombie apocalypse than the actual zombies. I also enjoy stories that provide some interesting take on zombies such as a virus being the actual cause or have some technological basis rather than death or give some interesting perspective from the zombies’ POV.
This book doesn’t go too much into Judith’s role in this story. It only serves to give us a glimpse of what’s going on in the world and where Judith comes from. These are important things we to know since we need to know how the virus started and we need to know what factors will motivate her to do something about the situation she’s in now. Despite there being an interesting premise of cosmetics being at fault, I’m a little on the fence. I’m curious, but it’s not the type of curiosity that would compel me to pick up another book.
Curb Stomp #1 by Ryan Ferrier
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Genre: Leading Ladies, Action-Adventure, Crime
In an unnamed city surrounded by three boroughs, three gangs protect their respective turfs. While the city sleeps safely, the surrounding areas are left to fend for themselves with little to no protection. The Wrath protect Newport, the Bayside Five protect Bayside, and the Fever protect Old Beach. The Fever is the main focus of this story.
They’re group of tough women who’ll do whatever it takes to protect their home and each other. The Fever consists of Daisy Chain, Bloody Mary, Derby Girl, Violet Volt, and their leader, Machete Betty. In a moment of self-defense against some encroaching rival gang members, Machete Betty loses her temper and makes one bite the curb setting off a chain of events that threaten to be disastrous for the women, but they’re going to see each other through this–whatever it takes.
I loved, loved, loved this book and everything about it. I love the art. I love the gritty, visceral story. I love the girl power message that’s steeped in an aggressive, take-no-shit attitude. While the women of this book are tough, I have to love the tender moments between them showing their sisterly love, too. There was literally nothing I didn’t like about this book except that it was too short. It reminds me of how I felt about Saga when I first started reading it. Instantly hooked and ready for the next book in this series. I am so enthusiastic about this series.
Waiting On Wednesday – 03/04/2015
Posted on March 4, 2015 8 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:
Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson: October 6, 2015 (Tor)
Sanderson’s original Mistborn trilogy features a more epic and elaborate story and gets a lot of love from fans, but I confess I probably enjoyed book four The Alloy of Law more than the first three books put together. Set 300 years after the events of The Hero of Ages, I was just really taken by the western-like setting and the mild hints of steampunk, not to mention the cleverly named duo of Wax and Wayne. I’m really looking forward to the next book of their adventures.
“With The Alloy of Law, Brandon Sanderson surprised readers with a New York Times bestselling spinoff of his Mistborn books, set after the action of the trilogy, in a period corresponding to late 19th-century America.
The trilogy’s heroes are now figures of myth and legend, even objects of religious veneration. They are succeeded by wonderful new characters, chief among them Waxillium Ladrian, known as Wax, hereditary Lord of House Ladrian but also, until recently, a lawman in the ungoverned frontier region known as the Roughs. There he worked with his eccentric but effective buddy, Wayne. They are “twinborn,” meaning they are able to use both Allomantic and Feruchemical magic.
Shadows of Self shows Mistborn’s society evolving as technology and magic mix, the economy grows, democracy contends with corruption, and religion becomes a growing cultural force, with four faiths competing for converts.
This bustling, optimistic, but still shaky society now faces its first instance of terrorism, crimes intended to stir up labor strife and religious conflict. Wax and Wayne, assisted by the lovely, brilliant Marasi, must unravel the conspiracy before civil strife stops Scadrial’s progress in its tracks.
Shadows of Self will give fans of The Alloy of Law everything they’ve been hoping for and, this being a Brandon Sanderson book, more, much more.”
Audiobook Review: The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Posted on March 3, 2015 32 Comments
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of The Sword of Shannara Trilogy
Publisher: Del Ray Books (1977)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Tiara’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Narrator: Scott Brick | Length: 26 hrs | Audiobook Publisher: Books on Tape | Whispersync Ready (as of this posting): Yes
I have a dirty secret to confess. I am no fan of Tolkien’s writing. If you were to check out my Goodreads profile now, you’d see that I’ve one-starred almost everything he’s ever written. This may be a seeded dislike due to the fact that I had to read these books in high school (even though I wasn’t one of those kids who was normally traumatized by high school reading experiences), but even attempting to reread them again as an adult was a labored effort, a true test of my patience, an effort that I am willing to admit was a disgraceful defeat. However, I do love the movies very much if that’ll grant me any measure of immunity.
The Sword of Shannara gained popularity in the late 70s and early 80s and is often used in the same sentence as Tolkien, which may tempt some readers but is a little off-putting for me. This seems to be one of those divisive books with readers either decrying it for being a Lord of the Rings rip-off or lauding it as a brilliant epic fantasy adventure. There are few people who seem to walk the middle road with this book.
I’ve been making it my mission to read classic speculative fiction. After reading The Lathe of Heaven for my science fiction pick and The Haunting of Hill House for my horror pick, I started searching for a classic fantasy pick and settled on this after reading a brief blurb on it. It sounded interesting enough, and believe it or not, I’d never actually heard of the series before now.
From the beginning, yes, it’s pretty obvious that this is influenced by Tolkien. I’d started jokingly calling Allanon by Gandalf’s name and Flick by Sam’s name even before I knew about the Tolkien connection. However, I didn’t say these things to necessarily be condescending toward this book. That’s just the way things are. So many books regardless of the genre, especially a first novel for a writer, contain elements that are similar to others in that same genre.
When I started publicly saying things like that, then people came out the woodworks saying that it really was “just like Tolkien.” I didn’t even realize I knew so many people who read this series. Even opinions from friends ranged from “5-star read” to “turn back, dead inside.” So, reading this book has been quite the journey from the actual reading to the various interactions I’ve had with people thanks to this book.
On with the review. I should warn you. This review is a little derpy if you haven’t figured that out by the Adventure time gif following this, and I can’t promise it’s completely spoiler free.
Let’s go find us a ring! I mean… a sword… we’re looking for a sword, Mr. Frodo.
The Sword of Shannara follows the adventures of Shea Ohmsford, a half elven man living in Shady Vale with his adopted father, Curzad Ohmsford, and his adopted brother, Flick Ohmsford. One night when Flick returns from peddling his merchandise in the nearby town of the Shire (because I am absolutely sure it was the Shire), he encounters Allanon, a tall, mysterious man who saves him from a shadowy creature in the woods. Flick takes Allanon to his village where Allanon insists on meeting Shea.
More importantly to this narrative, Allanon looks like Manu Bennett because MTV said so. Who am I to fight MTV about this? [Insert heavy breathing.]
Actual Allanon the Druid in actual practical questing gear. Hey, Allanon, heeeeey…
Anyhow, Allanon tells Shae that he is a direct descendant of a line of royal elves. These elves are the only ones able unlock the power of the sword of Shannara. I imagine that to be a lot like He-Man powering up. The Druids have kept this relic, believed to be a myth by many, locked away in their keep. The sword was originally created to defeat Brona, whose name I kept seeing as Brony when I was reading portions during immersion reading, 500 years before the start of this book. Brona is a powerful Druid-turned-sorcerer. However, just as they had traitors within when Brona attacked 500 years ago, the Druids find themselves attacked again by traitors (who’d think that would happen again?), and Brona has returned to finish what he started, but I kind of forgot what it was he wanted during the course of the story. World domination? Probably. Isn’t that what they all want either to control or destroy the entire world. Much of their hope to defeat Brona, now called the Warlock Lord, rests on Shae’s shoulders and what slim shoulders they are we are reminded repeatedly throughout the story.
The quest starts with the brothers, Shae and Flick, leaving the Vale to escape the Warlock Lord’s minions, the Skull Bearers. Along the way, they pick up Menion Leah, a friend of Shae’s and the prince of Leah, Balinor Buckhannah, the prince of Callahorn, Hendel, a dwarven warrior, Durin and Dayel, elven brothers sent to accompany them on their journey from the elf kingdom, Orl Fane (very briefly and more a foil than anything), a gnome who has deserted his cause and invokes shades of Gollum, and the thief Panamon Creel and his rock troll companion, Keltset. Together they face countless obstacles including murderous gnomes, haunted tombs, a large water serpent that shoots lasers from its eyes (I may be slightly exaggerating because I’m sure it only shot fireballs from its mouth), and giant monsters made of flesh and steel before facing the Warlock Lord himself with THE SWORD OF SHANNARA!
I finished this through a combination of reading the book on Kindle and listening to it on audiobook, but the bulk of this was completed through the audiobook. The narration of this by Scott Brick wasn’t spectacular. He did a fine job with the story, but I wasn’t moved by his reading. I don’t fault him for that more than I fault the unspectacular nature of the book itself. The story was clunky for me. There was so much of it that was nonsensical with shaky plot direction. Not to mention the parts that were inconsistent with what was happening in the story. I can remember rereading certain passages numerous times and thinking, “This is literally impossible in the context of this story.”
There’s just something about most classic fantasy, especially fantasy from the 70s and 80s, that always makes me think that I’m not really going to get a story that’s much better than the old Dungeon & Dragons cartoon (which I still cry about because they never produced that last episode and the ending of the script gives me goosebumps). I love that damn cartoon.
Actual representation of Menion helping brave Balinor’s cape billow. Friendship is magic.
This book was ridiculous, but I never went into this story seriously either. If you check my Goodreads updates for this book, you’ll see many of my statuses are silly in regards to this story. Aside from the obvious lame Lord of the Rings analogies, there was lots of stream crossing (where I interject elements of other things into what I’m currently reading/watching). There were such thoughtful musings as: “Balinor Buckhannah and his bountiful, billowing cape of boon-filled bravery standing boldly before the baleful beast…” and saying Menion probably looks like the wrestler Seth Rollins, which means curb stomps for everybody.
I also concluded that Panamon Creel masquerades as Dragon Age: Inquisition‘s Dorian in his free time while twiddling his mustache and compared the bit about Balinor’s homeland and it’s impregnable walls to Attack on Titans: “On that day mankind received a grim reminder…”
Just pretend that’s about Balinor with his walls and that’s the Warlock Lord peeking over about to smash them. C’mon, people, use your imagination.
So, in other words, my bar is set pretty low in that regards, and I rolled with it. I went into this story expecting it to be schlocky fun, and that’s what it was. I was entertained, and there’s nothing more that I could ask for from this book. I don’t need savant-like brilliance from a story to be entertained.
The most annoying part of this book to me was Brooks’ incessant need to remind me how lithe, agile, slim, or lean such characters as Shae, Menion, Durin, and Dayel were. Sure, he’d mention how tall characters were often, especially Allanon who is freakishly tall, but not nearly as much as he liked pointing out how lean theses characters were. Okay, I get it. They’re fit. You could make a drinking game out of this, but it’s also likely you’d get alcohol poisoning if you did. Also, I don’t mind head jumping, but sometimes, he was jumping in multiple heads in the same paragraph, which can be a bit much. Finally, I am so disappointed that the final battle didn’t end with Tyrion in chainmail using the power of DOOM metal to defeat the Warlock King (who by this time had started being called the Skull King randomly after hitting the 60% mark in the book).
You know what? Forget that. As far as I’m concerned that is exactly how this battle ended. I have my headcanon. You can’t take it away from me.
I like to think of this as being Lord of the Rings for Dummies by Tolkien Lite if we have to go that route. It’s not nearly as heavy to digest as Tolkien’s books. Despite the hefty page count (726 according to my Kindle), there’s not all this meandering prose. It moves fairly quickly. I’m not going to say it doesn’t have its rambling moments, though, because I did start getting restless toward the end. However, to be fair to Tolkien, this isn’t nearly as inspired as his books either. On the other hand, to be fair to Brooks, I feel like his writing and fictional situations have probably improved since this initial offering. He’s not a terrible writer, so I’m curious to see how his writing has evolved over almost 40 years.
While I wasn’t bowled over by this (I can be so wishy-washy about fantasy, especially in this vein), this was a palatable enough experience for me and fit well within my expectations for it. I had fun with it. Besides, there are tentacles in it, and tentacles are relevant to my interests and gives this book an automatic 2 stars. Will I finish this trilogy? I think perhaps I will, and yes, all my reviews for this series will probably be derpy.
Book Review: Evensong by John Love
Posted on March 2, 2015 23 Comments
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Night Shade (January 6, 2015)
Author Information: Website
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
At first I didn’t think this would be my type of book, with its convoluted politics, bio-engineered super killer soldiers, dispassionate violence and casual sex, not to mention at times the narrative seemed more invested in the technicalities of hand-to-hand combat rather than the time it takes to build a convincing world. I know I’m not exactly selling it so far, but hear me out – because now that I’ve finished Evensong, the heavy emotional impact this book had on me is something I just can’t ignore.
Novels like these remind me why it’s important to step out of my comfort zone, for I ended up liking it a lot. Its dark and cynical futuristic cyberpunk-ish style reminded me a little of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon, mixed in with a bit of that 007 Casino Royale vibe when it comes to the main protagonist. A biologically-enhanced operative, Anwar Abbas is an introspective character as raw and edgy as an unpolished stone, hardened by his life and work, but who nonetheless cares about standing up for what’s right.
Anwar is disgruntled when assigned bodyguard duties for Olivia del Sarto, the archbishop of the fast-growing New Anglican Church, but finds himself both repelled and intrigued by his charge’s abrasive candor. The morally ambiguous Olivia has an aggressive demeanor completely at odds with Anwar’s stubborn and systematic approach, but that doesn’t stop the two from plunging headfirst into a torrid affair – albeit one that is initially all sex and no feeling. Anwar is more than happy to satisfy Olivia’s voracious appetites, but stays by her side out of a sense of duty more than anything else, tasked to protect her from shadowy enemies who have threatened to assassinate her during a high-profile U.N summit on water rights.
Character development isn’t exactly strong, with both Anwar and Olivia’s personalities coming across as rather stunted and flat, causing me to constantly question their motivations especially when it comes to their relationship. And yet, somehow their affair manages to evolve into something much more nuanced. It’s not a love story, but at times it sure felt like one, even in all its twisted and dysfunctional glory. Here you have two characters on opposite sides of the spectrum; the harder they resist each other the more they are drawn together, becoming like one another. It sounds deceptively simple, but there’s a lot of synergy happening between the lines. It makes Evensong the perfect example of a story where the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.
John Love’s writing style also strikes me as a bit eccentric, especially since he utilizes a third person omniscient point of view for this novel, and is quite stark as he goes about his storytelling. For my part, I prefer a more personal touch, but admit that the author’s approach is also well suited for the story and its themes. I enjoyed my fair share of contemplation into the book’s more philosophical subjects – religion, human nature, etc. – but as I’d alluded to in my previous paragraph, I was mostly fascinated with the character dynamics and interactions. The author gradually adds layers to everything, so that the longer you read the novel, the more rewarding the experience gets. Like I said, there’s a combined effect at work here. At some point you’ll definitely get the feel of every piece snapping neatly into place, and suddenly it all makes sense.
I did say the novel had a huge impact on me emotionally. The revelations came at me like an explosion at the end, like one moment you’re traipsing down a sunny country lane and the next you’re blindsided by a Mack truck barreling into you at a hundred miles an hour. As the dust settled, I was left with a numbness, a melancholy that even now I find hard to explain, mixed with shock and disbelief…like, did I just read that?!!! The story definitely touched something deep inside me though, especially in light of the nature of Anwar’s character and the decisions he ultimately decided to make.
Certainly I never expected to be so powerfully affected by Evensong, since it’s such a departure from what I normally read. I can’t believe I almost dismissed this book as “not my thing”, and what a tragic mistake that would have been. I’m profoundly glad that I ended up ignoring my instincts, because against all odds, this book ended up working surprisingly well for me.
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Night Shade Books!
Posted on March 1, 2015 Leave a Comment
Grant knew that people could not imagine geological time. Human life was lived on another scale of time entirely. An apple turned brown in a few minutes. Silverware turned black in a few days. A compost heap decayed in a season. A child grew up in a decade. None of these everyday human experiences prepared people to be able to imagine the meaning of eighty million years – the length of time that had passed since this little animal had died.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Book Haul, Backlist, What I’ve Read
Posted on February 28, 2015 22 Comments
It’s been a very busy couple weeks when it comes new books:
Received For Review:
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – From First to Read. Every year there are a ton of Young Adult novels that get a lot of buzz and I honestly can’t keep up with them all. An Ember in the Ashes caught my attention though; it really looks like a special one and I have really high hopes for it.
Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron – Audiobook, with thanks to Audible. Rachel Aaron is also known as Rachel Bach, the author of the rollicking Paradox sci-fi trilogy which I had a great time with last year, and Nice Dragons Finish Last looks to be another fun one.
Grave Matters by Lauren M. Roy – Review copy, with thanks to Ace/Penguin. The sequel to Night Owls, an urban fantasy series about a book store owner and her Scooby Gang of friends who battle the evil creatures of the night!
Righteous Fury by Markus Heitz – Review copy, with thanks to Jo Fletcher Books/Quercus. Markus Heitz is probably best known for his Dwarves saga which I haven’t had the pleasure of reading yet, but I’m very curious and interested in reading his stuff, starting with this!
The Exile by C.T. Adams – Review copy, with thanks to Tor. This unsolicited but very welcome surprise showed up on my doorstep earlier this week. It is on my list of 2015 Most Anticipated SFF by Women Authors! Definitely checking this one out.
The Doll Collection edited by Ellen Datlow – Review copy, with thanks to Tor. Also unsolicited, but I’m going to read this and you know why? Because DOLLS FREAK ME THE HELL OUT. Personally, I believe the whole point of reading Horror fiction is to scare myself, and I’m always on the lookout for a book that’s up to the challenge. I’m also normally not into short stories, but I’m happy to make an exception for this anthology.
Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson – From NetGalley. Here I am taking a chance on another Young Adult novel, but I’ve had good luck with steampunk lately and I’m really feeling this one.
Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory – From NetGalley. I’ve actually completed this book already; it was a fast read and a great Lovecraft-inspired novel that was weird-but-not-in-the-way-I-can’t-stand-weird. I rather enjoyed it, to tell the truth.
We Are All Completely Fine – From NetGalley. I enjoyed Harrison Squared so much that I requested another Daryl Gregory title — and as a bonus, I found out that Harrison Squared is actually a prequel to this one!
Purchased:
The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury – A specially low priced pre-order for the e-version of a brand new book, I just couldn’t resist.
Faith by John Love – I recently read Love’s Evensong and enjoyed it so much that when I saw a sale on the ebook of his first novel, I just had to jump on it.
Grimm Mistresses by Various Authors – I’d wanted to accept this anthology for review, but as you can see I was a bit overloaded this week. But hey, doesn’t mean I can’t buy it to read on my own time, and that’s exactly what I did as soon as the ebook was released. Looking forward to checking this out, especially Mercedes M. Yardley’s story as I’ve enjoyed her work in the past.
Back to the Backlist:
Here’s what’s on tap from the backlist bar this week. My reading schedule is getting heavy, I sure hope I’ll be able to fit this one in!
The Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle – This book has been on my TBR since March 18, 2013 according to my Goodreads shelf. I’m finally going to get to it this year, and I also have Lisa at Tenacious Reader to thank for the encouragement. She’s had great things to say about this book, and I can’t wait to read it.
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update:
Keep an eye out for my reviews of these books in the coming weeks! A couple of them are already up.
Cover Reveal: The Rebirths of Tao by Wesley Chu
Posted on February 27, 2015 7 Comments
Today I’m excited to break out a cover reveal for a book I’ve had my eye on for a while. Not only have I been eagerly waiting the release of Wesley Chu’s The Rebirths of Tao to find out how the trilogy ends, I’ve also been quite impatient to see the cover.
Anyway, if you’ve seen the covers for the first two books, then you’ll probably notice that this one is quite a bit of a departure from the theme they’ve set. Usually I like all my book covers in a series to “match” (I’m not the only one, am I?) but then I have to say I dig this one. It may be a little different, and while I loved the other covers for their quirkiness, I think this one and its stark nature actually does a better job capturing the “urban sci-fi, spy thriller” vibe of the Tao series. Here it is! Thoughts?
Cover by Stewart Larking
Many years have passed since the events in The Deaths of Tao: the world is split into pro-Prophus and pro-Genjix factions, and is poised on the edge of a devastating new World War; the Prophus are hiding; and Roen has a family to take care of.
A Genjix scientist who defects to the other side holds the key to preventing bloodshed on an almost unimaginable scale.
With the might of the Genjix in active pursuit, Roen is the only person who can help him save the world, and the Quasing race, too.
And you thought you were having a stressful day…
I’ve had a great time with this series so far. I’m glad that Angry Robot is back from their break and this book is on the horizon once again, set to drop in April.
The BiblioSanctum 