Book Review: Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey
Posted on April 24, 2023 23 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 1 of Pandominion
Publisher: Orbit (March 28, 2023)
Length: 544 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Infinity Gate is at least the sixth novel I’ve read by M.R. Carey, but probably the first that deals with “harder” sci-fi themes like artificial intelligence and the concept of an infinite number of worlds within a multiverse.
Enter the Pandominion, made up of roughly a million worlds—all versions of Earth, just in different dimensions—united through an alliance based on politics and trade. The story begins by informing readers that we will be following the lives of three characters: Hadiz Tambuwal, a brilliant scientist living in her version of Lagos, Nigeria which is a crumbling city plagued by an energy crisis and food shortages; Essien Nkanika, who exists in another version of Lagos, looking for a way to escape his poverty and indentured servitude; and finally, in a Lagos that is highly unlike any of the others, Topaz Tourmaline Fivehills is a sentient rabbit who makes a new friend at school—a relationship that will change the course of history for many worlds across the Pandominion.
We are first introduced to Hadiz, busy at work in a research station even as the world ends around her. Unwilling to let even the apocalypse interrupt her studies, she accidentally stumbles upon a way to travel to alternate universes, offering her a way off her dying world. This is how she ends up meeting Essien, with whom she begins a brief but passionate romance. She reveals to him her origins, as well as the secrets of her research into the multiverse. But Essien, who only has his own survival in mind, has other plans, setting in motion a series of events that lead to disastrous results. Much later on, we see how profoundly the ripples of these actions have spread and affected other worlds when we eventually meet Topaz and her new friend Dulcie on their version of Earth called Ut.
Infinity Gate is a veritable tome which the publisher lists at 544 pages long, which starts to make sense once you realize how much story is packed into it. Not only that, the content is dense and not anything I would consider light reading, but then that’s to be expected whenever you deal with subjects like the multiverse. The plot also eschews a more traditional trajectory, bouncing the reader’s attention to wherever the story requires it. To tell the truth, books featuring unconventional narrative structures tend to lose me quickly, but somehow Infinity Gate worked for me. It’s a testament to Carey’s talent and experience that the novel works as it does without falling apart or descending into a chaotic mess.
The characters had a lot to do with this. For example, much of Hadiz’s research and explanations into her methods of traversing the multiverse came across as mumbo jumbo, but it was thanks to the charisma of her personality that kept me interested in reading. Love them or hate them, each of Carey’s characters had backstories and motivations that made their decisions (even the less-than-wise ones) convincing, especially in Essien’s case. Then there’s Topaz, perhaps the most fascinating character, for obvious reasons. Paz lives on an Earth where evolution favored a different animal—in this case, rabbits—leading them to become the dominant sentient species.
Zooming out, there is an overall conflict tying together all these different characters and worlds affecting the Step technology used by the Pandominion to travel between the universes. These processes are closely regulated by an AI called the Registry and a military arm made up of super-soldiers known as the Cielo, and they of course are none too happy with the unsanctioned activities of Hadiz, vaulting her to the top of their most-wanted list. Much of the action from the book also stems from the discovery of the Ansurrection, an analogue to the Pandominion but made up of a collection of worlds ruled by intelligent machines. As to be expected when two great empires collide, war will be inevitable, and it’s anyone’s guess what will happen.
Now is also a good time for a warning that, as the first of a series, Infinity Gate only touches upon the oncoming war and will not offer any resolutions, even ending on a somewhat frustrating cliffhanger. That said, I suppose I can be forgiving considering that the overall setup was intriguing, establishing a solid foundation for the next book.
With Infinity Gate, M.R. Carey has proven he is a versatile writer by exploring what appears to be a new and quite a different direction for him. He hits all the right notes, providing a well-paced, entertaining, and smooth reading experience despite having to tackle some relatively complex ideas and theoretical concepts. I can’t wait to see what happens in the sequel.
Bookshelf Roundup 04/23/23: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Posted on April 23, 2023 11 Comments
Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every weekend which fills the role of several blog memes, like Stacking the Shelves where I talk about the new books I’ve added to my library or received for review, as well as It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where I summarize what I’ve finished reading in the last week and what I’m planning to read soon. Mostly it also serves as a recap post, so sometimes I’ll throw in stuff like reading challenge progress reports, book lists, and other random bookish thoughts or announcements.
Received for Review
With thanks to Minotaur for:
- The Girl by the Bridge by Arnaldur Indriðason, a mystery following Detective Konrád as he investigates a case of a missing young woman who was a known drug smuggler. This one was new to me, but I’m definitely familiar with the name of the author who is an Icelandic crime fiction legend.
- The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse, book three in The Burning Chambers high seas adventurer series. Another surprise arrival, but it’s making me wish I had read the first two books because the premise of a “Ghost Ship” that hunts pirates sounds amazing.
- The Magistrate by Brian Klingborg, book three in the Inspector Lu FeiMysteries is anothe new one to me, following the eponymous detective on his adventures policing a sleepy small town in northern China.
With thanks to Tordotcom for:
- Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee, which was released earlier this month. It’s on my April to-read list and I hope to start it soon!
With thanks to Entangled: Teen for:
- The Stolen Throne by Abigail Owens, book two of the Dominions series which I’m not too familiar with, but I do wish I’ve read the first book because the reviews I’m seeing are really good! I also just can’t get over that gorgeous cover.
With thanks to Union Square & Co for:
- A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair, book two of The Halfling Saga. We’re really swimming in the sequels today! This was another surprise arrival, from another series I really wish I had started when I had the chance.
With thanks to Datura for:
- Spider by Azma Dar, a domestic suspense novel following an actress who must discover the truth about her husband’s suspicious car crash death. Datura is Angry Robot’s new crime fiction imprint, and it looks like they’re starting out strong!
With thanks to Berkley for:
- Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison, a very exciting and one of my most anticipate releases this year! A cynical twentysomething must return to her family farm where she grew up and confront the dark secrets of her past.
With thanks to Orbit Books for:
- Gods of the Wyrdwood by RJ Barker, the opening volume of a new fantasy series from the author who brought us The Wounded Kingdom trilogy, one is of my favorites of all time. Really looking forward to reading this one.
Just one book in the digital/audiobook haul today. I just had to request Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban, described as a mystery of jealousy, love, and betrayal set aboard a cruise ship. I couldn’t resist the premise, and that cover has caught my eye so many times because…just look at it! With thanks to Listening Library.
Reviews
- 4 of 5 stars to Damsel by Evelyn Skye
- 3 of 5 stars to The Dispatcher: Travel by Bullet by John Scalzi
- 3 of 5 stars to Arca by G.R. Macallister
Recent Reads & Upcoming Reviews
Have you heard of or read any of the books featured this week? What caught your eye? Any new discoveries? I hope you found something interesting for a future read!
Audiobook Review: Arca by G.R. Macallister
Posted on April 20, 2023 15 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 3 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 2 of The Five Queendoms
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (March 7, 2023)
Length: 18 hrs and 55 mins
Author Information: Website
Narrator: Shiromi Arserio
Scorpica was a surprising gem I found in 2022 which is why I picked up its sequel Arca with no small amount of excitement. Unfortunately, the dreaded second book syndrome rears its ugly head.
In the first book, readers were introduced to a phenomenon known as the Drought of Girls. It’s exactly what it sounds like: every year, fewer girls are being born. No one knows why it’s happening, but it’s wreaking havoc on the world of The Five Queendoms. We have the queendom of Scorpica, known for its fierce warrior women; Arca, famed for its magic users; Bastion, known for its dedication to academics and scholarly arts; Sestia, a fertile land giving way to naturalists and agricultural experts; and Paxim, a large trading port and diplomatic hub. For centuries, peace has existed between the five realms, balancing precariously on a system built upon reciprocity and a mutual understanding between the Queens that they all need each other to survive. However, all bets are off when a whole decade passes in this matriarchal society without a single girl being born.
At the beginning of Arca, the Drought of Girls appears to have come to an end, to the relief of all five Queendoms. But alas, the reprieve came too late, the damage has already been done and now it’s impossible to take back certain words or actions. Paxim’s Queen Heliane had already announced—and is resolutely standing by—her decree that her son Paulus would succeed her as the nation’s first ruling King, sending shockwaves through her government. Meanwhile, Eminel is the young and untried new Queen of Arca who has suddenly found herself ruler of realm that prizes magical ability while having little to no knowledge of using magic herself. Finding herself at odds with her court, she must nevertheless find a solution to the problem at the border where Queen Tamura of Scorpica has amassed a great army, threatening invasion.
In the interest of full honesty, I went into Scorpica knowing next to nothing about the book and ended up positively surprised and amazed. In contrast, I went into Arca with high hopes and expectations—too high, perhaps—which may explain the nagging disappointment when I finished. This wasn’t a bad sequel, but the storyline paled in comparison to the first book and the ideas and conflicts in it felt like too much of the same. While the multi-POV narrative has returned with some of the characters we first met in Scorpica, it felt like we were dealing with a clean slate, which might explain why I had a tougher time engaging with the plot.
A long time too has passed since the series first started, and Arca picks up immediately after Scorpica with the expectation that the reader can remember everything that happened. I also didn’t feel that connected to some of the new characters, plus there were a few sections that dragged on for too long so that pacing suffered.
That said, I still think the overall world-building and political intrigue that the author has established is exceptional, even if those elements felt weaker here in Arca compared to Scorpica. I’ve heard that there are three more books in the series which would make sense if the current pattern continues with each installment named for one realm of the five Queendoms. Currently, I do plan to keep reading. The world here is brimming with potential with lots more to explore, and perhaps the next book will feature characters I find more appealing.
I also switched to audio for this sequel, and to tell the truth, the format change likely made the experience better than if I’d stayed with print. When not a lot is happening on the page, audiobooks have a way of holding my attention and helping me push through longer books especially during the slower parts. And while I may have mixed feelings about Arca as a novel, I have nothing bad to say about the narration and quite enjoyed Shiromi Arserio’s performance.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Scorpica (Book 1)
Waiting on Wednesday 04/19/23
Posted on April 19, 2023 9 Comments
Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that first originated at Breaking the Spine but has since linked up with “Can’t Wait Wednesday” at Wishful Endings now that the original creator is unable to host it anymore. Either way, this fun feature is a chance to showcase the upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick
The Queen of Days by Greta Kelly (October 24, 2023 by HarperVoyager)
“From Greta Kelly, the author of the Warrior Witch duology, comes The Queen of Days, an epic adventure that weaves together a flawed-but-lovable family of thieves, a battle between fallen gods, and stakes high enough to cause vertigo—perfect for fans of The Lies of Locke Lamora and Six of Crows.
For Balthazar and his family of thieves, stealing a statue during the annual celebration of the god Karanis was just a good bit of fun…or a way to stick it to the governor who murdered his parents. And yeah, the small fortune in reward doesn’t hurt—even if his boss also hired the mysterious Queen of Days to join the crew as “the weapon of last resort…”
Whatever that means.
But Bal doesn’t know the ceremony isn’t simply empty words and dusty tradition; it’s true magic. The kind of magic that rips open a portal for the god himself. Only the idol that Karanis planned on using for a body now lies broken at the Queen of Days’ feet. And half of it is missing.
With the aid of a lovable brawler, a society lady turned bomb maker, a disgraced soldier, and a time-eating demon, Bal must hunt down the missing half of the statue if he has any hope of earning his money, keeping his crew alive…and perhaps even saving all of humanity. But as his journey sends him racing through the city—and across realities—he discovers that doing all this might just doom the city.
The city be damned. It’s time to kill a god.”
Book Review: Damsel by Evelyn Skye
Posted on April 18, 2023 22 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Random House Worlds (April 18, 2023)
Length: 368 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I loved Evelyn Skye’s Damsel, a collaboration with the writing team behind the screenplay of the upcoming Netflix film of the same name. But as most projects like these are often nebulous about their target audience, your enjoyment will likely depend on whether it’s the right book for you.
First of all, its premise is one that draws inspiration from a timeworn and familiar fantasy trope: a princess, our damsel in distress, is taken by a dragon. Cue the charming prince at this point, who rides off on his shining steed on a heroic journey to rescue her. But Damsel takes things in a different direction. What if the prince was the one who created this mess in the first place, leaving it up to the princess to fight for her own survival?
Elodie is the oldest daughter of an impoverished duke from the struggling realm of Inophe. So when a marriage proposal from the elusive kingdom of Aurea arrives, the family believes it will be the solution to all their problems. Henry, the Aurean prince, has been searching far and wide for a bride, and if Elodie agrees to the marriage, Inophe would be showered with wealth and lavish gifts. Determined to help her people, Elodie accepts right away, quickly establishing a correspondence with Henry to find out with pleasant surprise that he is a sweet and devoted fiancé. A veritable Prince Charming.
Sailing to Aurea, Elodie is met with glittering riches upon arrival. She is showered with attention in the days up to the wedding, and when the big day comes, it is as perfect and magical as she had imagined. But then, on her very first day as princess, Henry and his royal parents request that she partake in a strange ritual that has been an Aurean tradition for almost a thousand years. With horror, Elodie learns that Aurea’s prosperity had been bought at a steep price. Every year, the kingdom sacrifices its princesses to a dragon who in turn uses powerful magic to keep the land fruitful and safe. Thousands of women before her had been deceived as she had, brought here to be fed to a hungry dragon. Some had fought and managed to delay the end, but ultimately all had perished. While Elodie’s chances of survival look just as grim, her will to fight is strong and she will do anything to make it out of the dragon’s lair alive.
Thing is, Elodie is no intrepid heroine. She’s just a girl who has been duped, which makes her angry, yes, but at the end of the day she’s just as scared as anyone when suddenly faced with a terrifying monster that wants to eat her. She barely manages to survive her first two days and only by the skin of her teeth, and most of it was only due to sheer dumb luck. Not sure what the film will be like, but the Elodie in this book isn’t a kickass smart-alecky heroine with a solution for every problem. She’s burned, she bleeds, and she suffers. She is the princess who decides to save herself not because of some underlying ego-driven agenda but because the only other alternative is to lay down and die.
Damsel also feels YA sometimes, even if it isn’t clearly marketed that way. Since all my experiences with the author have been with her young adult novels in the past, I personally wasn’t too surprised or bothered, but for someone not expecting that, I can see how they might find some of the YA-ness a bit jarring. Also keep in mind since the story relies on riffing off classic fairytale and fantasy tropes, that might also skew things younger.
Regardless, I had a great time with this novel. The pacing was slower at the beginning due to the initial set up, but once Elodie was literally thrown into the dragon’s den, it was a heart-racing gallop to the finish. There is also an interesting magic system in play here involving residual blood and memories, and I enjoyed the periodic glimpses into the past through the eyes of previously sacrificed princesses, which gradually give way to answers about the origins of this macabre practice. My only one criticism has to do with the inclusion of the dragon language—a neat idea, but in the grand scheme of things, kind of unnecessary. I later found out in the author’s note at the end of the book that it was invented by Skye’s 13-year-old daughter, which is super sweet and awesome, but not gonna lie, the haphazard tossing around of made-up words was very distracting.
Ultimately, Damsel will not be every reader’s cup of tea, but if you think you might be the target audience to enjoy this, I encourage you to check it out. I read the novel with the expectation that it would be a fairytale-inspired YA and wasn’t disappointed. Before this, the upcoming movie was merely on the edges of my attention but now I’m really looking forward to it.
Novella Review: The Dispatcher: Travel by Bullet by John Scalzi
Posted on April 17, 2023 13 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
The Dispatcher: Travel by Bullet by John Scalzi
Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 3 of The Dispatcher
Publisher: Subterranean Press (March 31, 2023)
Length: 224 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I just want to start off by saying I love the idea behind The Dispatcher series: Imagine a world where it is virtually impossible to kill anyone. There are certain stipulations to this, of course, but essentially, you couldn’t be murdered. If someone were to intentionally take your life, 999 times out of a 1000, your body would simply disappear on the spot and reappear again in the place you feel most safe. Keep in mind this wouldn’t happen if you committed suicide, died in an accident, or passed away due to illness—in all these cases, you’d stay dead.
Naturally, people found a way to game this system. If you were having risky surgery, for example, you might want someone to end your life in case the operation goes horribly wrong, giving you a second chance. The government knew they had to step in or everything would be chaos, so they created an official role known as a Dispatcher. That’s where our protagonist Tony Valdez comes in. He is a fully authorized and licensed killer, ensuring that citizens using his services are doing so safely, lawfully, and mercifully.
We catch up with Tony in The Dispatcher: Travel by Bullet, which is the third novella in the series, during the midst of the pandemic. Our protagonist is in the middle of an assignment in a Chicago hospital when he is suddenly called to the emergency department on behest of an old friend and fellow Dispatcher. Without warning, Tony soon finds himself entangled in a web of shady dealings involving unscrupulous parties and a vast fortune in cryptocurrency hanging in the balance. In order to help his friend, Tony will have no choice but to get his hands dirty.
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, since I enjoyed the previous installments quite a bit (the first one more than the second one). But something about this one felt off. Something about it felt a little too real. After all, you have a series that is built upon a premise that is completely bizarre and outlandish, because no one can explain why in this world people can’t be murdered, or why one in a thousand people who are dispatched won’t come back to life, or how you can be “reborn” naked and whole thousands of miles from where you are killed as long as it’s your safe place. Clearly, the natural laws of life and death don’t apply in this series, so then why set it in our world restricted by the realities of the pandemic and the fickleness of the cryptocurrency market?
I would have preferred a story that was more relevant to the societal, cultural, and institutional changes that would have no doubt occurred in this world where people can’t be murdered, and I think this is where John Scalzi falters because he just isn’t the best at worldbuilding. Despite establishing a fascinating concept with the potential to spawn countless unique plots, he fell back on a rather uninspired mystery involving scheming billionaires and crypto. As I recall, I also had a similar reaction to the plot of the second book, so I will reiterate here what I wrote in my review for The Dispatcher: Murder by Other Means: I don’t mind a good mystery or noir story, but at the risk of losing a lot of the novelty after the first book, Scalzi needed to build upon the foundation of the concept for this series in order to keep things fresh. And well, I don’t think he achieved that with Travel by Bullet.
At the end of the day, all the cool concepts just seemed a bit wasted on a more contemporary and traditional style mystery. That said though, if you’re a fan of the author’s laidback writing style and humor, you’ll still probably have a great time with this novella, and I won’t deny it was quick and fun read, but I personally would have liked to see the plot push harder on the envelope to explore the limits of what is possible in The Dispatcher world while moving farther away from our own.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of The Dispatcher (Book 1)
Review of The Dispatcher: Murder by Other Means (Book 2)
Bookshelf Roundup 04/16/23: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Posted on April 16, 2023 26 Comments
Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every weekend which fills the role of several blog memes, like Stacking the Shelves where I talk about the new books I’ve added to my library or received for review, as well as It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where I summarize what I’ve finished reading in the last week and what I’m planning to read soon. Mostly it also serves as a recap post, so sometimes I’ll throw in stuff like reading challenge progress reports, book lists, and other random bookish thoughts or announcements.
I’m back from my trip! And even though it was less than a week, it took me several more days to recuperate because the Mogsy household doesn’t just vacation, we ADVENTURE! So I was pretty beat when I got back. Then, not only was there a lot of work to catch up on, there was also a big pile of book mail waiting on my front porch.
It made me realize perhaps it’s time to streamline the book haul process so that it wouldn’t take me as long to put together every week, and more importantly, I was about to hit my media upload limit! After cleaning out my image files I was able to get some space back, but I suppose after 12-13 years of blogging it was bound to happen and it’s definitely time to cut back on the high res photos.
Without further ado, here’s my Bookshelf Roundup for the last two weeks…
Received for Review
With thanks to Saga Press/Gallery for:
- A Sleight of Shadows by Kat Howard, the sequel to An Unkindness of Magicians which I read and enjoyed back in 2017! Hope I’ll remember what’s what!
- The Will of the Many by James Islington, the first book of Roman-inspired fantasy series, and it looks to have a pretty unique magic system too.
- The Handyman Method by Nick Cutter and Andrew F. Sullivan, a haunted house horror recommended for fans of Black Mirror and The Amityville Horror.
With thanks to Subterranean Press for:
- The Best of Michael Swanwick Vol. 2, another huge collection of the author’s stories, some of which have never been collected before now.
- Jade Shards by Fonda Lee, a book collecting four prequel short stories set in the world of The Green Bone Saga.
With thanks to Tor Books for:
- Cassiel’s Servant by Jacqueline Carey, the story of Kushiel’s Dart told from Joscelin’s point of view. Words can’t describe how excited I am to read this.
- Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, a new fairytale retelling from the author, this time a dark and violent version of Sleeping Beauty.
- The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown, described as a claustrophobic sci-fi horror blend set onboard a doomed generation ship. (Nightfire)
With thanks Minotaur Books for:
- What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman, a domestic suspense of murder and thrills set in a quiet well-to-do suburb of Washington DC. And okay, I do have to share just one photo here, because the package containing the ARC also included this neat piece of book swag.
YES, THAT IS A COOKIE!!!
Quite a few eARCs to feature in my digital haul today. In my defense, it’s been a while since I’ve requested anything on Netgalley and I might have gone a little overboard. With thanks to HarperTeen for The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst; Ecco Press for The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt; Jo Fletcher Books for The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell; Tundra Books for Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong; Poisoned Pen Press for Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates.
Thank you also to Saichek Publicity for providing me a review copy of The Eidolon by K.D. Edwards, the first book of in a new collection of stories in the Magnus Academy series from the author who brought us The Tarot Sequence.
These last two weeks, I only hauled one audiobook. With thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling, a near-future dystopian following the lives of climate displaced survivors.
Reviews
- 4 of 5 stars to Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton
- 4 of 5 stars to The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten
- 4 of 5 stars to The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton
Recent Reads & Upcoming Reviews
Have you heard of or read any of the books featured this week? What caught your eye? Any new discoveries? I hope you found something interesting for a future read!
Book Review: Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton
Posted on April 15, 2023 16 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 2 of Mickey7
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (March 14, 2023)
Length: 304 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Coming on the heels of Mickey7 is the sequel Antimatter Blues, which is as off-the-hook and irreverent as its predecessor. If you liked the first book, I think you will find this follow-up just as good, and in some respects even better.
Approximately two years have passed since Mickey Barnes’ retirement. The former Expendable has said no more to dying—which had been his only purpose on their colony’s expedition to settle the icy planet of Niflheim. Mickey was the one they sent in every time a mission got too dangerous, because if he died, they’d just clone another copy of him and download his consciousness into the new body with his memories mostly intact. This happened over and over, until the seventh iteration, who’d had enough, decided to do something about it.
If you aren’t caught up with the series yet, avert thine eyes because here be spoilers for the first book. Antimatter Blues begins with Mickey7 alive and well, enjoying life as just another colonist. He has a girlfriend and works as a general laborer, spending his days cleaning out rabbit hutches. Compared to his old job, this was heaven, and it’s all because Commander Marshall, the colony’s leader, believes that Mickey had given an antimatter bomb to the creepers, the alien creatures that share the planet. Mickey had convinced Marshall that he and he alone had the power to tell the creepers not to activate the bomb, when in reality, all he did was bury it in a nearby hole.
It would have been a good plan, with none the wiser, except now, winter is coming to Niflheim. The antimatter used to fuel the colony is running low, and Marshall is desperate to get the bomb back so they can replenish their stores, going as far as to swallow his pride and make a deal with Mickey. But can Marshall be trusted? If Mickey gave up the bomb, there would be nothing to keep him from being forced to be an Expendable again, but if he didn’t, the whole colony was going to freeze to death. Turns out, in the end, none of it even matters. Mickey goes back to the site of where he’d hidden the bomb to check on it, only to find it…gone. With the whereabouts of the bomb a mystery, and an entire colony on the brink of extinction, Mickey’s just realized that perhaps burying a weapon of mass destruction in a random icefield wasn’t such a good idea after all, oops!
Here’s the thing—Mickey’s kind of an asshole. He’s also always doing things—stupid, dangerous, crazy things—without thinking them through. In that sense, not much has changed from the first book, because despite getting a chance at a fresh start, there has been little in terms of personal growth. That being said, if you came to this book from Mickey7, you’re probably already familiar with the protagonist’s personality and presumably enjoyed it. In that case, you’re in luck. Mickey is as snarky and reckless as ever, leading to some spectacularly disastrous results when he finds himself playing diplomatic liaison between the human settlers and the bug-like alien creepers.
Speaking of which, one of my favorite things of Antimatter Blues was its focus on the creepers and their fascinating society. This element, which was barely touched upon in the first book, has become a prominent part of the plot in this sequel. Here, too, the author has managed to inject a lot of humor into the situation, as evidenced by Speaker, the creeper who has taken on the task of dealing with Mickey and the colonists.
Then there was the plot. Looking back, Mickey7 was a lot of fun to read, but it was admittedly built upon a rather simplistic idea, and a gimmicky one at that. While the sequel may not be a bastion of literary genius either, the story is decidedly more complex with more action and thrills. Still, if you can, I would recommend reading the two books back-to-back. Antimatter Blues was the more entertaining novel for me, and theoretically you can read it as a standalone, but you would also be missing out on a lot of context from the first book, which even Mickey’s constant attempts to fill new readers in will not be sufficient enough to provide.
So, if you’re looking for a light sci-fi read that’s fast-paced and fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously, this series might just do the trick.
More on The BiblioSantum:
Review of Mickey7 (Book 1)
Book Review: The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten
Posted on April 13, 2023 14 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of The Nightshade Crown
Publisher: Orbit (March 7, 20231)
Length: 466 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I’ll admit, I wasn’t completely sold on Hannah Whitten’s debut For the Wolf, but fast forward to now and I’m all in for The Foxglove King. The first in The Nightshade Crown series, it tells the tale of a young woman named Lore who possesses the secret power to raise the dead. Born in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire, she escaped when she was just thirteen. Now a decade older, she has learned quite a few survival lessons in the years spent eking out a living as a poison runner, using her death magic called Mortem. Unfortunately though, even the best laid plans can sometimes go up in flames. When she’s captured and her powers become discovered, Lore expects to be executed, but is instead enlisted by the monarch King August to perform a dangerous task.
Together with one of the Presque Mort, an order of warrior-monks who has the king’s approval to use Mortem, Lore is to infiltrate the royal court and find out why entire villages on the countryside seem to be dying overnight. While Gabriel has been in the order for many years, he was a duke’s son before his family fell from grace, making him the perfect partner with his past ties to the court. Posing as cousins, Lore and Gabriel set out to spy on the nobles and find out who is responsible for all the deaths. As it so happens, on the king’s list of suspects is his own son Bastian, the philandering Sun Prince. Clearly, there’s more to the heir than meets the eye, as the careless wastrel persona appears to be just an act. But even if it turns out the prince is innocent of treason, there are still plenty of secrets and hidden traps he’s keeping below the surface.
At first, I wasn’t sure The Foxglove King would be for me. Alarm bells were going off in my head as I read the synopsis and some of the more tropey elements were making me nervous. While I loved the idea of the Versailles-inspired court, I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read where the execution of this type of setting has fallen flat on its face. Then there’s the derivative magic system based on death. I know it’s a popular cliché for a reason, but honestly, I’ve seen only a few authors who have manage to do it well. And finally, there’s the vague hint of the dreaded love triangle. If there’s one trope I’m glad the YA/New Adult fantasy genre has started to move away from in recent years, it’s that one, so yes, it jarred me a little to see it pop up here.
In the end, just as I’d anticipated, all these elements ended up being in the book, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Hannah Whitten has undeniably grown as an author, improving her storytelling skills and especially her dialogue writing. Sure, the anachronisms might have been distracting on occasion, but I still much prefer this slick casual style of banter to clunky and overwrought purple prose. It kept the pace smooth and fast, and the hundreds of pages just flew on by. Plotting was tight, and we didn’t hit as many snags compared to what I remember from For the Wolf, where the writing was borderline flowery and we frittered away too much time on the romancey bits.
In terms of characters, I also found Lore to be a lot more interesting and likeable as a protagonist. She seemed more genuine somehow, possibly due to the more natural dialogue. And while there’s romance involved and some mild love-triangle action in play, it is on the subtle side and I’ve always said I don’t mind as long as the characters are well developed. Lore is just the right balance of enigmatic and amiable, and her motivations are believable given her backstory. Her relationship with Gabe is complicated but stops just shy of being overly dramatic. And I really liked the mercurial Bastian, who can turn on the charm and be a lovable goof one minute and transform into a calculating and menacing presence the next.
It all made for a very entertaining read. The ending was also quite intense, but leaves plenty to look forward to in the next book. In the end, I enjoyed The Foxglove King a lot more than I thought! Looking forward to the next one with excitement.
Waiting on Wednesday 04/12/23
Posted on April 12, 2023 8 Comments
Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that first originated at Breaking the Spine but has since linked up with “Can’t Wait Wednesday” at Wishful Endings now that the original creator is unable to host it anymore. Either way, this fun feature is a chance to showcase the upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick
The September House by Carissa Orlando (September 5, 2023 by Berkley)
“When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee.
Margaret is not most people.
Margaret is staying. It’s her house. But after four years Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing father. To make things worse, September is just around the corner, and with every attempt Margaret and Katherine make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.”
The BiblioSanctum 