#MisLT Book Review: Miserere: An Autumn Tale by Teresa Frohock
Posted on February 22, 2014 5 Comments
Miserere: An Autumn Tale by Teresa Frohock
Genre: Dark fantasy
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Publication Date: June 2011
Author Info: www.teresafrohock.com
Wendy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Have you ever read a book and wished you could chat with the author to find out what they meant at a certain part? To learn what went into the crafting of a character or plot line? Well I’ve been chatting with Teresa Frohock a bit on Twitter for a while now, with the intent to read her book. Then I was struck with the idea of actually livetweeting my read the way I livetweet TV shows. Ms. Frohock loved the idea and as a result, I got to have the most wonderful reading experience with a great book and a fantastic author.
Misere is a tale of hope and redemption, of love and of faith. But it is not a tale involving pretty flowers (in fact, there is one not-so-pretty flower that would make an interesting Valentine’s Day gift) nor is it a sweet love story. Frohock delves into the darkest emotions and desires with Miserere and, perhaps the only flaw I have with this book is that she could have gone even deeper.
From the first chapter, I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the subtext that teased out the relationship between Lucian, his twin sister Catarina and Rachael, the lover he betrayed. They are all older characters who have faced severe and even physically debilitating hardships. What they face in the story is just as likely to lead to their deaths as to their redemption, and the reader is often uncertain of which the character truly wants. This sets Miserere apart from many of the other books in the fantasy genre that feature naive young protagonists setting out on glorious adventure with the promise of a happy and heroic ending.
Actually, there is a young protagonist here – a girl named Lindsay who is pulled through the Veil from Earth into Woerld. She is drawn to Lucian and the exiled knight must choose whether or not to keep his promise, or open the Gates of Hell to save her. Lucian’s dealings with her are touching and a little heartbreaking as, through Lindsay, you learn bits and pieces about his relationship with Catarina and the guilt he feels over her current sinister condition.
There is a lot of religious reference that could easily turn some readers off. I love religion, but due to my upbringing with an overbearing Christian mother, I have no interest in being preached at. Miserere does not shy away from the religious references, but it never proselytizes and there’s no whining over why God might be punishing a particular character. It’s quite clear that each character is responsible for their own predicament or that of others around them. They remain true to their faith and I really like that faith is the source of actual magic. I am curious as to how the same would work within the other religions – which is the other thing I like about this book. While you don’t get to spend much time with the other sects, they are there and they all *gasp* get along.
Something else that pleases me about Miserere is Frohock’s treatment of female characters. As in, there is no difference between the women and the men. They are each considered capable in their various roles, and Frohock did not feel the need to justify or even point this fact out. Men and women are simply equals.
Imagine that. A fantasy book that actually frees itself from the prejudices of our reality.
As I mentioned, I really like the book’s darkness. This is one of the few truly dark fantasy books I’ve read and it’s definitely something I want more of. I enjoy the rainbows and dragons and happy endings as much as the next reader, but sometimes, I want to read books that aren’t afraid to be just for adults.
Book Review: The Daedalus Incident by Michael J. Martinez
Posted on February 21, 2014 Leave a Comment
The Daedalus Incident by Michael J. Martinez (Night Shade Books)
Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy
Series: Stand Alone
Publication Date: August 13, 2013
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Being a type A personality and stickler for organization, I employ the use of many different shelves to sort my books on Goodreads. Anyway, just to give you an idea of the kind of book we’re talking about here, these are just some of the ones I’ve tagged for The Daedalus Incident: Action-Adventure. Aliens. Alternate History. Fantasy. Magic. Science Fiction. Time Travel. Oh and I almost forgot, Pirates, too.
As you can see, this is a novel that mixes elements from many genres. We’re talking about some pretty wild stuff here, like 18th-century ships sailing between planets, or famous historical figures like Benjamin Franklin being one of the most skilled alchemists to ever come out of the American colonies. And that’s just in one timeline. Another story thread takes place in 2132 in a whole other universe, where the personnel team on a trillion-dollar mining operations taking place on Mars has been experiencing some strange things lately — things like a 300-year-old journal that is writing itself, or like a giant pyramid forming itself out of the desolate terrain.
What do these two disparate timelines have to do with each other, you ask? Now that’s the million dollar question of the day. The answer is a journey that will take you beyond the limits of time and space, introducing you great characters you’ll care about and fantastic new worlds to boot.
It did take a short period of adjustment, but once I got into the rhythm of jumping between the two different story lines, I started having a lot of fun. Admittedly, the 18th-century timeline was the one that held a greater appeal, featuring a world that was more interesting with its alchemical-powered ships, alien races living on different planets, and the explosive clashes against space pirates. In some ways, it read much like a high fantasy plot line done up in a different package, so you get things like planets instead of faraway kingdoms, alchemical artifacts instead of treasures troves, ancient alien forces instead of an evil demonic adversary, etc. No doubt my usual preference for the “historical” over the “futuristic” probably has something to do with it as well.
On the other hand, the 2132 Mars storyline started losing me around the halfway point — though to be fair, I’m thinking that it’s not the book. It’s me. Start throwing around terms like “non-ionized radiation” or “particle physics” and you might as well be spraying your book with a big dose of anti-Mogsy repellent. I can’t help it; my eyes seem predisposed to glaze over whenever they wander too close to hard sci-fi territory. I’m really more of a life sciences kind of person, whereas the more complex workings of the physical sciences tend to go over my head.
Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed the characters — in both timelines. I love the immersive quality of Lt. Thomas Weatherby’s voice, which sounds convincing coming from a man of his time period in the 1700s. There were a lot of memorable characters in that alternate universe, including Dr. Finch and Anne Baker. In the future Mars timeline, I liked following the central character of Lt. Shaila Jain, mostly because of all the different relationships she has to juggle while trying to keep things from falling apart at the mining base. And don’t even get me started on that critical moment when the characters from both worlds finally meet — oh come on, you had to have known that they would at some point! Anyway, it was definitely a scene worth waiting for, not to mention the full scope of the events that follow.
It’s true that this one had its ups and downs, depending on where I was in the story, but I have to say the overall premise is unquestionable unique. I would recommend this to fans of cross-genre fiction or anyone looking to check out a book that blends fantasy and science fiction in an innovative way.
Book Review: Honor’s Knight by Rachel Bach
Posted on February 20, 2014 Leave a Comment
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 2 of Paradox
Publisher: Orbit (February 25, 2014)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
You know how some books you just don’t realize how addicted you were to them until it occurs to you how badly, desperately, severely you’re craving the sequel? Yeah well, this is one of those cases! I even broke away from my February reading list to fit this one in as soon as I received it for review, because I knew I couldn’t wait any longer.
I’m happy to report Honor’s Knight is just as much fun as the first book. In that, it certainly did not disappoint. But speaking of which, before I go further it probably behooves me to warn readers that this review might contain spoilers for Fortune’s Pawn. I don’t think there’s any way around it when talking about this book, since it picks up right after the events of the last one. So if you’d like to skip this and read my review for the first book instead, I’ll totally understand. Better yet, you should just pick up Fortune’s Pawn! It was the most fun I’ve had with a sci-fi in a very long time.
As I’d expected, it was a joy and a treat to catch up with Deviana “Devi” Morris. I’ve always enjoyed courageous and determined women characters in science fiction, and Devi lends her own brand of cool to this spirited space drama, which in my opinion single-handedly makes this whole entire series. Even though she begins this book with her mind tampered with and her memories wiped, she is still the Devi I know and love. She can’t remember how her security team partner was killed or why a single glance at the ship’s cook now makes her feel physically ill, but none of that’s about to stop her from doing her job.
Nevertheless, the wrench thrown into the relationship between her and Rupert Charkov damn near killed me. These two belong together, and to see them apart pains me, especially when I understood the reason for Charkov’s tortured reactions but meanwhile Devi can’t even hold on to his name. Can you tell that I’m really into this romance? Because I am. I’m not usually so taken with this much drama in romantic subplots, but I think this an exception because of how candid Devi is with the situation. There’s no angst or sensationalism; she handles all her problems with the same direct, no-nonsense way — with her wits and with her guns. I love it.
If you enjoyed the story in Fortune’s Pawn, then you’ll definitely like Honor’s Knight as well. The first book alluded to a mystery involving the crew of the Glorious Fool, and rest assured everything is revealed here at last. The story also takes us to new places, including a handful of exotic planets as well as a brief sequence in which Devi returns to Paradoxian territory. In fact, I wish we had been able to see more of the world in those scenes; more details about the culture in which she grew up would have been very interesting. Regardless, it was pure satisfaction to watch all the puzzle pieces finally fit together, but there were still plenty of twists and turns. Alliances will shift and secrets abound as Devi becomes embroiled in something huge, something that puts the safety of the entire galaxy on the line.
When Rachel Bach/Rachel Aaron goes for action and thrills, she’s clearly not afraid to go all the way. So far this series has been wildly entertaining, but to me it has also become a lot more than just a sci-fi adventure story about Devi blowing away big bad aliens (though there is also plenty of that). Like I said in my review for Fortune’s Pawn, what started off as a popcorn read has gotten me more emotionally invested than I realized, and I find myself caring deeply for the story and characters. Will Devi and Rupert end up together? (I hope so.) Will she achieve her dreams of becoming a Devastator? (I’m guessing probably, but after all that she’s been through, a life as a Devastator now seems kind of tame!) I’m very curious and eager to see how all of this will play out.
In short, Honor’s Knight picks up the energetic pace set by the first book and runs with it, carrying on with the momentum and revving it up even more. If this trend continues, the third and final book should be outstanding. I can’t wait.
Audiobook Review: Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
Posted on February 19, 2014 3 Comments
Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
Wendy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars
“How fortunate for Us that We thirst for glorious souls rather than faultless ones, or We should be parched indeed and most lonely in Our perfect righteousness.”
The Curse of Chalion taught me a number of things about this world and about Bujold. The first lesson is: do not make assumptions about where the story might be going. Bujold politely walks you down each path, letting you get comfortable with each captivating step until you are certain of what comes next, then gently tugs the carpet out from under you and keeps moving on before you have time to catch your breath.
Like Cazaril, this book begins with a broken, older protagonist. Royina Ista, dowager of Chalion, spent most of the previous book in a curse-ridden, god-touched fog that everyone but Cazaril wrote off as madness. Now free, though still heavy with the guilt of her dreadful crime, Ista sets off on a pilgrimage to visit the shrines of the Five Gods. In truth, after being trapped for so long within a life of royalty and sainthood, Ista simply wants to get away. There is irony in her deception, since Ista bares a grudge against gods for what they have done in her life. She spends much of her time cursing them, but the gods of Bujold’s world accept all of this in stride.
Curse initially had me believe that the Five were merely figureheads, where prayer might result in something miraculous occurring, but such events could just as easily be explained by coincidence or parlour tricks. By the end, the guiding hands of the gods becomes shockingly clear. Now, Ista is unable to escape them as they haunt her dreams, guiding her to some unknown purpose. When her pilgrimage is interrupted by an enemy attack from which she is rescued by an unexpected hero, she begins to unravel the mystery as she attempts to decipher the cryptic messages from the Bastard god.
I adore the Bastard. He is not a typical trickster god, though he certainly takes his amusement whenever and where ever he pleases. He does not choose his saints randomly, and Ista’s resistance seems to amuse him as much as her potential pleases him. Ista quickly became a favourite character for me as she does for him.
As I said of Ista and the other women in Curse, heroes come in many forms and one who is able to endure the kind of things Ista has must not be overlooked. She carries herself with such grace and dignity, but is not above humility – something else that struck me with Cazaril when we first meet him in Curse. Both he and Ista are easily recognizable as brilliant, brave and capable people, but neither of them abuse their intelligence or status and they respect everyone, both lowborn and high.
Finally, I have to praise Kate Reading’s narration. I have listened to her before, usually reading the female-centric chapters of Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan‘s epic fantasies, but here she is on her own – and completely *owning* Ista. Reading captures all of Ista’s subtext, every nuance, every emotion. She lets her be weak and flawed as easily as she is strong, commanding and determined. Reading truly embodies this incredible character and brings her perfectly to life.
Waiting on Wednesday 02/19/14
Posted on February 19, 2014 Leave a Comment
“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!
“Four simultaneous plane crashes. Three child survivors. A religious fanatic who insists the three are harbingers of the apocalypse. What if he’s right?
The world is stunned when four commuter planes crash within hours of each other on different continents. Facing global panic, officials are under pressure to find the causes. With terrorist attacks and environmental factors ruled out, there doesn’t appear to be a correlation between the crashes, except that in three of the four air disasters a child survivor is found in the wreckage.
Dubbed ‘The Three’ by the international press, the children all exhibit disturbing behavioural problems, presumably caused by the horror they lived through and the unrelenting press attention. This attention becomes more than just intrusive when a rapture cult led by a charismatic evangelical minister insists that the survivors are three of the four harbingers of the apocalypse. The Three are forced to go into hiding, but as the children’s behaviour becomes increasingly disturbing, even their guardians begin to question their miraculous survival…”
Book Review: Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell
Posted on February 18, 2014 5 Comments
Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of Greatcoats
Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books (March 6, 2014)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh my, this one was SO MUCH FUN. Unexpectedly so. Even when the earliest descriptions came trickling in calling this book a bold, dashing adventure and pure, swashbuckling entertainment, I had no idea! I figured those were just buzzwords, right? Ah, no. In this case, Traitor’s Blade really does deliver the great time that all those descriptions promise.
In short, I loved loved loved Traitor’s Blade. I would recommend it to everyone, and I think fencing and sword fighting types will especially get a kick out of it. Seriously, this is one excellent and remarkably entertaining book! Read it.
PANELS: Batman: Heart of Hush
Posted on February 18, 2014 Leave a Comment
After a harrowing showdown against Hush,
Bruce Wayne has a confession to make.
Batman: Heart of Hush.
Book Review and INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY: The Barrow by Mark Smylie
Posted on February 17, 2014 Leave a Comment
Mogsy’s Book Haul – The NetGalley Pile
Posted on February 16, 2014 Leave a Comment
I normally gather up my new books to feature my hauls every other week, but I think I’m going to sneak a special post in with just the titles I received for review from NetGalley this time, simply because there are more of them than usual! It’s hard to believe my stats are still above 80% sometimes, but Review Copy Cleanup month has really helped with that. On the other hand, it’s done nothing to stop me from requesting books at the same rate as I’m completing them, but there has been a lot of great looking books in the last week and a half that I just couldn’t resist, and I’m super excited about them:
Honor’s Knight – I already devoured this one, which goes to show how much I’m digging this series. Like Fortune’s Pawn, it’s a hell lot of fun, and I hope to have the review up later this week.
The Lascar’s Dagger – last month we put together a post about science fiction and fantasy books by women authors that we’re really looking forward to in 2014, and this is definitely high on my list!
Unwrapped Sky – everything about this book grabbed my attention right away — the enchanting title, the gorgeous cover, the interesting sounding description. I’m really looking forward to this one.
Stolen Songbird – this was one of my Waiting on Wednesday picks, and one of my top anticipated YA novels for 2014. A lot of recent Strange Chemistry titles I’ve picked up lately have been excellent, and I hope this one will be too.
Morningside Fall – so I really enjoyed the first book Three but at this point I was also aware my Netgalley list was getting a little overloaded. I debated whether or not I should wait until I polish off a few more books before I start requesting again. But then I saw this one was a READ NOW. How could I say no? I love it when life makes the tough decisions for you!
Graphic Novel Review: Joker by Brian Azzarello
Posted on February 16, 2014 Leave a Comment
Publisher: DC Comics
Date of Publication: November 4, 2008
Author Information: Website | Twitter
The Joker has been released from Arkham Asylum–released, not escape. No one is sure how the Joker managed such a thing, and he’s unwilling to divulge his secret. This story is told from the POV of a hood with lofty goals named Jonny Frost. He volunteers to pick Joker up the day that he’s released and follows him down a dizzying spiral of destruction as Joker begins a madcap scramble to reclaim what he considers his.
While the Joker is a dark figure in the DC universe, there’s always this aspect of him that seems to be morosely gleeful no matter the situation. You don’t often see him outside of that “clown” mode. In this book, there’s something deadly serious about the Joker. For sure he’s still the smiling murderer, but there are more moments where he’s just not amused in such a serious way, and it shows all over his demeanor. I know there are moments in the past where he isn’t amused with his current surroundings, but he’s always managed to hide that behind murderous glee as he meted out his punishment.
In this comic, readers can catch glimpses of him where he appears to be angry and bitter with no smile in sight. There’s even a scene where we catch the Joker in a very vulnerable moment with Harley. It’s almost like a slip of the mask, very human moments from a character that doesn’t show many other human emotions. Part of this different view on the Joker might be colored by the fact that story is told from Frost’s point-of-view. So, Joker may be acting in the ways the reader normally sees him, but Frost’s perception of Joker and the situation may temper this view.
Joker’s sanity or insanity is never really directed addressed. This books allows the reader to speculate on this throughout. It’s a topic that’s actively avoided by the Joker with him saying only a few words about his release. I think that Riddler has the most interesting things to say about the Joker and his sanity/insanity when I wasn’t being distracted by his belly tattoo and the fact that he looked like he was a rejected extra from The Fast and the Furious.
Another thing that was different was the Joker’s reaction to Batman. Joker is not Batman’s number one fan in this book. He’s very antagonistic toward him when they finally encounter one another late in the book. So many writers tend to write Joker as a sort of twisted admirer of Batman who seems to cause all this mayhem as some of orchestrated play that involves only the two of them. While I liked this alternate view of Batman and Joker’s “relationship,” their confrontation felt a bit overdramatic and pulpy when it happened.
Even with me being a little ambivalent about the ending, I thought this was a great read. It’s one of those comics that provide an alternative perspective of the Joker.
The BiblioSanctum 