Winners for The Barrow Giveaway
Posted on February 25, 2014 Leave a Comment
Our giveaway for The Barrow by Mark Smylie last week drew an impressive number of entries, and random.org has drawn our two winners:
Congratulations! Winners have been notified by email and information has been sent to the publisher. Your copies of The Barrow should be on their way to you soon, courtesy of the amazing folks at Pyr Books.
Thank you to everyone for entering the giveaway. If you didn’t win this time, don’t despair! Our friends at the Review Barn are also running a giveaway for the book and I encourage you to enter there too if you haven’t already. And as always, be sure to keep checking in on The BiblioSanctum for more reviews and future giveaways!
Interview with Anne Leonard, Author of Moth and Spark
Posted on February 24, 2014 Leave a Comment
Today is a great day, and I’ll tell you why! It is with great excitement that we welcome Anne Leonard, author of Moth and Spark, to the BiblioSanctum. As you can see from the review, I loved her book! A perfect blend of romance and fantasy, her debut is not one to be missed.
Anne has graciously agreed to an interview and she joins us today to talk about her new book. I hope you’ll enjoy!
Mogsy: Hello, Anne! Welcome to the BiblioSanctum, we’re so happy to have you join us today. Let’s start with questions about your new book. First, I think congratulations are in order. Moth and Spark is your debut novel, you must be so excited! I know I’m looking forward to telling people all about it. How would you describe the book to someone new to your work?
Anne Leonard: It’s an adult fantasy that has both adventure and a love story (but not a bodice-ripper). It’s character-driven, and it uses many standard fantasy tropes – dragons, princes, wizards, swordfights — but tweaks them here and there. My male and female leads have equal stage-time and are equally important to the resolution of the story. My prose style includes a lot of details but I try to keep it adverb- and adjective-lean, so that it’s descriptive but not flowery.
Mogsy: In your author’s bio, you mentioned that the science fiction and fantasy genres have always drawn you in because of the world-building. What aspects of world-building appeal to you most?
Anne Leonard: I enjoy making up the places – the human-made places like cities and buildings, and the natural geology – and the customs and social structure. I also have a lot of fun with the backstory and history, much of which never makes it into whatever I’m writing. In Moth and Spark most of the world is very much like our world, but I look forward to creating much stranger things in future books.
Mogsy: For me, romance has always worked well with fantasy. A plot must contain conflict to engage me as a reader, and love is an area often fraught with it. Those kinds of complex and intense feelings have always added to my favorite stories, and it’s what I loved most about Moth and Spark. Were there any challenges to striking a balance between the romance and fantasy elements when you were writing the book?
Anne Leonard:It was really important to me that the romantic elements matter equally to the male and female leads, rather than dominating her life while he was all about action. This was tricky to do when I had constructed a patriarchal, hierarchical world where men had the power and made the decisions. Also, I had to balance relationships and external events as much as the characters did because I didn’t want either the love story or the main plot to dominate the other.
Mogsy: I just have to say the characters in Moth and Spark are wonderful. I enjoyed Tam and Corin as the main protagonists, but I think my next favorite character would be Joce (I have a thing for those mysterious mages and wizard types, I guess). Of all your characters, do you have one who is particularly near and dear to you?
Anne Leonard: I’ve lived with these people for so long that I can’t say I have a favorite among the major characters – it’s kind of like asking me to compare my family members. The minor characters are the ones I really want to get to know better.
Mogsy: When I first heard there were dragons in Moth and Spark, it just made me want to read it even more. I mean, who doesn’t love dragons! Do these mythical creatures hold any significance for you? What can you tell us about the dragons in your book, what makes them unique?
Anne Leonard: I had no idea that dragons were as popular as they are when I started writing this – I just liked them because I wanted something big and dangerous and more powerful than human beings. I like the idea of a world where people aren’t in control of everything. One of the things that makes dragons extra-interesting for me is that I imagine them as gloriously beautiful, even if terrifying. My dragons are somewhat unique in that they are subject to magic which controls them – they are slaves, not domesticated animals. They also have an existence beyond the physical realm.
Mogsy: Do you have a favorite dragon, whether from myth, literature, art, film, or anywhere?
Anne Leonard: I like Ursula K. Le Guin’s dragons in her Earthsea books a lot, and of course I have a fondness for Smaug.
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| UK Edition, published by Headline |
Mogsy: You’re probably tired of hearing me gush about the cover by now, but I do think it’s beautiful! To me it’s eye-catching and speaks such volumes about the story within. When the book arrived, I just couldn’t wait to open it up and read. Just wondering, what are your thoughts on the cover and how do you feel about it?
Anne Leonard: I LOOOOOOOVE the cover too. (I also like the cover of the edition put out by Headline in the UK.) I like it because it is gorgeous in its own right, because it’s unique to this book and doesn’t look like lots of other books out there, and because it really does capture the magical elements of the book – there’s this neat, civilized, palace, but flame is turning into moths. There’s a really wonderful symbolic element to it. Also, it doesn’t show any characters, so people can imagine them as they wish and aren’t led by a standard cover into thinking the book is something it’s not.
Mogsy: So whenever I read a debut novel I really like, I always want to find out more about the author. Anyway, I saw that one of your hobbies is photography! Do you have a favorite subject when it comes to photography, any specific area of interest?
Anne Leonard: I do a lot of landscapes, and I also like to do close-ups of textures and colors – I do rocks, and sun on plant leaves, and interesting patterns. Going out and taking picures is a way I refresh myself; it’s almost meditative at times. A lot of the detail in the novel comes from the way I look at the world with a photographer’s eye.
Mogsy: Are you currently working on any other writing projects? And I know Moth and Spark is a stand alone, but is there a possibility that we might see future stories set in this world?
Anne Leonard: I am working on another novel, which I don’t want to talk about a whole lot because it could still crash and burn, but it is set in the same world. It’s darker and much less romantic, though it’s not grim and violent the way “grimdark” fantasy is. I’ve also thought some time it would be fun to write a prequel. I don’t want to go into Series-Land, because I want to stretch myself as a writer with different plots, characters, and even writing styles, so any future books in that world will also be standalones.
Mogsy: Sounds fantastic! Once again, I appreciate you stopping by the blog and giving me the opportunity to interview you. Thank you so much for your time! For more information on the incredible Moth and Spark and Anne Leonard, please visit her website at http://anneleonardbooks.com!
Mogsy’s Book Haul
Posted on February 23, 2014 Leave a Comment
Among Thieves and Sworn in Steel – a long, long time ago…well, okay, it only feels like a long, long time ago, I read the excellent debut Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick. I’ve waited the last two years for the sequel Sworn in Steel, putting it on my anticipated lists for 2012 and 2013 only to be disappointed. But now it’s FINALLY HERE!!! Words cannot describe how excited I am. I’ll be writing a review for the book tour closer to release date, and was sent a package with both books by the publisher.
Night Owls – I’ll also be doing a tour review of Night Owls next month. I’ve been seeing some great things about this fun looking urban fantasy already, so I’m really looking forward to it.
The Waking Engine – I wrote a review of this a couple weeks back, and even though the style of the writing and story isn’t exactly my cup of tea, I think it’s a really well written book and I’m not surprised at all at the praise it has gotten already since its release earlier this month. My thanks to Tor Books for this!
Night Broken – Mercy Thompson is one of my favorite urban fantasy series so I was pretty psyched when I received a review copy. I will be getting to this post haste after I finish off a couple more books in my Review Copy Cleanup reading list.
Stolen Crown – I’m a little surprised that I hadn’t heard of this until recently, since according to Goodreads Stolen Crown is actually the 17th book in the long-running Mithgar series. I’ll admit that was a little intimidating when asked to review this, but I told the publisher I would be willing to give it a shot! It certainly looks very interesting.
And now the digital pile, which is much lighter since I featured my NetGalley haul last week.
Lineage – B.J. Keeton is a very cool gamer friend of mine, and he is working on a trilogy of books called the Technomage Archive. I’ve read and enjoyed the first book Birthright which he funded through a very successful Kickstarter, and he was awesome enough to send me a review copy of the second. I’m ready to dive in!
Chimera Vector – I was sent a complimentary copy of this awesome looking book by the author, who found me through Goodreads because of our mutual love of Myke Cole’s Control Point!
vN – Angry Robot had a sale recently, bringing bunch of their ebooks down to $1.99. I’d read a lot of them already but not this one, and I’ve always been curious about it. How could I resist? For that price I picked up the ebook and the audiobook bundle.
YA Weekend: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
Posted on February 23, 2014 Leave a Comment
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Series: Book 1 of The Sweet Trilogy
Publisher: HarperTeen (May 1, 2012)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 2 of 5 stars
I wish I could say this book just wasn’t for me because I’m not into YA paranormal romance, but that wouldn’t be true. In fact, I quite enjoy this genre. Nothing beats a good love story for giving me all the warm and fuzzy feels, and the best ones do just that. On the flip side, however, there are books like Sweet Evil that somehow manage to diminish the mood by pushing all the wrong buttons. There were a couple things about it that I found off-putting, though I’m aware it’s a matter of personal taste and that others might not feel the same way.
Unfortunately, the characters Anna and Kai too closely resemble a couple of my biggest pet peeves. Pet peeve the first: a weepy, insecure female protagonist. I have no problems with Anna being the living embodiment of goodness (in fact, I admire her all the more for it) but naivete and innocence does not have to translate to neediness, ceaseless pining, crying or completely falling to pieces over a guy. Especially when the guy in question has done so little to deserve such obsession. So many times I just wanted to shake her and ask her where she has misplaced her self-respect.
#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.
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