The BiblioSanctum

Graphic Novel Review: Viscera: Epic Frail by Nathan Massengill

Posted on February 12, 2014 Leave a Comment

Viscera: Epic Frail by Nathan Massengill

TRIGGER WARNING: Violence against women.

Genre: Science Fiction, Social Commentary

Publisher: Bad Damsel Media

Publication Date: December 2013

Author Info: nathanmassengill.com

Wendy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Viscera, or so she calls herself now, having defined this viscous “killer virgin” persona from the previous scared, victim, is of a race of humanoid creatures that live secretly among us. The women – assuming they are even permitted to live at birth – are nothing more than property to males who very violently use and abuse them for the sole purpose of procreation. The females have one small hope of survival: a personal shield.

Waiting on Wednesday 02/12/14

Posted on February 12, 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!

Mogsy’s Pick

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen: April 1, 2014 (Strange Chemistry)

I need more Strange Chemistry in my life! I haven’t had the chance to pick up their newer titles recently, but this one is one has been on my top-anticipated list for a while.

“For those who have loved Seraphina and Graceling comes another truly fabulous fantasy…

For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.”

Book Review: Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina

Posted on February 11, 2014 Leave a Comment

Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of Majat Code

Publisher: Angry Robot (February 25, 2014)

Author Information: Website

Mogsy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

When I look back at Blades of the Old Empire all I can think of is, here is an example of a novel which would’ve been better served with some major polishing. And did you know this isn’t even technically the first book? I didn’t. I only found out after I did some digging around, because I couldn’t help getting this feeling I was missing something…

Turns out, my instincts were correct. Most of the main characters in here were first introduced in one of Kashina’s earlier novels, The First Sword. Information like that should have been made clearer, if only because I may have been more lenient when I was reading this book. This isn’t the first time I’ve jumped in into the middle of a series, or even a spin-off or later novel set in an existing universe without reading the previous books first. The only difference is, all those times I was prepared. Quite honestly, I don’t even know how well this book works as the beginning of a new series. Sure, you can read it and still understand the story, but I spent most of the time feeling like I’ve only scratched the surface, and wondered if so much feels lacking because the author expects you to know these things already.

Hence, polish. I’m afraid the character development needs quite a bit of work, especially if you’re going to have multiple romantic subplots. If I can’t connect to the characters, I’m not going to feel any chemistry, and then it’s not going to matter one whit to me who’s crushing on whom. It helps also, if I can get a good bead on your main protagonists’ approximate ages right away. Not exactly sure why, but the way this was written, I spent the whole intro of the book thinking Prince Kyth was a young child. Even after I realized my mistake, it was difficult to view Kara as his romantic interest, and not a nanny-type figure.

Needless to say, that was a mood-killer.

For a fantasy novel of this type, there was also nowhere near enough context. By all rights, the story itself should have been quite epic, encompassing a long history and involving several kingdoms hanging in the balance, with conspiracy and corruption threatening to rot the system from the inside out. I knew this, but only because the book told me. I didn’t actually feel it. An overall sense of vastness and importance seems to be missing. Despite the characters traveling for days to get from one place to another, the scope of their journey feels small, possibly stemming from a lack of world building.

My opinions notwithstanding, the reason why I’m not giving this a lower rating is because I feel this book has plenty of potential. I enjoyed the premise and it had a lot of good ideas, especially when it comes to the magic. If only it had been explained a little better. Rigorous editing and several more drafts could have perhaps improved things, knocking out some of the redundant phrases (there seems to be an inordinate amount of blood streaking out of the corner of people’s mouths, for instance — the author likes to use this description everywhere, and even three times in one short scene), or toning down some of the more absurd battle sequences.

Being over-the-top can sometimes work in your favor, but this is not that kind of novel. At best, this crazy, overly bombastic martial arts stuff comes off as comical. The Diamonds are too powerful, one fighter taking on dozens of enemies at once, and also somehow surviving the most grievous of wounds. I draw the line when a character can miraculously come back from the dead, and the way it happens makes very little sense. There is no perception of danger or tension, not if every close call can be fixed with a quaff from a magical potion or a touch from a healer.

Giving a middling rating for this, because I neither liked it nor particularly disliked it. To summarize, the book has a raw and unfinished feel, and based on that I can’t really recommend it. A shame too, because with some fleshing out and more honing-plus-fine-tuning, this book could have been so much more.

A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Angry Robot Books!

Book Review: Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole

Posted on February 10, 2014 Leave a Comment

Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole (Ace)

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of Shadow Ops

Publication Date: January 31, 2012

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shadow Ops: Control Point is military science fiction, but definitely not the kind I had been expecting. And honestly, if I’d known earlier just what kind of excitement I was going to be in for, I probably wouldn’t have let this one hang out so long on my to-read list.

Not long ago though, I was in a bit of a reading funk and was in dire need of a book to pick me up, and Control Point sure did the trick. The book follows protagonist Oscar Britton, an Army officer who suddenly manifests a power which allows him to summon portals between and within worlds. In a time when people with such magical abilities are strictly regulated and under surveillance, those who run from the government are immediately labeled renegades and hunted down. Panicked and overwhelmed, Oscar chooses to flee but in time realizes there is a lot more to this world of magic than he’s ever known.

The first chapter was like a pure shot of adrenaline, laying out everything I needed to know about this book and what I saw pleased me. It pleased me greatly. Sorcery and spec-ops tactics? Soldiers with superhero-like powers and codenames? This is a marriage of science fiction and fantasy made in heaven, where magic and futuristic technology co-exist in harmony with the unadulterated action of a military sci-fi novel, from an author who obviously knows what he’s writing about.

The cover? Totally does not do this book justice. I wouldn’t had a clue what was waiting for me within these pages if I hadn’t dug deeper. Even the description belies the true nature of the world in this novel, which is unlike any setting I’ve ever encountered. An entire civilization has been altered, the existing social structure upended because of people waking up with magical talents, and Myke Cole does a great job showing this in is storytelling. A whole other realm also exists on another plane, home to a race of goblin-like creatures who are in constant war with the military base there. The magic system is also fleshed out and presented well.

I was also surprised to see that the story is not just nonstop action. Between the hectic battles and covert military operations, there is a real attempt at character building and exploration of the relationships between the main protagonist and the others around him. Britton is a much deeper character than I’d expected, a thoughtful man who struggles with his own feelings a lot, constantly asking questions and evaluating his situation.

Like most other reviewers, I’ve also noted Britton’s indecision and his frequent switching of sides. To tell the truth, I didn’t find it as extreme as some make it out to be, though my issue with this has less to do with his wishy-washiness and more to do with the fact that his inability to make up his mind often seems like a tactic to drive the story forward. It’s obvious from his constant self-analyzing that Britton is a smart, introspective person, and yet on several occasions he will do things without thinking, and always much chaos and loss of life would be a direct result of his actions. He would be sick with guilt afterwards, but it’s hard to feel for him after the first time it happens, especially when he doesn’t learn from his mistakes. It’s a very small gripe though, considering the pile of positives that more than made up for it.

This book offered me a side of the genre that I haven’t seen much of before, and as such the author has my attention. I’m looking forward to see how the rest of this series will unfold; something tells me the next book will be just as much fun and full of surprises.

YA Weekend: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Posted on February 9, 2014 Leave a Comment

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of The Grisha

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (June 5, 2012)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Once in a while, a great book like Shadow and Bone will come along and remind me of why I read YA — and why overlooking this category of fiction would be a big mistake. It’s another one of those titles which had hung around on my to-read list for much too long, and now I wish I’d listened to the glowing reviews and picked it up sooner. It has everything I look for in a YA novel: a likeable protagonist, a sweet and believable romance that’s not insta-love, and a pace for storytelling that’s just perfect.

At the beginning of the book, we are introduced to a girl and a boy, two orphans who became friends with each other when a kind nobleman took them in. Years later, both Alina and Mal have ended up in the army and are preparing to cross the Fold, a wasteland of darkness where savage creatures called Volcra lurk, ready to swoop down on any unsuspecting travelers. Well, of course they get attacked by Volcra during the crossing. Without understanding how, Alina manages to save the life of her best friend Mal by unleashing a brilliant flash of light as bright as the sun, driving away the creatures.

Anyway, this book doesn’t waste time getting to the meat of the story. It turns out Alina is one of the Grisha, and a special one at that. Grisha are what you would call the sorcerers of this world, except I would say that their magic is more like a science — acts of magic are actually the Grisha manipulating and altering matter at its most basic level. It’s an interesting system, and I also find it fascinating that the Grisha have their own social structure, politics and culture. When it is discovered that Alina is the Sun Summoner with the power to control light, she is whisked away to learn the ways of the Grisha, and I had the pleasure of learning all about their society through her eyes.

The world of Shadow and Bone has a sort-of Russian flavor, and yes, the way of the Grisha court has some of your usual YA trappings. Normally, I’d be calling for more world building and further expansion into the book’s ideas, but I’m actually quite amazed and how much it was able to convey. Especially when you consider how this was a relatively short novel and a really quick read. The story finds its momentum early on and it just keeps going like that all the way to the end, and I don’t think I would have traded that for anything. Everything you need to know is there, and I liked how we don’t get any unnecessary detail or lengthy exposition weighing things down.

But it’s the characters that made this book such a joy to read. Alina’s a tough girl, and even though she can get a tad too sentimental at times, she’s proven herself to be quite capable. Her romance with Mal actually feels natural, and I liked the fact that it was the result of a long-term friendship that grew deeper over time. It makes their relationship more genuine, and I could better understand their intense feelings for each other. Since finding a YA romance that I actually like is quite rare for me, it makes a big impression whenever it does happen.

It also helps that this book was exactly what I needed at time. If you’re ever in the mood for a quick YA fantasy with a decent romance and a bit of adventure and intrigue thrown in, this will do the trick nicely. I found it very enjoyable!

#MisLT : The Miserere Livetweet Event!

Posted on February 8, 2014 Leave a Comment

Don’t tell Teresa Frohock, but I totally have a crush on her.

I’m just kidding. She already knows and I can’t wait for her to see what I got her for Valentine’s Day!!

But seriously. Lady Frohock’s Miserere: An Autumn Tale has been on my to-read list for a while, and, with its recent arrival in my mailbox, the time has come for me to sink into its dark depth. But that’s not all. You see, since I began following Lady Frohock on Twitter, I’ve discovered that she is a wonderful, fun and funny person. I’ve been dying to do something unique with her for BiblioSanctum, but wanted to get to know her better through reading her work first. Then, the other night while I was busy spamming her Twitter feed, an idea struck me: What if I livetweet my Miserere read???

Lady Frohock is such a good sport – she thinks this is a great idea and we’ve been throwing around some ideas today, with plans to use the hashtag #MisLT to document our journey.

We’d love to invite others to join us! Conveniently, Miserere: An Autumn Tale, is currently on sale on Amazon. Go! Git it! (Not sure if this book looks right for you? Tor.com understands why you might feel that way, and explains why you shouldn’t.)

If you’re interested in joining the fun, leave a comment that includes your Twitter handle, and be sure to use the hashtag #MisLT for your spoiler-free Miserere Tweets. We’ll be starting our read this Monday, February 10, 2014 and continuing through to the end of the month.

Mogsy’s Book Haul – Blades and Shorts

Posted on February 8, 2014 Leave a Comment

Time again to feature the books that came in over the last couple weeks! And in case you missed it, I’m also doing the Review Copy Cleanup challenge, so hopefully a lot of these will be reviewed in the coming days. Is it just me, or do many of the titles seem very edgy this time? As the header states, sharp things seem to be this month’s theme.

Astra – courtesy of Jo Fletcher books, I’m really looking forward to this one. After my wonderful first experience reading Naomi Foyle’s Seoul Survivors, I’m really interested in seeing what else this author has in store for me.

Traitor’s Blade – currently working my way through this one now, and I’m enjoying it. Like, A LOT. I went in with super high expectations too, so that’s saying something. The book also came tied up with a sealed invitation to “join the Greatcoats”, which I thought was cleverly presented.

Broken Homes – I’ve made it no secret how much I love the Peter Grant series. I tell urban fantasy readers that it’s like Dresden Files if Harry was a policeman and British, and highly recommended if you like Dr. Who-style humor. This one was courtesy of DAW books, and you can already see my review here.

Moth and Spark – I feel very grateful to Penguin Viking for this one. I’ve always wanted deep, fulfilling romances in my high fantasy, but I’ve pretty much given up on looking for a book with the perfect combination of the two, because I’ve never found one. That is, until this came along. Keep an eye out for my review later this month, I can’t wait to share it.

The Emperor’s Blades – this one generated a lot of excitement last year and finally came out last month to great acclaim. I had a feeling Staveley would be winning many fans with this one, and I was right. Readers of epic fantasy should check this one out, and here’s my review for those interested in seeing my thoughts. My thanks to Tor Books!

Lumiere – a wonderful looking YA title self-published by the author, who contacted me through Goodreads to see if I would be interested in reviewing it. I readily accepted! Check out the description to see why, it looks right up my alley and that cover is enchantingly gorgeous. Definitely going to have to fit this one into my reading schedule soon.

And now for the digital titles, and the second half of my post title shall be explained! Yes, we have a lot of short stories/anthologies/novellas this week to feature. Normally, what I like to do is gather them up and tackle them all together in one big shorts-filled weekend, and looks like I’ll have to plan for one again very soon.

Kaiju Rising – I was a Kickstarter backer for this anthology, and the e-copy of this book was delivered to my inbox a couple weeks ago right on schedule. As badly as I want to read this one, I may just wait until my physical copy arrives. Because…just look at the pure awesomeness of that cover!

John Golden, Freelance Debugger – I was actually sent a copy of this by the author back when it was still going to be self-published, but then Ragnarok Publications picked it up. I’m so glad, because this book deserves all the attention it can get! I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: best idea for an urban fantasy EVER! I could go on and on, but it might be easier to just check out the review!

Hope’s End and Forsworn – last year I really enjoyed Promise of Blood and this year I’m really looking forward to The Crimson Campaign. Brian McClellan has also written a few short stories set in the world of his Powder Mage series, so I decided to pick a couple of them up. Hope’s End was actually a freebie the author offered up on his website on his birthday so that was nice of him!

La Santisima – Teresa Frohock is one of my favorite authors, and her work deserves a lot more attention, in my opinion. If you haven’t read her book Miserere yet, I highly recommend it. While I wait impatiently for her next project, I picked up La Santisima, her short story that she made available for free on Smashwords. So what are you waiting for, check it out!

Blades of the Old Empire – Ah, here we are with the blades again. I got this Angry Robot book through NetGalley, and I’m actually reading this one right now as well for my RCCleanup, so a review will be incoming.

Lockstep – Another NetGalley title. Tor is torturing me with all the great books coming out from them in the next few months! This is only one of the many titles I’m interested in. I know I’m drowning in review copies right now, but it’s so hard to resist these amazing looking books.

Book Review: The Waking Engine by David Edison

Posted on February 7, 2014 Leave a Comment

The Waking Engine by David Edison

Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Tor (February 11, 2014)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 2 of 5 stars

Not for the first time, I wish I had a system in place for giving two ratings to a book: 1) An objective rating in which I give a book stars based on its own merits, uninfluenced by my personal feelings, and 2) A subjective rating which is based on how a book worked for me personally, or how well it meshed with my personal tastes. This is going to be a very tough review for me to write, simply because I’ve never read a book like this, where those two ratings could not be any more different, but I’m also glad I have the chance to explain why.

The book begins with a young man named Cooper waking up in an unfamiliar place to two strangers fussing over his sudden appearance, and the answers he gets are decidedly not reassuring. Apparently, he is dead. Contrary to what we know about death, when someone dies they merely wake up as themselves somewhere else, appearing on one of a possible million universes where they will once again live out their lives and the whole process repeats itself. That is, until you reach the end and wind up at the City Unspoken, also known as the City of the Dead, because only on this world a person can find true death.

This is where Cooper wakes up. But he has also come at a very unsettling time, where something seems to be preventing True Death from happening, leading to widespread frustration and panic among the denizens of the city. There are some who believe Cooper may be the solution to the problem, as he is different. For one thing, he has a belly button. A navel is really nothing but a scar left over from the attachment of the umbilical cord, and because all are born only once but die many times, waking up on new worlds with their bodies whole and unmarred, the fact Cooper has one holds great significance. He may not be really dead.

And from here on out, it gets even stranger. But hey, you’d be strange too if you were Cooper, dragged across the metaverse by a goddess, kidnapped by faeries, drugged by Cleopatra, engulfed by a machine-flesh creature, and pursued by undead monsters and evil elf beings. I love it when I find a unique book with very different, offbeat ideas, but The Waking Engine treads into seriously bizarre territory. More bizarre than I could handle, perhaps. It’s the kind of book I can’t tackle at night right before bed, because I wake up in the morning and can’t remember if I actually dreamed or read these weird images. I tried really hard to embrace the weirdness, but it soon became clear that I was in way over my head.

And that’s a real shame, too. It almost breaks my heart to say I didn’t like this one as much as I thought I would. The ideas in this story are some of the most original ones I’ve ever encountered in science fiction and fantasy, and the characters are unconventional and diverse as well. Unfortunately, the strangeness was a barrier for me, preventing me from appreciating all of the positive aspects of this book to its fullness. It’s difficult to connect to a character, for instance, when instead I’m putting all my effort into trying to make sense of everything that’s happening. The world is also wildly imaginative, which is another huge plus to this book, but words cannot describe just how amazing and fantastical it is. I mean that literally in this case; I get the sense from Edison’s writing that the environments he pictures in his mind are so vast and visionary that they transcend mere language.

I wanted to like The Waking Engine so much because objectively, it is a great book, deftly and beautifully written with ground breaking ideas, interesting characters, and incredible world building. But I have to be honest, it was just not my style. There’s lots to love about this book, but it just has to find its intended audience, which unfortunately is not me. On the other hand, I think fans of “un-reality” or the metaphysical or more abstract elements in their speculative fiction will be very well pleased with this one. Give it a shot if that’s the type of stories you like, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Tor Books!

PANELS: Locke and Key

Posted on February 7, 2014 Leave a Comment

Kinsey takes some time to herself.

Locke and Key

Book Review: Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

Posted on February 6, 2014 8 Comments

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Book 4 of Peter Grant

Publisher: DAW (US: February 4, 2014)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

New rule: if you are an urban fantasy starring a London policeman-turned-wizard named Peter Grant, then I MUST READ YOU. Let’s just say I have waited a long time for this! After devouring the first three books last spring, I was left with a void that only this series’ dry wit and magical action could provide, and now book four has finally made its way to the US.

Ben Aaronovitch does not hold back for Peter’s latest adventure, which involves our favorite magician-constable working to solve yet another string of odd deaths happening around the city. The first red flag goes up when a chance car accident leads him to a murder victim, who may have a link to the mysterious “Faceless Man.” That’s the big baddie that Peter and his supervisor Nightingale have been hunting over the course of the last couple of books.

As such, Broken Homes probably wouldn’t be the best jumping on point if you’re new to the series, albeit the central plot within the bigger picture is still wildly entertaining. When it is discovered that the odd deaths are all connected to a controversial housing estate “designed by a nutter, built by charlatans, and inhabited by the truly desperate”, Peter and his fellow investigators come up with an insane plan to get to the bottom of the mystery. What do they do? They move in and go under cover. Trouble ensues. And with that, tons of amusement for readers.

Here’s why I think it would be a good idea to at least tackle the previous book first before reading this one: if you’re not familiar with the overall story arc with the Faceless Man, the first half of the book will probably feel pretty slow. I personally was interested in the investigations because a lot of it had to do with uncovering the identity of the enemy and trying to capture him, but without that context I think a lot of the happenings will feel disjointed or only tenuously connected.

But as someone who has been following this series, I think it is clearly starting to come into its own. With that comes a greater appreciation for the little quirks only found in these books, like London’s rivers personified as semi-divine spirits, Peter’s esoteric interests into the city’s architecture or even his frequent funny jabs at the Metropolitan Police. All this made even some of the more low-key bits of the book very fascinating and engaging — such as the scene with the spring celebration, or descriptions of Peter’s magical training sessions.

However, I have to say the second half of the book — which includes the subsequent build-up to the climax — and ending is simply phenomenal. As the main protagonist and narrator, I thought Peter would always be my favorite character in these books, but Nightingale may have just given him a run for his money. His anachronisms and total fail with modern technologies notwithstanding, the guy is awesome. You might think you know wizarding duels, but you don’t — not until you read about the one near the end of this book, with Nightingale versus the Russian Night Witch. I think I may have a crush.

Then, there’s the climax and the shocking “twist”. I put the quotations there because I’m not sure how truly surprising it is if you’ve been following the series and the characters. It was shocking yes, but it wasn’t completely unexpected. The clues leading up to it weren’t entirely subtle, though that might just be me. All the same, the excitement and snappy pace in these final chapters will make you ache for more, and leave you desperate to find out what happens next.

Sigh, which leads me back to this familiar place, of pining for the next book. The waiting does not get easier!

A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to DAW Books!