Jessica Strider
Pros: covers a LOT of movies, lots of cross-referencing, lots of interesting information about the films, directors, actors and DVD extras, spoiler warnings
Cons: limited commentary on famous films, mentions a lot of personal stories
Claws and Saucers: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film 1902-1982 is a 680 page self-published movie guide covering a huge number of films.
Unlike most books, I did not read this through cover to cover. After reading the introduction and the interesting films by decade feature, I started by reading reviews of films I've seen to get an idea of how the author approaches reviews and how my tastes/opinions matched his. After that, I randomly flipped through the book and came away with so many movie suggestions I was afraid I'd miss interesting films, and so started at the beginning. I then read reviews at random throughout the whole book. And created a large list of movies to watch and short stories to read.
The book covers a LOT of movies. There are over 1500 entries. The author mentions a few adventure films (like the 1932 The Most Dangerous Game) but not Disney films, James Bond films or others that stray too far from the genre lines. He gives a good explanation of what is in and out of the book at the beginning.
The author defers commentary on famous films, assuming the reader knows something about them, or is willing to look elsewhere for information if he/she doesn't. Instead, for those films he often give stories - when he first saw the film, how he felt about it then vs now. For example, with Jaws he gives some facts about great white sharks.
In other cases, the information he gives is fantastic. For example, King Kong. He sets the film in its place historically, critiques it with regards to other works (the score, the special effects), mentions the features worth watching on the bonus DVD, facts about the director, etc.. He also mentions when the movie is based on or has a connection to a short story (like Aliens' connection to the short story “The Black Destroyer” by A. E. Van Vogt), or comics that would appeal to people who like particular movies.
Despite the negatives, the book is fantastic value given all the movies it mentions.
Pros: fantastic worldbuilding, several interwoven plots, interesting characters
Cons: little emotional punch, a few times character motivations are unclear
The newly healed former Hound Stormwolf is sent to the Shadowlands to proclaim the new High Prince to those living outside the Lands. He's set himself another task though, to see that his former Pack is also healed and given new lives.
Valory Martin is a human psychic with astonishing abilities, able to see the truth of people and things by touching them. Alejandro, long an inhabitant of the Shadowlands rescued her from the Collector and now considers it his duty to protect and help her. Though he trusts her ability to read truth, he doubts her assertions regarding Stormwolf and the truth of the Rider's message.
The Hunt is still abroad in the Shadowlands, feeding on the dra'aj of humans, an act that has, over time, created a group of humans who call themselves Outsiders. Without dra'aj of their own, these humans require the dra'aj of others and have created a system for aquiring it. A system that the new Hound attacks, and subsequent influx of needy humans, threatens to destroy. The leader of the Outsiders in Toronto, Nikolas, asks Valory and Alejandro to help them deal with the threat of the Hounds.
Meanwhile, the High Prince is caught up in the healing of the Lands, a task more time consuming and difficult than expected, when the Basilisk's followers refuse to yield.
A direct sequel to her first novel, Mirror Prince, Shadowlands will not disappoint those who have long awaited seeing what happened to the High Prince. While the book takes place primarily on Earth (the Shadowlands), enough happens in the Lands to satisfy curiosity of what Max and Cassandra did after the events of Mirror Prince.
Anyone who's forgotten what happened in Mirror Prince - or who hasn't read it - will find the first few chapters seemlessly include enough of the backstory, as well as the necessary terminology, to understand what's going on. Still, it is a direct sequel and readers will definitely get more out of this book, especially with regards to minor characters like Lightborn, if they've read the first book.
The world building is fantastic. Malan's attention to detail really brings the different settings to life. Many questions about the Hunt, the Horn and the Shadowlands are answered. It's shown that even with a High Prince and an attempt at more harmony between the races in the Lands (the People, the Solitaries and the Naturals), there is racism and subsequent tensions among the People (those we would call the ‘fairy folk'). Even without the Basilisk Prince's followers to contend with, issues between Wards (Sunward, Moonward and Starward) become problematic. It's easy to understand how humans, considered myths by many in the Lands, wouldn't rate any concern for the People struggling to put their own world to rights.
Valory's power is really interesting, and Malan makes sure her protagonist is no Mary Sue. She's learned to keep secrets (since no one can keep them from her) and suffers upon entering the Lands, which limits her usefulness to her companions, and her options.
The other characters are equally compelling, with both good and bad traits and their own motivations for their actions. A few times, generally with minor characters, the motives of the characters are left unclear (like Nik's waffling on whether Alejandro's help is necessary). And though I liked most of the characters, I didn't feel a deep connection with any of them, making several deaths less dramatic - and impactful - than I like.
This is a worthy successor to Mirror Prince, with a series of interconnecting plot threads weaving through the Lands and Shadowlands and ending with a conclusion that ties most things together neatly while still leaving room for another novel.
Pros: explains how to make several types of interactive cards, easy to follow step by step instructions
Cons: instructions and templates are separate, so you'll be doing a lot of page turning when making your cards
This book teaches how to make 6 types of pop-up cards in addition to sliders, flappers, spinners and cards that spring (the pop-up piece moves into view as the card opens). The instructions are fairly clear, but you'll want to keep them handy - at least the first time you try a new type of pop-up. Of the four cards I recreated, three turned out wonderfully. The fourth didn't, as I glued where I shouldn't have. So caution is necessary, as glue in the wrong place will ruin most of these designs.
The designs themselves are attractive. Printable colour templates for all the cards are available at the back of the book. There's a good range of occasions covered (Birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Thank You and Wedding/Baby) and a decent number of examples for each technique taught.
My only complaints are that you have to flip through the book a lot as the basic lessons, card instructions and templates are all in different areas and that there are no ideas for the fronts of the cards, only the insides. Also, given the difficulty of some of the techniques, some of them are easier than others to modify. For example, using a car and garage slider card instead of the Penguin on an Ice Floe would be easy. You're not taught enough about the mechanics behind pop-ups to create your own free hand designs though.
Final verdict: the book teaches some great techniques and has enough variety and templates to keep you busy for a while.
Pros: slow paced, intricate plot, disparate stories draw together into tight conclusion, mystery, enough action to retain interest, nifty characters and history, well told
Cons: hard to picture (purposely sparse details)
Tom, a street-nick from the City Below has illegally climbed to the heights of the City of a Hundred Rows, Thaiburley. There, he witnesses a murder and evades the capture of Kite Guard Tylus.
Tasked with finding the boy, Tylus heads to the lowest level, where trouble is brewing among the street-nicks. Meanwhile, Tom, trying to return to his home turf, is hunted by numerous things.
The city is intricately designed, from each Row having a separate purpose (one for merchants, one for bakers, etc.), to the limited technology employed by the inhabitants and the alien ‘flatheads' (aka: Jeradine) and the caste systems (councillors, Arkademics, swarbs, merchants, street-nicks) and the posturing among the Kite and regular Guards.
Despite the complexity of the city and its players there's no real info dumping. Characters comment on and think about their world in wholly natural ways.
The story unfolds slowly with a mix of action and exploration - as Tylus goes to the City Below for the first time and as Tom travels down the levels and through territory he's never been to before on his own level.
The characters are interesting and complex, drawing you along during those rare quiet moments. And when things with the street-nicks begin to get interesting, all the plot lines tie up well - with a few left open for the sequel.
My only complaint - and I use the word loosely - is that, because you only get descriptions via the characters, it's hard to get an overall picture of Thaiburley. It's huge and carved out of a mountain and I suspect the author left parts of it to the reader's imagination in order to emphasize its strangeness and size.
Pros: clear writing, fast paced, brutal but intelligent characters
Cons: the story jumps around and with the size of the cast it was sometimes hard to remember who was who
When Sir Galefrid's entourage is ambushed at prayers in Willowbank, on the wrong side of the border everyone, even the villagers, is killed. Only his infant son Wistan and a sellsword, Brys Tyrell, survive.
Brys encounters a young mother and child, away from the village for the day and convinces her to accompany him and help the injured Wistan. The child is hunted by those who killed his father, including a practitioner of blood magic.
Meanwhile, the lord of Willowbank's province asks a visiting Blessed to investigate its destruction in the hopes of avoiding war with neighbouring Oakharn over the incident.
For a debut this book is very well written. The language is clear, the plot fast moving and intricate, the characters interesting. I especially liked how pragmatic the people were. I wouldn't want to know Brys, but he's a great character who knows when the fight or flee, kills without remorse when he needs to, and admires strength in others. Similarly Galefrid's younger brother, Leferic, is a ruthless but intelligent man. Despite how he becomes the acting ruler of Bull's March, it sounds like he really would be a better ruler than his brother.
I was surprised by how easily the village girl agreed to follow Brys, despite having no evidence but his word that Willowbank was destroyed. And I'd expected Leferic to consider the advantages of having Wistan returned safely earlier.
Since the story jumps between plot lines and has a large cast I sometimes had a hard time remembering who everyone was. But this wasn't a big problem.
It was a great read.
Pros: parts 2 & 3 are brilliantly written with an interesting message, very diverse cast of characters
Cons: part 1 has several purposely obscure but important pieces of information, 1950s racial situations/terminology
Normally I write my own synopsis for books I review, but this book's quite complex so I've decided to grab one from the Indigo website instead:
From one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction comes a genre-bending novel that is as affectingly humane as it is speculatively daring.
There's Lone, who can make a man blow his own brains out just by looking at him. There's Janie, who moves things without touching them, and the unique power of the teleporting twins. There's Baby, who invented an antigravity engine while still in the cradle, and Gerry, who has everything it takes to run the world – except for a conscience. Separately, they are talented freaks. Together they compose a single organism that may represent the next step in evolution. As the protagonist of More Than Human struggle to find out whether they are meant to help humanity or destroy it, Theodore Sturgeon explores the questions of power and morality, individuality and belonging, with sophistication and lyricism rarely seen in science fiction.
This is the kind of book that makes me question my ‘if I'm not enjoying it, stop reading it' policy. The book is split into 3 parts, and I actively disliked part 1 while finding parts 2 and 3 brilliant. Had this not been a review book, I would have stopped reading in part 1, which would have been a shame. Part 1 introduces the decently large cast of very diverse characters including a mentally handicapped man, a baby that won't grow, two black girls, etc. It does this by jumping from person to person, often giving descriptions via characters who see the world... differently. Lone, for example, is mentally challenged and only towards the end of the section does he develop speech and anything close to a ‘normal' understanding of events. But his scenes are still written in an understandable way.
The author, however, purposefully obscured certain events in this part of the book making the reader guess what's going on. By the time you understand the situation, you have to go back and reevaluate what's happened. For example, there's a father who has secluded himself and his two daughters on a piece of land. It's easy to assume from things in the text that he's sexually abusing his oldest daughter. Or maybe he's just beating her to drive out her sexual awakening. Or maybe nothing abusive is happening at all besides the girls being locked up. Even after finishing the book I'm not sure which it was, though later events make me assume it's the second scenario.
The first section is set-up for the rest of the book, and the characters the author spends so much time introducing aren't as active in the other two parts (they're mentioned and shown in flashbacks in part 2 and only one of them shows up for any length of time in part 3, with the others having bit parts).
Modern readers will find a few scenes uncomfortable as 1950s racial prejudice is portrayed, including period terminology.
Parts 2 and 3 have a lot more suspense and drive behind them. While I felt like putting part 1 down and not picking it back up, parts 2 and 3 had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. The writing was clear, linear and the author tantilized you with bits of the answer at a time.
The ending was great and worth pushing through the first section to get to.
This is a collection of 2 short stories and 2 passages that were cut from The Warded Man. Each story has a short introduction from the author explaining either where the ideas came from or why the scene was cut. The stories were originally published as limited edition hardcovers by Subterranean Press, with this new combined edition being published in trade paperback by Tachyon Publications. The book also includes a short Krasian dictionary, which is not really necessary as all the required terms are explained in the stories themselves, and some examples of wards and the types of demons they're used to protect against, which is pretty interesting to read.
*** Brayan's Gold - While an apprentice messenger, Arlen and his master are assigned a longer run than usual, transporting thundersticks to Brayan's Gold, high in the mountains. But while the compensation is generous, the risks are also high: bandits, harsh conditions, and several nights outdoors with only warded circles as protection against demons. This is a fantastic story with a lot of different elements to it. There's a surprising amount of variety to the troubles Arlen faces as he heads into the mountains.* The Great Bazaar - Using a map procured from Abban, a khaffit from the great bazaar in Fort Krasia, Arlen hunts for treasure, and discovers demons he's never faced before. This story has scenes from both Arlen and Abban's point of views. It's a pretty focused story, but you do get to see a little more of what life is like for the underclass in the bazaar.Brett manages to pack a lot of content into both stories and writes them in such a way that they fill in gaps left by the novels but explain everything required to enjoy them if you haven't read the books.* Arlen - This is a prologue that didn't make the book, dealing with Arlen's life before the events of The Warded Man. It's an interesting look at his youthful personality and how he was already pushing boundaries.** Brianne Beaten - This passage deals with a scene from Leesha's life that kind of stands on its own, though it involves an unmentioned incident that ruined a friendship. It helps to know what that incident is, but the scene still works if you don't.
It's a pretty short book, but the stories are high quality and help flesh out Arlen's character. If you missed the Subterranean Press editions, then this is a good time to get the stories. If you've never read Brett, it's a great sampler of his work and will whet your appetite for more.
Pros: wide variety of authors and subgenres, several excellent stories
Cons: several confusing stories, no grouping together of similar stories
The 28 stories in this collection are written by authors from around the world, covering a number of SFF genres. While most of the stories were good to excellent, I found a few to be rather confusing (a state which may have cleared up with further readings in some cases). There's no theme connecting the stories and they're not gathered in any order, which is a bit disorienting, as you can read a story about spaceships followed by local mythology followed by post-apocalyptic followed by another spaceship story. Gathering the SF, horror and fantasy stories together would have created a more cohesive feeling to the collection. The anthology is a great jumping off point for finding authors as several contributors have novels out now or coming soon.
Stories are highly subjective, so while I've rated them, pay more attention to the mini synopses to see if the stories would appeal to you than to my ratings.
Not all of the stories appealed to me, but I thought the majority were quite good to excellent, making this a worthwhile collection if you're looking for something different.
“The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family” by Usman T Malik (Pakistan)
1/2 In the aftermath of a tragedy, Tara Khan seeks knowledge, in order to understand herself and work for a better world. - This is a story of how violence begets violence, and only knowledge and love can stop violence from consuming the world. “Setting Up Home” by Sabrina Huang (Taiwan) (Translated by Jeremy Tiang)** A young man starts finding furnishings appearing both inside and outside his apartment, with no idea of his benefactor. -
Quite short but with a delightfully creepy ending.
“The Gift of Touch” by Chinelo Onwualu (Nigeria)
** The three passengers Bruno's ship takes on for much needed money turn out to be very different from the farmers they claimed they were. -
I found the story interesting but the execution a bit heavy handed. There's some expository conversations that felt forced (Marley's love of guns, their smuggling past), and Horns' past somehow only comes up now, during this crisis situation, rather than the interview when she was hired (I can understand her hiding part of her past and Bruno being ok with that, but it sounds like he never asked about anything she did before coming to work for him, and that's just not believable).
“The Language of Knives” by Haralambi Markov (Bulgaria)
*** Together with your apprentice daughter, you carve up your recently deceased husband into cakes for the gods.- A creepy premise that's handled with care. It's a touching story of dealing with loss, connecting with the past, and healing relationships.“In Her Head, In Her Eyes” by Yukimi Ogawa (Japan)* Hase wears a heavy pot on her head, covering her eyes. The household she is staying with to learn new patterns to bring to her home mistreats her, especially the wives of the older two sons. Only the youngest son treats her kindly.- A fun, creepy story about being careful how you treat others.“The Farm” by Elana Gomel (Israel)** A comrade rides to a farm looking for food he can confiscate for his commune.
- The eaters are quite terrifying and the slow build up to the ending really works.
“The Last Hours of The Final Days” by Bernardo Fernández (Mexico) (Translated by the author)
** Aida and Wok slowly travel through post-apocalyptic cities by motorcycle, skateboard, foot and car while they await the end of the world.- A surprisingly upbeat post-apocalyptic story.“The Boy Who Cast No Shadow” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Netherlands) (Translated by Laura Vroomen)* The strange friendship between Look, a boy with no shadow, and Splinter, a boy made of glass.- A brilliant but sad story of bullying and finding yourself. Has some adult content.“First, Bite Just a Finger” by Johann Thorsson (Iceland)* After taking a drug at a party and witnessing a guy do a strange party trick, Julia develops a terrible addiction.- Really, really creepy.“The Eleven Holy Numbers of the Mechanical Soul” by Natalia Theodoridou (Greece)** An old man, marooned on an oceanic planet, creates his own animals for company.
- An interesting story about survival and the nature of a soul.
“Djinns Live by the Sea” by Saad Z. Hossain (Bangaldesh)
** A rich business man feigns sanity after 8 months of being haunted by a djinn. - An interesting interpretation of djinn. Limited description.“How My Father Became a God” by Dilman Dila (Uganda)* A girl, whose father has been banished from the family's homestead for wasting money on failed inventions, needs him to succeed at something to help her avoid an arranged marriage.- Interesting characters and a fascinating belief system.“Black Tea” by Samuel Marolla (Italy) (Translated by Andrew Tanzi)* Four men are trapped in a nightmarish landscape of old hallways, empty rooms and stairs leading nowhere, being hunted by a creature masquerading as an old lady.- You feel Nicola's confusion as he tries to figure out where he is and what's going on. The horror begins with a note he finds in his pocket.“Tiger Baby” by JY Yang (Singapore)1/2 Felicity is an office worker who knows she is meant to be more, more free, more... feline.- Lyrical writing and a slowly unfolding story.“Jinki & the Paradox” by Sathya Stone (Sri Lanka) 1/2 Jinki's family lives on an experimental colony set up by aliens.- I really liked the trickster robot and puzzling out what Jinki is.“Colour Me Grey” by Swabir Silayi (Kenya)** The protagonist lives in a world devoid of colour, protected by a wall erected by the Man and his descendants.
- A quick dystopian tale.
“Like A Coin Entrusted in Faith” by Shimon Adaf (Israel) (Translated by the author)
* Correspondences between someone in Israel and a woman in the US who's helping train an AI, tell the tale a midwife who helps birth a stillborn demon.- I found this story fairly confusing. The format shifts between narrative, emails, and play dialogue, didn't help. While I thought it added to the story to have some phrases in Jewish Moroccan (and one in Aramaic), having the translations on the last page of the story rather than at the end of each short chapter (where they would have been easier to find/flip to) was annoying. I did find the mythology mentioned really interesting and would have liked to learn more about it.“Single Entry” by Celeste Rita Baker (Virgin Islands)** A special busker act at Carnival.
- Told in dialect, the story is both triumphant and a little sad.
“The Good Matter” by Nene Ormes (Sweden) (Translated by Lisa J Isaksson and Nene Ormes)
* A antiques dealer with a special gift makes a purchase for something he's been hunting for for years.- This is a story set in the world of the author's novels, and entices one to read more.“Pepe” by Tang Fei (China) (Translated by John Chu)* Two mechanical children who can only speak to tell stories, visit an amusement park.
-There's a lot of repetition and circular logic, which made the story less clear to me.
“Six Things We Found During The Autopsy” by Kuzhali Manickavel (India)
** Six inexplicable objects found on a woman's body during her autopsy.
- I give this story 2 stars for the section on angels, which I found hilarious. The rest of the story was too bizarre for my tastes.
“The Symphony of Ice and Dust” by Julie Novakova (Czech Republic)
** An exploratory spaceship arrives at Sedna, a dwarf moon where thousands of years earlier, two other spaceships crashed.- A story of multiple discoveries and how humans and science have evolved.“The Lady of the Soler Colony” by Rocío Rincón Fernández (Spain) (Translated by James and Marian Womack)** The narrator's family works at the Soler textile colony, passing by the metallic statue of the Lady every day. Until the day the factory it fronts, collapses.
- An interesting story, though a few aspects left me confused.
“The Four Generations of Chang E” by Zen Cho (Malaysia)
*** Chang E wins the moon lottery, immigrating there. But her descendants face different challenges because of her decision.- An exploration of immigration and how it feels to be different. “Pockets Full of Stones” by Vajra Chandrasekera (Sri Lanka)* A woman takes a job on a relay station between Earth and a colony ship to speak with her colonist grandfather.- A story about family that has an alien twist.“The Corpse” by Sese Yane (Kenya)* A middle aged man passes away while riding the bus.- I found this story boring and rather pointless.“Sarama” by Deepak Unnikrishnan (The Emirates)** A man tells of his family's forest demon ancestry as related to him by his grandmother.
- A fascinating story based on the Ramayana, of war and revenge. Adult content.
“A Cup of Salt Tears” by Isabel Yap (Philippines)
***** Makino goes to an onsen at night to help alleviate her sorrow over her dying husband and encounters a kappa, a water demon.
- I enjoy kappa mythology and this one takes an interesting turn.
Pros: fun characters, interesting mystery, dry humour
Cons:
For Parents: minor violence, kissing
Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality makes course for London after picking up some gentlemen from Bunson and Lacroix's Boys' Polytechnique. They're to see the results of an experiment in navigating the aetherosphere, something that would greatly reduce travel times. But not everyone wants the experiment to succeed.
In many ways this is a light-hearted Harry Potter, if Harry went to a school for spies in a dirigible set in a steampunk Victorian England, cared more about fashion and Hermione was the protagonist. This is the second book of Gail Carriger's Finishing School series, and it maintains the same level of propriety crossed with rule breaking as the first. The humour is dry, the sort you acknowledge with a snort rather than a guffaw, despite how unbecoming either action would be in polite society.
Sophronia and her gang of misfits are such fun characters, though due to exam results, she finds herself working alone more than she'd prefer, in this volume. It was also nice to see her encounter real consequences for the kind of work she's training to do, making her wonder if this really is what she wants.
The mystery involves several threads, some of which harken back to the events of the previous book. There's also the knowledge at the end that though things were resolved, there are still some questions to be answered.
If you haven't read these books, you're missing out.
Pros: lyrical prose, philosophical, characters face difficult choices
Cons: slow
In a world where water is tightly controlled by the military, Noria Kaitio is training as her father's apprentice to become a tea master. Tea masters historically had a duty to preserve sacred springs, and her family has kept the knowledge of one in the fells behind their house secret for decades. But Noria finds it hard to keep the secret as her best friend Sanja and their village suffer under harsher and harsher conditions.
This is a novel about the importance of water and how people survive under challenging circumstances. It'a a novel that questions motives and wonders who's trustworthy in a world where helping others will get you killed.
There's very little action and the story is unravelled slowly. There's foreshadowing of the ills to come and some gorgeous, lyrical prose. There's also a lot of contemplative passages, mostly about water, but also about being in the moment, noticing the little things that always escape notice. It's a novel about thinking deeply about life and appreciating the life you have, because life is always changing and you can never regain what you've lost.
Despite the slowness with which the plot unfolds, the novel is a quick read. The characters and the situations they find themselves in are intensely interesting.
It's a beautiful novel, and sad. And while it contains hope, it acknowledges that sacrifices are required and that not everyone lives to see better days.
Pros: interesting mystery, character development, minor romantic elements
Cons: only learn snippets of what's happened since book 1
Several years have passed since Eli Walker presented his recommendations with regards to the integration of gems (genetically modified humans) with the general human population. Gems are finding recognition despite lingering hesitation from the norms around them. They've had time to think about their futures, including marriage and children - something many gems know won't be possible without help due to their modifications. Bel'Natur is headed in new directions and wants Herran, a severely autistic gem,'s help with their project. The police are sent an anonymous tip that some of the locked up genestock isn't as secured as everyone thought. And Aryel Morningstar's foster father and siblings, Rhys and Gwen, are visiting London. Rhys, has a dangerous medical condition that knowing his genetype could help cure, but he and his twin were rescued from an experimental black lab, and all his gem enhanced efforts to uncover information about it have been unsuccessful.
The novel starts off slowly, reintroducing you to familiar characters and gradually adding in the new players for this book. Some characters (most notably Gabriel's family) are absent. It's not clear at first how much time has passed since the events of book 1, though you eventually figure out it's been 3 or 4 years. You don't learn much of what's happened in the meantime, mostly snippets, but you're left knowing that while some things have improved, others are taking longer.
The main plot threads start a few chapters into the book, giving you time to get grounded in the characters again before the police mystery begins, Rhys goes for testing and Herran starts his new job. The various plot lines converge at the ending, creating quite a few explosive reveals. You get to learn about Aryel's origins as well as some interesting things about Zavcka's past.
As weird as it sounds, considering her abrasive personality and the things she's done, I found myself feeling sorry for Zavcka in this book.
While Gwen indulges her first love, music, by way of meeting a popular gem musician, Rhys starts up an affair with one of Aryel's friends. It's a sweet affair, made serious at times due to Rhys' condition and his fears for the future.
While I would have liked to know more about what happened to some of the characters from the first book and what happened in the interim, this was a great book that once again delved into human psychology to show how various people react to new and challenging circumstances. There's the heartbreak of the couple who can't conceive, the norm who married a gem and faces ridicule from co-workers, adulation from music fans, revulsion from those who want a return to the way things were, and more. The various reactions all feel honest based on where different people come from and their circumstances. As with the first book, the POV is squarely with the gems and their sympathizers. It's a fantastic follow-up to Gemsigns and I can't wait to read the last book in the series.
Pros: quick, easy read, engaging, thought-provoking
Cons: limited world-building
For Parents: some swearing, mentions of prostitution and sex slavery
Edmond West is inspired by a story of human cruelty to create a new form of slave - robots. But his single-minded focus has blinded him to the potential consequences of creating robots with fully human characteristics.
This is the first of a six book series. It's a quick read (only took me a few hours to whip through it) that introduces the protagonist and the plot scenario for the following books. There's a lot of character development as Edmond works on his project through the years, with some great thought-provoking moments as he confronts the realities of his magnum opus. The ending of this book is fast paced and leaves you wanting more.
Edmond is highly intelligent and often abrasive, though his social skills are good enough that he avoids being unpleasant. While I didn't love him as a character, I didn't hate him either. The author did a great job making him aware enough of his faults to redeem him.
The book is highly focused on Edmond and his purpose, so there's little world-building or other distractions. You get to know his co-worker well enough, and hear how Edward's work is utilized by his employers, but there's no in depth exploration of the process of building the robots or of the world in general of this future. Hart is the only other character who you really get a good feel for, and that's entirely through Edmond's eyes.
The moment Edmond brings his creation to life, and the epiphany he undergoes because of it, were wonderful to read.
It's a great start and I'm curious to see where the series goes.
Pros: great protagonist, interesting mystery, subtle romance
Cons:
Alexandrina Pendelbury is goddaughter of Queen Victoria and a member of Her Majesty's psychic service. On Christmas eve she's called in to do a Reading for a suicide, but the emotions surrounding the crime scene are strange, and the identity of the victim propels her into investigating a series of mysteries.
In many ways this book reminded me of Jaime Lee Moyer's book, Delia's Shadow. Though this one takes place further in the past and in England, rather than San Francisco, there's a similar feel to the books, with their minimalistic paranormal elements and light romances (The Hanged Man's being very subtle and unobtrusive).
I loved Alex. She's intelligent, no nonsense, and prefers fight to flight. Her difficult family relationships add a touch of sympathy and edginess to her character. She's not afraid of breaking the rules if it gets her closer to her end goal and she knows how to compartmentalize tragedy, dealing with it at appropriate times.
The mystery was entertaining and had several good twists, including the surprising inclusion of a rare paranormal creature that was a joy to see in a book again.
It's a quick read and the start of a new series that I will definitely be following.
This is a short story collection of horror and dark fantasy tales based on old ballads. The audio book is narrated by Peter Bishop and Lesley Ann Fogle. Each story is followed by a short commentary on the folklore associated with the ballad by Nancy Keim Comley.
I found Mr. Bishop's narration pleasant to listen to, while his voices didn't change much from the narration. Ms. Fogle's voice was too monotone for my tastes, though after a few minutes I was generally enthralled by the story and it didn't bother me anymore. I loved her character voices, which were excellently done.
I didn't find any of the stories particularly scary, though some were creepy and unsettling. Familiarity with the ballads increased my enjoyment of the stories. Having said that, I didn't feel any detriment when I wasn't familiar with the ballads, and in a few cases I'm sure it helped with suspense.
The stories are all excellent quality, though individual tastes may have you disagreeing with my ratings.
*** “Wendy, Darling” by Christopher GoldenThis story combines a ballad theme about mothers with Peter Pan as Wendy prepares for her wedding. - I wasn't familiar with the ballad theme this riffed off of, so it was delightfully creepy learning Wendy's secret and the truth of the Lost Boys.** “Sweet William's Ghost” by David Liss
A woman cheats on her fiancee and comes to regret it. - The story is told from the lover's point of view and he's quite a piece of work. There's black humour in his beliefs about women, though his sentiments and swearing may offend.
** “Black is the Color of my True Love's Hair” by Del HowisonA man must make a difficult decision when the daughter he wanted so badly turns out to be as prophecised. - While I would have liked more background information on the wife, I found this story quite creepy with a horrifying ending. “John Wayne's Dream” by Gary BraunbeckThe unnamed narrator arrives for their AA meeting only to find it cancelled and a special concert being shown instead. - The story is slow as it mixes what's happening in the present with flash backs of the protagonist's childhood. I'm not a fan of cowboys or ‘real men' rhetoric, and while the story shows their potentially caustic nature, it wasn't a story I particularly liked. * “Bedlam” by Gregory FrostTom, captain of The Bedlam, journeys home with his crew to find the woman he loves but hasn't seen in years. - This story changes part way through, making it feel like two stories. While the change took me a moment to comprehend, it made the story something other than a prose retelling of the ballad it's inspired by. ** “Awake” by Jack Ketchum
A jazz musician struggles with a respiratory disease and marital problems. - It starts slow and ends dark.
**“John Henry, the Steel Drivin' Man” by Jeff StrandThe bigger and bigger exploits of John Henry are told. - This story's a lot of fun. I was left thinking that the few hints you get of the narrator's story sound creepily interesting and might make a great story too.* “Fish Out of Water” by Keith R. A. Decandido
A dive tour operator helps find a missing vessel that reported seeing a mermaid before losing contact. - This is a short story featuring Cassie Zukav, a character Decandido has written about several times. No knowledge of the other stories is necessary to understand this tale as everything is explained, though some mention is given to previous events. In addition to mermaids, expect some Norse characters.
** “Making Music” by Kelley ArmstrongA female lyrics writer gets a commission to write for a famous musician. - An entertaining story with a great ending.* “Tam Lane” by Lisa MortonA young architect in training's father buys an old haunted house she greatly admires, where she has an unusual encounter. - Knowing the ballad this was based on meant I could better appreciate the ways the author subverted the story.* “John Barleycorn Must Die” by Marsheila Rockwell and Jeffrey J. MariotteA recovered alcoholic is sent to do an interview with three sisters who have started their own brewery. - Highly descriptive writing. While it's easy to figure out where the story's ultimately going, it's interesting seeing the protagonist struggle with his own demons first.* “In Arkham Town, Where I was Bound” by Nancy HolderEdgar Allen Poe visits some rich ‘relatives' in hopes of some money or a loan to help with food and medicine for his dying wife. - A sad story of love, trust and betrayal.** “Driving Jenny Home” by Seanan McGuire
Lee has trouble letting go of her dead girlfriend. - Another sad story, this time one of grieving.
** “Hollow is the Heart” by Simon R. Green
A reporter is trying to get his job back by writing a story about a local legend. The hollow women are mysterious women who prey on unattached men. - A few things about the story were predictable, but it's well told and the hollow women legend is quite interesting.
Pros: believable and entertaining characters, believable action, romantic elements, female friendship, quick read
Cons: limited world building, repetitive
Kenna Swift's superhero father died when she was a child. Her mother is now a lead scientist for the heroes. To help keep her daughter safe, her mom created an illicit serum that gives her immunity to hero and villain powers. Kenna is working late in her mom's lab, copying notes and keeping track of her own unauthorized experiments to give herself superpowers when a group of villains attack. Their claims of looking for a kidnapped villain - supposedly held somewhere in the building and being tortured by heroes - sound crazy, until she does some investigating and discovers that the world isn't as black and white as she's always believed.
Kenna is a great protagonist. She's got some issues from seeing her dad die and feeling like she's powerless in a society of powered people. She resents the idea that she has to be protected - by her mother's serum and by the powered individuals around her - even as she realizes that those protections are necessary. Because this is such a quick read, and because she - realistically - dwells on those thoughts a lot (as her need for protection keeps coming up), they become a bit repetitious by the end of the book. She's very much a no nonsense woman, who speaks up for herself and uses her analytical abilities to keep calm in extreme circumstances and come up with plans for what to do next when things go wrong. She also takes responsibility for her actions and realizes that she's better off solving the problem and making amends than wallowing in pity. She's also, for the most part, quick on the uptake, which is such a pleasure to read, as it seems a lot of teen protagonists tend to miss important clues.
The romance elements were understated, with Kenna often realizing that the time and/or place wasn't right. It allowed things to develop more slowly and in the down time between action sequences.
It was great seeing a female friendship that was positive and showed how friends resolve things, even when one of them has betrayed a trust. And speaking of Rebel, I wondered if that was a nickname or her real name. If it was the latter, than her parents only have themselves to blame for her attitude.
The guys were pretty kickass, even if they did bicker and fight a lot. I was a bit surprised by why they thought Kenna needed so much protecting, considering their powers wouldn't save them from the dangers they faced, so how could they protect her from those dangers?
I was left with a lot of questions about the world that I hope the next book answers. There's very limited world building, and in some cases I think knowing more about the world would have been helpful. For example, there are hints that villains and heroes have different powers, which made me wonder if that's what decided a hero vs villain status. Similarly, I'd have liked to know more about the hero/villain tattoos, given one of the later scenes in the book shows there's more to them than I expected. Since Kenna's so immersed in the hero world it was a surprise later on for me to discover that apparently other normals don't even know super powered people exist. Which raised a lot of other questions about the world. It had no bearing on the plot, but was a piece of world building that probably should have been clearer earlier on.
While it was nice to find bad guys who don't explain their evil plot to the protagonists, it would have been nice if something of their motives had been explained. Similarly, I was surprised by Mr Malone's lack of concern for his children.
The plot - like Kenna's internal debates - got repetitive towards the end, so it's a good thing it was a quick read. It's easy to gloss over that when you're steamrolling through the book. A lot of things are left unresolved by the ending and I'm really looking forward to picking up the next volume.
Pros: great female protagonist, fast paced, variety of challenges, illustrations
Cons: too short! (though not for the intended age group), inaccurate science
When Merryn's father doesn't return from his day's fishing in a storm, she builds a submarine and goes looking for him.
This is a middle grade book, designed for ages 8-12, though it's suitable for those outside that range as well (there are a few scary bits, but nothing 6 year olds couldn't handle, and the short chapters make for good bedtime reading). While the science isn't accurate, I was impressed that the author mentioned some of the challenges of working and using a submarine (like what to do for air).
Merryn's a highly motivated character. She doubts herself a few times, wondering if her quest is futile, but forces herself to keep searching regardless. Along the way she encounters some fantastical sea creatures and faces several types of dangers. I also appreciated that there was no physical description of her.
The story's well paced, with a variety of challenges for Merryn to overcome, some using her wits and others her mechanical know how.
There's black and white artwork throughout the book, illustrating some of the wonders Merryn encounters.
This book is a tie-in to the video game of the same name, which follows Merryn's quest. The author wanted media his daughter could appreciate that focused on attributes outside of looks. And he's succeeded as far as this book is concerned.
As an adult I found the book an entertaining, quick read. I'm sure kids are going to love this.
Rather than sitting the characters down for a history lesson they already know, Violette Malan introduces her world through the actions and personalities of her protagonists. And the actions begin with a well orchestrated scape goating campaign by the New Believers, a sect of the Sleeping God's priesthood, against the Marked, those with special abilities to Heal, Find, Mend and See. Enter Dhulyn Wolfshead, mercenary partner of Parno Lionsmane and a carefully hidden Seer. They have returned to Parno's homeland, where unknown to them, the priesthood is coming to greater power. Their job to escort Mar-eMar to the capital takes several unexpected turns involving kidnapping, assassination and mob violence.
Pros: lyrical writing, interesting characters, detailed history/world, political intrigue
Cons: ending is a bit long
Under Heaven tells the story of Shen Tai, second son of a famous general. Upon the passing of his father, Tai decides to spend his time in mourning burying the dead from a battle site that brought his father sorrow. For this service he is gifted with 250 Sardian horses. This gift propels him into a role of importance in the country, and will either save him from assassination attempts, or create more of them.
The book is patterned off of the Tang Dynasty of China. Kay adds in a lot of historic details (way of life, poetry, class distinction) to make the book feel real. There is a lot of rich detail and imagery.
The intrigue is mostly concerning a few people in power and how the gift of these horses will be used (and if Tai will be killed before he can claim them). There is very little physical action. Most of the tension comes from verbal sparring and trying to grasp Tai's sudden change in status. The novel is very immersive. I missed my subway stop because I'd reached a point in the book where I HAD to keep reading. There are many such points in the book.
The ending is a bit long. Kay tied up as many loose endings as he could, which took a while. This isn't really a problem as the characters are all fascinating and you want to hear how things turn out for them.
If you're looking for action, look elsewhere. If you want court intrigue, poetic writing and a great story, you've come to the right place.
Given the negative connotations associated with ‘pulp' fiction, I had unfortunately low expectations coming into this book. It turned out to be a great read. This book epitomizes the idea of ‘escapist literature'. The story was fast paced, remarkably intelligent (especially considering the main character is skilled in sword fighting and ends up on ancient Mars due to a failed physics experiment). The level of description is enough to rival a TV show, with interesting (though admittedly 2 dimensional) characters. Highly recommended if you want to see where SF and Fantasy came from, and why they're both still popular today.
I'd heard that The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon, was a rewrite of Flowers of Algernon by Daniel Keyes, only with an autistic man rather than a mentally handicapped one. In one respect this is true. At the beginning of the novel the protagonist of The Speed of Dark is pressured by his company to be a subject testing a drug ostensibly designed to get rid of autism. But the novel itself is about so much more, to the point that the fear of having to participate in this medical procedure almost takes a back seat to all of the other issues facing Lou Arrendale. Issues like: what is normal? What is the nature of personality (if he has this treatment will he cease to be himself? Will he still like the same things? Will he be able to do the work he enjoys?). What is the speed of Dark? (Is it the absence of light or does it travel faster than light, thereby arriving first?)
Told mostly, but not exclusively, from Lou's point of view, we get a very well researched idea of how autistic people see the world. A point of view that helps to broaden your own as a reader and human being.
It's a great novel. Well written and with an ending you won't see coming.
This is a novel full of plots, poison and dragons. Part of the fun of the novel is trying to figure out who is betraying whom and why. With some characters double crossing their partners, it's not clear until the very end what everyone's goals are.
Though all of the characters had logical reasons for their actions, I found it hard to like any of them and cheer them towards their goals. There was no ‘good' character. Just a bunch of people trying to achieve something. Normally that would kill a book for me (I like at least one person I can empathize with). But Mr. Deas has created such an intriguing set of plot twists that I couldn't stop reading. Is Jehal really poisoning his father? Is Hyram going to honour his clan's agreement to make Queen Shezira the next speaker (and thereby ruler of the Nine Realms)? Who attacked the white dragon's entourage and what happened to it? Who are the mysterious Taiytakei people and what do they want? And what's in the bottle the sellswords Kemir and Sollos stop a group of dragon knights from selling in the prologue of the book?
It reads like a Joe Abercrombie novel, only with less swearing and fighting and more political scheming. The book does end in a way that suggests there will be a lot more warfare in the sequel.
Well written, often surprising, and definitely worth picking up.
Pros: well imagined world with a 3 tier citizenship system, interesting characters, extremely complex plot, lots of plot twists, keeps you on your toes and guessing about what will happen next
Pro/Con (depending on your point of view): everything that happens is important, so pay close attention when you read
Cons: redundant repetition
If you don't like the think when you read, you won't like State of Decay. So much happens all at once, and all of it is important. It took me about a hundred pages or so to really get into the story. There are 4 character POVs, and each one requires figuring out their place in society, their current actions and trying to understand how they'll fit into the main story. Around the hundred page mark the stories start to converge, and you're well into an awesome science fiction ride.
The main story focuses on Nico Wachalowski. When we meet him, the FBI agent is busting a revivor smuggling ring. Revivors are people reanimated after their deaths to serve in the military in return for second class citizenship while alive. Wachalowski quickly realizes that smuggling is only the most visible aspect of a deeper conspiracy.
Faye Dasalia is a detective investigating the murders of first class citizens who somehow managed to reach that status without serving in the military, the condition for that level of citizenship.
Zoe Ott is a clairvoyant. She has trouble distinguishing reality from her visions. While being an alcoholic doesn't bring the relief she's looking for, she keeps trying. She also has a peculiar way of getting people to do what she asks.
Calliope Flax is a boxer. She's brutal in the ring with a foul mouth and no expectations of a better life. She's third class, meaning she hasn't served in the military during her life and doesn't intend to dead.
Of the storylines, Cal's was the least interesting to me. Her story barely intersects the others, while theirs carry the plot forward. She does, however, mature the most, becoming, not a stronger person - she begins pretty strong - but one who can see a future for herself that didn't exist before the events of the book.
Knapp manages to keep the tension high throughout the story, with occasional down time. He made one ‘newbie' writing mistake (which I probably only noticed because I read several books on writing recently and so am looking for this in my own work). He has the tendency to mention things twice. In some cases this is necessary (as when Dasalia talks to herself and then asks something out loud - which becomes an important plot point). Other times he's just belaboring the obvious. It's an ‘error' that experience will fix.
He introduces some pretty cool technological advances, most notably the implant wired into Wachalowski's skull that allows him to record video feed of what he sees as well as communicate via thought patterns with his superiors.
The plot has twists you won't see coming, with an ending to match. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Pros: engaging, intricate plotlines, lots of political intrigue
Cons: the names are confusing for the first few chapters
Jeff Janoda took the Icelandic sagas and turned them into living stories. Reading his prose felt like listening to a storyteller. He has just enough description to give you a sense of place and people, religion and culture. His characters develop throughout the novel, some becoming more naive, others growing up fast. There's a lot of political intrigue, and just enough action to keep you reading.
The story is about the various feuds begun when Thorolf cuts the hay from both his meadow and that of his neighbour, Ulfar. When Ulfar tries to get satisfaction for this theft, he's forced to change allegiance, an act that spirals into a cold war for land and influence.
One of the most fascinating things about the story is the idea that with so much interbreeding, blood feuds are simply not practical. So most legal affairs are dealt with at the yearly Thing, where the Gothi, clan leaders, pass judgement. Of course, once some of the Gothi start taking matters into their own hands, blood feud becomes a real possibility.
The only complaint I had about the book (and it would have been impossible to get rid of) was the number of names that started with a ‘T'. Thorbrand, Thorgils, Thorleif and Thorolf are all major characters introduced in the first few chapters. The author provides a glossary of names, but I never looked at it, choosing to flip back to earlier passages to help get the names straight.
This is an excellent novel and if you have any interest in Iceland, medieval or otherwise, I highly recommend it.
Pros: several complex plot lines that all get resolved satisfactorily, interesting characters that develop over the course of the book, detailed world building - for the planet Grass as well as Earth and the rest of the universe (even though the rest of the universe isn't mentioned much)
Cons: can't think of any
Grass is a planet with no reports of plague victims in a universe of worlds dying of the plague.
Lady Marjorie Westriding Yarier and her family are sent by Sanctity, the dominant religion in the universe (though they are old catholics), to see if it really is free of plague, and/or if there is a cure for the plague on the planet. They are chosen because the nobles on Grass ride the hunt, and the Yarier family is good with horses.
Unknown to them, the bons ride Hippae, and the Hippae are not horses. They are malevolent creatures with unknown motivations.
The green brothers live on Grass, digging up the ruins of a civilization that died out centuries before. A race that may have died of the plague.
There are a lot of politics and a lot of revelations you won't be prepared for. It's a creepy novel at some parts, a tragic one at others. It is well worth the read.
Pros: political intrigue, unique races, good worldbuilding, interesting story
Cons: it doesn't get the full 5 stars because while I liked the characters, I didn't quite feel for them
War is coming to the free city of Vanai. But the people aren't worried. Every few years the Kings of Antea throw their weight around before leaving the city to its own devices again. Still, the branch of the Medean bank doesn't want the whole of its holdings to potentially fall to the invading army, so the bank's ward, Cithrin, is disguised as a boy and set to carting the gems, silks and other precious items to the branch in Carse.
The caravan's guards are ‘drafted' into the army, so their captain must find a new team, or he, too, will find himself fighting. He convinces a group of actors that their fortunes are better off outside the city.
Meanwhile, marching towards Vanai is Geder Palliako, butt of his fellow nobles' jokes and admirer of essays about the fall of the Dragon Empire. He's unaware that he's about to become the pawn of powerful men.
And back home in Antea's capital, Dawson tries to keep the farmers from gaining a council and weed out his political rivals, whose actions are becoming more and more treasonous. If only the king would listen to him and grow a backbone.
This book has so many good things going for it. The writing is solid - enough background and description to give a sense of place and time but not enough to become boring. Fantastic worldbuilding - with geographical diversity, history and a unique set of races sure to please readers of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt fans. I especially liked how people from one place knew next to nothing about other areas of their world, and relied on hearsay and stories for what they did know. And unlike Col Buchanan's Farlander, where the conflict is strictly along regional and national lines, here there's also (unfortunately) realistic racism among the 13 varieties of humans.
The protagonists are all interesting and make decisions that are often surprising though entirely in character. The only reason it didn't get a 5 star rating is because I never went that last step towards feeling what the characters feel. I didn't rage with Dawson or despair with Cithrin.
The political intrigue isn't as brutal as that in The Adamantine Palace (by Stephen Deas), but the players are much more likeable here and what intrigue there is, is well played.
I expect to see this book up for awards and on many ‘best of' lists for 2011