Latest Book Reviews and Comments

Magnificent Devices 4-book Bundle by Shelley Adina I initially obtained the first book Lady of Devices free and thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters to the point of not being able to pass up the great bargain of the 4 book bundle. I thought if they were even only half as well done as the first I couldn't go wrong. I set them aside for a bit before getting to them, but when I started I couldn't put the whole group down until I finished. Lady Claire or Claire Trevelyan daughter of Viscount St. Ives is one of the most remarkable female protagonists to come along. At the age of 17 she has been brought up proper to become a lady who will soon be offering her hand to the most eligible gentleman she can snare. The problem for Lady Claire is that despite all the efforts to cow and mold her into a pleasant perfect petticoat-ed proper lady she has other plans that can't include that gentlemen under her societies present circumstances. She wants to go to college to obtain a degree in engineering so that she can continue to pursue the passion she already has for designing and improving upon the steam driven technology that are emerging into the present era. Of course her goals are simply absurd in her day and age and she has an uphill battle, although the hill looks more like a cliff. A dreadful event changes her life and perhaps is what catapults her into having to use her wits to survive. Her father fails in a desperate gamble with combustion engines and ruins not only himself but a large number of investors. His subsequent suicide leaves his family trying to scramble up from the ashes to avoid poverty. Despite her mothers protests and preaching Lady Claire manages to free herself from tradition long enough to attempt to find a temporary job that will help her put herself through college. Because everything that Claire proposes to do is against the grain of societies rules she has a hard battle before her. Early on we discover one of Lady Claire's most prized possessions is her father's steam landau, which she uses to get around the city. It is through the theft of the landau, while she's wandered into an unsavory part of the city, that she begins to really show her mettle. Not knowing what she is facing she attempts to recover her landau from the thieves. This leads to the discovery that the thieves are mostly children. Perhaps it's a bit of that ingrained mother instinct that ultimately leads to Lady Claire taking over the 'gang'. The gang has since passed her landau off to another more dangerous gang and in exchange for Lady Claire teaching them how to make gaseous explosive devices they promise to help her gain back the landau. In the end Lady Claire ends up killing a man (Lightning Jackson) and beginning her life of crime. Lady Claire continues to search for a job while she rides herd over the gang of youths and spends her free time teaching them mathematics, chemistry, reading, writing, mechanical engineering, various poker hands and all the essentials including bomb building. Her search for a job intersects with an old family friend James Selwyn who has a business colleague Andrew Malvern who is designing a new way to make coal more efficient. James Selwyn immediately comes off as a bit of a stuffy self-involved character who has only one vision of what a woman's place in society is. This is so narrow that it precludes the probability that his efforts will damage his chances of completing the project of creating Hyper-efficient coal. Despite James effort Claire and Andrew must work around James to succeed. Eventually Lady Claire will find herself torn between the professed affections of these two men. The second book has a spot that I found to be a point of epiphany for Claire. Claire knows that if she wanted to make many things in her life easier she could Marry James as he keeps insisting he wants her to do. James has gone as far as to manipulate things in his favor despite his seeming distaste for most of what Claire represents. Because of James's cruel and insensitive nature she know that his final goal is to separate her from her life goals and from her new found family of the children she has been sheltering. She has made the children a promise and James intends on forcing her to break that promise and at this point of the book Lady Claire has a moment of clarity where she realizes that her first commitment is to the children, her new family, and that anyone who comes into her life has to be able to accept them. Clearly the children are as important to her as her goal to go to a university and become an engineer. Lady Claire seems to be more than willing and capable of handling the requirements of the average woman while still striving to obtain something that far surpasses every woman. Lady Claire is the Lady of Devices but more appropriately she is later described as the Lady of Resources which defines her much better. Lady Claire does have a mind and a inclination for devices but she seems less the inventor and more the innovator of other inventions. She surrounds herself with others with valuable skills and has set herself up as a leader of a small army that includes several other ladies of resources. James can't tolerate this and Andrew can only marvel at it all (and they only know the half of it). That does not mean that these two men are weak or less than men. James typifies everything that Lady Claire had to fight and overcome while Andrew is more tolerant and finds himself puzzling over the old paradigm of social order and this new vision that he sees working not only with Lady Claire but in the children she has in her charge. Even Lady Claire struggles with the whole new paradigm when she finds herself stifling the twins more often than not. It is hard to let go and realize that these young girls and all of her children are no longer ordinary. A majority of the successes of Lady Claire and her charges stems from not weak and inept male characters, but more so from a real existing mental attitude ingrained in the minds of those men. I've met many that exist today that have this same blind spot when trying to judge the capability of some women. It's such a powerful influence that they teach their own wives to live within the same blind spot; helping to affirm and fulfill their own skewed expectation of woman's abilities. James is a strong male character on one side of the blind spot and Andrew is a strong male character on the other side. Andrew's strength only becomes less evident to anyone looking at him from that blind spot, which is going to include a majority of those typical strong male types. Make no mistake; I loved this series of books and will be looking into the 5th book soon. I love Ms. Adina's writing style and suspect I will be tempted into reaching out of my genre preferences once again to peruse a few more of her works. Anyone who loves SteamPunk or even SFF (and is not ultra picky about the science or strict adherence to history) should love these books. For those who are picky I'd like to point out the disclaimer at the beginning which includes. [Quote] This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.[/Quote] J.L. Dobias

Magnificent Devices 4-book Bundle by Shelley Adina I initially obtained the first book Lady of Devices free and thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters to the point of not being able to pass up the great bargain of the 4 book bundle. I thought if they were even only half as well done as the first I couldn't go wrong. I set them aside for a bit before getting to them, but when I started I couldn't put the whole group down until I finished. Lady Claire or Claire Trevelyan daughter of Viscount St. Ives is one of the most remarkable female protagonists to come along. At the age of 17 she has been brought up proper to become a lady who will soon be offering her hand to the most eligible gentleman she can snare. The problem for Lady Claire is that despite all the efforts to cow and mold her into a pleasant perfect petticoat-ed proper lady she has other plans that can't include that gentlemen under her societies present circumstances. She wants to go to college to obtain a degree in engineering so that she can continue to pursue the passion she already has for designing and improving upon the steam driven technology that are emerging into the present era. Of course her goals are simply absurd in her day and age and she has an uphill battle, although the hill looks more like a cliff. A dreadful event changes her life and perhaps is what catapults her into having to use her wits to survive. Her father fails in a desperate gamble with combustion engines and ruins not only himself but a large number of investors. His subsequent suicide leaves his family trying to scramble up from the ashes to avoid poverty. Despite her mothers protests and preaching Lady Claire manages to free herself from tradition long enough to attempt to find a temporary job that will help her put herself through college. Because everything that Claire proposes to do is against the grain of societies rules she has a hard battle before her. Early on we discover one of Lady Claire's most prized possessions is her father's steam landau, which she uses to get around the city. It is through the theft of the landau, while she's wandered into an unsavory part of the city, that she begins to really show her mettle. Not knowing what she is facing she attempts to recover her landau from the thieves. This leads to the discovery that the thieves are mostly children. Perhaps it's a bit of that ingrained mother instinct that ultimately leads to Lady Claire taking over the 'gang'. The gang has since passed her landau off to another more dangerous gang and in exchange for Lady Claire teaching them how to make gaseous explosive devices they promise to help her gain back the landau. In the end Lady Claire ends up killing a man (Lightning Jackson) and beginning her life of crime. Lady Claire continues to search for a job while she rides herd over the gang of youths and spends her free time teaching them mathematics, chemistry, reading, writing, mechanical engineering, various poker hands and all the essentials including bomb building. Her search for a job intersects with an old family friend James Selwyn who has a business colleague Andrew Malvern who is designing a new way to make coal more efficient. James Selwyn immediately comes off as a bit of a stuffy self-involved character who has only one vision of what a woman's place in society is. This is so narrow that it precludes the probability that his efforts will damage his chances of completing the project of creating Hyper-efficient coal. Despite James effort Claire and Andrew must work around James to succeed. Eventually Lady Claire will find herself torn between the professed affections of these two men. The second book has a spot that I found to be a point of epiphany for Claire. Claire knows that if she wanted to make many things in her life easier she could Marry James as he keeps insisting he wants her to do. James has gone as far as to manipulate things in his favor despite his seeming distaste for most of what Claire represents. Because of James's cruel and insensitive nature she know that his final goal is to separate her from her life goals and from her new found family of the children she has been sheltering. She has made the children a promise and James intends on forcing her to break that promise and at this point of the book Lady Claire has a moment of clarity where she realizes that her first commitment is to the children, her new family, and that anyone who comes into her life has to be able to accept them. Clearly the children are as important to her as her goal to go to a university and become an engineer. Lady Claire seems to be more than willing and capable of handling the requirements of the average woman while still striving to obtain something that far surpasses every woman. Lady Claire is the Lady of Devices but more appropriately she is later described as the Lady of Resources which defines her much better. Lady Claire does have a mind and a inclination for devices but she seems less the inventor and more the innovator of other inventions. She surrounds herself with others with valuable skills and has set herself up as a leader of a small army that includes several other ladies of resources. James can't tolerate this and Andrew can only marvel at it all (and they only know the half of it). That does not mean that these two men are weak or less than men. James typifies everything that Lady Claire had to fight and overcome while Andrew is more tolerant and finds himself puzzling over the old paradigm of social order and this new vision that he sees working not only with Lady Claire but in the children she has in her charge. Even Lady Claire struggles with the whole new paradigm when she finds herself stifling the twins more often than not. It is hard to let go and realize that these young girls and all of her children are no longer ordinary. A majority of the successes of Lady Claire and her charges stems from not weak and inept male characters, but more so from a real existing mental attitude ingrained in the minds of those men. I've met many that exist today that have this same blind spot when trying to judge the capability of some women. It's such a powerful influence that they teach their own wives to live within the same blind spot; helping to affirm and fulfill their own skewed expectation of woman's abilities. James is a strong male character on one side of the blind spot and Andrew is a strong male character on the other side. Andrew's strength only becomes less evident to anyone looking at him from that blind spot, which is going to include a majority of those typical strong male types. And now for quibbles. Shelley Adina writes well and is a magnificent story teller and as always I tend not to downgrade the work for common errors in the understanding that I have my own problems ferreting out all the straggling errors that hide amongst my own writing. I am not one who thinks that every published manuscript must be totally error free or it becomes invalid. It is insanity for authors to attempt to edit their own work especially when there is proof that even many so called professional editors have left enough errors intact for the author too find, forcing the author to attempt the insane. Errors happen. My present quibble is not addressed directly at Ms. Adina as it is at a number of authors who seem to find the use of a particular somewhat poetic word necessary at least once within their work. I'm referring to that beautiful word susurrus. In this instance it shows up as susurration. I just want to point out that susurrus is spelled S-U-S-U-R-R-U-S note two r's together not two s's. I'm beginning to love/hate this word. It's pronunciation is almost a clear clue to it definition and I am certain that at the very least in literary circles (particularly poetic) it is a well known word. But if I were to include it within my own narrative I would suspect that in my venue it might not be so well known, so I would be extra careful to be sure I was spelling it correctly. Of the last four times I've seen this in someones work it has shown up as sussurus and in this instance as sussuration. Those two words as they are spelled don't exist and anyone looking them up or using the dictionary within kindle is going to be disappointed. On a side note; had it not been for the few authors who have used and so often misspelled this word I would likely have lived the rest of my life without being acquainted with it. Make no mistake; I loved this series of books and will be looking into the 5th book soon. I love Ms. Adina's writing style and suspect I will be tempted into reaching out of my genre preferences once again to peruse a few more of her works. Anyone who loves SteamPunk or even SFF (and is not ultra picky about the science or strict adherence to history) should love these books. For those who are picky I'd like to point out the disclaimer at the beginning which includes. [Quote] This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.[/Quote] J.L. Dobias

Magnificent Devices 4-book Bundle by Shelley Adina I initially obtained the first book Lady of Devices free and thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters to the point of not being able to pass up the great bargain of the 4 book bundle. I thought if they were even only half as well done as the first I couldn't go wrong. I set them aside for a bit before getting to them, but when I started I couldn't put the whole group down until I finished. Lady Claire or Claire Trevelyan daughter of Viscount St. Ives is one of the most remarkable female protagonists to come along. At the age of 17 she has been brought up proper to become a lady who will soon be offering her hand to the most eligible gentleman she can snare. The problem for Lady Claire is that despite all the efforts to cow and mold her into a pleasant perfect petticoat-ed proper lady she has other plans that can't include that gentlemen under her societies present circumstances. She wants to go to college to obtain a degree in engineering so that she can continue to pursue the passion she already has for designing and improving upon the steam driven technology that are emerging into the present era. Of course her goals are simply absurd in her day and age and she has an uphill battle, although the hill looks more like a cliff. A dreadful event changes her life and perhaps is what catapults her into having to use her wits to survive. Her father fails in a desperate gamble with combustion engines and ruins not only himself but a large number of investors. His subsequent suicide leaves his family trying to scramble up from the ashes to avoid poverty. Despite her mothers protests and preaching Lady Claire manages to free herself from tradition long enough to attempt to find a temporary job that will help her put herself through college. Because everything that Claire proposes to do is against the grain of societies rules she has a hard battle before her. Early on we discover one of Lady Claire's most prized possessions is her father's steam landau, which she uses to get around the city. It is through the theft of the landau, while she's wandered into an unsavory part of the city, that she begins to really show her mettle. Not knowing what she is facing she attempts to recover her landau from the thieves. This leads to the discovery that the thieves are mostly children. Perhaps it's a bit of that ingrained mother instinct that ultimately leads to Lady Claire taking over the 'gang'. The gang has since passed her landau off to another more dangerous gang and in exchange for Lady Claire teaching them how to make gaseous explosive devices they promise to help her gain back the landau. In the end Lady Claire ends up killing a man (Lightning Jackson) and beginning her life of crime. Lady Claire continues to search for a job while she rides herd over the gang of youths and spends her free time teaching them mathematics, chemistry, reading, writing, mechanical engineering, various poker hands and all the essentials including bomb building. Her search for a job intersects with an old family friend James Selwyn who has a business colleague Andrew Malvern who is designing a new way to make coal more efficient. James Selwyn immediately comes off as a bit of a stuffy self-involved character who has only one vision of what a woman's place in society is. This is so narrow that it precludes the probability that his efforts will damage his chances of completing the project of creating Hyper-efficient coal. Despite James effort Claire and Andrew must work around James to succeed. Eventually Lady Claire will find herself torn between the professed affections of these two men. The second book has a spot that I found to be a point of epiphany for Claire. Claire knows that if she wanted to make many things in her life easier she could Marry James as he keeps insisting he wants her to do. James has gone as far as to manipulate things in his favor despite his seeming distaste for most of what Claire represents. Because of James's cruel and insensitive nature she know that his final goal is to separate her from her life goals and from her new found family of the children she has been sheltering. She has made the children a promise and James intends on forcing her to break that promise and at this point of the book Lady Claire has a moment of clarity where she realizes that her first commitment is to the children, her new family, and that anyone who comes into her life has to be able to accept them. Clearly the children are as important to her as her goal to go to a university and become an engineer. Lady Claire seems to be more than willing and capable of handling the requirements of the average woman while still striving to obtain something that far surpasses every woman. Lady Claire is the Lady of Devices but more appropriately she is later described as the Lady of Resources which defines her much better. Lady Claire does have a mind and a inclination for devices but she seems less the inventor and more the innovator of other inventions. She surrounds herself with others with valuable skills and has set herself up as a leader of a small army that includes several other ladies of resources. James can't tolerate this and Andrew can only marvel at it all (and they only know the half of it). That does not mean that these two men are weak or less than men. James typifies everything that Lady Claire had to fight and overcome while Andrew is more tolerant and finds himself puzzling over the old paradigm of social order and this new vision that he sees working not only with Lady Claire but in the children she has in her charge. Even Lady Claire struggles with the whole new paradigm when she finds herself stifling the twins more often than not. It is hard to let go and realize that these young girls and all of her children are no longer ordinary. A majority of the successes of Lady Claire and her charges stems from not weak and inept male characters, but more so from a real existing mental attitude ingrained in the minds of those men. I've met many that exist today that have this same blind spot when trying to judge the capability of some women. It's such a powerful influence that they teach their own wives to live within the same blind spot; helping to affirm and fulfill their own skewed expectation of woman's abilities. James is a strong male character on one side of the blind spot and Andrew is a strong male character on the other side. Andrew's strength only becomes less evident to anyone looking at him from that blind spot, which is going to include a majority of those typical strong male types. Make no mistake; I loved this series of books and will be looking into the 5th book soon. I love Ms. Adina's writing style and suspect I will be tempted into reaching out of my genre preferences once again to peruse a few more of her works. Anyone who loves SteamPunk or even SFF (and is not ultra picky about the science or strict adherence to history) should love these books. For those who are picky I'd like to point out the disclaimer at the beginning which includes. [Quote] This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.[/Quote] J.L. Dobias

This book won the Hugo? For some reason, I expect books that win prizes like that to be something mindblowing. Guess what: this wasn't. Hannu Rajaniemi's book was, for example, even if I only understood half of it. So this was something of a funny adventure / metastory, somewhat likable characters, easy to read, but I didn't find it to be anything special. Old man's war had ideas and it was a better book imho.

For many years I have wanted to read Gaiman's Sandman comic's and now I finally started. I regret so much that I didn't start sooner. Absolute pearl of comics this is. The story is intriguing and art marvelous. Can't wait to get my hands on the next part!

Being conclusion to the King Rolen's Kin King Breaker leaves couple of main questions unanswered, which is annoying, but still is one the best books I've read this year, thus the last half star ;) The story arc of Byren was somewhat stunning, not exactly what I was hoping or expecting for. Piro's story had been one of my favorite during the series and thus I was little bit disapointed that her story arc didn't actually come to any deasent conclusion but more likely being at turnaround this point, it felt like half of her story was left untold. Last of the kin's were Fyn and he at least got a fitting end for all his troubles. Despite of it's flaws, King Rolen's King -series kept me in it's hold with interesting story and captive twists in the plot. I wish I could spend just one more book with the kin to get the final answers it was lacking for...

Wow. I love this. A Hidden Fire is an interesting mystery, a fascinating story and a book that I'm enormously happy belongs to a series. It promises a lot, delivers most of what it promises and the rest of it... well, just read the next ones!

I have read the books both in Finnish and English and honestly must I say, that the essence of the stories or better said, half of the "voice" is gone when translated. Harris uses the southern voice when writing and and that gives the stories more plausibility and personality. This is really easy but, satisfying entertainment.

A short but epic cautionary tale of corruption, greed and redemption, beautifully written with gorgeous artwork. This is the tale of man who is taken to the end of his metaphorical tether and decides to exact revenge on the untouchable banker who takes his wife and his life from him. Hell had better expect changes!

My friend recommended this to me in the spring and few weeks ago I needed something to read and found this from my library. So. Okayish, did like, will probably read the sequel at some point. Original magic system, liked the heroine.

If you've ever watched one of those really twisted episodes of Criminal Minds and wondered what an extended, uncensored, feature film version might look like, then this is the book for you. If you've ever enjoyed Silence of the Lambs and came away from either the book or the movie wishing it had been less about Hannibal Lector, and more about Buffalo Bill, then this is the book for you. If you've ever found that you actually prefer the original book over the movie version of Psycho, precisely because it dragged you deeper inside Norman Bates' psychosis, then this is the book for you. Just don't expect a happy ending. Hell's Door may very well be the best, the darkest, and the most perverse serial killer tale or police procedural that I have read in a very long time. What Sandy DeLuca has crafted here is a short novella that works exceedingly well in both genres, taking the first to extremes, while nicely subverting the second, and tying them both together with a twist that I honestly never saw coming. Let's start with the second of the two - the police procedural. On the surface, this is the most straightforward (almost clichéd) element of the story. Detectives Lacy Powers and John Demmings are tired, jaded, overworked, and overwhelmed by their dogged pursuit of one of the worst serial killers in history. There's the obligatory will-they-won't-they sexual tension between them, with John coming off a failed marriage, and Lacy seemingly married to her job. There's also standard narrative isolation that suggests, no matter how big the case, they're really the only cops in town on the job. Behind all that, however, there's a whole other layer that DeLuca has deftly subverted. She takes the cliché of the maverick cops who know better than everyone else, who don't need to inconvenience themselves with evidence to solve a case, and almost gleefully demonstrates how wrong they are. We know from the start that they're harassing the wrong suspect, and we're increasingly aware of the fact that more innocent women are dying because of their shared obsession. She also strips both characters to the bone, revealing them to be something other than we'd expect, particularly in the way Lacy presented seems to enjoys the inappropriate attention of their suspect, the devil-worshiping dominatrix, Ramsay Wolfe. Now, as for the second of the two - the serial killer tale - DeLuca pushes that to the limits and rides the razor's edge of almost-too-extreme. She puts us right inside the mind of her killer, exposing us to thoughts, feeling, fears, and fantasies that are clearly the product of a deeply disturbed mind. Whether it's rape with a broken chair leg, removing a victim's skin, or cutting off heads with a knife, she doesn't hesitate to describe the ugliest details, but she's careful not to sadistically glorify the acts. It's very clear what's being done to the women of Providence, but the focus is clearly on the killer's justification for suffering, not on the suffering itself. As for the serial killer in question, to say too much would be to spoil the slow reveal of the story, as well as the final twist. There is absolutely a little Buffalo Bill and Norman Bates in our killer, but not necessarily in the ways you would expect. We get glimpses of history, of past events, that help to illuminate the killer's motives and methods, but DeLuca wisely steers clear of revealing too much, or of trying to transform her monster into a sympathetic victim. One thing I will say, however, is that no matter how creepy or unsettling you find the killer to be while reading, nothing can compare to what you'll think after the final twist. It takes a brave - or possibly troubled - reader to step confidently through Hell's Door, but you won't be disappointed by what you find on the other side. This was a stellar tale, entirely suitable to being read in a single sitting, but I suggest breaking it up over a couple of days, just to give your mind time to process what's going on. Trust me, it's worth it.

What's so remarkable about the stories contained within Staring Into the Abyss is not that they're often so short, but that they often work so well. Word count and issues of quantity aside, the shorter a piece is, the harder it often is to imbue it with any sort of quality. Fortunately, Richard Thomas knows precisely what he is trying to convey with each piece, and he does so without so much as a wasted word. I know it's a bit of a cliché, but what he's written here is really quite poetic. The collection begins with a trio of tales that really serve to set both the stage, and our expectations. 'Maker of Flight' is a tale of dreams, freedom, and subtle acts of rebellion; 'Steel-Toed Boots' is about fears, secrets, and the need to understand; and 'Freedom' is a tale of sorrow, loss, and the cathartic release of artificial solace. In those three tale we see the darkest, the saddest, and the loneliest aspects of the human condition, with the emotions laid bare for us to taste. Deeper into the collection, 'Splintered' is a fantastic sort of choose-your-own-adventure tale that forces us to assume responsibility for the protagonist's self-esteem; 'Fringe' is an ironic sort of tale that explores both sides of the coin that some call suspicion, and others call vigilance; 'Underground Wonder Bound' is an almost light-hearted tale of a withering relationship, complete with a twist ending; 'Interview' is an eerily banal tale of murderous plans couched in casually creepy conversation; 'Stephen King Ate My Brain' is a surprisingly straightforward tale of claiming your dreams, only to find they're too much for you to handle; and 'Rudy Jenkins Buries His Fears' is a perfect tale of adolescent fear, shame, and bravery in the face of abuse. Of the rest, some stories didn't quite work for me, with a few just too much tease, and not enough satisfaction. I would be remiss, however, if I didn't call out 'Victimized' as the standout entry in the collection. It's a dark and violent tale that explores the cycle of abuse, the hatred it breeds, and the difficulty involved in breaking that cycle . . . along with the responsibility that follows. It's almost post-apocalyptic in its idea of social justice the criminals among us, and could very well be considered a revenge fantasy, were it not for the consequences. These are dark stories, full of dark themes, that feed of dark emotions. They're sad and they're painful, but they're also a part of the human condition. The magic here is that, no matter how short the story, Thomas manages to make us care for - and often sympathize with - the characters, even if only for a brief moment. There is a lot of suffering in these stories, the kind that drags people down, detaches them from reality, and leaves them with nothing to do but lie there, Staring Into the Abyss. There are no easy escapes in Thomas' tales but there are a few happy endings, claimed by those who are strong enough to stare beyond the abyss, to create their own light on the other side, and to march (or crawl) fearlessly towards it.

In what feels like a much older novel than it is, Conjure House offers up a solid, old-fashioned horror novel story, the kind where the real horror always seems to be just off the margins of the page. Gary Fry establishes each scene beautifully, engaging the reader's imagination so well that it's often a surprise to look back and realize just how sparse the details are upon the page, when they're so vivid and vibrant in the mind's eye. It's a neat narrative trick, and one that's not easy to pull off, but it really serves to draw you deeper into the story. Horror novels are often a bit odd, requiring a kind of patience that we, as readers, don't extend to other genres. We're generally willing to sit back and let the author establish the scene, foreshadow the real horror, and build up the suspense before finally allowing our fears to escape. Here, however, we get two of the strongest opening chapters I've read in a horror novel in quite some time. By the time we're through them, we already have the background we need to appreciate the horror, some sympathy for the protagonist, and a burning desire to find out what's really going on behind the doors of the Conjure House. Fry makes use of a lot of the standard elements of the genre here, including a haunted house; the tormented, secretive father; the sensitive, somewhat prescient mother; the child who is surprisingly mature for his age; and the small circle of childhood friends who have scattered over the years, but who immediately return home to put the past to rest. Anybody who has ever read a Stephen King or Dean Koontz novel knows the formula, and also knows that formula can work very well, with enough inspiration and talent behind it. Even if Fry doesn't quite pull it off, there's enough imagination and ingenuity here to justify the attempt. The pacing lags a bit in the middle of the book, as old friends are brought back together, but there are enough eerie, creepy, unsettling glimpses of the true horror embedded in their journeys to keep the reader close. Unfortunately, Anthony and his family dynamic is the weakest part of the story, and the lack of likability/sympathy does keep the novel from achieving the full impact of its potential. As for the mystical mumbo-jumbo of the Conjure House, the philosophical concepts of folding time, and the Lovecraft inspiration behind it all . . . well, it's a big heavy-handed for such a short novel, and probably a bit too intangible for some readers. I didn't particularly buy it, and didn't find it lived up to the atmosphere Fry created, but I did find it a nice alternative to the typical religious/spiritual conflict of good and evil. Overall, it's a good book . . . a solid read . . . and a nice addition to the genre. I doubt I'll have any strong memories of it a few weeks or months from now, but I am curious to give Fry another read, and have no hesitation in recommending this to fans of the genre.

What would happen if Mad Max were to step into the world of The Dark Tower, aided and abetted on his journey by the likes of William Gibson and Richard Matheson? Well, you'd get something very much like Jay Posey's post-apocalyptic cyberpunk thriller, simply titled Three. This is a book that demands a lot of the reader - a lot of patience, a lot of imagination, and a lot of faith that Posey knows where he's going with it all. He simply drops us into the middle of his world and expects us to catch up. Not only isn't there a lot of narrative exposition, there's not a lot of background or explanation provided. Terms and concepts are casually tossed around by characters who clearly know what they're talking about, but we're expected to read between the lines and pay attention to the snippets of information to figure out the larger picture. It's likely to be frustrating for some readers, especially since we never do get all the answers, but it really immerses you in Posey's world, with the mystery and the suspense a large part of the book's appeal. In terms of characters, Three, Cass, and Wren make for a solid trio to guide us on our journey through this barren landscape. Equal parts Mad Max and Roland Deschain, Three is the mysterious loner who stands apart from everyone and everything around him. He's as coldly arrogant as he is fiercely independent, but he's also unshakably loyal, morally grounded, and altogether human beneath that harsh exterior. Cass is a complex character - damaged, addicted, and on the run. She sacrificed her own future long ago, but is desperate to preserve that of her son, while she still can. Wren is somewhat problematic, a little too perfect and precocious, but he has potential. Here is a young boy, on the cusp of something amazing, who holds a mysterious power that certain people would kill to understand. As for the primary villains - Asher and his villainous gang of henchmen - they don't seem like much more than thugs originally, but as we learn more about who and what they are, they take on a life of their own. By the end of the story, they're not just a serviceable threat, but legitimate foils. More importantly, they're developed as characters with drives and motivations, as unsavory as those may be, and even deserving of some small dose of sympathy. Actually, they probably develop a bit better than the protagonists in that their changes are more gradual, and far less remarkable, than of Three in particular. The world of Three is largely your typical post-apocalyptic landscape, a barren wasteland broken here and there by remnants of civilization. Much of what's left is literally underground (sewers, bunkers, tunnels, etc.), and the only safe refuge from the Weir once the sun goes down. Despite all that's been lost or destroyed, however, there remains a complex cyberpunk-type element to the world, with characters 'wired' into some sort of network that allows them to do everything from check the time to map their GPS coordinates, and others mechanically augmented with varying degrees of technology. As for the Weir, some readers will definitely be left frustrated by the lack of information regarding their true nature, but Posey seems to understand that monsters are at their most frightening when left with a little mystery. Think fast zombies with a sort of collective cyberpunk consciousness, and you get enough of an idea to truly fear when darkness falls. It's not a perfect book, but it's damn-near. Yes, we'd all like more information and more answers, but so long as Posey delves deeper into how and why the world works in subsequent volumes, I'm quite fine with that. There's definitely a little emotional manipulation going on here that may strike some readers as a cheap ploy, particularly with Cass and Wren, but it worked for me because their relationship seemed natural/normal, and served to ground the story. The pacing is excellent and the narrative sharp, and even if the conclusion leaves us a little frustrated, it also leaves us demanding more.

In this first book of his Morlock Ambrosius origin story, James Enge provides us with a 'classic' epic fantasy tale, centered around the clash between dwarves and dragons, augmented with a little alternative history, a story of parallel worlds, and a really interesting take on the Arthurian legends. It's an odd mix of storytelling elements, but A Guile of Dragons works quite well, despite a few awkward passages. The opening chapters certainly felt a bit rushed, as if Enge were impatient to have Ambrosius grow up, without getting into the whole coming-of-age storytelling mess. Don't get me wrong, there are some authors who have done the coming-of-age thing well (Tad Williams immediately comes to mind), but all too often it feels like padding, so I'm not disappointed that Enge passed it by. Fortunately, once we get outside the city and meet back up with Earno, the man responsible for Merlin's exile, the story really begins to pick up. There's a subtle antagonism between the two men that you can feel, and enough conflicted loyalties on both sides to really add some tension to the tale. Neither are particularly likable as protagonists, which does present a bit of a challenge - especially when the dwarves so often steal the show - but they're interesting, and admirable in their own way. It's with the first appearance of the dragons, however, that Enge completely won me over. The dragons broke through the clouds in groups of three, casting distorted shadows behind them by their own light. There were perhaps a dozen groups. Most of them soared steeply out of the range of sight, but three dragons flew directly to the windows of the High Hall of the East. One roosted directly before the windows (the mountain shook beneath them) and peered within: smoke and fire trailing from his jaws, his bright scales shedding red light at their edges, his slotted eyes as red and gold as molten metal. It seems as if dragons have become somewhat passé in recent years, as gritty realism and militaristic tales have come to dominate much of the market, so it was refreshing to encounter real dragons again - intelligent, greedy, treasure-seeking, malevolent creatures, full of magic and fire. Add to that the idea of a guile, of a collared dragon claiming mastery over a group of its kin, herding them and marshaling them into a sort of army, and you've got one hell of a great story. The writing is crisp, and flows well; the battle scenes are played out beautifully; and the characters are both complex and engaging. A Guile of Dragons isn't a particularly deep fantasy tale, although I can sense a great story waiting to be told. Perhaps readers already familiar with the character will find more nuances to the tale than I, but it's still more than adequate as an introduction to Ambrosius' world, and strong enough to make me want to read Wrath-Bearing Tree, the second book of A Tournament of Shadows.

‘Dark times call for dark choices. Choose me.’ For all you Jorg haters out there, that one line, that simple declaration, sums up The Broken Empire better than anything I might be able to coax from my tired brain. Yes, for the second night in a row, a book has gotten its hooks into me and demanded I stay up far too late reading the final 200 pages. Fortunately, Emperor of Thorns delivered in almost every respect, defiantly answering my every conflicting emotion resulting from its predecessor, King of Thorns. Mark Lawrence has taken the successful formula of the first two books, tweaked it, twisted it, and triumphed over the most problematic - and predictable - portions. Once again we find ourselves on a journey, but it's rediscovered some of the novelty and macabre sense of wonder that made the first book so fun. As was the case with the first two books, we have two interwoven stories, but whereas I found the flashback portion of the second book a bit weak, here it's strong enough to carry a tale all on its own. As for my concerns about the artifacts of Builder technology playing such a crucial role in the climax of the first two books, I am very pleased to say that they've proven to be completely unfounded. In fact, what Lawrence does to bring that aspect of the tale to the forefront here is one of the novel's most pleasant surprises. Another pleasant surprise is the continuing growth of Jorg. Yes, he's a right royal bastard, and about as far from a knight in shining armor as you can get, but he's human. We saw some growth in the second book as he matured and grew into his role as king, but here we see him grow into the role of expectant father as well. Of course, that brings about a whole slew of issues, given his dark relationship with his own father, but Lawrence develops it well, making it a key focus of the story, without overdoing it. In fact, there are some very nice parallels with the first book, including a surprise appearance of the very carriage that carried Jorg's mother and brother to their doom. Sadly, Miana feels a bit wasted here, given her developed in the last book, but I thought Katherine's role in things was very nicely played out, with more than a few surprises. An even darker book than the first two, with the Dead King's armies sweeping across the land, Emperor of Thorns still manages to provide a little dark humor, and even some genuine emotion along the way. I could have done without the interludes of Chella's story, but that's a minor quibble on my part. As for the climax . . . well, there are really two endings to the tale, both of which are extraordinarily well played. Without getting into spoiler territory, the first is largely inevitable, but still a hell of a lot of fun to watch come to fruition, while the second is a complete and utter surprise, an entirely bold choice on Lawrence's part to provide a note of finality to things. I said in my review of King of Thorns that it was a bigger book than the Prince of Thorns in every respect, and a tale that leaves even bigger expectations. Well, even if this is a somewhat smaller and more intimate tale, it more than manages to deliver on those expectations. An entirely satisfying conclusion to an original and exciting saga. Highly recommended.

Remember that spam email you received promising to share millions of dollars if you'd just share your bank account with the spouse of some crooked African dictator? How about the one where some 'gorgeous' Russian girl with a vocabulary south of the bimbo mark begs you for the pleasure of calling her 900 number? Or what about the one threatening absolute catastrophe if you don't immediately forward the message to 20 of your closest friends? If you've ever had even a passing thought of opening one of those ticking e-bombs, Steve Lowe has a word of caution for you: "Why you are sloth? Because fuck you is why! HAHAHAHAHA!!1!" It is with that pithy, English-as-a-third-language, taunt that everything begins going wrong for the reader - because, as the title suggests, YOU are the protagonist. Magically transformed into an honest-to-gosh sloth, complete with yellow claws, a furry back, and an extraordinary long tongue, you're left to play everything from cute wingman, to furry target of gay men's affections, to vengeance-seeking superhero. This is one rude, crude, and lewd adventure, filled with ridiculous toilet humor, the worst kind of gay stereotypes, and a rather piss-poor opinion of humanity. It's also wildly imaginative, very funny, and even pithy and insightful, provided you can allow yourself to see through the Bizarro spectacle. Lowe is definitely one of the more accessible authors of the genre, somebody who gives as much attention to telling a story as to exploring the surreal. His narrative is simple and free-flowing, without playing any sort of literary tricks to confuse or amuse. In addition, his characters actually have a personality, and develop through the course of the story. His story is deliberately offensive in many ways, but as a caricature or over-the-top parody, never as a mean-spirited attack. There are some Bizarro titles I skim through for scenes that catch my eye, and others that I read cover-to-cover . . . Lowe is definitely one of the latter, and a gentleman I need to read more of.

A contemporary battleship being sent back to prehistoric times would have been interesting enough, but making the ship a WWI destroyer that is already failing when pressed into WWII service is a nice touch, and making that prehistoric world an alternate one, populated by a cat-like race at war with a reptilian one, is fantastic. As sea-fairing military thrillers go, this a solid read. I tend to gravitate more towards submarines than destroyers when looking for a naval adventure, but the historical aspect was more than enough to pique my interest. The characters were all nicely developed, with a few standouts that I hope get more page time as the series continues. In terms of world-building, this is more establishing a concept than truly executing on it, but Anderson lays out enough detail to make the story work, and to make you want to keep reading. The clear delineation between the 'good' race and the 'bad' one is a bit simplistic, so I hope he blurs that line a bit in subsequent volumes. I'm really interested to see how the tentative American/Japanese true develops, and would be disappointed if Anderson didn't blur some lines there as well, particularly in terms of alliances with the new races. There's a lot of potential here, and while I'm not sure it can sustain eight books (which is where the series stands today), I'm more than willing to go along for the ride and see how long the fun lasts. It's a book full of ideas that have been done before, but never quite in this manner. As for the writing, it's a bit cold and simplistic to start, but I could feel Anderson becoming more and more comfortable as the book progressed, with bodes well for future volumes.

Not to be deliberately facetious, but I only had two concerns with King Breaker, the conclusion to King Rolen's Kin - namely, the beginning and the end. That's not to say that this is, by any means a bad book, or that Rowena Cory Daniells did, in any respect, a poor job of wrapping up the various threads left hanging after The Usurper. Far from it. It's simply an acknowledgement of where I had issues. Let's start with the beginning. Granted, Daniells had a lot to catch up on in terms of characters and plot threads, but I found the opening chapters to be a very slow read. There's a lot of talk, a lot of angst, and a lot of shared frustration, but nothing that really moves the story forward. For the most part, it's a lot of set-up and maneuvering of game pieces, setting up the reunions and confrontations that we know will drive the heart of the story. We're actually a good 150 pages in before the story really takes off, but once it does, it's just as good - if not better - than any of the books that came before. While the entire saga has largely been Byron's story, the other main characters get a lot of time centre stage in this final volume. Fyn's story is likely my favorite and, if not the strongest, one of the most pivotal. He really struggles with his loyalties, stuck somewhere between love and duty, and I thought Daniells carried his story well. Florin's story I didn't care for quite as much, mainly because it felt so drawn out, but for a character who really emerged from the second tier to become a viewpoint character, it certainly has it's moments. Garzik's story is, by far, the darkest of the lot, with some really difficult scenes to watch him suffer through, although Daniells, quite mercifully, doesn't dwell on the details. Like Fyn, he's very much trapped between divided loyalties, and his growth over the course of the series is nothing short of remarkable. After being physically separated and emotionally distanced from one another for so long, it was nice to see Byron and Orrade together again. I think Daniells may have tried a little too hard to restore their friendship, and to prove Byron was over his homophobia, but there's no denying that there's real power to that friendship. Their early scene involving a man overboard, a dead wyvern, and a very intimate sort of healing is one of the series' finest moments. As for Piro, her story was, for me, the weakest of the lot - but a lot of that likely has to do with the fact that I never found her to be a likable character, and didn't find her relationship with Siordun nearly as interesting once his true identity was out in the open. That brings us, of course, to the ending. While Daniells did a solid job of wrapping up the key story threads, and providing a resolution to all of the key character arcs, I had honestly hoped for something a bit . . . well, happier and uplifting. There are certainly some triumphs to be celebrated, and some happy endings for a few characters, but the overall tone is rather melancholy and troubled. I think it's absolutely a strong ending (not to mention a brave one), and one that's entirely realistic, given the social and political realities of her world, but it was just a bit more gritty than I had hoped for. My own minor quibbles aside, King Breaker was a solid, largely satisfying end to the saga. There's certainly room for Daniells to revisit the characters again, should she choose, but there are no cliffhangers or nagging questions like there were with The Usurper. If you're a fan of the series, then this final volume should be precisely what you're looking for. If you're new to the series, then step back and begin with The King's Bastard - you won't regret it.

I really enjoyed reading this story, it was quite long, but held my interest well. The relationship between Bast and Kvothe is intriguing :) Wish we'd hear more about now instead of memories... I think there must be a reason for all the detours Kvothe takes to learn skills he'll probably need in the final book! I'm glad I read the first one again before reading this, so the beginning was fresh in my mind. And now we wait for the part 3! Looking forward to it.

I really liked getting to know the history of Clayton and Jeremy and the Pack :) Last story about Jeremy and Jaime was a bit meh, but otherwise great collection.

Light mindless fluffy fun, with some feminist issues added. I think it was really unrealistic in some points but hey I wasn't expecting much else... Some of the jokes made me laugh and think about Twain's A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court. But I don't think I'll be reading more of the Goddess summoning series unless I find myself in the same situation as I was when I picked this up - in a library, needing something to read right now and couldn't find anything else even remotely interesting.

I wish the Bird Keeper -letters would have been left out. Not enough relevant information regarding to the main plot in them. Otherwise up to the usual Hobb-standard. Looking forward to the final book of the series.

I think a stricter editor is needed! Too long and too much repetition. But enjoyed it anyway :) Reading these makes you forget your own little problems as their problems are so much bigger and have so much more DRAMA! (And as I'm in a happy relationship I can't say I'm having these problems.)