Well folks, it is nearing the end of June and the beginning of my Grand Adventure. I will shortly be flying off to Japan to soak up the  cultural differences while pretending to teach English to children. It will be … different from my normal job. But this is post is not a speculation on what is to come in my uncertain future, rather it is (likely) my last book review – for a while at least. I don’t know how much I will be reading in Japan – nor do I know when I will once again be connected to the internet…

Book Cover – taken from the internet.

I digress. I placed my order over a week ago for a book entitled Charming by Elliott James. If I wasn’t so suspicious about the Main Branch of the Public Library, I should have known their reluctance in lending me the novel came not from malice but a desire to spare me the necessity of reading it. Charming is not a deliciously bad book, but is a long way from good.

My problem started early with the first person narrative. I am not fond of first persons who talk to their audience. I am not fond of lengthy exposition that is written in the most mundane manner.

John Charming was trained as a Knight to hunt and kill monsters from fairytale (and every other sort of mythical legend). Sadly, (for him) he was kicked out of his order when it became apparent John was also a werewolf (one of the abominations to be hunted). His name reflects his families link to all the Prince Charmings of Fairytales.The book begins with John working in a pub when a stunning blond and Vampire enter. The author tries way too hard to be cutesy with his quips, clichés and chapter titles. Sadly, the writing lacks enough depth to produce anything beyond bland.

The narrative commences with a bold declaration that all magic is real and around us we have just been spelled into not seeing it. As set ups go this is neither terrible nor original. Unfortunately, I have read better. Free Agent does a good job of the Fairytale world – playing with Fairy Godfathers (and Godmothers), wicked step-mothers, Charming Princes, the whole works. The world has everything – every monster, mythical creature and fey to have been imagined. As such, there is nothing defining about this world. It works very hard at being grounded in reality, while dealing solely with the supernatural aspects – a contradiction perhaps? There is nothing particularly wrong with writing about werewolves and vampires (besides being ubiquitous). I have certainly read any number of ridiculous supernatural fluff. Perhaps this is why I found Charming to lack any real charm.

As I said the world has anything and everything, so there was nothing original about it. The explanation for why we normal humans don’t see the supernatural is a bit silly. There is a spell woven over all humans to ignore anything that doesn’t fit with our conception of reality. A spell that is apparently breaking down, while the supernatural elements grow stronger around us. I have read explanations along similar veins before – some done more successfully. By picking up an urban fantasy, I am already committing to the idea that weird and unexplained things could be happening around me. I don’t need my author to explain why I haven’t actually seen any of this with my own to eyes – it detracts from the story and breaks my suspension of disbelief. In fact the author has just done the opposite of his intended – he has made me even more aware of how ridiculous his world is.

Many people would surely enjoy the very light, mindless read that is Charming. I thought it would be good fun. Instead I found myself working at finishing the book (and skimming more and more as I rushed towards the promised end). Not surprisingly this is book one and as you can guess from my lack lust review, I will not be looking for the next novel in the series.

Oh, two this of interest did cross my mind as I was reading. 1) Apparently there is a lot of interest in old Norse mythology as the Blond was yet another Valkyrie to pop up in my readings. 2) The author really is fascinated by women’s hips as a defining physical character trait (at least for the first few females we meet).

So, Kevin finally wrote a post. Don’t count on mine being as long, we will see. Also, watch out – this ramble is full of spoilers.

Book cover from the internet.

Jaime Lee Moyer wrote a book called Delia’s Shadow. It is about a woman you can see ghosts. She leaves her home in San Fransisco to avoid seeing ghosts – cause that is crazy and she doesn’t want to be insane. weirdly, New York doesn’t seem to have ghosts at least for the first two and half years of her self-imposed exile. Then, one particularly strong ghost finds Delia and latches on, effectively driving her back to San Fransisco and the world of crazy people. San Fransisco is currently plagued with a serial killer and Delia’s ghost was one of his victims.

Back in San Fransisco Delia returns to her adopted home, where her adopted mother is dying and her adopted sister, Sadie, is about to be married, to Jack. Naturally Jack’s best man, Gabe, is single – as our female lead must fall in love with someone suitable by the end of the book. Of course, Gabe with his tragic history and dead first wife will match Delia’s own tragic history with two dead parents – being an orphan is sad. Both Jack and Gabe are lead detectives on the current serial murder case – which is theoretically the focus of the plot.

The story is set in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s – I don’t think a date was give. It is simple and logical in its set and competently written. I was going to say it was good, solid book – not brilliant as it lacked that indescribable spark that elevates good writing to inspired writing – until I started thinking about it.

The plot is simple – there are two detectives, a mass murderer and a city full of victims. The murders resemble those that occurred nearly thirty years earlier, down to the same brutality used on each victim, the same signature on the letters sent first to the newspaper and then to the lead detective. Threats are made against the city and then against the detective and his family (in present time, this includes Delia and Sadie). At the same time the Pan-American Fair is taking place in the city – oh and Sadie and Jack are planning their wedding.

Ghosts and emotional auras are the magic in the world. Technology includes cars starting to replace horse-drawn carriages, electric lights and cameras.

All the usual points seemed to happen. The ghosts try to threaten Delia. Delia and Gabe start off trying to be polite but indifferent to each other, but fall in love. Sadie is kidnapped by the murder towards the end and it is a race to save her life. Only, the story struggled in several key areas.

The main character is Bland. She is colourless, weak and while she defends her ghost from being sent away Delia doesn’t want to use her ghost to solve these murders. Delia’s sections are all written first person, which means a long steam of internal dialogue and a lot of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’. For example, we get a couple paragraphs of Delia reflecting on the stupidity of her decision to leave San Fransisco in favour of New York – because as she points out in the most high-handed fashion, that move did not change her ability to see ghosts, the way Sadie felt/looked at Delia and only meant Delia spent three years away from the people she loved. Thank you for that moral lesson.

Gabe’s sections are written in the third person – for contrast I assume. Though each time we have a change in perspective that character’s name in is written as the header. Gabe’s perspective is to show us insight into the workings of the police as they hunt down the killer. The police seem to act like those on TV; there is nothing rich or interesting about the manner in which the police are written.

Both of the above are more style points; writing. The other aspect of the writing was the error I found in one passage. The author has gathered five people for a séance and she carefully and precisely tells us where each person sits, then changes the location of two characters. It really stood out.

The biggest problem, the must unforgivable problem the book has is with motivations. Two people in particular were not well thought out. Jack appears to be irrationally angry with his family. His father, Jack discovers later in life, lied to him. The father told two lies: the first we learn is that the woman Jack knew as his mother was actually his stepmother. Though, if the woman raised him as her own, then I don’t understand why Jack was so angry. And I must have missed something because I don’t remember why there was any conflict between Jack and his stepmother – it seemed like forced conflict. The second occurs when we discover that Delia’s ghost, the woman who was killed in the murders 30 years ago and has been haunting Delia for the past six months, is Jack’s biological mother. Jack’s father told him his mother died of cholera (not that she disappeared). Of course the police at the time didn’t know the ghost’s name, so they could never actually inform the family. Again, I don’t know why Jack was so vehemently angry.

Bigger than Jack’s irrational anger, was the motivation of the killer. So, apparently the murder, Ethan, spends two years with his crazy uncle when his own mother dies and his father can’t cope. In those two years, normal young Ethan (about six when he leaves) because a crazed, death hungry psychopath. As he grows up he starts torturing and killing people in order to have their souls judged by the Egyptian gods. Really, really doesn’t make any sence. There is nothing inherently evil about the plethora of Egyptian gods associated with death. So to claim that Ethan kills on their behalf is bizarre and requires more of an explanation than ‘my uncle told me to’. What was wrong with the uncle? How was he able to brainwash and corrupt a child so thoroughly. I know the story was trying to say something about how even the most brutal people can appear normal with wives and children. But that Ethan, so depraved in the killings, so thoroughly obsessed had an innocent wife and child seems far beyond likely. The book tries to say that Ethan never stopped killing (during those 30 intervening years – he was a youth when he first terrorized the city and would now be late 40’s) but why did the ghosts suddenly take an interest in stopping him? Why did Ethan suddenly return to San Fransisco and start sending letters to the newspaper & police. The letters were not apparently a thing for 30 years (did he forget how to write for that length of time?).

Oh, and finally, how did the police manage to keep the entire city from knowing there was a serial killer on the loose? Someone, almost anyone associated with the crimes would have leaked the problem. This is not something you can covered up for months on end.

In the end Delia’s Shadow is Ok. I reads well at first glance, a little slow and colourless, but it does not hold up under further consideration. Passable, I suppose – if you want to discuss the psychology of crime and complain about how this killer is unrealistic.

To begin with: Happy Canada Day! May you enjoy some delicious BBQ and Fireworks on this the first day of the seventh month. I am not certain I am going to actually make it out to watch the fireworks, but I am sure some of our neighbours will do the honours anyway.

This is the book cover taken from the internets.

The book: Shadows.

The author: Robin McKinley

The plot: Magic doesn’t exist in the Newworld, only science. Genecor has excised the gene from those living in the Newworld. Instead the populace realise on technology to deal with the weird and dangerous warps to the fabric of reality. Maggie, however, is starting to suspect there is something wrong with her new stepfather. When she looks at him, she can see them: the Shadows. An undulating mass that wriggled free of his own logical shadow. She is not happy about this new development, though she is determined her weird new stepfather is not going to ruin her senior year at highschool.

I am not sure I am doing that good of a job selling this book. Of course, that would fit perfectly with my first impressions. I want to start this review by saying that I like Robin McKinley. I have read most of her novels and enjoyed many of them. She is, or can be, one of the more artistic writers I read. Which is to say there are long expositions of description, perhaps some internal dialogue and very little action. I would, to my brother’s frustration, describe her work as leaning towards watercolour – a little washed out and hard to see. Perhaps more impressionistic?

That said she has some very beautiful prose and I do quite like a number of her other stories. This one was a challenge to get into. It felt like a slog to read the first half-dozen chapters. It was the style, not the story, that was my stumbling block. The narrative is told in the first person (not my most favourite) and it was rambling. It lacked a clear, clean, direct timeline as it tried to provide the reader with a lot of world building. Unfortunately this made for a very tedious start to the book. I had thoughts of putting on my shelf and ignoring its uncompleted being, except I had nothing else to read last night. Fortunately things do start to pick up, the narrator meanders less as she focusses on the present problems. There are still a number of reflective sections when we are told about past events, but those are skimmable.

The world itself is a rather interesting alternate earth. It is very science-fiction, despite the heavy inclusion of magic. The Newworld (as opposed to the Oldworld, Farworld, Midworld or Southworld) is science/tech focused. It is trying to rid itself of magic. It is also facing the regular problem of rips in reality (or some such thing) just like the rest of the world.

The expletives are largely tech focused: ‘hot wire’, ‘dead battery’. It is everyday slang for the characters of the story and a good detail in the world building. Though, it can feel a bit confusing, especially at the start of the narrative when everything is new and odd sounding.

I also really liked the inclusion of Japanese phrases. They were added for world building flavour as one of the secondary characters has a Japanese background. It just so happens that I am currently studying Japanese, so I was tickled to be able to read these inclusions.

So, to sum up this review. The story is rambling, particularly at the beginning. However, if you continue forward there are some excellent world building elements, solid characters and interesting story to be discovered. It is a good read, just not as smooth as some other stories.

Strawberries are delicious – especially those you have picked yourself.

Also, I just finished reading After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn. It is a superhero novel, that I probably wouldn’t have chosen based on the ugly cover or the title. I in fact found it on someone elses recommended list. It was a good recommendation.

Image of the cover from the internet.

The story follows Celia West, the daughter of two prominent superhumans (superheros): Captain Olympus and Spark. Unlike her talented parents, Celia is not gifted with amazing powers. She is thoroughly normal. Unfortunately that makes her an easy target for all the villains of Commerce City. I think she has been kidnapped some half-dozen times before the story starts and she is kidnapped nearly another half-dozen times before the story ends. She is very good at being a victim.

Celia rebels against her famous family and strikes out on her own. She goes to college, studies hard and becomes an accountant. Yup, that is the excitement of her job. However, despite efforts to live her own life, Celia is drawn back into the world of superhumans when the super-villian Destructor is brought to trial. Celia is called in as a forensic accountant. All the things she thought she had left behind suddenly come back into play.

I thought the book was very well written. The moments of going back in time do a good job of showing, rather than just telling, some of the incidents bringing the characters to their present point. The motivations of the heroes and villains are compelling – always a good thing in a story.

The book has a lot of comic book superhero influences. Warren West, aka Captain Olympus, is the head of a massive corporation (like Batman). He has a generic superpower of strength and invincibility (like Captain America – I suppose, with a little of the Hulk’s anger thrown in). Suzanne West, aka Spark, has a fire ability. Together they formed the Olympiad vigilante group that came to include the Bullet (super speed) and Mentis (telepathy). Naturally they operate out of West Corp. huge skyscraper, complete with impressive penthouse, and secret operations room. The asylum, where Destructor is residing during the Trial of the Century is reminiscent of Arkam Asylum. Commerce City is a sufficiently generic city filled with people, gangs, cops and superhumans.

I do like the trial aspect of the book, which seemed to pull from Al Capone’s own history. Simon Sito, aka Destructor, is brought to trial for tax evasion and other accounting illegalities. Even Captain Olympus is incredulous that the evil super-villain will be tried, not for his heinous crimes of destruction, but for tax technicalities.

That the emotionally scarred and very normal Celia is the protagonist makes this book. It is an interesting dive into a world where superheroes exist. I like the way it protrays the rather obsessed vigilantes. I like the way it looks at the negatives of being a superhero or being related/involved with superheroes. The story feels real, rather than cartoonish in its portrayal of the world and characters. In the end, superheroes aren’t that spectacular and just like other people super-villains have to stand trial.

In a world saturated with the glory of masked men running around in skin-tight suits and claiming they act in the name of justice, this was more interesting and believable way of looking at that world. I would recommend this book. It was a good and compelling story, even if it was a little fluffy.

Can you buy a book if it is free?

Bored (but don’t tell anyone or they will want me to do things), I went to peruse the fantasy section of amazon. This is not an advertisement for the store. However, I have discovered amazon will have ebooks (kindle version only) on for $0.00. Well, I like free stuff. It makes taking a gamble on unknown authors and their novels risk free.

So I bought(?) The Emperor’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker. It was surprisingly good.

It is not a bad cover – it would look quite nice on a book shelf. But it does make for a rather uninspired picture. Image from the internet.

The Plot Summary:

Amaranthe Lokdon is an enforcer (police) in the Emperor’s (northern and winter locked) capital. She is female, a new trait for the city’s enforcers and looked down upon by nearly everyone. She is also dedicated to the throne. When Amaranthe is brought to the Emperor’s Chief Advisor’s (and previous Regent) notice she is offered a chance to prove her skills and advance her position in the force. Obviously, when the mission is to kill the most notorious assassin, the job is less of an opportunity for her career and more of an attempt on her life.

Sicarius is credited with numerous kills, escapes and other assassin credentials. He is deadly. He is also in the city.

Amaranthe goes in search of the assassin, only to have entire life turned upside down. While she is not killed (cause we wouldn’t have a story otherwise), she is also not successful. Sicarius points out the obvious trap the Chief Advisor had set and Amaranthe starts to put together the notion the Emperor is not safe. In fact, the Emperor is being poisoned by his Chief Advisor. This is the problem that pulls Amaranthe and Sicarius together. They must protect the Emperor and dispose of the Chief Advisor.

Our feisty heroine my not have all the deadly skills of an assassin, but she is able to devise crazy plans and recruit a rag-tag team to carry them out.

The selling feature of the book was the humour. It was a lark. Amaranthe is amusing the way she charges forward, sometimes blindly, but always with the best intentions. She is the moral compass for their small band of criminals, who are trying to do the right thing by protecting the Emperor. Of course, since they are operating outside of the law as fugitives with wanted posters, some of their methods are questionable at best.

The tone of the book reminds me of Ocean’s Eleven. There is just the right balance between serious moments, potential death, successful fighting and quips to keep the story rolling forward. The pacing is strong the story is solid and the characters are entertaining. There is not a lot of character growth, but then apparently there are some 7 books in this serial, so hopefully character growth comes over time.

Finally, a quick note on the world: it is cold – at least it is winter when this first story takes place. I get the feeling of some fantasy Scandinavian/Russian-esq world. Obviously it is not our world. But the Empire has a long history of war and culture built around war. They clearly have deep, cold, frozen winters. There is an element of steam punk or early mechanized technology with trolleys, clinkers and factories. There is also magic (mostly foreign) or as some might say: Mental Sciences. The world is fine, felling more modern than medieval. But it was not the world that held my attention throughout the story, it was the interactions between the characters and the entertainment of the situations.

Over all I enjoyed the Emperor’s Edge; it was a good romp with an engaging female lead. I may even purchase the sequel to see if it holds up.

Book cover found on the internet.

Ok, so my brother has been nagging me to post on the website. Apparently he feels sad he is the only doing work.

I would argue that I haven’t read anything lately, hence the lack of posts. However, that would be a lie. Rather, I have not read anything remarkable. Do not expect much from this review.

The book is entitled A Turn of Light. The author is Julie E. Czerneda. My overall assessment: it is good with a rating of 8 out 10.

A Turn of Light is a very traditional fantasy novel. The world has been entirely and competently created in a mix of monstrous and magical creatures, swords and wild elements. It has a pioneer/settler vibe in a world that is not stuck in mediaeval fantasy land. Elsewhere in the world tracks are being laid for trains while distant large cities are busy with politics, learning and religion. Our story, however takes place in the wild lands at the very edge of the inhabited land. I liked the way the author incorporated magic into Marrowdell. I also feel the connection between the magical world of the Verge and the physical world of Marrowdell were nicely woven together.

The story is restricted to the small valley village of some eight homes and few interconnected families. Yet there remains a greater sense of world beyond the sheltered wilderness. The village and its inhabitants are important characters. They generally get along, yet each has its own personality and faults.

When boiled to its basic components, the story is a coming of age for a protagonist Jenn Nalynn. She is not an orphan, but has a loving and capable family: father, older sister and visiting Aunt. I like that the family is involved in Jenn’s life and she in turn is a part of theirs. This is not a story of an isolated individual setting out on their quest. This is adventure found in the shadowed nooks of the valley and the Verge overlapping it.

To shake things up there are also two newly arrived strangers. They add different points of view and a connection to the world beyond that helps to transform Jenn’s world view.

My biggest complaint is the length. The story in paperback is 800 pages. There is a lot of description, a lot of slow character building, a lot of words. It is slowly paced, plodding even. As much as the author works to weave different threads of story together, the narrative is long.

Close-up of the cover – there is not a lot of image choices on the internet.

Still, the story is solid. The characters are reasonable. The world itself is beautiful crafted, making it the best part. Over all it was good.

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowel

The story revolves around Jane Ellsworth living in Dorchester. She is the self-described unattractive eldest daughter of a doting father and neurotic mother. Her younger sister, Melody, has all the beauty and liveliness of nature; whereas plain Jane has all the talent. In this fantasy Regency World, magic comes in the artistic form of Glamours. By twisting the fabric of the ether, people are able to make magical illusions that have varying lengths of existence, from seconds to years. And differ in complexity from changes to light in a room to changing a room to an exotic grove.

Image of the cover – borrowed from the internets.

It is a fair story, with an unexceptional tone that has been described as reminiscent of Jane Austin. I certainly can see the influence of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility in the narrative. Jane and her family pull heavily from the beloved characters of Pride and Prejudice. There are many similarities in terms of plot, though the story pulls from other Jane Austin works too. This is not an inherently bad thing. I really like Jane Austin stories, however, Shades of Milk and Honey does suffer from predictability. It also suffers from pacing.

The narrative is plodding, with only Jane’s view to show us the world. Jane by her nature is a thoughtful, pleasant individual who strives to remain composed in all situations. She is bland and as a narrator very daft at see the obvious.

Despite the length of the book, it feels as though nothing much happens. Strangely, there is a plot, one that is reasonably complex. Yet, the manner in which the story is told is plodding. The buildup of betrayal, mystery and even the love story is lacking. The attempt at tension fails. The love story does not engage the reader, who could see it coming from the first hello (the main character however, is completely caught off guard – largely because they are slow). Some of my favourite authors: Jane Austin and Georgette Heyer, have lovely simple stories. They are character studies, with successfully engaging characters who have properly developed faults and changes over time. There was no emotional draw to this story and no real payoff in the end. In fact the ending, when Jane suddenly falls in love with the Glamourist seems rushed considering she just spent the previous 250 pages pining for the other guy.

My other big complaint with the story is the lack of show, instead of tell when it comes to the main character. Jane is supposed to be unattractive by the measures of the time. She is old (all of 29 years of age) and unmarried with no apparent prospects. However, when we enter the tale, she already (or very shortly thereafter) starts to attract one and then a second male suitor.

Book cover borrowed from the internet.

All the while we don’t see any concrete signs of her lack of connections. Jane is praised repeatedly for her skills, her wit and her general disposition. While she may not flirt with the younger and flashier men, she certainly doesn’t appear to suffer from social stigma. There is only one instance in the entire 300+ pages where Jane is criticized without provocation.

This is not to be expected if she really is snubbed for her appearance. It was almost as if the author was writing the perfect character, than realized she needed to give the heroine a flaw. Now, as best as I can tell Jane is not ugly – she isn’t deformed or scarred. Her nose is large, her chin too square, her skin too sallow. As the main character is described only once, it is through her actions and interactions that we get to know her. In these Jane is a lovely character, thoughtful, honest, and loyal. Sure she argues with her sister, Melody. But then Melody is shown to be a selfish, bratty younger sibling. We need constant reminders that Jane is not attractive, but even these attempts sound shallow. This sort of ignorable physical trait is not a true flaw in the character. It is a minor inconvenience easily forgotten. Without a proper flaw there is no conflict, at least no room for the character to grow. The conflict, such as it is feels hastily added to the end of a story that is ultimately about nothing. I think more attention needed to be spent exploring these last few pages and far less time spent on the set up – which certainly could have been established with fewer words.

Final thoughts: it was fine – far from stellar, but not terrible. Will I read the rest of the series (some 5 or more books at present)? Well, probably not. They are not available from the library and I am not willing to spend more money on this one.

I do like Tanya Huff’s work – at least the portion of modern urban fantasy I have read (only a part of her published works). One of my favourite books is Summon the Keeper, which hosts hell in the basement of a bed and breakfast.

The book cover as found on the itnerwebs.

This post will focus on a different metaphysical charm-worker. Wild Ways is the sequel to the Enchanted Emporium, which introduces the Gale family. And really, after you peel back the layers of magic and fey (which are not offensively used), the banter and the various romantic elements you have a story about family; a slightly twisted and off-kilter family.

Family is at the heart of these stories. Family provides both the antagonists and the protagonists. Sure there are a few non-family elements. In Wild Ways, Aunt Catherine continues to manipulate the Gales into doing her bidding. But there are a few scattered others to act as additional villains: trolls, goblins and ethically-challenged oil corporations.

The focus of the story falls to Charlie, as she tries to find her place in the weave of the family. Being a Wild One means that she is different. Her powers are different and her role in the family is different. It is a difference she has come to embrace, yet on some level she still is struggling to understand her position in the overall whole. Jack, the sorcerer-dragon Gale boy, echoes this struggle as he also is learning what it means to be part of the family and how to cope with that place.

One thing I really appreciate in Huff’s writing is her use of diversity. Her characters have different skin colours, sexuality and power. Her villain is understandable. The motivations of all the antagonists are explained. While their actions might seem a bit over the top, they make sense. I understand why the ethically-challenged corporate president was trying to force an oil well into protected habitat. Do I side with the environmentalists? Well yes. But I completely understand the desperate the woman faced as she tried to do her best by the company.

I like the way the book is set in Canada, without making a big deal about its setting. There is no explanation about how Canadian the Maritimes are. Rather, it is treated as a setting. It adds something to the overall flavour without trying too hard. It is also nice to read about places I have actually travelled to. Since I am not American, I do not have a personal connection to the popular story locations of New York, Washington and wherever else. I have, however, been to Cheticamp and Louisburg in Cape Breton.

I have not, however, followed the Celtic music festival. I suppose that you could also say the book was about the power of music, the potential created when eager and talented individuals musicians come together to enchant the audience (sometimes in the literal sense of the word, other times figuratively).

In short, Wild Ways was a well written, entertaining book. I look forward to reading the next in the series, which I shall hopefully pick up from the library this weekend.