More Books than Time

Book Reviews - Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction - By an Adult for Adults

The Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan YA Fantasy Fiction Book 1 Chronicles

by 1 Comment

Faerie Wars is the first book in The Faerie Wars Chronicles by Herbie Brennan. When I started this book some of the scenes were familiar, but I don’t think I read the full novel before.

Faerie Wars was a treat to read. It starts off with hero Henry Atherton recognizing that his parents are having problems and suspecting his Dad of an affair. Although the family troubles are a background note to the series and frame some of Henry’s choices, they are not a key part of the plot and Henry’s family are side characters.

Characters are Grand

The important characters are Henry, his eccentric employer Mr. Fogarty, the Faery crown prince Pyrgus and princess Blue, the Purple Emperor and several wonderfully rotten villains. The villains don’t have many redeeming qualities – in fact none – but they are not cardboard cutouts either. You understand what motivates them (money and power), their goals (power, money and survival) and although the depth of wickedness is stunning, it is reasonable for characters who value power and money above everything.

Faerie Wars could have been a classic coming-of-age story. All three young characters, Henry, Pyrgus and Blue, grow during the novel and Henry develops the backbone to assert himself with his parents and creepy sister. But this too is a side note, a secondary plot, and does not detract from the serious story.

The heart of Faerie Wars is how the Purple Emperor can keep his realm together and overcome deep divisions between faeries of the dark and faeries of the light.  War looms. The faeries live in the Purple Empire in an analogue world to Earth. They are human. The two sides have different religions, eyes and the dark faeries have a far greater tolerance for demons and a propensity to seek power and money.

Plot Moves and Captures Interest

Pyrgus needs to take refuge in the Analogue World (our Earth) but someone sabotages the portal. Pyrgus ends up in Mr. Fogarty’s backyard, with wings and about 6 inches tall. Henry rescues Pyrgus from Mr. Fogarty’s cat. When Pyrgus reverts to his natural shape and size the two boys help Mr. Fogarty (former particle physicist and bank robber) build a portal from our side. Unfortuately Pyrgus is impatient and instead of waiting for Mr. Fogarty to test the portal, he plunges in and ends up in the other analogue world, Hael.

Demons live in Hael and seek entrance to Faerie world or Earth to wreak destruction and misery. Their leader is Beleth who captures Pyrgus and devises a tormenting death for him. Henry manages to rescue Pyrgus with help from Blue.

Highly Recommend

Faerie Wars is fun and fast to read. The characters are sympathetic and interesting. I even found myself hoping a few of the lesser villains would survive another book, despite their vile actions and nasty attitudes.

Faerie Wars is listed as YA Fiction. I would categorize it as a book that younger people could enjoy for the plot and characters, which adults would enjoy too. We adults also realize the the Purple Emperor faces a real dilemma, one that we face in our world too, and that adds depth to the story that we enjoy.

4 Stars.

Amazon links are ads that pay commission to blog owner.

The Monstrumologist, Rick Yancey, YA Fantasy Fiction Review

by Leave a Comment

I liked Rick Yancey’s Alfred Kropp series so much I looked for more books he wrote. The Monstrumologist was disappointing. I could not get past about page 40.

Maybe I started The Monstrumologist with my expectations set too high after the Alfred Kropp series. Or maybe it simply just is not as good as the Alfred Kropp books.

I could not get interested in the main character, Will Henry, nor did the plot or style interest me. I did not finish The Monstrumologist and cannot recommend it.

Amazon links are ads that pay commission to blog owner.

The Cinderella Deal, Romantic Comedy by Jennifer Crusie

by 2 Comments

Jennifer Crusie has an intriguing forward for The Cinderella Deal, calling it her first book where she decided to mute the light ironic touch in favor of letting the characters – and readers – experience real emotion. As she states: “Good stories are about hearts and minds but the heart always comes first”.

I wasn’t sure whether this would be a tear jerker or a romantic comedy with a dose of mid life crisis or what I was getting into. The Cinderella Deal turned out to be a very good story with fun characters, interesting plot, great dialogue and setting.

The Characters

Daisy left her teaching job to pursue her dream of being an artist.  After four years she has depleted her savings, she still hasn’t had her first show, she can’t even get the jerky craft boutique to pay her what they owe.  She lives in an older building with her cat Liz.  Daisy is on the verge of panic knowing she doesn’t have this month’s rent and her dreams are looking more and more tarnished around the edges.

Daisy is one of those open hearted people that everyone feels a warm bond with.  She dresses a bit eccentrically and has a penchant for rescuing beat up furniture and lamps because they appeal to her and giving cats a home even though she is not allowed pets.  She is very wary of her tall handsome neighbor Linc because he drives a Porsche and moved Liz with his foot.  Linc is definitely not her type!

Linc teaches history at a city university.  He is ambitious and wants to write another book, but he also wants to move to a liberal arts college where he will have more time for research and writing and smaller classes to teach.  He is handsome and at the moment is in between girl friends.  He prefers small blond ladies who are well organized and articulate.  Daisy is definitely not his type!

Other characters are Julia, Daisy’s best friend, Chickie, the put-upon wife of the lecherous dean Crawford, Evan, the rather morose professor, various students, the local vet and of course Daisy’s pets Liz, new kitten and rescue dog Jupiter.  Daisy and Linc’s mothers show up to “help” with the wedding and later her father with second wife appear too.

The Plot

Linc needs a fiancee, in fact a wife, to get his dream job.  Daisy needs money.  See where this is going?  Linc offers Daisy $1000 to pose as his fiancee for a weekend when he visits the college for his job interview.  When he tried to tell the dean that Daisy broke the “engagement”, Crawford has a fit and orders Linc to go get her.  They agree to marry for a year, then separate with no hard feelings.

Naturally love gets in the way although neither one realizes it. Linc is restrained, cool, not inclined to invite students to his home.  Daisy is the opposite.  Daisy moves all of Linc’s contemporary furniture upstairs and puts her shabby, mismatched furniture in its place.  Linc hates her furniture, calls it junk.  Students arrive; Linc’s mother arrives and gets terribly ill; Daisy paints the house, the furniture and pictures of Linc.

Sure, the final ending is preordained.  Linc and Daisy fall in love.  But how we get there is lots of fun.  I thoroughly enjoyed The Cinderella Deal.

Lots of Fun, Great Weekend Read

If you’re in the mood for something a little on the light side but not all fluff, then try The Cinderella Deal.  This is not  highfalutin literature but it’s not junk by any stretch.

In fact I liked The Cinderella Deal so much I got more books by Jenifer Crusie!

4 Stars

Amazon links are ads that pay commission to blog owner.

The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom, Contemporary Fable Fiction Review

by Leave a Comment

The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom is a fable meant to show the value of time, of living in the present and enjoying God’s gifts without fretting about more.

The story alternates between three people, Dor, a young man obsessed with measuring time, Sara Lemon, a teenager infatuated with a boy she feels is far above her touch, and Victor Delamonte, a rich man facing his imminent death by cancer and kidney failure.

Dor begins innocently to count the number of days from moon phase to moon phase, then moves into measuring time by a sundial and water clock. His counting becomes his obsession. He puts measuring ahead of caring for his family. Eventually a former playmate, Nim, sets himself as the king and builds the Tower of Babel. Nim seeks Dor’s help, and when spurned, orders Dor to leave the area. Dor and his beloved wife Alli end up living several miles away from their family. When Alli falls ill, Dor runs to the Tower to climb to heaven and stop time at its source.  When he climbs it the Tower falls.

Dor is the first person to count time and is punished for it by being forced to live in a cave for several thousand years and listen to all the misery that people find for themselves by focusing on time. Dor becomes Father Time.

Sarah is smart and fat. She wants cute Ethan but Ethan rejects her as cruelly as possible.  In despair Sarah decides to end her life.  She doesn’t think past her misery and her desire to hurt Ethan by hurting herself.  She wants less time.

Victor decides to pursue “immortality” by freezing himself just before death. He will not accept death and wants more time.  He knows his wife Grace will not accept this.

The story shows how Dor helps Sarah and Victor recognize the value of their lives as they are given them to live. Dor himself finds his punishment complete and is freed.

The Theme

The Time Keeper is an essay written as a story. Albom’s theme is that “man alone suffers a paralyzing fear…A fear of time running out.”

I agree with his premise – to a point. One of the challenges in my Catholic faith is the balance between planning and trusting in God. Christ himself likened the kingdom to the five wise virgins who brought extra lamp oil and the five foolish ones who came ill-prepared for a long wait.  Yet the lilies of the fields and the creatures of the earth live without planning and God provides.

We as humans are accountable for how we use time, not how we measure it or long for it or hope it runs faster or slower.

The Punishment

It disturbed me that Dor is punished so severely.  His offense was to give the ability to measure time to the world.  Does that truly warrant several thousand years listening to the world’s misery?  Or was his sin more that he prized his measurements above all else, that he focused not on the gift of time, the gift of life, but only measured it.  It reminds me of the people who enjoy sports statistics more than they enjoy watching the game.

Thought Provoking

Overall I found this an enjoyable book that had an interesting concept.  The characters were very well done.  Sarah could have been a cardboard cutout but she felt and acted like a real person.  Victor too was more than the prototypical rich man obsessed with taking it with him.

Albom’s writing style is sparse and fast.  He doesn’t have extra scenes or extra characters or extra words.  Everything fits together beautifully.

The book is very fast reading; I read it in an evening, about two hours.  (I am a fast reader, so it might take two evenings for someone who reads at an average speed.)

The Time Keeper will stay with me. I doubt I will reread it, but the message of treating each moment as the precious gift that it is will stay with me.

Overall I recommend this to anyone. If you don’t care for the religious overtones then read and enjoy it for the story.

4 Stars

Another Pan, Dark Fantasy Fiction Review, Daniel Dina Nayeri

by Leave a Comment

I enjoyed Another Faust and quickly checked out the second book by authors Daniel and Dina Nayeri, Another Pan.

Maybe I should have waited a bit to read Another Pan. It was interesting and enjoyable until about halfway through, then it got boring and tedious. I finished it only because the prior book was so good that I kept hoping Another Pan would reach its potential.

Sadly, it never did. The characters and premise were interesting, a play on the Peter Pan story with backdrop of the female demon Legion from Another Faust. The book brought in Egyptian legends, teen girl infatuation, young teen nerd-kid angst along with a heartless, selfish Peter.

I suppose there are girls who could remain infatuated with a young man even after they learn he is actually 80 years old, but I think most 15 year old girls would be repelled by the idea. And sure, there are many nerd boys who are so desperate to be accepted that they could toad eat a gang of older boys, even after realizing they are a gang of criminals.  But both?  At the same time?  And even while they are offered friendship by one of the most popular boys in school?

I also got tired of the repetitive “bitterness” that the Egyptian legendary characters were supposed to have felt.  Lots of people face similar evils and tragedy.   It was hard to believe that only these five individuals died with so much bitterness and were mummified that their very bones could defeat death.

The premise and characters just didn’t work for me. I give this 2 stars.

You can read my review of Another Faust here:

Another Faust Book Review Dark Fantasy Fiction Daniel Dina Nayeri

The Burning Bridge, The Ranger’s Apprentice Book 2, Fantasy, John Flanagan

by Leave a Comment

The Burning Bridge (The Ranger’s Apprentice, Book 2) is the second book by John Flanagan featuring young Will and Horace. You can read my review of the first book, The Ruins of Gorlan, here:

Review: Ranger’s Apprentice Book One: The Ruins of Gorlan John Flanagan

Book 1 was fast moving with extensive character development.  The hero and his friends are all young teens but the book shouldn’t be considered YA fantasy as the characterization, setting, theme and plot are all more adult.  This second book, The Burning Bridge has a stronger plot but the characters don’t exhibit as much interest or change during the story.

Will and Horace are sent on a mission to neighboring Celtica to request military assistance in the upcoming battle against the evil Morgarath. They discover Morgarath’s audacious plan to attack their kingdom from behind. For years their kingdom of Araluen has relied on the impassible cliffs and deep gorge called The Fissure, to protect them from Morgarath.  There is only one pass and Araluen controls it.

In fact Morgarath has enslaved miners and workers from Celtica who have built a secret tunnel and bridge to get his troops across The Fissure and attack the king where he least expects it. Will, Horace and the young ranger Gilan realize that Celtica has been attacked and its forces have retreated to the south. The young Evanlyn meets up with them after having her entire party of armed guards and her mistress killed by the semi-human Wargals. Gilan leaves them and races to inform the king that Celtica is under attack.

Will, Evanlyn and Horace are supposed to make their way back to Araluen but on the way they foll a party of Wargals herding captive Celtica miners. They are horrified to discover that Morgarath has built an enormous bridge across the Fissure and decide to burn it to prevent the surprise attack from Araluen’s rear. Will and Evanlyn are captured by mercenary Skandians while Horace escapes to warn the king.

The Burning Bridge is fast moving and fun. In some ways it’s not as good as the first book was, but it was easy to finish and enjoyable. John Flanagan created a rich environment with interesting setting and political backdrop. It’s well-written and even without the character development we saw in Book 1, The Burning Bridge is well worth reading.  There are a few scenes featuring Will’s friends Alyss that could have been eliminated to produce a tighter book, but presumably we will see more of Alyss in future stories.

I recommend it with 4 stars.

Another Faust – Book Review Dark Fantasy Fiction Daniel Dina Nayeri

by 1 Comment

Another Faust kept coming up on my library searches and popped up in Amazon’s recommendations.  The novel, listed as YA dark fantasy, didn’t sound like something I’d care for.

The blurb was not appealing: “One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and elegant governess.” However, Another Faust was good and I enjoyed it.

The book starts with vignettes where four of the five children face their deepest fears and desires. Madame Vileroy meets each of the four and offers a bargain. They can come live with her, give up something small, and she will make their fears disappear and their deepest wants come true.

Of course, like any bargain with the devil, what the children gave away was far more important than what they received, and what they received was flawed and dangerous.

Victoria wanted to win, to be the smartest, know the most, win at anything that required intellectual prowess. What she really wanted was to be loved and be special to someone. What she received from Madame Villeroy was the ability to listen to others’ thoughts, to find what almost anyone said or did. What she lost was honor, empathy, a sense of fair play, a value for others. She became unpleasant and unlikable.

Belle wanted to be beautiful. At 10 she was already attractive but she wanted desperately to be beyond pretty. She bargained herself and her twin sister Bice and received beauty but at a horrible price. Underneath her beautiful exterior she hid rotting flesh and spirit. And she smelled. She stank of rot and sewage. Of course Madame Villeroy had a cure for that, but again, the cure was barely superficial and the cost was high.

Belle’s twin Bice was not swept up by her own desire. But she too traded. She traded time for learning.

Christian was desperately poor. He feared poverty and wanted to excel at sports to become rich. He traded himself for the ability to steal, however slight, from others with more talent, more ability. Madame Villeroy gave him a dummy man to practice on and a coffin-like chamber to rest and restore his body. Christian puts aside his dreams of being a writer to pursue fortune on the sports field.

Valentin also wanted to win, to be loved, to count for something. He dreamt of being a famous poet. He traded his anchor in time and place for the ability to unwind time and change events, for the illusion of success.

As the novel progresses we see how each of the children, now 15 years old and enrolled in the most exclusive school in New York, realize the poor bargain they made, face the fact that they sold their soul for nothing and what they decide to do about it. Three of them escape, albeit at a very high price, and two remain behind, hopefully to learn later as they grow that they can leave and that they can retrieve their souls.

One point I particularly enjoyed about the book was the way the authors treated “selling your soul to the devil”. The three children who escape realize that the sale is not like selling your house. Instead it is a day-by-day decision and a process of giving away small pieces of yourself over time. This is less dramatic than in “The Devil and Daniel Webster”, but far more likely to be the way it works. You don’t damn yourself in one dramatic action but in small steps, small losses, small cheats, small choices over the course of your life.

I highly recommend this novel to adults or older teens.

4 Stars

Barely OK: Witch and Wizard Fantasy YA Fiction, Magic, Dystopian

by Leave a Comment

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson combines magic with a frightening future. The heroes are Wisty and Whit, both 15.

Witch and Wizard has gotten good reviews and has been well-marketed. The Science Fiction Book Club offered it in hardback. However, this is one YA fantasy that is best enjoyed by younger teens, not adults.  There isn’t any substance or meat to the plot, characters, setting or dialogue.  Think of this book as eating cotton candy at the fair; OK while you’re in the middle but when you finish you wonder why you bothered.

I found the book good enough to finish, but not good enough that I care to read the sequels. For one thing, you know right from the first page that there will be sequels. How many books begin with the main characters tied up and ready to hang? You then spend the next 200+ pages reading how Whit and Wisty and their parents got to that point, or at least far enough towards it that the author could bring the book to a cliff hanger ending.

The dialogue is silly, banal and ridiculous. The characters don’t seem like real kids and the villain is an amalgamation of Lord Voldemart with Emperor Palpatine. It’s not enough fun that you can ignore the fake conflicts, ridiculous plot and tepid characters.

I’ll give it two stars just because it is a fast read that didn’t waste too much time.

The False Prince: Masquerades, Treason in Teen Fantasy Fiction YA Jennifer Nielsen

by 2 Comments

Here’s another book aimed at teens who like fantasy that adults will enjoy too. I kept getting “you’ll like this book too” emails from Amazon recommending The False Prince: Book 1 of the Ascendance Trilogy so I decided to try it. Yes, it is a little predictable but the intriguing plot twist is the reason why. The reason for the subterfuge is so different from other books yet believable.

The False Prince is fantasy because it is set in imaginary countries but there is no magic, no dragons, vampires, ghosts, faries or zombies. The imaginary country looks much like our world, no strange animals or bizarre customs.

Our hero is an orphan in a small kingdom surrounded by larger more aggressive neighbors.  The entire royal family is either dead or missing and one of the ministers concocts a plot to insert a substitute for the missing younger prince.  He selects four orphans about the right age and looks and sets out to train them to be that missing prince.  The minister murders one of the orphans right away to cow the remaining three into obedience.  Our hero, Sage, isn’t cowed but he is frightened.  He knows that he too will be murdered if the minister doesn’t choose him for the masquerade, yet the alternative, to become a puppet prince ruled by the minister isn’t appealing. For if Sage lives, then the other two boys die.

We read how Sage takes control and turns the tables on the murderous minister.

The book is not a coming of age story. Sage grows up a little during the novel but the focus is on the awful choice he faces. how can he force the devious minister to allow all three boys to survive.

The False Prince is the first book of a planned trilogy. It was good, enjoyable enough that I will seek the second book in the series, The Runaway King. I enjoyed other books more but this was good. The characterization was good, not great, plot was intriguing but the challenge facing Sage was excellent.  I’ll give it 4 stars.

Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull by Rick Yancey YA Fantasy Fiction Review

by Leave a Comment

I enjoyed the first two Alfred Kropp books so much I got this one, Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull, as fast as possible. Like the first two books, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp and Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon, the Thirteenth Skull is fun, fast and enjoyable.

Let’s be clear what Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull is. This is a fast moving fantasy novel aimed squarely at 15 year old boys. Yes adults will enjoy it, but it lacks the nuances and character that made the first two novels satisfying reads for adults.

Alfred Kropp somehow has gotten much more capable in this story and has lost his introspection and the bumbling worry that are so typical of 15 year old kids. The character instead is capable of wrestling a fully grown thug on the back of a flat bed truck going 70 miles an hour on the expressway carrying lumber, tying a rope around the thug’s neck and throwing him off the truck. Can you imagine the Alfred Kropp in the first two books being able to physically overcome a grown man or being willing to kill someone? The first Alfred Kropp was gentle, unassuming, the natural target for bullies and mean kids and adults. This Alfred is closer to being James Bond than to the kid next door or the kid we were growing up.

I still enjoyed Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull enough to look out for a fourth book and read it when it comes, but I will do so expecting a couple hours of pure escapism and shoot ’em up plot line.  I won’t expect a book that I’d want to reread or one that will linger in my mind the way the first two did.

3 Stars

You can read my reviews about the first two books here:

Review: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp YA Fiction Rick Yancey
Fast Moving YA Fiction Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon Review