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

Homecoming: A Montague & Strong Detective Novel by Orlando Sanchez

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I liked Homecoming, just as I’ve liked almost all the Montague and Strong series, but it wasn’t quite up to the standards author Orlando Sanchez set with his first four novels in the series.

On the plus side we have the usual badness from Monty and Simon, we have Uncle Dex, we have Peaches, we have a super villain Oliver who wants to take over the mages first, then the world, we have Professor Ziller, he whom everyone refers to when they discuss the most  esoteric (and scary) magic and we have non-stop action.

So what’s wrong?  First, people just die for what seems like little reason, sacrificing themselves for little gain.  The bodies pile up, which is not uncommon in a M&S book, but usually it’s clear why they are dying.  In Homecoming why do the villainous side-kicks throw their lives away?  Their goal is for Oliver to rule; it is hard to see how that motivates minions and henchmen to throw themselves on Monty’s magic swords.  (I’m having a hard time imagining Oliver’s motivation speech.)

Second, I cannot abide new characters LD and TK Tush.  Who wants people who care only about how scary and how much magical power they have?

Third, the byplay between Simon and Monty is the centerpiece of the M&S novels, it is the reason the stories work.  Homecoming has the interaction but it doesn’t feel as immediate as other novels.  Simon seems to play catch up much of the novel.

Author Sanchez says he is letting us further into the M&S world with each novel, letting us peek behind the scenes and learn more about each character.  He gave us quite a bit on Monty in Homecoming and its predecessor Silver Clouds, Dirty Sky.  I enjoy getting to know the characters and the feeling we truly are getting acquainted.

I couldn’t put Homecoming down, just as with the prior novels in the series.  The super-fast pace has a downside, though, in that a couple of months after reading it I didn’t recall the events very well.  I had to go back and check a couple things when the sequel, Dragons and Demigods, came out (which of course I immediately purchased and read.)  Much as I enjoy speed-of-light plots, it might be wise to linger a bit over some of the Simon/Monty or Peaches scenes and let us readers savor the pleasure.

4 Stars

Dragons and Demigods – Montague and Strong Detective Agency by Orlando Sanchez

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I love the Simon Strong and Tristan Montague books; in fact, I immediately re-purchased those I lost when I sold my business.  (You can read about that here.)  Possibly that’s why I was disappointed in Book 6, Dragons and Demigods.

The interaction between Simon and Monty is the heart of the story and the source of the series’ charm; the first several books and some of the short stories show this interaction – their trust, liking, appreciation, complementary styles and strengths – growing over time as they deepen their friendship.  Yet here, in this novel, and to some extent in the book just prior, Homecoming, Simon acts more like a tag-along than an equal.

Monty needs to face TK Tush in magical combat, as payback for his temerity in anchoring a magical bridge to her in a life and death situation.  Of course Simon goes with Monty, yet he shows almost no curiosity before the fight, how it will work, what his role is as Monty’s second, whether Monty even expects to survive.  Remember, Monty is Simon’s best friend and business partner; would you not have a zillion questions beforehand in a similar situation?  Instead Simon trails along, does what he’s told.

The other problem with this book is the secondary helping characters are weak.  In prior novels we had fantastic side kicks, but Dragons and Demigods once more drags in TK and LD Tush.  TK is so full of herself, so convinced that everyone should fall down in awestruck wonder at her awesome powers, that she cannot accept Monty “using” her.  How dare he!  Thus we wasted the first half in a duel.

Overall the plot is decent, fast moving and has some of the same fun quirkiness as the rest of the series.  Castor and Pollux making their first appearance since The Warden, and they are seriously bad news.  I look forward to seeing more of them as they play both helper and opponent roles.

Reading Dragons and Demigods left a bad taste; I felt like author Sanchez zigged left, taking Simon down a dozen notches, when I wanted him to zag right, leaving Simon as Monty’s equal and formidable and growing.  I purchased this from Kindle and think I’ll use the Kindle Unlimited borrowing for the next ones.

3+ Stars

 

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You Are Dead. (Sign Here Please) by Andrew Stanek – Humorous Fantasy

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You Are Dead.  (Sign Here Please) by Andrew Stanek is a cute story of one man fighting the bureaucrats of existence.  You see, semi-hero Nathan Haynes gets killed by a serial murderer intent on increasing his score on the serial-murderer-hall-of-infamy, but when Nathan reaches the afterlife he discovers our entire existence is run by bureaucrats, and if he does not sign his Form 21B, Decenent Acknowledgement and Waiver of Liability he can’t really stay dead.  Since Nathan thinks the form might be a ploy to bilk him out of his house, he refuses.

The story is cute enough to entertain one on a brain-dead evening.  There are some funny bits, some attempts at political satire, some man-vs.-machine moments.  I liked the part where author Stanek (who has a degree in microbiology from Caltech) explains that molecular biology, cosmologists, and deep sea oceanography are all scams, jokes to get funding forever while publishing articles using science buzzword bingo.

You Are Dead has a beginning, middle and it ends, no cliffhanger.  (Although we do wonder how Nathan will dispose of the ever-higher pile of bodies in his back yard.)  I was surprised to see this is part of a series of now five books as the plot and running jokes about bureaucrats are a bit thin for that.

Don’t read You Are Dead looking for great character development, although our semi-hero Nathan does get a little less gullible and a little more clued-in after he dies three or four times.  You will root for him and cheer when he gets tricky.  The head bureaurocrat Director Fulcher is probably the most interesting character who does grow through the book as he develops a very strong desire for revenge and to personally trick Nathan into signing.

Don’t read You Are Dead looking for great writing or great comedy although it’s cute, funny enough to enjoy and written well enough to be easy and pleasant.  The author turns everything on its head, which is funny the first dozen times.  The town of Dead Donkey is a running farce that you can enjoy without searching for deeper meaning or political insights.

Do read You Are Dead. (Sign Here) if you enjoy ridiculous stories and want an easy book for that evening read after work.

3 Stars

A Proper Hellhound – A Montague and Strong Detective Story, or Time for Peaches

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A Proper Hellhound has some good moments.  First, it’s a Montague and Strong short story featuring Peaches, the black hole of meat consumption, aka the hellhound pup, son of Cerebus and gift from Hades.  Author Orlando Sanchez has a hit with Peaches, one of his most endearing characters and one that lets his human bond mate, Simon Strong co-star.

On the other hand, Sanchez continues developing Simon Strong into a whiny, clueless null character, a most irritating development that was evident in the last couple novels (especially the latest, Dragons and Demigods) and a development that I hope he abandons quickly.  Here’s an example.  Simon asks for a weapon; Ezra tells him that he and Peaches are the weapon and Simon says “What does that mean?”  C’mon.  Simon is supposedly a super lethal ex-New York Task Force member, the supernatural equivalent to Special Forces, and he does not understand how he plus his mega lethal hellhound are a weapon?  Heck, I understood it!

Simon stumbles through Peaches’ training session, never quite understanding that what he is doing and what he is learning is the training.  He fights off several baddies, saves his dog (and his dog saves him) and still doesn’t realize that he plus Peaches can do almost anything.

The other thing that’s beginning to annoy me about these books is the number of new secondary characters thrown in while older ones simply fade away.  Some of the older ones were pretty interesting, well worth a few more paragraphs, while some of the new ones, such as TK Tush and LD Tush, would be better forgotten because they are too self-centered to play nicely in the M&S sandbox.  Ezra is one of the best side characters from prior novels and I was glad to see him return.

To sum up:  One the plus side we have a Peaches-centric story that moves fast with the usual dollop of Simon’s mayhem and favorite side character Ezra makes a return cameo.  On the minus side Simon continues his descent back into clueless adolescence.  Ugh.

3 Stars

Demon Moon (Prof Croft Book 1) by Brad Magnarella, Good Start to an Urban Fantasy Series

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Demon Moon is the first of several books in the Professor Croft urban fantasy series by Brad Magnarella.  I was reluctant to get into it after several disappointing urban fantasy novels, and a little turned off from the wizard/professor idea after the Alastair Stone series by R. L. King.  I’m glad I took a chance as Demon Moon has potential.

Negative Points

  • Harry Dresden similarities.
  • Resolution with the New York policewoman was obvious
  • Inconsistent pacing and emotional/action ups and downs.
  • Prof Croft needs more personality.

Demon Moon’s set up is very close to Butcher’s books:  Wizard protects the big city with no help and some obstruction from his group, sword cane, Latin invocations, police involvement.  However the plot and character work out differently and it did not feel to me that much of a a Harry Dresden redo; I expect the author will create his own voice and character as we go along in further novels.

Much as I enjoy the first dozen Dresden novels, I don’t care for the Butcher’s new direction with Harry in the Winter Court.  I was glad to read something like the first few Dresden stories but a new character and a fresh start.

Positive Points

  • Everson Croft is passionate about protecting people, whether innocent bystanders or inept conjurers.
  • Croft admits he’s a relative novice in magic skills.  It’s refreshing to see a humble main character!
  • No sex, minimal foul language or blasphemy
  • Secondary characters have potential.
  • Menacing backdrop and setting with New York in a state of near anarchy after a Crash

I am a bit torn on rating this.  Demon Moon is better than blah, not quite as good as solid 4 star novels.  Let’s go with 3 Stars, mainly because the main character needs some work.  It’s a good start to what could be an entertaining series, but we’re not there yet.

 

Modern Sorcery (Jonathan Shade Book 1) – Decent Urban Fantasy

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I’m beginning to think that some of the hardest things in the world are to write a decent fantasy quest novel (5 assorted misfits seek the Object of All Wonderfulness to Save the World) and good urban fantasy.  Quest stories are usually awful unless the quest itself is subtle, downplayed, perhaps the Object is a throne or some event.

Urban fantasy is a growing genre with some hits and more misses.  Some authors make it look easy, but let’s think about it.  Good urban fantasy has to:

  • Have an engaging hero or heroine (hereafter referred to as “hero”)
  • Side kicks are optional, but if present must also be believable and interesting on their own
  • Hero ought to have some unusual traits or magic
  • Have a reason the hero is on the outs/suspected by/worried about/in hock to some overall mystical group that has power over him.  Think Harry Dresden and the White Council.
  • Have a sense of obligation.  Perhaps the hero seeks to save us regular folk from encroaching vampires, or to keep the peace among groups of fae, or is a PI.
  • This obligation must be dangerous and difficult, with moral dilemmas
  • Plus let’s not forget the basics of any novel:  Plot, character, setting, timeline, dialogue, so on

So yes, it’s difficult.

Modern Sorcery (Jonathan Shade Book 1) has some requisite elements.  The main character, Jonathan Shade, is reasonably engaging with a couple well-done side kicks.  He’s without magic himself but is also not subject to it.  Plus he’s dead and come back.  I particularly liked his librarian friend Sharon and typewriter Esther but his semi-partner Kelly lacks appeal and is 2-dimensional.

Overall the book’s main lack from an urban fantasy point is Jonathan’s rationale for taking on magic users.  He’s a PI and his old girl friend asks for help.  That doesn’t give the book much framework to hold the story.

Author Jonas Gary does a decent job with this novel and kudos to him for trying and getting it mostly right.  I don’t much enjoy the story, partly because the overall plot was a little over the top and Jonathan’s girl-to-rescue was a nasty piece.  Dialogue was a bit weak and stylistically inconsistent, sometimes snarky, sometimes frank, sometimes just bleah.

I’m unsure whether I’ll look for more books in the series.  At the moment (June, 2018) there are 10 books in all, so author Gary likely improves his craft.  Book 1 is a solid try.  If you think you’d like to try it, Amazon offers this for $.99.

3 Stars

Kingston Raine and the Grim Reaper – Unsatisfying Fantasy Humor

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Kingston Raine and the Grim Reaper is meant to be funny, and it starts out well.  The Grim Reaper is Death himself, cape, cowl and scythe; Kingston Raine is the fictional hero of the newly not-supposed-to-be-dead author Don Keaton.  Don writes enormously popular novels featuring the intrepid Kingston Raine but is stuck half way through book number 7.

The book gets complicated.  Death is the CEO of Death, Inc., and under threat by a hostile takeover and hostile unions.  Somehow Death turns Kingston Raine from a character in a story to a person who is now hiding in Limbo.  It gets more and more complicated, and less and less intelligible and less and less interesting as we go.

Death was the best character here and I skimmed most of the book looking for his scenes, which became less enjoyable as the book progressed.  Kingston Raine is a jerk, annoying and I skipped his parts.

The premise, with Death as a company set up to process souls in Limbo before sending on to their final destination, is intriguing and could make a likable story.  Kingston Raine and the Grim Reaper, sadly, is not that likable.

1-2 Stars

Kill the Farm Boy by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson; Unsuccessful Parody with Puns

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I had such high hope for Kill the Farm Boy by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson.  Hearne wrote the Iron Druid fantasy series and the recent A Plague of Giants (reviewed here) and this new novel is promoted as a “hilarious sendup of Chosen One narratives” full of “puns, flipped tropes”, cheese and a sassy goat.  Sounds like it’s going to be super funny good, or else really really bad.  Sadly it’s not good.

The novel starts out with a map full of strange place names – Retchedde, Sullenne, Muffincrumb and Gobbleneck – which got me interested right away.  I love fantasy books that need maps.  The map was the best part.  The pixie with one blue sock shoots her arrow of Chosen-Oneness to our supposed hero, the Farm Boy.  Farm Boy decides he needs to rescue the princess in her rose brier infested castle, and Gus, the talking goat, decides to come too.  So far it’s a bit stupid, but OK.

The novel follows the traditional quest narrative, where the fearless band of strangers coalesces into a group of friends, all working together to, to, to what?  Don’t know.  A couple of the band go to the witch to find a cure for the now-dead Farm Boy, the evil wizard visits the witch to steal her magic, the goat just wants to avoid the curry pot and the hunts lady is going because why not.

Evil wizard can make bread; his hunts lady is a prime klutz; the bard looks more like a rabbit than a girl and the warrior maiden doesn’t much like wearing chain mail bikinis.  These types of silly points need a light touch to make them funny and keep the book rolling along, but the authors keep beating the same points over and over.  How many jokes about cold chain mail bikinis can you listen to?  And how many times can you read about the talking goat and his pellets?  Or the budding romance between warrior maiden and rabbit-maiden-bard?  Or the incredibly clumsy and not real smart hunts lady?

The whole novel is like this.  A couple of the merry band die and the rest just keep going; in fact after the first one dies from poison mislabeled there isn’t even a pause.  He dies, they go.  The problem is that if you are parodying a quest then there must be some actual quest elements.

Kill the Farm Boy was obnoxious with stupid innuendo and jokes that appeal to 13 year old boys.  The parody didn’t work well because everything was a parody; the quest was no quest, the wizard is no wizard, the evil witch is not evil, the nastiness in the mines of Moiria (oh sorry, the Catacombs of Yore) is all illusion.

Kill the Farm Boy tries to be funny but it’s too pretentious and too asinine to make it work.

2 Stars

I received this for free in expectation of an honest review.

Tempests and Slaughter (The Numair Chronicles, Book One) – Vivid Fantasy by Tamora Pierce

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Tamora Pierce is best known for colorful fantasies for older teens with smart, strong female characters.  Tempests and Slaughter is the first novel of hers that I have read, and apparently the main characters as adults star in her novels in the same world.  It is a testament to Pierce’s ability to tell a story with likable characters who feel real, to develop a full fantasy world with magic, gods, empires and strange customs, that I did not realize Tempests and Slaughter is part of a larger story arc until I was writing this review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Tempests and Slaughter and the three main characters,  Arram,  Ozorne and Varice, all three teens in the Empire’s school for mages.  Arram is the son of traders from another country, with great talents.  Ozorne is the Emperor’s nephew and moving up in the succession, Varice is the only girl and not as prominent a character as Arram.  The book reads well on its own but clearly sets up a conflict between Arram and Ozorne.

Arram cannot abide the slavery endemic in the Empire nor can he stomach the gladiator games while Ozorne takes both these for granted.  Ozorne is about 7th in line to succeed the emperor as the story opens and talks about setting up a small estate to study magic and asks Arram and Varice to promise to join him.  As the book proceeds and Ozorne’s cousins die, he gradually abandons those peaceful dreams.  Arram is shocked when Ozorne says he dreams, not of a peaceful life of study, but to conquer the rest of the world – including Arram’s country.  Arram knows but does not want to believe that he will eventually have to leave Ozorne and make his own way.  The next novel may feature Arram and Ozorne.

Tempests and Slaughter particularly impressed me with the vivid world building.  We can almost see the dust and smell the rocks that Arram helps to move, we can hear the shouts and screams in the gladiator pits.  Pierce creates an intense setting that feels real.

The mage school is superficially peaceful, with students and teachers all pursuing scholarly work, except underlain with the assumption the mages will assist the empire.  They will heal the gladiators and the typhoid-suffering poor, brace the fallen rocks, clear the river of corpses.  The godlets visit certain scholars, notably the crocodile godlet requires Arram foster a sunbird he absconded with, something else guaranteed to cause trouble later on.

Overall Tempests and Slaughter is an excellent novel, with well-developed people, good dialogue that advances the plot and develops the characters, vivid setting and world building that constrasts with the surface placidity of the mage school.

5 Stars

Review: Witches Gone Wicked: A Cozy Witch Mystery (Womby’s School for Wayward Witches Book 3)

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Witches Gone Wicked is bad.  Lead character Clarissa is a witch wanna-be, newly hired to teach arts and crafts to young witch kin at Womby’s charity school.  The book could have been quite good, following Clarissa as she tries to teach art with $25 per year supplies budget to students who would just as soon stick her on the ceiling as pay attention.  Unfortunately the author chose to model Clarissa and the plot and the setting on the Harry Potter series.

Clarissa herself grew up ignorant of her witch heritage and now needs to learn fast; however no one wants to teach her because her biological mother was a powerful witch of the dark arts.  We don’t get a chance to get to know Clarissa as a person because she is too busy jumping to conclusions and flirting with the attractive wizard Julian (who is of course a Bad Man).

The witch kin in this series are half fae and half human (or their descendants) and have significant magic tendencies.  If they fail to master their magic then they are fair game for the fae to snatch for servants or the Tithe.  Wouldn’t this be an interesting idea to explore, to understand what’s involved, and possibly, how the witch kin can fend off the fae?    Author Sarina Dorie may cover this in other books in the series; in Witches Gone Wicked she chose to focus on Clarissa.  Clarissa’s magic affinity which is touch, which she experiences as extraordinarily sensual and powerful and any pain is unbearable.  She has power over others’ bodies too, should she learn to use it.

Most Amazon reviews are positive, with no ratings below 3 stars at this time.  This novel is not listed as YA although it may appeal more to younger teens than it did to me.

I received this for free in expectation of an honest review.

1 Star