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

The Stars Now Unclaimed by Drew Williams – Space Opera or One Fight Scene Too Many

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Publisher Tor graciously provided a review copy through NetGalley for The Stars Now Unclaimed by new author Drew Williams.  The book blurb describes it as space opera with a strong female lead, Jane.

The novel has potential as Williams creates a far future galaxy devastated first by endless war among tens of thousands of sects comprised of 17 space-faring races including humans, followed by the Pulse, radiation that reduced most planets to pre-technological levels.  The Pulse effects were random, leaving some worlds almost untouched, others back to steam and others back to horse, spears and clubs.  This backdrop has excellent story potential but it needs strong characters to engross us readers.

Williams brings us Jane, the narrator (we don’t learn her name until about 80% through), who works for the Justified, the group who created the Pulse and now seeks to minimize its damage the next time it flows through.  Jane is responsible to collect kids with unique mental talents but her primary skill is fighting.

That brings us to the problem.  The novel is one fight scene after another, with very little time for character development and not much setting.  It is as though the author creates this great world, then figures it is good enough and we can fill in the blanks.

Even though Jane is in the entire novel we don’t really get to know her other than she likes to fight and she is a tenacious friend and worse enemy.  The other characters also have little personality and we see them primarily as foils for Jane.  The character with the most personality is her ship, Scheherazade.

Jane and friends swear a lot, mostly F-bombs as general purpose filler words, but there is no blasphemy.

Overall The Stars Now Unclaimed is a decent read.  I couldn’t get too involved with it given the lack of full-bodied people, but the author writes reasonably well and has created a complex world.  I wish him well in future novels in this series, although I’m not likely to seek the next books.

3 Stars

Temping Fate by Esther Friesner, Cute Fantasy, Bridezilla and Summer Jobs

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Ilana needs a summer job.  Now.  If she doesn’t find one her parents will find her all sorts of things to do, starting with music camp.  Of course Ilana must take care that her job will not interfere with endless fittings for her bridesmaid dress so she can be her sister Dyllin’s maid of honor.  Dyllin has transmogrified into Bridezilla, scourge of caterers, florists and sisters everywhere.

Ilana gets a summer job as a temp at the Divine Relief Temp agency, assigned to the three Fates, one of whom is having a severe attack of Mommy-itis.  Ilana isn’t too sure about the work but she sure loves the paycheck!  Plus she meets some cute guys who also temp, albeit with heroes and other assorted demigods.

Temping Fate is light summer reading and most teens would enjoy it as would many adults.  Dylin’s panic attacks (NO!  The wrong color of ribbons!!!  The Horror!) add comedy offset by some real sisterly moments.  Ilana grows up somewhat, but don’t expect a serious coming-of-age novel as this is lighthearted fun.

3 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

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

The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg, Sequel to Paper Magician Set in Retro England

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Charlie Holmberg’s The Paper Magician (reviewed here) surprised me with its fresh take on elemental magic and the two main characters, Ceomy and her mentor Thane.  Holmberg follow up novel, The Glass Magician, is set immediately after the first book and introduces new heroic side kicks and new villains.  While The Glass Magician is good, it is not in the same league as The Paper Magician, primarily because it has more YA elements than the first.

In Paper Ceomy is brave and prudent and takes independent action only to save Thane’s life, and only when there is nothing else to do.  In The Glass Magician, Ceomy makes one dumb move after another, tries to go after Grath – unsuccessfully – despite being told not to, and gets her good friend into the mess.  The Ceomy vs. Villains situations comprise the bulk of the plot, something more typical of YA fantasy than stories aimed at adults.

Also typical of YA novels, Ceomy spends too much of the book worrying whether Thane loves her.  The romance was a nice plus in Paper, but it’s overdone in Glass, reducing mature, likable Ceomy to a silly girl.

I still enjoyed The Glass Magician, still liked Ceomy, Thane and the magic system.  I just didn’t enjoy it quite as much as The Paper Magician.

3-4 Stars

A Darker Shade of Magic – V. E. Schwab – A Gathering of Shadows, Disappointing Fantasy

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A Darker Shade of Magic

A Darker Shade of Magic is the first of three novels in a universe where there are four Londons – Grey London which is ours, Red London full of magic and life, White London where magic is dying and Black London where magic destroyed everything.  Black London is closed off and barred to keep the other worlds safe.  Such a fascinating premise, full of opportunity for good story telling!

Author V. E. Schwab tells the story through Red London’s prince Rhy and his foster brother Kell, and their dynamics with the kings in Red, White and Grey London.  Kell is actually an Antari, a powerful magician able to use blood magic to pass from one London to another and chafes at being confined to London, to the forced fosterage with the the king and queen.  Kell and Rhy are close as brothers, as best friends, and this love combines with a sense of duty to keep Kell in line.

Kell (and the other Antari, Holland from White London, possibly an enemy) are forbidden to bring people or items across from one London to another, and are forbidden to do more than pass letters from one monarch to another.  Kell rebels and secretly takes small collectibles across for himself and sometimes others.  Unfortunately the last item he takes, supposedly a letter, is actually a powerful artifact from Black London, sent to corrupt and destroy Red London.

Had Schwab stayed within this boundary she would have had a powerful, compelling story.  What will Kell and Rhy do?  How will Holland revitalize his world of White London?  Can that world even be saved?  How do they push the Black London artifact back where it belongs?

Kell, Rhy and Holland aren’t complete, 3-dimensional characters, but they are close, with a reasonable shot to develop into real people that we readers care about.  Unfortunately Schwab introduces Lila Bard from Grey London, orphaned thief and wanna-be adventurer and the story and characters go downhill from here.  I don’t like Lila.  She’s the character that we are supposed to identify with and root for but she’s shallow, foolish, selfish, uncaring.  She is tolerable in the first book, probably because she remains a stock character and plays a secondary role.

A Gathering of Shadows

I liked the story well enough to read most of the second novel in the series, A Gathering of Shadows, but finally gave up with about 50 pages to go in this second novel, skipped to the ending, then read only the ending of the third novel, A Conjuring of Light.  Lila is the main character in A Gathering of Shadows and I couldn’t stand her, and the other characters do not carry the story.

The writing is OK, nothing great, with semi-decent dialogue and slow pacing.  Schwab spends most of A Gathering of Shadows with Lila on a privateer ship before she, her ship’s captain and Kell, all compete in magic games with the other three empires in the Red London world.  The real story is with Holland and his struggle in White London, which gets comparatively few pages.

There are plot holes of course.  Normally if the story is good or the characters are real people we readers whiz right by the holes, notice but suspend disbelief.  This series isn’t that good and the plot holes stand out.  The most obvious is the difference between Grey and White London.

Grey London never had much magic and now has virtually none, yet manages to thrive (more or less).  White London used to have magic which is fading and dwindling and the entire world is dying.  Why the difference?  Holland manages to bring some magic back to White London which regains some color and life, but the end of A Conjuring of Light suggests this too will fade, with only a whisper of hope for life.

The series has overall high ratings on Amazon although several negative reviewers shared my dislike for Lila and the overall wooden writing.

Overall I would rate Book 1, A Darker Shade of Magic, as 3+ stars.
Book 2, A Gathering of Shadows, is 2 Stars and I didn’t read enough of Book 3 to rate it.

 

Carpet Diem by Justin Lee Anderson: Averting the Apocalypse One Step at a Time

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I found Justin Lee Anderson on Hoopla Digital which recommended him as an author similar to Jodi Taylor, who writes the excellent Chronicles of St. Mary’s novels.  Sadly this novel, Carpet Diem, just misses.  Carpet Diem is meant to be a humorous take on “How We Averted the Apocalypse”, much like Good Omens or Tom Holt’s novels.  It has funny moments and the hero postpones the Apocalypse, but it isn’t overall a winner.

Characters

Writing a humorous book is hard work!  Authors need characters that carry the load, characters that we readers engage with, care about, people with senses of humor.  The whole time I read Carpet Diem I kept wondering why the book wasn’t better, and I think it is because the author created characters he thought were funny in themselves, and didn’t write dialogue or events that were funny.

None of the character was very interesting.  We have the drunken great aunt, the extraordinarily people-averse hero (because he has too-good a sense of smell), an angel or two, a demon or two, a few oddball, never explained magic characters, and assorted side kicks.  The only one with any personality is the hero, Simon, who must face his immense dislike of crowds (even tiny crowds, as in one or two people) to retrieve his carpet and gift it to the apocalyptic force of his choice.  Simon was moderately interesting.

Overall

I think part of the problem is the characters go through truly harrowing, deathly events that do not feel real.  Simon faces death and we readers just go along with the story, not really feeling any terror or anything more than a vague anxiety.  The story reads like a story, not like anything that characters or we readers experience.

Perhaps part of my negative feeling for Carpet Diem is that I felt gypped.  The story is not compelling and not the quality of Chronicles of St. Mary’s novels or Good Omens.  I expected something with plenty of plot, great characters and dialogue and funny moments in between terror.  Carpet Diem is not these things.

3 Stars

The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell, Edited by Christopher Hibbert

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Boswell’s Life of Johnson has been on my must-eventually-read-this list forever and finally I finished it this evening.  Boswell writes well, using anecdotes and quotes to show his revered Samuel Johnson, and his circle of eminent friends.  Johnson lived in the 1700s, dying in 1784, and was a man of words, written and spoken.  Johnson viewed conversation and wit as great arts and took great pride in his skill talking about almost anything and winning discussions on any topic.

Johnson saw nothing whatsoever to love about Scotland or America, yet his great friend Boswell is Scottish and he willingly would discourse with Americans when they were polite and showed him reverence.  Boswell was obsequious; what we would call brown nosing, Boswell felt was simply showing the immense respect that Johnson deserved.

Today we don’t read much of Johnson’s writings, although we still use some of his sayings, e.g.,  “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight it concentrates his mind wonderfully”.  Boswell wrote travel books but his only enduring success is this, the Life of Johnson.

Boswell writes well and uses anecdotes and remembered conversations to show us himself, Johnson, and 1700s London.  Editor Christopher Hibbert noted that his edits removed direct excerpts from Johnson’s writings.

I doubt I’ll ever read anything by Johnson or Boswell but this was interesting and I’m glad to have finally read it.