Review: Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

May 162012

Throne of the Crescent Moon is the debut novel from Saladin Ahmed, who has been a finalist for both the Nebula and Campbell awards. It was released February 7th, 2012 by DAW books.

The Blurb

The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, land of djenn and ghuls, Khalifs and killers, is on the brink of civil war. To make things worse, a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. And it’s up to Doctor Adoulla Makhslood to solve them.

“The last real ghul hunter in the great city of Dhamsawaat,” Adoulla just wants a quiet cup of tea. But when an old flame’s family is murdered, he is drawn back to the hunter’s path. Recruiting old companions and new, Adoulla races against time–and struggles against his own misgivings–to discover a plot for the Throne of the Crescent Moon that threatens to turn Dhamsawaat, and the world itself, into a blood-soaked ruin. [On Goodreads]

The Review

Y’know. I had this whole 2,000 word review all typed up where I ranted about a review of this book that, essentially, called it misogynistic and shit writing. But I don’t feel like editing that crazy rage-fest.

So here’s what I’ll say instead: that review was wrong. So very, very wrong. I admit, there was one moment while reading this book where I had a fly-off-the-handle-feminist moment. Then, I took a step back, a deep breath, and realized that one stray thought by a character balanced against the incredible ass-kicking action of all the females in this book makes my initial knee-jerk invalid.

Does this novel fail the Bechdel test? Erm. Without double checking to be 100% sure, I’m gonna say – yeah, it does. Are there about a bajillion other fantasy novels out there that are also Bechdel fails but that are just as worthy of a read? Also yep.

So why read this one? Because it’s worthy in a different way. Ditch your European-grown fantasy roots and saddle up for something a little more “birthplace of civilization” flavored. Did I fall in love with this novel? I have to admit that, no, I didn’t. Did I enjoy it? Yep, quite thoroughly actually and I found it completely worth the time I invested in it.

There’s just one piece of my rage-fest rant that I have to relate here. One of the beefs the review I read had (and to which I am not going to link to here) was that one of the main female characters is a sort of were-lion and her powers are inaccessible to her during menses. So, of course, there was a bit of feminist rage about “OMG why does she have to be powerless three days out of the month simply because she’s a woman that’s so misogynistic!!!1!one” (paraphrasing, not a direct quote).

To which I say:

1) Traditional mythology, fable, and even other fantasy books all have tons of references to a woman’s power being tied to her menstrual cycle. This is not new, and ranting simply because a MAN dared to use it as a plot device is, frankly, in my opinion very silly.

2) Why do we even have to look at it as “She’s being stripped of her power for being a woman!” at all? For one: her power is being limited, which can only be a good thing. She is still a bad-ass, shape-shifting lion who kicks ALL KIND OF ASS during all the crazy fight scenes. (Seriously – super exciting fight scenes!) Remember “absolute power corrupts absolutely”? How about, “unlimited power makes for a boring fucking character”? (Hm. Sounds like something Chuck Wendig would say, but I digress.) Her power is being limited in a way that not only makes sense within the confines of the world, but it’s being done in such a manner that she’s forced to look at the world not as an animal but as a human being and, yes, a woman. Which brings me to my next point…

3) Why is it okay for other fantasy writers (even men) to write werewolves as creatures who are tied to the same sort of lunar cycle but not in this case? Because this author came right out and tied it to menses instead of being coy about it? Honestly, I’d rather have it this way. At least it gives some sort of vaguely scientific reasoning – more so than “the moon made her turn into a monster!”.

Creating a strong feminine character doesn’t mean stripping her of everything that makes her a woman. In fact, that’s quite the opposite. I see the author here creating a character who, while being constrained by the fact that yes, she is actually female, works within those limitations to become that much more powerful. Which is how it works in real life, isn’t it?

Bottom line: do you want another cookie-cutter, leather-wearing, bed-hopping Bond knock-off with an X chromosome or would you like to maybe see an actual girl dealing with all the things a girl has to deal with? Which includes, for those unwilling to face it (both in fantasy reviews and in modern politics!), menstruation and thinking about child-bearing.

Argh. I swore I wouldn’t rant, and I did it anyway.

One of my favorite things about this book is that our heroes are mostly old people (there are a couple of young ones, a displaced youth and an apprentice, but they are rash and young and smartly idiotic in the way that only teenagers really can be). It’s refreshing to see a fantasy that ISN’T a coming-of-age story. Our hero, Adoulla, is around sixty and world-weary and feeling ready for his long-overdue (at least in his opinion) dirt-nap when we meet him. There is a charm to the elderly in that they are fearless and unafraid of looking foolish (whether it is being overly sentimental about worldly possessions or absurdly proud of their own flatulence). This book captures that perfectly, and I hope to have 1/10th the sass at that age that any of these characters do.

Just read this book. Especially if you enjoy unique fantasy settings, such as N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms or Brandon Sanderson’s A Way of Kings. It’s worth it, and it’s a fraction of the size of other door-stopper fantasies written by the likes of Rothfuss, Jordan, Sanderson, et al. You can read it in a weekend, form your own opinion, and wedge your mind open just the tiniest of fractions. It’ll be good for you. But don’t take it from me. Read the damned book already and stop taking advice from opinionated strangers on the internet!

Review: Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

Books, Reviews 3 Responses »

Apr 232012

This book will be released April 24th, 2012 from Angry Robot. It is the first in a new series from Chuck Wendig, the foul-mouthed penmonkey behind the website Terrible Minds.

The Blurb

Miriam Black knows when you will die. She’s foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, and suicides.

But when Miriam hitches a ride with Louis Darling and shakes his hand, she sees that in thirty days Louis will be murdered while he calls her name. Louis will die because he met her, and she will be the next victim.

No matter what she does she can’t save Louis. But if she wants to stay alive, she’ll have to try. [Goodreads]

The Review

Blackbirds is a hauntingly macabre book. It was so intense that I read it in two nights, which I spread over three days. I had to take a night off in the middle just to recover from all the violence. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is ugly and vicious and cruel, actually, and that fingernail’s edge of hope that Wendig gives us may not be enough for some readers.

The prose is visceral and brutally beautiful. Miriam is a wonderfully flawed character who moves through her life like a tidal wave. Her path rains destruction down on everyone around her, but she is helpless to stop it. Imagine knowing that the people kindest to you in your life are destined to die horribly and the more you try to stop it, the more inevitable that death is. Now imagine living with that for a few years.

Miriam’s story is a disturbing and fascinating look at the fatal romance of inevitability and finality. In fact, “fatal” is the perfect word for Miriam. She’s caught in the twin grips of fate and death. No. Not death, but dying. That’s an important distinction. Miriam’s “gift” is not concerned with what comes after life, but only with those final, horrifying moments of leaving it.

Wendig does dark and brutal very, very well. His Atlanta Burns novella, Shotgun Gravy was similar in tone. I now find myself perversely wishing that I could read a light-hearted Wendig story, just for contrast sake.

Rating:

Review: Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole

Books, Reviews No Responses »

Apr 232012

The Blurb

Army Officer. Fugitive. Sorcerer.

Across the country and in every nation, people are waking up with magical talents. Untrained and panicked, they summon storms, raise the dead, and set everything they touch ablaze.

Army officer Oscar Britton sees the worst of it. A lieutenant attached to the military’s Supernatural Operations Corps, his mission is to bring order to a world gone mad. Then he abruptly manifests a rare and prohibited magical power, transforming him overnight from government agent to public enemy number one.

The SOC knows how to handle this kind of situation: hunt him down–and take him out. Driven into an underground shadow world, Britton is about to learn that magic has changed all the rules he’s ever known, and that his life isn’t the only thing he’s fighting for.

My Review

This is a military urban fantasy in the same way that there is military science fiction: lots of jargon, weapons, battles, and explosions. I like the themes of this book. I dislike our point of view character. Some of the background action isn’t clearly explained, which puzzles me. I will definitely be reading the next one.

This book drops you right into the middle of the action, which is a bit disconcerting when explosions are going off and a lot of new terminology is thrown at you. I mean “drops” literally, too. Our main character, Oscar, lands in a helicopter on the roof of a flaming school building in the very first pages – right into the middle of a battle. Just afterward, his forbidden talent manifests and we join him in hurtling from one disaster to another, too disoriented to do much but hang on and try to enjoy the ride.

There is a big theme here that examines what I (never having been in the military) must assume is a common internal conflict for soldiers between following orders and following their own internal moral code. When your officers (or government) declare as your enemy people who it appears are, well, people, it must be a hard thing to reconcile those two images and be able to rest easy at night.

What if the people declared ”enemies” are fellow Americans? Pacifist tribes of kind, intelligent – though non-human – creatures? Cute young teenage girls? At what point do the good intentions of a massive bureaucracy cross into the realm of oppression and murder? I don’t know the answer to that question, but it’s the asking of it that matters.

The plot premise is good and the world-building is excellent (even if we don’t see too much of it). There’s even a bit of a surprise toward the end that I didn’t see coming at all. The book asks smart questions that had my brain chewing over them a long time after I put it down. Not only are there questions about the internal conflicts of being a solider, but also about what exactly makes us human. These questions have been asked before – most similarly in the X-Men universe – but it’s important to keep asking them until we either find the real answer or until we are truly no longer human. This book does an excellent job of that, and I foresee that getting more intense in subsequent novels.

The only downside I found in the story was the fact that I’m not sure if I liked Oscar. Our narrator is a bit of a whiner, and he is so focused on his own problems that it directly causes a good portion of the subsequent disasters that fall on the Shadow company team. The irony is that he spends a lot of the book worrying about others, but only in the context of his own situation.

For instance, early in the book there is a sort of “accident” with Oscar’s talent and it causes an event that leads to (presumably, as it’s off-camera) his father’s death. Now, Daddy was an abusive asshole, but the only time Oscar ever feels guilt about causing this death is when he thinks about what his mother must think of him now. It’s made pretty clear that he doesn’t feel badly that his father is actually dead – only that he now has to deal with the consequences of that death.

This is only one example, and probably the worst one since there’s a reason Oscar wouldn’t feel badly over this death. Further examples are a bit spoiler-y, but trust me when I say that once put in context with the other disasters Oscar causes, it’s pretty clear. This man is, if not selfish, then at the very least extremely self-centered. Obviously this gives the character room to learn and grow, so I’m willing to overlook my irritation when measured against the larger story.

I enjoyed this book, and the less-than-completely sympathetic main character was not much of a detriment when measured against the fascinating world. I’m not going to jump into reading a bunch more military fiction, but I will certainly follow this series and this author.

Review: White Horse by Alex Adams

Reviews 1 Response »

Apr 162012

White Horse is the debut novel of Alex Adams and will be published from Atria/Emily Bestler Books on April 17, 2012. It is the first in a trilogy.

The Blurb

Thirty-year-old Zoe leads an ordinary life until the end of the world arrives. She is cleaning cages and floors at Pope Pharmaceuticals when the President of the United States announces that human beings are no longer a viable species. When Zoe realizes that everyone she loves is disappearing, she starts running. Scared and alone in a shockingly changed world, she embarks on a remarkable journey of survival and redemption. Along the way, Zoe comes to see that humans are not defined by their genetic code, but rather by their actions and choices. White Horse offers hope for a broken world, where love can lead to the most unexpected places. [GoodReads]

The Review

This book was a little more “literary” and a lot less fun then most stuff I’ve read lately. Sure, the end of the world isn’t exactly an uplifting subject, and the story does say a lot about human nature, hope, love, and despair. But Laura Anne Gilman’s Dragon Virus touched all those points, too, and she did it better, to boot. You may recall me saying that Gilman’s story was pretty bleak. Well, Dragon Virus was a beacon of hope compared to White Horse.

That’s not to say there’s no value in this. If you are less fond of the fantastic then you are of realism, Adams’ book is not much more far-fetched then a near-future imagining. If you need allegory in your novels, or haven’t been able to quite leave your college literature classes behind, then you may enjoy this one better than I did. Some of the blurbs accompanying it have compared it to Cormac McCarthy – and since I’ve never read him, I have no reason to think they’re lying. Which explains why McCarthy has never crossed my radar before.

The book is well-written, and though I found Zoe a dry character, she’s not an unsympathetic one. The way the narrative jumps back and forth between “then” and “now” until the two time-lines coincide was obviously done so for impact. Unfortunately, it also kept me from becoming really engaged with Zoe’s character. Further, some of the events in the book seem almost more for shock value then to move the plot forward. They do do that, but they seem sort of shoe-horned in, not having evolved naturally.

I didn’t hate it, but I did find it disturbing and depressing. If you like your literature fantastic and with more prose than plot, you may enjoy this one better than I did.

Review: The Gathering of the Lost by Helen Lowe

Books, Reviews 6 Responses »

Apr 092012

This is the second book in Helen Lowe’s The Wall of Night series. It was released March 27th in the US.

The Blurb

Garrisoned by the Nine Houses of the Derai, the towering mountain range called the Wall of Night is all that separates the people of Haarth from the terrible Darkswarm.

Five years have passed since the Wall was breached and the Keep of Winds nearly overrun. Five years since the Heir of Night, Malian, and her friend and ally Kalan went missing in the wild lands of Jaransor.

Now, in Haarth’s diverse southern realms, events are moving. From the wealthy River city of Ij to the isolated Emerian outpost of Normarch, rumors of dark forces and darker magics are growing. As the great Midsummer tournament at Caer Argent approaches, Haarth will have one opportunity to band together against an enemy in which few believe . . . or be lost forever. [Barnes&Noble]

The Review

Lowe writes in jigsaw puzzle pieces. Each book is a story unto itself but also reveals only a small, tantalizing bit of the larger story. I thought I knew what that larger story was after the first book. I was sure I knew the ultimate goals, and after finishing book two the only thing I’m sure of is that I knew nothing. I both admire her technique (as a writer) and hate it endlessly (as a reader). Her books are tidbits, small tastes of a glorious feast and it is torture to wait so long between mouthfuls.

I admit that I read the first few chapters of the book completely bewildered by everything. Here was a whole new set of characters that had never been mentioned before. I started to wonder if I had even remembered the earlier book’s plot correctly at all. After awhile, I was nearly frustrated enough to put the thing down. Where was Malian, the Heir of Night, our heroine from the first book? Dead, came the rumor, whispered through the pages. I was horrified that perhaps the rumor was correct and the series would now go in a completely different direction.

Then, just before I decided to throw the thing down forever, there trod back onto the pages the Heralds from the previous book: Tarathan of Ar and Jehane Mor. Okay, I thought to myself, maybe this is going somewhere after all. I’ll give it just a little while longer. The new story was fascinating, after all, even if it wasn’t what I had expected. Even if I had no idea how it related to the previous book at all.

Just as I had settled in to reading about nearly a whole new set of characters, the sucker punch came flying. I would like to say that I saw it coming, but that would be a lie. It knocked me on my ass! I won’t tell you what it is, because that would ruin the surprise (and hey, I don’t want to be the only one sitting here all stunned and dismayed and delighted, now do I?) Suffice to say that things are not what they seem in this book. Not at all.

From that moment, I was committed to finishing this book that I had thought I would put down forever. When I first finished it, I felt like the story hadn’t advanced at all, and I was a bit disappointed. What had they accomplished of the original goals of the story? It didn’t feel like very much. More and more obstacles were thrown in the paths of our heroes, and it seemed like they were worse off than ever.

After having some time to dwell on it, I have to say… That I was absolutely correct. Our heroes are further from accomplishing their goals than they ever were. Instead of going forward, the story has progressed in a direction that I hadn’t expected. But I’m no longer disappointed by that. It has grown deeper, wider. What we have now is no longer simply a traditional hero’s journey with a new twist. The Heir of Night was a book all about seclusion, isolation, and walking lonely paths with few allies.

The Gathering of the Lost is completely different and new. It is a book about companions: friendships and everything that those things entail. We see loyalty, betrayal, lust and love. The story didn’t go as far forward in length as I would have liked, but what it did not it made up for in sheer breadth and scope. The more I consider it, the more I realize that this book completely changed the game. And that is amazing. Lowe has managed to shake the very foundations of her world (for the reader, at least, as presumably she knew this was coming all along), while paradoxically remaining true to the expectations she laid out in the very first book.

I honestly don’t have any idea how she managed it, which just goes to show that as a writer I have much to learn. As a reader, I will be gnashing my teeth in wait for the next volume. That is the trouble with reading advanced copies of things. It seems like you have to wait even longer for the next one!

Review: Discount Armageddon by Seanen McGuire

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Apr 022012

Discount Armageddon is InCryptid #1. It was published by DAW on March 6, 2012.

The Blurb

Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night…

The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she’d rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren’t for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family’s old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed.

To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone’s spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city… [Goodreads]

The Review

I found this such a refreshing, engaging read. Verity Price is my kind of girl… Well, except for that whole ballroom dancing thing. Very is an independent woman with a long family line who’s trying to balance her family’s expectations with her own wants and dreams. She’s tough and smart, but also human. No crazy powers, no desperate flaw in her character. In fact, she’s just a nice, normal girl. Not counting the excessive weaponry, jumping off of buildings, slutty work uniform, and chanting religious mice in her living room, that is.

So like I said – she’s my kind of girl.

I also love that Very’s family is a group of hereditary cryptozoologists. The combination of supernatural and science is a new and enticing allure. Each chapter also includes a wise quote from one of what I believe is Very’s ancestors. They include such anecdotes as:

A lady is never truly embarrassed. And if she is, a lady is never gauche enough to leave survivors.

As well as:

A proper lady should be able to smile pretty, wear sequins like she means it, and kick a man’s ass nine ways from Sunday while wearing stiletto heels. If she can’t do that much, she’s not trying hard enough.

This is on top of Verity’s own astute – and hilarious – observations of city life. She’s warm, she’s personal… She can hide a gun in a tango dress. She’s more fun than an entire New York subway system full of dragons! I recommend you run out right now and get this book. I can’t imagine a world where you’d regret it.

Review: Silver-Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells

Books, Reviews 2 Responses »

Mar 262012

Silver-Tongued Devil is the fourth volume in Jaye Wells’ Sabina Kane series. It was published January 5, 2012 by Orbit Books.

The Blurb

Now that the threat of war has passed, Sabina Kane is ready to focus on the future. Her relationship with Adam Lazarus is getting stronger and she’s helping her sister, Maisie, overcome the trauma of her captivity in New Orleans. Even Giguhl is managing to stay out of trouble thanks to the arrival of Pussy Willow and his new roller derby team. But as much as Sabina wants to feel hopeful about the future, part of her doesn’t trust that peace is possible.

Her suspicions are confirmed when a string of sadistic murders threaten to stall treaty negotiations between the mages and the vampires. Sabina pitches in to find the killer, but her investigation soon leads her down dark paths that have her questioning everyone she thought she could trust. And the closer she gets to the killer, the more Sabina begins to suspect this is one foe she may not be able to kill. [GoodReads]

The Review

The first 90% of this book was soap-opera drama that didn’t move the story forward much at all. If you’ve read the earlier books in the series, you already know that Sabina set herself up for failure in her relationship from the beginning and in this book it finally came home to roost. With no clear enemy this time, Sabina is instead pitted against the new head vampire’s right-hand girl – a girl who has essentially taken Sabina’s original place. That leads to a bunch of posturing and threats and not a lot else.

The real goal is to find the person – vamp, mage or other – who is driving a wedge with grisly murder through the fragile peace Sabina created. Instead, Sabina bungles the investigation, spending time dealing with the relationship issues of herself and her friends, and letting those distract her even from watching out for her sister’s mental health.

As I said in my last review, I’ve been waiting for a reason to drop this series off my shelf. I’m not really sure what it is about Sabina that irritates me so, but it’s there nonetheless. Unfortunately for my book shelf, the last 10% of this book pulled off a complete turn around and a sucker punch that was way better and less predictable than that crappy movie of the same name.

As much as I would like to strangle Sabina and re-enact the very first scene of the series myself in some deep, dark wood, I’m still invested in how all this is going to turn out. I can’t give you a better endorsement then, “this series keeps me reading even against my will.”

Guest Review: Department 19 by Will Hill [From ~ap~]

Featured 3 Responses »

Feb 282012

A Note from Kiara: Since today is my birthday, I’m taking a day off! The following review was written by my dear friend, ~ap~, who writes about reading over at Writing About Reading. She’s the best, and you should go read her. Especially since she’s currently giving away a signed, hardcover of Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. The contest ends tonight, so why don’t you hop on over and enter? We’ll wait. … There. Now that that’s settled, on with the review!

Department 19

Author: Will Hill

Format: author-signed paperback

Publisher: HarperCollins

Original Release Date: 3/29/2011

Length: 496 pages

Acquired: won in a publisher giveaway

Department 19 Website, Facebook & Twitter

The blurb from the website:

Jamie Carpenter’s life will never be the same. His father is dead, his mother is missing, and he was just rescued by an enormous man named Frankenstein.

Jamie is brought to Department 19, where he is pulled into a secret organization responsible for policing the supernatural, founded more than a century ago by Abraham Van Helsing and the other survivors of Dracula.

Aided by Frankenstein’s monster, a beautiful vampire girl with her own agenda, and the members of the agency, Jamie must attempt to save his mother from a terrifyingly powerful vampire.

Department 19 takes us through history, across Europe, and beyond – from the cobbled streets of Victorian London to prohibition-era New York, from the icy wastes of Arctic Russia to the treacherous mountains of Transylvania.

My moderately spoilery thoughts:

Considering the fact that this is a YA book, I rather enjoyed it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against YA, but at times the genre can be frustrating to read, as though YA writers assume that their readers aren’t mature or intelligent enough to handle content that’s a bit more complex. Some of the writing in Department 19 definitely seemed more appropriate for a younger crowd but all in all, it was fast-paced enough to keep the pages turning and intriguing enough to keep me thinking about it when I wasn’t reading. I also found myself anxious to get back to it as soon as possible whenever I had to put it down to eat or shower or sleep or work… pesky, pesky work.

Some of my favorite sections of this book dealt with the short glimpses back in history at the protagonist’s ancestors. Jamie Carpenter’s great-grandfather worked with the fabled Abraham Van Helsing and joined his circle of Dracula-staking buddies when Department 19, aka Blacklight, was formed in 1892, 100+ years before Jamie’s story begins. His grandfather met and befriended Frankenstein’s monster, who seemed quite civilized and took on his creator’s name after he passed. Finally we learn more about his father Julian, who was also a member of Department 19 and who apparently betrayed it, and so is much hated by the time Jamie is tossed headfirst into insanity.

Before the events in this story, neither Jamie or his mother had any knowledge of the classified, vampire-killing, militant branch of the government which his father had been an honored member. He was honored before that whole betrayal thing, anyway, after which his colleagues tracked him down and summarily executed him in his driveway in front of his family. I had a hard time swallowing such fly-off-the-handle type of behavior from a highly-trained, professional organization, but I didn’t let it detract (much) from the rest of the story.

I enjoyed the fact that the author touted Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a chronicle of true events, rather than a work of fiction. As one Department 19 Operator explains to a civilian after she admits that she has read Stoker’s book, “It’s not a story; it’s a history lesson.” Though that reminded me of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, in which Dracula is essentially a How-to guide for killing vampires of the Black Court, the concept fit well and the premise opened the door for the inclusion of Frankenstein’s character, which added some spice to the story.

Jamie is torn from his life as an awkward teen when his mother is kidnapped by one of the oldest vamps in the world, after which he is rescued from the same vamp by yet another monster straight out of a horror story. A monster who happened to be pals with his dad, once upon a time (no pun intended). Of course, neither Jamie or his mother had any knowledge of the vampire-killing militant branch of the government before this story takes place so we get a lot of info-dumping to catch Jamie (us) up on the history of the organization and his family’s part in it. I feel that Hill did a great job of fleshing out Jamie’s character, from the vehement anger at his father for his betrayal and for his lies about his job to Jamie and his mother, to his stubborn insistence in ignoring what he’s told by senior members of Blacklight. I often found his behavior exceedingly annoying but it was probably pretty accurate for a teenaged boy.

Aside from a bit of choppy jumping back and forth action toward the end of the book, the only issue I had with the story was the excessive gore. Yes, I do realize that this is a Stoker-esque portrayal of vamps as blood-sucking monsters and that much blood and murder and mayhem is likely to take place, but the book is aimed at a 12+ audience and I just felt that it was a little too bloody for the pre-teen set. I got the feeling while reading the many fight scenes that the author was writing something as anti-Twilight as possible and while I approve, multiple mentions of characters being soaked in blood and then the image of a vampire covered in gore from head to toe, flinging drops of blood from her hair in the midst of battle, was just a wee bit much.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who wants a good ole vamp-staking story. There are cool weapons, a lot of action, and an impressively in-depth history of the Blacklight organization, as well as a dun-dun-dun-DUNNNN ending that will, hopefully, make you look forward to the next book, Department 19: The Rising, as much as I do. (teaser chapters here)

[Winner] Magic Most Foul Giveaway for DARKER STILL

Books, Giveaway 1 Response »

Feb 232012

Okay. We’re finally ready to announce a winner!

And our winner is….

DAWN!

Who said, “Sounds like an interesting read. Will have to check out her work.“

Well, now you can, Dawn! Please email me at: kiara at Waiting for Fairies dot com with your mailing address so that I can get it to the appropriate people. Congratulations!

Full disclosure:

In order to draw the winner of this giveaway, I combined the comments from the two Magic Most Foul posts here and here, in the order in which they were posted. I numbered them from oldest to newest. You cannot see it on the front end, but rest assured I have the time stamps down to the minute here on the back end of things. Then, I had Random.org spit out the following chunk of numbers:

77	69	65	36	3
43	54	2	89	31
75	1	89	97	11
26	62	3	31	83
28	47	31	68	22
32	62	44	39	58
63	100	34	61	33
86	98	87	49	55
53	83	60	94	57
79	73	96	94	37
11	88	59	11	90
2	75	57	61	27
65	58	97	50	75
95	68	71	82	43
64	25	87	66	2
99	78	89	3	97
25	37	100	57	100
4	36	27	18	2
36	4	36	26	37
85	61	93	76	16

Timestamp: 2012-02-23 23:04:36 UTC

The first number that was an actual comment (left to right, top to bottom) was our winner. That was comment#3, which was Dawn.

Again, congratulations, and I hope you’ll stop back as we still have more giveaways for you to win! And you still have time to enter the Knits for Nerds Giveaway!

Magic Most Foul Giveaway

Books, Giveaway, Recommendations 3 Responses »

Feb 142012

Annnd… Because I’m a huge dork who forgot to include it in the previous post. There is a giveaway attached to the lovely Leanna Renee Hieber’s guest post, sponsored by her Greatness and courtesy of her dear publisher, Sourcebooks Fire.

Giveaway is for one (1) copy of Darker Still and is open to any human person on the planet Earth who leaves a comment either here or on the previous post (I’ll combine them) before midnight in the Eastern (my) time zone on February 19th.

Thank you all and sorry that didn’t get included on the original posting. February has left me flabbergasted this year.

Guest Post: 5 Things to Look Forward to in Magic Most Foul by Leanna Renee Hieber

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Feb 142012

A Note from Kia: You’re in for a treat today, kiddies. Our dear friend Leanna Renee Hieber has stopped by to give us an exclusive look at all the things we are eagerly awaiting in the next Magic Most Foul novel. (And oh, YES, we certainly are, aren’t we?) Said novel even has a name now: THE TWISTED TRAGEDY OF MISS NATALIE STEWART!

Edit: Also there is a giveaway! Post comment here to win copy of Darker Still! Rules over here.

So now without any further chit-chat, let’s let Leanna have her say!

Five things to look forward to in the next Magic Most Foul novel (Releasing this November!) In no particular order:

Adventure! On Trains! Natalie and Jonathon as heroine and hero continue to lead the series. Our brave young lovers escape from New York City to dodge the after-effects of magic but have to dodge some additional problems along the way.
There’s an homage to Frankenstein in a most disturbing way.
There’s an homage to both The Exorcist and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in one new character.
A Victorian Goth club. AKA “Her Majesty’s Association for Melancholy Bastards” – And I, the author, am a card-carrying Goth and member, so there.
Making out in train cars and carriages. Enough said.

Stay tuned at http://leannareneehieber.com – http://facebook.com/lrhieber – http://twitter.com/leannarenee

Reasons to check out DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul if you haven’t already:

There’s a haunted painting. A British Lord is trapped inside. And he’s really good looking. (See, that’s three reasons just in one).
Natalie Stewart, a spirited and opinionated young woman everyone can cheer for, overcomes danger, incredible personal odds and adversity to save lives and save the day.
It will give you the shivers. Lots. Promise. I’ve been told that Natalie’s dreams aren’t to be read right before bedtime.
It’s full of danger, intrigue, mystery, curses, magic, nightmares, disguises and pretty dresses!
It was chosen as an INDIE NEXT recommended book by the American Booksellers Association and it’s a trilogy, so you’d best start now…

Cheers!Leanna’s website: http://leannareneehieber.com and Twitter: http://twitter.com/leannarenee and FB: http://facebook.com/lrhieber

About Leanna

[Source] Author, actress and playwright Leanna Renee Hieber grew up in rural Ohio inventing ghost stories. She graduated with a BFA in Theatre from Miami University, a focus in the Victorian Era and a scholarship to study in London. She adapted works of 19th Century literature for the stage and her one-act plays such as FavoriteLady have been produced around the country. Her novella Dark Nest won the 2009 Prism Award for excellence in the genre of Futuristic, Fantasy, or Paranormal Romance.

DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul, first in Leanna’s Gothic Historical Paranormal trilogy for teens (Sourcebooks Fire), hit the Kid’s/YA INDIE NEXT LIST as a recommended title by the American Booksellers Association. Seventeen Magazine said of DARKER STILL: “This chilling tale will draw you in and keep you guessing until the very last page!” The book has been praised by Shelf Awareness, The Chicago Tribune, Pixie Magazine and more. DARKER STILL will also be translated into several languages.

Review: The Dread by Gail Z Martin

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Feb 092012

The Dread is the concluding volume in The Fallen Kings duology, which in turn is companion to The Chronicles of the Necromancer trilogy. It was published in February 2012. I read the Nook version.

The Blurb

War has come to the Winter Kingdoms. The Dread will rise. Kings will fall.
Summoner-King Tris Drayke takes what remains of his army north to fight a war he is ill-prepared to fight, as reports from spies confirm Tris’s worst fear. A new threat rises across the sea: a dark summoner who intends to make the most of the Winter Kingdoms’s weakness. And in Isencroft, Kiara’s father is assassinated and she will now have no choice except to return and claim the crown. But she must leave behind her husband Tris and their infant son and face the dark power that threatens her rule. THE DREAD is the epic conclusion to the Fallen Kings Cycle. [GoodReads]

My Review

Oh, this book and I have such a love-hate thing going on here. Except I don’t hate it. I just mildly dislike some of it. Oh, but I love it, too!

You see, I love the characters. I have had such hopes for the Warrior-Queen Kiara (no relation), ever since The Summoner. However, she never really lives up to her potential. For the first couple of books, she was fabulous. Then she ends up married, pregnant, and stuck as far from the battlefield as she could possibly get “for the sake of the heirs”. Sigh. Tris is a great character. Summoner and King, he is forced to balance his power against his morality. My favorite character, I think, has always been Jonmarc. He is quite the rogue, an ex-slave, and an excellent fighter. In this particular part of the series, though, I think my favorite is Aidane. She’s a serroquette – what is known as a “ghost whore” or one who can speak to and be possessed by ghosts. She reunites lovers parted by death for one last night together. In her homeland, she is hunted and if caught would be tortured and killed. She’s a remarkably complex character and one who stands up admirably under pressure.

The world is fascinating and filled with compelling characters that I would love to sit down with for a drink. I love them to pieces. It’s the plot I find myself scratching my head over. Take your pick: the enemies of the last two volumes are either a) a group of supernatural creatures b) foreigners compelled by a spell or c) Isencroft (domestic) traitors. Except, somehow, the answer is really some strange combination of all three. Plus, there’s a Ripper-esque serial killer, some rogue vampires, and an evil Summoner all seemingly working in collusion with each other for the downfall of all of the myriad heroes who’ve been introduced to us over the course of five books.

If you’re scratching your head about now, don’t feel too badly. So was I. It all sort of makes sense in context as you’re reading, but I really don’t understand the motivations of the bad guys here. I think it’s a matter of the opposition being underdeveloped. You see what they wanted, but not why they wanted it, and it leaves something essential lacking that would push the story from good to great.

That said, Martin is just as adept at epic, sweeping battle scenes as she is at brief, poignant glimpses into ones that tugs at the heart strings. Jonmarc’s thoughts at being off to war during the birth of his twins comes to mind, and likewise Tris’ reasoning for walking into death and also for effectively damning his own soul. You can see how Talwyn and Jair’s story will go, but that doesn’t make the ending any lighter for the reader. The poetic beauty of the words is so haunting that you can forget, for a time, that a lot of the plot doesn’t really make sense.

So. I love it. But it confuses me. I don’t regret reading it. Nor do I feel entirely comfortable recommending it to others. This is one you’re going to have to make your own decisions about, readers. I’m giving it 2 and 1/2 stars.

Rating:

The Urban Fantasy Zodiac – What’s Your Sign?

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Feb 012012

So I was sitting here thinking about how I’ve seen a lot lately about the Chinese zodiac and how it’s the Year of the Dragon. And I think that’s cool and everything (I’m a Monkey), but the whole concept could be improved upon. So, without further adieu, allow me to introduce you to…

The Urban Fantasy Zodiac

Created by Waiting for Fairies.com

I only did these 30 years, because I didn’t want to get ridiculous with the chart, and I sincerely doubt that I have any readers under 13. However, if you don’t fit in the chart, just go look up a Chinese Zodiac Chart, find the corresponding year that matches your sign that is listed here and I’m sure you can figure it out. I’ve followed the same basic format as the Chinese version, except I’ve gone January through December simply for the sake of my sanity. ***Disclaimer: This chart is simply for fun only. I make no claims to being psychic (psycho – maybe) or of having any sort of expertise that would allow me to make such a chart in seriousness. Except for having read a lot of urban fantasy. A lot.

Now that we’ve established that, I bet you want to know what your sign says about you, don’t you? Okay, let’s go.

Sign of the…

Zombie

You are tenacious and like a challenge. You’ve been beaten down in the past and have no problems getting right back up again. You’ve got guts, but more than that – you’ve got braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains!

Fairy/Fae

You’re elusive and magical, and you know how to double-speak. You have a way with words and with people. But it’s probably best if people don’t let you babysit…

Dragon

Dragons are the King of the Urban Fantasy Zodiac! No one knows a lot about you, but everyone wants to be you. You’re strong and powerful, and you love shiny things. You’re favorite things are ones that are crunchy and that taste good with ketchup.

Ghost

People have a tendency to overlook you, and they shouldn’t because, while you seem gentle, you can have a terrible temper. You have trouble letting go. You love to savor experiences instead of “possessions”.

Griffin

You are strong as a lion and fierce as an eagle. You have no trouble soaring above the world’s troubles. Just don’t lose sight of the ground and lose your way.

Demon

You’re a free spirit who gets a bad rap because you don’t think the way others do. It’s not that you like to cause trouble, it’s just that you love keeping things interesting! Try not to get too hot under the collar when others call you on your mischievous ways.

Dryad

You love nature and being out in it. You’re nurturing and friendly, but playful too. Just don’t lose sight of the big picture – sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees!

Shape-shifter

You love change and get bored easily. You have a hot temper – be sure to watch it so you don’t lose control! You don’t make friends easily, but when you do there couldn’t be anyone more loyal.

Selkie

Your personality is like quick-silver – you can’t decide whether you’re coming in or going out! When you love someone, you keep your feelings way down deep. When you make a decision, you’re as inexorable as the tide.

Incubus/Succubus

Hot mama! You’re a saucy little number who adores indulging all your senses. Your attention burns bright, but brief, and then you’re on to the next best thing. You’re not fickle, you’re just flexible.

Druid

You’re an old soul who loves learning more than anything else. You’re as wise as oak and as deep as stone. Just don’t forget that there’s more to the world than the mystical. Sometimes a rock is just a rock.

Vampire

You’re a consumer – whether it’s buying the latest gadget or having a “drink” with a hot young thing. You can be greedy, but it’s only because you want to have every experience possible. It’s okay to want to have everything, but remember – nothing lasts forever!

I hope you’ve enjoyed finding out about this newly-discovered-but-absolutely-ancient (honest!) (okay, maybe not) art of the Urban Fantasy Zodiac! I’d love it if you posted a comment below with your UF Zodiac sign! Feel free to share and link to this post. Tell your friends! (Just try to give me the courtesy of a link if you post the image elsewhere. Deal?)

Review: Double Dead by Chuck Wendig

Books, Featured, Reviews 2 Responses »

Jan 302012

Double Dead is the first full-length novel from Penmonkey Chuck Wendig. It features a vampire who wakes up in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. It rocks. It was released November 15th, 2011 from Abaddon. I read the e-book.

The Blurb (as posted on Terrible Minds)

Poor, poor Coburn. Once the king of his castle — his castle being New York City — he awakens from slumber to discover that his city and his world have been gobbled up by a zombie apocalypse.

Most of the humans are dead.

Which means his food source is spoiled. Vampire can’t live on dead blood, after all.

And so the vampire must move from predator to protector, a shepherd who must find a food source and stand vigil over the herd. It’s not an easy transition, of course. The monster is still a monster, after all.

(This ain’t Twilight, folks. Only way Coburn glitters is if he kills and eats a stripper.)

Along the way, what will he discover about the world? About the girl he protects? And about himself?

Gotta read it to find out.

A vampire in zombieland.

Featuring:

A teenage girl with a healing gift!

Zombie evolution!

Wal-Mart cannibals!

An army of Route 66 Juggalos!

A little white terrier named “Creampuff!”

And, of course, one cranky-ass cocky fuck of a vampire: Coburn.

My Review

I pretty much agree with Chuck. The only way a vampire should glitter is if he eats a stripper. Because – and this may be news to some of you, so if you feel light-headed go ahead and please sit down… Vampires eat people. The idea of a “vegetarian” vampire is ridiculous and should only be used for comedic purposes. (What would be the vampiric equivalent of Crohn’s disease? Now that would have made Twilight much more interesting!)

That established, I will say that Coburn is a bit of an asshole. To my mind, however, that’s to be expected when someone decides to make conversation with their food. If I tried to talk to a herd of cows, they’d probably think I was an asshole too. They’d be right. (Side note: mmmmm, steak!) He is ultimately motivated by self-interest, but as a reader you can’t really blame him for that. I’d be trying to protect my food supply, too, if the apocalypse was happening.

Double Dead isn’t for the queasy. Even the title is an adjective describing meat that has come from a diseased animal. One of Coburn’s meals (a fat guy) is described as “buttery”. The zombies are described in lovingly disgusting detail, and the Wal-Mart cannibals are absolutely horrifying. Yet somehow they are apt – especially their leader, who I will let you discover for yourself. I think I am grateful I’ve already vowed never to set foot in another Wal-Mart. Ever. Again.

This book is by turns revolting, touching, and hilarious. I loved the juggalos (though I wonder how many people out there would even get the reference?) It’s a big dose of horror, a little bit action-adventure, a dash of comedy, and a tiny bit redemption story. I loved it. Just when I thought I was absolutely sick of vampire stories, Double Dead came along and changed my mind.

Review: Cold Fire by Kate Elliott

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Jan 112012

Cold Fire is the second book in the Spritwalker series. It was published by Orbit books on September 26, 2011.

The Blurb

Only one thing is certain: when Hallows’ Night comes, the Wild Hunt will ride – and it feeds on mortal blood.

Cat and her cousin Bee are caught in a maze of intrigue, treachery, and magic. Everyone seems to want something from them: the Cold Mages are trying to take them prisoner, and the warlord who wants to conquer all of Europa seems sure they have a special destiny to aid him whether they want to or not. Worse, hidden powers deep in the spirit world are rising, and they are the most dangerous of all. Cat must seek allies and figure out who she can trust in order to save the ones she loves. For if she doesn’t, everything will be lost.

My Review

I really wanted to like this book. I wasn’t thrilled by the characters in Cold Magic, even though I found the premise of the world and magic system fascinating. Unfortunately, it wasn’t any better this time. Cat is still a silly, vain girl and I still can’t stand to read about her.

The characters, filtered through Cat’s point of view, have no clear goals. They go somewhere and then some stuff happens and then they’re shuffled off somewhere else, where the whole thing repeats. They never really sit down and talk it out and say, “I think we need to do this and in order to do that we need to go here.” They have no allies; they don’t know what is going on; there is no indication of where they could go to find out.

I have no idea what the purpose of this book is. I don’t know what the characters want, and watching them stroll around aimlessly kind of pisses me off.

As much as I wanted to love this, I found the characters irritating and the lack of “big picture” annoying. It’s completely plausible that, were I put in Cat’s situation, I would end up in the exact same place(s) that she seems to. Maybe that’s the problem. I like my heroines to be larger than life, and Cat is just… average.

If this book were written about someone – anyone – else, I’d be thrilled. But it’s not, and I’m not, and I don’t know what to do about it. I couldn’t even finish it, despite giving myself extra time. The only reason I’m going back on my “No Finish – No Review” policy is that it was a NetGalley read, and I promised to do a review.

The one great thing is the fabulous world building. I wish I could see more of it, but I don’t think I can stand the characters long enough to do so. Life is too short to force myself to read something that just doesn’t work for me. Will it work for you? I don’t know. This is just one girl’s opinion.

Rating:

Review: The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

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Jan 082012

The Alloy of Law is a Mistborn book, which takes place roughly 300 years after the events in the original trilogy. Theoretically, you could probably read this without reading the rest – but I wouldn’t recommend it, because you’d be missing out on some awesome world-building.

The Blurb

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.

One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn, who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.

My Review:

More, please.

….

What? You need more than that? Oookay… if you say so. Sanderson is a brain-astounding world- and magic-system-builder. I enjoyed the punniness of the character names immensely. (You’ll see this almost immediately. If you don’t, hit yourself in the face a few times and start over at the beginning.)

Why is this book awesome? Let me count the ways: Allomancy! Gun fights! Kidnapped damsels in distress!* Train robberies! Sky-scrapers! Explosions! Do you really need anything more??

*Yes, I could choose to take issue with the damsels in distress. There appears to be only one** woman in the book who is anything resembling something that is not a damsel – and even she has her flaws. Namely, she is a pampered young lady who, while apparently being a crack shot with a rifle, has never been in a gun fight. She spends most of the book blushing. No, that is not an exaggeration. I’m willing to give Sanderson a break on this for one reason: Vin.

**No, I am not counting the woman who is murdered on what is, essentially, the first page. And no, that isn’t a spoiler because if you don’t see THAT coming about a nanosecond after the scenario is set up then you, Sir (or Madam) are an… Well, suffice it say that you may need to change your light bulb, and let’s leave it at that, shall we?

If you have not read Sanderson yet, then go scrounge in your couch cushions for your pennies and dimes and go out and GET SOMETHING already. You will not be disappointed. If you are disappointed, you should follow the parenthetical instructions in the first paragraph.

Rating:

Review: Blood Rights by Kristen Painter

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Dec 212011

Blood Rights is the first book in The House of Commaré series by Kristen Painter. It was published on October 1, 2011. There are three books currently available in this series.

The Blurb

The lacy gold mapped her entire body. A finely-wrought filigree of stars, vines, flowers, butterflies, ancient symbols and words ran from her feet, up her legs, over her narrow waist, spanned her chest and finished down her arms to the tips of her fingers.

Gothic fantasy meets vampire fiction in this debut novel from Kristen Painter – full of politics, intrigue, and blood.

Born into a life of secrets and service, Chrysabelle’s body bears the telltale marks of a comarré — a special race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility. When her patron is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect, which sends her running into the mortal world…and into the arms of Malkolm, an outcast vampire cursed to kill every being from whom he drinks.

Now, Chrysabelle and Malkolm must work together to stop a plot to merge the mortal and supernatural worlds. If they fail, a chaos unlike anything anyone has ever seen will threaten to reign.

My Review

If you’re not burned out on vampire books yet, Painter gives us a nice, unique twist on the genre with Blood Rights. Our main character, Chrysabelle, is a comarré, which is basically a fancy term for a certain species of human that is born as food for the vampire nobility. Because doesn’t every girl want to grow up to be a pampered trophy and gourmet meal? Yeah, me neither – and apparently neither did Chrysabelle, as she was planning to leave her rich patron and luxurious life for a normal one in the mundane world.

Before she can, of course, her patron is murdered and Chrysabelle is forced to run for her life. She runs to her aunt (who is not really her aunt, as no comarré knows who her biological family is), who has been living a mundane life as the handicapped owner of a cosmetic company in what we are told is New Florida. This designation puts a near-future spin on the tale, but we’re told no real details of Florida – either the old or the new.

Mal, the conflicted outcast vampire who has been cursed to kill every human he drinks from, is a welcome addition (and contrast) to Chrysabelle’s story. I was ready to like Chrysabelle when she stabs Mal in the bar at the beginning of the story, but this was before we find out that not only is she apparently ambrosia to vampires but she also has been trained from a young age in combat skills. In fact, Chrysabelle apparently has no flaws whatsoever, except for the fact that she seems alarmingly (and conveniently) attracted to the outcast Mal for someone who is supposed to be keeping herself – and thereby her blood – “pure”.

I’m being kind of snarky here, so let me reassure you that the story was gripping enough that I didn’t think about any of these annoyances until I sat down to write this review. The only thing that bothered me at the time was the obviousness of [character] being [this other character] from [first character's] past. Twice. Sigh.

Personally, I found the supporting characters more engrossing. Mal is haunted by the voices of the people he’s killed, but only one of them can manifest herself as a real ghost. She’s interesting, as well as the cat shapeshifter who happens to be in love with her. This gentleman kitty is cursed [Cursed again? Everyone is cursed in this book...] to only be able to shapeshift into the form of a house cat. I will most likely continue reading the series simply to find out what happens to those two, and to the noble vampire villainess who has allied herself with a creature who is described – but not named as – what can only be some sort of demon.

This book is listed on NetGalley as being adult fantasy, but it looks and reads more like a young adult novel to me – and apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so. The cover is gorgeous, the writing is sensual, and for those who don’t mind a little predictability in their stories, it’s overall a pretty nice tale. I’d recommend it for voracious readers, vampire fans, and older teens. I’m luke-warm about this one myself, but I will continue reading and I suppose that’s all that matters, yes?

Rating:

Review: Midnight by Ellen Connor

Books, Featured, Reviews 1 Response »

Dec 142011

Midnight is the second book in the Dark Age Dawning trilogy from Ellen Connor. Ellen Connor is the pen name of dynamic writing duo Ann Aguirre and Carrie Lofty. Dark Age Dawning is an apocalyptic paranormal romance. This book was published September 6th, 2011 from Berkley Sensation.

The Blurb

Their desire destroys her defenses.
Their love gives him a reason to live.

Three years of wandering the post-apocalyptic wasteland has stripped Dr. Chris Welsh of humanity and hope. He’s a dangerous man now, full of dark energy and yen for violence. A harrowing loss drove him from his home, and he hasn’t stopped moving since. Grim and sardonic, he never found anything worth sticking around for – until now.

Rosa Cortez runs Valle de Bravo, a haven of civilization amid the chaos of the Change. Soldiers take their orders directly from her–the iron hand within a velvet glove. The last thing she needs is a feral loner upsetting the town’s tentative balance. However, for the good of her people, she lets the sexy doctor stay. He evokes a delicious new longing, but she won’t submit to any man.

Tension rises as bloodthirsty raiders strike again and again, bent on possessing Valle and its resources. Together Chris and Rosa battle hellhounds and dust pirates while also fighting desperate attraction. To save them, love must overcome the pain of the past–and build a future in this brutal Dark Age…

My Review

Let me as blunt as I can about this: I only volunteered to review this book because I saw Ann Aguirre’s name attached to it and hadn’t had the privilege of reading her work yet. I had no idea, at the time, what this book was about. I didn’t even know what genre it was in.

If I had known it was a paranormal romance novel – even a post-apocalyptic one – I probably would have passed on it. And that would have been a crying shame, because this is one damn fine novel. I plan to look up the books that came before and after this one so that I can find out more about the world. It’s fascinating. (Note: It is not at all necessary to have read book 1 prior to reading this one.)

Chris and Rosa are brave people doing their best to live in a brutal new world. Make no mistake that this is a romance novel. You will need the customary relationship suspension-of-disbelief and there is indeed a “happily ever after” of sorts. However, the setting is also fully realized (in vivid, blood-spattered technicolor) and the romance doesn’t overwhelm the other elements of the story.

Overall, I was surprised and pleased with how wonderful this novel is. In fact, I might just be re-evaluating my ban on romance novels, based solely on how well I genuinely enjoyed this book. Shocking, I know. Midnight has totally reset – and raised the bar for – my opinion of romance as a genre, something I never expected to be saying at all.

Rating:

Review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

Books, Featured, Reviews 1 Response »

Dec 072011

Darker Still is a paranormal young adult novel published on November 8th, 2011 from Sourcebooks Fire. It is the first entry in the new Magic Most Foul series.

The Blurb

The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart’s latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing…

Jonathan Denbury’s soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

My Review

Leanna is careful to use authentic Victorian vernacular in her novels, and this book is no different. The rhythm and poetry of the language is almost like meditation: it forces you to slow down and breathe and savor. That’s what I like so much about her work – even when there’s a killer on a rampage, there’s a tranquility to it that somehow serves to heighten the tension even more than if the pace were frantic instead. To give an era-appropriate example, it’s a technique that Poe used well and it’s similarly effective here.

If I could ask the author one question, though, I would want to know why Natalie needed to be a mute. Maybe that’s a factor that comes to play more of a role in the sequels, but our heroine’s background at a Victorian-era “school for the deaf” is mentioned several times but seems not to make much of an impact on the story line itself. (Natalie struggles, but is able to talk eventually when she needs to.) It’s not that I don’t like to see diversity in my reading (I do). It’s more that I’d like my diversity to have a purpose rather than be a “token”. I honestly don’t think Leanna has put this in as a token gesture, though. I just don’t understand her motivation yet.

I will say, though, that if the only purpose was to give Natalie another tie to Denbury and his painting (she can talk there but not in the real world), then that’s kind of weak. It works, but it’s a poor psychological trick to play on a supposedly strong female protagonist. On the other hand, she’s a teenager. Natalie does have more sense than some recently-in-the-news female protagonists inhabiting YA novels (who will remain nameless). So there is that. It’s always a good sign with a YA when I have to stop and remind myself that the characters’ motivations annoy me because they’re being written effectively as teenagers.

In short, Leanna has me hooked. As usual. If you’re a YA or paranormal (or both) fan, then you can do worse than spend an evening or two reading Darker Still.

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