Archive for the ‘Book reviews’ Category
Just Reviewed Lackey and Mallory’s “Crown of Vengeance” at SBR
Folks, if you are looking for a compelling epic fantasy that’s never boring, features a fine, yet flawed, heroine and a subtext that heroines need love, too (yet can rarely find it), you will really adore Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory’s newest novel, CROWN OF VENGEANCE. Set in their world of Jer-a-Kaliel deep in the misty past, they tell the story of the great Elven Queen Vieliessar Farcarinon . . . and how the myths and legends that have arisen in the centuries upon centuries since her adventures are both more and less than what she actually was.
Before I discuss more of my typical “after-action report,” here’s the link to my review: http://shinybookreview.com/2013/03/17/lackey-and-mallorys-crown-of-vengeance-one-compelling-epic-fantasy/
Now, back to the AAR.
See, Vieliessar is a very complex person. She’s a mage. She’s a fighter. She’s a scholar. She’s a wise and benevolent ruler. But she starts out very much behind the eight ball, as her mother died giving birth to her, the rest of Vieliessar’s family has been killed due to infighting among the Hundred Noble Houses, and because of that infighting, Vieliessar barely knows anything about herself until age twelve or so.
Instead, she thinks she’s Varuthir, and no one special. But she hopes to become an Elven knight anyway, and win glory on the battlefield, as that’s the best way for her to gain a name, and home, of her own.
At that point, she is instead sent to the Sanctuary of the Star — the place her mother gave birth, mind you — to become a perpetual servant. The reason this happens is because the Hundred Houses want no one of Farcarinon left able to reclaim her birthright. But because one petty, spiteful noble actually tells Vieliessar her real name and just a tad about her heritage, Vieliessar becomes both curious and angry as to why she’s been misled all this time.
The Sanctuary is a safe place for Vieliessar for a number of years. She learns more about who she is by doing various things, including learning that servants are just as important as nobles, that the status of the Landbonds (serfs tied to the land, more or less — farmers) is far below their actual worth and value, and that she actually has magical talent.
Then, after she’s resigned herself to becoming Vieliessar Lightsister (sort of a combination of mage, cleric and scholar), she has to reinvent herself again due to factional infighting at the Sanctuary. (Mind you, I didn’t have time to get into that in my review, plus I didn’t want to give too much away. Read the rest of this AAR at your own risk!) And she becomes a swordswoman.
At this point, she finds a few of her family’s old retainers — the few that were left alive after the destruction of House Farcarinon — and decides to go to war.
But she’s not going to war with the other nobles, even though they think she is due to her destiny as the “Child of the Prophecy.” (I talk more of this in my review.) Instead, she knows she must unite the noble houses behind her banner in order to fight the nasty, vicious, disgusting and evil Endarkened — blood mages of the worst sort, who don’t see themselves as evil but obviously are.
Note that Vieliessar does not know who the Endarkened are, much less what. But she does know that some sort of monstrous evil has been prophesied. She also knows that she’s sensed something really bad out there that doesn’t like Elves, and figures that this must be the evil that’s been prophesied. (She’s right, too.)
Book one mostly discusses Vieliessar’s quest to unite the noble houses. It’s an absorbing read so long as it’s fixed on Vieliessar’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations — and it’s even interesting when dealing with the petty, political one-upmanship seen in the various maneuvering of the noble houses as they try, in vain, to escape their eventual joint fate as vassals to Vieliessar.
Really, if you enjoy a good, solid epic fantasy, you will love this book. And if you loved any of Lackey and Mallory’s previous six collaborative efforts, you will assuredly love this book . . . so what’s stopping you from first reading my review, then reading the book itself? (Go pick up a copy today! Further reviewer sayeth not.)
Just Reviewed Lenore Applehans’ “Level Two” at SBR
Folks, if you’re looking for a unique and different take on the afterlife, Lenore Applehans’ debut novel LEVEL 2 has you covered. This is a young adult dystopian romance featuring good and bad angels, a distinctly different take on Purgatory, and an interesting young woman, Felicia Ward.
The main reason I picked up LEVEL 2 (spelled out in the titles, both here and over at Shiny Book Review, for ease of reference) is because of its take on Purgatory. I thought, This sounds interesting. No one’s done that in a long time, particularly not in the context of a young adult dystopian romance.
And I wasn’t disappointed, either, as LEVEL 2 was original, suspenseful (despite its inherent nature, which meant flashbacks were a must), and had the nearly obligatory “love triangle” — except that the bad boy, Julian, was far more interesting than good boy, Neil. (Which is closer to what happens in real life, actually.) Even though Felicia didn’t seem to realize it, at least in this novel.
(LEVEL 3 will be out next year, so perhaps this will change.)
Anyway, I just reviewed LEVEL 2 over at SBR — go take a look! (Further reviewer sayeth not.)
Just Reviewed “A New American Space Plan” at SBR
Folks, I was able to finally review well-known SF writers (and scientists) Travis Taylor and Stephanie Osborn’s A NEW AMERICAN SPACE PLAN over at Shiny Book Review (SBR) this evening. This is a review you want to read, especially if you love space, space exploration, or the science that goes along with “science fiction.” (We have to get our ideas from somewhere. And a non-fiction book like this is a precious resource.)
Anyway — the science is sound, the arguments for why the United States still needs a space program (much less that it be fully funded and that its mission stay the same regardless of which President occupies the Oval Office) are first-rate, and the style is easy to read for the intelligent layman ninety-nine percent of the time.
So please. Do yourself a favor. Go read my review, then go grab the book! You will not be disappointed, as the arguments put forth are thought-provoking and interesting.
(Further reviewer sayeth not.)
Just Reviewed Two Romances at SBR
Folks, it’s Romance Saturday at Shiny Book Review (SBR), and I kept meaning to review two romances all month.
But time kept getting away from me, as it always does . . . then I looked up and realized, “Hey! It’s nearly the New Year! I still have these two romances hanging fire here. What’s to do?”
So I reviewed them both tonight over at SBR.
This was quite a different thing for me, because the two novels, while both were romances in one way or another, were wildly different. The first romance I reviewed is Sherry Thomas’ Victorian era TEMPTING THE BRIDE, book three in the Fitzhugh trilogy (and yes, I did review the other two books earlier this year, which you know if you’ve been reading my blogs). I liked this novel far better than I liked either of the first two, mostly because I really liked the characters and felt the emotional resonance between them scanned the same way a real couple would if someone dropped into this same scenario (which is, of all things, the dreaded amnesia plot).
The second romance is Marie Lu’s young adult dystopian near-future LEGEND (say that three times fast). This is Ms. Lu’s debut novel, and it’s a fast-paced thriller that still gets the emotional resonance right between our two teenage protagonists — June, from the military elite at the top of the economic scale, and Day, a fugitive from the “wrong side of the tracks” who is nevertheless extremely gifted in military matters. Normally the two would never meet, but June’s brother is killed under highly suspicious circumstances, which throws the two together (mostly because the military elites running the place do their best to make it appear that Day killed June’s brother).
These may be the last reviews I do before the New Year — in fact, it’s highly likely that this is the case — so what better way to end 2012 than with two romances I really enjoyed?
I truly hope you’ll enjoy them, too — or that you’ll at least appreciate my reviews. So have at, and in case I don’t get a chance to blog between now and then, Happy New Year to all . . . and to all a good night!
Just Reviewed Two Christmas Romances at SBR
Folks, it’s not every day that I get to review a Christmas-themed romance, much less two of them. Yet that’s exactly what I just did over at Shiny Book Review (SBR), so go take a gander here.
To give you a bit more information about the two books, the first is ‘TWAS THE NIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS by Sabrina Jeffries. This is a romance set in Regency-era England between two flawed but engaging humans, Pierce, an Earl, and Mrs. Camilla Stuart, a respectable widow with a young son. The set-up is interesting, the romance convinced, yet some of the ending (which I can’t really talk about much or I’ll spoil your reading pleasure) didn’t quite scan to me.
Even so, it was a diverting read and I’ll gladly read more of Ms. Jeffries in the future.
The second book is WHAT HAPPENS AT CHRISTMAS by Victoria Alexander. This is a romance set in Victorian-era England between Camille, Lady Lydingham, and the “man who got away,” Grayson Elliot. Both are now older, wiser, and available, yet there’s a great many hoops to jump over, not the least of which is Camille’s impending engagement between herself and Prince Nikolai of the Principality of Greater Avalonia.
Ms. Alexander’s book is one that’s difficult for any reviewer to do justice because it’s a flat-out farce. Yet I did my best because I really enjoyed this book, mostly because it’s extremely funny.
At any rate, please go read my review, then go take a gander at the books.
Happy holidays to all!
Just Reviewed Dave Freer’s “The Steam Mole” at SBR
Folks, if you’ve been looking for a thrilling YA action-adventure set in an alternate universe where the science has been meticulously worked out, well, search no more.
Such a book exists — actually, two such books exist, the first being Dave Freer’s CUTTLEFISH, and the second being THE STEAM MOLE, set in the same universe with most of the same characters but a different setting.
Hie thee hence to your local bookstore, online outlet or what-you-will, or if you’d like to read my review first, go here.
Then do yourself a favor, and buy both books.
Now, you might be asking yourself, “Barb, why are you pushing these novels so hard?”
It’s simple, really. Freer wrote two books on contract for Pyr — those two being CUTTLEFISH and THE STEAM MOLE — and now has to decide whether he’ll write another in this universe (as Freer does have other options for publication, whether it’s self-publishing or through the Naked Reader Press). My hope is that Freer will write many more books in this universe, as it seems to me there’s a great many plots that could be viable in such a milieu . . . which is why I urge you to go read my review (better yet, read both reviews, as there’s a link to my review of CUTTLEFISH included in tonight’s review), then go buy the books as fast as you can.
And, as always, enjoy!
Just Reviewed “The New Arcana” at SBR (Experimental Poetry)
Folks, THE NEW ARCANA by John Amen and Daniel Y. Harris is an extremely unusual book. Experimental in nature and eclectic in the extreme, this was a book that grew on me after many, many re-reads.
This isn’t your father’s book of poetry.
Instead, this is a book full of postmodern sentiment, faux journalism and mock academic writing, photographs of made-up people, and even fake autobiographies mixed in with some excellent poetry of the most trenchant sort. The sly and subtle wit these two writers have come up with takes a while to understand, but once it finally manifests (or once my brain fully processed it, whichever), it’s more than worth the price of admission.
Some pages are far more understandable than others (as I said in my review at SBR, I absolutely didn’t understand the four lines on p. 99), but there’s enough here to please just about any poetry lover if he or she just gives the book a chance. And if the poetry lover enjoys postmodern sentiment, for that matter, as without an appreciation for postmodernism, this book is likely to fly right over the poetry lover’s head.
Look. This is a book I agonized about reviewing, mostly because it is so very different and is the farthest thing from an easy read that I can possibly imagine — and partly because it took me a while to appreciate the golden nuggets floating amidst a veritable ocean of words.
My belief is that THE NEW ARCANA is akin to a jazz improvisation that starts out as tonal, quickly becomes atonal, then does something unprecedented that somehow melds the two yet transcends the two at the same time.
Seriously. Go read my review. Then take a gander at THE NEW ARCANA. Read it several times. Try not to pre-judge it.
Then figure out whether it’s a really good book based off an unusual interpolation of forms, or just an odd mix that doesn’t quite hit the mark. Because while Ornette Coleman and the “free jazz” movement of the 1960s can be really interesting to listen to — especially for lovers of music history and theory — it’s not always an easy experience.
Besides, not every instance of jazz improvisation works for everyone, because humans simply aren’t wired that way. (Thus the reason for poetry in the first place. But I digress.)
My final word is that THE NEW ARCANA is a valuable piece of literature that’s worthy of study by poets and other writers, and should intrigue lovers of postmodern and experimental poetic forms everywhere. (Further part-time poet sayeth not.)
Just Reviewed Bujold’s “Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance” at SBR
Folks, if you’re looking for a good, farcical military SF adventure with romance, look no further than Lois McMaster Bujold’s newest novel, CAPTAIN VORPATRIL’S ALLIANCE. This, the fifteenth book in the long-running saga about Miles Naismith Vorkosigan and his family and friends, is full of biting wit, thrilling adventure, and good romance.
Tej Arqua is a “galactic,” meaning she’s from Jackson’s Whole (a planet that exemplifies the phrase “capitalism run amok”), while Ivan Vorpatril is a Barrayaran Captain who works in Ops as an administrative professional (read: paper pusher, or perhaps the less-flattering term “REMF,” which I did use in my review). Ivan, you see, is a guy who’s smart, talented, good-looking and interesting — but he can’t hold a candle to his brilliant cousin Miles, nor can he hold a cousin to his brilliant (albeit cloned) cousin Mark, either. Plus his mother is the formidable Lady Alys, and his quasi-stepfather, Simon Illyan, is the former head of Barrayaran Imperial Security (ImpSec, for short) . . . in other words, Ivan has spent his whole life falling short of the mark, even though he’s quite good when taken for himself.
Tej is a child of similar circumstances, albeit from a completely different background . . . she, too, has had much expected of her. And while she’s a perfectly good person in her own right — interesting, funny, and sweet by turns — she’s not a genius, doesn’t want to be, and doesn’t particularly want anyone to attempt to make her into something she’s not, either. So when she meets up with Ivan in a most unusual way, sparks fly . . . and the two of ’em just might be right for each other after all (go read my review to find out why).
As this is a Bujold romance, think “Georgette Heyer in space” rather than the more overt military SF/romance of Linnea Sinclair or even Catherine Asaro. Both Sinclair and Asaro are great writers, too; I’ve reviewed several of Sinclair’s novels and will certainly be reviewing Asaro’s in the near future as well. But they are much more graphic than Bujold tends to be; Bujold likes to hint rather than give flat-out exposition, such as when Ivan tells Tej how odd it feels to be married and to have sex with her, the first time, as a married person — he mentions this, then she says something about one of her names meaning “Light,” and he says, “Well, then, illuminate me” — best paraphrase, that, as I don’t have the book in front of me. Fade to black.
Anyway, everything works in this novel, but it’s not a full A-plus because Bujold herself has written better novels in this series — several of them, to be exact (MIRROR DANCE, the two-book set CORDELIA’S HONOR, THE VOR GAME, the short story collection BORDERS OF INFINITY, etc.) — and that has to be factored into the decision.
Besides, Ivan and Tej are both past masters of conflict avoidance, which makes it tough to see their virtues at times. (Tough, but possible. And well done — oh, so very well done.)
But don’t let the lack of an A-plus review stop you from appreciating this fine and funny novel. Go read my review, then go grab the book, either as an e-copy at Baen Books, or as a hardcover via the usual places.
Just Reviewed Michael Casey’s “The Unfair Trade” at SBR
My long-delayed review of Michael Casey’s excellent THE UNFAIR TRADE: How Our Broken Financial System Destroys the Middle Class is up over at Shiny Book Review (SBR). This may be the most important book you will ever read, and it’s one everyone should read, whether you’re a writer, an editor, or just a run-of-the-mill middle-classer on the street.
Casey’s view is that the global economy is so interdependent, yet is so poorly regulated, that it’s likely that more global meltdowns of the type we saw in 2007-8 will happen. And as he points out so well in his book, the middle class was actively harmed by this latest meltdown — harmed badly — while in many cases the people who caused the meltdown in the first place got off unscathed.
Casey is a long-time financial writer who currently works for Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. He understands what he’s talking about. And he discusses things in such a lively way that you almost forget you’re reading a book about global finance — that is, until you realize how many stupid things have been done by “the big banksters” in the name of profit that have actively hurt the middle class in every country.
Seriously, you need to run, not walk, to the bookstore and grab a copy of THE UNFAIR TRADE. (If you’re broke, as I tend to be, go to the library and get a copy instead.) Read this book, think about what Casey says, and then insist on the regulations that Casey points out are needed.
So what are you still doing here? Go read my review, then go get the book. Then ponder the need for appropriate regulation, as it’s obvious that computerization and mechanization have made most of the laws on the books either irrelevant or inaccurate, take your pick.
Just Reviewed Patricia C. Wrede’s “The Far West” at SBR
Folks, if you’re looking for an interesting alternate history complete with different forms of magic, odd creatures, and a quiet coming of age story, look no further than Patricia C. Wrede’s THE FAR WEST, which I just reviewed at Shiny Book Review (SBR). The book stars twenty-year-old Francine “Eff” Rothmer, who is a career woman (she assists scientists who study magical creatures) and is a formidable magician in her own right.
Even though Eff doesn’t think of herself this way, of course (but don’t get me started on how self-effacing Eff is, or I’ll be here all night).
At any rate, THE FAR WEST is an interesting book with an appealing view of magic in the wild, wild West. The world-building, as is always the case with Ms. Wrede, was stellar; the characters were appealing and smart.
So take a look at my review — then go read the book!
Barb Caffrey's Blog 