Archive for the ‘Book reviews’ Category
Just Reviewed Dave Freer’s “Cuttlefish” at SBR
Folks, if you’re looking for an excellent naval adventure that just happens to be set in an alternate timeline where the British Empire never fell and a major change in climate (global warming) has happened due to the overuse of coal-powered technology, look no further than Dave Freer’s new novel, CUTTLEFISH, which I just reviewed over at Shiny Book Review (SBR). This novel has it all — a winning hero and heroine, a sweet, G-rated romance, rousing action-adventure, and great naval battles — and did I mention the writing is outstanding yet?
Seriously. Go grab a copy of CUTTLEFISH. Then get to reading already! (You’ll be glad you did.)
Just Reviewed Rosemary Edghill’s “Vengeance of Masks” at SBR
Folks, if you haven’t read Rosemary Edghill’s writing yet, you should. She’s one of the best writers working in any genre, and her books never disappoint.
That’s why I find it so hard to believe that she had to self-publish the entirety of her interesting, surprising, different SF/F hybrid novel THE VENGEANCE OF MASKS, especially as this novel contains many elements that are traditional in dark fantasy epics — which means there are cognates out there (in other words, if you’ve read any of Cathrynne M. Valente’s dark fantasy, or Michaele Jordan’s, or Jane Lindskold’s, or most especially Jacqueline Carey’s, you will enjoy THE VENGEANCE OF MASKS.)
I’ll tell you what — if you aren’t reading every single thing Rosemary Edghill writes, if only to figure out why and how she puts stories together, you are missing out. (Big-time.) And when you consider that she writes cracking-good adventure stories, great and realistic romances (even under uneasy and often off-putting situations), and that she never disappoints, it is beyond me why she doesn’t have a far greater readership.
That said, her novel THE VENGEANCE OF MASKS is excellent, as I said in my review tonight at Shiny Book Review (SBR). Constantly surprising, always engaging, and compulsively readable, this is one novel that should be bought, read, and re-read as it is excellent in every particular.
Seriously. Go to Lulu right now and buy THE VENGEANCE OF MASKS. Then read it, enjoy it, and recommend it to your friends — because trust me: if you like dark fantasy and/or sword and sorcery epics and/or science fiction/fantasy romance, you will love THE VENGEANCE OF MASKS.
Just Reviewed Linnea Sinclair’s “An Accidental Goddess” at SBR
Folks, after this past week — especially after hearing about the death of my late husband’s good friend, military science fiction writer Ric Locke — I needed to read a fun, fast, and romantic book that could hold my interest.
Luckily for me, I had a book like that in reserve; it’s Linnea Sinclair’s excellent military science fiction/romance with paranormal elements, AN ACCIDENTAL GODDESS, which is why I’ve reviewed it at Shiny Book Review this evening. I’ve called it one of my favorite “comfort books” in the past, as it’s a book I’ve read over and over again because of how enjoyable it is, how quickly the plot moves along despite how many plot elements Sinclair deftly juggles during the course of the book, and because this is a military SF plot with essential paranormal elements.
Now, this last point is the one you need to keep in mind, especially if you’ve read any of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s books (particularly any of their stories in their trademarked Liaden Universe), or if you’ve read any of the military SF/romance of Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald. Both of those pairs of authors write convincing military SF with paranormal elements; aside from those two pairs, and Linnea Sinclair herself, there just isn’t that much of this type of book on the market.
And I find that puzzling, because the fact is that the more interest you have in a book, the better. And if someone — or in the case of Lee/Miller and Doyle/MacDonald, a pair of writers — can write a novel that has convincing science fiction and convincing fantasy elements at the same time, readers tend to jump all over it and remember these books. (And recommend them to their friends, too, for that matter.)
At any rate, if you haven’t picked up AN ACCIDENTAL GODDESS yet and you love romantic SF or especially love romantic SF with paranormal elements, you owe it to yourself to get yourself a copy of this book. Then, block out two or three hours, and dig in. I promise you, this is a book you’ll enjoy — and remember — for years to come.
Quick Note
Folks, I’d hoped to review Rosemary Edghill’s VENGEANCE OF MASKS at Shiny Book Review this evening — in fact, I’d planned on reviewing it all week.
However, I’m feeling very poorly this evening for the second night in a row. (I think it has something to do with the heat and my asthma not mixing.) Because of that, I’m not able to do much — even writing a short blog about Ben Sheets’s superlative start for the Atlanta Braves today was nearly too much. And writing a quick, fact-based blog like that one is much easier to write than a book review any day of the week.
That’s why I’ve decided that I’m going to take a break for the rest of this weekend in order to come back stronger on Monday. Because of that, the review for VENGEANCE OF MASKS will be rescheduled for this upcoming week at SBR, with all apologies to Ms. Edghill and to anyone else who may have been awaiting my review.
While you’re waiting for that review, I’d like to suggest something. Go buy anything Rosemary Edghill currently has available, regardless of genre. (These books include DEAD RECKONING, VENGEANCE OF MASKS, the Bast mysteries included in BELL, BOOK, AND MURDER, and THE WARSLAYER — the latter should be available from Baen Books directly as an e-book.) She writes extremely well, always has great craftsmanship, and her storytelling ability is without peer. So meander on over to Amazon, or BN.com, or better yet to her page at Lulu (where the information for VENGEANCE OF MASKS resides), and get yourself one of her books, pronto.
While you do that, I’ll do my best to recover my energy so I can do justice to her extremely interesting and thought-provoking book, VENGEANCE OF MASKS (genre: dark fantasy/urban fantasy hybrid).
Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here on Monday.
Just reviewed Stephanie Osborn’s 3rd Novel in Her “Displaced Detective” Series
As the title says, I just reviewed Stephanie Osborn’s THE CASE OF THE COSMOLOGICAL KILLER: THE RENDELSHAM INCIDENT at Shiny Book Review. This is a worthy third book in her “Displaced Detective” series featuring Sherlock Holmes, hyperspatial physicist Skye Chadwick, and some new problems that need to be solved by the team of Holmes and Chadwick.
Now, as this is a third book, I’d been expecting there to be some drop-off — not of quality, per se, but maybe a little bit less inventiveness or freshness. But that didn’t happen; the “slow” section here contains a number of important plot-points, plus deepens and broadens the romance of Holmes and Chadwick markedly. And the plot contained more than enough bells and whistles to hold my interest — not that I need such, but nevermind — while the book ends on a rather gentle cliffhanger. (That last seems like a contradiction in terms, but isn’t; while I can’t explain things better than this without blowing the plotline out of the water, suffice it to say that the last we see of Holmes and Chadwick, it’s obvious that they’re still working hard to solve the various mysteries.)
Anyway, please go read my review, then go grab Ms. Osborn’s book! (Anyone who can come up with a plot that features both physics and Sherlock Holmes is a winner in my book.)
Just Reviewed Osborn’s First Two “Displaced Detective” Novels at SBR
Tonight’s new review at Shiny Book Review is for Stephanie Osborn’s first two books in her Displaced Detective series about Sherlock Holmes as brought into the modern day via modern physics. These are fun reads, but more to the point, they’re faithful to the spirit of Holmes in milieu and mythos. Osborn came up with a great way to start her series by using modern-day physics along with the “World as Myth” concept as delineated by Robert A. Heinlein; the two together explain how Holmes could be a real person, and then how it came to be that Osborn’s hyperspatial physicist, Skye Chadwick, was able to rescue Holmes before he ended up dead at Reichenbach Falls.
These are really fun reads that make good sense in context. The mysteries Holmes solves are appropriately complex (yes, I said that at SBR, too, but it’s a phrase I don’t get to use much, thus the repetition), Holmes’s abilities seem realistic (for him), and the halting romance that grows between Holmes and Chadwick is worth the price of admission all by itself.
But do expect there to be a romance, especially in the second book, and do expect it to be PG-13. This makes sense in context, and it’s something I applauded in my review — but some Holmes-o-philes may not wish to see their hero in love. (If so, the more fool, they. Osborn does a great job showing how these two extremely brilliant people could and did fall in love, and it works, plot-wise. To great effect.)
Seriously. Go read my review of these two fine books, THE CASE OF THE DISPLACED DETECTIVE: THE ARRIVAL and THE CASE OF THE DISPLACED DETECTIVE: AT SPEED. Then go buy the books already.
Just Reviewed Alethea Kontis’s “Enchanted” at SBR
Folks, my newest review for Alethea Kontis’s ENCHANTED is up at Shiny Book Review right now, so you might want to go take a look at it.
(I’ll pause while you have your chance to click on the SBR link.)
Now, as for what I thought of it? It’s a good book, a well-told fairy tale that mixes a number of traditional fairy tales with elements of both Patricia C. Wrede’s and Orson Scott Card’s work; while not particularly original, per se, it is charming, and I enjoyed the romance between Prince Rumbold and Sunday Woodcutter no end.
Overall, if you’re looking for a fun fairy tale that won’t demand too much from you, Alethea Kontis’s ENCHANTED will be right up your alley. (And I’ll admit it; sometimes that’s all I want in a book, a fun read that will transport me away from the cares of the world for a few, short hours.) I enjoyed it, and look forward to whatever Ms. Kontis writes next.
Just Reviewed Gideon Lewis-Kraus’s “A Sense of Direction” for SBR
Folks, if you haven’t read any of Gideon Lewis-Kraus’s essays before, you may be bemused by his new non-fictional epic, A SENSE OF DIRECTION: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful, which I just reviewed over at Shiny Book Review. This is a book that’s partly a coming of age treatise for Lewis-Kraus himself due to his difficult relationship with his openly gay rabbi father, but mostly a reflection on the need for modern-day pilgrimages — both internal ones, and external ones.
Of course, the three pilgrimages Lewis-Kraus does are all external — the first one he does is the Camino de Santiago (colloquially called “the Camino”), the second to the 88 Temples of Shikoku, a circular pilgrimage, and finally he goes to Uman with his father and brother, Micah, to take part in the Orthodox Jewish celebration of Rosh Hashanah despite the fact that the Orthodox Jews don’t approve of gay men (or women) and that Lewis-Kraus isn’t particularly religious, though he is spiritual. This latter pilgrimage has the most to do with Lewis-Kraus’s coming of age narrative, but lest you think that’s all Lewis-Kraus has in store for you, think again . . . there are meditations on the greedy people of Uman (who live for a full year off the proceeds of these Orthodox Jewish men’s celebration of Rosh Hashanah), how the Orthodox men have only this one safety valve all year to look forward to, and how Lewis-Kraus’s father the gay rabbi seems to have the most compassion for them, all while wondering how anyone can put up with the cynical people of Uman.
A SENSE OF DIRECTION is a moving work of non-fiction that feels palpably real and makes clear the need for pilgrimages even in the modern era. It’s also bitingly funny, trenchant, honest to a fault, and shows the troubles even an extremely intelligent man can have in attempting to claim his adult self.
Simply put: go read my review, then go read the book, soonest. (You’ll be glad you did.)
Just Reviewed Kowal’s Alternate Regencies; Fun Stuff
Folks, as it’s July 5, 2012, and I’d promised the Shiny Book Review faithful a new review or two, I just reviewed both of Mary Robinette Kowal’s alternate Regencies, SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY and GLAMOUR IN GLASS. Check out my review of both books here.
Now, what is it about the Regency period that makes for such great fantasy material? In addition to Kowal’s two novels, I’ve seen several other really fine writers do some interesting things with either the Austen canon (not merely PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES, which I viewed as kitsch, but Sarah A. Hoyt and Sofie Skapski’s excellent A TOUCH OF NIGHT, which incorporates Weres — shapechanging into animals — into PRIDE AND PREJUDICE without a hitch) or with the milieu itself (the two books by André Norton and Rosemary Edghill that comprise CAROLUS REX, THE SHADOW OF ALBION and LEOPARD IN EXILE, are both excellent).
I think the main reason novelists in and out of the romance genre have returned to this milieu is because of how unusual it seems to us in modern-day society. The Regency era was much more formal in its speech than present-day English-speaking society, at least when it comes to middle class people and above. The fashions people wore were much different. The way people thought then has diverged just enough from today that it makes for fascinating reading . . . yet it’s not so far in the past that we have no referents whatsoever.
So my guess is, there’s a mixture of familiarity in what we see in the Regency period — comfort, if you will — and unfamiliarity, and that’s what these excellent novelists see in it. Because if you’re writing fantasy, and you can come up with a great way to incorporate a fantasy element into this interesting, turbulent time, why not do it?
At any rate, if you love Jane Austen, love Austen pastiches, love Austen-inspired works, or simply love the Regency Era with fantasy idea as a whole, you’ll get a kick out of Kowal’s two alternate Regencies as they’re fun, fast, faithful reads that don’t cheat the reader. But do yourself a favor, please: read these other great books I’ve referenced, too, even if you have to go to the library to read the Norton-Edghill collaborations. (You’ll be glad you did.)
Just Reviewed Krafton’s “Bleeding Hearts” at SBR
Here’s the latest over at Shiny Book Review, where tonight I took on Ash Krafton’s urban fantasy BLEEDING HEARTS. This features the Demi-Vampire (they have souls, can eat regular food, and live a long time, but need blood to perform at optimum levels) as well as nasty Vampire (no -s in Krafton’s vision; the regular Vampire do not have souls and are nasty with a capital “N”) and the odd werewolf.
The heroine, Sophie Galen, is an empathic human being who writes an advice column. (Before that, she was a nurse, which is probably why she’s named “Galen” after the eminent ancient Roman physician.) She knows nothing about the Demi-Vampire (or D-V for short), much less the Vampire, at the start of BLEEDING HEARTS, yet she’s drawn to an unusual man, Marek Thurzo, when she visits a local museum. (They bond over ancient Egyptian relics.) And, of course, Marek is a D-V, which complicates her life — and the book’s plotline — nicely.
BLEEDING HEARTS is a well-paced urban fantasy/romance with some humor despite its often grim underpinnings. I enjoyed it immensely.
So what are you waiting for? Go read my review right now!
Barb Caffrey's Blog 