Bouncing off Books: Two Un-reviews

We all hit reading slumps and these slumps hit readers for various reasons. Sometimes the last book you read was so good it overshadows whatever you attempt to read after it. Sometimes things in “real life” prevent the reader from connecting with the book and engaging with the characters. Sometimes the book just isn’t that great and doesn’t match up with the reader’s sensibilities (in general or that specific time). Some of these things combined when I attempted to read two books over the past week and a half. Both books are from imprints/publishers whose output often matches up with my reading tastes very well.

With that, two books I tried to read but ultimately bounced off of are Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina and The Red Knight.

With Blades of the Old Empire I was just *not* connecting with the characters and felt it was a story I’d read many times before and done in a fashion that connected with me more strongly. I gave up quite early on this one (at the 11% mark in my Kindle) because I was just not caring about the characters or what was happening to them. 

The book wasn't bad, it just wasn't grabbing me. It has a feel of both sword & sorcery in the characters, but more of an epic scope of what is affecting the characters. Maybe the blend of those two flavors wasn't working for me in Blades of the Old Empire. I can't say much more about it because I didn't make it that far, as I said.

The Red Knight I gave a little more leeway bouncing at about 180 pages of the 680 page book because I’d seen good things about the book and author from people whose opinion I trust. The book received mostly positive reviews so I kept pushing hoping that I’d connect with the book. Between the multiple viewpoint characters who, to me, didn’t feel distinct enough from each other, and the bouncing around of the plot I realized the prospect of 500 more pages of tiny text was not a prospect that looked favorable to me. 

I’d had the book since last year and kept thinking the book would be my kind of thing, but it just didn’t work out for me.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2013-01-19)

The batch of arrivals is even bigger this week now that 2013 is in full swing. Have a look, won’t you?


Dead Things by Stephen Blackmore (DAW, Mass Market Paperback 02/05/2013) – Second novel in two years from Blackmore and refreshingly, this seems to be a stand-alone, or at least not blatantly to his first novel.

Necromancer is such an ugly word, but it's a title Eric Carter is stuck with.

He sees ghosts, talks to the dead. He's turned it into a lucrative career putting troublesome spirits to rest, sometimes taking on even more dangerous things. For a fee, of course.

When he left LA fifteen years ago, he thought he'd never go back. Too many bad memories. Too many people trying to kill him.

But now his sister's been brutally murdered and Carter wants to find out why.

Was it the gangster looking to settle a score? The ghost of a mage he killed the night he left town? Maybe it's the patrion saint of violent death herself, Santa Muerte, who's taken an unusually keen interest in him.

Carter's going to find out who did it, and he's going to make them pay.

First Rider's Call (Green Rider #4) by Kristen Britain (DAW Mass Market Paperback 02/15/2013) – I read the first book, Green Rider in this series years ago, and I think I read book two in hardcover release. This is the fourth and (presumably?) final novel in the sequence?

Read Kristen Britain's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community.

The long-awaited sequel to Green Rider, First Rider's Call, and The High King's Tomb.

Once a simple student, Karigan G'ladheon finds herself in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand when she becomes a legendary Green Rider-one of the magical messengers of the king. Forced by magic to accept a dangerous fate she would never have chosen, headstrong Karigan has become completely devoted to the king and her fellow Riders.

But now, an insurrection led by dark magicians threatens to break the boundaries of ancient, evil Blackveil Forest-releasing powerful dark magics that have been shut away for a millennium.

The Red Knight (Book 1 of The Traitor Son Cycle #1) by Miles Cameron (Orbit (Hardcover 01/22/2013) – This one’s getting quite a bit of pre-publication buzz. This seems to be RIGHT up my alley. This is the published/final version of the ARC I received in November, and since then, Mark reviewed it enthusiastically for SFFWorld.

Twenty eight florins a month is a huge price to pay, for a man to stand between you and the Wild.

Twenty eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern's jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders. But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men - or worse, a company of mercenaries - against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder.

It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.

The Red Knight has all three, he has youth on his side, and he's determined to turn a profit. So when he hires his company out to protect an Abbess and her nunnery, it's just another job. The abby is rich, the nuns are pretty and the monster preying on them is nothing he can't deal with.

Only it's not just a job. It's going to be a war. . .

The Death Cure (Maze Runner Series #3) by James Dashner (Random House Teens Trade Paperback 01/08/2013) – Final book of a trilogy (and the only book of the series I’ve received) and reissue of the hardcover I received a little over a year ago. The dystopian series seems well-received and will likely appeal to readers/fans of The Hunger Games.

Thomas knows that Wicked can't be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they've collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test. What Wicked doesn't know is that something's happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can't believe a word of what Wicked says.

The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine.

Will anyone survive the Death Cure?

Hunting Daylight (The Night #2) by Piper Maitland (Berkeley, Mass Market Paperback 02/05/2013) – Second book of a paranormal romance series (and the only book of the series I’ve received) featuring vampires

Out of the shadows…

For more than a decade, Caro Barrett has had doubts about the death of her husband, who disappeared while looking for a tribe of day-walking vampires in an African rainforest. Now, their daughter is struggling through her teenage years without a father. Waiting in the wings is an ancient vampire ready to possess Caro’s heart—and to protect them both from harm. And, with her husband declared legally dead, Caro feels it is finally time to move on…

A hemisphere away in a windowless compound, an Ottoman vampire lies dying from a rare blood disease, which has made him vulnerable to the faintest bit of light. Yet he is determined to vanquish its power over him—to feel the sun on his face one last time. And in Caro’s darkest fears he will be lifted into the light of day…

Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin (Bantam Spectra, Trade Paperback Reissue 01/29/2013) – I think this is the final of the re-issues of GRRM’s backlist and probably the one (now that Fevre Dream was re-released) I’ve most wanted to read.



Long before A Game of Thrones became an international phenomenon, #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin had taken his loyal readers across the cosmos. Now back in print after almost ten years, Tuf Voyaging is the story of quirky and endearing Haviland Tuf, an unlikely hero just trying to do right by the galaxy, one planet at a time.

Haviland Tuf is an honest space-trader who likes cats. So how is it that, in competition with the worst villains the universe has to offer, he’s become the proud owner of a seedship, the last remnant of Earth’s legendary Ecological Engineering Corps? Never mind; just be thankful that the most powerful weapon in human space is in good hands—hands which now have the godlike ability to control the genetic material of thousands of outlandish creatures.

Armed with this unique equipment, Tuf is set to tackle the problems that human settlers have created in colonizing far-flung worlds: hosts of hostile monsters, a population hooked on procreation, a dictator who unleashes plagues to get his own way . . . and in every case, the only thing that stands between the colonists and disaster is Tuf’s ingenuity—and his reputation as a man of integrity in a universe of rogues.

Imager's Battalion (Imager Portfolio) by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Tor Hardcover 01/22/2013) – The writing machine that is a man releases another (sixth overall) in this series and sequel to last May’s Princeps

The sequel to the New York Times bestselling Princeps follows magical hero Quaeryt as he leads history's first Imager fighting force into war. Given the rank of subcommander by his wife's brother, Lord Bhayar, the ruler of Telaryn, Quaeryt joins an invading army into the hostile land of Bovaria, in retaliation for Bovaria's attempted annexation of Telaryn. But Quaeryt has his own agenda in doing Bhayar's bidding: to legitimize Imagers in the hearts and minds of all men, by demonstrating their value as heroes as he leads his battalion into one costly battle after another.

Making matters worse, court intrigues pursue Quaeryt even to the front lines of the conflict, as the Imager's enemies continue to plot against him.



The Silent Dragon (The Children of the Dragon Nimbus #1) by Irene Radford (DAW Mass Market Paperback 02/05/2013) – Radford returns to her longest and most well-known series with this novel.

In a realm on the brink of war, will an unsuspected heir to the kingdom of Coronnan and to magic long-banished from the land offer the only hope for survival?

Glenndon—son of witchwoman Brevelan and Jaylor, Senior Magician and Chancellor of the University of Magicians—has never spoken aloud. He has no need because his telepathic talent is strong and everyone associated with the University can "hear" him. He can throw master-level spells, but because he will not speak, Jaylor has refused to promote him from apprentice to journeyman magician. Still, everyone knows it is only a matter of time until Glenndon will take his rightful place at the University.

Then an urgent missive arrives from King Darville. The Council of Provinces is near rebellion over the king's lack of a male heir. Rather than see his fourteen-year-old daughter, Rosselinda, married off just to procure an heir, he orders his illegitimate son Glenndon to Coronnan City to become his successor. And suddenly Glenndon's world is in chaos. The man he's always known as his father is not. Instead he is the son of the king. But in this city where court politics can prove deadly and where magic is forbidden, the young man must hide his talents even as he struggles to find his voice and his destiny.

And one slip could see Glenndon, Darville, Rosselinda, and even Jaylor doomed, for the lords and the people fear magic more than potential invasion, legendary monsters, and civil war.

God of War II> by Robert Vardeman (Del Rey Hardcover 02/12/2013) – Second novel based on one of the greatest video game franchises of all time. What’s odd here is that God of War III is already nearly 3 years old and this is just the second book.

All the majesty and mayhem of Greek mythology springs to life once more in the powerful second novel based on the bestselling and critically acclaimed God of War® franchise.

Once the mighty warrior Kratos was a slave to the gods, bound to do their savage bidding. After destroying Ares, the God of War, Kratos was granted his freedom by Zeus—and even given the ousted god’s throne on Olympus.

But the other gods of the pantheon didn’t take kindly to Kratos’s ascension and, in turn, conspired against him. Banished, Kratos must ally himself with the despised Titans, ancient enemies of the Olympians, in order to take revenge and silence the nightmares that haunt him.

God of War II takes the videogame’s action to electrifying new heights, and adds ever more fascinating layers to the larger-than-life tale of Kratos.

The Red Knight by Miles Cameron and Embedded by Dan Abnett

Mark takes a look at a hot new Epic/High Fantasy from an established non-genre author trying something new under a slightly changed name and I pull a review from the (not so old) archives. Let’s take a look, shall we?


A book that’s been generating a fair amount of buzz on both sides of the Atlantic is the subject of Mark’s review. While The Red Knight; the first installment of Miles Cameron’s The Traitor’s Son Cycle publishes in the US in early 2013, Mark reviewed the UK edition (logically since he lives there) which published this past October (2012):

In essence we have a siege tale that starts simply but becomes increasingly more epic, both in scale and complexity. The book begins with The Red Knight setting out with his company of men and women to help people in need. A convent has been attacked and the people inside killed by something monstrous.
…

In terms of characters there is an impressive range, from the King and his knights to the lower class mercenaries, and from those in court to those living in the Wild. Fantasy readers usually enjoy such a complicated setup, as such a technique does give that impression of a broad canvas. However, some may find the stylistic conceit used here of moving from one character’s perspective to another, often after a mere paragraph, can be a challenge. I must admit that initially with each change it did take me a while sometimes to remember who each character was, what they were doing, and where a character had got to and why. It was a little annoying to find that sometimes once I had then remembered all of this, I was whisked off to another character to start the process again, although given time the characters become recognizable.

I pull a review from the archives today since I don’t yet have a review for the book I’m currently reading (The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis). Last year I read Dan Abnett’s original SF debut and the short review I wrote disappeared from its original place on teh intarwebs so rather than let it be relegated to The Nothing, I beefed up a bit for SFFWorld. Here's the standard linkage, cover, and review preview for Embedded:

In this milieu, the United Status (US) has settled worlds far beyond Earth, and it is on one of these planets in which the action in Embedded takes place. The planet designated Settlement 86, where conflict has existed between the US and the Central Bloc (Russian powers) for 300 years is where protagonist Les Falk has his consciousness literally embedded in the body of Nestor Bloom, a soldier on the front lines of the conflict. When Bloom’s body is shot, then Falk personality becomes the dominant mind in the body. This gives the first person narration familiar to many military SF novels a new twist and one that works very well over the course of the rather than just a change to the norm for change’s sake.
…
Abnett’s greatest skills in this novel are two fold –his ability to keep the tension high through minimal details. Not that the novel isn’t layered and detailed, but Abnett manages to hold enough information from the reader to keep the curiosity level very high, which translates into rapid page turns. The other skill that is readily apparent was his pacing, although the mystery/tension did help to build great pace.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2012-11-10)

It looks as if the publishers made up for no books last week with a big batch this week. The three authors for whom I’ve received the most books over the past few years had books arrive on my doorstep this week,.

The Red Knight (Book 1 of The Traitor Son Cycle #1) by Miles Cameron (Orbit (Hardcover 01/22/2013) – This one’s getting quite a bit of pre-publication buzz. This seems to be RIGHT up my alley.

Twenty eight florins a month is a huge price to pay, for a man to stand between you and the Wild.

Twenty eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern's jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders. But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men - or worse, a company of mercenaries - against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder.

It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.

The Red Knight has all three, he has youth on his side, and he's determined to turn a profit. So when he hires his company out to protect an Abbess and her nunnery, it's just another job. The abby is rich, the nuns are pretty and the monster preying on them is nothing he can't deal with.

Only it's not just a job. It's going to be a war. . .


The Creative Fire (Book one of Ruby’s Song by Brenda Cooper (Pyr Trade Paperback 11/06/2012) – Cooper launches a new series with Pyr, this one looks quite interesting.

Nothing can match the power of a single voice. . . .

Ruby Martin expects to spend her days repairing robots while avoiding the dangerous peacekeeping forces that roam the corridors of the generation ship the Creative Fire. The social structure of the ship is rigidly divided, with Ruby and her friends on the bottom. Then a ship-wide accident gives Ruby a chance to fight for the freedom she craves. Her enemies are numerous, well armed, and knowledgeable. Her weapons are a fabulous voice, a quick mind, and a deep stubbornness. Complicating it all—an unreliable AI and an enigmatic man she met—and kissed—exactly once—who may hold the key to her success. If Ruby can't transform from a rebellious teen to the leader of a revolution, she and all her friends will lose all say in their future.

Like the historical Evita Peron, Ruby rises from the dregs of society to hold incredible popularity and power. Her story is about love and lust and need and a thirst for knowledge and influence so deep that it burns.

Andromeda’s Fall by William C. Dietz (Ace Hardcover 12/04/2012) – First in precursor series to Dietz’s popular Legion of the Damned Military SF series.

The roots of the Legion of the Damned lie deep within the mythology of the future. But now, national bestselling author William C. Dietz goes back to the Legion’s early days with the story of one recruit’s rebirth and redemption…

Hundreds of years in the future, much has changed. Advances in medicine, technology, and science abound. Humanity has gone to the stars, found alien life, and established an empire.

But some things never change...

All her life, Lady Catherine Carletto (called Cat) has lived for nothing but the next party, the next lover, the next expensive toy. Until, in a bloodthirsty power grab, Imperial Princess Ophelia and her cadre of synth assassins murder her brother the emperor, and go on to purge the galaxy of his friends and supporters—including Cat’s family. The Carlettos are known to be staunch supporters of the Emperor and Carletto Industries has been in the forefront of his pet project—developing cybernetic technology for use by the masses.

Now Cat, one of the last surviving Carlettos, is on the run. And, like countless others before her, she finds her sanctuary among the most dangerous of society’s misfits.

Welcome to the Legion.

Cat Carletto vanishes, and in her place stands Legion recruit Andromeda McKee. A woman with a mission—to bring down Empress Ophelia—or die trying.


The Sum of Her Parts (Tipping Point Trilogy #3) by Alan Dean Foster (Del Rey 11/27/2012) – Third in the series which began with The Human Blend.

In this thrilling science fiction adventure—the triumphant conclusion to the Tipping Point trilogy—New York Times bestselling author Alan Dean Foster returns to a near future in which genetic manipulation and extreme body modification have changed profoundly what it means to be human.

Dr. Ingrid Seastrom was once a respected American physician. Whispr, whose body has been transformed to preternatural thinness, was once a streetwise thief. Now, in a world on the edge of catastrophe from centuries of environmental exploitation, they are allies—thrust together by fate to unravel an impossible mystery—even as they are stalked by a relentless killer.

Ingrid and Whispr are hunted fugitives bound together by a thread: a data-storage thread made of a material that cannot exist, yet somehow does. Their quest to learn its secrets—and, in Whispr’s case, sell them to the highest bidder—has brought them to South Africa’s treacherous Namib desert. Beyond its dangers waits a heavily guarded research facility that promises answers, if they can survive long enough to get there. But that won’t be easy, not with Napun Molé on their trail. They’ve already escaped the assassin twice, and as far as Molé is concerned, finishing them off isn’t just a job anymore . . . it’s personal.


Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles #5) by Kevin Hearne (Del Rey, Mass Market Paperback 11/27/2012) – This is one of my more highly anticipated 2012 releases, not only because my review of Hammered is blurbed don the front, but because I also really enjoyed Hounded, loved it and posted the Hexed. I thought Tricked was good even if it felt a bit like a placeholder.

After twelve years of secret training, Atticus O’Sullivan is finally ready to bind his apprentice, Granuaile, to the earth and double the number of Druids in the world. But on the eve of the ritual, the world that thought he was dead abruptly discovers that he’s still alive, and they would much rather he return to the grave.
Having no other choice, Atticus, his trusted Irish wolfhound, Oberon, and Granuaile travel to the base of Mount Olympus, where the Roman god Bacchus is anxious to take his sworn revenge—but he’ll have to get in line behind an ancient vampire, a band of dark elves, and an old god of mischief, who all seem to have KILL THE DRUID at the top of their to-do lists.




Alien vs Alien (Kitty Kat: Alien Super-Being Exterminator Book 6) by Gini Koch (DAW Mass Market Paperback 12/04/2012) – Koch’s writing speed is very impressive, this is the sixth book in the series (and second this year) since it launched in 2010.

Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini and the rest of the American Centaurion Diplomatic Corps are still recovering from their introduction to Washington D.C. politics, parties, and conspiracies. So when compromising pictures arrive, no one’s too surprised. They’re also the least of anyone’s worries.








Elemental Magic: All-New Tales of the Elemental Masters by Mercedes Lackey (DAW Mass Market Paperback 12/04/2012) – Lackey opens up another of her popular secondary worlds to other writers.

This collection of all-new stories revisits Mercedes Lackey's universe in which the powerful Lord Alderscroft and his fellow Masters monitor the magical doings in their realm, and find, guide, protect and train all those in the British Isles who have the ability to control the elements. Original.







Crossed Blade (Crossed Blade #2) by Kelly McCullough (AceMass Market Paperback 12/04/2012) –Third in a series which began last year, and second published this calendar year so McCullough seems to be a quick writer.


For six years, former temple assassin Aral Kingslayer has been living as a jack of the shadow trades, picking up odd jobs on the wrong side of the law. But the past is never dead, and Aral’s has finally caught up to him in the beautiful, dangerous form of Jax Seldansbane—a fellow Blade and Aral’s onetime fiancée.

Jax claims that the forces that destroyed everything Aral once held dear are on the move again, and she needs his help to stop them. But Aral has a new life now, with a fresh identity and new responsibilities. And while he isn’t keen on letting the past back in, the former assassin soon finds himself involved in a war that will leave him with no way out and no idea who to trust…


Iced by Karen Marie Moning (Dellacorte Press Hardcover 10/30/2012) – A new series from the popular Moning, though this one seems as if it is connected to her previous work, the Fever Series.

Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules — and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the few humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.
Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux.

When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks — and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.

Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin — before everything and everyone in it gets iced.


Mecha Rouge (A Novel of the Armor Wars) by Brett Patton and (Roc, Mass Market Paperback 12/04/2012) – A year later and the sequel to Patton’s first novel in this future Military SF series hits shelves. Say one thing for the folks at the Penguin imprints…they keep most of their authors on a pretty good schedule.

When you don’t know which side to trust, go rogue.

Matt Lowell is the hottest new recruit in the Universal Union’s select group of pilots. Their job—control the supremely powerful biochemical robotic avatars known as Mecha. Now, the Prime of Universal Union herself has offered him an unprecedented opportunity: return to Earth to train a new elite force for a covert mission that’s imperative to the future of the Union.

When he and his team embark on their mission—on a border world that may be a target for the anarchical Corsairs—Matt finds that everything is not as it seems. The world is home to a dark secret that underlies the very foundation of the Union itself, and suddenly Matt doesn’t know which side he and his mighty Mecha should be fighting for—or against.


< Supervolcano: All Fall Down by Harry Turtledove (Roc Hardcover 12/04/2012) – Here is book #43 by Turtledove I’ve received over the past few years.

In Supervolcano: Eruption, one of nature’s most destructive forces released its ferocity on an unsuspecting world. Now,New York Times bestselling author Harry Turtledove reveals how the survivors of the disaster adapt to their new environment…
In the aftermath of the supervolcano’s eruption in Yellowstone Park, North America is covered in ash. Farmlands cannot produce food. Machinery has been rendered useless. Cities are no longer habitable. And the climate across the globe grows colder every day.

Former police officer Colin Ferguson’s family is spread across the United States, separated by the catastrophe, and struggling to survive as the nation attempts to recover and reestablish some measure of civilization… .

Uglies: Cutters by Scott Westerfeld (W), Devin Grayson (W), and Steven Cummings (A) (Del Rey 12/042012) – Second graphic novel installment in Westerfeld’s extremely popular near future SF saga

Experience the riveting, dystopian Uglies series seen as never before—through the eyes of Shay, Tally Youngblood’s closest and bravest friend, who refuses to take anything about society at face value.

“From the moment we are born, we are considered threats in need of ‘special’ management. We are watched and shaped and exploited by a force most of us never see. . . . All to keep us safe. . . . Do you feel safe?! Or do you feel like you’re in a cage?”—Shay

In Pretties, Tally Youngblood and her daring best friend, Shay, both underwent the operation that turned them from ordinary Uglies into stunning beauties. Now this thrilling new graphic novel reveals Shay’s perspective on living in New Pretty Town . . . and the way she sees it, there’s more to this so-called paradise than meets the eye.

With the endless parties and custom-made clothes, life as a Pretty should be perfect. Yet Shay doesn’t feel quite right. She has little to no memory of her past; it’s as if something in her brain has inexplicably changed. When she reunites with Tally and the Crims—her rebellious group of friends from Uglyville—she begins to recall their last departure to the wild, and the headstrong leader she used to be. And as she remembers the truth about what doomed their escape, Shay decides to fight back—against the status quo, against the mysterious Special Circumstances, even against her own best friend.