September 2022 Reading Round up

September proved to be a proflific and varied reading month for me. A few books I read were review books for SFFWorld: Ruination (the first prose novel set in the world of League of Legends) and It Rides a Pale Horse. Also, I read Full Immersion by Gemma Amor in August (as hinted last month), but the review posted in September. As of this post, those reviews are up at SFFWorld, but the excerpts of each are below. 

My SFFWorld colleague Mark Yon and I both received review copies of Ruination, we both enjoyed the book a great deal…and probably more than we expected: 

Reynolds has a great deal of experience in writing these kinds of books and he’s quite adept at relaying a lore-heavy world while also maintaining a well-paced story with developed characters. The primary characters manage to breath uniquely beyond the tropes in which they fit and the plot is fairly straight-forward. The details of the world relayed in the novel are just enough to keep the plot going for a relatively un-experienced League of Legends person like myself. 

On the other hand, I didn’t quite enjoy It Rides a Pale Horse:

Marino does some interesting things with his characters, at least Lark and his two companions, pens engaging dialogue, and has a knack for crafting some horrific, visceral scenes. Unfortunately, those elements – while strong – weren’t strong enough to carry through the portions of the novel that didn’t work for me. That dichotomy ultimately left me feeling frustrated with the novel.

Full Immersion by Gemma Amor was one of the most potent novels I've read this year:

Amor pours her soul into this novel, it is raw, full of emotion, and incredibly honest. That feeling comes through in every word of the novel, even outside of the forward. There’s a science fictional aspect to the novel with the Virtual Reality element, but a mounting dread both in the simulated environment and with the observers has the novel creeping and creeping towards horror. The bouncing between the observers and what Magpie was experiencing in VR made for a very gripping read, building tension on both sides that made it tough to set the book down. 

As for the non-review books, I read Tasha Suri’s The Jasmine Throne, the first the Burning Kingdoms saga and thought a very good silk road, epic fantasy. 

Potent themes, thrilling action, and fantastic character development. Set in Parijatdvipa, which is very much inspired by the legends and history of India, the novel focuses on the character of Priya, a servant in the household of the regent of the city state of Ahiranya. The other main character is Malini, a prisoner and sister of the emperor. The storyline of the two characters eventually intertwine making for a very satisfying novel. Great world-building, interesting magic, with enough closure for the novel itself, while also setting up a foundation for future novels. 

Fairy Tale by Stephen King is a book I’ve been anticipating since I heard about it in January of this year (2022). I immediately thought of The Eyes of the Dragon and The Talisman when the title was announced and there are some parallels to those King classics, but this one is its own story. Charlie Reade lives with his father, a recovering alcoholic. Charlie’s mother was killed in a freak car accident when he was younger. Charlie managed to push through his challenges, becoming a star athlete. When he befriends a mysterious man who lives in the oldest house in the neighborhood, Charlie learns of another world filled with magic, strange creatures, and evil. He also befriends the neighbor’s dog, Radar. 

There are little shout outs to past King works, it is a novel that blends so many things King is good at doing; youthful protagonist, monsters, character, friendship between an older and younger character, and dogs. I suspect Molly, AKA the Thing of Evil may have helped there, too. I wouldn't be surprised if some Constant Readers will end up naming their dogs “Radar” in the future. 

In the end, I’d say that Fairy Tale is a top 5 or top 10 King novel for me, out of the near 50 or so books I’ve read by Sai King. This one is an instant classic.

The Last Stand of Mary Good Crow by Rachel Aaron is the first book in a new Weird-Western-Epic Fantasy series. Set in Medicine Rocks, Montana which is a hotbed for “Crystal” a mysterious substance discovered in 1866 which has since become the most valuable thing in the world. Crystal, unsurprisingly, is a magical substance that can speak to certain people. The Mary Good Crow of the title is a guide, helping would-be seekers of fortune find crystal in the mines. She is enlisted by Josephine Price, an heiress from Boston seeking to reinvigorate the company she inherited. Rounding out the trio of protagonists is Tyrel Reiner, who has connections to a lot of things happening in Medicine Rock. 

Like I said, the Crystal is highly sought after so many people are vying for control of the mines, which presents one of the novel's primary conflicts. Two strong elements make this book as enjoyable as it was: Aaron’s amazing world-building skills and the characters she creates. 

This was a fun one and a good start to a series. As with The Jasmine Throne, there is a decent amount of resolution in the novel, but The Last Stand of Mary Good Crow is definitely just the first of a series. 

Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo is a fascinating blend of urban fantasy, fairy tale, crime procedural, and mystery. These are all genres that can naturally meld together and Pelayo does an impressive job of placing the Pied Piper myth into modern day Chicago. The main character is detective Lauren Medina, whose father was also a police detective. Children are being brutally murdered and the only clue is a connection to the Pied Piper. Medina is an extremely well-constructed character, flawed, determined, and undeniably believable and real. The novel is also steeped in the dark history of Chicago. 

Unsurprisingly, this one takes some chilling turns on the way to the stunning conclusion. 

 

I just finished The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James a couple of days before this post went live so technically it could be either an "October" or "September" read. Either way The Book of Cold Cases is the second book I’ve read by St. James and it is just as good as the first one, The Sun Down Motel. In this book, Shea Collins, a young divorced woman has a hobby looking into open murder cases and runs the Website “The Book of Cold Cases.” Her latest obsession is the socialite Beth Greer, who was suspected killing two men in 1977, shortly after her parents died. Shea, in 2017, is able to convince Beth to tell her the full story of the murders and her life. It is fascinating story, that has hints of a ghost story, murder, and great character development. St. James excels at telling parallel stories as we learn about Beth’s from Beth as Shea listens intently.

Books in the Mail (W/E 2015-07-11)

One electronic version, three physical and they all look really interesting.

One Good Dragon Deserves Another (Volume 2 of The Heartstrikers Series) by Rachel Aaron (08/01/2015) – I thought the first in this series, Nice Dragon Finish Last was very enjoyable. I liked both the characters and world-building very much.

After barely escaping the machinations of his terrifying mother, two all knowing seers, and countless bloodthirsty siblings, the last thing Julius wants to see is another dragon. Unfortunately for him, the only thing more dangerous than being a useless Heartstriker is being a useful one, and now that he's got an in with the Three Sisters, Julius has become a key pawn in Bethesda the Heartstriker's gamble to put her clan on top.

Refusal to play along with his mother's plans means death, but there's more going on than even Bethesda knows, and with Estella back in the game with a vengeance, Heartstriker futures disappearing, and Algonquin's dragon hunter closing in, the stakes are higher than even a seer can calculate. But when his most powerful family members start dropping like flies, it falls to Julius to defend the clan that never respected him and prove that, sometimes, the world's worst dragon is the best one to have on your side.

Half a War (Book Three of The Shattered Sea Trilogy) by Joe Abercrombie (Del Rey Hardcover 07/28/2014) –The concluding volume to Joe’s Young Adult trilogy, which last July. I’ve got the first one as an eBook, so I’ve go some catching up to do.

New York Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie delivers the stunning conclusion to the epic fantasy trilogy that began with Half a King, praised by George R. R. Martin as “a fast-paced tale of betrayal and revenge that grabbed me from page 1 and refused to let go.”

Words are weapons.

Princess Skara has seen all she loved made blood and ashes. She is left with only words. But the right words can be as deadly as any blade. If she is to reclaim her birthright, she must conquer her fears and sharpen her wits to a lethal edge.

Only half a war is fought with swords.

The deeply cunning Father Yarvi has walked a long road from crippled slave to king’s minister. He has made allies of old foes and stitched together an uneasy peace. But now the ruthless Grandmother Wexen has raised the greatest army since the elves made war on God, and put Bright Yilling at its head—a man who worships only Death.

Sometimes one must fight evil with evil.

Some—like Thorn Bathu and the sword-bearer Raith—are born to fight, perhaps to die. Others—like Brand the smith and Koll the wood-carver—would rather stand in the light. But when Mother War spreads her irons wings, she may cast the whole Shattered Sea into darkness.

The King's Justice: Two Novellas by Stephen R. Donaldson (Trade Paperback 10/15/2015 G.P. Putnam’s Sons) – Donaldson is one of those writers I read when I was first really getting into the fantasy genre, specifically his Thomas Covenant books, but I haven’t read the final 4. Yet. This book looks very interesting.

Two new, original novellas—Donaldson's first publication since finishing the Thomas Covenant series—are a sure cause for celebration among his many fans.

In The King's Justice, a stranger dressed in black arrives in the village of Settle's Crossways, following the scent of a terrible crime. He even calls himself "Black," though almost certainly that is not his name. The people of the village discover that they have a surprising urge to cooperate with this stranger, though the desire of inhabitants of quiet villages to cooperate with strangers is not common in their land, or most lands. But this gift will not save him as he discovers the nature of the evil concealed in Settle’s Crossways.

The Augur's Gambit is a daring plan created by Mayhew Gordian, Hieronomer to the Queen of Indemnie, a plan to save his Queen and his country. Gordian is a reader of entrails. In the bodies of chickens, lambs, piglets, and one stillborn infant he sees the same message: the island nation of Indemnie is doomed. But even in the face of certain destruction a man may fight, and the Hieronomer is utterly loyal to his beautiful Queen--and to her only daughter. The "Augur's Gambit" is his mad attempt to save a kingdom.

Beyond the Pool of Stars (A Pathfinder Tales novel) by Howard Andrew Jones (Paizo Trade Paperback 10/06/2015) – This is Jones’s third Pathfinder novel and I loved his second installment of The Chronicles of Sword and Sand so I hope I can get to this one

Mirian Raas comes from a long line of salvagers, adventurers who use magic to dive for sunken ships off the coast of tropical Sargava. When her father dies, Mirian has to take over his last job: a dangerous expedition into deep jungle pools, helping a tribe of lizardfolk reclaim the lost treasures of their people. Yet this isn’t any ordinary job, as the same colonial government that looks down on Mirian for her half-native heritage has an interest in the treasure, and the survival of the entire nation may depend on the outcome…

Snapshot Reviews: Sigler, Hearne, Aaron & Walton

This is a quick burns review of some books I read over the past couple of months.

First up is Scott Sigler’s Infected, one of the first “podcast novels” and a book that helped to make Sigler a hot commodity in the genre. I recall a couple of posts on Jeff VanderMeer’s blog (here and here about Infected when the book was published in hardcover. I listened to this one as it was available for free on iTunes. The story combines elements of military thriller and alien invasion for a very fun and engaging story. Sigler himself performs the audio for the story and gives each of the characters a distinct voice (though it is pretty easy to tell that Sigler is all the voices). The main players here are CDC scientist Margaret Montoya, CIA operative Dew Philips, Dew’s boss CIA Deputy Director Murray Longworth, who track down the source of strange, disturbing and violent deaths and Perry Dawsey, former college football star and our main point of view of an infected person. I haven’t “read” too many audio books but I think I’m going to change that. Well, I’ll at least continue the series with Contagious, the sequel to this one since it is free and on my iPod. (I even mentioned Scott's forthcoming novel Alive on a recent On My Radar post for SF Signal.)

I also recently finished Kevin Hearne’s second to most recent Iron Druid Novel, Hunted (published in 2013). It has been a couple of years (Trapped in 2012) since I followed along with Atticus, Granuaile and Oberon and tagging along on their journey reminded me how much fun these books are. In this one, not only is Atticus being pursued by two of the hunt goddesses (Artemis and Diana), Loki is looking for him, in the hopes of kickstarting Ragnarok. On more than one occasion I was laughing out loud at something in the story and my wife, ensconced in her own thing, turned to ask why I was laughing. Along the way, Atticus is blind-sided, has several conversations with Odin, pals up again with the Perun, the Slavic god of thunder and lightning, and says goodbye an old friend.

I've got the next book on Mount Toberead, I don't think I'll wait as long to read it as I did between reading Hunted and and Shattered, the next book and the Kevin's "promotion" to Hardcover.

I also breezed through Rachel Aaron’s writing book 2K to 10K: Writing Faster, Better, and Writing More of What You Love. I am looking forward to starting the next book I’m going to write after coming away from Rachel’s book with some excellent things to incorporate into my writing process (such as it is). I've seen Kameron Hurley, Patrick Hester and other writers give this book a shout-out at least once a week on twitter. There are some great ways to approach writing in this book. 

Rachel’s written some really fun and entertaining novels so I think taking some writing advice from her seems a pretty logical thing to do.

I’ll finish with The Just City by Jo Walton, a book that was anticipated by a great many readers including myself. I thoroughly enjoyed Among Others and thought the concept of this one was interesting: people plucked out of time by the Greek Gods to form a new society set apart from the world. There’s a slight similarity to the classic Philip Jose Farmer novel To Your Scattered Bodies Go in concept. Unfortunately, I had to slap a DNF stamp on The Just City. I felt no urgency in the plot or from the characters and felt a bit bored by the whole thing and quit just before finishing the first third of the novel because nothing grabbed me.

I think I'm the odd one on this one because I've seem very good reviews on the book from people whose reading tastes often align with mine, like Sarah Chorn and Stefan Raets.

Friday Round-Up: Stover @ SF Signal, Staveley & Aaron @ SFFWorld, and Me Interviewed

Lots of stuff posted since my last Friday Round up, so I’ll just get into it…

Perhaps the thing I’m most pleased with is my Completist column at SF Signal on Matthew (Woodring) Stover’s Acts of Caine sequence:

Each novel in the sequence is proof that as a writer, artist and let me just say it: Creative Force, Matthew Stover is unwilling to retread previous paths, he challenges and reinvents himself (and challenges his readers) with each book. “The Acts of Caine,” particularly the first novel Heroes Die is a novel ahead of its time. Stover tackles grimdark themes seen in the work of Mark Lawrence, Kameron Hurley, and Joe Abercrombie – well over a decade before those books were published. His blurring to decimation of the line dividing Science Fiction from Fantasy, though not new at the time, is something few writers were doing in the very late 1990s when Heroes Die first published. This series is one of the great underappreciated sets of books in the genre, but the people who have read all four, by and large, rank them very highly.

A couple of weeks back, I posted my review of Brian Staveley’s second Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, The Providence of Fire:

The most welcome element of The Providence of Fire is the increased “screen time” of Adare, and more importantly, Adare as a character with agency who has an effect on events in the story. She goes through a rebirth as she leaves her city and trudges through muck and gathers a cadre of allies in her hope to take back what is hers by birthright and redeem her family’s name. Although the princess has lived a relatively sheltered life of royalty, she is willing to get dirty to see justice for her family and her people. Along the way she finds herself “taken in” by a harsh woman by the name of Nira, whom Adare comes to trust for the woman’s brutal honesty. There’s a threat of death and violence from Nira much of the time they are together, but as their relationship developed, I found some resonance with how Wesley depicts his life as a prisoner of the Dread Pirate Roberts in The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

…

The Providence of Fire marks a “leveling up” in character development/story, a spreading out of the world canvas, a deepening of the plot, and the book is longer by about a hundred pages.

Earlier this week, my review of Rachel Aaron’s Nice Dragons Finish Last, the first installment of her self-published urban fantasy series, Heartstrikers:

Julius Heartstriker is the protagonist here, one of the youngest dragons in a long line of dragons –  He is the least like his family, an introvert more concerned with continuing his online education and playing MMPORGs until his mother Bethesda kicks him out and tells him she will kill him unless he starts acting like a real dragon. Bethesda, as one might surmise by this small introduction is not a kind dragon (as is befitting her race), for she excommunicates Julius to DFZ, the Detroit Free Zone sealed in his human form…which is fine since Detroit is the one place where Dragons are not permitted by the Algonquin, Lady of Lake, the magical/supernatural ruler of the domain. 

...

I found the world-building here very interesting and fun; the explanation of how magic and supernatural creatures exist in a near future version of our world to have an interesting starting point. A meteor crashed into Canada in 2035, which triggered a powerful surge of forgotten magic into the world, including spirits that had lain dormant for nearly one thousand years. The action of the novel takes place 60 years after magic’s return, so there is a status quo and a generation of people who have known only a world with magic. So even though this novel reads primarily as an urban fantasy, there are also hints of post-apocalypse in that the world has been changed by a cataclysmic event.

Last but not least, blogger Stuart (SC) Flynn interviewed me for his blog, as a part of his series of interviews with reviewers, podcasters and bloggers.

2014 Leftovers & Regrets - Unread SFF Books Published in 2014

With as many books for review that I receive and the books I’ll occasionally purchase, I clearly can’t get to everything published in a calendar I’d like to read. There were a handful of books published in 2014 I received for review I haven’t yet read. Here are 10 SFF books published last year still atop Mount ToBeread.

Nice Dragons Finish Last (Volume 1 of The Heartstrikers Series) by Rachel Bach (07/15/2014) – As my recent write up about Rachel for Tor.com indicates, I’m a fan of her work. She’s dipping her toes into the self-publishing realm with this one, which looks fun.

As the youngest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: stay quiet, don’t cause trouble, and keep out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn’t cut it in a family of ambitious predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

 

Now, sealed in human form and banished to the DFZ--a vertical metropolis built on the ruins of Old Detroit--Julius has one month to prove to his mother that he can be a ruthless dragon or lose his true shape forever. But in a city of modern mages and vengeful spirits where dragons are seen as monsters to be exterminated, he’s going to need some serious help to survive this test.

He only hopes that humans are more trustworthy than dragons....

Half a King (Book one of The Half a King Trilogy) by Joe Abercrombie (Del Rey Hardcover 07/15/2014) –Joe’s first venture into the waters of Young Adult. It is a new Joe Abercrombie book, nothing else needs to be known about it.

”I swore an oath to avenge the death of my father. I may be half a man, but I swore a whole oath.”

Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains, and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea. And he must do it all with only one good hand.

The deceived will become the deceiver.

Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.

The betrayed will become the betrayer.

Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.

Will the usurped become the usurper?

But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi finds his path may end as it began—in twists, and traps, and tragedy.

Dust and Light (A Sanctuary Novel #1) by Carol Berg (Roc, Trade Paperback 08/05/2014) – Berg has been on my radar for a couple of years, even more so over the past few years as a few SFFWorld forum members whose opinion I trust (Erfael, NickeeCoco, and suciul specifically) and my friend Sarah Chorn, have recently been raving about her work. This book looks like it is friendly to readers who haven’t read her previous books, which is just what I need.

National bestselling author Carol Berg returns to the world of her award-winning Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone with an all-new tale of magic, mystery, and corruption....

How much must one pay for an hour of youthful folly? The Pureblood Registry accused Lucian de Remeni-Masson of “unseemly involvement with ordinaries,” which meant only that he spoke with a young woman not of his own kind, allowed her to see his face unmasked, worked a bit of magic for her....After that one mistake, Lucian’s grandsire excised half his magic and savage Harrowers massacred his family. Now the Registry has contracted his art to a common coroner. His extraordinary gift for portraiture is restricted to dead ordinaries—beggars or starvelings hauled from the streets.

But sketching the truth of dead men’s souls brings unforeseen consequences. Sensations not his own. Truths he cannot possibly know and dares not believe.

The coroner calls him a cheat and says he is trying to weasel out of a humiliating contract. The Registry will call him mad—and mad sorcerers are very dangerous....

Codex Born (Magic Ex Libris #2) by Jim C. Hines (DAW Books, Hardcover 08/05/2014) – I read and thoroughly enjoyed Libriomancer when I read it a few years ago and look forward to picking up Isaac’s story here.

Five hundred years ago, Johannes Gutenberg discovered the art of libriomancy, allowing him to reach into books to create things from their pages. Gutenberg’s power brought him many enemies, and some of those enemies have waited centuries for revenge. Revenge which begins with the brutal slaughter of a wendigo in the northern Michigan town of Tamarack, a long-established werewolf territory.

Libriomancer Isaac Vainio is part of Die Zwelf Portenære, better known as the Porters, the organization founded by Gutenberg to protect the world from magical threats. Isaac is called in to investigate the killing, along with Porter psychiatrist Nidhi Shah and their dryad bodyguard and lover, Lena Greenwood. Born decades ago from the pages of a pulp fantasy novel, Lena was created to be the ultimate fantasy woman, strong and deadly, but shaped by the needs and desires of her companions. Her powers are unique, and Gutenberg’s enemies hope to use those powers for themselves. But their plan could unleash a far darker evil…

Prince of Fools (Book One of The Red Queen’s War) by Mark Lawrence (Hardcover 06/03/2014 Ace) – I’m a big fan of Mark’s Broken Empire trilogy and so are the members of the SFFWorld forum. They voted the final novel in the trilogy, Emperor of Thorns as their favorite 2013 novel!

Hailed as “epic fantasy on a George R. R. Martin scale, but on speed” (Fixed on Fantasy), the Broken Empire trilogy introduced a bold new world of dark fantasy with the story of Jorg Ancrath’s devastating rise to power. Now, Mark Lawrence returns to the Broken Empire with the tale of a less ambitious prince.

The Red Queen is old but the kings of the Broken Empire dread her like no other. For all her reign, she has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister—unseen by most and unspoken of by all.

The Red Queen’s grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth—drinker, gambler, seducer of women—is one who can see The Silent Sister. Tenth in line for the throne and content with his role as a minor royal, he pretends that the hideous crone is not there. But war is coming. Witnesses claim an undead army is on the march, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal thinks it’s all a rumor—nothing that will affect him—but he is wrong.

After escaping a death trap set by the Silent Sister, Jal finds his fate magically intertwined with a fierce Norse warrior. As the two undertake a journey across the Empire to undo the spell, encountering grave dangers, willing women, and an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath along the way, Jalan gradually catches a glimmer of the truth: he and the Norseman are but pieces in a game, part of a series of moves in the long war—and the Red Queen controls the board.

Crown of Renewal (Book Five of Paladin’s Legacy) by Elizabeth Moon (Del Rey Hardcover 05/24/2014) – I liked the first two in this series (Oath of Fealty and Kings of the North) and the first trilogy set in this world, The Deed of Paksenarrion has a special spot on in my Omnibus Hall of Fame [© PeterWilliam]. However, I sort of fell behind on this series but did catch up with Echoes of Betrayal and Limits of Power earlier in the year. I’ve got a few months so I should be able to manage…unless of course her Vatta’s War five book set, which I’ve just begun with Trading and Danger grabs me too strongly.

Acclaimed author Elizabeth Moon spins gripping, richly imagined epic fantasy novels that have earned comparisons to the work of such authors as Robin Hobb and Lois McMaster Bujold. In this volume, Moon’s brilliant masterwork reaches its triumphant conclusion.

The mysterious reappearance of magery throughout the land has been met with suspicion, fear, and violence. In the kingdom of Lyonya, Kieri, the half-elven, half-human king, struggles to balance the competing demands of his heritage while fighting a deadly threat to his rule: evil elves linked in some way to the rebirth of magic.

Meanwhile, in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia, a set of ancient artifacts recovered by the former mercenary Dorrin Verrakai may hold the answer to the riddle of magery’s return. Thus Dorrin embarks on a dangerous quest to return these relics of a bygone age to their all-but-mythical place of origin. What she encounters there will change her in unimaginable ways—and spell doom or salvation for the entire world.

Tower Lord (Raven’s Shadow Book Two) by Anthony Ryan (Ace Hardcover 07/02/2013) – Second novel in Anthony’s series, the first of which was his debut Blood Song which blew me away last year. This is the final version of the ARC which arrived about a month ago. My reading plans are pretty tied up for the immediate future, but as soon as those are finalized, this will be one of the first books I jump into.

“The blood-song rose with an unexpected tune, a warm hum mingling recognition with an impression of safety. He had a sense it was welcoming him home.”

Vaelin Al Sorna, warrior of the Sixth Order, called Darkblade, called Hope Killer. The greatest warrior of his day, and witness to the greatest defeat of his nation: King Janus’s vision of a Greater Unified Realm drowned in the blood of brave men fighting for a cause Vaelin alone knows was forged from a lie. Sick at heart, he comes home, determined to kill no more.

Named Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches by King Janus’s grateful heir, he can perhaps find peace in a colder, more remote land far from the intrigues of a troubled Realm. But those gifted with the blood-song are never destined to live a quiet life. Many died in King Janus’s wars, but many survived, and Vaelin is a target, not just for those seeking revenge but for those who know what he can do.

The Faith has been sundered, and many have no doubt who their leader should be. The new King is weak, but his sister is strong. The blood-song is powerful, rich in warning and guidance in times of trouble, but is only a fraction of the power available to others who understand more of its mysteries. Something moves against the Realm, something that commands mighty forces, and Vaelin will find to his great regret that when faced with annihilation, even the most reluctant hand must eventually draw a sword.

Shattering the Ley (Erenthal #1) by Joshua Palmatier (DAW, Hardcover 07/01/2014) –A brand new series for Palmatier whose work I’ve read and enjoyed. This cover is really eye catchy (though the fonts could use a little work).

Erenthrall—sprawling city of light and magic, whose streets are packed with traders from a dozen lands and whose buildings and towers are grown and shaped in the space of a day.

At the heart of the city is the Nexus, the hub of a magical ley line system that powers Erenthrall. This ley line also links the city and the Baronial plains to rest of the continent and the world beyond. The Prime Wielders control the Nexus with secrecy and lies, but it is the Baron who controls the Wielders. The Baron also controls the rest of the Baronies through a web of brutal intimidation enforced by his bloodthirsty guardsmen and unnatural assassins.

When the rebel Kormanley seek to destroy the ley system and the Baron’s chokehold, two people find themselves caught in the chaos that sweeps through Erenthrall and threatens the entire world: Kara Tremain, a young Wielder coming into her power, who discovers the forbidden truth behind the magic that powers the ley lines; and Alan Garrett, a recruit in the Baron’s guard, who learns that the city holds more mysteries and more danger than he could possibly have imagined . . . and who holds a secret within himself that could mean Erenthrall’s destruction — or its salvation.

Blightborn (Book 2 of The Heartland Trilogy) by Chuck Wendig (Skyscape Mass Market Paperback 07/29/2014) – The writing machine that is Chuck Wendig gives us the sequel/second book in the this trilogy, the first (Under an Empyrian Sky) of which I enjoyed a great deal.

Cael McAvoy is on the run. He’s heading toward the Empyrean to rescue his sister, Merelda, and to find Gwennie before she’s lost to Cael forever. With his pals, Lane and Rigo, Cael journeys across the Heartland to catch a ride into the sky. But with Boyland and others after them, Cael and his friends won’t make it through unchanged.

Gwennie’s living the life of a Lottery winner, but it’s not what she expected. Separated from her family, Gwennie makes a bold move—one that catches the attention of the Empyrean and changes the course of an Empyrean man’s life.

The crew from Boxelder aren’t the only folks willing to sacrifice everything to see the Empyrean fall. The question is: Can the others be trusted?

They’d all better hurry. Because the Empyrean has plans that could ensure that the Heartland never fights back again.

Sleeping Late on Judgment Day (Bobby Dollar #3) by Tad Williams (DAW Hardcover 09/02/2014) – I am a big Tad Williams fan (as anybody who has read my blog knows) and I really like this series. This is the last Bobby Dollar novel for now, I hope Tad returns to this angel.

Where does an angel go when he's been to Hell and back?
Renegade angel Bobby Dollar does not have an easy afterlife. After surviving the myriad gruesome dangers Hell oh-so-kindly offered him, Bobby has returned empty-handed – his demon girlfriend Casmira, the Countess of Cold Hands, is still in the clutches of Eligor, Grand Duke of Hell. Some hell of a rescue.

Forced to admit his failure, Bobby ends up back at his job as an angel advocate. That is, until Walter, an old angel friend whom Bobby never thought he’d see again, shows up at the local bar. The last time he saw Walter was in Hell, when Walter had tried to warn him about one of Bobby’s angel superiors. But now Walter can’t remember anything, and Bobby doesn’t know whom to trust

Turns out that there's corruption hidden within the higher ranks of Heaven and Hell, but the only proof Bobby has is a single feather. Before he knows it, he’s in the High Hall of Heavenly Judgement – no longer a bastion for the moral high ground, if it ever was, but instead just another rigged system – on trial for his immortal soul...

Sleeping Late on Judgement Day is the third installment of Tad Williams' urban fantasy Bobby Dollar series!

Books in the Mail (W/E 2014-06-14)

Just two books this week and one of them arrived in ARC format a while back.

Nice Dragons Finish Last (Volume 1 of The Heartstrikers Series) by Rachel Bach (07/15/2014) – As my recent write about Rachel for Tor.com indicates, I’m a fan of her work. She’s dipping her toes into the self-publishing realm with this one, which looks fun.

As the youngest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: stay quiet, don’t cause trouble, and keep out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn’t cut it in a family of ambitious predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

Now, sealed in human form and banished to the DFZ--a vertical metropolis built on the ruins of Old Detroit--Julius has one month to prove to his mother that he can be a ruthless dragon or lose his true shape forever. But in a city of modern mages and vengeful spirits where dragons are seen as monsters to be exterminated, he’s going to need some serious help to survive this test.

He only hopes that humans are more trustworthy than dragons....

The Shadow Throne (Book Two of The Shadow Campaigns) by Django Wexler (Roc Hardcover 07/01/2014) – Nearly exactly a year after Wexler’s debut published to much acclaim, he’s published two other things (the YA The Forbidden Library and the novella John Golden Freelance Debugger) and now the second book in his Flintlock Fantasy series. This is the final/hardcover of the ARC I received a little over a month ago.

Anyone can plot a coup or fire an assassin’s bullet. But in a world of muskets and magic, it takes considerably more to seize the throne.

The ailing King of the Vordan lies on his deathbed. When he dies, his daughter, Raesinia Orboan, will become the first Queen Regnant in centuries—and a ripe target for the ambitious men who seek to control her. The most dangerous of these is Duke Orlanko, Minister of Information and master of the secret police. Having meticulously silenced his adversaries through intimidation, imprisonment, and execution, Orlanko is the most feared man in the kingdom.

And he knows an arcane secret that puts Raesinia completely at his mercy.

Exposure would mean ruin, but Raesinia is determined to find a way to break herself—and her country—out of Orlanko’s iron grip. She finds unlikely allies in the returning war hero Janus bet Vhalnich, fresh from a brilliant campaign in the colony of Khandar, and his loyal deputies, Captain Marcus d’Ivoire and Lieutenant Winter Ihernglass.

As Marcus and Winter struggle to find their places in the home they never thought they would see again, they help Janus and Raesinia set in motion events that could free Vordan from Orlanko’s influence—at the price of throwing the nation into chaos. But with the people suffering under the Duke’s tyranny, they intend to protect the kingdom with every power they can command, earthly or otherwise.

SFFWorld/Tor.com Round-up: Hulick, Aaron/Bach, Campbell and Hunt

Been a busy week for me on the intarwebs.  Or rather, things I'd been working on last week and a bit prior saw the light of day over the past week or so. I mentioned the SF Signal stuff yesterday, so today, I'll mention the SFFWorld and Tor.com stuff.

Wednesday, my review of Sworn in Steel, Douglas Hulick's second Tales of the Kin novel was posted to SFFWorld. This is a fun Sword & Sorcery series that I hope to be reading for a while.  Think one part Brust, one part Lynch, throw in a little Wendig and a dose of Goodfellas and you'll get an idea.  The second novel, Sworn in Steel, was just as good as the first:

The events of Among Thieves had major ramifications on Drothe and the criminal underworld of Ildrecca, where he made his home. One of those ramifications has seen his closest friend – Bronze Degan – disappear, though Drothe manages to learn where Degan went rather quickly and despite knowing Degan likely doesn’t want him to follow, Drothe tries to find his friend. This is problematic, because Drothe’s station has moved up in the world considerably as a result of the fallout of Among Thieves. By leaving Ildrecca to travel across the sea to this faraway nation of Djan he is leaving some very important responsibilities behind. Another Degan*, who only gives the name Wolf, compels Drothe to leave Ildrecca to find Bronze Degan after framing Drothe for the murder of one of Drothe’s rivals. Wolf sees Degan as a very important key in unraveling the truth of the Order of Degans. Drothe also manages to get involved with a troupe of actors who join him on his journey.

Also on Wednesday, a new piece I wrote for Tor.com went live. My fine editors (Bridget McGovern & Irene Gallo) at Tor.com have been doing their part to step-up for Hachette/Orbit authors because of the problems between Hachette & amazon.com. For my part, I put together this overview/review spotlight on Rachel Aaron/Rachel Bach, Aaron and Bach: A Tale of Two Rachels:

Rachel Aaron is an Orbit author, through and through, under both her real name and the pseudonym Rachel Bach. She is a writer who was cultivated by Orbit and whose audience grew through some smart publishing decisions in the early days of Orbit’s US imprint. To wit, Orbit US launched in 2007 and her debut, The Spirit Thief, published in October 2010.

Then there’s Rachel’s Paradox series of novels—comprised of Fortune’s Pawn, Honor’s Knight, and Heaven’s Queen—published under the pen name Rachel Bach. Aaron was very open about the pseudonym being used to differentiate her SF from her Fantasy. This isn’t to say there aren’t parallels between what Rachel is doing in her Bach and Aaron books, just a little bit more of some stuff in Bach (more swearing, more sex) and a different setting (secondary fantasy world v. Space Opera). If the Eli books are PG-13, then the Paradox books are more of an R rating.

Over at SFFWorld, Mark Chitty took a look at the latest Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier novel, Steadfast:

After the events of Guardian, Geary and his fleet are touring Earth before making preparations to leave Sol with the alien Dancers. But when two of his lieutenants go missing the fleet track them down only to be faced with a problem none of them expected: having to make a rescue from the strictly off-limits moon of Europa. Back in Alliance space, Geary is ordered to the edges of Alliance territory to settle refugee issues from a Syndic system. Once there he discovers that information that the Alliance has been presenting isn’t quite what it seems, and that’s only the start of his troubles…

Steadfast was both the novel I was expecting, and the novel I wasn’t. Let me tackle the first point. Quite simply, Steadfast is a Lost Fleet novel.

Lastly, Mark Yon reviewed In Dark Service, the start of a new series from Stephen Hunt (of SF Crowsnest):

It is good to read of a world that is a bit more than the usual setting, and I liked the point that one of the key features of this novel is the planet itself. The sheer size of Pellas reminded me of Dune’s Arrakis or even Jack Vance’s Big Planet in its scale. By building a world too big to traverse in your lifetime, this also creates an enormous blank canvas upon which the cast (and the writer) can play. As in the best planetary romances, Pellas is filled with different places and settings, groups and societies, all a little beyond the usual. There’s glimpses of an intriguing backstory too that suggests that Pellas has a long history. I am hoping that much of this will develop further as the tale expands.

SFFWorld Weekly Round-Up: Harris, Bach, McAuley, D'Lacey

Lots of good content (reviews, author guest posts) were posted to SFFWorld this week, here's the rundown...

Mark reviewed Joanne Harris's The Gospel of Loki over the weekend.  Mark is one of many folks signing the praises of the author's first novel for adult readers: 

Joanne writes this story with panache and skill, infusing it with humour and a wry smile throughout. As I’ve said before in these reviews, humour’s very difficult to pitch right, but this one worked for me. It’s clever and literate, yet surprisingly still accessible. Through Joanne’s writing Loki becomes something tangible, at times liked, at others strangely melancholic.

This is not easy. The difficulty in telling the traditional tale (for me, anyway) is that there are aspects of the Norse pantheon that are usually a bit hard to swallow, never mind the fact that some of the names have always been a bit of a personal difficulty, frankly. Just trying to get your reading head around terms such as Yggdrasil has always seemed to be more effort than its worth. Here Joanne/Loki cleverly sidesteps this difficulty for me by mentioning some of the more imaginative (some would say outlandish) parts of the traditional tale, but then explains them away as mere exaggerations, the sort of tall tale often bragged about over beer.

On Tuesday, I posted my review of Rachel Bach's second Paradox novel, Honor's Knight. Rachel Aaron/Bach is becoming a go-to author for me, as I connect with her work very well. This particular book was a great cure for a reading lull I hit. Some thoughts:

Bach ratchets up the politics in Honor’s Knight and dials back the romantic element a bit. There’s also an ongoing discussion in the novel about the price of security and safety, in that can the fate of humanity be measured against the life of innocent girls who lose their identity and humanity? A difficult question to answer, and sometimes the easiest answers prove to be the incorrect answer in the long run. In other words, war breeds difficult moral choices, which leads to drastic consequences. The black ink-like substance afflicting Devi also happens to be like kryptonite to the phantoms, but Devi has little control over it and when it comes out on her skin.

There’s more action in the novel and Bach opens up the universe to a greater degree, bringing the phantoms more into the folds as the most alien creatures thus far encountered. At times described like bright firefly like creatures and other times, the larger creatures seem like something out of a Lovecraftian nightmare. In fact, what comes to mind are the Drej, the blue alien creatures from the animated film Titan A.E. (An animated film with the classic Don Bluth look and feel that deserved a much better fate at the box office than it received.)

Yesterday, we had a guest post from Paul McAuley on revisiting and touching up his popular Confluence trilogy in preparation for an omnibus publication of the series:

The three novels, published in 1996, 1997 and 1998, were caught up in corporate takeovers in the UK and the US; when Gollancz agreed to republish them in a fat omnibus, the original files used to set the books were long gone. So I resurrected my old WordPerfect 5.0 files and read through them, and then went over them again to remove a few niggling inconsistencies in the narrative and to give the prose a further polish. My younger self didn’t need my help move a story through its twists and turns. He’d learnt from Robert Louis Stevenson how landscape can shape and reveal the actions of the characters, and to keep action scenes short and sharp. He’d crammed plenty of eyekicks and estrangement into the narrative. And Yama’s story, his discovery of the costs and obligations of escaping from his mundane fate and becoming a hero, and the sacrifices he must make to find a way of saving his world, was fixed by the course of the river he follows.


So in its omnibus incarnation, the story and almost all of the narrative of the trilogy remains the same. Revision was mostly a question of tightening the focus of sentences and paragraphs, and sharpening certain passages

Lastly, we published a guest post from Joseph D'Lacey wherein he attempts to answer the question I threw at him:

“Do you see Post Apocalyptic fiction as a great way to explore Horror elements in a setting more associated with the Science Fiction branch of the Speculative Fiction tree?”

My ‘visible’ work categorises me as a Horror or, more specifically, Eco-Horror writer. But, like most authors, what I have ‘on display’ represents a fraction of the whole. There’s also the almost published, the limitedly published and, of course, the unpublishable – tons of that!

So, when a question comes up about exploring Horror elements in a Post Apocalyptic world, from my particular, and probably quite odd, writerly point of view, there’s no simple answer.

It’s partly because I write in such a naïve and uncalculated way. I’m instinctive (haphazard, an overwriter, rarely plan anything), lazy (avoid research, reality and work of any kind – especially writing), whimsical (whimsical, basically) and my work is organic (I write the bits I feel able to write first and the bits I feel unable to write just before the deadline).

Books in the Mail (W/E 2013-12-14)

With the year winding down, the review book arrivals at the o' Stuff household have slowed even more.  The lone title to arrive is an eArc which landed on my kindle on Friday night.

Honor’s Knight (Volume 2 of The Paradox Series) by Rachel Bach (Orbit, Trade Paperback 11/05/2013) – This is second book in the thrilling Space Opera / Military Science Ficiton / Urban Fantasy hybrid that I’m enjoying. Well, at least the first installment Fortune’s Pawn.

The rollicking sequel to Fortune's Pawn -- an action packed science fiction novel.

Devi Morris has a lot of problems, and not the fun, easy-to-shoot kind either. After a mysterious attack left her short several memories and one partner, she'd determined to keep her head down, do her job, and get on with her life. But even though Devi's not actually looking for it this time, trouble keeps finding her. She sees ghostly creatures no one else can, the inexplicable black stain on her hands keeps getting bigger, and she can't seem to stop getting into compromising situations with a man she's supposed to hate. But when a deadly crisis exposes far more of the truth than she bargained for, Devi discovers there's worse fates than being shot, and sometimes the only people you can trust are the ones who want you dead.

SFFWorld Round-up: Bach, Dalglish, Robertson, Paolini, and Wexler

Another round up of what's been posted to SFFWorld in today's blog post....

Last week, I posted my review of a contender for my favorite Science Fiction novel of the year, Fortune's Pawn, the first Paradox novel by Rachel Bach:

Devi meets and interacts with the motley crew of the Glorious Fool, – Captain Caldswell, who runs the ship with near military precision; Rupert who is “just a cook” (not); the bird like aeon pilot Basil who literally navigates from a nest; the tall lizard-like xith’cal doctor Hyrek (right, a doctor from a race which enjoys the taste of human flesh); the captain’s daughter Ren who is protected by Rupert; Cotter, the other security mercenary who joined the ship with Devi; and Mabel, the ship’s engineer who has the longest relationship with Captain Brian Caldswell; and Nova, who oversees the ships diagnostics. . Amidst this backdrop, the Glorious Fool is a trading vessel, not unlike the Serenity of Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Of course, we’d have very little story if the vessel were a simple trader. The character with whom Devi has the closest relationship as the novel progresses is Rupert; he is the love interest. He is the unconquerable man who doesn’t give into Devi’s charms immediately; Rupert is initially something of a stonewall. If anything, he may be a little too perfect. The romance between the two takes up a significant portion o

f the narrative energy.

...

I was a fan of the Eli Monpress novels written under the author’s real name Rachel Aaron, so when I learned she was shifting to space-based science fiction (so far, these books seem an equal mix military science fiction, space opera, and adventure SF), I was excited. That excitement was fulfilled. In the Eli Monpress novels, Aaron played with some genre conventions, but here writing as Bach she does much more upending of the genre tropes. For starters, the protagonist is a woman where a majority of protagonists in military SF have been male. That said, Devi is as aggressive on every level of her character as any male protagonist who preceded her in the genre. She goes after the men she wants, goes after the targets at which she aims, and tackles just about every obstacle in her way. She names her weapons and her power armor. Point being, she’s larger than life and in your face and I felt as if I got along well with her voice.

Mark had a look at self-published sensation turned newest Orbit fantasy author, David Dalglish and his fantasy novel, A Dance of Cloaks:

As a debut book in the series, A Dance of Cloaks is a ting-out-the-stall’ kind of book, where the reader is introduced to characters and places that it is clear will all be developed later, and undoubtedly with paths that will cross at some point. There are quite a few different characters to follow here, some major, others minor, but who may become more important later. Of the families, much of the plot deals with the life-changing events around two main characters. In the Trifect group, Alyssa Gemcroft, is the main heroine, the heir to the Gemcroft family fortune, used as a political device by her father Maynard, available for marriage to the right suitor. As you might expect, she rejects this.

...

Whilst the characters are nothing really new, and the plot admittedly rather generic, this is a book that revels in, and can be enjoyed for, its familiarity. With such a book, a reader does not need to spend time wrestling with deep concepts or revelatory stylistic touches. Readers can be assured that what they expect is what they get, to enjoy the plot developments as they happen, feel engaged with a story that uses straightforward language and enjoy a tale that basically is done well. Its purpose is to entertain.

Most recently, I reviewed Freya Robertson's debut novel, Heartwood. Robertson also recently provided SFFWorld with a guest post. Here's the cover, link, and review snapshot:

Robertson introduces many of the players at this gathering including the Holy Knights of the Heartwood, elite defenders of the Arbor as well as the many nations gathering to meet for a potential halt to hostilities. The protagonist, at least for the first third of the novel, seems to be Chonrad, a man who tried but was unsuccessful at becoming a Holy Knight and is sent to represent his nation at the Congressus. The Knights are led by Procella, a woman with whom Chonrad feels a great connection. Other knights include Beata, another female knight and Dean at Heartwood; twins Gravis and Gavius. Additionally, members of other nations, such as Fionnghuala of the Hanairean and Grimbeard, of the Wulfian where war rules all and men just take women are introduced.

...

What started as a novel with great potential conflict and interesting, if familiar, world and story fell under the weight of info-dumps and backstory. I liked the characters, I liked the world, but after the ample world-building in the first third of the novel, I felt ready for the story, particularly since it seemed to be pointed in the direction of multiple quests, to move at a more brisk pace. With each of the quests the characters were split up to undertake, we learned more about the characters. Too many weighty details are revealed about the characters by the characters themselves as inner monologue to allow for narrative the move along at a good pace.

We've also got some new interviews, including:

Christopher Paolini

Django Wexler

Blake Crouch

Books in the Mail (W/E 2013-08-23)

A sparkly new space opera (first in a new series) arrived this week, though the name isn’t familiar the writers is…along with the third installment in a popular author's fairly new series.

Fortune’s Pawn (Volume 1 of The Paradox Series) by Rachel Bach (Orbit, Trade Paperback 11/05/2013) – It is somewhat of an open secret that Bach is a pseudonym for Rachel Aaron, author of the very entertaining Eli Monpress fantasy novels. I’m really looking forward to this book.

Devi Morris isn't your average mercenary. She has plans. Big ones. And a ton of ambition. It's a combination that's going to get her killed one day - but not just yet.

That is, until she just gets a job on a tiny trade ship with a nasty reputation for surprises. The Glorious Fool isn't misnamed: it likes to get into trouble, so much so that one year of security work under its captain is equal to five years everywhere else. With odds like that, Devi knows she's found the perfect way to get the jump on the next part of her Plan. But the Fool doesn't give up its secrets without a fight, and one year on this ship might be more than even Devi can handle.


Monsters of the Earth (Books of the Elements #3) by David Drake (Tor, Hardcover 09/03/2013) – Drakes third installment in “a series of four fantasy novels set in a city and empire named Carce, which very similar to that of Rome in 30 AD.” Drake mixes myth and magic with history, and based on the title, this one has monsters in it.


Governor Saxa, of the great city of Carce, a fantasy analog of ancient Rome, is rusticating at his villa. When Saxa’s son Varus accompanies Corylus on a visit to the household of his father, Crispus, a retired military commander, Saxa graciously joins the party with his young wife Hedia, daughter Alphena, and a large entourage of his servants, making it a major social triumph for Crispus. But on the way to the event, something goes amiss. Varus, who has been the conduit for supernatural visions before, experiences another: giant crystalline worms devouring the entire world.

Soon the major characters are each involved in supernatural events caused by a struggle between two powerful magicians, both mentored by the deceased poet and mage Vergil, one of whom wants to destroy the world and the other who wishes to stop him. But which is which? There is a complex web of human and supernatural deceit to be unraveled.

This new novel in David Drake’s ongoing chronicles of Carce, The Books of the Elements, is a gripping and intricate work of fantasy.

Spirit's End by Rachel Aaron & Poison by Sarah Pinborough at the SFFWorld Review Blog

As I mentioned yesterday and last week Mark and I are now posting our new book reviews at the SFFWorld Review Blog.

With that, Mark posted one review over the weekend and mine just went live today.

I’ve enjoyed the previous four novels (two books one of which is an Awesome Omnibus) and put this one off for a bit because I didn’t want the series to come to end. Here’s the link to my review of Rachel Aaron’s Spirit’s End

For a novel that is set in a world that seems a bit sprawling and sizeable, Aaron manages to make Spirit’s End a very confining and claustrophobic novel. This is embodied by how Eli feels about his relationship with the Shepherdess. She loves him, adores him, but it is a suffocating love. Benehime sees Eli as a thing and barely a person. The closest approximation to a person she can see him as is a young child whose center of the universe is Benehime herself. This objectifying of the male is a neat switch on the all-too often idea of men objectifying women. Eli is revolted by Benehime and her cloying love, or rather, obsession about keeping him by her side. In a sense, I liken the relationship to some of the serial killers depicted on Criminal Minds (a popular American drama featuring an FBI unit who profiles and hunts serial killers, just don't go to the TVTropes page for it).

…

While the novel (and series itself) focuses primarily on Eli, Rachel Aaron has not forgotten her lost king Josef and his demoness companion Nico or the feisty and strong-willed Miranda who at beginning of the novel is appointed the Rector (Head) of the Spirit Court. Josef continues to rule by the most threadbare minimum and his arch enemy, the Lord of Storms’s pursuit of Nico does not abate. The fate of the world, Eli’s relationship with Benehime, and the heart of who Nico is come together as the novel rolls along to its conclusion.

Mark reviews Poison by Sarah Pinborough, which is a modern twist/take on fairy tales:

Let’s make it clear, though. Poison is definitely adult in tone. As a result, It’s sexy, deliciously dark and, in places, rather bitter in taste. Sometimes reading about people’s darker feelings and thoughts highlights aspects of ourselves that might be better left untouched. What Sarah has done is take many of the parts of the old stories you may remember, but then given them more adult motivations and backgrounds to create a tale like the original adult Grimm’s Tales but rewritten for a contemporary audience. I enjoyed it a lot, reading it in just about one sitting.

…

It’s dark, but fun. I enjoyed spotting all the links to other fairy tales. Disney, this definitely isn’t.

Dreamy and Grouchy, the two dwarves here, are stolid and loyal, and there is a fair amount of sympathy for their tough existence. Lilith is suitably scheming, not afraid to use sex as a weapon, but also given a sensible rationale for her actions. Snow White is not always the innocent young maiden of the traditional tales.