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Yzabel / February 19, 2016

Review: The Masked City

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he’s been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds.

Kai’s dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people – and the forces of order and chaos themselves.

Irene’s mission to save Kai and avert Armageddon will take her to a dark, alternate Venice where it’s always Carnival. Here Irene will be forced to blackmail, fast talk, and fight. Or face death.

Review:

[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

3 stars. The Library-verse and the main characters are now established, and the plot could therefore fulfil its course without much exposition. (Although the “negative” point here is that I don’t think reading “The masked City” without having read “The Invisible Library” would be a good decision… but then, that’s why it’s called a second volume in a series, after all—exactly what it says on the tin.)

The focus is placed more on Irene herself, as an agent of the Library who has to navigate strange lands without counting on anyone but herself, nor on anyone’s wits but her own. Kai isn’t with her for most of the story, for reasons that are obvious from chapter 1: he’s been kidnapped, and in a reverse Damsel In Distress plot, it’s up to her to save him, with limited help from Vale who, as a human, would likely get mad very quickly in a high chaos level world.

And deliciously trope-y this book is, in more ways than one, both using archetypes and turning them around. The Dark Seductress, the Cunning Spouse/Grey Eminence, the Spy Hero(ine), the Enemies-turned-allies… Irene has to deal with those, and more, as the Fae in this universe are notorious for living vicariously through stories and archetypes, embroiling everybody around in their schemes in order to repeat those very plots. The more powerful the Fae, of course, the more gripping and unavoidable the story.

There’s less of the Library itself this time, and more of the Librarian In Action: this can be good or bad, depending on what wishes to read—I admit I would’ve preferred to see more of the Library and other agents, even though in general I enjoy adventures and spies characters. The Language is a powerful tool when used well, which is shown several times, as Irene can basically bend reality itself, and turn antagonists around by crafting a Story of her own; and yet it doesn’t make her all-powerful, because any circumstances when she cannot speak render her powerless—something she has to constantly keep at the back of her mind, in order to avoid such circumstances.

On the other hand, while there are high stakes and a real danger of war that must be averted, the kidnapping plot wasn’t the strongest one ever. And while keeping Vale as a secondary character was great (I like myself a good old private investigator), not seeing him much was a bit of a letdown. Another thing, perhaps a corollary of the archetype/stories-driven atmosphere, was that it wasn’t always easy to determine whether a particular action or decision was genuine, determined by the “storylines” Irene & al. Were thrown in, or an easy device to have the characters go where the author wanted them to. It both fits and doesn’t, if that makes sense. (And I’m not quite sure what to make of the potential romance subplot. It’s difficult to tell whether Irene is interested in either Kai or Vale in a “genuine” way—romance and love triangles can be pretty good or pretty bad, and can swing so easily from one part of the spectrum to the other…)

The writing felt also heavy-handed at times, laden with adverbs that kept creeping in. To be honest, I mostly read this novel while on the move, and as such I didn’t pay as much attention as I could have to the style itself; however, I suspect that if I noticed this in such conditions, it may be, indeed, rather noticeable in general.

Conclusion: a fun story, with a good deal of action and plenty of nice little tricks for those who enjoy their tropes. Nevertheless, it lacked the spark the Library would have brought it for me (not enough books and book-related heists, I guess).

Yzabel / February 16, 2016

Review: The Dark Days Club

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

Review:

[I received a copy of this book through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.]

3,5 stars. A bit slow, but I realised I didn’t mind this: mostly it was due to the depiction of Regency Era daily life for a young noblewoman debuting in society, and considering that this was one of the stakes in the narrative, it felt appropriate.

In 1812 London, with London wary about the advance of Napoleon Bonaparte in Europe, Lady Helen Wrexhall is coming of age under the watchful eye of her aunt and uncle, who brought her and her brother up after their parents drowned at sea. While Helen’s life seems perfect in many ways considering the times and her place in society (she has, after all, a title, fame, and money), her family’s history keeps casting a shadow on her reputation: her mother was rumoured to be a traitor to the crown, and because of that “stain”, it is of the utmost importance that she remains a proper lady in all circumstances. And “proper lady” involves many things that she is not, and not so many things that she is—that is, full of wit and energy, and eager to learn (she is skilled in Latin and natural philosophy, among other things… all matters that were tolerated when she was a “girl”, but won’t fit a “grown-up woman”).

The writing style in general was fluid and the descriptions pleasant. A great deal of the narrative deals with the dichotomy in Helen’s life. She tries to conform to what her aunt and uncle expect from her, but with a certain degree of unease: should she shun her mother like her uncle demands her to, publicly denouncing her as a traitor, or keep her head high and remember the loving mother she only for the first eight years of her life? And all the while, she discovers more and more troubling truths about the world she’s always taken for granted. Truths involving a dark and dashing young lord rumoured to have murdered his wife, a group of people with noble and less noble motives, and perhaps also her mother’s activities.

I liked Helen in general: headstrong but not too stupid to live; willing to discover the truth but also frightened by it and trying to understand what she really wanted (and wanted to do);doing what she could to fit in yet frustrated by all the limitations placed upon her both by society and by her family. Her relationship with Darby was strong, a beautiful budding friendship rather than a simple maid-and-lady relationship, with mutual respect and trust.

The supernatural aspect is fairly “easy” and traditional—creatures living hidden amidst humans, feeding upon them, vs. a group of men and women dedicated to fighting them—but all in all, it worked, and it brought enough dark elements and secrets to keep me entertained and interested. Obviously enough, Helen finds herself embroiled into their activities, and torn between her perceived duties as a lady and her perceived duties regarding those truths she uncovered. Trifling matters? Perhaps, but to be expected in relationship to her social position. Balancing supernatural activities in secret when you’re still dependent on a male parent (who also controls all your money and watches you to make sure you’re not going to turn “evil” like your mother)… Well, it’s not so easy, and more is at stake than just being grounded for a few days. Helen’s struggles to come to terms with what *she* wanted to do—she, not her uncle, or her brother, or her aunt, or Carlston, or even her mother—felt true, and highlighted the general struggles of other women of that era: does one have to remain stuck in a role defined by others, or can she hope to decide on her own life?

I got a bit tired of the overall slowness (and some info-dumping) around the middle of the novel, to be honest—although it fortunately picked up in the last part, there were some places where I wished the plot would move faster, or that the action scenes were more intense (Helen wasn’t exactly a fighter in those, and her being a spectator rather than an actor also impeded the narrative’s rhythm). The descriptions and everyday life would likely be good for a reader wanting to read about those, but not so much if one is in another mood.

I also found that other characters weren’t as fleshed out as Helen, and I wish I could have gotten to know them better. In a way, I’m glad that the romance part was far from being a huge subplot, because I would’ve needed to feel more about Carlston for that.

All in all I liked this story and will gladly pick the next volume… although I hope its rhythm will be a bit faster.

Yzabel / February 13, 2016

Review: If Then

If Then by Matthew De Abaitua

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

James has a scar in the back of his head. It’s where he was wounded in the Battle of Suvla Bay on August 1915. Or is the scar the mark of his implant that allows the Process to fill his mind with its own reality?

In IF, the people of a small English town cling on after everything fell apart under the protection of the Process, the computer system that runs every aspect of their lives. But sometimes people must be evicted from the town. That’s the job of James, the bailiff. While on patrol, James discovers the replica of a soldier from the First World War wandering the South Downs. This strange meeting begins a new cycle of evictions in the town, while out on the rolling downland, the Process is methodically growing the soldiers and building the weapons required to relive a long lost battle.

In THEN, it is August 1915, at the Battle of Suvla Bay in the Dardanelles campaign. Compared to the thousands of allied soldiers landing on this foreign beach, the men of the 32nd Field Ambulance are misfits and cranks of every stripe: a Quaker pacifist, a freethinking padre, a meteorologist, and the private (once a bailiff) known simply as James. Exposed to constant shellfire and haunted by ghostly snipers, the stretcher-bearers work day and night on the long carry of wounded men. One night they stumble across an ancient necropolis, disturbed by an exploding shell. What they discover within this ancient site will make them question the reality of the war and shake their understanding of what it means to be human…

Review:

[I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

Very difficult to rate: interesting ideas and mind-challenging themes (the horrors of war, a dystopian United Kingdom after a huge financial and societal collapse, one man’s vision to stop the war once and for all…), but quite a few chapters seemed to be meandering rather than carrying their purpose, and it made some parts somewhat dull to read.

The beginning introduces us to “If”, a current-era dystopian world where markets collapsed, people lost their jobs in droves, and where the mysterious “Process” (a c omputer? A mere clump of algorithms? Actual people behind it?) relocated some people into an apparent dream-slash-experimental community, making them coming back to simpler ways of life and set places in society in exchange for happiness. In this community, James, the bailiff, regularly dons his huge armor to evict those judged unworthy by the Process, blissfully unaware of what he actually does to them thanks to the implant in his brain controlling his actions. Where do the evictaed go? Not his problem.

Or is it?

As James starts to question his place in this new world, and his wife Ruth struggles with determining whether what her husband (and the Process) do is good or evil, made-up soldiers appear near the community: mindless, half-formed creatures given shape by the Process, to serve a goal nobody understands. Except for one, Hector, who seems to be more “advanced” than the others. The Institue, under the care of Alex Drown and Omega John, wants to study him, and task James with observing him. And so James is dragged little by little into the first World War, through the mystery behind Hector’s existence. Meantime, in Suvla Bay during the Great War, a group of stretcher-bearers also try to make sense of their surroundings, of their role, and of a strange sniper always following and targetting them…

A lot of elements intertwine and mingle in this narrative. What is real and what is dream/illusion only isn’t so clearly defined. Is War-James and Bailiff-James the same person, or not? Jumped back in time, or not? Is he forced to relive events of the past as an observer accidentally thrown in their middle, or does he stand a chance of actually making a difference? The story explores such themes, and more, through James and his fellow stretch-bearers, as well as through Ruth’s parallel narrative. Reality and illusion are difficult to tell from each other, not before the last third of the book, and this strengthens the feelings of ubiquity and confusion the characters are going through. The futility of one’s life in the trenches, fighting faceless enemies again and again, being wounded and dying for what appears to them as “nothing” – because they just cannot make sense out of that war anymore – hits right home when it comes to the Great War and to what it must have represented to people who lived it: the first such conflict the world saw, where the older ways of war were turned upside down and new, even more terribles ways of battling were born. (At least, that’s always how I’ve felt regarding this particular set of events in history.)

The writing itself flows nicely, carrying well both the horrors of the illusion-or-not-illusion war and of the modern world, the feeling of betrayal Ruth and James have to contend with when it comes to the Process starting to behave erratically, and the betrayal experienced by the soldiers as their leaders remain so remote. “Abandoned by their leaders” is what may sum this up the best.

And yet I struggled through a good half of the book, very likely because the Great War part seemed to meander and loop on itself: good to enforce what the characters had to make sense of, but not so good for a reader trying to keep tabs on what was happening and find out what the true goal of the novel was. As for that, I’m not exactly quite sure, though I cannot help but think that, as misguided as the means may have been, the reasons of the “brain” behind it all made sense. A horrible sense, granted, but sense all the same.

It’s hard to tell whether I liked this book or not. I’d probably give it 4 stars if the second third wasn’t so confusing (in that it seemed to chase its own tail more than playing with my nerves). It was interesting, at any rate, and intriguing.

Yzabel / February 8, 2016

Review: Luna: New Moon

Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

The scions of a falling house must navigate a world of corporate warfare to maintain their family’s status in the Moon’s vicious political atmosphere…

The Moon wants to kill you.

Maybe it will kill you when the per diem for your allotted food, water, and air runs out, just before you hit paydirt. Maybe it will kill you when you are trapped between the reigning corporations-the Five Dragons-in a foolish gamble against a futuristic feudal society. On the Moon, you must fight for every inch you want to gain. And that is just what Adriana Corta did.

As the leader of the Moon’s newest “dragon,” Adriana has wrested control of the Moon’s Helium-3 industry from the Mackenzie Metal corporation and fought to earn her family’s new status. Now, in the twilight of her life, Adriana finds her corporation-Corta Helio-confronted by the many enemies she made during her meteoric rise. If the Corta family is to survive, Adriana’s five children must defend their mother’s empire from her many enemies… and each other.

Review:

[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

I’m definitely not a fan of present tense 3rd person narration, so it took me a while to finally get to this book. However, once I was immersed into the story, its plot unfurled and flew by quite fast, keeping me interested.

There’s corporate warfare, and strange politics based on contracts voluntarily built on loopholes to allow a way out. There are trials fought to death in gruesome duels, in a society full of glitz and glamour, of parties and fancy clothes, of heaps of money pitched against the utter poverty of those whose shallowest breath is still counted and charged, driving them more and more into depth. An exquisite blend of blinding limelights obfuscating ugly shadows, and of soft shadows trying to stand against a destructive light.

Quite a few characters evolve in this first part of the “Luna” duology. The list at the beginning kind of made me fear I wouldn’t find my way through them—and so, exerting the full strength of my usual spirit of contradiction, I decided not to read this list, to see if I could sort it out myself. Answer: yes, I could. Even though the language of this “new moon society” is full of terms borrowed from many cultures, the story still flowed in a way that let me understand who was who, who was married to whom, and who was doing what.

This same society is tremendously complex, old-fashioned and open at the same time. Alliances are drawn through arranged marriages, sometimes even between teenagers and adults fifteen years older than them (and wrapping one’s mind around that is quite a feat); those same alliances, though, don’t rest the least bit on traditional conventions. Men marry men if they like; some live in codified polyamory relationships; some decide to assume an identity based on neither femininity nor masculinity; some even go with pronouns related not to their gender but to their deeper self (especially the “wolves”: people influenced by the waxing and waning of the Earth). It’s good to see relationships going in varied ways, and I thought it fitted a future society whose defining norms were in part similar to those we know, and in part so different.

It’s, frankly, an overwhelming world, a microcosm full of its own self-aggrandised perception, dependent on Earth for some things, keeping Earth in a tight vise for others (Corta Hélio “lights Earth every day” through its helium-3 exports); as much open to it (“Jo Moonbeams” leave the blue planet on a very regular basis to come and work on the moon) as it is closed (moon people have basically two years before their bones become too brittle, and after that time, either they have to go back to Earth or decide to stay in space forever, since gravity would literally crush them). In a way, one novel—or two—isn’t enough to explore all this, and it was a bit frustrating: inwardly, I was screaming for more.

The cast of characters reflect this society. They are ruthless, they are fighters each in their own way: Ariel in the courts, Lucas through his schemes, Carlinhos with his bikers and his knives, Marina with her Earthian strength and will to find a job to support her family… Even Lucasinho, through his little teenage rebellion that however allows him to understand what finding allies truly means. They dance in their own world, wary of the other families yet drawn to them out of necessity, to play the game of alliances, of betrayal, of selling and getting information, of trying to reconcile their real feelings to the fact they cannot afford to show anything, lest they be seen as weak. And the intrigue: a slash here, a blow there, events piling up on each other now and then, until the finale. All under the failing eye of Adriana Corta, the Founder, the Matriarch, fearing her children would fight for the remains of House Corta, and trying to remain as hard as she used to be when, as a young woman, she set out to found her own dynasty, the Fifth Dragon.

(I like Adriana. I first discovered her in a short story, which made me jump on the novel when it was on NetGalley. Her own narrative, her confession, highlighted the story of the Cortas, of how they rose to power, of their allies… and of the enemies they made along the way.)

On the downside, I wasn’t too sold on the “reverse werewolf” idea: while interesting, it seemed to come out of nowhere (I was more interested in the other part of Wagner’s story, to be honest). But maybe it’ll play another part in the upcoming volume. There’s also a soap opera side to all these relationships and backstabbing and guessing who’s preparing what against whom, that was perhaps a bit “too much”. This said, since I still found myself rooting for some of the characters, and entrenched within the story, I am not going to complain: sometimes, “too much” is highly entertaining no matter what.

Conclusion: a few elements that I wasn’t convinced by, but a world and a plot I definitely want to see through in the second book.

Yzabel / February 5, 2016

Review: The SEA Is Ours

The Sea Is Ours: Tales from Steampunk Southeast Asia by Jaymee Goh

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

Steampunk takes on Southeast Asia in this anthology

The stories in this collection merge technological wonder with the everyday. Children upgrade their fighting spiders with armor, and toymakers create punchcard-driven marionettes. Large fish lumber across the skies, while boat people find a new home on the edge of a different dimension. Technology and tradition meld as the people adapt to the changing forces of their world. The Sea Is Ours is an exciting new anthology that features stories infused with the spirits of Southeast Asia’s diverse peoples, legends, and geography.

Summary:

[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

An interesting change of setting, mixing south-eastern Asia culture and various other aspects to engineering and more “steampunkish” elements. I appreciated this nice change of pace, so different from the typical corset & goggle aesthetics: though I still love the latter, variety is always good, and the whole steam/mechanical technology shouldn’t be restricted to European or American settings.

Descriptions and characters mostly felt real enough, and I had no trouble imagining what their surroundings looked like. Some stories used “foreign” words whose meaning wasn’t too difficult to guess, so it added to the immersion factor while not being overly confusing. A certain dichotomy also permeated this anthology, though in a harmonious way, in that several of the stories mixed technology with traditional or supernatural aspects: the Westerners’ cold, rational technology as opposed to a technology combining magic or spirits to science. As simplistic as the first may seem, it still flowed well enough for me.

What I found lacking in this anthology is something I find both very difficult to achieve as a writer, and lacking in short stories in general: it came with a lot of excellent ideas, character concepts and backgrounds, but tended to leave the reader to dry by cutting off abruptly the narratives. I kept expecting either more of a punchline at the end of stories, or to learn that those had also been developed / were to be developed into novellas or novels later. As a result, I more than once reached the end of a story thinking “am I missing a few pages here?”

Favourite stories:

“On the Consequence of Sound”: though the ending was a bit predictable, I really liked the idea of using music to make items and ships levitate.

“The Unmaking of the Cuadro Amoroso”: exploring various ideas, such as artists that are also scientists (or is it the contrary?), science versus faith, an oppressive government, revenge, and a polyamorous relationship presented in a totally natural way.

“Working women”: a bit too abrupt to my taste in how events unfurled, however I liked its weaving of three women’s stories, colliding through mechanical transformations, how society perceived them, and how they acted to (re)claim their own worth and independence.

Formatting: a few typos here and there, however I read an ARC, so this was probably to be expected. I don’t know about the printed book.

Yzabel / January 10, 2016

Review: Grumpy Cat Volume 1

Grumpy Cat, Volume 1 by Ben McCool

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

Dynamite proudly presents the comic book misadventures of Grumpy Cat, featuring “The World’s Grumpiest Cat” and her brother, Pokey! With her ever-present pout and sassy disposition, Grumpy Cat has won the hearts of people everywhere. Now, her unbearable cuteness and infectious sourpuss are featured in an all-new, all-sensational collection of comic stories, sure to make fans of all ages laugh! If you love the memes, the videos, and that irresistible scowl, then get ready for the wildly fun antics of Grumpy Cat and Pokey!

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

Cute graphics, and the familiar expression of “Grumpy Cat” was well-rendered, but in terms of stories, this book didn’t do much for me. It was funny… but no more than that. It made me smile… but no more than that either.

The interactions between Grumpy and Pokey were of the silly kind (in a nice way): Pokey as the over-enthusiastic and a little simple-minded cat, wanting to have adventures with the neighbouring dog among others, and Grumpy being the sarcastic, deadpan-snarking sister (I never knew whether GP was a male or a female—well, it’s a female here, apparently). The whole book has a Garfield vibe, and I think this is clearly on purpose: Grumpy needs her coffee, the dog is as stupid as Odie, Garfield has Nermal while Grumpy has Pokey… also Pokey kind of sounds like Pooky, Garfield’s teddy bear. Not sure whether this is more homage or merely trying to use the success of both the GP meme and Garfield. Garfield, in any case, is much better in my opinion.

The graphics, as said above, were cute, and pretty good in general. I got an ARC “only”, so a few pages were a bit blurry and hard to read, even on my computer (full screen PDF) and not on my tabler; however, I don’t have any doubts that the paper version shall not display such defects.

Was it a good idea to translate this into comics form? I’m honestly not sure, Maybe it’ll work for some readers; as far as I’m concerned, though, I think Grumpy Cat is definitely better suited to demotivation posters and meme images in general, and doesn’t lend itself so well to anything longer (even if it’s only a few pages long).

It was a light, somewhat funny read, but one I’ll quickly forget. I’m going to look at my Grumpy Cat GIFs instead.

Yzabel / January 9, 2016

Review: Down Station

Down Station by Simon Morden

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

A small group of commuters and tube workers witness a fiery apocalypse overtaking London. They make their escape through a service tunnel. Reaching a door they step through…and find themselves on a wild shore backed by cliffs and rolling grassland. The way back is blocked. Making their way inland they meet a man dressed in a wolf’s cloak and with wolves by his side. He speaks English and has heard of a place called London – other people have arrived here down the ages – all escaping from a London that is burning. None of them have returned. Except one – who travels between the two worlds at will. The group begin a quest to find this one survivor; the one who holds the key to their return and to the safety of London.

And as they travel this world, meeting mythical and legendary creatures,split between North and South by a mighty river and bordered by The White City and The Crystal Palace they realise they are in a world defined by all the London’s there have ever been.

Reminiscent of Michael Moorcock and Julian May this is a grand and sweeping science fantasy built on the ideas, the legends, the memories of every London there has ever been.

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

A group of survivors from different areas of the city find themselves running in the Underground tunnels at night as a mysterious, overwhelming fire rages through London. When a portal opening on a mysterious sea opens, they quickly jump through it, knowing it’s the only salvation they’re going to find—that, or a painful death. Stranded in this new world, without anything to help them save for their clothes and whatever they had with them when they ran from the fire (that is to say, very little), these seven people from various backgrounds have to learn to work together and cooperate. And it sure as hell isn’t easy, especially when they start getting to know each other more.

This is how “Down Station” begins, narrated through the eyes of two characters: Mary and Dalip. Overall, the story was a little “slow” at times, but never enough as to make me skim: these slower moments allowed the author to explore the mind and growth of the main characters. Although it’s a bit too bad that the secondary ones weren’t given so much care (Stanislav was OK, but the cousins didn’t seem to do much, for instance), the various stages of self-discovery Mary and Dalip went through were really interesting to read.

Mary: orphan, foul mouth, prone to burst of angers, got in trouble with the law, was placed on probation… Basically a young woman without many means, who tends to run her mouth faster than she thinks, caught in a vicious circle: the more others see her as trash, the more she conforms to that image people have of her. Landing in the strange world of Down puts her face to face with something she hadn’t expected: freedom. The freedom to go wherever she wants, to be whoever she wants to be. And that freedom is frightening, just as it might lead her to losing herself… or not?

Dalip: engineering student from a Sikh family, loyal and honest to the point of endangering himself, always wanting to do good even though sometimes “good” could very well turn and bite him (and others) back… A noble and honorable character, who nevertheless used to live under his family’s thumb and never seemed to have an opportunity to discover who he could really be. As cruel as Down was, that world transformed him, made him become another, stronger man, while presenting him with challenges that might very well break his honest streak and turn him into a monster. The path to his freedom is not Mary’s, not his family’s, not Stanislav’s: it is his, and only his.

There is magic and mystery in that world, and rules both fairly different and fairly similar to those of ours (those who have the one sought-after currency are the ones who manage to gain power, yet the most powerful potentials aren’t necessarily those you’d expect at first). There is lies and treachery, hiding half-truths and precious information. The allies in this story were shifty, and the antagonists cruel—but as Mary so aptly summed it up, although they had no excuses, they had reasons to do what they did. Were they valid? Who knows? Perhaps Bell’s plan could have worked. And perhaps she was just crazy, and Down would never let anyone go no matter their efforts.

I wasn’t so satisfied with the ending, unfortunately, as it left quite a few doors open (is London still here, could anyone go through a portal the other way, what happened to a certain character…) without feeling like there’s going to be a sequel. However, I could be mistaken about that—I really hope there’s going to be one, addressing those points, as they’re for me a case of “you said too much or not enough” for me. (Also, the blurb currently on Goodreads is a bit misleading, as if it was the blurb for a series rather than just one book?) No matter what, I definitely enjoyed the story and the way the main characters turned out, how they gained their freedom and what they made of it.

Conclusion: Interesting concept and character development, although I found the ending a bit abrupt.

Yzabel / January 5, 2016

Review: This Monstrous Thing

This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch’s life shattered to bits.

His brother, Oliver—dead.

His sweetheart, Mary—gone.

His chance to break free of Geneva—lost.

Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: He brings Oliver back from the dead.

But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair’s horror further damages the already troubled relationship.

Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay…

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.]

Sort of a retelling of the “Frankenstein” story, based on the idea of “what if the latter had been inspired by real-life events”. In a world where clockwork (allowing to replace missing limbs in people, among other things) is considered in some places, due to its proponents’ reputation of not being fully human, Alasdair Finch and his family have been on the run for years, ending in Geneva where they secretly practice their craft as “Shadow Boys”. Since the elder brother, Oliver, died two years ago, though, nothing has been the same. It is, obviously, no spoiler to say that Alasdair brought him back through clockwork, and now has to deal with a different Oliver, back from the dead… and no brother quite know what to do with himself or each other anymore.

The characters themselves were interesting enough, with merits and flaws, doubts and questions regarding what they had done, what they should do… Oliver: convinced he was a monster, and having to learn who he was through Alasdair, since he first had no memory of his previous life. Alasdair, torn between his loyalty towards his brother and family and his desire to study with their former mentor, Dr. Geisler. Clémence, so hardened and savvy in many ways, yet also unsure of what her place in the world was. Mary, conflicted about the choices she made and the façade she presented to the world. Even some minor characters, whose own perception of clockwork isn’t always what you’d think.

I regretted however not seeing more of their inner questioning: we get a lot from Alasdair, since he’s the first person narrator, but the others seemed to have such torment to contend with, and it was “only” seen through Ally’s eyes, therefore tinged by his own view of the world. It mirrored the original work by Shelley, but didn’t have the same impact on me. Perhaps a third person narration, with a couple of other points of view, may have worked well here, if only to also let the reader witness other happenings—the plot remained slow in terms of events/action, yet not as devoted as it could have been to fully develop the whole philosophy and conundrums behind the Shadow Boys, clockwork, people having undergone such surgery after having lost a foot or an arm, the Frankenstein society, Mary Shelley’s actions and her somewhat questionable reasons… And although the ending was left open, it was also a little flat compared to what had been at stake.

I still deem this book pleasant to read, for the atmosphere it evoked and the themes it dealt with. I only wish it would’ve delved deeper into its, all in all, fascinating ideas.

Yzabel / January 1, 2016

Review: Adulthood Is A Myth

Adulthood is a Myth: A “Sarah’s Scribbles” Collection by Sarah Andersen

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

Are you a special snowflake? Do you love networking to advance your career? Have you never wasted a fresh new day surfing the internet? Ugh. This book is not for you. Please go away.

Sarah’s Scribbles — casually drawn, perfectly on-point comics by young Brooklyn-based artist Sarah Andersen — confront head-on the horrors, anxiety, and awkwardness of modern adult life. From the agony of holding hands with a gorgeous guy to the yawning pit of hell that is the wifi gone down to the eye-watering pain of eating too-hot pizza because one cannot stand to wait for it to cool down, Sarah fearlessly documents it all.

Like the work of fellow Millennial authors Allie Brosh, Grace Helbig, and Gemma Correll, Sarah’s total frankness on extremely personal issues such as body image, self-consciousness, introversion, relationships, and bra-washing makes her comics highly relatable and consistently hilarious.

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

A very light, fluffy and enjoyable little book, and at the same time, one that also makes you think and ponder about what is supposed to define us as “adults”… versus what adulthood really means. Because in my opinion, it does have a lot of meanings, and one of those is “being old and knowing what you’re doing aren’t the same thing.”

The panels often dealt with situations that made me laugh, because they rang all so true. Sniffing books. Procrastination. Staying up late for no reason. People asking you about when you’re finally having kids. Why it’s so hard to go out early in the heart of winter. Doing things that suck because we have to. Finding ourselves in embarassing company. And so on.

And it was spot on, as far as I was concerned, and made me think after I was done laughing, because, really, even at 36+, I’m still not sure what “being an adult” is. I pay my bills and my rent on time, I perform pretty well in my job, I don’t cause harm to myself or others through engaging in dangerous behaviours. I can safely say I’m “responsible”. Yet I’ve more than once been with people who still said that I wasn’t a real adult/a real woman because I didn’t want kids. That I should “grow out of video games”. Sometimes, peer pressure will make you question your choices, and the “stories” in this book often pinpoint those very situations leading to those questions, while underlining in turn another question: “But do we HAVE to change? Should we? If we remain the way we are, and we’re happy enough like that, why should we give in and conform to a certain idea of ‘adulthood’?” Does anyone hold the truth, the exact truth, the one definition here? Is there even one?

So yeah, I found myself in many of these comic strips. Whether this makes me an “adult” or not… Frankly, at this point, I just don’t care. Still, as I said, it reminded me of quite a few encounters and conversations I had. Also, I’m positive that no matter what, I’ll never have all the answers, and I’ll keep wondering if it’s normal, if I shouldn’t know 100% what I’m supposed to be doing right now. And… it’s alright. We’re all different, after all.

The drawing style itself was very simple, and not entirely to my taste; however, it worked well for that kind of comic-strips and for the artist to exaggerate facial expressions and other positions. Now, I wasn’t looking for the next masterpiece that would eclipse Renaissance painters, so I didn’t care much, to be honest. Simplicity probably works best when it comes to humour here.

On the downside, you can likely find all this on the artist’s website and the book is a bit redundant. This said… I don’t care either!

Yzabel / December 27, 2015

Review: Marked

Marked by Sue Tingey

My rating: [rating=1]

Blurb:

With no family and very few friends, Lucky’s psychic ability has always made her an outcast. The only person she can rely on is Kayla, the ghost girl who has been with her since she was born.

But Kayla is not all that she appears.

And when Lucky is visited by a demonic assassin with a message for her friend, she finds herself dragged into the Underlands – and the political fight for the daemon king’s throne.

Lucky, trapped in the daemon world, is determined to find her way home… until she finds herself caught between the charms of the Guardian Jamie, the charismatic Daemon of Death Jinx – and the lure of finding out who she really is.

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

I almost gave up. But I don’t like not finishing a book I’m supposed to review, so I made an effort.

First reason is because I didn’t exactly get what I expected. When I got the novel, the blurb I read led me to believe the story would be focused on paranormal investigation. The actual story, though, is more of the paranormal/supernatural romance type, with very little investigating in it. Not saying this is bad per se, but I’m not a huge proponent of romance at the best of times, and this one, like many others should I say, just didn’t work.

For the record, this is the blurb I first read:

In a world filled with charlatans, Lucinda “Lucky” de Salle’s psychic ability has always made her an outcast, even as it has also made her a sought-after (if reluctant) investigator of paranormal phenomena. With no remaining family and very few friends, she has only one “person” she can rely on–Kayla, the ghost girl who has been her constant companion since she was born.

When Lucky is called in to investigate a spectral disturbance at the all-girls school she attended as a child, she isn’t surprised. She herself had had a terrifying confrontation with the troubled spirits of two girls who died in the attic room. But when Lucky goes up to the attic, she discovers that the vicious little girls are the least of the problem–a demon has been released into this world, a creature of such malevolence that even the spirits of the two girls are afraid. When the demon demands that Kayla be handed over to him, Lucky realizes that this case will be like no other she has ever experienced.

For one thing, it seems that her chatty, snarky spirit companion is not what she has always seemed to be…

Second reason is… the one that always makes me grit my teeth and feel like climbing up the curtains and scream: “Stop holding back information!” Typically goes as follows: Important Character finds him/herself in dangerous circumstances, and needs to tread on eggs; however, in order to properly tread on eggs, you obviously need background information—background information that other characters have, bur refuse to disclose for Some Reason, usually of the “you don’t want to know” or “don’t look” kind. Which is the best way of getting Important Character killed, or at least committing some Horrible Faux-Pas, but whatever, I guess we’re dealing with some Schrödinger’s Logics here.

So when half the book is filled with such inane moments, of course I’m bound to be annoyed. Lucky being a bit of a doormat in that regard, too easily allowing shifty characters to derail the conversation, didn’t help.

Third: Male Posturing. I am oh so fed up with all those hot sexy love interests immediately crapping out testosterone as soon as they end up in the same room. I can understand Lucky not wanting to be involved with guys if it’s meant to be like that all the time. Also the whole “now you bear my mark” thing, a.k.a “You’re Mine In Whatever Way I Choose, by the way I never asked your opinion before lumping this on you but it’s fine, right, I’m sure you don’t mind”. In a nutshell (I hate that expression so I’m going to use it just out of spite): doormat female character being treated like an item, and thrown under false pretenses in a world where women’s most prized value is to allow their future husbands access to positions of power (and then they can pop out kids, then get offed when they’ve outlived their usefulness).

And there you also have the plot, not making much sense, and without much happening. The last chapters became a little more interesting (although still with the whole let’s-be-sex-toys-together thing at moments when it just shouldn’t have been there); yet what led to it could probably have been avoided had Lucky been a little less dumb, and her “protectors” more forthcoming with what may be taking place behind the scenes and how to start playing the political game. Seriously, you don’t dump a person into such a situation “for your own safety”, then tell her “actually you’re in great danger here too”, then add “but I’m not going to explain to you how it works because Reasons.”

I’m afraid I’ll have to pass on the next one. Definitely not my thing.