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Yzabel / April 19, 2016

Review: Monstrous Little Voices

Monstrous Little Voices: New Tales From Shakespeare’s Fantasy World by Jonathan Barnes

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

Mischief, Magic, Love and War.

It is the Year of Our Lord 1601. The Tuscan War rages across the world, and every lord from Navarre to Illyria is embroiled in the fray. Cannon roar, pikemen clash, and witches stalk the night; even the fairy courts stand on the verge of chaos.

Five stories come together at the end of the war: that of bold Miranda and sly Puck; of wise Pomona and her prisoner Vertumnus; of gentle Lucia and the shade of Prospero; of noble Don Pedro and powerful Helena; and of Anne, a glovemaker’s wife. On these lovers and heroes the world itself may depend.

These are the stories Shakespeare never told. Five of the most exciting names in genre fiction today – Jonathan Barnes, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Emma Newman, Foz Meadows and Kate Heartfield – delve into the world the poet created to weave together a story of courage, transformation and magic.

Including an afterword by Dr. John Lavagnino, The London Shakespeare Centre, King’s College London.

Review:

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

A tale told through five different shorter stories, and by the hand of five different authors. “Monstrous Little Voices” picks some of Shakespeare’s plays (“The Tempest”, “Macbeth”, “Twelfth Night”…) and extrapolates on their themes and characters. Gender identity, the roles a gender may impose on a person, one’s decision to shake off those shackles and keep living without a care for the shape they’re in, the bravery of women acting “like men” (to the dismay of said men, poor creatures!)… More than once are those explored, while all the stories gather around a plot of impending war and intrigue, under the watchful eyes of fairies with their own agendas, and deities with shady plans as well.

There are a lot of cameos and cross-references here, and not knowing the works from which they sprang would lead to missing on quite a few good parts, so be prepared to brush up your Shakespeare before diving into this collection, and to know who we’re talking about when mentioning Miranda, Puck, Paroles or Helen—not to mention those characters who allude at yet other sources… much like Shakespeare himself found inspiration in various sources as well. And so, many, many times, the five tales entertwining here do so with their faire amount of echoes.

The first, second and third were clearly my favourites, both for their plots and for their themes. “Coral Bones” is the story of Miranda’s journey, after she left her island and realised that life among men, abiding by laws written for Man by men, was nothing to write home about. I particularly liked her take on gender, on wanting to be “human” and “oneself” above anything else, of not agreeing with those for whom gender should define one’s behaviour and ways of thinking. And this story definitely shows her as more resourceful and cunning than one would think. “The Course of True Love” was ripe with magic, metamorphoses, questioning about one’s true nature—and seeing older people at the heart of romance was extremely refreshing, showing that love can be born anywhere, anytime. As for “The Unkindest Cut”, I liked its self-fulfilling prophetic contents, and how it played on twisting words and visions; its end is bittersweet, full of dark promises… but here, too, showing another female character who’s determined to take her life between her hands (in an interesting twist, considering how blank she was at first, when all she wanted was to marry The Man).

On the other hand, I admit I didn’t care much for stories #4 and #5. “Even in the Cannon’s Mouth” felt too disjointed, a feeling made stronger as the story sometimes shifted to present tense. Finally, “On the Twelfth Night” tied the other stories in a way that somewhat made sense… but I have such a hard time with second person POV that trudging through those last pages wasn’t too pleasant (it’s even more jarring when the “you” is actually named, and isn’t “you the reader”—this just doesn’t make sense).

Conclusion: the first three stories were the root of most of my enjoyment here; I wished it had been the same with the others. 3,5 stars.

Yzabel / April 13, 2016

Review: The Star-Touched Queen

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds friendship and warmth.

But Akaran has its own secrets – thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran’s magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar’s plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk – it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.

Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.

Review:

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

A story reminiscent of several “seeking one’s beloved in another world” tales and myths, with an Indian twist and the including of reincarnation. This led to an interesting shift in balance, as both main characters sought each other, first Amar seeking, then Maya searching for Amar.

Amar is, obviously, the Mysterious Stranger of the tale: tall, dark and handsome, with love in his eyes and words but secrets that he cannot reveal before a certain event is past. In a way, his choosing Maya was akin to insta-love, which I usually don’t like; here, it fit within the reincarnation theme permeating the novel, so at least there was *that* explanation. Not the best or the most original, but eh, it worked, and it was logical in that specific setting. Also, it helps that he was a pretty decent person overall: with a dash of “unnerving mysterious love interest”, yet never falling into the dominant-jerk template so many male love interests in YA seem to be created with. Although the mystery about who he truly was may have made him look at times a bit too “controlling” (in keeping information to himself) in spite of his claims of wanting Maya to rule as his equal. There are explanations to this secrecy later, tied into the supernatural/mythological background.

Maya was a good character to follow, in that she’s born under a bad horoscope, has been shunned in many ways from birth in spite of being a princess, yet isn’t complaining all the time. She may be petty with her tutors so that she can spy on her father (and learn the ropes of true leadership), resent the harem wives, but she didn’t strike me as someone with a terribly negative, depressed view of life. She tried to remain stoic when faced with a dire choice with dire consequences, but kept looking for chances to grab a “third choice” (escape) when she could.

I admit I didn’t like her too much when she made *the* choice mid-novel, though. I felt it wasn’t exactly justified, prompted only by a few lies and one bit of conversation. It would’ve made more sense if Maya had been confronted to similar occurrences more than just a couple of times.

The prose was mostly flowing, with really vivid descriptions at times, conveying beautiful images of enchanted, preternatural lands where legendary beings dwellt as if this was the most normal thing in the world. And I think this was a strong point: the book didn’t explain much about those beings, didn’t justify their existence… but it was totally OK, because it managed to show them as part of the natural order, as unquestionable. It made sense, completely, and no explanation was actually needed.

On the other hand, in a “it’s not you, book, it’s me” fashion, I sometimes found it difficult to remain invested in the story. Perhaps it was the rhythm, or the descriptions? (I can appreciate beautiful descriptions, yet still want more action/dialogues; it’s a bit paradoxical, I know.) I don’t think it’s any fault of the novel itself, just a bad reading timing on my part.

I would also have liked seeing more of Nritti’s reasons for acting the way she did. I understand what prompted her to choose that path, however there was a bit of a discrepancy between her first appearance and the others, as well as some shadows on how exactly she followed “that path”.

A solid 3.5 stars (3 on Goodreads, 4 on other platforms, depending on the rating system)—and someone who likes descriptions more than I do may in fact rate it higher.

Yzabel / February 24, 2016

Review: It’s A Wonderful Death

It’s a Wonderful Death by Sarah J. Schmitt

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old RJ always gets what she wants. So when her soul is accidentally collected by a distracted Grim Reaper, somebody in the afterlife better figure out a way to send her back from the dead or heads will roll. But in her quest for mortality, she becomes a pawn in a power struggle between an overzealous archangel and Death Himself. The tribunal presents her with two options: she can remain in the lobby, where souls wait to be processed, until her original lifeline expires, or she can replay three moments in her life in an effort to make choices that will result in a future deemed worthy of being saved. It sounds like a no-brainer. She’ll take a walk down memory lane. How hard can changing her future be?

But with each changing moment, RJ’s life begins to unravel, until this self-proclaimed queen bee is a social pariah. She begins to wonder if walking among the living is worth it if she has to spend the next sixty years as an outcast. Too quickly, RJ finds herself back in limbo, her time on Earth once again up for debate.

RJ is a snarky, unapologetic, almost unredeemable, very real girl. Her story is funny and moving, and teens will easily connect with her plight. Prepare to meet the Grim Reaper, who’s cuter than you’d expect; Hawaiian shirt–wearing Death Himself; Saint Peter (who likes to play Cornhole); and Al, the handler for the three-headed hound that guards the gates of Hell. This cast of characters accompanies RJ through her time in the afterlife and will do their best to gently shove her in the right direction.

Review:

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

Cute in some ways, although I really couldn’t get along with the main character, which is my main gripe with this novel: I get that RJ had to start with room to change in terms of personality and actions, since otherwise there wouldn’t have been such a fuss about whether she should be allowed to go back to living… but she was seriously annoying. What she considered witty and snarky comebacks were ridiculous and whiny, and I definitely won’t fault any of the other characters for calling her a spoiled princess. She came off as a brat, which made it very difficult to root for her and to want to see her unfair circumstances changed.

And they were unfair, so at least one could understand why she felt entitled to try and fight that “oh, I accidentally killed you instead of that other person I was meant to reap… Whoops, too bad, let’s move on, welcome to the afterlife, please get in line.” It’s just that after a while, my reactions were to roll my eyes at yet another iteration of RJ blabbing and putting her foot in her mouth when probably anybody and everybody else would have understood *now* was the time to shut up. Maybe it’s just me who can’t stand such characters. Or maybe she was just, well, more annoying than she was meant to be: befitting her personality, but still not something I’d like to read about for 200 pages. It didn’t help that so many people in the afterlife tended to view her as special, as deserving to see her case appealed—I couldn’t see why so many people would side with her. Her success would set a precedent, yet I can’t believe people in general would root for a self-entitled brat without having second thoughts about it. (Granted, some characters were in it for the power struggle and for cashing in favours: this at least felt logical.)

Fortunately, after RJ goes through her “trials”, she does become a more pleasant person to follow—not really because of her actions, in fact, but because her shark was more toned down and felt more “well-placed” than “bratty”.

Another problem, that I don’t know how to describe exactly: the changes she went through seemed drastic and a bit too much on the unbelievable side for me to buy them (from self-centered bully and special snowflake to nice girl who stands up for her friends and does good deeds). However, I think this has much more to do with RJ’s trials, which I felt were too short and handled too quickly. Basically the focus was much more on the “world of the afterlife”, on secondary characters like Cerberus’ handler, on the angel presiding over the tribunal and the antagonistic relationship between him and Death, and this left little room for RJ actually reliving some important moments of her past and figuring out what she had failed to do the first time. Had those been more in the spotlight, had there been more of such moments (or had these three just been longer, with more conundrums for RJ to tackle), it would’ve made her change more convincing. As they were, they ended up an afterthought, a sort of checkpoint, rather than the turning points the blurb made me expect them to be. The desired outcome was so obvious anyway…

Daniel and Madeline were nice characters, too, with Madeline casting a fresh breeze over them all: knowing she was going to die, and nevertheless choosing to live her life on her own terms, in joy and friendship (sorry, the “I’m terminally ill so I’m entitled to be an asshole” attitude doesn’t sit well with me either).

Overall the plot was sweet, though simplistic, with only a couple of twists that I could see coming, to be honest. Like a nicely wrapped gift box whose contents you’ve already guessed. It won’t be more to me than “it’s nice”. I didn’t like the book, I didn’t dislike it, and it’ll likely end up as one of those reads I’ll forget quickly.

Yzabel / December 12, 2015

Review: Sandman Overture

Sandman Overture Deluxe Edition by Neil Gaiman

My rating: [rating=5]

Blurb:

Twenty-five years since THE SANDMAN first changed the landscape of modern comics, Neil Gaiman’s legendary series is back in a deluxe edition!

THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE heralds New York Times best-selling writer Neil Gaiman’s return to the art form that made him famous, ably abetted by artistic luminary JH Williams III (BATWOMAN, PROMETHEA), whose lush, widescreen images provide an epic scope to The Sandman’s origin story. From the birth of a galaxy to the moment that Morpheus is captured, THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE will feature cameo appearances by fan-favorite characters such as The Corinthian, Merv Pumpkinhead and, of course, the Dream King’s siblings: Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny.

Review:

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

Seldom have I regretted having only a PDF copy instead of a paper one—I can usually shake off the regret and unease easily enough. My bank account will NOT love me in weeks to come, all the more since I am now also sorely tempted to get the Sandman omnibus.

I discovered the Sandman comics when I was 18 or so. I used to get French translations from a second-hand books store whenever I had the money (same with the Death comics), and even though I never owned many of them, and ended up selling them later because I 1) had to move, 2) wanted to get them in English instead, I also never stopped wanting to go back time and again to this world.

“Overture” doesn’t disappoint. Gathering the six issues of the eponymous story, it’s a festival of different styles, whether in drawing, colouring, layout or lettering, working all together to create that peculiar yet delightful atmosphere of being in a dream, thrown into ever-changing landscapes where reason always comes with madness, or is it the other way round? Paradoxical staircases. Panels rotating until they come full-circle. Characters in full colour on one page, then switch to pastels or whites on the next, to accomodate a change in the narrative… or—again—is it the other way round?

And however, if you pay closer attention, you realise that it all makes so much sense, and isn’t merely a blend of nonsensical scenes “meant to look like a dream”. Colours, images and forms echo each other, reminding you of something from the previous chapter, or foreshadowing a chapter yet to come. It is truly fascinating. Also, my neck hurts now, because not being able to turn a book around in my hands, I turned my head downwards to look at my screen. I kid you not.

Noteworthy as well is how the book echoes other Sandman stories, in another of those going-full-circle structures I mentioned aboves. Chronologically-speaking, “Overture” comes before “Preludes & Nocturnes”, and can be read independently; but knowing what happened in the Sandman-verse in general, even roughly, will definitely help enjoy this comics even more, as the latter references quite a few characters, events and scenes (I’m positive I missed more than one, too). Remember the crazy ole lady. Remember the Dream of a Thousand Cats. Remember that final word of ‘Hope’. Ever wondered how Dream came to be so weak that he could be imprisoned, in the very first comics? Right. And so many others.

I need this book in physical form. Plain and simple.

As a side note: it also contains a few add-ons in the shape of interviews and Q & As about drawing and lettering, among other things. Those are worth reading just as well, as they cast light on the artists’ choices.

Yzabel / November 22, 2015

Review: Death Vigil (Volume 1)

Death Vigil: Volume 1 by Stjepan Šejić

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

Gifted? Join the Death Vigil in their ongoing war against the ever-growing power of the Primordial Enemy! Only catch is you have to die first. Become a corporeal immortal Death Knight and obtain reality-altering weaponry in the never-ending battle between good and evil.

Review:

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

This volume gathers issues 1 to 8, and while it’s not necessarily the most original take on the concept (the Reaper as a sort of goth girl + the scythe), I pretty much enjoyed it no matter what. Because, well, let’s be honest: I like goth chicks with scythes. Also I always have a soft spot for necromancy in general. And when it comes to toying with tropes.

I really liked the artwork and colours, although sometimes it was hard to differentiate between characters when their hair weren’t distrinctly black or white, and the author/artist went a bit heavy-handed when it came to cramming a lot of details in a panel. Granted, I read a PDF copy, which didn’t help (especially with panels on two separate pages—I had to change my display). It wasn’t such a big problem in the long run, just at times. Overall, the art grabbed me.

The scenario itself was somewhat simplistic: the Vigil (good guys) vs. the Necromancers (bad guys), complete with mysterious writings in the hands of a semi-crazy scientist/archaelogist bent on transcribing them. Nothing too original, but… it still worked. Sometimes you don’t need uber-original to be happy. There was action, and monsters, and cute monsters (Mia!), and Necromancers (some stupid, some definitely creepy), and puns (cheesy, but I’ve been known to be a much worse punster at times). Bad puns galore and characters dealing in death and horror, yet keeping a sense of humour? Count me in. Necromancers being both badass yet also highly ridiculous in how they always (always: even Sam, one of the main characters, keeps remarking about it) take their shirts off before running to battle? I am a simple being; this kind of stuff amuses me. It may be dumb, but it worked as far as I was concerned, possibly because I was in the mood for it.

Apart from the art and from smiling at the puns and all, what I also liked was the diversity. The people gravitating about Bernadette the Reaper were a family of sorts, all of different backgrounds and age, with strong bonds. A lot of female characters, too, and not the damsel-in-distress type: Marlene saves the day more than once, Grace looks frail yet is everything but, Clara actually gets back on her feet fairly quickly and embraces her power (which is fun, even though at first sight her weapon seems useless) instead of remaining “the typical clueless newbie who needs to learn all the ropes from Big, Burly Senior Male Characater”… That was refreshing.

Speaking of powers, while the scythe, knives and spade+pickaxe combination remain more “classical”, there’s also an interesting gallery here. James is a MMORPG player and his weapon is a deck of cards, which he uses as if he were playing Magic. Clara’s a feather which can do other things than just write. Chiyoko and Vlado can’t speak each other’s language, but their powers work really well together, and they have developed other means of communicating.

I’ll gladly pick the next volume. The subplot revolving around Clara, the mystery around Bernadette’s origins, Sam and his relationships with his tools (and also the hand)… Those make me want to know more.

Yzabel / October 18, 2015

Review: Homunculus and the Cat

Homunculus and the Cat by Nathan Croft

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

Just a typical kitten saves the afterlife story, disguised as a book about death.

In a world where every culture’s mythology is real, Medusa’s sisters want revenge on Poseidon, Troy is under siege again, and the Yakuza want their homunculi (mythological artificial humans) back.

Near Atlantis’ Chinatown, a kitten and her human campaign for homunculi rights. Against them are Japanese death gods, an underworld cult, and a fat Atlantean bureaucrat.

The main character dies (more than once) and a few underworlds’ way of death is threatened.

There are Also giant armored battle squids.

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.]

Good ideas in this mash-up of various mythologies and their associated creatures, however, in the end, it was a bit too choppy to my taste.

The world of Gaia was inventive, fun, full of conundrums and syllogisms, all of those making for a place brimming with diversity… and with the problems associated to it, especially acceptance. This theme, along with the one of “humanity” in its largest meaning, was developed through the homunculi: artificial human-shaped beings, crafted by alchemists, gifted with certain powers, with a beautiful appearance for some, with intelligence and feelings, yet considered as unworthy because they didn’t have a soul—or so, some people said.

The political undercurrents permeating the story (the vote, the tricks used in Atlantis to thwart it against the homunculi, the strong will of a few people like Petra to help them get rights at last) were definitely interesting. Perhaps because of all the many creatures in this novel, the hypocrisy behind their reluctance to accept the “soulless” articificial beings was even more tangible, and made for a good metaphor of injustices happening in the human world. I can say I’d really have wanted this specific plot to shine more.

Where the mashup worked much less for me was in the narrative itself. A lot of things happened, more or less tied to the aforementioned plot depending on the moments, but they happened very fast, in a chaotic way. I guess it reflected the chaotic nature of Gaia, yet it didn’t male for a coherent read, and there were several moments when I had no idea anymore what was happening, why, or how the characters had come to that particular point or conclusion. Even though it made more sense once I read a few pages back, it was annoying nonetheless.

The other problem with such fast-paced events was that they didn’t leave much room to character development, and I felt I was told, rather than shown, the relationships between Tyro and the cat, Tyro and Mina, Tyro and Herakles… (Tyro wants to save him, but since I didn’t get to see them interact much, I didn’t feel very invested in knowing about the outcome. Same about Tyro and Ankh’Si: the conclusion here was so rushed I wasn’t sure if my copy of the book missed a chapter or two.)

I really liked the world developed here, however it was so diverse that it eclipsed the characters. Since I like those to be as developed in a “humoristic” read as in a “serious” one, albeit in different ways, I suppose, it didn’t work very well for me in the end.

Yzabel / September 28, 2015

Review: The Euthanasia Protocol

The Euthanasia Protocol by Grahame Howard

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

In this vision of the future, set after the apocalyptic religious wars, the State is managed by a series of secular Life Protocols.

Drawn up by a young and idealistic civil servant called Giles, the Protocols soon become grossly misinterpreted as an end in themselves, rather than being an aid to government. Society becomes slavishly adherent to these documents, to the extent that they begin to take on pseudo-religious significance. Among the Protocols is one addressing the problem of an aging population, and this Euthanasia Protocol is implemented throughout the country as an income-generating, yet socially acceptable, method of age control.

Giles rapidly becomes disillusioned by the way in which his concept has been abused. However, when he attempts to rectify the situation, he falls foul of the system, being condemned to a life of ignominy. As an old man who is resigned to euthanasia, can he appeal the order in time?

Review:

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

A book whose review was long overdue, and since the copy I got wasn’t the fully edited, final product, there may have been some changes brought to it when it was actually published.

The society depicted in this novel, while definitely a caricature in many ways (including through some of its most outrageous characters, especially Doreese), gives food for thought, in that it deals with the issue of aging populations and the potential means to solving it. There’s no denying that euthanasia could very well become such a means, at some point in the future, and the farcical approach here manages to highlight it fairly well.

“The Euthanasia Protocol” is one of those dystopian stories where the world has gone a nonsensical road, with a government so entrenched within its ways and desires to “make things right” again after religious wars that it fell head first into the very same mistakes it was trying to avoid. The Protocol is revered like a messiah, officials make a point of convincing themselves that euthanasia for “criminals” is not capital punishment, and trials and verdicts are left in the digital hands of computers fed information through a system that just cannot ensure common sense to bear any weight. It is comical, it is a farce, and it has the potential to make people both laugh and shudder—because the execution (pun totally intended) may look ridiculous, but the contents are quite frightening. And it’s not all giggles, since quite a few characters throughout the story are killed in the name of the Protocol, to make an example, to cause other people to bend and break, or simply to fuel a wish for personal revenge.

My main criticism, and one that unfortunately mitigated my enjoyment, was the writing style itself. It may just be me, or it may be because I had an ARC and not a final copy (though in my experience, ARCs are so close to their published version that it’s approximately the same—I mean in style, not typos and the likes). I don’t know. I kept finding it too “dry”, describing the characters’ feelings and thoughts rather than letting me see them in action, so to speak. It made thoughts and dialogues rather stilted, all the more when The Boy was concerned: I’m all for stopping dumbing down teenager characters, but nobody thinks or talks like he (and others) did, even as adults. And I’m not sure it was absolutely necessary to enforce the satirical side and the novel’s messages through a narrative of the “tell, don’t show” kind.

Conclusion: 2.5 stars. Enjoyable, but I admit it would’ve worked better for me if the writing had been different.

Yzabel / September 21, 2015

Review: The Undying Legion

The Undying Legion by Clay Griffith

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

With a flood of dark magic about to engulf Victorian London, can a handful of heroes vanquish a legion of the undead? When monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane comes across the gruesome aftermath of a ritual murder in a London church, he enlists the help of magician-scribe Simon Archer and alchemist extraordinaire Kate Anstruther. Studying the macabre scene, they struggle to understand obscure clues in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics carved into the victim’s heart—as well as bizarre mystical allusions to the romantic poetry of William Blake. One thing is clear: Some very potent black magic is at work. But this human sacrifice is only the first in a series of ritualized slayings. Desperate to save lives while there is still time, Simon, Kate, and Malcolm—along with gadget geek Penny Carter and Charlotte, an adolescent werewolf—track down a necromancer who is reanimating the deceased. As the team battles an unrelenting army of undead, a powerful Egyptian mummy, and monstrous serpentine demons, the necromancer proves an elusive quarry. And when the true purpose of the ritual is revealed, the gifted allies must confront a destructive force that is positively apocalyptic.

Review:

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

I’ve had the three novels of Crown & Key for quite a while, but only got to the second one now. Better late than never, I suppose.

I admit I still can’t reconcile the writing style in this trilogy with what I read a couple of years ago (The Vampire Empire series). Granted, I received Advanced Reader Copies, so there were likely changes in the published novels, but I’m not sure either there were that many between my copy and the final result. In general, the style felt more like a first draft’s: unedited, with a lot more telling than showing, including during fight scenes.

There are, again, good ideas and concepts here. Imogen’s need to accept her fate, even though her appearance shall ensure she cannot be easily accepted. Charlotte’s desire to find a home and be the little girl she is, to desperately use her “evil” nature to help her new “family” in spite of all the risks. Malcolm’s dilemma about her: can the hunter accept the beast? Penny’s inventions and the overall steampunk mood she brings to the story—she doesn’t get that much screen time, unfortunately, but her pistol and her bullets are fun. Necromancy (I’m always so partial to necromancy). Gruesome, bloody rituals, whose aim may be evil, or may not be: does the end justify such means?

But then, there are a lot of inconsistencies, too. Fight scenes made even weirder, as two characters do OK for instance against several werewolves, and it kind of makes you wonder what the fuss is about Charlotte (she can’t be so dangerous then, can she?). The use of necromancy: it’s cool in a creepy factor way, but doesn’t really seem to be that important when it comes to the rituals themselves, which in turns makes the use of a necromancer a little pointless (any “dark magician” can go about performing ritualistic murders). The uneven pace: a really strange combination of fast-paced action and lulls. A couple of decisions that didn’t make a lot of sense once you think about them, their only actual point being to drive the plot forward.

I’m not sure of what I should make of Kate’s and Simon’s budding relationship. The banter didn’t have as much appeal as I thought it would have; at times I just wanted them to go on with the plot and stop wasting their time. And yet, we don’t learn that much about the characters, and I would have liked said plot to focus on them in less trivial ways than it did. (So Malcolm has read Blake… Great, it still doesn’t make me feel a lot for him. What about more Malcolm & Jane, so that I could get more interested in that for the last book?)

Conclusion: 1.5 to 2 stars. Some fun scenes, fun inventions on Penny’s part, Charlotte is cute in her own ways, but I can’t bring myself to really care about the main characters. I’ll still read book 3, since I have it; I can’t promise I’ll enjoy it, though.

Yzabel / August 20, 2015

Review: The Gateway of Light and Darkness

The Gateway of Light and Darkness by Heather Marie

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

The battle of good vs. evil wages on for Aiden Ortiz in this final installment of the Gateway Series: The Gateway of Light and Darkness. With the Dark Priest defeated, and the Brethren of Shadows refusing to forfeit calling upon the Darkness, the Brethren are determined more than ever to discover a way to banish the Men of Light for good. And as the Dark Priest’s curse invading Aiden’s veins continues to take on a life of its own, he finds himself in a standoff between his own kind, and the Brethren that want to recruit him for all the wrong reasons. Accompanied by fellow Gateway, Julie Martin, and his best friends Trevor and Evan, seventeen-year-old Aiden prepares himself for the battle of his life.

Protecting those he loves, and learning to put aside his differences for his father in order to learn the ways of the Light, Aiden begins to realize that the thing endangering their lives might not be the threat of the Brethren alone, but the thing taking shape inside of him —readying to unleash itself upon them all.

Review:

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

I still like the mythology/back story woven into this series, but… but… Seriously, this trend of ain’t-telling-you-nothing-itis has to stop. I don’t know what it’d take. I don’t know why this is still considered a good idea. It’s not. It’s not building plot, it’s forcing it down into holes that aren’t even the same shape.

So basically, Aiden makes the wrong choices (some crossing into Too Stupid To Live territory) mostly because all the characters around him who have information don’t share it with him. And when he stumbles and falls, they get all “I’m disappointed in you”, “I told you so”, “I knew it”, “I’m sorry I falied you”. When they know very well that he *wants* to get rid of his curse. Their “help” in that regard, though, falls so far from the mark that it’s not funny. I don’t buy the belief that someone has to battle against darkness alone, and if they fail, well, then it means they were doomed from the start, weren’t they? No. Maybe people wouldn’t fall if they had just the right help. There are times when it’s too much for one person to tackle. In this book, it’s one of those times. (I also don’t buy “we did it for your own good”, because had this failed, whoops, they’d likely have killed him, too bad, son.)

I guess it was almost painful, seeing how this character had to go through it half-blindedly when it mattered most. The training his father gave him, the support he was supposed to have, were only part of what he needed. What he actually needed, he didn’t really get. Thus his mistakes and wrong choices. It didn’t help that Aiden didn’t open up much about Koren, what he felt for her, thinking he could still “hear” her, etc… but what else to expect? His tentative attempts at getting answers always ended up in closed doors. Many people would give up and clam up for less than that.

It didn’t help that the story was a little slow going, and peppered with events where more than one person shone through their wrong choices. Things picked up after the 70-75% mark, though, and the ending was more enjoyable. I would’ve liked this story more, I think, if its pacing had been more balanced in that regard, and if we had gotten to see more some of the secondary characters (Aiden’s parents, for instance, or Seth). What felt slow could’ve been more exciting if they had been given some more limelight.

Not terrible per se, but not more than “just OK” either for me.

Yzabel / August 11, 2015

Review: The Suffering

The Suffering by Rin Chupeco

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

The darkness will find you.

Seventeen-year-old Tark knows what it is to be powerless. But Okiku changed that. A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she’s groomed Tark to destroy the wicked. But when darkness pulls them deep into Aokigahara, known as Japan’s suicide forest, Okiku’s justice becomes blurred, and Tark is the one who will pay the price…

Review:

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

Like the first novel in this series, I find this one hard to rate, as I liked quite a few things in it, while sighing at others. Probably my main issue with it was that it introduced plot lines, but didn’t really follow them. All the while, the main story *was* a grabbing read nonetheless.

This time, the whole narrative is in Tark’s voice, which probably was for the best: I liked the weird prose in the first book, but I’m still not too convinced by 1st-to-3rd person shifts in general, so I tend to prefer when a story sticks to one or the other. Bonus point here. (I’ve written this in more than one review: having one narrator in 1st person and the others in 3rd seems to be The Trend these past years… and I still don’t get why.)

Tark was also much less annoying here. Two years have gone by, he’s matured, he’s been taking things into his own hands, and while aware of his inherent darkness (since he helps Okiku hunting down paedophile killers and rapists), he also accepts it as part of how their relationship has evolved. Of course, everything isn’t perfect, they have their disagreements, and Tark’s starting to wonder where the line is to be drawn—is punishing killers enough, or does one have to start killing them before they actually start killing, as a preventive move?

The thing is, I would’ve liked to see this explored more in the story, as it was a great moral theme. It wasn’t, or not more than just for a couple of scenes. Too bad.

Instead, “The Suffering” goes in another direction. Not necessarily a bad one, just… different. It had its share of darkness and scary scenes as well, playing more on abilities Tark developed over the past two years, exorcising ghosts through dolls. Creepy dolls in America. Wedding dolls in Japan, as he and one of the miko from “The Girl From The Well” find themselves trapped in a nightmarish village where a ritual is waiting to be completed. It doesn’t help that Tark gets swallowed by this place while there are dozens of people around him, and nobody even notices. That kind of scene tends to both creep me and grab my attention (must be my old addiction for anything Silent Hill-like). And the village didn’t lack on the horror side, full of rotting houses, skeletons, old Japanese magic, tragic love stories gone wrong, and murdered girls intent on making trespassers suffer the way they did.

In that regard, this theme was an interesting echo and reflection on what Okiku herself used to be, after her death and her coming back as a vengeful spirit. In this second book, she was calmer, more composed, more attuned to Tark and to what had once made her human. On the one hand, it was good. On the other, she somewhat felt like a side character, in spite of Tark’s longing for her presence even after they had fought (also, this time the dynamics was changed, and he had to be strong as well, because the spirits they faced were of an element against which water—Okiku’s—was weakest). However, again, what could’ve been a thematic mirror wasn’t explored enough to my taste.

And that’s why I can’t bring myself to give 4 full stars her: while reading, I kept balancing between “this is great” and “I wish this had been developed more”. Add to this secondary characters that were nice to look at, but nothing more, especially Callie, who came along to Japan yet wasn’t really involved in anything except for the search & rescue party in the forest. Kendele was an addition I can’t really decide about: a good person, genuinely interested in Tark, yet also a plot device for him to realise what Okiku truly meant to him.

Overall, as a ghost story full of old rituals and beliefs, evil ghosts that all had their reasons to be like that, strange forest with a somber reputation, and traipsing along caves in search of the foul source of all that evil, “The Suffering” was a good read. Nevertheless, I think it missed the mark on a few but important elements.

3 to 3.5 stars.