mystery Archives - Page 6 of 13

Yzabel / April 21, 2016

Review: Life After Dane

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

A mother’s love is undying… and so is Dane.

After the state of Arkansas executes serial killer Dane Peters, the Rest Stop Dentist, his mother discovers that life is darker and more dangerous than she ever expected.

The driving force behind his ghostly return lies buried in his family’s dark past. As Ella desperately seeks a way to lay her son’s troubled soul to rest, she comes face to face with her own failings.

If Ella cannot learn why her son has returned and what he seeks, then the reach of his power will destroy the innocent, and not even his mother will be able to stop him.

Review:

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

Well, that was quite a twisted ride here. A sort of “making of a serial killer”, seen through the eyes of the killer’s mother, Ella, as she reminisces about the past after her son’s death, while stranger and stranger events start happening around her.

Dane Peters, a serial killer known as the Rest Stop Dentist (after his places of killing and his “collection” of teeth from his victims), is gone, sentenced to death and executed. It’s time for his mother, who followed the trial for months, to go back home, where she finds shelter in religion, the only thing she has left—and even that is less than certain, for Dane’s reputation as well as an article by journalist Sven Gödel have tainted her, made her into “the killer’s mother”, and he own church may not want her anymore. So Ella tries to go on as she can, but her enemies are many, tagging her house at night and leaving accusatory articles in her mailbox, while her friends, like Talia, are few.

Enters Dane, his presence brought back through a DVD he left in Sven’s care, a video containing a last message for the person he loved most. His mother? Well… This is when Hell on Earth breaks for Ella and Sven, haunted more and more by Dane. A real ghost? A common hallucination? A hallucination that can hurt and kill, for sure. Threatened and manipulated, the mother and the journalist have no choice but to go on a sick quest of Dane’s making. But did Dane turn evil just because it was in his nature, or did someone made him into a killer?

For me, the supernatural and horror aspects were intriguing, but what interested me even more was the abuse running rampant in Dane’s family. While I would definitely disagree with anyone affirming that being abused as a child turns people evil, the fact is, abuse in any form is very, very likely to leave children (and their future adult selves) scarred, in one way or another. This novel is perhaps more a study of abuse than a ghost/horror story: a study in how a father perpetuates on his son what was done to him, on how a scared mother may choose to turn a blind eye on said abuse, thus becoming complicit in the daily torture, on how love can get horribly warped, on crappy justifications to horrible actions…

As a result, the main characters felt unpleasant yet also sympathetic, a dichotomy that isn’t so easy to achieve. Unpleasant because of their flaws, their tendency to justify them, their voluntary blindness to ugly truths, their hypocrisy, too (Ellaconsidering herself a good Christian, while letting the abuse go on). Sympathetic, because, all in all, Ella and Dane were victims first and foremost (to use the same example, Ella found refuge in her beliefs precisely because facing the truth alone was too hard and she was too scared).

And, to be honest, the teeth motif particularly struck me: losing teeth is one of my deep fears, and in general, anyway, imagining people having their teeth ripped out of their mouths is… just frightening. It hurts terribly, it touches you directly in your face, so close to the seat of your thoughts, it disfigures you, and it’s such a horrible way to bleed to death, too…

Nice touch at the very end, too, but I’m certainly not going to spoil anything.

Yzabel / April 17, 2016

Review: Paper Girls vol. 1

Paper Girls Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 2-yearold newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this smashhit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood. Collects PAPER GIRLS #1-5.

Review:

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

Intriguing premise, but lacking in execution, as events piled upon each other at a rhythm that obfuscated them a little too much.

It all starts with four 12-year old girls delivering newspapers in the early hours of the morning, in 1988 Cleveland, and quickly moves from mundane occurrings (bullying from shady teenagers) to weird ones. While running after a group of three shrouded figures who’ve slighted them, the girls discover some strange machine in a basement; a bright flash of white light later, everybody’s gone from town, and armoured-clad soldiers on dinosaurs stalk the streets to off every “straggler” they find. And this is only the beginning of Weird…

I liked the basic idea: people disappearing, those four kids armed only with their bikes and walkie-talkies (no internet or cell phones in 1988!), taken in the cross-fire between the armoured people and the shrouded ones, trying to make sense of it all while surviving… Not to mention a certain nostalgia permeating the whole story—enought to be felt, but not too much, not the point of too much name dropping or constantly referring to 80s items (the graphic format allows to put them here without having to underline their presence like a novel may have to).

On the other hand, so many events end up piled upon each other—so many weird things, without any actual revelation— that, just like the girls stumbling from situation to situation without a clue about what to do next, the reader too can feel confused. It’s not about getting all the information immediately, because that’d be no fun; still, there’s a very fine line between “mystery” and “a ton of mystery”, and the latter here is made up of one too many of those strange occurrings. Is it horror? Sci-fi? Is it about aliens or time travel? I had the feeling that the authors wanted to add as many elements as possible to deepen the mystery, without seeing where the line was; as a result, it’s a bit overkill for a first volume.

It would also have been nice to know more about the characters, since this would make it easier to relate to what’s happening to them (Mac’s family, Erin’s nightmares…). I didn’t feel like I had enough of a grasp on these girls to properly care about how they’d cope with events here.

The art and colours are good; my copy had compressed graphics, which dampened a bit my enthusiasm, but as I got a PDF for review, obviously this isn’t in the printed version. Ad it has some fairly decent dialogue linesm too.

Just for the artwork, this is worth keeping an eye on. Nevertheless, the story itself doesn’t sem to be going anywhere, being more a collage of “this weird thing happens, then this other weird thing, then yet another weird thing.”

Yzabel / April 10, 2016

Review: A Long, Cold Winter

A Long, Cold Winter by Lindsay Smith

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

Welcome to Prague, 1970: ground zero in a Cold War of spies and sorcerers.

The streets are a deadly chessboard on which the CIA and KGB make their moves, little dreaming that a deeper game is being played between the Consortium of Ice and the Acolytes of Flame, ancient organizations that seek to harness elemental magic. When Andula, a young Czech student, is stalked by an inhuman hunter, KGB agent and Ice operative Tanya Morozova must risk all to protect her, while CIA agent Gabe Pritchard learns that some horrors, once seen, can never be forgotten.

Review:

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

Not exactly a novel, as it’s the first episode of a serials, containing chapters 1 to 3. Which makes it a bit frustrating, as in, obviously, at some point one wants to know how it goes next. Fortunately, a lot of episodes are already out at serialbox.com

It introduces the major, or at least some of the major players (there may always be new ones in later chapters, after all) of a Cold War fought behind the Iron Curtain, but also behind other front lines, ones that not necessarily follow the former… Which makes, and is hopefully going to make, interesting conundrums as far as the characters are concerned: two people may be on the USSR side as far as their mundane lives go, but one is fighting for the Ice while the other is fighting for the Fire when it comes to magic. This cannot go well, can it?

On the side of Ice, and incidentally of the KGB, Tanya and Nadia are seeking a Prague student whose affinity for magic makes her a target for the Fire. Meanwhile, Gabe, a CIA agent, is trying to do his job while struggling with a little magical problem of his own, that may or may not demand he joins Ice in the end (it’d be that or dying, I suppose). The Fire players are honing their weapons, and independent players are also introduced—not everyone wants to join one side, but can they really remain independent, or will they be terminated at some point?

This first installment was sometimes a bit rough on the edges (some parts veered on mixing points of view—though the Kindle formatting didn’t help in that regard, and it was a bit less problematic in the PDF I got). However, as far as introducing characters and setting, this was definitely intriguing, and I’m of a mind to get all the episodes once they’re out. Hopefully in a couple of weeks?

Yzabel / April 6, 2016

Review: Broken Dolls

Broken Dolls by Tyrolin Puxty

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

Ella doesn’t remember what it’s like to be human – after all, she’s lived as a doll for thirty years. She forgets what it’s like to taste, to breathe…to love.

She helps the professor create other dolls, but they don’t seem to hang around for long. His most recent creation is Lisa, a sly goth. Ella doesn’t like Lisa. How could she, when Lisa keeps trying to destroy her?

Ella likes the professor’s granddaughter though, even if she is dying. Gabby is like Ella’s personal bodyguard. It’s too bad the professor wants to turn Gabby into a doll too, depriving her of an education…depriving her of life.

With time running out and mad dolls on the rampage, Ella questions her very existence as she unearths the secrets buried in her past; secrets that will decide whether Gabby will befall the same fate…

Review:

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

Mixed feelings regarding this novel: while I found the premise intriguing and a bit creepy (dolls who used to be human beings, possibly with a psychotic streak, I mean, come on, think “Chucky”), the explanation behind it all didn’t convince me.

From the beginning, Ella’s life is clearly on the twisted side, with a sort of Pygmalion-and-Galathea streak: she’s living in the attic of a mysterious Professor, who turned her into a doll and seems to love her, but also to keep her locked inside. She cannot go out, she cannot talk to other dolls or people, and all she has—even though she seems content with it at first—is dancing, her bedroom in a chest, and a recorder that she uses to narrate adventures. So when the Professor brings in another doll, Lisa, of course our little heroine is happy… except Lisa quickly starts asking too many questions and behaving strangely, because *she* remembers what it is to be human, and being a doll doesn’t sit with her. At all. No wonder she’s going a bit cray cray here, I think anyone would.

And as Lisa’s “madness” grows, Ella starts questioning more and more things, too, especially when Gabby, the Professor’s granddaughter, comes to spend a few days in the house: Gabby is dying from an incurable illness… and wouldn’t she make a pretty doll, too?

Well, as I said, I liked the story in the beginning; however, when the science part actually was revealed, it just didn’t work. The Professor’s goals were idealistic and positive, yet kind of naïve and unbelievable—I don’t think the achievements he was striving for could be attained just like that. (Although it would be nice if they could.) This was too wishy-washy to my liking. Suspension of disbelief kind of fell and crashed to the floor.

There were a few plot holes, too, that I was hoping would be covered, and… weren’t. What about the epidemics, for instance? A 95% mortality rate, and specifically targetted at O blood type people: that’s quite a lot of potential victims (about 35-40% of the US population is in this group?). It was on the news on TV in the novel, sure, but like an after thought, and it was difficult to believe that people weren’t more in a panic about it.

Also, the whole “she’s a goth so it explains why she’s psychotic (and why she used to cut herself)” was a) uncalled for, b) a stupid cliché. It may have been intended as a joke, but it didn’t feel like it. (Yes, I am totally biased in that regard. There’s so much more to the goth subculture than those images that, in fact, are exactly the ones that hurt, and make people bully those who embrace said subculture. Do not start me on that.)

Conclusion: good ideas in this story, and even though I found it more “OK” than “I really like it”, I may check out other works by this author later. Too bad the second half didn’t follow so much with the whole “creepy dolls” vibe from the first half, as I would’ve liked that more…

Yzabel / February 25, 2016

Review: Try Not To Breathe

Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

Some secrets never die. They’re just locked away.

Alex Dale is lost. Destructive habits have cost her a marriage and a journalism career. All she has left is her routine: a morning run until her body aches, then a few hours of forgettable work before the past grabs hold and drags her down. Every day is treading water, every night is drowning. Until Alex discovers Amy Stevenson. Amy Stevenson, who was just another girl from a nearby town until the day she was found unconscious after a merciless assault. Amy Stevenson, who has been in a coma for fifteen years, forgotten by the world. Amy Stevenson, who, unbeknownst to her doctors, remains locked inside her body, conscious but paralyzed, reliving the past.

Soon Alex’s routine includes visiting hours at the hospital, then interviews with the original suspects in the attack. But what starts as a reporter’s story becomes a personal obsession. How do you solve a crime when the only witness lived but cannot tell the tale? Unable to tear herself away from her attempt to uncover the unspeakable truth, Alex realizes she’s not just chasing a story—she’s seeking salvation.

Review:

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

An OK read, though I wouldn’t go further than that. I could guess easily enough who the culprit was (there are plenty of hints if you pay attention), and while chasing those was fun, in retrospect, there weren’t many really “suspenseful” moments—everything was well-packed by the end.

Told through the point of view of three characters mostly, the story deals with the mystery surrounding the coma in which Amy Stevenson has spent the past 15 years of her life, after having been assaulted and left for dead. She’s still here, in her head, her mind still active, but very sluggishly, as if one year was perhaps only one day for her, and she’s first convinced she’s just sick, or hungover. Her only visitors are Jacob, who cannot let go, and Alex, a journalist struggling with alcoholism and the health problems that will follow (ironically enough, Alex used to be a successful health columnist). As Alex gets intrigued by Amy’s fate, feeling close to her both geographically and in age, she starts digging into past events, trying to figure out if there’s still a way to bring justice to the victim here, or if all trails have now gone forever cold.

I’d say the premises are definitely interesting, but the way the story unfolded was a bit… boring. Partly because of the style, that regularly was more about telling than showing (especially in the beginning), partly because, as previously mentioned, I thought there wasn’t enough tension, not enough at stake—I didn’t feel the sense of urgency and danger I like to find in mystery and triller novels, that foreboding, impending certainty that “something” is going to happen to the main character before the end. I also think I expected something different when it came to Amy’s involvment: different ways of communicating, maybe, instead of Alex sitting next to her bed and talking? Or something closer to Amy slowly waking up, or desperately trying to let the world know what she knew, and failing due to her body not responding?

The characters in general weren’t as fleshed out nor as interesting as I had hoped; in fact, they were more often annoying than anything else. Alex’s drinking problem, how she screwed up her career and marriage, weren’t such a “dark” background as a somewhat idiotic one (that is, her reactions, her way of going about a lot of things didn’t make me think she was a clever person). Jacob’s wobbly relationship with Fiona felt mainly like something that could’ve been dealt with in five minutes if the characters had been remotely willing to communicate—that was a no-brainer for me, I don’t even see why Jacob had to lie at first. (And let’s be honest, while Fiona’s reactions can be viewed as understandable, considering that she had had a bad experience in the past, the way she immediately jumped to conclusions and put on the drama queen act weren’t exactly encouraging for Jacob to start spilling the beans, making her appear like a harpy, and making me wonder if such a partner would be worth the trouble. But then, I guess I’m just not one to deal with high-maintenance people anyway.)

Conclusion: Interesting theme, but that would have worked better with more tension, and perhaps a different involvment of the comatose character. 2.5 stars.

Yzabel / February 11, 2016

Review: Havelock (full novel)

Havelock by Jane D. Everly

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

Eliana Havelock is a female with no past, whose determination to bring down a Karachi arms dealer catches the attention of the British Secret Intelligence Service.

MI-6 is currently fractured due to political upheaval with many of its covert programs dissolved or disbanded. When Eliana presents the opportunity to divert an international arms disaster, the head of MI-6 partners her with one of it’s best and brightest, the enigmatic, Connor Blackwell.

But in a world of secrets and hidden agendas, who can Eliana trust?

And what, or who, is Eliana really after?

NOTE: This title includes all four serialized installments of Havelock.

Review:

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

I started reading this novel as a serial last year, and now that the full novel is available, well, here’s the full review.

The style is a little surprising, in that it mixes parts from Eliana’s point of view (1st person, present tense), and parts seen through other characters (3rd person, past tense). I’m not sure what the intent was—more and more novels do that, so I’m actually never really sure—but it didn’t bother me the way it did in other stories. It lent a certain immediacy to Eliana’s scenes, and since they were of the action-packed kind, it fitted. I liked her humorous way of describing situations, too (that scene with the psychatrist? Totally something *I* would have one of my RPG characters do), and how she played her assets while totally embracing who she was. With an agenda of her own, she nevertheless lends her skills to MI6 in a loyal way.

There’s a lot of mystery surrounding the characters in the beginning. Nothing’s revealed about Eliana, but she clearly demonstrates resourcefulness and abilities to fight and get out of dire straits. More is to be learnt later, cast in the shadow of her origins, and if you read between the lines, those origins are easy to translate into another name, another myth.

Other characters are also close to tropes clearly reminiscent of typical spy narratives, yet a lot of things here work in a reversed way. The dashing spy/action type is a woman. The big boss is also a woman (and got there through years of service in which she played an active role, even getting severaly wounded, not because she was a paper-pusher). The potential mark-to-be-seduced is a guy. The villain is… villainish, yet his ruthlessness and his plan make him enjoyable. We have plants, betrayals, red tape bearing down on the good guys, and if you like spy novels, this book provides a lot of nods to the genre, while playing the tropes close to our 21st century world and problematics (terrorism rather than cold war, etc.).

The story’s plot looked promising, and overall it remained enjoyable. The chase goes on for quite a few chapters, with some action scenes described in an enjoyable way. The villain and his sidekick are one step ahead, while the “heroes” are also skilled enough to try and keep up no matter what.

I was a bit less satisfied with the latest chapters, mostly because some events fseemed to unfold a bit too fast: I wouldn’t have minded a few more scenes, a few more occasions to see our heroes in action. I rooted for the “good guys”, I wanted to see them win, but I also felt like the mastermind’s plan would have deserved more attention—that Eliana would have met a couple more reversals, sort of, as the enemy had a definitely strong scheme, and I didn’t want to see them beaten too quickly either. Still, I enjoyed the story as a whole, so it’s a 3.5 to 4 stars for me.

Conclusion: A bit stereotypical, but of the kind that was fairly entertaining.

Yzabel / January 19, 2016

Review: Art in the Blood

Art in the Blood: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Bonnie MacBird

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

London. A snowy December, 1888. Sherlock Holmes, 34, is languishing and back on cocaine after a disastrous Ripper investigation. Watson can neither comfort nor rouse his friend – until a strangely encoded letter arrives from Paris.

Mlle La Victoire, a beautiful French cabaret star writes that her illegitimate son by an English lord has disappeared, and she has been attacked in the streets of Montmartre.

Racing to Paris with Watson at his side, Holmes discovers the missing child is only the tip of the iceberg of a much larger problem. The most valuable statue since the Winged Victory has been violently stolen in Marseilles, and several children from a silk mill in Lancashire have been found murdered. The clues in all three cases point to a single, untouchable man.

Will Holmes recover in time to find the missing boy and stop a rising tide of murders? To do so he must stay one step ahead of a dangerous French rival and the threatening interference of his own brother, Mycroft.

This latest adventure, in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, sends the iconic duo from London to Paris and the icy wilds of Lancashire in a case which tests Watson’s friendship and the fragility and gifts of Sherlock Holmes’ own artistic nature to the limits.

Review:

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

Decent but nothing to write home about. While I found myself excited at first, because it was reminiscent of actual Sherlock Holmes adventures, I also ended up losing touch fairly easily, and not being really interested in what was happening. Perhaps because of the hints at a potential attraction toward the French artist (I don’t know… for me, Irene Adler still remains the only woman for Sherlock). Or because the mystery itself seemed to drag, and to lack the usual “punch” I expect in a Holmes & Watson adventure.

I thought Sherlock overlooked quite a few things, and made a few too many mistakes here, mistakes that didn’t ring “true” to his character. Granted, I haven’t read any of the original stories in a few years; however, I don’t remember him as endangering himself so because he miscalculated an enemy’s move, for instance. He felt and acted as less acute than his usual self here, and all in all, he wasn’t the Holmes I’m used to: making him more approachable didn’t work here, and seeing his judgment sometimes impaired by tepid emotions was… strange. He was too remote from Doyle’s Sherlock, yet didn’t bring anything original or particularly interesting to the character.

(On the other hand, Watson wasn’t introduced, nor acted, as the bumbling idiot he too often is in too many stories, which is always good in my opinion!)

The mystery itself was so-so. Not particularly interesting, a bit all over the place (France, London, art, potential love interests, kids disappearing, shifty French detective, Vidocq, a suspicious gaoler, silk trade…), beating around the bush, Mycroft’s way of getting involved and making things easier for the characters—resulting in not much investigating on their part where there should’ve been… I suppose the themes it raised, like children treated as slaves or worse, should’ve been treated more seriously, only some of this was just thrown in, especially at the end, and its impact thus lowered.

The writing itself: not terrific either. Not emulating a “Victorian” style of writing, not close to Doyle’s, too modern in parts… It didn’t do much for me. Same with the “art” part, and the way it could’ve ran parallel with investigation methods: it didn’t deliver.

1.5/2 stars. I can’t say I hated it, but I just didn’t care.

Yzabel / December 19, 2015

Review: The Pyramids of London

The Pyramids of London by Andrea K. Höst

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

In a world where lightning sustained the Roman Empire, and Egypt’s vampiric god-kings spread their influence through medicine and good weather, tiny Prytennia’s fortunes are rising with the ships that have made her undisputed ruler of the air.

But the peace of recent decades is under threat. Rome’s automaton-driven wealth is waning along with the New Republic’s supply of power crystals, while Sweden uses fear of Rome to add to her Protectorates. And Prytennia is under attack from the wind itself. Relentless daily blasts destroy crops, buildings, and lives, and neither the weather vampires nor Prytennia’s Trifold Goddess have been able to find a way to stop them.

With events so grand scouring the horizon, the deaths of Eiliff and Aedric Tenning raise little interest. The official verdict is accident: two careless automaton makers, killed by their own construct.

The Tenning children and Aedric’s sister, Arianne, know this cannot be true. Nothing will stop their search for what really happened.

Not even if, to follow the first clue, Aunt Arianne must sell herself to a vampire.

Review:

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

Good ideas in terms of world building, although in general, I found the novel a little confusing.

Lots of concepts introduced here, with references to our world: Prytennia is obviously Britain, the Roman Empire and Egypt speak for themselves, and so it was very easy to picture the setting, geographically speaking. There’s still royalty in “Britain”: check. Lutèce is Paris: check (shall I admit to knowing quite a few cities’ old Roman names thanks to “Asterix”?). Various deities associated to various cults, like Cernunnos or Lakshmi: check. At first, it may look like a mish-mash, but it makes a lot of sense in a context where, many centuries ago, the Gods “Answered” people’s prayers and actually descended on the world, or made themselves incarnate in other ways. The Egyptian “gods”, for instance, who gave birth to several strains of vampirism, each with its own powers (the Shu control winds, the Thoth-den use their blood to heal people, the Ma’at can tell who’s lying…). Or Sulis (who in our world used to be worshipped at Bath), who manifests herself through three women, the Suleviae. For someone who knows a little about mythology, or even knows the very basics and wants to learn more, this book gives a few tracks to follow.

However, I didn’t get the same feeling here I got from the blurb. Prytennia’s climate seems to be warm (I immediately imagined cities close to the desert, with people wearing “skirts” instead of trousers), but I didn’t feel the urgency of being “under attack from the wind itself”. The political intrigues from the Swedes, through their representative Gustav, seemed to be more of an afterthought than something that would really affect Prytennia. The “selling oneself to a vampire” part didn’t seem that bad: more a contract for a decade or so, without aging, and I guess there are so many worse ways to indenture oneself. I don’t know if this came from the plot itself (Arianne and her nieces and nephew investigating to know what happened to the dead parents) or from the narrative, the way it was woven. Maybe I was expecting something else.

I also couldn’t push myself to really care for the characters. Arianne’s calm take on basically everything dampened the predicament she was in (potentially turning into a vampire against her will—that’s not a spoiler, you know about it in the very first chapters). The romantic interests came a little out of nowhere, and I’m not sure if they were exactly important when pitched against the backdrop of “who dunnit” and “there’s a secret behind what our parents were working on”. When some characters disappeared, I wasn’t so invested, because I hadn’t gotten to know them more beforehand, and they were more sidenotes for me than people. Mostly I felt that the characters were removed from themselves, dispassionately looking at their own lives from afar, and so in turn I looked at them from afar, too.

Still, I liked the world developed here. Perhaps a bit too much was shoved in the reader’s face from the beginning (any book that needs a glossary tends to be of that kind), but some more careful reading on my part allowed me to quickly grab what it was all about. And it’s definitely a good thing that a lot of the characters are women, and they do Important Things, and it’s completely normal because women in this world get to do Important Things all the time anyway, and it’s not only the men’s turf. (The Queen is part of a goddess incarnate and gets to mingle with dragons, one of the princesses commands a very special kind of guard/spies, girls get to study engineering and can land apprenticeships in workshops, or even have workshops of their own, without society making them feel “improper”… Etc.)

I may decide to grab the second volume at some point. I don’t know yet. I’m hovering around the 2.5 stars mark here, in between some parts I found “OK” and others that made me think “this is a good idea, I like it”. (Vampires especially: they aren’t emo creatures, they become like that due to a symbiotic relationship with specific strains living in their blood, they have souls, they believe in an Egyptian-like Otherworld where they have to strengthen their ba before being able to carry on.) If the next book can get past the somewhat-confusing approach to this world, and focuses more on the characters in a way that would make me feel involved, then I’ll be interested.

Yzabel / December 16, 2015

Review: Twelve Kings in Sharakhai

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

The first book in the Song of Shattered Sands trilogy—an epic fantasy in the vein of A Thousand and One Nights.

In the city of Sharakhai, Çeda fights in the pits to scrape by a living. She, like so many in the city, pray for the downfall of the cruel, immortal Kings of Sharakhai. Then on the holy night when the powerful yet wretched creatures known as the Asirim wander the city and take tribute in order to protect the Kings, one of them tells Çeda the origin of their dark bargain. And this dangerous secret may be the very key she needs to throw off the iron grip the Kings have had over Sharakhai…

Review:

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

I’m not sure how to rate this book, so I’ll go with 3 stars for now.

It’s not a bad book, definitely not. It’s actually pretty interesting, with a setting that for once isn’t the typical “European medieval fantasy” one, and is closer to a kind of 1001 Nights world. A city in the desert, a little world of culture and trade with tribes from the outside, powerful and rife with intrigue, slum dwellers, thieves, pit fights, all under the watchful eyes of twelve immortal lords (the Kings) and their specially trained guard, the Maidens of the Blade (who are actual daughters of those kings, recruited and trained to serve their fathers, then train their sisters/cousins later). The Maidens have their own rituals, their own strifes, their special brand of loyalty to the Kings, who in turn also have *their* rituals: on the night of Beht Zha’ir, every six weeks, people close their doors and tremble in their homes, for the mysterious and dreadful asirim, servants of the Kings, walk the streets to take away those who have been “chosen”. And, of course, the chosen are never to be seen again.

In the middle of this setting, Çedamihn and her friend/heart brother, Emre, wade a world of intrigue: both as runners for Osman, and Çeda as fighter in the pits under the mask of the “White Wolf”. When Emre is attacked carrying the second half of a mysterious package, Çeda starts investigating, and soon discovers that she may have to dive at last in yet another world, of magic and legends, of gods and immortal beings: the one where her mother was killed by the Kings, the one where she is meant to avenge her, the one where she lets the adichara petals melt under her tongue to sharpen her sense, and sneaks in the desert at night to witness strange happenings in the sacred gardens full of blooms only the Kings and Maidens are allowed to harvest.

The author also plays on other points of view than Çeda’s, and also uses “flashback chapters” to bring in parts of her and Emre’s history. I know such techniques aren’t always well-liked, but as far as I was concerned, I thought them welcome. The flashbacks are inserted precisely where they matter, highlighting the main plot, and the secondary POVs were useful to grasp other sides of the world, when it wouldn’t have made sense for Çeda to live such moments.

In other words: intrigue and enchantment for me.

And yet, I don’t really know why, I spent quite some time poising between “want to keep reading” and “let’s read something else”. Maybe because this wasn’t a good period for me to read long fantasy books—in which case, by all means, don’t let this prevent you from giving a try at this first volume of the series. (For what it’s worth, at the moment, I really don’t feel like reading ASoIaF either.) Or maybe because, in some parts, the story moved a bit too slowly, with the plot being fairly obvious for the reader? (Çeda’s secret was too easy to guess for me, so by the time she discovered it herself, I had already moved on.)

Basically, the first and last chapters felt exciting. Same with others towards the middle. And then there were lulls.

However, by the end of the book, the setting is, well, ready for more, and different threads are woven. The Moonless Host. Çeda’s and Emre’s diverging paths, that may yet still bring them together in more than one way. The Kings and the Maidens, and Çeda’s involvment in their plots. The strange Meryam and her blood magic, as well as the lord travelling with her—their paths, too, aren’t as straightforward as they first appear…

This could definitely lead to something interesting, so I’m likely to keep an eye on this series to see how those plots unfurl.

Yzabel / December 10, 2015

Review: Nirvana

Nirvana by J.R. Stewart

My rating: [rating=1]

Blurb:

When the real world is emptied of all that you love, how can you keep yourself from dependence on the virtual?

Larissa Kenders lives in a world where the real and the virtual intermingle daily. After the supposed death of her soulmate, Andrew, Larissa is able to find solace by escaping to Nirvana, a virtual world where anything is possible – even visits with Andrew. Although Larissa is told that these meetings are not real, she cannot shake her suspicion that Andrew is indeed alive. When she begins an investigation of Hexagon, the very institution that she has been taught to trust, Larissa uncovers much more than she ever expected and places herself in serious danger. Her biggest challenge, however, remains determining what is real – and what is virtual.

Nirvana is the first instalment in the three-part “Nirvana” series, a fast-paced, page-turning young adult trilogy that combines elements of the romance, mystery, and science fiction genres. This first novel introduces readers to a heroine who refuses to give up on the man she loves, even if it means taking on an entire government to do so.

Review:

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

I can’t remember how I got approved. I think I received an invitation, months ago, but didn’t get to reading the book until now. And then, halfway through, I realised what I had was the first ARC, and that I needed to download it again, because the author had rewritten a lot after the first batch of reviews. Or something to that extent? Anyway, I got the second version, and I’m glad I did. I still didn’t like “Nirvana” in the end, but I can commend the effort, as there was quite some improvement compared to the first version. (On the other hand, it gets to show that when a book’s in a first draft state, or close to it, it’s really best not to publish it… Reviewers aren’t beta-readers.)

The premise was definitely interesting: future dystopia, post-apocalyptic world after a series of environmental disasters, people living under tight control from corporations (mainly Hexagon), and blowing their hard-earned money on a virtual world named Nirvana—even as little as one quarter of an hour a week, as it’s the only escape from daily drudgery in bunkers. In typical dystopian fashion, our heroine, Larissa (prefers to be called Kenders) discovers dark secrets while investigating into the death of her boyfriend Andrew. Also in typical dystopian fashion, there’s a clear cut between the elite, the rich and famous, who can afford housing in “the Bubble”, whereas the others are left to survive however they can: as Nirvana operators if they’re lucky, as slaves in the Farms if they’re not.

To be honest, it’s pretty difficult for me to review only the second version, without thinking about the first one. The second version felt, all in all, smoother: where the first one threw me in a world where Kenders patrolled the wastelands as a soldier, without much sense of direction, here she felt much more integrated in her world, being a Nirvana operator. The technology seemed more real, too, better thought and described, and the narrative more logical: moving fast, but clearly not as over the place as the first version’s was. I could tell where the story was improved, and in a way, I’m glad I got to read both versions (at least partially).

I didn’t like it, though. A shame, but, well, it happens.

– The character’s age, first. In the original story, Kenders was 24, Andrew and Serge a couple of years older… And this was good. Now Kenders is 17, the guys are 19-20, and this felt just so weird. I could believe in a 24-year-old now-soldier, ex-punk rocker/university student. But the same character aged 17, reflecting on all that stuff she had done “years ago”? Not believable, especially not when surrounded with people of the same type (so many “gifted kids” in one place, when nothing highlighted that fact = strange). Moreover, it cast a shadow on the Kenders-Andrew relationship: I always have a hard time with those “old couple-slash-soulmates forever” tropes when the characters are so young.

– The environmental disaster(s). They felt like they happened in 1-2 years, even if they were nothing new for the characters, and the world-building here was kind of lazy, too. The bees disappeared, OK, but they’re not the only way plants can reproduce. Other species play a part as well. I wasn’t sold on that one reason.

– The explanation heavy-handed “corporations are evulz” message.

– The beginning of the novel was smoother (the parts with Serge and in the Bubble made much more sense!), but the last chapters went so fast! One moment, this or that character was alive… then they were dead, and it happened in such a quick and dispassionate way that I was all “Wait, what… Oh… Am I supposed to feel sad, now?” I couldn’t get invested in their lives, their emotions, in what was at stake for them. Kenders being in a punk rock band didn’t add much to her personality, and the part with her father… didn’t lead to much either?

– Some very, very stupid decisions. Of the too-stupid-to-live kind. Literally. Why did so-and-so have to engineer such a situation where they would end up dying along with the enemy, when there were likely other solutions? Why didn’t they anticipate that the “bad guys” wouldn’t come alone / wouldn’t be fooled by the diversion? *That* kind of decisions. And Kenders wasn’t especially clever.

– Nirvana itself. Mostly it was Kenders meeting Andrew in their 2-3 favourite online places. In the end, I didn’t get the effect I was expecting (i.e. “lost in a virtual world / confusing virtual world with reality and vice versa”). Both worlds were always very clearly delimited in my opinion.

– The Red Door program. It gets lumped on us in the beginning and at the end, but there was no real central thread regarding this. I was under the impression it was here just because any dystopian world needs its oppressive, gets-rid-of-“dissenters” program.

– Info dumps. Lots of them. This didn’t change much between the first and second versions.

– The love triangle. Not even worth mentioning. Uh.

Conclusion: An improved version, but one that would still need lots of work for me to enjoy it.