Category Archives: Fantasy

Review: ‘Etiquette & Espionage’ by Gail Carriger

image

Finishing School Book the First
2013
Atom

Fourteen years old and not at all ladylike, thats Sophronia Angelina Temminnick. She’s the youngest of the Temminnick girls and a terrible bother to her mother. After an incident involving a dumb waiter and a trifle, Sophronia is packed off to finishing school.

But Madam Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality is not quite what she expects. After an eventful journey she arrives to find a werewolf waiting and no obvious way aboard.

Making several new friends and learning to be ladylike, Sophronia becomes embroiled in a plot which sees her clambering around engine rooms, confronting thieves and setting fire to her mother’s gazebo. She also learns how to curtsey properly and to dance.

Set several decades before the author’s previous series, ‘The Alexia Tarrabotti Series’ and featuring characters from that series as children, this book is an admirable addition to her body of work and suitable for YA readers. The characters are interesting, well-rounded and develop as the novel progresses. The plot is engaging and mystery elements intriguing.

I enjoyed Gail Carriger’s earlier books and would recommend this new series. Now I just need to get the next book in the series.

Bye

Rose

Review: ‘Irenicon’ by Aiden Harte

Irenicon

The Wave Trilogy Book 1

Aiden Harte

2012

Jo Fletcher Books

Sofia Scaligeri is Contessa of Rasenna, or she will be when she turns seventeen. If she lives that long. Her inheritance, the once great city of Rasenna, is divided. It is divided by jealousy, petty rivalries and old vendettas. It is also divided by the Irenicon, an unnatural river blasted through the city when the Engineers of the Concordian Empire sent the Wave to pacify the fractious city. Divided and weak, the people of Rasenna have retreated to their towers, leaving only to send raids into enemy streets.

When a young Concordian Engineer is sent to Rasenna to bridge the Irenicon the locals are suspicious, and the habitual violence blossoms into the opening stages of a civil war.  Opposing Towers circle each other, probing for weaknesses and delaying the bridges construction.

But the bridge must be built or the city will be destroyed once and for all when the Twelfth Legion arrives at the end of summer. Somehow Sofia, Giovanni the Engineer, and the Small People of Rasenna must find a way to unite the city before that happens. They are hampered by the suspicion and violence that inhabits the hearts of their people. They must have Faith in a world of Reason in order to succeed. Victory has it’s price and they will all have to pay it; Rasenna, and all of Etruria will have to change. But everyone has their secrets and not even love might be able to save them.

It took me a while to get in to this book, but once I got past the first dozen or so pages and managed to make sense of what was going on I couldn’t put it down. Sofia’s story of self discovery and personal evolution – from thug being given orders by her guardian to self-aware leader, and Rasenna’s concurrent transformation from divided, poor, violence ravaged, once-great city into a peaceful, wealthy and united community, is an interesting study in politics. There’s something of the polemic to this novel – we can only make things better if we build bridges and end violence; but ignore that if you want and enjoy the story. The characters are well written and sympathetic; their growth as characters explained sensibly, and the story line is good. A mix of historical adventure and fantasy, and an AU reworking of the Middle Ages where Rome was defeated by another Empire and Jesus died during Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents leaving the distraught Mary to pass on the message, and the water has it’s own consciousness.  This novel entertains and provokes thought. 3/5

The next part ‘The Warring States: Book 2 of the Wave trilogy’ is out this month; the library is ordering it for me. I’ll let you knoiw what I think.

Review: Ben Aaronovitch ‘Whispers Under Ground’

Review: Ben Aaronovitch ‘Whispers Under Ground’
2012
Gollancz

Ben Aaronovitch returns with his third DC Peter Grant novel. And what a return! It’s much more enjoyable than the second novel in the series, ‘Moon Over Soho’, although you really do have to read all three to pick up some of the long running story lines. The novel is narrated, as always, by DC Grant as he attempts to solve the murder of an American senator’s son, in London studying art and living with a half-fae with an inability to tell the truth when asked a direct question. Obviously there’s something a bit weird about the murder – like how on earth the deceased got where he did – so the Folly is called in to help the Murder Squad investigate. More precisely, DC Grant and PC Lesley May (unofficially officially).

It starts with a body on the underground, Baker Street appropriately enough, just before Christmas. It ends with an arrest just after Christmas. In between there is magic, sewer luge, rivers holding illegal raves, geek humour, an underground pig-powered pottery works, and a perplexed FBI agent. This is a very enjoyable book; a mix of the ever popular murder mystery, police procedural and supernatural mystery genres. It’s done exceedingly well; the story moves forward at a good pace, the characters are well rounded and realistic, and the dénouement is suitably surprising/sensible. There’s no deus ex machine here, despite the fact that two of the investigation officers are trainee wizards and one of the suspects is only slightly human.

Five out of five from me

Rose

Review: The City’s Son: Book 1 of the Skyscraper Throne

Tom Pollock

Jo Fletcher Books (Quercus)

2012

I picked this up in the library about two weeks ago and it’s taken me a while to get through it. I think it’s meant to be a YA fantasy, but I had trouble deciding who the target audience were. The main characters were certainly adolescent, but it could as easily be read by adults.

Set in contemporary London the story follows the adventures of teenage graffiti artist Beth Bradley and her best friend and poet of the streets Pen (Parva Khan) as they get drawn into the war between the Urchin Prince, Filius Viae, and Reach, the Crane King.

Switching between the viewpoints of Beth and Filius the story tells of the midnight encounter with a railwraith by Beth and her involvement with Filius, as Pen is fighting her own battles. Betraying her only friend after one particular night of artistic revenge on a bullying teacher, Pen loses Beth to the hidden London. Beth’s father goes in search of her and Pen comes along to help. Unfortunately they are ambushed by Reach’s minion ‘The Wire Mistress’ who takes Pen as her avatar.

Meanwhile Beth and Filius are trying to build an army while waiting for his Mother, the Goddess of the Streets to return and help them; an army of statues, and lamp people, and one homeless Russian. Plus a person made of rubbish.

In fighting the war many battles are won and lost, lives lost and choices made. Sometimes you have to make a deal, and pay the price in the end. But the price of victory might not be worth paying. Beth has to decide as she becomes Filia Viae to Filius’s Filius Viae.

Although it took me a while to read this, I enjoyed it and will probably read the next one. The book feels allegorical; do we allow skyscrapers and things of glass and steel to destroy the life found in old city streets, is it progress or the killing of a place to change it? Renewal or ripping away of life? These are clearly pressing matters to think on and a balance or compromise has to be found, as Beth does. We have decisions to make, will we choose right, strike the right bargains and are we willing to pay the price for our choices?

Bye, for now

Rose

Review: The Falcons of Fire and Ice by Karen Maitland

I finally finished reading this book a few days ago, and then eventually managed to get a decent internet connection, so at last I can post this review.

‘The Falcons of Fire and Ice’ interweaves the lives of a cast of Icelandic and Portuguese characters in a supernatural adventure.

Isabela must save her father from the machinations of the Inquisition, or risk losing everything. After the king’s prized gyrfalcons are discovered dead she is given a year and a day to replace them. She must travel to Iceland alone.

Cruz is a crook, but the Inquisition have a job for him, a job he can not refuse. He must prevent Isabela from acquiring the falcons. She must die or he will.

Eyedis and Valdis are twins condemned to life chained in a cave, dispensing healing and advice to the people of Iceland. Eyedis must help Isabela find her gyrfalcons, but she needs Isabela’s help in return – to defeat the spirit lurking in Valdis.

Set in a time of religious upheaval and intolerance, the live of these people are inextricably linked. They must defeat monsters out of myth, human monstrosity and save hundreds of innocent lives. But the mountains are stirring and time is running out.

 

It took me a while to get in to this book, but once the characters make it to Iceland the momentum builds and it becomes a thoroughly enjoyable adventure though early modern Europe. The glossary at the end is also very interesting, and helps to fill in any gaps in understanding that exist.

 

 

Review: ‘Blackout’ by Mira Grant (Seanan McQuire)

The third and final instalment of the ‘Newsflesh’ trilogy leads the reader further in to the conspiracy that the ‘After the End Times’ team have been chasing since Georgia’s murder.

Shaun and his team are back out on the road, seeking help, and the truth – as always. The team must complete Dr. Abbey’s tasks if they want to get what they need.
After a narrow escape or two, and meeting a zombie bear, the team regroups in Seattle. Re-united with more than just the living they find that there are more ways than one to bring back the dead. The Conspiracy reaches all the way to the White House, but with new allies they break the story open and do what they do best – get it out on the internet.

A thoroughly enjoyable tale, with a plot that keeps the reader enthralled throughout. Alternating the point of view, changing narrator, only adds to this and makes the novel more interesting. This is an excellent finale, intelligent and well written.

5/5

Review: ‘Kiss the dead’ by Laurell K Hamilton

Anita Blake returns in this, the 21st novel in the ‘Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter’ series.

A fifteen year old girl is missing, presumed kidnapped by vampires. Anita is the Marshal on the case. Working with RPIT, St.Louis police’s specialist preternatural crime branch, she must interrogate a witness/suspect and find the girl. There is little time, and when their suspect finally answers the questions they realise there is no time at all.

Going to the rescue Anita and the team find that the problem is much worse. With two officers dead and a potentially volatile group of ‘Free’ vampires holding the girl hostage violence is the most likely outcome. A conspiracy is uncovered that will cause Anita personal pain, unless it can be stopped.
The investigation continues and things take a turn for the worse when bomb making materials are discovered. Who and what are the targets?

Then a ray of hope arrives, in the form of Weiskopf, the human servant of Benjamin, the vampire nominally in charge of the ‘free’ vampires. Shocked at the news of potential explosive devises Weiskopf reveals how little control over the other vampires Benjamin truly has. Unfortunately it’s too late.

A phone call from Nicky (Anita’s bodyguard and lover) let’s them know the conspiracy has taken hostages. Going to the rescue once again, this time of people so much closer to Anita than a stranger, Anita has to prevent bloodshed and end the violence once and for all.

Through all this Anita has been questioning herself, but so have her colleagues and superiors within the police force who are questioning her loyalties and integrity. A one-time friend believes she has become a monster, her newest boyfriend has problems with her job and the women in the office are getting terribly jealous. And should she trust the new Marshal she has to work with?

Laurell K Hamilton has written another steady instalment in her Anita Blake series. I’ve read all but ‘Hit list’, the novel preceding ‘Kiss the dead’, and mostly I’ve enjoyed them. Unfortunately I’ve found the recent novels repetitive. Ms Hamilton’s formula of ‘criminal investigation/sex/ metaphysics/Anita’s messed up personal life’ has produced some good stories but now its getting boring. The plots are underdeveloped, the writing repetitive and lazy, and editing for continuity lax – I found an instance of an entire paragraph repeated two chapters apart and a characters name changes half way through a scene before changing back again at the end. On a couple of occasions I lost track of events because the writing was unclear.

Yes, on occasion the wry humour that makes the earlier books so enjoyable makes an appearance and the development of some of the newer characters are positive points, but they are outweighed by the problems of the writing and the underdeveloped plot lines.

2/5 – sorry but it just wasn’t that good.

As much as it pains me to admit it I probably won’t read any more of these books, and I’ll only re-read the first dozen. Its such a shame because its a good concept.

That’s the first of the three new books reviewed. I’ll be back in a few days with more.

Bye

Rose

Review: ‘Deadline’ by Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire)

The second book in the ‘Newsflesh Trilogy’ throws the reader straight back in to the story, several months after Georgia ‘George’ Mason’s untimely death while reporting on Senator Ryman’s campaign (Feed).

Shaun Mason, her adopted brother and the man who pulled the trigger, now takes up the tale in Georgia’s place in charge of ‘After the End Times’ and not coping at all well with his sister’s death. Life just isn’t any fun anymore. It doesn’t help that she’s the voice he hears in his head now.

One bright day an old acquaintance, Dr. Kelly Connolly, arrives at their door. As well as being officially dead she’s carrying evidence that the conspiracy that put George in her grave is alive and well – and the CDC is at the centre of it. Unfortunately her arrival signals the end of normality for the team. As chaos descends the bloggers and their new associate barely escape with their lives. Disaster follows after as they go back out on the road. Chasing the story. Searching for the truth. Seeking revenge.

But the story is chasing them. And so are the zombies.

As the extent of the conspiracy is unveiled the team get further in to danger; soon it gets worse as the virus that’s causing the dead to rise and eat their friends finds a new vector of infection.

Teaming up with the heiress to a pharmaceutical fortune with her own private army (and lots of miniature dogs), and a certified mad scientist with a viral resistant English mastiff named after her murdered ex-husband, the team continue to hunt down the truth.

A good read, with interesting character development, especially the increasingly unstable Shaun, and an engaging plot-line that keeps the reader hooked with a brilliant twist. ‘Mira Grant’ doesn’t disappoint once again.

4/5

 

 

I’m already halfway through ‘Blackout’ – review coming soon.

Review: Feed by Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire)

Zombie apocalypse’s: I do so love them.

Bloggers: News reporters, entertainers, educators. I have a soft spot for them as well.

What happens when you combine them?

Georgia and Shaun Mason, and their colleagues, that’s what.

The adopted children of the first people to lose a child to a zombie labrador, their entire lives have been dictated by, and dedicated to, the ratings.

Shaun likes to poke dead things with sticks, in the hope that its moan back, and then he can shoot it. Of the siblings he’s expected to die first, he lives with reckless abandon, goes out in to the field and returns to tell exciting tales. He’s an ‘Irwin’.

Georgette ‘Buffy’ Meissonier, their partner, friend and tech expert, likes to write poetry and romantic prose while giving the CIA a run for it money – if its electronic and can collect information she can improve it. Mostly she’s a ‘Fictional’, barely ever seen outside of the haven of their van and rarely in the field.

And finally, there’s Georgia ‘George’ Mason. All she wants is the Truth.

They run ‘After the End Times’, a blog site, that’s home to all three kinds of bloggers. They’re organised, determined and young. When they get the job of official press covering the presidential campaign of Senator Ryman, of Wisconsin, they also think they’re made. Travelling with the campaign, they give the public everything they need to know with as little bias as possible. They become among the most popular blog sites on the ‘net. And their candidate is gaining support.

And then things start to go very wrong. After a series of tragedies, sabotage and betrayal, events come to a head at the party Conference. Things will never be the same again for those who remain at ‘After the End Times’.

Well, that’s the story (or at least all I’m going to give you because I don’t want to give too much away), so what did I think?

The characterisation was well done, although Senator Ryman was a little too good, no politician is that decent. The world, a post-Zombie-apocalyse world, is carefully thought through and the society it presents is convincing. The story itself is riveting, keeping the readers interest throughout, exciting and intelligent.

Plus, there’s a sensible explanation for the living dead. Which is always a bonus.

In other words, I liked it. I’d even recommend it.

Now I’m off to read the second book in the series, Deadline.

Bye,

Rose