Jessica Strider

Pros: great characters, interesting world, quick read, action packed

Cons: lots of repetition, characters are a little too perfect

Prince Martris Drayke's is forced to flee his home country when his half brother forcibly takes the crown. On his journey north to his uncle's court, Martris discovers that his formerly minimal magical powers have expanded, allowing him to interact with spirits in ways he couldn't before. Is he the heir to his grandmother's Summoner magic? And if so, will this magic help him defeat the blood magician working with his brother?

I read this book when it first came out in 2007 and loved it unreservedly. So it was interesting, rereading it for review, to see how many ‘debut author' flaws I noticed this time around. The good guys are all a little too perfect. The bad guys have no redeeming qualities and are a bit cookie cutter. There's a lot of repetition in the writing, both with information being relayed several times, as well as sentences that reiterate what was just written. One important plot advancement was told by off the cuff exposition, rather than in a shown scene. Several common tropes show up...

But those are all nitpicky points. Apparently years of reviewing have made me quite critical, which is both good and bad.

This book is a real joy to read. The prose flows, and though the book is quite thick, the pages pass quickly. I was actually shocked at how fast I whipped through it.

I love the characters. Martris (Tris) really grows and develops as a person. I liked that we see his magic progress, but that his quick escalation of powers is explained. I liked that magic had limits and there were consequences for its overuse.

Kiara is another character I simply adored. She's got a competence without the passion to prove herself that plague so many ‘strong' female characters. She is what she is because she's worked hard, practiced, and because her kingdom expects its men and women to be able to protect it. I also liked that the narrative pointed out how Tris admired her skills without the need to test her or put her down to raise himself up.

Vahanian is a traditional rogue with a heart of gold, but he's given more back story than usual, and cries at one point in the book. This is a humanizing not generally seen with tough fighters, and I appreciated it.

The part of the world we see is a collection of small kingdoms. Some different customs are mentioned, though not many. The real point of interest with the world building is the vayash moru - vampires. They don't play a big role, but it's cool to see them in traditional fantasy. I also enjoyed the Goddess, whose different aspects were worshipped in different countries.

There's a lot of action and the characters face a number of different dangers, which kept the book feeling fresh and exciting.

It's an older title, but one well worth picking up.

Pros: several vampire species, unique setting, great characters

Cons: antagonist upsets his own plans

Atl is a Tlahuihpochtli, a vampire descended from those that served in the Aztec temple in Mexico city in ages past. Now she's the last of her clan, hiding in the city from a rival vampire drug lord's son. Domingo is a trash picker who stumbles across Atl one evening. Entranced by her beauty, he accompanies her home.

If you're looking for something different with regards to vampires - vicious, brutal, vampires - then this book is for you. In this world, humans discovered vampires were real in the 1960s, but not just Bram Stoker's style of vampires. The glossary at the end of the book goes over the different types, though only three types show up in the book.

I really liked Atl, and while I thought Domingo was naive, I couldn't help mimicking his belief that Atl was a ‘good' vampire, despite the mounting evidence against this idea. I did face a crisis of “am I supposed to be rooting for her?” half way through the novel, something I come against when there are no obvious heroes. Atl is a type of vampire I've never heard of, and found fascinating. She's strong willed and learns fast.

Another character I really liked was Ana, a detective who's faced vampires before and uses her skills to track Atl down. I loved her grit and determination to make a better life for herself and her daughter. She's the character I ended up rooting for the most.

Nick, as the antagonist, was great. He's flawed in many ways, not least is that his stupidity and desire to punish Atl upset his own side's plans. But he's a great traditional vampire - terrifying in his disregard for human life, even as he's constrained in his actions by his father's human henchman.

Mexico city was a unique setting that was a pleasure to read about. It's nice to see books branching out into new locations.

The ending gets pretty brutal, and while one character's ending left me somewhat unhappy, it was an appropriate and satisfying ending for the book as a whole.

Pros: great characters, interesting mystery, unique

Cons: a little predictable

Tila and Taema are conjoined twins who grew up in Mana's Hearth, a cult where meditation and lucid dreaming were an important part of their religious service. They escaped at 16, and were surgically separated. Ten years later, Tila arrives at Taema's apartment, accused of murder. To clear her sister, Taema must go undercover with the San Francisco Police Department and infiltrate the Ratel, the criminal organization that's creating a new drug that, when perfected, will allow them to watch and influence dreams.

The book starts with an acknowledgments section, which mentions some of the research the author did into conjoined twins and cults, in order to get the details right. The book is fascinating and the research shows in the conflicted feelings the twins have regarding their upbringing, their former beliefs, how they interact with each other and outsiders, etc. The protagonists are wonderfully complex and I loved learning more about them. I really liked Nazarin, Taema's undercover partner, as well.

The story takes a number of twists and turns as the mystery unfolds. The main story is Taema going undercover, but the narrative switches to Tila writing about how they left Mana's Hearth. I did find that as time went on a few of the twists became predictable, but I really enjoyed watching the characters reactions to the various revelations.

It did surprise me that no one considered that Taema's scar would be on the opposite side from Tila's when they were made to look alike. For the most part this wouldn't be an issue, but there is one scene where that should have come up and given her identity away. [note: I got a tweet from the author explaining that due to the amount of reconstructive surgery they needed, their scars are on the same side.]

The subject matter's pretty dark so but it's an enjoyable book, and I whipped through it in a weekend, wanting to find out what happens next. So if you're looking for a mystery with some unique elements, give this a try.

Pros: great female protagonist, fast paced, variety of challenges, illustrations

Cons: too short! (though not for the intended age group), inaccurate science

When Merryn's father doesn't return from his day's fishing in a storm, she builds a submarine and goes looking for him.

This is a middle grade book, designed for ages 8-12, though it's suitable for those outside that range as well (there are a few scary bits, but nothing 6 year olds couldn't handle, and the short chapters make for good bedtime reading). While the science isn't accurate, I was impressed that the author mentioned some of the challenges of working and using a submarine (like what to do for air).

Merryn's a highly motivated character. She doubts herself a few times, wondering if her quest is futile, but forces herself to keep searching regardless. Along the way she encounters some fantastical sea creatures and faces several types of dangers. I also appreciated that there was no physical description of her.

The story's well paced, with a variety of challenges for Merryn to overcome, some using her wits and others her mechanical know how.

There's black and white artwork throughout the book, illustrating some of the wonders Merryn encounters.

This book is a tie-in to the video game of the same name, which follows Merryn's quest. The author wanted media his daughter could appreciate that focused on attributes outside of looks. And he's succeeded as far as this book is concerned.

As an adult I found the book an entertaining, quick read. I'm sure kids are going to love this.

Pros: great characters, brilliant world-building, variety of action

Cons: lots of close shaves

Claydon Torcreek is a thief who gets roped into being the blue-trance communicator for the Longrifle Independent Contractor Company. The Company's mission is to find the fabled white dragon, living in the dangerous interior.

Lizanne Lethridge is a blood-blessed covert agent of the Exceptional Initiatives Division of the Ironship Trading Syndicate. She's sent to Morsvale to investigate the former owner of a box that held a device that might aid in Clay's company's mission.

Corrick Hilemore is the new Second Lieutenant of the IPV Viable Opportunity. Their ship is trying out a new engine that allows for faster travel, as it takes out a pirate ship.

Meanwhile, the drakes that have been bled for their magical blood for decades, have started acting in strange ways despite their reduced numbers, attacking cities, leaving their hunting grounds, and working together in ways they never have before.

There's a lot going on in this book. There's some political intrigue, spy work, sea battles, steampunk style inventing, dragons, dragon blood magic... Told from three POV characters, the book jumps around enough that you're always on your toes, wondering what will happen next.

The world-building is excellent. There's real history here. There are several countries with different ways of doing things, past rebellions, corporate greed. Different people from different lands interact in different ways (sometimes as part of the same crew, sometimes as infiltrators).

The characters all felt like real people with real hopes and goals. I enjoyed spending time with all thee POV characters, learning more about them and seeing how they react in different circumstances. Their supporting casts were all really interesting too.

This is partly explained by the end of the book, but there are a LOT of close shaves for the various groups. Enough that it started to feel really manufactured and repetitive. There was a reason for that, but it doesn't prevent some scenes from feeling a bit fake.

The economics around blood-magic was well done, though it started to drive me nuts hearing how depleted their stores of product were becoming and how expensive it was to buy, and then seeing so much wasted blood as more and more drakes get killed. The magic itself was cool, with each type of drake having a different property. I especially liked that there were limitations on the magic and that there were actual consequences for using it extensively.

At the back of the book is a list of dramatis personae, which I would have referred to a few times had I known it was there. There's a large cast, and on the ship especially I had to remind myself who was who.

This is an excellent book with a lot going for it. It you love immersive fantasy, pick this up.

Pros: great premise, interesting characters, mostly set in Hawaii, creative use of mythologies

Cons: drags a bit

Nix has lived her 16 years on the Temptation, sailing to any map - real or imagined - using her father's special navigation abilities. Slate is looking for a map that will allow them to travel back to the time just before the death of Nix's mother. But Nix is afraid that saving her mother will un-write her own life.

The characters are all somewhat conflicted in their desires. This makes them feel like real people, with their own hopes and fears, clashing with others. I loved that the characters were all from different backgrounds too. Nix is half Chines and half American, Kashmir is from a Persian map, etc.

Hawaii before the American takeover is a fascinating setting, and I was impressed at how closely the author kept to the history of the period (as relayed in the author's note). it was also wonderful learning about some Hawaiian myths.

The use of mythology was pretty clever. I loved the premise of the book and how belief is the most important factor in how the ‘magic' works.

I did find that the book dragged a bit. When they first land in Hawaii it took a while for things to get going.

This is a fun book, with a unique perspective.

Pros: interesting new aliens, excellent world-building, utopic Earth

Cons: frustrating, somewhat boring, limited plot

Having gone through the transcendental machine, Riley and Asha find themselves separated, on far flung worlds. They must use their new skills to get back to Federation space and find each other.

This is very much a middle book, working specifically to get the two protagonists from one place to another. Along the way they each meet an important figure from their past - which was the most interesting part of the book, as those scenes touched on the events of the first book and brought one of the mysteries of that book forward.

The world-building is top notch, with several new alien races introduced. Gunn's aliens are all unique, and have histories as well as cultures. Similarly, he extrapolates a future for Earth that encompasses AI protection, a future that has a lot of utopic qualities (though, naturally, not everyone is happy with the status quo).

Having said that, I personally found this book fairly boring. While the aliens Riley and Asha encounter are interesting, the first third of the book felt like it had no relevance to the rest of the story. I also found the ending anti-climactic and confusing.

There's a 2 page afterward that narrates some fascinating events that sound like they would have made for a very interesting novel, which I'm hoping play a big part in the next book.

There's enough of interest here for me to at least check out the third book, as I am curious to learn what comes next. But I'm hoping it's got more plot and less wandering than this book.

Pros: interesting characters, fascinating cultures

Cons: didn't emotionally connect with the characters, ending felt anti-climactic

Four groups of humanoids developed on different worlds. Many outcasts of those worlds found a home on Cygnus Beta. When the Sadiri homeworld becomes inhabitable, killing most of the species with it, a group of the survivors head to Cygnus Beta, where they try to find genetically compatible mates from the various settlements.

I really liked all of the characters. Delarua, as predominant narrator, is a lot of fun, and her observations of the nigh emotionless Sidari and their hints of emotional expression are wonderful. This is her story, and so her family shows up a time or two, an along with them, some person and psychological problems she faces. Dllenahkh is also great, quite unique, and I enjoyed the ‘will they, won't they' aspect of their relationship. I also liked that the supporting cast included a character who identified as gender-neutral.

Which is good, because while there is a plot, the book is really character driven.

The different cultures they encounter at the settlements were fascinating, especially the Seelie court. The author did an excellent job of making each one sound unique in terms of government, customs, etc.

While I enjoyed the subtle - very subtle - romance, I didn't feel particularly invested in the characters emotionally. So for me the ending seemed to fizzle out. The two main climactic style events didn't come with a feeling of satisfaction when they were resolved, both because of that absence of emotional connection and because they were so drawn out that any tension was gone well before the resolutions.

It was a fun, fairly quick read, with some interesting aliens, and cultures, and characters.

Pros: brilliant characters, great premise

Cons: underdeveloped, mystery's fairly easy to solve

Seventeen year old Nancy is starting at a new boarding school. But this isn't just any school, it's a school for kids who have found doorways to other worlds, kids who can't forget their experiences and adventures and who want to return to their real homes in those worlds. And one of them is willing to kill to find their doorway.

I loved the premise of this novella, that kids who went to other worlds (fairylands, underworlds, nonsense realms, etc.) would come back changed, and would want to return to those places. I also liked how their parents weren't too happy with the changes, and how society viewed their ‘odd' stories, assuming mental illness.

The characters were fantastic. What a fun bunch of misfits. You're told that a particular type of person finds these doorways, and that shows in how these youths act. They tend to be older than their years, speaking with a refreshing frankness. They're a diverse bunch with several sexualities and genders represented. Having an asexual protagonist was neat, as it's a perspective not generally used.

While interesting, the murder mystery is fairly easy to solve. And the shortness of the book meant that things wrapped up pretty quickly.

I really enjoyed this story. It was a fast read, and while I'd have loved for it to be a full length novel, the author made some great observations about humanity.

Pros: fascinating world, interesting characters, thought-provoking

Cons: open ended

It's the year 2036 and the world is run by corporations that advertise non-stop and have polluted the planet. More and more people are leaving Vancouver for the virtual reality city of Frisco, manufactured by Self. But not everyone can afford to go, like Doug, who's age is putting him out of touch in his coolhunting job. And not everyone wants to go, like Nicky, who lucked out and got a lab full of genetics equipment when her school scrapped their program. While others can't wait to get there, like Eileen's twelve year old ‘grandson', who goes without permission, leaving her frantic to find out what's happened to his body. Because Self is a very private company, a company Paul - who brings these characters together - wants to crack open.

Published in - and extrapolated from - 2002, the world-building is fascinating. While the author gets some things wrong, others are more true today than they were when the book came out. The idea of corporations bringing down governments that hinder their commercial efforts, even if those efforts are meant to protect the populace, is scarily relevant today.

The characters all have goals and complications in their lives. Through their day to day lives they comment on how things have changed, and how some things, like discrimination based on race and class distinctions, stay the same. There are some short but graphic sexual scenes, and not all the pairings are heterosexual.

Most of the book takes place in the real world, though you do get to see Frisco from time to time and more completely towards the end of the book

While I enjoyed how Doug's story ended, on the whole I found the ending a bit unsatisfying as it left things more open ended than I would have liked.

It was a quick, interesting read that raised some thought-provoking ideas.

Pros: wonderful concept, interesting world, fun characters

Cons: minor quibbles

Irene works for the Invisible Library, an edifice that stands outside of time and space, with access to numerous worlds, each with different levels of chaos and order, magic and technology. Librarians enter theses different worlds and secure unique volumes of fiction in order to advance knowledge and prevent loss. Irene and her new trainee, Kai, are sent to London in a magic-dominant alternate with a high chaos infestation to retrieve a particular Grimm manuscript.

When they arrive, they find the manuscript has been stolen, and numerous interested parties are looking for it.

While you don't learn as much about the library in this book as I'd have liked, you do get some idea of how it and the librarians work. The magic surrounding the Language is pretty cool. The idea that words have power and names show truth is an old one, and used to advantage here. I really liked the idea that there are factions in the library, and you can't always be sure you're being told everything you need to know before a mission.

The world they're sent to has an interesting mix of fae, vampires, and zeppelins. I liked how magic effects how technology works, so that different worlds are forced to evolve in different ways.

The plot is pretty straight forward, with several mysteries introduced and events propelling the characters from one event to the next. There's enough downtime to get to know Irene and Kai a bit. You don't learn much backstory for them, the book stays pretty centered on the immediacy of the action.

I did find the antagonist a bit on the talkative side in a Bond villain kind of way. I also thought Irene gets a bit too lucky with regards to leads on the case and the experimental use of the language. Minor quibbles, though.

On the whole this was a fun romp with a great mystery that will keep you guessing about who you can trust and why everyone wants this book.

Pros: absolutely brilliant, intricate world-building, fascinating interconnected politics, reads on many levels, thought-provoking, challenges ideas of gender and sexuality, later revelations force you to reevaluate earlier scenes

Cons: opening is VERY confusing, some uncomfortable scenes, frustrating at times

Too Like the Lightning is the first book of the Terra Ignota duology. The second half, Seven Surrenders, comes out in December. The two books together are a historical account of 7 days that lead to an event that changes the world, as written by Mycroft Canner, an eye witness to many of the events, as well as instrumental to a lot of vitally important background activities. The year of interest is 2454. Though the current world doesn't use gendered pronouns and raises all as equals, Mycroft uses antiquated words for this account. Religions shows up too, though the Church Wars have made all proselytising, churches, and cults illegal. Mycroft is a Servicer, available to anyone who needs a servant, though most often seen helping those in high offices, to atone for the crimes he committed 13 years prior. He starts his great work by explaining the meeting between the sensayer Carlysle and Bridger, a 13 year old boy, who for his own safety Mycroft has kept hidden. A boy who can perform miracles.

The book starts with a title page explaining the permissions obtained so that the book could be published, as well as the various content ratings the book received. While these names and institutions don't mean much to the reader at the beginning, they set the tone for a book with fully immersive world-building. I spent the first half of the book trying to piece together the meanings of positions and terms, placing characters into their political groups, and feeling quite lost by the sheer mass of things that are left unexplained. While Mycroft does give occasional asides for the reader, these are asides for readers of his present, for whom the events being relayed are past, and for whom the terms that I questioned aren't unfamiliar.

The brilliance of the book starts in the second half when the occasional philosophical asides start to be reflected in the plot through the actions of the characters. It's here that you start to understand that the book isn't a straight narrative, that you're meant to examine the different layers of text and subtext in order to piece together what's actually going on. For example, Mycroft doesn't always gender people properly. It's frustrating as a reader, but there is a reason for this, which comes up later in the book. Similarly, some scenes are disturbing to read, not because they're graphic, but because they pair eroticism and terror, something most people don't equate. This again is done for a reason that the book eventually reveals. So many later revelations make you reevaluate what you understood from the first half of the book. Sometimes more than once.

The world-building is exquisite. It's completely alien to our current political situation, and yet is something one could imagine coming to pass given the circumstances the characters face. The politics are fascinating, with level upon level of competition and alliance.

There are a lot of characters to remember, but I didn't have any trouble keeping them all straight. I do recommend, however, bookmarking the seven-ten list when it's revealed, as you'll be referring to it several times as more people are introduced and the political situations become clearer. In fact, I haven't bookmarked and highlighted so much text since university. This is the kind of book I would have loved to have a professor explain the intricacies of, and then write an essay on.

I almost put this book down on several occasions. It can be that frustrating and confusing at times. But the pay-off when you start understanding what's going on, with all its layers and complexity, is definitely worth the effort. I cannot wait for the next book to come out.

Pros: interesting characters, simple but effective plot, great climax, standalone

Cons: journal entries too narrative

Every few hundred years a child is born with immeasurable power and the ability to use it without teaching or artifice. A group of sorcerers discover that a boy in Ireland is the one they've been seeking. They head to the island to capture him and steal his power for themselves.

There are two alternating storylines: Eamon and his family who are fleeing a bandit attack on their village only to run into wolves on the road, and Teresa, a Genoese nobleman's daughter, whose brother has apprenticed with a well known alchemist and sorcerer in the city. You learn a lot about these characters as well as the dangers they face (including the various sorcerers hunting them).

I really liked the maestro's introduction in Genoa. I loved how you learn about him from various sources before finally meeting the man. It built tension and expectation. All of the villains are suitably evil, but not in an artificial way. Sairshee for example, wants to go further in her apprenticeship but is afraid of the horrific consequences of failing the spell she needs to cast in order to progress. She's portrayed as self-assured, but also recognizes that a lot of her security and power is due to the backing of the king. The sorcerers are all ruthless, and delightfully - and terrifyingly - so.

The chapters are all short, helping to create a tense book whose pages turn quickly, rushing you towards the end. The plot isn't that complex, but it's executed well, and leaves you guessing in a few places. While it's a standalone novel, it does have sequel potential.

While set in the real world, the book doesn't touch on any historic events, though the black death and hanseatic league are mentioned. Though the author doesn't go into the magic in much detail, it seems to be based on circle magic found in actual grimoires (like the Key of Solomon). And as the real world magic it's portraying, there's a mix of scientific exploration and blood.

There's a section of the book that's supposed to be the diary entries of a teenage boy, but are written in a narrative style that didn't feel authentic as journal entries. It's unfortunate, because while the segments get a lot of detail across, the immediacy of journal entries could have added a bit more punch to those sections had the author focused less on descriptive detail and more on the events that happened (so, instead of describing the rooms and whatnot, the teen's interest in the lodestone could have been played up more, and his hopes/fears for what's happening).

I really enjoyed this book. It was cool watching the different teens deal with their individual challenges, learning on the fly and doing their best to stay alive despite some pretty harsh obstacles. The antagonists get pretty brutal at times, leading to a pulse pounding climax.

Pros: great characters, interesting plot, immersive storytelling

Cons:

Maia's always wanted her own bonded dragon to raise, and this year's larger than usual clutches have given her hope that her time has come. But a northern aerie has been decimated by the Harodh and their unnatural horrors, its qits killed or taken, and the Dragonry's needs for new dragons to fight the menace trump a young woman's.

The appearance of the fabled Summer Dragon, witnessed by Maia and her brother, puts them at the center of a power struggle between their aerie, the Dragonry, and the Temple. Because Maia's getting her dragon this year, one way or another.

With the exception of two prequel scenes, the novel's told from Maia's point of view. Maia's a fascinating character. She wants a lot from life but she's willing to put the work and effort into earning things for herself. She courageous in the face of horrors, and determined to do what's right. She's a character who speaks her mind and tells truths the adults around her are too tactful, or scared, to say.

There are a fair number of twists to the plot, especially towards the end of the book. The pacing is great, with some time to get to know the principle characters followed by several tense chapters, then some down time to learn about new characters before things get tense and dangerous again.

The storytelling is descriptive enough to draw a picture of the location and action, but not so detailed so as to bog down the narrative. When the action is on, reading this is more like watching a film, incredibly immersive.

I loved learning about dragon raising and riding. Lockwood introduced the necessary terms along with their meanings so there's no sense of feeling lost, unaware of what's going on. There's also no unnecessary exposition. We learn with Maia and the qits.

The focus of the book is on a fairly small area. There's a map that shows the wider world, and a few times events happening elsewhere are recounted. People and dragons with various colourations are mentioned, along with which geographic area they come from. The religion is cribbed from aspects of Christianity, though it's not a direct representation.

There's an overwhelming sense of hope in this book - that hard work, courage, and determination can overcome all obstacles. This made it feel like the fantasy novels that came out in the 80s, rather than the grim dark currently popular. It's got a freshness to it that I enjoyed. Having said that, there are some very dark moments and I could not believe some of the revelations.

Todd Lockwood is one of the best fantasy artists ever, so it should come as no surprise that he's drawn his own cover, map, aerie schematic, and section illustrations. The interior artwork is all black and white sketches, but they are gorgeous.

The only negative I found, is that while I got to know the protagonists really well, I didn't feel much connection to the supporting cast. One character in particular I would have liked to know more about, and events with them during the climax didn't hit me with the emotional punch they might have, had that connection been deeper.

I've long admired Lockwood's artwork and now I admire his impressive writing skills too. This is a fantastic debut, one that's perfect as an introduction to the genre as well as for long time dragon lovers.

Pros: fascinating aliens, Landry's resourcefulness

Cons: cliched characters, Landry comprehends the alien with remarkable speed

When Landry agrees to help a friend he has no idea that favour will leave him stranded on the surface of Proc-One, oxygen running out, no way to communicate with the base, and no hope of a rescue. Then he realizes that one of the alien enemy Argoni is nearby, cannibalizing the wreck of his scout ship.

Cait's the optech promoted to supervisor after Landry's disappearance. Her day's not going well either. Her boss is unreasonable, work is piling up, there's an emergency repair that brings its own mystery, and she's found a picture of Landry with a mystery woman. She wants to enjoy her promotion but keeps thinking of Landry and wondering if he really is dead.

Landry's a pretty resourceful character, surviving in harsh conditions for a surprising amount of time. Though lots of new problems arise, he faces each one and finds a solution. I really enjoyed his man vs nature chapters. The book spends a lot of time trying to get away from the initial impression of him as an anti-social workaholic. He's portrayed as mostly friendless, with few redeeming qualities.

For the most part I liked Cait, though she's somewhat cliched as well, a female mechanic trying to prove her worth to her father and male co-workers. She's conflicted in that she's happy to be promoted, but she doesn't feel that abandoning Landry is fair, regardless of the circumstances for his disappearance. I did find it strange that the picture of Landry and his wife made her reconsider him as a person. I wouldn't have thought his personal relationships would matter if she believed him a jerk for being so stand offish at work. There's a chapter towards the end of the book where she makes some baseless assumptions about him that her own investigations don't support.

There were some plot points that didn't make much sense to me, starting with how Landry and Gus managed to steal a scout ship out of a military installation that requires passing through some sort of airlock. Surely there would be notification that the outer door has been opened, if there isn't anything showing that a scout ship has been activated.

While I liked the pacing of most of the book, the ending progresses too quickly to feel realistic. It's hard to believe Landry could come to comprehend anything at all from something so alien, but to do so as quickly as he does defied belief. I did enjoy learning more about the aliens and found these chapters very interesting, regardless of how contrived parts of it felt.

Having said that, the book's ending was rather cool, with sequel potential.

This is a flawed book, but one that reads quickly and has some interesting ideas.

Pros: great characters, excellent world-building, interesting plot

Cons:

Thames Tidal Power, a co-operative made up mostly of gillungs, is set to start operations when a series of minor accidents occurs. The new company's quantum-battery technology is poised to upend the energy market, and other powerful players aren't too happy about that. There's an election coming soon and the possibility of a new gem positive political party entering the race would split the United People's Party vote, giving the historically anti-gem Traditional Democratic party a better chance of winning. As political and economic turmoil increases, Zavcka Klist is released from maximum security prison to house arrest. And she's looking for the ‘daughter' she lost eight years ago.

This book picks up the story of Gabriel, Gaela, Bal, Aryel, Mikal, Callan, Rhys, etc eight years after the events of Binary. The focus this time is on Gabriel and Mikal's families. Gabriel now works on managing the socialstream commentary around Thames Tidal Power when he isn't taking university classes. Along with his parents, he's very concerned with keeping his adopted sister Eve off the streams in order to keep her safe.

Councillor Mikal Varsi, still an independent candidate, is being courted by both political parties as well as the potential third party. While the UPP and the new gem party make sense, he's unsure why the Trads would consider approaching someone very much the opposite of what they stand for.

Mikal's wife is now a Detective Superintendent, and keeping a close eye on the investigation into the accidents at the new power station.

It's cool seeing how everyone's grown, and also to see how time and change don't necessarily remove the barriers and hatreds of ignorance, fear, and bigotry.

The story's quite interesting and flowed nicely. There were a good number of unexpected twists, and while one aspect of the ending was fairly obvious, there were others that were not. I was particularly impressed with the last chapter that really rapped up the trilogy well.

While it's possible to read this book without the others, the author assumes a familiarity with the characters, so backstory is left unexplained. This makes a few of the relationships harder to grasp if you don't know them already. The ending is also somewhat dependant on knowing who Zavcka is and what she's done in the past.

This is a brilliant series, highly recommended.

Pros: wonderful world-building, great characters, some humour

Cons: some unpleasant descriptions

When the fairies vanished other hominid species moved into their home on the floating island of Eden and started mining the dust they left behind. Though the dust isn't as potent as what the fairies once used, it can cure minor ailments, and the hominids and animalia in the city below are hooked.

Henry Whelp is the son of a convicted drug runner and murderer. Though he's a good kid, a bad decision lands him at the St Remus Home for Wayward Youth, and another reason society still fears and distrusts wolves. But Henry uncovers a mystery that involves his dad, the missing fairies, and the dust that's becoming more and more potent.

It was really cool reading a fairytale story from the point of view of one of the talking/evolved animals. In the stories these are either the bad guys (like the wolf), guides to human protagonists (ravens & foxes), or creatures drafted into the magic (mice, birds). So it was an interesting perspective, as the humanoid characters mostly look down on the animalia.

As with most books that riff on fairy tales, part of the fun is figuring out what characters come from what stories. There's little mystery here if you've read the brothers Grimm, though I'll have to look up the story of the girl without hands. The characters are cleverly used, particularly Detective White, referencing their fairytale backgrounds without being limited to their origin stories.

The world is wonderful and feels real, what with its racism, drug problems, corruption, and more. Henry encounters several people from different walks of life, giving a decent overview of the lower city.

While the book isn't funny - in fact, it's quite dark - there were a few lines, particularly in the scenes with Siobhan's granny, that made me laugh out loud.

Some of the descriptions got a little... gross. There's a lot of spit and drool, disgusting smells, some blood and violence, and a torture scene. But that's a pretty minor issue.

On the whole I really enjoyed this book and found it quite unique in its treatment of the stories and characters.

Pros: variety of aliens, excellent pacing, interesting mystery

Cons: impersonal protagonist, telling rather than showing makes it hard to feel immersed in the story

Riley joins a mixed group of alien and human pilgrims chasing after hints that an alien machine has been discovered that helps entities transcend. But not everyone wants such a device found, for the galaxy is enjoying a hard won peace, a peace they believe this machine will upset.

I was told that this was a sort of Canterbury Tales told in space. While Chaucer is referenced a time or two and some of the characters do tell stories, it's not really a good comparison. Chaucer's tales are for enlightenment and entertainment. Gunn's tales are for exposition with regards to learning about character backgrounds and alien cultures.

Riley is an unreliable narrator. Though you're getting the story from his point of view, you're unclear of his motivations. You're constantly warned not to trust anyone - including him, and told that everyone is lying about everything. This makes it difficult to get to know any of the characters, or feel like you're really connecting with them or with the story.

Similarly, when the characters do start telling about their pasts - lies though their tales might be - it's through narration that feels more like info dumps than a character explaining why they've decided to make a pilgrimage. Their stories are more about how their different races evolved or how they joined the Galactic Council than about their personal presence on the voyage. I found some of the stories more interesting than others, though they were all unique.

The book's pacing is excellent. Each time I started to question things and need more information to maintain my interest, that information was provided. I was surprised at how early the Prophet was revealed - I expected it to be revealed as part of the climax - but it was a revelation that ramped up the tension for the end of the book.

There are a number of mysteries that come up at different times in the book from assassination attempts to what the transcendental machine actually is. Enough answers were provided that the ending felt satisfying.

It may not be the Canterbury Tales in space, but it does have some interesting elements to it and it was a quick, entertaining read.

Pros: great characters, excellent world-building, interesting plot

Cons: a few distracting word choices

The magician Nemastes takes advantage of the superstitious senator Saxa and casts a spell in the man's house. That spell interrupts the poetry reading of Saxa's son Gaius Varus, and turns the young man into an unwitting pawn of Nemastes's enemies. Also pulled into the spell's influence are Varus's sister, Alphena, who practices swordplay, even though it's not a womanly art; his new, young stepmother, Hedia; and his best friend Publius Corylus, who grew up on the border of the barbarian frontiers of Germania.

The four players are pulled into other worlds, worlds in which creatures of myth are real, and where a group of evil men are planning the destruction of the world.

The author begins the book with a forward explaining that while the book is based on the history of ancient Rome (called Carce in the book to help keep the distinction), it is not historical fiction. He also points out that all of the gods and mythological creatures he references are things people in the past believed in.

It was really cool reading a book that referenced a lot of old mythology as if it were real. There were some expected creatures and a lot of unexpected ones as well. And while the main setting is Carce, Egyptian, Norse, and other belief systems make appearances.

The four principle characters are well fleshed out, as are a few side characters. I really enjoyed the developing relationship between Alphena and her close in age stepmother - the mix of anger Alphena feels towards the woman as well as her grudging respect. Hedia meanwhile is a surprising woman: on her second marriage with few illusions about the world. She enjoys sex and knows how to use her looks to advantage. She's also quite intelligent with regards to the danger posed by Nemastes and honestly wants what's best for her new stepchildren. I felt kind of sorry for Varus, who wants to do great things but just doesn't have the necessary abilities. I was impressed by his actions in the climax. Corylus has a grab bag of skills that come in handy during the trials he faces. He doesn't grow as much as a character as the others, but he's a fascinating character to read about.

The plot takes a while to get going, but the characters are so interesting I didn't mind. And when it does pick up, things go quickly.

A few word choices irritated me, specifically the use of ‘knight' for a position in the Carcian army instead of the Roman title and ‘hell' referencing to the Christian version of the afterlife (which didn't exist as we think of it at the time) rather than the terms/meanings people back then would have used for the afterlife). But those are pretty minor complaints and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book

This is the first of a four book series but though there's a teaser for book 2 in the epilogue, all of the plot points are resolved and it can be read as a standalone novel.

If you like mythology and Roman fiction, give this a go.

Pros: great protagonist, fascinating world, interesting aliens, complex plot

Cons: minor plot complaints, Sam survives a LOT of dangerous situations without injury

Though months have passed since the events that took place in Shiliuyuan station, Sam Shao is still haunted by what she saw there and what she knows Sillith's virus is doing to the people of her city. She wants to expose the truth of the alien haan, what they really look like and have been doing, and so has teamed up with some other dissidents to help expose the aliens' true form. But there are a lot of new problems: Alexei is enamoured with the new Gonzo religion that worships the haan, there are hundreds of missing people, and some of her allies want to take their protests to a new, violent level.

The Burn Zone ended with several revelations that deeply affect Sam. This book starts with her dealing with the fall out of what happened, even though some time has passed.

She's a great protagonist. She's been through some horrible stuff and is quite tough because of it. That does make it difficult for her to progress in her relationships. She's kept Vamp at a distance and her relationship with Alexei is combative, despite her love for her adopted brother. She's dealing with a lot and so ignores some important clues that those around her need help and attention, which causes her problems as the action progresses.

The world is fully realized. It's easy to picture the streets of Hangfei as Sam goes from place to place. There's variety in the different neighbourhoods and a sense of history.

While you don't learn much new about the haan, they continue to be mysterious. And the new haanyong - humans who have been ‘evolved' into haan like creatures - are pretty scary.

The plot is really complex, though Sam does do a lot of running around to keep things moving. There's a ton of action, though I was surprised at how many dangerous situations she walked away from without injury. I was also surprised by how naive she was about how people would react to seeing the true face of the haan.

While I predicted one aspect of the ending, several other things surprised me and I was left... unsure how I felt about Sam's reaction to the various revelations.

It's an entertaining book that will keep you turning pages.

Pros: interesting characters, fascinating world-building

Cons: limited plot

The Wayfarer is a ship that punches tunnels through space, connecting major hubs so other ships can travel between them faster. When they're offered the chance to tunnel to a new area, they say yes, even though it means travelling over a year to the entry point in space that isn't quite friendly.

This is a space opera that focuses on the crew and the world they inhabit by way of a simplistic plot. The crew encounter a number of problems on the mission, some personal, some interpersonal, and some brought on through outside forces.

I found the crew a lot of fun. You get to know some of them and their foibles a lot more than others. Corbin, for example, is introduced as a jerk and a loner and then pretty much ignored until a crisis focused on him arises. Other characters get a lot of page time, like Kizzy, the mechanic, and Sissix, one of the alien species on board. Having said that, I never really connected with any of them, and so never felt particularly strong emotions during their crises.

Where the book really shines is the world-building. The alien races are brilliantly done, with unique languages, cultures, dietary preferences, gestures, sexualities and more. There are minor info dumps through conversation explaining some of the races' habits, but they're integrated well and feel mostly natural. You're given enough information to understand the differences between races, and how they interact, without being bogged down in details.

If you're looking for action and adventure you won't find it here. If you're looking for a fun, interspecies crew and learning about a new world this is a great book. The climax is exciting and there's a good denouement that wraps things up well.

Pros: fascinating world, fascinating characters

Cons: if you're prudish you won't like this book

Centuries in the future the human population has increased dramatically. Most humans live in 1000 story towers separated into cities with their own schools, hospitals, etc. Fed by communes outside the towers that urban dwellers will never see as they live their lives fully contained within their buildings.

This book starts with the premise that humans have moved into towers, foregoing privacy for a sexually liberal society and then shows what life is like for a handful of those inhabitants. It's a fascinating look at a certain kind of utopian society - and how unhappy many of its inhabitants are under their veneer of acceptance.

The stories vary in terms of interest, though each shows a different aspect of life. The first involves a lot of exposition as a urbmon dweller explains the tower lifestyle to a visiter from Venus, where the lifestyle is quite different. Another story shows a young woman's terror over the prospect of being forced to move to a new tower. Most of the stories are from the point of view of the higher middle class, though there are glimpses of how the lower, physical workers, and higher, government workers live.

Like many utopian/dystopian books there's a huge emphasis on population and sex in this book. There's a brief contrast in one of the stories between how the people in the towers encourage having children while those of the communes must keep their populations in check. While the free sexual mores are meant to reduce conflict, jealousies still arise, though not the way you might expect. There's a LOT of sex going on in this book. It's not graphic and is there to make several points, but consider yourself warned.

I'd expected the book to end with the departure of the Venusian visitor so I was a little surprised when a different character got a second story. The story did wrap things up well though, touching - however briefly - on the other viewpoint characters.

This is a pretty interesting book. There's no plot but the world and characters are quite interesting and will keep you turning pages. I did find one story, about a musician, a little boring, but the others were quite fascinating. I'd put it with Ira Levin's This Perfect Day in terms of dystopian worlds that might not be so bad to live in.

Pros: fascinating protagonist, thought-provoking, interesting mystery

Cons:

Millicent Roper, director and UCLA student, is in an institute for borderline personality disorder and an attempted suicide that left her with two prosthetic limbs and a lot of physical and emotional scars. When Caryl Vallo approaches her with a job offer, she's intrigued by the secrecy surrounding it. The Arcadia Project regulates travel between our world and Arcadia, and one of their nobles hasn't returned as scheduled.

I picked this book up because the protagonist has several physical and mental disabilities. I kept reading because the writing is so damn good.

I was a little afraid that I wouldn't like the protagonist, as she's introduced as bitter and sarcastic. But as the story's told from her point of view, the reader's included in her thought process - why she acts the way she acts, and therefore gets to see the disconnect between her thoughts and feelings and her actions. In other words, she's not a particularly nice person from the outside, but from the inside you really sympathize with her. Much of the division between what she feels vs what she does comes from her borderline personality disorder, but there's also an element of ‘I've been hurt before so I'll keep others away so I can't be hurt again'.

I'm not qualified to judge the accuracy of Baker's depictions of prosthetics, wheelchair use, and mental disorders, so I'd be interested in hearing from those who are. It was wonderful to see a protagonist deal with physical and mental disabilities - especially referencing the psychiatric treatments that help her deal with the borderline personality disorder.

The book is interesting because Millie works with several other damaged people, who aren't very polite towards her but are likely just as sympathetic, if you saw inside them. It's understood that they've all got issues of some sort - like Millie, but she's not always told what their issues are. On the one hand, I understood that as a privacy issue it should be left to the individual to decide if they want to tell their story. On the other hand, I suspect some of the personality clashes in the book could have been resolved if everyone understood what everyone else is going through / what their diagnoses are - so they could avoid triggering negative reactions in each other.

One of my favourite things in the book was the calling out of unintentional/unconscious insults/racism. These include things she does and things she notices others doing to her.

You're slowly introduced to what the Arcadia Project does and it's quite interesting. The world expands a little at a time with each revelation to Millie about what's really going on. And she's a very clever protagonist, seeing minor clues and putting things together in ways I didn't catch. The mystery was really interesting, with several twists I didn't see coming. The world is soundly built, with rules - quite specific ones - and lots of room to expand.

This is an excellent urban fantasy novel that doesn't follow the trends. There's no romance, no ass kicking, just damaged people trying to get by in a damaged world.

Pros: fascinating story, engaging

Cons: ending feels abrupt

This memoir is split into two parts. The first details the surprisingly fascinating life of science fiction author Harry Harrison. The second part is a series of essays that were meant to be incorporated into the main text but the author, unfortunately, passed away before that could be completed. As the essays contain some overlapping information, it was decided to keep them separate from the main text. These essays provide more in depth information into aspects of Harrison's life that were otherwise skipped over or barely touched on in the book: his friendship with John Campbell, turning Make Room! Make Room! into the film Soylent Green, how he played with some of his writing ideas to make book series out of them, etc.

I haven't read many memoirs. Most people - frankly - don't live particularly interesting lives. Interesting, I mean to say, to people other than themselves. Harry Harrison, who was born in 1925 and passed away in 2012 just days after completing this book, lived a fascinating life. He served in World War II (in the US), he lived in Mexico, England, Italy, Denmark, and Ireland. He knew a lot of the early movers and shakers of the SF world, and participated (sometimes ran) conventions around the world.

The text is pretty engaging, keeping me reading long past the parts I thought I'd find interesting (his WWII service, living overseas after the war). He keeps the book upbeat, mentioning that things were bad at certain times but not dwelling on the details. While the story is told in a linear fashion, he does jump ahead at times. So, for example, the same paragraph that introduces the woman he married - and spent 50+ years with - also explains how and when she died.

The essays provide a lot of interesting side information, though the repetition of things from the text and the lack of narrative momentum given the rest of the text made the last few harder to get through. The ending feels a bit abrupt as a result. While the main text has a nice conclusion, the essays - not meant to stand alone - don't. Having a short conclusion by someone else would have fixed this. By pure accident I read the acknowledgements after the book (I must have skipped the page by mistake), and it actually forms a nice conclusion, with some remarks by Harrison's daughter.

While this isn't a book I would have picked up on my own (I was sent a copy for review a while back), I'm glad I gave it a chance. And having enjoyed Harrison's writing style, I may need to expand my reading of his works beyond Make Room! Make Room!.

Pros: introverted protagonist, man vs himself plot, awkward situational and dry humour, minor romance elements

Cons: I wondered where Maksim got his money

The death of Lissa Nevsky's grandmother affects her life in numerous ways. She has to take up her duties as a kodun'ia, a Russian witch, and her stepsister, whom she barely knows and who knows nothing of witchcraft, shows up unexpectedly to help out. The death also affects Maksim Volkov, a member of the kin who's had his violent nature tamed with a spell. When the spell breaks he inadvertently infects a young man with his condition. Now Maksim needs Lissa's help getting his violent nature back under control. He also needs to find the newly made kin, before he kills someone with his enhanced strength and increasingly violent restlessness.

It's not common to find books that revolve around people dealing with their own problems, and their consequences - rather than outside physical foes - so I found this book rather refreshing. Similarly, it's nice to see an urban fantasy novel that doesn't rely on the female protagonist physically fighting the bad guys. And while there is fighting in the book - it's mostly mutual, as a way of holding the violence of the kin in check (and done amongst themselves, since they can handle each other's enhanced abilities).

Lissa is an introvert with minimal social skills. Her stepsister, Stella, is an extrovert who's more into feminine things. The two clash in a number of ways. I loved Lissa as a character. She has a lot of the same quirks - and therefore problems - that I have. She's awkward when a guy flirts with her. She's uncomfortable with attention. She has trouble trusting others and telling them truths she'd rather keep to herself. I found myself laughing out loud a few times, just because I sympathized so much with her situation. Other times I laughed because Stella made pointed observations that were just the right kind of dry for my sense of humour.

Maksim's got some issues, which makes him interesting, though he doesn't do much in the book beyond trying to hold his demons at bay. Gus, another kin, has an interesting past and I found her snark fun to read. Nick was a little annoying, but he's got the excuse that his body is changing without his knowledge, making him edgy and violent and kind of a jerk.

I liked that the kin are portrayed as the truth behind myths of vampires and werewolves. There's just enough Russian mythology mentioned to whet the appetite, but not enough to quench it. Similarly the magic Lissa performs is interesting to read about, but sounds kind of tedious to perform.

There's a hint of romance, but it's a minor point and not between the character's you'd expect.

I did find myself wondering how Maksim has so much money. Yes, he owns a gym and trains fighters, but he always seems to have ready cash to hand out to Gus. And while I'm sure being a soldier paid something, I'm not sure it accounts for the amount of cash he has in flashback scenes. It's possible he saves well and his poor living conditions imply that he doesn't spend much on food, housing or clothing, so maybe it's a matter of priorities and good budgeting.

Along the same lines, while Lissa works at a printing shop, it's only mentioned a few times and she seems to have no problem staying up until 3 am and/or sleeping in late a lot. Though, she is in her early 20s, which might account for her ability to go without proper sleep, I was starting to wonder if she was missing shifts.

If you're looking for an urban fantasy that does some new and interesting things, this is a quick, fun read.