The Speculative Shelf
4 out of 5 stars – see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
Michael J. Sullivan's books are fantasy comfort food — likable characters, charming dialogue, clean plots, and unexpected twists all make for something infinitely enjoyable. Avempartha is no different. The second book of the Riyria Revelations series finds Hadrian and Royce, our intrepid rogues, tasked with breaking into yet another tower. This time they contend with a mythical flying reptile (not a dragon!) and the helpless villagers of a nearby town that have drawn the ire of the beast.
Despite hitting many of the same beats as the first novel, Avempartha charts some new territory — unforeseen information about the past of Hadrian and Royce is revealed, an unknown peasant girl rises to prominence, and the Church of Nyphron misuses their authority to further their (somewhat) noble aims.
I was disappointed that Myron, the naive monk from The Crown Conspiracy, is nowhere to be found, but Esrahaddon, the 900-year-old wizard, is elevated into a supporting role, and his hidden maneuvering and prevarication makes him a compelling foil for Hadrian and Royce. The presence of princess Arista and peasant girl Thrace brings more visibility to the female characters of the world, but they are mostly used as the pawns of others and don't have much of their own agency.
Sullivan has built a familiar, yet unique world that has deep mythical roots. Knowing that the lore is being fleshed out in his prequel series The Legends of the First Empire ensures that I don't gloss over any passing mentions of the history of the world. I am more than happy to continue the Riyria journey in the present day and I look forward to moving on to Nyphron Rising.
★★★★ out of 5 stars – see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf
Planetfall (2015) has stuck in my mind since reading it last year. It had a haunting quality that I could not shake. After Atlas is a pseudo-sequel that takes place after the events of that novel, but exists adjacent to the original story. It certainly can function as a standalone novel, but knowing the backstory and outcome of Planetfall adds another layer to the reading experience that ended up being quite satisfying.
In the near future, technology has advanced to a point where everyone has their own virtual assistant, food comes out of printers, virtual reality is ubiquitous, and corporations (overtly) control governments. Some long for a simpler time, including those in the Circle, an anti-tech cult. When their messiah-like leader is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Carl Moreno, a detective and former Circle member, must solve the case while multiple nefarious factions attempt to stop him.
In this police procedural, let's call it CSI: VR, author Emma Newman deftly lays out the clues and mysteries in a straightforward way, but the way the puzzle and solution come together is unexpected, yet makes perfect sense. The pieces fit together snugly and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Another strength of After Atlas lies in Detective Moreno, the chief protagonist. He has so many forces acting and pulling on his psyche, from his own internal demons, to his tragic past, to his unending indentured servitude to his employer, and to unseen external forces that are conspiring against him. He is a complex hero who has a gratifying character arc.
The ending of After Atlas was final in a certain sense, but opened the possibility for a follow-up that would explore the continuation of the same story, but would switch up the genre yet again. I, for one, hope that comes to fruition. Emma Newman has emerged as an impressive voice in science fiction who writes interesting stories with depth and nuance. I look forward to seeing whatever else she cooks up in the future.
3 out of 5 stars – see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
Picture this: a halfway house, of sorts, for children who have gone through portals to other worlds and returned, broken by their inability to go back. They identify themselves by the portal world they experienced – “I'm Kade, by the way. Fairyland.” Each world falls on a spectrum between several extremities: Logic to Nonsense, Wickedness to Virtue, etc. This matter-of-fact seriousness brings gravity to what could easily have been a silly story. Author Seanan McGuire clearly put a great deal of thought into these categorizations as well as the psychological trauma a child would feel having been stuck in our world, never able to find a door to return to the only place they ever felt they belonged. As such, each character has a more compelling backstory than the last.
Overall, I was more intrigued by the overall idea here than the plot that unfolds, but Every Heart a Doorway is a tidy, well-written novella that was an enjoyable diversion.
4.25 out of 5 stars – see this review and others here.
This is a stunning debut novel. The story follows Elka, a rugged orphan girl who is on the lam due to her association with the murderous brute who raised her. Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where modernity has been reset to something mirroring the Old West, Elka must traverse a brutal landscape to bring her former caretaker to justice.
The story lives and dies with Elka–she is the narrator, setting a gripping tone that carries the novel. Her outward strength paired with her naiveté of the world makes for a compelling combination. She has little interest in the apocalyptic event that is the basis for her environment, which creates a similar disinterest from the reader and allows the characters to shine.
Author Beth Lewis structures the novel with the opening chapter revealing the ending to the story, but it is a hollow event to the reader. It is not until we reach that same moment again at the end of the novel that we understand how much meaning is imbued in a moment that once meant nothing to us. It is a choice that worked to maximum effect for me and made me appreciate the ride even more.
1.5 out of 5 stars – see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
I maintain that if a book has tree-centric cover art, designed by Marc Simonetti (see Age of Myth), I will drop everything to read it. Unfortunately, I was much less enamored by the pages beneath the beautiful cover.
Conceptually, the novel intrigued me — there is a societal hierarchy that is based on where you live within the trees that make up the world. It feels like a fairytale, following the exploits of a girl who lives amongst the trees and the gods that rule them. Execution-wise, it just did not work for me. I found the protagonist, Unar, to be frustrating, unlikable, and whiny for most of the book. My issues with the main character created a feeling of detachment from the overall proceedings and I had a hard time caring about what was happening.
The setting made me think that there would be some sense of whimsy or joy present in such a fantastical world, but instead there is a gloomy energy that I never quite connected with. What should have been a 336-page jaunt feels like a 750-page slog.
4.5 out of 5 stars – see this review and others here.
I was completely taken with Senlin Ascends right from the outset. Author Josiah Bancroft's words paint a vivid picture of a peculiar world where nothing is as it seems. It's Tim Burton meets Wes Anderson meets something completely its own.
The story follows Thomas Senlin as he climbs the massive Tower of Babel in search of his missing wife. Senlin encounters a compelling cavalcade of characters who he uses as stepping stones to reach his ultimate goal, while they use him to further their (often) nefarious aims. These symbiotic relationships teach Senlin about the true nature of the tower and about the man he must become in order to succeed.
Bancroft's prose is lyrical and conveys a sense of grand adventure that I rarely find in my reading life. I am perplexed about the lack of mainstream attention Senlin Ascends has received since its release several years ago, but I plan to keep the positive word-of-mouth going as much as I can.
Too Like the Lightning chronicles several days on Earth in the distant future, where flying cars zip through the sky, country borders have been dissolved, and war is non-existent.
This is a unique and challenging book that left me feeling quite conflicted. I will never complain about straightforward novels that spoon-feed information and exposition, but this was so far towards the opposite end of that spectrum that it made my head spin. Careful reading, backtracking, and re-reading were necessary to understand what exactly was going on. Author Ada Palmer makes you work for each revelation and concept contained in her deeply fleshed-out future world. And while the ideas presented and communicated feel prescient and thought-provoking, the work I put in far exceeded the enjoyment I took away.
There are shimmers of brilliance throughout, but it frequently crumbles under the weight of its own inaccessibility. The thoroughness required in reading actually left me so enmeshed within the world that, upon coming to the final page, I was disappointed that there was no definitive resolution. The story will continue in a sequel coming this February, but I may not be along for the ride.
4.5 out 5 stars – see this review and others here.
Robot sentience dawns and engulfs the world like a plague. In the third and final volume of the Alchemy Wars trilogy, author Ian Tregillis continues his brilliant alternate history tale with a tense build-up and an explosive payoff.
Tregillis is a master at framing and answering the “what if?” questions inherent in the genre. “What if human-created robot slaves obtained Free Will?” Multiple answers are presented, as separate factions of free “Clakkers” split off. What is so captivating about this novel is how Tregillis uses the chess pieces that he's laid out in the first two novels (The French underdogs, the Dutch overlords, the free Clakkers, the slave Clakkers, the messiah-like Clakker named Daniel, Queen Mab and the Lost Boys, etc.) to show which strange bedfellows will align to better serve the end goals of their specific group.
Tregillis has built up several strong, compelling characters over the course of his novels. Each feels wholly different from book to book, as they're all deeply impacted by their previously-endured trials and traumas. I wish we had spent more time with Daniel/Jax and his mechanical kin. It feels that the Clakker perspective is a bit underserved in this novel, but nevertheless, this is a deeply satisfying conclusion to one of my favorite series of all time.
★★★★½ out of 5
3.25 out of 5 stars – see this review and others here.
This continues to be unlike any book series I've read. N.K. Jemisin's use of language is wholly immersive and imbued with so much brutality. Her imagery pulls you in and communicates the nature of the world so effectively that it's draining to read in long sittings. Compared to the first book, this one seemed less focused and had a more meandering story to tell. It's the sort of book I appreciate more than I enjoy, as it's unrelentingly harsh and moments of levity are few and far between.
★★★¼ out of 5
4.5 out of 5 stars – see this review and others here.
This has been sitting on my TBR shelf for quite some time. I had it in my head that it was a generic time-travel novel, but I was pleasantly surprised to find David Mitchell's signature interwoven narratives, beautiful prose, and a time-travel undercurrent that slowly unraveled as the book came to a head.
David Mitchell's use of language to immerse the reader in a setting is unlike any other author I've read. He deftly moves between genres, narrators, and time periods, while always presenting something that feels simultaneously literary and engrossing. The sextet story structure would translate extremely well to a 6-episode limited television series on Netflix or HBO.
The plot moves forward at such a slow pace, but then the conclusion in the penultimate chapter ends up feeling rushed and gratuitous. Fortunately, Mitchell brings the novel to an end in a quiet, satisfying way that is both hopeful and bittersweet.
★★★★½ out of 5
Other David Mitchell ratings:
Cloud Atlas (2004) – 5 stars
The Bone Clocks (2014) – 4.5 stars
Black Swan Green (2006) – 4 stars
Ghostwritten (1999) – 3 stars
Slade House (2015) – 2 stars
4.25 out of 5 stars – See this review and others here.
Michael J. Sullivan writes some really delightful fantasy stories. Having now finished two of his novels (see my review of Age of Myth) I have a better sense of his overall writing style–charming characters, witty dialogue, swift-moving plots, adventure, humor, wizards, political intrigue, etc. I'll take that combination any day of the week.
Something else I noted in my prior reading of Sullivan was his ability to construct interesting side characters. Myron, the wide-eyed monk, is another instant classic. Similarly, Royce and Hadrian, the novel's protagonists, are a very charismatic duo. Their absence from any scene immediately makes it less compelling.
There is certainly a sense of a “long game” being set up in The Crown Conspiracy that will span the six novels of the series, and I'll certainly be following things through to the end to see how it all unfolds (assuming the books maintain this level of quality).
2.5 out of 5 stars – See this review and others here.
The main conceit of this novel revolves around the notion of the “anti-hero.” Prince Jorg, the leading man, is a horrible person. He lies, cheats, steals, rapes, murders, pillages, plunders, etc. Despite these minor shortcomings, I held out hope that he would overcome his psychopathology and seek redemption for his wrongdoings. To a fault, I'm firmly tied to the conventional tropes of the genre, which did not set me up well to embrace this novel.
Author Mark Lawrence effectively communicates Jorg's all-consuming rage and thirst for revenge that stems from the murder of his mother and brother. Everything is a bit too easy for him, though. He's seemingly invincible to ghouls, monsters, and the strongest of men. Despite his desperate and improvised plans, he's met with very little resistance when executing said plans. As you learn more about Jorg's past, you realize that this may be by design, but it lowers the stakes of what is occurring. Additionally, Lawrence's plotting feels haphazard and cobbled together. Jorg flits from place to place, driven by his random whims and impulses–with not enough time spent in any one location for major plot beats to hit as hard as they should. Overall, I struggled to invest in the characters and the plot, but, surprisingly, I'm hesitant to give up on Jorg and his potential for redemption just yet...even Darth Vader turned his back on the dark side, right?
4.5 out of 5 stars at Spike's Shelf Space
There is something about the flow of Robert Bennett Jackson's writing that makes it so enjoyable to read. He writes compelling dialogue and creates vivid worlds that are a joy to delve into. While expertly weaving plot elements, Jackson simultaneously gives each character a clear agency that gives purpose to their actions and goals.
In most ways, City of Blades is an excellent sequel. It's not just a retread of the first book. It builds and expands on themes we saw before, changes the setting, spotlights different characters, dials down the melodrama, and turns up the mystery. It did not really feel like the middle book of a trilogy, however. Each book is largely self-contained, with few hints towards a larger, trilogy-spanning story at play. In a sense, each book has been a character-study of strong female heroines who do battle against separate world-dooming forces. It's a structure that works and I am very much looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy coming next year.
★★★★½ out of 5
4.5 out of 5 stars – see this review and others here.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Mashup: The Martian + Dark Matter + Back to the Future
It was truly a delight to read a novel with such a perfect blend of wit, adventure, and poignancy. Mastai writes with a smart, self-assured edge that makes his wonderfully absurd plot feel plausible and all the complexities of time travel seem straightforward. I fully expect (and hope) that All Our Wrong Todays will be a hit when it is released next year and I look forward to the movie adaptation that is already in the works.
2 out of 5 stars – See full review and others here.
Tamas is a powder mage, a rare being who gains supernatural powers by consuming and manipulating gunpowder. After overthrowing the king, Tamas must unite with his estranged son, Taniel (also a powder mage), and Adamat, an embattled investigator, to quell the chaos and impending war that his uprising has created.
This one had been on my radar for awhile and it never quite piqued my interest enough for me to pick it up. I'm glad I gave it a shot, but on the whole, I was disappointed.
The three primary characters (all male) are mostly uninteresting and undifferentiated. The secondary characters are a real strength with oddball characters Ka-Poel, the mute, and Mihali, the chef with a god-complex, turning up to contribute to the story in unexpected ways. The tertiary characters were abundant, thin, and hard to care about-especially when a few of them turned out to major players in end-game story and I was left wishing I knew them better.
McClellan moves his narrative forward fluidly with no time wasted on flashbacks or long interludes. Everything exists to serve the final confrontations and provide set-ups for future novels. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like the story built in any significant way and I ultimately wanted deeper engagement in the novel than I was able to find.
4.5 out of 5 – see this review and others here.
Summary: Bulikov once housed six divinities who enacted miracles upon the city and who were revered by the Continentals, the local populace. The Saypuri, the enslaved and oppressed minority group, were able to topple the gods and shift the balance of power in Bulikov. Now, hundreds of years later, certain Continentals seek to restore things to the way they once were through any means necessary.
Reminiscent of: Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere; the setting of Elantris, the history and class struggle of the Mistborn novels, the industrial elements of The Alloy of Law, politics and plot elements of The Traitor Baru Cormorant.
Review: I strongly considered giving up on this novel at several points in the early going. I was thrown off by the mix of modern and ancient elements and also put off by the lack of nuance in the discussion of one character's forbidden sexuality. Thankfully, I pushed on after reading numerous glowing reviews that promised big payoffs for all the loose threads presented in the beginning chapters.
Many of the reviews I had read complained about the heavy emphasis on history in this novel, but every motivation of each group of characters was rooted in the rich history of Bulikov. Without it, you're left with no context for the conflicts that occur amongst the warring factions. There was enough action blended with the politics and history to be engaging to me as a reader.
Overall, I really enjoyed Bennett's writing style. It was not flowery and there was nary an “SAT word” to be found, but everything was smoothly written and flowed very nicely. The story was intricately plotted, featured likable characters, and had an ending that felt complete and satisfying. I look forward to picking up the sequel, City of Blades, in the near future.
2.5 out of 5 stars – see this review and others here.
Summary: A mysterious being named ‘X' grapples with his own existence and the questions behind what it means to be human.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review: I had heard that this one was weird, frustrating, and confounding. It certainly checked all three boxes.
The most intriguing and also most beguiling part of this novella is something not mentioned in any plot synopsis that I've seen. A case of dissociated personality and identity is at the forefront of the conflict within The Warren. When I came upon the abrupt ending, I felt in need of 20 or 30 more pages of content to reach some sort of resolution that I never ended up finding. I reread the final chapter four times trying to uncover some still undiscovered deeper meaning. Perhaps they were for the reader to ponder, but The Warren presents existential questions that are not answered by the author nor within the narrative. I never reached any profound conclusions from them myself and I likely won't think on them on further.
It was written in an accessible, yet mystifying way that kept me engaged but never really allowed me a firm grasp of what was happening. This is simultaneously the crux and the downfall of The Warren.
★★★ out of 5 stars. See this and other book reviews at spikegelato.com/2016/08/19/review-the-girl-with-all-the-gifts/
Summary: In zombie-overrun England, Melanie, a child with a unique mutation of a zombie-like virus, is locked away in a cell on an army research base. Scientists believe that her mutation can unlock a cure for the disease running rampant across the world, but their research methods are severe and time is short.
Review: Melanie provides a very compelling lens through which to view this story. She sees almost nothing of the world, but latches onto every small detail she can from what her teachers or supervisors say. This leads her to discover her otherness and eventually come to grips with it. It's refreshing to hear the thoughts from the “zombie perspective” rather than the usual survivor story.
My interest in the story started to sag considerably once Melanie and the other characters left the mysterious military base and hit the road. Melanie's perspective was neglected in a significant way in favor of other less intriguing points of view. The story really thrived as you discovered the world through Melanie's eyes, so it's exciting to hear that author M.R. Carey has announced a prequel novel that will hopefully delve deeper into Melanie's past.
★★★ out of 5 – See this review and others at: spikegelato.com/2016/08/03/review-the-rook/
Summary: Myfanwy Thomas wakes up with her memory wiped clean. The only hints into her secret agent past life are letters written by herself...to herself. These letters help her rediscover her identity, while also assisting her in solving the mystery of a saboteur in her midst.
Review: Daniel O'Malley presents a witty voice and engaging book structure in The Rook. All characterization of Myfanwy Thomas, the protagonist and narrator, is told through letters interspersed throughout the narrative. This serves as a real-time glossary for both the reader and the amnesiac main character. It provides amusing and detailed backstory without the traditional interwoven exposition. It is within these letters that O'Malley's storytelling really shines–filling in details splendidly. In a strange way, I ended up losing my investment in what was happening in the main narrative because the letters were more compelling.
My biggest criticism of this novel was the length. It would've benefited greatly from being about 150 pages shorter. This sort of book deserves to be consumed quickly, and the length made quick consumption prohibitive. The recently released sequel, Stiletto, is 100 pages longer than this one, so that presents a challenging barrier to entry. I hate to judge a book based on it's length (I'm always happy to do it based on it's cover), but it factored into my level of enjoyment so it's certainly hard to ignore.
★★★★½ out of 5 – See this review and others at: spikegelato.com/2016/08/02/review-dark-matter/
Summary: A college physics professor is abducted, injected with a mysterious substance, and then wakes up in an alternate version of his life. The book chronicles his harrowing attempts to return to his original timeline.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Minor spoilers below...
Review: This is a taut thriller that reads very quickly. Short staccato sentences bring an urgency to the narrative and kept me hooked as a reader. It reads like a movie, which is why it's not surprising that author Blake Crouch has already signed a lucrative movie deal with Sony for the rights to the film version. I can picture Bradley Cooper or Matt Damon occupying the role of Jason Dessen, stopping at nothing to return to his wife and son. Much like a movie, it feels like you owe it to the material to finish it in two hours or at least one sitting.
It is certainly a unique piece of fiction that oftentimes reminded me of other films that possessed shared elements: the quantum physics of Interstellar, the mind bending worlds of Inception, the twisty reveals of The Prestige, the emotional heft and plot beats of About Time, It's A Wonderful Life, and even Adam Sandler's Click.
My only reservation in giving this a full blown 5-star review was the ending. It made sense and concluded in a way that it needed to, but it also felt predictable and a bit hollow. I was hoping for one final twist or revelation that never came. Other than that, this was a gripping, edge-of-your-seat, popcorn movie thriller that easily positions itself as one of my favorite books of 2016.
★★★ out of 5 stars at spikegelato.com/2016/07/20/review-the-fireman/
Summary: A deadly plague dubbed “dragonscale” is infecting people across the globe. Sufferers see black and gold wisps on their skin before they eventually spontaneously combust. The Fireman follows pregnant nurse Harper Grayson as she copes with caring for the afflicted and then attempting to survive through her own case of “dragonscale” as the world burns around her.
Review: I had never read any of Joe Hill's previous works, as his novels are generally categorized in the horror genre. The Fireman seemed like a good entry point, as it skews more towards post-apocalyptic science fiction than terrifying horror novel.
The Fireman hooked me right from the start. The plot progresses with quite a bit of forward momentum from the outset, but as I hit the middle point of this hefty tome (clocks in at 768 pages) I felt the “can't put it down” feeling dissipate. The length does allow Harper to have a satisfying character arc, though. The action and pace pick back up towards the end and the conclusion is in some ways predictable, but revealed in way that still surprised me.
While the science fiction elements of this book are written in a believable way, there were a few plot elements that ventured into the fantasy genre and didn't seem to fit the world that Hill had created. My other main gripe with this novel were the hyperbolic character attributes:
Harper, the protagonist, never seemed particularly encumbered by her full-term pregnancy despite having to run, jump, fight, etc.
Jakob, the main antagonist, almost felt like a comic book supervillain, repeatedly showing up and delivering maniacal speeches.
The Fireman, the mysterious stranger, was pretty much indestructible, but the cool factor of his special powers were diminished by the fact that he spent the majority of the novel recovering from a bevy of injuries.
That being said, the way that Hill uses the dragonscale affliction to explore human nature and the dangers of groupthink is really intriguing and is the most fleshed out part of the novel. Overall, each reading session I spent with The Fireman was enjoyable and not overly taxing. It was a solid ride, but it likely won't be enough to make me want to pick up Hill's other works.
★★★½ out of 5 via spikegelato.com/2016/07/08/review-seinfeldia/
Seinfeldia chronicles the history of Seinfeld from its creation, to a behind-the-scenes account of its wildly successful run, and to its immense cultural impact beyond the television landscape.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review: Having grown up watching Seinfeld and continuing to devour reruns on a nightly basis, I consider myself an ardent fan of the show. Seinfeld devotees are likely the only people to rush out to read this book and I'd say it hits all the right notes that any fan would want or expect. With so much of the show's minutiae discussed online and featured in its DVD box sets (“Notes about Nothing,” episode commentaries, deleted scenes, bloopers, etc.), it's likely that diehard fans already know the show down to its tiniest details. Seinfeldia doesn't present many new or revelatory behind-the-scenes stories or ideas, but it does a good job of compiling the show's history into a concise chronology that is highly readable.
Author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's exploration of the idea of “Seinfeldia” was the most compelling thing to unpack in this book. Its roots are in real anecdotes and people from Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David's life being used as plot points and characters for episodes. Needing to use real life material became so pervasive that writing staffs would be purged after each season so a fresh batch of writers could be mined for new ideas/anecdotes each subsequent year. Seinfeldia seems to be the first attempt to catalog the blurred lines between the real world, the fiction of the show, and the way that fiction impacted the lives of the real-life counterparts. This is never more apparent than when Armstrong discusses how fame from being featured/lampooned on the show manifests itself in different ways. She juxtaposes the disinterested-in-fame Tom's Restaurant (Monk's Restaurant on the show) against the money-grubbing Kenny Kramer (Cosmo Kramer on the show) who has made an entire career out of giving tours of Seinfeld landmarks and capitalizing on being basis for fictional Kramer.
Seinfeldia struggles to sustain itself in the backend of the book when Armstrong transitions from a chronological retelling of the show and starts to present anecdotes of people who had brushes with Seinfeld: a woman featured on a Rochelle, Rochelle movie poster, the actor who plays the Soup Nazi, the relationship between Seinfeld's J. Peterman (John O'Hurley) and the real life clothier John Peterman, and a overlong section about dueling Seinfeld Twitter parody accounts. It certainly works to convey how anything, no matter how small, related to the show could “intrude on the real world,” thus reinforcing the general thesis of the book, but it strayed too far from relevancy to hold my interest. Either way, I breezed through Seinfeldia and enjoyed reliving the “show about nothing” through a different lens.
★★½ out of 5 via spikegelato.com/2016/07/03/review-company-town/
Summary: Hwa is a rarity. She's a pure, non-augmented human. She's hired to protect the heir to the corporation that owns her floating city. When her new job leads to the deaths of her former colleagues and friends, Hwa must solve the mystery of their deaths without neglecting her new responsibilities.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review: Company Town presents an interesting future world, but I had a lot of difficulty grasping the setting. There are five towers...and an oil rig...they float(?) in the middle of the water...in Canada...but I never really felt a sense of place while reading. The story jumps around from place to place without firmly establishing any one location.
I think there was untapped potential with the high school setting and storyline. You have an older, gruff protagonist who is thrust back into a high school where she is out of place and uncomfortable, but there are no 21 Jump Street fish-out-of-water hijinks. Something like that could have acted to humanize Hwa and provide some levity in a very dark story. Any scene involving the high school devolves into chaos (i.e., first day of school is disrupted by a gun-toting assassin, homecoming is disrupted by an adult party and a murdered guest, etc.).
In the end, though, Hwa is a flawed, yet sympathetic protagonist, but her story never quite hooked me. I always felt on the periphery of the action and had a hard time visualizing what was occurring. A better dedication to worldbuilding would have benefitted this story and my interest in it.
★★ out of 5 stars at spikegelato.com/2016/06/25/review-before-the-fall/
A private plane leaving Martha's Vineyard crashes under mysterious circumstances. The backstory of each passenger is chronicled, while also telling the story of the two survivors.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
For a novel generating a lot of summer buzz, this was a bit of a letdown. “THE thriller of the year” the description proclaims. In my eyes, I wouldn't even describe it as a thriller, but more of a plodding mystery novel. Providing such deep backstories on each plane passenger would've been a more compelling tool if hints or red herrings had been dropped about why each person might seek to crash the plane. Without this, the time spent on the backstories seems wasted, especially once you find out the true reason for the plane crash. All of this is sandwiched between Hawley's attempt at telling a deeper story about the pitfalls of the 24-hour news cycle and why wild public speculation can be counterproductive. In a way, it accomplished that, but it did so at the expense of weaving a compelling mystery tale.
3.5 out of 5 stars via spikegelato.com/2016/06/13/review-the-fifth-season/
The continent of The Stillness is in perpetual motion. The only relief comes from orogenes, individuals who can quell earthquakes and bring calm to the earth. While all of society benefits from their gifts, the orogenes must cope with outside forces that seek to manipulate, control, and oppress their people.
Review: It is always tricky to objectively rate a title that has earned such critical praise. I had heard wonderful things about N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season, and while it didn't quite live up to the hype, it also didn't disappoint. As a reader, it's always refreshing to be dropped into a world you know nothing about. Jemisin uses colloquial slang and terms several times before it's clear from the context what they mean. This provided a welcome challenge, but it also delayed my ability to shift attention to what was actually happening until about halfway through the book.
Jemisin establishes such an interesting and unique world that was fascinating to uncover. In a way it didn't feel like fantasy, as the world is gritty, fully realized, and there's no talk of magic. Everything just is as it is, and it's written in a way that makes it all seem very believable. I'm interested to see where Jemisin takes this world and these characters next.
★★★½ out of 5