Cyn Newman

This book is eat up with Teh Stupid. To be honest, I read maybe two chapters and was very proud that I did not throw the book or harm it in any way. It was, instead, gently transported to the “back to the library” stack. I even refrained from putting in a warning note to future would-be-readers, but it was hard.

Highly entertaining smut interlaced with intergalactic diplomacy. I love it!

One of the worst books I've ever finished. I know nothing about the author, but I have to wonder what she has on whom to get this thing into print.

Honestly, I didn't get very far in the book. I couldn't get past the second-person narrative conceit. I like Stross, but I don't need the “Oh, I am an auteur!” bullshit getting in the way of the story.

I would have been much, much happier if the ending were an ending. Instead, it's a “wait for the next book!” I've found the rest of Armstrong's work to be wonderful, and each book stood alone although they all twine together to create a fascinating universe. I cannot say the same for this one.

I am officially annoyed. I want some kind of law, or at least an industry standard, that requires publishers to label any novel that doesn't tie up all its little plot threads in ONE volume. This is one that would definitely have that label, as we're left waiting Important Things on the very last page. Blech.

It takes a lot of talent to write good poetry, to compress meaning into those few, perfect words. Writing short stories is, again, something that requires skill, talent, and discipline. Novels give the author more leeway, and the best, in my opinion, are those that are pared down to the essentials. More and more, I see the serial novel as the mark of a very undisciplined writer. I like series, certainly—as long as each volume can stand on its own merits, enjoyable without having to read several other books. Ms. Vincent is nowhere near that level of professionalism.

Hmm. Spectre feels less like a sequel to Wraith than a chapter two, if that makes any sense. Both books are full-sized novels, but they're so closely related that book two wouldn't make any sense without having read book 1 (and the novella in between). Unfortunately, Spectre ends on a cliff-hanger. I hate that.

At least I know (from her blog) that Weldon is working on the third book. I can only hope that it comes out soon and wraps up all the loose threads without introducing new ones that aren't left hanging again.

I do have to agree with another GR reviewer who mentioned that the main character carries on more like a 13-year-old kid than a 28-year-old woman. I have to agree. I understand that losing one parent early might, for some people, to a closer relationship with the surviving parent—but give me a break! Zoë apparently needs to move across the country to learn to live without Mommy. Or maybe Mommy should move?

Good story, and I'm glad I read it before beginning Spectre. It absolutely screams for copyediting, though!

I don't give many 5-star ratings, but The Atrocity Archives deserves one. You may need to read it with a web browser open to look up references using Wikipedia or Google, but if you enjoy Torchwood, Men in Black, or [b:Snow Crash 830 Snow Crash Neal Stephenson http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157396730s/830.jpg 493634], I think you'll enjoy this one.The volume actually includes the novel and a novella, The Concrete Jungle. Both are good reading, and I recommend giving yourself time to enjoy the foreword and afterword, as well.

I strongly recommend reading Poison Study, Assassin Study, Magic Study, and Power Study all at a go. The two novellas are optional, but canonical and fun.

Snyder's world seems to be made up of just two countries: Ixia and Sitia. Ixia has been ruled by Commander Ambrose and his generals for about a decade when Poison Study starts, after a military coup overthrew the old monarchy. There are no beggars, every child is entitled to an education, nobody has to go hungry or homeless, and promotions are based solely on skill, with no gender or racial discrimination—but every citizen also has to wear a uniform declaring his or her proper location and job function, government approval is required for marrying, moving to a new home, or changing jobs, and anybody identified as having magic talent is killed immediately. Everyone is subject to the Code of Behavior, and there are no exceptions for any kind of extenuating circumstances. If you kill someone, you are sentenced to death, even if you were defending yourself or another.

Yelena has been in the Commander's dungeon for most of a year after killing the son of General Brazell. Valek, Ambrose's spymaster, gives her a choice: go to the gallows, or become the Commander's food taster. The job doesn't have a long life expectancy, as poisoning attempts are fairly common, but Yelena sees a chance at life better than immediate death, and takes the job.

Yelena manages to survive several attempts to murder her. The fact that Brazell wants her dead is understandable, but the other attempts are mysterious. Why would a Sitian master magician try to kill her? Who would slip poison into her wine?

Magic Study finds Yelena in Sitia, learning to cope with a very different way of life. Magic is almost taken for granted, and a strong family/clan structure forms the backbone of the government. But why are there beggars in the streets, and why is it that only those who can afford it are educated? Everyone in Sitia believes that life in Ixia must be horrific, but looking around her, Yelena sees that Ambrose's rule does have its benefits.

Fire Study moves between Sitia and Ixia, involving the leaders of both nations and intriguers who want to bring both of them down by pitching them against each other. Yelena and her friends are trying to prevent a war and reveal the traitors, but they've been declared outlaw and have to sneak around trying to figure out what's going on.

Another reviewer found Yelena too talented for belief, but I found her fairly realistic. She certainly isn't good at everything—she could use a lot of help in terms of social skills!—and the skills that she begins with and gains over the course of the trilogy do make sense. She trained as an acrobat when she was a child, so it does make sense that she is able to learn some types of self-defense without too much trouble. Some of her aptitudes make more sense after she learns more about her family background. She does find that she has magical abilities, but she isn't good at everything, and indeed, cannot seem to master some tasks that other magicians consider rudimentary.

I did find some of the betrayals to be difficult to comprehend, as some of the traitors would have no defense against mental scans. There's a Sitian Ethical Code of Conduct that prohibits non-consensual scans, but it doesn't apply to criminals, and in a war situation, I found it hard to believe that nobody ever did a little telepathic peeking at the people around them.

These were fun books, and they could be useful in looking at the pros and cons of different types of governments with teens. There's some sex in the books, but nothing terribly explicit. The violence is more troublesome, but the author never dwells on it.

Nice little story that seems to take place during Fire Study. Ari and Janco are two of my favorite characters from the Study series, so it's nice to see them as the focus of a story this time.

The Iron Hunt is a beautifully written book with some interesting twists on established fantasy memes. To some extent, I felt that I'd come in to the world on book 2 or 3, but as far as I know (and from what Amazon says) this is the first book of the Hunter Kiss series. There was a bit of Buffy and a little Witchblade, with other elements I'm sure I'm overlooking.

For once, it's good to see a novel in which an established couple has a seemingly-healthy relationship. Maxine and Grant have very different skills, but they work together well. That said, this is not a romance.

Edited to add: I just learned that there is, in fact, a prequel to this book in The Wild Thing anthology, which I hadn't heard of before. I'll certainly be looking for it.

I'm actually reviewing all five of the Watcher books. They're quite short—novella length, really—and very much interrelated (especially the first four). I read all of them in about a day and a half, despite doing other things. I do advise taking them all in row, which is the equivalent of reading one "normal" novel.

Dark Watcher opens in Santiago City (aka Saint City), with a quartet of witches. Mindhealer is the only book that takes place outside of Santiago City, which seems to be the primary setting for all of Saintcrow's novels (from what I've read in the descriptions).

Theodora, earth witch and healer, runs the Cauldron, an occult book and supply store. Mariamne Niege (water witch, prognosticator) and Elise Nicholson (fire witch) work for her in addition to being, respectively, a graduate student and a musician. Suzanne (air witch, I don't believe we ever learn her last name) is Elise's foster mother and their teacher, something of a high priestess to the little group.

The four women know that they're psychic and that “magick” is real. They don't know that they are “Lightbringers,” that there are groups and creatures in the world that hunt them, or that a group called Circle Lightfall trains and sends out “Watchers” to protect (and recruit) Lightbringers in order to counterbalance the darkness in the world.

Watchers are formerly wicked men with some psychic talents who have been given a chance to redeem themselves. They are bonded with a tanak, a dark symbiote that gives them supernatural speed, strength, healing power, and longevity. The tanak also makes it possible for them to sense darkness, but it causes the Watchers to experience pain whenever they're around Lightbringers.

The catch is that for every Watcher, there is one Witch whose presence and touch will be intensely pleasurable instead of torturous. The hope of finding that one witch is what keeps each Watcher going, fighting and surviving horrific wounds for one chance at happiness.

The use of the tired soulmate meme (though that specific word is never used) is annoying, and it detracts from what is otherwise a fairly original concept. The fact that there are only male Watchers, though there are a few (mostly queer) male lightbringers, is a bigger disappointment. The reasoning given is that women do not have the viciousness to kill without hesitation. That's simplistic, at best. Male lightbringers are also painted as weaker than females, and that, in combination with the pedestal upon which Watchers place Lightbringers, unbalances the novels.

Theodora is the main subject of the first book. Mariamne is the focus of Storm Watcher. Fire Watcher, of course, is primarily about Elise. We meet a new air witch, Anya Harris, in Cloud Watcher. And finally, Mindhealer is about Caro Robbins, whose brother plays a small part in Fire Watcher.

The books should certainly be classified as romances first, although they do have very strong paranormal themes. Every book follows the classic romance novel formula. The fact that I kept reading despite my dislike of romances is a testament to Saintcrow's talent.

I suspect that the author either is pagan, or is very familiar with pagan practices. The rituals in each novel are nicely done, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear people using some of the invocations used in Circle.

I do have to propose the Watcher drinking game. Take a shot every time there's any mention of treating a Watcher “dreadfully,” and every time a Watcher moans about how unworthy he is to be in the presence of a Lightbringer. You'll be past noticing any formulae in no time!

Well-written high fantasy, but honestly, it just went on too long. So far, everybody has lost someone important. Anybody who loves anyone seems to be doomed. Betrayals are everywhere, and that's something I find profoundly disturbing.

The book did end on a note of hope, and I want to know what happens next. I just don't know if I want it enough to slog through (at least) two more volumes.

I really enjoyed this book, and hope Battis returns to this world. His prose is lyrical, engaging—a major departure from most of the urban fantasy genre. There were a few little consistency blips that made me think that the book had been edited with less care than it deserved, but they didn't detract seriously from the plot.

I reviewed this one before I joined GoodReads, so it's here.

I picked this up on a whim because it was on the new releases shelf at the library. Honestly, I don't usually get far in such books, because they start getting into material that triggers flashbacks for me.

So far, this one hasn't. There haven't been any terribly explicit descriptions of molestation, so I'm okay so far. And yes, I did know most of what's in here, but I found some of the statistics interesting. The step-by-step way the book follows one predator after another, pointing out the warning signs that should have tipped parents off to the dangers their children were in, is interesting. I think it could be very helpful to many parents.

I've always been very protective of Katie, and very proactive in talking with her and trying to educate her in ways that might help her avoid predators. Giving her the real names for parts of her body, the whole “good touch/bad touch” thing, making sure that she understands that her body is HERS and nobody, no matter who that person is, has any right to touch her without her consent. If she doesn't want to hug Aunt Lucy, she doesn't have to do it—and Aunt Lucy isn't allowed to push. And, as she's gotten older, I've talked to her (in age-appropriate ways) about what happened to me.

I wasn't aware that children who have been abused in any way (sexually, physically, emotionally, verbally) are much more likely to be abused again, even by completely different people in a totally different setting. They're more vulnerable. The same goes for children who have experienced the loss of a parent due to death or divorce, or have otherwise been traumatized—predators seek out the most vulnerable kids as their preferred victims.

And, unfortunately, being the child of an abuse survivor greatly increases the probability that a child will be the victim of abuse. In some, but not all, cases, the abuser is the parent. But in more cases, the abuser is someone who sees the damaged boundaries of the abuse survivor and takes advantage of them to gain access to the child. That's definitely of direct interest to me as an abuse survivor.

I recommend this book to any parent, but especially those who are abuse survivors or whose children may be especially vulnerable due to other circumstances. Teachers, Scout leaders, and others who work with children may also benefit from reading this book.

I really wanted to like this book, and after [b:Alongside Night 1955398 J. Neil Schulman's Alongside Night J. Neil Schulman http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1190837684s/1955398.jpg 1958351] I had fairly high expectations. I knew that I agreed with most of his political views as I understood them, so all should have been well.Unfortunately, it reads as if Schulman had a political point to make and wrote the story around it. The world and the plot are just pasted onto the soapbox. The rationale given for why the population has gotten so skewed so that there are too few women doesn't ring true.

I was reading along and suddenly realized that I was done. I couldn't bring myself to care about or empathize with the main character, so while I wanted to find out what happened after the earlier series was done it wasn't worth the slogging through this thing to get there.

I have determined that I'm probably not finishing this one, because I can't bring myself to give a damn.