Non-Laughter Review: MODERN FANTASY

Readers of this space know that Apprentice Writer struggled previously with Urban Fantasy burnout. It was taking more and more innovation and stellar writing on the part of the authors to elicit reaction from her, and it gradually dawned on her that it was, perhaps, a little unfair to keep holding novels up to ever-escalating expectations when really, what she needed was a break.

Return to epic fantasy, in the form of the second-to-last volume of the 'Wheel of Time' megaseries, didn't do the trick either.

Paranormal, often considered to appeal to a similar type of demographic as UF, has never really worked for AW. The shapeshifting, blood-sucking, demonic storyliness somehow never quite hold her attention.

AW really liked Ilona Andrews pioneering 'rural fantasy' novels, but those are far and few between and so far other authors don't seem to be leaping into the new subgenre.

What is a voracious reader with taste for well-written fantastical worlds to do? By this point, AW was growing a little desperate.

Then: Rescue! Three books, each very different from the others, very different from classic urban/epic/paranormal, that she all adored. AW thinks of these novels (and hopefully, the many more that will ride in on what she dearly wishes will be a wave) as Modern Fantasy.

1. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (Inheritance Trilogy, Book 1)
2. The Broken Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (Inheritance Trilogy, Book 2)
3. Indigo Springs, A.M. Dellamonica (Book 1 in series of unknown length)


Premise:
1. Orphaned offspring of renegade branch of the royal family is summoned to palace hanging in the sky and tossed into a battle of succession in a world balanced on a knife edge between enslaved gods and humans branded into strict social classes.

2. Blind artist rescues an injured, homeless man and is unwittingly caught up between jostling factions of godlings and an uprising of humans against gods in the Tree of Life on the planet beneath the Skypalace of Book 1.

3. Recently bereaved young woman inherits a house and slowly learns of the magical powers conveyed by the springs below, with catastrophic results.


Cover:
1. Title - Intriguing and apt for content. Art - Beautiful, indicative on content, AW was amused by inclusion of streaming hair of her favorite character in the story. Amused because the way it's streaming here is technically impossible unless underwater, yet in in this character's case is correctly depicted - and how this reminds her of the many romance covers that have been snarked because of hair blowing wildly in one way from the heroine's scalp while blowing in the other from hero's scalp, etc.

2. Title - relates well to title of Book 1, apt for content. Art - the tree of life is accurate for content, but the searchlight eyes creeped AW out. Not a cover she would habe been attracted to on its own.

3. Title - Simple (which is always good) and perfectly accurate for content. Art - gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. AW doesn't know why the 'corrugated' effect was added but for some strange reason it works.


What Works:
For all three books the strengths are the same: Beautiful writing. Superb, creative world-building. Intriguing, sympathetic protagist. Memorable secondary characters. And the best bit: unpredictability.

Which all leads up to AW salivating as she waits for the next books in each series.


What Doesn't:
This is a subjective matter, because the two aspects that might not work for some readers (judging by selective Goodreads comments) both actually worked really well for AW.

One was first person voice. AW thought it worked well it was well-suited to the subject matter and let the reader react like the protagonist when shocking things happened.

Another was the at times non-linear writing style. In the case of Jemisin, this took the form of occasional short paragraphs, usually at the start of a new chapter, wherein the protagonist appears to be talking to herself from a point in time after the story. AW will admit that it takes a bit of mental sorting out to adjust to this occasional gear changes, but she did not find them excessive or incomprehensible

In the case of Dellamonica it took the form of the story starting out in the 'head' of a secondary character, who interviews the protagonist after the bulk of the story events have taken place. This is tricky to assimilate on three levels: it is not the protagonist, it is a later point in time, and the protagonist is shown in an odd light. But once these first pages are dealt with, the rest of the story flows free and clear (Heh. AW loves a good pun).

Why did the author put them in, then, the Gentle Reader may ask? AW has to date not perfected the art of reading authorly minds. She will however speculate that the author may, at some point in time, have begun her story in the more conventional manner - that is, at the beginning, in the protagonist's 'regular' life, before anything especially unusual happened - and received feedback that this was not enough of a hook to keep readers interested in this short-attenion span age. Presto - the story starts with such blazingly spectacular events that even the most jaded reader would not be able to describe the setting as 'boring'.

Overall:
AW highly encourages her Gentle Readers to seek out these stories if they have not done so already, and then by all means let her reactions! Also, whether the Gentle Reader has any recommendations to round out her 'Modern Fantasy' list.

Next in Series:

For N.K. Jemisin: Book 3 in the 'Inheritance' Trilogy - 'Kingdom of the Gods'

For A.M. Dellamonica: Book 2 - "Blue Magic"

/m

Non-Laughter Review: BENEATH THE 13 MOONS

BENEATH THE 13 MOONS
by Kathryne Kennedy
Sourcebooks Casablanca
December 2010 (reissue)



Premise: On an aquatic planet ruled by access to a narcotic root, individuals from opposite ends of the political spectrum have an opportunity to increase their own paranormal talents and influence their whole society if they co-operate.

Cover: Title - Intriguingly worded, accurate of content, and displayed in a lovely purple cartouche with cool font. Art - Sourcebooks' love affair with the nekkid anonymous manchest continues. Though Apprentice Writer despises this fixture of romance covers, honesty compels her to state it gives the potential reader fair warning of what to find in these pages, including the mullet wafting in the breeze. AW personally wished that more of the gorgeous background had been visible. She would have loved for the bakers dozen of moons (obscured by the chest), and the partially submerged trees backlit by diffuse sunlight (obscured by various text bytes), to be shown in full on the back cover or maybe in a stepback. Overall: representative of content.

What Works: Would-be writers are often instructed to start their stories with a 'hook'; situation so fascinating or action so gripping that the reader can't help but read on to find out more and get 'sucked' into the story. This novel takes that advice to heart, opening with a woman so desperate to save her village from a killer fever that has struck down her lifemate and child that she risks all to kidnap a healer only to realize that he is heir to the royal throne and she will likely die en route from overdose of the narcotic she uses to enhance her powers to 'See' through the waters. Definitely not a boring opener or ho-hum stakes.

Even better: the world is marvelous. Thirteen moons that exert different types of tidal pull on the waters, villages and palaces alike built in trees, amazing plant life ( including some you can crawl into with interesting results) and animals, aboriginal beings who can mindmerge and be seen or invisible at will, an entire society built around a controlled substance (much like the spice in the classic 'Dune' series)... A lot of imagination went into creating the setting for the story. It reminded AW a bit of Pandora from the recent movie 'Avatar', if the trees had been surrounded by water and the indigenous people less blue.

What Doesn't: 'But AW,' says the Gentle Reader, 'after that kind of intro, what could possibly have not worked?'

Sadly, multiple aspects. Nothing about this book was average for AW; she kept shooting back and forth between elements she loved that those she unloved. Such as:

WARNING! MODERATELY SPOILERIFIC!

- Pacing. After a rocketing start with high stakes kidnapping (hooray!), the two main characters proceed to spend most of the next 100 pages in a boat feeling physically attracted to one another and covering this with verbal sniping (boo!).

- Writing. One of the most fun and creative things about sci/fi and fantasy is the opportunity to create variations in language and expressions to go along with invented worlds. Here, there were scenes in a remote smuggler village (yay!) where the inhabitants say things like 'sexy', 'get it?', and 'boyfriend' that tore this reader out of the story (boo!). There were instances of cliche, both in word choice (people 'tense' and 'freeze' a lot, garments 'fit like second skins', the hero frequently 'threw back his head', etc.) and in genre stereotype, such as the heroine thinking during a life-or-death pursuit situation how much the hero's eye color and hair swishing make her presumed-to-be-lost sexual desire reawaken. There was one (presumably unintentional) comical instance when the frequent romance genre use of 'paling' of a character's face to signify emotion shown rather than told was applied to an animal. This would have been OK except that his skin is covered in scales.

- Character Development. It's nice when there is some, and when it is roughly equivalent if there is more than one main character. In this case, the reader starts off with pleasant sense of curious anticipation about how the author will bring together a woman who is fiercely independent, resourceful, and talented but poor (yay!) with a man who is fiercely proud, privileged, talented, but not entirely closed-minded (double yay!). In practice, far too much space is taken up with the character's growth stalled at thinking/saying to/about each other that one is a 'water rat' and one is 'arrogant' (boo!).

The hero does start to come around and show notable improvement through his association with her and others of her background, but the heroine took far too long to make not enough mental/emotional progress for this reader. It made what was interpreted as independent spirit and fortitude early in the story look more like pig-headedness and reverse snobbism as the novel progressed. Frex: when the hero says he loves her, she thinks and tells him with absolute conviction that he has no idea what love is - without ever having inquired about his previous romantic involvements. Or, for that matter, non-romantic love experiences. It made her endless accusations to him of arrogance sound like the pot calling the kettle black.

- Internal Logic. The conflict between the main characters hinges on the impossibility of their relationship, given her pariah status and his princeliness. Yet when he arranges their wedding within a day after returning to the palace (royal wedding and true love: hooray!) there is no peep of protest, including from his parents, who promptly disappear again from the remainder of the book (boo!). Wildlings (born outside the royal family with unusual powers) are supposedly 'hunted' as the heroine's mother was, yet the heroine is almost entirely ignored by the palace dwelllers. The hero supposedly has enemies at court, yet after a very long time of doing nothing while the heroine is in proximity, they suddenly make their move through her at a highly unlikely time when she is not, that seems calculated purely to emphasize the romantic connection. Etc.

- Sacrifice of other elements to serve the romance. This was the aspect AW had most trouble with because she so yearned for more description of the fantastical world. For the first time ever, a member of the royal family spends time in a hardscrabble swamp village (hooray!) Yet rather than experiencing it through his eyes, it is summarized as '...these past few weeks, hunting and working with your people, I've come to realize they're my people too' (Boo!) The heroine has succeeded in bringing a healer, thus saving the village from mass deaths, yet apart from her immediate in-law family, there is neither reaction from anyone else, nor interest on the heroine's part on how others have fared under the hero's treatment. The only non-family villagers mentioned are two women who remain nameless, who serve solely to make the heroine jealous of the attention he bestows on them. The couple travel to the palace (hooray!) where the heroine has precisely zero curiosity in what the prince does or where he goes all day (boo!). She learns the aboriginal people and animals have astonishing unsuspected knowledge and powers of the mind, but categorically dismisses their efforts to make contact with her because she doesn't like their encouragement of her relationship with the hero, etc.

END SPOILERS!

AW was desperate for more page time devoted to worldbuilding and less time to the push-pull (literal and figurative) between main characters. The gentle reader may ask: Can a satisfying balance between the two be achieved? Yes! For excellent examples of believable emotion with richly detailed worlds, take a look at Ann Aguirre's sci-fi 'Sirantha Jax' series, Alison Sinclair's dark fantasy 'Darkborn' series, Ilona Andrews urban fantasy 'Kate Daniels' series and rural fantasy 'Edge' series, and the queen of them all: Sarah Monett's dark fantasy 'Doctrine of Labyrinths' series. All excellent at providing relationship-building and believable alternate settings in equal measure.


Overall: Rather than fantasy romance, which was what she had expected, AW would describe this novel as Romance, capital 'R', with some fantasy elements.

Consequently, 'pure' romance fans would probably find it more to their liking than this reader, who struggled with unfulfilled expectations about what fantasy novels entail, and with the cover quote that promised '.....will give adult lovers of Harry Potter the fix they've been missing.'

The only thing that could be considered reminiscent of the Potter world were the rare occasions Harry and Lord Voldemort connected with each other's minds for brief flashes of time. But that occured in such a different way that it is a tremendous stretch to compare the two, meaning AW is at a loss to understand why the Potter parallel was even drawn.

She will, however, watch 'Avatar' again, and imagine how the movie could have been enhanced if the Pandoran trees had been in a swamp with treecats and narwhals, subject to the tidal pull of thirteen moons, if the antagonistic groups had socioeconomic rather than ethnic differences, and so on and on.

/m

Quotes: THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON

THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON
Sarah Addison Allen
Contemporary Fiction with Fantasy Elements
2010



Apprentice Writer posted recently on similes and metaphors that go awry. In such cases, the flow of the story is stopped while she re-reads to try and puzzle it out.

Sometimes, though, she stops to re-read for sheer beauty of what the author has created. Such was repeatedly the case with 'The Girl Who Chased the Moon' by new-to-her author Sarah Addison Allen. Here for your reading pleasure, some gems:

"(He) watched a whale of gray sky swallow the pink evening light."

"She always smelled like carnations from her florist shop when she came in from work. The scent ran ahead of her into the room, like an excited pet."

"I met up with Stella earlier (at the fair), but then her entourage got too big. Stella is like a comet collecting space debris as she passes."

"He was standing as still as stone, watching them with an expression made of ghosts and anger."


*heavy sigh of writerly envy*

Even better, the story as a whole is delightful - charming, natural, about real, recognizable characters in a small town. There is an element of light fantasy involved but it is an embellishmnt to the main story rather than the main plotpoint. With writing like this, TGWCTM will certainly not be AW's last Addison Allen title.

/m

Non-Laughter Review: UNCERTAIN MAGIC

UNCERTAIN MAGIC
by Laura Kinsale
Historical Romance with Fantasy Elements
Sourcebooks, 2010





Premise: Shy British aristocrat with psychic talent enters marriage of convenience with impoverished Irish aristocrat of infamous reputation and politically risky friends.


Cover: Title - Admirably brief and descriptive of content, possible that it might not stand out among the plethora of titles including 'Magic' these days but that may be irrelevant given the amount of real estate devoted to author name relative to title. Clearly (and very understandably) this book is intended to sell on writerly reputation. Art - in a welcome change from nekkid anonymous manchest (as seems to adorn way too many bookcovers), an embracing couple with the man interested in the embrace and the woman multitasking. Embracing with her arms while either appraising the value of the distant twilit castle in her head, or else planning to put her barefoot status to good use by wading the adjecent river. Purple color, stormish sky and swirl of miniscule starbursts (which Apprentice Writer was very tempted to interpret as dandelion seeds) reflect the drama within. Overall - accurate and attractive but not especially memorable.


What Works: As with the previous two Kinsale novels AW has read, the aspect that stands out the most in this story is quality of writing; this is a much appreciated attribute to someone whose most recent DNF was due to the word 'sardonic' appearing three times in the first ten pages and a paragraph of breathless heroine admiration of the hero's eyes being followed by yet another paragraph of same.

UM has marvelous scene-setting, evocative details that intensified emotion without making it seem hyperbolic, natural-sounding dialogue. All serving to support the heart of the story: the description of how two very (with good reason) guarded personalities reach out to one another and develop their willingness to trust even when events seem to point to the wisdom of doing the opposite. Seeing them move past their preconceived notions and insecurities was a joy, and the scenes where each respectively chooses to stand by her man or his woman in the face of opposition were cathartic.

Inclusion of an unusual animal character has become something of a Kinsale trademark and UM is no exception. Given that the hero and heroine are brought together by mutual interest in horses it would not have been surprising if the special animal character were equine, but AW was delighted to find the recurring cameo role occupied by someone else: MacLasser, the redoubtable piglet. In her view, any author who can incorporate swine into everyday aristocratic life is worth reading.

Also unusual in a historical hero (at least those this reader has met) was Faelan's manner of dealing with stress. Rather than riding or boxing or drinking or playing cards or picking fights with blameless individuals, he plows fields, and doesn't give a damn when his friends tease him about his fascination with planting potatoes and oat crop rotation. AW found it endearing and a refreshing change.

What Doesn't
Writing manuals warn newbie writers against including too much backstory, and exhort them to 'show, don't tell'. In general, AW appreciates that this makes novels more readably streamlined, less clunky. In this case, she wished for a bit more explicit detail. She didn't really understand the motivation of a dubious friend character to take actions that could bring massive destruction on the heads of the local population. While the motivation for the initial destructive interference in the hero's life on the part of the villain was convincing, AW didn't understand why and how the villain engaged in subsequent acts of hero sabotage.

Finally, the heroine repeatedly and for good reason reflects on fears of rejection once her husband learns of her gift in reading the minds and emotions of people and animals around her. By the end of the story, it's clear that he accepts and loves her no matter what, but given the number of times her fear was articulated it left this reader feeling vaguely unsatisfied that the couple didn't actually talk about it.

These are the kinds of things that make AW wish the author could comment on, either to learn where hints were dropped that AW may have missed, or to understand the thinking behind the choices made. Thoughts, Gentle Reader?

Overall
A romantic tale of people overcoming personal, social, and political odds to be together and do the right thing in a time of turbulence. Recommended for fans of romance and light fantasy (i.e. the story has an occasional extraordinary embellishment rather than being primarily about magic and such).



/m.

Triplet Reviews: ANTHOLOGIES, Part 2

Hello and welcome to Part 2 to of the Anthology Triplet Review. For Part 1 ('Must Love Hellhounds' & 'Queen in Winter') please scroll down.

Moving on to the third antho in the bunch:


FOUR DUKES AND A DEVIL (Historical Romance, 2009)
Cover: Liked the small details that came together to make something more than the first impression of somewhat bland house at twilight suggested. The devil's tail in the title was nifty, the red color contrast with deep blue twilight eye-catching, the smoke in the sky kind of cool.

The Irish Duke, Cathy Maxwell
Premise: Spinster who makes her living advising ton families on matches warns against suitability of Irish dukes, and is taken to task by one such.
Writing Style: Did not appeal to this reader.
World: Didn't engage, therefore didn't care to make an effort to suspend disbelief.
Prediction: Probably wouldn't seek out more from this author.

Catch of the Century, Sophia Nash
Premise: Governess travelling with three young charges is stranded on the road; passing Duke acts as Good Samaritan.
Writing Style: Drew AW in.
World: This story was trundling nicely along, looking to be AW's favorite in the bunch, when disaster (readerly speaking) struck. WARNING! SPOILERS!
Hero and heroine are chugging away in their mutual but unacted-upon attraction, when she leaves the ducal manor to go in search of the boys who are exploring the grounds. The Duke happens upon her (quelle surprise) and agrees that it would be good to find them given that there is a lake nearby. Then the pair of them in effect say to themselves "But oh, wait, before we go check if they are busy drowning themselves, we have just enough time for our first nekkid encounter!" END SPOILER WARNING!
These are people the reader is supposed to relate to, sympathize with, root for? AW thinks not. Clearly the heroine is an abysmally bad governess, and he apparently believes in some version of "I'm a Duke, so above other people that I needn't concern myself the potential of contributing to three premature juvenile deaths by negligence since I did my duty earlier in not leaving a young lady by the side of the road." This little bit of 'What the hell???' made this book almost turn into a wallbanger right then and there, but that would have been unfair to the remaining authors whose stories were not yet read.
Prediction: AW is utterly conflicted about this. On the one hand, the egregious plot development. On the other, she had enjoyed the story up to that point. On a glass half full basis, AW would do a ten page test of another work.

Charmed by her Smile, Tracy Anne Warren
Premise: Debutante seeks the assistance of one man to manipulate another.
Writing Style: Didn't engage.
World: Wasn't drawn in, felt impatient both with the heroine's manipulativeness and the hero's being attracted to her.
Prediction: Will probably not seek this author out again.

The Duke Who Came to Dinner, Elaine Fox
Premise: Island resident and newcomer are brought together by canine antics.
Writing Style: Pleasant, easily readable.
World: Was refreshing to have a contemporary thrown in the mix (the Duke in question is a pet), and the story was sweet, but ultimately, not especially stand-outish enough to make AW rush off to her local bookstore to keep the reading experience going.
Prediction: There was enough here to warrant a ten-page test in a longer work to see if it compelled more.

Devil to Pay, Jeanine Frost
Premise: Loner vampire comes to the aid of a human trying to commit suicide to protect others from his actions when he is demonically possessed.
Writing Style: Flowed well enough.
World: Though the trouble the hero finds himself in was certainly compelling and roused sympathy, somehow, didn't quite believe in how fast the couple made a connection and didn't quite get drawn in to the story. As with the Singh story in MLH, this was a case of writing that was good but not good enough to surmount AW's aversion to vampire stories. Fans of this genre would probably like it a great deal more.
Prediction: Will probably not seek out more from this author unless she were to begin writing about another type of character.

TALLY
# of authors AW will definitely seek out based on these short stories,
(in brackets, # AW would give benefit of the doubt in form of a ten-page test of another book)

Must Love Hellhounds - 2 of 4 (plus 1)

Queen in Winter - 2 of 4 (plus 1)

Four Dukes and a Devil - 0 of 5 (plus 2)




Read an anthology lately that AW should try next?

m.

Triplet Reviews: ANTHOLOGIES, Part 1

Alpha Heros and Literary Escapism decided to hold a Short Story/Anthology Reading Challenge.

Since Apprentice Writer recently powered through three of those babies, she decided to give it a whirl.

Here's AW's idea about anthologies: they are supposed to give readers who are unfamiliar with an author's work a taste of his/her writing style, and whether the subgenre or fantasy world appeals. So in theory, if the reader likes a specific new author he/she will be motivated to go out and buy a full-length novel, and if he/she doesn't like that new author - no harm done, it was a small page commitment. So the test here will be: was the story enough to make AW seek out more?

Of the THIRTEEN author collected here, AW had previously read a total of TWO. An almost perfectly clear anthological landscape. Here we go:

MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS (Paranormal/UF, 2009)
Cover: Did nothing for AW. Apparently, hellhounds are particularly unattractive Rothweilers, and the women who take them for walks have spotlights shining out of their crotchal areas.

The Britlingens Go To Hell, Charlaine Harris
Premise: A pair of elite female bodyguards escort a thieving client to hell and are caught.

Writing Style: Didn't appeal.

World: Some imaginative details (loved the dust monsters) and the idea of elite female bodyguards was intriguing, but ultimately some parts of the story torpedoed willingness to suspend disbelief and left no desire to explore this author's world(s) further. Hellhounds played very minor role.

Prediction: Probably won't read this author again.


Angels' Judgement, Nalini Singh
Premise: Guild hunter about to be promoted teams up with loner hunter sent to terminate serial vampire murderer.

Writing Style: Zipped along effortlessly, showing the author's practice at the short story format. Yet despite story tightness and good alternation between action and quieter moments, AW didn't feel drawn in or engaged with either main character. This may have been due to:

World: AW really isn't much of a vampire person. There has to be something else compelling about a story for her to become interested if they form a large part of what's going on. In this case, the angel aspect just didn't make up for it. Hellhound was irrelevant to the plot.

Prediction: From this story alone, wouldn't read this author again. However, she is incredibly popular, especially with other authors who praise her worlds, characters, and writing skills. On that basis, Probably would read this author again.

Magic Mourns, Ilona Andrews
Premise: Shapeshifter with childhood issues teams up with shapeshifter with partner issues to investigate who is controlling a hellhound (among other things).

Writing Style: Loved it. Was rooting for the heroine on multiple levels from page 1. Was so engaged didn't care about the author apparently giving in to the temptation of overpacking the suitcase so it bulged to point of bursting. Whole lot of characters and things going on here, but forgave all and trusted that things will be better integrated with each other in full-length format.

World: Fascinating.

Prediction: Definitely yes. The first volume in this series is already on AW's night table.

Blind Spot, Meljean Brook
Premise: Former CIA-operative turned butler seeks kidnappee with employer's seeing-impaired nephew.

Writing Style: Loved it, but AW already knew that, this being one of the two authors whose previous work she had read. Very nice to be confirmed in belief authory goodness.

World: Consistent, not overwrought, a very imaginative and convincingly written bit about how the hero's special ability is applied. Good example of how other elements make up for presence of vampire characters. Best story of the bunch, not least because the hellhound has some truly hellish qualities and plays a central role.

Prediction: Definitely, AW will keep reading this author! She is quite excited about the upcoming steampunk debut.

QUEEN IN WINTER (Fantasy, 2006)
Cover: Very compelling. Beautiful color combos, lovely arty image, great use of snow. Best cover of the bunch.

Whisper of Spring, Lynn Kurland
Premise: Elf princess is abducted, her brother and non-elf prince mount rescue mission.
Writing Style: Didn't engage.
World: Didn't believe.
Prediction: Probably won't seek this autor out again.

When Winter Comes, Sharon Shinn
Premise: Sisters must flee their home and evade pursuers when one gives birth to a baby with magical powers in an anti-magical world.
Writing Style: Compelling. The reader could sense the characters pain, anxiety, and yearning for a better place and emotional connection.
World: Believable. Felt like the story grew naturally, wasn't forced into premature shape due to short story contstraints.
Prediction: Definitely will read again.

Kiss of the Snow Queen, Claire Delacroix
Premise: Seer sets out to rescue a sorcerer and is aided by a spirit voice from another time.

Writing: Was the most experimental, in that the story starts out in fairly classic high fantasy style, very historic and fairy-tale feeling, and the spirit who speaks to her sounds contemporary.

World: Interesting, with the split in 'era sense' perhaps making it not as easy to fall into the world as would be the case with a story that was either purely modern or classically fantasy.

Prediction: Would read this author again based on interesting approach. (Actually am doing so at the moment - the dystopian 'Fallen' series).


A Gift of Wings, Sarah Monette
Premise: Bodyguard and recuperating wizard are stranded in a mountain inn during a snowstorm and solve a murder.

Writing Style: Loved it, again not a surprise as AW picked up this antho due to this author's inclusion.

World: Similar to and yet distinct from the world created in the 'Doctrine of Labyrinths' series. It was intriguing how gender role reversal was worked in, with the female character, a professional soldier/mercenary, the physically and mentally strong one, and the male character still suffering from psychological abuse inflicted on him.

Prediction: Definitely will continue to read this author.



Please come back for Part 2 of this Triplet Review tomorrow.

In the meantime - is the Gentle Reader familiar with any of these anthos? Agree? Disagree?

m.

Multi -Genre Lightning Reviews - FOUR FUNNIES AND A FUNERAL

Finished books are stacking up - time for another quickie round of main impressions.


Funny #1: OBAMAS BLACKBERRY by Kasper Hauser
This very funny collection of textmessages to and from the world's most famous man were imagined by a comedy troop. Arguably the best centre on Arnold Schwarzenegger's offer to go after the worlds most infamous man ("....Listen to me. With a parachute, some Red Bulls and a crossbow I could capture Bin Laden in 24 hours. I could even do it naked. I will grow my hair long for this...."), but exchanges with Bill and Hillary Clinton (whose handle is HBomb), Queen Elizabeth, Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Palin the outgoing President and others amuse also. The authors do a nice job of supposing what some of the more human manifestations of adjusting to being a new President must be ('To Grounds Maintenance: I'd like to mow the White House lawn. ' 'K. Will have to attach secret-service sidecar and gun mounts.'....). Even the icons on the Blackberry pictured on every page are entertaining: a donkey and elephant corresponding to the big American parties, the First Lady's face, and a mushroom cloud. Not every textmessage is a comedic success, and as a Canuck AW didn't recognize all the names involved. But no matter - this slim hardcover volume is easily read in one sitting, and would be great in a doctor's waiting room or as a gift.
But does it make you laugh? Yes, yes, yes!


Funny #2: GODDESS OF THE HUNT by Tessa Dare
This debut author has received much buzz in the blogosphere with back to back to back releases, three months in a row. These historical romances have a reputation for being light-hearted and funny. Apprentice Writer eagerly tore into the first of the trilogy, and was happy to find that she enjoyed the story. She did, however, feel that it was almost like reading a story and it's sequel in one volume....

MINOR SPOILER WARNING!!!!

....with the clear dividing line being the wedding. Beforehand, when the action takes place in the heroine's childhood home during a house party of age-mates, the tone is indeed lighthearted and often amusing. Afterward, at the hero's own home with just the two of them (and a mass of servants, of course) the feel becomes not dark exactly, but certainly significantly more serious and all drama.

END SPOILER WARNING!!!!

The story is well-written in terms of why difficulties exist and are overcome, and the couple convincing in terms of being a good match for each other - so those parts all work. The midpoint change in tone was something that took a little while for AW to get used to. She will be interested to see how the trilogy continues, but is now more aware of the fact that describing these stories as 'romantic comedies' may be misleading. (Not that they were necessarily represented to her in that manner. It is quite possible that AW developed that impression all on her own.)
But does it make you laugh? Yes, with qualifications.

Funny#3: HOLLY'S INBOX by Holly Denham
This nouveau-chicklit novel is Bridget Jones for the online generation. Holly is like Bridget minus the cigarettes and weight obsession and Becky Bloomwood minus the credit cards and shopping addiction. But instead of diary entries (Bridget) or letter entreaties to bank managers and creditors (Shopaholic), the reader learns about her hapless life through email exchanges with colleagues, friends, family, business contacts. All the classic chicklit ingredients are present: eccentric/demanding parents, quirky friends (including the requisite gay male best bud), urban setting, battles with higher-ups at work, evil/more successful rivals - and it all works. Though there is the rare moment when Holly seems to act like a schoolgirl rather than a professional woman, and there was a sudden out-of-character bit revolving around the best girlfriend (which made AW wonder if this was a setup for the next novel), the novel as a whole was a lighthearted success despite causing near wrist-strain at close to a whopping 700 pages. They fly by, though, because of the enormous amount of white space due to the email format utilized.
But does it make you laugh? For this reader - absolutely.

Funny#4: LOVE CREEPS by Amanda Filipacchi
This novel was an impulse buy, going exclusivly on the quirky cover (chartreuse green background with three black-and-white cartoon characters watching each other through holes cut into newspapers) and it's description as 'comic surrealism'. That it certainly is. It took AW a little while to get used to the deadpan, way-over-the-top style and story, but once she adjusted she enjoyed it a lot. The story opens with the heroine despairing of having lost all passion in life, and noticing that she has acquired a stalker. Thinking that stalking is an act of passion committed by a person obsessed with the object of their desire, she decides to imitate the behavior in an attempt to reawaken passion in her own life. She chooses a victim at random, and begins stalking a strange man. The story skips between points of view of the three people in this chain as the stalking direction goes backward and forward among them, and alliances form and shift. Added on are some secondary characters just as comically surreal as the protagonists, including a psychiatrist whose own form of professional stalking reduced him to streetperson status and who analyzes the patterns of behavior among them and can't stop himself from getting involved. Altogether, the novel is a fascinating 'what if?' kind of story.
But does it make you laugh? Yes, for those readers who appreciate the author's style. First page test recommended.



...and a Funeral (well not really but Apprentice Writer couldn't resist the 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' tie-in. Characters do meet their demise, but if memorial services actually took place they happened off-stage)

THE NIGHTWATCH by Sergei Lukyanenko
A cover blurb describes this extraordinary paranormal/fantasy novel as 'Harry Potter in Moscow'. Turns out, that's not quite accurate, but it was enough with enthusiastic recommendation from a cyberfriend to overcome AW's initial resistance due to belief that it was a vampire tale (the prominently featured fangs on the cover didn't help). There are, in fact, such creatures within, however they play a minor role. More central to the tale are 'regular' humans who have varying degrees of power to practice magic, and delve into a mysterious and almost sentient parallel universe. But even those abilities are secondary to the primary focus of the story: the hero (and others) trying to distinguish right from wrong, good guys from bad guys, greater from lesser evils on an ongoing basis because in real life, things are NEVER black and white. We all function in varying shades of grey, morally speaking, and pinpointing which is the overriding principle to uphold at any given moment is a never-ending puzzle and strain. The parallel world is organized into the Nightwatch, and the Daywatch (the title of the sequel), forces dedicated to upholding order and inciting chaos, respectively, with infractions by individual agents requiring compensation of the other side. The philosophy the author spins is highly thought-provoking; this was the first novel by a Russian federation author written after the fall of Communism which AW has ever read, and it was fascinating to get a taste of how a rapidly changing and sometimes anarchic social environment can influence literature. AW loved it despite not entirely smooth writing style, which she chalks up to bumps in translation.
But does it make you laugh? Not at all, but does it ever make you think.

Gentle Reader - Familiar with any of these titles? Please share!

R.I.P. Challenge

"....It was a desire to celebrate and share that love of the elements of gothic fiction that inspired me to create the first R.I.P. Challenge, four years ago.

Readers Imbibing Peril, that is what it is all about. I hope you’ll consider joining us on this more eerie road less traveled.

Walk this way.

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

The desire for the thrill that comes with this kind of reading drifts in on the autumn winds. You breathe it in and it takes hold of you, tempting you to late nights, book-in-hand, turning pages and starting at every unknown noise. Something wicked this way comes…"

So reads 'Stainless Steel Droppings' invitation to join in on this challenge. For the full description, go here.

As per suggestion, Apprentice Writer will share her 'reading pool':

GOTHIC: 'Seduced by a Stranger', by Eve Silver

Why This One? Fills criterion of '...can cut the atmosphere with a knife' in spades. Consider the first sentence:

"At the age of eleven, Catherine Weston was buried alive in a shallow, wet grave."

Status: Just started. Review to follow.

SUPERNATURAL: 'Trouble in Mudbug' by Jana DeLeon

Why This One? A ghost appears on the first page and stays till the last. Not a very scary one, true, but we'll still count this for the sake of ticking the genre box.

Status: Reviewed.

DARK FANTASY: Book 4, 'Corambis', Doctrine of Labyrinths series by Sarah Monette

Why This One? Because the subterranean water creature, the psychiatric hospital, and all the labyrinth scenes from Book 1 on gave Apprentice Writer the serious willies (in the non-British sense) and Book 4 will not be any different.

Status: Three books down (Melusine, The Virtu, The Mirador) , one to go.

HORROR: Apprentice Writer doesn't usually venture into this genre, due to being highly impressionable while also wimpy. She will therefore stretch definitions to include

'Demon Bound' by Meljean Brook (Book 7 in the 'Guardian' series if you count all the novellas), because some of the characters from Book 2, 'Demon Angel' (which AW liked very much) reside in hell, and repeatedly go through the tortures of the damned (in a minimally graphic way, thank the gods of fiction for small mercies), and if that's not horrifying AW doesn't know what is.

Status: Four previous installments in the series read, selected title to go.

MYSTERY: 'No Wind of Blame' by Georgette Heyer

Why This One? Because AW received it in the mail today and it looks really good. Since it is not remotely eerie, she will bend the definition again, and say the horror of this story lies in the views of many characters on the appalling manners of other characters rather than actual gruesomeness. How eerie can things get over an ever-present pot of tea? But this is the mystery AW has at hand, and since it's her blog, she's going to do what she wants.

Status: Twenty delicious pages in. Review forthcoming.

SUSPENSE/THRILLER: No idea what to insert here. Suggestions?

ETA: Gentle Reader and Debut Author Thomma Lynn Grindstaff has suggested

'Haunting Beauty' by Erin Quinn to fill this slot.

There we go. All boxes checked. Now AW just has to collect the actual volumes and commence.

Non-Laughter Twin Reviews: ANN AGUIRRE

WANDERLUST (Book 2, Sirantha Jax)
Science Fiction

BLUE DIABLO (Book 1, Corinne Solomon)
Urban Fantasy


Premise
Former space jumper takes on new role as galactic ambassador whom various factions jockey to influence for their own reasons.

'Handler' (gains impressions from touching objects) assists former love to locate his kidnapped mother.


What Works
Apprentice Writer very much enjoyed Book 1 in the Sirantha Jax series, Grimspace, and her hopes in this second installment were, happily, mostly fulfilled. There continues to be action and unusual characters aplenty, with the greatest satisfaction deriving from Velith's reappearance (an insectoid bounty hunter and easily the most intriguing character from Book 1). There is a nice twist at the end of this installment which AW did not foresee. In terms of character development, sailing is not smooth for Jax and March who finally became a pair previously; both experience inner damage that threatens their relationship in a realistic and intriguing manner: March in terms of emotion, and Jax in terms of physical health. Added great dimension to the story.

Setting and premise for 'Blue Diablo' were doubly appealing. The heroine, nursing a broken heart and body newly healed after the last professional collaboration with her former love went disastrously wrong, hides from him and vindictive criminals they brought to justice in a Mexican pawnshop. Utilizing his own gift of luck, Chance tracks her down and persuades her to join him in rescuing his mother from occult-curious kidnappers. Their seach across the border into Texas leads them to others with gifts and/or varying levels of awareness of things that go bump in the night. The depiction of how special gifts come at a personal price at the same time as they provide rewards was very well done - all talented characters suffered mentally or physically, sometimes profoundly, due to use of their abilities. The story was less about them having a gift, per se, and more about the circumstances under which each decided that application was worth the inevitable damage.

What Doesn't
When Jax is appointed to the role of ambassador early in the story, it seemed like a fantastic way to achieve character growth and avoid rehashing previously trod ground. Alas, this opportunity was not always taken. Both Jax and some secondary characters seemed sadly lacking in making the leap to that next level. WARNING: MILD 'Wanderlust' SPOILERS!




During a flight, crew error causes turbulence and Jax wonders if it is linked to a plot to captureVelith. Rather than taking the next logical step and wondering if it is a plot to capture her, the human symbol of the newly fragile political system , she puts it down to her usual paranoia. This was startlingly dim, given that it wasn't the first attempt at interference with her group. Following a discussion about possible interstellar war with billions of human casualties, Jax goes on about how much she loves hot chocolate (or 'choclaste' as the synthetic space variant is called) since it makes even such destruction better. If it hadn't been for the previous lack of role-awareness, AW might have put this down as a kind of black humor coping mechanism in the face of overwhelming responsibility. As it was, it came off as so shallow that AW began to sympathize with those who originally doubted Jax' fitness for the ambassadorship.

Later, it becomes clear that her movements are being controlled so she disguises a strategy session as party in her mechanic's room. Dina - who supposedly spent years flying with a mercenary crew doing untold amounts of shady things, and is now knowingly on a ship belonging to an even more shady crew - fails to put even the most elementary two and two together and grouses about a) being overrun and b) her spleen about Jax getting romantic with a new male character. That she couldn't put the pieces together without help, and couldn't imagine that the previously attacked ambassador rated a bodyguard (in which capacity she had misinterpreted Jax and Jael together) was not only annoying but should have been heavily unlikely given her upbringing in a royal household. When Dina fails Jax yet again, by refusing her request for help in putting together a wardrobe befitting high-level public appearances (something for which Dina would have been trained and Jax has utterly no experence) AW was more than ready for the mechanic to be 'spaced' as Jax suggests for another less than competent character.

And, on a'What the heck happened?' observational note, the way the characters cursed changed from Book 1 to 2. Whereas previously 'frack!' was the expletive of choice, here it was replaced with the conventional f-bomb. To AW personally, this seemed another sadly lost opportunity, other planets and societies being unique places to show new linguistic inventions.

END 'WANDERLUST' SPOILERS

WARNING: MODERATE 'BLUE DIABLO' SPOILERS!


Aw's biggest non-working element was a purely subjective one, which other readers could consider a plus. In a word: Zombies. AW is so not a zombie person. She would not have picked up the book had she known. But by the time they arrived, the end of the book was in reach so read on she did.

Every protagonist is a mix of strengths and weaknesses; Jax is certainly not flawless. But for this reader, her specific blend of flaws somehow felt easier to live with than Corinne's, if that makes any sense. Corinne is hypocritical about her ex; whereas she drives to another town and stays there overnight with a male character she finds attractive (partly to advance the case and partly to antagonize Chance), when he asks to meet alone with an attractive woman (in order to advance the case) she takes the car and in a jealous fit abandons him in a potentiallhy dangerous situation for the sake of retaliation. She is not the best of house-guests; letting her hosts pretty much cater to her, grousing when they don't express sufficient sympathy for her most recent hurts even though moments before, they threatened to kick out a police officer for failing to treat her with proper respect, and feeling free to invite outsiders in for meals without checking with the hosts ahead of time whether it would be acceptable.

By the time that an ever-available overseas character popped up who was mysteriously able to supply all needed information they themselves couldn't obtain in the same geographic area as the villains, AW suspected that the Corinne series is not for her. By the time a certain element is revealed at the end about the kidnapped mother, AW was certain of it.

END 'BLUE DIABLO' SPOILERS



Overall
Ms. Aguirre is a prolific author, continuing not only with these two series but branching out into paranormal as well. In what may be her most appealling attribute, she is extremely supportive of other authorsl; AW 'discovered' the peerless Meredith Duran through Ms. Aguirres one-woman promotion long before Ms. Duran's name became synonymous with 'rocketing star' in the historical romance world.

Various comments in the blogosphere hint at a possible divide between series supporters, along the lines of those who like the Jax books not necessarily enamored of Corinne and vice versa. AW found this to be true. She will stick with Jax (next up: Doubleblind), leave Corinne to another audience (next up: Hell Fire) , and look forward to taking a look at the first paranormal title once available.

Gentle Reader - What say you?
Jax or Corinne? March or Chance?
Both? Neither?

Read another review here.

Learn more about this author here.

Question for Urban Fantasy Readers

What is the difference between 'magic' (which Apprentice Writer first learned about in fairy tales) and 'magick' (which seems to be the type practiced between pages these days)?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Non Laughter Reviews: KEEPER

DARKBORN
by Allison Sinclair
Dark Fantasy


Premise
In a city uneasily shared between the Lightborn (people active in the day who accept use of magic and slowly disintegrate in prolonged dark) and the Darkborn (people who are blind, use echolocation to navigate, active at night because sunlight is fatal to them, and who abhor magic) a Darkborn physician performs a routine baby delivery and is sucked into a mystery with ever-broadening personal and political implications involving the fearsome, mutant Shadowborn (mysterious, monstrous creatures dwelling in remote regions).


What Works
Just about everything. Apprentice Writer thanks her lucky stars that she won an Advanced Reading Copy (thanks, Nalini Singh!) because she may never have picked this up otherwise, and the story is extraordinary. The worldbuilding is consistent, detailed, and fascinating (AW was well into the book before realizing that the darkborn characters are blind, for example, since their daily routines and activities are so naturally depicted. What do seeing impaired readers think of this story, she wonders?).

The characters are compelling. Multiple edgy relationships include a friendship between the doctor and his Lightborn neighbor who is not only female but a professional assasin; the tender bond between the doctor and his wife which carries a burdensome secret; the growing attraction between the wife and a legendary hunter of the Shadowborn; and indeed the whole complex relationship between the divided cititzenry of Minhorne with the hidden layer of spy network snaking through it.

The writing pulls the reader right along. The pacing is brilliant, with a mundane opening event which becomes anything but in a matter of paragraphs, and then keeps on picking up speed right up to the end with a brief reprieve before events continue to unfold in Book 2 - which, judging by the title, will be written from a Lightborn point of view.


What Doesn't
Can't think of anything.


Overall
A marvelous start to a new series. The Gentle Reader will hopefully forgive AW for indulging in a fangirl moment: she cannot wait to see what happens in Books 2 & 3. DARKBORN releases May 5 - AW hopes you'll run out to try it, and then come back to tell her what you thought.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Non Laughter Reviews: MAGIC TO THE BONE

MAGIC TO THE BONE
Devon Monk
Urban Fantasy


Premise
Hound (person whose magical talent lies in examining spell residue to identify the caster) gets caught in the crossfire of magical abuse, technology development, and family complications.

Cover
Girl in obligatory jeans, shortie top and tattoos, seen from behind against darkish, vaguely sinister background. In other words: generic UF-type cover, yet representative of content.

What Works
There is not a vampire, shapeshifter or demon in sight. The characters and plot are exclusively driven by variation in ability to sense, utilize, or conduct scientific research for business applications of magic. This was the first magic-centered UF story AW has read, and it was a refreshing change.
The author's world is divided into people and zones who have good/poor access to magic reservoirs (which lie beneath the city and are channeled through a pipeline structure like water or electric power), and excellent/no sensitivity to it, almost like a non-YA variation of Rowling's wizard/muggle duality. A nice touch was the addition of a social/business level to the conflict, in that the author has thought about the implications of magic in her created world beyond how strong individual characters in various smackdowns are. Not only thorough scene-setting but raises great possibilities for future plot threads.
Descriptions are intriguing and evocative of a raw, dour environment - not just because of the near-permanently overcast and cold weather and the heroine's penchant for economically depressed parts of the city, but because we see everything through her cynical, down-on-her-luck-in-every-way first person eyes. She is doing everything in her power to carve her own path apart from her mega-successful but manipulative father (and anyone else, for that matter), and to find a way to use her talent as a help rather than hindrance to others. Her complement in personality and magical affinity, the hero was a delight, standing out from the crowd of male love interests.

What Doesn't
In a case of 'A Person's Strength is also their Weakness', in different spots the author's skill at description crossed the line of well-done and veered into over-done. In scenes where characters are eating and drinking, the reader need not be reminded with every mouthful that it is still soup or wine that is being consumed. The number of times the heroine hissed 'I can take care of myself!' when she clearly could not, having to be more or less rescued by the hero time and again, became tedious, as did her chronic question of 'How do I pay for this?" whenever she needed to get anywhere. But these were minor points; larger was a feeling of nagging dissatisfaction at the end of the book. It is clear that this was intended as the launch of an ongoing series, meaning some plot threads needed to remain dangling - which is fine. Yet Apprentice Writer would have liked a finer balance of questions answered/threads left over for the sequel. A great deal of time is spent building up tension around identity and motives of a villanious character, as well as questions about an abused, talented character. Compared to the input and pace of most of the book, the ending felt too simple and non-explanatory. Will this keep AW away from the next installment? Not a chance.


Overall
An engaging series opener. The author participates in the new 'Deadline Dames' grog of paranormal, urban fantasy autors. This new arrival in the blogosphere is a welcome addition for aspiring authors, providing a wealth of clear, useful advice.

So long, 20008

"As prisoner #18330-424 (Lord Conrad Black) might say, it's been a farrago of a year, a cornucopia of the diabolical, the excruciating, and the interminable.Worse than a Saturday afternoon at Ikea. That bad."

So says Lynda Hurst of The Toronto Star on the political/social landscape of the past twelve months. To wit:

Canadian politician Stephane Dion on sovereignity in the Arctic: "We cannot win against the Americans (or) the Russians. And we are too civilized to shoot the Danes."

Italian politician Silvio Berlusconi on Barack Obama: " (He is) handsome, young, and tanned."

American politician Sarah Palin on foreign policy during a television interview: "We must not, Charlie, blink, because, Charlie, as I've said, Charlie, before, John McCain has said that - and remember here, Charlie, we're talking about John McCain, who, Charlie, is John McCain and I won't be blinking, Charlie."

Words to ponder.

But the words usually pondered in this corner of cyberspace are those found between two covers, uttered by fictional characters. After twelve months of reading, which authors made AW glad to sacrifice sleep and punctuality? Whose characters, scenes and snippets of dialogue remained with her after weeks or months had passed? Who made her sigh with admiration and yes, a teensy bit of envy at the sheer level of beauty and consummate writerly skill contained in favorite sentences and paragraphs? From whom did she learn the most? In no particular order:

Sherry Thomas (historical) - both debut release ‘Private Arrangments’ and follow-up ‘Delicious’, for the excellent good fun of the secondary romance in PA and making the "food = so much more than mere physical nourishment" scenes so evocative that she had to get up and find something delectable to munch every time she read a chapter.

Bonus: one of the best author blog titles in cyberspace: ‘Plotters and Manipulators United’. (Runner-up for best author blog title: suspense writer Deanna Raybourne's 'Blog A-Go-Go')

Joanna Bourne (historical) – for making AW go back after the utterly unsuspected bombshell half way through ‘My Lady Spymaster’ to marvel at all the clues peppered throughout the text that she had missed.

Bonus: an interesting, readable author blog with helpful advice for the writerly inclined.

Meredith Duran (historical) – for not only setting a rip-roaring debut novel (‘Duke of Shadows’) in one of AW’s favorite settings (India) but doing so without falling into any of several common novel-in-South-Asia traps (discussed here http://apprentice-writer.blogspot.com/2008/04/inspiration-india.html).

Bonus: approaching the matter with such passion that the author will be conducting doctoral research in the sub-continent.

Sarah Monette (dark fantasy) – Quadruple threat: vivid, original, edgy, unpredictable writing. The first books of the ‘Doctrine of Labyrinths’ series blew AW away.

Bonus: reading the author’s livejournal makes you smarter, but not in an obnoxious way. Thoughts on Kafka, Freud, Jung alongside very funny observations about television’s ‘Crusoe’, comments on identity of applesauce, etc.

And, lest the Gentle Reader think AW condones gender exclusion:

Jasper Fforde (alternate reality) – The ‘Thursday Next’ and ‘Nursery Crime’ series are so creatively out of the box that the term ‘alternate reality’ is a hopelessly inadequate label.

Bonus: this author’s titles will never suffer from being slapped with an anonymous manchest on the cover (as foisted upon a number of his colleagues on this list).

Gentle Reader – What about you? Which authors made you happy to be a reader in the past year?

Genre-Hopping Lightning Reviews

Apprentice Writer's reviews have been thin on the ground lately. In the interests of playing catch-up to start the new year with a blank (or, at least, blanker) slate, some less than exhaustive thoughts:

THE VIRTU by Sarah Monette
Dark Fantasy

'The Virtu' is Book 2 of the Doctrine of Labyrinths series (Book 1, 'Melusine' glowingly reviewed here earlier). It continues where the first left off, with the dual protagonists on an island famed for its healing sorcerers, across the Empire from their magical city-home of Melusine. The story tells of their journey and what happens when they return to a place where many are, to put it mildly, unhappy with them. This very bare description (vague to avoid spoiling the gradual discovery of readers who have not read Book 1) can't begin to convey the deftness with which the author juggles first-person narration of the two heros, so very different from one another in background, personality, status, and skills, and how numerous details from the first book turn out to be puzzle pieces for the second rather than simple window-dressing.

Protagonists, secondary characters, plot, villains of various intensity and world-building are all rich and convincing. But the single most impressive element is that AW could never, ever predict what would happen next. She abandoned her usual practice of reading half a dozen stories at once to devour this one non-stop, and needs a break to breathe and digest all the amazingness before plunging into Book 3, 'The Mirador' (Book 4, the final installment, will be published mid2009 as 'Corambis').

Was the book flawless? No. The extreme power imbalance between the two heros was overdone (something that will hopefully even out in the next installment), there was a big logical break in one of the labyrinth scenes, and the almost complete lack of basic gratitude in this world became increasingly irritating: Felix not only solves an ancient puzzle but performs a monstrously huge act of magic that no one else could - and receives only a few bland notes of congratulation in recognition. Mildmay's streetsmarts and hardwon combat experience saves his entourage over and over yet he receives no acknowledgement and almost all characters feel free to continue to boss him around as a dull-witted thug. These annoyances weren't deal-breakers, though, and didn't stand in the way of the flying pace of the story.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND



DRIVEN by Eve Kenin
ACTION ADVENTURE

'Driven' is part of the 'Shomi' imprint of speculative fiction designed to appeal to youngish readers with cutting-edge, genre-bending themes and manga-type covers. It is set in a post-apocalyptic Siberian world with an all-controlling economic power that rules the transportation corridors, miserable have-nots clinging to the fringe of survival, rebels living in secret cells, ice pirates preying on everyone, and a few in-betweeners trying to negotiate their way among the rest. The heroine is one such, a trucker with special capacities trying to stay a step ahead of remnants from her difficult past. The hero (or is he a villain?) is equally mysterious. The flavor of this fun, quick read reminded AW a little of the also enjoyable 'Grimpsace' by Ann Aguirre.
RECOMMEND


BOUND TO LOVE HER by Esri Rose
PARANORMAL

This debut novel is tagged as urban fantasy romantic suspense girl power comedy. After that kind of buildup, AW expected a whole lot. Sadly, it went partially unfulfilled, leading to a question of whether the story may be the victim of its own cover promises.

Apart from the Tolkien oevre, AW has read very little elf-oriented literature, so she looked forward to this story. And in the end, it was the elf portions of the tale that were most interesting; their capabilities and limitations, traditions and adaptations to urban sprawl crowding out their natural woodland habitat (as though they are some kind of tall, long-haired raccoons).

The parts that didn't work so well for this reader included the relationship between the first-person heroine and the hero elf. He was intriguing, but it was never quite clear what drew him to her so powerfully. Perhaps the fact that she was his very first human contact was enough? Also, the only funny detected were the brief running gag bits related to a taxicab driver's mistaken impression that the heroine is a terrorist. Call her stringent, but AW believes that one running gag does not a comedy make. Finally, the suspense portion was tied to a fascinating rogue elf who didn't get nearly enough screen time. He was by far the most interesting character, and AW wished he had been explored more fully (as well as the hero's elf parents, not at all welcoming of a potential cross-ethnic daughter-in-law).
RECOMMEND FOR ELF AFFICIONADOS



UNTOUCHED by Anna Campbell
HISTORICAL ROMANCE

AW very much wanted to like this book due to enthusiastic recommendation from a friend, and the author's likable online persona. It was not to be. This contributed to AW's long-held suspicion that she is simply not the audience for 'pure' romance.

The newly-widowed and destitute (but of very old and influential family) heroine is mistaken for a prostitute and kidnapped, taken to a remote estate and left bound on a table for the hero to discover. He has been imprisoned here for many years since childhood episodes of what was interpreted (and brutally treated) as madness, but may have been food-allergy related reactions. His evil uncle now controls the family fortune in his stead, and is naturally loath to give it all up for something as inconvenient as returned sanity. Yet he must keep his nephew alive or lose control to the hero's heir - hence the female companionship now provided. How the pair fall in love and overcome the odds to break out of their prison forms the rest of the story.

The premise was interesting, the hero sympathetic, the bond between the protagonists genuine, their ill treatment vivid. Yet the heroine felt increasingly irksome (culminating in a TSTL moment in the big crisis finale scene), AW skimmed longer and longer portions (including the lengthy, multiple love scenes), and matters reached the point where she was just plain not entertained enough to suspend disbelief on some points she would have let go under other circumstances (How did the hero manage to become a leading botanist if he was imprisoned and neglected from the age of thirteen? If he was able to have his scholarly articles published in scientific journals, why would he not have been able to figure out a way to communicate with outsiders about his situation? Why would the uncle have allowed him to own a dog that responds to his commands alone and can attack henchmen? If he is such a deadly marksman, why would he have not used that rock-throwing skill and his attack dog to escape the two jailers before? etc.)

Many other readers were pleased with this book, as well as the author's first, and count the days till the third is released at the end of this month. AW believes her reaction proves that if she is going to pick up a title with 'romance' in the tagline, she should make sure there are other ingredients in the mix (suspense? action-adventure? comedy?) to increase the chances of a no-holds-barred happy review.
RECOMMEND FOR 'PURE' ROMANCE ENTHUSIASTS

Gentle Reader - Have you liked or loathed any of these titles? Please share.