Spirelli Paranormal Investigations: Episodes 1 - 3
(The Spirelli Paranormal Investigations series)
Kate Baray
CreateSpace
Fiction, Fantasy
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: Jack Spirelli, owner of the Junk Store secondhand shop, just went public with his new business as a paranormal investigator. Despite having no
magic of his own, he'll take on most any case for the underground community of magic users and nonhuman beings in modern Austin... but he'll need an assistant to be
truly effective. When the dragon Marin walks into his shop (in human form, of course), he's naturally suspicious - dragons don't often leave their families to seek
their own way in the world - but he can't afford to be too picky. Soon, Jack and Marin are neck-deep in cases ranging from a missing earth witch to supernatural
memory theft to protecting a defector from the dangerous Coven.
REVIEW: This is a spinoff of another series by author Baray which I haven't read. That may explain some of my trouble getting invested in the characters
and their world. I felt I didn't really know enough about her urban fantasy setting, the differences between magic users and other possible players in paranormal
problems, so troubles and solutions tended to materialize out of nowhere. The characters were decent for what they were, but I never really connected with them. They
played their roles competently, if without too much originality in these three short episodes. I could see hints around the edges of potential in future installments.
The three adventures contained in this volume follow the usual PI format: a problem shows up in Jack's office, he and his assistant head out to investigate it, they get
in a few scrapes, and things get resolved in time for the proverbial closing credits. It's not bad, though the third episode had some repetitions and other issues that
hinted at a too-speedy editing round, but it's just not my cup of cocoa. If you're looking for a quick PI-style urban fantasy read, this might fit the bill.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Death Warmed Over (Kevin J. Anderson) - My Review
Hounded (Kevin Hearne) - My Review
Monday, September 26, 2016
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Lumberjanes Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max (Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, authors, illustrations by Brooke A. Allen)
Lumberjanes Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max
(The Lumberjanes series, 5 - 8)
Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, illustrations by Brooke A. Allen
BOOM! Box
Fiction, YA Comics/Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: The adventures of the Lumberjanes girls of Roanoke cabin continue. From friendship bracelets to Capture the Flag, summer camp continues... to be plagued with monster attacks and magic and general weirdness in the woods. The mystery surrounding the golden-eyed beasts deepens as a fellow camper proves to be more than just another Lumberjane, drawing Roanoke into a case of celestial sibling rivalry with the power of the universe up for grabs.
REVIEW: Much like the first collection, this volume starts quickly and maintains high levels of action and humor. Cabin counselor Jen has been drug into the strangeness, adding a new dynamic as the five core characters continue to grow. Still a fun series.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Fairy Quest: Outcasts: #1 (Paul Jenkins) - My Review
Lumberjanes Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy (Noelle Stevenson and Shannon Watters) - My Review
Princeless: Save Yourself (Jeremy Whitley) - My Review
(The Lumberjanes series, 5 - 8)
Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, illustrations by Brooke A. Allen
BOOM! Box
Fiction, YA Comics/Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: The adventures of the Lumberjanes girls of Roanoke cabin continue. From friendship bracelets to Capture the Flag, summer camp continues... to be plagued with monster attacks and magic and general weirdness in the woods. The mystery surrounding the golden-eyed beasts deepens as a fellow camper proves to be more than just another Lumberjane, drawing Roanoke into a case of celestial sibling rivalry with the power of the universe up for grabs.
REVIEW: Much like the first collection, this volume starts quickly and maintains high levels of action and humor. Cabin counselor Jen has been drug into the strangeness, adding a new dynamic as the five core characters continue to grow. Still a fun series.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Fairy Quest: Outcasts: #1 (Paul Jenkins) - My Review
Lumberjanes Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy (Noelle Stevenson and Shannon Watters) - My Review
Princeless: Save Yourself (Jeremy Whitley) - My Review
Monday, September 19, 2016
The Forbidden Library (Django Wexler)
The Forbidden Library
(The Forbidden Library series, Book 1)
Django Wexler
Kathy Dawson Books
Fiction, YA Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Alice has always been a good girl, studying hard and following the rules and never being a bother to her tutors... but everything changes the night she sees her father talking to a fairy in the kitchen. Dad always told her storybook creatures like fairies weren't real, but there's no mistaking what the winged man is - nor is there a doubt that he's somehow responsible when her father suddenly leaves on a steamship the next day, a steamship that goes down with all hands. When the swarm of solicitors finish picking the estate's bones, Alice finds herself packed off to "Uncle Jerry", a man she never knew existed, and his peculiar home in the countryside. Here, in his immense and mysterious library, she meets a talking cat, a mystery boy, dangerous books imprisoning magical beings, and powers she never knew she had - powers that might lead her to the fairy man and the truth about what really happened to her father. But first, she's going to have to break a few rules...
REVIEW: Another discount find, this middle-grade book has obvious appeal for those of us who love reading and fantasy. Alice makes a competent, intelligent heroine, not above the odd mistake but never one to whine or give up, no matter the odds. Surrounding her are numerous characters of often-dubious moral fiber, each with their own agendas and a certain disregard for the consequences to others... traits that Alice begins to pick up by association as her Reader abilities - the power to enter magical books and bind their prisoners to her service, among other things - develop. The story moves at a good pace, with some great descriptions and real peril, though the ending is more of a hook for the next book than a solid conclusion (something I've sadly gotten used to in this day and age, where series are the rule rather than the exception.) Still, I enjoyed it, and - marketing tactic or not - I'll be looking forward to Book 2.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Libriomancer (Jim C. Hines) - My Review
The Book of Story Beginnings (Kristin Kladstrup) - My Review
Behind the Canvas (Alexander Vance) - My Review
(The Forbidden Library series, Book 1)
Django Wexler
Kathy Dawson Books
Fiction, YA Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Alice has always been a good girl, studying hard and following the rules and never being a bother to her tutors... but everything changes the night she sees her father talking to a fairy in the kitchen. Dad always told her storybook creatures like fairies weren't real, but there's no mistaking what the winged man is - nor is there a doubt that he's somehow responsible when her father suddenly leaves on a steamship the next day, a steamship that goes down with all hands. When the swarm of solicitors finish picking the estate's bones, Alice finds herself packed off to "Uncle Jerry", a man she never knew existed, and his peculiar home in the countryside. Here, in his immense and mysterious library, she meets a talking cat, a mystery boy, dangerous books imprisoning magical beings, and powers she never knew she had - powers that might lead her to the fairy man and the truth about what really happened to her father. But first, she's going to have to break a few rules...
REVIEW: Another discount find, this middle-grade book has obvious appeal for those of us who love reading and fantasy. Alice makes a competent, intelligent heroine, not above the odd mistake but never one to whine or give up, no matter the odds. Surrounding her are numerous characters of often-dubious moral fiber, each with their own agendas and a certain disregard for the consequences to others... traits that Alice begins to pick up by association as her Reader abilities - the power to enter magical books and bind their prisoners to her service, among other things - develop. The story moves at a good pace, with some great descriptions and real peril, though the ending is more of a hook for the next book than a solid conclusion (something I've sadly gotten used to in this day and age, where series are the rule rather than the exception.) Still, I enjoyed it, and - marketing tactic or not - I'll be looking forward to Book 2.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Libriomancer (Jim C. Hines) - My Review
The Book of Story Beginnings (Kristin Kladstrup) - My Review
Behind the Canvas (Alexander Vance) - My Review
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Swords and Deviltry (Fritz Leiber)
Swords and Deviltry
(The Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser stories, Volume 1)
Fritz Leiber
Open Road Media
Fiction, Collection/Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In the long-ago and faraway world of Nehwon, a world of sorcery and barbarism and wonders untold, two unlikely souls find their fates entwined, their lives and exploits becoming the stuff of legend: towering, skald-trained swordsman Fafhyrd of the icy north, and the clever little magic-dabbling thief called the Gray Mouser.
This collection contains the first four tales in the adventures of Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser:
Induction: A vignette of the meeting between the two soon-to-be heroes.
The Snow Women: On the verge of manhood, Fafhyrd grows restless with the backward, custom-bound ways of his northern kinsman, enamored with the distant allure of civilization - and with Vlana, an exotic woman traveling with a troupe of entertainers.
The Unholy Grail: A white wizard's apprentice, Mouse, returns from an initiation quest to find his master's home burned by the cruel lord of the land, turning to black magic for revenge.
Ill Met in Lankhmar: In the great "city of cities" at the heart of Nehwon, Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser meet when both cross wits and blades with the all-powerful Thieves Guild... a challenge that brings tragic consequences to themselves and their loved ones.
REVIEW: Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser are classic heroes in the sword and sorcery genre; indeed, Fritz Leiber is credited with coining the term "sword and sorcery". As a fantasy reader and would-be writer, I figured I ought to explore them, and a recent sale on the e-book edition gave me that chance. Though not the first ones penned in the series, these short stories are the first, chronologically, in the characters' lives, the "origin" tales. Leiber writes with imagination, adventure, and the odd touch of humor, crafting an archetypical world built on tropes - though some of the tropes I'm familiar with possibly originated with Leiber, such as the now-ubiquitous Thieves Guild. It was the author's intention to write more human characters than those that existed at the time in the genre, such as Conan, and in this he succeeded; though still larger than life, both Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser have very human weaknesses and failings, making them more relatable and approachable. The genre's sexism shines through, particularly in The Snow Women with the emasculating, fickle northern ladies and their ice sorcery (and the way in which female characters and their whims and weaknesses lie at the heart of much of the tragedy in all the tales), and here and there the age of the works is also evident. Of the four tales, the last one, the award-winning Ill Met in Lankhmar, is clearly the best, while the first is more of an incomplete prologue - indeed, I'm not quite sure why it was included, save to whet readers' appetites for the other three stories. Overall, though, this collection holds up fairly well; enough for me to forgive the sexism and a few other issues to rate a solid good (largely on the back of the final story). I don't know if I'll follow the series further, though I'm more likely to read more of Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser than such stiff, broodingly inhuman figures as Conan.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Phoenix on the Sword (Robert E. Howard) - My Review
Hero for Hire (C. B. Pratt) - My Review
Sword-Dancer (Jennifer Roberson) - My Review
(The Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser stories, Volume 1)
Fritz Leiber
Open Road Media
Fiction, Collection/Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In the long-ago and faraway world of Nehwon, a world of sorcery and barbarism and wonders untold, two unlikely souls find their fates entwined, their lives and exploits becoming the stuff of legend: towering, skald-trained swordsman Fafhyrd of the icy north, and the clever little magic-dabbling thief called the Gray Mouser.
This collection contains the first four tales in the adventures of Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser:
Induction: A vignette of the meeting between the two soon-to-be heroes.
The Snow Women: On the verge of manhood, Fafhyrd grows restless with the backward, custom-bound ways of his northern kinsman, enamored with the distant allure of civilization - and with Vlana, an exotic woman traveling with a troupe of entertainers.
The Unholy Grail: A white wizard's apprentice, Mouse, returns from an initiation quest to find his master's home burned by the cruel lord of the land, turning to black magic for revenge.
Ill Met in Lankhmar: In the great "city of cities" at the heart of Nehwon, Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser meet when both cross wits and blades with the all-powerful Thieves Guild... a challenge that brings tragic consequences to themselves and their loved ones.
REVIEW: Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser are classic heroes in the sword and sorcery genre; indeed, Fritz Leiber is credited with coining the term "sword and sorcery". As a fantasy reader and would-be writer, I figured I ought to explore them, and a recent sale on the e-book edition gave me that chance. Though not the first ones penned in the series, these short stories are the first, chronologically, in the characters' lives, the "origin" tales. Leiber writes with imagination, adventure, and the odd touch of humor, crafting an archetypical world built on tropes - though some of the tropes I'm familiar with possibly originated with Leiber, such as the now-ubiquitous Thieves Guild. It was the author's intention to write more human characters than those that existed at the time in the genre, such as Conan, and in this he succeeded; though still larger than life, both Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser have very human weaknesses and failings, making them more relatable and approachable. The genre's sexism shines through, particularly in The Snow Women with the emasculating, fickle northern ladies and their ice sorcery (and the way in which female characters and their whims and weaknesses lie at the heart of much of the tragedy in all the tales), and here and there the age of the works is also evident. Of the four tales, the last one, the award-winning Ill Met in Lankhmar, is clearly the best, while the first is more of an incomplete prologue - indeed, I'm not quite sure why it was included, save to whet readers' appetites for the other three stories. Overall, though, this collection holds up fairly well; enough for me to forgive the sexism and a few other issues to rate a solid good (largely on the back of the final story). I don't know if I'll follow the series further, though I'm more likely to read more of Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser than such stiff, broodingly inhuman figures as Conan.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Phoenix on the Sword (Robert E. Howard) - My Review
Hero for Hire (C. B. Pratt) - My Review
Sword-Dancer (Jennifer Roberson) - My Review
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Animal Farm
George Orwell
Signet Classics
Fiction, Literary Fiction
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: After years of neglect by their drunken human master, the animals of Manor Farm - heeding the words of a wise old pig, who foresaw a future utopian republic of free animals across England - rebel and take control... but what they fought for is not what they find, as the promise of a republic crumbles into a harsh, new reality on the renamed Animal Farm.
REVIEW: This classic is a scathing commentary on politics, totalitarianism, class warfare, revisionist history, and human nature in general, delivering its messages with the subtlety and repetition of a five-ton jackhammer. The farm animals prove too stupid and easily manipulated to realize they're being betrayed by those they'd considered their own kind, and power inevitably corrupts. It's a story with no real heroes, only villains and fools, plus a few cynics who, while aware of the situation, are ultimately in just as bad a place as the fools and so don't gain much with their cynicism. Is there any hope for a better tomorrow, or any system that won't inevitably succumb to the base greed and manipulation of the Few over the Many? Apparently not. This was likely Orwell's point - a point sadly as obvious and valid today as when Animal Farm was first published in 1946 - though it seems like he took an awful lot of time and effort writing this 128-page fable when he could've said much the same thing in a shorter speech or essay.
As a closing note, the Signet edition I read included a foreword by P. G. Wodehouse, but I confess to giving up on it partway through.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely) - My Review
The Prince (Niccolo Machiavelli) - My Review
Gulliver's Travels (Jonathan Swift) - My Review
George Orwell
Signet Classics
Fiction, Literary Fiction
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: After years of neglect by their drunken human master, the animals of Manor Farm - heeding the words of a wise old pig, who foresaw a future utopian republic of free animals across England - rebel and take control... but what they fought for is not what they find, as the promise of a republic crumbles into a harsh, new reality on the renamed Animal Farm.
REVIEW: This classic is a scathing commentary on politics, totalitarianism, class warfare, revisionist history, and human nature in general, delivering its messages with the subtlety and repetition of a five-ton jackhammer. The farm animals prove too stupid and easily manipulated to realize they're being betrayed by those they'd considered their own kind, and power inevitably corrupts. It's a story with no real heroes, only villains and fools, plus a few cynics who, while aware of the situation, are ultimately in just as bad a place as the fools and so don't gain much with their cynicism. Is there any hope for a better tomorrow, or any system that won't inevitably succumb to the base greed and manipulation of the Few over the Many? Apparently not. This was likely Orwell's point - a point sadly as obvious and valid today as when Animal Farm was first published in 1946 - though it seems like he took an awful lot of time and effort writing this 128-page fable when he could've said much the same thing in a shorter speech or essay.
As a closing note, the Signet edition I read included a foreword by P. G. Wodehouse, but I confess to giving up on it partway through.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely) - My Review
The Prince (Niccolo Machiavelli) - My Review
Gulliver's Travels (Jonathan Swift) - My Review
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