Into the Riverlands
The Singing Hills Cycle, Book 3
Nghi Vo
Tordotcom
Fiction, Fantasy
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: Singing Hills cleric Chih's travels have taken them to many lands, but few are as wild and rough as the riverlands. With their talking hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant, they have come seeking stories and histories... and, again, find themselves caught up in a story of their own, when they fall in with some interesting companions on a journey to Betony Docks through bandit country.
REVIEW: Another great, fast-reading entry in the Singing Hills series, which can be read in any order but which do slowly fill out the wider world of Chih and Almost Brilliant. As in previous installments, the cleric starts out with every intention of being a passive observer (if not always the most virtuous of their order), gathering tales directly from the source and refraining from passing judgement. Also as in previous installments, the stories they record have a way of pulling them in, entwined with adventures in the here-and-now. In this case, Chih finds themselves in the company of an older riverlands couple who seem strangely familiar with the region's history and pathways and tales, as well as two younger companions who might be destined for their own stories someday. Along the way, the cleric gathers more stories and must consider the common conceit that tends to place extra value on beautiful maidens and ignores or vilifies the ordinary or less attractive ones, as if physical beauty conveys inherent virtue and interest. In the riverlands in particular, it would be wise to pay attention to the stories one hears, as they seem particularly prone to coming to life around a traveler in unexpected ways, for all that stories have a way of obscuring and twisting whatever truths they might be based on.
The story wends a bit at the start, but soon is off and running, and the Singing Hills world continues to grow in fascinating ways, full of interesting characters and intriguing cultures and stories and legends galore.
You Might Also Enjoy:
She Who Became the Sun (Shelley Parker-Chan) - My Review
The Tiger's Daughter (K. Arsenault Rivera) - My Review
The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Nghi Vo) - My Review
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Full Tilt (Neal Shusterman)
Full Tilt
Neal Shusterman
Simon and Schuster
Fiction, YA Horror
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Sixteen-year-old Blake is a level-headed young man, focused and dedicated, the polar opposite of his reckless younger brother Quinn. But for Quinn, he might not have been at the amusement park with friends Russ and Maggie. He certainly never would've ridden the Kamikaze roller coaster... and he wouldn't have ended up at the carnival game booth with the strangely alluring redheaded lady, Cassandra. She offers him an invitation to another park, an exclusive park that only opens from midnight to dawn. Blake never would've considered going, except - once again - Quinn has gotten himself in trouble. Somehow he stole Blake's invitation... only he left his comatose body behind.
When Blake, Russ, and Maggie head out to rescue the boy, they find a theme park like nothing they could ever have dreamed, save perhaps in their wildest nightmares. Cassandra's park is filled with strange attractions and stranger staff - and if they can't finish seven rides before the park closes at dawn, they'll be trapped, the same as countless other lost souls. It seems simple enough, but none of the rides are what they seem, each insidiously crafted to exploit their greatest desires and fears and turn them against the teens. To rescue Quinn and save himself and his friends, Blake may finally have to confront secrets that have haunted him for nearly a decade - secrets he may not be strong enough to face, not even for the sake of his brother.
REVIEW: It's a straightforward setup, the evil carnival preying on human weaknesses, and Shusterman executes it competently in a tale exposing the terrors that underlie the thrills and the secret truths just beneath the surface of reality, secrets that could shatter the thin veneer of normalcy and happiness of so many people's lives.
Blake is the serious student, responsible and driven, who has already landed early admission at an Ivy League school; this trip to the theme park with wannabe-jock Russ and Russ's girlfriend Maggie is something like a last hurrah of childhood before he becomes - at sixteen - a college student living on his own in distant New York City. Blake should be excited, or terrified, or something, but he has built calluses over his extreme emotions, stemming from past traumas that come back to haunt him in the impossible theme park. Quinn is everything Blake isn't, and would never let himself be, wearing rude hats and face piercings and often lacking a shred of personal preservation instincts once he focuses on something he wants (or is told he can't have). Both boys also have the added burden of being in a single parent home after their dad walked out, followed by a string of unpleasant men in their mother's life - more incentive for Blake to dig into his self-appointed position as the family rock and leveler, and for Quinn to get more piercings and more attitude. Even the promise of a possible light at the end of their personal tunnels, with Blake's college prospects and Mom finally landing a decent boyfriend, only makes things worse, to the point where Quinn runs off to Cassandra's hidden theme park and Blake has to go after... each carrying all that extra baggage for the park's rides to prey upon and entrap them with. Russ and Maggie have their own baggage, too, if with less backstory (they are, after all, just the sidekicks), which further complicates Blake's rescue attempts. Everyone who passes through the park's gates must confront their inner demons and the lies they've been telling themselves about what kind of person they truly are, and the three friends are no exception, forced to see truths that they may not be able to handle. The horror becomes more personal for Blake not just because of his own past trauma and the danger to his brother, but because Cassandra has taken a peculiar personal interest in his progress.
Some of the rides seem a bit too on the nose - a maze of mirrors presenting distorted images and self-doubts, for instance - but the surreal terror comes through decently for all that. The climax felt a trifle rushed, and the aftermath had one revelation that cheapened some aspects of one character in a way that nearly knocked the rating down a half-star. Other than that, despite the "evil carnival" thing not exactly being original, Full Tilt makes for a decently creepy thrill ride through one young man's darkest self.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) - My Review
Adrift (Paul Griffin) - My Review
It (Stephen King) - My Review
Neal Shusterman
Simon and Schuster
Fiction, YA Horror
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Sixteen-year-old Blake is a level-headed young man, focused and dedicated, the polar opposite of his reckless younger brother Quinn. But for Quinn, he might not have been at the amusement park with friends Russ and Maggie. He certainly never would've ridden the Kamikaze roller coaster... and he wouldn't have ended up at the carnival game booth with the strangely alluring redheaded lady, Cassandra. She offers him an invitation to another park, an exclusive park that only opens from midnight to dawn. Blake never would've considered going, except - once again - Quinn has gotten himself in trouble. Somehow he stole Blake's invitation... only he left his comatose body behind.
When Blake, Russ, and Maggie head out to rescue the boy, they find a theme park like nothing they could ever have dreamed, save perhaps in their wildest nightmares. Cassandra's park is filled with strange attractions and stranger staff - and if they can't finish seven rides before the park closes at dawn, they'll be trapped, the same as countless other lost souls. It seems simple enough, but none of the rides are what they seem, each insidiously crafted to exploit their greatest desires and fears and turn them against the teens. To rescue Quinn and save himself and his friends, Blake may finally have to confront secrets that have haunted him for nearly a decade - secrets he may not be strong enough to face, not even for the sake of his brother.
REVIEW: It's a straightforward setup, the evil carnival preying on human weaknesses, and Shusterman executes it competently in a tale exposing the terrors that underlie the thrills and the secret truths just beneath the surface of reality, secrets that could shatter the thin veneer of normalcy and happiness of so many people's lives.
Blake is the serious student, responsible and driven, who has already landed early admission at an Ivy League school; this trip to the theme park with wannabe-jock Russ and Russ's girlfriend Maggie is something like a last hurrah of childhood before he becomes - at sixteen - a college student living on his own in distant New York City. Blake should be excited, or terrified, or something, but he has built calluses over his extreme emotions, stemming from past traumas that come back to haunt him in the impossible theme park. Quinn is everything Blake isn't, and would never let himself be, wearing rude hats and face piercings and often lacking a shred of personal preservation instincts once he focuses on something he wants (or is told he can't have). Both boys also have the added burden of being in a single parent home after their dad walked out, followed by a string of unpleasant men in their mother's life - more incentive for Blake to dig into his self-appointed position as the family rock and leveler, and for Quinn to get more piercings and more attitude. Even the promise of a possible light at the end of their personal tunnels, with Blake's college prospects and Mom finally landing a decent boyfriend, only makes things worse, to the point where Quinn runs off to Cassandra's hidden theme park and Blake has to go after... each carrying all that extra baggage for the park's rides to prey upon and entrap them with. Russ and Maggie have their own baggage, too, if with less backstory (they are, after all, just the sidekicks), which further complicates Blake's rescue attempts. Everyone who passes through the park's gates must confront their inner demons and the lies they've been telling themselves about what kind of person they truly are, and the three friends are no exception, forced to see truths that they may not be able to handle. The horror becomes more personal for Blake not just because of his own past trauma and the danger to his brother, but because Cassandra has taken a peculiar personal interest in his progress.
Some of the rides seem a bit too on the nose - a maze of mirrors presenting distorted images and self-doubts, for instance - but the surreal terror comes through decently for all that. The climax felt a trifle rushed, and the aftermath had one revelation that cheapened some aspects of one character in a way that nearly knocked the rating down a half-star. Other than that, despite the "evil carnival" thing not exactly being original, Full Tilt makes for a decently creepy thrill ride through one young man's darkest self.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) - My Review
Adrift (Paul Griffin) - My Review
It (Stephen King) - My Review
Friday, March 24, 2023
Saturn Run (John Sanford and Ctien)
Saturn Run
John Sanford and Ctien
G. P. Putnam's Sons
Fiction, Sci-Fi
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In the year 2066, routine calibration tests for a repaired space telescope reveal the impossible: an object decelerating toward Saturn. Natural objects do not decelerate, and its origin point is outside the solar system: nothing from Earth, in other words. The discovery kicks off a new space race, as America and China - a nation that has already been building the first Martian colony ship - scramble to throw together vessels and crews capable of investigating the new visitor firsthand. Even the smallest scrap from an alien craft, a vessel that must have technology at least a century ahead of anything humans have managed to build if it can manage interstellar travel, could reap untold technological, monetary, and sheer propaganda benefits for the victor... and with stakes that high, space or possible first contact might not be the deadliest dangers on the unprecedented trip.
REVIEW: Standing well on the hard side of the hard/soft science fiction spectrum, Saturn Run might handwave a few minor details, but uses theoretically plausible science to create excellent tension and limitations in a first contact story fraught with unexpected difficulties and thorny politics. Even creating propulsion capable of getting a human crew to Saturn in a year or two becomes a way of raising the stakes, with China and America arriving at different solutions that each have their benefits and drawbacks. The concepts are presented in such a way that even a person like myself, who can barely grasp the principles of a door knob, can understand some hint of both the sheer wonder and the potential for dangerous complications should something go wrong... and, of course, things do go wrong, for both crews (even if the focus is on the Americans). Not that the science and technology is the only potential problem, of course; the personal angle, from the crewmembers to the international politics, creates no end of trouble, as humans simply cannot stop being human even in the face of unprecedented proof that we are not alone in the galaxy. For the most part, the people behave plausibly and not too stupidly for their situations, with no obvious plot-extending stupidity moments and some occasional humor slipped in. There are some nice twists and turns, successes and failures, and interesting conundrums of the scientific and political natures (sometimes both) on the journey, and the plot moves pretty well as it goes, without bogging down in lectures or excessive drama. At the end, I felt there were a few threads that never quite went anywhere, or were apparently forgotten along the way, but not enough to ruin the entire story for me. On the whole, it made for an enjoyable read (or listen, this being another audiobook).
You Might Also Enjoy:
Leviathan Wakes (James S. A. Corey) - My Review
The Calculating Stars (Mary Robinette Kowal) - My Review
Red Mars (Kim Stanley Robinson) - My Review
John Sanford and Ctien
G. P. Putnam's Sons
Fiction, Sci-Fi
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In the year 2066, routine calibration tests for a repaired space telescope reveal the impossible: an object decelerating toward Saturn. Natural objects do not decelerate, and its origin point is outside the solar system: nothing from Earth, in other words. The discovery kicks off a new space race, as America and China - a nation that has already been building the first Martian colony ship - scramble to throw together vessels and crews capable of investigating the new visitor firsthand. Even the smallest scrap from an alien craft, a vessel that must have technology at least a century ahead of anything humans have managed to build if it can manage interstellar travel, could reap untold technological, monetary, and sheer propaganda benefits for the victor... and with stakes that high, space or possible first contact might not be the deadliest dangers on the unprecedented trip.
REVIEW: Standing well on the hard side of the hard/soft science fiction spectrum, Saturn Run might handwave a few minor details, but uses theoretically plausible science to create excellent tension and limitations in a first contact story fraught with unexpected difficulties and thorny politics. Even creating propulsion capable of getting a human crew to Saturn in a year or two becomes a way of raising the stakes, with China and America arriving at different solutions that each have their benefits and drawbacks. The concepts are presented in such a way that even a person like myself, who can barely grasp the principles of a door knob, can understand some hint of both the sheer wonder and the potential for dangerous complications should something go wrong... and, of course, things do go wrong, for both crews (even if the focus is on the Americans). Not that the science and technology is the only potential problem, of course; the personal angle, from the crewmembers to the international politics, creates no end of trouble, as humans simply cannot stop being human even in the face of unprecedented proof that we are not alone in the galaxy. For the most part, the people behave plausibly and not too stupidly for their situations, with no obvious plot-extending stupidity moments and some occasional humor slipped in. There are some nice twists and turns, successes and failures, and interesting conundrums of the scientific and political natures (sometimes both) on the journey, and the plot moves pretty well as it goes, without bogging down in lectures or excessive drama. At the end, I felt there were a few threads that never quite went anywhere, or were apparently forgotten along the way, but not enough to ruin the entire story for me. On the whole, it made for an enjoyable read (or listen, this being another audiobook).
You Might Also Enjoy:
Leviathan Wakes (James S. A. Corey) - My Review
The Calculating Stars (Mary Robinette Kowal) - My Review
Red Mars (Kim Stanley Robinson) - My Review
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
The Wolf Hour (Sara Lewis Holmes)
The Wolf Hour
Sara Lewis Holmes
Arthur A. Levine Books
Fiction, MG Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: The forest of the Puszcza holds innumerable dangers for any wayward soul who ventures into its depths. The worst danger, though, is the Stories. The tales so many are familiar with, the ones their mothers told them (who heard the tale from their mothers, and their mothers, back to the beginning), echo and reverberate through the forest to this day, playing again and again. When caught in a Story, a girl might forget who she is or where she's from, only that she needs to take a basket to Grandma's house (even if she never in her life had a grandmother before)... and a wolf might forget their pack and cubs and become obsessed with devouring a child. It is not a place to travel lightly, if one must travel there at all. Even the animals who live there are wary of its tricks and deadly tales.
Magia knows the Puszcza is dangerous, but still longs to follow in her Tata's footsteps and become a woodcutter like him. The wood of the forest burns longer than any on the fringes, but only those who wear red might venture there safely, or as safely as one can in a place where stories might spring to life and snare you in its depths at any step. But Magia's mama wants to send her to the city instead, using her voice to build a better and safer life away from the woods. She can't imagine ever being happy away from the forest - and when Tata hesitates to teach her, she crafts her own red cap and sets out to learn herself. Only what she finds is far worse than anything she ever imagined, even after being raised on the tales of the Puszcza's deceptive ways.
Martin the wolf was raised in a tower of books... but not story books, just books of facts. His mother warned him about the dangers of Stories in their woodland home, how they could trap a wolf and turn them into something, and someone, they were not - dooming them to death in pursuit of pigs or wayward humans. That is what happened to Martin's father, and she is determined not to lose her one son the same way. Only when she disappears, shy Martin decides to go searching for her... and learns the terrible truth of his mother's warnings, only too late.
The tales of wolf and girl become entwined in the depths of the Puszcza, in a Story unlike any that have played out beneath its branches... a story that may not have room for a happy ending.
REVIEW: For the most part, I enjoyed this tale, a somewhat light and self-aware take on fairy tales that mashes up elements of "The Three Little Pigs", "Little Red Riding Hood", and even perhaps a touch of Baba Yaga around the edges, among other familiar elements. Magia and her family live in the shadow of the storybook woods, while her father risks its depths daily, but fully understand the risks it entails. Early on, in her quest to convince Tata she's ready to train as a woodcutter, she learns just how dangerous it really is when she dons his red cap and realizes it's not just a fashion choice; the red threads bite into the scalp, drawing blood even, but their prickling, stinging direction is the only way a body can avoid becoming lost in the forest or in a Story... and even then it can only hint and guide, not prevent disaster when it befalls, as Magia learns the hard way with her own homemade red cap. This is just the first taste of the darkness beneath the stories. There are also the three little pigs who are coerced into their own gruesome role in the repeating Story they must play out, blackmailed by a wicked witch for reasons that become clear later on... and it's with the pigs that I first started noting a hint of dissatisfaction and discordance in the tale. I honestly think it would've been a stronger story without them, especially by the end. The heart of the tale is the unexpected bond that forms between young Magia and the wayward young wolf Martin, who was by far my favorite character in the story (though Magia's not bad and carries her own weight). Poor Martin is utterly unprepared for the world beyond his mother's tower, a world that cares not a whit for the endless array of words and facts he's memorized from the thousands of books he was raised on. (There are shades of the Wyverary from Catherynne M. Valente's Fairyland series in him at times.) By the time he encounters Magia, he's at the end of his wits and spirit in a very real sense, after discovering what happened to his mother and how terrible a Story can truly be, how inescapable their traps if they managed to snare even his cautious mom. Both of them end up in much darker places afterwards, scarred literally and figuratively. When they meet again, will they even remember each other, or will the Story they are caught up in be too powerful to break?
When I said earlier that I enjoyed this tale "for the most part", it's the later bits that started shaking my enjoyment. For all that it was not shy about its darkness and landing its emotional punches (if not too graphically, given the age range; there's a lot of pain and death here, a little closer to the original fairy tales rather than the sanitized cartoon versions many might think of), toward the end I started feeling those punches being pulled. The three pigs in particular started feeling out of place, too shallow and not developed enough compared to Martin and Magia or even their mutual enemy. The ending itself has a touch of deus ex machina about it and lacked sufficient follow-through, and the emotional payoff for the leads felt rushed. It took me a bit of thinking to decide if these late problems colored my reactions enough to drag it down a half-star in the ratings. I ultimately decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, because when this story works it works very well, but will admit that it was a very, very close call. (I really do think it would've been a better story overall without the danged pigs, or with the pigs reworked enough to mesh better with the rest of the story. They felt a bit like a kazoo that kept piping up in a string quartet, loud and out of place.)
You Might Also Enjoy:
Storybound (Marissa Burt) - My Review
Uprooted (Naomi Novik) - My Review
Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods (Catherynne M. Valente) - My Review
Sara Lewis Holmes
Arthur A. Levine Books
Fiction, MG Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: The forest of the Puszcza holds innumerable dangers for any wayward soul who ventures into its depths. The worst danger, though, is the Stories. The tales so many are familiar with, the ones their mothers told them (who heard the tale from their mothers, and their mothers, back to the beginning), echo and reverberate through the forest to this day, playing again and again. When caught in a Story, a girl might forget who she is or where she's from, only that she needs to take a basket to Grandma's house (even if she never in her life had a grandmother before)... and a wolf might forget their pack and cubs and become obsessed with devouring a child. It is not a place to travel lightly, if one must travel there at all. Even the animals who live there are wary of its tricks and deadly tales.
Magia knows the Puszcza is dangerous, but still longs to follow in her Tata's footsteps and become a woodcutter like him. The wood of the forest burns longer than any on the fringes, but only those who wear red might venture there safely, or as safely as one can in a place where stories might spring to life and snare you in its depths at any step. But Magia's mama wants to send her to the city instead, using her voice to build a better and safer life away from the woods. She can't imagine ever being happy away from the forest - and when Tata hesitates to teach her, she crafts her own red cap and sets out to learn herself. Only what she finds is far worse than anything she ever imagined, even after being raised on the tales of the Puszcza's deceptive ways.
Martin the wolf was raised in a tower of books... but not story books, just books of facts. His mother warned him about the dangers of Stories in their woodland home, how they could trap a wolf and turn them into something, and someone, they were not - dooming them to death in pursuit of pigs or wayward humans. That is what happened to Martin's father, and she is determined not to lose her one son the same way. Only when she disappears, shy Martin decides to go searching for her... and learns the terrible truth of his mother's warnings, only too late.
The tales of wolf and girl become entwined in the depths of the Puszcza, in a Story unlike any that have played out beneath its branches... a story that may not have room for a happy ending.
REVIEW: For the most part, I enjoyed this tale, a somewhat light and self-aware take on fairy tales that mashes up elements of "The Three Little Pigs", "Little Red Riding Hood", and even perhaps a touch of Baba Yaga around the edges, among other familiar elements. Magia and her family live in the shadow of the storybook woods, while her father risks its depths daily, but fully understand the risks it entails. Early on, in her quest to convince Tata she's ready to train as a woodcutter, she learns just how dangerous it really is when she dons his red cap and realizes it's not just a fashion choice; the red threads bite into the scalp, drawing blood even, but their prickling, stinging direction is the only way a body can avoid becoming lost in the forest or in a Story... and even then it can only hint and guide, not prevent disaster when it befalls, as Magia learns the hard way with her own homemade red cap. This is just the first taste of the darkness beneath the stories. There are also the three little pigs who are coerced into their own gruesome role in the repeating Story they must play out, blackmailed by a wicked witch for reasons that become clear later on... and it's with the pigs that I first started noting a hint of dissatisfaction and discordance in the tale. I honestly think it would've been a stronger story without them, especially by the end. The heart of the tale is the unexpected bond that forms between young Magia and the wayward young wolf Martin, who was by far my favorite character in the story (though Magia's not bad and carries her own weight). Poor Martin is utterly unprepared for the world beyond his mother's tower, a world that cares not a whit for the endless array of words and facts he's memorized from the thousands of books he was raised on. (There are shades of the Wyverary from Catherynne M. Valente's Fairyland series in him at times.) By the time he encounters Magia, he's at the end of his wits and spirit in a very real sense, after discovering what happened to his mother and how terrible a Story can truly be, how inescapable their traps if they managed to snare even his cautious mom. Both of them end up in much darker places afterwards, scarred literally and figuratively. When they meet again, will they even remember each other, or will the Story they are caught up in be too powerful to break?
When I said earlier that I enjoyed this tale "for the most part", it's the later bits that started shaking my enjoyment. For all that it was not shy about its darkness and landing its emotional punches (if not too graphically, given the age range; there's a lot of pain and death here, a little closer to the original fairy tales rather than the sanitized cartoon versions many might think of), toward the end I started feeling those punches being pulled. The three pigs in particular started feeling out of place, too shallow and not developed enough compared to Martin and Magia or even their mutual enemy. The ending itself has a touch of deus ex machina about it and lacked sufficient follow-through, and the emotional payoff for the leads felt rushed. It took me a bit of thinking to decide if these late problems colored my reactions enough to drag it down a half-star in the ratings. I ultimately decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, because when this story works it works very well, but will admit that it was a very, very close call. (I really do think it would've been a better story overall without the danged pigs, or with the pigs reworked enough to mesh better with the rest of the story. They felt a bit like a kazoo that kept piping up in a string quartet, loud and out of place.)
You Might Also Enjoy:
Storybound (Marissa Burt) - My Review
Uprooted (Naomi Novik) - My Review
Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods (Catherynne M. Valente) - My Review
Friday, March 10, 2023
The Darkest Time of Night (Jeremy Finley)
The Darkest Time of Night
Jeremy Finley
St. Martin's Press
Fiction, Sci-Fi/Thriller
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: As a girl, Lynn's father only ever struck her once: the time she broke the rule and followed him into the woods behind their Nashville home. He was adamant that she never go in there, that it was dangerous, that people who wandered into those woods never returned. Growing up, Lynn raised her children with the same rule. Now in her 70's, she tries to discourage her grandchildren, as well. But little boys will be little boys, and one night young William ventures into the trees on a dare - and doesn't come back. The only witness is his brother Brian, who is struck mute by whatever he saw, save one last sentence whispered to his nana: "The lights took him."
Lynn knows those words. She remembers them from when she was a young woman working with an eccentric astronomy professor who ran a sideline investigating mysterious abductions where people disappeared into lights from the sky. Though Lynn could hardly credit the idea of aliens and government conspiracies, she saw many things in her time with Stephen, things nobody else would believe. She tried to put that all behind her when she became a mother and her husband's legal and political career took off. Now, with William's disappearance, she can't shake the gut feeling telling her that the boy's disappearance is no simple kidnapping - and that maybe her father knew full well what might happen to children who wandered into the woods behind the house, all those years ago. In order to find the boy, Lynn will have to return to her own past and memories she tried her best to bury.
REVIEW: This story has such a strong X-Files vibe that I have to wonder if it started life as an alternate universe fic of Mulder and Scully, in a timeline where neither were in the FBI but both got pulled into the Conspiracy all the same. The conspiracy theorist professor even was spurred by witnessing a sister's abduction as a child, while the obligatory "men in black" (also women) spend an awful lot of time smoking while spouting their threats and manipulations of the truth. Enough of the serial numbers have been filed off that it's not quite the same dynamics.
Lynn's a politician's wife and garden shop owner, a woman who has settled for a life she's clearly not happy with and a man she tolerates rather than loves (a feeling that seems so clearly reciprocal that one wonders why the two bothered getting married at all, when she has stronger chemistry with - and is so much more obviously respected by - other people). As such, she's packed her intelligence and wants and needs away and doesn't ask questions anymore about anything. She also spends too much time not doing things and sitting on facts, even when a child's life is on the line. It takes a determined long-time friend a lot of effort to push her into saying anything, to others or the reading audience, and even then it's couched in qualifiers and hems and haws to the point of frustration. Much of the plot hinges on people knowing important things and not telling other people those things until it's almost (or actually is) too late, or simply not listening or believing so said things have to be repeated. As Lynn slowly and reluctantly returns to her roots and old contacts in the UFO hunting community, she adroitly dodges and ignores bright red flags that tie everything to her own history, then spends some time giving up until finally pushed onto the trail again. Readers really enjoy it when a main character decides the plot isn't worth pursuing for significant stretches of the story... I suppose. In any event, as Lynn gets pushed back into the deep end (taking her friend and garden shop co-owner with her, a gutsy woman who provides a lot more spunk and initiative than Lynn, who has literal skin and flesh and blood in the game), she uncovers a thorny conspiracy and a danger that extends far beyond anything she ever imagined even at the height of her UFO investigation days... and a plot that, if you think about it too much, doesn't make a ton of logical sense, but does provide a lot of X-Files-style deception and danger, complete with secret bases and stolen memories and a truth that is, indeed, out there. At several turns, I wanted to shake Lynn to get her to stop being so willfully obtuse and spineless about her own convictions, and shake other people for not having spit out things that would've saved everyone a lot of grief when they had the chance (and didn't spit out for the flimsiest of reasons). It builds to a somewhat over-the-top climax and epilogue that gives every hint of The Darkest Time of Night wanting to become a series, though thus far this book remains a standalone. Which is just as well, as I don't think Lynn would carry a series that well, given how hard she had to be pushed and shoved and coaxed and threatened to get on with the plot in this one. (I stand corrected - there is apparently at least one more novel.)
This is another title that had some decent ideas and moments, but ultimately fell flat to me, maybe trying a little too hard as it both emulated and tried not to directly copy The X-Files.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The X-Files: Fight the Future (Chris Carter) - My Review
The Lives of Tao (Wesley Chu) - My Review
The 5th Wave (Rick Yancey) - My Review
Jeremy Finley
St. Martin's Press
Fiction, Sci-Fi/Thriller
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: As a girl, Lynn's father only ever struck her once: the time she broke the rule and followed him into the woods behind their Nashville home. He was adamant that she never go in there, that it was dangerous, that people who wandered into those woods never returned. Growing up, Lynn raised her children with the same rule. Now in her 70's, she tries to discourage her grandchildren, as well. But little boys will be little boys, and one night young William ventures into the trees on a dare - and doesn't come back. The only witness is his brother Brian, who is struck mute by whatever he saw, save one last sentence whispered to his nana: "The lights took him."
Lynn knows those words. She remembers them from when she was a young woman working with an eccentric astronomy professor who ran a sideline investigating mysterious abductions where people disappeared into lights from the sky. Though Lynn could hardly credit the idea of aliens and government conspiracies, she saw many things in her time with Stephen, things nobody else would believe. She tried to put that all behind her when she became a mother and her husband's legal and political career took off. Now, with William's disappearance, she can't shake the gut feeling telling her that the boy's disappearance is no simple kidnapping - and that maybe her father knew full well what might happen to children who wandered into the woods behind the house, all those years ago. In order to find the boy, Lynn will have to return to her own past and memories she tried her best to bury.
REVIEW: This story has such a strong X-Files vibe that I have to wonder if it started life as an alternate universe fic of Mulder and Scully, in a timeline where neither were in the FBI but both got pulled into the Conspiracy all the same. The conspiracy theorist professor even was spurred by witnessing a sister's abduction as a child, while the obligatory "men in black" (also women) spend an awful lot of time smoking while spouting their threats and manipulations of the truth. Enough of the serial numbers have been filed off that it's not quite the same dynamics.
Lynn's a politician's wife and garden shop owner, a woman who has settled for a life she's clearly not happy with and a man she tolerates rather than loves (a feeling that seems so clearly reciprocal that one wonders why the two bothered getting married at all, when she has stronger chemistry with - and is so much more obviously respected by - other people). As such, she's packed her intelligence and wants and needs away and doesn't ask questions anymore about anything. She also spends too much time not doing things and sitting on facts, even when a child's life is on the line. It takes a determined long-time friend a lot of effort to push her into saying anything, to others or the reading audience, and even then it's couched in qualifiers and hems and haws to the point of frustration. Much of the plot hinges on people knowing important things and not telling other people those things until it's almost (or actually is) too late, or simply not listening or believing so said things have to be repeated. As Lynn slowly and reluctantly returns to her roots and old contacts in the UFO hunting community, she adroitly dodges and ignores bright red flags that tie everything to her own history, then spends some time giving up until finally pushed onto the trail again. Readers really enjoy it when a main character decides the plot isn't worth pursuing for significant stretches of the story... I suppose. In any event, as Lynn gets pushed back into the deep end (taking her friend and garden shop co-owner with her, a gutsy woman who provides a lot more spunk and initiative than Lynn, who has literal skin and flesh and blood in the game), she uncovers a thorny conspiracy and a danger that extends far beyond anything she ever imagined even at the height of her UFO investigation days... and a plot that, if you think about it too much, doesn't make a ton of logical sense, but does provide a lot of X-Files-style deception and danger, complete with secret bases and stolen memories and a truth that is, indeed, out there. At several turns, I wanted to shake Lynn to get her to stop being so willfully obtuse and spineless about her own convictions, and shake other people for not having spit out things that would've saved everyone a lot of grief when they had the chance (and didn't spit out for the flimsiest of reasons). It builds to a somewhat over-the-top climax and epilogue that gives every hint of The Darkest Time of Night wanting to become a series, though thus far this book remains a standalone. Which is just as well, as I don't think Lynn would carry a series that well, given how hard she had to be pushed and shoved and coaxed and threatened to get on with the plot in this one. (I stand corrected - there is apparently at least one more novel.)
This is another title that had some decent ideas and moments, but ultimately fell flat to me, maybe trying a little too hard as it both emulated and tried not to directly copy The X-Files.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The X-Files: Fight the Future (Chris Carter) - My Review
The Lives of Tao (Wesley Chu) - My Review
The 5th Wave (Rick Yancey) - My Review
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Once Upon a Toad (Heather Vogel Frederick)
Once Upon a Toad
Heather Vogel Frederick
Simon and Schuster
Fiction, MG Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Once upon a time, in the far-away land of Houston, there lived a girl who hated her stepsister very much. Cat Starr was okay with her parents' divorce, even when her dad remarried. Her stepmother Isabel (or Iz) is actually pretty neat, and of course Cat adores her four-year-old half-brother Geoffrey. The problem is Olivia, Iz's daughter. Olivia may be tall, pretty, and popular, but she is an absolute monster. Even though Cat's mother is a real life astronaut, currently on a three-month mission to the space station, and even though Cat's a good enough musician to play with the Houston Youth Symphony, somehow Cat's still a short and worthless nobody when she has to stay with Dad and Iz in Portland, Oregon. Finally, when Olivia's bullying goes too far, Cat is forced to call for help... a call answered by her eccentric Great-Aunt Abyssinia, who lives in a cluttered RV crisscrossing the country.
Cat had no idea that Aby wasn't just a strange old woman, but a fairy godmother... and an "occupationally challenged" fairy godmother, at that. She had no idea that Aby specializes not in fixing problems but in "life lessons". And she had no idea that Aby's idea of a "life lesson" would come straight from, well, a fairy tale.
The next morning, Cat wakes up to find toads falling from her mouth whenever she speaks - and Olivia spews flowers and glimmering diamonds. Things only get worse when word gets out and the wrong people take notice. Before, Cat was certain Olivia and her had nothing in common. They soon realize they both have a lot more trouble than they know how to handle... and a lot more to lose if they can't work together to find a cure.
REVIEW: Once Upon a Toad is pretty much just what it looks like, a modern and somewhat humorous retelling of the "Diamonds and Toads" fairy tale. Cat's not a pretty princess with a wicked stepmother, but an ordinary girl with a pretty decent stepmother. She's relentlessly picked on by Olivia, who is actually something of a bully and even turns the whole school against her, though neither Iz nor her father want to see it. (To their credit, when they do realize what's going on, they do their best to set things right, but by then the problem has gone too far... and fairy magic has gotten involved.) It takes Cat a little too long to work out the connection between Aby and the toad/diamond curse; this is apparently a world where nobody except fairy godmothers reads fairy tales anymore. Once word gets out, it doesn't take long for the wrong people to become interested in a girl who generates gem-quality diamonds from thin air whenever she speaks, forcing Cat and Olivia to desperate acts and a cross-country flight in search of the elusive Great-Aunt Aby (who may or may not be able to set things right with her unreliable magic). Sometimes the characters seem a bit too stubborn or obtuse about developments, but Cat has a decent, if not misstep-free, adventure that changes her perspective on the relationship, and there's plenty of fun and danger along the way. Considering the target audience, it's a decently entertaining story.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Granted (John David Anderson) - My Review
Jennifer Murdley's Toad (Bruce Coville) - My Review
Ella Enchanted (Gail Carson Levine) - My Review
Heather Vogel Frederick
Simon and Schuster
Fiction, MG Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Once upon a time, in the far-away land of Houston, there lived a girl who hated her stepsister very much. Cat Starr was okay with her parents' divorce, even when her dad remarried. Her stepmother Isabel (or Iz) is actually pretty neat, and of course Cat adores her four-year-old half-brother Geoffrey. The problem is Olivia, Iz's daughter. Olivia may be tall, pretty, and popular, but she is an absolute monster. Even though Cat's mother is a real life astronaut, currently on a three-month mission to the space station, and even though Cat's a good enough musician to play with the Houston Youth Symphony, somehow Cat's still a short and worthless nobody when she has to stay with Dad and Iz in Portland, Oregon. Finally, when Olivia's bullying goes too far, Cat is forced to call for help... a call answered by her eccentric Great-Aunt Abyssinia, who lives in a cluttered RV crisscrossing the country.
Cat had no idea that Aby wasn't just a strange old woman, but a fairy godmother... and an "occupationally challenged" fairy godmother, at that. She had no idea that Aby specializes not in fixing problems but in "life lessons". And she had no idea that Aby's idea of a "life lesson" would come straight from, well, a fairy tale.
The next morning, Cat wakes up to find toads falling from her mouth whenever she speaks - and Olivia spews flowers and glimmering diamonds. Things only get worse when word gets out and the wrong people take notice. Before, Cat was certain Olivia and her had nothing in common. They soon realize they both have a lot more trouble than they know how to handle... and a lot more to lose if they can't work together to find a cure.
REVIEW: Once Upon a Toad is pretty much just what it looks like, a modern and somewhat humorous retelling of the "Diamonds and Toads" fairy tale. Cat's not a pretty princess with a wicked stepmother, but an ordinary girl with a pretty decent stepmother. She's relentlessly picked on by Olivia, who is actually something of a bully and even turns the whole school against her, though neither Iz nor her father want to see it. (To their credit, when they do realize what's going on, they do their best to set things right, but by then the problem has gone too far... and fairy magic has gotten involved.) It takes Cat a little too long to work out the connection between Aby and the toad/diamond curse; this is apparently a world where nobody except fairy godmothers reads fairy tales anymore. Once word gets out, it doesn't take long for the wrong people to become interested in a girl who generates gem-quality diamonds from thin air whenever she speaks, forcing Cat and Olivia to desperate acts and a cross-country flight in search of the elusive Great-Aunt Aby (who may or may not be able to set things right with her unreliable magic). Sometimes the characters seem a bit too stubborn or obtuse about developments, but Cat has a decent, if not misstep-free, adventure that changes her perspective on the relationship, and there's plenty of fun and danger along the way. Considering the target audience, it's a decently entertaining story.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Granted (John David Anderson) - My Review
Jennifer Murdley's Toad (Bruce Coville) - My Review
Ella Enchanted (Gail Carson Levine) - My Review
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Nightflyers (George R. R. Martin)
Nightflyers
George R. R. Martin
St. Martin's Press
Fiction, Horror/Sci-Fi
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: When a researcher sets out to prove the truth behind a galactic legend, he hires the enigmatic vessel Nightflyer for the journey deep into interstellar race. The captain, Royd, is a recluse who never mingles with the crew or even leaves his quarters, appearing only via hologram or as a disembodied voice on the comms. As the trip stretches into weeks, tensions among the crew rise, making some question just why the man is so elusive... questions that take a turn when people start dying.
REVIEW: This novella takes the premise of many a haunted house or ghost ship tale and transports it to the depths of space, raising the stakes considerably; you can't just run out the door or grab a life boat when you're surrounded by hard vacuum. It generally works, establishing the basics of the crew, the mission, and a sense of foreboding early on, as well as the general "rules" of the far-future society where gene-modders create "improved" humans and telepathic abilities are recognized and studied, if still rare; one of the crew's telepaths is the first to raise the red flag about the danger on board. Some of the crew blend together around the edges, but the important ones are distinct enough to keep track of. The danger builds even as the culprit remains elusive, with a subplot about the mission - to establish the truth of a race known as the volcryn, whose vast ships have been reported in numerous species' mythologies but have never been confirmed and never made contact with any who claimed to see them - competing at times for attention. Things come together at last for a reasonably satisfying conclusion. It came close to losing a half mark for some dithering in the buildup, plus sometimes the characters grated and felt a little dumber than they should be about certain things. On the whole, though, the overall horror atmosphere carried it.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Who Goes There? (John W. Campbell Jr.) - My Review
Retrograde (Peter Cawdron) - My Review
Rough Draft (Michael Robertson Jr) - My Review
George R. R. Martin
St. Martin's Press
Fiction, Horror/Sci-Fi
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: When a researcher sets out to prove the truth behind a galactic legend, he hires the enigmatic vessel Nightflyer for the journey deep into interstellar race. The captain, Royd, is a recluse who never mingles with the crew or even leaves his quarters, appearing only via hologram or as a disembodied voice on the comms. As the trip stretches into weeks, tensions among the crew rise, making some question just why the man is so elusive... questions that take a turn when people start dying.
REVIEW: This novella takes the premise of many a haunted house or ghost ship tale and transports it to the depths of space, raising the stakes considerably; you can't just run out the door or grab a life boat when you're surrounded by hard vacuum. It generally works, establishing the basics of the crew, the mission, and a sense of foreboding early on, as well as the general "rules" of the far-future society where gene-modders create "improved" humans and telepathic abilities are recognized and studied, if still rare; one of the crew's telepaths is the first to raise the red flag about the danger on board. Some of the crew blend together around the edges, but the important ones are distinct enough to keep track of. The danger builds even as the culprit remains elusive, with a subplot about the mission - to establish the truth of a race known as the volcryn, whose vast ships have been reported in numerous species' mythologies but have never been confirmed and never made contact with any who claimed to see them - competing at times for attention. Things come together at last for a reasonably satisfying conclusion. It came close to losing a half mark for some dithering in the buildup, plus sometimes the characters grated and felt a little dumber than they should be about certain things. On the whole, though, the overall horror atmosphere carried it.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Who Goes There? (John W. Campbell Jr.) - My Review
Retrograde (Peter Cawdron) - My Review
Rough Draft (Michael Robertson Jr) - My Review
Friday, March 3, 2023
The Lost City of the Monkey God (Douglas Preston)
The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story
Douglas Preston
Grand Central Publishing
Nonfiction, Cultures/History/True Stories
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Since the days of Cortes, when conquerors came to the New World with dreams of riches and empires and first set eyes on the alien-seeming cultures of Central and South America, stories have trickled back to Western civilization about lost cities, from the well-known tale of El Dorado to the mystery of Machu Picchu. Among these were enigmatic references to a white-walled city deep in the forbidding mountains and rain forests of what is now Honduras, glimpsed now and again by the odd traveler and referred to in numerous local stories. For a long time, these were dismissed as the tall tales of travelers, or possibly wishful thinking and mistaken identity, but in every generation were adventurers and believers who risked everything in the search. In this book, writer Douglas Preston relates the history and prehistory of the American civilizations and the search for the so-called "lost city of the monkey god"... and his own involvement in the expedition that finally unearthed the possible truth behind the legend, a truth grander and more unbelievable than any tall tale.
REVIEW: Sometimes truth really does seem stranger than fiction. Here, Preston relates the story of a groundbreaking expedition deep into one of the few pristine wildernesses left in the world, in pursuit of a mystery that many experts had long dismissed as mere fancy but which turns out to have some basis in reality after all (no spoiler for saying they actually do find something - more than just one thing, actually). From the perils of snakes and ants and disease to the unfathomable difficulty of even getting around in the rain forest, plus the perils of politics in perhaps one of the most volatile regions of the Americas (and the related politics of archaeology in general), it seems utterly incredible that not only did the explorers survive, but accomplished so much. Along the way, Preston discusses the history and prehistory of the region and the search, the allure and romance of "lost cities" in the Western world (and how the notions are inextricably tied with colonialism and a sense of cultural superiority, the "right" to claim and plunder whatever one sets one's eyes upon regardless of whose property, or story, it truly is), even how expeditions like the one he becomes involved with play into national and international politics. The people involved sometimes seem larger than life, and the search takes twists and turns aplenty as it wends through history and various obstacles and setbacks, not to mention the fallout of success. Along the way, the grandeur and dangerous beauty of the remote Honduras wilderness comes to life, as well as the awe-inspiring accomplishments of the city's builders and the incalculable tragedy of their collapse. The chapters on the unimaginably devastating effects of European diseases on the Americas and the risks of disease today (as the author and other expedition members discover the hard way) take on new significance after the height of the recent pandemic that shows how vulnerable even our "superior" global civilization is to illness, and how (to be blunt) screwed we're going to be if we don't take the lessons of the past - distant and recent - seriously as the changing climate allows "exotic" tropical illnesses and parasites to spread to new populations. Once in a while the names can run together a bit, but overall this is an interesting account of an incredible find and its impact on the explorers involved, expanding our understanding of a fascinating region and period of history.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The X-Files: Ruins (Kevin J. Anderson) - My Review
The Encyclopedia of the Ancient Americas (Jim Green et al.) - My Review
The Maya (Timothy Laughton) - My Review
Douglas Preston
Grand Central Publishing
Nonfiction, Cultures/History/True Stories
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Since the days of Cortes, when conquerors came to the New World with dreams of riches and empires and first set eyes on the alien-seeming cultures of Central and South America, stories have trickled back to Western civilization about lost cities, from the well-known tale of El Dorado to the mystery of Machu Picchu. Among these were enigmatic references to a white-walled city deep in the forbidding mountains and rain forests of what is now Honduras, glimpsed now and again by the odd traveler and referred to in numerous local stories. For a long time, these were dismissed as the tall tales of travelers, or possibly wishful thinking and mistaken identity, but in every generation were adventurers and believers who risked everything in the search. In this book, writer Douglas Preston relates the history and prehistory of the American civilizations and the search for the so-called "lost city of the monkey god"... and his own involvement in the expedition that finally unearthed the possible truth behind the legend, a truth grander and more unbelievable than any tall tale.
REVIEW: Sometimes truth really does seem stranger than fiction. Here, Preston relates the story of a groundbreaking expedition deep into one of the few pristine wildernesses left in the world, in pursuit of a mystery that many experts had long dismissed as mere fancy but which turns out to have some basis in reality after all (no spoiler for saying they actually do find something - more than just one thing, actually). From the perils of snakes and ants and disease to the unfathomable difficulty of even getting around in the rain forest, plus the perils of politics in perhaps one of the most volatile regions of the Americas (and the related politics of archaeology in general), it seems utterly incredible that not only did the explorers survive, but accomplished so much. Along the way, Preston discusses the history and prehistory of the region and the search, the allure and romance of "lost cities" in the Western world (and how the notions are inextricably tied with colonialism and a sense of cultural superiority, the "right" to claim and plunder whatever one sets one's eyes upon regardless of whose property, or story, it truly is), even how expeditions like the one he becomes involved with play into national and international politics. The people involved sometimes seem larger than life, and the search takes twists and turns aplenty as it wends through history and various obstacles and setbacks, not to mention the fallout of success. Along the way, the grandeur and dangerous beauty of the remote Honduras wilderness comes to life, as well as the awe-inspiring accomplishments of the city's builders and the incalculable tragedy of their collapse. The chapters on the unimaginably devastating effects of European diseases on the Americas and the risks of disease today (as the author and other expedition members discover the hard way) take on new significance after the height of the recent pandemic that shows how vulnerable even our "superior" global civilization is to illness, and how (to be blunt) screwed we're going to be if we don't take the lessons of the past - distant and recent - seriously as the changing climate allows "exotic" tropical illnesses and parasites to spread to new populations. Once in a while the names can run together a bit, but overall this is an interesting account of an incredible find and its impact on the explorers involved, expanding our understanding of a fascinating region and period of history.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The X-Files: Ruins (Kevin J. Anderson) - My Review
The Encyclopedia of the Ancient Americas (Jim Green et al.) - My Review
The Maya (Timothy Laughton) - My Review
Thursday, March 2, 2023
Cast the First Stone (David James Warren)
Cast the First Stone
The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone series, Book 1
David James Warren, Susan May Warren, James L. Rubart, and David C. Warren
TriStone Media
Fiction, Crime/Sci-Fi/Thriller
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Rembrandt Stone was a best-selling novelist and a top detective with the Minneapolis Police Department... once. After a case hit too close to home, he walked away, though his wife Eve is still working as a forensic examiner. He told everyone, even himself, that he was going to renovate his fixer-upper home, spend time with his daughter Ashley, and write his next bestseller. Instead, two years later, he feels stuck, plagued by nightmares of the cold cases he never cleared before giving up the badge.
When his old boss passes away, the man inexplicably leaves him a cardboard box full of old cases and the strange watch he always used to wear, which doesn't even seem to work. But when Stone straps the watch on, suddenly it leaps to life - and he finds himself in 1997, at the scene of a coffee shop bombing. He remembers two more bombings in forty-eight hours before the perpetrator mysteriously vanished, never to be caught. This time, he's determined to do things right, and not just the investigation: there are so many things in his life that he could use a do-over on, from his family matters to his friendships and career decisions and especially his fumbling courtship of Eve. But changing the past always has consequences, and his determination to set right one wrong may cost him more than he realizes.
REVIEW: This has many familiar crime thriller building blocks with the light sci-fi twist of time travel. Rembrandt Stone may have turned his back on the job (and his ex-partner, who still feels betrayed by his abrupt departure), but just because the detective walks away from the case doesn't mean the case leaves the detective. He tries to build a new life, and knows objectively that he has a lot to be grateful for - a wife who loves him, a daughter he adores, even a restored Porsche in the garage - but can't let go of the things that have gone wrong and the crimes he never solved, in his professional life and his personal one. This brooding has led to writer's block and overall life block, and even his patient literary agent is about to give up on him. The box of cold cases only dredges up more nightmares and feelings of regret. The story wallows in this a little long before he finally straps on the old leather "watch" and gets a trip back to the bombing, a case that holds significance as more than just his first major cold case with the department; it was also the case where he first met Eve. At first, he's convinced it's some sort of elaborate dream (another conceit that lasts far too long), and is determined to make things go right for the sake of his subconscious and hopefully putting another of his myriad nightmares to bed. Eventually, he clues into the fact that the time travel is all too real. By then, even if he thought much about the consequences of solving a case that went unsolved in his memory, he's in too deep and has changed too much (though his memories are not as reliable or clear as he might hope, meaning it's not just a matter of him recalling word-for-word the cold case file in a future cardboard box). Alternate chapters show Eve's experiences, as she is intrigued by the prodigal detective whose reputation well precedes him; her police captain father minces no words in expressing his disapproval of a man who dared publish a book about his rookie year, convinced Stone "spilled secrets" (though, of course, he hasn't apparently bothered reading Stone's book himself, because why would police want to examine evidence before passing judgement?), and also convinced that his daughter is still his property despite it being 1997. Between her dad policing (literally) her dating life and a co-worker with an obvious crush who does everything but mark his territory when Stone turns up (and the fact that there are no other women involved in the story, or even mentioned on the force, aside from the obligatory plot device of a cutesy daughter), there's a distinct whiff of overactive testosterone about the story, reducing Eve - despite her ostensible skills and "independence" in her career - to trophy status for the men to fight and posture over. Of course, there's also the bombing plot to investigate, which is indeed investigated, but it almost drowns over other tragedies that pile on... tragedies that start to become repetitive, and are so clearly hooks for future things Stone will have to deal with/solve that it almost becomes humorous. That said, things do generally move fast, and nobody's entirely stupid (save Stone taking far too long to clue into his own time travel and, later, to the consequences). It has the overall feel of a pilot episode for a TV series, complete with the mildly forced introduction of the concepts and the characters and the greater story arc. As I find myself saying far too often, I've read worse, but I don't really feel compelled to read more in this series, and it ultimately just wasn't my cup of cocoa.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Recursion (Blake Crouch) - My Review
11/22/63 (Stephen King) - My Review
The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone series, Book 1
David James Warren, Susan May Warren, James L. Rubart, and David C. Warren
TriStone Media
Fiction, Crime/Sci-Fi/Thriller
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Rembrandt Stone was a best-selling novelist and a top detective with the Minneapolis Police Department... once. After a case hit too close to home, he walked away, though his wife Eve is still working as a forensic examiner. He told everyone, even himself, that he was going to renovate his fixer-upper home, spend time with his daughter Ashley, and write his next bestseller. Instead, two years later, he feels stuck, plagued by nightmares of the cold cases he never cleared before giving up the badge.
When his old boss passes away, the man inexplicably leaves him a cardboard box full of old cases and the strange watch he always used to wear, which doesn't even seem to work. But when Stone straps the watch on, suddenly it leaps to life - and he finds himself in 1997, at the scene of a coffee shop bombing. He remembers two more bombings in forty-eight hours before the perpetrator mysteriously vanished, never to be caught. This time, he's determined to do things right, and not just the investigation: there are so many things in his life that he could use a do-over on, from his family matters to his friendships and career decisions and especially his fumbling courtship of Eve. But changing the past always has consequences, and his determination to set right one wrong may cost him more than he realizes.
REVIEW: This has many familiar crime thriller building blocks with the light sci-fi twist of time travel. Rembrandt Stone may have turned his back on the job (and his ex-partner, who still feels betrayed by his abrupt departure), but just because the detective walks away from the case doesn't mean the case leaves the detective. He tries to build a new life, and knows objectively that he has a lot to be grateful for - a wife who loves him, a daughter he adores, even a restored Porsche in the garage - but can't let go of the things that have gone wrong and the crimes he never solved, in his professional life and his personal one. This brooding has led to writer's block and overall life block, and even his patient literary agent is about to give up on him. The box of cold cases only dredges up more nightmares and feelings of regret. The story wallows in this a little long before he finally straps on the old leather "watch" and gets a trip back to the bombing, a case that holds significance as more than just his first major cold case with the department; it was also the case where he first met Eve. At first, he's convinced it's some sort of elaborate dream (another conceit that lasts far too long), and is determined to make things go right for the sake of his subconscious and hopefully putting another of his myriad nightmares to bed. Eventually, he clues into the fact that the time travel is all too real. By then, even if he thought much about the consequences of solving a case that went unsolved in his memory, he's in too deep and has changed too much (though his memories are not as reliable or clear as he might hope, meaning it's not just a matter of him recalling word-for-word the cold case file in a future cardboard box). Alternate chapters show Eve's experiences, as she is intrigued by the prodigal detective whose reputation well precedes him; her police captain father minces no words in expressing his disapproval of a man who dared publish a book about his rookie year, convinced Stone "spilled secrets" (though, of course, he hasn't apparently bothered reading Stone's book himself, because why would police want to examine evidence before passing judgement?), and also convinced that his daughter is still his property despite it being 1997. Between her dad policing (literally) her dating life and a co-worker with an obvious crush who does everything but mark his territory when Stone turns up (and the fact that there are no other women involved in the story, or even mentioned on the force, aside from the obligatory plot device of a cutesy daughter), there's a distinct whiff of overactive testosterone about the story, reducing Eve - despite her ostensible skills and "independence" in her career - to trophy status for the men to fight and posture over. Of course, there's also the bombing plot to investigate, which is indeed investigated, but it almost drowns over other tragedies that pile on... tragedies that start to become repetitive, and are so clearly hooks for future things Stone will have to deal with/solve that it almost becomes humorous. That said, things do generally move fast, and nobody's entirely stupid (save Stone taking far too long to clue into his own time travel and, later, to the consequences). It has the overall feel of a pilot episode for a TV series, complete with the mildly forced introduction of the concepts and the characters and the greater story arc. As I find myself saying far too often, I've read worse, but I don't really feel compelled to read more in this series, and it ultimately just wasn't my cup of cocoa.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Recursion (Blake Crouch) - My Review
11/22/63 (Stephen King) - My Review
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman)
The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
HarperCollins
Fiction, MG/YA Fantasy/Horror
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: By the time the little boy came to the old graveyard on the hill, his family was dead. A knifeman had crept into their house and killed them, mother and father and sister, but missed the precocious toddler who had slipped out of his crib for a nighttime adventure. The ghost protected the child from the killer, taking him in and raising him among their crypts and tombstones, teaching him the trick of how to fade away and pass through walls and even walk in dreams... but somewhere out there, beyond the gates, the killer still waits to finish off the last loose thread of what had been a perfect job. Nobody Owens may feel more at home among the ghosts than among people, but he is still a living boy - a living boy who is growing up, and who will someday have to venture forth and confront the threat awaiting him.
REVIEW: I'm coming off a middling reading month and wanted to start March on better footing. Even when Gaiman misses for me (and I do find him a bit hit-and-miss as an author), he at least offers interesting ideas. So I gave this one a chance. Happily, it lived up to the high praises.
The story has more than a few nods to Kipling's The Jungle Books, only instead of an orphaned boy raised by beasts, the child Nobody (or "Bod" as he's often called) is raised by the dead, as well as a few protectors who aren't specifically alive or dead but something else. With ghostly parents in the Owenses and a protector in the peculiar Silas, Bod learns the ways of the graveyard and the dead and has several adventures growing up in a world beyond humans, including encounters with mischievous and malicious ghouls and the discovery of a cursed treasure and its protector... and, like Mowgli, the predator who first tried to kill him as a little boy remains his chief threat as he grows up. Though Silas, the ghosts, and other teachers and encounters can help prepare him for the inevitable confrontation, he must ultimately face the man alone. Unlike Mowgli, Bod is a more sympathetic protagonist, not quite so obnoxious as Kipling's foundling. He loves his graveyard home and ghostly companions, even the vampiric Silas, but also feels the pull of living people and a growing, insatiable curiosity about the dangerous world beyond the graveyard gates. Those who love him, dead and undead alike, can only do so much to protect him; it is the nature of boys to grow up, and the nature of the living to set forth and live, even those who are raised by ghosts. Being a story set in a graveyard (and being a story by Neil Gaiman), there's a dark undercurrent to the tale, one that grows more pronounced as Bod grows older and the influence of a childhood among the dead becomes more apparent, especially as he begins to spend time among ordinary people. The plot starts out more episodic, the young boy's adventures and lessons slowly building to a bigger tale as the reason his family was targeted (and the reason Bod is still a target after all these years, as well as why Silas felt compelled to offer his guardianship) becomes apparent. The finale brings together most of what he learned, sometimes in harsh lessons, along the way for a decently satisfying conclusion that nevertheless leaves threads danging for potential spinoffs or sequels. (I'm ignorant enough not to know off the top of my head if any of those threads have been followed up on, or lead from previous writings.) Also, once again, Gaiman does an impressive job narrating without mumbling or whispering or otherwise being hard to understand (a trait I very much appreciate). I consider myself decently entertained.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Fragile Things (Neil Gaiman) - My Review
The Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling) - My Review
Elatsoe (Darcie Little Badger) - My Review
Neil Gaiman
HarperCollins
Fiction, MG/YA Fantasy/Horror
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: By the time the little boy came to the old graveyard on the hill, his family was dead. A knifeman had crept into their house and killed them, mother and father and sister, but missed the precocious toddler who had slipped out of his crib for a nighttime adventure. The ghost protected the child from the killer, taking him in and raising him among their crypts and tombstones, teaching him the trick of how to fade away and pass through walls and even walk in dreams... but somewhere out there, beyond the gates, the killer still waits to finish off the last loose thread of what had been a perfect job. Nobody Owens may feel more at home among the ghosts than among people, but he is still a living boy - a living boy who is growing up, and who will someday have to venture forth and confront the threat awaiting him.
REVIEW: I'm coming off a middling reading month and wanted to start March on better footing. Even when Gaiman misses for me (and I do find him a bit hit-and-miss as an author), he at least offers interesting ideas. So I gave this one a chance. Happily, it lived up to the high praises.
The story has more than a few nods to Kipling's The Jungle Books, only instead of an orphaned boy raised by beasts, the child Nobody (or "Bod" as he's often called) is raised by the dead, as well as a few protectors who aren't specifically alive or dead but something else. With ghostly parents in the Owenses and a protector in the peculiar Silas, Bod learns the ways of the graveyard and the dead and has several adventures growing up in a world beyond humans, including encounters with mischievous and malicious ghouls and the discovery of a cursed treasure and its protector... and, like Mowgli, the predator who first tried to kill him as a little boy remains his chief threat as he grows up. Though Silas, the ghosts, and other teachers and encounters can help prepare him for the inevitable confrontation, he must ultimately face the man alone. Unlike Mowgli, Bod is a more sympathetic protagonist, not quite so obnoxious as Kipling's foundling. He loves his graveyard home and ghostly companions, even the vampiric Silas, but also feels the pull of living people and a growing, insatiable curiosity about the dangerous world beyond the graveyard gates. Those who love him, dead and undead alike, can only do so much to protect him; it is the nature of boys to grow up, and the nature of the living to set forth and live, even those who are raised by ghosts. Being a story set in a graveyard (and being a story by Neil Gaiman), there's a dark undercurrent to the tale, one that grows more pronounced as Bod grows older and the influence of a childhood among the dead becomes more apparent, especially as he begins to spend time among ordinary people. The plot starts out more episodic, the young boy's adventures and lessons slowly building to a bigger tale as the reason his family was targeted (and the reason Bod is still a target after all these years, as well as why Silas felt compelled to offer his guardianship) becomes apparent. The finale brings together most of what he learned, sometimes in harsh lessons, along the way for a decently satisfying conclusion that nevertheless leaves threads danging for potential spinoffs or sequels. (I'm ignorant enough not to know off the top of my head if any of those threads have been followed up on, or lead from previous writings.) Also, once again, Gaiman does an impressive job narrating without mumbling or whispering or otherwise being hard to understand (a trait I very much appreciate). I consider myself decently entertained.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Fragile Things (Neil Gaiman) - My Review
The Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling) - My Review
Elatsoe (Darcie Little Badger) - My Review
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