Feel The Heat
(The Rockford Fire Department series, Book 1)
Kathryn Shay
Smashwords
Fiction, Romance
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Francesca "Francey" Cordaro's thirtieth birthday wasn't spent with girlfriends at a wine bar, or on a date; as a firefighter, she was battling a
blaze in a warehouse when she broke her arm rescuing a civilian. This wasn't just anybody, though: it was Alex Templeton, stunning bachelor CEO of Templeton Industries.
Francey's worked hard to prove herself in a man's world, and she has the bitter reminder of her parents' failed marriage to show her what happens when a firefighter
gets too close to anyone outside the job. She hasn't even dated in ages, and the last thing she needs is to fall for a man way out of her league, no matter how charming.
Unfortunately, her heart has other ideas...
REVIEW: It can be difficult to find romances that stretch boundaries; part of the appeal seems to be the comfort of the familiar. This one, however, had a
nice twist, so I gave it a try. Ultimately, I had mixed feelings on it. Francey definitely isn't the stereotypical swooning romance lead; her profession, coupled with
scars left from her childhood and the bitter breakup of her parents (one that neither parent got over), give her a little more backbone, and a few more obstacles to
overcome when negotiating a relationship. Alex, on the other hand, is largely the typical alpha male... a trait that nearly costs him everything as he finds himself
drawn to a woman who won't be stuck in the proverbial kitchen. Sparks naturally fly from the start (literally, if you take into account how they meet), and the pair go
through the expected ups and downs... some of them feeling a little manufactured, like more than a few lines of dialog. Competing for space, however, is the ongoing
feud between Francey's father, Ben, and her estranged mother, Diana - one that drags the story back to typical romance tropes, particularly the idea that first loves
are the only real loves and anyone who walks away from a relationship is merely in denial. (There were a few other squirm-worthy moments here and there, as well.) Other characters, some likely cameos from Shay's other series, clutter up
the tale with too many names who have too little to do to distinguish them. And there's a background thread about the cause of the fire at the warehouse that resolves more or less as one might expect from early on. It manages to come together (mostly) by the end, though, and there's a decent level of sizzle
in the sexual tension throughout. All in all, it's not a bad romance, and the lady lead offers something a little more gutsy than many romances, but it just felt too bloated and occasionally forced for me to grant it a full four stars.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Concrete Evidence (Rachel Grant) - My Review
Almost Perfect (Julie Ortolon) - My Review
Bidding On Brooks (Katy Regnery) - My Review
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Magick Made Easy (Patricia Telesco)
Magick Made Easy
Patricia Telesco
HarperCollins
Nonfiction, Magic
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Cauldrons, broomsticks, eye of newt... real folk magick has never been like most popular descriptions make it sound. It's often been much smaller and more practical, a personal sort of magick and manifestation that still holds relevance today. The author offers tips on materials and rituals for today's magick workers.
REVIEW: Another potential idea-sparker, I picked this up on discount. Telesco doesn't offer step-by-step spells or cleansing rituals or other such things. Mostly, she gives an overview of what "real" magick is, which seems to boil down to focusing one's intent and using ritual and specific items as props to help with manifestation or thought change. Teleseco then offers long, alphabetized lists of items and their "meanings" and associations in spellcraft, with the frequent reminder that one's own interpretation and gut reactions ultimately trump any belief handed down from previous cultures or generations. I found the lists only vaguely useful; aside from the alphabet, they were disorganized, and some of her descriptions were vague or incomplete. (At one point, she refers to the ruby slippers of The Wizard of Oz - though, if she'd actually read the book, she'd know they were silver originally. A minor thing, but it made me wonder about the depth of research in other entries.) To be honest, I started skimming round about the B's. On the plus side, she included thoughts on the magical potential of the modern world, bringing folk magick into the twenty-first (well, twentieth, as it was published in 1999) century. Her writing is also reasonably clear and accessible, without losing itself in esoteric terms or concepts, which earned it the extra half-star over Okay. It isn't a bad book, and would likely be useful to someone looking to try a little folk magick for the first time, but it failed to really engage my interest or imagination.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Spells and Magic (The Diagram Group) - My Review
The Giant Book of Magic (Cassandra Eason) - My Review
The Complete Book of Amulets and Talismans (Migene González-Wippler) - My Review
Patricia Telesco
HarperCollins
Nonfiction, Magic
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Cauldrons, broomsticks, eye of newt... real folk magick has never been like most popular descriptions make it sound. It's often been much smaller and more practical, a personal sort of magick and manifestation that still holds relevance today. The author offers tips on materials and rituals for today's magick workers.
REVIEW: Another potential idea-sparker, I picked this up on discount. Telesco doesn't offer step-by-step spells or cleansing rituals or other such things. Mostly, she gives an overview of what "real" magick is, which seems to boil down to focusing one's intent and using ritual and specific items as props to help with manifestation or thought change. Teleseco then offers long, alphabetized lists of items and their "meanings" and associations in spellcraft, with the frequent reminder that one's own interpretation and gut reactions ultimately trump any belief handed down from previous cultures or generations. I found the lists only vaguely useful; aside from the alphabet, they were disorganized, and some of her descriptions were vague or incomplete. (At one point, she refers to the ruby slippers of The Wizard of Oz - though, if she'd actually read the book, she'd know they were silver originally. A minor thing, but it made me wonder about the depth of research in other entries.) To be honest, I started skimming round about the B's. On the plus side, she included thoughts on the magical potential of the modern world, bringing folk magick into the twenty-first (well, twentieth, as it was published in 1999) century. Her writing is also reasonably clear and accessible, without losing itself in esoteric terms or concepts, which earned it the extra half-star over Okay. It isn't a bad book, and would likely be useful to someone looking to try a little folk magick for the first time, but it failed to really engage my interest or imagination.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Spells and Magic (The Diagram Group) - My Review
The Giant Book of Magic (Cassandra Eason) - My Review
The Complete Book of Amulets and Talismans (Migene González-Wippler) - My Review
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
City (Clifford D. Simak)
City
Clifford D. Simak
Open Road Media
Fiction, Collection/Sci-Fi
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: For thousands of years, around the fires at night, tales have been told of ancient times and lost worlds... but were they ever true? These stories are often considered cautionary tales or attempts by previous generations to give form to impossible concepts, but some argue that there is a factual basis, a hidden history wrapped in layers of storytelling, pointing to a lost, utterly alien species. Was there ever a time when Dogs had no speech, when they were just dumb beasts at the heels of the legendary, ultimately self-destructive race known as Man?
REVIEW: This classic collection by noted author Clifford D. Simak chronicles the rise of a Doggish race in the wake of humanity's failure, a fall triggered not by war or external catastrophe but by blind spots and flaws in our racial psyche. It's an odd conceit, one that takes a while to grow on the reader, especially as the pre-tale commentary (by Doggish authors, many of whom argue against the possibility of Man ever having existed outside a story) acts as partial spoilers for the tale that follows. (This especially wasn't helped by a long-winded introduction to this Kindle reprint, one that assumes I already know about Simak and the significance of City.) The stories themselves also show their age around the edges, and not just by having the last cities of modern civilization abandoned as obsolete a few decades before I read this: the tales all rely on outdated attitudes and cultural assumptions, including (but not limited to) the sexism. Women appear as wives or secretaries, and almost never else - and among the robots, Dogs, and other species, no females apparently exist at all. The tales themselves often wander into philosophical territory, bogging down now and again under the weight of their ideas. That said, the further I read, the more the overall themes started to gel, and the collection as a whole presents ideas and images that linger long after I met them. I can see how these were, and are, considered genre classics, even if the style and some of the tales themselves aren't quite my cup of cocoa.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Foundation (Isaac Asimov) - My Review
Childhood's End (Arthur C. Clarke) - My Review
A Fire Upon the Deep (Vernor Vinge) - My Review
Clifford D. Simak
Open Road Media
Fiction, Collection/Sci-Fi
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: For thousands of years, around the fires at night, tales have been told of ancient times and lost worlds... but were they ever true? These stories are often considered cautionary tales or attempts by previous generations to give form to impossible concepts, but some argue that there is a factual basis, a hidden history wrapped in layers of storytelling, pointing to a lost, utterly alien species. Was there ever a time when Dogs had no speech, when they were just dumb beasts at the heels of the legendary, ultimately self-destructive race known as Man?
REVIEW: This classic collection by noted author Clifford D. Simak chronicles the rise of a Doggish race in the wake of humanity's failure, a fall triggered not by war or external catastrophe but by blind spots and flaws in our racial psyche. It's an odd conceit, one that takes a while to grow on the reader, especially as the pre-tale commentary (by Doggish authors, many of whom argue against the possibility of Man ever having existed outside a story) acts as partial spoilers for the tale that follows. (This especially wasn't helped by a long-winded introduction to this Kindle reprint, one that assumes I already know about Simak and the significance of City.) The stories themselves also show their age around the edges, and not just by having the last cities of modern civilization abandoned as obsolete a few decades before I read this: the tales all rely on outdated attitudes and cultural assumptions, including (but not limited to) the sexism. Women appear as wives or secretaries, and almost never else - and among the robots, Dogs, and other species, no females apparently exist at all. The tales themselves often wander into philosophical territory, bogging down now and again under the weight of their ideas. That said, the further I read, the more the overall themes started to gel, and the collection as a whole presents ideas and images that linger long after I met them. I can see how these were, and are, considered genre classics, even if the style and some of the tales themselves aren't quite my cup of cocoa.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Foundation (Isaac Asimov) - My Review
Childhood's End (Arthur C. Clarke) - My Review
A Fire Upon the Deep (Vernor Vinge) - My Review
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
The Waking Fire (Anthony Ryan)
The Waking Fire
(The Draconis Memoria series, Book 1)
Anthony Ryan
Ace
Fiction, Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Arradsia's drakes - jungle-dwelling Greens, fiery Reds, aquatic Blues, and elusive Blacks - are the continent's greatest bane and treasure. Deadly predators with poisonous flesh, their refined blood grants temporary abilities to one in a thousand humans who ingest it, the Blood-blessed. Use of and trade in "product" forms the backbone of the continent's corporate power, giving it an edge over other nations. But the captive drakes wither through generations, their blood weak, and the wild population has been decimated by human encroachment. If the companies want to survive, they'll need new product... and some, out of desperation or greed, look afresh to long-lost legends of a fifth drake species deep in the inhospitable Arradsian interior, the never-seen White.
A disaster as a boy revealed Claydon Torcreek's Blood-blessed gift... but chaos and poverty left him to fend for himself in the streets of Carvenport, using his unregistered abilities to steal and cheat a meager living in the slums known as the Blinds. When his cover is blown, Clay's only chance to avoid jail (or worse) is to accept employment with the Ironship Trading Syndicate as part of a secret expedition, retracing the footsteps of the only company crew to ever have reported glimpsing the White, though none lived to return.
Miss Lizette Lethridge was recruited by Ironship at age eight, training at the Academy for espionage work on behalf of the company. Her latest mission has her chasing a mysterious artifact created by a madman, deep in the heart of enemy territory... a mission that will challenge everything she thought she knew about her world, her life, and her mentor.
Lieutenant Corrick Hilemore knew his posting to the Ironship Protectorate Vessel Viable Opportunity wasn't as glorious as a berth on the newest, most flashy vessels, but the retrofitted "blood-burner" ship boasts of being the fastest in the fleet, perfect to hunt the pirates haunting the isles surrounding Arradsia. But greater threats soon emerge, a challenge from the Corvantine empire, testing Hilemore and the crew of the Viable to their limits.
As the hunt for the White unfolds and the world teeters on another intercontinental war, dangerous currents stir. Drake attacks increase, the mutated Spoiled tribes of the Arradsian jungles increase their attacks, and madness seems to grip the the world. Something wakes, a fire that may burn the entire world to ash. Will finding the legendary White stop it, or fan the flames?
REVIEW: This was an impulse buy, the result of a discount coupon and the ever-popular lure of a cover featuring a dragon, plus an intriguing concept. Ryan crafts an intriguing world, if not quite so elaborate as some epic fantasies, plenty solid and interesting enough to sustain a series. Machinery mingles with (what is essentially) magic in a world where some have thrown off old forms of rule and government in favor of a corporate-led nation based on profit and competition, a shift with both good and bad outcomes, though other parts of the world each have their own customs and flavors. I admit some of them were still just names on the page (like a few of the characters) by the end, but the main ones become distinctive entities. Likewise, the characters, each largely on independent paths, are unique enough to readily stand apart, though Hilemore's arc doesn't mingle with the other two for the most part until the very end. All go through some changes, often traumatic, as they each come to realize that something greater is going on than simple corporate profit-chasing or political squabbling. As for the main hook, the drake blood magic, it has shades of Brandon Sanderson's metal-based allomancy in his Mistborn series: each blood has distinct abilities, which characters can exploit in interesting ways, though use has physical (and mental - particularly in the case of Blue, which allows mind-to-mind communications across vast distances) consequences. The story unfolds with plenty of action and intrigue and the odd touch of humor, with only a few lulls and drawn-out bits now and again. I found it a solid read, well worth my money, and I expect I'll be picking up Book 2 when it becomes available (though, pending a coupon and sale, I'll likely wait for paperback.)
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Rain Wilds Chronicles (Robin Hobb) - My Review
His Majesty's Dragon (Naomi Novik) - My Review
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Brandon Sanderson) - My Review
(The Draconis Memoria series, Book 1)
Anthony Ryan
Ace
Fiction, Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Arradsia's drakes - jungle-dwelling Greens, fiery Reds, aquatic Blues, and elusive Blacks - are the continent's greatest bane and treasure. Deadly predators with poisonous flesh, their refined blood grants temporary abilities to one in a thousand humans who ingest it, the Blood-blessed. Use of and trade in "product" forms the backbone of the continent's corporate power, giving it an edge over other nations. But the captive drakes wither through generations, their blood weak, and the wild population has been decimated by human encroachment. If the companies want to survive, they'll need new product... and some, out of desperation or greed, look afresh to long-lost legends of a fifth drake species deep in the inhospitable Arradsian interior, the never-seen White.
A disaster as a boy revealed Claydon Torcreek's Blood-blessed gift... but chaos and poverty left him to fend for himself in the streets of Carvenport, using his unregistered abilities to steal and cheat a meager living in the slums known as the Blinds. When his cover is blown, Clay's only chance to avoid jail (or worse) is to accept employment with the Ironship Trading Syndicate as part of a secret expedition, retracing the footsteps of the only company crew to ever have reported glimpsing the White, though none lived to return.
Miss Lizette Lethridge was recruited by Ironship at age eight, training at the Academy for espionage work on behalf of the company. Her latest mission has her chasing a mysterious artifact created by a madman, deep in the heart of enemy territory... a mission that will challenge everything she thought she knew about her world, her life, and her mentor.
Lieutenant Corrick Hilemore knew his posting to the Ironship Protectorate Vessel Viable Opportunity wasn't as glorious as a berth on the newest, most flashy vessels, but the retrofitted "blood-burner" ship boasts of being the fastest in the fleet, perfect to hunt the pirates haunting the isles surrounding Arradsia. But greater threats soon emerge, a challenge from the Corvantine empire, testing Hilemore and the crew of the Viable to their limits.
As the hunt for the White unfolds and the world teeters on another intercontinental war, dangerous currents stir. Drake attacks increase, the mutated Spoiled tribes of the Arradsian jungles increase their attacks, and madness seems to grip the the world. Something wakes, a fire that may burn the entire world to ash. Will finding the legendary White stop it, or fan the flames?
REVIEW: This was an impulse buy, the result of a discount coupon and the ever-popular lure of a cover featuring a dragon, plus an intriguing concept. Ryan crafts an intriguing world, if not quite so elaborate as some epic fantasies, plenty solid and interesting enough to sustain a series. Machinery mingles with (what is essentially) magic in a world where some have thrown off old forms of rule and government in favor of a corporate-led nation based on profit and competition, a shift with both good and bad outcomes, though other parts of the world each have their own customs and flavors. I admit some of them were still just names on the page (like a few of the characters) by the end, but the main ones become distinctive entities. Likewise, the characters, each largely on independent paths, are unique enough to readily stand apart, though Hilemore's arc doesn't mingle with the other two for the most part until the very end. All go through some changes, often traumatic, as they each come to realize that something greater is going on than simple corporate profit-chasing or political squabbling. As for the main hook, the drake blood magic, it has shades of Brandon Sanderson's metal-based allomancy in his Mistborn series: each blood has distinct abilities, which characters can exploit in interesting ways, though use has physical (and mental - particularly in the case of Blue, which allows mind-to-mind communications across vast distances) consequences. The story unfolds with plenty of action and intrigue and the odd touch of humor, with only a few lulls and drawn-out bits now and again. I found it a solid read, well worth my money, and I expect I'll be picking up Book 2 when it becomes available (though, pending a coupon and sale, I'll likely wait for paperback.)
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Rain Wilds Chronicles (Robin Hobb) - My Review
His Majesty's Dragon (Naomi Novik) - My Review
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Brandon Sanderson) - My Review
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Cora and the Nurse Dragon (H. L. Burke)
Cora and the Nurse Dragon
H. L. Burke
Amazon Digital Services
Fiction, YA Fantasy
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Young Cora loves nothing more than dragons, be they the flashy racers or the short-lived little mayflies that go for a few pennies an egg at the pet store. She dreams of becoming a dragon jockey when she grows up, or even finding one of the cat-sized pet dragons hatching from her egg kits, though her dad has funny notions about keeping dragons in cages or terrariums (but, then, he was still a boy when the last of the wild dragons disappeared, so maybe it's an old person thing - where else would a dragon live these days?) Then a fight with Xavier, the spoiled brat son of her dad's boss, leads her to find a strange little dragon egg... an egg that hatches out a dragon unlike any she's seen. He's small and brown and not much to look at, but little Cricket has an odd affinity for dragon eggs - and, under his influence, they hatch out all sorts of wonders, not at all like the mayflies she normally gets. Even as Cora thrills at her discovery, doubts and trouble cloud the horizon. Where did Cricket come from? What kind of dragon is he? And what will happen when grown-ups discover what he can do?
REVIEW: I wavered a bit on the rating for this one. Aimed at a younger audience, Cora's world is a little exaggerated and simplistic, with Cora and her friends (and enemies) sometimes being predictable... but there are some more tangled moralities as the story goes on, particularly among the adults, tangles that younger readers might well miss as most of the action focuses on Cora's level. It also gets somewhat preachy; though the blurb doesn't mention it, this is a Christian story, so there are some rather blatant and obligatory Moral Lessons for Young Children (even though it's not quite so brow-beating on the matter as some such works I've encountered), not to mention an assumption that the reader must also be Christian. Given that, it still managed a few surprises. As for the dragons, they're fun, even if they're sometimes more like scaly puppies than dragons; younger readers will likely enjoy their antics and their interesting colony structure. The story reads fairly quickly, with Cora having to make some tough decisions and do some growing up along the way, especially as she learns that everyone - even her own father - has secret sides to them. The ending felt a little off-kilter for some reason I can't quite put my finger on, and if one thinks too hard the whole plot hinges on a deus ex machina (almost literally), but for the most part it works, at least for a children's story. All in all, it's not bad, but it was just a little too preachy for me to give it a solid Good rating.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher (Bruce Coville) - My Review
Dragonsdale (Salamanda Drake) - My Review
Dragon Girl: The Secret Valley (Jeff Weigel) - My Review
H. L. Burke
Amazon Digital Services
Fiction, YA Fantasy
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Young Cora loves nothing more than dragons, be they the flashy racers or the short-lived little mayflies that go for a few pennies an egg at the pet store. She dreams of becoming a dragon jockey when she grows up, or even finding one of the cat-sized pet dragons hatching from her egg kits, though her dad has funny notions about keeping dragons in cages or terrariums (but, then, he was still a boy when the last of the wild dragons disappeared, so maybe it's an old person thing - where else would a dragon live these days?) Then a fight with Xavier, the spoiled brat son of her dad's boss, leads her to find a strange little dragon egg... an egg that hatches out a dragon unlike any she's seen. He's small and brown and not much to look at, but little Cricket has an odd affinity for dragon eggs - and, under his influence, they hatch out all sorts of wonders, not at all like the mayflies she normally gets. Even as Cora thrills at her discovery, doubts and trouble cloud the horizon. Where did Cricket come from? What kind of dragon is he? And what will happen when grown-ups discover what he can do?
REVIEW: I wavered a bit on the rating for this one. Aimed at a younger audience, Cora's world is a little exaggerated and simplistic, with Cora and her friends (and enemies) sometimes being predictable... but there are some more tangled moralities as the story goes on, particularly among the adults, tangles that younger readers might well miss as most of the action focuses on Cora's level. It also gets somewhat preachy; though the blurb doesn't mention it, this is a Christian story, so there are some rather blatant and obligatory Moral Lessons for Young Children (even though it's not quite so brow-beating on the matter as some such works I've encountered), not to mention an assumption that the reader must also be Christian. Given that, it still managed a few surprises. As for the dragons, they're fun, even if they're sometimes more like scaly puppies than dragons; younger readers will likely enjoy their antics and their interesting colony structure. The story reads fairly quickly, with Cora having to make some tough decisions and do some growing up along the way, especially as she learns that everyone - even her own father - has secret sides to them. The ending felt a little off-kilter for some reason I can't quite put my finger on, and if one thinks too hard the whole plot hinges on a deus ex machina (almost literally), but for the most part it works, at least for a children's story. All in all, it's not bad, but it was just a little too preachy for me to give it a solid Good rating.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher (Bruce Coville) - My Review
Dragonsdale (Salamanda Drake) - My Review
Dragon Girl: The Secret Valley (Jeff Weigel) - My Review
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