The previous six book reviews are now archived and cross-linked on the main Brightdreamer Books website.
Enjoy!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Teller (Chris Howard)
Teller
(The Rootworld Cycle, Book 1)
Chris Howard
Lykeion Books
Fiction, YA Fantasy
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: Andin Teller used to love his mother's stories, so much so that they seemed to come alive around him. Tales woven around a woman fleeing a power-mad mother, taking her son across whole worlds to escape the woman's fearless, dark-winged hunters... but they were just stories, and as the years passed, Andin's mother Emily told them less and less often. He's almost forgotten how her words seemed to change reality. Almost.
When strange attackers invade their New Age gift shop and kidnap Emily, Andin finds pieces of his mother's fantastic tales coming true around him. With the help of two steadfast friends - resourceful Itoshi and half-crazy Taryn - he must confront enemies from beyond this world... and the dangerous powers lurking in his own unique blood.
REVIEW: This book isn't easy to rate. On one hand, it offers a great idea: Tellers, people gifted with the ability to change the world with their words or art or sheer belief. On the other, it ventures into downright surreal territory, with occasional bursts of impenetrable prose. The story itself doesn't help. Andin's mother takes after too many parents in fantasy tales, withholding vital information from her offspring until it's too late to do them any good. He's left to fumble through learning his Teller gifts on his own, endangering numerous lives in the process. He has a fairly competent crew with Itoshi and Taryn, though the latter's knocked out of commission halfway through and doesn't actually do much until the very end of the book. Andin's grandmother is a monster in every sense of the word, as are most of his enemies. Indeed, they all seem to be part of an immortal race intent on inheriting the Earth once humans are done with it, one way or the other. (I have to wonder just what kind of planet they think we'll leave behind; we're not exactly a light-footed species...) Round about this time, the book veers into Deep Waters, pulling apart the tangled strands of reality and story and consciousness while twisting the very nature of the universe as Andin and his rivals rewrite their realities in a power struggle that would seem to be impossible to resolve. That's an awful lot of weight to drop onto a story about a boy rescuing his mom and discovering his gifts, enough to smother this reader. By the end, I could barely keep track of the convoluted plot, with so many enemies and rivalries and interlocking layers of power and reality, all ultimately tied back to some other world that may or may not even be real... Ergh. I confess I gave up trying to make sense of it all; a sequence where Andin's memory is erased (but the reader's isn't) nearly broke me. It ended in a way that may or may not have resolved some of the problems facing Andin, though the fact that it's Book 1 of a "cycle" indicates that trouble (and likely more lyrical meanderings into the nature of reality) will no doubt find him again.
So, what am I left with, in the end? The writing itself is decent enough, when it's not too tangled up in Profound Ideas and bizarre knots. The characters aren't bad, even if they aren't always smart. I liked some of the ideas Howard presented, as well, even if others trickled over the line between fascination and confusion - but, then, I've never been a huge fan of excessive surreality in my stories. Ultimately, I split the difference with a dead-even Okay rating.
As a closing note, Amazon lists two versions, one in paperback and one on Kindle; since, normally, all versions show up under the same listing, I have to assume there is some difference between the two editions. Since it was the Kindle version I read, that's the one I linked to.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Skellig (David Almond) - My Review
Stoneheart (Charlie Fletcher) - My Review
The High House (James Stoddard) - My Review
(The Rootworld Cycle, Book 1)
Chris Howard
Lykeion Books
Fiction, YA Fantasy
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: Andin Teller used to love his mother's stories, so much so that they seemed to come alive around him. Tales woven around a woman fleeing a power-mad mother, taking her son across whole worlds to escape the woman's fearless, dark-winged hunters... but they were just stories, and as the years passed, Andin's mother Emily told them less and less often. He's almost forgotten how her words seemed to change reality. Almost.
When strange attackers invade their New Age gift shop and kidnap Emily, Andin finds pieces of his mother's fantastic tales coming true around him. With the help of two steadfast friends - resourceful Itoshi and half-crazy Taryn - he must confront enemies from beyond this world... and the dangerous powers lurking in his own unique blood.
REVIEW: This book isn't easy to rate. On one hand, it offers a great idea: Tellers, people gifted with the ability to change the world with their words or art or sheer belief. On the other, it ventures into downright surreal territory, with occasional bursts of impenetrable prose. The story itself doesn't help. Andin's mother takes after too many parents in fantasy tales, withholding vital information from her offspring until it's too late to do them any good. He's left to fumble through learning his Teller gifts on his own, endangering numerous lives in the process. He has a fairly competent crew with Itoshi and Taryn, though the latter's knocked out of commission halfway through and doesn't actually do much until the very end of the book. Andin's grandmother is a monster in every sense of the word, as are most of his enemies. Indeed, they all seem to be part of an immortal race intent on inheriting the Earth once humans are done with it, one way or the other. (I have to wonder just what kind of planet they think we'll leave behind; we're not exactly a light-footed species...) Round about this time, the book veers into Deep Waters, pulling apart the tangled strands of reality and story and consciousness while twisting the very nature of the universe as Andin and his rivals rewrite their realities in a power struggle that would seem to be impossible to resolve. That's an awful lot of weight to drop onto a story about a boy rescuing his mom and discovering his gifts, enough to smother this reader. By the end, I could barely keep track of the convoluted plot, with so many enemies and rivalries and interlocking layers of power and reality, all ultimately tied back to some other world that may or may not even be real... Ergh. I confess I gave up trying to make sense of it all; a sequence where Andin's memory is erased (but the reader's isn't) nearly broke me. It ended in a way that may or may not have resolved some of the problems facing Andin, though the fact that it's Book 1 of a "cycle" indicates that trouble (and likely more lyrical meanderings into the nature of reality) will no doubt find him again.
So, what am I left with, in the end? The writing itself is decent enough, when it's not too tangled up in Profound Ideas and bizarre knots. The characters aren't bad, even if they aren't always smart. I liked some of the ideas Howard presented, as well, even if others trickled over the line between fascination and confusion - but, then, I've never been a huge fan of excessive surreality in my stories. Ultimately, I split the difference with a dead-even Okay rating.
As a closing note, Amazon lists two versions, one in paperback and one on Kindle; since, normally, all versions show up under the same listing, I have to assume there is some difference between the two editions. Since it was the Kindle version I read, that's the one I linked to.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Skellig (David Almond) - My Review
Stoneheart (Charlie Fletcher) - My Review
The High House (James Stoddard) - My Review
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The Truth About Publishing on Kindle (Rick Frazier)
The Truth About Publishing on Kindle
Rick Frazier
Amazon Digital Services
Nonfiction, Business/Writing
**+ (Bad/Okay)
DESCRIPTION: With the increasing popularity of eBooks, a whole new world of potential income has opened up to writers and entrepreneurs. Learn how to write, publish, and promote your own eBooks via Amazon's Kindle platform.
A Kindle-exclusive title.
REVIEW: Yet another make-money-on-Amazon book, it barely touches on writing the content, focusing on how to format, upload, and promote your work. (Actually, it need not even be your work; this is another title that considers writing to be an optional factor in becoming a published author.) It reads like a sales pitch for the Amazon Kindle platform, crossed with a vague instruction manual on the KDP uploader software, with tips on using keywords for optimal product placement in search results. Some of the advice was so rushed it made little sense, or so vague as to be less than useful. While I can credit it for being exactly what it says it is, I can't say I found it particularly inspiring.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Secrets to Writing Your First eBook and Getting It Online (Haphiza Baboolal) - My Review
Write a F*$%ing Book Already (Jim Kukral) - My Review
Profit from the eBook Revolution (Bob Perry) - My Review
Rick Frazier
Amazon Digital Services
Nonfiction, Business/Writing
**+ (Bad/Okay)
DESCRIPTION: With the increasing popularity of eBooks, a whole new world of potential income has opened up to writers and entrepreneurs. Learn how to write, publish, and promote your own eBooks via Amazon's Kindle platform.
A Kindle-exclusive title.
REVIEW: Yet another make-money-on-Amazon book, it barely touches on writing the content, focusing on how to format, upload, and promote your work. (Actually, it need not even be your work; this is another title that considers writing to be an optional factor in becoming a published author.) It reads like a sales pitch for the Amazon Kindle platform, crossed with a vague instruction manual on the KDP uploader software, with tips on using keywords for optimal product placement in search results. Some of the advice was so rushed it made little sense, or so vague as to be less than useful. While I can credit it for being exactly what it says it is, I can't say I found it particularly inspiring.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Secrets to Writing Your First eBook and Getting It Online (Haphiza Baboolal) - My Review
Write a F*$%ing Book Already (Jim Kukral) - My Review
Profit from the eBook Revolution (Bob Perry) - My Review
Chloe and the Lion (Mac Barnett and Adam Rex)
Chloe and the Lion
Mac Barnett, illustrations by Adam Rex
Hyperion
Fiction, YA Picture Book
***** (Great)
DESCRIPTION: Young Chloe, dizzy after a ride on the merry-go-round, takes a wrong turn on the way home. Suddenly, she's face-to-face with a... dragon? No, it's supposed to be a lion! Author Mac just wants to write his story, but his artist and his heroine keep getting in his way.
REVIEW: I stumbled across this one at work, and managed to read it during a lull. A clever story that should appeal to grown-ups as well as kids, it's a lesson in both persistence and adaptability. The pictures are just fun, even when Max has to try his own hand at art in a desperate attempt to finish his story, which doesn't go nearly as he'd planned. (As a writer myself, I can relate to stories taking on lives of their own... and stories insisting on being told, even when I don't think I can tell them.)
You Might Also Enjoy:
Children Make Terrible Pets (Peter Brown) - My Review
Never Let Your Cat Make Lunch For You (Lee Harris) - My Review
Sir Toby Jingle's Beastly Journey (Wallace Tripp) - My Review
Mac Barnett, illustrations by Adam Rex
Hyperion
Fiction, YA Picture Book
***** (Great)
DESCRIPTION: Young Chloe, dizzy after a ride on the merry-go-round, takes a wrong turn on the way home. Suddenly, she's face-to-face with a... dragon? No, it's supposed to be a lion! Author Mac just wants to write his story, but his artist and his heroine keep getting in his way.
REVIEW: I stumbled across this one at work, and managed to read it during a lull. A clever story that should appeal to grown-ups as well as kids, it's a lesson in both persistence and adaptability. The pictures are just fun, even when Max has to try his own hand at art in a desperate attempt to finish his story, which doesn't go nearly as he'd planned. (As a writer myself, I can relate to stories taking on lives of their own... and stories insisting on being told, even when I don't think I can tell them.)
You Might Also Enjoy:
Children Make Terrible Pets (Peter Brown) - My Review
Never Let Your Cat Make Lunch For You (Lee Harris) - My Review
Sir Toby Jingle's Beastly Journey (Wallace Tripp) - My Review
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Fairy Metal Thunder (JL Bryan)
Fairy Metal Thunder
(The Songs of Magic series, Book 1)
JL Bryan
CreateSpace
Fiction, YA Fantasy
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: High school junior Jason loves nothing more than strumming out a tune on his old Fender. He was thrilled when he got a chance to join up with the Assorted Zebras, a garage band that'll be going places as soon as they can land a few paying gigs. Of course, having a crush on the lead singer Erin doesn't hurt. If only he could find a way to catch her attention...
When his kid sister, Katie, spots a strange creature robbing the house, Jason gives chase, following it through a door in a tree to the land of fairies. Here, he becomes entranced by the magical instruments of a fairy band - so entranced that he steals them. Surely, with instruments like these, the Assorted Zebras are bound to hit the big time, and Erin will finally notice Jason... but he and his bandmates soon discover that magic is not a toy, nor are fairies to be trifled with.
REVIEW: This story reminds me of a drawing by an artist who almost, but not quite, knows what they're doing. My eye roves around restlessly, trying to figure out what bugs me - something like flawed perspective or odd proportions that throws off the whole work. Fairy Metal Thunder has a decent polish that many self-published titles lack, with serviceable characters in a plot that, while not entirely original, is at least executed competently... but enough details are off that I just couldn't fully enjoy it.
Jason is a young adult cliche, down to the precocious kid sister and the conservative parents who don't approve of that newfangled rock 'n roll. He also acts too stupid to be a high school junior, taking far too long to clue in to the fact that fairies are dangerous and their magic is more powerful than he understands. Erin's mostly an object for Jason to pine over, complete with a jerk stepdad and a boyfriend who takes her for granted. Actually, of all his bandmates, only the drummer Dred (short for Mildred) shows any hesitation over playing with enchanted instruments or meddling with strange powers; frankly, I would've rather had her developed as a character for Jason to fall for, a needed anchor to keep him - and the band - from doing some monumentally stupid things.
Then there's the fairy side of things, as the fairy musicians find themselves in deep trouble with the iron-fisted Queen Mab over the theft (when they were little brighter than Jason for leaving their powerful instruments lying around unguarded in a public place.) Their story goes nowhere after eating too much page count, though I suppose more will come of their predicament in Book 2. The goblin thief whose antics kick off the whole problem turns up again to pester Jason and provide comic relief, while being a crude glutton (likely because that's what goblins seem to be in most young adult literature these days.) There's some promise of originality with a disgruntled elf and his tracking unicorn, Buttercake, who are hired to retrieve the stolen instruments; in the finale, Buttercake shows the skeptical humans why the seemingly-benign unicorn is one of the most feared creatures in Fairyland. But, again, that originality gets shunted to the side, trampled by the stable of stock characters going through the motions of an average story.
Given the predictability, it reads quickly and fairly smoothly. I was considering giving it an extra half-star for being properly formatted (and mostly free of misspelled and misused words, flaws I've come to expect in self-published eBooks), but the final twenty percent of the file proved to be filler material. That seemed like a little much, especially when a good chunk of that wasn't even related to the author or the series.
Ultimately, while there's plenty Bryan did right here, I just found myself too caught up on the many weak spots.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Ruby Blue (Julie Cassar) - My Review
Bedlam's Bard (Mercedes Lackey with Ellen Guon) - My Review
The War of the Flowers (Tad Williams) - My Review
(The Songs of Magic series, Book 1)
JL Bryan
CreateSpace
Fiction, YA Fantasy
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: High school junior Jason loves nothing more than strumming out a tune on his old Fender. He was thrilled when he got a chance to join up with the Assorted Zebras, a garage band that'll be going places as soon as they can land a few paying gigs. Of course, having a crush on the lead singer Erin doesn't hurt. If only he could find a way to catch her attention...
When his kid sister, Katie, spots a strange creature robbing the house, Jason gives chase, following it through a door in a tree to the land of fairies. Here, he becomes entranced by the magical instruments of a fairy band - so entranced that he steals them. Surely, with instruments like these, the Assorted Zebras are bound to hit the big time, and Erin will finally notice Jason... but he and his bandmates soon discover that magic is not a toy, nor are fairies to be trifled with.
REVIEW: This story reminds me of a drawing by an artist who almost, but not quite, knows what they're doing. My eye roves around restlessly, trying to figure out what bugs me - something like flawed perspective or odd proportions that throws off the whole work. Fairy Metal Thunder has a decent polish that many self-published titles lack, with serviceable characters in a plot that, while not entirely original, is at least executed competently... but enough details are off that I just couldn't fully enjoy it.
Jason is a young adult cliche, down to the precocious kid sister and the conservative parents who don't approve of that newfangled rock 'n roll. He also acts too stupid to be a high school junior, taking far too long to clue in to the fact that fairies are dangerous and their magic is more powerful than he understands. Erin's mostly an object for Jason to pine over, complete with a jerk stepdad and a boyfriend who takes her for granted. Actually, of all his bandmates, only the drummer Dred (short for Mildred) shows any hesitation over playing with enchanted instruments or meddling with strange powers; frankly, I would've rather had her developed as a character for Jason to fall for, a needed anchor to keep him - and the band - from doing some monumentally stupid things.
Then there's the fairy side of things, as the fairy musicians find themselves in deep trouble with the iron-fisted Queen Mab over the theft (when they were little brighter than Jason for leaving their powerful instruments lying around unguarded in a public place.) Their story goes nowhere after eating too much page count, though I suppose more will come of their predicament in Book 2. The goblin thief whose antics kick off the whole problem turns up again to pester Jason and provide comic relief, while being a crude glutton (likely because that's what goblins seem to be in most young adult literature these days.) There's some promise of originality with a disgruntled elf and his tracking unicorn, Buttercake, who are hired to retrieve the stolen instruments; in the finale, Buttercake shows the skeptical humans why the seemingly-benign unicorn is one of the most feared creatures in Fairyland. But, again, that originality gets shunted to the side, trampled by the stable of stock characters going through the motions of an average story.
Given the predictability, it reads quickly and fairly smoothly. I was considering giving it an extra half-star for being properly formatted (and mostly free of misspelled and misused words, flaws I've come to expect in self-published eBooks), but the final twenty percent of the file proved to be filler material. That seemed like a little much, especially when a good chunk of that wasn't even related to the author or the series.
Ultimately, while there's plenty Bryan did right here, I just found myself too caught up on the many weak spots.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Ruby Blue (Julie Cassar) - My Review
Bedlam's Bard (Mercedes Lackey with Ellen Guon) - My Review
The War of the Flowers (Tad Williams) - My Review
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