Monday, June 30, 2014
June Site Update
The previous nine reviews have been archived and cross-linked on the main Brightdreamer Books site.
Enjoy!
Sunday, June 29, 2014
The Gem People (Logan Mickel)
The Gem People
Logan Mickel
Echo Deep Books
Fiction, YA Sci-Fi
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: A great civilization, on the edge of self-inflicted devastation, races against time to leave one last hope - one last legacy - to the world they destroyed. Binding their own chosen daughters in living rock, they charge these ambassadors to the future with a great task... if only they can remember it.
Like everyone else on the mountain of Flintchip, Cole knows no life other than mining brack for the distant Train Lords. Their rocky ground barely can support tubers, let alone the necessities of civilization that the massive, monstrous trains bring across the Broken Plains. Then, deep in the tunnels, his pick strikes something strange: a relic from the unimaginable past, possibly from the legendary age of the Engineers themselves. It is a vast chamber containing several strange statues: girls crafted entirely of gemstones. Only these aren't just statues - they're alive.
The Gem People bring great wonder to dull Flintchip, but also great temptation... and great danger. None of them remember just why they were created, or what they were meant to do. As the historian and Town Council try to untangle the mystery of their presence (and whether they ought to be exploited for the good of the town), Cole's world is turned upside-down as friends become foes, neighbors become strangers, and echoes of the past threaten to destroy the present.
REVIEW: It's difficult to rate this book. On the one hand, Mickel creates an interesting world, a little different from the usual post-apocalyptic world, and the imagery of the gem-encrusted people makes for decent mind's-eye candy. On the other, most of the characters are frustratingly obtuse; Flintchip largely exists to be a greedy, short-sighted mob, just as the Train Lords exist to be overbearing, arrogant jerks exploiting the workers. The gem people themselves start out interesting, but quickly become useless, simple-minded plot devices, despite how hard the author and main character try to defend them. They spend far too long being naive and utterly useless, too impossibly alien (and conveniently bereft of key memories) to even save their own lives when threatened. These people can move through stone and lift boulders like they weigh nothing... yet they find themselves easily trapped and coerced. In the beginning, the Engineers explain that only one of the future gem people will hold all of their memories: a very flawed system, when even self-preservation is erased by the lithification process, and when the brightest of them is too dim to rescue their own amnesiatic memory-keeper when she needs it. (I want to believe that it's just a coincidence that they're all girls, and that they so often have to be saved by the male main character doing their thinking for them.) The end result is that they're far more things than they are characters. Cole struggles with his changing world and his changing role in it, as one by one he loses most every pillar of his life to date: his faith in his neighbors, his understanding of the world, his best friend, even his family, down to the truth about the very nature of the mountain that he's mined since he was old enough to swing a pick. After several clashes with his own people, the tale builds up to a tense climax... one that goes out of its way to spare lives, and which leaves the door wide open for sequels after an ending straight out of a comic book, or an anime.
Overall, while I found some elements of this story intriguing, I just didn't find it a particularly satisfying read.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Remnants: The Mayflower Project (K. A. Applegate) - My Review
Pendragon: The Merchant of Death (D. J. MacHale) - My Review
Dragon Wing (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman) - My Review
Logan Mickel
Echo Deep Books
Fiction, YA Sci-Fi
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: A great civilization, on the edge of self-inflicted devastation, races against time to leave one last hope - one last legacy - to the world they destroyed. Binding their own chosen daughters in living rock, they charge these ambassadors to the future with a great task... if only they can remember it.
Like everyone else on the mountain of Flintchip, Cole knows no life other than mining brack for the distant Train Lords. Their rocky ground barely can support tubers, let alone the necessities of civilization that the massive, monstrous trains bring across the Broken Plains. Then, deep in the tunnels, his pick strikes something strange: a relic from the unimaginable past, possibly from the legendary age of the Engineers themselves. It is a vast chamber containing several strange statues: girls crafted entirely of gemstones. Only these aren't just statues - they're alive.
The Gem People bring great wonder to dull Flintchip, but also great temptation... and great danger. None of them remember just why they were created, or what they were meant to do. As the historian and Town Council try to untangle the mystery of their presence (and whether they ought to be exploited for the good of the town), Cole's world is turned upside-down as friends become foes, neighbors become strangers, and echoes of the past threaten to destroy the present.
REVIEW: It's difficult to rate this book. On the one hand, Mickel creates an interesting world, a little different from the usual post-apocalyptic world, and the imagery of the gem-encrusted people makes for decent mind's-eye candy. On the other, most of the characters are frustratingly obtuse; Flintchip largely exists to be a greedy, short-sighted mob, just as the Train Lords exist to be overbearing, arrogant jerks exploiting the workers. The gem people themselves start out interesting, but quickly become useless, simple-minded plot devices, despite how hard the author and main character try to defend them. They spend far too long being naive and utterly useless, too impossibly alien (and conveniently bereft of key memories) to even save their own lives when threatened. These people can move through stone and lift boulders like they weigh nothing... yet they find themselves easily trapped and coerced. In the beginning, the Engineers explain that only one of the future gem people will hold all of their memories: a very flawed system, when even self-preservation is erased by the lithification process, and when the brightest of them is too dim to rescue their own amnesiatic memory-keeper when she needs it. (I want to believe that it's just a coincidence that they're all girls, and that they so often have to be saved by the male main character doing their thinking for them.) The end result is that they're far more things than they are characters. Cole struggles with his changing world and his changing role in it, as one by one he loses most every pillar of his life to date: his faith in his neighbors, his understanding of the world, his best friend, even his family, down to the truth about the very nature of the mountain that he's mined since he was old enough to swing a pick. After several clashes with his own people, the tale builds up to a tense climax... one that goes out of its way to spare lives, and which leaves the door wide open for sequels after an ending straight out of a comic book, or an anime.
Overall, while I found some elements of this story intriguing, I just didn't find it a particularly satisfying read.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Remnants: The Mayflower Project (K. A. Applegate) - My Review
Pendragon: The Merchant of Death (D. J. MacHale) - My Review
Dragon Wing (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman) - My Review
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Burned (Amber Kallyn)
Burned
(The Dragos series, Book 1)
Amber Kallyn
Dragon Heart Books
Fiction, Fantasy/Romance
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: As a shapeshifting dragon, Calla Dragos is the ideal arson investigator... especially when the cause of a fire is something unnatural, something that magic-blind humans cannot hope to deal with. She arrives in the small mountain town of Jasper after a string of fires with all the earmarks of an old rival: Eric, formerly her brother, now corrupted by dark powers into an agent of evil. If her overprotective brothers knew she was on Eric's trail by herself, they'd set the skies alight in rage, but she has a personal gripe to settle with the man.
Chief firefighter Scott O'Neil knew that an arson investigator was on the way to help - he could certainly use it, with Jasper's incompetent sheriff doing nothing - but he didn't expect Calla. A slight woman with a temper to match her fiery hair, he finds himself drawn to her from the start. But even as sparks fly between them, the arsonist strikes again... and, this time, the flames hit too close to home.
REVIEW: As a romance, this is mislabeled. It's much more a flat-out erotica tale, with a little romance squeezed in around the frequent, graphic sex. The characters are nothing new, but decent enough to serve the story: Calla's the typical stubborn redhead who doesn't believe she'll fall in love (until she does), Scott's the Perfect Man, and Eric's just an evil specter without a single justification for his heinous acts. There's also the local old-timer who knows much more than he lets on, about Scott and dragons and magic... but who has inexplicably not said a single thing to the very people who most needed to know about it, leaving them to bumble along in ignorance and possibly endanger lives discovering things on their own. I expected more to come of him, just as I expected more to come of Eric's seemingly out-of-the-blue betrayal of everyone and everything he once held dear. But, then, I also saw the ending coming a dragonsflight away, despite the way the characters kept moaning and pining about their ill-fated relationship. There was an irksome sexist subtext to the tale, where it stated that women were useless without men or babies, and that Calla really was silly for trying to be independent because females need masculine protection at all times. Apparently, only young adult fiction can get away with a female character who can find love with a man, yet not require constant shadowing or the validation of breeding to make her complete (Kristin Cashore's Graceling.) Well, young adult fiction and many people in real life. But, then, I suppose I shouldn't expect too much progressiveness or originality (or depth) from an erotica novelette, even one with dragons in it. For what it is, though, it's not terrible. I had just hoped for a little more actual romance, and maybe some character depth.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Dragons Wild (Robert Asprin) - My Review
The Last Dragonlord (Joanne Bertin) - My Review
Blood for Wolves (Nicole Taft) - My Review
(The Dragos series, Book 1)
Amber Kallyn
Dragon Heart Books
Fiction, Fantasy/Romance
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: As a shapeshifting dragon, Calla Dragos is the ideal arson investigator... especially when the cause of a fire is something unnatural, something that magic-blind humans cannot hope to deal with. She arrives in the small mountain town of Jasper after a string of fires with all the earmarks of an old rival: Eric, formerly her brother, now corrupted by dark powers into an agent of evil. If her overprotective brothers knew she was on Eric's trail by herself, they'd set the skies alight in rage, but she has a personal gripe to settle with the man.
Chief firefighter Scott O'Neil knew that an arson investigator was on the way to help - he could certainly use it, with Jasper's incompetent sheriff doing nothing - but he didn't expect Calla. A slight woman with a temper to match her fiery hair, he finds himself drawn to her from the start. But even as sparks fly between them, the arsonist strikes again... and, this time, the flames hit too close to home.
REVIEW: As a romance, this is mislabeled. It's much more a flat-out erotica tale, with a little romance squeezed in around the frequent, graphic sex. The characters are nothing new, but decent enough to serve the story: Calla's the typical stubborn redhead who doesn't believe she'll fall in love (until she does), Scott's the Perfect Man, and Eric's just an evil specter without a single justification for his heinous acts. There's also the local old-timer who knows much more than he lets on, about Scott and dragons and magic... but who has inexplicably not said a single thing to the very people who most needed to know about it, leaving them to bumble along in ignorance and possibly endanger lives discovering things on their own. I expected more to come of him, just as I expected more to come of Eric's seemingly out-of-the-blue betrayal of everyone and everything he once held dear. But, then, I also saw the ending coming a dragonsflight away, despite the way the characters kept moaning and pining about their ill-fated relationship. There was an irksome sexist subtext to the tale, where it stated that women were useless without men or babies, and that Calla really was silly for trying to be independent because females need masculine protection at all times. Apparently, only young adult fiction can get away with a female character who can find love with a man, yet not require constant shadowing or the validation of breeding to make her complete (Kristin Cashore's Graceling.) Well, young adult fiction and many people in real life. But, then, I suppose I shouldn't expect too much progressiveness or originality (or depth) from an erotica novelette, even one with dragons in it. For what it is, though, it's not terrible. I had just hoped for a little more actual romance, and maybe some character depth.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Dragons Wild (Robert Asprin) - My Review
The Last Dragonlord (Joanne Bertin) - My Review
Blood for Wolves (Nicole Taft) - My Review
Sunday, June 22, 2014
How to Train Your Dragon (Cressida Cowell)
How to Train Your Dragon
(The How to Train Your Dragon series, Book 1)
Cressida Cowell
Hodder
Fiction, YA Fantasy
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: Bards - what bards still exist - remember Hiccup Horrendus Haddock the Third as one of the last great Heroes, from the days when the Vikings of Berk still caught and trained dragons to do their bidding. They manage to conveniently forget that Hiccup, despite being the son of the great Stoick the Vast of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe, was once a scrawny, overlooked runt of a boy... a boy who, when sent to collect a young dragon to train as part of his tribal initiation rites, grabbed the smallest and most stubborn little beast anyone had ever set eyes on. But the path to Heroism isn't always about bashing in brains or shouting the loudest. Here, recorded by Hiccup himself, is the story of one boy taking the Hard Way to Heroism, interspersed with notes on dragons and Hiccup's sketches.
REVIEW: This series forms the basis of one of my favorite movies of all time... and, had I read this book first, I might not have watched it. Geared toward a much younger audience, Hiccup's tale revels in references to snot and poo and other bodily emissions, not to mention dragonloads of anachronistic references and a slapstick-heavy sense of humor. Toothless, Hiccup's unprepossessing Common or Garden Dragon, is a selfish jerk, but then all dragons prove to be amoral, cruel, and self-interested beasts. Buried deep beneath the crudity, I found glimmers of depth and interest... glimmers that seem strangely out of place paired with so much goofy shallowness. The vast green sea dragon that threatens the island is a particularly nasty creation, a riddling and philosophical monster in the vein of Tolkien's Smaug. The scribbled sketches and notes interrupt the flow of the narrative - and, at one point, directly contradict the text - but children might find them fun. On its own level, for younger readers especially, it's not a bad story of underdogs making good and the power of kindness over brute force. Personally, I much prefer what DreamWorks has done with the movies.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher (Bruce Coville) - My Review
Dragonsdale (Salamanda Drake) - My Review
The Dragonling Collector's Edition, Volume 1 (Jackie French Koller) - My Review
(The How to Train Your Dragon series, Book 1)
Cressida Cowell
Hodder
Fiction, YA Fantasy
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: Bards - what bards still exist - remember Hiccup Horrendus Haddock the Third as one of the last great Heroes, from the days when the Vikings of Berk still caught and trained dragons to do their bidding. They manage to conveniently forget that Hiccup, despite being the son of the great Stoick the Vast of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe, was once a scrawny, overlooked runt of a boy... a boy who, when sent to collect a young dragon to train as part of his tribal initiation rites, grabbed the smallest and most stubborn little beast anyone had ever set eyes on. But the path to Heroism isn't always about bashing in brains or shouting the loudest. Here, recorded by Hiccup himself, is the story of one boy taking the Hard Way to Heroism, interspersed with notes on dragons and Hiccup's sketches.
REVIEW: This series forms the basis of one of my favorite movies of all time... and, had I read this book first, I might not have watched it. Geared toward a much younger audience, Hiccup's tale revels in references to snot and poo and other bodily emissions, not to mention dragonloads of anachronistic references and a slapstick-heavy sense of humor. Toothless, Hiccup's unprepossessing Common or Garden Dragon, is a selfish jerk, but then all dragons prove to be amoral, cruel, and self-interested beasts. Buried deep beneath the crudity, I found glimmers of depth and interest... glimmers that seem strangely out of place paired with so much goofy shallowness. The vast green sea dragon that threatens the island is a particularly nasty creation, a riddling and philosophical monster in the vein of Tolkien's Smaug. The scribbled sketches and notes interrupt the flow of the narrative - and, at one point, directly contradict the text - but children might find them fun. On its own level, for younger readers especially, it's not a bad story of underdogs making good and the power of kindness over brute force. Personally, I much prefer what DreamWorks has done with the movies.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher (Bruce Coville) - My Review
Dragonsdale (Salamanda Drake) - My Review
The Dragonling Collector's Edition, Volume 1 (Jackie French Koller) - My Review
Saturday, June 21, 2014
The Emperor's Edge (Lindsay Buroker)
The Emperor's Edge
(The Emperor's Edge series, Book 1)
Lindsay Buroker
CreateSpace
Fiction, YA Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In the steam-powered empire, Amaranthe Lokdon is an anomoly. Unlike most women, who are content to marry well or run businesses, she became an enforcer, struggling to build a name and a career in a society dominated by seven centuries of warrior-culture male chauvinism. Having been passed over for a well-earned promotion, Amaranthe figures nobody notices her hard work - until she receives a summons from Hollowcrest, commander of young Emperor Sespian's armies and the acknowledged power behind the throne. Sicarius, perhaps the most dangerous assassin in the known world, has been spotted in the capital city, just weeks before the emperor's birthday celebration. While male enforcers and spies have died by the dozen trying to bring him in, perhaps a woman might fare better. This may be the break Amaranthe has been waiting for since she joined the enforcers... or it may be a trap with ties to a treasonous, magic-tinged plot that could destroy the whole empire.
REVIEW: This story reads like a peculiar cross between steampunk, a heist movie, and one of those old-school TV series with the team of outcasts fighting impossible odds - and even their own government - for the cause of justice. It starts fast, establishing a decently-realized steampunk world and interesting characters, none of whom are quite what they seem to be. Amaranthe never thought she'd end up where she does, as partner to a killer and leader of an unpromising collection of society's cast-offs attempting to avert a national disaster in the making, forced to rely on both quick thinking and raw luck as she struggles to survive. But, then, her team members never thought they'd be pitting themselves against the empire, and worse, either; but for Amaranthe's determination, the whole effort would dissolve. Even the young Emperor Sespian finds himself pushed into becoming something more than he thought he could be, as he realizes the true nature of his so-called trusted advisers. The plot offers plenty of action and tension, balanced by humor that sometimes ranges toward slapstick but never quite crosses the line into outright goofiness. Without spoilers, it wraps up most of the storyline in one volume, while establishing the premise for the series to come... not unlike a TV pilot episode, which it rather resembled at several points. All in all, it made for a fun and fairly satisfying read. I might track down the next books in the series someday, time and budget willing.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Jhereg (Stephen Brust) - My Review
Flash Gold (Lindsay Buroker) - My Review
Cold Magic (Kate Elliot) - My Review
(The Emperor's Edge series, Book 1)
Lindsay Buroker
CreateSpace
Fiction, YA Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In the steam-powered empire, Amaranthe Lokdon is an anomoly. Unlike most women, who are content to marry well or run businesses, she became an enforcer, struggling to build a name and a career in a society dominated by seven centuries of warrior-culture male chauvinism. Having been passed over for a well-earned promotion, Amaranthe figures nobody notices her hard work - until she receives a summons from Hollowcrest, commander of young Emperor Sespian's armies and the acknowledged power behind the throne. Sicarius, perhaps the most dangerous assassin in the known world, has been spotted in the capital city, just weeks before the emperor's birthday celebration. While male enforcers and spies have died by the dozen trying to bring him in, perhaps a woman might fare better. This may be the break Amaranthe has been waiting for since she joined the enforcers... or it may be a trap with ties to a treasonous, magic-tinged plot that could destroy the whole empire.
REVIEW: This story reads like a peculiar cross between steampunk, a heist movie, and one of those old-school TV series with the team of outcasts fighting impossible odds - and even their own government - for the cause of justice. It starts fast, establishing a decently-realized steampunk world and interesting characters, none of whom are quite what they seem to be. Amaranthe never thought she'd end up where she does, as partner to a killer and leader of an unpromising collection of society's cast-offs attempting to avert a national disaster in the making, forced to rely on both quick thinking and raw luck as she struggles to survive. But, then, her team members never thought they'd be pitting themselves against the empire, and worse, either; but for Amaranthe's determination, the whole effort would dissolve. Even the young Emperor Sespian finds himself pushed into becoming something more than he thought he could be, as he realizes the true nature of his so-called trusted advisers. The plot offers plenty of action and tension, balanced by humor that sometimes ranges toward slapstick but never quite crosses the line into outright goofiness. Without spoilers, it wraps up most of the storyline in one volume, while establishing the premise for the series to come... not unlike a TV pilot episode, which it rather resembled at several points. All in all, it made for a fun and fairly satisfying read. I might track down the next books in the series someday, time and budget willing.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Jhereg (Stephen Brust) - My Review
Flash Gold (Lindsay Buroker) - My Review
Cold Magic (Kate Elliot) - My Review
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