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THE SUBJUGATE – Amanda Bridgeman

Posted by Daniel on June 22, 2020
Posted in: MYSTERY, SF/FANTASY. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

In a very religious, rural community – a train ride from the nearest metropolis – a brutal rape/murder has occurred. This is shocking to the pious locals as everyone is devout or in training to become a true believer.  Sent to investigate the murder are a pair of detectives from the city, Salvi Brentt and Mitch Grenville, both with haunting pasts that neither wishes to discuss.

Brent and Grenville discover that this small community is filled with possible, even likely suspects as The Children of Christ church community operates the Solme Complex. The Solme Complex is a rehabilitation center for some of the worst, most hardened criminals who are put through a rigorous process (and maybe a few beatings) to become docile Believers.  They begin their journey as Subjugates and move to become Serenes.  In addition to their rehabilitation, the Subjugates and Serenes provide labor to the community, and that’s become attractive to some city dwellers who decide that a peaceful community with free labor, is a nice change from the busy city.

Complicating the investigation is that the Solme Complex insists that their Subjugates and Serenes couldn’t possibly have committed a crime, because of the thoroughness of their rehabilitation, but they also won’t let Salvi or Mitch conduct any interviews without tremendous oversight and conditions.

The crimes and bodies add up in the small town, and loner Grenville shows some unusual behavior, such that Salvi isn’t sure what she should do about her own partner.  Could he be trusted?  Could he have committed the crimes?

I’ve never read anything by Amanda Bridgeman before this, but I found this mystery really engaging.  There’s the clear ‘whodunnit’ mystery, but there’s the personal mysteries Salvi’s past (why does she seem so affected by the Children of Christ Church) and Mitch’s(his girlfriend was killed and he was a suspect for a time).

The characters (mostly) stand out, unique from one another.  I did have some trouble identifying the different Subjugates and Serenes (they are identified by numbers), but some of that may be by design as they are in essence each reduced to nothing to be built back up in Christ.

This was a smooth read, and a page-turner.  It was easy to get caught up in this story and it built, bit by bit, with a few red herrings and possible suspects along the way.

While there are some science fiction aspects to this novel, there really don’t have to be. This is first and foremost, a detective mystery story and the science fiction parts are negligible. It doesn’t take away from what works really well, but it could be disappointing if you are looking for a science fiction story.

This is definitely worth reading and I look forward to the next book in the Salvi Brentt mystery series.

Looking for a good book?  If you enjoy a good mystery, with characters who are flawed, and a touch of science fiction thrown in, then pick up Admanda Bridgeman’s The Subjugate.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Subjugate

author: Amanda Bridgeman

series: Salvi Brentt #1

publisher: Angry Robot

ISBN: 0857667718

paperback, 400 pages

THE FALL OF IO – Wesley Chu

Posted by Daniel on June 19, 2020
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Ella Patel is a street-smart con artist who has survived by avoiding complications wherever possible. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) Ella became host to Io, a Quasing alien. Io is able to offer advice and suggestions to his host (which is a little unnerving, of course), but Io isn’t exactly the brightest Quasing on the block. Combine that with Ella’s stubborn independence and there’s a constant battle brewing in Ella’s head.

If that were the only battle Ella had to deal with, she might manage.  Unfortunately, there’s a Quasing war on between the Prophus and the Genjix and because of Io, Ella is dragged into it. The Prophus want to train Ella as an agent, but she’s a little too independent for that.  That should be the end of it, sending Ella back to petty street crime, but the Genjix want to contact their home world and to do so, they need information that Io has.  And Io is still in Ella’s head.

It’s been a few years since I read the first ‘Io’ book – which I really enjoyed – and it was fun getting to meet these characters once again.  Ella is a pretty stereotyped dystopian heroine – young, on her own, street smart and savvy and full of cranky angst and suddenly burdened with some responsibility and wanted by some not very nice people.  Even so, Chu manages to make her unique and you don’t feel like you’re reading a stereotyped character.

A big part of the fun of this book (as with the previous) is the relationship between host and parasite and we have plenty of that.  The story is quite secondary here.  There is a story, and it could be a pretty major issue (war is a pretty big issue) but it never feels as important as the relationship between Io and Ella, and that does bring the enjoyment down just a notch.  It’s a fun book, but it lacks some bite.

Looking for a good book? The Fall of Io by Wesley Chu is a fun action/adventure teen fantasy but substitutes detailed action for a riveting story.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Fall of Io

author: Wesley Chu

series: Io #2

publisher: Angry Robot

ISBN: 0857667874

paperback, 416 pages

RESISTANCE – Tori Amos

Posted by Daniel on June 17, 2020
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I started listening to Tori Amos with the release of her album Little Earthquakes. I have purchased or listened to all of her works since then.  I wouldn’t say that I’m a dedicated fan – I know (knew) nothing about Amos other than what I interpret in her songs. Her music, her songs, to me, show incredible artistry and intelligence (which is something I think is often lacking in modern music). When I saw that Tori Amos had a book coming out, a memoir, I was quick to get a copy, hopeful that Amos would be as articulate with her book as she is with her songs.

She is.

I have certainly noted a political charge in many of Tori’s songs, but reading through this memoir and learning abut her ‘start’ – her early days in a piano bar in Washington, D.C. – I have a new appreciation of Tori’s understanding and her observing of the political landscape. Much of the first portions of the book discuss these early days and as we get to know Tori through her recollection, we come to understand how aware she is of the machinations of politics.  How does a young, artistic woman survive in this sort of setting? This is really fascinating and eye=opening.

But I think what I enjoyed even more in this book, is her discussion of art, artists, and surviving the creative process. Amos knows what it’s like to sacrifice the art at the bidding of others.  She also know that creating art is not inspiration, but lots of hard work (an awful lot of artists do not yet understand this concept).  She mentions that she can probably name all of her songs that ‘just came to her’ on one hand.

And she talks about the jealousy of other artists – the jealousy we might have for a peer who has already ‘found her voice’ or his style, while we continue to struggle. Reading her thoughts on this is meaningful because we see that she understands – that she comes at this with first-hand experience.

I do think that you need to have an appreciation of Tori Amos the singer-songwriter to appreciate this book to its fullest, but the publisher refers to this book as having “compassionate guidance and actionable advice” which is very true and applicable to anyone, whether they are already familiar with Tori Amos or not.

Looking for a good book? Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage by Tori Amos is a motivational memoir sure to offer encouragement to young artists of all mediums.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage

author: Tori Amos

publisher: Atria Books

ISBN: 1982104155

hardcover, 272 pages

TIME’S CHILDREN – D. B. Jackson

Posted by Daniel on June 15, 2020
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Mearlan IV, the ruler of Daerjen is looking to add a Walker to his retinue.  That Walker is 15 year old Tobias Doljan. A Walker is someone with thew ability and training to walk backward and forward in time – usually to give important messages to someone to watch out or be careful about something. And of course a ruler such as Mearlan wants to make sure he has a Walker to warn him about dangers. But Mearlan has a job for Tobias – an unusual request and one that he won’t repeat.  Mearlan wants Tobias to go back and tell the younger Mearlan not to start the war that he’s currently in and losing.

There’s an important side-effect to Walking through time.  The body ages with the amount of time Walked.  If a Walker goes backward one day, he ages a day, and if he goes forward one day, to the time he initially left, he ages another day, even though no one else has aged.  Mearlan IV has asked Tobias to Walk backward 14 years, to an integral point before the war starts.  Of course Tobias, who will be 29 in body and 15 in mind, will have to try to find a way to convince Mearlan that he was sent by his older self.

But along the way, assassins are trying to take out Tobias, and disasters occur that suggest the future will be changed in some very unexpected ways. Tobias may be the only one who can salvage or resurrect the future the way it’s supposed to happen.

I’ve read a few time-travel books and they’re always pretty confounding, but author D.B. Jackson has done a pretty remarkable job of making sense of the vagaries of time travel.  I do like the addition of aging, which does put some limits on how far backward or forward someone can travel.

The story is greatly interesting right at the start as we get settled in to this world and the beginning of Tobias’ quest.  As the action picks up I lost interest in some of the story.  Things change drastically, and the changes keep coming for a bit, and at some point it is just a little too much.  It settles back down (if action chases can be considered ‘settles down’) and we return to story-telling over action sequences which is much more interesting.

The book is the first part of a series and as such, there are unanswered questions and an unresolved story-line when we get to the end of the book.

I liked Jackson’s writing, and the overall concept is quite intriguing. Jackson takes on a challenging theme with time travel, but he builds a story around it very well.  But his story is much more interesting than his action sequences.

Looking for a good book? Time’s Children by D.B. Jackson is a clever fantasy and well-written.  I look forward to the next book in the series.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Time’s Children

author: D. B. Jackson

series: The Islevale Cycle #1

publisher: Angry Robot

ISBN: 0857667912

paperback, 528 pages

JAPANESE GHOST STORIES – Lafcadio Hearn

Posted by Daniel on June 12, 2020
Posted in: SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Certain things are universal, such as a person’s sense of dread and fear, and perhaps, even, the belief in an existence after death. Readers of my book review blog will note a moderate number of horror or dark fantasy books that I have read and reviewed.  I do enjoy the genre, which is a little bit surprising, because I don’t enjoy these sorts of movies.  Maybe it’s the ability to control it that I like in literature?  But I also have a long-standing appreciation for Japanese arts and culture and so a combination of the two ghost stories and Japanese culture, proves highly interesting to me.

The first thing people may notice is that these ghost stories have a very different tone to them.  These aren’t horror stories – there are a few that are kind of terrifying – but in some ways these are more mythology.  Author/editor Lafcadio Hearn gives us a good cross section of stories and does a really fine job of retelling these stories for an English reading audience.  We do get a sense that these were written at very different times by Hearn as they don’t really have a consistent sound to them.  It does make it seem as though these are told by different people, which is good.

All of these stories were good, in different ways and for different reasons.  There were a few that stood out as exceptional to me.

“The Corpse-Rider” has one of the best opening paragraphs of a short story I’ve ever read.  It’s a story of a woman scorned and right from the start we know this is going to be a dark and bitter story.  It’s fantastic!

“The Story of Kwashin Koji” was a fun tale (not so much a ghost story) in which an artist shows what he can do.

I enjoyed “Rokuro-Kubi” quite a bit.  It is the story of a great samurai who becomes a wandering priest when the house he served as samurai falls into ruin. He comes across five bodies without heads and knows them to be Rokuro-Kubi and that he must move the bodies to a new location so that the heads can never be rejoined.  This has such a great sense of being Japenese.  This is not the sort of tale or myth that could easily come from another culture.

Perhaps my favorite story in the collection was “Yuki-Onna”.  This was very much a ghost story, and very much a theme I feel I’ve read before in other myths from other cultures in which a spirit makes a man promise he will do certain things or never do certain things and in exchange the spirit will be an ever-faithful wife.  You can probably guess what ultimately happens.

Overall, this is a wonderful collection.  The book contains the following:

Chronology
Introduction
A Note on the Text
Further Reading
“Of Ghosts and Goblins”
“The Dream of a Summer Day”
“In Cholera-Time”
“Ningyō-no-Haka”
“The Eternal Haunter”
“Fragment”
“A Passional Karma”
“Ingwa-Banashi”
“Story of a Tengu”
“The Reconciliation”
“A Legend of Fugen-Bosatsu”
“The Corpse-Rider”
“The Sympathy of Benten”
“The Gratitude of the Samébito”
“Of a Promise Kept”
“Of a Promise Broken”
“Before the Supreme Court”
“The Story of Kwashin Koji”
“The Story of Umétsu Chūbei”
“The Legend of Yurei-Daki”
“In a Cup of Tea”
“Ikiryō”
“The Story of O-Kamé”
“The Story of Chūgorō”
“The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōïchi”
“Jikininki”
“Mujina”
“Rokuro-Kubi”
“Yuki-Onna”
“The Story of Aoyagi”
“The Dream of Akinosuké”
“Riki-Baka”
“The Mirror Maiden”
“The Story of Itō Norisuké ”
Appendix: Nightmare-Touch
Notes
Sources of the Stories

Looking for a good book? Japanese Ghost Stories, by Lafcadio Hearn, is an excellent collection of Japanese tales, myths, and ghost stories. Don’t look for an assortment of horror and terror, though there are some, but rather multiple types of stories.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Japanese Ghost Stories

author: Lafcadio Hearn

publisher: Penguin Classics

ISBN: 0241381274

paperback, 272 pages

THE BEAST OF NIGHTFALL LODGE – S.A. Sidor

Posted by Daniel on June 10, 2020
Posted in: Dark Fantasy/Horror, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Rom Hardy is an explorer. An Egyptologist by profession, he is nearly always willing to investigate something unusual. When he is contacted by an old friend, a bounty-hunter by the name of Rex McTroy, Rom and his associates soon find themselves in the mountains of New Mexico tracking a savage beast that has been killing with reckless abandon.  Tracking shouldn’t be too hard since there are bodies everywhere, a sign that the beast is quite active.

A big game hunter has offered up a prize for the capture of the beast and Rom’s wealthy patron signs him up. Soon there isn’t just the beast to worry about, but a bunch of crazed, prize-hungry hunters with guns to be concerned about as well.

Just as with the previous book in The Institute for Singular Antiquities series, this has the sense of intentionally being the literary equivalent to a “B” movie.  High on adventure and action with a stock set of characters and where we probably know what the outcome will be but the journey is half the fun and seeing who, in addition to the main character, will survive to tell the tale.  Publisher Angry Robot apparently has the same thought as the book cover artwork also has that B-movie poster look to it (and I can’t help but wonder how much that has influenced my reading of the book).

This book moves from that Indiana Jones-style adventure of the first book, into more of the Roger Corman horror flick-style. Still it works, and for those who want something quick and dark (but not too scary) then this is probably what you are looking for.

I miss the more obvious threat of Egyptian mummies (just writing “Egyptian mummies” brings to mind an immediate image of terror).  Moving to a ‘beast’ of unknown likeness means that author S.A. Sidor has to work harder to bring the terror to mind, and in that, he maybe isn’t quite as successful.  But the action surrounding the hunt and the ending somewhat make up for this.

Looking for a good book? For a quick action/horror read, like watching a 1960’s B-movie, check out S.A. Sidor’s The Beast of Nightfall Lodge, the second book in The Institute for Singular Antiquities series.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Beast of Nightfall Lodge

author: S.A. Sidor

series: The Institute for Singular Antiquities #2

publisher: Angry Robot

ISBN: 0857667645

paperback, 400 pages

WE SOLD OUR SOULS – Grady Hendrix

Posted by Daniel on June 8, 2020
Posted in: Dark Fantasy/Horror, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

In the 1990’s the band Dürt Würk, a heavy metal band, looked like it was going to sky-rocket to success until the lead singer, Terry Hunt, left the band for a solo career, where he achieved tremendous success as Koffin. His bandmates have had nothing but misery and rotten luck since he left, despite their talent and drive.

Some twenty years later and Kris Pulaski, one of Dürt Würk’s original band members, currently working as a night manager at a Best Western, learns that Terry’s success may have come at a price – if what she’s heard is true, Terry sold not just his soul to the devil, but he sold all the band members’ souls in exchange for his success.

At one of the largest metal music festivals in the world, Hellstock, Kris wants to confront Terry and get her soul back.  But getting to Terry isn’t going to be easy.  On the other hand, what more could Kris have to lose?

Gary Hendrix is one helluva terrific writer!

I requested a copy of this book based on my enjoyment of Hendrix’s My Best Friend’s Exorcism, which took me by surprise and which I truly enjoyed.  This book is also a really fantastic read.

Aside from building a dark, horrific story with careful precision, letting each moment sucker-punch us and then moving on, Hendrix gives us some characters we kind of like, despite being dirty and grungy and part of something that’s foreign to us (how many of us have been in a metal band?), we can identify with these people.

Horror is difficult to sustain in novel length, though Hendrix doe it very well and I think a large part of that is on the strength of the characters. There’s a solid story here – there’s a goal, there are obstacles, and the journey is fraught with peril, but because we bond with these characters – and I can’t help but find it strange that we do, and yet … we do … the journey becomes something that we invest in.

It is such a strength of Hendrix’s that he can take subjects that I would have sworn I would have no interest in reading about (here we have heavy metal music, and in My Best Friend’s Exorcism we had teen girl bff’s) and gets me interested and involved.  That is powerful writing.

Looking for a good book? If you thought you didn’t like horror fiction, you need to try Gary Hendrix. If you already love horror fiction, you’ll want to read We Sold Our Souls.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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We Sold Our Souls

author: Gary Hendrix

publisher: Quirk Books

ISBN: 1683690125

hardcover, 336 pages

ASTERIX OMNIBUS #1 – graphic novel

Posted by Daniel on June 5, 2020
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, ENTERTAINMENT, GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I read my first Asterix comic sometime in the mid to late 1970’s. I remember this (I remember who had it and where I read it) because it really made an impression on me.  Here was a comic that was the perfect cross between the simple (in story and in art) Disney and Archie comics that my grandparents had lying around for their grandkids to read, and the heavy, detailed superhero comics that my friends and I used to read. Asterix was funny, smart, and the main characters were superhero strong and they were Gauls (I had no idea what the heck that meant) who were fighting against the Romans in 50 B.C. (Now that I understood.)  There was plenty of humor that teen-me picked up on, and as I read through this, most of that humor hasn’t changed and yet it still made me chuckle.

Publisher Orion is putting out an Omnibus edition of the Asterix comics. This book, Omnibus #1, combines the first three issues of the Asterix comics: Asterix the Gaul, Asterix and the Golden Sickle, and Asterix and the Goths.  These three books really give the reader everything one needs to know about Asterix, the character, his powers, his sense of humor, and his friends.

Right in the first book we learn that Asterix’s power comes from a potion made by his druid friend, and that it will wear off from time to time.  We also learn that Asterix’s friend, Obelisk, a big, simple-minded oaf with a good heart and very devoted to his friend, is permanently strong because he had fallen into a vat of the druid’s elixir when he was a child.  But if he takes a drink of the potion now it would have a dangerous, negative effect on him. We also learn about the dislike of the Romans and how Asterix and his friends are the last hold-outs against the mighty Roman army. Of course, that Roman army are Keystone Kops, B.C. style.

This is not only fun nostalgia, but just good entertainment.   If you’ve never read an Asterix comic, this is the perfect place to start and you’ll find it addicting and want to read more, which is good, because we should all take time out to laugh once in awhile.

Looking for a good book? Asterix Omnibus Vol. 1 is a graphic novel reprinting some very entertaining comics. You should check it out.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Asterix Omnibus Vol. 1

author: René Goscinny

artist: Albert Uderzo

publisher: Orion

ISBN: 0752891545

hardcover, 144 pages

THE GENIUS OF BIRDS – Jennifer Ackerman

Posted by Daniel on June 4, 2020
Posted in: NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Jennifer Ackerman is a science writer of some renown.  One only needs to look at her bibliography to see that she understands researching and writing about a few different topics, but birds being one of the more common subjects for her. Here the specific focus is bird intelligence.

Ackerman provides examples, mostly current, some historical, of unusual bird behavior that suggests or highlights an intelligence that we’ve often over-looked, not recognized, or written off as some strange instinctual behavior. All of these are quite remarkable and Ackerman’s presentation really makes a strong case for “bird brain” to be a compliment rather than an insult (though I suspect the idiom will never catch on).

There are enough personal comments throughout to keep this from being a dry dissertation.  These are the moments which have me agreeing with her as she expresses some awe.  For instance:

I know that navigating by celestial cues is not necessarily a sign of high intellect. After all, dung beetles—best known for sculpting little balls of animal feces that they later eat—use light from the Milky Way to orient themselves at night. Still, it seems a marvel to me that birds can glean a north-south orientation by learning the rotational patterns of stars.

A marvel indeed!

What really struck me is that we humans don’t really give enough credit for intelligence in other species.  We anthropomorphize and then, when a creature doesn’t behave or react or communicate the way we expect them to (like humans) we assume there is a lack of intelligence. It seems pretty clear, reading Ackerman’s work here, that there might be a good deal of ‘intelligence’ (cognizant thinking?) going on.

Will more studies be done?  I’m sure there are many studies being done all the time, but without a ‘bestseller voice’ such as Jennifer Ackerman’s, most of us will probably miss out on the news, which is too bad, because this has really piqued my interest.

Looking for a good book? The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman is a quite fascinating look at new studies showing that our ‘bird brained’ feathered friends just might be a lot more intelligent than we’ve previously suspected.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Genius of Birds

author: Jennifer Ackerman

publisher: Penguin Press

ISBN: 1594205213

hardcover, 352 pages

ROOTED IN DECEIT – Wendy Tyson

Posted by Daniel on June 2, 2020
Posted in: MYSTERY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Megan Sawyer is working at the idyllic Washington Acres in Winsome, Pennsylvania. But her perfect summer, which includes some quality time with the handsome Dr. Finn, is about to go downhill rapidly when Megan learns that her father (who’s never been too reliable) and his new wife, Sylvia, plan to stay at a retreat center the next town over.

Sylvia has plans to open up a specialty boutique and is trying to secure the artwork of an artist whose work is showing at the retreat center. The meeting between Sylvia and the artist doesn’t go well and shortly after their volatile encounter the artist, Thana Moore is found murdered.  Sylvia is the prime suspect. Megan will investigate, but she also has ties to Thana … at one time, Thana and Megan were best of friends. Now as Megan dives into solving this case, she learns a lot about her friend since their friendship waned, but more importantly, that no one in the region is safe until something (or someone) sinister is taken down.

For the most part, I’ve really liked the different mystery series’ that I’ve read from publisher Henery Press.  However, I have selected the series’ I’ve wanted to read. Wanting to branch out a bit, I thought I’d give this title a try.

Mostly likely it was the fact that I was coming blind into the 4th book in a series, but there was very little here that held any appeal for me. The characters never stood out as sharp and unique individuals. Instead, I felt that these were just characters created to move a story forward.

It could also be that this book was a little more ‘cozy’ than many of the mysteries that I’ve enjoyed. I’m typically not a fan of the cozy mystery genre, but there are some that I enjoy a lot. This one just never caught my attention and I struggled to read it.

Looking for a good book? Rooted in Deceit by Wendy Tyson is a cozy mystery that never takes off. It’s possible that you really need to read the entire series to care about the characters.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

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Rooted in Deceit

author: Wendy Tyson

series: Greenhouse Mystery #4

publisher: Henery Press

ISBN: 1635113849

paperback, 257 pages

THE LOVECRAFT SQUAD: RISING – Stephen Jones, creator

Posted by Daniel on June 1, 2020
Posted in: Dark Fantasy/Horror, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

There are people (and creatures) in the known universe who are bent on bringing about chaos. The most dangerous of these are cultists known as The Olde Fellowes and The Esoteric Order of Dagon who, with supernatural help, will do whatever they can to disrupt order.  To combat this, a covert group of professionals known as the Human Protection League (HPL) – affectionately dubbed “The Lovecraft Squad” – was created.  Think of them as sort of an ‘X-Files” team, but with more subtlety and power.

The battle has not been going well and the HPL team have collected at a new headquarters to regroup. The cultists are preparing the way for ancient, powerful gods to be resurrected and freed from imprisonment and restore their power. An Eldritch War is brewing and the best hope that the HPL have just might be a man out of his own time.

The book is a collection of short stories but it is put together as if it were a larger, cohesive novel with a lot of sub-plots. It’s kind of a strange arrangement. If you don’t know that these are short stories – there is no table of contents and while each chapter has a title, there is no author associated with it – then you might get really confused (as I was when I first read the previous book in the series).

The authors behind these stories are all talented.  There weren’t any stories/chapters that I did not enjoy. One story definitely stood out as being exceptionally powerful – ‘The Haunters of the Dark Affair” by Steve Rasnic Tem. This story felt very current and I definitely felt as though I were invested in what was happening.  It was quite moving.

The darkness of the impending Eldritch War and the supernatural aspects of the ancient, dark gods certainly suggests that this is not a book for everyone, but if you pause to look at this book because the word ‘Lovecraft’ caught your eye, then I highly recommend it. “The Story So Far…” at the start will get you caught up with all you need to know to start reading immediately.

This book contains the following (authors listed are those credited with being the copyright holders at the back of the book):

“The Story So Fr…” – Stephen Jones
“Prologue: The Devil in the White City” – Reggie Oliver
“The Outsider and Others” – Lisa Morton
“The Thing About Cats” – Peter Atkins
“The Four Churches” – John Llewellyn Probert
“Hastur La Vista, Baby!” – Adrian Cole and Mike Chinn
“The House of the Crustal Staircase” – Thana Niveau
“A Fun Guy from Yuggoth” – Michael Marshall Smith
“The Ninth Planet” – Stephen Baxter
“The Haunters of the Dark Affair” – Steve Rasnic Tem
“Out of Time” – Angela Slatter
“The Final Sacrifice” – Brian Hodge
“Epilogue: Out of the Eons” – John Llewellyn Probert
“Lost Boys” – Jo Fletcher

I mentioned it in my review of the previous Lovecraft Squad book, but I’ll say it again … the cover by Douglas Klauba really captures the old pulp adventure feel.

Looking for a good book? The Lovecraft Squad: Rising by Stephen Jones (et al) is thrilling dark adventure fiction in the classic pulp style.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Lovecraft Squad: Rising

creator: Stephen Jones

publisher: Pegasus Books

ISBN: 1643133225

paperback, 384 pages

PEACE TALKS – Jim Butcher

Posted by Daniel on May 29, 2020
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

All the different supernatural nations have been called together to discuss a treaty.  Queen Mab is holding a casual soiree in advance of the peace talks and Chicago’s only wizard, Harry Dresden, has been called in to work security. Security. Among a large group of supernaturally strong and powerful beings who historically haven’t gotten along.  Yeah.  Who wants a job like that? Sometimes it’s not a choice, though.  Harry has a job to do and he will work it to the best of his ability, even if that means rubbing a few folk the wrong way.

But there is one thing that trumps duty, even for Harry Dresden … family. Harry’s family is no Hallmark Movie family, but he’ll fight against hell itself to protect his family – and it just might come to that.

Reading a new Harry Dresden book is like seeing your best friend from your school days after having lost touch for the past couple of decades. It’s comfortable, and getting familiar with one another again is part of the fun.  Of course it doesn’t take long to remember why we like Harry Dresden so much.  The action heats up quickly and the Dresden charm … or is that sarcasm? … rolls off the page early on. We also get the family/duty conflict right on the first page and we know we’re in for one incredible ride.

We meet a large cast of characters – there’s a meeting of every Supernatural nation remember – and Harry will battle against some of the most vicious beasts he’s ever faced.  And that just gets our feet wet as we wade into this book.  There is SO much going on here that it would be difficult to imagine it could possibly be contained in one 350 page book.  Oh yeah… it can’t.  There’s a bit of a cliff-hanger here and the expectation is that things are only going to get worse.  I can’t tell you exactly why because it would give away too much of the fun in reading this, but if you already know The Dresden Files you can trust that this is likely bigger and badder and better than anything Harry’s faced before.

The sub-plot to the larger story takes the main focus of this book, while at the same time, Butcher is setting up the over-arcing story. You’ll definitely want to pay attention here – don’t let the melee’s distract you!

My only regret is that I didn’t go back and re-read some of the books just prior to this.  There are some things happening here, and people popping in, that I only tangentially remember.  If you are waiting to read this, brush up on your Dresden Files – it will only enhance your enjoyment here.

Looking for a good book?  Harry Dresden is back, in Peace Talks by Jim Butcher, and it’s a big win for all his fans.  But Harry’s going to have to work like never before if he’s hoping to score a big win. Everything we love about the Dresden Files is here – on steroids.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Peace Talks

author: Jim Butcher

series: The Dresden Files #16

publisher: Orbit

ISBN: 0356500918

hardcover, 352 pages