The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

I've been making my way through the celebrated Vorkosigan Saga and it has been a real treat so far. A delightful and often moving series. "Delightful" and "moving" are not words that I usually associate with space opera but Bujold has crafted something rather different here. It has all of the fast pace and explosions and space battles and galactic span of your standard space opera but what it lacks are the operatic yet two-dimensional characters that often populate such enterprises. The characters here act real and feel real. They feel genuinely human. It is a human-sized space epic, and it is lovely. Hey that's another word I usually wouldn't think to associate with the genre. Lovely.

***

SHARDS OF HONOUR

Cordelia Naismith is the captain of an astronomical survey ship from the peaceful Beta Colony. Lord Aral Vorkosigan is the leader of a secret military mission from the warlike planet Barrayar. the  title "Shards of Honor" no doubt refers to the small bits of honor that Aral must cling to as he finds himself a central figure in a massive undertaking that will sacrifice thousands of innocents for the greater good; it also may refer to the honor that Cordelia herself gains and loses and gains again as her fate becomes increasingly intertwined with that of the unjustly infamous Aral - also known as "The Butcher of Komarr". this excellent novel is the first in the massive Vorkosigan Saga, which currently numbers over 25 novels and short stories. it is also Bujold's first full-length work - an impressive achievement.
 
the novel is a chamber piece with a galactic background. space opera boiled down to two major characters and several intriguing supporting characters, with acts of policy and war that become palpable moral and ethical conflicts for those characters. it is space opera made intimate and personal; space opera where the psychology of its characters is writ as large and made as important as the various exciting twists and turns of the narrative. it is also a romance - one that is by turns surprising and moving and life-affirming. there are no ridiculously giddy or angsty moments that made me roll my eyes. Cordelia and Aral are decidedly adults, with a whole lifetime of pain and experience behind them. watching them matter-of-factly fall in love was key to my enjoyment.

it is a novel with some teeth as well. its issues are timely and timeless... is a terrible sacrifice worth all of those lives to stop the deaths of even more lives? should nationalism be a thing that we live and die for, a thing that defines our lives' trajectories? and what is "honor" anyway - a personal thing? a public thing? the thing that we cling to that gives our lives some kind of meaning, some sense of purpose? all are interesting questions to contemplate.
 
the prose is smart, clean, unfussy. our heroes veer towards the nonchalant rather than towards the melodramatic - they are life-sized, not larger-than-life - and so the prose is a perfect match for the characterization. the whole novel is excellent and thoroughly entertaining, but my favorite part may be the opening third - which is basically a two-person trek across an unknown planet. the reader gets to enjoy interesting bits of xenobiology (not delivered via massive world-building infodumps) while Cordelia and Aral's intriguing and entirely sympathetic personalities slowly unfold, to the reader and to each other. it was lovely. "lovely" may be an odd word to use for a novel that encompasses war, assassination, depraved villains, forced drug use, attempted rape, the children of rape, a mental breakdown, and the abandonment of one's home... but Shards of Honor is indeed a lovely thing - a quietly moving experience.

***

BARRAYAR

Barrayar continues and completes the story of former survey ship Captain Cordelia Naismith and her husband Aral Vorkosigan, Regent of Barrayar. it is pretty enjoyable. is Bujold becoming one of my favorite scifi authors? i'm surprised at that realization. her style is not particularly striking, often rather plain and unadorned. i don't usually gravitate to those sorts of writers - the straightforward ones. but her themes, her careful way with characterization, her undramatic recognition of the complexity, fallibility, and occasional heroism of the human species are all things that this usually impartial robot observer finds himself genuinely responding to, with uncharacteristic human warmth.

characterization is clearly Bujold's major strength and this novel supplies ample opportunity for intriguingly multi-leveled characters to shine. in particular Bothari - poor Bothari! - so damaged by life and the terrible things done to him that he has become a person who will take on the persona of whoever he is needed to be. his need for someone to guide him, his craving for validation and for purpose... made so palpable by Bujold.

the first half of the novel is pretty intimate in scale. it mainly concerns various domestic issues (and by "domestic" i mean "in & around the home" rather than "homeland") as Cordelia acclimates to the overly formal, high-strung, and resolutely warlike Barrayaran culture. it feels odd and a little wrong to use the words domestic and intimate when describing a (low-key) space opera whose first half includes two assassination attempts and various other dramatic incidents. but that is the feeling i got and it worked really well. the reader gets to know Barrayar in an unhurried fashion, just like Cordelia. and the reader continues to understand Cordelia in that same deliberate, slowly unfolding sort of a way. i liked the lack of hustle & bustle and i appreciated the calm, unrushed pace.

it all changes in the second part. and so swiftly! from slow acclimatization right into a fast-moving adventure narrative, things happening pell-mell... a flight, a rescue, a secret journey, confrontations, deaths, a raging fire... my gosh, a head gets cut off and carried in a bag to be dramatically tossed onto a boardroom table! awesome. it was incredibly satisfying to see how well Cordelia adapted to her new world, how easily she is able to win others to her side, how passionate and furious and even murderous she can get when dealing with people who have attacked her loved ones. Mother Bear! yet she still stays herself - compassionate, warm-hearted, saddened & angered by the small-mindedness of others. she's an awesome character. and this is a satisfying book.

***

THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE

ah, Miles. what a great creation he is! clever and sharp-tongued, vaguely ambitious, shorter than most, the opposite of a physical threat, kind and even-tempered, clear-eyed in his self-assessments, a little bit self-sacrificing but not in an eye-rolling way, queasy at the thought of causing others harm, full of both self-doubt and ego, always the girl's trusted best friend rather than the object of her passion, the wittiest man in the room and he knows it but he is going to try to keep that to himself so that you don't get upset and take it out on him in surprise smack-attacks. and he talks and he talks and he talks. i love Miles. his character is usually the supporting character, the hero's best friend, the brother who dies, an amusing cameo. it's a great thing for me to know that there is a whole series practically devoted to this lil' guy. he's endearing i suppose, but i personally don't see him as "endearing" because i don't see him as a cute character type. he feels very real to me. part of that may be due to reading all about his parents in the prior books - i know where Miles comes from, i understand the context, i get how his background informs his present. part of that may be due to how much i empathize with him and his various personal travails.

the novel itself is about Miles leaving his home planet of war-like Barrayar and inadvertedly creating a mercenary army. oops! for me the plot is really secondary to just sitting back and enjoying Miles. the writing is fine, nothing special but certainly nothing problematic either. Bujold veers towards the bland. style is not the selling point in her skill set - readers come to her for the surprisingly grounded and rich characterization. and so The Warrior's Apprentice may have space battles, mercenaries, revolutionaries, mechanized war-suits, etc, but that's almost besides the point. Miles is the point.

Miles - and Bothari. the latter character - a former brainwashed rapist and sadistic torturer who now acts as Miles' bodyguard - is the other big selling point of the novel. Bujold does not downplay his past or excuse it - although in some ways it can be excused (i would say that brainwashing excuses many things) - nor does she overplay his redemption. she gets the character right, she doesn't leave out the ugly or disturbing parts, and yet she still allows the character grace and dignity within his tragic arc. Bujold definitely knows how to write characters that the reader can feel. i felt Bothari, i felt Miles, i felt Elena and Ivan and i am looking forward to feeling the rest of the characters that will be introduced to me in this saga.

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THE MOUNTAINS OF MOURNING

i'm getting old - i'm 42! that is definitely old to a lot of people. happily, i've always felt i was born old so getting older doesn't really bother me. but what does bother me is the idea that in a couple decades my viewpoint may have become so inflexible, so stubbornly outmoded, that my opinion will simply have no value. i think that to be relevant, pretty much every thing and every one needs to be considered as a work in progress. capable of change and adjustment and re-evaluation. fortunately i have met many older people who are fully capable of such things. fully capable of revisiting concepts and laws and ways of interacting with people that are now understood as potentially offensive and demeaning and dehumanizing. i would like me and my age-peers to be that kind of old person. and so, in a way, not really old at all. not a barrier to change, but instead a positive part of the living, breathing, ever-changing world.

but i have also met many older people who are truly "old". who are so stubborn in their narrow viewpoints and who view change as automatically threatening. who uphold disgusting laws and repulsive ways of interacting with people. who live within some nonsensical so-called moral high ground that they had to deal with all of their lives and so everyone should deal with the same. hell no they're not going to change because they've always been this way and plus why should anyone get away with what they never got away with, what gives them the right when they never had that right? it's a simplistic, toxic mind-fuck that they seem to embrace. i can't help but look at those sorts of folks with both pity and scorn. and then wait for them to die - because that's the only change that they can't stop.

so this thoughtful little novella is about Miles Naismith Vorkosigan and his encounters with both types. it is melancholy and tragic and, somehow, uplifting in the end. nice work, Bujold.

***

THE VOR GAME

Miles be nimble!
Miles be quick!
Miles jump over the candlestick any situation or dumbass that gets in your goddamn way!

Go, Miles, Go!

so Miles finds himself stuck in a miserable freezing arctic station as his reward for graduating from the Barrayar military acadamy with top honors but also with a serious issue of not treating authority with the respect and passivity and obedience that authority apparently deserves. and from the arctic station he finds himself tossed pell-mell, willy-nilly, etc, right into the middle of a plot teeming with ruthless villains, a young emperor trying to escape his duties, nervous colonies, anxious bodyguards, two mercenary camps, new space gadgets, and reunions galore with characters from prior novels. the novel is fast and fun fun fun.

I suppose one take-away from the series is ALWAYS QUESTION AUTHORITY. nice.

the character of Gregor le petit emperor really comes into his own here. a beautiful bit of characterization and not a little tragic as well.

my favorite part of the novel was the first third, in that freezing arctic station. watching hyperactive Miles practically bounce off of the walls trying to figure out what to do was wonderfully amusing. and the setting was certainly well-rendered. cooooooooold.

there's a spicy lil' villainess just like Miles is a spicy lil' hero. she wears some kind of sexy catsuit. or it may be a jumper but I much prefer to imagine it as a catsuit, plus I really wanted to type the word "catsuit". much like Miles, she has a quick and improvisatory way of thinking, always on the fly and always taking advantage of any opportunity she sees. for some reason the novel takes pains to compare Miles and Catsuit, at times even theorizing that if Miles doesn't watch out, he may end up like the amoral Catsuit sometime in the future. ha! as if. equally key to Miles' persona are his decency and his compassion and his refusal to see death as something that just happens so time to move on. those traits are hallmarks of this book and its predecessors as well. Miles ain't gonna turn into no Catsuit! although I do predict that he will eventually tap that Catsuit.

Ask the Reviewers - Benoit Lelievre

Today's guest is Benoit Lelievre.  Benoit also posts at Dead End Follies.

How did you discover Goodreads?
At the first and last writing conference I've ever been to. Authors Catherine McKenzie and Claude Lalumière mentioned being on it, so I checked it out and been a members ever since. I'm still following the two authors' careers from their Goodreads account also. Catherine is very active, she does a lot of contests and whatnot.

What have been your most memorable Goodreads experiences?
Reading "Most Read Authors" sections that blow me away. Most recently, Charles Gramlich's. If someone I share interests with has read 70 novels by an author and 100 by another, maybe he's on to something I should check out for myself. That's the beauty of literature. Just when you thought you've seen it all, you get hooked into a whole new world. A whole new current.

Name one reviewer not in the Forbes 25 that people should be aware of.
Caleb J. Ross. He mainly does video reviews, but sometimes he graces Goodreads with his tremendous, accurate insight. He's both pertinent and not intimidating, which I think is a rare gift.

What was your initial reaction to Amazon buying Goodreads?
Long story short, not much. I don't think Amazon is that supreme evil people make it out to be. At least not publishing-wise. They are not great by any means either, but they shuffled the board of an industry that abused writers and published crap for money since before them and I think they're making things interesting because other publishers will have to adapt.

Ultimately, the purchase of Goodreads is another step in their takeover of the publishing industry and that could become an issue given a multiple number of what-ifs. But right now, nothing really changed. If status quo remains, it won't change anything except that the business revenue will go in Amazon's pocket instead of whoever owner Goodreads before and that doesn't really affect me.

How many books do you own?
About 600-700. I have two and a half bookshelves filled, two with fiction only. Given the lack of storage in my home, I'll consider doubling up on my shelves' rows. They're big enough for me to do it.

Who is your favorite author?
Dennis Lehane. Many made my heart race, but not quite the way Lehane did. Honorable mention to Chuck Palahniuk, Haruki Murakami and Francis Scott Fitzgerald.

What is your favorite book of all time?
That's hard. I'd say it's a tie between Fight Club and Mystic River. The first turned me full-time reading and the second turned me to writing.

What are your thoughts on ebooks?
They're fine. I own a Kindle. Most of them are a lot cheaper than paperbacks.

What are your thoughts on self-publishing?
It's a complicated question. I'm all for it, because as a book reviewer, I was lead to dive head first into the self-publishign revolution. Lots of people don't really understand what it is. Basically, it's powered by Amazon's Kindle Store, which is kind of a thunderdome for writers. Whoever has been unjustly rejected by publishing, feels unjustly rejected by publishing or has written something that was called great, but unpublishable has a fighter's chance there.

For now, it's like a parallel universe to print publishing. You will find a lot of writers who you've never heard about, who make a good name for themselves. People like Vincent Zandri and Dani Amore. The most beautiful part of that is that it's all part of Amazon's marketing plan. They're cherry picking the best selling authors and offering them contracts with their publishing company Thomas & Mercer. It's brilliant and they end up with the best new writers doing that. Self-Publishing and mostly the Kindle Store made the publishing democratic again with prose quality and online buzz being the only two variables that matter.

Any literary aspirations?
Yes. I think it's a normal reaction when you read viscerally and lots of people do that. I have about ten, fifteen short stories published. Crime fiction, mostly. Some published in places like Crime Factory, Needle Magazine and Beat to a Pulp, which I'm pretty proud of. I'm still figuring out how to write something decent that's over 10 000 words, but that's another story.

Obsession, Horror and Unearthly Lust, Indeed!

Reviewed by James L. Thane
Five out of five stars


In Greek Mythology, Sirens were irresistibly beautiful women who lived on an island with a rocky coast and who lured unsuspecting sailors to their deaths by singing and calling out to them with their enchanting voices. Something of the same sort of thing occurs in Kurt Reichenbaugh’s new book, Sirens.

Reichenbaugh has cleverly updated the legend to the Florida Gulf Coast in the late 1970s and has woven into the tale a couple of psychopathic redneck wrestlers, a dog-like beast with a killer tail; some sexy, nubile and deadly cheerleaders; rotting corpses that refuse to die, creatures from outer space, and four relatively clueless teenage boys. And, of course, there’s Suzie, the devastatingly beautiful and alluring Siren whose actions propel the story forward. The cover blurb advertises Sirens as “A novel of obsession, horror and unearthly lust!” It’s certainly all of that and more.

The story opens when three bored teenaged friends, Kevin, Brad and Nick, are joined by a loser named Benny. None of the three really likes Benny, but he’s older and bigger and a hard man to refuse. So when Benny insists that they get some beer and go to a party he’s heard about, Kevin, Brad and Nick reluctantly go along.

The four wind up out in the middle of nowhere in front of a dilapidated house guarded by a snarling animal that would send any sensible boys scrambling back into their car and screaming the hell out of there. But, of course, if they did that, there’d be no story.

It seems pretty clear that there’s no party going on here, at least not in the conventional sense. But then a stunning woman steps out onto the porch and invites the boys in. In the living room are two massive, ugly specimens who seem to pay little attention to the boys. The woman, Suzie, sizes them up and agrees to party with them. Now, even Kevin, Brad and Nick are beginning to get enthused about the evening. Suzie leads them out and through the woods to a strange lake and just as things are getting interesting, the two rednecks and their four-legged “pet” materialize behind the eager boys.

With that, the book is off and running and it’s a wild ride to say the least. In less capable hands, this story could be formulaic and clichéd, but Reichenbaugh delivers the goods page after page, mixing horror, sci-fi, and coming of age themes into a great story. If “obsession, horror and unearthly lust” are the kinds of things that get your motor running, look no further. For that matter, the great pulp-inspired cover is worth the price of admission all by itself.

Ace Atkins Strikes Again

The Broken Places
by Ace Atkins

Reviewed by Kemper
4 out of 5 stars.

I guess Ace Atkins gave his publishers some kind of Buy-One-Get-One-Free deal because he released two new books in one month this year. His generous nature is good news for fans because Wonderland showed again that he was the right writer to give us more Spenser while this one adds even more depth to his Quinn Colson series.

Quinn is a former US Army Ranger who saw extensive service in Iraq and Afghanistan before returning to his Mississippi hometown and becoming the county sheriff. After a year on the job, Quinn has the department set up the way he wants, but he’s got a problem caused by a recently released convicted murderer.

Jamey Dixon was sent to prison for killing his girlfriend, but he was freed as part of a large group of pardons issued by a corrupt governor leaving office.  Most of those who got out were the result of money or influence, but Dixon had neither so no one can figure out why he was released.  The family of the murdered woman keeps coming to Quinn to do something, but his hands are tied.

The situation is made stickier because Dixon has started dating Quinn’s sister.  Caddy Colson had left town and became a drug addicted stripper, but she returned as a born again thorn in her brother’s side.  Dixon found Jesus in prison and has started a homegrown ministry that is gathering support.  Caddy believes that Dixon had been railroaded and is angry that Quinn and others in the town want nothing to do with him.

When two convicts escape prison, they head for the loot they had hidden from an armored car robbery, and they’re convinced that Dixon, who had learned of the money while doing time with them, may be going for the cash himself.  Complicating the manhunt is a huge storm that is deluging the county with rain and the possibility of tornadoes.

This series is just getting richer and deeper as it goes as Atkins expands the world of Tibbehah County.  Unlike some writers who either try to sentimentalize rural life or sneer at it, Atkins conveys the rhythms of a small town with easy authenticity. Living in a place where you have some kind of history with almost every other person makes for tangled relationships, and the main character is a prime example of that.

On one side, Quinn has a grief stricken family asking for justice he can’t provide while his sister is stubbornly refusing to consider even the possibility that Dixon might not be the reformed man he claims to be.  Quinn also has to deal with the politics of running a sheriff’s department, and he’s locked in constant battle with his nemesis, a corrupt county commissioner.  The town is also buzzing about a potential romance between him and the woman who runs the funeral home, and she just so happens to be the sister of the woman that Dixon killed.  Quinn also still has some unresolved feelings for his old high school sweetheart who is married to the town doctor.

It’s the blending of this small town world with a first rate crime story that is making this series a must-read.  The two escaped convicts and their quest to retrieve their stolen loot kicks off a chain of events that will further complicate Quinn’s life.

Some readers may be a bit frustrated that there are several elements that aren’t resolved here and will apparently carry over to the next book, but Atkins has delivered another great entry in the Quinn Colson series while setting up potential plots that should make this series intriguing for a long time to come.

I got to meet Ace Atkins and some other crime authors a few months back.  Read all about the encounter here.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman

Reviewed by Sesana
Five out of five stars

Publisher Summary (partial):
Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

My Review:
I pre-ordered this one for my Kindle, because the thought of waiting a few days more to start reading it were unacceptable to me. Now, after reading it, I consider that a wise decision indeed.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is about the remembered adventure of a young boy (entirely unnamed) in a world he barely understood at the time and has less hope of understanding as an adult. It starts with an opal miner, who wishes unwisely and releases something old and powerful, cunning and malicious. Something that finds its way into the boy's life in a most frightening form: a beautiful babysitter everybody, especially his father, loves, but only the boy can understand the truth about her.

The boy's one hope are the Hempstock ladies from the farm at the end of the lane: Lettie Hemptstock, a girl a few years older than him, her mother, and her grandmother. Maiden, mother, and crone, a symbol Gaiman has used quite a bit in his work. They have an ocean, which is also a farm pond, and they've come from the Old Country, the one that sank. They are strange and powerful and mysterious in equal measure, and though they let the boy see and understand some of themselves, there's much of them that remains unseen and unknown and, I think, unknowable.

This is one of those books that's hard to classify. I'd call this an adult book, though the narrator is describing things that happened to him as a child. There's a level of nostalgia and remembering that I think adult readers will understand best. I think this would have been a very different book if the narrator had still been a child, and not an adult remembering his childhood.

My review should probably be taken with a grain of salt. Obviously, I love Neil Gaiman, I love his style and narrative voice. (And his reading voice, as well. I also ordered this as an audiobook.) It was a foregone conclusion that I'd love it, and I did. I had been in a bit of a reading slump before I picked up The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and I'm pleased to report that it woke me up, from the very first page. I love it when I can feel a book, even if it's scaring me. More than once, I realized only at the end of a scene that I'd been holding my breath. I think that's the best thing that I can say about this book, that it made me react physically to what I was reading.

Also reviewed at Goodreads.

Meet the Shelf Inflicted Staff - Stephanie

Today's guest is the Artist Currently Known as Stephanie.

How did you discover Goodreads?I was was working at a veterinary office with Heidi Henry and Carey. One day Heidi said to me "there's a new online social site called Goodreads, I know you're a reader so I thought you might like to check it out." And so I did. I only used it to keep track of my books and I even remarked to the girls "you know, some of the people on this site get down right serious about reviewing books." And now I'm one them.

What have been your most memorable Goodreads experiences?When I discovered the caliber of people you can find here and make good friends of, and when I first got on the top reviewer list

Name one reviewer not in the Forbes 25 that people should be aware of.Steve Kendall.....his reviews are beautiful, and he's a really nice person.

What was your initial reaction to Amazon buying Goodreads?Negative. But there is nothing I can do about it so there is no reason to stress over it.

How many books do you own?not many. I tend to give them away if I own them in print, I see no reason to leave them sitting around unloved when someone else could be enjoying them. And since I moved all over creation I have donated trunk fulls to local libraries when I moved (and those helping me move would bitch about lugging the boxes of books.) I do have quite a few on Kindle and audio.

Who is your favorite author?Margaret Atwood, Kurt Vonnegut and Stephen King.....like I could pick just one.

What is your favorite book of all time?The Handmaids Tale, The Dark Tower if you count a series as one.

What are your thoughts on ebooks?I love ebooks.....

What are your thoughts on self-publishing?It can be a good thing and a bad thing. Editing is sorely overlooked when one self publishes but I do admire people for taking the chance and going for what they want.

Any literary aspirations? No. None really, but I would be very proud of myself if I could write a book. Never say never.

Meet the Shelf Inflicted Staff - Terry

Today's guest is Shelf Inflicted's superintelligent infant Terry.


How did you discover Goodreads?

Wow it seems so long ago I'm not sure I remember. Sometime around 2008 I think I was practicing my Google-fu and came across a website that purported to be a great social site for readers, sort of Bookface, combined with a library catalogue system. I joined, and tentatively posted some reviews, but seeing as I had no friends or followers at the time not much happened as a result. I came back in 2011 and learned the ropes a bit better...read reviews, threw around some likes, made some friends, posted reviews of my own and got the ball rolling until it became the number one web addiction in my life that it is today!


What have been your most memorable Goodreads experiences?

I think the first few reviews that got likes (and comments) and motivated me to keep on reviewing, as well as my occasional cracking of the top 10 reviewers from Canada have been the most memorable to me. You'd probably have to add to that invitations from others to join groups, contribute to blogs and the like...it's nice to feel loved and the social element of GR is what keeps me coming back. I haven't really posted any controversial reviews so I don't get troll-wars or long-standing comment thread discussions that might add a bit more spice, but I do have fewer burn marks and battle scars than some as a result which I guess is a plus.


Name one reviewer not in the Forbes 25 that people should be aware of.

Only one? I guess I'd give a shout-out to ex-pat Canuck Ben Babcock who's got some great reviews out there.


What was your initial reaction to Amazon buying Goodreads?

Trepidation. Was I going to be censored (though I guess given my lack of controversial reviews as noted above that wasn't likely to be too much of a concern), or lose ownership of my reviews? Also, given that Amazon is a megacorporation that only cares about the bottom line I was worried. As far as I'm concerned they don't have a good track record: after all they are the ones who bought out Lexcycle (the makers of Stanza, the best ereader app out there) just so they could kill it, and given that they seem to think that an example of a good review is one produced by the Harriet Klausner-bot I was not happy.

How many books do you own?

Probably somewhere around 1200-1300


Who is your favorite author?

Are you really asking this? Do you expect a real answer? My heart says Tolkien...I have a long and storied history with old JRRT and while I would have to admit that he may not be the absolute best author on my list (though I think he is a great writer...far better than his detractors will often give him credit for), he will probably always be my favourite. I will cheat by saying that I must also include Sean Stewart, David Mitchell, and Alexandre Dumas, père in this answer!


What is your favorite book of all time?

*sigh* Ok, make it tough why don't you?! The Silmarillion (and by extension the LotR), The Count of Monte Cristo, Watership Down, and a new one: Islandia (thanks for the push Richard!) are all books I could not live without.

Oh, um, can I also add Dune, The Name of the Rose, and Riddley Walker to that list? And maybe Engine Summer, Moby Dick and....(you get the picture.)


What are your thoughts on ebooks?

Love 'em. Keep 'em coming! How great is it to be able to port a 1200+ library in your pocket? I can safely say that I have done more reading in the last few years with my ereader than I ever did in any single period before. I still love the look, feel and esp. smell of dead-tree books, but my go-to version these days is of the e-variety.


What are your thoughts on self-publishing?

I think it's great that this exists as a viable option in our day and age given the technology to produce them and ubiquity of the web to promote and distribute them that we have. I don't read much (if any) self-published stuff, but I am not averse to it in theory...just make sure some kind of editor was involved and avoid rookie mistakes like spelling errors, punctuation and the like.


Any literary aspirations?

Don't we all? But I'm afraid my laziness and lack of self-confidence have had a strangle-hold on my throat (and writing arm) for most of my life. Now that I have two kids I have another excuse for why it's too hard to write. I think reviewing is filling some of that void, but I still mean to write a 'real book' one of these days! I will, damn it!

What is your ideal super villain lair?

Wow, so many choices? How does one choose? The classic panache of the abandoned castle on the moors? The accessibility and subterfuge of the volcano/hollowed out mountain? The mobility of the submarine? I think I will cheat and claim all three: an abandoned castle built on the edge of a hollowed out volcano located on a tropical island and accessible only via secret submarine!

Sookie, Sookie......Now

Reviewed by Stephanie
3+ out of 5 stars


So here we are at the end of Sookie Stackhouse and I for one am sad. 

This review WILL have some spoilers….be warned, but if you are looking any other review, everybody and their mother wrote ‘photo’ and/or ‘gif’ reviews of this book and all give it away, so…..don’t blame me.

Sookie is a slow learner. 

Sookie Stackhouse has been through the wringer with all her supernatural lovers.  For thirteen books she has been close to death numerous times.   This girl has compiled so many enemies I don’t know how she sleeps at night; it would take me two Xanex with and a 'half a bottle of wine' chaser to ever sleep again.   But not Sookie, she cooks, cleans, dresses (badly), puts her hair in a pony tail, takes it out of a pony tail, worries about the ‘dent’ and puts it back in a pony tail,  goes to work at her bar.....narrowly escape death,  does her makeup, waters the plants, sun baths, makes lunch, narrowly escape death……business as usual.

And that’s the ultimate charm of this series.  One day vampires come out of the closet, then the two natured….. Add in a fairy or two, a few witches.  But why let any of that upset your daily routine?  Just go about living your daily lives and almost die in the process. 

Now I know ya’all are upset that Sookie did not end up with Eric ‘the hot’ (if that’s possible being dead and cold and all) vampire.  Come on, he nearly got her killed about ten times!! And he was a complete ass to her the whole time. The only reason women like this guy is because he’s easy on the eyes….the whole reason women got all gooey over Christian Grey in those 50 shades books…..(sure he is a psychopath, but he’s a HOT psychopath, which makes it all okay.)  Bill, her first vampire boyfriend, almost got her killed as well.  Step away from the vampire Sookie.

Then there were her baby pangs.  I for one have never had them, ever, but many women do.  You can’t get pregnant by a vampire…..just not possible.  So, she turns to her best friend (who’s not dead…yay!!).   I don’t see the problem here; your best friend is the person you should end up with. 

Am I Right?

I’ve said this before, but it needs repeating……Charlaine Harris, STOP writing sex scenes!!!  For all that is holy and all that is not, don’t do this to us ever again!!!

“He rolled on the condom and plunged in.”

That’s not sexy……That’s NOT sexy!!!!  Plunged in?  Charlaine!!  I ought to put you in a time out.

The Big Reap

Chris F. Holm's The Big Reap

The Big Reap
Chris F. Holm
Angry Robot Books
Available July 30th (North America) August 01st (UK)

Still reeling from the effects of The Wrong Goodbye, Sam Thornton is tasked by his handler Lilith to take out the mysterious Brethren, a group made up of former Collectors who have severed their ties with Hell.

I received an ARC of The Big Reap from Angry Robot in exchange for a fair review. Thanks to our literary robot overlords!

The opening scene of The Big Reap will have a spot among my favorite openers ever. Not only does Chris bring you up to speed if this happens to be your first Thornton novel (and seriously, who starts on the third book of any series - go read those first two!), he also takes us back and tells the story of Sam’s first collection. That particular story is told over the course of the novel as Chris presents it side-by-side with Thornton’s crusade against the forces of the Brethren. Both stories are equally compelling so when he switches back and forth, you’re not exactly dying to get back to the other.

Like the first two novels, Holm continues with his excellently choreographed action scenes. There’s some high octane stuff here involving Thornton having to use his environment to gain advantages. It’s a wonder how Holm can make the character so damn confident when he always seems to just barely come out on top. Sam never seems to have a solid game plan and often relies on thinking in the moment – something that keeps the action moving swiftly with consistently unpredictable results. All of these factors leave us with a story that is a real blast to read.

Sam is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. While he carries with him the attitude of a blockbuster movie action star, he’s also a tragic character at heart. As his journey progresses, he realizes just how hopeless his future really is. It would be easy for Holm to give us a character with big bravado who constantly comes out on top but instead gives us a character that learns, develops and grows with each story. He's like John McClane from the first Die Hard movie – not the John McClane that developed over time and became an indestructible superman.

In my opinion, this is Holm's finest work yet. Taking nothing away from the first two books in the series, The Big Reap has raised the bar for any potential sequels.

Dead Sea

Brian Keene
Leisure Books
Reviewed by: Nancy
5 out of 5 stars

Summary

With zombies taking over the cities, a group of humans escapes the carnage by taking a small Coast Guard ship out to sea, but there's no getting away-even in the wide ocean.

My Review

Brian Keene’s Dead Sea is a little different from his earlier zombie stories. In The Rising and City of the Dead, the zombies carried rifles, were intelligent, and drove cars. In Dead Sea, they are the more traditional shambling, empty-eyed, mindless variety. The end of the world began in New York City, when people were attacked by swarms of undead rats. The infected died and came back to life. Once the infection (known as Hamelin’s Revenge) spread to the city of Baltimore, Lamar Reed, Mitch and two orphaned children flee the city and escape on a ship with a handful of survivors.

Though the gore factor is high, Dead Sea is not a story about hungry, mindless zombies. The story is told by Lamar Reed, a gay black man who grew up in a bad section of town, yet resisted a life of drugs and crime and was gainfully employed at a car parts manufacturer. Once he got laid off from his job, he had to resort to desperate measures in order to pay his bills. When Hamelin’s Revenge strikes, this becomes the least of his worries. Lamar is now faced with the task of survival amidst the slaughter of Baltimore’s population and with the responsibility of caring for two children.

Like Keene’s earlier zombie novels, the author puts his characters through myriad horrors. During his struggle to survive and ensure the safety of the children in his care, Lamar changes, grows, and becomes a better person. Keene, a white hetero male, portrays Lamar’s character with respect and sensitivity and without resorting to stereotypes. Unfortunately, Lamar lives in a world where there is little hope for the human race.

Dead Sea was gripping, suspenseful, gory, bleak, and impossible to put down. Despite the characters’ strength and will to survive, there is a sense of hopelessness that pervades the novel. A must-read for zombie fans!

Also posted at Goodreads.