On January 5th I posted a review of Robin Wildt Hansen’s book The World, giving it 4 stars. Since then, the author has made structural and editorial changes to the book, and on yesterday’s flight from Heathrow to Toronto, I read it again. I am pleased to say the changes have had a positive effect on the book, making it more accessible to readers and fixing issues to do with punctuation and paragraph structure. I’m upgrading my review here and on all other sites to 5 stars: Arkin’s mystical journey is now one of the best books I’ve read in the last year. It will challenge you, but it should, read with an open mind and an appreciation of language, both entertain and possibly enlighten you.
Category: book reviews
The Glooming: Wrath of the Old Gods Book 1, by John Triptych: A Review
The premise of The Glooming is a promising one: the old gods return; chaos, panic and destruction result; from within the panicking peoples of the world there are a few who can, just possibly, bring about salvation.
There are strengths and weaknesses to this book, and I think the strengths just managed to win out in my mind over its weaknesses, but I’ll be honest, it was close. The strengths are in Triptych’s ability to create characters, a wide range of characters who were almost all believable, sufficiently well developed, and nuanced enough not to be stock “good guys” or “bad guys”. He’s also done his research into the pre-monotheistic gods of much of the world, and their characteristics and attributes. These two strengths gave a solid underpinning to the novel.
There were two notable weaknesses. The most significant is the pacing of the book. Perhaps because of the scope of the story – this is a world-encompassing epic, and Triptych shows us how much of the world reacts – the story is very slow to develop. Fully the first third of the novel is setting the stage, showing us how the gods arrive in several areas of the world and the detailed reactions of the people. By the third repetition, this was getting tedious. The second section of the book set up the world’s remaining military and intelligence reactions and plans, in parallel to the actions of the young woman, Tara, who will be one of the ultimate decisive factors in the battle against the old gods. This section was better-paced than the first, whereas the final section is almost too fast. Tara’s time with the Native American brujo, who shows her what she must overcome to be able to effectively battle the old gods, should have taken much longer: its speed made it unbelievable.
The second and more minor weakness was Triptych’s love of run-on sentences, too many thoughts strung together and punctuated only by commas. There were a few minor grammar and mis-used word errors, but not more than I see in any mass-market book, whether indie or traditional, these days. But both weaknesses could have been significantly reduced by a good editor, who could have helped the author take this book from the 2 1/2 stars I’m rating it (3 on Amazon and Goodreads) to a solid 4 or possibly 5 star book. There’s a sequel in the works, and perhaps by the time the whole series is done, the slow start-up will seem less of an issue; it’s sometimes difficult to judge that when reading one book of a planned series. John Triptych has real strengths as a writer, so I hope he continues to refine his craft to more elegantly tell his stories.
Frost Burn, by K.T.Munson and Nichelle Rae: A Review
Frost Burn, a fantasy-adventure novel by co-authors K.T Munson and Nichelle Rae, tackles the devastation of sudden climate change in a world where two nations, one of fire, one of ice, co-exist in mutual dislike and misunderstanding. The people of each nation are incapable of withstanding the environment of the other. But somehow the queens of the two nations must find a way to work together against both the forces of nature and internal rebellion, or face complete destruction.
The contrasting cultures of Fire and Frost create the opportunity for an exploration of how two differing cultures can learn to cooperate. While this is addressed to some extent, it takes second place to the action of the plot, which moves rapidly but allows for reasonable character building. The writing is competent, and I give the co-authors credit for their ability to meld their writing into one consistent voice.
Frost Burn adds a world unique in several aspects to new adult fantasy. I had a few niggles: the use of modern terms such as ‘tarpaulin’ and ‘mega-volcano’ didn’t sit well, nor did the use of ‘what the hell’ as an expletive. Two other examples that bothered me were the use of Fahrenheit temperatues – actually I had two reactions to this: one was the dispassionate ‘how will this read in all the countries of the world that don’t use Fahrenheit?’ (only 5 do, by the way) and then ‘hmmm, maybe it makes this seem more alien…’. So, maybe good, maybe not so good. I had a similar reaction to the use of ‘clicks’ to mean miles; generally ‘klicks’ means ‘kilometers’: so again – confusing to the reader, or just enough dissonance to remind us this is not our world?
There were a few awkward phrasings, and a few errors of word usage, and a few obvious borrowings from other books in the genre. Walls play a role in many books, so while the huge ice wall is reminiscent of the one from A Song of Ice and Fire, it plays quite a different role here. I had a bit more trouble with the messenger owls, though.
But don’t get me wrong! Frost Burn was an entertaining book. My personal rating is three stars. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, fast-paced read in the new adult fantasy-adventure genre.
Starlight: Book 1 of the Dark Elf War, by William Stacey: A Review
When Cassie Rogan returns home to northern British Columbia, she’s expecting nothing. Unable to deal with her survivor guilt after being the sole survivor of an accident that killed both her parents, she’s been expelled from university, and, with nowhere else to go, has come home to her small town. But when what appears to be a powerful lightening storm hits the area, killing some but leaving three people – including Cassie – unconscious but apparently unscathed, her life is permanently changed. Soon Cassie will be involved in a deeply classified military mission hidden deep in the BC wilderness, fighting to keep her family, friends, and the wider world safe from powers accidentally brought back to Earth from another dimension.
A combination of classic fantasy and military action genres, Starlight had me hooked from the first few pages. Author William Stacey hasn’t created new fantasy beings so much as re-interpreted familiar ones in a unique manner, placing the creatures of fairy tale in a grimmer, darker setting, exiled, angry, and revengeful. Weaving in elements of Native American and northwest North American folklore and belief firmly roots the story in its British Columbia setting, while Stacey’s military background ensures that those aspects of the story are accurate and believable, creating a world which I found (within the bounds of the genre) plausible. The explanation for and descriptions of the channelling of ‘magic’ were both very well handled, as were the differing reactions of the three people left with this ability after the ‘lightening storm’.
Stacey’s writing is crisp and competent. The plot grows slowly but steadily, the action building nicely towards the climactic scenes. Cassie’s character grows throughout the novel; other characters perhaps develop less, but for the most part are well rounded enough; the motivations for their actions are clear and consistent. There were a few production errors: ‘fae-seelie’ is sometimes hyphenated and sometimes not, and there were one or two other minor errors, but not enough to be irritating.
My personal rating for Starlight is 4 1/2 stars, and it falls short of five only because there were aspects of the world-building that I felt were incomplete. This may be unfair to a book that is the first of a series, as those aspects may become more fully explained in the subsequent books, books which I hope are out soon, so I can continue reading this entertaining story.
Broken (The Siren Series #1), by L.A. Griffiths: A Review
Broken by L.A. Griffiths is another take on the “unknowing magical child being pursued by supernatural beings trying to kill her” theme. In this case, Ellie is a siren: touching her induces strong physical and sexual reactions in other people. The premise is promising, but a premise does not a book make.
All writers must start somewhere, and most of us learned our craft through courses, feedback from teachers and classmates, other writers, reactions at open mike nights, beta-readers….not just our friends and family. On top of that, every writer – whether you’re the newest indie or you’re Stephen King – needs an editor. With the advent of self-publishing, it’s all to easy to rush to print without getting these types of critical (and professional) input, and it appears that’s what this author has done.
Broken is rife with issues. The review copy I read had spelling, grammar or formatting issues on almost every page. The story alternately drags and rushes; character development is minimal and the plot, even for a supernatural fantasy/horror story, is difficult to believe. What Broken needed was a good editor: I think there’s a reasonable concept buried in it, but it needed a skilled writing coach to bring it out.
On the bright side, my review copy included the first few pages of the sequel, Chained, and it appears from the sample to have fewer production issues than Broken; whether or not the writing is better can’t be determined. The best I can give this book is one star.
Sovereign’s Wake, by Lee Lacroix: A Review
Sovereign’s Wake, the debut novel by Lee Lacroix and the first in In The Absence of Kings series, is a classic good versus evil story set in a medieval world. Garreth, once a Crown Aegis warrior and now keeper of the King’s Forest, lives with his son Novas in a remote area of the forest, far from roads and towns. The forest is their sacred trust, and when Novas finds men chopping down trees, it is the beginning of the end of their quiet life.
Garreth challenges the men, only to find his King is dead and they are destroying the forest at the behest of the Queen. As tensions and actions quickly escalate, Garreth realizes that he must return to the city, to his old friend Berault, and into rebellion in an effort to save his people and their world.
The story is a solid if somewhat predictable medieval fantasy, with strong world-building. In fact, the first third of the novel is primarily world-building, along with setting the stage for the conflict. This section in particular suffers from too much telling and not enough showing: there is not a lot of dialogue, and what there is often consists of Garreth telling Novas what has happened in the past, in long, unrealistic monologues unbroken by reaction from Novas or emotion on Garreth’s part.
Once past this section, though, the writing improves. Lacroix has a flair for description, although some sentences could be tighter and more active. It is very clear he’s done his research on sword training and other skills, and descriptions of these activities are among the best writing in the book. The dialogue also improves, into more realistic give and take exchanges. We are still told of characters’ reactions to things rather than shown them in many cases, and characters also remain somewhat two-dimensional: they are clearly good or clearly bad, and there is little depth on either side. This lack of complexity makes them a bit less appealing to an adult reader.
The e-pub version I read had a few production errors, mostly in first-line indent spacing, but not more than I find acceptable.
Overall, I’m giving Sovereign’s Wake three stars; the novel is an honest effort from a young writer whose skills should improve with time and maturity. I’d be likely to suggest this book and its sequels for younger readers rather than adults.
The author provided me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Reviewing Update
I am accepting books for review again. But….
I (reluctantly) need to become more selective about what I review. Between the work I do as an editor and beta-reader and the reviewing (and the rest of my life), I’m not finding enough time for my own writing. And I am a writer first, as I know you will all understand.
So while I am not closing the door on reviewing, I will be accepting fewer books. When you submit a review request, please include a few pages or link to a preview, as well as your webpage/Amazon/Goodreads links, and tell me a little bit about you as a writer. If you already have a fistful of reviews, I may decline; if I think I can’t do justice to your book, I will decline. I don’t want to add to the stress of marketing/publicizing indie books…believe me, I know about it.
And I promise this…I will reply to you. Maybe not immediately…but if this page says I’m accepting books for review, then I will reply, even if I’m declining to review your book, and I will let you know the reasons for my decision.
Otherwise, the general premise of what and how I review remains the same.
Written in Hell, by Jason Helford: A Review
Written in Hell is one of those occasional books I like more the more I think about it. Once in a while a book or a film comes along that is better from a distance, when contemplation and synaptic action has had a chance to allow the images and words and messages to coalesce and connect. I had the same reaction to the last film in the ‘Cornetto Trilogy’, The World’s End. Also comic science fiction, there were details and actions in the film that didn’t work for me at the time, but after a few days, I realized I had quite liked the film, perhaps more than quite liked it. Written in Hell has engendered the same reaction.
The protagonist, Nate (or “Ate”) is a failed writer; his one book, a western bordering on pornographic, has not sold well at all. He takes his sense of failure out on just about everyone, sneering at them via his extensive vocabulary. But Nate isn’t quite the failure he believes himself to be: his book has done exceptionally well in one place. Hell. So well that the Devil is tired of Hell’s denizens role-playing characters from the book, and recruits Nate to write another one.
Anyone involved in a creative pursuit will likely relate to many of the images in the book. Not, perhaps, to Nate himself – he’s not a particularly likeable character – but to certain other concepts: the thick skin Nate finds he’s grown; the misinterpretations of his characters; his helpless lack of control over his intellectual property. The comedy is at once both slapstick – strong physical comedy focused on Nate’s lack of control over his body – and much more subtle. The ending, without spoilers, has Nate facing what is likely the deepest fear of most writers and artists.
I can’t fault Written in Hell on any of the usual issues of plot or voice or grammar. I will say the pacing may be a bit uneven, with perhaps too much time spent on repeating some of the more physical issues Nate faces. If you’re offended by swearing, this book will offend you. Characters were not stereotypical, especially the Devil, and the plot had twists that just couldn’t be expected. It’s never going to be a favourite book, but if the role of art is to change the way you see the world, …well, I’m never going to picture the Devil the same way again.
The author provided me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Sol of the Coliseum, by Adam Gaylord: A Review
Sol of the Coliseum is an action-adventure story set in a world reminiscent of – but definitely not – Ancient Rome. Sol is born in the Coliseum; his mother dies as a result of his birth, but he is saved by a momentary tenderness on the part of Grall, a guard who is missing his own newborn son.
Sol grows up as a slave and inevitably becomes a gladiator, fighting for his life on the sands of the Coliseum, gaining the respect of his opponents and a steady stream of ‘the Spoils”: the slave women given as a reward to a successful gladiator. But Sol is a natural gentleman, and he spends more time listening to these women than bedding them, and as a result he learns his worldview is, not surprisingly, simplistic…and slowly he becomes embroiled in rebellion.
Sol of the Coliseum is a straightforward adventure story, with detailed descriptions of gladiatorial battles against both other gladiators and wild beasts. The writing is competent and the story flows well, although I had some issues with pacing, especially towards the end, when culminating events happened very rapidly. The characters are well rounded and attractive, with perhaps the exception of the evil Lysik: I kept waiting for some backstory or explanation of his vileness to make him more than a stock nasty (albeit a very nasty nasty.) While there are few surprises in the plot, the story is nonetheless entertaining.
I had a few issues with the world-building; although Gaylord takes his time at the beginning of the book to create a solid setting, the insertion of some modern phrasing and concepts into what was essentially a Romanesque world jarred a little, none more so than the characters drinking coffee. This seems to be common intrusion into created worlds, one, I suspect, (in a rather tongue-in-cheek way) that may result from writers not conceiving of how a world can function without it. However much I may need my coffee (and I do!), I still find it jars when it appears in a world where it doesn’t seem to belong. But that is a personal peeve.
The book is a stand-alone adventure, but the story could be continued. Sol is a interesting enough character (in some ways he reminds me of the actual Tarzan, the one from Edgar Rice Burrough’s books, not the movie versions) that the author may wish to further develop his story.
Four stars, overall, to an enjoyable adventure story with appealing characters.
The author provided me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Broken: Book III of the Cage of Lies series by Susanne Valenti: A Review
Broken is the third book in Susanne Valenti’s dystopian Cage of Lies series. Packed with action, the book continues the story of Maya and Taylor in the world beyond The Wall as the battle for independence and freedom intensifies.
Over the series Valenti has found a better balance for the intersecting stories of Maya and Taylor and their new compatriots. The characters have developed and their motivations, strengths and weaknesses are clearer than in the first book. The writing is competent and the action nearly non-stop; there is little time for contemplation or explanation in Maya’s world. As a dystopian action-adventure story, it delivers all the right goods. I found the plot a little predictable – no spoilers, but I’d worked out the end by about half way through.
In my review of Chained I commented that I felt the world-building was insufficient. While more background has been given over the series, I still find myself unclear as to where some of the items these people have access to – coffee, especially– actually come from. But that is a feature common to more than one dystopian novel or series I have read, and actually doesn’t diminish the action unless the reader allows it to.
Overall, 4 stars for Broken. Cage of Lies is an action-rich series that will appeal to many readers of young-adult dystopias looking for entertainment and the challenge of wondering what they would do in the same situations.
The author provided me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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