Monthly Archives: March 2013

Book Review of John Blackport’s Raingun & Resolution

Quite some time ago author, John Blackport, sent me an e-copy of Raingun for review. I finally managed to borrow a Nook to read it on. Though, doing so didn’t do much to further my side of the Kindle vs Nook battle that continues to rage between my husband and I. Oh well, it was worth it.

Description from Goodreads:
Rick Rivoire is flush with money, women, and prospects. He protects his country as one of the Rainguns, an elite regiment of spellcasting cavalry.

But national policy drifts ominously into slavery and religious persecution, sparking rebellion. Joining the rebels could land Rick on a prison ship, in slave-irons — or atop the same gallows where he watched his father hang.

The alternative looks no brighter. The status quo imperils Rick’s hard-won self-respect. Supporting tyranny would doom his dream to emulate the valiant swordswoman who braved a den of monsters to rescue the lonely, terrified nine-year-old boy he once was.

Rick can’t stay above the fray forever. He must either defend a government whose actions disgust him — or risk everything he has to chase justice.

This story unfolds in a world of bloodthirsty pirates, brave musketeers, and vile monsters. Its target audience is anyone who has ever wrestled with questions of whether, and how, to risk opposing the actions of their country

Review:
I’ve had this book on my to-read list for a long time and was finally able to get around to reading it. I’m glad I did. I kind of fell a little in love with Rick Rivoire. I’m a sucker for an honourable man. I admit it, and Rick just tries so darned hard to be just and fair in his actions. He may resent the hell out of his mother, but she obviously raised him right. Though, how is a bit of a mystery. He is a lad though. He and his friends tease each other mercilessly, often at the expense of any female (whore or otherwise) in the vicinity. But then to pretend a 25-year-old soldier, alone among is fellow cavalrymen would be anything else would risk a singular lack of realism. Lets face it, not dying, food, drink and women almost certainly feature highly in the bunkhouse of any army anywhere in this world or the next. Plus, the camaraderie between him and his cadre (especially Kristoph) is just plain funny.

The book throws you right into the action and it can be a little discombobulating. There is a glossary and some explanatory information (geography, government, pantheon, etc) at the end and I would recommend reading this first. I did not do this, but would probably have been better off if I had. There is a lot to this world…I think 12 different gods/goddesses, each with a complex religious faction of their own, two nations (not including the elves), a full aristocracy, and then all of the military ranks. Then there is the currency, geography, spell casting, and monsters. Phew, it’s a lot to keep up with. I imagine this is going to be a long series. It just doesn’t seem like it would be worth setting all of it up unless it is.

There are a number of flashbacks in the beginning, addressing pivotal points in Rick’s childhood. This goes a long way toward explaining the man he becomes, but it also made the beginning of the book feel choppy. I spent a lot of time trying to catch up. 4 or 5 chapters in they taper off and the story takes on a more linear gate and reads a lot more smoothly. The writing itself has a fairly distinct cadence. There were times it felt forced, but in the end I decided that it would more accurate to say that it was used to create atmosphere. So, even if a sentence appeared a little convoluted it matched the character.

Rick spends A LOT of time in battle. The body’s ability to be resurrected multiple times and for spell casters to heal soldiers on the battlefield means he and his unit are able to be stabbed, slashed, burnt, shot and beaten over and over and over again. And they are. It’s not that it is horrendously graphic. The book isn’t, but he is a soldier during war time. The Raingun basically progress from one battle to another. This movement from field to field, enemy to enemy is actually what moved the book along. With each new altercation comes a little more information about what is happening politically in the country and another hint about what might be happening to/for/around Rick. A lot of this mystery isn’t cleared up by the end of the book. That there is civil unrest on the horizon is pretty clear, as are the reasons and players but what part Rick is to play, and he is obviously going to play a part, isn’t.

Raingun makes for an interesting contribution to the fantasy genre…I would have read it just so I could keep referring to Military Mages. It’s fun to say. I have the sequel, Resolution, which I plan to read too.

resolution Description from Goodreads:
Rick Rivoire used to love the army.

But now he and three other Rainguns are assigned to guard a Duke’s mining camp. The cruelty of the Baron against the workers is sickening. Rick’s long dreamed of rebellion. Perhaps now is the time!

However, Rick finds he can sometimes influence the Baron toward leniency. Is rebellion truly the best course against an authority that listens to reason?

Then the camp is attacked by Lucan, an ambitious necromancer eager to turn the defenseless slaves into undead minions. Rick’s duty commands him to delay the chaos of rebellion, until he sees Lucan crushed.

Rick must aid other forces come to fight Lucan: kind but brutish ogres, led by humans in war paint with tomahawks. How can he gain their trust?

In a town under siege, he meets the endearing Anya. Is she as innocent as she appears? Or is she a dangerous pawn?

Review:

Resolution finds Rick and his friends (though mostly Rick) defending a mine and the slaves who work it from the ever-increasing number of undead. I think that fans of the TV show The Walking Dead would love this book. It’s essentially a zombie story, though not touted as such.

Like in the first book Rick tries very hard to maintain his ethical and moral certitude in the face of increasingly questionable circumstances. He is confronted with a Baron who both perpetrates incredible cruelties and surprising acts of caring. He is a grey character. He firmly believes himself to be doing right, while others (Rick among them) are disgusted by his harsh punishments and befuddled by his occasional heroism. Rick is also forced to examine the actions of his own culture/government, questioning his willingness to continue to support decisions that he finds morally reprehensible. Slavery is becoming more widespread and permanent; dying no longer frees one of the subservience to a master. Certain religions are being suppressed and outlawed and all the while the followers of the gods of darkness seem to being growing more prevalent if not powerful. Oh and they seem to have it out for Rick in particular.

What I like about Rick is his introspection. He regularly examines his own thoughts and actions. Though not always pleased with what he finds, he isn’t afraid to see himself for what he is. I did miss his friends though. In theory they were assigned to the camp with him, but they play a very small part in the book.

There are a few unexplained aspects to the book. For example, apparently counting plays some part in the use of the Raingun’s magic. I noticed this mentioned in the first book too, but there never is any real explanation of why it is necessary. Magic also has to be replenished, but I never firmly understood how or why. It’s not that I can’t simply suspend enough disbelief to just accept these facts. This is a book of fantasy after all. But so much of the world is so meticulously laid out those aspects that aren’t stand out.

Also like the first book this one ends with mystery still afoot, mostly those which involve Rick. There were more hints that there is more going on around him than he realises, but still no resolution. As I sit here deciding whether or not to race out and get book three I can’t help but wonder how far into the series I’ll have to go before I start to get those answers. I wouldn’t really consider this too grievous an issue except that there aren’t yet anymore than three books, so I would be left waiting. hmmm

Book Review of Robin T. Popp’s Too Close to the Sun

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I picked Robin T. Popp‘s romantic space opera, Too Close to the Sun up off of the KDP free list. At the time of posting it was still free.

Description from Goodreads:
Hunted and on the run, galactic smuggler Angel Torrence stole a ship to escape capture, not realizing until too late that the ship’s computer, not she, was in control. With its disembodied voice, arrogant, bossy and sounding very male, it blared out of the Icarus’ control panel, not to thank her for rescuing him and his ship from the terrorist attack, but to instruct her to set a course for the most perilous planet in the known universe.

On the riskiest mission of his career, Colonel Nicoli Romanof had allowed his life essence and his physical form to be separated. And the Harvesters had taken the bait; his body. Now he needed the cocky pilot who’d stolen his vessel to help him retrieve his person and destroy the deadly race of aliens. Then he discovered the young pilot was a woman and he kissed his chances of success goodbye.

When Nicoli refused her assistance because of her gender, Angel would have moved heaven and earth to prove she was up to the task. But she never expected the colonel’s physique to be so magnificent or his heart to be so courageous. When a passion she couldn’t deny flared between them, she wondered if they’d found love or flown…Too close to the sun

Review (with slight spoilers):
This book was all right. It had some things I really liked and some that I literally scoffed at. On the plus side, Angel was independent and fearless. She was a heroine in her own right. There were some really funny little side comments in the book that made me laugh. Nicoli was a sexy, honor-bound male who was more than willing to put his life on the line to do the right thing and protect those he cared about. You have to appreciate that. The book also presented an interesting take on what it means to be ‘free.’ Thus, the title of both the book and Nicoli’s ship is clever.

On the negative side, this is a case of insta-love to the extreme, initially based on NOTHING more than appearances. I mean NOTHING. In both cases, they (Nicoli and Angel) fell irrevocably in lust with the body of the other when it wasn’t even inhabited by their consciousness or life essence and without knowing it was the other person. So literally just their naked body. But the reader is led to believe that true love could bloom from this very quickly. I found that a little hard to swallow.

While Angel is a strong-willed heroine who rescued Nicoli as often as he rescued her, she never had to rescue him because he had simply put himself in pointless danger or done something stupid. Example: lose her way in the dark (in her own home world), step in a crevice, and twist her ankle. Really!? That move alone almost negates enough respectable heroineness to put her in bimbo territory. Lastly, everyone has a happy ending. I know, that should be a good thing right? But how realistic is it? Examples: The antagonist has been working toward his carefully laid plan for a very, very long time, and then he suddenly lets it all fall apart for no apparent reason. He suddenly can’t keep his cool and does irrational things in public, giving himself away. Why, or rather why now? Then after Angel and Nicoli defeat this bad guy (or rather are present when he defeats himself) a benevolent leader takes over. But there is no mention of what happened to the previous leader, who wasn’t the big bad. I can’t imagine he just suddenly decided to peacefully pass the reigns to another….mysterious happy ending. Plus, everyone pairs off perfectly. It’s all just a little too clean for me.

The writing was fine, and the book ended with a teaser of the next one, Dark Side of the Sun. It looked interesting enough to be worth reading. So, all-in-all an alright read.

Book Review of Helen Harper’s Blood Destiny series (Bloodfire, Bloodmagic & Bloodrage)

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I initially grabbed the first of Helen Harper‘s Blood Destiny series, Bloodfire, off of the KDP free list. I then bought the sequels, Bloodmagic and Bloodrage.

The series follow a woman named Mack who, despite being ostensibly human, has been raised amongst a pack of shape-shifters. She has a fiery temper, penchant for finding trouble, and a sexy were-panther on her tail. Of course there is more to the story than that, but you can check out the Amazon or Goodread links for a breakdown of each book.

Review of Bloodfire:
I generally really enjoyed this book. Mack is a fun character. She has a forceful personality and an equally strong backbone. I liked seeing her stand up for herself and those that she cared about. She did seem a little too willing to sacrifice herself for them though. I also appreciated that she had accepted herself for who she was, even if there were still lingering regrets that she couldn’t be like everyone else. I must admit that, though her complete lack of verbal filter was fun at times, it did border on suicidal. There is a distinct difference between speaking your mind and not being ABLE to control yourself and what you say. The first is a sign of one’s strength of character, the second a character flaw. There were times I thought it unrealistic that she got away with so blatantly breaching protocol and the chain of command. At the top of that chain of command was Corrigan and he was a sleek, sexy joy. Though I was disappointed at how little progress was made in their ‘relationship.’ In fact, seeing where it would go is the primary reason I picked up and read the second one.

The bare bones of it is that I enjoyed this jaunt through the world of English shifters. I know it might not be true, but it feels like most shifter stories are set in the US and it was nice to find myself in Cornwall for a change. Well worth the read.

Review of Bloodmagic:
Bloodmagic picks up roughly six months after the conclusion of Bloodfire and finds Mack in a whole new environment, facing all new challenges, but many of the same faces. She’s still dancing around Corrigan and trying her absolute hardest to protect her friends and family from him. It’s touching. She does make some new friends, however, and I liked all of them. Mrs. Alcoon is just sweet as can be, if a little eccentric and Solus’ ceaseless arrogance is amusing. As in the first book I thought Mack’s ability to walk into situations in which she was enormously out manned and succeed was a little hard to swallow. I mean in the Bloodfire she took on a Demi-god and here a citadel full of mages! Maybe Solus isn’t the one I should be calling arrogant.

Since the primary reason I decided to continue the series (not the only one, it is just a fun series) is to see what happens between Mack and Corrigan I was completely disappointed at the end of the book. I don’t want to give anything away, but yeah, disappointed in the end. I also noted a few more editorial mishaps and consistency breaches than in the first. For example, Mack refers to a knee buckling kiss at one point that I have no memory of happening. I even went back to reread the passage in question and couldn’t find it. I liked it enough to buy the third though.

Review of Bloodrage:
I’ve officially decided that this is one of those series that might never end. There will always be one more adventure for Mack. I’m a little peeved about that, starting to feel a little strung along. Be that as it may, I enjoyed the book. Perhaps not as much as the first two. Focusing as this one does on Mack’s experience in the school it has a bit more of a Harry Potter feel to it and the series seems to have lost a little of it’s earlier focus. Mack is still a smart mouthed hot head. Corrigan is still a sexy shifter. Alex is still funny and Solus is…well, still Solus. Of all the new characters I like Thomas the best, though I don’t think he grovels anywhere near enough for his initial misdeed and his personality takes about a 180 from his first meeting with Mack to his subsequent meetings. There’s a fairly big reveal in this storyline, but it still ends completely open for the next book, Blood Politics (which is apparently due out later this year). I enjoy the experience of reading the Blood Destiny books, but with no conclusion in sight I don’t know that I’ll be running out for more.