Monthly Archives: September 2017

The New Man

Book Review of The New Man, by Jeffrey Welker

Leave a reply

I received a copy of The New Man from the author, Jeffrey Welker.

Description from Goodreads:
Found documents in a medieval Polish ruin reveal strange secrets from a past best forgotten. The eternal struggle to transcend the limitations of the human body and the human consciousness is no modern invention. Travel the ancient world with the deeply flawed and deeply curious Duke of Masovia as he perfects his art – the art of science, the art of alchemy, the art of necromancy – whatever it takes to achieve the ultimate goal: The New Man

Review:
Slow but enjoyable. It has a definite gothic horror feel. Imagine Victor Frankenstein had never found his moral compass and never saw the arrogance in playing god with the creation of life. Now give him the funds and resources to follow his experiments to their full, bloody conclusions. You will have Duke Siemowit II of Masivia. He is one scary son of gun.

But the diaries on which the book is based are his. So the gruesome tale is told entirely from his calm, collected, dispassionate point of view. He never flinches from his own depravities, in fact doesn’t even see them as problematic. Hundreds died at his hands, but it’s all in the name of ‘science,’ as far as he’s concerned. It’s chilling, his disregard for human life.

The writing is clean and easily readable, for the most part. I got REALLY tired of footnotes, though. They were interesting and definitely gave this work of fiction a more believable mien, but they became disruptive after a while.

All in all, a good read. It was slow, so I wouldn’t call it a page turner. But it’s thought provoking and for those who enjoy the gothic, this is worth picking up.

The Devils Revolver

Book Review of The Devil’s Revolver, by V.S. McGrath

Leave a reply

I purchased a copy of V.S. McGrath‘s The Devil’s Revolver.

Description from Goodreads:
She is Hettie Alabama — unlikely, scarred, single-minded, and blood bound to a revolver forged by a demon.

The first book in an epic, magic-clad series featuring the Wild West reimagined as a crosscultural stereoscope of interdimensional magic and hardship, The Devil’s Revolver opens with a shooting competition and takes off across the landscape after a brutal double murder and kidnapping — to which revenge is the only answer. Hettie Alabama, only seventeen years old, leads her crew of underdogs with her father’s cursed revolver, magicked to take a year off her life each time she fires it. It’s no way for a ranch girl to grow up, but grow up she does, her scars and determination to rescue her vulnerable younger sister deepening with every year of life she loses.

A sweeping and high-stakes saga that gilds familiar Western adventure with powerful magic and panoramic fantasy, The Devil’s Revolver is the last word and the blackest hat in the Weird West.

Review:
A YA novel that avoids a lot of the common YA traps. I’m not entirely sure I even realized this was going to be YA, that the protagonist is 17ish, when I started it. (Yes, it’s in the blurb, but I didn’t reread it between buying the book and actually reading it.) Even once I did realize, I never felt Hettie fell into the simpering, angst-filled role that annoys me so much in so many YA stories. What’s more, while there is a male character that MIGHT later fulfill a romantic pairing, this story wasn’t cluttered up with ill-timed youthful luuurve.

I did feel Hettie’s obsessive determination wasn’t wholly explained. I mean, yes, she wanted her last family member saved, but she seemed a little too driven and compulsive. This may have been because the reader is never really given the opportunity to see Hettie interact with Abby, so Abby is forever a theoretical motivation. Also, I felt some of the magic system was a bit hand-wavy.

I enjoyed the writing, which I found clean and easy to read. It have enough Western slang to give it character, but not enough to clutter the narrative. All in all, I enjoyed it and would happily read another McGrath book.

A not-review of Dragons of Wales, by Andy Frazer

Leave a reply

This isn’t so much a review as just a brag about, “Look at this cool thing I got.” Look. Look. Look!

It’s even signed and anyone who knows me knows I love a signed book. I hoard them like some sort of jealous dragon, which is an apt description considering.

I came across Andy Frazer and his Dragons of Wales through Twitter. I quickly fell in love with the little guys and gals. So, I followed to the Kickstarter and gallery/shop, where I ordered a couple books. Yeah, a couple; I have a some Welsh friends who will be getting a copy for Christmas. (Good thing they don’t read my blog.)

The book is small, only about 80 pages of A5. But it’s full color and just a lot of fun. Frazer’s dragons are small themselves, bird-like. Each stunning (and to-die-for cute) picture is accompanied by an interesting little ornithological-like description which include a mix of information about plumage, preferred environment, behaviors, mating, size, diet, etc. It’s a conversation starter, for sure. My coffee table is improved by its presence.

At this point I’d love to add a bazillion pictures of brightly colored, itty-bitty Welsh dragons, but I’d feel obligated to ask Frazer’s permission to do so, and I don’t want to have to ask permission. Because then it would feel like I’m doing a promotion and this isn’t a promo. It’s just me squeeing over pretty dragons. And I’d feel all sorts of awkward and fan-girl being like, “Um, Mr. Frazer, Sir, can I litter my blog with your hard work? No, no, I can’t pay you or anything. But it’d be exposure.” Um, no. There are plenty of images available if you check out the Twitter or Artstation link, above. You should check it out.

I’ll just include one to give you an idea of what they look like (and hope I’m not violating a copyright or anything). This is the Zara of Zacmik. I chose it because I like the name.

There, see I have a cool new thing. *Smug*
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Ok, I’m not really smug. That would be an unattractive characterization. But I’ve very happy.