Author Archives: Sadie

Book Review: In the Blood, by Scott Skipper

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in the bloodDescription from Goodreads:

George Washington Skipper was a man with secrets. He kept multiple wives in two states, spawned at least sixteen children, adopted three, spent four years in the Confederate Army, was shot twice and lived to eighty-five. Then there was one more thing and a hundred years later the family is still scandalized over it.

This fictionalized account of my ancestor’s remarkable life will probably get me struck from the Thanksgiving guest list, but those who aren’t related will be amazed and amused. Then again, are you sure we’re not related? Washington was born when John Quincy Adams was president and he died the week before the Titanic sank. During that long life he did some outrageous things. This account follows his early days in the Carolina low country, running from county to county avoiding the whipping post, through his Civil War battles, the misery of Reconstruction and his personal tragedies. In the Blood is based on fifteen years of genealogical research and punctuated with a little good clean fun.

Review:

When settling down to read a novel based on someone else’s genealogical history, there is always a niggling fear that it will be something like sitting through your neighbor’s vacation slide show, interesting to them but interminable to you. In the Blood is nothing like this. Being based on genealogical research, there is a certain amount of so-and-so beget so-and-so, who, despite being married to so-and-so beget so-and-so, but it is also a relatively fast-paced read based on a truly interesting character who also happens to find himself in gripping circumstances.

George Washington Skipper is amorous, to say the least, swept up in the Confederate spirit of the American Civil War, enlightened about the true doldrums of that (and probably every) war, discouraged by the perceived injustices of Reconstruction, and eventually the father of dozens of children by a variety of women, very few of whom he ever supported in any fashion. Ultimately, he is seen to be an even-minded good man, but he systematically wrongs woman after woman throughout the book. However, given the time in which he lived, it is, unfortunately, true that his actions may not have been as unusual as it seems to the modern reader.

For me, there was also a special thrill. As a member of ‘the 10th’ in the Confederate Army, Washington and his cohorts marched back and forth through middle Tennessee. This is home turf for me and it was really interesting to hear about the skirmishes that happened in towns I’ve lived in and around.

For those who have an interest in the Civil War and the life of the average man (ie, not the famous names of the times) In the Blood is a definite recommended read. I think there is a tendency to idealize the past, and this book provides a refreshingly realistic look at a difficult period in American History. Check it out.

Book Review: Rook, by Richard A. Shury

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rook cover

Description from Goodreads:

The year is 2188. Long ago, Earth was invaded by marauding aliens; these aliens were defeated, but their technology remained. Using it, humanity has reached out into space, but only to continue the conflicts of Earth. Rook is the story of a hardened mercenary who steals valuable items – for a price. After he steals a vaccine for a deadly virus, he finds himself in a crisis of conscience, one that will put him in the firing line of anyone who stands to profit from the virus’ spread. Will he be able to survive long enough to do the right thing?

Review:

Rook can essentially be reduced to one man’s attempt to do the right thing, possibly as an attempt at redemption. The character Rook is a highly skilled assassin/thief who suddenly develops a conscience and sets out on an audacious journey to protect the innocent. It’s a thankless job, but he feels he has to do it. The book really is a one-man show. It focuses almost exclusively on the title character.

Here’s the thing, though… a lot of galactic history is given, which, while interesting, really isn’t necessary unless the book is going to be part of a series (thereby giving it purpose it currently lacks), but none is provided for Rook. This means that the reader has no idea why he should suddenly decide on a course of action that is obviously presented as a breach of character. About 65% in there is a little bit of internal dialogue (should that be monologue if he is talking to himself?) about it, but how he feels about his actions still doesn’t explain why he took them in the first place. This makes the book feel pointless…or rather beginning and endless. The reader doesn’t know what is being built up to or when it has been accomplished.

I have considered the possibility that the story is actually an allegory of how small one man’s efforts are to the whole, even when he is exceptionally well trained and giving his whole. Like Rook no matter how hard one tries, 99.999% of the world (galaxy in this case) won’t know you exist, even fewer will know what you sacrifice, and everything just keeps moving along regardless.

Now, having said all of that I have to praise Shury’s writing skill. The book is incredibly well written. The fight scenes are exciting, the plot engrossing, and the technology and galactic history well thought out. There is even a timeline at the end. If this were a longer piece or part of a bigger whole, it would have seemed more important. But it is clear that Shury took some time to really establish the back story to this story, and I, for one, would be really interested in reading more.

Book Review: Dark Lover & Lover Unleashed, by J.R. Ward

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This is a bit of an awkward catch-up post. I reviewed J.R. Ward’s  Dark Lover over on Goodreads but never posted it here. I, then, didn’t bother reviewing the rest of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series until I reached a later book where I felt I had something in particular to say. That was Lover Unleashed. So, I’m gathering the two posts here after the fact.

black dagger brotherhood covers

About Dark Lover:

The only purebred vampire left on the planet and the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who killed his parents centuries ago.

But when his most trusted fighter is killed — orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate — Wrath must put down his dagger and usher the beautiful female into another world.

Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn’t there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of the Brotherhood and blood frighten her. Yet his touch ignites a dawning new hunger one that threatens to consume them both…

Review:

Dark Lover is PNR, as it should be. The romance smolders, but the sex doesn’t cross into pornographic or blot out the plot with its frequency. There is enough to keep you titillated but not enough to make you lose interest if you are the type who likes a little more story.

I have to admit hulking, leather-clad alpha males aren’t my ideal idea of sexy, but they work here. These men are rough around the edges but have just enough vulnerabilities (not that they would acknowledge them) to make the reader feel for them, along with the female lead, Beth. The book does have some of the more annoying PNR qualities, instant unexplained attraction, the leader who has been so respected that he falls in love with the first woman to speak bluntly to him, etc. But these are genre norms, not true complaints about the book.

I have the second in the series sitting on my bedside table and can’t wait to start it. Ward is a definite go-to for PNR fans everywhere.

About Lover Unleashed:

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, seductive cloth as her brother. Imprisoned for eons by their mother, the Scribe Virgin, she finally frees herself – only to face a devastating injury.

Manuel Manello, M.D., is drafted by the Brotherhood to save her as only he can – but when the human surgeon and the vampire warrior meet, their two worlds collide in the face of their undeniable passion. With so much working against them, can love prove stronger than the birthright and the biology that separates them?

Review:

I told myself that I wasn’t going to write a review of every single Black Dagger Brother novel. ‘Cause, honestly, that would basically boil down to I liked this one more or less than the previous ones. The writing is essentially the same, as are the plots or each, just focusing on another Brother. But I feel compelled to post a small rant about this one. It was such a prime opportunity….completely lost.

Here, in Payne, we had the possibility of a female with the strength, character, and pedigree to join the Brotherhood. Sure, Xhex fights alongside the men, but she is primarily the Shellran of a Brother. That’s her role. Payne was painted as a true warrior, and I was really hoping for a little bit of strong-willed female ass-kicking. What did we get? She may be on the cover, but Manny is the main character. The book is about him, and Payne’s involvement is only in relation to him. She is incidental.

While I always enjoy Ward’s writing (I have made it to the 9th book, after all), I’ve liked some of the BDB books more than others. This one disappointed me in general and more because I had such high hopes for a good female character.