Category Archives: Challenges

Book Review of Jacques Antoine’s Girl Takes up Her Sword

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Girl Takes up Her SwordAuthor, Jaques Antoine, sent me a copy of his YA martial arts novel Girl Takes Up Her Sword and the continuing short story, The High Road to the Mountain Gods. These are book 3 and 4 of the Emily Kane Adventures. I reviewed books 1 and 2, Girl Fights Back and Girl Punches Out (previously titled Go No Sen and Sen No Sen), last year and they can be found here. I also notice that book 1 is currently free on Amazon and, though not currently free, I’ve seen book 2 on the free list too.

Description from Goodreads:
High school graduation was never so dangerous as it turns out to be for Emily Kane. Defending herself against foreign agents is one thing, but when the threat comes from within Emily’s own family the violence rises to a new level, and the need to reconcile herself with her inner demons has never been so urgent.

Review:
Girl Takes up Her Sword is book 3 of The Emily Kane Adventures and I honestly think it’s the best yet. Emily has found her confidence and though she’s still trying to give the occasional kick against Granny’s fate she has largely accepted her place in the cosmos. And oh, what a place it is!

Emily is a strong, independent, self-assured heroine. So often in YA fiction authors present mixed messages on this front. A girl might have mad skills or some super power, but she doesn’t have the heart to really do what needs to be done. (The implicit message being that she is too soft or weak to really be strong after all.) There’s often some hero sidekick who actually saves her from dirtying her hands, thereby co-opting her presentation as a truly strong heroine. Antoine has the integrity to let Emily be as strong as she needs to be. Now, I’m not saying she doesn’t regret the things she has to do or even that she isn’t occasionally disgusted about them, but she also doesn’t back down from them or hesitate so long some man takes over for her. (And believe me she is surrounded by plenty of strong, well trained men.) I respect this immensely.

I only have two real qualms with the story and they are related. So it could actually be one multidimensional problem. Either way, I’m gonna sketch it out, but first let me say that I understand why the author wrote it this way. I see the message he’s trying to convey with it. I just thought it was a little too much for me to accept.

First off, despite being a senior in high school Emily is very much in charge in this book. In one way or another black ops soldiers take orders from her. Elite assassins take orders from her. Her sensei takes orders from her. Her mother takes orders from her. Her friends take orders from her. Her friends’ parents take orders from her. The Yakuza take orders from her. Burly biker dudes take orders from her. There is almost no one who has any control over her or even has the backbone to say ‘no’ to her. She is the top dog in all respects. The primary reason people backed down? They saw something in her eyes that made them give up. There are a lot of social dictums that this contradicts. It ignores basic social hierarchies, not to mention martial and military ones. I have a really hard time imagining that she’d succeed in the ‘take orders’ environment of a military academy, or even the military itself.

On a related issue is the fact that, with the exception of David, every single person she encountered gave in to her mysterious charm. ‘Oh yea, I drug your son into a lethal battle and he witness a couple people die.’ Does this mother get angry? Nope. ‘Oh, sorry your son got shot defending me.’ Does this mother get angry? Nope. ‘Oh, I’ve kicked your ass, and your ass, and your ass?’ Do these previously inflated egos get angry? Nope. ‘Oh, 2/3 of your biker gang got blown up for their association with me?’ Here let me make it up to you, you can call me Princess. ‘Oh, you’re a high ranking Yakuza who’s been insulted in public and demand restitution?’ Bow to my noble continence instead. Ok, in every example the circumstances are explained and it is very obvious that Emily is supposed to have an almost paranormal charisma about her (this is a large part of the story), but I don’t think it felt very realistic in the end.

Like the previous books Antoine’s writing is crisp and easy to read. The fight scenes are meticulously detailed and the martial techniques clearly explained. There is a lot of focus on the mystic aspect of training and unlike the previous books this starts to have a concrete effect on the events of the story. If you like strong female protagonists, martial arts, mysticism or just an interesting read. This is worth picking up.

The High Road to the Mountain Gods

Description from Goodreads:
With the help of her “Granny,” Emily Kane had the strength to fight off the black-ops teams hunting her. Now she needs to find some relief from Granny, and to reconcile herself to the violence she had to unleash. She hopes to find spiritual renewal in the crowded pantheon of the Hindus and Buddhists of Nepal. But the spirit of violence is not far behind her.

Review:
The High Road to the Mountain Gods picks up at the end of Girl Takes up Her Swordand sees Emily trying to find some mental peace in the tumultuous circumstances that are her exceptional life. I really enjoyed the picture of Kathmandu that was painted, the way various mystic traditions were allowed to coexist, and the unexpected twist at the end. I think a reader would be able to follow it even if they hadn’t read the previous books, but would certainly get more out of it if they had.

Murder has Consequences

Book Review of Giacomo Giammatteo’ Murder has Consequences

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Murder has ConsequencesGiacomo Giammatteo sent me a copy of Murder has Consequences, book two of the Friendship & Honour series and sequel to Murder Takes Time, which I reviewed last year. I also noticed that there is a Goodreads giveaway running at the moment to win a copy. 

Description from Goodreads:
It’s easy to give your life for someone you love. It’s much harder to kill for them. Nicky Fusco For a select few people, friendship lasts forever. Nicky Fusco and Frankie Donovan were friends like that, but that was years ago. Now Frankie’s a detective in Brooklyn’s Homicide department, and Nicky is a reformed hit man. But when Frankie gets in trouble–and the law can’t help him–he turns to Nicky. The problem is that Nicky promised his family, and God, that he’d go straight.

Review:
Warning: I’m about to do some gushing. I simply adore Nicky ‘The Rat’ Fusco and his family, Frankie ‘Bugs’ Donavon and his cop partners, and Giacomo Giammatteo’s writing. I just do.

Nicky is such a complex character. On the surface he comes across as a little simple, but he’s really quite sharp. He tries to pass himself off as no threat, but he’s actually one badass mother f_cker. On one hand he seems a little naive about his reputation (and in general), but he’s actually more than aware of it and wiling to use it to his advantage. He’s not afraid of anyone…anyone but his wife. He’d do just about anything to stay on her sweet side. He’s a straight up cold killer, but also a dedicated Catholic and amazingly sweet in his own way. He’s willing to go to great lengths to commit acts of heroism, (despite being a remorseless killer/torturer) but is also completely unwilling to seek any accolades for them—denying them even. He thoughtlessly uses outdated and even derogatory racial terms (Mick, Dago, etc), but doesn’t seem to actually be a racist. He happily befriends people that the territorial disputes say he should avoid. He’s a walking contradiction and I’m a little in love with him.

You don’t get to know Frankie quite as well, since you only get a 3rd person POV for him, but he has more than a few contradictions of his own. He’s a good New York homicide detective who grew up among The Connected of Little Italy and still has more than a few lasting connections. This causes him more than one moral conflict. Frankie grows the most in this book though and he provides some of the most human emotions.

Giammatteo’s writing is worthy of about as much praise as I could throw at it. It’s smooth and unhurried. He seems to be a master of creating atmosphere and emotions with very little. The way Nicky’s narrative always includes what streets he takes to get somewhere (seemingly pointless information) gives a very clear indication of how important the city and his connection to it is to him. His frequent side notes of what Angela made for dinner is a strong reminder of how the familiar dishes stir his most pleasant memories, further reinforcing the importance of his connection to the town and people in it. But my absolute favourite is all the small ways he reminds himself how much he loves his wife and why. She is his light, his anchor, and seeing a man who is otherwise quite cold willing to openly express his affection is really evocative.

I was a little disappointed that the antagonist was, among others things, a sexual predator. The subject matter was as tastefully handled as such things can be, but the older I get the more aware I become of how often such themes show up in fiction and the less forgiving of it I become. But this is a personal preference kind of remark and one of very few complaints about the book.

I wouldn’t say it was necessary to have read the first book, but it would probably help. Events from Murder Takes Time are referenced and some of the character descriptions are pretty light, since you’re expected to know who these people are and how they relate to one another. Both books are well worth reading though.

I have much the same thought every time I finish one of Giammatteo’s books. (Well,thoughts if you count how perfect I think his name is for someone writing fiction based in and around Little Italy. I hope it’s real, but I don’t know.) Reading the Friendship and Honour series makes me regret giving some other books five stars. It’s just on such a higher plain of awesomeness.

The afterward says that there will be a third on out next year. Given the ending of this one I have a pretty good guess what it will be about, plus I suspect it’s going to tie in with A Bullet for Carlos. I can’t wait! I really just can’t wait.

Book Review of Mystic Ink, by Casey Wyatt

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Mystic Ink

I grabbed Casey Wyatt‘s Mystic Ink from the Amazon KDP list. 

Description from Goodreads:
Welcome to Mystic, Connecticut, where a Satyr owns the local pawn shop, a Minotaur serves the tastiest pizza in town, and the nearest gate to the Underworld resides in the alley outside a tattoo parlor.

Nix–Sea Nymph, talented artist and proprietor of Mystic Ink–just wants to run her tattoo shop in peace and quiet. Peace and quiet, however, are the least of her problems. Mortal corpses keep springing up in her alley like daisies. Hades is angry that the mortals’ souls are missing. And to top it all off, the human authorities suspect Nix of foul play. 

Before long, the supernatural police force takes an interest. They dispatch Agent Calder Quinne to investigate. His assignment is simple: determine Nix’s guilt or innocence by observing her daily routine. Instead, he’s faced with an uncooperative Nymph who resents his presence and evades him at every opportunity. 

Nix finds Cal far too attractive and a challenge to her self-imposed ban on relationships. She wants him out of her life as soon as possible. When Cal’s soul is stolen next and Nix wakes up missing memories of the evening’s events, even she starts to wonder if she’s guilty. Now, she has only two weeks to locate Cal’s missing soul, or he’ll be doomed to spend eternity as a Shade.

Review: **Warning, slightly spoilerish**

Meh, it was alright. The writing was perfectly readable and it was well edited. I have no complaints on that front. But the story had a number of elements that I just plain dislike. For one, though Nix was the main character and the events centred around her, it wasn’t her who saved the day. Nope, Gods forbid the woman be in on the important action. Instead, she ran around from the start of the book until the end, encountering and being attacked by one mythological creature after another. Note, not intentionally doing anything but instead reacting to a presented stimulus. Then, in the end, all her male protectors went behind her back and saved the day. It was subtle, but all the impetus was taken by the men. At one point, Cal even asked her, Do you trust me?… Then hold your questions a little longer. In other words she not only wasn’t in on the action, she wasn’t even allowed to ask about it. This was all further exasperated by the fact that all of the power players were Gods. The only real Goddess you get to know is vapid and too busy with her facials and pedicures to be important.

Then there was the complete mishmash of pantheons. I get that this was intentional. The D.L. was, after all, an alliance of them. But come on, first we’re presented with the Greeks (including Sitars, Cyclops, Titans, Nymphs, Fates, Furies, Basilisk, etc), then the Egyptians. I’m still on board at this point. Then the Elves show up. Huh? And then Aliens! Really, WTF, it was just too much, too cluttered, too many disparate genres thrown together.

Then there was how easily everything wrapped up. The bad guy was defeated with absolute ease. More than once, problems were overcome almost miraculously. Nix being able to call in a favour based on winning the office raffle the year before, for example. Thats handy. Cal was given his prize and avoided a fate worse than death despite technically not completing his quest. Then, in the end, Nix rails at her father for three or four minutes and manages to convince him to change the rules that have been in effect for, presumably, millennia. I seem to recall stubbornness being a trait of the gods. Plus, these were pantheon-wide rules, so they affected everyone, not just her. It was just too easy.

Now I know I’ve bitched a lot. I was annoyed by the end of the book. But as I said, it was well written. There were some really fun characters. I especially liked Zeph and Devlin. I’m not discouraging anyone from reading it. Heck, I might even pick up the sequel if I come across it. I enjoyed the read, just not every aspect of the book.