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Eve of Destruction

Book Review of Eve of Destruction (The Chronicles of Eve, #1), by C.E. Stalbaum

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Eve of DestructionI picked up C. E. Stalbaum‘s Eve of Destruction from the Amazon free list in Oct. of 2012. Just got around to reading it.

Description from Goodreads:
The reign of magic is broken. A technological revolution sweeps across the land, and the once invincible Magi caste has been usurped by factory owners and railroad tycoons. Industry spreads like wildfire across the country, and the source of magic recedes in its wake.

Now, on the eve of a devastating war between the Magi and the Industrialists, the only hope for the future rests in a gifted but impetuous young sorceress and her motley band of unlikely allies. Together they must survive the war raging around them long enough to unravel a twisted political conspiracy before magic is extinguished forever.

Review:
This was passable fantasy. I believe it must be set in the same world as Stalbaum’s The Last Goddess, which I really liked. However, I didn’t enjoy this nearly as much.

It had a much strong YA feel and I’m not currently a fan on YA literature. (I guess I just can’t relate to 19-year-olds anymore.) I didn’t particularly engage with Eve. In fact, I had a much stronger feel for the supporting characters. Everything felt scripted (as it was meant to, to a certain degree), I disliked her ability to use magic without knowing how, and so very much of the story was contingent on event that happened 30+ years ago that I felt I must have missed a first book somewhere.

Stalbaum’s writing is strong here, the dialogue feels natural and I never noticed any grievous editing mishaps. So, for the right reader the book might be a win. For me it wasn’t a fail, but maybe just a pass.

On a side note, I wasn’t aware when I picked the book up that it is the first in a series. But it is and it ends in a very open manner. I was less than pleased with this discovery.

Retribution Falls

Book Review of Retribution Falls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #1), by Chris Wooding

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Retribution FallsI picked up a copy of Retribution Falls, by Chris Wooding, from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Sky piracy is a bit out of Darian Frey’s league. Fate has not been kind to the captain of the airship “Ketty Jay”–or his motley crew. They are all running from something. Crake is a daemonist in hiding, traveling with an armored golem and burdened by guilt. Jez is the new navigator, desperate to keep her secret from the rest of the crew. Malvery is a disgraced doctor, drinking himself to death. So when an opportunity arises to steal a chest of gems from a vulnerable airship, Frey can’t pass it up. It’s an easy take–and the payoff will finally make him a rich man.

But when the attack goes horribly wrong, Frey suddenly finds himself the most wanted man in Vardia, trailed by bounty hunters, the elite Century Knights, and the dread queen of the skies, Trinica Dracken. Frey realizes that they’ve been set up to take a fall but doesn’t know the endgame. And the ultimate answer for captain and crew may lie in the legendary hidden pirate town of Retribution Falls. That’s if they can get there without getting blown out of the sky.

Review:
I find myself stuck in the middle of the road about this book. I find that I simply disliked the main character. I’ll grant that there was a lot of personal growth throughout the book and a lot of what I disliked about him also made him a much more realistic character than many other such characters in the genre (which is all good), but when it comes right down to it, I didn’t enjoy the time I spent with him. Thus, I just didn’t much enjoy the book.

It did have a lot of dry wit and humour in it. It did have an interesting crew and a lot of action and adventure. The writing was tight, if occasionally a bit repetitive. So, there is plenty to like here for another reader. But for me it was all overshadowed by my dislike of Frey (and by extension his treatment/the book’s representation of women).

When I checked this book out of the library, I also got the sequel (The Black Lung Captain) but I don’t think I’ll bother reading it. And that probably tells you as much as anything about where I stand on this book.

Edit: I’d like to link readers to this review. It highlights the thoughts I was too lazy to pull together beautifully.

An Airship Named Desire

Book Review of An Airship Named Desire, by Katherine McIntyre

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An Airship Named DesireQuite some times ago, Katherine McIntyre sent me a copy of her novel An Airship Named Desire for review. I’ve also seen it on the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
Ever since their last botched smuggling job, First Mate Bea and the crew of her airship can barely afford fuel, let alone a barrel of grog. So, when a gentleman from Old Germany offers them a fortune to steal a locked box from a British merchant airship, they jump at the opportunity. Somehow, though, their employer forgot to mention the box’s military escort, and the Morlock mercenaries who would kill to get their hands on it. Oh, and that if made public, the contents could engulf Europe in another devastating war. 

Stealing the box was the easy part. Now, with a target on their back, and some of the toughest characters in the sky after them, they have to find a way to survive. If the crew of the Desire don’t polish their pistols and prepare for a hell of a fight, they’ll end up worse than grounded. After all, everyone from the Brits to the Morlocks will kill for the contents of that box, and no one survives an airship crash.

 Review:
This was basically all right, but not overly satisfying. As action packed as it was it tended toward simplistic solutions to problems. For example, the time the crew managed to guess the three-digit combination to a box they knew nothing about (on the first try even). Hell, half the time I can’t even figure out my own locker combination, let alone a combination set by an unknown person, for an unknown purpose. So, yeah, sometimes things worked out a little too easily, but it was also a fun romp.

However, all that action comes at a price. This book starts with it and it never abates. And while that’s exciting it leaves no time to slow down and get to know the characters or the world. I really felt this lack of depth. I also thought it was a bit predictable and the open ending (not a cliffhanger per se, but not all questions answered) chaffed a bit.

All in all, if you’re looking for some airship fluff that doesn’t require much mental participation this will do the trick. It’s a fun but shallow read.