Tag Archives: fantasy

Irons in the Fire

Book Review of Irons in the Fire (Chronicles of Talis, #1), by Antonio Urias

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Irons in the FireAuthor, Antonio Urias sent me a copy of his novel Irons in the Fire for review.

Description from Goodreads:
The City of Talis is a fragile beacon of civilization on the edge of the Faërie Lands. Beyond lies a wilder world of dark enchantments and terrible wonders, but behind the city walls humans and faëries live together in uneasy peace—until an explosion rocks the city and long smoldering tensions threaten to ignite. 

As the Commandant of Police, Baron Hessing has maintained stability for decades. But with a murderer on the loose, an anarchist bombing the city, and rumors of a faërie uprising, he is starting to loose control. Hessing finds himself caught in a web of interlocking conspiracies and he may need to choose between saving his city or his family. 

Into this maelstrom appears the Countess. Trained from birth for a single purpose—vengeance—suddenly she’s everywhere from secret catacombs to the halls of power. Beset by enemies on all sides, it will take all her training to succeed in a city on the brink of revolution. Plans are in motion centuries in the making that will change the fate of Talis forever. 

Review:
This was almost a winner for me. It had an interesting world, interesting characters, a convoluted plot, and people/fairies doing things for deeply personal reasons. And for the most part, outside of some repetition, the writing was very readable. It could have been really really good. Instead, it was ok.

There were several reasons for this. One, there were about 4 billion characters, each with a plot thread of their own. It was too much and became confusing. Two, the narratives, from all these characters’ perspectives were often provided to the reader in very brief snippets. At one point we got about a page of one character getting sea sick and then jumped away again. It was jarring and not a particularly engaging way to read a story. (It made the book feel very long.) Lastly, the book, with all its many many plot points doesn’t wrap up. So, you’ve been presented with multiple mysteries, none of which are solved. This is a BIG no-no for me.

All in all, it has some fun fantasy characters and the beginning of what will probably be an intriguing storyline 1,000 pages from now. If you’re willing to commit to the long haul it’s worth picking up. I don’t know that I am.

stygian

Book Review of Stygian, by Santino Hassell

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StygianI bought a copy of Stygian, by Santino Hassell.

Description from Goodreads:
Jeremy has been isolated and adrift since the death of his brother. Most people just see him as the skinny emo kid who wears eyeliner and plays drums. No one gets him. Nobody tries. He thought the indie rock band Stygian would become his anchor, but—lost in their own problems—they’re far from the family he sought.

Still, hoping to get close to Kennedy, the band’s enigmatic guitarist, he follows Stygian to northern Louisiana for a summer retreat. They had planned to spend six weeks focusing on new music, but things go awry as soon as they arrive at the long-deserted Caroway mansion. Tempers flare, sexual tension boils over into frustration, and Jeremy turns away from the band to find a friend in his eerily beautiful landlord Hunter Caroway.

Kennedy suspects there’s something off about the creepy mansion and its mysterious owners, but Jeremy thinks he’s finally found somewhere he fits. It isn’t until Kennedy forces the Caroways’ secrets into the light that Jeremy realizes belonging sometimes comes with a price.

Review:
This one ticked a lot of boxes for me. I have come to love Hassell’s writing style and his basic….I don’t know what to call it, tone maybe. Just the way everything I’ve read by him, regardless of the genre, has a certain feel to it that I love. It’s gritty. It’s real. It’s maybe even a little nihilistic. It pretends happily ever after can’t exist, even if a character gets it in the end. Maybe you’d have to read his stuff for that to make sense.

In Stygian, Hassell has created a host of seemingly unlikable characters. I mean all of these guys repelled me at some point, some so much I didn’t think they’d be redeemable. But Hassell pulled that off too. The whole thing is as creepy and atmospheric as you’d expect a gothic style, Southern horror novel to be, with a villain that’s maybe a little more complex than first appearances suggest.

My only real complaints are that the narrative is a little conversational at times and I didn’t really feel the connection between Kennedy and Jeremy. A lot of it is pre-existing, based on events prior to the time frame of the novel. I definitely felt what Hassell is doing here, but I had to just take his word for it. As much as I liked Kennedy and Jeremy (and I did), the strength of emotion seemed sudden. (Though some of this feeling was ameliorated after reading the prequels.)

Lastly, there had better be a sequel or I may have to go a little Annie Wilkes on Hassell. (Ok, not really, but please be a sequel.)

As an additional bonus, if you read the book and want more, there are two prequels available. One from Dreamspinner (Feeling You) and one posted on Binge on Books (A Night in the Life). And though not quite out at the time of this posting, I’m told there will also be a Stygian related story in the free anthology Lead Me Into Darkness.

Book Review of Bloodshot & Hellbent (Cheshire Red Reports #1 & 2), by Cherie Priest

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I picked Bloodshot and Hellbent (by Cherie Priest) up from my local library.

BloodshotDescription from Goodreads:
Raylene Pendle (AKA Cheshire Red), a vampire and world-renowned thief, doesn’t usually hang with her own kind. She’s too busy stealing priceless art and rare jewels. But when the infuriatingly charming Ian Stott asks for help, Raylene finds him impossible to resist—even though Ian doesn’t want precious artifacts. He wants her to retrieve missing government files—documents that deal with the secret biological experiments that left Ian blind. What Raylene doesn’t bargain for is a case that takes her from the wilds of Minneapolis to the mean streets of Atlanta. And with a psychotic, power-hungry scientist on her trail, a kick-ass drag queen on her side, and Men in Black popping up at the most inconvenient moments, the case proves to be one hell of a ride. 

Review:
A fun, if shallow read. I enjoyed Raylene’s OCD self-identified craziness. I loved the drag queen side kick and I thoroughly enjoyed that the vampire love interests was a little broken and vulnerable—no alpha a-holes here.

It was a little on the predictable side and the writing was nothing extraordinary (though perfectly readable). Basically, the book was a fun fluffy vampire read.

HellbentDescription from Goodreads:
Vampire thief Raylene Pendle doesn’t need more complications in her life. Her Seattle home is already overrun by a band of misfits, including Ian Stott, a blind vampire, and Adrian deJesus, an ex-Navy SEAL/drag queen. But Raylene still can’t resist an old pal’s request: seek out and steal a bizarre set of artifacts. Also on the hunt is a brilliant but certifiably crazy sorceress determined to stomp anyone who gets in her way. But Raylene’s biggest problem is that the death of Ian’s vaunted patriarch appears to have made him the next target of some blood-sucking sociopaths.  Now Raylene must snatch up the potent relics, solve a murder, and keep Ian safe—all while fending off a psychotic sorceress. But at least she won’t be alone. A girl could do a lot worse for a partner than an ass-kicking drag queen—right?

Review:
Another fluffy, easy read. As in the first book, I liked Raylene’s OCDness and the way she was just so matter of fact about it. I liked her side kick. I liked her family-building, as well as the fact that romance is hinted at but never becomes part of the story. I also liked the writing and narrative style, which is surprising as it’s first person and I generally don’t like first person. I did think this one came across as a little juvenile. Mostly because Raylene was tasked with hunting down baculum, which requires 14 thousand references to penis bones and the likes. It because apparent that this was there for comic effect, but it also made me feel like a 15-year-old would have appreciated it more. Despite that, if there were a 3rd book I’d pick it up.