Tag Archives: fantasy

Book Review of Conquered (Kivronian Vampires #1), by Sandy L. Rowland

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ConqueredAt some point, quite some time ago, I downloaded Sandy L. Rowland‘s book, Conquered, from the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
Claiming a mate on conquered Earth is driving alien vampire, Rafe, insane…literally.

He’s lost his comrade to madness and has sworn against suffering the same fate. Time is out for the ruler of the western quadrant and any female will do.

Spunky reporter, Pepper Morgan, has lost friends, her mother, and a fiance to the devastating plague that ravished Earth before the vampires subjugated them. Desperate to reunite with her captured father, she throws herself on Rafe’s mercy.

Now, Rafe and Pepper find themselves bound by more than desperation and blood, but also by secrets that have the power to enslave humanity and threaten vampire survival. Can they overcome their inner demons and learn to trust each other, before it’s too late?

Review:     **spoiler warning**
We are not amused.

While the mechanical writing and editing in this book were fine, I found almost all aspects of the story, plot, characters and world disappointing. First, we had a Mary Sue who is chosen to mate the über sexy vampire because she was different, a special little snowflake unlike all the other vapid, beautiful women. Arghh, so cliché.

Next, we had a woman who in two weeks goes from not liking the vampire who is consistently an ass to her, to being in love. Then we had her developing a special power out of nowhere and somehow learning to use it in almost no time at all. We had baddies who conveniently leave doors unlocked and chains removed to allow for escape and miraculous recoveries. Not to mention, most of the events in the book came down to avoidable miscommunication or lack of communication. None of this is good, as far as I’m concerned.

But worst of all, the whole premise of the book made no sense to me. Somehow her love was going to keep him from going insane, because at a thousand years old vampires go crazy if he’s not mated. But first they had to be betrothed for exactly a month and if they had sex before that they’d both go crazy. Um, exactly what biological mechanism was keeping track of time and how exactly did his body know she loved him? I mean, what was causing this change. I get the theme, but it made no sense.

Speaking of biology, how exactly does an alien race evolve to need human blood to survive? I mean, what did they do before they came to earth? Seems like that would be an important piece of world-building, but it’s not addressed.

I probably could have just suspended my disbelief and rolled with it if I hadn’t found the style so infuriating. It’s repetitive, the reader is told the same things over and over, and it’s almost all exposition, internal thoughts and mental planning. This means that very, very little actually happened in the book, because the action is CONSTANTLY being stopped for the narrator to explain what the characters are thinking or feeling or planning to do. It really felt like one small step forward, stop and explain, one small step forward, stop and explain, one small step forward, <i>ad infinitum</i>. If you break it all down almost nothing actually happening in this book and what action there is is all in the last 10%.

That last 10% also introduced a new character and the idea that vampires could be made as well as born, which hadn’t been mentioned once the whole book. I mean, if you can make vampire, why is there the chronic lack of females? Why not just make some? This is an unaddressed issue or inconsistency. As is, for example, the fact that somehow the baddie never faced insanity if he didn’t wait the required 30 days before raping his bride.

All in all, it’s an interesting idea, but poorly executed. The author spent far too much time telling us things we should have been shown. There are also a lot of threads left open, I assume for a sequel.

The Shadow Revolution

Book Review of The Shadow Revolution (Crown & Key #1), by Clay & Susan Griffith

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The Shadow RevolutionI received a copy of The Shadow Revolution, by Susan and Clay Griffith from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
They are the realm’s last, best defense against supernatural evil. But they’re going to need a lot more silver.
 
As fog descends, obscuring the gas lamps of Victorian London, werewolves prowl the shadows of back alleys. But they have infiltrated the inner circles of upper-crust society as well. Only a handful of specially gifted practitioners are equipped to battle the beasts. Among them are the roguish Simon Archer, who conceals his powers as a spell-casting scribe behind the smooth veneer of a dashing playboy; his layabout mentor, Nick Barker, who prefers a good pub to thrilling heroics; and the self-possessed alchemist Kate Anstruther, who is equally at home in a ballroom as she is on a battlefield.
 
After a lycanthrope targets Kate’s vulnerable younger sister, the three join forces with fierce Scottish monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane—but quickly discover they’re dealing with a threat far greater than anything they ever imagined.

Review:
Really quite enjoyable. There was a lot of action here and two subtle romantic subplots…ok, one subtle romantic subplot and one hint at a future subtle romantic subplot. Either way, I liked knowing it was there but having it never come to the fore. I liked that the women were strong, ingenuitive, action-takers and I liked that the men let them be agents of their own destiny, never insisting they stay behind where they’d be safe and protected.

I suppose I could argue that this same acceptance and admiration for Kate and Penny’s outspoken, take charge attitudes (not to mention the women’s behaviours itself) was completely anachronistic to the Victorian setting, But since I enjoyed it, I’m willing to roll with the inference that since they’re all outsiders of one sort or another that explains it. It doesn’t really, but I’ll take it.

The book did get bogged down in endless fighting at times. I’ve no problem with violence or even gore, but at times it went on so long it began to feel redundant. Along the same line, there seemed to be an endless supply of mindlessly violent werewolves to fight through, despite being told they were rare. Which also led me to wonder why it was only little Charlotte who wasn’t in a beserker rage and therefore available and willing to side with and assist the ‘good guys.’

All-in-all, a fun start to a new series that I’ll be more than happy to continue.

King's Raven

Book Review of King’s Raven (Harper Errant #2), by Maggie Secara

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King's RavenQuite a long time ago (cringe), Maggie Secara sent me e-copies of The Dragon Ring and King’s Raven, book 1 & 2 of her Harper Errant series. I read/reviewed The Dragon Ring, but never got around to reading King’s Raven, until now.

Description from Goodreads:
The heart of Faerie is the heart of the world.

While Oberon, immortal king of Faerie, lies under a terrible curse, the artistic spirit in the world is slipping away. The King’s Raven would do anything to lift the spell, if only it hadn’t also stripped him of his magic and flung him into an iron-bound past with a damaged memory.

The only thing that can save them both is sealed inside a riddle wrapped in a puzzle that spans the centuries. Even with the help of an Elizabethan magus, a Victorian spinster, and a mad reporter, can mortal musician Ben Harper find Raven in time to solve the riddle, stop a witch, and restore the creative heart of the world?

Review:
This is one of those books that was well written, probably well researched (I don’t know the subject well enough to know, but it feels right), and well edited but not a real hit with me. I mean I liked it. I still very much enjoyed Raven. I still appreciated Ben and I still thought their dynamic was fun. I still liked the creative side characters and the way things tied together. So, there is no argument that this is a good book.

Stylistically, however, it didn’t click with me. There is a lot of hopping back and forward in time and between characters and this is a technique that crawls under my skin and chafes. I don’t enjoy it. So, unfortunately my basic enjoyment of the story was compromised. It made the book feel overly long, I think.

Other than that one complaint (which is based on my personal preference) I have no reservations about recommending this book to fantasy readers. It’s well worth picking up, though I recommend reading The Dragon’s Ring first.