Tag Archives: fantasy

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Book Review: Sairō’s Claw, by Virginia McClain

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I received a copy of Virginia McClain‘s Sairō’s Claw as part of Storytellers On Tour‘s book tour when it was promoed on Sadie’s Spotlight.

Sairo's Claw

Sairō’s Claw
by Virginia McClain
Series: Gensokai Kaigai (#1), Chronicles of Gensokai (#3)
Published: May 7, 2021
Genre: Fantasy, Action-Adventure, LGBTQ, Seafaring Adventure Fantasy,
Samurai-inspired Fantasy
Pages: 471
CW: Violence

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Blurb:

An action-adventure fantasy romp featuring sword lesbians, sea battles, and a grumpy wolf spirit.

Torako has done many things to protect the valley that she calls home, but she’s never looted a corpse before. So when the katana she steals off the still-cooling body of a bandit turns out to be possessed by a grumpy wolf kami, she can only assume it’s because she’s somehow angered the spirits. An impression that’s only reinforced when she returns home to find her wife abducted and her daughter in hiding. But angry spirits or no, Torako isn’t about to let bandits run off with the love of her life, even if it means taking their 3 year old on a rescue mission.

In all Kaiyo’s years as Captain of the Wind Serpent she has never once questioned her admiral’s orders. So when she receives the command to abduct a civilian scribe with the help of fifteen felons, she registers her objections, but does as she is bid. Yet, as the mission unfolds, Kaiyo finds herself questioning everything from her loyalties to her convictions.

As Torako and Kaiyo’s fates cross like dueling blades, their persistence is matched only by their fury, until they uncover a series of truths they may never be ready to accept.

Goodreads / Amazon /
Bookshop (Hardcover) / Bookshop (Paperback)

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My Review:

I generally enjoyed this and have many good things to say about it. But let me get the grumble out of the way first. This is labeled (Gensokai Kaigai #1). But what it very clearly is is book one of a spin-off of Chronicles of Gensokai. I say “clearly,” not only because I’ve looked it up and know, but because the book felt, almost start to finish, like a spin-off of something else.

I don’t actually think this was meant to be hidden knowledge (which I do sometimes think when I find myself in this position), but I mention it because I would not suggest reading this without having read the Chronicles of Gensokai first. It’s followable, but I definitely feel like I missed something because I did.

sairos clawOk, with that out of the way, lets get to all of the ways I loved this book. McClain can write. I mean really write. The text is clean and easy to read from the first page to the last. The characters are fun and there’s quite a lot of subtle humor involved. If I had any talent at drawing I would create fan art of Torako and Tanaka. Plus, the book is just fun and full of a fairly diverse cast.

I did think the child needed to be a little older than 3-years-old to be believable, five maybe. She’s too articulate and focused for a 3yo, even an exceptionally talented one. The two arcs of the story are such that the book feels like two separate stories, rather than two parts of the same one. The book basically starts with Kaiyo’s character. But Torako, who is the first person named in the blurb (who’s name is, in fact, the first word of the blurb) doesn’t show up until page 129. That’s a long time to go before meeting a main character. The book felt like Kaiyo’s book up until that point. Then it felt like Torako’s for a while, and then Kaiyos. Both plots were interesting, but they didn’t feel like part of the same work until near the very end.

I liked the book, though I was confused at times due to not having read Blade’s Edge and Traitor’s Hope. I’d be interested in going back and reading them and I think I accidentally own one other unrelated McClain book. Since I now know I like her writing style, I might just move it up the TBR.

Author Info:

Virginia McClain is an author who masqueraded as a language teacher for a decade or so. When she’s not reading or writing she can generally be found playing outside with her four legged adventure buddy and the tiny human she helped to build from scratch. She enjoys climbing to the top of tall rocks, running through deserts, mountains, and woodlands, and carrying a foldable home on her back whenever she gets a chance. She’s also fond of word games, and writing descriptions of herself that are needlessly vague.

Virginia McClain
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Book Review: Fool Moon, by Jim Butcher

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I borrowed an audio copy of Jim Butcher‘s Fool Moon through my local library. I do actually have a paperback copy of the book, but borrowing the audio allowed me to listen while I did other things; multi-tasking to the max.

fool moon

Harry Dresden–Wizard

Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn’t been able to dredge up any kind of work–magical or mundane.

But just when it looks like he can’t afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.

A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses–and the first two don’t count…

my review

I love urban fantasy. I love to see magic-wielding people slinging power around in modern settings. But I have learned to avoid male wizards. Think Iron Druid, Harry Dresden, Nate Temple, etc. I seem to generally have the same problem with too many of them. As such, I tend to read the first in these series, to test them out, and then abandoned them.

However, I was at the store the other day wearing a shirt that said, “I ❤ books.” The girl at the register commented on it and thus followed an excited conversation about which books I read. (I think she must lack in book-friends, the poor dear.) She strongly recommended Sarah J. Mass and the Dresden Files, promising both series get better the farther into them you go. (As an aside, Throne of Glass is another series I read the first of and never came back to.) But on the strength of fervor alone, I decided to give the second Dresden Files book a chance.

And I will admit that I liked Fool Moon more than Storm Front (which I somehow seem not to have reviewed, but gave 3*).  I liked it more than I liked Hounded (2*), and at least I finished it, which is more than I can say for Obsidian Son (1*).  But I had the same problem with it that I do so many urban fantasies, written about male protagonist, by men. The women. OMG, the women! Or, maybe I should call it the male gaze on the women.

Butcher literally tells the reader how good the legs of the werewolf trying to kill Harry are, as she tries to kill him. This just after she strips off her shirt to shift and he tell us how big her tits are. Just about every single scene with a female in it, regardless of context, includes a comment on her body. It gets so redundant, until I spend half the book anxiously waiting for the next irritant. I don’t care about her erect nipples or how big her tits are in the middle of a fight. I care how big her claws are and if she’s going to use them to gut someone. But really, it’s the needless repetition of it all, like a woman can’t even be mentioned without her body being described in the same manner as the room EVERY SINGLE TIME.

And the honest truth is that Butcher might not be as bad about it as some authors are. But when a reader has been so irritated with the frequency of encountering something that they go into a book or series expecting it and then find it, the level of irritation comes with all the history of the genre. it’s a collective annoyance. And I side-eye every book about male wizards now, especially those written by men.

Beyond the male gaze issue, I didn’t hate it. I liked the rest of the book. I really appreciate that Harry his tough as nails, but still cries and admits to fear. I’m interested in seeing what develops about his ancestry and the mystery surrounding his parents. I think I’ll continue the series. But I can’t see it being a favorite. Credit where credit is due, though, I probably wouldn’t have picked this book up at all, and decided to keep with the series, if it wasn’t for check-out girl.

Quick comment on the narration. James Marsters does a fine job with it, EXCEPT that he audibly swallows constantly.

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death before dragons

Book Review: Death Before Dragons series, by Lindsay Buroker

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I consider this a little less than ideal. I read Lindsay Buroker‘s Mist and Magic and Sinister Magic. I picked them up as Amazon freebies. Then, I borrowed Battle Bond, Tangled Truths, Elven Doom, The Forbidden Ground, False Security, and Storm Forged from Hoopla in audio format. However, I listened to them while traveling. I didn’t have easy access to my computer to write individual reviews ,as I finished each one, which is my preference. So, I’m going to write a single review for the whole series (or at least book .5 through book 6, which is as far as I got). This isn’t how I usually like to do things, but such is life sometimes.

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I’m Val Thorvald, and I’m an assassin.

When magical bad guys hurt people, I take care of them. Permanently.

This doesn’t make me popular with the rest of the magical community—as you can tell from the numerous break-ins and assassination attempts I’ve endured over the years. But thanks to my half-elven blood, a powerful sword named Chopper, and a telepathic tiger with an attitude, I’ve always been able to handle my problems with aplomb. Maybe some cursing and swearing, too, but definitely aplomb.

my review

I’ve read several of Buroker’s books by now and enjoyed them all. The Death Before Dragons series is no exception. I really liked Val and her sarcasm, especially when she bantered with Willard. I loved that she was over 40, even if the fact that she didn’t look it kind of made it only half as satisfying as it would be to have a 40yo heroine who looked her age too. I adored that Val was biologically a mother, but not maternal or raising her child. This is a reality authors very rarely allow female characters, especially ones we’re supposed to like. I appreciate the diversity of the cast. And each of the books wrapped up nicely, which I prefer over an overarching plot where you have to read the whole series to get any conclusive satisfaction. All in all, I would be happy to continue the series.

I did have a few complaints. Some of the humor was over the top silly at times. There was a running joke about the shoes the hero wore and if they made him look gay or not, which trod a little too close to a gay joke for my taste (pun intended). This was somewhat mitigated by a loved and important gay character (who wasn’t cliched). But it shouldn’t be a tit for tat situation. Similarly, Val’s refusal to learn to pronounce the dragons’ names was a sign of rebellion, but it also reminded me a lot of Westerners who can learn to pronounce Dostoevsky but not names from the African continent. Uncomfortably close to a problem, close enough to recognize, but not quite there.

Lastly, I liked Zav and appreciated him as a love interest, but I never truly felt the passion. There was only one sex scene and it was fade to black, so I suppose passion wasn’t the point. But I might have liked to feel the love more strongly.

I stopped at book six because that’s the last the library had. But if I came across book 7 I’d happily read it. But I’m not sad to have a break here either.