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Hearing the Ankou's Cart

Book Review of J. Allan Anderson’s Hearing the Ankou’s Cart

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I picked up Hearing the Ankou’s Cart from the Amazon KDP list.

Description from Goodreads:
Is a second chance to live merely a second chance to die?

Pilot First Class Sybilla Koenraad believes so. During a disastrous rescue operation on Venus, she had been killed by the planet’s brutally hostile atmosphere, but Commander Galatin Forbes refused to let death keep her. Now her life has veered off onto a course she never chose, taking her to places she never thought of going. From her bizarre ‘captivity’ in a Russian dacha, to a frontier star system, and beyond to the farthest reach of Human exploration, she feels fate itself plotting to throw her back into death’s hungry grip. This time, however, she doubts even the resourceful and unconventional Commander Forbes will be able to save her.

For the message rings clear, over and over, within her nightmares turned strange by forces she does not understand: “Turn back from the star. Death awaits”.

Review:

Hearing the Ankou’s Cart is an awesome read if you like futuristic, space-based Sci-Fi. It is full of bright, full-blooded characters, human drama, Machiavellian corporate governments, mysterious enemies with questionable intents, and well thought out tech. I especially enjoyed this last aspect. It was easy to visualise how things worked. 

Galant’s puppy-dog style over protectiveness was only improved by his ceaseless bravery. My heart went out to him more times than I could count. I also share a bit of his fear/respect of Murphy and could readily relate to this facet of his personality. The last thing I want is for my life to get too interesting. This is actually a bit of a mantra in my household. 

Sybilla, on the other hand, often berated herself for cowardice I never saw. While she had almost no people skills she had enough courage and dogged determination to get things done…no matter how many times, or how badly she screwed them up the first time. I completely respect that. Her mangled English gave her a definite character trait, but it also left her feeling a little child-like. 

I did feel like the book wrapped up a little too quickly and left a little too much opening in the end. I could easily see there being a follow-up in some distant future, though it is certainly a stand alone book. I highly recommend it. 

I read it in ebook format and had a lot of trouble with the book itself. Roughly every third page (sometimes more frequently) it jumped to the end of the book or to some random future page. It was a lot like having someone constantly loosing your place for you. It got really frustrating. Unsure if the problem was with the book, Amazon, or my actual device I went to far as to cold boot my kindle and twice delete the book and downloaded it fresh from Amazon in an attempt to fix the problem. I never managed for revolve the issue. I just made a point to always know my page/location. This definitely detracted from the reading experience. But the fact that I persevered despite the challenge of constantly having to relocate my page speaks volumes for the quality of the story. I wanted to know what happened no matter what. I even went to far as to track down a prequel short story (Hellblazer) to garner a little more insight into the characters and story. 

Book Review of Elaine Corvidae’s The Sorceress’s Orc

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I grabbed Elaine Corvidae‘s The Sorceress’s Orc off of the KDP free list. I’m so glad I did.

Description from Goodreads:

Giavolo: proudest of the city-states and home to the great university, where the Magical Sciences are taught alongside more mundane studies. The city has been at war for longer than any of its inhabitants have been alive.

Giavolo: proudest of the city-states and home to the great university, where the Magical Sciences are taught alongside more mundane studies. The city has been at war for longer than any of its inhabitants have been alive.

Vervain: Mistress of the Magical Sciences, she is dismayed to find herself assigned a bodyguard after divination reveals an ill-defined threat to the university’s teachers. Even worse, the bodyguard is an orc.

Riyu: Vervain’s orc bodyguard is determined to save her life—if she’ll let him.

Brighthand: When this sinister figure attacks the university and kidnaps Vervain’s partner, it’s up to Vervain and Riyu to get him back…or die in the attempt.

Review:

This is the first book by Elaine Corvidae that I have ever read. I am definitely a new fan. I loved, loved, loved this story. It’s not often that I all out rave about a book, but this one deserves all of the praise I can lavish on it. Vervain was a sharp tonged professor of the Magical sciences with a razor wit and a scathing attitude. I loved her. She let off some zingers that kept me laughing. She reminds me of what I imagine Minerva McGonagall would be like if she never got flustered and got frustrated enough to speak her mind. Vervain had that same kind of dedicated academic spinster feel to her. But she never held back, not in her words, deeds, or feelings. She spoke her mind, did what she felt was right, and followed her heart at all costs. How could I not love her?

Then there was Riyu…SWOON! I never would have expected myself to fall in love with an orc, but I just couldn’t help it. He was marvellous, calm, loyal, dedicated, built (if a little green and tusky), gentle and soft-spoken, despite his capacity for violence and accepting of his situation. My heart broke for him a little when he related himself to the male in the tale of the Storm Witch. The interaction between him and Vervain was priceless. Corvidae really managed to provide a lot of information about his mood or true feelings through subtle hints such as the position of his ears and such. It made him feel very expressive, even if he didn’t actually say much.

There were a few areas that I would have like explored a bit more. What happened to Cardamom or was there an significance to the earrings Riyu wore,  for example? It makes me wish for a continuation of the story. But really I’m thrilled that it is a stand alone book. Everything I read lately seems to be part of a series. It is refreshing to finish a book and story at the same page. I will DEFINITELY be checking out more books by this author.

Book Review of Marie Harte’s Tip of the Spear

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I grabbed Marie Harte‘s novel, Tip of the Spear from the Amazon KDP free list recently. Who wouldn’t want to read something called an Amazon Western? It could have been anything and I was intrigued from the get go.

Description from Goodreads:

After people polluted the planet beyond recognition, the sky rocks came and reduced the world to rubble. Yet mankind refused to die, and the world was reborn. Welcome to the New West, where the Nature Laws rule.

1. Procreation is necessary, not optional
2. Women are a precious commodity
3. Harm the earth, lose your life
4. If it can eat you, it will

Welcome to the New West, where the Nature Laws dictate who lives and dies by the way they treat the land, carnivorous horses and blood trees are accepted mutations courtesy of the sky rocks, and the Impact Zone separates the earth-friendly territories of the West from a more sophisticated, steam-powered East. Women are rare commodities, living in extended families with more than one husband, and children are a necessity in a world where sterility is often the norm, not the exception. Life is full of challenge, romance and adventure. Something one courageous, wounded Amazon will find out first-hand.

Thais (Tay-iss) lost her mother, her queen, and most of her tribe at the hands of brutal foreigners, all while she enjoyed a respite from duty. But the young Amazon with vengeance in her heart refuses to lose anything else. She’ll bring back the queen’s stolen crown or die trying. Life in the Territories has its perils: the Nature Laws, carnivorous beasts, and treacherous men who survived the Time of Dying. One man in particular, a warrior in his own right, has an odd effect on her senses. She comes to desire him, to trust him, and she doesn’t like it. Men are good for war and breeding, neither of which Thais has time for, not when she’s so close to finding those responsible for the crown’s theft. In the course of her quest, Thais finds much more than atonement for her troubled past, but a pure and lasting love, if only she has the courage to accept it.

Review:

I’m really torn about how I feel about this book. On one hand I really liked the story and the characters. Thais was strong and independent. I loved every one of the Dakota clan and the bad guys were all suitably evil in their own unique ways. I even appreciated the dystopian world building that Harte did. The environment was distorted and appropriately foreign, while still being geographically recognisable.

However, on the other hand, I had a really hard time actually reading the book. I’m not a prude and I like a smouldering sex scene as well as the next reader. Hell, that’s why I picked up a book by Harte in the first place. But while I get that this is a predominantly male, post-apocalyptic culture and language may have taken a resultant nose dive, the language in the book is really coarse. I mean like “I want to fuck you,” “fill you pussy,” “pound your cunt,” kind of crude (even when speaking to women who are apparently adored). What one likes or dislikes is, of course, an individual preference. For me this was not sexy, not sexy at all. It grated on my nerves endlessly that a strong Amazonian woman would allow herself to be spoken to in such a degrading manner, even if she didn’t really know any better.

Further, before reading the book, the synopsis’ rule number 2 (Women are a precious commodity.) made me think women might have a respected place in this society. That’s actually a large part of why I chose to read the book now instead of letting it rest in the TBR list. I was disappointed. They were almost exclusively raped, shared, or whored. Unfortunately rule number 1 (Procreation is necessary, not optional.) might better read, sex is necessary, not optional. Women really didn’t have a choice in the matter. Every single one of them felt like a sexual victim.

Now, there was plenty of sex to be had here, but there was plot too. So while I was uncomfortable with Hinto’s language and the treatment of women in general there was quite a lot I liked about this book too. Hinto, was pretty darned sexy (pending he kept his mouth shut). He was big, strong, talented, kind, honorable, and falling hard for the girl whose independence he respected (even as his actions sought to hobble her). His internal dialogue as he tried to come to terms with his own complicated feelings for Thais were the best part of the book, followed closely by his interactions with his family. I also liked Beast a lot. You wouldn’t expect a ‘horse’ to have much of a role to play, but he did.

There was a general theme of loyalty and the importance of honour and duty. This is something I always enjoy in a book. Tip of the Spear didn’t disappoint in this regard. Those who were honourable took their responsibilities seriously. How could you ever fault someone for that? This extended to the importance of bearing children. I liked that the men were all really excited about the thought of fostering offspring. Sexy daddies…yum. 

I wish the next book (Bite of the Blade) was out. I’d give it a read. Once I’ve walked away from the series, however, I seriously doubt I’ll ever remember to look for it again. Oh well, my loss I guess.