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Tribari Freedom Chronicles

Book Reviews: Tribari Freedom Chronicles, by Rachel Ford

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I picked up freebie Audible codes for Rachel Ford‘s Tribari Freedom Chronicles somewhere around the internet.

The Tribari Freedom Chronicles

catalyst rachel fordCatalyst: For a week, Brek Trigan has left behind the frigid nights and icy days of life on the mining colony he calls home. He’s on holiday to his ancestral planet, and he finds a sparkling, welcoming world of riches and warmth.

But the longer he remains, the more he begins to see cracks in the glistening façade. When civil unrest erupts, Brek’s plans for a peaceful getaway are dashed. Suddenly he’s drawn into a conflict that will change the fate of his people, whether he wants to be or no

Review:

An easily readable, but fairly predictable short story illustrating the evils of capitalism and corporatism. When I finished it, I was curious if it would tie into the rest of the series or if it would be a stand-alone. As it turns out, it does tie it, FYI.

uprisingUprising: A daughter of Grand Contributors. The wife of a reformer. A woman caught between worlds.

Nikia Idan was raised in the glimmering spheres of society’s elite, but she traded it all for the love of a man who wants to change the Tribari empire. Her new reality is harsher than she ever imagined it could be.

When her husband’s push for reform is met with brutal violence, her worlds will collide with a force that will either break her – or the system that brought her to the point of breaking.

Review:

Soooooo, this is basically Black Lives Matter in space. As I see it, the Tribari represent black Americans, Grel the protest organizers, Nikia and her parents the ‘nice white people,’ her brother and the other Contributors the rest of white America, the Protectors the police, Elgan and his crew the National Guard (or the ones we wish we had). And while one could argue this represents the generalized fight for social justice and reform, rather than a specific set of events, written in 2019 I can only truly believe the book’s plot is drawn from widely the reported  Black Lives Matter movements. The events of the book aren’t just about oppression and fighting against it, they could literally have been lifted from recent newspapers. It’s all very familiar.

Placing real events in fictional settings can often be an effective way to make a point, bringing people into the lesson. Make a parable of it, if you will. Ford certainly wouldn’t be the first to do it. But I also have to admit that I found it a little tactless to trawl something so recent (current), and that many are STILL hurting from to craft a story. Especially since the heroes here seem to be the ‘nice white lady’ and a national guardsman. (I mean, they’re not actually white. They’re blue-blooded, multi-colored eyed aliens on a distant planet. But they still represent recognizable factions.) So, it feels a little like white savior-ism to top it all off.

I went back and forwards about whether to make this point at all. I support the BLM movements and appreciate anything that might help readers understand the social situation in America. (And I acknowledge the possibility that I’m simply wrong in my assertion.) But it comes down to who gets to profit off of particular stories, if in fact this is based on the recent events in American policing and governance. I don’t feel I’m the person to make such a determination (that would be stepping far outside my own lane), but I also didn’t want to leave out what was, in fact, my primary impression while listening to the book (how familiar it all felt). So, all I’m doing here is noting the similarities between the book and recent(ish) events, and I’ll let others make their own judgement.

None of the above was helped by the fact that the Tribari are supposed to be aliens. They have their own gods and religions, humanoid but not human bodies (again, they’re blue, have blue blood and eyes that change colors depending on moods), different monetary systems, etc. But so much of the world building is just cut and paste from real life. Oil is still paramount, oligarchies still rule, oppression takes the same recognizable forms, public treatment of abortion and abortion clinics are identical, mores feel familiar, as does language. At one point someone yells “Amen” to agree with a speaker. So much familiarity in what is supposed to be alien only reinforced my feeling that this is a thinly veiled version of reality.

I’m hoping the next book moves closer to fiction and the source material a little less apparent. Outside that, I like the characters, the writing is fine and the narrator is doing a good job.

liberation rachel fordLiberation: A mutineer fleet commander. An abandoned miner. A reformer’s widow. A convicted Protector.

Four destinies. One empire.

From the frozen prison planets to the glistening streets of Central, corruption and cruelty is tearing the Tribari Empire apart. Four unlikely heroes find themselves on a collision course as they work to save their worlds. If they can’t find a way to bridge their differences, there may be no empire left to protect.

Review:

I both liked this book better than the previous one and thought it naive in the extreme. I also felt my initial ‘this is just reality with a filter’ even more strongly than before. Here we moved away from the persecution of the people and on to the revolution. However, it has to be the most limpid revolution ever. The ‘nice white lady’ (as I deemed Nikia in my previous review) makes some rousing speeches, goes about being as pure and innocent as snow, and inspires everyone with her mere presence. Then, sets out to create a perfect socialist utopia that even Bernie Sanders would sign off on. Thus she saves all the poor oppressed people, while somehow still maintaining that her elitist ruling-class family is somehow innocent in it all. (It’s all very familiar.)

Do I sound like I’m rolling my eyes? I was rolling my eyes. I don’t know why it irritates me so much. I think it’s just that it feels discordant, close to real life, but off. Like it’s experienced a phase-shift or something. Or maybe it’s just that it feels like a rip off to see someone take the same social reforms many today would like to see enacted and paint them across science fiction as something new and original. How much creativity does that take?

Beyond my irritation at the mining of present day media for this fictional account, the writing is pretty solid. The editing seems strong (as well as I can tell in an audio book), and the narrator is still doing a good job.

absolution rachel fordAbsolution: New wars and old conflicts. An empire reborn from blood and ash.

Nikia Idan led an uprising that liberated the Tribari people. Brek Trigan saved his colony from starvation. Captain Drake Elgin protected the citizens of Central from loyalist forces. The worst was supposed to be behind them.

When a loyalist fleet appears in Tribari airspace, the tenuous alliance between military and parliament is strained to the point of breaking. Meanwhile, a rogue governor’s quest for independence will put the empire’s promise of freedom to the test.

The decisions of these few will change the fate of many.

Review:

I think this was my favorite of the series—all the different plot arcs coming together, a little light, sweet romance cropping up, and the social/political upheaval coming to it’s expected conclusion. I don’t think anyone will be surprised by the ending. Nor would they find it particularly exciting. But it is satisfying in it’s way. The writing was clean and readable (or listenable, since I had and audio version), as it has been throughout the series, and Megan Green did a good job with the narration.

I was still irritated by how close to the real world this alien culture is. Someone jokes about not running marathons, someone else gets on one knee with a ring to propose marriage, wives still take husbands names, etc. It’s all just so very familiar for what is supposed to be patently alien. I guess this could be humans far enough in the future to have genetically changed, but that’s not really even hinted at. There is a ‘original home planet,’ so I guess it’s possible. But the hints are pretty weak if that is supposed to be the case. All in all, I didn’t hate it, but I’m not disappointed to be finished either. 

Tribari Freedom Chronicles

wings of fire

Book Review: Wings of Fire, by Stephanie Mirro

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I received a free Audible credit for a copy of Wings of Fire, by Stephanie Mirro.
wings of fire

I wasn’t always the bad guy…

Once upon a time, I was simply Veronica Neill: daughter, sister, phoenix. But now I’m all alone, and life as the Falcon—an avian shifter and acquirer of fantastical things—is dangerously sexy and fun.

Some might even call me a thief, just never to my face.

But when my latest acquisition is stolen before I arrive and a gruesome murder is blamed on me, I’ve got a choice to make: 1) get taken in by the hotter-than-hell agent sent by the Death Enforcement Agency and let them charge me with a crime I didn’t commit, or 2) wait for my bloodsucking client to realize I’ve failed at the job he hired me for.

I don’t like either door, so I’ll take the window instead: track down the real killer and clear my name.

If I don’t solve this murder, and fast, then I might just be facing a lifetime in a grim prison—or worse, a lifetime of servitude to the man who hired me, a man who’s turning out to be more dangerous than I realized. And my kind lives for a very long time.

my review

I thought this was entertaining, but a little on the shallow side. Veronica tells us she’s badass because she’s trained her whole life to be. But you don’t really feel it. It’s just something we’re told and pops up conveniently when needed. Need weapons…oh look, she has a secret stash. Need to get around a security issue…oh look, her BFF is a hacker genius. Need to fight demons…oh look, she happens to have a demon fighting sword. Need to fight vampires…oh look she happens to have wood filled bullets. But nothing about her feels like a hardened, trained warrior or someone who has had to live the sort of life that would require it.

I liked the ‘love’ interest well enough, but he’s a cardboard cutout with the personality to match. The villain is evil for the most cliched reasons ever. I bet if I told you their gender alone, you’d be able to guess their motiviations. And I’d figured out the twist at the end very early one.

And lastly, on a purely personal pet-peeve sort of level, “Wings of Fire: A Kickass Urban Fantasy With Romance (The Last Phoenix, Book 1)” is pretentious. What the hell is that “A Kickass Urban Fantasy With Romance?” It’s not part of the title. That’s not where you’d put a tag line. It’s just this random assertion in an unexpected place.

I know that all sounds negative, and certainly the book could have been less cotton-candy like, but I did enjoy it for the mere escapism of it.

wings of fire stephanie mirro

prince ewald the brave

Book Review: Prince Ewald the Brave, by Dylan Madeley

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I accepted a copy of Prince Ewald the Brave, by Dylan Madleley, from the author for review.

prince ewald the brave cover

Meet the Kenderleys, the wealthiest and most powerful family in the world.

The youngest, Prince Bonifaz, takes his lessons and trusts no one. The middle child, Princess Isabel, sneaks away to a secret regency of her own making. Their mother, Queen Dulcibella, watches out for her children just as readily as she watches over them. Their father, King Jonnecht, is a capricious tyrant who hopes to control his family as strictly as he does the largest empire, and his violent rage threatens all under his rule.

Then there’s Prince Ewald, eldest and heir to the throne. No one is more aware of what threat his father poses to everyone. No one has better legal standing to do anything about it. How can he save everyone he loves while upholding his mother’s kind values? He must learn the lessons required to be the best regent, choose allies wisely and earn their trust, and enact a thoughtful and detailed plan.

And even if he succeeds in all that, can one who draws the line and conducts a plan with honour defeat one whose rage, selfishness, and deceit know no bounds?

Can Prince Ewald stop his own father?

my review

I want to start with a discussion that might not be relevant for review, but I think is to readers. I accepted this book for review from the author with the understanding that, despite it’s cover, it is an adult book. (I don’t accept YA titles for review.) The author’s initial email to me said, “It’s intended for an Adult audience, but should be safe reading for 16+ up.”

I sat on that request for a while before agreeing to review the book. I was skeptical, and I said so to the author in my email response. In honesty, discovering if it truly was an adult book was part of what tipped the skeptical scales in favor of taking the author’s word for it and agreeing to read it. I couldn’t imagine it would be in any author’s best interest to mislead a reviewer about the content of the book they’re requesting a review of. That seems a recipe for a bad review.

I won’t contradict the author. As the author, he can place the book in any genre he chooses. However, if you asked my reader’s opinion, I’d tell you this is a LOWER YA or UPPER MG book. (Which I suppose, in fairness, is “safe reading for 16+ up.”) I took the book around to my family, spread throughout the house, and asked each, “Given this cover, knowing nothing more about this book, how old would you guess the intended audience is?” My husband said 14, which is what I would have guessed too. My 10yo said 14, and my 13 (almost 14yo) said 14-16. If the book is an adult book, as the author claimed, that cover is a liar. Rather, I think the cover is perfectly appropriate for the content of the book and the author passed me inaccurate information, purposefully or not.

I call it middle grade or young adult because, though the children’s ages aren’t actually stated, they feel like young teens at most. The book reduces what should be politically seismic events to a petty domestic matter, equates the two, essentially making home matters feel as all encompassing and important as international ones. I’m not trying to downplay domestic abuse, but the book uses it to support the vileness and ineptitude of the king in uber simplified ways. He hits his kid = he must be a bad man and therefore a bad king.

The king is cruel (and therefore evil) for the sake of cruelty. There is no depth to his character or notable motivation. Nothing he is shown to do is true grounds for removing a king. He’s mean and not a good leader, sure, but that’s not the same thing as being unfit to a degree that the machinery of bureaucracy would take the near miraculous step of actually changing tracts. Bureaucracy being a complication Madeley opted to leave out, further simplifying the plot for younger readers. The narrative style is un-elaborate and the dialogue stiflingly stilted in a manner I’d equate to ‘fantasy speak’ and feels unsophisticated (i.e. young). What’s more the whole last page or so wraps up with the language of fairy tales. This is a young adult or middle grade book, in my opinion.

And, authors, the need for the previous 450 words is why you’re honest with your reviewers about the genre of your book when seeking reviews. For those of you randomly picking up the book, without discourse with the author, trust the cover. It’s a good one and won’t steer you wrong. (Though I think there’s a similar but new version of the cover available on Amazon, that looks like it’s aged Ewald up a little. He looks about 13 on this cover, but might pass for a little older on the new one.)

two ewalds

As I didn’t set out to read a MG/YA book it’s hard for me to truly judge the book’s credit at that level. (Which is part of why I don’t accept lower YA/upper MG books for review. I don’t feel as confident in  my own assessments. So, here I’ve been put in an additional uncomfortable position.) As an adult, I found the whole thing scattered and dull. There is no true central character and more of the book is dedicated to military and political events than to the characters themselves. But without that character involvement, I was left reading about a series of military decisions for countries that I knew and cared little about. Random country goes to war, yawn.

However, if I was a 13yo reader, I probably wouldn’t have the same expectation. I would likely feel the father’s betrayals more strongly than an adult and be more able and willing to overlook that they and his political betrayals are not one and the same or interchangeable. All in all, for a young reader I think this could be a winner. For an adult, it’s readable, competently edited, etc, but there is little here to keep you interested.

prince ewald the brave