Month: September 2013 Page 2 of 4

This is the best Stephanie Plum novel in quite a while. Yes, absolutely, the mystery was a piece of cake to figure out — the herring wasn’t red, it was crimson. But you know what? It worked for me. People looking for clever, twisty mysteries that leave the reader stumped shouldn’t be reading Plum novels. You read these because when Evanovich is on her game, there’s a lot of fun to be had.

Vincent’s office being run out of Mooney’s RV is good, great comedy fodder. As is having Connie moving around between temporary work spaces. Most importantly to the success of a Plum novel: Grandma Mazur and Lula weren’t too crazy.

I’m not crazy about the state of the Joe-Stephanie-Ranger triangle, but what else is new? Time for something interesting to happen to at least one of the guys, if not a permanent resolution to this.

The bad guy this time was creepy as all get out, yet he fit very well into this sit-com world.

Not a lot to say about it, I guess, but it entertained me.

Saturday Miscellany – 9/21

By HCNewton

On September 21, 2013

In Books, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

Don’t Ban Books Like Eleanor and Park, Teens Need Them — While I’m anti-book banning on principle, I can understand the reasoning* some institutions have for some books. But Eleanor and Park? Really? No. Not a chance. Reprehensible with a capital R-E-P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-B-L-E.
Writing in Your Books: An Act of Engagement or Blasphemy? — A decent survey of the question. But ultimately, Goldberg’s position is wrong.
The 20 stages of reading — Lynda Barry does a pretty good job of capturing the life cycle of the reader, thankfully, I’m ahead of the curve
Hemingway estate’s Vanity Fair grudge — I can only imagine that Hemingway would endorse his heirs’ actions regarding Vanity Fair
5 Ways to Make Football More Appealing to Book Nerds — B&N’s Paul Goat Allen gives some snicker-worthy suggestions

Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff — Book 2 of The Lotus War. I loved Book 1 of this Japanese Steampunk series and have been eagerly awaiting this. Such a rich world, realized and depicted so skillfully and wonderfully.

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* Please note, I said understand, didn’t say agree with

A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins

By HCNewton

On September 20, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins
My rating: 1.5 of 5 stars

What is there to say about this disappointing mess? Well, I guess there’s that. Hutchins had aspirations, clearly, there was a lot of ambition behind the various storylines surrounding Neill Bassett here, and I really don’t think he lived up to them.

To really get into my problems with the book would take 1. Spoilers, and I really hate giving those kind of reviews. 2. Effort, and I simply cannot bring myself to care enough to put in the effort.

I couldn’t care about any of these characters — they just weren’t that interesting, developed or sympathetic. There were a couple I was tempted to care about, but he just didn’t give anyone enough depth to be invested in. A lot of plot issues could’ve been overcome with a couple of characters I could give a rip about.

The family storyline had the most promise, and fell the furthest short — well, at least the mother storyline. I don’t believe his mother, and everything seemed too pat at the end of the book regarding her story.

None of the romance stories worked for me — even the resolution Neill came to at the end seemed more like something imposed on the character by the author than anything that came naturally from the novel. The only evidence we really have to support any feelings Neill has for any of the women here comes from his narration — and doesn’t ring true. The evidence isn’t to be found in the story, or his action.

The A.I. test story is the most interesting — for the “father”-son interaction. Not for any of the philosophical questions it tries to raise about the nature of humanity, or love, etc. But it’s not enough to save this novel.

Not funny, not moving, not terribly interesting. Spare yourself, you have better things to do with your time.

The Great Way Kickstarter

By HCNewton

On September 19, 2013

In Authors, Books, Fantasy, Fiction, News/Misc.

Harry Connolly, writer of the criminally underselling UF series The Twenty Palaces, has moved on to Epic Fantasy. This project sounds great — watch the video, read the Kickstarter page, toss some money at the guy.

Robert B. Parker’s Damned if You Do by Michael Brandman

By HCNewton

On September 19, 2013

In Fiction, Jesse Stone, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert B. Parker

Robert B. Parker’s Damned if You Do by Michael Brandman
Series: Jesse Stone, #12

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

At least half of one of those stars is due to loyalty to the fine men and woman (pretty sure there’s just one) of the Paradise Police Department.

Brandman knows Stone. He knows Suitcase (though you’d have a hard time proving it based on the evidence here) and Molly. He has a decent handle on the city, and the supporting characters.

What he doesn’t know is how to write a mystery. Or a police procedural. Possibly not a novel — maybe he should stick to scripts.

There are two cases that Jesse’s working on in this book — one he stumbles onto when helping a friend, he develops a hunch about conditions in a local retirement home. He talks to two citizens about it — both of whom serve mostly as exposition dumps and confirm his hunch. Jesse proceeds to harass and bully his way through bringing the retirement home in line. There’s no challenge for him here, there’s no struggle, there’s no effort, really. It does allow Brandman a chance to talk about some real problems, cite some statistics about a social ill and move on.

There’s a murder mystery also — he detects a little here. Mostly he susses out one clue, and the rest is delivered to him by Gino Fish and Vinnie Morris. Always nice for a small town cop to have a mobster and a shooter to call on for answers.

If this took me any time at all to read, I’d probably be more upset. The Stone novels for years were the best things that Parker produced. Towards the end, there was a resurgence in the quality of the Spenser novels which seemed to result in lesser Stone novels. But we’d still occasionally get one worth reading. Brandman has consistently fallen far short of even Parker’s worst. It’s really sad to see such a good franchise ruined like this.

Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire

By HCNewton

On September 18, 2013

In Fiction, Seanan McGuire, Toby Daye

Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire
Series: Toby Daye, #7

My rating: 4.75 of 5 stars

Seanan McGuire is a writing monster — she’s pumping books out like crazy — she’s got the Toby Daye books, the InCryptid books, the Indexing serial, other short fiction — plus the stuff she puts out under the name Mira Grant. And they’re all really good (well, I assume the Grant ones are — not my taste — but based on reviews/awards, etc. they’re just as good). It’s really not fair. But I’m not complaining. As much as I’m enjoying Indexing and the InCryptid books are just plain fun, neither are in the same league as the Toby Daye books — and somehow, I forget just how good that series is between novels. I’ve been hooked since, maybe Chapter 3 of Rosemary and Rue and the addiction just grows each time.

Chimes starts off with Toby looking into the Goblin Fruit trade, seeing what she can do about it. It turns out that the situation is worse than she thought it was, and so she decides she needs to take it to the Queen. Which makes sense, unless you think about how well things go between those two, but Toby does her duty — and things go from bad to horrible (skipping right over “worse”) in a New York minute.

The series grows by a few new characters, most of whom I fully expect to see returning often, if not in every book from now on — all interesting, powerful, and I want to know more about. The stakes are higher than normal here, which is saying something, because they’re usually pretty high — and the long-term ramifications of the possible (and actual) plot developments are significant. You can feel the significance of the choices Toby’s making on almost every page, she’s pushed to new limits and deals with them in her own inimitable way.

A couple of highlights for me: I swear at one point at the end of Chapter 5, Toby channels Leverage‘s Nathan Ford, which was a lot of fun to read, and says a lot about the improbability of what Toby’s trying to pull off. Also, we’re introduced to a new Sidhe — the Cu Sidhe (the canine equivalent of Tybalt’s Cait Sidhe) — and it might be my favorite thing ever that Maguire’s created. Sure, I’m a sucker for well written dog characters, and the way she introduces and uses this particular character? Magic.

The only quibble I have here is how quickly things are resolved — to get the ending that we do, I’d expect another 70+ pages of action, maybe even another book before we get to the conclusion we have here. I don’t want to say that McGuire rushes or hurries through things here, because I see (I think) how and why she did what she did. It just seems to be that it’d have been better to spend more time on it. Then again, considering the tension I felt during the last 100 pages or so, maybe it’s better that things went they way they did.

McGuire calls this this start of the second stage of Toby’s adventures, and in retrospect, I can see an element of closure in Ashes of Honor. Based on the shake up in royalty, the deals Toby has to make to get things done and save those she cares about, and the revelations about one particular character — there’s plenty of fodder for a great second stage, even without whatever new ideas she has in store.

I cannot wait.

Wisp of a Thing: A Novel of the Tufa by Alex Bledsoe

By HCNewton

On September 17, 2013

In Alex Bledsoe, Authors, Fantasy, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Tufa

Wisp of a Thing: A Novel of the Tufa by Alex Bledsoe
Series: Tufa, #2
My rating: 4.75 of 5 stars

Back in 2011, I tried a new book by Alex Bledsoe with a bit of trepidation — it clearly wasn’t the same kind of thing as his Eddie LaCrosse novels that I’m a big fan of, and what I’d read about the book as a whole seemed kind of vague. But I gave it a shot, and ended up reading one of the best books I’ve read this decade (no review on my part to link to here, I couldn’t come up with anything to say that seemed to rise to the level of the book). So when I saw that Bledsoe was releasing a sequel, I was excited and filled with a new sense of trepidation, tinged with dread. I just didn’t see how he could equal The Hum and the Shiver, much less top it.

And honestly, he didn’t. But he got close — so, so, close. A Herculean feat unto itself, so I count that as a win.

In this novel, we see what happens when real outsiders come into the land of the Tufa*. There’s the honeymooning couple — the husband who finds out a bit more about his heritage than he bargained for, and his wife who has other things on her mind than genealogical research. The central figure this time is the other outsider, Rob Quillen, a reality television star trying to recover from a very public, heartbreaking tragedy. So desperate for healing, he comes in search of a song that will erase his pain — as difficult as that is to believe, he has to take the chance.

Sadly for Rob, his search puts him in the middle of a struggle that goes back centuries — if not longer. He has to risk his life, his sanity, and that of others to find his song — and then just to survive.

The characters and conflicts that shaped The Hum . . . are still there, this is just a few months later, but they’re not quite as prominent while Rob and his new friends and foes settle their business.

There’s beauty here, determination, battling against (and trying to understand) fate and destiny. And ultimately, hope. Hope tainted with real loss and real pain, but hope and healing nonetheless.

Do yourself a favor and grab this one.

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* Don’t know what a Tufa is? That’s fine. Go put down whatever you have in your hand, get a copy of The Hum and the Shiver. Go ahead, I’ll wait. It’s about music, and magic, and community, and place, and tradition, and family, and the magic of music . . . and it’s just good.

Dusted Off: Taken by Benedict Jacka

By HCNewton

On September 16, 2013

In Alex Verus, Authors, Benedict Jacka, F-J, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Taken by Benedict Jacka
Series: Alex Verus, #3

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

really don’t know what to say about this one…good read. Another good read in a string of ’em. Jacka’s got this down–Verus and co. are back and better than before.

I really like the way that these characters are growing and the world is being built.

I feel like I should have more to say, but I don’t. Ready and waiting for the next one!

Dusted Off: Cursed by Benedict Jacka

By HCNewton

On September 16, 2013

In Alex Verus, Authors, Benedict Jacka, F-J, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Cursed by Benedict Jacka
Series: Alex Verus, #2

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jacka did a great job following up his first Alex Verus novel. Fated. introduced us to Verus’ world, and Cursed lives in it. With the universe so well established, Jacka can focus on this particular adventure, building on Fated.

This makes for a more exciting read–more action, more character development, more of everything we liked in the first book.

Jacka’s got us all hooked now, we just have to wait for the next hit.

Dusted Off: Fated by Benedict Jacka

By HCNewton

On September 16, 2013

In Alex Verus, Authors, Benedict Jacka, F-J, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Fated by Benedict Jacka
Series: Alex Verus, #1

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Britain’s answer to Harry Dresden. Well, not really. But, pretty much, yeah. Okay, his magic specialty isn’t the same as Dresden’s, but his backstory, attitudes and relationships to the magic world are pretty similar. Which means this is a fun, gripping read.

Alex Versus’ version of fore-telling is very interesting, and a type of magic that I haven’t run into before in Urban Fantasy. I’m really looking forward to seeing what else Jacka can do with it in further volumes. As well as the way he develops Versus’ accidental apprentice.

I’m not sure that my nascent arachnophobia needed a couple of scenes, but if I could get past Shelob and Aragog, I’ll get over this, too. Well, as long as a future Versus adventure doesn’t focus exclusively on that storyline…probably won’t sleep for weeks if that happens.