Author: HCNewton Page 504 of 625

Off to be the Wizard (Audiobook) by Scott Meyer, Luke Daniels

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On November 14, 2016

In Fiction

Off to be the Wizard Off to be the Wizard

by Scott Meyer, Luke Daniels (Narrator)
Series: Magic 2.0, #1

Unabridged Audiobook, 10 hrs, 15 min.
Brilliance Audio, 2014
Read: August 8 – 16, 2016


I’m just going to steal most of what I said about the book before and add a little bit at the end about the audiobook — and Daniels in particular.

The first thing Martin always did when he found some new data file was to search for his own name. It may seem egocentric, but Martin wasn’t worried about that. He had spent a lot of time thinking about himself, and had come to the conclusion that he was definitely not self-absorbed.

There’s a great temptation — and frequently a rush — when discussing an amusing/funny book in SF or Fantasy to compare it with, well — the name rhymes with Schmouglas Schmadams — this can be damning, because almost nothing can live up to it. So I’m going to resist even saying the name. If anything, I think you could say this was reminiscent of Schmon Schmalzi — only funnier.

Martin Banks is the rather unimpressive hero here — a college dropout, living in a poorly-furnished apartment, working in “a cubicle farm, . . . a fluorescent-lighted, beige-walled abattoir for the human spirit where he had to spend most of his time,” and doing some minor hacking on the weekends, just to amuse himself. He stumbles upon a way to manipulate reality, to change things just a little bit here and there around him. Being human, it takes very little time before he begins using that ability in a way to draw the attention of the Federal Authorities. Which is not all that comfortable, so he heads off to England in the Middle Ages where he figures he can do okay for himself, living as a wizard using these abilities.

That’s when things start to get really entertaining (and I had no complaints up to this point). Anything more I say on this front is a horrible spoiler, so we’ll just leave it with really entertaining.

This is a coming of age tale — and, as it’s about a Millennial, it’s a delayed-coming-of-age story. But Martin’s not one of those protagonists that you have to see mature before you like him — you connect with him right away (or you’re probably wasting your time reading on). He definitely doesn’t mature in your typical way, which is part of the fun. I can’t help comparing Martin to Wesley Chu’s Roen Tan. But without the stakes that Roen had to deal with (and a nicer mentor).

Most of the characters we get to know are met after Martin’s time jump — so don’t worry if you find everyone in 2012 a little shallow and undeveloped. They are, but other people won’t be.

There are several things in the book that won’t hold up to much scrutiny — like his ability to get a smartphone signal in Dover, England in 1150. Adapt the advice Joel and the ‘bots used to give us, “just repeat to yourself . . . you should really just relax.” It’s worth it.

The book is just littered with wit — from the extended jokes, the funny visuals, or little asides like: “The fact that wristwatches weren’t invented yet made it difficult to look impatient, but he managed.” On nearly every page, there’s something to make you chuckle or laugh — or at least grin. I laughed enough that it was annoying to my family — not that I cared, mind you. But it’s not just a yuk-fest, there’s a well-written story here, in a great world with some characters you want to spend time with.

Daniels scores again here — his performance didn’t really remind me of his work on the Iron Druid Chronciles, which, I have to admit I was a little worried about. I got a kick out of his voice choices for Martin and Jimmy in particular — Martin’s voice when he got excited was perfect. I’m not sure I liked his choice of voice for Philip — it reminded me too much of Douglas Reynholm from The IT Crowd (I’m probably the only person on Earth who hears that, so take it with a grain of salt), and I never got used to it. But I loved everything else he did, so who cares, right? If anything, Daniels’ narration helped the material (not that it needed it).

Meyer’s writing holds up to a second-read, even jokes/situations I knew were coming worked pretty well — more than well, actually, judging by my laughter. I enjoyed it as much the second time through as the first, so that’s a pretty good sign.

—–

4 Stars

Washed Hands by Jonathan Charles Bruce

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On November 14, 2016

In Blog Series, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Washed Hands Washed Hands

by Jonathan Charles Bruce

Kindle Edition, 204 pg.
Scarlet River Press, 2016

Read: November 7 – 8, 2016

They were all cheap, terrible beers that screamed more of desperation than any kind of desirability. Not that I could ever really tell the difference between the cheap and quality stuff, except that cheap tasted like unfiltered gutter water and quality usually like uncooked bread juice. People would usually counter that beer was an acquired taste that you get used to before you learn to want it, at which point I would suggest that what they just described was essentially culinary Stockholm Syndrome.

I am a hit at parties.

My appreciation for this one was pretty much ensured within the first page or so — Monica Deimos’s character grabbed me that quickly. I can’t promise you will, but this character’s voice was so strong, so fun. This voice . . . I haven’t clicked with a voice like I did with this since, I’m not sure, maybe Mark Watney? If I quoted every pith/insightful/chuckle-worthy line that I wanted to, I’d probably get sued for copyright infringement. I know, a tough, quippy, self-deprecating, cynical female detective(-ish) character isn’t exactly new, but Bruce just nails the voice on a consistent basis. Monica may not be unique on that front, but she’s really well done.

Deimos works for this firm called Washed Hands, who are break-up specialists. If you want to/need to end a relationship with someone who just may flip out, get violent, refuse to listen, whatever — you hire them and one of their rejection counselors will make sure that everything works out. Monica Deimos is about the best they have — until one day she enters a client’s home to find the soon-to-be-dumped very murdered. Monica then finds herself very framed for this murder. Things get rolling from there.

She’s on the run from the cops (almost getting nabbed a few times), dead tired and with few people she can trust. She decides that the IT guy from Washed Hands, Jasper, is trustworthy (probably) and could help out. So the two of them team-up to find out the real killer’s identity and to clear Monica before tis’ too late.

Jasper is almost a stereotypical nerd — but there’s a little more to him. Some of the others in the office are probably just what they appear, but you can’t be too careful. Or so Monica thinks. She’s abrasive, socially awkward, and desperate enough to try anything — the frame job was good, and she’s pretty sure that she can’t beat it. Thankfully, Jasper has faith enough for both of them. I really liked him — actually, I really liked Monica, too, beyond the voice. There weren’t a lot of other characters developed that well (little time for that with Monica on the run), but there was potential with all of them.

This novel was very well constructed and plotted — enough humor and enough excitement to keep you engaged. I guessed the whodunit pretty early, and came close to the motive, too. But I wouldn’t have figured the how until about 2 or 3 sentences before Monica did. Bruce pulled off some very clever storytelling there.

Things I would enjoy seeing in future novels, if that’s what Bruce is thinking: More at Washed Hands — I can’t believe he’s got this great concept and uses it so little; More with Jasper (perhaps independently of Monica); More Monica — with Jasper, at Washed Hands, without Jasper, after Washed Hands, I don’t care, I just want to read more of her.

I don’t think I can say much more without reveling too much, so I won’t say much more at all.. Clever story, good characters, told in a way to keep me glued to the page, and a conclusion that I almost saw coming but couldn’t come close to predicting. Really can’t ask for much more.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this from Scarlet River Press in exchange for this post and my honest take on the book — thanks, Scarlet River!

—–

4 Stars

Saturday Miscellany – 11/12/16

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On November 12, 2016

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:

    This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • Night School by Lee Child — a new Reacher finds him in the late 90s and up to his usual shenanigans
  • Cyber World: Tales of Humanity’s Tomorrow by Jason Heller, Joshua Viola (eds.) — simply a great anthology of cyberpunk (or just cyber-whatever) stories. My post on it from this week. (link corrected…you’d think I could manage getting my own links right)
  • The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer — a Jason Bourne-esque thriller from the lady who wrote some series you may have heard from. I’m not sure I’m going to read this one, but man, I’m intrigued.
  • Remnants of Trust by Elizabeth Bonestell — this, and its predecessor, look to be a great combo of SF, military tale and mystery. Why haven’t I been reading these?

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to My Thoughts for following the blog this week.

The Chemist by Alan J. Field

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On November 11, 2016

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The ChemistThe Chemist

by Alan J. Field

Kindle Edition, 340 pg.
ThrillRide Media, 2016

Read: November 8 – 10, 2016

I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about this — mostly because I just don’t care, but also because this is going to fall into the “if you can’t say something nice” category — but I told the author I’d say something, so here goes.

This is a dull, poorly written, cliché-filled, convoluted thriller that forgot the thrills. You have a mustache-twirling terrorist (atheistic, but willing to pretend to get what he wants); a couple of mustache-twirling CIA honchos (willing to sell out the Bill of Rights, CIA charter, and anything else to get the “bad guys”); a cosmetics executive that decides to try to sell chemical weapons; a drug-addicted chemist able to be a genius and do something no one’s done before while hallucinating; a CIA op-turned addictions counselor/vigilante; and a few other assorted mustache-twirlers, criminals with hearts of gold, and assorted special-ops types.

Danny Strong (yes, a bit of Buffy-fan pandering), is called out of retirement to help save the world — because he’s the only one who can. He needs to convince a hot young chemist to give him the most deadly toxin ever created to him before it’s sold on the black market in an effort to save her mother’s cosmetics company. Oh, and the chemist does enough coke and heroin to kill a middle school’s worth of kids — yet she does something no one else can duplicate. There are multiple conspiracies afoot here — some never explained well — but that’s the core story. Naturally, he falls for her (in something like 10 days) and is able to finally free himself from grieving over his murdered wife.

There’s a misguided, but probably well-intentioned, Castle tribute here that just annoyed the tar out of me (and I’ve watched every episode at least once, so I’m not complaining about a Castle tribute — I just hope Fillion, Katic, etc. don’t read this novel).

There are so many storylines and details that go nowhere and mean nothing, so many plot points that just don’t work, inconsistent narration, scenes that are impossible to follow (and not just because the book desperately needs a couple of copy edits, see below) that transform this book from a bore to a bad novel.

Now, I know when you self-publish a book, there’s going to be more typos and whatnot in it than your typical book (or, at least, there are bound to be) — but even stuff put out by the Big 5 contains errors that cause copy editors to lose sleep, so I generally don’t hold that against a book. But this was just ridden with spelling and grammatical mistakes — any drinking game invented along the lines of tracking them would leave me unable to write for a week. Repeated sentences/paragraphs, many homonyms (e.g., “hear” instead of “here”), wrong pronouns, sentences that aren’t really anything, simple misspellings, and more. Too often I’d have to stop what I was reading and spend time examining a paragraph/section for a while to see if I could suss out the meaning. Now, I have no problem doing that when something is beautiful or thought-provoking — but when it’s not worth it? No.

I didn’t actively hate this book — but man, there’s just nothing to say to recommend it.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for my honest opinion — he clearly didn’t bribe me. I thank him for the opportunity,

—–

2 Stars

Reservations by Richard Paolinelli

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On November 11, 2016

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Reservations Reservations

by Richard Paolinelli
Series: Jack Del Rio, #1

Kindle Edition, 252 pg.
W & B Publishers Inc, 2016

Read: October 31, 2016


So, the President of the Navajo Nation, Ben Yazzie, isn’t ending the year/beginning the second year in office the way he wanted: three members of the tribal council have died under what can only be charitably called suspicious circumstances. He’s pretty convinced that he’s next on the list, so he calls in the cavalry (forgive the reference) via an old friend in the FBI. The old friend assigns a hot-shot young agent with a knack for saving heads of state, Jack Del Rio.

Del Rio is paired up with a reservation police officer, Lucy Chee. The two of them click almost immediately on a professional level and progress through the tangled political, personal and historical web that surrounds these murders. I enjoyed their teamwork, their banter and friendship. I liked almost every character — even the ones we only met for a scene. I could’ve used a little more time with Yazzie, honestly — although I’m not sure there was room for it. Chee and Del Rio, of course, I liked the best — they were very well-developed and interesting.

I had a few problems with the book — Paolinelli could trust his readers a bit more, his character’s jokes would land better if he didn’t go out of his way to make sure we knew they were jokes. The prose could be a leaner, just a touch, but he doesn’t need to use quite as many words as he does (see the joke observation). I think his pacing could be better — he spends too much time establishing the mystery and Del Rio independently at the beginning of the novel — 1 chapter there, 1 chapter here — it takes no time to figure out that Del Rio’s going to be called in to investigate things (even without reading the book’s blurb), and then I just got impatient with the intervening material until he actually hops on a plane. I’m sure Paolinelli had his reasons for it, I just don’t think it worked as well as he may have wished.

Between just listening to Hearne’s Tricked and being knee-deep in the latest season of Longmire, I was primed for this story about the Diné and reservation politics — and Paolinelli nailed it. At least it seems like he did to someone who’s contact with both is from a a decent share of fiction over the years, so pick the size of your salt grain to take with that. But the mix of Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, US cultures was well-balanced and fun.

Great final confrontation between our heroes and the villain — I can’t tell you all the reasons I liked it without ruining it, but for people who like thrillers/detective novels, I can assure you that there’s more than enough reasons to like it.

The second Del Rio novel, Betrayals is out now, and I look forward to getting it. But we’re talking about Reservations now, and I give this a solid recommendation for fans of the genre or non-fans wanting something different.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinions — and I really appreciate it.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Breedling and The City in the Garden by Kimberlee Ann Bastian

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On November 9, 2016

In Book Tour, Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Now for the last post on The Breedling and The City in the Garden book tour.
—

The Breedling and The City in the GardenThe Breedling and The City in the Garden

by Kimberlee Ann Bastian
Series: The Element Odysseys, Book 1

Kindle Edition, 280 pg.
Wise Ink Creative Publishing , 2016

Read: October 24 – 25, 2016

The immortal soulcatcher Bartholomew (soon to be known as Buck) comes to 1930’s Chicago to track down someone and repay a debt. He comes looking like a young teen and is taken under the wing of a homeless orphan who seems to be a year or two older. The two have to deal with challenges and obstacles both mundane and other-worldly to survive, much less complete.

I’m not really sure how to describe the book beyond that, quite honestly. Maybe go back and check the main Book Tour post for a better description.

This book is all about what you think about Buck — and Charlie, to a lesser extent. Buck/Bartholomew has an eccentricity, a naivety that can make him endearing, ditto for Charlie’s street-smarts coated with his tough (yet tender) exterior. Better yet, if you find yourself invested in their friendship’s ups and downs. If you like these two, are interested in what happens to them, pretty much every problem with the book can be ignored. I wanted more from both of those characters, and I’m not sure I can ignore the problems with the book just because to them. Still, I can see where many people would love these two and find my issues shallow.

There are some real problems with this — for example, it’s hard to tell just how much of Bastian’s world is “our” world and how much is her mythology. Which might not make much sense, so let me try to explain: there are priests (I assume, Roman Catholic), but it’s hard to tell if that worldview is true/a true world here; Eden means one thing to Roman Catholics, but pretty much it seems to indicate the mortal world in this book. Also, too often I think Bastian goes for mysterious or suspenseful and ends up being vague, opaque or ambiguous. She’s done some great world-building here, I’m just not convinced that she’s great at explaining that world to the reader.

Technically there was a narrative arc to this novel, with an actual ending and a place to jump off to the next novel. But only technically, this is part of a story at best, the first installment in a series that really just serves to propel the reader for the forthcoming book. There’s some odd vocabulary sprinkled through the narrative occasionally — its one thing for Bucks/Bartholomew to have antique words and phraseology due to his origin, but for the narrative to throw those in every now and then it just doesn’t work it’s jarring, drawing attention to it self

There’s an earnestness to the writing, a clear effort on Bastian’s part, and you want to root for her and her creation — I’m not entirely certain she succeeds with this book, but man, you want her to. Those who like steampunk, but aren’t tied to the tech; those who don’t mind mixing fantasy with history; and/or those who like seeing children/child-sized characters in life-or=death situations, this could work for you.

—–

3 Stars

A Few Quick Questions With…Kimberlee Ann Bastian

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On November 9, 2016

In A Few Quick Questions With..., Book Tour, Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

So, for the second post on The Breedling and The City in the Garden book tour, we got a few questions with the author, Kimberlee Ann Bastian. As usual, I kept it short and sweet, because I’d rather she work on her next book than take too much time with me.

I see that this is being billed as a “reboot” of the novel — what does that mean for you and the book?
All it really means is that my first attempt was a dress rehearsal. I learned a great deal of what not to do when self-publishing and really it boils down to not cutting corners where your book is concerned. Not that I meant to cut corners. I just didn’t have the proper funds. You’re either all in or you’re not and though my first intentions were good and I had the drive, it wasn’t quite what I imaged it would be. Now, with the brilliant team at Wise Ink Creative Publishing, I have an extraordinary team to work with and all the tools an indie author needs to realize his or her vision. The Breedling and the City in the Garden is now, after eight years of trial and error, the way it was always meant to be with all the professional bells and whistles included.
Most authors have dozens of ideas bouncing around their craniums at once — what was it about this idea that made you say, “Yup — this is the one for me.”?
The idea for the Element Odysseys came to me at a time when I actually had no other ideas running through my head. I put all my energies into the concept and it really helped me write my way out of a trialing situation and once I started, I couldn’t stop.
What kind of research — if any — did you have to do for this? Uncover any nuggets that were so great that you had to rework the story just to fit some of your research into things?
The research journey for this book and for the series in its entirety has been fascinating. I have tapped into every vital online database, read countless books and articles. Watched a few documentaries and I went above and beyond the scope of what has made it into the final version of the story. I have even visited the sites of Chicago where the story takes place, or what’s left of them. For The Breedling and the City in the Garden, the greatest historical nugget I found came during my second round of editing when I was working on changing the title. I came across the Great Seal of Chicago, which on the seal the Latin phrase Urbs In Horto is present. Upon learning the translation Garden City or City in the Garden, I knew I had to reference it in the story and ultimately it became the second half of the title.

Who are some of your major influences? (whether or not you think those influences can be seen in your work — you know they’re there)
I think for this first book I pulled a great deal of inspiration from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, Irene Hunt’s No Promises in the Wind and Mark Twain when creating the historic feel of the story. For the mythology elements of the story, I did draw a little from HBO’s Carnivale in how to blend the historical with the fantastical. Although for those familiar with the series, I’m not nearly as abstract. Subconsciously, I probably took some inspiration from Harry Potter as well, for I have already been told the opening chapter is reminiscent of Dumbledore and McGonagall in the beginning of The Sorcerer’s Stone (The Philosopher’s Stone).
What’s the one (or two) book/movie/show in the last 5 years that made you say, “I wish I’d written that.”?
This is the hardest question by far—haha. (pauses to contemplate) In the book category, I’d have to say Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. I’m also going to go a little rogue and choose a musical, Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Hamilton: An American Musical, it is my current obsession.

Thank you kindly for letting me swing by The Irresponsible Reader, H. C. It has been a blast chatting with you! Happy Reading.
Thanks for your time, Ms. Bastian, I wish you and the release the best.

The Breedling and The City in the Garden by Kimberlee Ann Bastian Book Tour

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On November 9, 2016

In Book Tour, Fiction

Welcome to our Book Tour stop for The Breedling and The City in the Garden. Along with this blurb about the book I’ve got a Q & A with the author, Kimberlee Ann Bastian and my 2¢ about the book coming up (the links will work when the posts go live).

Book Details:

Book Title:  The Breedling and The City in the Garden (The Element Odysseys Book 1) by Kimberlee Ann Bastian
Category: YA fiction, is also intended for Adult (18+) readers
Length: 280 pages
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Release date: September 20, 2016

Content Rating: PG-13 This book is rated PG-13 for time period slag (no F*words), violence and mature themes associated with the historic time period such as smoking, drinking, gambling, and death (no sexual scenes).

Book Description:

Absolute obedience, servitude, neutrality.

These were the laws that once governed Bartholomew, an immortal soulcatcher, until one ill-fated night when he was forced to make a choice: rebel against his masters or reveal an ancient, dangerous secret.

He chose defiance.

Imprisoned for centuries as punishment for his decision, Bartholomew wastes away—until he creates an opportunity to escape. By a stroke of chance, Bartholomew finds himself in the human world and soon learns that breaking his bonds does not come without a price. Cut off from the grace that once ruled him, he must discover a new magic in 1930s Chicago.

Armed with only a cryptic message to give him direction, Bartholomew desperately tries to resume the mission he had started so long ago. Relying on the unlikely guidance of the streetwise orphan Charlie Reese, Bartholomew must navigate the depressed streets of the City in the Garden. But in order to solve this riddle, he must first discover if choice and fate are one in the same.

Buy the Book

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Author’s Website

Meet the Author:

Kimberlee Ann Bastian has a unique love affair with American nostalgia, mythology, and endless possibilities. This melting pot of elements is what prompted the creation of her epic ELEMENT ODYSSEYS series, starting with the reboot of her debut novel now titled THE BREEDLING AND THE CITY IN THE GARDEN.

When she is not in her writer’s room, working her current “day job”, or consuming other literary worlds, she enjoys hiking and cycling around the bluffs of your Southeastern MN home and catching up on her favorite pop culture. ​
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Cyber World: Soundtrack of Humanity’s Tomorrow

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On November 8, 2016

In Fiction, Science Fiction

Cyber WorldCyber World: Soundtrack of Humanity’s Tomorrow


Hex Publishers, 2016


I enjoy music, I listen to a lot of it — but I’m no expert, so take this for what it is.

Okay, I’m not technically an expert on the other stuff I write about, but I’m closer to one when it comes to writing than I am music. But at least with books I have an idea how to talk about them, I really don’t know what to say about music — “I give him a 42 but I can’t dance to it!”

There’s a very 80’s-vibe to a lot of this music (a good thing, by and large, in my opinion . The Scandroid songs sound to me like something out of a British synth-pop band. Which may make it less than appealing for some, but it works for me (although some of the lyrics could be more interesting). I did learn what the word “Aphelion” means, though, so there’s that.

The best stuff on the album are the instrumentals — Celldweller’s “Patched in” is great background music — I’ve already been using while writing and reading. Which is not to take anything away from Mega Drive’s two songs — I alternate which of those I like best, but both are getting a lot of play time on my devices.

The three instrumental songs, in particular, do a great job of getting you into the right mood for the kind of stories the book tells — where those with vocals take you back to the era where Cyberpunk was born. So they can also put you in the right frame of mind.

A good companion piece to the anthology, and a fun listen overall. I recommend it.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this album by the publisher, which was going above and beyond. I thank them for this — it was very generous and pretty cool of them.

—–

3 Stars

Cyber World by Jason Heller and Joshua Viola, eds.

By

On November 8, 2016

In Fiction

There’s a soundtrack to this anthology, and I’ll be posting about that tonight — short version: if you like music that shares the same roots as these stories, you should check it out.
—

Cyber WorldCyber World: Tales of Humanity’s Tomorrow

by Jason Heller, Joshua Viola eds.


Kindle Edition, 250 pg.
Hex Publishers, 2016

Read: October 26 – 31, 2016


Heller insists in his Afterword that this is not a collection of Cyberpunk stories, and who am I to doubt him? Although it feels pretty punk to ignore the Editor/The Man. It sure feels like Cyberpunk — but I’m also pretty sure that it doesn’t matter what I call it, as long as I say that it’s good, strong, creative, mind-bending, and occasionally mind-blowing. I can’t summarize this anthology better than Hex Publishers did:

Cybernetics. Neuroscience. Nanotechnology. Genetic engineering. Hacktivism. Transhumanism. The world of tomorrow is already here, and the technological changes we all face have inspired a new wave of stories to address our fears, hopes, dreams, and desires as Homo sapiens evolve—or not—into their next incarnation.

Cyber World is a collection of this new wave of cyber-inspired tales, that should appeal to a wide audience. There’s part of me that wants to write a paragraph or two on each story — well, most of them — but I don’t have the time for that, and I can’t imagine many of you would read it. So I’ll opt for brevity. As I read through this collection, I noticed that my notes had a theme, I’d consistently remark on three aspects of the stories: 1. The Premise/Cyber-Conceit; 2. The Story/Characters; 3. The Language Used/Way of telling the story. Now, this actually sounds like a pretty decent strategy to approaching these, but I’m not clever enough to do that deliberately, apparently. Almost every story here nailed two, if not three, of these aspects.

There was a story that only scored on one front for me, but I’m not going to mention which one, because I know others will strongly disagree with me — I might even disagree in 6 months — so I’m not going to focus on it. Even those stories that didn’t do much for me, I can absolutely see where others would say that they’re a favorite. Usually, when I read a bunch of short stories I don’t see where people would have much appreciation for some of them (I mean, I know tastes vary, but sometimes you just don’t get why people like stuff). Not here — tough to ask for more than that. The writing is on point — lean, terse, quick-moving — with the occasional appropriate exception. There’s something that made me smile about all but one of the stories. The voices are strong and individual — yet pretty much clearly belong together.

I do want to talk about a few of these — sorry, no one really wants to read about how I write these things, but I think this says something. I wrote that fragment, and then took one more look at my notes, trying to find 3 or 4 stories to focus on and I came up with four in a row and stopped myself before things go out of hand. Again, this speaks to the strength of this collection. I still wasn’t able to restrict myself to 4, though:

  • Mario Acevedo’s “Reactions” is maybe too-brief, but a compelling look at remote warfare drugs and the effects of both of those on the brain/soul. Just enough zag to his pretty obvious zig to make this a keeper.
  • “The Rest Between Two Notes” by Cat Rambo contains this line:

    But this is New York City, and there can be traffic jams or terrorist threats or flash plagues to contend with…

    “flash plagues.” I love that concept. There’s just so much — probably a novel if someone wanted it, in those two words. The rest of the story was pretty weird and disturbing, and though provoking on its own, but those two words (for me) sealed it as a favorite.

  • “The Faithful Soldier, Prompted” by Saladin Ahmed reflects the international flavor of this book as well as featuring an odd mishmash of spam emails and religious revelation. Something only Ahmed could probably pull off.
  • “Staunch” by Paul Graham Raven pushed just about every stylistic button for me — mix of bio/technical/cyber/genetic fiction, plus political/economic commentary — and a whole bunch of other stuff — while telling a tight story.
  • “Will Take Care of Our Own” by Angie Hodapp is probably the most accessible, closest to mainstream story in this batch. Which doesn’t stop it from being a great story about politics, with some interesting commentary on contemporary issues — just what SF is supposed to be about — with a good fallible protagonist.
  • Minister Faust’s “The Ibex on the Day of Extinction” felt very different from most of these stories, and I don’t know how to talk about it without spoiling the whole thing, but I wanted to focus on how good it was.
  • “The Singularity Is in Your Hair” by Matthew Kessel — can I use the word “sweet” about one of these? Probably not, but this tale about VR helping a person with a debilitating disease experience more than many people is very close to it.
  • “A Song Transmuted” by Sarah Pinsker just blew me away several times.
  • “It’s Only Words” by Keith Ferrell — is almost a counter-point to the worlds the rest of these take place in — a dash of Thoreau to rebut the rest.
  • “The Bees of Kiribati” by Warren Hammond was just freaking chilling — a police interrogation to a heinous crime, becomes so much more. I want a book in this world, now. Just without the creepy killer (it can have another creepy killer, I just don’t want anything to do with this one again).

Heller (and I read his book Taft 2012 before starting this blog, so you can’t read all the nice things I thought about it at the time) and Viola did a bang up job with this collection. They might not love the label cyberpunk (but someone neglected to tell those who wrote blurbs, or the promotional material I read), and perhaps it’s not the most accurate — but if these stories aren’t Cyberpunk, they’re the result of evolution from Cyberpunk. Cyber World is a direct descendant of Mirrorshades — a couple of these stories could’ve easily been included in that collection (but some require more current cultural/technological input).

Don’t read too many of these in one sitting, it takes away some of the impact — but you’ll have a hard time stopping once you start. One of the best collection of stories I’ve read in forever.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for this post and my honest opinion. I thank them for this.

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4 Stars

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