Category: Fiction Page 262 of 351

The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch

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On November 17, 2016

In A-B, Ben Aaronovitch, Fiction, Rivers of London (Peter Grant), Urban Fantasy

I really hadn’t intended to make this a Rivers of London day, but I had notes and partial drafts for those other two, so I figured I might as well as a way to lead up to this. Which, sadly, is going up later than I wanted, but Dadding before blogging, right?
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The Hanging TreeThe Hanging Tree

by Ben Aaronovitch
Series: The Rivers of London, #6

eARC, 336 pg.
DAW, 207

Read: November 11 – 15, 2016

I lost track of how many times a certain retailer let me know that my pre-order for this had been rescheduled, but now a little more than 2 years after The Rivers of London most recently flowed through these books, The Hanging Tree is out (in parts of the world, anyway). I’m firmly in the camp of those willing to let authors take their time to get the book right, but I’m just as firmly in the camp wanting authors of my favorite series to hurry up. Thankfully, whatever delayed this publication gave Aaronovitch the time he needed to deliver his best yet.

Peter’s pushed into investigating a drug-related death, which soon shows itself to actually need a man of his particular skills when one of the parties involved (perhaps very involved) is the daughter of Lady Tyburn herself. Mostly anonymous teens up to illegal things, an overbearing mother to a suspect/witness, and the natural teenage disinclination to telling the police anything and you’ve got yourself a mess — particularly when the overbearing mother isn’t your biggest fan, and is a deity of sorts.

Poor Peter.

Along the way, Peter and Nightingale find the trail of a lost Newton masterpiece, a couple of interesting allies, and the return of some familiar, but not recently seen, foes. Some of what happens with returning adversaries will surprise, please, and frustrate long-time readers.

For series like this, more important than the plot are the characters — and Aaronovitch did everything right on this front. A few notes on this Peter’s more confident — professionally and personally. He’s coming along pretty well with his magic — yay! At the same time, you can see the way that he’s bringing change to the Folly little mannerisms and activities with Nightingale and Molly that you know they weren’t going to be up to until Peter moved in. I liked how Bev was used — even if she wasn’t around as much as usual — and the way their relationship is developing; her sister Lady Tyburn is probably used better here than ever before. There’s a new assistant for Dr. Walid, Dr. Jennifer Vaughan — we don’t get a lot of her, but there’s promise (and I like the fact that this universe is expanding). Lastly, I need to talk about Guleed — I know she’s been around awhile, but I didn’t really click with her until this book (as much as I enjoyed her in Body Work) — I like the way she works with Peter, the flavor she brings to things — I hope we see a lot more of her.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there’s a brief appearance by an author of note early on in the book — I’d love for him to show up again in some context where Peter doesn’t have to be so diplomatic with him. I chuckled a lot, and would love to hear Aaronovitch talk about this character and any real-life models he drew upon.

Not only do we get the typical Aaronovich-level stories and action, we get a big expansion in the number, types, and nationalities of magic users in this book. Not only are there the official practitioners of magic that The Folly is aware of, there are those they’re not tracking (but probably should start). Just this shift alone in the universe makes this book a winner — adding it to the rest is just frosting.

I’m really glad, incidentally, that I recently listened to the first audiobook in the series — there’s some significant call-backs to it throughout this book. I’d probably have been okay relying on memory, but the connections worked better for me with everything fresh in my head. Ditto for the number of references to Body Work – I’d have been fine not understanding the references made to it, they’re not integral to anything, but it was fun knowing what Peter was talking about.

This took me too long to read — which isn’t Aaronovitch’s fault, it’s just been one of those weeks, every time I started to really get into this book, I was interrupted by something — and it drove me crazy. Do what you can — kill the phone, lock the door, grab some snacks and a beverage of your choice and settle in for Aaronovich’s best yet, you won’t want to put it down. I can’t say enough good things about this.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from DAW via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to both for this.

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4 1/2 Stars

Rivers of London: Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan

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On November 17, 2016

In Comics, Fiction, Rivers of London (Peter Grant)

Body WorkRivers of London: Body Work

by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan (Artist)
Series: Rivers of London Comics, #1

Trade Paperback, 128 pg.
Titan Comics, 2016

Read: April 30, 2016


The Folly — Peter Grant and his boss, Inspector Nightingale — make their way to comics in this collection from Titan Comics. The two are facing a threat right out of a Stephen King novel: a homicidal car.

There’s more to it, of course, but that’s it in essence.

The story was entertaining, and fully captured the feel of the novels (easier with the writer of the books writing these). This seemed slight — a bit too brief. But it wasn’t — maybe it just flowed so smoothly I didn’t notice. Maybe there wasn’t that much of a story, I’m not sure. I’m willing to give Aaronovitch and the rest the benefit of the doubt.

The best part of this collection is that it solidified my mental image of Grant, clarified my idea of Molly, and reshaped/corrected my idea of Nightingale. The art wasn’t dazzling, but it was good.

It didn’t blow me away, but it scratched the Peter Grant itch and made me want to read more. If I sound like I’m not totally sold on this, it’s because I probably wasn’t, but I’m glad I read it and should be reading the next collection in a month or so — so there’s that.

—–

3 Stars

Midnight Riot (Audiobook) by Ben Aaronovitch, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

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On November 17, 2016

In Ben Aaronovitch, Fiction, Rivers of London (Peter Grant), Urban Fantasy

Midnight Riot (Audiobook) Midnight Riot

by Ben Aaronovitch, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Narrator)
Series: The Rivers of London, #1

Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs., 57 min.
Tantor Media, 2012
Read: October 11 – 14, 2016


The best part about listening to this was being reminded just how good this novel was — sure, I remember liking it a lot (if for no other reason than I’ve read five more plus a collection of comics), but I didn’t remember it being this good.

Briefly — in this we’re introduced to a probationary constable named Peter Grant who’s approached by an odd witness to an odder (and disturbing) murder. What makes the witness odd? Well, he’s been dead for a couple of centuries. Soon thereafter, Peter’s meets a Chief Inspector who happens to be the last wizard in England. Peter’s transferred to his unit (doubling the size), taken on as an apprentice and thrust into a type of policing he wouldn’t have believed existed a week ago.

The investigation into this murder turns into an investigation for several murders — and a few other assorted crimes. Which, of course, involves diving into the history of London and brokering peace between competing river deities. That old yarn. It’s a great mix of magic and police work, basic Latin and advanced bureaucracy.

Holdbrook-Smith did a fine job with the narration, very engaging, often compelling — capturing the feel of the novel in just the way that everyone wants in an audiobook. I’d be more than happy to hear more from him.

It’s dark, it’s funny, it’s pretty complex — and, in retrospect, — does a much better job laying the foundation for the series than I’d remembered. A good amount of wonder and action combined.

—–

4 Stars

Pub Day Repost: Good Behavior by Blake Crouch

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On November 15, 2016

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

Good BehaviorGood Behavior: Letty Dobesh Chronicles

by Blake Crouch
Series: Letty Dobesh Chronicles, #1-3eARC, 288 pg.
Thomas & Mercer, 2016
Read: October 25, 2016

She’d been out of prison now almost ten months, had been clean for half a year, but she hardly felt free.

She was thirty-six years old and she had just worked herself into a sweat cleaning a toilet in a diner.

Bad as prison had been, the walls that had kept her in her cell and in the yard had never screamed hopelessness as loud as the barred window in this tiny bathroom.

Letty Dobesh is an ex-con (repeatedly), a (sometimes) recovering addict, a thief, and (biologically) a mom — she wants to reunite with her son, she wants to be a mother — but she doesn’t know how. She does know how to make a mess of her life, ruin her health, get high and steal anything she wants to.

The three novellas collected here give us glimpses in to some of her professional highs — and we see bits of her lows, too.

Her life seemed to be defined by moments like these.

Moments of pure self-hatred.

And this was just one more in a long, long line.

These are fast reads — you get sucked in to Letty’s world, her way of looking at things and you root for her to get away whatever she’s trying to get away with. There’s a story about her trying to save a life, another with her first attempt at becoming an art thief, and then a story about her getting in over her head by working with some criminals who are far more willing to use brawn and guns than Letty’s ever been. Each of these feel different — Letty’s the same, but the settings and the way that Crouch tells the stories vary enough to keep things very fresh.

The other characters that fill these pages (or those that flit across a line or two) are interesting enough to fulfill whatever narrative duty they have to, but these are all about Letty. If you like reading about her, you’ll like this book. If you aren’t interested by her at all after 10 pages or so, you’d better skip the rest.

It wasn’t the first or the second or even the third time she’d had a firearm pointed at her. But she never got used to that gaping black hole. Couldn’t take her eyes off of it. If [spoiler] chose to pull the trigger in this moment, it was the last thing she’d ever see.

This book is being released to coincide with the debut of TNT Network’s series based on these novellas, starring Michelle Dockery, in her attempt to avoid being typecast. I tried not to, but I kept seeing Dockery saying some of these lines. It was easier to avoid thinking of her in the first novella; but in the second it was almost impossible not to — especially when not-Lady-Mary is talking with Johnny. I must say, my mental-Dockery did a great job — those lines are perfect for her (it’s a shame, really, the second novella is the only one not being mined for season 1 of the show). There are supplemental materials included with these novellas discussing the novellas and how elements of them will be used in the show. Those were interesting enough, but I really couldn’t care that much.

I don’t care how the TV show does (easier to say before I watch a second of it), but I’ll gladly read more novellas/novels about Letty. Actually, maybe novella length is best for her kind of story, something about the compressed timeline works well for the high-stakes energy that these are filled with.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to both for this.
N.B.: As this was an ARC, any quotations above may be changed in the published work — I will endeavor to verify them as soon as possible.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Last Star by Rick Yancey

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On November 15, 2016

In Rick Yancey, Science Fiction, V-Z, YA/MG/Children's Books

The Last StarThe Last Star

by Rick Yancey
Series: The 5th Wave, #3

Hardcover, 338 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2016

Read: November 3 – 5, 2016

Since the Arrival, I’ve been beset by more cravings than a women pregnant with triplets, and always for things I’ll never taste again. Chocolate ice cream cones. Frozen pizza. Whipped cream in a can. Those cinnamon rolls Mom made every Saturday morning. McDonald’s french fries. Bacon. No, bacon was still a possibility. I would just have to find a hog, slaughter it, butcher it, cure the meat, then fry it up. Thinking about the bacon — the potential of bacon — gives me hope. Not all is lost if bacon isn’t.

Seriously.

And there’s the best that this series can do — when there’s no reason for hope, no reason to keep going — Yancey’s characters find a reason (other than inertia) to keep struggling, to keep walking, to keep surviving, to keep hoping.

Sadly, I pretty much needed that same kind (not extent, kind) of perseverance. I thought The 5th Wave rocked, and I enjoyed The Infinite Sea, but not as much — but the wheels really came off this time. It’s not an Allegiant-level disappointment, but it was closer than anyone should want.

The writing was skillful — I liked a lot of what the book had to say about humanity, enlightenment, and teddy bears (no, really). Yancey nailed the character beats, moments, observations — but he utilized this great writing and surrounded these strong elements with a story that just wasn’t worth telling. Somehow in the end, the whole was <iLless than the sum of its parts (anyone know the German for that?).

I’m going to skip the plot summary because it’s just the next stage in the series, leading up to the final confrontation between the survivors we’re following and Humanity’s foes. That’s really all you need to know — and everyone who’s been reading the series knew that already.

This is the 10th book I’ve read by Yancey, and it’s so clearly the weakest link. I’d still recommend this book for those who’ve read the first two — but on the whole, I’d tell those who hadn’t started the series to skip it. I’m more than ready to give whatever Yancey does next a chance, if for no other reason than to get the taste of this out of my mouth.

—–

3 Stars

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

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.

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3 Stars

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