Category: Fiction Page 269 of 348

(slightly modified to address something I forgot earlier)

Lady Cop Makes Trouble

by Amy Stewart
Series: The Kopp Sisters, #2

eARC, 320 pg.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016

Read: August 6 – 8, 2016

Miss Constance Kopp, who once hid behind a tree near her home in Wyckoff, N.J., for five hours waiting to get a shot at a gang of Black Handers who had annoyed her, is now a Deputy Sheriff of Bergen County, N.J., and a terror to evildoers. — New York Press, December 20, 1915

The novel’s epigraph tells you pretty much everything you need to know. In the previous book, Girl Waits with Gun, Constance goes to extremes to protect her family from criminals, now she’s moved on to being an official “terror to evildoers.”

Constance begins the novel as a Deputy Sheriff, but political pressure removes her (temporarily she’s assured) and she’s demoted to matron of the women’s jail. She’d been serving in that capacity anyway, but now that’s all she does. She notes, and is probably on to something, that the police are far more willing to arrest women knowing there;s a matron at the jail to watch over them than they were when it was just men. That’s probably not the kind of women’s equality that people hoped for, but I guess you take what you can get. During this time, Constance makes a horrible blunder — one that jeopardizes her career as well as that of Sheriff Heath.

Bound and determined to keep her job (and for her friend and boss to keep his), as well as to see justice done, Constance ignores orders, protocol and (what some would consider) good sense and sets off to correct her error. Doing so will take her out of her comfort zone and into a long investigation that will remind her just what kind of evil lurks in the hearts of men.

Reading about Constance — and some of the professional women she meets in NYC — reminds me of the book I recently read about Nelly Bly and the efforts of female journalists to be taken seriously, and given the opportunities to do more than society page work. Another female law enforcement officer that Constance meets in the opening pages isn’t allowed to do much at all in her role — far less than Constance can (and does). Now this other woman seems content in that, even scandalized at Constance manhandling a suspect, but that doesn’t change the fact that times are changing, and it’s determined women like Constance and Nelly Bly that are going to make them change.

The friendship — and mutual respect — between Constance and Sheriff Heath continues to bloom, and be misunderstood by everyone (with the possible exception of Norma) from Mrs. Heath to juvenile delinquents. But really, there are no romantic sparks (and I expect Stewart will keep things that way — as did history, it seems). I do wish that more people in Bergen County — particularly some of her coworkers (even just one) — most people outside of her home (see especially almost everyone in New York) seem to be encouraging/accepting of a female Deputy.

Norma and Fleurette aren’t as important to the progress of the plot in the sequel — Norma’s stubborn, no-nonsense streak keeps Constance moving when she needs it. Fleurette’s naïveté and desire for a different life fuel Constance’s desire to make the world a better place — at least their corner of it — and to keep the money rolling in. Watching the Sheriff Heath interact with these ladies is a hoot.

I’m not sure it stacks up to its predecessor as a novel — it’s not as deep, the story’s really straightforward, and you might argue the ending is a bit rushed. But, it’s a whole lot more fun to read. Having established the world so effectively in the first book, Stewart can just let her characters live in it. This is a solid crime novel, elevated by the historical circumstances and actual history that undergirds it. Stewart really won me over with this one, I hope we have many more installments to come.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 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.

—–

4 Stars

United States of Books – The Known World by Edward P. Jones

By HCNewton

On August 8, 2016

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, United States of Books

The Known World

by Edward P. Jones

Author: Laura at 125 Pages

This week takes us to Virginia with The Known World by Edward P. Jones. Entertainment Weekly says – This award-winning examination of man’s ownership of man refuses to succumb to the calcifying effect of history, presenting Virginia’s past as raw, urgent and human.

Synopsis from Goodreads – One of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, The Known World is a daring and ambitious work by Pulitzer Prize winner Edward P. Jones.

The Known World tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage of William Robbins, the most powerful man in Manchester County, Virginia. Making certain he never circumvents the law, Townsend runs his affairs with unusual discipline. But when death takes him unexpectedly, his widow, Caldonia, can’t uphold the estate’s order, and chaos ensues. Jones has woven a footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities.

Review

1/2 Star

The Known World by Edward P. Jones is a read that made me question. It made me question if editors actually read the whole book. It made me question if the Pulitzer judges read the whole book. It made me question if I had picked up the wrong book, because this could not be the book with all of those rave reviews. This novel won a National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2004. In 2005 it won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and it was a finalist for the 2003 National Book Award. In 2009, the website The Millions polled 48 critics, writers, and editors; the panel voted The Known World the second best novel since 2000. The book I read was a disjointed mess. No seriously, I can read difficult books. I like non-linear time lines and twisty prose but this took it to a whole new level. The synopsis tells us that this is the tale of Manchester County in Virginia during the antebellum era and a black former slave who is now a slave owner himself. This sounds like a deep and thought provoking read right? It would have been if it was actually readable.

There were approximately 80 characters, so I had no idea who anyone was.

The white man at the front door was from the Atlas Life, Casualty and Assurance Company, based in Hartford, Connecticut. His talking to Calvin at the door was what kept Bennett so long. Calvin eventually came back with Bennett and when Moses told him, Calvin went back and returned with Caldonia, followed by Maude, and Fern Elston.

The time line skipped back and forth often times decades in the future to tell what happened to just one person or object and then skipped back.

This series was Anderson’s most successful, and nothing was more successful within that series than the 1883 pamphlet on free Negroes who had owned other Negroes before the War between the States. The pamphlet on slaveowning Negroes went through ten printings. Only seven of those particular pamphlets survived until the late twentieth century. Five of them were in the Library of Congress in 1994 when the remaining two pamphlets were sold as part of a collection of black memorabilia owned by a black man in Cleveland, Ohio. That collection, upon the man’s death in 1994, sold for $1.7 million to an automobile manufacturer in Germany.

There was so much unnecessary description.

Clarence sat beside his wife and after a time he put a hand, the one not stained with milk, to the back of his wife’s head and rubbed her hair. The cow swung its tail and chewed its cud. It farted.

His horse, Sir Guilderham, was idling two or so paces behind his master. And just as the horse began to wander away, Robbins turned and picked up the reins, mounted. ‘No more visits for a month,’ he said, picking one piece of lint from the horse’s ear.

Seriously, I do not care about lint on a horse and a cow farting. This really detracted from the story for me. The Known World by Edward P. Jones could have and should have been a powerful read. Instead I got bogged down in the minutia and was not able to process the tale.

I had originally picked this up at the library and then, when I found the style to be so odd, I got the Audible version. I really want my credit and the 14 hours I spent listing to this back.

Forever We Play by David Belisle

By HCNewton

On August 6, 2016

In Fiction

Forever We Play

by David Belisle

Kindle Edition, 95 pg.
David Belisle, 2016

Read: August 6, 2016

It’s been a few years since I’ve been able to watch a game, but at one point I was a semi-serious baseball fan. So when given the opportunity to read a novella where baseball is a religion, I had to try it. Especially when I’m told it’s a satire.

Now, I’ve known a few people for whom sports are a religion (see Fever Pitch — book or movie), but nothing like this. In a nutshell, Heaven is overcrowded and so entry has to be limited. Upon death, people have to pick a team and they will remain in Purgatory until that team wins the World Series. It’s more complicated and convoluted than that, but there’s the essence.

Naturally, there are a lot of Cubs fans in Purgatory.

Also, there’s a thin-ly disguised Devil running around (actually, I didn’t realize it was a disguise for a while — that’s how thin it was). He’s plotting and planning and stirring up trouble.

There’s a lot of goofiness, jokes that land, jokes that just don’t, a convoluted plot involving the last Cubs’ series win, a strange mix of various religions, and an attempt at a love story or two. I don’t think anything was as developed as it should’ve been to really tell a winning story — the characters were sketchy, the plot details too vague, and many of the jokes didn’t have enough meat to them to really get the point across. Everything came close to working, but not much did.

In the end, I enjoyed this. But man, it was a mess. A mess with a heart and wit, don’t get me wrong.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this from the author in exchange for this post.

—–

3 Stars

Deep Down (Audiobook) by Lee Child, Dick Hill

By HCNewton

On August 5, 2016

In Fiction, Jack Reacher, Lee Child, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Deep Down

by Lee Child, Dick Hill (Narrator)
Series: Jack Reacher, #16.5

Unabridged Audiobook, 1 hr, 43 min.
Random House Audio, 2013

Read: August 4, 2016

Ahh, this is more like it — I was afraid that I was going to have to give up on these shorts to preserve my appreciation for the novels. But Lee Child and Dick Hill pulled it off.

Its the mid-80s, Reacher’s a Captain in the Army and is called to Washington to go undercover as an Army sniper. Someone is leaking information from a Congressional investigation into whether the Army and Marines need a new, super-cutting-edge sniper rifle. The Army’s got it narrowed down to 4 suspects, they want him to narrow it down. Reacher is repeatedly assured that this will just be talking and that there is “no danger.” So, yeah, things are going to get dicey.

The suspects are four women on the fast track to the top of the Army — if not Commander-in-Chief (Child apparently likes the idea of women on the Fast-Track in the Army) — we get to spend a little time getting to know them with Reacher. His handler wants Reacher to try to use his masculine wiles with one or all of them. Reacher has a pretty good idea who is target is, and then plunges in, pretty sure he’ll have to come up with something better than attempting to seduce superior officers.

Interspersed with the early portions of this story are snippets of two different individuals heading toward the center of D.C. — it’s not immediately clear what’s going on with either of them, but you get plenty of opportunities to guess. They do a decent job of increasing the tension, though.

Reacher does get enough clues (naturally) to identify the leak — not only that, he’s able to uncover a whole lot more. Best yet, the book includes a fantastic Reacher fight scene (don’t get me wrong, I love it when he uses his brain, but the last two short stories I listened to didn’t have a lot of action.).

Some of Hill’s female voices leave a little to be desired. But I have no other complaints — good stuff (he has sort of a Stan Lee quality to his voice from time to time — if Child ever made him say “true believers,” I’d flip).

Good, strong story. Capable narration — a great way to spend 100 minutes.

—–

4 Stars

Meeting of the Mustangs by Cathy Kennedy

By HCNewton

On August 4, 2016

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Meeting of the Mustangs

by Cathy Kennedy

Kindle Edition, 80 pg.
Cathy Kennedy, 2015

Read: August 1, 2016

It’s been forever since I’ve read an animal book, particularly one focused on a horse. I remember reading The Black Stallion and Black Beauty, some Jack London stuff, and whatnot as a kid, but nothing really since. As I recall, most horse stories are about a horse moving from owner to owner, some good, some bad. Most wild animal stories are just a series of mini-crises where the animal bounces along from event to event and occasionally (by coincidence) runs into an animal he knows. Meeting of the Mustangs is a hybrid, doing both.

We meet our central character when he’s a few months old and follow him for a couple of years — he’s on his own a lot, and then falls into the hands of some humans — bounces around a little and eventually comes into his own. Pretty straight-forward animal story, but told with a lot of heart.

Amazon’s description puts this at 10-12 year old level — I think it’s probably 7-9, but what do I know about stuff like that? Most of what I was reading when I was 12 wasn’t on anyone’s age-appropriate list. The writing was crisp and clear, things moved along a a good clip and never dragged on. Kennedy is better at writing animals than people, but it wouldn’t take much to fix that (and since the book like something like 80%+ animals, who cares?).

I am absolutely, positively not the audience for this book — but it wasn’t bad, and I enjoyed it. If I was a younger kid who was into animal stories? I’d have really had a great time with it. It’s charming, solid and I have no problem seeing it as someone’s favorite.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this from the author in exchange for this post.

—–

3 Stars
</a

Full of Briars by Seanan McGuire

By HCNewton

On August 3, 2016

In Fiction, K-O, Seanan McGuire, Toby Daye

Full of Briars

by Seanan McGuire
Series: Toby Daye, #9.3 (but it takes place before The Winter Long)

Kindle Edition, 44 pg.
DAW, 2016

Read: August 8, 2016

I’m pretty torn about this one, to tell you the truth. Toby’s squire, Quentin, is our narrator this time out — and it’s worth reading just to see Toby, May, and Tybalt from his perspective. His parents have come to make everything official with the new Queen of the Mists — and while they’re around, they might as well check in on him and maybe bring him home.

There’s no action, no violence, Toby doesn’t come close to dying — it was so weird. There was a lot of talking — which was fun. Toby was Toby, being irreverent and nigh-disrespectful to Quentin’s parents, as she argued for them to leave him where he is. Tybalt was more Tybalt-y than usual, making sure that Quentin’s folks knew how little he cared about their status. Quentin’s growth as a character, as a person — his maturation, thanks to age and his service to Toby — is what’s on display here.

It was fun to read, and I wouldn’t discourage anyone from it — but I’m not sure it added a lot to my understanding of Toby or anyone else (including the central character). This is the first non-full length story I’ve read in this universe, and it doesn’t really make me think about trying another one. Still, it was entertaining enough — and had one killer line (and a few that were really good) — so I might.

—–

3 Stars

The Innocents by Ace Atkins

By HCNewton

On August 3, 2016

In Ace Atkins, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Quinn Colson

The Innocents

by Ace Atkins
Series: Quinn Colson, #6

Hardcover, 367 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2016

Read: July 25 – 26, 2016

“I never met this girl or knew her family,” [Ophelia] said. “But, holy shit, this is a horror among horrors. I try to not focus on Old Testament stuff. But . . . I hope there’s some revenge out there somewhere. I don’t know if there’s another way to make it right.”

“You can’t make shit like this right,” Quinn said.

But before we get to the horror, we get one of the funniest openings that Tibbehah County has given us — a meth-head steals a shotgun and a four-wheeler, and is apprehended by the acting Sheriff, Lillie Virgil(!!), in a very effective, but not that orthodox a manner. And then, of course, after Atkins gets you chuckling he introduces you to the murder victim. It’s not unheard of in a crime novel, but we spent a decent amount of time getting to know her before she died in one the worst ways I remember reading. Reading as many Detective/Crime/etc novels as I do, I’ve read some evil ways to kill some one, and some really sick things — see Val McDermid, Thomas Harris, Stieg Larsson –but this ranks up there with the worst. And it felt real, like something that could happen down the road, not the victim of diseased mind like the psychos those listed above write about. In fact, Ophelia Bundren, the coroner (who, incidentally has some of the best lines in the book — and not just what was quoted above) spoke for just about everyone in the county there (including some of the least-upstanding members of the community who will echo her). It’s a good thing that Tibbehah County has their most capable law enforcement officer in forever at the helm (and she hires a certain former Sheriff as temporary help).

It took no time at all to know how did it (or at least who was largely responsible) — actually, pretty sure I’d identified the perpetrator and the motive before the killing — but that didn’t stop this from being one of Atkins’ most compelling crime stories.

Along with all that, there are plenty of other goings on . . .

Lillie Virgil is acting as Sheriff, and isn’t dealing well with the politics. She deals well with the policing, but that’s it — between being a woman, having almost no people skills and not backing down when people want her to, things aren’t going too well for her. Which is a shame, still, it’s nice to see her in the spotlight.

Johnny Stagg’s in federal prison, and learning just who his friends are. Not surprisingly, there are fewer than he’s used to. Someone else has taken over the Booby Trap, given it a better name (finally!) and a make over. All in all, it’s a better class of strip club and the owner appears slightly less despicable.

Jason Colson has a new pipe dream and he looks to be sucking Quinn into helping out — honestly, my patience with this character is pretty low — I think the only person in the world who likes him less is Quinn’s mother, Jason’s ex. He’s not as destructive a force as the storm that just about wiped out the town a couple of years ago, but it’s a close race.

And things with Anna Lee are in a pivotal spot. That’s enough about that.

Quinn’s still in that same period of decision after losing the election a year or so ago — the man needs a little direction in his life and hopefully he gets it soon.

The power of small-town High School football, convenient racism, small town crime, Real World Evil, friendship, and personal history — as usual, Atkins brings it all and delivers it with skill, charm and aplomb. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip to Mississippi and look forward to my next trip there.

—–

4 Stars

Pub Day Repost: The Coaster by Erich Wurster

By HCNewton

On August 2, 2016

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

The Coaster

by Erich Wurster
eARC, 284 pg.
Poisoned Pen Press, 2016
Read: July 23 – 25, 2016

This is one of those mystery/crime novels that’s hard to talk about without giving too much away (which seems to be especially true when it comes to darker comedies in that genre). So this is going to have to be vague: The Coaster — an amusing read, but hard to talk about without spilling the beans. But let’s see what I can do:

Rob and Sarah have been married for about 19 years, with a couple of kids, and several horses. Sarah’s dad is a self-made, very successful businessman, and Sarah is being groomed to be his successor — and likely has an even better aptitude for business. Rob, um, is well-liked and good at making it look like he’s working. When Sarah’s father dies unexpectedly, Rob is even more unexpectedly named trustee and given oversight of the finances.

Not long after this, an old college drinking buddy comes to town to work on a business deal that was put on hold after the death and he begins to use some tactics that aren’t going to get him in well with the Better Business Bureau (gross oversimplification, but roll with is). One thing leads to another, and Rob and Sarah find themselves sinking in a metaphorical quicksand of crime. It’s pretty nonviolent, and most of the violence is implied.

Rob’s really not that likeable when you stop and think about it — he says he’s a good dad and husband, but I’m not sure there’s all that much evidence for it. Yeah, I can see how he gets by with superficial relationships in social settings, and even with his friends (or reasonable facsimiles thereof), but as far as family goes? Nope. Early on, especially because we only see her through Rob’s eyes, Sarah’s even less likeable — I was at the 20% mark before I noticed any real affection between Bob and Sarah, or any indication at all why someone would like Sarah. After that, I had no problem believing it, they actually start functioning well as a couple (or at least we see it in a way we couldn’t before).

Erich Wurster’s debut novel, The Coaster, is a charming dark comedy. It was pretty easy to guess what was going on with the criminals and how Rob and Sarah could extricate themselves, and most of the twists weren’t that twisty. But, it was a fun ride regardless. Wurster was able to get me to find this pretty unlikeable guy fun and entertaining. I wanted the couple to get out of trouble (relatively) unscathed, and enjoyed seeing if it was possible. The pacing was fine, the wit was sharp and the comedy was the right mix of light and dark for this. A solid first novel that made me interested in seeing more.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Poisoned Pen Press
via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to both for the book.
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 Stars

Pub Day Repost: Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter

By HCNewton

On August 2, 2016

In Faith Hunter, Fiction, Jane Yellowrock/Soulwood, Urban Fantasy

Blood of the Earth

by Faith Hunter
Series: Soulwood, #1

eARC, 384 pg.
Roc, 216
Read: July 5 – 8, 2016

Nell Ingram had her life turned up side down by Jane Yellowrock when she came through her land on a vampire hunt. Months later, a PsyLED team — led by good ol’ Rick LaFleur — comes to her for help and to offer her a job. Nell had been raised in a cult that seems to be involved with — on some level, anyway — with an anti-supernatural terrorist group who seem to be kidnapping local girls.

God’s Cloud of Glory Church, the cult that Nell was raised in (and that her family is still immersed in) is involved with some petty harassment of Nell — although some leaders are leaning more toward horrifying harassment. LaFleur, Paka and Pea help her get out of one tight spot. But that won’t be enough to stop them, it did however, lead to the line: “[Pea] she looked like something out of a fairy tale, one of the old stories that was fluffy on the surface but dark and bloody underneath.” Nell’s magic takes a major step further in development at that point, too.

Nell coming to grips with the fact that she has some sort of magic is the heart of the novel. Well, that and her doing a better job of leaving the cult. Technically and geographically, she’d moved on — but her mind and lifestyle are largely conditioned by the Church. Her involvement with the PsyLED team (and their crappy diet) leads to some of the most entertaining parts of the book — her introductions to Krispy Kreme donuts and pizza are fantastic.

There really aren’t that many ways that Nell and Jane are similar — they are both deliberately and stubbornly independent, they both start out not understanding really who or what they are, and both of them are really good at ignoring the one vital, pivotal and fairly obvious thing until it’s almost too late. But things kept moving well enough that I was able to ignore it (although I probably talked back at the book a lot every time this point came up).

But it’s not just about Nell — LaFluer’s got a whole team with him. While he’s prominent, he’s really a secondary character (Paka and Pea are more so). Frankly, I was relieved by that — I really expected this to be Ricky-Bo and his Amazing Friends — I would’ve read that, but I’m not sure how psyched I was for it. Instead, Nell and the others on the team are great characters to meet and spend time with — and I want to spend more time with them all. It’d take too much space to talk about the PsyLED team as individuals, so let’s leave it with the aggregate: a very promising and entertaining ensemble.

Nell’s family are a strong presence (even before we met them) and should prove to be good fodder for character growth and even future plot (I just hope it’s not a well they go back to too often). The same can be said for the rest of the world we’re introduced to here.

The plot involving the church, the terrorists, the kidnappings is pretty strong and moves well. The resolution is violent, but not as much as it would’ve been in a Yellowrock book. Nell’s magic is different (and her team uses fewer firearms and knives). I’m not sure how to talk about this pre-release, maybe in book 2, it’ll be easier. Let’s just leave it with Nell et al. deal with things in a way that’s true to the genre, but doesn’t feel like every other UF around. Nell’s what Atticus O’Sullivan might be without his sword (maybe).

There were two pretty glaring errors that I noticed: Nell at one point identifies someones actions as stemming from their being postmillennialist (I’ve never met a postmillennialist like this, I think she meant post-tribulation premillennialist) and she identifies a Biblical quotation as from Acts, when it was from Romans. There are three explanations that I can think of for this: 1. Honest mistakes that will be fixed between the ARC and official release; 2. It’s been long enough since Nell’s been involved in the cult and her memory for details like this is foggy; 3. It was a cult, and they’ve mis-educated their people. I could be convinced of #2, but it’d take some work; #1 or #3 I could completely buy.

Why do I continually underestimate Faith Hunter? It’s only been in the last few Jane Yellowrocks that I pick them up with high expectations and I came to this curious, but unsure that she could do anything distinctive from Yellowrock. That ends now — Hunter blew me away with this one, yeah, it’s in the Yellowrock ‘verse — and it fits in it — but it couldn’t be more different. I’m not sure how this is a series, it’s a great stand-alone, maybe a duology. But I don’t see how this keeps going (but Hunter’s better at this than I am, so I’m willing to believe it is one — especially with these characters). I really want to give Blood of the Earth 5 stars, but I’m going to hold off going too far in my raving over this series until I see how Hunter follows up. Which may be stupid, but it’s what makes sense to me.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC via NetGalley with major thanks to Roc, I appreciate this greatly.

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.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Dicing with the Gods by Sean McKenzie

By HCNewton

On August 2, 2016

In Fiction

Dicing with the Gods

by Sean McKenzie
Series: Grug Smash, #1

ePub, 105 pg.
Nerd Incognito Press, 2016

Read: July 29, 2016

This is a short book, so I have to keep things brief and vague.

Gurg is your typical barbarian adventurer — more brawn than brains (a lot more), good in a fight, not so good in a conversation. Think of him as Tarzan with a sword, sort of.

In the middle of a typical adventure, Gurg is separated from his party and finds a magical amulet. While wearing it, he finds himself with a growing awareness that his life is governed by forces he doesn’t understand (and much of his life doesn’t really happen). He’s also just a whole lot smarter — he’s developing empathy, thinking about things other than adventuring and drinking.

What kind of impact will this have on his life? What will this do to his adventuring? When he stumbles upon an evil plot — how will he react now that he can do more than unthinkingly slash and bash his way through enemies?

This was fun — the only downside for me was the length. Thankfully, there’s a second volume in the series already out. I expected something goofier, more farcical — maybe even slapsticky. I was wrong, it is clever and amusing. But it’s also a good fantasy story. McKensie writes with skill and panache, and his characters could be in a straight-fantasy with no problem. Instead, he comes at it from a skewed perspective and takes the standard D&D party and turns it into something special. I’ll be back for more.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for this post.

—–

3.5 Stars