Category: Fiction Page 316 of 341

R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton

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On October 8, 2013

In Fiction, Kinsey Millhone, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Sue Grafton

R is for Ricochet
R is for Ricochet

by Sue Grafton
Series: Kinsey Millhone, #18
Hardcover, 352 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2004

So here we are at the 18th Kinsey Millhone mystery, and as is the case with a lot of these books, this is a really mixed bag. However, this time, it’s the non-case work that’s the most interesting (pretty sure that’s a first for me). There were some moments to the main story, but on the whole I found it dissatisfying.

Kinsey’s hired by the father of Reba Lafferty, a soon-to-be-paroled woman, to pick her up from the prison and accompany her for the first few days, help her get established on the outside — he’s too old and frail to do this himself, and there’s no other family to call upon. It doesn’t take long before she’s teetering on the verge of parole violations and seeking revenge on those from her old life that wronged her before and/or during her incarceration. Kinsey spends the book trying to minimize the damage and help out various law enforcement agencies who have an interest in Reba’s targets.

On the whole, I found this story to be wholly predictable and I couldn’t understand why Kinsey was allowing this woman to pull her around by her nose. Maybe it’s because Reba becomes the closest thing she’s had to a female friend since her days with an office in the insurance agency building. Regardless, there’s no excuse for someone with Kinsey’s experience to act like she does here.

There’s one character involved with Reba’s family that primarily serves as a giant red herring — mostly for the reader — I don’t remember Grafton doing that before. Sure, Kinsey’s investigated a dead end or two from time to time, but I don’t recall Grafton misleading the reader like this before. This was a totally useless character and source of conflict that went nowhere.

It isn’t the first time that it’s occurred to me during this series, but the back of my mind screamed about it this time: this book, especially the last 100 pages or so, would be radically different if it were set in the last decade or so rather than in the mid-80s. You put cell phones and email in the hands of Rachel, Kinsey and various law enforcement officers and this book just doesn’t play out like it does. So often this series has plot developments hinge on Kinsey returning to her home or office to check messages or make a call — or her not knowing something because she couldn’t do that. I understand Grafton keeping everything to that era, but man, it’d be fun to see Kinsey work a case now.

As I said, the part of the book that worked best for me was the personal-life stories, but I find it difficult to talk about them without getting very spoiler-y, so I’ll keep this to bullet points.

  • As interesting as I find the saga of Kinsey’s reconnecting with her mother’s family, I was glad to get a break from it in this book — Q is for Quarry had a lot of movement on that front, and it was good to let that settle a bit more.
  • I trust Grafton has an end game in mind on the Henry’s love life, particularly where his brothers are involved, I just hope we see what it is soon. I was utterly unimpressed (as I think we were supposed to be) with the behavior of William and Lewis here, not that Henry came off much better
  • I’m not sure what I think about the whole Chaney-romance thing. Sure, the seeds were planted a while ago, but things seemed almost too good here. Still, nice to see Kinsey happy/content/on the verge of it — and not deluded like she was with Dietz or the married cop; or self-destructive like she was with her exes.

Not my favorite in the series, but there’s enough here to keep me going. Eh, at this point I’m in through Z is for Z___, who am I trying to kid?

—–

3 Stars

Dusted Off: Wolfsbane by Patricia Briggs

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On October 7, 2013

In Authors, Fiction, Patricia Briggs

Wolfsbane (Sianim, #4 - Aralorn, #2)Wolfsbane

by Patricia Briggs
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pg.
Ace, 2010

A fun, solid read with characters you end up caring a lot about without even noticing, just a touch of action, a splash of romance, and at least one character who switches between species. In other words, it’s a Patricia Briggs novel.

Like its predecessor Masques, this was written pretty early in her career, and it shows. It’s still a heckuva story, and I’d jump right into a third adventure of Wolfe and Aralorn.

—–

3 Stars

Dusted Off: Masques by Patricia Briggs

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On October 7, 2013

In Authors, Fiction, Patricia Briggs

Masques (Sianim, #1)Masques

by Patricia Briggs
Mass Market Paperback, 294 pg.
Ace, 2010

I didn’t know what to expect out of this. Between the fact that this is a different genre than I’m familiar with Briggs writing in, and the way she lowered expectations in the forward about this when it was reissued, I came into it not expecting a lot.

I should’ve known better. Not unlike her protagonist, Patricia Briggs knows how to tell a story. This was not the best fantasy I’ve read recently, but it was a very enjoyable tale.

Briggs’ strength has to be her characters, and even here in her first novel, she nailed ’em. They were people you cared about, or could easily see yourself caring about, if you got to spend some more time with ’em.

—–

4 Stars

Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction and David Aja

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On October 5, 2013

In Comics, Fiction

Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life as a WeaponHawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon

by Matt FractionTrade Paperback, 136 pg.
Marvel Comics, 2013

Spent the last few weeks and months hearing about how awesome this new Hawkeye series is. So I was glad to see it at the library recently so I could check it out myself.

I stopped reading Marvel comics decades ago (other than the a brief dabbling with the Ultimates line and the Spider-Man titles), so I was clueless when it comes to continuity. But Hawkeye was one of my favorites back when I did read them, so the thought that his own title was one of the best things around really appealed to me, I could get over the continuity thing.

I’m glad I gave it a shot — I’m not going to say it’s the greatest comic I’ve ever read, but it’s fun. There’s a lot of storytelling opportunity for Hawkeye when he’s not Avenger-ing. I’ve never read Fraction’s stuff before, but I like his dialogue approach and his characterizations — especially with Clint and Kate Bishop. Though like I’ve said elsewhere, I could live without the in media res openings.

Aja’s art isn’t the greatest I’ve ever seen, but there’s a simplicity to his layouts, a dynamism to it that makes it work. It also reminded me a bit of David Mazzucchelli’s work from Batman: Year One, which is a pretty good association to have in the back of your mind as you’re reading.

A good read, with a lot of interesting possibilities, I’m in for more.

—–

3 Stars

Criminal Enterprise by Owen Laukkanen

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On October 4, 2013

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

I feel like I’ve been giving out too many 4-stars lately, and originally rated this 3-stars, but after writing this, I knew it didn’t deserve that. This is such a good read, maybe something closer to a 5, honestly. I feel strange saying this, but hopefully, I’ve got some more mediocre reads in my near future

—–

Criminal EnterpriseCriminal Enterprise

by Owen Laukkanen
Hardcover, 406 pg.
Putnam Adult, 2013
Series: Stevens & Windermere, #2

As much as I enjoyed The Professionals, I was unsure I wanted to read a follow-up. How tortured would the contrivances needed to bring these two investigators back together be? I was figuring pretty tortured. Would we be in for another group of criminals allllmost smart enough to get away with it all?

Laukkanen pulled it off, though — by taking pretty much everything about The Professionals and turning it on its head — the criminals aren’t nearly as professional (no pun intended); Stevens and Windermere are kept apart — professionally and personally — for most of the book; the action is all in the St. Paul area, so we see the agents in their home environment, not jet setting all over the country. What’s the same? Criminal Activity is just as gripping, just as tense, moves at the same breakneck speed.

Carla Windermere is languishing at the FBI office, an outsider even two years after the headline-making case she and Stevens cracked together. Whether its due to her race, gender, or personality is hard to say, but she’s not one of the team — and she likes it as much as she hates it. She misses the excitement, the challenge of the higher-profile case.

BCA Agent Kirk Stevens has thrown himself into his family and his work following his heroics from The Professionals. He’s very involved with his daughter and marriage. He’s still doing important work for the state — like cold case murder investigations, providing closure to families still wondering what’s happened to loved ones. He’s nice and safe, just what his wife wants, but it’s driving him crazy. He wants the excitement he got a taste of recently, he wants the sense of fulfillment that he got from stopping an active criminal.

Carter Tomlin, a formerly prosperous accountant is laid off and his debts are mounting — he’s too proud, too self-reliant to look for help, won’t bring himself to sell off possessions, or ask his wife to take a full time job. He’s essentially Minnesota’s answer to Walter White — his pride won’t let him do what he needs to do, so in a moment of panicked inspiration he holds up a bank. Not only does he get some easy money to hold off the debt collectors, he comes alive in a way he hadn’t realized he could before. So he commits more and more robberies, the rush building each time.

When the paths of these three discontented people collide, havoc ensues.

If Laukkanen’s third book in this series is half as good, I don’t care how he gets Stevens and Windermere together or what felons they are trying to take down — doesn’t matter, I’m all in.

—–

4 Stars

Stonecast by Anton Strout

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On October 3, 2013

In Anton Strout, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

StonecastStonecast

by Anton Strout
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pg.
Ace, 2013

Stonecast was not as fun as it’s predecessor, Alchemystic, but it’s designed to be a that way (still fun, and occasionally funny, however). Lexi’s still trying to figure out how to deal with this new reality she’s found herself in — magic exists, she’s a Spellmason (at least an entry-level and self-taught one) — but now the stakes are higher — her brother and a centuries-old dictator are gunning for her, and have taken her guardian gargoyle captive. She knows that she only has a little while before they’re going to come back to finish what they started last time, and she needs to figure out as much as she can before that so she can defend herself. So where Alchemystic had a feel similar to the hero-discovering-his/her-power montage from recent super-hero movies, Stonecast‘s feel is closer to that of an A-Team or MacGuyver episode where they’ve only got a little time to throw together some way to take down the bad guys.

Spellmasonry isn’t the only supernatural game in town, as we all (including the characters) assumed last time out, and Lexi and her friends get introduced to some of that expanded universe — they meet an alchemist, the representative of an expansive group that studies the supernatural, and see the results of other magic user’s work. Along those lines, Strout also gives us a cameo that points to a whole lot more supernatural activity in their world.

Both of these characters are working off their own agendas, which don’t necessarily line up with Lexi’s, and neither she nor the reader are really ever sure what their angle is. Which leads to something like a two-front war she has to wage — I guess it’s more of a single-front war with a strong possibility that at least another front will open up at any moment. Which is good for dramatic tension, good for the reader, but bad for Lexie.

Stanis, on the other hand, has his hands full — his father (the aforementioned dictator) is trying to bend the gargoyle to his will, and is using methods that the Geneva Conventions would frown on. He’s also dealing with the severing of the bond between himself and the Belarus family, after all this time that’s a difficult transition. By the end of Stonecast, he’ll have even bigger problems to deal with.

The biggest problem with this book is space — it’s just not long enough. We need to see more of the effort that Lexi’s putting into preparation for the return of Kejetan; we need to see more effort that Lexi and her alchemist sensei are putting forth to build up her abilities — and the relationship between the two of them felt too rushed throughout. And thanks to the alchemist, we don’t get nearly enough time with Rory and Marshall this time out — yes, Lexi explains shutting them out for their own protection, so it holds up narratively, but Shaggy without Fred and Daphne just isn’t as fun. I did like Marshall’s development towards the end of this book, but Rory might as well not have been mentioned. We just needed more detail, to see more of the struggles in general.

Still, on the whole, I really enjoy this world, and enjoyed the book — and what’s set up for Spellmason Chronicles #3 has me really looking forward to reading it.

—–

4 Stars

Dusted Off: Alchemystic by Anton Strout

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On October 3, 2013

In Anton Strout, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Alchemystic (The Spellmason Chronicles, #1)Alchemystic

by Anton Strout
Mass Market Paperback, 290 pg.
Ace, 2012

Yay! Been waiting for this one for too long. Sure, I’d prefer a new Simon Canderous novel, but this makes up for it.

This isn’t a conventional UF–your three human heroes are definitely not run-of-the-mill, which is nice; they’re all likeable, which is nicer. You want to spend time with them, you want them to come out on top, you want the giant, nigh-humorless and nigh-invulnerable, living statue to come to their rescue. Which works out for everyone, because that’s what the statue wants, too.

Stanis, the statue–gargoyle–in question here is a pretty nice character, too. Can’t get into all of it without entering spoiler territory, but for a superhero that gets, but doesn’t totally get, these odd humans, he’s pretty fun.

That’s a good description for the whole book–pretty fun. Not as intense, or dark and brooding, as a lot of UF. But a nice, fun, character-driven read. Good ending that’s not quite a cliff-hanger, but whets the appetite for volume 2.

—–

4 Stars

Anton Strout-Apalooza 2013

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On October 2, 2013

In Anton Strout, Books, Fiction, News/Misc., Urban Fantasy, Writing

I want this blog to be about more than just my reviews, like many readers, I’m interested in the process of writing and the people who do it. So I thought I’d try to look at what various authors are up to. One of the best side-effects of one of your favorite authors coming out with a new book in this social media-heavy age, is them being interviewed and/or writing guest posts for various and sundry blogs.

To promote his new book, Stonecast (which I’ll be reviewing here tomorrow), Anton Strout‘s been just about everywhere over the last couple of weeks, talking about Stonecast as well as sharing his thoughts about Urban Fantasy and writing in general. Thought I’d share a sample, there’s a lot to chew on and enjoy here:

Hopefully that gives you a decent flavor of both the author and the book/series. Check out both The Spellmason Chronicles as well as his Simon Canderous books.

Indexing, Episode 10: Not Sincere by Seanan McGuire

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On October 1, 2013

In Fantasy, Fiction, Indexing, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

—-

IndexingIndexing by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #1.10

Episode 10: Not Sincere
Huh. I’d expected something different for this episode, but I shouldn’t have. I’d expected Henry and her team to go for the Big Bad like gangbusters, that this would be the beginning of a big 2.5 episode face-off. But stories don’t work that way (even when the Narratives have a power unto themselves like in this world), McGuire needed to move some pieces around here and get things set up for the upcoming showdown.

That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty of movement forward in this episode, it just happened while she was moving pieces around — which makes it much more palatable.

I’ve gotta say, The Little Mermaid manifestations described here are pretty bad in general. But this one in particular was pretty disturbing. That poor guy. And I don’t even want to know what’s going to become of his victim (okay, that’s nonsense, that’s Priority One for me next episode).

Watching Henry deal with a. the way Jeff and the others are treating her now as she deals with her new status is pretty interesting, although I have to wonder why she seems to not understand why they think she’d change — she has been in this field for awhile, no? and b. the way the Narrative can possibly affect her now, how she has to retreat from a situation, leaving the others to handle it so she doesn’t succumb to its power was a nice twist.

The conversation between her and Jeff afterwards was just icing on the cake.

I’m digging this series more and more, and will be sad to see the end here in a couple of episodes.

—–

3 Stars

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

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On October 1, 2013

In Authors, F-J, Fiction, Neil Gaiman

It’s been months since I read this, and I haven’t written the review yet, because I wanted it to be the best thing on this blog because this book deserves it. But that’s just not going to happen, so I’ll just ramble a bit and get this posted. If Rothfuss can’t write a review, I shouldn’t worry if I can’t.

—–

The Ocean at the End of the LaneThe Ocean at the End of the Lane

by Neil Gaiman
Hardcover, 181 pg.
William Morrow Books, 2013

I like myths. They weren’t adult stories and they weren’t children’s stories. They were better than that. They just were.

Adult stories never made sense, and they were so slow to start. They made me feel like there were secrets. Masonic, mythic secrets to adulthood. Why didn’t adults want to read about Narnia, about secret islands and smugglers and dangerous fairies?

While not properly a myth, there is a mythic quality to The Ocean at the End of the Lane. This slim volume is magic. Just magic. It struck me in a very personal place. Between lines like:

I was not happy as a child, although from time to time I was content. I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.

Books were safer than other people anyway.

and

I went away in my head, into a book. That was where I went whenever real life was too hard or too inflexible.

I can’t remember a narrator I identified with as much as I have this one, that’s where my head was as a child — I don’t think I could’ve come close to putting it into those words then . . . but now? I tell you, those words resonated with me.

Other than a little time with the narrator as an adult bookending the novel, this is primarily a story about a boy — but this isn’t a children’s book. Yeah, Coraline and The Graveyard Book aren’t your typical children’s books in subject or tone, but there’s something different about this. Yeah, there’s a sex scene, but that’s not what makes it adult fiction (not that it’d be appropriate elsewhere, obviously) but this is 1. a look at childhood from an adult perspective, it’s about looking back — kids wouldn’t be able to appreciate that and 2. honestly, I found it too frightening for kids. Since it’s told as a flashback, I knew the narrator would survive — but that didn’t keep me from being worried about what was going to happen to him in some pretty nasty situations.
The narrator tells us

I was a normal child. Which is to say, I was selfish and I was not entirely convinced of the existence of things that were not me and I was certain, stock-solid unshakably certain, that I was the most important thing in creation. There was nothing that was more important to me than I was.

and while remaining honest about children, as is typical with Gaiman, there’s an (over-?)romanticizing of childhood throughout The Ocean, this time coupled with a de-romanticizing of adulthood — or at least of grown-ups. We’re told,

grown-ups don’t look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they’re big and thoughtless and they always know what they’re doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren’t any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.

Hard to argue with that.

Childhood friendship is also a theme in this book, but one I really don’t have a nice quote for — it’s something that Gaiman shows us throughout rather than telling us about. The Ocean is about the power of reading, and one good friend — which is all a lonely boy needs. And as we see here, the effect of that friendship and the memory of will last decades.

A quick, engrossing and moving read — with the added bonus that a quotation from “The Nightmare Song” got Mandy Patinkin’s voice stuck in my head for a while. A book I will return to soon.

Still don’t have a good answer to why “adults want to read about Narnia, about secret islands and smugglers and dangerous fairies?”

—–

5 Stars

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