Category: Fiction Page 46 of 317

REREAD PROJECT: All Our Wrong Todays (Audiobook) by Elan Mastai: It’s Still The Best Time Travel Novel I’ve Encountered

All Our Wrong TodaysAll Our Wrong Todays

by Elan Mastai

DETAILS: 
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publication Date: Feb 7, 2017
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length:10 hrs., 2 min.
Read Date: April 4-6, 2023


This is largely a reworking of my post about the ARC for this novel that I received from Dutton via NetGalley, but there’s some new material thrown in as well.

What’s All Our Wrong Todays About?

Avery Brooks famously asked, “Where are the flying cars? I was promised flying cars! I don’t see any flying cars! Why? Why? Why?” Elan Mastai’s book finally provides the answer. Simply put: we had it—flying cars, routine space flights, robots/other tech dressing us, feeding us, doing the everyday jobs that need to be done so that humans can focus on working in labs to make the world an even better place, to make the next technological leap forward. Essentially, everything that Science Fiction of the 1950’s told us to expect, we lived in George Jetson’s world.

Until July 11, 2016 when the first time machine was turned on and things went wrong, resulting in 40 years of history being rewritten and one man—Tom Barren—was the only one to know that we are now living in a dystopia. It’s a dystopia for everyone on Earth, but Tom, that is—his life in the 2016 that we know is much better than it was in the “original” 2016. So now Tom has to decide, does he try to restore the timeline (if he can even figure out how to do so), or does he keep things the way they are?

That’s less than you can see on Goodreads/Mastai’s site/Web retailers—and yet I think I gave away too much. But really, that’s barely scratching the surface.

The Science Part of Science Fiction

There’s a great mix of detail to the science (at least the ideas and theories behind it), yet keeping it at the level where we don’t get bogged down in technicalities (and kept Mastai from having to work them out)—he gets away with it by comparing it to the way that we don’t really understand how hydroelectric dams or incandescent light bulbs work.

This is the way to do Science Fiction for me—give me just a hint about the science, enough to make it plausible, but don’t get me details. My eyes gloss over and I frequently skim it, especially if it goes too long. I’m sure this disqualifies me from being a Hard SF fan. But I’m okay with that.

Chapter 56

Oooh, boy. Speaking of things to skim—many readers (particularly a handful of those who read this space) will want to skim Chapter 56—or skip it entirely if they listen to the audiobook.

I think it’s a mistake to do so, but I get the impulse.

It’s the literary equivalent to that scene from The Wire‘s 4th episode—it’s a mixture of genius and profanity and poetry. Mostly profanity.

It consists of two words, both of which are some of the “bigger” words on Carlin’s list of words that you can’t say on TV, or some of the middle words in McWhorter’s Nine Nasty Words.

In the audiobook version, it’s 2 minutes long. Mastai does a masterful job of varying the way he utters each blue syllable to convey meaning and make it more than just a monotonous stream of profanity.

While glancing at his Twitter feed, I saw Matsai commenting that “I find it endlessly amusing that every few months [an image] this page of my novel goes viral.” It’s really kind of sad that this chapter gets this much attention when the rest of the chapters (which are better in so many ways) barely get any attention at all—at least that I can see.

Putting aside the couthness of the vocabulary—in context it works so well, it encapsulates everything going through Tom’s mind in the moment as he realizes just how monumentally everything has gone wrong with his impetuous move.

How’s Mastai’s narration?

It’s almost as good as his writing—and I loved the writing. As always, I get nervous when I see that a writer does their own audiobook narration, but Penguin knew what they were doing when they put him behind the microphone. He’s a natural performer and gets the emotions of every scene perfectly, the nuances for the characters, when to ratchet up the tension and when to let things relax.

It’s obvious when you think about it—but not every author is capable of conveying what they know about a book through a performance. Matsai is one of the exceptions. I’d pay to hear him narrate other people’s work, too.

So, what did I think about All Our Wrong Todays?

In my original post, I’d said, “We’re going to be talking about Elan Mastai the way we recently talked about Ernest Cline or Andy Weir next year (assuming I can predict anything)—and he deserves it.” Sadly, it appears that I can’t predict anything. Because we’re not–and we should be. The voice grabs you right away from the humor, the honesty—the trouble with time travel grammar. I really wish that Jonathan Tropper’s endorsement of the book wasn’t right there on the front cover, because it feels like a cheat to compare Mastai to him now, but I want to. He’s got the same mix of humor, heart, drama, and inspiration as Tropper, he just blends science fiction themes in with those. The Tropper comparison is from the original post, too—now I’d add a comparison to Mike Chen–it’s the same kind of mix of heart, family, and SF (although Chen’s work was published later).

Tom Barren’s a great character (a questionable person, but a great character) that you’ll love spending time with. There are really a lot of great characters here, but he’s the only one I feel safe discussing. There are characters with warts, strengths, weaknesses, courage, bravery, and humanity in all shapes and sizes—some noble, some despicable, some pathetic. As is frequently the case, seeing multiple versions of the same characters in the various timelines tells you a lot about the people and/or worlds they live in.

Tom’s father, the one who developed the time machine—has some fantastic theories about time travel—it’s not just about time, it’s about space (between the earth’s rotation, movement through space, etc.), and for time travel to be really possible, both have to be addressed. Not only does it clear the TARDIS from every critique of time travelers/machines mentioned in the book, but it’s a really, really good point.

It’s one of those magic books that you don’t want to end, because you’ll have to leave the characters and world—but that you can’t get through fast enough because you just have to know how it turns out.

Is it flawless? No, I’m sure it’s not, but unlike almost every other book I’ve read this year (including the ones I’ve loved), I can’t think of a single problem. That says a lot to me. On a re-read, I’m not still not sure I can point to a problem. There are scenes I don’t like—but that’s because they’re effective in portraying darkness, and they were right to do so. But a deficiency? Nope, can’t think of one.

I’d originally said, “I have not been able to stop talking about this book for a week now—I think my wife and kids have started ignoring me when I bring it up. All Our Wrong Todays is a book that practically demands over-hyping—it’s only a huge amount of restraint that keeps me from spilling everything. I have a list of people I want to buy this for (started compiling it when I was about 10% finished), and the list is currently long enough now that I wouldn’t be able to buy any books for myself until June 2017 — so, sorry everyone, buy your own.” I still can’t stop talking about it, and bring it up anytime someone asks about Time Travel fiction, SF with heart, or just someone needing a book that’s not their normal genre.

My original conclusion was this: “I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch/read more time travel again—especially time travel involving love stories—but man, it’s absolutely worth it if this was my last.” I’ve read 3-4 time travel books (and a couple of Doctor Who-tie ins) since then, so it wasn’t my last–but the only one that’s come close to being as good was Chen’s Here and Now and Then. I enthusiastically recommended it then, I’m just as enthusiastic in my recommendation now—in either format. I’m annoyed that it took me so long to come back to this as a re-read, and I’m promising myself I won’t put it off that long again.


5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 20: Room 5 by R. T. Slaywood: Many, Many Things Happen and My Perseverance is Rewarded

The Ballad of BonadukeThe Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 20: Room 5

by R.T. Slaywood

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #19
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: March 17, 2023

The Story So Far…

A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.

Before then, he gets himself drunk and we get some of his tragic backstory. As he ponders this, he decides to use some of his ill-gotten-gains to buy more booze and walks into a liquor store robbery. He foils it in some sort of magical fashion, gets some more to drink, and heads off to the park to drink until he’s arrested (probably for the failed robbery). At least that’s his plan, but it gets interrupted by being hit by a car. He wakes up on some sort of short, metal bed and is unsure what’s going on. It turns out that some group is subjecting him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.

Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. Taking refuge in a homeless encampment, Bonaduke has to make some decisions. He starts to get his thoughts in order when the police begin a raid at the camp. During the raid, he’s apprehended by…well, we need to find out. But first, the interrogation starts.

What’s Room 5 About?

We pick up in the interrogation room Bonaduke was shoved into last time–with questions about the disaster in his home. Stalling for time–and maybe starting to scheme–Bonaduke asks to borrow some water. This gives him the opportunity to start using his grift to get him out of the building.

But that doesn’t go as well as expected, and some sort of supernatural combat ensues–and we get introduced to a very intriguing mystery that might prove to be the most important part of this story.

So, what did I think about Room 5?

The typos in this one really marred things. If you can’t get your protagonist’s name right (repeatedly)…maybe you need to take more time during the revision stage. There’s a word or two that I’m not sure was correct, either–but I wasn’t sure that something spelled much like them would work in context, either. Also, exactly what was going on with Bonaduke’s “grift” would be better–Slaywood clearly enjoys being coy with this–but it feels more obscure and vague than mysterious. But I can get over that.

Slaywood does some interesting things with whitespace in this one to build suspense. At the end of the day, his typing really made me conflicted.

This episode starts off slow, and I was thinking that even if we don’t get much happening, the interrogation is going to be interesting–and I was okay with that. And then…BOOM! Action flows like crazy. I’m not sure exactly what happened (see my last paragraph), but it kept me gripped. This is one of the longer episodes in the series and by far the best. I can’t wait to see what comes next (it’s been a while since I felt that way).

 


4 Stars

UPDATE: Mrs. Covington’s: A Cozy Fantasy Novel Kickstarter

Before this Kickstarter launched I assured you that you’d be hearing a lot about this book over the next few weeks–I might as well keep going now. Yesterday, the book hit the funding goal, and is a couple of hundred past it. So, congrats to K.R.R. Lockhaven!

Now, I’m no longer trying to encourage (read: pressure) you into supporting this book for the sake of Lockhaven and his fans (like me), at this point I’m telling you to help yourself. You want this book in your life and you’ve got 6 days to do it easily (and to help him hit a stretch goal or two to make the experience better for everyone).

Last week, I blogged my thoughts on the beta version of the novel and was joined by Lockhaven for a Q&A about the book and Kickstarter campaign. If you haven’t read those yet, I encourage you to do so. Also, in case you’re not familiar with the name, I’ve said plenty of good things about Lockhaven’s previous books, and you should read those–not so much because what I’ve said is all that worth reading, but so I can point you to those books.

For those who haven’t looked into it yet, here’s the skinny on the campaign:

Check out the video:

What do you know? I’ve been pronouncing the “o” in Covington wrong…anyway.

Look into the book and then pitch in to help Lockhaven put a better version of this out there in the world. I think you’ll be glad you did. I won’t be so bold as to suggest that the publication of Mrs. Covington’s will make the world a better place, but it will brighten the day of whoever reads it. So it’ll feel like the world is a better place for a while.

Go kick that start.

Mrs Covingtons Full Wrap Cover

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies

I’m very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for Book One of The Cruel Gods series by Trudie Skies, The Thirteenth Hour. I’ve been hearing almost universally great things about this book since it was released (if not before), and it drives me crazy that I didn’t have time to read it for this Tour. Do yourself a favor and check out https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours over the next few days to see a lot of bloggers write interesting things about it. The Thirteenth Hour was a finalist for the 2022 Book Blogger’s Novel of the Year Award, so you know there’s a lot of good to be said about it–but before getting to the spotlight for it, let’s start with a word about BBNYA.

BBNYA:

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter @bbnya_official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

The Thirteenth Hour Tour Banner

Book Details:

Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Fantasy, Gaslamp Fantasy, Steampunk
Age Category: Adult
Release date: October 13, 2021
Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook/Audiobook
Length: 535 pages
The Thirteenth Hour

About the Book:

When the saints fail, the sinners step up.

Cruel gods rule the steam-powered city of Chime, demanding worship and tribute from their mortal subjects. Kayl lost her faith in them long ago, and now seeks to protect vulnerable and downtrodden mortals from their gods’ whims. But when Kayl discovers powers that she didn’t know she had—and destroys a mortal’s soul by accident—she becomes Chime’s most wanted.

Quen’s job was to pursue sinners, until the visions started. Haunted by foreboding images of his beloved city’s destruction, Quen hunts soul-sucking creatures made of aether who prey on its citizens—and Kayl is his number one target.

To ensure Chime’s future, Kayl and Quen must discover the truth of Kayl’s divine abilities before the gods take matters into their own hands.

For a city that bows to cruel gods, it’ll take godless heathens to save it.

Book Links:

Amazon.ca ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Authors:

Trudie SkiesTrudie Skies is a British indie author who has been living inside fantasy worlds ever since they discovered that reality doesn’t quite live up to the hype. Through the magic of books, they wish to share these worlds of hope and heroes with other weary souls. You can chat with Trudie on Twitter @TrudieSkies, or to find out more about Trudie and her fantasy worlds, visit www.TrudieSkies.com.

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Grandpappy’s Corner: Red Stripes VS Miles the Mutant Mouse by Amy Rice and Kyson Rice: Not Your Typical Cat and Mouse Story

Grandpappy's Corner Logo

Red Stripes VS Miles the Mutant Mouse

by Amy Rice and Kyson Rice

DETAILS:
Publication Date: August 28, 2017
Format: Paperback
Length: 60 pgs.
Read Date: March 27, 2023

What’s Red Stripes VS Miles the Mutant Mouse About?

Red Stripes is your typical pet cat who spends his time playing with his human, Kyson. Unless disaster strikes—then he has to disappear (not unlike a certain Agent P) to help out, he’s secretly the superhero, Red Stripes the Super Wonder Cat!

In this particular adventure, a perfectly nice mouse was exposed to some toxic chemicals and mutated into a large and very hungry hulk of a mouse. Seeking food, he inadvertently creates a path of destruction, wreaking havoc on businesses, homes, and the city. Can Red Stripes stop him in time?

Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute

As Amy Rice described it to me, while she did the art—Kyson directed it—changing colors and providing input on the overall look. A good team approach that is probably reflected in the text, too.

The designs and looks for Red Stripes and Mutant Mouse are great—I particularly like the mouse. Some of the objects—and (I’m sorry to say) all of the people are a little on the iffy side. But overall, it’s an attractive, vibrant, and playful book with a lot of energy to the art. It fits the story and the writing—and probably only older readers like me will nitpick the art (and really, I’m only nitpicking, not complaining).

So, what did I think about Red Stripes VS Miles the Mutant Mouse?

This is a cute little story, really. What I really admire about this is that the Rices worked on this together and accomplished something at Kyson’s pretty young age (I believe 5 at the time of writing).

I think younger readers will respond to the idea that a kid wrote this—it reads like the kind of thing a kid would make up, too—so it’ll probably hit the reader right in the sweet spot. Who knows, it might inspire a reader to try something like it themselves.

I don’t know that older readers will respond too well to the writing or the story—but that’s okay. We can get wrapped up in the story behind the book, that’s enough for us—we’re not the audience. And while I might not have loved this book on an aesthetic level, I did get a kick out of it and found myself smiling a good deal while reading it.

I admire Kyson’s mom for seeing this through—and the patience that both of them must’ve had to exercise along the way—and recommend a parent pick it up just to show a child what’s possible when they stick to a goal. The fact that they’ll be entertained by the art and story is a great bonus.


3 Stars

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RE-ISSUE DAY REPOST: The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson: A Hilarious Fantasy Filled with Adventure and Shenanigans. Definitely Shenanigans.

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) TrueThe Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True

by Sean Gibson

DETAILS:
Publisher: The Parliament House
Publication Date: December 10, 2020
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 358 pg.
Read Date: March 10-12, 2022

      

I am, if not the most well-known bard in Erithea (yet), arguably the most talented, and unarguably the cleverest. I also wouldn’t quibble if you suggested that I’m the most beautiful, but that’s just because I’m very agreeable (and beautiful)…

Decades ago, I was sworn to secrecy regarding the true story of the great and terrible “Dragonia,” but recent developments have released me from that promise, and so I can finally tell the tale.

A Quick Bit About the Re-issue

You should probably just read what Sean Gibson said over on his website, but I’ll share a snippet:

Bibliophiles the world over know there’s nothing quite like the feel of a hardcover book in your hands, especially when it’s nattily attired in a gorgeously illustrated dust jacket. It’s so much more than a book—it’s an experience. The story pulsating between the covers, a mystical alchemy of ink and imagination exponentially greater than the sum of its parts, guides you on a journey to an infinity of impossible destinations. When you’re reluctantly ready to return to reality, the stolid feel of those very same covers, just one design element of a marvel of engineering that can’t possibly be improved upon, slowly draws you back—changed, bettered, by the experience, somehow made more whole.

With that spirit in mind (or, perhaps, despite that spirit), Parliament House Press has re-issued this novel in hardcover and brought along Mateusz Wisniewski to provide this dazzling new cover. I liked the original cover, but this one is the kind you want on a hardcover.

I’d love to tell you exactly how snazzy this cover looks in person, but for two days now the tracking information says, “The shipping label has been created. Your package will be picked up by the carrier soon. Check back for updates on your delivery, or sign up for notifications.” Woe is me. You should head over to your local bookstore, Bookshop.org, or wherever you get your books and get your hands on this edition* today!

* Or, like me, an annoying and nowhere-near-as-attractive status update.

Enough about that, let’s talk about what’s behind the cover—as great as the cover is, this is the best part:

What’s The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True About?

This is that true story about Dragonia, told alongside the “official” account so the reader can see how the details were adjusted and tweaked to create the story everyone knows.

The town (or village, depending on who you ask) of Skendrick is being terrorized by a dragon—crops are being ruined, trade is disrupted, and the town is about to fall apart. Desperate, they put out a call for adventurers to come and kill the dragon. But they get no takers—so they go to Plan B. The villagers (or townspeople) pool their meager resources to hire a bard. This bard is to compose a song to make the attempt to kill the dragon sound appealing enough—and its treasure (which may or may not actually exist) enticing enough—to get a band of adventurers to come.

This is where Heloise comes in. She takes the gig and soon gets a new and yet unaccomplished band of adventurers to take up the call to action. I don’t want to get into describing the group, you want to meet them in the book.

They encounter difficulties from without and within; nasty, malodorous geography; orcs and other creatures; and, well, the dragon.

Heloise the Bard

“You’re not half as funny as you think you are, as I suspect you have a very high opinion of yourself.”

“My opinion of myself is in direct proportion to my amazingness,” I said sweetly.

The half-elf, Heloise the Bard is our narrator—as you can tell from the quotations above, she has a fairly high opinion of herself and her abilities. She’s also rather impressed with her hair and certain other physical attributes. Probably her greatest skill is self-promotion.

She decides to accompany the adventurers, to chronicle their journey and the outcome of their clash with the dragon. Her wit and quick thinking prove valuable to their effort and her particular set of skills make all the difference.

She is a hoot. It’d be easy for Heloise to be an annoying, over-the-top character, but somehow Gibson keeps her as an entertaining, over-the-top character. I’ve been trying to come up with a character to compare her to, and I’m failing. Maybe she’s the Fantasy version of Evanovich’s Lula, except Heloise has the skills that Lula thinks she has. Maybe she’s the equivalent of High Fidelity‘s Barry. Somewhere in the Venn Diagram featuring Fantasy, Lula, and Barry, I guess.

She appears in a couple of other books by Gibson, and I’m eager to spend some more time with her.

The Humor

The section could easily be merged with the previous one because the humor displayed in the book is primarily Heloise’s. The jokes are pretty much non-stop—even in the middle of fight scenes, or when death is nigh. The danger is still present, and the combat (and so on) is as deadly as it would be in another book—it’s just surrounded by laughs.

It didn’t take me long before I’d highlighted too many lines to quote—not that it stopped me from going on. My notes on this one are ridiculous. I kept chuckling throughout the reading. I probably would’ve finished the book in 2/3 the time, if reacting to the jokes didn’t make me stop reading for a moment.

If you’ve read The Tales of Pell, you’ve got a good idea for the pace of the jokes—and tone of the book, too.

There’s slapstick, there’s scatological humor, a great Meatloaf (the singer) line, some fantastic bursts of alliteration for the sake of a laugh, some general silliness, clever dialogue, and…honestly, I’m having a hard time thinking of a kind of humor that’s not in there. There’s a running gag (that I’ve alluded to) throughout about whether Skendrick is a town or a village—I can’t tell you how often it’s brought up. And the joke works every time—I should’ve gotten sick of it, and I never did. I don’t know how Gibson pulled that off, but that alone is the mark of a fantastic humor writer.

In addition to The Tales of Pell, if you’ve enjoyed Christopher Healy, Dave Barry, K.R.R. Lockhaven, Peter David, Scott Meyer, Joe Zieja, Jim C. Hines’ Jig the Goblin series, or John Scalzi—you’re going to dig the humor here. And if you dig the humor, you’re going to really enjoy the book. It’s that simple.

So, what did I think about The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True?

You know by this point that one of my main goals in telling this story is to show that the adventuring life isn’t all it’s thought to be. It’s mostly boring, frustrating, dangerous (though not excitingly dangerous), smelly (dear gods, so smelly), and not particularly lucrative. Occasionally, however, it’s exactly how the songs make it sound, and in those moments, it’s easy to see why people—even smart, capable people like Nadi—would devote their lives to doing something so irrational. Let the record show that entering a dragon’s lair for the first time is one of those moments, and it’s fair to say that each member of our intrepid band experienced more than a frisson of excitement as we crept across that threshold.

I think it’s pretty clear that I had a blast with this book, but I should probably make that explicit. I had a blast reading this book.

I think I should not that this is not a book to read if you’re in a “find out what happened and get to the end of the story” frame of mind. This is a “enjoy the trip, not the destination”/”stop and smell the roses” kind of book. The destination/what happens is fully satisfying, but the getting-there is so much better.

In addition to the jokes and the dragon, there is a running commentary on what “the adventuring life” is like outside of the glamorous or exciting bits. A lot of fantasy novels will show bits of it, but not enough of them do—and most don’t do it this way. For example, The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True contains more description of various odors than every 99% of the fantasy novels I’ve read by a significant factor. If this were a scratch and sniff book…well, I can’t imagine anyone would stock it—you just don’t want that in your warehouse/store. Sure, it’s silly talking about realism in a book featuring orcs, halflings, elves, etc.—but this factor does ground the book and give it a seriousness (for lack of a better term) that makes this more than a collection of jokes.

This is the funniest book I’ve read in 2022, and I can’t imagine it’ll face much competition. It’s got it all, go get your hands on it.


4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

COVER REVEAL: Down Below Beyond by T.A. Bruno

Down Below Beyond Cover Reveal Banner

I’m very pleased to welcome the Escapist Book Tour’s Cover Reveal for T.A. Bruno’s Down Below Beyond to The Irresponsible Reader this morning! Before we get to revealing the cover, let’s learn a little bit about the book and author, shall we? It’ll just take a moment, and then we can all feast on the cover.

Book Details:

Book Title: Down Below Beyond by T.A. Bruno
Series: N/A, Standalone
Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy
Intended Age Group: General Audience (PG-13)
Length: 260 (unofficial)
Release date: Forthcoming, tentative June/July 2023
Publisher: Feathersong, LLC. (Self Published)

About the Book

Levort Aatra is a prospector on a planet named Tayoxe. While scavenging the wastes of the abandoned world, he discovers a mysterious starship and stakes his claim on it. Little does he know; he just put a big target on his back.

DOWN BELOW BEYOND is a sprawling sci-fi fantasy adventure filled with aliens, planets, and portals set in a universe crafted by T. A. Bruno, author of the award-winning Song of Kamaria trilogy.

See Also:

Stick it to the Man! • Now You’re Thinking with Portals • 99 Red Balloons

Book Links

The Song of Kamaria trilogy

About the Author

T.A. BrunoT. A. Bruno grew up in a suburb south of Chicago and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the film industry. Since then, he has brought stories to life for over a decade as a previz artist. At home, he is the proud father of two boys and a husband to a wonderful wife. He wrote his first trilogy of novels in the early 2020’s, the Song of Kamaria (In the Orbit of Sirens, On the Winds of Quasars, and At the Threshold of the Universe).

Website ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Youtube ~ Goodreads

and now…

The Cover

Down Below Beyond Cover

That’s an eyecatching cover right there…I know I’d take a double or triple-look at it on the shelf.

Be sure to check out the website of the cover artist, Lance Buckley.



My thanks to Escapist Book Tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided. The opinions expressed by me are honest and my own.

Escapist Book Tours

Please Return to the Lands of Luxury by Jon Tilton: An MG Tale (in a Dystopian World) About What Matters Most

Please Return to the Lands of LuxuryPlease Return to the Lands of Luxury

by Jon Tilton

DETAILS:
Series: The Lands of Luxury, #1
Publisher: Blueberry Finch
Publication Date: March 21, 2023
Format: eBook
Length: 188 pg.
Read Date: March 22-23, 2023

What’s Please Return to the Lands of Luxury About?

Jane, Timothy, and Rodney are three children living in the community of Yarborough. Yarborough is a small(ish) group of people living on an island of trash. I’m not being metaphorical here—it’s a landmass that serves as a dumping ground for the refuse of the rest of the world (at least a continent). Like the rest of their neighbors, the children spend their days scavenging for things they can use and eat out of the refuse. Robots that run the place provide a daily allowance of water for each resident.

One day Jane finds a doll—almost pristine in condition—the nicest thing she or her friends can remember finding. The boys encourage her to cherish it and take it for her own—but the one who can read tells her that the attached tag says, “Please return to Gloria Thatcher.” It includes an address—in Paradise City, the source of the rubbish they live off of and among.

Jane knows that if she’d lost something so fantastic she’d be heartbroken without it—and she has the means to get it back into Gloria’s hands. She only has to risk her life to escape the island and make it to Paradise City. It seems like the right thing to do—and it shouldn’t take that long, she can probably get it done and be back in time for the next water distribution.

Her friends try to talk her out of it—but they fail. Once they realize she’s gone, they attempt to find and rescue her.

All three of them end up in dangerous situations—for both their physical and emotional well-being—and end up learning a lot about the world they live in.

It’s Dystopian, but Not

Most Dystopian novels are about people realizing the problems in their particular dystopia—or realizing they have the opportunity and ability to fight against those problems. I have nothing against those novels—I have (and likely will continue to) like many of those.

What I appreciate more (at least I think I do…maybe I’ll take this sentence back) is another kind of dystopian novel. The protagonists are sometimes aware the system is rigged, that things could be better. Sometimes, they don’t realize that’s where they are—like the fish who doesn’t realize it’s wet, it’s just life. But they press on, making do with what they have—or making things a little nicer for themselves and those around them—however temporarily. Those seem more realistic, more relatable, you know?

This falls into the latter camp—the people (even the kids) in Yarborough realize that life is hard and that theirs is harder than most. They don’t spend time dreaming of social change, of bettering their station in life, or anything like that. They’re surviving, helping each other, and trying to stay alive—finding joy in little treasures they find and in each other (and in hiding a harmonica from someone who doesn’t know how to play one, but keeps trying anyway*).

* Any parent—including, at one point, my own—can relate to this move. Yes, it’s mean—but it’s merciful to everyone else.

Stand-Alone vs. Series

This is kind of related to the previous point—I was a little discouraged to learn that this is part of a planned trilogy (at least, maybe more). I liked visiting this world and not having any real explanation for how things got to this point. How society evolved in the way it did, how a community emerged on a trash pile that should be bereft of life, what may happen now that some people in Paradise City know that the government and/or company have been lying to them about what goes on on the trash piles, and so on.

Sure, I was mildly curious, but I was more invested in the story than the world.

But now, to tell the story of Jane, Rodney, and Timothy after this book, we’ll need answers to the above—and maybe more—if the story is going to hold up. And I can’t imagine that the answers will make this a more interesting place—or that the following stories will match this one. Also, I’m a little worried that it’s going to end up being preachy—always a danger for books aimed at this audience, and I think the danger is greater in a dystopian world.

I hope that Tilton is able to make me eat my words and that he delivers a satisfying series. But at the moment, this story is enough time in the world for me.

So, what did I think about Please Return to the Lands of Luxury?

My finger is not on the pulse of MG fiction—I don’t know that in the recent resurgence of dystopian fiction (especially on the YA front) if it’s carried over into the MG world too much. I can remember a little bit of it from when I was that young, but I don’t remember my kids reading much like that. So take everything I say about MG dystopian fiction with a grain of salt.

I really liked the way that Tilton presented this world. Sure, there are things I’m not sure are all that consistent. For example, I don’t know how or why Timothy learned to read—particularly as much as he does. I absolutely get why Rodney and Jane can’t. There’s a lot about the culture in Yarborough that I don’t understand—and it’s fine, I don’t need to for this novel. But what we saw was enough. The tech makes sense (both the good and the bad about it), the consumerism seems more realistic than what we see in most dystopian fiction, and so on. And it was all really well communicated to be understood by the target audience.

The characters were great—everyone was well-designed. I liked how the adults in Paradise City were earnest, caring, well-intentioned, and clueless about what they were doing. Given time and a little opportunity for thought, I think the latter could work itself out. They just didn’t have the time to wrap their brains around what was happening in order to be anything other than clueless. But the way they stepped up when presented with the need and opportunity is exactly the kind of thing I like seeing in MG fiction.

It was exciting enough—with good tension (even if it was pretty easy to see who would survive and how—at least for older readers). But as good as the life-and-death material was, the interpersonal relationships were better. It mattered more how Rodney and Timothy got past the mutual offenses than if they lived. I cared more about Jane’s feelings, misunderstandings, and care for her home and friends than I did about the danger she faced—and so on. Tilton did a good job balancing all the aspects of this novel—and majored on the right aspects when he had to make a choice.

A quick aside—this cover just pops! It feels playful and vibrant, but there’s something undeniably ominous in those robots—so, you know, it matches the book. Sylvia Bi did a great job on this cover.

Misgivings about the next books aside, I’m coming back for them. I recommend Please Return to the Lands of Luxury for adults who find the idea of MG dystopian fiction intriguing and I heartily recommend it to anyone who might be shopping for an MG reader.


3.5 Stars

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You Took the Last Bus Home by Brian Bilston: Do I Dare Eat Some Kale?

You Took the Last Bus HomeYou Took the Last Bus Home:
The Poems of Brian Bilston

by Brian Bilston

DETAILS:
Publisher: Unbound
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Format: Paperback
Length: 226 pgs.
Read Date: March 1-29, 2023

Do I need my usual disclaimer about not being a poetry reader here?

Probably not, but I’ll throw it up anyway. This is the fourth time in about 10 years of blogging on this site that I’ve posed about a book of poetry. There’s a reason for that. I typically don’t like them.

There’s also a reason that I had to buy, read, and post about this one—after Facebook’s algorithm inexplicably started showing me his poems for a stretch back in January, I had to read more of them. So I bought this book, and now I have to talk about it. Because I try to do that about every book I read, but primarily because I want more people to have the opportunity to have fun with him.

What’s You Took the Last Bus Home About?

This a lengthy collection of poems (well, maybe not—it’s the lengthiest I own outside of textbooks, anyway) about love, loss, politics, and “everyday places and situations” (as he describes them in the Introduction—which I somehow skipped over until just now). Everyday situations like—someone wanting to borrow a phone charger (and being denied), beards, search engines, playing with a dog, and so on.

Bilston closes the Introduction by saying

I suppose these are not traditionally regarded as being teh stuff of poetry. But there is poetry to be found in anything if you look hard enough.

And Bilston looks that hard.

Playing with Form

One of the best things about poetry is the ability to use form to communicate. To play with the placement of the words on a page, and how they’re presented to get the meaning across—sometimes more effectively than the words used.

Bilston is a master of this.

From decreasing the type size in “Unforseen Consequences” to rotating the text in “Ode to a USB Stick” or something as simple as embracing the traditional shape of a Christmas tree in “Needles” (and then tweaking it), the visual impression of each page got you in the right frame of mind before you started reading.

See also his use of Flow Charts, Org Charts, Excel worksheets, etc.

So, what did I think about You Took the Last Bus Home?

I remember in college classes about poetry there’d be a certain tone of voice used with the phrase, “light verse.” It was eerily similar to the audible sneer used for the term “genre fiction.” And I get that—it’s the same reason that comedies are almost never nominated for an Oscar. It’s not right, but I get it.

But to brush this collection off because Bilston frequently brings the funny is a mistake. This is some really clever work–when he’s funny and when he’s not. The fact that he’s so frequently amusing (to one degree or another) means that when he drops that and goes for serious, earnest, or thoughtful—those are even more powerful (for example, “Refugees”). It shouldn’t be overlooked that he frequently is thoughtful and humorous in the same poem.

I like the creativity, I adore the wordplay, and—as always—I’m a sucker for anyone who makes me laugh/chortle/giggle/smile on the majority of the pages. I audibly laughed at the ninth poem—and several after that. My favorite haiku ever is to be found in these pages (and probably most of the top ten of that list, too*)

* A list that I didn’t realize I’d need/want/have until I started this book.

Did I love every poem? No. Did I skim a few? Yup. But in a collection this size, that’s to be expected, right? Particularly when it comes to someone who isn’t particularly a fan of poetry in the first place. The overwhelming majority of them absolutely worked.

This is a book to spend time with—open it up randomly, or read from cover to cover—whatever. Don’t do it all in one sitting, obviously—although I think it’d be easy to do, I typically read at least two more poems than I intended to per session (usually more than two). But it’s hard to appreciate them if you gorge yourself.

You’re not just going to want to read these yourself—you’re going to want to share these. I also couldn’t help but read a poem to whoever happened to be in the room with me—or make someone else read one that I really appreciated (especially if you needed to see it for full impact). My daughter received several messages from me that consisted of a quick photo of a page or two almost every time I sat down to read this volume.

I can’t say enough good things about this. I’ll be buying more of his work soon.


4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 19: The Station by R. T. Slaywood: It’s Time to Slow Down Again

The Ballad of BonadukeThe Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 19: The Station

by R.T. Slaywood

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #19
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: March 17, 2023

The Story So Far…

A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.

Before then, he gets himself drunk and we get some of his tragic backstory. As he ponders this, he decides to use some of his ill-gotten-gains to buy more booze and walks into a liquor store robbery. He foils it in some sort of magical fashion, gets some more to drink, and heads off to the park to drink until he’s arrested (probably for the failed robbery). At least that’s his plan, but it gets interrupted by being hit by a car. He wakes up on some sort of short, metal bed and is unsure what’s going on. It turns out that some group is subjecting him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.

Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. Taking refuge in a homeless encampment, Bonaduke has to make some decisions. He starts to get his thoughts in order when the police begin a raid at the camp. During the raid, he’s apprehended by…well, we need to find out.

What’s The Station About?

The pair that Bonaduke had determined weren’t police detectives in the last episode drive him to a police station and bring him inside. Maybe he was wrong after all?

They pass some of those arrested from the camp as they’re being processed and dump Bonaduke in an interrogation room.

Then the questioning begins–but not where he (or the reader) expects.

So, what did I think about The Station?

This is a good step in the right direction, but it’s difficult to have the patience I want to possess. If I knew that episode 20 would advance things, I’d be okay with this. But I’m afraid we’re on the verge of another 2-3 episode standstill.

I did like the last paragraph, though. It’s enough to keep me going.


3 Stars

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