Category: Fiction Page 65 of 348

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson

On September 20, 2023

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

This morning, I’m very pleased to welcome The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Victoria Williamson’s The Whistlers in the Dark. My September schedule got the better of me, so all I can do is bring you this Spotlight. For more about the book, you should go read all the good things that the others on this Tour are saying via https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours. The book releases tomorrow—so you might as well go order it now, right?

Book Details:

Title: The Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson
Genre: Middle Grade, Spooky mystery
Age Category: Middle Grade, historical fantasy
Publisher: Scotland Street Press
Release date: September 21, 2023
Format: Paperback
Length: 200 pages

About the Book:

Scotland, 158 AD, is a divided country.

On one side of the Antonine Wall, thirteen-year-old Felix is trying to become a good Roman soldier like his father. On the other, twelve-year old Jinny is vowing revenge on the ‘metal men’ who have invaded her Damnonii tribe’s homeland. At the Damnonii’s sacred circle of standing stones, her planned attack on Felix goes badly wrong, awakening a legend that threatens to bring fire and destruction down on them all.

Can Jinny and Felix overcome their differences and soothe the stones back to sleep before it’s too late?

Book Links:

Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter

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

The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 34: Three to Four Times The Charm by R. T. Slaywood: Annnnnnnd They’re Off!

By HCNewton

On September 19, 2023

In Urban Fantasy

I know I normally do these on Friday, but I’ve been saying I need to dip into this more so I can catch up. Also, (and pettily), I’m not going to let the distractions of the last 24 hours break my streak (884 days once I hit “publish”). Something big can derail me, and I’ll be okay with that. But not trivia.

The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 34: Three to Four Times The Charm

by R.T. Slaywood

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #34
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: September 19, 2023

Asphalt bounced off the car. I was tossed into the side of the trunk as we dodges a massive fiery crater. Behind us the squatters leader was standing through the sunroof holding a rocket launcher.

Of course.

A rocket launcher.

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.

He’s abducted by some representatives of a mysterious group who subject 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. He takes refuge in a homeless encampment shortly before a police raid. He’s apprehended and finds himself an interrogation room and shortly escapes after using his grift (but with results he didn’t quite intend). He finds himself by a group of squatters who seem to have strapped a woman to a chair for reasons that can’t be good. He attempts to rescue her before he even realizes what he’s doing, and seems to have succeeded—well, the two of them got away from the group anyway—breathing but bruised. They make their way to a fast-food taco joint and Bonaduke really needs to refuel to keep going. He tries, but fails to get food because he keeps passing out. Thankfully, the clerk is the same guy from the liquor store and he both recognizes him and gives him first aid. The woman (Zero) wakes up and shows some abilities of her on as she helps them escape from her captors who’ve tracked her down. One thing leads to another—Zero and Bonaduke’s magics don’t mix well (at least until they understand what each other can do?), and they end up in a video-game race against the squatters in a tricked-out version of Eric (the clerk’s) car. Note, I said video-game race, not a video-game-style race. They’re actually in one.

What’s Three to Four Times The Charm About?

This episode gives us slightly over half of the first(?) lap of the race. Eric and Zero are manning the wheel and the phone controls, Bonaduke does what he can to help by climbing in the trunk to act as a look-out for the cars behind them and to do what he can to slow them down (mostly by throwing miscellaneous objects at them).

That’s it. That’s the sum of the episode (unless I was going to get into a play-by-play).

So, what did I think about Three to Four Times The Charm?

I’m trying not to complain about Slaywood’s editing (which has greatly improved)—but there’s a section in which I lost track of pronouns and antecedents, or Zero’s gender changed. I’m pretty sure it was a slip of the finger, but it was at such a bad time for me—the last thing I needed at the moment was to stop and read a couple of paragraphs 5 times to see if I could track pronouns.

This is all action—that’s it. And it’s fast-paced, too—try not to read this at a speed worthy of Mario Kart (or whatever your preferred racing game is). There’s an effective cliffhanger, too. Good stuff, and I’m fighting the impulse to read on.

The note from the author at the bottom of this episode made me smile—and forgive (but not forget) the pronoun bit.

I’ll note again that Zero’s arc has put a lot of fun into this series.

3.5 Stars

GUEST POST: Shaping Smiles with Kay-9 The Robot Dog by J.M. Gulmire

By HCNewton

On September 18, 2023

In Books, News/Misc., Science Fiction, Writing, YA/MG/Children's Books

I recently shared a Spotlight for J.M. Gulmire’s MG novel Kay-9 The Robot Dog. Gulmire was kind enough to send along this guest post about the creation of the book. I’ll have more to say about the book soon, but for now, let’s whet our appetite with this bit of behind-the-scenes.

Shaping Smiles with Kay-9 The Robot Dog

Writing is magic. Reading is all about discovering that magic, but getting the words out is quite an adventure.

I learned this after 12 years of writing and submitting work. I played the agent querying game so often you’d think I’d have at least earned some kind of annoyance award. And I have to admit, my first children’s chapter book was a bit off the rails.

I mean how many kids are dying to read about getting A Vacuum for my Birthday?!

But I live with a house full of elves and they wanted to laugh. They like the outlandish and absurd. I’m quite fond of it too so I just kept writing.

Then one day, my favorite impish little elf asked me to write a story about a robot dog. I’d never heard of a story like that so I was all about it. I love dogs and writing, but I didn’t know much about robots, so we started playing with some kits and instead of just writing a story however the words came I sat down and sprinkled some fairy dust on my manuscript.

This helped me to list out what I wanted to happen and how the characters would come to life. I had no idea that an outline could be so shiny, but once it was done I couldn’t stop writing.

I began the story right away and suddenly something amazing happened. No more plot holes, no more hang ups. Everything came together as I sat down at the same time every day. I wanted to let my characters speak for themselves so I talked to them like I would anyone else and their voices called to me from the page.

Before I knew it my elves were reading and laughing at Kay-9 The Robot Dog. We had so much fun that I queried all the agents and papered the indie publishing world with submissions. I’m happy to say that the story got a lot of love. Despite this, the gatekeepers stood over me shaking their heads.

My book was too different, they said.

How could this be? Kids like the weird, the new, the exciting. I knew my story was alive and wagging its tail, just waiting to be loved.

It made me sad to know that so many great books are forgotten before they have a chance to be read, all because someone said, “No.”

I fell into a mystical sleep for a few years, waiting for this awful spell to wear off. Thankfully, when I came to and rubbed my eyes the elves were waiting for me. They patted my back and handed me my book and said, “Make it yourself!”

So that’s what I did.

Kay-9 not only came to life on Sept. 5 this year, the world of claymation sucked me in so I could create fun cartoon shorts to go along with the story. I didn’t need to fly around the world. All I wanted was to make someone smile and maybe start some laughter.

And that’s just what happened. My silly story, Kay-9 The Robot Dog hit #1 in its genre on Amazon and the clay keeps dancing.

Books are silly like that. They live in us every day. We just have to do what we can to properly shape them and share them with other booklovers.

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Farsickness by Joshua Mohr: A Surreal Pilgrimage

By HCNewton

On September 15, 2023

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Farsickness

by Joshua Mohr

DETAILS:
Publisher: House of Vlad Press
Format: eARC
Length: 140 pgs. 
Read Date: September 8-9, 2023

A Quick Vocabulary Lesson

Leave it to our Teutonic friends to have a word for every occasion—in this case, we’re talking about “Fernweh.” Briefly, it’s the opposite of homesickness. It’s a longing for a far-off place, a farsickness. Not necessarily a particular place, but frequently it is one. The desire to travel would be another way to put it.

What’s Farsickness About?

Hal—he doesn’t really remember much about himself beyond his name—is hearing a voice inside his head. A voice telling him to go home. To go to Scotland (a place Hal doesn’t think he’s ever been, so how is it home?), to a particular castle there. Hal decides to call this voice “Fern” (from Fernweh, in case it wasn’t clear why I started talking about it) and does what Fern tells him to. Hal asks a lot of questions, only some of which get answers.

Then like Dante with Virgil, Christian with Evangelist (and others), Hal is taken on a journey once he gets off the plane in Scotland that is so strange, so fraught with peril and symbolism, and the difficult to explain, that I’m not going to bother trying. But in the end, Hal is taken on the journey to the places he’s really longing for.

So, what did I think about Farsickness?

The writing here—regardless what you think of what and who Mohr’s writing about—is worth your time. He’s got some of the nicest, most evocative phrases and sentences I’ve come across this year. They can make you grin until you remember he’s describing something horrible (or just plain weird). I think some passages would be great to read aloud—or listen to—just because of the sounds. There’s a scene of a submarine sinking, for example, it was a pure pleasure to read, the imagery was fantastic, it was a little funny, the vocabulary was vivid—and yet, it was about a manned vehicle going down. I tell you what, Tom Clancy, couldn’t have done it better (and he’d have taken multiple pages rather than the very tight paragraph or two Mohr used)—or as well.

I only have an ARC, so I’m not going to quote from it, just in case something changed—so you don’t get samples, but I’m telling you, it’s great. Think Lance Olsen, Mark Richard, or (because those names are likely too obscure) a decaffeinated Mark Leyner, and you’re on the right track. Kind of.

I’m clearly having trouble talking about that, so let’s move on to the who and what.

The more I think about it (and I’ve spent longer on it than I anticipated), I don’t know that Hal actually had fernweh. I think it’s something else—or we’re talking a metaphorical other place he wants to go. Or he thought he had fernweh, but was mistaken/confused/deceived. And…ugh. it’s hard to talk about what I’m trying to say without a lot of citations and deep-diving. It’s just something to think about as you read, I guess—”is ‘fernweh’ an appropriate term?” I actually think it adds another layer or three to things if Hal wasn’t feeling that after all. Not that it’s a bad or misleading title. I’m just wondering if we need to ponder it a while.

I’m also tempted to say that I’m overthinking things. But I’m reasonably sure that Mohr wouldn’t agree that I was.

(this would be so much easier to talk about if you had all read the book already. Why don’t you all agree to go read it right now and come back in 140 pages or so to read the rest of my post about why you should read it? Yeah…there’s something about that proposal that doesn’t work.)

Farsickness is one of those books that will tempt you almost immediately to try and figure out “what’s really going on,” to dive into the symbolism and other figurative representations to get to the bottom of things. I’d encourage you not to, just let Mohr and Hal take you along this surreal exploration of parts unknown (or are they?). Just let it unfold—relatively quickly you’ll start to think, “Oh, this is about ____.” Not long after that, you’ll know, “this is about ____.” Then you’ll start to see why it’s about ____, and why it matters. And everything you wondered about at the beginning will make utter sense. Then you’ll get some resolution to the story. Yeah, you could suss it out early on if you set your mind to it—but I think it’s a more satisfying experience (at least with this novel), if you let Mohr do the work.

Also, that approach lets you soak in and enjoy the very peculiar characters and imagery. Both of those deserve discussions of 500-1000 words a piece, but I’m not the writer to provide that.

There’s a pretty simple—and heart-tugging and sweet—story at the center of all this. But the 3+ licks to get to that Tootsie Roll center are enjoyable in their own way—and might do a little heart-tugging of their own. Yes, that candy shell is about trauma, healing, violence, forgiveness, and horror. But it’s not presented in a way that will make it too difficult to read. Like Hal, I didn’t know where I’d end up when I started the journey through Farsickness and I ended up far away from where I started—but it was absolutely worth the time (actually, it’d have been worth longer than it took, too).

This is no straightforward narrative, but the prose isn’t terribly dense and is fairly effortless to get through. After a few pages, you won’t notice it at all, Mohr will have sucked you into his absurd little reality and you’ll be turning pages like this is a thriller. I don’t know that I’d have gone out of my way for this (particularly with the cover), but I’m very glad Farsickness came across my path, and I wager you will be, too, if you give it a chance.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from the author and Lori Hettler of The Next Best Book Club in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

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, the opinions expressed are my own.
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The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 33: Player 2 by R. T. Slaywood: From Strange to Stranger

By HCNewton

On September 15, 2023

In Urban Fantasy

Life, the Universe, and Everything has taken me away from this longer than I realized. Glad to get back into this series. I’m apparently 27 episodes behind, that’s a lot. I’d better try to avoid breaks for a bit.

The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 33: Player 2

by R.T. Slaywood

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #33
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: September 14, 2023

“You gave an NPC your magic, and now we’re in the game.”

I nodded pretending to know what the hell she was talking about, trying to temper my anger. ‘Ah yes, I see, that makes sense.” I said putting as much dripping sarcasm I could into each word.

The Story So Far…

What’s Player 2 About?

As Episode 32: Suspect number 1 wrapped up, Bonaduke tried something wreckless—even by his standards. This episode is about the results of that move.

So, Zero’s power involved tying reality into a video game, which helped her accomplish things that were impossible. As a result of Bonaduke’s meddling, they’re now in that video game—and they have a limited opportunity to get back out of it. And yeah, that sounds strange. But what do you want for this series?

So, what did I think about Player 2?

When I talked about the last episode, I said I wasn’t sure what Bonaduke was trying to do there—and honestly, I’m still not sure. But I enjoyed the fallout from his dumb move (not that he realized it was that dumb when he made it). I wonder how long Slaywood is going to stick with this arc within an arc, but I think it’s going to be fun.

Despite Zero’s attitude (and comments) about Eric, I wonder if he’s going to play a bigger role in this story than I’d anticipated. I think that’d be good. The more this series has Bonaduke with people rather than just bouncing around from event to event/location to location by himself, the better it is. You get Zero and Eric with him for a prolonged time and I think it’ll only improve. Especially if they all start understanding each other.

And if that doesn’t happen and we just get Zero for a bit? I’m okay with that, too, she’s one cool character. (and I mean “cool” in a number of ways)

This was a fun episode and the next episode or two that it sets up should be as good.

4 Stars

Scareground by Angela Kecojevic: A Twisty and Fun Ride for the MG Crowd

By HCNewton

On September 14, 2023

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Scareground

by Angela Kecojevic

DETAILS:
Publisher: Neem Tree Press
Publication Date: September 7, 2023
Format: eARC
Length: 304 pg.
Read Date: September 6-8, 2023

What’s Scareground About?

Nancy’s an adventuresome girl who helps in her (adoptive) parents’ bakery. There’s something about her that puts most children off—but on the whole, she enjoys her life—and gets up to a lot of mischief by running all over the rooftops of the small town she lives in. (she seems a little young, and historically early to practice Parkour, but really that’s what she does).

Through her antics, she has managed to make one friend, Arthur. Arthur’s father is overprotective due to his mother’s death and keeps a short leash on his son. But these two find ways to stretch the leash and have fun together.

Some strange things start happening in their town, pointing to the arrival of a fair. There’s no way that either of them will be permitted to attend, but they’re determined to have a look. It seems fun enough, it’s something that doesn’t happen often (not in their lifetimes, anyway), and they’ve been forbidden by their parents. For pre-teen Middle-Grade characters, you know that means they’ll sneak into it and get into adventures. Nancy has another reason to go—but she can’t bring herself to tell Arthur—she’s pretty sure that she’ll learn something about the circumstances around her parents leaving her to be found and taken in by the Crumpets.

And they do sneak in, they do get into adventures—most of which are far beyond what they could’ve imagined. The fair—the Scareground—is much more than a typical traveling fair.

Kecojevic’s Language

There’s something about the language—particularly a couple of word choices—that bothered me. A few words (like “macabre,” and “maritime”) are used perhaps too often. It feels like someone learned a new word and was trying to squeeze it in as often as possible. I obviously don’t think that’s what happened—it just feels that way.

Aside from that, the vocabulary and phrasing do strike me as someone trying to capture or create a mood—a feel to the book. One that’s reminiscent of a fairy tale or a story from another time. I don’t know that Kecojevic was entirely successful at it, however. But you can’t help but see that’s what she was going for, and it adds just the right amount of whimsy to enliven this story and the characters (Nancy in particular).

So, what did I think about Scareground?

As many good things that were in the book, several little choices that Kecojevic made added up—like the final words of the prologue which were an over-the-top threat delivered to no one at all just so the villain could monologue for a bit—and almost makes this book die a death of a thousand cuts. Please note the “almost” there. Thinking back to the prologue—you snip that monologue and you’ve got a nice, disturbing introduction to the book.

The book works well if you take it on the surface, enjoy Nancy and Arthur—and the friends they make along the way—and get caught up in the story and the strange world it takes place in. If you think about many aspects too much, it doesn’t hold up too well. It’s not a house of cards by any means, but maybe balsa wood.

Or, come to think of it—think of this as a carnival ride or fair attraction. That’s appropriate, right? It might be a spooky ride through a house of horrors, it might be an exciting-looking roller coaster, or it might be a pretty carousel—but if you look behind the curtain, or too closely at the structure, or spend too much time looking at the paint job on the horses or the lighting fixtures, and it’s less impressive.

Thankfully, you’re not going to find a lot of the target audience dwelling on aspects—they’re going to be in it for the ride. Which, getting back to my main point—works well when you take Scareground that way.

Nancy and Arthur are a whole lot of fun. The Crumpets are a delightful couple and the kind of parents (biological or not) that you want to see in fiction. And so many other characters could be talked about in this way. Nancy’s extra abilities are a wonderful, imaginative touch—but so is her heart and drive. Arthur matches that heart and drive without her abilities, and it’s their friendship that makes a lot of this work.

It’s a fast and strange ride that will entertain, for sure. I recommend it to readers of the right age.

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

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

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Scareground by Angela Kecojevic

By HCNewton

On September 14, 2023

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

This morning, I’m very pleased to welcome The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Angela Kecojevic’s Scareground. In addition to this Spotlight, my post about the book will be coming along soon. In the meantime, go check out https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours—we’re in the middle of this tour and several bloggers have been writing interesting things about this book and and there are more to come you can find them all there. But for now, let’s learn a little bit about the book, shall we?

Book Details:

Title: Scareground by Angela Kecojevic
Genre: Middle Grade, Spooky mystery
Age Category: Middle Grade
Publisher: Neem Tree Press
Release date: September 7, 2023
Format: Paperback/Ebook/Audiobook
Length: 304 pages

About the Book:

Roll up, roll up, the Scareground is in town!

Twelve-year-old Nancy Crumpet lives above a bakery and her life is a delightful mix of flour, salt, and love. Yet her mind is brimming with questions no one can answer: Why did her birth parents disappear? Why can she speak with the sky? And why must she keep her mysterious birthmark hidden?

Everything is about to change when the Scareground returns to Greenwich. Nancy is convinced it holds the answers to her parents’ disappearance. Nancy and her best friend Arthur Green meet the fair’s spooky owner, Skelter, and discover a world full of dark magic and mystery. Nancy must confront her greatest fears to get to the truth. But is she ready for all the secrets the Scareground will reveal?

Book Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US

About the Author:

Angela Kecojevic is a senior librarian, author and creative writing tutor. She has written for the Oxford Reading Tree programme and the multi-award-winning adventure park Hobbledown where her characters can be seen walking around, something she still finds incredibly charming! She is a member of the Climate Writers Fiction League, a group of international authors who use climate issues in their work. Angela lives in the city of Oxford with her family.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ TikTok ~ Threads ~ Linktree

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

Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge by Spencer Quinn: A (Relatable) Revenge Fantasy Full of Heart and Panache

By HCNewton

On September 13, 2023

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

Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge

by Spencer Quinn

DETAILS:
Series: Mrs. Plansky, #1
Publisher: Forge
Publication Date: July 25, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 291 pg.
Read Date: September 4-5, 2023

“…there’s also what you might call a demotivating factor.”

“Which is?” said Mrs. Plansky. For some reason she was now finding Agent Gatling easy to understand.

“From our point of view the scammers are bad guys, end of story. But to the elite running the show over there the scammers are bad guys who also have a nice little industry going, bringing in the Yankee dollar and lots of ‘em. And to the everyday Joe they’re punching up, the kind of outlaw people have a soft spot for.”

“Like Robin Hood.”

“You got it.”

They gazed at each other. The message was in his eyes, Mrs. Plansky voiced it.

“You’re telling me to lose hope.”

“Not in so many words.”

What’s Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge About?

Mrs. Plansky is enjoying her retirement (however much it’s tainted by the semi-recent death of her husband). Her hip replacement’s healed enough that she can play tennis, and she’s practically back at the level she was before the surgery. Her kids are established in their lives, her grandchildren are doing okay (although she has some concerns about her grandson’s friends and associates). Things are as good as she could’ve wanted.

Then one day, she’s scammed by someone claiming to be her grandson who needs some money for bail. We’ve (probably) heard about versions of this scam—they don’t just get the bail money, they get enough information from her to empty her accounts.

She’s devastated. How is she going to live? How’s she going to help her father, her children, or her grandchildren? Is she going to be able to convince them that they don’t need to worry about her emotional stability or soundness of mind? And what can she do when even the FBI seems to be giving up before they’ve even started?

Well, Mrs. Plansky does what she’s always done—put her nose to the grindstone and get to work. The FBI said something about some small Romanian town, why not start there? So she sells a very nice piece of jewelry and buys a plane ticket. It may be a fool’s errand, but little ventured, little gained, right?

Norm and the Mrs.

Throughout the book, Mrs. Plansky is identified as “Mrs. Plansky.” Not “Loretta” or “Plansky” as most writers would do after establishing the protagonist’s name. This is how she thinks of herself (although she tells people to call her Loretta all the time). Now, you could come at this with some sort of feminist critique about how her personality/identity has been swallowed by her husband’s or something along those lines. And in some books that would be valid.

But I don’t think that’s the case here (Mr. Quinn, feel free to correct me on this). She just thinks of herself as Norm’s wife. And, I expect, that were he still with us, Norm would think of himself as Loretta’s husband. He’s constantly on her mind as she goes through all this. They had a strong marriage, built a business together (each displaying their own strengths), raised a couple of kids together, and enjoyed a life together (made all the more pleasant by the business taking off and giving them a very comfortable life).

The fact that after his death she still thinks of herself in this way I found particularly sweet. They may have been parted by death, but in many real and tangible ways, they’re still married. It’s a great character point and tells us so much about her without Quinn having to do so. This is not to say that Mrs. Plansky might not consider future romantic entanglements, but she’ll always be Norm’s wife in some sense.

Mrs. Plansky’s Other Opponent

She closed her eyes, resting them, in fact. Giving her eyes a little rest from time to time? That was new in her life. Her eyes had gone along for more than seven decades content to take their rest when the rest of her was resting—team players, the pair of them—but now they were making demands.

Related to that—Mrs. Plansky’s no spring chicken. She’s in great shape for someone of her years and will surprise herself by some of what she’s able to do physically (for example, on the tennis court). At the same time, she’s having to come to grips with the effects of aging—her strength and endurance isn’t what it was, her attention slips from time to time, and her recall might struggle a bit. Everything, basically, is a little more difficult than it used to be. I appreciated the way that Quinn depicted this—not that everything’s falling apart, or that with grit and determination she’s triumphing against the effects of aging, she’s simply noticing and adjusting.

There are moments here and there where this makes Mrs. Plansky (rather, a close third-person narration) slightly unreliable. But Quinn’s spent years writing from the POV of a dog who doesn’t fully understand what humans are doing, and he’s great at depicting that without casting doubt on everything going on and getting the reader to understand things that the protagonist missed.

The Tone

Overall, the book has a lighter and optimistic tone. Most of that comes from Mrs. Plansky’s character and frame of mind.

But (to go with that character), not all of it is light. There are some dark moments, some real despair and worry. For example, I knew the premise of this book months ago, back when Quinn first announced it. Yet when Mrs. Plansky’s on the phone with the scammer and is giving away too much information, I was reading with one hand over my eyes. Similarly, as she comes to grips with just how bad things are for her—and takes in Agent Gatling’s message about how little hope she has to recover the funds…you can’t help but feel for her.

But when she comes up with a plan and begins to execute it—and enjoys doing so. It’s impossible not to catch that optimism and lightness.

So, what did I think about Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge?

This is a very different flavor than I’ve seen from Quinn before—yes, it shares some elements from his other work (The Right Side and the Chet and Bernie books in particular), but overall, it feels like a new and welcome direction. I mean, it’s welcome here as long as he comes back to Chet and Bernie. There’s a depth, a perspective, and a different kind of character than I’m used to. And a total dearth of animal companions, which is just strange.

I loved most of the characters (even the bad guys). And even (in the case of her children, for example—a sure sign that Mr. and Mrs. Plansky weren’t great at everything) when I didn’t like the characters, I appreciated the way Quinn wrote them. The one exception is her father, who lives in a nearby assisted living facility. I’m not sure that we needed Mrs. Plansky’s father as a character—I think he was supposed to be both comic relief and just one more source of financial pressure for her. I don’t think the comedy worked all that well—and Quinn could’ve given us another source for the pressure.

One quick aside, I’m just curious—between this book and Osman’s Thursday Murder Club books, I’m wondering if there’s a surfeit of charming Eastern European men with a “flexible” understanding of the law running around. Can anyone confirm that?

An implausible, but great story. A revenge fantasy that many people will have had, taken on by a relatable character that you can’t help but root for. There’s plenty of heart to go around, and it’ll just leave you feeling good (as long as you don’t put it down while she’s being ripped off).

If you’ve tried Quinn before and he hasn’t clicked with you, try this one. If you haven’t tried him before, try this one. If you’re not sure you want to read a dog-less book from him, try it. If there’s anyone I haven’t covered in this paragraph—try it.

4 1/2 Stars

When Archie Met Lily

By HCNewton

On September 12, 2023

In Books, Calendar Items, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin, News/Misc., Rex Stout

According to Some Buried Caesar, 85 years ago today, Archie Goodwin—one of my top 5 All-Time Favorite Characters—met the only woman who could keep his attention for more than a few months, Lily Rowan. Lily shows up several times in the Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin series and threatens to steal every scene she appears in (and frequently succeeds). Check out this post from Today in Mystery Fiction for the details—one of my favorite scenes, from one of my favorite books in possibly my favorite series—(I think I have 3 or 4 copies of it), so I had to say something.

Besides, it’s not like I have a long list of dates associated with fictional events to commemorate (but I really should work on one).

How they met 85 years ago, when Archie’s only in his mid-30s, is beyond me. But Math was never my strong suit, I’m sure it makes sense, surely Charlie Epps could explain it to me.

Regardless, it’s a great scene—the first of many between the two. Lily will go on to have great scenes with Mr. Wolfe, as well–one of the more memorable happens at a crucial point in In the Best Families where she does something that no one else does in the Wolfe/Archie books.

Eclipse by Herman Steuernagel: A Promising Start

By HCNewton

On September 8, 2023

In Book Tour, Fiction, Science Fiction

Eclipse

by Herman Steuernagel

DETAILS:
Series: Fractured Orbit, Book 1
Publisher: The Fourth Media
Publication Date: February 7, 2023
Format: Ebook
Length: 300 pg.
Read Date: September 4, 2023

What’s Eclipse About?

Django and Mikka are just going about their lives like they have been. They’ve never met—and likely never will. Their lives couldn’t be more different. But because they’re the primary characters in this book, we know they will at some point.

How does an agricultural specialist from a space station come across the path of a cargo-hauling ship’s captain?

That’s where the rakish, brash, legend-in-her-own-mind, Abigail Monroe, space pirate comes in. Abigail just being Abigail starts a ripple effect that will end up disrupting the lives of these two and maybe even change much, much, much more.

That’s not much of an answer to the question, let’s take a look at it like this…

Django’s Storyline

Django has a life he’s been contented with. Like his family before him—he works on the agricultural ring of a space station, growing food for his fellow residents and creating the fauna that will help rebuild the ruined Earth below. He likes his work—he’s dedicated to his mission (while he knows it will be his descendants who will actually reap the benefits when they can live on Earth again). But his lifelong friend (and he probably would like more than that) Eventide is leaving the agricultural wing. She’s worked her way into a more prestigious job and he’s feeling left behind as she prepares to fully transfer—including moving to a new ring. I’m not convinced he realizes how much it’s bothering him, but we readers can tell.

The day of his sister’s wedding things start to go wrong—first of all, now that his sister’s wed, the pressure for him to settle down is going to move to him. And Eventide’s move is happening, and then…well. Disaster strikes and part of his family dies. At the same time, Django may have seen something that undercuts his entire life’s work and beliefs. Like any good human, he convinces himself that everything’s actually okay and he misunderstood what he saw. But…his uncle isn’t convinced. In fact, his uncle starts to sound like some sort of conspiracy theorist, even talking about getting off the space station. Django didn’t even think that was possible.

Django can’t wrap his head around it all. Between grief and confusion, he’s overwhelmed. Over the next couple of days, things get worse and Django starts to wonder if he should be leaving.

Mikka’s Storyline

Years ago, there was a space pirate named Jax Luana, who enjoyed some renown. Suddenly, she dropped off the map—with a lot of questions and rumors surrounding that. For reasons I won’t divulge, she got out of piracy, and changed her name and appearance. After a couple of lucky breaks, Mikka is able to get a small ship and a partner and takes on small cargo jobs and the like—see Mal Reynolds and his crew on a good day. Her mother has a long-term—probably terminal—disease, and Mikka pours all her profits into her mother’s care.

After running into Abigail Monroe, the tenous life and reputation she’d built starts to fall apart. That’s not true—it crumbles almost instantly. Like Michael Corelone, she’d gotten out and they’ve pulled her back in. Now Mikka has to become the pirate for her own sake as much as her mother’s.

I could be wrong about this, but I think this storyline doesn’t get quite the same space as Django’s—which I get. But it bugs me, because I really wanted the balance to be different. Honestly, I’d have been fine without him at all, with just a book about a pirate who’s gone straight and is having a hard time staying that way.

* Please note that I’m not saying I didn’t like Django or his story. I also think in future books I’m going to enjoy having both of those characters and their stories to follow. I’m just saying this is how much I liked Mikka’s story.

So, what did I think about Eclipse?

This is essentially a “getting the band together” kind of book, we meet all the players for the series (at least many of them), we get an idea of the political/criminal/social forces at work while they near a boiling point, and put our characters in place for the books to come. We don’t get much more than that—and I think that was an error on Steuernagel’s part. It just felt too much like an introduction without any real payoff. I don’t think we needed much more—another chapter or two leading to a cliffhanger of sorts to propel us into the next book would’ve been enough. The novel’s arcs have resolved, we see that longer stories are in the future, and the metaphorical table is set for more to come, but that’s all we get.

Instead of an exclamation point, the book closes on ellipses.

Along the same lines, I have a whole bunch of questions about what happened on the Eclipse that have nothing to do with Django, and everything to do with Eventide. I don’t know if it’d have helped the novel much for Steuernagel to have taken a moment to fill in some details—but I’d have felt better about it (perhaps the storylines in the future will address it, but I’m not holding my breath).

That said. I did like the book, and will close this post by recommending it. I just wanted to like it more.

Django is a great example of a farm boy being yanked out of his pleasant life to get involved in a struggle involving powers and plots well above him that he’s frankly not all that interested in. We know that kind of character so well because they work so well almost every time we see one—Django is going to be great to watch as he grows and is exposed to things he never thought possible. Eventide will be equally great to get to know as a character herself—we essentially know her as Django’s friend and not much else (but there’s more to her, obviously). The same thought applies to Mikka’s partner/navigator Kiara. As I suggested, everything we saw about Mikka was enough to make me want more of her—as she returns to the life of a pirate, but this time with a mission? She’s going to be something great.

As for the agent of chaos, the monkey wrench in the works, the black fly in your Chardonnay, Abigail? I cannot wait to see her in action. In our Q&A, Steuernagel says she gets talked about the most—and I understand that. I want to be one of those who talk about her a lot, but I can’t figure out how to do that without spoiling a lot. Just know that she’s great.

This is a fun novel that really whets the appetite for more—give it a shot, and I think you’ll be as eager for Book 2 as I am.

3.5 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.

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