Category: Fiction Page 86 of 348

This is a work in progress, for sure. I’ve spent the last two or three years fully intending on coming up with a post to Picture Books (or similar books), and it’s always seemed like a thing to do in December. And then things get away from me, and doing it in January or February seems out of place. I’m not sure why. At least for next year, I’ll have something to start from, and should be able to get this up earlier in December (and maybe a bit more robust).

It’s too late for this to be of any use for gift-giving (unless you’re into e-books, and I’ve read almost all of these that way) this holiday season, if you’re that kind of person—but any day is a good excuse to give a kid a book to read, right? Here’s a few to start with, my favorite picture books from the last few years.

Snobbity Snowman

by Maria Bardyukova, Quiet Riley, Jr.

Fun art work. Some fantastic use of language (especially when read aloud). A nice little story with a good moral. Ticks off every box.

My full post about the book.

Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze

by Sheryl Bass, Remesh Ram (Illustrator)

A cute dragon, solid rhymes, and a sweet story.

My full post about the book.

Bearded

by Jeremy Billups

I love the artwork, these characters became favorites at first site.

My full post about the book.

Bearded Too

by Jeremy Billups

See what I said above.

My full post about the book.

Sea This and Sea That

by Jeremy Billups

The art clearly shares DNA with his other work, but it couldn’t be more different. Good jokes. A visual feast.

My full post about the book.

Mike Nero and the Superhero School

by Natasha Carlow, Kyle Stephen (Illustrator)

A little heavy on the moral, but it’s one to get heavy with.

My full post about the book.

The Day That A Ran Away

by B.C.R. Fegan, Lenny Wen (Illustrator)

Fegan and Wen are a dynamic duo—I’d read (and re-read) their books for fun.

My full post about the book.

Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32

by B.C.R. Fegan, Lenny Wen (Illustrator)

See above.

My full post about the book.

Henry and the Hidden Treasure

by B.C.R. Fegan, Lenny Wen (Illustrator)

See above.

My full post about the book.

The World’s Greatest Mousetrap

by B.C.R. Fegan, Fanny Liem (Illustrator)

A Rube Goldberg mousetrap. A frustrated would-be reader. A cute mouse. A great combo.

My full post about the book.

Kitties Are Not Good To Eat

by Cassandra Gelvin

Cute cat photos and handy advice.

My full post about the book.

Noodle and the No Bones Day

by Jonathan Graziano, Dan Tavis (Illustrator)

The origin story of the late, great Noodle.

My full post about the book.

A Tale of Wonderful Whiffs

by Sophie Loosveldt, Isabella Croker (Illustrator)

A nice premise, some distinctive art, and a cute pug.

My full post about the book.

1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm

by Valerie Johnson, Cee Biscoe (Illustrator)

Okay story, cute pics, great fodder for discussion.

My full post about the book.

The Day My Fart Followed Me To Hockey

by Sam Lawrence & Ben Jackson, Danko Herrera (Illustrator)

Stupid, childish humor—perfect for the audience (and close enough for those older who read it). Adorable art. Charming book.

My full post about the book.

Noam’s Monsters

by Shai Levinger, Kaustuv Brahmachari (Illustrator), Ephrat Abisror (Translator)

A great way to talk about anxieties and fears with your little ones.

My full post about the book.

The Legend of the Christmas Witch

by Dan Murphy & Aubrey Plaza, Julia Iredale (Illustrator)

An alternate take on Santa’s origin—and his twin sister.

My full post about the book.

Bear with Bear

by Hagit R. Oron, Galia Armeland (Illustrator)

A great e-book (I don’t know how/if the hyperlinked material would translate into hard copy). There’s a good twist to this story that makes it especially appealing.

My full post about the book.

Bravo and Elphie

by Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron (Illustrator)

The collaborations between Hagit and Or Oron about cute, little Elphie and her friends and family are as charming as you want.

My full post about the book.

Elphie and Dad go on an Epic Adventure

by Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron (Illustrator)

See above.

My full post about the book.

Elphie Goes Trick or Treating

by Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron (Illustrator)

See above.

My full post about the book.

Leo & The Lightning Dragons

by Gill White, Gilli B (Illustrator)

The rhymes are cute, the story is very positive, great illustrations, and the imagery of the Lightning Dragon fighting inside Leo is a great way to get the idea of epilepsy across to a picture book reader.

My full post about the book.

The Return of the Christmas Witch by Dan Murphy and Aubrey Plaza, Julia Iredale (Illustrator): The Witch Returns to Battle a Dystopian Holiday

By HCNewton

On December 20, 2022

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

The Return of the Christmas Witch

by Dan Murphy & Aubrey Plaza, Julia Iredale (Illustrator)

DETAILS:
Series: The Christmas Witch, #2
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 10, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 56 pg.
Read Date: December 17, 2022

What’s The Return of the Christmas Witch About?

Kristtörn wakes from her frozen slumber to find a world she cannot recognize—it’s a dystopian world where the joy of Christmas is gone and everyone is left with an automated, sanitized, homogenized, corporation-run day of market-driven consumption. Santa is nowhere to be found—and many doubt he ever existed—in his place, we have the Kringle Corporation.

We get to spend time with one family—grandmother remembers Santa and longs for his return, but her grandchildren don’t (but aren’t fans of Kringle, either). Kristtörn watches the girl and the two strike up a relationship at a distance, and ultimately team up to take down the corporation and bring back Kristtörn’s brother.

That’s a sloppy job on my part, but it’ll do for these purposes. Murphy and Plaza tell it so much better.

The Artwork

On the whole, I’d just want to repeat what I said about the first book, so I will.

Iredale’s work struck me like a classic storybook, the kind of art that was in the books I read as a kid—especially the books that were old by the time I read them. It was fitting for the kind of story. It wasn’t knock-out gorgeous, and I think it would’ve hurt the book overall had it been. There’s some sharpness to the art—almost the kind of thing that would’ve been carved into wood.

It’s vibrant and I can’t imagine a kid who won’t want to pour over the pictures as much as the story.

So much for repeating—I did think this work wasn’t as well done as the previous book. There are a couple of illustrations that…sloppy isn’t the right word, but they don’t seem as finished. It felt like Iredale ran out of time and rushed one or two drawings/characters. That’s likely not right—and probably not that fair of me to say. But that was my impression. I doubt that any of the target audience will pick up on it (or care if they do), but it surprised me that I wasn’t as impressed with the art.

So, what did I think about The Return of the Christmas Witch?

This takes a darker turn than I expected from this story—the first book had a hint of this, and it’s not out of place, but I raised an eyebrow at the dystopia. That said—I thought it was a great choice, and offered a new take on the usual “over-commercialization of Christmas” and “we need to get back to the essence of the holiday” stories. But that’s what it is at its core—and I’m all for that kind of story.

I did think the ending felt a little rushed—like the authors ran into a hard page limit/word count. It wouldn’t have taken much more, but after the well-established set-up, I thought we needed a little more development to the magical ending.

The door is left open to one more book in the series—it’s maybe even suggested. If so, I’m totally on board for it. I can see the authors leaving it here, too—and I’d be okay with that.

The words-to-image ratio for this kind of book leans toward the words side, so that will limit some younger fans—but as long as there’s a willing adult around, I think this will satisfy fans of the first book.

3 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 Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal: Classic Mystery and Classic SF in One Contemporary Package

By HCNewton

On December 19, 2022

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

The Spare Man

by Mary Robinette Kowal

DETAILS:
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: October 10, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 348 pg.
Read Date: December 5-6, 2022

“The same, but different.”

Despite it being on my list since High School, I’ve never gotten around to watching The Thin Man or the sequels. I haven’t read Hammett’s novel, either (on a similar list for almost as long). I know enough about them to catch the occasional allusion and to make the right guess when it comes up in a trivia game or crossword puzzle.

Still, when I saw Kowall’s piece on CrimeReads last month, “On Writing a New Take on The Thin Man, Set in Space“, I was intrigued and my library put it into my hands a lot sooner than I expected.

So, all I know about the comparisons between this novel and the source/inspiration material comes from this piece. So I can’t judge how much is Kowall being clever and inventive with her reworking and how much is just Kowall being clever and inventive. I can tell you there’s a whole lot of Kowall being clever and inventive, though. I’m going to write this pretending it’s all Kowall so if I give her credit for something I shouldn’t have…whoops.

So I’ll tell you now a couple of things before we dive in: 1. I won’t appreciate everything she did in the way I maybe should. 2. (more importantly) You don’t have to know anything about the movies or the book to appreciate this novel. You just have to appreciate goodness.

With that out of the way, let’s dig in.

What’s The Spare Man About?

Tesla Crane—heiress, noted inventor, and celebrity—is on her honeymoon. Her new husband, Shalmaneser Steward, is a retired detective and isn’t exactly a non-celebrity either. They are traveling under assumed names and in disguise to stay under the radar. They do get their fair share of attention, however—thanks to something we don’t get to know about at the beginning, Tesla has a service dog—an actual dog, which is apparently a very big deal to see.

They’re on a cruise from the Moon to Mars, and the ship they’re on puts the lux in luxury (wow, that’s a lame line). They plan on spending their time drinking ridiculous cocktails, having fun with various activities on board, and other honeymoonish activities. Sadly, someone is attacked while they’re nearby and Shal’s old instincts kick in and he chases after the assailant. The victim dies and Shal becomes the prime suspect because running away from the victim in pursuit of someone only you see tends to make the ship’s security think you’re lying.

Shal is content to let the authorities take care of things, certain that by the time actual law enforcement gets involved, he’ll be exonerated. Besides, he’s retired. Tesla cannot sit by and wait and she investigates on her own (ultimately Shal will get on board, but Tesla will do the bulk of the work).

Tesla and Shal

The best part of this book is probably the relationship between these two newlyweds. She shows a couple in love. Not a meet-cute followed by chapters of misunderstandings and near-misses, not a love unrequited for whatever noble/stupid/bureaucratic reason, not a couple in the first blush of infatuation and love, nor a couple trying to recapture something or having doubts. They are in love, they respect and support each other, and they actually like each other. I see this so, so rarely in stand-alones or series that it just fills me with joy to see.

They’re not perfect (who is?), they bicker a bit—and there’s some lying back and forth—mostly of the “I’m not in that much pain” type (which they generally readily admit to when asked). But even then, it’s typically a lie told so the couple can accomplish something without the other being distracted by worry.

Sure, it’s their honeymoon, so they are a little extra-lovey-dovey. But you get the impression they’d been together for a while pre-wedding and that this is pretty much the way they are together (if only because of the way Gimlet interacts with them).

I cannot express just how much I loved this couple. I wish I could see things like this more.

Fantine

The only element of this book that I liked almost as much as their marriage was Tesla’s lawyer, Fantine. Fantine isn’t crazy about the way that Tesla and Shal are being treated and starts threatening various lawsuits.

Depending on where they are in the journey, there’s a communication lag between the ship and her office, so she’s continually responding to people 3-8 minutes after they’ve said something. The comic opportunities from that alone are great.

Add in Fantine’s aggressiveness and you have gold. Think Dr. Perry Cox, but angry, her gift for creative insults and threats are gold. Fantine is clearly a power to contend with and has lawyers and security officers on the ship jumping to keep her from making the lawsuits she’s planning from becoming even bigger. I could read a novella full of nothing but her yelling at people.

So, what did I think about The Spare Man?

I feel like I should be raving over this, shooting up fireworks, and putting on a song and dance show here, but I can’t quite. The entire time I was reading, I wondered why I wasn’t liking it more.

The dialogue was great—especially when it veered toward the banter (between Tesla and Shal, either of them bantering about the other, between them and a particular security officer). The characters leaped off the pages and were practically alive. The setting and all the SF accouterments were perfect. The mystery…was pretty good. Everything else I can think of to point to was outstanding.

But I never felt engaged with the work—I admire it, I can praise a whole lot of it, but I was never grabbed. It felt like an exercise, like someone executing a recipe or equation. Wonderfully executed, but it left me cold.

I expect I’m a minority report on that—at the same time, I want to stress that this is a really good book. I’m just saying that I feel I should be giving this 5-Stars, instead of the 4 I’m giving it. There’s just so much to relish, so much to enjoy in this book that you should really ignore this last section and go get the book. It’s taken a darker turn than I intended—or want to leave you with.

This really is a great mixture of SF and Mystery, with a classic feel to both elements and yet it’s very much something that could only be produced in this moment. Kowall captured something here and you should really check it out.

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.

Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke: Family, Puns, a Dash of Romance, and Murder

By HCNewton

On December 16, 2022

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

Vinyl Resting Place

by Olivia Blacke

DETAILS:
Series: The Record Shop Mysteries, #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date: December 27, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 304 pg.
Read Date: December 13, 2022

What’s Vinyl Resting Place About?

Tired of all the corporate buyouts and reshuffling in the software business, Juni Jessup returns to her home—a small town just outside Austin, TX. There, she and her two older sisters invest in a record/coffee shop. Years before, the digital music revolution had forced her parents to close the shop that had been in their family for decades. But now, the resurgence of vinyl has given them the chance to reopen—adding a coffee counter is a clever move and something that the neighborhood could really use, too.

The sisters are energized the night of the Grand Opening party—there’s a huge crowd (free tacos from a local food truck and beer from a microbrewery helped). Not only are they optimistic about the business, but the family is back together again, after Juni’s time in the Northwest. They know the future will have challenges, but for the moment, life is good.

Sadly, that first challenge is less in the future than they realized, and it’s a big one. While they’re cleaning up after the party and getting ready to open for their first day of business, Juni finds a murdered girl in the closet with their cleaning supplies. Very quickly, the police focus their investigation on the sisters’ uncle and arrest him. The family puts up the Sip & Spin as collateral for his bail, convinced that the investigation will clear him.

Then Uncle Calvin disappears and the business is in jeopardy—not to mention the three life savings they invested. The sisters, led by Juni, take the investigation into their own hands—determined not to go down without a fight.

Juni and Everyone Else

I’ve only mentioned Juni so far because of space, but the book isn’t just about her. Juni is clearly the protagonist—but the book isn’t just about her. The sisters are the core—with their mother and the husband of the eldest sister rounding out the immediate circle. The emotional core of the novel is about Juni’s return to the family and the way they’re welcoming her back (it’s not that things were ever tense, but hundreds of miles and only brief visits aren’t the same as living near each other). It’s the sense of family, the way they come together for each other, that makes sure this book (and the series, I’m sure) is filled with the warmth and comfort you need in a cozy.

Of course, you can’t have a character come back to a small town without a love interest or two popping up, too. There’s the lifelong best friend, who apparently carried a torch the whole time—he’s grown into a pretty attractive man. And then the high school/college boyfriend who suddenly and unexpectedly broke up with her one day. He’s clearly got his eyes set on reestablishing the status quo.

Also, he’s the police detective in charge of the murder. Because why should things be easy?

It’s a great recurring cast, and one that’d be easy for a series to use in new and fun ways as the series progresses—mostly because the reader can’t help but find them all endearing.

A Tiny Bonus

The music-inspired punny drink names for their coffee counter are just perfect. Too many more would’ve been too much, but I could’ve used an additional handful. They’re the kind of little touch that adds so much to a scene—you get an idea of the characters behind them, if nothing else. Like the names of the stores and restaurants in The Good Place, they add a layer of enjoyment on top of everything else.

I’m not saying I’ll pick up book two just to read what names Blacke comes up with. But I’ve had worse reasons to pick up a book.

So, what did I think about Vinyl Resting Place?

I’m a little concerned about how this can be a series—how many murders can happen in one small town record store or involving the family that owns it? I’m sure Blacke can get another one or two out of the premise before it starts to get creepy, but suspending that kind of disbelief is part and parcel of cozies like this, right? So what do I know?

The premise and genre promise certain things about this novel—and Blacke delivers exactly that. The best word to sum this experience up is pleasant—the mystery was clever, the characters are charming, and I like the overall setup for the series. And the book was exactly what a cozy should be—an entertaining and pleasant time.

I don’t see how this book won’t find fans all of whom will be more than ready for the next murder this family stumbles across.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. Thanks to both for the opportunity. Opinions expressed are my own.

3 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.

Aether Powered by James T. Lambert: 21st Century Steampunk

By HCNewton

On December 15, 2022

In Literary Locals, Science Fiction, Steampunk

Literary Locals logo I’ve got a fun Q&A with the author, James T. Lambert, coming up in an hour or so—be sure to come back for it!

Aether Powered

by James T. Lambert

DETAILS:
Publisher: Bert Books
Publication Date: January 18, 2022
Format: Paperback
Length: 224 pg.
Read Date: November 30, 2022

What’s Aether Powered About?

I feel like I’m in danger of just going full-bore “here’s everything that happened in the novel” or not really giving you enough to know what the book’s about. Let’s give it the ol’ college try, though.

Joseph is studying Electrical Engineering and is just scraping by—his gig in the bar can pay the bills and come close to treating his girlfriend, Carol, in the manner she is accustomed to. But there’s no wiggle room in his budget—so when he gets an inheritance from his weird uncle, he could really use some money. Instead, he gets an oddly heavy trunk. Which isn’t going to do much for the huge tax bill he just received that’s going to hit his financial house of cards like a bowling ball.

The trunk is full of odd-looking bits and pieces, strange devices, sketches, and notes from a distant relative who’d collaborated with Nicola Tesla. Joseph doesn’t know what to make of them. He plays around with one a little bit and discovers that it seemingly has anti-gravity properties. Anti-gravity? You don’t have to think too hard to realize this could be the solution to his money problems—and a few other problems as well.

But wait…what was that thing Uncle Harry said about “Malevolent powers are at work…would do anything to secure this…”? Maybe Joesph should’ve paid a bit more attention to that because before he can figure out how to use the device to his advantage, someone tries to take it.

Joesph and Carol find themselves on the run and looking for allies they can trust (and end up finding in the least expected places).

Carol

The charitable way of describing Joseph’s girlfriend is that she’s “a real piece of work.” You know that at one point there had to be something between Carol and Joseph beyond the fact that she’s attractive, but they’ve been together long enough that it’s not evident why. The relationship isn’t in a great place, but when Joseph calls for help—she answers.

She’s out for herself at the same time, but she’s there to help, too. She proves to be both resourceful and creative.

I cannot tell you, however, how much time I spent wondering why Joesph was with her. It’s an interesting choice on Lambert’s part because I can’t imagine a lot of readers are going to warm to her for long. A morally gray protagonist, an anti-hero, or that sort of thing is pretty easy to get behind—some readers are drawn to them. But an unlikeable love interest is harder to accept (at least as I’ve been thinking about it since I read the book, maybe I’ll think of exceptions to this later). I think it’s a gutsy move, and I think it pays off.

The Seafair Pirates

On the other hand, you have the Seafair Pirates…these guys are great. There’s never a moment of doubt about what the reader is supposed to think about them, and I can’t believe a reader isn’t gladly going to fall in line.

Without getting into details they’re a bunch of people from a variety of backgrounds and industries in the Seattle area who like to get together, cosplay as pirates, drink a lot, sing pirate songs (they probably would’ve really gotten into the sea shanty craze of a year or so ago), and generally have fun together. A series of events brings Joseph into contact with them and they also end up proving to be a great source of aid to him in his struggles.

I’m not going to say more from a risk of oversharing, but I’d sign up for another book featuring them with or without Joseph.

The Steampunk Science

Most (not all) Steampunk that I’ve read dips a toe into the science, and explains a little bit of what’s going on in their contraptions, but largely, it can be summed up as: there’s a thing and it works. Not unlike the way that Philip Marlowe turns on a lamp or Kinsey Millhone uses a pay phone—we don’t need to know how electricity lights a bulb or how you can deposit coins into a…you know what? Never mind, that might not be the best example anymore.

The point I was trying to make is that Lambert doesn’t get down into the nitty-gritty to give us an explanation for how the devices from the trunk function. There was a part of me that wondered how our Electrical Engineering major was going to explain everything, and I was a little disappointed that he didn’t. But I got over it quickly—it’d have interrupted the flow of the novel, and honestly, I really don’t care. I just want to know that if he flips this switch and turns that dial, things happen. No one wants a Steampunk à la Tom Clancy.

The trunk isn’t big enough to contain too many devices, so this novel is primarily filled with things we all know and use—but we get a little Steampunk mixed in with smartphones and the Internet. Frankly, I love this combination and would gobble up more like it—from Lambert or anyone else.

So, what did I think about Aether Powered?

I don’t know that I’d consider this book a “cozy” of any particular genre. Although I probably should—it delivers the same sense of fun and warmth. Almost immediately, I had this warm attraction toward the book and Joseph—and ultimately, just about everyone in the novel. I don’t know a better way to describe it. There’s been a lot of talk this year about “cozy fantasy,” “hopepunk,” and things along those lines—and I get the same kind of feel from this book.

There’s some good action, some tense moments, and some believably unsavory characters/groups. But most of the characters you spend time with are the kind you want to see succeed and want to spend more time with because you like them. More than that, this is a fun story—it won’t take you long to see the general outline of the book as a whole, you’ll be pretty sure where you’re going to end up at the end. But it’s a fun ride along the way, and that’s the important part.

Also, as I touched on above—Steampunk tech in our world? Why don’t we see more of this? I’m all for full-on Steampunk novels. But a dash of it in a contemporary setting? It’s a great idea. Aether Powered is worth picking up just for the conceit. That Lambert surrounds this conceit with a good protagonist, rollicking supporting characters, and a fun adventure is a great bonus.

Check this out, you’ll be glad you did.

3.5 Stars

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The Legend of the Christmas Witch by Dan Murphy and Aubrey Plaza, Julia Iredale (Illustrator): The Story of Santa’s Misunderstood Sister

By HCNewton

On December 14, 2022

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

The Legend of the Christmas Witch

by Dan Murphy & Aubrey Plaza, Julia Iredale (Illustrator)

DETAILS:
Series: The Christmas Witch, #1
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 15, 2021
Format: Hardcover
Length: 56 pg.
Read Date: December 3, 2022

Santa and Me

Let’s start with a personal note, I’m apprehensive (at best) about man-made religious holidays. I don’t do Christmas posts here—and almost without exception, if you see a book on here having to do with any Winter holiday, it’ll be because it’s part of a longer series that I already read.

But having been indoctrinated in American mass culture, I was on the receiving end of more stories, shows, and movies about Santa Claus (both growing up and since) than anyone else. And I’ve probably seen variations on his origin than Batman and Spider-Man combined (and if I never have to see Ben Parker or Thomas and Martha Wayne killed again, it will be too soon). They’re not my favorite things, but I tend to enjoy them and am always ready for a new one.

Which brings us to:

What’s The Legend of the Christmas Witch About?

We open with a couple of twin children, Kristoffer and Kristtörn, both of them have some magic which they mostly use in the games they play with each other. They have no parents when we meet them, and don’t appear to remember them.

They’re separated at one point, and Kristoffer is taken in by a couple from a nearby village and grows up among people—eventually delivering baked goods from his adoptive mother’s bakery. Kristtörn is heartbroken by their separation, and a witch from the woods comes along to raise her.

Time passes and Kristoffer becomes Santa Claus. Kristtörn tries to make contact with him but is unable to. So she starts visiting places just before Christmas Eve, hoping their paths cross. A legend around her (mostly misunderstanding her) grows at the same pace as her brother’s does.

This all leads somewhere, but I’m not going to go further than that.

The Artwork

Iredale’s work struck me like a classic storybook, the kind of art that was in the books I read as a kid—especially the books that were old by the time I read them. It was fitting for the kind of story. It wasn’t knock-out gorgeous, and I think it would’ve hurt the book overall had it been. There’s some sharpness to the art—almost the kind of thing that would’ve been carved into wood.

It’s vibrant and I can’t imagine a kid who won’t want to pour over the pictures as much as the story.

So, what did I think about The Legend of the Christmas Witch?

The best way to describe this book is—imagine that the Grimm Brothers wrote a story about where Santa came from as well as telling us about his sister. Now imagine that someone took that Grimm’s Fairy Tale and sanitized it for contemporary kids. That result would be a lot like this. A little dark, a little light…

Because of that tone, I do think that parents/caregivers/etc. should exercise some judgment in who gets to read this one—some of it is going to go over the heads of young ones of a certain age, and some of it could be considered too dark for some little ones. But for the right reader, this take on Santa’s origin is going to be a lot of fun.

I’m glad that I indulged my curiosity, I’m not going to suggest that this filled me with the Christmas spirit or anything, I’m not off to buy the biggest goose for anyone and my heart is the same size as it was before. But when it comes to a reworking of the Santa Myth, this was a very satisfying one.

3 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.

No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child Is Good Enough

By HCNewton

On December 7, 2022

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

No Plan B

by Lee Child, Andrew Child (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Jack Reacher, #27
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 24, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 357 pg.
Read Date: December 1-3, 2022

…maybe the others were right. With Reacher running around out there, maybe the full ceremony isn’t the smart way to go. Maybe It’s time we switched to Plan B.”

“We don’t have a Plan B, We’ve never needed one.”

“Maybe it’s time to think of one.”

What’s No Plan B About?

Reacher sees something in a newspaper about a museum display nearby, so he goes to check it out. This leads to him being in just the right neighborhood to see someone being pushed in front of a bus. While others are calling 911 and trying to tend to the victim, Reacher pursues the pusher. This leads to a confrontation where Reacher’s size works against him for once, and with the help of his partner, the man gets away (a Tom Cruise-sized character probably would’ve got at least one of them). Before they slipped away, Reacher got a glimpse of something the man took off the victim that made him curious.

That glance starts a whole machine working—that man, his partner, and their bosses can’t have what he saw become public. They don’t know how much time he got with the information, how much he read/understood—but if he saw anything, it could make things go very wrong for them. So they dispatch another team to take care of Reacher (the two that escaped aren’t in any shape to do anything after tangling with our hero).

Meanwhile, Reacher tries to convince the police that the woman had been pushed. But there’s already a witness who’d been swearing she jumped, and no one confirms what Reacher saw. The detective in charge sympathizes with Reacher and wants to follow up on his statement, but his superiors like the tidy answer a suicide brings. He feeds Reacher a bit of information, and the former M.P. is off on his own investigation. When the new team tries to take him out, Reacher knows he’s on to something and digs in for the long haul. This will take him from Colorado to a small town in Georgia, home to a prison the murder victim worked at.

Two other parties are making a trip to that same town. One is a teen who just learned that his father is imprisoned there—in the same conversation that he learned his father’s identity from his dying mother. He steals some money from his foster mother (money that should’ve been used to care for him, I should note) and buys a bus ticket from LA. He’s in over his head, and as we follow him on his journey it becomes clear that the fact that he survives long enough to get to Georgia is a sign of divine blessing or dumb luck.

We also track a father out for revenge. He’s a professional arsonist—actually, he employs professional arsonists at this point in his career. Something happened that killed his son—the details are kept vague for the reader. The grieving father backtracks the supply chain that provided the product, determined to destroy the man at the top.

So, what did I think about No Plan B?

After last year’s Better Off Dead, I was prepared to put this collaboration/Reacher 2.0 in the “Not for Me” category. I’m glad that the brothers continue to have success, and that many, many readers are satisfied, but it might be time for me to disembark. I wanted to give them one more chance—everyone has an off-novel, right?—but I’d decided that this would be my last Reacher novel. This was good enough to get the brothers another. I guess my fandom is no longer a long-term lease, but the equivalent of a month-to-month rental.

One strategy I employed going into this was ignoring half of the names on the cover—this is an Andrew Grant/Child take on Reacher, not a Lee Child*. That adjustment to my expectations, helped a bit, too.

* I’ve heard and seen multiple interviews/features on the pair describing how they work together, so I know it’s not entirely true. But, it helped me.

The action was good—but hallway fights might be better left to Daredevil than print. I wondered for most of the book if they had one too many storylines, but I ended up buying into the idea. The first hundred pages were great (at least the Reacher vs. conspirators storyline, and maybe the foster kid)—particularly the first couple of chapters, it was a very effective hook. Pages 100-300 were good enough—some “meh” bits, enough good bits to keep me engaged and to push the narrative along, with a really nice uptick over the last chapter or two. The last 50 pages were rushed—you want things to move quickly in the end of the thriller, you need fast action to go along with the adrenaline of the big finish—but this was just too much happening, and it was hard to appreciate it all. There’s a fast momentum, and there’s careening out of control, and this came close to that.

Still, it was in those pages that I came around to liking the revenge storyline and getting why the Childs went with it.

This was a decent thriller with some really good moments featuring a character that reminded me a lot of that guy from 61 Hours, The Hard Way, and One Shot. It’s a fast, entertaining read that will do the job.

3 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.

Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze by Sheryl Bass, Remesh Ram (Illustrator): A Sick Dragon in Need

By HCNewton

On December 6, 2022

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

Come back in an hour or so for a Q&A with the author!

Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze

by Sheryl Bass, Remesh Ram (Illustrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Be-Kind Publishing
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
Format: eBook
Length: 36 pg.
Read Date: December 2, 2022

Before We Get to the Story

I’m going to take things in a slightly different order than I usually do: I’m going to start with two important things you need to know from the outset.

The first is that Remesh Ram has given readers one of the cutest dragons ever. Really adorable.

The second thing that Ram demonstrates in almost one-half of the pages, is that a runny—nay, drippy—nose can be cute (also, this is going to really grab the attention of some kids).

The rest of the art is just as good. In a lot of books like this, all the adults/non-main characters tend to look identical—just different clothes and hair colors. Ram’s characters are clearly individuals. I really appreciated that.

Overall, bright colors, some very imaginative illustrations, and great character design. I’m really impressed with the art.

What’s Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze About?

Right, now it’s time to get to the story part.

We start out with our cute baby dragon suffering from a cold, and as he’s flying around one day he sneezes (as one does when you have a cold). Being a dragon, stuff shooting out of your nose tends to be on fire—and this sneeze did a good job of setting part of a village on fire.

Our parent-less dragon doesn’t know what to do…he’s distraught and makes plans to leave and find a new cave away from the village (while leaving an apology note behind). A determined little girl comes upon him as he’s preparing to leave and confronts him. Then she decides to find him some help.

Discussion Points

The publisher notes that this book would serve to get conversations going about:

– Found Family
– Building Trust
– Love and Kindness
– Helping Others / Sharing
– Reserving Judgement
– Accountability / Making Amends

And, yeah, I can see it functioning that way well. I do think it can come across as too heavy-handed on some of these points. But I have to remind myself that this is a book intended for a very young audience—and subtlety isn’t called for there. Heavy-handed is a selling-point.

So, what did I think about Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze?

I thought it was a cute little story. I think some of the rhymes would be fun to read aloud (I haven’t tried it yet, my dogs aren’t good audiences), and things like that are what draws a picture book to me as a potential reader-to-others. Will I have a good time reading this, or is it more of a thing you endure while hoping someone gets drowsy? (I’ve got plenty of experience with both)

I do think it’d work well for age-appropriate chats along the lines mentioned above—which is another nice bonus.

This is a great combination of attention-grabbing and attention-keeping art, a heartwarming story, some fun rhymes, and some potential life lessons. And—it’s about a dragon. Who doesn’t like to read about dragons? It’s been a while since I looked, but books for this audience about dragons aren’t super-easy to find. What better way to raise a Fantasy reader?

DISCLAIMER: I recieved a copy of this book from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion.

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.

PUB DAY REPOST: A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones: A Good Way to End the Trilogy (even if I don’t want it to end)

By HCNewton

On December 6, 2022

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

A Hard Day for a Hangover

by Darynda Jones

DETAILS:
Series: Sunshine Vicram, #3
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 352 pg.
Read Date: November 16-19, 2022

What’s A Hard Day for a Hangover About?

Wow, this is hard to do. This is the third book in a trilogy, so let’s start off with this—all the ongoing storylines are progressing—barrelling to some sort of conclusion, we get to know everyone a little better, we see the ramifications and ripple effects of the deaths, arrests, plots, and everything else from book 1 and 2, secrets are revealed, lives are changed, and….well, it’s a third book. A lot happens, many things end, and some things start.

There are a couple of new/book-specific plotlines: the town flasher gets stabbed by an unlikely weapon; a prisoner escapes from state custody, which leads to some uncomfortable questions for Sherrif Vicram; someone breaks into the home of one of the town’s elderly residents (and she wants it covered up); a young woman is found beaten and hanging on for dear life—and she may not be the first woman in that situation; and a group of grade schoolers starts a boy band (you won’t believe which of those storylines intersect).

All in all, this is a bad week for Sunny to start hungover.

Hot Ones

I’m not a die-hard fan, but my wife and I watch a lot of Hot Ones—and we frequently buy and use the sauces we see on the show. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should fix that, and this illustration won’t make much sense. Sorry about that.

When I’m eating those sauces, I generally prefer the ones that are in the 1-3 slots, but occasionally, I can enjoy up to a 5 (and, yes, I’ve eaten sauces in all 10 spots—and have consumed “The Last Dab” more than once). If you convert Hot Ones‘s sauces into sex scenes in books, I think you’d find my tastes for those pretty well align. Keep things mild, close the door before things go too far, and let these people have some privacy.

Jones clearly has no designs to do anything like that. This book (like the rest of the series) is definitely not erotica—but it’s far too spicy for my taste. It’s not so distasteful that I have to stop reading, but my skim-reflex does kick in. As I said when I talked about A Good Day for Chardonnay, All I could think of as I read those sections was, “My mom is going to read this.” She’s going to read it because I bought her the first book. Not only is she going to read this book, but she’s also going to know that I read those scenes. And then I wanted to burst into flames.

I would guess that there are fewer spicey scenes in this book, but they rank higher on the Scoville scale. That’s going to please some (most?) fans, but others should know that going in.

Too Much?

Like the previous two books, Jones keeps the action jumping back and forth between Sunny and Auri, from case to case, or from case to personal arc constantly. And every time you think you’re about to settle into one of the stories for a while, she yanks the focus from you to something else (quite possibly something you’d forgotten was going on). There are times I felt like a lab dropped into a herd of squirrels, never sure what I should be focused on because there were so many things to watch.

And, on the whole, I found this as effective and fun as before. I don’t think Jones could write a boring story, but I’m not sure because she never gives you the chance to start to get bored with a storyline, before she changes things.

But…I’m not sure it was the right choice for this book. She’d given us so many great characters, so many wonderful ideas and plots, plus the new ones we that she introduced in this novel. I think it was just too much. There were (at least) two great characters that we never got to see this whole novel—they were mentioned, but the life-changing nature of what transpired in the storyline they’re attached to could’ve used their presence. Mostly, I’m bothered because one of them was one of the brightest rays of sunshine in the series (and in this series, that’s saying something).*

* I take that back. Sort of. One of the two I’m thinking of shows up for one scene. The fact that I remembered this just before publishing both illustrates what I said about this being overstuffed and undercuts my complaint.

Then there are storylines that seem to be given short-shrift—I can’t get into specifics without spoilers—but there were a couple of storylines that we’d spent so much time over the previous two books that I expected something major to occur here—but we get token bits of instead. That’s largely true for some of the storylines introduced in these pages, too.

Still, there’s just so much happening—so much to enjoy and get caught up in—that other than the absence of that bright ray of sunshine I mentioned, I didn’t notice and/or care about this until I sat down to think about and write about the book. I do think that this novel could’ve benefited from another 70-100 pages to give us all the characters readers expect to see and give adequate space for all the storylines. But in 350 pages for Jones to accomplish all that she does is an impressive feat and I don’t want to complain about that.

I guess I’m just feeling like someone who goes to a concert for a favorite band and they don’t play as many of their hits that you wanted them to, just most of them—and seemed to cut off the encore a little sooner than you’d hoped.

So, what did I think about A Hard Day for a Hangover?

I had such a blast with this. I seriously didn’t want it to end—not just because of what I talked about in the last section—but unless this trilogy spawns a sequel or becomes a longer series, this is the end of the road for these characters. I don’t want to be done with them—especially not Auri and her friends. We’ve gone so far with all of these characters and I want to see what happens to them next.

That doesn’t seem fair to this book—it’s funny, it’s charming, it’s sweet—probably sweeter than the rest just because of where various storylines resolve. Even the silly raccoon storyline will elicit a few “awwww”s. The banter between Sunny and Auri is as great as ever—ditto for Quincy and Sunny. I don’t need plots, Jones can just release occasional 30-40 page collections of conversations between those pairs every now and then as they go about their daily lives, and I’ll buy every one.

The mysteries were resolved nicely (and I got one pretty large surprise along the way)—although I thought the missing prisoner story was resolved a bit too neatly (space issue, I’m sure). It’d be easy to overlook most of those stories in the midst of all the other stuff going on, and that’d be a shame—Jones really can tell a mystery story well and I hope she returns to the genre soon.

I’m honestly at a loss for what to say beyond this—if you’ve read A Bad Day for Sunshine and A Good Day for Chardonnay, of course, you’re going to want to read this—and you’ll be so glad that you did. If you haven’t read the previous novels—do not start here, go back and start from A Bad Day and you’ll thank me. This book—like the series—is a little bit Moonlighting, it’s a little bit Veronica Mars, it’s a little bit Gilmore Girls, and it’s a lot of warm-hearted fun.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

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.

Dead Lions by Mick Herron: An Overdue Read for Me, the Best of Both Worlds for Spy Fiction Fans

By HCNewton

On December 5, 2022

In Mick Herron, Slough House

Dead Lions

by Mick Herron

DETAILS:
Series: Slough House, #2
Publisher: Soho Crime
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Format: Paperback
Length: 347 pg.
Read Date: November 21-24, 2022

…whatever we’re here for, Lamb’s not being punished. Or if he is, he’s enjoying it.”

“So what’s your point?”

He said, “That he knows where some bodies are buried. Probably buried a few himself.”

“Is that a metaphor?”

“I failed English. Metaphor’s a closed book to me.”

“So you think he’s handy?”

“Well, he’s overweight and drinks and smokes and I doubt he takes much exercise that doesn’t involve picking up a phone and calling out for a curry. But yeah, now you mention it, I think he’s handy.”

“He might’ve been once,” Shirley said. “But there’s not much point in being handy if you’re too slow to be any good at it.”

But Marcus disagreed. Being handy was a state of mind. Lamb could wear you down just standing in front of you, and you wouldn’t know he was a threat until he was walking away, and you were wondering who’d turned the lights out. Just Marcus’s opinion, of course. He’d been wrong before.

“I suppose,” he said, “if we stick around long enough, we might find out.”

Squirrel!

I read the first book in this series over 2 1/2 years ago. Since then, my friend Paul has been hounding me, nagging me, and generally pushing me to keep reading them. Insisting that I’m missing out. Etc. Etc. Etc. While I suspected he was right—and even if he wasn’t, I wanted to based on Slow Horses and everything I’d heard from Paul, Jeff at Barbican Station, and from several other fronts.

But we all know how easily distracted I can be. So…here we are 45 months later. And I know when I post this I’m going to get at least one text from Paul, saying things like: “I told you so!” and “It’s about time.”

I deserve both of those messages because he did tell me so; and yes, it is.

What’s Dead Lions About?

Jackson Lamb gets suspicious when an old, low-ranking spy from the Cold War era dies on a public bus. He follows Dickie Bow’s last movements and finds reason to indulge that hunch a little longer, bringing in one of Slough House’s new additions to do some more legwork. What they find doesn’t make him any happier—a bogey-man from the old days might be back. And that can’t be good.

Meanwhile, Spider—pardon me, James—Webb recruits Louisa Guy and Min Harper to help him with a little project he’s got going on. He’s trying to recruit a Russian oligarch—one with political aspirations—as an asset, and he needs some security work done by people who won’t get the attention of any of the bigwigs in MI5. Neither wants to work with Webb, but if they do, there’s a chance…not much of one…but a chance that at least one of them will be the first Slow Horse to move back to Regent’s Park. Both of them are ready to be that one—even at the expense of the other, no matter what relationship might be budding between the two of them.

Best of Both Worlds

While I have an appreciation for British Cold War Spy novels—they’re really not my thing. I’ve tried, both in print and on film—and they just don’t work. But that’s the kind of world that River’s grandfather, O.B., represents—and that Tavener and Lamb represent the end of. They have one foot in that world still, it defines them—but they’re both (especially Tavener) also part of the War on Terror, financial crimes/terrorism, etc. of our current moment. River, Ho, and the rest of the Slow Horses belong to the latter.

What this book does so well is to marry the two schools—we have a very Cold War holdover storyline, and a Putin-era storyline. Now, I can’t imagine that Herron is going to be able to pull this off regularly, but getting to do it in the second novel, solidifying the series’ identity as being able to work in both eras. I thought that was a great move that welcomes in fans of both eras of British Spy Fiction.

So, what did I think about Dead Lions?

So, back in 2019 when I read Slow Horses, I liked it and was impressed by it, but I only gave it 3 Stars. When I listened to the audiobook last year, I think I “got” what Herron was doing a little more. But I still wasn’t as impressed with this as everyone I knew seemed to be. I’m fine with that, but I wondered a bit if I was missing something.

I think I found whatever it was in the pages of Dead Lions. Because…wow. Herron does it all here—there’s some satire, there’s commentary on human existence, on the politics (and espionage) of the Cold War, on the politics (and espionage) of the 2000s, a real and slowly-building tension, there’s subtle wit, less-than-subtle wit, a plot that is impossible to predict, characters that are the most human you’ll find in spy fiction, dialogue and narration that are impossible not to endlessly quote…and fart jokes.

One lesson that readers of the first book should’ve picked up is that they shouldn’t get attached to anyone—look at the number of people assigned to Slough House at the beginning of the book and then at the end. Percentage-wise, it’s safer to be a George R.R. Martin character. Herron ensures that no reader of Dead Lions thinks that’s a fluke. Right now (and I’m ready to be disproven), I figure the only safe characters are Jackson Lamb and (sadly) James Webb—he seems to have the survival capabilities of a hardy cockroach.

Herron surprised me on multiple occasions—I think at this point, I’m going to just permanently suspend my reflex to predict what’s coming when I spend time with him. They weren’t just surprises—they were the kind that I absolutely didn’t even think of expecting—and then in retrospect, I don’t know how I could’ve imagined anything else happening at all.

From time to time, TV Critic Alan Sepinwall will recap an episode saying things like “if we only got X, that would be enough. If we only got Y, that would be enough,” and so on. I felt like that while thinking about this book. If we only got Lamb tracking the final movements of Dickie Bow, that would’ve been enough. If we only got the Louisa Guy/Min Harper storyline, that would’ve been enough. If we only got the Diana Tavener/Jason Webb scene, that would’ve been enough. If we only got River Cartwright going undercover, and everything he goes through…you see where I’m going. Any one of those would’ve been enough for me to realize I need to take this series seriously and get on with reading them all. You combine these points with all those that I decided not to list for space/spoiler reasons? I’m on the verge of being rabid.

Everything I thought was a bug about Slow Horses was a feature, and I see that now. Everything I thought was a fluke about Slow Horses wasn’t. Everything I thought was good about Slow Horses was at least a little bit great. How do I know that? I see all of those elements here and have a much better appreciation for them in Dead Lions so I can better understand its predecessor.

I had other things in my notes that I really wanted to cover. But…I’ve said the essentials, and am at the point where I’m trying to gild an already gilded lily. So, I’m going to leave all that unsaid. Yes, I may have overhyped this and doomed you to not appreciate it. I get that and apologize in advance. Just chalk this up to a new and rabid fanboy—go into this series expecting something good. And then when you’re ready to join the rabid throng, I’ll be waiting for you.

And now, I’ve got to start waiting for messages from Paul.

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.