Tag: 3 1/2 Stars Page 37 of 43

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

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On September 16, 2016

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

The Hidden OracleThe Hidden Oracle

by Rick Riordan
Series: Trials of Apollo, #1

Hardcover, 361 pg.
Disney-Hyperion, 2016

Read: August 31, 2016


Only 361 pages? Riordan is taking it easy on his readers. And maybe himself.

Anyway, following the events of The Heroes of Olympus, Zeus is a little displeased with Apollo and demonstrates this by turning him into a human teen (read: YA/MG novel star) and casting him to earth. He appears to be fully human — not even a demigod like Percy and the rest. Speaking of Percy, as soon as Apollo figures out what happened to him and where he is, he makes a beeline for Percy’s apartment to get help. Smart move. Percy gets him to Camp Halfblood and disappears back to NYC to do homework.

Once there, Apollo begins trying to figure out what quest he’ll have to do to return his status to quo. Along the way, he’ll make some friends, get a better perspective on himself and his offspring (yeah, that’s not weird), and maybe go through some of that personal growth. Note that I said, “some” personal growth and “better” perspective — that’s not saying much, basically Apollo comes across as a teenaged-Gilderoy Lockheart with a conscience. Instead of the large number of missions that we’ve become accustomed to in these books, there’s really just one (plus the series-arc mission) — such a nice change.

A lot of people from the Percy Jackson and The Heroes series are name-dropped and discussed, not to mention the few that we see — there’s even a nod to the Magnus Chase series — thankfully, my favorite is one of those who shows up in the flesh. There’s also a good amount of in-jokes to please the long-time fans. But readers new to this universe shouldn’t be put off by any of this — it’s absolutely approachable, maybe even moreso than anything since The Lightning Thief.

This is told in the typical breezy style that characterized non-adult mystery Riordan novels, but given the different protagonist, feels a little fresher. A little briefer, a little change of pace — still full of that Riordan magic. The Hidden Oracle is a sold first-entry in yet another adventure in this world. Give it a shot.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Corruption of Chastity by Frank Westworth

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On September 14, 2016

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

The Corruption of ChastityThe Corruption of Chastity

by Frank Westworth
Series: Killing Sisters, #2

ePub, 352 pg.
The Book Guild, 2015

Read: August 3 – 5, 2016


I’ve put off writing this one for far too long, mostly because I’m torn and I’m not sure what to say.

First, this is the second in a series and I spent a little too long at the beginning trying to get my bearings. I got there with a little work, but the new reader has to wade through a lot to suss out the events of Book One. This is not necessarily a bad thing — just a warning for others new to the series.

This book has some pretty high highs, and a really low low.

The big high is in the suspense/espionage-like material. Chastity (and her sisters) are top-notch assassins — although, it could be argued that Chastity has done this sort of thing a few too many times, and she’s the worse for it. She’s gotten herself in a tight-spot, and Stoner the burned British agent (or whatever he technically is), is hired to get her out of it. Doing so yanks him out of his retirement (living the life of a musician on a cruise-ship) and plunges him into a chase through Europe to find out who has Chastity in their sights and to stop them.

Most of the characters are doozies, strong voices, strong perspectives, troubling violent tendencies (well, troubling to most people — but just what’s needed for their situations). Not just Chastity and Stoner — but the wide variety of spooks, criminals, military types and blues musicians we run into along the way.

There’s enough twists and turns to keep the reader (and Stoner) guessing and on their toes. I wasn’t crazy about one of the subplots but most of that probably comes from me not knowing the players before.

There’s a torture scene that is truly disturbing (and I didn’t buy the foundation for it), incidentally. The violence outside of that as pretty graphic, but (mostly) nothing too much for those who’d read this genre anyway. That’s neither a high or a low, just an observation I think I should make.

The low? It’s the sex. There’s a whole lot of it — probably too much. Not just that, but it’s described in too much detail. Give these people some privacy, will you? Even that is excusable — but man — it’s just poorly written. “Poorly,” might be pulling my punch — it’s just bad. These sex scenes are the kind of thing that makes Tom Wolfe’s “Bad Sex in Fiction” award-winning (and nominated) books look erotic.

Outside of the bedroom, Westworth can write — he knows how to keep things moving, how to zig when the reader’s expecting a zag (or how to execute a zag so well, that you don’t care it’s what you expected). When we get the character moments, the action/suspense stuff — even the talk about music — this book is so good, it’s right up there with Finder, Child, and Sharp. And that ending? I really want to see what Stoner does next. I just hope he keeps it in his pants (ditto for everyone else).

Disclaimer: I received this from the author in exchange for my honest take on his book — I wish my thoughts were a bit more coherent, and were timelier, but I really appreciated the book.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Audiobook) by Alan Bradley, Jayne Entwistle

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On September 12, 2016

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

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

by Alan Bradley, Jayne Entwistle (Narrator)
Series: Flavia de Luce, #1

Unabridged Audiobook, 10 hrs
Random House Audio, 2009
Read: June 2 – 6 ,2016


This is going to be one of those quick ones where I mostly quote myself:

Our 11-year-old hero (no, this is not a kid’s book [not that there’s anything inappropriate for anyone who’s made it through Rowling here]) is a budding, self-taught, chemist with a curious mind and a stubborn streak a mile wide. Her family life is a mess — but in a charming, amusing, English countryside way — but our plucky gal has managed to get through it pretty much intact and for the better.

So when she discovers a body on her lawn, yet the police shoo her away from the crime scene and dismiss her, she starts her own investigation. She’s helped early on by a fact or two the police didn’t obtain from her, and some that she kept to herself out of spite. Her father’s arrest for the murder just adds fuel to her fire and becomes determined not only to solve the case before the police but to make them eat a good-sized helping of crow.

Probably not much of a spoiler to say that’s exactly what she does, because the book’s not about that foregone conclusion, but in watching Flavia do that while making less-than-flattering observations about her older sisters.

This second time through, I did appreciate the way this whole thing was constructed — particularly the mystery and the reveal — but also the character moments. I also found the stamp minutiae a little more interesting (but wow, did it take a long time to get through!). I did think there was more of the inspector in this one, but that’s just my memory failing me.

Entwistle was really solid in her narration — I honestly can’t imagine that anyone else could’ve pulled it off. Well, maybe Yeardley Smith, if she can do British accents. Entwistle captures the spark that makes Flavia Flavia, the wit, the spirit, the naïveté; and does a fine job with the rest of the cast of characters, as well.

All in all, a fine audiobook rendering of a fun crime novel. Strongly recommended.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Granite Moth by Erica Wright

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On September 1, 2016

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

Granite MothGranite Moth

by Erica Wright
Series: Kathleen Stone, #2

Kindle Edition, 284 pg.
Pegasus, 2015

Read: August 23, 2016


Kathleen Stone (sometimes known as Kennedy Vaners, as Katya Lincoln, Kathy Stevens, or Kevin(!)), is a former NYPD undercover officer turned P.I.

You know, typing that sentence made me think of Orphan Black, and I’m now picturing Tatiana Maslany as our main character. Which absolutely works. I may see her in my mind when I get the chance to read the first book about Kathleen, and probably as I write the rest of this.

Where was I? Oh yeah, so the circumstances leading to the “former” part of her NYPD tenure are a little murky — maybe we get it all explained in The Red Chameleon and I just need to catch up, or maybe it’s left vague because Kathleen doesn’t want to share the details. Either explanation is believable. Not since Stephen J. Cannell’s Wiseguy, have I seen something deal so effectively with the emotional toll of a double life — although strangely enough, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, came close last season (I’m not saying there aren’t others, I just don’t know about them — feel free to fill me in in the comments).

Kathleen has two cases to work here, a personal vendetta to pursue, and some personal/personnel issues to deal with. Not a bad day’s reading. Although, really everything sort of fits in the personal vendetta category, come to think of it — but she’s only paid for 2 of them. First, she’s watching the Halloween parade, just to see her friend Dolly and other drag queens perform on the float advertising their club. While she’s watching, the float explodes — her friend survives, but not everyone does. The club owner hires Kathleen to track down whoever sabotaged the float. There’s a pretty good reason to suspect foul play, and that the police aren’t taking things as seriously as they should.

The personal vendetta is related to her assigned target in the undercover operation, who is still walking around. While following up a new bit of information she’s come across, she witnesses a murder. Another witness to this actually knows who she is and hires her to investigate.

Both of these cases involve Kathleen donning a few wigs (her wigs are almost as good as those used by Elizabeth and Philip on The Americans) and personalities, putting herself in harms’ way, dealing with grieving families (which might be harder on her than the physical danger), and facing some unpleasant truths about herself. Although honestly, the personal/personnel issues might be the most dangerous, come to think of it.

The nature of leading a double life — undercover cop, drag queen, upper class heir living a middle class life, etc. — runs throughout this book and gives you a lot to think about while doing so. Yet, Wright doesn’t beat you over the head with it, you could probably ignore it if you wanted to.

This was a well-written, well-paced and engaging mystery novel, with a narrator that I thoroughly enjoyed and was intrigued by. Kathleen is the kind of detective that Ellie Hatcher wants to be, and Lydia Chin would be if circumstances and ethnicity were different. I want to read more of her, soon. I hope I get the chance.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for this post/my honest thoughts. I’d like to thank her for the book and for her patience, I took too long with this.

—–

3.5 Stars

Outfoxed by David Rosenfelt

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On August 30, 2016

In Andy Carpenter, David Rosenfelt, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

OutfoxedOutfoxed

by David Rosenfelt
Series: Andy Carpenter, #14

Hardcover, 326 pg.
Minotaur Books, 2016

Read: August 26 – 27, 2016


Last week, I talked about how difficult it is to come up with things to talk about with a long-running series like the Walt Longmire books — at a certain point, series like that hit a good stride and only vary a little in quality or interest for readers. Well, the Andy Carpenter series is even longer and more difficult to write about. I don’t know if I can do much, but I’ll try.

This time out, Andy has inherited a client already in prison, he’s basically supposed to deal with routine things and be ready to help him at the end of his sentence. This is made easier in that the client, Brian Atkins, is working with a dog training program that the Tara Foundation has going with the minimum security prison he’s in.

But then he breaks out of prison and is found leaving the scene of the murder of his estranged wife and his former partner.

But it’s so much bigger than just this (really, the case doesn’t seem as difficult as many of his — finding the actual killer is, but not the case) — Andy’s going to find himself at odds with one of the most dangerous foes he’s tangled with. Speaking of easy, I sort of think that everything ended a bit too easily, a bit too pat — I’m not sure how doing what they did really keeps Andy and his family safe.

I was wondering how Andy and Laurie were going to deal with juggling parenting and these cases, and man, do I hope they come up with better ways than this one. It works once, but not twice. I liked the little bit of fathering we get to see from Andy, though, and Ricky seems like he can be a decent addition to the series.

I don’t want to sound like I’m down on this book — or this series. It was a whole lotta fun, a nice puzzle, and watching the pieces fall into place was pretty satisfying. If you’re not reading these books, you’re missing out.

—–

3.5 Stars

Hammered (Audiobook) by Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels

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On August 19, 2016

In Audiobook, Fiction, Iron Druid Chronicles, Kevin Hearne

Hammered Hammered

by Kevin Hearne, Luke Daniels (Narrator)
Series: The Iron Druid Chronicles, #3

Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs, 40 min.
Brilliance Audio, 2011

Read: July 25 – 26, 2016


This one is my least favorite in the series (I think, I’m pretty sure, anyway) — Atticus is held to promises he made in the last book, which brings him into contact with the Norse pantheon — particularly Thor — and knocks over the dominoes that will change the lives of Atticus, Granuaile, and Oberon forever. This book prevents the Iron Druid Chronicles from being a Dresden Files-Light series, which I’m glad for.

But it just doesn’t work that well for me. Oh, I could point to passages that are stirring, well-written, thoughtful and so on — some of Hearne’s best action scenes are here. He’s got some great character work going on, too (Perun was one of my favorites from the start). I just think Hearne could’ve done better.

Some of Hearne’s funniest material is in this book — Atticus’ internal monologue where he replaces the angel/devil on your shoulder with a Spock and Kirk combo, the stuff about American beer, Oberon’s extended rant about Bacon Lattes from Starbucks. Just great. Sadly, the story surrounding all that just doesn’t hold up too well.

Still, a less-good Iron Druid book is still pretty good. It’s like an iffy pizza. It’s still pizza 🙂

Luke Daniels solidified his place as my favorite Audiobook narrator with this one — I laughed out loud at and loved his Ratatoskr. I don’t think I mentioned in the last book how much I appreciated his Coyote (and if I did, it bears repeating). His accent work was good — just everything. He even elevated the slow part of the book — the sitting-around-the-campfire, telling-stories-about-what-a-jackwagon-Thor-is chapters.

Not my favorite, but for who it introduces, what it sets up — and for the completest in me — worth your time. It’s probably a victim of Hearne’s rush to finish the trilogy to fulfill his very quick publishing contract. Which just means it gets better from here.

—–

3.5 Stars

Dicing with the Gods by Sean McKenzie

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On August 2, 2016

In Fiction

Dicing with the Gods

by Sean McKenzie
Series: Grug Smash, #1

ePub, 105 pg.
Nerd Incognito Press, 2016

Read: July 29, 2016


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

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

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

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

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

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

—–

3.5 Stars

The Wizard’s Heir by Devri Walls

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On July 28, 2016

In Fiction

The Wizard's HeirThe Wizard’s Heir

by Devri Walls

Kindle Edition, 378 pg.
SuperStorm Productions, 2015

Read: July 4, 2016


Walls does so many things right in this stand-alone fantasy, it’s hard to know where to start.

Tybolt and Auriella are Deviants –which is not as bad as it sounds, it just means that they’re immune to magic. As such, they are part of the King’s force devoted to hunting down Wizards. Thanks to the most powerful Wizard in recent history, Eriroc is in the midst of devastating drought, wholly dependent on trade with other nations for basic food supplies — which are barely enough to keep people fed enough to survive.

There’s something different about Tybolt than the other Hunters (and, come to think of it, most people in the King’s favor) — he uses the money he makes to help out those less fortunate and spends a lot of time with them. Aurielle doesn’t treat everyone as cruelly as the other fortunate souls do, but she certainly pays no heed to anyone she doesn’t have to and doesn’t understand their plight. She’s not a bad person — just oblivious, at least when we meet her. Tybolt has a great sense of humor to go with his heart, he can enjoy the simple things in life — and would do anything to get Aurielle to think of him in any way other than co-worker. If you don’t like Tybolt from the get-go, watching his charitable efforts should win you over. Asher is another Hunter who has little to do with Tybolt initially, but eventually comes to play a pivotal role in the events of the book, but you’ll have to take my word for it — and as unimportant as he seems to be at the beginning, that’ll change. Just pay attention to him.

Walls’ worldbuilding is great — on the one hand, it’s standard Fantasy fare, enough that you instantly have a good idea about the world, the culture, the conditions and politics. But she tweaks it just enough to make it her own, and differentiate it from the rest. Sometimes I wondered why she constructed things the way she did — or why she revealed them in the way she did — but in the end, I saw (well, think I saw) the reasoning behind both and could appreciate her choices.

The plot is pretty conventional, and within a few chapters there are few readers who will not know pretty exactly how the rest of the story will go. But I didn’t mind — Walls hits every beat just right, every reveal is pulled off capably, the voice used is engaging and the fun and humanity of the situation shines through enough that the reader doesn’t demand novelty. Sincerity can be just as winning as innovation, and Walls pulls that off. There were a couple of character deaths you saw coming from miles away and I still was shocked by them when they happened, ditto for “aww” moments.

I, like the book, focused on the heroic hunters above. But there are plenty of other characters running around — the King is despicable, and there are a handful of Hunters that are probably worse (and seem to pull the rest along with them). But none of them are cartoons — there are several characters that aren’t all that heroic or evil — they’re just trying to survive (which can be heroic in a not-that-heroic way), and are well-executed. No matter where they fall on the moral scale, the characters work — developed enough to fulfill their role in the book (and maybe a little more).

This book isn’t going to blow anyone away — but it will entertain, it will keep you turning pages and will engage you in its world and the lives of its characters. It’s a good, fun read. There’s excitement, a dash of romance, some magic and a few good fight scenes — pretty much what you want from a fantasy. Oh, and there’s a good definitive end — no series commitment! It’ll satisfy you and probably make you want to read more of Walls’ material.

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

—–

3.5 Stars

Second Son (Audiobook) by Lee Child, Dick Hill

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On July 22, 2016

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

Second Son Second Son

by Lee Child, Dick Hill (Narrator)
Series: Jack Reacher, #15.5

Unabridged Audiobook, 1 hr, 27 min.
Random House Audio, 2013

Read: July 5, 2016


Okinawa, 1974: the Reacher family is assigned to a miliatry base there and is going through their well-established routine of moving into their new home. Reacher’s brother, Joe, isn’t dealing well with the idea that he’ll have to take a placement test to get into school; Reacher is dealing with a neighborhood bully; their mother is in France as her father dies; and his father is in the middle of a crisis of his own.

It’s a short story (40 pages in text), but it contains all the hallmarks of a standard Reacher tale, just on a smaller scale. It’s sort of cheating, taking a well-established character like Reacher and imagining the mini-version of him. But you know what? This was so fun, I didn’t care.

Dick Hill gives a pretty good performance, but his little Reacher and Joe voices are unintentionally amusing and cartoonish. I bet he’d be fun listening to with a full Reacher novel (particularly if it didn’t feature kids).

Not a great story, but satisfying. Not a great performance, but satisfying. Gets the job done.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Question of the Felonious Friend by E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen

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On July 7, 2016

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

The Question of the Felonious FriendThe Question of the Felonious Friend

by E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen
Series: Asperger’s Mysteries, #3

eARC, 288 pg.
Midnight Ink, 2016

Read: June 30 – July 1, 2016


So, I don’t like coming into a series after book 1 — I’ve done it, and will do it again, but I don’t like it. And I probably wouldn’t have requested this book if I’d realized it. But I did, and I’m glad I did.

Samuel Hoenig isn’t your typical mystery protagonist. He runs a business called Questions Answered — basically, he researches things for you. A human Boolean Search. From the looks of it, this occasionally results in him playing amateur detective. Like this time, when one of the people involved in the question he’s answering is murdered.

The mystery is decent. Pretty easy to figure out; my first guess was right, but I talked myself out of it — I still like my 2nd guess, but it wouldn’t have worked well. Copperman paced the story like a pro, fed you the information in just the right way, and gave enough clues for the reader to figure things out. Very well done, there.

But, like with many mystery novels, your enjoyment of this book doesn’t come form the puzzle but from the characters. It’s almost impossible not to like Samuel from the get-go, but it was the last sentence of Chapter 2 that probably sealed the deal as far as character goes. I had no idea about the story at that point, but character-wise it was a done deal.

It’s hard to describe Samuel briefly without resorting to stereotypes. He’s really smart, he has trouble interacting with most people (Mike seems to be the only exception — but I could be wrong about that) — his mother and associate included. His mother successfully pushed him out of his room to set up his office and business — to interact with the world, make some money, and have the kind of life that he wouldn’t were it not for her efforts. He’s stubborn, determined, and once he takes on a question (and yes, like Trebek, he insists you phrase it in the form of a question), he finds the answer. He’s not a detective by any stretch, just someone who answers questions. You really need to read him to start to get him.

Ms. Washburn is the Natalie Teeger to Samuel’s Monk, Paige Dineen to his Scoropion — her duties seem to include routine clerical duties, driving, and helping Simon understand/interact with neurotypicals (and vice versa). She has some personal issues going on, as established in earlier novels — and I’m not sure what she’d be like in books where that’s less of a thing. I liked her, but didn’t get a great read on her.

Samuel’s mother was nice, a good complement to Washburn. I also could’ve used a bit more of Mike, Samuel’s friend (but what we were given was just the emotional grounding he needed). The client, his family and friends could’ve been a bit more fleshed out — but not much. And they served the purpose they needed to. Reading over this paragraph, I guess my overriding point here is, more of everything/one would be better.

Yeah, yeah, I’m as tired as the next guy of hearing things like “The city is practically another character,” or “the music is practically another . . . “, etc. But Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of the main characters in this book (I assume the series as a whole) — I mean, the series is called Asperger’s Mysteries. Samuel’s client (and some other characters) are also on Spectrum — it’s literally on every page, it’s the subtext (if not subject) of every conversation, and, obviously, it colors everything Samuel says/does. It makes everything amusing/quirky — but it’s never played for laughs or just to be odd. For the record, this was his first client on the Spectrum, so every book isn’t going to be so heavy on that.

As a little sample of the way his mind works, here’s Samuel explaining his thinking behind the way that Questions Answered answers their phone:

Mother suggested that businesses often answer the phone with the name of the business followed by the phrase, “May I help you?” (Actually, most employees of businesses I have called ask, “Can I help you?”, which is an unanswerable question. If I am calling your business for the first time I have no way to measure your competence, and therefore cannot determine if you are capable of performing the task I need completed.) I merely say the name of the service and let the client assume we are here to help.

It’s classified as a cozy (and deservedly so), and is written with a light tone (which is a neat trick given Samuel’s temperament). The closest things I can compare this to is The Rosie Project, and Rick Yancey’s Highly Effective Detective series. And like both of those, I appreciated the humor and the humanity of the characters, and this book is full of both. Good characters, an amusing (yet not exploitatively so) take on them, and a decent mystery — this will not be the last I read of these books.

Disclaimer: In exchange for my honest thoughts, I received this book via NetGalley and Midnight Ink. Thanks very much!

—–

3.5 Stars

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