Tag: 3 1/2 Stars Page 39 of 43

Guardians by Josi Russell

On February 9, 2016

Be sure to watch the blog over the next day or two for more about this book as Release Day approaches — giveaways, sales, etc.!

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Guardians

by Josi Russell
Series: Caretaker Chronicles Book 2

Kindle Edition, 394 pg.
Future House Publishing, 2015

Read: February 4 – 9, 2016

Note: I threw MG/YA in as a category here, because while the book isn’t marketed for them — and the main characters are adults — there is absolutely nothing here that a 5th grader on up couldn’t enjoy. I’d have read this when I was that age.

I did one of those wild and crazy things with this book — throwing caution to the wind in a daredevil-like fashion — I read the second book in a series without reading the first book. Gasp!

Recklessness, no? It’s the kind of nutty thing I used to do all the time in my youth, but haven’t really done lately, so I figured I’d give it a try. Yes, there’s some history (between the characters, and actual history) that I didn’t really understand and some jargon that I didn’t get right off the bat because I hadn’t read Caretaker but with context, I got the jargon (pretty much, anyway), could piece together the history just enough to get by, so I didn’t feel like I was at a disadvantage for not having experience with the series. I can say with a degree of certainty now, though, that I’m going to get to it pretty soon.

The action takes place on the planet Minea, which on paper, is run by the United Earth Government, but really is run by four Corporations and most of the populace lives in their company towns — which, not surprisingly, act like company towns pretty much always have. What do the people who live on Minea do? Well, mostly, they mine (get it? Minea? What do you want, they’re miners, not cartographers), and then there are shopkeepers, mechanics, doctors, etc. that support the miners. What they mine is this ore called Yyinum, which is this universe’s equivalent of a Dilithium crystal — it’s what enables their fastest ships to travel the galaxy — unlike Dilithium, it seems to run out and the ships need to refuel. There’s only one place it can be found — Minea.

But things aren’t going so well, for the residents of Minea. Yyinum is getting harder and harder to find; there’s a blight on the crops they’re growing; some sort of plant is growing everywhere (like a mutant Space Kudzu or something); and a new, fatal disease is cropping up. Oh, yeah, and an unidentified alien space ship is orbiting the planet and no one knows why or what it’s intentions are.

That’s the overview, but if we zoom in for a closeup, we have a great cast to look at. We’ve got Ethan (who must’ve had a wild time in the last book), a government official (which means almost nothing in the company towns) who’s sent on a survey mission and goes missing in uncharted — and very dangerous — area, with a crew of surveyors that don’t like him. This is the heart of the book — but not the most important part. There’s Marcos Saras, the on-planet head of his father’s mining company, trying to win daddy’s approval and make a profit at all costs (the two are probably the same thing). There’s Kaia — the biggest reason I want to read Caretaker is so I can better understand her — a brilliant engineer in a losing battle with her body. Her father, the Admiral in charge of defending the planet — which is typically easier than it is once the aliens show up (natch) — we don’t spend as much time with him as you’d expect. And then there’s Aria — Ethan’s wife, who is spurred to action after his disappearance (and after Saras’ company gives up the search quickly) — she continues the search, studies the Taim (the Space Kudzu), and tries to do something about the blight and disease (and a whole bunch of other things. If any one person understands what’s going on on Minea, it’s her. I’d say pay attention to her, but it’s impossible not to. Mix in a whole lot of secondary characters (some of which could carry more than they’re given) that add color, flavor, and a dash of romance.

The ending — especially the denouement — felt a little rushed, like the author was up against a deadline and just needed to finish things — but they got the job done, and didn’t seem incomplete. To be fair, if she spent a little more time with both of them, I might be sitting her accusing her of stretching things out to make a word count.

The world-building was solid. The storylines? I’m in, because even the predictable bits are done in a way to keep them interesting. You’ve read most of these storylines before — maybe even all of them. But there are two elements that make this one stand out from others. The first is the way that Russell combines these storylines, weaves them together, and her weaving various characters through multiple storylines.

The second reason is what really makes me want to read the other book — and whatever Russell puts out next — the characters. I like these people, and even the one’s I’m not crazy about are one recognizable as people, not stock characters or anything (with an exception or two). About halfway through reading this my family and I finally got the chance to watch Ridley Scott’s adaptation of The Martian, *THE MARTIAN NOVEL SPOILERS TO FOLLOW* now the junior high school science nerd in me is ashamed of this, but there’s a lot of what Mark Watney said that I didn’t completely understand in Weir’s book. But it didn’t matter, because for a few days there, Mark Watney was one of my best friends. If things had gone a certain way in the book, I can tell you, I’d have been a wreck. *THE MARTIAN NOVEL SPOILERS OVER* Now, I followed 97% of this novel better than Weir’s book, but at the same time, it almost didn’t matter what was going on, I was into this because of the characters. The humanity with which she imbues the people, the aliens, and…well…some other things. That’s the difference between this book and any number of SF novels out there.

I knew I was hooked, not just enjoying the book but was hooked, when the thing that happened about halfway through Chapter 31 made me excited and got me smiling (even if it was a pretty obvious thing that the reader was waiting for Ethan and the rest of the humans to learn). Read the book and that’ll make sense. Probably.

I’m not sure when I realized this, far later than I should’ve — there was almost no violence (except when the aliens and human military got going — and even then it was pretty PG), there was no sex or “adult” language to speak of. Thanks for that, Josi Russell, what a pleasant change. On the other hand, I’m sure I ever needed the image of Minean cockroaches — the size of an adult hand, mind you — at all, and especially not crawling over the bodies of those killed in an accident. Shudder

A good SF tale with a lot of heart, and some characters you’ll care about. That’s a great way to spend a few hours.

Disclaimer: I received my copy of Guardians from the friendly people over at Future House Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

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3.5 Stars

The Storms of Deliverance by Larry Higdon

By HCNewton

On January 29, 2016

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

The Storms of Deliverance

by Larry Higdon

PDF, 216 pg.
Tate Publishing, 2011

Read: January 22 – 23, 2016

Before I start, you might want to take a gander at the quick Q&A I did with the author, Larry Higdon. I’ll be more vague than he was on some plot details.

Johnson (everyone calls him Johnson — he’s not all that crazy about the rest of his name) is not having a great day — traffic is horrible, if not dangerous; he’s got a headache that passed “killer” a while back — it’s even effecting his vision — and he’s got more assorted aches and pains than he can count. Before he makes things worse, he pulls to the side of the road to try to stop the headache with a nap — and at least not have to deal with rush hour.

Things get interesting when he wakes — he doesn’t recognize the car that he’s in, or his clothes, the face in the review mirror, or . . . much of anything. The city looks like Atlanta, but, it’s not quite right — it’s almost impossible to find a pay phone, for one thing. Then he sees a newspaper and reads the date: 2008? Wait a second, he went to sleep in 1981! Didn’t he? Using the address he finds in the glove box and a map he buys at a gas station, he finds his apartment, and starts trying to figure out what’s going on. He’s got a picture of his girlfriend, who seems to be as advanced in age as he is, but there’s no sign of her anywhere.

The possible explanations don’t seem to work for him — he can remember everything (except the last 17 years) perfectly, so he rules out amnesia. Is it time travel? What about magic, mysticism? Something else?

The exploration of what happened with him will lead Johnson to all sorts of self-evaluation — none of which will be pleasant. Maybe learning about his missing years isn’t such a good idea after all. But he just might get the chance to repair some relationships — and do something meaningful.

Shortly after Johnson starts to figure out what’s going on in earnest, we get some flashbacks to where he meets his girlfriend, Katy, and we watch the beginnings of their relationship as it develops as his baseball career stumbles. On the whole, this section did very little for me, although I really enjoyed the parts about baseball, and would’ve really liked more. Now, there is no narrative need for more baseball, in fact, the story might be better served leaving it as vague as it is, so this is just a personal preference. Still, I wanted to see more baseball.

Things pick back up once we leave the flashback and get into solving the problem that is Johnson, and that carries through to the end — which includes things that defy rational explanation, but that really work in context.

I’m not convinced that I liked any of the characters — I might grow to like a few with a little more time. It’s hard to know what to think of Johnson, for example, since he’s so uncertain, so in flux (I’m willing to bet I like him a few months after the events of the book, assuming he stays on the track he’s on). I didn’t dislike anyone, I’m just not sure. Dr. Pfeiffer had potential, as did Johnson’s daughter, Zoe.

I have a minor gripe: anachronisms. Nothing horrible, but I caught a couple that were big enough to take me out of the moment. There was a mention of Prozac in 1982 (six years before released), and Johnson shouldn’t have been familiar with Caller ID if he was stuck in ’81 (although that one could be intentional, pointing to a possible explanation of what’s going on in his head). Yes, these aren’t that major, and no plot points hinged on these, but when I came across them I had to stop, whip out my smartphone to see if they were appropriate. That deserves a strike or two.

In the end, I wrote in my notes, “Oddly affecting, sorta snuck up on me.” I started off intrigued by the premise, and interested in seeing how Higdon solved things. Then I got sorta bored with the flashback, and then by the time we were in ’08 again, I was invested in this story. It’s not the best book you’ll read this year, but it’s a good one, and you’ll be glad you did.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of the book by the author in exchange for an honest review, and I think I got the better end of the deal.

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3.5 Stars

An Unwelcome Quest by Scott Meyer

By HCNewton

On December 17, 2015

In Fiction

An Unwelcome Quest

by Scott Meyer
Series: Magic 2.0, #3
Kindle Edition, 434 pg.
47North, 2015
Read: December 3 – 4, 2015

On this dry, stony outcropping, there was a castle so Gothic it might as well have been wearing black eyeliner.

Beneath the shadow of that Phillip and three of his friends/fellow wizards have learned that they’re part of a real life video game, with real life stakes.

How’d they get there? Well, one of the first things that every wizard is told when they come back to Medieval England is that if they become a threat to the wizards way of life, they’ll be stripped of their powers and returned to their own time. In Spell or High Water, we saw one wizard find a work-around for that. Turns out, he inspired another one, Todd, to do the same. Todd’s careful, and he bides his time before revealing to anyone he’s come back so that he can cook up an elaborate revenge scheme against those that he primarily blames for his exile. They have to survive a lethal video game for a chance to battle Todd face to face.

Since Todd was sent away before Martin and Roy arrived, Todd ignored them, leaving Marvin free to go grab Brit (the Younger) and Gwen to help. Their experience in the game is a little different than the others’ — for one, Todd doesn’t realize they’re there, so what happens to them is just part of the program, there’s no interaction between Todd and them, so there’s no obstacles or challenges designed with them in mind.

Once the setup was explained, I figured there’d be a lot of satire of video games, or this would end up being a parody of some. Not at all — sure, this isn’t a particularly well-designed game, so there’s some critiquing of the game, but that’s about it. Meyer finds his humor elsewhere (phew!). Mostly, the game is pretty easy — sure, there’s some disgusting bits, some dangerous parts, but on the whole, the “players” spend a whole lot of time without much peril. Parts of the experience were almost nice:

The men also agreed that the woods were quite nice and that hiking through them might be rather pleasant if they had a choice, but they did not. Unfortunately, human nature dictated that anything, no matter how pleasant it is, can become hateful if you feel you must do it. Just ask anyone who’s ever entered a pie-eating contest.

As is the norm by now, this book is filled with Meyer’s particular brand of humor — some word play, some situational humor, some sarcasm, some character-driven humor. There’s some friendship, some romance, a little villainy, and some stupid pranks. All told in a charming, engaging way.

I do think it’s time for this series to end, but I’m going to miss these characters and their banter, this world. This book made me laugh out loud, which I don’t do often enough while reading. I’m pretty sure this was the first time I’ve chuckled at a waterboarding joke (don’t worry, it’s not offensive in context — really) — any book that can pull off that feat is worth a read.

Seeing that on the screen, that last sentence seems to be damning with faint and objectionable praise — really, it sounded good in my head.

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3.5 Stars

Indexing: Reflections, Episode Ten: Untold Truths by Seanan McGuire

By HCNewton

On December 16, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Indexing, K-O, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

Indexing: Reflections, Episode Ten: Untold Truth

by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #2.10

Kindle
47North, 2015
Read: December 15, 2015

We’ve all read enough/watched enough Body Swap stories to know how this goes down. Henry wakes up in a body that’s not hers, makes her way to the Bureau, to try to get her team back.

She has to convince more than a few people that’s she who she claims to be. The fact that there are people who work there who have the ability to tell if she’s telling the truth, should make things easier — and probably does.

McGuire doesn’t let things get too bogged down with this identity test. Between humor, one seriously creepy version of Moaning Myrtle, and the sense of impending doom, things keep moving well.

The plot didn’t advance a lot, but what little bit that happened was much needed and a positive sign for the next installment. Except for the last few paragraphs, which will hopefully be the first thing addressed in episode 11, because that’s just not okay.

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3.5 Stars

Unseemly Science by Rod Duncan

By HCNewton

On December 4, 2015

In Fiction, Steampunk

Unseemly Science

by Rod Duncan
Series: Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, #2

Mass Market Paperback, 368 pg.
Angry Robot Books, 2015
Read: November 28 – 30, 2015

So in The Bullet Catcher’s Daughter, Duncan created this nice little world and set up what could’ve been a pretty long running series of adventures for Elizabeth Barnabus and her alter-ego/brother Edwin. Naturally, in the sequel, he pretty much destroys all of that. Sure, it would be possible to get back to something akin to the status quo, but it’d be tricky, and he’s clearly not going for that.

As clever and skillful as Elizabeth demonstrated herself to be, there’s always someone better. And when a few of those people are working together? It’s not going to go easy for you. She’s got quite the powers arrayed against her — she’s about to be deported back to the Kingdom, along with dozens of other refugees. When she’s safely back on the other side of the border, there are sure to be representatives of the Duke that’s been hunting for her waiting.

Elizabeth’s mentee, Julia, continues her education — emboldened and possibly more headstrong thanks to her recent adventures, yet still naive and idealistic. it’s her support for a charity that drives Elizabeth in this novel (well, other than the above). John Tinker, naturally, shows up and is just as simultaneously inconvenient and perfectly helpful as he was before. I’d like to learn a little more about the America he comes from.

On the run for her life, chased by the government, bounty hunters, and investigating an odd crime (ice shortages — no, really) — things start to get strange. Strange followed by disturbing. This culminated in an action sequence I (literally) could not turn pages fast enough through. Which was followed by a denouement that in retrospect I think I should’ve expected, but took me by surprise.

I’m not ready to leave this world, and am so glad to see that The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire duology has been upgraded to a trilogy, although I haven’t the foggiest idea how Duncan is going to achieve any kind of closure in one more book. But I’m looking forward to finding out how he pulls it off.

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3.5 Stars

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

By HCNewton

On November 25, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Burning Room

by Michael Connelly
Series: Harry Bosch, #17

Mass Market Paperback, 459 pg.
Vision, 2015

Read: November 16 – 18, 2015

Harry Bosch is in the last few months of his career with the LAPD — he’s about to be forced to retire again, and there’ll be no coming back from this one. He’s at peace with this — as much as he can be. It helps that he’s training rookie Detective Lucia Soto. Soto wants to learn from him (which distinguishes her from a lot of his former partners) and seems to want to do things the way Bosch does — it’s about results, not politics; shoe leather, not (just) computer work — everyone matters. If Harry can replace himself with someone like her, he’ll go happily.

There are two cases that Bosch is focusing on this time out — one officially so, the other on his own. The official case has a lot of press, a lot of attention from inside and outside the LAPD from the Chief all the way down. It’s an odd cold case, too. The victim just died, from complications of a bullet lodged in his back almost a decade ago. From the initial findings to the end, nothing turns out to be anything like it was assumed in the initial investigation when he was shot. Great, twisty case.

Connelly spends more effort on the other case, which ends up giving the novel its title. It dates back to about the same time, but isn’t actually assigned to Bosch and Soto initially. It’s been a long time Hobby Case of Soto’s, though and she recruits Bosch to help — which he does, to keep her out of trouble and to continue her development. The case is an old arson investigation, the building that was set on fire was an old apartment building that also housed an unlicensed day care. Nine children died in the fire, and it’s haunted the neighborhood since. A much more complicated case — made the moreso by the two working it off-book.

Harry’s not fighting corruption in the ranks or City Hall this time — his targets may be close to power (and some are about as far from it as you can get), but that’s it. As much as I enjoyed the forever long feud with Irving, I’m glad to see some variety. No corruption to fight — just bureaucratic timetables and peevishness. That’s bad enough for anyone.

Whether we’re talking Iggy Ferras, David Chu, Kiz Rider, Jerry Edgar or any of the other partners Harry’s worked with, it’s safe to say, most of them haven’t been great matches. Kiz came close (Edgar did, too, in a way — they knew how to work together, mostly). This is probably the best relationship Harry’s had with a partner — not his equal, but with almost the same drive. And she knows she needs Harry’s lectures (which most of the others didn’t need or want), she wants to hear them — she even asks for his feedback and critique. Even without this, Soto’s got it going on, her strengths supplement and/or complement Harry’s. I wish they had more time together — although Harry’s lessons might start to grate on her if they spent more than several months together, see the above list of ex-partners.

While the partner/partner dynamic hasn’t always been idyllic, you can usually count on a healthy father-daughter interaction — or at least attempts on both of their parts at it. There wasn’t that much Harry and Maddie material in this one — but what was there was . . . okay. I wonder if Connelly is preparing for a spin-off series starring Maddie, or if he’ll hand that off to someone else to do.

I’m not entirely satisfied — nor are we supposed to be — with the way both cases resolved, but they did so in a way that Harry can be proud of. Much more he has a legacy to pass down –both to Maddie and to Det. Soto. You also know that Harry’ll be one of those retired cops who’ll be quick to return a call from someone in the future looking for help on an old case.

A good Bosch, not great, but solid and satisfying. Killer last scene, even if it made me think of Sutton Foster playing Harry in a very special episode of Bosch. Good ’nuff for me.

—–

3.5 Stars

Hit by Delilah S. Dawson

By HCNewton

On November 24, 2015

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, YA/MG/Children's Books

Hit

by Delilah S. Dawson
Series: Hit, #1

Hardcover, 324 pg.
Simon Pulse, 2015

Read: November 21, 2015

When I heard Dawson talk about this on The Once & Future Podcast this past Spring, I knew I had to read it. But like with about half the things I say that about when I listen to that podcast, I never got around to it. I’m so glad I finally remembered to grab it. This was a great read — a heckuva gut punch. A great immersive experience.

Sure, we’ve all read dystopian fictions that take place decades (at least) after the fall of whatever society preceded it. But have you ever wondered what it’s like to live in the opening minutes of a dystopia? Panem before the Capital City was wretched hive of scum and vanity? Well, that’s exactly what Patsy Klein is going through.

Yeah, Patsy Klein — some parents, right?

So Patsy is given a task: work as an indentured servant/debt collector for 5 days and collect from these 10 people. To collect, get their signature and record one of three choices: pay up everything you owe to the bank, now; become an indentured servant yourself for 5 days; or be killed, and here’s a 17-year-old with a 9mm to take care of that. Take your pick.

How can anyone get away with that? Well, Valor Bank (and a couple of smaller entities) has bought — lock, stock and barrel — the debt of the U.S. and every individual in it. Which is a lot of debt when you stop and think about it (all that’s required, really is, something like a California Rolling Stop to reach that conclusion). Valor Banks wants that debt taken care of pronto — and thanks to a subclause in that credit card application that no one ever reads, and some greased wheels in Congress, they can present these choices to pretty much every citizen. Patsy’s part of the first wave of these collectors, moving out before the majority of Americans have figured out what’s happening.

Killer concept, right? Utterly horrific — and yet almost utterly believable. Like I said before, when you plunge in and read this in a sitting or two it works great. If you take the time to think about some of the elements, I’m not sure it’d hold up nearly as well. But man, it was a fun read, even when it made you uneasy about what Patsy was doing.

And before I go any further, I just have to add that this is one of the best cover designs (front and back) I’ve seen this year. I hope someone got a promotion/bonus/raise out of this.

Again, I’m not sure how well this would hold up to examining various aspects of the world. It’s clear that there’s a pretty well-developed world supporting this, but the more we see of it, the more we understand the machinations that Valor Bank went through on both the macro and micro level — which it seems clear is where the sequel is going — the less I’m going to like it. A vague, nebulous Other doing horrible things is frequently better than seeing the Man Behind the Curtain. Right now, this is great — grabs the imagination, taps in to zeitgeist-y resentments towards banks/financial entities, and adds a deadly teenage girl. You explain everything, let us see what’s going on and I’m afraid we’ll end up with something like Allegiant (I’m convinced that was the biggest problem with the end of the trilogy, Roth explained too much).

A great read with some real weaknesses that easy enough to overlook if you want to. This’ll grab you, make you feel every hit, every shot and every regret.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Lobster Boy And The Fat Lady’s Daughter by Charles Kriel

By HCNewton

On November 5, 2015

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

The Lobster Boy And The Fat Lady’s Daughter

by Charles Kriel
Series: Mel Barry Investigates, #1

Kindle Edition, 250 pg.
Fahrenheit Press, 2015
Read: October 31, 2015

I can’t give this one the discussion it needs with my standard spoiler-free stuff. So…after the break below, I’ll talk about my spoilery-beefs with this book. If you don’t want to read them (I’m not sure I’d blame you for skipping) read on. Otherwise, you can stop when you get to the stars.

Carnival/Freak Show owner Charlie “Lobster Boy” Koontz is being framed for murder, and given his physical appearance, an already ugly situation promises to get much, much worse. So he does the unthinkable — he calls his adopted daughter for help. You’ll have to read to find out why this is such a dumb move. Mel comes to town, starts asking questions, kicking some butt — occasionally getting a name — all while reconnecting with her carnie roots and learning a bit more about her family.

Mel’s a combination of Jack Reacher and Charlie Fox with a more mysterious past than either. Which Kriel teases us with frequently, but doesn’t give us much to go on. I’m fine with that, if we get a sequel that actually explains what happens to Mel post-carnival, otherwise, it’s a problem (one that’s not Kriel’s fault, really). Anyway, she’s good with a gun, good with hand-to-hand, crafty as all get-out and determined to get Charlie out of jail no matter what.

We don’t get much of an idea about the town that the murder takes place in, we get a flavor of some of the leadership — we see that Law Enforcement is a racist joke, and that there’s a strip joint. That’s pretty much it. Kriel comes close to playing the stereotype card, but somehow avoids it. We see almost nothing of the populace, no characters that we can remember longer than the sentence that they’re (outside of the villains, obviously)

We get a good look at The Lobster Boy’s Mermaid Parade, on the other hand. It’s a not just a group of coworkers, it’s a family — admittedly, a strange family. They live together, travel together, perform together, play together — it’s enough to make you want to run off and join them. But you should probably bend a law or two first, so you can fit in. And it’s filled with characters — almost none of which we get adequate time with, but enough to make them people, enough to remember in a couple of cases, at least.

Early on, there is a rape scene that I found to be gratuitously graphic. I get that occasionally for reasons of plot or character, you’ve got to have a scene along those lines — and while I don’t appreciate them, I can accept them. But they need to serve a purpose, this one seems to do little more than demonstrate that the man is a creep, a misogynist, violent with a twisted idea that he’s connected to Mel. Now we already know everything except the violence before things got graphic, and there’re other ways to show that. I’m not saying the guy can’t rape the girl to illustrate this stuff if that’s what an author thinks is best, but we don’t need the details. The fact that he rapes someone alone says that. The details don’t add to that. A couple of chapters earlier, there’s an attempted rape scene (different perpetrators, different victim) — I had no problems with that at all, because it accomplished things that served the story and the characters.

The first two chapters of this were interesting, yeah, but there was something about it that made me think this wasn’t going to be a book for me — no matter how well-written it turned out to be, there was just something that didn’t appeal. I’m not sure if I finished Chapter 3 before I decided I was wrong — I liked Mel, straightaway. I still wasn’t sure about anything else in the book, but if this was her book, I was in.

This was a fast read, a compelling read, and a fun read — and were it not for graphic elements in the rape scene and the stuff coming up below, I’d have rated it higher. Still, Mel Barry is a character I want to see more of, and I’m sure Charles Kriel is an author I will see more of. Especially at a Kindle price, it’s worth the read — would be for twice what Amazon is asking, too.

—–

3.5 Stars

The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone

By HCNewton

On October 30, 2015

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

The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss

by Max Wirestone
Series: Dahlia Moss, #1

Hardcover, 304 pg.
Redhook, 2015
Read: October 26 – 27, 2015

So Dahlia Moss needs a job in a pretty bad way — she’s been unemployed for about two years, doesn’t interview well, has less than $20 in the back and is crashing with a friend who’s been super cool about things — but that can’t last forever. Her last relationship ended badly, and she’s lost contact with about everyone but the friend with the great apartment.

So when a complete stranger (who clearly has more money than he knows what to do with) shows up and offers her $2,000 to do a job she knows she’s not qualified for, she jumps at it without much thought. Even when the job is a little on the ridiculous side. Jonah plays an MMORPG called Kingdoms of Zoth, which is like World of Warcraft for people who are too into MMORPGS’s to play something as mainstream as WoW. Recently, someone stole a one-of-a-kind weapon from him, the “Bejeweled Spear of Infinite Piercing,” and he’d like Dahlia (no stranger to Zoth, but not a pro) to track down the thief and retrieve the spear.

Dahlia likes the idea of being a P.I., thinks this case looks pretty easy, and did I mention the $2,000? So she dives in and just starts to make progress when Jonah is found murdered. His family (who has more money than he does) wants her to finish the job, and promises an obscene amount of money for the successful completion of her hunt.

Dahlia doesn’t have someone like Hawk or Joe Pike, she has Charice. Charice is a force of nature — she has a really nice job in PR, has friends in more industries than you can count, and doesn’t take “no” for anything approximating an answer. She believes in Dahlia, and thinks that this whole thing is a hoot — and would probably be egging her on even if she thought it was a disaster.

The rest of the supporting characters are almost as entertaining — from the detectives investigating the murder, to the co-workers at the university who are a tad jealous of him, his guildmates in Zoth (and their off-line counterparts) — they’re all quirky, off-beat and amusing (as is Dahlia’s appraisal and characterization of them). Even the funeral director that we meet for a couple of pages pulls his weight.

But Dahlia is the star — its her voice, her jokes, her outlook on life that drive this thing. If you took Lisa Lutz’ Izzy Spellman and Michael R. Underwood’s Ree Reyes, combined their DNA you’d get Dahlia. Actually, just that procedure sounds like an entertaining read. Now, I really can’t imagine why someone wouldn’t like her, but I’m sure people like that are out there. If you don’t like her after the first chapter, put this one aside and grab the next one down on your TBR pile.

I don’t know if I’ve read a mystery set in St. Louis before. Or anything set there before – well, didn’t Riordan set a demigod battle there? Anyway, while I’m not suggesting that I got a good feel for the city, it was a start, and I’d like to see more. There’s also a trip to a gaming convention that sounds on-the-nose. Probably her time in Zoth captured the feel of such a place, I don’t know.

It’s pretty-well paced, and the mix of personal stories with her detecting keep the mood and illustrate Dahlia’s mindset (and the gradual character growth she goes through). By the end, when she’s focused on earning the money and figuring everything out, things pick up straight-through to the action-packed and very slapsticky end (very amusing to visualize this).

You don’t have to be a geek (or know any) to enjoy this — but it’d help. I do have to admit, I had to enlist the help of my son to decode one “hard-core Pokémon reference” that Dahlia made, and had to google a literary reference that I should’ve remembered. But if you didn’t take those steps, it wouldn’t detract much from your appreciation (my son was at work when I came across it, so it was hours before he could explain it to me).

Outlandish? Yup. Almost as Fantasy-based as Zoth itself? Absolutely. But you know what? I just don’t care. This book is too much fun to worry about things like that — a breezy, goofy read that’s sure to please. I hope there’s more to come from Wirestone, whether it’s with these characters or another batch, I look forward to seeing what comes next.

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3.5 Stars

Reflecting the Sky by S. J. Rozan

By HCNewton

On October 29, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, P-U, S. J. Rozan

Reflecting the Sky

by S. J. Rozan
Series: Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #7

Hardcover, 312 pg.
Thomas Dunne Books, 2001

Read: October 24 – 26, 2015

I love reading the conversations that Lydia and Bill have — especially those that have little-to-nothing to do with their work. In the opening pages of this book, where Lydia explains to Bill what Grandfather Gao wants them to do, and where he wants them to do it, we get one of their better conversations. Bill has a lot of fun with the idea that the venerated Grandfather Gao wants him to do anything for him, much less travel to the other side of the planet for him.

Grandfather Gao, who looms large over Chinatown in general and Lydia’s life in particular, wants the two of them to make a couple of deliveries to Hong Kong: the ashes of an old friend, and a package for that friend to be delivered to his brother.

Of course this simple errand doesn’t go as planned — it’d be a very short book if it did. As entertaining as it might be to read about these two playing tourist in Hong Kong, that’s not the type of book Rozan wrrites. Soon, this errand plunges the partners into at least one kidnapping plot, a murder, and all sorts of other crimes. How much of this was predicted by Grandfather Gao is a question on everyone’s mind.

The best part of this book is seeing Lydia in a strange land — in NYC, the accent is on the “Chinese” in Chinese-American, by the way she was raised, where she lives (both neighborhood and with her mother), her family, and her appearance. But here? The accent is on “American.” She gets a bit more of the culture and customs than your typical tourist, and a lot more of the language, but at the end of the day, she’s a foreigner even where Bill’s the one who looks different than most people she’s around.

Now, no American detective (or pair) can wander around a foreign city, stirring up trouble and solving crimes without one ally. Lydia and Bill are helped out by Mark Quan, a detective raised in the American South who moved to Hong Kong later and became a police officer there. He, of course, has his own connection to Grandfather Gao — which, at least, means that he can be trusted. At the end of the day, we’re reminded more than once, that a cop is a cop no matter where you are, so even if he can be trusted, he’s not that open to P.I. help (especially American P.I. help). I really enjoyed him as a character, and hope that he gets sent to NYC in the future to help with something in a Rush Hour/Red Heat-type move.

Bill, as usual, comes across as a better guy than he does in the books from his perspective. I appreciate that dynamic, he comes across as more heroic (if semi-annoyingly interested in Lydia — from her perspective), and she comes across a bit more clever and resourceful in his books. He didn’t get nearly enough to do, in my opinion, but I know he’ll get his turn soon enough.

Not the best in this series, but man, it was entertaining. Loved seeing these two as fish out of water, yet still doing their thing. Bring on the next!

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3.5 Stars