Tag: Urban Fantasy Page 38 of 44

Review Catch-Up: Hidden by Benedict Jacka; The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire

On August 10, 2015

In Alex Verus, Authors, Benedict Jacka, F-J, Fiction, K-O, Seanan McGuire, Toby Daye, Urban Fantasy

These have been nagging at me for eleven months now. No, I have no explanation for why it took me so long, but I’m glad I took a lot of notes on both. I’m going to get this posted before I start the next Jacka novel (which should be happening today). While I’m at it, the next Toby Day is a couple of weeks away.

Anyway, overdue mini-looks at a couple of the best Urban Fantasies I read in 2014:

Hidden

by Benedict Jacka
Series: Alex Verus, #5

Mass Market Paperback, 293 pg.
Ace, 2014
Read: September 26 – 30, 2014
. . . man, I have really missed Alex. Everyone’s favorite diviner has really come a long way, lately — shedding the near lone-wolf thing, and is now looking after a passel of magic rookies. Whether they want him to or not.

Anne Walker is definitely in the “or not” category. She’s done all she can to stay away from Alex — but she probably didn’t mean to include being kidnapped as one of those ways. Alex goes to some pretty dark places to help someone who doesn’t want it.

At the same time, Alex (via the Council) is feeling some pressure for the events of the last book. They’re also pressuring him to do some official work for them. Plus the rumors are getting more and more intense that his mentor, Richard, is back. If that’s true, no one is going to be happy. Naturally, everyone thinks that Alex knows what Richard is up to. And every time he says he doesn’t, he convinces them that he does.

So yeah, Alex has his hands full.

I think it was Chekhov who said that if a magic user grabs a focus in the opening chapters, that by the end of the book . . . Anyway, that was a nice use of it.

Not that Alex has had an easy life over the last couple books (or we wouldn’t be reading them) but the one big take away from Hidden is that it’s going to get a lot worse for our friend (I swear I hadn’t read that note when I wrote about Veiled over the weekend). There are other take aways, mostly happier, but I’ll leave that to you to find.

A wholly satisfying read. Get to know Alex Verus.

4 Stars

The Winter Long

by Seanan McGuire
Series: Toby Daye, #8

Mass Market Paperback, 358 pg.
DAW, 2014
Read: September 13 – 16, 2014

I don’t like parties. Someone always tries to assassinate someone I actually like, and there are never enough of those little stuffed mushroom caps.

A book starts off with a line like that? You’re going to have fun.

Thankfully, one’s appreciation of a book doesn’t depend on how the protagonist acts. When I was on page 46, I wrote , “Granted, this is early, but Toby’s being stupid, foolishly so. She’s not paying attention to anything said during the fight she just had — actually, technically didn’t really have. Instead, she’s reacting to something that happened to a friend, and acting out of fear, prejudice and alarm. That disappoints me. Her saying, ‘that smile, brief as it had been, was all I could have asked for. A smiling Tybalt was a Tybalt who was still capable of stepping back and looking at the situation rationally. I loved him, but even I could find him frightening when he was fixated on vengeance.’ Man, choke me on the irony, McGuire.”

There’s just go much about this novel that I can’t describe without spoiling it. Let me limit myself to a couple of more notes: Toby lost a lot of blood on this one — I mean like The Bride in the Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves kind of a lot. It’s a good thing she has a healing factor to make Logan jealous. While she’s bleeding she’s having her world rocked.

McGuire takes a lot of what Toby’s “known” since we met her (all of which is what we’ve “known,” too) and turns it upside down and shakes the truth out. Every other book in the series has been affected by these revelations — in one fell swoop, she re-wrote previous 7 books — which is just so cool. It’s not that we’ve (we= readers and Toby) been wrong, our understanding is just . . . askew. There’s also some nice warm fuzzies in this book, which isn’t that typical for the series. McGuire’s outdone herself.
5 Stars

Kitty Saves the World by Carrie Vaughn

By HCNewton

On July 21, 2015

In Authors, Carrie Vaughn, Fiction, Kitty Norville

Kitty Saves the World

by Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville, #14

ARC, 325 pg.
Tor Books, 2015
Read: July 14 – 15, 2015
4 1/2 Stars
Easy title to live up to, no?

About the same time that I posted my review of the previous book, Low Midnight, where I talked about “future Kitty novels,” Carrie Vaughn announced that this one would be the end. So much for my predictive ability. Now, at the end, I see that Low Midnight was well-placed in the series, and I have a better understanding of the role it played in setting up this book. Which is not to say that I wouldn’t have preferred a few more books in this series, but if Vaughn had to end it now, I’m glad she did it like this.

This couldn’t be less obvious a last novel. Kitty name checks and/or visits everybody we’ve met along the way, it’s like the last few minutes of “The End of Time” before The Doctor regenerates into Matt Smith. But Vaughn does it so smoothly, it’s only when you stop and think about who’s shown up that you even notice what she’s done.

I don’t really have much to say about this — it’s the 14^th and final novel in a series. Don’t let this be the first one you read — do let this be the last. Start with one of the first few (if not the first, Kitty and the Midnight Hour).

This is different than the rest of the series, not just because it’s the end. There’s plenty of action to be found — not a lot of time for character development, growth, relationships, new characters (well, maybe a couple) — it’s all about Regina Luporum and her allies versus Dux Bellorum, anything else is a distraction (however pleasant a distraction). Which isn’t to say that the characters are unimportant — it’s Carrie Vaughn, characters are the core. But they’re very busy here, and don’t have a lot of time to chat, reflect, or anything like that — they have a world to save.

The final showdown with Roman didn’t go as expected, but better. The scenes following that were great, and the ending was everything a fan could hope for.

One criticism — and, now that I think about it, this applies to the series as a whole — Kitty tells us time after time that her pack is what’s important, it drives her restaurant/bar New Moon, it keeps her in Denver, it’s what motivates her, blah, blah, blah. But really, outside of the occasional chat while picking up an order with Shaun and references to the group hunting on the Full Moon, we don’t see them. The pack that Kitty cares about is the other one — Ben, Cormac, Amelia, Alette, Odysseus Grant, Tina, Rick, Matt, and the others that fill her life and align themselves with her against the Long Game. I’d be fine with it if Kitty were just a little bit more honest with herself/us about it.

I’m going to miss Kitty, Ben, Cormac and the rest, and the next year is going to feel a little strange not getting any new adventures from them. But this was a great way to say goodbye.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Dusted Off: Kitty’s Big Trouble by Carrie Vaughn

By HCNewton

On July 15, 2015

In Carrie Vaughn, Fiction, Kitty Norville

While starting the post for Kitty Saves the World, I noticed I’d reviewed only two other books in this series here. Unthinkable. It was one of the first UF series I ever tried and it’s one of my favorites to this day. Turns out, that somehow I’ve only written one other post on the series. I’m still having trouble coming to grips with that. So, I figured I’d better throw this up before I forgot.
—

Kitty’s Big Trouble

by Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville, #9

Mass Market Paperback, 307 pg.

Tor Books, 2011

Read: July 3 – 4, 2011
It’s been far too long since we’ve had a new Kitty Norville adventure, and Carrie Vaughn didn’t disappoint with this one.

We begin with Kitty’s most recent hobby–trying to out historical figures as weres or vampires or whatever. Which is a lot of fun, and is a well Vaughn hopefully returns to.

But the main action focuses on the Long Game between various vampire factions that we’ve seen a few peaks into lately. Kitty’s ally Anastasia is racing against Roman for possession of a magical artifact that could turn the tide in this competition forever.

Honestly, I don’t think this was the strongest entry in the series plotwise–this seems more about setting the stage for bigger things down the road. But while setting the stage, we get to spend some good quality time with some great characters, learn more about Cormac’s situation, and meet a few new characters (a couple of which I hope to see again, soon).

Should add that it took me far too long to get the title, and when I finally did I wondered where my head had been for a couple hundred pages.

Can’t wait to see what trouble Kitty gets into next.

—–

4 Stars

Splintered by Jamie Schultz

By HCNewton

On July 1, 2015

In Fiction

Splintered

by Jamie Schultz
Series: Arcane Underworld, #2

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pg.

Roc, 2015

Read: June 9 – 10, 2015 Last year’s Premonitions stuck with me more than many Urban Fantasies I’d consider equal to or better than it. For example: Seanan McGuire’s The Winter Long blew me away, but when I finished it, I thought about it for a couple of days and then moved on. But Schultz’ debut (which I thoroughly enjoyed) stuck around the back of my mind, and every so often I’d speculate about Karyn’s future, Genevieve’s motives, etc. Part of it was that is that McGuire’s got 7 novels of history in her series, I have (some) idea what she’ll be putting Toby et al. through in the future and had a solid idea about what had happened in The Winter Long. But Schultz is a question mark, who knew what he had up his sleeve for the future, and there were still some questions about what I’d read hanging in the back of my mind. But it was more than that — something about the book as a whole — the world as a whole — that lingered.

So, yeah, I was more than ready for Splintered by the time I got my hands on it. Thankfully, I can report that Schultz stepped up his game a bit.

It’s been a few weeks since the events of Premonitions, most wounds and injuries have healed, Karyn’s still overcome by an onslaught of visions and is unable to care for herself, Anna’s dividing her time between caring for her and running around for Enoch Sobell (while suffering emotional damage from Premonitions), Sobell’s just about finished piecing his organization back together, and everything else is returning to normal. Now, Anna and the team aren’t exactly sure what Sobell’s got them running around doing — but they’re not crazy about it.

Then things get serious — Sobell “asks” the team to do something for him that’s another level of criminality than they’ve engaged in before — with yet another inevitably following. This involves a handful of magic users in a class beyond what they’re used to. In the middle of all this, the FBI raids Sobell’s headquarters (making it difficult for him to keep the team on task). Oh, and someone’s looking for a Karyn. Someone Anna’s never heard of, and isn’t so sure about. Things get complicated, twisted, and disturbing from here — hopeful steps and/or events, are tarnished by failure or corruption; every victory looks Pyrrhic, and defeat seems inevitable.

Which is not to say that this book is all doom and gloom, a read only fit for the masochistic or self-loathing. On the contrary, there’s a lot of life in these characters, hope, gumption and devotion. You want to know what’s happening to them, you want to see them prevail in some small way (at least). This world may not be filled with blue skies, but there are patches of blue in the smog.

There’s something about the L.A. of these books that make me think Schultz is depicting a near-future dystopian city. But I’m so glad that Nail’s around so we get references to 9/11 and the Iraq War, and I can be reminded that this is taking place roughly now and that what I consider to by a dystopian future is simply a dystopian present for far too many people.

I don’t typically spend enough time thinking about titles, it’s one of those things I keep meaning to do. In this case, however, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to see the title’s applicability. At some point — if not several points — every character in this book is on their own, splintered off from the rest and looking out for their own interest with no attention or care about any one else. Occasionally, it’s in opposition to anyone else (even those they’re supposed to be aligned with). This cuts across all the various relationships depicted; from the purely financial, to the heartfelt, to the creepy and cultic. Each individual makes a deal with someone along the way — almost always for short-term gain (shorter than many expect, it should be added) and potentially long-term loss (longer than many expect). Sometimes, the characters can think that there might not actually be consequences to the deal, but they feel dirty just thinking about making it. Even those characters who start out at least partially altruistic or team/family/friend-centered in their approach to a problem, end up cutting a deal with someone. Anna, for example, primarily makes deals to help — or at least give her a chance at helping — Karyn. That act of caring doesn’t shield either one from the price to be paid for it.

Throughout Splintered (but not a stranger to Premonitions) is the deep sense that there are always consequences for one’s actions. Most serialized fiction will deal with consequences for “the big stuff” — X killed Y, so in 3 books, Y’s family will come for revenge. Or some seemingly insignificant event will turn out 5 books from now to have significant effects on the world/characters/etc. But here, every single time someone does anything magical, there are consequences, potentially (probably?) eternal consequences. This alone sets the Arcane Underworld books apart from the crowd. But it’s not just the magical actions; it’s conversations, it’s the past, it’s these deals, it’s being in the wrong place at the wrong time. What these characters do matters. Sometimes it matters for them, sometimes it matters for their loved ones, sometimes it’s their enemies. Horrifically (and realistically), sometimes, it’s complete and utter strangers. I’m not suggesting that Butcher, or Hearne, or Harrison don’t have Harry, Atticus or Rachel deal with repercussions of their actions — but somehow, Schultz is able to permeate the atmosphere with this idea. Some of his characters see the consequences and shrug them off before acting, others see the consequences and accept them, others figure they can find a way to get out of them (or have someone else rescue them).

But at the end of the day — if not before noon — no one comes out unscathed. Well, okay, some tertiary (or quaternary) characters do — but most of even them don’t. I don’t think there’s a single thing that remains the same from beginning of the book to the end — health, relationship, financial status, legal situation, family, soul — I think every character takes a hit on at least two of those, if not all. Not many authors can achieve that in 350 pages.

Lastly, I like the fact that the FBI is aware enough that strange things are happening in the world to have the Non-Standard Investigations Branch. Primarily, because it reminded me of the Chicago Police Department’s Special Investigations division in the early Dresden Files, but I also liked that the FBI is clever enough to see the need for something like that in a world where magic actually exists (see almost every other UF series for worlds where the authorities aren’t that insightful). It sure looks like they’re going to be around for a while, making life difficult for everyone. I’m looking forward to getting to see Special Agent Elliot and the rest in action.

What keeps this from getting a 5-star rating? I’m not sure I’m always engaged as I should be in either the action or with the characters. Some of that could be my subconscious refusing to get to tied to these people so that it’s easier to take when they meet the supernatural equivalent of Vic Vega/Mr. Blonde in a warehouse with a straight razor. Maybe it’s because these characters are the kind that we usually root against. Or maybe it’s just that I’m not reading it right.

Can you read this without reading the previous novel? Yeah. But I don’t recommend it, too much of this is a reaction to it.

With Premonitions, Jamie Schultz promised something new to the genre. Splintered shows us that he’s keeping that promise. I have no idea what book three of the Arcane Underworld is going to bring, but I can’t wait for it.

—–

Note: I was provided a copy of this novel by the author, which didn’t alter my opinion of the work — I can be bought, but not that cheaply.

—–

4 Stars

Premonitions by Jamie Schultz Redux

By HCNewton

On June 9, 2015

In Fiction

I read this one last year, and in anticipation of the sequel, decided to take another crack at it over my vacation. On the whole, I’ll stand by what I said below — that’s about what I’d say about it today if I was starting from scratch. There is one new thought that I’ll add, I thought about deleting/reworking some of what I said before, but…eh, it’s close enough (and I’m tired). Still, the main point stands: this is not your typical UF, and it’s worth your time.

Premonitions

by Jamie SchultzSeries: Arcane Underworld, #1

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pg.
Roc, 2014
Reread: June 7, 2015I spent a lot of time staring at a blank screen trying to figure out how to talk about this. I came close to just posting, “This is seriously effed-up. But in a good way. Read it!”

Really, that might have been the way to go. But let’s give this a try…

Premonitions is not your typical Urban Fantasy. Karyn isn’t full of spunk, battling her way through some challenges with only her wits, a snappy line and her powers in a quest to defeat evil/save a life/protect justice. Nope, all she’s trying to do is survive. Same for the rest of her gang — they steal, they work only to make it to the next day. They’re not well off, they’re really not even comfortable — borderline desperate, really. So when they’re given the opportunity to split a 2 million dollar score, it’s an offer they cannot refuse (in many ways)

In this world, magic — or precognitive abilities — come with a price. A nasty, dirty, life-altering price. Neither the magic or the precog life seems at all worth it — and with one possible exception, everyone we meet in these pages with some sort of ability realizes that. Yet, those who can choose to pay that price or not, keep coming back to it. Karyn, on the other hand has no choice. Her abilities come with horrible hallucinations that she has to keep suppressed with a drug. Which is, of course, hard to find and only available on the black market. So like any good junkie, she steals to support her habit. Karyn’s psychic ability is like a less-pretty, less specific and more unreliable version of Alex Verus’ magic. Not that I think for a second that Schultz was going for that — it’s just what occurred to me as I read. I like the slightly different take on the idea.

Premonitions is a Heist story — so, of course, things go horribly wrong (that’s the point of these, right?), it’s watching how this particular band of thieves respond to this that makes this compelling. In fact, the broad brush strokes of the plot are pretty apparent within the first few pages — this isn’t a knock on Schultz, it’s just evidence that he knows what he’s doing. This is a classic Heist story, told in his own particular way, with his unique blend of characters — thieves, marks and obstacles.

We have two central characters — Karyn and Anna, with a crew of others — magicians(is that the word?), an ex-Marine and — well, some others they pick up along the way. Years ago, Karyn and Anna become friends, and for reasons we’re not privy to, and Anna may not fully recognize, Anna hitched her wagon to Karyn. She could’ve gone off and had a successful career, family, and whatnot. Instead, she’s a criminal scratching by, doing all she can to help her friend make it to the next day.

That’s the heart of this novel — the friendship between these two. Their dedication to each other, to each other’s needs, wants, desires and lives — and by extension, those members of their team, romantic partners, and miscellaneous allies. There’s no flashy swords, or government conspiracies, or prince to rescue — but this is really a one for all and all for one group. As long as they remember that.

This is the new thought:
One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is the concept of found-family, especially as portrayed in TV, movies and novels. There are two found-families here — probably three — and each is under stress in some ways. There’s one rotting from within, one that’s dealing with a defection, and one that’s dealing with an addition or two (and some subtractions). Each responds to the stress in a different way — mostly in a pretty destructive way. If you step back and think of them as families — and not criminal organizations or cults — the reactions are entirely understandable, and you can sympathize with those lashing out (actually, they’re understandable for criminal enterprises or cults, too — but far less sympathetic). I’m not suggesting this is terribly profound or anything, but this time through this idea jumped out at me. Particularly when the various characters are thinking about/voicing what connects them to their “family.”

There is a pervasive atmosphere that characterizes this novel, a mood. The whole thing is dark and moody. In my mind, it looks like the sets from Season 1 of The Wire, lit by whoever picked the look for Blade Runner. This gives it a different feel than most of your Urban Fantasies on the market. Not that they’re all rainbows and unicorns, but there is a “blue sky” feel to Urban Fantasies by Underwood, Butcher, Hearne, Harrison, Briggs and whatnot — that is not shared here. Schultz is not Richard Kadray-dark, but he’s close. Honestly, this reminded me of the Twenty Palaces world of Harry Connolly. Obviously, the magic system is different — but I’d have no problem at all seeing Ray Lilly and Annalise Powliss bump into Karyn and her crew (thankfully, I’m pretty sure their magic isn’t the sort that Annalise would feel compelled to eliminate anyone).

When I was 34 pages from the end of the book, I jotted down a note: “Not only do I have no clear idea how all this will end (frankly, I didn’t see what happened three pages ago happening), but I also have no clue what a sequel to this looks like.” That’s not normal, that says a lot about how Schultz is working. Now, by the end of the novel, that wasn’t the case — I had a clear idea what to expect Splintered to be like (I’m also prepared to be totally wrong). But to be that close to the end, and not sure what’s around the corner? That’s pretty cool. To be fair, it could be that I was being dumb — but I’m going to give the credit to Schultz for keeping me on my toes.

Give this one a try, folks, don’t think you’ll be sorry.

—–

Note: I was provided a copy of this by the author, who seems like a pretty cool guy — which made the fact that I really enjoyed this a relief.

—–

4 Stars

Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone

By HCNewton

On June 4, 2015

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

Three Parts Dead

by Max Gladstone
Series:Craft Sequence, #1

Hardcover, 333 pg.
Tor Books, 2012
Read: June 1 – 3, 2015

Good grief. I don’t know what to say. Three Parts Dead is a unique reading experience. I spent a lot of time not exactly sure I understood everything going on, but I was riveted (and yes, I understood things eventually — just some of the magic took awhile to register).

The closest thing I can come up with to compare this to is Michael R. Underwood’s Shield and Crocus without the super-heroes, but with Wizard-Lawyers, Vampires, and Gargoyles that can eat Anton Strout’s Stannis for lunch.

Forget my attempt at plot summary, it’s just not going to work — click the links above and read Gladstone’s (or whoever put together his site). This is smart, compelling — occasionally gorgeous — writing. The world building is fantastic. These characters — I’m going to be thinking about them for awhile. Actually, that’s true for the book as a whole. I’m going to be thinking about all of it for awhile. Love it when I read a book like that — this one is going to stick with me.

There’s SF elements, fantasy elements, some mystery, a little legal thriller, some oddly pro-cigarette imagery… a little bit of something for everyone, tied together to make something that’ll knock your socks off.

I can pretty much promise you that you’ve never read anything like Three Parts Dead. That may not be enough of a reason to pick it up, but it you really should.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Soulless by Gail Carriger

By HCNewton

On June 3, 2015

In Fiction, Steampunk

Soulless

by Gail Carriger
Series: The Parasol Protectorate, #1

Mass Market Paperback, 357 pg.
Orbit, 2009
Read: May 16 – 18, 2015
This is simply not my kind of book, a fact I repeated to myself many times while reading this. But man, I was charmed by it. So charmed by it, that I didn’t care if it was my kind of book or not.

Straightaway, we have our heroine, Alexia Tarabotti, describing her mother:

Mrs. Loontwill, as she was Loontwill since her remarriage, leaned a little too far toward the frivolous in any given equation. She was prone to wearing yellow and engaging in bouts of hysteria.

Something about that second sentence killed me — and I knew I was in for the book, and likely, the series.

This is essentially an Urban Fantasy novel told in Steampunk Victorian England — the Steampunk elements are there, but they’re really just the dressing (occasionally, that dressing becomes quite important, I should point out). The book doesn’t scream “Steampunk” to me, it’s about Vampires, Werewolves, forces threatening them on behalf of humanity, humans and one rare person who’s not really any of the above. Naturally, Alexia is the latter.

The characters — most of them, anyway — are refugee’s from Austen, just turned up to 11. Probably because Carriger is willing to have fun with her characters (and at their expense), which Austen would’ve frowned on, I think. But it’s all in good fun — Carriger isn’t mean, she seems to take great delight in talking about the food, fashion and manners of the day, even as she plays with them, and sets Alexia on a course to bend, if not break, all the societal norms. Her supernatural creatures are also one foot in the society and one foot (paw?) out.

Like with most things in Victorian London, there are very strict rules about the making of new vampires — and then making sure that they know how to behave/feed/etc. When Alexia accidentally kills a young vampire at a ball — almost ruining the affair and bringing all sorts of scandal upon her mother — Lord Conall Maccon of the Bureau for Unnatural Registration shows up to investigate. Alexia involves herself in the project as well — and it soon becomes clear that a number of young vampires not properly made are showing up around London (while werewolves are disappearing all over Britain). It’s clearly not just about unauthorized vampires, there’s something else afoot — and what’s up with the bandaged stranger who keeps trying to kidnap Alexia?

It should be added that Conall is the local werewolf Alpha, and Alexia tends to bring out the wolfish parts of his personality — he brings out something in Alexia, too, but it takes her a while to figure out what. Enter the romance (sorry for the minor spoiler, but if you can make it through the first half of chapter 1 without figuring that out faster than Conall or Alexia, you’re not paying attention and should probably turn off the TV while you read).

It’s not the most original story, really. Fairly easy to predict most of what happens, too. But you know what? Carriger mixes the various elements — Austen-inspired romance, Victorian manners, Steampunk tools world, and Urban Fantasy creatures — with her wit and charm, and you just don’t care how well-trod the plot is.

This might not sound like the compliment it is, but, let me give it a shot. I hold no hope whatsoever of getting my mother to read Urban Fantasy (or Steampunk, for that matter), unless I publish an Urban Fantasy novel (or Steampunk, for that matter). But if I was ever going to succeed? It’d be with this one. The setting, the voice, the romance — all right up her alley. But it worked for me, too. And for Carriger to pull that off says a lot about her skill. I’m coming back for more.

—–

3.5 Stars

Attack the Geek by Michael R. Underwood

By HCNewton

On May 28, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Michael R. Underwood, P-U, Urban Fantasy

Attack the Geek

by Michael R. Underwood
Series: , #2.5

eBook
Pocket Star, 2014

Read: May 22 – 23, 2015 Unlike the first two installments of this series, which I grabbed as soon as I could, I put off reading this — mostly it’s because it was a .5. On the whole, I’ve not really found much to get excited about in the point-whatevers. But I had an opening in my schedule and needed something I could read on my phone.

Man, I should’ve read this sooner.

It’s a typical Saturday night at Grognard’s Grog and Games — “V: TES tournament, half-priced Jaeger, and Grognard getting morose.” Ree’s got her hands full serving the crowd, which happens to include our friends Eastwood and Drake. This is pretty handy because while things are still going strong, the bar falls under a pretty serious attack. They’re able to hold it off for a bit, but before long, it becomes a night-long siege. It was only missing a few Uruk-Hai (or a reference to them) to be a veritable Helm’s Deep. There’s a bit more than just the siege, but I’ve gotta leave a little to you to find out for yourself.

On the one hand this is pretty much just one long-knockdown fight. But there’s more going on — and not just because it’s really a series of fights with strategic retreats to regroup, refresh, heal and strategize. But there’s more than that — Ree seems a lot more certain in her abilities, confident and capable (although she should really have learned to carry spare batteries for her phone by now). There is a little character development, a little push toward the next novel, but mostly this is action. Which does make the small character moments shine a bit brighter — you expect them in a full-fledged novel, and while Underwood usually does these moments right, here they stand out more. Most importantly, the voice is there — Underwood’s eye for action, Ree’s snark, and the 17 pop culture references per inch of text are fully present.

Because the action is limited to the events of one night, a lot of the things that would be minuses for me, actually work. For example, Ree hits the same note of lament over her romantic situation too often for a book that takes place over a couple of weeks — but over a night? Yeah, we’ve all been there. A couple of Grognard’s patrons don’t act in ways that would work/wouldn’t be suspicious over the long hall — but in the midst of a battle? Sure, absolutely.

Unlike a lot of .5 works, I don’t know if this one can be skipped in your voyage from Ree Reyes #2 to Ree Reyes #3. Even if it turns out that you can (won’t know until #3 releases — which I won’t wait to read), you shouldn’t. Grab something to drink and/or snack on and watch Ree and the gang open up a few cans of whoop-ass.

—–

The Younger Gods by Michael R. Underwood

By HCNewton

On May 12, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Michael R. Underwood, P-U, Urban Fantasy

yyyyyeeeeesh, almost, but not quite 6 months late. What is wrong with me? Let’s see if I can remember enough to make this work:

The Younger Gods

by Michael R. Underwood
Series:The Younger Gods, #1

ebook, 280 pg.
Pocket Star, 2014
Read: November 20 – 22, 2014

Are you quite sure you don’t want to even try to seek cover?” I asked.
“Cover is what stands between me and stabbing things,” [Carter] said by way of response.
Let it not be said to my resident assistant that I constrained my roommate. He was his own man. Even if that man was insane at times.

One of Michael R. Underwood’s most impressive traits is his versatility. We’ve got the fun Urban Fantasy adventures of Ree Reyes, the strange superheroes of Audec-Hal, and now, this darker UF about a cult’s white sheep trying to stop the apocalypse.

Jacob Greene — of those Greenes (apparently) — has come to New York to attend university — and get away from his family and their demon-worshiping apocalyptic cultish practices that will usher in The End of the World as We Know It. He’s had enough of all of it, and is trying to get beyond their teachings, their practices, their . . . murderous ways. It’s more difficult than he expects, especially when his sister comes to town in order to usher in Doomsday.

Jacob finds himself surrounded with a motley crew of allies — mostly in the mold of the-enemy-of-my-enemy — trying to keep his sister from accomplishing her Ultimate To-Do list. Let me tell you, this particular UF version of NYC is full of quite the assortment of magical cultures/subcultures. The rules governing them, the way they interact with each other are one of the strengths of this novel — a nice little bit of world-building that was revealed, not dumped on the reader.

Jacob, understandably, spends a good deal of the book sorting out his identity in light of his family — as well as his feelings for/about them. There are no easy answers waiting for him. It’s here, not his running away from his family, not his attempts to stop his sister, that Jacob finds that bit of humanity that he’s been missing.

Was it still love if the people that loved you were monsters? Did their actions taint everything they did, or was there some humanity in the family? Had they ever really loved one another, or was it a mask, a role that each Greene has played to further the goals of the Bold and awaken the unborn? There was a film, some film, that matched this feeling. I’d heard someone talk about it in class.

Jacob’s ending gambit had me groaning, “Underwood’s not going to do that, is he?” Turns out 1. He did; and 2. It totally worked. I couldn’t believe it. I was expecting a cheesy car wreck, but he nailed it. Note to self: don’t doubt Michael R. Underwood again.

My biggest gripe was Jacob’s language. He starts off with the most formal, stilted dialogue this side of an Austen novel; slang was a foreign language he was trying to adopt. By the end of the novel, however, a lot of that was gone. Now, it’s possible, I just got used to his language — but I don’t think so. Mostly, it was his use of slang that improved dramatically. Now, if it had happened slower — over a book or two, I wouldn’t have noticed — or, more likely, I’d have given Underwood props for it. But . . .this book covers events of a few days, far too quickly for Jacob to pull that off. Still, as far as gripes go . . . that’s pretty small.

It’s not Underwood’s best — but it’s a good start, and I can eventually see me saying something different about the series as a whole. Great magic system, a situation I’ve never encountered in any of the UF I’ve read, a solid group of characters to build from — I can honestly say that I have almost no idea what’s up next for Jacob Greene et al. But I’m looking forward to finding out.

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3.5 Stars

Dark Heir by Faith Hunter

By HCNewton

On April 30, 2015

In Authors, F-J, Faith Hunter, Fiction, Jane Yellowrock/Soulwood, Urban Fantasy

Dark Heir

by Faith Hunter
Series: Jane Yellowrock, #9

Mass Market Paperback, 363 pg.
Roc, 2015
Read: April 22 – 24, 2015
So, how much trouble does Jane Yellowrock find herself in this time out? Almost all of it, I think.

Even as she left his desiccated near-corpse hanging on the wall in Leo’s sub-basement, we all knew that Jane was going to have to deal with The Son of Darkness sooner than later. So did she. Turns out it’s a lot sooner than anyone expected or wanted (well, maybe some readers wanted it now, so sooner than Jane et al. wanted it). Joses Bar-Judas is probably the nastiest, toughest, most despicable supernatural creature we’ve encountered in these books — and I don’t see him being topped any time soon (well, maybe his brother).

The body count in this one is high — and the ramifications for that are probably going to be felt for a book or two. Oddly, the police and people of New Orleans don’t take kindly to an out-of-control vampire. Relations between the general populace and the Mithrans are near the breaking point.

But that’s not the worst — whatever this original vamp^* is capable of doing — it’s far more than Jane’s ready for. Keeping fairly spoiler-free, let’s just say that whatever punishment our Skinwalker’s taken thus far is nothing compared to what she’s got coming.

Along the way, Jane learns some things — thanks to the vamps playing everything super, super close to their chests — that changes how she thinks about and understands almost everything that’s happened since she first came to New Orleans.

Which isn’t to say this is a perfect book — I’ve about had it with Molly, really. I’ll always be interested in her daughter (and the way Beast thinks of that little kit), but Hunter needs to do something interesting with Molly soon. I didn’t like the way that Jane’s church (particularly their baptismal waters) were depicted. I’ve always appreciated how in the middle of all this crazy supernatural stuff, there’s been a real drive in Jane for a connection to this church, which was fairly realistically depicted. Hunter sorta tossed that out of the window this time, and made it just as supernatural as everything else. I understand that impulse and how it fits into this world — I just like it less. Lastly, there were plenty of opportunities for Jane and Jodi (and the rest of the police) to work together here, or at least for Jane to do a better job explaining things to her pal with the badge. But for the most part, all that was shoved to the sidelines in a pretty poor way. Yes, there’s only so much Hunter can fit into 360 pages, but still.

Nevertheless, in the grand scheme of things, these are minor complaints when weighed against what Hunter did accomplish here. The chapters involving the final show-down were some of the best things I’ve read in this series, and were definitely filled with all the “what the — ?!” moments you could ask for and a couple “did I just read that?” paragraphs as well.

In the midst of things at their worst — we get some really nice moments with her not-boyfriend, Bruiser. Best of all, we’re treated to some great, heartfelt, “Awww” inducing developments with Eli and Alex. I’ve liked Alex from the get-go, but Eli is about to become my favorite character in the series (sorry, Jane).

For most of the time I’ve been reading this series, I’ve pretty much thought of it as a decent UF series to tide me over between installments of my favorites. But as of the last two or three, I think I’ve come to realize that this is one of my favorites and that I’m really, really looking forward to seeing what comes next.^** Dark Heir is probably the best so far, and it’ll take something big to top it.

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^* Not to be confused with the CW’s collection of teen heart-throb Originals.
^** Which I fear means that Hunter will wrap things up in a book or two.

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4 1/2 Stars