Storm Front

The Dresden Files are one of the best selling fantasy series on the market today, and as of a week ago I had avoided them at all costs. I did this because I was confident that I had already covered this niche in the genre. As a Glen Cook fan, I had read four of his Garrett PI series and that was more than enough for me. I figured that if I got bored of the way Cook covered detective in magical world, then Butcher didn't have a chance. Then my brother told me to give it a chance, so I did.

Title: Storm Front
Author: Jim Butcher
Format: Audio

Fun fact. I always assumed the name Butcher was pronounced with the French pronunciation, but it turns out that it's not. The benefits of audio.
Second fun fact. This is nothing like the Garrett PI series. The Garrett PI is a noir style detective who just happens to live in a magical fairyland. Storm Front, on other hand, takes places in our own world, albeit with magic and mystical creatures.
Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire. He even has an advertisement in the phonebook (the story is from 2000). The only problem is that this is the real world, where science can explain everything. Not only do few people have need of a magician, even fewer believe in magic. With his rent on the line, Harry is hired to find a shy woman's missing husband, and simultaneously contracted by the police to explain how two people's hearts exploded as though they were small bombs. Added to the mix is a street drug that can reveal the magic, some fairies, a vampress madam, and an air spirit trapped in a skull, and there are enough characters to keep everyone excited.
There are two main strengths to this story. The first of these is the world that Butcher creates. It is apparent from the first few pages that Butcher is not making things up as he goes along. He has a concrete plan of exactly who all his players are, many of which I'm sure we d not meet in this first book, and what their intentions are. This displays a mastery over the source material and Butcher's world that is rarely seen in writing. His world is different than ours, but in a well defined way, allowing the reader to suspend their disbelief and fall into the story.
The second and most important asset for the story is Harry Dresden. The story is told in first person, and so it is essential that we understand and empathize with our guide to the story. Butcher creates a wonderful balance of a character with great power, but also an inferiority complex. Dresden understands where he is on the magical food chain and that there are many things can end him. But as the book continues and we are able to watch our narrator instead of just listening to him, we see that an angry wizard is not a creature to be taken lightly. This allows Butcher to avoid cliches such as the overpowered superman while still allowing his readers to revel in badassery.
My main critique of the book would be that the world is actually too developed. There are many throw away references to other creatures or events that exist, but then nothing ever comes of it. We hear all about all sorts of creatures and the white council and "never never," but none of those are explored or developed (yet). It is a good tactic that leaves the readers wanting more and excited to continue the series, but it also leaves things a little unsatisfying.
Another problem: for such a complicated world, the plot itself was rather simple. I won't say too much, but it comes down to: there is a bad guy, he is very bad, and Harry is the only one able (for various reasons) to stop him. That summary is not quite doing the book credit, but the surprisingly banal story arc is excusable because the actions and characters are all fantastic.
The final problem: all the women are attractive. Very attractive. It's a little much.
I got nitpicky because I enjoyed the book. It was quick, only an eight hour audiobook, which is maybe 250 pages. Urban Fantasy fans should enjoy this, but wizard does not mean the same thing here as Harry Potter.
7/10

Lock In

I've been a fan of John Scalzi for a while, but didn't really feel like reading this one. I love the Old Man's War Universe, and was (and still am) waiting for the next book. I want to start raving about the episodic structure of The Human Division, but this is not the time or place.

Title: Lock In
Author: John Scalzi
Format: Audio

Twenty five years ago a disastrous epidemic known as Haden's syndrome has run rampant across the world. It started with flu like symptoms, but in others it has a second stage where the brain swells in a manner similar to meningitis. Some of these patients then fall victim to Lock In, where they lose all control over their body, though their mind remains completely unaffected. The US and allies invested trillions of dollars in research and now have developed "Threeps" or robots which can be controlled by remotely by the afflicted people. Chris Shane is a "Haden" and it's his/her first week as an FBI agent. Of course it becomes the most chaotic and exhilarating week imaginable. There's murder, suicide, corporate espionage, and more all set against a backdrop of a march to protest the impending Abrams-Ketering Bill which will soon cut off all funding for Haden care.

Let's start with the potentially confusing thing from the synopsis. No, not the pseudo science or plot, the his/her. Close investigation of the text gives no indication of Chris' gender. In fact, there are two audio versions of the book, one narrated by Wil Wheaton, and one by Amber Benson. You get to pick which gender you want Chris to be. I went with the Wheaton version, which I think was a mistake, but I'll get to that later. This genderless situation is a really cool concept for a story, and Scalzi is subtle in his implementation. Rather than this being the focus of the story, it's an added perk to a savy reader.

But rather than gushing about book, I'll get to the heart of my critique and why I think I chose the wrong version of the book to listen to. John Scalzi has a signature style. His characters are smart, fast talking, agreeable, and did I mention smart. He often runs into a problem with what we'll the call "superman complex." All his characters can do anything and come up with a solution to any problem all while being a smart ass. In each instance it is hilarious and entertaining, but when looked at together, everything seems to blend together into a similar blob of overly talented characters telling jokes. Add to this that Wil Wheaton is the voice behind maybe half of Scalzi's audiobooks and it becomes the same voice telling you about the same characters doing the same things.

This superman complex and singular style stem from a deeper problem in Scalzi's writing. His characters just aren't very complex. There are good guys and there are bad guys. The "grey" characters and still very good guys, just less good and less talented than the real heroes.

I love Scalzi's writing and his humor, but I'm also ready for something new from him. He's perfected his little niche and has the fan base. Now it's time to innovate and experiment a little. Maybe the good guys could lose the fight.
Fans of Mystery, Sci-Fi, and humor will enjoy this book. Scalzi fans know what to expect, it's more of the same
6/10
Another note. Feel free to use the comments to ask questions, disagree with me, tell me how awesome I am, or make requests for other books

The Crimson Campaign

I lucked out with the Powder Mage Trilogy. I didn't start listening to them until after all three had been published, so I can read them whenever I want. It's pretty convenient. I'm pacing myself a little bit so I don't get completely saturated with the series and start to dislike it for that reason rather than any fault in the books themselves. Anyway, here goes.

Title: The Crimson Campaign
Author: Brian McClellan
Format: Audio

A month or so after the finish of the first book, we return to our characters. Tamas has joined the front, ready to lead his army to another crushing victory over the Kez. He plans a ambush with his two elite battalions only to find all his plans no long matter due to a new type of warden. Instead of destroying the Kez he and his battalions are force to flee across enemy territory to try to reenter Adro before the Kez destroy everything in their path. Taniel, the god-killer, has resorted to keeping himself in a constantly drugged state to try to forget the past few months, but once his father goes missing Taniel is called back to the front as the last hope of the Adran army. Meanwhile, Inspector Adamat has only two goals left in his life: to find his wife and child and to make Lord Vetas pay. Of course nothing is ever so easy. There are traitor's and double crossings and every sort of machination imaginable. Then there's always the question of: is it even possible to kill a god?

This is a good series. I enjoy the premise, the characters are entertaining, and the plot is complex but followable. One thing that many fantasy novels struggle with is the suspension of disbelief. An author must determine how far they can take characters and ideas without having their readers through their hands up in frustration and say "this is too much." McClellan has walked this line perfectly so far, invoking gods, guns, and magic, while making the reader not only believe that all of this is possible in his world, but that it all makes sense. I worry with a development near the end of the book that he may be starting to cross that line, but we shall see what happens in the Autumn Republic.

This book is slightly weaker than the previous book. The main reason I can cite is that the start of the book did drag a little bit. We knew the characters already, but it still took a while to catch up with what had happened since the previous book and to establish where each character would go. Once the story took off, it was fantastic, but it took McClellan just a little too much time to get there. The other potential flaw I've found is McClellan usage of female characters. There are many, and luckily their femininity is not their defining characteristic, but few are truly center stage. Nila, a character returning from the first book, is the only female whose perspective we see are given. Sadly she is also the least interesting and most frustrating female we've been exposed too. It is unfortunate that she is the most visible example when there are many better options to choose from.

That aside, I still think the book is great. One of my favorite aspects is that McClellan took the opportunity to expand, both geographically and in terms of characters. Rather than remaining in Adro and the mountains we get to explore Kez,  Additionally we meet a host of new characters. Some are mentioned only briefly to help move the plot, but there are many more who are well thought out and intriguing, and I hope to learn more of them. A philosophy I hold to in writing is to never treat a character as if they are secondary or unimportant. They should have a story that they are the main character in. We may not get to see this story, but it stills adds a logic and reality to the characters motives and actions. McClellan embraces this concept and so we have a plethora of relatable figures.
Anyone who liked the first one will also enjoy this one. Of course, read them in order.
8/10

City of Stairs

I needed something to read on my kindle, and sometimes I feel as though I've exhausted much of the fantasy genre. I am obviously mistaken. I was looking through goodreads and found this mentioned as a good or great book, depending on which review you looked at it. I decided to give it a try.

Title: City of Stairs
Author: Robert Bennett Jackson
Format: Kindle

The story takes place in Bukilov, the capital city of "the Continent." The Continent had conquered much of the world because they had Gods or "Divinities" aiding them. Then a man emerge from Saypur, a small conquered and oppressed island, and killed the gods, helping Saypur replace the Continent as the dominant world power. Our story takes place four generations later in modern Bukilov. A prominent Saypuri historian is murdered and a representative from the foreign ministry, Shara, arrives to investigate the crime. Within days she finds herself barely avoiding assault and potentially talking to gods. All is not as it seems in Bukilov and Shara's curiosity leaves her no choice but to unravel all the twisted threads.

I think the simplest, but most important thing I can say about this book is that the story is much better than the writing. There was a slow start, but the story became more and more engaging and the style less distracting as each page turned. When I say that story isn't particularly well written, I'm referring to a few specific things. Firstly, the story takes place in third person present, with us inside the head of whoever is the main focus of each section (mainly Shara). This is an odd and off putting choice, but the reader gets used to it after a hundred pages or so. The second problem is a pet peeve of mine. Jackson's method of writing dialogue is incredibly frustrating. He puts more than two separate lines of dialogue in one paragraph. This drives me crazy. It's cluttered, confusing, and amateurish and I hate when authors do this. Even worse, at points he has multiple people talking within the same paragraph. Could he not find the enter key while he was writing the manuscript?

The plot itself is enthralling. To potential readers, ignore the first chapter, it's by far the section of the entire book, and while it sets up the plot for the rest of the novel, it's a boring chapter about bored characters doing boring thing. Just get through it. On the plus side, in the rest of the book there are gods, demons, intrigue, death, sex, and good old fashion monster fighting. Jackson gets a little bit of everything into the story, and does so in a surprisingly coherent and entertaining way. I would recommend this book to most fantasy fans, but I'd warn them that parts of the book can be quite a struggle. I don't think I'll be exploring the rest of the series. Good luck.
6/10

Star Island

This is another book that I found at the used book sale in Maine. I had never read any Hiaasen before, but I'd seen other of works in stores and online and it had a bright cover. What could go wrong?

Title: Star Island
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Format: Paperback

This book was a struggle to get through.I sat down with it, and breezed through the first hundred pages in one sitting. I found myself thinking, "wow, this is so easy to read, it takes no thought at all." Yet after that initial session, I found myself very reluctant to pick the book back up. It wasn't the familiar hesitance about finishing a book I love and never want to end. After some reflection I realized this resistance was due to the fact that Star Island is just not a particularly good book. I had made the fatal mistake of coming up for air, giving me time to think about what I had read and would continue reading.
The major flaw with the book is that it is too self indulgent by Hiaasen. It appears that throughout the book he'd have an idea, and think "this is hilarious" and put it in. Then he would realize that he should have introduced it earlier on, and would half-heatedly edit a paragraph or two to justify the inclusion. It just made it seem it all seem like lazy writing aimed more at gags than at well developed characters or a thoughtful plot.
His characters received a similar treatment. It became clear that Hiaasen had radically altered aspects of the characters personalities to allow for some joke he thought of 200 pages into the story. All the main characters are caricatures will no depth or thought put into them. There is a weak attempt at juxtaposing nearly identical physical characters with mostly different characters, but this is poorly done as well. On top of the poor treatment of his main characters, Hiaasen would also randomly add characters as one offs for the sole purpose of moving the plot along. These were undeveloped and lazy tools that where anything to experience.
Finally, the book also lacked any form of subtlety. One can only read about a fat man being called gelatinous or jello-like and how air-headed a bimbo is so many times before it becomes painful and deleterious to the story. Hiaasen came off as a poor man's Christopher Moore. I'd recommend readers steer towards Moore instead because though his work is also flawed, it is much less self-indulgent and frustrating to read than Star Island.
2/10

Good Omens

The Great Sir Terry Pratchett died a few weeks ago. He joined Brutha, Constable Cuddy, Archchancellor Weatherwax and many others in the great beyond. Terry Pratchett was a genius and master of comedy. Fortunately, his works are as prolific as they were entertaining. He left us over forty discworld novels along with a whole cannon of other works. I decided to revisit one of his books as a small, insignificant homage to him. I chose the only one I have on audiobook.

Title: Good Omens
Author: Neil Gaiman
Format: Audiobook
Time to Finish: 14 days

Good Omens is a book that starts (very briefly) in Eden, as Adam and Eve are being exiled. We are introduced to Aziraphale (an angel) and Crowly (a demon). We then jump to eleven years before present day (at time of publishing, so 1980ish). Two Dukes of Hell inform Crowley that the antichrist has been born, and it is time to appropriately place him. Crowley brings him to the hospital specially created for this purpose, but due to misunderstood body language and three identical baby boys the antichrist is placed with the wrong family. Crowley and Aziraphale agree to influence the antichrist evenly, so that it is his choice of which side to take during the apocalypse is the son of satan's alone.
Eleven years later, the apocalypse is upon us, but there's only one problem. No one actually knows where or even who the antichrist is. Chaos and shenanigans ensue.
The story follows two main plot lines. That of Adam and "the Them" (the antichrist and his gang of fellow eleven year olds), and that of Crowley and Aziraphale. Other major players are the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the witch hunters, and the witches, with many side characters diving in and out at various points.
While the book is beloved, and quite fun, it is not perfect. To be honest, it's actually a bit of a let down. I like Gaiman, I love Pratchett, but the two writing together does not make the final product greater than the sum of its parts. While this book is quite good, one would expect it to be great. It's not. It's undeniably entertaining, but there a few flaws that are not only distracting, they are quite telling. Firstly, there are too mainly plot lines and characters. I wonder if this is because there are two authors, and so twice the amount of story that one should expect in a book (especially such a short one).
Additionally, the audience for the novel is unclear as the authors seem unable to decide upon their target. The story spends a good deal of time with eleven year old's, and so it sometimes seems childish and designed as a children's story, or maybe young adult. And then at other points it seems to be well over the head of any child. This can be done well, but here this just makes everything seem inconsistent.
My final complaint is the uneven pacing. No one is surprised. The first half the book covers everything leading to the final days, and the second half covers that day or so. I would have much preferred a longer book that gave more time to the rest of the story, characters, and plotlines. I guess that's the core complaint. They needed a longer book in which to fit all their ideas and content.
Still, the book is funny, thought-provoking, and often quite brilliant. Any Pratchett, Gaiman, or fantasy fan will enjoy it. I just know it could have been even better.
6/10

I missed one, so today you get two

Sorry to my 1-2 loyal fans. Sometimes having a real job means you have no energy left to fun things, like read or write. I'm not reading nearly enough books to keep up with a 2 post per week schedule, but we'll try to persevere through and get some books I have read in the past. Or maybe I'll start getting guest reviews, or reviewing other things, like movies. Movies of books even!
Anyway, here's the first post for today.

Title: The World of Ice and Fire
Author(s): George R. R. Martin, Elio Garcia, Linda Antonsson
Format: Hard Cover
Time to Finish: A long time

I'm an aSoIaF fanatic, so when I heard about this book I started to giving subtle hints to those around me that it would be a wonderful gift. I then started giving less subtle hints.  Finally I bought it for myself. It was cheaper than I expected, but to be honest I was willing to pay way too much money to get this coffee table decoration.
To anyone interested in reading this: it is not a story, novel, or epic. It is a history book about a made up world. Unless you are the most diehard of fans, this book be something you look at a few times and then leave to collect dust. You may even ignore the words and just look at the illustrations, which are fantastic. They're probably worth the cost of the book alone. This is also not worthwhile to TV series only fans. The books and series have started to diverge, and this text is true to the books (as the show should be, but that's an argument for elsewhere). The bottom line is: unless you are obsessed, stay away.
Now that I've scared off the weak of heart: this book is awesome. The book is a text book, but contains tons of information and stories that are not found within the books. The book is "written" by a maestar of the Citidal as a gift for King Tommen I and charts the history of the realm. It starts with the Targaryens and there flight from old Valyria. After spending some time on the great kingdoms of those early days, it is chronicle the reign of the Dragon Kings. It goes through them one by one, in order, explaining the deeds and failings of each ruler. Upon reaching the fall of the dragons, the tome turns to the seven kingdoms. It goes through each one, exploring its history prior to the Andal Invasion and integration through modern day. After the kingdoms are through, the maestar turns to the rest of known world, from the free to cities to the shadow lands. As I mentioned before, this is written by a person within the fantasy realm, so we are only privy to the information he knows about these realms and legends. The further away in time or location, the less concrete fact there is.
I loved this because I'm a nerd, but this is the type of book that needs to be taken in small doses. It is a history text, and the language is a mix between that and a bard telling a story. It's a long, tiring read, which fills your head with completely useless knowledge. But it's fun useless knowledge, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
8/10

A Mordbid Taste for Bones

I read this book back in January. I had just finished a book on the Plantagenet Kings, and wanted something as a buffer before I started reading about the War of the Roses, which I haven't read yet because it's only out in hardcover prices. Someone mentioned this series to me, and as a fan of both mystery and historical fiction I gave it a try.

Title: A Morbid Taste for Bones
Author: Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter)
Format: Kindle
Time to Finish: 13 days

The premise of the book is that the Benedictine monk Brother Cadfael and some of his fellow clergy set off on a quest to retrieve the bones of a neglected Saint in Wales. Despite having the blessing of the archbishop and the prince of Wales, things don't go smoothly, and our monks soon find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery.
It was an entertaining and quick read, not even 200 pages. And I enjoyed it, but there were a few things that were less enjoyable. There seemed to be no set pacing or speed of the story. Scenes were arbitrarily short or long with no real logic. It made it hard to determine what was important and what was authorial self indulgence. Additionally, there was probably a little too much time spent on the churchly aspects for my taste. It's interesting to hear how different prayers dictated and divided the day, but it might not need to be mentioned every single day over the course of the study.
Finally, too much time was spent on praising the intelligence and attractiveness of the two female characters. It seemed a little over the top because it recurred with every appearance of the two characters. Establishing their merits early on was more than enough for reader, but apparently not for the author.
So now that I've said lots of terrible things about the story, it might be time to say some nice things. I did enjoy reading the story. For example, it was actually quite educational in terms of teaching me a bit more about medieval society (which, as a fantasy nerd, I care about) and some of different realities of the time. Additionally, despite the grievances listed above, the story is rather good and I was excited throughout. The characters are well constructed and one can never be sure of everyone's motives. While some people seem trustworthy, the truth is always a surprise.
The story is well crafted and has good characters, so there is little more that one can ask. Of course I did anyway. I liked the book and the story enough that I will probably read the next in the series at some point, but I doubt that I'll be able to make it through all 21
7/10

Needful Things

Stephen King is one of the best known authors of our time. His works have been adapted for television and movies, many of which are well respected and even award winning. He attacks various topics from innumerable directions. I had read the first two books in the Dark Tower series and had given up, but I'd heard from many that those were different from his other work, so, when I saw Needful Things at a used book sale I decided to give it a try.

Title: Needful Things
Author: Stephen King
Format: Book
Time to Finish: 34 days

I read the introduction and first chapter and was hooked. The stories revolves around the small town of Castle Rock, Maine, where a new business has opened. It is called Needful Things, and sells exactly what you're looking for, but at a price. Part of the price is to play a trick on someone else, but the tricks, seemingly innocent at first become more and more dastardly and harmful. Soon the town is in chaos and watching it all is Mr. Gaunt, the proprietor of this new shop.

The solid premise, and King's writing is good enough to not distract most readers from the content. He's the problem with the book: being hooked for the first twenty pages does not guarantee you will devour the 630. I, in fact, did not. About 250 pages into the story I was ready to be done with the book, but was too stubborn to completely give up on it. I can read a 700 pages book and enjoy every word (A Song of Ice and Fire, King Killer Chronicles, Acacia) because often those books are developing a few characters very well, allowing them to endear themselves to the reader. In this doorstop of a novel, King spends his pages creating brief caricatures so that...SPOILERS...he could kill them a few minutes later. It's extremely tiresome and makes it so that you could not care less what actually happens to most of the characters. Creating a character 500 pages in for the sole purpose of killing some one and/or dying is lazy and meaningless to the story at large. The reader becomes so jaded about these people and their forced in stories that they are wont to roll their eyes and moan, "not another one." The multitude of undeveloped killable characters means that there is no emotional investment, and without that, readers start to wonder why they even bother. For me it was stubbornness, others may just worship Stephen King. Regardless, I'd say give this book a pass. It's not scary, creepy, or horrifying, but most tragically, it's not even interesting.
3/10

Monster Hunter International

I listened to this book a few years ago, and noticed that the most recent book in the series had been getting some press. I was in between books, so I figured that I'd give it another listen.

Title: Monster Hunter International
Author: Larry Correia
Format: Audio
Time to Finish: 12 days

The book follows Owen Pitt, an accountant, whose boss transforms into a werewolf and attacks him. He barely survives the encounter and is recruited to join MHI, Monster Hunters International. They are a group of skilled monster hunters for hire. It turns out that monsters are not only real, there are a lot of them and there's good money to be made hunting them. The big enemies for this story is a powerful being known as the Cursed One, who has bent a number of master vampires to his will. It's up to a reluctant alliance between government monster hunters and MHI to stop him before he fulfills his prophecy to "breaks time" and ends the world.

Oof, this story does not hold up to a second reading. In all honesty, I only finished because I wanted an opportunity to write my first negative review.
That said, I actually gave some thought to why this book seemed terrible this time around and came to a few conclusions. The first is that this book is pure gun porn. Correia was a fire arms instructor before becoming an author, and I think it's safe to say he's a bit of a gun nut. This becomes apparent very early on with intimate, loving descriptions of every firearm imaginable. It's kind of cool at first, but for those who do not believe guns are man's greatest invention, the weapon worship becomes tiresome. The book would likely be forty pages shorter without that content.
The second thing I realized is that this the book equivalent of a B-movie. Not a good B-movie that borders on becoming a quality movie, just a story of simple characters doing very predictable things. As one would expect, it's chock full of corny lines and over the top action scenes, but there's very little substance or heart to the story. This didn't seem like a problem, especially as early on the book is a bit tongue in cheek about how ridiculous some of it is. Sadly, as the story progresses this self-effacing sense of humor disappears and all we're left with is a cheesy plot taking itself much too seriously.
Probably the worst aspect is the characters themselves. Rather than deep, meaningful individuals, none of them has any depth. Instead we are left with caricatures and mediocre ones at that. The women are beautiful the men are defined by one feature and the goodguy always gets the girl. We know all these things to be true, so there's no sense of risk or urgency at any point of the story.
Don't get me wrong, parts of the story were fun and enjoyable, those just didn't do close to enough to salvage the book.
4/10

Promise of Blood

I started reading this book because a Goodreads book club I am in assigned it for March. Of course no one has commented on it other than me saying I liked the beginning. Hopefully as the month progresses I'll get to talk about it more.

Title: Promise of Blood
Author: Brian McClellan
Format: Audiobook
Time to Finish: 6 days

This is a very good book, without a doubt the best I've encountered for some time. The book is set in a magical fantasy realm in a region known as the Nine. The Nine refer to the Nine Kingdoms of the area, each of which is ruled by a king and his Privileged Cabal (privileged is the word for magician). The nine is also symbolic as the kingdoms were created by the Nine Gods, whose church is a major power in their own right with millions followers. One of the Nine, the kingdom of Andro, is ruled by a weak king, and the powdermage (Powermages are another sort of magician who use gunpowder to fuel their magic) Field Marshal Tamas organizes a coup. Sadly, no character can be trusted and soon what should have been a quick bloody coup has repercussions beyond anyone's wildest imagination.
The story primarily follows three characters. The first of these is Tamas as he tries to rule his new kingdom and keep the peace. The second is Taniel, Tamas' son, as he is tasked with killing a mysterious privileged whose power is beyond anything he comprehends. The third is Adamat, a retired police officer asked by Tamas to investigate the meaning of the dying words of Royal Cabal.
The setting and technology are similar of that to of late 1800's with non-automatic guns galore.
It's hard to explain why this book stands out from many other fantasy series. The magic is certainly unique and entertaining, especially after the reader learns exactly how it all works. And the book is well written, with moments of comedy, action, and suspense all interwoven into a fun and compelling narrative.
Probably the most important aspect of this story, and I would argue of any story, is the characters. McClellan creates three men all of whom have a military background, and two of whom are powdermages. It would be easy for the characters to all seem exactly the same, but that is not the case. Instead they are individually fleshed out and their personal motivations are separate and equally compelling. While there are similarities, each has his own strong identity and is likeable enough to make the reader care about him and his story.
All in all, this is a great book about magic, religion, revenge, honor, and everything in between. Any fan of fantasy, especially those who like guns and war will love this book.
9/10

Half the World

Another book finished, and the first Young Adult I've reviewed. With the amount of YA series becoming movies there has been some debate over the merits of adults (which many would argue I am) reading YA novels and series at all. I am not here to weigh in on such matters. I look for books that I think I'll enjoy. Today's review is of:

Title: Half the World
Author: Joe Abercrombie
Format: Kindle
Time to Finish: 4 days

This is the second book in the Shattered Sea Trilogy, Abercrombie's young adult trilogy. For those familiar with Abercrombie's work, they might wonder, how could one of the master's of dark, gritty fantasy write YA, wouldn't he lose all that makes him distinct and entertaining. The answer is no, it simply means there's no swearing, no in scene sex, and that the characters and teens. And yes, there is some angst. There is also bloodshed, death, back stabbing, and plans within plans. It is divided into four parts: 1 introducing assembling the crew, 2 traveling south, 3 time in the South, 4 events once they return to the North. Each part tells a slightly separate story and the divisions allows us to see the changes in the characters within the greater story.

The story picks up a few years after the end of Half a King, and follows two characters: Thorn and Brand. Thorn and Brand are teens who trained to be warriors, only to find the opportunity no longer available and themselves under the power of Father Yarvi (the protagonist from previous book). The book then follows their adventures as they search for allies for Gettland in wake of a war with the half the world controlled by the High King.
This is typical Abercrombie, albeit tempered to convince parents that the book is ok for their children to read. As usual, there are fantastic battle scenes, absurd events, hilarious dialogue, and general fun. There is also the fact that no character is exactly what they seem. Everyone has a dark side, whether they admit it or not, and no one finishes the journey unscarred.
One worry I had was that final climax would be too predictable. It wasn't even for Abercrombie twisted sense of humor and honor, it was rewarding and exciting.
There really isn't too much else to say, it was well written, funny, and very easy to read. It's a good book for anyone interested in Dark Fantasy. Give it a read even though it's technically YA.
8/10

The Cold Dish

I'm a fan of Audible.com and have used it for years. They had a two for the price of one deal, so I took advantage of that and got a few books that jumped out at me. The first of these was a mystery that has now inspired a TV show

Title: The Cold Dish
Author: Craig Johnson
Format: Audiobook
Time to Finish: 6 days

The book takes place in Absaroka County, a (fictitious) rural part of Wyoming near Little Big Horn. Walt Longmire is the aging sheriff, nearing his retirement. As winter approaches his department receives a call from some hunters claiming they found a body. The skeptic sheriff and his deputy humor the hunters and soon find the body of Cody Pritchard, a young man convicted of gang raping a Cheyenne girl two years earlier. Pritchard got off with what all but himself consider too light a sentence. While coincidental, there seems to be no connection between Pritchard's death and his previous crimes. The case is ruled a hunting accident. But another body a few days later causes the sheriff to reconsider.
There were many aspects of the book that spoke to me. One such feature was the location and the implications that came with it. Being in rural Wyoming puts the white characters near to Indian Reservations and inevitably there is interactions between the two nations. This was not only fun to read about, but a new experience for me. As a fantasy fan, I have little experience with Native American characters, and it was enjoyable seeing them portrayed here. Henry Standing Bear is arguably the most important Native American character. He's Walt's best friend, and while he holds to some beliefs and practices that are different from the white characters, he is not portrayed as some alien other that cannot be understood. He is a man, like any other, albeit one who doesn't use contractions. This juxtaposition of the two cultures added another dimension to the story that is not often found. Characters on both sides despicable or heroic or both, showing the humanity and equally despite the racial divide. In general, Walt is accepted by the Native population, and so are we as the readers.
Another dimension of the story is Walt getting his life together. When he first meet him, he lives in a ramshackle cabin with exposed wiring and a shower that's a faucet sticking out of the wall. With Henry's help he starts exercising, hires contractors, and even starts talking to women. This is fun because we are able to feel closer to our protagonist and learn more about his personality and history. As a bonus we are exposed to his hilarious interactions with Henry and Vonnie (the love interest).
All in all, Johnson is able to weave all these elements together into a compelling and interesting story. It weren't for a tiresome epilogue I would have nothing to complain about.
Mystery fans, have at it.
7/10

Note: as mentioned above, there is a TV show Longmire based on the series. I started watching the it, but stopped. The book is much better. The book's story is more compelling and the characters are given more depth.

The Providence of Fire

I know I said these would come out every week or two, but I figured as I had recently finished this one too I might as well post it. This was the sequel to the Emperor's Blades so why not make it the second post.

Title: The Providence of Fire
Format: Audiobook
Time to Finish: 11 Days

This sequel to The Emperor's Blades was better than I expected. My brother, who recommended the series, warned me that it was not as good as the first one, but I disagree. It was BETTER than the first book in the series.

Kadin, the Emperor, goes off to meet a different sect on monks and finds himself in way over his head. He flees and them sets about single-handedly trying to reclaim his empire.
After a battle with the Flea, Valyn finds himself and his wing stranded on the Steppe surrounded by hostile horsemen.
Adaire discovers her lover and the imperial regent is a regicide and she must ally with those who hate her most to stop him.
On top of all this, the Gods start seeming a lot less mythical and a lot closer to hand

I had two complaints about the first book: one, Staveley used his made up swear words too often; two, he didn't give us enough of Adaire. He fixed both of these problems in the first book, cutting back on his Kent Kissing and more evenly distributing the amount of time spent with each character. We even get a few chapters from the point of view of another female: Gwena, one of Valyn's wingmates. Staveley uses his second book to expand upon the world of the first, telling us more about the lands and the people in which his story takes place. Rather than just continuing the plot, he teaches us more about the religions and the regions, more about the cultures and characters. He does a fantastic job of making the second book do more than the first. On top of all that, the characters change and develop in unpredictable ways instead of always taking the predictable path. Ones thought to be good and innocent mature and start playing the game along with the others. It is all brutal, bloody, and breathtaking. I assume, for no real reason, that this is a trilogy, and I am excited to see how this all ends.
8/10

First Post

Hello to my one reader. I've decided that I'd like an easy forum in which to post all my book reviews. I'll try to post a review every time I finish a book, so hopefully every week or two. I also will post some reviews from books I've read in the past. No point ignoring those, both the bad and the good. We'll start with:

Title: The Emperor's Blade
Author: Brian Staveley
Format: Audiobook
Time to Finish: 5 days

My brother, a fellow fantasy nerd, recommended this book to me. For some reason I decided to trust his judgement. For the most part, I was not disappointed. The story follows the three children of an Emperor in the wake of his death. This is not a spoiler, his murder is the starting part of the story. The elder son and heir Kaden is training with ascetic monks, attempting to find their equivalent of Nirvana. The younger son Valyn is training with the Kettral, the elite fighting force of the empire. The daughter Adare (eldest sibling but not in line for the throne) is the minister of finance, having been kept in the capital to learn the intricacies of the bureaucracy. Each of the three faces major trials, and their stories become entwined as they must discover who is plotting to wipe out their entire family. Throw in the possibility of a longlived race believed to be extinct returning to destroy humanity and it's becomes a page turner (or audio equivalent).
The story is pretty good. Going into it, I was worried that it would be a bit derivative of The Acacia Trilogy by David Anthony Durham (great series), but other than the premise of following the lives of the children of a deceased monarch, they are completely different. The story has good exposition, moments of brilliant dialogue, and an interesting premise. There is magic, mystical beasts, and sword fights, but not in a campy, overdone manner. Instead the style is brutal and efficient, like the characters. By having the siblings do such different things Staveley is able to write mostly independent stories that inform each other, but do not necessarily rely on the others to be understood. This quite an accomplishment and allows each sibling to develop more fully.
I only have two complaints. One, we did not get to spend much time with Adare. She is a great strong female character, but unlike many similar figures in fantasy (or cross genre) her femininity is not her defining characteristic. She is an interesting, complex, and wonderful character who also is female. I commend this choice. But she has many fewer chapters than her brothers, which seems unfair and left me wanting much more of her.
My major complaint is that Staveley created his own swear words. There's nothing wrong with that in principle, but he creates very few, and overuses them to the point where I started to roll my eyes. Any reader will know the one I'm thinking of soon after starting.
I would recommend this book to any fan of epic fantasy. It's a good start to what could be a great series
7/10