REVIEW | All Systems Red by Martha Wells

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Publication Year: 2017

Genre: Science Fiction (novella)
Series: The Murderbot Diaries #1

Awards: None
Format: Paperback (from Library)

Narrator: NA

WHY?: A LOT of love out there for this novella, it sounded fun and I need some quicker reads to catch up to my reading goal for the year.  

SYNOPSIS:  Self-monikered Murderbot, is a security AI assigned to protect a group of scientists looking for usable resources on an unexplored planet.  Murderbot has long ago hacked its governor chip, meaning it has free will, but it must keep this fact hidden or risk being dismantled, or worse, become a mindless drone again for The Company.  When things go wrong on the expedition, however, Murderbot finds it harder and harder to stay hidden and still keep the humans safe.

************

THOUGHTS

My affection for stories about Artificial Intelligence was firmly established a few years ago when I re-watched Star Trek: The Next Generation and found that Data has become my favorite character.  Or maybe it goes all the way back to my teenage years when I unexpectedly fell in love with Terminator 2 which I saw 7 times in the movie theater (I happened to work at a theater at the time so it's not that impressive...or geeky - Much). I think I really enjoy the scope stories abut AIs give to ask big questions like...what does it mean to be human?...what is life?...what constitutes sentience?... but in a way that is more entertaining and less stuffy than reading a philosophy text book.   

And that's the main reason you should read All Systems Red - it's hugely entertaining!  Murderbot is one of the best characters I've read all year.  The very vision of a bored, apathetic, socially awkward corporate worker who can't wait to get off and lose itself in the thousands of hours of entertainment serials it can download.  It has a wicked, sardonic sense of humor and cynical outlook on life that was a beauty to behold and often made me laugh out loud.  We've mostly all been there and had to try to hide that negative, shy, pathetic side of ourselves.

The difference with Murderbot is that it's a made thing out of a blend of organic and inorganic materials and it is not supposed to have a personality. It's also not supposed to care about the humans it is guarding but even though it is inclined not to, it does, because they are a nice, intelligent, tight knit group of friends that don't make Murderbot do horrible or humiliating things.  Against its will, it develops an affection for them or, at least, doesn't want to see them die.

The story is also fast-paced and a lot of fun being part mystery, part sci-fi thriller and part action-adventure.  Given that this is a novella and only has a limited page count, Wells does an admirable job telling a well-rounded, satisfying and complete story that also left me wanting more and excited that this is book one in a series.  You can probably thank Murderbot for me wanting more!  

The society and and context of the "Sec Units" in the universe is also well established, which is again really impressive for such a short book especially since the world-building is well-integrated into the plot and does not slow the pace down one bit.

All in all this was a very enjoyable and neat bit of storytelling which I would highly recommend!

FINAL VERDICT: A really entertaining and well told AI novella! 4 out of 5 stars.

OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: Greg's Book Haven | The Book Smugglers

QUOTES:

“I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don't know, a little under 35,00 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.” 

“Yes, talk to Murderbot about its feelings. The idea was so painful I dropped to 97 percent efficiency. I’d rather climb back into Hostile One’s mouth.”  

REVIEW | The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud

The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud

Publication Year: 2014

Genre: Middle Grade, Urban Fantasy 
Series: Lockwood and Co. #2

Awards: None
Format: Audio (from Library)

Narrator: Katie Lyons
Related Reviews: Book 1

****************

WHY?: Because I really enjoyed the first book, The Screaming Staircase.

SYNOPSIS: While business has picked up since Lockwood and Co. cleaned out the most haunted house in England, it's still not great. Lucy, Lockwood and George have really meshed as a team however and Lockwood really wants to see them tackle another big case.  They agree to help out at the disinterment of a Dr. Bickerstaff, who in Victorian times was accused of grisly acts and murder.  With the body, a mysterious artifact is also dug up that seems to have dangerous effects on any who look on it, so when it is stolen, Lockwood & Co. set about getting it back at all costs so it can be destroyed.  In their quest, they get some unexpected help from a ghostly Skull in a jar, who happens to have known Dr. Bickerstaff in life.

THOUGHTS:

It's a little challenging writing a review for this book because I've already read (voraciously devoured) the final three volumes in the series.  I adore it quite devotedly and it has been one of my most enjoyable reads of the year but that poses some challenges for speaking rationally about this book - book 2.  It was good and I really enjoyed it but the series didn't truly get addictive for me until book 3.  Anyway, I will try to separate out my reasonable and clinical thoughts on this installment without letting my love for the future books cloud my thoughts. Much.

One of the rules learned in book one is that ghosts don't talk except for the very rare type 3s and the last person to encounter one of the those, Marissa Fittes, is long dead.  So, Lucy was shocked at the end of The Screaming Staircase when the haunted and gruesome skull they keep in a jar spoke to her.  Much to her chagrin and unease (because it has nothing nice to say) it becomes downright chatty in this book and no one else can hear him, except Lucy.  Thus is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  (Seriously, just wait!)

It turns out that the skull knew the evil Victorian Dr. Bickerstaff in life and he has crucial information about the deadly supernatural mirror the doctor created which no one seems to be able to look into without dying.  It's obviously very dangerous which is why Lockwood & Co. risk life and limb to retrieve the mirror from an underworld auctioneer of ghostly artifacts after it is stolen of the disinterment site.  Lockwood and George are both excited about Lucy's ability to talk to the skull and think it is a huge ace up their sleeves but Lucy isn't so sure they can trust any of the information the skull is giving to them.  

Like book one, the smart-alecky humor shines and there are plenty of ghosts.  In almost every other way it surpasses The Screaming Staircase.  The characters and their relationships really deepen and become more complex. George in particular, gets a good bit more development as his friends worry he's been possessed by the mirror and also fret a little about how well he fits in.  By the end of this book, the three members of Lockwood and Co. are really and truly bonded and it's ridiculously heartwarming but not in a trite way.  Stroud does a great job writing interesting complex characters for a middle grade audience.  Sure, the characters act and seem quite a bit older than their 13 years but he makes sure to bring in some juvenile humor and recklessness from time to time and you can justify their maturity by the fact that they have to hunt ghosts and face peril for a living.

The plot in The Whispering Skull is also a good bit more cohesive and better paced than book one.  The Screaming Staircase had some serious set up work to do and the flow and plot was sacrificed a bit to establish the world and the characters.  With all that set up out of the way, this book has a good bit more meat to the plot and juggles several intertwining story lines, like Lockwood and Co.'s David and Goliath type rivalry with a team from the bigger, older and fancier Fittes Agency.  This book did not become an obsession for me like the later books but it was a really satisfying read and a step up from book one.

The narrator for the audio book is really good.  She does an excellent job voicing all of the characters.

FINAL VERDICT:  About as good a book series as you can get about young folk fighting ghosts and this second book in the installment is a step up from book one and sets up the rest of the series nicely. 4 out of 5 stars.

OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: The Book Monsters | Navigating the Stormy Shelves

REVIEW | The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Publication Year: 2011

Genre: Middle-Grade, Paranormal Mystery (Urban Fantasy?)
Series: Lockwood & Co. #1

Awards: It did not win any but was nominated for a couple
Format: Audio (from Library)

Narrator: Miranda Raison

WHY?:  It's about kids who hunt ghosts.  Who doesn't want to read that?

SYNOPSIS: In an England that has been overtaken by spirits that only children can see, Lockwood & Co. is one of the many agencies that people can hire to rid themselves of ghostly problems.  When one of their cases goes spectacularly wrong, Lockwood, Lucy and George, who make up the agency, must take on an extremely deadly assignment; to quiet the spirits in the most haunted house in England.   

THOUGHTS:

I am fascinated by ghosts but, strangely, I haven't found many books featuring them that I really love.  I'm happy to say that the first book in the middle-grade Lockwood & Co. series is a book about ghosts that really worked for me.  It is exciting, has a multi-layered plot and a distinct take on ghosts and the hunting of them.

The story is told from the perspective of Lucy Carlyle.  In the England the book is set in, something has occurred that has caused spirits to manifest all over the country and these ghosts are not just a spooky nuisance.  If one touches you, you don't just feel a chill, you die.

Children under a certain age (15 or so) are the only people who can actually see the ghosts and some kids are more adept at it than others.  Lucy is one of the more talented ones so she is recruited at a young age to become a ghost hunter.  Ghost hunters usually work in a group supervised by an adult who can't see the ghost but takes feedback from the children and develops the plan of action.  When Lucy's handler loses his nerve and makes a bad call during an assignment, sending all but she to their deaths, Lucy decides to strike out on her own and heads to London to see if she can find a better situation.

She ends up being hired by Lockwood & Co. which is unique in that it employs no adult handlers.  In fact, it is just Lockwood and his confederate George.  Adding Lucy makes them a threesome working out of Lockwood's large house left to him by his parents who are mysteriously missing.  Each of them brings something different to the table.  Lockwood is very smart and bold, a good planner, strategist and leader and is also very good at seeing ghostly phenomena.  George is a science and research dork who spends his time tinkering with ghostly artifacts and doing background research for their cases.  Lucy is very talented at hearing ghostly phenomena and at getting emotional readings and flashbacks from the dead and objects associated with them.  All together they make a good team and they are all glad not to have the supervision of adults.

Normally, that whole idea of kids doing dangerous things and not involving adults, is a barrier when I reader literature aimed at a younger audience.  What for a younger reader is empowering, I find unrealistic and frustrating.  However, there was none of that in this story.  Lucy's experience with her adult mentor at the start of the story and the maturity of Lockwood and all of the gang really convinced me that they are better off taking care of themselves.  It's a fascinating power structure to explore, with kids having a useful and necessary skill that adults don't, and the story does a good job of imagining what this would mean  - it both empowers the kids as well as making them vulnerable for exploitation.

The idea of kids having this "superpower" denied to adults is only one of the very interesting things in the universe Stroud builds.  At first I thought the book was set in a historical setting, likely Victorian, as some of the trappings of the story and setting suggest but actually the book is set contemporarily or even slightly in the future.  There are television sets and other modern things but the phenomenon of the ghosts appearing has scrambled society in many ways.  And that's one layer of the story that will likely be a constant in the series; what happened to "awaken" the ghosts and how can it be stopped once and for all.

The specific plot of the book is also pretty great.  It is a little slow to get started but it builds to a really exciting and pretty scary climax.  Lockwood & Co. are trying to keep the agency open after a disastrous case and partially as a ploy to get positive publicity they are trying to track down who murdered a young socialite who has become a very restless and murderous ghost.  Their involvement in the cold case brings to them the business of an enigmatic millionaire who wishes them to "clean" out his house which is reputed to be the most haunted in a very haunted England.  The night they spend at the house is chilling and exciting!  My only complaint is that Lockwood has information/suspicions that he does not share with his colleagues and there doesn't seem to be any reason for him to do this except to build suspense and conflict in the story, but I'll let it slide because it leads to a great reveal in the end.

Finally, all three of the main characters are great.  George is the least developed of the three but his peculiarities and bickering with Lucy and Lockwood add much of the humor in the book which lightens up what would be a completely dark tale otherwise.  Lucy, as narrator is the one we get to know best and she's a great character, being both traumatised and extremely brave and empathetic.  She's got attitude and her narrative voice is engaging and provides interesting perspective.  Lockwood is charming and immediately likable but he is also a huge mystery and I expect that also to be one of the plot threads that carries throughout the series.

Taken as a whole this was a really good start to a series and I think it would go over really well with all age groups.  It doesn't shy away from the scary parts so if your young reader is on the easily frightened side I might be a little wary.  I listened to the audio and the narrator, who I think is new to me, was great.  She is essentially the voice of Lucy and I think she did a great job bringing her to life.

FINAL VERDICT:  A nicely creepy, complex and ultimately exciting ghost hunter story aimed at middle-grade readers though it als entertained my middle-aged brain. Will definitely be continuing the series.  4 out of 5 stars. 

OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: Star-Crossed Book Blog | A Thousand Lives of Frankie Lively

REVIEW | Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Publication Year: 2016

Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Six of Crows #2

Awards: A bunch of local YA awards
Format: Audio (from Audible)

Narrator: Jay Snyder, Lauren Fortgang, Roger Clark, Elizabeth Evans, Fred Berman, Peter Ganim, Kevin Collins and Brandon Rubin

**SPOILERS AHOY!  This is the second book in a series and there will be spoilers for book one though I'll try not to reveal anything too earth-shattering. **

WHY?:  After the stunning first volume, Six of Crows, I snatched this bad boy up immediately.  I have never been so glad that I waited to start a series until it was done and all books available!

SYNOPSIS:  Kaz and the team have finished the biggest heist job of their lives but they are unsurprised to be welcomed home to Ketterdam with treachery and double-dealing.  Kaz needs all his wits and his team's talents and loyalty to turn the terrible situation to their advantage and get what they deserve.  It's David vs. Goliath but David has never been so wily nor had such friends.  

THOUGHTS:

I am in awe of authors who write heist novels.  They must have so much fun mapping it all out but it must also be so hard.  I think the key might be to make sure your players are interesting and charismatic, so if the pieces of the puzzle aren't an airtight fit, the reader is too busy making heart eyes at the relationship dynamics to even notice.  As far as I know, Leigh Bardugo built several great heist operations, but I'm not sure if I would've noticed if there was a flaw because of Kaz, Inej, Mathias, Wylan, Nina and Jesper. I was so completely sucked into all of their lives that I doubt I would have noticed if I got carried away by a tornado in the middle of reading.

So, you know, not a bad book, lol.  This book takes book one, brings all the unresolved things from that book to a head and throws in a whole barrel full of other issues.  Jesper must face his good-hearted, farmer father; sharp-shooting pistols and gambling debts in hand.  Kaz has had one goal in mind from the beginning, r-e-v-e-n-g-e, but he is starting to wonder whether it is really what he needs. Nina, after one dose of a new dangerous drug, is an addict and is struggling with that and the self-loathing it brings while Mathias desperately tries to help her and overcome the brainwashing of his youth. Wylan is trying to come to terms with his Father's cruelty and learn that he does have talents to offer.  Inej has conjured a dream for herself but it doesn't take her back to her family nor keep her with the difficult boy she has come to love.  And that's just the personal struggles!

Kaz's personal ambition and desire to gain back control of their own lives is further complicated by the presence of this drug that turns Grisha into super Grisha but also kills them and makes them slaves.  Resisting and getting their own back puts them up against the most powerful and wealthy people in Ketterdam.  They can't afford to be divided but it takes all of Kaz's scheming to see a way through.  There are heists galore with complications and clever moves and death-defying feats  - paired with the personal journeys each character is navigating, alone and as a team. It is a non-stop and completely engrossing ride. I couldn't read it fast enough.

I haven't enjoyed a YA series so much since The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater.  It's a completely different style and setting but there is the same emphasis on characters that are real and damaged, a found family, beautiful prose, and romantic scenes so intense, subtle and fraught with emotion you almost feel like you should look away.  It's as close to a perfect fantasy duology and I can't wait to see what Bardugo has for us next!!   

Final note, the audio version of this series is great.  Each character gets their own voice actor which works well as the perspective rotates through and all the voice actors were good to great.  I recommend consuming the books this way!

FINAL VERDICT: SO SO Good. The Grisha series was great and I enjoyed it but it had some missteps, it missed its footing from time to time. But THIS series - like Inej Ghafa on a high wire, it had perfect balance. Or if it did bobble? I was too wrapped up in these characters' lives and Kaz's devious and audacious schemes to notice. 4 out of 5 stars

OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: Paper Fury |  Star-Crossed Book Blog

REVIEW | The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin

The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin

Publication Year: 2016

Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopia (It was a Goodreads Choice Nominee for Horror which I get)
Series: The Passage #3

Awards: None
Format: Digital Audio (Library)

Narrator: Scott Brick

**SPOILERS AHOY:  There may be spoilers for books one and two in this series so look away if you haven't read those yet!**

WHY?: I needed to see how it all ended!

SYNOPSIS:  The majority of The City of Mirrors skips ahead roughly 20 years from the devastating but seemingly victorious-for-the-human-race events that took place in Iowa in book 2.  In the large settlement at Kerrville Texas, years have passed without a single sighting of a viral and the human race has begun to creep out and establish new settlements.  The central band, led by Peter have gone their separate ways and lived their lives the best way they can never suspecting that the nightmare isn't over and they still have one more foe to vanquish in order for the human race to survive.

THOUGHTS:

This series and I have been down a rocky road.  I've loved it, I've hated it, I've wanted to clutch it to my chest, and fling it dramatically into a fire.  In short, sometimes Cronin just got too "look at the miserable lives and revel" literary for me, sometimes those literary writing chops created an uncommonly beautiful adventure story.   So I went into this with trepidation but hope and third time's a charm, at least for me.  The City of Mirrors is an epic, fascinating, beautiful, sad and pretty darn good ending to The Passage saga.

My biggest complaint from book two was that Cronin starts it by shooting the reader and story back into the past, introducing swaths of new characters, and this effectively stalls the momentum of the quest narrative started in book 1.  Not to mention that I did  not care for or about any of the new characters and just wanted to find out what happened to the merry band from California, Peter, Alicia, Sara, Hollis, Amy, Michael, Moussami and Theo.  He took ages to get to them and when he did, it took forever to pull them all back together and get things moving forward again.

In The City of Mirrors, the book starts by checking in with the main characters, roughly 3 years post book two and they are all on the cusp of some major life change.  It then propels us 20 or so years into the future and shows the consequences of those life changes.  For some of them it's been relatively peaceful living, the virals appear to be gone once and for all and humanity has relaxed its guard.  Some of the original band however are saddled with a terrible truth.  Their struggle is not yet over - Patient Zero is still out there.

Of course Cronin can't resist dipping back into the past at least for a little while and in this instance it is to tell the back story of Zero.  It's actually a really great part of the book even if it does feel a little like a book within the book.  It comes at the right time in the narrative and for my money is the most interesting of his forays into backstory, feeling fully fleshed out but not too overly detailed.   It is also fully relevant, and fills in some of the hinted at story from book one while also being thought-provoking.  It is almost a modern day re-telling of the Helen of Troy myth - one perfect woman and  the two men, who for the love of her cause the downfall and almost extinction of the human race.  This poor woman, as we know her, would likely have been completely horrified about what was done in her name and memory.  It was a wow moment for me. Love conquers all, quite literally.

I was also way more aware of the Christian religious imagery in this book versus the first two though that may not be because it is more prevalent or emphasised. It is sometimes pretentious and overblown but it also adds some interesting depth to dig into.

Overall this was definitely my favorite of the three books.  The flow is right and he mostly doesn't dive too deeply into tangent storylines.  I found it to be a complete page turner.  The ending may not be what every reader hoped for, but I liked it.

FINAL VERDICT:  A great closing to an excellent, but uneven, dystopian series.  The series is well worth reading though it is a LOT of pages!  4 out of 5 Stars to The City of Mirrors and I'd probably give the whole series a 3.5.

OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: The Washington Post* | Caffienated Book Reviewer

* If you are really spoiler phobic, I would avoid this one, though once you've read book 3 come back to it because it's hilarious.

REVIEW | Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart

Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart

Publication Year: 2016

Genre: Historical Mystery, Crime
Series: Kopp Sisters #2

Awards: None
Format: eBook (from Library)

Narrator: NA

SPOILERS AHOY!  This is book two in a series so some spoilery type things about book one may be revealed. 

WHY?:  This is currently my favorite ongoing historical mystery series.  So glad that the first book, Girl Waits With Gun, wasn't the last!

SYNOPSIS: At the end of the first book, after Constance had thoroughly impressed Sheriff Heath with her fortitude, cleverness and practicality, he offered her a job as a deputy on his staff.  Constance enthusiastically accepts but as this book opens, it quickly becomes obvious that things have gone awry.  Sheriff Heath is catching heat for this controversial appointment and things get worse when an important prisoner escapes, and it is seemingly Constance's fault.  What's a woman to do?  Well, track down the prisoner and bring him back into detention single-handedly of course. 
  

THOUGHTS:

At the end of Girl Waits With Gun, things were looking up for Constance Kopp.  She'd been offered a job by the Sheriff which gave her a way to support herself and her two sisters and keep them independent.  As a bonus she discovers that she very much enjoys police work and or the first time in her life she feels like she has a purpose. Unfortunately, things pretty quickly lose their shine when Sheriff Heath's promises to get her sworn is as a Deputy don't seem to be coming to fruition.  She has mostly been relegated to being a matron for the female residents of the county jail and she longs to get out more doing real Sheriff Deputy's work.

Unfortunately the first time in a while she does get out, an important prisoner disappears, seemingly under her watch.  Though the prisoner likely would have disappeared under anyone's watch, the folks against Sheriff Heath's appointment of a lady to his staff are quick to blame it on the fact that she is a woman.  Constance must not only redeem herself in Sheriff Heath's eyes so she can get a chance to do what she loves but she must also do it to prove to his critics that he was not daft to hire a woman.  That she can do everything a male Deputy can do.  So she launches her own independent investigation, running afoul of Sheriff Heath and his wife while she does so.

As with book one, this is not really a strict mystery.  There are mysterious elements, questions that need answering but it is probably more accurate to call it a historical crime novel.  The main action in the book is a manhunt with much of the investigation centering on figuring out where the prisoner might be hiding.  Constance is creative with her independent investigating and meets some other professional women and solidifies how much her job means to her

Meanwhile, she's somewhat neglecting her family.  She is struggling particularly with young Fleurette who is so different than she and Norma and has dreams that scare Constance.  It is also stressful to be so at odds with Sheriff Heath and especially for feeling like she's let him down and is causing him hardship.  He stuck his neck out for her and there is no way she is going to let him be punished for doing that.  And it's not just his bosses that are giving him a hard time but also his unhappy wife.  I am seemingly unable not to 'ship everyone, so I really like Constance and Sheriff Heath as a team.  They are very simpatico and work really well together...much better than he and his wife do.  However, I can't really tell if Stewart is heading that way or not?  If so it is a very slow burn which is fine by me.  I like Constance and Norma's independence so don't want to diminish that by implying that Constance needs a man.  She doesn't but it would be nice for her to be loved by someone who gets and respects her.

Regardless of all of that, there are a lot of complications and conflict in the characters' relationships in this volume but not in a melodramatic way.  As with Girl Waits With Gun, it feels very down to earth and authentic.  Also like the first book, I loved it!  The best thing of all about it, is that it is based on a true story!

FINAL VERDICT:  This historical mystery series is brimming full of period authenticity and wonderful characters. I recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction and/or crime novels. 4 out of 5 stars.

Other Opinions are Available: The Washington Post | The Book Stop

REVIEW | The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Publication Year: 2014

Genre: Science Fiction -Space Opera
Series: The Wayfarer #1

Awards: None
Format: eBook

Narrator: NA

WHY?:  Lots of people raved and it sounded awesome.  Plus there were Firefly comparisons which always hook me.

WHAT HAPPENS?: To escape some family problems, Rosemary joins the crew of a deep space tunneling ship, the Wayfarer, and is pleasantly surprised to find a new family.  The ship gets a commission to take on a long haul (year or more) job that puts them in dangerous space.  It's a risk but the money is great and they know they can handle it.  They have a couple of adventures on the way and the job is more than they bargained for and that's all exciting but mostly it's about the 9 crew mates on the ship and how life happens even when you're hurtling through space.  

THOUGHTS:
This book is not hard to review at all though I don't know that my thoughts on it will add anything new to the reviews already out there.  It's really brilliant and is just overflowing with heart while somehow managing not to get schmoopy.  It's really genuine in a way that few books are.  The found family trope is one of my absolute favorites and this book gets it just right.  

The set up of the book is a thinly glossed series of vignettes, each of which helps the reader become more acquainted with each member of the crew.  There's the overarching story line about the trip to the mysterious and dangerous Hedra Ka (the small angry planet) but it almost just serves as a framework for the smaller stories that happen as they hurtle through space.

Half the crew is human but the other half are alien and Chambers does a fantastic job creating aliens that actually feel alien while also being recognizable. Sissix is a species that is evolved from a reptile-like ancestor and her character and the exploration of her society is awesome.  I love the Aeluons who communicate by using the changing colors on their cheeks which have infinite meanings.  It's obvious Chambers has really thought through everything and so they all feel very real, alien but also comfortable. 

In relation to the above, I really enjoyed how the book explored diversity in this future where humans are a somewhat insignificant species.  I especially connected with Lovey and how the universe is still grappling with Artificial Intelligences and how to treat them.  I'm glad the second book sounds like it focuses on this even more.

And that Firefly comparison?  This is the first book I've read that really does have that vibe.  It doesn't quite have the humor or the excitement that Firefly did but the found family and character dynamics really hit the sweet spot.  And Chambers totally has the knack, like Whedon does, of meshing the fantastical with the everyday mundanities, and delights, of life. 

It doesn't quite get full marks though it's close.  It's a little too feel good and drama free for it to be exciting and it did drag a little in places.  A little more conflict would have spiced things up.  Still really really lovely and well done.  

And if you want a glimpse of the humor this was one passage that made me laugh out loud:

“I ate a har—monica! These socks—match—my hat!” “Kizzy.” A tool clattered to the ground. Kizzy’s hands clenched into fists as the music swelled to a stormy crescendo. She danced atop the shuddering ladder, her head still in the ceiling. “Socks! Match—my hat! Socks! Match—my hat! Step on—some—sweet—toast! Socks! Match—my hat!” “Kizzy!” Kizzy ducked her head down. She pressed the clicker strapped to her wrist, turning down the volume of the nearby thump box. “’Sup?” Jenks quirked an eyebrow. “Do you have any idea what this song is?” Kizzy blinked. “Socks Match My Hat,” she said. She went back up into the ceiling, tightening something with her gloved hands. “Soskh Matsh Mae’ha. It’s banned in the Harmagian Protectorate.” “We’re not in the Harmagian Protectorate.” “Do you know what this song’s about?” “You know I don’t speak Hanto.” “Banging the Harmagian royal family. In glorious detail.” “Ha! Oh, I like this song so much more now.” “It’s credited with setting off the riots on Sosh’ka last year.” “Huh. Well, if this band hates the establishment that much, then I doubt they’ll care about me making up my own words. They can’t oppress me with their ‘correct lyrics.’ Fuck the system.”

FINAL VERDICT:  Loved it and all must read it, particularly if you enjoy aliens, journeys through space, found families and character driven narratives.  4 out of 5 Stars

OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE:  Read It and Leap | The Book Smugglers

REVIEW | Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Publication Year: 2015

Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Six of Crows #1

Awards: A bunch of local YA awards
Format: Audio (from Audible)

Narrator: Jay Snyder, David LeDoux, Lauren Fortgang, Roger Clark, Elizabeth Evans, Tristan Morris and Brandon Rubin

WHY?:  Many, many reasons.  I enjoyed Bardugo's Grisha series. This book and its sequel has gotten a ton of positive buzz.  It's a heist novel.  

SYNOPSIS:  Kaz Brekker, a young ne'er do well who practically runs one of the mafia-like gangs of Ketterdam, is hired to do an impossible job.  It will make him very very rich which appeals to Kaz greatly but more importantly he has a score to settle and this one job will make that possible.  If anyone can pull this impossible job off it is Kaz and he puts together a team, each member with a part to play in the greatest heist in history.

THOUGHTS:

The first chapter of the book is basically a prologue.  It's a set-up for something that will play an important role in the coming book, and the series as a whole I'd wager, but it didn't grab me. It was full of stock characters, so uninteresting I didn't care what they did. I therefore dragged my feet like crazy and it took me like a week to get through this first chapter.  I'd listen to a couple minutes and then decide I'd rather listen to a podcast and not get back to it for a couple days.  This boredom is hard to remember because literally the very next chapter swept me away and I was completely and officially smitten with this book.  

In this second chapter, we meet Kaz Brekker, anything but a stock character.  He's devilishly clever, always two steps ahead of everyone, sardonic, enigmatic, secretive, unemotional and he walks with a limp and a cane.  He's also pretty darn scary.  I adored him pretty much immediately.  Unwrapping his story throughout the book and seeing how competent, yet broken he is, is just one of the delights this book had in store.  In this first scene with Kaz, as he verbally spars with the second-in-command of a rival gang, he is backed up by his shadow, Inej, climbing up sheer walls to keep an eye on proceedings from high ground, while trusty sharp-shooter Jesper watches his six on the ground.  These are Kaz's most loyal and trusted compatriots and when he is hired a couple of chapters later to help the merchant guild with an impossible heist, they are the first to be recruited to his gang.  

As is common with heist novels, roughly the first 1/3 of the book focuses on pulling the gang that will perform the heist together and then doing an initial smaller heist to show the players in action.  The other members of the team include: 

• Nina Zenik: a Grisha, a heart render that can manipulate the organs of the human body.  She is hanging out in Ketterdam and working freelance for Kaz hoping to find a way to free-
• Mathias Helvar: A Grisha hunter, raised to despise Grisha, so how he and Nina are connected is a mystery.  
• Wylan Van Eck: Perhaps the most puzzling addition to the team.  He has a knack with explosives but is new to "The Barrel" i.e. the rough part of town and is not someone any of them know.  Why has Kaz included him?

With the team together, they are off on a journey to the legendary Ice Court, where they must infiltrate, free and return to Ketterdam with a scientist being held hostage.  It's a suicide mission but the reward is enormous and everyone on the crew has a reason to desperately need/want that reward.    

The perspective of each chapter rotates between all the characters, which is a device I really love and despite the fact that there are so many different perspectives, it felt balanced just right and was never confusing.  Bardugo also includes flashbacks, on top of the current action, to slowly reveal more and more about her characters and their connections.  It could have been too much but she somehow managed to keep the action moving while pouring on the character development.  The result is a page-turner with SO many characters to love.  Some felt a bit more developed then others, it felt like there was more back story on Kaz, Nina and Mathias than the others, but I still felt connected to all of them.

The cast is also diverse with at least half of the team coming from outside of the Kingdom in which Ketterdam sits, and it tackles the issue of brain-washing and being afraid of the unknown, particularly in Mathias' story.  So it's got some good messages and thought provocation thrown in with the intricate plot.   

It also must be mentioned that the book is set in the same universe as the Grisha trilogy and takes place slightly after the events in that series.  The original series is referenced briefly, but beyond having a little more background on what the Grisha are, it is not necessary to have read that series (though you should! it's great!).  As with those books, Bardugo does an excellent job presenting a beautifully detailed world and society.  While the Grisha series obviously borrowed from Russian and Eastern European culture, this book broadens the world a little further and brings in some other cultures.  It's an interesting world if you're new to it and should really appeal to fans as an expansion of the Grisha series!

Have I mentioned yet, how much I really loved this book?  I did.  As soon as I got past that first chapter it became an addictive listen that I didn't want to stop.  I am counting the hours until my next Audible credit pops up and I can download Crooked Kingdom.  I can't wait to get back into this world and spend more time with Kaz and the team.  Not to mention that this book ends with things very much up in the air.  

Finally, the audio was fantastic.  It has multiple narrators, all of them good, each of which help to bring their assigned character alive.  Lauren Fortgang, who I'm pretty sure does Nina's chapters, is particularly great and will be familiar if you listened to the Grisha series.  

FINAL VERDICT:  More fun than a barrel full of lemurs.  An un-put-downable YA heist novel with a well-developed and lovable cast of characters.  The sequel, Crooked Kingdom, will be going in my ears, toot sweet!  4.5 out of 5 stars.

REVIEW | The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

Publication Year: 2016

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Alt History
Series: Lady Helen #1

Awards: Nothing 
Format: Audio (from Audible)

Narrator: Fiona Hardingham

WHY?: Many good reviews by bloggers I trust.  Plus - demon hunting in Regency England. No way I'm not reading that!  Tagline on one of the editions is, "Duchess or Demon Slayer - does Lady Helen have a choice?"

SYNOPSIS: Lady Helen Wrexhall is 18 and entering her first London season.  It's an exciting time but amongst all the hubbub of social engagements, Helen has started to notice a lot of odd and mysterious things going on around her. Then a distant relation of her Aunt's, the disgraced Lord Carlston appears and informs Helen that she is destined for bigger and scarier things than marrying a Duke. Will Helen turn her back on this exciting but terrifying future or will she play it safe?  

THOUGHTS:
Without a doubt, I adored this book.  It's a Regency era novel with deadly demons thrown into the mix and I found it to be executed very well.  It is a book that is perfect for a very particular kind of reader.  If you like paranormal reads, you are likely to like it okay, though I've seen a number of reviews by SFF fans who found it slow-going.  Regency novel fans?  Hmmm.... I think will like this better than most SFF books as it does take pains to get the societal conventions and setting right but it may not be quite right for them.  If you are someone who loves both Jane Austen and Buffy the Vampire Slayer?  I predict you will flip your lid for this book!  At least, I certainly did.  I like feisty kick ass ladies as well as painstakingly described details about muslin and dance cards so this book had me covered on all points. 

Lady Helen lives with her Aunt and Uncle because both her parents are dead and while she gets along with her Aunt, her uncle is a strict, close-minded, misogynist who brooks no appearance of impropriety.  Therefore, Helen is mostly looking forward to the season and is not opposed to finding the right gentleman to marry and therefore get out from under her Uncle's thumb. I really liked that Helen isn't really a huge rebel to begin with.  She's smart, independent, has opinions and therefore chafes under her Uncles rule but she is not really longing for a singular life.  She really just wants what most young women in the Regency era wanted, to find a good match and have the freedom of running her own household.  Sure she might prefer that household be her older brother's but marriage is not off the table.

There is a lot of time spent on the details of a life in Regency era England - the expectations, the manners, the rhythm of life, the details of the balls -  and I loved this and thought it was balanced quite well with the more action-and-demon-packed part of the story.  It bored some reviewers but that never happened to me.  I think the time spent on Helen's normal life emphasizes what she would be giving up to join the Dark Days Club. It is impossible to be both a well bred lady and a demon hunter in Regency Era England.  Especially when one's mentor is a tall drink of well-mannered-but-may-have-killed-his-wife scandal.  Lord Carlston and Helen cannot spend time together because a) he is a man and b) he is disreputable.  This throws up many of the challenges faced by the heroine and I felt really anxious for her juggling all the balls of her life.  

It couldn't be a Regency Era novel without there also being a romance of course and while I wasn't really into it, I liked the pairing and that it is the slowest of slow burns.  Again, the Regency era setting helps keep things relatively restrained and that appeals to me.  I am also partial, for some reason, to the passionate hero that keeps it all locked down tight so you have no idea what he's feeling except under certain extreme circumstances.  This type of person would probably drive me nutballs in real life but I like it in a romantic protagonist. There are a few intense moments but mostly it is restrained glances and touches.  

The demon hunter world that Goodman overlays Regency England with is also very interesting and well developed.  The idea that the demons, or deceivers as they are called, inhabit regular people, like a possession, sets up some nice moral quandaries as well as the fact that only certain people can see and then fight them when they get out of hand.  Voila!  A Dark Days Club of extra strong, extra sensing folk who operate in secret.  Secret demon hunting societies will always tickle me to pieces!  I also like that each demon hunter, or Reclaimer, must have a companion who is bonded with them and that Helen's choice is her stalwart maid and friend Darby.  I really liked their relationship and that this female duo has most of the men of the Dark Days Club unhappy.

I loved and devoured this book!  I listened to the audio version and Fiona Hardingham was a perfect narrator for this.  She is one of my favorite narrators generally and she does a great job giving voice to Lady Helen and bringing her to life.

FINAL VERDICT:  For all you Jane Austen AND Buffy the Vampire Slayer lovers - this is your book.  A good solid Regency novel with a paranormal element mixed into the blend for a good balance of the two!  4 out of 5 Stars.

Other Opinions Are Available: Book Smugglers | Fine Print | Fantasy Book Critic

REVIEW | Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Publication Year: 2006

Genre: Fiction, Urban Fantasy
Series: Mercy Thompson #1

Awards: None
Format: EBook (from Library)

Narrator: NA

WHY?: I'm actually a bit of a noob when it comes to Urban Fantasy. For a long while I thought I hated it.  Series like Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant and Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series won me over and based on that, particularly KD, most people recommend this series.  I've been meaning to start it for a good long while.  

SYNOPSIS:  Most of the time Mercy is a relatively talented Volkswagen mechanic in Tri-Cities, Washington.  She owns her own shop and lives mostly quietly.  But her life hasn't always been quiet because she's a walker - a shape-shifter that can turn into a coyote.  Not very strong but rare, and because of this she is mostly raised in a pack of werewolves living in the Rocky Mountains. She also happens to live right next door to the Tri-Cities Werewolf Pack Alpha. So when a teenage boy wanders into her shop she knows right off he's a werewolf even though he seems clueless.  She hooks him up with her neighbor Adam, none of them realizing that the boy brings with him a whole heap of trouble.  

Right off the bat I have to say - is that cover ridiculous or what?  People can dress how they like but who in their right mind wears a mechanic's shirt, with nametag, in the style of some kind of deranged Daisy Duke?  And with a push-up bra no less?  Seriously what the what is going on there?  This cover is what gave me pause about reading this series for so long because while folks can dress as they like I wasn't sure I would enjoy hanging out with a person who would dress so impractically in order to work on cars.  If you have similar misgivings, let me put your mind at rest - I'm pretty sure Mercy Thompson wouldn't be caught dead in the above outfit.  She spends much of this book in a stained t-shirt and jeans and is very down to earth and practical.  I liked her.  Pretty much immediately.

And that's important because Mercy is the heroine of and the reader's entry point into this Urban Fantasy series that takes place in a modern day U.S. that's pretty regular except that many of the supernatural denizens of the country have "come out".  I liked the conceit that they have been forced to reveal themselves to the human society because the advancement of technology and surveillance has become such that they could no longer stay hidden.  Among the werewolves and vampires, gremlins and fae, Mercy is actually pretty unique.  She's a rare kind of shape-shifter that is known as a Walker and I loved that while she's got some magic and can take the shape of coyote she's actually much weaker than most other supernatural creatures.  This being an Urban Fantasy though, she is of course a real bad-ass but most of that is because she's smart, stubborn and brave. That paired with her salt-of-the-earth persona make her a more-than-acceptable heroine to head up the cast. First hurdle of writing a good Urban Fantasy series cleared! Phew!

The rest of the cast is okay thus far. I really liked, Adam, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack and Mercy's neighbor.  He's menacing and domineering but understated enough that it lends him, if anything, an air of more authority and also makes him more likeable.  Not as crazy about her old flame from her youth but do like the complexity and uniqueness of their former and current relationship.

The uniqueness stems from the culture Briggs creates for her werewolves and all the other supernatural creatures, though the only other group we get a real peek at are the vampires.  Briggs has obviously taken time to really think out what kinds of societies she thinks these supernatural folk would have.  She does a great job of keeping it recognizable; i.e. she doesn't stray too far from established mythology, but she does imbue a depth and complexity to how that mythology would really work for every day living.  I look forward to getting deeper into this world!

Finally, there's the story.  It's fine.  It's action packed and follows the formula of a mystery/crime procedural which is par for the course in many UFs.  In this first book a lot of heavy lifting must be done to introduce all the major players and the world they are playing in and Briggs does a great job doing that thoroughly while also keeping the plot moving along.  The pacing was pretty good and the mystery format kept me turning pages.

FINAL VERDICT:  A great introductory book to what promises to be a fun Urban Fantasy series.  It is distinguished for a lead character that is easy to get behind and a complex world that really explores the mythology of supernatural societies in the midst of a modern day U.S.A. 4 out of 5 stars.

Other Opinions Are Available: Dear Author | SF Reviews | Fantasy Cafe

REVIEW | Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kruger

Publication Year: 2013

Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Series: NA

Awards: Anthony Award for Best Novel (2014), Edgar Award for Best Novel (2014)
Format: Audio (from Audible)

Narrator: Rich Orlow

WHY?:  A work colleague recommended this author to me a few years ago, specifically for the Cork O'Connor mystery series which includes a lot of natural history. Plus, Krueger lives just to the north of me in Minnesota.  This book is a stand alone (not part of the Cork O'Connor series) but many think it is his best book. The fact that it won two of the most prestigious mystery novel awards supports that consensus!  I think I bought this during one of Audible's sales. 

SYNOPSIS:  The book takes place in a single summer during the 1950s in a small town in Minnesota.  The narrator is Frank, as a 40 year old, recounting the events of the summer he was 14 and his whole life changed. 

THOUGHTS:

How many books have I read that follow just this format?  Middle-aged man (or less often woman) looking back on a crucial, coming-of-age moment during their small town childhood?  Dozens at least during my reading life.  Despite that I almost always enjoy them and this is a particularly excellent example of this type of story.  It is written beautifully, has a perfectly imperfect narrator whose voice is just right, a cast of lovingly crafted characters, a mystery at its heart and plenty of ideas for the mind to wrestle with.  

As I started it I admit was a little nervous.  Frank's father, Nathan, is a minister and there are a lot of Christian overtones to the book.  I am not anti-religion but a book with  a strong religious message can sometimes go sideways with me.   Thankfully Krueger handles all with grace and kindness.  The Christianity presented here is the type that makes me think about going back to the church.  Frank's dad is one of the best characters in the book, an Atticus Finch type character, all about forgiveness and love for all despite, or maybe because of, being a veteran of World War II.  His sermon's are where some of the most beautiful prose appears in the book and they brought tears to my eyes.  Here are two of my favorites, both of them centered around death and mortality which is a major theme of the book (I apologize - they are long but I have to highlight them):

“God never promised us an easy life. He never promised that we wouldn’t suffer, that we wouldn’t feel despair and loneliness and confusion and desperation. What he did promise was that in our suffering we would never be alone. And though we may sometimes make ourselves blind and deaf to his presence he is beside us and around us and within us always. We are never separated from his love. And he promised us something else, the most important promise of all. That there would be surcease. That there would be an end to our pain and our suffering and our loneliness, that we would be with him and know him, and this would be heaven.”

“It isn’t Easter,” he said, “but this week has caused me to think a lot about the Easter story. Not the glorious resurrection that we celebrate on Easter Sunday but the darkness that came before. I know of no darker moment in the Bible than the moment Jesus in his agony on the cross cries out, ‘Father, why have you forsaken me?’ Darker even than his death not long after because in death Jesus at last gave himself over fully to the divine will of God. But in that moment of his bitter railing he must have felt betrayed and completely abandoned by his father, a father he’d always believed loved him deeply and absolutely. How terrible that must have been and how alone he must have felt. In dying all was revealed to him, but alive Jesus like us saw with mortal eyes, felt the pain of mortal flesh, and knew the confusion of imperfect mortal understanding. “I see with mortal eyes. My mortal heart this morning is breaking. And I do not understand. “I confess that I have cried out to God, ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ ” Here my father paused and I thought he could not continue. But after a long moment he seemed to gather himself and went on. “When we feel abandoned, alone, and lost, what’s left to us? What do I have, what do you have, what do any of us have left except the overpowering temptation to rail against God and to blame him for the dark night into which he’s led us, to blame him for our misery, to blame him and cry out against him for not caring? What’s left to us when that which we love most has been taken? “I will tell you what’s left, three profound blessings. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul tells us exactly what they are: faith, hope, and love. These gifts, which are the foundation of eternity, God has given to us and he’s given us complete control over them. Even in the darkest night it’s still within our power to hold to faith. We can still embrace hope. And although we may ourselves feel unloved we can still stand steadfast in our love for others and for God. All this is in our control. God gave us these gifts and he does not take them back. It is we who choose to discard them. “In your dark night, I urge you to hold to your faith, to embrace hope, and to bear your love before you like a burning candle, for I promise that it will light your way. “And whether you believe in miracles or not, I can guarantee that you will experience one. It may not be the miracle you’ve prayed for. God probably won’t undo what’s been done. The miracle is this: that you will rise in the morning and be able to see again the startling beauty of the day. “Jesus suffered the dark night and death and on the third day he rose again through the grace of his loving father. For each of us, the sun sets and the sun also rises and through the grace of our Lord we can endure our own dark night and rise to the dawning of a new day and rejoice. “I invite you, my brothers and sisters, to rejoice with me in the divine grace of the Lord and in the beauty of this morning, which he has given us.” 

The second quote in particular made me completely fall apart in public.  I've lost people close to me and this spoke to my heart so forcefully.  It's an incredible moment and it is one of the clearest points which illuminates Nathan's character.  The entire secondary cast, particularly Frank's mother, his little brother Jake, and his big sister Ariel are also fleshed out and interesting, their relationships with each other forming the foundation of the book's story.  Frank himself is a great narrator - a blend of his very different parents he represents the innocence of a boy as well as childishness which slowly gets stripped away as the events force him to grow up. 

I hope that the quotes make clear as well that despite death being a major theme of the book, it is mostly infused with hope and is not overly dark or depressing.  In fact, it is a very propulsive read  - the mystery at its heart did not overwhelm the coming of age story but definitely made the book a page-turner (or a can't stop listening-er).  

The depiction of small town Minnesota in the 1950s felt very authentic.  Idyllic in ways but not at all viewed through rose-tinted glasses.  I especially appreciated that the book showed the lingering effects of World War II on the population.  I've read a lot of books set in England that have dealt with this but few set in the U.S. 

In short the book combines the best elements of a page-turning mystery with beautiful prose and a contemplation of growing up and losing loved ones and seeing the world with love, forgiveness and hope.  Really well done.  

I listened to the audio book and Rich Orlow, the reader, was great.  His voice fit the tone of the book well and I enjoyed listening to him.

FINAL VERDICT:  A lovely coming of age story with a mystery at its heart that will entertain and inspire thought. 4 out of 5 Stars

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