Blood And Weeds

bloodandweedsThere seems, in my circles at least, to be a resurgence of noir-inspired fiction and I wholeheartedly embrace it. The Clarke Lantham series, by Dan Sawyer, is as good an example of neo-noir as I can think of. Not just a book about a private investigator set in first person, Sawyer also embraces the edginess, sex, and pulpy fun that characterizes the genre.

My favorite thing about this series as a whole is that each mystery’s hook is presented as something fantastical. Whether it’s aliens, ghosts, or vampires – Lantham is thrust into the fortean and squirms, thinks, kicks, and shoots to find answers. As a self proclaimed skeptic and lapsed Catholic, he struggles with those two natures and is left to deal with it as best he can. Often, the solution belongs to cutting edge science, but it’s no less strange and marvelous for all of that.

As the books progress, he befriends, adopts, and is adopted by a host of people at least as interesting as Lantham himself. One of those, his protege Rachel, stumbles on a mystery and it interweaves with a case Lantham is working on. Estranged by events in previous stories, they work together and try to save their friendship as well as a number of innocent lives.

There are two things this book does well that every one of the entries in this series does. The first is showing the business of private investigator in the most realistic way I’ve seen it done. No aspect of the cases is solved easily. Everything from the collecting of evidence to shadowing a suspect is portrayed as a struggle and the protagonists occasionally screw it up. That leads me to the second aspect – character. These people seem real to me. I’d not be surprised to meet Clarke or Rachel on the street one day. They make mistakes, perform their jobs well but aren’t virtuosos, and we get to know their emotional tics, love lives, and alcohol preferences.

I can’t recommend this series highly enough. I chuckled in a number of places throughout and the ending nearly left me an emotional wreck. There aren’t many books that do that to me.

About The Reviewer:

12347887_10207657078492367_4973381082910808028_nSome creatures feed on blood and revel in the screams of their prey. Scott Roche craves only caffeine and the clacking of keys. He pays his bills doing the grunt work no one else wants to take, bringing dead electronics back to life and working arcane wonders with software. His true passion is hammering out words that become anything from tales that terrify to futuristic worlds of wonder. All that and turning three children into a private mercenary army make for a life filled with adventure.

Learn more about Scott and his works at http://www.scottroche.com.

Kiya: Hope Of The Pharaoh

kiyaKiya: Hope of the Pharaoh by Katie Hamstead is the first book of a YA historical romance trilogy.

Set in ancient Egypt during the reign of Akhenaten, the story centers around a young Hebrew woman who becomes the newest bride of the pharaoh. Naomi has always been an unusual girl, headstrong and difficult, the favorite of her father, who educated her beyond the teachings generally offered to women. When the Egyptian guards show up, demanding a bride for the pharaoh, she steps up and takes the role in order to rescue her sisters. Once in Egypt, she becomes Kiya, the Egyptian name chosen for her. Nefertiti, the most powerful of the pharoah’s wives, takes an instant dislike to the young woman and connives against her from the start. Kiya’s heart is pulled in several directions at once in her new position, where she is immediately pulled into court intrigues and she must learn quickly how best to bring about change, without losing her life or her true self in the process.

It’s a great book for those who like history and romance intermixed.

About The Reviewer:

BRYANT-CroppedSamantha Bryant is a middle school Spanish teacher by day and a mom and novelist by night. That makes her a superhero all the time. Her debut novel, Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel is now for sale by Curiosity Quills.

Learn more about Samantha and her work at http://samanthadunawaybryant.blogspot.com/

The Body Market

body_marketVivid Entertaining & Enlightening Story.

This thriller is a great paced, exciting story that will keep you invested to turn the page. D.V. Berkom writes a great character with Leine Basso, as she continues her work saving people, now working for SHEN, (Stop Human Enslavement Now) and devoted in helping to stop human trafficking. The protagonist is a beloved bad a** woman, who’s not afraid to take on difficult assignments. She’s also an ex-assassin, fierce loving mom, and a loving partner to Santiago, as their relationship continues to grow in the series.

When Leine Basso takes on this case, she makes it her personal mission to find Elise, refusing to give up when she could easily opt out. There are many diversions and difficult situations that happen during the course, and we are shown how the protagonist overcomes the obstacles with good clear crisp writing.

I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the terrain in the scenes, from the streets in Tijuana to the desert landscape. The various characters that the protagonist interacts with also come to life as colorful portrayals of unique people with their individualism and quirks.
Whenever a book can incite a reader to engage in tough mental thought and reflection, it is a better world. The subject matter of this story deals with a problem that is so important, yet not talked about enough today—human trafficking and the ugly side of organ trafficking as well.

The Body Market was entertaining, enlightening and a great example of good writing. Well done once again D.V. Berkom.

About The Reviewer

elizabeth_zgutaElisabeth Zguta is an advocate for Independent authors and publishers and encourages all writers to learn the skills needed for today’s book markets and to keep in touch with the new technologies.

​She is curious ​and always wants to know more about everything, and her attention goes to many places and topics. She considers herself a life learner, not only because of the courses she takes but also from the knowledge gained through life experiences. Nothing brings her more satisfaction than reading something new that sparks her imagination or connecting with other people regarding a topic. She is an Indie Author of supernatural, thriller suspense novels and writes blog posts.

Learn more about Elisabeth and her work at http://ezindiepublishing.com/

Mad Tinker’s Daughter

MadTinkersDaughterRelying more on nuance than gross difference to separate cultures and places, Morin creates a world that is both obviously not our own and immediately recognisable as real. While this novel does not skimp on either action or fantastical technologies, it is also strongly founded in character and not novelty.

Rynn lives in a world where most humans are slaves to other races. Eking out a living as a University cleaner, she spends her free time building devices to fight against her oppressors. Madlin Errol is the daughter of the Mad Tinker, one of the most powerful and respected engineers in her world. But they are also the same person: when one sleeps they awaken as the other. Madlin’s father is gathering all those humans who share this power of split lives for some grand and secret scheme, but Rynn sees too much injustice in the world to wait. With both great talent and twice as much time to experiment, she can make a difference: but will she also make things worse?

The idea of people’s dream lives being real is not new. However, Morin’s take on it feels fresh. Rather than the common tropes of the dream realm being malleable, fickle, surreal, or in otherwise unlike reality, the twin realms of Korr and Tellurak are – while different in culture and environment – both “reality”. This equality removes the inherent bias that might otherwise make the reader automatically choosing the real world over illusion; and thus makes the conflicts between benefiting one or the other more resonant.

While each world is rendered realistically, they are both solidly fantasy worlds, possessing technologies on the border between magic and alternative science.

Korr, the world of oppressed humanity and ancient powerful races, has the decayed grandeur of a long past and a mysticism grown from slavery and decadent civilisation.

Whereas, Tellurak, a world apparently solely of humans, has the entrepreneurial shininess of a world filled with the free and ruled by those who escape their slavery by sleep.

But both also share common themes: the plans of the powerful are handed down in pieces with the expectation they are both benevolent and right; and progress belongs to those who make it. This creates a reason to favour one over the other, while adding a suspicion that neither is actually a great society.

Rynn/Madlin is a skillfully written protagonist; or protagonists, as the divided personalities present differently to the different worlds. As Rynn she lives a secret life as a terrorist, using her public face only to eavesdrop on engineering lectures and sneak texts from the library. As Madlin, she is free to study and experiment, but still rebels against her father’s belief that she doesn’t need to know his full plans.

However, Madlin/Rynn’s youthful rebellions, might also be the part least engaging to the reader. Despite, or perhaps because of, Morin’s plausible portrayal of the mixture of poor impulse control and iron self-belief of a teenager, there are moments when a reader who prefers protagonists with a mature outlook might feel frustrated by the lack of introspection and trust.

This portrayal of distinct but similar masks on an inferred core extends to several of the other twinned characters in the novel, giving a stronger and more nuanced insight into the two cultures by evidence of their effect on different people.

However, by displaying that the persona of a character in one world might not reflect their plans in the other, Morin also undermines the reader’s certainty that a twinned character seen from the perspective of only one world is as they seem. Combined with open collaboration from some characters, this makes each time Madlin trusts someone in Tellurak take on the undertone of possible betrayal, adding a resonance of conspiracy that reduces the reader’s distance.

Although the shared worlds and the characters who exist in both are at the heart of this book, Morin does not skimp on the single-world narratives. Those confined to one world face problems of equal scale and complexity, and are rendered with equal depth; and those who can switch between worlds, find neither life merely an obstacle to or tool for their goals in the other.

Overall, I really liked this novel. I recommend it to readers seeking a solid steampunk adventure with complex dilemmas.

About The Reviewer

Dave_Higgins

Dave Higgins writes speculative fiction, often with a dark edge. Despite forays into the mundane worlds of law and IT, he was unable to escape the liminal zone between mystery and horror. A creature of contradictions, he also co-writes comic sci-fi with Simon Cantan.

Born in the least mystically significant part of Wiltshire, England, and raised by a librarian, he started reading shortly after birth and hasn’t stopped since. He lives with his wife, two cats, a plush altar to Lord Cthulhu, and many shelves of books.

It’s rumoured he writes out of fear he will otherwise run out of books to read.

Learn more about Dave and his work at http://davidjhiggins.wordpress.com/

A Facet For The Gem

Facet_GemWhat happens when evocative writing and compelling storytelling collide and fuse together? You get a powerhouse novel like C.L. Murray’s A Facet For The Gem, a tale unfolding in a generously described and developed world.

We enter this world through Morlen’s viewpoint. We find him struggling to make his way among people who have rejected him, living in a land in the midst of unrest and on the verge of far worst. An outcast, Morlen will gradually uncover his true identity and discover how his nascent yet to be unveiled power may provide the key to arrest the dark forces threatening to overpower two kingdoms.

Before I go on, I will note the things that bothered me, namely point of view hopping and frequent, somewhat lengthy backstory exposition through dialog. As most readers won’t notice these nits (or indeed, might expect them in this genre), and given how the writer’s fluid style glides right over these imperfections, I will move on to say there’s much to commend in this story.

First and foremost, the narrative comes through with a strong, often lyrical voice. I must confess it took me a chapter or so to fully accept and immerse myself in phrasing that seems more appropriate for a book written in the 1800s. Yet, it fits here. It not only fits, but it wraps, drenches, and infuses the narrative with an ethos and mood that firmly establishes it as other-worldly. It also comes through in dialog without sounding ponderous and wooden—quite the unusual achievement.

As for the story itself, the characters and their struggles flow with and support the plot. The author does a good job of presenting us with an array of characters with diverging, yet intersecting interests and conflicts. The ongoing and roiling struggle for power and dominance in the midst of war frames the protagonist’s journey to discover both his place and power. Adding deep and rich backstory to the present, the author also builds the tale on a strong foundation.

Often, fantasy stories feel shallow, all about the, well, fantastical events unfolding now. But not here, where a well-grounded and developed past feeds the present and is, for the most part (minus the dialog exposition) laid out well and without ponderous encumbrance.

Yet, in the area of characterization, I must offer one regret: “where are the women?” I asked more than once. But for one minor character, and one promising character who at the fifty percent mark is more or less relegated to a background role (she literally flies away after we’ve just met her), Facet gives us a too heavily male-dominated world.

Eventually, this regret turns to relief, then excitement, when that princess returns to the foreground with a forcefulness and strength of will that lifts the story to new heights of conflict and renewal. If a tiny bit of the regret remains, it only does so to wish we had met her far sooner.

In terms of plotting and story advancement, I never felt the story drag. Events pressed forward at a good clip, intensifying the swirling conflict of a war-torn world. Those battle scenes leading to the climax come fast and vivid, thanks to the author’s descriptive powers.

Though I am glad–very much so–that I gave Facet a try, I usually stay away from fantasy stories. I often find myself struggling to find something fresh, a story that doesn’t feel like rehash or warmed up leftovers from a thousand stories before it.

If I chose to ignore other aspects of the story, I suppose I might be tempted to say the same about Facet. There are magical swords, power-dispensing talismans, flying eagles, fiendish beasts, the super dark villain, space-transcending portals, and other tropes one has come to expect in a fantasy romp. And yes, in the end, we encounter the romantic entanglement that should have perhaps bloomed or suggested itself sooner to more fully satisfy.

It is on that basis (plus those nits) that I do not give this novel the full 5 star treatment, even though in the end I recommend it as a story fantasy fans will thoroughly enjoy. And if you want writing that soars and inspires, prose that chooses every word with care and driving determination, you would do well to pick up this book and fly on eagles’ wings into a world the author has thoughtfully crafted for us.

About The Reviewer

Eduardo_SuasteguiIt took Eduardo Suastegui a while to discover he was an artist trapped in an engineer’s body. With formal education in math and science, affirmed through hands-on engineering experience in designing, building, and integrating gadgets of varying complexity, he always kept daydreaming. Throughout his life, that daydreaming fed technological innovation.

More recently, that daydreaming has engendered stories about hackers, rogue AIs, and space travel, with more than a few stories about a dog trainer and her K9s sprinkled in. Eduardo loves to dive into fast-flowing, character-driven stories. With each of the books he reads or writes, he hopes to continue that adventure.

More than anything, through his writing, he hopes to connect with readers. He seeks to share a piece of himself with those who pick up and delve into his work.

Learn more about Eduardo and his work at http://eduardosuastegui.com/

Searching For Summer

searching_summerSearching for Summer by Christine Campbell is a heart-tugging story of a mother (Mirabelle) searching for her daughter (Summer) who has gone missing in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Campbell did a wonderful job with the emotions of the whole experience and had me hoping for the best for her characters throughout as I read. Mirabelle was very real to me, especially, and I expect to enjoy her character in later novels of The Reluctant Detective series.

As an American reader, I also really enjoyed the sneak peek into police procedure and how people talk in another place. Makes me want to visit Edinburgh again and see the sites for myself. While Searching for Summer is a missing person’s mystery, it’s also a women’s fiction novel, focused on Mirabelle’s internal journey to understand the relationships in her life (with her daughter, long-lost father, and boyfriend) as well as her external journey to find her missing daughter.

About The Reviewer:

BRYANT-CroppedSamantha Bryant is a middle school Spanish teacher by day and a mom and novelist by night. That makes her a superhero all the time. Her debut novel, Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel is now for sale by Curiosity Quills.

Learn more about Samantha and her work at http://samanthadunawaybryant.blogspot.com/

Greylock

greylockGreylock exposes the deep currents of the human compulsion for success – Bold characters with the loftiest of dreams.
The story’s unique horror style, explores the deep currents of human emotion and compulsion. Like in a Grimm tale, basic life lessons are fleshed out using surprising twists. How far should one go to pursue a dream? An individual’s definition of true happiness, acceptable behavior for the good of society, is explored using classic Goth style with an added modern flair.

Paula Cappa merges old tales of Siberian witches and the other side of life’s river’s flow, with nature’s inexplicable wonders—the music of whales. Bleak settings at the fringe of nature—the eerie woods of Mount Greylock, and the frigid White Sea, keep the story’s tone of horror well defined. Bold characters, larger than life with the loftiest of dreams, lead the reader to jagged truths about humanity. The author draws the reader into the music world of Alexei, a classical modern composer, who was born into a family with generations of musical history. Old family secrets are the tip of the iceberg. Alexei must dive in deep, not only with whales to write his composition, but also deep into the story behind his most successful piece of music to date. Alexei must choose the kind of person he wants to be.

The protagonist loves Raymond Chandler’s character, Marlowe, which serves as a great correlation. The author also sprinkles in literary quotes and music, which keep the musical tone of the story floating throughout, like a refined brush stroke. The romance that develops between Alexei and Lia also sets a heated stage. Other relationships are also developed, and each character faces some sort of pivot and must choose their fate. Alexei, and his family and friends, each grow or change by the end. This is an excellent, moving story. Bravo!

About The Reviewer

elizabeth_zgutaElisabeth Zguta is an advocate for Independent authors and publishers and encourages all writers to learn the skills needed for today’s book markets and to keep in touch with the new technologies.

​She is curious ​and always wants to know more about everything, and her attention goes to many places and topics. She considers herself a life learner, not only because of the courses she takes but also from the knowledge gained through life experiences. Nothing brings her more satisfaction than reading something new that sparks her imagination or connecting with other people regarding a topic. She is an Indie Author of supernatural, thriller suspense novels and writes blog posts.

Learn more about Elisabeth and her work at http://ezindiepublishing.com/

Nefertiti’s Heart

Nefertitis_HeartNefertiti’s Heart by A.W. Exley is the first of the Artifact Hunters steampunk/romance/thriller series.

Cara Devon, a young woman with a troubled and violent history, recently returned to 1860s London to deal with the estate of her recently murdered father, a loss she does not mourn. She’s been away for years, exploring the wide world with a freedom seldom afforded proper young women, and her return has the town talking again about the scandal surrounding her.

When other young women start disappearing and turning up dead, Cara ends up in the middle of an investigation that may tie up the loose threads of her past and her future, if only she can find the artifact known as Nefertiti’s Heart.

The novel intermixes romance and thriller in a steampunk setting. Cara is a very promising character and I expect to enjoy the other novels in the series as well.

About The Reviewer:

BRYANT-CroppedSamantha Bryant is a middle school Spanish teacher by day and a mom and novelist by night. That makes her a superhero all the time. Her debut novel, Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel is now for sale by Curiosity Quills.

Learn more about Samantha and her work at http://samanthadunawaybryant.blogspot.com/

Catskinner’s Book

catskinners_bookWhen required to place this book in a genre Burnett has previously chosen science fiction and urban fantasy. It might also be categorised as supernatural fiction or horror. The opening scenes have an ambience of crime noir and spy thriller. While the book very definitely contains speculative elements, the story takes precedence over the speculation, refusing to be confined by genre.

This novel is the first in the Book of Lost Doors series. The protagonist, James Ozryck, has shared his body with an inhuman consciousness since early childhood; a consciousness he calls Catskinner. Catskinner gives him access to superhuman abilities but also kills without apparent reason or compassion. He finds work as a contract assassin but the murder of his boss reveals Catskinner is not the only unnatural being in the world, and not all of them are as content to merely exist. Before James can build himself a new future he must try to understand his past.

At the core of this novel’s strength is the characterisation. As with Byronic heroes such as Milton’s Lucifer and Hammett’s Sam Spade, James Ozryck is unashamedly not a good man, but from the first page Burnett paints him a character flawed by extreme circumstance and environment; a man worthy of our sympathy. Catskinner is similarly well handled, possessing a distinct intelligible character without sacrificing its otherness. The competing drives of the two main characters blend to produce a dynamic balance between ensuring survival and having a reason to survive.

The complexity of motivation in James/Catskinner continues into the other characters. While characters might be of a particular gender or sexuality they act like individuals and not stereotypes, each displaying personal goals that temporarily coincide or conflict with others. However Burnett does not fall into the trap of making characters defy stereotypes for the sake of it; beyond the nuanced interaction of the key characters are many background interactions which realistically portray the hollow biases that power our stereotypes.

A similar depth is evident in the cosmology. The reader is slowly exposed to more of the magic concealed within every day society, each piece building on others and providing new possibilities for previous events until the disparate pieces fit together to not only show they are all aspects of one whole but also ignite speculation about how it might explain anomalies in the real world.

The book is written entirely from the perspective of James, which portrays very well his search for answers and frustration when he does not find them; however this identification with James can instil the same drive and the same frustration in the reader. As the book is well paced, and Burnett does not withhold information merely to extend the story, this frustration is quickly eased, but this is not a book for readers who do not enjoy the satisfaction of a hard-won explanation.

This is one of the best books I have read this year. The fusion of an engaging plot with a complex world make it enjoyable both as a thrilling adventure and a metaphysical exploration. I recommend it to anyone who does not limit themselves to strict realism.

About The Reviewer

Dave_Higgins

Dave Higgins writes speculative fiction, often with a dark edge. Despite forays into the mundane worlds of law and IT, he was unable to escape the liminal zone between mystery and horror. A creature of contradictions, he also co-writes comic sci-fi with Simon Cantan.

Born in the least mystically significant part of Wiltshire, England, and raised by a librarian, he started reading shortly after birth and hasn’t stopped since. He lives with his wife, two cats, a plush altar to Lord Cthulhu, and many shelves of books.

It’s rumoured he writes out of fear he will otherwise run out of books to read.

Learn more about Dave and his work at http://davidjhiggins.wordpress.com/

Missing Assumed Dead

Missing-Assumed-DeadKameron McBride reluctantly heads out to a far-flung part of Oregon to settle estate affairs for a distant relative. She learns he has been missing for quite some time and is now assumed dead. Hey, that sounds like a great title, doesn’t it? Something like, Missing, Assumed Dead, perhaps…

Without the benefit of a death certificate, much less a body, Kameron will soon suspect that her relative succumbed to foul play. Of what sort and for what reason? Well, that’s what the story is about. Suffice it to say that people in high places have staged a small town cover up that Kameron will have to unravel. The mystery elements in the story develop alongside a romance with Deputy Mitch Caldwell and an ongoing relationship with a deceased woman, who keeps appearing at opportune times to render warning of impending events. Holding mystery, romance and the supernatural in balance is no small undertaking, and the author must at a minimum receive commendation for telling a coherent story that carries that triad.

Marva Dasef keeps the pace peppy and moving. Information gathering, procedural style, with conversations, sometimes in the form of a couple of pages of flashback, is rendered well and succinctly. At times, especially at the end I would have preferred a more action-based approach, but it never bores, and so I must set my preference aside.

Just as crucial, Dasef’s characterization feels solid. Even minor characters come across as more than veneer caricatures, a flaw all too common in these types of stories. They speak to us with realistic regional dialects that are never overwhelming and often charming. Above all, they behave in ways that also strike us as real and never shoe-horned. On that basis alone, this story rises above average.

Dasef also incorporates a significant romance element. Before I say more, I must first stipulate to being neither an expert nor a fan of that particular genre. Having said that, the romance felt rushed and at times abrupt. At times I asked myself if such a quick connection between strangers—especially in light of the danger and crisis around them—would be realistic, or if more of a buildup would have yielded a more satisfying relationship development. On that front I must raise my hands and say, “well, different people might behave differently,” and move on. And so I did.

In the end, well, the ending didn’t satisfy this reader enough. It struck me as too straightforward, almost too convenient, with little of the surprise, twist element we’ve come to expect in this genre. Perhaps “the case” itself lacked sufficient complexity to bring about a more satisfying conclusion. If I had to put my finger on it, I would indeed press it there. Were it not for the above-mentioned characterization, this would have disappointed more than it did. Yet, in the sum total of the story, I didn’t go away saying “Wow!” but I did appreciate the skill with which the author kept me going where many others would have failed to manage the feat.

Overall, I recommend this as a worthy read. No doubt those more in tune with the crime-romance genre will enjoy it even more than I did.

About The Reviewer

Eduardo_SuasteguiIt took Eduardo Suastegui a while to discover he was an artist trapped in an engineer’s body. With formal education in math and science, affirmed through hands-on engineering experience in designing, building, and integrating gadgets of varying complexity, he always kept daydreaming. Throughout his life, that daydreaming fed technological innovation.

More recently, that daydreaming has engendered stories about hackers, rogue AIs, and space travel, with more than a few stories about a dog trainer and her K9s sprinkled in. Eduardo loves to dive into fast-flowing, character-driven stories. With each of the books he reads or writes, he hopes to continue that adventure.

More than anything, through his writing, he hopes to connect with readers. He seeks to share a piece of himself with those who pick up and delve into his work.

Learn more about Eduardo and his work at http://eduardosuastegui.com/