Category Archives: Fantasy

books, Fantasy, Ghost Story, Reviews, Urban fantasy, YA

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co 1) by Jonathan Stroud

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Stars: 5 out of 5.

I watched the Netflix series based on these books and liked them, so I decided to check out the original works as well. Especially since there was a lot less backstory and worldbuilding in the tv series then I would have liked. Well, I’m glad I picked up the books, even if they are technically YA. This is quality storytelling, and I loved every minute of it.

I also noticed that while the tv series follow the first book almost word for word when it comes to the events that happen, they are a lot less effective at describing the character motivations. I honestly thought that Lockwood was a pretentious ass when I watched the series. And an ass who constantly puts others in danger to boot. Well, I’m glad to say that he isn’t like that in the books. Reckless, yes. Excitable – definitely. But also brilliant, smart, and with nerves of steel. I actually liked his character in the book while in the tv series I found him mildly irritating at best. 

Same goes for George. The way he is and the way he behaves in the book is much more natural than how they portrayed him in the series. And I’m not against race-swapping characters, but they could have found an actor who fit George’s description a bit better. After all, the fact that he is overweight and not particularly handsome weights heavily on his character and his behavior. That’s where a lot of his insecurities come from. And that opportunity was completely lost in the tv series.

Also, is it me, or is the book a lot more scary and more… cinematic, shall we say? I mean the Red Room episode in the series just made me shrug, but when I was reading about it in the book, I literally had shivers. That whole night in the most haunted house in England was extremely well-written. And showed all the team members at their best, especially Lockwood and Lucy. The whole Annie Ward story was also better presented than in the TV series, in my opinion. 

I also loved that we get a lot more backstory on the Problem and more examples of the Visitors, as well as how everyday life is in a world where nights aren’t safe, and ghosts that the majority of the population can’t see can still seriously harm and even kill them. I would like to know more about this. I also would like to know if this Problem is only local to England or if it spread to the rest of Europe as well. It was mentioned that it had started in London and was slowly spreading into more rural parts of the country over the last fifty years, so maybe it hasn’t made it across the Channel just yet. 

I’m sure I will get answers to at least some of my questions if I continue with the series, which I most certainly will!

books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews, YA

One Dark Window (The Shepherd King 1) by Rachel Gillig

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Stars: 5 out of 5

This book is dark and poetic, cruel and poignant, horrifying and fascinating. I loved every page of it, which is rare for a YA book. So I would say this is a YA book done right. No over emphasis on “feelings” and love triangles, but just good old-fashioned storytelling at its best. 

The world in this book is fascinating – it’s dark and unforgiving, but has a strange poetic beauty to it as well. This is a single kingdom that is cut out from the rest of the world by a wall of mists that turn anyone who wanders into their midst without a charm insane. And they also slowly choke the land, advancing closer and closer to human habitations, killing the crops and blocking out the sun. Oh, and some citizens get the fever and acquire magical abilities, which in this kingdom is a certain death sentence not only for the infected, but for their family as well, if they hide them from the King’s justice.

Oh, and magic in this world has a price. Any sort of magic, even the Providence Cards, exact a bloody price from the user. Nothing is free, and the reckoning always comes. I loved that! I’ve read too many books were magic is seemingly effortless and free for the caster, as if creating something out of nothing is a perfectly normal occurrence. Having magic exact a price is a refreshing change. That way there is a balance – a magic user can do terrible things in this world, but the price to pay would be just as terrible.

I also really liked the characters, especially Elspeth. All her actions and reactions made sense. She wasn’t the Chosen one, or a special snowflake. She was real and very human, and very very flawed. And she was lost and battling her own personal Nightmare, a loosing battle, I must say. I also liked how she slowly changed in this book from only caring about staying safe and hidden to actually embracing a dangerous cause. Yes, she’d done it at first because she wanted to be cured of her affliction, but by the end of the book she gives in to the Nightmare, fully knowing that she would be lost, for the hope that by her actions she can save others.

The writing is also very engaging. It’s rather poetic at times. I found myself repeating some sentences out loud just because they had a certain hypnotic rhythm to them. I think this adds to the slightly surreal and dreamlike impression that this book gives. A kingdom shrouded by mists where monsters dwell. And sometimes monsters wear human clothing…

I would say that my only complaint is that I didn’t like Elspeth’s love interest as much as any other characters. Ravyn isn’t bad per se… He is just blah. Dark and brooding with a hidden heart of gold – we’ve seen that done a hundred times over. He gets lost in the background any time Elm or Emory or even Ione are in the scene. And honestly, Elspeth had a lot more chemistry with all of them instead of Ravyn. 

Other than that, I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, because there are a lot of unanswered questions left in the story and some rather unpleasant revelations. I also want to know what happened to the Shepherd King to turn him into the monster he became. Oh, and the events at the end of the book 1 definitely need an answer. It’s not a cliffhanger, by any means, it’s just not a happy ending you would expect from YA. Then again, this is not a world that thrives on happy endings.

PS: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Fantasy, Reviews, Urban fantasy

A Murder of Crones (London Bones 2) by S.W. Fairbrother

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Stars: 5 out of 5

I am loving this series so far! The world is so unique and well-integrated. I mean, I can “see” something like that really evolving if supernaturals lived alongside us. 

The first book introduced the world and our protagonist and had her solve a murder mystery involving one of her co-workers. This book goes a lot more personal. It dives deep into Vivia’s childhood, and I can tell you that’s stuff nightmares are made of. We finally discover where the hags came from, who her mother was, and why her sister had to die. 

Since the story is more personal, it had more impact, at least on me, because I happen to like Vive as a protagonist. She tries really hard NOT to be like her mother. And seeing how Desma behaved with her daughters (and everyone else that wasn’t Desma for that matter), I can understand why. Had her family been fully human, child protective services would have taken the two girls away immediately and charged Desma with aggravated child abuse. But as it stands, nobody cares what happens to some supernatural kids. It’s a reminder of what often happens to children who aren’t part of the main demographic in our world right now, sadly.

I found Vive even more relatable in this book than in the first one. She is faced with impossible odds – trying to solve a decades old murder before her time runs out, and trying to undo the hex that is killing her sister… again. And to accomplish either of those things, she is forced to dig through her often painful past. Also, the revelation about the origins of the hags are rather heartbreaking. It’s horrible to discover that you were just a means to an end, that you were never loved by the person who created you.

And while I’m glad that this situation was resolved in a (sort of) happy ending, it seems to me that Vivia lost more than she gained in the end. She lost her mother, she all but lost her sister, and she lost her youth. Yes, she gained freedom, but that seems like a very high price to pay for that, especially since she was paying for the sins of her parents. Literally, as it turns out. 

I will be interested to see where the series goes in its final book. Now that Vive finally paid all the karmic debts her family had accumulated over the millennia, I would like to see her build a life for herself that is not dependent on her mother’s teachings and abuse. I want to see her happy and accomplished in what she does.

books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews

Equinox by David Towsey

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Stars: 3 out of 5

There is a fascinating premise in this book. What if all humans have two souls inhabiting one body? One has the reigns during the day, the other one during the night? And those are completely different people. They have different names and personalities. They want different things in life. They have different professions. Heck, most of them are even married to different people either night or day. Or married at night but single during the day. Or the night-brother had committed a crime and stays in prison during the night, but their day-brother is released to live their life every morning because it’s not fair to punish both souls for the mistakes of just one. 

Some people are lucky enough to live harmoniously with their night or day sibling. Some even hold the same profession on both sides of the ettienne. Others are not so lucky. In fact, it seems like a horrible way to live, if you think about it. You wake up every morning/night next to a stranger that your day/night sibling is married to. How awkward is that? It also seems like one sibling will be more dominant over the other.

Like in the case of our protagonist. The night brother is a special inspector, so his job takes precedence over his day brother who is a musician. When the inspector has to leave town on an investigation, the day brother has no choice but to follow, no matter how inconvenient that is for his professional and personal life. 

I would have loved to explore this fascinating world a bit more. Like what happens to the children of those married couples? If the night sister is the mother of the children, but the day sister is unmarried and leads a completely different life, who takes care of the children during the day? Especially when they are babies? Does the day sister have a choice in the matter or is she forced to care for them no matter what? Wouldn’t that create resentment between the siblings? Wouldn’t the children suffer because of that?

The mystery itself is rather complex and progresses at a very leisury pace. In fact almost half the book is setup, and even though the story picks up in the second half, it can still be a slog. There are also some leaps of logic that I found hard to follow. And some plot holes that were rather glaring. Like we are expressly told that the father packed up his family and left town after his wife was arrested. Yet, both the oldest and the youngest children are conveniently present to be sacrificed for the ritual. How did that happen? Also, where is the middle sister and the father? Also, this horrible murder of children isn’t even mentioned or addressed in any way afterwards. And the mother doesn’t express a single ounce of grief or regret over it. And that is the night-sister that gave birth and raised those children. 

All in all, it was interesting mostly for the unique concept and worldbuilding, but I wasn’t totally onboard for the story itself. And while I liked both Christophor and Alexander, I wasn’t as thrilled with the other characters in this book. And I would have loved a few more answers to the day-to-day conundrum that having two souls in one body represents, because from where I stand, this is the definition of hell.

PS: I received a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Fantasy, Reviews, YA

Seraphina (Seraphina 1) by Rachel Hartman

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Stars: 5 out of 5

This book has been languishing on my TBR list since 2013, and I’m glad I joined the Cleaning out your TBR list this year, because I have read some amazing books that I had added on my list way back when, and never got around to reading. Seraphina is one such book.

I don’t usually read YA or romance. I used to love these genders when I was younger, but I grew tired of the tropes, and some typical plot lines in these book usually drive me up the wall, like the inevitable love triangle or a too dumb to live heroine who nevertheless is a special snowflake. 

I am glad to say that none of these tropes are present in Seraphina. This is a very well-written story with an interesting world, fleshed out characters, and a clever plot. This doesn’t read like YA. No, scratch that. This reads like what good YA should be.

I loved Seraphina as a character. She is smart and headstrong, but also vulnerable. She has unresolved issues and a deep sense of worthlessness. I am glad that her journey in this book is of self-discovery, but more importantly of discovering her own worth. She goes from someone who tries to be as ordinary and unnoticeable as possible, to someone who can perform in front of a ballroom full of people and not flinch from the limelight. She goes from hating herself for being half-dragon, to embracing her heritage and feeling a sense of pride. 

I also love that by the end of the book, she finally accepts the other grotesques as part of her tribe, instead of just figments of her imagination that she had to hide in her mental garden. I could feel her joy when she met Lans and Abdo, and even Dame Okra. When she finally allowed herself to feel like she was part of a family.

The central theme of this book is self-discovery and evolution, I think. Selda and Kriggs grow up tremendously through this book as well, and a lot of it is thanks to Seraphina. Even Orma finally makes the decision not to hide his feelings anymore or feel ashamed of his family. Everybody learns and evolves through the events of this book and comes out better at the end of it. Or at least, with a better sense of what their purpose in life is. 

And even though this book leaves our heroes with a lot of uncertainty – a war with dragons looming on the horizon, the Queen’s health in jeopardy, a shaky alliance with other human kingdoms, it also leaves us with a sense of renewed hope. The status quo of the last 40 years has been broken, but hopefully something better will emerge out of it in the end. I also hope that Seraphina will find her place in this world and her worth.

I am excited to see where the story goes from here, so I have already purchased the second book in the series.

books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews

The Well of Ascension (The Mistborn Saga 2) by Brandon Sanderson

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Stars: 5 out of 5

This book is a big step up from the first book in the series, at least in my opinion. The story is top notch, the stakes are higher than ever, and there is substantial character development. In short, everything I like in my books. 

We had left Vin and Kelsier’s old crew in charge of the city of Luthadel, the capital of the Final Empire, right after Vin killed the Lord Ruler, thus ending over a thousand years of tyranny. It was a happy ending, of sorts, with the big bad deposited, and our heroes triumphant… minus Kelsier that is, and yes, I’m still salty about that one.

In this book, we deal with the aftermath. What happens after the revolution? After the dead are buried, the victory is celebrated, and people need to decided how to keep on living. There is a city to run, mouths to feed, order to be maintained… all of that while the rest of the Final Empire dissolves into bloody wars as nobles everywhere fight for power and a chance to declare themselves king of a small domain. Which means less people to work the fields and harvest food. And winter is coming. Now, there are three armies at the gates of Luthadel, the Assembly inside the city doesn’t accept Elend’s authority… oh, and the mists linger longer and longer after sunrise, and they started killing people.

I loved that the author put all of his characters through the wringer in this book. Vin, Elend, Sazed, and everyone else had some hard decisions to make, that came with great losses and responsibilities, and, yes, guilt they had to live with afterwards.

And because of that character growth, the relationship between Vin and Elend feels a lot more grounded. It’s not teenage inta-love anymore. They are allies, they trust each other, they are one another’s port in a storm and a strong shoulder to rely on when things get tough. This realization comes a bit later in the book for Vin, because she was still operating under the impression that she had to protect poor weak Elend, being a Mistborn and all. I love that she comes to realize that there are different kinds of strengths, and not having Allomantic powers doesn’t make a person weak or useless. I was on board and fully invested in their relationship in this book while it was mostly eye-rolling in the first one.

Sazed also had some major obstacles to overcome in this book, and I’m not sure where this left him. Damaged, certainly. Disillusioned, most definitely. Heartbroken. I think it was a hard realization for someone who spent his life preserving lore and memories, to discover that none of the religions he remembers could help him at the moment he needed it the most. Or that the greatest prophecy of his people, the one that brought about the Final Empire, was a lie. Something perverted by a greater evil.

I also loved how the stakes kept getting higher and higher in this book. It starts with a besieged city, which is already a desperate situation. But it ends with a much bigger catastrophe and even the annihilation of a whole caste of people, if Terris has truly been sacked by the Steel Inquisitors.

Our heroes fought against a tyrant, but in doing so, they brought something much worse into the world. The question is, what are they going to do about it now? I can’t wait to start book three and find out.

PS: This book had been languishing on my TBR list since 2014. I’m glad I finally got a chance to read it.

books, Fantasy, Reviews, Urban fantasy

A Matter of Death and Life (Gideon Sable 2) by Simon R Green

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Stars: 3 out of 5

You have to put a specific lens to enjoy this series. If you are looking for an intricate story with life and death situations and complex characters, this is probably not a book for you. But if you are looking for a quick and fun romp through a seemingly impossible heist, then by all means, come right in. 

I like the world this author created. It’s full of weird and unusual things, places, and people. Just take the Moonlight Express, for example, what a wonderful concept. And all the weird and terrible characters we encounter in these books are simply fascinating. Some of them are even more interesting than the main crew doing the heist.

And hence lies my issue with this book. The main crew is… okay, I guess, but they don’t really evolve much compared to the first book, with the exception of Lex. Annie is still anybody but herself, Johnny is still on tedious terms with reality, and Gideon… well, Gideon always has a plan. Problem is, we don’t learn much more about who Gideon is, or, more importantly, who he was before he stole that identity. There is  mention of the fact that he used to run with Switch it Sally before, and that the big bad in this book had two of his friends killed. But that’s it, we don’t get more details. We don’t get any more insight into this character other than he has a few tricks in his pockets and always has a plan.

I would have loved to learn a bit more about him as the series progresses, but as it stands, he is the character that has the least personality in this crew. I see the mask he’d donned, but I don’t see the real person behind it, which is disappointing.

The pacing is also a bit off in this book, even though it moves rather quickly. What I mean by that is that we spend too much time assembling the team. I mean we don’t get to Las Vegas and start the con until almost 70% into the book, so this whole portion feels very rushed. It’s a whirlwind of action that introduces all the villains, sets up the stakes, executes the con, etc. There is never a real sense of danger or realization that the stakes are high. Plus, Gideon always has a plan.

In fact, this book follows exactly the same blueprint as the first book did, but it worked in the first book because we were being introduced to all the characters for the first time. Here however, we already know them, so there was really no need to putter around for over half the book. I would have been more happy if they had gotten to Vegas earlier and infiltrated the casino gradually.

But all in all, this was a quick and fun read. A good palate cleanser between longer books that have more substance to them. So I think I will check out the next book in the series as well.

PS: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews

The Bladed Faith (The Vagrant Gods 1) by David Dalglish

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Stars: 2 out of 5

DNF at 45%.

There are the makings of a good book in there, that’s why I am not giving it a one star review, but the execution was sorely lacking, at least for my taste.

First of all, it drags. Even the battles move slowly and the narrative parts between them are never-ending. We get a long training montage at the beginning of the book that was interesting for the first 10 pages, but rapidly lost my goodwill after it dragged and dragged. 

I think the reason for that is because even though the characters acquire new skills and evolve physically, they never grow mentally. I found that the character development is next to null in this book. I never got to bond with the characters because I was never allowed in their heads. What drives them? 

Why does Cyrus decide to endure this harsh training? Just because he was told that he could become the avenger of his people? He didn’t strike me as someone that selfless and patriotic at the beginning of the book. I would understand this better is I was privy to his inner thoughts and doubts instead of just his relentless training. 

Same goes for all the other characters. They are kind of there and going through the motions, but I can’t picture them in my head. They are not “alive” to me. I am a character-driven reader, I don’t do well with books that lack those. I can forgive a lot of flaws and plot-holes as long as I’m invested in the characters. Here, I wasn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some interesting ideas in this book. The whole idea of the origin of divinity is one I would have loved to know more about. This is one of the reasons I kept reading for as long as I did. But then I caught myself skipping pages upon pages and stopping just to read the major plot points. That’s when I knew that it was time to abandon ship. 

PS: I received an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Fantasy, Reviews, Urban fantasy

A Plain-Dealing Villain (Daniel Faust 4) by Craig Schaefer

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Stars: 4 out of  5.

I think this series is getting better with each new book, which is an exciting occurrence. I’ve seen too many series putter out after the first few books because the author didn’t plan the overarching arc well enough or just ran out of ideas, but has contracted to write more books. I’m glad to say that it’s not the case here. It really feels like there is a solid plan behind these books and things that seemed unimportant or barely mentioned in previous books suddenly come to play in the next books. I like it when I can trust the author to take me for a wild ride and not loose sight of the destination.

My only compliant here is that it starts a bit slow, with an aborted robbery and way too much time being interrogated/shadowed by Harmony Black in the beginning of the book. Once Faust arrives in Chicago and the action picks up, the book become a lot more interesting. 

What I have noticed is that I only truly get invested in these books when the gang is all together. Daniel Faust by himself tends to charge in without thinking, make a complete mess of the situation, then try to fix what he broke in the first place. Like Pixie told him in this book, you never fix anything, you just try to mitigate the damage. The true magic happens when Cormy and Mama Margaux and Pixie and even Caitlin are there to help him. That’s when the cons come to life, that’s when the books become an adrenaline-packed ride. And it’s a true joy to watch them work together, help each other, trust each other and pull of seemingly impossible things. 

I am also glad that the insta-love between Faust and Caitlin is finally qustioned in this book. I’ve been saying since book one that this felt unnatural to me, and it seems that I’m right. I hope this gets further development in future books, because this is the definition of a toxic relationship – when one of the participants is basically manipulated into feeling what he does. I don’t care about justifications or that Caitlin loves him too now, this relationship started with a lie. This at least needs to be addressed between them if there is any future in this.

There are some interesting new plotlines to explore in future books, like the looming hostile takeover of Las Vegas by the Chicago Outfit, which would definitely be a bloody affair. And of course this new shadowy figure pulling the ropes behind the latest heist. Who is he and what is his end goal? What kind of ritual are his minions preparing for? And how will Daniel clear his name from the murder he’s been framed for, and will he do it in time to help his friends?

I am definitely picking up the next book in the series.

books, Fantasy, Horror, Reviews, Urban fantasy

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

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Stars: 5 out of 5

I am continuing my dive into my TBR list. This book was languishing on my list since 2014, and I’m really not sure why I didn’t read it sooner. I even had the ebook on my Kindle and all that… Anyway, I finally got to it and I’m happy that I did.

Neil Gaiman is an absolute master at writing books about children that are interesting for both children and adults. I loved his Coraline and the Graveyard book. They were engrossing and at times horrifying, but also very genuine. Same happened with this book. 

The author has a rare gift of capturing the magic of childhood without turning it into something extraordinary. In fact, the very ordinary way he describes some rather extraordinary (and often terrifying) things that happen to his characters is what makes his books so impactful. This books brings me back to my childhood, when the world was new and I didn’t know the rules, so even most ordinary places could be magical doorways to other world. A tree in the backyard could be a castle and the pond at the end of the lane could be an ocean.

Children see a lot more then adults do, because they haven’t accepted the norms society and adulthood imposes on them yet, and adults readers should be reminded that there still wonders in this world that science and technology cannot explain. And that those wonders aren’t good or evil, they just are. They behave in accordance to their nature, and they don’t particularly care about human norms and rules, so interacting with them is always a gamble.

I loved that our protagonist is just a little boy who loves to read and is more comfortable in his own imaginary world with his books than with other children. He isn’t a genius. He isn’t the chosen one. He is just a kid who stumbles into something extraordinary and tries to cope with it the best he can. He isn’t particularly brave or strong, but he has enough courage to stand up for himself and say it when the situation doesn’t feel right. And standing up to an adult, especially if that adult is your parent, is the most terrifying thing in the world when you are a child. Most of us forget that when we grow up. 

That’s why the most terrifying experience in this whole story wasn’t even Ursula or the hunger birds. It was the fact that his father tried to drown him in the bathtub. Whether he was enthralled by Ursula or she’d just played on his baser instincts doesn’t matter. When the person who is supposed to protect and support you tries to kill you, it shatters something inside of you. I’m glad the Hempstock snipped that night out of his memories.

All in all, this is a wonderful story about the fact that the extraordinary lives next door to us, you just have to look carefully for it. Question is, do you really want to venture down that lane?