Tag Archives: 5 stars

books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews

House of Open Wounds (The Tyrant Philosophers 2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Stars: 5 out of 5

I never knew that I needed M.A.S.H. in a fantasy setting before I read this book. It’s much better than the first book in the series.

One of the complaints I had with the City of Last Chances was the sheer amount of POVs we had to follow and how much they diluted the story. A lot of things were happening to a lot of people in different parts of the city, and it didn’t come together into one big picture until the very end. So the story felt disjointed and meandering at times.

In House of Open Wounds, the author chose to concentrate on the bloody day-to-day activities of a field hospital, so all the POVs are concentrated in or around the Butcher’s domain. This gives the story a lot more focus as well as lets the reader truly get to know and care for the characters. I grew to love them and hope for a happy ending for them, even if their prospects were bleak – they were magic users and priests of old gods in the middle of a Palleseen army, after all.

The only character to carry over from the first book is Yasnic, one-time priest of a healing god, and now self-appointed god-smuggler. However, even he underwent a subtle transformation in this book, where he goes by Maric Jack instead of Yasnic. I like him a lot better in this story than in the first one, because he seems to have a lot more agency. He is less whiny, and he shows depths of compassion that he wasn’t capable of in the first book. And he becomes, almost despite himself, the catalyst to all the events that happen in the book.

The other members of the Butcher’s menagerie are just as strange and broken, but also very endearing. I loved the two elderly priests of formerly rival gods who discovered that even though their religions had been eradicated, they still had each other. Or the long-lost heir to a kingdom who lived his whole life as an orderly… Heck, I loved all of them, even the very Palleseen necromancer who is unwillingly in charge of the whole experimental hospital.

The daily life in the Butcher’s domain is brutal and bloody, and even though we don’t get to see the war directly, we get more than enough of it in the wounds the hospital has to treat and the horrors that become their everyday routine.

I also really liked how this ended. That was such an elegant solution that used Yasnic’s God’s powers and loopholes and still managed to bring a little bit of justice into this brutal and unjust war.

PS: My thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.

books, Horror, Native American, Reviews

Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina

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Stars: 5 out of 5

This was a hard book to read, not only because it is a horror novel, but also because of the dark themes it covers. But it is also a darn good book.

As a first-generation immigrant, I don’t know a lot about the different Native American nations and their cultures, so this book was a fascinating window into that world. And I would have loved it for that little glimpse of a different culture alone, but it accomplishes so much more.

Yes, it’s a horror story, but strangely enough, even though there is a supernatural element behind all the deaths and horrifying things happening on the reservation, it’s not the main focus of this book.

The main horror is the bleakness of the lives of everyone on the reservation. The author manages to paint an oppressive picture with just a few words – the oppressive heat and humidity, the rundown trailer homes parked on overgrown lots, dirt roads with no street signs on them, and the lack of hope in everyone who lives there. The children are the only ones who are still smiling; everyone else has been beaten down by life into resigned apathy, fueled by drugs and alcohol. No prospects, no way out, no future… My skin is crawling just remembering this.

As far as the story itself goes, it’s broken into two narratives – the present-day story where Noemi is trying to understand why her boyfriend seemingly jumped in front of a car and died, and the past story when her uncle Louie faced something horrifying and won.

I admit that I was a lot more involved in Louie’s story than Noemi’s. The reason for that is that there is a progression and resolution to his story. He witnesses some horrible events, but he discovers what caused it and he defeats the evil spirit (at least within himself). Yes, it leaves him scared both physically and mentally, and he decides to run away from those memories, but at least his story has a conclusion. With Noemi, we still don’t know whether it was an accident or if her boyfriend had killed himself. Plus, I wasn’t as invested in her story, to tell the truth.

All in all, this was a wonderfully creepy story about human desperation and the darkness that lurks within all of us. About balance and what happens when we disrupt it. And about hard choices. I will definitely read other books by this author.

books, Reviews, science fiction, Space opera

The Tangled Stars by Edward Willett

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Stars: 5 out of 5

That was a delightfully entertaining story! I haven’t read anything else by this author before, but seeing how much I liked this book, I’m inclined to check his other works as well.

This is part heist, part mad adventure in space, part exploration story. It’s fast-paced and full of twists and turns, and it keeps you engaged throughout. 

I think the biggest draw, at least for me, was the characters. I love good character-driven stories, so this was right up my alley. You can’t help but like Coop. Yes, he is a crook and a conman, but he had this earnestness about him that just makes him so endearing. Laysa is also a great character with her own motives for joining this mad capper. And she and Coop play really well off each other. I could truly believe that they used to be partners in crime and lovers before. There is this easy understanding they have when push comes to shove, and the situation goes sideways.

As far as villains go, Galioto is on the heinous side of the spectrum. A little overboard at times. Though his motivation for pursuing Coop to the edge of the solar system and beyond is well laid out and makes sense. He is a megalomaniac who wants more money and control when this adventure starts, and is forced to see it through because his empire is in shambles and he has no other choice but succeed in the end. You could argue that his undoing is entirely of his own making, though. If he hadn’t gambled everything to pursue Coop and his mad bid to steal the only MASTT-equipped ship in the system, he wouldn’t have been betrayed and sidelined from his own criminal empire. So he is getting exactly what he deserves in the end. 

But the best character in this story by far is Thibauld, the AI-uplifted cat. Where can I get one of those? He cracked me up with his Star Wars and Star Trek references that nobody else in this century understood. His relationship with Coop is hilarious at times. The whole idea of AIs going rogue and what that would spell for humanity is also very well done. 

And I loved how all of their plans would inevitably go awry, almost from the get-go, and they would have to scramble and pivot. Fast thinking and smooth talking (and a little bit of coercion at times) got them out of the frying pan and into the fire on more than one occasion.

The ending hints at the possibility of a sequel, but it doesn’t look like it’s been written yet. I really hope that the author comes back to this world in the future.

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

books, Ghost Story, Horror, Reviews

Long Past Midnight by Jonathan Maberry

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Stars: 5 out of 5

I am not familiar with the Pine Deep trilogy, but I have read the first Joe Ledger book by this author. Nevertheless, I had no problems following the stories in this anthology, because the author does an excellent job with setup and gives the reader just enough information about past events to not be lost and get invested in the story.  In fact, I now want to go back and read the Pine Deep books, because I want to know more about Crow and Val, and Mike.

And that’s the biggest draw of this book – the characters. The author has this rare talent to make you care about the characters in just a few words and brief descriptions. I didn’t know anything about this world when I went into the book, but you can be sure that I was invested from the very first story. Also, Sam, the aging werewolf, is a grumpy sweetheart, and I want to read more about him as well. His story about the lonely ghost who was trying to help people who lived in her house but scared them instead was one of my favorites in this anthology.

All of the stories are pretty darn good, I must admit. There isn’t a single one I read that I didn’t like. They all bring a new facet to the multilayered tapestry that is Pine Deep. 

I think what I liked the most about this anthology is that even though these are horror stories, the message they try to communicate is one of hope. Yes, horrible things happen in Pine Deep. Yes, there are literal monsters roaming the forests around it (and even the cemetery, though that one might stay quiet now that the mafia brothers came to lend a hand, and the caretaker has a shotgun and isn’t afraid to use it). But each story shows us the resilience of Pine Deep residents, and the fact that evil doesn’t always win, especially when good people are willing to fight and bleed to stop it. 

So all in all, I had a wonderful time with these stories, and finished this book feeling a lot more hopeful about humanity than when I started. It also made me want to check out the other books by this author, which is exactly what a short story anthology is supposed to do.

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

books, Fantasy, Reviews

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

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Stars: 5 out of 5

This is a wonderful fairy tale in the best tradition of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. The true and harsh tales, not the sanitized Disney versions most of the modern children grew up with.

Veris has to venture into an enchanted forest to rescue the children of the man who was responsible for her parents’ death. This already presents a huge moral dilemma for her, because she hates the Tyrant and everything he represents, but she also understands that the children are innocent, even if they are his.

Because these enchanted woods are not the Disney fairy tale woods. They are dark and ancient, and cruel, but they have rules. Follow those, and you might, just might survive the trip and even come back whole.

I loved the description of the woods and the horrors and wonders that call them home. The author uses language like a scalpel to craft mesmerizing images of beauty and horror at the same time. These woods are alien, their inhabitants even more so. And I was genuinely afraid for Veris and the children, because what can mere mortals do against something this ancient and powerful?

We need more stories like this.

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

books, Fantasy, Reviews, YA

Abeni’s Song by P. Djali Clark

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Stars: 5 out of 5

I don’t usually read YA as a rule, probably because I am a few decades past the age when those particular stories were interesting to me. However, I had fun reading this one because it’s very well-written and avoids the pitfalls of other young adult books – insufferable heroines, children who seem to be smarter and better at everything than adults, or dreaded love triangles. 

This is more of a fairy tale and a coming-of-age story or even a hero’s journey story, and it plays by the rules of those genres. Yes, Abeni can be annoying and quick to judge others, brash and even stupid at times, especially at the beginning of the story, but she grows and matures as we follow along. This is very much a journey of self-discovery for her. It’s also a story of found family, of seeing past differences and finding friends in unexpected places. And about courage as well. Not only the courage to confront an evil that terrifies you because it’s the right thing to do, and there is nobody else to do it, but also the courage to take a long, hard look at your own motivations and shortcomings and acknowledge that you were wrong.

I like how we see Abeni growing up and assuming the role of protector for the newly reborn Asha, even though she is still a child herself. Yes, it’s terrifying, and Abeni tries to pass that duty to others, like Asha’s sister, but she still does what she feels is right in the end. 

And no hero’s journey would be complete without trials and adventures. Some are scary, some are sad, and some are there to remind us that there is always a light even in the darkest places. I loved the episode in the Vale of Lost Things. It is an amazing place to visit, though I wouldn’t want to stay there permanently. 

I also liked that Abeni had to confront how anger and resentment can warp people when she confronted the Goat Man. In a way, she could have chosen the same path. He’d even said that she had a lot of anger burning inside her, and that the Witch King could use that anger. I think it’s one of the reasons why she was so upset about how the villagers treated Songu and why she agreed for him to come with them at the end of the book.

Abeni started this book losing everything – her family, her friends, her home. She ended the book having found new friends as well as a purpose in life. And I think she also learned several valuable lessons.

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

books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews

Grave Empire (The Great Silence 1) by Richard Swan

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Stars: 5 out of 5

I really loved this book! And I think I found a new favorite dark fantasy series to follow. Also, I didn’t realize that this was a continuation series to a previous series called Empire of the Wolf, though from what I saw, Grave Empire happens several centuries into the future, so knowledge of the prequel isn’t a must. In any case, I will definitely go back and read that series as well while I wait for the next book.

What I liked the most was that the world feels lived in. You can feel the weight of centuries and the lore and history that comes with it. I was also surprised to see that this particular world is in the throes of the industrial revolution, instead of the usual medieval setting so common to fantasy worlds. It was fun to see how stage coaches and steam engines would coexist with magic and horrors from beyond the grave.

The protagonists were also fun to follow. I felt sorry for Peter, who felt like a fish out of water most of the time. He didn’t want to be an officer or be sent so far from home. He only accepted the commission because his late father bought it for him, and he really didn’t feel particularly welcome at home anymore. He is faced with unimaginable horrors, on top of all his doubts about being a coward or an incompetent officer, and he ends up… something else. I’m sure he will have a crucial role to play in the next book.

Renata is a lot more independent and opinionated. She also has nerves of steel. Nothing in her training as a diplomat would have prepared her for the horrors she had to face by the end of this journey, yet she persevered where a lesser person would have lain down and waited for the end. And the hidden reservoir of grit in that girl surprised everyone, even herself.

The only character I really didn’t care about is Lamprecht. He is simply despicable. And I don’t understand why Yelena was helping him in his research for so many years. Why didn’t she put a stop to it as soon as she realized that he wanted to bring one of the vacants back to Sova with them? I know that he is set up to be the villain in the next book and a foil to Renata and Peter, but the man really has no redeeming qualities, whereas the other two are pretty multifaceted people. It makes me almost a caricature instead of a character.

I loved the hints at different other races and their origins, and how science and progress can coexist with religion when the existence of the afterlife is a scientifically proven fact. I would have loved to learn a bit more about Nema Victorianism and how it differs from Nema Conformism, and why those differences are considered so big that nations go to war because of them. I understand that it’s a nod to the splintering of the Christian church back in the day, but I would have loved more details.

All in all, though, I am looking forward to the next book. The board is set, the pieces have taken their places; let the best player win.

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

books, Fantasy, Reviews, Urban fantasy

The Inheritance (Breach Wars 1) by Ilona Andrews

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Stars: 5 out of 5

I am not ashamed to say that the writing duo behind Ilona Andrews books is my favorite contemporary writers. Seriously, I don’t think there is a book by them that I read (and I read almost all of them) that I didn’t love. This one is no exception.

The Inheritance takes place in the same universe as Innkeeper and the Edge series, though on a parallel Earth that is, it seems, loosely attached to Dina’s world (at least to Baha-Char). And it stars an absolutely badass female protagonist. Ada isn’t a fighter. In fact, as Ellias would say, she is the definition of a non-combatant. Her talent is to come into a breach once the fighting has been done, determine what rare minerals or biologicals are there, and tell the mining crew where to dig (or what to pick up). But boy does she get an upgrade in this particular breach… 

I won’t touch any more on that, because that would spoil the story, but let’s just say she is a different person when she comes out, all the while staying true to what has always driven all her actions – keep her children safe and ensure that they inherit a better world than the one she has to live in. And all through this story, Ada is absolutely human and relatable. I understood her reactions and her motivations, and I admired her determination to push ahead to matter what, even though she had to make some hard choices. The presence of Bear, the ever-awesome German Shepherd turned killing machine also helped.

Ellias is just as interesting a character, though we got less of him in this book, which was understandable. This is Ada’s story. Ellias mostly had to sit on his butt and fume about the delay of getting back into the breach (and destroy a desk or two in his impatience). I can’t wait to see how their relationship evolves in book two. Once they overcome their suspicions, they could be unstoppable. 

It was also so satisfying to see London get a good portion of karma by the end. I reread that passage several times just for the pleasure of seeing him fly 20 feet backwards.

All in all, the House Andrews delivers yet another fantastic book in an original and interesting world… And now we have to wait a couple years before we get the sequel.

books, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Reviews

The Market of 100 Fortunes (The Legend of the Five Rings) by Marie Brennan

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Stars: 5 out of 5

I never played the Legend of Five Rings games before or even heard of them, but you don’t have to do that to enjoy this book. The story stands on its own two feet even without being attached to a larger franchise. I also didn’t know that this was book 3 in Sekken and Ryotora’s adventures, so I will definitely go back and read the previous two books, because I like the characters and want to know how they got to the point they are at now.

I enjoyed this book tremendously! I love Japanese culture and folklore, and this world is heavily inspired by it, so reading about different Fortunes, spirits, and yokai was an absolute delight. The Market of 100 Fortunes was a delightful place to explore, both the human side of it and the supernatural one. I must admit that I hadn’t heard of the tsukumogami before I read this book, but the idea that objects used for 100 years can gain consciousness or even a soul is interesting. Makes you think twice before being mean to your umbrella, huh?

I think the biggest strength of this book is in its characters though. Sekken and Ryotora are complex individuals with their own quirks, needs, and wants, but it’s their interactions that bring the spark to this book. You can feel the care and love they have for each other. They are trying to navigate this very difficult condition they are in, where they literally share one life force between the two of them, so they have to be very careful how they draw on that power so as not to drain the other person. I like that the best solution to live with this condition is acceptance and harmonization between the two. And they do it through performing tea ceremonies! All tea lovers around the world unite!

The supporting characters are just as likable. The small but stubborn Kuzu, as resilient as the weed she is named after. Or Meiro, who risked everything, including her career with the Emerald Magistrate, to follow an obscure prophecy and helped our heroes immensely along the way. Even some of the tsukumogami have distinct personalities.

All in all, this was a very fast and delightful read, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I will definitely go back and read more about Sekken and Ryotora, and I will check out other stories set up in the Legend of the Five Rings universe as well.

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

books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews

A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan 2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

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Stars: 5 out of 5.

The second book was just as good as the first one. I loved every minute of it, even if the more I learned about the Empire, the more I felt like it was a terrifying place to live in, especially if you chose to serve it.

I mean, the whole motto of the Empire is “You are the Empire”. While that could be uplifting to some to think that they are a small part of a bigger whole, in reality, it just means that they are just a cog in a huge machine that is the Empire and that they can be easily disposable and replaceable. Oh, and it’s assumed that they would dedicate their whole lives to safeguarding that Empire. Since it is in constant danger of destruction from the Leviathans who come ashore every year, I wouldn’t think that it’s a very nice place to live. The psychological toll must be enormous, especially in the cantons closest to the sea walls.

Din and Ana are an absolute joy to follow in this book as well. Din especially has a lot going on with him in this story – from a financial crisis not of his making but one that he feels responsible for, to trying to decide what he wants to do in life. I understand that he feels stuck. the Iudex wasn’t his first choice of assignment, and the more crimes he solves with Ana, the more he despairs about his purpose. What’s the point of investigating crimes when it won’t rectify the wrongs? The victim is already dead, the family devastated, lives broken to the point where they can’t be fixed. He feels like no matter what he does, he isn’t making a difference, unlike the Legion who has a concrete enemy to fight on the walls.

I am glad that by the end of this book Din made peace with his life and finally understood that the Iudex also matters, maybe even more than the Legion, even if theirs is a thankless job. Because, as Ana said, let the Legion defend the Empire, but it’s the Iudex’s duty to make sure there is an Empire left worth defending.

This book is also darker and seems more desperate than the first one, though the inclusion of Malo brought much-needed levity to an otherwise pretty bleak story. I liked her, and I hope that we see at least a little more of her in the next book as well. 

We also learned a bit more about Ana and what was done to her, which is again… horrifying. This is a cruel world where surviving another wet season justifies a lot of atrocities perpetrated against their own people. 

I am looking forward to the next book in the series. Hopefully, we will learn a bit more about the Leviathans and where they come from (or why they come ashore every year).

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