|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
my rating |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1402287704
| 9781402287701
| 1402287704
| 3.66
| 661
| Apr 15, 2014
| Apr 15, 2014
|
liked it
|
In terms of my reading plans for 2025, mentally laid out at the end of last month, this read was a totally unexpected curveball. The book (and author)
In terms of my reading plans for 2025, mentally laid out at the end of last month, this read was a totally unexpected curveball. The book (and author) wasn't one I'd ever heard of, and not one I'd have bothered to pick up even on a free rack; but it was a surprise Christmas gift from a library colleague, delivered early this month when we returned from Christmas break, and one that touched me deeply. As a gift from one librarian to another, it actually has a lot to commend it, being very library-centered and with a message very supportive of books and the importance of the written word. Written for younger readers (ages 10-14, according to the Goodreads description), this is the opening book of what's so far a duology. Author Downey describes the premise and genesis of the series in an answer to a question by another Goodreader, which is worth quoting from at length: "I think the seed for the series was planted when I saw the phrase “Petrarch’s Library” scrawled on a notebook I found in our never-very-organized, and always-very-clutterful house. Everyone in the family denied being the scrawler, but the phrase ignited my imagination, especially after I looked it up and found it associated with a collection of books that the 14th century humanist and poet, Petrarch, had carried around with him when he traveled on the back of a donkey. That made me laugh, because the phrase had suggested some sort of grand magnificent library. But then I thought, well, even a small collection of books IS a sort of imaginary grand magnificent place because each of the books is a doorway into a different world of ideas, and knowledge, and story. Suddenly I was imagining “Petrarch’s Library” as a solid, if sprawling building, made out of library chambers from different times and places knitted together by magic into one incredible super-library. Since I was a kid, I always had the feeling that librarians were masquerading at doing something mundane while actually doing something incredible, mysterious and magical. It seemed reasonable that the work of librarians who staffed the imaginary Petrarch’s Library would defend and protect the flow of information in shall we say, some additional warrior-ish direct action ways!" (That quote also answers the question of whether this is fantasy or science fiction; that would depend on whether the author intended us to view the speculative elements as enabled by magic --which, as noted above, she did!-- or by natural phenomena/technology unknown to present science.) 12-year-old protagonist Dorothea "Dorrie" Barnes is a library-loving kid growing up in Passaic, New Jersey (I suspect this might be Downey's hometown, but can't confirm that), in a chaotic household with her inventor father, college instructor mom, 14-year-old brother Marcus, and three-year-old sister Miranda. (The family shares the house with her great-aunt Alice, who's an anthropologist.) Dorrie's a pretty ordinary tween, albeit one with a sense of justice and a liking for the idea of sword-fighting against villains; she's got a blunt practice sword and takes a library-sponsored fencing and stage combat class. But when the book opens on the day of the library's annual Pen and Sword Festival (a sort of low-budget Renaissance Faire), a succession of freak events will very soon suck Dorrie and Marcus into a most un-ordinary experience.... With 358 pages of actual text, this is a rather thick book; but it has fairly large script, and is a quick-flowing page turner. Given that it's intentionally written for kids, it's safe to say (and no disgrace to the author!) that it would appeal more to that group than to adults; and while it's among those children's books that can please adults, it's much more towards the younger-age end of that spectrum than some. Probably its biggest problem is conceptual murkiness, which makes suspension of disbelief challenging (more so for adults than for most 10-14 year-olds). The circumstances behind the rise of the Foundation and later of its Lybrariad adversaries aren't really explained, and neither is the power behind the magic of Petrarch's library and why its details work the way they do (partly because the Lybrarians themselves don't know or understand this!). Because the author conceives of time as fluid, with past events subject to change which can re-write subsequent ones, time paradoxes are a factor, and that's definitely not my favorite time-travel trope. Also, Downey's perspective is secular humanist, though the book doesn't stress this. The issue of language differences in certain settings isn't always handled convincingly, IMO. However, there are definite pluses here as well. On the whole, the plot is a serious one, with real suspense and tension in many places and a definite potential risk of death at times, and there are some serious life lessons imparted and significant moral choices made; but the author leavens this with a good deal of both situational and verbal humor, which works well here. She's obviously well-read and knowledgeable about history, geography, natural history, etc., and she constructs her plot well for the most part (though there's a significant logical hole in the part played by one magical artifact). Dorrie's well-developed and likeable; most of the other characters who get any significant page-time are well-developed also, though not always likeable nor meant to be. (Marcus is, though you might sometimes want to swat him! :-) ) A nice touch is the incorporation of several real historical figures, such as Cyrano de Bergerac and Greek philosopher Hypatia, as members of the Lybrariad, though their portrayal isn't always necessarily realistic. (I appreciated the short appendices which identify most of these people, and give additional information about other real persons, places, books, and other items mentioned in the tale.) All in all, this is not deep fiction, and I don't plan to seek out the sequel. But it's an enjoyable romp on its own terms, and I don't regret reading it. (Note for animal-loving readers: the pet mongoose who plays an important role in the storyline is not harmed in any way!) ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Jan 15, 2025
|
Jan 31, 2025
|
Jan 02, 2025
|
Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 9798985078145
| B0DT4FL2YV
| unknown
| 4.70
| 10
| unknown
| Dec 22, 2022
|
it was amazing
|
Goodreads author Liane Zane brings her Elioud Legacy trilogy to a rousing and powerful conclusion in this novel, which was actually my favorite of the
Goodreads author Liane Zane brings her Elioud Legacy trilogy to a rousing and powerful conclusion in this novel, which was actually my favorite of the three. (Full disclosure at the outset: Liane, who's a Goodreads friend of mine, generously gifted me with a paperback ARC, because she knew I'd really liked the two earlier books. No promise of a good review was offered or requested; this book amply earned that on its merits.) This is definitely a series that needs to be read in order. Our story here opens in medias res, and readers who begin here won't have much knowledge of the premise or the situation --nor, especially, of the characters and their relationships. You really need the context of the first two books to fully appreciate this one. (With that context, though, it becomes a wonderful capstone to the arch the author has crafted!) However, for the benefit of readers who haven't read either of those books nor my or others' reviews of them, and who may not have seen the book description either, the titular "Elioud" are human-angel hybrids (matings between the two races having begun before the Flood, and some unions --or rapes of humans by fallen angels-- supposedly continuing to occur). Depending on their degree of angelic inheritance, Elioud may have special abilities that most humans do not, and may be quite long-lived (as in, centuries) as well. Those who are aware of what they are may choose, like other humans, to knowingly serve God or Satan (or, also like many humans, to imagine that they can just ignore that whole conflict and be neutrals). But for those on one side or the other, the term "spiritual warfare" may be a lot more literal than it is for most believers. Near the beginning of the series opener, the three heroines of the trilogy, a close-knit trio of cross-national friends in their early 20s, all of them both working for their respective countries' intelligence services and involved on the side in a sub rosa vigilante operation of their own against sex traffickers and predators, met three long-lived Elioud warriors, who revealed to the ladies that they also have angel ancestry. Together, the six of them were involved in fighting the nefarious plots, continued across the first two books, of the fallen angel Asmodeus, who's now set himself up as a cult leader for a sect of brain-washed humans who call themselves bogomili, after a medieval heretical sect (but who are a lot more malevolent and murderous than their earlier, peaceful namesakes). The other aspect of the series plot is that each member of these two trios felt a strong attraction to a member of the other one. It wasn't hard to predict that each of the three novels would focus on one of these pairs, and that the course of their romance would be an important plot strand. So here, Beta Cerna and Andras Nagy take center stage. For me, in the previous books, these two characters had always seemed the least interesting and appealing, largely because I didn't really know them. Indeed, Beta (short for Alzbeta --she's Czech) is hard to get to know. She's a "lone wolf" with very few friends, and a brusque manner that can come across as practically feral. And because Andras is big, strong and taciturn, and mostly inclined to obey orders, it's easy to fall into the trap of subconsciously dismissing him as not very smart or sensitive (though that's a great mistake!). But here they come into their own; we see them as the complex and special people they truly are. The previous book ended with Beta arousing a sleeping, half groggy Andras for an unexpected sexual encounter in his bed --and then vanishing before morning. When this book opens, none of the other five main characters have seen her for three years (so it's now 2018). But we soon learn that there's been more of a reason for her disappearance than her commitment issues. Much is going on, and Asmodeus (and his fellow demon Yeqon. whom we met in the second book) are exponentially ratcheting up their plans, which won't bode well for humanity if they come to fruition. But the Archangel Michael (directed, of course, by God, though here He operates offstage) has plans too.... Many of the strengths of the preceding books are evident here also. Zane realizes the settings well (events take place in several European countries), and flavors the narrative with glimpses of the various customs, languages, folklore and cuisine of the nationalities represented. Her characters are round, vivid, dynamic, and distinct (every one of the six main characters have their own unique personalities, rather than being clones of the others, but the supporting characters are also clearly drawn). There's a strong good vs. evil conflict (with a recognition that we wage this conflict in our own hearts, not just with other people), with high stakes and a lot of dramatic tension. Though this isn't commercial "Christian fiction," it's fiction written by a Christian (the author is a practicing Roman Catholic) and the basic message is Christian. (As in much supernatural fiction, the angels vs. demons conflict is a metaphor for the spiritual conflicts of the real world.) My one quibble here is that our heroes and heroines don't pray much in crisis situations (and they're up to their eyeballs in the latter, which would do wonders for my prayer life!). But that's a fairly minor point. It was also actually easier for me to achieve "suspension of disbelief" here than in the first two books, despite the continuing murky points of angelology/demonology, and the ramping up of Elioud powers here (the mating of two Elioud warriors enhances their abilities). Perhaps that's because by now I've gotten more used to my Elioud friends and their fictional world. :-) Bad language here is minimal. There are some references to lewd and disgusting sexual behavior (Asmodeus and Yeqon hang out in Amsterdam's red-light district, and their sexual attitudes are what you'd expect from demons), and one instance of premarital, though not casual, sex; but Zane doesn't emphasize the former any more than she has to, and the latter is explicit only up to a point. (Basically, the romantic content is quite wholesome, and a wedding --I'm not saying whose!-- is one of the more moving scenes in the book.) This is definitely the most violent book of the series, though, with two major pitched battles and a body count through the roof, not all of the casualties being bad guys. However, fans of action thrillers won't mind this, and fans who like their heroines tough will love Beta. (She's a deadly accurate shot with both a pistol and a long gun, but her favorite weapons are her chain whip and her karambit, a hooked originally Indonesian knife modified as a switchblade, which she finds it soothing to flick open and closed when she's nervous, the way some people tap their foot. :-) ) While this is, like the others in the trilogy, a thick, substantial novel, at 525 pages it doesn't feel a bit overly long; I was immersed and interested immediately, and stayed so for every page. It's also a highly evocative read emotionally, with some beautiful writing and imagery in places (and some very grim images as well). I'd enthusiastically recommend it to fans of supernatural fiction with Christian themes, of action thrillers or action heroines (or heroes), and of paranormal romance. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
2
|
Dec 31, 2022
not set
|
Jan 17, 2023
not set
|
Sep 11, 2024
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1963515080
| 9781963515084
| 1963515080
| 4.67
| 3
| unknown
| Sep 20, 2024
|
it was amazing
|
Like the previous two books, this conclusion to the Unsanctioned Guardians trilogy (a prequel to the Elioud Legacy trilogy) was a generous gift to me
Like the previous two books, this conclusion to the Unsanctioned Guardians trilogy (a prequel to the Elioud Legacy trilogy) was a generous gift to me from the author. (There was no pressure to write a positive review; the book stands easily on its merits, and she knew I'd liked the previous installments, as well as the original series.) Given their prequel status, it's not really necessary to have read the Elioud Legacy books to enjoy reading these three; though if you have, it does give you more acquaintance with and understanding of the main characters (and conversely these books flesh out the background of the original three, and answer questions readers of those may have had). But the Unsanctioned Guardians books DO need to be read in order. Most of my general comments about the first two apply to this one as well; the premise builds organically on the preceding books, and the author's style, literary vision and handling of content issues is consistent across all three books. About a year has elapsed since the events of the previous book, The Harlequin Protocol. CIA agent Olivia Markham landed on her feet sufficiently, after the events in that one, to preserve her career with the Company; but since then, at her request, she's been moved to a desk job. For most of the interim, she's been in charge of an agency safehouse in Montenegro, which fronts as a free clinic for the town's numerous foreign refugees, run by an NGO that's not aware of the CIA connection. (The clinic work is real; when she was recruited by the agency in the first book, Olivia was a college pre-med student, and she has EMT certification.) She's also fallen in love with a French medical doctor at the local hospital; the two are living together, and will get engaged in the first chapter. But ...she's about to cross paths with an Islamic terrorist mastermind from the previous book. Meanwhile, Italian spy Stasia Fiore is still investigating the theft of a Predator drone from the Italian military; and Capt. Beta Czerna is soon to be approached by a desperate woman who needs help in rescuing her sister from the clutches of a Polish crime lord who's into sex trafficking (among other villainous things). Circumstances are about to converge these plot strands, and bring all three ladies together for a violent, high-stakes thrill ride. As before, Zane moves the action of the tale briskly through a variety of European locations (and a trip to Morocco, in this case), making considerable use of Internet research to handle the physical geography of her scenes with photographic realism. Again, she demonstrates her strong knowledge of espionage tradecraft and modern weaponry, and handles action scenes well. The body count in this book is significantly less than in the previous one, but the suspense factor is taut and constant. There's brief reference to loving pre-marital sex, as well as to off-screen sexual violence, but nothing explicit in either case. (One short scene could be described as "sensuous," but it consists of three sentences.) Bad language is minimal, and within the bounds of reasonable realism. We're still essentially in the realm of descriptive fiction, rather than the supernatural fiction of the first trilogy; but here there are a couple of brief incidents (not observed by viewpoint character Olivia) that suggest a bit of supernatural assistance, and readers of those original three books will readily recognize their old friend Zophie at one point. :-) My only minor criticisms were that in one place, we have a truck that apparently drives itself onto the scene, and nobody picks up on that fact; and in another, a character assumes knowledge of a location she wouldn't know at that point. Technically, that nit-picking means my rating was four and a half stars; but I didn't have any trouble rounding up, especially given the strong emotional effect of the storyline. This is a great depiction of the forging of a team that has each other's backs, and of female friendship under fire (literally). Zane's handling of Olivia's moral and emotional growth here is also powerful and superb. (All of these factors ably set the stage for readers to move on from here to the Elioud Legacy trilogy, if they haven't already read it.) ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Aug 30, 2024
|
Sep 07, 2024
|
Aug 23, 2024
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1641196521
| 9781641196529
| 1641196521
| 4.40
| 522
| unknown
| Oct 01, 2019
|
liked it
|
Published in 2019, this is the opening volume of Wolfpack Publishing's Avenging Angels series. Barb and I had previously read the seventh and second i
Published in 2019, this is the opening volume of Wolfpack Publishing's Avenging Angels series. Barb and I had previously read the seventh and second installments out of order (long story!); and having really liked those, we recently decided to commit to reading the series. This one takes us to the very beginning of the titular "avenging angels'" adventures. The Bass twins, George Washington (nicknamed "Reno") and Sara, were 16 in the fall of 1865, just after the Civil War, when they returned home from school and found their western Kansas homestead burned and their parents and three older siblings dead or dying, murdered by a band of vengeful renegade ex-Confederates. (Their sister had also been gang raped.) Before he died, their father charged them to avenge that slaughter. This book is the story of that quest and its outcome (hence the title). "A. W. Hart" is a house pen name; all of the books of the series have different actual authors. Here, the writer was Peter Brandvold, who grew up as a Western fan in the 60s and 70s and went on to write over 100 Western novels, under his own name or his "Frank Leslie" pen name. (Neither Barb nor I had any prior experience with his work.) There are a couple of significant continuity issues between this volume and the later ones, though these aren't Brandvold's fault. Starting in the second book, our hero's and heroine's promise to their father is said to have explicitly included a charge to continue to hunt down and rid the earth of other evil-doers, even after justice was served on the original villains. That's not at all clear and explicit here. At the end of this book, their resolution to make their quest a continuing one is said to be their own decision, a response to an emotional need of their own. And in the seventh book (and possibly others earlier), the late John Bass is described as having been a Lutheran pastor. In this book, while he's said to have been a God-fearing person who raised his kids to be familiar with the Bible, there's no hint that he was a clergyman of any kind. IMO, on both points, the portrayal here is more plausible and realistic. However, there are definite flaws in Brandvold's craftsmanship here, starting with chronology. John Bass served in the Mexican War, after which he married and settled in Kansas. The Bass family graveyard on the homestead is said to hold the remains of an infant sibling who died over 20 years before 1865 --in other words, before 1845, and the Bass twins would have been born ca. 1849. But the Mexican War was fought from 1846-1848. There isn't time between Feb. 1848 and the end of 1849 to fit in John Bass' post-war activity, subsequent courtship and marriage, the couple's move to Kansas, and four pregnancies prior to Reno and Sara. (And Kansas was not even opened for settlement until 1854.) If his general knowledge of U.S. history didn't furnish red flags here, very basic research would have precluded these kinds of mistakes. Editing and proofreading here is poor. Brandvold loses the thread of which character is speaking in one key conversation; he can't make up his mind whether two or three antagonists are positioned in one spot during a gun fight, and near the end, a character's last name unaccountably changes from Hill to Stock in the space of two pages. The third-person narrative is consistently from Reno's viewpoint, but in the earlier chapters it incorporates gunslinger's slang (thankfully abandoned later) that a peaceful teenage farm boy would be unlikely to be acquainted with. Near the end, conduct by two of the villains is inconsistent with their group's overall plan. There are other logistical and editorial quibbles that could be made as well. Both Sara and another important female character, Isabelle Mando, act out of character, or unrealistically for the situation, in one place (though not in the same place). Sara's character, in particular, comes across as less winsome here than it does in the two later books we read. Of the two twins, she's always been the more enduringly angry and vindictive over her family's tragedy, the more aloof and self-contained, and the more ruthless and readily inured to violence. Here, though, she has a readiness to execute even disabled and helpless adversaries that alarms Reno, and at the same time a willingness to ignore a rape attempt on someone else as none of her business. (Thankfully for the victim, Reno didn't share that indifference.) At one point, Reno was feeling a genuine concern for the state of Sara's soul, and a resolution to try to influence her for the better. But later, he's surprised and puzzled when Sara expresses a concern about her own spiritual state; and that theme is never developed any further, just forgotten and left hanging. Brandvold is undeniably a prolific writer; but he comes across to me as a careless and hasty one who sacrifices quality to quantity. While the main characters here are Christians, and there's a definite theme of good vs. evil, with the idea that God sides with the former and against the latter, none of the series writers are necessarily Christians themselves as far as I know. Bible verses serve as epigraph and postscript, and are quoted at times in the text; but there's no real presentation of the gospel of grace and mercy, and not much wrestling with the Christian ethics of lethal force in a fallen world. Despite the teen protagonists, this is not really YA fiction either; it's a very violent book, with a high body count. (It is, however, free of sexual content, beyond some references to scantily-clad chorus girls in a frontier music hall, and has very little bad language.) There's a chaste romance which some readers will see as marred by an insta-love factor; but in the cultural context, I wasn't bothered by the latter, and for me it's a plus that it's inter-racial. (Positive portrayal of half-Lakota characters and a black character do Brandvold credit.) While I didn't rate this book as highly as the two later ones, Barb and I still plan to continue with the series. It won't disappoint genre fans who like a heavy dose of gun-fighting action. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Mar 31, 2024
|
May 27, 2024
|
Mar 31, 2024
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1963515021
| 9781963515022
| 1963515021
| 4.67
| 3
| unknown
| Jan 31, 2024
|
it was amazing
|
This is the second novel in the author's Unsanctioned Guardians trilogy, a prequel to her earlier Elioud Legacy series. The new trilogy presents the b
This is the second novel in the author's Unsanctioned Guardians trilogy, a prequel to her earlier Elioud Legacy series. The new trilogy presents the background of how the three heroines of the first one (all of whom were intelligence agents, though of different nationalities) met and formed their sub rosa partnership as off-the-books rescuers of female victims of sexual abuse and trafficking. In the first book, The Covert Guardian (my review of that one is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ; it gives a general background of both this series and the preceding one, and a lot of my comments there are also relevant here), Zane focused entirely on Olivia Markham, who would become the trio's ringleader, describing her recruitment and first mission with the CIA. Olivia continues to be the main (and almost sole) viewpoint character here, but this installment also introduces the other members of the threesome, Capt. Alzbeta "Beta" Czerna of Czech military intelligence and Anastasia "Stasia" Fiore of Italy's CIA equivalent, AISE. My impression is that about two years have passed in Olivia's career since the previous book (the date for this one, 2011, isn't mentioned in the text itself as I recall, though it is in the cover copy; but I don't remember any exact date for the first one.) Here as in all of Zane's work, her knowledge of spy-craft, of the various brands, specs and capabilities of firearms and explosives used by U.S. and European military and intelligence services, and of the cultural and physical geography of a variety of European settings is a strength of the series, and never delivered intrusively. (Action here moves from Berlin to Brussels, to Prague and the Czech-Polish border region, and to Venice.) We also get an inside look at the bureaucratic mindset of the present-day CIA (which has been negatively commented on in nonfiction writings by intelligence professionals who know about the subject), the penchant of some of its honchos for turf and ego protection, and the tendencies towards abuse of power that can be endemic in secret organizations. (The latter is a point of contact with John LeCarre's work, though I suggested in my review of the previous book that Zane's vision is more like that of Manning Coles or Alistair MacLean --like the latter, she does view espionage in moral terms, as properly concerned with thwarting genuine evil, but she's also realistic about the moral shortcomings and conflicting agendas that intelligence agencies staffed by fallible humans can be prey to.) Because the author and I are Goodreads friends, she graciously gifted me with a review copy of the paperback edition of this book, as she has with all of her books, as soon as it was published; though she knew I'd really liked the previous book, she didn't pressure me for a favorable review, but trusted that the book would stand on its merits. It definitely did; I actually liked this one even better! What earned the added appreciation (and the fifth star) was what I felt was the heightened dimension of moral challenge and choice here, which for me often makes the difference between great and merely good fiction, and which isn't as strongly present in the first book. Discerning what the right thing is here requires thinking for oneself, not just obeying orders; and deciding to do it comes with a real risk, not just of harm to life and limb, but of disapproval from the powerful, of serious repercussions to one's career, and maybe of legal punishment. The strong, distinct characterizations of the three heroines, who are each very different individuals though sharing a basic gut instinct for justice and decency, is also a positive feature that makes the book stand out from the pack. Bad language here is minor. There's no explicit sex; Olivia stumbles on a gang rape at one point, but it's not graphically described, and though we see the traumatized and abused victims of sex trafficking (and in one case the dead body of a victim), we aren't forced to see what they went through. As far as Olivia's personal life is concerned, it's briefly mentioned that since the first book, she's been intimate with only one man, whom she loved and expected to marry (readers of the preceding trilogy will know that didn't happen!), but the couple's privacy isn't violated. We do have a lot of violence here, and a high body count, but Zane doesn't make it any more gory than it has to be. IMO, this trilogy should be read in order. However, I wouldn't say that the previous trilogy necessarily needs to be read first; and it's really in a different genre(s) than this one, so might not actually appeal to all of the same readers (though I greatly like both). This is neither obviously supernatural fiction (though readers who've read the Elioud Legacy will pick up on something that others won't) nor romance. But it should appeal to all fans of action adventure and espionage fiction, especially those who appreciate heroines in action roles (here, we've got not just one but three ladies who can and do kick some serious evil-doer butt!). ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Feb 19, 2024
|
Feb 28, 2024
|
Feb 16, 2024
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| B08L2JYZB5
| 3.92
| 192
| Oct 10, 2020
| Oct 10, 2020
|
it was ok
|
This novella is another freebie for Kindle which I finished reading earlier this month, but haven't had time to review until now. It's also one I orig
This novella is another freebie for Kindle which I finished reading earlier this month, but haven't had time to review until now. It's also one I originally downloaded under the influence of a five-star review from a Goodreads friend, but wound up being much less taken with than he was. Chronologically, our setting is sometime in the later 19th century (it's no earlier than 1861, when what is today Nigeria became a British crown colony, but we're never told how much later it is, except that we're still in the "Victorian" era). Our story proper begins in London, but very swiftly shifts to Lagos in colonial Nigeria. Young (she's under 21, because she still has guardians; I don't recall if her age is stated, but I'd guess it to be 19-20) orphaned protagonist Beatrice is a psychically-gifted investigator for the sub rosa Society for Paranormals and Curious Animals, directed by a werewolf. Whether Beatrice's last name is Knight or Anderson is a point of confusion through most of the book; that point is cleared up near the end, but it fosters (or indicates, on the author's part!) more confusion. (view spoiler)[Knight will apparently be her married name in future books; but in that case, she should be a Mrs., not a Miss (hide spoiler)]. The first sentence tells us that this adventure will pit her against "a giant Praying [sic] Mantis" (or, more accurately, an African pagan demi-goddess who usually appears in preying mantis form). Her boss, Prof. Runal, has gotten wind that brownies (of the Wee Folk, not the baked, sort) are being kidnapped and smuggled internationally by a trafficking ring based in Lagos. How he's gotten wind of this is never explained (although, obviously, knowing that would be important for an investigator going into the situation!), nor is it ever explained why anybody would want to smuggle brownies in the first place, and in particular why a shape-shifting demi-goddess would be involved in it. The whole concept just functions as a McGuffin. Prof. Runal has enough clout with the British government to arrange for the Lagos police to cooperate with Bee; but if keeping the paranormal world secret from the uninitiated is an issue, it's dubious how smart that move would be, and it's unclear how useful the civil police could be in an investigation of this sort, anyway. In fact, she doesn't need to investigate; her identity is known to her adversaries when she steps off the boat (which suggests that a mole is compromising the mission, but that idea is never developed), and the culprits either come to her or information is dropped into her lap by third parties. Of course, in fairness, a tale with this kind of premise isn't going for intense realism; but even tales with wildly speculative premises can play out with a greater degree of internal plausibility than this does. And details that may be dubiously realistic can be forgiven if a story features a strong, psychologically realistic character study that appeals to the reader, or a plot that engages one on an emotional level. For me, this did neither. Bee's first-person narrative voice is written as trying to be wry and droll for its own sake, rather than coming across with the kind of feelings an actual young woman in her situation would experience. She's a rather irritating Mary Sue type with a streak of misandry, while Inspector Jones serves only to incarnate patronizing male chauvinism. Author Ehsani is obviously going mostly for humor (achieved primarily through Bea's one-liners, and cracks about werewolf body odor); but the humorous effect is largely undercut at the climax by the graphic violence and large-scale slaughter affected by the mantis-goddess Koki. :-( (And I personally find even normal-sized preying mantises to be really disgusting and repulsive!) Vered Ehsani was born in South Africa, but is a long-time resident of Kenya. (The subsequent novels of the series are set in the latter country, though I don't plan to follow them.) To give credit where it's due, as an African native, she does a good job of incorporating African folklore (which North American and European readers typically don't encounter often, and don't know much about) into her narrative. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Sep 2024
|
Oct 03, 2024
|
Jan 30, 2024
|
Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| B008E9VENQ
| 4.24
| 36,169
| Jun 23, 2012
| Jun 23, 2012
|
liked it
|
My Goodreads friend Monica gave this novel (the first book in the author's Miss Fortune Mysteries) five stars, which put it on my radar; and I'd downl
My Goodreads friend Monica gave this novel (the first book in the author's Miss Fortune Mysteries) five stars, which put it on my radar; and I'd downloaded the e-book edition some time ago when I discovered that it's offered for free, as a teaser for the series. While my rating isn't as high as hers (it would be three and 1/2 stars if Goodreads allowed that), and I didn't expect that it would be, I did turn out to like the book somewhat more than I expected to. Our protagonist and first-person narrator here is "Fortune" Redding. We're not told her real first name ("Fortune" is the handle she's used to answering to, but it's indicated, well into the book, that it's a nickname, short for "soldier of fortune") or her exact age; but she's worked for the CIA for eight or five years, depending on which figure we go with, since we're given both in different places. (I took the first one to start with, so picture her as about 30, joining the Company just after college.) The affiliation was a natural one for her; her father, with whom she had a prickly relationship, was a top CIA agent, and after his death when she was 15, her remaining teen years were overseen by a couple of CIA officials, one of whom is now her boss. (Her mother had died years earlier.) She's a seasoned assassin (of verified baddies), with a VERY long list of kills to her credit, and zero compunctions about her line of work. But she's neither a psychopath nor a moral nihilist; on the contrary, she's basically a kind-hearted person (albeit an emotionally-constipated loner with no confidential friends), who sympathizes readily with those in danger and distress. That trait got her in trouble on her latest mission. It wasn't supposed to be a hit; she was simply posing as the glamorous mistress of a drug dealer, delivering money for him to a Middle Eastern crime boss. But (as we learn along with her, at the debriefing in the first chapter) her meeting was compromised by an unknown leak in the CIA, who'd tipped the bad guys off as to who she was. They'd decided to test the tip by setting up a situation where she'd have to act to try to rescue a 12-year-old sex trafficking victim, figuring that she could then easily be dealt with, since she'd come unarmed. Unhappily for them, Fortune's quite adept at improvising a weapon when she has to; though she doesn't care much for high heels, she dispatched the head honcho with a stiletto heel on the shoes she was wearing, and got away clean, presumably with the 12-year-old. (We learn about this only in a terse second-hand report; I'd have loved to read it in real time!) Now, the deceased's brother Ahmad, also a big-time crime lord, has put her picture all over the Dark Web, with a million-dollar price on her head (ten million, if she can be delivered to him alive to be tortured). If Ahmad can be taken out, the contract on her will be moot, but in the meantime, she needs to be stashed in a safe place --and one that can't be compromised by the unidentified leaker. Luckily, her boss' niece, librarian and former beauty queen Sandy-Sue Morrow, just inherited a house in Sinful (population 253) in the bayou country of southern Louisiana from a newly-dead aunt on her mother's side. The two weren't close; Sandy-Sue has never been to Sinful, and she has no social media presence due to a stalking incident years ago. With summer just starting, she's scheduled to go down there to inventory the house's contents and prepare it for sale. Before the very unwilling Fortune can say "culture shock," her boss has packed the real Sandy-Sue off for a summer in Europe, and our heroine is in route to Louisiana to hide under this new identity. It's only supposed to be through the summer months; and in a small, quiet southern community, nothing's apt to go wrong, right? But the flooding caused by a recent hurricane unearthed and moved a lot of debris in the backwoods, and on Fortune's first evening in town, the late aunt's dog fishes a human bone out of the bayou behind the house. It proves to have belonged to a very wealthy, and universally hated, town resident who disappeared some five years ago.... As mysteries go, this one is not deep or in some respects very plausible, but it is entertaining. Despite the author's use of a humorous tone in most of it --though it has its serious moments, some of them deadly so (literally!)-- it's not really an example of the "cozy" subgenre, nor even of the broader stream of more "genteel" who-dunnits in general. That tradition features more actual detection in terms of sifting physical clues and witness statements, and eschews directly-described physical violence. There's little of the former here, and definitely some of the latter in the denouement. (Action-heroine fans may be pleasantly surprised to find that Fortune's combat skills won't necessarily have to go to waste in this new environment!) But the mystery of who killed Harvey Chicoran doesn't necessarily have an immediately obvious solution (many characters, and no doubt readers, may assume that the widow did it --but did she?). There will be twists and turns in solving it, and Fortune's involvement in that effort will provide her --and readers-- with challenges, adventures, excitement and danger. A weakness of the book is that a lot of the humor exaggerates the quirkiness and peculiarities of the Louisiana bayou country's rural inhabitants to the point of caricature. It plays to stereotypes that too many urbanites have about the South, and rural people in general, which reflects culpable ignorance of cultures outside their own. Fortune herself is a prime example; she seriously wonders, for instance, if the community she's going to has electricity. (Rolls eyes profusely.) She also has a tendency to reduce women with Sandy-Sue's background to despised, stereotyped "Others." Some characters, like the members of the Sinful Ladies Society (membership is only open to "old maids" or widows of 10 years standing, to avoid contamination by "silly man thinking"), are steeped in misandry, and Deleon views that as funny. This is mitigated to a degree by the fact that she's native to the region (which I've visited) herself, does reveal some basic affection for it, and depicts it with some realistic local color; and by the fact that she does portray a couple of male characters positively. There are also a few inconsistencies that should have been caught and edited out. On the positive side, this is a tautly paced book that keeps you turning pages, or in my case clicking frames (I read the first two-thirds of it in one sitting, and could and would have read it all if time had allowed!), with a tightly-compressed plot that unfolds in less than a week. Even if you disagree with some of Fortune's attitudes, she is honestly likable, with a wryly humorous narrative voice that's appealing (at least to this reader). She exhibits a willingness to look at herself and grow through exposure to new experience, which I like; and I appreciated the strong depiction of female friendship and loyalty. There's a certain amount of bad language here, mostly of the h and d-word sort or vulgarisms, but not much profanity and no obscenity; and there's no sexual content nor any romance at all (though I understand that a romance develops in subsequent books in the series). While Fortune describes herself, though not out loud, as a "heathen" (when she's informed that everybody in Sinful who's not one of the latter attends one of its two churches), and there's some humor based on the foibles of the church-goers, there's no actual pushing of an anti-Christian agenda. I only read this book as a diversion, because it was free; I don't plan to follow the series. But I don't regret making Fortune's acquaintance, nor visiting her in her new-found community. :-) ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Jul 26, 2024
|
Aug 02, 2024
|
Jul 24, 2023
|
Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1950806103
| 9781950806102
| B08GY95S3M
| 4.35
| 97
| unknown
| Aug 27, 2020
|
really liked it
|
Bruns and Olson are retired U.S. Navy officers, Olson in particular with a background in naval intelligence –and that background is drawn on heavily i
Bruns and Olson are retired U.S. Navy officers, Olson in particular with a background in naval intelligence –and that background is drawn on heavily in the various self-published series that he and Bruns co-write. This particular 117-page novella exists only in an electronic edition; in keeping with my usual practice, I'd never have read it, but for the fact that it's a freebie. Supposedly, it's the fourth in a succession of “Standalone Suspenseful Short Reads.” In fact, although I read it as a standalone, it actually ties directly into The Pandora Deception, the fourth novel in the authors' WMD Files series. (The first novel of that series is premised on the conceit that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein really did have his infamous “weapons of mass destruction,” but cleverly smuggled them out of Iraq before the Americans closed in –okay, this IS fiction.) Our protagonist in this novella, Mossad agent and top-notch assassin Rachel Jaeger, is an important character in the afore-mentioned fourth novel of that series (and possibly others); and indeed, we can surmise that the reason this work is given away for free is so that it can serve as a teaser to draw readers to the series. Actually, our heroine's real name is Makda Moretti; “Rachel Jaeger” is her Mossad code name (jaeger means “hunter” in German, and probably also in Yiddish, which is a Germanic language; and Rachel is a name with definite Old Testament associations). Historically, going back to at least New Testament times and possibly back as far as the reign of Solomon, a certain number of blacks in East Africa have identified with the Jewish faith. Rachel was born in Ethiopia, and her mother was one of these (although her mixed race father was half Italian). But though this subculture is mentioned. the authors don't develop it at all. Their concentration is very much on providing the character's “origin story.” We begin en media res, on her first mission as a fledgling operative in a town on the Egyptian Sinai penninsula, where she's supposed to provide scouting and lookout functions for a team tasked with taking out a terrorist. (But circumstances will cause her role to morph into something more demanding....) Well positioned flashbacks show us how, as a smart, physically fit and observant Tel Aviv Univ. student with a double major in economics and foreign languages, a solid background of martial arts training, and no close family (her mother had recently died, and her brother had emigrated to the U.S.) she was recruited into Mossad. (Later flashbacks show her family's harrowing trek to Israel from danger in an unraveling Ethiopia, on which her father was killed, when she was a very small child, and a later formative experience of standing up to two bullies in order to defend another child, which shaped her penchant for defending innocents.) Levi, the slightly older agent who recruited her, initially used the cover of a dating relationship as a medium to get close to her and check her out; this probably began as a ploy on his part, but quickly became much more serious, and the Makda-Levi relationship plays a very crucial role in the plot here. I don't recommend reading the Amazon book description (the Goodreads database entry doesn't have any description) because it divulges a lot of the plot, not just the premise. But suffice it to say that personal tragedy will be a shaping force in Rachel's career. The time frame of the main tale is apparently about two years. This is not a deep novel wrestling with moral, psychological, spiritual or political issues. There's no real exploration of the complex roots and merits of the current Israeli vs. Arab hostility. Both Rachel's and Levi's role in Mossad is strictly counter-terrorism, combating and forestalling bad actors who would target and murder innocent civilians for political ends. That these people need to be stopped is a moral no-brainer, regardless of your attitudes towards Zionism or Palestinian statehood. Religion plays no role in the tale; Rachel and Levi are strictly secular and identify with Israel on the basis of peoplehood (which in her case is not exactly ethnic either, but more cultural, in a broad sense). The first time that she has to take a life (in self-defense), Rachel experiences some believable psychological distress at the enormity and finality of it, but is able to work through it and come to terms with it fairly quickly, as an action in successful and needed defense of her people; that kind of issue doesn't arise elsewhere in the book. Despite the Amazon blurb's overwrought reference to her “inner demons,” we don't really meet any of the latter, our authors don't really psycho-analyze her in depth, beyond the obvious feelings. What it is instead is a straightforward tale of espionage action-adventure, with no real pretensions beyond offering exciting entertainment for readers who appreciate danger, suspense, physical challenges, and the satisfaction of seeing a good gal kick some bad-guy butt. :-) That's exactly what the authors set out to deliver, and they make good on their promise admirably. This is a very well-written, fast flowing novel, with believable characters, all of them presented in life-like fashion. The prose is thoroughly serviceable, and free of bad language, with the exception of a couple of s-words in one place. (I appreciated that restraint, which I regard as a hallmark of good, tasteful writing.) There are a variety of locales here –Rome, France and Tunisia, in addition to Israel, the Sinai and East Africa, as already mentioned-- and while they're not necessarily realized with a deep sense of place (remember, this is a 117-page novella!), all of the physical settings are described vividly enough that we can easily visualize them. Inside knowledge of espionage trade-craft and the inner workings of an intelligence agency is incorporated seamlessly into the narrative, giving it a solid feeling of verisimilitude. Our authors refrain from depicting explicit sex, and they treat sexual matters in general with restraint. It's mentioned that Makda and Levi began sharing her bed after they'd been dating two weeks, but it's left at that, and the feelings between the two, in fairness, are much more intense than the short time span suggests. (Normally I'm skeptical of insta-love scenarios in fiction, especially in a modern setting, but it carried complete credibility here.) One scene had both Rachel and the target of one of her hits naked at one point, because she was posing as a prostitute in order to carry out her mission, but there's no gratuitous physical description and no sexual activity takes place. (It's a disgusting scene only because of the repugnant nature of the target's exploitative and misogynistic attitudes, but he's meant to be disgusting.) As an action adventure yarn with a government-sanctioned assassin for a main character, it's going to feature lethal violence directly described, but there's restraint here too; there's no wallowing in gore for its own sake, and neither the authors nor Rachel are sadistic. (She'll deliver certain death to her marks –who inspire no particular pity!-- with consummate efficiency, but she''ll deliver it quickly and cleanly.) My high rating reflects the degree of skill with which the authors deliver on the conventions of their genre, as well as my enjoyment of the tale (I'd easily have read it in one sitting if my time had allowed!). The only negative I felt is that Rachel's character arc here doesn't leave her, emotionally, in as good a place at the end as her friends would want her to be. (And by the time you finish the book, if you read it, you'll probably also count yourself among her friends. :-) ) To be fair, however, that's because it's not a complete arc; the authors have at least one more adventure for her, in a full-length novel that will probably allow for much more progress in her personal life journey. Sadly, I don't plan to witness it; at the age of 70 and with a gargantuan TBR, I don't choose to get sucked into the welter of Bruns' and Olsen's various series, so I read this as a stand-alone. But I wish our heroine well; and can unhesitatingly recommend at least this start of her saga to all fans of espionage thrillers and action heroines! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Jul 25, 2023
|
Jun 30, 2023
|
Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||
| 9798985078114
| B0BZQSL3Z2
| 4.50
| 6
| Jul 04, 2023
| Jul 18, 2023
|
really liked it
|
Liane Zane's Elioud Legacy trilogy, all three books of which I've previously reviewed, is supernatural fiction, written by a Roman Catholic author, an
Liane Zane's Elioud Legacy trilogy, all three books of which I've previously reviewed, is supernatural fiction, written by a Roman Catholic author, and premised on the fictional conceit that matings between angelic beings (both fallen and unfallen) and humans have been going on since before the Flood, producing mixed-race offspring who are physically human but have certain heightened physical or even latent supernatural abilities. That trilogy focused on three strong and courageous young women, who when it opened were completely unaware of their angelic genes, and all of whom were both serving in the intelligence services of their various countries, and collaborating with each other on the side in a covert alliance to provide some special protection for the victims of sexual assault and trafficking. The Covert Guardian is the first volume of a projected prequel trilogy, set a few years before the opening of the previously-published one, which will tell the “origin story” of their friendship and alliance. Here, our protagonist is Olivia Markham, the trio's unofficial ringleader, and we learn how, as a 20-year-old college pre-med student, she unexpectedly came to join the CIA. Unlike the first trilogy, this one really has no supernatural elements. Readers who've read the former will suspect, from certain subtle clues, that a couple of secondary characters here may also be Elioud, and will remember the St. Michael medal (a gift from her sensei) that Olivia wears, which feels strangely warm at times; and she has a sort of instinctive sixth sense for approaching danger that her then-boyfriend rather snidely dismisses as her “spidey sense.” But none of this is obviously paranormal nor impossible to explain naturalistically. I've classified the book as straight-out, descriptive action-adventure and espionage fiction, and it will definitely appeal to fans of those genres whether they have any liking for supernatural fiction or not. The previously-published books mentioned, as a painful experience in Olivia's past, the murder of her cousin Emily when the two girls were 16; they were close, and the tragedy was a formative factor in shaping Olivia's deep desire to protect the innocent victims of brutality. In the modern U.S., the wheels of the justice system grind very slowly, so the killer's trial was delayed until the summer before Olivia was to become a junior at Brown Univ. (She's New England born and bred, living with her family in a suburban town outside Boston.) When our tale opens, soon after testifying, Olivia's been talked by her boyfriend into joining him in a vacation on Ibiza, a real-life Mediterranean island off the coast of Spain which is a popular tourist destination, as a supposed opportunity to rest and heal from the re-lived traumatic experience. Even at this stage in her life, she's strong, physically fit and athletic, smart, brave and quick-thinking; and since Emily's murder, she's been taking serious martial arts training. (And then there's that “spidey sense” I mentioned....) These qualities will stand her in good stead when, just four pages into the narrative, a squad of Islamist terrorists hit the beach, bent on slaughtering the revelers. Fortunately, a CIA counter-terrorist strike force is nearby; but by the time the action is over, Olivia's displayed enough mettle to get their attention. (As they'll soon learn, it also doesn't hurt that she's fluent in several languages, and qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in archery while still in high school.) Before the summer is over, she's training at a CIA-run camp in North Carolina, and she feels that she's found her true calling. And as luck would have it, an attractive female college student might just fit the mission profile for getting close to a wealthy young playboy type suspected of funding global terrorist activities. But chicanery, corruption, and betrayal of the U.S. aren't necessarily things that only go on outside of the CIA, and our heroine's path to joining the Company may not be an easy cake-walk. Although the books of the Elioud Legacy trilogy are all thick, at just 155 pages, this one is more novella length, and a quick read. Like the former books, though, it moves around geographically, in this case to locations on three different continents; and the author's knowledge of the physical geography of all of these settings is impressive. She's a skilled wordsmith, seasoned in the novelist's craft and able to immerse the reader in the story, and there are some surprises up her sleeve. For readers who want danger, tension, and well-depicted action scenes, this yarn definitely delivers. It's not characterized by profound ethical dilemmas or deep spiritual, philosophical or political content, being more straightforward in those areas (in the context of the espionage genre, Zane is more in the tradition of Manning Coles or Alistair MacLean than, say, John LeCarre'), but I don't view this as is any sense a fault, nor will most genre fans. What readers –genre fans or not-- do want in fiction, more than action and danger, is the human element, a central character(s) we can like and feel invested in enough to care about the action and danger in the first place. That test is amply met here. Olivia is a winsome, dynamic protagonist whom we get to know and appreciate, and this is a character-driven tale of her growth and maturation in various ways in the crucible of a testing ordeal. As I've said before in reviewing this author's work, it's fiction written by a Christian, rather than the kind of commercially “Christian fiction” the book trade markets as such. Olivia's a basically kind and ethical-minded person, and cares about right and wrong as she understands them; but by her own statement, here she's still “not really a believer.” Bad language is a hair more prominent here than in the first trilogy, though it's actually more prominent in the first few pages here than it is in most of the book. College-age Olivia herself is capable, when she's angry, of thinking or saying some pretty bad words, including obscenity (in a couple of languages). And though there's no explicit sex, we know that an unmarried sexual encounter takes place at one point. The author doesn't try to excuse it, but she makes us completely understand the psychology behind it; it's a case of allowing the character to be who she realistically is, and possibly to grow through all of her decisions, both the good and the misguided ones, into the person she's finally becoming. (That's what good authors do.) Finally, a worthwhile question might be, does a reader need to have read the Elioud Lagacy books before reading this one? My answer would be no; having read those books will allow you to better appreciate some adumbrations of the future you can see here, but it's not essential, and no knowledge of them is presupposed here. You could begin with this book as an appetizer for the corpus as a whole. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Jul 13, 2023
|
Jul 19, 2023
|
May 20, 2023
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||
| 1641196513
| 9781641196512
| B07YNYQG6P
| 4.38
| 375
| unknown
| Oct 22, 2019
|
really liked it
|
Note, May 31, 2024: I've just made some factual corrections to this review, based on my just-completed read of the series opener (I'd described some a
Note, May 31, 2024: I've just made some factual corrections to this review, based on my just-completed read of the series opener (I'd described some aspects of the background incorrectly). “A. W. Hart,” the nominal author of the Avenging Angels series, is actually a house pen name used by Wolfpack Publishing for the multiple authors of this and one or two of their other series. Where books are marketed or shelved by the author's name, this device allows a series to be kept together. It also makes it possible for the same main character(s) to be featured in a number of adventures, without being limited to the imagination or time constraints of a single author. If one dogmatically maintains that worthwhile creative art, by definition, can be created only by individual genius operating in total independence of any collaboration, then this won't be viewed as worthwhile creative art. (Neither will the music of Gilbert and Sullivan, the art of Currier and Ives, or the novels of Nordhoff and Hall, to cite only a few examples.) This is more of a collaborative effort, building on a common foundation. While it requires, and gives scope for, individual creativity, it also sets the challenge to that creativity of operating in fidelity to the foundation, rather than creating contradictions to it. In the two Avenging Angels books I've read, I felt the challenge was met; in both books, the main characters are consistent. Barb and I encountered this series before only in its seventh installment, Avenging Angels: The Wine of Violence, because the actual author of that one is my Goodreads friend Charles Allen Gramlich. We'd intended to read that one as a stand-alone (both of these books, and presumably the others, can be read that way, since the reader is filled in quickly and simply on the basic set-up and premise of the series in each one and each adventure is self-contained and episodic). By a happy serendipity, however, things worked out for me to purchase this second installment, and we took a chance on it. (It didn't disappoint!) As series fans, or readers of my previous review, already know, our main characters and titular “Avenging Angels” here are twins George Washington “Reno” and Sara Bass, still in their later teens, the God-fearing son and daughter of a Kansas homesteader. They were 16 in 1865, just after the Civil War, when while they were absent, their parents and siblings were massacred by a band of renegade ex-Confederates. The first book (which I haven't read) describes that incident, how they promised their dying father that they would take on the mission of avenging the slaughter and ridding the world of other lowlifes who prey on the innocent, and how they served justice on the murderers. This book mentions that before doing that, they spent some time under the tutelage of their father's friend Ty Mandell, learning and honing their formidable gun skills; it's now summer again, so I'd say we're into 1866, and they're about 17. (It's also mentioned that George got his nickname “Reno” from his dad, after an officer the older Bass had served with in the Mexican War and admired; the author doesn't state this explicitly, but that would be Jesse L. Reno, who later became a Union general in the Civil War, and was killed in battle in 1862.) In the early part of this book, we're shown how circumstances shaped their decision to become bounty hunters, as a way of supporting themselves while fulfilling their ongoing vow. That decision will soon have them heading to the town of Hatchet, Nebraska to collect their first bounties, along with rather mysterious, 30-something Brenda Walon, who's on her way to the same place, where an old friend has died and Brenda is named in her will. But Hatchet doesn't prove to be a welcoming place; mystery and danger await, and this volume will deliver Western action aplenty. For this book, the real author is Wayne D. Dundee (he's credited on the back page), a seasoned author of Westerns, mysteries and other genre fiction. His prose is more clunky and plodding than Gramlich's, with a tendency to frequently explain the obvious. However, the novel is well-plotted (the resolution in the last part, IMO, was quite brilliant –it came as a surprise, but ultimately struck me as perfect) and the characterizations are skillful. Dundee handles action scenes believably and capably, with a high body count but no unnecessary “pornography of violence.” There are no particularly deep themes here, but there are some good messages. Bad language of the h- and d-word sort and religious profanity is more common here than in the installment I read earlier, but still a bit restrained; there's no explicit sex, though there are references to illicit sex, including the brothel that formerly operated in the town. Wolfpack Publishing is a secular press, but with two morally earnest Christians as main characters, the publisher and authors do attempt to make the series at least somewhat Christian-friendly. Hence, one character reflects, “But the laws of God were the ones [he] felt his closest kinship with. Believing them, living them, and spreading to others word of the salvation that could come from doing the same.” Speaking over a grave, Reno comments, “God welcomes all kind-hearted souls into Heaven, and even if their lives on earth had shortcomings, soothes them with the promise of a better hereafter and the comfort of His presence.” The problem is that this is a non-Christian writer's honestly ignorant attempt to reproduce what he thinks that Christians believe, not what a Christian would actually think or say. Christianity IS a faith with a strong ethical dimension, and a profound belief in the grace of God; but the central Christian conviction is that eternal salvation comes to humans, not through keeping God's laws or through His general merciful disposition if they're kind-hearted, but rather through the death of Christ on the cross to bear the penalty of their sins. That's not a concept any Christian would omit from consideration. But in fairness, Christian readers should probably view this novel, theologically, as a glass that's half full, in that it does engage the reader with thoughts about spiritual issues, taken seriously. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Mar 19, 2023
|
Jun 04, 2023
|
Mar 19, 2023
|
Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||
| 1947187082
| 9781947187085
| 1947187082
| 4.20
| 15
| Jul 18, 2014
| Mar 18, 2020
|
liked it
|
None
|
Notes are private!
|
1
|
May 20, 2023
|
May 29, 2023
|
Aug 14, 2022
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 4.22
| 23
| Jul 12, 2012
| Jul 05, 2019
|
really liked it
|
None
|
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Apr 11, 2023
|
Apr 24, 2023
|
Jul 29, 2022
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||||
| 1335418768
| 9781335418760
| 1335418768
| 4.24
| 225
| unknown
| Apr 26, 2022
|
it was amazing
|
Evangelical Christian author Linda Goodnight is a new writer to my wife Barb and I, but not new to the craft; she's an established Goodreads author wi
Evangelical Christian author Linda Goodnight is a new writer to my wife Barb and I, but not new to the craft; she's an established Goodreads author with 160 distinct works listed on her profile, at least some of them best sellers. This particular novel was newly published early this year; I hardly ever buy new releases, but this was an impulse purchase, picked as a belated (long story!) Christmas present for Barb, on the strength of the cover and a recommendation blurb from a favorite author of ours, Mary Connealy. After reading a ways into it, Barb suggested we read it together, having guessed that it's the sort of book we both like. That guess proved to be right on the mark; we loved it! Our setting here is Oklahoma Territory in 1890. (At that time, the latter territory occupied the western part of the present-day state; the eastern part was the even more scantily-settled and lawless Indian Territory.) The author lives in Oklahoma (so writes about the setting with assurance); according to an online interview with her, this book was inspired by a photograph in the Territorial Museum at Guthrie, showing a lone pioneer woman toting a rifle in front of a tent as she stood guard over her claim in the 1889 Land Rush. Her spirit imbues Willa Malone, our heroine here. 30 years old, Willa sees herself as an "old maid." She's the eldest of three half-sisters, daughters of peripatetic ne'er-do-well Finn Malone, who outlived two wives (and was deserted by a third) in the course of his wanderings, which in 1889 led him to a homestead in the small community of Sweet Clover. Like many of the townsfolk, he was heavily in debt to conniving banker Theodore Pierce, and used his land as collateral. But he's now recently dead, murdered after he took off on his latest quest for gold. At the moment, the farm isn't productive; without him, the sisters won't be able to repay the loan, and they'll lose their home within months. His killer, though, has been identified as notorious outlaw Charlie Bangs, rumored to be hiding out in Indian Territory, and there's a $1,000.00 price on his head. When Willa, early on, conceives the idea of tracking him down and claiming the bounty, nobody can talk her out of it. The idea's not as hare-brained as some folks think. Tough and practical, "tomboy" Willa's a good shot with a rifle whose hunting skills keep her family supplied with meat; she can ride, and she's got guts. As even she recognizes, though, the enterprise she's contemplating is a deadly dangerous one. At the very least, she'll need the services of an experienced trail guide. Enter one Gideon Hartley. Gideon's about 35; he's fairly new in town, but the reputation that precedes him confirms that he's highly competent as a trail guide in rough terrain --when he's sober. But his reputation also suggests (correctly) that he drinks a lot. In fact, his alcohol abuse problem is longstanding and deep-seated. He and Willa meet in Chapter 1. Surprisingly (or maybe not, depending on how familiar readers are with "romance" genre conventions; this was published under the "Love Inspired" imprint, though I approached it as a Western, and it works on those terms) there's some chemistry between them; but neither is looking for that sort of thing, nor inclined to nurture it. More to the point, Willa's not thrilled with the idea of a "drunk" for a guide; and Gideon (who hasn't done any guiding for about a year) is pretty well convinced that he's not up to the job and that Willa would be embarking on a suicide mission anyway. But before long, it becomes clear to her that he's the only prospective guide she's going to get, and to him that she's going whether he goes with her or not. Goodnight gives serious attention to developing her characters (including the secondary ones, along with our H/h) and bringing the community to life, and she takes the time needed to do that in depth. We don't get started on our actual quest until a bit more than 200 pages in (and the book has 363 pages). Some readers, who expect the adventure of the trail to be the main warp and woof of the tale, won't like this aspect. Barb and I, however, fully appreciated the textured, in-depth approach. Both main characters (who alternate as viewpoint characters, though third-person narration is used throughout) are fully round and three-dimensional. Gideon in particular has a lot of psychological baggage, which is believable, and gradually disclosed. Western-style action, once it kicks in, isn't stinted; there are plenty of jeopardies on the trail, and the climactic confrontation will test our leading couple's mettle on more than one level. The author writes very well; her plotting is excellent, and her re-creation of the time and place masterful. (It features a cameo appearance by real-life person Bass Reeves, the first African-American deputy U.S. marshall.) In keeping with the standards of the ECPA, this book poses no content issues for bad language, sexual content (we do have reference to prostitution, and to the ugly trade of sex trafficking, which is a very contemporary reality, but which goes back a lot longer than that), or ultra-gory violence. Christian faith (which both main characters were raised with, though Gideon's faith has been long neglected) plays a positive role here, though the book isn't "preachy" and delivers its spiritual messages by example. I'd recommend this to fans of Westerns, Western romance, and clean (especially Christian) romance in general, as well as to fans of strong heroines. The story arc here is complete, and the book isn't said to be part of a series (though I suspect that both of Willa's sisters might eventually get her own sequel). Although some characters, such as Belle Holbrook, obviously have very intriguing backstories, I couldn't find any indication that they were in prior books by the author. (But if they were, or if they eventually get prequels, I'd be interested in reading those books!) ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
May 18, 2022
|
Jul 07, 2022
|
Feb 07, 2022
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| B09TQ5S53Q
| 4.07
| 76
| Jun 2022
| Jun 27, 2022
|
it was amazing
|
Goodreads author Heather Day Gilbert (who's also a Goodreads friend, and one of my favorite writers) earned high marks from me with her earlier Viking
Goodreads author Heather Day Gilbert (who's also a Goodreads friend, and one of my favorite writers) earned high marks from me with her earlier Vikings of the New World duology. Here, she teams up with a new-to-me fellow evangelical Christian writer, Jen Cudmore, to deliver another solid work of historical fiction (the opening volume in a projected series) set in the same era. My trade paperback ARC of this novel was generously given to me by Heather herself; no commitment that my review would be favorable was asked for or given. Our setting here is partly in Viking-ruled northern Scotland ("Caithness"), but mostly in Scandinavia --specifically, in Tavland, a fictional large island west of Norway. (A map of the island is provided, but it has no scale and doesn't show it in relation to any other body of land. I picture it as about midway between Norway and Iceland, and perhaps about the size of the latter.) Novels set in fictional countries aren't unheard of (The Prisoner of Zenda comes to mind). In this case, I'd guess the reason for the device is that the authors wanted to be able to depict a Viking polity, but not to have to be bound to the historical personalities or events of any of the actual ones. The time frame is mainly 998-999 A.D. (with a short prologue set in 989). This was a time when Christianity was spreading in the northern lands, but far from universal. So polygamy and concubinage are still legal, as is slavery (and sexual exploitation of slaves). Warfare and violence are common, life expectancy can be short, and women are under a yoke of patriarchy --though in some ways it's not as heavy a yoke as it is in the more "civilized" lands of the south in that day. We have two co-protagonists and primary viewpoint characters here, both young women. Tavland native Ellisif, born into a land-owning family, is about 26 in 998, mother of two little girls, pregnant again, and trapped in an abusive arranged marriage. Somewhat younger at around 20, Inara was born in slavery in the islands north of Scotland, to a now-dead Tavish mother kidnapped into slavery some years earlier. Tall and strong, tough-minded and blessed with some sword skills (long story!), we meet her on the Scottish mainland hiding out from her former master. (We learn the backstory behind that only gradually.) Her goal is to become a warrior. (Although relatively rare, shield-maidens weren't unknown in Viking society, and could be accepted as such on their merits.) Circumstances are about to bring these ladies' life-paths together. Their viewpoints are supplemented by those of two Tavish male characters, both single: young jarl (a Viking noble title, cognate with the English "earl") Dagar, who as a teen was engaged to Ellisif, before her parents died in a accident and her oldest brother got the bright idea of selling her like a cow or a mare to her present husband, and ship-builder and occasional warrior Hakon. As you've no doubt already surmised, yes, this novel does have a romantic component --and, indeed, two romances for the price of one. :-) But it offers more than that, as serious writers know that fiction must if it depicts romantic love as a realistic (and good!) part of the totality of human life; and our two authors here are definitely serious writers. We're looking here at family life, social relationships, implicit questions of social justice and the relationship of Christian faith to conduct; and we're also getting a crash course (which sadly is as relevant in 2022 as it was in 998!) in the grim realities of spousal abuse and what is or isn't a helpful way of dealing with it. (The "Word from the Authors" at the end is constructive in that regard.) Questions of gender roles, and the relationship of career goals vs. family life, are also front-and-center here, and again very relevant. One thing that quality historical fiction such as this tends to show is that human nature and needs haven't really changed over the centuries. (In opposition to that idea, it's often asserted by modern would-be critics, who know little of history, that romantic love was only invented in the 1700s, and was a concept totally unknown and unimaginable before that. Plenty of primary-source evidence exists to belie that claim; it was not only a known concept, but felt by lots of people, then as now. It just wasn't always as readily taken into account by people making the decisions about marriages then as now --and, as Ellisif and Dagar would tell us, the ones getting married weren't always the ones making the decision.) And though this is a "romance," it's no bodice-ripper. The quality of the writing here is very good, and the collaboration is seamless; I've read and liked several of Heather's books, but I couldn't tell any stylistic difference between the various parts of this book to suggest different authorship. Past-tense, third-person narration is used throughout, however, rather than Heather's characteristic present-tense first person. (I like the one as well as the other, so that was no problem for me.) A textured picture of Viking daily life is presented, clearly based on solid research; but the research isn't intrusive. Like Norah Lofts, our authors here avoid archaic-sounding diction in their dialogue; there are touches that suggest the setting, but we basically understand that the characters' Old Norse is translated for us into conventional modern English with an "equivalent effect" (which explains the single use here of "okay" in conversation). References to Christian faith are natural in the circumstances of the story, and not "preachy." Our Christian characters are Catholics (one minor character is an abbot), but denominational distinctives aren't much in evidence. (I'd have liked more reference to the development of Inara's faith, which is actually treated very sketchily.) Directly-described violent action scenes only occur in three places, and aren't very graphic, but Inara shows her mettle enough to earn the book a place on my "action heroines" shelf. As a concluding note, we use "Viking" today as a general term for the ancient and early medieval Nordic inhabitants of Scandinavia, men and women, old and young. In the book, though, it's used as it was then, as a term for a warrior. (It comes from the verbal form, "to go a-viking," that is, trading/raiding, as inclination or circumstances dictated, in the lands to the south.) With that understanding, the title has a special meaning that will become apparent by the end of the book. :-) ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
May 11, 2022
|
May 26, 2022
|
Jan 02, 2022
|
Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1735131881
| 9781735131887
| 1735131881
| 4.44
| 9
| unknown
| Aug 31, 2021
|
really liked it
|
Note, Oct. 31, 2021: I just modified one sentence of this review to reflect a helpful clarification of Roman Catholic devotional practices which the a
Note, Oct. 31, 2021: I just modified one sentence of this review to reflect a helpful clarification of Roman Catholic devotional practices which the author shared in a personal message. Always glad to learn something new! My Goodreads friend Liane Zane kindly gifted me with a paperback copy of this second of her Elioud Legacy novels, as she did with the first one (The Harlequin & The Drangùe, in exchange for an honest review. Having liked the first book, I was glad to accept; and I wasn't disappointed with the sequel! The premise of the Elioud Legacy builds on the idea, based on a passage in the book of Genesis, that in the days before Noah's flood, "and also after that," there were matings between angelic beings and humans, resulting in mixed-race offspring, here called the "Elioud." As recently as last year, when I read the first book, I was still skeptical of that interpretation, mostly simply because I didn't like it and didn't want to believe it. However, subsequent study of the issue, which I'd never seriously done before, compelled me to admit that this is the most plausible reading of the passage, as far as it goes. On that foundation, Zane builds the literary conceit that these pairings are still going on at times, that a fair number of humans with some angelic genes still walk the earth, gifted with more-than-human abilities and perceptions in proportion to their angelic ancestry (although using these usually takes some training), and that those who know their ancestry may consciously ally themselves either with God or Satan. Though some, the "Grey Elioud," would prefer to stay out of the whole cosmic battle.... (More on the subject of this whole conceit below. :-) ) Readers of the first book will already know the above; and I definitely recommend reading the books in order. Here, events from the series opener are referred to in a cursory way; but you will understand the characters, situation, and prior events better with a reading of the first book, and that one lays an essential foundation for what follows. In the first book, CIA agent Olivia Markham and her two close female friends and fellow 20-something intelligence agents (though from different European countries) met Albanian tycoon Mihail Kastrioti and his two fellow long-lived Elioud warriors for the Lord --and the ladies learned that they also have Elioud blood. That book pitted the two threesomes against the demon Asmodeus and his human acolyte, Joseph Fagan, who happens to head up the CIA's Vienna office, but who has an agenda and proclivities that his superiors wouldn't like. (A serious psychological evaluation on him before he joined the Company would have been a really good idea!) But equally importantly, we also learned that each member of the two trios felt a mutual strong attraction to a member of the other one. Since the series is projected to be a trilogy, and it's in the paranormal romance sub-genre, I figured that each book would feature the story of a different one of these couples, and focus on their relationship. Here, we focus on Italian intelligence agent Anastasia ("Stasia") Fiore and Mihail's side-kick Miro Kos. ("Fiore" is Italian for flower, and "Kos" means blackbird in his native Croatian, hence the book title.) Neither are unaware of feeling attracted to the other, but neither of them welcome it. Stasia's not immune to male charms; but as a largely secular-minded young woman who mostly goes with the flow of her culture's mores, she's always opted to keep her sex life strictly casual. And she's put off by the whole eternal cosmic battle revelation, and wants no part of it; she wants to keep her feet firmly planted in the familiar mundane security of the "real" world she's always known. For his part, Miro has psychological baggage going back a long time (to the era of World War I, in fact!); his only venture into romance didn't end well for him. But circumstances are about to throw these two together. When last we left Asmodeus and Fagan, the former was in a coma and the latter had been on the receiving end of a partial memory wipe. But some weeks have elapsed since then.... Now, on loan from her agency to the Art Squad of Italy's national police force, Stasia's on the track of the thieves of a couple of valuable paintings, one of them a long-unknown, recently surfaced work by Rembrandt, "The Judgment of the Watcher Angels." This case will be the tip of an iceberg involving not one but two demons, secrets of the classical art world, and high-stakes derring-do and fighting action that will give all six of our favorite Elioud a dangerous work-out, on both a physical and a spiritual plane. In terms of messaging, stylistic features, and the quality of the writing, this volume is much of a piece with the preceding one. We have the same Christian grounding (the author is a Christian, of the Roman Catholic denomination) and strong good vs. evil vibe. Also in evidence is the same quick narrative pace, vivid characterizations (all six of our principal characters have quite distinct personalities, rather than being clones of each other), local color clearly based on serious research, capable depiction of action scenes and high technology, and solid knowledge of the actual geography of the locales where events take place, which I'm guessing comes from very extensive use of Internet maps and pictures. The relationship between the hero and heroine develops over a period of months, so we don't have the same insta-love problem as in the first novel. Readers interested in the shady side of the art world, including art theft, will appreciate the use of that angle here (in that respect, the book might appeal to fans of such novels as The Collection and Zrada by Lance Charnes, though his works don't have any supernatural elements). Unlike the first novel, this one does have some explicit (and unmarried) sex, though it's described in a way that comes across as loving rather than lewd. The author is aware that this poses issues (though they go deeper than just with the command she posits from the Archangel Michael that his Elioud warriors be chaste); but it's also, in the circumstances, not an unrealistic development, human nature being what it is. (Despite having some angel genes, Elioud are as human as the rest of us.) Without going into detailed discussion, I don't believe that unfallen angels ever mated with humans, or that human-angel unions or their offspring survived into anything close to modern times. (And I don't take The Book of Enoch as actual history.) But, as I noted with the first book, this is a fictional conceit; I don't believe in vampires or werewolves either, but as in those cases, I can suspend disbelief. I did have more theological quibbles here than with the series opener. IMO, there are clear indications in the Genesis text that the forbidden fruit (it's actually never said to be an apple; that was a convention of medieval art that fastened itself on the popular mind) was not, as it's said to be here, a metaphor for "reproductive sex;" and I wasn't comfortable with the few instances here of prayer to angels. (However, this is less jarring for Catholic writers or readers, since besides praying to departed human saints, they're also allowed to pray to Michael --who's also considered a "saint"-- and two other archangels, as well as to their own guardian angel; the prayers here are consistent with this.) But these are minor flaws. In the main, this is a stirring tale of a strong, respect-worthy hero and a tough, straight-shooting (in more ways than one!) heroine fighting evil and finding a committed connection to each other along the way. Though I don't recommend starting the series here, I'd recommend this book to any reader who liked the first one! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Oct 06, 2021
|
Oct 27, 2021
|
Oct 06, 2021
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1479465216
| 9781479465217
| 1479465216
| 4.35
| 26
| 2006
| Aug 15, 2021
|
really liked it
|
Detectives as protagonists entered the realm of English-language fiction in the 19th century, especially in its later decades, and quickly captured th
Detectives as protagonists entered the realm of English-language fiction in the 19th century, especially in its later decades, and quickly captured the fancy of much of the reading public. The earliest examples, such as Poe's Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, and Chesterton's Father Brown, find their adventures solely in the natural world. But it wasn't very long before other writers took the basic idea into the supernatural realm, to create the figure of the occult or "psychic" detective, such as the hero of Ghosts: Being the Experiences of Flaxman Low (1899) or William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki, a solver of mysteries that involve, or at least often involve, the weird and uncanny. Like their natural-world counterparts, the occult detectives in this formative era were nearly all male. But in Shiela Crerar, the heroine of this six-story cycle originally published in The Blue Magazine in 1920, Ella M. Scrymsour (whose full name was Ella Mary Scrymsour-Nichol) created a distaff incarnation of this type of figure, who can hold her own with any of her male colleagues. I first encountered the character in "The Werewolf of Rannoch" when I read Great Horror Stories: 101 Chilling Tales back in 2020. (Prior to that, I'd never heard of the character or the author.) Guessing correctly that Shiela was a series character, I tracked this book down in the Goodreads database; and having gotten it as a gift this past Christmas, have now taken much satisfaction in reading it! Orphaned as a child, Shiela Crerar was happily raised by an apparently bachelor uncle, a Highland laird with a lot of lineage but not a lot of money. The Sight ran in the family; both she and Uncle John were strongly psychic (her gift --or curse-- as she'll discover early on, allows her to see ghosts, something most people can't), and she shared in his interest in and study of the paranormal. She's a kind-hearted, frank and down-to-earth young woman who loves nature and likes to read; she's also one with considerable determination and a strong will. His sudden death when she's 22 leaves her the owner of his smallish estate, Kencraig, but it's heavily mortgaged. Not willing to sell a place that's profoundly dear to her, she rents it out on a five-year lease, resolved to find a line of work that will ultimately let her pay off the mortgage (while providing for her in the meantime). When nothing else offers, she hits on the idea of offering her services as a psychic detective. (All of this is presented to the reader in the first few pages of the first story, "The Eyes of Doom.") As we learn in the last story, "The Wraith [the back cover copy incorrectly gives that word as "Wrath") of Fergus McGinty," her mission takes her five years to complete. (That she completes it isn't really a spoiler; from the beginning, I think that most readers would surmise that she will.) Her career as an occult detective involves her in some very intense and dangerous experiences, well titled as "Adventures." (Besides the ones already mentioned, the other stories are "The Death Vapour," "The Room of Fear," and "The Phantom Isle.") Her clients are mostly well-to-do Scots gentry, and her travels will take her to various Highland locales, including the Isle of Skye and its environs. She'll deal with mostly supernatural phenomena (one story centers around what proves to be a case of very grim psychic imprinting), including murderously vengeful revenants, a homicidal "Elemental," and lycanthropy. (The latter is explained here as astral projection, in which the sleeping werewolf's astral self projects --sometimes unknown to the projector, but in some cases deliberately-- and can take on the substantial form of a ravening human-beast hybrid.) Scrymsour's tales are plot-driven, straightforward, suspenseful and intense, with a real sense of danger and menace. Her prose style is direct and (along with the relatively short length of the collection) makes for a quick read. Most of the stories involve a backstory rooted in fictional (but realistic) events in Scotland's long and often bloody history, including savage clan warfare and the failed Jacobite rising in 1745 and its vicious repression. (I felt this exhibited some affinity to M. R. James' "antiquarian" approach to the supernatural tale, which for me was a plus.) There's some effective reference to Celtic and other occult lore. Scrymsour furnishes her heroine with a love interest introduced in the first story, Stavordale Hartland, so there's a note of clean romance. (If we picture the stories as taking place from 1915-1920, it's not clear why Stavordale's not in the military; but the Great War isn't reflected anywhere in this corpus at all.) Shiela packs a pistol and can use it effectively (the author describes it as an "automatic revolver," which tells us that she knew virtually nothing about handguns!), but that plot element only appears in one story. There's not a lot of directly described gore here, but there is reference to mostly off-stage past grisly atrocities, and to present-day violent deaths of animals and humans, both adults and children; and in one case the murder of a two-year old child in real time, though it's not described in detail and is over in four sentences. (Unfortunately, Shiela's heroic qualities don't include quick reaction time; my biggest peeve with the book was that she failed to act in time to prevent this!) Scrymsour's characterizations are not sharp; Shiela is the best-drawn character, but Stavordale isn't developed as much, and the chemistry between the two doesn't come across as strong. He also tends to address her with phrases like "little woman, which I found irksome. But I didn't find the message of the story cycle to be sexist; he wants her to give up her detective work and marry him, but she won't do that until she completes her self-set mission. (And though one reviewer holds the theory that Shiela's psychic powers depend on virginity, so that marriage will destroy them, to my mind the conclusion of the last story suggests the opposite; Stavordale comes to realize that her Sight is a permanent part of her, whether she uses it to further a paid career or not.) ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Jan 14, 2024
|
Jan 18, 2024
|
May 24, 2021
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 4.12
| 8
| Nov 06, 2020
| Nov 06, 2020
|
really liked it
|
Lance Charnes and I are Goodreads friends, and I've read and liked two of his earlier novels; so he offered me a free review copy of this newly-publis
Lance Charnes and I are Goodreads friends, and I've read and liked two of his earlier novels; so he offered me a free review copy of this newly-published book. (There wasn't any guarantee that I'd also like this one, but he does know my tastes pretty well.) The opener for a projected new series, this tale spins off from the author's DeWitt Agency Files, and Carson (no first name!), the protagonist here, is an important character in the opener for the first series, The Collection. (This review avoids spoilers for Zrada, but might have some for the former novel.) The DeWitt “Agency” operates on the edge (and sometimes over the edge) of legality in the world of super-expensive art objects trade, a milieu with a decidedly dark underbelly, which the author has thoroughly researched. But, besides the change from a male to a female protagonist, where I classified the original series as crime fiction, I'd classify this one more as straight action-adventure. The emphasis here isn't on art, the mechanics of art swindles, etc.; the art in the story is more of a McGuffin, with the emphasis on action, danger, derring-do, weapons and explosions. (This book is set in 2016, the same year The Collection was published, and the author establishes that the events in the latter have already happened.) Ex-cop Carson (she's divorced, but still uses her married name) is a complex, thoroughly round and very distinctive character, and a highly private person with her share of secrets. (We get to know her here in much more depth than we do in The Collection, though she was also well-realized there.) Abrasive, prickly, potty-mouthed and tough as nails, she works as a mercenary for Allyson DeWitt, and also hires out, albeit reluctantly, as an occasional hit woman for a Russian mob boss, in order to protect family who are under his gun –though she does draw a firm line in the sand against harming innocents. As that suggests, there's more moral depth to her than you might at first think; she's actually a person of very real integrity and honor. She's got a conscience that she listens to; her word's her bond, and she cares about people, though she doesn't trust or make friends easily. This time out, Carson's mission is legally and ethically unobjectionable. Back in 2009, two valuable 15th-century paintings were stolen in a burglary at a German museum. Now, they've fallen into the hands of a Chechen fence, who's wiling to return them to the legal owner –for 2 million Euros. If he made that exchange in any peaceful, law-abiding country with an honest and functional police force, he'd be arrested in minutes. So, he's set up the meeting in the lawless, war-ravaged Donbass, Ukraine's break-away Eastern region, and cut a cash-strapped (but well-armed) rebel militia into the deal as his partners. The DeWitt Agency is handling the swap. Our heroine's job is to deliver the cash safely, act as bodyguard for the museum staffer who can authenticate the paintings, and bring both of the latter back intact, come hell or high water. Besides being obviously combat-capable, she landed the assignment because she speaks both Ukrainian and Russian; though raised in Canada, she's of Ukrainian stock (her maiden name was Tarasenko). As the book opens, she, the museum expert, and the Agency's local “associate” and his two minions are pulling into the meeting place. Her nerves are on edge; a LOT of wealth is going to be on the table here, and she's surrounded by hungry, desperate strangers (or people she knows to be morally dubious) for many miles around. (And readers who know Ukrainian won't be reassured by the book title; it's the word for “betrayal”....) Ukraine is the poorest nation in Europe (and one of the most corrupt), but still fields the continent's third largest military. It has a long, complex history, during which its borders have fluctuated wildly, and it's home to a variety of ethnic groups, some of whom don't much like or trust each other, usually because they have mutual genuine grievances and not wholly unfounded fears of repeat behavior. Also, it's always had much stronger powers with hegemonial aspirations to both its east and west, which have often found the country's ethnic fissures exploitable and deliberately exacerbated them. At times it has lost its independence, in whole or in part, sometimes for centuries. The present situation can't be fully understood apart from all of this. However, what we get for background in the book is two short paragraphs starting with 2013, where Carson fills in the museum guy based on the “agency backgrounder” she read. Okay, that's about all she'd be realistically expected to know; many action-adventure fans don't give a care about history or politics (apart from “US against THEM!”) anyway, and nobody likes info-dumps. Still, a very deep background this isn't, and it's also from a U.S. military intelligence (in which the author was formerly an officer) perspective, which provides both a lot of factual knowledge of immediately current events and a certain slant on them. I don't doubt for a minute that the Russian government/military leaders are as self-serving, corrupt and Machiavellian as they're portrayed as being, and capable of doing all of the ugly actions depicted (plus a few that aren't in the book, but which you can read about elsewhere); nor that sleazy business moguls in the Donbass exploit the civil war to get rich off of slave labor –like some of their counterparts in the West, though the latter are usually shrewd enough to keep the slaves out of sight in the Third World. But I do doubt that the EU, which is alluded to here briefly in one sentence, the U.S. government, the IMF –Ukraine's its fourth largest debtor in the world-- the multinational corporations that basically run all three (none of which are mentioned here at all), and whatever Ukrainian faction they're currently financing and “advising” are just innocent bystanders, or noble altruists merely trying to make the world safe for democracy. If the book piques your interest in the country, my recommendation is to use it as an informative springboard for further reading, not as a definitive and comprehensive treatise. Here as in The Collection, Lance writes in the present tense; this takes a moment or two of getting used to if your mind is expecting past tense. But I've encountered this technique before in a number of books, so adjusted quickly; and it does create a sense of “you-are-there” immediacy. The plotting has its twists and turns, but it's mostly quite believable; it's also focused on one strand, though from different perspectives, and tautly compressed in time, occupying just nine days. Narration is in third-person, but in the vocabulary of whatever character is the current viewpoint one (usually Carson, if she's present). For me, it wasn't a quick read; the author's prose style is straightforward, but there are a lot of Slavic personal and place names (a character list and real-world map of the geographical setting is provided) and references to unfamiliar-to-me types of guns and military hardware to wade through, and I found myself reading more carefully to pick up details of description and action. However, it's a very gripping, involving read which quickly engaged me emotionally. The narrative pace itself is quite fast, and while the action isn't “non-stop” (any book in which it actually is would by definition be pretty shallow otherwise, which this one definitely isn't!), there's a lot of it, steadily punctuating the narrative. Vivid, realistic and well-realized action scenes are one of this author's fortes. An even more important one is development of nuanced characters who come to life as understandable people, on both sides of the country's civil war. For instance, the militia characters are not cartoon villains, or necessarily “villains” at all, as such. Some characters definitely ARE villains (though not cartoonish ones), but even they may have an admixture of better qualities along with their sleaze. Fans of action heroines here will have the added plus of meeting another fighting female, ex-Ukrainian National Guard soldier Galina, who's far from a Carson clone (she's a developed, distinct character in her own right), but who can more than pull her weight in a combat situation. There's no sex here, just some passing references to past sexual activity (Carson's trust issues and low opinion of marriage and males, which her one try at the former didn't help, give her the ratchet towards commitment-free flings that you'd expect). A number of characters have foul mouths, often shaped by military culture (both Ukrainian and Russian have an exact parallel to the American f-word, which the author translates :-( ), but that's realistic for the character types, and, refreshingly, not everybody does. Despite the cruelty and greed often in evidence here, this is at its core a profoundly moral novel, whose messages (delivered by example rather than sermonizing) encourage readers to be kinder, less selfish, more honest and caring in their treatment of other people. My main quibble was with decisions by a couple of characters that, IMO, served the plot rather than being in character and/or very smart (and Carson's not stupid!) But that doesn't keep me from highly recommending this to action fans. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Nov 04, 2020
|
Nov 23, 2020
|
Oct 25, 2020
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||||
| 1947187015
| 9781947187016
| 1947187015
| 4.00
| 25
| Oct 08, 2011
| Nov 09, 2018
|
really liked it
|
None
|
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Nov 12, 2022
|
Nov 23, 2022
|
Oct 20, 2020
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1735131806
| 9781735131801
| 1735131806
| 4.18
| 51
| Jun 07, 2020
| Jun 07, 2020
|
really liked it
|
Goodreads author Liane Zane is a published novelist under her real name, but has adopted this pen name for her new venture into paranormal romance, be
Goodreads author Liane Zane is a published novelist under her real name, but has adopted this pen name for her new venture into paranormal romance, beginning with this opener for a projected series. She and I are Goodreads friends, so I accepted her offer of a free review copy, with no guarantee of a favorable one. PNR as such isn't typically my thing (nor is "romance" in general, in the book trade sense); but both supernatural fiction and action adventure are, and I could easily approach this book in those terms. (I'm also a sucker for a well-drawn action heroine who kicks butt and takes names --and here we have not just one but three such ladies.) Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament, referring to the time before Noah's flood, states, "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days --and also afterward-- when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown" (6:4). Biblical scholars are not agreed on exactly what the writer meant by this; but one ancient interpretation, articulated for instance in the inter-testamental The Book of Enoch {which is not actually by Enoch], held that it refers to matings of rebellious angels and humans, with resulting offspring. Personally, I'm skeptical of that interpretation, but I can accept it as a fictional conceit in a novel; and it's used as such in a number of modern novels, usually (as here) with the idea that these mixed bloodlines survived to the present day. Zane terms the descendants of these pairings the "Elioud;" her premise is that they may or may not know of their heritage and may have different amounts of angelic genes, but they inherit certain physical/mental powers, to the degree of angelic ancestry they have. Like angels and other humans, they also have free will; those who know their ancestry may ally themselves with God's cause --or with the Adversary. This information is the backdrop context for this novel; it's disclosed more gradually in the book, but IMO it's not a spoiler, and is actually helpful for the reader to know from the get-go. That understood, our setting is present-day central and eastern Europe, initially Vienna. Protagonist Olivia Markham is a young (I think her age is said to be 24) but very capable CIA agent stationed there, under the cover of graduate study and internship in international business development. But unknown to the Company, she has a side hobby: by night, she sometimes dons a Harlequin mask to take on sexual predators/rapists who use the Internet to line up victims; and she has a couple of female friends (also with backgrounds in covert intelligence) who help her. Her latest target is a slime-ball who calls himself Asmodeus, the name of a demon in the Book of Tobit from the Apocrypha. What she doesn't know, however, is that Asmodeus just might be his real name, and that he's heading up a murderous cult who call themselves bogomili after a medieval Gnostic sect. (The Bogomils were an actual sect which originated in the Balkans, and which I'd read of before in various places, but the medieval Bogomils weren't into murdering people to "liberate" their souls.) She also doesn't know that he has another adversary watching him, a wealthy Albanian named Mihail Kastrioti, who has some friends of his own, friends who call him a drangue, which is usually translated as "dragon" in English. (A drangue is a being known in actual Albanian folklore, but the concept is really pre-Christian and Zane has reinterpreted it somewhat; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drangue .) The plot takes off from there; and it'll be quite a ride! At 517 pages, this is a thick, substantial novel, but it doesn't feel padded in the least; it flows quickly, with steady development of events, no dull moments, and a lot of action. In between, our heroines and heroes may stop to regroup and compare notes, and Zane may use the interludes to develop characters and impart information; but they're interesting characters and information which are well worth developing and imparting, and which enhance the story. Characterization here is very adept and three-dimensional, and definitely a strong point. It's obvious that the author also has done a lot of background research into history, Balkan culture and language (foreign-language phrases are translated for the reader where they need to be) etc.; it shows, but in a good way that masterfully evokes the setting as a seamless part of the narrative, not in the form of info-dumps or displays of erudition. She clearly has a particularly good grasp of the physical geography of Vienna and other cities where events take place. Action scenes are handled realistically and well. (There's a high body count, but no wallowing in gore for its own sake.) As a whole, the story is a page-turner with a high tension and suspense factor, especially near the end. While this is not "Christian fiction" in the commercial sense (it has a small amount of occasional profanity and obscenity, within the bounds of reasonable realism for the characters speaking) it is fiction written by a Christian. We get a picture of angels and demons, and their interaction, here which is morally and theologically consistent with what we're told in the Bible, not a drastic reinterpretation of it in the manner of some modern writers. We're solidly in the realm of a serious, high-stakes conflict between clearly defined good and evil, which grounds the novel and gives it substance. There's no illicit or explicit sexual activity as such (though readers should be warned that there is one scene that could be described as "steamy"). Another plus is that there's a clear closure to the immediate story arc with no cliffhanger, while the stage is clearly set for the projected sequel. (Which I want to read!) If Goodreads allowed half stars, this would have gotten four and a half from me. IMO, Olivia's vigilante activities are unrealistic for a CIA operative. They'd be far too risky in terms of possible exposure and unwanted publicity (the Harlequin mask would hide her face, but still draw attention), and the consequences of her bosses' wrath if they found out about it too drastic to risk. (It's also likely that the CIA's recruiting process would have included psychological profiling which would have red-flagged vigilante tendencies; and there's also the problem of what to do with offenders if she did catch them --just beat them up? Lethal force isn't her default option --though she's not squeamish about using it when she needs to-- and she can't make a citizen's arrest and turn them in at the police station.) The entire plot here unfolds in less than a fortnight, so there's an insta-love situation with the attendant credibility challenge. If the angels mating with humans before the Flood were said to be disobedient, it renders it dubious to have similar unions going on in post-medieval times, between humans and angels in good standing. And one key aspect of the way a demon-acolyte bond magically works was a bit murky, at least to me. That kept my rating from a full five stars this time; but this is nonetheless a very good novel, and highly recommended! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Jun 15, 2020
|
Jul 04, 2020
|
Jun 17, 2020
|
Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| B079H1DP21
| 3.65
| 122
| unknown
| Jan 30, 2018
|
liked it
|
This series opener got a favorable review from one of the ladies in a Goodreads group I belong to. Since I'm interested in the vampire mythos, and esp
This series opener got a favorable review from one of the ladies in a Goodreads group I belong to. Since I'm interested in the vampire mythos, and especially intrigued by fiction that approaches it from a Christian standpoint, her review got my attention, though I hadn't previously heard of either the author or the series. So, when I discovered that I could download the e-book for free, I opted to give it a try. The Goodreads description, delivered in first person by protagonist Tara Lee, is accurate (and I'd guess was written by Cerepaka himself --the T. in his initials apparently stands for Timothy). But for those who haven't read that, this is basically urban fantasy, and is clearly influenced both by the Twilight Saga and the Harry Potter series (though Meyer and Rowling are each significantly more accomplished writers than Cerepaka is). What makes it somewhat distinctive in that 24-year-old Tara is a Baptist pastor's daughter and a Christian believer herself (she made a Christian commitment at the age of 13), who takes her faith seriously, has taught Sunday school, and is singing for her dad's congregation in a church service when the book opens. But this Sunday proves to be atypical, when an actual vampire crashes through a sanctuary window (on the second frame of the e-book) and bites her in the neck. As in the Twilight books, those who survive a vampire bite normally become vampires themselves. But as the previously clueless Tara learns, she and her dad are Sorcerers, genetically gifted with magic powers most humans (the Powerless --think, "Muggles") don't have. Vampires generally don't bite their Sorcerer enemies; they just try to kill them. But a rare bitten Sorcerer becomes a half-vampire, with some vampire traits (including a blood thirst --though vampires don't have to indulge that with human blood, despite the strong temptation) combined with ability to use magic, though just as in the Potter books, that takes training. Unfortunately for Tara, that not only poses theological conundrums for a good Baptist young lady; half-vampires are considered by both the Vampire Council and the Sorcerer's Parliament as unnatural abominations that need to be killed on sight. And then there's the added wrinkle that, as Council agent Lucius soon reveals, Tara's assailant was working for a rogue Vampire Lord who has his own agenda --and it's an agenda the rest of the world won't like. If that sounds like an interesting premise with good possibilities, it is (provided you like that sort of thing --which I do!). The execution, though, isn't nearly good enough to fully realize the potential of the idea. (Throughout my reading of the book, I found myself thinking of ways in which the literary craftsmanship could be improved; obviously, that's never a good sign!) Cerepaka's prose is minimalist (and often awkward), telling the story straightforwardly enough, but with little description or texture to enflesh the characters and situations. Since Tara is the first-person narrator, we get inside her head; but even so, neither she or the other major characters are very well-developed; we're never even told, for instance, what she does for a living, though she has a job. (As that would imply, the novel is much more plot-driven than character-driven, and the characters tend to be mostly two-dimensional.) No sense of place is evoked; our setting is Texas (where the author lives), but we only learn that in Chapter 20 of a 29-chapter book. (Until then, the references to Greensboro and South Side had me picturing a setting in North Carolina and south-central Virginia!) In a couple of places, facts are stated in the narration and then contradicted a couple of pages later. Although romance actually isn't a significant element here (it probably is in subsequent books) what there is of it is an unconvincing, one-sided insta-love. So, why three stars? There are a few pluses here. This is a very fast-paced book, beginning with a bang and moving along quickly through a short time-frame (just about two days for the main story), and though the prose is undistinguished, it flows relatively easily, even despite Tara's tendency to repeat things in places or over-explain. That makes it a quick read, and I was engaged enough with the story throughout to be anxious to keep clicking to the next frame (once I started reading it, I finished it in four days, and for me that's pretty good time for reading an e-book!). Cerepaka does display some originality in the treatment of his vampires, and in creating story elements like the Shadow Way and the Strangers, and of course the Vampire Sword itself (though historically it couldn't have been forged "ten thousand years ago" --metallurgy didn't exist then, unless we imagine Robert E. Howard's lost Hyborean Age!). I appreciated the fact that Lucius is a "Pure" (a vampire who eschews human blood, and is disposed to help rather than hurt humans); and Tara's sincere spiritual struggle with the question of whether, as a half-vampire, she still has a soul and a relationship with God, or is beyond His grace, gave the tale a certain degree of depth. A word about Tara's character is worthwhile, since it's the most developed one here, and obviously the most central. Despite the deficiencies in the portrayal, she does come across as basically likable. Yes, she's overly concerned with the fact that Lucius is handsome, sometimes to the point of making my eyes roll. But she's a single woman in her 20s, not a plaster statue on a pedestal. The same can be said of the fact that her Christian faith doesn't mean she never says a swear word, nor that she's a paragon of devotional practice. She is who she is; but the person she is has a kind heart, a caring disposition towards others, and a core of guts and resolve when the chips are down. While she's definitely in a distress situation here, she's far from helpless; and though she's not into violence, she's game to do what has to be done --a fact we learn when she takes out the vampire who bit her with a head shot from a pistol her dad dropped (the bullets were silver). Another thing that helps credibility here (and also adds some depth) is that her greatest challenges in combat situations don't hinge on her physical fighting ability (which is largely untrained at this point!) but rather on the strength and purity of her moral will. All in all, I liked this well enough as an entertaining read. But I wouldn't spend money to buy it, or the two later books. (At least, not much money --I might pick up a used copy of the sequel if I found one at a flea market or a yard sale. :-) ) ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Jun 23, 2020
|
Jun 27, 2020
|
May 20, 2020
|
Kindle Edition
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
my rating |
|
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| 3.66
|
liked it
|
Jan 31, 2025
|
Jan 02, 2025
|
|||||
|
| 4.70
|
it was amazing
|
Jan 17, 2023
not set
|
Sep 11, 2024
|
|||||
|
| 4.67
|
it was amazing
|
Sep 07, 2024
|
Aug 23, 2024
|
|||||
|
| 4.40
|
liked it
|
May 27, 2024
|
Mar 31, 2024
|
|||||
|
| 4.67
|
it was amazing
|
Feb 28, 2024
|
Feb 16, 2024
|
|||||
|
| 3.92
|
it was ok
|
Oct 03, 2024
|
Jan 30, 2024
|
|||||
|
| 4.24
|
liked it
|
Aug 02, 2024
|
Jul 24, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.35
|
really liked it
|
Jul 25, 2023
|
Jun 30, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.50
|
really liked it
|
Jul 19, 2023
|
May 20, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.38
|
really liked it
|
Jun 04, 2023
|
Mar 19, 2023
|
|||||
|
| 4.20
|
liked it
|
May 29, 2023
|
Aug 14, 2022
|
|||||
|
| 4.22
|
really liked it
|
Apr 24, 2023
|
Jul 29, 2022
|
|||||
|
| 4.24
|
it was amazing
|
Jul 07, 2022
|
Feb 07, 2022
|
|||||
|
| 4.07
|
it was amazing
|
May 26, 2022
|
Jan 02, 2022
|
|||||
|
| 4.44
|
really liked it
|
Oct 27, 2021
|
Oct 06, 2021
|
|||||
|
| 4.35
|
really liked it
|
Jan 18, 2024
|
May 24, 2021
|
|||||
|
| 4.12
|
really liked it
|
Nov 23, 2020
|
Oct 25, 2020
|
|||||
|
| 4.00
|
really liked it
|
Nov 23, 2022
|
Oct 20, 2020
|
|||||
|
| 4.18
|
really liked it
|
Jul 04, 2020
|
Jun 17, 2020
|
|||||
|
| 3.65
|
liked it
|
Jun 27, 2020
|
May 20, 2020
|
Loading...
