A Complement of Scoundrels by S.V. Lockwood: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

A Complement of Scoundrels by S.V. Lockwood

A Complement of Scoundrels is set in a secondary world with steampunk-ish elements (no steam) and magic, magic-based technology and technology-based magic. It has an early 20th century feel to it, but it’s not an alt-earth. It’s the author’s debut novel and a very good one at that.

Myria, a young criminal, has been given a chance to lead a team for the first time to break into an unbreakable vault. Against all odds, they succeed, only to be betrayed by their crime boss. Three years later, when she’s released from a prison, she’s ready for her revenge. All she needs to do is to find her old crew and give a slip to the government official who’s supervising her. It’s all easy—until it isn’t. The nice young man watching over her wasn’t as gullible as she believed, and now they’re working for a new boss.

Felix used to be one of the strongest magic users in the military, until pulling off an impossible feat in a battle burned out all his magic, permanently crippling his abilities. The army won’t follow a leader who’s unable to repeat the feat, so he gave the credit to his general in exchange for a cushy government job. But he’s bored out of his mind, so when he’s given the mystery that is Myria, he decides to investigate. What he learns makes him involve his old general.

The task is to take down a popular politician right before the election. Myria and her team know he’s their old crime boss using their stolen magic to fool the country. Felix and the general simply see him as an opponent to the general’s brother, the current leader. But nothing is simple in this story where a conman is against a conman and double-crossing is the name of the game.

This was a great stand-alone fantasy caper. It’s exactly and solely about the con. There are no side-stories or quests, there are no backstories, and no romance. The buildup to the start of the job takes half the book, and while it feels slow at times, the story flows constantly forward. The actual con had so many twists and turns, that it was impossible to guess where it was going or if the team could pull it off.

Myria was a great character, single-minded in her focus on revenge, but not consumed by it. She believed that the original betrayal was her fault and worked to make things right. She was clever and funny at times, and while she operated from the handicap of never having had magic—it had been stolen when she was a child—she never let that slow her down. Felix was a good complement to her and the team with his moral core that got slightly compromised along the way, but never veered completely off.

All characters existed only here and now. We don’t learn anything about their past, Myria the exception and only a small one. It worked fairly well, the characters coming to life through their abilities. Felix was maybe the most sympathetic in his struggle to come to terms with losing his magic. But while I rooted for the characters and liked all of them, I was never terribly emotionally invested in them.

The strength and weakness of the book lay on its worldbuilding. It’s amazingly complicated and complex, and very opaque to the reader. We never really learn all there is to it, as nothing is explained. There’s all sort of technology, magic operating cars and airships, heavy reliance on magic in everything, whether inherent or tech assisted, and criminals stealing peoples’ magic to operate it all. But what really works is that the con itself is completely based on the special features of the world and could only exist within the context of it, making it unique and entertaining.

All in all, this was a great debut that delivered exactly what it set out to deliver, an entertaining story with a light emotional impact. The ending was good and tied all the lose ends, leaving the reader confident that the characters continue their lives after it’s ended—and maybe return for a different job. I’d read it.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Hocus Pocus Handbook by Ann Aguirre: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

The Hocus Pocus Handbook by Ann Aguirre

Thea is a human changeling who has lived in the Winter Court of the fae for all her life. She has her own unique magic, and since she’s lived so long in fae realm, she can never go back to human world again. She’s passionate about protecting the wild fae, which gets her in trouble with the Winter Court. After the latest escapade, they force her to marry a person from the Summer Court. But at the night of the ceremony, the entire Summer delegation vanishes.

Kerboros is the hound of the Winter Court, with a secret ability that allows him to track anyone. But even he can’t find where the Summer delegation disappeared to. Winter Lord sends him and Thea to find them, or face a great punishment. Out of options, they set into the wilderness to do so. It’s not an easy journey, during which they learn a lot about each other. And, obviously, fall in love. But Thea is already married.

This was a good cozy fantasy romance. It has a good balance of cozy and a bit grim, and never becomes saccharine. Thea is a good and competent heroine, not a simpering fool fumbling around for laughs, and she has some personal issues that add to her character. Kerboros is perfectly grumpy, and has genuine trauma to go through, justifying his grumpiness. The fae are a bit cruel, but not overly so. Stakes are suitably high, but not nail-biting, and the romance has time to build. The story was a pleasant way to spend a couple of evenings.

I had some issues though, mostly personal preferences that aren’t necessarily what other readers would find faults. Firstly, I don’t like when the romance has started before the book begins, which we learn already at the beginning, even if it’s only one-sided, like in this case. I like to be there for the whole ride. Secondly, I don’t like that it’s the grumpy one who has already caught the feelings. It robs the reader of a chance to watch him change because of love—though there’s some of that too.

Worldbuilding, for most part, was a good combination of fae lore and author’s own additions, and it worked well. There were a couple of things that took me off the world though. The name of the hero, Kerboros, was unfortunate, more so because he was apparently named after Kerberos from the Greek myths. Why would the fae care? Especially since they likely outdate the myths. Similarly, Thea compared a garden to that of Bible’s Paradise, which … I don’t even know why the author would do that instead of coming up with something of her own.

And the spells at the beginning of every chapter didn’t really add anything to my reading experience and I started skipping them. They were needlessly long, and unnecessary for the story. Maybe they could’ve been extras at the end of the book or something. These are small things, but they marred my enjoyment a little.

All in all, a good, but not memorable read. It’s book five in the Fix-It Witches series, but can perfectly well be read as a stand-alone.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Whitechapel Full Moon Society by Elizabeth DeLozier: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

The Whitechapel Full Moon Society by Elizabeth DeLozier

The Whitechapel Full Moon Society is set in Victorian London. It’s 1888. Caroline Foster has lost her aristocratic father and with him everything she had, as he’d been in deep debt. Out of options, she heads to London to find her brother Charlie, whose existence is a secret only she and her (former) maid know. But when she arrives at the boarding house in Whitechapel where he lives, she learns he’s disappeared months ago. Out of options and funds, she takes a position as a maid in the boarding house. She’s not really suited for the job, as she’s sickly and has never worked before, but she adapts fast.

Outwardly, it’s a very good place where guests are well fed and looked after. The boarders are a collection of mostly foreigners or people who have physical differences of some kind, but apart from raising Caroline's suspicions, it’s just surface level diversity. Nothing is made of it. But there are some odd rules, the most important of which is that Caroline isn’t to go to a locked room in the east wing, and she has to lock herself in her room during the full moon night. For the first half of the book, she obeys.

Outside the boarding house in Whitechapel, Jack the Ripper is spreading terror among the residents. It doesn’t take long for Caroline to start to believe that the locked room and the killer are somehow connected.

This was a fairly good read. It was well-written and managed to convey historical setting and Caroline’s new life in fairly short scenes without getting bogged down with too many details. The plot is fairly compact and small. There are two mysteries: what happened to Charlie and what’s going on behind the locked door. First mystery is more interesting to reader, and one that I didn’t easily guess, but Caroline doesn’t really do any meaningful investigation and in the end the truth is simply revealed to her.

The second mystery is more mysterious to Caroline than it is to reader, as the name of the book pretty much reveals it. The pacing is slightly off concerning it. The first full moon doesn’t happen until about midpoint and nothing happens. All in all, nothing happens until the latter half of the book and then only at the very end. Maybe it’s my fault for reading this as a mystery, and expecting an investigation plot.

Then there is the Jack the Ripper storyline that is woven into Caroline’s mysteries. I thought the story would’ve worked fine without that connection. Surely there’s room for more than one serial killer in Victorian London, especially since the author took liberties with reality and historical facts already. In the end, everything wrapped up nicely and neatly without much effort on Caroline’s part. I especially liked the acceptance Caroline showed and received when the truth finally came out, and that true monsters were elsewhere.

Caroline was an ok lead, but her inner life, memories of Charlie and her writing took much of the narrative instead of her forwarding the plot. Even so, her inner life would’ve had more meaning if it had foreshadowed the truth about her in any meaningful way. Now it was a bit of deus ex machina at the moment it was needed and not a moment earlier. All in all, this wasn’t a memorable read, but it was a good way to spend a few hours.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher

Daggerbound is a follow-up to Swordheart that came out in 2018, and while I didn’t read it until later, the wait has been long enough that I believed Swordheart would end up being a stand-alone. It’s part of the World of the White Rat world that began with Clockwork Boys in 2017. That book introduced Learned Edmund. Already back then I wished he’d get his own book, and finally, he’s the protagonist here.

Learned Edmund is a scholar of the Many-faced God’s temple, but he’s had enough of their ways and inability to change. So, without telling anyone, he’s accepted his last mission, to deliver some books and a sword that can’t be pulled out of the scabbard, and then he won’t return. Even if it means he’s also stealing his favourite mule, Sweetheart.

But soon after leaving, he’s attacked by bandits. He ends up pulling the sword that can’t be pulled, and a man with daggers and silver etchings on his face emerges. No-Longer-Learned Edmund believes he’s an angel. He turns out to be a former mercenary, The Dervish, who’s been trapped inside the sword with magic for a long time, dead but not quite, forced to protect his wielder. That is now Edmund.

The two set out to deliver the books, and maybe the sword, because Edmund has learned that it might be possible to break the curse on The Dervish. But they meet misfortune after another, bandits and a dragon even. They make friends too, a gnole and a giant sentient pillbug. There’s a great deal of attraction between Edmund and The Dervish, a great flirt who believes in his good looks. But Edmund is shy and The Dervish is badly traumatised, and so nothing seems to come of it. Also, it’s difficult to start a romance when you’re in constant peril.

But the existence of the sword isn’t a secret. The followers of the original wonderworker who made the sword want it back. And they’ll do anything to get it. Even hurting Edmund. But they underestimate the sword’s need to protect its wielder—especially if he’s fallen in love for the first time.

This was such a good book, a return to form after The Paladin’s Faith, which I found disappointing. The whimsy and delight were back—and gnoles! Edmund and The Dervish were both great characters with their own issues to go through, though Edmund was having easier time with his decision to leave the temple. The yearning was well done and kept the reader hooked the whole time. Dog Flower the gnole and Large Francis the pillbug were both wonderful additions with proper roles in the story. Some old faces featured too.

The ending was satisfying. The Dervish still has his trauma, but he’ll have centuries to work on them. Edmund emerged from his shell. They made a great pair despite their differences, one attentive and the other sympathetic. Together, they’ll be stronger, and I’m sure Edmund will find a way to solve the problem of the swords. The long wait for Learned Edmund’s book was definitely worth it.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Little Mushroom (Novel) Vol. 1 by Yi Shi Si Zhou: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Little Mushroom vol. 1 by Yi Shi Si Zhou

Back when Peach Flower House publishing went bust, I couldn’t get my hands on Little Mushroom: Judgement Day. The publisher had a print on demand publishing model and the books disappeared instantly. I have the second volume, Revelations, but what fun is that when I couldn’t read the first book. But luckily, Seven Seas bought the rights and now the first volume is available again, as an ebook too, with a new translation and illustrations.

Little Mushroom is set in far future where humanity has faced several extinction events that began with magnetic poles disappearing, followed by natural disasters, radiation sicknesses, and finally wild mutations that instantly change a human. Only two human bases are left of four there originally were, those protecting the new artificial poles, one in China and one in the US. Everything outside the bases is left for mutations, but some people risk their lives venturing out to forage materials for the bases.

An Zhe is a mushroom living in the Abyss, the worst contamination area. A human, An Ze, has come to his cave, badly injured, and in his attempt to heal him, An Zhe absorbs An Ze’s entire DNA and memories. Eventually, he’s able to take the man’s form too. When An Ze dies, An Zhe decides to head to the human base. His objective is to find his spore that humans have taken from him. An Ze has warned him not to go there, because humans kill all mutations at sight. The worst of the humans is The Judge who is able to detect mutations others don’t see.

When An Zhe finally reaches the base, after memorable events where the humans helping him either mutate to huge insects or get eaten by those, he comes face to face with the Judge himself, Colonel Lu Feng. But instead of killing him instantly, Lu Feng is unable to decide for the first time and takes An Zhe to be tested, only for the results show that An Zhe is human.

From there, An Zhe sets to survive in the base while looking for his spore. He settles in An Ze’s home, finds himself a job, and even makes friends of sort. But all around him, mutations increase and they’ve reached the base too. And every time Lu Feng is there, killing them. But he’s always there to help An Zhe survive too, and so he decides the colonel must be a good person.

And then comes the Judgement Day. A catastrophic breach lets mutations swarm the base, and the only solution is to save a few humans and sacrifice the rest. Thanks to Lu Feng, An Zhe is among the saved. But humanity isn’t safe. Just as things are looking a bit better for An Zhe, with a new job, budding friendship with Lu Feng, and finally finding his spore, the worst happens. The artificial pole breaks and the world is about to end once more. The first volume ends with that.

This is a good story. Despite all the death, it’s fairly quiet and melancholy. An Zhe observes humans and goes about his days. He comes close to being badly hurt or tricked a few times, but always avoids those in the last moment. Lu Feng remains a distant, scary figure for most of the book, but becomes more of a real person towards the end. This really isn’t much of a romance, even with all the tropes; just a friendship that neither party really understands but which both of them need. Yet it feels like one, and the reader roots for An Zhe and Lu Feng.

At the core though, it’s a harrowing tale. The desperate struggle of humans for survival against great odds, and the sacrifices they make for it. An Zhe, coming from a species and a place where the survival of the whole requires sacrifices of the few, understands where the leaders of the base come from. But individual humans, with the voice of An Zhe’s friend Cole, argue that it’s useless to save humanity if we lose what makes us human in the process. The base isn’t a happy place, but it’s the only place. And at the end, there might not even be that anymore.

The book is fairly well written, with minor inconsistencies and repetitions. Since I haven’t read the earlier translation, I can’t tell if there are changes there. Art is good and the characters resemble those of the manhua, which keeps the visuals consistent. 

Little Mushroom Manhua vol. 1. Art by Yuchi Jinze & Maomao Tou