Courting Dragons starts the King’s Fool mystery series. It’s set in the court of Henry
VIII and takes plase in the early sixteenth century. The main character, King’s fool Will Sommers, is based on a real
jester there.
This was a fairly
good book with a lot going on. The author weaved historical events and people into
the mix, in this case the courtship of Henry and Anne Boleyn, which served as a
background and occasionally took over from the murder mystery. The mystery
itself was interesting, even if the solution and motivations were rater lame,
after promises of spies and intrigue.
Historical
facts were well researched, and there were a lot of them, which made for a
heavy reading, especially in the beginning. However, I had trouble immersing
myself in the historical world. Mostly, I think, because of the first-person
narrative that constantly pulled me back to the present. The language was a bit
too contrived as well in its attempt to sound historical.
Will was an
interesting character. He could go about as he pleased, had the ear of
important persons, and could talk himself out of all kinds of situations. His
jests weren’t terribly funny though. His personal life was colourful with many
lovers, men and women alike, even if he only loved his Marion. He wasn’t much
of a sleuth, however, even though he got there in the end, but if you like
historical mysteries, give this a try.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
City of Last Chances is the kind of fantasy I currently like best:
compact in scope yet telling a large story. Ilmar is a city occupied by Palleseen
invaders, a people obsessed with perfection, be it language, thoughts, or
behaviour. Religion or magic aren’t allowed—gods don’t
exist in their world view—and dissidents
are submitted to correction, i.e. hangings.
Unfortunately
for them, Ilmar is a messy city, with a forest that is a portal to unknown
worlds filled with monsters and protected by mysterious people; a district full
of ghosts that take over the living; many magical systems, and demons powering
the factories. There are several resistance factions waffling about, crime
lords and aristocrats that have their own ideas of how to get rid of the
occupiers, and seditious ideas spreading among the university students.
Seemingly
random events spark a revolution—or try to. People are swept into
events they have no control over, with no one knowing what’s really happening
or if these actions are wise. When the dust settles, nothing has changed.
The story
is told through a large cast of characters. Some play a greater role in the
events—or rather, are impacted more by them—some appear briefly, only to
instantly die. Many of them have their own agendas and all are powerless to
influence the world around them. Some rise above their selfishness, but no one
emerges as the hero of the day.
With such a
large cast, no one becomes the main character, which for me was the weakness of
the book. When a new character after another was introduced, with most of them
not driving the narrative in any way, it was difficult to take interest in
them. The few that reappeared several times were great, complex characters, and
the story would’ve been sharper and more impactful if the story had
concentrated only on them.
My
favourite was Yasnic, a priest and only follower of an exacting god. He starts
as a downtrodden and weak, but manages to carve out a slightly better life for
him and his god in the end—the only character with some sort of
growth arc. I could’ve read a whole book from his point of view. Other
characters were either tragic, or cunning enough to be able to return to their
earlier lives after the upheavals.
The pace
was slow. Descriptions of even minor characters are detailed, and the narrator directs
the story rather bluntly at times. Everything is duplicated. There are two
mysterious districts, two McGuffins—the revolution and a protective amulet—every character has their parallel or counterpart, and even some events,
like hangings, are repeated.
Small,
random events don’t so much cause the revolution as they give the characters a
reason to take part in it, even if it’s not in their interest. A tighter
narrative concentrating on the few main characters would’ve made a better
reading experience. But the ending was satisfying, which made up for the
slowness of the book. If you like character-driven fantasy, this is for you.
A Hard Day for a Hangover ends the great Sunshine Vicram trilogy—and all too soon. The mystery series of a small-town
serif and her family, friends, and ever-growing staff of uniquely talented deputies
has just found its legs and should really continue.
The last
book picks up a couple of days after the previous ended, with the
characters still recovering from the injuries they’d sustained. A lot is going
on from the start, but the main story revolves around a young woman who’s found
badly injured, which leads to the trace of similar cases.
It’s a dual
point of view investigation, as Sunshine’s daughter Auri adds her skills and
enthusiasm in the game. The two POVs were better balanced than in the previous
book, with neither dominating, and the mother-daughter duo worked well together.
The ongoing
issue with Levi and his uncle was concluded, though rather easily, considering
it’s been the main issue throughout the trilogy. The storyline likely fell
victim of the abrupt ending of the series and had to be given any kind of
closure.
The when-will-they
romance between Sun and Levi progressed in lightspeed too. Not that the readers
haven’t waited for it, but with a couple of more books, it could’ve progressed
more naturally. Also, Auri wasn’t given much time to digest the news of who her
father really is. In the end, there wasn’t enough room for romance. Levi
remained a distant character, more talked about by Sun than seen. He would’ve
needed his own point of view chapters to really make his story work.
There were many
great storylines left hanging too, like Quincy’s romance and the Dangerous
Daughters, both of which were just getting started. The series still has a lot going
for it and I hope the author will continue it after all. As things stand,
I enjoyed the book greatly. It was fun and the mystery was intriguing. And in
the end, it gave me the satisfying and emotional closure that I needed.
The Serpent in Heaven is the fourth book in Gunnie Rose alt-history fantasy series that
takes place in alternative 1930s America that has been divided to several new
countries after the Great Depression. Britannia in the east coast is ruled by
the British, and former California and Oregon form the Holy Russian Empire
ruled by the Tzar Alexei, the haemophilic son of Nikolai II, now an adult. Texas
and Oklahoma form Texoma, where the series originally took place, following
Lizbeth Rose, a sharpshooter who hires herself as a guard on dangerous missions
through the lawless state.
The
previous book moved the focus to San Diego, where the Tzar’s court is, and to the
machinations of courtiers and grigoris, the powerful magic wielders that are
allowed to operate openly in the empire. This book ditched Gunnie completely
and focused on her half-sister Felicia, who as a granddaughter of Rasputin is
one of the few people whose blood can alleviate the Tzar’s haemophilia.
The change in
the point of view was good and put a new gear in the story. In the previous
books, Felicia has been the target of people who want to kill all the Tzar’s blood
donors. Now she’s a student in a school for grigoris, trying to lay low, and going
through a freakish growth spurt that brings her up to speed with her real age,
fifteen, after her father had suppressed her growth with magic for years to
keep her safe.
But she isn’t
as unnoticeable as she had hoped. While the school empties during an epidemic
of Spanish flu, her dead mother’s family comes gunning for her. Their
motivation is a bit lame and doesn’t really justify the body-count that ensues.
Most of it was caused by Felicia who discovers she is more powerful magic
practitioner than she had known.
This was maybe
my favourite book in the series so far. The world is more familiar, there was
more magic, and the story was fairly straight-forward. Felicia was a very
different character from Gunnie, but I liked her voice and character. Having grown
up in the slums of Mexico, she was tough and resilient. However, I would’ve
liked some reaction from her to all the deaths she caused, but like with Gunnie,
they didn’t affect her at all.
The romance
was sweet, though maybe unnecessary at this point, especially with all the drama.
She’ll end up bossing Peter around if they stay together. Felix was my favourite
side character, but others were good too. Gunnie only made a cameo appearance,
but she wasn’t needed. All in all, I hope the following books continue with
Felicia’s story.
Nalini
Singh’s Guild Hunter series has advanced to its fifteenth book. What began as a
series about vampire hunting woman and her archangel, has expanded to an entire
world of vampires, angels, and archangels. In Archangel’s Resurrection the
world expands even more, tens of thousands of years into the past.
We follow Alexander
through his childhood and advancement in ranks over the millenia, until
he becomes the Archangel of Persia. He’s already thousands of years old when he
meets Zanaya who is only at the beginning of her journey to become the
Archangel of North Africa, and he’s willing to wait a thousand years more,
until they’re more equal in strength, to start their first romance.
It’s a
story of two powerful, stubborn archangels who love for a thousand years and
fight for another, only to return to each other to start the cycle of toxic
love affair again. But neither can let the other completely go, even when
Zanaya choses to sleep for ten thousand years to avoid the madness of angels.
The first
half of the book is fairly slow, the details brushed over, with only brief
moments of the two together. And when Zanaya finally awakens in the modern world,
it’s only to perish at the hands of the Archangel of Death, and so Alexander
has to wait a decade more for her to heal.
The main story
happens in the last third of the book. Zanaya and Alexander are finally mature
enough to break the cycle of stubbornness and anger and become vulnerable
enough with each other to let the other in to start a proper relationship.
There’s also some aftermath of the war with Lijuana to deal with that threatens
to destroy their newfound happiness.
Despite the
tempo difference between the two halves, this was a good book. It was
interesting to see what the long lifespan of angels does to them, and to meet
familiar names from earlier books. The toxic romance was a change of pace too
and kept the story fresh. In the end though, I couldn’t help wishing that it
hadn’t taken them quite that long to get to their senses. The ending hints at
the next romance, which will likely be even longer in the timespan than this
one. I can’t wait
to read it.
