American Gods by Neil Gaiman

 Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.

But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow’s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and a rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.

Life as Wednesday’s bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined—it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. (Book description from Goodreads).

I want to begin by saying that this is not a review.  There is nothing that I can add to what has been said by others who can articulate their thoughts much better than I.  I  do feel though that this is the best book Gaiman has ever written.  (While I think it is the best that he has ever written my favorite will always be Stardust.  I have a love for fairy tales, but that is a post for another time.)

Great quotes

“You are the nearest thing I have to life. You are the only thing I have left, the only thing that isn’t bleak and flat and gray. I could be blindfolded and dropped into the deepest ocean and I would know where to find you. I could be buried a hundred miles underground and I would know where you are.”

On religion (page 397)

“Religions are, by definition, metaphors, after all: God is a dream, a hope, a woman, an ironist, a father, a city, a house of many rooms, a watchmaker who left his prize chronometer in the desert, someone who loves you – even, perhaps, against all evidence a celestial being whose only interest is to make sure your football team, army, business, or marriage thrives, prospers, and triumphs over all opposition.”

“Religions are places to stand and look and act, vantage points from which to view this world.”

Gaiman’s books always leave me with a feeling of melancholy, as if, for a brief moment the veil has been lifted and I see the inner workings of the world around.  I am forever changed.  I love this feeling.

Impasse by Royce Scott Buckingham

Book Synopsis

A man is left to die in Alaska while on an “adventure vacation” and must somehow survive to get his revenge on those who betrayed him.

Forty and facing a mid-life crisis, Stu Stark has lost his mojo. He simply gave up after being fired from his prestigious job as a prosecuting attorney for losing the biggest case of his career. So when Stu’s best friend gifts him a one-week trip into the Alaskan wilderness to rediscover his manhood, Stu thinks it just might do him some good. But after a horrible week, Stu is crushed when he realizes that no one is coming back for him. Dying, Stu is found by a grizzled old hunter who informs that winter has set in, and they’re not going anywhere for a while.

So begins Stu’s training to become the man he never was…and to get revenge on those who betrayed him. This adult debut by the internationally bestselling YA author is a modern day take on The Count of Monte Cristo.

My Thoughts

Impasse by Royce Scott Buckingham is a fast paced and enjoyable, modern day version of The Count of Monte Cristo. Though it does lack the long term planning that went into Count of Monte Cristo (Impasse took place over the course of six months), it was still an exciting read. It makes me wonder how soft I have become sitting behind a desk all day and wonder what would happen if I was forced to survive in the wilderness with nothing.

I love a good revenge tale and the only real negative thing I have to say was how quickly (and neatly) things came together in the end. I would have enjoyed reading another 50 pages or so about what happened in the aftermath. That being said, I really enjoyed this book.

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

Synopsis

With his wife dead and buried, and life nearly over at 75, John Perry takes the only logical course of action left: he joins the army. Now better known as the Colonial Defense Force (CDF), Perry’s service-of-choice has extended its reach into interstellar space to pave the way for human colonization of other planets while fending off marauding aliens. The CDF has a trick up its sleeve that makes enlistment especially enticing for seniors: the promise of restoring their youth. After bonding with a group of fellow recruits who dub their clique the Old Farts, Perry finds himself in a new body crafted from his original DNA and upgraded for battle, including a brain-implanted computer. But all too quickly the Old Farts are separated, and Perry must fight for his life on various alien-infested battlegrounds. 

My Thoughts

Wow…..just, WOW. I am not much of a science fiction reader, not because I do not like it, but because my TBR pile (affectionately know as Mt. Readmore) is full of fantasy books. But this book, this book rocked my socks off. I would call this “hard” science fiction, “hard” in the sense that there is lots of science and technology, no “mystical force” or “hokey religions” (to quote Han Solo), there are very techie explanations for every thing that occurs. The story, the characters, the plot, I loved them all. I will definitely to adding this series to my reading list.

And the title, very, very appropriate. Well done, Mr. Scalzi, well done indeed.

The Companions by R.A. Salvatore

Book Synopsis

This latest installment in New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore’s beloved fantasy saga, The Companions moves Salvatore’s signature hero Drizzt into a new era of the Forgotten Realms. As Drizzt’s fate hangs in the balance, he reflects on the lives of the trusted allies who stood by his side throughout his early life–the friends now known as the Companions of the Hall. Meanwhile, the first stirrings of the Sundering begin.

 

My Thoughts

The Companions by R.A. Salvatore is the first in the six book Sundering series, a realms sweeping event that will once again change the face of Toril.

I have been a longtime fan of R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt series, following each and every adventure since the beginning.  Never once have I felt that the story dragged or had outlived itself.   Readers of The Last Threshold were left with a cliff hanger.  What would happen to Drizzt?  Had the series finally reached its end?  Had the mighty Drizzt finally reached the end of his adventures?  All of these questions ran through my head after finishing The Last Threshold.

I want to begin by saying that, in my opinion, The Companions represents Bob’s best work to date.  The book is filled with such heart rending emotion from both the characters and Drizzt’s signature introspection (which happen to be my favorite part of the Drizzt series). If you look back at my previous reviews you see that I mention emotion quite a bit.  This is an important factor for me.  I like books that make me feel what the character feels.  If I can cry when a character cries, feel his or her fury in battle, or laugh along with them, then I have experienced a great book.   Salvatore gave me this experience with The Companions more so than any other book he has written.

What would you do if you could live your life over again?  What things would you change?  What if you had a goal to work toward?  Something that could mean the life or death of a dear friend? All of these questions are asked and answered in The Companions and the journey to the end (or should I say a new beginning) was very entertaining.

I received a ARC through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp

Book Synopsis

On Ryloth, a planet crucial to the growing Empire as a source of slave labor and the narcotic known as “spice,” an aggressive resistance movement has arisen, led by Cham Syndulla, an idealistic freedom fighter, and Isval, a vengeful former slave. But Emperor Palpatine means to control the embattled world and its precious resources—by political power or firepower—and he will be neither intimidated nor denied. Accompanied by his merciless disciple, Darth Vader, he sets out on a rare personal mission to ensure his will is done.

For Syndulla and Isval, it’s the opportunity to strike at the very heart of the ruthless dictatorship sweeping the galaxy. And for the Emperor and Darth Vader, Ryloth becomes more than just a matter of putting down an insurrection: When an ambush sends them crashing to the planet’s surface, where inhospitable terrain and an army of resistance fighters await them, they will find their relationship tested as never before. With only their lightsabers, the dark side of the Force, and each other to depend on, the two Sith must decide if the brutal bond they share will make them victorious allies or lethal adversaries.

My Thoughts

Paul S. Kemp is one of my favorite authors, his ability to draw me into a story is unparalleled. As the title and cover state, this book is about the Lords of the Sith, Palpatine and Vader.

I tend to romanticize Vader a bit in the sense that he is a fallen hero destined for redemption and the one to bring balance to the force, but Kemp reminds us that that person is not here yet and regardless of our knowledge of Anakin/Vader’s destiny, he is a villain. Actually, he is more than just a villain, he is a monster.

There is a scene at the beginning of the book that send shills up my spine.  Vader is chasing a group of rebels but instead of engaging them in ship to ship combat he wants to get up close and personal.  I won’t give away any spoilers, but he gains access to the rebels’ ship and takes a comlink.  All that can be heard is the sound of his respirator, and then he says, “I’m coming for you now.” <goosebumps>  But if Vader is a monster then Palpatine is something all together worse. We get a peek at just how powerful the Emperor is. So much so, that is makes his battle with Yoda in Revenge of the Sith look like a simple sparring match.

I enjoyed every minute of this book and I hope we see more Vader/Palpatine stories by Paul. He has captured their collective voices perfectly.

Lords of the Sith will be available on April 28, 2015.

I received an eARC from the publisher through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

The Three by Sarah Lotz

 

Book Synopsis 

Four simultaneous plane crashes. Three child survivors. A religious fanatic who insists the three are harbingers of the apocalypse. What if he’s right?

The world is stunned when four commuter planes crash within hours of each other on different continents. Facing global panic, officials are under pressure to find the causes. With terrorist attacks and environmental factors ruled out, there doesn’t appear to be a correlation between the crashes, except that in three of the four air disasters a child survivor is found in the wreckage.

Dubbed ‘The Three’ by the international press, the children all exhibit disturbing behavioural problems, presumably caused by the horror they lived through and the unrelenting press attention. This attention becomes more than just intrusive when a rapture cult led by a charismatic evangelical minister insists that the survivors are three of the four harbingers of the apocalypse. The Three are forced to go into hiding, but as the children’s behaviour becomes increasingly disturbing, even their guardians begin to question their miraculous survival…

 

 

My Thoughts

The Three by Sarah Lotz was a very enjoyable read. The premise was interesting, four planes simultaneously crash in different corners of the world and the only survivors are three children. I enjoyed the multiple viewpoints and mediums that were used to tell the story. Part news reports, part interviews, and part personal narrative, all woven together in a tale that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Quite possibly the creepiest part of the book was the description of the Aokigahara Forest, Japan’s infamous suicide forest. I still shudder when I think of it.

It took me longer than normal to finish this book because I kept going back and rereading certain sections. The Three is a wonderful example of how media reports can skew the actual events.

Were the events supernatural, extra-terrestrial, or a sign of the End Times? As I read I came up with several different theories, but I was very satisfied (and more than a little creeped out) with the ending. I certainly will not be traveling by plane anytime soon.

Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne

 

Book Synopsis

The Galactic Civil War rages on after the destruction of the Death Star and Luke Skywalker struggles to learn more about the Force without the aid of Obi-Wan Kenobi – or indeed without any aid at all. But the few memories he has of Obi-Wan’s instruction point the way to a stronger control of the Force, and he is encouraged to pursue it by a new friend in the Alliance. When Luke, R2-D2 and his new ally are tasked with liberating a valuable asset from the Empire and delivering her to a safe planet where she can aid the Alliance, their journey across the galaxy is fraught with peril – and opportunities for Luke to discover the mysteries of the Force.

Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne , the author of the popular Iron Druid series, is the third book in the Empire and Rebellion series.

I have read well over 100 books in the Star Wars Expanded Universe and I still get chills of excitement whenever I read “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…..”.  I love the stories of the iconic Star Wars characters while they were still young and finding their place.  I especially like ones about Luke Skywalker.  Luke, son of the infamous Darth Vader, founder of the new Jedi Order, and probably the most powerful force user in the galaxy.  How does he go from unsure farmboy to Jedi master?  How does he learn to master the force when everyone that could have taught him the ways of the force are gone?  Heir to the Jedi gives us some insight into that.

I had originally given this a book a 3 out of 5 but I went back and watched Star Wars A New Hope and bumped it up to a 4 because, for me,  this book does have that “Star Wars feel”, that newness and excitement that I got from watching A New Hope for the first time. Yes, there are several few laughable, eye-rolling moments in the book, but for readers of Hearne’s Iron Druid series, this is one of his strong suits.  I also liked the first person view from Luke’s perspective.

Heir to the Jedi was a fast paced, hyperspace ride through the galaxy with a young Luke Skywalker coming to gripes with the loss of loved ones, and becoming part of something bigger to make a galaxy a better place.  This Star Wars fan loved it.

I received an electronic review copy from the publisher through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Blue Labyrinth by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Blue Labyrinth

Authors: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Publication Date: November 11, 2014

Source: NetGalley

Book Description (from Goodreads):

Special Agent Pendergast-one of the most original, compelling characters in all of contemporary fiction-returns in Preston and Child’s new exhilarating novel
BLUE LABYRINTH
A long-buried family secret has come back to haunt Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast.
It begins with murder. One of Pendergast’s most implacable, most feared enemies is found on his doorstep, dead. Pendergast has no idea who is responsible for the killing, or why the body was brought to his home. The mystery has all the hallmarks of the perfect crime, save for an enigmatic clue: a piece of turquoise lodged in the stomach of the deceased.
The gem leads Pendergast to an abandoned mine on the shore of California’s Salton Sea, which in turn propels him on a journey of discovery deep into his own family’s sinister past. But Pendergast learns there is more at work than a ghastly episode of family history: he is being stalked by a subtle killer bent on vengeance over an ancient transgression. And he soon becomes caught in a wickedly clever plot, which leaves him stricken in mind and body, and propels him toward a reckoning beyond anything he could ever have imagined…

In a single word, WOW.  I have been reading the Pendergast series for several years now and eagerly await each installment.  I must admit the last few, (Cold Vengeance and Two Graves) while good, just didn’t engross me like Brimstone and the rest of the Diogenes trilogy.  Things picked up with White Fire, but Blue Labyrinth…. well, it was the Pendergast book I had been waiting for.

We get to see some familiar faces, Vincent D’Agosta, Margo Green, and my favorite, Pendergast’s ward, Constance Greene.  One of the best things about this book is that Constance is front and center in the action.

We get to see Pendergast in a new light, he is completely outwitted, and for the first time he has encountered a problem that he is unable to solve solely by himself.  Seeing Pendergast vulnerable made me realize that while his skills are formidable, he is still only human. Sometimes we need to see our heroes brought low before we can truly appreciate them.

There is a lot of Pendergast history spread throughout this book, particularly about a long buried family secret.  With each book we get snippets of what his family was like and Pendergast’s history is just as odd and mysterious as he is.

The pace is non stop with the chapters moving from character to character.  Toward the end each chapter seemed to leave me on a mini cliffhanger and kept me turning page after page to find out what was happening to the characters.  This is the 14th Pendergast book and the dynamic duo of Preston and Child still keep things fresh and exciting for their readers.  I think Blue Labyrinth may have nudged The Cabinet of Curiosities out of the way as my favorite in the Pendergast series.

Blue Labyrinth goes on sale November 11, 2014 and is a must read for fans of the Pendergast series.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Ghostman by Roger Hobbs

Ghostman

Author: Roger Hobbs

Publisher: Knopf

Publication Date: February 12, 2013

Format: eBook (also available in Hardcover, Paperback, and Audio)

Source: Local Library

327 Pages

Book Description(from Goodreads)

Stunningly dark, hugely intelligent and thoroughly addictive, Ghostman announces the arrival of an exciting and highly distinctive novelist.

When a casino robbery in Atlantic City goes horribly awry, the man who orchestrated it is obliged to call in a favor from someone who’s occasionally called Jack. While it’s doubtful that anyone knows his actual name or anything at all about his true identity, or even if he’s still alive, he’s in his mid-thirties and lives completely off the grid, a criminal’s criminal who does entirely as he pleases and is almost impossible to get in touch with. But within hours a private jet is flying this exceptionally experienced fixer and cleaner-upper from Seattle to New Jersey and right into a spectacular mess: one heister dead in the parking lot, another winged but on the run, the shooter a complete mystery, the $1.2 million in freshly printed bills god knows where and the FBI already waiting for Jack at the airport, to be joined shortly by other extremely interested and elusive parties. He has only forty-eight hours until the twice-stolen cash literally explodes, taking with it the wider, byzantine ambitions behind the theft. To contend with all this will require every gram of his skill, ingenuity and self-protective instincts, especially when offense and defense soon become meaningless terms. And as he maneuvers these exceedingly slippery slopes, he relives the botched bank robbery in Kuala Lumpur five years earlier that has now landed him this unwanted new assignment.

As you can see from many of my previous reviews I read mainly fantasy and (recently) horror.  A few weeks ago I started watching The Blacklist and quickly became addicted to it.  Being the reader that I am, I wondered if there were any books out there similar to it.  A quick Google search brought up Ghostman several times. I do not read many thrillers but since I was so intrigued by The Blacklist I checked out Ghostman from my public library’s Overdrive catalog and decided to give it a try.

I liked the concept of the “ghostman”, someone who for all intents and purposes does not exist.  We do not even know his real name.  He uses the name “Jack”, one he last used five years ago in a foreign bank job that went bad.  That job has come back to haunt him as his old “jugmarker” has asked him to repay a favor and give him the opportunity to wipe the slate clean by cleaning up a casino robbery gone bad.

The level of detail in this book is outstanding.  I work in the technology sector and I appreciate detail.  Some readers do not like loads of detail but I am just the opposite, I love to “get in the weeds” so to speak and wallow in the details.  I was really able to immerse myself in the story with the detailed descriptions of the inner working of banks, armored car deliveries, guns, and the different identities that “Jack” created.

I am not sure if this section is in the hardcover addition but my favorite part of the book was the “Autobiography of the Ghostman”.  That brief section was almost as good as the entire book.

I really enjoyed Ghostman and I think I am going to broaden my reading horizons and read more thrillers, especially if I can find more like this.  Hopefully we will see more of this character in future books by Roger Hobbs.

 

Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley

“Run, Star Girl.”

BRYONY ADAMS IS DESTINED TO BE MURDERED, but fortunately Fate has terrible marksmanship. In order to survive, she must run as far and as fast as she can. After arriving in Seattle, Bryony befriends a tortured musician, a market fish-thrower, and a starry-eyed hero who is secretly a serial killer bent on fulfilling Bryony’s dark destiny. (Book description from Goodreads.)

I can say without hesitation that this was one of the best books I have read this year. Some books entertain you, some educate you, but some CHANGE you.  Pretty Little Dead Girls changed me in ways that words just can’t express. It was magical, tragic, and inspiring. It made me look at my relationships with family and friends in a whole new light.

“Bryony Adams was the type of girl who got murdered.” This is the opening line in the book and sets the tone of the story.  Bryony Adams, this sweet, wonderful girl, is destined to die, and to add insult to injury (please excuse the pun), to die in a most horrible fashion.  She is such well written character and I immediately fell in love with her. You fell the urge to grab her and keep her safe.  Why, or why should a creature as lovely Bryony have to die? When I read, a full picture of the characters pop into my head and once visualized are set in stone.  The first person that popped into my head after looking at the gorgeous  cover and reading the first few chapters was Claire Danes in her role as Yvaine in Stardust.  I thought it fit perfectly.

I love fairy tales and when I first heard about Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley (published by the wonderful folks at Ragnarok Publications) I couldn’t wait to read it. The novel is billed as “a dark, lovely fairy tale with lyrical language and a high body count”.  The hook was set with “a dark, lovely fairy tale” and the gorgeous cover by Galen Dara. I had been in a bit of a reading rut and was looking for something different.  It was a classic case of “what do you want for dinner?  I have no idea, but I am STARVING”. As readers I am sure you have all been there before. This book was a five course meal that more than satisfied my hunger.

I am not going to go into detail around the plot as the book description gives you enough to go on and I do not want to spoil the experience for other readers. Pretty Little Dead Girls had a wonderful lyrical quality to it.  The prose flowed off the page like a song, beautiful and heartbreaking.  Here are some of my favorite lines from the book.

“She stood as tall as she could, but something was already breaking inside, and Teddy could almost hear it.  The gears of her soul grinding to a halt.  The bright metal filings of it struck and shone like stars.”

“It was a song about making the choice to love when you knew that in the end you would only have empty hands.”

“…now he realized completely how his life would be like without her.  How dark, how empty of magic.” 

“You must know this: there are not always happy endings.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful is this was true?”

“But life was not meant to be fair, it was meant to be lived.”

Like all good fairy tales, Pretty Little Dead Girls has a moral and that moral is life is meant to be lived, regardless of your situation.  Mercedes weaves a dark and magical tale, but as dark as the story is there is an undertone of joy to it all.  I think that is what I loved so much about this book, the beautiful dichotomy of joy and sorrow, triumph and tragedy.

I highly recommend Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley.  It goes on sale September 29 and is available for purchase at Ragnarok Publications in ebook, paperback, and a signed hardcover editions (limited time only).

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.