Books again
While I wait for iOS 7 to install itself all over M_'s phone, I'll take a break to write some more book reviews. Why don't I skip this and write something in the actual blog? Good question.
We begin with Kat Richardson's Labyrinth, book 5 of her Greywalker series. This is the ongoing story of P.I. Harper Blaine who gained mysterious supernatural powers after she was (briefly) killed. In a lot of ways this is the last book in the series... the power behind Harper's travails (and her father's) is unmasked, and most of the ongoing plot threads get resolved. The magic system in this series has always been kind of confusing, and it only gets more jumbled as Harper's powers keep growing. I've liked the series, though, and it's nice to get a conclusion to things. I could maybe do with just a bit less of her ferret's antics, though. And the boyfriend borders on too perfect. Ah, why dwell. It was a pleasant time passer.
Here's one to pay attention to... Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (book one of The Reckoners). This is set in the near future, starting a few years after a mysterious thing appeared in the skies. A small number people - seemingly at random - gained comic book-style superpowers. The problem is, there are no superheroes here; every single one of the empowered is a sadistic asshole. Some have grand powers, some are minor, but all of them regard normal humans as nothing but slaves and entertainment. Civilization as we know it pretty much came to an end as the "Epics" battled for dominance across the ruins.
The story focuses on David, a young boy who watched an Epic murder his father and dedicated his life to getting revenge. This is a tall order, though, because the killer became known as Steelheart, the virtually invincible ruler of Chicago. There is a thread of hope, though... every Epic has a weakness... some material, condition, or circumstance that cancels out their powers. Years later, David is hoping to enlist the Reckoners, a secretive group of regular humans hunting down Epics. They're not looking to recruit a vengeance-mad teenager, but they may have to... because David is the only living person to ever see Steelheart bleed.
I dug this book a lot. It stands alone pretty well, but I'm looking forward to the sequel.
Next up was Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search, Part 3 by Gene Luen Yang. This concludes the trilogy of (short) graphic novels, The Search. This is not remotely meant to stand alone; it's a followup to the TV series The Last Airbender. Avatar Aang joins Firelord Zuko on a quest to find out what became of Zuko's mother. Along for the ride are some of Aang's usual crew and Zuko's lunatic younger sister Azula. Eventually, the mystery will be solved and everyone will get on with their lives. Honestly, the whole thing didn't move me much. I'd rather see Aang and company years later rather than still as teens. If you wanted the dangling plot thread tied off, though, then this is the series for you!
Back to urban fantasy, we come to Deadly Sting by Jennifer Estep, book eight of the ongoing ramble Elemental Assassin. This is the continuing adventure of Gin "The Spider" Blanco, assassin, mage, and barbecue restaurant owner. Despite finishing her plotline books ago, Gin carries on finding new bad guys to be threatened by. In this installment, she's attending a high level gala at an art museum. The private collection of her (now dead) nemesis is being auctioned off, and Gin wants to look it over. However, some new baddies are going to be crashing the party and turning some of Gin's nearest and dearest into hostages.
Honestly, these books aren't bad, but they're getting a little repetitious.
Let's finish tonight with Kat Richardson's Downpour. Yes, it's the same Kat Richardson; this is book six of Greywalker. As I said above, Harper Blaine basically resolved her story in book five, but what modern urban fantasy author lets something like being finished slow down a series? The trouble is, by the end of Labyrinth, Harper was getting too powerful to oppose by anything weaker than the big series villain, now kind of deceased.
So, the solution is to slap reset on our favorite supernatural P.I.... Harper has mysteriously lost most of her active powers and is dialed back down to just uncanny senses. She takes a seemingly mundane case that leads to a rural community. She quickly encounters an apparently murdered ghost and begins to suspect the nearby "Blood Lake" is the source of some major magical mojo. The power is being tussled over by several local figures, and Harper can't resist getting involved. The question is, can she pick apart the feuds and spells before one of the factions reaches out and squashes her.
The story isn't bad, but I had a hard time accepting the reset on the series.
This brings my total for the year to fourteen.
This entry was originally posted at http://squidminion.dreamwidth.org/379921.html.
There are
comments there. You could add one via OpenID.
Or you can comment here if you'd rather; it's okay.
We begin with Kat Richardson's Labyrinth, book 5 of her Greywalker series. This is the ongoing story of P.I. Harper Blaine who gained mysterious supernatural powers after she was (briefly) killed. In a lot of ways this is the last book in the series... the power behind Harper's travails (and her father's) is unmasked, and most of the ongoing plot threads get resolved. The magic system in this series has always been kind of confusing, and it only gets more jumbled as Harper's powers keep growing. I've liked the series, though, and it's nice to get a conclusion to things. I could maybe do with just a bit less of her ferret's antics, though. And the boyfriend borders on too perfect. Ah, why dwell. It was a pleasant time passer.
Here's one to pay attention to... Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (book one of The Reckoners). This is set in the near future, starting a few years after a mysterious thing appeared in the skies. A small number people - seemingly at random - gained comic book-style superpowers. The problem is, there are no superheroes here; every single one of the empowered is a sadistic asshole. Some have grand powers, some are minor, but all of them regard normal humans as nothing but slaves and entertainment. Civilization as we know it pretty much came to an end as the "Epics" battled for dominance across the ruins.
The story focuses on David, a young boy who watched an Epic murder his father and dedicated his life to getting revenge. This is a tall order, though, because the killer became known as Steelheart, the virtually invincible ruler of Chicago. There is a thread of hope, though... every Epic has a weakness... some material, condition, or circumstance that cancels out their powers. Years later, David is hoping to enlist the Reckoners, a secretive group of regular humans hunting down Epics. They're not looking to recruit a vengeance-mad teenager, but they may have to... because David is the only living person to ever see Steelheart bleed.
I dug this book a lot. It stands alone pretty well, but I'm looking forward to the sequel.
Next up was Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search, Part 3 by Gene Luen Yang. This concludes the trilogy of (short) graphic novels, The Search. This is not remotely meant to stand alone; it's a followup to the TV series The Last Airbender. Avatar Aang joins Firelord Zuko on a quest to find out what became of Zuko's mother. Along for the ride are some of Aang's usual crew and Zuko's lunatic younger sister Azula. Eventually, the mystery will be solved and everyone will get on with their lives. Honestly, the whole thing didn't move me much. I'd rather see Aang and company years later rather than still as teens. If you wanted the dangling plot thread tied off, though, then this is the series for you!
Back to urban fantasy, we come to Deadly Sting by Jennifer Estep, book eight of the ongoing ramble Elemental Assassin. This is the continuing adventure of Gin "The Spider" Blanco, assassin, mage, and barbecue restaurant owner. Despite finishing her plotline books ago, Gin carries on finding new bad guys to be threatened by. In this installment, she's attending a high level gala at an art museum. The private collection of her (now dead) nemesis is being auctioned off, and Gin wants to look it over. However, some new baddies are going to be crashing the party and turning some of Gin's nearest and dearest into hostages.
Honestly, these books aren't bad, but they're getting a little repetitious.
Let's finish tonight with Kat Richardson's Downpour. Yes, it's the same Kat Richardson; this is book six of Greywalker. As I said above, Harper Blaine basically resolved her story in book five, but what modern urban fantasy author lets something like being finished slow down a series? The trouble is, by the end of Labyrinth, Harper was getting too powerful to oppose by anything weaker than the big series villain, now kind of deceased.
So, the solution is to slap reset on our favorite supernatural P.I.... Harper has mysteriously lost most of her active powers and is dialed back down to just uncanny senses. She takes a seemingly mundane case that leads to a rural community. She quickly encounters an apparently murdered ghost and begins to suspect the nearby "Blood Lake" is the source of some major magical mojo. The power is being tussled over by several local figures, and Harper can't resist getting involved. The question is, can she pick apart the feuds and spells before one of the factions reaches out and squashes her.
The story isn't bad, but I had a hard time accepting the reset on the series.
This brings my total for the year to fourteen.
This entry was originally posted at http://squidminion.dreamwidth.org/379921.html.
There are
comments there. You could add one via OpenID.
Or you can comment here if you'd rather; it's okay.