The Plague of Swords: By Miles Cameron

THE PLAGUE OF SWORDS

SUMMARY

ONE ENEMY HAS FALLEN. A GREATER ONE REMAINS.
NOW, IT'S WAR.

With one army defeated in a victory which will be remembered through the ages, now the Red Knight must fight again.

For every one of his allies, there is a corresponding enemy. Spread across different lands, and on sea, it will all come down to one last gamble. And to whether or not the Red Knight has guessed the foe's true intentions.

With each throw of the dice, everything could be lost.

REVIEW

Like many of the books reviewed here the Plague of Swords is part of a larger series. This is in fact the fourth book in the Traitor’s Son Cycle, and therefore readers who are new to the series should strongly consider reading the previous books in the series before reading this installment (I know shocking, right?!)

Anyway, with that out of the way, I was really very impressed with how The Plague of Swords ended up bringing so many of the loose story threads that were created in previous books in the series together. Please note, however, that this does not mean that the previous books have left large amounts of loose plot threads outstanding (something that if done poorly can result in a bad book), to the contrary, many of the story lines of each of the books were resolved within each book and I can confidently state that I thoroughly enjoyed the previous Traitor’s Son Cycle’s books and highly recommend them. However, in each of the books Cameron has left a few storylines open, thus slowly expanding the larger story arc. Therefore, as you can imagine, it was to my great pleasure that in The Plague of Swords Cameron finally began tying these storylines off and explaining what the end goals of many of the sides and characters has been all along.

Speaking of these different sides and characters, while it has taken a large amount of time to set up, Cameron has done a great job at slowly introducing and expanding each of the many sides in this ever-growing inter-world conflict. Like George r.r. Martin, Cameron has created many engaging characters and is not afraid to kill them off in the blink of an eye. Yes, you heard me correctly, it is not unusual to have characters that in the past have championed entire chapters being killed off in minor battles and even by sickness or routine travel. Why do this you might ask, in my opinion it is Cameron’s attempt to bring the strife and struggles of war to the pages with more poignancy, so that the readers more fully feel the effects of war. While this does at times lead to characters that readers enjoy being killed, it does lead to a very strong edge of your seat type of anticipation in reading this series.

Not surprisingly based on the subject matter (a medieval/magic/alien/dragon war) the Traitor’s Son Cycle is pretty much filled to the brim with nonstop action. I personally love the fight scenes from Gabriel’s perspective as these include large swaths of magical fighting and now flying, but that’s a personal preference and should not detract from the many of amazing battle scenes.

All in all, I very much enjoyed the Plague of Swords and felt that it has done a wonderful job of beginning the process of tying off the Traitor’s Son Cycle. I don’t know how many more books will be in this series, but if you enjoy medieval style fighting, magical spell slinging and enough plots to clog a spider’s web, then I would recommend jumping into this series now, while the getting is good. I highly recommend.

INFO

Publisher: Orbit

Published: October 25, 2016

Price: $16.99

Link to Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Plague-Swords-Traitor-Son-Cycle-ebook/dp/B01HBK294G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489608141&sr=8-1&keywords=the+plague+of+swords

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Silence Fallen: By Patricia Briggs

SILENCE FALLEN

SUMMARY

Attacked and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use against alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In coyote form, Mercy escapes—only to find herself without money, without clothing, and alone in the heart of Europe...

Unable to contact Adam and the rest of the pack, Mercy has allies to find and enemies to fight, and she needs to figure out which is which. Ancient powers stir, and Mercy must be her agile best to avoid causing a war between vampires and werewolves, and between werewolves and werewolves. And in the heart of the ancient city of Prague, old ghosts rise...

REVIEW

If you want the short version of this review it is simple, Silence Fallen is another amazing book by Patricia Briggs, and it will leave you craving more from Mercy and the gang.

As for more details, not only are readers given a more detailed glimpse different supernatural creatures, such as the goblins and the golem (which I LOVED the golem addition), but readers are also given a much more detailed view into the world’s supernatural political arena, including the Prague werewolf packs and why they don’t speak with Bran’s packs, and the European vampires and why Marsilia and Stefan left Europe (also how absolutely terrifying Jacob is).

Speaking of the Golem, it was such a great addition to the story. It is such a great magical creature and story that are so often overlooked, and on top of that, Briggs’ retelling of the magic that formed the Golem, coupled with the Golem’s interactions with Mercy were absolutely magical. Speaking of magic, once again we are shown that Mercy’s magic is something clearly not meant to be trifled with. On top of that, it is also clear that we have only seen the tip of her magic, and I personally can’t wait to see more. 

As for the pacing and structure, while I am not always the biggest fan of jumping between character’s perspectives once a series has set a predictable pattern of character POV, I have to hand it to Briggs that she has masterfully managed these feats in Silence Fallen. Not only does she jump between character perspectives (including a new character who turns into such a great surprise) but she also jumps between time to more fully utilize the action and suspense in this story, something that could also easily be done incorrectly. In my opinion, it is these details that make Silence Fallen different from and even more enthralling than the other great books in the Mercy Thompson series.

As I mentioned above, Silence Fallen is amazing and I fully recommend it. It’s action filled, well-paced, tense, and absolutely leaves readers wanting more in the series. All in all, a great book.

INFO

Published: March 7, 2017

Publisher: Ace

Price: $27.00

Link to Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Silence-Fallen-Mercy-Thompson-Novel-ebook/dp/B01H17UAF4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1488865432&sr=1-1&keywords=silence+fallen

Magic For Nothing: By Seanan McGuire

MAGIC FOR NOTHING

SUMMARY

Improbable, adjective:
1. Not very likely to happen; not probable.
2. Probably not a very good idea anyway.
3. See also “bad plan.”

As the youngest of the three Price children, Antimony is used to people not expecting much from her. She’s been happy playing roller derby and hanging out with her cousins, leaving the globe-trotting to her older siblings while she stays at home and tries to decide what she wants to do with her life. She always knew that one day, things would have to change. She didn’t think they’d change so fast.

Annie’s expectations keep getting shattered. She didn’t expect Verity to declare war on the Covenant of St. George on live television. She didn’t expect the Covenant to take her sister’s threat seriously. And she definitely didn’t expect to be packed off to London to infiltrate the Covenant from the inside…but as the only Price in her generation without a strong resemblance to the rest of the family, she’s the perfect choice to play spy. They need to know what’s coming. Their lives may depend on it.

But Annie has some secrets of her own, like the fact that she’s started setting things on fire when she touches them, and has no idea how to control it. Now she’s headed halfway around the world, into the den of the enemy, where blowing her cover could get her killed. She’s pretty sure things can’t get much worse.

Antimony Price is about to learn just how wrong it’s possible for one cryptozoologist to be.

REVIEW

I've been a fan of Seanan McGuire for a few years now (which in terms of McGuire’s book production equals about 300,000 books and short stories published (the absolutely amazing thing is that this is not nearly the staggering hyperbole that it appears to be when compared to reality).

Of McGuire’s books, I have a special place in my heart for her InCryptid series, as it was the first series that got me hooked on her writhing, but I've always been a little disappointed in their somewhat one off/duology nature of each of the books in the series. Yes, the books are connected and they mention some of the events from previous books, but for the most part the newer books in the series don't feel the effects of the previous books in the series until the protagonist switches back to the one in which the events occurred (meaning Alex feels the effects of his books, and Verity hers). There are of course benefits to this. First, it makes it significantly easier for new readers to jump into a series, thus allowing for a larger readership. Second, this offers easy outlets for McGuire to experiment and jump between narrators with little downside. The con however is that if this type of writing is done to often then readers can become somewhat bored, feeling that they know the formula of the writing and events, making the stories somewhat dull and predictable. That is not to say that the stories themselves are dull or that writers cannot draw from a formula to entice readers, this just points out that if done too often, the lack of consequences can cause readers to possibly become bored. (Please note that McGuire’s books are not boring, nor have they reached the repetitious point described above, this was only mentioned to emphasize the importance that McGuire’s switch to a ramification based series has on the series.)

That's why I was utterly shocked that the Magic For Nothing begins in the final moments of the previous book in the series Chaos Choreography, except from Antimony's point of view. For those that have not read Chaos Choreography, please be aware that the following section will contain spoilers.

Not only does Magic For Nothing take up in the final moments of Chaos Choreography, but because of Verity’s shocking declaration of war against the Covenant, Magic For Nothing’s entire premise is based on the effects of Verity’s actions. This includes forcing Antimony’s primary action in her attempts to infiltrate the Covenant, as well as her family’s resentment towards Verity for her selfish actions in dancing on TV and declaring war on the Covenant. This is the first time that we’ve seen such a divide/resentment in the actions of the different Price family members, and as a reader of the series it is absolutely fascinating. Not only that, but these actions bring up many feelings of resentment that have been there under the surface, making the emotional turmoil much more realistic for a close-knit family who all are forced into the family business in one way or another.

As for the book itself, other than a surprising lack of explosives (this being Antimony’s book and all), Magic For Nothing was positively ripe with action and intense sequences as Antimony infiltrates not one but two different organizations (the Covenant and the Carnival). Of course, McGuire also does a fantastic job, using the Carnival and Antimony’s surprising connection to her long-lost cousin to more fully explore Antimony’s feelings of resentment, duty, and loneliness in relation to her family and their dynamic. This is absolutely fascinating, as Verity mostly thought of herself and her dancing, trying to get out of the family business, Alex mostly cared about his research, with an almost accidental romance on the side, yet it is Antimony, the youngest and most disconnected to the family, having been teamed up against by her siblings while growing up, who seems to be the most loyal to a family and who takes on the greatest risks.

These emotional and physical ramifications propel the series forward in a way that has me positively shaking in my boots with excited energy for more.

All in all, I was a big fan of Magic For Nothing. It had action, great character development, insight into other characters in the series, and even ended with one heck of a cliff hanger that will leave readers (or at the very least THIS reader) positively begging for the next book in the series.

INFO

Published: March 7, 2017

Publisher: DAW

Price: $7.99

Link to Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Nothing-InCryptid-Seanan-McGuire-ebook/dp/B01H17UAT0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1488863460&sr=1-1&keywords=magic+for+nothing

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The Hanging Tree: By Ben Aaron

THE HANGING TREE

SUMMARY

Suspicious deaths are not usually the concern of Police Constable Peter Grant or the Folly—London’s police department for supernatural cases—even when they happen at an exclusive party in one of the flats of the most expensive apartment blocks in London. But the daughter of Lady Ty, influential goddess of the Tyburn river, was there, and Peter owes Lady Ty a favor.

Plunged into the alien world of the super-rich, where the basements are bigger than the houses, where the law is something bought and sold on the open market, a sensible young copper would keep his head down and his nose clean.

But this is Peter Grant we’re talking about.

He’s been given an unparalleled opportunity to alienate old friends and create new enemies at the point where the world of magic and that of privilege intersect. Assuming he survives the week…

REVIEW

Unlike the previous Rivers of London novels Aaronovitch really lets the dam of information loose with this one. Not only do readers discover important information about the Faceless Man, but other practitioners are introduced, new forma practiced, and there’s even an explanation as to why Leslie was taken in the first place!

Now if none of that means anything to you then the first thing I would recommend for you to do is read the previous Rivers of London books. If you haven’t read them, you may be wondering what they are like? Well, I think the best explanation is they are a bit like a combination of NCSI/CSI/(pick your choice of systematic police procedurals) and Harry Dresden/Patricia Briggs (insert magic society book). So, what does that mean for you as a reader? Well, it means that there are magical battles, people slinging spells, magical creatures and entities, and lots of paper work. Yes, you heard me right, paperwork. This is one of the most unique things about the Rivers of London series, how real and detailed the police work elements of the story are. Peter, the protagonist, uses the scientific method to discover magical limitations, stories often involve police hierarchy problems (who has jurisdiction and what not, resource allocation, and who’s problem a case is when it goes south), massive amounts of field work (going door to door, research, ect…), more paper work than you can shake a stick at.

As for The Hanging Tree, specifically, it’s full of action, suspense, awesome magic with a gripping mystery tying the story all together. Each book expands the world and characters in this fantastic series, making them increasingly harder to put down. I personally love this series and feel that Aaronovitch has become one of those authors that I’m always anxiously awaiting their next book (which is a great sign for a great series).

INFO

Publisher: DAW

Published: January 31, 2017

Price: $7.99

Link to Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Hanging-Tree-Rivers-London-ebook/dp/B0125VU4KM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1486504107&sr=1-1

Hungry Ghosts: By Stephen Blackmoore

HUNGRY GHOSTS

SUMMARY

Necromancer Eric Carter's problems keep getting bigger. Bad enough he's the unwilling husband to the patron saint of death, Santa Muerte, but now her ex, the Aztec King of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli, has come back -- and it turns out that Carter and he are swapping places. As Mictlantecuhtli breaks loose of his prison of jade, Carter is slowly turning to stone.

To make matters worse, both gods are trying to get Carter to assassinate the other. But only one of them can be telling him the truth and he can't trust either one. Carter's solution? Kill them both.

If he wants to get out of this situation with his soul intact, he'll have to go to Mictlan, the Aztec land of the dead, and take down a couple of death gods while facing down the worst trials the place has to offer him: his own sins.

REVIEW

I’ll be honest I didn’t start reading Stephen Blackmoore’s Eric Carter series when it first came out. I had heard positive praise from authors I like about it, but didn’t actually manage to pick up a copy of Dead things, the first book in the Eric Carter series, until about a year ago.

Let me tell you, I’m glad that I did.

Blackmoore has created a fascinating and engaging series filled with action, mayhem and a fun take on urban fantasy. If you are looking for a comparison of known urban fantasy authors to compare this series to Eric Carter is somewhat like a mix between Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim series and Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. It’s darker than the Dresden Files, but not quite as macabre filled as Sandman Slim, therefore this series may not be for everyone but if you can handle a bit more ghoulish killing in your action (well done, of course) then this could be the series for you.

As for Hungry Ghosts itself, I highly recommend reading the first two books in the series, Dead Things and Broken Souls before reading Hungry Ghosts, but once you do you’ll be very happy with the experience. The entire premise of the Hungry Ghosts is based on the previous two books in the series (hence it being a series), so please do not read these books out of order.

So, if you like urban fantasy and you’re ok with your magic a bit on the darker side of things then here comes the real question, why should you waste your precious free time reading this book. Well, first and foremost, Blackmoore is truly impressive in his action scene writing and he does not scrimp on them. Carter is always in some sort of gun fight, ghost fight, god fight, or just plain getting his butt whooped on (a bit like Harry Dresden if you will). Of course, one thing different from Dresden is the style of magic, since Carter is a necromancer, there’s a lot of death related to his magic, not only that but it really does seem that the magically enhanced folks seem to have a bit of a society that isn’t on the good side of Santa’s present list. Therefore, magic seems to be a lot more pain related, scars, blood, tattoos, things of that nature. If I didn’t lose you there then I have a strong feeling this will be the book for you.

On top of that, Eric is a strong likable protagonist (of course I personally like his old/dead best friend Alex best, his snark is certainly appreciated by me if not by Eric). Hungry Ghost deals a lot in Eric’s growth and acceptance in his part in the deaths in his family. Blackmoore does a good job showing the pain and depression that his parents and sister’s deaths have caused in him and how these events have shaped him into the character we see today. On top of that, these revelations lead to a bit of awareness that will help fill out Eric’s character more in further books.

Speaking of further books, while I would very much like to read more about Eric Carter and his world I’m genuinely curious about whether there will be more books in the series and if so where the story will go from here. Blackmoore has tied off a number of the storylines that have been driving Eric over the last three books, however, he does keep enough mystery alive that if there were more books Blackmoore could expand on this mystery treating the new books as a new chapter in Eric’s saga.

All in all, I very much recommend this to anyone who enjoys Mike Carey, Richard Kadrey and Jim Butcher, and I do hope there are more books in the Eric Carter series. It was an action packed, entertaining quick read.

INFO

Publisher: DAW

Published: February 7, 2017

Price: $7.99

Link to Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Ghosts-Carter-Stephen-Blackmoore/dp/0756409411/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1486501699&sr=1-1

Shadowed Souls: Edited By Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes

SHADOWED SOULS

SUMMARY

In this dark and gritty collection—featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman—nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil..

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s Cold Case, Molly Carpenter—Harry Dresden’s apprentice-turned-Winter Lady—must collect a tribute from a remote Fae colony and discovers that even if you’re a good girl, sometimes you have to be bad...

New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire’s Sleepover finds half-succubus Elsie Harrington kidnapped by a group of desperate teenage boys. Not for anything “weird.” They just need her to rescue a little girl from the boogeyman. No biggie.

In New York Times bestselling Kevin J. Anderson’s Eye of Newt, Zombie P.I. Dan Shamble’s latest client is a panicky lizard missing an eye who thinks someone wants him dead. But the truth is that someone only wants him for a very special dinner...

And New York Times bestselling author Rob Thurman’s infernally heroic Caliban Leandros takes a trip down memory lane as he deals wih some overdue—and nightmarish—vengeance involving some quite nasty Impossible Monsters.

ALSO INCLUDES STORIES BY

Tanya Huff * Kat Richardson * Jim C. Hines * Anton Strout * Lucy A. Snyder * Kristine Kathryn Rusch * Erik Scott de Bie *

REVIEW

I love anthologies. They give readers a chance to catch up with some of their favorite characters between books, they introduce readers to new authors, and they even allow authors to stretch their creative side which sometimes allows for new characters or stories to come to light.

In Shadowed Souls Kerrie L. Hughes has brought together the A team of fantasy authors. My two personal favorite stories from the anthology are Jim Butcher’s Cold Case and Seanan McGuire’s Sleepover.

Cold Case by Jim Butcher - 5 stars

Starting off with Jim Butcher, Dresden Files fans will positively climb over each other to get a new snippet into Harry’s world. And boy is this a doozy… Readers are given a glimpse into the changes that are affecting/plaguing Molly in her transformation into the Winter Lady. On top of that more secrets between the war between Winer and the Outsiders are revealed. And if that isn’t enough we get Ramirez helping Molly out, and the ramifications from that are enormous! The only two negatives to this story are that it will not make much sense if you haven’t read the Dresden Files, and that Molly’s actions seem a little out of place for her character as we’ve been accustomed to it from Harry’s POV. That said, the first issue can be remedied by reading the Dresden Files (something you should do if you’re interested in urban fantasy, which I would assume/hope you are if you’re picking up Shadowed Souls). And the second issue can be explained away with Molly’s changes to her mind and character from becoming the Winter Lady. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Cold Case and can’t wait for the next installment in the Dresden Files.

Sleepover by Seanan McGuire - 5 stars

Seanan McGuire’s story takes place in her InCryptid series, this time with from the POV of half-succubus Elsie (the cousin of the Price siblings). Elsie is constantly having to hide what she is and be careful, since if it ever got out that she was a succubus not only would she be in danger but so would her family. So, when she gets kidnapped by a bunch of kids and they know what she is, she knows she’s screwed. This story has tense moments, monsters, and a killer POV shift to that of one of the “monsters”, but what is most impressive about this story is the way in which McGuire captures the sadness, shock, and gut-retching feelings of betrayal when someone you once loved betrays you. While this is not a necessary read for the InCryptid series, it goes a long way in helping readers get a sense of the judgement, fear, and loneliness that many of the “monsters” in the larger series feel on a daily basis. Besides the fictional viewpoint, this story will resonate with anyone who has had their confidence betrayed. All in all, Sleepover is a gripping story on the emotional level that readers and beginners of the InCryptid series alike will thoroughly enjoy.

INFO

Publisher: Roc

Published: November 1, 2016

Price: $17.99

Link to Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Shadowed-Souls-Jim-Butcher-ebook/dp/B01BK0SQF4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1486501219&sr=1-1&keywords=shadowed+souls

Burned: By Benedict Jacka

BURNED

SUMMARY

Diviner Alex Verus finally made one too many enemies on the Council of Mages, and now one of them is angry enough to have him executed. Fighting for his life is nothing new, but this kill order also calls for the death of Alex’s dependents—and there’s no way that he’ll let Luna, Anne, and Vari take the heat.

With only a week before he’s history, Alex will have to figure out how to disassociate himself from his friends, scrounge up allies on the Council, and hopefully keep his head attached to his body.

But saving himself is going to bring him into direct opposition with his former master and the Dark mages surrounding him. And, this time, escaping with his life might mean losing his soul...

REVIEW

What impressed me most about Burned was the way in which the ramifications and events from the last few books all came rushing back into a single convergence that had to be reckoned with in Burned, thereby leading the series to a new plateau and breaking away from the rut that many writers find themselves stuck in.

In fact, since third the book in the series, Mr. Jacka has advanced his writing and story development by leaps and bounds. In Burned, as I mentioned before,  Alex is left dealing with the numerous enemies he has accumulated over the course of the series. The light mages have placed a death verdict on not just him but also all of his allies and it's up to Alex to use all of his tricks and everything remaining up his sleeves to do everything in his power to keep his loved ones safe. If that does grip you as a reader than I don't know what will. Jacka spends a good deal of the book setting up a a series of twists and turns that will leave readers shocked and enthralled. While I don't want to give anything away, I can say that through these twists and surprises leave Alex's allies in hot water often putting them to the test of the extent of their allegiance to Alex.

As for the nonstop action that fans of the series have come to expect, Burned is no exception to this. Burned is full of pulse pounding and exhilarating action and storylines and yet still has time to make significant advancements in the storyline.

All in all, if you can't tell from my gushing review of this book, I like he's Burned. My only regret is that I have to wait for months for the next book. But please be advised that Benedict Jacka is no longer an up and coming talent, he has now clearly arrived and it is everything fans of his series could have hoped for and more.

INFO

Published: April 5, 2016

Publisher: Ace

Price: $7.99

Link to Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Burned-An-Alex-Verus-Novel-ebook/dp/B011IVP3UG/ref=pd_sim_351_19?ie=UTF8&dpID=51oUnOtbx%2BL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_OU01_AC_UL160_SR99%2C160_&refRID=1R2QDZSBVQQ112D5PH4Z