Friday, August 29, 2014

Better You Go Home, Scott Driscoll



Today I am dipping into the world of literary fiction, with Better You Go Home by indie author Scott Driscoll. Technically this is a medical thriller, but the atmosphere of mystery and illusion, combined with the harsh other-world quality of the old Czech Republic make this novel a fantasy of a time gone by.

The BLURB:
Seattle attorney Chico Lenoch wonders why his Czech father refuses to contact family left behind the Iron Curtain. Searching through his father’s attic after the Velvet Revolution, Chico discovers letters dated four decades earlier revealing the existence of a half-sister. He travels to the Czech Republic to find his forgotten sister and unearth the secrets his father has buried all these years. There is self-interest behind Chico’s quest. Most urgently, he is nearing kidney failure and needs a donor organ. None of his relatives are a suitable match. Could his sister be a candidate? Chico also meets Milada, a beautiful doctor who helps him navigate the obstacles to finding his sister. While Chico idealizes his father’s homeland, Milada feels trapped. Is she really attracted to him, or is he a means of escape to the United States? Chico confronts a moral dilemma as well. If he approaches his sister about his need for a kidney, does he become complicit with his father and the Big Shots of that generation who've already robbed her of so much?

My REVIEW:
I loved this book. Driscoll takes a little step back in time with this tale. He gets into the workings of  human nature, of who we are, who we think we are, and how others see us.

Chico is an intriguing character. The tale is told in the first person, which I usually find difficult to get into as a reader, but didn't in this case. Also something I usually find off putting but didn't in this case is the way Chico occasionally 'breaks the fourth wall'--he sometimes addresses the reader directly. It works, because you are in his head the whole time and it feels perfectly natural.

An attorney, Chico is a fiercely independent man. An example of that independent streak is that he is nearly blind, and yet he insists on driving despite his friends' pleas, because, like a windshield, he can somewhat clear his vision when it gets foggy.

Despite his independent streak and his analytical nature, Chico's childhood memories are illusions and he only begins to realize it when he gets to Písečná. His father is not the man he believed him to be, and nothing is what he expected. Unable to stop thinking like a lawyer Chico asks questions and uncovers a family secret with far-reaching consequences.

The situation he finds his sister Anezka, in is serious and fraught with danger, the Czech Republic is a treacherous, alien world, and like an onion, truth there is concealed beneath many layers. Suffering, hardship, and betrayal lurk around every corner, but sharply juxtaposed against the grimness of that reality is intense beauty. At the heart of this tale are the lengths even the most ruthless of people will go to for a fantasy, an ideal.  

Driscoll's narrative draws you in and holds you spellbound to the last dramatic moment. He takes you to a world that is at times incomprehensible to western eyes, and immerses you in that culture. The way the authorities work, the absolute power certain people enjoy is shown with heartbreaking clarity. Love and loss, trust and betrayal, jealousy and all stops in-between--emotions drive this plot to it's stunning conclusion.

This is not genre fiction, instead it is written for mature, dedicated readers who want substance in a book. No fluff here, just good solid craftsmanship. I give it five full stars.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Cyador's Heirs, L.E. Modesitt Jr.




I've mixed feelings about this book, Cyador's Heirs. It is a wonderful story, well-written as is all L. E. Modesitt Jr.'s work, but it is published by one of the industry giants,TOR. Quite frankly, the EBook book is outrageously over-priced, and there are numerous, severe formatting and editing errors that make going the rough at times. Proof-reading may have been skimped on in the hurry to publish, because I read many Indie novels that are far better proofed and formatted than this book, every week. Despite those flaws, I loved the story, and Modesitt's handling of the young Lord Lerial's coming of age.


FIRST, THE BLURB:

Decades after the fall of Cyador, its survivors have reestablished themselves in Cigoerne, a fertile country coveted by hostile neighbors in less hospitable lands. Young Lerial, the second son of Duke Kiedron, lives in the shadow of his older brother Lephi, the heir to their father's realm. Lerial’s future seems preordained: He will one day command his brother’s forces in defense of Cigoerne, serving at his older sibling’s pleasure, and no more.

But when Lerial is sent abroad to be fostered by Major Altyrn to learn the skills and wisdom he will need to fulfill his future duties, he begins a journey into a much larger world that brings out his true potential. Lerial has talents that few, as yet, suspect: He is one of those rare beings who can harness both Order and Chaos, the competing natural forces that shape the world and define the magic that exists within it. And as war finally engulfs the fringes of Cigoerne, Lerial’s growing mastery of Order and Chaos is tested to its limits, and his own.

MY REVIEW:

As always, L.E. Modesitt Jr. manages to tell a gripping tale that makes you have to think, have to guess at the motives and thoughts of the people around the main character. Lerial is the younger son of the Duke of Cigoerne, and is expected to lead the Mirror Lancers when his brother, Lephi, ascend's the throne.  His grandfather was the last Emperor of Cyador, and upon the fall of Cyador and the loss of their empire in Candar, the surviving Empress escaped with their son, fleeing to the continent of Hamor where she carved out a duchy for her her son, Duke Kiedron, to inherit.  These deeds and misdeeds of the ancestors loom heavily in Lerial's life.

His relationship with his brother, Lephi, is strained. Lephi openly regards him with jealous condescension. Their mother seems to care more for Lephi than Lerial, but that could be his perception. Due to the tense family currents, Lerial's younger sister, Ryalah, is his most cherished family member, followed closely by his aunt, Emerya.

Though Lerial has the talent to use both Chaos and Order magic, he tends to to Black of Order, and he must struggle to educate himself in his mastery of that craft. This really begins when he is sent away to be fostered at Major Altyrn's estate, which though it hurts his feelings as first, turns out to be the best thing. It is there, working on the family estate, that young Lerial begins to feel a part of a family, and to have a sense of who he is. His new guardian was well acquainted with his grandparents, and was the leader of the palace guard in Cyad. He made possible the Empress's dream of carving some kind of empire for her son, Duke Kiedral, to inherit, and now makes the education of Lerial his top priority.

Great things are expected of Lerial, and he feels the pressure. Being young, he sometimes tries too hard, and discovers that mistakes cost lives. Lerial's sense of Duty and his strict code of ethics keep him going when he at his lowest points. The story is well-crafted and thought provoking. Lerial is a wonderful character, and his struggle is compelling.

Again, I recommend you do not buy the EBook as it is outrageously priced  at $12.99 and too poorly formatted. I suggest you buy the paperback, or wait until it is available in the 2nd-hand bookstore, as the publisher may have taken better care with formatting and proofing the print version. 

This lack of respect for the author's work and for readers like me who prefer EBooks is disturbing, but it seems to be a volley in the war against progress within the industry. I'm just sorry the author is caught in the middle. 

Friday, August 1, 2014

Doublesight, Terry Persun





Well, after my long detour into other genres, we're back in the realm of fantasy. Indie author Terry Persun has created a fantasy that is fresh and exhilarating.  Doublesight  is both an adventure novel and a novel of one girl's coming of age.


The BLURB:

After the Doublesight Wars, dangerous and mean-spirited shape shifters were killed off, causing other doublesight to hide their gifts, congregate into their own villages or clans, and avoid most humans. Zimp and Zora are the twin granddaughters of the crow clan's sage. The reticent Zimp is relieved that she has not been chosen to take her grandmother's position, but after Zora is murdered after an attack on the clan, Zimp is forced into her obligations. Rumors, stemming from Castle Weilk, suggest that dangerous throwbacks have been born--gryphons, harpys, dragons--and, once again the humans decide to hunt them down. Fear leads to mistrust, and mistrust to murder, all seemingly. The doublesight council assembles to assess the situation and sends five doublesight to investigate the rumors, placing Zimp in charge of four men. Struggling with her own intuitive abilities, and trying to hold a stable position as leader, Zimp finds herself in the center of a changing world and must decide on her real place within it.

My REVIEW:

Persun thrusts you into the middle of action from page one. Zimp's clan is under attack, and no one knows why.

Wholly human or wholly crow depending on what form she is in, Zimp is a great character, both endearing and aggravating. At first, she is weak and allows a less qualified, but more aggressive clan member, Arren, to make decisions for her. 

Brok, a shifter who is also a Thylacine, (which I had never heard of before this) is also an interesting and vivid character. He is angry, and Zimp is wary of him. His brother is unable to shift back to human, and his tragedy is poignant for every doublesight, whatever species. 

Lankor is a doublesight dragon, and is also a great character. He is angry and confused, unable to control his temper as all the doublesight teenagers entering adulthood seem to be.

Though they are being persecuted, the doublesight have many divisions and rifts among themselves, and must somehow find a way to work together to find out why they are being hunted. This leads to the discovery of a great evil that threatens their very existence. 

This book is as much about personalities and the need to remember their own commonality as it is about the great evil that threatens their kind. Each individual is sharply drawn, and has presence, struggling for their own place in their society while their world faces calamity. Zimp and Lankor struggle to do what they know is right, in the face of treachery and occasional bad judgement.

I really enjoyed this book, despite the fact that the ending is a set-up for book two. There is some resolution, it's just not complete, and there is ample room for more story. I always have mixed feelings about that sort of ending for the first book in a series, but despite that one minor flaw, this is an awesome book, and I think it is one of the better fantasy books I've read lately. There is nothing stale, or been-done-before in this tale. I will definitely be reading The Memory Tower.