Into the North, by Lindsay Schopfer

I haven't been able to read as much lately as I would like due to my own writing schedule, but every now and then I find the time. Today's book is one written by Indie author, Lindsay Schopfer. Because I enjoyed the first book in the series, The Beast Hunter, I was asked to be a Beta Reader, which I normally don't do, as many times I point out things a reader will find distracting, and then the author doesn't like me anymore. 

However, Into the North is a fitting sequel to Keltin’s first adventure. Both are stand-alone novels, so you don’t have to have read The Beast Hunter to know what is going on.

But First, THE BLURB:

Professional beast hunter Keltin Moore is returning home a changed man. With a new apprentice and a lifetime of experience gained in faraway Krendaria, he prepares to settle into his old life of being a small town hero. But when gold is discovered in the far north, Keltin must again leave his home in order to protect the prospectors from the beasts ravaging the gold fields. Arriving in the boom town of Lost Trap, Keltin soon discovers that there are dangers beyond beasts in the frozen north. A local gang has established themselves as the resident Hunters Guild and will not tolerate any competition. Meanwhile, a specter haunts the gold fields. A legendary creature known as the Ghost of Lost Trap stalks the snowy countryside, testing Keltin and his friends to their very limits as they try to hunt their most dangerous beast yet.

MY REVIEW:

Like Schopfer’s other work, this novel is well-structured, with creative environments, good tension, and deep characters. It is a complex tale, layered with political and ethical themes. As in The Beast Hunter, the technology is all that which we would find available in any late 19th century steampunk tale, but there the similarity ends. Keltin is a beast hunter, and the Ghost of Lost Trap is not your average Edwardian creature. The creatures in this series are some of the most horrific things I have seen outside of an RPG, all of them fun and dangerous.

Keltin Moore is still slightly flawed, and still intriguing. He still has family troubles and will likely always have trouble getting along with certain members of his own species. He lives in a world of diverse sentient races of people, and the prejudice and political intrigue stemming from that diversity is central to their culture. One of my favorite characters is Bor’ve’tai, a member of a species called the Loopi, and he makes a return.

A bounty hunter, Keltin is used to working alone, but now he has an apprentice—Jaylocke, the Weycliff Wayfarer. Jaylocke is, at times, hilarious, and is a good foil for Keltin’s intensity. The people they meet along the way and the relationships they forge with other species are the core of this story. Lindsay Schopfer’s knack for showing a good story really shines, as the action driven plot, rather male-dominated but multicultural society, and solid, well-drawn characters of many different species make this novel a good read.

As I mentioned above, I received an advance copy of this book as a Beta reader, and enjoyed it very much in that incarnation. I must say, I liked the finished product even more. I highly recommend it as an action adventure.

The Adventures of Don Valiente and the Apache Canyon Kid by John A. Aragon & Mary W. Walters

Today we revisit the old west as it never was, or as it may once have been in the cinematic universe. The Adventures of Don Valiente and the Apache Canyon Kid by indie authors John A. Aragon & Mary W. Walters is a bold, romantic journey into New Mexico, ca. 1922.

THE BLURB:
The West will never be the same . . . .

New Mexico, 1922.

The orphaned eighteen-year-old stablehand Rosalind Grundy is seduced by a married woman, and faces a lynching after the pair is surprised in flagrante delicto. But she manages to escape with the aid of a strange and aristocratic old man who calls himself Don Valiente.

Don Valiente, having read too many dime westerns, has come to believe that he is a famous gunfighter. He thinks Roz is a young man named Ross, and he takes her under his wing, intending to teach her and to revive "The Code Of The Caballeros."

Don Valiente and Roz embark on a series of comic adventures. But when they come upon a grisly murder scene and the trail of three escaped-convict killers, Roz realizes that her only chance to survive the imminent showdown and to reunite with her true love lies in her ability to separate Don Valiente's madness from the eternal truths in his teaching.

“The western dime novel meets Don Quixote and goes digital in this mash-up of hair-raising tales. It’s a bold and sexy chase from end to end.” — Fred Stenson, author of The Trade, Lightning, and The Great Karoo

MY REVIEW:
Let me just say I fell in love with Don Valiente the moment he began speaking! He is wild, wise and completely committed to living The Code of the Caballeros. In one very moving scene, after Roz has been forced to kill a man, she sheds tears for her vanquished foe, wondering why he had to go and put himself in the position where she had to shoot him in self-defense. Don Valiente tells her that the path of the Caballero is full of compassion for the misguided souls he must usher into the next world. "Do you not think that the executioner does not recognise that even those who must pay for their bad deeds with their lives are also human beings, like him, who live, love, and know the beauty of creation?"

The wisdom Don Valiente imparts to Roz over the course of the tale is beautiful and moving. His spirituality is deep and is such a part of him that he has an enormous influence on his young apprentice. I myself have taken much of it to heart! His truths are universal, and as she begins to understand what he is trying to teach her, Roz begins to know who she is, and to be comfortable in her own skin.

Roz is young, beautifully human and is just a girl who is caught up in something that is so much larger than she is. Her motives are simple and honest. In reading this book, I felt every one of of Roz's trials and sorrows as if they were my own. She's an unlikely hero, but she is the sort of hero that made the legends of the old west come to life.

The bad-guys are awesome, in part because they aren't all men. Leta, Kruger and the Beast have few redeeming qualities, and they are quite frightening. I never knew what they would do next. They are as nasty and evil as any villains I've ever met.

This tale has everything--Romance, danger, spirituality and great well-drawn characters, both good and bad, that leap off the page. The scenery is gorgeous and the atmosphere is moody and mysterious. I liked this book so much I bought the paperback as well as the Kindle version.

I have read everything both Mary W. Walters and John A. Aragon have written in their separate careers, and think their considerable skills are magnified in this tale of good and evil. The story haunted my dreams the night I finished reading it, and that is the mark of an awesome book!

Everville - the First Pillar, by Roy Huff

Everville – The First Pillar by Roy Huff is a bit of a departure for me. It is a young adult fantasy, and is told in the first person. I have to admit, the cover art is wonderful and it  intrigued me me enough to buy the book.

The Blurb:

Owen Sage is the emblematic college freshman at Easton Falls University. With all the worries about his first year in college, he was not prepared for what would happen next. His way of life was flipped upside down when he mysteriously crossed into another dimension, into the beautiful land of Everville. His excitement was abruptly halted when he discovered that there was a darkness forged against both the natural world, which he knew well, and the new land which he discovered, Everville. He must devise a plan to save both worlds while joining forces with the race of Fron and The Keepers, whom both harbor hidden secrets he must learn in order to gain power over the evil that dwells in The Other In Between.

With a race against time to save both worlds, his short time at Easton Falls did not quite prepare him for the evil, dark forces he must fight in order to conquer The Other In Between.

My Review:

I will admit that I had a hard time getting into the story. The beginning a bit confusing, but I persevered and I am glad I did. Stick with it readers! After the first few pages, this shapes up into a good enjoyable novel.

Owen Sage is a rather naïve young man, and is very close to his good friends Dante and Anika. They take an art class together, and they join an art club, as well as the Echo Club. The clubs and the art class are extremely important to the tale.

In the world of Everville Owen meets the Keeper. He is a wise old man who is trying protect the Fron: a race of friendly, short, hairless, large-eared, people. The Fron are in trouble, from an aggressive, ugly race known as Them.

Huff’s characters are well drawn, and enjoyable. He takes the tale in several quite unpredictable directions, and his system of magic is well thought out and unique. Huff takes the concept of college competition to a new level and makes it fundamental to the tale.

It is a first book in a series, and I am sure the next installment will be quite well received. All in all, I give this book four solid stars, and think Mr. Huff has a fine career ahead of him as an author of young adult fantasy.

The Towers of the Sunset by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

One of my favorite books of all time is The Towers of the Sunset by L.E. Modesitt Jr. First Published in 1992, it was for me a watershed book, introducing me to the world of Recluce. Though it is the second installment in the series, it is a stand alone book and is a prequel to the classic, The Magic of Recluce.  I am a huge fan of Modesitt's style. He writes with an economy of words, and yet you are drawn into his world, to the exclusion of everything else. 

The Blurb:

Okay, there is no blurb. This is one of those Big 6 published books where, in their wisdom, they quit putting blurbs on books and instead put glowing comments from Interzone, Publisher's Weekly, and the (now) late Jo Clayton on the back cover instead. I do think a blurb helps to sell a book. This is the only fault I could find with the book, but I bought it for the cover art, because, hey, it's what I always do. The cover art is awesome, and in this case it introduced me to an amazing author. (Of course the cover is awesome--it's published by Tor and they do great covers.)

My Review:

In the world of Recluce there are two different kinds of magic, White (chaos magic), and Black (order magic).  Depending on the book in this series, you find yourself on either side of the magic issue, and in this book it is the Black that is the “good-guys”.

Creslin is the unwanted son of the powerful Marshall of Westwind, an all-female military city-state. Creslin has begun to show the signs of being strong in the Black magic of Order. He is betrothed against his will to Megaera, the sister of the Tyrant of Sarronnyn. She is a powerful White Wizard, and is considered an abomination, as the female societies are very much Order based and Sarronnyn is similarly a female military-run country. Creslin flees eastward to the lands where men are free to make their own rules, but where he is captured by the White magicians, and forced to labor building the great highway.

He is aided by two Black wizards. He is finally forced into a corner and must marry his less-than-thrilled fiancée, Megaera. She has been manipulated by her sister and by magic into the marriage herself. The two are forced into exile and undertake the regency of the desolate isle of Recluce. Although it’s barren, they hope to turn it into a prosperous haven free of the White wizards. Creslin and Megaera bicker constantly, and she is downright cruel to him, but they are tied to each other magically and they must somehow learn to live together, or they will die. The wizards of Fairhaven have other plans, and Creslin must master his own powers, make the desert Recluce bloom, and defeat the Chaos magicians if he hopes to survive.

Creslin and Megaera have many ordeals to overcome, not the least of which is Megaera’s horrible treatment of him.

This is a big, sweeping epic fantasy and yet it is an intimate story of love and strong women and men learning to coexist when there may be no common ground, no middle for them to meet.  This is the real story, for me.

I absolutely love Modesitt’s magic system. It is unique, and completely believable. His social system is quite detailed and amazing too. Modesitt spends time building the worlds his characters must live in and the world of Recluce is clearly defined and easily visualized as you read any of the many books in this series.

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Some people have disparaged this particular book because of the way Megaera treats Creslin, and also the way Modesitt builds the first half of the book. Some people don't like the present tense point of view. I liked it for precisely ALL those reasons, even though I am not normally a fan of this p.o.v.. If you are looking for a real fantasy adventure, with a unique world and engaging characters this is it. I am a huge fan of +L.E. Modesitt Jr., not just of his Recluce series, but of ALL his work. Nearly all of Modesitt’s science fiction works, such as the Parafaith War and the Time Diver duology  are also books that have become classics in my library.

Land of Nod, The Artifact by Gary Hoover

‘Land of Nod, The Artifact’  by +Gary Hoover is one of those genre-bending tales that sucks you in and soon you are hooked. It is a little bit sci-fi and a lot fantasy. I first read this book in 2011 and recently re-read it while visiting grandchildren. I think it's well worth a second look!



The Blurb:
Jeff Browning has been haunted by terrifying dreams since the mysterious disappearance of his father (a renowned physicist). But when he finds a portal in his father’s office, he must overcome his fears in an attempt to find him.
The portal takes him to another dimension – one populated by fantastic and dangerous creatures and also an advanced society of humans.

As Jeff looks for clues regarding what may have happened to his father, he is accused by some of being a spy while thought by others to be a prophesized figure . . . who may be the key to victory in a developing war.


My Review:
The plot details the adventures of Jeff Browning, a fourteen year old boy who is struggling with the loss of his father. Jeff has dreams that frighten him and he tries to avoid sleep as much as he can. One day he decides to search his late father's locked office, and while he is in there he finds a strange machine with a hole in the center that leads to somewhere else. He climbs into it and embarks on a strange series of adventures, finding that his father may not be dead but may actually be there too, somewhere.

Jeff has mysterious powers that aren't fully explained in this book but they are hinted at, rather strongly, as being more fully explained at a later date. Fortunately, Jeff is taken in by a family, and they help him.  As he begins searching for his father, he is accused by some of being a spy, and is thought by others to be a prophesied figure, 'The Raja' a savior who may be the key to victory in a war that is looming on the horizon.  This is because of the locket which he wears that his father gave him years before.

This world is populated by fantastic and dangerous creatures and also an advanced society of humans. That society, while very different from those on earth, parallels Jeff's earth in many ways. 

Hoover blends science and technology with mysticism and prophecy to create a world that is both familiar and strange.  There are many different issues keeping Jeff from finding his father, from useless politicians whose self-interest outweighs the greater good to a war that he eventually finds himself in the middle of.

The characters are well drawn, and the strange world is also well crafted and visually real. The beasts that Jeff must fight are quite frightening and the battles are very realistic. While this is a great stand-alone tale, Hoover sets you up for the sequel, Land of Nod, The Prophet, quite neatly. This is another good adventure book for readers of all ages. I enjoyed this book immensely and highly recommend it!

My grandson and I will be reading Land of Nod, The Prophet over the summer, and I confess, I've been cheating--I've already begun reading it! What a great series!

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams

 

First published in 1988 by the master of epic fantasy, Tad Williams, the watershed series Memory, Sorrow and Thorn begins with The Dragon Bone Chair. Just like the most enduring of marriages, this tale of three great and dangerous swords begins a bit slowly, but once you are into it, these books are sheer magic.

The main protagonist is Simon, a fourteen-year-old kitchen boy and servant in the great castle Hayholt. He is not really very enthusiastic in carrying out his duties as a kitchen-drudge in the last days of the long reign of King John Presbyter. However, he is happy when he finds himself apprenticed to Doctor Morgenes, the castle's healer and wizard. Simon alternates his time between his chores as a drudge and learning to read and write, taught by the good doctor. Upon the death of the great King John, his son Elias, whom many say is a pawn of the evil cleric Pryrates, becomes king.

Soon after he takes the throne, King Elias' brother Josua, whom Elias hates, vanishes and no one is sure if he went voluntarily or was murdered. Elias is blinded by his desire for power. He creates a pact with the undead Sithi ruler, the Storm King, who plots to regain his lost realm through a pact with one of human royal blood.

Simon accidentally stumbles into the castle dungeons and discovers that Prince Josua is being held captive. He and Morgenes conspire to rescue the prince. Simon and Morgenes are successful, and Josua escapes, but Elias' soldiers, led by Pryrates, storm Morgenes' office, and Morgenes is murdered by a dark magic. Terrified and confused, Simon is able to flee the castle through a secret passage at the back of the doctor's office. With only with his mentor's biography of the good King John for companionship, Simon is lost and despondent.

In the process of escaping the Hayholt, Simon witnesses Pryrates and Elias performing an evil ritual with some strange white demons.

Simon rescues a member of the Sithi from a trap, and receives a white arrow as a token. At the same time he is befriended by a troll, Binnabik, who travels with Simon to Naglimund where they hope he will find safety. While traveling they save a servant girl and her sister from wild dogs, and meet a witch who helps them escape the soldiers who are pursuing them.

Upon arriving at Naglimund Simon discovers that the serving girl whom they saved is actually Miriamele, the only child of King Elias. She has run away to join her uncle Josua.

Simon finds himself on a quest to recover the magical blade, Thorn which once belonged to the greatest knight in their history. In the process, he runs into the Sithi Prince that he had rescued from the trap, and Jiriki joins Simon in his quest.

The changes that Simon and Miriamele go through as they leave their childhood behind are both tragic and amazing. The ways they react to and are formed by the pressures they are under, and the strengths they both have make this series one of the most compelling character studies I’ve read.

There is a large cast of characters, but I found it easy to keep them straight because they are drawn with attention to their individual personalities. Each character is all the more real because they have individual flaws and weaknesses. They make bad decisions, and they do things which seem incomprehensible, but they are behaving the way people under stress behave. This is why this take on the age-old tale of the kitchen-boy who is really a hero remains fresh and wonderful twenty five years later. Of course, there is an Appendix in the back with the names and pronunciations of all the characters and places.

The intertwined stories of Simon and Miriamele are told in a way that is detailed and very real. Williams has painted his world with such detail that reader feels as if Osten Ard is a real place, and you feel as if you know it well. This series is so well drawn and plotted that I found myself dreaming about it when the books ended.

The Dream Merchant, book 3 – The Crack’d Shield by L.T. Suzuki in collaboration with Nia Suzuki-White

 

The Dream Merchant, book 3 – The Crack'd Shield is written by Canadian author L.T. Suzuki in collaboration with her daughter, Nia Suzuki-White. Lorna Suzuki is the author of the classic Imago series.

This laugh-a-minute farce continues the adventures of prickly, persnickety Princess Rose and her unwilling personal knight, Tag on their quest to retrieve, the Dreamstone which began in TheMagic Crystal.  When The Silver Sword, the second book in the series, ended Rose and Tag were trapped in the lair of a dragon, bickering as usual but were about to set out to rescue their old friend Cankles from the evil Sorcerer Dragonite.   Tag has sacrificed his most precious possession to save Rose.

Now, a cave-in has separated Rose and Tag, but their friends the elves, Denatheen, Ayden, Roen Aldus digging them out.  Dragonite has kidnapped Cankles, but he really wants Princess Rose, although they aren’t really sure why.  Soon, Silas Agincor, the Dream Merchant and Lord Rainus Silverthorn, leader of the elves rejoin them.

The adventures really heat up, and we learn a great deal of Cankles’s history, which is grim and sad; but also noble and brave. Also, we see that all is not exactly peachy-keen in the working relationship of Dragonite and his rebellious minion, the pooka (a sort of a fairy) Loken.  Somehow two evil geniuses in one lair just don’t get along as well as you would think they would, what with all the jockeying for position and one-upping that goes on. Their interactions are frequently hilarious; Loken is not a good and loyal minion at heart. However, Sorcerer Dragonite does possess something Loken wants badly enough to justify pretending to be the underling in this venture. And Dragonite, whose awesome army is composed of Mimes (!!!) is sadistic, where Loken does not enjoy being cruel but does it out of necessity.

The history between the evil Dragonite and Cankles looms large in this tale. Dragonite is responsible for Cankles’s amnesia.  He is also responsible for brutally torturing him a decade before. Now poor Cankles is once more his prisoner, and we discover what it is that really binds Loken to Dragonite.

Now things get really interesting, as if they weren’t already!

I love this whole series, and The Crack’d Shield is a fitting and satisfying conclusion to this 3-volume tale.  The characters are vivid, and colorful; their personalities are unique and distinctive.  I cared about Rose and Tag and absolutely cherished Cankles. I laughed and cried all the way through their adventures, and I love, loved, loved the ending.

All in all, the three volumes of the Dream Merchant Saga combine all the elements of epic high-fantasy with intense drama and hilarious dialogue, creating a real masterpiece. The Crack'd Shield is a breathtaking finish to a truly awesome tale!  I highly recommend purchasing all three volumes, because you will want to read them all.

 

 

 

 

Darkness Rising, Ross M Kitson

This week I am reviewing Darkness Rising, which is written by British fantasy author Ross M Kitson.  This is a tale that has all the elements of a true classic.  The plot moves along in unexpected ways, and the characters are compelling and draw you in.  You find yourself turning the pages and reading, even when you should be putting it down and *cough* working.

And now for our story! 

Born with strange silver-grey eyes, Emelia is trapped in servitude to uncaring and haughty masters. Technically she is a ‘hired servant’ and not a slave, but the family who ‘employs’ her and others like her own her, body and soul.   It is a life that is harsh and unforgiving to a girl hears voices that counsel rebellion and who frequently crosses the line and forgets her place through no fault of her own.  Even so, she has friends and loved ones within the servant community, and even a wistful romantic interest. Because of her eyes, she is called ‘Star-Eyed’, and it is suspected that one of her ancestors was actually a ‘Subaquan’ or a merman. Events happen to Emelia and she finds herself caught up in them, unable to control them or to avoid the punishments that surely follow.

The family that employs her, the Ebon-Farrs are members of an elite and highly-placed nobility with many important connections. They are also possessed of an item, a Crystal that the Arch-mage, Inkas-Tarr desires and plans to steal. Inkas also desires to possess Emelia, and he makes a bargain with the Ebon-Farrs to purchase her. Arch-mage Inkas is the highest ranking Elemental master and he sees something in her that he wishes to have at his enclave to study.

Before that can happen, she inadvertently runs afoul of Uthor Ebon-Farr, the arrogant son of the house, and strange powers emerge within her, but she is unaware of what has happened, only that strange things are happening to her, and that she is punished severely for the events that she had no control over.

On the night that she makes her escape from her masters, Emelia meets two men, Hunor and Jem, who are attempting to steal the very crystal that Arch-mage Inkas has also sent a thief after. Things begin to really go awry, but it turns out that Emelia is a Wild Mage, and is the antitheses of the Elemental Mages.

It turns out that the crystal is actually a dangerous and powerful magical artifact, one of the Prisms of Power - ancient artifacts made by a long dead race containing terrifying magic.

Once she is embroiled with Hunor and Jem, she embarks upon an epic adventure to find the Prisms. The Prisms are necessary to defeat the lord of the ghasts, the undead mages who are unequivocally evil.  No wishy-washy maybe-they-are evil here!!!  The Lord of the Ghasts is Evil. Emelia holds the key to their location but the Wild-magic comes at a dire cost...that of her mind.

Kitson has created a world that is fully fleshed in both its history and its social structure, and built a system of magic that is logical and is fully believable.  The details are slipped into the story in such a way that the reader does not get bored.  I was able to fully picture the world that Kitson describes, and found myself immersed in the lives of Emelia, Hunor and Jem. I didn't want the book to end!

I am SO looking forward to the next step in their adventures!  Ross M Kitson, please write faster!

The Magic Crystal, L.T. Suzuki & Nia Suzuki-White

The first installment in ‘The Dream Merchant Saga’, ‘The MagicCrystal’ is absolutely enchanting.  As the authors say in the prologue, it is “an imperfect tale about imperfect people.” It is an untraditional fairy-tale, told in a thoroughly traditional style.  Written by the mother and daughter team of L.T. Suzuki of 'Imago' fame, and her young daughter Nia Suzuki-White, The Magic Crystal delivers on all counts.

The tale opens with the spoiled, temperamental, thoroughly aggravating 16 year old Princess Rose abusing her servants and ‘her jester’ an unfortunate boy named Tag.  Rose has ruined Tag's life, and made it impossible for him to achieve his goal of becoming a knight, something which he holds against her and she doesn’t give a fig about. She enjoys the fact that he has to serve her no matter what he really wishes.

Always looking out for herself, she has crafted a plan to trap the Tooth Fairy and thereby force her to grant Princess Rose 3 wishes.  Rose tries to force Tag to help her steal the tooth of a child. He refuses to help her, but she gets the tooth through bribery. Her plan succeeds, but goes awry, when the enraged fairy rats her out to her parents.  Her parents are not really that strong on discipline and leave it up to the tooth fairy to discipline Rose, as long as she doesn’t do any magic, such as changing her into a toad. Rose makes a bargain with the fairy who agrees to introduce her to the Dream Merchant who will make all her wishes come true.  Though she is warned many times that this is not that good of an idea, Rose insists and the fairy accepts a small silver heart-shaped locket in lieu of a good deed to make the deal binding.

Of course, Princess Rose is her usual charming self when the Dream Merchant arrives, and thus is set into motion a wonderful set of adventures that are perfectly befitting the arrogant girl. He tells her that she shall have no more than 3 wishes per day, and that devious manipulation of the rules on her part will reduce her to 1 wish per day.  He gives her a dream crystal and tells her to keep it safe, for if it should fall into the wrong hands, the consequences would be dire. She is told that she must learn something called wakeful dreaming to use it properly. He only asks for one thing in payment for the Crystal – the love of her parents.  She agrees, as she does not think that her parents love her since they are always trying to get her to behave.  He warns her to be careful of what she wishes for, tells her how to get hold of him if she wants to return the crystal and disappears.

Of course the next day she finds herself tossed out of the castle, and the only one who recognizes her is her despised jester, Tag who reluctantly helps her. Soon they are on a quest to find the one thing that can get her life back to normal - her heart. On the way they meet a wonderful character, Cankles Mayron, the local V.I (or Village Idiot).  He helps them out and becomes an indispensible part of their life.

I enjoyed this creative and amazing series of adventures immensely. I laughed and cried with Rose and Tag, and loved the way that one misadventure flowed into another. Sorcerers, dragons, and mistaken identity - it is all rolled into one of the funnier tales I have read in a long time. The uneasy alliance of Princess Rose and Tag, and Cankles is a brilliant, entertaining story that will become a classic in my family.  The Magic Crystal is a read-aloud sort of story, one that will enchant the adults as well as the children.

I am eagerly looking forward to reading the second installment in this series, The Silver Sword. It waits within my Kindle, tantalizing me, begging me to drop everything and read it!

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The Last Guardian, Joan Hazel

The Last Guardian by Joan Hazel

I admit that I rarely read Paranormal Fantasy, what with my personal addiction to elves and dragons, but I enjoyed THE HECK out of reading this book!  The heroes are sexy, funny and full of mischief. The plot is not the usual good vs evil plot that I am used to, but is more subtle. Yes, good does battle evil, but some of evil's companions have redeeming qualities that are not fully explored in this book. This does set it up nicely for a sequel.

The guardians were created by the Norse Goddess Freya to care for her children, who (in this tale) are shapeshifters. Norse Mythology figures quite strongly in this tale, as does the lore of the Lakota People, a unique melding of the two.

Starting off immediately in a state of suspense and action, the "pack" is introduced with all the bravado of a special op. attack force. Hazel quickly plunges her reader into the personalities and relationships of the four pack members: Fergus, Saint, Mika, and Ghost. In the opening sequence a member of the pack is injured and the rest rush to save him.  His injuries are so serious that his abilities are compromised.  As the story progresses, the complicated relationships between the pack members drive the storyline, and the action keeps you on the edge of your seat.

These strong male characters are complemented by the protagonist CJ Carson. Charlie Jean, or CJ, is about to be thrown into a world she does not understand, and yet holds the answers to questions that have nagged at her all her life. Unbeknownst to her, she was born into a family whose sole occupation for generations has been to be the Guardians who keep the secrets of the shapeshifters and protect them. 

Unfortunately there are traitors within the shapeshifting community and they plot to free themselves of the guardians. They murder the man who was actually CJ’s father, and when they discover her existence, her life is then in danger.

The pack must bring CJ safely into their community, but the antagonists will stop at nothing to prevent that.  The final battle in this book is heart-stopping adventure and is one of the best parts in a book that is filled with great moments.

The pack is comprised of sexy, ooh-la-la men, and they are witty as well as easy on the eyes.  CJ and her friends are well drawn and compelling characters.

The plot is well paced and keeps the reader interested.  This is quite a romantic book even though it never drops into 'romance-novel' territory. The chemistry between Mika and CJ is good. I whiled away a rainy Sunday reading this book, and highly recommend it!

Sakuri by Jacob Henzel

Today we are dipping into the sci-fi that I love!  Sakuri by Jacob Henzel is a roller coaster ride!  It is filled with non-stop action and great characters. I love the anime-style art on the cover. 

Twenty-three year old Sakuri is a courier who relies on roller blades to make deliveries. She still lives at home with her mother. The only social life Sakuri has is her very large dog, Oni, and her very strange boss.  Sometimes the courier business involves dealing with some very shady characters, and Sakuri is very wise to the ways of the world.

But Sakuri has a very big secret, one that she shares with no one, not even her dog.

One day she comes to work and is sent out on a job for a reformed mobster named Jacqueline. Of course it goes horribly awry.  This is the beginning of the most amazing, heart-stopping series of incidents that I have read in a long time.

She makes the delivery in a parking garage, and is the witness to a mob-style hit. In the flurry of hiding, Luke, the man she is to deliver brief case to, tells her to take the case and get out of there.  As she is hiding, it opens and a strange metallic glove-like thing falls out.  She puts the strange glove on for safekeeping.


Unfortunately, the assassins see her, and come after her. She narrowly escapes with her life when a sword wielding girl pulls up and dispatches the assassins.  Sakuri can’t remove the strange glove that she put on, and it sort of becomes a part of her.  The unidentified girl gives Sakuri a keycard that allows Sakuri to escape through a private building. She makes it back to work, only to find it closed.

When she arrives home, she finds the strange sword-wielding girl there.  Her name is Shannon, and she is the daughter of the infamous Jacqueline.  No longer a mobster, Jacqueline is now funding scientific research. Who knew that scientific research was so competitive?

Sakuri can’t remove the glove. Shannon tells her to go to work as normal the next day, and that Jacqueline will send someone to pick her up to get it removed.

The next day Sakuri finds her boss murdered.  The assassins are waiting for her, and her glove helps to save her life.

But now the people for whom she was delivering the package take control of her life.  Nothing is what it seems, and enemies become allies as Sakuri is drawn into a secret underworld that exists to save the planet from a terrible threat from beyond.

The story is told from Sakuri's point of view.  There is a deep personal story that unfolds along with the action. The relationship with Shannon begins rather antagonistically but evolves to a deeper friendship. Her relationship with Luke deepens as the story progresses. As it unfolds Sakuri learns to trust enough to have a friend and to possibly love someone, despite the very big secret that Sakuri does not share with anyone.


  This is a top notch first book by an indie author. I definitely recommend Sakuri to the sci-fi lover, and the lover of flat out adventure!

A tribute to Anne McCaffrey

With the death of Anne McCaffrey on Monday, November 21, 2011 I felt that it would be appropriate to talk about her life and how her work influenced me.  I would not be a writer if I had not begun immersing myself in her work at the age of fifteen.

I first discovered Anne McCaffrey when I ... um... borrowed... my father's Science Fiction Book Club copy of Dragonflight in the summer of 1969. Since that time I have worn out 6 hardbound copies of 'The Dragonriders of Pern', a collection comprised of the first three books based on the fantastic Weyrs of Pern, and the people and their dragons who live within them. I can't tell you how many fellow Pern fanatics tell me the same thing, 'When I think of dragons, I think of Pern'.

Anne McCaffrey's 1968 novel, Dragonflight was the first book in the original trilogy, and is the book that launched an empire that now encompasses 22 novels (plus 2 more in the works) and several short-stories. In 2003 McCaffrey began writing with her son, Todd McCaffrey and in 2005 Todd took over the series, and has acquitted himself well. I am still buying and enjoying the new entries in the series!

Dragonflight began life as a short story for Analog, 'Weyr Search' which appeared in the October 1967 issue, followed by the two-part 'Dragonrider', with the first part appearing in the December 1967 issue. In 1969 the two award winning short stories were combined into the book Dragon Flight, and was published by Ballantine books.

Pern is a planet inhabited by humans. In the forward of the book, we find that he original colonists were reduced to a low level of technology by periodic onslaughts of deadly Thread raining down from the sky. By taming and bonding to the indigenous flying, fire-breathing dragonettes called Fire-Lizards and then making genetic alterations to make them larger and telepathic, the colonists gained the upper hand. The dragons and their riders destroyed the Thread in the skies over Pern before it was able to burrow into the land and breed. The Threads would fall for fifty or so years, and then there would be an interval of 200 to 250 years. However, an unusually long interval between attacks, 4 centuries in duration, has caused the general population to gradually dismiss the threat and withdraw support from the Weyrs where dragons are bred and trained. At the time of this novel, only one weyr, Benden Weyr, remains (the other five having mysteriously disappeared at the same time in the last quiet interval). The weyr is now living a precarious hand-to-mouth existence, due to a series of ever weaker leaders over the previous fifty or so turns (years).

The story begins with Lessa, the true daughter of the dead Lord Holder and rightful heir of Ruatha Hold. She was ten years old the day her family's hold was overrun by Fax, Lord of the Seven Holds. Out of everyone in her family, she is the only full-blooded Ruathan left alive, and that was because she hid in the watch-wher's kennel during the massacre. Now she is a drudge, working in the kitchens or her family's rightful home. However, Lessa is gifted with the ability to use her mind to make others do her will; grass grows where it should not, and nothing grows where it should. Every day of her life since the day Fax massacred her family she has used that power in secret to undermine him. Now the mighty Fax only visits Ruatha when he is forced to, and has left the running of the hold to a series of ever more incompetent warders. Things have become quite grim there under Lessa's vengeful care.

Unbeknownst to Lessa, the dreadful menace of thread is about to make itself known once again. This time, however, there is only one undermanned weyr to combat the menace, and only one Queen Dragon to propagate the species. Jora has died, and her dragon is only hanging on until her eggs are ready to hatch. The Dragon Rider F'lar, rider of Bronze Mnementh, has brought his wing of dragons to Ruatha hoping to find a woman who will be a the Weyrwoman of Pern. Fax despises the Dragon men, and is spoiling for a reason to kill him. However, he unwillingly makes the pilgrimage to Ruatha, bringing all of his ladies, including his pregnant wife, Gemma. When they arrive in Ruatha, the hold is a filthy disgrace, the food is unfit and tensions are high. Lady Gemma goes into labor during the disgusting meal that is all that the warder can scrape together.

Lessa secretly uses her abilities to manipulate F'lar into a fight to the death with Fax, with the eye to claiming Ruatha for herself, as was her right and due. Before the fight, Fax is maneuvered into renouncing his claim on Ruatha, but to her chagrin, it is only in favor of Lady Gemma's babe, should it live.

This is where the story really begins. At this point in the book, I am completely enthralled; and my own work, dishes and other domestic tasks fall by the way until I turn that last page!

The action is vivid, the people and the dragons are clear and distinct as characters. The social and political climate on Pern is clearly defined. Each of the characters is fully formed, and the reader is completely immersed into their world. The way the dragons teleport, and their telepathic conversations with their riders makes for an ingenious twist in this seductive tale. And speaking of seductive, what I love the most about the entire series is the frank sensuality that never disappoints me. Anne McCaffrey never drops into long graphic descriptions of the sex that is frequently part of her stories, and yet she manages to convey the deeply empathic and intensely sensual connection that the riders and their dragons share.

Even though I have read the entire series every year since 1983, I find myself fully involved in the story. Every year there are new books to add to the series, and now if I were to sit down and begin reading the series it would take me two full weeks to get through it!

This book changed my life as a reader of fantasy and science fiction. I found myself incessantly combing the book stores for ANY new book by Anne McCaffrey, and eagerly read anything by other auther that even remotely promised to be as good as this book. I read many great books in the process; some were just as groundbreaking, and some were not so good, but even after all these years, this book stands as the benchmark beside which I measure a truly great fantasy.

'Dragonflight' has captivated generations of fans, and was the first adult book my youngest daughter ever read once she left the Beverly Cleary books behind, having simply snuck it off my shelf (I wonder where she got that notion). My children are firm fans of Anne McCaffrey's work, and so are my granddaughters! I inadvertently raised a fan-club! As a family, when we think of Dragons, we think of Pern!

Not only did Anne write amazing fantasy that defined dragons for millons of avid fans, she wrote some of the most compelling science fiction that I have ever read. 

‘The Crystal Singer’ series had me reading and re-reading the books almost compulsively. 

‘The Ship Who Sang’ began the Brain/Brawn series which one that I couldn’t put down. 

‘Dinosaur Planet’ was incredibly adventurous and well drawn. 

‘Restoree’ was a tale that was incredibly romantic and was my go-to romance novel for years. 

Her collaborations with Elizabeth Scarborough for the 'Powers That Be'  (PeTayBe)series were great escapes when I was bored or avoiding cleaning my house.

Anne McCaffrey put romance in the common space-opera.  Her books contained strong women who weren’t afraid to be women.  The men were strong men who loved and respected strong women.  The romance was thrilling, but not written in such a way that men could not relate to her work, and they enjoyed it as much as women.  Her fan-base is made up of both women and men, all of whom have been telling me that they will miss her as much as I will!

God Bless you Anne McCaffrey, wherever you are!  We will never forget the worlds you showed us, or the adventures you took us on!