SIN, by Shaun Allan, Audio Book narrated by R. D. Watson

Today I am discussing the most recent of my audio-book purchases, Sin. I have in the past referred to the written version of this book by indie author Shaun Allan as  "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets Finnegan’s Wake." Beautiful plays on sarcastic, witty words formed into lyrical, wonderful prose. I thought the written book was wonderful, but I am here to tell you, the Audio Book as read by R.D. Watson is nothing short of AWESOME!

THE BLURB:

Dead, dead, dead. Say it enough times and it becomes just another word. What would you do? Could you kill a killer? Does the death of one appease the deaths of a hundred? What about that hundred against a thousand? What if you had no choice? Meet Sin. No, not that sort of sin, but Sin, crazy as a loon (you ask Sister Moon), and proud of it. Sin locks himself away in an asylum and, every so often, gets violent. That's only so they'll give him those nice drugs, though. The ones that help him forget. It's a pity they don't work.

MY REVIEW:

Sin is a dark, urban fantasy, written with a large dose of sardonic humor. We hear the tale from the man who was given the name 'Sin Mathews' at birth, but who goes by the name of Sin only, as the last name doesn't matter; only the name which is the sum of his parts matters. R.D. Watson's reading of Allan's shining, witty, prose is moving and brilliant in every aspect. He gets into Sin's head, and you are completely spellbound.

Sin finds a coin, a two pence coin, or perhaps the coin finds him. Either way, this is the catalyst for Sin's curse. He finds himself flipping the coin compulsively -flip, catch - and it arcs through the air he sees images of disaster and death, which is then reported on the news. Eventually he realizes every time he flips the coin, someone dies; sometimes a lot of people die in what he believes are 'unnatural disasters' timed perfectly to the flip of the coin.  Though he tries to avoid flipping the coin, he finds himself doing it anyway.

No matter how he tries, he can't throw it away, or lose it. The coin always comes back to him when he buys something and gets his change; or even just appearing in his pocket.

Sin receives a letter from his sister Joy, telling him she had found a coin, and when she flipped it she made lives. She wrote that the responsibility for making the world happy was too much for her. She was alone in a world of happiness she couldn't be a part of, and she killed herself.  Sin apparently had found his coin right after her death.  He decides to check himself into an insane asylum in order to get the sort of psychotropic drugs which will render him incapable of seeing the visions, and flipping the coin.

Sin's conversations with Dr. Connors in the opening chapter are adversarial, and illuminating. For the most part, he enjoys his stay in the asylum, but, being sane, he sees the sordid truth in the callous treatment and chronic over-medication of the patients.

Although posing as a mentally ill patient works for a while, the medications soon cease to be effective and he decides that since the coin always comes back to him as if by magic, maybe he has the power to teleport.  He resolves to commit suicide by teleporting himself into the heart of a furnace, hoping for instant incineration.  Unfortunately, he finds himself on a beach, instead of in Hell where he had hoped to be.

Sin has an encounter with Joy who tells him death is not what it is cracked up to be. She warns him "a storm is coming".  He continues his inadvertent journey, trying to get his bearings. After a chance meeting which reveals more of his powers, he finds himself in Grimsby, the home of his childhood.

The atmosphere throughout is surrealistic, but it is well-balanced. I adore Allan's lyrical, intimate style of prose, as in this series of images describing Sin's disorientation, “History doesn’t relate whether Jonah, Gepetto, and Pinocchio sat around a table eating pizza, sharing stories of prophecy and puppetry while in the belly of the whale, but I thought that I could relate to being swallowed whole.”

Throughout the novel, Sin's ruminations are self-mocking, and world-weary, yet naive and innocent.  He bears the guilt of the world, and suffers the unbearable pain of being the cause of so many deaths, but still he finds ironic humor in every situation. Joy is grounded and guides him to the truth, but is not allowed to tell him anything.

 Nothing is what it seems in this tale, and right up to the end, you are not sure which reality is real.

The facts come out, or do they?  This book is a roller-coaster ride from the start to the finish, and I give it 5 stars for originality, and if I could I would give this audio-book version ten!

Sin is available as an audiobook at Amazon.  Buy it here!
If you are in the UK - you can buy it HERE!


OR you can go to these fine vendors:

The link for Sin ebook is Http://getbook.at/SinEbook

The iTunes audiobook is:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/audiobook/sin-unabridged/id829162177?l

Audible.com is: http://bit.ly/SinAudibleUS

Audible.co.uk is: http://bit.ly/SinAudibleUK

Cherry Hill cd is: http://bit.ly/SinAudio

And Cherry Hill MP3 is: http://bit.ly/SinMP3

Fall of Angels, L.E.Modesitt Jr.

I had one of those weeks where I cracked open 4 indie books, and shut them after getting a third of the way into them. No plot? No problem--No way.  So I was looking around my dusty shelves and came across my beloved Saga of Recluce collection and picked up "Fall of Angels."  Written in 1997 by L.E. Modesitt Jr., this is one of the most enduring fantasy series of modern times.  I think its longevity has to do with the way the saga takes place over many generations, and takes you into both sides of the conflict, with not usually more than two books dealing with a particular protagonist.


The Blurb:
Now in Fall of Angels, Modesitt moves deep into Recluce's past to chronicle the founding of the Empire of the Legend, the almost mythological domain ruled by woman warriors on the highland plateau of the continent of Candar. He tells the story from the point of view of Nylan, the engineer and builder whose job it is to raise a great tower on the plateau known as the Roof of the World. Here the exiled women warriors will live and survive to fulfill their destiny. Here a revolutionary new society will be born . . . if Nylan can get the tower built and defenses in place before the rulers of the lowland nations come with their armies to obliterate them all. And if Nylan can learn to control the magical powers that are growing within him.

Thus Modesitt relates the story of how magic comes into the world of Recluce, in a fantasy novel destined to please the growing Recluce audience and win new readers to the series.

Fall of Angels is the sixth book of the saga of Recluce.


My Review:
Two radically different magics--The black of order vs the white of chaos--this is the central facet of each tale in the saga.  In each book the protagonist is either of the black or white persuasion, and in a few there is a grey area of magic. In Fall of Angels, Modesitt explores the side of order, the black magic of healing and building.

At the outset of the tale, we meet a crew that by happenstance, is made up of women, with only three male crew members. Nylan is the ships engineer, and, as are all the officers, he is connected into the ships neuronet, the mental command center that completely controls the ship and its environment. Ryba is the ship's captain, and while she and Nylan have a sexual relationship, there is no doubt that she is in command. I didn't say romantic, because though they sleep together and care for each other, there is no romance involved. As a result of a great battle, they are thrown into an alternate universe, above a strange planet. With no way to return, they are forced to land.

They are "angels," humans from the various cold planets of Heaven. Most are from Sybra, the coldest planet, but a few are from Svenn, a warmer planet. Nylan is half-Svenn. The Sybrans cannot take the heat of their new world and are pretty much trapped in the cool mountains. Unfortunately the first thing that happens is they have landed on a world previously colonized. It probably happened in the same way, but by the Rationalists of the warmer worlds of Hell, those humans called 'demons' with whom they have been at war with for thousands of years. The lord of the land immediately attacks them, and the conflict is on.

This tale takes the concepts of traditional gender roles and twists them inside out. If she hadn't been thrown out of her universe, Ryba would never have had the chance to rise any higher than she already had, as women are considered technically equal, but there is a glass ceiling most women can't break through. In their new world, she makes sure the three men know they are now the ones with lesser stature, coldly telling Gerlich, "I could amputate both your arms and you would still retain your stud value." She is determined to build a culture where women have all the power and men are simply a means to reproduction. She is deadly, calculating, and will ruthlessly use anyone to achieve her goal.

Nylan is a strong man but he is not a leader, and feels like he has no other options, other than to march along with plans Ryba sets down for them. Using their failing technology he forges the weapons and builds their tower so they can survive the first winter in their mountain home. As events unfold and his relationship with Ryba disintegrates, he is confused and unsure of what to do. He is a man with a temperate mind, believing in equality with neither sex having the upper hand. A few of the women feel the same way he does.

This age old conflict makes for an awesome tale.  Each character is sharply drawn, and the contrasts in their philosophies and the way they relate to each other drives this to a dramatic finish. I have read this entire series several times, and absolutely love it.  In my opinion, this is one of Modesitt's better tales.

Reprisal, by Thomas A. Knight

Reprisal, by Thomas A. Knight is the third and final book in the Time Weaver series. A Canadian, Knight is an avid D&D player and understands the nuances of fantasy from the point of view of a participant.

The Blurb:
Galadir is in trouble...

Their hero is missing in action, and the trouble isn't over yet. The remnants of the Findoor army, led by Malia, flee into the west after the dark wizard Grian usurps the throne.

Grian is the most dangerous threat the people of Galadir have ever faced. With a massive army of undead, he invades a kingdom to the west. Narshuks to the south are dying of a disease unleashed by Grian. Wizards to the east struggle against his wraiths to hold on to their stronghold and the libraries within.

Hope comes from an unlikely source, as one man hatches a plan that will show Galadir they can fight for themselves. But Grian has finally found what he's been looking for, and as he prepares for his final assault on the east to capture what he seeks, all of Galadir confronts him, brought together by a mysterious force.

All of the pieces are in place, but nobody can be sure if the resistance will be enough to defeat Grian once and for all.

The battle for Galadir has begun.


My Review:
The tale opens with a fierce battle, and continues on that note. Malia and Ceridan desperately attempt to get their forces to safety.

A terrible spell has been unleashed on Findoor, waking the dead and turning them against any and all intruders. Malia Corsair has evolved into a strong, and headstrong character. She fights with all her heart.

Seth is still missing, and the wild rifts around Findoor have settled or stopped. The evil wizard Grian appears to have the upper hand.

Meanwhile, things aren't going too well in Iowa. Dave McAllister has his own troubles.

It's an awesome opening for an awesome book.

Knight sets the scenes well. There are many exciting twists and turns as Malia, Seth and Serrin battle to save both Galadir and the Earth as we know it.

His characters are fully fleshed and real, they behave the way they should, even the bad guys. Mathers is still stupid and Grian is consumed with evil. The dungeons of Galadir are dank and dreary, and the forests are full of the life you would expect. The cities of Earth are high-tech and urban. The system of magic Knight has written into this series is logical and feels natural. The action is pretty much non-stop, as Knight winds up all the many story threads, bringing the tale to a fabulous ending.

With each book in this series, Knight has gained strength in his ability to tell a good tale. All in all, I found this book to be a satisfying conclusion to an excellent trilogy. A reader could purchase this book without having read the first two and be happy with the tale, but I highly recommend reading the entire trilogy.

The Realmsic Conquest

One of the most unique indie books I have recently read is the The Realmsic Conquest, written by indie author A. Demethius Jackson. This is most definitely a book no major publisher would touch, because it is completely written in prose, committing that most heinous of crimes loudly decried in any modern writing group—that of telling the story. Not only does he tell and not show, he does it in rhyme, four stanzas to a paragraph, each numbered 1 through 4. I discovered this most unusual book by accident, through Twitter.

First the Blurb:

Throughout its history, the kingdom known as the Realm has never known peace. From its establishment, it has possessed the gift of magic, which is a treasure that exists no other place in the world! As a result, the Realm has endlessly defended itself against conquerors, but now faces its greatest peril.

As our heroes battle the wicked and unlock mysteries, they must also face overwhelming circumstances as they are guided by ancient lore on a quest to find the greatest treasure their kingdom will ever know... peace.

My Review:

The characters Leoden and Kelm open the story, speaking in verse, discussing the problem and what to do about it. I’m not going to detail the story. Instead I will give you my impressions.

This book written completely in verse that young people can understand, but with a style that holds interest for the adult readers also. The author states in his foreword that he initially conceived it to be in the style of The Canterbury Tales or Beowulf, but in modern simple verse:

(quote)

1.       It was our fate, a fall from grace

2.       that led us here this time and place.

3.       I pondered deeply inside of my mind

4.       the questions for answers too hard to find.

Because it is written in verse, the reader is an observer, and does not become an immersed part of the tale as one does in typical narrative-style tales. But this is not a bad thing, if the reader is in love with poetry and words that rhyme.  The story is good, the characters are interesting and their deeds are large and bold.

The Author does not use words that are hard to understand or obscure, and his telling of the tale is like that of a bard, or a shaman around a campfire. It is mysterious and captivating in an almost foreign way.

My background is in Anglo-Saxon studies and Old English literature so I found the concept of an epic tale told in modern rhyme refreshing. I think any young person who, as I most certainly did, loves popular music as much for the lyrics as the music might be attracted to this book, as will people who enjoy poetry for the sake of the words.

When we modern, civilized people were roving tribes, we told epic tales about the fire at night. Now we are no longer tribal, no longer in harmony with our environment. But in our digital world we feel the need to remember that fundamental part of us, which is why we read books detailing epic fantasy and go to the movies. All in all, I am giving it 4 stars for telling a good tale, for originality, and for keeping an essential traditional part of our global human culture alive.  

Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years), Gregory Maguire

This week I listened to the Audible Book, Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years), a fan-fiction of the original Kansas fantasy, The wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baum. It was written by Gregory Maguire and copyrighted 1996 by Harper-Collins. The book is read by John McDonough, who gives it a folksy sort of narrative. As a member of Audible, I was offered the book for $4.95, which I thought was a great price.

The Blurb:


Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults,Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.


Elphaba is born with green skin, a precocious mind, and a talent for magic. An outcast throughout her childhood in Munchkinland, she finally begins to feel as though she fits in when she enters the University in the Emerald City. While she hones her skills, she discovers that Oz isn't the Utopia it seems. She sets out to protect its unwanted creatures, becoming known as the Wicked Witch along the way.


Narrator John McDonough draws you in to Maguire's magical world of witches and talking animals, making it possible to believe in a land somewhere over the rainbow.


My Review:


This novel is not a book with which to while away the miles on the long drive to Disney Land with the kiddies. It contains adult language and content including violent imagery and sexual situations. Munchkinland is a dirty place. The people have issues with infidelity, drunkenness and drug abuse, along with rabid fundamentalism and political upheaval.


The protagonist of the book, Elphaba Thropp is a green-skinned girl who later becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West. She is given this nickname because of her sister Nessa's nickname (the Wicked Witch of the East, who was so named by her political opponents) and NOT for any wicked deeds. She is an animal rights activist.


After a rugged childhood, she attends college at Shiz, where she meets Galinda, the social climbing ‘good’ witch, who is her roommate, and with whom she becomes close friends. She teaches Galinda how to think independently. She also meets Fiyero Tigelaar, the prince of the Arjiki tribe in the Vinkus. She later has an affair with Fiyero while she is involved in the resistance movement against the Wizard of Oz. This leads to Fiyero’s apparent murder by the Gale Force, the Wizard's secret police though the body is never found. His murder causes her to abandon her revolutionary ideals.


This is a tale of anarchy, political intrigue and human failings on a grand scale. The characters are well drawn, and Oz is vivid in all its tattered glory. McDonough’s narrative is perfect, taking you into the twisted world and making you believe it could really exist.


This Land of Oz is amazing and wonderful, but is not a place I would ever want to find myself.

The Legend of Vanx Malic - Through the Wildwood, M. R. Mathias

I've become both enamored and aggravated by a series from indie author M.R. Mathias, the Legend of Vanx Malic. I love it, it pisses me off, and I love it. Book one, Through the Wildwood is intriguing, irritating, and left me feeling like I had just met my future ex-boyfriend--from the outset I was enchanted by the whole notion of the badboy bard, but knew the relationship was gonna turn ugly. It did, and I loved it anyway.

The Blurb:

A half-zythian bard named Vanx is in chains for bedding the Duchess of Highlake. The Duke wants him dead, but his wife secretly sent their daughter to buy his freedom from the slave markets.

This is bad news, for bad things can happen to an ill guarded caravan in the mountains. When the duke's mercenaries attack to kill the adulterous prisoner all hell breaks loose. Now, the only way Vanx and the Princess of Highlake can escape the duke and his men is if they can somehow make it through the Wildwood, a place that no one has ever returned from before.....

My Review

I think my favorite line in this book comes a little more than halfway through the book. "I usually show up in a place riding in the lap of luxury and leave in chains." That completely describes Vanx Malic. He is a slave to his libido, which has led to being sold as a slave in actuality. Not only that, but a badass duke wants him dead, as Vanx rather publicly humiliated him by making the duke's wife very happy.

M.R. Mathias sets the scene well, describing the environment just enough that the reader's mind fills in the gaps. The beasts are awesome, and the atmosphere of barbaric splendor reeks of old-school sword and sorcery novels.

I love the way Vanx is portrayed. He is out there, warts and all, charming, roguish, and rather like my favorite barbarian, Fafhrd. The female characters are two-dimensional, though, which is why this is really the sort of tale Fritz Lieber would have written. Alas, I adored Fritz in all his currently politically incorrect glory, and so I love this tale.

It's an adventure, raw, violent, sexy if you're a man, sexy if you're a girl who can't walk away from the badboys. I'm giving it 5 stars despite the fact I yelled at the book several times. (My husband is used to that.) The fact Mathias was able to involve me in the tale to that extent deserves the high rating.

The Cold, by Aura Burrows

As my regular readers know, I'm always looking for great, inexpensive reads by indie authors. I have stumbled across a wonderful website, BigWorldNetwork.com, that is something completely revolutionary in this ever-changing industry. I’m completely enthralled with this gorgeous library of the mind!  They bill themselves as the world’s premier episodic network - “Like television…only in book form. Episodic literary series from some of today's most talented writers in written and audio format.”  They truly are television in book form, a way of combining listening and reading that allows the mind to roam freely throughout the entire experience.

OMG!!! I’m hooked!!! And it’s only $3.00 a month for an amazing supply of books in serial from!  So far I have become addicted on “The Cold” by Aura Burrows. I can read it for myself, or listen to the wonderful narrative by Willow Wood, which is how I’ve been absorbing this compelling tale. I don’t watch television, but I have developed a great fondness for audio-books, as they allow me to spend my evenings immersed in the completely visual world that is created when one listens to a good tale, that is well-read. They’re perfect for long trips in the car. One of my own books, a novella, is in the process of being turned into an Audible book at www.Audible.com as I write this post—I can’t tell you what a thrill that is.

So now that I’ve gotten my squeeing like a little girl out of the way, we can get down to my review of indie author Aura Burrows’ wonderful urban fantasy serial, The Cold.

The Blurb:

I was a warm and at times emotionally heated lady, until several drinks too many one night. Now there is nothing but cold. Cold hands, cold body, cold heart. Yet I live amongst the warmth of others and must learn to adjust quickly. Because now…I am a vampire.

My Review:

First of all, each episode averages about 10 minutes, so it is easy to either read on the PC or listen while working in the kitchen.  The Cold is told in the first person, which is the only way this particular tale could be told. In episode one, our protagonist (who is not named until chapter 7) is a young gal, unhappily employed in data-entry, and recovering from a bad break-up with a long-time boyfriend. She over indulges and gets completely out of hand, passing from the ‘merely intoxicated’ stage to the ‘toss the bitch out’ stage. 

She is removed from the situation by a stranger, an enigmatic blond man with slight accent. When she wakes, completely naked in a strange place, the man gives her a few terse instructions, leaves her a set of clothes (hers were covered in vomit, apparently) and vanishes.

It takes her a while to realize that she has been changed into a vampire.

Each episode of this serial is about her impressions of the first hours of her new life, the first days and learning the rules of the road in her new society. I love seeing this new existence through her eyes as she makes each unsettling discovery. She is not a terrible person, but she is not a human and never forgets that as she  finds ways to cope with her situation.

I just finished the first season and have enjoyed every episode of this journey into a vampire’s “life”. I highly recommend you check out www.BigWorldNetwork.com and see what else is out there. I honestly think this website and other online sources of free and affordable literature will be great forces in shaping our ever-evolving publishing industry, at least on the indie front.

In the meantime, I am going to start on the second season!