Review: "Heroes Die" by Matthew Woodring Stover

I read Matthew Woodring Stover’s “The Blade of Tyshalle” back in 2001 and loved it. A month or so ago, I discovered some old reviews laying around that hadn’t been posted to this site, and that was one of them. It jogged my memory and sent me looking for the first book in the series, “Heroes Die” ($7.99, Del Rey), which I never managed to get around to reading.

In this first volume, we meet Hari Michaelson (known as Caine to his fans) while he’s still whole and healthy. I won’t say before he’s broken, because as you’ll see if you read it, he certainly is that already.

Michaelson is an actor in a futuristic world where everything is run by the Studios. It’s a world run on a strict caste system, and the Studios use “entertainment” as a means to keep the public sedate and in line.

Review: "Deadlocked" by Charlaine Harris

I was an early fan of Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire series. In fact, you'll find glowing review quotes from me on the covers of some of them. But I’ve been a bit disappointed with the last several volumes as the story seemed to be stumbling even as Alan Ball mangled and mauled it in HBO’s “True Blood.”

There’s good news and bad news in the latest book, “Deadlocked” ($27.95, Ace). The good news is that things seem to be back on track by the end. The bad news is you’ve got to work to get there.

Felipe de Castro, vampire king of Nevada and Louisiana, has come to Shreveport to interview Eric and Sookie, among others, to try to discover the fate of his general Victor Madden. Things go very wrong for Eric, though, when a body is found on his front lawn after a party with Felipe in attendance – the body of a woman that he was feeding on moments earlier. The girl was part were and laced with fairy blood to make her irresistible to Eric, and no one seems to know how she got on the premises.

Review: "The Wind Through the Keyhole" by Stephen King

When I finished reading Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower,” seventh book in the series of the same name, several years ago, I thought I had closed a pretty significant chapter in my reading life.

It was one of a handful of sprawling, epic fantasies I was involved in that left the reader hanging, unsure if, or when, we’d see the end, and I’m always glad to get the payoff for my years of reading. So far, it’s the only one of those to finish. One, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, I should get some closure on in January. Others, like Melanie Rawn’s Exiles series, we’ll probably never see completed.

 Now, though, Sai King has reopened The Dark Tower series with his latest offering “The Wind Through the Keyhole” ($27, Scribner).

Memory Lane: "Nine Princes in Amber" by Roger Zelazny

It’s been perhaps 20 years since I first read Roger Zelazny’s “Nine Princes in Amber,” but I recently felt the urge to revisit the tale that I remember fondly.

 I always have some misgivings going into a re-read. What if the book doesn’t hold up to your memory of it? What if, 20 years and a lot of reading later, you’re just not that interested in it anymore? I’m pleased to say I didn’t have to worry about either of those things with this book.

The story begins with a man waking up in a hospital bed after a car accident and slowly coming to the conclusion that he’s being held against his will. He’s being heavily sedated, and when the nurse comes with the next shot, he refuses it. He fights his way into the office of the facility’s administrator and gains some vital information about the sister who is paying for his “care.” He heads to her home, where he begins a big bluff to try to figure out who he is and how he ended up in his current condition.

Review: "Hammered" by Kevin Hearne

If you’ve read the first two books in Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles and are thinking to yourself, “Atticus O’Sullivan can’t keep getting away with all this thumbing his nose at deities. It’s got to catch up with him somewhere.” You’re right. It does in “Hammered” ($7.99, Del Rey).

 In the first two books, Atticus has, to put it bluntly, pissed off quite a few powerful beings. In the third volume, the decisions and deals that he has made leave him in, as the Russian thunder god Perun so eloquently puts it, a “monstrous fuckpuddle.”

 First he has to sneak in to Asgard, home of the Norse pantheon, to steal one of the golden apples of Idunn for the witch Laksha who has a new body and hopes to keep it young for a long time. It’s part of a deal he made with her when she took out a group of Bacchants who were looking to cause chaos in his area in “Hexed.” (Bacchus, the Roman god of the vine, is still pretty hacked off at him about that, too.) That mission turns into a complete disaster.

Review: "Hexed" by Kevin Hearne

I enjoyed Kevin Hearne’s “Hounded” so much that I couldn’t help but dive straight into the sequel, “Hexed” ($7.99, Del Rey).

Killing a god will draw some unwanted attention, as Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the true druids, is quickly learning. It especially complicates things when half of the local coven of witches who are keeping out other undesirables is killed in the process.

Atticus finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having to draw up a peace treaty with the remainder of the coven, something he’s not happy about given his general distrust of witches. But he has to ally himself with them if he wants to withstand the other threats that are moving into his town. There’s a coven of German witches quietly setting up for some bad mojo, and a group of Bacchants, followers of the Roman god Bacchus, who are not so quietly about to cause some chaos. All the while, he can’t stop people from asking him to take out other gods, particularly Thor, Norse god of thunder, who is pretty unanimously considered a prick throughout the supernatural community.

Review: "Hounded" by Kevin Hearne

Just when I think I’ve had about all the urban fantasy that I can handle, along comes something like Kevin Hearne’s “Hounded” ($7.99, Del Rey).

 I picked up the book on the suggestion of a friend and fellow Jim Butcher fan, who described it as “Butcher-lite.” I’d say that’s a pretty fair description, and of all the “if you like Jim Butcher, you should try this” recommendations I’ve checked out over the years, “Hounded” is far and away the best of them.

Atticus O’Sullivan – or Siodhachan O’Suileabhain, as he’s known to those more than a few hundred years old – is a druid. Though most people would mistake him for a 21-year-old college student at Arizona State, he’s actually closer to 2,000 years old. He’s the last of the true druids, and he has some pretty interesting friends, including the Celtic goddess the Morrigan and a vampire and werewolf as his legal co-counsels. He runs a new age book and herb store in town, hunts with his Irish wolfhound Oberon and tries to keep a low profile with the fae and supernatural types, which is made easier by the Arizona terrain.

Review: "Beyond the Shadows" by Brent Weeks

I honestly can’t say why it took me so long to get to “Beyond the Shadows” ($7.99, Orbit), the final book in Brent Weeks’ Night Angel Trilogy. I loved the first volume and really liked the second, but for some reason I spaced them out about a year or so apart.

As we begin the third book, Kylar Stern has made the transition from a brutally effective wetboy to the Night Angel, a being with the ability to see sins and mete out justice, after a fashion, of course. That doesn’t mean he’s happy about it, though. Logan Gyre, rightful king of Cenaria, is still serving under Terah Graesin, a queen that serves only herself. After emerging from the brief, but brutal reign of Godking Garoth Ursuul, Cenaria is threatened by two new armies.

Review: "Theft of Swords" by Michael J. Sullivan

“Theft of Swords” ($14.99, Orbit) collects the first two of Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations series. Five of the six books, which were written for Sullivan’s dyslexic daughter and his own enjoyment, were published through independent and small presses before being picked up by Orbit, which released the books as a trilogy featuring two each.

In “The Crown Conspiracy,” the first of the two books collected in “Theft of Swords,” we meet our heroes, a pair of dashing and likeable rogues by the names of Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater. We meet them in a most interesting scene that immediately lets the reader in on the kind of heroes they are. Highwaymen attempt to hold them up and, of course, fail, but the two thieves, who call themselves the Riyria, leave their would-be attackers a bit red-faced with some tips about how to do it better next time. It’s a great scene that instantly endears the reader to the duo.

Review: "The Blade Itself" by Joe Abercrombie

My attempt to catch up with some of the “big” books I’ve missed in recent years continues with the first installment of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy, “The Blade Itself” ($17, Pyr).

The story starts with introductions to a cast of characters. Up first is Logen Ninefingers, a legendary barbarian warrior who finds himself a bit down on his luck and, in fact, running for his life from his former boss who has become King in the North and a group of savage warriors who seem to want to kill everything.

Then, we’re whisked away to learn about Jezal dan Luthar, a dashing, narcissistic swordsman, who is also a bit of a lazy, unmotivated jackass. (OK, he’s more than a bit of a jackass.) Jezal’s mentor Collem West is a commoner who has risen to a high rank through his military prowess, and also has a sister named Ardee that will play heavily in Luthar’s life.

Review: "The Rook" by Daniel O'Malley

In Daniel O’Malley’s fine debut, “The Rook” ($25.99, Little, Brown), Myfawny Thomas is a secret agent for the British government. The problem is, she doesn’t know it. At least, not at first.

Myfawny (pronounced like Tiffany, she tells us) wakes up in a park in London, surrounded by dead bodies. There’s a note in her jacket pocket that explains she is wearing someone else’s body and gives her quick instructions to get out of her present predicament. A second letter, once she’s in a more secure situation, offers her a choice. There are two safe deposit boxes, one contains the life of the former Myfawny Thomas, the other instructions and enough money to run away and create a new life. Our amnesiac hero makes the choice pretty much anyone would make – take the money and run. But something happens at the bank that changes her mind. Now, she’s determined to find out who the real Myfawny Thomas is and catch the person who erased her memories.

Blast from the past

I have recently unearthed a bunch of reviews from some of the earliest days of my original review site, back in the late 1990s. After much inner debate, I've decided to share some of those, so if you take a look at the timeline at the lower right side of the page over the coming weeks, you'll notice some new reviews popping in from the past.

I'll warn you in advance that some of them, particularly the earliest ones, are very short and not very good. But re-reading them has been interesting for me, and maybe it will be for someone else, too.

Memory Lane: "Golden Sword of Dragonwalk" by R.L. Stine

I’ve always loved used book fairs and sales. In years past, I’d bring home huge stacks every time I went. Books that looked marginally interesting to me, well they were only a buck or two, sometimes less, throw them in the basket. These days, I’m a little pickier about what I bring home, mainly because I don’t want to end up on one of those A&E shows. I’m slowly coming to terms with the fact that not every book that I get for review needs to come home, and I’m painfully culling the books that fill up my storage building and donating them to the local symphony league’s semi-annual sale, which is also a great place for me to replenish the hoard.

I stopped in last weekend looking not for myself, but for my son. He’s a “Nate the Great” addict, and I’ve been desperately searching for other books that he likes as well as those to keep him going after he runs through that series. The book fair’s a great place for that because I can walk out with a huge stack of books for five or six dollars – the price of one new book. If he sets one aside after the first page, not interested, I’m not that worried about it. It only cost a quarter or 50 cents.

Review: "Farlander" by Col Buchanan

I initially picked up Col Buchanan’s debut “Farlander” ($24.99, Tor) for a couple of reasons. One, I’m a sucker for assassin’s apprentice stories and was hoping for something along the lines of Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy or Brent Weeks’ Night Angel Series. Second, the cover intrigued me with the flying machine in the background and the hint that Buchanan’s world could be a little different from what I’m used to.

The book follows the story of a boy named Nico, who has run away from home and is living as best he can on the streets of a city under siege. On his first attempt at stealing to support himself and a friend, Nico is caught. As it turns out, the man he was stealing from is a farlander named Ash, who is part of a guild of assassins known as the Roshun. Ash is aging and his health is fading. He needs to take on an apprentice, so Nico is offered the option of a harsh and public punishment or going with the farlander for training.

Review: "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

So here’s another one of those books that I’ve been meaning to get around to reading, but haven’t. When I started down “The Road” ($15, Vintage Books), I was almost certain that the sparse writing style and lack of proper punctuation were going to drive me crazy before I got past the first 50 pages. A couple of hours and more than half the book later, I was amazed at how the story kept pulling me along.

Cormac McCarthy’s novel tells the story of a father and his son traveling alone across a post-apocalyptic wasteland of America. It’s been years since the catastrophe struck. We’re never told exactly what ended the world, and we’re led to believe that the nameless father isn’t entirely sure, either. But ashes continue to rain down and cover the earth. The sun remains obscured by a cloud of the stuff. Almost every store and home has been looted and stripped of food and anything else that might be useful. The few humans remaining in the world have mostly turned savage, fighting for survival and often doing horrible things to achieve it.

Review: "Dead Witch Walking" by Kim Harrison

When I occasionally go on and on about Jim Butcher’s “Dresden Files,” which I’ve had a habit of doing for the past 10 years or so, almost invariably, someone will tell me that if I like Butcher I really should read Kim Harrison. So, after years of hearing that, I finally picked up the first book in her Hollows series, “Dead Witch Walking” ($7.99, Harper Voyager).

After a genetically-engineered virus carried by tomatoes wipes out a large portion of the human population, the Inderlanders – witches, vampires, werewolves, leprechauns, fairies, pixies, etc. – who are largely unaffected, reveal themselves to the world. They pretty much come to the rescue while humans were being decimated by the virus, and now the humans and the supernaturals are having to learn to co-exist – sort of.

Revisiting "The Phantom Menace"

I both looked forward to and kind of dreaded it when I heard about the 3D conversion of the Star Wars movies. I was excited for my son to get the chance to see them on the big screen, but there is the gimmickiness of 3D, and you always have to wonder what George Lucas will decide to change in a new edition.

I took my son to see “The Phantom Menace” last week, and I had a few observations. First, I’ll admit that I really liked the movie when it was originally released, and I’ve never quite understood the hatred for it. I think, perhaps, most of us had expectations that were far too high. We expected something that connected with us like the original movies, but these were made in a different time and, really, a different world. I don’t believe they had a chance to be nearly as good as the originals, which were a fairly new and fresh idea when they were released.

Review: "The Night Eternal" by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

As we reach the conclusion of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s vampire trilogy in “The Night Eternal” ($26.99, William Morrow), the Master and his vampiric legions have been in control for two years. Most humans have lined up like cattle with the new order. Some are placed in camps for bleeding and breeding, others continue to work for vouchers for food and clothing. Very few resist.

The Master has thrown the world into a nuclear winter, perfect for he and his kind. Only a few hours of sunlight each day penetrate the toxic clouds that cover the earth. Ephraim Goodweather, the CDC doctor who first documented the vampiric virus, has let the resistance down. He’s tormented by the loss of his wife to the virus and the kidnapping of his son by the Master, and he’s turned to stealing from the dwindling supply of prescription drugs in abandoned stores and hospitals to deal with it. He’s become unreliable to his partners, fellow doctor Nora Martinez and one-time exterminator Vasiliy Fet, who are determined to decipher the Occido Lumen, a book left to them by vampire hunter Abraham Setrakian, who was killed by the Master. It might hold the key to destroying the creature once and for all and freeing the world from the rule of the vampires.

Review: "Damned" by Chuck Palahniuk

When I’m looking for new reads, a common recommendation that comes up is Chuck Palahniuk, so I picked up his most recent book “Damned” ($24.95, Doubleday) and dug in.

We’re introduced to Madison Spencer, a 13-year-old girl who finds herself in Hell. She assumes that she died from an overdose of marijuana and was damned for it because that’s the last thing that she remembers about her mortal life. She wakes up in a grimy cell and soon makes friends with the other teens in cells around her (apparently all the teenagers in Hell are housed in proximity to each other). When a blue-haired punk kid named Archer picks the locks of their cell with the safety pin from his cheek, their jaunt across the horrific, yet colorful, landscape of Hell begins.

Along the way, we’re treated to plenty of gross-out scenery, a few laugh out loud moments, and, of course, Maddy’s coming of age and discovery of herself just a bit too late.

Review: "Un Lun Dun" by China Mieville

I’ve been told by several of his fans that I just don’t appreciate China Mieville’s genius. I disagree. I’ve tried reading a couple of his books, and I acknowledge that he is an amazing world-builder. I’ve gone through the books marveling at his creations, but at the same time, I’ve always found his style a bit stuffy. It’s created a bit of a conundrum for me. On the one hand, I want to explore his worlds and see more of the things that inhabit them. On the other, I’m kind of bored by the stories.

I was intrigued enough by the description of his recent YA title, “Un Lun Dun” ($9.95, Del Rey), to give Mieville another shot. The description put me in mind of Neil Gaiman’s “Neverwhere,” one of my all-time favorites and a book that Mieville admits in the credits was a huge inspiration for this one. The Dave McKean-esque cover reinforced that.

Review: "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman

What fantasy fan hasn’t read their favorite book or series and wished they could use magic or visit the world where it takes place? That’s just what happens to the main character in Lev Grossman’s “The Magicians” ($16, Plume).

Quentin Coldwater is a bored overachiever in school, obsessed by a series of books by Christopher Plover about the magical land of Fillory, which bears a striking resemblance to C.S. Lewis’ Narnia. Quentin is preparing to take an alumni interview for an Ivy League college, but when he arrives, he finds the man who was supposed to interview him has died. A paramedic on the scene gives him a strange envelope that she says she found in the deceased man’s possession. Inside is a notebook that claims to contain a new volume of the Fillory series and a note which flies away. As Quentin chases it through a city park, he ends up on the lawn of Brakebills, a college for magic.

Review: "The Night Strangers" by Chris Bohjalian

I’ve been on a quest for the last year or so for that spooky, creepy, disturbing horror novel that just doesn’t seem to be out there anymore. After finding Chris Bohjalian’s “The Night Strangers” ($25, Crown) on a few end-of-year best horror lists and seeing that my local library had an electronic copy, I decided I’d give it a shot.

Chip Linton is an airline pilot forced to try to land his plane on Lake Champlain, a la Sully Sullenburger (who is mentioned ad nauseum in the book), after a flock of geese strike his engines and take them out. He almost pulls it off, too, but the wake of a ferry turning to come back and help the plane throws things off balance, causing the plane to break apart and dooming 39 of the passengers on board.

Review: "I Shall Wear Midnight" by Terry Pratchett

It was with some sadness that I read the blurb on the back of Terry Pratchett’s “I Shall Wear Midnight” ($16.99, HarperCollins) announcing that this was to be the last tale of Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men. Though the Discworld series was aimed more at the teen audience, I found the books quite entertaining. At least Tiffany and the Nac Mac Feegle go out on a strong note, though.

As the story opens, Tiffany is still struggling to make her way as a young witch on the Chalk, a place where having a witch is a fairly new idea. She’s constantly working at her witch duties, which include tending to the sick, childbirth and just generally helping people who need help. Despite the fact that everything she does aids someone and the people there have known her since she was born, she’s noticing a growing anti-witch sentiment. The old storybook tales of witches stealing children and doing all sorts of other nasty things are starting to swirl around again.

Review: "The Lost Gate" by Orson Scott Card

Here’s one of those books that’s been in my to-read pile for far too long. So long, in fact, that the paperback version is already out.

Danny North is born into a family of magic-users living on a compound in Virginia in Orson Scott Card’s “The Lost Gate” ($7.99, Tor). These families, scattered across the world, once ruled the Earth as gods before they were cut off from their homeland and their source of power. Now, the magic is greatly diminished, only a shadow of what they used to wield, but the families guard it jealously.

Danny grows up believing himself to be the lowest of the low among his people – a drekka, one without magic. As a teenager, he can’t perform the simplest magical acts that young children are capable of, and though he is a quick-witted, fast learner with a gift for languages, he finds himself an outcast, just one whim of the elders away from finding himself in the family cemetery.

Review: "Low Town" by Daniel Polansky

It’s been a good couple of weeks for me and first novels. First, I enjoyed Mark Lawrence’s dark debut “Prince of Thorns,” so I decided to take a shot on another one and picked Daniel Polansky’s “Low Town” ($25.95, Doubleday) off the stack. It proved to be another good choice.

Low Town is a pretty ugly place. It’s a place where immigrants who struggle to gain acceptance, criminals and the lowest of the low in society collect. It’s a place filled with crime and drugs and pretty much devoid of hope. The Warden is a former soldier and ex-cop turned drug addict and dealer who now spends his days there, moving his product and trying to protect his turf, living in the inn that he co-owns with a close friend and military buddy.

When the first child goes missing, the Warden doesn’t want to get involved, but when he stumbles across her body in a back alley, he’s drawn into the investigation.

Review: "Prince of Thorns" by Mark Lawrence

At the age of nine, Prince Jorg of Ancrath watched, trapped in hook briars, as soldiers tore his mother and brother from their carriage and brutally murdered them. By the age of 13, Jorg is a hardened and heartless killer looking for a throne in “Prince of Thorns” ($25.95, Ace), the impressive debut novel from Mark Lawrence.

Jorg, found by his father’s men, is returned to the Tall Castle and nursed back to health, though he should have died from the infection of the hook briars. But the experience and the bargain his father cuts with the nobleman responsible for the murders leave him bitter and in search of vengeance. He flees the castle with a band of men freed from the dungeons, and four years later, finds himself the leader of a bloodthirsty group of bandits, stealing, killing and burning their way across the countryside as he follows his secret vow to be king by 15. When Jorg’s band once again comes near his father’s lands, he feels an irresistible pull home, but what’s waiting for him there is not exactly what he expects.

Review: "Aloha from Hell" by Richard Kadrey

Life’s settling into something comfortable for James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, after he narrowly saved the world from destruction by a zombie hoard in Richard Kadrey’s last tale, “Kill the Dead.” As “Aloha From Hell” ($23.99, Harper Voyager) begins, Stark is waiting for his video store to be rebuilt, exploring his relationship with his new girlfriend Candy, and taking the odd job here and there – like stealing magical artifacts.

Life is pretty good, as Stark’s goes, and he’s almost abandoned his mission to destroy his one-time friend Mason, who once banished him to Hell, where he was trained in the fighting pits and served as an assassin for demon generals. Lucifer has returned to Heaven to take his place among the angels again. Stark was offered the job, but he refused. Now, Mason is trying to put himself on the throne in Hell, and an exorcism gone wrong puts Stark’s focus squarely on his old enemy.

A rogue angel who seeks to take the throne of Heaven for her own has smuggled the soul of Stark’s murdered girlfriend Alice through the pearly gates and delivered it to Mason Downtown. Now, Stark has to march back into Hell to confront Mason and get Alice back to her rightful place. In the process, he may get more than he bargained for.

Freebies: Get a sneak peek at George R.R. Martin's next book

George R.R. Martin is offering fans a Christmas gift with an excerpt from "Winds of Winter," the next installment in his Song of Ice and Fire series. If you're not caught up with the series, you should know that the excerpt features spoilers. If you are, click here to check it out.

Review: "Snuff" by Terry Pratchett

Commander Samuel Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is on holiday in “Snuff” ($25.99, Harper), Terry Pratchett’s latest novel of the Discworld. It’s not that he wanted to go on holiday. As far as he’s concerned a copper is never on holiday. But his wife, Lady Sybil, has coerced him into visiting her estates in the country. Of course, being Sam Vimes, it’s not long before he finds some trouble.

It starts with an altercation with a local blacksmith who has a problem with the upper class – an uncomfortable position Vimes finds himself in thanks to his marriage to Sybil. When a late night meeting is arranged between Vimes and the blacksmith, the commander and his butler – a slightly reformed street tough named Willikins – arrive at the meeting spot to find no blacksmith and a lot of blood. But Vimes’ would-be framer was a little too messy, leaving behind evidence that the blood belongs not to the blacksmith but to a goblin.

Review: "The Wise Man's Fear," by Patrick Rothfuss

Patrick Rothfuss’ debut novel, “The Name of the Wind,” was one of the better fantasy discoveries I’ve made in recent years. Four years later, he finally delivers the sequel, “The Wise Man’s Fear” ($29.95, DAW). Like many sequels, it’s somewhat lacking.

The book continues the tale of the hero (or villain, depending on your point of view, I guess) Kvothe. Now retired from the hero life and running a tavern in a small village, Kvothe’s secret has been found out by a scribe called only the Chronicler. He has convinced the former hero to share his story and this book represents the second part of it.

A whole lot of things happen in this book. Kvothe leaves the University for a time, finds a patron (in a manner of speaking), spends some time in faerie and trains with a fierce warrior race. While all of these things develop the character of Kvothe in their own way, very few of them develop the story. Where “The Name of the Wind” felt very calculated and well-planned, in “The Wise Man’s Fear,” Rothfuss seems to be flying by the seat of his pants a little.

Review: "Ghost Story" by Jim Butcher

SPOILER WARNING: If you have not read the previous volumes in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, particularly the last book, “Changes,” don’t go any further if you don’t want to ruin the experience. There is a major surprise plot point at the end of “Changes” that I cannot write this review without revealing.

So, those of you left with me, I’ll assume know what happened at the end of “Changes.” We’ve spent a year now, wondering how the tale of Harry Dresden could possibly continue, and now we have our answer in the latest volume “Ghost Story” ($27.95, Roc.)

Harry ends up in a sort of limbo, a ghostly Chicago, where he meets up with the shade of Karrin Murphy’s father and is presented with a decision. He can go on to whatever comes next, or he can go back to the real Chicago as a ghost to try to solve the mystery of his murder and in doing so, possibly save the lives of several of his friends. For Harry, that’s no decision, so he ends up back home, but unable to use his magic, communicate or physically affect anything. It’s quite a challenge for a guy who tends to prefer action to deep thought.

Review: "A Dance with Dragons" by George R.R. Martin

It’s been a long wait for George R.R. Martin’s “A Dance with Dragons” ($35, Bantam), and most fans may not find it entirely satisfying. This, certainly, is not the best or most exciting of Martin’s books, but it was a necessary volume to get the series back on track.

“A Dance with Dragons” runs in parallel time to the last volume, 2006’s “A Feast for Crows.” It focuses, primarily, on three of the myriad characters of the series, the dwarf kinslayer Tyrion Lannister, the exiled princes Daenerys Targaryen and the bastard son of the beheaded Lord Eddard Stark and captain of the Night’s Watch Jon Snow. When I discovered that, I was excited. For me, these three are the most interesting characters in the book. I’ve always found Tyrion, in particular, to be a fascinating character. In a worrying move, Martin also opens a few new subplots, giving me bad Robert Jordan flashbacks, but for the nonce, I’ll keep my faith in him.

Random Rants: Drained and left for dead

In my review of Charlaine Harris’ latest novel, “Dead Reckoning,” I said that, despite the liberties taken by the series, I had enjoyed “True Blood” recently more than the last few books. When I wrote that, I had only watched the first two seasons. After catching up on season three and watching the first episode of season four, I’d like to retract that statement.

WARNING: If you haven’t read all of the novels or watched the series, and you plan to, you will want to stop reading here. There are spoilers below.

Review: "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris

While I once looked forward to a new installment in Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series, I’ve once again been left a little disappointed by her latest, “Dead Reckoning” ($27.95, Ace).

For me, the book has the same problem that the last volume did. A lot happens, but it really doesn’t seem like it.

The story centers on infighting in the vampire community. Eric, the sheriff of Area 5 in Louisiana and Sookie’s boyfriend, continues to have problems with the new regent of Louisiana, Victor Madden. The new boss is trying, in a number of underhanded ways, to provoke Eric into moving against him so that he can eliminate the threat with just cause in the eyes of Felipe, the vampire king of Nevada who recently took over the Louisiana kingdom. More family secrets about Sookie and her fairy relatives come to light. Sandra Pelt, the psychotic sister of Debbie Pelt, who Sookie killed in self defense earlier in the series, is out of prison and out to get the telepathic waitress. And there’s still some instability and social distrust caused by the revelation of the two-natured – weres and shifters – but it’s played down from previous volumes.

Review: "Towers of Midnight" by Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan

The world conceived by Robert Jordan marches inexorably toward its Final Battle in Brandon Sanderson’s “Towers of Midnight” ($29.99, Tor), the penultimate (so we hope) installment of The Wheel of Time.

Since Sanderson took over to complete the tale, based on Jordan’s notes dictated before his death, the story, which had stalled in some of its middle chapters, has moved steadily forward. In “Towers of Midnight,” we see the Dragon Reborn, Rand al’Thor, continue to unite the world behind him for his battle with the ultimate evil. All of the pieces for that fight are now in place. The White Tower of the Aes Sedai has been made whole under the rule of Rand’s childhood friend Egwene al’Vere. Perrin Aybara and Matrim Cauthon have both amassed their armies to bring together under Rand’s banner. Elayne, carrying Rand’s twin children, has taken control of Andor and has her sights set on Caemlyn. And they all begin to converge for the finale in this book.

Review: "Furies of Calderon," by Jim Butcher

I remember when I received Jim Butcher’s “Furies of Calderon” (Ace, $9.99) several years ago, and I was both excited and a little reluctant to read it. I was, and remain, a huge fan of Butcher’s Dresden Files, which follow the misadventures of Chicago’s only wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden. I was interested in his take on what he called “swords and horses fantasy,” but at the same time, I was mainly interested in reading more about Harry. I got started on the book, but for whatever reason, I just couldn’t get into it, so I put it down after a couple of chapters and moved on.

A few weeks ago, I was looking around for my next read and decided that, while I’m waiting on the newest Dresden book in July, I’d give this series another chance. I’m glad I did.

Review: "The Journey" by Kathryn Lasky

After enjoying the first book in the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, my son and I eagerly tackled Kathryn Lasky’s second book of the series, “The Journey” ($5.99, Scholastic). Unfortunately, we came away with mixed feelings on this one.

The book picks up with Soren and his band of friends – Gylfie, Twilight and Digger – still trying to find their way to the legendary Great Ga’Hoole Tree. While they’re on their journey, running into various types of owls and even getting into a fracas with a bobcat, the story remains fast-paced and entertaining. Once they find the home of the Guardians, however, things take a bit of a turn as the four try to find their place in the tree’s society.

Review: "Banewreaker" by Jacqueline Carey

You might not recognize the characters and places in Jacqueline Carey’s “Banewreaker” ($7.99, Tor), but the story will be very familiar.

In essence, the book is a play on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” with a twist. It’s told from the point of view of Satoris the Third Born, or Satoris the Sunderer to his enemies He is basically Carey’s version of Sauron. The world of Urulat has been divided by a war between the Shapers, the gods who formed the world and its inhabitants. The dispute stemmed from a disagreement between Satoris and Haomane, the First Born. Satoris, bearing a never-healing wound from the fight, has been exiled to Darkhaven, where he lives with his Fjelltroll and three immortal champions pulled from the world of men and Ellyl (elves). Now a star of omen has risen, signaling the fact that Haomane’s forces are on the move against Satoris.

Review: "Shadow's Edge" by Brent Weeks

I was introduced to Brent Weeks at the airport. I had brought a book on the trip with me that turned out to be a dud, and I was looking for something to read. His first book of the Night Angel Trilogy, “The Way of Shadows,” was the only one in the airport book store that was able to catch my eye, and I was immediately drawn in to his tale of an orphan turned master assassin.

It’s taken me a little more than a year to make it to the second book in the series, “Shadow’s Edge” ($7.99, Orbit), but I fell back into the story with ease.

The Khalidoran Godking Garoth Ursuul has taken brutal control of Cenaria, grinding the city under his bootheels and turning the warrens where the poor people of the city live into even more of a living hell. Kylar Stern, having found love with Elene, the orphan that he once called Doll Girl, and being charged with taking care of his former master’s child Uly, has decided to retire from the assassin’s life. He has bribed his way out of Cenaria, traveling to stay with Elene’s family while he sets up shop as an herbalist. He quickly finds, though, that the life of violence he’s known is harder than he expected to leave behind.

Review: "The Capture" by Kathryn Lasky

My son and I have discovered a few bedtime reads lately via movie adaptations. The latest is Kathryn Lasky’s “The Capture” ($5.99, Scholastic).

My son first saw “Legend of the Guardians” in the theater with his grandmother, and for the past six months, I’ve been hearing how “awesome” it was. We finally rented it on Blu-Ray a month or so ago, and I found that I had to agree with him. Both of us were eager to dig into the books.

Like most adaptations, the movie and book are quite a bit different. It wasn’t nearly as different as one of our last book-to-movie reads, “How to Train Your Dragon,” but still not an entirely faithful adaptation. For one thing, “The Capture” only covers the very beginnings of the movie. I’m assuming that the movie covers an overarching story line from all or at least several of the books.

Review: "20th Century Ghosts" by Joe Hill

I have to admit that I’m rapidly becoming a Joe Hill fanboy. He first impressed me several years ago with his debut novel “Heart-Shaped Box,” which ranks as one of my favorite horror tales ever, and a few weeks ago, I enjoyed his latest novel, “Horns.” That led me, naturally, to the only other book Hill has in print, “20th Century Ghosts” ($13.95, Harper), a collection of short stories.

I admit that I’m not normally a fan of short story collections, but the tales in this book endeared me to Hill’s work even more. I’m reluctant to make the comparison, for obvious reasons, but reading “20th Century Ghosts” reminded me a lot of reading Ray Bradbury’s “The October Country” for the first time. Like my favorite Bradbury collection, there’s plenty of weirdness and creepiness in the pages of these stories, but there’s also a good mix of wonder, sweetness and observations on human nature.

Review: "Full Dark, No Stars," by Stephen King

Outside of the concluding books of “The Dark Tower,” which I had waited years on, and the non-fiction “On Writing,” which I enjoyed, I haven’t picked up a Stephen King book in quite a few years. The last few efforts I read, prior to his accident, were disappointing and didn’t hold my attention. A week or so ago, though, a perfect storm led me to his latest collection, “Full Dark, No Stars” ($27.99, Scribner).

After enjoying the latest from King’s son, Joe Hill, I was in the mood for something creepy and disturbing. “Full Dark, No Stars” just happened to be waiting on my Nook and, not having any other new books that came close to what I was looking for, I decided to give it a shot. The collection contains four short tales (a point in its favor since many of the last King novels I read felt bloated and in bad need of an editor) that are, in fact, horrific and disturbing because of their very nature.

Review: "Horns," by Joe Hill

I was both impressed and inspired by Joe Hill’s debut novel, “Heart-Shaped Box,” a few years ago, so I’ve been looking forward to digging into his latest, “Horns” ($25.99, William Morrow) for a while now.

Ignatius “Ig” Perrish once had a promising future ahead of him. He’s part of a well-to-do and well-connected family, in love with the girl of his dreams and has plans to save the world. Those plans all come crashing down on the eve of his departure for a six-month stay in England. He has a public fight with his girlfriend, Merrin, and when she’s found dead the next day, the suspicion falls on him. Ig is innocent, but having spent the night sleeping it off in his car, he has no alibi. When evidence from the scene that could have cleared his name is destroyed in a lab fire, Ig can’t be convicted, but neither can he be absolved. Now everyone in his life thinks he’s a murderer/rapist who got away with his crime because of family connections.

Freebies: Chapter 1 of Steven Erikson's "The Crippled God"

Tor.com is currently offering the first chapter of Steven Erikson's upcoming book, "The Crippled God," for free with registration. The book, scheduled for release in March, is intended to be the final installment in the "Malazan Book of the Fallen." To read the chapter, head to Tor.com.

Review: "Side Jobs" by Jim Butcher

For those left hanging and wondering by the somewhat shocking end to Jim Butcher’s last novel of the Dresden Files, “Changes,” here’s a collection that will help hold you over until the next installment this summer when we can find out just what the heck is going on with Harry.

“Side Jobs” ($25.95, Roc) collects a variety of Dresden stories from various anthologies over the years, and also gives readers a look at two never-before-published stories. Those two will likely be of most interest to fans.

The first, “A Restoration of Faith,” opens the book and also happens to be Butcher’s first tale of wizard private investigator Harry Dresden as he saves a runaway girl (who really doesn’t care to be saved) from a bridge troll in Chicago. It was not published, and you can see why when you read it, though it’s not as bad as Butcher seems to think judging by his opening commentary. I’ve read worse stories that did get published.

Review: "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire

Here’s the first effort in my campaign to catch up with some of the books that I’ve missed while trying to keep my reviews current over the last decade or so. I’ve wanted to read Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” ($7.99, Harper) for quite a while, but just never have gotten around to it. Upon finishing it, my feelings were mixed.

The story, of course, is an attempt to give the reader an alternate view of, perhaps, one of the greatest villains of all time, the Wicked Witch of the West. It begins with her birth to a man consumed by his religion and his bored and unhappy wife, and follows her life, more or less, to her ultimate end at the hands of Dorothy. It attempts to paint the Wicked Witch, Elphaba, as a more sympathetic character than in L. Frank Baum’s book or the classic film. In some ways, Maguire succeeds, but in others he fails. While we do see some flashes of nobility in Elphaba’s character here and there, by and large, she remains mean, nasty, unlikable and unsympathetic. Through the story, (which has nothing to do with Baum’s books or the movie until toward the end) we begin to understand more about her and how she became the villain she is, but we’re also not really that upset when Dorothy douses her with a pail of water at the end, either.

Something a little different

For the few folks that may still be following my infrequent reviews, there will be a slight change coming to this blog. Hopefully, there will be more reviews and content than in recent months, but the books reviewed may be a little different.

The realities of the newspaper business these days mean that there's less space for and less interest in things like book reviews. The bad news is that I no longer really have a print outlet for my reviews. The good news is that this will give me an opportunity to go back and take a look at some books that I missed or skipped in recent years. For the past 10 years or so, I've passed on a lot of books that I wanted to read, trying to keep my reading fairly current for the reviews. Now I have the chance to revisit some of those.

So, for those still reading, there will still be reviews here, and hopefully more. There will still be some new releases mixed in, too, but you'll most likely see a lot of older books mixed in, and with the new addition of my Nook, possibly some ebook releases. Maybe it will help you guys discover something you missed as well.

Review: "The Gathering Storm" by Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan

For the few folks who are still following my infrequent book reviews, my frustration with Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is certainly no secret. After being pulled in by the excellent first book of the series, “The Eye of the World,” in 1990, and proclaiming Jordan as the next Tolkien to all of my friends who would listen with the following few books, he began to lose the thread of the story. I gave up on the series a few books back after slogging through several 1,000-page plus doorstops in which Jordan’s storyline barely moved forward at all.

Then, of course, Jordan passed away in 2007, before he was able to complete the unwieldy series. Brandon Sanderson was tapped by Jordan’s family to write the final book of the Wheel of Time based on Jordan’s notes and conversations with his wife in his final days in which he laid out how the story should end. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that the “final” book would now be three books, which immediately made me assume that it would be business as usual with this series, keeping the frustrating story going even farther beyond its life cycle.

My plan was always to return for the final book, if it ever arrived, so that I could see how things turned out with these characters I’ve known for more than 20 years now. My curiosity about how Sanderson would continue the story finally got the best of me, though, and a month or so ago, I picked up the paperback version of “The Gathering Storm” ($9.99, Tor). I’m pleasantly surprised.

Review: "Kill the Dead" by Richard Kadrey

Richard Kadrey continues his tale of James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, in his latest efford, “Kill the Dead” ($22.99, Eos).

Stark is a man who has literally been through Hell. A feud with a rival magician sent him there, but he clawed his way out. He now lives in Los Angeles and, much to his disappointment, is regaining his humanity. The layers of scars from wounds suffered in the arenas of Hell that he uses as armor are beginning to fade. He runs a video store and takes occasional assignments from the Golden Vigil, a secret government organization run by an angel that deals with supernatural issues. His luck isn’t going so well. Then he gets a call from Lucifer. He’ll be in town working on a biographical film about himself, and he wants Sandman Slim, a legend in the supernatural community, by his side as a bodyguard. Stark accepts the assignment, but it leads him in even stranger directions.

Review: "Discord's Apple" by Carrie Vaughn

When Evie Walker returns home from Los Angeles to the small town of Hope’s Fort, Colo., to care for her terminally ill father, she gets quite a bit more than she bargained for in Carrie Vaughn’s “Discord’s Apple” ($23.99, Tor).

Walker lives in a world that has broken down. Terrorist attacks have led to martial law in many areas, including her new home of Los Angeles. Most of the nations of the world are at odds with each other and on the brink of open warfare. In this environment, she writes a comic book somewhat similar to World War II-era Captain America that features a patriotic military team and revolves around current events. But she puts her life on hold when she learns of her father’s illness to head back to a place she thought she’d left forever.

Soon after she returns, strange people begin to appear in Hope’s Fort and strange things begin to happen. When a woman shows up asking for something in the storeroom of her father’s house, Evie discovers a warehouse of mythical and magical treasures from throughout the ages. Her family has been charged with guarding the treasures for generations, and she is destined to take up the mantle from her father whether she likes it or not. But things are changing rapidly, and not everyone who comes looking for something from the storeroom has a right to it.

Review: "The Fall" by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan return with the second installment of their trilogy about an epidemic that has turned people into walking vampiric viruses, “The Fall” ($26.99, Harper).

In the first installment, “The Strain,” the scene was set with a creature known as the Master arriving in New York City and unleashing the virus on an unsuspecting public, creating waves of creatures that are part vampire, part zombie. The outbreak has now spread to all corners of the globe, and with governments scrambling to cover up the truth about the virus and calmed panic citizens, the world doesn’t stand a chance.

With the setup out of the way, the second installment starts with a bang. Ephraim Goodweather, a former agent with the Center for Disease Control and now a wanted man due to some political wrangling after he spoke the truth about the virus in the first book, is torn between trying to rid the world of the virus on his own and protecting his son from his ex-wife, who has been turned and is now stalking her son across the city. He’s joined by aging Holocaust survivor and vampire hunter Abraham Setrakian, who has been obsessed with destroying the Master since he first met him at a German concentration camp, a former New York City exterminator Vasiliy Fet, who has discovered that ridding the city of vampires is much like ridding the city of rats, and Eph’s CDC partner Nora, who he has a complicated relationship with.

Review: "The Bird of the River" by Kage Baker

Unfortunately, my introduction to the works of Kage Baker comes with the posthumous release of her latest novel “Bird of the River” ($25.99, Tor).

The book follows the coming-of-age tale of a teenage girl named Eliss, who is caring for her addict mother and her half-breed younger brother Alder. Since the death of Eliss’ father, the family has moved from place to place, living with various “uncles,” some good, some downright nasty. In a last-ditch effort to save the family, Eliss manages to find a captain that will give her mother a second chance as a diver on the Bird of the River, a barge charged with keeping the river clear of snags and obstructions. But a diving accident leaves Eliss and Alder orphaned and having to find their own way aboard the ship.

Review: "Dragon Haven" by Robin Hobb

With “Dragon Haven” ($27.99, Eos), Robin Hobb continues her tale of a ragtag band of social outcasts and malformed dragons on their quest to find the mythical city of Kelsingra, where once dragons and humans lived in peace.

In the first book of the two-part series, “Dragon Keeper,” the dragon Tintaglia led a group of serpents from the sea to cocoon in the Rain Wilds and become dragons, a species gone missing from the world until Tintaglia herself hatched. But the dragons that came from this hatching were small and misshapen, pale imitations of the former glory the creatures once were. After they became a drain on the local towns, the leaders chose a group of young Rain Wilders, marked by their harsh existence with scales, claws and other unusual deformities, to lead the dragons to the ancient city in the creatures’ ancestral memory.

With the setup out of the way, “Dragon Haven” opens on the arduous journey, which finds both the dragons and their human companions growing, maturing and changing. Despite mounting tension among the keepers caused by their would-be leader Greft, who is under the influence of a hunter who has tagged along in hopes of bringing back dragon parts to sell, things seem to be going as well as could be expected. The dragons are growing stronger and more capable as they travel and hunt their own food, as are the humans that tend them. Things go awry, though, when a wall of acid-tainted water cascades down the unpredictable Rain Wilds River and slams into the expedition, dashing their boats and supplies and scattering them. The hardships in the wake of the wave spur the real change in both people and dragons. Secrets are revealed, new bonds are formed, and no one involved in the expedition remains untouched for good or ill.

In “Dragon Keeper,” Hobb presented dragons that were much more human than the average depiction of the mythical beast. Her dragons had weaknesses, failings and doubts, and were more relatable. In “Dragon Haven,” a metamorphosis begins that brings the dragons closer to the haughty, arrogant and proud race of creatures that you expect, but at the same time, there remain flaws that stand out like the chink in Smaug’s armor. Though the focus of the book remains with the humans, it’s almost more interesting to watch the changes that take place in the dragons and how they develop. Then again, it could just be because dragons continue to fascinate me after all these years, and I’m always interested in a slightly different take on them. Hobb certainly delivers that.

Ultimately, though, no matter how interesting the concept, you also must have a good story, and that’s where the human characters come in. The twists, turns, secrets and deceptions do occasionally wander a little too far toward soap opera melodramatics, but in the end it all comes together to create a satisfying story.

“Dragon Haven” leaves as many questions about what will happen to the dragons and their keepers as it answers. I’d be interested to revisit at some point down the road and see how things turn out.

Review: "Dead in the Family" by Charlaine Harris

I guess everyone needs a break now and then, and certainly Charlaine Harris’ telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse has hit a lull in the series’ latest entry “Dead in the Family” ($25.95, Ace).
It’s not that there’s not plenty of action in the book. Quite a bit happens. In fact, the story is kind of like a supernatural family reunion as more fairy members of Sookie’s family show up, members of the vampire Eric’s family arrive to cause trouble, some secret’s about Bill Compton’s family are revealed and even Merlotte’s owner Sam is having troubles with his family because of the weres and shifters going public.

Among all that, there are also larger problems in the world of the books. Most notably, some are pushing for registration of the two-natured, just as they have the vampires who went public. Eric is still having troubles with his new boss in the vampire world, Victor Madden, and there’s upheaval in the Shreveport pack of weres.

Despite all that, “Dead in the Family” seems to plod just a little. There are flashes of action here and there, but it just doesn’t quite have the same spark that some of the previous volumes had. It’s more like a breather in between the explosive action that ended the previous volume and things that are on the horizon.

It also seems to me that there’s a little more of HBO’s “True Blood,” based on the books, seeping into Harris’ work in this volume. Certainly for those of us who both read the books and watch the series, the differing storylines can get a bit confusing. For example, I was almost sure that Bill had told Sookie in a previous volume how he was turned, but now I’m thinking that might have been in “True Blood,” and either way, the story that I’m remembering differs from the one told in this book.

At the end of the day, “Dead in the Family” is still an enjoyable read and it keeps me interested in the continuing story of Sookie and all of the strangeness that surrounds her. But it doesn’t leave me with that same sense of excitement that some of the earlier tales did. Hopefully things will get back on track with the next volume.

Review: "Bite Me: A Love Story" by Christopher Moore

In the past few years, I’ve often bemoaned the fact that the fantasy section of the bookstore has become more like the vampire section. While there seems to be a major love affair with vampires right now, I’m, quite frankly, sick of them. So it’s a little strange to me that I find myself immersed in three straight books that feature vampires. The second is Christoper Moore’s “Bite Me: A Love Story” ($23.99, William Morrow).

The book is the sequel to 2007’s “You Suck: A Love Story” and “Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story,” originally published in 1995. It continues to follow the story of vamps Jody and Tommy, a young couple trying to make it as creatures of the night in San Francisco. If you missed “You Suck,” don’t worry, a summary from Jody and Tommy’s minion Abigail von Normal (also known by her day-slave name of Allison Greene), leads off the book. It’s written in her own special blend of goth, valley girl and netspeak, as are all her entries throughout the book.

Abby, her confused goth friend Jared and her geeky boyfriend Steve, who she calls “Foo Dog,” have encased Jody and Tommy in bronze to satisfy her romantic notion of keeping them together forever. While they’re imprisoned in the statue, Chet, an unusually large stray cat, has been busy. He and his homeless owner were attacked by the master vampire that turned Jody in the previous volume. He’s been building an army of vampiric cats that are roaming the streets of San Francisco and killing homeless people.

Unfortunately for Abby and Moore’s colorful cast of characters -- including a homeless man known as the Emperor, a group of vampire hunters that work at the local Safeway called the Animals and a couple of local police detectives who are in on the vampire secret – the horde of bloodsucking cats has caught the attention of another group of vampires who have arrived in San Francisco to eliminate the problem and everyone who knows about it.

Like all of Moore’s work, “Bite Me” has a lot of fun with its subject. While still presenting an enjoyable story, Moore also makes a little fun of the current obsession with vampires and the conventions of the vampire mythos. While I have to admit that the silliness of Abby’s shallow angsty ramblings does get a little tired at points, I’d rather read them than the angsty ramblings in, say, one of the “Twilight” books.

While I much prefer when Moore takes on loftier subjects with his humor, as in my personal favorites “Lamb” and “Fool,” his work is always enjoyable. This one’s a quick, fun read that offers you a chance to have a laugh at the expense of vampire stories that take themselves too seriously.