Title: Boneshaker

Author: Cherie Priest

Genre: Steampunk/SF/Horror

Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: September 2009
Paperback: 416 pages

Stand alone or series: Book 1 in the Clockwork Century series

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.

But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.

Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.

His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.

How did we get this book: We bought our copies

Why did we read this book: It’s Steampunk week and Boneshaker has been praised to the skies by Steampunkers, reviewers and recently even made into Library Journal’s list of “Core” Steampunk titles.

REVIEW:

First Impressions:

Ana: Boneshaker is another book I had been looking forward to reading for a long time and holding off to until we had our Steampunk Week. Given the amount of praise it received, the fact that very recently it made into Library Journal’s list of core Steampunk titles and the fact that Cherie Priest seems to really know what she is talking about, I had great expectations about the book. And they were sort of met, as overall the book proved to be a solid read. I liked most specially its sympathetic duo of mother-son protagonists, the lovely writing, and the setting (an alternate 19th century Seattle). Plus, Zombies and Pirates = fun! However, upon reflection, the very premise of the book did not hold to close scrutiny and ironically, that includes the very Steampunk nature of the story.

Thea: I have to agree wholeheartedly with Ana on this one. I was ecstatic with Boneshaker’s unique premise – Civil War Era Steampunk Zombies! Hiyo! Sign me up!

And…well, Boneshaker is a bit of a mixed bag. The premise is wonderfully imaginative, but, as Ana says, kind of implodes on itself when subjected to any level of scrutiny. This history is a mess as is the actual source of the zombification of Seattle’s inhabitants – and I’m not exactly sure I’d label this as a true work of Steampunk. That said, I enjoyed the overall story and the horror aspects of the book, and certainly read it eagerly enough, which counts for a lot.

On the Plot:

Ana: It’s the 1880s, and the United States is still plagued by the legacy of the Civil War. In Seattle it has been 16 years since the eccentric scientist Leviticus Blue built his Boneshaker, a tunnelling machine built to drill through the ice fields of Alaska. The machine went berserk in the middle of the town basically destroying it all and in the process hitting the underground reserves of a mysterious gas – the Blight – which, if inhaled, turns people into Zombies. The inhabitants of the town fled, authorities built a huge wall which has been keeping the gas and the zombies (or “rotters”) in.

Briar Wilkes and her son Zeke leave just outside the walls and try to make do with her meagre salary as a worker at the water treatment plant (filtering the effects of the Plight) . Their lives are not easy since Briar is the widow of the infamous Leviticus Blue and no one will let her forget that, including her son. In an attempt to prove that his father was in fact not the criminal that everybody thinks he is, Zeke sneaks into the walled City in search for clues sand a desperate Briar goes after him when his only viable way out collapses after an earthquake and in the process discovers that are people still living inside. She must find him and quick, before the rotters – or someone worse – find them first.

As plots go, Boneshaker’s start off with a lot of potential. The impetus for the story – a mother who admitted not being the most perfect and open of mothers, in search of her son and to try and mend their relationship spoke to me like only a character-driven story can speak. It is also undeniable that Cherie Priest’s prose is lovely and enticing. I have nothing to say against pacing (it is rocketing good fun!) or against the overall plotting: mother searches son in parallel stories, both run from zombies, run into pirates, danger abound, there is a villain who might or might not Leviticus Blue himself. It is all actually pretty good.

It is just when you think about the details that things start to fall through.

For example: there is a lack of real science. It puzzled me for example, that it had been 16 years since the accident happened and yet there were no scientists studying the phenomenon – where did it come from? What was it? How to reverse it? Well, that does not sound Steampunk ish at all. I would expect at least one mad scientist somewhere making a dash to understand it. Furthermore, can a wall really stop the spreading of a gas? For 16 years? Without any leaks? Without it rising above it? Leaking through pipes? Really? Sometimes, I wondered if the gas was not a mere excuse for the use of Goggles and masks – making it a choice for Steampunk Aesthetics than for Steampunk Science – especially when there is barely an appearance of the very Boneshaker of the title.

Another thing that made me wonder (and wonder and wonder): Briar discovers that there were people still living in the inside. Citizens of Seattle, basically living like scavengers , forever having to wear masks and living in fear of the zombies and I asked myself over and again: why? Why would anyone stay if they didn’t have to? Surely there were alternative – better ones, than to live in a place where you can’t go outside where you can’t breathe, where you can’t get any real food because of a mortal Gas that can turn you into a zombie? Surely.

Yes, Steampunk can be fun but Scott Westerfelf has proved with his Leviathan that you can have a Steampunk novel that is both fun and yet rich with Steampunk elements that actually matter.

Having said that: I sustain that I did have a great time reading the novel, despite these misgivings. I find this series has a great potential. Who knows, perhaps the sequels will be more Steampunk heavy?

Thea: What Ana said. When reading Boneshaker, two things immediately jumped out at me:

1. There’s a huge “buyability” problem with the story.

As Ana mentions, the solution to deal with Seattle was to wall it off – literally, with a big wall. And this would protect the rest of the world from zombies, and from the mysterious “Blight.” Which is a gas. I repeat – a gas. How exactly does a stone wall contain a gas? This seems a little silly. THen, given the fact that Seattle is the rainiest city in the continental United States, how in heck can the Blight gas be so prevalent as to completely ensheath the city, impervious to the months and months of rain that should clear the air? Furthermore, how is the Blight still leaking out after 16 years? This must be quite a reservoir indeed – and if the rain isn’t washing it away, and an accumulation of 16 years’ worth of a thick gas is spreading through Seattle, wouldn’t it have been enough to spread a little further (as opposed to being contained by the walls)? And Ana makes a good point – why wouldn’t the government, or some enterprising scientist or company for that matter, be interested in finding out what exactly the Blight is? After 16 years, no one is interested in discovering why the gas turns people into zombies? No one wants to know where the gas came from, what it is, and if it exists anywhere else in the country? Heck, even allowing that US government is so shattered and preoccupied by the legacy of the Civil War (which requires a huge effort to suspend disbelief in and of itself), wouldn’t anyone be interested in weaponizing this gas? I was kind of surprised and disappointed that Ms. Priest didn’t go there, it seems so obvious – the Blight as a biochemical weapon to be harnessed for the American Civil War and perhaps for the inevitable World War?! – but perhaps that’s fodder for a future book.

Beyond the haziness of the Blight (lame pun intended), there’s also a problem in terms of believability of era, and technology. Which brings me to my second point:

2. The technology and science aspects are so vague as to suggest that Boneshaker is much more of an aesthetic work.

And this is totally fine – just like with genres like Science Fiction, you can get the hard Stephen Baxter stuff, or the softer, Gene Roddenberry stuff. But my problem with Boneshakeris that the time period and the steampunk aesthetic are irrelevant to the storyline (yes, the bone-shaking drill unleashed the gas that caused the zombies and the premise of the novel, but this could have been any drill. You don’t even see the drill until the end of the book, and the cataclysmic effect is completely off-stage). This might have been the distant future or present day or even on another earth-like planet. For example, the characters speak in the modern vernacular, so it’s easy to forget the time period altogether. And if you can take away the technology, and if you can take away the time period and are essentially left with the same story, these elements are superfluous.

I should also note that Ms. Priest has an afterward to the book in which she claims that all of the historical inconsistencies (so far as the size, importance, development and specifics of Seattle) are intentional – which explains why certain buildings and landmarks are completed and/or in different areas than they are in real life. But my points still remain – I imagine that Cherie Priest is very connected to Seattle and thus chose to write Boneshaker in this locale, but it seems like too much of a stretch to truly work. If this had been in New York, or Philadelphia for example, I think it would have worked to the book’s credit. Or set it in a totally new city altogether, bypassing all of these other historical/structural/environmental critiques.

In any case, despite all of my reservations, I really did enjoy Boneshaker in its capacity as an SF horror novel and a page-turner. A mother set on finding her son in a zombie infested city? How could I not love this?! The pacing is excellent and although a little too contemporary to work in the time period, Ms. Priest has undeniably strong narrative technique and a gift for storytelling. This alone is more than enough to recommend the novel, even if it’s a little skimpy on the details.

On The Characters:

Ana: I think of the greatest strengths of the novel are its engaging and sympathetic characters. I absolutely loved Briar and Zere both as separate entities and their relationship. Especially because they were so freaking flawed and sometimes even annoying. Zeke behaved like a quintessential teenager – prone to do stupid things, but with the heart in the right place. Same thing goes for Briar – I really liked how she reflected upon her reasons for keeping secrets from her son and the moment she decided to change it all. She is fierce Plus, there is one revelation in the end, which even though I saw coming from a mile away, I still thought was awesome and made all the difference in the world adding an extra layer of complexity of the novel – and every single mention of a certain character from the start.

There are also a plethora of secondary characters that although not really that well-developed, were actually pretty entertaining in their own way. I was quite fond of the air pirates (especially Cly) and the underground refugees Lucy the one-armed barmaid and Jeremiah.

Thea: I have to agree with Ana in that the characters are a great asset to Boneshaker. I loved Briar, in particular, as the flawed mother that loves her son, no matter what. There’s a pivotal scene at the end of the book, a confession, that is so heart-wrenchingly honest and moving, it truly makes the book. Ezekiel, or Zeke, as Briar’s son felt a little less developed as a character to me, however. Yes, he was very much a teenager, and very believable in his quest to exonerate his grandfather’s legacy, and even his father (the creator of the titled Boneshaker) – but other than this desire, he lacks the well-rounded finish that his mother has in abundance.

Other secondary characters pop in and out and are enjoyable additions – in particular I loved Lucy, the one-armed barkeep and, a Native American Princess (who is nothing like the princess you have in mind, I guarantee it), and the gruff, lovable Jeremiah Swakhammer. Of course, there’s also the shadowy, nefarious Dr. Minnericht that runs Seattle’s underground ruins with an iron fist…

Altogether, an enjoyable and connecting cast.

BUT IS IT STEAMPUNK?

Ana: Weeeeell. There are undeniably, elements generally related to Steampunk in this novel. Alternate history. CHECK. Goggles, Dirigibles, some Steam technology, CHECK. A mad scientist. CHECK. However, I think those elements are only skin deep – remove them and they wouldn’t really make a difference to that world (although obviously they do to this story) . Those elements seem too confined to be really Steampunk-ish. But then again, the Steampunk seal has been signed, sealed and delivered by Steampunk luminaries from all over the place so what the hell do I know?

Thea: I’m sorta of the same mind as Ana here. Yes, there are steampunk elements up the wazoo (what with the bone-shaking drill, goggles, a couple of airships, and other strange inventions sprinkled throughout)…but is it really steampunk? I guess it really depends on your definition. For me, the aesthetic elements were strong but somewhat irrelevant, and it’s not the best example of a steampunk novel in my personal opinion. There’s no radical social critique, nor is there a dazzlingly central technological element. But, as Ana says, what the hell do I know? I can understand why this is labeled as steampunk, but I also understand why some folks might not see it as such.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From the prologue:

From Unlikely Episodes in Western History

Chapter 7, “Seattle’s Walled and Peculiar State.”
Work in progress, by Hale Quarter.
1880

Unpaved, uneven trails pretended to be roads; they tied the nation’s coasts together like laces holding a boot, binding it with crossed strings and crossed fingers. And over the great river, across the plains, between the mountain passes the settlers pushed from east to west. They trickled over the Rockies in dribs and drabs, in wagons and coaches.

Or this is how it began.

In California there were nuggets the size of walnuts lying on the ground—or so it was said, and truth travels slowly when rumors have wings of gold. The trickle of humanity became a magnificent flow. The glittering western shores swarmed with prospectors, pushing their luck and pushing their pans into the gravelly streams, praying for fortunes.

In time, the earth grew crowded, and claims became more tenuous. Gold came out of the ground in dust so fine that the men who mined it could’ve inhaled it.

In 1850 another rumor, winged and sparkling, came swiftly from the north.

The Klondike, it said. Come and cut your way through the ice you find there. A fortune in gold awaits a determined enough man.

The tide shifted, and looked to the northern latitudes. This meant very, very good things for the last frontier stop before the Canadian border—a backwater mill town on Puget Sound called Seattle after the native chief of the local tribes. The muddy village became a tiny empire nearly overnight as explorers and prospectors paused to trade and stock up on supplies.

While American legislators argued over whether or not to buy the Alaska territory, Russia hedged its bets and considered its asking price. If the land really was pocked with gold deposits, the game would absolutely change; but even if a steady supply of gold could be located, could it be retrieved? A potential vein, spotted intermittently but mostly buried beneath a hundred feet of permanent ice, would make for an ideal testing ground.

In 1860, the Russians announced a contest, offering a 100,000 ruble prize to the inventor who could produce or propose a machine that could mine through ice in search of gold. And in this way, a scientific arms race began despite a budding civil war.

Across the Pacific Northwest big machines and small machines were tinkered into existence. They were tricky affairs designed to withstand bitter cold and tear through turf that was frozen diamond-hard. They were powered by steam and coal, and lubricated with special solutions that protected their mechanisms from the elements. These machines were made for men to drive like stagecoaches, or designed to dig on their own, controlled by clockwork and ingenious guiding devices.

But none of them were rugged enough to tackle the buried vein, and the Russians were on the verge of selling the land to America for a relative pittance… when a Seattle inventor approached them with plans for an amazing machine. It would be the greatest mining vehicle ever constructed: fifty feet long and fully mechanized, powered by compressed steam. It would boast three primary drilling and cutting heads, positioned at the front of the craft; and a system of spiral shoveling devices mounted along the back and sides would scoop the bored-through ice, rocks, or earth back out of the drilling path. Carefully weighted and meticulously reinforced, this machine could drill in an almost perfect vertical or horizontal path, depending on the whims of the man in the driver’s seat. Its precision would be unprecedented, and its power would set the standard for all such devices to come.

But it had not yet been built.

You can read the full excerpt online HERE.

Additional Thoughts: It is also worth mentioning that Boneshaker comes in a beautiful package. Not only is the cover gorgeous (although irrelevant and misleading), but the book itself is printed on thick paper in this lovely rust brown print, lending even more to the steampunk aesthetic.

Rating:

Ana: 7 – Very Good

Thea: 7 – Very Good (Though it was a close call, bordering a 6)

Reading Next: A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire

Title: Arcadia Snips and the Steamwork Consortium

Author: Robert C. Rodgers, illustrated by Todd Wills

Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy, Adventure, Comedy, Young Adult

Publisher: Steam-Powered Press
Publication Date: October 2009
Paperback: 288 pages

In an era of bygone anachronisms and steam-powered ambulatory engines, a sharp-witted street-thief with a heart of semi-precious metal finds herself locked in a battle of wits against a secret plot to bring the city she loves to its knees. Arcadia will need to enlist the help of a reformed mad scientist, a stern suffragette, and a persnickety pigeon to unravel the mysterious past of the Steamwork Consortium – and stop the cabal of sinister mathematicians who would use that past to destroy all of Aberwick. Arcadia Snips and the Steamwork Consortium is both a cautionary tale against reckless mathematics and an accurate historical account all rolled up into one. In fact, the story is so accurate that you might consider it more of a history lecture than an illustrated novel.

Stand alone or series: Stand alone novel

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the author

Why did I read this book: Though we mostly review books from larger publishers, we also like to share the love with independent/self/small-presses too – provided the book sounds like something we want to read. When we received a review query from the author of the book last year, I read the synopsis and first chapter online and was instantly hooked – and what better a time to review this novel than during Steampunk Week?

Review:

“Dear Madame,” the letter read. “Although we remain appreciative of your continued attempts to bring a feminine touch to the world of aeronautics, the Royal Society of Aviation regrets to inform you that your design shall fly only once swine have taken to the skies.”

The letter was framed and mounted on the dining room wall.

So begins Arcadia Snips and the Steamwork Consortium (henceforth Arcadia Snips), described quite aptly in its tagline as “Being A Wholly Accurate Historical Account Concerning Matters Of Steam, Skullduggery, And The Irresponsible Application Of Reckless Mathematics In The 19th Century.” Of all the books I’ve read this week (so far), Arcadia Snips is by far the most traditionally Steampunkish (Steampunky?). Taking place in the late nineteenth century, the novel includes no shortage of creative machines, flying contraptions, and other steam-powered miscellanea. There’s even political intrigue, a dash of romance, and Great Peril – all of this in spades. Alternating storylines between “the past” (twenty years in the past), in which an unlikely partnership forms between three far-sighted individuals, and the present, in which a thief named Arcadia finds herself in the employ of a powerful Count, as his consultant in the Watts and Sons Detective Agency’s investigation of the murder of Basil Copper.

Arcadia Snips, the titled protagonist, is a delightfully quirky heroine in this delightfully quirky book. Just look at our initial introduction to her:

Beneath Arcadia Sinps’ derby hat and short black curls was the face of a silver-fanged cherub — a mocha-toned antel with enough charm to sell a pack of matches to a man doused in lamp oil. But whenever she grinned, the very tip of that silver fang would tuck over the edge of her bottom tooth. It gave her a savage, frightful look.

It is also worth mentioning that we first meet Arcadia as she is shackled in prison (having escaped from jail twice, and about to accomplish this wriggling, lock-defying feat for the third time in a row). She’s a thief, a wise-cracker, and, again, altogether delightful with her wit and verve. And while Arcadia on her own as a protagonist would be enough personality for this book teeming with silly cleverness, she also has a male counterpart in young William Daffodil, the son of two “mad scientists” (that greatly endangered the city of Aberwick in the past storyline) and a young man that is much more interested in the safety of mathematics than the perils of mad science. This pair…well, they just work.

Beyond these protagonists, there are the “past” characters that are wonderful in and of themselves – Abigail Parsley, for example, has one of the best opening sequences in the book. We also get into the minds of villains, a most unique perspective.

What I loved the most about Arcadia Snips, beyond the characters, was the pure delight of reading the book entails. It’s silly, to be sure, but so witty and absurdly fun, it’s all the better for it. Dialogue between characters verges on the persnickety and crazed at times, but the authenticity and eminent readability of this novel make it all worth it. For every misstep, there’s a gem like this:

The city of Aberwick was a topographical nightmare wrested from the laudanum-fueled fever dreams of half-mad cartographers. It was cradled in a yawning canyon of volcanic rock, with communities swelling up into massive heaps of brick and timber; the trains flowed aside, above, and even through these mounds.

As I said, truly wonderful stuff.

I also should mention that Arcadia Snips is an illustrated novel, with the visual stylings of artist Todd Wills. While I’m not a huge fan of the cover (a bit cartoony and a strange color scheme – does the cover version of Arcadia look like Calamity Jack to anyone else?), I do love the black and white illustrations within as they capture the book’s mood perfectly.

I’m always a little bit scared of taking on independently or self-published books – but books like Arcadia Snips remind me of why I agree to do so in the first place. Every now and then a true undiscovered gem comes along, and I’m happy to say that this book is one of them.

Whole-heartedly recommended to all looking for a farcical, somewhat deranged (in a good way!) steampunk read. Arcadia Snips and the Steamwork Consortium is a delight.

BUT IS IT STEAMPUNK? Oh, hell yes. It’s the most traditionally steampunk novel I’ve read this week!

Notable Quotes/Parts: From the introduction:

ACT 1

“In yet another example of tragically misapplied genius, the mysterious anarchist who calls himself Professor Hemlock has done it again—several of the Eastern Aberwick Bank’s calculation engines have been crippled through the irresponsible application of reckless mathematics. The rogue chaotician claimed responsibility for the financial disaster in a letter delivered to the Isle Gazette (see page 9a), citing the company’s cutthroat business tactics, support of imperialism, and rude bank tellers as justification. Authorities continue to investigate the anarchist’s activities while urging all citizens to behave no differently during this time of fiscal duress. Meanwhile, one question lingers upon the lips of every man, woman, and child: Who is Professor Hemlock?”
—Front page of the Isle Gazette, ‘PROFESSOR HEMLOCK STRIKES AGAIN’

Additional Thoughts: The coolest part about Arcadia Snips and the Steamwork Consortium? It’s available in its totality for FREE online!

You can check out the book’s website HERE and the illustrator’s website HERE. To download a free PDF copy of the book, go HERE. You won’t regret it.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Title: The Windup Girl

Author: Paolo Bacigalupi

Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia

Publisher: Night Shade Books
Publication Date: September 2009
Hardcover: 300 pages

What Happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits? And what happens when said bio-terrorism forces humanity to the cusp of post-human evolution? In The Windup Girl, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi returns to the world of “The Calorie Man”( Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award-winner, Hugo Award nominee, 2006) and “Yellow Card Man” (Hugo Award nominee, 2007) in order to address these questions.

Stand alone or series: Can be read as a stand alone novel, although it is set in the world of two of Bacigalupi’s short stories – “The Calorie Man” (Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award-winner, Hugo Award nominee, 2006) and “Yellow Card Man” (Hugo Award nominee, 2007).

How did I get this book: Bought

Why did I read this book: Ever since I heard of The Windup Girl and saw it on numerous Best of 2009 lists, I have been dying to read this book.

Review:

First things first – I had seen this book praised to the high heavens after its late 2009 release, and have been looking forward to reading it ever since. Then, when I started to see it pop up on “Steampunk Essential Reading” lists, I was even more excited, and I set a firm date to read and review this highly anticipated release for Steampunk Week.

Well folks, I’m a little chagrined to report: The Windup Girl really is not Steampunk.

At least, it doesn’t fit in with my conceptualization of steampunk. That’s not to say that it isn’t a good book – because it is. But as a feature for this week, it falls a little short. But more on that later.

The Windup Girl is a futuristic dystopia, set in a shocking incarnation of Thailand. The world as we know it has changed drastically – genetically engineered crops have fallen to strengthened, bio-engineered pests; food is controlled by corporations; fossil fuels are all but exhausted; sea levels have risen and reclaimed incredible surface areas…Bacigalupi’s is a dying world. In this version of Thailand, tensions tear the nation from without and within – the government corrupt, the locals resentful of “yellow card” refugees and the encroaching farang (or foreigners), their factories, and their attempts to steal . And, embroiled in this volatile world are four important characters: Anderson Lake – a “Calorie Man” farang intent on discovering gene-ripping secrets for The Company. Hock Seng – a “Yellow Card” Chinese-Malay refugee, foreman of Anderson’s factory, and with a business agenda of his own. Jaidee – a vigilante-type local “hero,” set on sticking it to those in command and fighting corruption with his own glory-seeking style of mayhem. And finally, there’s Emiko – a “New Person,” a “herky-jerky” Japanese genetically engineered woman made to be a sexual companion and personal secretary, left behind by her keeper, left to a world of degradation and abuse each night at a Thai flophouse.

Nuanced and darkly grim, The Windup Girl is an original, memorable debut novel from the undeniably talented Paolo Bacigalupi. In many ways, this novel is an environmentally-conscious, precautionary tale and all the more terrifying because of its plausibility; we very well could engineer our own food and environmental demise intentionally (i.e. biological terrorism) or unintentionally (resistant, super strains of pests and diseases). The Windup Girl’s worldbuilding as well is solid. As a Southeast Asian from the Philippines and Indonesia, I can definitely see that Mr. Bacigalupi has done his homework, down to the fruit of the region (for example, rambutan, which translates from Indonesian as “hair fruit”) and the tensions between natives and their hatred for Chinese immigrants.

But it is thematically that The Windup Girl is at its finest. The overwhelming, unifying theme of the book is that of greed: corporate greed that caused the world’s death, human greed that dominates the Thai government, personal greed that motivates any number of characters in the book. The ugliness of humanity is prevalent throughout, painting a grimy, unflinching picture of the world.

So far as characters go, however, Mr. Bacigalupi left me feeling a little cold. While an equal amount of time is spent on each main character, they all felt a little bare-boned. Interestingly, the only character I felt any sort of connection with was the NON-”human” character Emiko, the titled Windup Girl. Her struggles, her alienation and sustained abuse is horrifying stuff, and her determination to live despite it all is a bright spot in a a decidedly grim novel. The reaction of humans towards “New People” is discrimination on an epic scale, and the kicker is, with the world so disintegrated, only the New People may survive as the next step in human evolution.

While I enjoyed The Windup Girl, I did find that it faltered in a few vital categories. As a novel of science fiction, the actual science element of The Windup Girl isn’t very strong – the concept of biologically engineered New People, made so that their motions are “herky-jerky” but also simultaneously lightning quick, and the genetic breeding of character traits like “obedience” rings as a little bit silly. Furthermore, the idea of using springs to store and generate energy is also not very believable – surely there were other power options available to this world (wind, solar, hydro, biodiesel, nuclear, etc)? Also, I found myself asking, is this story actually effective? The answer is both yes and no. There was a LOT of repetition in this book where there needn’t have been – there’s little advancement of any truly engaging plot. The actual point of the story, its atmospheric strengths and green-conscious warning for the future are made easily within the first 50 pages or so. Ultimately, I found it abundantly clear that Mr. Bacigalupi is a short fiction writer, as The Windup Girl felt like an unnecessarily protracted novella.

These failings in mind, however, I still ended up enjoying The Windup Girl, and look forward to seeing what else Paolo Bacigalupi has up his sleeve in the future.

BUT IS IT STEAMPUNK? Nope. The Windup Girl is not by any stretch of the imagination Steampunk. Using my own bizarre criteria of what constitutes Steampunk, The Windup Girl just doesn’t quite cut it. Other than a single scene involving dirigibles, there is absolutely no steam-technology in this book. None. Zilch. Nada. Though there is a significant amount of radical social and political critique in this book, there is basically nothing on the steam-technological or aesthetic end of the spectrum – and a couple of dirigibles does not a steampunk make. Sorry folks that have this on their Steampunk Essentials list – The WIndup GIrl doesn’t make it on mine. (Though it is a good example of a green-conscious dystopian novel!)

Notable Quotes/Parts: From the first chapter:

“No! I don’t want the mangosteen.” Anderson Lake leans forward, pointing. “I want that one, there. Kaw pollamai nee khap. The one with the red skin and the green hairs.”

The peasant woman smiles, showing teeth blackened from chewing betel nut, and points to a pyramid of fruits stacked beside her. “Un nee chai mai kha?”

“Right. Those. Khap.” Anderson nods and makes himself smile. “What are they called?”

“Ngaw.” She pronounces the word carefully for his foreign ear, and hands across a sample.

Anderson takes the fruit, frowning. “It’s new?”

“Kha.” She nods an affirmative.

Anderson turns the fruit in his hand, studying it. It’s more like a gaudy sea anemone or a furry puffer fish than a fruit. Coarse green tendrils protrude from all sides, tickling his palm. The skin has the rust-red tinge of blister rust, but when he sniffs he doesn’t get any stink of decay. It seems perfectly healthy, despite its appearance.

“Ngaw,” the peasant woman says again, and then, as if reading his mind. “New. No blister rust.”

Anderson nods absently. Around him, the market soi bustles with Bangkok’s morning shoppers. Mounds of durians fill the alley in reeking piles and water tubs splash with snakehead fish and red-fin plaa. Overhead, palm-oil polymer tarps sag under the blast furnace heat of the tropic sun, shading the market with hand-painted images of clipper ship trading companies and the face of the revered Child Queen. A man jostles past, holding vermilion-combed chickens high as they flap and squawk outrage on their way to slaughter, and women in brightly colored pha sin bargain and smile with the vendors, driving down the price of pirated U-Tex rice and new-variant tomatoes.

None of it touches Anderson.

“Ngaw,” the woman says again, seeking connection.

The fruit’s long hairs tickle his palm, challenging him to recognize its origin. Another Thai genehacking success, just like the tomatoes and eggplants and chiles that abound in the neighboring stalls. It’s as if the Grahamite Bible’s prophecies are coming to pass. As if Saint Francis himself stirs in his grave, restless, preparing to stride forth onto the land, bearing with him the bounty of history’s lost calories.

“And he shall come with trumpets, and Eden shall return. . .”

Anderson turns the strange hairy fruit in his hand. It carries no stink of cibiscosis. No scab of blister rust. No graffiti of genehack weevil engraves its skin. The world’s flowers and vegetables and trees and fruits make up the geography of Anderson Lake’s mind, and yet nowhere does he find a helpful signpost that leads him to identification.

Ngaw. A mystery.

You can read the full chapter, along with other sample chapters, online HERE.

Additional Thoughts: As I mentioned above, The Windup Girl is a full length novel set in the world of two of Paolo Bacigalupi’s prior, award winning short stories (the “Windup Stories”). Even cooler is, these stories are available for free download via the book’s page on Night Shade Books. You can check out the PDF version HERE.

Also, you may or may not have heard that Paolo Bacigalupi is making his first foray into the world of Young Adult novels this year! Check out his forthcoming title, Ship Breaker.

Set initially in a future shanty town in America’s Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and live another day. The harsh realities of this life, from his abusive father, to his hand to mouth existence, echo the worst poverty in the present day third world. When an accident leads Nailer to discover an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, and the lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl, Nailer finds himself at a crossroads. Should he strip the ship and live a life of relative wealth, or rescue the girl, Nita, at great risk to himself and hope she’ll lead him to a better life. This is a novel that illuminates a world where oil has been replaced by necessity, and where the gap between the haves and have-nots is now an abyss. Yet amidst the shadows of degradation, hope lies ahead.

Verdict: A thoughtful, well-written and provocative examination of a dystopian future – the world run aground thanks to collective greed. Though it feels somewhat like a protracted short story and it certainly isn’t Steampunk, it’s an unquestionably strong debut, and I look forward to more from Mr. Bacigalupi in the near future.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Title: The Warlord of the Air

Author: Michael Moorcok

Genre: Sci-fi (Proto-Steampunk)

Publisher: DAW / Hunt Barnard Printing (UK)
Publication Date: 1971 / 1974
Paperback: 156 pages

Suppose that a few of our present inventions had been made earlier, and others not discovered at all? How would the last century have evolved differently? This is the story of Oswald Bastable, a Victorian captain who found himself in such alternate worlds. It is based on notes handed down to Michael Moorcock from his great-grandfather. It’s a story of a world of empires secured by airships, and a Chinese genius who invented the means of overthrowing the West’s power!

Stand alone or series: First in the A Nomad of the Time Streams trilogy but this story is self-contained (sort of) and can be read as a stand alone.

Why did I read the book: The Warlord of the Air is generally listed as one of the seminal works which inspired the Steampunk sub-genre. In my quest to learn about all things Steampunk, I had to check it out.

How did I get the book: The book is currently out of print but is easily found on Amazon marketplace. I paid £0.01 for it (plus shipping).

Review:

The Warlord of the Air begins with an editor’s note in which the author, Michael Moorcok, tells of the discovery of a manuscript said to have been written by his own grandfather. This manuscript is the basics for the book as it follows Moorcock’s grandfather’s narrative as he describes his journey in 1903, to Rowe Island, in the Indian Ocean where he goes to recover from a nervous breakdown, away from civilization. Soon he is overcome with boredom, and Moorcock finds himself taking an interest on a young man who is kicked off a boat and seems to be in need for help with his clothes in ruins, in an obvious state of confusion and possibly addicted to opium. After taking a bath and being fed, the man presents himself as Oswald Bastable, and claims to have come from the year 1973, having just returned to 1903. Returned being the key word here as Bastable is a contemporary (or is he?) of Moorcock which was temporarily dislocated in time. His narrative, told in first person to Moocock as he writes it down is the meats and bones of The “Warlord of the Air” .

Bastable’s adventures begin in 1902 when, as a member of the British Army he is part of an expedition sent to deal with Sharan Kang, a mysterious religious figure who has been causing trouble in India. He is invited to visit the mystical temple of Teku Benga, where no westerner has set foot ever; after a confrontation with Kang’s men, he gets lost until an earthquake knocks him out. When he comes to, he finds himself alone in tattered clothes in the now completely destroyed temple. In the desolate ruins, at the top of the Himalayas, Bastable can’t find an explanation to what happened nor a way to get out. Rescue comes in the form of a huge airship – a sight he has never seen in his life. He soon discovers he has somehow ended up in 1973 – but not the 1973 that we, readers know to have happened.

In this reality, the airship he boards, is a Zepellin of the Indian Air Force, part of the British Empire. Imperialism is still very much alive, the First World War never happened and the world is largely at peace. London is clean and everybody is happy and healthy and well-off. Bastable is at first enamoured with this perfect vision and embodiment of Utopia; especially when, after joining the army once more (feigning amnesia he is able to explain how he doesn’t have an identity in this timeline) he observes that all colonies live happily under the rule of a benevolent empire.

When he is kicked out of the army (after a fight with an American called Reagan – that Reagan) , he joins another air crew who unbeknownst to him are sympathetic to the political claims that the Empire oppress the nations of the world into complacence. Bastable’s patriotism is put to test and finally crumbles down as the idea of a kind, paternalistic Empire which brings health and education to its children in the less developed colonies is turned in its head as the raging racism and oppression underneath shows their ugly faces. The consequences of uniting with the rebels – amongst them an aged Lenin who never saw the Russian Revolution take place and General O.T. Shaw, a Chinese leader who is the Warlord of the Air of the title – are catastrophic and send him right back in time and to point where the story starts.

The Warlord of the Air packs a lot of story and action in its few 150 pages or so. And as an adventurous Sci-fi romp, it is undoubtedly immensely entertaining. The idea of time travel is whole appealing to me as a reader – especially in this case, of a time traveller who doesn’t go from the future to the past but from the past to the future. Except that this future is still very much rooted in the past that he knows – the political and economical ideology of the Victorians as well as the Steam-powered technology which are still very much prevalent. The assumption is that once Imperialism takes roots, there is no further evolution.

It is as though the world is stuck in the past – part of the political, economical and sociological implications of a world that did not went through its “natural” history – proof of that is that you can’t stop history and regardless of who are the culprits, certain things will inevitably, come to happen. As cryptic as this may sound (in an effort to not spoil the ending) , that is the exact reason why the book fell short for me. For the less than subtle message towards the (rushed) ending as well as the caricaturised secondary characters who are part of it.

To sum up: the premise of the story is very cool and Bastable’s arc as someone lost not only in time but ideologically lost as well is very interesting; the ideas presented and the feeling of anti-imperialism and anti-racism expressed are ideas I wholly embrace even if those issues are simplistically handled in the end.

Now: it is Steampunk? The Warlord of the Air is actually regarded as proto-Steampunk. Published before term was even coined, I can see why the book makes most of essential lists. It has the right setting, the right technology and the right ideology. It has both the Steam and the Punk. I highly recommend it if you want to learn more about the sub-genre.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: Utopia:

In this London there were no ugly billboards, no illuminated advertisements, no tasteless slogans and, as we climbed into the steam-brougham and began to move along one of the ramps, I realised that there were no seedy slums of the sort found in many parts of the London I had known in 1902. Poverty had been banished! Disease had been exiled! Misery must surely be unkown!

Additional Thoughts: Oswald Bastable’s adventures through time as he goes back and forth in different time streams continue for two other books The Land Leviathan and The Steel Tsar

The desperation of Bastable’s bizarre fate runs deep, for an unpredictable time warp thrusts him into strange worlds, all parallel to his own, and yet different. Throughout all this, Bastable can remain steadfast in his determination to reach his own time, because of his faith in one woman, inextricably bound to him in all dimensions of Time, and his belief in the existence of a secret Utopian citadel. But there is one thing that may have the power to come between Bastable and his goal — a battle of Armageddon so horrifying in its believability that it almost obliterates his ability to keep searching.

In the Russian sector of a battle-torn multiverse, Captain Oswald Bastable confronts the mythical agents of destruction and death. In his epical adventures in the alternative twentieth century, Chrononaut Bastable, member of the League of Temporal Adventurers, has crossed and re-crossed many different time-streams.. The Steel Tsar finds him travelling backwards in time from a shell-shocked Singapore to a Tsarist Empire seething with conflict, and preyed on by motley bands of rogues and adventurers. Here he meets up with fellow-time-traveller Miss Una Persson, and together they change the course of history whose mythical deeds go beyond the boundaries of everyday imagination and glitter in the exuberant land of the eternal present.

The trilogy has been collected in a one volume edition, which has finally, been given a cool cover.

Verdict: With time travel and adventure, in a neo-Victorian setting, I highly recommend this to fans of Steampunk who would like to understand the history of the genre.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore

Title Something About You

Author: Julie James

Genre: Romance / Contemporary Suspense

Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date 2 March 2010
MMP 336 Pages

Stand alone or series Stand alone novel

FATE HAS THROWN TWO SWORN ENEMIES. . .

Of all the hotel rooms rented by all the adulterous politicians in Chicago, female Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde had to choose the one next to 1308, where some hot-and-heavy lovemaking ends in bloodshed. And of all the FBI agents in Illinois, it had to be Special Agent Jack Pallas who gets assigned to this high-profile homicide. The same Jack Pallas who still blames Cameron for a botched crackdown three years ago—and nearly ruining his career…

. . .INTO EACH OTHER’S ARMS

Work with Cameron Lynde? Are they kidding? Maybe, Jack thinks, this is some kind of welcome-back prank after his stint away from Chicago. But it’s no joke: the pair is going to have to put their rocky past behind them and focus on the case at hand. That is, if they can cut back on the razor-sharp jibes—and smother the flame of their sizzling-hot sexual tension…

How did I get this book: ARC from Author

Why did I read this book: I am a huge fan of Julie James’ books, especially Practice Makes Perfect which was my favorite Contemporary Romance last year.

Review:

I don’t read a lot of Contemporary Romance and read even less Romance of the Suspense variety. If there is someone who can make me not only wait anxiously to read one and end up enjoying it so much as to ask for an encore!, that person would be: Julie James. Boy, can this woman write fan-tas-tic dialogue and captivating characters. Her previous two books Just the Sexiest Man Alive and Practice Makes Perfect are nearly pitch perfect romantic comedies and I love, love, loooooove them.

So what about this one then?

Of all hotels in the world, Cameron Lynde, Assistant District Attorney, had to pick the one where a murder would be committed, to spend the night whilst her newly finished flooring is drying. Of all the FBI agents in the world, it had to be Jack Pallas, the one to take the case. The same Jack Pallas who three years ago was the head of an investigation she was about to prosecute and which ended up never going ahead – and life-changer case whose fall out was jack being transferred to Nebraska all the while blaming Cameron for the failure. The tension, the animosity they feel for each other needs to be put aside so they can work together on the case as Cameron is both Witness and soon, a victim under protective detail. But all the anger and hostility in the world cannot hide the fact that once, Cameron and Jack were moving towards building something and the attraction is back with a bang (there is one particular scene in a motorcycle that whoa baby, holy guacamoles). And spending time together can prove what they need to bring the past to rest and start again.

This book is excellent when it comes to the romance between Cameron and Jack. The two talk when they have to talk and behave like level-headed adults and professionals who respect each other’s profession. She listens when he tells her what to do and he listens to her opinions as well. The secondary characters are interesting and show the two characters have a life outside work and their budding relationship. Also, Cameron’s best friend Colin is gay and I have to give major kudos to the author for not writing him as the usual stereotypical flamboyant gay –friend.

On the down side, if we can even say that, I have to admit not being a fan of the suspense plot. Which sounds silly since this is after all, a romantic suspense . But seeing as how the culprit is revealed early on to the reader and we are privy to this point of view, it sort of removed the suspense from the suspense; However it made it more interesting from a character’s development point of view because the reader gets to know why the killer committed the act and understand that it was not because he was an Evil!Vilain! and being able to follow the steps he took to ensure he was not found was intriguing to say the least. But in all honesty, I could have skipped all that so that I could read more of Jack and Cameron, Cameron and Jack. I am, it turns out, a bigger fan of her romantic comedies and I thoroughly missed The Funny and the screwball comedy elements present in the previous books –which is of course, a matter of preferential taste.

That is not to say that Something About You is not funny. It is – it has funny moments, and the dialogue sparkles as ever however the tone is more contained because of not only the murder investigation going on, the sense of danger surrounding Cameron but also because Jack is a damaged character with a past. Of all Julie James’ heroes, he is the one with more baggage and the one I end up loving the most. For all that, it could not, should not be any different – a difference in tone would have ruined the book.

One last word: I mentioned screwball comedy elements and this is a known influence in the writing of the author and in her previous books who make a homage and have shout outs to those old Hollywood movies . In an interview with the author, she mentioned that there would be a homage to It Happened One Night by Frank Capra in Something About You . Now, It Happened One Night happens to one my all time favourite movies and one of the reasons why I waited for this book so anxiously. I bet that that the homage would be to the famous Walls of Jericho scene and I was right! Without spoiling it too much, Julie James, takes that scene, makes it funnier and oh boy, sexier and appropriate for this book. Clark Gable/ Peter Warne would approve.

And I lied about the last word. I have something else to say about the book: this is also the hottest of her books– if you have read her previous books you know all sex scenes were fade to black. Not this time. We knew that Julie James can write sexual tension very, very well. We finally learn she can also write sex scenes – they are not very graphic or extremely long but phew do they deliver.

So as Ellie from It Happened One Night would say: Oh, it’s been a lot of fun.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: I loved this scene when Jack was doing protective detail at Cameron’s house and unbeknownst to her, as to not scare her, slept inside her bedroom :

He waited thirty minutes from the time he heard the noises stop, just to be safe.
He got up and walked down the hall. He entered Cameron’s bedroom quietly, pausing just outside the doorway to listen to the soft, steady sounds of her breahting. Satisfied she was sleeing, he moved to the corner of the room and took a seat on the floor next to the boarded-up doors that led out to the balcony and fire escpae. He rested his head against the wall.
He sat there in the darkness and watched.
He knew that sleep would eventually overtake him – he’d certainly slept in more uncomfortable places – but it would be a light, dreamless sleep. He would be ready in an instant, if necessary.
God help the man who tried to get past him.

Additional Thoughts: We have one copy of Something About You to giveaway to one lucky winner. To enter, simply leave a comment here. Contest is open to residents of US, Canada and UK ONLY and runs till Saturday 6th March 11:59 (PST). Only ONE comment per person! Multiple entries will be automatically disqualified. Good luck!

Verdict: Another great Contemporary novel by Julie James, a book which carries her signature: great dialogue and captivating characters. This one is more on the serious (and steamy) side than her previous novels.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Title Blood of the Demon

Author: Diana Rowland

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: February 23, 2010
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Stand alone or series: Book 2 in the Kara Gillian series.

Welcome to the world of Kara Gillian, a cop with a gift. Not only does she have the power of “othersight” to see what most people can’t even imagine, but she’s become the exclusive summoner of a demon lord. Or maybe it’s the other way around. The fact is, with two troublesome cases on her docket and a handsome FBI agent under her skin, Kara needs the help of sexy, insatiable Lord Rhyzkahl more than he needs her. Because these two victims, linked by suspicious coincidence, haven’t just been murdered. Something has eaten their souls.

It’s a case with roots in the arcane, but whose evil has flowered among the rich, powerful, and corrupt in Beaulac, Louisiana. And as the killings continue, Kara soon realizes how much there’s still to learn about demons, men, and things that kill in the night—and how little time she has to learn it.

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the publisher.

Why did I read this book: I read the first book in the series, Mark of the Demon last year and really enjoyed it.

Review: UF/Crime noir novel Blood of the Demon starts a few weeks after the events at the end of Mark of the Demon . Detective Kara Gillian has been back on the job for a week after being on leave for a month. While on duty she is asked to call on colleague Brian Roth and walks into a nightmarish scene to find the police officer dead, in what appears to be a suicide. A suicide note points to his wife also being dead, apparently killed by him. If losing one of their own and in such a strenuous circumstance wasn’t horrible enough, an added element that only Kara is privy to (as a summoner of demons) complicate matters even further. When she sees Brian’s body she is able to tell something is not right and tapping into the arcane she realises that his essence has been consumed and in this world, whatever happens to an “essence” when someone dies – this is not it. Therefore, Kara believes that Brian’s death might not be a suicide after all. However, the case is taken from her hands and given to another detective.

But then, a second death happens. A prominent restaurateur whose death is also initially ruled accidental and whose essence has also been consumed. Kara starts to believe that both deaths might be connected. Her aunt Tessa who unfortunately is in a coma-like state (her essence is might missing – not consumed though) since the events of the previous book might have been able to help her out. Her aunt’s library might be another source if it wasn’t surrounded by all sorts of wards leaving Kara with only but one place to go for answers: the demons.

As someone with the ability to summon demons , a secret only but a few people know about, Kara is able to call forth demons from a parallel dimension and depending on which level of demon, strike deals with them for services rendered. An intricate system of levels and honour, determines which demons are most likely to help, which demons are most likely to be dangerous and so and so forth. Although it is never really explained why Kara and her family would have this ability in a world who seems to be ignorant that such beings even exist, it is hinted in this book that this ability does come from somewhere and I am intrigued. In the previous book, Kara summoned a Demon Lord, a most powerful demon called Rhyzkahl whom she has a sexual connection and who saved her life at the end of the book. It is clear that Rhyzkahl has an agenda and this is brought forth in as he offers to help Kara in exchange for something that will most probably shape and change the future of the series and all characters involved.

The combination of forensics investigation and Urban Fantasy is once again one the best aspects of the novel – the authors knows her turf around the former and the latter is definitely interesting with the relationship between the different demons she calls forth never being what I expect them to be.

On another level, this series would go nowhere if it wasn’t for its main character and narrator, Kara. Neither a tough-as-nails detective nor an extra-vulnerable cookie-cutter character, Kara navigates the well-balanced in-between place with moments where she is strong and confident with the things she knows best like her police work and her abilities as a summoner which seem be to growing as she tests her own limits and learns more; and with moments where she is weak and frustratingly vacillating in her personal life. But that only makes her very human – a character with a past, with a history, with a loneliness that leaks from the pages in which makes her a little bit sad. Those are traits that make for a compelling read especially when it comes to understanding her eagerness in trying to reach to Rhyzkahl (who is for all intents and purposes Untouchable) and her (utterly frustrating )denial when it comes to her relationship to FBI agent Ryan – now living JUST THERE (and for all intents and purposes Touchable) and her best friend (or is he?). This relationship between Ryan and Kara was one of my favourite things about book 1 and it remains so in book 2 and I am firmly on Team Ryan, wherever it takes me.

On the down side, a couple of things that completely mystified me. Firstly: after being caught by her new friend Jill in the act of talking to a demon, how easily Jill took it all. How easily Kara spilled all about being a summoner and about demons and Jill didn’t even blink. It just didn’t feel right.

Second, what I have come to call the Lost Syndrome. One of the most infuriating things about that show is how those characters run around in circles not talking to each other and not asking relevant questions. In Blood of the Demon it is CLEAR as day that Ryan has a Big!Secret! and he is not who or what he says he is, Kara knows this, something HUGE happens in this book and yet….no questions asked. For someone who is a detective it just seems unnatural, inorganic to the story. One could argue that it is all part of the character’s inability to face reality, or her need to respect Ryan’s privacy. I say: poppycock. As with Lost, the secret needs to be dragged to keep readers (or viewers) interested. Does it work? Why yes, I am a Lost fanatic after all and I will be back for thirds in this series.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: I am completely on board of the Kara/Ryan’s train. I know of course, that this is Urban Fantasy and there are no assurances when it comes to romance but I love their chemistry and all of their scenes together in this book were a pleasure to read. My favourite was the one scene when Kara tells all about what happened between the Demon Lord and her in the previous book and why.

Verdict: A great sophomore effort from Diana Rowland and I love the combination of UF and Procedural with a dash of Noir.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: In For A Penny by Rose Lerner

Title: The Mark

Author: Jen Nadol

Genre: Speculative Fiction, Young Adult

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: January 2010
Hardcover: 240 pages

Stand alone or series: Book one in a planned series.

Cassandra Renfield has always seen the mark—a glow around certain people reminiscent of candlelight. But the one time she mentioned it, it was dismissed as a trick of the light. Until the day she watches a man awash in the mark die. After searching her memories, Cassie realizes she can see a person’s imminent death. Not how or where, only when: today.

Armed with a vague understanding of the light, Cassie begins to explore her “gift,” seeking those marked for death and probing the line between decision and destiny. Though she’s careful to hide her secret—even from her new philosophy-obsessed boyfriend—with each impending death comes the temptation to test fate. But so many questions remain. How does the mark work? Why is she the only one who sees it? And finally, the most important of all: If you know today is someone’s last, should you tell them?

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the publisher

Why did I read this book: The idea of being able to predict death, the age-old question of fate versus free will, destiny versus choice – it’s a juxtaposition that has sparked debate throughout human history. When I read the blurb for Jen Nadol’s debut effort, I was instantly intrigued – Ms. Nadol attempts to take on this question head-on with her young adult novel, and I had to see how it all would play out.

Review:

When Cassandra was six, she saw it for the first time. A steady glow, surrounding a group of children on the school playground. By the end of the day, all those children were dead – killed in a fatal bus accident. Since that day, Cassie has seen the telltale mark a few times over the course of her young life, ignoring it and refusing to believe in what it may signify. When she turns sixteen, however, Cassie faces undeniable evidence of the mark’s true meaning. She follows a man on the bus bearing the glow, and watches his gruesome demise in a street accident. Unable to ignore her “gift” any longer, Cassie must face her incredible ability and decide if she can (or if she should) try to change the future. When she is sent to stay with her last living relative for the summer, Cassie turns to the past for answers. She researches her own parents’ deaths (both were killed in a car accident when Cassie was just two-years old), and audits the local university’s introduction to philosophy course. And what Cassie discovers, about herself, her past, and her gift holds deeper implications than she ever could have imagined.

The Mark is Jen Nadol’s debut novel, and she certainly makes a memorable first impression. Though the actual premise isn’t anything particularly groundbreaking, Ms. Nadol’s take on the age-old debate between predestination and choice is gripping stuff. Even better, Ms. Nadol goes beyond the gimmick of knowing when someone will die – she makes her protagonist, young Cassie, confront the actual moral issues involved, too. The result is a much more comprehensive picture: beyond the surface-level question, “Can I prevent this death from happening?” Cass asks herself the more thoughtful and ambiguous question, “If I can prevent it from happening, should I do it?” I loved the idea that a teen heroine when faced with this incredible gift/curse would want to understand all of the moral implications of her actions, and enroll in a college-level philosophy class – not to mention, the class is a very clever way for Ms. Nadol to explain different philosophical schools of thought without data dumping (or relying on some terrible, contrived google search/library research scene – you know the kind I’m talking about. In movies, for example, when the intrepid heroine runs a search for “Springfield Farmhouse Dead Girl Cold One” or opens a random old book in the library and magically finds a specific chapter titled, “Farmhouses Under Gypsy Curse And How To Break Said Curse.” But I digress…). In terms of writing, Ms. Nadol’s style is simple and direct, making a quick read of The Mark’s 240 pages. Though there’s a lot of predictability to certain elements of the story from very early on, the strength of the characters and the underlying moral issues are more than enough to make up for any shortcomings in terms of finesse or subtlety in plot.

Cassandra (a dead giveaway kind of name) is a fantastic heroine. She’s quiet, thoughtful, intelligent but still very much the uncertain teen coping with an impossible ability that is so much larger than herself. Cassie comes to informed decisions on her own and doesn’t take crap, even though she’s not especially assertive – making her all the more admirable as a heroine. I especially appreciated that there is no enduring truest of true love relationships tied to her supernatural ability. Cassie does have a romantic relationship with her T.A. – the nineteen-year old Lucas, and I really liked the way Ms. Nadol handled this aspect of the story. Cassie, in her first real serious relationship is the sixteen-year old pretending to be two years older (which I’m sure many female readers can empathize with!), and her relationship with Lucas feels incredibly genuine (and familiar) – not idealized or candy-coated in any way. I love how grounded and real all the relationships were, for that matter, be it between Cass and Lucas or Cass and her estranged, workaholic aunt. No sparkles, no contrived heart to heart confessionals, just…reality. It’s incredibly refreshing.

And then, there’s the actual thing that got me picking up this book in the first place: the Great Dilemma, Fate versus Free Will. The very existence of the titled mark holds numerous implications, and raises many intriguing questions, implicitly. Is everything predestined? Is the timing of a person’s death fixed, ever unchanging? Or is what Cassie sees a mere signifier and something she can change? And, of course, if that is the case and Cassie can change a person’s destiny, should she do it? And at what cost?

I will not spoil you, dear readers, but rest assured that all of these questions are addressed, and they are very, very interestingly handled. The Mark’s last third is truly incredible stuff, and the implications of that final revelation, those last 30 pages or so, is made. of. awesome. Even if it wasn’t set up very well, I loved the direction Ms. Nadol took the ending of the story in. The implications this final revelation holds for future books in this series has me salivating. I can only hope that a sequel is underway, and will be available very soon. And by soon, I mean NOW.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From Chapter 1:

There is nothing like the gut-hollowing experience of watching someone die, especially when you know it’s coming.

I saw the man with the mark at the bus stop on Wilson Boulevard when I crossed Butter Lane, as I did walking to school every day. I wanted to look away, pretend he wasn’t there and run for the safety of algebra and honors English, but I didn’t. I had promised myself. So I turned right and walked two blocks to the Plexiglas shelter, where we stood silently. It was a misty March day, the chill of winter still in the air. I slid my hand into the outer pocket of my book bag and felt for the change that always jangled around in there. I was counting out eighty-five cents for the ride when he asked, “You know when the B3 comes?”

His skin was smooth and his dark hair threaded with the slightest of gray. He was younger than I’d expected, than I’d have hoped. It limited the possibilities in an unpleasant way. I looked down, trying to ignore the hazy light that surrounded him.

You can read the full excerpt online HERE.

Additional Thoughts: Make sure to stick around, as later today we interview Jen Nadol about her debut novel!

Verdict: No silly fluff here, Ms. Nadol’s debut novel grapples with some heavy issues, and I loved every second of it. The Mark is a book to be savored by deep-thinking readers…and I’m already eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: Unknown by Rachel Caine

Title :A Tale of Two Demon Slayers

Author: Angie Fox

Genre: UF

Publisher: Love Spell
Publication Date: January 2010
Paperback:: 308 Pages

Last month, I was a single preschool teacher whose greatest thrill consisted of color-coding my lesson plans. That was before I learned I was a slayer. Now, it’s up to me to face curse-hurling imps, vengeful demons, and any other supernatural uglies that crop up. And, to top it off, a hunk of a shape-shifting griffin has invited me to Greece to meet his family.

But it’s not all sun, sand, and ouzo. Someone has created a dark-magic version of me with my powers and my knowledge—and it wants to kill me and everyone I know. Of course, this evil twin doesn’t have Grandma’s gang of biker witches, a talking Jack Russell terrier, or an eccentric necromancer on its side. In the ultimate showdown for survival, may the best demon slayer win.

Stand alone or series: Book three in the Accidental Demon Slayer series. Book 1: The Accidental Demon Slayer reviewed here. Book 2: The Dangerous Books for Demon Slayers reviewed here

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the publisher

Why did I read this book: I am a fan of this series, which I have been reading since it first came out.

Review:

A Tale of Two Demon Slayers is the third book in the Accidental Demon Slayer series, in which former preschool teacher Lizzie Brown discovers she has come from a long lineage of Demon Slayers. In the past two books which cover a period of roughly two months she has gained her powers on her 30th birthday, discovered that her powers came from a family she didn’t even know she had, complete with a witch grandmother who is a member of the Red Skulls (a coven of geriatric biker witches) , that those same powers were not even supposed to be hers (hence the “accidental”) , fell in love with a Greek griffin called Dimitri, had to learn to use those powers, went to Hell and back to save his family and saved the world.

In this third instalment, Lizzie is getting ready to get a much deserved break in sunny Greece with her hot boyfriend and her talking dog Pirate. But who says things go easy to Lizzie? At the airport, her grandmother decides it is time to give her a box that belonged to her mother containing an object that is an important part of a Slayer’s training – and her tutor is to meet her….in the middle of her vacation. Then, inside the box, there is an invisible bar which upon being touched by Lizzie, foretells her impending death. If that is not enough, en route to Greece, Dimitri tells her when he first went searching for her, he used Griffin magic to trace her magic and that made her vulnerable. For all intents and purposes that shouldn’t have been a problem, but someone has tried to steal this remaining “Lizzie” thread from his office in Greece. Upon arriving in his villa, they learn that there is a threat not only to his Lizzie but to his family as well.

I was expecting a lot from A Tale of Two Demon Slayers . Even though I really enjoyed the first book for its wonky humour and non-stop action, the second book set the bar higher when it dealt with a more personal, intimate side of Lizzie. But neither explored her relationship with Dimitri or her hopes and her dreams or rather, how her becoming a Demon Slayer, influenced those in depth. I was pleased to see that those issues were deftly dealt with as it all comes full circle in this book.

The story this time, focuses a lot on Lizzie, with less time for gimmicks (as fan as they usually are from the Red Skulls or Pirate) with a little bit of rebellion from Lizzie. I mean, this is her life. But ever since she came into her powers, she has been dragged around, pushed about, she hasn’t had a chance to say “no”, has she. Not that it crossed her mind – she has a duty, she knows that. But sometimes it is nice to be simply asked. There is one aspect of Lizzie’s personality that I find interesting, which is her OCD tendency to have an explanation for everything and to have everything in their places – including people. Her powers, and the overwhelming feelings for Dimitri (and Dimitri’s for her) simply do not fit in – that struggle with both is a great part of her arc.

As for Dimitri, finally, we come to understand and to get to know him more. This time we are in his turf and we see his family and his friend. Getting to know those is to get to know his traditions and therefore his motivations. I can honestly say now, that I can get on board of that relationship.

On the down side: how annoying is that the title and the blurb completely and utterly spoil the plot of the novel? Because it is not until the last few pages of the novel that we come to know that the threat comes from a second Demon Slayer? Yet, we are expecting it because of the title of the Novel!

And finally, what made Lizzie special to me was that she was effectively an accidental Demon Slayer. To see a common, preschool teacher dealing with it was both funny and interesting. But at the end of this book, there came a twist and I am not sure how I feel about that. Right now, I am sitting on the fence. I guess I will have to read the next book to see what will happens next .

Notable Quotes/ Parts: I loved the no holds barred confrontation/conversation between Dimitri and Lizzie in which both of them said what they felt and thought. It was awesome.

Verdict: A strong third instalment in a series that has yet to let me down. It remains a full of action, funny, sexy and entertaining, Urban Fantasy /Romance series. Lizzie has grown as a character and Angie Fox as an author – great stuff.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: : Lex Trent Versus The Gods by Alex Bell

Title: A Dark Matter

Author: Peter Straub

Genre: Horror, Literary Fiction

Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date: February 2010
Hardcover: 416 Pages

The charismatic and cunning Spenser Mallon is a campus guru in the 1960s, attracting the devotion and demanding sexual favors of his young acolytes. After he invites his most fervent followers to attend a secret ritual in a local meadow, the only thing that remains is a gruesomely dismembered body—and the shattered souls of all who were present.

Years later, one man attempts to understand what happened to his wife and to his friends by writing a book about this horrible night, and it’s through this process that they begin to examine the unspeakable events that have bound them in ways they cannot fathom, but that have haunted every one of them through their lives. As each of the old friends tries to come to grips with the darkness of the past, they find themselves face-to-face with the evil triggered so many years earlier. Unfolding through the individual stories of the fated group’s members, A Dark Matter is an electric, chilling, and unpredictable novel that will satisfy Peter Straub’s many ardent fans, and win him legions more.

Stand alone or series: Stand alone novel

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the publisher

Why did I read this book: I am a huge of Peter Straub’s, and have been since I first read Ghost Story as a teen. So, when we were offered the opportunity to read and review A Dark Matter – and to interview Peter Straub himself! – I was ecstatic.

Review:

On an evening pregnant with violence and possibility in 1966, a group of eight young men and women trek out to a meadow and perform an ancient ritual, following the charismatic spiritual guru, Spencer Mallon. At the end of the evening, only six emerge from the meadow – one boy disappears completely, another’s mangled, shredded corpse lies dead in the grass. Even those lucky enough to emerge with their lives, however, are forever changed by the event. Lee Harwell, best friends with four of those who went to the meadow, has always felt on the periphery of this extraordinary event. Unwilling to buy into Spencer Mallon’s teachings and affected persona, Lee refused to join his friends that evening, and only decades later decides to seriously piece together the mystery of what happened that evening. Now a famous author, Lee finally pursues answers: from “Dilly” Olson, the handsome young man that followed Mallon for years before landing in prison; from “Boats” Boatman, a kleptomaniac that has lost his defining edge; from Meredith Bright, the impossibly beautiful and coldly inhuman senator’s wife; from “Hootie” Bly, the innocent boy that went mad after that evening, and who can only speak in quotations from books; and from “the Eel,” Lee Truax, Lee Harwell’s beautiful wife that gradually lost her sight after that evening in the meadow.

Though billed as something of a supernatural horror novel, A Dark Matter is much more of a psychological book. It’s a subdued novel in the fashion of Rashomon or Lost, using different character perspectives to gradually build a complete picture of events. But it’s also more than just a book about solving the mystery of “What Happened That Fated Eve!” It’s also an exploration of relationships and characters as they have changed over the years. All this, of course, filtered through the outside perspective of a narrator that has no knowledge of the event, but has seen how his friends have been affected by that remarkable, supernatural experience. As Lee Harwell explores the memories of the past, he collects and records each character’s story – in terms of writing, this translates to a bizarre, yet satisfying, format for the novel. A Dark Matter is essentially a collection of shorter stories, connected by Lee’s narrative and his own piecemeal understanding of events. What should be an awkward, disjointed read is instead a rewarding, quirky one that simply works. I loved the metafiction aspect of the book (i.e. readers know Lee is writing these stories for a book, just as Lee is conscious to the fact he is writing a story). It simply worked.

As for the characters themselves, those entities behind the recollections, they are a strange, motley crew. Lee Harwell, our hero, isn’t really a hero. Of all his high school friends, Lee was the only one smart enough (or is it stubborn?) not to buy into Spencer Mallon’s B.S. peddling. And yet, the whole driving force behind the book is Lee’s inherent outside-ness, his position on the periphery of a life-changing event that cast a shadow on the lives of all his closest and most loved friends. It’s an intriguing juxtaposition – though Lee reiterates numerous times that he’s glad he didn’t meed Spencer Mallon in 1966 and that he’s happy he did not go to the meadow, the reader can’t help but feel he regrets this, deeply. As a narrator and protagonist, Lee Harwell is a very human, frail dude. Susceptible to human failings and emotions, Lee’s one well rounded voice. The other characters, however, lack the same rounded development. For one thing, it’s a little pet peeve of mine when everyone in a book is ridiculously good looking – Mallon is likened to a young Harrison Ford (circa Raiders of the Lost Ark), Dilly incredibly handsome, Boats only slightly less handsome, the Eel completely, heartstoppingly, breathtakingly beautiful. In fact, it’s the Eel that I wish had more of a character, as she’s always on the periphery and on a pedestal that her husband has (sub?)consciously elevated her to at every turn of the page.

The best characters were, without a doubt, Meredith Bright and Hootie Bly. The scene when Lee finally meets the beautiful Meredith is chilling and made of awesome – Meredith’s beautify is the grade of perfection you see with plastic surgery on cougar trophy wives, vampiric politician spouses, the Nicole Kidmans of the world. Her ruthlessness and narcissism is simply dumbfounding. Hootie, however, is the character that steals your heart. After going mad, losing himself to a prison of words after the Meadow, Hootie is committed to a mental institution – where he has remained for decades, until Lee and Dilly come calling. Hootie, a boy with a photographic memory, speaks only in quotations – his favorite being Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. He is the unmarred innocent, the idiot savant that comes to life in a way that is unique and memorable, quite literally stealing the show from the other members of the group.

While I loved some of the characters and the actual structure of the book, my main problem with A Dark Matter was in how loose and amorphous the story was. Firstly, all of the kids from the meadow never blame Mallon for what has happened to them – which I admit is kinda cool (besides the fact that Mallon gives me the willies). It seems a little weird that these generally smart, impossibly beautiful people were so easily taken in by a dime-a-dozen, pseudo-spiritualist moocher – and that years later, after going blind/mad/to prison/etc, they still all love Spencer Mallon.

Also, A Dark Matter is built up around this mystery of what each character saw in the Meadow, and ultimately the vision is different for each character and there are no concrete answers – even the Eel’s final revelation is a little underwhelming. But, as I finished the book and thought about it for a while, I came to my own Lee Harwell type of discovery. A Dark Matter is not so much about the what as it is the how. It’s a defining, and as Lee says, a liberating experience. The supernatural elements of the book (which aren’t very prominent) are nothing compared to the psychological development of the story – it’s about the hold this event has put on all the characters’ lives, inflicted on them by themselves.

Ultimately, I enjoyed A Dark Matter, as a work of literary fiction. Absolutely recommended to fans not only of Mr. Straub’s horror, but of a well-written, thought-provoking, and ultimately emotionally liberating story.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From Chapter 1:

A Few Years Back, Late Spring

The great revelations of my adult life began with the shouts of a lost soul in my neighborhood breakfast joint. I was standing in line at the Corner Bakery on State and Cedar, half a block down the street from my pretty brick townhouse, waiting to order a Swiss Oatmeal (muesli) or a Berry Parfait (granola), anyhow something modest. The loudest noises in the place were the tapping of laptop keys and the rustle of someone turning newspaper pages. Abruptly, with a manic indignation that seemed to come from nowhere, the man at the head of the line started uttering the word obstreperous. He started out at a level just above ordinary conversation. By the time he found his rhythm, he was about twice that volume and getting louder as he rolled along. If you had to settle on one word to yell over and over in public, wouldn’t you pick something less cumbersome? Yet he kept at it, spinning those four lumpy syllables every possible way, as if trying them on for size. His motive, for nothing actually comes from nowhere, soon became obvious.

Obstreperous? ObSTREPerous? OBSTREPEROUS? Ob-strep?-ER-ous? OBstreperous?

Lady, you think I’m obstreperous now? This is what he was saying. Give me another thirty seconds, you’ll learn all about obstreperous.

With each repetition, his question grew more heated. The momentarily dumbfounded young woman at the order counter had offended him, he wished her to know how greatly. The guy also thought he was making himself look smart, even witty, but to everyone else in the shop he had uncorked raving lunacy.

His variations were becoming more imaginative.

Obstreeperous? Obstraperous? ObstrapOROUS?

To inspect this dude, I tilted sideways and looked down the good-sized line. I almost wished I hadn’t.

Right away, it was obvious that the guy was not simply playing around. The next man in line was giving him six feet of empty ?oor space. Under the best of circumstances, people were going to keep their distance from this character. Eight or nine inches of white-gray hair surged out in stiff waves around his head. He was wearing a torn, slept-in checked suit that might have been ripped off a corn?eld scarecrow. Through a latticework of scabs, smears, and bruises, his swollen feet shone a glaring, bloodless white. Like me, he had papers under his elbow, but the wad of newsprint he was clamping to his side appeared to have lasted him at least four or ?ve days. The puffed-up bare feet, scuffed and abraded like shoes, were the worst part.

“Sir?” said the woman at the order counter. “Sir, you need to leave my store. Step away from the counter, sir, please. You need to step away.”

You can read all of chapter 1 and chapter 2 online at the book’s official facebook page, HERE.

Additional Thoughts: Check out the pretty effective book trailer below:

Also, make sure to check out our very own Q&A with the master of horror himself, Peter Straub HERE.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: Except the Queen by Jane Yolen & Midori Snyder

Today, we welcome you to our very own launch party for the third novel in Lisa McMann’s “Wake” trilogy! First, we offer a double feature review of Fade and Gone. Then, we invite YOU dear readers to enter our international giveaway for the chance to win one of TEN copies of Gone!

Fade (Book 2 in the “Wake” Trilogy)

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: February 2009
Hardcover: 256 Pages

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They’re just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck. Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody’s talking. When Janie taps into a classmate’s violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open–but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie’s in way over her head, and Cabe’s shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability. And it’s bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a Dream Catcher sealed, but what’s to come is way darker than she’d even feared…

REVIEW: Fade picks up where Wake leaves off, following Janie and Cabel as they delve headfirst into another undercover sting at Fieldridge High. The police force follows up on an anonymous lead that a teacher may be having an illicit, sexual relationship with students, with Janie accepting the role as point-person – i.e. bait. As Janie struggles to discover the identity of the sleazy teacher, she also has a lot to deal with, personally. She juggles her growing relationship with Cabel (which must be kept secret from her friends and the student body, lest they blow their cover) with her own growing understanding of her power as a Dreamcatcher. With Miss Stubin’s old police files and journals to help guide her, Janie comes to terms with some of the hard truths about her very unique abilities – both good and bad.

Lisa McMann really puts Janie and Cabel through the grinder with this second book. In Wake, she introduced readers to Janie’s unique ability to enter the dreams of anyone sleeping near her – a curse Janie has to bear, which means she’s constantly tired, hungry, and isolated. Though Janie has had her “power” since she was eight years old, she doesn’t know much about it (other than how drastically it interferes with her ability to lead a normal life). In Fade, Ms. McMann explores the implications of being a Dreamcatcher in much more detail, creating a heartbreaking future for Janie and Cable. And I mean heartbreaking. This is heavy stuff. I loved that Ms. McMann doesn’t shy away from the gritty in this second novel – the characters speak like teens (swearing, believable slang, etc), they drink, they have sex. The sleazier elements of teacher-student relationships and date rape are also examined in an unflinching way, and I really appreciated that that (as horrifying as it is to read).

Again, the strength of Fade (as with Wake) lies with Janie and her relationship with Cabel. I love the natural progression with these two characters! They have disagreements and misunderstandings, but are undoubtably in love with each other, and I love that their relationship is changing and growing as they spend more time together. While Cabel’s character isn’t given as much insight as with the first book and he does feel a bit “support system”-y (i.e. he’s always – only – there to pick Janie up when she falls), there IS some significant development in his believability as a character. At least, there is to me. Whereas in the first book, Cabel came across as the typical too good to be true hawt dude with a troubled past that of COURSE is always there for Janie no matter what, in this second novel, you see some chinks in his perfection. He has to realize that Janie is an independent, intelligent young woman who wants to help, even if it means putting herself in dangerous situations. And when Cabel tries to go all alpha and protect her from herself (yecch, I abhor this type of “hero” behavior), Janie calls him on it…and he gets it. That’s a good thing.

There’s also another marked improvement in Fade from Wake – the revelations about the nature of her gift. Some of those questions that weren’t asked in the prior book are addressed here, in particular about the future that awaits young Janie. With Miss Stubin’s notes (and her spectral, from-the-grave dream guide persona) to guide her, Janie has a very dramatic decision to make that will change her life. This also means that the stage is set for some serious drama in Gone…

The only problem I had with Fade, as with Wake was how silly and implausible the Janie and Cabel working as super secret agents for a very well funded and influential branch of the Michigan police department. It’s a little too TV movie for me. But, with the strength of Janie’s character and the difficult issues she must grapple with, I was more than willing to suspend my disbelief in the sillier (and more trivial) aspects of the story.

Much better, more complicated and heartbreaking than Wake, Fade is a smart, sharp book. Highly recommended – if you were underwhelmed with book 1, I beg you to give book 2 an honest shot.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From Chapter 1:

Chapter 1
A NEW YEAR

January 1, 2006, 1:31 a.m.

Janie sprints through the snowy yards from two streets away and slips quietly through the front door of her house.

And then.

Everything goes black.

She grips her head, cursing her mother under her breath as the whirling kaleidoscope of colors builds and throws her off balance. She bumps against the wall and holds on, and then slowly lowers herself blindly to the floor as her fingers go numb. The last thing she needs is to crack her head open. Again.

She’s too tired to fight it right now. Too tired to pull herself out of it. Plants her cheek on the cold tile floor. Gathers her strength so she can try later, in case the dream doesn’t end quickly.

Breathes.

Watches.

You can read the full chapter online HERE.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Gone (Book 3 in the “Wake” Trilogy)

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: February 2010
Hardcover: 224 Pages

Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her.

She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves—she has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.

Then a stranger enters her life–and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out….

REVIEW:

NOTE: This review contains SPOILERS for the first two books in the trilogy. If you have not yet read Wake and Fade, and if you do not wish to be spoiled for these two books, READ NO FURTHER. You have been warned…

Gone is the last book in the Wake trilogy, in which Janie comes to terms with the biggest decision of her life. She faces a traumatic, all around shitty decision: to stay with Cabel, to be loved, to continue with her work for the Police Force and go blind and lose the use of her hands….or to isolate herself, giving up Cabel but keeping her sight and dexterity. Janie loves Cabel and he loves her, but she knows from his horrifying nightmares every night that he has his own doubts and fears about Janie’s future (and how his future will be affected by her crippling disability). During the day, he doesn’t betray even the slightest hint of doubt, and Janie feels so very alone – because the love of her life can only be honest to her in his dreams. Then, she gets a frantic message from her best friend and neighbor, Carrie – her father, a man she has never known, lies in the hospital and is very near death.

Gone is a worthy close to this trilogy, and is a very different animal than the first two books. While books 1 and 2 were centered on detective work/high school police stings with Cabel and Janie working undercover, this final book is much more introspective and focused on Janie’s abilities and her future (which makes it all the better, in my opinion). There is the mystery of who Janie’s father was before his debilitating injury, but Gone is really much more a book of answers and revelations, and, ultimately, of choices. Janie must choose between a hard road of love (always feeling that she’s holding back Cabe or making him resent her) or cutting herself off from the rest of the world entirely. It is, as one character puts it, Janie’s “Morton’s Fork” – a choice between two impossible alternatives.

In Gone, everything comes full circle. We learn what happened to Janie’s sad, alcoholic mother – a seed planted in the first book (one I had since been dying to see more of). In Gone, all answers are given. This is a HARD book. One thing Ms. McMann does so brilliantly throughout the trilogy is convey how very tough and messed up Janie (and Cabel’s) lives are, and I cannot help but feel for these two characters. I feel for them, but I admire them too – Cabel and Janie’s relationship goes to a whole new level in this book with Cabel’s subconscious doubts and fears (all extremely valid, all things considered). He becomes more real and believable as a character and I finally “buy” him in this third book because he’s no longer a too good to be true, completely selfless hot boyfriend. And Janie is fantastic as well, coming face to face with her own greatest fears and making the only decision she can with the hand she has been dealt.

The revelations are wonderful and the book ends the trilogy in a very smart way. It’s bittersweet, but just so…fitting. It couldn’t have been any other way. I’m glad that the trilogy doesn’t end with Janie magically all better and all her issues resolved in a sparkle of rainbows and living happily ever after with nary a worry in the world. I have mad respect for Lisa McMann, for continuing to go there. This is a far more mature book than Wake, and it is good to see Janie come full circle.

The Wake Trilogy, in this reader’s opinion, is one that just gets better with each subsequent book – and it’s a story arc that grows on you, the longer you think about it. Absofreakinglutely, highly recommended.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From the official excerpt:

Janie and Cabel move carefully through the hallways, watching for open doors. She gets caught in a weak dream but only for a few seconds—she barely even has to pause in step. They stand outside Henry’s room, Janie’s hand tense on the handle.

Static and shockingly bright colors. Janie nearly crumples to her knees, but this time she is more prepared. She steps blindly toward the bed and Cabel helps her safely to the floor as her head pounds with noise. It’s more intense than ever.

Just when Janie thinks her eardrums are going to burst, the static dulls and the scene flickers to a woman in the dark once again. It’s the same woman as the day before, Janie’s certain, though she can’t make out any distinguishing features. And then Janie sees that the man is there too. He’s in the shadows, sitting on a chair, watching the woman. He turns, looks at Janie and blinks. His eyes widen and he sits up straighter in his chair.

“Help me!” he pleads.

And then, like a broken filmstrip, the picture cuts out and the static is back, louder than ever, constant screams in her ears. Janie struggles, head pounding. Tries pulling out of the dream, but she can’t focus – the static is messing up her ability to concentrate.

She’s flopping around on the floor now. Straining.

Thinks Cabel is there, holding her, but she can’t feel anything now.

The bright colors slam into her eyes, into her brain, into her body. The static is like pinpricks in every pore of her skin.

She’s trapped.

Trapped in the nightmare of a man who can’t wake up.

Janie struggles again, feeling like she’s suffocating now. Feeling like if she doesn’t get out of this mess, she might die here. Cabe! She screams in her head. Get me out of here!

But of course he can’t hear her.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Courtesy of publisher Simon Pulse, we have TEN copies of Gone up for grabs! The contest is open to everyone and will run until Saturday, February 13th at 11:59 PM (PST). To enter, leave a comment here answering this question: If you were faced with your own “Morton’s Fork” – living with Janie’s ability as a Dreamcatcher, or completely isolating yourself from other slumbering people – what would you choose?

Good luck!