Title: Taste of Tenderloin

Author: Gene O’Neil

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Apex Book Company
Publishing Date: August 2009
Paperback: 162 pages

Stand alone or series: Stand alone

How did I get the book: ARC from the publisher

Why did I read the book: We always try to support small publishers and given how one of the stories was a Stoker award finalist, we were more than happy to say yes when contacted by the publisher. I am the one reading it as part of my Halloween week homework.

Summary: Eight stories of dark science fiction and fantasy weave a path through the underbelly of San Francisco’s most notorious district in Taste of Tenderloin by Gene O’Neill. Best known for his strong sense of place and uniquely vibrant characters, O’Neill brings the gritty underside of the city to life with eight interwoven stories of broken lives, missed dreams, and all that can go wrong with both reality and fantasy among the down and out. The city itself opens wide to swallow all comers with the temptation of its secrets and sins, while O’Neill brings dignity and humanity to a set of characters often overlooked in both society and fiction.

Review: Taste of Tenderloin is a collection of short stories by horror writer Gene O’neil all set against the backdrop of the Tenderloin District in San Francisco; there are eight stories altogether, some of them never published before, all of them dark tales following around a few denizens of the ‘Loin.

The anthology is quite diverse in its offering with stories that range from the fantastic to the hauntingly realistic but all of them have something in common: the ugly, brutal life in the streets of the district. They are much less frightening than I expected them to be as instead of gritty horror, we are confronted by characters steeped in and suffering the consequences of poverty, crime, homelessness, addiction – which may not be scary but certainly is horrific. The description of their environs is quite vivid, as the characters walk the streets of the ‘Loin, brushing shoulders with petty criminals, prostitutes, drug addicts, war veterans.

Even the stories that have a Sci-Fi or Fantasy twist to it are still very much within a certain realm of possibility depending on how the reader approaches the tale. Quite frankly, reading these stories, reminded me of the X-Files’ Monster of the Week episodes in which two possible outcomes coexisted and I had a Mulder sitting on my left shoulder telling me to believe and a Scully sitting on the right side telling me that these characters are suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorders, drug induced hallucinations or withdrawal syndrome.

One such story and one of my favourites is Balance in which a veteran goes around killing people in order to maintain the Law of Catastrophic Isostasy ,a mission he believes is given to him by Lady Justice. This story is batshit insane and it does not surprise me that it has been nominated for an Award. Similarly impressive are The Apotheosis of Nathan McKee and Bushido , the former relating the change in the life of main character who becomes invisible after a beating , the latter describing how an Ugly Man is given a second chance to follow The Way of the Warrior.

I also very much enjoyed the first one, Lost Patrol about a Vietnam veteran who is visited by the ghosts of his former patrol and Magic Words who presents a gypsy and Pact. In keeping with the TV themed comparisons, these two reminded me of short-ish Twilight Zone episodes. The first story, Lost Patrol even opens and closes with a narration that I could easily picture Rod Serling’s voice, over it.

Overall, I liked the experience of reading these tales, even if I am not a horror fan. These are all sad stories of characters stuck in a rut, some of them being able to escape (regardless if you believe in the manner in which they escaped or not) some sinking further into their fortunes.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: My favourite story was Balance (the one that was a Stoker finalist) and it is the only one that is available online. You can read the entire story here for a taste of … Taste of Tenderloin: Balance

Verdict: This is a good anthology, with diverse characters and stories and a balanced mix of realism and fantasy.

Rating: I am wavering between a 6 and a 7. Most stories were Good. Some were Very Good.

Reading Next: The Dragon Book Anthology

Title: Firethorn

Author: Sarah Micklem

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult (US Hardcover) / Spectra (US Mass Market) / Voyager (UK)
Publication Date: June 2004 (US Hardcover) / April 2009 (US Mass Market) / March 2006 (UK)
Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages (US)

Stand alone or series: Book 1 in a planned trilogy.

How did I get this book: Bought

Why did I read this book: I’ve had Firethorn on my radar for a long while, intrigued by the overwhelmingly positive reviews and the comparisons of Sarah Micklem to fantasy authors like Jacqueline Carey, Marion Zimmer Bradley and Terry Goodkind.

Summary: (from barnesandnoble.com)
Introducing a mesmerizing debut in the rich tradition of Marion Zimmer Bradley and the powerful narratives of Jacqueline Carey—a passionate tale of love and war in which the gods grant a common girl uncommon gifts… Before she was Firethorn, she was Luck, named for her red hair and favored by the goddess of Chance. A lowborn orphan, Luck is destined to a life of servitude. But when her mistress dies, Luck flees to the forest, where she discovers the sacred firethorn tree, whose berries bring her fevered dreams, a new name…and strange gifts. When she emerges from the woods, Firethorn is a new woman, with mysterious powers.

And soon, in the chaos of the UpsideDown Days, when the highborn and the low trade places, Firethorn couples with the warrior Sire Galan, whom she follows to camp with the king’s army. There she learns that in her new role as a sheath, a warrior’s bedservant, she is but one step above a whore. By day she uses her gifts as a healer to earn a place among the camp’s women, and by night she shares Sire Galan’s bed, her desire equal to his. But the passion they feel for each other has no place in a world ruled by caste and violence. When her lover makes an ill-considered wager that chances her heart, the consequences are disastrous—and Firethorn will learn how hard it can be to tell honor from dishonor, justice from vengeance.

Review:

A striking young orphan and peasant girl, Luck serves as handmaiden for her Dame, whom she loves (and who loves Luck in return) for a few happy years. But when Luck’s Dame dies and cruel new master Sire Pava and lady inherit the home, her life changes forever. Fleeing from the manor, Luck takes refuge deep in the neighboring Kingswood. As the weeks pass, without food or proper shelter from the harsh winter, Luck is driven to eating whatever she can forage – and when she sees a lone Firethorn tree in dappled sunlight, she takes it as a sign and eats its poisonous, potent berries. When Luck finally emerges from her fever dream stupor, she believes she has been reborn, reshaped by the god Ardor’s hammer into something with a purpose. Luck changes her name to Firethorn, and discovers that she possesses a god-touched destiny and newfound magical abilities. Thus, she leaves her lair in the Kingswood and returns to the village for Midsummer’s Eve. Her return is shortly followed by the UpsideDown Days – a celebration where the Blood (nobles) must serve the mudborn drudges in a reversal of the “natural order” of things. During the celebration, Firethorn meets a handsome knight named Sire Galan, and they quickly tumble into lust with each other. Firethorn feels a connection to the knight, and agrees to follow him as he goes to battle as his “sheath” – the name given to women who follow knights on the road to battle, sharing their beds at night. Firethorn and Sire Galan are tested by the harsh reality of this medieval society, on a rocky path full of danger, mistrust, and jealousy – though their fates are inextricably bound together.

Firethorn is the first in a planned fantasy trilogy, and is author Sarah Micklem’s debut novel. This is astounding, because the book is incredibly polished, both in form with Ms. Micklem’s exquisite prose and also in terms of conception and gritty, uncompromising cruelty. Many reviews I have seen for Firethorn (on amazon, for example) deem this novel a “medieval fantasy romance” – but I have to say that this is a gross simplification, verging on complete miscategorization. Firethorn isn’t really “romantic” at all, and certainly not in the traditional sense. It’s much more of a character-driven novel that takes a long, hard look at gender roles in a medieval society. With her heroine Firethorn, Ms. Micklem shows a female character who is undeniably a strong woman, but within the constraints of her time. She isn’t some emancipated, modern I-Am-Woman-Hear-Me-ROAR! feminist character; rather, she makes her way in the roles society has given her, resisting in the small ways that she can. Though there is passion, emotion, even what could be called love on both sides of this relationship, it isn’t exactly a fairy tale romance. No, Firethorn isn’t your heartwarming tale about a young girl swept away into the arms of her gallant knight in shining armor, her troubles forever forgotten as they ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after in a castle in the clouds.

What Ms. Micklem does with Firethorn is much more impressive than rehash some simplistic, silly romance tripe. She takes this ideal of the Gallant Knight and the damsel and subverts it, creating a powerful novel so gritty and realistic in its world and characters that it feels more like historical fiction than fantasy.

Firethorn’s strengths lie with its characters, its gorgeous writing, and its grimly detailed world. As I’ve mentioned before, Firethorn is very much a character-driven novel. Narrated in the first-person, Firethorn’s tale isn’t based on action, but character growth and revelation. As a narrator and protagonist, Firethorn is a strong, undeniably captivating heroine. At first glance, or on a superficial level, Firethorn seems weak and powerless by modern standards. She follows her highborn knight out of the loving emotion she feels for him, and a belief that he will take care of her (though she knows nothing of the grim reality of soldier camps and sheaths). While Firethorn feels love for Galan and comes to him of her own free will, being a “sheath” means that she is bound to him in a very tangible way in the eyes of the men of the camp. In the case of Sire Galan, however, he is much less constrained; he can tire of Firethorn and cast her aside, or beat her, or do whatever manner of thing to her as he wishes. Firethorn is Galan’s property, not to be touched by another man until she no longer is his sheath. But even as Firethorn is a willing subject in her bedservant role to Sire Galan, even as she is abused by the men in her life (including Galan himself), she is never weak. The book begins with Firethorn being raped (an unfortunate and frequent reality in this word) – but she chooses to run away, a position of defiance, even though it may mean her death. Even when Firethorn and the other sheaths in this novel submit to the mores of their male-centric society, she is defiant in her narrative. She chooses to bind Galan to her, and she chooses to help him even when he doesn’t really deserve her. Gifted with powers of herb and medical healing lore, she also has the more mystical ability to travel outside her body and create warmth, which she uses to set the wrongs that Galan’s pride have caused.

Which brings me to the other main character in this book – Sire Galan, Firethorn’s handsome, charming knight. If this were a romantic novel, Galan would be the gallant, shining, honorable hero to Firethorn’s beautiful, virginal innocence. But he’s not. Rather, I found myself despising Galan as I read this book – he’s abusive, arrogant, and self-entitled. But again, that’s the point of Ms. Micklem’s writing; she embraces harsh, stark reality. Galan isn’t very honorable and is driven by his own selfish whims, though he does obviously care for Firethorn somewhat.

In terms of world-building, Ms. Micklem does a fantastic job of creating a gritty, muddy world with an intriguing mythology, but is firmly grounded and realistic. The amount of research and detail put into creating this world is staggering. The “magic” of this fantasy novel is apparent, but contrasted against the stark reality of the society of the soldier camps, it’s tempered and believable. There’s violence, rape, and abuse aplenty in this book – much of it aimed at Firethorn herself. But it never feels exploitative or sadistic, rather, Ms. Micklem uses violence as a lens to examine this harsh, cruel world she has created. It’s not a book for the faint of heart, but it isn’t overtly nasty or written with malicious intent, and I appreciate this unrelenting, unflinching look that Ms. Micklem takes at a harsh society that could be representative of many civilizations in times passed.

In all, Firethorn is a beautifully written novel, with rich, flawed characters. The only problem I had with the book was with its lack of action (I am and always will be a sucker for complex plotting), and more importantly the fact that I didn’t particularly love reading this book.

I can objectively appreciate everything that Ms. Micklem has done with Firethorn, with her subversive themes and impeccably detailed world…but I didn’t really like it. For me, it’s the literary equivalent of films by the Coen Brothers. Intellectually, I know that The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men and A Serious Man are important, beautifully shot, impeccably acted films. They are at times nihilistic, at times post-modern, and at times brilliant. But, I don’t particularly like any of their movies.

This is the way I felt about Firethorn – all the components are there, and it is an undeniably Good Book. But it never swept me away, or fully engrossed me as a reader.

With that in mind, I can end this schizophrenic review by saying that while I appreciated and admired Firethorn, it wasn’t really the book for me. But I wholeheartedly recommend it to readers who are looking for a gritty low-fantasy read. I will be checking out Wildfire (book 2 in the series), but with these mixed emotions.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From the prologue:

I took to the Kingswood the midsummer after the Dame died. I did not swear a vow, but I kept myself just as strictly, living like a beast in the forest from one midsummer to the next, without fire or iron or the taste of meat. I lived as prey, and I learned from the dogs how to run, from the hare how to hide in the bracken, and from the deer how to go hungry.

I was then in my fifteenth year or thereabouts. I had been taken into the Dame’s household as a foundling, and when I came to a useful age, she made me her handmaid. I was as close to her side as a pair of hands, and as quick to do her bidding without a word having to be said. I stood high in her regard; many a daughter of the Blood is not so well regarded, being counted more a debt than a gain to her house until she is safely married and gone. When the Dame died, and her nephew and his new wife inherited the manor, I became just another drudge. The world had its order and I my place in it, but I could not whittle myself small enough to fit.

In sorrow and pride I exiled myself to the Kingswood. I shunned fire for fear the kingsmen would hunt me down, and so by way of cold and hunger, I came near to refusing life itself. I never thought to anger or please a god by it. Sometimes I wonder if it was my stubbornness that caught the eye of Ardor, god of forge and hearth and wildfire. And sometimes I wonder–was it by my will alone that I fled to the Kingswood? Maybe Ardor had already taken me in hand, to test my mettle as armor is tested, under blows.

You can read a full excerpt online at the author’s website HERE.

Additional Thoughts: If you’ve read Firethorn and loved it, and like this style of fantasy (or if you read it and were impressed but also had mixed emotions like myself), then you may want to check out some of these other fantasy titles and authors…

In particular, the Kushiel’s Legacy/Naamah books by Jacqueline Carey and the Melusine books by Sarah Monette immediately spring to mind. Both authors have a skill for worldbuilding and flawless storytelling. Others to try include Elizabeth Bear’s Promethean Age fantasy series, Lane Robins’ Maledicte or Kings and Assassins, or Jo Graham’s Black Ships.

Rating: A schizophrenic rating for me – an 8 – Excellent based on objective merit; but also a 5 – Meh because I couldn’t bring myself to like or truly care for the book.

Reading Next: Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

Title: Tender Morsels

Author: Margo Lanagan

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Publisher: Knopf Young Adult (US) / David Fickling Books (UK)
Publication Date: October 1998 (US) / July 2009 (UK)
Hardcover: 448 pages

Stand alone or series: Stand alone novel

Why did I read this book: Tender Morsels has achieved a lot of buzz online – not only has it been nominated for a number of SFF awards, it also seems to stir up some controversy concerning its Young Adult label. So, when offered a copy of Margo Lanagan’s novel, of course I accepted! I had to see for myself what exactly this fairy tale retelling was all about…

Summary: (from amazon.com)
Tender Morsels is a dark and vivid story, set in two worlds and worrying at the border between them. Liga lives modestly in her own personal heaven, a world given to her in exchange for her earthly life. Her two daughters grow up in this soft place, protected from the violence that once harmed their mother. But the real world cannot be denied forever—magicked men and wild bears break down the borders of Liga’s refuge. Now, having known Heaven, how will these three women survive in a world where beauty and brutality lie side by side?

Review:

Tender Morsels has me stumped. On the one hand, it is a lushly written novel about horrible things, and I can only marvel at Ms. Lanagan’s storytelling skills and her ability to craft such a beautifully cruel fable. On the other, I have to admit that while this book was powerful and well done, I didn’t like it. It’s with these contradictory emotions that I set out and attempt to write this review, so please, bear with me (bad pun, apologies).

This provocative young adult novel is a retelling of the brothers Grimm collected fable of Snow White and Rose Red – which is not to be confused with the other Grimm Snow White (of the wicked sorceress queen, seven dwarves and poison apples). In Snow White and Rose Red, two sisters are raised by an impoverished widow in a wooded cottage. One winter’s night, a bear knocks on their cottage door and the family invites him in, beating the snow from his thick fur and accepting him as a dear friend for every night that winter. There’s also a dwarf in this tale, who gets himself stuck in strange situations by his glorious, long white beard. The two girls help free the dwarf time and time again, but he is ever ungrateful for their meddling. The last time the girls see the dwarf, the bear is with them – and the dwarf, enraged and terrified tries to flee the hulking, angry beast. The bear eats the dwarf and thus breaks the evil enchantment that has been placed on him, for the bear is actually an ensorcelled prince, transformed into the guise of a bear after the dwarf stole his gold. Snow White marries the Prince, and Rose Red marries his brother – and they all live happily ever after.

Margo Lanagan’s take on the fable is decidedly less happy. In the outskirts of a small town, Liga Longbourne lives alone with her father, who rapes and abuses her. Liga, completely estranged from the outside world under her father’s strict rule, endures this isolated, terrible life until her thirteenth year when she realizes the painful thing she’s expelling from her body is a stillborn baby. After two forced abortions from her father’s remedies (courtesy of the local mudwitch), Liga decides to hide her latest pregnancy, desperate for a companion of her own. When her father suddenly dies in an accident, she finds herself completely alone for the first time in her life, and gives birth to a beautiful, healthy and fair complexioned baby girl. Unfortunately for Liga, five town boys have seen her – without a man, with child, and therefore fair game – and they brutally rape her in her cottage. Unable to take any more cruel reality, Liga tries to kill her innocent child as an act of mercy, and then kill herself – but she’s stopped by an act of magic. To spare Liga the cold, unfair world she has lived in, the magic grants her an alternate reality where she can raise her daughters – for the gang rape has left her pregnant once more – in safety and peace. Everyone in Liga’s new world is kind and understanding, from the townspeople to the animals, and for many years she and her two daughters, the elder Branza (for her fair complexion and mild manners) and younger Urdda (for her dark coloring and wildness) live a happy, sheltered life.

Of course, things can never stay so picturesque forever. A greedy dwarf with the help of the same mudwitch of Liga’s past creates holes into Liga’s paradise world, gathering and stealing treasures to make him rich in the ‘real world’. Through the tears he has made between worlds, a man dressed as a Bear for the town’s ceremonial night stumbles through to Liga’s cottage, only he has transformed into a true Bear. “Bear” becomes a cherished friend to Liga and her two toddler daughters, and in turn, Bear falls in love with the kind and gentle mother. But one summer day, Bear disappears, stumbling back into the real world on the same night that he had disappeared, as though his time in Liga’s world has been a dream. Urdda, headstrong and eager for her own adventure, later follows the path that Bear took and years later is able to find a more powerful witch to bring Liga and Branza to her in the real world – and once again, Liga must confront the cold reality of the world she has left behind, and the consequences of raising her daughters in a dream land.

As you can see, Tender Morsels is a far cry from a bedtime story of beautiful princesses, fairy rainbows and kindred animals. Within the first 100 pages, incest, rape, and child abuse are brutally inflicted on young Liga, heroine of this novel. Some readers may take issue with the heavy subject matter, but I did not, especially since Ms. Lanagan handles this well without sensationalizing or going into graphic detail. The harsh truth is that incest, abuse and rape are realities that many young adults and teens experience, and Ms. Lanagan tackles these realities in a bold, effective way. Similarly, the quality of writing in Tender Morsels is undeniably strong. Each of the characters speaks in a unique dialect, and Ms. Lanagan’s prose is lush and evocative, conveying both beauty and pain in equal measure. More than that, Ms. Lanagan writes characters with an acute understanding of their emotions and dreams, crafting a cast that thrums with life.

When a girl of fourteen wants a thing – when she has wanted it all her conscious life; when she senses it near and bends all her hope, and all her will, and all her power to it – sometimes, sometimes her self and her desires will be of such material that worlds will move for her. Or parts of worlds, their skins particularly, will soften to her pressure, and break in a thousand small and undramatic ways, so that she may reach through, so that what seemed a wall reveals itself to be only thought of a wall, or a wall constructed of bricks of smoke, mortared with mist. There is a smell to such workings, and Urdda smelled it here and now at the rim of the bear-scent, as if someone had held a flaming brand near that bear-fur so that it began to singe and smoke and reek.

No, I certainly cannot fault Tender Morsels for any deficiency in writing – for it is a beautifully crafted story.

But, at the end of the day, for all the beauty of Ms. Lanagan’s writing and for the rich and believable characters she creates with the weary Liga, the innocent Branza and the headstrong Urdda, I simply could not like the story I was reading.

I’m of the firm belief that no subject matter is “inappropriate” for teens, or for any literature, for that matter. The weighty issues that begin Tender Morsels are not the reason why I could not connect with this book. Rather, my emotional limbo is mostly a product of two main factors – the question of stereotyping, and the question of cruelty.

First, there’s the question of stereotyping. Of the two daughters, Branza is the Snow White character – she’s pale and fair, beautiful, gentle and completely meek. Branza loves her mother’s dream world, she never causes any trouble, she’s friend to all animals, and she’s completely mild and agreeable. Then, there’s Urdda, the Rose Red character. In contrast to her fair, perfect sister, Urdda is dark complexioned (it is mentioned earlier in the book that one of the boys who gang raped Liga is a foreigner whose face looks “sooted”), and temperamental, and altogether wildness personified. She’s also the selfish sister, the one who demands to know answers and who brings her family out from their quiet, protected dream world. This dichotomy of the fair skinned diligent good girl, against the dark skinned, willful wild girl bothers me. It’s a stereotype as old as the fairy tale Tender Morsels is retelling, but translates poorly at least to me, as a reader. Branza, the white, the untainted and the dutifully unquestioning is rewarded, while Urdda with her dusky complexion and demanding, inquisitive nature is the one who suffers because of her wildness. And this too blends into my next reason for discomfort with the novel:

There’s also the question of cruelty. Not the rape and other acts inflicted upon Liga – but rather the cruelty that the author inflicts on her in the last third of the book. I could argue that the entire last third or so of the book is completely unnecessary, as this is where the book fell apart (for me). Liga is the protagonist of the story. It is with Liga’s struggles that we begin Tender Morsels, and it is by her strength in raising two girls born of horrible, unspeakable circumstances that the novel takes root and blossoms. But in the ending of the book, I cannot help but feel that a cruelty of the greatest, most unforgivable kind is enforced on Liga as a character, for purposes of literary shock value. I do not wish to explicitly spoil, but simply will say that by the end of the novel, I felt betrayed and emotionally exploited. I’m all for bittersweet stories or those with unhappy endings, but this ending was unnecessary and reenforced my discomfort with character stereotypes. Liga, for all that she has been through and endured for her daughters is still tainted, broken Liga. Her untouched daughters – especially the dutiful and pure as snow Branza – are the ones who receive the happy ending.

So, I’m at a loss to truly assign a grade or rate to Tender Morsels. The book is unquestionably powerful and well-written, but certain facets of the story left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. While I did not particularly like this book and will not in all likelihood read it again, I feel like I accomplished something by reading it. And I encourage others to give it a try, to form your own opinions.

Notable Quotes/Parts: Here’s the official excerpt, from the first chapter:

Liga’s father fiddled with the fire, fiddled and fiddled. Then he stood up, very suddenly.

“I will fetch more wood.”

What’s he angry about? Liga wondered. Or worried, or something. He is being very odd.

Snow-light rushed in, chilling the house. Then he clamped the door closed and it was cozy again, cozy and empty of him. Liga took a deep private breath then blew it out, slowly. Just these few moments would be her own.

But her next breath caught rough in her throat. She opened her eyes. Gray smoke was cauliflowering out of the fireplace, fogging the air. The smell! What unnamable rubbish had fallen in the fire?

She coughed so hard she must put aside the rush mat she was binding the edge of and give her whole body over to the coughing. Then pain caught her, low, and folded her just like a rush-stalk, it felt, in a line across her belly, crushing her innards. She could hardly get breath to cough. Sparks that were not from the fire jiggled and swam in her eyes—she could not see the fire for the smoke. She could not believe what she was feeling.

The pain eased just as abruptly. It let her get up. It gave her a moment to stagger to the door and open it, her insides dangerous, liquid, hot with surprise and readying to spasm again.

Her father was halfway back from the woodpile, his arms full. He bared his teeth at her, no less. “What you doing out?” White puffs came with the words. “Get back inside. Who said you could come out?”

“I cannot breathe in there.” The cold air dived down her throat and she coughed again.

“Then go in and don’t breathe! Shut the door—you’re letting the smoke out. You’re letting the heat.” He dropped the wood in the snow.

“Has the chimney fallen in? Or what is it?” She wanted to step farther out and look.

But he sprang over the logs and ran at her. She was too surprised to fight him, and her insides were too delicate. The icicled edge of the thatch swept down across the heavy sky, and she was on the floor, the door slammed closed above her. It was dark after the snow-glare, the air thick with the billowing smoke. Outside, he shouted—she could not hear the words—and hurled his logs one by one at the door.

She pressed her nose and mouth into the crook of her elbow, but she had already gulped smoke. It sank through to her deepest insides, and there it clasped its thin black hands, all knuckles and nerves, and wrung them, and wrung them.

Time stretched and shrank. She seemed to stretch and shrink. The pain pressed her flat, the crashing of the wood. Da muttered out there, muttered forever; his muttering had begun before her thirteen years had, and she would never hear the end of it; she must simply be here while it rose from blackness and sank again like a great fish into a lake, like a great water snake. Then Liga’s belly tightened again, and all was gone except the red fireworks inside her. The smoke boiled against her eyes and fought in her throat.

The pains resolved themselves into a movement, of innards wanting to force out. When she next could, she crawled to the door and threw her fists, her shoulder, against it. Was he out there anymore? Had he run off and left her imprisoned? “Let me out or I will shit on the floor of your house!”

There was some activity out there, scraping of logs, thuds of them farther from the door. White light sliced into the smoke. Out Liga blazed, in a dirty smoke-cloud, clambering over the tumbled wood, pushing past him, pushing past his eager face.

But it was too late for the cold, clean air to save her; her insides had already come loose. She could not run or she would shake them out. Already they were drooling down her legs. She must clamp her thighs together to hold them in, and yet walk, and yet hurry, to the part of the forest edge they used for their excrements.

She did not achieve it. She fell to her knees in the snow. Inside her skirt, so much of her boiling self fell away that she felt quite undone below the waist, quite shapeless. No, look: sturdy hips. Look: a leg on either side. A blue-gray foot there, the other there. Gingerly, Liga sat back in a crouch to lift her numbing knees off the snow. The black trees towered in front of her, and the snow dazzled all around. She heaved and brought up nothing but spittle, but more of her was pushed out below by the heaving.

She crouched, panting. From her own noises she knew she had become some kind of animal; she had fallen as low as she could from the life she had had before Mam died. Everything had slid from there, out of prosperity, out of town, out of safety, when Mam went, and this was where of course it ended, with Liga an animal in the snow, tearing herself to pieces with the wrongness of everything.

With one last heave, her remaining insides dropped out of her. She knelt over their warmth, folded herself down, and waited to die.

But she did not die there. The snow pained against her forehead and her knees, and the fallen mass of her innards began to lose its heat in the tent of her skirt.

She tried to lift herself off it. At first her knees would not unbend, so she tipped herself forward onto her front . . . paws, they felt like, her front claws. And hoisted her bottom up from there.

“Oh, my Gracious Lady.” Her voice sounded drunken and flat. Between pink footprints, her innards lay glossy and dark red. Her feet were purple, blotched yellow, weak and wet with melting pink snow.

She should go back to the house—that was all she knew. And so she labored towards it, top-heavy, slick-thighed, numb-footed, and hollow, glancing behind as if afraid the thing would follow her, along its own pink trail.

Da snatched the door open as soon as she touched it. He stood there, hands on hips. “What’s a-matter with you?” The air around him was clear and warm; in the crook of his arm, the fire flowed brightly up around the new logs. Would he even let her in?

Additional Thoughts: Though less known than its Disney-popular character of the same name, the tale of Snow White and Rose Red is making some appearances in the literary world. First, there’s the more easygoing retelling from young adult author Patricia C. Wrede (whose Enchanted Forrest novels were some of my favorites as young reader), titled Snow White and Rose Red:

Snow White and Rose Red live on the edge of the forest that conceals the elusive border of Faerie. They know enough about Faerie lands and mortal magic to be concerned when they find two human sorcerers setting spells near the border. And when the kindly, intelligent black bear wanders into their cottage some months later, they realize the connection between his plight and the sorcery they saw in the forest. This romantic version of the classic fairy tale features an updated introduction by its editor, Terri Windling.

And, of course, there’s the brilliant re-imagining of the two sisters in Bill Willingham’s ongoing comic book, Fables.

You can check out our Joint Review of Fables Volume 1: Legends In Exile HERE. (And though I haven’t reviewed all the current graphic novels and issues, rest assured, they are wonderful)

Verdict: On an intellectual level, on an aesthetic level, Tender Morsels is a beautiful gem of a novel. It’s written well with compelling characters, and with an original take on an old fable. For that alone, I would give the novel an 8. But as for a deeper, emotional experience? I could not bring myself to like this novel, and certain simplistic stereotypes as well as the unnecessary cruelty of the ending left me feeling hollow and exploited as a reader. Going with my gut, I’d give the book an emotional rating of a 4. So where does that leave me and the novel?

I’m cheating and including both ratings – and I strongly encourage all readers to give Tender Morsels a read and to form your own opinions. I’d be delighted to read your thoughts on this provocative novel.

Rating: 8 – Excellent for the writing; 4 – Horrible for the emotional exploitation.

Reading Next: The Devouring and Soulstice by Simon Holt

Title: Naamah’s Kiss

Author: Jacqueline Carey

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: June 24, 2009
Hardcover: 656 pages

Stand alone or series: Book one of a new series set in the same world as the Kushiel’s Legacy books, though following a completely new heroine. Naamah’s Kiss stands on its own, but fans of the two prior trilogies will feel at home with Ms. Carey’s new series.

Why did I read this book: All cards on the table: Jacqueline Carey is one of my favorite authors. Period. The Phedre trilogy is my second all-time favorite series. I don’t think there’s any force that could have stopped me from reading Naamah’s Kiss.

Summary: (from amazon.com)
Once there were great magicians born to the Maghuin Dhonn; the folk of the Brown Bear, the oldest tribe in Alba. But generations ago, the greatest of them all broke a sacred oath sworn in the name of all his people. Now, only small gifts remain to them. Through her lineage, Moirin possesses such gifts – the ability to summon the twilight and conceal herself, and the skill to coax plants to grow.

Moirin has a secret, too. From childhood onward, she senses the presence of unfamiliar gods in her life; the bright lady, and the man with a seedling cupped in his palm. Raised in the wilderness by her reclusive mother, it isn’t until she comes of age that Moirin learns how illustrious, if mixed, her heritage is. The great granddaughter of Alais the Wise, child of the Maghuin Donn, and a cousin of the Cruarch of Alba, Moirin learns her father was a D’Angeline priest dedicated to serving Naamah, goddess of desire.

After Moirin undergoes the rites of adulthood, she finds divine acceptance…on the condition that she fulfill an unknown destiny that lies somewhere beyond the ocean. Or perhaps oceans. Beyond Terre d’Ange where she finds her father, in the far reaches of distant Ch’in, Moirin’s skills are a true gift when facing the vengeful plans of an ambitious mage, a noble warrior princess desperate to save her father’s throne, and the spirit of a celestial dragon.

Review:

Moirin mac Fainche is of the royal bloodline of Alais de la Courcel, but lives in the wild woods of Alba as one of the few remaining Maghuin Dhonn, inheriting her knowledge and small gifts of magic from her mother. Moirin’s father, however, is a D’Angeline priest, descended from the godly lines of Anael and Naamah herself. And so, Moirin is a child of two worlds, touched by two sets of Gods, each with important purposes for her. When she becomes old enough to be tested by the Maghuin Dhonn, the great mother bear reveals herself to Moirin, but shows her that Moirin’s destiny lies not in Alba with her people, but across the Straits to the land of her father, and beyond to lands further than she ever could have imagined.

Moirin leaves the open woods and is welcomed with open arms into Terre D’Ange. In a twist of fate, Moirin finds herself in the home of Raphael de Mereliot – charming courtier, lover of the Queen of Terre D’Ange, and magic-dabbling physician. Soon, Moirin – welcomed as an exotic distraction – is embroiled in D’Angeline court politics, caught up in the schemes between Raphael’s dreams of power and Queen Jehanne’s mercurial moods.

Following her diadh-anam, the spark of spirit within guided by the Maghuin Dhonn, Moirin travels from Terre D’Ange to the strange and far land of Ch’in with Master Lo Feng and his magpie Bao, to save a young warrior princess under a horrible curse, and to stop impending war.

Naamah’s Kiss is Jacqueline Carey writing in her element – her writing is as luscious, beautiful and captivating as ever. This is fantasy on an epic scale, encompassing magic, romance, heartache, war, and destiny. As a huge fan of the first two trilogies, I have to admit I was a little nervous as Moirin’s tale is set a hundred years after Imriel’s last book. Though there are references to Phedre and Imriel with a few easter eggs sprinkled throughout, I ultimately loved Ms. Carey’s decision to focus this new trilogy on an entirely new character as a fresh start, leaving Phedre and Imriel’s happy endings gloriously preserved.

As a new heroine, Moirin is exquisite. Ms. Carey excels at creating distinct characters; though I feared that Moirin would be too similar to Phedre, she most certainly stands apart as a heroine in her own right. While Phedre is D’Angelline down to the scarlet mote in her eye, polished, sultry and smoothly navigates troubled political waters, Moirin is raw, headstrong, and passionate. Unrefined in the realms of the political (or the realms of Naamah’s arts, for that matter), Moirin relies less on her savvy and more on her heart, believing in her Alban and D’Angeline gods and the spark of her diadh-anam to guide her. While Phedre’s destiny was sealed by a prick in her left eye and Imriel’s by his parentage, Moirin grapples with her fate – she knows not what her purpose is, only that she has a destiny, and she trusts blindly in that knowledge. Also, unlike her D’Angeline successors, Moirin brings a new perspective to the world of Terre D’Ange; through her eyes, readers see the glimmering beauty of the court, but also see its excesses and pettiness (something Phedre would never admit to). There is intrigue and scheming, but Moirin is not an active, maneuvering player in these games. Her gift from Naamah is desire, in her ability to give and to crave this passion, and this leads Moirin true throughout her adventures.

The plot of Naamah’s Kiss is decidedly less reliant on political intrigue than Phedre or Imriel’s adventures, and, reflecting Moirin as a narrator, is more driven by relationships and passion. The story is complex and sprawling, spanning across three vastly different lands – from the serene woods of Alba to the glitter of the D’Angeline court, and finally the mystical yet troubled land of the Ch’in. Alba and Terre D’Ange we already know, but the journey to Ch’in is completely, stunningly new. In Ms. Carey’s alternate China, Ch’in is an exotic new world, with magic and spirits of its own, and it is portrayed lovingly here. An imprisoned dragon, a cursed princess, family betrayal – it is all here in Naamah’s Kiss.

Finally, one cannot write a review for Jacqueline Carey’s books without mentioning her lush, rich prose. Naamah’s Kiss is no exception.

The stone doorway stood behind me.

But beyond it lay the sea. It sparkled in the bright sunlight, waves rippling and churning, stretching all the way to the horizon. Overhead, gulls wheeled in teh blue sky uttering raucous cries.

I looked back.

The Maghuin Dhonn Herself regarded me with infinite compassion. I took a deep breath, my body trembling. I didn’t understand, not really. And yet the spark inside me knew. “I have a very long way to go, don’t I?” I asked softly.

She didn’t answer.

I wiped my eyes. “May I at least keep this memory?”

Her great head dipped in consent.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “I don’t know where it is I’m meant to go or what it is I’m meant to do, but ‘ll try to make You proud.”

Brightness shimmered and the expression on Her face changed. It was a look like my mother’s embrace, hard and fierce. And it said without words that whatever came to pass, I was Hers. Her joy and Her pride, now and always and forever. My heart too ful for words, I nodded in silent acknowledgment. It was a gift of grace I would cary with me always.

She left and did not look back.

I’ve said before that Ms. Carey is one of those writers whose words make me fall in love, break my heart and leave me filled with a sense of wonder and longing – and such is Naamah’s Kiss. Like her gods, Ms. Carey uses her characters hard, but it is worth every ache and pain along the way.

I loved Naamah’s Kiss, and cannot wait to return to Moirin’s story.

Notable Quotes/Parts: The heartbreaking last climactic chapters are riveting and bittersweet. But to say more, I run the risk of spoiling.

You can read an excerpt from the first chapter of this book on Jacqueline Carey’s website, HERE.

Additional Thoughts: Ms. Carey’s alternate fantasy universe is now seven books strong; two completed trilogies, with Naamah’s Kiss marking the beginning of a third.

If you haven’t yet been introduced to the world of Terre D’Ange and beyond, I strongly urge you to hurry up already! Phedre’s trilogy (beginning with Kushiel’s Dart) is still my favorite, but for new readers with no knowledge of the prior books Naamah’s Kiss is a fine place to start.

Verdict: Naamah’s Kiss is everything I have come to expect from a Jacqueline Carey novel: decadent prose, passionate characters, and high fantasy adventure. Easily my favorite read of the year, thus far – and I cannot wait to read more. Bravo.

Rating: 9 Damn Near Perfection – Narrowly missing a 10 because, being fair, Naamah’s Kiss isn’t quite as good as Kushiel’s Dart or Kushiel’s Avatar…but I have an inkling that the next installment quite possibly will break that threshold.

Reading Next: Darkness Calls by Marjorie M. Liu

Tomorrow, Jacqueline Carey guest blogs about her inspirations and influences for Naamah’s Kiss! Make sure to stick around to read her thoughts, and also for a chance to win 1 of 5 copies of this book…

Title: Street Magic

Author: Caitlin Kittredge

Genre: Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Publisher: St. Martin’s
Publication Date: June 2, 2009
Paperback: 352 pages

Stand Alone or Series: Book one in the new Black London series.

Why did I read this book: I had read Ms. Kittredge’s Nocturne City books, and though was not blown away by them, I liked her voice enough to see what else she could do. When Karen Mahoney (book pimp extraordinaire) told us about this new, darker series, I was intrigued…and when I received a copy of Street Magic in the mail, I pulled a greedy, selfish executive decision and told Ana that I was hoarding the book and she’d just have to wait! Yes, I am Eeeevil like that.

Summary: (from Amazon.com)
Her name is Pete Caldecott. She was just sixteen when she met Jack Winter, a gorgeous, larger-than-life mage who thrilled her with his witchcraft. Then a spirit Jack summoned killed him before Pete’s eyes—or so she thought. Now a detective[MSOffice2] , Pete is investigating the case of a young girl kidnapped from the streets of London. A tipster’s chilling prediction has led police directly to the child…but when Pete meets the informant, she’s shocked to learn he is none other than Jack. Strung out on heroin, Jack a shadow of his former self. But he’s able to tell Pete exactly where Bridget’s kidnappers are hiding: in the supernatural shadow-world of the fey. Even though she’s spent years disavowing the supernatural, Pete follows Jack into the invisible fey underworld, where she hopes to discover the truth about what happened to Bridget—and what happened to Jack on that dark day so long ago…

Review:

Confession: I really did not expect to like this book so much as I did.

I was excited to read Street Magic (enough so that I bogarted the book from Ana’s clutches), but upon starting Pete Caldecott’s book, I was nonplussed. A hundred pages in, and I was still waiting to be wowed – and I had it on good authority from Karen and Kmont that wowing would happen. I was dejected, resigned to being the party pooper once again, resigned to being the only person in the blogoverse that wasn’t digging on another hot new title.

But then, it happened.

The Wow. In the form of – wouldn’t you know it? – a pub.

Jack let go of her arms and lifted the gryffon-headed knocker on the pub’s door. He let it fall three times, and the red door swung open with a moan of ill-oiled age. Jack made a courtly gesture to Pete. “After you, luv.” He grinned as she stepped into oil lamps and noise and smoke. “Welcome to the Lament Pub,” Jack said. “And welcome to the Black.”

As Pete stumbles into a new world of dark magic, I inadvertently followed her. And it was damn awesome.

When Pete Caldecott was sixteen years old, she was enamored with the older, mysterious and devilish Jack Winter (who also happened to be her older sister’s boyfriend at the time). So, when Jack asked Pete to come with him on a dangerous, magical endeavor in a graveyard, Pete didn’t hesitate. The night would end in tragedy, however, as Jack summons a Wicker Man that he cannot control – and Pete leaves Jack, dead. The weight of Jack’s death has weighed on Pete’s heart and mind for years; her guilt and heartbreak has haunted her constantly. Years later, Pete is a detective for Scotland Yard and investigating a series of child kidnapping cases. A lead tips her off to the Grand Montresor Hotel, where she finds a strung out, heroin-addicted Jack Winter – who proceeds to tell her that the girl she is looking for will be at the entrance of the Highgate Cemetery the next morning. When Pete finds the missing girl the next morning – blinded and traumatized by whatever ordeal she has been through – Pete needs to find out how he knew about the missing girl…and how he is still alive. Little does Pete know that the trip will lead to a dark realm beyond her reckoning. Pete and Jack must work together to find the missing children, and to right the past wrongs between them.

Street Magic is a dark, evocative start to a solid Urban Fantasy series. Although, as I have mentioned above, I did have some initial issues getting into the story. There were two main obstacles to my initial enjoyment of the novel. First, that the language seemed over the top – the novel is set in London, and as such Pete and Jack speak (and think) with British slang and mannerisms. While I have it on good authority (from UK dwelling Ana, and Brit Karen) that the language is accurate, I can’t help but feel a bit nitpicky about the colloquialisms – since I know that Ms. Kittredge is American (and knew this coming into the story), I kept feeling that the mannerisms, the repeated “bollocks,” “buggers,” “sod offs,” or the many references to certain brands (i.e. ‘he drank a Newcastle Brown Ale,’ or ‘Pete nabbed a Parliament and lit the fag,’) etc were forced. By no means am I any expert on British slang or speech, but the point is that I could not suspend my skepticism; something about the language felt over the top to me and irritating to me. It’s kinda similar to how I felt about Emile de Ravine’s Claire on LOST or Lila on Dexter – yes, I know that both are Australian and British, respectively, but there was something about their accents (“CHYA-LAY! THEY AH TAYKING MY BAY-BAY!”) that just didn’t do it for me.

The second, more important factor that detracted from my immersion in the story was the slow-moving plot. Street Magic begins to the tune of a number of standard urban fantasy novels (heroine with save-the-world syndrome, sexy dude, nefarious crime underfoot), and at least initially there isn’t anything to separate this book from the usual genre suspects. Not until 100 pages or so into the novel do things really begin to get underway.

AND, when things do heat up – in the form of Jack introducing Pete to the Black as in the quote above – Street Magic really gets working. After a slower, shambling start, Street Magic gains its feet and managed to completely, wholly win me over.

Ms. Kittredge shines in this new series, which is easily the best book of hers that I’ve read. Street Magic is wonderful dark take on magic and legend. The descriptions of the creatures, magic and power in this universe are luscious, vivid and darkly consuming. Ms. Kittredge’s London is not a pretty place, and the creatures that live and interact with humans undetected in the Black are wraiths and fey along the lines of harsh myth, rather than the benevolent Disney version. There’s not a single werewolf or vampire to be found in Street Magic, and readers should know that this is a dark fantasy novel and in no way a paranormal romance. There is a shared history between Pete and Jack – in that as a young girl of sixteen, Pete was infatuated with Jack, and Jack encouraged her affection for his own self-serving reasons – but do not look for raw sexual heat or anything like that. Jack and Pete are layered, complex characters with a layered, complex relationship, and Ms. Kittredge draws these characters brilliantly.

On the subject of characters, though Pete is ostensibly the main protagonist, Street Magic is really all about Jack Winter. As a mage, Jack isn’t a “hero” character; in fact, he’s selfish, heroin-addicted, manipulative, and responsible for so much of Pete’s heartache and the source of her nightmares. And yet…there’s something irresistible about the knave. Jack Winter reminds me a lot of another Jack: he, of the beanstalk and of Bill Willingham’s Fables, a conman and with a tendency to get in over his head. They both have that charismatic charm that draws people in, against their better judgment – including readers, and the normally levelheaded Pete. As for Pete herself, I couldn’t ask for a better heroine. She’s tough without being abrasive, completely ballsy, and good at her job. Of course, in all likelihood someone like Pete wouldn’t be an investigator for very long considering her penchant for risk-taking and refusal to elaborate on how exactly she solved the kidnapping cases, but I was willing to suspend disbelief. Together Pete and Jack make a fabulous pair – Jack with his brashness and raw power, Pete with her cleverness and no-b.s. attitude.

I cannot wait to read more of the formidable duo in Demon Bound, this December.

Notable Quotes/Parts: Without a doubt, the climatic scene when Pete confronts the source of her recurring nightmares and discovers what really happened to her and to Jack many years before. Ms. Kittredge’s writing is incredible. But I won’t quote and spoil that for you! Instead, here’s a look at one of her descriptions.

“He’s back there, alone. As usual.”

Pete’s gaze was drawn to the back corner of the pub, where roof beams and lamplight conspired to create a slice of shadow. A solitary figure sat, fragrant green-tinged smoke from his pipe rising to create the shape of a crown of young spring leaves before dissipating.

Jack nudged her arm. “Come on.” He picked up the two pints of Newcastle Brown and started toward the table with a measured step. If Pete didn’t know better, she’d call it reluctance, or a sort of respect.

The man seated alone and smoking was unremarkable as far as men went. Pete would pass him boarding the tube or in a queue at the newsagent’s without a glance, although he did have lines of mischief at the corners of mouth and eyes, and they glowed pleasantly brown. He was older than Jack, wearing a well-trimmed black beard and a soft sport coat patched at the elbows.

Jack set the pints down on his table and grinned. “Been a long time, Knight.”

When the man turned to look at them, Pete heard a rushing sound, as if a spring wind had disturbed a sacred grove, and with great clarity she saw a tree, ancient, branches piercing the sky while the roots reached down and grasped the heart of the earth.

“Well,” said the man. “Jack Winter. I next expected to see you lying in state at your premature funeral, yet here you are disturbing my evening. Well done.”

Shaking his head, Jack gestured between the man and Pete. “Detective Inspector Caldecott, Ian Mosswood. Mosswood, this is Pete.”

Also, you can check out an extended excerpt of the first chapter HERE.

Additional Thoughts: Head on over to author Caitlin Kittredge’s website for a chance to ask Jack Winter a question, and for a chance to win copies of Street Magic and an ARC of her upcoming Nocturne City book Witch Craft. Here’s the skinny:

This coming Friday I’m doing a “Freaky Friday” over at Bitten By Books, wherein a character from Street Magic gets interviewed.

Of course, I picked Jack.

So here’s the deal. Submit questions for the interview in comments throughout the week (up to midnight Wednesday, because I need Thursday to collate and answer them.) I’ll pick out the best ones for the interview and out of those questions, one random entrant will get a signed copy of Street Magic and an ARC of Witch Craft.

But the real prize is having Jack answer your burning questions.

Trust me, I’m an author.

Go forth and enter HERE. You have until midnight!

Verdict: Street Magic is a dark, delectable fantasy novel and a promising start to a new urban fantasy series. I cannot wait for more from Jack Winter and Pete Caldecott. Absolutely recommended.

Rating: 7 Very Good

Reading Next: You Are So Undead To Me by Stacey Jay

Title: The Demon’s Lexicon

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Genre: YA/UF

US Cover
UK Cover

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s (UK) /Margaret K. McElderry (US)
Publishing Date: June 1, 2009
Paperback: 432 pages (UK) / Hardcover: 336 pages (US)

Stand Alone or series: first in a planned trilogy but this book stands well on its own. No cliffhanger.

Summary: Nick and his brother Alan are on the run with their mother, who was once the lover of a powerful magician. When she left him, she stole an important charm – and he will stop at nothing to reclaim it. Now Alan has been marked with the sign of death by the magician’s demon, and only Nick can save him. But to do so he must face those he has fled from all his life – the magicians – and kill them. So the hunted becomes the hunter…but in saving his brother, Nick discovers something that will unravel his whole past…

Why did I read the book: our good friend Karen Mahoney has been raving non-stop about this book. And you know what? she was RIGHT.

Review:

“The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn’t have been so bad except that Nick kept his favourite sword under the sink.”

The Demon’s Lexicon starts with this opening line and it’s a great beginning because it serves the book well . This line is significant in the way it shows how the “abnormal” coexists with the “normal” in this world. Right there and then, I am taken. And this feeling only increases as I read and every single time I had to put this book down, I felt its absence. Much like an umbilical cord between myself and it, there was a calling, something that connected me with to it; I kept thinking about it when I wasn’t reading , mostly theorising about the main character and what it all meant. I am in a way, a few days after reading The Demon’s Lexicon, still hooked in its characters, still thinking about them but mostly still overflowing with admiration for the author. For what she did, for what she dared, for how she constructed the characters, the world, but mostly for how she showed a wondrous dark world and amazing, wonderful feelings such as sensitivity, devotion, fondness and sacrifice through the eyes of a character that feels none of these very same feelings and who is, at every turn and all the time, conscious of this….lacking.

16 year old Nick is the main character – 3rd person narrator of the story, the only character with a point of view. He lives with his crazy mother Olivia and his older brother Alan. They try to live a normal life as much as they can but there is nothing normal about them. Olivia is a magician, a human born with magic and with power. Mostly with the power to communicate with demons, beings that live in a world they hate and who will do anything (possess, promise, seduce) to get into ours, to get even a small measure of what is like to be human. Magicians who want more power will open circles to bring them in and they help them possess and mark humans. Once you get three marks, that’s it, you are dead.

Nick, Alan and Olivia have been on the run all their lives – Olivia once stole a talisman from a very powerful magician who has been trying ever since to get it back. Nick and Alan’s father died protecting them, in the same night that Alan got crippled. Nick is the main warrior of the family, he fights demons with his sword and knives and will do anything, anything to keep Alan safe. Alan is not powerless though – he is a mean shooter, and he never ever misses. Together these two work to keep their mother safe – although Nick often muses that they would be better off if she just died. Yes. That’s right, the kid often thinks and sometimes speaks to Alan that their mother should just die. It is not so difficult to understand why though – since Olivia seems to truly, deeply hate Nick: she doesn’t even look at him.

Not that it matters to him – I don’t think I ever read a book from the point of view of such a cold, angry, harsh character. Nick’s narrative is bleak and joyless although not humourless. Sometimes all he can think of is to kill and to maim. He seems to be able only to understand lust .This anger becomes even greater and almost overwhelming when his brother Alan is marked by a demon. Alan, who is smart, sweet, selfless, is trying to help two kids – also siblings – Jamie and Mae. Jamie has two marks and his death is certain as soon as he gets the third (a matter of “when” not “if”) and Alan helps him by absorbing one of the marks. A fact that utterly dismays, mystifies, puzzles Nick. Why in the world would his idiotic brother puts himself in danger like this? Alan carries a crush on Mae and that is perhaps part of it but Alan has had many crushes for Alan has been trying to be loved for such a long time. So, what is it? What is it that makes Mae do anything to keep HER brother safe? Or Alan want to help their undeserving mother so much?

He is completely unable to understand any of these feelings as much as he is incapable of understand written words (he is dyslexic) . He only understands that Alan needs to be saved at all costs even if the only think that can save him is the death and blood of a magician. All of a sudden the hunted become the hunger as the brothers go after who were after them. Alan is the brains of the operation and Nick is the fighter.

Nick is a character that makes it hard for the reader to connect with – it is so very hard to feel sympathy for Nick but it is impossible NOT to feel for him. Because (and this is the strength of this book and of this writer) through his eyes , through this mind that lacks….something, we see this world of connection, this world of feelings and we as readers, KNOW exactly what he doesn’t know and what he is missing. Whenever Alan says something or touches Nick and Nick is puzzled, we just know that it’s love that is moving Alan. As is love that movies Mae to help Jamie. This book is about brotherly love and devotion and it is awesome. Every single character that lacks a point of view comes into life via Nick’s observations and it is another sign of this writer’s talent that all of them are so well developed. Jamie is a sweetheart , the funny guy in the midst of such terrible things; Mae, the resilient one (and possibly a wrench between the brothers – oh-oh a triangle!) and Alan, the one that carries the world on this shoulders. After the (incredible, ass-kicking, beautiful, sad, surprising, jaw-dropping) climax of the book, Alan comes away as one of the most strong and giving characters I have ever had the pleasure to encounter.

And I beg of you, don’t let the bleakness and the (seemingly) endless anger that Nick feels put you off this book. It is sometimes, a difficult book to read but in the end there is recompense because everything has a reason. Because there is lacking yes, but there is something in the lacking. I did have moments of doubt (would a teenager be SO angry all the time?) but as soon as I realised where it was going, and when I read where it did went (could I be any more obscure? But trust me, you don’t want this spoiled),I could not help but to be unequivocally astonished.

The characters shine in this book. But the plot is equally strong and so are the details of the world. Sarah Rees Brennan is Irish and the story is set in the UK and there is insight into everyday life (at school or for example run-down houses and their shabby lace curtains, that is SO true) over here and this is one of the reasons why I like it so much. And I am not even going to talk about the Goblin Market and the Dancers. That’s for you to discover yourself.

And don’t be surprised if The Demon’s Lexicon makes my top 10 of 2009.

Notable Quotes/ Parts:
I LOVE this interaction between Nick and Alan:

“I know you’re worried” Alan said. “Don’t be. How many people with first marks have we seen? How many first marks have you removed? How is this different?”
Nick turned his gaze from the window to Alan.
“This is different”, he said. “This is you”
Alan looked terribly pleased for a moment, and Nick realised that his brother had taken this as one of the ridiculous, sappy things Alan was used to saying all the time. Nick had only meant what he’d said. It had never been his brother before.
Thankfully Alan did not make a fuss about it. He could believe Nick had said any stupid thing he wanted, so long as there was no scenes.
All he said was, “Here, have your dinfast. Then we can start packing”
“Dinfast”, Nick repeated.
“Dinner and Breakfast!” Alan said triumphantly. “Like Brunch”.
Nick subjected him to a long, judgemental stare. “There’s something very wrong with you,” he said at last. “I thought you should know”.
Undaunted or perhaps just unsurprised by this news, Alan began to do the dishes. He pushed Nick’s sword away with sudsy fingers to make room for a wet frying pan.
“Where do you fancy living next?”
“London, ” said Nick, because he thought that Alan would like it.
Alan looked pleased, and he saw he’d guessed right.

Verdict: Undoubtedly one of the best YA books I have ever read. If you like Melissa Marr, you can’t miss this one.

Rating: 8 (leaning towards a 9) – EXCELLENT

Reading Next: Darkborn by Alison Sinclair

ETA: SARAH REES BRENNAN HAS JUST ACCEPTED OUR INVITATION FOR A GUEST POST ON HER INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCES. HER ARTICLE IS GOING TO BE PUBLISHED NEXT MONDAY AND THERE WILL BE A GIVEAWAY!!

Title: The Black Act

Author: Louise Bohmer

Genre: Dark Fantasy, Horror

Publisher: Lachesis Publishing
Publishing Date: March 13, 2009
Paperback: 332 pages

Stand alone or series: Stand alone novel.

Summary: (from LachesisPublishing.com)
The history of a curse is fraught with bloody battles, bitter hatred, and dark secrets.

Through five generations, ghosts of war haunt the Wise Women. When the Rebellion of Glenna ends, their curse sleeps bound in the Tunnels of the Dead, waiting for its chance to re-awaken the battle between the Wood People and Dalthwein Clans.

Claire, a distraught young Wise Woman born in the sacred valley of the fae, unwittingly helps it escape imprisonment. While her twin sister, Anna, receives psychic glimpses of ancient secrets she must unravel. With her scribe teacher, Rosalind, she also struggles to uncover the reasons behind Claire’s strange behavior, ever escalating since the death of their Guild Mother, Grianne.

The Age of the Wise Women will cease, if the curse does not end with Anna and Claire. Perhaps inheriting the mistakes of their ancestors, and learning the truths of their identities, will bring great suffering for these witch twins?

Why did we read the book: Louise contacted us a few months back after we had read Joel Sutherland’s Stoker Nominated debut novel Frozen Blood. As it turns out, Louise was Joel’s editor for Frozen Blood which automatically piqued our interest – and when we read the blurb of her debut effort, we couldn’t resist.

REVIEW

First Impressions

Thea: My first impression of The Black Act was: this is clearly a debut effort. Ms. Bohmer has some fantastic ideas in this novel; her imagination and depictions of the fae are beautifully conceived. This author has put in a lot of effort in terms of researching and creating her world, and this sentiment comes across loud and strong on every page of the book. However, like many debut efforts, The Black Act’s greatest flaw lies in its poor execution. The writing style, plotting and overall character narratives are jerky and uncertain, detracting from the overall reading experience. Though it is clear that Ms. Bohmer has a talent for imagery and a strong imagination, the writing just isn’t there yet.

Ana:When Louise Bohmer first contacted us, I thought for sure this was going to be a “Thea” book because it is classified as horror, one of Thea’s favourite genres. But when I read the blurb and the teaser on the first page and noticed the story had strong Celtic Mythology connections, I decided to read it as well. My first impression was that The Black Act was more Fantasy than Horror and the fantasy aspects as well as the premise were brilliant. Unfortunately I have to agree with Thea that the execution completely fail to do the premise justice. Which is a shame, because there was a lot of potential there.

On the Plot:

Thea: While the ideas in Ms. Bohmer’s writing are solid, the plotting and overall writing style are overwhelming detractors. The first two-thirds of the novel suffer from an extend version of a data-dump; the novel’s largest crime is – if you’ll pardon a cliche – its reliance on telling instead of showing. Ms. Bohmer has put an exhausting amount of research and detail into her world in The Black Act. Unfortunately, it is also tiring to read. The novel alternates in different times and different narratives, and the story jumps around so much to the point of disorientation – I found myself constantly backtracking, making sure I was in the right “time” and reading the right character perspective. (Also, on a more technical/editorial note, the initial switches between dreams/visions/times/characters were marked in italics, but then later switches reverted to plain-face text, adding to the disorientation factor.) Furthermore, the narrative tended to read like a history lesson at times, dryly dumping information about the early fae and human migrants. The writing, too, suffered from being overly – unnecessarily – descriptive. For example, “The wet ripping sounds and the animalistic snarls from the forest monarch made her, and the whole crowd, move back from the grisly display,” or “The book’s paper, made from a durable and absorbent form of plant found only in the Northern Forest across the river, greeted her with a whispering white page, begging her to take pen and ink and begin her work.” Sentences like this are strewn throughout the book – descriptions suffer from one too many adjectives, drawing attention in a bad way to the writing.

Despite these sizable qualms, the story is, at its heart, touching and well-imagined. The ideas are all there; for example, the sheer amount of imaginative strength behind the construction of the fae is staggering. Again, it’s the execution of these ideas and the lack of a distinct authorial voice that is missing.

Ana: I have to agree with Thea on this one. The plot follows 5 generations of Wise Women who are under a curse from one of their ancestors. One of the points of this curse us that they are not allowed to know about it until they reach a certain age : this is the starting point of the novel as twins Anna and Claire start to unveil the mystery of their heritage. Each of them follow a different path of discovery in what can only be described as a cacophony of voices and the sheer amount of jumping back and forth to past and present via either, dreams, visions, or disclosure from other characters, was completely disorienting. The different points of view – from Anna to Claire, to their ancestors Drea, Glenna, etc etc was such a mess, that left me completely lost in points. The fact that sometimes the dreams/visions/storytelling were in italics and other times, not, was definitely a problem ( although we read an ARC, so this may have been fixed in the final copy) along with the weird, sudden breaks the story had.

Despite all that and my initial desire to stop reading the book, it is evidence of Louise Bohmer’s interesting ideas that I kept on reading to learn the story of these women. Although, in all honesty, the way the story was told, it felt like I was reading a non-fiction book about a mythological tale instead of a fictional fantasy story and that is the reason why The Black Act failed to truly engage me.

On the Characters:

Thea: I have to say that my favorite characters were the fae in all their shapes and sizes and forms. Ms. Bohmer does a fantastic job of bringing her descriptions of these characters to life; for example:

She loosened one of her hands from his and traced the deep groove beneath his cheekbone. Her fingers followed the intricately woven birch-bark and wormwood fungus along his jawline and came to rest in the dark, mossy nest of beard that sprouted from his pointed chin.

The Wood Men, the Oak King, the Queen of Samhain – these are forest creatures and mythological invocations of the fae, and they do evoke Celtic images as Ana says. These creatures are strong and separate from their human and halfling counterparts, and are beautifully imagined in The Black Act.

Unfortunately, the human characters were lacking in comparison. The Wise Women, especially those generations of women cursed by their blood had flatter, almost interchangeable characters. I really enjoyed Drea McCleod story as the first of their cursed bloodline, as I enjoyed Glenna’s tale too. And yet, outside of these two characters, the ‘protagonists’ (sisters Claire and Anna) were merely passive observers and felt more like a vehicle for the story as opposed to fully dimensioned characters in their own right. The villains too were very one-note in their predictable evilness.

Ana:

I agree with Thea that the Fae were the most interesting characters: Louise Bohmer was extremely faithful to original portrayals of these creatures, delving deeply in Celtic Mythology. So Instead of glorified, beautiful, shinning creatures (like for example, Galadriel or Legolas from Lord of the Rings) you have:

And the fact that these creatures were the men the Wise Women fell for made it all the more fascinating. The fact that the far were also described as detached from regular human emotions whilst at the same time, suffering from an undeniable desire for contact with them made these characters riveting.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the human characters. The villains were cardboard uni-dimensional characters until the last minute when they were given reasoning behind their acts. And as for the Wise Women, there were simply far too many of them: five generations and each had their story told. If you bear in mind how short the book is, this was way too much for too little pages, making it impossible for any of these characters to be truly and well developed , which also means that at the end of the day, I connected with none.

Let me put it like that: I read the book like I read a mythological tale. With a sense of detachment –enjoying the stories but without really any bond with the characters.

Final Observations, Recommendation and Ratings:

Ana: A good premise and an interesting tale with a poor execution. The ideas are there, but I think Louise Bohmer has still to hone her writing style. Then, she will be unstoppable.

Thea: I firmly believe that Ms. Bohmer has a strong eye for myth and promising, imaginative ideas. Though The Black Act is not without its significant missteps, Ms. Bohmer has an undeniable talent, and I am eager to see her future work.

Notable Quotes/ Parts:

Ana: You know, I really liked all the scenes with the Fae and I was horrified and yet strangely intrigued by the description of exactly HOW these Wise Women got pregnant.

Thea: I loved the scene with Drea and the fae court in all their splendor.

Additional Thoughts: For more on The Black Act (including book trailers and excerpts), make sure to check out the book’s page via Lachesis Publishing, the official book website, or Louise Bohmer’s website.

Rating:

Ana: 4

Thea: 5 – A debut effort through and through, but I expect good things from Ms. Bohmer in the future.

Title: The Laurentine Spy

Author: Emily Gee

Genre: Officially, Dark Fantasy but it has a LOT of romance.

Publisher: Solaris
Publishing Date: April 28, 2009
Paperback: 416 pages

Stand Alone or series: Stand alone

Summary: The Corhonase citadel is a place of virtue and debauchery. But nothing is as it seems, whether in the ballrooms and salons of the nobles’ Court or the catacombs beneath the citadel. Saliel has many secrets; her spying is one, but her most guarded mystery is her magic. She walks a narrow path between discovery as a spy and being burned as a witch. With a sadistic Spycatcher closing in, Saliel and her fellow spies are tested to the limits of their endurance—they must trust each other, or die. Magic may be their only hope of survival…

Why did I read the book: I saw this review at Fantasy Book Critic and immediately felt I had to read the book . Thanks to the awesome Graeme , I was able to get a review copy from the publisher, Solaris.

Review:

Warning: the review contains some minor spoilers which I feel need to be mentioned but in my opinion these spoilers do not ruin the experience of reading the book.

A cloaked, hooded women walks through the catacombs beneath the citadel of Corhonase. She is not afraid but she is careful. She carries a knife for protection. She reaches an alcove and another hooded figure shows up and she says:

“I saw three rings around the moon tonight”

He replies:

“I saw none”

and she is cleared. The guardian takes her into the chamber where One and Two were already seated. The woman – Three – greets One and Two and they all proceed to talk about what brought them here. They are spies from the Laurentine Protectorate, enemies of the The Corhonese Empire, infiltrated in their society to gather information. One, Two and Three know nothing about one another, for their own protection in case they are caught. But it’s clear that One and Three have a special relationship and feel extremely protective about each other. Each of the spies leaves the chamber via a different route and as they ditch cloak and hood, they join the Corhonase Court and assume their aliases.

One, whose real Laurentine name is Saliel, assumes the alias of Lady Petra, a young lady who is the sole survivor of a tragedy and is in mourning. Three, or Athan, becomes the indolent, slow-witted Lord Ivo.

The story follows the adventures of One and Three as they gather precious information for their country, which is under the threat of an imminent attack, and run against time. And as the clock ticks , the pressure increases as the Prince’s Consort decides that Lady Petra should get married to….Lord Ivo. Saliel, without knowing that Lord Ivo is One, abhors the idea of getting married to that man but she has no choice. Lord Ivo on the other hand, abhors the idea of marrying a Corhonese even though Lady Petra’s disgust for him only makes him ….want her. There is also a catch here: Corhonese women are supposed to be docile and honour their husbands above all and simply endure the quick encounters in the marriage bed as their husbands are not supposed to make it good for them – they all have the courtesans for their pleasures.

Saliel and Athan hope to avoid the wedding by finishing their mission and leaving the citadel but things don’t go as smoothly as they hoped. To complicate matters even further, it becomes clear to the Corhonese that there are spies in their court and they bring the infamous, terrible Spycatcher to investigate and interrogate everybody.

I knew it. I saw this book in the Fantasy Book Critic blog and I.just.knew. I was going to love it. I wasn’t wrong but it wasn’t what I expected from the blurb and the genre’s definition. There is hardly any “Dark” in this Fantasy novel and a lot of “Romance” which I guess would make most of our romantically-inclined readers very happy indeed specially for its most satisfying ending. I know I was! I read it in 5 hours non-stop because I simply could not put it down.

The first 250 pages of The Laurentine Spy are filled with tension and both the spying and the suspense of will they –won’t they (be caught. Get married. Find out who they are BEFORE they get to that freaking bed.) were nearly heart-attack inducing. And the fear that both characters felt exuded from the pages and it was SUFFOCATING. I could not turn the pages fast enough and was wholly immersed in those pages, rooting for the two characters.

The final 150 pages, as they leave the citadel and need to journey together to Laurent running from the spycatcher is still fast-paced and tense but the romance takes centre stage as the characters must deal with the revelation of who they are and with the repercussion of what they had to do for their country. Athan(what a fantastic beta male he is) is in turmoil, crushed under guilt, shame and regret even though it is not his fault that he did not know that Three was Lady Petra. Saliel (what a fantastic quietly strong female lead she is) is disgusted to learn that One is Lord Ivo and has a hard time separating the two. But that is NOT ALL: dear readers, there is a lot more to this story as the two characters fall into their real identities and learn that a whole world separates them. The Laurentine society even though a more joyous and artistic than their enemy’s (Corhonase society is eerily reminiscent of Victorian times with its strict moral beliefs) is also divided into a system of castes in which Saliel and Athan fall in opposite sides and Athan must shun Saliel for her past. Add to the steaming pot the fact that Saliel has the Eye i.e. is a witch, then you have a whole source of organic conflict; specially because the characters do behave like their sets of beliefs are inherent to who they are – and it makes quite the journey to see if they can shed what is elementary to them in order to become something else, something new.

Even though there is romance permeating the first part as there is the suspense permeating the second, in the whole I thought the romance aspect was stronger than the Fantasy. This is even more evidenced by the lack of a more in-depth world-building and/or the presence of fantastic elements. There is very little background information to the war between the Corhonase and the Laurentine and very little use of magic. In fact, the magic is reduced to two characters, one of them being the heroine – and it’s much more related to how it affects this particular character than how it affects the world and society around making this a character-driven novel. And I would go as far as to say that to call this book Dark Fantasy is a complete mis-label of the book and it may lead to reader’s expectations being unfulfilled.

Particularly if you take into consideration the drama that happens when they are on the run – some of it reminded me of old school romance (and it came as no surprise when I read afterwards, that Emily Gee ‘s first book, Thief with no Shadow was nominated for two Rita awards and her next book in a regency for Harlequin Mills and Boon) but with a distinction that makes all the difference.

The reason why I disliked pretty much all of the old school romance I read so far is that the endless drama that seem to be part of the plot don’t read very organically to me. It frustrates me when the drama could have been avoided by a single conversation or how the reasoning behind some of the actions seem contrived or stemmed from TSTL behaviour or clearly there to simply add conflict. So yes, the last 150 pages of The Laurentine Spy would make Judith McNaught proud in the amount of dramatic twists and turns but whereas a Judith McNaught book generally leave me angry, The Laurentine Spy didn’t. The drama (and I am being cryptic on purpose here as to not spoil any more than I already did) , even though at times I thought it was too much, did make sense within the story as did the reaction of the characters. It all felt reasonable, believable, and realistic. The drama occurs because both characters act within the mind-set they have been born and raised into and to act any differently in those circumstances would have been a cop-out. I would go as far as to say that I would probably act the same way had I been in their shoes and yes, that goes for both Saliel and Athan’s actions. Having said that, because it was realistic, the drama was pain-inducing and heart-wrenching but also very fulfilling in the way it served the story and served the characters’ relationship to progress.

I could not ask more from a character piece and putting aside the expectation that I had for a pure fantasy novel and the surprise I felt for getting more romance than I asked for, The Laurentine Spy was a great read indeed.

Notable quotes/ Parts: every time they had an encounter with the spycatcher: I felt like my heart would come out of my chest. Athan’s journey of self-discovery.

Verdict: A great, exhilarating and dramatic read with a lot of romance

Rating: 7 VERY GOOD and leaning towards an 8

Reviewing Next: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Title: Feast of Souls

Author: C.S. Friedman

Genre: Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

Publisher: DAW Books
Publication Date: January 2007
Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages

Stand alone or series:Book one in the Magister Trilogy.

Why did I read this book: I received book 2, Wings of Wrath, from the publisher and was instantly taken in by the intriguing blurb and awesome cover. And since I’m a stickler about reading all the books in a series in order, I rushed to my bookstore to find a copy of book 1.

Summary: (from amazon.com)
A new trilogy of epic adventure from one of the finest writers in modern fantasy

C.S. Friedman, acclaimed author of The Coldfire Trilogy, returns to the epic style which has made her one of the most popular fantasy writers in the genre. In this first book of the trilogy, Friedman introduces readers to a world of high fantasy, replete with vampire-like magical powers, erotic interludes, treachery, war, sorcery, and a draconic creature of horrific power and evil that will have readers eagerly awaiting the next novel in the series.

Review:

In Kamala’s world there is magic, but it comes at a terrible cost. Women who are able to wield their soulfire — the essence of life that every living creature has within — do so at the greatest cost, shaving seconds, days, even years off of their lives depending on the strength of the spell they cast. These witches die rarely of old age, but more often of their own spent soulfire. Feast of Souls opens with a tired witch, elderly already at 35 years old and who has promised herself never to use her magic again. But when a village woman comes to her hut with her plague-sickened child and her quiet daughter, the witch cannot help but use her power one last time and paying the ultimate consequence. From this experience watching the witch, old beyond her years, die saving her younger brother, Kamala is changed forever. She swears that she will not, she will never, use her magic and die. Instead of becoming a witch, she seeks out a mentor to become what no woman has ever become — a Magister.

Magisters, unlike their female counterparts are mysterious men, able to use as much magic as they wish without dying. They are all powerful and immortal, dabbling in Morati politics as they see fit over the years, playing games with human lives to pass their never ending lifespans. The relative stability of peace amongst the mortal realms is thrown however when the powerful King Danton’s son, Prince Andovan, slowly grows sicker from The Wasting — a malady that has no cure. The truth of Andovan’s illness is tied to the Magisters’ deepest secret, for the source of their power and the price of their immortality is their ability to use other Morati’s soulfire in the place of their own. These humans, ‘consorts’, waste away as the Magister bound to them uses their souls as their fuel, their magical food source. The Magisters discover that one of their kind has bonded inexplicably with the Prince, and the King’s Magister and consult Ramirus is pressed to discover who before the Prince dies.

While the Magisters are preoccupied with their politics, King Danton’s rage grows with the poison-tongued advice of his new Magister, and Prince Andovan struggles to find out the source of his illness, a darkness has taken over the land. Hundreds of years have passed since the last creature called Souleater was killed, and the protecting pillars to the north called the Wrath have been erected, guarding mankind from their return. But attacks, devastation and death return to the human lands, as these Souleaters have risen again, and Magisters, Royalty and Witch must band together against their threat.

Feast of Souls is a decadent dark fantasy novel. Blending a huge cast of characters, Ms. Friedman weaves a complex tale wrought with magic, emotion and adventure. There are familiar archetypes here — the defiant young Kamala, the noble prince, the disinterested and petty magicians, the worm-tongued advisor and the insane king — but Ms. Friedman manages to imbue her characters with such color and feeling that they never feel derivative. Kamala begins the book as coldly determined and power-hungry and grows into a much more relatable character — a far cry from the gentle-hearted healer-warrior women we are usually entreated to (in fact, those moments when she does question the ethics of sucking a human dry for her own life very nearly kill her). As the first female Magister, Kamala’s resolve to live at any cost — especially at the murder of others — is fascinating and a departure from the norm.

Similarly the Magisters are varied and complex in their motivations. The unforgiving power system in place in this novel allows for some wonderful variation on the behalf of those who use magic — Magisters range from bored to disinterested, juxtaposed against the witches who barter years of their lives for the benefit of others.

There are so many wonderful characters introduced in this novel, and all of them are beautifully developed, whether it be the beaten but unbroken Queen or the quietly reclusive, repentant Magister Ethanus, Master to Kamala’s apprenticeship. As the book is narrated completely in the third person omniscient, these characters and their thoughts add an impressive depth of perspective to the novel.

As to plotting, Ms. Friedman has an imaginative, deft hand as a storyteller, effortlessly juggling politics, battles, and character-driven subplots. While the book is set in the traditional western European medieval model world with the ominous Rise of The Dark as the backdrop plot, there is so much more going on with her numerous, vitally important subplots. Perhaps the most staggering achievement of Feast of Souls is how purposeful every scene fills. There is no filler in this book — Ms. Friedman’s prose is crisp and to the point, just as every scene in this book serves as an integral part to the novel as a whole. There are no wasted pages here, and I could not put the book down to save my life.

Feast of Souls is a fantastic, superior work of speculative fiction and I cannot wait to dig into Wings of Wrath! Highly recommended.

Notable Quotes/Parts: A brief interlude with the Queen Gwynofar, one of my favorite characters.

It took effort not to let all that show in her face. She did not want her son to see anything in her expression other than love and acceptance. It would accomplish nothing to have him understand the magnitude of his error, save to make him feel greater remorse than any human soul could bear. No, this must be a secret that she kept locked up in her heart, where no other person could share it…

“Mother.” He said it softly, gentling her from her reverie. “I risked Father’s wrath to return for a reason…The demons of the north. The ones they call Souleaters.” His expression darkened. “They are back.”

Souleaters. The legends all said they would return someday, for a battle that could bring about the end of the Second Age of Kings. Those same legends promised that ancient magics in the Protectors’ bloodlines would be awakened when it was needed. Was that the source of her dreams? Some ancient magic stirring now, responding to this threat preparing her and her children for the roles they were destined to play? If so, shouldn’t that same magic make her feel more confident about what was happening, shouldn’t it fill her with a sense f purpose, or, of…well, destiny? It didn’t. She just felt frightened.

Additional Thoughts: This is not C.S. Friedman’s first book. Her Coldfire Trilogy also comes highly recommended by critics and SF/F fans alike! Has anyone else read any of C.S. Friedman’s work? Any suggestions or favorites you have to recommend would be greatly appreciated! As it stands, I’ll be picking up Black Sun Rising: The Coldfire Trilogy #1 very soon.

Verdict: Feast of Souls is a rich, deftly plotted fantasy with beautifully complex characters. An imaginative start to what promises to be a sensational trilogy. Fans of dark fantasy, the Magister trilogy is for you.

Rating: 8 Excellent

Reading Next: Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre

Title: Ink Exchange

Author: Melissa Marr

Genre: Young Adult, Dark Fantasy

Stand Alone or Series: Second book in the series.

Summary: (from HarperCollins.com)
Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow.

The tattoo does bring changes—not the kind Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils. . . .

Why did we read this book: Because we absolutely adored Wicked Lovely and we both fell in love with Melissa Marr’s writing.

Review:

First Impressions:

Ana: After Reading Wicked Lovely I thought I was somewhat prepared for Ink Exchange and the insight into the Dark Court. I was wrong. This is a much darker story, dealing with deeper, grimmer issues than Wicked Lovely did and with an outcome that speaks volumes about how to tell a tale for YA without been patronizing or excessively optimistic. I was deeply affected by the story, and utterly impressed that she ended it the way she did – it was absolutely perfect. More of that, please.

Thea:While I was very impressed with Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange blew me away. All those shades of gray we mentioned in our joint review for the previous book are multiplied a hundredfold in this installment. This is an impressive, emotionally stirring novel that ends PERFECTLY. Enough said. I am officially a Melissa Marr fangirl.

On the Plot:The Dark Court is in deep trouble. Ever since the final events in Wicked Lovely with the Winter Queen’s cruel reign coming to an end and with the restoration of the Winter-Summer balance, the Dark Court has lost their main source of darkness – darkness is what sustain the Dark fey and they had plenty of that when Beria was the queen. So much so they hardly ever needed the sustenance from humans.

Irial, the Dark King is in a hard spot. His Fey are becoming increasingly weak and increasingly greedy and ready to go to war in order to get the dark feelings they need to survive from someone, anyone, in any form. He has to make a difficult decision, he needs to save his people and so he does. He is to use humans as conduits to feed the fey.

Enter Leslie, friends with Aislinn, Leslie knows nothing about the Fey but she knows everything about darkness. She lives a hard life, with a father who doesn’t care for her and a brother who sold her to a drug dealer to pay his debts. Leslie was drugged and gang raped and is trying to get her life back on track. She wishes more than anything to feel no fear and no anger. When she decides to get a tattoo – for her, a symbol of control of her own body – she doesn’t know that she is about to be bound to the Dark King by the very ink (which are the blood and tears of the Dark Fey) that is to become her art and take place as a conduit of emotions between humans and fey, feeding them through herself. The connection with the Dark King re-ignites a centuries old feud between Niall, main advisor to the Summer King and Irial, when both men end up falling in love with her.

Ana:Where to start? Perhaps with my own feelings whilst reading this story? I felt like I was myself, a conduit of all the happenings and feelings in the book: I alternated between sad, disgusted, terrified, and angry with happy, enchanted, hopeful and cautiously optimistic. When a book stirs my feelings like this, I feel perfectly content – this is why I read.

The originality of the premise – to link a mortal to the fey via a tattoo inked with blood and tears and make her a conduit of dark emotions from humans to fey that will starve without these feelings is amazing. But not as much as the way the story is told. From the very start with Leslie struggling with the horrific thing that happened to her – caused by her own brother – to the very end with Leslie taking control of her own life, accepting that the fear and the hate are parts of her which she can not live without and which she doesn’t want to be without.

The insight into the Dark Court both attracted and repulsed me – the things that they did to sustain themselves were downright horrific – it involved using and abusing other fey and humans, and sometimes the end result was death. Yes. And yet, somehow, it was very clear that there was no evil involved – the Dark fey are what they are. Irial, as their King, understood that but he also understood that there’s gotta be measure to it – making him a wonderfully balanced character.

There are so many themes explored in this: Choice, just like in Wicked Lovely – Leslie, has a choice to make by the end of the book; Change and Adaptation – Irial, Niall and Leslie go through the motions of their relationship and all of them came out of it scarred – no one could have gone through what they have without the capability of adapting to their conditions and to reflect seriously on what it all meant to them.

Another point that I loved was the difference between Temptation and Interest. One can be tempted and attracted to anything but that does not mean they are really interested in them – that is very clearly an ongoing issue in these novels since humans are so tempted by the Fey and all of them in the end, have to make a choice – yes, we are back to the Choice thematic again – on whether to accept it or not. The fact that they can and will choose at least so far, their humanity over all the things the fey can give them is another thing I love about these books. So far then, (not that I am counting) is Humans 2 x 0 Fey.

I usually loathe love triangles but I thought the one in Ink Exchange was superbly done and I felt both men deserved Leslie’s interest. A word for the romantically inclined – there is a happy ending in the novel for all of them, but the happy ending is not without sacrifices and it is not a romantic happy ending. But it is perfect and fitting and to end it in any other way would have been less than stellar – one can not help but to compare this with the Breaking Dawn fiasco of a few weeks ago.

Thea: My vicious, non-romantic heart will speak for this novel! This is a story about darkness, and pain and revelry in it, as we explore psychological issues of rape, addiction, and the faerie realm of the Dark Court. In the previous novel we got a dose of the Winter Court and the Summer Court, and while neither were particularly cute and cuddly, the Dark Court is a horse of a completely different color…and I loved every shadowy, inky minute of it. Unlike any of the other faerie courts, the Dark Court relies on strong emotions to feed–rage, jealously, lust, hate, etc. In this new time of peace since Beira’s demise, Irial, King of the Dark Court, finds that his fae are starving and weakening. Beira’s cruel reign provided an easy feast for Irial and his court, but now with the truce between the Summer King and the new Winter Queen, Irial resorts to new measures to sustain his court–ink exchanges. By binding mortals to the Dark Court via tattoos, inked in shadow and blood, Irial can try to feed off human emotions through a conduit. I found this storyline completely fascinating–there is something very emotional, very ritualistic and personal in getting inked. Extending this to the story, with a tattoo as an actual living conduit, between a mortal girl and the Dark King, it’s a very powerful image.

I very much enjoyed seeing the variation here between the different types of faeries, the distinct dark Otherness of Irial’s court as opposed to the frivolous Summer Girls of Keenan’s. The new additions of the Hounds, halflings, the Gabriel, added even more depth to the world we were introduced to in Wicked Lovely. What’s more, I loved that Ms. Marr again does not pass judgement on her characters and her world–the Dark Court isn’t “evil” or “bad”. It simply is, and needs to exist because it is a part of nature too–a balance must be met, as in all things.

And…I have to admit, I liked the bitter, bloody tang of this court.

The only qualms I had here were a few continuity issues over the course of this book. The lack of communication between Aislinn and Leslie–for the ENTIRE BOOK became incredibly frustrating as the story went on. Aislinn knowing how hurt Leslie was, and then not doing a thing about it didn’t sit well with me either. There were many instances where I felt Leslie was drifting into “LOST-land”–i.e. exhibiting the syndromes where characters frustratingly keep asking the same question over and over again without asking the important questions (if you’re a fellow LOST fan, think Locke in any conversation with Benry over the past two seasons). It’s enough to have me bang my head against the wall in frustration.

That said, I think this book was beautifully plotted, and the ultimate ending for Leslie, Irial, and Niall I found absolutely PERFECT. This just feels like the one true way to finish the story, and I applaud Ms. Marr for sticking with it. Bravo.

On the Characters:

Ana: The characters in Ink Exchange are so fleshed out and interesting, I wanted to jump into the pages and have conversations with all of them.

Leslie, under despair and her utmost certainty, when the story starts, that a tattoo would help her heal, believing the tattoo was to be a symbol of her conviction, the one that she would be better, was such a touching character. At first, she wants to get rid of the fear and the pain but later, when she has her wish granted, when all that she feels is sucked by Irial to feed the Court , she despairs even more deeply because she learns that the pain and fear are parts of what and who she is.

Niall, who has been a member of the Summer Court and close adviser to Keenan for 900 years, also has a past in the dark Court – a past that finally catches up with him. He is a most tortured character, with horrendous memories about his time in the Dark Court – as it should be – but still struggling to accept that he too, has darkness within and still has friendship feelings towards Irial . This is a very complex character, inflexible in the matters of honour. I felt his pain when he realizes that Keenan wanted to use him and I felt his love for Leslie and for Irial as palpable things.

As for Irial. Well. If Niall is complex and Leslie is touching, then Irial is all of that and much more. As a King he has the best interest of his court at heart; he is ruthless in what needs to be done and even cruel in the way he carries out his duties. He teases Keenan because he enjoys feeding from his volatile character and he has no problem whatsoever in bonding Leslie to him and using her.

In the hands of a lesser writer this would probably be a horrendous, morbid, downright repugnant relationship to read about, heck, if it could be called a relationship at all. But Melissa Marr excels at portraying sentiments and feelings for both characters that makes it not only bearable but also somewhat, and weirdly so, beautiful. Because Irial doesn’t simply feed off Leslie, he is likewise changed by her, he gets all the dark feelings through her but all that is good in her also comes to him and only to him. And, this is the twist, he opens himself to it – it is as the title says an Ink EXCHANGE and that is what makes this book incredible. The choices that lead to sacrifices and ultimately to change.

With everyone willing to sacrifice –both Niall and Irial wanting to do what is best for Leslie but without even having to – because Leslie does not need her men to make those decisions for her, she is fully capable of standing up for herself. There could have been no other end – this one was fully satisfying.

Thea: The characters of Ink Exchange are much more developed, far more interesting than those of Wicked Lovely–I found myself enthralled with Leslie, Irial and Niall. Leslie, the main protagonist, has a depth that Aislinn lacked–her struggles making money for her broken family, holding off her abusive drug dealing brother, her alcoholic father, not to mention the horrors she has been through at the hands of her family…it’s not a pretty picture. But Leslie feels very real, hurt and wary of trusting anyone with her problems (she refuses to let anyone know how bad things are for her, even keeping this a secret from her best friend Aislinn) but still coming out of past trauma all the stronger. Her fixation with getting a tattoo–THE tattoo–as a means of reclaiming herself, body and soul, is something I could completely understand. And, when what she is looking for backfires on her and she becomes Irial’s Shadow Girl, numb to all emotion, it is heartbreaking. Still, Leslie’s strength, the power of her will to choose what she wants her life to be, is incredibly endearing.

Niall, Keenan’s right hand man, is another wonderful addition to this story. We met him superficially in the prior novel, but really get into his backstory in this book. His attraction to Leslie, rooted in his own darkness, and his struggle with his true nature as a Gancanagh complicates any relationship he tries to have. Because he is Gancanagh, any mortal he is physically with will become addicted to his touch, and will waste away without it. He also has to come to terms with his past, his genuine feelings of affection and respect for Irial despite their history, and how his relationship with his King Keenan will become.

Irial, the Dark King, is probably my favorite character of the series. As I mentioned earlier, I loved that Ms. Marr takes the Dark Court in this book and does not paste it with an “evil” label. Even though Irial has done terrible, cold things in the past, just as with Keenan (the Summer King), everything he does is for the good of his court and for his fae. And, for all that he is the big bad Dark King and must keep appearances as a strong ruler, he understands that Darkness cannot run rampant–no more than a land can endure eternal heat or cold without killing the land. Instead of an all out war, Irial looks for another solution to feed his starving court, and finds it with the ink exchange to Leslie, who selects his mark. And, for all that he deprives Leslie of the choice to know what she will become when her ink is completed, the bond that connects the two characters is not just a cold blooded affair–he comes to love his Shadow Girl, and becomes vulnerable to their bond.

The intersection of these three characters and the relationships they have with each other is a hot mess–but one I reveled in reading.

And, I’ll say it again–the resolution to their story is perfection. In my opinion.

Final Thoughts, Observations and Rating:

Ana: I was shocked, mystified and at some points even disgusted – Ink Exchange is one of the most disturbing stories I have ever read even more so when I think this is a YA novel. It deals with rape, addiction and questionable actions that stirs feelings and begs for questioning one’s own mind and because of that, this gutsy, original and yes, beautiful story will be making my top 10 reads of 2008.

Thea: Ms. Marr puts a lot of love into this story, especially in her research of tattooing. In the afterward, she includes an image of Irial’s mark–the tattoo that Leslie wears on her back. Very cool. What more can I say? I love this book. Loved it more than the first one, and eagerly await for the next story in the series.

Notable Quotes/Parts:

Ana: Irial on the Dark Fey:

We are what we are, Niall, neither as good nor as evil as others paint us. And what we are doesn’t change how truly we feel, only how free we are to follow these feelings.

Thea: As before, Ms. Marr’s beautiful writing style is flawless in this entry. If anything, she has improved on her earlier work. I love the passage after she gets the outlining of her tattoo done:

She felt like she should be afraid, but she wasn’t. Rabbit had lied: something was very wrong. She knew with a certainty that seemed impossible–like tasting sugar and having called it salt–that the words he said didn’t taste true. But then it didn’t matter. The missing hands of the chaos clock shifted again, and nothing else mattered in that moment, just the ink in her skin, the hum in her veins, the euphoric zinging that made her feel a confidence she’d not known in far too long.

Rating:

Ana: 9, Damn Near Perfection!

Thea: 9, Damn Near Perfection

Reading Next: Driven by Eve Kenin