The Prince's Man

The Prince's Man by Deborah Jay

This book was released yesterday and I was so busy I missed the release. But I highly recommend that you go out (or log into amazon) and by it now!

I know, I know. I never give 5 stars to anything, but I finished this book and went immediately to “Where’s the next one”. Which of course, there isn’t. The one I read was an advanced reader’s copy I got in exchange for an honest review, but I assure you that I will definitely be watching this author so that I can snap up whatever else she comes out with!

Back to the book. The Prince’s man is set in a fantasy world where mankind has been trying to survive on a new land for a hundred years and more. Since they escaped from a land full of magic and a war with the fae. There are several kingdoms, which appear to be an approximation of medieval Europe. None of the kingdoms get on particularly well of course.

We follow Rustam Chalice (Rusty) as the kingdom appears about to topple. Someone is selling the secret to eternal life and making a lot of money. That money appears to be going to fund a private army. Something the young king’s uncle, the spymaster as it were, cannot allow any of the families to do. When the families have fought before, it was disastrous and it doesn’t look to be any less so now. Especially for the royals and those who are loyal to them.

It’s an epic adventure with several well formed and engaging characters. As well as Rusty we have the cold Lady Risada Delgano vas Domn. Who saw her parent’s murdered when she was but 6 years old. She raised her brother, the Lord Iain Merschenko vas Domn to rule the second house but is struggling to let go of the reins (in true medieval style, women cannot rule a family). The interactions between these two as well as the other, less loyal characters, are both believable and unpredictable. It’s been a while since I didn’t know what was going to happen next in a book!

Add into that magic which is both awed and feared and you have the perfect epic fantasy adventure in a style that will have you gripped to every word. Please note, that it is advisable to start this book when you have a block of time to dedicate to it. Starting an hour before needing to leave the house will make you late, I should know. Read time approx. 5 – 6 hours. (Again, remember that I read quite fast. It’s 5904 locations on kindle so compare it to the time you take to read books of a similar length for a personal estimate)

Happy Reading

Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18194573-the-prince-s-man?ac=1

Hollow Moon

Hollow Moon by Steph Bennion

I was wracking my brains as to what to give this one. Usually by the end of the book I have a fairly clear idea as to a rating. But this one just sort of slipped past me. It’s a nice read. Very nice in fact, with a very well built up world. Futuristic space pop culture with a rather realistic reasoning for some of the worlds. I think that a younger audience would love it. Maybe that was the niggling feeling I got throughout. That it was a book about teenagers, for teenagers. But I went with 4 stars because despite that, I would read the next one.

The beginning is quite exciting as Ravana follows her cat up a cliff face. It’s a strangely normal scene for a very alien world. Yet manages to capture the fear and excitement of a girl who’s found herself somewhere she’s not supposed be. Then witnesses something she wasn’t supposed to witness. The pace continues, although it slows a little when we switch from Ravana to a group of school kids on their way to a band competition. Which although entertaining, didn’t really capture my imagination quite as much as Ravana’s story.

I felt like it was an almost disneyfied version of a dark story. It’s got political manoeuvring and a civil war with death and disfigurement. But the nasty stuff was glossed over, so for a younger audience it’s fabulous. It’s the story of a girl who battles against corrupt forces to help free her homeland from tyranny. And there are more than a few genuinely funny segments. An investigator so terrible that you have to laugh at her. And a trouble maker who seems to be hiding some deep seated insecurities – that’s not stated in the book but it’s the impression I got. So overall, some very realistic characters. I just can’t really get a hold of it in my mind. It was an enjoyable read, in fact I may read it again some day. There was just something that niggled at me. I’ve never really been a fan of the fairytail, good vs evil but that’s a person opinion.

One last note. You will be disappointed when you put the book down. Little did I know that I could miss holographic mind controlled technology that I’ve never seen in real life. And it’s always a little strange to wake up from a book and realise that you don’t have a space ship. I think I may in fact, remain disappointed until someone can build me a space ship, preferably one that talks to me…

Happy Reading

Oh, and I thought it would be a good idea to start linking to the books. So here is Hollow Moon on goodreads, if you didn't already know, goodreads allows you to link to where you can buy the book so it's easier than giving you all a dozen links for all the different sites and zones etc:

Seedbearing Prince: Part 1 by Davaun Sanders

Seedbearing Prince: Part one

A truly engaging read full of excellent world building and realistic characters. Set in the belt, a series of worlds bound together by treaties and under attack by a truly terrifying enemy.

At the start of the book I wasn’t really sure where it was going, but the writing kept me reading anyway. It’s not a short read so some parts, mostly the beginning, do take a while. But it’s time well spend. An understanding of the history of the worlds and the characters is established so well that I didn’t once have to go back and check something. For such a complex and wide spread world that is quite an achievement!

As the speed picks up this book is really difficult to put down. It doesn’t get five stars because I was still in bed at a normal time. Although I did have to download it onto my phone so that I could read in spare moments on the go. So it really should be 4 ½ stars. Anyone who reads my reviews will know that I don’t give out such high ratings lightly.

I loved the way the narrative transitioned smoothly from one situation to another. Especially the way it switched between political manoeuvring, site seeing and battles. All of which rang true to the characters and had me routing for them. Dayn in particular was a great voice and seeing the worlds through his eyes provided observations and internal thoughts in fantastic balance. Bits and pieces from the other characters provide insight into other aspects of the situation. Sometimes frustrating since you know more than some of the characters but it really brings the story to life.

Over all I would say that this is a must read for anyone with a liking for space sci fi or even fantasy. It’s got plenty of action and a rich history built in. Although the ending is one hell of a cliffhanger...

Happy Reading

Cult of Me

Cult of Me by Micheal Brookes

This was a new take on the idea of telepathy and the ability to influence other’s minds. Or rather, it started off that way. We start by following the potagonist as he spends his first night in jail. Far from being scared or annoyed at being caught, he is glad to be there. He has a plan, the details of which are divulged later. He occupies himself by torturing the other inmates.

Switching between the present prison and his past, his life is gradually revealed. He’s not the typical hero type. In fact he is distincly not heroic, at no time actually wanting to do something to help others except when it benefits him. I actually found myself surprisinglty drawn in, especially considering the rather depraved nature of some of his actions. He uses his abilities almost exclusively for personal gain and to manipulate others. He thinks nothing of sending random strangers to their deaths, or taking advantage of the people around them by implanting thoughts in their minds.

I was actually going to give this book 4 stars (or suns since I still can't find any stars), right up untill about ¾ through when the end squence starts. The plan goes wrong, not a bad thing considering the amount of death planned, but all quite strange in the way it happens. Then, and this is where I struggled to keep going, a relgious botherhood of catholic monks comes in and offers him a deal.

Now I have nothing against monks, in fact, I’ve met a few very nice ones, but I do not like good verses evil, God is good and Satan is corrupting everyone narritive. What saved this book for me was the fact that the protagonist wasn’t terribly convinced of God and Satan either. I think if he’d immeadiately gone to a save the world mentality I would have had to put it down. But he didn’t. He wasn’t seeking redemtion and he carried on as best he could. It reminded me of Martina Cole’s books, characters you grow to like despite the fact that you would never, ever wish to meet them in real life.

So, 3 stars, but it was almost four. And if you are a fan of good verses evil this is definatly the book for you. If you like your protagonists to be heroes and go around questioning the morality of everything, this is not the book to read. This guy has a complex history which is well represented but very dark. And he has a consistant way of thinking which keeps the narritive going, even though it’s horrific in most respects.

Happy Reading... 

...Or not, since this isn’t really a happy book, but that never stopped it being good.

Halls of Ivy

Halls of Ivy by Roland Nunez

I gave it 3 suns because I can't find the star shape, although it's more like 3 and a half. I ummed and ahhed between 3 and 4 suns and it just, and I mean just, didn't make the 4. It's still a great rating, I'm picky about my books, a 4 suns means that I want to re-read the book and jump straight into the next one, 5 stars means that I just want to read it non-stop for as long as possible. 3 suns means that I enjoyed the book, I just don't feel an immediate insanity upon finishing it. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Let me start by saying that I’m not an avid mystery reader. But whilst I don’t have a lot of experience with them, I have been known to dip my toes in occasionally. It’s a genre for people who love to figure things out, and can generally remember lots of information they read. I am both of these things. Which may be both a blessing and a curse with this book. Perhaps an experienced reader would have figured out the twists, but I was left rather shocked when they were revealed. Shocked in a good way, that is.

When I first heard about this book my thoughts fled to a show we used to watch called Veronica Mars. A mystery set in an American collage, it certainly had similarities. In fact I could see some of the storylines in this book making a good series on TV. But it is actually very different to the teenage detective story.

For starters, the main character is a PHD student doing her dissertation. In fact it does read a bit like a piece of academic writing with a storyline woven in.

The opening prologue really draws you in. With a mystery set out and the main character voice set out in a concise and frustratingly general way. It’s rather difficult not to keep going just to find out the premise of the prologue. I found that to be true even later on in the book. That it was building up back towards this one scene, but this time we’d know what it was about.

Told through the many voices of the class Ms Cheyenne Winters interviews for her student affairs PHD, the story is intriguing. Winters starts off with a basic study of collage life, but soon get pulled into the greater mystery of serial suicides about campus. Hints of conspiracy and cover up pepper the story.

Jumping back and forth in the time line, the narrative is at times hard to follow. There are a lot of characters, all with relatively small parts; who tell the story between them. This leads to a very rounded, if piecemeal storyline. It certainly kept me guessing, with a gradual build up throughout the book. However there wasn’t all that much action. The action scenes weren’t my favourite, some of them felt rushed, or were more hinted about than actual told. But this did fit in with the rest of the style.

It was quite unemotional in it’s telling, as I said, a bit like a piece of academic writing. The transcripts of interviews used to tell most of the story read like exactly that. Transcripts of study interviews. The in between narrative also switched between times and characters, making it difficult to really get into any specific one. Although I did come to like all of the students, I felt that I didn’t really know them all that well.

I can’t really comment on how realistic the collage was, since I’m British and go to a British uni. There were plenty of aspects I did recognise however; people trying to fit in; people moving rooms to get away from arguments were just a few concepts. Although I think that British introductions at uni seem to involve a lot more alcohol! That’s something to remember for British readers, 18 year olds starting collage can’t drink in the US! I kept forgetting, oops.

So overall, it is a good read and a worthwhile addition to your library. And at 77p for the kindle version, it’s a bargain too!

Happy Reading

Hello

This is a brand new blog dedicated to reviewing books. What distinguishes it from other review blogs?

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We love reading and are often on the search for new books, but it's not easy. Sometimes great books just get lost in the shuffle and forgotten. This blog is about finding these great books and bringing them to your attention. We will also post reviews of other, established books we've read. Perhaps you might find something you never considered before.

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- fantasy, especially urban fantasy
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