The Dark Deeps - Arthur Slade

   2018; 288 pages.  Book 2 (out of 4) in the “Mission Clockwork” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Steampunk; Young Adult & Teen; Action-Intrigue.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

 

    Matthew Wyle is a covert British intelligence agent based in New York City during the Victorian Era.  He’s been monitoring French agents there, and he’s just stumbled onto something strange.  Unfortunately, it’s in code.

 

VSVYWBT KEUW 6035236.  Grand Poisson 6035236.

 

    Hmm.  Those numbers and uppercase letters could mean anything, but “grand poisson” is French for “big fish”.  Something about a whale maybe?  But that seems a bit far-fetched.

 

    Well, he’d better let his London-based boss, Mr. Socrates, know of his discovery.  Maybe he can crack the code.

 

    Alas, two strong hands have just closed tightly around his throat and a voice out of nowhere says, “Ah, that is the information I’ve been trying to decode.  What do the numbers mean?  Tell me!”

 

    Those are the last words Matthew Wyle will hear in his life.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Dark Deeps is book 2 in Arthur Slade’s Mission Clockwork series.  I’ve read the first book, Mission Clockwork; it is reviewed here.  The hunchback Modo has now completed his training to be an agent for Mr. Socrates, even though he is still a teenager.  His shape-shifting skills will be put to the test on this current assignment, as he’ll be posing as part of a young married couple alongside his fellow teenaged agent, Octavia Milkweed.  At least they get to go on a cruise.

 

    I liked the inclusion of foreign language phrases in the text.  There were snippets of French, Latin, and what I presume was Catalan.  The mention of penny dreadfuls made me chuckle.  And being a chemist by trade, I loved the inclusion of the Oxygen-creating reaction involving Manganese Dioxide and Potassium Chlorate.  Does that sound nerdish?  Well, it enables humans to breathe underwater.

 

    The storyline has a very “Jules Verne” feel to it; the book’s title and cover image confirm this.  It is not a spoiler to say that both our protagonists will be spending a lot of time beneath the sea.  Add to our two protagonists a ship’s captain who’s both idealistic and fatalistic, a French spy who’s both shapely and pragmatic, and a dude named Griff who nobody is real sure about; and you end up with an extremely fascinating tale.

 

    The ending manages to be both death-defyingly exciting and predictably logical at the same time, which is not a criticism.  Both the good guys and the baddies get their just desserts, and since this is a teen-YA book, it’s mostly done without any gore.  All the plotlines are tied up, and although there’s room for a sequel (how can you be certain someone is truly dead if no bodies are recovered?), I’m predicting that Book 3 will be a completely new setting for Modo and Octavia.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Dummacker (n.) : a knowing or acute person. (British slang)

Others: Dulse (n.);

 

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.4*/5, based on 77 ratings and 29 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.84*/5, based on 1,111 ratings and 137 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

   “Now, where exactly are we supposed to go?”  She sat at the mahogany table, and looked down at the carved map.

    “Assuming this is accurately carved, it’s right here!”  He tapped on a point about an inch below Iceland.

    “Sounds dreary and cold; good thing we get paid such riches to do this job.”

    “You get paid?”

    “Mr. Socrates said he is setting aside a fund for my retirement.  I assume he has done the same for you.”

    “I didn’t know we could retire.”  (pg. 62)

 

    “Ah, Mademoiselle Brunet.” Captain Monturiol said.  “Good morning.”  She sounded pleasant enough, but Colette would not give her the benefit of a smile.  “Comrade Girona and I will help you into your aquasuit.” The two women removed a suit from hooks and shelves along the wall.  Then the captain stopped to study Colette’s face.  “You have a mind like an oyster, did you know that?”

    “What do you mean?” Colette replied.

    “It is closed.  But I know there are pearls inside.  I eagerly await the opening of your mind today.”  (pg. 120)

 

Kindle Details…

    The Dark Deeps sells for $2.99 right now at Amazon.  The other three books in the series cost either $2.99 or $3.99.  Arthur Slade has several other series for your Kindle.  The e-books in those are generally in the $0.99-$4.99 price range.

 

“I don’t cough,” she said.  “I expel air daintily.”  (pg. 57)

    Finding things to quibble about was difficult.  As was true for the first book, there is zero cussing in The Dark Deeps.  Ditto for adult situations, although I wouldn’t be surprised if some affection eventually develops between Modo and Octavia.

 

    The book is written in “Canadian”, which means us Yankee readers will occasionally run into some odd spellings, such as marvellous, tonnes, centred, and defence.  Interestingly, both centimetres and meters were encountered, which seemed inconsistent.  The editing is topnotch; I only spotted one typo—a capitalized “Stopped” that should have been the lowercase “stopped”.  I'll blame the printer for that.

 

    But enough of the quibbling.  The Dark Deeps was a page-turner for me, despite it being in labeled a “Teen and Young Adult” book.  Yes, it is clean enough for kids.  Yes, it’s fast-paced, and filled with lots of action-intrigue, a YA requirement.  But adults will enjoy it just as much, because skilled authors are capable of accomplishing that.

 

    8½ Stars.  One last thing.  The Latin phrase in The Dark Deeps was “Plus Intra Plus Extra”, which Modo translates as “The Deeper The Better”.  Really?!  My Latin skills suck.

A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett

   2004; 406 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book 32 (out of 41) in the “Discworld” series.  Book 2 (out of 5) in the “Tiffany Aching” sub-series.  Genre : Fantasy; Humor.  Overall Rating: 8*/10.

 

    It’s time for Tiffany Aching to start her training to be a witch!  The first step is a big one—she’s going to leave home and move into her witch-tutor’s house.  This means saying goodbye to her parents for a while, even though she’s only eleven years old.

 

    Her tutor will be Miss Level.  Both of her.  We’ll explain that later.  Tiffany will also get to do a bit of socializing with other girls her age who are also training to be witches.

 

    Magic spells and flying brooms certainly sound exciting!  But keep your ears and eyes open, Tiffany.  Because there are other creatures out there who can sense when spells are being cast, and locate their sources.

 

    And not all of them have your best interests in mind.

 

What’s To Like...

    A Hat Full of Sky is the second book in a 5-volume YA coming-of-age fantasy series set in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld universe.  Book One, The Wee Free Men, introduced us to nine-year-old Tiffany, now it’s two years later.

 

    Being so young, Tiffany struggles with self-confidence and socializing with other girls, and it's fun to watch her progress in those areas over time.  She also learns that the essence of being a witch is more about caring about and rendering service to those in need in her neighborhood, not performing dazzling tricks.

 

    As with any Terry Pratchett novel, the character-building here is superb.  We are introduced to several local witches, each with their own quirks: one can’t make turns while flying on her broom; and Miss Level somehow has two simultaneous manifestations.  Oswald is a neat-freak ondageist (say what?!), and even the group of Pictsies called the Nac Mac Feegle, all have their own unique personalities.

 

    The tension in the storyline builds and leads up to a life-or-death confrontation between Tiffany and an unstoppable essence called “the hiver”, where the outcome-determining question is: how do you defeat something that is, by definition, invincible?  Things close with a festival called “The Witch Trials” where all the witches—whether they be initiates and old veteran hags alike—get to show off the tricks of their trade.  The story ends on Hogswatchday, a celebration on Discworld known as “the changing of the year”, or what you and I would call the Winter Solstice.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.8/5 based on 4,992 ratings and 598 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.32/5 based on 76,926 ratings and 2,742 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “PLN?” she said.

    “Aye,” said Rob proudly.  “We came prepared!  Look, it’s written doon.  Pee El Ner.  Plan.”

   “Er . . . how can I put this . . .” Miss Level mused.  “Ah, yes.  You came rushing all this way to save Tiffany from a creature that can’t be seen, touched, smelled, or killed.  What did you intend to do when you found it?”

    Rob Anybody scratched his head, to a general shower of objects.

    “I think mebbe you’ve put yer finger on the one weak spot, mistress,” he admitted.  (pg. 222)

 

    “I thought you might have a . . . a use for this.”

    The old woman slowly unwrapped the white paper.  The Zephyr Billow cloak unrolled itself under her fingers and filled the air like smoke.

    “It’s lovely, but I couldn’t wear it,” said Tiffany as the cloak shaped itself over the gentle currents of the clearing.  “You need gravitas to carry off a cloak like that.”

    “What’s gravitarse?” said Granny Weatherwax sharply.

    “Oh . . . dignity.  Seniority.  Wisdom.  Those sorts of things,” said Tiffany.  (pg. 396)

 

Kindle Details…

    A Hat Full of Sky sells for $13.99 at Amazon right now.  The other 40 books in the series range in price from $4.99 to $14.99, with no apparent pattern in the pricing strategy

 

It was dreadful when your own thoughts tried to gang up on you.  (pg. 308)

    A Hat Full of Sky contains zero profanity, zero gore, and zero adult situations.  The target audience is YA girls, so I expected this level of cleanliness, but if you’re not part of that target audience (and I’m not), you may find the story’s tone a bit “tame”.

 

    You might also find the pacing in the first half of the book, where Tiffany gets her first lessons in witchery, a bit slow.  But the second half of the story is vintage Pratchett storytelling, and is worth the wait.  I should also admit that I’m not reading these Tiffany Aching books in order, and I definitely got the feeling that was a mistake on my part.

 

    Although the story is set in Discworld, the only characters from the main series that play a role here are Granny Weatherwax and Death.  If your favorite character is someone like Carrot, Sam Vimes, or Rincewind, you might be a bit disappointed, although the Nac Mac Feegle do supply a fair amount of Discworld wit and hilarity to the tale.

 

    Overall, A Hat Full of Sky fully met my expectation for a Terry Pratchett YA novel, with some excellent insight for young readers about things like self-image and service to one’s fellow man.  Adults will likely find it thought-provoking as well.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  When you’re given three wishes by a grateful genie or magic frog or fairy godmother, what should your third wish always be, according to Granny Weatherwax?  Answer is in the comments.

The Great Troll War - Jasper Fforde

    2021; 353 pages.  Book 4 (out of 4) in the “Last Dragonslayer” series.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Fantasy; YA.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

 

   The Trolls are coming!  The Trolls are coming!!

 

    And the entire population of the UnUnited Kingdom is quaking in their boots.  Well, everyone that’s still alive, anyway.  Trolls find humans to be a culinary delight.  There are so many good ways to cook them and eat them.

 

    The Trolls have advanced to the border of the Kingdom of Snodd, but they’ve been stymied there, thanks to the Button Trench.  Trolls despise buttons.  No one knows why, but the Button Trench is keeping them out of Snodd.  For now.

 

    Jennifer Strange has been put in charge of organizing Snodd’s defenses for if and when the Button Trench fails.  Things could be worse.  Snodd has called up hundreds of fencers, marksmen, and warriors to aid in her cause.  There’s just one problem.

 

    There seems to have been a bit of a communications mishap when recruiting those soldiers.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Great Troll War is the fourth and concluding book in Jasper Fforde’s “The Last Dragonslayer” fantasy series.  There’s a 7-year gap (2014-2021) between publication of the previous book in the series, The Eye of Zoltar, and this one.  The story is told in the first-person POV, Jennifer’s.

 

    As always, Jasper Fforde combines masterful storytelling with lots of wit.  How *do* you repel a horde of Trolls who have the advantage in size, power and most importantly, wizardry?  Meanwhile, Jennifer has to contend with princesses behaving badly, games of Thrones, and the realization that her magic is puny compared to the evil mastermind directing the Troll invasion, "The Mighty Shandar".

 

    The book is written in English, not American, which features weird spellings including centred, despatch, storeys, dykes, pyjamas, and manoeuvring.  Jeez, spellchecker hated that sentence.  There are some witty acronyms, such as HENRY, which stands for Hex Energy Neutralising Reversal Yieldiser, and even a brief moment where Jasper Fforde personally breaks down the fourth wall.  I liked the nods to Pachelbel and the movie Back To The Future, and enjoyed the ride on the Cloud Leviathan.

 

    The ending is a stutter-step affair.  After the titular Troll War issue is resolved, the storyline segues into a final showdown theme, pitting Jennifer and The Mighty Shandar.  Fortuitously, this allows Fforde to tie up several plot threads.  Things close on a sad-yet-hopeful, unexpected-yet-hinted-at, dark note.  It wraps up the series succinctly, yet leaves the door open for a sequel.  However, I have a feeling this series is done for good.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.5/5 based on 976 ratings and 45 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.17/5 based on 1,570 ratings and 212 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “Numerical values are seriously overrated.  Here’s another example.  If I were to tell you the mass of the sun is roughly 2 x 10³⁰ kilograms then it would just be a meaninglessly high number – ten with thirty noughts after it.”

    “I agree with that,” said the Princess.

    “Right,” said the Troll.  “But if I were to tell you the sun has 99.86 per cent of the combined mass of the entire solar system, what would that mean?”

    “It would mean . . . wow,” said the Princess.

    “Exactly,” said the Troll, grinning broadly.  “Wow.”  (loc. 1344)

 

    “I’ve only got a few things to say, and I shall be brief.  Firstly, I am to wield absolute power in all the Kingdoms, and anyone who has not signed the book of allegiance in the foyer will be considered an enemy of the Crown.  But, to show my caring nature, they shall not be executed, but banished: thrown forcibly across the Button Trench in the direction of the Trolls after being painted with gravy.”  (loc. 2069)

 

Kindle Details…

    The Great Troll War presently sells for $2.99 at Amazon.  The other 3 books in the series range in price from $6.07 to $9.99.  Jasper Fforde offers about 16 other e-novels, in the form of several other series, and costing anywhere from $2.99 to $14.99.

 

“There are always a few naysayers who want to rain on your parade when you contemplate galactic domination.”  (loc. 3239)

    The target audience is YA, so The Great Troll War is virtually profanity-free; I noted just one “damn” and three “hells” in the entire book.  I don’t recall any adult situations.  The editing is superb; the only typo I saw was a variant spelling of Princess Jocamanica’s name: “Jocaminca”, and I’m not even sure if that wasn't just a deliberate snubbing of her. 

 

    The seven-year hiatus between Books 3 and 4 means a lot of readers, including me, remembered little about recurring characters and overarching storylines.  The author cleverly addresses this by back-referencing past events and beings from earlier books via footnotes, but some reviewers thought this was overdone.  Personally, I found that I could follow the storyline easily even when bypassing the footnotes.

 

    Overall, I felt that Jasper Fforde’s ultimate aim in writing The Great Troll War was to bring closure to this series, and in this regard he succeeded nicely.  I wasn’t blown away by the way it ended, yet the story kept me entertained throughout.  There is a rumor afoot that a series-ending eighth book in Fforde’s fabulous Thursday Next series, Dark Reading Matter, will be coming out in June 2025, and I’m looking forward to finding out how he pulls that one off.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  Two catchy little sidelights in The Great Troll War are the “20:1 Quickener Spell” and the “El Carisma pout”.  I simply have to figure out some way to learn both of these talents.

Mythology 101 - Jody Lynn Nye

   2014; 317 pages.  Book 1 (out of 4) in the “Mythology” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Humorous Fantasy; College Life; YA.  Overall Rating : 6*/10.

 

    Midwestern University only has enough money to do one upgrade: a new library or a new Phys. Ed building, and the Student Council gets to choose which one!

 

    For academically-inclined Keith Doyle, a member of the council, the choice is easy.  Renovate the library.  After all, the reason people go to college is to get an education, not to exercise.  Needless to say, there are a bunch of athletically-inclined students who feel otherwise.  But Keith is pretty sure his side has the votes for an upgrade of old Gillington library.

 

    One thing does surprise him – the stance of his dormmate Carl.  Carl’s not here on an athletic scholarship so why’s he campaigning so strongly for the new gymnasium option?

 

    Even more strange, Carl’s making it sound like the vote’s a matter of life and death.

 

What’s To Like...

    The book’s cover gives you a good idea of what the situation is in Mythology 101.  Gillington Library’s problem is not bats in the belfry; it’s elves in the basement.  They’ve been there for a long time (by Big Folk standards), and via a lot of stealth and magic, they’ve remained undetected.  A few of the human students are aware of them, though, and Keith soon becomes of those.

 

    Renovating will doubtless lead to the discovery of the Little Folk, and the main plotline of Mythology 101 is Keith pondering what he can do about that.  Other plot threads include Keith presently flunking his Sociology class, and in desperate need of some tutoring.  To boot, he’s residing in a men’s dormitory, which means dealing with other male egos, occasionally having his dorm room trashed, and almost zero social contact with female students.

 

    Indeed, the “feel” to college life here rang true.  I spent two years in dorms in my college career, and Keith’s issues brought back old memories.  I liked the setting of Midwestern University, it's located somewhere in Illinois, and I suspect Jody Lynn Nye used Northwestern University as her model for Midwestern.  Dorm life involves getting along with RA’s (“Resident Advisers”), eating very blah food in the cafeteria, and trying to not flunk out of school.

 

    The resolution of the elves-in-the-basement was logical and straightforward.  I wouldn’t call it twisty, but have to admit Keith’s solution to the problem was not what I was expecting.  Book Two, Mythology Abroad, awaits me on my Kindle.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.2*/5, based on 915 ratings and 206 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.76*/5, based on 1,097 ratings and 101 reviews.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Geas (n.) : an obligation or prohibition magically imposed on someone (Irish folklore).

 

Excerpts...

    “I wouldn’t call a C a failure,” Keith said, jumping forward to open the door for her and following her out into the brisk October air.  Leaves swirled away from their feet as they dashed across the narrow streets toward McInroe Hall.  “I’m a B man myself.  I do get A’s but I don’t expect 'em.  If you’re not in the front line you don’t get shot as often.”  (pg. 9)

 

    “So what’s wrong with using nails?”  Not that he could see any in the construction.

    “They rust.  They bend.  Also, we tend to be a wee bit sensitive to having too much metal around.”

    “I heard that cold iron dispels magic,” Keith said teasingly.  “Maybe that’s why you don’t use it.”

    “And maybe the effect is more like heavy metal poisoning, Keith Doyle.  Call it an allergy.  Don’t look for foolish explanations unless no others suffice.  There’s plenty of common sense to go around.  Even you could find some.”

    “I believe in magic,” Keith said softly.  (pg. 81)

 

Kindle Details…

    Mythology 101 sells for $7.99 right now at Amazon, as do the other three books in the series.  Jody Lynn Nye has several other Fantasy e-book series for your reading pleasure, most of which are priced at $6.99 per e-book.  She has collaborated with an impressive list of fellow authors, including Robert Asprin and Anne McCaffrey.

 

“The trouble with you is that you have a basically honest heart.”  (pg. 86)

    The cussing is very light: just seven instances in the first 20%, none of which were f-bombs.  There is a hint of Romance, but no adult situations, the norm for males living in dorms.  It will be interesting to see how Keith’s love life plays out in subsequent books.

 

    There were a couple of typos – stationary/stationery, Crazy/crazy, and lighting/lightning – but not enough to be distracting.

 

    The bigger issue for me was the storytelling.  It’s hard to imagine a tale with elves intermixing with college students being boring and slow-paced, but that’s what happened.  The negative reviews at Amazon and Goodreads show that others felt the same way and you’d think when you have elven magic at your disposal, tying up the various plot threads would be exciting.  It wasn’t.

 

    But things are looking up.  The ratings for the books in this series are:

Book 1 (Mythology 101): Amazon 4.2; Goodreads 3.76.

Book 2 (Mythology Abroad): Amazon 4.6; Goodreads 4.02.

Book 3 (Higher Mythology): Amazon 4.5; Goodreads 4.04.

Book 4 (Advanced Mythology): Amazon 4.7; Goodreads 4.22.

 

    Methinks this series is going to get better as I work my way through it.

 

    6 Stars.  One last thing.  Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Symbols get mentioned twice in Mythology 101.  I was born and raised in that area.  It’s good to see our hex signs are still remembered.

The Bone Witch - Rin Chupeco

   2017; 412 pages.  Book 1 (out of 3) in the “Bone Witch” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres : Paranormal Fantasy; Teen & Young Adult, Coming-of-Age.   Overall Rating: 8/10.

 

    It was undoubtedly the saddest day so far in Tea’s brief life.  She and her family had to watch as the casket containing her older brother, Fox, was solemnly lowered into the ground.  He died while serving in the kingdom’s army.  “By creatures unknown” the general said.  Most likely he was attacked by one of those ferocious daeva beasts.

 

    It isn’t fair, Tea thought, he isn’t really dead.  She broke away from the group of mourners and ran toward the grave.  Suddenly a fiery symbol appeared in the air in front of her, and she felt the compulsion to trace it with her finger, again and again.

 

    Then the ground trembled, splintering was heard, and a cold, gray hand pushed up from the grave into the air.  Tea can summon up the dead, which means her magic is that of a bone witch, a perilous and often feared vocation.

 

    So not only is this the saddest day of your life, Tea.  It’ll probably be your worst day as well.

 

What’s To Like...

    Let me be clear, I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise.

 

    Is that a fantastic opening line for a book, or what!  The Bone Witch is the first book in Rin Chupeco’s dark fantasy Bone Witch trilogy.  The series is set in a place called “The Eight Kingdoms” which are situated throughout a group of islands, and whose rulers spend most of their time fighting either the evil “Faceless Ones” or amongst themselves.

 

    I loved the worldbuilding.  The use of magic is common, and wielded mostly, but not solely, in the hands of women, who are called “asha”.  Rulers of the Eight Kingdoms are just as likely to be females as males.  People wear something called “heartglasses” around their necks, glass medallions that change color depending on their wearer's mood, veracity, and/or the type of magic they can command.  Girls who show spellcasting potential enter schools in their teenage years and besides magic, are taught things like history, dancing, singing and fighting.

 

    The tale is written in the first-person POV, Tea’s.  31 chapters cover 412 pages, with short interludes chronicling a second, more recent, storyline in between each chapter.  More on that in a bit.  For the most part, we follow the lives of Tea as she trains to be a full-fledged bone witch.  The Eight Kingdoms are running rather short of them.  Fox's new lease on undeath is also a major plotline, as he takes on the role of Protector of his sister.

 

    Some thrills-and-spills arise along the way, but mainly this is a character-driven, coming-of-age account.  Tea struggles with her studies, Fox struggles with his undeadness, rulers struggle to keep their kingdoms in existence, and asha struggle to not get killed by beasts, swords, or sorcery.

 

    The ending is good, with a couple neat twists, and a tense battle featuring both spells and brawn.  Sometimes might accomplishes what magic fails at doing.  The story stops at a logical place, and sets up, I presume, the next book in the series.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Bezoar (n.) : a small, stony concretion that may form in the stomachs of certain animals, especially ruminants.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.4*/5, based on 3,433 ratings and 554 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.69*/5, based on 44,739 ratings and 7,063 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “Parmina?”  It wasn’t a voice; it was a roar that could have rattled glass, though none of the people running around so much as blinked.  The largest and hairiest man I had ever seen in my life stepped into view.  He was so tall that the top of his hair grazed the ceiling, and his arms looked as if a brown bear had mated with the fuzziest carpet in the land and produced twins.  I could barely see his face, for his beard started somewhere near his eyebrows and ended at a carefully trimmed point several inches away from his chin, at the center of his chest.  (pg. 128)

 

    “Are you sure about this?” she asked me in a softer whisper as the other Deathseekers began making their preparations.  “We’re treading in unknown territory, and I’d hate to die on a ‘maybe.’”

    “The runes may not work, but I can still sense it.  And I was able to control it to some extent back in Ankyo.”

    “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Zoya said from behind us.

    “As I recall, you insisted on coming,” Polaire pointed out.

    “It’s never too late to regret things.”  (pg. 367)

 

“You think in the same way men drink, Tea, . . . far too much—under the delusion it is too little.”  (pg. 2)

    I only recall one cussword in the entire book, which fully justifies Amazon labelling it as a YA book.  There are no “adult situations” either, although I suspect there is some Romance headed Tea’s way.

 

    Rin Chupeco incorporates a lot of made-up words (such as asha) into the text, and defines each one the first time it is used.  I thought it really helped make the fantasy setting feel “real”.  There’s a map of the Eight Kingdoms at the start of the book, and brief descriptions of each realm in the back.  But it would’ve been nice to also have a Glossary back there for easy reference as to the invented vocabulary.

 

    One character displays transgender traits.  I felt this was a nice, daring touch by the author.  It was deftly done, and I’m hoping that person will have a recurring role in the saga.  But homophobes should probably avoid this series.

 

    Overall, I enjoyed The Bone Witch.  Character-driven plotlines are usually not my cup of Tea (pun intended, and the protagonist's name is pronounced differently), but here there was enough magic, fighting, and fascinating beasts and characters to keep me turning the pages.  Now that Tea is a fully-accredited asha, (Which isn't a spoiler.  You knew that would happen.) I’m looking for some serious butt-kicking and spellcasting to show up in the sequel, The Heart Forger.  Rin Chupeco has written several other intriguing fantasy series that I'm eager to get acquainted with. 

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  Deities play a very small part in this tale.  Three of them, Dancing Wind, Blade That Soars, and Great World Spirit, are mentioned, but have virtually zero impact on the goings-on.  It will be interesting to see how this aspect plays out as the series progresses.

Starfall - Jamie Sedgwick

   2018; 279 pages.  Book 5 (out of 5) in the “Aboard the Great Iron Horse” series; Book 8 (out of 8) in the “Age of Steam” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Steampunk Fantasy; Teen & Young Adult Steampunk.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

 

    Steampunk Armageddon is approaching!  The forces of Evil, aka the “Clockwork Legion”, have amassed an army of incredible size and are advancing steadily on the few remaining human-controlled cities.

 

    For the moment, their defenses hold strong, although even that is disheartening.  The Clockwork Legion is being reinforced daily by hordes of ghouls and other undead creatures, and all the humans can do is watch from high atop the ramparts of their cities' walls and wonder if any friendly armies are on their way to help break the siege.

 

    Meanwhile, Socrates and his band of heroes – Micah, Thane, Morgane, River, Kale, Tinker, and Breeze – are scattered throughout the lands, and word has it that Socrates’ steam-powered locomotive, The Iron Horse, is wrecked beyond repair.

 

    It’s just a matter of time before the Clockwork Legion has the overwhelming numbers to successfully scale the walls and slaughter all the humans.

 

    And turn them into – guess what – more ghouls!

 

What’s To Like...

    Starfall is the final installment in Jamie Sedgwick’s Age of Steam series, which is a combination of his Aboard The Iron Horse and Tinkerer’s Daughter series.  Its primary aim appears to be to bring the storylines of the various main characters (is that an oxymoron?) to conclusion, and in that regard, it succeeds admirably.

 

    There are scene-shifts aplenty, since our band of heroes are spread out far and wide.  I didn’t find this confusing, although I think it definitely helps if you read these stories in proper order.  I was impressed with the way the fate of my favorite protagonist, a mechanical ape named Socrates, was resolved.

 

    There’s lots of fighting throughout the tale, both on land and in the air.  Our heroes are on the move, and so are the myriad hordes of bad guys; so it is not surprising that Starfall contains plenty of fighting .  But there is also room for several budding romances, the biggest one of which involves the warrior Kale’s impending marriage to Queen Aileen.

 

    Those who like dragons in their fantasy stories will not be disappointed.  I also liked Socrates’ encounters with the inhabitants of Ironhold.  I intend to stay away from the addictive drug kavi-oil, but I’d love to take a ride on one of the steamscout cars.

 

    Everything builds to a climactic mega-battle between Good and Evil.  The battle sways to and fro several times as various plot twists impact its outcome.  Things close with a heartwarming Epilogue which details the futures of several main characters as well as the fate of the “starfallen” world at large.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.6/5 based on 135 ratings and 20 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.51/5 based on 59 ratings and 3 reviews.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

    Balusters (n., pl.) : short pillars or columns, typically decorative in design, in a series supporting a rail or coping.  (Google-Image it.)

 

Excerpts...

    The dragon came lurching towards him.

    Micah brandished the knife in front of him, ready to strike.  The dragon, somehow sensing his distress, lowered its head.  Micah stared at it, uncertain what to do.  Cautiously, the creature stretched its neck out and sniffed his hand.

    “Micah,” Morgane said in a whisper.  “I think it likes you.”

    As if in response, the dragon nudged him, touching the top of its snout to his hand.  Micah shook his head in disbelief.  At Morgane’s urging, he reached out to stroke the dragon’s chin.  The beast closed its eyes and a loud, rhythmic purring sound rumbled out of its chest.  (loc. 1675)

 

    Suddenly, the ghoul’s eyes went wide.  The creature shot a horrified look down at its feet, and then released its grip on the knife.  It turned and ran.  Confused, Tinker glanced down and saw Breeze’s open hand.

    “What happened?  Did you do something?”

    “I’m not sure.  Ghouls don’t work quite the way humans do.”

    Tinker’s eyebrows shot up.  You used your healing skills on him?”

    “Not healing,” she grinned.  “Un-healing.”

    “Oh . . . I didn’t know you could do that.”

    “It was worth a try.”  (loc. 2723)

 

Kindle Details…

    Starfall is priced at $3.99 at Amazon right now.  The other seven books in the “Age of Steam” series range in price from free (Book 1), to $0.99, (Books 2-6), to $2.99 (Book 7).  J.G. Sedgwick, aka Jamie Sedgwick, aka Jeramy Gates, has two other fantasy series for your Kindle, the “Shadow Born” trilogy and the “Hank Mossberg, Private Ogre” series.  The e-books in those are all in the free-to-$3.99 price range.

 

“What would I learn from watching people who are perfect?”  (loc. 230)

    I didn’t notice any profanity in Starfall, which makes sense since it’s marketed as being a “Teen & Young Adult” story.  When the occasion calls for cussing, the author uses the phrase “what the devils”, which I thought was quite clever.

 

    The page-numbering system was wonky on both of my Kindles; whatever page a chapter started on remained that number until the next chapter started.  I suspect this was a conversion glitch, and since the “percent read” worked fine, so this is merely nit to pick.

 

    The biggest issue is the usual one: an abundance of typos.  The main infraction involved the use of em-dashes.  It looks like the author used hyphens for this function, and the conversion program seemingly went haywire.  Besides this there were a few of the standard miscues, such as compliment/complement, leeching/leaching, impassible/impassable, and one instance of a misnamed Shayla/Morgane.

 

    These gaffes didn’t prevent me from enjoying the story.  I suspect it’s no easy task to write the final book in a series, gather all the major characters, tie up all the plotlines, allow Good to vanquish Evil, at least for the short term, and still be interesting and fast-paced enough to keep the reader turning the pages.  Starfall did that for me.

 

    8 Stars.  I assume this is a completed series.  But the Socrates plotline does leave the door open for further adventures.  Even though a “Book 9” has not arose betwixt the publication of Starfall (2018) and the present (2024), I personally hope Jamie Sedgwick is working on one.

Daybreak 2250 A.D. - Andre Norton

   1952; 191 pages.  Alternate Titles: “Star Man’s Son” and “Star Man’s Son, 2250 AD”.  New Author? : No.  Genres : 50’s Sci-Fi; YA; post-apocalyptic.   Overall Rating: 8/10.

 

    Fors's father, Langdon, was a highly regarded Star Man.  He had roamed the ruined lands around the Eyrie extensively, drawn maps of it, and brought back precious loot.  And even though Langdon was now dead, it was natural to assume that Fors would follow in his father’s footsteps.

 

    But his mother was of an alien race, one could tell that just by looking at Fors.  Which made him a half-breed, a mutant.  And when it came time for the yearly Choosing ritual at the Star Hall, the Council’s opinion was that Fors’s genes were more important than his training or his father's fame.

 

    Five years Fors had been nominated to be a Star Man; five years he had been rejected.  Five years was the limit; a sixth nomination was forbidden.  Fors would be relegated to the status of a commoner, suitable for working in the fields.  Nothing more.  All because of his looks.  And there's nothing he can do about it.

    Is there?

 

What’s To Like...

    Andre Norton (real name: Alice Mary Norton, b. 1912, d. 2005) was a prolific and popular sci-fi/fantasy author; Daybreak 2250 AD is one of her early works.  We follow Fors as he travels into the ruins of a post-apocalyptic world with his companion cat, Lura (see cover image).  In a land where nuclear war has annihilated almost all of civilization, Fors encounters various beasts and humans, which at best, distrust any stranger passing through their territory, and at worst, want to kill and eat them.

 

    The target audience is YA boys, which was true of all sci-fi novels written in the 1950s.  Therefore there is lots of adventure here, and absolutely zero booze, drugs, adult situations, and/or cussing.  When the latter seems called for, Andre Norton delightfully resorts to phrases like “by the great horned lizard!” and “forest filth!”.

 

    In amongst all the exploring and adventuring, the author subtly weaves some keen insight about several serious themes.  The book was published in 1952, just seven years after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  This introduced a new global dread: a massive, life-ending nuclear holocaust.  Andre Norton uses that scenario as the setting for Daybreak 2250 AD.  She also offers some provocative opinions, for that era, on racial bigotry (the southern tribespeople are dark-skinned) and feminism (one of the clans is led by a woman).  Plus, there is an overarching theme of the futility of war.  Pretty awesome for 1952!

 

    It was fun to comb through the ruins alongside Fors searching for long-lost gadgets and artifacts.  The rusted, derelict automobiles, both the nuclear-powered and the older gasoline-burning ones, are ignored; the technology for making their fuels has long been lost.  Store mannequins scared and mystified Fors because at first he thought they were petrified victims of the nuclear blasts.  OTOH, finding pencils, especially the colored ones, and a ream of paper, cause him to rejoice.  So do foodstuffs preserved in cans and jars that are still sealed.  Ordinary forks are also valuable finds.

    The ending is satisfying and heartwarming, albeit pretty straightforward and not very twisty.  Given several choices for a tribe that will accept him, and mutant though he is, Fors opts for the obvious one.  The book screams to be developed into a series chronicling Fors’s further adventures, but that has never happened.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.5*/5, based on 58 ratings and 34 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.02*/5, based on 2,539 ratings and 163 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    They might have forgotten about his night sight and too-keen hearing.  He could have concealed those as soon as he learned how wrong it was to be different.  But he could not hide the color of his close-cropped hair.  And that had damned him from the day his father had brought him here.  Other men had brown or black, or, at the worst, sunbleached yellow, covering their heads.  He had silver white, which showed to all men that he was a mutant, different from the rest of his clan.  Mutant!  Mutant!  (pg. 6)

 

    “Mountains—man made—that is what we see here.  But why did the Old Ones love to huddle together in such a fashion?  Did they fear their own magic so that they must live cheek to cheek with their kind lest it eat them up when it was loosed—as it did?  Well, they died of it in the end, poor Old Ones.  And now we have a better life—”

    “Do we?”  Fors kicked at the loose stone.  “They had such knowledge—we are groping in the dark for only crumbs of what they knew—"  (pg. 70)

 

“Only a fool tries to teach the otter to swim.”  (pg. 157)

    There’s very little to quibble about in Daybreak 2250 AD.  As mentioned, there is nothing even remotely R-rated here.  One reviewer felt that the storyline was anti-feminist because Fors chose not to accept the female leader’s offer to accept him into her tribe.  But this novel came out in 1952.  Feminism was not yet an issue back then.  Personally, I was impressed that it portrayed an army of men as being willing to have a woman lead them into battle.

 

    The big problem was with the editing.  Typos abounded: tained/tainted; mid-dile/middle, horrow/horror, scatered/scattered, and a host of others, numerous enough to be a distraction. But again, this book came out in 1952, when spellchecker and word processing programs were just a figment of the imagination.   So I’m forced to cut the editing staff some slack.

 

    Daybreak 2250 AD kept my interest from the start to finish, which was a bit of a surprise, since I am not part of the target audience.  The text did not seem “YA-ish” at all, and the action, if not particularly realistic, did feel “balanced”—the baddies (aka “the Beast Things”) were capable of holding their own, using tricks and strategy to thwart the good guys.  1950s sci-fi can sometimes feel out-of-date.  I’m happy to say that wasn’t the case here.

 

    8 Stars.  Daybreak 2250 AD was a re-read for me, although it’s been about 60 years since I first read it.  It was one of two books that had a major impact on my literary preferences as a kid, the other being Evan Hunter’s Danger: Dinosaurs!  The latter sits on my Kindle, waiting to be read again.  I hope it delights me the second time around as much as Daybreak 2250 AD did.