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.

Graves' End - Sean Patrick Traver

   2012; 353 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Full Title: Graves’ End: A Magical Thriller.  Genres: Paranormal Fantasy; Thriller; Pulp Fiction.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

 

    They make for an odd trio.  Tomas Delgado, aka “Black Tom” is a former necromancer.  Nowadays his specialty is entering as a spirit into cats of all sizes, from alley cat to panther.

 

    Lia is a child of the streets.  She picks locks and scrounges dumpsters for food and shelter.  She’s going to learn how to be a witch, with Black Tom as her mentor.

 

    Dexter Graves is a Hollywood detective.  Or more accurately, was one.  Sixty years ago, someone put a bullet through his skull.  He’s been dead and buried since then.  Until now.

 

    Their paths have crossed, and somebody’s noticed.  Mictlantecuhtli.  Aztec king of the Dead.  That name’s a doozy, so let’s call him Mickey Hardface.  He’s sending some of his cohorts their way.

 

    It won’t be a social call.

 

What’s To Like...

    Graves’ End is set in the greater northern Los Angeles area, primarily in the San Fernando and Hollywood neighborhoods.  That resonated with me, since I lived close to there for three summers many years ago.  The story's world is slightly paranormal.  You may encounter skeletons, witches, crouchers, archons, or a tzitzimime or two, but only on rare occasions.  And of course, there’s at least one ancient Aztec deity running around.

 

    The “present day” storyline takes place over a Halloween holiday weekend, starting on Halloween night, then on into All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, and the all-important Dia de los Muertos.  There are also flashbacks to 1910, 1950, and 2000 CE, plus a brief stop in 1949 in the Epilogue.

 

    I loved the character-building.  Lia, Tom, and Dex are as diverse as a trio of protagonists can be.  The secondary characters and Mickey’s minions all have their own personality, and even the God of the Dead Himself has some redeeming qualities.

 

    You’ll learn a bunch of Spanish slang, including one or two a cuss-phrases, the oft-used “brujachica”, and the ultra-colloquial “esé”. The party-dance was way-cool, and I liked the artistic nods to Tolkien and Jackson Pollock.  I chuckled at the way palindromes and the value “pi” got worked into the storyline.

 

    The ending was suitably exciting, twisty, and heartwarming.  The climactic fight scene was appropriately epic.  Not everyone lives to fright another day (pun intended), yet all the plotlines get tied up and a new day dawns for the world outside.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Entoptic (adj.) : (of visual images) occurring or originating inside the eye.

Others: Melanistic (adj.).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.3*/5, based on 107 ratings and 65 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.74*/5, based on 186 ratings and 25 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    Graves looked down at his own fleshless phalanges.  “I keep forgettin’ I’m not as pretty as I used to be,” he said quietly, by way of apology.

    Lia felt guilty enough about her discourtesy to a guest that she began to protest automatically, in spite of her genuine consternation.  “No, no, it isn’t that,” she said, groping for words even though she wasn’t sure what she meant to say.  The man was a walking cadaver, after all, and Miss Manners was sure to be silent on subjects like these.  No index entry for ‘undeadiquette’,’ Lia would’ve wagered.  (pg. 84).

 

    There was nowhere left for him to go.  He held up his hands to fend them off, and he got them to pause before pouncing on him, which Lia found surprising.

    “Whoa, now—” he said.  Who the hell are you two?  What happened to those other ones, Hannah and Miss Lia?”

    “You will call me Lady Night,” the nightsky outline told him.  She indicated her static-filled friend, who was standing there beside her.  “This, my sister-daughter, is Lady Madness.”

    “Sister-daughter, huh?  That must make for some weird Thanksgivings.”  (pg. 122)

 

Kindle Details…

    Graves’ End costs $2.99 at Amazon right now.  A sequel, Red Witch: The Tales of Ingrid Redstone, which I gather is actually three novellas (364 pages total), is available for $2.99 as well.  Sean Patrick Traver offers three other novellas, unrelated to this setting, one for $2.99, the other two for $0.99 apiece.

 

 “After dark, all cats are leopards.”  (pg. 293)

    The profanity in Graves’ End wasn’t excessive—I counted just 12 instances in the first 10% of the e-book, albeit two of those were f-bombs.  The smidgens of Spanish profanity came later on in the story, and at one point there’s a brief reference to a “bag of mota” which brought back memories.  I don’t recall any "adult situations".

 

    At least one reviewer was turned off by the author’s use of “big” words (such as the two listed above) and sometimes “made-up” ones (such as “nightsky” used in the second excerpt).  I noticed that too, but I thought it worked rather well.  Other reviewers thought there weren't action scenes and thrills in the early going.  Maybe so, but I thought all the aim of the storytelling was for the reader to follow the characters around in their befuddlement, trying to figure out what the heck is going on, and which gets revealed nicely in the ending.

 

    Sean Patrick Traver calls Graves’ End a Magical Thriller; Amazon calls it Paranormal & Urban Fantasy, and I’d label it Pulp Fiction.  All are equally valid.  The book kept my interest from beginning to end, and that’s what matters.  Plus I loved the attention given to Mesoamerican mythology throughout the tale.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  In the “Retrospective #2” section, Sean Patrick Traver gives a vivid description of the early beginnings of Los Angeles.  I was absolutely blown away by the “feel” of his research.  Maybe someday he’ll write a full-length novel set in that place and time-period.

The Rembrandt Stratagem - Kellie Austin

   2023; 288 pages.   New Author? : Yes.  Full Title: From the Paranormal Case Files of Bishop Kincaid: The Rembrandt Stratagem.  Genres: Pulp Fiction; Paranormal Fantasy; Superheroes.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

 

    What if lots of those creatures that you read about in fantasy novels really exist?  The good ones as well as the bad ones, the cute and fuzzy ones as well as the magical and threatening ones. Gnomes, and elves, trolls and vampires, centaurs and werewolves.

 

    Well, they’re all sentient beings, so chances are they’d interact and dwell among humans.  There’d be variants in each species – more than one type of vampire or werewolf; and they’d definitely be outnumbered by us humans, since we seem to reproduce at alarming rates.

 

    Because they’re visibly different from us, you’d almost certainly find hatred and bigotry among a subset of humans.  But that would be balanced by others of us who’d advocate mutual tolerance and cooperation.  And no matter what, all of us are mortal, we'll all die at some point.

 

    Well, not quite all, if you throw a few mythical figures into the mix—such as Prometheus—and a cosmic deity or two.  Then what kind of world would you end up with?

 

    In our case, you'd have the setting for From the Paranormal Case Files of Bishop Kincaid: The Rembrandt Stratagem.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Rembrandt Stratagem is set in and around an alternate New York City, and is the first book in a new Pulp Fiction series penned by Kellie Austin featuring a fascinating and enigmatic protagonist, Bishop Kincaid.  He’s blessed with some powerful talents, but he’s also got a rebellious streak and is presently in deep doo-doo with his supernatural superiors.  His character is definitely “gray”, which is how I prefer my fictional heroes.

 

    There are a bunch of interesting characters to meet and keep track of.  Gant, Bishop’s bodyguard and driver, is a Neanderthal; and Devin, one of Bishop’s fellow “grays”, is a Gorgon.  Kane and Abel are a pair of sentient knives.  Some of those who seem to be humans, aren’t; and even the Cosmic Spiral has a certain flair to its personality.  The main paranormal group in the tale, Vampires, come in several genetic variations.

 

    Like any good Pulp Fiction novel, the action starts in Chapter One, and the thrills-&-spills are nonstop from there on.  There’s plenty of intrigue as well.  Who’s targeting Bishop?  Where’s the governor?  Why’s someone killing mermen?  What’s with all the Moraturi disappearing?  And perhaps most important of all, how the heck do you kill a Moraturi Worm?

 

    There’s a smattering of romance mixed in with all the adventure.  Dani Darling is married to D.A. Dan Dickens, but she was previously hooked up with Bishop.  Dan and Bishop have to occasionally team up to accomplish mutual goals, and it is interesting to watch how they handle Dani, who by career is a reporter that’s always in search of a news story.

 

    Everything builds to an ending that’s full of exciting, to-the-death bloodshed on several fronts.  The world is saved, but it comes at a heavy cost.  The immediate evil is vanquished, but greater threats lurk in the shadows, waiting to manifest themselves in a sequel, which, I’m told, is in the works.

Ratings…
    Amazon:  *.*/5 based on 0 ratings and 0 reviews.

    Goodreads: *.**/5 based on 0 ratings and 0 reviews.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Precession (n.) : the slow movement of the axis of a spinning body around another axis due to a torque (such as a gravitational influence) acting to change the direction of the first axis.

 

Excerpt...

    “You mentioned silver.  We have a connection.”

    “What connection, Kincaid?” said the Commissioner.  “You mean silver and a true Vampire?  I graduated from high school.  Got a C- in Paranormal vs. Genetic aberration.  Even I know that silver kills a true Vampire.  Not on Genetics, you see, only on natural bloodsuckers.”  He beamed with a sense of accomplishment on knowing information that illustrated why he was in his new position.

    “Right.  You’re a smart man, Mr. Ross, truly befitting for a man in your stature,” replied Bishop, feeding Commissioner Ross’s ego.  (loc. 1841)

 

    “I shouldn’t be telling you these things.  I’m breaking a vow of the eternal library.  See, I just made a choice that was the right one, no matter the cost of that decision.  I will accept the punishment for doing so.  You are of the gray, Bishop.  Don’t be an avatar of heroism because you feel guilt over events of the past, be an avatar because you choose to be a light in this world of shadows, darkness, and death.

    “Bishop, it’s all about choice.”  (loc. 3018)

 

Kindle Details…

    Right now, The Rembrandt Stratagem sells for $3.99 at Amazon.  This is Kellie Austin’s debut full-length novel, but she has also contributed two short stories to Charles F. Millhouse’s fantastic “Pulp Reality” series.

 

“Oh my god,” she screamed again.  “I’m going to die horribly twice!”  (loc. 2449)

    The cussing is impressively sparse in The Rembrandt Stratagem, just 11 instances in the first 50% of the book; and I noted only one “adult situation”.

 

    A couple of the secondary plot threads, such as the governor’s whereabouts and the Dan/Dani/Bishop triangle, remain unresolved at the book's end, but I presume these will be addressed in subsequent books in the series.  Bishop is a long way from achieving redemption by the Cosmic Powers, and I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

 

    The book could use another round of copy-editing.  The punctuation needs work, the Glossary needs alphabetizing tweaks, and a couple character names have two spellings (Kane/Cain, Devin/Devon).  All of this can easily be corrected in the next edition of the book.

 

    Enough of the nitpicking.  The Rembrandt Stratagem is a fine debut entry in the Pulp Fiction genre by Kellie Austin.  It’s filled with lots of excitement, interesting characters, and a truly unique world setting.  Bishop Kincaid is a character I can empathize with: he made difficult choices a long time ago and now is steadfastly willing to live with the cosmic retribution that he knew would inevitably follow.  That might sound “dark”, but I think the book’s message is: despite all the hatred, bigotry, and violence we have to face every day, in the end, by choosing to confront and overcome it, we can make the world a better place.

 

    8½ Stars.

A Symphony of Echoes - Jodi Taylor

   2013; 364 pages.  Book 2 (out of 12) in the series “The Chronicles of St. Mary’s”.  New Author? : No.  Genres: Time Travel; Paranormal Fantasy; Historical Fiction.  Overall Rating : 9*/10.

 

    You could call it a “going-away trip”.  If you’re an agent at the Institute of Historical Research, headquartered in St. Mary’s Priory in Rushford England, and you somehow survive enough missions to earn your retirement, you get to choose your final assignment: its date, its destination, and its event.

 

    That may sound strange, but agents of St. Mary’s are what you and I would call time-travelers.  They don’t like that term, they’d prefer to be known as historians, observers and note-takers if you will.  Or, in more classy verbiage, “investigators of historical events in contemporary time”.

 

    Kalinda “Kal” Black is retiring from St. Mary’s.  For her final sortie, she’s chosen London in 1888, and more specifically, the Whitechapel neighborhood there.  If that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s the time and place where/when Jack the Ripper was plying his gruesome trade.

 

    Kal would like to go there, strictly as an observer (you don’t want to mess with the actual events, History doesn’t like cleaning up temporal paradoxes caused by meddling time-travelers), to see if she can identify the madman.  She’ll be dressed in the attire of the time, and speak like a native.  It won’t be humanly possible for anyone to know she’s from the future.

 

    But Kal, what if Jack the Ripper isn’t human?

 

What’s To Like...

    A Symphony of Echoes is the second book in Jodi Taylor’s “The Chronicles of St. Mary’s” series, featuring their History Department’s Chief Operations Officer, Dr. Madeleine “Max” Maxwell, as our chrono-hopping protagonist.

 

    If you read time-travel books for their history tie-ins, you’ll love this storyline.  Max embarks upon no less than six time-jumps, including the abovementioned Jack-the-Ripper quest.  We won’t give details of the other five, that would spoil things, except to say one of them is a jump forward, into the future, which hitherto was a department no-no.  Too many ways for things to go wrong.

 

    In addition to the time-traveling agendas, there are a bunch of plot threads to deal with.  To wit: a.) Jack the Ripper proves to be a more formidable foe than expected; b.) Max’s lover and coworker, Leon Farrell, goes missing in action; c.) the Ultimate Evildoer from the first book, Clive Ronan, continues his skullduggery against St. Mary’s; d.) a Shakespearean play has inexplicably been altered; e.) some sort of glitch in the time-hopping mechanism dumps Max and her squad a year off-target on one of the missions.

 

    The book is written in English, not American, so some words have different spellings, such as fulfil, paralysing, chequebook, three-storey, and draught.  There are also some British terms that may sound strange to us Yanks, such as a clothes peg, bollocking, and a type of furniture bench called a settle.  I also had to look up what it means to wear or carry something “Dick Whittington style” (it means “over the shoulder”).  It's always fun to learn new words and terms in a foreign language.

 

    The trips to the past seemed well-researched, especially the final one.  I laughed at the toilet options in the Middle Ages: an outdoor privy, a community midden, and/or indoor buckets that need to be emptied frequently.  Also, one has to recognize that the English language is always evolving.  If you’re want to “blend in” with the locals from centuries ago, you must learn to speak the time-appropriate lingo, although the phrase “the arse of success” is probably good at all times.

 

    The title reference is given on page 222.  The book is written in the first-person POV – Max’s – and I suspect that will be true throughout the series.  There are a ton of characters to meet and greet; that’s no surprise when there are six different missions to six different times and places.  For the most part, you just have to keep track of St. Mary’s personnel, and there’s a handy Cast of Characters at the start of the book, which Jodi Taylor hilariously labels “Dramatis Thingummy”.

 

    The ending is good.  I guessed some of it before it happened, but it was still fun to watch my predictions be confirmed.  All is well in History’s timeline once more, and most of the main characters, both good and evil, live to skirmish another day, which is not true for some of the secondary characters.  I liked the teaser for what I presume is the opening mission in Book 3.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Whiffy (adj.) : having an unpleasant smell.

Others: Bolshie (adj.); Settles (n., plural).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.6*/5, based on 1,866 ratings.

    Goodreads: 4.13*/5, based on 15,093 ratings and 1,321 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “Dr. Maxwell, why are you wearing a red snake in my office?”

    “Sorry, sir.  Whose office should I be wearing it in?”

    There was a bit of silence.

    “I understand the medical profession has washed its hands of you.”

    “Yes indeed, sir.  They’ve declared me perfect and there’s no more they can do for me.  I’ve been released.”

    “I prefer the word unleashed.”  (pg. 45)

 

    In the Middle Ages, the Church was the most powerful institution in the western world.  In England, the struggle between church and kings would take centuries to resolve.  Interestingly, in the end neither institution came out on top.  Today, each is as powerless as the other.  As people power emerged, we invented politicians.  We’re not bright.  (pg. 137)

 

“What the hell am I going to do with seventeen dodos?”  (pg. 154)

    The quibbles are negligible.  There’s a small amount of cussing (9 instances in the first 20%), mostly of the 4- or 5-lettered variety.  There’s also one roll-in-the-hay, but it’s tastefully done. 

 

    There’s only a couple typos, but they’re glaring.  One character is “Pinkie” in the text, but “Pinky” in the Thingummy.  Ditto for the guy who’s “Dr. Knox” in the text, but “Dr. Know” in the Thingummy.  And when counting off a group of baddies (page 141), two of them, with different names, get listed as “the fourth knight”.  There also was one though/through typo.

 

    You should be aware that A Symphony of Echoes is a series of six episodes by what is labeled on the book’s front cover as “the disaster-magnets of St. Mary’s as they hurtle around History”. It does not have the typical structure of one overarching storyline.  Also, not all the plot threads get tied up.  The origin of the Jack-the-Ripper entity feels like fodder for a future episode, and Ronan, the chief bad guy, shows a remarkable talent for getting away.  I’m predicting he’ll be around for the duration of the series.

 

    But all these quibbles are trivial.  Overall, A Symphony of Echoes is a great blend of time-travel, historical fiction, and action-intrigue, replete with wit, and with just a smattering of romance that will please the female readers without causing heartburn for the male ones.

 

    9 Stars.  I have a couple more e-books of the series on my Kindle, plus a ten-book paperback bundle given to me last Christmas that resides on my TBR shelf.  So I’m nicely set up to get more deeply immersed in the antics of these temporal historians.