Hounded - Kevin Hearne

   2011; 289 pages.  Book 1 (out of 10) in the “Iron Druid Chronicles” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres: Urban Fantasy; Mythology; Action-Adventure.  Overall Rating: 9½*/10.

 

    Say hello to Atticus O’Sullivan.  He runs a modest occult bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, where he has a side business of selling herbal concoctions at his store, mostly to the same customers who come to his place seeking metaphysical tomes.

 

    Atticus seems like nice young fellow, but he’s hiding a couple of secrets.  First, Atticus is his alias; his real name is Siodhachan O Suileabhain, a fine ancient Celtic appellation.  Yeah, try saying that one ten times real fast.  And although Atticus looks young, he’s actually more than 2,000 years old.  He’s the last living Druid.

 

    He’s made some powerful enemies over the centuries, some of them deities.  The main one is Aenghus Og , the Celtic god of love (among other things) who’s been chasing Atticus for several hundred years now.  Being an occult bookseller is just Atticus’s latest undercover disguise.

 

    Atticus has just been told by the Morrigan (who?) that Aenghus Og has seen through his disguise, and is on his way to kill him.  It’s time for Atticus to flee once more.

 

    Too bad he’s tired of running away.

 

What’s To Like...

    Hounded is the opening book in a 10-volume urban fantasy series called The Iron Druid Chronicles, and is told in the first-person POV, Atticus's.  I presume this is a completed series since Book 10 was published in 2018, and Kevin Hearne's more recent novels are in a different series.  Our protagonist is a modern-day Druid, and we follow his adventures, which mostly consist of magical creatures sent to either kill Atticus, hoodwink him into a trap, or contrive things to where he owes favors to some person, deity, or magical creature.

 

    The tale is set in and around Tempe, Arizona, home to my alma mater, Arizona State University and where I lived for many years.  So the numerous local references resonated with me, and include: Scottsdale Memorial Hospital, Newman Center, the Arizona Republic newspaper, Papago Park, Mill and University Avenues, the Superstition Mountains, and the landmark Irish pub, Rula Bula.  They’re all real, although that last one has since gone out of business.

 

    Magical creatures abound in the story, among them the Fae, an Iron Elemental, the Morrigan, the Tuatha De Danann, Fir Bolgs, demons, the Zoryas, and a slew of Wiccan witches.  Also, some animals, including wolfhounds and stags, are telepathic.

 

    The action starts right away, with Atticus getting mugged by a gang of fairies on page 4.  The supporting characters were a fascinating bunch; Atticus’s bestie is a magic-infused dog named Oberon, and his two lawyers, both extremely competent, are a vampire and a werewolf.  My favorite not-the-protagonist was the widow MacDonagh, Atticus's neighbor, and witness to several strange happenings.  I liked Hieronymus Bosch and former Arizona Diamondback pitcher Randy Johnson getting nods, and I enjoyed learning how to go about paying off favors to vampires: in wineglass quantities of your blood!  

 

    Everything builds to a gory, twisty, and exciting showdown.  Both combatants have tricks up their sleeve.  The final chapter and Epilogue tie up a couple secondary plotlines.  The Acknowledgments section (page 291) and the Wikipedia article about Kevin Hearne (the link is here), are worthwhile reads.  Hounded is both a standalone story and part of a series.

 

Kewlest New Word…

    Sybarite (n.): a person who is self-indulgent in their fondness for sensuous luxury.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.5*/5, based on 8,943 ratings and 1,663 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.09*/5, based on 86,257 ratings and 7,468 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “Ah, so this is just some vague augury,” I said.

    “No, the augury was quite specific,” the Morrigan replied.  “A mortal doom gathers about you here, and you must fly if you wish to avoid it.”

    “See?  There you go again.  You get this way every year around Samhain,” I said.  “If it isn’t Thor coming to get me, it’s one of the Olympians.  Remember that story last year?  Apollo was offended by my association with the Arizona State Sun Devils—"  (pg. 10)

 

    I would never, ever tire in battle.  I suffered no fatigue at all.  And if I needed it, I could whip up a binding or two against my enemies or summon up a temporary burst of strength that would allow me to wrestle a bear.

    It had been a long, long time since I had felt the need to summon so much power.  But then again, I hadn’t been in a scrap like this since I’d waded into the mosh pit at a Pantera concert.  (pg. 312)

 A nonaggression treaty signed in blood?  Something about that struck me as oxymoronic.  (pg. 285)

    I don’t really have anything major to quibble about in Hounded, hence the high rating.  The cussing is fairly light; I noted just 14 instances in the first 20% of the book, although three of those were f-bombs.

 

    I read Hounded in the paperback format, after being reminded that it was on my TBR shelf by the Kindle format being temporarily discounted a few weeks ago.  Here’s hoping that more e-books in the series are put on sale in the near future.

 

    That’s about it for the nitpicking.  I found Hounded to be well-written, appropriately witty, and with a captivating storyline that kept me turning the pages.  Full disclosure: I’m all about reading any book with Druids in it.

 

    9½ Stars.  One last thing.  In the Acknowledgments section the author gives a nod of appreciation to the Society for Creative Anachronism.  These are the people who like to dress up in medieval fashion and reenact things like jousting tournaments.  They are the reason the Renaissance Fair exists.

 

    My first experience with SCA was many decades ago, when I came across two knights in armor beating the crap out of each other in a swordfight on the lawn of the ASU Hayden Library.  Lords and ladies-in-waiting were watching the combat.  What makes this memorable is that I was under the influence of a hallucinogen at the time.  It was quite the trip.

Daisy's Gambit - Scott Baron

   2018; 342 pages.  Book 3 (out of 5) in the series “The Clockwork Chimera”.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Space Opera; Alien Invasion Sci-Fi.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

 

    Arise, ye Earthlings and Chithiids!  And arise ye Cyborgs and even ye AI units!  You have nothing to lose but your chains!

 

    Well, you also have your lives to lose, since you’ll be going up against the dreaded Ra’az Hok, the destroyers of Earth and enslavers of the Chithiid.  Their technology is superior and their forces are far more powerful than anything we good guys can muster.

 

    But they have one weakness: their home planet is many light years away, and their communications and supply lines between there and planet Earth are vulnerable.  They’re aware of that and they’re in the process of developing a super-fast warp drive.  That project is just about completed.

 

    So despite the long odds of success, now is the time to revolt.  And we just might be victorious if our war plan goes perfectly.

 

    In other words, we’re doomed.

 

What’s To Like...

    Daisy’s Gambit is the third book in Scott Baron’s “Clockwork Chimera” series.  As given below, the author offers the complete series as a 5-book bundle for a very reasonable price, and occasionally discounts it.  I recommend investing in the bundle, since I think this is a series where a lot is lost if you don’t read the books in order.

 

    The action starts immediately, literally in the first sentence, and is a logical follow-up to previous book, wherein the seeds of revolt were first sown.  Now it’s time for the four subjugated races—Chithiids, Cyborgs, Humans, and Artificial Intelligences—to join forces and learn to trust each other.  This is no small task, given that there are some amongst them who are still loyal to the Ra’az Hok.

 

    I liked that the personnel at the good guys' moon base still play a key role in the storyline, even though the settings in Daisy's Gambit are exclusively at various locations on Earth.  The key players include Freya, the juvenile AI that Daisy discovered during her lunar sojourn, and who is imbued with equal amounts of learning ability and naivete.

 

    The ending is laced with exciting fight scenes and resolves the main storyline of attacking the Ra’az communication hubs and warp drive research facility.  Some good guys perish, a deus ex machina pops up to save the day, Daisy and Vince are reunited, and all the surviving Terrans now await the enemy’s inevitable counterpunch.  Things close with a teaser for the next book, Chasing Daisy.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.6/5 based on 478 ratings and 36 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.38/5 based on 397 ratings and 35 reviews.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Shemagh (n.) : a headcloth commonly worn in the desert (google-image it).

 

Excerpts...

    “Enter the code 011235813.  The base is on a swivel, and once unlocked, the mechanism will allow you to slide it aside to descend into the facility.  You are ready with the specs on which explosives and detonators to gather, yes?”

    “Yeah, we have all the info, but hang on.  Isn’t that code a bit obvious?”

    “Not to those who do not follow mathematics,” he replied.  (loc. 12018)

 

    “My sword’s a bit of a psychopath,” she said with a grim chuckle as she pulled the blade free from the alien’s chest.  She watched as the last drops absorbed into the surface, leaving the pristine white blade as good as new once again.

    “You like that thing a bit too much,” Sarah quipped.  “You’re not going to be one of those douches who names their sword, are you?”

    “I wasn’t going to,” Daisy joked back.  “But now that you mention it, I think I shall hereafter call it Stabby McStabberton.”

    “Oh God, you’re ridiculous.”

    “Don’t listen to her, Stabby.”  (loc. 13736)

 

Kindle Details…

    Daisy’s Gambit is priced at $3.99 at Amazon right now.  The other four books in the series are all in the $0.99-$3.99 price range, and there is a 5-book bundle, containing the entire series, for only $7.99, which is the format I’m reading.

 

“Who would have thought an artificially intelligent dishwasher would ever fly a warship?”  (loc. 13198)

    There are some nits to pick.  There were 20 cusswords in the first 10% of the book, which is about normal for this series, and Daisy and Vince celebrate their reacquaintance with appropriate ardor.

 

    Once again, not all of the plotlines are resolved.  Something or someone is butchering the wild bears in Colorado, but who-or-what did it is never revealed.  Ditto for the helpful-but-unseen counter-sniper in Rome.  Inquiring minds want to know the answers to these mysteries, and presumably both of them get addressed in the remaining two books in the series.

 

    There are a couple of the kind of spellchecker typos that usually arise in Indie author books, such as berg/burg, world/word, and tell-tale/telltale.  But these were rare enough to not be a distraction.

 

    For me, the main issue was the Planning-to-Doing Ratio.  A lot more pages were devoted to the former than to the latter.  But if the “Intrigue” half of the genre “Action-Intrigue” is your preferred cup of tea, you will thoroughly enjoy Daisy’s Gambit.  This kind of plan-vs-do ratio holds true for the middle book(s) of many series.  I remember thinking the same thing about The Two Towers in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.

 

    Overall, Daisy’s Gambit still had enough wit, character-development, and world-building to keep my interest.  After all, overthrowing evil galactic powers takes careful planning, and that’s what is going on here.

 

    7½ Stars.  We'll close with one last nod to the clever password 011235813 cited in the first excerpt, above.  As a math nerd, I greatly appreciated it.

Dodger - Terry Pratchett

   2012; 353 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Action-Intrigue; Historical Fiction; British Literature; Humor.  Overall Rating : 7*/10.

 

    Sooner or later, you pay for every good deed you do in life.  Dodger just learned that the hard way.

 

    He had just popped out of the sewers when a pretty young girl jumped out of a passing carriage and tried to run away.  Two thugs followed her out of the carriage, chased her down, and started beating the damsel.

 

    Dodger may be young, but life on the streets has toughened him, so he pounced on the assailants, drove them off, and rescued the young lady.  But there are no secrets in the rookeries of London.  Now powerful people are offering lots of money for information about the escaped girl.

 

    And for information about the whereabouts of the brazen young lad who helped her flee.

 

What’s To Like...

    Dodger is one of the few Terry Pratchett novels that is not part of the Discworld series, nor even set there.  The story takes place in Victorian-era England and there’s not a single fantasy creature to be found.  Dodger is the street name of the protagonist, a 17-year-old tosher, which, if you’ve never heard of that term (and I hadn’t) means a person who scavenges in the underground sewers.  It’s a historically real profession; Wikipedia has a page about it here.

 

    Terry Pratchett infuses the text with a bunch of 19^th-century English terms, some of which are listed below, plus at least one example of Cockney rhyming slang, here involving the name “Richard”.  One of the main side characters, Solomon Cohen, is Jewish, so a number of Yiddish expressions also crop up.  The characters are a nice blend of real and fictional people, and Pratchett lets you know which are which in the "Author’s Acknowledgments" section in the back of the book.  All of this, plus Pratchett’s writing skills, created a fantastic “feel” for the early 1800s London setting, both above ground and below.

 

    The storyline is straightforward.  After being rescued by our heroic street urchin, the damsel in distress is taken in by a well-to-do family for safekeeping while recovering from her wounds.  A second fortuitous circumstance adds to Dodger being hailed as a hero in both high and low social circles, and he is forced to learn the ways of fraternizing with those of the upper class.  At the same time, Dodger has to contend with thugs of evil intent, while also learning how to go about courting the rescued damsel.

 

    Footnotes, always a Pratchett delight, are occasionally used, albeit sparingly.  The text is divided into 16 chapters, something the author rarely resorts to.  The tone of the story is darker than Pratchett’s Discworld novels (at one point a miscarriage is alluded to); it would have been awkward to try to fit this tale into that series.  But the author’s trademark wit and attention to details are still delightfully and abundantly present.

 

    I liked the references to subjects like Boadicea, Spinoza, angels, and metaphysics.  The inclusion of “The Lady of the Sewers”, aka Cloacina, aka “the goddess of the sewers” was a clever touch.  It was fun to learn the differences between a snakesman, a waterman, a tosher, and a mudlark.  And I hope to never run afoul of Argos Panoptes.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

    Firkytoodle (v.) : to canoodle, cuddle, fondle amorously.

    Others: Toshing (n.); Bubele (n., Yiddish), Shonky Shop (n.); Rookeries (n., plural), Schmutter (n., Yiddish); Growler (n.); Percys (n., plural); Mogadored (v., British), Hey-ho-rumbelow (n., phrase); Waterman (n.), and many more.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.5/5 based on 3,317 ratings and 1,215 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.94/5 based on 26,049 ratings and 3,101 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    Dodger wasn’t a thief; not at all.  He was. . . well, he was good at finding things.  After all, sometimes things fell off carts and carriages, didn’t they?  He had never stuck his hand into somebody else’s pocket.  Well, apart from one or two occasions when it was so blatantly open that something was bound to fall out, in which case Dodger would nimbly grab it before it hit the ground.  That wasn’t stealing: that was keeping the place tidy, and after all, it only happened what?  Once or twice a week?  (pg. 15)

 

    Dodger had once asked Solomon why he had chosen to come to England, and Solomon had said, “Mmm, well, my dear, it seems to me that in the pinch most governments settle for shooting their people, but in England they have to ask permission first.  Also, people don’t much mind what you’re doing as long as you’re not making too much noise.  Mmm, I like that in a country.”  (pg. 118)

 

If you wanted to be a successful urchin you needed to study how to urch.  (pg. 78)

     The cussing is sparse in Dodger, only 9 instances in the first 20% of the book.  All of those were what I’d call “mild profanity”, and none were f-bombs.

    Sadly, despite Terry Pratchett being one of my all-time favorite authors, there are some nits to pick here.

 

    Everything builds towards good-vs-evil showdown, but alas, things went down way too conveniently in the climax.  For all of their fearsome reputation, the baddies get vanquished way too easily.  Nevertheless, the final chapter is a heartwarming Epilogue, where we get to see how Dodger’s life subsequently unfolds.

 

    An even bigger issue involves the philosophical asides throughout the storyline itself.  Dodger frequently stops to contemplate his lifestyle vis-a-vis that of the various upper crust folks he encounters.  The first couple times he does this, his musings are rather enlightening.  But by the hundredth time he ruminates, you just want to ask him to stop obsessing and think about something else.

 

    Summing up, Dodger is a one-off novel, which conceivably could have been developed into a series, but never was.  I think that’s for the best.  Terry Pratchett is at his best when penning lighthearted fantasy novels.  He certainly has enough skills to also write dark historical fiction, but it won’t be his finest hour.  If you want to see him shine, pick up any of his early Discworld novels.

 

    7 Stars.  Here’s my favorite new Victorian era slang phrase gleaned from reading Dodger: “Tuppence more and up goes the donkey.”  It’s in the Acknowledgment section, and Terry Pratchett laments that he couldn’t find a way to work it into the story.  Google it for enlightenment.

Stargazer - Anne Hillerman

   2021; 320 pages.  Book 24 (out of 25) in the “Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito” series.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Native American Literature; Murder-Mystery; Astronomy.  Overall Rating : 7*/10.

 

    It was going to be an easy investigation.  The facts were clear-cut.  Maya and Steve are divorced; the latter wants to give it one more try; Maya says no.

 

    Steve gets distraught, drives out into the desert and shoots himself in the head with his own gun.  The firearm is recovered outside the open driver’s-side window, which makes sense since Steve was left-handed.  It’s an obvious suicide, as any detective can tell.  Then things get a bit weird.

 

    While the cops are at police headquarters, wrapping up the paperwork on case, Maya shows up, confesses to shooting Steve, and refuses to give any further details about it.  Officer Bernadette “Bernie” Manuelito, who years ago was Maya’s roommate, is asked to take a closer look at the case.

 

    Then things get even weirder.

 

What’s To Like...

    Although the cover calls this a “Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito” novel, the latter does all the investigating here.  Leaphorn is now a retired cop, and Chee is busy with a dual role of being both Bernie’s husband and boss. 

 

    As is true of any Hillerman novel, whether it be by Tony or Anne, Stargazer is both a murder-mystery and a study of Native American culture.  But here, as alluded to by the title, a healthy dose of astronomy is added, includ9ng both the technological goings-on at a New Mexico site called the Very Large Array  radio telescope (“VLA”), and what the various star formations such as the Big Dipper, North Star and Milky Way are called in Navajo, and why.

 

    Anne Hillerman utilizes a lot of Navajo vocabulary in the story, but the English equivalent is always given the first time a Native American word is used, and there’s a handy and comprehensive Navajo/English glossary in the back in case you forget.  The Author’s Note, also in the back, is well worth your reading time, especially if you want to know what’s real and what’s fictional in the storyline.  And at one point, Joe Leaphorn gives Bernie some practical tips on how to tell if a person is lying, which I found quite enlightening.

 

    There’s never a dull moment in Officer Manuelito’s workday.  When she isn’t trying to determine why Maya would give a voluntary but false confession, Bernie also has to figure out who beat up and tied up Bee, why is some stranger named Ginger Simons trying to get in touch with her, and the identity of a toddler found dead in the same house as Bee.  Lastly and not leastly, Bernie is assigned to bring in the charming Melvin Shorty on an FTA charge, which provides a bit of comic relief, as exemplified by one of the excerpts below.

 

    The ending is tense, but I didn’t find it particularly exciting.  I’m proud to say I had the perpetrator pegged from the beginning, which is a rarity for me.  But that just meant when perp and cop ended up alone together (is that an oxymoron?), I could pretty much predict what was about to go down and the outcome.  The last two chapters tie up a couple loose ends, including Leaphorn’s fear of flying and why Bernie can’t remember who Ginger is.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.6/5 based on 7,376 ratings and 438 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.19/5 based on 7,189 ratings and 725 reviews.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

    Bilagáana (n.) : white man; Caucasian; Anglo (Navajo)

    Others:  a slew of Navajo words in the text, all covered in the book’s glossary.

 

Excerpts...

    “Mr. Shorty, the courts don’t care about excuses.  You’ve got to go to jail now.”

    He put his hands in the pockets of his overalls.  “Call me Mel.  Officer Bernadette Manuelito, my wife made some pumpkin pancakes before she left for her job, and there are three of them left.  They sure are good.  Could you use one?”

    She shook her head.  “We need to leave for Shiprock.”

    “What’s the hurry?  You sound like a white person.”  (loc. 685)

 

    Even though Window Rock was in Arizona, the Navajo Nation’s capital city received what they called local news from Albuquerque’s television stations.  Most of the stories concerned fresh crime and ongoing investigations, which, as a veteran cop, he found riveting.  The reporters ignored the Navajo Nation unless there was an election, a pandemic, an environmental disaster, a winning high school sports team, or perhaps a Sasquatch sighting up in the Lukachukai Mountains.  (loc. 2752)

 

Kindle Details…

    Stargazer sells for $8.49 at Amazon right now.  Books 1-18 in the series, written by Anne’s father, Tony Hillerman, are in the $6.99-$13.49 range.  Anne Hillerman took over writing the series when her father passed away; Books 19-25 are by her and are in the $6.99-$14.99 price range.  Book 26, The Way of the Bear, is due out sometime this fall.

 

“You and I seem to go together like flies on a cow pie.”  (loc. 947)

    Stargazer is admirably sparse in profanity; I noted just one “ass” in the entire book.  I am always impressed by authors who use their literary skills to set the tone of a story instead of resorting to excessive profanity.

 

    There is an underlying examination of the abuse of women throughout the storyline, which apparently occurs all too frequently in Native American society.  A couple reviewers took exception to the inclusion of this topic, but I will trust Anne Hillerman’s assertion that it is a major problem on reservations, and am happy she turns the spotlight on it.

 

    My biggest issue with Stargazer was the plethora of irrelevant storylines.  I kept waiting for the Bee and Ginger and Melvin and Leaphorn’s fear-of-flying tangents to tie into the main plot thread in some clever fashion.  But they never did.  Which made them feel like just potholes in the path of the investigation.

 

    This doesn’t mean Stargazer is a poor book.  On at least three counts—Astronomy, Women’s Rights, and Native American culture—it is a noteworthy effort.  And the Murder-Mystery aspect, isn’t bad either; it just wanders off a bit too much for my reading tastes.

 

    7 Stars.  My favorite Navajo expression in Stargazer was the oft-used Yá’át’ééh, which the glossary notes can mean “hello” or “it is good”, and yes it takes four accent marks and two apostrophes to spell that precisely.  I learned the word many years ago from an Apache friend, and it comprises 50% of my Native American vocabulary.  The other half is an Apache insult that is said to be the worst slam you can give to a Native American, and is guaranteed to start a fight in any bar.  We’ll refrain from detailing it here.

The King's Deception - Steve Berry

   2013; 624 pages (and including a 140-page bonus novella).  Book 8 (out of 18) in the “Cotton Malone” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Thriller; Action-Intrigue; Historical Thriller.  Overall Rating: 8½*/10.

 

    Way back in January, 1547 the English king, Henry VIII, on his deathbed, reveals to his final wife Katherine Parr, that he was a stash of fabulous riches hidden nearby.  More than 450 years have since passed, and nary a trace of that fortune has ever been found.

 

    Several months ago, a British secret agent was pushed to his death onto subway railway tracks.  Security cameras show a teenager at the scene of the crime, holding a flash drive that he pickpocketed from the agent.  MI6 desperately wants that kid taken into their custody, along with that flash drive.

 

    A couple weeks ago, Cotton Malone’s ex-wife disclosed to him that he’s not the biological father of their son, Gary.  It’s done a number on his head.  It did the same to Gary when she told him as well.

 

    The Scottish government is finalizing details to release the convicted Libyan airplane bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, from prison for humanitarian reasons.  Megrahi has very little time to live, due to terminal cancer. The American government has found out, is outraged, and wants someone to talk Scotland out of this release.

 

    Somehow, Steve Berry is going to tie all four of these plot threads together into a Cotton Malone action-thriller.  And maybe throw a bit of crossdressing in, just to spice things up.

 

What’s To Like...

    The King’s Deception follows the tried-and-true Steve Berry thriller formula: a bunch of good guys and bad guys, plenty of plot threads, and an interesting historical setting tied into the present-day mayhem.  The “teams” of white-hats and black-hats get shuffled around here, with some of them changing hat colors along the way.  We know Cotton Malone will come out on top, of course, the fun is figuring out how he’s going to accomplish this.

 

    The book’s title references the codename of a ongoing covert CIA operation in England.  The intrigue starts immediately with Henry VIII's confession, and the action kicks in shortly thereafter in the first chapter.  Most of the story takes place in the greater London area, including nearby Windsor Castle, which brought back pleasant memories of my touring the grounds in the wind and rain there some years back..

 

    The storyline builds to a suitably exciting climax as the various characters, which have been scattered about for most of the story, are all brought together via some fortuitous timing (another Steve Berry trademark).  All the plotlines get tied up; the good guys prevail, the bad guys are vanquished, and some secrets are successfully kept secret.  A heartwarming epilogue closes things out.

 

    My paperback version included a 140-page novella called The Tudor Plot, which takes place seven years before the events in The King’s Deception, and features a bit of an alternate timeline involved none other than King Arthur, which is definitely not the norm for a Steve Berry tale.  There’s also an informative “Writers Note” in the very back, wherein the author lets you know which parts of the historical portions are factual and which are fiction.  We history buffs love that kind of stuff.

 

Excerpts...

    A few hours ago she’d been dispatched to the Inns of Court precisely at the same time Blake Antrim had been present.  Everything had been coordinated, timed with precision.

    Which wasn’t so shocking.

    After all, she was dealing with the Secret Intelligence Service.

    In Middle Hall she’d thought herself a knight or a rook on the chessboard.  Now she carried the distinct feel of a pawn.

    Which made her suspicious.

    Of everyone.  (pg. 166)

 

    “What did Thomas Mathews want with you?”

    “So you know the good knight.”

    “He and I have met.  In a past life.”

    “He told me you were an ex-agent.  CIA?”

    Malone shook his head.  “Justice Department.  An international investigative unit, for twelve years.”

    “Now retired.”

    “That’s what I keep telling myself.  Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be listening.  What’s Mathews’ interest here?”

    “He wants me dead.”

    “Me too,” Ian said.  (pg. 237)

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.4*/5, based on 3,965 ratings and 1,078 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.99/5, based on 13,987 ratings and 1,211 reviews.

 

“[Stephanie Nelle] said you were once her best agent.”  “I pay her to tell people that.”  (pg. 448)

    The nitpicking is minor.  Cussing is sparse: just 5 instances in the first 40% of the book (185 pages), and those were of the “mild” variety.  I don’t recall any “adult situations” cropping up.  I only caught one typo: sight/site on page 246.

    If you’re not a history buff, the amount of details about the Tudors' long reign as the monarchs of England might get a bit tedious.  And trying to keep track of who's turning into a turncoat for and against whom can be a bit of a challenge.

 

    That’s all I can come up with to gripe about.  Overall, I enjoyed The King’s Deception, for its quick pacing and abundance of both action and intrigue.  This is the tenth Steve Berry book I’ve read, and as usual, was an exciting and informative read.

 

    8½ Stars.  FWIW, there is a brief scene-change early in the book, where we get to travel to Brussels, Belgium in order to be introduced to one of the main characters.  He mentions seeing a famous statue called the Manneken Pis.  I had the opportunity to see it on a business trip years ago.  The statue certainly has a unique pose, and if you're ever in Brussels, be sure to go see it.

Darklandia - T.S. Welti

   2012; 183 pages.  Full Title: Darklandia – Suffering Is Optional.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres: Dystopian Fiction.  Overall Rating: 6½*/10.

 

    Welcome to New York City, 2147 CE.  For you old-timers’ information, it is now in the fine nation of Atraxia.  The country called the United States is no more.

 

    The biggest problem in Atraxians right now is an extreme shortage of water due to drastic climate changes over the past century.  All water is now strictly rationed by the powers that be, but both its quality and quantity is poor.

 

    Drinking water is essential for good health of course, and the government helpfully enriches it with Potassium, Sodium and other nutrients, even though those additives give it a salty, sweet, and metallic taste.

 

    17-year-old Sera Fisk has been having digestion issues with her water rations for several years.  The authorities have adjusted her ration dosage, but the new strength causes her to vomit it back up.  It also has begun to make her see everything differently.  That’s not a good thing in Atraxia, where freedom of thought is frowned upon.

 

    Sera might have to turn herself in to the Department of Felicity to be “purified”.

 

What’s To Like...

    Darklandia starts off with Sera leading a comfortably numb life.  She’s proud to be part of her 114-yer-old grandmother’s “rapturing ceremony”, at least until granny whispers a enigmatic and disturbing bit of news into Sera’s ear: "It's in the water rations."  From that revelation onward, Sera's mind starts to open up to what is really going on in Atraxia.

 

    I liked the concept engendered by the book’s title.  Darklandia is a virtual reality site where all Atraxians are required to go daily to do, well, whatever they choose to work out any inner urges that run contrary to the government-mandated "proper" thinking.  Enforcement of attending Darklandia is handled by the Department of Felicity, and monitored by the ever-present Guardian Angels.  You don’t want to run afoul of those thugs.

 

    Daily life in Atraxia is subject to near-constant surveillance, including security bands (“sec-bands”) worn on the wrists.  It is easy to go wrong.  Crying is forbidden; it indicates unhappiness.  Girls older than five years must keep their hair between 12-to-18 inches long, and must not wear clothing with “warm” colors such as red, purple, or orange.  Failure to conform might stir up unwarranted passions.  And you can’t use certain “filter words”, such as “terrible” or “mistake” when talking; they promote negativity.

 

    The book is written in the first-person POV, Sera’s, of course.  I liked this, it enables the reader to “see” Atraxia through Sera’s eyes, and watch as her perception of it evolves.  At just 183 pages long, Darklandia is a quick yet thoughtful read, and is divided into 20 chapters, which means you can always find a convenient place to stop for the night.  I only noted two typos and recall just one cussword, a single damn.  I was impressed by the text's cleanliness.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  3.8/5 based on 85 ratings and 71 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.52/5 based on 246 ratings and 62 reviews

 

Things That Sound Dirty, But Aren’t…

    This was the second time someone had nearly walked in on me with my hands down my pants. (loc. 1802)

 

Excerpts...

    “Sera, what would you say if I told you there’s a whole world outside Manhattan?  A different world.  A place where cherry soda runs like water from fountains and people are so happy that sometimes they cry.”

    “They c—?”  I stopped myself from repeating his last word.  Now I glanced around at the angels wondering if they were listening.

    “Real tears,” my father continued.  “How does that make you feel?”

    “Feel?”

    Crying wasn’t allowed.  Just thinking about it, the red eyes and nose, the frown, the tears burning tracks down cheeks… it was hideous.  Of course, I was frightened.  But saying the word aloud…  (loc. 161)

 

    “Darklandia is not a way for you to ‘exorcise your darkest thoughts’ as they would have you believe.  Darklandia is the hand of the government reaching inside your brain and rearranging your thoughts to suit their reality.  Why do you think you’re forbidden from speaking about what happens inside Darklandia?  Do you think it’s a coincidence that you see your father every single time you serve your hours, except today?”  (loc. 1127)

 

Kindle Details…

    ANAICT, Darklandia is currently unavailable at Amazon in e-book format.  Two options are shown: Audiobook and Paperback, but the latter is also listed as “Currently Unavailable”.

 

“Excuse me, Ms. Locke, but you’re stepping on my slippers.  Could you please hand me that elephant ear?”  (loc. 1626)

    The ratings for Darklandia at both Amazon and Goodreads are not very lofty.  Judging from the reviews, the main cause for this is the ending, which resulted in a number of 2-star ratings at both sites, and even a 1-star rating at Goodreads.

 

    I have to agree with those low assessments by disappointed readers.  The ending is bizarre and illogical, and it feels like the author simply got tired of writing this tale, wanted to be done with it, and couldn’t come up with a satisfying way to do so.  A team of beta readers should’ve pointed this out.  If they weren't used, some should be found.  If they were used, replacements should be found.  The question for a reviewer is: when a book’s ending is weak, but the rest of the storyline is engaging and well-written, what should be done?

    I’d recommend a rewrite of the last chapter.  This wouldn’t entail many pages; and could even merely point to a yet-to-be-written sequel.  The excellent world-building done by T.S. Welti, plus the existence of a couple other unfinished plot threads (the murder of the mayor is one) begs for at least a second book, or even better, a series.  Indeed, most of the negative reviews expressed a keen interest in that.

 

    This assumes, of course, that the author has any desire to write more episodes of the adventures of Sera in Atraxia.  Alas, T.S. Welti’s most recent offerings at Amazon date back to 2013, so perhaps she's no longer living the dream of being an indie author.

 

    If so, more's the pity since, if one ignores the ending, Darklandia is a wonderful book by a talented author.

 

    6½ Stars, subject to an upgrade if the ending is rewritten  And BTW, the Amazon generic blurb for the “audible audiobook” (isn’t that tautological?) for Darklandia lists the age recommendation as “1-3 years”.  Wow!  I would love to hear any feedback given by a 1-year-old after reading this.

Night's Master - Tanith Lee

   1978; 244 pages.  Book 1 (out of 5) in the “Flat Earth” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genres: Dark Fantasy; Anthology; Folklore.  Overall Rating: 7*/10.

 

    He is known by many titles: Lord of Darkness, Bringer of Anguish, Eagle-Winged, the Beautiful, the Unspeakable, the Prince of Demons, and the Master of Night.  Besides being a demon, he’s also a shape-shifter.

 

    He rules the Underearth from his capital city of Druhim-Vanashta, “The City of the Demons”, where the sun never shines.  He is the lord of the princely Vazdru, the worshipping Eshva, and the lowly Drin.

 

    He enjoys traveling to Upperearth, at least when it is nighttime.  He can cast spells, pronounce curses, conjure up foul beasts, and create new beings.  All of which wreaks havoc on the mortals up there.  But he despises the great orange sphere that rises in the east and bathes Upperearth with heat and light, and he is careful to scurry back to Underearth when rays of lightness begin to shine in the eastern sky.  His name is Azhrarn, and this is his story.

    Actually, it’s six stories about him and various creatures which have had the misfortune to cross his path.  I’m pleased to introduce you to the Night’s Master.

 

What’s To Like...

    Night’s Master is really three pairs of interrelated tales.  They all center around Azhrarn, of course, but each duad of stories also features at least one recurring character.  Ferazhin costars the first section, Zorayas in the second, and Janeve in the third.

 

    The “Flat Earth” appellation in the series' name caught my eye since I’m a devoted reader of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.  But Tanith Lee’s version isn’t circular and doesn’t have elephants standing on a giant turtle’s back.  It’s square, and the Sun apparently revolves around it.  I’m curious to see whether anyone ever reaches the edge and accidentally falls off.

 

    The world-building is fantastic.  The author utilizes a flowery style of writing.  For instance, at one point we meet a “pedlar”.  I looked it up; it is an archaic version of “peddler”.  There are also lots of descriptive passages that let you “see” Underearth and Upperearth.  In the hands of an amateur, this writing style could be irksome.  Here it works beautifully.

 

    The character-development is also masterful.  Yes, Azhrarn is the Prince of Demons. But the gods have a wry sense of humor, and at one point he’s forced to save mankind.  Zorayas is also deeply developed.  Events in her early life leave her scarred, turning an innocent child into a vengeful adult.

 

    Upperearth is filled mostly with humans, and Underearth has mostly demons.  But there are other creatures to meet and steer clear of, including witches, dragons, giants, magicians, gods, and even a unicorn.  It was also fun to see something called the Chair of Uncertainty; it's definitely an artifact I want to get my hands on.

 

    Each of the six tales has its own ending, but I didn’t sense anything tying together and closing the entire set of stories as a whole.  I suspect Tanith Lee’s main goal for Night's Master was to introduce the reader to Azhrarn and the two planes of Flat Earth.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.2/5 based on 293 ratings and 52 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.04/5 based on 2,816 ratings and 359 reviews

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Fane (n.) : a temple or shrine.

Others: jestling (v.); asphodel (n.); vulpine (adj.).

 

Excerpts...

    She called out: “Blessed be the name of the Dark Lord, and let him do me no harm.”

    To which Azhrarn, smiling, replied: “Time has harmed you enough with his claws.”

    “So indeed he has,” cried the witch, her eyes glittering greedily.  “May the Dark Lord grant me my youth again?”

    At that Azhrarn laughed coldly: “I do not often grant favors, hag.  But though I will not give you your youth, I will see to it you grow no older,” and a lightning slipped from his hand and struck the witch down.  It was never wise to ask a boon from a demon.  (loc. 269)

 

    “You may not drink,” said the first Guardian to Azhrarn, regarding him with this pitiless fearsome eye.

    “Indeed you may not,” said the other, regarding him also.

    “I am not here to drink,” said Azhrarn.  “Do you not know me?”

    “It is futile to know anything,” said the first Guardian, “since all things below pass, alter, decline and perish, and all things here above are unchanging.”

    “Humankind know me,” said Azhrarn.

    “Humankind,” said the second Guardian.  “What are they that we should be interested in their knowledge?”  (loc. 3072)

 

Kindle Details…

    Night’s Master currently sells for $6.99 at Amazon.  The other four books in this series are priced in the $7.99-$9.99 range.  Amazon offers a couple dozen Tanith Lee e-books for your reading pleasure, generally in the range of $1.99 to $12.99.

 

So there he sat.  And the stars grinned like naked daggers.  (loc. 401)

    I noticed only a couple of typos in Night’s Master: except/accept, wreck/wreak, and back/black.  I suspect these crept in when the book was converted into digital format.

 

    Amazingly, I didn’t note any cusswords in the text.  I can’t remember the last time that happened in a dark fantasy book.  There are a bunch of “intimate relations”, including those of the gay, hetero, forced, oral, and aroused varieties and occasionally involving gods with humans and dwarfs with spiders.  That last combination makes my head spin.  To be fair though, Tanith Lee alerts the reader to this degree of sexuality in her Introduction at the front of the book.

 

    Tanith Lee was a British author, which means occasionally American readers will run into strange spellings, such as travellers, grovelling, lustre, and a few others.  Curiously, both marvelous and marvellous were used.  I got the feeling that someone made an effort to Americanize the spelling for the e-book version and, for the most part, succeeded.

 

    That’s about it for the quibbles.  The Flat Earth series is an early effort by Tanith Lee (Wikipedia says she wrote more than 90 novels and 300 short stories), and I gather it is her most popular one.

 

    For me this was an interesting and well-written introduction to a fantasy world I’ve been meaning to explore for quite some time.  Alas, I’m not a big fan of anthologies, but in fairness, I knew this was one of those going in.  If Book 2, Death’s Master, crosses my path in the future, it’s even odds whether I’ll pick it up.  But if you happen to like books like 1001 Arabian Nights, then by all means give this series a try.

 

    7 Stars.  We'll close with a bit of trivia, courtesy of Wikipedia.  Night’s Master was nominated for the 1979 World Fantasy Award – Best Novel.   It didn’t win – Michael Moorcock’s Gloriana did – but to give you some idea of the competition, Stephen King’s The Stand was also nominated that year, and didn’t win either.