Book Review: Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of The Others

Publisher: NAL (March 5, 2013)

Author Information: Website

Mogsy's Rating: 4 of 5 stars
 

I’m glad I gave this book a shot. I have to admit, I've not had the best experience when it comes to Anne Bishop (I really wanted to like Daughter of the Blood in her Black Jewels series, but just couldn’t seem to get into it) so I initially shied away from Written in Red. However, after multiple recommendations and even an assurance or two that it is very different from Bishop’s epic fantasy, I was finally convinced to pick it up.

I was also told that this series should be right up my alley, based on the type of urban fantasy I enjoy. I daresay that was a good call. I love the genre for its focus on interesting characters and unique worlds, and Written in Red certainly delivers on those fronts. Not only that, Anne Bishop also introduces UF elements in this book that are at once brand new and yet all too familiar. Given my mixed feelings in the past with her other work, it felt reassuring to find this book settled nicely in my comfort zone.

Despite my tepid feelings towards Daughter of the Blood, even I can't deny that Bishop has a knack for creating worlds. Her talent and creativity is evident everywhere in her work, and that is true of The Others series as well, where the mundane and the supernatural coexist in a fragile balance…so to speak. Namely, it’s the unearthly creatures who are in charge, and so long as we puny humans keep in line, they will tolerate sharing the living space with us. It’s different, but makes a lot of sense. Why should “The Others” hide and live in secret when they are so powerful and there are so many of them? And thus people are prey, and they are put in their place.

Written in Red also features a world with more than just vampires and werewolves. Granted, there are shapeshifters aplenty, but they come in many other forms, such as crows, owls, etc. Here you will encounter all kinds of creatures and races of powerful humans, never seen or heard of before. Take the protagonist Meg Corbyn, a blood prophet who has the ability to see the future when her skin is cut. Kind of a morbid power, if you ask me, but it's intriguing. It's simply Bishop working up her gift for creating and describing magic. For me, that dark and vaguely-disturbing but enchanting quality is what I remember of her style. I really like how she's applied it here, to a world so very different from what I’ve previously read from her.

Speaking of which, Bishop’s also not the first epic/high fantasy author I’ve read who has taken the leap into urban fantasy in recent years. In several cases, I felt the pacing was a mild issue with storytelling, and I couldn’t help but feel it here as well. Check out the page count, for one thing. Written in Red is relatively lengthy for an urban fantasy novel, especially a series starter, and I don’t know if it really needed to be so long. Looking back, I can think of quite a few scenes that probably weren’t required. World building is important, sure, but at times I felt it came at the expense of the story's momentum.

Still, I liked the cohesiveness of the plot. So many urban fantasy novels seem to be crammed to the brim with action and a whole lot of ideas and things going on these days, all in about 300 pages. Written in Red may be longer than most, but at least it gives Meg’s plight and her relationships with The Others the full attention it deserves. As a main protagonist, she’s a bit too timid for my tastes, but the writing is very effective at making the reader feel protective of her and invested in her success. As a result, the tension was palpable throughout the novel even without a billion things happening all at once.

As a parting thought, cheers and thank you to those who recommended this to me and told me to read it. This was a fun one! If I’d continued staying away, I would have missed out on a refreshing new urban fantasy series. No need to remind me to put the next book Murder of Crows on my reading list – it’s already there, I promise.

Book Review: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Book 8 of Mercy Thompson

Publisher: Ace (March 11, 2014)

Author Information: Website

Mogsy's Rating: 4 of 5 stars 


Mercy Thompson is a favorite urban fantasy of mine, one of the long-running series that I've kept up with NO MATTER WHAT. Clearly so much has changed in these books since the beginning, not least of all the marriage between Mercy and the werewolf Alpha Adam. I've always thought having the main character tie the knot was a gutsy but smart move -- after all, there's only so far you can take the romantic tension between Mercy and the men in her life, and I can appreciate a series that's not afraid to evolve.

As it happens, I've started enjoying these Mercy books so much more since she formed a mate bond with Adam and was subsequently integrated into the Columbia Basin pack, albeit to some dissent and opposition from the other wolves. Inviting a coyote shapeshifter into a den of werewolves was apparently quite the scandal! It leads to no end of conflict in these books, which is just the way I like it. It's hard to resist tuning in to each installment just to watch the fur fly, er...so to speak.

But wow, Night Broken really takes things to the next level. Let's just put it this way: there's the drama you think you know, and then there's the invite-your-ex-wife-to-live-with-you-and-your-new-wife drama featured in this book. Throughout this series, Mercy's faced all sorts of nasty things that go bump in the night, including evil vampires, overzealous fae, a river demon and now a volcano god in Night Broken. But Adam's ex-wife Christy might just give them all a run for their money.

I adore Mercy's character so much which is why in the end I still loved this book to bits, but I have to say I spent most of this book feeling awfully indignant. If Patricia Briggs had set out to make her readers squirm, then she was definitely successful. I wanted so badly to wring Christy's neck, and then maybe go beat up each and every one of wolves in the hopes of smacking some sense into their heads. Whatever respect I gained for Adam in the last book, I'm sorry to say I lost some of it again here. Alphas may have a natural instinct to protect those in need, but letting someone walk all over your wife is also NOT okay. And I wanted to shake Mercy too, for not fighting back earlier and just letting it all happen.

Ironically, Christy the mundane human may have seized the throne as the most loathsome antagonist of this entire series ever. It's not often that a fictional baddie can make me see red, but Christy managed to do it single-handedly. I resent her for rendering Mercy self-conscious and powerless to act in a lot of situations, and I also dislike the effect she seems to have on the rest of the pack. Christy doesn't have any supernatural powers, but she does possess the uncanny ability to manipulate others, and all the werewolves act as if they've taken a bunch of silly pills when they're around her. It's always rankled me how "pack magic" can sometimes override human common sense when it comes to the wolves, and Christy's the dangerous catalyst that makes many of them act out of character.

Despite my roiling emotions, I have to say Night Broken is my favorite Mercy Thompson book yet, simply due to the reactions it invoked from me. I'm mad at a few characters but certainly not mad at the novel, and when it comes to a ongoing series and eight books under my belt, at this point I'd gladly take stories with emotional impact over the same-old-same-old that leaves me cold. It's nice to see I can still be surprised. I would also love to see the return of Gary Laughingdog, Mercy's sort of half brother who was introduced in this book, and given how past characters in this series have a penchant for returning in later installments, things are looking good for me!

This one opened my eyes to how much I am invested in these characters, especially when it comes to Mercy; I felt anger and offense on her behalf even if she was too polite and courteous to show it. In a way, the ex-wife drama even overshadowed the main storyline involving the hunt for Christy's stalker (which was why she had to stay with Adam and Mercy in the first place) but in the end there's action aplenty to complement the social conflict, making this one hell of an entertaining book.

A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Ace Books!

Waiting on Wednesday 11/06/13

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can't wait to get our hands on!

Mogsy's Pick

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs: March 4, 2014 (Ace) 

I love Patricia Briggs and her Mercy Thompson series! I don't think much else needs to be said :)

Night Broken will be the eighth book and I can't wait. And check out that gorgeous cover. 

"An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart."

Book Review: Charming by Elliott James

Charming by Elliott James

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of Pax Arcana

Publisher: Orbit

Expected Date of Publication: September 24, 2013 

Author Information: 

My thanks to Netgalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an e-ARC of Charming in exchange for an honest review. My first impression of this book -- and keep in mind this was before I knew anything at all about it -- was that it was going to be an urban fantasy targeted more towards female readers. I suppose it was the reference to "Prince Charming" that did it. And the cover image featured a tall dark and handsome young man wielding a shiny silver sword emerging from a background of predominantly light pastel teals and purples, the title rendered in pretty loopy scrollwork classical font.

Turns out, I was a little off-base. In actuality, found that Charming read more like an urban fantasy novel in the same vein as those in series starring male protagonists like The Dresden Files or the The Iron Druid Chronicles. More recently, I read Jim C. Hine's Libriomancer which also came to mind when I read this. And what do all the leading men in these series have in common? They all have these kick-ass supernatural powers, possess a sense of humor that falls slightly on the geek-side, are all great at battling vampires and other forces of darkness that threaten the human populace, and always come to fights armed with plenty of witty pop culture references. 

Which is just a rambling, roundabout way of me trying to point out that readers who enjoy the genre should also feel right at home with this book and its main character John Charming. Trained by the modern day version of the Knights Templar, John comes from a long line of monster hunters and was one of their best fighters. But a werewolf attack on his mother right before he was born had resulted in John becoming a new type of strange hybrid, and the day he manifested his symptoms was the day his own people turned on him, labeling him an abomination that must be destroyed.

Now John is on the run, hiding in rural Virginia with a new identity. He's rented a home near the woods and has taken up a bartending job in a college town, hoping to stay under the radar. Everything's copacetic, until two mysterious newcomers show up one night at the pub where John works, threatening the peaceful and quiet undercover life he has worked so long and so hard to maintain.

Like I said, if you love urban fantasy and especially the series I mentioned above, there's a really good chance you'll like this too. I think that's one of the reasons I took so quickly to Charming and its characters, because reading it was like returning to a place that feels comfortable and familiar. The problem with this, however, is that it can always act as a double-edged sword. While on a certain level a lot of the urban fantasy series I read may share a lot of similar traits and elements, my favorites are always those that stand out amidst the rest somehow, very often setting themselves apart through a unique idea or memorable features, say, like an alternate history or an interesting magic system. 

As such, one issue I have with Charming is that I don't feel like it adds much to the genre. Many of the ideas I read here felt like the retreading old ground or that I've seen them elsewhere before. Somewhat related to this is also the sheer amount of info-dumping I noticed spread all throughout the novel. I usually give first-in-a-series books like this a pass on this since world-building from scratch is a tough but necessary evil, but I've seen other authors pull this off much more subtly. Of course, this also just might be an indication of me having read too damn much UF; I'm sure someone just diving into the genre reading this book through fresh eyes might have a totally different experience and opinion on this than me.

Anyway, every hero needs a team, and John Charming's no different. As expected, we have the supporting cast here including a couple of your instantly recognizable archetypes ("the hot leader chick that everybody has a crush on", "the genius techie guy with all the cool gadgets", "the smarter-than-he-looks cop", etc.) but on the whole I liked the diversity of characters. The ones that stood out for me are Parth the naga scientist that brings with him a refreshing take on South Asian mythology, and Dvornik the jealous boyfriend who despite his hideous personality has a pretty interesting dynamic with Sig, the aforementioned hot girl. I have to say this made the resulting Sig-Dvornik-John love triangle pretty interesting to read about, and this is coming from someone not usually keen on romantic drama bogging down my action in UF. 

Character-wise, I think my one disappointment was actually with John himself, and more specifically, it was his "Prince Charming" background and angle of the book that I wish had been more overt or explored further. After all, Prince Charming is a prominent but often underdeveloped figure in many classic and beloved fairy tales, and he rarely gets top billing like this. The blurb for this book and some of the other publicity materials for it appear to play up this point, which is why I was surprised there was not more of a link between John Charming (and his ancestors) and the Prince Charming of legend and fable. It it weren't for the family name, there wouldn't have been much of a connection.

All in all, a fun read. I had some mild issues with the main character and wished that the plot, lore and world were a bit more inventive and unique, but on the whole I enjoyed this and would be interested in reading more of the series.

Final verdict:

 3 of 5 stars

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

This took a little bit longer than I expected to finish, despite it always being a joy and a treat for me to return to the world of Mercy Thompson. The thing is, I adored River Marked, the book that came before this. Simply adored it. So if I had to compare the two, I probably didn't like Frost Burned as much, but it's still a solid follow-up. If you're a fan of the series, it's not to be missed.

Anyway, to the surprise of absolutely no one, Mercy's life has not settled into the normalcy of wedded bliss even after her marriage to the werewolf alpha Adam -- but it's not for the lack of trying. The book begins with Mercy taking her teenage stepdaughter Jesse out for some Black Friday shopping (oh, brave, brave Mercy), which is how they end up being two of the few spared when the entire pack and their loved ones get targeted or abducted.

This general premise actually ends up leading to an awful lot of plot threads, which is to be expected if you're familiar with the series. But it was perhaps a bit too much in this book, because I found myself struggling to keep my focus more than I had with any of the previous ones. New elements to the plot were still being introduced almost right up to the very end, such as the revelation which finally led me to understand the reason for the book's title.

Also, I fully admit I may be in the minority for this one, but I did not really enjoy the Adam chapters. To my knowledge, this is the first time he's had his point-of-view featured, albeit in third person, as I don't actually recall if we've ever seen it in a Mercy book before this. I'd have thought it would be amazing to get inside Adam's head, but I was wrong. To be honest, he came off as kind of a jerk. I know, I know, he's a werewolf alpha and can't help it, but nevertheless it still bumped his character up a couple notches on my turn-off meter. I would have been even more put out if the POV change was uncalled for, but because of how certain events played out in the book, I have to admit it was necessary and completely appropriate for that particular situation.

One great thing about Frost Burned, though, is that it introduced two more characters that I absolutely fell in love with almost right off the bat. Asil the werewolf and Thomas Hao the vampire -- I hope we see more of these two in future installments.

Final Verdict:

3.5 out of 5 stars

Blood Oranges by Kathleen Tierney/Caitlín R. Kiernan

Blood Oranges by Kathleen Tierney/Caitlín R. Kiernan

Now here's a book that comes with a ton of caveats.

First of all, it seems whenever a title about vampires or werewolves comes out nowadays, most of us tend to automatically think, "Oh geez, not yet another YA urban fantasy." Except I don't know if I'd let any tween of mine get within twenty feet near a book like this. No question about it, it is adult fiction containing a lot of mature subjects and very naughty language, though no romance or sexual themes.

Which is also kind of the perfect segue into my next point: If you are someone who prefers a little paranormal romance in your urban fantasy, then this book is also not for you. Our main protagonist and narrator is one of those gals who would sooner kill a monster than get lovey dovey and make out with one, if you know what I mean. As all tough demon huntresses should be, if you ask me. That she also makes fun of sparkly vampires is a plus.

Actually, if you're still unsure of whether or not this book is for you, just flip through the first few pages of front matter to the author's foreword. Here's my favorite quote from it: "In fact, if you're the sort who believes books should come with warning labels, this book's not for you. Also, please note: Siobhan Quinn is not a very good writer. Fair notice."

Yes, fair notice. Good thing my sensibilities are not easily offended, because this book was a lot of fun and a riot to read. It actually made me laugh out loud a few times. There's just something about the gritty writing style and Quinn's sarcastic cynicism and that devil-may-care attitude of hers that makes me really like her. She reminds me of a female Sandman Slim.

Yeah, Siobhan Quinn is definitely not your run-of-the-mill urban fantasy heroine. Not at all. The two monster-kills that that first led her onto the demon-hunting path were complete flukes, the products of her clumsiness and sheer dumb luck. She's a foul-mouthed street-kid drug addict with serious issues who gets bitten by a werewolf and a vampire -- both in a single night! -- but her "werepire-ness" has not left her any prettier, any more cheerful, or improved her hygienic habits one whit. Not to mention she's also a junkie, a self-admitted coward and compulsive liar, and a terribly unreliable narrator.

But perhaps the thing I liked most about her character is the fact she breaks the urban fantasy female protagonist mold, in a way that's almost borderline satire. That along with the book's departure from the norm offers a refreshing change of pace for those of us who are wearying of the same-old-same-old genre tropes, and who might be looking for something different to stir things up.

By the way, Kathleen Tierney is the nom de plume of Caitlín R. Kiernan, whom I found out only after I finished this book is quite a well-known author of horror fiction. Though I have not read any of her other works, after Blood Oranges, I think I might want to.

Final Verdict:

4.5 of 5 stars