Friday, March 29, 2019

Kiersten White: Slayer

In the first in a new series Kiersten White takes readers back to the world of The Slayers but from a whole new perspective:

Nina and her twin sister Artemis have lived a far from normal life and though they may look alike they are very different people. They are growing up in The Watcher Academy, or whats left of it since Buffy ended magic. Nina has carved out a place for herself as a Medic but everything changes in one instant when she places herself in danger to save others. Nina becomes a Slayer, the last slayer every to be, and now Nina has to wrestle with not only being a Slayer but questioning everything she knows not only about herself but the Watchers place in this new world. Things are never easy for a Slayer and as the bodies start to pile up Nina has to make some hard decision that could affect the world.

So this book is basically calling all Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans which I totally am but of the TV series, I was not into reading at the time of the end of the show so I never kept up with the graphic novels that followed. This is where White makes a few assumptions. First you’re here because you loved and enjoyed Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show, as stated that is why I picked up this book so you have the general understanding of the slayer and watchers, vampires demons etc, so if you never watched this series you may be a bit lost as to the world that was built and everything that really came before. Second it assumes that you continued on with the graphic novels/comic books after the tv series ended which I did not so there are plenty of events that happened in these media forms that I was not aware of. So there were times, especially at the beginning of the book, where I felt a bit lost.

This book was quite a bit darker than I thought that it would be; From the type of demons that are introduced, death of some of the characters and illegal demon fighting, this book does cover quite a bit of dark ground. These are all traits that were embraced by the TV show so I am glad that White kept to these traits. White also does a good job of integrating the mystery and teen genres in this books as well (though at times there was a little bit too much teen aspects for me).

There is a lot of Buffy bashing. To say the main character does not like Buffy and blames her for many of the wrongs in the world and her life is an understatement (She even makes this statement more than once throughout the book). However, Nina who is the main character of this book, does grow and develop as a character and begins to see a different side to the slayer aspect. I really appreciated that White had Nina grow as a character, this was one of the high points of this book.

I was able to figure out one of the big twists but did not see the second one coming which was a great surprise, so I appreciate that White was able to do this. Nonetheless, I am unsure if I will continue on in this series, there were aspects that I liked but there was a bit too much teen drama for me, which probably a teenager would enjoy but reading as an adult it was a bit much.

Enjoy!!!
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Thursday, March 21, 2019

Walter Mosley: Down the River Unto the Sea

Walter Mosley takes readers on a journey where a former police officer turned PI is not only investigating a case to save a man's life but also looking to redeem the life he lost:

When Joe King Oliver is sent to arrest a car thief he never thought that it would land him in prison and then solitary confinement on Rikers Island. He knew he had been set up but he could never prove it. Over a decade later King is now a private investigator running his own agency with the help of his teenage daughter who acts as his assistant. When he receives a letter in the mail from the woman that admits she framed him and was paid to do so by a cop, King has no choice now that to take on his own case to try to stop the corruption that is running within the NYPD. The thing about corruption is it tends to run deep and King's case is not the only one out there.

This is the first book that I have read by Mosley and honestly I had never heard of him before this book, which I now think is crazy as he has written over 43 books and quite a few of them are mystery based. I guess I should now just count myself lucky to have discovered him and have 42 more books to look forward to.

There are many aspects that I enjoyed about this book. Mosley has a way of writing that just draws you into King's life and story. Mosley does not sugar coat anything and there are times where King goes down a dark path pursuing information or protecting himself or those he loves.. This book also has a police procedural feel to it as King used to be a police officer so he knows how to work a case and try to uncover evidence/clues to lead him to the next step. One thing you can say about King is that he is fairly methodical in his work process and he tries to see things from many angles. 

King is a great character to who a main flaw, his love of women and that is what lead him to be incarcerated at Rikers Island. He seems to have put all women behind him but he does comment more than once about a lovely lady that he encounters or sees. King is now also suffering from PTSD so there are times when this interrupts his thought process but this just makes him feel more like a real person. King still bleeds blue even though he knows he was betrayed by them, but the still has friends inside the force that will help him. One thing is true King is a force to be reckoned with.

Another character I really liked was Mel. I would like to see more from him if this book were to become a series or really just a book about Mel as he was such an interesting character; criminal, sociopath but also lives by a certain code, I mean I feel like that book could just write itself, lol.

I guess my one negative in this book was that I was able to figure one of the big twists pretty early on, I personally felt it was a bit obvious but maybe that was just me.

This book was nominated by the MWA for the best book award 2019, so if you're into reading books from those type of shortlists make sure to pick this up. And if you're not into reading from awards lists, still pick this book up it is a great mystery crime read. I know I'm going to be on the hunt for more of Mosley's novels.

Enjoy!!!
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Thursday, March 14, 2019

Nicholas Sansbury Smith: Orbs II Stranded

You will want to read the first book in the series Orbs in order to understand the Aliens and world that this series is based upon.

Nicholas Sansbury Smith is back with the second book in his Orb series, where water is becoming more and more scarce:

The Alien invasion has wiped out most of the life on Earth by sucking the water not just out of the ground but also out of every living thing they can find. The Oceans are slowly being drained and the survivors within the biosphere make a horrific discovery human farms where the Aliens appear to be slowly draining the life of humans that have been captured. When one of their own is captured by the Aliens, they enter into an all out mission to find him and bring him home, but nothing prepares them what has been happening outside of the biosphere.

I liked this better than the first not sure why but I was really drawn into the story and characters in this book when compared to the first. Maybe it is due to the fact that these are the people who survived the first wave and we get to know a few of the survivors better. Sansbury Smith pull no punches on descriptions of deaths (they are pretty gruesome as the Aliens want the water from any lifeforms' body) and who is alive at the end of the book, lets just say they all do not make it out in the end. Sansbury Smith knows how to keep this series both frightening, disturbing and entertaining all at the same time.

Really like the development of Alexia the AI in the biosphere as a character in this book. She changes and almost develops feelings which I find very interesting due to the fact that she is AI as well as her attachment to the humans who she watches over. Another character that was better fleshed out in this book was Sergeant Overton. He really shows a different side of himself I found in this book, as he is very much lets take the fight to them as so what if we die trying while in the first book it was more about trying to survive. But the one thing that you respect the most about Sergeant Overton is that his is completely loyal to his men and is not willing to ask them to do anything that he is not willing to do himself.

As us one of my favourite authors out there right now Sansbury Smith is one of my go to authors. I know I will be continuing on with this series to see where he takes it.

Enjoy!!!
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Saturday, March 9, 2019

Robert Bryndza: The Girl in the Ice

In the first of a series Robert Bryndza takes the reader on a true game of cat and mouse:

The body of a young beautiful and rich socialite is found beneath the ice in South London. Detective Erika Foster is called back from leave to lead the case. The victim appears to have lived the perfect life and had nonenemies or obstacles that would have lead her to this death. Erika soon find a connection to other murders of prostitutes that were found with similar injuries and cause of death. But as Erika gets closer to discovering the killer the killer is stalking Erika and closing in on her with each minute. Who is going to survive in this deadly game?

This was a good read but not great one. I found that I was not sitting on the edge of my seat while I was reading it and I found a few aspects within the book predictable and nothing new for this genre if that makes sense. I'm all for crazy family dynamics and the secrets the rich try to keep from everyone else as well as the power/influence they have and this book shows all these aspects again and again (but this also not something new in this genre)

Erika is a great main character and the main reason I kept reading this book even when I was not enthralled with it. I particularly liked that she never gave up on the case even when she is forced to. She is a strong woman despite the trauma in her recent past, she does seem to still know her weaknesses, but one flaw she does seem to have is she is not aleays a team player however there are reason for this. I say all this but I feel like this was the second book in a series or we missed out on some vital parts about what makes Erika, Erika. I know we get her backstory of what she went through but that did not really seem like enough. I wish that this was the second book in the series and there was a first book that created and expanded on the backstory that was presented here.

Was not able to figure everything out in relation to the plot and murders as Bryndza did a good job in leaving red herrings along the way so i did flip flop over who was responsible. I always fun when you as the reader have to decide along with the main detective which are the truths and which are the lie associated with Andrea's death.

I do not comment on the covers of book often but this one is simply awesome, totally captured my attention and made me want to pick up this book and read it. I do question this touting itself as a serial killer novel as the focus is mainly on Andrea's murder and the connection to historical deaths so if ou are expecting crime scene after crime scene then that is not going to happen here. However, there is a cat and mouse game that is entered into and that aspect was interesting.

Although I only thought this book was okay I do look forward to reading further in this series. I think Bryndza shows great potential as a storyteller and I really liked Erika as a main character.

Enjoy!!!
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