The Rogue

‘The Rogue’ is Trudi Canavan’s second instalment in the ‘Traitor Spy Trilogy’ series, takes off immediately after where ‘The Ambassador’s Mission’ left off.

Trudi Canavan is the celebrated author of the ‘Black Magician Trilogy’, and this series is set in the same world, 20 years later. We now follow Sonea’s son Lorkin, who is currently missing on assignment in Sachaka as he tries to connect with the Sachakan rebels, hoping to unite their two lands.

This book welcomes new characters, jumping around from one to the other in order to try and cover all bases. While it moves the pages along (yet not the plot, really) it didn’t allow the reader to properly connect to many of characters as fully as they may have been able to, if Canavan had limited the POVs.

However, Lilia is a strong addition to the series and I hope to see more of her in the future. We continue to see the same elements as in her previous series, bullying and the lack of acceptance for those new or different, which mirrors how common this can also be in our world.

While this does suffer from middle-book-syndrome, it is also a relaxing page turner that, if you enjoy Canavan’s other books, gives you a comforting read as it’s more or less on par with the quality of her other works. What works is the gentle balance of magic, mystery, romance and adventure, along with solid yet not overpowering political sparring and history that you will know from her first series.

With two cliff-hangers it’s certain that you’ll be picking up the third and last book in this series, and hopefully we’ll see Dorrien come out of his love triangle with success. If he gets a happy ending, then I’ll be satisfied with this series.

The Gathering of the Lost

‘The Gathering of the Lost’ by Helen Lowe is the second of four in the ‘Wall of Night’ series, of which two are currently available.

We now see that Malian has been missing, presumed dead for five years by her people. Her enemies are also unsure and are hunting her down, as she tries to locate the sword of the legend Yorindesarinen, a hero of the past.

Within this book we see more of the world of Haarth that was lightly touched upon in the first book. Malian and Kalan have separated for their own safety, which divides the amount we can see and experience, enabling the book to move ahead faster than the first book in the series.

We also learn much more about the heralds and the powers they carry, a plus for anyone who was interested in their part in the first book.

Throughout it’s easy to note that Lowe’s writing style has grown significantly, and we also see the worldbuilding (already quite deep and interesting) has grown yet again – a pleasant surprise, as it can only bring hope for the third book. There’s a surprising amount of detail invested in the inhabitants of the cities, and the customs shown show a great deal of care to adding depth to the smaller details.

Politics plays a slightly larger part in this book, yet it’s still a good balance between that and adventure as the plot twists and turns onwards. Everyone plays to their own agendas, leaving the main characters to struggle to see who is friend and who is foe.

Once again, duty and honour play a large role in this book – one of the strengths in the first that allows us to see why a character is acting in the way they do, even if (I found) the first book lacked a certain hook to make us care for them.

The only issue may be that the introduction of several new characters may be hard to grasp at first, but as the novel progresses we see why they are integral to the plot.

This series is recommended to fans of Trudi Canavan and Karen Miller.

The Heir of Night

‘The Heir of Night’ by Helen Lowe is the first of four in the ‘Wall of Night’ series, of which two are currently available.

Malian, a young female, is heir to the Wall of Night, a group of people who garrison a section of the wall that protects the lands. Kalan is a young male currently training in the temple that sits beside the Keep of Winds, where Malian’s family reign. They are brought suddenly together when the Raptor of Darkness splurges an attack against their people, a bloody massacre that takes all by surprise. This chain of events reveals both young teens have magical powers, which they must quickly learn to control in order to save them all.

Though this is not Lowe’s first work, it is her first entry in the fantasy genre. It’s a tale riding on the weight of honour and the demands that must be made when you have promised your life to a certain purpose. Undertones similar to Lord of the Rings are evident, though the naming of things leaves a little to be desired (Raptor of Darkness, darkspawn, then the stark contrast of ‘Yorindesarinen’) and the tropes are heavily in favour of regular fantasy fare.

Though Lowe’s writing voice is decent, I found the pace to be rather slow. The characters were hard to connect to being young (and yet seemingly with the minds and actions of adults) and so, with only plot to connect to and that being slow coming, I found it too easy to put this book down and move on to others.

However, the range of characters is expansive and dependable – there are several roles shown in the Honour Guard, High Stewards, heralds of the guild and many others, showing a deep layer of world building that isn’t always common.

The magic is well integrated into the world, and the depth of history created as a backdrop is astounding. There are many dream sequences that provide an easy step into what’s required magic-wise, and they allow the book to move on a little more as they provide the answers the characters are looking for.

The book can also be quite gruesome – which I think is a good point. It makes the book feel realistic and that there’s true weight to their quest.

Overall, if you like Tolkien-esque drama this will certainly be entertaining for you.

Joss, all is forgiven. Alien Resurrection, Dollhouse, your incessant fans who swear you can do no wrong while singing “Any dolt with half a brain can see that humankind has gone insane” without a trace of irony. All of it. Because The Avengers is that good

For those of you who have been under a pop culture and cinematic rock for the past couple of years, Marvel Comic’s latest cinematic venture is the combination of several years work and one of the most ambitious film projects in recent memory. It is a sequel to Iron Man 2, Thor, The Incredible Hulk and Captain America. One sequel. To four unrelated movies. The 4 protagonists, combined by Samuel L Jackson in the role of his career, join forces to stop Loki destroying Earth. That’s all the plot you’re gonna get out of me, but you will get one of the most spectacular inner city fight scenes you will ever see.

The movie is loaded with solid performances, Robert Downey Jr is still the perfect Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth brings a stoic and mournful quality to Thor as he is forced to battle with his brother, but Mark Ruffulo steals the show as Bruce Banner. He nails the nervous, shy brilliance of a man trying to deal with something bigger and stronger than he is. And every second the Hulk shows up is packed with sheer unadulterated awesome.

Whedon’s script is great. Filled with that infallible Joss dialogue and much tighter and better characterised than anything else he has ever done. One of my original fears was that we were going to see The Avengers written as the Firefly cast (which happened on Whedon’s X Men run) which I thankfully didn’t see. Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, is the most sane and well rounded character, which isn’t surprising to anyone who’s seen Buffy.

I did get the vibe that this is Tony’s movie, with Cap, Hulk and Thor playing second fiddle. I haven’t decided if it’s a bad thing or not. I kinda wanted to see more of Cap dealing with life as a WW2 veteran in the early 2010’s, but I suppose there’e enough content in that for a movie on its own. And frankly, Iron Man is the only character having fun with the situation and is therefore the most fun to follow around.

The important thing to discuss about The Avengers is what it represents. This is the first flash of widespread continuity Hollywood has ever tried. The idea that “All these characters exist in the same universe” hasn’t ever been explored as well as it has in this film. It keeps a coherent and solid universe together even though it contains a Shield from the 50s that is indestructible and a Magic Space Viking. It also takes the most recognisable representation of its characters (for example the 1970’s Hulk TV show) and basically writes a love letter made of characterisation to them.

In short The Avengers is a fantastic film, which will get a number of sequels like Iron Man 3, Black Widow and a proper Hulk movie. All of which will bring forward The Avengers 2. It succeeds in introducing a continuity heavy movie universe to a mainstream audience and works as a standalone film. Go and see it.

PS: You know, I still don’t think I can let Alien Resurrection go…

We are introduced to Jayné (zha-nay, not Jane) Heller, a young woman who inherits everything her uncle Eric had to his name after he is murdered.  Along with properties all across the world and a few extremely full bank accounts, he has also left her with an unlikely business – the one that got him killed in the first place.

Jayné soon meets a few business associates Eric ran with, and finds out (after nearly being killed herself) that they all dealt against a group of wizards known as the ‘Invisible College’, a group who force demon spirits onto unsuspecting humans, to then use them for their own growing power and needs.

She’s unable to believe this is actually possible, yet she has to learn quickly as they make it clear they don’t like her uncle or any heir that he’s left behind. Add to the pot the fact Jayné can’t sit by witnessing what the Invisible College are doing to innocents, or what happened to her uncle in the first place, she soon starts believing and decides she’s more than willing to fight back.

‘Unclean Spirits’ has a slow start as it pulls you into the story, introducing the other characters who Jayné meets and is able to call on, explaining how the demons work in this verse and so on. However, once it gets going it has an easy writing style that’s quick to read and devour.

The characters are what makes this story interesting – not exactly run of the mill (especially the first one she meets, Midian) and you learn just enough of them to want to learn more, and no more than that. We also get to see Jayné grow throughout the book, as she becomes more capable with her new life in general.

The plot is different enough from the usual vampire and werewolf prose out there – sharing elements, yet individually served. The fight scenes are effective, and the abilities shown are decent.

This book could stand as a read-alone, but it will probably make you want to look into the rest of the series, as well as the other work the author has done. You may have heard of the author under the name Daniel Abraham (The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin Quintet) or as James S. A. Corey for the Expanse Series (with Ty Frank) with the first book of the series, ‘Leviathan Wakes’ up as a finalist for the 2012 ‘Best Novel’ Hugo Award.

This novel begins with a death of a school boy, and soon the teenage son of Andy is implicated in the murder of his classmate. From there we are pulled into a mix of legal yet also family drama, showing Andy having to switch roles from lead prosecutor to a parent, and the slew of repercussions that follows.

The courtroom scenes were one of the stronger elements in this book. The characterisation – though most seem to have been enjoying, I found a little stiff as I didn’t seem to be able to warm to Andy much at all. His dialogue seemed stilted and the interactions with his wife seemed simply annoying. There are also a few contrived plot points that most seem to be able to look over, but they could be debilitating for some.

The suspense however makes this book worth reading, as Landay manages to hold back on the big reveal from an additional testimony until the very end, coming from an angle unsuspected until the final chapter. There are also interesting sections when the son is taken to a behavioural scientist. Dr Vogel.

This is also a good mystery thriller for those who can’t stand physical abuse (as many crime books tend to involve, lately) as this book is more physiological and drama, based on facts and the emotion that comes from such traumatic events.

Throughout the story, the novel begs the question – What would you do to save your child?

Stonemouth

‘Stonemouth’ by Iain Banks is a slow, steady tale set in Scotland, about a man called Stewart Gilmour. Stonemouth is a town that’s run between two major crime families and the setting is described vividly when the plot takes us by the beach, or for a walk in the forest, as the characters discuss their issues. Iain Banks still thrives on wonderful description, that hasn’t lessened even slightly since his first novel, ‘The Wasp Factory’.

Though the plot may be slow, it’s also captivating and well told. Stewart – Stu – has been away in London for the past five years after being chased out one night – and maybe it would have been better if he never returned. He has returned for a funeral, and has obtained a declaration of peace for the time being from the largest crime family whom he did wrong… though perhaps not everyone agrees.

While that is the main focal point, throughout ‘Stonemouth’ we are introduced to a range of characters Stu has come into contact with over the years. We see who he grew up with and what they got up to (such as playing around on golf courses or playing with paintball guns) and what they are like now, what jobs they grew into.

Very gradually we learn why Stu had to leave Stonemouth in the first place, and what led up to these circumstances. We learn to care about the characters involved, not because we sympathise with them (though maybe we do) but mainly because we get to know them. Seeing the dramatic events that shaped them all as people, we can’t help but believe this book – written so realistically – could be a true account. It’s simply wonderful.

As I keep saying, what I liked about this book, was that it felt real. There are other books set in gang territory that are grand and seem dangerous and dramatic – and maybe living in such a place is like that sometimes (I’m not to know after all) but this book felt so realistic. They were all just people who had grown up together, who lived by different rules and sometimes had to oppose each other.

This book felt noticeably modern. There are references to iPhones and current music that make you pause for a moment because the plot and the feel of Stonemouth itself seem like they’re 30 years in the past – and yet it never felt forced or unnatural for one moment.

The accent of the characters is written masterfully, words spelled differently to convey how they’re pronounced in their part of Scotland. This is easily the best example of this trick being used and never once was it annoying or jarring.

Overall, I can’t think of many, if any criticisms for this book. I have only read ‘The Wasp Factory’ by Iain Banks, other than this one, so perhaps those who’ve read more by him are able to comment on his running themes in this book. As someone who has only read one other, I really enjoyed it.

‘Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend’ by Matthew Green

‘Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend’ by Matthew Green (published as Matthew Dicks in the US) is a unique tale of a young boy, told by his imaginary friend Budo. It’s an interesting point of view that works perfectly; we’re given a character that can know everything we need to, yet not the answer or the ending as we discover it together.

Max is an eight-year-old boy, possibly autistic (it is never specific) who has an imaginary friend he calls Budo, who tells us about Max’s world and about the other imaginary friends that exist. Imaginary friends come into existence knowing everything their creator knew at that specific point in time, and they fade into nothing once their creator forgets about them. They are able to learn more than their creator if they’re able to watch television or hear a conversation between others, but most imaginary friends do not like to leave their creators side. Budo is lucky that he was imagined to be able to walk through doors, which gives him a certain amount of freedom.

We see Max through Budo’s eyes, and are able to understand him clearer than the adults seem to. We discover what it’s like coping with not liking to be touched, or having to deal with too many choices, or not able to understand what’s so wrong with being perfectly happy in solitude. Although I don’t like comparing books to others, ‘Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend’ is quite like ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ by Mark Haddon in that it describes a view into an otherwise generally unknown world.

The plot moves fast, yet has suspense. The characters aren’t ever completely described – you only get a sense of who they are and why they do what they do, which is a masterclass of showing rather than telling.

Although this book seems to be about Max, it is also about Budo, who, as he wasn’t imagined as needing to sleep, has his nights free to roam around. He visits service stations and hospitals, and we are introduced to characters there also, who become part of the story as a whole.

This book is over 400 pages and I read it in a day. No, even less than that, I read it in an afternoon. This book flowed perfectly and it was virtually impossible to put down. It was so easy to read, easier to absorb and wonderful to finish.  The ending will make you smile.

Although this book is mainly about an eight-year-old, and doesn’t use difficult language, it is a novel for older teenagers and above. There are instances of strong and main plot may be a little delicate for some.

Stay Close by Harlan Coben

‘Stay Close’ by Harlan Coben is his latest stand-alone (as in, not one of his Myron Bolitar novels) mystery novel. It tells the tale of a few people who are trying to cope in life despite dark things happening in their past, seventeen years ago. We have Megan, mother of two and happily married in a perfect house with a perfect life – yet she’s unsatisfied, unable to move on from what happened. Once she was a ‘playgirl’ in Vegas, in love with Ray.

Ray was once a talented photographer, yet now he’s worse than the paparazzi – he only gets to pretend. Hired by the rich who aren’t famous enough for the paparazzi treatment, they hire him to follow them around, calling out pre-planned lines and getting pushed around by equally fake bodyguards.

They were both there on the night of a murder, one detective Jack Broome just can’t let go. He still works at it, and so seventeen years later when another man disappears in similar circumstances, he discovers that they weren’t the only two. And it all has to do with a certain holiday.

Though the characters in this book are a bit different from the norm, I was unable to care about their story. This one disappointed as I didn’t feel the characters gave any reason for why I should sympathise with their troubles or their life in general. Perhaps I was expecting too much from his other books, or ‘No One Left to Tell’ by Karen Rose was simply stronger and was read too recently – I kept comparing the two.

Two characters, known as Barbie and Ken, had potential but failed to terrify. They seemed haphazard and unbelievable. Perhaps if we knew why they acted as they did, perhaps if they struggled either with what they did or with how they were the only ones on their ‘righteous’ path, then it could have worked better.

Despite attempts at twists and turns in the plot, I still found it predictable and failed to be compelling – I suppose since I didn’t really care for what happened to the characters. Overall this book seemed rushed and the plotting overall to be half-hearted. This one simply lacked. I found it too obvious who the killer was from early on (though I usually never know in mystery books, even when most others are able to guess) and soon I was only reading in order to get it finished and find out why Ray sees blood all the time.

If this is your first Harlan Coben book you may not be as disappointed as I was. If you are, I suggest you try ‘The Woods’ instead – that was my first Harlan Coben and I quite enjoyed it. If you’re already a Coben fan, you may be as disappointed as I was. I hope you’re not – it’s always sad when a book disappoints, and I hope I’m one of the few. (A lot of people on GoodReads seem to love it, so here’s hoping I’m just being difficult.)

We are introduced to PI Paige Holden (who first appears in Silent Scream), who has been asked to look into an apparent wrongful conviction and imprisonment of a gardener who worked for a retired US Senator. Before she can find out much, the wife of the gardener is killed on her doorstep while trying to deliver the newfound evidence required and Paige herself soon fears for her life as she gets too close.

Grayson Smith is the attorney who sent the gardener to prison, but he’s soon on Paige’s side as he can’t abide wrongful imprisonment. Together they do what they can to uncover the truth, but the more they dig the more they discover who is involved in this case, and just how far back it goes… How far can they get when highly ranked people are involved, well positioned and wealthy enough to command the plays in life?

The characters all have a lot of baggage. It helped you connect to them and you did want to read on to make sure they were okay in the end, yet it could have been good to see a character who was simply happy and positive. The characters were well balanced and generally likeable.

The romance was a little fast and forced, and at times felt a little unnecessary – but romance lovers are sure to love reading this book as their scenes together were detailed and plentiful.

I was amazed at how intricate the story was weaved – there were many characters, many elements to the crimes and many stages also as it spanned through the years. It builds slowly as the book progresses, but is solved neatly and completely by the end in a very satisfying way.

One issue I had with this book was the change of viewpoint, frequently happening mid chapter and continuing on the scene so it could be showed from another character. Sometimes this was a little confusing and could have been done better.

I should warn that the natures of some of the crimes in this book have to do with harming children – certain people may wish to avoid. I felt it was dealt with well and wasn’t at all graphic or described in detail, however it could be a trigger for readers.

Overall this book was gripping and kept you reading onwards easily. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys crime novels and though the book possibly didn’t have to be as long as it was, I found the quality to be constant throughout.