I’m in the middle of two series right now: the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, and the Twilight Reign series by Tom Lloyd. I’ve just finished the second book of  each, and am taking a break to read some other things for a little bit before I tackle book 3 of each one.

Of the two, the Dresden Files are my definite favorite so far. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a wise-cracking narrator/protaganist. Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a wizard after my own heart. Sarcastic hard-ass on the outside, big old chivalrous, fight-for-good softie on the inside. It’s classic detective fiction meets all things paranormal/fantastical. The characters are well-rounded and engaging; the plot is believable without being predictable, and moves along at a nice pace; the narration is great. I’ve yet to find something I don’t like about this series, other than book 3 not being available at my library yet.

That’s not to say that the Twilight Reign series isn’t good; it definitely is. I read a LOT of fantasy, so when I say this series does something new and interesting, I hope that carries some weight. The whole series is based around the concept of white-eyes, beings who are human but amplified through the attention/favor of a god. They aren’t elves; those have a separate place in the story, though they haven’t shown up much yet. The plot is very intricate, and the character list quite long – this is definitely one of those series that would benefit from including a map of the world, and a list of the cast of characters. It includes neither, so I do get a bit lost sometimes as to who/where the chapter is focusing. But I’m intrigued enough so far that I’ll keep reading the series, just to see where it goes.

The Devil You Know

By Mike Carey

This book started out so promising. It had a wise-cracking protaganist with a great name (Felix Fix Castor). It had good pace, good mystery, and some interesting characters, and of course a dash of the paranormal, as Felix is an exorcist. Even Felix’s approach to exorcism was unique (he plays a whistle, of all things). And then the story goes and gets itself wrapped up in Eastern European crime and an unbelievable choice as the ‘bad guy’ and it lost my interest. There was also some confusion due to UK slang, and the author assuming the reader would be as familiar with London neighborhoods as he is. Overall, though, it was still an enjoyable read. Felix’s voice as the narrator, and a surprise twist with a succubus at the very end saved it from being too disappointing.

I give it 3/5 stars.

Misspent Youth

By Peter F. Hamilton

The book jacket description led  me to believe this would be my kind of science fiction -  the kind that uses the sci-fi element to explore human psychology and sociology, rather than just being an adventure story set in space or the future (though those can be enjoyable too). And it could have done that, if it hadn’t gotten sidetracked by male hormones. Apparently the author feels that the only thing a man suddenly made young again will want to do is have sex with as many women and girls as possible. Admittedly, this could be true in many cases (though I like to think that while wanting lots of sex may be universal, some men would at least be monogamous in such a situation). The patchwork attempt to lend the story some larger overarching purpose or message via the European Union/Brussels/independence protests storyline seems more like an afterthought, a thin attempt to put a more sophisticated veneer on what is basically a catalog of sexual conquests by the protaganist. Maybe I dislike this book so much because it has more realism regarding humanity’s darker tendencies (lying, cheating, gratuitous/meaningless sex, violence), but I’ve read plenty of books with those elements before that I still enjoyed. The difference is that they at least had some redeeming factor, usually in the form of a protaganist I could actually like or relate to. Overall, this was a disappointing read – I kept waiting for the payoff that would make reading it worthwhile, but it never came.

I give it 1/5 stars.

The Magicians

by Lev Grossman

I wasn’t bored by this book, for sure, but ultimately I wasn’t satisfied either. The cynical, disinterested view of the narrator, Quentin, pervades even the alternate magical world(s) he becomes privy to. There is a bit of wonder and awe at this new fantastic dimension to everyday life, but moreso there’s a grungy, apathetic feel to the whole book, that I was hoping would be resolved by the end and wasn’t. I don’t have a problem with drinking and sex on principle, or even drugs for the purposes of fiction, but they were present to such a degree that I got sick of it and of the characters engaging in such wasteful excess when, c’mon, they have magic to explore and be excited about! I felt more disgust and impatience with them to get over themselves and get on with life, than I did empathy for them.

I especially wanted to like Quentin, and at times did, but the usual story payoff of an antihero narrator changing/growing didn’t happen – he ends much like he began and behaved the entire book. He also ends much stronger in magical skill, which is something, but not stronger in any other area. Certainly not any stronger in regards to principles or personality. The most likable character, Alice, who may have had some chance of redeeming Quentin – well, I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but let’s just say that doesn’t happen and I was not happy with the direction her storyline ultimately took. The world Quentin falls in love with from childhood books, Fillory, comes off as a hollow mockery of established fantasy worlds like Narnia, which may have been intentional, but didn’t go over well with me.

Overall, I really was interested in the plot and the characters and the world of magic that Grossman portrayed, but a large part of my interest was in the hopes that they would prove worthy of devoting that much reading time to, and ultimately they didn’t. I closed the book with a memorably unsatisfied ‘hmph.’ If the intention was to parallel real world dissatisfaction and angst and ennui in magical fiction, it worked. But that’s not what I want or like to read – I am admittedly an escapist reader, and I want my reading ventures to be either pleasant or satisfying or both, and this was neither.

I will say, though, that the quality of the writing itself (voice, grammar, style, etc.) was very good. That alone isn’t enough to make me want to reread this book, or read any other of Grossman’s works, however.

I give it 2/5 stars.

A review over at Amazon says it really well:

“Definitely, the book had the makings of a great story. Yet, I was left numb at the end, not happy, not sad, not scared. And that, really, is why I left this review with 3 stars. I read fiction to be entertained. This entertainment can be in the form of humor, feeling good, scared, excited, titillated, insightful, or some combination thereof. Instead, when I read this book, I saw through the eyes of a fairly apathetic protagonist, who messes things up and blames everyone else, who had chances to become a hero and fails each time. I read about a person who wanted something, got it, didn’t like it, and became apathetic. I read about the antagonist being defeated, the protagonist winning in the end, and no one feeling … well, happy for having accomplished anything. Perhaps this is what real life can be. But come on, that’s not entertainment. And that’s what’s sad about this, that this book had the potential to be a GREAT story, but misses the mark significantly.” – Mitchell M. Tse

Elfland

by Freda Warrington

Overall, I thought this was an interesting way to mix the world of fantasy with the modern world. The lines between what makes a being human or a fairy are blurry and blurrable (at least from the fairy side). An Aetherial being (as they are called in the book) can blend in with humans no problem – their true selves only show in other realms or to other Aetherials. They can also choose to reject their otherworldly side and forget about their race’s history and powers, and become essentially human – as a few characters in the book attempt to do. The way Aetherials can slip ‘sideways’ between different realms/dimensions – intentionally or accidentally – was a bit of a new twist, too. No stone circles or travelling west into twilight necessary. And I like a good romance storyline with occasional sex scenes as well as the next woman, so a few bonus points for that.

My major beef with this book, though, is unfortunately it’s largest action-driven plot point – Lawrence Wilder and the mysterious threat from beyond the Gates. Even by the end, it is not really clearly explained why, if the threat has always been there from the beginning of creation, it is only awakening now. There’s some vague mention about Lawrence’s nightmares having had something to do with it, possibly creating it, but that doesn’t jive with the story that it was always there. But the more character-driven side of the ending (namely, Rose’s storyline) was very satisfactory, so I found myself able to overlook the bit about Lawrence and still have the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from finishing a good book.

I give it 3.5/5 stars.

Flash Forward

by Robert J. Sawyer

I won a copy of this book from @torbooks on Twitter in a giveaway they did around the time the TV show based off of it premiered. Overall, I thought it a fairly good read. It did what I like to see science fiction do: use the premise of some science-fictiony event or discovery to explore human psychology and philosophy. The premise in this case being that the entire human race blacks out for two minutes and each person sees a vision of themselves 21 years in the future (and for the record, I think the 21 years gap works a lot better as a story vehicle than the 6 months used in the TV show). Then the world has to deal with what to do about these visions, what they mean, whether they are real, etc. For me the most interesting parts of this story were the worldwide and individual reactions to what happened, and on the individual note I thought it fell just a tad shy of the mark it could’ve hit. Parts of this book focused far too much on the science rather than plot or characters, and it may very well have been valid science and served as an extended explanation, but for me as a reader, that wasn’t what interested me. When it did focus on characters, it was only sometimes believable. Michiko’s reaction to her daughter’s death in the Flash Forward, and Lloyd’s role in that, was completely believable. Lloyd’s reaction to his vision was not as much. And sometimes I thought characters were being unduly stupid. Theo, for instance, the character that learns he will be murdered by three shots to the chest a month before the visions in the Flash Forward – I was tempted to scream at him, “Just wear a bullet-proof vest that day, you idiot!” And don’t go anywhere alone, as he stupidly and inevitably does. He worries and obsesses about it for 20+ years and then just ignores everything he learns? I don’t think so.

The ending was interesting. I’m still on the fence as to whether I liked it or not. It was at once both surprising and not surprising, disappointing and satisfying. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say that despite the stupidity mentioned above, I ended up liking Theo’s character more than Lloyd’s, and ultimately finding him more believable.

I’ve been watching the TV show based on the book, and so far I like that better overall. It does a much better job of characterization (with a superb cast!) and plot, and they haven’t even gotten to what might have caused the Flash Forward yet, so no chance for it to have gotten bogged down in science speak. It is only very, VERY loosely based on the book though. A few character names are similar (just names, not the characters themselves), and of course the main event of the Flash Forward, but everything else is different.

I give the book 3/5 stars
I give the show 3.5/5 stars (subject to change as the season continues)

Sandman Slim

by Richard Kadrey

I won this book in a giveaway by HarperCollins/Eos Books and wasn’t really sure what to expect, not having heard much about it previously. What I got was a wickedly enjoyable read. James Stark, the narrator, is a magician turned pit fighter and assassin after 11 years in Hell – from which he has just escaped. He is a sarcastically hilarious and cynical character, whose time Downtown (as he refers to Hell) has also turned him into a bit of a vicious brute with handy self-healing powers, and Kadrey doesn’t pull any punches when describing all of the violence and gore – and there is plenty. Or the lewd and crude, either, which normally bothers me more, but with Stark’s dry and sharp delivery just adds to the humor. The story follows him as he tries to piece the reality of his life on Earth back together (there’s an interesting scene when someone has to explain 9/11 to him, since it happened while he was gone) and take revenge on those who killed his girlfriend and sent him to Hell in the first place, all while dodging agents of both Heaven and Hell and something else besides. Stark is definitely a shoot-first, ask-questions-later kind of old western throwback hardass, but he isn’t completely cold and brutal; he has a very human side as far as emotions, he just generally chooses to focus on anger and annoyance, as they seem to him more productive. He also genuinely cares for the few friends he has on his side (a vampire, among other creatures). All in all, it’s an irreverent, clever and grittily violent ride into a magic-riddled Los Angeles, with biting humor and an antihero you can’t help but cheer for as he thumbs his nose at both sides of the divine war. The fact that he may be the world’s only chance of avoiding utter destruction and chaos is kind of a ironic, pain-in-the-ass side gig, and the ending was certainly a surprise for me. I give this book a hearty recommendation, though not for the faint-of-heart or devoutly religious.

I give it 4/5 stars.