An Ill-Fated Sky | Darrell Drake

*Image and book provided by the author for an honest review.

Summary:

In this sequel to A Star-Reckoner's Lot, we follow the story of Tirdad, picking up almost exactly where the first book left off. Tirdad becomes possessed by Ashtadukht's memories and he begins a quest to discover the conspiracy started against her that turned her into the monster she became. Along the way, he develops a deep relationship with the half-div Shkarag, formerly Waray. Along the way, Tirdad must fight his own ever present depression and regret, coupled with his cousin's memories of her depression and pain.

Review:

There's a lot of reasons I'm giving this book a 5 out of 5. The characters were wonderful to read about. The dialogue had an enjoyable blend of exposition, character development and humor. The world was even more intriguing as I got to learn more about it. 

It feels like there were a lot of improvements between this book and the one before it. In the previous book, the time skips would throw me off for several pages. In this book, everything flows. There was one point where Tirdad was re-living one of Ashtadukht's memories that threw me off for a bit, but to be fair, it threw him off as well. Also, the use of memories as an exposition tool really seemed to fit and, aside from that one moment, was executed really well. 

What was also very endearing for me was the fact that both main characters were dealing with some pretty severe depression and in their own ways. Shkarag's philactory kept putting her back together, so suicide, self-harm and other reckless behaviors were her ways. Tirdad tries to hold onto the concept of honor to justify his actions, but ends up resorting to a lot of the same reckless behaviors as Shkarag. Then there's Ashtadukht's memories of depression that show that she resorted to lashing out at others, especially when she had no one supporting her.

The fight scenes were amazingly written and I could practically see the "dance" Tirdad and Shkarag did, working together to defeat bandits and armies. We get to see all of the Eshm sisters, each "worth 30 men", fighting alongside each other to powerful effect. And that final battle! I was fully entranced. Fair warning to anyone who is squeamish, there is a fair amount of blood and bloodlust in this book. It's not gratuitous gore, but if you're sensitive to it, it might not be your thing.

Overall, I'm very happy to read this book. This is a wonderful sequel that I actually don't think you need to have read the first one for. It might help with a few gaps, but I really feel this is a standalone sequel. 5 hoots!

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Human Errors | Nathan H. Lents

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

Professor of Biology, Nathan H. Lents, discusses the many, many, many failures present in our human bodies that you'd think evolution would've fixed up or never made possible in the first place. The topics go from head to feet and back again.

Review:

This book is clearly meant for lay people like myself. It is written at an accessible level and has plenty of humor to make the reading engaging. If my high school biology class had used this book, I would have learned a lot more. As it is, I feel a lot more informed about human anatomy than I used to be. From the structure of our eyes to the interconnections of the bones in our ankles and wrists. This is a very educational book that keeps your interest and is easy to read.

And it's not just the physical aspects of humanity that are discussed. As interesting as it is to question why our ACL, even after all these years, is still better designed for a species that walks on four limbs, our brains are even more confounding! Lents doesn't have all the answers, but he is really good at explaining the problems and their theorized origins in our evolutionary history. And not just the physical stuff, either. The social and mental stuff  gets discussed at length as well.

I really liked this book and highly recommend it for anyone who needs a refresher on biology or has questions on anatomy. The book is very comprehensible for those of us without a lot of background on the topic. There is an excellent blend of information, theory and humor. I happily give 4 hoots!

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Starfang: Rise of the Clan | Joyce Chng

Summary:

Captain Francesca Min Yue has been charged by her father to kill Yeung Leung of the Amber Eyes and resolve the blood feud. Using their werewolf blood, her crew hunt Leung through several systems, thriving on the hunt. Along the way they encounter a small child, half Amber Eyes half Pariah, with only her puppy and a message, "Help her." Now Francesca needs to balance the safety of her crew, the honor of her clan and the future of this feral child while hunting down a very dangerous enemy.

Review:

For being such a short book (94 pages) this book packs quite the story. Chng doesn't waste words with irrelevant details and while there are some exposition dumps, they are short lived and well blended to the main story. If anything, I wish there was more about this world to read! It's an incredible world that has humans, werewolves (homo sapiens lupus), shishini (highly intelligent velociraptor type creatures) and jukka (stereotypical big-eyed aliens) in the same galaxy. I really hope Chng is looking at writing another book in this world because it is incredibly interesting and I want to know more about it.

Francesca was a very good character to lead this story. It's almost a stereotype that kick-ass women in books are only fighters and have to "struggle" to be anything else. Francesca seamlessly switches back and forth between being the strong fighter, the quick thinking captain, the motherly caretaker of the little girl, loving daughter and niece, and romantically interested. She is a well-rounded character who feels more real than the usual characters that are torn between any two of these roles. Like I said, Chng doesn't waste words and that really helps to strengthen Francesca as a character. 

Admittedly there isn't as much direct action as I usually like in a story, but there's also no time to slow down. Every page of this novella either builds the world, builds the character or moves the story forward. Sometimes all at the same time. This is an engaging read that left me wanting more. I want to know more about the clans, more about the little girl, and more about the food. Fair warning, if you are vegan or vegetarian,  you may have a problem with this book. For carnivores like me, however, you may get hungry!

I really enjoyed reading this novella. We get werewolves in space and not in a cheesy horror movie sense. This is a well developed world that has so much more I want to know about! I happily give 4.5 hoots and encourage you to get a copy.

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Quietus | Tristan Palmgren

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

Habidah and her team of anthropologists from another plane are studying this world before and during the Black Plague. They are gathering information on how societies handle such a powerful epidemic because their own world is suffering from an incurable disease and information is helpful. Nicculoccio is a monk at Sacro Cuore, the only of his brothers to survive the plague. He's buried all of the others and has no reason not to believe he's the last human alive. When Habidah and Nicculoccio meet, it sets them on the path to discover what is really happening in both their worlds and how to stop it.

Review:

This book does an interesting thing. It manages a tight balance between exposition, philosophy and story that keeps this book interesting. With as long as this book is and with as little action as there is, there was the risk of being boring, but Palmgren does a great job of keeping all the elements in line so that I was still engaged in the reading. I never drifted off or loss interest because all the elements at play were kept balanced. Palmgren also keeps the mystery of the powers at play just out of reach enough that I had to keep reading because I couldn't guess and I was as curious as the characters. 

It was genuinely interesting to read the juxtaposition of the advanced, interplanar society next to the medieval, scientifically illiterate world. To see the similarities between how the amalgamates are treated and how God is thought of. To read about the varying reactions to an unstoppable, unpredictable disease. The attitude that Habidah's team has towards the "backward" people of Nicculoccio's world and the reverence Nicculoccio has towards Habidah's world makes for an interesting dynamic and conversation.

Then there are the thought experiments/meditations. Does the amalgamates refusal to cure the Black Plague equal the force that causes the plague in Habidah's world? Are they equally evil or is one worse than the other? Does the knowledge that nothing you do matters liberate you or trap you? How do you keep moving forward when everything seems pointless or trivial?

As much as I love books with high action and low exposition, every now and then it's good to stretch my brain with a book like this. A book with more philosophy and story than action, but still well balanced and interesting. If you're a fan of historical fiction looking to branch into Sci-Fi or looking for heavier read in general, I recommend this book. It's got plenty of power play drama, religious in-fighting and some actual fighting. It's also got new worlds to discover and governments to destroy. 3.5 hoots!

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