Shadow Ops: Control Point | Myke Cole

Summary:

Lieutenant Oscar Britton has just had his magical ability awaken. Unfortunately his magic is in a prohibited school meaning he is going to be sentenced to death. Naturally, he runs. After he is caught, however, he learns that he will not be put to death, provided he follows the rules and doesn't try to run again. Instead he's been recruited to a secret base in the home of magic, called The Source. Here he must learn to control his magic while trying to figure out just whose side he's on.

Review:

I've been a fan of Military Sci-Fi for a while now so I figured I'd give Military Fantasy a try. This, maybe wasn't the best book for the transition.

The world this takes place in is amazing. It's very easy to get into the swing of things, figure out the way things are, etc. Even the magical world of The Source was very well thought out and intriguing. The indigenous people, nicknamed Goblins, have entire histories and mannerisms that I would love to learn more about. The clear and blatant racism that the Goblins have to deal with daily was heart-wrenching.

Then there was the classism between those who agreed to use their magic to serve their country and the Selfers, people who refused to take the oath. Selfers were treated like dangerous criminals even after they'd learned to control their magic. They were not allowed to go home, by all accounts they were dead. Their only choice was to either be treated like a prisoner and watch propaganda videos or take the oath to serve those who had put them into this situation because of reasons beyond their control. No one can control if or when their magic will manifest, nor in what way it will manifest. But, if you show signs of magic, you're drafted, one way or another.

And these situations provide wonderful ethical debates about freedom and treatment of prisoners of wars and more!

The problem I have with this book is the characters. I repeatedly called Britton an idiot. And yes, he did most of his stupid things for good reasons (he didn't want to die, he didn't want his friend to die) but I still felt like he deserved every hit he took. And he takes a lot of hits. At the end of the book a lot of people are dead because of him. Whether they were the good guys or not, that doesn't justify their deaths, nor how they died. He, himself, points out a few times what his biggest flaw is, his pride. If he could've learned to just shut up once in a while, he might have been an okay main character.

The other characters in this book are rather one dimensional, their motivations defining who they are and what they do. Even the bad guys, on every side, are very straight forward. Almost comically so. Britton's motivations keep flip-flopping so it made it even more difficult to like him. Therese and Marty were the only characters that I actually care about what happened to them.

In the end, though, I have to give this book 3 hoots. At no point did I feel like I needed to stop reading it and, when all was said and done, I have to say I am tempted to buy the next book. It has a different main character and the author had more experience under his belt when he wrote it. If it goes on sale, I'll buy it. In the meantime, this first book of the series gets 3 hoots!

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The Rebellion's Last Traitor | Nik Korpon

*Book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

It's been many years since the resources wars. It's also been many years since anyone has seen the sun. The Tathadann Party runs the show with an iron fist, even adjusting it's people's memories so they forget what life was like. As a result, memories have become their own form of currency but are also more addictive and destructive than heroin. The only attempt at a rebellion failed and this book goes back and forth between the two former leaders of that rebellion, Henraek and Walleus, and their lives as workers for the Tathadann.

Review:

I'll be honest, I've got some mixed feelings about this book. It had a lot of interesting story elements and characters. The world was a little difficult to process, but that could be because I'm not used to the egregious dichotomy between the rich and the poor in post-apocalyptic worlds (you'd think I would be by now). Overall this really felt like a thriller or mystery book way more than it was a post-apocalyptic sci-fi.

I appreciate that we're given the viewpoints of Walleus, the willing traitor to the cause, and Henraek, the man who had to be broken first. From this we get the viewpoint of the backstabbing and politics going on within the Tathadann Party and the struggle to hold onto anything worthwhile in the slums. We get to see one man continue on with what family he has while the other has nothing left of his family but memories he's harvested from others who used to know him. One person only has "friends" that will take any opportunity to throw him under the bus while the other has a single friend who is trying to get him to move on. It's quite an interesting way to give the reader different clues about what happened in the rebellion and what is happening now.

The ending was what really gave me pause. In a way it really felt like the main characters got what they deserved, but it wasn't very satisfying. And maybe that's the point. The notion that revenge, social upheaval and justice have repercussions and innocent people lose out. There is, certainly, a lot of that in this book. Parents losing their children. Husbands and wives losing each other. People even losing their sense of self because they either lose their memories or get addicted to the memories of others.

I did enjoy the book. I'm not usually one for mystery/thrillers but this was, overall, a good read. If you like thirllers or dystopian settings this is a good book for you. As for me, I give it 3.5 hoots.

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United States of Japan | Peter Tieryas

Summary:

In an alternate history where Japan defeated the United States in WWII, we follow the story of Beniko Ishimura (his mother was certain he'd be born a girl). He's considered the laziest Captain in service to the Emperor who only got a cushy job because of his connections. When he receives a call from a missing General asking him to take care of his daughter's funeral, Ben quickly gets caught up in interrogations by the Tokko (secret police) and their investigations into the source of a subversive video game. 

Review:

This is not a book for the feint of heart. There's a lot of death, some simple, most pretty gruesome. The book begins in a Japanese internment camp in 1948 and does not let up on intensity until the very end. This entire book was such an emotional journey I ended up crying. That being said, if it weren't an amazing book, I wouldn't have been so emotionally invested that I cried.

United States of Japan is a real page turner. It almost hurt to put it down whenever I had to eat because I didn't want to miss anything. Tieryas does an excellent job of pacing the book and revealing facts and new information in such a way that you HAVE to read the book through to the end to figure it all out. Don't get me wrong, one or two things I saw coming, but it was such an intense, well paced read that I had to finish it. And that ending was completely worth it, heartbreak and all!

The world this takes place in is so interesting. I really believe Tieryas did a great job recreating the world from this alternate history. There were so many aspects of the international repercussions of the war that I never would have thought of. Admittedly, the more advanced technology may be wishful thinking, but this is alternate history with science fiction mixed in. Tieryas kinda keeps everything in California, but still creates so many layers to the world that it really sells how different this reality is. At no point did I feel like any detail of the world was out of place or odd because it all fit with this alternate history.

I truly love this book. Yes, it's emotional, but it's so engaging and immersive. I couldn't stop reading it (so glad I picked it up during the weekend and not when I had to work). If you can handle how much violence there is in it, it's a wonderful book that will keep your attention through the end. I happily give United States of Japan 5 hoots and am eagerly waiting for the next one!

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Whitechapel Gods | S. M. Peters

Summary:

Victorian London has been taken over by two gods, Grandfather Clock, whose law iron, and Mama Engine, whose law is fire. Anyone who acts against the gods is either destroyed by the Boiler Men, soldiers of Grandfather Clock who gave their souls for bodies of iron, or they are taken directly to Grandfather Clock and made a part of his machine. Even those who don't act up are infested with a disease that replaces human parts with machines or they choke to death on the fumes of the machines of the gods. A group is devising a way to kill both of the gods and free London, but there are humans going against gods. 

Review:

Overall, this was a good, engaging read. I certainly wasn't expecting it to be as dark as it was, but the feel fits the form. You could not write a world like this, where the sun is blotted out, and not have a dark story.

The characters in this world are quite interesting. I appreciated that intelligence was the order of the day with three of the main characters. Intelligent characters make for more interesting stories and at no point did I feel any of the good guys were being dumb. Most of the characters were level-headed enough to handle surprises and make sure the obvious was expected.

That said, the ending was a little predictable and there were a handful of typos that took me out of the story. But it was still an entertaining read.

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Homeland: The Legend of Drizzt Book 1 | R. A. Salvatore

Summary:

Drizzt is a drow elf noble born with a strong, innocent heart, thrown into a world of corruption and backstabbing. The only true law of the kingdom of Menzoberranzan is "don't get caught." But Drizzt's heart longs for honor and admires bravery. How is he to survive Menzoberranzan?

Review:

I've been tempted to read Salvatore many times before but it was never a high priority for me. I picked up this book in an attempt to learn a little more about the world of Dungeons & Dragons. As it turns out, this is only a small segment of a much greater world and I have a LOT more reading ahead of me. The good news is, I am completely engaged in this series. I was looking for some high fantasy to break me out of my non-fiction streak and Homeland was a great choice. 

Finally I understand why my friend Catharciss completely geeked when she saw I was reading this. Salvatore is a talented author. The entire book is very fast paced but never did I feel I missed something nor did I feel there wasn't enough character development. As my husband can tell you, I was reading while dishing up my dinner because I needed to know the fate of my favorite character. 

Homeland was such an engaging read and for all the right reasons. The story was fairly simple, there were only a few surprises, but that's because the rules of Menzoberranzen are explained, not through an exposition dump so much as a battle scene that serves as the example. Kinda like a tutorial level where you learn as you go. 

I happily give Homeland 4.5 hoots. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've already bought the second book in the series and need to see how it goes.

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Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Brief Synopsis:

Red Queen takes place in a dystopian future where you are judged based on the color of your blood. The Red Bloods have nothing but hard work and poverty while the Silver Bloods have power. And not just economic power, but actual magic-like abilities. Mare Barrow is born Red but discovers, quite publicly, that she has her own ability. She is inducted into the Silver world where every action could give away her true blood and result in her death.

What I Think:

The book is well written and engaging. Aveyard does a wonderful job world building and doing it quickly. Red Queen is an easy read and the story is definitely interesting.

Unfortunately one of the book's greatest strengths is also, for me, its greatest downfall. Mare is constantly warned not to trust anyone. "Anyone can betray anyone". Aveyard does such a wonderful job of keeping you guessing who you can trust that, as a reader, it kept me at an emotional distance from everyone. I ended up feeling nothing for any of the characters because I didn't know who to trust. 

The book also has the problem of having a familiar formula. A teenage girl tries to change her dystopian world and ends up in over her head. The Queen can read and control minds, yet Mare acts as though she can have secrets. I wish I could be half as sure of my plans as teenage protagonists are of theirs. 

But, overall, Red Queen is a good read. It took me to another world and I never had a problem picking the book back up. It's quite likely that this book just isn't my genre. If this is your genre, by all means, pick up a copy! I give Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard 3 Hoots!

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I've also started a YouTube channel recently and this is my first book review! Hope you enjoy!

Cress by Marissa Meyer

Yes, I know, I've gone through the first three books of the Lunar Chronicles, rapid fire, but in my defense, this series is highly addictive. And I normally don't like princess stories or love stories, or the combination of the two! But this series has yet to disappoint and I have yet to be able to put it down.

Cress is an amazing continuation of the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer. In case you can't tell from the cover, it's a version of Rapunzel's story. Like with Scarlet, there was a lot more of a love story than in the original Cinder, but the love story is not the focus. The focus is survival, Cinder's training, and stopping the wedding between Queen Levana and Emperor Kai.

I had a lot of fun reading this book. Though it's over 500 pages, it was still a relatively quick read and a fun ride. Sometimes it was even an emotional ride.* I greatly appreciated that Cress did have some issues with agoraphobia after spending so much time in isolation. Her panic attacks felt pretty accurate, and I have experience with them.

This book is does an amazing job of furthering the plot of the Lunar Chronicles as a whole and introducing several new aspects of Lunar life without making the reader feel overwhelmed. I gladly give it 4.5 hoots!

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*I kid you not, this book made me cry. But I can't say the scene because SPOILERS!

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Holy wah. It is a good thing that I have been working on building a tolerance to scary stuff, otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight...or ever go back to work. Horrorstör is filled with so much of the same corporate speak you hear at almost any job, but the story adds a dark tone on top of my own, and the main character's, cynicism. I doubt I'll be able to attend a company meeting without plotting all the available exits first.*

I picked up this book because there were so many people saying it was incredibly scary, couldn't put it down, etc. You know what? They were right! Admittedly a lot of the scariness is gore based, not my preference, but oh well. There was still plenty of psychological scariness, especially when the Warden took over and you got to read some of his original documentation. His speeches about work and mindless labor as the only ways to reform gives you another viewpoint for when a tough manager is putting you through the wringer. 

This book definitely plays on the idea that crap jobs are soul crushing. That underneath the "We Are Family" mottoes, there is a much darker aspect to the company. The author really plays into it with the furniture descriptions at the beginning of each chapter. They start out innocently enough, but after things really go south in the book, they are a good source of dark humor. Where else are you going to ready such light-hearted descriptions of torture devices? 

Be forewarned, almost every conceivable fear/phobia can be found in this book. There are, of course, the classics: claustrophobia, achluophobia**, agoraphobia, zemmiphobia***, etc. But there are others to be on the lookout for! If you have a phobia of any kind, I'm almost positive you will find some kind of representation of it in Horrorstör!

All in all, I gladly give Horrorstör 4 hoots out of 5. It was an engaging read that had me genuinely scared! 

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*Because I totally never do that anyways...

**Fear of the dark.

***Fear of rats.