Shadow Ops - Myke Cole

About the book

Army Officer. Fugitive. Sorcerer. 

Across the country and in every nation, people are waking up with magical talents. Untrained and panicked, they summon storms, raise the dead, and set everything they touch ablaze. 

Army officer Oscar Britton sees the worst of it. A lieutenant attached to the military's Supernatural Operations Corps, his mission is to bring order to a world gone mad. Then he abruptly manifests a rare and prohibited magical power, transforming him overnight from government agent to public enemy number one. 

The SOC knows how to handle this kind of situation: hunt him down--and take him out. Driven into an underground shadow world, Britton is about to learn that magic has changed all the rules he's ever known, and that his life isn't the only thing he's fighting for.

400 pages (paperback)

Published on: January 31, 2012

Published by: Ace

Author’s webpage

                             

This book was sent as an ARC by the author.

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Control Point is an incredibly talked about book, and it hasn’t even been released yet. It’s the kind of urban fantasy that isn’t found on shelves nearly often enough and because of that it’s attracting a lot of much deserved attention. Control Point isn’t about tattooed women who fall hopelessly in love with vampires while investigating a crime. It’s about inner and outer conflict as well as duty and these deeper themes are nothing short of captivating.

Control Point is heavily steeped in military tactics. Usually books that center heavily on military themes don’t appeal much to me. Control Point is different, and the reason why is because of the author himself. There is something quite surreal and captivating about reading a book written by someone who has first hand experience with his main themes and thus, understands them on a deeper, more intimate level. It’s obvious that Cole isn’t writing this from a well-researched perspective. He lived it, and that brings a level of realism to the happenings that couldn’t be achieved by mere research alone.

Perhaps it’s this realism that makes so many scenes in the book pop. For instance, the book opens with an altercation that takes place in a high school. While this may seem like familiar territory, Cole twists it into something uniquely his, and it’s almost haunting due to the “what ifs” that readers will inevitably mull over. That’s something that can be felt throughout the book. Control Point takes place in a world of “what ifs.” What if humanity did evolve enough to gain special abilities? How would the government deal with it? How would people react to it? The opening scene is haunting because the reader is almost slapped in the face with all of these questions while they wrangle with the idea of the military falling upon teenagers who have special abilities.

Then, Cole ups the ante when the protagonist, military man Oscar Britton discovers he has a forbidden ability of his own. Britton is forced to reevaluate his place in the military. Events transpire, and Britton ends up in the Shadow Ops, which takes him somewhere else entirely. This is where the book gets really interesting, as readers are exposed to something beyond urban fantasy and enter into a realm something else entirely while the protagonist battles with others against another, more looming threat.

Oscar Britton is a fascinating protagonist to follow through the book. He suffers from an inner struggle regarding orders from a government he believes in and his own moral code. In this sense he’s utterly human, and gives the average reader fascinating insight into the personal struggles many individuals in military bodies across the world probably face in silence at some point in their career. Further, Cole fills his book with strong supporting characters that offer unique insights into the life of various military personnel.

While the characters were fascinating, this is also where my only real complaint with the book lies. I never felt incredibly attached to any of the characters. While their thoughts and the events they take part in are fascinating, there is a wedge between the reader and the protagonist that was never quite pushed aside. Control Point focuses so much on action and activity that the few attempts there are to give background regarding Britton, or show that he’s a man outside of the military as well as in it, are overwhelmed by everything else that happens. Further, some of his reactions to some of the events that take place are almost nonexistent. For example, when something traumatic happens to his father, the author makes a point to say that Britton is shocked and upset, and while this event does serve as a catalyst for other events, I never really feel it. Then the plot moves along so quickly that the event seems to be almost swept under the rug before I felt that Britton had any chance to deal with it in a way that the average human would. Situations like this really caused a divide between the characters and myself.

The plot really is filled with nonstop, quick moving, edge-of-your-seat action. However, I found the subtler, personal struggles more interesting than the in-your-face action. Don’t get me wrong, that was incredibly well done, and it’s where Cole’s personal experience with the armed forces really shines through. However, the struggle of Britton to discover where his personal duty toward a government he believes in but questions ends, and where that leaves him as an honorable man is really where the book shines and that’s the stuff many readers may overlook in favor of the more in-your-face military tactics. It’s the deeper layers of the book that really act as the centerpiece about which all other events turn and these are the layers that readers will have to dig for, and many will miss.

It’s the fact that many may overlook these deeper questions and struggles for personal meaning that makes the book so successful. Control Point works on multiple levels. Readers looking for a fast paced, action oriented book will love it for those aspects of it, without being overwhelmed with the deeper stuff. Readers who enjoy something deeper and a little more personal will love the personal struggle of Britton while he tries to reorient himself and his moral code to a world gone mad, unpredictable and absolutely gray.

I usually read an author’s first book in a pretty forgiving manner. A first book is usually the least polished of all of an author's books. There are more mistakes and hiccups, but not here. Barring the one complaint I listed above, Control Point reads like a book written by a man who has already written and published ten books. It’s fast paced and action packed, but also deep and riveting, filled with the personal struggles of a man forced into a situation which makes him question his life and the career which gave him so much purpose. This is a book that will attract a lot of attention and deservedly so. Myke Cole is an author to watch and Control Point is an incredibly strong start to an amazingly promising career.

4/5 stars

The Third Section - Jasper Kent

About the book

The third novel in Jasper Kent's enthralling, chilling and acclaimed historical vampire sequence -- The Danilov Quintet.
Russia 1855. After forty years of peace in Europe, war rages. In the Crimea, the city of Sevastopol is besieged. In the north, Saint Petersburg is blockaded. But in Moscow there is one who needs only to sit and wait -- wait for the death of an aging tsar, and for the curse upon his blood to be passed to a new generation.

As their country grows weaker, a brother and sister -- each unaware of the other's existence -- must come to terms with the legacy left them by their father. In Moscow, Tamara Valentinovna Lavrova uncovers a brutal murder and discovers that it is not the first in a sequence of similar crimes, merely the latest, carried out by a killer who has stalked the city since 1812.

And in Sevastopol, Dmitry Alekseevich Danilov faces not only the guns of the combined armies of Britain and France, but must also make a stand against creatures that his father had thought buried beneath the earth, thirty years before.

480 pages (paperback)

Published on: September 27th, 2011

Published by: Pyr

Author's webpage

This book was sent for me by the lovely people at Pyr.

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Jasper Kent’s Twelve was one of the most surprising books I have read recently. It was one of those books that I didn’t expect to like but ended up loving despite myself. Twelve had everything I wanted in a book – a tight plot, compelling characters and a unique take on a fascinating period of history. Thirteen Years Later was just as good, which proved that Jasper Kent is not a one-hit-wonder author. This leads me to The Third Section, a book I had incredibly high hopes for and because of this, I was extremely excited to read this installment of the Danilov Quintet.

The Third Section is one of those rare books that I enjoyed almost as much as I felt disappointed with it. One of the most compelling aspects of the previous two books in the series was the perspective of the main protagonist, Aleksei. Even in the second book, when the perspective switches from first to third, Aleksei is still in the driver’s seat. The previous two books give the reader plenty of time to become attached to him. He almost becomes as much of a reason to read the books as the plot is. However, in The Third Section Aleksei is pushed to a very minor, almost nonexistent wallflower type role. Instead, his two children Dmitry and Tamara are the main protagonists, and neither ever seems quite as interesting or compelling as their father, Aleksei. In fact, Dmitry comes off as boring and his sections took me an amazingly long time to get absorbed in. This really is a huge drawback for the book. While the plot is still interesting, and many of the things that Kent struggled with in previous books has been ironed out, and his writing is fluid, descriptive and absorbing, The Third Section lacks the compelling voice of Aleksei, and the whole work pays dearly for it.

The plot of The Third Section is noticeably slower in pace than the previous two books. This, combined with the third person perspective from two new main protagonists, could easily put a wedge between the reader and the events that take place in this book. While much of what happens is still interesting, and has potential for really wowing certain readers, others will feel a bit put off. There isn’t much emotional intimacy between the reader and characters or events in The Third Section, and the pacing is slow enough to cause whatever intimacy there may be to fade in place of the desire to get things moving a bit faster.

Perhaps part of the reason this is felt so keenly is because the reader knows a bit too much to be shocked by many of the events. Due to previous books, the reader already knows who Tamara’s parents are and who Yudin really is. A huge “surprise” that could have been felt with those two revelations is lost almost automatically. Due to the use of Yudin’s perspective, many of his plans aren’t shocking because the reader ventures with him while he schemes. There are plenty more examples of where knowing too much effects the plot, but to avoid spoilers I’ll keep them to myself. Journeying along with the characters like this, while interesting, exposes a bit too much. The plot already moves a bit slower than advisable; the lack of surprises is keenly felt. While it can be argued that the journey, not the destination is what the reader should enjoy, a little more surprise could have really gone a long way toward a compelling plot or adding some much needed tension and suspense to the pages.

Yudin, however, is more interesting and realistic than he has been in previous books. The sections told from his perspective really build him up to be a very compelling villain and a character that readers can almost sympathize with, despite his negative qualities. In fact, Yudin was perhaps one of my favorite characters in The Third Section and I felt a closeness to him that had been lacking in previous books. His voice is memorable, and his perspective really makes him realistic, whereas in previous books he was a bit too mysterious to fully understand. Yudin becomes a nice counterpoint to some of the more droll characters. 

Despite its problems, The Third Section was a really enjoyable read. Perhaps the reason the issues I listed were felt so keenly was because Kent’s books are so high quality and absorbing that the smallest details are more noticeable. The period of history this book takes place in is nothing short of fascinating. While the characters lack and the pacing is a bit slow, The Third Section is a strong installment in a series that has continually blown me away. Yes, it does have issues, but I still loved it. Kent continues to impress me. I’m anxiously waiting to see what comes next in the Danilov Quintet.

4/5 stars

And the winner is...

I know I'm a day late posting this. I am currently house hunting and the process of doing that has devoured my week. I lost track of time. Apologies.

Anyway, the winner of Theft of Swords by Michael Sullivan is...

Ole Imsen of Norway

(and also of Weirdmage's Book Reviews)

Congratulations, Ole! - and thanks to everyone who took the time to enter! 

Territory - Emma Bull

About the book

Wyatt Earp. Doc Holliday. Ike Clanton.

 

You think you know the story. You don't.

 

Tombstone, Arizona in 1881 is the site of one of the richest mineral strikes in American history, where veins of silver run like ley lines under the earth, a network of power that belongs to anyone who knows how to claim and defend it.

Above the ground, power is also about allegiances. A magician can drain his friends' strength to strengthen himself, and can place them between him and danger. The one with the most friends stands to win the territory.

Jesse Fox left his Eastern college education to travel West, where he's made some decidedly odd friends, like the physician Chow Lung, who insists that Jesse has a talent for magic. In Tombstone, Jesse meets the tubercular Doc Holliday, whose inner magic is as suppressed as his own, but whose power is enough to attract the sorcerous attention of Wyatt Earp.

 

Mildred Benjamin is a young widow making her living as a newspaper typesetter, and--unbeknownst to the other ladies of Tombstone--selling tales of Western derring-do to the magazines back East. Like Jesse, Mildred has episodes of seeing things that can't possibly be there.

 

When a failed stage holdup results in two dead, Tombstone explodes with speculation about who attempted the robbery. The truth could destroy Earp's plans for wealth and glory, and he'll do anything to bury it. Meanwhile, outlaw leader John Ringo wants the same turf as Earp. Each courts Jesse as an ally, and tries to isolate him by endangering his friends, as they struggle for magical dominance of the territory.

Events are building toward the shootout of which you may have heard. But you haven't heard the whole, secret story until you've read Emma Bull's unique take on an American legend, in which absolutely nothing is as it seems...

320 pages (paperback)

Published by: Tor

Thanks to Tor for sending me a copy of this book to review.

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Territory was my first Emma Bull book. I have read some of the author’s short stories before, and was familiar (and knew I enjoyed) her writing style, I was really excited to read Territory. Furthermore, I am really not incredibly familiar with the Wild West, but of course I know the names like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. I was really was anxious to see how Bull could turn the infamous Gunfight at the OK Corral into a romping fantasy adventure.

Due to the fact that I know next to nothing about the days of the Wild West, I was a good choice to read this book. Most of the historical specifics were lost on me, as were the historical characterization elements. For example, I couldn’t compare Wyatt Earp or Doc Holliday in the book to what I knew about these characters from history. If Emma Bull was correct with her characterization, or with the nitty-gritty details of what took place during the span of time she covered, I never knew it. Thus, historical accuracy wasn’t a huge deal to me, which allowed me to sit back and really enjoy the story for what it was.

Territory opens on a rather grim note at the scene of a robbery where two people are killed. While this scene is important for the plot, it doesn’t set the tone for the whole book. There are incredibly dark and suspenseful moments, but it’s nicely juxtaposed with an overall feel of innocence as the widow Mildred Benjamin is introduced, as well as the traveler Jesse Fox. In fact, it seems as though each character adds a unique atmosphere to the book. The physician Chow Lung is perhaps the most atmospheric as he fills his pages with an incredibly mystical air without overdoing it. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, as you’d expect, add a level of danger and suspense to Territory that is almost palpable.

With some minor reservations, I could almost recommend Territory as a book both fantasy fans, and mainstream fiction fans could both enjoy. While there are some fantasy elements, they are rather surprisingly subtle and, in many parts of the book, nearly nonexistent. This could easily disappoint fantasy readers who might spend most of the book waiting for the fantastic elements and end up being disappointed with not enough to satisfy their appetite. However, for readers who are looking for a more mainstream book but don’t mind the occasional dabble into the fantastic, this might be the perfect recipe for them.

Most of Territory feels like a setup for the big end-of-the-book hurrah. This was interesting at the start, but eventually it got rather old as many of the characters seemed willfully ignorant in the way that they refused to admit that there was more going on than a simple robbery. By the time the characters did admit that Wyatt Earp was up to a bit more than met the eye, the book was almost over. The ending, because of this, felt incredibly rushed and left me rather unsatisfied. If the author had, perhaps, allowed characters to have important revelations a bit sooner, I would have felt that the book was properly paced. As it was, I felt as though there was a lot of lollygagging while the author set things up for the conclusion… and then set them up again…. And again….and again and in the end, I just got sick of all the background and wished Territory would just “get on with it” already.

One of Emma Bull’s talents lies in her ability to describe things in an incredibly unique and memorable way. For example, she describes liquor by saying it is like, “a pretty whore with brass knuckles.” Descriptions like that really liven up the book and add a layer of subtle humor to Territory and really, at times, livened it up quite a bit.

Territory is a fun read. Individuals who are more familiar with the ins and outs of this period of history might find it more rewarding than people who are vaguely aware of what happened at this period. Furthermore, Territory focuses more on the events leading up to the infamous gunfight, rather than the gunfight itself, so if you are reading this book to read about the events at the OK Corral, you’ll be let down. Barring those facts to be aware of, Territory is enjoyable. There are some issues with pacing, but Emma Bull’s unique spin on a well-known event coupled with her fantastic writing makes the issues in Territory easy to overlook.

3.5/5 stars

Discussion: 2012 Reading Goals

I know I'm a little late with this, and I've also slacked on my weekly discussions. I'll try to be more prompt this year. 

Anyway... 

This year I don't really have many reading goals besides to hit 100 books. Before I had the baby I'd read between 170 - 200 books/year. Now that I have a baby I'll be incredibly proud to hit 100 books again (I hit 101 in 2011 which shocked me, seeing as how I was deling with a newborn and cancer). My other book related goal is to do author interviews on my blog. Interviewing authors terrifies me, but I think it will be good for me to get out of my shell and get it done. My never-going-to-happen dream would be to have some publisher contact me this year and say, "Hey, Sarah, you are AMAZING. I want to pay you to do (insert some sort of job type thing here)." I won't hold my breath for that to happen. 

So what are your goals, hopes and dreams for book related happenings in 2012? 

100,000 hits, oh my!

Today is quite a mile marker for good 'ol Bookworm  Blues. Last night, while I was asleep, my blog hit the 100,000 hits mark. That's incredible. I never thought I'd get this many hits, but now that I'm here, it's rather surreal. I started this blog in May of 2010 as a place for me to go and gab about the books I read. I never expected it to take off, much less get 100,000 hits. 

I'm always trying to make my blog better and one of the ways I'll be trying to do that this year is by getting out of my shell and doing author interviews. I'm actually rather terrified to do author interviews, so this is a huge step for me but I think it will be a lot of fun for me and my readers alike. 

As a thank you to my dear, loyal readers who have made this blog so much fun for me, I'm going to be giving away a book. In sticking with the theme of my last review, I'll be giving away: 

The giveaway will end on Friday, January 13th and is open worldwide. To enter, send me an email (bookwormblues (at) live (dot) com) with the subject line THEFT OF SWORDS. I'll randomly choose a winner on the morning of Saturday, January 14th.

Thanks for making my first 100,000 hits so amazing, and I'm looking forward to 100,000 more!

Not a review: Percepliquis - Michael J. Sullivan

About the book

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS...THE ELVES HAVE CROSSED THE NIDWALDEN. TWO THIEVES WILL DECIDE THE FUTURE 

"I saw a great journey. Ten upon the road, she who wears the light will lead the way. The road goes deep into the earth, and into despair. The voices of the dead guide your steps. You walk back in time. The three-thousand-year battle begins again. Cold grips the world, death comes to all, and a choice is before you." -- Fan Irlanu, Tenkin Seerer of Oudorro Village 

Percepliquis is the final installment of the epic fantasy, The Riyria Revelations. In this saga that began with The Crown Conspiracy, two thieves caught in the wrong place at the right time were launched on a series of ever escalating adventures that have all lead to this moment. Three thousand years have passed and the time for Novron's heir to act has arrived. 

RidanPublishing/ Orbit Books

Author’s webpage

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This is not a review. Usually when I not-a-review someone, it’s because I didn’t finish their book for some reason. Well, that’s not the case here. In my humble opinion, a review should be comprised of both positive and negative aspects of a book. As you will soon see, while I could quibble over small, meaningless details there is just no point to discuss anything negative regarding Percepliquis. Thus, this isn’t a review; it’s more like an ode to Michael Sullivan and his wonderful series.

It has taken me a while to really wrap my head around Percepliquis. In reality, despite the fact that I got Fiona (my four-month-old) to sleep last night and had ample time to write a review, I couldn’t do it. This is one of those books that grips you so tight, and pulls you so close you have to take time to untangle yourself from it and step back so you can actually wrap your head around its wonder. I had to completely switch gears and read some Stephen King or my excitement over Percepliquis would have kept me up all night, and with a lively four-month-old, that’s just not an option.

Riyria Revelations is a wonderful sword and sorcery series which is very reminiscent of many of the fantasy books which really got me into the genre in the first place. This fact is true with the whole series, perhaps most strongly with Percepliquis than other books. There were many times in Percepliquis I was reminded of other fantasy books that I had read and loved many years ago. An example of this would be the dwarf cities in Lord of the Rings, or even the quest for the ring itself. In other books comparisons or similarities like that might come of as cliché and tired, but Sullivan pulls them off masterfully and while Percepliquis does remind me of many other fantasy books, it just endeared me to the book even more as these similarities worked to remind me why I love fantasy so much.

Percepliquis has everything. It’s filled with drama, an epic quest, and adventure, plot twists and, perhaps most importantly, it’s incredibly emotionally compelling. The whole of the Riyria Revelations series has been very character driven, but Percepliques is perhaps the most character driven of the series and is incredible intimate with readers often seeing sides of characters that they hadn’t seen in previous books. These characters grow, develop and unfold quite a bit in Percepliquis and become exactly what Sullivan has been building them up to become. It’s a book of transformation and with its raw emotional quality it’s incredibly poignant. While it’s the longest book in the series, roughly double the size of most of the others, the fact that it’s impossible to put down will make the pages practically turn themselves. Percepliquis, while being long, didn’t last long enough. It was over too soon and I found myself automatically wanting to reread the whole series just so I could enjoy it all over again.

I feel that epic fantasy is a genre which could easily become notorious for having series that never end. In fact, I haven’t read many end-of-series books in epic fantasy. This recent trend of authors writing trilogies is starting to end that, but it’s a rare treat for me to find an epic fantasy series that lasts longer than three books and actually has an end. The fact that Percepliquis is the end of a six book series is notable in and of itself. However, what really sets it apart from the crowd is that Sullivan did something unique here. He took ideas that aren’t incredibly new, and proudly made them his own. In the afterward (which I highly recommend everyone read as it sheds a lot of light on the series, and Sullivan’s inspiration behind writing it), he mentions that he wrote this series because he couldn’t find anything like it on the shelves. He wrote what he wanted to read and share with his daughter. Perhaps because of that, the series is more than an incredible journey and some great writing, but it’s a journey away from current trends and into something new and it’s a series with a lot of heart. Riyria Revelations has a happy ending, a strong emotional base, a visual and exciting world and characters you can really root for. It’s a book that reminds you why you love fantasy, and brings you back to the classics like Lord of the Rings all the while blazing it’s own trail into new, shining territory.

Percepliquis is the end of all endings. Sullivan masterfully ties together every possible loose end that he could. Some you’d expect some come as a surprise. Characters from previous books (some of who I never expected to see again) are revisited. While some of the plot elements are rather predictable, Percepliquis isn’t about predicting the plot, but savoring it. There are plenty of “ah-ha” moments as things tie together, or light shines on something and suddenly everything seems to make sense. The truly amazing thing is how much thought and detail (many of these details I never noticed until I read the afterward) Sullivan used throughout the series. I can’t imagine how he managed to keep meticulous track of over all the books he’s written in the series to make everything in Percepliquis so flawlessly click together.

I dare say that most of us were introduced to fantasy through books filled with burly heros with swords, sorcerers, shadowy evil people and epic quests. These are the stories that most of us fell in love with, that blazed the path into speculative fiction for us. These days the trend is toward graphic, gritty, dark and “different” but it’s these sword and sorcery roots that got us to desire these new trends. It’s sword and sorcery that brought us to love the genre. It’s books like Percepliquis that bring us back to our roots and remind us what fantasy is all about. Percepliquis reminded me of the magic of the genre. Percepliquis made me fall in love with fantasy all over again. It’s a book to be proud of, finishing off a series that has quickly become one of my absolute favorites. Percepliquis truly is Michael Sullivan’s magnum opus.

5/5 stars