Review: Kindred by Octavia Butler

Kindred by Octavia Butler

My Rating:

 

As part of the TBR Canine Jar Challenge, Kindred was chosen by Enya. Kindred is her third pick from the jar this year, her previous picks being The Exorcist and Middlesex. 

 
I went into this expecting it to blow my socks off as I've seen many people raving about it, but that's not what happened. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, it was engaging, the plot was great, and I flew through it in no time, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

The writing was simplistic and easily readable. It didn't require much concentration or dedication to get through and I wasn't expecting that. I don't know if I am disappointed because my expectations were too high, or because the author approached the important topics of race relations and slavery using such simplistic language and writing style.

I went into it with something more complex in mind, a deeper hard to read story and message, but I feel it was overly simplified and somewhat dumbed down in order to entertain or make it a lighter read. I highly doubt it was used as a plot device for entertainment purposes, but at times it felt that way. Perhaps it's a victim of its time, had it been written more recently this wouldn't have been the case as today's readers are more open to the truth of the brutality and realism of slavery.

The above makes it sound like I didn't enjoy it, I did and I'm keen to read more by Octavia Butler, but I'm left with questions. The time travel just happens, there's no explanation given for Dana being pulled back in time. How was Rufus able to pull Dana back to his time? What effect did her interactions with her past relatives have on her present timeline, family, and bloodline?




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Review: Gork, the Teenage Dragon: A novel by Gabe Hudson

Gork, the Teenage Dragon: A novel by Gabe Hudson

My Rating:

This is a DNF for me. I'm not a fan of the writing style, it's rather juvenile and reads like someone's high school English homework. The humour wears off very quickly, there are only so many times "my scaly green ass" can be found humorous or used as a descriptor. There was so much repetition throughout the book that it started to get on my nerves. At times it felt like every other sentence started with "Now, ..."

Not a book I would recommend.


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Review: Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes M. Yardley

Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes M. Yardley

My Rating:


I received a copy of Beautiful Sorrow through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

I don't often read short story collections and when I do I tend to read them one story at a time in-between reading other books, but in this case, I was so captivated by the individual stories that I read them one after the other. They were all enjoyable but my favourite has to be The Boy Who Hung the Stars.

Beautiful Sorrows is the first of Mercedes M. Yardley that I have read and I have to say her writing is truly beautiful. It has a wonderful peculiar and ethereal quality to it. In fact, many words came to mind while reading: poetic, haunting, mystical, melancholy, surreal, to name a few. Her style truly is unique. I've never read anything quite like it before. Not only were her stories beautiful but they were also heartbreaking, chilling, and dark, all at the same time.

Reading Beautiful Sorrows was like experiencing the wonder and beauty of fairytales for the first time as a child, but in grown up form.



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Review: People of the Sun by Jason Parent

People of the Sun by Jason Parent

My Rating:


People of the Sun has everything I love to find in a book. It's a mix of horror, sci-fi, thriller, and dark fantasy, and it ticked all the boxes for me - I'm especially fussy when it comes to sci-fi and fantasy too, so they are not boxes that are easily ticked! It really has something for every reader within its pages. Seriously, is there anything this guy can't put his pen to?

I was totally captivated by the characters, completely immersed in their world, their experiences and their emotions. The world around me ceased to exist while I had the book in my hands. I enjoyed watching the characters grow and change throughout the story. Seeing them become more human and relatable, both for the better and for the worse.

People of the Sun explores what it is to be human, it delves into the good, and the bad, and the effect they have on those around us. It's a sad poignant tale, but at the same time it's tension filled and has plenty of action. I was sad to see the story come to an end. I tried to draw it out. I didn't want to say goodbye. I wanted to savour it and stay with the characters longer, but I failed miserably and ended up reading it in one sitting. I really hope there is more to this story in the future especially after that ending, it killed me.

Highly recommended!



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People of the Sun, Synopsis

• Print Length: 327 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Sinister Grin Press (March 15, 2017)
• Publication Date: March 15, 2017

All life comes from the sun. Sometimes, death comes with it.

Filled with hope and driven by fear, four would-be heroes are driven from their home planet in a desperate bid to save their civilisation from extinction. But survival takes on a whole new meaning when a malfunction sends their ship plummeting toward Earth.

Surviving the crash is only the first obstacle on their path to salvation. The marooned aliens soon discover that Earth’s beautiful exterior masks an ugly foundation, a place inhabited by a warrior race that’s on a path toward self-destruction.

Brimming with action and intrigue, People of the Sun is sure to entice fans of dark fantasy and sci-fi thrillers such as Watchmen and I Am Number Four. 

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Jason Parent, Biography

In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. Formerly from the Southeastern Massachusetts region, he recently moved to Rhode Island to be near his work. 

In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it's harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he's back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that's another story.

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 Praise for People of the Sun

"Jason Parent has penned a thought-provoking, gripping sci-fi thriller. This isn't your grandma's alien invasion. My own world stopped the moment I stepped into People of the Sun. Lovers of science fiction, horror and even super heroes will revel in this roller-coaster of a tale. A true must-read!" -Hunter Shea, author of We Are Always Watching and The Jersey Devil

“With his own indelible blend of tension and dark humour, Jason Parent’s latest page-turner reminds me of what you’d get if you crossed Isaac Asimov with Kurt Vonnegut. In addition to being fast-paced and wildly entertaining, Parent’s novel also offers the occasional flash of insight into the human (and not-so-human) condition, and displays Parent’s talent for turning a given genre on its head.” -Michael Meyerhofer, author of The Dragonkin Trilogy

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Media, information and review copy provided as part of the Hook of a Book blog tour by Erin Al-Mehairi from Hook of a Book Media & Publicity.

If you’re a book blogger or media site and would like to feature Jason Parent or review People of the Sun, contact Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, at hookofabook@hotmail.com. 

Follow along the tour with these hashtags: 

 #PeopleoftheSun #SciFi #DarkFantasy #aliens
#SinisterGrinPress

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Review: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Dark Matter from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Dark Matter is the easiest 5 stars I have given this year. In fact I would go as far as to say that it may very well end up in my number one spot for book of 2016.

It's not very often that a book surprises me in the way that Dark Matter did. Just when I thought I knew where the story was heading and had prepared myself for what was ahead, I was totally blind sided and catapulted down an expertly crafted, extremely clever and mind blowing path. I found myself thrown by how quickly and cleverly things changed and I had to put the book down for a minute to digest just how excellent and unexpected the turn of events were. I have to admit, I was totally mind blown and fangirling at that point, something that very rarely happens and I haven't done since reading The Martian.

Dark Matter is packed full of action, tension and suspense and has twists and turns that will pull the rug from under your feet. Highly recommended! I have already recommended it to all my family and friends who love to read.



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Review: The Shadow Of All Things by Allen Houston

The Shadow Of All Things by Allen Houston


 My Rating:


I received a free copy of The Shadow Of All Things from the author in return for an honest review.

Having previously read The Nightfall Gardens trilogy by Allen Houston and enjoyed them immensely, I was really keen to read his new release. The Nightfall trilogy, being dark fantasy, fit nicely into the fantasy genre but this new one is a bit different. The Shadow Of All Things is a mix of fantasy, urban fantasy and sci fi but at the same time is set in the real world as we know it.

The opening chapter drew me in right away. You won't find that slow drawn out character introduction and world building that you come across all too often in fantasy here. Instead the reader is thrown right into the action from the very start and it's consistent throughout the whole book. There's always something happening and the characters on both sides, good and evil, are well written.

The characters cross into multiple parallel universes that really capture the imagination. The characters in these universes feel very Alice in wonderland: strangely dressed, quirky, creepy but also larger than life in terms of appearance. Although these characters were predominantly on the evil side, and as a reader we hate to like the bad guys, I have to say that these characters really appealed to me. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions and the visuals the writing created in my mind.

I have to say though that I much preferred The Nightfall trilogy over this one but that's more of a personal preference thing as dark fantasy is something I enjoy more than urban fantasy. It was still a 4 star read though and definitely one I would recommend. It was unique and fun and I'm looking forwards to the next instalment.




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Review: Northwoods by Bill Schweigart

Northwoods by Bill Schweigart

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Northwoods from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Had I written this review right after finishing Northwoods it would have been higher rated but I have found, after contemplating on it for a bit, certain things which didn't really jump out at me at the time. I did enjoy Northwoods while reading but on writing this review I have come to realise that it was more of an OK read than the great read it seemed to be.

At times I felt there was too much going on and that the characters spent more time apart than they did together. As a result a lot of the action was happening at the same time, this I feel caused a lack in the overall building up of the tension and fear.

I also had trouble with the believability aspect at times. Take for example the opening scene of the book. The area is monitored by sensors and drones and although the sensors were triggered they didn't pick up on the people that were in the vicinity. Surely they would pick up on these people, that is what they are there for after all. Also, the opening scene gets totally forgotten about as the story progresses and the item found in this scene is actually an important item to the storyline. What happened? How did it get there? Where did it come from? Why did no one ask these questions or look into it more?

On a more positive note. I enjoy when an author includes lore or legend in their storylines, I find it fascinating and it added a whole new level to a story for me. The scene setting was done well and the interaction between the characters, when they were all together, were well written. I can't say that I found all the characters likeable or relatable but I did enjoy the character of Alex Standingcloud more than the others. I found Lydnsay to be, as time went on, rather annoying.

Overall it was an OK read. Northwoods was my first by this author and I would read more but I would have to be drawn into the story way more than I was with this one before I would pick up a third.




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Review: Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Into the Dim from the publisher in return for an honest review.

The premise of Into the Dim really intrigued me. It's claimed to be the Outlander of the YA genre. A time travel story set in Scotland. It has to be good, right?

I had high hopes for this one but in the end I was both disappointed and frustrated. I really enjoy time travel stories and that aspect of Into the Dim was OK, not great but not overly bad either. The way the stories interweave and jump back and forth was for the most part done well and not hard to follow. Where I did have huge problems was with the whole set in Scotland part. I'm Scottish born and bred, I've lived in Scotland my whole life so perhaps I'm harder to please when it comes to the dialect etc but I found the dialect and portrayal of the Scots in this book to be way off the mark. The Scots dialect got me more and more annoyed the further I read. You don't want to know how many pages of highlights I have marked!

Apparently being Scottish means we either talk like Yoda: "It's happy we are to finally have you here." "But I'm knowing one thing for certain." "And it's pleased we are to have you here." Or use the word "bloody" all the time in our conversations: bloody cold, bloody brilliant, bloody queen, bloody big emerald, bloody amazing, bloody bizarre, bloody wanker, bloody damn, the list goes on. That's more an English thing than a Scottish thing, and even then it's way over used here. And don't even get me started on the "Cheese an' crackers!" or "How in the name of Mary and Bride.." and "Hill of beans." Don't know where the heck the author found those. In the name of the wee man, yes, but in the name of Mary and bride?

Add to that the over use of pure: pure sorry, pure furious, pure tired, pure unusual. The only Scot you'll hear saying "pure" anything are wee neds from Glasgow. And baked beans for breakfast. It's the norm? Perhaps with the occasional full Scots breakfast fry up and certainly not with a fried egg and jam piece. Boke! We have the same as everyone else, you know cereal, toast, fruit and often porridge. And it's clootie dumpling here in Scotland, not spotted dick.

The language in general just didn't work for me. The characters go back in time and just magically understand the dialects and nuances of the people of that time. They don't stand out despite the fact that they don't adapt their language to that of the times. There's a lot of little things like the use of "Okay" in the dialogue in the year 1145. Okay wasn't in use until 1840 and not well known and used commonly until the 1880's.

(Few Americanisms have been more successful than OK, which survived the political campaign of 1840 that fostered it, quickly lost its political significance, and went on to develop use as a verb, adverb, noun, and interjection. The expression was well known in England by the 1880s. - Dictionary.com)

A character traveling back in time using the word "Okay" would stand out and draw attention to themselves but here it's just brushed over.

Authors if you are going to set your story in another country, using a dialect you are not familiar with, please do proper research. Ask someone who lives there and uses the dialect for advice or find a beta reader who is also familiar with it. The Scots in this book is awful, it's like a cross between Outlander (exaggerated and outdated), Rab C Nesbitt, gibberish and English slang.

I cannot stress enough the importance of research, it would have made a world of difference here. Instead it seems like the author has taken silly stereotypes and ran with it, then thrown in a little Yoda for the hell of it.

Not one I would recommend.




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