Review:: Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World Book 1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I wanted to love this book and give it a 5 star after reading all of the Editorial Review listed. However there is something to say toward not trying to build something up beyond its measure. I had great expectations. I did not expect a typical zombie apocalypse story.

Add to it that there were moments that I kept thinking there were too many fragmented sentences and pages that I would have to scan back over to try to figure out what was being said. Maybe that was my own measure of denseness or maybe there was a need for editing to find a measure of simplification that would at least let the reader stay in the story without so much stumbling. I really wanted to give a 4 star but this was getting in the way.

That gets us to three stars so how did I get to 4 again?

I had to step back from preconceived notions garnered from misleading reviews and look at this through the eyes of this reader and what I like about reading fiction. Maybe it would have been helpful to put a warning at the front that: the people and the nation depicted in this book do not always match reality. Maybe it is just that I should remember it is fiction and writers often take license regardless how much research they do or whether or not they have firsthand knowledge.

For me characters are the most important part of the story. Sure setting and culture and sociopolitical structure can add to it; however, I don’t particularly care that they dominate and in all truth I mostly am concerned that internally they reflect the reality of the story and not necessarily our reality. Sure it would have been great to get some real insight into what the Navaho nation is all about and I was somewhat disappointed, however that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the story.

Who doesn’t love Zombie Apocalypse?

It’s clear from the beginning that the main character, Maggie, is more an outsider to her people than anything else. It is also clear that one weakness she has is that she is naïve enough to be vulnerable to the mystical in the story, to the point that the Trickster is confident that he can fool her despite her resistance to his overtures. I don’t expect Maggie to have a concise view of the beliefs of her people.

Is that the goal in the story?

I’m not certain.

And there is a point where the story reaches a dramatic tragic solution that cuts to the heart of the main character and seems the culmination of her growth and her strength. For this I could almost give 5 stars.

However the story should have ended quite close to this point and it goes on mercilessly to a virtual reversal, which could have waited for book two revelations.

Four Stars and I’ll be looking forward to Storm of Locusts sometime soon.
J.L.D




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Review::The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders, is one of those novels that I wasn’t sure I was going to like. It starts out rather slow and takes 17 pages to begin to become interesting. Those seventeen pages are the a lot of character and world building that almost begin to plod along; though one does get this feeling that they might be in some world that is not quite 1984, not quite Brave New World and not quite Handmaid’s Tale, yet quite just as much terrifying in its own subliminal level.

The world of January is a tidally locked world and one begins to think that this city is more one that is on the edge of day and night. However the question might be more of which city is the title referring to.

The people of the city on January are colonists from a ship that arrived long ago and even now continues to orbit silently above the planet. Sophie’s city is Xiosphant; with its specialized economy, social structure, and work and sleep schedule that seem tightly woven into their moral and civil structure. There is another city named Argelo that seems in many ways to be less structured and more chaotic; though this might be tempered by a perception of Xiosphant in comparison. At one time the two cities traded goods; however that seems to have been back before Xiosphant began governing by circadian rhythms.

Now there are smugglers who risk the perilous journey between the two cities to trade items of value that each city used to trade freely. Mouth is one of those who make that trek and was once a member of a group who lived in the dangerous outside world that teeters between hot and cold on the edge of a world half frozen and half on fire.

This is very much the story of these settlers, though that falls short of the mark because it is also very much the story of the frightening creatures that were already on this world when the interlopers arrived.

There were many moments when my mind would try to draw comparisons between this rich world and Frank Herbert’s Dune. And even a temptation to try to make a comparison to Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. Thankfully the author’s voice rose above all that and inserted itself to remind me that this is the story of January and its inhabitants. Where often I felt both Dune and The Left Hand of Darkness were mostly stories of man against the elements, the story of the City in the Middle of the Night felt more one of the people.

I don’t often quote authors, however if I were to try to describe the main theme of this book I might borrow from the authors words.
‘Mouth would never forgive the Gelet for what they had done, but she could understand it. You might mistake understanding for forgiveness, but if you did, then the unforgiven wrong would catch you off guard, like a cramp, just as you reach for generosity.’

Sophie’s journey was going to take her and Mouth and many more to a place of self discovery and the understanding that there is another city and another people on this planet and there are far more urgent problems than their own that must be faced if everyone wants to survive.

This novel ends with less of an ending and enough room for reader interpretation and also enough room for the author to further visit the world and its inhabitants.

Most of all, for me, this novel has gotten me to wondering what I will find more about the author when I pick up her All The Bird In The Sky.

J.L.D.



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Review: Hell of a Bite by Mark Huntley-James

Hell Of A Bite by Mark Huntley-James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Hell of a Bite is the third in the ever growing Demon Trader series. Following Hell of a Deal and The Road to Hell, Mark Huntley-James is not loosing any steam; in fact, he seems to be gaining some. Once more this is well written with a prose style that is so easy to read you will find yourself looking out the window at the encroaching darkness wondering where the day went. Suffice it to say the work of Mark Huntley-James is becoming one of my guilty pleasures and I can’t seem to get enough.

Once more there is a caution that this is mature writing with mature themes for mature readers and not everyone should read it; no matter how much they might enjoy it. As always, there is a broad necessity to suspend your disbelief for—well the whole dang thing. All the player from the first two books, the ones that have survived and a few who have died make it back for another rip roaring time trying to save the world—from themselves.

This time Paul Moore and his better half Simone are settling into their life together with their dragons and dimensionally sprawling estate. Simone still the master witch at night mortal by day and Paul still being sucked into playing his part reluctantly keeping the city safe from all the hazards that come with a city that is teetering between the real world and the Hellfire dimension. When things go sideways, as they always do, Mickey Twitch is there right in the middle of it all and if Simone has her way the first thing she will do to improve the city is to rid it of the Twitch.

This time the previous book’s outcome of culling the greater demons has left room for lesser demons (Banes) to take root and form collectives that prove to be as dangerous as any of the greater demons. Paul is beginning to find out that as a demon broker he is consistently hampering himself with each deal he makes; making it more difficult to deal with the latest crisis. As usual he has to get creative with his demon dealing to work about a solution. And then things become more complicated when he discovers that Mickey Twitch, though in the center of everything, might not be the worst evil around and he is scrambling to find out who the major players are.

Each wrinkle serves up its own level of absurdity that continues to drive this series through some rather hilarious outcomes. There are even some points in the story where I can almost empathize with Paul—almost feel sorry for him; however I can’t help but think he often gets what he deserves.

If you’ve not read these books and you are of a mind to endure the mature side of things then I know you’ll enjoy them. If you have read the other two, then what are you waiting for?

I received an ARC for this book and as usual with any that I thoroughly enjoy I also purchased a copy; because an author has to eat.

And you say there’s another book coming out soon…

JLD



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Book Review - Strangers With Familiar Faces (poetry)

Strangers With Familiar Faces by Jennifer-Crystal Johnson...Poetry BOOK REVIEW

Previously posted in 2012...

I hunted a bit- maybe not enough- for some ideas on how to review poetry.
I managed mostly to run across everything from laughable to silly to downright ludicrous.
I took a lit class in college where we studied and wrote buckets of poetry so I have a notion of the mechanics involved. I'm not sure a review should focus on that. I'll let someone else obsess about those.
So I decided to say something about how it affected me.

To that end I'll pass on this quote to set things up a bit.

"The biggest hurdle we have to leap in this world is the one we place in front of ourselves. No one cares whether you live or die unless you care.” –Dr. Mieko Mitchell
This is a line from the novel Murder on the Pier by Jere Myles.

I mention this because this is exactly what an abusive person and relationship attacks.

This set of poems is the poets heart and soul at the very moment of these attacks. Even though in a way, for me, some of these are difficult to read they are typical of what poetry is. It's the heart and soul of the poet often in the moment and sometimes in moments of reflection. There is a message here also - maybe a warning- something that might have been useful even to me when I was seeing this happen to someone close to me and feeling so helpless.

Domestic violence is not good for anyone including the entire family of everyone involved. Because once there is the erosion of love for oneself it propagates like a disease. And these poems made me want to hold the poet and say you do matter and if you can get to the end of the tunnel you will find all of those who care. But, as the quote implies it starts with the abused person returning to the point where they care about themselves.

It's not an easy journey and these poems chronicle a part of that long winding path. They will resonate with anyone who has seen this happen. Perhaps they will even help someone identify this before it gets this far.

I recommend this for everyone.

It is a testament to a strong will that something so touching and beautiful could come forth and help.



J.L. Dobias author of Cripple-Mode: Hot Electric

Book Review ::The Originals by William Voigt

Previously posted in 2012...


The Originals by William Voigt is one amazing book that takes place in the early 50s.

Willow Rogers an adolescent girl on vacation on the rustic and dangerous wilderness Dumas Island encounters a wild boy claiming to live on the Island. She knows only that he's saved her life and that she's inexorably drawn to him.

As she grows from an awkward teen to a beautiful young woman she is still haunted by her wild boy. Her thoughts and dreams are filled with his memory though each year that she returns to the Island she is unable to find him.

As the years go by and the Island business is closed and Willow goes to college she tries to forget the wild boy. Her fiance, Barry, coaxes her to take a camping tour of the Lake Superior shore line in Canada. Willow once more finds her life in danger and everything changes.

The wild boy, Mike, has returned from a tour of duty in Korea. When a service buddy and friend gets into trouble he helps him out. This puts them both on the run. They head for the now quiet and deserted Dumas Island.

Two separate sets of thrilling and deadly circumstances are destined to somehow bring these two together again

This book is a story containing mystery and suspense along with a deep romance. What is woven into or around it is a mystical mythos that has the Island and Lake Superior moving things in a specific direction.

This is a well crafted tale I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys suspense , romance, and a bit of the fantastic.


I was fortunate to obtain a copy of this in a small used book store in Charlotte MI.
I'm not sure how obtainable are copies of this book.

Review::Murder on Michigan Avenue by Jere Myles

Murder on Michigan Avenue by Jere Myles

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Murder on Michigan Avenue is not your average mystery.
It's also not your average LGBT novel.
It is a literary masterpiece that puts its author Jere Myles on par with other favorites of mine such as Hemingway.

Certainly there is a heap of murder within this trilogy. And a large mystery that unfolds to the reader. There is no doubt that the bulk of characters intersect or have lives that are bisected by gay and bi-sexual themes. Strangely, though this is not really just a mystery and certainly not an in your face LGBT novel.

This is a primer for a large discussion of an ever growing problem in the community of man. This is a story of love and how much our world today does to stifle anything related to it. The characters of Jon and Mieko and Eileen could be considered dysfunctional by many in the world because of their confusion of orientation. But, such a judgment would overlook the obvious. Their dysfunction is that they live in a world that has taught them to hold onto their love out of fear. Fear of rejection and fear of being misunderstood. The lives of these adults is only the tip of this iceberg. There is much more that is involved here. In these books we only see this piece. I wonder if Jere Myles will return to these characters and help explore the rest.

We have been carefully eroding love from society. If two close and old friends meet and hug and kiss. If they are women it may go unnoticed. If they are men it might raise eyebrows or more. We are taught from childhood onward that certain types of display of affection for members of the same sex are not appropriate. This of course in direct opposition to "Love thy neighbor as thy self." I'm talking about love here and not that sticky love/sex thing that people get hung up on.

Today we live in a world that is beginning to facilitate the denial of love of parent for children just out of fear of it appearing to be the wrong things to onlookers. We have even legislated ourselves to a point where protecting the young takes away a parents ability to reach out and lovingly care for their children. The lives of the people in these books is a mirror of the symptom of these problems. And it all goes much deeper. Because there are those who would point at these peoples lives and try to justify their problems with what they have chosen as a lifestyle while overlooking some fundamentals.

It's rather ironic since sex is more common to eating, sleeping, breathing, sensing. All pretty much autonomic responses. All at sometime necessary for continuing life. All at sometimes subject to subjective urges that go beyond the norm.

The shame is that society places Love as a lifestyle decision. Man was made to love whomever he chooses to love not whomever some lifestyle dictates. When a lifestyle chooses whom we love it restricts our ability to love to the fullest and that is definitely dysfunctional.

Yes. I suppose someone else could argue I took too much from these novels- but, I think not.

This book this trilogy is for everyone who's ready to handle it with a mature attitude.
For those who have read the other two- what are you waiting for?
For those who haven't- there is enough here to give you the full picture. But, I'd advise reading the other two.

J.L. Dobias author of Cripple-Mode Series.



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Review::Murder Behind Closed Doors by Jere Myles

Murder Behind Closed Doors by Jere Myles

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love a good mystery and I thrive on good drama. The best old movies were well acted dramas taken from stage productions and put onto film.

In Murder on the Pier I feel that the author Jere Myles has woven a drama entwined in a mystery that is more evident to the readers than to the players. For the players it’s the story of their search for love and affirmation in a world that seems to have gone mad. Though the world would argue the players are the ones gone mad. The nature of their lives as it all unfolds is at the very least thought provoking.

"The biggest hurdle we have to leap in this world is the one we place in front of ourselves. No one cares whether you live or die unless you care.” –Dr. Mieko Mitchell

This is life seen from a place many people I am acquainted with do not often want to go. And yet in this place I found many words and ideas I've often tried to express, put on a page in such an eloquent way it drew me in.

In Murder Behind Closed Doors Jere Myles brings the players up to the level of the readers regarding the mystery, while continuing to resonate with the same voice.
"How can you expect someone to say they love something they have been taught to hate? My friends would never have let me turn my back on my...my faith.”-Eleanor Evelyn JoyLynn Moore.

Anyone who likes mysteries or suspense or drama will love these books. But, more so, if you don't mind stepping out of your comfort zone to examine yourself.
This series is like a multifaceted mirror with page upon page of interesting unusual reflections.

As for the mystery; Taking place in the 90s and considering the main characters race and sexual orientation this could easily be construed as a hate crime. Adding the dialogue of the killers to that would almost add affirmation. But, remembering the rule of mysteries; nothing is as it seems…

I don’t plan on missing the third book, Murder on Michigan Avenue, which promises to be a thriller.
J.L. Dobias author of Cripple-Mode: Hot Electric.



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Review:Murder on the Pier by Jere Myles

Murder on the Pier: Book 1 in the Murder Series by Jere Myles

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love a good mystery and I thrive on good drama. The best old movies were well acted dramas taken from stage productions and put onto film.

In Murder on the Pier I feel that the author Jere Myles has woven a drama entwined in a mystery that is more evident to the readers than to the players. For the players it's the story of their search for love and affirmation in a world that seems to have gone mad. Though the world would argue the players are the ones gone mad. The nature of their lives as it all unfolds is at the very least thought provoking.

"The biggest hurdle we have to leap in this world is the one we place in front of ourselves. No one cares whether you live or die unless you care." -Dr. Mieko Mitchell
This is life seen from a place many people I am acquainted with do not often want to go. And yet in this place I found many words and ideas I've often tried to express, put on a page in such an eloquent way it drew me in.

In Jere Myles brings the players up to the level of the readers regarding the

I don't plan on missing Murder Behind Closed Doors and Murder on Michigan Avenue, which promise to be thrillers.



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Book Review -Murder on the Pier::Murder Behind Closed Doors

Murder on the Pier by Jere Myles and Murder Behind Closed Doors by Jere Myles.

Published first on 1-4-2012





I love a good mystery and I thrive on good drama. The best old movies were well acted dramas taken from stage productions and put onto film.

In Murder on the Pier I feel that the author Jere Myles has woven a drama entwined in a mystery that is more evident to the readers than to the players. For the players it’s the story of their search for love and affirmation in a world that seems to have gone mad. Though the world would argue the players are the ones gone mad. The nature of their lives as it all unfolds is at the very least thought provoking.

"The biggest hurdle we have to leap in this world is the one we place in front of ourselves. No one cares whether you live or die unless you care.” –Dr. Mieko Mitchell

This is life seen from a place many people I am acquainted with do not often want to go. And yet in this place I found many words and ideas I've often tried to express, put on a page in such an eloquent way it drew me in.

In Murder Behind Closed Doors Jere Myles brings the players up to the level of the readers regarding the mystery, while continuing to resonate with the same voice.
"How can you expect someone to say they love something they have been taught to hate? My friends would never have let me turn my back on my...my faith.”-Eleanor Evelyn JoyLynn Moore.

Anyone who likes mysteries or suspense or drama will love these books. But, more so, if you don't mind stepping out of your comfort zone to examine yourself.
This series is like a multifaceted mirror with page upon page of interesting unusual reflections.

As for the mystery; Taking place in the 90s and considering the main characters race and sexual orientation this could easily be construed as a hate crime. Adding the dialogue of the killers to that would almost add affirmation. But, remembering the rule of mysteries; nothing is as it seems…

I don’t plan on missing the third book, Murder on Michigan Avenue, which promises to be a thriller.
J.L. Dobias author of Cripple-Mode: Hot Electric.