The Doom Guardian: Chronicles of Cambrea Review

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The Doom Guardian: Chronicles of Cambrea ReviewOn the Kindle, it's hard to judge a book by its cover. Sometimes, though, when an author is particularly attentive to detail, you can judge a book by its epigraph. Julie Ann Dawson is one of those authors, and her novel The Doom Guardian is a book packed with such detail that a re-read may be in order. But first things first-turn to the first page after the copyright and you'll find this:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living, dead, or undead is coincidental, and, truthfully, quite odd.
Now I don't mention this because it's central to the plot-if you remember that blurb I posted a really long time ago promising to get this review up a really long time ago (right...sorry about that), you'll know that this first book in the Chronicles of Cambrea series is populated by a whole host of humans, vampires, human-vampire hybrids called dhampirs, dwarves, elves, necromancers, spell-casters, capricious deities and the calculating priests who serve them. What the little disclaimer does do is hint at the author's sense of humor and exception attention to detail-two things that can never hurt in speculative fiction.
After that eerie little message to the reader, Dawson jumps right into the story: describing in gory detail a hideous birth scene in which our heroine Nadia dreams of a woman "tied down to the massive stone altar, screaming the scream of a woman about to give birth to some hell spawn from the deepest pits of the lower planes." On first read, I thought that was some sort of really elaborate simile, but I guess I didn't read the blurb closely enough myself, because our author means it literally.
Dawson doesn't mess around: her description is rich and, at times, gruesomely vivid, but with a plotline as twisted (and I mean that in every way) as The Doom Guardian`s, there's no room for extended metaphors. Step aside, English majors-we have a real storyteller in town.
What particularly interested me about the novel is its aspects of fantastical polytheism-Dawson does an excellent job drawing a society of many religions, where the gods actually answer your prayers (not often in the way you'd like-just ask the dwarf trapped in a stalagmite cage), and priests mediate between necromancers and cults of assassins. When it comes to our heroine Nadia, I get a sort of Constantine and The Lies of Locke Lamora (see Scott Lynch) vibe-some exorcisms, plus some corpses, plus some shadowy cults. And that's just fine with me.
Final Verdict:
D&D fans attention! Be not thrown off by the entrance of "chaos diamonds" into the story. In The Doom Guardian, Dawson fills a fully engaging society with an interesting cast of all the fantasy creatures of myth, legend, and nightmare. When it comes to pinning this story down to a genre, science fiction certainly isn't it (if you want your "magic" founded in quantum mechanics, look elsewhere). The Doom Guardian is closer to fantasy than anything else, with a little horror tucked in for good measure.
Reading Time: One month, for a college student between research conferences.
Availability: $4.99 in the Kindle store is, in my book (err, blog, I guess) still a little steep. I'd suggest sending yourself a sample and seeing how you like the first 500 locations before handing over your crisp green Lincolns.The Doom Guardian: Chronicles of Cambrea OverviewFor centuries, the Spirit Wall has protected the world from the terrible powers of the undead god Vagruth. But now the Spirit Wall has begun to crumble, and with it the only thing preventing the world from becoming overrun by undead hordes. Meanwhile, the demonic Felsworn seek to take advantage of the chaos and enact their own plans. In a world fractured by politics, greed, and apathy, fate will unite three unlikely heroes to save the Spirit Wall from destruction.Nadia Gareth knows all too well the evils that lurk in the hearts of the Vagruth's minions, the Necromancers. Nadia walks the land as a dhampir, a cursed thing trapped between the worlds of the living and the dead as a result of the Necromancers' vile experiments. Yet her curse also gives her the strength she needs to combat the forces that seek to turn everything around her into an undead waste. But this is one fight that may be too much for her to handle alone. Darseidon Stonecleaver survived the War of Reckoning, and now journeys to the Mouth of Chaos to retrieve the Chaos Diamond, the one thing powerful enough to save the Spirit Wall from destruction. As he enters his Twilight, the aging dwarf knows it isn't a matter of if he will die, but when. He can only hope to complete his last mission before it is too late. Nigel Stormthorn just wants to escape town with his stolen gems, but finds himself caught up in events that may determine the fate of the world. As his survival instincts wage war against his meddlesome empathy, he discovers that perhaps his gems are of less value than the secret that resides within him.

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Keeping It Real (Quantum Gravity, Book 1) Review

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Keeping It Real (Quantum Gravity, Book 1) ReviewWhile Keeping It Real by Justina Robson is her fifth published novel, she shows off the full strength of her imagination here and announces to those who may not have heard already that she is a major talent and that she will write a blend of science fiction and fantasy that demands to be read.
How is that as a selling point?
Keeping It Real opens with a not quite a chapter, not quite a prologue telling us what we need to know. In 2015 there was some sort of Quantum Bomb which detonated in Texas and which opened our world to five alternate / parallel worlds where there are elves, fairies, demons, the dead, and elementals. The other races insist they have known about us all the while.
The novel takes place in 2021 and we need to know that this is the state of being because this is not what the novel is about nor is it the story Robson is telling. But it is the setting.
Lila Black is possibly less than half human. The other half is machine. At the start of the novel we do not know why or how, only that she is assigned security for a rock band called the No Shows which consists of fairies singing backup and an elf as the lead singer. The No Shows are immensely popular and someone is trying to kill the elf, Zal. Lila, as it turns out, does not entirely trust elves and is barely comfortable in her own skin, such as it is. She is in control of her body and machine, but not entirely. There are glitches.
This is the starting point of Keeping It Real. The rest needs to be discovered to be believed. Robson keeps the novel moving at a reasonably fast clip with action, excitement, elf sex, imperfect cyborg machinery, inept fake [...] attempts, and a heroine who is broken more on the inside than on the outside...and this is the woman who must protect Zal, and elf who barely wishes to be protected.
Keeping It Real is perhaps the most original science fiction or fantasy novel I have read in some time and it is because Robson is able to blend the two genres so seamlessly that it is simply just good storytelling. Robson plays with familiar concepts (elves, cyborgs, different worlds, magic), but in doing so she puts them together in ways we haven't seen before. The elves here are aware of the stereotypes brought on by countless fantasy novels and Lord of the Rings (the elves crack on lembas bread so that the humans can't). Remember, this is our world, just altered in our future.
Keeping It Real is the first volume in a proposed trilogy and I cannot wait to see what Robson brings us next.
-Joe SherryKeeping It Real (Quantum Gravity, Book 1) Overview

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The Obsidian Phoenix Review

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The Obsidian Phoenix ReviewThe good: I thought the story was fairly interesting. While the premise is somewhat trite: Orphan Girl is mysteriously found and surprise, surprise...has magical powers and has...surprise, surprise a mysterious past and eventually turns out to be surprise, surprise the key to saving all that's good in the world; the story itself is presented in an interesting manner. The story is absorbing and moves at a good pace.
The bad:
-- The protagonist is a Mary Sue. Now I've never said that about any other character in any other book...and I've read VERY many. I actually like characters who are larger than life. So when I say she's a Mary Sue, and I say it negatively, you can be sure that this character is over the top. She's not only a Mary Sue to start with; her powers grow almost with every chapter. You could make a game trying to figure out what new power the author will have the protagonist "discover" in the next chapter. By the time the book ended, I honestly didn't know why the protagonist bothered with such things as gathering friends, armies, and the like...one more chapter and she should be able to snap her fingers causing the defeat of all evil, and have everyone singing Kumbaya as well.
-- The dialogue is amateurish. Nothing flowed. The story was told in first person, which can make it tough to establish why the various supporting characters would act as they do, but the author often simply doesn't make what happens very credible. Moreover, the sentence structure in the dialogue is simply "off" in my opinion. I am not a writer myself; I am not a grammarian. But in my opinion the sentences are too short, too simplistic, too shallow in what they are trying to convey. It's as though the author established some reading comprehension level target, ran her manuscript through some kind of program, and had all of the sentences dumbed down to meet the target...which was obviously too low for my tastes.
The Nitpick: When authors use modern slang in a "sword and sorcery" type of book, it's jarring to me. This author didn't do it often, but it was noticeable the few times she did. Example: Supporting character tells main character (who has just done a strange magical thing): "You're creeping me out".
In summary: it's light reading, not horrible, good to pass time with. Like, say, on an airplane. At the time I bought it on Kindle for $2.99, it's worth the price. But if a sequel is published, I likely won't buy it.The Obsidian Phoenix OverviewCrimson and Jerrik are the sole survivors of the merciless slaughter of their people, the elves of the White Forest. Follow them as they seek vengeance and struggle with loss and life changing events. Discover Crimson's true identity and travel with her on her journey to find the Dark One who slaughtered her father and sister. The battle will be bloody, retribution will be hers.

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Necromancer Review

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Necromancer ReviewNecromancer has a very familiar feel to it; a typical story of elves, goblins and adventure. However, Dune Elliot writes with amazing descriptive flair and has strong characters that bring a unique vibrancy to the story.
This is an epic fantasy that I got lost in and it certainly kept me wanting to turn the pages.
Not quite of the caliber of LotR (but what is these days?), Necromancer certainly holds its own with the likes of Terry Brooks and others like him. There are a few similarities to LotR (which is why I've only given four stars) but that certainly doesn't take away from it's own story.
Necromancer OverviewMorgeth's iron grip on the land of Ilyria is beginning to reach beyond its borders; his necromancy is ripping apart the very fabric that binds Alatheia together and the only thing that stands the way of total domination is an ancient elven prophecy.Inheriting his mother's sword, Eran must journey far beyond his idyllic farm life to find a ring that once belonged to his father and bring together the two heirlooms in order to destroy the evil that threatens to engulf Ilyria. He joins with others ordained by the prophecy; a legendary warrior, a shape-shifting mage, an elf haunted by his own past and two rather unlikely individuals. Together they face insurmountable obstacles and tragedy before coming face to face with evil itself.'Necromancer' is the first in the series of books called "The Dark Rising".

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The Weight of Blood Review

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The Weight of Blood ReviewWhat would you get if you turned Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser into a pair of half-orc brothers, gave them severe inferiority complexes, moral ambiguity, and massive tempers, and then threw in a powerful religious zealot who sways them closer to the dark side than any individual should ever be comfortable with?
Why, you'd have "The Weight of Blood" by David Dalglish.
"The Weight of Blood" is an extremely dark fairy tale that tells the story of those aforementioned half-orc brothers, Qurrah and Harruq Tun. As far as main characters go, I don't think I've ever seen their likeness. Sold separately into slavery by their orc mother early on in life, they eventually escaped and found each other again, only to grow up without guidance on the streets of a town called Veldaren, scavenging for food and learning that sometimes in life, when you come from nothing, it's better to kill than be killed. Qurrah is a spindly and coldly intelligent sort whose greatest passion is to become a powerful sorcerer. Harruq, on the other hand, is a large-bodied and (sometimes) kind-hearted oaf who exists seemingly only to protect his physically weaker brother. The dialogue between the two borders on hilarious in the early going, when they're still nothing but vagrants. But there is something darker in them, mostly in regards to Qurrah, which begging to be released. They are archetypal antiheroes, existing on the periphery of a society that wants no part of them.
The story starts off with a bang, dropping us in on the brothers as an army of orcs attempts to invade Veldaren. It is here that we first meet Velixar, a necromancer and master of the dark arts, who eventually takes the brothers under his wing. Through Velixar, we also are presented with a sizeable chunk of the world Dalglish has created, which is notable if for no other reason than it gives the reader a frame of reference to draw upon further down the road.
The novel is chock full of intense and extremely graphic battle scenes. It would be easy to get lost in the action if these scenes weren't expertly crafted, which they are. The actions the brothers take from the onset vary from miscreant to downright evil. They butcher women, children, whole families, mostly without batting an eyelash. Even when one of them seemingly finds love, through the appearance of a beautiful sorcerer elf named Aurelia, this does little to stifle the loathsome behavior. Qurrah and Harruq appear to be brutes, ostensibly without a soul, and they act as such.
That statement is not quite true, however, and herein lays the brilliance of the world author Dalglish has created. This is a story of their fall and hopefully redemption, though as a series, once we reach the end it is still in the early stages. But the hope is there that these two will find their way. We get to see inside the brothers' heads, and what we find there, though disturbing, allows us to feel a glimmer of gallantry. They are capable of love - this much is evident by the way they feel about each other - and any being who can experience that emotion in its fullest and most vulnerable can eventually learn to harness that inner goodness. All they ever needed was guidance, something that was denied them through unfortunate circumstances beyond their control.
And this is where we come to the crux of the fable that the author is telling us. In many ways, the brothers' situation mirrors events we see all the time in the "real world". They have nothing, they are starving and ostracized. Everyone looks down on them. They wander through life without a purpose save staying alive. When one looks at it like this, is it any wonder that when a stranger approaches the destitute pair and offers them a life that has meaning they leap for it? They who have nothing are promised the world. They who've been looked at as the lowest of the low are told they will be worshiped as gods. They who have had to scrape and claw are given gifts of such power that they become death incarnate. When viewed from this vantage point, can we not understand, even sympathize, with the plight Qurrah and Harruq have been forced to deal with? If we, as civilized humans, were put in the same situation, would our morality not begin to wither and die after a while? This rings true with what happens every day in certain parts of the world. It is almost the very blueprint for terrorist recruitment. And at the end of the day, that is what the brothers become. Terrorists. They target not only the enemy but the young and innocent. They strike from the shadows, seeking to assist a greater agenda that they either don't or can't understand.
This is a very dark book, so take that as a warning. If you don't like the images of flayed arms and legs, decapitation, or bodies reduced to quivering masses of blood and innards, stay far away. However, if you appreciate a well-told story that pulls you into its world and won't let you back out, this is the novel for you. It is unrelenting and fast-paced. It makes you care about the characters, no matter what bad deeds they may perform. And, best of all, it allows you to feel hope that the characters will turn it all around, and through something as simple as an act of kindness.
In short, I loved "The Weight of Blood". The title says it all. It's about the inherent price of violence, the duty of family, and the pressure to do what's right. I would definitely recommend it. As far as fantasy goes, I feel you'd be hard pressed to find one that equals its scope and passion. I, for one, can't wait to get pulled into the next volume.
The Weight of Blood OverviewFantasy author David Dalglish begins his series of the half-orc brothers, whose struggles will soon bathe the land of Dezrel in demon fire...Five hundred years ago, brother gods devastated their world with civil war. When they were imprisoned, their conflict ended without a victor. Centuries passed while their followers secretly continued the war, a war that will soon have an end.The gods have found their paragons.------Book Description:When half-bloods Harruq and Qurrah Tun pledged their lives to the death prophet Velixar, they sought only escape from their squalid beginnings. Instead, they become his greatest disciples, charged with leading his army of undead.While they prepare, Harruq trains with an elf named Aurelia, to whom he owes his life. She is a window into a better world, but as war spreads between the races, their friendship takes a dire turn.Velixar orders them to fight alongside the humans, changing Aurelia from friend to foe. To protect her, Harruq must turn against his brother and fight the killing nature of his orcish heritage.THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD by David DalglishTo side with one means to turn on another. No matter Harruq's decision, someone he loves will die.------About the Author:David Dalglish currently lives in rural Missouri with his wife Samantha, daughter Morgan, and dog Asimov. He graduated from Missouri Southern State University in 2006 and currently devotes himself to perfecting his craft. He spends his free time playing racquetball and watching PBS with his daughter.

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Me, My Elf & I Review

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Me, My Elf & I ReviewFifteen-year-old Zephyr Addler has just moved to Brooklyn with her five siblings, her naturopath mother, and her folk-rock-star father from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Switching from being home schooled in a cottage in the woods to attending a sophisticated arts high school in a big city isn't Zephyr's only culture shock. She's living for the first time among humans.
Zephyr is an elf with the magical ability of casting spells and can potentially live hundreds of years. In addition, like all her fellow elves, Zephyr is a tall, gorgeous, green-eyed blonde who is fit and lean from a vigorous, outdoor lifestyle and a healthy, natural diet. She also shares to a great degree the elvish trait of empathetic kindness.
Zephyr's family plans to be away from Alverland, their secret. elvish home, for only a year while Zephyr's dad is making major strides in his musical career. But the adult elves in their close-knit community--especially Zephyr's grandmother--are very worried about what will happen to the Addler family in an "erdler" (human) city. Zephyr doesn't care about any of that. She's got big plans, and she can't wait to get started on them. She wants to act, sing and, most of all, have a date with a cute erdler boy!
This book is well written, and the story is a comic treat. I enjoyed very much learning about Zephyr's life as an elf. She is immensely likeable, as are her eccentric, lovable family. Zephyr's struggles to fit into the human world are at times funny and at others poignant. I also found it very clever the way the author uses Zephyr's virtues of kindness and innocent naïveté to get Zephyr--and her friends and family--into whacky messes.
Teen girls will gobble up this story! And parents will approve very much of the elvish lifestyle. They don't drink, smoke or engage in uncommitted sex, so the book is G-Rated and could safely be read by girls as young as 11.
Me, My Elf & I OverviewIt's not often you see an elf in the middle of Brooklyn, let alone a tall, blond, gorgeous elf in the middle of one of the most prestigious performing arts high schools in the country. And yet, that's just where Zephyr Addler finds herself: smack dab in the middle of a bustling New York City school, worlds away from the secluded woodland community she knows so well. But Zephyr knows that she has to figure out how to live in the world. And dress in the world. Thanks to a little friendly advice from her new friend Mercedes, Zephyr starts to get the hang of Brooklyn. That is, until Zephyr snags a role in a commercial, beating out the most popular girl in school, Bella Dartagnan. Now with Bella and her friends out to get her, can Zephyr out-maneuver the mean girls (and catch the eye of a certain cute boy) without losing herself?

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