Review - The Tin Swift (Age of Steam, Book 2) by Devon Monk (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Roc Trade
Release Date: July 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-0451464538
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Age of Steam series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

This is the second book in the Age of Steam series by Monk. This continues to be a very creative series, packed full of action. The story suffers a bit from the constant POV switching which breaks up the story and makes it hard to really engage with the characters.

Cedar Hunt finds himself with a group of refugees hunting down the Holder device for the Madder brothers. Cedar has a side goal which is to get the witch Mae back to her sisters before she goes insane. Also along for the ride are Rose (who is an adventure seeker) and Cedar’s brother (who is cursed to wolf form).

This is a creative and fun world; pretty much a mix of western and steampunk genres. The storyline goes from one action-packed scene to another. Much of the book takes place on the airship the Tin Swift; books about airship/ship travel aren’t personally my favorite. I am also not a huge fan of the heavy western flavor this series has. The Steampunk elements are fun though; there are clockwork people and glim (similar to aether). The bad guy is truly unique and creepy as well.

The story is a bit slow to start and then towards the end of the book things are resolved in a rushed way; so the pacing of the story could have used some work.

Also the story suffers from the numerous point of views that it is told from. It’s not that long of a book and to have the story told from 4-5 (or more) POVs really fractures the story and makes it hard to really get to know or engage with any of the characters. As such the characters are okay but I never really cared about any of them much.

I was entertained for most of the book, but had trouble focusing on the story at times because it was just too broken up.

Overall this was a decent continuation of this series. I really enjoy the creative world that Monk has created; she does an excellent job with action scenes as well. I love the steampunk elements to the story but am less enthusiastic about the western flavor throughout. Much of the book takes place on an airship and I am not a huge fan of ship/boat/airship, types of stories. Additionally there are a lot of POV changes which make it hard to engage with the characters and story. Tentatively recommended for steampunk/western fans.

I would highly recommend Cherie Priest’s  Clockwork Century  series if you are interested in a historical steampunk/western type of story. Priest’s books are incredibly well written, very creative, and feature strong compelling characters.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Zombie Reading Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- Steampunk Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - Territory by Emma Bull (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Western Fantasy
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: December 6, 2011
ISBN: 978-0765330192
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 3/5 stars


I loved War for the Oaks by Bull and was excited to see that she had another book out. I ended up listening to this book on audio. I enjoyed the Western take on the fantasy and the intricacy with which the world and characters were created. The story moved a bit slow for me though and in the end there were too many things left unresolved.

The audiobook was well done, the story is told from three main viewpoints. The male ones are read by one narrator and the female one by another narrator. In general I really enjoyed the way the story was read.

The story is complicated and includes some of our favorite Western heroes. Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Ike Clanton are all part of the story. And the story is a complicated one. The story is mainly told from three viewpoints. Jesse Fox has decided to travel west and when he shows up in Tombstone he ends up drawn into a political battle that may end up being about more than politics. The second viewpoint is Doc's, he has tuberculosis but it seems to ease when he is around Wyatt, he trying not to get drawn into the seedy events happening in Tombstone but he is. Mildred Benjamin is the third; she is a widow who sets type at a local newspaper...she can sometimes sense or see things that shouldn't be there...because of this she also gets drawn into some strange goings on.

Just trying to give a good synopsis of this story makes my head hurt. I am not at all familiar with Western history, so I didn't really recognize or relate to any of the characters right off the bat. There are a lot of characters introduced and it was difficult for me to keep them all straight in the first third of the story. To add to this difficultly we change viewpoint a lot and the plot is not at all clear. The story starts as a recounting of seemingly unrelated events that happen in Tombstone. It takes a long while for the reader to figure out how all the events are connected and even then the story doesn't seem to have a real point.

It also takes a while for the magic to show up. You can tell that Wyatt isn't quite right from the beginning of the story; but it seems more like a misuse of power than anything magical. You also know that Jesse Fox is struggling with accepting that he has more than normal abilities. All of this isn't very well explained until late in the second half of the book; so it takes awhile to realize that there is magic and it does have relevance to everything that is going on.

The plot itself isn't much of a plot. Basically you are reading about Tombstone and what is going on there; the main plot is basically the mystery to unravel why all of these people are doing what they are doing and why they are all in Tombstone in the first place. I found the first part of the book to be slow and boring and had a hard time figuring out what the point was.

There were some things I did enjoy. You can tell that Bull put a ton of work into research for this novel; I loved the detail and the way things were described. It seems like she put a lot of effort into mirroring the true history of Tombstone; it would have been nice to have an afterward addressing this.

I also really enjoyed the characters of Mildred and Jesse. Mildred was a wonderful example of how the Wild West let women take on more responsibilty and start to carve their own futures without giving up being women. Jesse Fox was mysterious, yet very easy to relate too. It was funny how daring he could be at times but how when it came to Mildred he always put his foot in his mouth. I enjoyed these two characters and though they were well done. The surrounding characters were okay but never came alive for me like these two did.

The book ends pretty ambiguously. The main problem is kind of dealt with but not in a permanent way. You never really find out where all of the characters go or end up. The story just kind of stops. I looked to see if there was going to be a sequel but it doesn't look like it.

Overall an okay book. I really enjoyed the detail and intricacy in the story; you can tell a lot of research went into this story. I also enjoyed the two main characters. I thought the story was poorly paced though and had trouble with all of the viewpoints. The plot wanders a lot and takes a lot of time to get to the point, when it does get to the point it's kind of anti-climatic. The ending is pretty open; the story just stops. I would tentatively recommend this story to those who like Weird West stories with a touch of magic in them. Just make sure you have patience if you are going to read this.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Early Audiobook Review - Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: November 8, 2011
ISBN: 978-0765330420
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Alloy of Law series
Source: Audiobook for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got a copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review. This book takes place in the same world as the other Mistborn novels but is set 300 years after the original trilogy. It was a good story; very different from the previous three books in that it has more of a wild west mystery feel to it. You do not need to read the previous books in the Mistborn trilogy to enjoy this book (but you should because they were awesome).

It is 300 years after the original trilogy. Waxillium Ladrian is forced to leave his life as a lawman in the Roughs to take his place as the lord of a large noble household. Waxillium is unique in that he is twin-born; able to use both Allomancy and Feruchemy. Unable to completely leave the law enforcement to the city watch Waxillium is drawn into a mystery involving stolen train cars and kidnapped women when his fiance-to-be is kidnapped. The characters from the previous trilogy are mentioned mainly as historical figures.

Some quick comments on the audiobook format. I got this on CDs from the publisher (usually I download onto my phone from audible.com). The performance was very well done; the characters had distinct voices and were easy to follow. The only thing I didn't like was the CD format itself. The CDs end literally mid-sentence; this was confusing and obnoxious. The packaging was also nothing exciting. The outer box is nice but the CDs are in cardboard inserts inside. The inserts weren't all that great looking and they didn't do a good job of holding the CDs in. CDs fell out very easily and I had to hunt them out from under the seat in my car more than once. So I would recommend downloading this audiobook and not getting the CD format if you can. Now on to the story itself.

This is pretty much nothing like the original epic fantasy Mistborn trilogy. It is set up as being a politically complicated mystery and has a very Western feel to it with lots of gun-slinging and numerous shoot-outs. It is an interesting world and the gun fights are a lot of fun, especially with all of the allomancy and feruchemy that's thrown in there.

As with previous novels Sanderson does an excellent job of creating characters that are interesting and easy to relate to. I didn't like any of these characters as much as the characters in the previous Mistborn novels; but they were solid. Waxillium has that whole noble man gone cowboy thing going on for him. His buddy Wayne gives off a sidekick vibe and provides a lot of comic relief. The lady who tags along on their adventures, Marasi, is fun too. She is plucky but realistically tentative at points. Some of the types of allomancy and feruchemy that these characters wield is very creative and fun.

The story itself had a well-done plot that had a lot of surprises revealed as it went on. I enjoyed the twisty turny aspect of it. The action scenes were incredible; excellent description and very creative. There were a few times where the story was a bit slow. Part of that was I was just expecting something more complicated because, well, it is a Sanderson book. This isn't a super complicated story. It is pretty much a straightforward mystery.

The story is tied up nicely but there were some major plot points that weren't resolved at the end of the book. This makes me think that maybe this is the start of another trilogy or something like that? As far as I know Sanderson hasn't commented on another book being published in addition to this one, but with some of the things left unresolved I have got to believe there will be another book in this series.

Overall this was a decent read. Sanderson is a wonderful writer and he does a great job coming up with wonderful characters, a creative world, and a fun plot. Think of this as more Sanderson-light and you won't be disappointed. The book is more a straight up mystery than anything else, although there are a lot of politics and intrigue woven throughout as well. This book is some fun filler and a nice diversion while we wait for the next epic Sanderson book. I am guessing there will be follow-up to this book given that many things are left unresolved at the end of this story. A must read for Sanderson fans and for fans of western-fantasy-mysteries.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List

Review - Calamity Jack by Shannon, Dean, and Nate Hale (4/5 stars)

I absolutely loved the first book using these characters, Rapunzel's Revenge, so I was really excited when I heard there was going to be a sequel to that graphic novel.  This book focuses on Jack, Rapunzel's sidekick.  It was a fun read but not as good as the first one.

In this book we get some of Jack's history and some background on why he was on the run with a goose in Rapunzel's Revenge.  Then Jack and Rapunzel return to Jack's hometown to faceoff with the giants.

I didn't like Jack as much as a main character as I liked Rapunzel...he is just too much of a goof.  That being said the story was still well done and very amusing.  I enjoyed the humorous Wildwest retelling of the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale.  The artwork was wonderful and well done.  The story moves quickly and is very engaging.  This story had a bit more of a steampunk tinge to it than the first book did.

If you liked Rapunzel's Revenge you would enjoy this book.  If you like fairy tale retellings or full-color graphic novels full of humor; then you will like this book.  I didn't think the story was quite as engaging as Rapunzel's Revenge; but it was still a lot of fun!  I look forward to more graphic novels by the Hales.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Review - Caliber: Cannon of Justice by Sam Sarkar and Garrie Gastonny (4/5 stars)

I saw this book and had to get it.  I mean a graphic novel retelling the tale of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table but as a Gun-slinging western?  How can you miss?  This was a very good graphic novel.

What this book is about it pretty straightforward.  Arthur is a Gun-slinging cowboy, Merlin an Indian shaman, and the bad guys a group of corrupt sheriffs and outlaws.

The real hightlight of this graphic novel is the artwork; this is just a beautiful book.  The quality of artwork you see on the cover represents the quality of the artwork throughout the book, it is just stunning.  Page after page I just keep thinking wow this art is awesome!

The story is also very good.  The author did some clever things in adapting this to a graphic novel.  I was surprised how well the author was able to fit King Arthur's story to a good western, I suppose I shouldn't be, but it actually works really well and comes off as being very clever.

I have a couple small complaints.  The first is that you get a lot of characters thrown at you and at times I had trouble distinguishing them because they looked similar.  I really had to pay careful attention to not confuse them.  Also this book basically just sets up the story; showing us how Arthur got Caliber (the magic gun) and set up his round table.  I would really like to see a sequel to this book that goes into detail on some of the adventures these guys have.

Also this is a book meant for mature audiences.  There isn't any nudity, but there are sex scenes and a boatload of graphic violence.  I didn't have a problem with that, but some people might.

Overall I really enjoyed this graphic novel.  It is a great twist on the King Arthur legend, a good story, and had stellar artwork throughout.  A very high quality piece of work.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon, Dean, and Nathan Hale (5/5 stars)

This is the first book that I have read by Shannon Hale, although I have a few more books of hers that I want to read. This is actually a graphic novel/novella. I really liked this book.

This is the story of Rapunzel; with a few twists. Rapunzel escapes from her tower and proceeds to get revenge on her evil step-mother. She wields her many feet of hair as a weapon and defeats many a dastardly enemy with these deadly locks.

This was a really fun book. The drawings are well done and very humorous. The story itself is also very well done and extremely funny. The graphic novel is a pretty good length; it took me a couple hours to read it. Overall a pretty uplifting story, lots of action, and lots of humor.

The whole story is done with a gunslinger, wild west type feel to it. So, Rapunzel's step-mother is an mining baron of sorts and her side-kick Jack is a lousy cowboy thief. I also enjoyed that this fairy tale ties in with the story of Jack (with his magical bean and goose that lays golden eggs).

Overall a great story and lots of fun to read. I am eager to read more of Shannon Hale's books.

Lucky Billy by John Vernon (1/5 stars)

This is another book I got from the Amazon Vine program. It sounded interesting; though not of the type of book I usually read. I was sorely disappointed in it.

It is very rare that I stop in the middle of a book. Unfortunately I had to stop reading this one. I knew I was in for trouble when I had problems getting through the first intro page. Then as I read about Billy's escape in the following chapter I decided that maybe the book would get better as we started to hear about Billy's history. Well it didn't.

Every page of this book was a struggle for me. I had trouble keeping all the names and places straight. When the characters were speaking to each other I had trouble figuring out who was saying what. I was even having trouble keeping events straight. I tried to look at the writing style as being stylized to fit in with the era it was representing, but in the end I think the writing was just bad. I kept pushing on in hopes that at some point this book would gel for me and make more sense. I finally admitted defeat around page 70 and, rubbing my eyes and head in frustration, gave up.

I have too many good books to read to waste my time on this. On the back it lists other books that this author has written and I wonder if those books are better. I am still trying to figure out how this book is getting published. I really intensely disliked it. The chapter with John Tunstall's letters was kind of interesting, it gave you a glimpse into the era. I thought maybe at that point I could get through this book, then it was back to difficult to read, cobbled together events.

I was sorely disappointed. Maybe if I was really into this genre I would have more interest and sympathy for this book. For now I am left trying to figure out what to do with it. I think it might get recycled.