Book Review: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

I’m so excited to be a part of the blog tour for the paperback release of The Golem and the Jinni!

The Golem and the Jinni was certainly one of the buzziest books of 2013. Written by a debut author, this book started showing up everywhere! For myself, I sat up and took notice as soon as I read the title (and saw that gorgeous cover) — then paid even more attention as the initial reviews rolled in, all marveling over the originality of the story and the beauty of the writing.

Well, guess what? All that praise? Totally justified.

I finally read The Golem and the Jinni as one of my last books in 2013 — and wanted to kick myself for waiting so long to read it!

In brief, The Golem and the Jinni is the story of two mythical beings from two very different cultures: The Golem is a creature from Jewish mysticism, a human-like creature of clay whose purpose is to obey and protect its master. (Most famously, there is the legend of a golem created by the Rabbi of Prague in the 16th century to defend the Jewish ghetto against attack. Once the golem’s mission was completed, it returned to inanimate clay.) The Jinni is a legendary being from Arabian tales, a desert spirit of fire with the ability to take on different forms — but don’t confuse the Jinni in The Golem and the Jinni with the big blue guy from Disney’s Aladdin!

In this lovely novel, a female golem and a male jinni — both with human appearance — find themselves, accidentally and unwillingly, in New York in 1899, and must find a way to blend in, survive, and adapt to living among humans. Chava, the golem, is taken in by a kindly rabbi and finds a home in the Jewish Lower East Side, by all appearances a modest young widow who keeps to herself while working in a bakery and taking in mending. Ahmad, the jinni, can work wonders with metals of all kinds and finds refuge and employment with a tinsmith in the Little Syria neighborhood, but is filled with rage at his lack of freedom and spends each night wandering the city. When Chava and Ahmad cross paths, they recognize in each other a kindred spirit, and form a bond that’s full of disagreement and polarity, but also a deep understanding of what it means to be trapped, to hide one’s true nature, and to long for freedom and purpose.

I loved everything about The Golem and the Jinni. The writing here is lovely, conveying the feeling of listening to a master storyteller. There’s a sense of mythology and otherworldly power pervading the story, and yet it is most firmly rooted in the day-to-day realities of life in the early days of the 20th century. New York comes alive within the pages, filled with immigrant communities, ethnic loyalties, the sights and smells of a cramped city without modern conveniences; yet it is also a city striving to improve itself and modernize from moment to moment. From the Bowery to Central Park, the characters explore the nooks and crannies of Manhattan, its beauty and its ugliness, as well as the people who call it home.

We come to care deeply about Chava and Ahmad, and yet can also understand the sentiments and superstitions of the people who meet them and, without understanding why, sense innately that these two are different and perhaps dangerous. Embedded within the story is an examination of what it means to have a purpose in life, and whether anyone can truly overcome his or her essential nature and make themselves over into someone new. As Chava and Ahmad struggle to change their destinies and find freedom, they confront their own limitations and must either find a way to start fresh — or admit defeat, and allow themselves to be destroyed.

There are small moments of great beauty — for example, Ahmad’s ability to create delicate silver and gold animals using only his hands — as well as excitement, danger, and even peace. The scenes of bustling New York are set in contrast with Ahmad’s memories of his lost life in the desert, pursuing a Bedouin encampment and ultimately falling victim to its vengeance. In The Golem and the Jinni, the author skillfully weaves together a modern-day tale with something out of legend, and the blending is masterfully done.

I simply can’t recommend this book highly enough! Start to finish, The Golem and the Jinni is captivating and magical, and an absolute treat to read.

About the Author:

Helene Wecker grew up in Libertyville, Illinois, a small town north of Chicago, and received her Bachelor’s in English from Carleton College in Minnesota. After graduating, she worked a number of marketing and communications jobs in Minneapolis and Seattle before deciding to return to her first love, fiction writing. Accordingly, she moved to New York to pursue a Master’s in fiction at Columbia University.

She now lives near San Francisco with her husband and daughter. The Golem and the Jinni is her first novel.

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The details:

Title: The Golem and the Jinni
Author: Helene Wecker
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 2013
Genre: Adult fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours.

For further information, visit the author’s website or stop by TLC Book Tours to view other blog tour hosts.

5Jan2014

Book Review: How To Save A Life by Sara Zarr

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: How To Save A Life by Sara Zarr

Love and loss, belonging and alienation — these weighty topics are the backbone of How To Save A Life, a moving but never oppressive young adult novel by talented author Sara Zarr.

Jill, a high school senior, is so choked by grief over her father’s death ten months prior that she’s practically consumed by the anger she carries with her. Having pushed all of her friends away and barely hanging onto her on-again, off-again boyfriend Dylan, Jill lives with her mother Robin in their lovely Denver home, struggling to make it through each day without having to confront her loss all over again. Meanwhile, Robin has so much love to give that she decides to adopt a baby — a spur of the moment decision that sends Jill around the bend.

Mandy is the pregnant 19-year-old, almost too naive for words, who comes into Robin and Jill’s lives, carrying a burden of secrets and lies and desperate need. Mandy’s life has been a horror, with a mother incapable of mothering, who has subjected Mandy to a string of her awful boyfriends and filled Mandy’s head with constant lectures on how to attract a man, how to catch a man, how to keep a man. Mandy insists on an open adoption — but no lawyers or social workers — and when Robin eagerly agrees, Mandy catches a train from Omaha to Denver and moves in with Robin and Jill.

As we see events unfold in alternating chapters narrated by Jill and Mandy, we are privy to each girl’s slightly skewed and unhealthy view of their worlds. Jill’s sad truth is that as much as she loves her mother, her father was the one she was closest to, the one who taught her everything, was her champion and idol, and she is only half of herself without him. Mandy has nothing, and as she settles into what is intended to be a temporary arrangement with Robin and Jill, she realizes that she’s never felt a sense of home before in her life, and realizes how very much she wants that — not just for her unborn baby, but for herself.

Jill is initially aghast at what she sees as a poorly thought-out, spontaneous decision by Robin, and she is hostile and suspicious around Mandy. But little by little, Jill and Mandy start to connect, and Jill realizes that maybe she can help Mandy as well as her mother, and who knows? maybe even herself.

The voices of the two girls are distinct and authentic, and although Mandy struck me as too odd to be real at first, it quickly becomes clear that there are reasons why she acts and thinks the way she does. Robin is wonderful and supportive — in fact, she may be slightly too ideal to be true, but that’s hardly important here. What matters is that the author gives each girl a strong foundation and believable character growth. Jill and Mandy bring much needed change to each others’ lives, and in a way force each other to snap out of their unhealthy or isolating behaviors and mindsets and start thinking about the future.

The narrative flows quickly, and we come to care deeply about all three of the women involved: Jill, Mandy, and Robin. There’s heartbreak and pain, but also tentative steps forward, the easing of sorrow, and the creation of new lines of connection and belonging.

I found How To Save A Life moving and engaging, emotionally rich yet not without moments of humor and fun as well. I read Sara Zarr’s recently published Roomies (written with coauthor Tara Altebrando) last month, and loved it as well. Based on these two wonderful novels, I’m eager to read more by this author as soon as I can.

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The details:

Title: How To Save A Life
Author: Sara Zarr
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: 2011
Genre: Young adult contemporary fiction
Source: Library

3Jan2014

Book Review: Perfect by Rachel Joyce

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: Perfect by Rachel Joyce

Perfect Synopsis (Goodreads):

On a foggy spring morning in 1972, twelve-year-old Byron Hemming and his mother are driving to school in the English countryside. On the way, in a life-changing two seconds, an accident occurs. Or does it? Byron is sure it happened, but his mother, sitting right next to him in the car, has no reaction to it. Over the course of the days and weeks that follow, Byron embarks on a journey to discover what really happened-or didn’t-that fateful morning when everything changed. It is a journey that will take him — a loveable and cloistered twelve-year-old boy with a loveable and cloistered twelve-year-old boy’s perspective on life — into the murkier, more difficult realities of the adult world, where adults lie, fathers and mothers fight without words, and even unwilling boys must become men. By the end, Byron will finally reconcile the dueling realities of that summer, a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit and the power of compassion.

Having read the author’s previous novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I expected to enjoy Perfect. Sadly, this wasn’t the case.

Perfect is written in the third-person, with alternating chapters focusing on Byron during that fateful summer of 1972 and a middle-aged adult named Jim struggling through his present-day menial job and serious OCD and emotional problems. As the story unfolds, Byron watches his mother disintegrate as her perfect facade begins to show cracks, and we also see Jim start to find a connection to an unusual woman who makes a dramatic entrance into his life.

In Byron’s part of the story, Byron and his best friend become fixated on a news story about the world clock being adjusted by two seconds in order to realign with the earth’s rotation. These two seconds take on a major significance for the boys, so that when the accident occurs, Byron is convinced that it’s because of the two extra seconds. It just doesn’t work. I was never convinced that these boys (or any boys) would fixate on this issue to the degree that they do, and it’s an odd element that adds nothing to the story.

Both Byron and the adult Jim are less than reliable observers, and so in both parts of the narrative, we view the action from very shaky ground. Unfortunately, this also has the effect of distancing the reader from the story. I always felt that I was getting a report on events, rather than witnessing them myself, and thus felt no immediacy or sense of connection as Byron’s family life spirals out of control.

Byron’s mother Diana is the central figure in the confusing and tragic events of the summer of 1972, but she remains an enigma. We know that she had a somewhat disreputable past; we see that her husband controls her every move; we learn that she has reinvented herself since being married and strives to always be a perfect wife and mother. Once Diana’s perfection is marred by the accident that may or may not have occurred, she slowly slips away from herself and her family, as without that illusion, she is left with nothing.

The portrait of Jim is interesting, as we learn bit by bit what happened to leave him in such a state, unable to function without his all-consuming rituals, constantly afraid of disaster. However,the love story that leads him to redemption is not credible in the least. How many books have we read featuring a flamboyantly eccentric, loud woman who comes into a meeker character’s life and shows him that love is possible? I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve seen this story a hundred times before. It’s not fresh, and it doesn’t work in this novel.

As in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, the big reveal at the end of the book is meant to be a shocking twist. It is not. By mid-way through the book, it was plain to me what was really going on, and I didn’t feel that there was any true pay-off in what is intended to be a big, emotionally charged scene.

Not to say, however, that Perfect lacks interesting or redeeming qualities. There’s a twisted relationship that develops in the aftermath of the accident, and it is fascinating to see how Diana’s doubts and guilt lead her to become the victim of an opportunistic stranger, with Byron’s attempts to help only exacerbating and hastening Diana’s downfall. The changing landscape of the moors and villages in Perfect serve to reflect the social dynamics of the time, and as the economy worsens over the decades, we see that reflected in the surrounding housing communities and countryside as well. The tension between the wealthy private school families and the lower-class townies comes into play in the main storyline, and adds an interesting dimension to the unfolding drama and the tragic events that occur.

Despite being a quick read, Perfect simply doesn’t satisfy. The quirky characters and cause-and-effect plot devices never feel real or believable, and as a result, I was unmoved by the confrontations and resolutions that should have been emotionally rich. Lacking any connection to the characters and just not buying some of the major events and their catalysts, I would have to consider Perfect a disappointment.

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The details:

Title: Perfect
Author: Robin Joyce
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: January 14, 2014
Genre: Adult contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of Random House via NetGalley

29Dec2013

Getting graphic: My Sunday reading

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Fables: Snow White (volume 19) by Bill Willingham

Fables, Vol. 19: Snow White (Fables, #19) I thought I’d dedicate my sunny Sunday to sitting outdoors, enjoying the blue skies, and devouring my newly arrived copy of Fables, volume 19. Devour it I did, and boy, was it delicious!

I think I’ve made it perfectly clear by now that I’m a huge fan of Fables. So what did I think of volume 19?

First and foremost, it’s Fables! Which is practically synonymous with awesomesauce. Is there any way I’d give a Fables volume less than a 5-star rating at this point? I adore everything about this series, and this volume definitely delivers.

We get a great wrap-up of the Bufkin story to kick things off on a light note, but the rest of the volume takes us to some pretty dark places… and leaves off with a cliffhanger of sorts that makes me want to jump out of my skin (or call up the author and say, “Do something! Take it back! Make it all better!). The action in volume 19 overlaps time-wise with the events of volume 18, which mostly took place in a different world. In volume 19, we see what everyone else was doing while the cubs went missing — and it’s intense and quite unexpected. We split our time mainly between the new Fabletown and the kingdom of Haven, and as always, it’s wonderful to spend time with beloved characters — who by now feel like old friends.

My chief complaint about this series is that I binge-read it when I first started, reading the first 15 or so volumes straight through. Now that I’m caught up, it’s a long six-month wait in between volumes, and I feel like my head might explode by the time the next one is published in 2014!

I guess the bright side here is that I’m behind on the Fairest spin-off series, so at least I don’t have to leave the world of Fables entirely just yet.

Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan
Volume 1: Pride and Joy

Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride and Joy (Runaways, #1)

As if I needed any further convincing… reading Runaways just cements the fact the Brian K. Vaughan can do no wrong! I’d been hearing for years that Runaways is essential reading. Okay, okay, people — you were right!

I sat down and read the first volume of this series, Pride and Joy, and I can see what all the fuss is about. Granted, volume 1 really just lays the groundwork, but the premise is a doozy! As the book blurb makes it clear, all teens think their parents are evil. But in Runaways, this group of six teens is actually right about their parents. After stumbling accidentally onto their parents’ secret membership in something called The Pride, the kids realize there’s a lot more to their parents’ get-togethers than they’d been led to believe. And these kids aren’t powerless either. One way or another, whether through their own inherent super-powers or just access to some really cool toys, these six have to use their strengths to outwit their parents, hide away from all sorts of nefarious bad guys, and maybe try to figure out what the heck’s going on… and stop it.

I don’t know where all this is going yet, but I absolutely intend to find out! Volume 1? Total win.

And hey! There’s a psychic dinosaur involved! If that doesn’t spell awesome, then I don’t know what does.

Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan
Volume 2: Teenage Wasteland

Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland

After a break of oh, at least an hour or two, I couldn’t resist and continued on with volume 2, Teenage Wasteland. And all I can say is… this is going to be good. I love the story so far, I love the exploration of each teen’s developing powers, and I love the context of a big bad conspiracy of evil parents trying to control the world — if only they can get their own kids under control first.

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to finally read Runaways… but I think it’s safe to say that I’m hooked now, and will probably gobble up the entire series much more quickly than is probably good for me. Then again, who needs to sleep?

26Dec2013

Book Review: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine
(to be released December 31, 2013)

The Promise of Amazing In this young adult tale of opposites attracting, Wren is the good girl, burdened by her average status. She’s mainly known for being quiet, and ranks right smack-dab in the middle of her class at her all-girls Catholic high school. Bad boy Grayson, expelled by his all-boys private school after being exposed for running a business as — in his words — a “term-paper pimp”, is suffering through his uninteresting days in public school, isolated from his friends and removed from his glory days as a lacrosse star.

Wren and Grayson meet cute — or meet gross, depending on your perspective — when he chokes on a cocktail weenie at her family’s catering hall and she saves his life by performing the Heimlich. Followed promptly by him vomiting on her shoes. Despite the life endangerment and the puke, the two have a moment of connection… and thus starts the romance of Wren and Grayson.

Yes, it’s pretty much an insta-love connection. Neither can stop thinking about the other, and they have a few awkward encounters before realizing that whatever is between them might hold the “promise of amazing”. Told in alternating chapters, we hear each character’s thoughts about the other, as each tries to forge a new path in hopes of being worthy of the other.

Of the two, Grayson has the most to overcome. His term-paper pimpdom is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of shady dealings. He’s hiding a big secret involving a truly revolting scheme involving him and the other privileged boys from his former school. When Wren ponders that Grayson doesn’t feel that he’s good enough for her, I wanted to yell, “It’s true!” Yes, everyone deserves a second chance, an opportunity to reform — but Gray’s past is pretty awful, and I’m not sure that he deserves such a quick and easy redemption, one in which he never actually pays for the terrible things he’s done, other than a week of Wren feeling angry at him.

It’s gratifying to see Wren learn to stand up for herself more and grow a spine, finally speaking up for herself with the popular mean girl and with the guidance counselor who doesn’t seem to see Wren’s true potential. I enjoyed Wren’s down-to-earth connection with her two best friends, as well as her healthy relationships with her parents and her older siblings.

Both Wren and Grayson come from fairly well-off families, and the sense of entitlement permeates the entire story. Even though Wren’s family business is going down the tubes, there’s never a sense that their financial well-being is at stake. Grayson, too, comes from money, and while his home life is divided between divorced and remarried parents, the overall sense is that he has a stable, worry-free life on his hands, which makes his past actions seems even less comprehensible and more the actions of a bored, spoiled rich kid.

I didn’t hate The Promise of Amazing, and in fact, it’s a fast-paced story that is easy to get caught up in, so much so that I couldn’t tear my eyes away because I needed to know what happened next. But in terms of message and storytelling? Well, no. Grayson is not an admirable character, and despite his desire to change and be worthy of Wren, I just couldn’t get past his serious wrong-doing and his lack of atonement. Having to ‘fess up to Wren and possibly lose her was painful, sure — but even then, it all got patched up pretty quickly, no lasting damage. Without going into detail about what he’s done, suffice it to say that Gray didn’t really seem to earn the redemption that he’s granted in this novel.

Things I liked:

Wren is a quiet girl, but that doesn’t mean she’s not smart or savvy, and she’s certainly not weak. Let’s hear it for the quiet ones! As Wren puts it, “Being quiet was not a conscious protest. It was my nature.” And by the end of the book, when she asserts herself in a payback plot, she points out that “he had toyed with the wrong quiet chick.” On behalf of introverts everywhere, thank you!

Things I didn’t like:

Once Gray’s secret comes to light and Wren unburdens herself to her best friends, one takes the position that Gray’s past actions are “kind of… hot.””

I didn’t say I approved. What he did was awful, but he sort of got karmic payback getting kicked out school. Don’t you think? And, well, he hasn’t done any of this in a while, right? Like months. A guy with a past is hot.

Um, really? His horrible actions are all okay, because they were “like months” ago — and now it’s kind of hot? That’s taking the bad boy thing to a whole new level of wrongness, in my opinion.

This bizarre take on teen morality continues a bit further on:

What I’m getting at is — so what if he’s been with other girls? It only means he’s experienced. You’ve been with other guys — is he all jacked up over that? We’re sixteen… this is how it’s supposed to be.

As I write this, I realize that this twisted take on right and wrong bothers me a lot more than I realized while I reading the book. I just can’t buy the basic premise of the bad boy being reformed by the good girl. Maybe in some stories, it works, but here it feels too easy. The worst consequence that anyone truly faces in The Promise of Amazing is an expulsion from private school — although the term-paper pimpage seems to have been quieted up sufficiently that Gray won’t face damaged college prospects — and a few teary misunderstandings on the path to true love.

Teen love can be grand and full of drama. But to be convincing, it has to have stakes and feel earned. In The Promise of Amazing, the main thing that’s amazing is how quickly Wren and Gray fall in love, and how easily all of their differences — and his shady past — can be overcome.

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The details:

Title: The Promise of Amazing
Author: Robin Constantine
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication date: 2013
Genre: Young adult/contemporary
Source: Review copy courtesy of Balzer + Bray via Edelweiss

22Dec2013

Book Review: Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay

Dear Mr. Knightley This debut novel combines the wit of Austen with the gritty pluck of Bronte, but with a modern-day setting that adds several unexpected twists and a deeper level of truth and examination than I’d expected.

In Dear Mr. Knightley, main character Samantha (who goes by Sam) is a college grad on the verge of aging out of the support systems available to former foster kids. With the prodding of her mentor, Father John, who runs the group home in which she lives, Sam applies for a grant from an anonymous foundation. This grant will enable her to enroll in graduate school, and will cover all expenses while she pursues her degree. The only catch is that Sam must write a series of letters to her benefactor, who uses the pseudonym George Knightley, knowing it will appeal to Sam’s inner Austen-phile and keep his true identity a secret.

Sam’s life has not been easy, and she is plagued by self-doubt. She’s spent all her life feeling unloved and unwanted, and has hidden herself away in the pages of her beloved books. When anxious or faced with a need to connect with people, she hides behind her characters, quoting Lizzy Bennet or Emma or even Edmond Dantes — which lets her keep her walls intact, and ensures that anyone who tries to reach out to her will run in the opposite direction.

But once Sam receives her grant and starts her graduate program in journalism, she realizes that her walls are crumbling — and that she needs to let them. She can’t succeed as a writer if she keeps her heart hidden away; she can’t connect as a friend if she refuses to let anyone know her. As Sam narrates her tale via letters to Mr. Knightley, we witness her fears, her doubts, her pain, and her glimmers of joy. We delight with her when she sees new possibilities, but we can’t help but want to cry every time poor wounded Sam seems to be making another counter-productive decision based on insecurity and lack of confidence.

I enjoyed the writing style here very much. The entire book is told via Sam’s letters to Mr. Knightley, so it’s all first-person and very immediate. She writes from her heart to her anonymous correspondent, allowing herself the freedom in her letters to reveal herself in all the ways she’d never do with a real person. While occasionally seeming more naive than seems reasonable for a 23-year-old, I could suspend my disbelief based on the facts of Sam’s life. If she seems to have odd ideas about friendship, connection, and relationships, it’s understandable, given that she bounced from foster family to foster family, experienced disastrous encounters with her real parents, and finally ended up at the group home for the remainder of her teen and early adult years.

If you happened to read my blog yesterday (here), then you may have seen my mini-freak-out about finding out that a book I was reading was listed on Amazon as “Christian fiction”. This is the book that triggered all of that. And it’s puzzling to me. Had I not come across that designation on Amazon, I don’t think it would have occurred to me to think of this book as anything other than contemporary fiction. Yes, there were passages, especially toward the end, where Sam is encouraged toward “surrender” and finding joy in faith. But it’s not heavy-handed, I didn’t feel like the book itself was proselytizing in any way, and the references to characters’ faith and beliefs felt organic and reasonable within the context of the story. What I had feared might be a problem for me really wasn’t. So, after much ado about nothing, all’s well that ends well! (Sorry… )

The book is a quick read, but it’s not fluffy. It does seem that things always work out for Sam in a big way. Too sugar-coated, perhaps? Yes, it can seem like a fairy tale at points, the way the grants, the internships, the supportive people always come through just when needed. But that is balanced, for the most part, by a refusal to gloss over the harder parts of Sam’s life, so truly, even if it seems unlikely that things could work out so well in real life, there’s no doubt that Sam has earned all that comes her way by the end.

I mentioned earlier that I liked the writing style — and I really did, except for a certain phrasing oddity that kept jumping out at me: Whenever characters use the work “couple”, it’s phrased as “a couple papers”, “a couple internships”, “a couple days ago”. What happened to the “of”??? Is this a regional quirk, perhaps? I have no idea, but it really bugged me. This is a minor quibble, though; for the most part, I enjoyed Sam’s voice very much. Some epistolary novels seem forced, using the letter format as a gimmick that doesn’t always allow for fully fleshed-out storytelling. This is not the case in Dear Mr. Knightley: Through Sam’s letters, we get insight into her heart and mind in a way that might not have worked otherwise, and because we know that Sam herself is a skilled writer, it makes sense that her letters are so articulate and thoughtful.

If you’ve read the 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster, then the secrets and resolution of Dear Mr. Knightley won’t be a surprise. But even knowing how it would work out, I still enjoyed the author’s skill in weaving the backbone of the older book into this fresh novel, finding a way to take a set of circumstances that might seem old-fashioned and apply them to a modern setting in a way that’s believable.

I’m glad that I didn’t let the genre issue keep me from exploring and enjoying this touching, delightful book. Skillfully weaving together threads of classic literature into a modern-day setting that rings true, Dear Mr. Knightley is a lovely look at the journey of a special young woman. I’m happy to have read it, and I’m happy to recommend it.

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The details:

Title: Dear Mr. Knightley
Author: Katherine Reay
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication date: 2013
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of Thomas Nelson via NetGalley

21Dec2013

Book Review: The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

Past and present mingle deliciously in the newest novel from Susanna Kearsley, whose “time-slip” novels such as Mariana, The Winter Sea, and The Rose Garden have amassed quite a devoted following. Her books tend to blend a modern-day storyline with a gripping historical thread, to create a whole that’s emotional, dramatic, and always steeped in meticulously researched historical detail.

In The Firebird, we open with main character Nicola Marter, a specialist in Russian art and artifacts with a very big secret: psychometry, the ability to “read” an object’s past by simply touching it. Nicola was raised from childhood to never reveal her gifts, lest she be branded a freak or subjected to abuse or discrimination. When a dying woman comes to Nicola’s office with a family heirloom, hoping it’s of enough value to enable her to enjoy what time is left to her, Nicola can tell by touching the small carved bird that it was a gift to the woman’s ancestor from Empress Catherine I of Russia — but sadly, there’s no other proof. And without proof, the object has no monetary value. Enlisting the aid of her former love interest and immensely gifted psychic Rob McMorran, Nicola is determined to help the poor woman, even if it means using her gifts to figure out the carving’s origins.

There’s much, much more to the story: As it turns out, the ancestor who received the gift from the Empress was a young woman named Anna, who was raised near Slains Castle in Scotland before ending up in St. Petersburg. Readers of The Winter Sea should now be sitting up and paying close attention: Yes, it’s that Anna! If you, like me, felt saddened and even upset by the resolution of The Winter Sea, fear not! The story isn’t over; in The Firebird, we learn much more about Anna, and it isn’t what you might have expected.

As Nicola and Rob begin to investigate, they use their gifts to sense the past wherever they travel. They start at Slains, and get an immersive view of Anna’s life in the cottage where she spends her early years before encroaching danger forces her to flee. Wherever Anna’s voyage takes her in her own time, Nicola and Rob follow in the present. The Firebird follows two storylines: The first focuses on Nicola and Rob, as they seek answers about Anna and at the same time tiptoe through the landmines of their relationship. The second is the story of Anna herself, following her from childhood through her late teens, as she grows into a young woman among the high-ranking military families of St. Petersburg.

As the narrative shifts between its two threads, it’s hard to say which storyline is the more compelling. I became caught up in Nicola and Rob’s exploration, their quest for hints of the past, and their attempts to bridge the gap in their attitudes towards their gifts. At the same time, whenever the story leaves Anna to return to the present, I kind of groaned a bit and had to grind my teeth in frustration. I didn’t want to leave her! Anna’s story is fraught with tension and danger, and so naturally the overriding drama resides in her part of the tale. Still, the two halves mesh nicely, mirroring and complementing one another very naturally and seamlessly.

Part of what makes Susanna Kearsley’s books so very good is her devotion to historical accuracy and source material. As her extensive (and fascinating) author’s notes make clear, almost all of the characters in Anna’s parts of the story were real people — which I found astounding, to be honest. I had no idea, reading The Firebird, that these people weren’t all completely fictional. It was amazing to me to discover how perfectly the author matched the historical figures’ lives with their fictional counterparts’ actions, motivations, beliefs, and family ties.

Anna’s story is set in the 1710s and 1720s, and the focus, even in St. Petersburg, is on the Jacobite supporters and their tireless work to support and restore their king. The intrigues and conspiracies are at the core of Anna’s story, and yet it’s Anna herself who is the true heart of The Firebird. From the young girl living in hiding to the young woman who yearns to belong, Anna is a character of strength, integrity, and unwavering devotion and loyalty.

Overall, I found The Firebird simply mesmerizing. I loved Anna’s story and how beautifully it ties back to the people and occurrences in The Winter Sea — and I was also completely drawn into Nicola and Rob’s quest, both for the truth about the carving and for the path back into one another’s lives and hearts.

Do you need to have read The Winter Sea in order to appreciate The Firebird? Yes and no. The Firebird is complete in and of itself, and absolutely can be read as a stand-alone novel. However, there is so much connection between the two books that I do feel that the reading experience would be greatly enriched by reading The Winter Sea prior to reading The Firebird. (In fact, I found myself wishing I’d taken the time to re-read The Winter Sea, as it had been several years since I read it and some of the details were quite fuzzy for me, to say the least.)

It should be noted as well that Rob appears as a child in an earlier novel, The Shadowy Horses (which I reviewed here). It’s worth reading The Shadowy Horses first if you want to get a picture of Rob’s early life and experiences, but unlike The Winter Sea, the plot itself does not tie in directly to the events in The Firebird.

I suppose it’s clear by now that I’m a big fan of Susanna Kearsley, and can recommend without hesitation anything that she’s written. The Firebird makes the fifth book by this author that I’ve read, and I’m very much looking forward to adding a sixth to my list when her 1995 novel The Splendour Falls is reissued in the US in January, 2014. What a great way to start the new year!

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The details:

Title: The Firebird
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication date: 2013
Genre: Conteporary/Historical fiction
Source: Purchased

19Dec2013

Gathering Storm: Q&A with author Maggie Craig

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I’m thrilled to welcome author Maggie Craig to Bookshelf Fantasies for a Q&A about her newest novel, Gathering Storm.

What’s it all about? Read on…

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Gathering Storm

Jacobite Intrigue and Romance in 18th Century Edinburgh.

Edinburgh, Yuletide 1743, and Redcoat officer Robert Catto would rather be anywhere else on earth than Scotland. Seconded back from the wars in Europe to captain the city’s Town Guard, he fears his covert mission to assess the strength of the Jacobite threat will force him to confront the past he tries so hard to forget.

Christian Rankeillor, her surgeon-apothecary father and his apprentice Jamie Buchan of Balnamoon are committed supporters of the Stuart Cause. They’re hiding a Jacobite agent with a price on his head in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, a hanging offence.

Meeting as enemies, Robert and Kirsty are thrown together as allies by the mysterious death of a young prostitute and their desire to help fugitive brother and sister Geordie and Alice Smart. They’re on the run from Cosmo Liddell, bored and brutal aristocrat and coal owner.

As they pick their way through a labyrinth of intrigue, Robert and Kirsty are increasingly drawn to each other. She knows their mutual attraction can go nowhere. He know his duty demands that he must betray her.

Bringing to life a time when Scotland stood at a crossroads in her history, Gathering Storm is the first in a suite of Jacobite novels by Scottish writer Maggie Craig, author of the ground-breaking and acclaimed Damn’ Rebel Bitches: The Women of the ’45.

Let’s talk to Maggie and find out more!

Welcome, Maggie! I know you’ve written novels set in the 1800s and the 1900s, and now Gathering Storm, which opens in 1743. Do you have a favorite period to write about?

My heart belongs to the 18^th century, the Jacobites of 1745 in particular. I find it a fascinating period of history. It was the Age of Reason and the beginning of the Enlightenment, yet men still marched out onto battlefields with swords in their hands. Gender politics were changing too. The relationship between 18^th century men and women was shifting, allowing female characters more leeway in what they said and, to an extent, in how they acted.

What role does your non-fiction research and writing play in your fiction writing?

A huge one. While the main characters in my fiction are always imaginary – or so I think, I’m not always convinced they don’t tap me on the shoulder and insist I write their stories – I like to have them interact with real historical characters. Over years of research, those have become like friends to me. As anyone who reads Gathering Storm will surmise, I’m particularly fond of Duncan Forbes of Culloden, my hero’s mentor.

What inspired you to write Gathering Storm?

It started with the picture of a man’s face on the cover of a magazine. He was quietly handsome but he looked so sad. I put that picture up beside my computer and looked at it for a while, wondering what had made him unhappy. Then I sat down one day and started to free-write and before I knew where I was I was with Captain Robert Catto of the Town Guard of Edinburgh in pursuit of an illegal dissection.

I’m fascinated by some of the details of life in Edinburgh at that time. Were there really “underground” dissections and secret meetings of anatomists taking place at that time?

Absolutely. There was a strong religious objection to dissection because people believed in the resurrection of the body on the Day of Judgement, so you had to be whole for that. Anatomists were allowed to demonstrate dissection on the bodies of convicted felons who had been hanged, but only on a very limited number and only if the relatives did not claim the body. Edinburgh University was at the forefront of medical education in Europe in the 18^th and 19^th centuries and desperately needed more bodies for the students to learn from. That’s why Burke and Hare became active in the 1820s, robbing graves to meet the demand and then cutting out the hard work by simply murdering people. Anatomists paid good money for fresh corpses. Burke and Hare were caught when one medical student recognized the body lying on the slab as being the girl he’d been with the previous night, when she’d been fit and healthy.

You seem to have a great deal of sympathy for the terribly hard lives of the lower classes. What do you think readers would be surprised to know about women’s lives at that time?

I think working-class girls and women could be terribly vulnerable to young gentlemen who saw them as fair game. On a more positive note, readers might be surprised by how many women were active in business, running timber yards, shops and taverns. Sometimes that was because they were widows and had taken over the family business when their husbands died but many seemed to relish the opportunity.

Can you tell us a bit about your background — where you grew up, your family life, and how you became a writer?

I grew up in Glasgow, on the banks of the Clyde, the youngest of four children. My dad worked his way up through the railways to become a station master and we lived in the station house where he loved to tend his garden. He was a great story teller, as was my mother. We travelled all over Scotland on the train to visit relatives and my dad knew the history behind every stone. I learned about William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Radicals of 1820 and the Red Clydesiders of the early 20^th century at a very early age. One of my forebears on my father’s side was Robert Tannahill, the weaver-poet of Paisley. All my family write. We think it’s just what everybody does. I’ve been writing and publishing books for the past 15 years and now live in the north of Scotland with my Welsh husband Will and two cats. We have two lovely grown-up children and an equally lovely daughter-in-law from North Carolina who all live in Edinburgh so we spend a lot of time there.

What do you read for fun? What writers inspire you?

I love Nora Roberts. There’s nothing better in a snowy Scottish winter than reading about fabulously wealthy and beautiful people sipping cocktails in the Californian sunshine. I’ve always been inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns, Daphne du Maurier and Dorothy L Sayers. I also love Diana Gabaldon, Barbara Erskine, Susanna Kearsley and Ian Rankin.

I understand that Gathering Storm is the first in a planned Jacobite suite of novels. What are you working on now, and what can we expect in this series?

My next book will be The Captain’s Lady, a time slip set between Glasgow and the West Highlands during the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Its main historical protagonist is Meg Wood, who makes a cameo appearance in Gathering Storm. It’s a one-off story. I’m then going back to Robert and Kirsty, to continue telling their story.

Can you give us a hint about what lies in store for Robert and Christian (Kirsty)?

Trouble. Moral dilemmas. Physical danger. The entrance of a bad guy. Oh, and he is so bad. They’re going to have to wade their way through hell and high water but there will be tender moments and wee Geordie Smart will be there too.

Thank you, Maggie, for your time and terrific responses!

Other books by Maggie Craig:

Fiction:
The River Flows On
One Sweet Moment
When the Lights Come On Again
The Stationmaster’s Daughter
The Bird Flies High
A Star To Steer By
The Dancing Days

Non-Fiction:
When the Clyde Ran Red
Bare-Arsed Banditti: The Men of the ’45
Damn’ Rebel Bitches : The Women of the ’45

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

My thoughts on Gathering Storm:

I very much enjoyed this historical novel, which focuses on the build-up to the Jacobite rising of 1745 through the lens of a small group of people caught up in intrigue and conspiracies in Edinburgh. Taking place over the course of one very eventful week, Gathering Storm introduces us to both sides of the conflict through the individual characters who take center stage in the novel.

Captain Robert Catto is an enigmatic and conflicted main character, noble and full of purpose, yet also tormented by family secrets and a troubled past. He knows his duty and what he must do, but as he becomes more and more fascinated by Christian, it becomes harder for him to stand firm. Robert is also, it must be said, a man who does tend to give into his baser nature from time to time — so for those looking for the typical dashing, upright hero, Robert’s actions may not be at all what is expected.

Christian (Kirsty) is a strong-willed and intelligent young woman, who perhaps doesn’t realize when it might be best to not take a stand. She’s loyal to family and friends, but absolutely can think for herself and make her own decisions.

Because Gathering Storm takes place in a very compressed amount of time, it often has an intense, almost breathless feel to it, and the emotional connections happen quickly and unexpectedly. The action is quite compelling, and I liked the mix of politics, danger, and personal relationships.

Maggie Craig’s in-depth historical knowledge really shines through, giving Gathering Storm a ring of authenticity and a strong anchor in real events. For anyone interested in Scottish history, or for fans of historical fiction in general, I’d recommend giving Gathering Storm a try.

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The details:

Title: Gathering Storm
Author: Maggie Craig
Publisher: Alligin Books
Publication date: 2013
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Received from the author

14Dec2013

Book Review: Roomies by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: Roomies by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando

Roomies

Before I dig into my review of Roomies, a personal aside. And if you’re not interested in my rambling thoughts of yesteryear, jump ahead two paragraphs! Really, I won’t mind.

It seems like eons ago that I received my freshman roommate assignment from campus housing, way back when as I was graduating from high school and looking forward to the next chapter in my life. My roomie-to-be had a name that made me think of someone upbeat and friendly: Juliet, from somewhere in Pennsylvania. We exchanged brief letters (I found out she preferred to go by Julie), and it seemed like we’d hit it off, or at the very least, like each other enough to live together successfully.

But then, a few weeks later, another letter: Julie and her friend from home had decided to live together after all. Bummer. I was then assigned a new roommate, Joanne from Brooklyn, daughter of a cardiologist, who spent most of her initial letter to me telling me all about her boyfriend Henry (but call him Henri), who was gorgeous and a model. Uh oh. Alarm bells ringing. And for good reason: the term “roommate from hell” could have been coined especially for Joanne. I won’t bore you with the agony of a year’s worth of horrible incidents. And to add insult to injury, I later met my almost-roommate Julie in chemistry class, and she was sweet as could be. Meanwhile, the best thing I can say about Joanne is that she was so despicable that I spent almost zero time in my dorm room, which led to my becoming close with someone in the next dorm, who in turn introduced me to another of her friends… and those two became lifelong friends of mine. So, happy outcome, I suppose, but still… drama! Freshman year turmoil! Dorm dismay!

It’s been a long time since I thought about the saga of Julie and Joanne — but it all came back to me in vivid color as soon as I started reading Roomies.

In this delightful new young adult novel, two girls from opposite worlds meet through the magic of the UC Berkeley housing office. Over the course of the summer between high school and college, Elizabeth and Lauren get to know each other through emails, exchanging greetings tentatively at first and slowly building up trust and connection until they’re practically soulmates — but is it real? How much can you really get to know someone by way of a computer screen? How do you know what someone’s like if you’ve never met them, never even heard their voice?

From the outset, the girls seem too dissimilar to seem likely as friends. Elizabeth is a middle class girl from New Jersey, who loves the beach, loves gardening, has a boyfriend she’s not crazy about, and has lived alone with her mom ever since her dad came out and moved (stereotype of stereotypes) to San Francisco. Now EB, as she’s known to her friends, is left counting the days until she sets off on her big move cross-country, dealing with her unable-to-face-reality mom and wishing she weren’t so alone. Lauren, on the other hand, is never alone. Lauren has five younger siblings, all under the age of six, and this huge mess of a family lives in a cramped house in San Francisco, always tight on money, always chaotic. Lauren works two jobs and got a full scholarship to Berkeley to study biochem, and dreams of having quiet time to herself. She did not want a roommate at all, and is not best pleased to hear from EB (whom she thinks of as Ebb) with a “hi, roomie!” email.

Told in alternating chapters and with alternating voices, Roomies takes us along for the ride as Lauren and Elizabeth slowly open up to one another while dealing with the myriad of challenges, frustrations, joys, and sorrows of the eventful summer between high school and college. Both girls navigate a relationship with a hometown best friend, unsure of how that friendship will change or even if it will last. And both girls find romance when least expected, only further complicating the delicate and difficult business of saying good-bye to home and childhood and moving into the next phase of their lives.

The summer navigated in Roomies is wonderful in many ways, but each girl faces her own set of worries and doubts as the college days loom. Will she be able to stand on her own feet? Will the family left behind manage without her? How will she know she’s ready? And what if she’s not?

He leads me out the other side of the house, and there is something about his pulling me forward that feels so incredible. Because I wish that I were being guided a bit more through life, that I didn’t always feel as if I were drifting, like an untied balloon that someone didn’t even realize was slipping away.

The writing is terrific and genuine. I was completely convinced that I was getting to know two very different girls, and I appreciated how the authors made each voice unique and recognizable. Using the motif of first-person narration punctuated by emails, each chapter gives us a view into the girls’ inner lives and deepest thoughts. The email is a brilliant device for showing just how easy it is to misunderstand, and how imperfect a medium the written word can be. Throughout the summer, each girl misinterprets the emails of the other, so as they take baby steps forward in their relationship, a simple phrase or comment can start a chain reaction of anger or hurt. How could she say that? Why would she rub her happiness in my face? Why doesn’t she sympathize? Why is it all about her? Each girl writes with the best of intentions, but as the move-in date nears, their communication spirals out of control, with hurt layered upon hurt, until each is left to contemplate requesting a rooming reassignment before they even get to Berkeley.

Little details really work. While Lauren and Elizabeth each embark on a new and exciting romance, this isn’t a glossy, fake ultra-swoony story. Even in the midst of describing a romantic moment, we’re reminded that teen moments are often snuck into the most awkward of places:

I snuggle against Keyon, with the emergency brake in my lower ribs, and we’re quiet a long time.

Sweet? Yes. Kind of uncomfortable, too, and isn’t that how it usually works?

Lauren and Elizabeth each work through their personal baggage, their family issues, their expectations, their fears. They correspond, they fight, they reconcile, and by the end of the summer, it’s time. Time to leave home, time to figure out to to hold on while at the same time marching forward. There’s a lovely moment that really encapsulates the conflicting urges to stay where it’s comfortable and familiar and to rush forward into a new exciting chapter:

…[W]e go to a booth for tickets, queue up with some others, and then find two swings side by side, close enough where we can hold hands. I kick off my flip-flops and in a minute we’re spinning. We start slowly, going round and round, but I can feel it, somewhere deep in my gut, when some new force starts to propel us out into the sky. Mark and I hold hands as long as we can but then the force is too strong and he laughs and I scream and we have no choice but to let go.

Roomies succeeds on so many levels — as a story of the beginning of a friendship, a look at family and all the different types of bonds that can exist, and an exploration of that big step from childhood to adulthood. Anyone who has ever left home to embark on a new adventure will be able to relate to the mingled excitement and fear. I’d consider this a great book for young adults approaching their own journeys, as well as for adults who made that transition themselves, whether recently or far in the past — or even from the perspective of a parent trying to support their own children as they find their way.

For myself, reading Roomies made me think of my own semi-disastrous entry into my college life — and remember how even the worst of situations ultimately led to incredibly wonderful experiences. Seeing Lauren and Elizabeth and their messy, sometimes awful and sometimes spectacular journey, I wanted to tell them to just hang in there. It’s all a part of growing up, and as Roomies illustrates so well, endings and beginnings can both contain truly amazing moments.

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The details:

Title: Roomies
Author: Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date: To be released December 24, 2013
Genre: Young adult
Source: Review copy courtesy of Little, Brown via NetGalley

8Dec2013

Dangerous Women: First Thoughts

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Dangerous Women: Edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Dangerous Women This brand new anthology is HUGE (784 pages) and weighs more than a small lapdog, but if you’re feeling strong and want a lot of choice in your reading, this hefty book may be the ticket.

Dangerous Women contains 20 stories from across many different genres, all with a focus — one way or another — on strong, fearless, and yes, dangerous women. Urban fantasy, traditional fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, and more are represented here. According to the table of contents, here’s what you’ll find in Dangerous Women:

INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
SOME DESPERADO, by Joe Abercrombie
MY HEART IS EITHER BROKEN, by Megan Abbott
NORA’S SONG, by Cecelia Holland
THE HANDS THAT ARE NOT THERE, by Melinda Snodgrass
BOMBSHELLS, by Jim Butcher
RAISA STEPANOVA, by Carrie Vaughn
WRESTLING JESUS, by Joe R. Lansdale
NEIGHBORS, by Megan Lindholm
I KNOW HOW TO PICK ‘EM, by Lawrence Block
SHADOWS FOR SILENCE IN THE FORESTS OF HELL, by Brandon Sanderson
A QUEEN IN EXILE, by Sharon Kay Penman
THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR, by Lev Grossman
SECOND ARABESQUE, VERY SLOWLY, by Nancy Kress
CITY LAZARUS, by Diana Rowland
VIRGINS, by Diana Gabaldon
HELL HATH NO FURY, by Sherilynn Kenyon
PRONOUNCING DOOM, by S.M. Stirling
NAME THE BEAST, by Sam Sykes
CARETAKERS, by Pat Cadigan
LIES MY MOTHER TOLD ME, by Caroline Spector
THE PRINCESS AND THE QUEEN, by George R.R. Martin

I can’t pretend to have read all or even most of these. For starters, I’m notoriously bad at reading short stories and can only take just so much before I want to run screaming for the hills — no matter how good the stories are. Second of all, as I mentioned, HUGENESS. No way I’ll be able to sit and read this baby all the way through. I can see myself picking and choosing, reading an occasional story here and there over the next month or so, until I’ve read everything that grabs me.

Meanwhile, I did sit right down and read the stories that most interested me, and I thought I’d share my initial thoughts on a handful:

“Virgins” by Diana Gabaldon. Yes, this is the reason I couldn’t wait for Dangerous Women! “Virgins” is a prequel to Outlander, set in 1740 and focusing on a young Jamie and Ian in an adventure as mercenaries in France. Fans of Outlander will love it (any Jamie is good Jamie), but I think it will have wider appeal as well. While the main characters’ stories and dilemmas may be less compelling to people not already familiar with them, there’s nothing here that would preclude anyone from enjoying it. The central storyline has a focus that surprised me, which I won’t divulge because I think it’s worth discovering on your own. I was not disappointed: Diana Gabaldon knows her characters and the historical setting, and has done her usual fabulous job of bringing a time and place to life. Highly recommended!

“The Princess and the Queen” by George R. R. Martin. Well, if you’re a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire, I’m sure you’ll be checking this one out. This long story (at what point do we call it a novella? 70+ pages? If so, this one qualifies!) is purportedly a report written by a Maester of Westeros relating the history of a war between different factions of Targaryens 200 years before the events that make up the ASoIaF series. And boy, was that some war! According to the story, this war is often referred to as the Dance of the Dragons, and was one of the bloodiest and most spectacular in the history of Westeros. Because dragons! I hesitate to be critical, because devout fans are already proclaiming this story to be brilliant — but for me, less isn’t necessarily more. There’s so much detail here, told in such a dry historical fashion, that I was just wishing throughout that GRRM had devoted an entire novel to these events instead. It’s simply a lot to wade through, filled with name after name, bannerman after bannerman, and I found the factions and alliances very difficult to track. In places, the storyline is breathtaking, with its aerial dragon battles and bloody betrayals and horrors. I’m glad to have read it, but I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it. The written history approach didn’t really work for me — but true GRRM fans will be all over “The Princess and the Queen”, and I’m sure most will absolutely love it.

“Bombshell” by Jim Butcher. This one is a goodie for fans of the Dresden Files series. Featuring Harry Dresden’s apprentice Molly as the main character, “Bombshell” takes place after the events of Changes. Harry is presumed dead, and Molly has to figure out a way to control her magic, follow in Harry’s footsteps, and live up to his legacy, all the while grieving with no real outlet to express her loss. Meanwhile, there are bad guys to confront, and it turns into a dangerous race against time, with evil dudes and magic spells and otherworldly creatures all in the mix. “Bombshell” is a lot of fun (and the title is a terrific pun, as you’ll see by the end of the story). It’s a great urban fantasy pick-me-up, and I don’t see why someone not familiar with the Dresden books couldn’t read and enjoy it, although I’d imagine some of the concepts would lead to serious puzzlement for newbies. As for me, as a fan of the series and of Jim Butcher’s writing in general, “Bombshell” was like getting a box of candy as a present. Yummy, unexpectedly enjoyable, and a real treat.

“Raisa Stepanova” by Carrie Vaughn. I’ve never read any of Carrie Vaughn’s books (although I’d like to), but that’s not an issue here. “Raisa Stepanova” is a stand-alone story that’s relatively brief but astoundingly good. Set towards the end of WWII, this historical fiction short story centers on Raisa, a Soviet woman fighter pilot. We go into battle with Raisa, and through her, get a glimpse of the unusual opportunity available to women fighter pilots in the USSR as well as the harshness of life under Stalin in wartime. I think I especially enjoyed this story because of having recently read the incredible Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein — but even without that, I truly enjoyed this portrait of a young woman in a historical setting that probably few of us know about. Just terrific — I really recommend this one!

“Name the Beast” by Sam Sykes. OK, I’ll admit it: I didn’t really get this story. Sam Sykes writes straight-up fantasy, and while I haven’t read his novels yet, I’d like to at some point. This story is interesting and has some pretty cool twists, with shifting perspectives and no reliable narrator, but either I was too tired when I read it (quite likely) or it just wasn’t for me. Still, the writing is quite good and the premise was different and intriguing, so if you’re a fantasy fan, give it a try! And then tell me what I missed.

That’s all I’ve read so far, and I think at this point, I’ll leave this massive book on my nightstand in easy reach. I imagine that I’ll keep it handy, and even if I don’t end up reading the whole thing, I’ll certainly return in between other books to dip back in for a fresh sampling of stories.

From what I can tell, the editors have really picked an eclectic and extraordinary mix of writers and genres. Overall, this is one impressive anthology.

In the words of a certain killer cyborg, I’ll be back.

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The details:

Title: Dangerous Women
Author: Anthology edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication date: 2013
Genre: Fiction anthology, mixed genres
Source: Purchased