An Epic Fantasy Folktale

 

In this story within a story, two young warriors are tasked with taking an ancient god across a land ruled by a tyrannical emperor, the Smiling Sun, and his three sons. Each of the sons is hungry for power and worse than the last. The quest takes five days, each described in a section. These sections are not like regular chapters and are very long.

The first section of the book sets up the scene. It’s a story telling session where the Lola tells stories of the past. This is the part that gives the feeling of an elder telling folktales. It sets the scene well, but is a bit slow, and it’s long.

This is an intricately plotted book. The author has done an excellent job introducing the reader to not only the main characters, but many minor characters as well. He has given each character a unique voice which I found excellent. Although the world Jimenez creates is brutal, he pulls you into it. All the brutality makes sense in the world he has created.

If you enjoy fantasy this is a book you may like. It isn’t for everyone, however. It’s long and detailed, and the author switches voices. This can by hard to follow, but it also adds a depth to the story that is quite remarkable.

The Vanished Birds, Jiminez’s earlier novel, is quite different, but if you enjoyed that one, this one is worth trying.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

Intricate Gothic Pictures

 

This coloring book is filled with elaborate pictures of witches, castles, demons and intricate symbols. If you like Gothic this is a great book for relaxing coloring. The pictures are very complex, so this is an adult coloring book unless the child is very adept.

I enjoyed the challenge of filling the colors into tiny spaces to enhance the eerie pictures. It takes concentration which can be very relaxing.

This is a sequel to Dark Art by Francois Gautier. If you enjoyed the first coloring book, This is just as good.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

A Slice of Berlin’s Turbulent History

Amid rising and falling fortunes, Berlin and it’s people have been survivors. This history covers one of most tumultuous eras of Berlin from 1919 after WWI to 1989. The courage of the Berliners is seen after WWI when the devastated city rose to become a sophisticated cultural center. However, the seeds of Hitler’s rise and WWII were sown in this period. The author does a good job of giving us a view of how this horrific transformation took place.

The terrible events of WWII are described including the destruction of Berlin at the end of the war and the Berlin Wall being erected during the Cold War tension between the US and the USSR. I thought the author did an excellent job showing how the people of Berlin were affected by a wall sometimes separating families and friends.

What I liked best about the book was that it focused on the people and their individual stories. This is not just one more retelling of the events in Germany leading up to WWII and the aftermath. This is a book worth reading to gain an understanding of how the people of Berlin could suffer unimaginable hardships and be ready to rebuild their city.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

 

A Scandal in the Film Industry

 

Sarah Lai, once a rising star as a producer in the film industry, is now teaching screenwriting at a community college. When she’s approached by Thom, a journalist for the New York Times, wanting to know what happened during the filming of her last project, she wonders if she should talk about what happened to end her career. Finally, the decides to tell the story. In recounting the events she has to face her own demons as well at the degrading atmosphere on the set.

The book is Sarah telling her story interspersed with short interviews with other people. This is an interesting way to tell about an incident that affected Sarah so deeply. Her family were immigrants from China, and she felt lucky to land a job in the film industry which she loved. She was also very good at it and quickly rose to assistant producer on a major project for the small independent company she worked for. Things went well until Hugo North, a wealthy producer, took over the company and moved the production to Hollywood. This is the point that Sarah’s career goes awry and her desire for vengeance sprouts.

This is a very emotional story. The writer pulls you in to Sarah’s feelings and does a good job of making you understand the depths of her hurt. My only problem with the presentation is that the serial quality of Sarah telling her story at length gets a bit tiring. However, the book is a whole is well done and the topic is well worth exploring.

I received this book from Atria for this review.

A Sensitive Look At the Death Industry

 

Death is a frightening subject for many people. Most of the time we’d rather not look at what happens after we die. However, there are people whose job it is to deal with the dead. From embalmers to pathologists, homicide detectives and others. These people face death every day. This book is about them.

The book is very well researched. The author interviewed many people in the death industry and found they have as many and varied thoughts about death as the rest of us. From gravediggers who fear the cemetery at night to a crematory worker who won’t dress a cadaver because it is too personal, these are real people whose job it is to see the rest of us to a comfortable resting place.

I hadn’t thought much about the death industry until I read this book. I knew about homicide detectives, coroners and pathologists from a fascination with murder mysteries, but this was real. The author did an excellent job of bringing the other people, like embalmers and executioners to life. If you’re fascinated by what happens to bodies after death, this is an excellent book.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

Awakening to a Changed World

 

Alabine Rivers, a young political activist, is devastated when she’s diagnosed with terminal cancer at twenty-three. With encouragement from her boyfriend, Max, she agrees to be cryogenically frozen in the hope that a cure will be discovered.

A century later, she’s revived and awakens to a changed world. America is no longer the place she remembered. She finds herself in the midst of a revolution. The governing class is against the people who have been brought back after being frozen. The Awoken have been declared outside the law with no rights. They can be shot on sight.

The Resurrectionists who are responsible for bringing Alabine back to life have an ulterior motive. They want her to be a leader in the movement for the survival of the Awoken.

This is a dystopian novel with echoes of America today. Society is not accepting of differences, everyone is supposed to think alike. This is a frightening world for Alabine. She struggles to understand her new environment while having flashbacks to the old way of life. I thought she was a great character. It’s not easy to have your entire world completely changed, but she struggles and survives.

This is a book that makes you think. It addresses many issues of the rights of groups that are not mainstream. It even tackles the moral question of cryogenics and the rights of people who have been brought back to life. If you enjoy dystopian novels, this is a good one.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

Secrets From the Past

 

This is a story of romance and class differences. In the 1960s Joan and Michael were young and naive. Their romance resulted in Joan becoming pregnant. Michael, the scion of a wealthy family, had gone to England to study accounting. Joan joined himd, hoping to be married, but Michael couldn’t face the objections his class conscious parents would have to a baby born out of wedlock.

When the baby was born, he convinced Joan to give the girl up for adoption in England. Joan reluctantly agreed, and they were married, but her daughter’s fate haunted her. In the 90s, Joan and Michael have been married for a long time, but there are stresses. They live with Michael’s mother who can’t help reminding Joan that she’s not of their class. Then their first daughter surfaces, and she needs help.

The story is somewhat predictable, but well worth reading. It’s a story of loss and coming to terms with who you are and how your life developed. I thought the author did a good job moving between time periods to show Joan and Michael’s background. It made the story much more realistic. Today, particularly in the US, we’re not as class conscious as the Irish were during the 60s. The time period is why the story works.

I found the characters hard to like. Michael seemed to be a weak mama’s boy. Joan wasn’t much better. She was obviously unhappy but couldn’t seem to do anything about it. However, the setting in Dublin was wonderful. I enjoyed getting to know the characters in a setting that is quite different from today’s world.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

A Poker Night Gone Wrong

 

In the luxurious gated community of Kingsland, it’s poker night for three friends while their wives, Laura, Vicky and Monica, attend their book club. It seems like a night like any other until the wives arrive home to find two husbands dead and one in the hospital. Kingsland is a luxurious community where the ultra rich live and plan their deals. It is also filled with secrets and drama.

The detectives sent to investigate the murders seem rather mundane and not excited about solving the case. The women are distraught, but you have to wonder what they knew about their husbands dealings. There is an underlying tension that all is not exactly the way it looks.

The book is a fast paced thriller with short chapters that keep you reading. The characters are not well developed. The detectives are dull and the three women are too similar to be real. However, the plot moves quickly. Each chapter has a different narrator including the police and the three women. Some are written in third person others in first person. It’s not confusing, but I think having so many viewpoints made the characters seem less real.

If you like murder mysteries in luxury settings, you may enjoy this one.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

Nightmarish Amnesia and a Murder

 

Liv Reese has a complete loss of memory each time she wakes up. When she wakes in a taxi she has no idea how she got there. When she arrives at her apartment, she’s met at the door by a curt woman who tells her that she and her husband have lived there for two years. Two years, Liz can’t believe that she’s lost two years of her life.

Things get complicated when the knife she found in her purse is linked to a murdered man. Imagine trying to get clues to what happened when your memory is so faulty.

Jack Lavelle and Darcy Halliday are the team of detectives assigned to the murder investigation. Jack is a veteran cop, but Darcy is new. Being recently partnered, they are getting to know each other. There is a bit of friction because Jack believes Liv is guilty, but Darcy isn’t so sure.

This is a fast paced thriller. The short chapters keep you moving rapidly through the book. The story is told from two viewpoints, Darcy and Liv. I found Liv’s sections unsatisfactory. She can’t remember and she keeps talking about it. Plus the first person can be annoying. I found Darcy much more likable. She’s tough and smart. I hope she’s featured in another book.

The multiple timelines are necessary to fill you in on the backstory since Liv has no memory. I found them easy to follow. This mystery has many good points. The ending is a surprise, but it also suffers from the problems with the main character: her inability to remember, and her distracted way of looking for clues.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

A Coloring Boor for Fans of Witches and Spells

 

Witches, brooms and spells make this a fun coloring book for the Halloween season or anytime of year for those fascinated by witches and the occult. The coloring book features witches across the centuries from Harry Potter’s Professor Minerva McGonagall to Morgan Le Fey. Each picture of a witch contains a short description of who she was and what she did. I thought one of the most interesting parts of the book was learning about these women.

Coloring can be fun and relaxing. This book has several features that enhance the pleasure. The pictures range from fairly simple to more complex, so both adults and children can enjoy them. I also like leaving a blank page on the reverse of the picture. It means you don’t have to choose which picture to color. The book even features test pages so you can test out your colors to see if they seep though. If this is the case, a backing for the page is a good idea.

This book would make a good gift, particularly at Halloween, or just a fun purchase for yourself for a relaxing interlude.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.