Adult Review: Written in Dead Wax (Vinyl Detective #1)

Written in Dead Wax: the Vinyl Detective book 1.
Andrew Cartmel

Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

The Vinyl Detective is a British record collector who brags that he can find any record and then gets his chance to prove it. A woman named Nevada shows up in his small town with one of his business cards; turns out she's working for a high-class record collector in Japan. And then the bodies start showing up...

I want to run to the office of my library's collection manager and demand that she order the rest of this series immediately. Andrew Cartmel is a playwright and screenwriter who has done work for Torchwood and the Midsomer Murders, both of which I adore, and he was a script editor for Doctor Who at one point. To say he's already proved himself capable of working a story-line would be an understatement.

The Vinyl Detective benefits from a lilting sense of humor, Cartmel's lightning quick dialog, and a cast of unruly misfits who still manage to get the job done. The characters were engaging and unique, though I was mildly troubled by the trope-ishness of his female characters. Nevada and Ree both redeem themselves by the end of the story and Fanny and Turk require no redeeming. Because they're cats.

The story does have two distinct parts, noted as "Side One" and "Side Two." They almost read like separate but interconnected novellas. This wasn't a problem for me, but it was a little startling since Side Two takes the protagonist from Britain to California in only a few phrases. I also spent a good portion of the last few rising-action chapters yelling at the characters for not seeing such an obvious conclusion. I had figured out the major story, though Cartmel did throw me for a loop in the final resolution of the story. The ending was satisfying, though demanded additional books because I'm not ready to leave this bunch digging in used vinyl crates and taking steam baths with cats.

A side note: I have not mentioned the main character's name because I noticed 2/3rds of the way through the book that he doesn't seem to have one. The whole story is told first-person and no one ever calls him by a legal name. He gets a few nicknames, but that's all. I was embarrassed about this because it took me so long to notice.

To sum up: I recommend this book highly for fans of mystery, technical geekery, Jazz history, and cats.

Teen Review: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer
Rick Riordan

Rating: 4/5

The Sword of Summer begins another of Rick Riordan's multi-book series centered on mythology from different regions. This particular series focuses on Norse and Scandinavian mythology and opens with a smart-aleck first-person narrator named Magnus. As Magnus is introduced to a new world of monsters and gods that lives parallel to the world he knew, Riordan brings out a time-tested formula of snappy narrator, unknown evil, and a whole new set of rules that the reader is learning just as the main character is. The result is a fast-paced, hysterically funny read for teens, mature children, and adults who can't resist a smart-mouthed narrator.

Rick Riordan does follow a formula in writing these mythology reboot series, it really is a fantastic formula. His characters glow, popping off the page both from his dialog and his vivid descriptions. The action happens fast, at the speed of the character's grasp of the situation. And then there's the later commentary from now-Magnus looking back on then-Magnus. Riordan is a master of the cliff-hanger ending, drawing the reader from page to page even between chapters with a constant sense of curiosity.

This series came to my attention after the announcement that Rick Riordan had been awarded the Stonewall Award for the second installment. In that book, he introduces a trans and gender-fluid character, Alex Fierro.

Rick Riordan (in his acceptance speech): "I think, to support young LGBTQ readers, the most important thing publishing can do is to publish and promote more stories by LGBTQ authors, authentic experiences by authentic voices. We have to keep pushing for this. The Stonewall committee’s work is a critical part of that effort. I can only accept the Stonewall Award in the sense that I accept a call to action – firstly, to do more myself to read and promote books by LGBTQ authors." 

SHAMEless self-promotion

Hey, guys! I've started a YouTube channel where I intend to do verbal reviews and occasional analysis of books, graphic novels, and films. I'm also planning for some library advocacy and maybe some behind-the-scenes peeks at working in a library. I would appreciate it so much if you'd check it out and give me a follow over there.

I've also opened a Patreon for the channel and this blog, mostly focused on breaking even with equipment upgrades and book rentals. Patrons will have access to a private Discord server as well as patron-only updates, videos, and other goodies. I deeply appreciate anything you might be able to toss my way.

Thanks so much for reading!

Book Spazzing: Dayworld

This is one of my current review copy reads. I was planning on just doing a 10-minute review, skim it and recommend it.

I'm 36% of the way through and I can't put it down. OMG, I'm so excited about this book. It's a throw-back to the paranoia of Philip K. Dick and the forward-looking science of Isaac Asimov. It's balanced in pace and Farmer is the MASTER of cliff-hanger chapters that make you need to turn the page and keep going. I stayed in the tub reading it for TWO HOURS last night because I kept saying, "Well, just to the end of this chapter, then I'll get out." The water was cold and I still kept reading.

I'm not even done with the book and I want to tell everyone I know, "Read this. Don't wait." Except that you have to. It's not released yet. So you have to (unless you have access to Netgalley). I don't rave about books very often, especially if I'm not already familiar with the author (see my forthcoming review of Cold Welcome by Elizabeth Moon) but I am raving about this.

Adult Review: Manhattan Lockdown

Based on an advanced reader copy received through Edelweiss+ in return for an honest review.



Manhattan Lockdown
Paul Batista

Overall Rating: 3/5 
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 1/5
Writing: 2/5

Manhattan Lockdown tells the story of a bombing in New York City, an apparent terror attack on the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It follows a variety of interesting characters as they begin the process of locking down the island of Manhattan.

I'll be honest. I didn't finish. I actually really wanted to; the plot is captivating and the story made me deeply curious about what was going to happen and how it was going to resolve. But the characters were one-dimensional, cardboard cut-outs with very little appeal and the pace of the novel dragged horribly. The first four chapters tell the exact same sequence of events from the perspective of four different people without advancing the story. The first four chapters cover about fifteen minutes of in-story time and without sucking me into the lives of any of those people. I was really disappointed, since I had really been looking forward to reading this. I still look forward to reading it, for the story, but it's just not something I can handle right now.

Teen Review: Mimus

Mimus
Lilli Thal


Overall Rating: 5/5 <- genuine average
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

Mimus is the story of Florin, the crown prince of a kingdom set in the Middle Ages, though the world is not exactly our own. His father is tricked into agreeing to a peace treaty and Florin in turn is trapped by King Theodo, who decides to apprentice the prince to his court jester, a grumpy, taciturn man named Mimus.

I listened to this book on audio CD several years ago, but it has so captured my heart that I own a paperback copy as well. Lilli Thal's characters are complex and compelling and her world is realistic enough to believe while still whimsical enough to draw you in and makes you want to stay there. This book had excellent compulsion bait: I couldn't put the audio book down. It was one of those books where I sat in my car whenever I'd gotten where I was going to just listen to the reader talking about my favorite people just a little longer.

Highly recommended for readers of all ages, though the main characters are teenagers. Mimus is an older man which gives the story some depth for adults as well, as he is also extremely relateable.

Adult Review: The Fever

The Fever
Written by Megan Abbott



Overall Rating: 2/5
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 1/5
Writing: 2/5

After taking a dip in the local polluted lake, several girls in a school begin showing symptoms of some strange disease, causing uproar and chaos in a small town. This story focuses on the stories of Deenie, a teenaged girl just coming into her sexual maturity; Eli, her older brother and a star player for the hockey team; and their father, Tom, a well-known teacher in the school. Viewpoints jump between these primary characters, with occasional jaunts to explore other viewpoints, all told third-person limited.

I got to the end of this book, placed it in my lap, looked at my husband and said, "I still don't know." I spent the entire book waiting to see if it was any good. Trying desperately to decide if it was worth reading. Was it scary? Was it supposed to be supernatural? In the end, I put it down feeling like I still didn't know if it was good or not. Which, I suppose, means it wasn't.

The writing is actually very beautiful. Lush and ethereal, it gives the setting a very abstract quality that works fairly well in scaring the living snot out of the reader. But the characters are uninteresting, self-absorbed, and uncompelling. The plot takes 70% of the book to even really get rolling, at which point it actually tells you everything that happened in the course of about twenty pages and then it's the end of the story. I found this book very poorly paced and not something I'm likely to recommend.

Also, as an active reader and reviewer of YA material, I found the teen characterization to be very lacking. It feels like teens written through the lens of parents or other adults who don't understand them, as if everything they do is adults looking at each other, shrugging and saying, "Kids, right? Nobody gets them." These inner thoughts are not the inner thoughts of real adolescents but the characterization of adults who have forgotten what it's like to think like a confused teenager. And that is probably the major failing of the book for me.

Non-fiction Review: Happiness Like Water

Happiness Like Water
by Chinelo Okparanta

Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 3/5

This collection of short stories and essays is written by a Nigerian immigrant in scenes from her homeland.

While I found the stories and characters fascinating, I struggled greatly with the voice. I didn't finish the material, but I hope to go back when I have more cognitive space to give this collection the attention it deserves. I can tell it's important and meaningful, but I just wasn't in the right place to read it this time around.

Watch this space.

Adult Review: Death in D Minor

Review provided in return for ARC from Netgalley.




Death in D Minor 
Alexia Gordon

Overall Rating: 5/5
Plot: pending
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

Death in D Minor is the second in Alexia Gordon's Gethsemane Brown mysteries and now that I've read a third of the second book, I know that I have to go back and read the first one, Murder in G Major. It's only 99 cents on Kindle so I can't rightly say no, either.

Gethsemane is an American professional musician living in Ireland. From the hints and references in the second book, her first adventure included occult studies, exploration, a heaping helping of sass (from both her and her ghostly companion) and I can't wait to read it. While I'm sure Death in D Minor stands on it's own for those who aren't obsessive about reading timeline books in order ((unlike me)), I'm itching to read about those adventures first hand. I'm already sucked into the story of this book, which centers on Gethsemane's attempts to foil an American hotel hot shot, who intends to buy the music-historically important cottage which she current rents. Add to that background sass-fest (complete with Trump nose-thumbing) Gethsemane's brother-in-law, a museum curator specializing in antique textiles and a potential art forgery/theft ring. I really want to know what happens there, but I feel a visceral, driving need to read the first book first.

So... it's an incomplete review, but still a rave! I didn't finish but only because I am driven to read the series in order. This series is definitely going on my recommended purchases list for our library collection.

Adult Review: Days Until Home

Based on a promotional eBook received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Days Until Home
By: Mark Gardner, Greg Dragon, David Kristoph
Release Date: 07/04/2017

Overall Rating: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing: 2/5

Days Until Home is a collaborative novel written by three different authors. It tells the story of the mining ship Kerwood and its crew as they pull a normal mining contract on an asteroid and prepare to go home. A massive explosion cripples the ship and leaves the crew and miners struggling to recover both physically and emotionally from the devastation.

I really wanted to love this book. I was primed for it: hard sci-fi is what I grew up reading. I was excited about the potential of the blurb I read, which is why I requested the ARC from NetGalley in the first place. Unfortunately, this piece remains potential without a backbone. Most of the problems with the book can be traced back to its collaborative nature, unfortunately. I suspect it was way more fun to write than it was to read, speaking from the experience of a collaborative fiction writer (hi, Robin!).

For me, it came down to too many cooks in the kitchen. I found it nearly impossible to identify a main character, which given the multiple red herrings and switchbacks that the authors used, was probably intentional. There were so many named characters who had no depth or background beyond their presence in the crew of the Kerwood that I almost needed a chart to keep track of them and who they were sleeping with, affiliated with, and distrusted by. They all had potential depth, but they weren't important enough to the story to get more than a first name, a hair color, and a death scene.

In my notes as I was reading this, I reached the one-third point still filled with hope and excitement. I could see that the writers had the ability to build suspense and drive the plot forward. The sad part was that all that suspense was quickly resolved and drifted off to follow another aspect of the story. Instead of staying closely tied to a few characters, I read from the point of view of so many that I wasn't even sure who I was supposed to be cheering for.

Additionally, from a diversity in sci-fi perspective, I was very disappointed in the society that was built in this story. One of the protagonists, Viktor, is frequently cited as being Russian, with a thick Balkan accent, but this seems to be only an affectation. His perspective is the same as all the other characters, with nothing in it to make him uniquely Russian. For that matter, why is Earth still using the same country designations this far into the future, when it seems that country lines have been put aside in favor of planetary or settlement affiliations?

While I applaud the inclusion of women in space, especially those who apparently have a lesbian or bisexual orientation, most of the women seem to be either crazy, sexually attractive, or sexually neutral but loyal. Dialog between female characters was woefully under-researched; they talked to each other like heroines from a romance novel, all figurative imagery and earnest fluff. For that matter, one of the red herrings (spoilers) centers on the idea that women can't stand the conditions in space and so they build an illicit shower in one of the holding tanks and sold shower time to the other female crew members.

In conclusion, if this had been written by only one or two of the authors, it might have been a decent hard sci-fi novel. As it stands, I found it a meandering and underdeveloped read.

**EDIT** Shortly after posting this review, one of the authors contacted me and I learned that it was originally written as a serial story at Article 94.This put much of the writing style in context for me. While most of my criticism still stands, the pacing issues make more sense now if it was written chapter-by-chapter instead of as a novel.