Release: August 26, 2010

Published: Orbit, Hardcover

ISBN: 9781841499031

Blurb: Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals.

But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he’s willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

My Thoughts: Weeks’ Shadow Trilogy, though well-written, was,  sadly, something I just couldn’t connect to as a reader. However, I read the first chapters posted on the publisher’s website and I was enraptured. I’ve already ordered this book, and B&N at least is already shipping. I can’t wait to receive it! By the way, I got Green on the quiz. I always seem to get Green, for some reason.

Take The Black Prism quiz. Or buy the book: Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson [website]

Release: August 31, 2010

Published: Tor, Hardcover

ISBN: 9780765326355

Blurb: It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable. [Read more at GoodReads.]

My Thoughts: Sanderson’s magic systems alone are reason enough to read everything he’s ever written. I’m buying this book sight-unseen* (I haven’t even read the sample chapters. It’d be torture!), and I’m 100% confident that it’ll be great. That’s how much faith I have in this author.

*I also won an ARC of this book from Tor via Twitter. I hope it gets here before Dragon*Con, as I’d love to get my copy signed!

Pre-order the book: Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen [website]

Release: September 1, 2010

Published: Orbit, Mass market

ISBN: 9780316102865

Blurb: A heartwarming tale of terror in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.

Meet Sarah and David.

Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they’re on the verge of divorce and going to couples’ counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things – the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client’s throat.

Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn’t mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don’t eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

My Thoughts: Just a couple of months ago, I was bewailing the fact that married couples are rare in urban fantasies. Now I seem to have gotten my wish. It warms my heart to think of a husband-and-wife team beheading zombies together. Everyone say, “Awwwww!”  I know that’s just what my husband and I would be doing during the Zombiepocalypse. I’ll be shambling off to pick up this one as soon as it’s released!

Pre-order the book: Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

Blameless by Gail Carriger [website]

Release: September 1, 2010

Published: Orbit, Mass market

ISBN: 9780316074155

Blurb: {Beware: This blurb contains spoilers for book 2!}

Quitting her husband’s house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London’s vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires — and they’re armed with pesto.

My Thoughts: Carriger effectively hooked me with the end of book #2. And I returned the favor by getting a friend addicted to the series, too. Luckily for my friend, she just finished Changeless last week. I’ve been chomping at the bit for Blameless for months. I’m so glad we’re finally getting close to the release date!

Pre-order the book: Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

Ah, Dragon*Con! (Click the banner for link-y if you don’t know about Dragon*Con, you poor soul, you!) How do we love thee? I’m not going to count the ways, because I’ve got a dragon-sized headache today.

Though I will say that this year will be my third at Dragon*Con, or D*Con as it’s affectionately known.

My first year was back in 2005, when I spent the weekend following my dear elder (self-adopted) sister around like a puppy, mostly hitting up Wheel of Time Track panels and getting hopelessly lost. The highlight of that year was getting to meet, speak to, and get an autograph from Robert Jordan. Sadly, Mr. Jordan has since passed away; that panel & signing will be among my best D*Con memories. (That, and the Varsity at close-to-midnight, feeling like I had somehow found my way onto the set of The Fast & The Furious.)

In 2006, I returned – then fiancé in tow – and, since all of our friends were going to be there anyway, we went ahead and got married, too. I’d give you the highlights, but I honestly don’t remember much. I was kind of a nervous wreck that weekend. I do remember having lots of laughing friends around me, and a supportive set of not-parents (who I’m still trying to think up a way to repay), and that’s all that really matters, right?

So 2010 will be our triumphant return to Atlanta. I know, it would’ve made more of an impact to wait until our 5 year anniversary. But we’re impatient. So sue us.

With that said, I’m very excited to be heading back to Atlanta. I’ve got a huge assortment of things that I want to see this year. I’m not famous enough to be on any panels, but here’s a list of a few things I want to attend.

2010 Dragon*Con Sort-of Schedule

Thursday 9/2: We’ll be arriving sometime Thursday afternoon & hope to get registered before the big crowds. The last time we were there, I remember long lines to get through, but I hope D*Con’s management has found a better way to hand out badges. (I’m crossing my fingers but not holding my breath!)

Friday 9/3: I’d really like to see the Coca-Cola Museum this time around (60 varieties of Coke! *swoon!*), so I’m hoping to do that Friday morning, since most tracks don’t get geared up until Friday afternoon. At 5pm, there’s a Dragon*Con Tweetup in the Lobby of the Hilton. After that, I’m looking kind of open… Anyone (who’s not a homicidal murderer) want to tag along for dinner?

Saturday 9/4: There’s a ton of stuff to do!

• 10AM is the Dragon*Con parade! If you’re going, you don’t want to miss this. I know it’s early, but get up for it – you won’t regret seeing all of nerd fantasy-dom taking over downtown Atlanta!
• At 11:30AM, there’s going to be a YA Lit Craft Hour (Marriott-707). Since I’m all crafty and stuff, I’m intrigued – if I can make it!
• Cherie Priest is also doing a 1-hour autograph session at 11:30AM (Marriott-M301-M304), and I’d really like to get my copy of Boneshaker signed.
• Then, at 1PM, Brandon Sanderson is doing a Q&A session on the new Wheel of Time book, Towers of Midnight (Hanover C-E). That’s one thing I don’t want to miss! Remind me to tell you sometime how I met my husband because of WoT!
• I have a conflict at 2:30PM, because Cherie Priest is doing her Clockwork Century panel (Westin – International C) at the same time as Jackie Kessler is going to be on the Growing Up Scared – Young Adults in Dark Fantasy panel (Hyatt-Montreal/Vancouver). I’m not sure which of those I’ll be able to make. We’ll have to see. But I really want to see Kessler, because I’d be thrilled to get my copy of Shades of Gray signed, and she does NOT have a signing listed on her schedule. *sad face*
• At 4PM, the Art Show has an Artist Trading Card workshop (Hanover G). I’m not really an artist, but I’ve heard that there’s such a thing as Author Trading Cards, too, and I’d love to see a workshop on those.
• Then, of course, I couldn’t miss An Evening at the Winespring Inn (Regency V), from the WoT track, at 10pm. I sure hope I’ll still be awake by then!

Sunday 9/5:

• I bought my artist-husband a ticket to Stan Lee’s autograph session on Sunday, but they haven’t given a time for that so I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn’t conflict with…
• Jim Butcher’s interview (Centennial I) by the Dark Fantasy Track at 10AM.
• Then I have yet another conflict, as the Developing Characters Readers Never Forget panel (also attended by Cherie Priest) is at 2:30PM (Hyatt – Manila/Singapore/Hong Kong), as well as the first-ever Wheel of Time Mad Libs (Kennesaw). That’s REALLY a conundrum!
• Then at 4PM is the Wheel of Time costume contest (Marriott – A601-A602). I don’t really have a costume, but I love to see all the shawls!
• At 7PM there is a Wheel of Time Sword Form demonstration (International North).
• And a Tower of Midnight fan discussion at 8:30PM.

Monday 9/6 is, sadly, the day we leave to return to normalcy.

And there’s several things I don’t have times or schedules for yet at all. I’m hoping Jim Butcher has a signing at some point, because I’d like to get my copy of Backup signed, and something for my sister for Christmas. (Shhh… Don’t tell her!) There’s also a quick sketch contest that the Art track is putting on, and dear Resident Artist would like to get in on that. As far as I know, though, they haven’t released a day or time. And I haven’t run across even a website for the Writer’s Track but I’m sure there are panels there that I’d like to see (and the one, above, on Sunday at 2:30PM may be part of their track, but I can’t be sure because I can’t find a schedule).

One also has to account for the requisite trips to the Art show for their limited edition prints from attendees, as well as to the exhibition and dealer’s halls.

And in case anyone would like those schedules…

The Art Show is open: Friday from 1 to 8PM. Saturday & Sunday 10AM to 8PM. And Monday from 10AM to 4PM.

Both the exhibit (there are two) and dealer’s halls are open: Friday from 1 to 7PM. Saturday & Sunday 10AM to 7PM. And Monday from 10AM to 5PM.

Further, the Guest Hospitality Suite (or Con*Suite), where you can score free snacks and drinks, is open: Thursday from 8PM to 1AM. Friday through Sunday 9AM to 6PM and again 8PM to 1AM. And on Monday from 9AM to 6PM. You need a valid ID if you visit between 8PM and 1AM. Not sure why.

This and more info can be found on the Dragon*Con website. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Daily Dragon either via RSS or Twitter so you don’t miss any updates!

That’s pretty much where you’ll find me all weekend, barring last minute changes to accommodate friends. The schedules I’ve linked to are mostly tentative, so they could be subject to change. Hopefully we’ll be getting the real-live programming grids soon. Keep your eye on http://dragoncon.org for more details.

If anyone would like to meet up with me (and I’d be completely flattered if you would!) in between any of the above panels, please feel free to either message me via Twitter (I’m @kiaras.) or email me at kiara @  this domain dot com. This domain being waitingforfairies.com, of course.

Written: Jackie Kessler [website] & Caitlin Kittredge [website]

The Icarus Project [website]

Published: Spectra, Trade Paperback

When: June, 2010

ISBN: 9780553386325

Obtained via: Purchase

Cover blurb: AFTER THE FALL OF NIGHT

Jet and Iridium—best friends turned bitter enemies—teamed up to foil the evil plans of the rogue superhero known as Night, but in defeating him they inadvertently destroyed the secret Corp-Co transmitter whose frequency kept the metapowered heroes of the Squadron in line. Now these heroes have turned against New Chicago, ransacking the city they once protected.

Even worse, the powerful antisuperhero group known as Everyman has taken advantage of the chaos to fan the flames of prejudice against all superpowered men and women. Just when New Chicago needs them most, Jet and the small band of heroes who have remained on the right side of the law find themselves the targets of suspicion and outright hatred.

Things aren’t going much better for Iridium. When she springs her father, a notorious supervillain, from prison to help her fight the marauding ex-superheroes, she finds that Corp-Co still has some nasty tricks up its sleeve.

But when the most dangerous man alive, the sociopath known as Doctor Hypnotic, suddenly surfaces, Jet and Iridium will once again be called upon to set aside their differences. Yet in the process, deeply buried secrets will come to light that will change everything the former best friends think they know about each other and themselves.

* * *

Shades of Gray is the second volume in The Icarus Project series, co-written by Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge.

I just have to say: This book (& series) is awesome in so many ways. In fact, let me count them for you.

Awesome thing #1: I enjoy skimming through the “Praise” sections in the front of books. This is where publishers list all of the good reviews and nice comments about the current and previous work from the author. Well, Shades of Gray has the most awesome praise section ever.

Right there on the second page are the words:

“Black and White is cover-to-cover superhero girl power awesomeness. . . . A wild, fun, irresistible ride. It’s fast-paced enough to read in a day. Just don’t plan on doing anything else until you’re through.”  — Waiting for Fairies

Can you believe it! Squee! They quoted my review! I had no idea until I picked up my copy to read it, so it was a pleasant surprise. Now my goal is to try to get my copy signed while I’m at Dragon*Con. Or at least half-signed, since according to the current guest list Kittredge won’t be attending. *sad face*

Awesome thing #2: I don’t have to be embarrassed to have my comments published in Shades of Gray because this book is just as awesome as the first one.

We’re introduced to an additional double-handful of superheroes and villains, and a completely new cast of not-quite supers to go along with them. I’m fascinated by all the different code-names. We get to see Arclight/Luster’s (Iridium’s father’s) history, which turns him from a creepy, egotistical convict to a loving father and friend. Moreover, it’s a believable shift, which is nothing short of amazing.

We see the origins of Everyman and hear more about the research of the Icarus Project. I won’t spoil it for you, but I’ll tell you that Everyman has surprising roots. And if you’re paying attention to the quotes at the start of each chapter, you’ll learn lots of interesting things about Icarus and his Project, as well as quite a bit about Martin Moore.

The story alternates between views from Jet and Iridium, just like last time, but we also get to see chapters from the point-of-view of all four parents as they hook up, get married, and have babies. And, in at least one instance, as they go crazy.

If Black and White set up the lines between Good and Evil, Shades of Gray obliterates those lines with a malicious hand. Black and White was fast-paced, but Shades of Gray is a runaway train.

Black and White was about contrast: Shadow and Light; Good and Evil; human and extra-human. Everything about Shades of Gray really is gray. The good guys are now tearing the city apart. The people we thought were bad guys are now trying to save the world.

Kittredge & Kessler have taken the two-dimensional world of superhero comic books and given it a depth and feeling that echoes the real world, but on a superhuman scale. And they’ve done it in such a way that their two narratives are seamless. If they didn’t tell who wrote which character in their end bios, I would never have known the difference.

Shades of Gray is a can’t miss chapter in The Icarus Project, and I’m looking excitedly forward to hearing a whole lot more from Jet, Iridium, and company.

Buy Shades of Gray:Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

Rating: ★★★★★ 

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(You’re welcome. No, really. You are. And that’s probably the only time you’ll ever see me link to YouTube, unless it’s a book trailer.)

I always joked that I didn’t watch slasher flicks because they were too real. Except I wasn’t really joking.

Sure, I’ll watch every episode of NCIS ever filmed, but I don’t watch true crime stories. They don’t hold my interest. Why? Because they ARE too real. We’re reminded every day in the news of the sorts of things one person can do to another. I don’t really need to seek it out.

What’s the difference then? Honestly, I think it’s the humor. Even morbid humor is better than the stiff seriousness they use on Unsolved Mysteries and the like. I believe in tempering the worst of human nature (murder & death) with the best that life has to offer (humor, laughter, human resilience).

So what’s the point of this post?

I realized yesterday that this is the one point that makes or breaks an urban fantasy read for me. The murder, kill, death has to be alleviated with some laughter or I just end up depressed. I’ve been reading a lot of depressing urban fantasy lately: Brenna Yovanoff’s The Replacement (review forthcoming), Carrie Vaughn’s Discord’s Apple. While it’s not exactly UF in genre, I’ve also been listening to the audio of Justin Cronin’s The Passage. All three are excellent reads in their own way – I find the sociological aspect of the cultural changes in The Passage particularly fascinating – but none of them are happy books.

And I didn’t fall in love with any of them the way I have some others. Others like: Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series; Rob Thurman’s Cal Leandros series; Devon Monk’s Allie Beckstrom series; or Kim Harrison’s The Hollows. The common thread? Humor. Laughter. Even sarcasm. Especially in the face of disaster, death, and the end of the world.

The kind of books you enjoy can tell you a lot about yourself. What does your choice of book say about you? Share your suggestions and thoughts in the comments.

Written: Carrie Vaughn [Website]

Published: Tor Books, Hardcover

When: July 2010

ISBN: 0765325543

Obtained via: GoodReads’ First Reads Giveaway

Cover blurb: When Evie Walker goes home to spend time with her dying father, she discovers that his creaky old house in Hope’s Fort, Colorado is not the only legacy she stands to inherit. Hidden behind the old basement door is a secret and magical storeroom where wondrous treasures from myth and legend are kept safe unit they are needed again. The magic of the storeroom prevents access to any who are not intended to use the items.

Evie must guard the storeroom against ancient and malicious forces, protecting the past and the future even as the present unravels around them. Old heroes and notorious villains alike will rise to fight on her side or to undermine her most desperate gambits. At stake is the fate of the world, and the prevention of nothing less than the apocalypse.

* * *

Discord’s Apple is the story of Evie Walker coming home to visit her dying father, alternating with the story of Sinon, the Greek soldier Odysseus left behind to convince the city of Troy to bring inside the famous wooden horse.

Vaughn’s writing is always vivid. There’s a sort of intangible quality to her characters that make them stand up from the page and give you a peck on the cheek. Kitty Norville and Evie Walker both have that aspect, the one that makes you feel like you’re only getting the smallest glimpse into a life that continues over, above, and past the written page. These are the best sorts of characters.

Sinon is a classic tragic hero, whose story has an honesty that I think is missing from many modern reboots. Much of Greek mythology was not pleasant or pretty to look at; I’m glad to see Vaughn being true to the old tales. In fact, all the mythology and old stories used here feel real and true, even when Vaughn has skewed them just a little bit to suit her own purposes. I don’t think there was ever a myth about Hera wanting to bring about the apocalypse- but in the context of this book, it’s not unbelievable.

I really enjoyed the premise of the story: a dystopian world where gas and groceries are rationed and there are security checkpoints in every town and city. The old gods are dead, and the whole world borders on general war. The only disappointment is that we don’t get to see too terribly much of it, as Evie spends most of her time in her father’s mysterious house in Colorado.

We also don’t get to pry into as many of the house’s secrets as I’d like. There are many fabled objects referenced during the course of the story: a glass slipper, a golden apple, a shiny yellow fleece, a sword that slips smoothly into stone – and many more. It would’ve been nice to hear more about these items, and the history of the archive that housed them over the centuries. Honestly, a lot of this book reads like an elbow-nudge to mythology & fairy tale scholars. Being one myself, I think I got most of the references, but I wonder if a layman could have kept up with the many layers of mythological allusions. However, with the addition of the golden apple (whose history is explained during the course of the story), one only needs to know the background of the glass slipper and the sword in the stone. These should be a given for all children of Western culture (or anyone who has ever seen a Disney movie), so the other references don’t detract from the story if you don’t recognize them.

In the end, Discord’s Apple gives us a tale worthy of the gods and monsters of legend. The characters are some that you can love and hate and, more importantly, come to understand. We get just a tiny, tantalizing peek into a not-so-distant future that is frankly frightening to see. If only the story had been given the length and breadth to really do it justice.

Actually, I’m very torn on my opinion of the length and depth of this book. On one hand, I want to know more: MORE about Evie’s world, MORE about the objects hidden away inside her father’s basement, MORE about the previous caretakers of those precious objects squirreled away. I believe this could easily have been an epic-length novel, and I hope – given the moderate length of Vaughn’s other novels and her formidable list of short stories – that the author is not afraid of trying to manage such a beast. I firmly believe she has the talent and abilities necessary for a much longer book.

On the other hand, Evie’s story comes to a natural (if depressing) conclusion. If the cat and mouse game with Hera and her cronies had gone on any longer, I might easily have grown bored. So, again, I just can’t come to a decision as to whether these 299 pages are just right or not enough. I suppose you’ll need to read it for yourself to decide.

Buy Discord’s Apple: Amazon | B&N | Indie Bound

Here’s the official back cover copy:

Someone wants their perfect weapon back, only she’s not coming quietly.

Alexa Wells wants her life back. She’s just not sure what that life was. The memories inside her head—a stripper’s—aren’t hers, and before she humiliates herself onstage one more time, she sets out to collect the scattered pieces of her mind. The trail leads to Boston, charges of identity theft and murder, and the real bombshell: a forgotten werewolf lover who insists she’s a werewolf hybrid.

Matt York doesn’t care that she looks at him like he’s been smoking crack between court cases. Now that he has her back he’s not about to let her go it alone, even if she can easily kick ass and take names all by herself. Amnesia only scratches the surface of her problems, and like it or not, she’s stuck with him.

She’s also stuck with Robert Gamboldt, a venture capitalist who’s not above murdering his way to the top. He’s not about to lose his prize possession without playing dirty. It’s a simple enough offer. Be his personal assassin, or go to jail.

With options like that, it’s enough to make a hybrid go full-blood.

Warning: Delicious sexual tension with a werewolf who’ll wait as long as it takes for his hybrid werewolf mate to come around.

I jumped into Stripped immediately, and it was a bit like leaping into the deep end of the pool. Alexa has woken up on the stage of a seedy south-west strip club with no memory of who she is or how she got there. The rest of the book is spent gathering bits and pieces of her past life, meeting the people she’d known and loved before, all while dodging mysteriously-powered bad guys and the cops.

The characters are vivid, fully realized people – with the exception of the ultimate baddie (Gamboldt), whose motivations fell a little flat to me. I suppose money and power are a good enough reason to become involved in mind control, exploitation and murder. We didn’t, however, get to learn much of what started our baddie on his path to mayhem and homicide.This made him a bit one-dimensional, but there’s so much else going on in the story that you don’t notice too much.

Our main characters and even the supporting cast, on the other hand, are bright and lovable. My personal favorites were Charles and Flora, the elderly couple who helped Alexa run her bed & breakfast. The romance between Alexa and her werewolf beau, Matt, was hot and believable – sure to please any fan of paranormal romance.

I do have a couple of beefs with this book, however.

Firstly – one of the times that Alexa gets re-kidnapped, it’s because a servant of Gamboldt surprises her in a dark room. This shouldn’t have been a big deal for a werewolf hybrid with enhanced sight and hearing. Except that she focuses on sounds from upstairs and outside instead of watching out for the baddie in the room with her. This doesn’t ring true for a woman who has previously hunted with (and killed) werewolves. This two-page scene ends with her suddenly unconscious, and then immediately jumps to her dancing back on stage at the strip joint. I’m sure that the author meant for the transition to be jarring, but instead of leaving me surprised at the turn of events, it left me skeptical. Alexa didn’t even fight back – and that seems completely out of character for her.

My second beef has to do with the wrap-up at the end. The final fight scene, though chaotic, was satisfying. But with the last two chapters (or technically – the last chapter & epilogue), we’re suddenly skipped forward in time by first two weeks and then several months. The last chapter is 5 pages, and the epilogue is less than 2. This makes for a lot of condensing. We’re told (not shown) that Alexa now has her memories back, and that Matt would “give up the entire world” for her. In the epilogue, we’re skipped “several months” forward and told about Alexa and Matt’s future plans (which I won’t spoil by listing here for you). It’s good to have the wrap up,  and according to the author’s website Stripped is actually a prequel, so I can see why Colette would want to condense the “boring stuff” that happens between novels. But I think it could have been handled better. I felt like I was being related a second-hand account of those events, instead of being engaged with the characters’ ultimate decisions.

Personally, I’d classify Stripped as leaning more toward paranormal romance instead of urban fantasy. This book definitely has a strong (and steamy) romantic element, and the HEA (Happily Ever After) of the ending is my personal criterion for the difference between the two. Alexa also depends on Matt’s help and rescue much more than your typical UF heroine would — in my opinion, of course.

Even with my complaints, though, I really enjoyed the story and characters. I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to read this book. I would much rather read a book like this one with an awesome hook but a little rough on mechanics, than one with perfect mechanics and a bland story. The plot was unique, despite the fact that werewolves have gotten a bit tired lately. That is no fault of this author, though, and she does well to include Alexa’s back story of how she became a half-breed werewolf hybrid.  With the exception of the one scene I mentioned above, I believed in Alexa’s decisions and motivations. I’d definitely read more about her exploits, and I recommend this for anyone who enjoys werewolves, kick-ass heroines, or paranormal romance.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

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Now, I used to pick out epic fantasy series like some women pick out designer purses – compulsively, and with a Pokemon-style urge to “collect ‘em all”.  I have several new (and some slightly older) fantasy series, as well as a few others in assorted genres, on my TBR shelf, so I decided recently to pick up a little something different.

The first is Rob Thurman’s Chimera. This book is a sci-fi fantasy from an author whose work I’ve previously adored. The author has compared it to the likes of Dean Koontz (whose work I enjoyed when I was younger). I’m currently a few chapters in and I believe the author isn’t far off the mark in her comparison. Stefan and his brother are on the run from some pretty scary bad guys.

And yet it hasn’t (yet, at least) grabbed me in that “must-stay-up-all-night-to-finish” kind of way.  I’m even vaguely disappointed in myself that I feel that way, but it’s the truth. Despite being full of creepy DNA-mangling and mysteriously stalker-ish bad guys, I haven’t been pulled in the way I was with Thurman’s other series.

Let’s try another example. If sci-fi thrillers aren’t my cup of tea anymore, surely my old stand by – the traditional epic fantasy – will pull me in, right?

Carol Berg’s duology that begins with Flesh and Spirit , comes highly recommended. It’s even won an award. I’m a few chapters into that one as well, and it has the timeless, slow, measured pace of the epic world-building necessary in this kind of fantasy. We’ve got a group of magic-users who are bred almost like cattle, wielding a mysterious form of sorcery that has to do with maps. Our drug-and-spell-addicted main character is a juicy bit of contradiction. We know he’s our hero, but even his own parents seem to hate him.

It sounds like an amazing start to a story, and it is. But that stately, intricate dance of world-building and story-telling hasn’t commanded my attention like some other epic fantasies have previously.

I honestly don’t believe that either of these situations stem from the authors’ lack of skill. They both seem to be excellent books. So what’s the problem?

Is it because no ogres or werewolves or vampires or other assorted mythological baddies have jumped out to create some chaos and carnage? Is it the lack of a romantic plot line that has me feeling like something’s missing? I’d like to think not, on that score, but I’m too invested in the answer. (I’d like to think I’m intellectually ‘above’ needing a romance to keep me interested. But I freely admit that could just be my genre prejudices showing.)

Is it just simply that urban fantasy as a genre is faster-paced than your typical sci-fi or fantasy novel? Or have urban fantasy novels become the literary equivalent of a chocolate chip cookie? Yummy and gooey and satisfying for a moment, but not very good for you in the long run? Remember – have too many cookies and your body starts to crave them over more filling foods.

Do you think the pacing of the urban fantasy genre has “trained” us to expect a certain pacing in our novels? And do you think this will have (or has had) an effect on our enjoyment of other genres?

The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber follows after the debut The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker.

In Strangely Beautiful, Persephone Parker arrives at Athens Academy amid strange goings-on in London. Ghostly activity has reached a desperate fervor and gruesome murders are occurring in the streets of the city. Percy loses her heart to mathematics professor Alexi Rychman – and nearly her life when the rest of London’s Guard persuade Alexi that Percy is not their seventh, the reincarnation of their Goddess.

This second tale of the guard begins with a bittersweet opening. The Gorgon has been defeated, and Alexi and Percy have been wed. But Doors to the Underworld, the land of the dead, have been popping up all over Athens and the separation between the two has become thinner and thinner. A war is coming, and Percy may have to  enter the Underworld to face the Guard’s nemesis…

In Strangely Beautiful the Guard were like stained-glass paintings: beautiful and almost unreal. But each character has a flaw, like a small bubble in that glass, and in Darkly Luminous we see each one float to the surface.

Percy is, as usual, insecure about her unusual looks. Alexi is outrageously jealous and over-protective of Percy’s affections. Headmistress Rebecca Thompson is blinded by her infatuation with Alexi. Michael is depressed by his unrequited love for Rebecca. Elijah is torn between his rank & class and his desire to be with Josephine. Josephine is broken up by Elijah’s refusal to marry her. And Jane is in love with a ghost.

It’s a wonder that these people have been able to protect anybody at all, with all the secret-keeping and intrigue. But they do, and all comes out okay in the end – mostly.

Our heroes are well-rendered and flawed. Victorian London is always the perfect place for ghosts. The prose is, as expected from this author, finely crafted – as beautiful and delicate as silver mesh. The references to Shakespeare made me smile. And the ending kept me up quite late trying to finish.

This book moved much faster than the last one, though the first volume is required in order to understand much of the story. The Strangely Beautiful books are much different in style than what I normally read and were a refreshing change.

If you’re looking for a ghostly paranormal romance with a twist of old Greek mythology, Persephone Parker‘s story is for you.
Find the author at her website or on Twitter.

And buy the book from Amazon, B&N or Indiebound.

Rating: ★★★¾☆