Review: The Last Uncharted Sky

The Last Uncharted Sky by Curtis Craddock
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sadly, I can see why this series overall didn't make much of a splash on the fantasy scene these last few years, despite the glowing recommendations in the blurbs from the likes of Brandon Sanderson. As interesting as this series always has been, and as unique, it's a classic example of diminishing returns - even this book, with its biggest plot shake ups yet, just falls kinda flat. Honestly, having gone through the whole trilogy, I really think it would've worked a hell of a lot better with Isabelle as the sole protagonist. Jean-Claude, unfortunately, manages to be quite boring in comparison, probably because he just doesn't have such a strong conflict in universe the way Isabelle always does. But it's worth it to get to the end of this one because of how well woven the in universe religious aspects get, especially in the last few pages. To this series, I now declare ave atque vale.

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Review: The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked this one up after seeing the later books in the series vaguely out of the corner of my eye on Lucky Day shelves at different Fort Vancouver Regional Library branches, and also after hearing that Chris Columbus was going to be directing a film adaptation for Netflix with Steven Spielberg producing. I didn't really pay much attention to the cast announcement at the time, other than remembering that Helen Mirren would be in it. After reading the book, I can see where they got the right idea with Pierce Brosnan as the obnoxious Red Ron (who definitely lives up to the stereotype of aging leftist agitators as verbally pugnacious and lowkey racist, but Brosnan, I'm sure, will easily be able to pull it off) and Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim (though, before I saw that Kingsley would be playing him, I pictured Ibrahim to be a Black man.) Some of the characters in the titular club are definitely more likable than others (Ibrahim and the enigmatic Elizabeth were instant faves of mine, while Ron...ehh, as you can imagine, he was not my favorite.) And there were quite a ton of characters to go around as well, but this book is generally a lot bigger and more ambitious than it lets on. The inclusion of international intrigue, with a lot of backstory rooted in Cyprus, really makes me wonder if Tess Gerritsen didn't read this book before getting inspired to write The Spy Coast (though she definitely played things differently, with a primary setting in America and an international setting in Malta.) Needless to say, I've already got Book 2 on order at the library. But I do have to wonder...what did the real Tony Curran, the actor, do to Osman to make him name the book's first murder victim after him?

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Review: When Among Crows

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Veronica Roth has been on quite the kick of novellas (and shorter than average) novels these past few years, and now she's got one of her most densely packed novellas yet. Densely packed with Polish mythology - her mom's side of the family being Polish, she turned to them for more inspiration - and also borrowing on her experiences with chronic pain as she did when writing Carve the Mark, it's as meaty a story as any of us have come to expect from one of the best wordsmiths in the business. So meaty, in fact, that I wish Roth could've written a full length novel out of it - just like with Arch Conspirator last year, it feels like there's not enough space to really tell the story. But this one is somewhat of an improvement on last year's novella because it doesn't have more POV's than most people have fingers, and also because Roth not only draws on her culture, but also makes references to similar stories and myths in other cultures around the world. That, plus the modern Chicago setting, gives this book a certain Dresden Files vibe, which is always welcome when we're eternally waiting years for the next book in that series.

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Review: Colton Gentry's Third Act

Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff Zentner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Though he's not done with YA just yet - he's got a new collaborative novel in verse with Brittany Caravallo scheduled to come out this summer- it's interesting to see Jeff Zentner make a pivot into the adult literary fiction scene. He still has a foot in the YA door with this one, however, since it makes frequent use of flashbacks to the title character's younger days and his initial romance with high school sweetheart Luann. But it's also not all that removed from the realms he's written in for his YA novels either - the Southern setting (more Kentucky than Tennessee this time, but still in that same region), with a protagonist breaking away from more traditional young men's pursuits (he played football in high school but ended that career with a terrible injury), and running afoul of the fascist industrial complex.

Review: Five Broken Blades

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This one, sadly, is an official DNF for me. It sounded like it could’ve been great for me, with its premise of disparate assassins forced to collaborate to kill a king who absolutely bloody deserves it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get far because of the book’s peculiar structure - it jumps from POV to POV every chapter, and the chapters are all quite short, and all the POV’s are almost indistinguishable from each other. That it’s in first person present tense doesn’t help in this regard - it’s very difficult to pull off multi POV in that style. Just ask Veronica Roth. Or Pierce Brown, whose books have taken longer and longer to write because of how ambitious they are in scope. Sadly, Corlamd doesn’t pull it off for me, but I’m sure she’ll find herself a loyal readership with others.

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Review: The Silverblood Promise

The Silverblood Promise by James Logan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Take that rec from James Rollins seriously - and James Islington too, while we’re at it. James Logan makes a real great trifecta of Jameses in the modern realm of fantasy greats, with this first well crafted entry in a new series of Mediterranean inspired intrigue and trade and war games…and the disgraced young noble turned card sharp forced to investigate some uncomfortable truths in the heart of the world’s greatest city. Building on influences from Venice and Arabia and Russia and Ancient Greece and Egypt, this book would be perfect if not for its tendency to bog itself down in the machinations of the various Seven Silkens’ schemes, as well as the unfortunate lack of a world map. But Logan does his best in the world building department with the book’s various cultures, as well as the twists on religion (yes, it’s very medieval Catholic, complete with a disgustingly hedonistic pontifex who clearly learned his craft alongside the Borgias), and of course the Phaeron pyramid game…now that scene alone, just for its sheer tension, demands a movie adaptation immediately. In the meantime, though, I’ll have to just wait for Book 2, which promises to take us to this book’s equivalent of medieval Russia. Better have those parkas and ushankas ready, Lukan…

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Review: Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I was in high school, one of my favorite books was Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks, the story of a boy destined to be the greatest supervillain on the planet, except for the fact that everyone at the university for evil geniuses is so dysfunctional that they can't help but plot against each other until they're all killed off.

This book tries to take a similar premise and raise it up to a more adult level, with a peculiar 1950s period setting, and jack up the black comedy quirk factor to the point where I could almost see Wes Anderson taking on the task of filming a movie adaptation, with Ralph Fiennes to play the plummy Dean Harbinger Harrow, of course.