Flawed, Yet Still Interesting

The Kitchen House
By Kathleen Grissom
Touchstone (2010)
Hardcover, 384 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

The Kitchen House is about a young Irish girl, Lavinia, whose parents die on board the ship bringing the family to America. Lavinia finds herself an indentured servant... one step up from slavery, but one step below freedom. I found the premise of the story intriguing and couldn't wait to read this novel, but when I'd gotten fairly started, I discovered a lot of problems with the story... beginning with the prologue. The dramatic prologue of The Kitchen House serves to draw the reader into the story rather quickly, so it's not all bad. however, I must say that I've never been a fan of this method of storytelling. By reading this prologue, the reader is peeking ahead to a scene much later in the book, which, to me, feels like cheating. I also felt the prologue was better written than the ending of the story, or rather, that part of the ending which used the same information.

From the prologue on through the first half of the novel, I kept having a sense of deja-vu, otherwise known as "where have I read this before?"  I have yet to figure out why this novel seems so familiar.

And then we have the story being told from two viewpoints; an adult black slave - Belle - who also happens to be the master's daughter; and the young white indentured servant girl from Ireland - Lavinia. Stories told from multiple viewpoints must be delicately handled to be related smoothly; and sorry to say, the author didn't do so well with this. The transitions between Belle's chapters and Lavinia's chapters were sometimes confusing and often as rough as the storm-tossed sea. Mostly this seemed to be the case with Belle's part of the story.

The other main problems I have with this novel is that the characters, aside from Belle and Lavinia are rather under-developed, so that the reader has a hard time caring about those characters. I would liked to have seen the characters of Marshall and his parents better developed at the very least.

Additionally, everyone in this story seems to have his or her own secret that must be closely guarded; never shared. Beginning with the master, and including everyone down to the lowliest slave. As the reader will see, these secrets lend an air of tragedy to the story, and still it seems that too many secrets tend to make the story a bit unbelievable.  The plot develops too slowly, not enough detail about some of the incidents. The ending feels abrupt and unresolved to me; which, in most cases, I do not consider an asset, hence taking off the full star.

The novel's strong points (as I see them) are the evenly paced storyline, spreading out the suspense and the happy parts of the story without cramming all the good parts together and leaving part of the story boring. The novel was - to me - consistently, if not highly interesting. Character motivations play a large part in the plot of this novel and should be studied.

Handled correctly, this great premise could have been a 5 star novel; yet sadly, there are too many flaws for that high rating. Despite the many flaws, I enjoyed reading this 4 star novel. Recommended to readers who do not demand flawless storytelling, and who like a bit of study with their reading pleasure. Those looking for a "light and fluffy" novel should pass this by.  This review has been simultaneously posted on Amazon.com, Dragonviews and LibraryThing.

Refreshingly Different

King Arthur's Raid on Hell and Other Poems
G. R. Grove
Smashwords (2010),
Mobi format for Kindle,
Print Length: 96 pages
Rated 5 stars of 5 possible

King Arthur's Raid on Hell and Other Poems is a small collection of the author's poetry mostly written in medieval fixed forms, or approximations of medieval forms. Some are in Welsh, some in English, all are beautifully rhythmic. Unlike most works that contain words or phrases in languages I do not comprehend, I did not find my lack of understanding the Welsh language to be a hindrance in reading these poems, because the wonderful, lyric quality came through, despite the language barrier. Also, since most of the poetry is in English there were only a few pages that I was unable to fully comprehend, but, again, the lyrical quality more than made up for the lack of comprehension.

It is not often I can read through an entire book of poetry in just two days, as I did with this book... I appreciated the brevity of most of the poems, and even though some poems were longer, they, too, were refreshingly different than my usual reading material.  Kudos to the talented author of these wonderful poems. I recommend this book to those who love poetry and those who are interested in the medieval era.  This book was received free from the author in exchange for this review. This review has been simultaneously posted at Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Smashwords and Amazon.com

Suspension of Disbelief is Strained

The Fiery Cross
Diana Gabaldon
Dell (2005)
Mass Market Paperback, 1456 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

The Fiery Cross is Diana Gabaldon's fifth entry in her best selling Outlander series. While it isn't the best novel in the series, it is still well worth reading. The Fiery Cross covers the lives of Jamie and Claire, their family and friends from October of 1770 to about October of 1772. Claire's certain knowledge of the coming revolutionary war is a beacon to light their way through the perilous future. As with earlier Outlander series books, the characters continue to be flawed and very human. To me, that's not a criticism, but high praise. The more human the characters seem to be, the more easily I can get hooked on their story. 

Some of the events concerning Brianna's husband Roger do push the suspension of disbelief a bit beyond the limits, but those scenes add some dramatic impact that would not be possible otherwise. I got through reading those parts by thinking "this is remotely possible..." as some of the events were very extreme, and yes, even a bit over the top.  However you need to do it, get past those scenes and continue reading; there's some really good stuff coming up in this and the next book.

As with the earlier sequels, this is not the place to get started reading the Outlander series.  I recommed reading the series in order, starting with the first book and working your way forward. My reviews of previous volumes in this series are linked below for your convenience.

Book 1: Outlander
Book 2: Dragonfly in Amber
Book 3: Voyager
Book 4: Drums of Autumn

This review has been simultaneously posted on Dragon Views, LibraryThing and Amazon.com.

Non-stop, Page-turning Thriller

Think of a Number: A Novel
John Verdon
Crown (2010)
Hardcover, 432 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

This is a debut novel of a masterful storyteller.  John Verdon has imagined a fiendish antagonist who is able to make his victims believe he can read their minds. Each of the "marked" victims receives a letter in the mail presnting an intriguing puzzle. Detective Dave Gurney has recently retired from the NYPD homicide squad when he is asked by a friend to help solve a puzzling series of clues that begins with "think of a number" and continues with a series of amateurish poems, and ends with the death of the recipient... but that's just the first victim.

Long before the retired detective figures out the meaning of all the poetry, another man has received a similar letter ending with "think of a number." It isn't much longer before the police have asked Dave Gurney to be their investigative consultant based on his familiarity with the first case. Red herrings and real clues are mixed together in a devilish manner, leading the reader to wonder: Can Investigative Consultant Dave Gurney figure out the clues and give police the information needed to stop the killer?

There's nothing like a good murder mystery, and not much about Think of a Number resembles the average mystery plot. John Verdon has skipped the all-too-frequent drunken detective and a raft of other trite plot devices used by many mystery writers to bring us a refreshingly dramatic story. The characters are well-developed, the story well-crafted. Think of a Number is a page-turning, non-stop action novel that grips the reader on page one and continues to hold him or her hostage until the thrilling conclusion.

Recommended to mystery lovers.  This review is based on an advance reader edition printed from the author's uncorrected manuscript supplied to me by the publisher. This review has been simultaneously published on Dragon Views, LibraryThing and Amazon.com

 

Swept Into Intriguing Conspiracy

Fires of Nuala
Katharine Eliska Kimbriel
Bookview Cafe (2010)
Mobi format for Kindle
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

Fires of Nuala is science fiction with a political bent to it and a murder mystery-thriller all rolled into one mind-blowing story. Sheel Atare has been off-world searching for a mate and had returned home just over one month prior to attending a party hosted by one of his brothers. At the party, Sheel meets Darame Daviddottir, a Free-trader from off-world, who interests him enough that he winds up spending the night with her, instead of going home after the party. Sheel was not where he was expected to be that night, which nicely complicates matters and sweeps the reader right into an intriguing conspiracy to overthrow the ruling class of Nuala, starting with, but not limited to the clan of Atare...

I almost felt as if I should have read the first book that takes place on this magnificent world before reading this one, however that feeling went away after a chapter or two and once it did, I just wanted to know what happens next. I find the kaleidoscopic point of view used in this novel quite disconcerting, which accounts for the less-than-perfect rating, yet the novel was compelling enough that I didn't want to put it aside for sleep, or for any other reason.

At a few points, especially near the middle of the book, I experienced some confusion as to who was friend and who was foe, but this was straightened out as the story moved along. In all, I found reading Fires of Nuala an interesting and most satisfying experience.

This book was received in exchange for writing this review, which is based on the eBook version published by Bookview Cafe. As with most of my reviews, this one has been simultaneously posted on Dragonviews, LibraryThing and Amazon.com

Psychic Dreams

A Circle of Souls
Preetham Grandhi
Cedar Fort, Inc. (2010),
Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

A Circle of Souls is a murder/mystery story with some psychic/paranormal elements in it.  A young girl's body is discovered, hidden in the same place that a previous murder victim was found many years previously... The classic questions arise: Who did it and why? The older crime has been unsolved for all these years, and it looks as if the more recent crime will go the same way as the older one, when another little girl starts having bad dreams and is able to tell what she has seen in those dreams... but will someone believe her before the killer strikes again?

Told at a measured pace, this well-written novel brings the reader to the edge of his or her seat while the murder investigation proceeds a-pace and the examination of the young girl's dreams is suspensufully related and finally tied to the murder investigation. The two distinct plot threads that began almost as separate stories are skillfully handled by this author until the threads are inter-woven into one spell-binding tale and a shocking conclusion.

Recommended to readers who love mystery/thriller type novels.  A Circle of Souls was given to me free by the author in exchange for this review. This review has been simultaneously posted on Dragon Views, LibraryThing and Amazon.com.

Not Serious or Credible, but Still Fun

The Dragon at the Edge of the World
Charles White
Charles White (2009)
Pdf, 318 pages
Rated 3 stars of 5 possible

When I began reading this book, I had such high hopes for a new historical fiction novel.  Those hopes were soon to be dashed to pieces though, because there is little believable historical content in The Dragon at the Edge of the World.  That said, the novel is worth reading for entertainment purposes, as the humorous situations and the likeable characters create an interesting, if, at times, almost unbelievable story.

While I noticed a few grammatical and typographical errors in this book, they did not majorly detract from the story, so I didn't note the exact location of these errors. The characters in this story are a hodge-podge of unlikely companions of different ethnic backgrounds and from different parts of the world working together and against one another in the name of survival. The end of this novel screams sequel...

Recommended for laughs, but not for those looking for serious historical fiction or credible fantasy.  This eBook was provided to me free by the author in exchange for this review. This review has been simultaneously published on Amazon.com, Dragon Views and LibraryThing

Roller Coaster Ride

Follow The Money
Ross Cavins
RCG Publishing (2010),
Paperback, 264 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

Ten inter-connected short stories have been collected between these covers.  In addition to my over-all impression of this book, which you will find at the end of this review, I'll attempt to say something about each of the ten stories and rate them individually, as well as giving my rating for the entire book, but first, the stories.

1. "The Drop" - Inept kidnappers, funnier than a barrel of monkeys. Slow start, but builds suspense; is a fine, page-turning story. I absolutely loved the twisted ending. Rated 4 stars.

2. "The Investment" - Pickpocket meets big-time con artist, but can he trust his new partner? This story felt a bit disconnected near the middle, so rated 3 stars.

3. "Sammy's Night Out" - Armed robbery at a convenience store, of the inept gunman type. Predictable ending... Rated 3 stars.

4. "A Loaded Gun" - Grand theft auto plus an evening of crime gone wrong. Story number three with some added detail and from a different point of view. Packed with more laughs than "Sammy's Night Out" Rated 5 stars.

5. "Everybody's Got A Magic Number" Bookie takes the cash from cop involved in story #4. This story is longer, not as funny or as consistently interesting as the others. One doesn't even see the connection to the other stories until late.  Rated 3 stars.

6. "Have Fun Tonight" Drunken driver collides with emergency vehicle. Just plain strange, warped humor. Rated 3 stars.

7. "Sweating Brother Bill" Two lusty old ladies - another strange story.  Rated 3 stars.

8. "Toe Thumb" Abused wife runs away from deadbeat husband. Morbidly appealing somehow. Rated 4 stars.

9. "For The Road" Breaking and Entering, or How the Grinch stole Christmas. Rated 4 stars.

10. "Channel Ten" Car-jacking and Captain Crunch. Rated 5 stars.

The fun part of reading this story collection was seeing how the stories fit together into one larger story that has its ups and downs like a roller coaster. Trying to predict which characters from the earlier stories would appear again in which of the later stories was also a barrel of laughs, but figuring out who was going to have the money next - ah what suspense, and sometimes very surprising. The hot sex featured in some of these stories does little or nothing to move the plot along.  Still, it was a fun read, and I would recommend Follow The Money to adults who do not find offense in the type of material contained here.

Follow The Money was provided to me free by the author in exchange for this review. This review has been simultaneously published on Dragon Views, LibraryThing and Amazon.com.

The Crisis Gains Momentum

Evolussion
by Kathy Bell
Northern Sanctum Press (October, 2010)
ARC-PDF format,165 pages
Rated 5 stars of 5 possible

I've always been excited when a new science fiction book comes off the press and into the book stores.  The Infinion series is no exception. Evolussion continues the story of the characters begun in Regression. The sequel picks up the story 26 years after the end of the first novel and takes a different direction than the reader might expect. As the story develops, even the bad guys have something to say that helps the reader better understand the motivation of the opposition to Three Eleven... Mrs. Bell has done a great job with her flawed and very human characters... and, as with her first novel, leaves me wanting more.

The characters from the first novel whom we loved to hate (Alex and Stew) show a different side in this sequel, and as I began to understand their motivations better, I even started to like them just a little bit, though I am not certain if they would ever have earned my trust. Adya Jordan (aka Dawn Ingram) has matured in the interval between the first and second novels, but has retained her lovable characteristics nevertheless. The Three Eleven executives have also changed in their attitudes toward Dawn...

In the continuing story arc, the crisis gains momentum. Not too much is resolved here, and yet more questions are raised. Evolussion is clearly not the starting point for the Infinion series and should not be read as a stand alone. There is much in Regression that the reader needs to understand before reading Evolussion. Thus, I recommed the series as a whole, but start reading at the beginning; Regression first, then Evolussion, and finish with the as-yet unpublished conclusion of this exciting trilogy. Since November 11, 2011 is such an important date in this series, I suspect the climax to the series will probably be published around that date (hopefully a little before).  I'm on the edge of my seat now...

Evolussion was provided to me free by the author/publisher in PDF format in exchange for this review. This review has been simultaneously published on Dragon Views and LibraryThing.

Mt. TBR Keeps Growing

Click above photo to see larger version...If you are an author, publicist, publisher, etc. who has asked me to review a book, please be patient. The stack above, shown in no particular order represents promised reviews and borrowed books which need to be sent on their way.  My Kindle tops the stack to represent the ebooks I promised to review, followed by my Molskine notebook to represent that there are multiple eBooks waiting in line... the rest, well, those books are real... and I will get to the reviews as soon as I possibly can.  Thank you for understanding.

Addendum: May 17, 2012  While the books shown above have been read and mostly reviewed, the stack by my bed side is still every bit as large, just with different content... The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get.