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Book Review: The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee, narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal & Dillon Sikles

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4.25/5 stars. Before I read the Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee, I had heard about the wonderful characters and their growth throughout the story. After reading that trilogy, I agreed that the characters were great; however, except for two secondary characters, the growth of her characters was lacking. After reading this story, I believe she has done a much better job in demonstrating depth and growth of her three main characters, and for that reason, this novel is far superior to her previous work. The three primary characters are all ‘atier Contractors’ who work for an agency that assigns one Contractor to each Director of various governmental units responsible for maintaining human presence on the planet Aquilo. I appreciated that Isako and Kob were both fifty, at the ends of their respective illustrious careers, and in positions to make some difficult choices in their lives. As a person in my late fifties, I can relate to their circumstances and had a stronger connection to these two...
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Book Review: Ironbound (Book 1) by Andrew Givler

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4/5 stars. I had heard a lot about this book before deciding to pick it up on Kindle and Audible. Almost everything I have seen has been very positive and I have to say this story has been very enjoyable and highly entertaining.   Andrew Givler is a talented writer with a wonderful imagination. I particularly have enjoyed the Romanesque setting and the military fantasy aspects of this cultivation/progression fantasy story. The magic system has been a unique one for me to think about, with the characters drawing their power from a variety of sources, but mostly iron, as they are soldiers. Some aspects of this system reminded me of the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior by Larry Correia, particularly the aspect of earning a Cor heart, taken from a meteorite(?), that allows the individuals to use their powers.   Our main characters come from a small town where they competed against each other for the honor of receiving their Cor hearts. We see them grow and learn to work together...
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Book Review: The Arcadian by Steven Pressfield

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4.5/5 stars. Pressfield writes crisp, smooth prose that keeps the reader engaged and excited to continue the story. This historical fiction/fantasy is set in Spain in the 16 th century and focuses around a Portuguese invasion that draws our main protagonists into the siege of a castle. We learn interesting backstories for our characters, and we witness the battle from several perspectives. This is my first experience with Pressfield, but his battle writing reminds me of Cornwell, Abercrombie, and Gwynne. I greatly enjoyed the setting in Spain and the historicity of the Portuguese invasion as the background of this tale. Pressfield has created a believable series of events for our protagonists. One, a former soldier who is a traveling ‘iron man’ who moves from town to town sharpening tools and swords for the local communities. The second main character is a young farm girl who has strong feelings for a wild horse that she tries to protect, and which turns out to be the iron man’s for...
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Book Review: Palaces of the Crow by Ray Nayler, narrated by Eunice Wong

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4/5 stars. Palaces of the Crow is a fascinating historical fiction with supernatural elements surrounding the titular crows. This story centers around four young people caught in Lithuania during World War II, trying to hide from both the Russians and the Nazis. In their hiding, they are aided repeatedly by a murder of crows who have advanced intelligence, even beyond what we typically know of the average crow. These crows guide the children to safety and keep them aware of others who might be looking for them. We follow two timelines – one during the war, between 1941 and 1944, the other in 1971 after the children have grown and lived much of their lives. Through both narratives, we have events from the past revealed to us by the children and we discover that, even as adults, the children continue to carry their war scars with them – their loss of family and friends, the fear that carried them through four years of the war, and even the actions they took during, and even since, the ...
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Book Review: Mortedant’s Peril (The Trials of Irody Hasp 1) by RJ Barker

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5/5 stars. RJ Barker is one of my favorite writers and I am always excited when he has a new book releasing. In this case, I was extra surprised to receive the ARC of the audiobook, narrated by Joe Eyre, from NetGalley. This novel focuses on Irody Hasp, a lowly Mortedant in the city of Elbay, who stumbles upon a deeper mystery than he ever imagined as a result of reading the last thoughts of a dead man in the slums of the city. As always, Barker weaves a, literal and figurative, magical tale with wonderful characters – particularly Irody, his apprentice Mirial, and his bodyguard Whisper, and builds an intriguing city and world for the reader to explore. This story reminds me, in some ways, of Richard Swan’s Empire of the Wolf and Sir Konrad Vonvalt, though not as horrific in tone. Joe Eyre does a wonderful job with the narration, and his voice work was particularly good. I could feel the tension and the desperation of our characters through Eyre’s reading of the story, and I particul...
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Book Review: A Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl 8) by Matt Dinniman, audiobook narrated by Jeff Hays.

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4.5/5 stars. I read some books for their literary quality, while some books I read are all about the enjoyment and entertainment value that I get from the experience. Other books I read have emotional moments and fantastic characters that drive the narrative. Yet other book pleasures are tied to the story and the ambitious ideas that come from it.   DCC books are a combination of these last three aspects. None of these stories are going to be considered outstanding from a purely literary point of view; however, the entertainment value, the quality characters, and the emotional ties to them, along with the overarching storyline across all eight books drive my desire to continue this series. I cannot wait to see where the author takes us at the end of this (expected) ten book series. Dinniman is a master at combining deeply emotional and sad moments with bits of humor that brings together the absolute best aspects of humanity with the absolute worst aspects of humanity, hidden in ...
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Book Review: Trophy Hunt (Joe Pickett 4) by CJ Box

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5/5 stars. Another fun Joe Pickett mystery from CJ Box. Animals are suddenly being mutilated in Joe Pickett’s district, then the same mutilations happen to two human murder victims. What is going on? How quickly can Joe figure it out to stop more murders or mutilations from happening? Box always includes wonderfully descriptive details about Joe Pickett’s Wyoming, and his character work is first rate, as we follow the growth and maturity of Joe’s family, in addition to watching him solve unusual crimes. These stories are enjoyable, mostly quick, reads that are perfect as palate cleansers between big fantasy chonkers. Furthermore, I particularly enjoy the Joe Pickett stories on audiobook. David Chandler does outstanding narration for this series, and I look forward to more quality listening experiences. Highly recommended series, especially if you enjoy good mystery writing and/or modern western stories.
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