The Heavens Rise, by Christopher Rice - A Review

The Heavens Rise by Christopher  Rice
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In a chillingly compelling novel that puts me in mind of Lovecraft, Christopher Rice pulls the reader through the swamp and through some of the ugliest fears which promise to swim to the surface time and time again in the most casual and mundane of circumstances. The Heavens Rise, the first Christopher Rice novel I've read, I was struck by how quickly Rice can create a completely vile yet readable character,and at the same time how well he developed multi-faceted and flawed heroes. Rice wove themes of privilege, greed, pride, and volition with sadism, horror, and regret into something terrible and wonderful. 
Rice writes strong female characters, though they only barely pass the Bechdel Test. For instance, I believe that at one point Nikki, around whose fate the entire story hinges, and her mother discuss party plans, and at another point, Marissa and a caricature of wealth and privilege exchange less than cordial words at a benefit. However, despite one of the central characters being a black woman and issues of race being featured prominently throughout the story, The Heavens Rise would not fare so well if the Bechdel Test were applied based on race, requiring two named characters who weren't white to have a conversation that wasn't about a white person. 
Regardless, it was an enjoyable book that kept me up far too late into the night. There is something about a dark and watery Lovecraftian menace and a tale of metamorphosis that also puts one in mind of his mother's work, that makes it hard to set a book down. Rice's word choice, always raw and in character, drew me in and repelled in equal parts. The characters who the audience inhabited stand out with unique and contrasting voices that reminded me of what I liked best about World War Z. 
If you're looking for something chilling, unexpected, and filled with gruesome and detached violence, or you need another reason to test your water, this is the book for you. 


You can read more of my lengthier reviews on Goodreads, or my short and sweet reviews on Biblivoracious.

Timepiece, by Myra McEntire: a Review

Timepiece by Myra McEntire

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I feel like Ms McEntire underestimates her readers. I don't believe that reducing 90% of her main character's interactions to hormones and sexuality helps keep the reader's attention, but rather paints the main character as disturbingly immature.
I'm sure this is just personal, but I liked each and every one of the characters better when viewed from Emerson's perspective in Hourglass, and I don't think the choice to write Hourglass from Kaleb's was a good one. While it opened the door for a whole new budding romance without having to go the overdone route of girl meets boy and falls in love in book one, and in book two gets drawn away by someone else, only to reunite with Mr. Right in book three, I don't think picking the budding alcoholic and outward chauvinist to be the center of the tale was a great idea.
Sorry, it just didn't do it for me.

Hopefully the third installment in the series will redeem it. Yes, you read that correctly, I do intend to finish what I started and see the whole series through to the end. If nothing else, the premise is just too interesting to not keep giving it another try.
Fingers crossed and allons-y.

Hourglass, by Myra McEntire: a Review

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An interesting and fun time travel novel, but I do have to say, what's with the cryptic overprotective men?  I'm getting so tired of reading about them.

It's hard to properly review a novel that raises a lot of questions but resolves next to nothing. While the premise is both strong and intriguing, and the characters seem to have a lot of fertile soil in which McEntire has planted the seeds of interest and and deep backstory, I'm concerned that they haven't been properly watered. Here's to hoping.

The Dark Unwinding, by Sharon Cameron: a Review

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron, ultimately, confused me. Not the plot, it was all set up well and easy enough to follow, with just enough foreshadowing to make the story gel, but not overly insult the reader by leading them by the hand. Well, maybe there was a little bit of hand holding, and really, only one of the twists was remotely surprising, but that's okay. Really, I like a book that doesn't side swipe me, because I feel that's usually the result of lazy writing.
However, I do have a word-choice bone to pick with Cameron. It makes my skin crawl to hear phrases like "tea things" thrown about when there are perfectly good descriptive and common terms. Maybe I'm wrong and tea service was called "tea things" during the 1870s, and I just don't know about it. I admit, this may be the first book I've read that was set in such a time period, to the best of my knowing. However, I doubt it.
I know it's a silly thing for me to complain about, but when reading a period piece, word choice can make or break a book in terms of suspension of disbelief, and for me, that one broke it every time.
Would I read a sequel? Yes. Would I recommend it to my teenage daughter? Probably. Would I herald it as a steampunk triumph? No.Why not? It has all of the elements, mechanized wonders as a plot point, utopian experiments, manners; it really should be. However, those elements truly played a setting role, and were specific only to the immediate locale, while the rest of the world went on completely as history recalls it. That isn't a bad thing, I just don't recommend it if you are looking for a deeply alternate timeline.
I don't believe it was intended as a steampunk novel, to be clear, but any book with a lot of gears on the cover will likely be expected to be so.

I feel like I should be reviewing this book based on feminist and mental health grounds, but alas, I haven't had enough time to fully dissect it all. I do, however, think that a certain amount of sizeism in the first chapter was unnecessary and unfavorably colored my view of the book, all the while recognizing that in a period piece, it is difficult to assign the same gravity to such things as in a modern piece. Was a character repeatedly mocked on account of weight? Yes. Was weight used as a metaphor for stupidity? Yes. Is that ever okay? No. Is it plausible that it may have been the prevailing notion at the time? Yes. Nevertheless, there are other ways to paint a character as impulsive and unintelligent other than calling them fat.

In terms of women's roles, well, the swooning is a little thick.

Shine, Shine, Shine - by Lydia Netzer: a Review

Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In a tale of fragility and strength, isolation and interconnectedness, Shine,Shine,Shine identifies a thousand little fissures in the human heart with vivid clarity, all the while encouraging them to heal and scar over into something stronger and more beautiful.
If you have ever felt inadequate, read this book. Isolated, read this book. If you've been in love with a human, read this book. If you gaze at the stars and wonder what it would be like to drift among them, read this book. If your feet are planted firmly in the soil, read this book. If you're a mother, read this book. If you're a woman, read this book. If you are an orphan, read this book. If you're awkward, read this book. If you're awkward, read this book. If you're dealing with Austism, read this book.
Read it, read it, read it.

Dearly, Beloved - by Lia Habel: a Review

Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yes. Lia Habel's high tech with a Victorian twist world, rife with holographic edifices reminiscent of the world before the second ice age, took on a broader life in Dearly, Beloved that left me smiling for hours. The Characters from Dearly, Departed are here given the freedom to interact in new environments and blossom into themselves. Because the plot in the second book of the Gone with the Respiration series is less immediately catastrophic than the kidnapping plus zombie apocalypse scenario set forth in the first, the reader gets to see the characters in their daily lives and learn more about their world.

Of course, true to form, Habel doesn't leave anyone's world in tact for long. All too soon the fissures in the calm facade begin to show. Pamela's panic attacks prove to be not only merited, but nearly prophetic - Nora's independence leads her back into danger - Dr. Dearly's solution to the Laz proves to be too little to quell tensions between the living and the dead. Characters like Michael, who at first seemed simply callous, grow into full fledged villain-worthy unlikability while the seemingly vapid Vespertine blossoms into a deep woman with intricate motivations. Habel's approach to Bram in Dearly, Beloved is far more entertaining. Gone is the tired "I'm no good for you, I'm too dangerous," droning, replaced instead with a young man who doesn't pretend that he knows what's best for Nora at every turn, but instead allows her to make her own decisions. Sure, he continues to weigh in on her options, and she continues to at least consider the words coming out of his cold lips, but the dynamic morphs into something far more healthy and rather beautiful.

Although my experience with the zombie genre is limited to perhaps a dozen books, Dearly, Beloved has proved to be the most enjoyable. I look forward to the saga's conclusion, which can not come soon enough.