Book Review: "Happy Hour in Hell" by Tad Williams

I’ve been told to go to Hell more times than I can count. But this time I’m actually going. 

My name’s Bobby Dollar, sometimes known as Doloriel, and of course, Hell isn’t a great place for someone like me—I’m an angel. They don’t like my kind down there, not even the slightly fallen variety. But they have my girlfriend, who happens to be a beautiful demon named Casimira, Countess of Cold Hands. Why does an angel have a demon girlfriend? Well, certainly not because it helps my career.

She’s being held hostage by one of the nastiest, most powerful demons in all of the netherworld—Eligor, Grand Duke of Hell. He already hates me, and he’d like nothing better than to get his hands on me and rip my immortal soul right out of my borrowed but oh-so-mortal body.

But wait, it gets better! Not only do I have to sneak into Hell, make my way across thousands of miles of terror and suffering to reach Pan- demonium, capital of the fiery depths, but then I have to steal Caz right out from under Eligor’s burning eyes and smuggle her out again, past demon soldiers, hellhounds, and all the murderous creatures imprisoned there for eternity. And even if I somehow manage to escape Hell, I’m also being stalked by an undead psychopath named Smyler who’s been following me for weeks. Oh, and did I mention that he can’t be killed?

So if I somehow survive Hell, elude the Grand Duke and all his hideous minions and make it back to the real world, I’ll still be the most hunted soul in Creation. But at least I’ll have Caz. Gotta have something to look forward to, right?

So just pour me that damn drink, will you? I’ve got somewhere to go. - from Amazon.com

I received a copy of this book for free for a review from the publisher, PENGUIN GROUP Berkley, NAL / Signet Romance, DAW. 

Bobby Dollar is back in the second installment from Tad Williams. Bobby is an Advocate of Heaven, sort of a lawyer that deals with certain people when they die, to help plead their case for Heaven in the afterlife. However, after events that happened in the first book, he is on a suspension of service, which leaves him plenty of time to 'rescue' his demon lover from Hell. Williams has created a different viewpoint of how Hell is, and what happens there to souls.  Bobby has a grand adventure trying to survive it all, and get back what he feels is his. Good follow up story line, and I look forward to another book in this series.

Book Review: "Star Wars: Kenobi" by John Jackson Miller

The Republic has fallen.
Sith Lords rule the galaxy.
Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi has lost everything . . . 
Everything but hope.
 
Tatooine—a harsh desert world where farmers toil in the heat of two suns while trying to protect themselves and their loved ones from the marauding Tusken Raiders. A backwater planet on the edge of civilized space. And an unlikely place to find a Jedi Master in hiding, or an orphaned infant boy on whose tiny shoulders rests the future of a galaxy.
 
Known to locals only as “Ben,” the bearded and robed offworlder is an enigmatic stranger who keeps to himself, shares nothing of his past, and goes to great pains to remain an outsider. But as tensions escalate between the farmers and a tribe of Sand People led by a ruthless war chief, Ben finds himself drawn into the fight, endangering the very mission that brought him to Tatooine.
 
Ben—Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hero of the Clone Wars, traitor to the Empire, and protector of the galaxy’s last hope—can no more turn his back on evil than he can reject his Jedi training. And when blood is unjustly spilled, innocent lives threatened, and a ruthless opponent unmasked, Ben has no choice but to call on the wisdom of the Jedi—and the formidable power of the Force—in his never-ending fight for justice. - from Amazon.com

I received this book for free in exchange for a review from the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey Spectra, through the Netgalley.com website.

Since 1978 when I first saw the movie STAR WARS (episode IV, A NEW HOPE) I was 8 years old, and fell in love with it. Aside from anxiously watching as each new movie episode came out (with years in between) I would grab up any side story of STAR WARS that would appear on bookshelves. After many years, it seemed there were too many books in the STAR WARS universe, covering such a vast time span, I just sort of lost interest if the books weren't about specific people I liked from the main storyline from the movies. When I saw STAR WARS: KENOBI being released, I knew this was one I wanted to read!

This takes place immediately after Obi-Wan Kenobi has fled with the twin children of Darth Vader (Annakin Skywalker) and left one (Leia) with Ambassador Bail Organa of Alderaan, and the other (Luke) with Owen Lars on Tatooine. With the need to disappear, as the Emperor is hunting down any remaining members of the Jedi Order, Kenobi stays on in the deserts of Tatooine, to keep an eye of protection on the young Skywalker. 

While trying to remain aloof and separate from anyone, to not attract undue attention to himself, and possibly young Skywalker, Kenobi assumes the moniker Ben, and tries to avoid getting involved in the small town-like life of a nearby oasis community as it deals with problems of it's own in the form of the Tusken Raiders. However, Ben's Jedi training will not allow him to see evil being done, even if it may expose the secret he is hiding.

This novel kept me reading at a fast pace as the story developed. Being able to invest some time in an area of the STAR WARS story that had not had any description, was a treat, especially concerning one of the last Jedi at that time. Sharing the guilt that Kenobi had following what he thought as as Annakin's death, and the "signs" he felt he should have seen showing Annakin turning to the Dark Side, it brings out a personal side of the Obi-Wan character we usually do not see. 

Overall, I felt the story was well created and told in a third person narrative. There seemed to me to be a good connection of events/characters from my memory of the timeline before, and what is to come, and able to leave room for possible more stories of Obi Wan from this time period he spent on Tatooine while watching of young Skywalker.

Book Review: "Just One Damned Thing After Another" by Jodi Taylor

A story of history, time travel, love, friendship and tea. Meet the disaster-magnets at the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around history, observing, documenting, drinking tea and, if possible, not dying. Follow the catastrophe-curve from eleventh-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. Discover History – The New Sex - from Amazon.com

I picked this one up while it was offered for free on Amazon, if I remember correctly. It was a day I was willing to risk reading something that the description was just too vague about. Once I started reading it, I got hooked. The story follows a lady named Max (short for Maxwell, her last name) as she gets to train at this special place called St. Mary's, which is an organization that has the ability to travel through time - specifically the past. Max is a 'Historian' who travels back to certain periods of time for major events to record how it truly happened. Volume one covers a few of her exploits, as things always have a way of going wrong around Max, and people end up hurt, killed, or ... well, leave some stuff to surprise you. I really enjoyed the book, and am looking forward to any future volumes.

Book Review: "The Book With No Name" by Anonymous

Volume one in a fast-paced, cinematic trilogy shot through with supernatural black humor

 

In Santa Mondega, an unnamed book brings violent death to anyone who reads it, a mysterious blue stone—the Eye of the Moon—has vanished, a total eclipse is about to cast the city into utter darkness, and in the shadowed streets lurks the serial killer known only as the Bourbon Kid. Detective Miles Jensen must race to uncover the link between the book, the murders, and the Kid. But as the mystery unravels, he discovers that there's more to Santa Mondega than meets the eye. Not only is the place full of gangsters, martial-arts monks, lowlifes, bounty hunters, and an Elvis-impersonating hitman, there is a whole bunch of vampires, too. - from Amazon.com

I admit I was a bit intrigued by a book that is written by an anonymous author. Did they not want their name on it because it was that bad, or some other reason? I decided I had to find out, since even the plot description made me interested in reading it. I was not disappointed. The story brings us to Santa Mondega, and introduces a character Miles Jensen, who is a specially appointed office to the SMPD. Specially Appointed, as he deals with the more paranormal sort of things for the government. While on this particular case, he is trying to solve several murders that are related to the theft of the Eye of the Moon, a special gem said to have certain mystical properties. To add to the suspense, and eclipse, centered over Santa Mondega, could be halted causing constant darkness over the town if the gem finds its way into the wrong hands. The Bourbon Kid is a serial murderer from five years earlier, when the Eye was stolen previously, and is blamed for the murders cropping up in the current day.

Definitely a dark, humorous read. Though at times I felt it dragged a bit, trying to keep up with some of the multiple plot lines going on. Everything does sort of tie-in together at the end, leaving the reader with the good sense of the good guys winning, and the bad guys losing. Twist in a few angels, vampires, a few other paranormal types, and a gun-toting serial killer, it makes for a gritty action read.

Book Review: "Joyland" by Stephen King

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. - from Amazon.com

King has returned to the style of writing I enjoyed with his earlier works of CARRIE, FIRESTARTER, etc. I fell into this while reading, and literally went through it in one sitting. I had just finished CARNIEPUNK, an anthology of carnival stories, and King's usage of carny language, and life, just jumped out to grab me. I felt drawn in to Jones (main character) as he dealt with life in general, and for the first time in a long time, I actually got a bit teary-eyed at the ending. Definitely a thriller, and a hard case crime read, that includes King's bit of twist! If you enjoyed THE COLORADO KID, you'll love this one, too!

Book Review: "Carniepunk" by Rachel Caine, Kevin Hearne, & other authors

Come one, come all! The Carniepunk Midway promises you every thrill and chill a traveling carnival can provide. But fear not! Urban fantasy’s biggest stars are here to guide you through this strange and dangerous world. . . .

RACHEL CAINE’s vampires aren’t child’s play, as a naïve teen discovers when her heart leads her far, far astray in “The Cold Girl.” With “Parlor Tricks,” JENNIFER ESTEP pits Gin Blanco, the Elemental Assassin, against the Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns. SEANAN McGUIRE narrates a poignant, ethereal tale of a mysterious carnival that returns to a dangerous town after twenty years in “Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea.” KEVIN HEARNE’s Iron Druid and his wisecracking Irish wolfhound discover in “The Demon Barker of Wheat Street” that the impossibly wholesome sounding Kansas Wheat Festival is actually not a healthy place to hang out. With an eerie, unpredictable twist, ROB THURMAN reveals the fate of a psychopath stalking two young carnies in “Painted Love.”  - from Amazon.com

Kevin Hearne (THE IRON DRUID series) had announced he was a contributor to this anthology a few months before the release date, and so I felt compelled to get it. Especially since it had a short story from the IRON DRUID series Hearne writes. However, seeing that it had several authors I have read, it added to value of what I was getting.  This was a great read, each story having something to do with carnivals, whether it was twisted and dark, or revenge, or finding a missing person. Hearne's contribution sticks out to me, as does Estep's short of the ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN. As usual, there were a couple stories that didn't hit the mark for me, but overall, was a good read - even if you are afraid of clowns!

Book Review: "Unfettered" by Shawn Speakman

You define life or it defines you.

In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both.

Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story that Shawn could sell tohelp alleviate those bills—and suggested he ask the same of his other writer friends.

Unfettered is the result: an anthology built in order to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.

Twenty-three tales comprise this incredible collection, and as the title suggests, the writers were free to contribute whatever they wished.

Here is the table of contents:

- Foreword by Patrick Rothfuss
- Introduction: On Becoming Unfettered
- Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks
- How Old Holly Came To Be by Patrick Rothfuss
- The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams
- Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn
- The Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Carey
- Mudboy by Peter V. Brett
- The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian
- The Coach with Big Teeth by R.A. Salvatore
- Keeper of Memory by Todd Lockwood
- Heaven in a Wild Flower by Blake Charlton
- Dogs by Daniel Abraham
- The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne
- Select Mode by Mark Lawrence
- All the Girls Love Michael Stein by David Anthony Durham
- Strange Rain by Jennifer Bosworth
- Nocturne by Robert V.S. Redick
- Unbowed by Eldon Thompson
- In Favour with Their Stars by Naomi Novik
- River of Souls by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
- The Jester by Michael J. Sullivan
- The Duel by Lev Grossman
- Walker and the Shade of Allanon by Terry Brooks
- The Unfettered Knight by Shawn Speakman

With the help of stalwart friends and these wonderful short stories, Shawn has taken the gravest of life’s hardships and created something magical. Unfettered is not only a fantastic anthology in its own right, but it’s a testament to the generosity found in the science fiction and fantasy community—proof that humanity can give beyond itself when the need arises.

After all, isn’t that the driving narrative in fantasy literature? - from Amazon.com

One of the better Fantasy anthologies I have read in awhile, that included many of my personal favorite authors. I had lucked out and was able to get a special Phoenix ComiCon edition of this book that had like 5 of the stories by themselves, three authors of which had signed it. Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories within, though, like in all collections, there seem to be one or two that just don't agree with me. It is great when authors are able and willing to help put a collection together, as this one - which was to help raise funds for medical bills for Speakman.