The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath by Ishbelle Bee

The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath on Goodreads

4/5

This was a fun little tale of urban dark fantasy.

What Dark Fantasy is fun?  Well, for me it is, but I like weird and strange things.  What was that, you do too?  Then, I have a story for you.

At the beginning of this story we encounter the titular characters.  Mirror, a girl found in a clock after her grandfathers murderous rampage, and Goliath, a shape-shifting cop, who was not a skin changer before meeting Mirror.  Then, we meet some more people that can only be referred to a curious.  There is Loveheart, a killer with charm, impulse control problems, and a love of cake.  The ominous and shadowy Mister Fingers, a rouges gallery of decadent miscreants, and two London police officers that are trying to solve a child killing when drawn into this world.  The characters have and otherworldly quality to them, which is fitting with this magical tale.

The plot is simple, and has a fairy tale quality to it, and that fits perfectly.  Forces are at work to catch, and devour, Mirror, who we are not surprised to find out is more then she seems.  She will not go down easily though, and she has ancient powers of her own to draw on.

This is a very quick read, being a novella in length, and I think that suits well.  Normally, when I read books like this, they weigh in at close to 800 pages (Perdido Street Station, I am looking at you.)  A lot is dedicated to world building.  This story, which is set in late 1800's london, can do away with that.  We can all picture London's gas light streets, with images of a blend of Dickens and Jack The Ripper, who also makes an appearance here.  We can get to the tale.

In summary, this short, dark tale is a treat.  It is a fun blend of historical and urban fantasy, and succeeds in keeping our interest throughout the story.  I recommend it, and will be reading other stories by Ishbelle Bee

A Crown For Cold Silver by Alex Marshall

A Crown For Cold Silver on Goodreads

4.5 / 5

Those who know me, know that I have a love for epic fantasy, especially gritty epic fantasy.  I have been reading "grimdark'" since before I even knew there was a name for the genre.  Fantasy is better for me when it has more Glen Cook and less fairy tale to it.

A Crown for Cold Silver delivers everything I love.  Machiavellian plots, brutal combat, and dark magic blend into a heady brew that I drank deep and eagerly of.  The world building is top notch here, and has a constant feel to it.  The characters are complex and fascinating.  While they may seem as fantasy stereotypes at first, we are quickly disabused of this notion, and for the better.  There development and motivations are well crafted. 

I mentioned Glen Cook earlier, and there is a reason for it.  Those of you who read the books of The Black Company will find a lot to enjoy here.  The world is familiar, but different, presented in a voice that is the authors alone.

The plot of the story is top notch, dealing with politics and warfare on a vast scale.  Our protagonist, thinking she left this world behind her 20 years ago, is dragged back into it with one brutal act.  As we are given more information, we are told of the dark forces that may have led to this event.  The wheels are in motion now though, and the inevitability of a disaster of cataclysmic proportions confronts us.  This book, book one in a series, ends with the unleashing of this horrifying event, and I now find myself eager for book two.

In summary, this is a great book.  It has bloodshed, darkness, betrayal, sorcery, sacrifice, demons, and sunken empires.  It also has a fair presentation of love and romance, and I would say love is a central theme of this book, but fitting with the nature of this story, it is love that comes with a cost, sometimes leading to the destruction of everything we hold dear.  I would highly recommend this book to fans of fantasy.  You will not be disappointed.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

The Three-Body Problem on Good Reads

3.5/5

What if all we knew about the nature of the universe was wrong.  That it was based on the false interpretation of data.  This idea makes the physics minded of us cringe, and this is exactly the feeling this book is trying to induce early on.  We are in a world that is as we expect it, and different at the same time.

This story evolves from this start, and we are treated to a tale that draws on elements of history and the near future and melds them into a fine work of SciFi.  This story starts as a form of sf thriller, becomes a historical fiction story, then hard science fiction, then back to a thriller.  This really works for The Three-Body Problem, and it never feels disjointed.

I will not give away the twists in this story, but they are well done.  Each peace of information that is revealed makes sense, and drives our desire for further discoveries.  The characters were ok, but not overly complex.  The situations are the driving force here, and they were well crafted and presented well.  The science was presented in a believable way.

One of the things I liked about this translation was the use of footnotes to explain things that may not be common knowledge to westerners.  Notes about China's Cultural Revolution I found particularly helpful.  On the other side, and I feel this about a lot of translated books, it seems to have lost flow of language during the translation.  Not to take await from the sheer effort that is required to translate novels, and kudos to Ken Liu for the work here, that fact that is is translated is apparent to the reader.

In summary, this a a good work of science fiction that will appeal to fans of the genre.  It is worth reading, and I think I will continue on with others in the series.  This is is mostly because of the cliffhanger ending, a real distant cliff.  Those of you who have read the book, will understand what I am saying. I was not blown out of the water by this book, which a lot of the hype lead me to belief I would be, but not disappointed either. I would also read other books by Liu, and from what I here other works will be translated into English.

The Waterborne Blade by Susan Murray

The Waterborne Blade

The Waterborneblade on Goodreads

This thrilling tale of sword and sorcery thrusts us right into the action.  When we meet the protagonists, we are given no background on them, or on the situation they find themselves in.  We are told they need to flee, now, and we follow.

This works for this story, which has the pacing and feel of a adventure thriller.  As information is revealed to us of the greater world, and of what is at stake, it never takes away from the face pacing of this story.  It is a little light on background and world building, but that is mitigated by the action and sense of urgency.

The book does slow down a bit at the halfway point, but this is also used as an opportunity to fill us in.  I prefer this as opposed to an info dump at the beginning of the story.  This continues for the rest of the story, but it does keep introducing bursts of action to keep interest.

I love a good political intrigue in my stories, and this one has some back room dealings.  However, it falls a bit short.  At the end of the first book, I am left wondering at the motivations of the players involved.  As this book is to be part of a series, this may be resolved later.

In summary, this book is a well crafted sword and sorcery tale, with elements of political intrigue and romance added for spice.  The characters, although they behave logically for the most part, come across as a bit 2 dimensional at times.  This can be forgiven because this is a plot driven story.  As to the plot, I found it entertaining enough to keep my interest.  The challenges are interesting, and they propel the story forward.

 I would recommend it to fans of fantasy fiction, and I plan on reading the other books in this series as they come out.

3.5 / 5