Book Review - Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

 

Lake Silence by Anne Bishop is about a human woman, Vicki DeVine, who is trying to get her life back in order after going through a divorce. Vicki was awarded her husband, Yorrick’s, family resort as part of her divorce settlement. She decides to fix up the place and open it up as a resort for both humans and Others alike. She hopes that she can get enough visitors to help support herself.

In this world, humans and animals are not the only beings that populate the world. There are extraordinary creatures that are called Others. They can be elemental, vampires, shape shifters, and even other scary things that go bump in the night.  The area that her resort is located on, Lake Silence, is controlled by these Others. Human laws do not apply here. It is something that every visitor and resident of Lake Silence must remember because if someone breaks the rules, they will face the consequences. 

As Vicki hopes to finish renovating the resort and start over, her lodger, Aggie Crowe, found a dead body on the property. Aggie is a member of the shape shifting Crow Other group. Vicki worries that the dead body would cause more trouble to be stirred up and may interfere with her renovating plans.

Detectives are called to the scene to help figure out who the victim is. As they investigate the murder, it is made very clear that nothing human could have killed the victim based on the condition the body was left in. However, the detectives still try to pin the death on Vicki. Vicki is desperate to prove that she is innocent and tries to find out who is behind the murder. As Vicki enlists her friends for assistance, it is discovered that someone has broken one of the rules set by the Others, and the Others will stop at nothing to enact punishment.

The novel is a standalone but takes place in the same world as another book series by the author. The book was easy to follow even though I am not familiar with the world. It did move a bit slowly with chapters after chapters of nothing happening. There were a few things I had to learn, like the days of the week in this fictional world, and the different types of Others. The author included a nifty section detailing some aspects of the world to make it easier for readers who are not familiar with her books and characters. I was confused that they put the “Lady of the Lake” on the cover as she was a minor character and didn’t really have much to do with the plot. It was a bit annoying because I had picked up this book based on the cover alone. I guess this teaches me not to judge a book by the cover.

The book started off okay but after a few chapters in I couldn’t stand Vicki DeVine. She was an annoying, blubbering fool. She sits there and feels sorry for herself yet does nothing. The only thing she does is talk about how “yummy” her vampire lawyer is and about various characters’ “vigorous appendages”. This novel reads like amateur and juvenile fan fiction.  Vicki’s behavior doesn’t seem like it would be something a grown woman in her thirties would be acting like. She constantly mentions the sex thoughts about the men around her.  Some of the other elements in the book are just plain laughable. For example, the “club” that the bad men belong to is called the “Tie Clip Club”. That name  seems like something a child came up with, and does not jive with the adult theme of the book.

If the book didn’t include Vicki, I would have enjoyed it alot more. She was a completely useless character and I found her annoying. She and other characters kept mentioning she had body issues and anxiety but the story never did anything to address them. Instead, Vicki would just shut down around men who were mean to her. And for some odd reason, men either acted cruel to her or treated her really nicely. Those same men are the ones who make all of her decisions. It feels at times, she is just a secondary character in her own story.  While I am in no rush in reading more of the author’s books, I will say that she is skilled in creating detailed worlds. In my opinion, her main characters were not so great.

Book Review - My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse

 

My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse is about a woman, Iris Prince, who is starting over after a divorce.  Iris feels that she needs a change. She feels that she and her husband, Alex, want different things in life. She decides that a divorce will help her find her path again. She and her nine year old daughter, Melanie, move to a new town to start over.

Iris feels that she will have more time to pursue her passions and things she wants to do. She even feels that she will be able to connect and bond with her new neighbors. After spending a few days in her new place, she wakes up one morning and looks out her kitchen window. She noticed a wall appeared in her front yard overnight. The wall wasn’t there last night and it seems to be growing and looks more menacing as time goes by. 

A new law was proposed and passed that requires everyone to wear “the Band”. It is supposedly a convenient way to help people pay bills, get access to utilities, and serves as an ID. The catch is, only people who can prove that their parents are US citizens can have access to the band.

Iris was proud to be a second generation Mexican American woman. Growing up her parents has always told her that no one can take away her citizenship because Iris was born in the US. However, that all changes when Iris is no longer able to qualify for “the Band” since her parents are undocumented.  How far will Iris go to protect what matters to her the most while everything around seems to be closing in on her?

The novel started off okay but then I lost interest towards the middle. The book was boring and didn’t really have much going on. I also didn’t like that some of the characters spoke in Spanish and there was no translation to help readers understand what was going on. After a while, it became too cumbersome to look up every other sentence to figure out what the characters were saying. The ending was especially disappointing as it was mostly in Spanish also. Therefore, I had no idea how it ended and from what I was able to understand it didn’t really seem like it gave the readers any closure.

The book is from people of Mexican descent’s point of view in dealing with the changes due to the “bands”. I would have been interested in reading to see how other minorities dealt with these changes as well. I didn’t find any of the characters interesting or relatable. While they were trying to do the best they could do with the new mandates, I found some of the characters selfish and not loyal to their family members and culture. The book has tons of symbolism  and cultural references that were interesting but, it wasn’t enough to make the story more captivating. The book might be enjoyable if you understand Spanish to better grasp these parts of the story containing Spanish phrases. Otherwise I would say just skip it.

Book Review - The Blue Flame by Christopher Cantwell

 

The Blue Flame by Christopher Cantwell is about an HVAC repairman who creates a suit that allows him to travel into space. Sam Brausam is a blue collar repairman during the day and at night, he is Blue Flame, a vigilante, who fights crime.

At a local convention to showcase the acts of Blue Flame and his fellow vigilantes, an unexpected and horrific tragedy occurs. The tragedy leaves many people hurt and killed, including Sam and all of his friends. While Sam is trying to come to terms with the aftermath, he is given an impossible task. 

There is another story arc, where Sam uses his special suit to visit another planet. While there, he is captured by the native inhabitants. His captors put him on trial and tell him that he must prove why humanity is worth saving, otherwise they will wipe Earth of all humans. Sam isn’t sure if he is able to help humanity when he is barely able to help himself overcome his grief. Will Sam be able to pull himself together to help humanity one more time?

I thought the graphic novel was a confusing read. I normally don’t read sci-fi novels but the premise of this one seemed interesting. The story did have a few twists but I had a hard time following the two different timelines: 1) where Sam survived a shooting and 2) the timeline where the world depended on Sam. I didn’t understand why he was on trial to defend humanity. Was this a test that his conscience came up with or is this actually happening? I felt that the ending was a bit abrupt and didn’t really let the audience know what humanity’s faith was. Were we supposed to read between the lines? The book was boring and it didn’t help that the author didn’t flesh out the story to help understand why Blue Flame specifically was on trial.

Book Review - A Brief History of Living Forever by Jaroslav Kalfar

 

A Brief History of Living Forever by Jaroslav Kalfar is about a woman who learns that she has a terminal illness and decides to put her affairs in order. Adela is a native in a small Czech village. She spends most of her days taking care of her family and going to work. As she doesn’t have long to live, she decides that she will use this opportunity to reunite with her daughter in America.

Adela gave up her daughter, Tereza, when she was born decades earlier at the time of her birth. Adela is excited to revisit the country where she married a filmmaker and starred in a movie. However, things were completely different in 2030 since her last visit to the States. America is now ruled by an authoritarian government and has closed itself off from the rest of the world. Its citizens and residents must abide by strict rules and policies if they wish to visit or live in the country.

 

Tereza works for VITA, a cutting edge biotech company that will stop at nothing to discover the key to immortality. She is a lead researcher at the company and she hopes to help it in its quest. 

 

Tereza is excited when she meets her mother for the first time and finds herself instantly connecting with her.  Unfortunately, their time is cut short after a devastating event. Tereza tries to figure out where her mother is when she notices an alarming VITA activity in an abandoned area. She realizes she needs help to find her mother.  She decides to find her brother, who she has never met to ask for help.

 

The novel was narrated by Adela’s restless spirit as she tries to navigate the world from beyond. She is unsure how she has consciousness without inhabiting her body. The book was a quirky SciFi read. It had some interesting moments, which gave insight into how the author viewed the possibility of a dystopian world. At times, I thought the book was too political.  Some of the events the author mentioned happened recently in American politics that seemed like the author was trying to impress their opinion of current events onto the readers.

 

I thought the book progressed very slowly at times. The book was narrated by Adela in the present and when she reflects on her past. There were times I struggled to understand why she was telling a story from her past when it didn’t seem relevant to the current story. I didn’t really care for the book as it was very boring and I was struggling to finish it.

 

Book Review - Detective Strongoak and the Case of the Dead Elf by Terry Newman

Photo Source - Amazon.com

Private detective Nicely Strongoak goes about his day until he is asked to investigate the case of a missing surfer. The case seeming easy enough turns into a whirlwind of mystery and murder.  The book which is a mishmash between LOTR, mystery noir, humor and thriller takes readers to a fantasy world filled with colorful characters. 

While, investigating the missing surfer, Perry Goodfellow, is thrown into a chaotic world filled with murder, death, fire, drugs, magic and goblins. He awakens after one of his investigations next to a murdered elf with Nicely's weapon engraved into his skull. With death knocking on every door, Nicely must navigate the sticky world of politics while making sure he's not next.

The mysterious thriller is tinged with jokes and wildly creative characters that takes the reader for a wild ride.  It is a quick read but can be a bit wordy at times. A great read for anyone who likes fantasy books or who has a soft spot for private eye dwarfs!