Rants & Raves

My kids are off from school this week, and I just wasn’t ready to have another review up, so instead you get a new Rants & Raves. Which is fine actually, as there’s been a few things I’ve been thinking about and wanted to put down on paper.

Rant – ah the scifi/fantasy book blogging (reviewing) community. In the span of one day, among the same group of twitter feeds from our community I see bloggers complaining about how scifi/fantasy books get no respect in book awards – and then go on to talk about how they’d never lower themselves to read a tie-in book. You know, harboring the same attitude that those same book awards are showing towards science fiction and fantasy literature. It actually makes me want to actively go out an only read and review tie-in fiction for an entire year – which I’ll consider doing just as soon as some of my favorite authors stop making new original fiction that I really want to read.

Rant – So Gabe at Penny Arcade decided to have a little rant about Star Wars literature a few days ago. I’ve got my own problems at times with Star Wars lit (and I don’t completely disagree with his point about a recent series being somewhat lackluster – that being Fate of the Jedi)… BUT, his big gripe, the one that made him turn away in disgust, is the name Darth Andeddu (because it’s pronounced Undead U or something). This was a name so out of left-field when we’ve had the likes of Darth Maul, Tyranus, Sidious and Bane – such unobtrusive Sith names giving no obvious sign of the meaning behind them. That’s sarcasm folks, when you’re a fan of Star Wars you’ve got to go with the flow on the names thing – George Lucas started that whole trend way back when with names like Luke Skywalker and Solo.

Rave – It can be difficult to find books for my second grader that I feel are both of interest to him as well as actually being worth reading. He’s a big fan of the Thor movie, but we’ve been disappointed to find not too many novels featuring him (and most of the ones that do are just movie adaptations). However, Marvel recently announced a series of Young Readers novels which gives me hope. The series is starting with Spider-Man, but I have hope that if it winds up being a success (as well as the expected success of the Avengers movie) that it will expand into books featuring other characters shortly.

Rave – I was thrilled when a review copy of Uglies: Shay’s Story showed up at my door. Despite having heard great things about this scifi book series, I haven’t had the chance to check it out. But Shay’s Story, as a graphic novel, just jumped up to the top of my reading pile. It made me realize that I wish more books would make the jump to comic adaptations – and if comic companies themselves won’t do it (and they are), then I’m glad the book publishers have started to try it out for themselves. Speaking of which, it may be time for me to start checking out the graphic novels of The Wheel of Time, Elric, and Drizzt – all stories I’m otherwise unlikely to ever read in prose form. Got any other novel-to-graphic novel adaptations to recommend to me?

Two Minutes from Pixar's "Brave"-- Merida Shoots for Her Own Hand

Wow. I can't wait for this to come out.

Meme Time!

Anime Wookie over at My Gallery of Words has tagged me in a meme. Because it's so much more fun to talk about myself than write a review I've decided to participate. But I'm going to be a bad participant and not forward the meme-- unless I get a few requests in the comments. If that happens then I will follow the rules and write up a unique set of 11 questions to pass on. In the meantime- here are my answers. 

1. If you could describe your life in a color, what would it be and why?
My first impulse is to say beige but then I want to quash that because it sounds so boring. But... I think I will go with beige-- and here's why. I'm not a person who's given to extravagant displays of anything. I'm calm from an emotional standpoint and pretty sensible from every other angle, but I go with just about anything. I'm not spontaneous by nature, but I can go with the flow like nobody's business.

2. Do you have any pets? If so, what are they, their name/s and why do they fit your personality?
I have a Maltipoo (Maltese Poodle) named Sassy and a black cat (pound rescue) named Mimi.  My cat fits my personality because she's aloof and doesn't need me fussing over her too much, but she's also incredibly easygoing and a little bit of a klutz. My dog is a spaz, even at eight-years-old, but she's also super friendly and wouldn't hurt a fly-- she's also a klutz (see a theme here?). What I love best about my pets is that my kids can manhandle them with impunity and I don't have to worry about a scratch or a bite-- best pets ever.

3. Where did you fit in in high school...jock, band geek, popular crowd...etc?
I'm not sure that I fit into a particular group. I kinda-sorta fit with the geeks due to my geeky interest in fantasy literature, but I was also able to drift into the popular crowd because I was on the drill team. My first boyfriend would have been considered part of the "goth" crowd, though the term hadn't been coined yet (boy did his friends hate me for the pastel color-palate of my clothes). I've always thought of myself as someone who floated between groups without solidly landing in any of them.

4.How do you react in an emergency...fight or flight, go get help, the calm one???
I'm definitely the calm one. I tend to assess the situation and then act. I'm probably more likely to call for help if it's a big situation, like a car accident. If it's a smaller emergency I'll help if the fast-acting types haven't beat me to it (if I'm in a crowd of ditherers I'll probably be the first to jump in).

5. If they were making a movie of your life, who would you chose to play you... why?
Well, first you'd have to presume I'd be interesting enough to base a movie on (not even close), but if I were I'd pick someone like Rachel Weisz or Kate Beckinsdale-- I mean, who wouldn't?

6. Why is your best friend your best friend, what makes them so special?
My husband- no contest. Ever since we met (17 years ago) it's like we knew each other already. He's the only person I've ever met who honestly understood how I think. Don't get me wrong, we bicker, but I still think he's the most awesome person I know.

7. If money was no object, and you were going to buy yourself something completely frivolous, what would it be, and why?
That's tough because I'm so literal. For example, I'd love to pick a really expensive, luxurious car-- okay expensive for me (like a BMW). But then my rational brain starts thinking but after I pay for it I have to maintain it-- and repairs are expensive! But then I start thinking really big-- like a house! Then I think but I'd have to heat and furnish it... This is a real rabbit hole for me. Maybe I'd just get a Macbook because spending over $1,000 on a laptop seems pretty extravagant to me-- and I don't have to worry about paying for anything after the fact.

8. Three words that describe your personality?
After the last question-- literal comes to mind. I'm also honest to a fault (just ask my friends) and very sensible (some might say boring-- but I ignore those people).

9. Who was your favorite teacher and how did they influence you?
Professor Dorman- one of my journalism teachers in college. Despite the bad reputation journalism has these days (mostly deserved IMHO) he really tried to stress objectivity as the main thing to focus on as a journalist. I remember writing a 15-page paper for his class comparing media coverage between the New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor during the Vietnam War--he wasn't interested in pushing an agenda, he was trying to teach us to see the agenda; especially when it was being pushed by the media. He was very approachable to us students and even wrote a recommendation letter for me when I applied to go to school in Japan (I got into the program).

10. What do you consider true strength?
Doing the right thing-- even in the face of personal risk.

11. What is your favorite game? (video, board, card...any kind)
I'm a puzzle person. On my computer that might take the form of Mahjong or Tetris (though I haven't played those in ages). Not too long ago I got into a game on my iPad called Escape Rosecliff Island-- which is all about finding hidden objects within a picture. I finished the game in a weekend.

12.What season do you love the most, why?
Autumn. I live in Northern California, which can get really hot in the summer, so the Fall coolness is always a nice relief. But what I like most are the Fall leaves-- so beautiful. Also, the older I get the more I enjoy spending the holidays with my kids and Autumn is the starting point of a fun time of year for me.

Waiting on Wednesday

This is a blog meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming books. This week we're featuring picks chosen by SQT and Jim.

SQT's can't wait to read selection is:

Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines
Publisher: DAW
Pages: 400
Date: August 7, 2012

Isaac Vainio has spent the past two years working at the Copper River Library in northern Michigan, secretly cataloguing books for their magical potential, but forbidden from using that magic himself . . . except for emergencies. Emergencies like a trio of young vampires who believe Isaac has been killing their kind, and intend to return the favor.

Isaac is a libriomancer, brilliant but undisciplined, with the ability to reach into books and create objects from their pages. And attacking a libriomancer in his own library is never a good idea.

But vampires are only the beginning. This was merely the latest in a series of attacks against members of Die Zwelf Portenære, a secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg to protect the world from supernatural threats. Among the casualties is Ray Walker, Isaac’s friend and mentor in magic.

Complicating matters further is the arrival of a dryad named Lena Greenwood. Lena packs a pair of wooden swords and proves to be quite adept at helping to beat down various magical threats. She also seems to be a little too interested in Isaac . . . not that he minds. Yet Lena’s nature could make her a greater threat than any vampire.

Along with a neurotic fire-spider named Smudge, Isaac and Lena set out to find and stop whoever is behind the attacks. But things are worse than Isaac imagined. An unknown killer of unimaginable power has been torturing and murdering humans and vampires alike. And Gutenberg, now more than six hundred years old, has disappeared.

As Isaac searches for Gutenberg and the murderer, hoping they aren’t one and the same, he uncovers dark secrets about magic’s history and potential. Secrets which could destroy Die Zwelf Portenære and loose a magical war upon the world. If Isaac is to have any hope of preventing that war, he will have to truly master the magic of libriomancy.

Assuming he doesn’t lose control and wipe himself from existence first.

I've became a fan of Jim C. Hines after reading The Stepsister Scheme and if "Libriomancer" has any of the charm of that series (and I'm sure it will) then it's a guaranteed winner.


Jim's can't wait to read selection is:

The Devil's Nebula by Eric Brown
Publisher: Abaddon (Solaris)
Date: May 29, 2012
Pages: 320

Best-selling author Eric Brown has created a brand new shared world for Abaddon Books: Weird Space. This thrilling space-opera series will begin in June 2012 with the release of The Devil's Nebula by the best-selling author of Helix, Engineman and The Kings of Eternity.

In the first book in this epic new series, Brown will introduce readers to the human smugglers, veterans and ne’erdowells who are part of the Expansion – and their uneasy neighbours, the Vetch Empire. When an evil race threatens not only the Expansion, but the Vetch too - an evil from another dimension which infests humans and Vetch alike and bends individuals to do their hideous bidding, only cooperation between them means the difference between a chance of survival and no chance at all.

Brown has meticulously created a massive shared world of interstellar potential, which other writers will explore with each new book.

Space-opera shared universe from the fine folks at Solaris. And just look at that cover - drool worthy for the scifi fan. I haven't read anything by Eric Brown as yet, but I'm thinking this is going to be my first try at his stuff.

"Discount Armageddon" by Seanan McGuire-- Light Urban Fantasy Done Right

Verity Price was raised as a Cryptozoologist-- someone who studies non-human creatures known as cryptids. She knows all about bogeymen, chupacabras and ghouls, though she'd rather be dancing the rumba. Verity negotiates a compromise with her family that allows her to live in New York City and pursue a ballroom dancing career as long as she agrees to monitor the local cryptid community.

And life in New York is certainly interesting for Verity. Between living in a barely-legal sublet, owned by a Sasquatch, to working as a cocktail waitress in a cryptid strip-club, she just manages to squeeze in enough time to prowl the rooftops and watch over the local cryptids. What little time she has left, and it isn't much, is used for her beloved dance competitions.

But the delicate balance Verity has managed in her life comes to a screeching halt when she encounters a member of The Covenant. Many generations before Verity was born The Price family split from The Covenant over a difference in how to treat the cryptid community: the Prices believe in living in harmony with them while The Covenant believes they should all be destroyed. And if butting heads with The Covenant isn't enough, there are also rumors of something big, very big, living in the sewers of New York -- and cryptids are disappearing in large numbers.

I've been hearing good things about Seanan McGuire for awhile and Discount Armageddon proves that McGuire is a writer that only gets better with each book. When I first read the description for "Discount Armageddon" I wasn't sure about the idea of a heroine who happens to be infatuated with ballroom dance, but it's a idea that works surprisingly well. Verity has an unusual upbringing as someone who grows up in a family of experts on monstrous creatures and is trained to defend herself from childhood. Unlike her siblings, who demonstrate a love of bombs and booby-traps practically from infancy, Verity learns to incorporate her love of dancing into her martial-arts training-- and as a martial artist who has preached for many years that dancing and fighting are very complimentary I heartily approve of this particular plot point.

But Verity's dancing is only a small part of a particularly well constructed story. I love the concept of a community of creatures, known as cryptids in this case, that live alongside an oblivious humanity. It's not a new idea but the mythology here is done so well. McGuire takes urban legends, fairy tales and her own creations and melds them into a fresh, fun concoction. And creatures that we think we know, like the Gorgon or the boogeyman, are tweaked just enough to put them into the story as secondary characters and it works.

And critiques I have for "Discount Armageddon" are really minor. The main one would be that the initial antagonist in the book, the member of The Covenant that Verity meets, isn't really antagonistic enough.  He and Verity have a believable chemistry but I think I would have liked to see a little more of the push-and-pull that comes with that particular story line--the moment when he must challenge his inbred loyalties is a bit anticlimactic because he never appears to fight them that hard.

But as a work of light paranormal fiction "Discount Armageddon" is a nearly perfect example of what the genre should be. The world that is constructed here is nicely complex without being overly complicated. The characters, especially Verity, are well developed and convincingly original and there's never that moment where you feel bombarded with names or struggle with remembering who's who. The story moves briskly with lots of humor thrown in but the balance of action is right on the money and McGuire proves adept at making sure the story never gets too busy. Even the romance angle is well integrated and never steals too much from the overall narrative. If you're a fan of urban fantasy that is light on the angst and drama and strong on action and fun then I can easily recommend "Discount Armageddon."

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Giveaway! "The Scar" by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko

Courtesy of Tor Books I have a copy of The Scar by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko to offer for giveaway.

Reaching far beyond sword and sorcery, The Scar is a story of two people torn by disaster, their descent into despair, and their reemergence through love and courage. Sergey and Marina Dyachenko mix dramatic scenes with romance, action and wit, in a style both direct and lyrical. Written with a sure artistic hand, The Scar is the story of a man driven by his own feverish demons to find redemption and the woman who just might save him.

Egert is a brash, confident member of the elite guards and an egotistical philanderer. But after he kills an innocent student in a duel, a mysterious man known as “The Wanderer” challenges Egert and slashes his face with his sword, leaving Egert with a scar that comes to symbolize his cowardice. Unable to end his suffering by his own hand, Egert embarks on an odyssey to undo the curse and the horrible damage he has caused, which can only be repaired by a painful journey down a long and harrowing path.

Can't wait to read this one myself...

Just add your information to the form below to enter (all information is guaranteed confidential and will be discarded once the contest ends) and I will randomly pick one winner by Tuesday February 28th. No multiple entries please-- all multiple entries will be discarded. Open everywhere.

Good luck!

Series Commentary: Power Rangers: Samurai

When Power Rangers: Samurai was announced, the hype was huge. Saban was taking over Power Rangers again, and they were moving to Nickelodeon. On top of that, it was a whole team of freakin' samurai! We counted down until the big reveal, and then the Rangers came.

They had no introductions, already seemed to know each other, and the Green Ranger, on whom the first episode was focused, was completely annoying. Samurai got a little better. The characters would develop some, an "honorable villain" was introduced, and... yeah, that's about all I've got.

Here's the thing with Samurai- they're afraid to take chances. The villains have no menace to them, because they're constantly cracking jokes. At 23 episodes, Power Rangers: Samurai was the shortest season of Rangers yet, and for all the development the characters get, it shows. The most developed character is... yeah, I got nothin'. Probably the Blue Ranger, because we know all there is to know about his character: He's deadly serious, is 100% focused on training, and has no time or interest for anything else. There could have been a more developed character. Farkas Bulkmeyer, veteran of seven Power Rangers seasons returns- but Saban couldn't have that. They've mentioned in interviews that this is an alternate universe version of Bulk, along with his pupil, Spike Skullovich. Cee Lo Green sums up my response to that in two words.

For fans of the early show, Bulk's presence on Samurai was like Tommy Oliver's presence on Dino Thunder: A character who had completed the Hero's Journey coming back as a mentor figure to impart their experience on a new generation. Obviously, no one expected Bulk to be killing Moogers left and right or teaching the rangers, but we expected the Bulk we've come to know and love over the better part of a decade; the Bulk who, along with his best friend, stood up to the invasion of Earth by the United Alliance of Evil. Saban's comment? "Sorry, not him." At that point, all but the most devoted fans (read: reviewers who feel compelled to slog through this crap) said, "Sorry, not my show".

Sure, the action is okay, and there are some interesting dilemmas dealt with, but this show is too shallow for anyone outside the target age range to really like. Samurai was split into two seasons for some ridiculous reason. The real end of Season 1 was Episode 18, in October. Episodes 19 and 20 were the first two episodes, displaced from the beginning of the season for no reason that anyone seems to be able to figure out, followed by a Halloween clip-show that does nothing but make fun of the Season in what has to be the worst Halloween Special I've seen in Power Rangers History, a crossover with the previous season that was yanked from future continuity, and then a Christmas-special-slash-season-finale that is another clipshow. In other words, twenty episodes, a basically non-canon special two parter, and two clipshows. Frak this season. What really cements my anger at this season, though, is the fact that it was cut in half as a cheap marketing ploy. On the 18th of this month, the second season, Super Samurai, starts. Let it ease my anger at the way this season ended and give me something fond to remember it by. Oh, and here's the trailer for Super Samurai:

Graphic Novel Review - The Mighty Thor vol. 1

Thor was my favorite Marvel movie of last year, and my interest in his comics quickly followed. When this new series was announced I was already thinking it was set up nicely for me to start as a relatively new reader to this character – and then with the added bonus of a scifi element (with the addition of the Silver Surfer and Galactus), well I just knew I couldn’t miss this first arc of The Mighty Thor.

Asgard, the home of the Norse Gods, has fallen to Earth and nearly destroyed in a war waged by the forces of the Dark Avengers. The fallout of that battle is still being felt, as the World Tree (a cosmic connection between worlds of Asgardian myth) has broken and revealed a powerful artifact called the Seed. Odin sends Thor and Sif to retrieve the vulnerable Seed before someone takes it’s power for their own, but the energy spike has caught the attention of one whose hunger never ceases.

Galactus comes to Earth, but this time not to devour the planet (as has been chronicled in the past with his battles against the Fantastic Four) but this time to battle the Asgardians and take the Seed. The Asgardians for their part are unwilling to part with their sacred object, and prepare for a war against Galactus and his herald the Silver Surfer. Even though Earth is not the object of Galactus desire, with two Godlike races locked in a battle, how soon will it be before the Earth itself and all life upon it is razed in the collateral damage?

Set against this backdrop of cosmic proportions are a number of smaller intertwined tales. Thor was wounded by the Seed as he was retrieving it, and the resulting wound is unlike any he has ever had before. His Asgardian friends are well represented in this book as well, from his dalliances with Sif, to his brother Loki who has been reborn as a child. Loki is trying to do right by his brother and his people, but after everything he has done in the past (despite not remembering any of it) few really trust him – and Thor’s trust will be tested most of all. Meanwhile, the Silver Surfer is faced with a moral choice where he may not be on the right side. Is it right to allow the destruction of the Earth and all its inhabitants in order to ensure that Galactus is sated for all time?

Of course the battles are spectacular in this book, when you’re dealing with two powerful heroes like Thor and Silver Surfer fighting on opposite sides things are bound to seem larger than life. The art style fits the story perfectly, I never had any trouble understanding what was going on (though there are a few confusing moments in the story that never quite gelled for me, of course this being an ongoing series, it’s possible those are threads to be revealed in future issues). The resolution to this tale was spot on, not only was it a great way to end the story, providing the only stop-gap solution that makes any sense, but it also provides lots of opportunities for future stories to spin out of this, as well as maintaining a sense that at any moment the war could begin anew. I like that kind of balance in the story, knowing that things aren’t necessarily wrapped up in a nice bow even as the current story arc comes to a close.

In case I haven’t been clear enough, I thought this first volume of The Mighty Thor was great. I’d highly recommend it to anyone whose interest was raised in the character by the recent movie, it does a good job of bringing readers up to speed with the current status of Thor and his companions in the Marvel universe, and presents an excellent story with revealing character moments all accompanied by beautiful artwork. What more could you ask for in a graphic novel?

Waiting on Wednesday

This is a blog meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming books. This week we're featuring picks chosen by SQT and Jim.

SQT's can't wait to read selection is:

Tricked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Four) by Kevin Hearne
Publisher: Del Rey
Date: April 24, 2012
Pages: 368

Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert.

But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.

I put "Tricked" on my "Most Anticipated" list for 2012, but I had to add it to my WoW list for those who haven't read this series. If you like paranormal fiction, you have to give this series a go. It's funny, action packed and inventive. It isn't just UF for guys-- it's for anyone who likes the paranormal genre.


Jim's can't wait to read selection is:

 The Black Dragon by Chris Claremont & John Bolton
 Publisher: Titan Books
 Date: August 14, 2012
 pages: 200

  It is the Year of Our Lord 1193. James Dunreith, exiled by his leige lord and king, Henry, has returned to reclaim the land that is his birthright.Branded a sorceror, Dunreith is pressed into the service of his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, to seek out one who rebels against the crown - one who was once his truest friend. Yet more dangerous than any political threat is the plot to harness the ancient, magical soul of the land and turn it into the ultimate evil.Can Dunreith's brave heart, and the power of queens both faery and mortal, save the land from the predations of the Black Dragon? 

You might see me feature some graphic novels in this space in the year ahead, since I anticipate some of those releases as much as I do novels. I haven't always loved everything written by Chris Claremont (see his Willow novels and some of his more recent Marvel work) but this sounds very interesting, and it was first published at a time when I think he was still close to his prime.

"Blackbirds" by Chuck Wendig-- Brash and Brilliant

When you look at a cover for a book like Blackbirds you think you're going to get something in keeping with the ethereal image; but Chuck Wendig offers something else entirely-- and that's not a bad thing at all.

Miriam Black can see a person's death whenever she makes skin-to-skin contact: she knows the exact moment and circumstances and sees it all with disturbing clarity. Miriam has adapted to her strange life by becoming a scavenger of the dead. Knowing when someone will die, alone, doesn't provide Miriam with a living much beyond subsistence level, but it enables her to drift along the margins of society without having to interact with people beyond a superficial level-- which is just how Miriam likes it.

Miriam knows that interference with fate is not an option-- she's tried to help people in the past but that only seemed to cement the final outcome. But when Miriam shakes hands with Louis Darling and sees that he will die in 30 days, while calling her name, she realizes that fate might be choosing to involve her this time around.

I first became interested in "Blackbirds" because of its evocative cover, so beautifully done by Joey Hi-Fi, and I had the expectation that Miriam would have a dreamy way of looking at the world as one of those people who accepts their life with calm stoicism. But Miriam is anything but complacent and that fact is made clear right away as she springs to life, full of piss and vinegar, in all of her chain-smoking, swearing glory.

Miriam is a reflection of the world she inhabits. Any casual contact with another person brings visions of death that can be as benign as a heart attack or as graphic as a gunshot to the head. There's no censor to spare Miriam from the gory details and she uses her abrasive manner to shield herself from life's harsh realities. But the usual strategies she employs to keep her contact with others to an absolute minimum are upended when she meets Louis. It isn't just the vision of his death, or her involvement, that unsettles Miriam but also the unexpected kindness Louis shows her when they meet. So it's especially tragic when Miriam is unwillingly pulled into a cruel con targeting Louis that further deepens her frustration over her inability to change his destiny.

Miriam is one of the best characters I've encountered in modern fiction. She's someone who should be fairly unsympathetic thanks to the nearly-constant stream of profanity that comes out of her mouth, but there is so much more to Miriam than a few f-bombs. She is damaged and yet strangely endearing. Normal relationships are impossible so she compensates by being incredibly verbose with people she feels safe with-- usually among the about-to-die crowd. The connections she makes in those moments aren't much, but they're all she has. She's young but worn out, almost grimy, and prone to bad decisions in stressful situations. And for all that, she still yearns to do the right thing-- even when she's sure she'll fail.

The villains in "Blackbirds" run the gamut from psychopathic to mildly conniving. Characters that could be easy stereotypes are deftly shaped into something different, strange even, yet still convincing in a real-world setting. What I appreciated about this aspect of the book was that each character had a distinct motivation, some as simple as just doing the job and others with more menacing undertones, that kept the narrative interesting and credible even when circumstances get weird.

It would be easy to make superficial comparisons to authors like Joe Abercrombie thanks to the profanity used in "Blackbirds," but I think I like Wendig's style more than Abercrombie's (no disrespect to Joe) because I never felt like there was an underlying thread of nihilism to the story. It's bleak at times, but there's such a ferocious sense of humor in Miriam's character that you know she still has a glimmer of hope no matter how dark things get. I don't want to offer too many spoilers in this review, but I will say that the mystery of Miriam's ability is never fully revealed-- though the outline of a reason is there. At first I couldn't decide if I hated that aspect of the book or not. But I have since come to the conclusion that it is not only appropriate to the flow of the story, it makes perfect sense that Miriam's story can only be partially told because she can't ever get to the right level of connection in a relationship to really have a chance to open up to anyone. The gaps in the story create such a sense of poignancy and add a depth I didn't know could exist by not fully revealing something.

"Blackbirds" is one of those books that lingers with you a bit-- in a good way. Wendig has such a bold style that the emotional payoff is as big as the characters. It's the kind of book that has the potential to put Wendig on the map as a 'must-read' author-- I know he's made my list. Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars.