Shadow Fall
by Erin Kellison
Dorchester Publishing

MM Paperback

First book in the series was Shadow Bound, also reviewed by Superwench.

Deep in Twilight, in the forested realm where fey rule beneath the shadowed trees, a predator stalks the graceful mortal Annabella, hungry for her power. For Annabella’s talent with ballet is indeed magical, transcending the mortal realm until her dance calls Twilight near–and brings into her world both her wolf stalker and a man who appoints himself her guardian angel.

Custo Santovari was last seen in Erin Kellison’s Shadow Bound, where he passed through the Twilight Shadowlands to what lay beyond. Now he’s back in Shadow Fall, eager to continue his fight with the wraith, but more important, eager to banish Annabella’s stalker from the mortal world before Annabella, too, vanishes into Twilight–forever.

Since Shadow Bound didn’t give me enough of this very interesting Custo character, I was pleased to see him as the protagonist of Shadow Fall, and I wasn’t disappointed at that. Not only do Custo and Annabella have conflicts, but their conflicts feel real. So many times, I run across characters whose inner conflicts come across as staged, only present because that’s “the rule” for making complex characters. Not so here. These characters are realistic, a challenging task. And likeable, too, which still astonishes me, as urban fantasy so often disappoints on that front for me. No bitchy, kick-ass heroines or tough-guy jerks in sight. Custo and Annabella can hold their own without an attitude problem. This continues to be my favorite aspect of Kellison’s books.

Another thing I looked forward to in Shadow Fall was spending more time in Twilight, and her again I was pleased. The vehicle through which we get to Twilight in this book was such a perfect way to enter into the land’s macabre beauty. I have always been awed by ballet (perhaps because it’s a mystery to me how one can be so graceful, as I am the world’s clumsiest person). It’s so etheral almost, so strong and airy all at once, and its delicate grace is a perfect complement to the land of the fey. The concept of artistic mediums as a gateway to another world is another continuing aspect of this series that I love, and I’m really excited to see where that thread leads in later books.

As with Shadow Bound, I find it hard to find complaints about Shadow Fall. The one nitpicky detail that sticks out is that I didn’t think Custo’s own artistic talent (I won’t say what it is), which we learn about closer to the end of the book, was adequately set up. It seemed a bit sudden that he should have this interest and talent when it never appeared in his thoughts before. To reach that level of mastery, you must be consumed by it enough that not a day goes by when it doesn’t cross your mind. But that’s hardly any reason not to read this book. A nitpick, like I said.

With its ventures into the fey’s brooding and beautiful Twilight woods, the wolf stalking the lovely ballerina, and one man’s quest to save her, Shadow Fall reads like a New York fairy tale. As with its predecessor, Shadow Fall is part of Dorchester’s Guaranteed Read program, which means if you’re not satisfied, you can return it by September 27 for a full refund. But also like its predecessor, you may want to forget the refund and make room for it on your shelf. I know I have!

Reviewed by Superwench83.

Katie Lovett, better known around these parts as Superwench83, is an aspiring novelist and published short fiction author. She blogs about writing, books, and the fantasy genre at her website, www.katie-lovett.com.

Tia here. I wasn’t hooked until I read about the ballet. I just love when authors combine some art with magic. Now I’m thinking I need to read these.

Insatiable
by Meg Cabot
William Morrow

Hardcover

Insatiable by Meg Cabot is what I’d call paranormal chick lit. Who’d have thought such a thing would ever exist? But Insatiable’s protagonist, Meena Harper, is every inch the chick lit heroine. A designer purse-coveting dialogue writer for a soap opera with falling ratings who has issues with men and a certain female coworker, she is the typical chick lit protagonist but for one thing: she can shake your hand and know exactly how you’ll die.

Unless you’re a vampire, of course. Vampires are already dead. But vampires don’t exist…or so Meena thinks until her life is overrun by them.

Sick of vampires? So am I. Not that I don’t like vampires, just that they’re so overdone, and often feature bad-tempered heroines who I actually want the vampire to kill. But every once in a while, a vampire book or movie grabs me. Insatiable was one of these. (And not just because a free hardback came with admission to RWA Nationals.)

The light humor in Insatiable is what hooked me, thanks to an excerpt on the back cover. When Meena falls for a handsome vampire and lets him bite her, he finds that he, too, knows how people will die. Meena reminds him that he drank her blood. “You are what you eat, you know.” This sense of humor permeates Insatiable, putting a smile on your face or forcing a wry laugh every few pages. If you’ve never read Meg Cabot, you may still be familiar with her humorous style from movies based on her books (The Princess Diaries 1 and 2). This is what you’ll find in Insatiable–though, unlike The Princess Diaries, this is adult, not YA. Meena is a plucky, relatable character (minus her desire for $5000 purses—really, who spends that?!) with whom it’s easy to sympathize.

Regarding other characters, Alaric the vampire slayer was in my opinion the most interesting. Not that heartthrob vampire Lucien wasn’t interesting, but Alaric’s character arc is really great. He’s a bit close-minded, yet not too much so, as we see as the story unfolds. His changing perspective is, most importantly, realistic, due to the fact that it is slow and full of baby steps, so perfect given his strong character. I really did like Alaric more and more with every page. I guess I’m not as drawn to melancholy but still smiling men with soulful eyes who fix you breakfast and buy you stuff and are too, too perfect until you learn that they’re vampires as I am to egotistical, irreverent, impatient men who break down doors and don’t follow rules and are chided by their superiors for being too abrasive, yet who you can somehow grudgingly come to care for all the same. Personal tastes, I suppose.

Insatiable also has a couple neat takes on vampire lore, explaining why vampires have historically been unable to enter homes unless invited or appear in mirrors or on film.

Insatiable worked for me because it offered something different. A vampire novel, yes, but also a chick lit book. Two things I rarely read, blended into one, with a likable protagonist whose strange ability earned her the name You’re-Gonna-Die Girl in high school. That just sounds fun to me, and it was. It’s probably not for fans of the gritty, kick-ass vampires of urban fantasy, but it’s not all sparkly, romanticized Twilight-style vampires, either. If you’re looking for something in between, something just a shay different, Insatiable may work for you, too.

Reviewed by Katie Lovett

Katie Lovett, better known around these parts as Superwench83, is an aspiring novelist and published short fiction author. She blogs about writing, books, and the fantasy genre at her website, www.katie-lovett.com.

The Alchemy of Stone
by Ekaterina Sedia
Prime Books
Trade Paperback – $14.95

Reviewed by Superwench83

The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia introduces us to a world where the class lines are set in stone–in some cases literally. There are the Alchemists, whose draughts can heal and hurt; the Mechanics, whose engineering feats perform countless tasks and propel the city dwellers through the streets; and there are the gargoyles, who brought the city into being long ago and are in danger of becoming one with those buildings as their bodies become unmoving stone. The gargoyles believe that Mattie, an automaton and an Alchemist, can help them thrive once again. And there are others in the city’s shadows and hidden places who seek Mattie’s help as well.

As an automaton, Mattie had never belonged to a social class until she was freed and joined the Alchemists’ ranks. Unlike other automatons, Mattie can think and feel. Her maker, Loharri, has given her the ability to perceive both pleasure and pain, and he is often the cause of both. Imbued with such humanity but not part of that race, Mattie’s life is full of longing, of unfulfilled dreams, and of knowing she will never truly belong. Her one true aspiration is to win complete freedom from Lohari, who controls whether she lives or dies with the key to her clockwork heart. When a mysterious aquaintance of Loharri’s hires Mattie to mix her a potion, she sees this as an opportunity to take the key from Loharri and finally control her own destiny.

Ekaterina Sedia does a good job of making Mattie seem human, of displaying the many ways in which she is human despite her metal form. Mattie has all the emotions and desires of any other woman. She even has a woman’s sensibilities, show in one scene where she has to hold her skirts up to hurry after someone, and is self-conscious about the scandal of exposing her legs. A sympathetic and endearing character, Mattie experiences a range of emotions which many of the humans in her life seem to be without.

The Alchemy of Stone has a beautiful literary style and a plot full of intricacies. It’s an intriguing read, and it manages to make fresh the story of a robot who is human at heart. Reading scenes detailing Mattie’s scant romantic encounters with humans is a little strange, but these scenes further demonstrate how Mattie’s desires will never be in communion with her body of metal and porcelain and springs.

The Alchemy of Stone is a little…melancholy for my tastes, but a worthwhile read nonetheless, and I think a number of you would enjoy it. A well-written steampunk novel, this book will appeal to those who like a literary style in their genre fiction and who don’t mind endings which are bittersweet.

The Swordbearer
by Glen Cook (Wiki)
Night Shade Books
Trade Paperback – $14.95

Genre: High Fantasy

Publisher’s Blurb:
A young man’s dreams of warfare and glory turn into a bitter nightmare when an invading army, led by the Dark Champion Nevenka Nieroda and his twelve Dead Captains, the Toal, besieges his father’s feudal fortress. Nieroda and the Toal demand the surrender of an ancient artifact long-believed to be a myth. With the walls breached and his family slaughtered–or worse–Gathrid flees into the wilderness beyond his familiar castle walls.

Lost and alone in the woods, hounded by the Dead Captains, Gathrid takes refuge in a vast cavern. There he discovers an ancient sword–Daubendiek, the Great Sword of Suchara, the fabled weapon once wielded by the legendary tragic hero of an ancient age, Tureck Aarant. Daubendiek, a restless and thirsty blade, promises Gathrid the ability to claim his vengeance. But as he begins to take that vengeance, Gathrid starts to understand the terrible price that the sword will exact of him. Enemies soon become allies and strange bedfellows abound as the prophesies of an age swirl into chaos.

Reviewed by Superwench83

Afflicted by polio at a young age, Gathrid has never been allowed to play the hero. While his brothers train with weapons and prepare for the glories their prowess will bring, Gathrid watches, and dreams of things that can never be. But when tragedy strikes, destiny calls…in the form of a sentient sword which makes Gathrid its Swordbearer.

Glen Cook’s novel The Swordbearer doesn’t break new ground. It features a magic sword, a dark lord, and a boy thirsty for adventure. But to be fair, these now-cliché elements weren’t so overused when The Sowrdbearer was first published in 1982. Though re-released just last year, this is an early novel from a very respected author known for his gritty high fantasy books. And anyhow, the familiar territory alone shouldn’t deter you. In the hands of a master storyteller, such a tale can be gripping no matter how many times you’ve seen those tropes.

However…

I’ve been a Glen Cook fan ever since my husband introduced me to his Black Company books. And I’ll admit to feeling a bit of déjà vu while reading The Swordbearer. Some of the concepts and twists have strong glimmerings of the Black Company books. Especially regarding the super-magical bad guys and their bickering. It was like meeting the Lady, the Limper, and Soulcatcher all over again. The characterization, though, was very different. The characters in the Black Company books were vivid. The ones in The Swordbearer were flat. Cook writes action and battle and adventure that make you breathless, but what does that matter when you’re not passionate about the characters? It’s mystifying because in his other novels, his characters are deep and living. I think he hadn’t really come into his own as an author yet when he wrote this one. The makings of a great author were there, but he hadn’t developed that skill with creating unforgettable characters yet.

But the signs of what a master storyteller Glen Cook would become are apparent in this novel. Yes, the characterization issues make the book forgettable in the end, but it’s hard to put down nonetheless. You’re in the moment as you read. The action and magic—some of which was explained inadequately, I admit—propel you through the book, compel you to keep reading. Gathrid, while not vivid, is still sympathetic, and you want to see him find a measure of peace.

Ultimately, I felt like this book had great potential, potential which is fulfilled in the Black Company books. (Though I wouldn’t mind seeing The Swordbearer rewritten with more attention to characterization.) If you want to read a Glen Cook novel for the first time, I’d definitely recommend The Black Company. But unless you’re already a Glen Cook fan who’s curious about his other works, I would leave The Swordbearer be.