Tag Archives: wizards

July Short Reviews

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Here are a few things that I’ve been reading:

Final Girls by Riley Sager

Quincy Carpenter is one of only three “final girls”, each of which survived a massacre in different areas of the country.  While Quincy survived her ordeal, her memory did not and she has no recollection of most of what happened that terrifying night. However, at the beginning of this book, she is not doing too badly. She has a fiance and a successful cooking blog. But when one of the final girls, Lisa, commits suicide, it seems so out of character that Quincy becomes determined to figure out what really happened. The appearance of the third final girl, Sam, further complicates matters, and soon Quincy is struggling to figure out not only who she can trust, but also the truth of what happened to her that night, and it soon becomes clear that her life is depending on her figuring out the answers.

This book has a great thriller pacing to it, and I found the story to be engaging. Sager drew me in quickly with the idea of playing with the final girl trope. I know it’s something that’s been done a lot at this point, but Sager works to keep this fresh and different. The story kept me guessing until the end and it was definitely a fun read!

What Should Be Wild by Julia Fine

Maisie Cothay grows up with an unusual curse: anything she touches dies – or is revived. She lives on an estate at the edge of a mysterious forest, isolated from the world around her because of her condition. Her father, and pretty much everyone, has warned her not to go into the forest, and there are many legends of local men who have gone missing over the years. What Maisie additionally learns, though, is that many of the women in her family – ancestors from years gone by – have also gone missing in that forest. However, when Maisie’s father goes missing, she dares to venture into the forest in search of him, and she finds much more than she had bargained for.

I love the fairy-tale feel of this book, but it is not soft and pretty, there is definitely an edginess to it. It is frightening in some areas, and the fantasy elements have a darkness that I always enjoy. The resolution of this book, is interesting, but I think I mostly enjoyed the telling of the story itself. Maisie has an interesting viewpoint and her struggles with her condition and those around her lend a loneliness that makes the story even more haunting. Recommended for those that like Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Constable Peter Grant is just starting his career and hoping that he won’t be assigned to what is basically desk duty. However, his fortune changes when while assisting with a murder investigation he is approached by a ghost – offering him information. This odd interaction leads to him being assigned to work with Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightengale, who works on those sorts of cases, and who also happens to be a wizard. Peter and Nightengale team up to investigate a mysterious string of murders. Along the way, they are assisted by a variety of water elementals, each of whom is a different river that flows through the city. Throughout it all, Peter struggles to master his own growing magical skills, and become acclimated to his new role.

I loved this book and will probably devour the series! This would probably fall more into the urban fantasy genre, and readers of Jim Butcher’s Dresden series will probably enjoy this, as well. As the story developed and I learned more about the case, I was pleasantly surprised at how very original this idea was!

Check back in for more posts soon! I’ve been reading and watching some great stuff, and there are some new releases that will be coming out soon that are going to make for some excellent reading!

My Dresden Files Addiction: It All Begins with Storm Front

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Cover of Storm FrontI am a Dresden Files addict. I am, frankly, more than a little in love with Harry Dresden. Recently I re-read Storm Front, the first book in Jim Butcher‘s series. I love this series so much that I have actually read all of the books, but this was for a new book club that I’m in, and I was very happy to refresh myself on how Harry’s exploits began, because I truly feel that this series is urban fantasy at its best.

Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire in Chicago. Far from being superhuman due to magical prowess, he is a wonderful “everyman” character, who suffers from many of the same flaws as typical mortals. Often, things don’t work out quite right for him, he gets beat up a lot, and many times finds himself in at best uncomfortable and at worst life threatening situations. In this first book, he goes up against a rogue necromancer who is killing people and who eventually gets around to threatening Harry’s life. To complicate matters, Harry routinely works with the police force, especially the cop Murphy, who has little time for the complexities of how the wizard world interacts with the human world. And to complicate matters further, on this particular case Marcone, the local crime king, has specifically asked Harry not to investigate. Somehow, throughout it all, Harry manages to save the day, navigating as best he can between all of the different priorities and life threatening situations, making hard decisions, fighting off giant scorpions and toad-like demons, while always keeping what is right at the forefront of his mind.

One of the reasons that I fell in love with this character was because of his constant struggle to do the right thing. He is often accused of using his powers for nefarious means (especially by the Warden Morgan from the White Council of wizards), but in reality he always makes decisions based on the needs of others, even if the cost for himself may end up being high. Butcher does an excellent job of keeping the pressure on just enough to keep the story going, while allowing the reader to get to know Harry and understand him. He doesn’t use his magic for personal gain, and for all of his strengths there are weaknesses that balance him out. For example, his powers interfere with things that run on electricity, so no fancy car or computer for Harry. Instead, he drives a beat up old VW and does a lot of his detective work the old fashioned way, with just a little help from some locator spells. He is also not the best at relationships. Often this is a problem that is caused by him having to weigh out what information he can share, such as with Murphy or his potential girlfriend, Susan. We see everything through Harry’s eyes, though, so we can understand his struggle and cheer him on, because we can see that he’s essentially a good guy. One of the best.

The setting for these books is good, too. Using the fairly familiar backdrop of Chicago gives us a way to envision Harry’s world. However, there is also an alternate realm, the Nevernever, that houses all manner of fae creatures. Harry is able to open a doorway into this world, if needed, but as with all interactions of the fae kind, it is dangerous and tricky. Throughout the series, Butcher develops this part of the storyline more deeply, and there is a really nice balance between the “real” and the fantastic. Possibly the best that I have seen done in urban fantasy.

Character development throughout the series is good, too. History is created between different individuals – mortal and fae – and often this comes back in both helpful and detrimental fashion. The relationship between Harry and Murphy is an interesting exploration of partnership. And, there are some fun characters in the books, too, such as Bob, the incorporeal being who sometimes advises and assists Harry, lives in a skull, continually wisecracks, and loves to indulge in steamy romantic novels.

If you haven’t checked out this series yet, I highly recommend it, but must caution you – you may become addicted! Now is a great time to start, since there are 15 books in the series so far with the most recent, Skin Games, having just been released.