Fantasy/Urban Fantasy

Review of Thomas Wildus and the Wizard of Sumeria by J.M. Bergen

July 25, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Blurb:

A boy discovering his destiny. An ancient object of unspeakable power. An impenetrable web of deception.

Three months ago Thomas and his friends faced off against the enigmatic Arius Strong in a fight to determine the future of humanity. When they defeated the billionaire-magician and his two most powerful allies, they thought the war was over. It was only just beginning.

Now, with a mysterious message from an unknown hacker, the action starts again. This time the stakes are higher, the enemies stronger, and the future more uncertain. Will Thomas and his friends see through the lies in time to stop the forces of evil and prevent a global catastrophe?

Review:

Thomas Wildus and the Wizard of Sumeria takes place three months after the events of the first book, in which Thomas and his friends defeated the powerful dark wizard Arius Strong, thus preventing an apocalypse.

Now, Thomas’s group receives an enigmatic message from an unknown hacker and, subsequently, discovers that they are once again facing a formidable foe, one who’s searching for a magical artifact that’s perhaps even more powerful than the Crystals from the first book. Thomas and his group are convinced that it’s once again the work of Arius, but this time, he’s not alone. He’s apparently gathered all manner of dark and powerful creatures include shapeshifters that are nearly impossible to injure, evil warlocks, and other powerful beings.

What’s interesting is how this evasive new foe can defect all of their magical attacks and possess technology far superior to theirs, rendering their quest even more difficult. In this way, their enemy seems to be always several steps ahead of them.

The magic is really leveled up in this book as Thomas and Enrique engage in private training with Scott Alpheus to augment their magical abilities and prepare them for the imminent encounter with their evil nemesis. I enjoyed the training scenes with the boys who worked with multiple instructors. It’s worth mentioning that success doesn’t come easily for our characters, though, and through it, we see themes of tenacity, resolve, friendship, and the necessity of working together.

This is one of those novels that sucks you in and doesn’t let go for a moment. There’s a delightful, pervasive feeling of menace that lingers over the story, and this really added to the book’s intrigue. As is befitting a middle-grade fantasy, the action never lets up, and the characters never lose their endearing humanity. What I enjoyed is how the thrill never wanes, the dread never diminishes, and the pulse rarely slows down. Smart and original, this edge-of-your-seat gripping fantasy has irresistible characters and startling twists around every corner (the huge one at the end I did not see coming!). There was also an element of “nobody is as they seem” which I enjoyed.

What I found especially endearing about the novel was the relationship between Thomas and his friends, Akhil and Enrique. I loved the powerful bond of friendship that existed between them as well as the fun banter they shared. In fact, all of the characters are vividly and wonderfully rendered. This fun series pulled me in early, on the strength of the world-building, but the vividly drawn characters drew me in further for enjoyment .. . and anticipation of the next volume. The writing also is excellent — it flows smoothly, seamlessly with no unnecessary fillers.

All in all, I found Thomas Wildus and the Wizard of Sumeria to be a delightful, fast-paced, rollicking fantasy adventure set in a fascinating world and populated with lovable, memorable characters. I adore what the author has created here, and I find their vision and their voice beyond exciting. What we end up with here, then, is a sympathetic and enterprising group of heroes and an evil stop-at-nothing villain with the fate of the world, once again in their hands.

So did it deliver, I hear you ask? YES!!!!!

A huge thank you to the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book.

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Review of Or What You Will by Jo Walton

July 13, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

What a clever, unusual book this is! It’s kind of a “book within a book” and is one of the most interesting experimental books I’ve read. I have to admit that the initial ancient Celtic-style stream of consciousness by the book’s narrator at the beginning took a bit of getting used to as I desperately struggled to figure what was going on. But once I caught on (about 10% of the way in) that our narrator is sort of a self-aware Muse with a distinct personality inside of Sylvia’s head, I relaxed into what turned out to be quite an enjoyable journey.

The narrative alternates between the discussions between Sylvia, an aging fantasy writer who may or may not be dying, and her muse, the nameless narrator. We also follow along with the latest fantasy novel that Sylvia is writing – a fusion between Shakespeare’s The Tempest and The Twelfth Night that takes place in Ilyria, one of the worlds that Sylvia wrote about in her earlier books.

It is in Ilyria where we meet several Shakespearean characters, and we learn that it’s also a place where immortality is possible. It actually took me a moment to realize that the title of this book comes from the original title of The Twelfth Night (The Twelfth Night, Or What You Will).

So the narrator/Sylvia’s Muse is trying to convince her to go to Ilyria before she dies so they can continue to be immortal together, and in doing so, he steers her new story in that direction.

What’s interesting here is that in Sylvia’s chapters, we learn about her challenging and painful past and how our narrator fits into it all. There’s a lot of different moving parts and layers to this novel, and I found it so much fun to be carried along with them.

I will say that this isn’t the sort of story you can sit back with your feet up and mindlessly sail through; it requires careful attention and the ability to quickly switch gears even mid-chapter. That’s not to say that the story is difficult to follow, because it’s not — as long as you don’t let your attention waver too much. It might also be helpful for the reader to be a bit familiar with the storyline of The Twelfth Night and The Tempest plays, as doing so could increase your enjoyment of the story.

There are a plethora of themes and subplots in this book. It’s about art, creation, immortality, mortality, Italian history, magic, myths, and Shakespeare, but it’s also about child abuse, emotional trauma, grief, and spousal abuse, and all of it comes together cohesively in the narrative. I really enjoyed all the ideas in this story and how it all went in so many exciting and fascinating directions.

All in all, I loved this magical gem of a book about a writer’s life, and the world and characters that she created. I feel Shakespeare enthusiasts would especially enjoy this book though prior Shakespeare knowledge is not necessary — just helpful. Though I’m not always a tremendous fan of speculative fiction, I thought this book was brilliant, and I’m so glad it came to my attention. I’d definitely read more by this author.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and MacMillian-Tor/Forge for providing me with a review copy of this book.

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Review of The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

March 30, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Holy. Freaking. Moly.

I am a longtime T.J. Klune fan, so I was excited to learn about his new book. What’s so delightful about this author, is that each of his books is vastly different, all with a different feel to them, so you never quite know what you’re in for. Here, the author gives us a world here where humans and magical creatures coexist, though magical beings are stringently monitored by the government and are required to be ‘registered.’

This story follows a lonely middle-aged gay bureaucrat named Linus Baker who, for the past 17 years, has worked as a caseworker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth where he travels to the various government-sponsored orphanages and evaluates them, strictly adhering to the suffocating RULES AND REGULATIONS as set forth by his department. It’s up to Linus to recommend whether or not the residences he inspects should remain open or be closed down.

One day, he is summoned to the offices of the fear-inducing Extremely Upper Management and told that he is to be sent on a mandatory top secret/top priority assignment: He must travel to the Marsyas Island Orphanage where six of the world’s most problematic and dangerous children reside, one of whom could even bring about the end of days. Linus is to remain there for a month and then report back on the residence’s daily operation — the children and their enigmatic caretaker — ultimately deciding upon the fate of the orphanage and the children therein.

So Linus, along with his grumpy cat Calliope, travel to Marsyas, which turns out to be the adventure of a lifetime. Linus’s presence on the island sets off a remarkable chain of events, and his life changes in ways he never could have predicted. As Linus and the children’s charming ward, Arthur Parnassus, grow closer and closer during Linus’s month-long stay on the island, long-hidden secrets of both the orphanage and the island are exposed.

The characters in this story completely won over my heart, and I fell in love with each and every one of them. Each was quirky and distinctly drawn and touched my soul in ways that I simply couldn’t have fathomed when I first picked up this book.

This story is brimming with personality as the tone shifts from light to dark, snarky to serious and back again with plenty of dry humor/black humor interspersed throughout. There is a deeper story within these pages as it speaks to the divisiveness of the world we live it. This book is all about casting off shame and stigma, and the reader should ready for some definite lump-in-the-throat moments.

This charmer of a story is a love letter to anyone who’s ever felt out of place, like they don’t fit in. What we end up with here, is a moving novel about the deep bonds of family but not a family born of blood, but rather a chosen family. This is one of my favorite themes in a book: of how the bonds of a family chosen or “found” can be as strong or even stronger than those of the family you’re born into and teaches us to find solace in the special friendships that we forge and to trust those who love us.

The love and respect each child gives their caretaker and the close-knit relationships each of them has with Arthur was so endearing and sweet. This is an exceptional novel that delves into themes of prejudice, abuse, bullying, being different, tyranny, identity, mob mentality, doing what’s right vs. doing what’s expected of you, moving past labels, and finding your true family. It’s such an emotive story, and it moved me to tears many times throughout the book. It was full of laughs, smiles, some misty-eyed moments, excellent banter/dialog, with excellent LGBTQ representation.

The writing is superb, the storytelling is magnificent, and the ending is joyous and hopeful. Ultimately, this book about magical children hooked me and wormed into my heart and mind, and may end up being one of my favorite books this year.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and to Tor Books for providing me with a review copy of this book.

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Review of Winter Masquerade by Kevin Klehr

February 21, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

50433565 SY475 Winter Masquerade is an absurdist fiction story that follows a young man named Ferris who awakens on the Sea Queen, a ship that is sailing on a sea of chocolate and which contains passengers with names like Miss Calculation, Miss Communication, Miss Assumption and Miss Represent. He had no idea where he is or how he ended up in this bizarre, surrealistic world; all he wants to do is get home to his boyfriend, Harris. On the ship, he befriends an eclectic group of individuals who agree to help him find his way back. There is supposedly one person on the ship who can help him called The Alchemist, but unfortunately, he’s just been kidnapped, creating another mystery to solve.

A further mystery is the fact that Ferris seems to keep temporarily slipping into a darker, grittier, more menacing alternate dimension in which one of the ordinarily friendly musicians is trying to kill him, the ship he is on is nothing more than a rusted hunk of scrap metal, and the ocean is chock-full of garbage. What’s strange is that this only seems to happen when he thinks about a certain someone back in his “real” world.

This story really had an Alfred Jarry/Alice in Wonderland vibe to it, which was a lot of fun. Though at first glance Winter Masquerade seemed like an absurdist, possibly silly story, there were actually many layers to it, especially once we figured out the true reason that Ferris found himself on the Sea Queen, which was slowly revealed to Ferris throughout the course of the book.

I found it fascinating how Ferris’s new experiences paralleled what was going on in his real world and how the book ended up being a story about survival and finding your own inner strength — about taking back your power. It also served to remind us how easily someone can take that power away from us and, in the process, asks a lot of complex questions.

The characters in the story were charming and yes, silly, and each of them served a purpose in Ferris’s narrative as each helped Ferris to understand the life lesson his time on the Sea Queen is proving him. I especially liked Cole’s character and enjoyed how Ferris slowly unraveled the mystery, thanks to Cole’s influence. There’s also an interesting backstory surrounding Cole and Ferris’s relationship, which added an extra compelling layer to the story. All the quirky and outlandish events in the narrative were kept steady and were grounded by the realism and truth behind it all.

This was a wild ride of a story with stellar world-building, a fun cast of zany characters, and an important message underneath it all. I loved seeing Ferris come into his own and become the person he was meant to be. I thought this was utterly enchanting and a treat for anyone who enjoys an off the wall tale with many layers — an intense roller coaster ride through a world of chocolate and danger. This story is so inventive and so much fun that it repeatedly brought a smile to my face as I worked my way through it. I loved this little gem!

But at the end of the day, one cannot forget one of the most important lessons of the book: “Never fall in love on Wednesday. Nothing good can ever come from anything happening on a Wednesday.”

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Review of What Death Taught Terrence by Derek McFadden

February 2, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This story follows Terrence McDonald, who has just died. He finds himself in the afterlife, and his presence has garnered the attention of “The Boss” himself. Terrence now has to complete his life review, but the stakes surrounding this event are incredibly high. You see, before he incarnated the last time, he made an agreement with the powers that be: If he does not learn the lesson of his life, he will cease to exist and any form. Goodbye, life; hello oblivion.

So the book then takes us on an incredible journey as we view the life of a man through the eyes of himself and his loved ones, a journey that is poignant, sometimes heartbreaking, oftentimes harrowing but undoubtedly unforgettable. We get to see and experience Terrence’s emotions, fears, doubts, and pain; we basically get to experience the pivotal events in Terrence’s life along with his family as both Terrence and the reader attempt to figure out his elusive life lesson.

I find stories about the afterlife exceptionally intriguing that this novel did not disappoint. It is a story with a huge heart and a melancholy emotional core that is wistfully sad and joyful at the same time.

I think that the author has created something truly special here — a razor-witted deeply moving that examines the modern human condition. It’s a novel of so many layers with such a massive heart that it succeeded in making me weep a time or two. So in this way, it was incredibly profound and shattering yet provided a sense of joy when it all came to an end.

It’s narrated with such great compassion that it left me wanting to follow the next chapter in Terrence’s life. I also loved how wonderfully full, complex and empathetic the characters are. As people drift in and out of Terrence’s story, they seem so complete, like they’ve wandered in from their own novel to appear briefly in this one.

My only niggle with the story was that there was a small poem before every chapter. Typically I’m not fond of this device very much and mostly gloss over then when reading a novel. There were a lot of chapters in this book meaning a lot of space devoted to the opening poems. I realized that this is just a personal dislike of mine as most people don’t seem to mind it.

But all in all, I was totally mesmerized by the story and continued to ruminate over the characters and story long after putting my Kindle to rest. This is such a smart story, an eye-opening account of letting go of prejudices and fear; of seeing beyond what we think we know. It’s a story of love, family, friendship, resilience, and truth. It’s a story about the boxes we let ourselves be placed in and the labels we refuse to wear.

So if you enjoy stories about the afterlife, then you may wish to give What Death Taught Terrence a go.

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Review of Laughter at the Academy by Seanan McGuire

November 23, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I’ve read (and loved) Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series but had never read any of her short stories before this. What a treat they were! I’m typically not a fan of short stories as they tend to leave me feeling unsatisfied at the end, and oftentimes, I find that the majority of the stories in an anthology don’t resonate with me. That was so not the case here, and I loved pretty much every one of the twenty-two stories, though admittedly, I enjoyed some more than others.

I was genuinely impressed by McGuire’s ability as a short story writer and how she managed to pull me into every story in this collection. What made this collection especially fun for me was the mixture of genres. I went in, initially expecting them all to be sci-fi but was surprised (in a good way) to discover that there were also fantasy, horror, steampunk, and even mythology stories. It’s difficult for me to choose my favorite stories because I pretty much loved every one of them, which never happens when I read an anthology.

Some of the stories I especially enjoyed included:

An LGBT ghost story in which a high school girl is having a difficult time letting go of her dead girlfriend. – Childhood toys that start a war – a real one.
An intergalactic schoolteacher who protects the planet.
A murderous plant woman who is not what she appears to be
A woman who live tweets from a haunted house. This one definitely fell into the horror category.
A robot with a mission who poses as a high school student and tries to blend in. An interesting take on the theme of bullying.
An endless, eternal game of football and Halloween– an interesting and modern take on the Norse Valkyries Valhalla.
A creepy urban fantasy reimagining of the Wizard of Oz.
A dark spin on the Peter Pan tale.
A collection of office memos – with an interesting and creepy catch.
A portal story where a character has to decide whether to go or stay.
A microbiologist who intentionally releases a deadly virus into the world.
Sea creatures with not-so-good intentions – another horror story.
An emotional story about a little girl and the world’s last tuna fish.
There was also “From A to Z in the Book of Changes,” which is literally a collection of twenty-six one-word prompts for each letter in the alphabet, that Seanan McGuire then turned into a series of brief short stories. It’s something I’ve never seen done before and was a truly unique experience to read.

All in all, I found these stories engrossing, addicting, and spooky. I also loved that the author added in a brief introduction at the beginning of each story, providing background and her reasons/inspiration for writing the story. For me, Laughter at the Academy is an amazing collection of eclectic stories, some of them eerie and macabre, others heart-wrenching but all well worthy of a read. I appreciated the author’s lush, luminous prose, and her extraordinary storytelling, and I definitely plan on checking out more of this talented author’s short stories in the future.

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