Fantasy/Urban Fantasy

Review of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

November 28, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August follows our main character Harry August who lives his life, over and over and over. But it’s the same life, and he always returns to exactly where he began: as his mother gave birth to him in the ladies restroom. Once he reaches the age of 6 or 7, all of his memories return, complete with all of the knowledge he’s amassed in his previous lives. Think of the movie “Groundhog Day” except for an entire lifetime. It’s also worth mentioning is that Harry is extraordinarily gifted in that he was a mnemonic, meaning he remembers every single detail from each of his lives.

What’s interesting though, is that he doesn’t live the exact same life and he can choose to do whatever he wants during his lifetime, whether it be teaching at a university, becoming a scientist, a lawyer, a doctor, or a physicist, living in Russia — whatever he wants to do. So in this way, he does have free will to live whatever kind of life he wants, to go in whatever direction he wants. For example, throughout his lives, Harry has lived in an amazing variety of places such as England, Russia, China, and the United States. He can also choose to fall in love with the same person as a previous life or move on to someone new.

Finally, during one of his lives, he learns that there are others like himself who call themselves the Kalachakra which I believe was Buddhist terminology for the wheel of time. The word Ouroboran was also used to describe those who live, die, and are reborn to relive their lives again. This comes from the word “Ouroboros” which is the serpent eating its tail, which represents the never-ending cycle of death and rebirth.

So the Kalchakra have formed a club called the Chronus Club with branches all over the world, and they try to help each other out, especially during the challenging childhood years. Imagine being 800 years old and having to live as a child under the thumb of your parents until you come of age. That’s where the other Kalachakras step in and help, as they often extricate the Kalachakra children from ridiculously repetitive or overly difficult childhoods.

But they do have their rules: they are not allowed to do anything that will drastically change the future. For instance, they cannot kill Hitler or try to prevent JFK’s murder, or introduce future science, or anything for that matter that could cause a ripple effect throughout the course of history.

Of course, there are always those bad apples who abuse their power. But members who knowingly break these rules are severely dealt with in one of two ways: an electrical clearing of the mind which means that none of their past memories will return in their next life, or a pre-birth termination, in which they will not be born, thus terminating the cycle for good.

What I found fascinating is that the club members pass messages to each other through time. How this works is that a child will give a message to another member when he or she is old, so when that person is born again, they can, in turn, pass the message on to other members who are nearing the end of their life. So in this way, the past connects to the future, and the future connects to the past from one lifetime to another.

But one day, it all changes. At the end of Harry’s 11th life, a little girl appears at his bedside and warns Harry that in the future, a global catastrophe occurs and that he and the other members have to do something to try to stop it. But as Harry and the others investigate, they figure out that one of their own is to blame — one of the Kalachakra is breaking the rules, and now it’s up to Harry figure out who is doing it, when they’re doing it, how they’re doing and to somehow stop the catastrophe from happening.

I loved the immense scope and scale of this story and felt that this was an exceptionally well fleshed out version of time travel. Through Harry’s various lives, we get a peek into history, especially the highs and lows of the 20th century. Additionally, the story was a chance to explore Harry’s individuality as well as his connection with others, all the while dealing with major themes of good vs. evil, birth, death, science, religion, love, hate and so much more. How many times have most of us thought about how different our life would have been had we chosen a different path? This book explores just that question. It’s a book about what we could accomplish if we had an eternity. Absolutely fascinating. But then again, I love time-travel books, and this was for sure one of the better ones.

Now I will admit that initially, it was rough going with this book. I actually considered DNFing it about 60% in. The story is told from multiple timelines which took a bit of getting used to. But more than that, this is a dense book, and it takes quite a bit of time for the story to develop. But once it did, boy oh boy, what a ride it was! I’m thrilled I stuck it out because it was so worth it in the end. The story really picked up speed and ended up being exciting and gripping, engaging me all the way to the surprising and stunning (yet entirely satisfying) ending.

All an all, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is a profound and gripping story with a compelling and relatable protagonist, an exciting, well-developed plot line and a fun supporting cast of unique and interesting secondary characters. As people drift in and out of the story, I was struck by how full and complete all of the characters are and how much they added to the storyline. This was an emotionally intense, and deeply engaging novel that had me on the edge of my seat until the explosive ending. I felt that The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was not only cleverly written but also eloquently narrated and I’m so glad I read it.

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Review of Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore

November 25, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

So I went into this book knowing absolutely nothing about it. I was browsing at the library, and it caught my eye, and after having read the blub, I loved the concept of the book so much that I picked it up. And I’m glad I did.

Reincarnation Blues follows our main character Milo who has reincarnated 9,995 times and is one of the oldest if not THE oldest soul on earth. But — he only has five lives left to gain perfection, and when he does, he earns a place in the great cosmic soul — gets to become part of the Oversoul of the universe. But if he doesn’t, he ceases to exist. Completely. He just fades into nothing.

But there’s another interesting complication. At the end of every life, he awakes on the bank of the river in the arms of the anthropomorphic manifestation of Death also known as Suzie (she prefers to be called Suzie as she doesn’t like to be referred to as death). But it is Suzie who comes to him as Death at the end of every one of his lives.

For millennia, Suzie and Milo have loved each other, and they are both facing the future with a kind of dread as Milo’s lives count down. So in this way, it’s a great love story, though that is not the focus of the book.

It’s also worth mentioning that when he’s on earth living out a life as a human, he has no recollection of any of this other lives nor does he remember that the love of his life — or should I say his soul — is waiting for him on the other side. His wisdom does tend to grow with each life, however, so we do get to see his evolution.

What I found especially fascinating about this book was that the book the author provides us with small glimpses of many of his incarnations. Several of them, however, are much more detailed and I found them all riveting. Some take place in the way distant past while others take place in the far future, some even in space. What’s interesting about these stories is that they are chronological so we have no idea where we were going to end up after turning the page; though the author does an excellent job of weaving all these lives — including Milo’s time in the afterlife — together into a cohesive story. The author shifted seamlessly and elegant from one time period to the next.

I loved the fact that if you really screwed up during one of your lives, then you have to live a life of penance such as coming back as a ladybug or a housefly. Of course, the author goes into quite a bit of detail with Milo’s five remaining lives, and it’s in these stories where we truly get a feel for the kind of person he is.

This book wasn’t just about one man’s search for perfection. Suzie (AKA Death) also had her own search for meaning, and I enjoyed seeing Death’s evolution as the story unfolded. But it was also about the power of choice and those terribly gray areas between right and wrong. But I don’t want to mention any more lest I delve into spoiler territory.

I think one reason I enjoyed this so much was that the book had a Terry Pratchettesque feeling to it, especially the humor I felt. Hell, Death, who is featured in many of the Terry Pratchett Discworld books, is also one of the main characters in this tale.

Reincarnation Blues was part sci-fi, part fantasy, part dystopian, with a good sprinkling of philosophy and humor. It’s a magical and quirky book that makes you think long after the story is finished. It is also wildly entertaining and uplifting, though some parts of Milo’s lives were rather brutal and a tad difficult to read about.

But all in all, this book was a home run for me, and I ended up loving it.

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Review of The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

November 9, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

The Well of Ascension is the second book in the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, so it’s difficult for me to say too much without giving away the first book, which was entitled “Mistborn: The Final Empire.” Let just say that The Well of Ascension takes place one year after the events of Mistborn: The Final Empire and where the kingdom of Luthadel is still in chaos, though the current rulers are slowly getting a handle on things.

Vin, one of the main characters in the first book and also one of the most powerful Mistborns in the kingdom, has really come into her own over the past year. But things go pretty quickly when three armies show up outside of the kingdom walls, each one intent of invading the kingdom and taking it for their own. If this happens, there would no doubt be a lot of bloodshed. So the question is: How can Vin and her companions stop this from happening…or can they?

The story gets even more interesting when Vin encounters another Mistborn like herself named Zane who is from one of the three armies outside of the gates.

Now it bears repeating that magic system in this world is called Allomancy and involves ingesting different types of pure metals and then “burning” them by will in order to temporarily gain enhanced abilities such as increased speed, super hearing and enhanced strength – even the ability to pretty much fly through the air. The majority of Allomancer’s are called Mistings and have the ability to burn only one metal and one metal only. But here is a rare and special type of Allomancer called a Mistborn who has the capacity to burn All the metals, so these are indeed truly powerful individuals, nearly unstoppable. Our Vin is one of these Mistborns.

So this strange new Mistborn slowly wins Vin over and in the process, causes her to question who she really is and whether her loyalties are misplaced. Of course, we have to wonder whether this Mistborn is for real or whether he’s only trying to get under her skin for strategic military purposes? Is his, after all, associated with one of the armies desiring to invade the kingdom.

Oh, it’s also worth mentioning that said Mistborn is quite insane.

You know, often, the second book in a trilogy leaves a lot to be desired, and my experience has shown that they’re often disappointing. Not so with The Well of Ascension. There was plenty of political intrigue and magic which made this an excellent sequel. This was a massive stonker of a book yet I tore through it quick quickly as there are plenty of twists and turns, heart-stopping action, intriguing new characters several surprising revelations.

I can’t wait to delve into the third and final book in this series in the coming days.

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Review of Mistborn 1: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

October 8, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This is the first book in the Mistborn trilogy, which is an epic high fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson. I’ve kind of rediscovered my love of fantasy recently. When I was a kid, I read hundreds of Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery novels, so it’s been a lot of fun to dive in once again.

The World

So The Final Empire takes place in a dystopian world that has been ruled for a thousand years by the Lord Ruler who is believed to be immortal and who governs by absolute power and terror. His empire is referred to as The Final Empire.

In this grim world, ash continually falls from the sky, the sun is glowing red, and there are no flowers or grass. There are two groups of people: The nobility, who are under the Lord Ruler’s thumb and the Skaa, who are more or less peasants and who have lived in slavery, misery and fear ever since the Lord Ruler took power, and who are often killed without cause by the Lord Ruler’s enforcers or by their Noble overlords. So the lives of the Skaa are pretty much that of constant terror.

For them, all hope is lost. Or is it?

But the main characters in this story are a group of misfits who are trying to overthrow the Final Empire, led by a man named Kelsier.

Now Kelsier is a legend in the underworld – a masterful thief who could pull off any heist, that is until the Lord Ruler caught him and sentenced him to the Pits of Hathsin — a place from where nobody has ever escaped alive.

But escape Kelsier did, and when he did, he recruited underworld’s elite.

**The magic system in this world is called Allomancy and is quite impressive. **

It’s a system in which you ingest different types of pure metals and then “burn” them by will in order to temporarily gain enhanced abilities such as increased speed, super hearing, and enhanced strength. For example, you “choose” to burn copper and you do.

Some of these metals can allow you to almost fly through the air or fire objects with the speed and strength of bullets.

The majority of Allomancer’s are called Mistings and have the ability to burn only one metal and one metal only. But there is a rare and special type of Allomancer called a Mistborn who can burn All the metals, so these are indeed truly powerful individuals, nearly unstoppable.

As we learn, Kelsier is a Mistborn. So he has brought together the smartest and most trustworthy Allomancers, with the goal of taking down the Lord Ruler, a more or less suicidal task.

Introducing Vin – A Street Thief with a Huge Secret

Kelsier ends up recruiting a young woman named Vin, a street thief, who has been abused and betrayed by everyone she’s met.

But as it turns out, the girl has some impressive powers of her own and Kelsier takes it upon himself to bring them out. But she’ll have to learn to trust him first — not an easy task.

So the rest of the story revolves around the ragtag crew of misfits who have undertaken the impossible. We dive head-first into this strange and unsettling society as we see their plan unfold with the huge question: How can you defeat the undefeatable? And what will be the price to try?

I loved, loved, loved this book!

The world-building was phenomenal, and The Final Empire had the most creative and meticulous magic system I’ve ever come across in fantasy.

Allomancy was fascinating, and I loved the depth that the author went into in describing it.

And the world was delightfully creepy, yet mesmerizing

The world itself was also enthralling, with the dreadful Lord Ruler and his terrifying order of Steel Inquisitors, also believed to be immortal, with steel poles through their eyes; the frightening mists that took over the city every night; the mysterious origins of the immortal Lord Ruler; and the dead-yet-alive mist-wraiths that lived in the mists.

It’s a chunkster but well worth the effort!

I was a bit hesitant to start this book because it was a chunkster, coming in at 647 pages but once got started, I tore right through it.

This book had a masterful intricate plot, a group of true badasses, a powerful yet damaged heroine who turns out to be quite lethal to her enemies, rich dialog and banter, an awesome magic system and amazingly developed characters that I ended up falling in love with.

I loved The Final Empire so much that I immediately picked up the second one in the series and I’m over halfway done with it — and it’s longer than the first one.

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Review of My Life As a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

October 7, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I was in the mood for something crazy and fun, and this book fit the bill. Plus I loved the cover!

My Life as a White Trash Zombie follows Angel, a 21-year-old pill-popping, high school dropout who lives with her alcoholic father. She’s also a convicted felon for car theft (though it wasn’t her fault) and she’s now on probation.

One day, she waked up in the ER. The doctors tell her that she had just suffered a near-fatal overdose of painkillers. The funny thing is that Angel remembers being in a horrible car accident, covered in her own blood but at it turns out, there’s not a scratch on her. Authorities also told her that she was found naked on the side of the road, which also made no sense to her, though to be truthful, her memories of that night are still somewhat sketchy.

Things even get weirder when she receives an anonymous letter telling her there’s a job waiting for her at the morgue. Given the way her life has been spiraling downward recently, she doesn’t dare to refuse the job, especially given the note warns that if she fails to hold onto the morgue job for a month, her toxicology results will be shared with her probation officer and she’ll end up going to jail.

On top of that, the anonymous note author gave her a supply of strange energy drinks, and the note told she must drink one of them every other day. As her supply of drinks dwindled, she receives another note, telling her, “If you crave it, eat it.”

The thing is, is that recently Angel has been craving brains. During an autopsy, she found her mouth began watering and her stomach grumbling at the mere smell of brains. They smelled….delicious!

She finally gives in to her cravings one day and finds that eating brains gives her a rush that her pills ever did.

Because of her new habit of eating brains, she can only come to one conclusion: Somehow she has been turned into a zombie. It’s only when she meets another actual zombie, and he confirms her suspicions.

So the question is: who turned her and why?

So the rest of the book follows our young newbie zombie as she struggles with her new and improved self, falls in lust with a hunky policeman, tries to keep her secret from loser boyfriend, gets in a couple of rows with her alcoholic dad and surprisingly, finds that since becoming a zombie, she’s changed more than just physically. She also grown as a person and now sees that there’s a lot more to life than pills and booze. In fact, her life is the best it’s ever been, brain-eating aside.

It’s fun to watch her as she learns her limits and adjusts to her new zombie powers. She also ends up being quite a resilient character.

But life as a zombie isn’t all smooth sailing for Angel. There’s a serial killer on the loose who’s been decapitating his/her victims and keeping the heads…which of course, means fewer brains for Angel are showing up at the morgue. But things heat up even more when she and the serial killer cross paths, leading to a riveting climax!

So I ended up loving this book. It was so much fun! I can’t tell you how many times I laughed out loud. It was snarky, funny, irreverent, unique and all around fun read. It also had a unique take on zombies which I really enjoyed, and there was even a mystery to solve.

The story was nicely wrapped up at the end with a completely satisfying ending. This just might be my new favorite zombie book, though I did enjoy Warm Bodies as well. As for the dialog, it was amazing, and there were so many lines caused me to crack up.

A truly fun romp of a book with great witty banter along with likable characters, a gripping plot, a little romance, a serial killer, a touch of redemption and ….zombies… made this a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ read for me.

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Review of Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

September 1, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This was a book I’ve been meaning to read for quite some time now — it’s been actually on my shelf for a while now, so I finally managed to pick it up. The story was fascinating!

The story revolves around Elantris the capital of a country named Arleon. I know — the names in high fantasy novels can be somewhat challenging. So The inhabitants of Elantris — they were all transformed by magic, which turned them into what can best be classified as demigods. In fact, many of the people in the country revered the Elantrians them as gods. They could perform all kinds of magic including teleportation and healing the residents of Arlean.

But then one day it all went to hell — it all turned sour. With no warning, the magic dried up — it simply disappeared one day. But that’s not all — all the inhabitants of Elantris — the people who had magic — were now turned into pitiful creatures that were more dead than alive. Though they still retained their personality, they have no heartbeat. Nor can their bodies heal. It’s also worth mentioning that when the Elantrian affliction fell upon the city, the King closed their gates, trapping the afflicted inside.

Now even ten years later, people in Arelon continue to get struck down by this strange illness and those that do are tossed into Elantis forever to live the life of one of the living dead.

Now the story continues in the new capital, where one day Sarene, a princess from a neighboring country arrives to marry Prince Raoden, the crown prince. This was to be a political marriage whose purpose was to unite the two nations against the religious imperialists of a neighboring hostile country. But when she arrives in Arelon, she is informed that Prince Raoden, her husband to be, is dead.

Of course, we learn in the opening pages that the crown prince Raoden is struck down with the Elantrian affliction days before his wedding, and is now banished to the city of Elantris — the city of the dead. But the king made sure that nobody discovered what really happened to his son and as far as anyone else knows, he died. But his story doesn’t end, and we are privy to what life is like in Elantris, through his eyes.

Princess Sarene stays in the court, determined to carry on the fight against the religious and very dangerous zealots who have conquered nearby countries. In so doing, she clashes with and makes an enemy of Hrathen, a scheming high priest of the repressive religions who recently arrived in the city.

What follows is political and social intrigue as there are plots and schemes to undermine the king, there are Hrathen’s plans to take over the capital and Raoden’s day-to-day trials as he adjusts to everyday life in Elantris as one who is dead yet not dead.

But as we learn, the walking dead in Elantris may still have a significant role to play in the new world because as it turns out, perhaps magic didn’t completely die after all and Prince Raoden may still have an important part to play in the kingdom.

So I found this story utterly gripping and enthralling and completely original. I can’t begin to express how much I adored this book. We have several main characters with strong moral principles and unwavering personal integrity who are willing to sacrifice and face insurmountable odds and do what it right. Even one of the villains ended up being someone that the reader could sympathize with, which I did not see coming at all and whom I found utterly fascinating.

And the plot — it was so original, so entertaining and so captivating that this story kept me turning the pages hours past my bedtime! So in this way, Elantris was, at least for me, unputdownable. The world that Sanderson gives to us in Elantris is unique, sophisticated and captivating with an imaginative magic system and I’m so glad I went on this journey.

The story was nicely wrapped up at the end with a satisfying conclusion and even though it was a rather lengthy novel, I was disappointed to see it end. I wanted more!

In summary, I loved the plot, loved the characters, loved the book — and I ended up giving this gem of a novel 5 stars. This book also turned me into an instant Brandon Sanderson fan, and I can’t wait to read the rest of his back catalog.

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