Category Archives: book reviews

book reviews, Craft of Fiction

Story Structure in The Everett Exorcism by Lincoln Cole

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It’s always a pleasure to discover a new author whose work you admire. I experienced that joy this past week reading The Everett Exorcism by Lincoln Cole.

The book is a skillful blending of thriller, mystery, and horror, involving demonic possession in a small town. An investigator is sent by the Vatican, and we follow him as he meets the local parish priest, bishop, and townspeople. We also encounter a “hunter” from a shadowy world-wide organization that troubleshoots supernatural threats, sometimes working with the Vatican and sometimes not.

Here is how I summarized the book in my review on Amazon:

Plenty of action and suspense; unusual and well-drawn characters who grow and change; and a beautifully structured story. I especially enjoyed the use of two protagonists and how the author skillfully mixed their story-lines, showing certain key scenes from both of their points-of-view to add layers of drama.

From a craft-of-fiction point of view, I really liked that last bit. The book starts with an action scene featuring the Vatican investigator menaced by a demon. We then flash back several days to show how he got here. We replay the opening scene and then the Hunter shows up and rescues the Investigator. We then flash back and tell the story of how the Hunter got here. This takes us to about the 2/3 point of the story. The rest of the book skillfully alternates the points of view of the Investigator and Hunter as they work together against the supernatural evil.

All of this worked beautifully for me as a reader, adding plenty of interest, character insight, surprises and drama.

There are many, many ways to tell a good story. It’s always fun to discover a new one.

You can learn more about The Everett Exorcism and Lincoln Cole’s work here.

book reviews, Literature

Review of Zorro by Isabel Allende

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I have loved Zorro since I was four years old (so, eh, for 60 years). I have enjoyed his many incarnations, from the original 1919 Johnston McCulley story, through many many film, TV, and comics incarnations, and straight up to this unlikely literary, somewhat magical realist, and (dare I say?) feminist novel.

Source: http://www.sffaudio.com/libivox-the-curse-of-capistrano-by-johnston-mcculley/

The writing is impeccable. Allende IS a grand master, and her Spanish prose is beautifully rendered into English by translator Margaret Sayers Peden. I did not mind at all the long paragraphs and focus on narrative rather than action scenes (which many readers seem to have disliked). Although, I must admit at times this style made for a slower reading experience.

The story comes up with many surprises, including Diego’s half-Native American family tree, his early shamanistic experiences, on to his adventures crossing to Spain, and the political intrigue there involving Gypsies, a secret society, and his involvement with an unfortunate noble family.

The narrative persona is especially intriguing. And, without giving away any spoilers, I can say that it wraps up the whole novel beautifully, even while the character of Zorro himself remains ultimately mysterious (as he always should!)

A quirky but worthy addition to the Zorro canon.

Cover of Allende’s novel. Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24796.Zorro

 

 

book reviews

Discovered Gems – Three Fantasy Novels Deserving Your Attention

As one who commits fantasy fiction, I read a lot. Not only fantasy, but science fiction, mystery, classics, magical realism, thrillers, you name it. Not to mention lots of nonfiction for research.

When I’m working on a story, I prefer to stay away from that particular genre in my reading. So I haven’t read too much fantasy in the last couple of years.

That said, here are my reviews of three books I did read that I think are really great and deserve more attention.

The Healer’s Choice by Kathryn Hinds

The Healer's Choice by Kathryn Hinds

Epic fantasy: a first novel by an author with lots of expertise in history and medieval scholarship.

My review: The characters are varied and true-to-life, and every one is rooted in the imagined cultures in which they live. The world-building is complex and beautifully wrought, from the smallest details of daily living to the intricacies of war, medicine, philosophy, religion, and magic. The story is multi-faceted, with twists and surprises that are alternately exhilarating and heart-breaking.

The author manages multiple viewpoint characters and story lines with a deft touch, keeping the reader intrigued. She even throws in some lovely poetry that feels authentic to the people and times she writes about. Magical!

More, Ms. Hinds! More!

The Dragon Scale Lute by JC Kang

Note: this title has recently been rebranded as Songs of Insurrection: A Legends of Tivara Story (The Dragon Songs Saga Book 1)

My review: Excellent epic fantasy set in a world inspired by pre-industrial Asia.

Beautiful, detailed world-building, sympathetic and interesting characters, well-defined magic, and very skillful writing. To be honest, most indie-published fantasy novels I’ve read have not been up to what I’d consider professional standards. This one is certainly an exception.

First in a series.

School of the Ages: The Ghost in the Crystal
by Matt Posner

A YA urban fantasy and the first of a series.

My review: Like other reviewers, I read the blurb and thought, “Oh, like a New York City version of Harry Potter. I’ll bite.” In many ways the comparison is valid:

  • a secret magic school in the midst of the real world
  • intriguing, quirky, multi-ethnic, convincing teenage characters,
  • a varied set of adults, magical and non-magical, with interesting perspectives and sometimes murky motives.
  • a many-layered plot that keeps cooking with twists and surprises.

What I find unique here is the quality of the magic. Harry Potter magic is fun, a combination of pure invention and recycled pop culture tropes. School of Ages magic is serious—rooted in mystical traditions (primarily Hebrew) and concocted with plenty of mental horsepower. At times I wasn’t sure if I was reading YA fantasy or being taught occult metaphysics:

“They say time is a like a river, always flowing forward, ever changing. Not true. Time is a wind. It goes in all directions, this way and that, moves many things, leaves others in place.”

“The good of magic,” Dr. Archer said, “is not principally in doing, but in knowing what ought to be done.”

Yikes! If, like me, you favor serious magic in your fiction, it doesn’t get any better that this.