I’m so happy to have gotten this book as a gift. While the text is not lengthy, it does give an excellent primer on the life of the photographer. I suspect many people see the name and think something like, “Oh, yes. Tree pictures…” and then move on. Well, the essay in here gave me a lot more things to dig up and sink my teeth into.
If you’re looking for a quick hit of biography, just enough to get you interested, and you can get a copy of this book, I recommend that you do.
I actually finished reading this a couple of weeks ago but haven’t gotten to the review part until just now. I’m glad I picked this book up and read it. Adding stories to the world built by the author in the Iron Druid series could have been really good or really bad.
This story, describing the world of magic as inhabited by those who can use alchemical ink combinations to create magic follows one of the members of this secret society. Al is a gifted worker of inks but struggles to pass on his lore as his apprentices keep dying in odd ways. Al sets out to discover what happened to his most recent apprentice and uncovers an entirely different mystery to solve along the way.
There were some nit-picks that some people might not have trouble with. I really didn’t want or need the primer on Scottish slang. The explanation of it felt like it got in the way. There’s a little bit of a feeling like you’re missing out if you haven’t read the Iron Druid stories. Al even has a section of the story that describes meeting the character from the other series. I suppose it’s difficult to get away from such a dominant character in the world building, but this was just a blip in the story to me. It may have had deeper meaning to those who have read more, but it was lost on me. I really liked the magical ink mixes, the curse(s) and the modern lives of fairies in our world. It was fun.
All in all, I really enjoyed the story. I’m glad I picked it up. I’ll be interested to see if there are more on the way.
I was quite taken with the first book. I wanted to jump right into the continuation of the story. The first book wrapped up enough that I didn’t feel like I was forced to go and get the next book. That is refreshing and I appreciated it.
This story follows Jane and Kate on their continuing journey.
There was a lot to enjoy about their travels and the things that happen to them along the way. The path of the characters is easily believable and they are real, whole people. I often have a hard time when the protagonist is a young woman/girl. There are a lot of things that just don’t relate for me. This story had none of that. Very well written.
It was also nice to see the variety of life that is not often shown in American westerns. The world building was consistent and didn’t break its own rules.
I picked this one up early on, but for some reason I didn’t dig into it right away. I can’t place a finger on the reason for that, but I will say I’m glad I picked it up. This book is a great ride. Spoilers ahead~
I’m not normally a big fan of zombie horror. It doesn’t bother me the way it does some, but I also have never found zombies to be particularly scary as a monster type. As with any zombie story I’ve seen, the real monsters and the true horrors are the humans.
As I started reading Jane’s story I thought this could be a fine action story set around the time of the Civil War. As it turns out there is a lot of action, but not in the sense I was thinking. This was certainly NOT the Harry Potter-esque life at a boarding school adventure type. The model of the school Jane attended was the Carlisle school, albeit slightly time shifted. This was racism and the blatant attempts of one group of people trying to keep another group of people down. The school, the treatment of the people and way they were expected to behave was just the starting point for the monsters.
The teachers at the school practiced the sort of abuse that wasn’t just physical. True to abusers everywhere there was psychological abuse riding hand in hand. Early in the story I wanted to see Jane make some move to solve the mystery of the missing family and give the school some sort of “comeuppance” that would allow for some kind of happy ending. I failed to see the problem with that line of thinking right away, but the author deftly moved to remedy the situation by wiping out not just the school, but the entire state of Maryland.
Taking Jane and her friends west into the plains removed any sense of East Coast familiarity from me and placed them all squarely in the path of the most monstrous people in the whole book – the self righteous. Using religion as a bludgeon to maintain the oppression of a people stoked the ugly feelings toward those opposed to Jane. I was sincerely glad when that town was wiped out and Jane’s little band made their escape. The writing here was really wonderful. It’s good writing when you loathe a fictional man that much.
I’m glad the main aspects of the story wrapped up in the first book. The history of each character and development of the world was excellent. The “cliffhanger” for the continuation of the story is there as Jane is in the middle of the prairie, but I do consider the story of the first book wrapped up. I could leave it at that if I wanted, but I suspect I’ll be going out and grabbing up the next book.
I hadn’t realized that I had subconsciously bought into the “that’s how things are” feeling of the way the schools were set up at first. I had to step back at the end and realize just how messed up that was. I’m glad the author put the reading recommendations at the end of the novel and I’d like to add one of my own (since I’m being so bold). For anyone sports minded it’s worth picking up Carlisle Vs. Army, a story about some of the athletes from the school in question and how they helped to shape the modern sports world.
I grabbed this from Tor’s free download book club and I’m glad that I did.
This was a quick hit of alternate history. The story is set in the early 1900s where an opening to a realm of magic has allowed the Djinn to become part of everyday society in Egypt. The arrival of these powerful magical beings has changed and shaped the way society flows and moves. In this story Hamed is an experience ministry investigator dealing with supernatural and magic related cases. He is called in with his new partner to deal with a haunted tram car. Simple, right?
I loved the setting and the world building on this. It’s a good story that balances the action, the character and the explanation of things well. There were one or two little things I didn’t expect along the way. It was a fun, quick read. If you can get your hands on a copy I would recommend it. Marketing success – I’ll be looking for more from this author!
I grabbed this one off the shelf as part of my YouTube chat about fantasy works that inspire folks playing Dungeons & Dragons. I had every intention of just glancing through the pages to get a quick refresh on things.
I ended up rereading the entire thing. There are a few things in this series that have become “tropy” at this point, but the book itself came out back in 1979 or 80. Given the way things have changed in our current political environment I’m certain there are a number of my female friends that would not enjoy many aspects of these stories… but that’s one of the very best things about this book. There are multiple stories. The thieves’ world series is shared world. It’s the same setting with shared characters over a series of short stories. Don’t like the one your on? Skip to the next one, just don’t be shocked if you’re missing something that happened in another story.
This book also brings up the question of taking art as something separate from the artist. One of the first people on board and one of the stories in this book is by somebody lately accused of abuse. I don’t know all the details, but there is enough out there to make even the most staunch fans cast aside all this author’s works. It’s a tough question that has no clear answer.
IF you’re a fan of old school fantasy you should grab this book and take a look at what a city of villains, killers and schemers can be.
This part did not go up into the Goodreads review, but for those who question the abuser I reference was the author Marion Zimmer Bradley. I will reiterate that I don’t know all the details. Her time in the science fiction convention scene was well before my time. Her husband died in prison where he was after being convicted of molesting a child. I struggle to feel good about recommending something that includes the work of an accused child rapist and enabler of a pedophile. I don’t think we’ll ever know all the details since the author died back in 1999, but I felt it was important to point out.
Take it for what you will – I still recommend the work as a whole. It’s worth doing some reading to get deeper into the subject if you’re a fan of the work that Bradley did over the years to push women’s rights and the feminist movement. It’s simply more important to go into things knowing and understanding rather than blindly.
I would not have picked this book up if it were not a book club pick. I am glad that I read it. It was an interesting mix of urban fantasy and mystery novel, with a bent toward noir. A non-magic private investigator is called in to figure out the murder of a staff member at a prestigious school for wizards.
It’s a good idea. The characters are a mix of adults and students. It is unlike another, well known wizarding school in that the students aren’t the ones solving the mystery. The students don’t outwit the adults. They don’t “luck” into clues and dash about like a Scooby-Doo cartoon (in one door and out another). There is a real feel of grit in here ~ thus the “noir” part. Kids use their gifts to do the sort of things that kids do – love notes, graffiti, pranks… and it adds to the mix.
Ivy is the main character / non-magical investigator. She makes a lot of bad choices. I would have been on board with her… until. I’m not going to spoil any parts of the plot here in the review, but there’s a singular time in the story that I can point to when I was “bumped away” from this character. Up to that point I was fine, after that I was just disappointed. What it does is show a very real and believable character, so I understand that it’s my own desire to read characters that are somehow slightly more heroic than ordinary folks that caused me to dislike her.
This is also a murder mystery. I don’t read enough of the mystery genre to have figured this one out early on in the book, but there were many clues. There were also a fair number of red herrings along the way – some of which I totally went for, so that part was well done.
In all, I’m glad I read it but I don’t suspect I’d be rushing back for more.
Something I didn’t add to my review over on Goodreads is any commentary about the cover art. Since this was a book club choice I was also aware of imagery in the text. I frequently look for scenes that inspire a look or a view that would make great art. I usually attempt to use that inspiration to create a piece of art that relates to the book that we can use for the cover of our fanzine. This book had very, very little in the way of imagery. There was maybe one scene that could have been used and it was a little bit of a spoiler for the story. I stayed away. I think that lack of image, the dull visual if you will that was a part of making the story less appealing to me than it could have been. I like watching the “movie” of the story in my head while I read and this book just didn’t have as much to offer there as a number of other things we’ve read did.
I had heard a lot about this series and really wanted to get into it and find out what it’s all about. I suspect that my timing could have been better. Reading about a virus that kills thousands in the middle of a global pandemic did not help me finish this book quickly.
The story takes place in an alternate history. Right at the end of WWII an alien virus is released on the population of earth. The virus is sweeping and can’t be escaped. Most of the people caught by the virus die. Those that don’t have their DNA rewritten to give them powers of some degree OR really mess them up. The entire “naming” is based around cards. IF you get a super power, you’re an ace. Get a crippling disability and you’re a joker. There’s no real escape – this changes the world.
I think that last bit was what made this so difficult to read right now. The world of 2020 is changing based on a pandemic. Reading about McCarthyism, Un-American Activities committees, pain, suffering, prejudice, riots… all in the context of this altered history felt like it paralleled the news to a very scary degree. Yes, the stories are fiction BUT the actions and reactions of the people in the stories felt all to real.
This is a shared world anthology. There were a number of really interesting stories – and all were really well done – that all worked with the world and the characters in that setting. I was glad to be able to read authors that I might not have found otherwise. Make no mistake, this book has a lot of grim, dirty and dark mixed in with the alternate history.
I’m on the fence about wanting to see this world / setting / series of characters adapted for the screen. I’ve heard that it’s in process, but I think there are other options that have already done it, maybe better? As for the series of stories – I’m interested enough that I’ll probably start to dig up some of the other books. IF you’re a fan of alternate history, or sort-of super heroes you might just be into this book. I’m glad I read it.
This is a special disclaimer, even as disclaimers go.
I got to hear this book as read by the author. It’s a fantastic way to experience a book. You get all the tidbits, almost like a “DVD commentary” for the work. IF you have a chance to hear a reading, go do that.
That aside, what about the book you say?
The start of the book is startling in it’s clarity. The question in my mind as it was being read was, “when did this happen to you?”. It was that kind of clear and shocking. Really, really strong start. Once you’re in ~ you’re going along for the whole journey.
What bothered me about it? It took me a while to really get to the heart of what it was that bugged me. I finally figured it out. This story put me in a mindset similar to the story of “Mazes and Monsters”. I will say that’s strong writing BUT that’s also something that came up again and again during the dark ages of my youth and the Satanic panic of the 80s. It’s a totally unfair thing for the author, but that’s where it stuck in and suffered (in my mind at least) for it.
For you? Oh, for you ~ go out and buy this book. It’s a fun ride!
As with so many of Mr. Butcher’s books, I read this very quickly. I think I was actually finished within the first day or two after buying it.
It’s been a long wait to get here. I jumped in and went along for the ride with Harry. I kind of expected things to fit a certain mold that I could see for him. He’d be trying to have a regular day, something would go wrong. Harry would say something that wouldn’t sit right with someone or something powerful. He’d then doggedly keep pushing forward while finding no help and no resources while stretching himself nearly to the end of all his resources…
And we sort of got that? And then.
And then the author did something that any truly excellent author will do – sets your expectations out on their collective ears and does something that makes you say, “Oh, wow… did not expect that”. I will not spoil any of the plot points here. If you’re on board with Harry at book 16 you’re on for the whole ride.
Go, read this. Then wait with the rest of us for September and the next book so we can find out what happens!
