Category: Book Review
Autumn: Disintegration by David Moody
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Autumn: Disintegration is the penultimate chapter in David Moody’s riveting horror series!
Forty days have passed since the world died. Billions of corpses walk the Earth. Everything is disintegrating. . . .
A group of eleven men and women have survived against the odds. On an almost daily basis, they attack the dead with brutal ferocity, tearing through them with utter contempt.
Somewhere nearby, out of sight and out of earshot, is another group that has adopted a completely different survival strategy. Where the others have used brutality and strength, these people have demonstrated subtlety, planning, and tactics.A series of horrific events force the two groups together. Backed into a corner and surrounded by hundreds of thousands of corpses, they all know that their final battle with the dead is about to begin.
Like I somehow do with most series, I’m not actually reading Autumn in order. I read the first book and the second book and since I couldn’t find the third book when I went shopping the other day I decided to pick up book 4, Disintegration.
Unlike with the previous two books, I wasn’t really all that impressed with Disintegration. Sure, it’s kind of cool to see how two completely different groups are managing to stay alive in such a horrific world, but the formula David Moody uses is getting kind of boring. (SPOILERS) Essentially a bunch of survivors mope around for a while, things get bad, they join another group and bring about its downfall. Sure, he changes the names around a little but they’re basically all the same book at this point. It’s kind of disappointing as someone who appreciates the overall plot arc of the series.
But as a novel on its own merit, Disintegration isn’t all that bad. David Moody is still a master of suspense and he’s good at describing such a horrific world without ever going into descriptions of gore for gore’s sake. Don’t get me wrong, though; this book is still pretty gory. It’s just that it’s not gratuitous. I like how he has his zombies develop abilities even as they deteriorate, which is somehow more terrifying because there’s the possibility they could even become fully human as they rot away to nothing. If that’s not horrific I don’t know what is.
The characters were a solid ‘meh’ in this story. None of them really stood out to me unless we’re talking about total jerks that get people killed, like Webb. Yeah I know he’s a hothead kid but he’s the epitome of the Too Stupid to Live trope. While not exactly being brilliant at it, David Moody still did a good job imagining how the group dynamics would be in such a diverse group of people. People are constantly getting on each others’ nerves and pretty much no one agrees on what the solution to the zombie problem is. Essentially, it’s a group of real people and is probably how most people would react in a zombie apocalypse.
So basically this one’s a solid ‘meh’. I hope the fifth book is better.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima
(Cover picture courtesy of Cinda Williams Chima’s site.)
Han Alister thought he had already lost everyone he loved. But when he finds his friend Rebecca Morley near death in the Spirit Mountains, Han knows that nothing matters more than saving her. The costs of his efforts are steep, but nothing can prepare him for what he soon discovers: the beautiful, mysterious girl he knew as Rebecca is none other than Raisa ana’Marianna, heir to the Queendom of the Fells. Han is hurt and betrayed. He knows he has no future with a blueblood. And, as far as he’s concerned, the princess’s family as good as killed his own mother and sister. But if Han is to fulfill his end of an old bargain, he must do everything in his power to see Raisa crowned queen.
Meanwhile, some people will stop at nothing to prevent Raisa from ascending. With each attempt on her life, she wonders how long it will be before her enemies succeed. Her heart tells her that the thief-turned-wizard Han Alister can be trusted. She wants to believe it—he’s saved her life more than once. But with danger coming at her from every direction, Raisa can only rely on her wits and her iron-hard will to survive—and even that might not be enough.
The Gray Wolf Throne is an epic tale of fierce loyalty, unbearable sacrifice, and the heartless hand of fate.
Betrayal, war, intrigue and sacrifice all feature heavily in The Gray Wolf Throne but the thing that struck me most about it was how well Cinda Williams Chima writes about politics. She’s no George R. R. Martin in terms of complicated politics, but you can really appreciate that forces both inside and outside of the Fells influence all of the characters’ decisions. Particularly Raisa’s.
I like both Raisa and Han equally in this third installment of the Seven Realms series. Last book I favoured Han but now that Raisa is finally coming into her own I found myself connecting with her on a deeper level. Both characters are well-rounded and three dimensional and you can really feel their emotions. When Han discovers Rebecca is really Raisa, that betrayal cuts deeply. But for the sake of the realm both Han and Raisa have to move past their mutual feelings of betrayal and work together to save their kingdom.
Raisa isn’t one of these annoying heroines that does whatever the heck she wants without even considering the consequences of her actions. No, she knows that everything she does has tremendous repercussions not only for herself, but for the people she rules over. Her kingdom is in a very precarious position what with civil wars going on all around its borders but there are also factions tearing the country apart from within. Even if you’re not a big political junkie like I am I think most readers can appreciate just how well Cinda Williams Chima actually understands politics.
The plot was much faster paced than in the two previous novels but it definitely wasn’t at the price of character development or world-building. It’s not the pace of your typical action/thriller novel but the plot does move along quite quickly for epic fantasy. The main thing is that the plot of The Gray Wolf Throne is very interesting. It’s not the fastest one ever written but it is interesting enough to keep you reading into the early morning hours.
Basically, this third book was better than the previous two and I can’t wait for book four, The Crimson Crown.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Along the Watchtower by David Litwack
(Cover picture courtesy of Masquerade Tours via email.)
A Tragic Warrior Lost in Two Worlds…
The war in Iraq ended for Lieutenant Freddie Williams when an IED explosion left his mind and body shattered. Once he was a skilled gamer and expert in virtual warfare. Now he’s a broken warrior, emerging from a medically induced coma to discover he’s inhabiting two separate realities. The first is his waking world of pain, family trials, and remorse—and slow rehabilitation through the tender care of Becky, his physical therapist. The second is a dark fantasy realm of quests, demons, and magic that Freddie enters when he sleeps.
In his dreams he is Frederick, Prince of Stormwind, who must make sense of his horrific visions in order to save his embattled kingdom from the monstrous Horde. His only solace awaits him in the royal gardens, where the gentle words of the beautiful gardener, Rebecca, calm the storms in his soul. While in the conscious world, the severely wounded vet faces a strangely similar and equally perilous mission—a journey along a dark road haunted by demons of guilt and memory—and letting patient, loving Becky into his damaged and shuttered heart may be his only way back from Hell.
[Full disclosure: I received a free paperback from David Litwack so I could review this book in conjunction with the blog tour. As always, this is an honest review.]
Having previously read David Litwack’s work I was expecting a novel that was mostly high fantasy or maybe even a combination of science fiction and fantasy. What I didn’t expect was a high fantasy story running in conjunction with a very real heart-wrenching story.
Freddie has had a crappy life. Both of his parents and his older brother are dead and he was severely injured in Iraq by an IED. Most of his squad died but he lived so in addition to his physical injuries there’s some pretty huge survivor guilt mixed in with PTSD. Add to that the fact that his developmentally disabled brother went missing because of him years ago and you’ve got the makings of a Shakespearean tragedy. You’d think a book with a plot like this would stray into opera level dramatics but it never does. David Litwack’s writing has improved since There Comes a Prophet so he gets just the right amount of emotion without ever becoming too sappy or cheesy.
His characters are very much three dimensional. Both Freddie and his alter ego Frederick are three dimensional characters facing (obviously) similar challenges. In the dreamworld all of Frederick’s challenges are a metaphor for what’s going on with Freddie in real life, from his rehabilitation to his growing feelings for his physiotherapist. Now a book like this could very easily stray into the territory of sexism because it would be easy to portray both Becky and Rebecca merely as background characters who help the hero reach his goal. That’s very much not true. Becky is a complicated woman with her own demons to look out for and she’s a very determined and competent physio. You can’t ask for much more than that where a romantic relationship is concerned: two people with their own problems come together slowly and try to work those problems out while acknowledging that some scars may never fully heal.
The plot isn’t fast-paced by most people’s standards but this is definitely a character driven novel. You’ll cheer for Freddie to succeed after going through so much and you’ll feel his pain as your own. He’s a very vivid character and his world of rehabilitation is brought to life by David Litwack’s amazing writing. Most people have never had physiotherapy but I have so I can tell you that the scenes between Becky and Freddie are pretty darn accurate (especially the attitudes of the medical staff). And to top it all off, this book ends on a satisfying note. Not all loose ends are tied up but enough are so that you’re pretty sure what happens to Freddie after the story.
Basically, this is just a good book. I’m so glad I joined the blog tour for it!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
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Stork by Wendy Delsol
(Cover picture courtesy of Wendy Delsol’s site.)
Family secrets. Lost memories. And the arrival of an ancient magical ability that will reveal everything.
Sixteen-year-old Katla LeBlanc has just moved from Los Angeles to Minnesota. As if it weren’t enough that her trendy fashion sense draws stares, Katla soon finds out that she’s a Stork, a member of a mysterious order of women tasked with a very unique duty. But Katla’s biggest challenge may be finding her flock at a new school. Between being ignored by Wade, the arrogant jock she stupidly fooled around with, and constantly arguing with gorgeous farm boy and editor-in-chief Jack, Katla is relieved when her assignment as the school paper’s fashion columnist brings with it some much-needed friendship. But as Homecoming approaches, Katla uncovers a shocking secret about her past — a secret that binds her fate to Jack’s in a way neither could have ever anticipated. With a nod to Hans Christian Andersen and inspired by Norse lore, Wendy Delsol’s debut novel introduces a hip and witty heroine who finds herself tail-feathers deep in small-town life.
It actually took me a long time to warm up to Stork. I had read up until chapter three sometime in March but was so bored with it I put it down for a while. Lately I’ve had a little bit of time to read during the day so I sat down and got down to the business of reading a significant chunk of the book at once. It’s a good thing I did too. Stork is one of those books that isn’t very fast-paced at the start but it draws you in slowly and soon enough you’re hooked.
Normally I’d hate a main character like Katla. She’s a total fashionista and despises the small town ways (I myself live in a small town and feel the same way, but it gets tiring after a while). I would have given up on this book except I reminded myself of the way she was raised. Her father is very similar to her and raised her to be this perfect little fashionista that looks down her nose at almost everyone. Eventually Katla improves and starts to realize that maybe fashion is just her way of hiding her insecurities and that maybe she should lighten up a bit. Overall she is a well-rounded character, though.
This is loosely based off of a Hans Christian Andersen tale that I’ve never read so I can’t really comment on how true it stays to the story. I think Wendy Delsol added a lot of her own flair into the myth and that’s how we get the storks: women who help bring babies to ‘troubled souls’. They’re like the storks of myth in the cartoons that drop off babies on doorsteps, except they do it on a spiritual level. It’s much more interesting than I’m making it sound and you really have to read the book to appreciate the world-building.
Stork is not the best book I’ve ever read, I’ll admit that. It does drag on in some places and there are old tropes left, right and centre but overall I was actually quite impressed. By the end of the novel I felt connected to the main characters and honestly cared about what happened to them. That’s not bad considering my low expectations from the first three chapters.
Basically, if it sounds interesting to you give it a try. It’s not the greatest book out there but it was good enough that I’m glad I bought the second book in the series to continue Katla’s story.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
(Cover picture courtesy of Gayle Forman’s site.)
On a day that started like any other…
Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, adoring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. Then, in an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the one decision she has left—the most important decision she’ll ever make.
Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving.
Here I am once again tackling a book that’s pretty much become a classic of modern literature. I really tried hard not to let the hype influence my opinion of it but as you guys know it’s impossible to be totally oblivious to a novel as popular as this one.
I didn’t like If I Stay. There, I said it. So you can start writing your hate mail now but at least hear me out on my reasons why.
Mia was a horrible main character, to be honest. No, she wasn’t an awful human being but she was boring. Horribly, ordinary and boring with pretty much nothing to set her apart. Sure she’s into music but her personality is about as dull as watching paint dry. The book starts out with her accident and as she’s in a coma we learn more about her life prior to the accident. And you know what? It’s too good to be true.
She has the cool parents that every stereotypical teenager supposedly wishes for. They’re cool, not uptight about anything and basically act like teenagers themselves. She never, ever has any disagreements with them. Ever. That’s just not realistic at all. And her relationship with Adam was so cheesy it almost made me gag. That scene where they’re in Mia’s room and Adam asked her to “play [him] like a cello” (page 59). And she literally played air cello on his body before he reciprocated by playing air guitar on hers. I haven’t rolled my eyes so hard since I was 13 years old and even at that age I could have told you that two teenagers alone in a bedroom together are not going to play air-whatevers on each other.
Basically, If I Stay is a bunch of memories of Mia’s where she boringly examines her perfect life before deciding if she wants to die or not. There’s no great lyricism to the writing, no real emotion in what really should be a heart-wrenching situation and I really didn’t care what happened to Mia by the end of the novel. I just wanted the novel to be over so I could do something productive with my life.
If you want to read If I Stay to see what all the hype is about, go for it. But set your expectations a little lower if you don’t want to be totally disappointed.
I give this book 1/5 stars.