Tagged: mythology
Fairy by Shane McKenzie
(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)
Cecilia will do anything to have a baby. Anything.
Cecilia has tried everything to have the one thing she wants most—a baby. She’s been through every procedure, taken every medication. Nothing seems to work. Her body simply refuses to grow the life she so desperately yearns for. Her jealousy is making her lash out at the pregnant women around her. She’s starting to worry about her sanity.
But all is not lost. There is still one way. And Cecilia will do whatever it takes.
Even if it means inviting an ancient creature into her bedroom.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I know the blurb sounds like it belongs to a crappy erotic novel, but I swear to you that this is straight up horror. It’s actually quite terrifying.
I don’t find Cecilia incredibly sympathetic but she is interesting and held my attention. She’s so desperate for a baby that she’s willing to try anything and she’s especially tortured by seeing new life come into the world as a midwife. It’s hard for her, especially when she runs into her ex-husband with his new pregnant wife. You can kind of see where Cecilia would try something so ridiculous and so horrifying that it’s hard to even read about. I don’t want to spoil too much, but let’s say the ending was very much in character for her.
This is a novella which is good because I don’t think it would be possible to sustain this level of suspense over an entire novel. In the beginning things are only kind of sad, but then the mood gets darker and darker as Shane McKenzie takes the novella to its terrifying (but believable conclusion). The pace is quite fast but not at the expense of readers getting to know Cecilia and feel at least a little bit for her plight.
I like that Shane McKenzie stuck with the darker fairy mythology rather than making this into a shameless erotic novel that has a wonderfully happy ending where everyone goes about their merry way. No, this really is horror and although the ending was rather predictable to my mind, I think it will be a shock for some people who pick this up. If you’re big on horror I wouldn’t recommend it because you’ve probably read a novel just like this already but if you’re a newbie like I am this is a good sample of what the genre has to offer.
Basically, Fairy was everything a horror novella should be: short, dark and terrifying. What more can you ask for?
I give this novella 4.5/5 stars.
The Magician by Michael Scott
(Cover picture courtesy of Michael Scott’s website.)
California:
In the hands of Dr. John Dee and the Dark Elders, the book of Abraham the Mage could mean the destruction of the world as we know it. The most powerful book of all time, it holds the secret of eternal life—a secret more dangerous than any one man should ever possess. And Dee is two pages away from the knowledge that would bring the Dark Elders into ultimate power.
His only obstacle? Josh and Sophie Newman—who are eight thousand miles away.
Paris:
After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris. The City of Light. Home to Nicholas Flamel. Only, this homecoming is anything but sweet.
Niccoló Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, lives in Paris and is working for Dee. He’s in hot pursuit, and time is running out for Nicholas and Perenelle. Every day they spend without the book, they age one year: their magic becomes weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophecy is clearer and clearer. It’s time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic.
Fire magic.
And there’s only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel’s old student the Comte de Saint-Germain—alchemist, magician, and rock star.
Josh and Sophie Newman are the world’s only hope. If they don’t turn on each other first.
The Magician is a great second book in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, with its fast-paced plot, new and more terrifying creatures and amazing characterization. It’s actually one of the rare second books that I like better than the first book.
Michael Scott continues his amazing characterization by introducing new and far more interesting characters like the Comte de Saint-Germain, Joan of Arc and the infamous Niccoló Machiavelli. Sophie and Josh are given much more depth as Sophie learns new magic and as Josh grows more jealous of his Awakened twin. We also learn more about Nicholas Flamel, Scatty and Dr. John Dee, who is one of my favourite characters, aside from Machiavelli.
What I love most about The Magician is that Michael Scott does not neglect his villains. Dee and Machiavelli are very interesting and are given realistic motivations for following the Dark Elders. They also think they are doing the right thing, which is better than your typical YA villain that thinks they truly are a villain.
By far the best thing about Michael Scott’s writing is that he blends mythology and legends from many cultures together. We meet Mars from Roman mythology, Nidhgg and the Valkyries from Norse Mythology and even Dagon from John Milton’s Paradise Lost. I love mythology, but even people with no prior interest in it will love The Magician.
I give this book 4/5 stars.