Review of Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light

	Of Darkness, Light, and Fire: Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light by Tanya Huff 528pp (Paperback) My Rating: 7/10 Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 LibraryThing Rating: 3.98/5 Goodreads Rating: 3.85/5

This is part one of a review of two stories in one book. Originally, I had planned to review the entire omnibus together and just keep my review of each book within it fairly short. While the reviews of each book were shorter than my usual, the entire review ended up pretty long so I decided to split it up and post the first half today and the next half in a couple of days. Today's review introduces the omnibus and covers the first part, Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light.

Of Darkness, Light, and Fire is an omnibus containing the third and fourth novels written by Tanya Huff, who has written many more novels since these two were originally published in 1989 and 1990. Both novels in this collection are completely unrelated books with no sequels or prequels. Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light is a contemporary fantasy set in Toronto, and The Fire's Stone is a more traditional quest-based fantasy. These two novels are out of print now other than in this collection.

A young, mentally challenged woman named Rebecca has the ability to see magic in the world. One day soon after she arrives home from her job at a bakery, she notices it seems too quiet outside. When she steps out to take a look around, some blood falls on her from a nearby tree and she discovers the little man who inhabits it has been attacked. Rebecca manages to drag him into her bedroom but is then unsure of what to do since most other people will not even be able to see him. She decides to find Roland, a man who plays guitar in the street but does not yet realize magic exists. Roland agrees to help the panicking Rebecca although it is against his better judgment - after all, she just came up to him and announced she doesn't know what to do with the bleeding man in her bed.

Soon after Rebecca and Roland return, the little man dies. Since he was her friend, Rebecca wants to find out more so she brings Roland with her to see Mrs. Ruth, a homeless lady. Mrs. Ruth reveals that Roland has the Sight because he is a Bard - or at least he will be once he completes his training. She also says that the man died as the result of Darkness coming to the world and that the balance between Dark and Light must be restored. If they want to hold back the forces of the Dark, Rebecca and Roland need to send for an Adept of the Light - and quickly.

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Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light is enjoyable in spite of the fact that it is basically another tale of good vs. evil. It's also a tale of magic existing in the modern world, although it was written about 20 years ago before urban fantasy was everywhere. While they're not exceptionally well-developed, the characters were at least different enough from the usual to make it more unique even if it seems as though it's a story one has read before. Rebecca was brain damaged as a child, and Huff handled her character well by giving her depth beyond merely being a woman with a disability. Although she is innocent and childlike, she is in many ways adult and perceptive as Roland noted when he recalled the first time he met her:

"I'm not retarded," she'd told him that first afternoon, prompted by his condescending voice and manner. "I'm mentally disadvantaged." Her pronunciation of the long words was slow, but perfect.

"Oh?" he'd said. "Who told you that?"

"Daru, my social worker. But I like what Mrs. Ruth says I am better."

"And what's that?"

"Simple."

"Uh, you do know what that means?"

"Yes. It means I have less pieces than most people."

"Oh." There wasn't much else he could think of to reply.

She'd grinned at him. "And that means I'm solider than most people."

And the funny thing, Roland mused, was that while undeniably retarded, in a number of ways Rebecca was solider than most people. She knew who and what she was. [pp. 9]

In addition to Rebecca, there is of course Roland, the Bard who was unaware of magic until he learned from Rebecca how to look for it. He was also unaware that he may like other men until Evan, the Adept of the Light showed up, and struggles with this new aspect of his identity throughout the book. Mrs. Ruth may seem like a crazy bag lady, but she has a lot of knowledge about the Darkness and the Light. Then there is Daru, Rebecca's social worker, and Tom, a cat who seems to understand more than one may expect (but he's not Rebecca's cat - she is quick to point out that he is his own cat). These are the ones on the side of Light who are the only hope for defeating the Darkness.

The basic plot was very familiar since those on the side of the Light were very good and the Darkness was very evil, but I did like the way it ended very much. Certain hints made sense with the final revelation, and the mythology behind these references made it work well.

Overall, Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light is an entertaining book, although its basic premise of good battling evil will be very familiar to fantasy readers. There are enough characters with different situations than the norm to keep it from being stale, though, and the conclusion is also well done.

My Rating: 7/10

Where I got my reading copy: Gift from a friend who really wanted me to read the second book in this collection, The Fire's Stone.

Review of Blameless

	Blameless by Gail Carriger 384pp (Paperback) My Rating: 8/10 Amazon Rating: 4/5 LibraryThing Rating: 4.09/5 Goodreads Rating: 4.05/5

Blameless is the third novel in the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger, a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer this year. The first two books in the series are Soulless and Changeless in that order, and the next book, Heartless, will be released in July 2011. Timeless, the final book, is scheduled for publication in 2012. It has been a great year for this series - not only was Carriger nominated for a major award but both books released in 2010 (Changeless and Blameless) were on the New York Times bestseller list.

Note: There is simply no way to talk about the plot in this book without spoiling the ending of the previous book. The "My Thoughts" part of the review will be spoiler-free, though, so just continue past the horizontal line to read that part of this review if you want.

As if being cast out by her husband were not bad enough, Alexia now has no choice but to live with her frivolous mother and sisters - that is, until they read the morning paper and cast her out as well. After all, the woman involved in The Scandal of the Century will completely ruin her unwed sisters' prospects for marriage. Alexia is all too happy to leave, especially considering she just got an invitation to stay with the far more amiable Lord Akeldama.

However, when she arrives at Lord Akeldama's estate she finds it empty except for one man charged with giving her the cryptic message: "Check the cat." When leaving, her carriage is pursued by mechanical ladybugs intent on her destruction. Alexia decides to brave the lack of tea and travel to Italy to seek the wisdom of the Templars, who may be the only hope for learning more about Alexia's condition - and why this state is bothersome enough that someone wants to kill her.

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The Parasol Protectorate is becoming one of my favorite new series. It's comedic historical fantasy set in a steampunk version of London populated with both humans and the supernatural (vampires, werewolves and ghosts). The first book in the series, Soulless, was also somewhat of a romance, but the next two books are not. In my opinion, this latest installment is about as enjoyable as the previous book and both are more polished than the first one.

Blameless is full of clever, whimsical humor and it struck me a couple of times while reading it that nearly every sentence is hilarious. There are so many well-worded phrases, but while there are plenty of funny situations the book doesn't compromise characterization just for the sake of being amusing. Alexia has become a character I really care about; she's so logical and courageous it would be difficult not to like her. Her mother and sisters remind me so much of Lizzie's family in Pride and Prejudice so it's easy to feel sympathy for her when they're around, although her mother cracked me up when she was trying to explain the state of existence for werewolves:

"Your husband is basically dead, or was basically dead and is mostly dead now." Mrs. Loontwill seemed to be confusing herself. [pp. 12 - 13]

It was also a pleasure to see the inventor Madame Lefoux play a large role in this novel, and Professor Lyall got some more page time as well as he was desperately trying to manage the Woolsey pack. We also got to see a different side of Ivy than just the girl with the funny hats. And I now want to know so much more about Alexia's father after reading all the little references to him that I hope Gail Carriger decides to write stories about him.

One of the highlights of this newest installment was getting to see more of how the other nations treated the supernatural. While England figured they might as well use them, they seem to be a rarity as other parts of Europe despise them. In this book, Alexia travels to both France and Italy so there is a chance to see the difference between these countries and England - and learn facts such as how Italian perception of the supernatural affected the popularity of pesto.

There have been a lot of complaints about the ending to this book, but personally it didn't bother me. Unfortunately, I can't really go into depth about why without spoiling it, but I felt it was a logical conclusion based on Alexia's nature and the progression of her reactions throughout the story.

Blameless is every bit as wonderful as the previous book in the series. It's unique and delightfully quirky, but at the same time it's more than just an entertaining novel good for a few laughs but not much more. In addition, it has both a well-developed setting and a diverse cast of characters that are better fleshed out in each book. More is revealed about Alexia's unique heritage, and I'm looking forward to learning more about what this new information means in Heartless.

My Rating: 8/10

Where I got my reading copy: Review copy from the publisher.

Interview with Gail Carriger

Other Reviews:

• Calico Reaction
• Dear Author
• The Discriminating Fangirl
• Jawas Read Too!
• Rob Will Review

Reviews of other books in this series:

• Soulless
  
• Changeless

Review of Silver Borne

	Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs 352pp (Hardcover) My Rating: 8/10 Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 LibraryThing Rating: 4.38/5 Goodreads Rating: 4.3/5

Silver Borne is the fifth book in the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. It is currently available in hardcover and will be out in mass market paperback in January 2011. The first four books in the series are Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, and Bone Crossed. River Marked, the next book in the series, is scheduled for publication on January 25, 2011.

The day begins mundanely for Mercy Thompson as she works on fixing a car at her mechanic shop. When she receives a phone call from a friend passing along a message from Phineas to "tell Mercy to take care of that thing I gave her," she figures he just wants back the book about the fae that he lent her. Since Mercy's friend is worried that he cannot get a hold of Phineas she promises to stop by his bookstore to return the book that very night. However, once she gets there to find the shop closed and Phineas nowhere to be found, her instincts are screaming that something is not quite right.

Mercy doesn't have time to dwell on something that might be wrong since she has a date with Adam. Although her date begins well, it ends badly when she finds herself acting strangely, as though she is compelled to do so. Soon, she suspects someone is using the pack bond to control her- it's no secret that some of Adam's wolves are not particularly happy about having a coyote as a pack member.

Later that night Mercy receives a call from Samuel asking her to go get him from the hospital where he works. Once she arrives she finds that something is seriously wrong with him: his wolf half has taken over because Samuel is too depressed to continue. She can't tell anyone who may know more about the situation than she does because werewolves in this position must be killed according to pack law. Can Mercy save Samuel, salvage her relationship with Adam's pack and unravel the mystery of her fae book before it is too late?

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It continues to impress me that Briggs manages to pack so much into such a short novel. Each of the books in this series are approximately 300 pages long, yet the main plot is always wrapped up by the end and the characters are further developed. What I love best about each new installment, though, is that reading a new Mercy Thompson book is like reconnecting with old friends. After five books, the characters are all so familiar and true to themselves that they seem real (in spite of any supernatural abilities). Mercy has such a natural voice touched with humor that always draws me right in to the story and keeps those pages turning quickly.

This particular volume has a main mystery involving the fae, a group I particularly love if they have a dark nature instead of being happy, human-like beings. Although most of the fae in this series fit into that category, there are a few exceptions and I don't even mind those because I love all the characters so much. While I loved the dark, fairy tale feel to the fae plotline in this story, the ending did bother me. It was just too convenient and seemed to come out of nowhere. It's the same complaint I have with a lot of urban fantasy - it seems as though every powerful creature in the world happens to show up in the one city the series takes place in.

This is largely Samuel's book as he's dealing with some of the issues that have been mentioned before. Even so, there are still plenty of great parts with Adam, Bran and many of the other characters (I'm starting to really want a series about Bran and/or Samuel's past adventures). Also, there's more information on pack dynamics and the different bonds, and learning more about the pack social structure is always interesting.

Silver Borne is another great addition to the Mercy Thompson series with some more plot revolving around the fae aspect of the world. Although part of the ending didn't quite ring true, the characters do and many readers will be happy to know that there is some special emphasis on Samuel.

My Rating: 8/10

Where I got my reading copy: I bought it (in hardcover even though it meant my books no longer matched - I found it for $11 and just couldn't wait).

Read Chapter One
Read the Author's Comments

Other Reviews of Silver Borne:

• Angieville
• The Book Smugglers
• Dear Author
• Fantasy & SciFi Lovin' News & Reviews
• Janicu's Book Blog

Reviews of other books in this series:

• Moon Called
  
• Blood Bound
• Iron Kissed
• Bone Crossed

Review of The Sevenfold Spell

	The Sevenfold Spell by Tia Nevitt 97pp (E-book) My Rating: 7/10 Amazon Rating: 5/5 LibraryThing Rating: 3.5/5 Goodreads Rating: 3.4/5

The Sevenfold Spell is a new novella by Tia Nevitt, who runs the wonderful Debuts & Reviews site. This Sleeping Beauty story is the first in a series of fairy tale retellings called Accidental Enchantments. The next book will be based on Cinderella, and there are plans for books based on Beauty and the Beast and Snow White as well. The Sevenfold Spell was published in e-book format and was just released this week.

This particular version of the Sleeping Beauty tale is based on the familiar myth but makes it into its own unique version. While it is the same basic story with the fairies and a princess destined to prick her finger on a spinning wheel, the princess is not the main focus. The Sevenfold Spell is told from the perspective of a commoner named Talia, who is of marriageable age at the beginning of the story. The princess Aurora was just cursed by the evil fairy, and all spinning wheels have been outlawed from the kingdom. Talia and her mother earn their living by spinning, and the consequences of the seizure of their spinning wheel are devastating. A good portion of Talia's dowry goes toward a new loom so she and her mother can begin learning and practicing a new trade. As a result, she and her suitor Willard do not have enough money to begin a life together and Willard's father sends him to a monastery. Over the course of several years, we see just how this affects the course of Talia's life and how her story ties in with that of Princess Aurora.

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The Sevenfold Spell is a fast, absorbing novella. It didn't take long at all too engage me, and it only took about an hour and a half to two hours to read from start to finish. As someone who is a paper book fan, I was a little unsure about reading an e-book and I think it would have been hard for me if it hadn't grabbed my attention pretty quickly or if it had been dense. Fortunately this was not the case and I quickly forgot I was reading on a screen (other than on a couple of occasions when I noticed how heavy the iPad gets).

The first half of the book was actually pretty racy, and I was a little surprised by the amount of sex and wondered at first when it would get to more about the fairy tale. It began with showing just how terrified people were to be losing their primary means of making money when the spinning wheels were banned, and the next part was a lot of sex scenes. Early in the story, I wasn't quite sure how they related to the rest of the book, but by the time I was finished, I felt that it ended up shaping her character quite a bit. It made sense that she'd decide just to have some fun and forget about her reputation - her prospects for marriage were gone and she was probably feeling pretty hopeless at that point. Plus it did shape her character throughout the years, and it influenced some advice she gave to a certain prince later.

The second half of the book ended up dealing more with the fairy tale, and Princess Aurora and the prince take on larger roles. I especially enjoyed reading about the explanations for the details in this well-known story, such as why the fairies could not counteract the curse.

The Sevenfold Spell is still the Sleeping Beauty we are all familiar with but with a different perspective that sets it apart from being just another retelling of this fairy tale. It moves at a good pace and is entertaining - and a bit romantic.

My Rating: 7/10

Where I got my reading copy: The author sent me a copy.

Other Reviews:

• The Book Smugglers
• Stella Matutina

Review of An Artificial Night

	An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire 368pp (Paperback) My Rating: 8/10 Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 LibraryThing Rating: 4.45/5 Goodreads Rating: 4.35/5

An Artificial Night is the third book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire, this year's John W. Campbell Award winner for Best New Writer. The first two books in this urban fantasy series about faerie are Rosemary and Rue and A Local Habitation, respectively. There has been a very short wait in between books, and both the fourth and fifth books are scheduled for publication next year (Late Eclipses in March and The Brightest Fell in September, continuing the trend of beautifully worded titles taken from Shakespeare).

Life is never dull for Toby Daye, a changeling private investigator who does work for the Faerie court. One moment she's capturing Barghests who have taken over the feast hall of one of the Faerie nobility. The next morning her own personal Grim Reaper shows up at her front door, cheerful and eagerly awaiting Toby's imminent death. As if that weren't enough, Toby comes home from breakfast to a frantic call from her friend Stacy who needs her to come look into a situation. Two of Stacy's children disappeared in the middle of the night, and one of her other children will not wake up.

It turns out other children are missing as well, including a human girl. Toby soon learns that this means Blind Michael is stealing children to become animals and riders for his Wild Hunt. With so many taken, including some who are dear to her, Toby cannot do anything other than try to retrieve the children - even if the appearance of death at her door means this does not bode well for her.

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Each book in the October Daye series is better than the last, and this series has become one of my top three urban fantasies (right after the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews and the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs). The second book was a big improvement over the first one, and this latest installment was slightly better than the second one. The plot was tighter with a wonderfully creepy atmosphere in the realms of Blind Michael. It's dark and there is not a vampire or werewolf to be found - it's all about the fae.

One of the reasons this book seems stronger than the others may be that it's not about solving a mystery - the cause of the disappearing children is discovered early in the story and most of the book was about how to rectify the situation. While I mostly love Toby as a character, I'm afraid I don't actually believe in her as a private investigator. She seems to have issues grasping simple clues in each book, and her ability to solve cases seems to rely more on sheer luck than any actual skill. Perhaps good fortune is part of Toby's changeling heritage that hasn't been revealed yet since she did admit in the beginning of this novel that solving her latest case had nothing to do with her prowess as an investigator (plus, she does seem pretty lucky not to be dead by now as often as she's nearly been so in these three books). When it came to figuring out who took the children, she also didn't do a whole lot of problem solving but instead came to the conclusion by coincidence leading her to the person she needed to talk to. Admittedly, she'd had a rough morning with Mae, her own personal Fetch who looked like her and was just waiting to carry her off after she died, showing up at her door. Yet I can't ignore this or think of it as a special case since she's seemed equally dense at figuring out clues in the previous books.

In spite of the fact that I am hoping there is an explanation for Toby's less than stellar investigative skills, I do enjoy reading about her. She's funny with a rather amusing way of phrasing her narration, and she's certainly not all powerful. Her tough but vulnerable attitude and willingness to dive into danger reminds me a lot of other urban fantasy heroines, but her voice in the second book went a long way toward making me like her. However, I did find myself thinking Toby's voice was not as strong or full of personality in this installment as the previous one. After some thought, I don't think that there was a big difference between the second and third book narration, but Toby's voice no longer seemed as "Toby." The last book I read by Seanan McGuire was Feed, a novel she wrote as Mira Grant, and I found myself thinking at times that Toby's narrative style sounded very much like George, the narrator in Feed.

Most of the characters other than Toby are also very enjoyable to read about, both new and old. Luna's past is explored, and it was fun to learn more about her origins. The rose goblin Spike was fleshed out a little more and even though he can't speak to Toby, he has his own personality and endearing ways. Tybalt remains my favorite and even though there wasn't as much of him in this novel as the second one, the parts that were here were very good. Part of his allure is just how mysterious he is so I don't really mind if that is dragged out a little, especially considering we did get some setup hinting there may be more about him soon. There were also several references to Toby's mother that made me quite curious about where that may be going. This part of the series is handled very well - even though each book stands on its own with a definite conclusion there are some tantalizing bits to anticipate in future installments.

My personal preference for fae is the darker the better, and I am beginning to wonder just how dark these fae are. Although there are certainly some who are on the creepy side such as this book's villain Blind Michael, many of them seem to genuinely care about others. There are times they look out for themselves or do good if it benefits them, but I am beginning to wonder if some of the fae are further on the Tinkerbell side of the faery goodness spectrum than I'd initially thought. Since all the important characters are at least partially fae, the average reader may not be able to sympathize with them if they seemed too inhuman, though. It's a difficult balance to maintain, and there is at least still plenty of blurriness when it comes to motive for many of them.

Although I do have one major issue with the series so far - the main character's incompetence at her job - An Artificial Night is an entertaining read that kept me turning the pages. It's dark and eerie with some delightful characters I'm looking forward to reading more about.

My Rating: 8/10

Where I got my reading copy: ARC from the publisher.

Reviews of other books in this series:

• Rosemary and Rue
• A Local Habitation

Other Reviews of An Artificial Night:

• Dreams and Speculation
• Lurv a la Mode
• The Book Smugglers

Review of Lord of the White Hell: Book Two

	Lord of the White Hell: Book One by Ginn Hale 346pp (Trade Paperback) My Rating: 9/10 Amazon Rating: 5/5 LibraryThing Rating: N/A Goodreads Rating: 4.7/5

Lord of the White Hell: Book Two completes the Lord of the White Hell duology by Ginn Hale. Book One came out in the middle of August and Book Two was just released today. Since the second book picks up right after the first one and this is one book split into two parts, I would strongly recommend starting with Lord of the White Hell: Book One instead of the second volume.

As this is a continuation of the first book, I am going to skip the plot summary and refer to my review of Lord of the White Hell: Book One for those who are not familiar with these two novels. If you have read the first book, you know what the books are about and there is really no need to discuss what happens in the beginning since it's really the middle and I'd like to write about the book without spoiling it. In this review, I'll cover some of the differences between this and the first book and what I thought of both books as a single entity.

First of all, I loved the second half of this book just as much as the first one. It did take me a little bit longer to get to the same level of complete absorption as in the first, but before long I was just as swept up by the story. Although it did suck me in pretty quickly, I thought I might not enjoy it as much as the first part for a little while. This was mainly because there was a lot more sex, and I do have a tendency to get bored with a lot of sex scenes. They did not drag on for too long before moving on, though, and they also were often integral to character development so I didn't mind them as much as I thought I would. However, I still much preferred reading about the various characters, the cultures and mythology, and the curse.

Both books are very heavy on character development and relationships between the characters, and so many of the characters came across as real and likable. Kiram, the scholarly boy with the genius for mechanics, and Javier, the lord controlling the white hell, are of course the best drawn as the main protagonists the books focus on. Yet reading about any of them was immensely enjoyable, and all the friends from the academy had such a wonderful camaraderie shown through humorous, smoothly written dialogue. Even childlike Fedeles, whose conversation mainly consists of singing the names of his favorite horses, shines as sweet and good-natured - and was a character I really cared about in spite of the fact that he is not even normally coherent.

In book two, there is a break from school and Kiram goes home to the Haldiim district in Anacleto. At first I was concerned that this meant there wouldn't be as much time spent with the characters I'd come to love so much, but it didn't end up being a problem since some of them lived nearby and others visited. Also, this allowed a firsthand look at the Haldiim and how their way of life contrasted with that of the Cadeleonians. It was particularly refreshing that even though they were more open-minded and less strict than the Cadeleonians, they were not portrayed as perfect in every way. Even though they allowed people to marry a person of either gender and seemed in general more lenient, the matriarchy still had some of the same pitfalls as a patriarchy. Marriages were still often made based on forging an advantageous connection with another family, and mothers still refused to give their sons certain freedoms. Regardless of culture, everyone seemed human with their own strengths and flaws - even compassionate Kiram was not immune to some prejudice when it came to the Cadeleonian religion.

The conclusion was very exciting, and every plot thread was wrapped up. Even though it had a satisfying resolution, it does feel like there is room for sequels since more adventure is probably in store for Kiram.

Although it had many similarities to Wicked Gentlemen, such as the examination of two conflicting cultures, a character driven story and a romance between two men from opposing societies, Lord of the White Hell was not as prettily written. Even so, it is a stronger story, although perhaps I think that because I usually prefer longer stories with more time to get to know the characters.

Lord of the White Hell is highly recommended to readers who enjoy character-driven fantasy with some romance and focus on social structures. It had me captivated from start to finish and is easily one of my favorite books I've read so far this year.

My Rating: 9/10

Where I got my reading copy: ARC from the publisher.

Reviews of other books in this series:

• Lord of the White Hell: Book One

Read Excerpts:

• Lord of the White Hell: Book One
• Lord of the White Hell: Book Two

Read an Interview with Ginn Hale

Review of Killbox

	Killbox by Ann Aguirre 368pp (Paperback) My Rating: 8/10 Amazon Rating: 5/5 LibraryThing Rating: 4.33/5 Goodreads Rating: 4.72/5

Killbox, the fourth book in the Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre, was released on August 31. The other books in this space opera series are Grimspace, Wanderlust and Doubleblind, in that order. There will be six books total in the series with Aftermath scheduled for September 2011 and Endgame for September 2012.

Please note that since this is the fourth book in a series, there will be spoilers for the first three books. This is a series that I would definitely recommend reading in order beginning with Grimspace (review).

After leaving Ithiss-Tor, Jax sends a message that she is quitting her job as a diplomat the first chance she gets. It's not that she doesn't want to do her part to save humanity (and any other species that refrains from hostile actions such as devouring the flesh of anyone it feels like eating) - but diplomacy has never really been her strength. Instead, she takes an apprentice jumper and begins teaching him how to traverse grimspace.

Daily life is not as safe as it used to be, and for some peculiar reason the Morgut appear to be targeting scientists. As more and more people are attacked by the deadly Morgut, Jax and her friends realize that there are serious consequences to destroying the corrupt Farwan, which at least had a large number of patrols dedicated to aiding those in trouble. The Conglomerate comes to the same realization and offers March a position as commander of a new armada - with free reign to be "creative" due to limited funding and the urgency of defending the universe. Although it is a lot of responsibility, it's also impossible to refuse, and the crew begins gathering a force of mercenaries of ill repute as the last hope against the Morgut threat.

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After the political diplomacy in Doubleblind, this book packs in a lot more action. In spite of (or perhaps because of) this, it actually took a little longer for me to get emotionally involved in Killbox than the previous three novels, although I was very much emotionally involved by the time it ended. The beginning is not at all slow, quite the opposite - I was just being impatient about wanting to see certain threads from the last book picked up. The previous installment dealt a lot with Vel, my favorite character in the series, and I was hoping to see some of the parts about him from it followed up on some more. Although it took a little while to get to them, there were definitely some great scenes with Vel that I'm now hoping to see continued in the next novel.

There's lots of danger, excitement and battles, and Aguirre continues to maintain an excellent balance between moving the plot forward and developing the characters. At first it did seem as though there was more adventure and less of the character moments, but there were some - they were just mainly with March. Ever since the second book, I've much preferred reading about the friendships Jax has developed to the romance, especially her relationships with the alien Vel and the ship's mechanic Dina, an exiled princess. By the time it reached the big cliffhanger ending, not only had there been some fantastic conversations with both Vel and Dina, but it had definitely also taken me on an emotionally harrowing journey. The last 50 - 60 pages made me cry not just once but twice (which rarely happens at all).

Another major highlight is the return of some characters we haven't seen since the very first book, but the most rewarding part is the development of Jax herself. She continues to grow as a character and has changed so much since the first book. Even better, just how much she has grown is shown through her actions - we're not just told she's not the same Jax but we're shown time and again that she has come a long way since the first book. It did get on my nerves a little that we were told she wasn't the same so many times instead of just letting her deeds speak for themselves, but considering the story is told from Jax's perspective, I don't think it's unrealistic. Someone who has undergone as much of a metamorphosis as she has over the course of this series is probably going to be continually amazed by the contrast between how she reacts now and how she would have reacted just a short time ago.

The writing itself has also improved since the first novel. While is still mainly straightforward and sometimes fractured prose as it's told from Jax's perspective in present tense, there were a couple of phrases and observations that struck me as lovely. The turmoil at the end especially was very moving.

It was somewhat annoying that March and Jax were apart yet again in this book. Although the reason behind it was logical, the fact that it keeps happening over and over again is making it feel contrived to me. It's starting to seem like every book needs to have a new dilemma for keeping some tension in the romance so it doesn't get stale before the final book.

Overall, this is a strong addition to the Sirantha Jax series. It has plenty of action and adventure, the characters continue to grow, and the writing has matured since the first book. One final word of advice: do have a box of tissues handy and be prepared to curse the book for ending where it does.

My Rating: 8/10

Where I got my reading copy: Review copy from the publisher.

Read Chapter One

Other Reviews:

• Dreams and Speculation
• Lurv a la Mode

Reviews of other books in this series:

• Grimspace
  
• Wanderlust
• Doubleblind

Review of Shadow Magic

	Shadow Magic by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett 464pp (Paperback) My Rating: 8/10 Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 LibraryThing Rating: 3.88/5 Goodreads Rating: 3.88/5

Shadow Magic is a loose sequel to Havemercy, the debut novel for Danielle Bennett and Jaida Jones. In June a third book, Dragon Soul, was released in hardcover. Dragon Soul continues the story of Thom and Rook from Havemercy, and also introduces two new characters.

Even though Shadow Magic takes place after Havemercy, it could work as a stand alone book. It does give away what happens with the conflict between two nations for the previous book though, so those who like to avoid any spoilers at all may want to avoid reading it first. However, I would have had no problem with starting with Shadow Magic and then reading Havemercy - it follows a completely different set of characters and these books are more enjoyable for reading about how developments unfold than what exactly unfolds.

Please note that if you are one of those people who do not want to know any details at all about the end of Havemercy, mentioning them is difficult to avoid when discussing this book so you will not want to read the rest of this review. If you are curious about these books but do not want to read this review, there is a review of Havemercy you can read instead.

The war between Volstov and Xi'an has come to an end. On the seventh hour of the seventh day of observing the loss of the war, the Ke-Han emperor traditionally committed suicide to atone for their national defeat, leaving behind his two sons. Iseul, the older son, must follow in his father's footsteps by either ceremonially ending his life or assuming the role of Emperor for himself. He chooses the latter, so he and Prince Mamoru prepare to discuss peace with the delegation from Volstov - who arrive sooner than expected on the day of their father's death.

The Esar of Volstov has sent nine delegates to Xi'an, mainly composed of magicians with a few soldiers thrown in for good measure. The members of the envoy become uneasy when Emperor Iseul declares his more personable brother as guilty of treason, and the prince goes into hiding. As the proceedings continue with very little progress made and they begin to see glimpses of a darker side to Iseul, the Volstovics become increasingly wary of the new emperor.

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Like Havemercy, Shadow Magic captured my attention from the very first page and held it throughout with its character narratives. In this novel, there are two narrators from Xi'an, the prince Mamoru and his servant Kouje, and two from Volstov, the delegates Caius and Alcibiades. After only seeing characters from Volstov in Havemercy, the inclusion of two of the Ke-Han with a broader, more sympathetic look at their culture and how they were affected by the war was very welcome. Mamoru and Kouje were perhaps the more easily likable of the four main protagonists with their good intentions and their story's focus on loyalty and a long-standing friendship.

However, Caius and Alicibiades were the more intriguing with their more humorous voices and propensity to get into trouble. Caius is a magician previously exiled for using his talent to wreak revenge. Alcibiades is a soldier who also has a talent but hates the fact that he has magical ability and does whatever he can to avoid using it. Their observations about each other were quite entertaining - Caius decided that he simply must be friends with Alcibiades, who thought Caius was a pest, and a crazy one at that:

One of his eyes was queerly discolored, and being looked at by him felt like you were having a conversation with two people, and both of them equally insane. [pp. 17-18]

After reading more from the perspective of Caius, it becomes clear just how apt this description is. Because of this, Caius was easily my favorite to read about - he appeared so carefree and easygoing most of the time with his main concerns focusing on fashion, gossip and breaking down the barriers Alcibiades built outside the door between their rooms. Yet he also had this love of danger coupled with the ruthless streak that lead to his infamous exile from Volstov that almost made him eerie.

There are a lot of other similarities to the preceding novel, particularly in its structure. The entire story is told from the first person perspective of four different men, one of which is another gay magician although there is no romantic involvement as in Royston's part in Havemercy. Two of these perspectives overlap as they spend a lot of time together throughout the novel, and these two paired protagonists only very occasionally actually meet up with the other two. One of these two converging storylines is more serious while the in the other hilarity ensues. Throughout the novel, most of the story is told through character interaction and the observations of the various narrators, but at the end there is a lot of action and it concludes in a rush.

In spite of these parallels, it does not feel at all like a rehash of Havemercy. For one thing, it almost entirely takes place in the Japanese-influenced country of Xi'an instead of Volstov. Now that the war is over, there's an absence of the metal dragons and the conflict is completely different since it is not Volstov vs. Xi'an. Also, each of the characters is very different from the previous ones. Alicibiades may seem a little similar to Rook since he doesn't tend to care about social niceties, but he also was not nearly as obnoxious and was more understandable. He didn't want to just gladly accept the people who almost managed to conquer his nation, and as a soldier in the war he was a lot closer to the situation than most of the delegates.

Although I really enjoyed reading Shadow Magic, I did feel that it had a weak point in the character of Iseul. Iseul seemed to be purely evil with no real motive beyond being born innately villainous, plus his particular brand of evil made him seem rather stupid. He turned against his own brother, a compassionate young man who never gave him any reason to do so. Plus the people of Ke-Han loved Mamoru, who did his best to make sure they were taken care of during the war, and no one who had ever met him was going to believe he was truly guilty of treason. It didn't even ring true to the delegates from Volstov who spent merely one evening in his presence. He seemed to have no beneficial reason in the long term to act the way he did, although I suppose he had no concept of ideas such as being held in high regard for virtues such as kindness.

Also, I felt that Mamoru and Kouje's story dragged at times. While I liked both of them and enjoyed reading their tale of loyalty and friendship, I much preferred reading about Caius and Alcibiades, who were so much fun to read about, especially when it concerned each man's reactions to the other.

Even so, Shadow Magic was very readable with plenty of strengths. Its often humorous narrative told from the perspective of four very different and likable protagonists kept me turning the pages, and I also enjoyed getting to learn more about the Ke-Han. I'll definitely be reading more by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett.

My Rating: 8/10

Where I got my reading copy: I bought it.

Reviews of other books in this series:

• Havemercy

Other Reviews:

• Fantasy Book Critic
• Stella Matutina