Review - Darker Angels (Black Sun's Daughter #2) by M.L.N. Hanover

(source: www.scifiguy.ca)

Welcome to Urban Fantasy School

Here you will learn:

1) How to create a super cool, but smart-alecy heroine.

• Also, learn to make a geeky hero/heroine seem cool.

2) How to create the best trampstamp (and incorporate it into the story seamlessly).

(very manly)

3) How to add a love interest to add just the right amount of sexy...if you didn't get enough with that trampstamp.

4) How to pose for the cover. In fact, if you want to specialize, author Jim C. Hines' has a masters program.

5) How to end all threads but possibly one. Gotta keep 'em coming back...for at least 20 more books!

6) Third person, second person, omniscience? Never heard of them, and you won't need them either!

Also, check out out our college of one-liners! All we do is listen to this guy every day.



Review:

It wouldn't really be UF if it didn't have the components mentioned above would it? I think we can all admit that there's a certain formula to Urban Fantasy and I'm not even saying that's a bad thing. What I am saying, however, is that it's one of the reasons I'm not completely sold on it either, for the same reason I'm not sold on crime procedurals on TV.

I tend to prefer my fantasy of the epic style (which does NOT involve anything formulaic), but like I said in my review for the first book in this series, when I do read Urban Fantasy, this series has been perfect for that itch.

Darker Angels [US] [UK] [Kindle] is book two in MLN Hanover/Daniel Abraham's Urban Fantasy series, The Black Sun's Daughter. While I make fun (because it's so very easy), this series is a great one. This book takes up right after Unclean Spirits, where Jayné Heller and her crew of demon-fighters are busier than ever checking out all the properties Jayné inherited from her deceased uncle, Eric. They quickly get a job that leads them to New Orleans where the interesting concept of demons "riding" humans (essentially taking them over) is applied to the voodoo located in that area.

Being located in New Orleans, the author does an amazing job setting the seen of the city post-Katrina. Not that I have any experience in Louisiana, Hanover/Abraham presents the plight of the city's inhabitants after the destruction in a very real way while portraying the action and adventure that are actually the focus of the story. It was not only impressive, but I felt it helped me understand what people have had to go through since that time.

Jayné is a great urban fantasy heroine, smart but actually very unlike the list above in that she doesn't bat you over the head with one-liners that honestly get a tad old (I'm looking at you Harry). She's vulnerable and lacks confidence in herself, which I think is something we call all relate to. And most importantly, she's very real. On top of that, it's really hard not to like her. Darker Angels is definitely worth your time.

3.5 out of 5 Stars (Recommended)

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher

A Silly, Yet Entertaining List of Books

I thought I'd share this silly (because I can't quite go all the way to funny on most counts) of "Cut-Rate Books." Here's the explanation blurb from the article:

With all the budget cuts schools and libraries have had to endure lately, it's hard to justify those bigger numbers when it comes to purchasing books

eBook Deals, or Books I Bought Recently

Tim Marquitz's sequel to Dawn of War is coming out soon so he's having a deal at the moment. It's free for the Barnes and Noble Nook at the moment with the hope that Amazon will drop its price in the next little while as well.

Dawn of War by Tim Marquitz [Free for Nook] [$1.99 Kindle]
Four in the Morning Edited by Tim Marquitz (anthology) [$3.99]
Call Me Joe by Pohl Anderson (short story) [$0.99]

The following is a special deal, not for an ebook, but for a good cause. Only $0.99 for this great picture and it will go to the Children’s Hospice Charity. This picture was created by author Mark Lawrence's daughter, Celyn. Find out more here.

Review - The Wind Through the Keyhole (Dark Tower 4.5) by Stephen King

Welcome to flashback city, population - Wizard and Glass (review) and The Wind Through the Keyhole [US] [UK] [Kindle].

Wizard and Glass may have the record for length of flashback, but Wind Through the Keyhole goes Inception* on that flashback with a flashback** within a flashback.

*It's still accepted to reference Inception right?

**Okay, really it's a story within a flashback, but the story is a flashback to an even younger Roland technically so...I'm going with it anyway.

As someone who has been reading this series chronologically (i.e., I've read the first four in the Dark Tower series, but have yet to read the last three), I'm having a really hard time picturing what it's like for a Dark Tower book to have plot progression with the main Ka-tet (Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy).

This book's been quite the divisive one and to be honest, I can't really disagree with what a lot of people have said who didn't like it nearly as much as I did.

So, having only read the first four books, reading The Wind Through the Keyhole was just a continuation of the last book, Wizard and Glass (W&G). I'm sure there are some things in Wind that I missed having not read the last three, and knowing this, of course we know our friends are going to be okay...right? Or are they? (yeah, they're fine)

And yet, that doesn't mean there's no dramatic tension. If you've read any of my reviews, you probably already know that I really don't know what I'm talking about. I didn't major in English and I've easily forgotten anything I've ever learned in high school or undergrad about anything literary-related.

Given that, I want to talk about literary devices for a sec. Just because we know the ending already (well, not me), doesn't mean a story lacks tension. While we know they'll be "all right," one, we don't know how other characters will fair, and two, we're still looking for how they get back to "all right" because they're not at this point. So, it's really just a focus shift.

Okay, I'll quit talking about things I know nothing about...well, probably not.

We pick up just after the events from W&G as our fearless Ka-tet is on their way from the glass tower in the first section titled "Starkblast." This doesn't last long, as you can imagine, and we're back into a flashback story from Roland's youth, which actually takes place just after the flashback from W&G. This flashback is called "The Skin-Man."

Roland is sent on anther mission to another remote area of the world where a gunslinger is needed. Sadly, he takes another young gunslinger with him, not Alain and Cuthbert. I was SOOOO disappointed, I thought for sure we'd get those guys back, but in retrospect, I have a HUGE man-crush on them so that may have clouded my perception.

(Not sure if those are even Alain and Cuthbert, but the picture's pretty cool anyway.)

But wait, there's more...flashbacks that is. During the flashback in "The Skin-Man," Roland tells the titular tale, "The Wind Through the Keyhole." This tale actually makes up the bulk of the book and was easily my favorite part.

In "The Wind Through the Keyhole," King is in top form writing-wise. The story is independent and only mildly relates to either of the two other stories, but it's still a great one and I loved every minute of it.

It's a great old-timey adventure story about a kid who braves impossible odds to help his family. I have to say this again, the writing is top-notch (or "tip top" as the Swiss would say). He fits it to the story perfectly and puts me in awe at the talent this man possesses. He is the King in name and writing.

And just like a Matryoshka (or Russian nesting) doll, we head back to the first flashback in "The Skin-Man Part 2" and then back to our Ka-tet. In summary, the story goes like this (not necessarily using the given titles):

Ka-tet (present story timeline) > Flashback to Young Roland > The Wind Through the Keyhole (main story) > Flashback to Young Roland > Ka-tet (present story timeline)

As much as I loved the main story, I didn't love the ending to the Young Roland flashback and the ka-tet portion was just a reference point if anything.

As someone who considers Wizard and Glass one of his all-time favorite books (inside and outside of the Dark Tower universe), I love me a good flashback. Not everyone does and I'll even admit that I thought this book would be a tale of the Ka-tet, not another flashback within a flashback. I'd still recommend this to fans of the Dark Tower and even non-readers alike.

4 out of 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)

Worth checking out: Here's a detailed list of all of King's books from worst to best with semi-detailed descriptions of why the article's author thinks so.