Sidekick by Auralee Wallace
Just finished reading Sidekick by Auralee Wallace which I really enjoyed – it was good fun, very entertaining and basically combines a comic book type superhero style with a YA story about a young woman trying to survive in the big bad city after breaking free from her billionaire father. It has a hint of romance, a lot of bungling adventures and near mishaps told in a witty voice and fictional, Gotham-esque city setting. This is a fast paced romp told very much tongue in cheek.
At the start of the story Bremy St James finds herself in debt to her landlord. Living in what could best be described as a broom closet as opposed to an apartment she still needs to pay rent – particularly if she wants to stay in one piece. Bremy seems to have left home under a cloud which isn’t immediately explained, only that she feels like she’s escaped and is now trying to make her way in the world in order to set up and bring her twin sister to live with her. Taking herself off to the bank to withdraw her remaining cash Bremy finds herself in the midst of a bank robbery – by a bunch of circus performers! Now, this pretty much sets up the tone for the rest of the book. Bremy finds herself in one dire situation and then usually spirals to the next as she desperately tries to clutch at straws to retrieve the situation.
The one thing you can say for Bremy is that even though she’s a bit bungling her heart is in the right place and she can’t resist interfering, even in the most threatening situations, if somebody needs help. This is a good thing of course and it’s refreshing to read a character who is willing to assist others in need but does of course put her in the limelight which is the last place she wants to be as she tries to remain hidden from her father.
The city has it’s own superhero – the Dark Ryder. A kickass woman who swoops fearlessly into the fray and who having come to Bremy’s attention becomes her unwitting mentor. Yep, Bremy, decides that becoming the Dark Ryder’s sidekick is the perfect solution to all her problems – however willingness and the desire to help others might not be enough and trying to keep her identity hidden from not only her father but her would-be boyfriend, plus holding down a job in a rather seedy establishment where she already owes her boss money, not to mention having a landlord keen to find her and possibly remove her fingers also won’t help. She’s got a lot to juggle here not to mention becoming embroiled in a plot to save the City.
In terms of the other characters there’s the journalist boyfriend (although his investigative journalism skills leave a little to be desired!), there’s obviously the host of super baddies, the superhero of the City – Ryder, and the friends that Bremy eventually finds in her next door neighbour Queenie and her geeky IT friend Bart.
Anyway, I enjoyed this. It was fast paced, amusing and entertaining and a perfect set up for future novels in the same series. It probably won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but providing you go into the read thinking along the lines of ‘comic book’ and ‘superheros’ and also being prepared to accept that anything goes then you’ll no doubt enjoy this. It’s writing style is very easy to get along with and it’s good fun to read a novel with a comic book feel. Anything goes and the finer detail is completely out the window – just roll with it!
I received a copy of this from Netgalley in return for a honest review. The above is my own opinion. I can’t deny that this great cover was the first thing to capture my attention! Fickle but true.
Sci fi villains we all know and love to hate!
So, Two Dudes in an Attic recently posted SF Villains (and idea sparked by the Fantasy Review Barn‘s Dark Lord’s of Fantasy posting). Anyway, SF isn’t my forte but I decided to find 10 Sci-fi villains that everyone will (more than likely) have heard of – even if they’re like me and have barely skimmed the genre:
Don’t laugh now, but, the Daleks from Dr Who. Come on, everyone knows them and they were scary. Need to confess: not read any Dr Who novels *hangs head in shame*. But, I have seen plenty of the tv series!
- Baron Vladimir Harkonnen from The Dune Trilogy by Frank Herbert – grossness!
Kenneth McMillan’s portrayal of Harkonnen
- Emperor Palpatine – Star Wars – couldn’t leave him off here although again I’ve not read any Star Wars books – he’s just too good a baddie!
- The Vogons (or could it be the mice?) from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
- The Morlocks from The Time Machine by H G Wells. Scary monsters who live underground and dine on human flesh.
- Dr Frankenstein from Shelly’s Frankenstein – at the end of the day he created the monster and then abandoned it setting off a string of events that he later regretted!
- 101 – the large corporation from Ernie Cline’s Ready Player One.
- The Triffids – from The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham – large, venomous plants that can communicate, move about and attack and eat humans!
- I am Legend by Richard Matheson – who is really the villain in this book, I think it’s debatable!!
- The Mule from Asimov’s Foundation Series – bends people’s minds to his will!
Like I said, easy sci fi! I think that anybody who reads this list will know at least five of my baddies!!! That’s my challenge for you all – come up with a list of at least five baddies that everyone knows. It can be done!!
Check out more villains at Dab of Darkness
The Three by Sarah Lotz
Wow. Just finished reading the Three by Sarah Lotz. This was totally different than what I expected, in fact I can’t really remember what I originally expected, all I now know is that this was better than I ever thought it would be!
The Three – to put it in a nutshell – the world is shaken by a series of airplane disasters, four in total occurring on different continents and all within hours of each others. Only three survivors make it out of the wreckages, one survivor for each plane crash except for the fourth which unfortunately found a watery grave. At first terrorism is expected but when this, and other environmental factors, are eventually wiped out people across the world begin to speculate. How could these three children have survived. It’s a miracle. Isn’t it?? All the survivors are young children. One now living in Japan, one America and one in the UK. Of course it doesn’t take long for all sorts of religious and conspiracy theories to start to develop which pretty soon grow beyond belief and cause worldwide unrest and panic.
The book is actually written in the style of excerpts from a book! So, a book within a book. At first it appears to jump back and forth and at first this can be a bit distracting but pretty soon adds to the tension, the story being related through the experiences of those surrounding the nearest and dearest of the survivors of the crashes. The writing is very easy, persuasive even in the way it manages to scare you in the simplest way possible. The strange thing is you could almost debate whether this is a horror story and, if you’re expecting some sort of slasher, then yes, you’ll be disappointed. This is much more of a psychological horror. The author insinuates things, makes suggestions, plants the seeds of doubt until you’re completely torn between thinking some of the ideas here are completely rational, even if they’re not, but maybe they are, wait….and then the ending! Yes, I realise that’s all a bit cryptic and also a bit of a tease but this book made me go round in circles. Are the people here suffering from loss, are they mourning, are they delusional, disturbed or what? And SL has this ability to write a scene that’s really quite awful in this almost deadpan and chilling way that frankly gave me the creeps to read.
The Characters, not sure how much of an attachment you’ll feel to any of them and I suppose that’s one of the flaws to a book written in this style where it’s written looking back – you have a certain sense of foreboding in one respect but in another you feel more comfortable because you’ve also lost a certain element of surprise. That being said the author still manages to come up with a few surprises and even now I’m still thinking of the ramifications of what happened here.
The only criticism that I can really level at this novel is that it’s damned difficult to review it without giving away the plot. It’s a crazy mixed up feast of The X Files, Conspiracy Theory, The Ring, Predator, The Shining and the Bible – whilst being none of those things at the same time. Basically, there are little elements there that make you grasp at straws even as they fall out of your reach.
So, as if plane crashes in themselves weren’t scary enough, now chuck in creepy kids and clowns and bingo – i’m joking about the clowns – that would have been one step too far. Really though this book gave me the chills!
In terms of criticisms, I don’t really have any. When I first started reading I initially thought this wasn’t going to be for me but within a few chapters it reeled me in.
I received a copy of this courtesy of the publisher through Netgalley. The above is my own opinion.
We seek them here, we seek them there…..
22 May 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Guide to Fantasy, Tough Travelling
Each Thursday, the Fantasy Review Barn takes a look at ‘The Tough Guide to Fantasyland’. This week’s Tough Travel Guide to fantasy takes us to new and unexplored places. Off the beaten track these places can’t be located by map. If you’re in search of adventure then delve right in. This week’s ‘wish you were here’ is ‘Hidden Kingdoms’. (I tried not to cheat but I think that there are at least two questionable ones on here!!)
1. A world of talking flowers, cheesy grinning Cheshire cats and pipe smoking caterpillars. Be sure to visit the Mad Hatter’s Tea party whilst you’re 
there. All you need to do is locate the white rabbit’s hole (located on a lazy sunny day, beneath the trees with a bubbling stream nearby) and follow the pocket-watch-toting bunny straight down. You need to get your ‘hurry’ on because he’s late. Read up on court politics before taking this trip – the Red Queen is quick to judge so if you’re partial to your head being on your shoulders tread carefully. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
2. Pay a visit to old Blighty and take a trip to London Below. A seedy and strange underworld where you will mingle not only with London’s homeless but also other fantastical people from different times and places. London Below is a parallel of London above with a few differences: The Angel of Islington is ACTUALLY an angel. Nightsbridge is a scary bridge that literally takes human lives as its toll! You may need the assistance of ‘Door’ to enter and the help of the Marquis to traverse the place however be warned that he can be tricksy and slightly untrustworthy. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (Confession: this is one of my ‘not quite so sure about choices – is it really a kingdom, or is it more just a ‘place’ – it’s never really made clear if there are rulers as such??)
3. The Split Worlds are just the ticket if you want to spend a bit of time in Regency Bath – well Regency Bath the parallel version! A world of Faerie that lies ‘over’ the city of Bath. Finding the doorway is the secret to taking this trip. Basically, there are mirror images of major cities all over the world where the faerie realms exist. Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman.
4. Forget the sinking city of Venice and visit instead the magical realms of a troll city. Incredibly difficult to get to, only for lovers of 
caving and extreme near death experiences. For a hair raising experience brave the labyrinth of dark tunnels, filled with huge carnivorous, gigantic slug like predators and find the hidden world of the trolls. Trapped under the mountains by a vengeful witch the trolls have remained underground and largely unknown for eons. Thanks to a few hardy explorers and the aid of handy markings on the cavern walls more people can now visit this beautiful and intricately chiselled stone world of the trolls, Might be useful to take a torch as though magic usually provides illumination better safe than sorry is my motto. Oh, beware, some of the locals are a little, mmm, less friendly, than you might like! And beware of the King – he has plans for us everyday folk. Stolen Songbird by Danielle Jensen.
5. If you seek dangerous beasts, a wicked queen and snarling wolves that will chase you through the bitter cold then you need a trip to Narnia. Through the far land of Spare Oom where eternal summer reigns around the bright city War Drobe, take the turning after the fourth fur coat and find yourself beneath an olde worlde street lamp – from there seek out Mr Tumness for tea and crumpets! Take care not to try some of the local delicacies such as the Turkish delight otherwise you could find yourself becoming a permanent fixture in the castle courtyward. The Queen is a frosty one for sure but here be talking lions and centaurs – what more could you ask for? A great day place to visit, get to role play for the odd year or ten and when you return you won’t have aged a jot! Colour me happy. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis
6. Hidden in the catacombs underneath London during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I is a different court altogether. Here dwells the ruler of Faerie England – Queen Invidiana. Marie Brennan’s Midnight Never Come – strange alliances between the fae and mortal, betrayal and court politics.
7. Next time you’re travelling through Middle Earth – on your way to battle, gathering your armies – take a little detour and visit the Army of the Dead. A spooky visitation with the Dead Men of Dunharrow – lead by the King of the Dead they’ve been cursed by Isildur to remain in Middle Earth after breaking their oath. Now, before you go a visiting – be warned they’re not the happiest crowd and only answer to the Heir of Isildur – so just make sure you’re it – Aragorn that is. Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien!
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson, readalong week 8
21 May 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Brandon Sanderson, Readalong week 8, Words of Radiance
Storms – this week’s chapters were .. pfft. I can’t even! I literally wanted to cry!!!! And, then I had to stop reading which was so difficult to do.
Anyway, this is week 8 of the readalong. Let’s just be realistic, if you’ve not joined in by now you’re probably not going to! But, you should still pick this book up because it’s storming brilliant! This week Susan from Dab of Darkness is hosting. Feel free to jump on in and make comments if you’ve already read WoR and if you haven’t then beware of spoilers below – because there’s probably an abundance of the little suckers! Jabberspren – they’re getting into everything:
1) What did you think of Adolin voluntarily being locked up while Kaladin was locked up? Then Adolin’s little reveal of trust later while marching on the plateaus. Do these two have a chance at friendship?
Yes!! Well, providing Kaladin makes it back in one piece. Although, the fact that Kaladin and Shallan seem to be developing their own friendship could be a deterrent. Are we really going to have a love triangle! I really want Kaladin and Adolin to be friends to be honest but I think that the way Kaladin is now viewing Shallan could be a major problem – and let’s be honest, he did come over all jealous like when Shallan mentioned Adolin.
2) Kaladin turns down the Shards, instead giving them to Moash. How do you see this affecting his friendship with Moash in the future?
I have a bad feeling about this. Moash seems to be changing in my view – perhaps I’m just imaging things but he’s already started to distance himself and although he’s got this whole ‘setting up his own affairs’ type of excuse I don’t know that I’m really buying it. Just because he’s got a shardblade doesn’t mean he has to act so very differently does it. Plus, there was something about the way he questioned Kaladin that didn’t feel quite right. Not to mention suggesting that Kaladin be the one to get Elhokar in the right spot for an assassination. I don’t like it.
3) Amaram tries to discredit and embarrass Dalinar by releasing modified versions of his visions. Do you think Dalinar handled it well? Do you think a religious sect will arise from this? And what did you make of Dalinar’s conversation with Wit?
I thought Dalinar handled it really well to be honest. When it all came out I just felt so naffed off with what Dalinar has to put up with – my shoulders slumped at that point to be honest but Dalinar just climbs up on the table, gives his speech and then goes round talking with everyone and smoothing things over (yes, he was exhausted by it but he really turned the situation around) He’s such a strong character. It does seem likely that something will come about after this disclosure of Dalinar’s visions. The conversation with Wit was very interesting and I suppose builds on what some of us have been saying that Wit is trying to help in his own way and lead people on but he clearly said himself that he will behave in a way that is right for himself. I was intrigued about what he was saying about being ripped to shreds.
4) Kaladin starts noticing some issues with his Stormlight abilities. Then Syl points out that he made promises to both Dalinar and Moash that conflict with each other. How do you see this resolving? Will Syl be OK?
I think that the double promises have started a heap of trouble for Kaladin. You can’t be making promises that conflict in that way – he’s supposed to be a man of honour after all and Syl is a honorspren so even though she might not be particularly involved on either side of things she is all about a certain way of behaving. I think that Kaladin has weakened the link – I don’t think it’s totally gone though. Basically, earlier on in the story, we had this whole sort of description about spren and the fact that humans are what really create them by believing in them. I suppose that in doing something less honorable the whole trust/belief system is put at risk in terms of Syl – I think that’s what the stormfather meant when he said Kaladin will kill her – if he acts dishonourably then she can’t exist any more? And Kaladin is starting to doubt that he can always do the right thing – in which case where does that really leave Syl (he needs to clap his hands very quickly and say over and over ‘I do believe in honour’ I do believe in honour!). I don’t mind admitting that I will be totally devastated if anything happens to Syl. Plus it makes me wonder about Kaladin – will he always need Syl with him in order to keep his abilities? In terms of how things will be resolved with Moash I’m not really sure. Maybe he will do something himself whilst Kaladin is not around and get himself into some sort of trouble?
5) We got to see Shallan on a field trip: moss, bugs, chasm fiend, etc. What do you think of how she handled herself both on the plateau march and later in the chasms?
I loved watching Shallan through these chapters. She’s so curious and frankly as a reader her curiosity is very helpful – without it we wouldn’t find out half the things we do – in fact it’s a really clever way of avoiding info dumps. In the chasms as well – always the scholar first. Very impressive with her map drawing and really, she’s actually the hero of the situation isn’t she! It was so good when she was making the apparitions appear to distract the chasmfiend. So do we think that Kaladin and Shallan will go and retrieve the gem from the chasmfiend.
6) We learn some very interesting bits about Teft’s childhood. What do you think of the punishment meted out to the Envisagers? Too harsh? Correct? Do you think some of the Envisagers survived?
It really was a crazy punishment wasn’t it! Like ‘oh, you want to kill yourselves, well we’re not going to let you! Hell no, in fact we’re going to kill you instead!’ What!! Not sure at this point what to make of this part of the story and couldn’t really guess if any of the envisagers survived – just clueless at the moment on this one.
7) Shallan and Kaladin learn several things about each other during their time in the chasms. What was the most interesting to you? How do you see their relationship evolving after this?
I thought this chapter was very revealing from start to finish. Kaladin has learnt just how deep his prejudices really are and also that they’re not always right. He’s tarring everyone with the same brush which is very unfair. I like that he at least can see that Adolin is a good character and also that he’s changed his view of Shallan. It’s interesting as well that he’s now realised what she really is and yet she doesn’t seem to have pieced this together about him yet. It was great that they were sharing their stories although they’re both still not comfortable enough to share the full truth. I just so wish that they could have both found out the real truth about each other’s abilities. Then the scene with the face in the storm – I just wanted to cry! But, I don’t believe Syl is really dead. Maybe I’m just being naive but I really think she’s still alive. I think Kaladin needs to do the right thing – he also needs to say these words (not sure what they are but maybe this is Syl’s way of pushing him to really discovering who he is?)
So good this week – I really must go and read on before I burst something!
And, thanks again to Susan for taking over the questions for this week. 🙂
Books and travelling with Lynn 