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The first 2/3 of The Blue Hour is wildly addictive, the story twisting and turning several related storylines. I love format of the storytelling, the way it supported the different storylines. Some of the narrative is told in the present, some in the past, some of it through snippets of letters and diary entries. These things come from the perspectives of multiple people, giving the reader more insight into the overall story arch, which really helped develop the suspense.

It was the final third of the book that left me wanting… more. It felt rushed, even surface-level. It provided some answers but not enough. I love a cliffhanger, even on a standalone, but there was just too much left unresolved for me. Even the tone was different, in some indescribable way. It almost felt like the author was just ready to be done with the book. After having been so engaged throughout the rest of the book, I was expecting something more intense, I think.

Beyond that, the book was very much character-centric. Main or supporting, the characters were well developed and interesting. I also love a morally grey character, and there were plenty of them in The Blue Hour. I love not being quite sure what to make of a character; I think it adds to the suspense. But there were so many of them in this story that it made it difficult to really connect to any of them in a real way.

Despite these things, I enjoyed the book. It was gripping, even if I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. Yes, I felt like the ending was a little underwhelming, but the book is still well worth reading.

Zero Beach Vibes. Solid Mallery Tale. I normally get a bit into the review before explaining star deductions, but in this particular case the reason for the star deduction is the most critical thing you need to know about this book:

It has *ZERO* beach vibes. Yes, it takes place in Malibu - largely across the street from the beach, at best - but the setting here is largely completely irrelevant to literally anything about the story. Mallery could have changed the location names to almost literally "Anywhere" and the overall story would read and feel *exactly* the same.

Now, with that said, this actually *is* a solid tale of its type = in other words, a women's fiction/ romance blend that Mallery is so prolific with and does so well. If you've never read her works, this is a decent one to begin with - not her worst in my own experiences with her books, yet also not her best, but solidly indicative of her overall style of writing and storytelling.

So if you're ready for a drama filled tale of two strangers who happen to become friends and who happen to develop an uncommon cross bond with each others' siblings... this tale will work well for you.  

Note that the spice level here is somewhere north of a warm glass of milk yet south of habanero - again, fairly typical of Mallery's overall style. So those that prefer the warm glass of milk or those that prefer ghost peppers... either direction there, you're likely going to be left a touch disappointed. Yet the overall tale, outside the bedroom, is actually quite strong in its own right, and you really should give it a chance anyway - there will most likely be other things about this tale that you truly enjoy, and maybe you can glass over the bedroom stuff.

Overall a solid, well told tale... that simply has absolutely *zero* to do with anything remotely associated with its title.

Very much recommended.

Absolutely love love love this collection and the different sides of love!

Walker Shows Impressive Range. I've been reading Walker's books for a few years now, and this is a first for him in my experience with him (though he notes in the Author's Note that he had written a few books of this type prior to when I started reading his books). A laid back mystery of a form I call a "Gulf Coast Mystery", almost like a more serious version of D.P. Lyle's Jake Longley books - and set decades prior to those books. (Ok, so Ray Longley (Jake's dad) and Quentin Jones crossing paths could have been interesting - just sayin', Walker and Lyle. ;) )  

Walker, who has spent time living in many different places even in the few years I've been following him, among which was this particular region of Florida described in the book, captures the setting well - perhaps added by Shainberg's original text, which Walker notes (again in the Author's Note) was much of the tale up to Chapter 12.

Being set in the 1970s, this book has some things that will offend "modern sensibilities", including quite a bit of cigarette smoking (virtually unheard of in many places in the 2020s) and even one particular situation that even hints of in the 2010s and beyond in particular tends to be vilified to the nth degree, and indeed gets snide comments even now in the 2020s even when everything plays out perfectly legally.  I'm not going to indicate how it plays out in the text just because that would be a spoiler, as the tension of this particular situation plays into the overall narrative.

Speaking of which, Walker does a particularly good job of sticking to the old adage of "if you show a blue shoe on page 2, that blue shoe better play into the end game". (Ok, so I absolutely butchered the quote, but the point being to show *exactly* what you want shown and *nothing* else.) Meaning that this is one of those tales where everyone has secrets... and, well... how everything comes together can get quite a bit thrilling...

Seriously, this was perhaps the more interesting aspect of this book is that even as a women's fiction/ mystery blend - the men's fiction side of it tending to be something Walker has excelled at in my reading of his work these last several years - Walker really does manage to do the thriller and even romance sides particularly well, particularly deep into the text.

Overall truly one of Walker's better books from several different angles, both in showing more fully his range and in his ability to work with what another author had begun and finish it out in a way that seems true to that original author's vision - which could provide Walker a path forward, should he ever run out of his own ideas. :)

Very much recommended.

Interesting Expose Of A Particular Community, Suffers From Problems Typical Of Its Form. As an almost anthropological examination of a particular culture that arose over decades in a very specific region of California - the roughly six square mile region known as Richardson's Bay, an offshoot of San Francisco Bay - this text is a pirate's treasure trove. Specifically, as it examines the "unhoused" people who have claimed homes among the derelict and otherwise vessels floating in the bay, the so-called "anchor-outs", it truly does a phenomenal job detailing the history of how the culture arose, a lot of the features of the specific culture, and even a lot of both the key historical figures of it and at least some of its living practitioners.

As a *journalistic* piece... it may fly in today's "lived experience" version of "journalism", where objectivity and distance from subject are defenestrated in favor of being "up close" and "real"... but it still would have been enhanced by being a more old school journalistic type text, at least to my mind.

Instead what we get here is almost an action, thriller, and memoir mashup wherein the author inserts his own views into the text, but the story itself becomes one of a community's fight for its right to survive and the dastardly developers and government officials seeking to eradicate it from history once and for all.

Which for a narrative, works well. For what is supposed to be a nonfiction work... maybe doesn't work as well.  

The star deduction comes in from the dearth of bibliography, which is likely due to not much written work existing about this particular group or its history, but still, there is quite a bit here that *could* have been documented more thoroughly, if even detailing newspaper or other media reports about various events over the years.

Very much recommended.

Summary

Out on a lonely beach, the last of a line of ritualists whose purpose is forgotten is about to die. Just about then, or soon after, alchemists in Ankh-Morpork discover how to make celluloid and project movies. But there may be more to the lure of Holy Wood than just fame and fortune.

Review

This is, in a general sense, very familiar territory for Pratchett in that he’s satirizing a known element – in this case the film industry. The story itself veers among satire, parody, and just plain fun. And it is fun. While Pratchett can be a bit uneven and lose track of the need for the book to entertain (as opposed to the line), here’s he’s pretty consistent.

The story itself is fun, and of course does have many of those funny Pratchett moments – a few, very funny. The scenery is a deliberate amalgam of every movie cliche you can imagine, and then some, and it all works pretty well.

Funny and with a pretty good story in it.

This Book Has So Very Many Problems. Read It Anyway. First, let's dispense with the fact that this is a fairly well documented book, clocking in at about 26% documentation... even if Karakatsanis' sources are pretty clearly slanted one direction... which we'll get into momentarily. No matter what else is said here, everyone considering reading this text should at least appreciate that Karakatsanis clearly shows his work. :)

Because of my own work and experiences within the anti-police-brutality spaces and indeed even the projects I was working with before giving them up in favor of book blogging, I bring a lot to this particular book that not everyone will have... which gives me a fairly unique perspective on it overall.

I can tell you that even as a former Libertarian Party official and activist, and thus someone who knew a lot of people of a *very* wide range of political persuasions... I've known *few* over the years who would be to the left of Karakatsanis. Indeed, your opinion of terms like "pregnant person" and "wage theft" is likely a good barometer of how often you're going to want to defenestrate this particular text. "Wage theft" seemingly a phrase Karakatsanis is particularly fond of.

This noted, *from his perspective*, the narrative here is at least largely coherent, and even from such a far leftist perspective, he brings up a fair amount of solid points that every American *should* read and understand... even if you have to squeeze your nose so hard you'll be afraid it will turn into a diamond as you do.

The problem, and the star deduction, comes from the simple fact that very nearly every single logical problem Karakatsanis decries in others... he also largely *employs* in building his "arguments" against them.

Hell, he even manages to fall into former Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington's "perception of crime" problem - claiming over and over (and over and over and over and over...) that "statistics say" crime is down (which, as he points out, is *always true*... when you're selective with your time ranges ;) ) even as people report seeing ever more crime. As Richard Pryor famously said - "who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?".

Indeed, part of the star deduction also comes from the pervasive "no true Scotsman" problem that runs rampant through this text. No matter how far left the politician, no matter how hard the most progressive activists pushed for a particular policy - especially in California and particularly the Bay Area - Karakatsanis *insists* that the policies were never actually progressive, that it was instead the bureaucrats and the media ("controlled" by the usual leftist scapegoats) - those he deems the "punishment bureaucracy" and that the *actual* leftist policy had never been implemented.  

Still, despite the rampant problems and extremist politics, there really is quite a bit here about understanding how police and media collude and conspire to hide essential information from the rest of us, so you really do need to read this book.

Ultimately, I think there is a point Karakatsanis tries to make but utterly fails to, in his attempt to appear authoritative here:

Question. Everything.

Including this book.

And I'll go so far as to say even this very review.  

Read the book yourself. Write your own review of it - cuss me up one wall and down the other if you think I deserve it, if you think Karakatsanis is perfectly correct in all things and should never possibly be even looked askance at, much less questioned. Or maybe you'll agree with me to some extent or another. *My* entire point here is to get you to read the book yourself and make up your own mind about it. I guarantee you you're going to learn *something* you didn't previously know along the way.

Recommended.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Murderer’s Ape is an exceptional historical mystery adventure by Jakob Wegelius, and the second book to feature gorilla adventurer Sally Jones. Originally released in 2008 in Swedish, this English translation was released by Pushkin Press in Sept. 2024. It's 624 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is a genuinely exciting adventure story with grand themes and a massive complex story arc. There is travel, political upheaval, hiss-worthy antagonists (boo!), and a wonderful cast of quirky characters, including at the center, a classic protagonist, loyal and intelligent, who also happens to be a gorilla. 

The print formats are enhanced by the author's pointillist sketches of the major characters. Although marketed for children (Lexile measure 870L), it's an excellent book for all ages. It's a *big* book, and would make a wonderful long-project bedtime read for littler kids. 

There are some big themes, and some high-stakes scary bits (but no graphic violence), but the introduction scene leading into the story (which is written in current time) is reassuring that it all works out in the end.

The translation work by Peter Graves is seamless and never intrusive or clunky. It's remarkable for its subtlety and nuance. Even more impressive since the original (Swedish) also encompasses words and concepts from Raj period India, Portuguese, and Finnish. 

The unabridged enhanced audiobook has a run time of 13 hours and 46 minutes and is capably read by Kimberly Farr. She has a professionally trained alto voice and does a good job of the vast and varied cast of characters. The sound and production quality are very high throughout the read. 

Five stars for the book, four and a half for the audiobook. The translator deserves (and has received) awards. It would be a great choice for public and secondary school library acquisition, home use, and gift giving.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Barnaby Unboxed! is an adorable creative picture book for young readers by the Fan Brothers. Released 3rd Sept 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Tundra imprint, it's 80 pages and is available hardcover and ebook formats. Its assigned Lexile measure is 600 and it's aimed mostly at children aged 5-9 (but appealing and moving for all ages). 

This is a beautifully illustrated adventure story about Barnaby, an elephant mouse hybrid "perfect pet". He has a pampered life with his little girl, with walks and treats and TV and story times. That all changes when he feels unloved and runs away, winding up with more danger than he planned on. 

There are some valuable themes of found family, what home means, self-worth and finding (and appreciating) what we have. It's a profound little book, and told in age appropriate language, all accompanied by luminous impressionist inspired artwork throughout. 

Beautiful book. The illustrations are deftly rendered and, as said, just luminous. 

Four and a half stars. This would be an excellent choice for public, school, or classroom library acquisition, for the home library, or for gift giving. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Summary

Dungeon Crawler Carl, Donut, and their friends have made it to the sixth level of the dungeon aliens created from Earth for their own fun and profit. Carl is sick of the whole pointless process, but to make a stink about it, he and Donut will have to power through as usual, making odd alliances, and killing monsters left and right.

Review

Yet again, I’ve enjoyed this episode in the saga of Matt, Donut, and the increasingly off-kilter AI that runs the dungeon. In many ways, it’s reminding me of Martin Scott’s Thraxas books. There’s not a lot that’s new in each one; they stick to a familiar formula. But they’re consistently fun and easy to read; they’re books I enjoy picking up.

In this volume, Dinniman hasn’t picked up the pace quite as much as I’d expected, though he does finally do that a bit at the end. It’s more – to use the terminology of the book – grinding progress, though that sounds a lot more pejorative than I intend. In brief, there’s a lot more leveling up and dungeon level accomplishment than there is real forward progress in the larger narrative. The book is currently listed as a 7 book series, though I’m not sure whether that’s the intended total. I do start to worry a bit that this will become a Vlad Taltos formula book, with a great beginning devolving into the same story and jokes over and over. The dungeon has (I think) 18 levels, and even a dozen books would be taking a good thing way too far. Still, so far, so entertaining, and I hold out hope that Dinniman, like his protagonist, has a plan.

Larger picture aside, we do get the usual crop of goodies here: Carl and Donut are good at heart, there’s some relationship development, there are cool items and spells, etc. We also get the usual weaker points: it’s often hard to follow what’s happening or why, and the geography is vague. The point, though, is that to date, the goodies far outweigh the weak points, and these books are just a lot of fun.

I do continue to think, though, that the old covers are a lot better than the new ones.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This is a long but satisfying end to the series. I expected that the multiple points of view would lose my interest but Xandr, Mena and Adriadne not only added to the story, the kept it from feeling long. Something happened in almost every section of the story pulling the heroes closer together or farther apart. It built skillfully to a satisfying confluence, though the climax was a bit long and could have been fantastic with a bit more detail from various players (Ariadne gets a wonderful role but I think Xander could have done more and each of the unique talents of the characters could have been more in play such as Murray and Athdar getting to fully be a half magics rather than just dragons, Ayerton and Floraison getting a moment where their unique skills were key moments in the final battle, Galen and Bane had pretty good roles but always I'll take more). 

There were a few places for improvement, moments where the story pulled out rather than stayed close, likely for the sake of brevity but then less interesting moments were told in more detail so room could have been made. Since I wasn't terribly impressed with anything in the second book, it could have been condensed considerably and some of this story moved into that book. Also, this is such a little thing but I think “Olan” was “Ozan” in the last book. He dies pretty quickly so I’m not sure it matters. But when you're binging, you notice. I like Olan better. 

The thing that works is the same element that has worked through the series. These are warm stories well told with a sense of honor and hope and a centering on the Most High that makes the characters enjoyable and the world a nice place to spend time.

I mean, I still gave it 3 stars but this is my least favorite so far. Theres a sense of adventure in the second book this one lacks. Bad things happen in this one and there's nothing they can do. Then nothing happens while they hang out in Galen’s garden. Then bad things happen they can't do anything about. Then it skates over what would have been the interesting parts. Then bad things happen. It's not a bad book, but it's not a fun one either. The time with the characters could have been better used by focusing less on dire plot points that create a sense of them all being victims instead of warriors and more on the character moments. 

This is also the first one that felt too long and that it could have been edited and condensed to improve the story. 

Summary

In the cold, dusty confines of Grey Tower, where few remain, the last Guardian has died, and with her last breath charged her young apprentice with a message: "Tell Black it's coming." As unexpected winter sets in on the Grey district, the newly-named Mother has also set out to ask a question of the Black Lady who leads the palace. Can either of them reach their goal before the fabled Beast emerges?

Review

I’ve read a number of books that follow in the footsteps of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast books. Few do so successfully. Alex Pheby’s Mordew made a good effort, but got a little carried away with itself. This book does much better. As with Mordew, it carves out a home in the Gormenghast neighbourhood without actually trying to be Gormenghast.

Pechaček’s decaying, overgrown palace is confusing, filled with obscure ritual, and shows us the misery of the underlings (and sometimes the leaders) of the realm, ground down by obeisance to tradition. It goes a step further in inserting a cast seemingly drawn from a Bosch painting, but treated as absolutely normal (and, in fact, charming). The result is excellent – a rich, hyper-gothic tableau of slow, epic adventure undertaken by confused but noble actors, all against a carefully revealed ancient tragedy, with dryly humorous asides. I loved it.

Where I think Pechaček goes wrong is in focusing so much on the enticing visual imagery – one clever oddity after another – rather than story. The characters spend most of the book trying to get one place or another, and it often began to feel more like a travelogue than a narrative – look at this! And this! And now this! Aren’t they intriguing and grotesque? They are, but to my mind scenery is in aid of story, not in place of it. It’s almost immediately clear that the author has a broad, slant-wise imagination; we don’t need to see proof after proof after proof. The imagery doesn’t fit or work as well, for example, as the vocabulary, which is rich and varied, but generally doesn’t feel like the author is putting it on display (as opposed to choosing just the right and fitting word for the occasion).

The interior art, by the author, is not to my usual taste, but is excellent for the purpose, and genuinely adds another dimension. I’m not sure why Tor felt the need for a different cover artist.

To be fair, Pechaček does land the story pretty well. Early on, I had concerns, but as the book progressed, I grew more and more confident that he would treat the reader well, and he does. There could have been a touch more clarity on one of the two endings, but overall, it reads well, left me satisfied, and left me a definite Pechaček fan. Here’s hoping that for his next book, he does something equally interesting, but very, very different.

One more caveat, I suppose – as with Gormenghast, I found the geography of the palace impossible to unravel, and not a match for either of the maps that is provided.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.