Wednesday Reading--the riches of three
Three new books have come out in the past week, all of whom I have been anticipating. I could not help but dip into all three! Here are my impressions so far:
Francesca Forrest, Pen Pal
I read this in early draft, and loved it, but I was afraid that an agent or editor would require Francesca Forrest to gut so unusual a book in order to make it fit into market requirements. I was so relieved when she decided to go indie.
It seems to be a young adult novel at the beginning, as Em, who lives in a tiny floating village in the gulf coast flings a bottle into the sea, hoping it will net her a pen pal. Through the serendipity that always attends message bottles that do fetch up somewhere (and Forrest is collecting links to real stories about these), her letter comes to Kaya, a young woman suspended precariously over a volcano as a political prisoner. Kaya's letters and her journal, written to keep her sane in her increasingly dangerous prison, are swapped with Em's letters and story. This could be read by young people, and I think they would be fascinated, but as the lava rises inexorably in the volcano, and a hurricane threatens the gulf shore, the stakes intensify in the world of adults with powerful poignancy.
And that's why it's so amazing. Without treading into graphic adult territory, the story gives a true picture of how young and old live in a dangerous and difficult-to-navigate world. Further, what makes a good book into a great one is the subtle touch of magic, built absolutely into the worldviews of the the characters, so it becomes as ineffable as sunlight on water. Is it real? Is it delusion? That will depend on who you ask--and who you are as a reader.
I found this story so compelling that I've been running an interview by letter with the author, which I will post as soon as I finish reading this, the final draft of the book.
Andrea K. Höst, Bones of the Fair, sequel to Champion.
"Happen?" Aspen gave her a pitying look. "My dear child, what have you and the King been up to for the last six months? Hours of lustful abandon, that's what would happen. The shrieking of my name in ecstasy. A good deal of parading about naked, and many tender confidences where he tells me all his secrets."
Though this is a sequel, I believe that a new reader could plunge right in; a new character is introduced at the beginning, who has her own slant on the action of the first book, skillfully serving as a reminder for the reader familiar with Champion and getting a new reader up to speed on the beguiling world of Darest, so full of dangerous magic.
That said, I strongly recommend Champion, which begins with a delightful role reversal, wherein a young woman with no military skills discovers that she is the king's champion, and must defend a king she has never met. Along with Soren, the champion, the reader enters a fascinating world, and this book contains a rarity for me, an introduction of the fae that evokes the numinous.
Ankaret Wells, Heavy Ice.
This is also a sequel (The Maker's Mask and The Hawkwood War) in her space opera about the world of Requite. I liked the first one better than the second (which was still a ripsnorting read), and I absolutely loved her stand-alone Firebrand, prompting me to grab this as soon as I heard it was out.
The opening is very promising; in somewhat similar fashion to Bones of the Fair we get a new perspective on the action gone before, which turns a summary into intriguing perspective. It looks to be a good, long read, with plenty of world building, humor, action, and fascinating characters--just the way I love space opera.
Francesca Forrest, Pen Pal
I read this in early draft, and loved it, but I was afraid that an agent or editor would require Francesca Forrest to gut so unusual a book in order to make it fit into market requirements. I was so relieved when she decided to go indie.
It seems to be a young adult novel at the beginning, as Em, who lives in a tiny floating village in the gulf coast flings a bottle into the sea, hoping it will net her a pen pal. Through the serendipity that always attends message bottles that do fetch up somewhere (and Forrest is collecting links to real stories about these), her letter comes to Kaya, a young woman suspended precariously over a volcano as a political prisoner. Kaya's letters and her journal, written to keep her sane in her increasingly dangerous prison, are swapped with Em's letters and story. This could be read by young people, and I think they would be fascinated, but as the lava rises inexorably in the volcano, and a hurricane threatens the gulf shore, the stakes intensify in the world of adults with powerful poignancy.
And that's why it's so amazing. Without treading into graphic adult territory, the story gives a true picture of how young and old live in a dangerous and difficult-to-navigate world. Further, what makes a good book into a great one is the subtle touch of magic, built absolutely into the worldviews of the the characters, so it becomes as ineffable as sunlight on water. Is it real? Is it delusion? That will depend on who you ask--and who you are as a reader.
I found this story so compelling that I've been running an interview by letter with the author, which I will post as soon as I finish reading this, the final draft of the book.
Andrea K. Höst, Bones of the Fair, sequel to Champion.
"Happen?" Aspen gave her a pitying look. "My dear child, what have you and the King been up to for the last six months? Hours of lustful abandon, that's what would happen. The shrieking of my name in ecstasy. A good deal of parading about naked, and many tender confidences where he tells me all his secrets."
Though this is a sequel, I believe that a new reader could plunge right in; a new character is introduced at the beginning, who has her own slant on the action of the first book, skillfully serving as a reminder for the reader familiar with Champion and getting a new reader up to speed on the beguiling world of Darest, so full of dangerous magic.
That said, I strongly recommend Champion, which begins with a delightful role reversal, wherein a young woman with no military skills discovers that she is the king's champion, and must defend a king she has never met. Along with Soren, the champion, the reader enters a fascinating world, and this book contains a rarity for me, an introduction of the fae that evokes the numinous.
Ankaret Wells, Heavy Ice.
This is also a sequel (The Maker's Mask and The Hawkwood War) in her space opera about the world of Requite. I liked the first one better than the second (which was still a ripsnorting read), and I absolutely loved her stand-alone Firebrand, prompting me to grab this as soon as I heard it was out.
The opening is very promising; in somewhat similar fashion to Bones of the Fair we get a new perspective on the action gone before, which turns a summary into intriguing perspective. It looks to be a good, long read, with plenty of world building, humor, action, and fascinating characters--just the way I love space opera.