Fiction Addict

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD   

Publication Date: March 2011

Reviewed by P.J. Coldren

It is bad times in the land.  There was a brawl in the Inn last night.  The Chronicler is in town, making wills and the like for the townsfolk.  He is also writing down the life story of the innkeeper, Kvothe.  When the tale begins, Kvothe is a student of the Arcana at the University.  He has a small circle of friends, and one major enemy.  He is not wealthy, so his knowledge is what he has to keep his tuition costs down.  Kvothe is of the Edema Ruh, a group that sounds much like the Gypsies of our world, and as tolerated in his as Gypsies used to be in Europe.  He is very bright, both in book learning and in street smarts, but not so learned in the ways of women.

Kvothe has many adventures in WISE MAN’S FEAR, both within the confines of the University and around the country.  He learns from every experience he has.  He learns the art of fighting from the Adem, a tribe of mercenaries.  They use something that sounds very much like Tai Chi as part of their training.  Anyone not of the Adem is considered to by them to be a barbarian; their reasons for this do make sense.  He learns the art of love from Fehlurian, a faerie no man can resist; he is the only man to leave the Faey and live.

I was a little hesitant to take on a 36-CD book; I listen on my way to work, in 20 minutes chunks, most of the time.  I thought I would lose track of the people, the story.  I thought I would get bored.  I was very wrong.  I found myself wondering what Kvothe was going to do next, how he was going to take whatever trouble he was into and turn it around for himself.  The performer (as he is described on the liner notes) is Nick Podehl; he is superb.  I had no difficulty in keeping the characters straight.  His accents were subtle and distinct. I will say that the Adem tend to sound Scandinavian – not unpleasant, just consistent.

After I finished listening to this, I went to the author’s website (www.patrickrothfuss.com) and discovered that WISE MAN’S FEAR is day 2 in the Kingkiller Chronicle, of which there are at least 3 days.  I ordered day 1, THE NAME OF THE WIND, also in audio CD form.  I am looking forward to learning how Kvothe got to the University, among other things.

Warning: Minimal language issues, minor violence, sexual references. 

Review copy provided by publisher. 

Genre: Paranormal, Mystery

Publisher: Signet and Brilliance Audio

Publication Date: February 2011

Reviewed by P.J. Coldren

Remy Chandler is a private eye in contemporary Boston.  He is hired by a woman to find her daughter, an autistic girl with an unusual power.  The woman is convinced that her husband took Zoë.  Remy Chandler is not the only person looking for this little girl.  A woman named Delilah believes that Zoë has the power to give Delilah the one thing in the world that Delilah wants the most.  Another group of people, followers of an ancient god, also wants Zoë.  She was born to be the new repository of the spirit of Dagon, until her parents backed out of the deal.  Dagon is not happy about this.

As one can tell from this brief intro, Remy Chandler does not live in the “real” Boston.  Remy Chandler is also Remiel, one of the host Seraphim.  He deals with cases involving issues of Heaven and Hell, Tartarus, minions of Satan, the Morning Star, and others of another world.  Delilah is THE Delilah, and Samson and his numerous offspring are pursuing her; Samson is determined to kill her.   Remy has to work hard to keep Remiel in check; releasing the power of the Heavens is not something he does lightly.  Remiel, on the other hand, would just as soon be free of the human nature that Remy imposes on him. Read the rest of this entry »

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Audiobook

Publisher: Brilliance Audio & Random House Press

Publication Date:  2004, Random House  2009, Brilliance Audio

Reviewed by P.J. Coldren

Kale, an orphan slave from Orant (all names are a guess, because I listened to this in audio form) is a Dragonkeeper and drawn to the eggs of dragons.  She is sent by her village to be a servant of Paladin.  On her way to the city, she is abducted and escapes.  She is found by other servants of Paladin, and informed that she is now on a quest.  She is to find the Meech egg and bring it to Paladin.  The evil Risto has the Meech egg in his castle, and his minions guard it well.

Kale is accompanied on her quest by the Wizard Fenworth, a Daneel named Dar (that’s the short version), and her mentor LeeTwo.  Along the way this core group acquires some other servants of Paladin, all there to help Kale find and keep the Meech egg.  As with all quests, there are adventures, mysterious happenings, set-backs.  Kale finds out that she knows nothing (as her village mayor told her), and that she has powers she must learn to control.   Her companions help her learn what she must know, as best they can, and work with her on how to control her powers.

This is the first book in a series.  While listening to it, I was reminded of C. S. Lewis’s CHRONICLES OF NARNIA.  Both are fantasies, both are allegories dealing with faith and the pursuit of faith, both can speak to both adults and children old enough to read the books.  ON Kale’s world, Waldur is the supreme authority and Paladin knows what Waldur knows – he is a physical connection to Waldur.  One can communicate with Waldur without knowing Paladin, and Waldur can protect one even if Paladin is not there.  DRAGONSPELL can be enjoyed even if one doesn’t make any connection to the faith aspects of the book; Paul is a very good writer.

Ellen Grafton does a good job reading this unabridged version.  Her voice brings a young girl to mind, although she has no difficulty making Paladin and some of the other older characters seem their age.  I think having someone with a “young” voice makes the story more accessible to young listeners.

Audiobook purchased by reviewer.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Horror, Audio Book

Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing

Publication Date:  March 2010

Reviewed by Jennifer S. Roman

Reading as a biography, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter follows the late President’s journey from a young boy on the frontier to his success as a politician and attorney.  Inspired by his dying mother’s last wish, Abraham studies, works hard, and hunts vampires.  At times he wants to just leave the vampire issue in the past, but he knows he has to rid the world of these evil creatures.  Aided by a vampire friend, Henry, he learns to identify and destroy his new enemies.

While the story follows closely with the actual history of Lincoln’s life, Grahame-Smith takes liberties with prominent events that happened in Lincoln’s history.  For example, instead of his mother dying of “milk fever,” as is recorded in the journals of history, Grahame-Smith indicates that she has actually become the victim of a vampire’s razor-sharp fangs.  A large gang war in New York is credited to the vampires, and even John Wilkes Booth is identified as a vampire.  These changes provide some entertainment in an already colorful life.

While the story of Abraham Lincoln is very interesting in itself, somehow something gets lost with the addition of vampires.  Not one to disregard a good vampire story, I found that it just didn’t work here. In fact, I read Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies with happy results.

The narrator has a nice voice for this story, but does not read in much of a dramatic fashion.  There were times when it was difficult to tell if the narrator was speaking or if Abraham was speaking.  The idea to introduce vampires into Abraham Lincoln’s life is interesting, but something in it just falls short.

Written true to the vernacular of the times, the speech is sometimes stilted.  Still, there is nothing offensive in the writing; any “swearing” done in the times is seen as mild, acceptable usage today.  There is no sexual activity, and even when Abe is courting his wife, it only mentions his desire to “be near” the woman.  Again, for today’s readers, it is refreshingly charming and clean.  Abe’s favorite weapon to kill vampires, though, is an axe, so there are some scenes in which people are beheaded or struck in the back by said axe.  It is not overly bloody or gruesome so most readers should have no problem stomaching the “violence.”

Overall, the attempt to write vampires into Abraham Lincoln’s life is interesting, but it doesn’t quite work.

Review copy provided by Grand Central Publishing.