Review: The Fallon Blood by Robert Jordan (writing at Reagan O'Neal) (The Fallon Trilogy, Book I)

Synopsis: In Charleston, South Carolina, Fallon begins. From bondsman to rice planter, from planter to privateer; from the beautiful, disturbingly sensual Elizabeth Carver to the lovely and loving Gabrielle Fourrier; from peace to the greatest Revolution the world had ever seen―a novel beating with the passion of The Fallon Blood. (from the online description)

Review: Robert Jordan, famous for his Wheel of Time series, also wrote a series of Historical fictions set during the Revolution.

Jordan applied is trademark detailed research to this novel. The historical accuracy is exquisite. With his usual draft hand, he recreates Colonial Charleston, South Carolina. The reader feels as if they are actually here!

Unfortunately, this is where it ends. The plot is….ridiculous. It’s a soap opera, straight from the pages of daytime television. The characters are shallow characters of real people. The villain, in particular, has no real motivation other than “Hero insulted my family” and comes off as whiny and foppish instead of concerning. And the hero – his interest in woman as sexual partners and his desire for money are the only real motivation he seems to have. Sex and Money. Realistic, perhaps, but they don’t make for a hero one cares about.

In the end, if you are a fan of colonial-era stories and don’t mind graphic sex scenes, shallow characters, and overly-dramatic plots, you will enjoy this book. I did not. 

Bookmarks: 3/5

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-812-54397-1
Year Published: 1980
Date Finished: 7-8-2018
Pages: 471

Review: Daughters of Earth by Judith Merril

Synopsis: Three short stories written by Judith Merril, a pioneer in women and gender writing in science fiction. A prolific editor, she helped shaped science fiction in its early stages. This collection contains:

Project Nursemaid: A military officer is in charge of selecting candidates for a particularly Moon project and must deal with women from all walks of life. He questions his ability to understand them enough to complete his mission.

Daughters of Earth: A ling of women, mother to daughter, engage in space exploration, each going farther in to the stars then the previous generation.

Homecalling: A young girl, stranded on an alien planet with only her baby brother, must contend with an Alien presence alien – and yet familiar – to her own.

Review: While these stories all have different settings and tones, the overarching theme is women in space. How do women, with their unique gift/burden of motherhood, react to the stress and glory of space? Meril handles this with a deft hand, creating real characters in real situations. They aren’t characterization or tropes of women either. Her characters are unique and as complex as real women. For anyone who enjoys solid science fiction and the female greats of early sci-fi writing, this is the perfect book. Worth reading. 

Bookmarks: 

  

Project Nursemaid: 3.5/5

Daughters of Earth: 4/5

Homecalling: 4/5

Awards: None 

ISBN: N/A 

Year Published: 1968 

Date Finished: 7/3/2018 

Pages: 256

Review: My Folks Don't Want Me to Talk About Slavery: Twenty-One Oral Histories of Former North Carolina Slaves ed. by Belinda Hurmence

Synopsis: Former slaves themselves―an important but long-neglected source of information about the institution of slavery in the United States. Who could better describe what slavery was like than the people who experienced it? And describe it they did, in thousands of remarkable interviews sponsored by the Federal Writers’ Project during the 1930s. More than 170 interviews were conducted in North Carolina. Belinda Hurmence pored over each of the North Carolina narratives, compiling and editing 21 of the first-person accounts for this collection.

Belinda Hurmence was born in Oklahoma, raised in Texas, and educated at the University of Texas and Columbia University. She has written several novels for young people, including Tough Tiffany (an ALA Notable Book), A Girl Called Boy (winner of the Parents' Choice Award), Tancy (winner of a Golden Kite Award), and The Nightwalker.

She has also edited We Lived in a Little Cabin in the Yard and Before Freedom, When I Just Can Remember, companion volumes to this book. She now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Review: As with Hurmence's previous collection (We Lived in a Little Cabin in the Yard), this is a troubling and mind-opening collection of narratives by slaves. Collected as part of the Federal Writer's Project, these stories languished in dusty archives until Hurmence pulled them into the light. This particular collection is from slaves in North Carolina. It is broad-ranging, meaning not all narrators hated slavery and whites. It is an interesting thing to find. One would assume that given the horrors of slavery, there would be much vitriol and bitterness. You do find this, but not as much as I expected. Hurmence does mention that the collectors of the stories were white and this may have skewed the narratives (meaning that even in 1924, blacks would not be comfortable criticizing whites to a white person). It is important to remember this when reading these narratives.

This book, and the others in the series, are must-reads for anyone who wants to learn about the history of slavery and racism in the US. They are particularly suited for classroom use, either public or homeschool, and would be okay for children in later elementary and up.

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-0-89587-039-1
Year Published: 1984 (Narratives from the 1930s)
Date Finished: 6-26-2018
Pages: 102

Review: X-O Manowar, Volumes 7-11 by Robert Venditti et. al. (L)

Synopsis:  Once again, we travel with Aric of Dacia was he wears the Armor and fights to protect his people and his world.

Review: Aric is a flawed man, and often makes choices in pride that led to pain for his People. But, he is also a good leader in that he protect his people to the best of his ability. In these volumes, we explore a little more about where the Armor came from, who made it, and why. We also get to see those Armor Hunters - the ones dedicated to eradicating the armors. As with most of Valiant comics, the characters are complex. There is not BAD and GOOD guys - just people. It creates a complex world were the reader often wants both sides to win, seeing how both sides believe they are doing the Right Thing. Highly recommend as an alternative to Marvel or DC.

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 9781939346476 / 9781939346551 / 9781939346650 / 9781939346933 / 9781682151273 /
Year Published: 2014 / 2015 / 2015 / 2015 / 2016
Date Finished: 6-17-2018
Pages: Approx. 135 per Volume

Review: The Suffering by Rin Chupeco (L)

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Tark knows what it is to be powerless. But Okiku changed that. A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she's groomed Tark to destroy the wicked. But when darkness pulls them deep into Aokigahara, known as Japan's suicide forest, Okiku's justice becomes blurred, and Tark is the one who will pay the price... (from the online description)

Review: Picking up about a year after The Girl From the Well, this is written from Tark’s point of view. We follow him as he settles into a life with Okiku as his ghost-companion. He is her “doll” and she is compelled to stay with him – or risk losing him to another spirit. As they work to balance their life together, Tark received word that one of the women who helped him in the previous book has gone missing. Feeling a debt, Tark embarks on a mission to save her.

But she is lost in the forest known for its darkness and death. Something old, something evil, lures people there and feeds on their suffering. To save his friend, Tark must travel into the heart of darkness. There, he will encounter not only that which might take his life, but Okiku’s existence as well.

With more action then the previous novel, this feels very much like a classic horror movie, but without the cheesy jump-scares. Seeped in Japanese lore and mystical magical arts, we learned a bit about Japanese ghost stories and what might make them come to life.

Complex characters, fast-paced action, and lots of creepy atmosphere creates a fun read, particularly for a dark and stormy night. Worth reading if you are looking for something a bit different than your regular YA. 

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-4926-2983-2
Year Published: 2015
Date Finished: 6-16-2018
Pages: 313

Review: The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco (L)

Synopsis: I am where dead children go. Okiku is a lonely soul. She has wandered the world for centuries, freeing the spirits of the murdered-dead. Once a victim herself, she now takes the lives of killers with the vengeance they're due. But releasing innocent ghosts from their ethereal tethers does not bring Okiku peace. Still she drifts on. Such is her existence, until she meets Tark. Evil writhes beneath the moody teen's skin, trapped by a series of intricate tattoos. While his neighbors fear him, Okiku knows the boy is not a monster. Tark needs to be freed from the malevolence that clings to him. There's just one problem: if the demon dies, so does its host. (from the online description)

Review: A ghost story, a horror tale, told from the viewpoint of the deadly spirit. Rising from her grave, fixated on vengeance Okiku has traveled the globe to deal a swift and bloody justice to those who have wronged people like her. She is the thing that gurgles in the shadows and springs from the dark.

But over the centuries, something has changed in Okiku. She isn’t the same mindless entity as others like her. She has a conscious, of sorts.

And when she meets Tark, she sees not only him, but the much darker spirit trapped inside him. With her help, and that of Tark’s mother, they will see that spirit banished from our world before it can lay a trail of blood and death.

This story is a creepy and haunting, but not in a cheesy way. No jump-scares here. Instead, it’s like watching The Grudge or Dark Water, but through the eyes of the dead.

Fantastically done, with excellent inclusion of Japanese mythology and culture. If you like creepy (but not gory) tales infused with non-Western tones, this is the book for you!  

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-4022-9218-7
Year Published: 2014
Date Finished: 6-14-2018
Pages: 265

Review: The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time, Book 4)

Synopsis: The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. The seals of Shayol Ghul are weak now, and the Dark One reaches out. The Shadow is rising to cover humankind.

In Tar Valon, Min sees portents of hideous doom. Will the White Tower itself be broken?

In the Two Rivers, the Whitecloaks ride in pursuit of a man with golden eyes, and in pursuit of the Dragon Reborn.
In Cantorin, among the Sea Folk, High Lady Suroth plans the return of the Seanchan armies to the mainland.
In the Stone of Tear, the Lord Dragon considers his next move. It will be something no one expects, not the Black Ajah, not Tairen nobles, not Aes Sedai, not Egwene or Elayne or Nynaeve.
Against the Shadow rising stands the Dragon Reborn...  (from the online description)

Review: In the fourth installment of Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, we fine Rand still in Tear. After his triumph and his fulfillment of the prophecy by take the Stone of Tear, Rand must decide what to do next. Rumor reaches him that his home of Two Rivers is under oppression by the Whitecloaks – but going there might place all in jeopardy.  The Forsaken are looking for him and The White Tower has dubious motives. Danger and Death are at every turn. Rand, for all his youth, decides to forge his own path and does so with strength beyond his years.

With his notable and customary talent, Jordan sweeps the reader along a fast-paced journey. From Tar Valon to Tanchico, from the Two Rivers to the Aiel Wastes, we follow each of the main characters as they plunge into danger, fight against the growing darkness, and discover new friends and enemies. Jordan’s ability to weave new characters into the narrative, bring old ones back, and keep the reader invested is a testament to his talent.

An excellent continuation of the series and worth reading. 

Bookmarks: 4 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-812-51373-8
Year Published: 1993
Date Finished: 6-12-2018
Pages: 1006