[image] "Saul shivered. Behind the calm voice and the human puppet was a man who had directly murdered scores - perhaps thousands - of human beings." [image] "Saul shivered. Behind the calm voice and the human puppet was a man who had directly murdered scores - perhaps thousands - of human beings."
The epic scope of The Eight. The gut clenching agony of Schindler’s List. The paranormal malevolence of Stephen King.
Oh my friends, this was something special. An absolute Must Read for the Horror Fan. I will remember it always... and shudder.
"Winter is coming. And I am very, very hungry." [image]...more
[image] "You think I'm in a daze because you're handsome, I'm in a daze because I could crush you." - Myfanwy Thomas
So you've lost all your memor[image] "You think I'm in a daze because you're handsome, I'm in a daze because I could crush you." - Myfanwy Thomas
So you've lost all your memories; I have good news, bad news, and worse news. The good news is that you have tremendous psychic abilities and that you are a highly placed geek queen in a secret cabal of X-Men (non Marvel). The bad news is that you use to be a cowardly mouse no one respected. The worse news is that someone is trying to kill you. Fabulous premise for a book and the good news continued.
The character of Gestalt is freakiest invention I have ever read in urban fiction. If you've ever read, or googled, Gestalt psychology it has perhaps sounded more like a philosophy circling the premise that the whole is other than the sum of its parts. O'Malley has made this literal with Gestalt and it is still messing with my mind. He/She/It was born quadruplets, male twins, and a boy and a girl - all one mind. Not a hive mind the way you think of individuals psychically connected with a dominant personality - no each body is like an arm or a suit. Eventually it gave each body a different voice and mannerisms to ape individual personalities, not to fit in but to mess with you. Shiver.
The vampire origin tale in this world is also wholly original (as far as I know) and a bit dragonish. Aldrich, as the Vampire and Bishop, with his icy beauty and blood red hair isn't original at all but I liked him anyway. Petoskey, the American Bishop, is also an enjoyable strong female character.
The book includes two awkwardly placed side stories that help with world building. One is the story of the long search and absurd conclusion to the quest for a prophetic duck. I would have liked that story better with more death and dismemberment. Then there was the story of the pompous windbag and the dragon egg. I freaking loved it! Burst out laughing. You could see a moment like that in a spoof of Game of Thrones.
Another funny moment I have never read is the Bond villain showing up unknowing late and alluding to our hero all the terrible things that will befall them. You're just nodding right along, secretly laughing, because all those things have already happened. Seriously, that could have made the Austen Powers movies.
Now for the bad. This book suffers from infodumpitis and some awkward pacing. I feel like this has to do with being a new author and a series starter. Dead Witch Walking had similar faults but I love that series. With the world building done and Myfanwy Thomas now fully comfortable in her skin as a bad ass this series has nowhere to go but up. I will definitely be reading Stiletto next month. ...more
I loved it! This was a Goodreads recommendation based on my love of The Eight and it was dead on. The novel is a murder mystery played out as a[image]
I loved it! This was a Goodreads recommendation based on my love of The Eight and it was dead on. The novel is a murder mystery played out as a game of chess on many levels linking the mysteries of the past to those of the present centered around a fifteenth century painting, aptly titled, The Game of Chess.
Unlike The Eight, the story takes place in one time and city, though there is an element of magical realism as Julia gets so lost in her imaginings of the past that the painting pulls her in.
Like The Eight what this novel does well is aggrandize chess into something more than a game, more than a tactical exercise, something old; like an aesthetic religion or ancient grimoire. Munoz, the novel’s chess master, comments,
“Sometimes I wonder if chess is something man invented or if he merely discovered it. It's as if it were something that has always been there, since the beginning of the universe. Like whole numbers."
Carl Sagan's Contact does something similar for pi, making it one of the first keys to unlocking the universe. If you like art, chess, history and mystery with a touch of the fantastical you will love this book....more
Loading...
