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Galactium's ReviewConstance Fairchild loses her parents when she is 14. With only a few distant relatives surviving, including her enormously wealthy and mysterious grandfather, she is sent to a boarding school in Lucerne. Soon after, she determines that the strange visions that she sees are memories of a previous life. In deed, she even finds hard proof that she was a computer security consultant that died shortly before she was born. Constance's life at the school is far from normal. Someone is bugging her room, and she's being followed. Soon, to make matters worse, her acquaintances and friends start turning up dead. It's up to her and knowledge remembered from her former life to figure out just what is going on. Smith writes well for a first time Novelist. The style is straight forward and easy to follow, while the first person point of view makes it easy to sympathize with the protagonist. The pace is a bit slow at first as Constance adjusts to her life at the school in Lucerne, but it picks up in the second half. One issue I had was that the reincarnation theme really only impacts the plot at the beginning and end. It's kind of forgotten through the majority of the novel where it seems to do little more than to serve as a reason for Constance to philosophize. I was also a little bit disappointed at the climax when the two main antagonists meet their resolution "off stage", so to speak. Rather than being seen or experienced by the protagonist, their plot outcomes are merely discussed in retrospect. Mills has suspense to spare and the mystery is not one you're likely to guess to soon. There is also a good helping of poetry sprinkled in to spice things up. The Mills of God is an intriguing read whose suspense, philosophy and speculative aspects will keep the reader engaged and introspective.
Galactium's ReviewAstrid, the psychologically damaged protagonist of Resa Nelson's first novel The Dragonslayer's Sword has quite a bit of depth and is thankfully not a standard cardboard do-gooder, nor is she the cliché perfect beauty with super combat skills and unlimited self-confidence (i.e. Xena, Aeon Flux, Selene, Red Sonia, etc.). An interesting hero with realistic flaws is always refreshing. Also quite interesting is the way characters actually change in shape based on the situation and their reactions. It adds a whole new layer of expression. There's a little bit of trouble with the narrative of the book though. Events often transition from one to the next a bit too abruptly. The effect is that it felt a bit like I was reading a detailed outline rather than a completed novel. Two characters will be in a conversation one moment and few sentences later in the middle of combat with a dragon. Even the conversation sometimes felt a bit choppy.
Galactium's ReviewThe beginning was a bit slow, but the rest of the plot unfolds at a decent pace without revealing too much too soon. As a result the guilty party is not too easy to guess, i.e. it's a successful mystery. As a paranormal novel, it's nice to see a modern well kept house be the subject of a haunting rather than just the overused century old mansion formula. However, it would have been better if a bit more time was spent on character development and motivations. There is touch of romance to add flavor to the story, but it wasn't quite believable enough to add weight to the main character. All in all though a good afternoon diversion.
Galactium's ReviewFirst time novelist, David J. Williams, gives us a fast-paced cyberpunk/political thriller hybrid.The Mirrored Heavens follows the oft used formal of separate plot lines coming together in the end. It's a little bit of a literary cheat, turning four short stories into novel, but it works out okay in Williams' case. The result is a fast paced tale interweaving the stories of international intrigue, high tech warriors, and 21st century hackers. There is a very interesting convention that I have to give the author credit for. As there are three plotlines, there are three points of view. The nifty part is that each has its assigned icon to help the reader identify which POV they've just shifted to. The Mirrored Heavens is like a summer blockbuster, not profoundly original or deep, but durned good entertainment. And, of course, it promises a sequel.
Galactium's ReviewEscapement takes place in 1902 on earth, but it's not the same earth we all know, but rather a world that is part of a giant clockwork. The world is literally held in place by a giant brass ring and the movements of the planets are governed by giant gears. I couldn't help but think the whole time that the characters were actually germs inhabiting a 19th centry solar system model on my desk.The reader gets to experience this odd world through the eyes of three main characters: Paolina Barthes, a young genius trying to leave behind her culturally remote island,; Threadgill Angus al-Wazir, an English sailor; and Emily Childress a member of a secret order who gets abducted by the Chinese. For the most part, it is a good read, with a briskly paced plot. The obvious strong point is Lake's uniquely designed world, though at times, the world building threatened to overpower the plot. Also this ends on a cliff hanger - yuck. Otherwise though, I highly recommend it. |
Feedback Authors Database
10/14/2008 Added reviews for Justin R. Smith's The Mills of God
8/26/2008 Added reviews for Resa Nelson's The Dragonslayer's Sword
7/18/2008 Added reviews for Margaret Lucke's House of Whispers
7/9/2008 Added reviews for David J. Williams's The Mirrored Heavens
6/18/2008 Added reviews for Jay Lake's Escapement