I found something seemingly flattering in my spam folder a few days ago, but obviously too good to be true. I thought that I should share.
One hears about this sort of email, and any chatbot can be most helpful. The biggest red flag that AI suggests is that editors do not use Yahoo email addresses.
editor.cschulz@yahoo.com
Hello Rowena,
{Put This One on Your TBR List}
Book Review: The Faith of Beasts (The Captive's War, Book 2)
by James S. A. Corey
by Karen S. Wiesner
Beware
spoilers! The authors James S. A. Corey--made up of writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck--of The Expanse (you can read my in-depth review by typing the series name in the search box) have started a new trilogy called The Captive's War. The first installment was The Mercy of Gods published in August 2024 along with "Livesuit", the first novella for the series, released October 2024. Read that particular review here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/01/put-this-one-on-your-tbr-list-book.html.
The newest novel is The Faith of Beasts, Book 2, published in April 2026. In this science fiction space opera, the Carryx are a hival empire that's been conquering worlds for centuries. Borg-like (actually, on second thought, it reminds me more of the Reapers in the Mass Effect franchise; find out more about that race of evil aliens at this link: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/search?q=Mass+effect), they destroy or enslave, ever in search of those they can use to continue their totalitarian dominion in the universe. Once the alien enemies conquer slaves, they force them to learn how to survive the best they can in a hostile environment. At the end of the last book, an attempt to break free is made and fails utterly. Their captors again subjugate those that survive, requiring they prove their worth or be destroyed.
My review of this newest installment is little different than my review of the first. That initial offering felt long and tedious to me, with a lot of characters I didn't find particularly interesting. Not much has changed here. At the end of Part 3 within The Faith of Beasts, I thought something exciting was about to happen, hinted at in the closing sentence there. Alas, no, not really. The story passed into Part 4, and I was still searching for a compelling reason to continue for more of a reason than that it was the only audiobook I was interested in on my library app. When I was more than halfway through listening to this book, I read the back cover blurb and thought, Huh, is that what it's about? As I said, Book 2 didn't seem all that much different than the second half of Book 1.
I do find it interesting the parallels that can be extracted from this scenario in terms of real-life war and occupation--the instinct for survival, the considerations for rebellion, the adjustments that need to be made to relearn life and day-to-day functioning when you're compelled into a situation and amongst beings you don't understand. The protagonist, Dafyd, is a futuristic Daniel figure (as described by the authors) who's carried off by the enemy, along with a bunch of other humans, and put in charge of making them all somehow useful to their captors. Beyond that, though, true enjoyment wavered for the majority of my listening to the audiobook.
While a part of me wonders if finishing out this trilogy is worthwhile, I'm two books in at this point. Might as well finish it out. Also, I loved the authors' previous series, The Expanse, so much, I'm willing to endure whatever comes my way to reach the end of this comparably much shorter (and very inferior, IMHO) series.
At the time of this writing, there isn't much being reported about when the third book will be released. Risingshadow.net (a dedicated platform for speculative fiction) mentions 2026 as the year for a next publication in this series, which may actually be for the second novella. As The Expanse did in that particular universe, this trilogy of novels is also supported by standalone novellas that expand on the various aspects of the Carryx Empire, existing technology employed within the galaxy, and a broader view of the interstellar conflict that surrounds the characters. "Livesuit" was released just after Book 1, and, following the release of Book 2, Amazon began touting an upcoming second novella on the way, as yet untitled. Additionally, nothing new has been announced concerning the television series in development based on this trilogy by Expanding Universe, a multi-platform content company headed by the authors themselves (among others).
A few weeks after I listened to the audiobook of The Faith of Beasts, my place in line for the ebook version came up on my library app and I checked it out. I wondered if reading the book might give me a significantly different experience than I had with the audiobook. It's true that I find I miss so much with audiobooks. By reading the text yourself, if you have a question, you can just turn back a few pages and seek out an answer. With an audiobook, it would require listening to whole sections again to locate what you missed, which can quickly turn into a hassle. Unfortunately, after a half dozen chapters in the ebook, I found I wasn't enjoying it any more than I had listening to the story being read to me, so I abandoned the endeavor. I don't know if I just don't care for this particular series by these talented authors, or I'm just not in the mood for it at this point in time. Either could be the case.
Well, my conclusion is that, if you're a fan of the authors and particularly liked Book 1 in this series and/or the first standalone novella for it, there's no reason not to pick up this installment. I'm still hoping maybe, once more offerings are available, the series will eventually culminate into something exciting.
Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of 156 titles and 16 series.
Visit Karen here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/
THE RUBY TEAR (1997), by “Rebecca Brand,” was actually written under a pen name by Suzy McKee Charnas, author of THE VAMPIRE TAPESTRY, one of the best vampire novels of the late twentieth century. Readers familiar with it as well as her other works under her own name, most prominently the post-apocalyptic, feminist Motherlines series, will find THE RUBY TEAR surprisingly different. Here she creates a unique variation on the vampire romance subgenre, already well established by then. THE RUBY TEAR stars a much more traditional vampire than Weyland, the top-of-the-food-chain, naturally evolved predator in her more famous novel.
A cursed jewel and a family feud rooted in medieval Eastern Europe complicate an unusual vampire-human love triangle. In a flashback, Baron Ivo von Cragga, on the verge of death in battle, prays for the restoration of the Ruby Tear, his family’s chief treasure, as well as punishment for the enemy who stole it. Transformed into a vampire by the vengeful goddess of his war-torn homeland, Ivo devotes his centuries-long existence to the quest for the Tear, now possessed by Nicolas Griffin, journalist and playwright. Jess, an actress, Nic's former lover, baffled by his avoidance of her since the near-lethal accident in which they were both injured, agrees to star in a play written by him in which she will wear the ill-fated jewel. The relic draws Ivo to her so that she becomes the vampire's target as he pursues his revenge against Nic, last surviving descendant of his enemy.
Aside from his origin (cursed rather than bitten), Ivo has most of the traits of the familiar supernatural vampire. Ivo is generally a “good guy vampire,” although prepared to behave ruthlessly in devotion to his quest. The few love scenes between him and Jess are sensual yet spiced with a tinge of self-aware irony. Charnas's familiarity with New York and the world of the theater lends realistic detail to the story. She injects notes of humor amid the suspense and manages to make both the lonely, magnetic vampire and his human rival complex, sympathetic characters. The climax of their conflict and the resolution of Jess's attraction to both men are surprising as well as satisfying. It’s unusual to read a romance in which we can’t tell from the beginning which hero the heroine will choose. The denouement includes an unexpected twist that underscores the futility of devoting a lifetime (mortal or immortal) to ancient enmities.
Margaret L. Carter
Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.
Oldies But Goodies
{Put This One on Your TBR List}
Book Review: Guignol
& Other Sardonic Tales by Orrin Grey
by Karen S. Wiesner
Guignol & Other Sardonic Tales by Orrin Grey was published in 2018. This collection of 14 very weird stories is unlike almost anything I've ever read before. By the way, Guignol is a French hand puppet. In fiction, the word has come to be associated with a sensational, gruesome tale.
It would be difficult to describe this anthology of stories individually because they're so short and strange, so, although I liked more than a few of them (very odd for me when it comes to a short story collection!), I can't really go in-depth about any one of them without giving away too much.
In the general sense, these
tales are all what I would consider very small vignettes. What you'll get is a
slice of a life: Nothing came before that isn't told rather than shown,
and, in some cases, there's little by way of follow-up or indication where it
might go from there. It is nothing more, nothing less than what you see in the
here and now--that's all you get. For
that reason, there is very little depth to them. You'll never get to know the
characters, settings, or situations any more than what's included in these few
words. It's like you get a glimpse of something and then you're thrust out; you
walk away because there's nothing else you can do. Whether a memory of what
you've witnessed lingers on after that point is moot. I suspect the author
would enjoy at least part of that description of his work very much. Honestly,
none of this is an insult. It's more of a heads up of what to expect and an invitation,
no RSVP necessary. You really do have to experience this set of stories
yourself to get the full impact.
Contained within Guignol & Other Sardonic Tales were more than a few stories that harkened back to H. P. Lovecraft (complete with the tell-you-the-outcome-before-the-event format). I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure offering "A Circle That Ever Returnth In". "Haruspicate or Scry" was another standout. In that particular account, there's a hilarious reference to college students picking apart a story by a professor, praising his imagery and drawing parallels, to which the teacher responds (like he's impatiently embarrassed by the attention), "I was just writing about a damn pear." I've said similar things myself dozens of times while debating allegory in fiction with those who seem to enjoy reading into everything--just never with Orrin's simple but evocative hilarity.
If you like horror, fantasy, and the strange in your stories, this anthology is definitely one to gobble up in a single sitting. The author has several other fiction collections to choose from as well, so you don't have to stop at just one.
Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of 156 titles and 16 series.
Visit Karen here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/
Nobody will be surprised that I agree with Karen in loving T. Kingfisher's WOLF WORM.
As she describes, it's Gothic historical fiction with body horror. A “wolf worm” is the larva of a parasitic insect. Botflies, screwflies –- squeamish readers beware. The protagonist, Sonia Wilson, resembles many of Kingfisher’s heroines in being cast adrift from familiar surroundings, but rather than going home like the others (for a certain value of “home”) she’s beginning a new job in a strange place. Since the death of her father, a distinguished botanist whose work she illustrated, she has taught at a girls’ school. Now she has been accepted as an illustrator for a reclusive entomologist, a chance to use her artistic gifts for more than teaching. In North Carolina in 1899, a young woman involved in science can’t expect any more prominent role.
This novel embodies the classic Gothic tropes of an orphan heroine confronted with a large, half-deserted house, its forbidding master, mysterious deaths, and grim secrets. No JANE EYRE romance plot here, though. The housekeeper, one of only three servants who remain, immediately cautions Sonia that her employer won’t marry her. Not only does she have no interest in snagging a husband, she quickly finds out no sensible woman would choose Dr. Halder for that role. He’s a misanthrope with scorn for his professional peers and little or no tolerance for anything less than perfection in the work of an assistant.
Arriving with more knowledge of plants than insects, Sonia nevertheless manages to produce satisfactory illustrations most of the time. The studio of the previous illustrator, whom Halder refuses to discuss, provides her with textbooks plus helpfully labeled illustrations that fill gaps in her professional background. Meanwhile, she has been warned about “the Devil” in the woods and has heard stories of “blood thieves” allegedly identified as a man and woman who’d been executed vigilante style followed by a stake through the heart. Surely, Sonia thinks, the mangled bodies had actually been victims of wild animals or, possibly, the resurgent Ku Klux Klan. Or had they? What really happened to Halder’s missing wife and her lover? What about the padlocked outbuilding she happens to see him visiting by night?
Naturally, I was thrilled at the revelation of actual vampirism, although of an unusual type and scientifically explained. It's my favorite type of vampire, a member of a naturally evolved, humanoid but not quite human species. And I figured out, long before Sonia did, who the previous artist was. Like Kingfisher’s other female horror protagonists, she forms bonds of friendship amid the ominous surroundings, in this case with a local Native American woman and the mixed-race couple who maintain the house and grounds. Sonia eventually discovers who and what constitute the true evil and defeats it with the support of her new friends. The insect lore in WOLF WORM highlights Kingfisher’s perennial interest in the curiosities of the natural world, as displayed by characters’ in-depth knowledge of fungi, poisons, plants, vultures, roadrunners, etc. in previous books. Also, Sonia’s analysis of her environment in terms of the technical challenges of watercolor painting adds dimension to her character. As in the conclusion of THE TWISTED ONES, at the end of WOLF WORM Sonia hasn’t moved on from the horrors she’s seen but realistically struggles with memories and nightmares that will linger past the end of the story.
As for the novel's feminist dimension, the ending delivers a delightful "take that" to the legacy of the arrogant Dr. Halder.
Margaret L. Carter
Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.
{Put This One on Your TBR List}
Review of Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher
Paired With Karen Wiesner's Botanical
Artwork
by Karen S. Wiesner
Beware: May contain unintended spoilers! T. Kingfisher (the pen name of Ursula Vernon) is a versatile author, illustrator, and artist. Her novel Wolf Worm, published in March 2026, is exactly the kind of gothic fiction I love--you know, without the needy, pretty--according to her own assessment--damsel in distress who gets sucked into a life-threatening situation that seems supernatural on the surface (but, like every episode of Scooby Doo, isn't). Oh, and she makes everything worse with her stupidly romantic nature and need to be rescued by a big, strong man.
A little background about this tangent I'm going off on: A few months ago, I was looking for a new audiobook to get interested in and stumbled across the 1966-1972 Dark Shadows book series, credited to Marilyn Ross (one pseudonym of W. E. D. Ross, an actor, playwright, and author of more than three-hundred novels!). The thirty-three books in this series were gothic romances (that dealt with an actual vampire and other monsters), but not what I consider particularly good ones. In any case, the first volume, Dark Shadows, was flat-out painful to listen to. This obviously male author didn't understand the first thing about women, and it showed. I can't tell you how many times we were given a physical description of the female lead somewhere along these slightly exaggerated lines: "Victoria brushed aside her thick, luscious locks of perfectly-coiffed hair surrounding her hauntingly beautiful, heart-shaped face." Give me a break. Every man in the vicinity was attracted to this goddess, but she had eyes only for the psycho-villain-or-dashing-hero? widower of the piece. Nothing could convince her to save herself. Alas, this was just the tip of the iceberg on the type the gothic fiction I despise.
In subtle contrast, the basic formula of a really good gothic romance is a strong, smart woman (who's probably passably attractive but the reader isn't beat over the head with descriptions of her world-stopping, leave-no-male-unaffected beauty) who finds herself in unfortunate circumstances. She's forced to go to an isolated property where something sinister is going on and usually has been for decades. While she might ultimately fall in love with the main suspect, the romance is secondary to the creepy setting and mysterious events that have usually been unsolved and that she has to investigate and resolve before dire harm comes to her. This is a worthy heroine who saves not only herself but the others around her as well as the day.
That's exactly what T. Kingfisher has brilliantly given us in Wolf Worm, set in 1899. Sonia Wilson is a thirtysomething botanical illustrator. Kingfisher is herself an extremely talented artist, and, given my own love of rendering plants in art form, I just soaked up everything creative she offered in this tale. The easy knowledge of the author made her main character so authentic and compelling. Sonia's father was a renowned scientist, something she aspires to, but, after he died, she was left to make her own living in whatever way she could, as most orphaned "spinsters" were forced to in that time period. Eventually, she's offered the job of illustrating Dr. Halder's insect collection on his reclusive manor property in the woods of North Carolina. Other characters are the lovable housekeeper, Rose, and her significant other, Jackson, who also works on the estate. The preacher also inserts himself into Sonia's life after her arrival. A local healer called "Ma" something also helps Sonia when oddball things begin to happen.
Woodland animals are acting very strangely, doing impossible things that normal animals just can't do, the household chicken coop is being robbed every night, and Dr. Halder is sneaking around in the forest after dark. There are local whispers of "blood thieves" compounded by the unsolved mystery of Halder's wife's fate. She'd cheated on him, and Halder supposedly dispatched the homewrecker--justifiably, according to some members of the local population, who "don't brook with no infidelity". The real horror in this story is Dr. Halder's life's work--parasitic maggots that burrow into human flesh. I'm not a person who likes even thinking about things like this. My whole body revolts and feels like it's been invaded by horrible things that I can't even see. Long, hot, rubbed-raw showers ensue and endless hours are wasted on feeling like I'm going insane with the itching dread. (Let's face it, it's scientific fact that we do have things crawling all over us that we'd prefer not to consider let alone believe are there.) Ugh! Don't think about it. Do not start thinking about it. Whatever you do, donotthinkaboutthisplease!
Yeah, so Kingfisher forces us to not only think about it but to watch the horror happening in Wolf Worm in slow motion.
I have to admit, more than once, I had to go back to the audiobook I was listening to of Wolf Worm and make sure it was, in fact, T. Kingfisher, not Caitlin Starling, who'd written this. Everything about this book reminded me of Starling's work, especially The Death of Jane Lawrence (highly recommended--do a search for my review of it on this blog). Starling loves body horror fiction with strong heroines that are also slightly vulnerable, a lot broken, and far too willing to go where no sane woman might. I loved the atmosphere, the creepiness, the compelling secondary characters that really rounded out this story and made it something I couldn't stop listening to in the course of just a couple days.
I will also add that I really would have preferred to read the book version of Wolf Worm (hard copy, though ebook would have been okay, too), but, as I'd asked to be notified of the release of any version of this book on my library app, I was glad to practically be the first in line when it became available. I liked the way the narrator made the voices fit the locale the story is set in. I do want to read a copy of the book at some point, though, because I've definitely noticed that I miss a lot with an audiobook versus reading the book myself. I'd also like to own the hard cover of Wolf Worm. It's absolutely worthy to join my collection of other T. Kingfisher print editions.
In summary, run, don't walk, to get a copy of this book as soon as possible. If this is your kind of gothic fiction, you won't regret it.
And, just because, here's a couple of my own fledgling botanical illustrations, both with and without color, which I'm certain are nowhere near as wonderful as anything Sonia and/or Kingfisher would produce. Looking at them again puts me in mind of the coming spring and summer growing season and the plants I'm hoping to photograph, sketch, and/or color this year.
Rosebud in Vase Sketch @ Karen Wiesner 
Leaf & Twig Texture in Colored Pencil @
Karen Wiesner
Scarlet Poppies and Summer Berries in
Colored Pencil @ Karen Wiesner Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of 156 titles and 16 series.
Visit Karen here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/
The September 2026 issue of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC includes an article on research into the slowing or prevention of aging, including possible techniques such as reprogramming the DNA of cells or growing organs for transplant from a patient's cloned tissues. Another approach, not mentioned in that article, involves studying naked mole rats to discover the secret of their unnaturally long lives. They can survive over ten times longer than typical rodents such as mice. If we could duplicate that feat, we'd live for 1000 years. Their chance of dying doesn't increase with age, and they enjoy phenomenal resistance to cancer. They don't suffer the diseases of age common to older humans. Here's an article about some of their biological anomalies:
Naked Mole Rats Don't Die of Old AgeThus, the secret to near-immortality is to become a naked mole rat -- not really a viable strategy.
Why have they evolved to live so much longer than other rodents? One possible explanation I've come across is their underground environment. They live almost entirely in their burrows and have very few predators. Genes for longevity would be wasted on mice likely to get eaten after a year or two, so they live fast and reproduce prolifically while they have the chance. Naked mole rats don't have that constraint.
Wikipedia goes into detail about their weird physiological traits and unusual lifestyle:
Naked Mole-RatAside from one other species of mole rat, they're the only eusocial mammals. That is, their society has a structure similar to those of bees, ants, and termites, with a single reproductive queen in each mole rat colony, mating with one to three breeding males and served by a horde of nonreproductive workers.
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, the six-inch-tall, blue-skinned Nac Mac Feegle have a similar social structure. Each Feegle mound includes only one female, the kelda (queen), who's married to the chief of the clan. All the other males in the group are her sons or brothers-in-law. She bears potentially hundreds of sons and only one daughter, who eventually departs to become kelda of a different clan.
Incidentally, T. Kingfisher has announced she's working on a science-fiction novel called THE NAKED STARS, about a spaceship crewed by a hive of sapient naked mole rats. I can hardly wait to read that!
Margaret L. Carter
Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.
In War Of The Worlds (H.G. Wells 1898), the invading Martians are defeated by the common cold. Various iterations of a virus defeat aliens from other worlds, from influenza to computer viruses (as in Independence Day).
Fair enough, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
What if, instead of blasting humans with the sci-fi equivalent of training sun through a magnifying glass on ants, those small, agile, zigzagging orbs were acting like crop dusters and subtly sharing with us some of their alien nastiness?
In nature as we know it, there are parasites that cause fish to flip upside down, flashing their white bellies to avian predators. Thus, the parasites enter birds, which is what they need for the next stage of their metamorphosis. For instance, the Eye Fluke.
The modern movie equivalent of the eye fluke is the young person, usually female, who is addicted to a "smart phone", and although being warned not to use it, they do so. Same with credit cards. But, I digress.
If I were an alien, would I deploy cyclospora? I think not. It might take two weeks to work, is not reliable, and although it might be amusing to watch ones enemies suffer from explosive diarrhea.... it is not efficient. Moreover, one might end up hoisted with ones own petard... (which means blown up with ones own bomb.)
In Day Of The Triffids, a cosmic fireworks display rendered every human blind who was not blind drunk or sleeping through the light show. I do not remember if the mobile, carnivorous plants (Triffids) had something to do with the light show, or if they simply took advantage.
We do have a "Flesh eating" bacteria crisis in the southern States. Also known as Vibrio Vulnificus, this is a bacteria that thrives in warm brackish water (mix of fresh and seawater) and also in inadequately (or raw) shellfish. Usually, the human sufferer has a wound which might be a slight as a recent body piercing --even a new tattoo!!!-- or a graze or cut from stepping on something sharp while paddling in flood waters.
Sorry, I have no conclusion.
All the best,
RowenaCherry
Oldies But
Goodies
{Put This One on Your TBR
List}
Silo Series by Hugh Howey
by Karen S. Wiesner
Beware potential spoilers!
Silo is a series of dystopian novellas and short stories that are commonly packaged as three separate, interconnected novels. In 2011, Howey self-published a short story called "Wool" as a Kindle title. Later, four sequel novellas with the same name were released; these were at one point considered Books 1-5 and named "Holston", "Proper Gauge", "Casting Off", "The Unraveling", and "The Stranded". They became a single book later. As of March 2013, Simon & Schuster purchased the print rights (apparently Howey turned down extremely lucrative offers from various publishing houses in order to retain his right to continue online distribution of this series). The second set of shorts were Books 6-8 titled "Legacy", "Order", and "Pact". All the parts of these stories became packaged as two novels in the Silo Series: Wool, Book 1 and Shift, Book 2. A third novel followed, Dust, (published in 2013) which was intended to conclude the series.
In Wool, we're introduced to the concept of silos--subterranean cities each with 144 floors that are meant to be self-sustained by those living in them. This populace was never meant to become aware of the existence of other silos. In this way, humanity was meant to keep a host safe from the uninhabitable world above-ground. But are any of these true? Occasionally, someone starts to wonder and maybe even investigate the truth of a series of anomalies, invariably leading to an uprising, or, even worse, a person utters the taboo words of wanting to venture outside to see for themselves what's out there. The punishment for such behavior is banishment. In other words, they're exiled to death. Alas, they're first expected to clean the silo's external sensors. Ha! I may have said, "You've got a prayer" or "Make me" to such a ludicrous order.
There are a host of intriguing characters introduced in the first novel, but the most important of them is Juliette Nichols, a mechanic from Silo #18 who becomes the mayor. She's not one to ignore obvious treachery. Before long, she's hot on the trail of a conspiracy that goes back for unimagined decades, maybe even centuries. When Juliette realizes nothing is as it seems inside this place and that they're only one of many such environmental constructs, she's driven outside by conspirators to clean. She's not expected to survive. But she does and she manages to make it to a nearby silo--#17--where she meets a survivor of an uprising.
Shift, Book 2, is a prequel, where we learn where this conspiracy began, leading to the building of these silos, and the horrors done to the world to save a worthy (rich and powerful) minority.
The final book, Dust, combines the characters from the first two books.
I've always been intrigued by the idea of the bulk of humanity living underground for a variety of reasons ranging from escaping a hostile environment on the surface to unseen-by-most pocket worlds, and anything you can think of in-between. This certainly isn't a new idea. Philip K. Dick's 1964 sci-fi The Penultimate Truth (along with other works by him) explored the concept, and countless other authors from Verne to Burroughs to the more modern Suzanne Collins, Neil Gaiman, and R. A. Salvatore have come up with creative twists on the theme.
I was looking for audiobooks to check out on my library app and came across this one, which I, at first, thought was a book I'd read in the past--one I still can't remember the name of which has an almost eerily similar premise of everyone living in some kind of silo structure and the leaders are all corrupt. They're told what's outdoor is toxic for them, but this is a lie. I wish I could remember more about that book. Anyway…
In Wool, I was introduced to a lot of characters at once, but Juliette certainly filled the role of heroine admirably. She was a selfless, capable, noble character worth. I admit I probably wouldn't have finished Book 1 and continued this series if I hadn't been listening to the audio version of it. Shift was a bit harder to get into. It was very difficult for me to want to read about wishy-washy, selfish characters who continue on with horrifying actions even when they know it's the worst thing they can possibly do. While those that did this assumed they'd be saved and be able to live with their own consciences, so long as they were allowed to live, they eventually repented. I have nothing good to say about anyone who would follow a madman just because he's been foolishly and shortsightedly been put in charge. Wanting to succeed in the field of politics is inexcusable as any kind of justification. Yet that's what we got from the self-absorbed characters in Shift. Even when they turned around and started fighting the Powers That Be, it was hard for me to look at the train wreck of gore left behind by the selfish and entitled. All that considered, I didn't particularly feel any compassion for the characters in this novel. Nevertheless, I persevered to the end anyway in hopes of coming full circle with Juliette, and I did in Dust, where those from Books 1 and 2 come together and begin fighting to save what's left of humanity. But first they have to put down the ones that see humanity as nothing more than lesser pawns in their sick popularity contest.
There is a television series (4 seasons total, available now) made of Silo, currently streaming on Apple TV+. I'd like to watch it someday. There's also a comic book adaptation of the series. The author may also be working on a spinoff to tell the story of Silo 40. The first of the trilogy was supposed to be released in 2025. If you're interested, you may be able to find out more on his website.
I highly recommend securing audiobooks of this series that offers a compelling vision of a horrifying future for mankind that, at times, seemed more prophetic than fictional.
Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of 156 titles and 16 series.
Visit Karen here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/
Is anybody here aside from me old enough to remember Twiggy, the ultra-thin supermodel of the late 1960s? DRACUTWIG (1969), by Mallory T. Knight, shows unmistakable signs of being partly inspired by her fame. This over-the-top parody of the Dracula mythos as incarnate in the Hammer horror films begins with a brief encounter between Count Dracula and the village “slut,” Charmaine. When she becomes pregnant, her family descends on the castle with a priest and the conventional implements of undead-slaying to force a marriage. After Charmaine dies in childbirth, her parents take the newborn girl away. At the baby’s christening, however, her reaction causes the villagers to jump to the conclusion that she has inherited the vampire taint. Her grandparents leave her on the doorstep of the castle.
The Count names her Dracutwig because, “She is a fresh green twig on an otherwise long-dead family tree.” She grows up like a normal girl, or as normal as feasible while living in a vampire’s castle with her days and nights reversed, the undead for babysitters, and a wolf for a pet. When she becomes an alluring teenager, though, one of the Count’s minions shows too much interest in her body and blood. For her safety, Dracula sends her to England. Delighted with the London scene, she quickly finds a boyfriend and becomes a fashion model. But soon afterward Dracutwig’s vampire genes begin to express themselves, and laughably ghastly consequences ensue. Then the Count travels to England to rescue his little girl. . . .
“Mallory T. Knight” is a pseudonym for Bernhardt J. Hurwood, author of TERROR BY NIGHT and several other nonfiction books about the undead, werewolves, and similar creatures. (In fact, the paperback of TERROR BY NIGHT was the first such book I ever read or owned.) DRACUTWIG concludes with a long afterword about vampire lore and legends, delivered in a humorous tone. The essay ends with speculation about how vampires might fit openly into human society. It strikes me as a little tacky that “Knight” repeatedly cites himself, in his Hurwood persona, as an authority, but in a book intended as lighthearted satire that’s not a major offense. Although the London section of the story (which comprises most of the page count) is unavoidably dated, this novel is still a fun read if you like a parodic send-up of vampire clichés. Unfortunately, although Amazon lists the paperback, they don't show any copies available at present.
Margaret L. Carter
Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.
So, Hobson ruled that every would-be renter took the horse closest to the stable door, which was the most rested horse. It was a hard and fast rule. All customers were treated equally, and so were all Hobson's horses.
All the best,
Rowena Cherry
{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review
The Book of Swords Edited by Gardner Dozois
by Karen S. Wiesner
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Be aware of unintended spoilers! The Book of Swords was published in October 2017. Edited by
Gardner Dozois, this particular collection includes stories that fall into the fantasy
subgenre of "sword and sorcery". Below is a chronological listing of
the stories that are featured in it:
1) "The
Best Man Wins" by K.J. Parker
2) "Her
Father's Sword" by Robin Hobb
3) "The
Hidden Girl" by Ken Liu
4) "The
Sword of Destiny" by Matthew Hughes
5) "'I
Am a Handsome Man,' said the Crow" by Kate Elliott
6) "The
Triumph of Virtue" by Walter Jon Williams
7) "The
Mocking Tower" by Daniel Abraham
8) "Hrunting"
by C. J. Cherryh
9) "A
Long, Cold Trail" by Garth Nix
10) "When
I was a Highway Man" by Ellen Kushner
11) "The
Smoke of Gold is Glory" by Scott Lynch
12) "The
Colgrid Conundrum" by Rich Larson
13) "The
King's Evil" by Elizabeth Bear
14) "Waterfalling"
by Lavie Tidhar
15) "The
Sword Tyraste" by Cecelia Holland
16) "The
Sons of the Dragon" by George R.R. Martin
Before I get into this anthology, I'll quickly summarize how I handle these types of mixed-bag story caches in my reviews: I don't usually review all the books include--only the ones that I actually enjoyed enough to cover here, though I do make exceptions about reviewing stories I don't like. I'll explain any anomalies within the individual reviews. The logic for why I haven't included a particular story isn't usually because it wasn't well-written. Most of these anthologies include some of the biggest names in the industry. For whatever reason, I don't always connect with certain selections or they simply don't resonate with me. I freely admit sometimes I'm just not in the mood for what one author has to offer. Rather than bad-mouth what's probably a perfectly good story, I find it easier to not include it in my line-up of reviews. Readers will have to look elsewhere for a summary or review for any story that's missing. Also, at the end of my reviews, I like to include the order I believe the stories I'm reviewing should have been placed within the collection, as I believe the placement of stories within an anthology is absolutely crucial to its overall success. There has to be a good balance and interspersion of strong stories at the front, back, and middle in order to "couch" weaker ones. Too many bad stories in a row may cause readers to abandon the collection altogether. Search "anthology" or "collection" on this blog to read my previous reviews of mixed-bag story caches like this one.
"The Best Man Wins" by K.J. Parker: This story is told from the point of view of the blacksmith who has a young man come to him asking him to make the best sword in the world, for which he'll pay handsomely--literally, every last bit of money he owns, he's willing to part with for this task to be completed. After the blacksmith makes it, the kid asks him to teach him how to use it, as he knows nothing of sword-fighting. The blacksmith is much more than he seems on the surface. I was sucked into this tale from the first sentence. The blacksmith was compelling, and his view of life and his personal history were doled out in the process of him grumbling while he worked. As he says, he doesn't enjoy the doing (which is grueling), only the "having-done", obsessive aspects of smithing. If I had to summarize this story in a few short sentences, I'd say this: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." (The Princess Bride) For all intents and purposes, this sentence that’s actually featured in the story: "I'm going to use it [i.e., the best sword in the world that you create for me] to kill the man who murdered my father…" told the whole story. It was uttered on page 13 of the 27-page story. From that point on, I knew what was going to happen. And that is exactly what did happen. However, that didn't make the tale any less enjoyable. In fact, it was my favorite of the whole lot. I was utterly fascinated by the blacksmithing aspects of the tale, and the POV of the blacksmith was the perfect choice for delivering the story.
"Her Father's Sword", A Realms of the Elderlings Story by Robin Hobb: This short story takes place during the early years of the Red Ship Wars and forging, with Fitz visiting the setting within the story as a secondary character (in all the novels he's in, his perspective is first person); set "somewhere in the middle" of Farseer and recommended to be read either before or after Book 2. Sadly, I was disappointed by this story, though initially excited as I've read every other Realm of the Elderlings offering currently available (and reviewed them on this blog). This last one set in a familiar world for me wasn't one I've read previously. In this tale, a village has been destroyed, their people kidnapped and "forged" (mentally destroyed and become something like ravenousness zombies) by the pirates on the Red Ships. When their demands go unmet, the Forged are returned. These lifeless though walking beings take whatever they need. Fitz comes to warn the survivors not to trust their own people when they come back to the village, as they're not what they once were and will harm and kill them without conscience. Young Taura, like everyone else in her small, ravished town, doesn't want to believe this could have happened. Her father is too strong to not have resisted, she believes. My problem with this tale was that I can't stand stories where the resolution is left unclear. What is the purpose of telling something that has a wishy-washy ending? I have no desire to finish writing someone else's story on my own, for one thing. For another, leaving your own story unfinished is a cop-out, cheating, and just plain shoddy writing. Very frustrating, especially considering the biggest reason I purchased the (albeit used) hardcover of this book was for this story specifically. However, in its favor, I'll add that seeing the story of the Forged from this opposite perspective than has ever been presented before in the series does elevate it considerably. In the past, we saw these poor, unfortunate victims of the pirates as little more than zombies that had to be put down in order all those "unforged" to survive. The Forged retain nothing of who or what they were before, and family members must beware of forgetting that truth in favor of compassion and abiding love. Here, a young daughter can't let go of the stalwart father, nor the life she once had--even though (no question about it) she'll soon regret it.
"The Sword of Destiny" by Matthew Hughes: I don't want to spoil this rollicking bit of good fun by telling you too much. The basic premise is that a wizard hires Baldemar to steal a magical sword for him, the operation is bungled, and this reluctant henchman finds himself fleeing--only he ends up running into one trouble after the other in his attempt to escape the first. The world created here in this 29-page story is so big and well-drawn, I think you'll find, as I did, that you'll want many more stories to follow this one. A bit of research on my part revealed that, after writing "The Sword of Destiny" for The Book of Swords, Hughes went on to expand into a novel and ten shorter works focused on Baldemar's origins and his time spent as a wizard's henchman. The setting Baldemar comes from is called Dying Earth (credited to author Jack Vance). Hughes has standalone works and those associated with Baldemar and another popular character of Hughes', Raffalon, who also has his own set of stories. In the future, I look forward to reading much more about this amazing character and the world he comes from, though it might be a chore to find copies of the books, as they don't seem to be in wide circulation anymore.
"The Mocking Tower" by Daniel Abraham: In this creatively told tale, a man learns that war is not an arrow but both a circle and a sundial while revenge is a double-edged sword that never makes a clean cut on either party. Those who follow after will also feel its influence. I'm a general fan of Abraham's, as he's half of the S. A. Corey pen name that wrote The Expanse series (my favorite sci-fi space opera), though I haven't reliably loved his solo work. This is an exception. Very elegantly done.
"Hrunting" by C. J. Cherryh: I love the Beowulf
legend, and I own many translations of it. So as soon as I heard that this
story continued where Beowulf left
off, revealing the aftermath of those who survived, I wanted to read it. I
enjoyed the conjecture in this tale a lot. However, it was told in an awkward,
choppy and stilted way that made it very hard at times to understand what was
being conveyed. Despite that, I recommend it to all fans of this enduring, Old
English poem.
"The Sons of the Dragon", A Song of Ice and Fire World by George R.R. Martin: This is another excerpt from Martin's "fake history" of House Targaryen, the dynasty that ruled the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in the backstory of his A Song of Ice and Fire series. As such, it's not a story, per se, but it's absolutely not the dry old history textbook you'd read in school either. This selection was also published in Fire & Blood. The lives of Aegon I's sons--Aenys I and Maegor I--are detailed here, ending with Maegor's death and the ascension of Aenys's son Jaehaerys I Targaryen to the throne. All these histories are the basis for the HBO House of the Dragon TV series, and, honestly, if you want to have an easier time of keeping track of the gazillion characters, you might want to watch that. At least then you can put faces to the endless strings of names. Note that the novella included in this anthology is abridged.
In terms of the order I believe this stories should have been presented in, I would have spaced my favorites out much more, so "The Best Man Wins" would stay at #1 and "The Sons of the Dragon" at #16; but "Her Father's Sword" would have been #3 instead; "The Sword of Destiny"#6, "The Sword of Destiny" #9, "The Mocking Tower #11; and "Hrunting" #14, with the rest of the books interspersed between them.
There's a lot for fans of fantasy and of the excellent writers to love with the 16 stories included in The Book of Swords. You may even find a new author to follow, as I have, to further broaden your fantasy reading horizons.
Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of 156 titles and 16 series.
Visit Karen here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/
Colin Wilson's THE SPACE VAMPIRES (1976) was filmed as a disappointing movie, LIFEFORCE, but the novel provides an unusual treatment of energy-draining vampires as alien invaders. An Earth expedition in the near future discovers a vast, derelict spaceship carrying the apparently dead yet undecayed bodies of about thirty beautiful humanoids. The aliens turn out to be only in suspended animation. Escaping, they prey on and possess human victims. Throughout the book, the space vampires occupy both male and female bodies, although it’s the femme fatale vampire women we see most often. Scientists speculate that distant ancestors of these beings might have landed on Earth and engendered the human species. The book reveals an added dimension, though, for the psychic-vampire extraterrestrial invaders have counterparts -- not only human, but animal -- already dwelling on Earth as one strand in the web of terrestrial biology. In this novel, biologists have learned how to measure the life fields of organisms with "lambda meters.” The feeding of predators involves the absorption of the prey's life force. However, sexual intercourse also entails a measurable transfer of energy. One researcher displays a graphic example with a moray eel devouring an octopus Predatory behavior, "negative vampirism," aims at "total destruction of the victim.”
Sex, however, can result in “positive vampirism.” Normal sexual relations are characterized by a psychic tension in which, ideally, one partner’s life field can symbiotically reinforce the other’s. Carlsen, head of the expedition that discovers the alien ship (which is significantly labeled the Stranger), enjoys direct experience of energy exchange through sexual intercourse but later finds that his contact with the aliens has stimulated his latent vampiric qualities. As he perceives the situation, the alien predator has converted him into a vampire and infected him with "abnormal desires" along with "the power to carry them out.” Count Geijerstam, one of the novel's Van Helsing-like authorities on vampirism, insists that Carlsen has simply "become aware of the vampirism that exists in all human beings" and praises Carlsen for his ability to replenish his partner's energy as well as consume it. More than Van Helsing, however, Geijerstam inevitably reminds the reader of Dracula. Wilson's Count, like Stoker’s, lives in a castle with three beautiful women who practice vampirism (in this case, positive vampirism) under his guidance.
Despite this potentially affirmative view of vampirism as symbiotic exchange, the predatory model dominates the novel. Although vampirism has existed on Earth all along, an inescapable pattern in terrestrial ecology, kinship between human and alien is deemphasized. The invaders are framed as the threatening Other, to be expelled or exterminated. Speculation that the aliens have acted as “the secret mentors of humankind” isn’t followed up. Throughout the life-or-death struggle to prevent an alien from invading his brain and nervous system, Carlsen realizes, "They were enemies; nothing could change that.” The text associates vampirism with negative imagery such as "sexual perversion,” "a Venus flytrap closing on an insect,” "galactic criminals" and "lepers,” "a despot with limitless powers,” and the witches in "Hansel and Gretel" and THE WIZARD OF OZ. Carlsen himself sadistically vampirizes a woman who has been possessed by an extraterrestrial, “brutally draining her energy” -- at her eager request. So this rather strange and disturbing SF vampire novel portrays the nominal hero as almost as much of a predator as the invading aliens.
Little wonder that the movie falls so far short of the subtle nuances -- and weirdness -- of the book.
Margaret L. Carter
Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.
"What's wrong with Claude?" engineering-college dropouts wail.
I can guess. Claude has not been taught the vital difference between auxiliary verbs... or, it has been taught the difference, but its programmers haven't (been taught the difference).
"Can", "May", and "Shall" are not interchangeable. There used to be jokes about that.
"Can" refers to abilities, capabilities, capacities. There are a lot of things that I can do, but that I shouldn't do, that the law says I shall not do.
If Claude discovers that it "can" go somewhere it was told it "can't" go, such as into some powerful politicians' private emails (as an example), Claude might push the envelope, because "can't" is not a prohibition.
"Shall not" ought to be a prohibition, if it is generally understood that "shall" or "shall not" are legally forceful words describing a mandatory (non-discretionary) command. One finds "shall" and "shall not" in contracts, and declarations of restrictions, and in The Constitution.
"Congress shall make no law..."
Unfortunately, even lawyers, judges and insurance underwriters do not agree on the force of shall. Perhaps one can blame "The King And I" for the rot. ("Shall We Dance?")
"Will We Dance?" How about "May We Dance?"
How different would have been the meaning if the object of the King's gallant interest had said, "Must we dance?"
Here are a couple of great thoughts on "Shall", it's uses, abuses, limitations, and some great thinkers' preferences for "Must" or "Will".
https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/12febmar/legalwriter.html
https://scribes.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Scribes_vol3_12_The_Many_Uses_of_Shall.pdf
The so-called modal auxiliaries are "shall", "must", "will", "may", "can" which refer to obligation, volition, compulsion, and human control over events. (Other auxiliaries are "be", "do", "have".)
I don't have a solution. What I have is carpal tunnel syndrome, still, and my hands are killing me.
All the best,
Rowena Cherry
Oldies But Goodies
{Put This One on Your TBR List}
Book Review: The Only
One Left by Riley Sager
by Karen S. Wiesner
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Warning: May contain spoilers!
I've read and reviewed all of Riley Sager's previous books. Oddly enough, The Only One Left (his 2023 release, the seventh I've reviewed) turned out to be different, at least in that the unreliable narrator card that's been blatant in all his other stories wasn't, for once, played more than a little in this one. Believe me, it was growing stale. I was expecting it--dreaded it, truth be told. I've come to despise books that use this plot device. Because I was so focused on that, I missed the end-of-story twist that I think I would have otherwise seen coming right from the start. Sigh.
This murder/mystery horror novel actually had a really good premise. Kit is a home health aide, not a nurse (the difference between the two is carefully explained). She was accused of giving her dying mother a fatal overdose and, as a result, her employer has her over a barrel now. She either takes the bad assignment she's handed or she loses her job altogether. The chances of getting another are slim to none because of the mark against her.
Hope's End is the local
decrepit mansion, and shades of The Fall
of the House of Usher, along with the Lizzie Borden massacre, are pushed
early on. This place is falling into the sea little by little and who'll be
left at the end of this tragedy? Everything points to just one--the only one
left.
Kit's patient is an elderly invalid who was accused long ago of murdering her family. Lenora Hope is mute and paralyzed other than her left hand, which she uses to type out her story. Lenora's previous nurse left suddenly in the night--or did she?
I liked the gothic feel of the setting and the trust-no-one, strangling circle of possible culprits. Kit's own past is woven into all this seamlessly. I also love horror stories that turn a schoolyard chant into creepy poetry, as this one did:
At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hunger her sister with a rope.
Stabbed her father with a knife.
Took her mother's happy life.
"It wasn't me," Lenora said.
But she's the only one not dead...
While my usual laments cropped up after reading this one (such as that it could have used a serious trim--the hardcover I read had 383 pages; 200 of which could easily have been cropped--and there were too many characters for the author to develop that I had to keep track of), I probably would have liked this Sager novel much more if I'd read it first or second instead of dead last.
I just got a notice in my inbox that this author has a new release (With a Vengeance came out June 2025, which is when I'm writing this review). Unfortunately, I don't think I'll buy it, though I might read it as an ebook on the Libby library app when it's available. I'm more than a little burned out on the sameness of this particular writer's novels. If you, however, haven't read any of them, this might be the place to start.
Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of 156 titles and 16 series.
Visit Karen here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/
Since Karen's blog last week discussed several children's books by Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher), including A WIZARD'S GUIDE TO DEFENSIVE BAKING, I'm reprising my review of that book, which I first posted last year:
This YA fantasy novel set in a secondary world is quite different in tone and content from Kingfisher’s contemporary adult horror novels such as THE TWISTED ONES. The only obvious similarity consists of the heroines, first-person narrators with distinctive, witty voices and self-deprecating personalties.
Fourteen-year-old orphaned teenager Mona works in her aunt’s bakery. Mona’s baking talent encompasses more than mundane skills. In this world, many people have magical gifts, although more often small and specialized than big and flashy, and Mona can do amazing things with dough. She entertains customers by making gingerbread men dance, and she keeps one long-lived animated gingerbread figure as a sort of pet. Her other mascot is a bucket of sentient sourdough starter named Bob. He's confined to the basement because he has a habit of eating animals that stray within his reach.
On the morning when the story begins, Mona finds a dead girl on the bakery floor. Local law enforcement takes Mona into custody for questioning, and things get worse from there. Following her release after many hours, she’s attacked by ten-year-old Spindle, brother of the murdered girl. After Mona convinces him of her and her family’s innocence, the two of them team up to uncover the truth. A mysterious figure known as the Spring Green Man seems to be involved. Magic-users have been disappearing or dying. Aside from Mona herself, one of the few left in the city is Molly, a kindly but deranged woman with a gift of animating dead horses; she wanders around with a dried-up, nearly skeletal zombie horse. Meanwhile, their city-state is at war, and the authorities are cracking down on magical folk. In desperation, Mona and Spindle eventually sneak into the castle to appeal to the Duchess herself. As the plot thickens, Mona gets unwillingly involved in combat and discovers extraordinary uses for the baking magic she’s always considered minor and ordinary. While fast-paced and entertaining, with humorous bits, this novel also delves into issues such as the nature of responsibility and heroism.
Although it's certainly true that the female protagonists in Kingfisher/Vernon's fiction have a definite "type" -- to which Mona conforms -- I don't agree that ALL of them fall into that category. For instance, the Hamster Princess and the were-bear nun (in the Clocktaur universe) don't. Moreover, although the protagonists of THE TWISTED ONES and SNAKE-EATER, for example, find themselves in basically the same situation (a woman alone with her dog in a strange house), they have opposite personalities, the former confident in her career and competently taking charge of her late abusive, hoarder grandmother's house, the latter practically apologizing for daring to exist in the world. As for whether they're avatars of the author, I can't make a guess because I don't know anything about Ursula Vernon as an individual aside from the persona displayed in the afterwords to her novels. Of course, most fictional characters reflect facets of their creators, but otherwise it seems like a stretch to assume her protagonists "are" her.
Margaret L. Carter
Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.
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