Review: Venator

Venator by James Bubela
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loren has a deathwish, nothing to lose, and a few people to kill.

Venator was a good book. You can tell from the description that Venator is going to be a dark and grim tale of vengeance, but it also contained bits of humor, some memorable characters, and a good overall plot. The story is about Loren, who believes he’s lost everything and is driven by a deathwish and a quest for revenge. During the book, my favorite technique was the way that Loren’s storytelling was woven into the plot -- as he interacts with various characters, he relives flashbacks from his past as he tells the tale of what took place before the novel begins. I also thought the story had excellent pacing, events moved along at an even pace, quickening at the end as the plot came to a climax and something of a resolution (leaving a nice segue for a sequel).

But Venator also had a few flaws. Most of the supporting cast of characters were either superfluously detailed and quirky or completely flat and uninteresting. A lot of the interactions and dialog felt odd or awkward and some of the characters didn’t behave in believable ways -- even for a fantasy novel. The psychology present wasn’t deep and Loren frequently flipped from seeming perfectly normal to deeply traumatized and psychotic (but maybe that was intentional). The plot did have some twists and turns along the way, but I honestly thought the foreshadowing was a bit overdone and because of that, most twists seemed fairly predictable.

All-in-all, Venator was a good book but due to a few flaws, not a great book. I was torn on the rating between three and four stars, but I’m going to settle on rounding it up. From what I understand, Venator is James Bubela’s first book and its pretty outstanding work for a first novel. Bubela showed great promise with Venator and I really think he’s going to be an author to watch.

For the audiobook, Clint Grayson did a decent job. His performance wasn’t my favorite, but neither did it turn me off from the book. Some characters, such as Loren and a few of the ‘extras’ were great and really made the book come alive. But then some other supporting characters were performed with voices that were odd, annoying, or flat and indistinguishable from others. But I think this is also one of Grayson’s first narrations and I think he has some potential as well. At this point, I wouldn’t pick up a new book just because I see his name as the narrator, but I certainly wouldn’t avoid getting an interesting sounding book just because he’s narrating.

Special thanks to James Bubela, who provided me with this book at my request.

View all my reviews

Review: Brightblade

Brightblade by Michael Suttkus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I liked Brightblade a lot… or more accurately, I liked Ashley Morgan, the snarky, sassy, superpowered anti-heroic protagonist of Brightblade. Usually, I’d try to summarize the plot in a review, but unlike some other books that use their characters as a way to push the narrative forward, Brightblade is all about the characters. That means the real joy in reading it is all in the interactions, character building, and dialog. There is a story there, and it's a decent one... but you’ll read the book for the characters in it. So the plot? What’s the book about? It’s about Ashley Morgan. And the one hell of a night she just survived. Well, that she mostly survived anyway.

I’m usually not into urban fantasy, but Brightblade reads more like a vampire story. But not a dark, victorian-style vampire story or a teenage romantic gag-inducing vampire story. Instead, it’s an entertaining, irreverent, gothic-punk vampire story where the masquerade is dropped, and the vampires are all out doing their vampire thing. It’s got lots of vampire family politics, vampire lore, vampire strippers, and everything else you could want in a vampire story. From what I understand, it’s set in the same world as the other books in The United States of Monsters series, and now I want to read them all. Damn it, maybe I do like urban fantasy after all.

Overall, Brightblade is a lighthearted story with some darker subtext. It’s humorous and fun with its tone and pop culture references, but like most of Phipps’s work, it’s also intelligent in its use of social commentary and the development of alternate world cultural dynamics. I appreciate these deeper elements built into the world that Phipps and Suttkus have created.

As for the audio version of the book: I’ve never heard any of Heather Costa’s performances before, but I think she did a great job with Brightblade. Her character voices fit the narrative's tone and various situations within the book. All the female characters had unique, distinct voices -- which is an accomplishment, as there was quite a large cast of female characters. However, the male voices didn’t have the same variety and were a bit more challenging to differentiate. It’s a minor critique, though, as it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book or the narration.

Special thanks to C.T. Phipps, who provided me with this book at my request.

View all my reviews

Review: Optional Retirement Plan

Optional Retirement Plan by Chris Pourteau
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This old dog still has some bite left in him...

Optional Retirement Plan is the story of how Stacks Fischer, an aging Syndicate Corporation hitman, chose to 'go out' -- like a badass and on his own terms. The book is set in a future where humanity has colonized the moon and mars, the earth is dying, and everything is ruled by the mob-like and iron-handed Syndicate Corporation. Once trusted with the Syndicate's darkest secrets, now old-man Fischer and his waning mind has become a liability and must be put down, one way or another.

Optional Retirement Plan is a well-written and fast-paced page-turner. It's best to start reading it on a long weekend, as you'll have a hard time putting it down. You would think "fast-paced" and old man wouldn't mesh together well in a story, but Fischer is an old dog that refuses to be put down. Fischer is a well-developed character and the narrative is told from his first-person perspective. You'll feel his deep pain and frustration over the betrayals at the end of his life (those of his own body, mind, and the Syndicate) and can't help but to connect to the old bastard. The whole story feels like a sci-fi film noir and while it certainly goes to some dark places, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat, rooting for Fischer. This is the first book I've finished this year, but I can tell it's going to be one of the best too.

The audiobook for Optional Retirement Plan is performed by R.C. Bray, who is an outstanding narrator and a longtime favorite of mine. It's for Bray that I gave the audio version of the book a chance, and he takes a great book and makes it even better. His voice is perfect for Fischer's first-person account and I can't find a single flaw in the performance. Even if my review doesn't convince you to get the book, get the audio version for Bray.

Thank you to Aethon Books who provided me this book free of charge at my request.

View all my reviews

Review: Lucifer’s Star

Lucifer’s Star by C.T. Phipps
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lucifer’s Star was reminiscent of the classic space opera adventure stories I remember reading as a kid. I say “reminiscent” because although it had many of the same elements as those stories, Lucifer’s Star is nothing a kid should be reading. Which is great, because as an adult, I enjoy a little gratuitous profanity, sex, and violence mixed in with a well-written and engaging science fiction story -- and that is precisely what Lucifer’s Star is.

Lucifer’s star introduces an interesting and entertaining cast of characters to what I hope will be a long series. At the start of the story, quite a few of the characters seemed like they are going to be walking, talking science fiction tropes, but they were developed well through the book and became unique and compelling characters I cared about and rooted for. The plot did get confusing at times and all the character’s allegiances, secrets, and in some cases, bodies (that’s right, I wrote “bodies” and meant it) were hard to keep straight, but everything was resolved and nicely wrapped up by the end. The author, C.T. Phipps, keeps a WordPress blog and has a really great post dedicated to revealing more about the Lucifer’s Star universe, so if you feel the details getting muddy keeping the factions and organizations clear in your head, I found reading the background of the setting helpful (and entertaining in its own right).

View all my reviews