Book Review: Elemental Thief by Rachel Morgan

 

Elemental Thief is book 1 in the young adult fantasy series, the Ridley Kayne Chronicles, by Rachel Morgan. Set in a futuristic dystopian-esque environment, the Global Simultaneous Magic-Energy Conversion caused a devastating world-changing magical overload, which subsequently caused magic to be outlawed, and created a deep divide between the have and have-nots. Ridley Kayne is like a modern-day Robin Hood, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, in order to narrow that gap. 

Magic, in a land where it has been outlawed, is Ridley's superpower. It's how she's able to slip through the cracks and infiltrate high end properties to steal valuable items, sell them to her fence, collect the money and give to those in need. Chaos is bound to explode when using magic. Using it is risky. But in this world, magic for some is as inherent as the air they breathe. Tamping it down and denying it has dire consequences.

As in most YA, Ridley has a love interest in her nemesis Archer who is good looking and full of secrets. I've no doubt we are going to be seeing the pair working together more in subsequent books because they have a world to right again. 

Though not listed as a dystopian read, the setting in this book has the vibe of a planet damaged by human's overuse of magic and has echoes of the challenges we're now facing with out own planet. It reminded me that we are living in the future now...an interesting thought. 

There is plenty of action in this book, fast-paced with lots of twists and turns. A murder, a wrongful arrest, and a quest for justice where maybe none is due…

Lots to like and hold your attention. I had forgotten how much I liked YA and this book reminded me.

If you'd like to read it, it's FREE on Amazon. 

Seasonal Reads

Do you find yourself drawn to reread certain books during specific seasons? I certainly do. I never think about rereading The Hobbit until the approach of Thanksgiving in late November. I suspect I associate hobbits with rural life and Thanksgiving is kind of a harvest celebration. I can't imagine attempting another pass through Crime and Punishment except in the dead of winter. I associate Russia with winter, which is silly since Russia experiences all the seasons.

When October rolls around I immediately think of two books: Roger Zelazny's A Night In the Lonesome October and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla.

A Night In the Lonesome October is Zelazny's last novel. Set in late Victorian England, the story tells of a "game," a competition between openers and closers, concerning a gate between this world and the realm of the Great Old Ones. The story draws heavily on Lovecraft's mythos as well as characters from Victorian gothic fiction. Frankenstein, Count Dracula, and Sherlock Holmes, among others, populate the tale. Each player in the game has a familiar. Snuff, the guard dog and familiar belonging to Jack, tells the story. It's fun to pick out all the references to other stories within the narrative. For better or worse, this novel inspired me to craft some fantasy tales with a cat as the protagonist.

The title comes from a line in the first stanza of Edgar Allan Poe's "Ulalume."

The skies they were ashen and sober;

    The leaves they were crisped and sere—

    The leaves they were withering and sere;

It was night in the lonesome October

    Of my most immemorial year;

Carmilla first appeared in the magazine The Dark Blue in serial form from December 1871 through March 1872 and later as part of Le Fanu's collection In a Glass Darkly (1872). Laura, the narrator and protagonist of Carmilla, lives with her father and two governesses in a schloss in Styria, an Austrian province near Hungary. Laura and her father are English expatriates. Her mother, a Styrian lady, died when Laura was an infant. Laura recalls that when she was six, she experienced a nightmare vision of a beautiful young woman in her bedchamber who lay beside her and bit her on the chest, although Laura's nurse found no wounds on her. Laura is nineteen when the events of her narrative take place and leads a lonely, isolated life in the Austrian countryside. 

Following a carriage accident a young girl named Carmilla is placed under Laura's father's care for three months. Laura recognizes Carmilla as the woman from her dream. Carmilla responds with a story of a similar dream involving Laura. Carmilla evinces many strange habits, including apparent sleepwalking, and complains of incessant languor. The pair become close friends despite Carmilla's occasional romantic advances towards Laura.

Yes, this is a vampire story so Laura's life is about to take a sharp turn for the very weird. A highly entertaining story.

Do any books call to you at a particular season? Let us know in the comments.

Book Review of Heart of Malice by Lisa Edmonds

 

This was my first time reading a book by Lisa Edmonds. She writes urban fantasy, and Heart of Malice is the first in a six-book series called simply, the “Alice Worth” series. 

Alice has a very disturbing backstory of being tortured by a paranormal organized crime cabal run by her grandfather (how many grandpas are heartless psychos!!!?), and of having to use her wit and magic to escape the deadly org. This is set up to explain her extreme PTSD and inability to trust or get close to anyone, plus her need to create an entire false identity (Alice Worth) for herself going forward. Talk about high stakes!

The story has tons of action, and the magic is explosive. In fact, the author’s descriptions of the magic are what stick in my mind most clearly. This is both a strength, but also a minor critique, in that while I learned a lot, I sometimes found her almost mathematical blow-by-blow explanations of how the magic worked too clinical and almost boring. 

That said, the romance between Alice and Sean, an alpha werewolf, who she finally learns to trust just a little (LOL) by novel’s end is hot and I do like both characters. Edmond also creates interesting side characters in Malcom, her ghost assistant who must hide in her earring, Alice’s client, a seemingly wispy victim, and the fashionable, edgy vamp who advises her.

I don't want to reveal any plot points so I dare not explain any more. I will say, it was a big deal for me to read an entire book since the pandemic year, where my desire and ability to read was almost non-existent. I'm happy to report that I am reading at a decent clip again, and working on a new book series, so I will always associate this book with my renewed sense of creativity.

 Nothing is simple and the twists keep on coming. A fun start to a long urban fantasy series.

Get the book at Amazon and see the series here.

The Latest Releases from the UR Authors

 It's been an exciting year for the authors of Untethered Realms. We're putting together a new fantasy anthology to be released mid-2022. Until then, enjoy the latest wonderful releases from us. Click on the covers for the buy links.

YA paranormal from Cathrina Constantine

Nora has visions of horrific things. Things that lurk in the shadows and feast on bones. After moving with her mother into an old farmhouse, Nora discovers a blank journal that fills itself with an ominous warning. A cursed beast is coming for her and time is running out. When the blood moon rises, so shall the beast.

Fantasy adventure from Jeff Chapman

Taking from a Barrow? Not a good idea.

As Ethan approaches manhood, his prospects don't look very promising. And Arabella, the girl he's set his sights on, is the daughter of the Squire. Ethan's plans go awry, and he ends up in Faerie as the Sniggard kidnaps Arabella.

Paranormal romance from Catherine Stine

Meet Indigo Rain, a beautiful but lonely mermaid. Regretful of a dark past, she has vowed to remain alone and research ancient merfolk tribes. When she unearths a seabed burial site that even she cannot identify, she shares this with a High Council merfolk historian. But she keeps one shocking secret to herself.

Science-fiction trilogy from Simon Kewin

The unfolding mystery

A hidden trail among the stars

The return of an ancient galactic threat

The darkness at the heart of the galaxy.

Science-fiction from M. Pax

The first shot of a new war echoes through the galaxy. Craze has high hopes for what the alliance with an old enemy, the Foreworlds, will do to defeat a worse enemy, the Quassers.

With nothing left to lose, Craze sets in motion one last chance for survival.

Science-fiction fantasy from Jeff Beesler

The Bloboid Wars begin with the first strike in Bloboids Vs. Faeries! A massive ball of slime falls out of the sky and crashes against the northern shore of Faer’s Atoll. At once, the Bloboids conquer Faerie and animal life alike in their quest to dominate the universe.

  

Cozy paranormal mystery from Gwen Gardner

While not the crime of the century, Indigo and Franny must stop a candy store ghostie with a sweet tooth from dumping valuable merchandise on the floor. Sounds simple enough. Until they discover, not a mischievous spirit with a wanton disregard for inventory, but a little ghost girl on a mission to save the nun who raised her.

Supernatural thriller from Meradeth Houston

Controlling people’s fate is what Ami and Luke do: it’s what they’ve been tasked with for millennia by an inscrutable force. But when fate demands the impossible, what will defiance cost?

Fantasy LitRPG coming next month from Christine Rains

In every one of their games, the bard dies first. But this time, she may be the only one who can save them.

#Fantasy Worth Reading: Flex #Bookreview

Flex by Ferrett Steinmetz is an engrossing fantasy set on modern-day Earth. I loved his space opera, The Sol Majestic, so had to try another book by this talented author.

The magic system has a bad side. For every wonderful gift, a dire consequence is required. The costs of doing magic are high and leave the ‘mancer with less and less. Something of value has to be given in order to do magic.

Magic takes their homes, their friends, everyone and everything they love. Using magic is like a drug in this realm, and the magic users are addicts. They give up everything for their moments of glory and marvel.

The main character, Paul Tsabo, is an ordinary person dealing with some bad luck. He was once a cop, who gained notoriety for taking out a ‘mancer. He lost a foot during the battle, and the loss required him to take a new job. He now works as a claims adjustor at an insurance company.

Thing is, it’s there he learns he has a gift – bureaucracy ‘mancy. He can do extraordinary things with forms and reordering the world. He has to hide his gift, but he can’t stay away from it, especially once his daughter is horribly burned in a fire caused by the consequences of someone else doing magic.

He's as obsessed with saving his daughter as finding quiet moments to do ‘mancy. This leads to him tracking down the ‘mancer who caused the fire that injured his daughter. Although he wants revenge in the worst way, he also needs to learn to hone his magic so he can help his daughter. This odd alliance and the search to find a better way to do magic drives the story.

The characters are very relatable. Most of us love to get lost in the beauty of our daydreams, which is very much like how the magic works in this book. It’s a great adventure with a great dose of self-discovery. Paul has to figure out what matters most and how to tame his ‘mancy for good.

I was entertained until the last page, and was rooting for Paul, his new ally, and his daughter. I was also rooting for magic. I highly recommend this fantasy.

Here's the official blurb:

The first in a series by the author of The Sol Majestic that is “what might result if you put Breaking Bad and Reddit in a blender and hit ‘frappe.’ ” (B&N Sci-Fi Blog)

FLEX: Distilled magic in crystal form. The most dangerous drug in the world. Snort it, and you can create incredible coincidences to live the life of your dreams.

FLUX: The backlash from snorting Flex. The universe hates magic and tries to rebalance the odds; maybe you survive the horrendous accidents the Flex inflicts, maybe you don’t.

PAUL TSABO: The obsessed bureaucromancer who’s turned paperwork into a magical Beast that can rewrite rental agreements, conjure rented cars from nowhere, track down anyone who’s ever filled out a form.

But when all of his formulaic magic can’t save his burned daughter, Paul must enter the dangerous world of Flex dealers to heal her. Except he’s never done this before—and the punishment for brewing Flex is army conscription and a total brain-wipe. 

 

Skywatch: Perseids Meteor Shower 2021 #astronomy

 The Perseids is the biggest and showiest meteor shower of the year. Every year, it's at the same time-mid August. The peak is August 12th, but you should already be able to view some lovely shooting stars if you have a dark sky.

Even without it being Perseids season, there are 6-10 shooting stars every hour.

The Perseids will appear as quick, small streaks of light. They get their name because they look like they’re coming from the direction of the constellation Perseus.

The Perseids are fragments of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits between the Sun and beyond the orbit of Pluto once every 133 years. Every year, the Earth passes near the path of the comet, and the debris left behind by Swift-Tuttle shows up as meteors in our sky.

Perseus is located under Cassiopeia: looks like a big W to the right of the Big Dipper. Here's a star chart.

By IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg) - [1], CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15412172

For the next two years, the Moon will interfere with the viewing of the Perseids. So this is your best chance for a lovely show until 2024.

I'll be out astronomizing. Hope you get out too! If your skies are sucky, you can watch live with NASA at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYKfAzPEXMQsGtNfBCNa_BA

#Fantasy Worth Reading: The Cat Who Would Be King #Bookreview

The Cat Who Would Be King by Bethany Hoeflich is a humorous novella about an alleycat's accidental rise to the top of society.

From the blurb:

The sky is blue.

Water is wet.

And cats most definitely do not talk.

Reporter Thomas Kane knows that boring articles don’t sell newspapers, and as the newest hire at the Daily Gazette, he’s always on the lookout for a tantalizing story to write. When he gets a tip about an interview with Bastien the First, the elusive and presumably dead king of Qar, Thomas assumes it’s a cruel prank by jealous coworkers determined to see him fail.

As a cat, life is far superior for Bastien than his two-legged counterparts. Bastien has settled nicely into retirement where he enjoys a quiet life as a pampered tavern cat while keeping his true identity a secret. Obscurity has its downsides, however, and it’s time for his extraordinary story to be told.

My thoughts:

Bastien the cat has decided it's time to tell his story. And what a story. It seems Bastien's life as a wharf-prowling feline is over when a wizard acquires him for experimentation. The wizard doesn't expect him to survive and tells him so, but Bastien not only survives the experiment, he gains the ability to talk in human speech.

At first the wizard is pleased. He believes he has the perfect spy to serve his mysterious plans. However, the wizard soon discovers that cats rarely do what others want them to do. As the wizard reveals the depths of his evilness, Bastien discovers that the kingdom is tottering on a knife edge. Bastien proves to be the right cat at the right time.

Hoeflich does a wonderful job portraying Bastien's perspective. The reader gets a very credible cat's-eye-view of the wharfs and the castle. The contrast between the characters of Bastien and the wizard is also well done. Bastien searches for kindness and a good meal while the wizard exhibits a maniacal obsession with political power. If you like cats and some humor with your fantasy, you'll enjoy The Cat Who Would Be King. 

Story links:

Goodreads  Amazon