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Zombies in Space: A Review of Paradise-1’s Thrilling Sequel
Information:
- Goodreads: 3.96 out of 25 ratings
- Age Category: Adult
- Series: Red Space, book 2
- Genre: Sci-Fi Horror
Summary:
After the events of Paradise-1, the crew has landed. Petrova, Zhang, Parker, and Rapscallion begin their mission of finding the community on the planet, but everything is eerily quiet. Until Zhang starts screaming. What they find on Paradise-1 is nothing they ever would have imagined and it just gets worse and worse for our crew. Bless their little hearts.
Review:
This book is just as action packed as the first one. The chapters are super short, making for a quick, intense, and fun read. There wasn’t a moment in this book that I felt bored or easily distracted. I was having a blast the entire time. There were a few issues I’ve had with the series, but all of them are personal preference rather than anything else. We have great and interesting characters who all have real desires and flaws, a really interesting world, and zombies in outer space. What more could you ask for?
The characters carry the series. I would not give a holy hot damn about the plot if I didn’t care about Petrova, Zhang, Parker, and Rapscallion (Rapscallion is, indeed, my favorite). Sure, Petrova and Parker’s relationship doesn’t feel believable to me because we were dumped into them having already had a past – a one night stand from what I understand – and we’re still supposed to believe they have these intense feelings after that. That’s besides the point because I am still a sucker for how much Parker loves her. And Petrova’s dilemma about having these weird and complicated feelings for him while also knowing that he isn’t real can be gut wrenching. Especially when we see how much Parker struggles with the fact that he does not have a real body in this book. He can touch things, he can move them, but he cannot feel them, in such a strange way, is heartbreaking.
Zhang has made so much progress by the end of the book. He began without really wanting anything to do with anyone. He basically just didn’t like anyone and was a coward who didn’t want to do much of anything, yet somehow also got roped into it. With this book, he and Petrova kind share leadership. They’ve developed this interesting relationship – I don’t wanna hear it about how their relationship is a trauma bond. I know that, they know that, we can move on. They’re basically besties now that have a sibling-ish dynamic. He’s just going with the motions, trying hard to not die and to keep his friends from dying too. Sweet little Rapscallion is constantly having to remake his own bodies. I would die for Rapscallion and his bright green bodies. He is precious to me. He is the savior of the day most of the time and also the humor – love seeing him try to understand humans, cause we’re silly. The characters are a 9/10.
But here’s the thing. I wish Wellington could commit to actually killing someone. Listen, I love em all. I adore these character and I don’t want anyone to die. However, we have had about 3-4 times a major character has died (one of em twice). Then they somehow continue to come back. I don’t like that trope and I have an especially hard time when it’s done more than once. I was nearly gotten with a character death, felt some tears prickling my eyes. Was pretty bummed out for a few pages. And then even more bummed when they came back. I don’t like having that emotional impact and then having it nearly immediately taken away ends up usually making it feel cheap for me.
Aside from that, the book is full of action and anticipation. I loved every bit of it. There are some moments when the book makes some comments or explores a topic. Zhang and Rapscallion talk about why people feel the need to burn books. Zhang has pretty intense PTSD. There’s a few mentioned of whether or not Parker is even really Parker and, if so, how much of him is real when he’s a copy of a copy. Parker’s storyline throughout this is him dealing with not having a body and how differences between our minds and our bodies can lead to even bigger issues. But its mostly just a fun sci-fi horror and I love that.
The prose is simple. Wellington doesn’t go overboard on the descriptions, yet the characters still feel real and the world still feels lived in and alive. The way he writes keeps constant tension on the story without ever feeling as if I’m drained or exhausted. He seems to allow his small and to the point sentences to propel the story further. He’s a master at saying so little while also conveying so much. This helps make the story of three people and a robot exploring a planet and searching for a lost colony feel even more exciting. Also, zombies in outer space controlled by an alien more ancient and powerful than our human minds could ever comprehend? I’m in. Admittedly, the villain’s monologue at the end felt a little cliche, even more so when it happened twice. But I still don’t find myself able to complain much about it at all.
I would love to know your thoughts about the book if you’ve read it! Thanks for tuning in and I’ll see yall soon!
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Friends to Lovers: Callum and Lark’s Story
Morbidly Yours Review
Information:
- Goodreads: 3.97 out of 20,343 Ratings
- Genre: Romance
- Age Category: Adult
- Series: Love in Galway, book 1
Summary:
Lark has moved to Ireland instead of facing her issues within her life after her husband has died. Callum works as a mortician and has to marry by his 35th birthday in order to keep his family’s funeral home. They quickly become friends, but also quickly develop feelings that just friends don’t have and the adorable chaos ensues.
Review:
I have a hard time reviewing books solely about a romance because I never feel like I have all that much to say. I liked this book. I had a great time reading it. Callum is precious. I love when the man falls first and falls harder. But more than that, I love how he is not perfect. He’s socially anxious, often says the wrong thing, and has a stutter. I don’t feel as if a love interest often has things like that in a lot of romances I’ve read – though maybe I’m reading the wrong ones. Emily Henry really does a great job with it, too. I’m also not sure I’ve ever read one where the male love interest has to fall for someone before comfortably having sex with them – before even imagining having sex, really. Callum’s stutter doesn’t magically get fixed or go away, he still has it even in the epilogue and it’s never made to be a big deal for anyone who isn’t an asshole in the book. I love that.
Lark is okay. I definitely liked Callum more. Lark’s husband has passed two years and she’s taken on a lot of guilt about their last conversation before he died. I like seeing her progress, learning that she’s allowed to love and miss her husband while also being able to love Callum and treat him the way he should be treated. She begins their story knowing she’s leaving Ireland soon and only working on a friendship with this lovely and sweet human being. Lark has sworn off of ever being in a relationship again because she doesn’t feel as if she’s responsible enough to be in one. I loved getting to see her realize that’s not accurate.
Their story is super cute and made me realize that I’m kind of into friends to lovers romance. It was so sweet watching them have dates that weren’t dates. They built a friendship first and the love and lust came later. It was wonderful. And neither of them gave up what they needed for the other. I just wish we could’ve had more time to watch them fall in love with one another. It all felt too quick for what I felt like Ivy was going for – a slow burn of watching these two people develop a friendship and feelings. It was truly beautiful though and I can’t wait to see what Ivy comes out with next.
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The Inklings Digest 10
Currently Reading
I have been in a strange mood. I can’t tell if I’m in the mood for romantasy, epic fantasy, or a good and juicy thriller. I’ll start reading a book and then put it down a few chapters in because I’m not feeling it at the moment. I am currently reading Revenant-X and The Songbird and The Heart of Stone and really enjoying it. I find that reading one sci-fi horror and one romantasy is hitting the spot, as I can easily switch when one isn’t working out.
Recent Reads:
Easy peasy, I just read one book. I read Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks. It was so cute. We follow Callum, a socially awkward mortician with a stutter and Lark, an outgoing and grieving widow. Callum has to marry before he’s 35 to keep his family business and Lark quickly becomes his best friend, but doesn’t tell him her reason for being single for the rest of her life is because her husband recently died and she feels the blame is on her. The match between these two is perfect. I love them. Callum is so sweet and so worried about being made fun of because of his stutter. It was so cute. More to come about this couple, though, as there will be a blog about the book this week.
This Week’s Plans
I’m really excited and feeling great this week. I’ve been going to the gym and consistently making 10 thousand steps a day – not pushing myself but as a fun challenge to see if I can make it. I’ve found that reading on my treadmill is a ton of fun. I do plan to figure out a few series I want to either continue or finish up between this month and next so that I can lower that number and/or not feel guilty for starting a new series. I’ve also recently gotten into boxing and have fallen in love with it. I have scheduled 2 sessions per week starting off, which I’m really excited about. I likely will see a decrease in reading until I figure out how I can fit reading into the other activities I’ve taken up. I have no idea how much reading I’ll finish this week, but I should at least finish up the two I’m currently reading.
Thanks for checking in today! I’ll talk to ya later this week.
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Satara’s Delusion: A Dive into Horror and Revenge
Information:
- Goodreads: 4.21 out of 154 ratings
- Genre: Horror
- Age Category: Adult
- Series: No
Summary:
Dean’s life flashes before Satara’s eyes when she finds out he is cheating on her with her best friend, Lilah. Naturally, as one would do, she kills him. It’s not like she hasn’t done it before, calm down. And she has great plans on remarrying, starting over. Sure, she wants to get with another married man and that does seem hypocritical considering the hatred she holds for Lilah. But, here’s the difference – Lilah was her best friend. Satara isn’t pals with this man’s wife. Unfortunately, Lilah is hot on Satara’s trail with a goal of showing the world was Satara really is. And so we dive into Satara’s world as everything is crumbling around her but its totally okay because she has witchcraft on her side.
Review:
I don’t even know what to say about this book. I think I liked it. I also think I hated it. Hear me out. Satara is interesting. Her delusion is fun to follow and I was reminded a bit of Pearl. Actually, I feel like the first portion of this would be a cool A24 film. We’re following Satara as she slips into her delusion more and more, learning more about her past murders and seeing her justification of all of them. You can almost see and understand her perspective. The first man absolutely deserved her outrage. Pearl just wants fame and love and Satara just wants love, but no one can ever live up to what love is to her. She lives very oppositely towards her own morals – such as actively pursuing a married man while being angry at Lilah for sleeping with her husband – and it was fun seeing how she justified that difference – it was wrong because Lilah is her best friend but she’s not friends with this man’s wife.
I’m all down for reading about a serial killer woman losing touch with reality and dabbling in drugs and witchcraft. I was down for watching Pearl go on a murder spree and also lose touch of reality. Pearl had a great ending though. There were no weird twists to piece together, she just was. The writers seemed content and comfortable enough to know that Pearl could carry the story on her own with her own delusion and face a bit of reality when her husband comes home – though we know that isn’t for quite so long. We do get to see Satara continue through her delusion. We get to see how she justifies every action she takes, how her world continues to crumble around her and how she thinks she’s successfully maneuvering it. But with Satara, it felt like Mia Ballard felt as if she had to add in more twists and turns. Satara and her delusions weren’t allowed to carry it all on her own and I feel that the story suffered for it.
Instead, we learn that her love spells aren’t actually working (shocker) and there has actually been a 6 year long investigation hoping to catch her for her past murders. Hear me out: I know killing five people is a lot of people. Is it 6 years worth of an undercover investigation that has multiple cast members? That’s where you lose me. Not only is Lila actually her first victim’s fiancé – who doesn’t care that he groomed and raped a 15 year old – everyone else for the last 6 years of Satara’s life with the exception of maybe 2 people were also in on it. It’s one thing for me to follow one person’s delusion, it’s another to just not believe in the world we’re in. And I know Lilah/Stacey is also unhinged, I could get behind these two delusional assholes duke it out. I would love a fun cat and mouse between two women full of rage and complicated feelings. But that’s not necessarily what we got. Or, not only what we got. We have these, with Lilah doing ungodly things to make sure she catches Satara. We also get a whole office, community, and police department willing to engage in this weird ass investigation/delusion. It doesn’t sound like it would check out.
It felt like the first half had the potential of capturing an audience the same way Pearl did and I mean that in the best way. Mia Ballard’s mind and writing for this portion were outstanding. It’s just the last portion that stumped me and made me go from a 5 star to a 3. And then the epilogue came in and I was back in. We were given what I wanted – two Pearl’s now engaged in revenge against one another. I just wish it was given the permission to stay with that, because it truly could have been one of the best of the year.
Also, that fucking cover is amazing. I’d love to know you’re thoughts if you’ve read it yet and thank you for tuning it!
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Why This Thriller Missed the Mark: A Review of The Lake House Children
Information:
- Goodreads: 4.26 out of 81 Ratings
- Genre: Thriller??
- Age Category: Adult
- Series: None
Summary:
The Police are interviewing Kate for a fire that killed four people. They’re hoping to figure out who did it, but get more than they bargained for. One clearly thinks Kate’s lying – her story is outrageous – but the other thinks it may be so outrageous that she might just believe it to be true. Kate believes her son is the reincarnation of her nephew – and her son has information about how he died. We follow Kate’s story as she leads us up to the fateful night when everything went to shit.
Review:
So much about this could have worked. A police investigation into a suspicious fire that happened to a strange family filled with coverups and bad behaviors? What isn’t to love about that? I thought I was going to get an interesting investigation following complex people. I was so excited to see what in the world was going on with this weird kid. First, Netgalley and Goodreads have two different synopsis’ for this book. I only read the Goodreads one, which talks about one of our detectives as he can’t get this weird case out of his head. Netgalley full on talks about how Kate’s son Jack is actually her nephew, Zack, who has been reincarnated. The Netgalley synopsis full on gives away the most interesting aspect this book. Regardless, the plot had such a great concept, but failed to deliver on it. We only get snippets of the detectives talking to Kate in the interview; most of the story is her talking about her son. Which could have been interesting, if done differently and done right.
None of the characters felt like they had anything to them that made them special. They all felt wooden. Within the first time meeting each character, you know how they’re going to turn out. There was not a single plot twist that I did not guess by 25% through the book, which very much hindered the amount of fun I was able to have while reading it. Of course Jack is Zack. Of course Aaron killed him. Of course Amber was sleeping with Neil and covered up her son’s murder. I don’t even count this as spoilers because it’s all so obvious. I couldn’t get a sense of suspense because I could easily figure out what was going on -and that’s not bragging. I’m dumb, I can’t ever guess what’s going to happen.
I did like the prose. The story is written in 3rd person when the detectives are interviewing Kate, but written in 1st person when going over the actual story line. I like and appreciate it. It’s reads like Kate talking to the detectives. If it had been paired with interesting characters ( who even knows anything about Aaron’s twin sister, Kate’s dad, Brock, or Tris), and was a little more like the way it was marketed, it could have been a great story. All the material is there, but it doesn’t feel like it’s been used.
If you’ve read this book, I’d be curious to know what you thought. It’s set to come out September 17th, but I certainly won’t be purchasing a physical copy or recommending it to many people.
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The Inklings Digest #2
Currently Reading
I’m currently reading a couple books. I’m about 5 chapters into the Goblin Emperor (Really enjoying it), halfway through The Lake House Children, 4 chapters into Alien Clay, and about 1-2 chapters into A Darkness Returns. I do tend to prefer to keep multiple going at once, as I feel it helps keep up my reading habit, as I have multiple options depending on what mood I’m in.
Recent Reads
The Hunted Heir by Holly Renee was published on the 20th. I read and devoured that in a few hours, so I’m now back to just waiting for the next release. Really, really liked it, but did struggle a little with the characters feeling a little different. They also make silly decisions, but I don’t go into these books expecting the most sound decision making. I got about 20% into Evocations by ST Gibson before I just decided to DNF it. Here’s the thing: I am okay with reading poly relationships, but they aren’t my go-to. I have to thoroughly like and enjoy every single person in the relationship and that just wasn’t in this one for me. Very much preferred her A Dowry of Blood. Yes, it’s a more toxic view of this dynamic, but I loved or had high interest in each character. I feel as if Evocations is character driven, so that aspect of not liking any of them really put a damper on that reading experience.
I then finished The Claw and The Crowned by Sarah M. Credit. Apparently I was in a Fanro mood. Really enjoyed Claw and the Crowned. There was the same issue of characters making silly decisions, but, again, smart people aren’t the reason I come to these books. I did have a good time with this one. Our main character is seen as nothing more than a body and she really struggles with that. It ends in her being pregnant and having a child and that’s where it kind of lost me. I have a very specific pet peeve with books that have the characters have children, but only at the end of the book. Typically, when I see this trope used, there’s still so much for the author to wrap up and show us, that the baby then kind of goes to the background, constantly being taken care of by a friend or family member. And I do get the sense of a family and being surrounded by loved ones, but I just don’t like it because we only see the baby in background with someone else. We don’t see the parents actually interacting with the child, bonding with it, or really spending any time with it at all. They don’t appear to be changed in a way that feels realistic for me. I do understand that I am asking for too much, there would have to be a whole other book of the parents and family just being parents and family. But I feel like these endings are supposed to feel like ‘Auntie helps take care of the baby’ but it typically feels more like ‘Auntie is raising the baby in place of the parents’ instead for me. I just don’t like it.
I also finished Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin – it was super cute but not really something that’s going to stick in my head. I read Wrestling with Werewolves by Hazel Mack and, let me tell you, this cozy little monster romance series is so fun and such a fucking blast. But this installment was not my favorite. And I ended the week with Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh . It was good, I was interested, but paranormal romance isn’t my favorite and I did not realize that the series was more episodic and following a different couple every book. That isn’t usually my favorite, I like to see growth that’s really difficult to see within one 300 page book. But I do definitely see myself reading the series whenever I need a pallet cleanse.
Week’s Plans
The goal is to finish my current reads. I do think I’ll be able to finish two by tomorrow evening. I would also like to get to at least 2 other books. I really want to read Near the Bone by Christina Henry and something else, I’m not sure yet.
As for book reviews, I plan on reviewing Alien Clay, The Lake House Children, A Darkness Returns, and possibly the Goblin Emperor. I am still working towards opening a bookstore. The building I found has already been leased to someone else, unfortunately, but that’s okay. I’ve been learning the differences between LLC and Sole Proprietorship and different ins and outs of running my own business. It’s been a lot of information to take in while still being in school for becoming a therapist and actively running a substance use treatment group. It does feel like I’m trying to do too much in one go, but I am also having a lot of fun with it.
Thank you for spending time with me and I look forward to yapping with you next week.
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Sleep Tight – J. H. Markert
Information:
- Goodreads: 4.22 out of 222 Ratings
- Age Category: Adult
- Genre: Horror/Thriller
- Series: None
Summary:
Father Silence use to get his kicks from pretending to be a priest and preying on the vulnerable within our society. Luckily, a detective put him away. Unluckily, said detective is found murdered and his granddaughter is kidnapped after Father Silence’s execution. Now the detective’s daughter has to hunt this new copy-cat to find her daughter and she’s gotta work with her cheating psychologist husband, as well as a big team of people. As you could guess, this is not a fun and fresh time for her. She’s gotta meet with the only person to ever survive Father Silence and face all the complications that come with that.
Review:
I really enjoyed the creep factor of this book more than the actual characters. I do want to talk specifically about the representation of Dissociative Identity Disorder. Two of our main characters have this. I do have an issue with how each person how has it is a villain. However, I can also appreciate how the ‘evil’ aspect of the disorder is described as something other – it is more than just the disorder at play. Also, the beginning of the disorder did come from genuine causes of DID – intense childhood trauma as a way of protecting the host. I would be curious to see a person’s thoughts with this disorder, rather than just mine. I’d be curious to know a first hand review rather an just an educated one, if that makes sense.
There is a bit of supernatural foolery going on here, but it’s never explained or specified. Just two people are able to see through another’s eyes. The rest is cult-y people being absolutely bonkers and worshipping a serial killer who did not deserve their worship. These people are vulnerable due to the charisma of who they’re following and drug use. That, truly, is what made this so fun. I read this while listening to a combination of horror movie soundtracks and it was absolutely a vibe. There’s something so creepy about a cult following and committing murders due to overly believing in their faith. And I liked how each thread tied together. It was fast to read and easy to read – while I also absolutely feel as if I could have had red twine and a poster board full of clues to go along with the book.
As for the characters, I feel like they’re the book’s weakness and why this book isn’t a five star. Tess isn’t really interesting, even though her complicated history and family are what drive the story. I don’t like her or anyone else in the story, except one of the killers and that’s mostly because I was given enough information to feel sympathy for him. His story is the one that I actually, weirdly enough, cared the most about. Everyone else felt easily forgettable and replaceable, which sucks, because he isn’t the main character.
Ultimately, it was a fun and fast read that kept me interested the majority of the time I was reading it. I do wish the characters could have been a bit more interesting or complex, but it didn’t make the book horrible to read. I still had a blast and I would love to know your thoughts on it if you’ve read it! Definitely recommend reading with a spooky soundtrack playing.
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The Sword Unbound
Information
- Ratings: 4.19 out of 36 ratings
- Genre: High Fantasy
- Age Range: Adult
- Series: Lands of the Firstborn
Summary
Alf and his friends saved the world from the dark lord 25 years ago. That means all the bad things are done and over with, right? Not exactly. As seen in the last book, there have been invisible hands pulling strings that are working directly against our crew. Those hands helped build up the 9 twenty-five years ago, now it seeks to bring them down. We follow Alf, Olva, and Bor as they go through this world and fight against these invisible strings pulling them – some more so than others. Not only are they dealing with that, each has also been elevated to a new status: Olva is Queen and mother to the uncrowned king, whose going, whose going through some strange things of his own as his is not the only soul held within his body. Af is once again The Lammergeier, a title he has never held comfortably. He still has Spellbreaker and is bidden to protect his family and Necrad with it. Bor is just going with the motions, which has led to him facing how he has been pulled in numerous ways by invisible hands. Poor guy is struggling with his actions within the last book, but doing nothing to actually change as a better person.
Review
Alf is consistent in his desperate need for having his friends a ll get along. The man doesn’t want to fight, he just wants everyone to talk and get along. This can get really annoying. He has tried so many times to just have everyone talk everything out and consistently fails in that endeavor. It is always going to shit for his and he is simply never learning his lesson. Still, I kind of love it to be honest. He’s just so simple in his need to just be with all of his friends and have everyone get along that, even though it gets annoying and can feel lot like he’s just going in circles, there’s also something so sweet about this big dummy trying his best. Alf is still struggling with his reputation as the Lammergeier – it’s interesting to see how much he hates the title is also protective of the reputation he’s built. He doesn’t want it but he doesn’t want it being ridiculed and torn down either. Olva is also interesting in this book, maybe a little more so with how she comes to terms with her role as the ruling Queen of Necrad. No one else is taking care of business, so she may as well, right? Each character goes through a journey of figuring out who they are and what they are willing to do for their side. Yes, let’s use the evil creatures of Necrad – it doesn’t make us evil, we’er just using what we have for the greater good. Are you still good though? It was also really interesting to see how each person handled learning that their religion is what what they initially thought it was. Some refuse to believe it, some begin to actively fight against it, and some continue within their faith because they feel that they still need and love their faith even if it isn’t completely true. I absolutely love the world within this series. It feels classic and fun, but adds in new flavors here and there. It’s so fun and interesting with a pretty soft magic system – I’m sure the magic has rules, but those are only known to Blaise. There are so many cool. creatures such as vampires, elves, dread worms, wizards, wraiths, and more. Each of these creatures have incredibly interesting origins, though, with the Elves being at the root of it all. I think the miasma was interesting and continued to add more of that classic fantasy feeling for some reason. It was just wonderful. Unfortunately, the pacing and plot twists felt too predictable for me and I don’t know if how they were handled by our main characters really made up for it. It was pretty easy to see that the Dark Lord tagged along with Pier into Alf’s nephew – who was honestly so flat and boring that I’ve genuinely forgotten his name. Bor ending up with Spellbreaker was surprising and interesting to see and I wish Alf hand’t left the sword b behind, but I get it. It’s what his character has been leading up to. He is allowed to rest now. I kind of love that he ended up back at home with his sister and just living his simple life. His arc was interesting, I just wanted it to be different, honestly. I wanted the Lammergeier and I got the man behind the name struggling with his role and his title. It was still great to read, though. This was overall a super fun and interesting book Even with the issues I had, I still found it so engaging and quick to read. I definitely want to do back and read more from the author.
Thanks for tuning in and absolutely let me know of any book recommendations you have! And let me know what you thought of the book as well.
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Everyone on This Train is a Suspect – Benjamin Stevenson
Information
- Goodreads: 3,790 Ratings with an average of 4.06 Stars
- Series: Ernest Cunningham, second book
- Age Category: Adult
- Genre: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Humor
Summary
Ernest is struggling with writing his second book. See, this one is meant to be fiction. He actually had to live through the murders for the last one in order to publish Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. Now, he’s been told to write fiction. And this writing trip on a train for Australian Mystery Writers’ Society should be the perfect place to meet other authors, write his book, and potentially even get a blurb from his favorite. We’ve got a collection of authors, ranging from nice -ish to full on assholes and one of them ends up dead. At least Ernest gets information for his second book. Unfortunately, he’s surrounded by people who could either help solve a murder or commit one themselves.
Review
A 4 star rating and every bit of it is earned. If you liked Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, you’ll enjoy this one as well. It’s silly, unrealistic, and so much fun while still being a mystery that’s interesting to see get solved. I love the quirk of having Ernest talk to us, it was something I loved in the first book and I’m glad to see it again. He mentions repeatedly that it’s almost scary how things within the book align with his rules for a sequel and general layout of a mystery/thriller. I could see this being something that is aggravating to some people and it usually is something I adamantly dislike as well. Seeing how unserious it’s taken in the book kind takes that irritation away from me, though, and just became another little quirk of the book. I didn’t actively try to guess who the killer was, but I also don’t think I could have if I was trying. I will say that the only character I really care about is Ernest, and that’s mostly because he’s the narrator and I kind of have to. There aren’t characters that I actively find myself being pulled towards - which isn’t weird because the number of recurring characters is incredibly low. All in all, this was a fantastic time and I can’t wait for books to come out. These are just so fun and interesting and I love how they don’t take themselves too seriously.
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Nomads of the Sea – Coby Zucker
Information
- Goodreads: 18 Ratings, Average of 4.44
- Series: The Fishgut Guard
- Age Category: Adult
- Genre: High Fantasy
Summary
This story follows multiple perspectives: Idalia – a Lyssan healer sent with an army to assist the nomadic loyalists fight their civil war. Sig – a chieftain’s son and part of the loyalists who is coming to realize he may have a hunger for blood. And Bryn – an exiled royal aethermancer who has escaped. Throughout the story, you follow each of these people as they come to terms with new information they learn about themselves, their peoples, and the conflict going on. There is a group of people being colonized, with half of them being against it and half being loyal and exploration of what that could look like, as well as aspects of being loyal only because it seems to be the best guarantee of survival. Each of these people followed in this book become known as the Fishgut Guard.
Review
I really enjoyed this book. It’s quite a chunker and did take me time to get through. It stayed consistently interesting and the three perspectives were different and engaging for me. I rated it a 4 star, but it definitely had good bit of 5 star potential. For the emotional impact, there were moments that I knew I was supposed to feel something, but I couldn’t really get past more than a ‘oh, man. That’s sad.’ No real or true, full reaction, which I found myself wishing I could’ve experienced. Had those emotions been tugged more, they could’ve been devastating scenes. That being said, I still think they were handled with great care and only needed a little additional work in order to have the impact that they were supposed to. The plot is quite slow, but also somehow feels quite quick. It’s a journey, you’re following one person as he conducts his escape and runs from those pursuing him and then the other two are fighting battles on the ocean. There’s a good amount of action to make the slower plot pace not as noticeable and every bit is needed for the overall plot and point. There’s a ton of gore and it’s a great time, but I’ll also say that I wish the writing for the action scenes was a bit more involved. It definitely got great towards the end, but some of them felt like we were watching the battle from afar rather than actually in the battle itself. Sig was my least favorite character and I felt like his dialogue was also the weakest. I just found him to be a bit corny, though he and his people are still interesting. And, honestly, of course he’s corny. His story is essentially a gory coming of age story and I really enjoyed where he ended. Idalia has had her entire world flipped upside down, so I also cannot wait to see what she does from here. I almost have a feeling there might be a thing between her and Sig, but that could completely wrong. Bryn was actually my favorite, though it could also be argued that his plot line was the slowest. He’s the exiled royal aethermancer, though, who has learned that his war crimes were horrendous and struggling with the morality of facing what he did and learning to be better. Does he succeed in that? Whose to say. The dialogue, as mentioned above, just felt a bit clunky or corny at times. That doesn’t mean the prose itself is bad though. It’s not purple in the slightest, from what I recall, but I could actively see what was happening and being described. The cultures within this book felt pretty real and interesting. I would love to learn more about the shapeshifters. The nomads were fascinating in how they had aether, but also were able to evolve to actually sufficiently live on the ocean. I think the nomadic culture was my absolute favorite within this and the concept was so incredibly interesting. It was a ton of fun to see how their day-to-day looked. There’s more about the world that I’m interested in learning, especially when I get to learn what the real ‘big bad’ is. For me, the ending was 5 star material in terms of scenes, world building, characters, and plot line. Unfortunately, it was just a huge book that could’ve potentially had some pages shaved off and gotten a better affect. Regardless, I can’t wait until Coby writes the second. I’m already dying to see where the Fishgut guard goes.
