Title: Cybrosis
Author: P.C. Haring
Publisher: Off the Deep End Multimedia
Release Date: December 16, 2011
Available Formats: Electronic formats including Epub, Kindle/Mobi. Available soon from Amazon, B&N and author’s site.
I’ve listened to a lot of works of podcast fiction. Some are nothing more than a way to pass a 20 minute commute. Some are really decent stories. Then again, there are some that definitely should be turned into printed works and shared with a larger reading audience. I truly believe Cybrosis has been in this latter category and am glad to find it has made the leap into the e-book market.
I was lucky enough to obtain an Advanced Reader Copy of Cybrosis and with the pending release of the book tomorrow, wanted to share my impressions.
So on to the review.
Synopsis: For Agent Ciris, the mission should have been simple: get in, apprehend the target, get out. But when the simple snatch and grab goes horribly awry, the worlds first cyborg finds herself backed into a corner. At odds with her superiors, she becomes embroiled in two conspiracies — one intended to destroy her with a cybernetic virus that will neutralize the technology that keeps her alive, the other intended to keep hidden the untold secrets of her origin. With the walls closing in around her, Ciris becomes a rogue agent with no one to trust and only one objective — unravel the shrouds of secrecy before time runs out.
This cyberpunk action adventure was first released as a free audio podcast in early 2010 and promises to be the first in a long line of titles by P.C. Haring. (from Author’s site)
Setting: The setting of Cybrosis is a future world city. If it is stated, I don’t remember. It could easily be Chicago or New York. Much of the story takes place within a government facility. Each setting in Cybrosis, whether it is running down criminals in a packed urban environment or dining in a secluded manor, rings true.
Plot: In Cybrosis, Mr. Haring creates a world just entering a cybronic age. The economics of controlling this research, as well as the technology capable or allowing humans to live normal lives after the loss of a portion of their body has far reaching ramifications. Not everyone would use this technology for the good of mankind however, and Agent Ciris must fight the fight of her second life against a foe thats abilities are unknown and agenda might be larger than anyone realizes.
Characters: I loved the characters in Cybrosis. All the main characters left a lasting impression on me and I think part of the strength of Mr. Haring’s writing is his ability to create characters that resonate with the reader. They’re not perfect. They make mistakes. They prove, that even if they’re mostly machine, they’re still human.
Odin’s recommendation: Cybrosis is essentially the same story in print that it was in podcast form. Very little was changed and the book itself comes in at a bit under 100,000 words. It is an easy read that sweeps the reader from subplot to subplot with ease and keeps the level of breathless anticipation up. Though it is violent, it doesn’t have the dark feel of many futuristic cyberpunk stories. There is an element of hope where many stories in this genre prefer to dwell on the despair that dystopian society has brought upon mankind. I prefer Mr. Haring’s vision, and I think you will too.
Title: Harmonics – Rise of the Magician
Author: Collin Earl and Chris Snelgrove
Genre: Science Fiction
Released: 7 September 2011 – 25 September 2011
Located: Podiobooks, iTunes
Formats Available: podcast and print
Rating: R for violence and adult language
A while back I reviewed House of Grey by Colon Earl. As much as I liked it, I couldn’t recommend it, because I felt it didn’t end. So, when I saw that Mr. Earl had completed a new story, this time with co-author Chris Snelgrove, I admit I was a bit elated, but also a bit cautious. Which emotion did I retain at the end?
On to the review.
Synopsis: They built what could not be constructed. A weapon lightyears ahead of its time. A weapon so superior it defied the known laws of physics.
Seven years ago, they were on the verge of unleashing its power. Then… they lost it.
Now they are on a desperate hunt to reclaim what they stole.
Following the trail of unexplainable deaths, they frantically search for what may become their ultimate demise.
But what if the project doesn’t want to be reclaimed?
Join their hunt wading through political power-plays, corporate corruption, domestic terrorism, and the greatest enigma of their time- the infamous assassin known only as: The Magician. (Stolen from Podiobooks.com)
Production: With the sole exception of the exception of the opening music being dramatically louder than the rest of the content, the production of Harmonics is very solid. I don’t recall hearing more than one or two repeated lines in the entire story and all other audio was within appropriate levels.
Grade: B+
Cast: Harmonics was read by Chris Snelgrove. He once again does a commendable job of voice inflection and personalization of each voice. If you choose to listen, you’ll have very little trouble differentiating the characters.
Grade: A-
Story: After having listened, I have to say the synopsis is one of the poorest I’ve read in setting up the story for the listener. In reality, the majority of the episodes follows the story of a teenager, Samantha, who finds a small metal box and has her life changed in dramatic fashion.
Grade: B
Verdict: I had several problems with Harmonics. The first, I alluded to above. Samantha is, for all intents and purposes, the driving character in this story. However, her character is enough of an enigma, that although we’re told she’s gone through dramatic changes during the course of the story, we’d likely be unaware of these facts if the authors had t literally pointed them out to us. Samantha also, although I can’t explain exactly how, didn’t end up fitting the character profile I felt the authors had initially developed for her which left me a bit confused in my reactions towards her.
Harmonics is also billed as the worlds first audio manga. To be honest, it didn’t feel any different than any other future sci fi adventure I’ve heard. This isn’t a bad thing, I’m just unsure, even with the description in the first ep, of how an audio manga should have been different.
Finally, there’s the ending. Harmonics is another story built around the idea of seasons. I don’t have a problem with stories doing this, though I prefer a more traditional “book one” title. Regardless, call it a book or a season or whatever you want, I feel like after having listened to 19 episodes there should have been some elements of the story tied up before you end the first season. As I complained with House of Grey the story didn’t set a cliffhanger so much as it just quit in the middle of the story. No plot threads were brought to a logical conclusion. No explanations were given about what’s really going on. On the contrary, I was left wondering why the authors decided to end the first volume at the point where they did. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely does cliffhanger you, it just does so without any carrots that finishing a season usually provides.
So, do I recommend Harmonics? After much consideration, yes. I do. I enjoyed the story up to the part where it quit very much. Mr. Earl and Mr. Snelgrove make a very effective storytelling team. However, I also remind the listener there are precious few answers in this first season and after 19 episodes you might be questioning what is really the true synopsis for the story you’ve just heard.
Disclosure: I do follow Mr. Earl on twitter. I haven’t tweeted with him more than a handful of times and nothing was offered or accepted in return for this review.
Title: Hearts of Smoke & Steam (Society of Steam Book 2)
Author: Andrew Mayer
Publisher: Pyr Books
Release Date: November 22, 2011
Available: Kindle, trade paper from all major resellers
After having reviewed Blackdog by K.V. Johansen, I was eager to check out a couple more books in Pyr’s catalog. For (probably) obvious reasons, I am very interested in Wolfsangel by M.D. Lachlan. However, that title hasn’t arrived in my mailbox yet, and I happened to have a copy of Hearts of Smoke and Steam at hand..
So on to the review.
Synopsis: Sir Dennis Darby has been murdered, the Automaton has been destroyed, and Sarah Stanton has turned her back on a life of privilege and comfort to try and find her way in the unforgiving streets of New York. But Lord Eschaton, the villain behind all these events, isn’t finished with her yet. His plans to bring his apocalyptic vision of the future to the world are moving forward, but to complete his scheme he needs the clockwork heart that Sarah still holds.
But she has her own plans for the Automaton’s clockwork heart—Sarah is trying to rebuild her mechanical friend, and when she is attacked by the Children of Eschaton, the man who comes to her rescue may be the one to make her dreams come true. Emelio Armando is a genius inventor who had hoped to leave his troubles behind when he and his sister left Italy for a life of anonymity in the New World. Now he finds himself falling in love with the fallen society girl, but he is rapidly discovering just how powerful the forces of villainy aligned against her are, and that fulfilling her desires means opening the door to a world of danger that could destroy everything he has built.
The Society of Steam takes place in a Victorian New York powered by the discovery of Fortified Steam, a substance that allows ordinary men to wield extraordinary abilities and grants powers that can corrupt gentlemen of great moral strength. The secret behind this amazing substance is something that wicked brutes will gladly kill for, and one that Sarah must try and protect, no matter what the cost.
Setting: Hearts of Smoke and Steam is set in New York City at the turn of the 20th century (if an exact date was given, I don’t recall). The city has been redefined in a steampunk motif, and let me say, the outfit Mr. Mayer tailored for the big apple fits like a glove. It was very easy for me to slip into this alternate version of NYC, and see it through the steampunk goggles. The city itself is a very minor character and hasn’t been given a complete makeover, but the principle settings rang true and I very much enjoyed this vision.
Plot: Mr. Mayer wrote Hearts of Smoke and Steam as a sequel to The Falling Machine. To my chagrin, and against my better judgement, I read Hearts without ever having read Machine. However, Hearts of Smoke and Steam easily envelopes even a new reader with an easy to understand plot. The Paragons, a group of steam powered superheroes, has been decimated and is in the process of rebuilding. One of the most powerful of the Paragons sole offspring is on her own and working towards having the heart of the Automaton, a clockwork man, rebuilt.
Characters: With any sequel, there is a likely assumption that you should all ready know the characters. This is a fair assumption. However, even with starting in the middle, Mr. Mayer’s characters were easy to get to know. Some I liked, some I found annoying. However, the ones that were annoying, were crafted to be so. Mr. Mayer paints with a full palette and no two characters are remotely similar.
Odin’s recommendation: There were many things I liked about Hearts of Smoke and Steam and a few I didn’t.
The bad: Mr. Mayer has a tendency to repeat scenes from different characters point of view. Sometimes, entire scenes. I don’t need this and actually found it a bit confusing at times.
Also, there is one character in the book that is Italian. He speaks Italian occasionally. That’s a good thing. However, I wasn’t able to decipher from context clues what he was saying. That made following those passages a bit difficult.
The good: In Hearts of Smoke and Steam Mr. Mayer has firmly captured my interest. I will immediately be purchasing the original story in the series and will also purchase book three as soon as it is published. Mr. Mayer, I suspect, has read a good amount of superhero fiction. That comes through in this book, but it is far from being a comic. Hearts of Smoke and Steam feels like a dream of a reality that should have existed. There is much adventure and treachery in these pages, and enough fortified steam to keep the pages blurring by.
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Title: Kwaide
Author: Gillian Andrews
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Released: 17 November 2011
Located: iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: podcast only
Rating: PG for violence
As I began my weekly browsing a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Gillian Andrews, author of the previously reviewed (and Parsec Nominated) Valhai had completed the second in the series of young adult science fiction stories. Having enjoyed Valhai, I was eager to see where the second book in the series took these characters.
So, on to the review.
Synopsis: The characters from Valhai are back in trouble again – bright, funny, on the watch for backswampers – and always unforgettable.
Six and Diva fence with each other – and seriously irritate the Elders on Kwaide.
Grace finds out who is on her side – and who isn’t.
And even Arcan’s megabrain can’t predict how far the Sellites will go …
Production: Having previously written and produced a Parsec nominated podcast novel, I was expecting to hear growth in the production of this second story by Ms. Andrews. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The things I liked about Valhai are still present in Kwaide. Ms. Andrews voice is still pleasant and the overall sound of the podcast is still quite easy to listen to. However, the things that were annoying in Valhai became more apparent in the production of Kwaide. Ms. Andrews, in her editing, missed multiple repeated lines. This happened in almost every episode. There are also absurdly long silences during some episodes and this phenomena becomes more regular in later eps. Finally, while I again liked the music Ms. Andrews created for Kwaide, I again can’t say that I felt it fit the feeling of the podcast. (This is of course completely subjective, and I’ve even heard the same of the theme I choose to use in my own podcasted reviews.)
Grade: B-/C+
Cast: Ms. Andrews provides a self read once again as she voices the characters she has created. While this isn’t a small cast, it isn’t huge either and truthfully consists of four basic main characters. In this book, one of those characters takes more of a supporting role leaving Ms. Andrews to “only” regularly voice three characters. She does this well. While Ms. Andrew’s doesn’t provide much in the way of unique voices, her reading is well done and quite pleasant to listen to.
Grade: B+
Story: Kwaide takes the next step in the story of Valhai’s heroes. Six, Diva and Grace reemerge a bit older and try to become a bit wiser. As I previously mentioned, it was my desire to see these character’s further develop that had me readily subscribe to this second book. There are several plot points developed in this book, but the main storyline follows our intrepid heroes as they travel back to Kwaide. The initial goal is to rescue Six’s second sister, and later develops into creating and supporting a revolt of the repressed (“Help, I’m being repressed!”) underclass of the planet.
Grade: C
Verdict: I will always remember going to see Back to the Future 2 in the theater. I had rarely been so disappointed in a movie. I felt, at the time, that the only reason the filmmakers decided to make that particular story was in order to cash in on characters from the original story that so many people enjoyed. If that had been the end of it, there wouldn’t be much to tell. Filmakers do that all the time. (Kingdom of the Crystal Suck anyone?) However, what made this movie different was not this movie at all. It was the way it set up the third. At the time, I had no idea how the third movie would change my mind about the second movie, because In my opinion, the reason for the second movie was to set up that third movie.
I’ve said all that to say this: I have the same feeling with this story. Once the third in the series comes out I think I’ll probably end up appreciating the second more.
This story had a lot going on in it. It had a multiple threads that made me wonder what the real thrust of the story was. There is obviously more to the story, though I have no idea how many more books are in the series. If the pattern continues, each book will take the name of the planet where the main story will take place. I will admit that one of the devices used in the original story, (namely the banter/bickering between two of the main characters) became a bit tiresome to me in this second story in the series.
So, do I recommend it? Yes. There is still precious little young adult science fiction available, and Ms. Andrews continues to tell a good story. I hope I am correct that the stories will continue to build and that some of the devices used in this story were necessary for elements in the third.
Disclaimer: I’ve still never met Ms. Andrews or conversed with her in any manner.
Title: 65 Below
Author: Basil Sands
Genre: Military Action
Released: 12 March 2008 – 4 April 2008
Located: iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: podcast and ebook
Rating: R for violence
Lately, I’ve been seeking out new authors. It isn’t because I’m tired of my old authors, it is simply because I am caught up on most of the podiobooks written by authors I have known for any amount of time. I regularly scour Podiobooks.com story synopsis looking for something that will catch my attention. And that is exactly what 65 Below by Basil Sands did.
So, on to the review.
Synopsis: After twenty years hunting terrorists under orders to “render harmless”, USMC Master Sergeant Marcus Orlando Johnson, Mojo to his friends, settles into a quiet rural retirement on his childhood home in the Alaskan backwoods. But the idyllic retirement is shattered when Marcus comes across soldiers of America’s staunchest enemy who are about to unleash a nightmarish biological weapon on the world from the most unexpected of places.
With the help of his ex-fiancee, the beautiful Korean born State Trooper Lonnie Wyatt, and the chance reunion of his old special operations buddy Harley Wasner, they race to stop a potentially devastating terrorist attack with worldwide implications but even nature is against them as the temperatures plummet to 65 below.(Stolen from the Author’s site.. if there is a longer synopsis somewhere, I couldn’t find it.)
Production: Rarely do I give A’s for production. Why? Simply because so few podcasts are consistently able to maintain a high level of all the production elements they choose to use. I don’t say this as biting criticism. As I’ve said before, I grade myself a C in production (and use myself as the rule to which all others are measured) in the podcast version of these reviews. It is the simple truth as I hear it. Some podcasts are “mostly” superior with an ep or two with issues. Some are the reverse with only an occasional superior ep. I am happy to say that I truly have nothing negative to say about the production of 65 Below. This podcast is crystal clear and all the production elements (consisting mainly of a well told story) are superb. There is very little “hiss” and absolutely no environmental noises. Truly, a great sound.
Grade: A
Cast: I’ve never met Basil Sands. I don’t think I’d even heard his name before listening to 65 Below. However, I won’t forget his name in the future, and if I were to ever need voices for a podcast, I would be calling Mr. Sands. Simply stated, I’ve never heard self read done quite this well before. While most of the voices used are easily able to be identified as Mr. Sands, they are varied enough to make you wonder if they were electronically manipulated. However, I don’t believe they were simply because they are too perfect. Even the female voices, included one of a 12 year old girl, seemed to be relatively easy for Mr. Sands to nail. I simply have never heard a self read done this well.
Grade: the rare A+
Story: 65 Below will appeal to those amongst us that enjoy Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum or W.E.B. Griffin have found an author to listen to in Basil Sands. He nails the military genre and creates a compelling story without being too pedantic.
Grade: A
Verdict: I greatly enjoyed this story and will be looking forward to following up on more of Mr. Sands’ stories. About the only thing about 65 Below that I didn’t enjoy was the chapters alternating between the current time stream and a set of flashbacks that are used to set up a thread in the current story line. I enjoyed both story lines equally, I just would have preferred each to have been told sequentially.
Disclaimer: I’ve never met or tweeted with Mr. Sands but after listening to this podcast, I did a bit of research and discovered he’s a broadcaster by trade and nails the setting because he does indeed live in Alaska.
Title: Hellwatch
Author: Larime Taylor
Publisher: Self Published I believe
Release Date: Fall 2011
Available: Kindle, Back My Book, Author’s Site (free in return for feedback); Also available in podcast form at Podiobooks.com
When I put out the call for material to be reviewed, one of the takers was Mr. Larime Taylor. He queried me via email and explained that his book (and series) was modeled after a network television series and that he would like me to read his “pilot episode”. I told him to send it over, he did, and here are my thoughts.
So on to the review.
Synopsis:
A young disabled woman in a wheelchair protects an unaware world from demons and monsters.
Ester Vasquez, born with arthrogryposis, hunts the monsters and demons that hide from the unsuspecting masses along with her 6’8, 360lbs Samoan care provider, Sammy. In episode one – ‘Pilot’ – Ester and Sammy travel just over the Mexican border from their home in Arizona to help a little boy possessed by a demon, but what awaits them when they return home is far worse than anything they’ve ever faced. It will take all of Ester’s brains and Sammy’s brawn to repel an attack that threatens not just years of hard work, but their lives as well.
Hellwatch is planned to be an ongoing serial fiction series told in 9 monthly ‘episode’ novellas per ‘season’. This is the pilot episode, and if well received, 8 more will follow each month starting in January 2012.
Setting: With the side jaunt in chapter 1 to Mexico, the majority of the story takes place in the compound of the main character. This is her home and center of her study into the occult sciences. I live in Southern Texas myself and am somewhat familiar with the border areas Mr. Taylor describes in Hellwatch, and I can verify that they are accurately portrayed. This might seem inconsequential to most, but to those of us that are familiar with these kind of areas, if it hadn’t been accurate, it would have ruined any credibility the story would have had. Luckily, this was not the case.
Plot: Hellwatch is simply a story of an exorcist that eschews the church and believes God to either have left humans on their own, or perhaps something worse. This is not Ghostbusters the series or anything remotely silly. It is a horror story involving demons at heart. And one particular Lord of Hell has taken a personal interest in our heroine.
Characters: Ester and Sammy (the two main characters on the side of “good”) though rather 2 dimensional in many ways show signs of fleshing out and becoming fully realized as complete characters. The bad guys are truly evil, but in a story full of demons I wouldn’t expect anything else. It will be interesting to see how all of these characters progress beyond the pilot.
Odin’s recommendation: Patterning itself off of a tv pilot makes Hellwatch a short book. A novella. As many pilot eps, this first story in the Hellwatch series ends rather abruptly and leaves many gaps in the story that it is hard to gauge whether they are intentional or not. However, if the pilot is good, you are interested to see how these questions will be answered and get excited about the series. In this regard, Hellwatch does an excellent job.
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Title: Asunder
Author: John Mierau
Genre: Science Fiction
Released: 6 September 2011 – 10 November 2011
Located: iTunes, Authors Site
Formats Available: podcast and ebook
Rating: R for violence
Mr. Mierau has turned into a drug I just can’t quit. With Asunder, Mr. Mierau has joined the rarified status of having been reviewed three times on this blog. Don’t get me wrong, I like John, but there are no free reviews here. In fact, I had two other podcasts waiting to be reviewed when I started listening to Asunder. They will continue to wait a bit longer as this review would not be put off.
So, on to the review.
Synopsis: Asunder is the first in a series after a war between worlds. The invaders are gone & new Orders clash as humanity rises from the ashes…but are the aliens gone for good? (Stolen from the Author’s site.. if there is a longer synopsis somewhere, I couldn’t find it.)
Production: With Asunder, Mr. Mierau has surprisingly shown growth as a podcast producer. This is really only surprising when you consider how good his podcasts all ready sounded. It is my belief that Asunder has the cleanest production of the lot and is quite impressive. There is only one issue I have with Mr. Mierau’s production at this point. And it really has nothing to do with Asunder itself. Mr. Mierau employs what I refer to as an überfeed. This, by my definition, is a single feed that contains all of his content. Many people might like this. With an author and podcaster like Mr. Mierau, I understand. However, this is my issue (and yes, this may sound a bit hypocritical considering what I do). I don’t have time to listen to much except for podiofiction these days. I have to be very careful about which interviews and shows I allow on my feed in order to complete the podcasts in time to get these reviews out. I’m not complaining. I choose to do this. However, when a podcaster utilizes an überfeed, I end up getting a lot of content I’d rather not. Yes, I can simply delete it, and I often do, however, I would encourage authors to go ahead and create a separate feed as well if they have the time. I know I’d appreciate it, and I can’t believe I would be the only one.
Grade: A-
Cast: There are few podcasters out there that do an action story self read as good as Mr. Mierau. His timing and delivery are spot on. I love listening for his strange Canadian pronunciations (just kidding) and really enjoy the rhythm he creates in his delivery (not kidding at all).
Grade: the rare A+
Story: I have no idea why someone didn’t think about doing this before. Mr. Mierau has taken the classic story, The War of the Worlds and extrapolated it out to its logical next events. With the wealth of alien technology littering the planet, surely someone is going to try to take advantage of it.
Mr. Mierau continues with the story taking place in the 1890′s. I find the incongruous effect of having a story written in an age gone by with futuristic weapons and technology to be quite interesting.
Grade: A
Verdict: If you liked The War of the Worlds (the book, not one of the many movies), I heartily suggest you give Asunder the listen it deservers. If you have never read The War of the Worlds, I still believe you could jump right into this book with little consequence. Mr. Mierau’s characters are well done and it is easy to sympathize with them. Listen. You’ll be glad you did. At least.. until the final scene. Remember, this is the first in a series. You’ve been warned.
Disclaimer: Mr. Mierau is an online friend. I’ve never met him, but I respect his writing and enjoy it greatly. We’ve done favors for each other on occasion, though nothing that included the elicit trading of Norwegian Pygmy Hedgehogs. Really. I swear. This review, however, is not a favor and was neither asked for nor delivered for remuneration of any type.
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Two years ago something happened. Something that, while miniscule in the over all theme of things, changed my life. The View from Valhalla podcast review blog was born. Although I had been toying at blogging prior to that, it wasn’t until November 15, 2009 that I began reviewing works of podiofiction.
As most of you probably know, that first review was for Tee Morris’ Billibub Baddings and the Singing Sword. That was 107 reviews ago. Since that fateful day 2 years ago, I have been blessed to meet many people of similar interest due to the reviews. I have been lucky in that I have been able to hit 104 consecutive Monday’s during that time. A feat of which I am more than a little bit surprised considering my topsy turvy life.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of you that occasionally takes the time to stop by and read a review for doing so. I have no background as a critic and I sincerely believe many (if not most) of you would probably do a better job than I. I’m just a guy that shares what he likes and occasionally what he doesn’t, and it works for me.
Thanks for everything folks, and if you’d like to comment, feel free… as always, comments are most welcome.
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Title: Serve it Cold
Author: Ronnie Blackwell
Genre: Mystery
Released: 24 May 2007 – 21 December 2007
Located: iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: podcast only I believe
Rating: R for language, violence, adult situations and drug use
Serve it Cold has been on my reading list for quite some time. How long? I don’t’ really know. Who recommended it? I haven’t a clue. Why did it take me so long to listen? Well, my preference on most days is speculative fiction of one type or another. Mostly fantasy (in all of its many incarnations) and science fiction. Occasionally though, I enjoy a good mystery, adventure, military action or other type of non spec fic work. I have to be in the right mood for these though, and even when I am, then I quite often have a favorite author or series, such as Dan Sawyer’s Clarke Lantham series, that I choose to fill my time with. So, when I finally got around to listening to Serve it Cold much of the original reasons that I had placed it in my queue had slipped my mind.
So, on to the review.
Synopsis: Detective Jonny C. Speed’s life can’t get much better. He’s booked into the French Quarter’s most luxurious guesthouse, and his day job as convenience store manager is 104 miles behind him in Catherine, Mississippi. He’s already taken care of one pro-bono missing persons job since he’s been in New Orleans, and his paying client’s cheating wife is a beautiful and very accommodating exhibitionist. Are things too good to be true? Of course they are. Jonny starts to worry when his client turns up dead, but when the suspects start dropping, Jonny and his crack team of beauty queens, recovering addicts, professional athletes, computer hackers, and pampered dogs find themselves caught in a twisted scheme of revenge that threatens to turn the town of Catherine inside out. (stolen from podiobooks.com)
Production: Dancing Cat Studios is credited with the production of this book. I love a story that introduces me to new experiences outside of the simply the story itself. Serve it Cold had some really, really terrific music in it. The theme was sung by Michelle Malone. After having located some of her music on iTunes, I can say that I’m now a fan; and I owe that to Serve it Cold. The story is told as a full cast audiobook with equal parts narration and dialogue. All voices are at appropriate levels and sound very good. There is a pretty constant sound effects layer that always enhances, and never disrupts, the story. There are few stories I’ve listened to that exude the slick production qualities that Serve it Cold does. I have no idea who Dancing Cat Studios is, (nor did I bother to google it) but this cat has some serious moves!
One final production note. Long time readers of this blog know full well the disdain I hold for “The story so far”. Well, this one got me. It got me good. I was listening to episode 7 and asking myself why each episode since ep 2 had started with a strange non-character phone call to another non-character. All they did was gossip about everything that had all ready happened. Yeah. I’m slow. I admit it. Guys, if you’re going to do a “The story so far”, do it like Tee Morris did with Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword, or as it is done here. Truly, while still not needed, at least I didn’t find myself seething during the retelling of the previous episodes cognizant points.
Grade: A+
Cast: The cast for this story is rather large. I admit I’ve never heard of most of them with the exception of Paul Fischer (whom is credited with a small role). However, this truly could be because I simply haven’t heard the “right” stories, because this merry band of voice actors knows how to get into character and have a bit of fun with a story. I enjoyed each voice and never really found myself distracted by a character that didn’t seem to fit. Kudos to all voices involved.
Grade: A
Story: Serve it Cold is a pretty straightforward mystery. An unusual event happens in the first ep which turns out to be tied into a case that the lead character is drug into along the way. The story moves back and forth between a “small” city (hey, I grew up in a town of less than 5,000) in Mississippi and New Orleans. There are the prerequisite number of larger than life supporting characters and the obligatory hidden backstory that so many mysteries seem to carry.
Grade: C
Verdict: I enjoyed listening to Serve it Cold simply because of the production. I usually put up with production being subpar when the story is good. I rarely put up with a mediocre story because it is “fun to listen to”. Serve it Cold was one of these for me. Mr. Blackwell wrote a story that had, to me, a more interesting back story than the one he wrote. I looked, on three occasions no less, to verify that this was not the second or third book in a series. If it is, I never found that information. Don’t get me wrong, this story does stand on its own, but the listener still might feel (I know I did) that some of the characters mentioned are much more developed than a non seen character usually is.
I also had issues with one of the larger plot points in the story. *Spoiler alert: At the beginning of the story a rather large amount of an unusually potent strain of marijuana is introduced into the storyline. Throughout the story we follow this drug around Mississippi and New Orleans. Before the end of the story however, it seems that everyone loses interest in where it came from, why it happened to make its way to small city Mississippi and any repercussions any characters might have had because of it. The epilogue also felt a bit forced to me, trying to force the listener to accept rather than just allowing us along for the ride. This is really too bad, because although the drug and adult content was more than I needed, Serve it Cold started with an interesting concept that deserved a better implementation. I believe that a good editor could help Mr. Blackwell take this story, which I felt was no more than average, and help him turn it into a very good mystery novel.
Disclaimer: I do not follow Ronnie Blackwell on Twitter. I do not recognize or follow any of the voice talent either, with the exception of Mr. Paul Fischer. I was not asked to provide a review of this novel and received nothing in return.
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Title: Blackdog
Author: K.V. Johansen
Publisher: Pyr Books
Release Date: September 2011
Available: Kindle, Nook, all print from all major resellers
Late in September of this year, I had the pleasure to attend FenCon in Dallas, TX. The con itself was a great time. One of the best sessions I attended was an overview of Pyr Books catalog hosted by their Hugo Award winning editor, Lou Anders. Mr. Anders quickly gave an elevator pitch for many of the books Pyr currently had in its pipeline to be released as well as a few currently in production. One of the ones currently on bookshelves nationwide was Blackdog by K.V. Johansen. When I got home, I went to my local B&N and hit the shelves. There was Blackdog staring back at me.
So on to the review.
Synopsis: Long ago, in the days of the first kings in the north, there were seven devils…
And long ago, in the days of the first kings in the north, the seven devils, who had deceived and possessed seven of the greatest wizards of the world, were defeated and bound with the help of the Old Great Gods…
And perhaps some of the devils are free in the world, and perhaps some are working to free themselves still…
In a land where gods walk on the hills and goddesses rise from river, lake, and spring, the caravan-guard Holla-Sayan, escaping the bloody conquest of a lakeside town, stops to help an abandoned child and a dying dog. The girl, though, is the incarnation of Attalissa, goddess of Lissavakail, and the dog a shape-changing guardian spirit whose origins have been forgotten. Possessed and nearly driven mad by the Blackdog, Holla-Sayan flees to the desert road, taking the powerless avatar with him.
Necromancy, treachery, massacres, rebellions, and gods dead or lost or mad follow hard on their heels. But it is Attalissa herself who may be the Blackdog’s—and Holla-Sayan’s—doom.
Setting: In physical features, Blackdog takes place in a world much like our own. Each physical region is accompanied by its own God. The land Ms. Johansen creates in Blackdog is in many ways pivotal to the story and she crafts a landscape that becomes vivid as the reader progresses through this fairly large novel.
Plot: Blackdog is a multilayered story with all threads built around the central character of the Blackdog and his goddess mistress. Each thread is intelligently written and allows the reader to become a sympathetic co-traveller. The plot is complex and a bit different from each characters point of view. Some just want to survive and be happy. Others have agendas that wou.d make a megalomaniac look boring in comparison.
Characters: Naturally, some characters will appeal to you more than others. My personal favorite was the title character, the Blackdog. The Blackdog is enlisted to help the goddess completely without his acquiescence. He remains a reluctant guardian of the goddess while becoming increasingly fond of the child incarnation that he rescued on the side of the road. This kind of complex characterization was well done throughout the book and I expect many readers will become enamoured with one or more characters.
Odin’s recommendation: I like large books when the story is well told. The better the story, the longer I want the book to be. Blackdog was almost 600 pages long. It was much too short.
Title: Cybrosis
