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Ross (3284 KP) rated The Unspoken Name in Books

Mar 2, 2020  
The Unspoken Name
The Unspoken Name
A K Larkwood | 2020 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting story in an unusual world
The Unspoken Name is a fantasy story in one of the most unusual settings I have come across. The world is divided into a number of different "worlds", each reached through portals. Travel between worlds requires some form of floating ship to travel through the Maze, a sort of empty dimension between worlds. And within those worlds, we have two main races (I think!), the more insular, religious sect of orcs (far more civilised than your standard orc) and the "more human" race (I picture them as human but there was something about their ears that kept being mentioned that I ended up picturing them like Thundercats!).
Csorwe, an "orc", was chosen at birth to be sacrificed to the Unspoken One on her 14th birthday, something she has come to terms with, and other than the occasional time when she is possessed by the God in order to give people visions of the future, this is her lot in life. Until that fateful day comes when she is persuaded to leave what was to become her tomb and instead to become an assistant to the powerful magician Sethannai. Meanwhile, Shuthmili is a young trainee magician looking for historical relics while waiting to be summoned to take her place in one of a number of "hive minds" and serve her country. The characters cross paths searching for the Reliquary of an infamous magician.


So much of this world was left to the reader to work out for themselves. While I am keen to visualise things for myself, here there was a little too much left to imagination. The world felt confusing at time, undefined at others, and it did impact my sense of immersion and enjoyment of the book.


The story starts strongly, with some excellent passages, followed by massive jumps in time on journeys and through the world. This was a relief for me, having been burned by a number of books that described every single step, meal and encounter ad nauseam. It really felt like the author had a desire to tell an epic story but without the need for detailed narrative, a welcome mindset.


However, this trailed off after the first third, and the pace grinded to a crawl, with every interaction taking long rambling chapters to happen.


The characters in the story are all well defined and the reader finds themselves liking/loathing them as required.


The story for me was a little all over the place. We had one overarching story but a number of mini stories in order to achieve that and I really did find myself struggling to remember who was where, doing what and why. While I did enjoy the read, the pacing issues and unclear missions hit me hard.
  
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Lindsay (1717 KP) rated Corporate Citizen (Roma Series Book Five) in Books

Feb 8, 2018 (Updated Apr 9, 2019)  
Corporate Citizen (Roma Series Book Five)
Corporate Citizen (Roma Series Book Five)
Gabriel Valjan | 2016 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
We get brought back to Boston. Boston got two murders that bring Binca and gang with her all but Dante. What could be up with the US Military and now another mafia member named Peterson?

We meet up with Nick Adams and some named Magician. Who is he? Loki help Binca and gang and what do they want with a drug that named Barney? We run into the mastermind LB. Who does kill LB? How is Farese involved? What will ever happen to Farese? You will need to read to find out.

Gabriel Valjan bring you once again though intense investigation. What will happen to the group and Binca? Why all the murders and what does Farese want. There a mystery of men that seem to disappear along with one or two people, Nick help Alex and Erica. What the mystery with the pill and PTSD?
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated The Ambitious Card (An Eli Marks Mystery, #1) in Books

Mar 9, 2018  
TA
The Ambitious Card (An Eli Marks Mystery, #1)
John Gaspard | 2013
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Eli Marks is filling in for his uncle on a TV show. His job is to watch a psychic and then debunk his act. Eli recognizes several of the man’s tricks as variations on magic and says so. What he doesn’t expect is to find himself the chief suspect in the man’s murder the next morning. Can he conjure up the real killer?

I liked the idea of a magician as the sleuth, however, I felt the magic overwhelmed the mystery. That’s a shame because the mystery was very good and kept me confused until the end. Likewise, the characters were interesting. Hopefully, the mystery/magic mix will be better balanced as the series goes forward.

NOTE: I was given a copy of the audio version of this book. My thoughts are my own.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-review-ambitious-card-by-john.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated The Miser's Dream (An Eli Marks Mystery #3) in Books

Mar 9, 2018  
TM
The Miser's Dream (An Eli Marks Mystery #3)
John Gaspard | 2015
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
When Eli Marks looks into the projection booth of the theater next door late one night, the last thing he expects to see if the projectionist dead on the floor of the locked booth. Against his will, he finds himself involved in the case and interviewing the eccentric suspects. But which of them is a killer? And how did they pull off the crime?

This is a wonderful mystery with the added locked room element. I had no clue where the book was going, but I couldn’t believe I didn’t figure it out when the clues and killer were presented at the end. The eccentric cast of suspects are fun, and the series regulars are great as always. Eli’s job as a magician is a great hook that makes this series stand out from the others.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/05/book-review-misers-dream-by-john.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.