Conjugal Rites by Paul Magrs (review by Steve Aryan)

This is the third outing for the dynamic duo of old biddies, Brenda and Effie, where they battle the supernatural in Whitby, and then go for a nice cup of tea and a slice of walnut cake in the local cafe. This time around the supernatural menace is something much closer to home and a lot more personal for Brenda. Book 2 ended on a bit of a cliffhanger when Brenda received a note from her betrothed, the person for who she was originally created in the literal sense. Her Frank is coming back and he wants them to be together forever and won't take no for an answer. But Brenda is a modern woman and after many years of moving from place to place she has finally found a place she can call home. She doesn’t want to move on but she doesn’t think he is just going to go away because she asks him nicely.

As if that wasn't enough to worry about the town seems to be turning against Brenda and other locals because of a new late night radio show run by the creepy Mr Danby. Gossip and rumours are abound and the ever glitzy and sparkly Christmas Hotel and its humongous evil owner, Mrs Claus, seems to be the nexus of all the goings on. A convention of retired and wrinkly superheroes in costume with rubbish powers adds even more fuel to the fire and by this point I was just waiting for someone to strike a match. The result was very colourful as anticipated, but the story went in a very different direction to the one I expected which was a good thing, as I don’t like it when I can predict what will happen next.

This novel was different to the previous two books in a number of ways. Firstly the novel is more traditional in that it is set around one story, whereas the previous books were split into different sections or connected novellas and each had its own mystery. That isn’t a complaint at all as there is a lot of to sink your teeth into with this book and I’ve been waiting for Frank to turn up at some point ever since I found out who Brenda really is.

The story is also more fantastical than the others. It dips into it and then just throws the characters into it head first. The supernatural and bizarre has always been present and quite often its written as quite tongue in cheek. Brenda and Effie both have a certain amount of experience with it, but they’re also quite dismissive. They have a duty, but they don’t like any shenanigans spoiling the peace and quiet of their lives and their schedules. They want to deal with it as quickly and quietly as possible, without attracting undue attention to themselves, so life can go back to normal again.

Whereas the previous books were dotted with nice Easter Eggs from literature and history, Conjugal Rites leans more heavily on what has been set up before in the series. There are still a few little nods here and there, but it felt to me like a very different sort of book. I think this story was one that had to happen at some point, and without spoiling anything, I’m glad to say I didn’t see the end coming. This isn’t the last book in the series but it’s clear from this point forward the foundations of the series have shifted a bit. Effie previously had a man-friend and that nearly ended in disaster and it upset her friendship with Brenda for a time. This time it’s Brenda’s turn to rock the boat and I have a feeling both of their beaus will end up coming between them.

Overall this was a funny, dark, silly, giddy and laugh out loud book. It’s incredibly rare that I ever laugh out loud while reading, but Paul Magrs does it at least once every book in this series. A wonderful, light hearted and very enjoyable read.

The Office of Lost and Found by Vincent Holland-Keen

Thomas Locke can find anything. You know the hurricane that hit a while back? Word is he found the butterfly that started it. So, when a desperate Veronica Drysdale hires Locke to find her missing husband, it makes perfect sense.

Except the world of Thomas Locke doesn't make sense. It puts monsters under the bed, makes stars fall from the sky and leads little children to worship the marvels of road-works.

This world also hides from Veronica a past far darker and stranger than she could ever have imagined. To learn the truth, Veronica is going to have to lose everything.

And that's where Locke’s shadowy business partner Lafarge comes in…

I think I can count on one hand the times I've been unable to finish reading a book. It happens incredibly rarely, since I'm generally stubborn enough to push through and find out what happens at the end. Unfortunately, The Office of Lost and Found by Vincent Holland-Keen is one of those rare books.

I couldn't complete this not because of the premise (which was kooky and interesting) and not because of the writing (which tended towards being pretty good). The reason I couldn't finish The Office of Lost and Found is because I read up to 30% completed on my Kindle - a fair proportion of the book - and did not have a single clue what was happening. Not one clue. I notice other reviewers have said that it is a confusing read and you need to stick with it, but I simply couldn't keep details straight in my head.

I think part of the problem with this is the structure of the novel - it jumps back and forth, it seems to contain little short stories within the overall arc of the novel, it plays around with time. Fine, if you can keep up. But I was bemused and, ultimately, frustrated by my efforts.

Try The Eloquent Page for a different take on The Office of Lost and Found - they loved it. It just wasn't for me.

Lex Trent Fighting With Fire by Alex Bell

Lex Trent Fighting With Fire is the second book by Alex Bell about the eponymous Lex Trent, a thief and a scoundrel with very few scruples. In this novel he is about to start participation in the second set of Games, three challenges set by the Gods for their respective heroes and companions. He cannot resist the idea of taking part - both because he hates the thought of anyone taking his title and also because his own Goddess has set one of the tasks in the Wild West, giving Lex the opportunity to try and steal the legendary Sword of Life. With the trusty (or not!) Jesse at his side, Lex heads off to pretend to be a cowboy!

I enjoyed the first Lex Trent novel a great deal, and I'm pleased to report that Lex Trent Fighting With Fire is even better. In this novel Bell brings to the story an incredibly whimsical tone. There are shades of Roald Dahl and Lewis Carroll in the nature of the writing, and Bell has a level of imagination that stands up to these literary greats.

There are absurd moments that brought to mind Monty Python, such as the dreaded fire-breathing bunnies and the waistcoated fox called Plantagenet. Through the whole of the book, the greatest sense you have is that Bell had the most enormous fun writing it - and it is just astonishingly fun to read.

Honestly, who wouldn't love a book that has such snippets as: "He'd purchased them before he left because, as any thief or con man knows, disguises are very important. Not to mention ridiculously fun."

Lex Trent is just as annoyingly self-centred and immodest. Seriously, you don't know whether to shake him or love him. On the whole, I fell on the side of loving him but there were occasions in this novel where I felt he trod a very fine line to being disliked by readers - especially because I believed that Lex had found a little remorse at the end of the first Games. Here he is back to his obnoxious best, which grates at times, but, on the whole, is enormously entertaining.

The secondary characters that Bell introduces in this book are a big strength. Jeremiah and Jesse are both rich with details, and easy to like. The former is a toff, with connections to Lex Trent's family - he is stuck-up, arrogant and gets on Lex's bad side from the start with an incredibly funny prank (that anyone who has been to university will recognise!) The latter is a drawling, laid-back character who plays Lex at his own game. Both were memorable and ensured that the plot kept driving forwards.

Having written two novels that involve the Games, Bell does risk repetition if she goes the same route in a third book of the series, but I suspect she had greater plans going by the last few pages - and I will enjoy stepping away from the format that has been followed in the first two novels.

This is not a perfect book, but it is damn fine. I enjoyed every minute I spent back in the world of Lex Trent and I'm just sad now that I have to wait for a year or longer to read more about the sneaky cheat. Both Lex Trent novels come highly recommended, and are very suitable for younger readers as well as YA. I certainly plan on getting my twelve year old nephew involved!

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Peter Grant is just a rookie cop in the Metropolitan Police Service when he discovers an aptitude for magic, and is taken on as an apprentice wizard. As he comes to realise the complicated supernatural life that infuses London, he is caught up in a case involving a malicious vengeful spirit. A spirit who is twisting the lives of ordinary Londoners and leaving a trail of nasty deaths in its wake. Peter has to learn the magic trade quickly before he and his colleagues becoming part of the game.

Anyone who has enjoyed Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, Kate Griffin's Matthew Swift novels, Mike Carey's Felix Castor series - anyone in those shoes will adore Rivers of London. This novel takes the very essence of London and distills it into book form - to the point where I was delighted at being able to picture exactly where Peter is performing his investigation. There is even a mention for Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury Avenue that made me literally go 'oooh!' as I was reading.

The language is clever and funny - Peter's narrative voice is full of wry asides and observations. I laughed a number of times, and smiled more, such as when Peter is practicing throwing fireballs: "We did an hour of practice, at the end of which I was capable of flinging a fireball down the range at the dizzying speed of a bumblebee who'd met his pollen quota and was taking a moment to enjoy the view."

Peter and his various colleagues and friends are exceptionally winning personalities, and I enjoyed reading about their mishaps and challenges. Favourite by far were the various Rivers of London, which, in this novel, take corporeal form. For instance, Beverley Brook is one of the daughters of Mother Thames, and is a capricious and mischievous teenager, looking for fun and attention.

I loved the way that Aaronovitch brought in folklore and explored much of the history of London without seeming to lecture. This includes the moment where Beverley reveals that the Fire Brigade are sailors: " 'Not now,' she said. 'But in the old days when they were looking for disciplined guys who knew about water, ropes, ladders and didn't freak out at altitude...' "

The villain of the piece is linked effectively into the folklore and old stories, and is suitably chilling, with vivid motivations. His ability to send his spirit into the various citizens of London means that no one can be trusted - and he sends most of his victims to a suitably hideous death. It made me shudder on a couple of occasions.

The only aspect of the novel that was dissatisfactory, truly, was the way Aaronovitch occasionally dumped information in the form of "lessons" - it came thick and fast at some points, and felt a little disjointed.

However, this is minor. Rivers of London is assured, witty and great fun to read. I was incredibly impressed and will definitely picking up the rest of the series.

Rivers of London is published 10th January in the UK by Gollancz.

Johannes Cabal the Detective by Jonathan L. Howard

Johannes Cabal the Detective is the second book about the eponymous necromancer. I read the first book, Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, at the beginning of this year, and was enormously enamoured with the bitingly sarcastic gentleman in question. In fact, it has remained my number one read of 2010 despite fierce competition from other titles, and so I was almost nervous about picking up this second novel about Johannes Cabal in case it did not live up to the first.

I am pleased to report that Johannes Cabal the Detective is just as darkly funny, original and snarky as the first novel in the series. In this book Cabal begins the tale in a prison, following the aborted theft of a rather nasty little book. Through foul means and not a little luck, he finds himself aboard an airship — the Princess Hortense — as she flies her maiden voyage between Mirkarvia and Katamenia. As is usual with Cabal, what should have been a peaceful flight turns into a murder mystery, and he is caught in the middle of it, trying to piece together all the clues to discover whodunit. Accompanied by Leonie Barrow (a character from the first novel), Cabal is caught in a race against time. If he doesn’t discover the culprit, then he might very well become the next victim.

By far the strongest element of the novel is Johannes Cabal himself — a complicated, scientifically-minded, dark-hearted man. I equate him somewhat to Basil Fawlty from the Fawlty Towers series (those of you who don’t know of this, pick up the TV series on DVD and delight in the bizarre English humour of it all) — Basil is enormously dislikable, bitingly sarcastic and always doing something that will benefit himself; and yet you find yourself sympathising with him when his schemes go awry and generally cheering him on. Exactly the same could be said about Johannes Cabal. His dialogue carries the story along, and his various encounters with the other members of the crew are hilarious and uncomfortable by turn. Without Cabal this book would be merely an amusing mystery novel; with him included, it is elevated to a comedic fantasy classic.

Because of the nature of the novel — a murder mystery — we encounter a number of other secondary characters who do remain fairly two-dimensional. Howard does attempt to lift them above being merely props to the plot, but all bar Leonie Barrow (who sparkles thanks to her common sense and an ability to make Cabal feel uncomfortable) feel rather hollow.

I mentioned the noir humour of the novel — as well as the main bulk of the story, we are handed other gems, such as diagrams of the airships and entomoptors complete with excitable comments (as though from the pages of a boy’s magazine) and exam questions such as the following:



If the above extract of rather absurd humour appeals to you, then you will delight in the continual flashes of comedy that anchor this novel.

My slight complaint from the first novel in the series was that the world-building was slim to non-existent. This is addressed admirably in Johannes Cabal the Detective. We are introduced to the states of Mirkarvia and Senza, and a petty political back story is laid out for us. I do wonder how these states connect to the location we encountered in Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, however! Jonathan L. Howard does succeed in developing a strong steampunk feel to the series, which builds on the presence of the carnival locomotive from the first novel.

Happily, this novel is relatively standalone. Enough details are passed out about the first novel to give the reader a good indication of events that occurred, and it is not necessary to have read that book to read Johannes Cabal the Detective.

Howard is quietly going about the business of presenting a character who feels iconic right from the very first moment he steps onto the page. Johannes Cabal the Detective is a triumph of dark murder mystery combined with steampunk flair. Add more than a dash of laugh-out-loud funny moments and you have a novel that builds on the success of the first. I was kept awake long into the night feverishly turning the pages of this book, and would recommend it highly.

"Read the following brief description of the Second Gallician Conflict, its results and ramifications, and then answer the questions that follow it.

(A) In what year did Mirkarvia invade Senza?
(B) i) With hindsight, what was Dulcis III’s most serious error?
ii) And without hindsight?
(C) Discuss any two of the following statements:
i) Mirkarvia behaved like a right bunch of bastards.
ii) Polorus behaved like a right bunch of bastards.
iii) All countries behave like a right bunch of bastards.
(D) Write a political treatise — not to exceed 250,000 words or 500 sides, whichever is less — detailing your solution to stabilising relations in the region, military force above brigade level is not permitted, nor is divine intervention.”

Dante's Journey by J C Marino

A flash of light and Detective Joe Dante steps through. No longer on the cobblestone streets of 1961 Boston, Joe finds himself in a horrifying new world - Hell itself. Joe was in hot pursuit of his family's killer, drug lord Filippo Argenti, when both were killed, and isn't about to let a little thing like death slow him down. So, with a healthy dose of New England stubbornness and the help of a mysterious guide, Virgil DiMini, Joe must evade angry demons and search ever-lower through the rings of the original Dante's Inferno in hopes of finding justice for his wife and children. However, Joe will soon discover that behind every sin lies a secret and each secret revealed could land Joe in an eternity of hot water...

Dante's Journey was a real surprise. The blurb on the back doesn't do the story within the pages justice, in my opinion, because this was an unusual and compelling tale of learning moral aspects of your own character, as well as a trip through the circles of Hell. We spend as much time on Dante's journey to inner peace and rediscovery of faith as we do on his actual journey through Hell.

The strengths of this novel are the writing, which is exuberant good fun, and the characterisation - every single one of those characters deserves to be in hell for their various misdemeanours, and yet Marino manages to make you empathise with them and understand how they could have committed their crimes. I liked the manner in which Marino described the various people Dante meets on his journey, and the fact that they come from all different periods in history, including future periods that he wouldn't be aware of, having died in 1961. This creates some comic interludes.

Just as an aside, I'm also impressed with Marino's level of research: not only are the circles of hell represented very much as in the original Inferno, but he knew that Joe Dante would have been able to see Bugs Bunny before his death in 1961, since Bugs was "born" in 1940! (yes, I like my cartoons!)

As mentioned, the scenes in hell were descriptive - energetic and horrific, by turn. For example: "Without any kind of communication among them, all the iron demons started slashing simultaneously. My eyes still forced open, I watched as the sinners were systematically dismembered and disemboweled by the sword and axe-wielding demons.

'Listen to me,' a Nazi pleaded. 'You never listen to me. I was under orders, you understand. Under orders. Under orders!'

The demon ignored him, plunging his dagger-like fingers into the Nazi's gut."

Despite the horror of some of these scenes, the humour in the novel is ever-present: snappy dialogue between Joe Dante and Argenti being key, as well as some rather slapstick moments:

" 'Faster,' I sang out.

'I am,' Argenti sang back.

'Pull!'

'What? Are you pulling?'

'Yeah.'

'I was pushing.'

We both stared at each other for a moment, not knowing which one of us was the idiot."

I also liked Marino's method of using flashbacks interspersed throughout the main body of the novel to show what really happened to Joe Dante in the time leading up to his death. This represented the idea that, until Dante had his epiphany in the ninth circle of hell, he is, in fact, a deeply unreliable narrator thanks to his hatred for Argenti. It was a neat trick.

On the whole, I enjoyed the book tremendously, although I do think the 'running time' was a little on the long side. There were flabby periods throughout that didn't add a great deal to the overall story - it just needed a little bit of tightening up. Also, the constant encounters with the demons became mighty repetitive at times, and I thought a couple of them could be cut with ease.

And Virgil annoyed me, purely because we weren't given enough hints on the way through about who he might be. I like to work out these little mysteries myself, and I either was not given enough to go on (in the early part of the story) or told outright (in the later part of the novel) - this could have been balanced a little better.

I am very glad a took a chance on this small press book. It was a fun read, with a warm heart and lots of lovely self-realisation. Joe Dante was a vibrant and realistic character and I enjoyed going on his journey. Recommended.

Author website

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

Ever since his girlfriend left town to deal with her newly acquired taste for blood, Harry Dresden has been down and out in Chicago. He can't pay his rent. He's alienating his friends. He can't even recall the last time he took a shower. The only professional wizard in the phone book has become a desperate man. And just when it seems things can't get any worse, in saunters the Winter Queen of Faerie. She has an offer Harry can't refuse if he wants to free himself of the supernatural hold his faerie godmother has over him - and hopefully end his run of bad luck. All he has to do is find out who murdered the Summer Queen's right-hand man, the Summer Knight, and clear the Winter Queen's name. It seems simple enough, but Harry knows better than to get caught in the middle of faerie politics. Until he finds out that the fate of the entire world rests on his solving this case. No pressure or anything...

It's so strange. My review of Grave Peril complained about the fact that I was having vampire politics inflicted on me. Yet in Summer Knight the fae politics were tremendous. The idea of having two courts - a Summer and Winter court - combined with the idea of Maiden, Mother and Crone which comes from various points in mythology, helped to lend this novel a sense of something both familiar yet unique at the same time.

I did feel as though the Stone Table was more than a little inspired by The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe!

But enough of these idle ruminations...

Summer Knight opens with Dresden in a dark place - he might be fine physically, but his soul has been damaged by a succession of tough cases, finishing up with Susan's predicament. Once again, I deeply appreciated the fact that Dresden is a realistic character, struggling to do the right thing, but finding it hard to cope with the situations that have swept him up. In other long-running urban fantasy series, the author does not seem to realise that the events their character suffers through will have a deep and lasting psychological effect that needs to be dealt with.

In fact, the scene where Dresden meets the Summer Lady of the fae and she takes his pain away for a few brief moments is one of the most powerful and emotional in the series to date:

"Aurora gave me a small, sad smile. 'I'll show you. Here.'

Her palm pressed a bit closer to me, and somewhere inside me a dam broke open. Emotions welled up like a riotous rainbow. Scarlet rage, indigo fear, pale blue sadness, aching yellow loneliness, putrid green guilt. The tide flooded through me, coursed over me like a bolt of lightning, searing and painful and beautiful all at once.

And after the tide receded, a deep, quiet stillness followed. A sensation of warmth suffused me, gently easing away my aches and bruises. It spread over my skin, like sunlight on a lazy afternoon outside, and with the warmth my cares began to evaporate."

I also liked the fact that Dresden's relationships with recurring characters is changing and adjusting according to what has happened in previous books. There is never any idea that the Dresden universe is static and no one develops. For instance, here Dresden finally decides to trust Murphy, which is a complete about face compared to Storm Front, where he cannot bear the idea of putting Murphy in danger with the knowledge that he gives her.

I enjoyed this book mostly because everything that I enjoyed greatly in the previous three books was bigger and better this time round: the action scenes were superlative, with a real sense of tension, and the knowledge (thanks to Susan) that peripheral characters really aren't safe at all); the humour and snark was ever-present, with one of the best lines coming not from Dresden, but from Meryl, a character that I grew to love despite her short cameo in this book:

"Meryl said, 'Someone broke into the apartment. It looked like there had been a struggle.'

I let out a sigh. 'Have you contacted the police?'

She eyed me. 'Oh yeah, of course. I called them and told them that a mortal champion of the fae came and spirited away a half-mortal, half-nixie professional nude model to Faerieland. They were all over it.' "

I just have to mention my enjoyment of Billy and the Alphas (which does sound like some oddball punk band...) I adore the fact that they are so young, and enthusiastic, and have pizza/gaming parties after beating the bad guys. They are rapidly becoming one of my favourite parts of the Dresden series.

I do wonder how valid my reviews are going to be of this series, as I progress through the books! People who have never picked up the Dresden novels are unlikely to be swayed by my review of book four or five or six in the series, while those who have started the series and reach book four are more than likely to move onto the subsequent books with little encouragement from me... I feel a little as though these reviews will be only for those people who have already tackled the books, so that they might think 'oh yeah, I concur with her point' (if anyone actually does use the word 'concur' in their own thoughts!) or 'this girl has no idea what she is talking about!' But I shall continue to review them as I read them, so that I have a decent record of what each book was about, and what I liked about them.

Having now read four of the Dresden books, I can see a little unevenness in quality: some books have definitely been better than others. Happily, this is by far the best of the novels so far. The conflict between the Winter and Summer Courts played out against the backdrop of a murder mystery, with Harry racing against time to try and ensure that no imbalance of power exists in the world of the Fae. The tense and exciting events were matched well with some introspective moments, where the character of Dresden is explored in a deeper fashion. All I can say now is bring on the fifth book!

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden's faced some pretty terrifying foes during his career. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Psychotic werewolves. It comes with the territory when you're the only professional wizard in the Chicago area phone book. But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's never faced anything like this: the spirit world's gone loco. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble - and not just of the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone - or something - is purposely stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn't figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself...

I was rather partial to the second book (Fool Moon) in the Dresden series, and started Grave Peril with great eagerness, but found myself somewhat underwhelmed. I think this was for a number of reasons, which I shall endeavour to explain below.

The first reason is no doubt the hype and expectation. Everyone I know universally loves this series (in fact, I genuinely don't know a single person who has found it boring or insipid - a danger with a lot of urban fantasy) and states categorically that each book improves on the last. Because I loved Fool Moon, I was expecting Grave Peril to blow me away - but it didn't.

The second reason is no real fault of the book or the author, but I feel it bears mentioning. When you join a long-running series so late, and there are so many books ahead of you, there is no real tension about whether the hero will live or die. Sure, the peripheral figures might be in some danger (depending on the author - some never kill of any people, despite an ever-expanding cast; LKH, I'm looking at you!) but your main dude isn't going to die, no matter what gets thrown at him. So, despite ever-escalating levels of danger in this novel, I felt comfortable that Harry would survive.

My third reason is a matter of writing: after three books, I can confidently state that I don't like the pacing that Jim Butcher employs. For the first hundred and fifty pages of each book, I've found it very easy to put them aside. The last hundred pages is usually barn-storming, tension-filled and extremely gripping - so I guess they all finish with a bang! - but I wouldn't mind a more evenly-spread level of excitement.

Reason the fourth: bloody vampire politics. I am so sick of vampire courts, with back-stabbing and covenants and home advantage and things like that. They pop up all over the place in urban fantasy, and seem so generic. Although Butcher's vampires present a couple of surprises (in appearance, mostly), in other areas they are tiresomely generic. Which is quite unlike the werewolves from the previous book, which felt quite refreshing to me.

Lastly, I didn't like Dresden's faerie godmother. I think the fae in the Dresden series have the potential to be chilling and unique, but I don't feel they're well represented by Lea. The reason I didn't like her is the way she popped up in a "plot device" moment usually. She felt tacked onto the main thrust of the storyline.

This is all making it sound as though I have nothing but gripes - but I did enjoy the book! Just not as much as the previous book!

The main reason for enjoying this book and loving the series as a whole is Harry Dresden. In Grave Peril Harry gains a lot more emotional depth and throws around some bad ass magic. His sense of honour and inability to leave a woman in peril is a facet of his character that I adore, no matter how chauvinistic it may appear. It sort of reminds me of Marty McFly in Back to the Future who is unable to be called 'chicken' without taking a person up on a stupid challenge!

" 'For the sake of one soul. For one loved one. For one life.' I called power into my blasting rod, and its tip glowed incandescent white. 'The way I see it, there's nothing else worth fighting a war for.' "

His resigned sense of humour when it comes to landing himself in dangerous situations is alive and well in Grave Peril as well, and some of his dialogue with both friends and enemies fairly snaps along:

" 'Hell's bells, Kravos,' I muttered, sitting up again. 'Do they produce a Cliched Lines Textbook for Villains or something? Go for broke. Tell me that since you're going to kill me anyway, you might as well reveal your secret plan.' "

Since we're talking about characters, Butcher introduced some really vibrant new cast members this time around. Michael, in particular, is a very powerful character - providing morality and an abiding faith to Harry over the course of Grave Peril. His quiet gravity and admonitions towards Harry for his swearing lend a calm centre to this novel that I felt was missing in prior instalments. I also *loved* Ferrovax - I demand to see more of this Dragon. His brief appearance in Grave Peril lit up the pages.

Another part of the novel I really liked were the references to the fact that life continued in between the end of Fool Moon and the start of Grave Peril - in other long running series you feel as though the characters are frozen in time until you return to their universe. Here we are aware that Harry has taken a number of jobs and his relationship with Susan has deepened - and it all happened off-screen, as it were.

In conclusion, this was not the strongest novel in the Dresden series for me and I am hoping for better from the next. Harry Dresden is still entertaining and I adore the little details of the world that Butcher is weaving into the tales; even though I was slightly disappointed with Grave Peril, I would still be happy to recommend the Dresden series.

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher is the second of the Dresden Files. In this novel we follow Harry Dresden as he becomes embroiled in a mystery involving werewolves, and comes face to face again with the Gentleman Johnny Marcone. "Business has been slow lately for Harry Dresden. Okay, business has been dead. Not undead - just dead. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work - magical or mundane. Just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise. A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon..."

This book feels almost as though it was written by two different people. The first half of Fool Moon was written by the same person who wrote Storm Front - generic urban fantasy, with an intriguing central character and some entertaining magical rules and creatures filling the pages. A page turner that I enjoyed but found a mite disposable. Halfway through Fool Moon this other writer took over - and I *really* love his work. I found myself snorting with laughter at some of the startling humour in truly desperate situations. I was chilled by the monstrous form of the loup-garou, and its casual ability to tear apart hordes of people intent on destroying it. I was warmed by the oddball relationships between Harry and those who surround him. By the end of this book - yes, you can count me a Dresden fan.

It still had its faults, but these were more clumsy plotting or deus ex machina in nature - for example, the fact that Bob explained the existence of four different types of werewolves, and we happened to encounter every single one of them over the course of the book.

Butcher also doesn't have complete faith in his readers yet, since a lot of the characters and concepts were re-introduced all over again in this second book after encountering them in Storm Front. It is forgivable, since this is only the second in the series, but I have a horrible suspicion that this is habit-forming and will run into subsequent books in the Dresden sequence. If I am still being told what Murphy and Susan look like in book eight, I shall be disappointed.

With that said, apart from a frustrating desire to tell us exactly what every character looks like, Butcher's ability to produce characters that we care deeply about is second-to-none. Dresden remains a wonderfully sarcastic and irascible individual - take this quote for example: "So there I was being strangled by a ranting, half-naked madman in the middle of the woods, with a she-werewolf dangling from a rope snare somewhere nearby. My gunshot wound hurt horribly, and my jaw throbbed from where my buddy the cop had brutalized it the night before. I've had worse days."

Butcher's gentle observational humour makes the book a pleasure to read as well. I do believe that he might well be a cat owner, going by this quote: "I found him in a dumpster one day when he was a kitten and he promptly adopted me. Despite my struggles, Mister had been an understanding soul, and I eventually came to realise that I was a part of his little family, and by his gracious consent was allowed to remain in his apartment." Only someone familiar with the true fact that people belong to cats, and not vice versa, could write something like that!

Everything that made Storm Front enjoyable is present in Fool Moon, but Butcher has improved the plotting, the writing and the sense that we are reading something unique rather than yet another generic never-ending urban fantasy series. I was happy enough to read Fool Moon after trying Storm Front. Now that I've finished Fool Moon, I am ready to stampede to my bookshelves to find the third book. Butcher has created a fantastic character in the form of Harry Dresden - complicated, chauvinistic, and compelling - and I can't wait to read more of his adventures.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Storm Front is the first book in the long-running Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, introducing us to Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, the only wizard with an entry in the phone book in Chicago. The plot is a fast-paced magical murder mystery, which lends itself well to showing some of the no-doubt recurring characters and the "magic system" that Dresden wields. We also learn a little about the White Council, the ruling body behind practising wizards.

What interested me most about Storm Front was not so much the book itself, but the manner in which it should be read. For the first 120 pages or so, I kept picking it up and putting it down for various reasons (short public transport journeys, around making food, on brief lunch breaks) and never really settled to an extended stint. And I ended up wondering a little bit what all the fuss was about this series!

And then I sat down with a couple of hours on my hands and ended up sweeping through it, thinking 'Just one more chapter, just one more' which, as far as I am concerned, is how you should respond when reading something as action-packed and punchy as this. I equate Storm Front with an action movie - you wouldn't watch ten minutes of an action movie and then turn it off while making a cup of tea or heading out to see friends, and then watch another ten minutes a few hours later. An action movie would suffer from watching it in that way, and I think the Dresden books too. You definitely need to dedicate a couple of hours and then will find it incredibly good fun.

I thought the prose was incredibly effective - Jim Butcher presents Dresden in a first person perspective, which gives immediacy to the story. We know everything Dresden is thinking, and his uniquely sarcastic rejoinders to the events occurring in the book really added to my empathy for his character. I mean, when faced by a weird scorpion talisman that is becoming a little life threatening, I think a number of us would have something snarky to say!

The writing was also descriptive and atmospheric at key moments, rather than just business-like, which I expected it to be. I enjoyed the potion making scene between Harry and Bob, in particular.

The secondary characters were incredibly well-rounded, considering we didn't spend a great deal of time with them in this first tale (although I'm pretty sure they'll feature in future books). I particularly liked Murphy and her uneasy relationship with Dresden - I feel sure that this will develop in an interesting manner in the future. I also don't think I'm alone in liking Bob best!

One factor I found almost irritating, though, is the way that Butcher faithfully documented all the facial features and hair colour of each new character as they were introduced. It is something that I enjoy knowing about my characters, but I prefer it to be presented more naturally, rather than as a ticklist.

Certainly, this was very minor and might be a matter of taste, rather than an issue that other readers will experience as well.

To conclude, Storm Front was incredibly entertaining, with some great action set pieces and genuine tension. I think the highest praise I can offer is that I'll definitely be embarking further on this series!

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer - Jonathan L Howard

Johannes Cabal, a brilliant scientist and notorious snob, is obsessed with raising the dead. Tormented by a dark and harrowing secret, he travels to the fiery pits of hell to retrieve his soul, long ago sold to the Devil. Satan, incredibly bored and hungry for a challenge, proposes a little wager: Johannes has one year to persuade one hundred people to sign over their souls or he will lose his forever. To keep things interesting, Satan generously throws in a traveling carnival to help Johannes collect on the bargain. With little time to lose, Johannes raises a crew from the dead and enlists his brother, Horst, a charismatic vampire, to be his right-hand man. Once on the road, Johannes and his troupe of reprobates cause mayhem at every stop. But are his tricks enough to beat the Devil at his own game?

From the blurb above, so far this book sounds like Tom Holt, or Terry Pratchett, or any other comedic fantasy author, right? No, definitely not! Jonathan L. Howard infuses Johannes Cabal the Necromancer with flavours from other authors and from films, but the book as a whole is unique and very, very funny. It has the same gruesome humor as Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, but remains distinctive through the use of snappy one-liners and characters you’ll love to hate.

The pacing is perfect. We start with an entertaining visit to Hell (a bureaucratic nightmare, with a pen-pushing clerk as a doorman). Then, the plot kicks into a higher gear and sweeps through a year of thrilling adventures as Johannes Cabal attempts to win his wager with Satan by running a twisted carnival. Howard gives us a sample of Cabal’s attempts to collect souls, but doesn’t overdo this aspect of the novel. He still spends time on character development and on other escapades, so that the reader never becomes bored.

Though Johannes Cabal the Necromancer is pitched mainly as comedic fantasy, it contains some extremely spine-tingling and creepy moments, especially the whole scene in the Druin crypt. Howard also takes us to some darker places. We watch with horror as a young lad is enticed to sign his soul away, and as a young mother is encouraged to commit infanticide.

Over the course of the novel we learn that Johannes Cabal is a Very Bad Man, yet he remains endearing to the reader. From his inept social skills to his way with sarcasm, Cabal shines from every page. In particular, his exchanges with his brother Horst virtually crackle with snark:

“Given my profession, being careful is what separates the successes from the failures.”
“Ha! What makes you think you’re such a success, Johannes?”
“Because I’m not tied to a post, up to my knees in bonfire.”

The other characters are just as memorable, from the dozy zombie pair Dennis and Denzil who drive the train, to Bobbins, one of Cabal’s nefarious creations (“...the result of some of Cabal’s tinkering with the basic ‘a rag, a bone, a hank of hair’ formula; in this case by the addition of a tin of Brasso metal polish. As a result everything that Bobbins did, he did brightly”).

The only disappointment is that the world building is almost non-existent. We never learn whether this is a bizarre alternate version of our world, or if it’s another world entirely. Howard focuses so tightly on his fabulous mix of characters, and on building the carnival into an entity that lives and breathes, that we do not see anything beyond this. I would love to see more of the world that Howard has created.

Luckily, it appears that a second novel in this series is on the way, which I now look forward to with great excitement. This is the sort of book that, having finished it — even in the wee small hours of the morning — you want to wake up all your friends and insist they begin it immediately. In fact, I insist you all go and grab a copy — now!

Lex Trent versus the Gods - Alex Bell

Lex Trent versus the Gods, Alex Bell’s first YA novel, introduces us to Lex Trent, a thief, swindler, and all-round rogue. He has taken one chance too many and finds himself caught up in the Games, playing as a representative of Lady Luck. We follow his various trials and tribulations over the course of the Game.

Lex Trent versus the Gods takes a little while to really get started — setting the scene and allowing us to get to know Lex — but by the time you reach page 64, you simply cannot put the book down and find yourself gripped by all of Lex’s adventures. Even though Lex is insufferably smug and selfish beyond belief, you just can’t help rooting for him. The book is chockfull of other memorable characters, too. One of my favourites is the representation of Lady Luck as a rather ditzy blonde!

By far the best part of Lex Trent versus the Gods is the sheer imagination on display. Bell takes fairy tales, myths and exotic concepts, and weaves them into the story so that you are not surprised by wicked witches and fairy godmothers sharing the same woodland, or by griffins guarding the ladders that link Lands Above and Lands Beneath. I enjoyed the way that Bell gave us this nice mix of typical fantasy tropes, but combined them with rather more mundane settings. Even if the plot hadn’t been particularly good, Lex Trent versus the Gods would still be worth reading for this aspect alone.

Luckily, though, the plot is good. It races past breathlessly (once it has been set alight by the introduction of the Games) — maybe a little too quickly at times. It doesn’t feel as though we have much downtime before the next exhilarating event or daring swindle is taking place. I was a little disappointed with the way Lex’s story is resolved, but that might be to personal taste.

Alex Bell writes with a fluid style that invites the reader to turn the pages quickly. There are plenty of humorous quirks that had me smiling, and a couple of times I found it laugh-out-loud funny (the whole chapter “Muggets and Whiskerfish” was a particular highlight).

My one real complaint is this: I can see why Bell has hung the first part of the story around a legal firm (she was a law student — write about what you know and all that); in fact, Lex Trent’s boredom with the legal profession lends it a ring of authenticity — but when set in a world so magical and unusual, the legal profession sticks out like a sore thumb. I’m sure this was the point (purposely ridiculous), but I found it distracting. Every time I had to move from enchanters and gods to a legal firm, I had a real jarring moment.

But this is a very minor issue when balanced against the fun to be had reading Lex Trent versus the Gods. I would recommend it for fans of Garth Nix and Terry Pratchett's YA Discworld books.

This review has also been published on www.fantasyliterature.com - click to read reviews of hundreds of fantasy books!

The Portable Door - Tom Holt

I've come late to the Tom Holt party, but I'm glad I finally made it. The Portable Door is the first book of his that I have read and I definitely intend to try more.

It is the story of Paul Carpenter, and how he takes a mysterious job in a mysterious firm where mysterious goings-on occur. I found it always interesting, a nice quick read and lightly humourous. I wouldn't say there were many laugh out loud moments, but I chuckled more than once or twice!

I think one of my favourite passages can best sum up the wit and wryly weird writing that Tom Holt employs: "There's this to be said for being hungover; if you've got a job to do that involves substantial levels of ambient weirdness, it helps, because you can't be bothered to notice stuff that under other circumstances would come close to frying your synapses. Treasure maps; Czarist bonds; a case of stuffed dodos; Scarlett O'Hara's birth certificate; two flattened and deformed silver bullet heads in an old matchbox; Baedeker's guide to Atlantis (seventeenth edition, 1902); the autograph score of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony with Das Ende written neatly at the foot of the last page; three boxes of moon rocks...." and so it continues in this vein.

I enjoyed the fact that Tom Holt is clever in his writing and assumes that you, too, must be clever because the vocabulary used is superb and had me scratching my head a few times.

The characterisation is brief but effective - through simple repetition we know that Paul is a bit of a loser, but with a good heart, while Sophie is a prickly but ultimately likeable character. The various partners of the firm they join are wildly entertaining.

My main criticism is with the pacing of the book. The first half of it went fairly slowly, as befits the unfolding of a mystery, but the last third was breathlessly fast and tied up very neatly.

Other than that, this was a fine book and I look forward to more of Holt's work.