storyphoria - Tumblr blog

[storyphoria]

Review | Countdown City by Ben H Winters (The Last Policeman #2)

Author: Ben H. Winters

Title: Countdown City

Genres: Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic, Mystery

Series: The Last Policeman

Page Count: 322

Published: 07/13/2013

No longer a detective, Henry Palace finds himself confronting a missing persons case with dangerous implications far deeper than he realizes. Countdown City (The Last Policeman #2) by Ben H Winters is the second in a trilogy of books following Detective Henry(Hank) Palace and while the first book left me feeling a bit unsatisfied, will the second change my mind?

Countdown City (The Last Policeman #2) is written by author Ben H Winters and was originally published on July 13th, 2013 by Quirk Books.

This is book two in a trilogy and if you haven’t yet, you can check out my review here of book one – Book Review : The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters or our Story Club discussion/episode with members of the AIC Stories Discord right here: Story Club 003 – The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters.

So… let’s get to it.

The Good

While the first book in this series focuses heavily on a ton of clues and detective procedural style writing, this second book leans more into the mystery/thriller aspects. Frankly the story is, by and large, better for it.

Naturally, Henry finds himself once again trying to solve a case. Only now he doesn’t have any official detective resources or authority. He’s doing it because… well… he has to.

Maybe it was only my perception, maybe it was fact, but Winters seems to have picked up the pace of the story in this one, ALMOST putting himself into “page-turner” category. Sure, Henry is STILL trying to solve this missing persons case. Of course the storyline with his sister Nico is getting bigger and stranger. But through it all, we are once again journeying through the elements of human emotion and reactions when faced with a catastrophic event.

Winters, through Henry’s eyes as he seeks to solve his mystery, shows us just how differently humanity is reacting. Where some seek to find what little joy they can until the end, others find their vile tendencies overtaking their sense of right and wrong.

Countdown City was a wildcard for me. After the events of The Last Policeman I was unsure just what direction things would take, especially now that Henry is no longer a detective. Seeing it veer more towards the personal relationships, conspiracy theories, and humanity crumbling as the asteroid nears made this book much more enjoyable than the first.

We see more of Henry’s development as a character(as well as his sister and the other detectives from the first book) and begin to finally crack through his WHY. The first book asks, “With the Earth being destroyed in 6 months, why bother trying to solve a murder?”. Here we see a little more behind what drives Henry, while new curveballs get thrown at him making him question things more than ever before.

The Not So Good

All in all this was a super fast and enjoyable read, so I don’t have TOO much to say here. Much like the first book, I think it still struggles a bit with the identity crisis. At times it feels like it can’t tell if it wants to be a dystopian future/sci-fi, a missing person detective thriller, or an action/adventure story.

Though it feels like, especially by the end of it, that it’s FINALLY starting to find the identity it’s searching for. Hopefully book three will gel nicely and end on a high note.

Let’s see… what else?

Oh, let’s talk about “leaps of faith” and that ending. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything for you.

Much like the first book, there are a LOT of moments where we are led down a path by Winters, only to be asked to “just go with it” even though it’s hard to understand or see how we got from point A to point B. While they don’t KILL the story, they do pop up and your reaction may or may not knock you out of the flow of what’s happening.

The biggest let down of Countdown City is the ending. We have a great last half of the book, things really ramp up and get dark and twisty and the stakes are only getting higher for Henry. He’s racing to solve this mystery, racing to stay alive and keep those around him alive, and the ending of the book proper(pre-Epilogue) arrives and instead of going out with a BANG…

…it just fizzles and ends.

And while the Epilogue fills in some gaps and nudges us gently towards the final book, even that feels very low key, yet not “happy-ending” enough to really satisfy.

The Bottom Line

While I enjoyed Countdown City more than The Last Policeman, it didn’t leave me NEEDING to see how this trilogy would end.

I’ll be finishing it for sure and the second book absolutely left me feeling a little more curious than the first did, in terms of what comes next, but it still hasn’t completely HOOKED me, if that makes sense.

I really do enjoy the direction this book headed as it began to step away from a strict “detective/police procedural” feel and leaned more into the pre-apocalypse. There was still the detective work, but it’s unofficial and thus not mired in minutiae.

I really enjoyed the ending setting, with the city turning into a real “Devils Night” vibe like we saw in The Crow film from the late 90’s. It makes me a little more interested to see just how chaotic things are going to get when the events of World of Trouble (The Last Policeman #3) unfold.

The slow revealing of Henry’s inner struggles as he comes to grip with the situation, coupled with his emotional response to both Naomi and Officer McConnell, even with his sister Nico, was a welcomed direction shift in this book as well. It made me a bit more invested in Henry as a character and in the story as a whole, even if only a LITTLE more.

On the whole, I enjoyed this second book more than the first.

As such, I gave Countdown City (The Last Policeman #2) by Ben H Winters a 3 out of 5 stars.

Enjoyable, faster paced with a more interesting story that is still suffering from an identity crisis as the missing persons half of the story still butts heads with the impending doomsday from the asteroid half of the story.

Sadly, the ending fizzled a bit for me and left me feeling like it stumbled right at the finish line. That being said, it’s still in the “recommend checking it out” category. Especially if you’ve read the first book in the series.

As always, your mileage may vary.

[storyphoria]

Review | The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night

Author: D.E. Night

Title: The Crowns of Croswald

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, YA Fantasy

Series: The Crowns of Croswald

Page Count: 249

Published: 07/21/2017

YA Fiction and Fantasy are almost always some version of a coming of age tale and The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night is no different. Take the familiar coming of age story, add in some unique magic and mix it all up in an interesting new world and you have some decent story potential on your hands. But how will The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night fare?

Before we get to the review let’s hit all the particulars. The Crowns of Croswald is written by author D.E. Night and is published by Stories Untold Press. The book was first published back in 2017 and full disclosure, I was approached by Stories Untold Press to see if I was interested in taking a look at this first book in the series. Being that I’ve reviewed some YA Fantasy titles in the past, (see my reviews/interviews for Ignite the Sun by Hanna C Howard, Twin Daggers by MarcyKate Connolly, and A Curse of Gold by Annie Sullivan) I said “Sure! Let’s take a look!”.

The ONLY requirement asked of me was that I read it within a month(CHECK) and that I leave an HONEST review on both Amazon and Goodreads(CHECK and CHECK). I like to let you guys know of these things so you know the review is NOT bought and paid for, rather it’s my full honesty as I think about what I just read.

Ok, lets get to it.

The book opens with a slightly familiar premise of an orphan girl living a life of relative obscurity and poverty, yet having some mysterious friends, a talent for drawing, and dreams that are vividly real.

In those dreams she sees a castle and in that castle is a man. A man she can never quite see fully, and a man that never talks to her.

Almost immediately we’re thrust into the story proper as Ivy(our main character and said orphan girl) is whisked away to a mysterious magic school after a “less than ideal” exit from the castle she grew up a servant in.

Once at the magic school, Ivy is thrust into a world of various magics, mystery, curious beasts, and of course… eventually the threat of… THE DARK QUEEN. But I won’t go too far down that road so as not to spoil anything for you.

Along the way, and largely BEFORE we reach the halfway point of this first book, we meet a whole bunch of quirky and interesting people. From magic teachers in the school to eccentric shop owners, even mysterious ghosts and people long thought dead.

And it doesn’t take long for the threat of danger and the hero’s quest/coming of age tale to get underway in earnest for young Ivy.

There are a few key elements in every fantasy story that can absolutely make or break the tale. The first being the magic system, the second being the creatures and world building.

The magic system in The Crowns of Croswald is interesting. There seems to be two parts to it, and I enjoyed the evolution of the split or division between the two types of magic. There are the those that need magic stones in their crowns to provide them a semblance of magic and there are those with the innate ability.

The division between the two feels at times like a slightly ham-fisted approach of “needing to work together” or “understand that our differences should be celebrated not looked down upon”. There is absolutely a feeling of one group looking down hard on the other, it reminds me of High School Musical in many ways.

I know, I know! Where the heck is this coming from?!

In those movies there are the rich kids that have all the opportunities and “talent” while the kids deemed lower class, aka poor kids, aren’t supposed to have much talent. But of course, once push comes to shove and they are forced to work together, some of the biggest talents come from those less fortunate.

I enjoyed how the different types of magic were presented, even if we don’t get too much of a look at HOW it works. I can only assume that in the next books in the series we’ll be treated to more.

The tough part about this genre is that these days, everything runs the risk of being compared to the legendary Harry Potter. While there certainly were more than a few Harry Potter vibes in terms of general themes, I feel like the magic system and story elements were unique in their own right, making this feel like a familiar yet unique story.

The Bottom Line

Overall, as a YA Fantasy title I think the book was pretty decent. While I’m certainly not the exact target audience, I can see how this would be a highly enjoyable world for a younger audience to get sucked into.

For me, it felt a little bland (though I enjoy the concept of the Scrivenest and the magic in the quills) and a LOT predictable. I think from the earliest chapters, anyone that has enjoyed modern YA fantasy is going to find it’s very predictable, yet still enjoyable, to read.

That’s not always a bad thing however, sometimes it’s nice to be able to get lost in a story without feeling like you have to “figure it out” so you can understand what’s going on.

I give The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night 3 out of 5 stars.

The people, creatures, and magical world of Croswald is worthy of your exploration… assuming you want to zone out with a fun and easy read containing very few surprises that you won’t see coming.

[storyphoria]

Review | Criterium : Extended Edition by Tyler Jones

Author: Tyler Jones

Title: Criterium : Extended Edition

Genres: Horror, Novella

Page Count: 178

Published: 08/25/2020

Addiction is a horrible thing and Tyler Jones explores it with brutal and painfully beautiful storytelling in Criterium : Extended Edition. From seeing what rock bottom REALLY looks like to understanding that hope is rarely ever discovered within, this story takes you on a dark ride through hell and back as we traverse the darkness of addiction.

To get the important details out of the way real quick, Criterium : Extended Edition is written by Tyler Jones, published by Dark Room Press and contains TWO stories versus the original run which was ONLY Criterium. This extended edition(which takes the form of a fast paced read in Novella length) includes the title story, Criterium, and the story Enter Softly, which is a story featuring a different character yet is set in the same place and time as Criterium. I won’t tell you what that crossover is, exactly, because it’s a nice reveal and addition to the main story, but just know they ARE tied together as a pair. Though it’s not QUITE a continuation or sequel. Think of it more like another side of the evil within.

Criterium begins with our main character, Zach, hearing his parents having yet another fight. His Mom works hard to keep things together for the family and his Dad is hopelessly addicted to drugs. When his father leaves after the argument, Zach follows him out into the street only to find him later in front of that Old Gray House on Archer Way.

Burned to a crisp after zooming down the streets, screaming, inside a ball of fire.

Three months later, Zach finds himself trying to escape his grief. He never wanted to follow in his Dad’s footsteps but yet…he’s turned to drugs to numb the pain. Now, that addiction has Zach in it’s grip and it’s fueled by grief and guilt. Guilt of the pain he’s putting his family through.

As he tries to break free he finds that what he thought was rock bottom is really a rotten swamp, and he’s sinking to depths he’s never imagined possible. Worse, he’s going to drag those he loves most down with him. There’s little hope that the sinister evil sinking it’s claws into him, will actually let him go.

There’s a lot about this book that was SUPER uncomfortable to read, in the best ways possible. The language and wordplay that Jones uses are, at once, ultra disturbing and exquisitely beautiful. Here’s a couple quick examples, but don’t worry, there is nothing to spoil the story for you.

But Mom’s silence had a certain sound to it, a sort of psychic ringing and rush of exhaled breath.

Jones, Tyler. Criterium: Extended Edition (p. 18). Kindle Edition.

The clothes, if it had been wearing any, were gone. So was the hair. The entire corpse was black, except for the teeth, which were bared in a horrifying lipless grin, and the bright-red, wet-looking strips where the skin had split open and exposed the tissue underneath.

Jones, Tyler. Criterium: Extended Edition (p. 31). Kindle Edition.

A breeze blew and scratched dead leaves on the sidewalk.

Jones, Tyler. Criterium: Extended Edition (p. 36). Kindle Edition.

So he kept walking, each step farther from the house a little nail in the coffin that held his conscience.

Jones, Tyler. Criterium: Extended Edition (p. 39). Kindle Edition.

Ok, you get the idea. There are so many great examples I’d love to share, but we’ll be here all day if I do. Besides, if you like those, just go pick up a copy and read the book for yourself. That way you can savor them in context of the story. Anyways, back to the thoughts on the book itself, shall we.

There is a lot to love about this book. Jones takes an already dark subject, one more than a little uncomfortable for most people to digest, and presents it in a way that is equally brilliant and disturbing.

Through the first third of the story I found myself wondering if it was going to include anything OTHER than the real world horrors faced by those battling addiction.

But Jones kept dropping hints and references to things that seemed not quite right. Be it someone screaming down a street in a blazing fireball as they’re burned alive or the Old Gray House on Archer Way, we’re left to wonder. Is it really supernatural? Or are they the drug induced hallucinations of an addict stoned out of their mind?

Soon enough though, Zach finds himself trapped by a supernatural item. Beautiful on the surface, but coldly terrifying. An item that beats the shit out of him, drags him to the pit of hell and threatens to do the same to those he loves. The evil is punishing, brutal and uncaring. Evil like that doesn’t NEED a reason or motive, it just IS.

Jones blends the real life horrors of addiction with the horrors of the supernatural world and leaves you feeling the anguish and despair of his characters. Capturing the essence and feeling of the characters state of mind (be it sober, high, terrified, grief stricken, guilty or depressed) this story grabs hold of you and drags you through hell with them. As if YOU were the one feeling the pain and terror they are experiencing.

Whew.

That was a long, run on sentence. Sorry about that. Once you read the story though, you’ll understand what I’m saying.

When Jones is writing about Zach feeling guilty, as a reader you’ll notice a shift in the “voice” of the story. When Zach transitions from being sober to the high of the drugs kicking in, the “voice” of the story changes to reflect it.

This is even MORE pronounced with the second story, Enter Softly, with the main character of Lisa. A trauma nurse facing her own demons and her own battle with the sinister evil that beats the hell out of Zach in Criterium.

Lisa’s story hits on a different level because it’s coming from the viewpoint of a parent that has made a single, terrible mistake. A mistake that leads to another…and then another, until the evil and addiction has a firm grip on her in much the same way it did for Zach.

I enjoy how Jones doesn’t rely on the more conventional horror aspects of evil. There’s no backstory to the evil, no tropes of gory monsters in the night. The real terror here comes in the form of the gritty, punch you in the gut just because it felt like it – no backstory required, kind of evil.

It’s an evil at once understandable yet completely mysterious. It’s never explained, there’s no motive and no reason WHY this darkness is doing what it’s doing. It just IS.

One thing that never quite settled for me with this story was Zach’s age. Jones hints that he’s probably around high school age, his sister seems much younger. Most of the story finds Zach anywhere BUT in school. In general it seems he’s around 16-18 years old. Yet there are other times he seems younger, much younger. During the span of 3-7 months it’s like he’s suddenly gone from being 16(ish) to being out of high school and a young adult. It’s a minor quibble, but feels like a tiny pebble in your shoe that nags at you the whole journey.

The Bottom Line

If you like heart-wrenching, despair-filled horror stories that don’t rely on the typical “horror tropes”. Stories that blend real world horror with a touch of truly sinister supernatural evil. Then you’re going to enjoy the ride this story takes you on.

I give Criterium : Extended Edition by Tyler Jones a 4 out of 5 stars.

It’s a solid horror novella with two horrifically fun stories. Stories that make me want to know more about the nature of the bike and hear more tales of that Old Gray House on Archer Way.

Seeing a LITTLE more about what’s behind the evil or where it comes from would have been great, our minds crave a motive. But the reality of it manifesting in the darkness that lies within all of us, via human nature, addiction, grief, loss, or despair, well…that’s more terrifying than any fictional monster could ever hope to be.

[storyphoria]

Review | The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters

Title: The Last Policeman

Genres: Dystopia, Mystery, Post Apocalyptic, Thriller

Series: The Last Policeman

Page Count: 322

Published: 07/10/2012

If an asteroid were screaming towards the Earth and life was certain to end, what is the point of trying to solve a murder? That's the question we're faced with in The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters, and it's a question that only leads to more questions as they mystery deepens.

Part detective mystery, part thriller, and part sci-fi/PRE-apocalyptic fiction, this series is unlike anything I’ve read.

The Good

I really enjoyed the entire concept of this book (and this series, presumably). It turned into a great thought experiment as we see more and more of the world begin to crumble around Henry as he strives to figure out the case of Peter Zell.

Once the story really takes off, we get some beautiful passages that really smack home the emotion and feeling of what a world facing certain doom would feel like. I don’t want to spoil anything in THIS review, but there are so many examples of the different sides of humanity and how people would react when faced with dire news such as this.

While the story as a whole had it’s ups and downs for me, I really enjoyed how the story starts and how new characters and information are presented. We’re rarely given an obvious exposition dump, rarely do we see long sections of the book presented for no other reason than to paint a setting or describe a character.

It starts with the action already underway, Detective Henry Palace standing over the corpse of Peter Zell as he wrestles with the clues he’s seeing. As new characters are introduced they are brought in fluidly and in a way that feels natural to how Henry is coming into contact with them. Granted, there ARE a few moments where Henry is just driving and “thinking” about the case that feel a little forced, but by and large everything flows nicely.

The Not So Good

The biggest issue I had with this book is that I felt like I couldn’t really connect with it. While the premise is cool and the sci-fi/dystopian style fiction SHOULD be sort of up my alley, the detective/who-dunnit style are not. And that’s where the problem sits.

This book is very focused on solving this case, was it a murder, if so then who killed him and why. The end of the world becomes a secondary story, though to me, it was the more interesting part.

With an asteroid set to destroy life on planet Earth in 6 short months the exploration of humanities reactions are where the real interest sits. We get glimpses of it, including my favorite sections featuring a woman named Naomi Eddes and her NEED of a sense of “normal” amidst the chaos.

But those moments are few and far between.

The other biggest issue I had with this book is how often it went to the well of pushing hard on the “it’s a murder” story only to then come to the end of a section saying “nope, clues all point to a suicide”, and then miraculously a new clue or memory pops up to further the story. Almost the classic “But wait… there’s more!” feeling.

It really made the first two sections of the book feel like they dragged on a bit pointlessly, but when that third section gets going, the story REALLY takes off. Personally, the first two sections became a bit of a slog until the last two picked up nicely.

This book(and the case of Peter Zell) feel like one giant setup for the next books in the series, which I get, but in many ways it feels like a wasted story that only wanted to be finished so that it could get on to the (presumably) good parts in the rest of the series.

That includes the biggest question of “After the events of the first book, where do the rest of the books go from here?”.

The Bottom Line

This ISN’T a book genre I normally read a ton of. It’s very possible, in fact absolutely likely, that it was a great book for fans of this genre… just wasn’t for me. That being said, it was still a fun concept and enjoyable read.

I give The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters a 3 out of 5 stars.

If you like detective mysteries, light sci-fi, and a book with a premise that will have you thinking about how you would react in the situation presented… you’ll probably find something to enjoy in this book.

However, that was also the biggest downfall of the book for me. The part that had me thinking and enjoying that journey the most(the end of the world) is only a secondary, side story or setting for the murder mystery.

This one felt like it missed that mark a little bit for me, the balance was a bit off. That being said, I enjoy the thought experiment of looking at the world around us and thinking about how we(and our loved ones) would handle themselves in such an extreme circumstance.

It is entirely possible that by finishing the other 2 books in the series, it may place this book in an entirely different light. But as a stand-alone it felt very much like a “that was fun, but not super memorable” type of book.

Put another way, the book feels like it’s struggling with a bit of an identity crisis. It’s not sure if it’s a Who-Dunnit Detective Mystery or if it’s a Dystopian, Sci-Fi, Pre-apocalyptic thriller… and the story suffers because of it.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

[storyphoria]

Review |Bloodline by Jess Lourey

Author: Jess Lourey

Title: Bloodline

Genres: Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Page Count: 347

Published: 01/01/2021

A small town with a huge secret. A woman facing a danger so insidious that her life, and the life of her unborn child, are at stake. One false step in a town with it’s secretive tendrils snaking far and wide will mean certain disaster, and the deeper she falls into it’s web, the more obvious it is that she might not be able to trust anyone but herself.

I just finished the mystery/thriller novel Bloodline by Jess Lourey and damn, what a fun and creepy ride! I’m going to keep this review spoiler free because this story has a twist that makes EVERYTHING so much more sinister and creepy, and I don’t want to spoil that for you!

But, I HIGHLY recommend you pick up a copy of Bloodline by Jess Lourey for yourself.

What can I say about this book without giving too much away?

First, as you may know, I’m not a typical “mystery/thriller” genre reader. I tend to lean more into the worlds of fantasy, horror, dark fiction, and the like. However, a while back I was recommended a book by Jess Lourey, called Unspeakable Things, so I picked it up and loved it. From there I grabbed a free copy of her book, Autumn Moon, which was free for Amazon Prime members, and enjoyed that one as well. So when the opportunity to grab Bloodline popped up I didn’t hesitate and can say with certainty that it has been the best I’ve read by her so far.

The setting of the late 60’s, at the height of the Vietnam war, this tiny little Minnesotan town was the perfect place to stage a true “real life horror”. No, this isn’t a true story. However it IS inspired by real events of a missing child that took place in the 1940’s. As a parent, I think the book really hits home extra hard, because what parent HASN’T worried about someone kidnapping their child. Especially in today’s day and age where child trafficking seems to be at all time highs.

More than that, however, is just how beautifully it’s written. The pace is unrelenting in the best possible way and every small detail or scene only serves as fuel to build the suspense, make you question just what is happening around Joan, and just how incredibly deep the secret of this small town runs.

It’s one of those books that I would LOVE to see adapted to a film or limited run series.

If you enjoy mystery and thriller novels, you’ll love Bloodline by Jess Lourey. And if you don’t normally read this genre, pick it up anyways because the story is PERFECT for an October Spooky Season read!

Unsettling, chilling, and full of great twists and turns. Bloodline is a fast paced novel that won’t let go of you until long after you’ve read the final words.