Title: The Rook
Author: Daniel O’Malley
Pages: 506
Series: The Checquy Files #1
Read via: 3M (ebook)

Summary: Myfanwy Thomas wakes up with her memory wiped clean. The only hints into her secret agent past life are letters written by herself…to herself. These letters help her rediscover her identity, while also assisting her in solving the mystery of a saboteur in her midst.

Review: Daniel O’Malley presents a witty voice and engaging book structure in The Rook. All characterization of Myfanwy Thomas, the protagonist and narrator, is told through letters interspersed throughout the narrative. This serves as a real-time glossary for both the reader and the amnesiac main character. It provides amusing and detailed backstory without the traditional interwoven exposition. It is within these letters that O’Malley’s storytelling really shines–filling in details splendidly. In a strange way, I ended up losing my investment in what was happening in the main narrative because the letters were more compelling.

My biggest criticism of this novel was the length. It would’ve benefited greatly from being about 150 pages shorter. This sort of book deserves to be consumed quickly, and the length made quick consumption prohibitive. The recently released sequel, Stiletto, is 100 pages longer than this one, so that presents a challenging barrier to entry. I hate to judge a book based on it’s length (I’m always happy to do it based on it’s cover), but it factored into my level of enjoyment so it’s certainly hard to ignore.

★★★ out of 5

Title: Dark Matter
Author: Blake Crouch
Pages: 352
Read via: Hardcover/Kindle
Summary: A college physics professor is abducted, injected with a mysterious substance, and then wakes up in an alternate version of his life. The book chronicles his harrowing attempts to return to his original timeline.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Minor spoilers below…

Review: This is a taut thriller that reads very quickly. Short staccato sentences bring an urgency to the narrative and kept me hooked as a reader. It reads like a movie, which is why it’s not surprising that author Blake Crouch has already signed a lucrative movie deal with Sony for the rights to the film version. I can picture Bradley Cooper or Matt Damon occupying the role of Jason Dessen, stopping at nothing to return to his wife and son. Much like a movie, it feels like you owe it to the material to finish it in two hours or at least one sitting.

It is certainly a unique piece of fiction that oftentimes reminded me of other films that possessed shared elements: the quantum physics of Interstellar, the mind bending worlds of Inception, the twisty reveals of The Prestige, the emotional heft and plot beats of About Time, It’s A Wonderful Life, and even Adam Sandler’s Click.

My only reservation in giving this a full blown 5-star review was the ending. It made sense and concluded in a way that it needed to, but it also felt predictable and a bit hollow. I was hoping for one final twist or revelation that never came. Other than that, this was a gripping, edge-of-your-seat, popcorn movie thriller that easily positions itself as one of my favorite books of 2016.

★★★★½ out of 5
✪ SPECULATIVE SHELF STARRED BOOK

Title: The Fireman
Author: Joe Hill
Pages: 768
Read via: Kindle (Library)

Summary: A deadly plague dubbed “dragonscale” is infecting people across the globe. Sufferers see black and gold wisps on their skin before they eventually spontaneously combust. The Fireman follows pregnant nurse Harper Grayson as she copes with caring for the afflicted and then attempting to survive through her own case of “dragonscale” as the world burns around her.

Review: I had never read any of Joe Hill’s previous works, as his novels are generally categorized in the horror genre. The Fireman seemed like a good entry point, as it skews more towards post-apocalyptic science fiction than terrifying horror novel.

The Fireman hooked me right from the start . The plot progresses with quite a bit of forward momentum from the outset, but as I hit the middle point of this hefty tome (clocks in at 768 pages) I felt the “can’t put it down” feeling dissipate. The length does allow Harper to have a satisfying character arc, though. The action and pace pick back up towards the end and the conclusion is in some ways predictable, but revealed in way that still surprised me.

While the science fiction elements of this book are written in a believable way, there were a few plot elements that ventured into the fantasy genre and didn’t seem to fit the world that Hill had created. My other main gripe with this novel were the hyperbolic character attributes:

• Harper, the protagonist, never seemed particularly encumbered by her full-term pregnancy despite having to run, jump, fight, etc.
• Jakob, the main antagonist, almost felt like a comic book supervillain, repeatedly showing up and delivering maniacal speeches
• The Fireman, the mysterious stranger, was pretty much indestructible, but the cool factor of his special powers were diminished by the fact that he spent the majority of the novel recovering from a bevy of injuries

That being said, the way that Hill uses the dragonscale affliction to explore human nature and the dangers of groupthink is really intriguing and is the most fleshed out part of the novel. Overall, each reading session I spent with The Fireman was enjoyable and not overly taxing. It was a solid ride, but it likely won’t be enough to make me want to pick up Hill’s other works.

★★★ out of 5

Title: Seinfeldia
Author: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Pages: 320
Read via: Kindle
Summary: Seinfeldia chronicles the history of Seinfeld from its creation, to a behind-the-scenes account of its wildly successful run, and to its immense cultural impact beyond the television landscape.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Having grown up watching Seinfeld and continuing to devour reruns on a nightly basis, I consider myself an ardent fan of the show. Seinfeld devotees are likely the only people to rush out to read this book and I’d say it hits all the right notes that any fan would want or expect. With so much of the show’s minutiae discussed online and featured in its DVD box sets (“Notes about Nothing,” episode commentaries, deleted scenes, bloopers, etc.), it’s likely that diehard fans already know the show down to its tiniest details. Seinfeldia doesn’t present many new or revelatory behind-the-scenes stories or ideas, but it does a good job of compiling the show’s history into a concise chronology that is highly readable.

Author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong’s exploration of the idea of “Seinfeldia” was the most compelling thing to unpack in this book. Its roots are in real anecdotes and people from Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David’s life being used as plot points and characters for episodes. Needing to use real life material became so pervasive that writing staffs would be purged after each season so a fresh batch of writers could be mined for new ideas/anecdotes each subsequent year. Seinfeldia seems to be the first attempt to catalog the blurred lines between the real world, the fiction of the show, and the way that fiction impacted the lives of the real-life counterparts. This is never more apparent than when Armstrong discusses how fame from being featured/lampooned on the show manifests itself in different ways. She juxtaposes the disinterested-in-fame Tom’s Restaurant (Monk’s Restaurant on the show) against the money-grubbing Kenny Kramer (Cosmo Kramer on the show) who has made an entire career out of giving tours of Seinfeld landmarks and capitalizing on being basis for fictional Kramer.

Seinfeldia struggles to sustain itself in the backend of the book when Armstrong transitions from a chronological retelling of the show and starts to present anecdotes of people who had brushes with Seinfeld: a woman featured on a Rochelle, Rochelle movie poster, the actor who plays the Soup Nazi, the relationship between Seinfeld’s J. Peterman (John O’Hurley) and the real life clothier John Peterman, and a overlong section about dueling Seinfeld Twitter parody accounts. It certainly works to convey how anything, no matter how small, related to the show could “intrude on the real world,” thus reinforcing the general thesis of the book, but it strayed too far from relevancy to hold my interest. Either way, I breezed through Seinfeldia and enjoyed reliving the “show about nothing” through a different lens.

★★★½ out of 5

Title: A Green and Ancient Light
Author: Frederic S. Durbin
Pages: 320
Read via: Hardcover (Library)

Summary: In an idyllic village, surrounded by sea and forest, a young boy and his grandmother embark on a magical adventure.

Review: A Green and Ancient Light is a beautifully told story of love, family, the beauty of nature, and the innocence of youth. Equal parts Pan’s Labyrinth, The Secret Garden, and The Chronicles of Narnia, it’s a fantasy tale that could be appreciated by readers of any age.

The story was scrubbed of any identifiers (no village name, no country name, no character names), but the rich setting detail provided everything you could need. Frederic S. Durbin creates a setting filled with such beautiful imagery that opening the book felt like being transported to the nameless countryside each and every time. He writes a simple, yet profound story that I enjoyed immensely.

★★★★½ out of 5
✪ SPECULATIVE SHELF STARRED BOOK

Title: Company Town
Author: Madeline Ashby
Pages: 285
Read via: Kindle
Summary: Hwa is a rarity. She’s a pure, non-augmented human. She’s hired to protect the heir to the corporation that owns her floating city. When her new job leads to the deaths of her former colleagues and friends, Hwa must solve the mystery of their deaths without neglecting her new responsibilities.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Company Town presents an interesting future world, but I had a lot of difficulty grasping the setting. There are five towers…and an oil rig…they float(?) in the middle of the water…in Canada…but I never really felt a sense of place while reading. The story jumps around from place to place without firmly establishing any one location.

I think there was untapped potential with the high school setting and storyline. You have an older, gruff protagonist who is thrust back into a high school where she is out of place and uncomfortable, but there are no 21 Jump Street fish-out-of-water hijinks. Something like that could have acted to humanize Hwa and provide some levity in a very dark story. Any scene involving the high school devolves into chaos (i.e., first day of school is disrupted by a gun-toting assassin, homecoming is disrupted by an adult party and a murdered guest, etc.).

In the end, though, Hwa is a flawed, yet sympathetic protagonist, but her story never quite hooked me. I always felt on the periphery of the action and had a hard time visualizing what was occurring. A better dedication to worldbuilding would have benefitted this story and my interest in it.

★★½ out of 5

Title: Age of Myth
Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Pages: 418
Series: The Legends of the First Empire Book #1
Read via: Kindle

Summary: It was thought to be impossible for man to kill the god-like Fhrey. When one Fhrey is killed by a lesser Rhune, potential war between the two races begins to brew. Meanwhile, a Rhune township named Dahl Rhen struggles with leadership upheaval, political maneuvering, and a menacing bear that threatens to rip their limbs and lives to shreds.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: To be honest, this novel only caught my eye because of its wonderful cover image (see illustrator Marc Simonetti’s full version here). I have not read Michael J. Sullivan’s other Riyria novels, but this Riyria prequel and series starter seemed like a good place to begin. What’s admirable about this novel is that it tells a tight, self-contained story while also leaving enough loose threads to carry over into the subsequent sequels. Age of Myth feels like a quest in The Witcher video game series in the style of The Hobbit. Although dealing with the politics of racial inequality and the end of the world, the tale is lighter in tone than most other comparable fantasy series that trend towards the grimdark.

Sullivan positions his characters on far reaching parts of the map before their interests, fates, and motivations become intertwined. While the characters are apart, the story feels disjointed and lacking direction, but once these characters are thrust together things begin to click into place. The characters that Sullivan has placed in this world feel a bit hollow and underdeveloped, with the exception being Suri, the mystic girl who seems able to speak to trees, spirits, and her trusty wolf Minna. Suri is a fascinating and peculiar character who lights up every page that she graces. Suri’s presence and Sullivan’s knack for humor are a saving grace for a novel that I was not totally taken with at the outset. Buoyed by a strong third act filled with twists and monumental confrontations, the Age of Myth tells a satisfying tale that I would be interested in revisiting in the future–either in its sequel, Age of Swords, or Sullivan’s other Riyria novels.

★★★½ out of 5

Title: Before the Fall
Author: Noah Hawley
Pages: 400
Read via: Kindle
Summary: A private plane leaving Martha’s Vineyard crashes under mysterious circumstances. The backstory of each passenger is chronicled, while also telling the story of the two survivors.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: For a novel generating a lot of summer buzz, this was a bit of a letdown. “The thriller of the year” the description proclaims. In my eyes, I wouldn’t even describe it as a thriller, but more of a plodding mystery novel. Providing such deep backstories on each plane passenger would’ve been a more compelling tool if hints or red herrings had been dropped about why each person might seek to crash the plane. Without this, the time spent on the backstories seems wasted, especially once you find out the true reason for the plane crash. All of this is sandwiched between Hawley’s attempt at telling a deeper story about the pitfalls of the 24-hour news cycle and why wild public speculation can be counterproductive. In a way, it accomplished that, but it did so at the expense of weaving a compelling mystery tale.

★★ out of 5