BOOK REVIEWS: The Gathering Storm Magazine; Understanding The Stars by Xela Culletto; Voopyre, by NC Stow; Chasing The Northern Light, by Mark Reynolds

The latest book review round-up includes a new magazine, as well as books of YA sci-fi, explorations of myths, and a thriller where virus can bring superpowers

Gathering Storm Magazine

New faces are always welcome in the publishing world - and Gathering Storm Magazine has just produced its first issue. 

It's not the longest magazine - 40 pages in total (78 on your Kindle) but it packs a lot in with 11 writers featured with both flash fiction and poetry pieces. 

The starting piece is an oddity - as it spirits you away from the magazine itself via your browser to a choose your own adventure style story on the web. A definite oddity, but which marks out Gathering Storm as taking a different approach. 

There's also crosswords and spot the difference activities, as the magazine goes beyond just a collection of stories and becomes more interactive - it's nicely presented, too, with real effort going into the illustrations and the design of the publication. 

On the writing side, a couple of the stories feel a little light, but I really enjoyed Wooden Jack, by Henry Galley, and Kristin Lea Berry's The Smiling Bob Radio Show, a sharp and bitter sting in the tale at the end of the collection. 

There's delicate and thoughtful poetry from Gloria Williams Tran, and Horlin Maze, by John Morrison, which I'm not quite sure what he's aiming for but comes across as a historic element in something larger. The work on the map of the maze itself is sumptuous, but I'm not quite sure how to engage with that article. 

On the whole, though, this collection gets a thumbs up. There's a general feel of speculative fiction throughout - horror and fantasy particularly, but not exclusively so. As with many first issues, I'm sure it will become stronger as it goes along, and become known to a wider range of contributors - and, one hopes, a strong readership following as well!

AI Rating: 4/5

Gathering Storm Magazine is available on Amazon.

Understanding The Stars, by Xela Culletto

I wasn't quite sure where things were going with this book at the start - which begins at a fairly slow pace. Hold on to your hats, though, things speed up pretty quickly once the introductions are done!

Alex is a pizza delivery girl whose whole world is about to change. She finds herself sent on a pizza drop that will end up changing her life... and changing everything she knows. The delivery brings her to meet Ronan for the first time, who reveals to her that she has been being observed by an alien civilisation - and that another alien race is coming for the technology, with her life forfeit if they get hold of it. 

Caught in the middle of these alien rivals, and with the CIA getting in on the act, Alex and the handsome Ronan fight to find a way to avoid the alien menace - while falling in love along the way. 

I honestly wasn't sure I'd be keen on this book to begin with, but it really grew on me the more I read. There are some really poignant moments in here, especially involving Alex's family. 

Alex seems to take the world-changing revelations a little too much in her stride - but that aside, this is a delightful YA novel, which with its mix of alien cultures and human romance reminded me of the likes of Stephanie Meyer's The Host. 

I tip my hat to author Xela Culletto, for confounding my expectations. 

AI Rating: 4/5

Understanding The Stars is available on Amazon.

Voopyre, by NC Stow

You know I love the short stories of NC Stow by now, right? 

There's a word from the Bible - Selah, meaning pause and reflect. I'll come back to that word in a moment.

Voopyre is the latest story from this explorer of myth - whose novel Balancers I must dive into soon. 

It deals with the fearful Voopyre, with its yellow reptilian eyes and terrible screech, whose bite can sunder the fabric of the world. 

More than that, it wraps it all up alongside creation myth and the question of what we value the most. 

For a short story, that packs a lot in - and I'm not sure I entirely gathered all the implications of the tale. Which, though it springs from a different heritage, brought me back to that Biblical word. This story made me want to pause and reflect upon it, and so I close the pages on it and say to myself Selah. 

AI Rating: 4/5

Voopyre is available on Amazon.

Chasing The Northern Light, by Mark Reynolds

To try to explain this hefty novel is tricky. Let's start with the cover for a moment, which makes it look like a romantic adventure in rural... America? Canada? Not so. 

This story involves a virus that gives those infected by it psychic powers - at the cost of a dramatically shortened lifespan. 

Into this situation comes Carter Boyd, a man who loves bars and music and Evil Knievel. Elsewhere, a woman in her 40s scribbles journal entries while locked up in a home for assisted living, while still elsewhere, a scientist strives to make a breakthrough he feels could change the world. 

Somehow, these different strands will come together - but boy, is it hard work getting there. Wordy and with no consistent narrative, we hop from character to character rather aimlessly, and even have the occasional extra viewpoint thrown in for no apparent reason. 

There's little action until about the midpoint of the novel, then it arrives in a flurry, throwing the tone of the book all over the place. 

There can be chapters where it's hard to figure out which character we're with for long periods. There's a profusion of fragmentary sentences, then others that run on, and on, and on. The whole thing feels unedited, and it's almost impossible to tell what kind of book the author is going for - is this a thriller? A sci-fi? A horror? An ode to Kerouac? Having read the whole thing, I still don't know who the main character really is - though Carter is the closest to a central figure, we spend long periods with the supporting cast. 

I was reading this for a book group or I'd have given up long before the end - heck, long before the third chapter. It really, really needs a much tighter narrative, some actual structure to it and a very thorough edit. 

AI Rating: 1/5 

Chasing The Northern Lights is available on Amazon.

BOOK REVIEW: Prometheus and the Dragon by Eric Michael Craig; The Leshy by NC Stow; and Gnarled Bones and Other Stories by Tam May

Prometheus and the Dragon, by Eric Michael Craig

One of my top reads of last year was Stormhaven Rising, and this is the sequel to that story. 

That first book told the tale of the discovery of an asteroid headed on a collision course for Earth - but that was a distant threat throughout the story, with the real focus being how different factions mobilised to try to deal with that menace. More particularly, there were the political machinations that took place as different groups vied to take the primary role in tackling something that could prove catastrophic for Earth. 

This book picks up where that left off - with two major plans in progress to try to deal with the incoming rock. Prometheus is a beam weapon designed to push the asteroid onto a new course that would miss Earth, but that beam needs to be sustained over many days to be a success. Meanwhile, a Chinese plan, The Dragon, is to launch a massive warhead that would shatter the rock. Both projects are operated from bases on the Moon - and the teams behind them are not on friendly sides.

Political manoeuvres on the surface see nations trying to settle old scores before the asteroid can hit - while a back-up plan of scrambling people to colonies on the moon in case the worst happens faces hazards of its own, with too many people and not enough room. 

As below, so above - and ensuring safety on the Moon for both people and the projects that could ensure Earth's survival becomes a challenge. 

This book really takes up the gauntlet cast down by the opening book in the series and runs with it - it's an absolute thrill ride full of hard decisions and harder consequences. More than a few times I cursed at the book as I turned pages filled with moments that bit deep. Then against those there are moments where you punch the air - such as when the Flight Infantry deploys in a skirmish on the Moon, tumbling out of the back of the vehicle carrying them at hundreds of miles an hour. It's the kind of kickass moment that reminds me of the Orion Ship in Niven and Pournelle's Footfall - a spaceship propelled by dropping nuclear bombs underneath it. Science kicking ass. 

The latter half of the book sees the asteroid getting ever closer - will humanity overcome its divisions to succeed in preventing its impact?

That I won't spoil - but I will say you've got a great read ahead of you as you find out. 

AI rating: 5/5

Prometheus and the Dragon is available here.

The Leshy, by NC Stow

This is a short tale rich in folklore - and it's hard to say too much without giving much away given the story's length.
What I will say is that it is a charming, thoughtful read.
Young girl Makva is coming to terms with who she is, and that The Leshy of the title is dead. Relationships between The Leshy and the natural world are explored, along with the power of witchcraft, but at its centre is Makva, questioning where she fits in the world, and the order of things.
It's a treat to read - not quite as straightforward a read as NC Stow's work The Kupala Night, which I reviewed recently, but more philosophical in nature.
It's like a snowflake melting on your tongue. Pure to taste, transient in nature but memorable nonetheless.

AI rating: 4/5

The Leshy is available here.

Gnarled Bones and Other Stories, by Tam May

This collection of five stories from Tam May is in equal parts enchanting and frustrating.
First thing first, Tam May has an intriguing voice at times as an author - but each of these stories feels a little undercooked, often coming to an end before they have really gotten started.
There are some delightful phrases in here - such as "He picked his words carefully as if they were ripe apples off a tree, aware of the sadness they left behind", but at other points there is a bit too much telling rather than showing, such as with the lengthy start to the title story, detailing the history of children Em and Denny before getting to the substance of the story.
Despite that, I look forward to more from Tam May. This is her first collection, and so it feels in part like she's clearing her throat, getting ready to speak in a work of greater weight. There is interesting material here - probably the story Broken Bones is the standout, best developed and carrying its tale over a period of time - but the potential is greater still.
One note - it could do with a keener eye on the editing front, moments such as when it says "the dye is cast" rather than die are oversights that throw you as you read.

Gnarled Bones and Other Stories is available here.
AI rating: 3/5

BOOK REVIEW: The Kupala Night, by NC Stow, Pilot, by CH Clepitt, and Haberdashed, by Robert Lee Beers

The Kupala Night, by NC Stow

I love folklore stories. I swear, they sometimes seem almost alive. They outlive the people in the places they live, they get carried along with those they touch.

The Kupala Night feels the right kind of old - old like a great tree with its roots digging deep, taking grip of your consciousness, and never wanting to let go.

The Kupala games are an annual tradition, and 17-year-old Varvara is longing to go, to hunt for the Fire Flower and dance the Six Dances. But her grandmother urges her not to go, and cryptically warns her against taking part in the Seventh Dance...

It's a delight to discover mythology new to me in this tale, and it's all neatly wrapped in a story of a young girl growing up, and the consequences she might face. Beautiful writing, and a pleasure to discover a new writer for my reading list.

AI rating: 5/5

Pilot: The First in the Crew Chronicles Series, by CH Clepitt

If I had to pick one word to describe this book, it would be perky. Or wait, maybe there needs to be a bit of impertinent in there. Or vivacious. Or... you see? This one-word thing is never going to work out.

Pilot introduces us to a ship's crew with an unexpected prize haul from the latest card game while at dock: a fairy.

Where fairies go, mischief follows, and that fairy dust is soon working its not-necessarily-helpful magic on members of the crew. Let's just say that locking some of them up for their own good is a wise idea.

It's a good deal of fun, and it serves as a delightful way to meet the characters. One caveat in there is that it could do with another good scrub down as far as editing goes. There's nothing that will spoil the enjoyment, I hasten to add, but a little bit more polish here and there would certainly help it to shine all the more.

AI rating: 4/5

Haberdashed, by Robert Lee Beers

There's fashion to die for, and then there's fashion that people are literally dying over - and wouldn't you know it, but poor old Tony Mandolin has to investigate a swathe of deaths affecting the glitterati of San Francisco.

And not just ordinary deaths, but rather gruesome ones - there are few places for a camera obscurer than the one that leads to the death of photographer Michael DeSimone.

What's a downbeat detective got to do, but call on his buddy Frankie and start plodding the streets, looking for clues, and hoping not to have to call on cranky Wizard Landau Bain. Yeah, good luck with that, Tony.

Beers writes like a mix of Damon Runyon and HP Lovecraft, full of eldritch creatures and dark humour, all for our put-upon hero to have to deal with. But line up another shot down at Tony's bar, and this makes a good companion as you sip that rotgut.

AI rating: 4/5