Rendezvous Rock By Rickey Bray + Giveaway

Renedezvous Rock caught my attention right away.  I knew that I would love reading it because of the writing style.  I was drawn in through the words.   Few authors live up to their potential, but Bray is truly a wordsmith.  I was glad to exercise my own vocabulary.

The world building is exquisite.  As a reader being dropped into a complex world with unique circumstances, in this case witches, can be daunting.  Some novels fail because their worlds are not introduced properly.  Yet, Bray does it seamlessly.  I found myself in the shoes of Eric.  Mesmerized by the girl, Susan and wanting to know all about her reality.

She draws him into a religion through a binding or marriage of sorts.  She knows where he fits into her world and the book follows them after he is truly set onto his path.  He discovers his place in a world where power is real.  He is the typical layman having been raised with an overbearing mother and we get to see him grow.

As the front cover states, witches are never young.  You learn why as the religion of The Three Circles is revealed.  The characters are concerned not only with the past and present but with the future as well.  We get heroes that think about not just changing the present but seriously considering the aftermath as well.  Unlike most stories, which end and you think to yourself: "So, they saved the world, but then what would happen?  Aren't they left with more problems?"  This is not one of those stories, the ending is quite decisive leaving no loose ends.

Of course, there are twists and turns along the way.  The book may seem long to some, but the details suck you into this alternate reality.  Certainly, you'll want to block off a few hours of time to devour this book.  You'll want to keep reading it, or in my case loose track of time while doing so.  I look forward to reading Bray's next book.

The Author's Bio:

Rickey Bray, from Marlow, Oklahoma, became a writer after a series of personal tragedies.  Following a car accident involving a drunk driver and the death of his wife and two children, he turned to drugs for consolation which eventually resulted in twelve years of incarceration, a life altering experience that resulted in the start of his writing career and his debut novel Rendezvous Rock.

www.rickeybray.com

Endurance By Jay Lake

WARNING THIS WILL CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS AS IT IS A SEQUEL TO GREEN.  I have tried to keep them contained to the beginning of the book without giving away the outcomes. 

First off, this is a sequel to Green which also happens to be the main characters name.  Sort of, basically she was sold around the age of two or three and lost her name.  So, she ends up being called Green.  Her world is that of a large city with a long history and she has forced some major changes unto her world.  Mild Spoiler: one of the major themes is her pregnancy which is not entirely obvious from the previous novel.  Green tries to find a quiet and calm place to have her baby.  Only people come looking for her from Copper Downs.  Reluctantly, she goes back to the city where she grew up.  However, her changes have drawn many from her original home Kalimpura as she had created a god.  Her life is marked by an assassin who dislikes her because of her meddling.  Not to mention her old gang of sorts wants her back to help their goddess.  While two other Gods have laid claim upon her unborn child, plus she has to deal with the stirrings of a revolt from the Pardine race (which I can best describe as snow leopards that walk upright).  They seek to reclaim their power which was stolen to create the ox god Endurance which is the strongest tie to her original home.  To top it all off, someone is targeting the gods trying to kill them and although Green killed a god they seek her help. 

All of these conflicts lead to her running around the city.  She is a highly active character.  Her narrative shocked me, while I have not been pregnant I still am not sure if even most of the fighting she does is even possible.  One thing holds true Green is a fighter.  One of the best she can only be defeated by a few that have trained her.  Yet, even up to seven months into her pregnancy she is completely exerting herself each day and appears to not eat much either.  It made me wonder if she could even survive the conditions she endures in the midst of winter no less.  The novel is certainly for a mature audience the violence is not particularly brutal but there are some sexual scenes.  A lot less than the first book, I assume because she is pregnant.   The plot carries extremely well from the first book and I hope continues into the third.  Most intriguing were Osi and Iso, twins on pilgrimage to learn about all gods.  Their part was particularly interesting as they were one but two at the same time.  There is more exploration of Below (the underground tunnels of Copper Downs) which infuses a bit of steam punk.  Overall, I was thrilled with the increasing complexity of this sequel.  Green was fittingly less complicated as the plots and conflicts flowed one after the other, but Green has grown up and learns to deal with the muddled issues of adults.  Although, she is still quite young about sixteen.  There are no loose ends and I was quite pleased that the book ended with her giving birth.  

Now, I'm off to research how pregnancy affects fighting performance.   Ah, a book that made me think, how I love those!

Green By Jay Lake

Suggested for a more mature audience as it deals with physical adult relationships with both genders.

Green is not her real name.  Her real name was lost to her around the age of two years, even though she can’t be sure how old she was when her father sold her.  She keeps only the tradition of sewing a bell each day onto a piece of silk.  She is taken from Selistan to Copper Downs on the Stone Coast across the sea.  There she is not exactly a slave, but brought under the care of the Factor.  She is raised by Mistresses which raise her in various arts and educate her.  She spends all her time in the Pomegranate Court which has high walls to keep her inside.  She learns that she competes with other girls such as herself to win a spot serving the Duke who rules the city.  To be chosen is an honor, but she has little notion of the outside world.  All of her time is spent with the same women who treat her only as work.  Until the Dancing Mistress is called upon to teach her, she recognizes Green as wanting to escape and allows her the opportunity to learn about the outside world.  How will she repay those that have bought her and given her the best education money could buy while keeping her imprisoned?  Green tries to find her place in the world after being uprooted.  She also seeks her true name and her father and their ox, Endurance who protected her as her father worked in the rice paddies. 

WARNING SPOILERS

This novel surprised me.  I expected an entirely different sort of story.  However, the plot developments are logical.  I expected Green to end up working for the Duke, but she is tougher than I imagined.  The girl without a name transforms into a girl with a purpose to repay those that have wronged her.  The Dancing Mistress sparks her transformation from well-educated girl to determined rebel.  She lights the spark by taking her Below, the network of underground tunnels and sewers which are dark and require training to pass through unscathed.  She learns to trust her body and her instincts.  Green ends up having reason to return to Selistan to the large city of Kalimpura.  She joins a cult/religious sect that worships the Lily Goddess.  At this point Green is not innocent, afterwards there are numerous sexual encounters with both sexes although mainly women.  She learns of her culture and tries to locate her real home.  The book goes full circle with a large cast although most characters fit with the harsh life of Green.  They’re all realistic and tough each hardened.  This is not a story of whimsy.  Major themes are slavery, violent fighting and religion.  To be honest, I could take or leave the sex scenes they enhance her journey from girl to woman, but they don’t seem to drive the plot forward.  The ending was quite satisfactory and unknowingly sets up the sequel quite well, which upon writing this I have already read.  I think it’s a realistic twist to the underdog story that deals with the balance of power from yourself, cultures, politics and the gods.

Mastiff by Tamora Pierce

Another delightful addition to the Beka Cooper Triology.  This time Beka has to solve a giant conspiracy and kidnapping.  The usual detective work is left to a group of misfit characters.  Beka, a guardswoman (equivalent to a police officer and detective) is tasked with finding the prince.  Luckily, her faithful partner Achoo (a scent hound) is the best tracker around and her human partner, Tunstall.  Only this time, Beka is paired up with a mage who tend to be stuck-up jerks.  Time is running out before the young prince is lost forever.  

Overall, the book falls nicely into the quirky medieval fantasy.  The setting is approximately 18^th century England with the added bonus of magic.  Our main character may be the quirkiest of all with her own abilities to talk to dust spinners and the ghosts of the dead that ride on the backs of pigeons.  Having grown up reading Tamora Pierce’s novels, I was not disappointed with her blend of magic.  This time her message is a clear commentary on the evils of slavery which is well done for a teen audience.  This is truly a book for someone that enjoys a unique twist of fantasy or crime novels.  I always strive to read the more unconventional because I have read too many books where the plot is too easily figured out.  The outcome is slightly predictable but the journey is not.